UK alt-metal upstarts, Vexed, released their debut full-length, Culling Culture, on Friday, May 21 via Napalm Records. They recently released an offcial video for the song "Fake" and have followed up with a guitar playthrough clip for the song. Check it out below.

Facing very personal experiences, Culling Culture is a tribute to hate, betrayal and anger, whilst also reflecting post-modern society with strikingly honest songwriting and heavy groove. Moreover, for as confident as they are musically, Vexed is as poignant lyrically. The title of the album, Culling Culture, and portions of its contents deliver the band’s unfiltered response to the world’s latest social phenomena of public ostracism, “cancel culture”.

Unrelenting lead vocalist Megan Targett’s vicious vocal assault blending venomously low growls, soaring cleans and razor-sharp rap-like deliveries (see “Fake” and “Weaponise”) is backed by the pure technical proficiency of bandmates Willem Mason-Geraghty (drums), Jay Bacon (guitar) and Al Harper (bass). The warning instrumental “Ignorant” prefaces the record’s menacing atmosphere and provides a flawless basis for smashing wake up call “Hideous” and fiery, threatening tracks “Fake” and “Narcissist”. Ghostly “Aurora” and disrespectfully heavy album-closer “Lazarus” showcase Targett’s multi-faceted clean vocal delivery while clashing otherworldly auras with resonating, melodic rhythms. “Epiphany” blends both, offering a bold message of moving past self-loathing, while superciliously weighty offering “Weaponise” seethes between violent hatred and ambient darkness.

Tracklisting:

"Ignorant"
"Hideous"
"Fake"
"Epiphany"
"Misery"
"Narcissist"
"Weaponise"
"Purity"
"Drift"
"Aurora"
"Lazarus"

“Epiphany” video:

"Hideous" video:

"Misery"




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For 30 years Internal Bleeding have been at the forefront of the underground extreme metal scene. Pioneers in sonic brutality the band are renowned for creating the sound of slam, the ultimate bludgeoning, groove-laden, pit inducing form of death metal. Now, three decades into their skull crushing career, it’s time to revisit the origins of Internal Bleeding and remember where this story once began.

In 2012 Internal Bleeding released a limited edition compilation album that drew together their early ‘90s demos Invocation Of Evil and Perpetual Degradation, along with two bonus live tracks and encased them in a blood red cover under the title Heritage Of Sickness. Remastered for maximum impact and featuring devastating tracks like "Anointed In Servitude" and "Gutted Human Sacrifice", this collection became a sought after, essential addition to the collections of slam fans and death metal connoisseurs everywhere.

On the cusp of their fourth decade and still operating at the peak of their powers,  Internal Bleeding are riding high on the wave of critical acclaim afforded to their most recent albums, Imperium and Corrupting Influence.

Now Comatose Music have decided to revisit the primal sounds of Heritage Of Sickness. With the bonus live tracks replaced by a 2019 recording of the current Internal Bleeding line-up live and raw in Tokyo, Japan and the cover art given a new twist to reflect the passing years, Heritage Of Sickness II will be unleashed on September 3rd.

The demo tracks that formed the very foundations of all slam death brutality sound as insanely savage as ever and Heritage Of Sickness II offers a second chance for all fans of extremity to experience these genre shaping classics.

Get a first taste of Heritage Of Sickness II right now - this is "Inhuman Suffering".

Heritage Of Sickness II artwork and tracklisting:

"Beyond The Gates Of Tartarus"
"Despoilment Of Rotting Flesh"
"Ruthless Inhumanity"
"Gutted Human Sacrifice"
"Epoch Of Barbarity"
"Anointed In Servitude"
"Conformed To Obscurity"
"Prophet Of The Blasphemies"
"Inhuman Suffering" 
"Focus" (Live) 

See Internal Bleeding live across the States this summer with Deicide, Kataklysm and Begat The Nephlim. 

Tour dates:

August
5 - The Orpheum - Tampa, FL
6 - The Abbey - Orlando, FL
7 - Hell (The Masquerade) - Atlanta, GA
9 - Scout Bar - Houston, TX
10 - Come and Take it Live - Austin, TX
11 - Trees - Dallas, TX
12 - Sunshine Theater - Albuquerque, NM
13 - Nile Theater - Mesa, AZ
14 - 1720 - Los Angeles, CA
15 - Brick by Brick - San Diego, CA
16 - Goldfield Trading Post - Roseville, CA
18 - Mesa Theater - Grand Junction, CO
19 - Metro Music - Salt Lake City, UT
20 - Marquis Theater - Denver, CO
21 - The Riot Room - Kansas City, CO
22 - Reggie’s - Chicago, IL
23 - The Sanctuary - Detroit, MI
24 - The Crafthouse - Pittsburgh, PA
25 - Dingbatz - Clifton, NJ
26 - Jewel Nightclub - Manchester, NH
27 - Brooklyn Monarch - Brooklyn, NY
28 - Baltimore Soundstage - Baltimore, MD
29 - Ground Zero- Spartanburg, SC

 




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Metallica have checked in with the following update:

"Germany! 'Enter Sandman' (Remastered) is available as a limited edition, numbered, glow-in-the-dark 7" Vinyl single as well as a Maxi CD and 3" PockIt CD single, both of which include previously unreleased live tracks recorded in Germany in 1992. Pre-order here."

Tracklists:

Gllow In The Dark 7" Vinyl Single:
"Enter Sandman" (Remastered 2021)
"Sad But True" (Remastered 2021)

Maxi CD:
"Enter Sandman" (Remastered 2021)
"Sad But True" (Remastered 2021)
"Through The Never" (Live At Festhalle Frankfurt, Germany / November 26th, 1992)
"Damage, Inc." (Live at Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle Stuttgart, Germany / December 1st, 1992)

3" PockIt CD Single:
"Enter Sandman" (Remastered 2021)
"Sad But True" (Remastered 2021)
"Through The Never" (Live At Festhalle Frankfurt, Germany / November 26th, 1992)
"Damage, Inc." (Live at Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle Stuttgart, Germany / December 1st, 1992)

Official release date is August 20th, 2021. Note that the singles are only shipping within Germany.

You knew it was coming, you’ve been patiently waiting, and finally The Black Album reissue is here. Remastered for ultimate sound quality, multiple formats will be hitting the physical and digital universe on September 10, and are available for pre-order now.

Says Metallica: "Can you believe it’s been almost thirty years since its original release? Neither can we! Then off we went to hit the road for a massive 300+ show tour, and the ‘Tallica experience went to a whole new level. To celebrate this milestone, we had to go all out with a wide variety of configurations for all your listening pleasure, including 180-gram double vinyl LP, standard CD and 3CD expanded edition, and digital (including high-def versions).

"There’s also the ultimate release for die-hard fans: a Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set containing over 24 hours of music including the album remastered on 180-gram 2LP, a picture disc, three live LPs, 14 CDs (containing rough mixes, demos, interviews, and live shows), 6 DVDs (containing outtakes, behind the scenes, official videos, and live shows), a 120-page hardcover book, four different tour laminates, three unique lithos, three guitar picks, a Metallica lanyard, a folder with lyric sheets, and a download card.

"But wait… of course there’s more! In addition to the reissue of The Black Album, we’re also pretty pumped about the release of The Metallica Blacklist which features an unprecedented 50+ artists spanning an unbelievably vast range of genres, generations, continents, and more, each contributing a unique interpretation of their favorite Black Album cut.

"Everyone who pre-orders any configuration of either release will receive digital instant grats delivered right to your inbox throughout the summer. Keep watching this site and our socials for lots of video and audio previews as well as all kinds of other Black Album related activities… it’s definitely going to be one black summer!"

Metallica continues: "We told you about the re-issue of The Black Album, but we’re also really proud and excited to be releasing The Metallica Blacklist, a compilation of 50+ artists spanning an unbelievably vast range of genres, generations, continents and more, each contributing a unique interpretation of their favorite Black Album cut. Available now for pre-order, digital formats hit the internet on September 10th, CDs and LPs in stores and at your favorite online retailer on October 1st.

"With contributions from countries all over the globe from the US to Nigeria, there are tracks from singer-songwriters, country artists, electronic, and hip-hop artists alongside punk rockers, indie darlings, icons of rock, metal, world music, and many, many more covering the entire spectrum from musicians we’ve shared the stage with, to some who were not even born yet when the original album was released!

"The Metallica Blacklist will be available in multiple formats including digital (standard and high-def versions), 4CD, and a limited edition 7LP vinyl pressing. Pre-orders will instantly receive multi-platinum selling recording artist, songwriter, philanthropist, and trailblazer Miley Cyrus’ version of “Nothing Else Matters” featuring Watt, Elton John, Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Trujillo, and Chad Smith, as well as Columbian-born rock/pop superstar, and winner of 20+ Grammy & Latin Music Grammy Awards, Juanes’ interpretation of “Enter Sandman.” Additional digital instant grat tracks will be delivered right to your inbox throughout the summer.

"One hundred percent of the profits go to charity – 50% to our own All Within My Hands and 50% to a charity of each artist’s choice. In addition to raising money for charity, we wanted to show that Metallica’s music transcends genres, distance, and cultures, and we like to think that – with everyone’s help – we’ve done just that. It was important to us that the artists could choose whichever song they most connected to; it didn’t matter if we already had multiple versions of a song, if an artist wanted to cover that song, so be it. We were honored to have artists of this caliber want to be a part of the project and we hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed putting it all together!

"One album, 12 songs, 53 artists, unlimited possibilities."




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The clip below is previously unreleased pro-shot video of Helloween performing in Lichtenfels, Germany on the Master Of The Rings tour on November 20th, 1994. The video is captured from the master VHS.

The setlist was as follows:

"Irritation"
"Sole Survivor"
"Ride the Sky"
"The Chance"
"Mankind"
"The Game Is On"
"Why?"
"Dr. Stein"
"Grapowski's Malmsuite 1001 (In D-Doll)"
"A Tale That Wasn't Right"
"Eagle Fly Free"
"Mr. Ego (Take Me Down)"
- drum solo -
"Where the Rain Grows"
"Perfect Gentleman"
"Future World"
"Where the Eagle Learns to Fly" (Pink Cream 69)
"How Many Tears"

This was Helloween's first tour with former Pink Cream 69 vocalist Andi Deris, who joined the band following the firing of singer Michael Kiske. Master Of The Rings, released in 1994, was Deris' first album as a member of Helloween. 




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Prog metal legends Dream Theater have checked in with the following update:

"The next Lost Not Forgotten Archives release - instrumental studio demo tracks from the recording of our 2003 release, Train Of Thought, remastered and re-released in this special edition vinyl format. Available in CD and 2LP formats, this release features exclusively instrumental versions from one of our heaviest entries in the catalog!"

Tracklist:

"In the Name of God" - Instrumental
"As I Am" - Instrumental
"Honor Thy Father" - Instrumental
"Endless Sacrifice" - Instrumental
"This Dying Soul" - Instrumental
"Vacant" - Instrumental
"Stream of Consciousness" - Instrumental

Go to this location for details and to order. It is limited to just 250 autographed copies. Shipping late August.




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Horror Pain Gore Death Productions have signed Philadelphia's guerilla Deathgrind violators Covered In Sores. The collection Civilian Casualties is up now for preorder and will be released July 30 on CD and Digital formats, along with merchandise and bundles. Find preorders on Bandcamp.

Covered In Sores perform sick, vile grindcore/death metal with elements of hardcore punk/thrash. Civilian Casualties presents the band’s first three demos: Militaristic Cannibalism, Blown To Bits and Evil Experiments. 18 vicious tracks of war, gore... devastation and annihilation!

Tracklisting:

“Fatal Bacteria”
“Sewn Into A Corpse”
“Militaristic Cannibalism”
“Blackbird Of Chernobyl”
“Indistinguishable Gore”
“Putrid Serpent”
“Blown To Bits”
“Krokodil Tears”
“Funeral Ambush”
“Target: Rich Environment”
“Erwischt!”
“Sucking Chest Wound”
“Sprayed And Betrayed”
“Evil Experiments”
“Witness Hunter”
“Presents From Gaddafi”
“Signal Jammer”
“Thermite Execution”

“Fatal Bacteria”:




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Stone Whiskey continues to promote their incredible debut album, Rebels Of The Sun, with the release of a fourth single and video, "Feels Like Yesterday".

"By far the coolest song I’ve ever had a hand in creating," said guitarist Bill Spears. "I seriously get teared up on this one. Thanks to: Dina Altum for the amazing piano, Wendy Brancaccio for the beautiful backing vocals, Anthony Focx for the killer production, Aaron Damboise and Rich Damboise for capturing super cool video, Scott Splawn for building incredible amps, and  Stone Whiskey for being pure bad ass. This is exactly what 16 year old me dreamed about doing."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Get your copy of Rebels Of The Sun here.

Tracklisting:

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

"Rebels Of The Sun" video:

"Into The Moonlight" video:

"Empty Eyes" video:

 

 




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Neoclassical power shred metal act Eternity's End guitarist /bandleader Christian Muenzner has issued an update on the band:

"Our new album is almost done. All the instruments and vocals are tracked. The album is being produced by Christian Muenzner and Hannes Grossmann, and is currently being mixed and mastered by Hannes at Mordor Sound studios. The album will be called Embers Of War and will be released in Japan through Avalon/Marquee on November 24, and through Prosthetic Records on November 26 in the rest of the world. Choirs are being provided by Piet Sielck and Jan Sören Eckert of German Power Metal factory Iron Savior. The artwork will be created by Dimitar Nikolov.

“As some of you may have heard already, there happened some changes in the lineup of Eternity’s End. The reason is that we want to move Eternity’s End from being an online project to being a real band that can get together to rehearse and play live shows and tours and appear on festivals etc. With a lineup that is spread over two or three continents and with a realistic view on the financial, logistic and scheduling problems that a band of our status has to face, this has proven not to be workable and we have decided to put together a line up completely based in Europe.

“We are happy to announce the return of bassist Linus Klausenitzer (Alkaloid, Obsidious, ex Obscura) to Eternity's End. Linus, who already played on our debut album "The Fire Within" (2016), already finished tracking all the bass lines for our upcoming album "Embers Of War", and they sound phenomenal. Shred fanatics can even expect some over the top bass solos and crazy guitar/bass unisono sections from this album.

“In addition, we are proud to announce Justin Hombach as the new 2nd guitarist of Eternity’s End. Coming from a diverse musical background with influences ranging from Jazz/Fusion to the golden Varney era of shred guitar to power and progressive metal and with incredible guitar chops, Justin is the perfect addition to complete the double axe attack that is at the core of the band’s sound.

“Watch Justin burn through his solos and the harmony section of the song ‘Deathrider’ from Embers Of War: (Note: this is a demo version and not mixed yet)

“Thus, Eternity's End lineup is: Iuri Sanson (Vocals; Majustice/ex-Hibria), Christian Muenzner (Guitars & Keyboards; Obscura/Paradox), Hannes Grossmann (Drums; Alkaloid/ex-Obscura), Linus Klausenitzer (Bass), and Justin Hombach (Guitars).

“This album will contain all the flashy craziness of Unyielding and is filled to the rim with very aggressive riffs and high speed drumming, Racer X/Cacophony inspired dual guitar shredding and tradeoffs, soaring vocals and epic, catchy choruses. However, I feel that this album showcases our classic heavy metal and speed metal influences a bit more than the first 2 albums and will be focused very much on the guitars with only some light keyboard textures here and there.

“We want to thank Phil, Jimmy and Mike for their amazing dedication and contributions to the Unyielding album and it was an honor for us to work with them.

“We hope that when the Covid-19 crisis is over we will also be able to hit the road and finally present our music in a live setting.”




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According to The Hollywood Reporter, a biopic on Scott Weiland, based on the late STONE TEMPLE PILOTS singer's own memoir, is in the works.

Dark Pictures and Orian Williams have acquired the book rights to "Not Dead & Not For Sale", Weiland's memoir that was written with David Ritz. Jennifer Erwin, who co-founded Dark Pictures with Anne Beagan and is said to be a "diehard" STP fan, will pen the script for the film adaptation of Weiland's life.

"It's an honor to have the trust to tell Scott's story and the ability to portray the lesser known sides of him — the loving and tender man he was, the high school athlete he was, the melancholy soul he was and the legendary frontman that he will always be," Erwin said in a statement.

"Scott was glamorous, complicated and wounded. His childhood had a big effect on his struggles with addiction," Beagan added in her own statement.

Weiland's estate is cooperating with Dark Pictures and will give the company access to unreleased music from the singer.

"We want to make the most authentic film possible about this remarkable artist," said Orian Williams, a producer on the film. "Beyond Scott's page-turning memoir, connecting with those closest to Scott is important to get the details right."

Weiland was found dead on his tour bus in December 2015 at the age of 48 from a toxic mix of drugs and alcohol. The vocalist, who was on the road with his solo band THE WILDABOUTS, was also dealing with self-medication, estrangement from his children, financial difficulties and a steadily increasing drinking problem.

A January 2016 report from Billboard revealed that Scott was dealing with hepatitis C, mental illness and the knowledge that both his parents had cancer in the final months of his life. The article featured interviews with Scott's widow Jamie, his mother Sharon, his WILDABOUTS bandmates Tommy Black and Nick Maybury, tour manager Aaron Mohler and others.

Jamie said that Scott had been experiencing episodes of paranoia and mania caused by bipolar disorder.

She explained: "At one point, it was so bad I had to move out because he was unstable." Eventually they found a medication that leveled him out, with Jamie adding "For the last couple of years, he was doing pretty great."

In addition to STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, Scott fronted VELVET REVOLVER from 2004 through 2008. He rejoined STP in 2008 after a six-year hiatus, but was dismissed from the group in 2013 due to his erratic behavior.

Image courtesy of 102.1 The Edge

King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his singer wife Toyah Willcox - joined by the mysterious stranger Sidney Jake - are back with another episode in their "Toyah & Robert’s Sunday Lunch" series. This time they take on Aerosmith's "Love In An Elevator". Watch below:

A selection of Robert & Toyah's previous Sunday Lunch videos can be seen below:




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The clip below features guitarist Jeff Loomis (Arch Enemy, ex-Nevermore) teaching us how to play the Nevermore classic "Born", courtesy of Joey Sturgis Tones.

"Born" is the lead-off track taken from Nevermore's 2005 album, This Godless Endeavor.

It was recently announced that Loomis has joined Graham Bonnet's version of Alcatrazz. A message from Bonnet follows:

"Hi all! Graham here. The cat's out of the bag! It is with tremendous pride and excitement that I am announcing that Jeff Loomis (currently with Arch Enemy, formerly of Nevermore) is officially the new guitar player of Graham Bonnet’s Alcatrazz. Jeff is a power-house of a musician, a brilliant writer and a great guy. His skills are unparalleled and I am thrilled at the prospect of recreating the magic of the early days of Alcatrazz but with a modern, heavier sound. When I first heard Jeff, I was astonished by his technique coupled with his great feel and incredible melodies. You can have a little taste of it on the upcoming Graham Bonnet Band album as Jeff is one of our guests.”

Says Loomis: "Hey everyone, I’m super excited to be working with Graham Bonnet. I’ve been a long time fan of his vocals and lyrics for many years, and it’s going to be an honor to craft some amazing music together and play some select live shows. I want to let you all know I’m still a very active member of Arch Enemy and will be seeing you all on the road very soon with them."

Bonnet continues: "Just to be clear, Jeff is still an active member of Arch Enemy as I am still with the Graham Bonnet Band. More news coming soon..."




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Firewind guitarist Gus G. performed his track "Exosphere" at the First Lego League Open International Greece 2021, which took place from June 24th - 27th. Check it out below.

Gus: "Honestly, I made a few mistakes, but this was my first live performance in 18 months and it was a livestream."

"Exosphere" was written during times of pandemic and is part of several songs to be released in the near future. It's also the first attempt of Gus using a 7-string guitar in an official recording.

The First Lego League Open International Greece 2021 was the  biggest international Robotics & Innovation Championship hosted - virtually- in Greece. Go to this location for an overview of the event.

Gus recently released a music video for his new solo single, "Fierce". Check it out below, and get the single here

Says Gus G.: "Boo! Check out the video for my brand new single, 'Fierce'! Don’t be scared, this is just a love story. I came up with the concept of a lonely rock star who eventually finds true love in the eyes of “Necromantissa” - a girl he previously kept hostage in his dungeon. Music finally unites them and they live happily ever after and even form a metal band. Nightmare or reality?? We had tons of fun shooting this, getting in full makeup. I love certain black metal & shock rock aesthetics & wanted to try something different, instead of doing yet another performance video. And I also wanted to make a video with my cats too. Many thanks to Panagiotis Kountouras for the excellent directing once again, my immortal beloved & our cats Marquise and Leon."




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"We are delighted to officially introduce Harry Armstrong (formerly of Decomposed, Hangnail, Earls Of Mars, End Of Level Boss, and current frontman of Blind River) as the new bass player of Orange Goblin," reads a statement from the band.

Harry's first show with the band will now be at The Yard in Cornwall on Saturday, July 31st. Support at this show comes from Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons, Massive Wagons, Raging Speedhorn, White Raven Down, and Mother Vulture.

Asked about the changing of the guard, the band commented: "It is with very heavy hearts that the day has come and we finally say goodbye to our founding member, bass player, lifelong brother and best friend Martyn Millard. Martyn has made the very hard decision to step down from Orange Goblin and given us his blessing to continue with the band, something that we understand and accept. Things will never be the same without the thunder that only Martyn can bring, but this opens a new chapter in the Orange Goblin story. We all thank Martyn for his contribution and sacrifices to Orange Goblin over the course of the past 26 years and wish him well in whatever he chooses to do next. We know that none of the things this band has achieved since the start would have been possible without his commitment, passion and talent and we are eternally grateful for that."

"When Martyn informed us of his decision to leave there was only one person that all of us instantly and fully agreed on to fill the huge shoes that Martyn leaves, and so we would like to give a massive welcome to our long time friend and conspirator Harry Armstrong, as he joins Orange Goblin as the new bass player. Harry has been a part of the family since day one, his enthusiasm, talent and encyclopedic knowledge of heavy metal means that he is perfectly suited for the band and we look forward to what the future brings with this new line-up. We have all been fans of Harry and his musical output throughout his career (Decomposed, Hangnail, End Of Level Boss, The Earls Of Mars, Noisepicker, The Winchester Club, Blind River... the list goes on) and we have toured together, drunk together and laughed together enough to know that he is the perfect man for the job. We are about to sign a new record deal and Harry will play a vital role in the writing of the next record. Please join us in wishing Martyn a fond farewell and at the same time welcoming Harry Armstrong as the new bass player in Orange Goblin."

- Ben, Joe and Chris - Orange Goblin, June 2021

And the departing Martyn Millard commented: "After thinking over my decision for some time, I informed Ben, Chris and Joe, over Christmas 2019 that I would depart at the end of 2020. It’s the hardest decision I have ever had to make but ultimately the correct one for all concerned. I love this band, its music, its members, its fans and all it stands for. It’s been my life for 26 years. But I just knew that my time had come to step aside. I will always be part of this ongoing story and I will continue supporting my best friends from the side of the stage."

"So, thoughts turned to a new bass player. It was never about ‘replacing’ me. It’s always been about someone fitting what the band needed and required for it to progress smoothly and about the new guy or girl feeling as comfortable as possible in the transition. COVID scuppered that slightly but in the main only one name fitted the role from the start. Harry Armstrong. He shares the bands goals, musical tastes, sense of humour and desire. He is an exceptional musician and singer who we know will more than fit right in perfectly."

"So, join me in welcoming Harry into the family. He’ll crush it, I know he will, and finally Ben has someone who can actually sing the bloody backing vocals in key!!! Thank you again for all the messages and well wishes. It means more than you could imagine."

- Martyn Millard, June 2021

Orange Goblin recently celebrated 25 years as a band with two shows in London following last year’s cancellations and postponement. With the new bass player now in place, the band will be hitting the road at the following shows later this year:

July
31 – The Yard, Cornwall, UK

August
15  – Bloodstock Open Air (Main Stage), UK
22 – Dynamo Metalfest, Eindhoven, NL

October
2 – Headbangers Balls Festival, Izegem, BE

November
5 – Night of Salvation (Damnation Fest), Leeds, UK

December
4 – Dome of Rock Festival, Salzburg, AT
8 – The Booking Hall, Dover, UK
9 – The Tivoli, Buckley, UK
10 – Limelight 2, Belfast, UK
11 – Grand Social, Dublin, IRE
13 – King Tuts, Glasgow, UK
14 – Gorilla, Manchester, UK
15 – Asylum, Birmingham, UK
16 – The Globe, Cardiff, UK
17 – The Underworld, London, UK
18 – The Underworld, London, UK

(Photo by Tina K Photography tina-k.com)

 




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Born Of Osiris will release their new album, Angel Or Alien, on July 2nd via Sumerian Records. Pre-order the album here, and check out the preview below.

Tracklisting:

"Poster Child"
"White Nile"
"Angel Or Alien"
"Waves"
"Oathbreaker"
"Threat Of Your Presence"
"Love Story"
"Crossface"
"Echobreather"
"Lost Souls"
"In For The Kill"
"You Are The Narrative"
"Truth And Denial"
"Shadowmourne"

Preview: 

"Angel Or Alien" video:

"White Nile" video:




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Virginia's Shumaun is hard rock for people who love the sound of intricate rhythm sections, progressive inspired guitars, colorful synths, and melodic vocals. They have a new album Memories & Intuition coming out this fall, with the first single “Memories Of Water” already released.

Shumaun is progressive, but not pretentious. They're accessible to fans who wish to subject themselves to the melodic and ambitious soundscapes painted by the band. This is demonstrated through the single “Memories of Water”. According to the band, it really embodies what Shumaun is all about: writing progressive inspired tracks with memorable melodies and catchy hooks that anyone can sing along to. They continue to explain the album in their own words:

“I think this album is even more song-oriented than the previous two. It still contains many of the progressive characteristics of our previous songs with regard to odd time signatures and layered instrumentation, however, it's a bit more refined and vocal driven, though there are a couple of instrumentals on it with some crazy progressive moments. I think there’s material on this album that’ll resonate with many prog fans, however, I feel the material won’t get lost on the average music fan who doesn't necessarily listen to progressive music of any kind. It’s certainly my favorite Shumaun album to date.”

Alongside the regular band lineup, on this album, Shumaun employs the talents of legendary drummers Thomas Lang (Peter Gabriel, Paul Gilbert), Atma Anur (Jason Becker, Tony Macalpine), and Mark Zonder (Fates Warning, Warlord). Drummers Leo Margarit (Pain of Salvation) and Chris DeChiara also contributed.

Shumaun started as a solo project of Farhad Hossain, who at the time was playing with Iris Divine and needed another creative outlet for music that didn’t fit in the “prog rock/metal” genre. However, he was unable to stray from his roots of progressive rock and began the writing process for Shumaun’s first album.

Tracklisting:

“A Subtle Invocation”
“Prisoners”
“Memories Of Water”
“Jabriel’s Song”
“Invincible”
“Under The Sun”
“The Pursuit of Happiness”
“Tides”
“Intuition Underground”
“Breathing Light”
“A Planetary Shift”
“The Day We Said Goodbye”

“Memories Of Water”:

Album teaser:




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Rockshots Records has announced their latest signing of Aexylium for their new album The Fifth Season.

Mixing traditional folk instruments (Flute, Violin, Bouzouki) with the modern symphonic metal, Aexylium's sophomore full length follows 2018's Tales From This Land (Underground Symphony Records) and their 2016 self-produced EP The Blind Crow. Tales From This Land has had over 110k streams on Spotify along with its powerful single "Revive The Village’ placing on the top 200 metal song charts in Germany on Apple Music. Aexylium has also released fan-praised covers of Game of Thrones and Vikings main themes with reinterpreted folk metal sounds.

Since their inception in 2014, the Varese, Italy band has performed at renowned festivals in Europe such as Dumeltica International Music Festival, Montelago Celtic Festival, Malpaga Folk & Metal, Rock Inn Somma, Druidia and Strigarium along with sharing the stage with Elvenking, Wind Rose, Nervosa, Furor Gallico, Temperance and more. In August 2020, despite Covid restrictions, Aexylium was chosen by the city of Milan to perform at the historical Castello Sforzesco.

Their new album The Fifth Season is a concrete step towards growth and musical maturity with its offering of festive ballads, tighter riffs, advanced orchestrations and heavier dark songs that are all inspired by Norse Mythology. The record also features guest vocals from Samuele Faulisi (Atlas Pain), Arianna Bellinaso and the members of Coro Facoltà di Musicologia Vocal Ensemble. The album was recorded at Twilight Studio by Davide Tavecchia with the artwork done by Yan Yrlund of Darkgrove Design (Manowar, Testament, Korpiklaani.

The band adds: "We are very excited to start this collaboration with Rockshots Records. We think fans will be thrilled with this album; there are elaborate orchestrations, riffs and fun folk metal. Plus the addition of vocals from Arianna Bellinaso, Coro Facoltà di Musicologia Vocal Ensemble and Samuele Faulisi add so much more! We definitely wanted to compose songs without setting limits in terms of composition, so each song will sound unique and different from one another."

Album details and first single to be revealed on July 20.  The Fifth Season is due out October 2021 via Rockshots Records.




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Igloo has unleashed a brand-new Playmate cooler that pays tribute to IRON MAIDEN, one of heavy metal's most influential bands of all time. The special-edition Playmate Classic cooler captures IRON MAIDEN's legacy by featuring the band's iconic logo with striking incarnations of "Eddie" — one of rock and metal's most recognizable figureheads — taking center stage. The IRON MAIDEN Playmate cooler is available today at igloocoolers.com/ironmaiden.

"This collaboration has been surreal in all the best ways," said Brian Garofalow, chief marketing officer at Igloo. "By incorporating an army of instantly recognizable Eddies onto our Playmate Classic cooler, we're able to provide MAIDEN fans a chance to chill with the Beast and own a unique piece of memorabilia."

Igloo designed the special-edition Playmate cooler with striking graphics unmistakably inspired by IRON MAIDEN's famous album cover art and iconic stylized logo. Appearing on every IRON MAIDEN album cover and at every one of their live shows, Eddie — the band's ever-evolving figurehead — also takes center stage on this IRON MAIDEN Playmate. The Eddies Playmate Classic features an army of Eddies that metal fans have seen over the years.

The 14-quart IRON MAIDEN Eddies Playmate Classic, $49.99, has a capacity for up to 26 12-ounce cans. This special-edition design is available today at igloocoolers.com/ironmaiden, while supplies last.

Born from a modest metalworking shop back in 1947, Igloo has been instrumental in redefining how we live, work and play. What began with bringing clean water to the worksite quickly moved into super-functional, best-in-class ice chests. Igloo products made the family outdoor recreation movement of the 20th century possible. Suddenly, taking your kids camping on the weekend became easy and cross-country road trips became a summer vacation sta

"Black Metal Rainbows" is a 400-page, full-color anthology of radical, queer, and leftist writings and artworks that uncover black metal as a genre of openness and inclusivity.

Black metal is a paradox. A noisy underground metal genre brimming with violence and virulence, it has captured the world's imagination for its harsh yet flamboyant style and infamous history involving arson, blasphemy, and murder. Today black metal is nothing less than a cultural battleground between those who claim it for nationalist and racist ends, and those who say: Nazi black metal fvck off!

"Black Metal Rainbows" is a radical new vision of black metal — a book like no other: a unique collection of stunning artworks and thought-provoking writings by a wide range of more than 80 writers, artists, activists and visionaries, including Drew Daniel of MATMOS/THE SOFT PINK TRUTH, Kim Kelly, Hunter Hunt-Hendrix of LITURGY, Margaret Killjoy of FEMINAZGUL, Laina Dawes of "What Are You Doing Here? A Black Woman's Life And Liberation In Heavy Metal", Espi Kvlt, Charles Forsman of "The End Of The Fucking World", Eugene S. Robinson of OXBOW, Svein Egil Hatlevik of FLEURETY and ZWEIZZ, an oral history of DØDHEIMSGARD's album "666 International", a Tridroid Records label profile, and much more.

Across essays and interviews, artworks and comics, this gorgeously designed full-color book foregrounds black metal's evolution and celebrates its long-term anti-authoritarian spirit. "Black Metal Rainbows" is a necessary conversation starter, a destroyer of gates and gatekeepers. Because beyond the clichés of grimness and hate, lies a musical genre rich in creativity, humor, and all the colors of the rainbow. We see black metal as open, inclusive, and unlimited: a musical genre whose vital spirit of total antagonism rebels against the forces of political conservatism. All hail the golden age of pluralistic black metal!

From the crypt to the cloud, "Black Metal Rainbows" unearths black metal's sparkling core and illuminates its prismatic spectrum: deep within the black, far beyond grimness, and over a darkly glittering rainbow. Nothing is trve, and everyone is permitted. Long live black metal's trve rainbow!

Paul Masvidal of CYNIC said: "Black Metal Rainbows? But of course! Behold a treatise of the unholiest order. These pages unravel the densely layered alchemy that is black metal, and its undeniable relationship to the rebellious queer spirit we as a community so desperately need to resurrect. Rainbow hails to all involved for digging deep and unearthing a fabulous piece of faggot witchery. May the seance begin!"

Barney Greenway of NAPALM DEATH added: "Despite being there in the moment during the ascent of the VENOMs, the BATHORYs, and the HELLHAMMERs, I've tended to fidget warily from afar since black metal partly curdled into a mess of homogenized inhumanity. So, I welcome this collective liberating howl beyond the stereotypes of icy forests and puerile hatred. Bravo!"

In a brand new interview with Sakis Fragos of Rock Hard Greece, founding JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing elaborated on his decision to call his new band KK'S PRIEST, an obvious nod to his former group. His is joined in KK'S PRIEST by former JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim "Ripper" Owens, guitarist A.J. Mills (HOSTILE), bassist Tony Newton (VOODOO SIX) and drummer Sean Elg (DEATHRIDERS, CAGE).

K.K. said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think a lot of fans will understand that I have been a PRIEST since 1968. I've wanted to be a PRIEST since [1968]. I've traversed the road of the evolution of music as we know it today. We went from blues, when I was young, to progressive blues to rock to hard rock to heavy rock to heavy metal. I've been on that journey. So I believe that I have a right to continue as a PRIEST, because some of the guys in PRIEST now, I haven't met them, and they're playing my songs, which is fine," he said, apparently referencing his replacement, Richie Faulkner. "But if they have a right to be a PRIEST, then I have a right [to be a PRIEST]. And I can't start something absolutely new. I can't sound like a new guitar player. I can't write like a new guitar player. So everything I do is gonna be reminiscent of the past to the fans. So that's when I decided that [I was gonna call the band KK'S PRIEST]. And I think it's gonna be absolutely fine; I really do. And the face of KK's PRIEST, that will evolve, and that will be on the journey with us. There's so much yet to come — there's more videos, more songs coming your way. And there's more albums to come also."

According to Downing, JUDAS PRIEST and the band's management weren't happy with the fact that he used the KK'S PRIEST name for his new group.

"Their lawyers sent a letter to my record company making threats of legal action if I went forward with KK'S PRIEST," K.K. revealed. "But for the moment, nothing happened. I think they made the threat but decided not to follow through with the threat. But they made the threat to try to stop me making the band."

Downing, who officially left JUDAS PRIEST in 2011, said that there was talk, around a decade ago, of him continuing to collaborate with some of his former bandmates on other projects.

"A couple of weeks after I walked out, Rob [Halford, JUDAS PRIEST singer] and his manager wrote me a letter. They wanted me to form a band with Rob and some other musicians. Jeff Loomis [former NEVERMORE and current ARCH ENEMY guitarist] was one. I can't remember the names. But I've got the e-mail… I just ignored it."

Asked what he thinks led Rob to approach Downing about forming a new band, K.K. said: "You have to ask him. No one asks them questions. No journalist asks the other guys questions."

KK'S PRIEST's debut album, "Sermons Of The Sinner", will be released on August 20 via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records. The LP's first single, "Hellfire Thunderbolt", was released last month. The title track followed in mid-June.

Downing left PRIEST amid claims of band conflict, shoddy management and declining quality of performance. He was replaced by Faulkner, nearly three decades his junior.

In 2018, Downing revealed that he sent two resignation letters to his bandmates when he decided to quit JUDAS PRIEST. The first was described as "a graceful exit note, implying a smooth retirement from music," while the second was "angrier, laying out all of his frustrations with specific parties."

Downing later said that he believed the second letter was "a key reason" he wasn't invited to rejoin PRIEST after Glenn Tipton's decision to retire from touring.

MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn spoke to the "Behind The Vinyl" podcast about the band's new song "Become The Firestorm", which has been described by some fans as one of the most brutally aggressive tracks MACHINE HEAD has ever recorded. Asked about the supposed "black metal" influence on the song's riffing approach, Flynn said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't know if I'm drawing necessarily from black metal, because I grew up in the thrash scene and so I would probably say it's more like something like POSSESSED 'Seven Churches', because that was a band that I would have seen that would have been doing the tremolo picking type of stuff — so, shit like that. But, yeah, all that early death metal was such a big… I think my third or fourth show was POSSESSED before 'Seven Churches' was even released. So that type of death metal really had a big, big impact… I loved POSSESSED, man — I fucking loved that band. And I loved that record, and I still love that record. I think Jeff Becerra — I love that he's going on and continuing the band and singing from a wheelchair. I just think he's a total badass for doing that."

According to Flynn, all three tracks from MACHINE HEAD's recently released "Arrows In Words From The Sky" single — "Become The Firestorm", "Rotten" and the title track — as well as "My Hands Are Empty", which came out in November, will be included on the band's next full-length studio album. "And the other stuff is just gonna stay kind of in whatever void it came out in — and probably be released on a collection of songs with a bunch of other B-sides at some point, a physical version," he said, referring to "Do Or Die", which was made available in October 2019; "Circle The Drain", which came out in February 2020; and the two-song digital single "Civil Unrest", consisting of "Stop The Bleeding" and "Bulletproof", which was released in June 2020. "But for now, these four songs, and then some future songs, are gonna make up the next record."

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

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

"Arrows In Words From The Sky" was recorded at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California. Joining Flynn and bassist Jared MacEachern during the sessions were drummer Navene Koperweiss (ENTHEOS, WHITECHAPEL, ANIMALS AS LEADERS) and producer Zack Ohren.

"Stop The Bleeding" featured guest vocals from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE frontman Jesse Leach, and was written and recorded just days after the murders of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery.

Earlier this month, MACHINE HEAD announced that it was abandoning plans to resume its "Burn My Eyes" 25th-anniversary tour now that the pandemic is slowing down.

Last July, MACHINE HEAD canceled its previously announced rescheduled 2020 tour dates for Europe and Australia due to the coronavirus crisis which was sweeping the globe. At the time, it was assumed that those shows would finally happen once the band was able to return to the road.

Flynn said that the "Burn My Eyes" tour, which saw him and MacEachern play the band's classic debut album in its entirety for the first time ever, with original "Burn My Eyes"-era drummer Chris Kontos and Mader joining in, would not pick up at such a time as MACHINE HEAD can continue touring. Flynn also confirmed that MacEachern is still a member of MACHINE HEAD alongside new recruits, guitarist Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (DECAPITATED) and British drummer Matt Alston (DEVILMENT, EASTERN FRONT), all of whom also performed on the "Burn My Eyes" 25th-anniversary tour.

In a new interview with Brazil's "Inside With Paulo Baron" Internet show, Sammy Hagar was asked if there were any things that he left out of his 2011 autobiography "Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock", that he thinks he should have put it or any stories that he included that he later wished he hadn't. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Oh, yeah. I forgot so many really fun little things, and every now and then I'll wake up in the morning and have a dream and I'll wake up and it makes me remember something in the childhood, and I think, 'Oh, I should have put that in the book. But the fucking book would have been this big. [Holds hands wide apart.]'"

He continued: "But more than anything, because of the untimely and tragic death of Eddie Van Halen, I apologize from the bottom of my heart for exposing his dark side to where I don't think anyone wants to hear that now, and, unfortunately, it's in the book. And it's true — it's all true. It's not like I have to say, 'Oh, I was lying' — no, no, no. If I wrote the book today, I would only put the good of Eddie Van Halen, because he was such a brilliant, genius guitar player and such a great friend and a great partner — until everything went wrong, like everything else. Anybody's that's been divorced or broke up with your girlfriend or your boyfriend, you know how it goes. Happy endings aren't always the case in a relationship. [Eddie and I] had a happy ending — thank God — but before that, it wasn't a happy ending of the band. But thank God we got it back together."

When journalist Regis Tadeu pointed out that it's important to expose the dark side sometimes because it's "reality," Sammy said: "No one knew a lot of that about Eddie, but they'd see him on stage and they would think, 'Why is he acting like that?' And I would say, 'Well, you should have seen what happened backstage. Holy fuck!' If we'd have known he was sick then, then I would have understood and I would have been a little more, 'Hey, Ed, come on,' try to reel him in. But he was impossible. He was on a track of just wild. It was tough."

Hagar added: "He was the sweetest guy in the world when I met him. When Eddie Van Halen walked into my dressing room in that show in Anaheim Stadium with BOSTON and BLACK SABBATH, that was one of the sweetest people, most humble human beings I've ever met in my life. I thought, 'How can this guy play so badass and be that humble?' I thought, 'It's impossible. He must have a fire inside of him that he's not showing.' And when that fire came out, it was quite the fire — a freakin' volcano."

Hagar replaced David Lee Roth in VAN HALEN in 1985 and recorded four studio albums with the band — "5150", "OU812", "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" and "Balance" — all of which topped the U.S. chart.

Sammy, Eddie, Alex and Michael last teamed up in 2004 for a U.S. summer tour. In exchange for taking part in the tour, Anthony reportedly had to agree to take a pay cut and sign away his rights to the band name and logo.

In "Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock", Hagar slammed Eddie, saying the guitarist was unkempt, hunched over, frighteningly skinny, drinking wine straight out of a bottle, missing part of his tongue (after a cancer scare) and several teeth. He told an interviewer in 2012: "What happened on that reunion tour in '04 was some of the most miserable, back-stabbing dark crap I've ever been involved with my whole life."

In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Eddie questioned an "embellished" portion of "Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock" that painted the guitarist as a "very angry drunk" during the group's 2004 reunion tour.

Last November, Eddie's son Wolfgang revealed that his father had contemplated a "kitchen-sink tour" that would have included Anthony, as well as vocal turns from both Hagar and Roth. There was even talk about bringing back Gary Cherone, who sang with VAN HALEN on one poorly received album, 1998's "Van Halen III".

Eddie died last October at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California. The iconic VAN HALEN axeman passed away from complications due to cancer, his son confirmed.

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of METALLICA's self-titled album, the Grammy-winning, 16-times-platinum-certified LP is receiving its definitive re-release on September 10 via the band's own Blackened Recordings. Remastered for ultimate sound quality, The Black Album remaster will be available in multiple configurations including 180-gram double vinyl LP, standard CD and 3 CD expanded edition, digital, and limited-edition deluxe box set (containing the album remastered on 180-gram 2LP, a picture disc, three live LPs, 14 CDs (containing rough mixes, demos, interviews, live shows), 6 DVDs (containing outtakes, behind the scenes, official videos, live shows), a 120-page hardcover book, four tour laminates, three lithos, three guitar picks, a METALLICA lanyard, a folder with lyric sheets, and a download card).

Much more than a mere tribute album, "The Metallica Blacklist" celebrates the enduring influence of this musical milestone with one of the most ambitious projects ever conceived by the METALLICA team: An unprecedented 50+ artists spanning an unbelievably vast range of genres, generations, cultures, continents and more, each contributing a unique interpretation of their favorite Black Album cut.

"The Metallica Blacklist" offers up new dimensions of the record whose gravitational pull first drew the mainstream to METALLICA — and provides new insights into the universal and timeless appeal that kept it there: the boundary-smashing influence these 12 songs have had on fans and musicians of all stripes. "The Metallica Blacklist"'s 53 tracks find singer songwriters, country artists, electronic and hip hop artists sharing their love of these songs alongside punk rockers, indie darlings, icons of rock, metal, world music and many, many more… and for 50+ good causes: Profits will be divided evenly between charities of the artist's choice and METALLICA's All Within My Hands foundation.

"The Metallica Blacklist" is a fitting and limitless homage, one that features bands who've shared stages with METALLICA alongside artists who are younger than the original album. It's a truly staggering, at times mystifying assemblage of musicians, dozens of whom have little to nothing in common other than the shared passion for the music that's united them for this album: 1 Album. 12 Songs. 53 Artists. Unlimited Possibilities.

"The Metallica Blacklist" will be available in formats including digital, four-CD and a limited-edition seven-LP vinyl pressing. Pre-orders will instantly receive multi-platinum selling recording artist, songwriter, philanthropist and trailblazer Miley Cyrus's version of "Nothing Else Matters" featuring Andrew Watt, Elton John, Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Trujillo and Chad Smith, and Colombian-born rock/pop superstar, and winner of 20+ Grammy and Latin Music Grammy Awards Juanes's interpretation of "Enter Sandman".

All profits from "The Metallica Blacklist" will be split evenly between the All Within My Hands foundation and 50+ charities chosen by the artists who play on the album. All Within My Hands was founded by the band in 2017 as a way for the entire METALLICA family to give back to communities that have supported the band by supporting workforce education, the fight against hunger, and other critical local services.

"The Metallica Blacklist" features the following tracks:

* ALESSIA CARA & THE WARNING - Enter Sandman

* MAC DEMARCO - Enter Sandman

* GHOST - Enter Sandman

* JUANES - Enter Sandman

* RINA SAWAYAMA - Enter Sandman

* WEEZER - Enter Sandman

* SAM FENDER - Sad But True (Live)

* JASON ISBELL - Sad But True

* MEXICAN INSTITUTE OF SOUND FEAT. LA PERLA & GERA MX - Sad But True

* ROYAL BLOOD - Sad But True

* ST. VINCENT - Sad But True

* WHITE REAPER - Sad But True

* YB - Sad But True

* BIFFY CLYRO - Holier Than Thou

* THE CHATS - Holier Than Thou

* OFF! - Holier Than Thou

* PUP - Holier Than Thou

* COREY TAYLOR - Holier Than Thou

* CAGE THE ELEPHANT - The Unforgiven

* VISHAL DADLANI, DIVINE, SHOR POLICE - The Unforgiven

* DIET CIG - The Unforgiven

* FLATBUSH ZOMBIES FEAT. DJ SCRATCH - The Unforgiven

* HA*ASH - The Unforgiven

* JOSÉ MADERO - The Unforgiven

* MOSES SUMNEY - The Unforgiven

* J BALVIN - Wherever I May Roam

* CHASE & STATUS FEAT. BACKROAD GEE - Wherever I May Roam

* THE NEPTUNES - Wherever I May Roam

* JON PARDI - Wherever I May Roam

* SEBASTIAN - Don't Tread On Else Matters

* PORTUGAL. THE MAN FEAT. AARON BEAM - Don't Tread On Me

* VOLBEAT - Don't Tread On Me

* THE HU - Through The Never

* TOMI OWÓ - Through The Never

* PHOEBE BRIDGERS - Nothing Else Matters

* MILEY CYRUS FEAT. WATT, ELTON JOHN, YO-YO MA, ROBERT TRUJILLO, CHAD SMITH - Nothing Else Matters

* DAVE GAHAN - Nothing Else Matters

* MICKEY GUYTON - Nothing Else Matters

* DERMOT KENNEDY - Nothing Else Matters

* MON LAFERTE - Nothing Else Matters

* IGOR LEVIT - Nothing Else Matters

* MY MORNING JACKET - Nothing Else Matters

* PG ROXETTE - Nothing Else Matters

* DARIUS RUCKER - Nothing Else Matters

* CHRIS STAPLETON - Nothing Else Matters

* TRESOR - Nothing Else Matters

* GOODNIGHT, TEXAS - Of Wolf And Man

* IDLES - The God That Failed

* IMELDA MAY - the god that failed

* CHERRY GLAZERR - My Friend Of Misery

* IZÏA - My Friend Of Misery

* KAMASI WASHINGTON - My Friend Of Misery

* RODRIGO Y GABRIELA - The Struggle Within

Three new instant-gratification tracks now available with "The Metallica Blacklist" album pre-orders: "Sad But True" covers by St. Vincent, Sam Fender and JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 UNIT. They can all be heard below.

Japanese pop-metal band BABYMETAL started 2021 with the continuation of the celebration of its tenth anniversary by playing a series of ten exclusive shows at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.

Seven years after their first appearance at the legendary venue, which saw them become the youngest female artist to headline in the venue's prestigious history, BABYMETAL delivered a series of ten performances, utilizing the unique layout of the 360-degree venue with a center stage that gave those in attendance the ability to enjoy the performance up close from any seat.

With the Japanese government having issued a state of emergency less than two weeks prior to the first show, BABYMETAL staff, fans, and everyone affiliated with the shows took every precaution to prevent the spread of COVID-19, with the band issuing "Saviour Masks" (face masks) to all fans who came to the show to be worn on top of the mask each fan originally had on. Due to everyone's careful efforts, thankfully there were no reports of any clusters or any other incidents that occurred during the series of 10 performances at the Nippon Budokan.

Now, BABYMETAL reveal details of an encore streaming event, produced by Danny Wimmer Presents. A director's cut of "10 Babymetal Budokan" (which streamed last Saturday June 26), the encore stream gives fans the opportunity to enjoy a different take on the performance with new cuts and a special edit.

"10 Babymetal Budokan" encore global stream will go out

Saturday, July 24 at 12 p.m. LA / 3 p.m. NY / 8 p.m. U.K. / 9 p.m. EU and will be viewable on-demand until Sunday, July 25 at 11:59 p.m. PST.

Early-bird tickets are available via babymetal.live, with bundle options featuring special, limited-edition merch items as well as pre-orders for the "10 Babymetal Budokan" live album. Exclusive merch items will be available during the stream.

"10 Babymetal Budokan" live album will be released digitally and on 2CD on October 1 via Babymetal Records, with a 2LP vinyl release following late November.

The track listing is as follows:

01. Babymetal Death - Shin Ver.

02. Ljime, Dame, Zettai

03. Gimme Chocolate!!

04. Doki Doki Morning

05. Gj!

06. No Rain, No Rainbow

07. Distortion (feat. Alissa White-Gluz)

08. Pa Pa Ya!! (feat. F.Hero)

09. Megitsune

10. Karate

11. Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!

12. The One

13. Road Of Resistance

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH topped the Mediabase Active Rock chart period ending June 26 with its latest single, "Darkness Settles In". This marks the band's 12th all-time No. 1 on the chart. The track, a fan favorite taken from their latest chart-topping and critically praised studio album "F8", was produced by the band, alongside longtime collaborator Kevin Churko. The single follows in the footsteps of the album's three previously released smashes, "Inside Out", "A Little Bit Off" and "Living The Dream", all of which reached the top spot on the same chart. The band is also celebrating the recent gold certification of "A Little Bit Off" in the U.S., following the song's recent gold certification in Sweden.

Last month, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH released the official music video for "Darkness Settles In", highlighting the band's high-energy spirit which has captured millions of fans worldwide. It combines epic performance shots, showcasing the group’s eagerness to get back out on the road, and an exclusive first look at footage from the upcoming horror-thriller film "The Retaliators". The track will be included on the film's original soundtrack, of which the band take center stage in an all-star track listing from some of the biggest names in rock. Additionally, the band will be seen starring in special cameos in the movie, due later this year.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH recently announced plans to enter the Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada to begin recording its new album for a 2022 release. Helming the effort once again will be Churko, the Canadian record producer/engineer and songwriter who has previously worked with OZZY OSBOURNE, DISTURBED, IN THIS MOMENT and HELLYEAH, among others. In addition, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH is planning to re-record its debut album, 2007's "The Way Of The Fist", later this summer for its 15th anniversary.

"The Way Of The Fist" was originally released in July 2007 and was certified gold in April 2011 for sales in excess of 500,000 copies.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's upcoming album will be the band's first with its latest addition, renowned British virtuoso Andy James, who replaced Jason Hook last year. James was previously featured on "Broken World", a song that was included on the second installment of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's greatest-hits collection, "A Decade Of Destruction - Volume 2", which came out last fall.

Each of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's first six albums — "The Way of the Fist", 2009's "War Is The Answer", 2011's "American Capitalist", 2013's "The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 1" and "Volume 2", and 2015's "Got Your Six" — has gone either gold or platinum in the U.S.

The band has had two dozen songs hit the Top 10 on the Mainstream Rock or Hard Rock Digital charts, starting with "The Bleeding", which originally appeared on "The Way Of The Fist". FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's 2010 cover of BAD COMPANY's "Bad Company" was certified platinum for accumulating a million certified units.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's No. 1 hits include "Coming Down", "Lift Me Up", "Battle Born", "Wash It All Away", "Sham Pain", "When The Seasons Change" and "Blue On Black".

"F8" debuted at No. 1 on rock charts around the world, with Top 10 mainstream chart debuts in the U.S., Austria, Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K. and more.

Today (June 25th), Fractal Universe has released their new album, The Impassable Horizon, via Metal Blade Records. For a preview of the record, a video for the new single, "Interfering Spherical Scenes" [directed by Anthony Dubois] can be viewed below. The video was shot on the stage of Le Moloco.

Fractal Universe comments: "We loved Anthony's raw and immersive approach on the video. Through his lens, he managed to perfectly capture the energy and dynamics of the song. 'The Impassable Horizon' is our most ambitious and diverse work to-date, and we're beyond stoked for people to finally hear it. We left no stone unturned when crafting this record from writing, to production & arrangement, it has truly been a work of passion that we are immensely proud of."

With 2019's Rhizomes Of Insanity, France's Fractal Universe created one of the most musically, lyrically, and emotionally complex and compelling progressive metal works of the twenty-first century. The band toured the record hard, joining heavyweights Obscura in February/March of 2020, making for one of the last tours in the world pre-pandemic, and in doing so, sated their faithful while winning legions of new followers. With its successor, The Impassable Horizon, they have gone even deeper, effortlessly following the trajectory they set themselves on to create an album that is riveting from start to finish.

"We wanted to keep developing our musical personality and the natural sound we managed to get on Rhizomes," says drummer Clément Denys. "It's a very versatile and complex album. Musically speaking, you will find catchy songs which are really direct, progressive and mysterious ballads with epic saxophone solos, and technical songs with intricate riffing."

Elaborates vocalist/guitarist/saxophonist Vince Wilquin, "despite the record being even more diverse, dynamic and including more clean vocals than its predecessor, the overall atmosphere is also slightly darker and more melancholic."

And with the introduction of Wilquin's newly honed saxophone skills to their live set, alongside working with Gojira's Christian Andreu on their stage scenery and production, once the band return to the road they are sure to be an unmissable act.

With the first riffs and ideas for The Impassable Horizon emerging in November 2018, before Rhizomes was even released, composition for the whole record took about a year, with the last six months before entering the studio in May of 2020 dedicated to vocal preproduction/arrangements and finalizing the guitar and saxophone solos. Drums were recorded at the band's own professional recording studio - Boundless Production Studio - in Florange, France, while the other instruments were tracked in their personal home studios. It was overseen by producer Flavien Morel, who has been working with Fractal Universe since the beginning and really understands the band's vision.

"The sessions were good," says Denys. "We were not in a rush. This was the first record we entirely tracked in our own studios, so we were for example able to spend two complete days on sound-checking the drums, which was really comfortable."

The most demanding aspect of tracking was the vocals, which took as long to record as all of the other instrumentation combined. "Flavien really encouraged me to bring the vocal production to the next level: there are chorus sections where there are about thirty tracks of backing vocals, with every line quad-tracked, to make it sound really massive and 'chorus-y'."

With mixing being Wilquin's favorite part of the realization process, the point at which the record really starts to come alive, he was happy to work closely with Morel, and the finished product is everything they wanted it to be. "It feels like the natural evolution of our band sound, keeping our distinctive trademarks and incorporating new sounds and ideas," says Wilquin, and adds Denys, "we hope the new album will reach new fans and please our current ones, which have been amazingly supportive even during the pandemic, and that it will bring the band to the next level."

The Impassable Horizon can be ordered here on CD, vinyl, as well as digitally. Fans can also visit Fractal Universe's official store for additional vinyl and more.

The Impassable Horizon tracklisting:

"Autopoiesis"
"A Clockwork Expectation"
"Interfering Spherical Scenes"
"Symmetrical Masquerade"
"Falls Of The Earth"
"Withering Snowdrops"
"Black Sails Of Melancholia"
"A Cosmological Arch"
"Epitaph"
"Godless Machinists"
"Flashes Of Potentialities" (Unplugged)

"A Clockwork Expectation" video:

Fractal Universe lineup:

Guitar/Vocals/Saxophone: Vince Wilquin
Guitar: Hugo Florimond
Bass: Valentin Pelletier
Drums: Clément Denys

(Photo - Anthony Dubois)




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German thrash institution Eradicator has revealed the new video "Echo Chamber." The track is the second to be revealed from the band's fifth album, Influence Denied, set for international release on July 23 via Metalville Records.

Says the band about the video, "Compared to our first single, 'Mondays For Murder,' 'Echo Chamber' shows a more melodic side of the new album, without losing any of its punch! The chorus, loaded with gang shouts, is also a tribute to the old school - the thrash metal of the '80s. Lyrically, the song is about the effects of filter bubbles on the Internet and the drift into the world of conspiracy myths. In the music video, which is the first part of a continuing story, the character portrayed by Simon Moskon (Cryptex) goes through exactly this change. In two weeks, we will release the sequel with 'Driven By Illusion'!"

Influence Denied is the sovereign consequence of the previous long-players. The band's passionate claim to raise their music to a new level results in audible joy of playing and convincing compositions: Eradicator's new work combines the sound of the San Francisco Bay Area ala Testament or Death Angel and the Teutonic elemental force of German genre greats like Kreator or Destruction. Fused with the soul of the band, the result is a massive thrash metal concoction.

With incisively authentic thrash metal and equally perceptive song lyrics, they hold a mirror up to society on their new album. Encouraged to critical reflection and humility, there are no compromises musically, however, because Eradicator unpack the scantling.

The new tracks were produced together with Orden Ogan mastermind Sebastian "Seeb" Levermann (Asphyx, Brainstorm, Rhapsody Of Fire, etc.), who is also responsible for mixing and mastering. The cover illustration was penned by Mario Lopez.

Influence Denied tracklisting:

"Driven By Illusion"
"Hate Preach"
"Echo Chamber"
"Influence Denied"
"5-0-1"
"Jackals To Chains"
"Mondays For Murder"
"Hypocrite"
"Descent Into Darkness"
"Anthropocene"

"Echo Chamber" video:

"Mondays For Murder" video:

Lineup:

Sebastian Stöber "Seba" - guitar / vocals
Sebastian Zoppe "Zoppe" - bass
Jan-Peter Stöber "Pitti" - drums
Robert Wied "Robb" - guitar

(Photo - Tom Row)




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Haken’s vocalist Ross Jennings has released the lyric video for his debut single as a solo artist "Words We Can’t Unsay" via Graphite Records. 

The song is the first single from his debut solo album A Shadow Of My Future Self which is set to be released later this year, and sees him take a step into pop territory for the first time.

"Words We Can’t Unsay" features Ross Jennings on vocals and guitar, with Nathan Navarro (Devin Townsend) on bass, Vikram Shankar (Redemption, Lux Terminus, Silent Skies) on keyboards, and Simen Sandnes (Arkentype) on drums plus special guests Norwegian brass sensations ‘Blasemafian’ also make an appearance. The song is mixed by Karim Sinno and mastered by Ermin Hamidovic (Haken, Plini) with artwork designed by longtime Haken collaborator BLACKLAKE. 

Ross has the following to say about the track:  “This was one of the first pieces I committed to demo when embarking on this project. I knew I wanted a more accessible direction but I never predicted how well all the layers and different genre references would come together. The song is about relationships, about those heated moments when we say hurtful things we don’t mean. It’s a very real experience we’ve all had and writing a song about it has been a kind of healing therapy for me.”

The lyric video is created by Jack Vashko, who was selected by Ross based on his incredible fan-made lyric videos of Haken songs.

In conjunction with his first single release, Ross Jennings has also announced details of a Global Livestream event called Acoustic Shadows which airs on July 23 via Munin.live.

Ross will perform acoustic renditions of songs from his forthcoming debut album A Shadow Of My Future Self and much more including songs from other projects he is known for. Standard and VIP tickets available at munin.live.

Ross adds about the event: “We’re in lockdown and I can’t meet up with my bands to perform, so I’ve decided to make a bold move, dust off that guitar and face a solo live gig head on, even if it is just to cameras! I haven’t performed solo like this since my days playing open mic nights in the local pub, but I know for sure this is going to be a wildly unique experience.”

(Photo by: Yulia Jennings)




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On July 16, Berlin's Space Chaser will release their new album, Give Us Life, via Metal Blade Records. For a preview of the record, a video for the new single, "The Immortals" is streaming below.

Nothing can beat the thrill of thrash at its best, and no one is keeping the spirit and sound of the genre alive quite like Space Chaser. Marking their ten-year anniversary with their third full-length, Give Us Life, they are returning in force and once again establishing their importance in the scene. "What we do is contemporary thrash metal, if you will, and while still having the 'old-school' elements everyone loves, we try to incorporate some of the influences that we expose ourselves to. Over the last ten years, this kind of music progressed a lot, and of course that has its influence on us. But what we do is still thrash metal, we just hope we're able to translate it a little bit better into 2021."

The album was recorded at their go-to studio, Berlin's Hidden Planet, with Jan Oberg, who the band acknowledge is a rather unknown name in the metal scene, but his work proves up to par with international standards nonetheless. The songs were produced by guitarist Leo Schacht and drummer Matthias Scheuerer with the help of Oberg, and for mastering they had Dan Swanö of Unisound Studios at the helm. "It was the smoothest recording process we have ever had. Everybody went in perfectly prepared and every idea worked out just how we anticipated. It's almost surreal, though being satisfied with your production can lead you to get lost in details forever - and the intro for 'Burn Them All' was a bitch!" Acknowledging that it feels weird to have reached their tenth anniversary already, this landmark has only stoked the fires. "We never felt so pumped and ready for whatever life throws at us," they say, and asking what they see when they look to the band's future, they are emphatic. "World domination! Well...sort of. I think every band just wants to get as big a name in the metal world as possible, and we are no exception. We really hope to expand our fanbase outside of Germany with 'Give Us Life', and we never even dreamt of getting the chance to release a record through Metal Blade. Furthermore, we definitely want to tour a lot as soon as we are allowed to. We are anxious to leave Europe for the first time, and we want to prove that we are capable of delivering on an international standard."

Give Us Life can be pre-ordered here in the following formats:

- digipak-CD
- deluxe box set (pizza box, steel blue & gold w/ white splatter vinyl, demo cassette, back patch, art print, signed card - limited to 250 copies)
- 180g black vinyl (EU exclusive)
- purple / black marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 300 copies)
- midnight blue marbled vinyl (Nuclear Blast exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- white vinyl (Green Hell / TCM exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- ice blue marbled vinyl (EMP exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- gold w/ black dust vinyl (US exclusive)

Give Us Life tracklisting:

"Remnants Of Technology"
"Juggernaut"
"Cryoshock"
"A.O.A"
"The Immortals"
"Signals"
"Burn Them All"
"Give Us Life"
"Antidote To Order"
"Dark Descent"

"The Immortals" single:

"Remnants Of Technology" video:

Space Chaser lineup:

Siegfried Rudzynski: vocals
Leo Schacht: guitars
Martin Hochsattel: guitars
Sebastian Kerlikowski: bass
Matthias Scheuerer: drums




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A.D. 2020 has released their new single "Ricochet" to all major platforms today. "Ricochet", written by Mark McNelley, Dan Reed and Todd Thanhauser, is the first single from the band's forthcoming album Lockdown Diaries due out independently on August 10, 2021.

“Mark McNelley and I had discussed the album the album that would become Lockdown Diaries a year earlier when were at Red Rocks in Colorado. If you can’t be inspired at Red Rocks, I give up. We began collaboration on the songs that would eventually make up the album in June of 2020 at the height of the pandemic. We wanted to create songs with a positive message and work with friends who we felt would bring positive energy to the project. I had known Dan Reed and Melvin Brannon from Dan Reed Network for a very long time and was a fan of their music and each of them personally. In May of 2020 I told Dan Reed of the idea to do an album with musicians who were home from touring and he asked me who I was going to get to play guitar and bass and I mentioned Greg Smith and Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal as possibilities. I had met Greg Smith from Ted Nugent’s band the year before and had called him to tell him of the idea and he thought it was something he was interested in so we stayed in touch as I assembled the rest of the musicians. I had been listening to Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal’s latest acoustic album Barefoot 3 and was blown away by his arrangements. I had met Ron also the year before and knew he was an amazing guitar player and also a nice guy so I really wanted him involved if there was a way," says Todd Thanhauser, the band's drummer.

He adds, “‘Ricochet’ was the first song we wrote together in June of 2020 and the first time I heard the demo that Dan Reed had sent to us I knew the song was going to be something special.”




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