Alternative metal/rock trio Dear Mother, featuring former Delain members Joey Marin de Boer (drums) and Merel Bechtold (guitars), have released their fourth official single, "Invincible". Check out the official video below.

Dear Mother's forthcoming debut album is entitled Bulletproof. It will be released on July 16th. It is available for pre-order here.

The tracklist is as follows:

"Vertigo"
"Means To No War"
"12 Years In Exile"
"The Ones Below"
"An Eye For An Eye"
"A Soul For Hire"
"Symbiose"
"Satellite"
"Fade In"
"Heart"
"Invincible"
"Palace"

"12 Years In Exile"

"Symbiose"

"Satellite"

Dear Mother is:

David Pear Hruska - vocals
Merel Bechtold - guitars
Joey Marin de Boer - drums




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DEICIDE performed a full-capacity concert at The Verona in New Port Richey, Florida on Saturday, April 17.

Fan-filmed video of the entire show can be seen below.

Featured songs:

01:06 Once Upon The Cross

04:38 When Satan Rules His World

08:16 They Are The Children Of The Underworld

11:55 Dead By Dawn

16:30 Serpents Of The Light

20:32 Scars Of The Crucifix

24:30 Seal The Tomb Below

28:10 Oblivious To Evil

31:28 Dead But Dreaming

36:44 Excommunicated

40:17 In The Minds Of Evil

44:32 Death To Jesus

49:01 Sacrificial Suicide

52:37 Homage For Satan

Florida governor Ron DeSantis in late September moved the state into Stage 3, which lifted all statewide coronavirus-related restrictions on businesses and also removed enforcement of local cities mask mandates.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, more than two million Florida residents have been infected with the novel coronavirus and more than 34,000 have died.

Florida ranks third in the nation in known virus infections, surpassing New York. California leads with 3.6 million, followed by Texas with 2.8 million.

Less than two weeks prior to the DEICIDE concert in New Port Richey, The Verona posted a statement on Facebook discouraging fans from traveling to the venue unless they had already purchased a ticket to the gig.

"We have been getting a ton of emails and phone calls regarding the DEICIDE show," The Verona management wrote. "Yes, the show is 100% sold out. No, you will not be able to buy tickets at the door. There is no amount of money you can offer us to change that. We are responsible for the safety of not only the bands performing but the patrons attending. We have reached our max legal capacity and will abide by it. We highly discourage anyone driving to the venue without a ticket or will call ticket pre purchased last week. You will not get in. Thank you edit: We are running at full capacity,this has nothing to do with covid restrictions. Our county has lifted all covid restrictions."

As previously reported, DEICIDE will embark on a U.S. tour at the end of the summer. Support on the 23-date trek will come from KATAKLYSM, INTERNAL BLEEDING and BEGAT THE NEPHILIM. The tour will kick off on August 5 in Tampa, Florida and make stops in Austin, Chicago, and New York before concluding on August 29 in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

In 2019, DEICIDE parted ways with guitarist Mark English and replaced him with Chris Cannella.

English joined DEICIDE in 2016 following the departure of longtime guitarist Jack Owen.

DEICIDE's latest album, "Overtures Of Blasphemy", was released in September 2018 via Century Media.




We have been getting a ton of emails and phone calls regarding the Deicide show. Yes, the show is 100% sold out. No, you...

Posted by The Verona on Monday, April 5, 2021

It’s Friday the 23rd of April and Gilby Clarke has finally released his first new solo album in nearly two decades via Golden Robot Records! Gilby’s new album The Gospel Truth is full of fist-pumping rock ‘n’ roll songs with fat choruses, bluesy licks and his trademark solos! It’s classic rock, a new version of what Gilby likes to do and that’s… loud guitars!

Behold the teaser for The Gospel Truth:

The album features legendary Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx, as well as drumming from John Mellencamp, Chickenfoot sticksman Kenny Aronoff and Stephen Perkins from Jane’s Addiction, Porno For Pyros, and Infectious Grooves. 

The Gospel Truth is available on CD and at all digital platforms. The album has already spawned three killer singles in "Rock n’ Roll Is Getting Louder" (a pure rock n’ roll track doused with the influences that run through Gilby’s veins), "Tightwad" (featuring Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx) and the title track, a song about the concept of truth today. Order your copy of The Gospel Truth here.

Tracklisting:

"The Gospel Truth"
"Wayfarer"
"Tightwad" (feat. Nikki Sixx & Stephen Perkins)
"Rock n' Roll Is Getting Louder"
"Wise Old Timer"
"Violation"
"The Ending"
"Dangerous Sin"
"Rusted N Busted"
"She Won't Fight Fair"

"Rock n' Roll Is Getting Louder":

"Tightwad":

"The Gospel Truth":

(Photo - Joe Daly)

 




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Stratovarius tribute project, StratofortresS, have set May 7 as the release date for the new album, Anthems Of The World. The first single, "Distant Skies", featured on the 1995 Stratovarius album, Fourth Dimension, is available for streaming below.

The album features special guests such as Mike LePond (Symphony X), Juhani Malmberg (Kotipelto), Marko Pukkila (Altaria), Maestro Mistheria (Vivaldi Metal Project, Bruce Dickinson), David Folchitto, Bob Katsionis (Firewind, Heart Attack), Patrik J Selleby (BloodBound, Angra, Tales and Legends) and more.

The album is available for pre-order here.

The cover was made by Harley Velazquez in collaboration with Iliour Griften, the mastermind of the project.

Anthems Of The World tracklisting:

"Destiny" - StratospherE
"Hunting High & Low" - Kublai Kapsalis (feat. Jari Behm, ex-Stratovarius bassist and Elmas MT, Vivaldi Metal Project)
"Black Diamond" - Beto Vazquez Infinity
"Distant Skies" - Marko Pukkila (feat. Juhani Malmberg, guitarist of Timo Kotipelto)
"Eternity" - Dark Horizon
"Hold On To Your Dream" - Heart Attack (feat. Bob Katsionis, Firewind)
"Anthem Of The World" - Tales And Legends (feat. vocalist Patrik J Selleby of Bloodbound, Shadowquest)
"Paradise" - Heaven Denies
"Shine In The Dark" - Magma Lake
"Playing With Fire" - Gépmadár (feat. Peter Schrott, The Voice of Hungary)
"Father Time" - Iliour Griften (feat. Mike LePond - Symphony X, Mike LePond's Silent Assassins, M° Mistheria - Vivaldi Metal Project, Bruce Dickinson, David Folchitto)
"S.O.S" - Eagleheart
"The Kiss Of Judas" - Silent Saga
"Halcyon Days" - Sunrise

"Distant Skies":

"Hunting High And Low":

Preview video:




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Napalm Recordss announce the outstanding hard rock outfit Bomber as their newest signing. Since the release of the debut EP Arrival in 2017, the four-piece from Malmö, Sweden has been making waves and turning heads with their unique blend of hard and classic rock, combined with catchy hooks and top-notch guitar solos. Bomber’s hard rock feel is paired with a sense for crisp, modern rock production, resulting in them being one of the most exciting bands to keep an eye out in the genre.

Fans of bands such as Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, and Def Leppard should definitely be excited for what’s to come from Bomber in the near future – the debut album is already in the works.

Bomber about signing to Napalm Records: "We are very excited to become a part of the great Napalm Records! As we lay down the finishing touches on our debut album we look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with this mighty label and can't wait for everyone to hear our new music. Beware the nocturnal creatures..."

Napalm Records A&R Sebastian Muench about signing Bomber: “It is very seldom these days that you receive "demos" of a new band that you have never heard about and intstantly fall in love with there music, image and overall vision! Swedens Bomber is simply amazing and I can't wait to release their debut album.”

Bomber is:

Love Andersson: Bass   
Anton Sköld: Vocals & Guitars
Rasmus Grahn: Drums & Backup Vocals
Max Huddén: Guitars & Backup Vocals  

(Photo - Mikey Lennartsson)




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Banger Films has released the first two episodes from "Heavy Metal Hitchhiker", the original comedy web series produced by its digital division BangerTV.

The eight-episode series is directed and co-written by Marc Ricciardelli ("Shredders Of Metal", "Protest The Hero: Of Our Own Volition") and stars comedian Garrett Jamieson and is soundtracked by music from POWER TRIP, CARCASS, MUNICIPAL WASTE, EARTHLESS and POSSESSED, as well as a slew of Canadian artists such as EXCITER, KEN MODE, PROTEST THE HERO, CANCER BATS, MOUNT CYANIDE, SARIN and SMOULDER.

This action-packed comedy series follows a day in the life of Mitch, a heavy metal-loving gas station attendant, who stumbles upon an abandoned guitar that belongs to his favourite band, RÄGR. In a moment of happenstance, Mitch realizes that he must follow in his father's roadie-shaped footsteps and return the six-stringed axe to the band in time for their headlining concert. Without money or wheels, Mitch's only option is to hitchhike. He's got 10 hours to travel 247 kilometers to fulfill his destiny.

"Heavy Metal Hitchhiker"'s executive producer is Sam Dunn, co-founder of Banger Films, an award-winning filmmaker and a global ambassador for the heavy metal community.

"This is a new chapter for BangerTV. Metalheads are going to be blown away by this series," explained Dunn. "It's jam packed with laughs and killer tunes from some amazing bands. I'm super proud of this series. It isn't just for metalheads, I think everyone will enjoy it."

"The Heavy Metal Hitchhiker" digital series is produced by Banger Films with the support of the Bell Fund.

Banger Films is a fully integrated production company creating feature documentaries, TV series, live concerts, kids programming and digital. Founded by Scot McFadyen and Dunn in 2004 with the groundbreaking documentary "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey", its signature productions include the Peabody Award and International Emmy Award-winning series "Hip-Hop Evolution", the Grammy-nominated doc "Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage" and "Metal Evolution", the biggest television series ever made about the history of heavy metal.

BangerTV is the world's fastest-growing digital channel for heavy metal music and culture. With over 40 million channel views, it's where headbangers gather to watch the best original documentaries, interviews and reviews made by metal fans, for metal fans. Since launching in September 2015 as a YouTube channel, it has reached more than 310,000 subscribers and has become the go-to destination for the international metal community.

BEARTOOTH has released another new song "Hell Of It". The track, which can be streamed below, is taken from the band's fourth studio album, "Below", which will arrive on June 25 via Red Bull Records.

BEARTOOTH frontman Caleb Shomo commented: "'Below' is by far my favorite album I've made to date. It covers the dark side of dealing with mental strain during the last year. I gave it all I had — musically and lyrically. Is it too dark? Possibly, but it was as honest as I could be about how I felt. I hope everyone is ready to strap in for a wild ride of headbanging and rocking."

"Below" track listing:

01. Below

02. Devastation

03. The Past Is Dead

04. Fed Up

05. Dominate

06. No Return

07. Phantom Pain

08. Skin

09. Hell Of It

10. I Won't Give It Up

11. The Answer

12. The Last Riff

Last July, Shomo told "Mosh Talks With Beez" about the writing and recording sessions for "Below": "I worked on a lot of this album on the road — a whole lot of this record. We honestly could not have been luckier with the way our record cycle laid out.

"The 'Disease' tour in Europe was our last tour of the cycle, and that finished on March 6th, I believe. And then the next week, everything got shut down. So we already planned to kind of take most of this year off. We planned on not taking it all off, like we're probably gonna have to.

"I'd already worked on a ton of the record, just writing out on the road; I brought a studio rig out there. And that was great.

"When it first started, the whole lockdown thing, I just kind of emotionally shut down for a month," he continued. "But then I just kind of caught a second wind, and I've just been ripping through songs. It's pretty cool."

Asked if the BEARTOOTH songwriting "formula" is still present in the band's new material, Caleb said: "I think that something about the BEARTOOTH sound is sort of that formula. BEARTOOTH has a song structure — it's the classic pop structure of intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, out. But with this one, I've just been trying to amp up everything. 'Cause with the last record, I really wanted to go for that super-raw, live-rock-and-roll-in-the-old-school-studio and old-school-console sound, and it was rad, and I loved doing it. And it was proving to myself that I can make a real record without computers — well, [without] heavily relying on computers. But I don't know… I just kind of realized, like, you know what? That's what I learned as a producer. I came up in the era of mixing in the box and recording in the box, which means using plug-ins and emulations and things like that. I've just been kind of using that to try and push it a little further. The formula is still there, but I don't think it's in a bad way. I think it's the formula people want from a BEARTOOTH record.

"This one is just jacked," he explained. "Everything is amped up to 11. I am so, so pumped. Obviously, this is what you wanna think when you're making a record, but damn, this is the best one yet. Not even close. This is the heaviest record. This is my best work — the most proud I've been of these songs. It's wild. It's some heavy-duty shit."

Speaking about the musical direction of the new BEARTOOTH songs, Shomo said: "The easiest way I've been trying to explain this record to people without giving too much away is if 'Disease' was AC/DC, this record is BLACK SABBATH. It's a lot more influenced in dark stoner rock, heavy power groove. Obviously, there's still a lot of fast [stuff] and some punk rock and all that, but I've really been exploring with the stoner metal side of guitars and guitar tones and doing different tunings and lots of fuzz and chaos and layering the fuck out of my guitar tracks.

"The whole point, for me, of this mix and the sonics of this record is as big and loud and fucking sonically devastating as I can possibly get it," he said. "So on a breakdown, for example, where on 'Disease' it would just be left guitar, right guitar, bass down the middle, this is literally… That little clip I posted [on Instagram ] is I think eight guitars, three bass tracks. Just experimenting — just doing dumb stoner shit and just trying my fucking best. Yeah, that's the goal — is just sonic devastation, for sure."

BEARTOOTH's latest release was the folk- and country music-inspired "The Blackbird Session" EP, which came out in September 2019.

The band's third album, "Disease", was released in September 2018 via Red Bull Records. The disc was recorded at BlackBird studio in Franklin, Tennessee with producer Nick Raskulinecz (DEFTONES, KORN, FOO FIGHTERS).

HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale has urged all her fans to get the COVID-19 vaccine, saying that getting inoculated will "bring us one step closer to live rock shows."

Earlier today, Hale took to her Twitter and wrote to her 304,000 followers: "Vax= responsible adults. And in doing so we are one step closer to live Rock shows! We are all in this together Freaks!'

When one fan asked Lzzy if she was able to get her vaccine yet, she responded: "Double dosed! The only time my asthma has ever come In handy to qualify me!"

Over 120 million Americans — more than 48% — have received at least one dose of the three vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A recent NPR/Marist poll found that one in four Americans said they would refuse a coronavirus vaccine if offered. Another 5% are "undecided" about whether they would get the shot. 49% of Republican men said they would not take the vaccine when it's available to them.

Although the COVID-19 vaccine was produced quickly because of the urgency of the health crisis and the number of clinical trial volunteers, scientists say the vaccine was not rushed, and it relies on years of research.

The nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has estimated that about 70-85% of Americans would need to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity.

America's two main vaccines have shown 95% efficacy against the coronavirus.

Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, which became available in the United States last month after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave it emergency use authorization, was tested with new variants of COVID-19, and has shown to be effective against them; Pfizer and Moderna were tested prior to the emergence of these variants.

Photo courtesy of AXS TV




Vax= responsible adults. And in doing so we are one step closer to live Rock shows! We are all in this together Freaks!

— Lzzy Hale (@LZZYHALE) April 16, 2021








Double dosed! The only time my asthma has ever come In handy to qualify me!

— Lzzy Hale (@LZZYHALE) April 16, 2021

Geoff Tate got his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine last month in his home state of Washington.

The former QUEENSRŸCHE frontman discussed his inoculation during an interview with The Rock Experience With Mike Brunn earlier this week.

He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I got my first vaccine two weeks ago. Man, what a trip. 'Cause I was scheduled to get it back when we shot the [SWEET OBLIVION 'Another Change'] video, and a giant snowstorm hit and canceled my appointment. The shipment of COVID vaccinations didn't come into Seattle, so they delayed me. So I finally got mine two weeks ago, my first one."

According to Tate, he had virtually no side effects after his initial jab.

"I think the older you are, the less side effects people are reporting," he said. "I didn't feel anything but just an initial tenderness in my arm at the point of impact, and then, in a couple of days, it went away. No big deal."

Over 100 million Americans — more than 30% — have received at least one dose of the three vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of April 6, 62.4 million Americans have been fully vaccinated, which is 18.8% of the United States population.

A Pew Research Center survey in late February found that 69% of Americans either have already been vaccinated or plan to be vaccinated.

Although the COVID-19 vaccine was produced quickly because of the urgency of the health crisis and the number of clinical trial volunteers, scientists say the vaccine was not rushed, and it relies on years of research.

The nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has estimated that about 70-85% of Americans would need to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity.

America's two main vaccines have shown 95% efficacy against the coronavirus.

As of late January, the CDC discovered that only 11 per 1 million people experienced severe reactions from the Pfizer vaccine, and only 2.5 per 1 million people who received the Moderna dose.

Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, which became available in the United States last month after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave it emergency use authorization, was tested with new variants of COVID-19, and has shown to be effective against them; Pfizer and Moderna were tested prior to the emergence of these variants.

A 40th-anniversary cassette box set containing cassettes of MÖTLEY CRÜE's first five albums is among this year's Record Store Day Drops, set for June 12 and July 17 at independent record stores nationwide.

Coming on June 12, the CRÜE set includes the band's core catalog titles ("Too Fast For Love", "Shout At The Devil", "Theatre Of Pain", "Girls, Girls, Girls" and "Dr. Feelgood") with artwork. This product is an exclusive, limited run for RSD Drops.

Things are improving but in this continued unprecedented global situation, where production and shipping is still in a state of struggle, the focus of the RSD Drops is on bringing revenue to the stores — as well as to the artists, labels, distribution and every other business behind the scenes making record stores work, in a fiscally and socially responsible way. The spread of titles over two dates in two months allows some flexibility for the struggling vinyl pressing plants and distribution companies as well as provide stores time to prepare budgets and place the orders that safely get music into the hands of customers on a larger-than-normal release day.

What can music fans expect this year? There are approximately 450 RSD releases spread over the two months. That's about 50 more than they usually do for Record Store Day itself. There will be a bit more on the June 12 RSD Drop but the July 17 RSD Drop will have some heavy hitters, and a few surprises that haven't yet been announced.

For a full list of participating Record Store Day retailers, visit RecordStoreDay.com.

Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars and Tommy Lee are firmly ingrained in the fabric of rock history. MÖTLEY CRÜE has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, achieving seven USA platinum and multi-platinum albums, 22 Top 40 mainstream rock hits, six Top 20 pop singles and three Grammy nominations.

The band has had 1.6 billion streams across digital providers and has over 8 million social media followers. In 2006, the band was inducted into the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

A stunning live act, MÖTLEY CRÜE has taken its incendiary show across the world, selling over 100 million tickets globally.

The band's biography "The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band", first published in 2001, became a New York Times best-seller and has sold over one million copies worldwide. In addition, the band members have authored three other New York Times best-sellers.

2019 saw "The Dirt" released as a feature-length biopic. The film became one of the biggest releases of that year and scored a 94% positive audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The band remains a huge global draw. MÖTLEY CRÜE is set to co-headline a nearly sold-out North American stadium tour with DEF LEPPARD, POISON and Joan Jett in June, July, August and September 2021.

MÖTLEY CRÜE's legacy and influence in the global music scene cannot be underestimated. 2021 is the year to celebrate the achievements of this extraordinary band.

An AC/DC picture disc is among this year's Record Store Day Drops, set for June 12 and July 17 at independent record stores nationwide.

Coming on June 12, the limited collector's edition AC/DC 12-inch picture disc includes the songs "Through The Mists Of Time" and "Witch's Spell", from the band's global chart-topping album "Power Up", housed in a PVC jacket with an OBI strip at the top.

Things are improving but in this continued unprecedented global situation, where production and shipping is still in a state of struggle, the focus of the RSD Drops is on bringing revenue to the stores — as well as to the artists, labels, distribution and every other business behind the scenes making record stores work, in a fiscally and socially responsible way. The spread of titles over two dates in two months allows some flexibility for the struggling vinyl pressing plants and distribution companies as well as provide stores time to prepare budgets and place the orders that safely get music into the hands of customers on a larger-than-normal release day.

What can music fans expect this year? There are approximately 450 RSD releases spread over the two months. That's about 50 more than they usually do for Record Store Day itself. There will be a bit more on the June 12 RSD Drop but the July 17 RSD Drop will have some heavy hitters, and a few surprises that haven't yet been announced.

For a full list of participating Record Store Day retailers, visit RecordStoreDay.com.

"Power Up" is a tribute to founding AC/DC rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, who died in 2017 from effects of dementia at age 64. Malcolm is credited as a writer on all 12 tracks on "Power Up", along with his brother, AC/DC lead guitarist Angus Young.

In a recent interview with STEREOPHONICS' Kelly Jones for Radio X, AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson discussed the track "Through The Mists Of Time", which has been described in one review as "the closest thing we'll get to AC/DC reflecting on the ever-present face of old father time."

"The riff for 'Through The Mists Of Time' came out, and Angus wrote the lyrics for that song, and I believe he captured everything — about the early days when the band started, when rock and roll was just carefree, when nobody gave a flying thought about anything except just having a good time and playing," Brian said. "And all this lovely innocence was gone. And I think [the lyrics] encapsulated [the sentiment]. To tell you the truth, every time I hear it, I still get a goosebump, and it's a tribute to Malcolm: 'Through The Mists Of Time'. And it's different. I don't know if it's different from anything we've done before, but it certainly stands apart."

Sonicbond Publishing has set a May 28 release date for "Alice Cooper In The 1970s" by Chris Sutton.

In "Alice Cooper In The 1970s", Sutton explores the story of ALICE COOPER the band and the solo performer from the early years through to the decadent end of the decade. It is the first book to offer a fully rounded approach to the Cooper phenomenon and give full credit to the musicians.

The book features interview material from key figures, including Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith from the original band, plus their session guitarist Mick Mashbir. From the solo Alice years in the 1970s, there is new material from Prakash John, John Tropea and Allan Schwartzberg. There are observations too from Ernie Cefalu, whose company Pacific Eye And Ear designed the album covers. Several other musicians, concert promoters and even the band's first roadie have also contributed their thoughts.

All of the albums and singles from "Don't Blow Your Mind" until "From The Inside" are examined in detail, along with related archive releases and songs that didn't make the cut.

Sutton has been a fan of Cooper since 1972 and the famous debut appearance on "Top Of The Pops". The reunion of the band for their U.K. tour in 2017 stands as one of his happiest memories. He manages Smethwick Heritage Centre museum, and has written several publications for them. He has also written several plays. "Alice Cooper In The 1970s" is his first venture into music writing, with others to follow. He lives in Great Malvern, U.K.

Two MASTODON titles will get the jigsaw puzzle treatment next month.

On May 14, Zee Productions will release "Blood Mountain" and "Crack The Skye" as 500-piece jigsaws on its Rock Saws imprint.

All 500-piece puzzles come in a vinyl-box-set-sized box, perfect to fit alongside a vinyl record collection.

According to Toy News, Rock Saws was originally developed by Zee Productions' own self-proclaimed metalhead Steve Beatty.

"I want to make jigsaws that are for the music fan," Beatty said. "Vinyl came back and I loved the idea of making great record sleeve art into jigsaws, maybe stick the record on and do together."

Beatty launched Rock Saws in 2019, promising to "revolutionize" and "breathe new life into" the puzzles scene by delivering artwork from some of the rock and heavy metal scene's most iconic album covers. The mission started with the launch of puzzles featuring artwork from albums by SLAYER and IRON MAIDEN.

Ayreon mastermind Arjen Lucassen has checked in with the following update:

"I closely follow the Sea of Tranquility YouTube channel and I had the pleasure to have a nice chat with host Peter Pardo. Amongst many other things we discussed my doubts (in hindsight) about releasing Transitus as an Ayreon album, and about my excitement for the new Star One album. Hope you enjoy!"

During the conversation Lucassen revealed he tried to get Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford to sing on his most recent Ayreon album, Transitus.

Lucassen: "The big names are really hard to get. I got Bruce Dickinson, I've tried to get Rob Halford many times but their manager, she's not even playing it (the music) to him. That's frustrating because I know if he would hear it... I actually asked him for Transitus for the song 'Get Out! Now!' Eventually, I got Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) to sing it which is great, too, but Rob Halford was my first choice there. I grew up with Priest, especially the very first albums like Rocka Rolla and Sad Wings Of Destiny. I know everyone hates Rocka Rolla but I love it (laughs). I tried Halford but unfortunately their manager said he would be too busy. and he didn't even get to hear it."

In an October 2020 interview with BraveWords, Ayreon mastermind Arjen Lucassen revealed he was planning on returning to his Star One project, saying "each album I do is a reaction to the previous one, so I want to do a heavy album after Transitus. I want to do a colder album now (laughs). I think the last Star One album was 10 years ago, so I think it's time for a new one."

Lucassen recently confirmed that a new Star One album is indeed in the works. He has teased the as-yet-unitled album's artwork via social media. Check out the first taste below.

Lucassen's Star One video message can be viewed below.

Lucassen launched Star One in 2002 with the debut album, Space Metal, and followed it up in 2010 with Victims Of The Modern Age. The line-up included Lucassen, Russell Allen (Symphony X), Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Dan Swanö (Edge Of Sanity), Damian Wilson (Threshold), Ed Warby (Gorefest), Peter Vink (HDK) and keyboardist Joost van den Broek.

Star One toured for Space Metal in 2002, recording filming their show in Rijssen, Netherlands for the live album / DVD release, Live On Earth.




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Finland's Frosttide have checked in with a new video along with the following message:

"Last year we lost one of the greatest metal guitarist and composers of our time. There is no denial that Children Of Bodom 's work has influenced and inspired us as musicians. Felipe, together with Juho, Joonas, Paul and Whispered's Mikko Mattila recorded this tribute to Children Of Bodom in memory of Alexi Laiho. Rest In Peace, Alexi."

Felipe Munoz (keyboards): "Children Of Bodom helped me go through very difficult times during my youth and their music plays a great part of my music influences. The news of Alexi's passing had a great impact on me and I felt that I had to pay tribute to him and the band by recording one of my favourite tracks from their discography. I was very fortunate to have these great musicians and friends to join me in this project. I hope you enjoy this tribute as much as we did recording it.

Thank you Alexi and all the members of CoB. Without your music, my life would be very different from what it is today." 

Line up:

Felipe Munoz - keyboards (Frosttide)
Juho Patinen - vocals / guitars (Frosttide)
Mikko Mattila - guitars (Whispered)
Joonas Nislin - drums (Frosttide)
Paul Thureau - bass (Frosttide)

Mixed by Jussi Kulomaa




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Canada’s four-piece thrash power metal outfit Lycanthro has a new album in the works, Mark Of The Wolf and the first taste is the single “Crucible”.

Mark Of The Wolf is a combination of old and new songs; back in 2017, Lycanthro released a four-track demo that received great feedback, but the quality left something to be desired. Three of those four tracks “Crucible”, “Into Oblivion” and “Ride The Dragon” are included in this new offering. Old fans will enjoy the improved production and new fans will be sucked into the mythos of the band.

The album will undoubtedly be received well due to the variation of elements James Delbridge (vocals/guitars), David Shute (guitars), Carlo Cote (bass), Nathan Shuman (drums), and Forrest Dussault (guitars) bring forth. They explain their methods in their own words:

“We mixed a couple of different influences and genres in different songs, different stylistic and lyrical tones, and even a few different instruments to add a new dimension to the sound. We always believe in diversity within your genre and we hope that the fans will appreciate that. We tried to add as many diverse elements as possible so that different listeners can get something out of the music, while still being under the power metal umbrella.”

“Crucible” is the first glimpse at an enthralling and diverse listening experience boasting something for everyone in terms of melodic metal. There are soaring high vocals, epic guitar solos, lots of harmonies, heavy chugging riffs, a few odd instruments, and even a breakdown or two.

Lycanthro formed in 2016 after Delbridge’s previous band broke up; he has always had an affinity for wolves, which inspired the name. According to him, the band sounds apt like “wolves eating a dragon’s carcass”.

Recommended for fans of Judas Priest, Saxon, and Blind Guardian, BraveWords is premiering “Crucible”; check out the visualizer below:

Mark Of The Wolf is out on June 4, 2021 via Alone Records. Preorder on Bandcamp and Big Cartel.

Tracklisting:

“Crucible”
“Fallen Angels Prayer”
“Mark Of The Wolf”
“Enchantress”
“In Metal We Trust”
“Into Oblivion”
“Ride The Dragon”
“Evangelion”




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Wymer Publishing has announced the launch of their forthcoming release, Loud 'N' Proud: Fifty Years Of Nazareth, due for release on August 6.

For the first time ever, Nazareth’s whole career is documented by esteemed rock writer Martin Popoff in this large format hardback publication. Popoff was assisted through the narrative by founder and only remaining original member Pete Agnew. Popoff also interviewed Agnew for the book in addition to previous interviews the author has conducted, not only with the bass player extraordinaire but with many other band members past and present, all neatly woven into a timeline, making this the essential go to Nazareth book.

From the early days of the seventies through to the current day, nestling alongside Popoff’s words is the wonderful imagery that accompanies it. Drawing on copious photos and items of memorabilia this large format 240‐page book is a treasure trove for Nazareth devotees — crammed full of live and off stage shots that portray the band’s journey through the decades.  

It also includes loads of super cool memorabilia including backstage passes, gig posters, media adverts and much more, all reproduced on high quality art paper. This is one future collector’s item that every self‐respecting Nazareth fan will want to own.

Customers who pre‐order by May 31 can have their name printed in the book on a dedicated fan page. In addition, the first 250 copies include a set of prints, one group shot and one each of Pete Agnew and Dan McCafferty.  

Order here.




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STONE SOUR guitarist Josh Rand has joined forces with PARALANDRA singer Casandra Carson to form a new band called THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT. The new group's debut single, "The Nothingness", will be released on Friday, April 23 on all streaming services, to be followed by THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT's first EP, due this summer.

Last May, Rand told the "Behind The Vinyl" podcast that he was working on a new project. "As of right now, I have 12 songs musically done," he said at the time. "Right now I'm looking at vocalists — different vocalists."

Regarding the musical direction of his new material, Josh said: "It definitely is different than what I think most people would expect. I decided if I was gonna do anything that I wanted it not to sound like STONE SOUR 'cause it's going to, to some degree. So, a lot of it, half of these songs… I started playing — I shouldn't say I started playing piano. I know how to edit a mini-piano, so I'm a great piano player now… But a lot of 'em are piano-based, and I'm running with it like that. And I've also started incorporating all these different instruments — all kinds of crazy percussion and stuff. 'Cause I just wanted to have fun and be creative and not try to write the next '30/30-150' or have that pressure of trying to do that. So I'm just kind of running with it, and that's where I'm at."

STONE SOUR has been off the road and out of sight since completing the touring cycle for its 2017 LP "Hydrograd". Singer Corey Taylor has been working with SLIPKNOT since then, recording and touring behind that group's sixth effort, "We Are Not Your Kind". He also released his debut solo album, CMFT", last October. Rand has been promoting STONE SOUR's new live album, "Hello, You Bastards: Live In Reno", which came out in December 2019.

Last August, Corey said that he was open to doing more recording and touring with STONE SOUR at some point down the line. Asked if there is "a future" for STONE SOUR or if it's "kind of up in the air," Corey told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation Virtual Invasion": "It's kind of up in the air. I'm certainly not mad at STONE SOUR. [My solo album] is just something that has my attention; this is what I wanna do for a while.

"There's been some contention here and there, in the past — nothing that I'm gonna get into too much detail about — but it was just time for me to step away and do [the solo thing] for a while," he continued. "It was time for me to kind of do something different, and do it in a way that doesn't have the connotations of either band, to be honest.

"I'm still friends with everybody in STONE SOUR. Everybody in STONE SOUR is doing their own thing, and if the opportunity arose, I would absolutely do something with STONE SOUR. But for right now, this is really where my energy's at; this is where my focus is.

"I'll never say never, because, obviously, the best way to make God laugh is to announce your plans out loud," he added. "But this is what my focus is right now."

Corey's latest comments echo those he made in June, when he told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk": "Yeah, [STONE SOUR is] kind of [on] the backburner right now. We all kind of felt that we did exactly what we wanted to do on 'Hydrograd' [album] and we're just giving it a minute. I talked to the guys in the band about the solo thing and what I wanted to do, and they were all totally onboard with it. Everybody else has kind of got things going on, so they're all cool. Josh is actually working on a solo thing of his own, which is great. So, yeah, I think STONE SOUR is kind of on hiatus right now, which is fine. If someday we wanna get back together and do some stuff, it'll be bigger than it was. But for right now, we're all kind of focused on kind of doing our own thing. But you never say never in this business."




Josh Rand's new band @LifeProjectBand is releasing their debut single "The Nothingness" on Friday! Follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up to date. pic.twitter.com/lhTqc856Kc

— Stone Sour (@stonesour) April 21, 2021








We're pleased to introduce: The L.I.F.E. Project. Our debut single “The Nothingness” will be released Friday, April 23 on all streaming services.

Pre-save/pre-add it now at https://t.co/1qvqibLbVj pic.twitter.com/SIRUNyAlfP

— The L.I.F.E Project (@LifeProjectBand) April 21, 2021

TOOL's debut album, 1993 "Undertow", was officially certified triple platinum on April 15 by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for sales in excess of three million copies. On the same day, 2001's "Lateralus" was also awarded triple-platinum status, while 2006's "10,000 Days" was certified double platinum.

Last August, TOOL's latest album, "Fear Inoculum" was certified gold for sales in excess of half a million copies.

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

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

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

In August 2019, TOOL's entire recorded catalog was made available on digital and streaming services. The band's first four previous studio LPs — "Undertow", "Ænima", "Lateralus" and "10,000 Days" — and the band's 1992 debut EP, "Opiate", were released. TOOL was one of the last holdouts in the music business to keep all its music out of the digital realm.

"Our obsession with, and dream of, a world where BetaMax and Laser Disc rule has ended," singer Maynard James Keenan joked at the time. "Time for us to move on. But never fear. There's a brand new thing we think you're really gonna dig. It's called digital downloads and streaming. Get ready for the future, fol

THE WILDHEARTS will a new studio album, "21st Century Love Songs", on September 3 through Graphite Records. It is the follow-up to "Renaissance Men", THE WILDHEARTS' highest-charting album since 1994's "P.H.U.Q.", which debuted at No. 11.

THE WILDHEARTS frontman Ginger (real name David Walls) said: "'Renaissance Men' reminded me of our first album, 'Earth Vs The Wildhearts'. No one knew how the fans and press would receive it, so it was balls-to-the-wall rock, and fuck 'em if they don't like it. Going in again, for '21st Century Love Songs', naturally reminded me of our second album, 'P.H.U.Q.', where we got to flex our creative muscle and show everyone what we're capable of. This time we let the songs simmer until absolutely ready. We let the theme of the album present itself. There's a subtlety to this album, something that people don't often associate with THE WILDHEARTS, and a sense of adventure in the unorthodox arrangements of the songs. This is where I become a fan of the band, when we ditch the rule book and just follow our instinct. Sarcastic, fun, angry, proud, experimental and belligerent, all wrapped up in a big 'fuck you', this is the sound of the band in their natural habitat. This time we're in control."

With THE WILDHEARTS' classic line up of Ginger, CJ, Ritchie and Danny still holding strong, this creatively brilliant band, who helped change the landscape of British rock through the '90s, is showing no sign of slowing down.

"21st Century Love Songs" will be available in usual CD and vinyl formats plus an exclusive limited-edition red vinyl. There's also signed photocards with each format whilst stock lasts, as well as t-shirt bundles available from the band's webstore.

To celebrate the release of "21st Century Love Songs", THE WILDHEARTS will embark on an 18-date U.K. tour in September. The tour will start in Cardiff on Friday, September 3 and conclude in Southampton on Saturday, September

On April 15, AVENGED SEVENFOLD's 2010 album, "Nightmare", and its 2013 follow-up, "Hail To The King", were officially certified platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for sales in excess of one million copies.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD recorded "Nightmare" with ex-DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy following the death of founding member James "The Rev" Sullivan in December 2009.

Portnoy toured for several months with the band, but by early 2011, he was out. The group brought in Arin Ilejay, who started out as a touring member but played on "Hail To The King", AVENGED's second straight No. 1 album. Ilejay was fired in 2014 and was replaced by Brooks Wackerman.

This past March, AVENGED SEVENFOLD's sophomore album, 2003's "Waking The Fallen", was certified platinum by the RIAA. On the same day, the LP's lead single "Unholy Confessions" was certified gold for accumulating 500,000 certified units.

The only other AVENGED SEVENFOLD album to achieve platinum status in the U.S. is the band's third LP, 2005's "City Of Evil".

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

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

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

In February, AVENGED SEVENFOLD singer M. Shadows told the Minneapolis, Minnesota radio station 93X that "70 percent" of the follow-up to 2016's "The Stage" album was "done." He said: "We're working on stuff. We have some things we can't finish right now 'cause of COVID — string players, et cetera. We know Andy [Wallace, AVENGED SEVENFOLD's longtime mixer] doesn't wanna travel, or his management doesn't want him to travel because of COVID. So there's just a lot of things going on."

As for when fans can expect to see the new AVENGED SEVENFOLD LP released, M. Shadows said: "It doesn't make sense for us right now to put out a record and not be able to tour it. The world has changed. Putting out a record on Spotify without touring for a rock band, it just doesn't make sense to us. So we're gonna wait till everything is back, then we'll come out with the record, finish it up, and all will be good."

Also in February, AVENGED SEVENFOLD guitarist Zacky Vengeance told Detroit's WRIF radio station that he and his bandmates have done "lots and lots of writing — at a lot slower pacer than usual" — during the coronavirus pandemic. "Now that we are a little bit older, we move around a little bit slower, but [we've done] tons of writing," he said. "We've gone to the studio. It was kind of a weird time to do anything in 2020, but that's when we felt like it was a good time to go out there and start tracking all the stuff that we had in us.

"But, like I said, we're doing it at a slow pace, so we're still in the process of recording," he explained. "We're taking it really, really slow, making sure everything is the way we like it. We're not in a big rush to get anything out, mainly 'cause we wanna get on the road, and we wanna be able to bring it to life. We wanna tour, we wanna travel, we wanna play songs that people wanna hear; we wanna expose them to some new stuff. 'Cause I just feel like rushing to put something out right now and letting it dissipate because of the void, while people are worried about where their next meal is coming from or the paycheck, the last thing in the world on people's minds is, 'AVENGED SEVENFOLD's gonna put out a new album, and that's gonna be the saving grace for us all.' And I feel like we'll take it slow, let the world get a little bit back to normal, and when people are ready, we'll know — we have a good sense of that. We'll slowly finish it up, and then unleash it when the world's ready."

Last December, M. Shadows told Kerrang! magazine about the musical direction of the new AVENGED material: "The [new] record sounds nothing like 'The Stage' — it's a completely new direction, and it sounds nothing like anything we've done. That's all I'll say about it: it's over the top, and it's very eclectic and wild."

AVENGED SEVENFOLD kept a low profile during 2019 and will likely not return to the road until the end of this year or early 2022. A blood blister on M. Shadows's vocal cords forced the band to cancel a summer 2018 tour with PROPHETS OF RAGE and THREE DAYS GRACE.

Asked if he is fully healed up now, M. Shadows told 93X: "I feel good, man. I'm just working on a new technique so that I can make sure I don't have any problems anymore. For the last year, that's what I've been doing — is switching up a lot of things, singing from a different place, and just making sure that when I hit the stage again, I don't resort back to old bad habits."

"The Stage" was surprise-released in October 2016. The release of the disc, which was announced the night it went on sale, earned the lowest sales of an AVENGED SEVENFOLD album in 11 years. It sold 76 thousand copies in its first week, 73 thousand of which were physical.

"The Stage", AVENGED's debut for Capitol, sold less than half as many copies in its first week as the group's two previous efforts, 2010's "Nightmare" and 2013's "Hail To The King"

Former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist DJ Ashba is collaborating with 1980s pop star Debbie Gibson.

On Sunday (April 18), Ashba shared a video of him with Gibson in the studio, and he included the following message: "Creating some magic with @debbiegibson #makeitsleazy #sundayfunday". In response, Gibson wrote in the comments section: "You are adding [fire] to these songs ! And the process is such a blast... as it should be. So excited for everyone to hear what we've been cookin up". Ashba then added: "Always a good time!! Tracks r [fire]!!"

Gibson released her first album, "Out Of The Blue", in 1987. The LP became a worldwide hit, spawning five hit singles and selling more than five million copies. One of those singles, "Foolish Beat", made Gibson the youngest female artist to write, produce, and perform a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single. Her double-platinum second album, "Electric Youth" (1989), gave Gibson another U.S. No. 1 hit with "Lost In Your Eyes". Gibson is the sole songwriter on all of her singles to reach the top 20 of the Hot 100 charts. She was recognized by ASCAP as "Songwriter Of The Year", along with Bruce Springsteen, in 1989. In later years, she performed on Broadway and acted in several TV movies, all the while continuing to put out new music.

Ashba, who joined GUNS N' ROSES in March 2009 following the departure of Robin Finck, issued a statement in July 2015 saying that he was leaving GUNS N' ROSES "to dedicate myself to my band SIXX:A.M., my adoring wife and family, and to the many new adventures that the future holds for me." He later claimed that he was approached about being part of GN'R's "Not In This Lifetime" tour, but that he declined, citing his desire to pursue SIXX:A.M. full time.

Last fall, Ashba released a couple of singles from his ASHBA project, which mixes his rock guitar with electronic music in what he previously described as the "perfect blend of rock and EDM."
























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L.A. GUNS, featuring singer Phil Lewis and guitarist Tracii Guns, has set "Checkered Past" as the title of its new studio album, due in November via Frontiers Music Srl. This will be the third studio album since the much welcome reunion of the band's core foundation of Lewis and Guns. It will follow the well-received studio albums "The Missing Peace" and "The Devil You Know", plus the live release "Made In Milan", and a covers EP "Another Xmas In Hell".

Guns revealed the title of the new L.A. GUNS LP during an appearance on "The Jasta Show", hosted by HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta. Speaking about the band's plans for the coming months, the guitarist said: "There's a live L.A. GUNS record coming out in July. All 'Cocked & Loaded'; It's all [the songs from] 'Cocked & Loaded' live. And then a studio record comes out in November — a new L.A. GUNS studio record. And that's called 'Checkered Past'."

L.A. GUNS performed its second album, 1989's "Cocked & Loaded", in its entirety on November 28, 2020 at the Fremont Country Club in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was livestreamed via Veeps.

In May 2020, L.A. GUNS released a new single, "Let You Down". The song was written and recorded while the band was in the midst of working on its next studio album.

L.A. GUNS is:

Phil Lewis - vocals

Tracii Guns - guitars

Ace Von Johnson - guitars

Johnny Martin - bass

Scot Coogan - drums

This band is not to be confused with drummer Steve Riley's version of L.A. GUNS, which released its first album, "Renegades", last fall via Golden Robot Records.

Riley's version of L.A. GUNS made its live debut in May 2019 at the M3 Rock Festival. The drummer is joined in the group by Orlando, Florida-based guitarist/vocalist Kurt Frohlich, bassist Kelly Nickels (a member of L.A. GUNS' "classic" incarnation) and guitarist Scott Griffin (who played bass for the band from 2007 until 2009, and then again from 2011 to 2014).

In January 2020, Riley was sued by Lewis and Guns in California District Court. Joining Riley as defendants in the case are the three musicians who perform in his recently launched rival version of L.A. GUNS; that group's manager, booking agent and merchandiser; and Golden Robot Records.

The complaint, which requests a trial by jury, alleges that Riley's version of L.A. GUNS (referred to in the case docket as "the infringing L.A. GUNS") is creating "unfair competition" through its unauthorized usage of the L.A. GUNS trademark. In addition, Guns and Lewis are seeking relief from and/or against false advertising, breach of contract and unauthorized usage of their likenesses.

Photo by Dustin Jack Photography

MUDVAYNE — one of the most creative and distinctive bands in the aggressive music world — has announced that it is reuniting after a 12-year hiatus, and will be performing at all four Danny Wimmer Presents U.S. festivals in 2021: Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival (a headlining performance) in Ohio, Louder Than Life in Kentucky, Aftershock in California and Welcome To Rockville in Florida. These dates mark the band's first shows since 2009 and their only dates this year.

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

Danny Wimmer, founder of Danny Wimmer Presents recalls: "In our fan surveys, MUDVAYNE has consistently been one of the most requested bands — even though they weren't an active band! We've been working for years to make this happen, so when I got the call that they'd finally take a meeting, [DWP executive VP and talent buyer] Gary Spivack and I jumped at the chance to fly to Vegas. We sat down for dinner with MUDVAYNE, their lawyer Eric German, manager Diony Sepulveda and agent Ryan Harlacher — the band hadn't even been in the same room together for 10 years — and pleaded our case for why the time was right for this to happen. We were hoping to announce this in 2020, we're fortunate enough to be able to do it in 2021, and DWP is super pumped to have MUDVAYNE exclusively at all four of our festivals this year."

The full list of MUDVAYNE performances at 2021 DWP festivals is as follows. Specific show dates and performance times will be announced later.

* Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival, which takes place September 10-12 at Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio. Early-bird passes are on sale now. Full lineup announcement coming Tuesday, April 20 at noon ET.

* Louder Than Life, which takes place September 23-26, 2021 at Highland Festival Grounds at KY Expo Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Early-bird passes are on sale now.

* Aftershock — revealed as the "mystery reunion band," performing on Saturday, October 8 at Discovery Park in Sacramento, California. Weekend passes are sold out, but a very limited number of single-day passes are still available.

* Welcome To Rockville, which takes place November 11-14 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Early bird passes are on sale now.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

earMUSIC has announced the signing of SKID ROW to a worldwide deal. The band is working with Grammy Award-winning producer Nick Raskulinecz (FOO FIGHTERS, DEFTONES, MASTODON, RUSH) on its latest sessions after previously collaborating several times with Michael Wagener, who also helmed the group's 1989 self-titled debut and 1991's "Slave To The Grind".

SKID ROW said in a statement: "We are extremely excited to have signed with earMUSIC. Not only do we have an incredible team to work with, but we are label mates with iconic artists like DEEP PURPLE and Alice Cooper. To say we are psyched is an understatement."

Max Vaccaro, general manager at earMUSIC, said: "We have been given the chance to listen to many songs in pre-production stage and we were completely impressed by the energy and the songwriting quality. SKID ROW have reached great levels of success in the '80s and the '90s, but we are sure that they have all they need today to open a new chapter in their career and return to be one of the leading names in the hard rock world."

SKID ROW also recently joined the talent division at Primary Wave Music as a management client. Eric Baker, a partner in Primary Wave's music management division and based in the company's West Coast office, will handle day-to-day responsibilities for SKID ROW.

Back in May 2019, it was announced that SKID ROW had inked a new worldwide deal with Australia's Golden Robot Records. It is not clear why that label is no longer involved in releasing the new disc.

SKID ROW's new LP will mark its first release with South African-born, British-based vocalist ZP Theart (DRAGONFORCE, TANK, I AM I), who joined the band in 2016 following the departure of Tony Harnell (TNT, STARBREAKER).

Unlike 2014's "Rise Of The Damnation Army - United World Rebellion: Chapter Two" and 2013's "United World Rebellion: Chapter One", SKID ROW's forthcoming release will be a full-length record.

SKID ROW previously collaborated with several outside songwriters on its new material, including Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT, STONE SOUR) and Lzzy Hale and Joe Hottinger of HALESTORM, a group that covered the title track of "Slave To The Grind" on its "ReAniMate: The CoVeRs eP" in 2011. SKID ROW also worked with songwriter-for-hire Marti Frederiksen, who has previously collaborated with AEROSMITH, DEF LEPPARD, Jonny Lang and Sheryl Crow.

SKID ROW's 2020 "The Big Rock Summer Tour", also featuring RATT, CINDERELLA's Tom Keifer and SLAUGHTER, was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the globe.

Photo by: Chuck Arland

David Lee Roth has shared a couple of new pieces of original artwork in which he reflects on his brief stint as a morning radio show host. Check them out below.

After Roth's syndicated show ended in April 2006, he was philosophical about the whole thing, telling Launch it was a clash of styles that led to his firing. "They were looking for familiar morning radio, and I gave them a warm and happy little corner candy store — but Tony Soprano was selling guns out of the back room," he laughed. "Which to me is familiar and warm. [Laughs] Maybe they live in a different neighborhood — whaddya think?"

Roth was hired with much fanfare as a replacement for Howard Stern, and the show debuted on several radio stations on January 3, 2006. While some people enjoyed the program, it didn't really look like there would be significant ratings increases, and he was let go at the end of April that same year. Roth later said he was told about the syndicated show's demise while riding in a car to the WFNY-FM studios in Manhattan.

"I was booted, tossed, and it's going to cost somebody," Roth said on his last show, implying that his lawyers would go after CBS Radio for the full compensation due from his reported $4-million contract.

In a 2010 interview, former CBS executive Rob Barnett said that Roth was hired because he was the only viable candidate with an ego large enough to think he could step into Stern's shoes. Roth reportedly did a tryout in Boston that Barnett called "amazing," but ended up being a major disaster when he took over Stern's seat in early 2006.

"The meltdown came day one or day two," said Barnett, "when he got in the chair … and wouldn't listen to anyone that was there to do only one thing… to help him."

In March 2020, Roth postponed the final six shows of his Las Vegas residency due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Roth performed as the opening act for the February/March 2020 North American leg of KISS's "End Of The Road" farewell tour.

VAN HALEN guitarist Eddie Van Halen died of cancer in October at age 65.

Roth, who performed with VAN HALEN for the last time in 2015, tweeted shortly after Eddie's death: "What a long great trip it's been."




pic.twitter.com/ObwR8RjjWb

— David Lee Roth (@DavidLeeRoth) April 19, 2021

A short video of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH singer Ivan Moody and guitarist Andy James playing the EXTREME hit "More Than Words" can be seen below.

Moody shared the clip via his Instagram, writing in an accompanying message: "Out of key and not giving 2 shits. #morethanwords #thisisnotacover #matteroffact #imnotsureishouldpostthis #fuckit #imsooutofkeyandiloveit #sorry @andyjamesguitar #didntthinkthisthrough #definitelynotourvibe #shitsandgiggles #inthekeyofyuck".

The original black-and-white video for "More Than Words" became an MTV staple and received one of pop's highest honors — being parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic. In June 1991, it hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"We were trying to push ['More Than Words'] to the record company," EXTREME guitarist Nuno Bettencourt told RollingStone.com. "We were on tour trying to call them and tell them, 'Listen, whenever we go to sing this song, we get drowned out by the audience. We're not telling you it's something special; they're telling us.' This was pre-'Unplugged'. And they were like, 'Where are we going to put this? Rock stations aren't going to play it, and it's too adult-contemporary. You guys aren't that.' And we just said, 'You've got to do it.' And we pushed and we went to the president of the label, and basically — I think I was in his office one day and I threatened to quit the band if he didn't at least give it a shot as a single. Later we got a call saying, 'All right, we're going in. We'll test it in a market.' They tested it in Denver, I believe. We're like, 'Great, it's never going to happen. They're just doing this to appease us so I don't quit the band.' Because I had a bit of a fit. So then our manager calls and goes, 'What the fuck you doing reaching out to the president of the label? You crazy?' And we got into a fight with him, so they at least did what they said what they were going to do. They tested it. And we're like, 'All right, we're going back to the studio.' It ends up being like No. 8 [on the station's call-in show] the first day. On a rock station, getting phones. So then the next day it's climbing; by the end of the week, it was No. 1 by Saturday. So they call us — the manager calls us — 'Don't get your hopes up. They still want to test it in one more place.' They still wouldn't believe it. So we were excited because I remember we went to MTV and we performed. They wanted us to perform on MTV with an audience, just about 30 or 40 people. And because of 'More Than Words', we said, 'We're a rock band. We don't want to just sit there and play the ballad,' because we asked them, 'Can we play some of the rock stuff acoustically?' Coincidentally. Not to say that we invented 'Unplugged', the show, but something happened format-wise because months later, almost a year later, the show popped up. Ironically enough, we were never asked back to play the actual show. Which was bizarre for us, because we actually had some unplugged stuff, purposely."

Regarding the original video, EXTREME singer Gary Cherone said: "We shot the video in the middle of a tour, I think. What we did musically, [directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris] got visually — black and white, no bells and whistles. The other guys were basically just hanging — we shut off the amps. So they got it. That was all them, to their credit. Turn off the noise. And the lighter was cute, and the dog. But I thought the visual did not take away from the music, and I think that's one of the reasons the video does not get old."

Last October, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH confirmed that it officially parted ways with guitarist Jason Hook back in February 2020 during the band's sold-out European arena tour. He has since been replaced by James, the renowned British virtuoso who is featured on "Broken World", a song that appears on the second installment of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's greatest-hits collection, "A Decade Of Destruction - Volume 2".

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's latest album, "F8", was released in February 2020.
























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STAIND frontman Aaron Lewis has dissed Bruce Springsteen, saying he no longer sings along when he hears a song from The Boss on the radio.

The outspoken conservative rocker, who reinvented himself as a solo country artist in the last decade, voiced his views in a new song called "Am I The Only One", which he performed last month at a solo concert in Texas — a state which removed all pandemic restrictions in March.

The as-yet-unreleased track, which finds Aaron asking if he is the only one fed up with the state of the country right now, features such lyrics as: "Am I the only one, who can't take no more, screaming if you don't like it there's the fucking door, this ain't the freedom we've been fighting for, it was something more, yeah, it was something more."

Apparently addressing the removal of Confederate statues, Lewis sings in the song: "Am I the only one willing to fight for my love of the red and white, and the blue, burning on the ground as the statues coming down in a town near you, watching the threads of Old Glory come undone, Am I the only one. I can't be the only one."

Lewis saved his Springsteen criticism for the end of the track, singing: "Am I the only one, who quit singing along every time they play a Springsteen song."

Springsteen can best be described as Lewis's political polar opposite, having been a vocal opponent to former U.S. president Donald Trump on many occasions. Last August, Bruce went as far as to allow the use of his song "The Rising" in a video that aired during night one of the Democratic National Convention.

Lewis, who is widely considered to be one of the most politically conservative musicians in rock, told the Anchorage Press in a January 2020 interview that he considered the first Trump impeachment by the House Of Representatives as the clearest representation of what's wrong with America these days.

Lewis was a staunch critic of President Barack Obama, telling a crowd at one of his solo concerts in 2016: "Barack Obama should have been impeached a long fucking time ago. Every fucking decision he makes is against the Constitution, it's against what's good for our fucking country, and he is truly the worst fucking president that we have ever had in the history of this fucking country."

That same year, Lewis told Billboard that he would support Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential race, even though he was "disappointed" by the real estate mogul "with the bickering and the name-calling." Lewis added that he voted for Senator Ted Cruz, Trump's closest competitor in the Republican nomination race, in the Massachusetts primary.

CHEAP TRICK's 20th studio album is out today, featuring the raucous "Light Up The Fire" and the blistering "Boys & Girls & Rock N Roll", the latter of which the band performed on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" last night. "In Another World", out digitally and on CD today via BMG, will be released physically on standard black vinyl on June 4. Limited-edition blue-and-white splattered vinyl will be available at independent record stores nationwide. In addition, a limited-edition picture disc will be available exclusively via Target.

The reaction to "In Another World" has been stellar at the DSPs. Currently in the #2 spot on the "Classic Rock Now" playlist, the album is also being featured on "Rock the World!," "All New Rock" and "Most Wanted Rock." At Apple Music, the band is being highlighted on the "Hard Rock Best New Songs," "Hard Rock Artists We Love" and the "New in Rock" playlists.

Produced by longtime associate Julian Raymond, "In Another World" sees CHEAP TRICK doing what they do better than anyone — crafting indelible rock 'n' roll with oversized hooks, mischievous lyrics, and seemingly inexorable energy. Trademark anthems like the aforementioned "Light Up The Fire" and "Boys & Girls & Rock N Roll" are countered by more introspective — but no less exuberant — considerations of times past, present, and unknowable future on such strikingly potent new tracks as "Another World" and "I'll See You Again". "In Another World" — which marks CHEAP TRICK's first new LP since 2017's double-header of "We're All Alright!" and "Christmas Christmas" — further showcases CHEAP TRICK at their most eclectic, touching on a myriad of distinct sounds and song approaches, from the swampy Chicago blues number "Final Days" (featuring fiery harmonica from Grammy Award-nominated singer and WET WILLIE frontman Jimmy Hall) to a timely rendition of John Lennon's still-relevant "Gimme Some Truth", originally released for Record Store Day Black Friday 2019 and featuring the instantly recognizable guitar sound of erstwhile SEX PISTOLS guitarist Steve Jones. As irresistible and immediate as anything in their already awesome catalog, "In Another World" is CHEAP TRICK at their irrepressible best, infinitely entertaining and utterly unstoppable.

CHEAP TRICK is, of course, one of rock's hardest-working live acts, lighting it up at arenas, concert halls, and amphitheaters worldwide more than 150 nights each year. Alas, recent events have forced the band off the road for perhaps the longest hiatus of their storied history. CHEAP TRICK plans to return to the endless highway later as soon as they can, including North American and U.K. tour dates.

Tonight, iHeart Radio will host a CHEAP TRICK album-release party at 7 p.m. ET. Hosted by iHeartRadio's Jim Kerr, the event will feature an intimate conversation as well as an exclusive performance and needle drops. Fans can tune in to the video stream on iHeartRadio's YouTube and broadcast across iHeartRadio's classic rock stations.

Zakk Wylde and Black Label Society hit social media this morning (April 21st) with an update and a new video:

"SURPRISE! None More Black Box Set available at NoneMoreBlackBoxSet.com. Watch the official video for 'Blind Man' featured in the None More Black Box Set."

The box set that the world has been waiting for. All twelve original Black Label Society studio recordings on gorgeous color vinyl. Remastered. Refurbished. Reupholstered. Recarpeted. Reassured. Remarried. Restored. Reissued. Relaunched. Reassembled. RE-EVERYTHING. 

The None More Black Box Set comes with a hardcover 32 page photo book, chronicling Black Label Society's legendary career. Demolish all of life's menial tasks with the official Odin's Demolition Squad patch. Impress your friends and help open bottles for your loved ones that lack opposable thumbs with the None More Black Box Set bottle opener.

Arrives in an indestructible black on black embossed collection box. Includes The Song Remains Not The Same II: featuring reworked versions of the original songs. 

All original studio albums:

Sonic Brew - black/white marble x2 LP
Stronger Than Death - black/apple marble x2 LP
1919 Eternal - black/brown marble x2 LP
The Blessed Hellride - black/silver marble LP
Hangover Music Vol. VI - black/canary marble x2LP
Mafia - black/neon coral marble x2LP
Shot To Hell - black/tangerine marble LP
Order Of The Black - black/grey marble LP
Catacombs Of The Black Vatican - black/tan marble LP
Grimmest Hits - black/olive marble LP

Two bonus albums: 

The Song Remains Not The Same II - grey LP
Nuns and Roaches: Tasty Little Bastards - black/magenta LP




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