Founded in 2020 by Brandon Fields, Minefield is more of a musical collective than a band or a solo project. For the debut album, Fields (vocals / guitar) is accompanied by Todd Kerns (vocals / bass), Jeremy Asbrock (vocals / guitar) and Matt Starr (drums).

The quartet has released their third single, "Alone Together", which was mixed and mastered by Anthony Focx.

Brandon Fields has spent the last several years touring as a solo artist. He is also the lead guitarist in Detroit, Michigan based band Whiskey A Go Go.

Todd Kerns has served as the bassist in Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators since 2010. Kerns also fronted Canadian rock groups The Age Of Electric and Static In Stereo, he presently serves as the singer / guitarist in Toque.

Jeremy Asbrock is currently the guitarist in former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley’s solo band. Before this, Asbrock was in Gene Simmons’ solo band as well.

Matt Starr has been a staple in Ace Frehley’s solo band for the last decade while also playing with the supergroup Mr. Big.

Minefield's first two singles, "Alone Together" and "Home" can be heard below.

 

Coming May 7, the release of the brand new Save The World album, Two. Frontiers will also reissue their debut album, One, on the same date. First single and music video from Two coming on March 18, but you can check out two music videos from the band's debut below.

Save The World pens emotionally charged songs with rich, melodic choruses, playing music that forgoes genre conventions in favor of a signature sound that’s modern, anthemic, and refreshingly dynamic. The band features chief songwriter Dan Tracey (Alan Parsons) on guitar, vocals, keyboards and Robert Wright on bass, vocals, keyboards, Taurus pedals, percussion, and drums.

Two tracklisting:

"Camera Obscura"
"Bones"
"Miss Muse"
"Defenders Of The Faith"
"Daphne Blue"
"When Amanda Hits The Stage"
"Man On An Island"
"Longer"
"Denslow Park"
"Automaton"
"Illuminati"
"Who's That Girl"

One tracklisting:

"Bleed"
"Comic Con"
"In Pieces"
"Circus Maximus"
"This Little Pill"
"Let Love Win"
"I Wish"
"Black Pearl"
"Cecilia Weiss"
"Princes & Thieves"
"Cern"
"The Light"

"Bleed" video:

"Circus Maximus" video:

Hard rock band, The Lonely Ones, have released their new single, "Change The Station", via Imagen Records.

The Lonely Ones are now going for adds at active rock radio, with nine stations added in the first week. The band is currently a feature artist on Spotify's Rock Hard editorial playlist as well as over 100 other playlists in the first week.

"Change The Station" can be streamed/downloaded here. The official music video  can be seen below:

Formed in the summer of 2019, The Lonely Ones are a four piece vocal-oriented hard rock band with an ear for melody and a taste for success. No strangers to the hardships of the music industry, The Lonely Ones know what they want and know how to get it. They released two singles, "Eternal Sadness" and "The Lonely One", independently in March of 2020.

The band released their re-imagined version of Queen's classic song "Flash" in July of 2020. The song/video was met with rave reviews including those of Brian May (Queen) and Sam J Jones (Flash Gordon, The Highwayman).

Brian May was quoted as saying, “What a fantastic cover! I didn’t realize they were going to go into The Hero and the whole reprise ... magnificent!"

Sam J Jones adds, "This is one of the best covers I have ever heard and seen. What a gifted group - The Lonely Ones are for everyone of us, from the 1980’s to right now!"

The video for "Flash/ The Hero" can be seen below:

In September , 2020, The Lonely Ones released another brand new single titled "Real Big Trouble."

The Lonely Ones are:

Marty McCoy - guitar / vocals
Tommy Johnson - drums
Jymmy Tolland - bass / vocals
Jake Earley - guitar / vocals

Paralydium have released the Quarantine Sessions video below, featuring a performance of the song "The Source", featured on the band’s debut album, Worlds Beyond. Order the album here, and watch the clip below:

Initially known as "The Paralydium Project”, the band hails from Sweden and is an epic­ progressive metal combo founded by guitarist John Berg with a vision to create an innovative mixture of hard hitting heavy riffs, textured landscapes, and powerful grooves. Their sound takes you through space and time for an experience beyond the borders of your mind. With influences ranging from Symphony X and Pagan’s Mind to Seventh Wonder and Dream Theater, Paralydium have created their own sound and expertly crafted melodies into a ‘best of both worlds’ sound.

Tracklisting:

"Enter Paralydium"
"Within The Sphere"
"Synergy"
"Finding The Paragon"
"Crystal Of Infinity"
"Awakening"
"The Source"
"Into Divinity"
"Seeker Of The Light"

"The Source":

"Crystal Of Infinity" lyric video:

"Within The Sphere":

"Finding The Paragon" video:

Lineup:

John Berg ­- Guitar
Georg Härnsten Egg ­- Drum
Jonathan Olsson -­ Bas
Mikael Blanc ­- Key
Mikael Sehlin -­ Vocals

The TriumphAlliedForces YouTube channel has released the video below, along with the following message:

"The Covid 19 collaborators presents a more subdued video this time with a cover of Canadian classic power-trio Triumph's 'Fight The Good Fight'. A song whose lyrical content inspires a message of hope for these uncertain times."

Lineup:

James Alcock - vocals
Roland Roxx - all guitars
Jenn LadyEvil - bass
Rick Smith - drums
Torsten Braun - keyboards, final mix

Death metal duo, Hatred Incarnated, have officially released their first single via digital platforms. The song takes the same name as the band, "Hatred Incarnated", and speaks of injustice, slavery, manipulation, lying, religion and the hatred that arises from these themes.

Formed by Vinícius Garcia on vocals and lyrics, and Lucas Bittencourt on guitars, bass and composition, the duo got together in September 2020 with a thirst to spread the word of traditional and extreme death metal.

“The synthesis of everything that bothers us, everything that revolts us, everything that causes us hatred, about injustice, about slavery, about manipulation, lying, manipulation of religion, all in a much higher discussion, much deeper than it may seem. Our interest is also to escape clichés and without any intention of doing something exactly original, it would be a lot of pretension, but to do ours in our own way, expressing all the hatred of everything that bothers us, everything that attacks us. Hypocrisy (also) is a big part of our hatred,” said the vocalist.

Listen to “Hatred Incarnated” via Spotify, here. You can also listen below.

Hatred Incarnated are:

Lucas Bittencourt - Guitars, bass guitars and writing process
Vinicius Garcia - Vocals and lyrics

The international progressive ensemble, Eternal Return, is a five-piece combining various duos/trios that have previously recorded and toured together. Notably, Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree, NoMan, O.R.k.) on bass with his frequent collaborator, Estonian guitarist Robert Jürjendal (Toyah Wilcox, Fripp’s Crafty Guitar School). At the heart of the band is Dogon, the duo of Miguel Noya, (Venezuelan electronic music pioneer, Phantom Limb Recordings) and Paul Godwin, (California-based composer/singer).

Dogon have been widely celebrated and aired since the late ‘90s. Holding down this aerial act is Miguel Toro, Venezuelan-born, Berlin-based drummer (Royal Dust). It seems like a distant past when five musicians from around the world could meet in a foreign city to record an album in-person, but that’s just what they did. They came from Venezuela, England, Estonia, California & Spain to meet in Berlin and form this band. The result is something flowing and hypnotic, mysterious yet comforting.  

The debut album was recorded in Berlin in late 2019 by Bob Spencer at The Famous Gold Watch Studio (a former munitions factory and Stasi HQ) and mixed at Pete Townsend’s Grand Cru boat studio in London’s St. Katherine’s Docks by Jonathon Hucks. The album is concerned with “nomadism” in a time of lockdown inspired by Noya’s status as part of Venezuelan economic and political diaspora (currently living in Europe.) Musically siting progressive ambient and dream-pop influences such as Talk Talk’s Spirit of Eden, David Sylvian’s solo work, or the mysterious and finely wrought 4AD project, This Mortal Coil -- the album is something fresh, darkly intimate and beguiling.

Purchase here, or here.

MyGrain have released a video for "The Nightmare", the opening track of the band's  fifth album, V, available via Reaper Entertainment. Created by Timo Honkanen from death.illustrated.net, the video animations together with singer Tuomas "Tommy" Tuovinen's performance capture the feeling of the song perfectly.

The band states: "We're proud to finally present the visualization for the furious and hard hitting opening track 'The Nightmare' from our new album V. The video was shot and created by our visual mastermind Timo Honkanen | death-illustrated.net. Also special thanks to our long time friend Toni Salminen | metalscope.fi for additional camerawork! So, without further ado, let's kick off this wintery week with 'The Nightmare', MyGrainiacs."

Order V here.

Traclisting:

"The Nightmare"
"Out Of This Life"
"Summoned Duality"
"The Way Of The Flesh"
"Haunted Hearts"
"The Calling"
"Game Of Gods"
"Stars Fading Black"
"Fathomless Freefall"
"Waves Of Doom"

"Haunted Hearts" video:

"Out Of This Life" lyric video:

MyGrain are:

Tuomas "Tommy" Tuovinen - vocals
Teemu Ylämäki - guitars
Joni Lahdenkauppi - guitars
Jonas Kuhlberg - bass
Janne Mikael Manninen - drums

New York/New Jersey metal formation, Tombs, has released a music video for the song "Secrets Of The Black Sun", taken from 2020's full-length, Under Sullen Skies. The video, which was created by Aimed and Framed, can be seen below. Order the album here.

Tracklisting:

“Bone Furnace”
“Void Constellation”
“Barren”
“The Hunger”
“Secrets Of The Black Sun”
“Descensum”
“We Move Like Phantoms”
“Mordum”
“Lex Talionis”
“Angel Of Darkness”
“Sombre Ruin”
“Plague Years”

"Secrets Of The Black Sun" video:

"The Hunger" video:

Album stream:

(Photo - Dan Higgins)

Dream Theater keyboardist, Jordan Rudess, has released the video below, in which he covers Coldplay's "Yellow".

Says Rudess: "I was inspired to play this song for my daughters on Valentines day and then share it on Patreon. Here it is for everyone now."

Liquid Tension Experiment, the legendary supergroup comprised of Mike Portnoy (Transatlantic, Sons Of Apollo), John Petrucci (Dream Theater), Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), and Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel), recently announced their return with a new album, LTE3, due to be released March 26 via InsideOutMusic, twenty-two years after the band’s last studio album.

In addition to the video for “The Passage Of Time”, created by Christian Rios, and available below, Portnoy has uploaded drum cam footage for that same song.

"’The Passage Of Time’ was the very first song we composed together when we reunited this past summer. It was so exciting to be back in a room creating together again after so long (22 years for all 4 of us and over 10 years for the 3 of us since being together in DT). This serves as a great first taste for the listeners as it combines so many of the musical elements that makes LTE unique." - Mike Portnoy

“This was the first song we worked on and when it was done, we all knew once again how amazing it was to be working together. We knew we were on to something and that this was going to be a really amazing album. Nothing about the passage of over two decades could’ve done anything to change that. To me this song truly reflects the collaborative songwriting efforts of all four of us.” - John Petrucci

"There is an undeniable chemistry that happens when the four of us are together.  Entering the studio and starting work on ‘The Passage Of Time’ after 22 years literally gave me a whole new perspective on these important musical (and personal) relationships and the way time is so relative. We just jumped right in, it was like no time had passed at all, and we created a song that has so many of the elements that make LTE unique. Not a day has gone by since our last release when I wasn’t asked, “When is LTE getting back together again?” Now we can finally deliver, and I can’t wait for everybody to hear our creation.” - Jordan Rudess

“From the murky depths of the lockdown, LTE has re-emerged, galvanized, dripping with ideas, and taking no prisoners. ‘The Passage Of Time’ is just the beginning.” - Tony Levin

LTE3 will be available in the following formats:

• Limited deluxe hot pink 3LP+2CD+Blu-ray Box Set (incl. a poster and 4 artcards, Blu-ray includes a 5.1 surround mix with visuals, and full band interview from the studio)
• Limited 2CD+Blu-ray Artbook
• Limited 2CD Digipak
• Gatefold black 2LP+CD
• Digital album (2CD)

Pre-order here.

Tracklisting:

"Hypersonic"
"Beating The Odds"
"Liquid Evolution"
"The Passage Of Time"
"Chris & Kevin’s Amazing Odyssey"
"Rhapsody In Blue"
"Shades Of Hope"
"Key To The Imagination"

Bonus Disc: Includes almost an hour of improvised jams.

In 1997, Mike Portnoy, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, and Tony Levin, joined forces to create Liquid Tension Experiment. The foursome would release their iconic, self-titled debut album in 1998 and the dazzling follow-up, LTE2 in 1999, creating a dynamic, frantic, and inventive sound all their own. The incredible creativity between the collective would prompt Petrucci and Portnoy to invite Rudess to join Dream Theater, effectively marking the end of this side project.  However, since that time, there have been few reunions more in demand. Now, with the world in lockdown and calendars unexpectedly aligned, the inconceivable has finally happened… a new Liquid Tension Experiment album.

Frontiers Music Srl has announced the signing of the first Romanian band on its roster, Manic Sinners. A melodic hard rock band formed by three of the country’s finest musicians: Adrian Igrisan, Ovidiu Anton, and Toni Dijmarescu, Manic Sinners are a welcome addition to the label's roster of talent.

The band is currently hard at work on their debut album, King Of The Badlands, which is tentatively set for release in late 2021. Said album will have all the elements every memorable heavy rock album should have: soaring vocals, crushing riffs, blistering solos, ear candy hooks, and a splendid power ballad. The band has also brought in Alessandro Del Vecchio (Revolution Saints, Hardline, Korn, etc.) to mix the album.

Adrian Igrisan, who is in charge of keyboards and drums in Manic Sinners, is best known for being the singer and guitarist of Cargo, Romania's most beloved rock band. With multiple gold records and countless sold-out concerts, he has shared the stage with legends like Iron Maiden, Uriah Heep, and Gillan. He has even been knighted by the Romanian President for his cultural merits. Adrian is undoubtedly one of Eastern Europe’s most iconic musicians.

Vocal powerhouse Ovidiu Anton, indisputably one of the best new Romanian rock singers, gained major exposure in 2016 by winning the Eurovision Song Contest National Selection. He is also the lead singer and founder of the band Anton, and a very successful solo artist.

Guitar slinger Toni Dijmarescu, who handles the guitar and bass parts, resides in the German region of Saarland, where he is a busy and well-respected live and studio musician, with numerous productions under his belt.

“Today, we are happy to announce our multi-record deal with the Frontiers label,” announced the band. "It is a big achievement to sign with a label with such big experience and love for the melodic rock scene, and we are confident our songs will reach the hearts and minds of fans of this genre worldwide. Also, we hope to open the door for other bands from Romania, a country with a rich tradition for rock music, but with lesser-known artists on an international scale.”

Italian Gothic metallers, Cadaveria, have released an official music video for their new single, “Divination”. Stream / download the single here, and watch the clip below.

Produced by Morbid Vision Italy, this opus, freely inspired by the Candomblé ritual of reading the Buzios, was shot in a loft in Turin and along the Dora Baltea river banks in North Italy.

The clip was filmed and edited by Marçelo Santos. Photography by Marçelo Santos. Camera assistant: Albo Giolito. Editing assistant: Cadaveria herself. Main character: Monica Tomaino. Make up: Jacob Angel.

Vintage Rock Pod interviewed multi-platinum selling rocker, the Canadian Metal Queen, Lee Aaron, to chat about her career breaking through the male dominated 80s scene and to hear about her new album working with AC/DC engineer Mike Fraser. The interview is available on Apple Podcasts, here, and below.

In this wide ranging interview Lee Aaron talks openly about falling out of love with her big hits, fearing for her voice after suffering with pneumonia and why, despite her success in Canada and mainland Europe, she was never given the chance to crack America. Key highlights below:

Q: What's your plans for the year ahead?

Lee Aaron: "I just finished mixing a new album for 2021, it’s coming out in late spring of this year. I’ve just finished mixing it with Mike Fraser, he just mixed the new AC/DC album. He’s an incredible talent. I was so thrilled to be able to work with him. And we have him on the horizon to make the [next] Lee Aaron album too. So this album is finished, we’re just in the process of signing a deal and it's slated for late spring, I think we’re looking at late May or early June. And we’re writing songs for a 2022 album - what else are we gonna do right now?! And I’m working on my memoirs as well, so there’s a book on the horizon, hopefully in the not too distant future!"

Q: Metal Queen broke big for you in 1984 and that name has stuck ever since hasn’t it!?

Lee Aaron: "Yeah it’s kind of been a blessing and a curse! I went through a period in my career where I was very anti-Metal Queen. I didn’t even want to play the song. I’ll tell you the reason why. In terms of public perception of me and who I was as an artist, I think the uber rock fans that really really got it saw that video and image as what it was initially meant to be which was a symbol of female empowerment, a symbol of good triumphing over evil. So the uber fans got it.

"But for a lot of the other public, the perception was that I was this hard rocking chick, that was the lifestyle I was leading, that I was all about swords and loin cloths and metal and bikers. My actual life couldn’t have been further from the truth. I was a very serious musician, I wrote my own songs, I was involved in the production of most of my own records and in fact I’ve produced every one of my own albums since the year 2000.

"I was just upset with the public perception baggage that went with that image and I was trying to distance myself from it. Nowadays I'd like to think the world has come full circle and that doesn’t exist any more. I've been encouraged to wear the crown with pride."

HALESTORM's cover version of THE WHO's "Long Live Rock" can be streamed 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.

Scarlet Records recently signed a multi-album deal with power/folk metal band Vexillum that is going to release the next chapter in its influential career in the spring. They will release their new album, When Good Men Go To War, on April 23rd.

With a solid line-up, renewed sound and strong image, Vexillum are proud to bring to light their fourth records enriched by the epic cover artwork by Andrea Butera and which will be anticipated by the visual video for the first single, "When A Good Man Goes To War".

The band comments: "We put all our heart and soul into this album – a reflection of the strange times we are living in. With When Good Men Go To War the caravan of traveling musicians that characterized the first two records take up again its path: after the tavern and the forest, now stories are told during a perilous journey in the sea with a darker atmosphere. Overall, WGMGTW is a record with more aggressive and powerful sounds – a crucial evolution in our style and aesthetic, obviously tinged with that folk atmosphere that has always distinguished the band."

The tracklist is as follows: 

"Enlight The Bivouac" 
"Sons Of A Wolf" 
"Voluntary Slaves Army" 
"When A Good Man Goes To War" 
"Last Bearer's Song"
"The Deep Breath Before The Dive" 
"Prodigal Son" 
"Flaming Bagpipes" 
"With My Hands" 
"The Tale Of The Three Hawks" 
"Quel Che Volevo" 

Vexillum formed in 2004 in Pisa, Italy and released the first full-length album The Wandering Notes a few years later, in 2011, followed by ‘The Bivouac’ shortly after, in 2012. The band was able to attract a large following since their inception, and toured extensively with the likes of  Rhapsody of Fire, Vision of Atlantis, Orden Ogan and Freedom Call to name a few.

In 2015 Vexillum released their most ambitious project until then, the metal opera ‘Unum’, that features some very special guests such as Hansi Kursch (Blind Guardian), Chris Bay (Freedom Call) and Mark Boals among others. The band promoted the album by touring with Eluveitie, Skálmöld and Freedom Call and got them to share European stages with DGM, Iron Savior, Finsterforst and many more.

With a solid line-up and renewed sound and strong image, Vexillum are proud to bring to light a thundering and thrilling new album.

Swedish melodic death metal band This Ending, formerly known as  A Canorous Quintet, has released the first track from their new album Needles Of Rust, coming May 28th via Black Lion Records.

This Ending issued the following statement regarding their new song "Annihilate": "This was the first song Linus Nirbrant wrote after the Garden Of Death album. Another vicious thrashy song to bang your head to.The lyrics deal with the topic of neglect and how we as humans sometimes destroy what's around us like we were some kind of gods. But also how we turn our blind eye to what's happening to the world and to people around us."

2021 sees This Ending returning with a true melodic death metal masterpiece, Needles Of Rust. Nine songs of apocalyptic, brutal yet catchy melodic death metal, going back to the roots of what was done earlier in A Canorous Quintet.

Needles Of Rust was recorded, mixed and mastered at Wing Studios by Sverker Widgren, To give the album cover the necessary atmosphere, Björn Gooßes of Killustrations was hired once again (as on the previous album Garden Of Death) to take care of the artwork and layout.

Overall, the lyrical themes for the Needles Of Rust album deal with different kinds of nightmare scenarios. Some lyrics are loosely based on real events and things that have happened all over the world. Some are just about nightmares as an overall phenomenon. All of the lyrics are up for personal interpretation.

Tracklisting:

"My Open Wound"         
"Annihilate"         
"Embraced By The Night"         
"Eclipse Of The Dead"         
"A New Plight"         
"Needles Of Rust"         
"Devastate"         
"Hell To Hell"         
"The Hunted" 

For further details, visit This Ending on Facebook.

 

PAPA ROACH has shared a brand new, remastered version of its 2015 song "Broken As Me", inviting vocalist Danny Worsnop from British rock group ASKING ALEXANDRIA to feature on the track.

"He's been on our list for a while," said PAPA ROACH lead singer Jacoby Shaddix, "and having just toured together, we thought of Danny first when listening to some of the deeper cuts on the album. With the pandemic in full swing, Danny was down right away. He's one of the best vocalists in rock music, so we're happy he said yes."

Worsnop added: "Making music with my friends is something I always love and enjoy, so when Jacoby called me about doing something together, I was in right away. The PAPA ROACH guys have been close friends for a long time now and I'm glad they were able to see that the only thing holding them back from stardom all these years was not having me sing on a new version of one of their songs. I think this is really going to put them on the map, and from the bottom of my heart, they're welcome!"

The track, with such emotionally charged lyrics and raw, powerful vocals from both artists is set to be included on PAPA ROACH's second greatest-hits collection, "Greatest Hits Vol. 2: The Better Noise Years", out March 19 on Better Noise Music.

"Greatest Hits Vol. 2 - The Better Noise Years" includes 12 of the band's top 10 hits released between 2010 to 2019 as well as three previously unreleased remixes and two unreleased acoustic recordings recorded live at the YouTube Studios in New York City.

The band noted: "We wanted to commemorate the last 10 years of our journey with this special collection of the music that got us here."

PAPA ROACH has continued to stretch its boundaries throughout the years, including features with artists outside their genre — such as their 2017 track "Periscope" with pop artist Skylar Grey (which is included on the new release) — and most recently collaborating with TikTok star/up-and-coming artist Jeris Johnson on a new version of their iconic hit "Last Resort".

To date, PAPA ROACH has led the path for contemporary rock artists in the digital streaming era with over two billion streams globally and nine million monthly listeners on Spotify. This set encompasses their career history of over 20 Top 5 Active Rock singles, 13 of which occurred in the past decade including four No. 1 singles — "Face Everything And Rise" (2014), "Help" and "Born For Greatness" (both 2017) and "Come Around" (2019).

"Greatest Hits Vol. 2 - The Better Noise Years" track listing:

01. Born For Greatness (Remastered 2020)

02. Help (Remastered 2020)

03. Elevate (Remastered 2020)

04. Come Around (Remastered 2020)

05. Broken As Me (feat. Danny Worsnop of Asking Alexandria)*

06. Falling Apart (Remastered 2020)

07. Who Do You Trust? (Remastered 2020)

08. Gravity (feat. Maria Brink) (Remastered 2020)

09. American Dreams (Remastered 2020)

10. Face Everything And Rise (Remastered 2020)

11. Periscope (feat. Skylar Grey) (Remastered 2020)

12. Still Swingin' (Remastered 2020)

13. The Ending (Remastered 2020)

14. Burn (Remastered 2020)

15. Kick In The Teeth (Remastered 2020)

16. Elevate (Aelonia Remix)*

17. Help (Aelonia Remix)*

18. Born For Greatness (Cymek Remix) *

19. Top Of The World (Aelonia Remix)*

20. Face Everything And Rise (Live Acoustic) *

21. Leader Of The Broken Hearts (Live Acoustic)*

* previously unreleased

Mascot Label Group / Provogue will be releasing a new album featuring previously unreleased material from the iconic blues-rock master, Gary Moore. How Blue Can You Get will be released on April 30. Pre-order here, and watch a visualizer for the song "In My Dreams" below.

The album contains four originals, and four songs previously recorded and made famous by classic bluesmen like Elmore James, Sonny Thompson, Memphis Slim and BB King. Out on Ltd. Orange Marble LP / Blue LP / Deluxe CD Box.

Says the label: "It's our hope that current and future generations of music fans discover and re-discover Gary Moore, revelling in the artistry of not just a great guitarist, but a supremely talented musician. Back to the future with Gary Moore."

Tracklisting:

"I'm Tore Down"
"Steppin' Out"
"In My Dreams"
"How Blue Can You Get"
"Looking At Your Picture"
"Love Can Make A Fool Of You"
"Done Somebody Wrong"
"Living With The Blues"

"In My Dreams" visualizer:

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 "When You Say Nothing At All” from the 1999 British-American romantic comedy Notting Hill starring Julia Roberts and  Hugh Grant

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.

The Finnish thrash / death metal band Curimus was formed in the small town of Loimaa in 2004. The band is known for their energetic live performances and has toured Finland, Estonia and Russia.

Following numerous well-received demos, Curimus released their first full length album, Realization, in February 2012 through their own label, Freezing Penguin, and distributed by Inverse Records. Then, after almost two busy years of touring, promoting the album and writing new material, the group recorded their second album, Artificial Revolution (released in April 2014) with producer Tom Gardiner (Solution .45, Hateform, Mors Principium Est) and engineer Daniel Rantanen at JR Audio Studios.

Their latest album, Garden Of Eden, was originally released in Finland by Inverse Records in October 2020, and hit the Official Finnish Album Chart at #18, and #3 on the Physical Album Chart. After the albums superb response and great reviews, it’s to be licensed and released world-wide through Sliptrick Records on April 20th, 2021.

Stay tuned for updates.

Curimus are:

Marko Silvennoinen – Vocals 
Juho Manninen – Bass 
Jari Nieminen – Drums 
Tommi Ahlroth – Guitar

Photo by Vesa Tyni

Former QUIET RIOT guitarist Carlos Cavazo says that "it's stupid" for the band to continue without drummer Frankie Banali.

Banali, who joined QUIET RIOT in 1982 and played on its breakthrough album, 1983's "Metal Health", died last August after a 16-month battle with pancreatic cancer. In September, QUIET RIOT announced that it would carry on touring following Frankie's death. The band, which now features drummer Johnny Kelly (DANZIG, TYPE O NEGATIVE), played a couple of shows in October and has a string of dates booked in 2021.

Asked in a new interview with the "Waste Some Time With Jason Green" video podcast how he feels about QUIET RIOT continuing without any members of the group's classic lineup, Carlos said (see video below): "I think it's stupid for somebody to do that, really. It doesn't make sense to me."

Cavazo was a member of QUIET RIOT during the band's most commercially successful period. After replacing Randy Rhoads in the 1980s, he remained in QUIET RIOT into the early 2000s until the group split up. When vocalist Kevin DuBrow reformed QUIET RIOT in 2003, Cavazo was not included.

Asked if he would have returned to QUIET RIOT had he been approached to come back nearly two decades ago, he said: "If we could have worked out our differences and all the details of everything, I would have done it, yeah. I would have loved to get back with the original QUIET RIOT. But it was never to be. Unfortunately, Frankie kind of screwed me over a little bit here and there, and he never tried to call me and say he was sorry for what he did and make up our friendship. He was okay — he could sleep every night for what he did. It wasn't cool what he did, and it wasn't what friends do to friends. Obviously, he wasn't my friend. Friends don't do that to friends, and I figured, I just scratched him off my friends list. I just didn't wanna have anything to do with any of them, and I just moved on."

Banali revived QUIET RIOT in 2010, three years after DuBrow's death, along with veteran bassist Chuck Wright, who played on several of the tracks on "Metal Health", and guitarist Alex Grossi. The band recruited new lead vocalist Jizzy Pearl, of LOVE/HATE, L.A. GUNS, ADLER'S APPETITE and RATT, in 2013, before replacing him in 2016 with Seann Nicols (a.k.a. Sheldon Tarsha), and in 2017 with James Durbin. In September 2019, QUIET RIOT parted ways with Durbin and replaced him with a returning Pearl.

According to Carlos, he never had an interest in reuniting with QUIET RIOT after DuBrow's death. "I couldn't see [us] doing it without him myself," he said. "His vocal was so identifiable with the QUIET RIOT sound, to have somebody else singing, it just didn't make sense to me. I would only do it with the original band."

Banali discussed his relationship with Cavazo in a 2017 interview with Myglobalmind. He stated at the time: "My relationship with Carlos is completely the opposite of what it is with [former QUIET RIOT bassist] Rudy Sarzo. I have known Rudy since he was nineteen and I was eighteen. We are beyond friends; we are brothers. When it comes to Carlos, we never had much of a relationship — not because we didn't like each other, but we have such completely diametrically opposed interests. We didn't have any of the same friends either. We were never that close, and as time has gone on, that gap has widened to the point there isn't that much of a relationship. It's sad, because I think Carlos is one of the best guitarists in rock. He is ridiculously underrated and it's a shame we experienced such great things with QUIET RIOT yet we have nothing to talk about."

Banali told "Eddie Trunk Live" in a 2015 interview that he didn't think Carlos was "very supportive about a QUIET RIOT that doesn't include him, by his own choice, and the QUIET RIOT that continues. I don't take it personal," he said. "I mean, I wish him the best, and I think he's great."

The drummer added that that "[Carlos] distanced himself from QUIET RIOT a long time ago." He explained: "You have to remember, the last time that both Rudy and Carlos were in QUIET RIOT was in 2003. And then Kevin did something for about a year, and when Kevin called me up and he wanted to do QUIET RIOT again, the stipulation was, from Kevin's point of view, was he did not want Rudy to be involved, because, for whatever reason, he has issues, or had issues, with Rudy. And I said, 'I think it might be a good idea to have Carlos involved,' because, you know, he's one of the three 'Metal Health' guys. And [Kevin] said to me, 'I'll leave that up to you.' And I went to Carlos, and he was not interested. His excuse was that he was not gonna do it unless Rudy did it, fully knowing that there was no way that Kevin would do it if Rudy was involved. So he shut himself out in 2003."

According to Frankie, he didn't see Carlos again for nearly a decade until a chance encounter at the M3 Rock Festival in Maryland.

"The amazing thing about it is that I've had no communication with Carlos whatsoever from 2003 up to that point," Banali said. "And when I saw him [at M3 in 2012], it was all smiles, and it was great, and I was happy to see him, and he seemed to be happy to see me. But, I think, when the door closes and he goes into one corner and I go into another one, it is what it is."

SHINEDOWN frontman Brent Smith has confirmed that he and his bandmates are continuing work their seventh studio album. The follow-up to 2018's "Attention Attention" is being recorded at a new studio in Charleston, South Carolina spearheaded by the group's bassist and producer Eric Bass.

Speaking to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about SHINEDOWN's plans for the coming months, Brent said (hear audio below): "I can't give you exact dates on everything for the new record. I can tell you that we will be looking after summer for release. So that is something I can tell you, as far as new music is concerned, with the new album. What we're doing exactly right now, Zach [Myers, guitar] is actually going to be in Charleston in about five days, 'cause that's where we're recording [the new album] — at Eric's studio that we just finished. So he comes in in about five days. Myself and Eric and Zach, we're putting kind of like the finishing touches on stuff that we were working on previously. Barry [Kerch, drums] is gonna arrive around April, and then we're gonna cement the recording process of that."

According to Smith, SHINEDOWN expects to be back on the road in the late summer or early fall. "We're working with promoters right now, kind of doing an overlay of how it can be done," he said. "Each day we're starting to get good news and better news, but we have to be mindful. I know a lot of people are concerned about the variants [of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19], but that's what viruses do — they mutate. The biggest thing is we need to be able to trust the medical community, trust the people to get us through this. But as far as touring is concerned, we're locking in [dates]. Fingers crossed, we're gonna be doing shows — full SHINEDOWN — hopefully by August of this year."

Last September, Smith told the KLOS radio show "Whiplash" that he and Bass were looking to make a more organic-sounding album this time around.

"We've kind of proven that we can make these very large records, these very cinematic, orchestrated records with this wall of sound," he said. "What we wanna try to do with this album is we do want to hone it back down to drums, bass, guitar and vocals and the best songs that we can write and the freshest songs we can write with the most tenacity and the most ferociousness that we can express. So I don't think this time around we're going to necessarily look at the handbook of, 'Let's layer this record like we've layered other records, and let's keep adding to it so that it grows.' I think more the idea of big mono on this album, it's more about stereo and putting all of the sonics down the middle. But you don't have a hundred tracks on a song; you don't take a 22-piece orchestra and bring it in there. We've done that, and we've done those kinds of records, and we love those records, and we love that sound, but I think what we wanna do with this next record is we really want to focus on being a four-piece band, and let's see if we can peel the paint off of the walls with just the fury of the four of us in a room."

In August, SHINEDOWN broke the record for the most No. 1s ever in the 39-year history of the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart, scoring its 16th No. 1 hit with "Atlas Falls". This also marked the band's 17th No. 1 on the Mediabase Active Rock chart and its sixth consecutive No. 1, following "How Did You Love", "Devil", "Get Up", "Monsters" and "Attention Attention".

Originally written in 2013, "Atlas Falls" was first made available from SHINEDOWN's vault in March 2020 as part of an exclusive song and T-shirt bundle for the band's COVID-19 fundraising effort.

Drum-cam footage of MACHINE HEAD drummer Matt Alston performing the song "Bulldozer" with his bandmates during their January/February 2020 North American tour can be seen below.

The British-born Alston (DEVILMENT, EASTERN FRONT) and Polish guitarist Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (DECAPITATED) joined MACHINE HEAD in time for the 25th-anniversary tour for the band's classic debut, "Burn My Eyes", which kicked off in Germany in October 2019.

MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn spoke to France's HEAVY1 about how the new members landed the gig. "We were doing auditions for a while, and Vogg's audition just fucking blew my mind — it was so fucking tight and fucking accurate," he said. "He sent over [a recording of] 'Imperium' as his first song just as a test. We always had all the dudes do a sound test, just to make sure the levels are good and stuff. I was, like, 'Oh my God! This dude is playing 'Imperium' better than I can right now.' [Laughs] It was crazy. And we ended up talking. Super-nice guy. Matt, same thing. We flew him out, jammed with him, and he killed it."

Each show on MACHINE HEAD's latest tour was described in a press release as "a three-hour musical extravaganza," comprised of two parts: part one features a battery of MACHINE HEAD's modern classics, such as "Imperium", "Halo" and "Now We Die", featuring Flynn and bassist Jared MacEachern performing alongside Kiełtyka and Alston. Part two features "Burn My Eyes" played in its entirety for the first time ever, with original drummer Chris Kontos and guitarist Logan Mader joining in.

Asked how all the musicians are getting along and whether they are traveling together, Flynn told HEAVY1: "We're all in the band together — we all live together. The band's all on the bus — all six of us. And it's a great ride, man. Everybody is very respectful; everybody knows their role and just kind of doing it here and enjoying it. Everybody is out here having a blast. It's so nice to have people who are in a positive frame of mind, 'cause it wasn't like that in the past. And now it is, and it's fucking awesome."

Kontos left MACHINE HEAD before the release of the band's second album, 1997's "The More Things Change", and was replaced by Dave McClain.

Mader contributed to two MACHINE HEAD albums, the aforementioned "Burn My Eyes" and "The More Things Change", before exiting the group and being replaced by Ahrue Luster and, later on, Phil Demmel.

McClain and Demmel both left MACHINE HEAD in October 2018.

This year's edition of Hellfest has been officially canceled after the French government culture ministry said summer events would be allowed to go ahead — but with a limit of 5,000 people, all whom must remain seated, to meet COVID-19 restrictions.

The Union of Contemporary Music (SMA), which represents festivals, concert venues and producers, said late Thursday that the figure had been agreed at a meeting with culture minister Roselyne Bachelot.

Hellfest, which drew 180,000 people in 2019, generally features a lineup which is 90 percent made up of international acts and 20 percent of spectators coming from abroad. As a result, organizers felt they had little choice but to call off this year's event.

On Friday (February 19), Hellfest released the following statement via social media: "Hellbangers, we hoped for the best but the worst is coming. The uncertainties about the health situation and the latest government regulations are forcing us to cancel the 2021 edition of the Hellfest Festival next june (18th, 19th and 20th).

"Thanks to your support the last few weeks, both the public opinion and the media were alerted about the critical situation of our industry (like many others). The Government reacted quickly and organized meetings with members of the Ministry of Culture and other French Festivals in order to explain the situation and to ask for answers regarding the organization of summer festivals.

"In a 'final' meeting on Thursday, the 18th of February, the verdict was returned. Summer festivals will be allowed under drastic conditions : 5,000 seated people and social distancing. These requirements make the organization of our 2021 festival imposible and force us to postpone once again our anniversary edition.

"We do not wish to blame the government. We are well aware that the health situation requires everyone to be cautious. However, these measures are more or less the same as last year resulting in a 'dead summer' for the festivals and culture in general.

"A year has passed since the outbreak of the epidemic and it seems that little has been done for a return to a 'normal life' despite a greater knowledge of the disease, the vaccinations, the tests ... We asked for answers, we had them... We obviously cannot be happy about those restrictions, which goes against the Rock'n'Roll experience we want to offer to our festival-goers. A festival should be a place of freedom, where social interactions and spirit of celebration cannot be sacrificed.

"We cannot imagine the Hellfest festival with 5,000 festival-goers drawn out of the 60,000 3-day pass holders, seated and distanced. It is a heresy. Unfortunately, through this decision and new regulations, we see once again that musical aesthetics appreciated by young people are going to be hit hard next summer.

"Unlike other festivals, we make the hard choice not to accept these overly restrictive rules. It would go against the very DNA of the festival. We owe our festival-goers consistency in the project we want to offer them and for which they have agreed to pay a high price. Hellfest was born out of a desire to gather all the "extreme" music lovers together in communion and a spirit of celebration. Living with the virus shouldn't be giving up what makes us happy.

"The future of Hellfest is compromised and once again it is your trust and solidarity that will get us through this storm.

"As we offered last year, you can keep your 3-day or 1-day pass purchased in 2020 in a safe place. This pass will be valid for the 2022 edition, which will be held on June 17th, 18th and 19th 2022. You don't have to do anything, just keep your ticket safely. By keeping your ticket, you will support Hellfest Productions for the preparation of its future edition in 2022. A year which will fulfill our desire to live these great moments together!

"We are aware that in this economic crisis, this financial effort will be too important for some of you. Which is why a reimbursement solution will also be offered. We will get back to you shortly about the terms of reimbursement, including the specifics of the different transport packages (train, bus, etc.). Until then, you can also use our partner's website Ticketswap to safely resell your ticket to another festival goer. You will not only support the festival but make somebody happy.

"This hard blow did not bring us down, and believe us, we need a lot more to overcome our desire to come back stronger. After two years of absence, we will be 'physically' back next year to offer a Hellfest festival that will meet all your expectations. There is no doubt that it will be an historic moment of reunion of all our fans, the artists and our teams! In the meantime, we are already working on a way to be there this summer. Many surprises (including one in particular ...) are to be expected next June... so stay tuned!

"We could not finish this new cancellation announcement without having a thought for all our employees, technicians, volunteers, artists, contractors, sponsors and partners who will suffer another year from the cancellation of Hellfest. We are not alone in this storm and our motivation and desire to offer you a show worthy of this too long wait are stronger than ever."


Hellbangers,

We hoped for the best but the worst is coming. The uncertainties about the health situation and the...

Posted by Hellfest Open Air Festival on Friday, February 19, 2021

EVANESCENCE performed the song "Wasted On You" on Friday night's (February 19) episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" The five members of the band got together virtually from various locations — including, apparently, Nashville, Sacramento and Germany — to play a song from EVANESCENCE's first album of original music in a decade, "The Bitter Truth", which will be released on March 26 via BMG.

Fans can pre-order a digital version, CD, vinyl and a limited-edition deluxe fan box set featuring a bonus CD, journal, poster and special cassette of exclusive audio from the making of "The Bitter Truth". Every pre-order will automatically come with downloads of already-released songs "Wasted On You", "The Game Is Over", and "Use My Voice", as well as "Yeah Right".

"The Bitter Truth" is an epic, guitar-driven collection inspired by the (often-bitter) realities of the 21st Century and our world. The already-released songs have received early accolades from Elle, Billboard, SPIN, American Songwriter, and more, and showcase the "ferocious and hymnal" (The New York Times) sound that made EVANESCENCE a household name, as well as the drama and powerhouse vocals that made Amy Lee "one of rock's definitive voices" (Rolling Stone).

EVANESCENCE's new music was produced by Nick Raskulinecz, who also worked on 2011's self-titled LP.

On the topic of "The Bitter Truth" album title, singer Amy Lee previously told Rock Sound: "As the lyrics had started to form, and just my feeling in this moment in general, there's a big theme of disillusionment for me. Just growing up and seeing that fairy tales aren't really real. And it's hard to be a grownup — it really is. Because somebody else isn't in charge, we really have to be able to make our own decisions, find out our own information, protect ourselves. People die — we're all going to. There's no magic castle. So that sounds like a lot of doom and gloom when I say it, but there's a choice to accept that truth and live in it and embrace it and choose to live and choose to live in a moment, and the choice to just give up. And there's a struggle there, but my choice is most definitely to take that pill."

Legendary guitarist George Lynch has confirmed to Chris Annunziata of "The Metal Teddy Bear Experience" show on 90.3 WMSC that he has a new solo instrumental album coming out later this year. "It's done," he said (hear audio below). "It's been done for a while. It's called 'Seamless'. It's [gonna be released] on Rat Pak Records. I just spoke to the head of the label yesterday, actually, and they're gonna try to work it into a release maybe in midyear, maybe the latter part of the summer, back end of the summer — maybe September."

Lynch previously discussed the prospect of releasing a new instrumental album during a 2019 appearance on "Talking Shred". Asked if he would ever record a "shred" instrumental LP, he stated at the time: "Absolutely. I have some trepidation about it because of the insane players who are making it hard for old guys like me to keep up. I look at all those Instagram guys and my mind is just blown every day. It's so beautiful, because a lot of it is — they're not doing what they did in the late '80s, early '90s, just going hyper-speed shred. They do that too, but they're going back to bebop and jazz and Wes Montgomery stuff, Joe Pass stuff... On top of that, the Tosin Abasi [thing], multi-string, multi-tapping, two-handed, all that stuff too, and putting it all together and coming up with hybrid new stuff, which is fascinating. I've been trying to do the finger thing — I can't really do it. I do a fake finger thing. That's just me trying to be Jeff Beck because I think we all just want to be Jeff Beck."

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

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

Image credit: ESP Guitars

METALLICA performed its classic song "For Whom The Bell Tolls" live from its Northern California headquarters as part of this year's BlizzCon, the first virtual version of Blizzard's games convention.

Like many events in 2020, BlizzCon was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, Blizzard took its fan event and game showcase digital with BlizzConline.

"We would love to be there this year, but obviously can't be, so here we are, and this is for you," frontman James Hetfield told the virtual audience prior to his band's rendition of the "Ride The Lightning" track.

Since there is no in-person convention this year, Blizzard is making the entire event free to watch. The livestream is available on GameSpot's channel on YouTube, as well as on Twitter and Twitch, among other mediums.

Twitch, which has fallen under scrutiny in recent months by record labels represented by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America), replaced METALLICA at the end of BlizzConline's opening ceremony with generic royalty-free music to avoid a DMCA takedown. The band's appearance was ominously preceded by an onscreen message noting that "The upcoming musical performance is subject to copyright protection by the applicable copyright holder."

METALLICA previously performed at the 2014 edition of BlizzCon.

Kid Rock spoke to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about the status of his long-awaited follow-up to 2017's "Sweet Southern Sugar" album. He said (hear audio below): "This COVID thing has been crazy for everybody. And my heart goes out to everybody who's been affected by it, especially people who've lost people. But it's kind of afforded me… I haven't had this feeling since my first big record, [1998's] 'Devil Without A Cause', where I've had this much time to sit around and re-write, zero in, replay — just meticulously go song to song to song. And I've got 18 that I'm in love with now, and four more that I wanna record. And I don't know what the hell I'm gonna do with them. But thank God I've got my studio. That's been my saving grace through this thing."

The 50-year-old Rock's "Devil Without A Cause" album sold 14 million copies. The musician, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, has released 11 studio albums over the course of three decades, including "Sweet Southern Sugar".

"Sweet Southern Sugar" was co-produced with Rock by veteran Justin Niebank, and was largely recorded in Nashville.

In the summer of 2017, Rock — whose real name Robert Ritchie— fueled rumors he was planning a Senate run by selling merchandise and setting up a web site called "Kid Rock for US Senate." But just a few months later, he told Howard Stern the campaign was actually just a ruse to promote "Sweet Southern Sugar". "Fuck no, I'm not running for Senate," he told Stern. "Are you fucking kidding me? Like, who couldn't fucking figure that out?"

Last September, Kid Rock hosted an outdoor rally for Donald Trump's presidential campaign in Michigan. Three and a half years earlier, the musician visited the Oval Office with fellow rocker Ted Nugent and former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD guitarist Zacky Vengeance spoke to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about the status of the band's long-awaited follow-up to 2016's "The Stage" album. He said (hear audio below): "We've been home for quite a while, and during that time, [we've done] lots and lots of writing — at a lot slower pacer than usual. Now that we are a little bit older, we move around a little bit slower, but [we've done] tons of writing. We've gone to the studio. It was kind of a weird time to do anything in 2020, but that's when we felt like it was a good time to go out there and start tracking all the stuff that we had in us.

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

This past December, AVENGED SEVENFOLD frontman M. Shadows told Kerrang! magazine that he and his bandmates had "been writing a record for a while, and most of it was already written [before the coronavirus pandemic]. But then we kinda took a break on it, and then it would be like, 'Hey, let's get together two days this week,' instead of five or six. It just started getting more casual. Then we recorded really casually, and — like I said — we're still in the middle of it: we still have all these things that we can't do. We're still trying to get string sections together, and our mixer is older and I know that they don't want him to travel right now because of COVID, so even if we got it done right now, we couldn't get it mixed. So we're just not worrying about it, you know? It's like, 'When we can, we can.' But right now, we can't. [Laughs]."

According to the singer, there are no plans for AVENGED SEVENFOLD to release new music until he and his bandmates are able to hit the road again.

"No one wants to put out the record if we can't tour it," he said. "The reality is — and no-one wants to hear this — in this day and age, rock 'n' roll just takes too long to make: you know, it's going to be a three-year record to make. And if we put that record out and then we're locked down for another year, as much as people don't want to believe this, they are not going to give a shit about a record that came out a year prior when it's time to tour. And so if it's going to take us two or three years to write a record, we're not going to put it out if we can't go play it live. We know the anticipation won't be there when the tours come around. You see it every day — if you look at iTunes or Spotify and see how quickly it all turns over, it's just weekly onto the next thing and onto the next thing again. If you just imagine putting out a record in August, and then you're not touring until next August, people don't want to hear this but they're not going to care; they're going to be like, 'What's next?' Once the GOJIRA record, or the new METALLICA record, or the new MEGADETH record comes out, they're not going to care about what came out the year prior. Our whole thing is: if it's going to take us three years to do a record, we're going to make sure we can play it live and people are going to be excited about it."

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

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

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

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