Frost* are returning with their first new studio album in five years on May 14. Day And Age is the band’s fourth record, and features Jem Godfrey once again joined by John Mitchell & Nathan King, as well as three guest drummers: Kaz Rodriguez (Chaka Khan, Josh Groban), Darby Todd (The Darkness, Martin Barre) and Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson, Mister Mister). The album also features actor Jason Isaacs.

Jem Godfrey comments of the new album: “2020 was the year of the studio for obvious reasons. As a result 2021 is going to be a bumper year for new music I think and we’re very happy to be riding that wave too into what I hope will be a better year for everybody.”

Day And Age was recorded over the course of 2019 and 2020, featuring eight tracks and striking cover artwork by Carl Glover of Aleph Studios (Steven Wilson, Marillion, Steve Jansen).

The album will be released on Limited 2CD (including a bonus disc of instrumentals), Gatefold 180g 2LP + CD (with etching on Side D), and as Digital Album. Pre-order starts March 19.

Tracklisting:

"Day And Age"
"Terrestrial"
"Waiting For The Lie"
"The Boy Who Stood Still"
"Island Life"
"Skywards"
"Kill The Orchestra"
"Repeat To Fade"

In September 2019, Godfrey and Mitchell rented a cottage for a week in Helford, Cornwall and set about converting it into a recording studio. Day one saw them write and record “Skywards”, “Island Life” was written on day two. On day three, the duo wrote what was to become the title and defining track of the new album, “Day And Age”.

The following January, the band setup a new temporary studio for a further week in a converted coastguard tower at Dungeness in East Sussex. “We were 30 feet by the sea, next to a nuclear power station and a lighthouse, in midwinter. So there was hardly any daylight and the weather was dreadful”, laughs bassist Nathan King, “We wrote 'Terrestrial' and 'Repeat To Fade' there and you can definitely hear the bleak isolated oppression having an effect on us. The songs we wrote were far darker – the wind howling round the building at night, the power station generating crackles on the audio, a huge lighthouse next door sweeping light into the fog every 30 seconds and John screaming “ENJOY YOURSELVES YOU SCUM” into a microphone. It was absolutely brilliant!”.

In November 2020, Frost* released the career-retrospective collection ‘3 Winters, which featured all their studio albums to date, plus live material, b-sides & last years Others EP, all packaged in a beautiful artbook.

Frost* was formed in 2004 by keyboard player and singer Jem Godfrey, Released in 2006 the band’s debut album Milliontown was an instant success and is regarded by many as a classic in the modern prog rock genre featuring John Mitchell on guitar, John Jowitt on bass and Andy Edwards on drums. The band quickly followed it up with Experiments In Mass Appeal in 2008, in many ways the antithesis of Milliontown featuring a much more stripped back sound, more concise songs and a new band member and singer in the form of Dec Burke.

The live album The Philadelphia Experiment followed in 2009 and the a long gap followed before third album Falling Satellites was released in 2016 with a new lineup of Nathan King on bass and Craig Blundell on drums, plus returning guitarist and singer John Mitchell on guitar who also co-wrote much of the album with Jem Godfrey.




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Starting on April 2, concerts in New York state will be allowed to resume at 33 percent capacity, with a limit of 100 people indoors or 200 people outdoors, and a requirement that all attendees wear masks and be socially distanced. According to The New York Times, those limits would be increased — to 150 people indoors or 500 people outdoors — if all attendees test negative before entering.

Because of the state's order that venues require social distancing and mask-wearing, some promoters and venue operators say that reopening simply isn't economically feasible.

"Given that social distancing is still part of the metric, it brings us back down to an approximate 20 percent capacity, which is untenable," Michael Swier, the owner of the New York City rock clubs Bowery Ballroom and Mercury Lounge, told The New York Times.

The New York announcement comes just a day after the governors of Texas and Mississippi said that they were lifting mask mandates and allowing businesses to reopen at full capacity.

Effective March 10, all businesses in Texas will be allowed to open at full capacity for the first time in nearly a year, Gov. Greg Abbott announced. Businesses may still limit capacity or implement additional safety protocols at their own discretion.

Mississippi on Tuesday issued a separate executive order to lift the state's mask mandates and give all businesses the green light to reopen at full capacity.

More than 3.5 million Texans have so far received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, with 1.8 million fully vaccinated. In Mississippi, 14.1% of the state's residents have had at least one dose, and 7.6% are fully vaccinated.

Iowa and Montana recently lifted statewide mask mandates, while Massachusetts is completely lifting capacity limits on indoor dining, and allowing concert venues to open at 50 percent capac

Late Megadeth drummer Nick Menza's camp has released the new video below, which features Nick performing a playthrough of Megadeth's "Wake Up Dead". The footage was filmed on August 2, 2013 in Los Angeles, California.

The recently announced official Nick Menza documentary film, This Was My Life - The Story of Nick Menza,  is described in a press release as "an unflinching exploration into the life of one of the most successful thrash-metal drummers of all time, authorized by the Menza family. From his childhood all the way through to the end of his life including a true blow-by-blow account of the repeated failed attempts of the classic Rust In Peace lineup."

This Was My Life will feature rare and never-before-seen photos and video footage from Nick's archived VHS tape collection, personally filmed by Menza himself from 1988 through 1991. Included will be exclusive content showcasing Nick working at the studio, personal home movies, casual time and party time with his fellow band members, as well as other well-known artists of the era that Nick toured with.

Bolger said: "I am very excited to be working with Screaming Butterfly Entertainment on Nick's official documentary. "There's a lot of published misinformation out there about Nick that isn't true and I am very happy to bring the truth forth. Nick loved his fans and always said without the fans none this would be possible. I really think Nick's fans will enjoy this journey through his life."

Executive producer Holly Mollohan from Screaming Butterfly Entertainment added: "As both a filmmaker, and fellow metalhead who deeply values the metal community, I am honored and excited to go on this journey alongside all of you."

Late in the evening on May 21, 2016, Nick collapsed after suffering a heart attack during a concert with Chris Poland and Robertino "Pag" Pagliari in their band OHM: at The Baked Potato in Studio City, California and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said Menza died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Nick rightfully earned his place as one of heavy metal's fiercest drummers during Megadeth's 10-year commercial peak. The highlight of his career, Nick said, was playing Rock In Rio before more than 100,000 people. The lowest point was being fired by Megadeth mainman Dave Mustaine while he was still in a hospital bed after surgery to remove what doctors feared was a cancerous growth.




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Traditional Nordic folk outfit Wardruna, have released the sixth episode in a documentary series about the band and their recently released new album, Kvitravn. Watch below:

Following the release of their fifth album Kvitravn—which debuted in several worldwide Top 10 charts (listed below)— Wardruna welcomes viewers to join them for a virtual record release show. Seeking to reconnect audiences from around the globe and to reimagine the Wardruna experience in a bold new way, the stream will take place Friday, March 26 at 12 PM, PT / 3 PM, ET from Oslo, NO.

Those joining the event will be able to experience Wardruna’s idiosyncratic, authentic, and extraordinary stage performances that transcend borders, time, language and musical genres with premiere performances of songs taken from Kvitravn alongside their earlier works, all set in a special surrounding arranged specifically for this event. Tickets are on sale, along with additional merch options exclusive to the stream, here.

Out now via By Norse Music and Sony Music/Columbia Records, Kvitravn (“White Raven”) marks a distinct evolution in Wardruna's sound. The album features a broad selection of both traditional and historical instruments and guest appearances by a small group of prominent traditional singers, spearheaded by Kirsten Bråten Berg, one of the most important custodians of Norwegian traditional song. Throughout its eleven songs, Kvitravn illuminates Northern sorcery, spirit-animals, shadows, nature and animism, the wisdom and meanings of certain myths, various Norse spiritual concepts, and the relation between sage and songs.

Kvitravn has made an impressive worldwide debut, charting in several Top 10 Charts across the world.

Tracklisting (with translations):

"Synkverv" (Turn-sight)
"Kvitravn" (White Raven)
"Skugge" (Shadow)
"Grá" (Grey)
"Fylgjutal" (Speech of the Fetch)
"Munin" (Memory)
"Kvit hjort" (White Stag)
"Viseveiding" (Song-hunting)
"Ni" (Nine)
"Vindavlarljod" (Song of the wind-bred)
"Andvevarljod" (Song of the Spirit-weavers)

“Kvitravn” video:

"Grá" video:




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The Sweet Meats Slaughterhouse was founded in 1895 by Wilhelm Schröder. Internationally known for his advances in industrialized butchery, he produced 30% of the meats consumed in the United States. In 1915 tragedy struck the small town he called home when all the livestock took some unexplained fatal disease. The ever resourceful Schröder turned to the only available meat. The townsfolk. When they discovered the terrible truth - they enacted their own form of justice by feeding the once prolific Schröder to his own machines. The Sweet Meats Slaughterhouse remained eerily quiet and vacant until one night horrible noises resembling music emanated from the dank hallways.

Dead Animal Assembly Plant combine elements of rock, metal, industrial, and bring a strong post-apocalyptic / horror influence to our characters and stage show. Shows include: Knotfest 2015, Wasteland Weekend 2018/2019, multiple successful independent tours including a national tour in 2019, Twitch.tv appearances, collaborations with international artists Mothmeister, and direct local support for numerous national touring acts from metal, to horror punk, to industrial.

The fanatical cannibals of Dead Animal Assembly Plant have whipped up their own recipe for the horrors of the modern age: with a touch of rock, dash of metal, pinch of industrial, sprinkle in some electronics and heaping helping of madness. Their highly anticipated new album, titled Bring Out The Dead, will be released on March 26 via Armalyte Industries.

Welcome to the slaughterhouse.

The band premiered their single "A Violent Breed" in May 2020 via BraveWords. Check it out below.

Tracklist:

"Cemetery Slums" 
"A Violent Breed"
"The Ghost of Friedrich Nietzsche" 
"Colors Under Attack" 
"Somewhere Else" 
"Sacred Disgrace" (feat. Lulu Black) 
"Ghost Transmissions" 
"Behold the Righteous Plague" 
"Do the Inferno" 
"The End of You" 

Bonus Tracks:

"Ironface" (2021 version) 
"God's Gonna Cut You Down" featuring Outer Stace (DAAP x NANDO version)

Go to Dead Animal Assembly Plant's official Bandcamp page here.




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Brazilian dark metal band Spleenful have announced their new members, Lucas Ollé (bass) and Drax The Ax (drums), who are currently recording the long awaited band's full-length. The new record, which title will be announced soon, is being record at RKE Studio, in São Leopoldo, under production duties by Eduardo Rabuske.

The album will contain eight unreleased tracks written over the course of the last months, like "Zeitgeist" and "Chaotic Layer Of Metafiction". Singer Tiago Alano comments: "We started the writing process right before the beginning of the isolation, but we were able to carry on considering restrictions we faced. We already got three tracks in an advanced stage of production since we started recording in the RKE Studio and the results are very satisfying for us. The tracks are a lot heavier than what people are used to listen from us and Eduardo Rabuske is wonderfully great capturing this new essence.”

Guitarist Elias Mendes adds: "The new compositions are more technical and brutal, highlighting the use of 7-string guitars with lower tunings."

Spleenful released their first EP in 2013, entitled Bittersweet. In the following years the band had shared the stage with Moonspell and Therion. Their latest release was the "Winter Solstice Dream" single in 2018.




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God's Hate, one of the hardest hardcore bands in all the land, have just shared another song from their upcoming self-titled album, which arrives via Closed Casket Activities on March 12. Listen to the band's self-titled song below:

Co-founded by Colin Young of Twitching Tongues and vocalist / Ring Of Honor professional wrestler Brody King, God's Hate set out to re-establish the mantle of hardness created by East Coast HC titans Merauder, Hatebreed, and the seminal Troy-core scene of the late '80s and early '90s. 

"My biggest pet peeve in hard music is when a band is afraid to go all the way musically," Colin says. "Don't be a hard band with no hard parts. And you gotta ask yourself why before writing every single song: Why does this song exist? What am I trying to say and what am I trying to do? If it doesn't evoke some kind of emotion, what's the point?"

God’s Hate answered that question with a fist to the throat on the Divine Injustice and Father Inferior seven-inches in 2014 and 2015, respectively, before sawing off their full-length debut, Mass Murder, in 2016. Railing against religion, the government, and airing their grievances against the stupidity of mankind, they employed the strong-arm musical tactics of their forefathers: Beatdown riffs, slamming breakdowns, gang vocals and no bullshit whatsoever. 

Fast-forward to right about now, and it's been five years since the last God's Hate album. During that time, Colin has been touring on and off with Twitching Tongues and King's pro wrestling career has taken off. There have been births, deaths, and major life changes. Factor in the COVID-19 pandemic, and maybe the delay doesn't seem quite so long. 

"Some bands write a record every year, which is crazy," Colin observes. "Other bands write albums with 12 or 13 songs, but you can tell they put everything into five or six of those songs. My goal was to write an album full of songs that could be my favorite song. And yeah - this would've been out a lot sooner had COVID not happened, but I'm sure that's the story for every band on the planet right now."

Which brings us to God's Hate, the band's new self-titled album. Tracked at The Pit in Van Nuys, CA, by Colin's brother Taylor Young (Twitching Tongues, Zous) between August 2019 and the summer of 2020, the record marks a significant lineup shift for God's Hate. This time, Colin, King, and guitarist Anthonie Gonzalez are joined by Twitching Tongues bassist Alec Faber, Taylor Young on lead guitar, and third guitarist Martin Stewart. As if that weren't enough, Colin moved over to drums. 

In the end, God’s Hate is everything the band wanted it to be. "God's Hate was a band born out of friendship and pure love for hardcore music and the desire to provide what we wanted to hear and felt was missing: Unapologetically hard music that holds nothing back musically or lyrically," Colin says. "There's absolutely no room for bullshit, especially in the world we live in now. This record was straight-up therapy for us, and I hope it inspires some people to do the same thing: Create painful, hateful music out of love."




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Acclaimed U.S. metal traditionalists White Wizzard have announced their first release of new music in three years. The group’s new single, “Viral Insanity,” will be released digitally through M-Theory Audio (and in Japan via Trooper Music) on March 24. The song – which sees band founder and bassist Jon Leon joined once again by guitarists James LaRue and Will Wallner – is the first White Wizzard recording to feature new drummer Jonathan Brown, a longtime fan of the band. Vocal duties for this single, meanwhile, were handled by respected heavy metal veteran Mark Boals (Yngwie Malmsteen, Dio Disciples, Royal Hunt, Ring of Fire).

“As a kid, Yngwie Malmsteen's Trilogy album was my favorite, and I always thought the vocals and songs on that album were some of the best ever in heavy metal,” says Leon. “I wrote a song called 'Viral Insanity' after Covid-19 hit, and one thing led to another and I was put in touch with Mark. I felt the song was perfect for his voice. We all tracked at home, and I sent him my demos and he nailed it. Will and James just kill the leads, and it was a fun quarantine collaboration for us to do with a musical icon and hero of ours. We hope you enjoy it! We have much more to come in 2021 and beyond. Rock on and stay safe.”

White Wizzard have flown the flag high for traditional heavy metal since 2007, generating four full-length albums of melodic metal headbangers that are loaded with fast riffs and catchy choruses. The group's most recent full-length, 2018’s Infernal Overdrive, received positive reviews, with critics recognizing a band that was firing on all cylinders with inspiration from an expanded array of influences such as Rush, Led Zeppelin, and Metallica being seamlessly integrated into their existing blueprint.

The current lineup of White Wizzard was provided an extra injection of guitar greatness by the 2019 return of Wallner – who played on the group's 2013 record “The Devil's Cut” – to the fold, rejoining Leon and fellow guitarist LaRue. “Viral Insanity” also features a standout drumming effort from new member Brown and a vocal performance that reinforces why Boals has been a respected great in the genre for four decades.

More info on White Wizzard's plans for 2021 will be revealed in the weeks to come.




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In December of last year, London, Ontario’s The Blood of Christ released a split album Eastern Beast – Western Wolf with Japan’s Vomit Remnants. Now they have released a lyric video for the track “Apocalyptic Vertigo”.

The track is a unique song that blends black metal and death metal in an abrupt manner. It features really catchy thrash riffs, and a solid down-picking pit riff to end it off, all of which are indicative of Jeff Longo’s guitar style. Lyrically, this track speaks about time travel and loosely takes inspiration from the movie Twelve Monkeys. The Blood Of Christ shares the intention behind their music:

“We hope that our music takes people away to an inner place that makes them feel triumphant like they’re in flight. Hopefully, it inspires the same feelings we got when we were kids just discovering awesome metal music.”

The Blood Of Christ is now fronted by Ontario underground-metal veteran Hank Bielanski on bass and vocals. The release of “Eastern Beast – Western Wolf”, sees the debut of Hank’s beastly craft. This split is the ninth release from the Canadian band, whose discography also boasts three demos, four full-lengths, an EP, and another split. They have toured with the likes of Kataklysm, Incantation, Necronomicon and Killitorous. 

The Blood Of Christ’s brooding, unique and crushing sound has made fans out of underground metal lovers from many genres, creating an appeal that defies genre borders, they are especially recommended for fans of Carcass, Sepultura, and Enslaved.

The split album is available on CDN Records.

(Photo by: Debbie Longo)




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Impure Wilhelmina will be releasing their seventh full-length, Antidote, on May 21 via Season Of Mist. The first new chapter “Gravel” can now be viewed, in the form of a music video below.

Impure Wilhelmina comment on the track: "'Gravel' is a hymn to human pain. It starts in a dark mood, continues with a tortuous verse and ends with a chorus that we can't help but sing along. And this is how one will fulfill one's destiny. Indeed, man's destiny is to sing his sorrow, in the howling wind, as he bends under heavy burdens, his feet in the mud, under the pale glow of sardonic stars. Directed by Steven Blatter, the video transcribes the turmoil induced by this cold fatality, in a sad, mineral and epic atmosphere."

Tracklisting:

“Solitude”
“Midlife Hollow”
“Gravel”
“Dismantling”
“Jasmines”
“Vicious”
“Torrent”
“Unpredicted Sky”
“Antidote”
“Everything Is Vain”

“Gravel”:

(Photo by: Mehdi Benkler)




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Frontiers Music Srl has announced the release of the debut single, “Mad World”, from Crowne, a new Swedish melodic hard rock supergroup whose debut album will be released this summer. The band is comprised of vocalist Alexander Strandell (Art Nation), guitarist/keyboardist/producer Jona Tee (H.E.A.T.), bassist John Levén (Europe), drummer Christian Lundqvist (The Poodles). The album also features Love Magnusson (Dynazty) providing guitar solos. Debut single, “Mad World”, is streaming below.

Crowne is hands-down the most exciting, thrilling supergroup ever created out of the Swedish melodic hard rock scene. This stellar cast of some of the most outstanding musicians from the scene have been gathered together to create this absolute beast of a debut album, the title of which will be revealed in the coming weeks. Crowne's music is the result of these amazing talents coming together and realizing a musical vision under the passionate and watchful guidance of Serafino Perugino, President of Frontiers Records. This is a melodic hard rock barnburner with enormous melodies, delivering rock 'n' roll like there is no tomorrow. Quite simply, this is going to blow you away, so prepare yourself for what's to come with your first taste of the album with the single “Mad World”.

Vocalist Alexander Strandell is known to fans of the genre for fronting Art Nation. Since 2015, Art Nation has released three successful albums in Scandinavia on Gain/Sony Music while staking their claim as up-and-comers in the melodic hard rock scene. 

Jona Tee's name is certainly one that needs no introduction for fans of the Swedish melodic rock scene and melodic hard rock in general. Jona brings not only his trademark production and keyboard skills to the proceedings here, but also provides the main guitars on the album. (Love Magnusson of Dynazty lent his skills to the solos on the album.) 

On bass, a name that surely needs no introduction, from the legendary band Europe, John Levén. John agreed to join the guys and offer his awesome talents for the realization of a killer sound and to be one half of an astounding rhythm section.

The Poodles drummer, Christian “Kicken” Lundqvist, joins the party as the backbone of the rhythm section. The Poodles have been one of the most successful acts in melodic hard rock in Sweden in the 21st century.




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If you're allergic to smiling, be afraid... be very afraid! Napalm Records has announced that New York based cover song reinventors Tragedy have inked a worldwide record deal with the premium Austrian rock and metal label.

Born out of the impenetrable divide of disco and metal, Tragedy takes disco, soft-rock and pop classics, and completely re-imagines them as glorious, red-hot heavy metal. Since the debut album, We Rock Sweet Balls and Can Do No Wrong – a glamorous bunch of Bee Gees-songs redone in heavy metal manner – these fearsome brothers have seamlessly obliterated the line between disco and metal. Their music is sure to get your head banging, your booty shaking, put a smile on your face and your fist in the air. Tragedy’s past releases have charted on the NACC Heavy Top 10, and the band was awarded 2019 Album of the Year by the Necrosexual on Metal Injection.

The six-piece consistently tours North America, the UK & continental Europe, and has headlined festival stages  such as SXSW (USA), CMJ (USA), Musikfest (USA), Bloodstock (UK), Rebellion (UK), Summer Breeze (GER), Foudrock (FR), Motocultor (FR), ParkPop (BE), Glastonbudget (UK), Legends of Rock (UK), Belladrum (UK) and Hammerfest/Hard Rock Hell (UK).

Their first release with Napalm Records will include Tragedy’s unique twist on artists such as ABBA, Donna Summer, Neil Diamond, Adele, The Weather Girls and of course, The Bee Gees. 

Tragedy on the signing: “We're thrilled that Tragedy has signed with Napalm Records! Excited, delighted and fully aroused. It's awesome to be able to give our music a proper worldwide release with a beloved, internationally renowned record label. Thus begins our scheme for world domination - death to false disco-metal!” (Mo'Royce Peterson, Tragedy: All Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees & Beyond)

It doesn't matter if you love or hate disco metal - you will unabashedly love Tragedy and their bombastic mixture of both genres, glitter and revelry. To get a heaviness induced disco feeling for what lies ahead, watch the live video for “Hot Stuff”, featuring Alex Skolnick of Testament on lead guitar.

Tragedy is:
Disco Mountain Man - lead vocals, lead keyboards
Mo'Royce Peterson - lead vocals, lead guitar
Andy Gibbous Waning - lead bass, lead vocals
Garry Bibb - lead guitar, lead vocals
The Lord Gibbeth - lead drums

(Band photo by: Michael Blasé)




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METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich was a guest on the latest episode of the "Tanya's Table" podcast hosted by Oakland, California-based celebrity chef, entrepreneur and cookbook author Tanya Holland. The one-hour discussion about music, food and where the two intersect can now be heard below.

Speaking about his Danish upbringing and how it has shaped who he is, Ulrich said: "As the world spins out of control here in many ways, I feel more and more Danish and kind of embrace my Danish roots. I love America; I love living in America. It's been an incredible 30-[plus] years, close to 40 years now [since I moved to the U.S.], but the Danishness in me still flourishes, and I'm very proud and happy about that side.

"People [ask me], 'Oh, you're gonna move back [to Denmark]?' I'm, like, 'I'm very happy,'" he continued. "I'm very happy [living] in San Francisco. I love the Bay Area mentality and the creative energies that flow through all the different things — even tech here, obviously, where people are inventing the future. But I'm really more and more, I think, understanding and appreciative and understand what role my upbringing and the culture and the history and the Danish worldview plays in continuously shaping who I am."

While still living in Denmark as a teenager, Ulrich played tennis professionally and could have gone on to a career as a tennis star, but chose music instead.

METALLICA was formed when Ulrich, who had moved to Los Angeles, placed an ad in a local paper called the Recycler looking for other musicians to play with. The ad was answered by guitarists James Hetfield and Hugh Tanner of the band LEATHER CHARM.

METALLICA officially formed in October 1981 and the band's first recording was "Hit The Lights" for the compilation "Metal Massacre".

Bay Area DJ Ron Quintana came up with the group's name: he was debating between using "Metallica" and "Metal Mania" for the name of his radio show and Ulrich encouraged him to use "Metal Mania" so that he could use "Metallica" for his new band.

METALLICA's first full lineup — featuring Hetfield, Ulrich, guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist Ron McGovney — played its first gig on March 14, 1982 at Radio City in Anaheim, California.


























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During a new appearance on MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn's "No Fuckin' Regrets With Robb Flynn" podcast, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH bassist Chris Kael spoke about his decision to get sober three years ago. He said (see video below): "I was doing blow, but I realized when I went to rehab, I was always the key bump guy. So just keeping the levels up just enough to fight any sort of depression. And then also through that time, Ivan [Moody, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH singer] was very much the focus of the issues [with drugs and alcohol] that he was going through at that point. No surprise and no secrets there — we've all seen the stuff that happened back then. But he was the focal point for everybody. So I was kind of able to hide in the background while he was dealing with his stuff. So I got to slide under the radar most of the time.

"The real decline for me started maybe two months before I cleaned up," he continued. "Just life situations — I was going through a divorce at the time… We got divorced after I got out of rehab, but the process had kind of been started before. And honestly, my goal going into rehab was — I wrote [my then-wife] a note; she may still have it; I'm sure she probably does. It was basically, like, 'Hey, I'm going to get help' and become the guy that she married in the first place and not this person I had become. So I very much wanted to get back and get out of rehab and go back to being married and whatnot. But it changed. And it was real bad probably the last three weeks of it. I didn't get too out of control. [There were] a couple of times here and there where I would really let go and there were indications that things were getting worse for me. But I basically ended up in just like a real depressed period, and I decided, 'Fuck, man. I can't do this anymore.' I called my buddy Greg, and he took me to rehab that day. And it was the weakest I've ever felt in my life, walking into that rehab. But then once I got out of rehab, I was, like, that's the fucking strongest I've ever been, is admitting that I can't deal with this and I need to figure something else out.

According to Chris, "life is a whole lot happier" for him now. "I'm more productive," he said. "I've got more things going on. I'm able to appreciate stuff."

Kael went on to say that things got so bad for him at one point that he didn't always enjoy performing live. "When you're on stage at Wembley, sold-out show, and you're on stage going, 'Ah. Can we just get the fuck off here?', something's fucking wrong with your endorphin levels," he laughed. "My body was just so beat up. I never played fucked up on stage, but I definitely played tired from the night before many times. And that was one of those nights. My body was beat up from the night before. We probably had a day off in London. Me and my bass tech used to daydrink all day long."

Back in April 2018, Kael told the KLAQ radio station that he was "going through about an eight-ball of cocaine a week" at the height of his addiction. "That got to be the biggest problem for me," he revealed. "That and depression, the two things, were not good. I didn't realize it until I got into rehab that I was self-medicating with cocaine to get my dopamine levels up to fight the depression. I never even thought about that. And then when you come off it, you crash hard."

Kael first revealed his battle with addiction in a series of tweets, saying that his then-wife played a "major role" in helping him get clean. "Had she not busted me trying to restock after burning through $1300 in blow in two days in late January [2018], I truly believe that I would not be here today," he wrote.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's eighth album, "F8", was released in February 2020 via Better Noise Music.

Rick Nielsen spoke to Terrie Carr of the Morristown, New Jersey radio station 105.5 WDHA about CHEAP TRICK's upcoming 20th studio album, "In Another World", which is due on April 9 via BMG. Asked how long it took for him and his bandmates to complete the effort, the guitarist said: "It was supposed to have been out a year ago. We finished it, but then, of course, all the crap happened, so [everything] got delayed — our tours got delayed, the record got delayed. So we did it probably a year and a half ago — something like that. I don't think we really put the final touches on it until about a month ago, actually. 'Cause in the meantime, we recorded this, that and the other. We'd done [a cover of David Bowie's] 'Rebel Rebel' with [producer] Jack Douglas. We did [a cover of THE BEATLES'] 'She Said She Said' for Howard Stern [referring to Howard's tribute to the 50th anniversary of THE BEATLES' 'Revolver' album]. We had Joe Perry [of AEROSMITH guesting on it]. We were at Johnny Depp's studio doing that. And then we did a [Harry Nilsson] song for another kind of tribute record. So it just seemed like we just kept recording. So now it's time for this. I mean, we only finished the cover and all that stuff, really, about a month and a half ago."

Nielsen also talked about CHEAP TRICK's longevity and enduring influence, saying: "I don't mean to be extra humble, 'Oh, gee,' but we do what we like, and we're lucky that we had any success, and we're lucky that we had any fans, but we've got a lot of fans, and we like what we do. We're too dumb to quit, and our mistakes are real. And we're just a good band. I don't think we've ever progressed — really. I mean, we never tried to be something that we weren't. We never tried to be, 'All right, now we're gonna do this.' It's just, like, no, that's phony."

"In Another World" was produced by CHEAP TRICK's longtime associate Julian Raymond. The LP marks CHEAP TRICK's first new LP since 2017's double-header of "We're All Alright!" and "Christmas Christmas".

CHEAP TRICK's current lineup includes three of its original members: Nielsen, singer Robin Zander and bassist Tom Petersson. Drummer Bun E. Carlos stopped touring with the band in 2010 and was replaced by Nielsen's son Daxx.

Founded in 1974, CHEAP TRICK is an indisputable American institution, beloved around the globe for its instantly identifiable, hugely influential, brand of pop rock 'n' roll. The bandmembers are true pioneers with an unparalleled streak of certifiably classic tunes, from "He's A Whore", "California Man" and "Dream Police" to "Surrender", "I Want You To Want Me" and the worldwide #1 hit single "The Flame". 2016 saw CHEAP TRICK inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, a long-overdue acknowledgement of a nearly five-decade career that has earned them more than 40 international gold and platinum certifications, myriad awards and industry honors, featured appearances on over 20 movie soundtracks, and total record sales well in excess of 20 million.

Last September, CHEAP TRICK released the aforementioned cover version of "Rebel Rebel". Back in 2018, CHEAP TRICK recorded a single called "The Summer Looks Good On You" and followed it up with 2019 updates of Harry Nilsson's "Ambush" and John Lennon's "Gimme Some Truth".

Former ROUGH CUTT and QUIET RIOT frontman Paul Shortino has told the "Ouch, You're On My Hair" podcast and radio show that he is not concerned about contracting COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. He said (hear audio below): "I'm not really afraid of it. I think [other] people are more afraid of it. I'm such a believer in the law of attraction that if you're not afraid of it, and you put out there that you're not afraid of it, I don't think you're gonna contract it. I know people that have contracted it who were so afraid of getting it. And then they just put it out there."

The singer continued: "Everything begins with a thought, and everything's on a frequency, so if you put out something there, you're gonna get it back. So you should only think about what you want, not what you don't want. [Don't think] 'I don't wanna get this. I don't wanna get the COVID.'

"I know people that have gotten the COVID, and I know people that don't care if they get it or not. And they've had it, and they've lived through it. I know people that have taken the vaccine now and have had some really bad reactions from it. And then someone sent me this whole thing on 'don't even take it at all.' Because there's a whole thing about when the government gave out vaccines for the military, and my dad was in the military — he was a marine during [the war in] Korea. She mentioned World War II, but mainly Korea and Vietnam. Those guys are sickly — they're still sickly. I've got friends that went to Vietnam, and they're very sick — not just from being over there, but from some of the vaccines they gave them. 'Cause they had to give them multiple shots. And this woman talks about it, who's been studying vaccines for over 42 years, and also viruses. And it's interesting that our immune system, the white blood cells in our immune system are the ones that beat up the bad things in our body, with our immune system."

The 67-year-old Shortino, who frequently "likes" tweets that amplify Republican talking points and that are derogatory to Democrats, added: "I just recently found out I have an allergic reaction to flu shots; I get deadly sick. Every time I've taken the flu shot, I've been sick for… [While doing the 'Raiding'] 'The Rock Vault' [Las Vegas show], I was for six to eight weeks, and I had walking pneumonia. My lungs were all filled up. I couldn't believe I could sing. The best part about it is I got probably down to 160 pounds, but I was white as a ghost. I'm performing with walking pneumonia. They're talking about COVID-19, and I'm going, 'I've survived hepatitis, I've survived walking pneumonia' and god knows what else. So I'm just not afraid of it; that's just me. If I get it, I get it."

Paul concluded: "I'm not gonna take that vaccine; I'm just not gonna do it. And if they say you can't travel outside the country if you don't take the vaccine, well, I just won't travel then. I don't trust anybody anymore."

Last month, Shortino made headlines when he criticized Twitter for permanently suspending former U.S. president Donald Trump's account, saying "denying the President and others the right to express opinions is dangerous to the nation." The rocker, who insists that he is neither a Republican nor a Democrat (he calls himself an "independent libertarian"), also claimed that the 2020 presidential was "rigged," with "fraud at its highest level of corruption". He also repeated the debunked claim that there were more votes than voters in the 2020 election, and floated the baseless allegation that "thousands" of "dead people" voted in his home state of Nevada (a claim that was also debunked).

A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll showed almost a third of U.S. adults are undecided on whether they'll get the COVID-19 vaccine.

The poll, released earlier in the month, found that 31 percent of adults are going to "wait until it has been available for a while to see how it is working for other people" before receiving the coronavirus vaccine.

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

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

QUIET RIOT's fourth album, 1988's "QR", was the band's only LP to feature Shortino. Prior to joining QUIET RIOT, Paul sang on two acclaimed studio albums from ROUGH CUTT, 1985's self-titled effort and 1986's "Wants You!"

Image courtesy of Raiding The Rock Vault

DJ Ashba spoke to Richard Allan, host of "Action Figures" on Amazon Prime, about his exit from GUNS N' ROSES in 2015 after a six-year stint with the legendary rock group.

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

Asked if all the people close to him were telling him he was "crazy" for leaving GUNS N' ROSES just before the launch of the band's reunion tour, Ashba said (see video below): "My thing is, it was realy cool to get that call [about staying with GUNS for the 'Not In This Lifetime' tour], but on the other hand, I knew in my heart where I wanna go.

"I've never fooled myself," he continued. "When I was in GUNS, people would be, like, 'Oh, you're in GUNS N' ROSES.' I've never been that guy that's 'formerly of' and try to cling on to an old band name that, really, I shouldn't be taking credit for — I've never been like that. If you go to any of my socials, you don't even see 'guitarist of SIXX:A.M.', because I never wanna live in the past. I'm so focused on where I'm going. There's a lot of people that do that, and there's nothing wrong with it — it's a legit credit I'll die with, but at the same time, I don't wanna live off of it. I wanna keep building. And I'm just getting started.

"That was a chapter in my life, and I'm starting a new chapter," DJ added. "So, to me, it's one of those things where I just wanna focus on where I'm going, and that makes me excited."

Ashba previously discussed his departure from GUNS N' ROSES in a November 2016 interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". He stated at the time: "Well, there [were] multiple reasons [why I left GN'R] — a couple that I won't go into — but the biggest reason was I needed to get back to my roots, back to what I really truly believed in, and that was playing songs I helped write with [SIXX:A.M. bandmates] James [Michael] and Nikki [Sixx]. We [SIXX:A.M.] have five albums out [and] we have a ten-year career together. So we did a tour, 'Modern Vintage' tour, where it was, like, nineteen shows, and that tour really changed my life and put my career back into perspective — you know, being out on the stage and connecting with the fanbase."

Ashba also once again claimed that he was asked to stay in GN'R for the "Not In This Lifetime" tour, but that he decided against it, preferring instead to pursue his own career path.

"Axl called me and he really wanted me a part of the reunion, and I turned it down," Ashba said. "I felt if Slash is coming back, that's great — that's what the fans want, and I can go off and do what I really wanna do now… And we left [off on good terms]; everything is good. And I couldn't be happier for the fans out there. I'm a fan. Half of the band reunited, which excites me, but at the same time, it's the best of both worlds — I get to do what I really love to do, and that's play in SIXX:A.M."

Only Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan from GN'R's "Appetite For Destruction"-era lineup are taking part in the band's current reunion. They are being joined by keyboardist Dizzy Reed, guitarist Richard Fortus and drummer Frank Ferrer. Also appearing with them is second keyboardist Melissa Reese.

Four years ago, former GUNS N' ROSES bassist Tommy Stinson said that he found it "funny" that Ashba "made such a big deal about" quitting the band at a time when "there wasn't really anything going on" with the group. Stinson, who was in GUNS N' ROSES from 1998 until 2014, told HardrockHaven.net: "[DJ] called me up on the phone and told me that he was gonna quit, you know, and this that and the other thing… [It] seemed like it was kind of inevitable that there was going to be a reunion happening, so I think he… I don't know if he [laughs] tried to get in front of the curve to, you know, drum up some extra fucking press for himself. I don't really know what the deal was, but I thought it odd. I thought it an odd time to make a big stink about quitting, you know?"

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

Alice Cooper says that his next studio album will be the first to feature the current lineup of his solo band.

The legendary rocker spoke about his future plans just one day after the release of his latest LP. The Arizona resident's first full-fledged tribute to the city that helped shape him, "Detroit Stories" was recorded with producer Bob Ezrin, mostly in Royal Oak with Detroit musicians and featuring a mix of original material alongside covers of songs by Bob Seger, the MC5, Mitch Ryder's DETROIT and OUTRAGEOUS CHERRY.

During an appearance on the February 27 "After-School's Out Special" episode of the "In The Trenches With Ryan Roxie" video podcast, hosted by Cooper guitarist Ryan Roxie, Alice revealed that he is already plotting his next move.

"['Detroit Stories' is] out now," he said (see video below). "So now we've gotta think what's next. And what's next to me is showing off this band. And I think that the only way to do that is to take it on the road, write songs now but rehearse them during soundcheck on the road, and, at some point, on the road, record the whole album live in one of the venues that we're doing.

"With this band, the whole idea is to show off how tight the band really is," he explained. "So if we write the songs, rehearse them on the road, record it on the road, and call the album 'The Road' or just 'Road', really, that would be the concept for the whole album. And stories about the road."

Cooper was joined on "In The Trenches With Ryan Roxie" by his wife Sheryl, plus all the members of his current solo band: Tommy Henriksen (guitar), Nita Strauss (guitar), Ryan Roxie (guitar), Chuck Garric (bass) and Glen Sobel (drums). Also making a special guest appearance was Ezrin.

"Detroit Stories" is the follow-up to 2017's "Paranormal", which marked Alice's first studio album in six years. Also produced by Ezrin, it featured collaborations with iconic guests such as ZZ TOP's Billy Gibbons, U2's Larry Mullen, Jr. and DEEP PURPLE's Roger Glover, as well Neal Smith, Dennis Dunaway and Michael Bruce — the three original Alice Cooper band members. A year later, Cooper issued "A Paranormal Evening At The Olympia Paris", a recording of his December 7, 2017 concert at the world-renowned Olympia venue in France. The effort captured Cooper and his current bandmates performing a choice selection of classic Cooper hits, in addition to some highlights from "Paranormal".

Alice later said that he wanted to release a document of his band's onstage prowess because they "deserved a live album."

THE OFFSPRING singer Bryan "Dexter" Holland and guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman spoke to Matt Pinfield of KLOS's "New & Approved" series 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.

Asked what it's like working with Rock again, Noodles said: "Bob's the best. He's like a member of the family now. This is studio where we recorded the record. Bob will fly out from wherever he's at in the world and spend a few weeks with us here. We show up in the morning, have some coffee, talk about, 'Hey, how's your family? Can you believe what's going on in the world?' We do that for 15, 20 minutes, and then we get in here and we start tracking, start going over whatever we're going over that day. It's just a blast working with him. He pushes us, but he does it in a way that doesn't feel like he's mad at us or anything, or dissing us. He pushes us in ways that are just absolutely positive."

According to Dexter, working with a producer who is also a musician and knows the craft is an invaluable asset when making an album. "For sure, because sometimes you have to get into the nuts and bolts of why doesn't this work," he explained. "Is it because the guitar sounds different? Or you need a different kind of strings on a guitar, or a different model of guitar — something like that. And [Bob] really speaks that language. He knows more about guitars and guitar sounds than anybody I know — way more than us. So it's really great to be able to work with him as a musician. And also, you just feel a different kind of kinship like that, because you know that he's been where you are — he's been the guy in the band, and he wants it to succeed in the way that you do."

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

KISS frontman Paul Stanely has called for "kindness" and "justice" in the wake of an alleged attack on a Korean American man last month in the heart of Los Angeles' Koreatown in an incident that police are investigating as a hate crime.

27-year-old Denny Kim told CNN he was waiting for a friend on February 16 when he was approached by two men who started yelling racial slurs and then struck him in the face.

"All of a sudden they just started saying very terrible things," Kim said. He said he also heard the men say, "You have the Chinese Virus, go back to China," before he was attacked.

On Saturday, Stanley took to his Twitter to share a CNN article about the incident, and he included the following message: "SO DEMORALIZING. We share so much in common and there is so little below the surface that differentiates us. NO ONE should fear violence or persecution for what they look like, where they were born or how they choose to live. KINDNESS.... AND JUSTICE."

A spokesman with the LAPD confirmed to Fox News on Thursday that detectives are investigating the assault on Kim as a possible hate crime,

The two suspects, described by police as Hispanic males in their 30s, have not been found.

Two months ago, Stanley defended his right to speak out on political issues, saying that he voices his opinions as a "proud citizen" of a country he loves deeply. A few days earlier, he expounded on his reasons for being so vocal on social media, writing: "My profession should't disallow that as we all have that right so many have fought & died protecting. I also understand that the people who would like me to stay quiet are those who don't share my views. Sorry."




SO DEMORALIZING. We share so much in common and there is so little below the surface that differentiates us. NO ONE should fear violence or persecution for what they look like, where they were born or how they choose to live. KINDNESS.... AND JUSTICE. https://t.co/ie4Aumup9T

— Paul Stanley (@PaulStanleyLive) February 27, 2021

In a new interview with Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio, Wolf Hoffmann admitted that he became disillusioned with the heavy metal scene more than 20 years ago and pursued other interests until the band's eventual reformation. "There was a time when actually ACCEPT didn't exist — from about '97 to 2009 or whatever," the guitarist said (see video below). "That's over 10 years when we didn't exist, and I basically walked away from the music business for a long time. I became a photographer. And then music got me back. And here I am, full force, in music again, the last 10 years nothing but touring, recording — all that kind of stuff. But there definitely was a time when I thought metal is over, and I kind of lost interest there for a while in the late '90s."

Asked what brought him back to music, Wolf said: "Well, the fact that we met [current ACCEPT singer] Mark Tornillo. All of a sudden, we had an awesome singer at our hands, which we didn't have before, because for the longest time, the band didn't exist because we didn't have a lead singer. Our [original] lead singer, Udo [Dirkschneider], had his own project and wasn't interested in working with us. So, there was really no perspective whatsoever. And, you know, other interests take over in life. But, like I say, once a musician, always a musician. So when it calls you back, then you're right there."

ACCEPT's latest album, "Too Mean To Die", was released on January 29 via Nuclear Blast. The LP is the group's first without bassist Peter Baltes, who exited ACCEPT in November 2018. He has since been replaced by Martin Motnik. ACCEPT's lineup has also been expanded with the addition of a third guitarist, Philip Shouse, who originally filled in for Uwe Lulis during 2019's "Symphonic Terror" tour, before being asked to join the band permanently.

"Too Mean To Die" was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee with British producer Andy Sneap (JUDAS PRIEST, MEGADETH), who has been responsible for the studio sound of ACCEPT since 2010.

ACCEPT's previous album, 2017's "The Rise Of Chaos", marked the band's first release with Lulis and drummer Christopher Williams, replacing Herman Frank and Stefan Schwarzmann, respectively.

Five years after announcing that he would embark on a special tour during which he would perform ACCEPT songs one last time under the DIRKSCHNEIDER banner before closing that chapter for good, former ACCEPT frontman Udo Dirkschneider is continuing to play ACCEPT material at select shows, including at the September 18, 2020 U.D.O. concert in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, which will be released on DVD and Blu-ray later this month. Asked in a new interview with Canada's The Metal Voice why the ACCEPT tracks are still finding their way into the U.D.O. setlist, Udo said (see video below): "In the beginning, I said, 'With U.D.O., I don't play any ACCEPT songs.' But for this concert [in Plovdiv], the promoter was really begging: 'Is it possible to play some ACCEPT songs?' And we said, 'Okay.' And in the end, we did five songs — the classic stuff, of course. It's the same with the [upcoming U.D.O.] tour in America. The tour in American and Canada was confirmed already. Now we have to wait for new dates, and I think it will happen in 2022. The promoter in America, he said, 'You don't play any ACCEPT songs with U.D.O.?' And I said, 'Yeah, normally we don't do it.' [And he said] 'But you cannot do a tour in America and Canada without [playing] 'Balls To The Wall'.' I said, 'Yes, I can do that. No problem.' He said, 'Why not? It's not a big deal. People wanna hear that.' I mean, I don't have a problem to play 'Balls' and maybe two more other ACCEPT songs.

"After three years of DIRKSCHNEIDER, playing every night only ACCEPT stuff, and on the other side, I have 16 U.D.O. albums, and the seventeenth is coming up," he explained. "So that was the point to say the people heard enough now of ACCEPT, it's done, and now I concentrate on U.D.O. and I don't need to play any ACCEPT songs; there's another band that can play ACCEPT songs.

"I was just talking also in another interview today, and they said, 'Who gives a fuck about this? The people wanna [some ACCEPT songs].' Not 50 percent of the setlist, but they wanna hear the classic stuff, like 'Metal Heart', 'Balls', 'Fast As A Shark' — stuff like that. And I said, 'Yeah. We will see. I don't know yet.' But at the moment, I don't have to think about it, so at the moment, there's nothing going on."

Udo went on to confirm that U.D.O. will "definitely" play some ACCEPT songs if the band's North American tour materializes in 2021 or 2022.

When he first announced the DIRKSCHNEIDER tour, Udo said that had "to make a clear break for myself — close the book and this is it. And I have the problem that people come to me and ask me to play more ACCEPT songs," he explained. "Other people ask me why I play ACCEPT songs at all, because there are [more than] fifteen U.D.O. records. I want to avoid such things and avoid the repeating questions concerning ACCEPT. I just can't stand that anymore. There is nothing more to be said. U.D.O. exists longer than ACCEPT. We have more records than ACCEPT."

While acknowledging that some ACCEPT fans want to hear the band's classic songs performed by the group's original singer, Dirkschneider explained that "you always have these comparisons [between how these songs are played by ACCEPT and U.D.O.]. I don't want this anymore either. [The current lineup of ACCEPT] also play 'Metal Heart', they play 'Balls To The Wall' and 'Princess Of The Dawn'. And then some people tell me, 'Oh, [current ACCEPT singer Mark Tornillo] is doing it better than you.' And I go, 'That's fine. Enjoy yourself.' But I don't want this anymore. And to avoid all of this in the future, I said, 'We are doing this one more time.'"

Dirkschneider said that his vow to never play ACCEPT material again came with one caveat. "If the band ACCEPT dissolves one day in the near future and I am still around with U.D.O., then there is a chance that I put ACCEPT songs back in the setlist," he said. "But currently there is ACCEPT, so go see them [if you want to see those songs performed live]. They are playing these songs."

Udo previously said the original plan was for DIRKSCHNEIDER to only "a few shows," and "then [the tour] got bigger and bigger [due to demand]." But, he added, "I don't want to complain about that."

Back in 2018, ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann declined to comment on Dirkschneider's decision to embark on one final tour during which the singer would perform nothing but ACCEPT songs. "I have lots of thoughts about that, but I'm not gonna share 'em with you," he told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". "I'd rather not comment on that, because that seems so much 'back and forth,' and I think I should stay away from it… You can draw your own conclusions all day long, but I'm not gonna get into it; it's just not worth it.

"I get asked [about Udo] so many times, and, man, it's been so many years — it's such an old story by now," Wolf continued. "We've moved on way past that, and we've had 10 brilliant years [with Mark Tornillo], we're making cool albums; I think we're doing fine. So I don't spend any time thinking about it.

"I'm very proud of the history we have together and all that, but I'm just not gonna get into the current 'he said, she said' whatever — it's not worth it," Hoffmann concluded.

Alice Cooper's new studio album, Detroit Stories, was released last Friday, February 26, via earMUSIC. Join Alice as he goes behind the scenes into the inspiration and recording of his new record in About Detroit Stories, Part 5: Resurgence In Rock:

About Detroit Stories - Part 1: Hard Rock Capital:

About Detroit Stories - Part 2: Where's The Party?:

About Detroit Stories, Part 3: The Myth:

About Detroit Stories, Part 4: 2020:

Named for the city that launched the original Alice Cooper group on the road to success, Detroit Stories follows last year’s Breadcrumbs EP as a modern-day homage to the toughest and craziest Rock n Roll scene there ever was.

In 1970, fledgling producer Bob Ezrin walked into a farmhouse on the outskirts of Detroit to work with the Alice Cooper band. Abandoning flower power Los Angeles, because they were the opposite of the hippie peace and love ideal, Alice had brought his decidedly darker gang back to his birthplace to the legendary rock scene that gave birth to hard rock, garage rock, soul, funk, punk…and more.

Ezrin drilled the band for 10 hours a day to define their signature sound. Whenever they nailed a song, the inmates at the hospital for the criminally insane across the road cheered and thus the classic Alice Cooper sound was born.

“Detroit was Heavy Rock central then,” explains Alice, “You’d play the Eastown and it would be Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent, the Stooges and the Who, for $4! The next weekend at the Grande it was MC5, Brownsville Station and Fleetwood Mac, or Savoy Brown or the Small Faces. You couldn’t be a soft-rock band or you’d get your ass kicked.”

“Los Angeles had its sound with The Doors, Love and Buffalo Springfield,” he says, “San Francisco had the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. New York had The Rascals and The Velvet Underground. But Detroit was the birthplace of angry hard rock. After not fitting in anywhere in the US (musically or image wise) Detroit was the only place that recognized the Alice Cooper guitar driven, hard rock sound and our crazy stage show. Detroit was a haven for the outcasts. And when they found out I was born in East Detroit… we were home.”

50 years later Alice and Ezrin gathered some legendary Detroit musicians in a Detroit studio to record Detroit Stories, Alice Cooper’s new album that celebrates that spirit for a new era. If 2019’s “Breadcrumbs” EP laid down the trail to the city, Detroit Stories drives like a muscle car right down Woodward Ave.

“We recorded with Wayne Kramer (guitarist and writer from the MC5), Johnny “Bee” Badanjek (drums - from the legendary Detroit Wheels), Paul Randolph (legendary Detroit jazz and R&B bassist) as well as the Motor City Horns and other local musicians,” explains Ezrin, “We had musical ideas and encouragement from John Varvatos, the support of the folks at Shinola, and we recorded at Rustbelt Studios in Royal Oak. This was Made In Detroit for Detroit by Detroit denizens!”

Discover Detroit Stories as they were meant to be told.

Detroit Stories is available on CD, CD+DVD Digipak, CD Box Set (including CD, Blu-ray, T-shirt, face mask, torch light and 3 stickers), and 2LP Gatefold on February 26th 2021 on earMUSIC.

The DVD and Blu-ray show the incredible live performance “A Paranormal Evening At The Olympia Paris” for the first time on video. With the whole concert culture being shut down due to covid-19, Alice Cooper felt the need to share one of his latest shows with his fans as he cannot wait to get back on the road - better than ever.

Order Detroit Stories here.

Tracklisting:

"Rock ‘N’ Roll"
"Go Man Go" (Album Version)
"Our Love Will Change The World"
"Social Debris"
"$1000 High Heel Shoes"
"Hail Mary"
"Detroit City 2021" (Album Version)
"Drunk And In Love"
"Independence Dave"
"I Hate You"
"Wonderful World"
"Sister Anne" (Album Version)
"Hanging On By A Thread (Don’t Give Up)"
"Shut Up And Rock"
"East Side Story" (Album Version)

Full album preview:

"Social Debris" video:

“Our Love Will Change The World” lyric video:

"Rock 'N' Roll" visualizer:

Just one day after the release of Alice Cooper’s newest album, Detroit Stories, he’s already planning his next. The legendary rocker says that his next album will feature the current lineup of his touring band.

Alice, his wife Sheryl, and all the members of his current touring band, Nita Strauss, Ryan Roxie, Tommy Henriksen, Chuck Garric and Glen Sobel, met up online Saturday, February 27 and gave fans a sneak peek at one of their band meetings. The Band Meeting or After-School’s Out Special was a unique episode of In the Trenches, Ryan Roxie’s weekly podcast, and streamed on YouTube and Facebook.

Coop’s new release Detroit Stories, his 21st solo album, is a first full-fledged tribute to the city that helped shape him. The album’s producer Bob Ezrin even popped on the show to tout the accolades that have already been bestowed upon the album by critics and fans alike. The album includes Detroit musicians like Mark Farner, members of the original Alice Cooper Band, some original tunes as well as covers of songs by Bob Seger, the MC5, Mitch Ryder’s Detroit and Outrageous Cherry.

“So now we’ve gotta think what’s next. And what’s next to me is showing off this band. And I think that the only way to do that is to take it on the road, write songs now but rehearse them during soundcheck on the road, and, at some point, on the road, record the whole album live in one of the venues that we’re doing.”

“With this band, the whole idea is to show off how tight the band really is, so we’ll write the songs, rehearse them on the road, record it on the road, and call the album The Road or just Road. That would be the concept for the whole album; stories about the road.”

Missing the road was a big part of the band’s discussion, but Coop is optimistic that they will all be back out on tour this year. Let’s hope!

(Photo - Victor Chalfant - @VicChalfant)




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Lead guitarist and co-founder of the legendary AC/DC, Angus Young spoke with Matt Pinfield for the latest installment of 95.5 KLOS's "New & Approved" series. Virtually connecting from his Australian studio, Angus took some time to speak on the newest AC/DC offering, "Power Up", the 45th anniversary of "High Voltage", the impact Malcolm Young left on the legacy of AC/DC, and much more. He also recalled how late AC/DC singer Bon Scott first met Brian Johnson in the early 1970s.

"Bon had been in a band that had toured in Britain, and they were opening for the band Brian was in, which was a band called GEORDIE," Angus said (see video below). "Anyhow, they were gigging away, and as Bon told the story, he was saying he was listening to GEORDIE performing and listening to Brian, and then he heard this screaming. He said it sounded great — he said it sounded like Little Richard was on the stage. He said this guy [was] howling and yelling. And then he said then he saw the guy on the floor. Bon thought it was great — it was the best act he had seen, and a singer, in a long time. But what he didn't know, afterwards he found out, Brian had an attack of appendicitis. But Bon thought it was part of the act. He thought, 'This guy is incredible.' 'And he was still hittin' these high notes.'"

Brian previously spoke about crossing paths with Bon in a 2011 interview with New York Post. He said: "I met Bon in 1973 or 1974. His band was supporting my band, GEORDIE. I had a terrible case of appendicitis and I went down on my side, kicking and going, 'Ooh!' But I kept on singing. Apparently, he told the boys when he joined AC/DC, 'I saw this guy Brian Johnson sing, and he was great. He was on the floor, kicking and screaming — what an act!' Of course, it wasn't an act. I was really ill."

Scott was invited to join AC/DC by Malcolm and Angus Young in 1974, and achieved international stardom before his death at the age of 33 from alcohol poisoning.

He sang on AC/DC's first six studio albums, including "High Voltage", "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", "Let There Be Rock" and "Highway To Hell".

Scott died of acute alcohol poisoning after a night of heavy drinking at a club in London, just days after attending a session with Malcolm and Angus Young where they began working on music for what became the "Back In Black" album.

According to the AC/DC FAQ web site, Bon and the friend, a musician named Alisdair Kinnear, had been drinking the evening of February 19, 1980 and Bon apparently fell asleep during the ride home. Kinnear could not wake Bon, so he left him in the car to sleep. Kinnear awoke early in the evening on February 20, checked on Bon, and found him unconscious in the car. Bon could not be revived, and was pronounced dead.

In a new interview with Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show, Todd La Torre, who has fronted QUEENSRŸCHE for nearly a decade, was asked how his appreciation of the band's music has changed now that his is also one of its curators. He responded (hear audio below): "I don't know that it has changed. I think that I have a unique perspective in that as a fan of the band before I joined the band, I think I have a good gauge for what the audience appreciates and really wants to hear from QUEENSRŸCHE. There were many years where the band's sound changed, and so being in the band, I really appreciate the greatness of especially those first five records that the band did and getting to know the people and the personalities that were behind those creations. But I don't know that I appreciate it much more, because just good music is good music. I just think I have a different perspective, moving forward, as to what QUEENSRŸCHE fans love and wanna hear as we create new music."

The original lineup of QUEENSRŸCHE — singer Geoff Tate, guitarists Chris DeGarmo and Michael Wilton, bassist Eddie Jackson and drummer Scott Rockenfield — achieved multi-platinum success with its 1990 album "Empire", which included the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit "Silent Lucidity". QUEENSRŸCHE underwent several lineup changes in the last 25 years, the most notable one being when then-CRIMSON GLORY vocalist Todd La Torre replaced Tate in 2012.

To date, QUEENSRŸCHE has released three studio albums with La Torre: "Queensrÿche" (2013), "Condition Hüman" (2015) and "The Verdict" (2019). Currently the band is writing new material for a fourth release for Century Media Records.

Todd's debut solo album, "Rejoice In The Suffering", was released on February 5 via Rat Pak Records. Todd created the LP with his songwriting partner Craig Blackwell and producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris.

La Torre joined his first band BLACKWELL as the drummer, performing in high school talent shows and entering into the club rock music scene in Tampa Bay, Florida. In 2009, Todd was suggested to CRIMSON GLORY guitarist Jon Drenning by a mutual friend to help with some vocal rehearsals in preparation for a CRIMSON GLORY memorial concert. This would pave the way for more collaborations with the band, with Toddeventually joining CRIMSON GLORY as the group's new vocalist. La Torre was the lead singer for CRIMSON GLORY from late 2010 until resigned from the band in early 2013.

September 25th, 2020 marked 25 years since Rammstein emerged from Berlin with its debut album, Herzeleid. To celebrate the anniversary, the RammWiki page on YouTube continues to roll out rare audio and video material from the band's career. The clip below features a spokesman for RammWiki discussing the origins and mystery surrounding the legendary unreleased Rammstein song known as "Tier '94", so as not to be confused with the song "Tier" that appears on the band's 1997 album, Sehnsucht.

"Tier '94" was reportedly only played live and never recorded in a studio as far as anyone knows. The only proof of its existence are bootleg live recordings, one of which is available below. No actual video footage of a "Tier '94" performance has ever been released.

In October 2020, Rammstein surprised their fans with an Instagram update saying they were back in the studio (see below). The band rented a studio in La Fabrique in September 2020, located at a former 19th farm century in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France. It was unexpected news given the band had hinted that their 2019, dubbed Untitled, could very well be their last. Rammstein's previous album, Liebe Ist Für Alle Da, was released in 2009.

In a recent interview with Motor.de, keyboardist Christian "Flake" Lorenz commented on the buzz that a new Rammstein album has been recorded:

"The fact that we couldn't perform live (due to the pandemic) increased our creativity. We had more time to think of new things and less distraction. As a result, we recorded a record that we hadn't planned on."

No further information is available at this time. Stay tuned for updates.

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 
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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Rammstein (@rammsteinofficial)

 




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The At The Movies project - launched by Pretty Maids guitarist Chris Laney due to the COVID-19 pandemic - caught fire over the course of 2020, and project has now moved on to movie soundtrack covers from the '90s. Check out "(I Just) Died In Your Arms" by the Cutting Crew, taken from the 1999 movie Never Been Kissed starring Drew Barrymore.

The core At The Movies players are:

Björn "Speed" Strid (Soilwork) - lead / backing vocals
Linnéa Vikström Egg (Therion) - lead / backing vocals
Chris Laney (Pretty Maids) - guitars
Allan Sørensen (Royal Hunt, Pretty Maids) - drums
Morten Sandager (Pretty Maids) - keyboards
Pontus Norgren (HammerFall) - guitars
Pontus Egberg (King Diamond) - bass

Stay tuned for more.




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Drummer Mike Terrana, known for his work with Yngwie Malmsteen, Artension, Axel Rudie Pell and Tarja to name a few, has posted a playthrough video of the Pantera classic "Walk". It is accompanied by a sinple message:

"God Bless Dimebag & Vinnie"

In July 2020, Norway’s Gaia Epicus announced the addition of Terrana for their new album, Seventh Rising.

Mainman Thomas Chr. Hansen commented: "I am very honored and proud to annouce that Mike Terrana is the drummer for the new Gaia Epicus album, Seventh Rising. Mike has done a great job in making this album come to life. It's also a great honor to announce that Tim "Ripper" Owens (Judas Priest, Iced Earth) Is making a guest performance on the track called 'Gods Of Metal'."

Seventh Rising is the follow-up to the band’s Alpha & Omega album, which was released in December 2018. The new album is the seventh studio album from Gaia Epicus.

Tracklisting:

“Like A Phoenix”
“Rising”
“Nothing To Lose”
“From Ashes To Fire”
“The Dream”
“Invisible Enemy”
“Dr. Madman”
“Number One”
“Gods Of Metal”
“We Are The Ones”
“Eye Of RA”

Album lineup:

Thomas Chr. Hansen - guitars, bass and vocals
Lukky Sparxx - lead guitars
Mike Terrana - drums

Special guest:

Tim "Ripper" Owens - vocals




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Ghosts Of Atlantis — featuring current and former members of Devilment and Extreme Noise Terror — announces the release of the band's fourth and final single "Gardens Of Athena," now streaming on all digital outlets.

"'Gardens Of Athena' is the story of souls taking the final journey on their path to the afterlife," says vocalist Phil Primmer. "For me, this track is about uniting with all people around you, finding peace together, and moving to a better world. I feel the diversity in the song Colin created suits this message perfectly."

Hailing from deepest, darkest Suffolk, UK's newest and most promising extreme metal act Ghosts Of Atlantis build lore around ancient Greece and the lost city of Atlantis while delivering their own story, weaving historical findings and fantasy storytelling into one epic journey. Like both Cradle Of Filth and Devilment before it, the band continues the tradition and staple of the Witch County trademark sound, encompassing all that is dark, brooding, and macabre.

Led by Primmer and guitarist Colin Parks (Devilment), Ghosts Of Atlantis have performed in various bands together for the past nine years and have been part of legendary labels like Nuclear Blast and Candlelight Records. Appearing on festivals like Waken Open Air and Bloodstock, to name a few, these English extreme metallers are eager to hit the stage and captivate fans, new and old, as soon as its safe to do so.

3.6.2.4 artwork and tracklisting:

"The Third Pillar"
"Halls Of Lemuria"
"False Prophet"
"The Curse Of Man"
"When Tridents Fail"
"Poseidon's Bow"
"Gardens Of Athena"
"The Lost Compass"

3.6.2.4 will be released March 26th via Black Lion Records. Pre-orders can be placed now at this location.

"Halls Of Lemuria":

"The Lost Compass":

"The Third Pillar":

Official Trailer:

 




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As The Beast Of Nod draws closer to the release of their second album, Multiversal, on March 29th, a new single called "The Latent Threat" has been released to showcase what's in store. 

The Beast Of Nod comments: "A mysterious tear in space has appeared, and the Guardians of the Multiverse respond! We know that we inhabit but one universe among many in a diverse multiverse, but now it seems that a new foe which resides in the indescribable gaps between the universes has revealed itself."

The universe’s favorite “intergalactic death metal” entity The Beast Of Nod is back with another sci-fi odyssey steeped in tongue-in-cheek absurdity entitled Multiversal. Multiversal is set for release on Earth and other worlds on March 29th. 

Active since 2015, the (now relocated to) San Francisco Bay Area, California-based technical/progressive death metal project has released two EPs, a full-length, one compilation release, and a collaborative chiptunes release prior to the upcoming release of Multiversal. The Beast Of Nod came out of nowhere and blew the whole world away upon the release of Vampira: Disciple Of Chaos in 2018. 

Now in 2021, The Beast Of Nod takes a galactic leap forward for humankind and non-humankind alike with the impending launch of Multiversal. Never one to be lacking in ambition, the album furthers the intense storytelling lore behind the band’s fictional The Land Of Nod sci-fi universe while expanding the full scope of what Multiversal has to offer with ambitious release plan ideas that will extend far beyond its initial release date. As usual, the group offers up an intense take on progressive/technical death metal with a strong emphasis on massive grooves and catchy melodies.

Jaw-dropping guest spots from musicians such as" Joe Satriani, Michael Angelo Batio, Abiotic guitarist John Matos, Wormhole guitarist Sanjay Kumar, Equipoise guitarist Nick Padovani, and Bleak Flesh guitarist Matias Quiroz are simply icing on the cake of an album overloaded in talent as is by the group’s core members.

Tracklisting:

"Flight Of The Quetzalcoatlus"
"Contemporary Calamity"
"Intergalactic War!"
"Call Of The Squirrel" (Featuring Joe Satriani)
"Unleashing Chaos" (Featuring Nick Padovani of Equipoise)
"The Plan For Multiversal Creation"
"Guardians Of The Multiverse" (Featuring John Matos of Abiotic)
"The Latent Threat"
"Shredding Of The Cosmos" (Featuring Sanjay Kumar of Wormhole, Matias Quiroz of Bleak Flesh, and Michael Angelo Batio)

Pre-orders can be placed now at this location.

The Beast Of Nod - Multiversal Lineup:

Dr. Görebläster Körpse-härvest Lunden - Guitars and Composition (Mimesis, Pariahblaster)
Brendan Burdick - Bass
Paul Buckley - Loremaster, Vocals (Cryptid Mythos)
Lord Marco - Drums (Rings Of Saturn, Brain Drill, Six Feet Under)

 




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