In a brand new interview with Talking Metal, former MOTÖRHEAD and current SCORPIONS drummer Mikkey Dee discussed his battle with COVID-19. He said (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That [happened] one year exactly ago — it was in March '20. I have to say me and my wife, we were very sick — influenza sick. But I've been even sicker. I think I had influenza one time before in my life. I was in Australia; that was with MOTÖRHEAD a little while ago. And I was really, really sick at that time as well. And this time, yes, we got knocked out for a couple of weeks, and after that, I recovered. The more I was playing ice hockey and being outside and being busy, the better I felt the next day, basically. So I just went hard out to exercise lungs, and my body was back in shape in a couple of weeks, what I felt. And I'm full of antibodies."

Asked if he experienced any lingering symptoms of COVID-19 in the months after his diagnosis, he said: "No. We call it 'corona brain,' I guess, as a joke, if you forget stuff. But I feel fine, and I'm ready to go back out there and play. I can't wait to get back on the road."

SCORPIONS' new album is tentatively due later in the year. The disc was recorded in part at Peppermint Park Studios in Hannover, Germany and will mark the German hard rock legends' first release since 2017's "Born To Touch Your Feelings - Best Of Rock Ballads", which was an anthology of SCORPIONS' new and classic material.

SCORPIONS originally intended to record the new album in Los Angeles with producer Greg Fidelman, whose previous credits include SLIPKNOT and METALLICA. However, because of the pandemic, most of the work so far has been done remotely, with Fidelman taking part via Zoom.

Fidelman began his career as the guitarist and songwriter for RHINO BUCKET before launching his career as a producer, engineer and mixer, finding an early mentor in Rick Rubin.

SCORPIONS' last full-length collection of new recordings was "Return To Forever", partially comprising songs the band had in the vault from the '80s. It was the final recorded appearance of SCORPIONS' longtime drummer James Kottak, who was dismissed from the band in September 2016.

The official video for HALESTORM's cover version of THE WHO's "Long Live Rock" can be seen below. The song was recorded in connection with the upcoming film "Long Live Rock…Celebrate The Chaos", which will premiere worldwide on March 12 as a Watch Now @ Home Cinema Release via global distributor Abramorama.

"Long Live Rock…Celebrate The Chaos" is a deep dive into the culture of hard rock music. This genre, beloved by its millions of fans, is often misunderstood and maligned by media and the music industry. In intimate interviews, titans of rock discuss the genre and the special relationship they have with their diehard audience. Featuring members of METALLICA, GUNS N’ ROSES, SLIPKNOT, KORN, ROB ZOMBIE, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, GRETA VAN FLEET, HALESTORM, Machine Gun Kelly, SHINEDOWN and many more, "Long Live Rock" was filmed over the last few years at various U.S. rock festivals, following passionate fans as they take time out from their everyday lives to commune with their "rock families."

Veteran film, TV producer and longtime music supervisor Jonathan McHugh makes his directorial debut with "Long Live Rock", and also co-produced the film, along with Gary Spivack and Jonathan Platt.

McHugh says: "Gary Spivack and I wanted to make a film celebrating the chaos of rock culture. Growing up in New York City, I would do whatever it took to get in to see bands like [LED] ZEPPELIN, BLACK SABBATH and other rock icons. We are so proud to shine a light on the most passionate fans in the world and the music that drives them."

"Jonathan and Gary did a terrific job showing how powerful the communal experience is at rock shows everywhere," says Abramorama's head of music Evan Saxon. "All skin colors, religions, professions, political views and levels of financial status are welcomed into this one family…the audience. Our team at Abramorama is very pleased to share 'Long Live Rock…Celebrate The Chaos' with fans around the globe."

"Long Live Rock" will launch with an online global premiere screening event March 11, including a question-and-answer session with the filmmakers, bandmembers and some surprise guests. The following day, "Long Live Rock" will be available to music fans around the world @ LongLiveRockMovie.com.

SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor has released an acoustic version of his solo single "Samantha's Gone". The song is taken from his debut solo album, "CMFT", which came out in October. Corey recorded the effort with his band consisting of Jason Christopher on bass, Dustin Schoenhofer on drums, and Zach Throne and Christian Martucci (STONE SOUR) on guitar. The LP was completed at Kevin Churko's The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas with producer Jay Ruston, who has previously worked with ANTHRAX, STEEL PANTHER and STONE SOUR, among others.

The official music video for the album version of "Samantha's Gone" was made available in January. Joining Corey in the clip were a number of his friends, including Tom Sandoval of Bravo's "Vanderpump Rules", actor Dean Cameron ("Summer School", "Ski School", "Straight Outta Compton"), STEEL PANTHER, plus actor Greg Grunberg, Ace Von Johnson, Travis Miguel and Jonah Nimoy.

About the visual, Taylor told Bravo's "The Daily Dish": "The video for 'Samantha's Gone' served two purposes: making fun of so-called 'indie rock' bands and getting all my friends together to hang out and have a good time. We all went back and forth between having fun and social distancing. Watching the first 'band' was great, then being fired from our OWN song in favor of STEEL PANTHER was the icing on the cake."

Taylor recently made history as he reached No. 1 at Active Rock Radio with his powerful single "Black Eyes Blue". The achievement put Taylor in a class all his own, making him the first artist in the history of the format to reach No. 1 with three separate projects, following chart-topping efforts from SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR.

"CMFT" made impressive debuts on charts around the world in October, entering at No. 1 on Billboard's Current Hard Rock Albums chart, while claiming No. 2 on Current Rock Albums, No. 6 on Vinyl Albums, and No. 9 on the Top Albums charts. Furthermore, "CMFT" landed Top 10 on the official album charts in Australia, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, with Top 20 debuts in the United Kingdom, Finland and Japan (international chart).

Featured in Rolling Stone's "Fall Album Preview 2020," "CMFT" has been garnering widespread critical applause, with Forbes affirming, "Corey Taylor's singing is undeniably the best it's ever been. From SLIPKNOT's last album to his new solo material, Taylor is easily among the best sounding rock singers alive." Kerrang! raved, "Corey Taylor certainly couldn't have predicted how important a sense of uninhibited joy would be on his debut solo effort, it's just what 2020 needs — and, even more importantly, exactly what he delivers." The Daily Beast attested, "'CMFT' finds the singer broadening his horizons and showing off his considerable versatility," while Stereogum noted, "Corey Taylor's lived several lives in the span that it takes most of us to push through just one, and it's clear that he cherishes every experience he's had so far." New York magazine added that "CMFT" "bridges his vast tastes and influences, dabbling in punk rock, metal, reflective acoustic tunes, plaintive piano ballads, and hip-hop, with Taylor's power-house vocals and introspective lyrics acting as a guide."

"CMFT" is highlighted by the singles "Culture Head", "HWY 666", "CMFT Must Be Stopped" (featuring Tech N9ne and Kid Bookie), and the Active Rock radio hit "Black Eyes Blue". Taylor also hit No. 1 on Billboard's Hard Rock Songwriters chart following the unprecedented debut of "Black Eyes Blue" and "CMFT Must Be Stopped", the latter of which has racked up more than four million YouTube views for its star-studded music video. Furthermore, Taylor debuted the pummeling "Culture Head" during WWE's NXT broadcast on the USA network, illuminating yet another facet of "CMFT" and showcasing the broad spectrum of this fiery and fearless rock 'n' roll opus, as Taylor touches on lifelong influences ranging from hard rock to classic rock, punk rock to hip-hop. 14-time world champion and EVP of global talent strategy and development at WWE, Triple H, also shared a WWE exclusive performance of Taylor and his band tearing through the MOTÖRHEAD classic "Ace Of Spades".

"CMFT" has been a long time coming for Taylor, with newly written tracks alongside some dating back to his teens.

Former IRON MAIDEN singer Blaze Bayley has commented on the band's nomination for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's class of 2021. The top vote-getters will be announced in May and inducted in a Cleveland, Ohio, ceremony in the fall.

According to the Hall Of Fame, the IRON MAIDEN members that would get inducted include the current lineup of singer Bruce Dickinson, bassist Steve Harris, drummer Nicko McBrain, and guitarists Adrian Smith, Dave Murray and Janick Gers, along with former guitarist Dennis Stratton, former singer Paul Di'Anno and former drummer Clive Burr.

Asked by Brazil's "Heavy Culture" what his reaction is to being excluded from the Rock Hall nomination, Blaze said (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, it's not the decision of the band. It's nothing to do with IRON MAIDEN, and it's nothing to do with IRON MAIDEN management. So it's all the people who run the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

"The most important thing to me is my friendship with the guys in IRON MAIDEN, and still being friends after so many years," he continued.

"I don't really care if I'm in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame or I'm not in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame," Blaze said. "For me, I'm famous, and I don't have to be any more famous. I have wonderful fans in Brazil and Portugal and around the world, and that is enough for me, man. My fans support me and make this life possible. I live my dream because of my fans and their support — not because of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame."

Bayley fronted IRON MAIDEN from 1994 until 1999. The two MAIDEN albums he appeared on, "The X Factor" and "Virtual XI", sold considerably less than the band's prior releases and were their lowest-charting titles in the group's home country since 1981's "Killers".

Since leaving IRON MAIDEN in 1999, Bayley has released a number of albums, including several under the moniker BLAZE and more than a handful under his own name. He also appeared on 2012's "Wolfsbane Saves The World", the first album of new material by WOLFSBANE since the group's self-titled 1994 effort.

To be eligible for this year's ballot, each nominee's first single or album had to have been released in 1995 or earlier.

A voter pool of more than 1,000 artists, historians, journalists, and members of the music industry will select the new class. Fans also have a chance to take part in the process by voting at Rockhall.com or at an interactive kiosk at the museum in Cleveland. Their selections will count as a single "fan ballot" that gets tabulated along with the others.

Having been eligible for induction for more than a decade and a half, IRON MAIDEN is one of the biggest bands on the planet. Since the release of their self-titled debut album, the British heavy metal legends have released a further 15 full-length studio records, and sold over 100 million copies.

Rock Hall rules state that artists become eligible a quarter century after their first records were released, but the Hall also claims that other "criteria include the influence and significance of the artists' contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock 'n' roll," which is, of course, open to interpretation.

Eligible for induction since 1999, KISS didn't get its first nomination until 2009, and was finally inducted in 2014.

DEEP PURPLE was eligible for the Rock Hall since 1993 but didn't get inducted until 2016.

Blaze will release a new studio album, "War Within Me", on April 9. All songs were written and produced by Blaze and guitarist Christopher Appleton.

"War Within Me" finds Blaze moving forward from the success of his "Infinite Entanglement" trilogy released in consecutive years 2016-2018. The 10 brand new songs draw influences from Blaze's experience with IRON MAIDEN (1994-1999), plus his extensive solo career which started with his "Silicon Messiah" album in year 2000.

"War Within Me" is not a concept album but does include a positive thread throughout. The LP was recorded during 2020 with work split between Blaze's studio at home in the West Midlands and Christopher Appleton's studio in Greater Manchester. The now-very-consistent lineup, chosen from British metal band ABSOLVA, played on the album — Christopher Appleton (guitar, backing vocals), Martin McNee (drums), Karl Schramm (bass). Blaze and Appleton shared the work mixing and producing, while Ade Emsley (IRON MAIDEN, TANK, BRITISH LION, VOODOO SIX) handled the mastering. The striking and detailed artwork is provided by Akirant Illustration (IRON MAIDEN, "Star Wars").

The five nominees for the 2021 JUNO Award for "Metal/Hard Music Album Of The Year" have been announced. Fighting it out this year are:

- Annihilator - Ballistic, Sadistic (Silver Lining/Warner)
- Kataklysm - Unconquered (Nuclear Blast/AEC/Believe)
- Protest The Hero - Palimpsest (Independent)
- Unleash The Archers - Abyss (Napalm/Sony)
- Vile Creature - Glory, Glory! Apathy Took Helm! (Prosthetic/The Orchard)

A complete list of JUNO Award nominees can be found here.

The 50th annual JUNO Awards ceremony will air May 16 on CBC TV, CBC Gem and CBCMusic.ca/junos.




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Portuguese dark metal godfathers, Moonspell, have released a guitar playthrough video for "Common Prayers", featured on the band's 13th studio album, Hermitage, out now via Napalm Records. Watch below:

With Hermitage, Moonspell is not only approaching their 30th band anniversary more ambitiously and stronger than ever, but they take us on an entertaining and emotional ride through the darkest days of human existence. Moonspell’s new record is a wonderfully intuitive, yet epic masterpiece, and a testament to what the band has always loved the most: Honest metal that binds us even in these dark times.

Hermitage was recorded, mixed and mastered this past summer by Jaime Gomez Arellano (Paradise Lost, Primordial, Ghost, Sólstafir & many more) at the Orgone Studios in the UK. Building upon the album’s dark, revolutionary and sensitive facets, it’s a wonderfully intuitive and epic ride by one of the most distinctive dark metal bands of all time, and a testament to what they’ve always loved the most: Honest, emotional metal that binds us even in the darkest times.

Hermitage is available in several highly limited and collectible Deluxe and Die-Hard Editions, Mediabook, and Cassette (all of them including the Candlemass cover "Darkness In Paradise") but also in Jewelcase and Digital formats. The Deluxe Box includes an etched 7’’ Vinyl with another special bonus track, “The Great Leap Forward", as well as much more exciting additional collectible items.

Order here.

Hermitage tracklisting:

"The Greater Good"
"Common Prayers"
"All Or Nothing"
"Hermitage"
"Entitlement"
"Solitarian"
"The Hermit Saints"
"Apophthegmata"
"Without Rule"
"City Quitter" (Outro)

Bonus tracks:

"Darkness In Paradise" (Candlemass Cover – LP, Box, Cassette + Mediabook)
"The Great Leap Forward" (7" Vinyl – Deluxe Box)

“The Hermit Saints” video:

"All Or Nothing" video:

"Common Prayers" video:

"The Greater Good" lyric video:

(Photo - Rui Vasco)




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While taking part in this past weekend's Headbangers Con, drummer Morgan Rose of SEVENDUST — whose frontman, Lajon Witherspoon, is African American — was asked by Rocking With Jam Man if he had his bandmates have ever experienced racism during their nearly three-decade-long career. He responded (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yes, we have. A few times. Not as much as you would think. That never entered our ignorant, or naïve, minds when we started. We never looked at anything [in terms of race] — it had nothing to do with that. So when it happened, it was, like, 'Oh, shit!'

"I think the first time I really saw it and it freaked me out was [the] 'Tattoo The Earth' [tour in 2000]," he continued. "And we were playing in Phoenix, Arizona, which was a big city for us. And we were playing, and I'm in the middle of the show, and I hear 'clink, clink.' And I'm, like, 'What is that?', the sound of this dinging off of my stands. And I looked. My drum tech looks at me, and he lifts up this fucking rock. It was, like, big — that if it were to hit me in the face or in the head, it would do real damage. And they're all over the place. And I look out, and there's these guys with their shirts [pulled over the faces], and they're going like this [makes 'Sieg Heil' arm salute] in the back of the crowd. So we got off the stage and hauled ass immediately — like, literally, show's over, and we ran to get to 'em. And the police had already gotten there. But it happens. A few times that's happened to us."

Witherspoon discussed the issue of racism in metal during an appearance on Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show last September. At the time, he said: "I think today we definitely can see that there's been a lack of equality in this world that's being put in the forefront. Luckily, in the industry that I'm in, in the metal community, I feel like that's definitely something that's not tolerated, I would like to say, as far as I've seen. I feel like this community is incredibly welcoming, and I've been very blessed to be in it. I also feel like there's definitely a lot of people that are hiding behind masks that are racist out there. But if there's anything that I can do, I will never not be a leader of bringing peace, love and equality to this industry and to what I do. I can say love sees no color, but I do — I believe that people do see color, obviously. But I still want to bring everyone together and [have] it not be a problem.

"I feel like in our community, there's not only black — there's white, there's Asian, there's everybody — and that's what this world should [be like]," he added. "We should definitely get to that page and to the point, again, to where we don't have that problem. I pray that we get there. But me, musically, I feel like, thank you for letting us have our voices and to be able to speak and to bring people together. And I think that's something that we're able to do as SEVENDUST, as a band. People see us. and they see a bunch of different guys from different backgrounds and different ethnicities. It's something that we've done for 20-something years now — we haven't stopped — and I hope that's something that people will understand and see and learn from."

Earlier last year, SEVENDUST guitarist Clint Lowery addressed his band's past use of the Confederate flag, explaining that it was done "as a spoof."

The Confederate battle emblem has long been decried as a symbol of racism and violence, and it has become a frequent target for protesters following the May 2020 death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of police.

When SEVENDUST played Woodstock '99, SEVENDUST's Vince Hornsby played a bass with a Confederate flag on the body.

Asked in an interview with the "Talk Toomey" podcast how he feels about SEVENDUST's past association with such an offensive and divisive symbol, Clint said: "Our thing was funny, because we were doing it as a spoof. We were trying to kinda use it in this cynical way, so it's gonna be completely misunderstood now. We were using it in a smart-ass way… It's confusing.

"We're all being educated — everyone's being educated," he added. "Things we thought were cool before aren't cool anymore, and I understand why they're not cool anymore. And it's, like, okay, yeah, I didn't know enough about what the situation was to even have a… It was just ignorance. You do things as a younger person — you're, like, 'Oh yeah, this is cool. This is against the grain' — and you realize the sensitivities; you learn about it. And that's what I think that I'm trying to do — is, like, okay, that wasn't cool. That wasn't a decision that was something I'm very proud of. You live and learn, you admit when you do wrong and you change. And that's what everyone needs to do. I can't control anybody. I just do what I do, try to be as open and loving as I can. And that's it."

Witherspoon voiced his views on the Confederate flag during a 2018 interviw with Billboard. He said: "Listen, man, I used to wear a belt buckle that had a Confederate flag on it. Just 'cause I flew that flag doesn't mean I was a racist. We're just country boys, and that's a country-boy thing. That's what the cool thing about it was — that Vinnie would have a Confederate flag with me [a black man] standing beside him. At that point, love sees no color at all. But I can't say, 'This guy flies the flag the same as this guy,' because everyone has different values."

In a 2013 interview with Bloody Disgusting, Witherspoon was asked if he or SEVENDUST are viewed or treated differently because he is black. "No, not at all," he responded. "You know, if it is, I don't see it. I have no room for ignorance in my life. I think that we've built a relationship and… not a fanbase, but a family base that really doesn't tolerate that. I'm the kind of guy that says, 'If you don't like it, don't come,' you know what I mean? We're not forcing anything on anyone. I know that that's still there, but I don't have time for that ignorance. We just keep on moving because it can never be the way it was before."

Five years ago, Witherspoon told The Salt Lake Tribune he sometimes thinks about whether his race might have slowed the band's rise. "I've always wondered if I had not been a black man in SEVENDUST, would it have even gotten bigger?" he asked. "At the end of the day, I'm glad that it took this long because we're still here."

Yngwie Malmsteen says that he is the "sole decision maker in all matters" related to his albums and live performances.

The legendary Swedish guitarist, who turned 57 last June, made the comment while responding to fan-submitted questions via video.

Asked by a fan to to tell his "management" to get him "better musicians than the ones" his management "has given" him, Yngwie responded (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "My management doesn't tell me what to do. I am the sole decision maker in all matters when it comes to my music, the people I hire, the people I fire, whoever plays on my records, whoever [doesn't] play on my records, whoever plays on my tours. These are all my decisions. Besides, I own the management company. So, yes, I can tell myself to get better musicians. I think that's a big insult to the musicians I have right now. I think they're exceptionally good, and they're as good as any others that have ever been involved with me before.

"Once again, I'd like to make it very clear that no one tells me what to do," he continued. "And also management doesn't hire and fire musicians — management does record deals and stuff like that. Then you have another entity that books the gigs, another entity that does promotion, another entity that does press. These are not done from the management. Unfortunately, a lot of people have a misconstrued idea on how the function is from each entity and so forth.

"When I was very, very young — I was seven years old; it was exactly 50 years ago — I started playing the guitar. From that point on, I made every decision and never compromised. I made every decision on what I play, who I play with, and so on.

"If you are so longing for other musicians, you're more than welcome to go listen to them and ask them to do what they wanna do, what you want [them] to do," Yngwie added. "But with me, this is what you get. Okay? And the decisions are made by me — solely by me. I make decisions on how my records are made, how my tours are being made — everything. Okay?"

Malmsteen now handles much of the lead vocals himself in his own band, backed by a lineup that includes keyboardist Nick Marino, bassist/vocalist Ralph Ciavolino and drummer Brian Wilson.

Four years ago, Jeff Scott Soto, who sang on Yngwie's first two albums, 1984's "Rising Force" and 1985's "Marching Out", engaged in a war of words with the Swedish guitarist over the fact that Malmsteen claimed in an interview that he "always wrote everything," including the lyrics and melodies, and simply hired various vocalists to sing his material. Soto told the "US American Made Guitars" show that "it's false information" to suggest that he contributed nothing to Yngwie's early albums "because we co-wrote [some of] those songs together. I actually authored those songs," he said. "For him to say, 'I wrote every lyric, every melody,' it's absolute falsity. And he's speaking out of whatever anger or whatever throwaway conversation he might be having, but when it's put on text, it comes across as very crude and very arrogant. So, of course, I don't take that kind of stuff too personally."

In the days after Yngwie's original interview with Metal Wani was published on BLABBERMOUTH.NET, several of the guitarist's other former singers — including Joe Lynn Turner and Tim "Ripper" Owens — responded on social media, with Turner describing Malmsteen's statements as "the rantings of a megalomaniac desperately trying to justify his own insecurity." This was followed by a retort from a member of Yngwie's management team, who wrote on Malmsteen's Facebook page that the three vocalists "came out enraged, spitting insults and profanities" at the guitarist because "Yngwie said something that they didn't like." The management representative added: " It's very unfortunate that these past hired vocalists must resort to mudslinging and insults to elicit any kind of media attention towards them. Such classless, puerile words are ungentlemanly at best and absolutely disgraceful at worst."

THE OFFSPRING singer Bryan "Dexter" Holland and guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman spoke to Terrie Carr of the Morristown, New Jersey radio station 105.5 WDHA about the band's upcoming tenth studio album, "Let The Bad Times Roll", which will arrive on April 16 via Concord Records. The follow-up to 2012's "Days Go By" was produced by Bob Rock, who also worked on the band's last two LPs.

On the topic of the long delay in getting the new album released, Noodles said: "I've been saying this record is gonna come out since 1985. So I figured I'm finally right. This year is the year, finally… And we did take our time doing this, for a couple of reasons. We always go out and tour, and it's hard to record while we're out touring. We tour, like, three or four months out of every year, for sure. My friend Dexter went back and got his PhD [degree in molecular biology]; we're very proud of him. He got that about three years ago. And then the last three years, we really kind of knuckled down and started working on this record. There was a couple of things that were done, but we had a real creative spurt at that point, and we have even more songs than just what are on the record now. So we are already kind of looking ahead at the next record. When the pandemic hit, we looked at what we had for this one and went, 'Well, we don't know if we wanna release it when we can't tour. So let's keep working on it.' And eventually, it was, like, 'It's done. The fans need to hear this. We wanna get it out to the fans.' So we couldn't wait anymore."

Holland, Wasserman, drummer Pete Parada and new bassist Todd Morse wrote and recorded "Let The Bad Times Roll" in the last few years at various locations, including the band's studio in Huntington Beach, California.

In December, THE OFFSPRING released the official music video for its Rock-produced cover version of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", a rock song originally sung by Darlene Love and included on the 1963 seasonal compilation album "A Christmas Gift For You" from Phil Spector.

Last April, THE OFFSPRING jumped on the "Tiger King" bandwagon by recording a cover version of THE CLINTON JOHNSON BAND's "Here Kitty Kitty", a song made popular by Joe Schreibvogel — better known as Joe Exotic, the "Tiger King" — through the Netflix docuseries.

Two years ago, bassist Gregory "Greg K." Kriesel, who hasn't performed with THE OFFSPRING since 2018, filed a federal lawsuit against Noodles and Dexter alleging trademark infringement and breach of partnership agreement over the rights to THE OFFSPRING name. In response, Holland and Wasserman filed a cross-complaint, denying basically everything Kriesel alleged and asking the court to appoint "three disinterested appraisers to appraise the fair value" of Kriesel's shares of THE OFFSPRING.

THE OFFSPRING has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide, won countless awards, and has toured consistently, playing more than 500 shows in the last decade alone. Their music has had a lasting impact across film, television, and video games.

Photo credit:: Daveed Benito

KREATOR guitarist/vocalist Mille Petrozza spoke to the official podcast of Italy's Metalitalia.com about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the follow-up to 2017's "Gods Of Violence" album. He said (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Last summer, in August, we felt that we were done [writing], and we were very enthusiastic about, like, 'Okay, this is almost an album. We have 12 songs. And we take the 10 best, or whatever we come up with.' And we already planned on going into the studio in February. Now it's February, and the world is still kind of fucked with the COVID. So we have to wait and be patient.

"I want the album to come out and go on a world tour right afterwards," he explained. "I don't see us putting out a COVID album, or something, and just have it [disappear]. And people go, like, 'Okay, there was an album. Okay, they have a new album or not? Am I going to this tour or not?'

"I know that the world is changing — albums don't have the importance that they might have had 10 years ago anymore — but I refuse to believe that. Especially in metal, there's still a lot of people that celebrate an album from the beginning to the end. And I think the last genre of music where this is gonna die will be metal, because people really love albums.

"I think going on a tour, the artwork, everything has to connect," Mille added. "So we'll wait until that's possible again, and then we'll put out the album."

On the topic of the musical direction of the new KREATOR material, Mille said: "It's definitely different. It's hard for me to describe, but I think it's definitely more thrash again. It has a lot of melody, and it has a lot of traditional parts, and it has a lot of ingredients of the last four or five albums. But it also has some very old-school moments. I think it's definitely the next step."

Asked if KREATOR will once again work with producer Jens Bogren, who helmed "Gods Of Violence" and 2012's "Phantom Antichrist", Mille said: "At this point, it looks like we're working with Arthur Rizk [CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, CODE ORANGE, POWER TRIP]. That's what we have planned at this point. And I'm kind of exchanging demo tapes and discussing recording techniques [with him]. So, yeah, it looks like we're working with Arthur."

KREATOR's next album will mark the band's first with bassist Frédéric Leclercq, who joined the group in 2019.

Last September, KREATOR guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö described the sessions for the band's new album to Italy's Poisoned Rock as "a lot of fun," adding that the "mood" in the band "is great. And the general vibe and the atmosphere is very good," he said. "[These are] creative times for KREATOR at the moment."

In March 2020, KREATOR surprise-released a new single, "666 - World Divided". The song was produced by Andy Sneap and Markus Ganter and was recorded at Hansa Tonstudios in Berlin, Germany.

The music video for "666 - World Divided" was created under the direction of Jörn Heitmann, who was responsible for the music videos for "Radio" and "Ausländer" by RAMMSTEIN.

KREATOR played its first show with Leclercq in October 2019 in Santiago, Chile.

Before joining KREATOR, Leclercq rose to fame with U.K.-based extreme power metallers DRAGONFORCE for whom he handled bass duties from 2005 until August 2019.

KREATOR's previously announced "State Of Unrest" European tour with LAMB OF GOD has been rescheduled for 2021 in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

KREATOR released a new live set, "London Apocalypticon - Live At The Roundhouse", in February 2020 via Nuclear Blast. The effort was professionally filmed and recorded on December 16, 2018 at the Roundhouse in London, England.

While the worldwide pandemic pretty much wiped out the music industry over the past year with its large gathering restrictions, Brooklyn, New York metal outfit LIFE OF AGONY has been using their downtime to put the finishing touches on its upcoming full-length documentary, "The Sound Of Scars".

The project began two years ago by U.K.-based director Leigh Brooks and was filmed across several countries while LIFE OF AGONY was on and off the road.

"This isn't a typical music documentary. It's as personal as it gets." explains Brooks. "I first saw the band live at the London Astoria in 1996. Since then, LOA has become an absolute go-to when I felt alone and insecure about myself. This film is an intimate portrait that sheds light on the real-life stories that make their music so vital and relevant."

"The Sound Of Scars" utilizes personal archive footage, rare photographs, and lost interviews, along with new, never-before-seen conversations with the band and their family members that tells the story of how three friends overcame domestic violence, substance abuse, and depression to form one of the most influential bands in its genre. Through the success of their groundbreaking 1993 debut "River Runs Red", hailed by Rolling Stone as "one of the greatest metal albums of all time," they channeled their cumulative life stories into a soundtrack for a broken generation. At the time, that newfound fame allowed them to escape the tragedies of their pasts, but in the wake of their accomplishments, unforeseen obstacles arose.

"We've completely ripped our deepest selves open for this film," says guitarist Joey Zampella. "The audience and our fan base will completely understand the mold we were broken from, and what this journey means to us."

The 90-minute film also takes a deep dive into lead vocalist Mina Caputo's gender transition.

"We've never avoided tough conversations and we don't pretend to have all the answers," says Caputo. "But this film is a roadmap with many great lessons. It shows a ton of vulnerability... moments of falling downward and others where we rise strong. Enjoy this gift of imperfection. May you find the tools to be braver with this film."

Starting Friday, April 16, for a limited two-week window, LIFE OF AGONY fans will get the opportunity to stream a virtual screening of "The Sound Of Scars" director's cut along with other bonus material, including a question-and-answer discussion with the band and director on the making of the film, moderated by SiriusXM's Liquid Metal host Shawn The Butcher. Tickets are available now for pre-order and part of the proceeds go to benefit two charity organizations: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and All Out. Visit www.soundofscars.com for more details and tickets.

"When we first started LOA over 30 years ago, I don't think any of us could have predicted the impact that this band would have on so many people around the world," says Alan Robert, bassist for LIFE OF AGONY. "We got together as a way of saving ourselves, but ultimately, through the music and the brutal honesty of the lyrics, we ended up saving so many others along the way."

LIFE OF AGONY's most recent studio album, also titled "The Sound Of Scars", was released in 2019 to critical acclaim. It was named "Album of the Year" by The Aquarian Weekly and took the No. 1 spot on Metal Hammer's (Germany) "Best Of 2019" list (alt-rock/punk).

In a new interview with Rocking With Jam Man, TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy was asked if he and his bandmates have been working on any new music during the coronavirus pandemic. He responded (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "No, we haven't, but Eric [Peterson, guitar] is writing some music [on his own]. I haven't heard anything yet. It all starts with Eric, so I just kind of wait. He's gotta be in the right mood. And probably, being stuck at home with the pandemic, I would think he would be jamming and writing some stuff. So I think we'll probably at least have a couple of new songs. 'Cause it makes sense — if we write a couple of new songs, maybe we can do a repackage of the [latest TESTAMENT album, 'Titans Of Creation']. We're talking about possibly writing a song called 'Titans Of Creation', 'cause there is no title track. So, we could have a song called 'Titans Of Creation' and maybe re-push it out there with the record again. [That would be] more of a marketing thing. I think that's kind of what the talk is [that] might happen."

Billy went on to say that he "probably" woudn't feel comfortable enough to play shows in Texas and Mississippi, the two states which have lifted their mask mandates and increased capacity of all businesses and facilities to 100%. "I'd feel a little safer once I got a vaccine, I think, and maybe a little more people get vaccines," he said. "But I don't need to jump in there, and I don't know about full capacities yet. I just think until it's really under control with more vaccines, it's a little bit safer. We're not safe from everything, but I would wait till the vaccine's out [to most people]. I think probably most of the bandmembers feel the same way."

Billy, who was the first metal musician to go public with his COVID-19 diagnosis back in March 2020, was also asked if his battle with the novel coronavirus had any long-term effects on his body or singing. He said: "I haven't toured, so I don't know about singing, but I definitely did feel less breath and wind from it. There's still some after-effects — still dry skin and a little bit of cough stil. But I'm all better. That's about it."

"Titans Of Creation" came out in April 2020 via Nuclear Blast. The disc was produced by Peterson and Billy, while Juan Urteaga of Trident Studios handled co-producing, recording and engineering. Andy Sneap was responsible for the mixing and mastering of the album. Eliran Kantor stepped up once again to create new artwork for the cover of this release.

Early last year, TESTAMENT completed "The Bay Strikes Back 2020" European tour with EXODUS and DEATH ANGEL.

SMITH/KOTZEN, the electrifying collaboration between guitarists and vocalists Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen, will release its self-titled debut album on March 26 via BMG.

The official lyric video for the disc's third single, "Running", can be seen below.

Adrian says of the song: "It's a really cool sort of driving track, one of the heavier ones on the album and we're excited to get it out there ahead of the album release. We've both been thrilled by the reaction to our music so far and are very much looking forward to meeting up again as soon as we can, to write some more songs together."

Richie adds: "'Running' was the first song Adrian and I worked on. Adrian came in with that heavy verse riff, which led me to conjuring up what lives as our chorus to the composition. 'Running' is surely one of my top three favorites on the SMITH/KOTZEN album and I really look forward to playing this one live."

As well as the duo co-writing, co-producing and sharing guitars and vocals, Richie also plays bass and drums on the track.

Recorded on the Turks & Caicos Islands in February 2020, produced by Richie and Adrian and mixed by Kevin "Caveman" Shirley, this nine-track opus is a consummate collaboration between these two highly respected musicians who co-wrote all the songs and also share lead vocals and trade off on guitar and bass duties throughout the record.

Exploding with powerful melodies and harmonies, the album embodies the spirited attitude of 1970s classic rock with a melting-pot of influences ranging from blues, hard rock, traditional R&B and more, blending the pair's backgrounds and life experiences to result in a thoroughly contemporary sound.

Track listing:

01. Taking My Chances

02. Running

03. Scars

04. Some People

05. Glory Road

06. Solar Fire

07. You Don't Know Me

08. I Wanna Stay

09. 'Til Tomorrow

The record features special guest performances by Adrian's IRON MAIDEN bandmate Nicko McBrain on drums for the track "Solar Fire", and Richie's longstanding friend and touring partner Tal Bergman on drums for "You Don't Know Me", "I Wanna Stay" and "'Til Tomorrow", with Richie picking up the sticks on the other five songs.

Smith comments: "Richie and I started working together a couple of years ago. We'd been jamming as we'd been friends for a few years before that. We both share a love for classic rock and bluesy rock, so we decided to get together and start writing some songs and it went from there. Pretty much everything on the album is handled between Richie and myself, including the production. We had developed a really strong idea of how we wanted it to sound, and I'm very pleased with how it turned out. There's a lot of cool songs on there that we are really happy with.”

Kotzen adds: "We had a very fluid process in writing. Sometimes Adrian would send me a riff and I would immediately hear some kind of melody or a vocal idea. And sometimes it was the other way round, so it was a kind of circular motion. We'd get together whenever we could and throw some ideas around and it just evolved, which was great because there was no pressure and nothing other than just a natural course and I think the record really speaks for that."

The album will be available in these formats:

* Digipack CD

* 12" black vinyl with embossed sleeve

* Digital (streaming and download)

* Limited-edition 12" red-and-black-smoke-effect-colored vinyl

Smith is best known as one of IRON MAIDEN's principal guitarists, having also enjoyed success as a solo artist. Kotzen is the frontman for THE WINERY DOGS as well as having been the guitarist for both MR. BIG and POISON during his long and acclaimed career, which has to date seen him release more than 20 solo albums. Both artists are also prolific songwriters.

Adrian comments, "I think Richie and I complement each other really well. He's a virtuoso guitarist but he's got a great sense of melody — the whole thing just felt very natural."

Richie adds: "We found common ground in classic and blues-based rock — we both come from that mentality. We've been writing and recording together for the past year and I'm ecstatic with the results."

Smith has spent the last few months promoting his memoir, "Monsters Of River & Rock", which was released in September via Virgin Books.

In February 2020, Kotzen released his 22nd solo album, "50 For 50", via his own custom label, Headroom-Inc. The three-disc collection is just what the title implies: a collection of 50 previously unreleased compositions produced, performed and written by Kotzen in honor of his birthday. It's the follow-up to his critically acclaimed "Salting Earth" album, which came out in April 2017 via Headroom-Inc.

Norway's Vreid have released the haunting video for their new song, "The Morning Red", The track is taken from the band's unique new album and accompanying film, Wild North West, which will be released on April 30 via Season Of Mist.

Vreid comments on the film's historic location: “The more than 100-year-old sanatorium lies completely isolated in the mountainside above the world’s longest fjord, Sognefjorden. Once built to shield people from infectious diseases and later the asylum of the wild northwest, it became our creative center during the pandemic. With the world closed down, we admitted ourselves to one of Scandinavia’s most mythical and majestic buildings to record the movie. The massive building has been abandoned for almost 30 years, and the harsh climate has taken its toll as the building are being consumed by nature day by day. The history and destinies that these roughed walls embrace are fascinating, vile and dark to say the least. And with Wild North West, we have become a part of this majestic white castle’s history.”

Wild North West is a concept album that developed alongside an entire movie. Inspired by both true events and pure imagination, the listener is taken on a whirlwind of a journey, diving deep into themes of war, fear, betrayal, loss, anxiety, and madness with thought-provoking lyrics that embody human nature. It captures the Nordic heart at the core of their sound, taking cues from Norway’s rugged landscape as it ricochets between eternal darkness and the solace of bracing light.

The cover for Wild North West was created by Remi Juliebø (Deformat Design).

Tracklisting:

"Wild North West"
"Wolves At Sea"
"The Morning Red"
"Shadows Of Aurora"
"Spikes Of God"
"Dazed And Reduced"
"Into The Mountains"
"Shadowland"

"Wild North West" video:

Trailer:

From its tumultuous inception, the Norwegian metal scene has always been about pioneering. While embracing the illustrious black metal history as part of their musical heritage, the many iconic bands have now evolved in various directions. Leading the black ‘n roll movement in Norway, Vreid are the perfect example of that. The band arose in 2004 from the ashes of Winder after the tragic perishing of Terje ‘Valfar’ Bakken. The Sognametal legends declared the mission of exploring new musical paths, which they have pushed to even greater heights on their new record Wild North West.

The ninth record is not just a collection of songs, but a concept album that developed alongside an entire movie. Throughout eight chapters you will be taken on a journey deep into the mountains, to a dark place where the borders between reality and fantasy fade and where death is only one step behind you: The Wild North West. Not just in sheer size of the project but also in terms of music videography, creativity, and determination, Vreid have done something truly unique and lifted their art to a new dimension.

On the concept, founder and bass player Jarle Hváll Kvåle states: "Wild North West is a concept story about life itself and its eternal shadow: death. It is built around the world of our fictional character E, but it is surely inspired by my own life, my band’s life, historical events and many tales that have inspired me over the years. Is it a true story or fictional? I would have to say both, and sometimes is hard tell the difference.”

Wild North West features the most extreme and intense work of the band to date, as well as heavy and melodic rock songs. These influences have always been a part of Vreid’s DNA, and it is this combination that makes up the spirit of Sognametal.  A remarkable homage to that same musical spirit is the song “Into the Mountains”. The ideas for that track were written in 2002 by Jarle ‘Hváll’ Kvåle and Terje ‘Valfar’ Bakken (Winder). Inspired by these ideas, Hváll wrote the song and included the original demo keyboard tracks from 2002, recorded back then by Valfar.

Vreid have always chosen a course of constant evolution that is marked by thematically denoted phases regarding their often historically inspired lyrics. This became particularly clear with albums ‘I Krig’ (2007) and ‘Milorg’ (2009), which both revolved around concepts dealing with resistance and liberation of Norway during World War II. With their following three records, the pitch black brigade returned to their Norse roots on ‘Sólverv’ which received high critical acclaim in 2015.

In 2018, the Norwegians teamed up with Season of Mist for their previous full-length ‘Lifehunger’, a record that successfully blended elements of 70’s rock, 80’s classic metal, and Norwegian black metal and which featured a remarkable guest contribution from Solstafir’s vocalist Addi Tryggvason on the track “Hello Darkness”.

Vreid have hammered out their success partly by being a heavily touring band. The four-piece performed more than 500 shows in 25 countries so far. Their everlasting march to conquer new territories has led the Norwegians to headline tours in Europe, North America, Japan, and India.

The band’s onward march did not come to a halt in 2020, a year that will go down as devastating for the international music scene. Vreid launched their own beer, which turned out to be the biggest success of the Balder Brewery as the first batches were sold out immediately. Instead of waiting to be able to tour again, the Norwegians invited the fans to their home region and hosted a massive streaming concert among the beautiful mountainous surroundings of the Sognefjord. The concert, ‘Into the Mountains of Sognametal’ took place in June 2020 was viewed by over 140.000 people from more than 40 countries.

In 2021, Vreid will once more invite the fans to their dark, cold, and wild universe but tread carefully as from these haunted mountains, no man can descend.

Welcome to the Wild North West.




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The Vintage Caravan have unveiled their second single, “Crystallized”, cut from their upcoming album, Monuments, out April 16 via Napalm Records. Those who have not hopped The Vintage Caravan train yet will be convinced with “Crystallized”: the nearly six-minute joyride is injected with blues, prog rock and even funk-inspired elements, showcasing the band’s palpable, dynamic talent and mastery of varying inspired influences of the past while maintaining a fresh approach.

Talent for crafting swirling, grooving sonic journeys aside, the peculiar “Crystallized” music video truly showcases that these youngbloods are anything but one note. Displaying their noteworthy knack for slow-build humor, the video depicts the band waking up under very bizarre circumstances, eventually trying to find their way back home. On the flipside, the video provides a bold commentary on technology gone wrong. Watch this one ‘til the end.

The Vintage Caravan vocalist/guitarist Óskar on the new single “Crystallized”: “‘Crystallized'’ is the second single and second track on Monuments. Lyrically, the song is about a man travelling alone in a car through a blizzard in Iceland during a red weather warning. Eventually he loses his way and leaves the car and walks out into the unknown and disappears. Unfortunately, these lyrics were inspired by the many people who travelled our dangerous and unpredictable island and did not make it, so this is a warning song of sorts.”

Óskar adds: “We don’t take ourselves too seriously when it comes to videos. We take the music very seriously, but we like funny music videos. Our friends from the rock band Volcanova make a special appearance at the end of the video, they are great! We buried ourselves in the black desert sand for a few hours for your pleasure. Enjoy!”

Step into the rabbit hole and watch/listen to the new single “Crystallized” below:

On 11 diverse tracks, these fast-rising musicians from Reykjavik truly cast a spell on fans of bewitching, guitar-driven classic and blues rock influences. The album opener, “Whispers”, clearly showcases the band’s musical progression without sacrificing their tried-and-true, retro-inspired sonic trademark. “Crystalized '' convinces with light blues influences, encircling the listener in enchanting guitar lines and quickly rising to the full extent of its power while evoking anecdotes of retro nostalgia. “Can’t Get You Out Of My Mind” takes its listener on a blistering ride through pounding drums, intense guitar solos and an undeniably catchy chorus, while tracks like “This One’s For You” represent a stunning blueprint in The Vintage Caravan’s musical universe with unconventional, surprisingly calm melodies and Óskar’s gripping, tranquil vocal power. In contrast, bold drumming merges with fast-paced riffs, enveloping an impressive galloping vortex and pronouncing tracks like “Dark Times” and “Said and Done” as top notch rock pieces. The softly plugging, atmospheric sound of album closer “Clarity” symbolizes the crowning culmination of a 60-minute journey through the eternal landscapes of Iceland and the poetic lyricism of the trio.

With their new studio-album, Monuments, and its captivating, stellar arrangements, these rising stars definitely know how to put their very own stamp on the retro rock wave.

Monuments will be available in North America in the following formats:

- 1 CD Digipak
- 2 LP Gatefold Vinyl Black
- 2 LP Gatefold Vinyl Marbled Yellow/Red - limited to 300 copies
- Limited Diehard Edition - 2 LP Gatefold Vinyl Multicolor Splatter + Patch, Slipmat - limited to 200 copies
- Digital Album

Pre-order here.

Tracklisting:

"Whispers"
"Crystallized"
"Can’t Get You Off My Mind"
"Dark Times"
"This One’s For You"
"Forgotten"
"Sharp Teeth"
"Hell"
"Torn In Two"
"Said & Done"
"Clarity"

"Whispers" video:

The Vintage Caravan are:

Óskar Logi Ágústsson – lead vocals, electric guitar
Alexander Örn Númason – bass guitar, backing vocals
Stefán Ari Stefánsson – drums, percussion

(Photo - Hörður Sveinsson)




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Frontiers Music Srl will release the self-titled debut album from Italy's ScreaMachine on April 9. Pre-order the album here, and watch a video for the song "The Metal Monster" below.

Hailing from Rome, Italy, ScreamMachine is a driving heavy metal driving force. Armed and dangerous with molten metal riffs, the quintet is ready to take the world by storm with their blazing sound inspired by titans like Judas Priest, Metallica, Iced Earth, Savatage, and Accept. Even if the guys from ScreaMachine are in love with that legendary 80’s metal sound, they are not living in the past. Their aim is to deliver an aggressive and traditional heavy metal sound blended with a modern production and songwriting.

The musicians in ScreaMachine are no strangers to the metal scene, since most of them are members of respected Italian acts like Stormlord, Kaledon, and Lunarsea, all of whom have been active since the ‘90’s with wide discographies and hundreds of gigs under their belts.

Born from an idea by bassist Francesco Bucci, (bassist and songwriter for the extreme epic metal act Stormlord), the five metalheads have joined forces to deliver one of the heaviest metal debuts of the year.

Some of their friends have heard the metal call and delivered some killer performances to the lair of the ScreaMachine. The fretless bass hero Steve Di Giorgio (Testament, Death, Spirits Of Fire, etc.) and the powerful singer Herbie Langhans (Firewind, Avantasia, Sonic Haven) are featured in the epic hymn “Wisdom Of The Ages”. Additionally, four of the best Italian guitar players, Simone Mularoni (DGM), Massimiliano Pagliuso (Novembre, Oceana), Andrea Angelini (Stormlord), and Francesco Mattei (Noveria), are shredding their ass off on four more songs.

ScreaMachine is now eager to unleash its rage worldwide, storming the stages and the ears of all those people who are still in love with heavy metal music.

Tracklisting:

"Demondome"
"The Metal Monster"
"The Human God"
"Darksteel"
"Mistress Of Disaster"
"52Hz"
"Wisdom Of The Ages"
"Silver Fever"
"Dancing With Shadows"
"Scream Machine"

"The Metal Monster" video:

"Demondome" video:

Lineup:

Valerio “The Brave” Caricchio - Lead Vocals
Francesco Bucci - Bass
Alex Mele - Guitars
Paolo Campitelli - Guitars
Alfonso “Fo” Corace - Drums




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Sharpen your blades and prepare for war with fast-rising US black metal export, Stormruler. The St. Louis-based two-man project = featuring the dark lyrical genius and deft skill of guitarist/vocalist Jason Asberry and drummer Jesse Schobel = have built a noteworthy subterranean following since their formation. Thus, the band has signed a worldwide record deal with Napalm Records and will release their stunning debut full-length, Under The Burning Eclipse, on May 28.

Stormruler combines unrelenting black metal atmosphere and vision from varying metal genres with a brutal, modernized twist of inspiration culled from high-fantasy and history. Listen carefully - you may just be able to identify themes from some of your favorite stories, games and more…

Featuring 19 tracks alternating between ominous instrumental ambience and incendiary black metal riffs and fury, the album tells harrowing tales of war, death, victory and defeat, and delivers an unmatched, hellscaped auditory experience. This is proven evident on first single “Reign Of The Winged Duke” - a searing track made rich with blackened thrashy blastbeats, infernal riffage and powerful progressions as it tells the tale of an immortal magical beast. Its accompanying video sees Stormruler donning their finest armor and swords, readying for battle.

Stormruler offers about the track: “‘Reign Of The Winged Duke’ is a great lead off track because we feel it most strongly represents our overall sound. The imagery of the song lends itself well to video performance too!”

Grab your axes, spears and swords and watch the epic music video for “Reign Of The Winged Duke” below.

The banners of imperial black metal brigade Stormruler are flown high! Creeping in like menacing sonic smoke, instrumental ambient intro track “Shine Of Ivory Horns” launches directly into opener “Reign Of The Winged Duke”, instantly careening into a cascade of pummeling drums and charred riffage. Under The Burning Eclipse evenly ebbs and flows between warning mystical atmosphere and ghastly action, evident on the likes of blackened headbobbers “Age Of Steel & Blood”, “Dawn Of The Eternal Fire” and unrelenting 8+ minute title epic “Under The Burning Eclipse”. Standout burner “Of Hollowed Souls & Distant Flame” looks to the north with archaic screams and memorable, colossal progressions, while combat-ready tracks like “At The Cliffs Of Azure City” incorporate ruminations of classic heavy metal combined with scorched, war-torn percussion. The album traverses desolate musical peaks and valleys before closing with the otherworldly brutality of “Fear The Old Blood” - a non-stop onslaught of black metal attack - and ambient, acoustically-driven finisher of olde “Fields Of Mortal Shame”. Under The Burning Eclipse is a solid hour of fantasy-laden, grim fables transfixed in blackened scourge. Fans of extreme metal will not want to miss this debut offering from the mighty Stormruler.

Stormruler adds about the album: “We sought to take all of the elements we love about black and death metal and make the album we always wanted to hear.  Early on, we formulated the idea to compose interludes between the songs to segue the moods, yet maintain a cohesive nature.  As long-time fans of dark fantasy and historical warfare, it seemed like the proper path lyrically.”

Stormruler comments on signing to Napalm Records: “We are thrilled to embark upon this journey with a solid label like Napalm Records. Many bands that have inspired us have found their home on Napalm in the past and presently. We hope to forge our own path amongst their legacies!”

Sebastian Münch, A&R, Napalm Records adds: “Stormruler is living proof that excellent black metal is not an entirely Scandinavian business! Under The Burning Eclipse is probably the best black metal album of the last 10 years!”

Stormruler also recently signed with Hard Impact Management, led by Maurizio Iacono (Ex Deo, Kataklysm). Maurizio says: “When Sebastian at Napalm called me up to check out Stormruler, I immediately saw the fire and did not hesitate to make them part of the Hard Impact family. Scandinavia was the birthplace of black metal, but I think America is now crafting some of the most forward thinking black metal bands in the world. Stormruler has the work ethic and the songwriting magic to compete amongst the best in the genre, and I look forward to helping develop them to their full potential.”

Under The Burning Eclipse will be available in North America in the following formats:

- CD Digipack
- 2LP Gatefold Vinyl Black
- Limited DieHard Edition: 2LP Gatefold Vinyl Orange/Black Splatter + Slipmat & Logo Patch (Napalm Mailorder Only - only 200 copies worldwide)
- 2LP Gatefold Transparent Orange (Napalm Mailorder Only - limited to 300 copies worldwide)
- Digital Album

Pre-order here.

Under The Burning Eclipse tracklisting:

"The Shine Of Ivory Horns"
"Reign Of The Winged Duke"
"The March Onto Golden Lands"
"Age Of Steel & Blood"
"Culling Of The Blood Moon"
"Blood Of The Old Wolf"
"Journey To The Unknown"
"Under The Burning Eclipse"
"Prithee, Chosen"
"Of Hollowed Souls & Distant Flames"
"An Empire Of Ash & Dust"
"At The Cliffs Of Azure City"
"Illuminating The Ancient Sky"
"Dawn Of The Eternal Fire"
"A Message From A Foreign King"
"Mark Of The Valkyrie"
"Blood Ritual"
"Fear The Old Blood"
"Fields Of Mortal Shame"

"Reign Of The Winged Duke" video:

Stormruler is:

Jesse Schobel - Drums
Jason Asberry - Vocals & Guitars

(Photo - Chris Bauer)




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On March 9, 2020, prior to the ban on concerts due to the COVID -19 pandemic, Uli Jon Roth performed in front of 500 fans at the Café de la Danse in Paris, France.

You can now listen to the full set, which included the performance of several Scorpions songs, below:




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Germany-based heavy metal/hard rock label, Pride & Joy Music, announces the signing of Maltese hard rock group, Upper Lip.

Hailing from Gozo, the land of the Megalithic Temples in the heart of the Maltese archipelago islands, Upper Lip spurs nostalgic, groovy hard rock music with a passion to its genre. Their main influences derive from the splendid nature surrounding the beautiful Island and rock acts such as Rush, AC/DC, Rory Gallagher to The Smiths, Captain Beyond and even Waylon Jennings.

Since their inception in 2013, the band had played several gigs & festivals on the Islands to a very warm welcome form the rock music fans which swiftly translate to more gig’s invitations. Fast-forward to 2019, the band embarked on a massive project to work on their first studio album. The recordings took place at the Temple Studios’(Rammstein, Philip Boa, Mike Hedges, Siouxsie and the Banshees).

Upper Lip recorded 11 original tracks which portray the groove and live energy that the band is so much noted for. The album, entitled Deep Within, will be released worldwide on May 23.

Lineup:

Chris Portelli (vocals)
Joseph Azzopardi (lead guitars and song-writing)
Marcel Paul Grima (bass guitar)
Paul Cini (rhythm guitar)
Silvio Cini (drums)




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Max Cavalera has reflected on the breakup of SEPULTURA's classic lineup, saying that the situation in the band was "rotten from the inside."

The Brazilian four-piece fell apart in 1996 with the exit of Max after the rest of the band split with his wife Gloria as their manager. His brother, drummer Igor Cavalera, stuck around with the group for another ten years before leaving SEPULTURA and re-teaming with Max in CAVALERA CONSPIRACY.

Although SEPULTURA has maintained a diehard fanbase in all parts of the world throughout the band's nearly four-decade history, Max-era albums "Roots" and "Chaos A.D." were by far SEPULTURA's most commercially successful, having both been certified gold in the U.S. for sales in excess of five hundred thousand copies.

Max looked back on his final album with SEPULTURA during a brand new interview with France's Heavy1/Hard Force. He said (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "The whole 'Roots' thing is a very confusing time in my life, because I don't think I knew how to deal with the whole fame thing very well — especially in Brazil. We went to Brazil, and the record was massive — like real, real big; like BEATLES big. And I remember I tried to go to the mall with my wife, and we got mobbed. And I knew that 70 percent of the people didn't own a SEPULTURA record; it was just the curiosity of the celebrity thing. And that really bugged me. It was, like, 'Yeah, all these people, they don't give a fuck. They're just there. It's a thing. I don't understand this thing.' So I struggled with that a little bit. At that time, I was drinking heavily and taking drugs. So I was wild. And, of course, it is marked by glory and tragedy. At the same time you're commemorating this big record, there's a big tragedy right in the middle of the thing, which is Dana's [Wells] death," referring to the August 1996 passing of his stepson. "And it's bitter, man. I don't think I ever actually fully enjoyed what 'Roots' brought because of that. It was cut in half, because of that. But that's life, man."

Asked if Dana's death was the starting point for many of the disagreements that led to the eventual breakup of SEPULTURA's classic lineup, Max said: "The situation in the band, it had been going bad [even before that]. It wasn't the beginning of that, but it added to it. And one of the main reasons why it added to it — a lot of people don't know the story — we were in England, ready to do the [Monsters Of Rock festival at Castle] Donington with Ozzy [Osbourne]. And we received the news that Dana died. And my wife was in total despair. And I'm her husband; I have to comfort her. So I [flew] back to America to be with her. And I found out later that Andreas's [Kisser, guitar] wife tried to move the body, tried to steal Dana's body and tried to get him buried real quick so we could go back on tour. And that's — c'mon, man. I was, like, 'Who does that?' It seriously made me think about the people I'm making music with. Are those my real friends? It was confusing, man. And then it got worse because, eventually, they ganged up, including my brother — I cannot put him out of that thing; he was part of it — it was like a mutiny. The three guys against me, and against Gloria. So they wouldn't talk to her. That last European tour, it was just pure misery; it was miserable. Of course, it [didn't] show in the music; the music [was] great [and] the shows were great. But the other 23 hours of the day was fucking misery — trying to deal with that. And eventually her contract was done. They always say in the press that she got fired by those guys, but that's not true. Her contract was actually done; she decided not to renew it. In fact, she told me, 'Go with them if you want to. It's your choice. Don't make me hold you back.' And I just couldn't do it because of things like that. There's that kind of stuff going on — heavy stuff."

According to Cavalera, there were other differences that contributed to the split, including the rest of the band's aspirations to work with more established and notable figures within the music industry.

"They had different ideas," he said. "One of the main ideas was to replace Gloria and a lot of our crew and people with very 'professional,' big people. And to me, that seems a fucked-up thing to do, where the people that helped you get to that was [these] people, and now that you're big and successful, now you can hire anybody. You're just, like, 'All right. Fuck you. You're done. Your shit's done. We're going with [these] successful people.' I didn't agree with that, because I think everything was going good. We were getting all the major festivals; we were supposed to headline Big Day Out in Australia, so she couldn't be that bad of a manager, the way they envisioned.

"Honestly, I think the best thing we could have done would have been to take a whole year off, and everybody should go somewhere, clear their heads and come back a year later, and talk about it," he added. "But even with that, there was no remedy. It's broke — the thing is broke. It's rotten, man, from the inside. It needed something, and eventually what it needed was separation."

Last year, SEPULTURA bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. said that he has had "zero" contact with Max, adding that a reunion with the band's original frontman would have to happen "naturally."

Back in 2017, Igor Cavalera told The Salt Lake Tribune that he and Max "believe SEPULTURA doesn't really make sense nowadays, to do what they're doing." The drummer also downplayed the possibility of a reunion of SEPULTURA's classic lineup, saying: "Unless it's something really solid — and we haven't seen that from their part — of doing something totally professional and coming together, trying to do something like that. At the end of the day, it would be special for the fans, so it's not like a closed door, but at the same time, we have no time to spend energy with this kind of thing. So we just move forward."

Max echoed his brother's sentiments, telling The Salt Lake Tribune that he doesn't even think about his former bandmates much. "For a time — for a long time — there was a war in the press, like, 'He'll talk this, I'll talk that,'" he explained. "I got really tired of it, honestly. I'm not gonna do that anymore. So let them go their way and do their thing, and we're gonna do our thing, and I think that's the best for everybody."

While stopping short of completely ruling out a reunion of SEPULTURA's classic lineup, Max said: "Right now, we don't even need it. It's been so much of that kind of bad vibes through the years that I don't even know how that would even really work out. I think what [Igor and I] are doing is the closest thing to that, and it works great, it works like a charm. It's amazing."

Igor and Max have spent much of the last six years celebrating the 20th anniversary of SEPULTURA's "Roots" and 30th anniversary of "Beneath The Remains" and "Arise", respectively, on tour all over the world.

SEPULTURA's current lineup — vocalist Derrick Green, guitarist Andreas Kisser, bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. and drummer Eloy Casagrande — released its latest album, "Quadra", in February 2020 via Nuclear Blast Records.

John Cooper, the frontman and bassist for the Grammy-nominated Christian rock band SKILLET, has spoken out against "cancel culture," calling it "very frightening."

Cancel culture is the idea that someone, usually a celebrity or a public figure, whose ideas or comments are considered offensive should be boycotted. These people are ostracized and shunned by former friends, followers and supporters alike, leading to declines in any careers and fanbase the individual may have at any given time.

Addressing the cancel culture issue on his "Cooper Stuff" podcast, Cooper said (see video below): "How does that work when Christians are making art, when Christians are making film? How do you make art in a world that wants to cancel you for, maybe, the art that you would make? Now, SKILLET hasn't been canceled yet, which is wonderful. I hope we don't get canceled. Could that happen? I don't know. I didn't think Dr. Seuss would get canceled," referring to the fact that six Dr. Seuss books will no longer be published because they "portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong," according to the business that preserves the author's legacy.

"I'm of the feeling that we Christians, and we conservatives… I think we need to begin to spend your money on the things that you believe — buy things from people of like mind," Cooper continued. "I'm telling you — I never thought that I would be the one saying it. That makes it sound like we want our own little Christian bubble — Christian candy, Christian chicken, Christian barbecue sauce, Christian shoes, Christian music, Christian books… I could go on and on. I never thought that I wanted to live in that bubble, and I do not wanna live in that bubble. But things are changing.

"A few weeks ago, some people came at me on Twitter and things, and they were, like, 'John's talking about government censorship. This isn't government censorship.' So I tried to make it clear. You're right — it's not government censorship; that's not what I'm talking about. The government doesn't need to censor something if we create a culture where you're not allowed to say certain things. If we create a culture that does that and there's no incentives — if businesses yank your stuff, if book publishers yank your stuff. I even said that as an example a while back. If you've got a publisher that drops you. You've written a book, [and] your publisher drops the book because they don't wanna be associated with you — you've just said hate speech, or whatever you've done. Well, now there's going to be incentive for Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Books-A-Million, whoever, there's gonna be incentive for those companies to also drop your book. So let's just say that I wrote a book, and then my publisher said, 'I'm dropping John Cooper's book,' and they drop the book because it's — I don't know, whatever — hate speech. Well, what if Barnes & Noble says, 'We're not dropping the book.' Well, now Barnes & Noble gets hammered from Twitter, from the social justice warriors, from the hyper-left folks, because they are supporting hate speech. So now Barnes & Noble also has to drop the book, because they have to virtue signal. So if they don't drop the book, then they're not woke anymore. They need those 'woke cookies.' Well, if Barnes & Noble is gonna get woke cookies, then Books-A-Million needs to get woke cookies. And if Books-A-Million gets woke cookies, you know Amazon needs woke cookies. So if you've created a culture where freedom of speech is so disincentivized that you've got publishers, book stores — everybody — who doesn't want anything to do with you. Now Twitter wants to ban you too, 'cause you're hate speech. Then there are no platforms for you to get your stuff out. This is very frightening. The government doesn't even need to do anything. The government doesn't need to crack down on you, because they're, like, 'Why would we crack down when culture is doing it?'"

Back in January, Cooper criticized Twitter for permanently suspending former president Donald Trump's account, suggesting it was a form of censorship, and that it amounted to an attack on freedom of speech.

Cooper's recently released debut book, "Awake & Alive To Truth (Finding Truth In The Chaos Of A Relativistic World)", tackles the reigning philosophies of our day of post-modernism, relativism, and the popular view of the goodness of man-and combats these viewpoints by standing on the absolute truth of the Word of God.

SMITH/KOTZEN, the collaboration between guitarists and vocalists Adrian Smith (IRON MAIDEN) and Richie Kotzen (THE WINERY DOGS), will release its self-titled debut album on March 26 via BMG.

Recorded on the Turks & Caicos Islands in February 2020, produced by Richie and Adrian and mixed by Kevin "Caveman" Shirley, this nine-track opus is a consummate collaboration between these two highly respected musicians who co-wrote all the songs and also share lead vocals and trade off on guitar and bass duties throughout the record.

Exploding with powerful melodies and harmonies, the album embodies the spirited attitude of 1970s classic rock with a melting-pot of influences ranging from blues, hard rock, traditional R&B and more, blending the pair's backgrounds and life experiences to result in a thoroughly contemporary sound.

Speaking to Australia's Subculture Entertainment, Kotzen stated about the songwriting process for the LP (hear audio below): "Both of us come from a point of, 'The song is the most important thing'… So, in other words, different guys have different ideas on how to approach things, but for us, it was all about the song, 'cause without a song, you've got nothing to play. So that was our focus. And that kind of went through every thread of what we were doing. We never got into a thing of worrying about who's gonna play what, or that sort of thing, unless there was a reason for it, as far as, 'Hey, we've got a song that exists. Now let's figure out what we're gonna do with it.' But oftentimes, it would just be dictated by casually saying, 'Hey, I've got an idea. Let me try something.' Or, 'Hey, I've got this idea for a melody for a verse. What do you think?' And then I can remember Adrian wrote a verse for one of the songs, and that led me to an idea for a pre-chorus, playing off of his words. So then I would go with that, and then we'd maybe get stuck somewhere in the middle of the chorus and then throw ideas back and forth and work our way out. So it was almost like a tennis match, like a volley — back and forth, back and forth."

Track listing:

01. Taking My Chances

02. Running

03. Scars

04. Some People

05. Glory Road

06. Solar Fire

07. You Don't Know Me

08. I Wanna Stay

09. 'Til Tomorrow

The record features special guest performances by Adrian's IRON MAIDEN bandmate Nicko McBrain on drums for the track "Solar Fire", and Richie's longstanding friend and touring partner Tal Bergman on drums for "You Don't Know Me", "I Wanna Stay" and "'Til Tomorrow", with Richie picking up the sticks on the other five songs.

The album will be available in these formats:

* Digipack CD

* 12" black vinyl with embossed sleeve

* Digital (streaming and download)

* Limited-edition 12" red-and-black-smoke-effect-colored vinyl

Smith is best known as one of IRON MAIDEN's principal guitarists, having also enjoyed success as a solo artist. Kotzen is the frontman for THE WINERY DOGS as well as having been the guitarist for both MR. BIG and POISON during his long and acclaimed career, which has to date seen him release more than 20 solo albums. Both artists are also prolific songwriters.

CHEVELLE drummer Sam Loeffler has revealed to the FM99 WNOR radio station that the band has secured a bass player for its upcoming shows in support of the recently released "Niratias" (Nothing Is Real And This Is A Simulation) album. "His name is Kemble Walters, and he plays in a band called ÆGES," Sam said (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "And he's actually the guitarist-singer in that band, but he plays bass in another band as well. And we just asked him. He's a friend of ours; we've known him for many years and did lots of shows together. And we were, like, 'Hey, man, we love you. We love your hair. Do you wanna come and play some shows?' And he said 'yes.' So we're gonna do that. And we'll see how it goes. He's a rad dude, so I'm sure it'll be great — until he has to go and do his other projects again, or whatever he does. But it's cool. It's casual. And he's great. He's a great musician, and he's a great bass player, and he's a great guitarist. And he can sing. And he's got really tight pants. So, we really like him."

Sam also talked about the departure of longtime CHEVELLE bassist Dean Bernardini, who played his final shows with the band in December 2019. "He did it for 15 years and decided that he needed to be… His kids are now teenagers, and he needed to be home for a while," the drummer said. "So, because of that, we have only rehearsed with [Kemble] once — well, twice, really. So we're putting together setlists, working on that kind of thing, and sending music back and forth.

"It's kind of an interesting time, because with putting out this album, we've been really busy," he continued. "So starting probably next week, we're gonna get back into just playing music again.

"It's fairly depressing to play music knowing that you can't go and do it. It's one thing to go write music and play covers, but to play the music that you're used to playing out in venues for years and years and years, it's a little depressing — to know that you can't do it. So we haven't been doing that as much. Well, now we're getting back into that. We have some shows at the end of June that we're hoping happen — small festivals. So I think those will happen. That'd be good."

Bernardini had been with CHEVELLE since 2005, even though 2007's "Vena Sera" marked his first studio recording with the band.

"Niratias" was released on March 5. The disc was recorded throughout 2019 and 2020 with longtime producer Joe Barresi (TOOL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE), CHEVELLE. The cover artwork was created by Boris Vallejo. The famed and award-winning artist is responsible for the posters used for films like "Knightriders" and "National Lampoon's Vacation", as well as iconic 1970s and 1980s science fiction novel covers and magazines (such as Heavy Metal).

"The North Corridor" debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 album chart and produced a No. 1 Mainstream Rock single, "Joyride (Omen)".

The band's album of rarities from 2002-2016, "12 Bloody Spies: B-Sides And Rarities", was released in October 2018 via Epic.

Photo credit: Joseph Cultice

Alexi Laiho's CHILDREN OF BODOM and BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT bandmate Daniel Freyberg says that he "definitely" didn't see his death coming.

Laiho passed away on December 29, 2020 in his home in Helsinki, Finland. The 41-year-old had reportedly suffered from long-term health issues leading up to his death.

Freyberg, who played with NAILDOWN and NORTHER before joining CHILDREN OF BODOM in 2016, told Revolver magazine that he had no clue Alexi had only a few months to live while they were working on the first BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT material last year. "He seemed as normal as ever," Daniel said. "Yeah, I definitely didn't see this coming."

Asked what Alexi was like on a personal level, Daniel said: "He was a very humble guy. Never made a fuss about himself, you know? He had an excellent sense of humor — really black, gallows humor. It was awesome. He was a very down-to-earth guy and a private guy outside of the band.

"He was very likable," Freyberg added. "Everybody wanted to be around him and everybody wanted a piece of him. That was exhausting to him — he was always in the spotlight. But he was very loyal and generous towards his friends and always curious about how they were."

Earlier this month, Alexi's cause of death was revealed to be "alcohol-induced degeneration of the liver and pancreas connective tissue." Furthermore, Laiho had a cocktail of painkillers, opioids and insomnia medication in his system at the time of his passing.

Alexi and drummer Jaska Raatikainen founded CHILDREN OF BODOM in 1993, and the band was one of the most internationally acclaimed metal acts in Finland up until their very last farewell concert in December of 2019. Last year, Alexi put together BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT, which recorded three songs and shot one music video, to be released in April.

Besides CHILDREN OF BODOM, Laiho had played in such acts as WARMEN, SINERGY, KYLÄHULLUT and THE LOCAL BAND. Awarded with a Metal Hammer Golden God and several other international prizes, the guitarist was also the main star, leading a group of one hundred guitar players at the Helsinki Festival in 2015 in "100 Guitars From Hel" — a massive concert piece he composed.

BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT made its live debut last October at Rytmikorjaamo in Seinäjoki, Finland. The 17-song show consisted entirely of CHILDREN OF BODOM mater

Alice Cooper has once again dismissed the notion that rock is dead, saying that "rock and roll is just too much fun to let die."

While rock and roll has been king of the music world for decades, in the past few years, it's been unseated by the growing popularity of hip-hop. This has caused many pundits to proclaim the genre "dead" from an industry perspective, noting that it has been eclipsed in all measures by pop, hip-hop, and EDM.

A few years ago, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons told Esquire magazine that "rock did not die of old age. It was murdered. Some brilliance, somewhere, was going to be expressed and now it won't because it's that much harder to earn a living playing and writing songs. No one will pay you to do it."

A number of hard rock and heavy metal musicians have weighed in on the topic in a variety of interviews over the last several years, with some digging a little deeper into Simmons's full remarks and others just glossing over the headline.

Cooper, who is promoting his new album, "Detroit Stories", spoke about rock's supposed diminishing status during a recent interview with the 95 KGGO radio station. Addressing the whole "rock is dead" debate, Alice said (hear audio below): "I think what's gonna happen is you're gonna see a total resurgence of hard rock. There's gonna be a very young bunch of kids out there that are gonna show up, and they're gonna be snotty, and they're gonna be arrogant — just what rock should be — [like] when you saw THE [ROLLING] STONES for the first time or you saw any of those bands. Because every generation rebels against the last generation, and the last generation was very high tech — techno this and techno that.

"Why are teenagers buying records?" he asked thetorically. "They're buying vinyl, and they're buying turntables. I think that's right there an indication that there's kids right now in garages all over the world learning AEROSMITH and Ozzy [Osbourne] and Alice — they're learning those songs. Because rock and roll is just too much fun to let die."

Circling back to Gene's comments, Alice said: "I think what Gene was talking about was financially, rock and roll is not what it used to be. Well, yeah, I agree with that. But maybe rock and roll now is where it should be — outlaws looking in rather than being the apex of the pyramid. Now we're kind of the outcasts, and I think rock and roll kind of lives on that.

"There's bands out there now that are just kind of getting used to the idea of guitars. 'Man, turn these things up. Let's be loud. Let's play music that's gonna irritate people. [Laughs]"

The "rock is dead" argument has popped up again and again throughout the years, including in 2018 after MAROON 5 lead singer Adam Levine told Variety magazine that "rock music is nowhere, really. I don't know where it is," he said. "If it's around, no one's invited me to the party. All of the innovation and the incredible things happening in music are in hip-hop. It's better than everything else. Hip-hop is weird and avant-garde and flawed and real, and that's why people love it."

KORN guitarist Brian "Head" Welch spoke to Lou Brutus of HardDrive Radio about the band's plans for the coming months. He said (see video below): "I think that we're gonna get creative with getting through the majority of the year, if we can't play shows. KORN's management and the band, we're just throwing things back and forth — 'What if we did this?', 'What if we did that?' — and we're getting pretty close to locking in some cool ideas. So I'm hoping, the crystal ball is showing me that we can have some shows in the fall. I think there's gonna be smaller shows happening. So I don't know if that means that KORN goes out and does a club tour — just to get to the fans and give 'em something, and to give us something to do — or I don't know if it's something where you have to show proof that you got a vaccine.

"The big shows are — common sense will tell you that getting ten thousand people into a place doesn't look too promising for this year, but you never know," he continued. "But we'll see. And then Europe could be a different story. So I'm hoping, the crystal ball is telling me that we can at least go over there and do some stuff. So, we'll see, man."

This past January, Welch told U.K.'s Kerrang! magazine that he and his bandmates should have some "exciting news" to announce pretty soon. A month earlier, Welch explained to Knotfest.com why KORN hasn't taken part in any live streams, like so many other artists have during the coronavirus pandemic. "Well, we actually were talking about it, and we were doing this and that with management," he said. "These [other] guys [in KORN] got young kids running around. And what are they gonna do? Just leave their wives with the home school stuff? I'm impressed with my KORN brothers; they're stepping up and doing school with their kids.

"KORN has toured for 25 years," he continued. "I left KORN for eight years and got to chill at home. These guys are taking this time to be family men, to be great fathers. Who's to say we won't do something soon, or early next year? I don't know. But I'm telling you, they are the best fathers, and I'm proud of them. So that's probably the reason — family first."

When Welch left KORN in early 2005, he simultaneously announced that he kicked his addictions to drugs and alcohol by becoming a born-again Christian.

Both Welch and KORN bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu have had highly public, though separate, conversion experiences, ones that have been greeted with a certain amount of skepticism.

In October, KORN and free-to-play video game titan World Of Tanks Blitz launched a special Halloween collaboration, revealing the music video for "Finally Free", a track featured on KORN's latest studio album, "The Nothing". Thee months earlier, KORN released a cover of THE CHARLIE DANIELS BAND classic "The Devil Went Down To Georgia", featuring a guest appearance by rapper YelaWolf, exclusively via Bandcamp. All proceeds from the track were donated to Awakening Youth, a nonprofit organization devoted to young people faced with the loss of a parent due to divorce, addiction, death, being surrendered for adoption, or other reasons.

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

Michael Sweet, singer, guitarist and primary songwriter of the openly Christian hard rock band STRYPER, says that "it's just a matter of time" before the Bible is "canceled." Earlier today, Sweet took to his Twitter to share a picture of the Holy Bible cover, and he included the following message: "We've been handing out bibles for almost 40 years. For the first time in my life I'm asking myself this question - I wonder how long it will be before this book is cancelled? I know it may seem like a silly thought but it's really not. It's just a matter of time. Frightening!"

Sweet's latest comments appear to be consistent with conservatives' and the right wing's grievance with "cancel culture", believing that those on the left are somehow always infringing on their freedom of speech.

A few days ago, Donald Trump Jr. — son of former U.S. president Donald Trump, whom Sweet publicly supported — tweeted that the Muppets had been "canceled," and warned his followers that there is nothing that "these psychos won't destroy" and that "liberalism is a disease."

Trump Jr. was apparently referring to a decision by Disney+ to include a warning at the beginning of some episodes of "The Muppet Show" — which first aired in 1976 and featured characters like Kermit The Frog interacting with celebrity guests — informing viewers that the show contains some "negative depictions" and "mistreatment of people or cultures." In one episode, for example, Johnny Cash sings in a barn where the Confederate flag is present. A disclaimer now reads: "These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now."

Formed 38 years ago, STRYPER's name comes from Isaiah 53:5, which states: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

STRYPER's albums include "To Hell With The Devil", "Second Coming", "No More Hell To Pay", "Fallen", "God Damn Evil" and the band's latest effort, "Even The Devil Believes".

In a 2018 interview with the Detroit Free Press, Michael said that STRYPER was never fully embraced by the heavy metal and hard rock communities, largely because of the band's Christian lyrics.

"We've never been accepted by either side," he said. "The secular side, the mainstream, they've never accepted us to this day. We're probably that band that everyone's going to go to whenever there's a time to mock. We'll be the band used for that in most cases. Now on the Christian side, we've never really had the full support of the Christian side because we don't fit into their little club. We're not wearing suits and ties and going to every church and preaching."




We’ve been handing out bibles for almost 40 years. For the first time in my life I’m asking myself this question - I wonder how long it will be before this book is cancelled? I know it may seem like a silly thought but it’s really not. It’s just a matter of time. Frightening! pic.twitter.com/ikiDaHfDq5

— MichaelSweet Stryper (@michaelhsweet) March 2, 2021

KREATOR will get the jigsaw puzzle treatment next month.

On April 16, Zee Productions will release "Pleasure To Kill" as a 500-piece jigsaw 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

QUIET RIOT played a socially distanced concert last night (Saturday, March 6) at The Landis theater in Vineland, New Jersey. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

QUIET RIOT's current lineup includes drummer Johnny Kelly (DANZIG, TYPE O NEGATIVE), who replaced Frankie Banali last year.

Banali, who joined QUIET RIOT in 1982 and played on its breakthrough album, 1983's "Metal Health", died in August after a 16-month battle with pancreatic cancer.

The surviving members of QUIET RIOT said it was "Frankie Banali's wish that the band continue and we keep the music and the legacy alive."

Asked in a recent interview with the "Music Mania" podcast how Johnny came to be involved with QUIET RIOT, guitarist Alex Grossi said: "When Frankie got sick, one of the first phone calls he made to me was regarding getting a substitute drummer. And Johnny and I had worked together, and still work together, in that band HOOKERS & BLOW, that cover band we do for fun. And he just made perfect sense on so many levels, because he's not totally intertwined in the L.A. music scene and doesn't really get involved with the gossip and this and that. Because keep in mind, Frankie wasn't public about his cancer until several months after his diagnosis."

He continued: "Johnny, he's family to me, and Frankie and him were friends. And he can definitely fill the role onstage and off; he's a total pro and he's a friend. It worked out great, because the first show that Frankie was gonna miss was in Dallas, Texas, which is when Johnny Kelly lives. So we were able to fly in, do one song for soundcheck, and then trial by fire, do the whole show. He had never played with us before. And Chuck [Wright, bass] and our singer had never even met him. So it was definitely a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants-type moment, but Johnny rose to the occasion, and we're thankful he's onboard to help us out."

Speaking about the discussions that Frankie and the other members of QUIET RIOT had about continuing without him, Alex said: "There really wasn't any one specific conversation. It was just, 'Keep it going. Business as usual.' We're not gonna miss any dates. We're not gonna make a thing of it. We're gonna keep the band rolling.

"Frankie put so much of his life into building, helping to build, keeping the band going through good times, through bad — '80s, '90s, 2000s — if you think about it, and that's his baby; that's his legacy. And when the reality is that you're not gonna be around anymore, you still want your baby to grow and your legacy to grow, and that basically was always this unwritten thing. And I'm really glad.

"I always tell people I wish I could have found a way to fix his ailments, if you will, but, obviously, no one can do that," Grossi added. "But I take a lot of pride in knowing that we pulled it off last year and we're moving forward the way he wanted to and delivering a great show to people. So that I find comfort in. So that's been a positive."

At some of QUIET RIOT's 2019 and 2020 shows, Banali was replaced by Kelly or Mike Dupke (W.A.S.P.), depending on each musician's availability.

QUIET RIOT's shows in 2019 with Kelly and Dupke marked the first time ever that the band performed without any of the members from its classic lineup: Banali, singer Kevin DuBrow, guitarist Carlos Cavazo and bassist Rudy Sarzo.

QUIET RIOT initially featured the late guitar legend Randy Rhoads and went through some early lineup shifts before securing the musicians that recorded "Metal Health".

Wright has been a part of QUIET RIOT, on and off, since 1982, having initially been involved in the "Metal Health" recordings (he played bass on the tracks "Metal Health" and "Don't Wanna Let You Go"). Grossi was in the last version of the band, from 2004 through 2007, before Kevin passed away, and was asked by Banali to return in 2010.

QUIET RIOT went through two vocalists — Mark Huff and Scott Vokoun — before settling on Jizzy Pearl in 2013. Pearl announced his exit from QUIET RIOT in October 2016 and was briefly replaced by Seann Nichols, who played only five shows with the group before the March 2017 arrival of "American Idol" finalist James Durbin. Pearl returned to QUIET RIOT in September 2019.