RAINBOW singer Ronnie Romero has explained his recent social media rant, saying that he needed to get his "feelings" off his chest.

Late last month, Romero, who is originally from Chile but is now settled in Romania after living in Madrid, Spain for a number of years, took to his Facebook page to decry the hardball nature of the music business, saying that "too many people" in the industry are "beyond the good and the evil."

The 39-year-old wrote: "I'm SO fucking tired of this dirty 'music' world. Everybody think they have the right to tell what to do or how to do it. Everybody think they have the right to judge you. Nobody is enough educated to be polite or at least talk to you as a 'person'. Everybody wants a piece of your cake and they want it FOR FREE, because if you tell your price they get offended. Everybody think you should kiss their hand because they 'give u the chance'. Nobody cares about your feelings, your thoughts, your dreams, your plans... and then when you are not agree with them you are an asshole... everything is so unfair, but you anyway you need to smile all the time, because show must go on. Everybody will blame on you anyway, from their couch or from their golden throne... too many people is beyond the good and the evil..."

Asked in a new interview with Brutal Planet magazine what prompted his online outburst, Romero said (hear audio below): "I just got a little bit bored of all the things around the work you are trying to do every day. When I started to make music professionally, let's say, you don't know how the business works, and you think everything is great. And you come with all your dreams and hopes and everything to try just to make music, and then you realize there's a lot of shit — and not just from the business itself. Then you get this feeling that the people, they don't care about your feelings either, which is very important, because when you're making music, you're putting your feelings on it. And some people — I don't wanna say all the people, because I always felt a lot of support from everybody, since I joined RAINBOW and with LORDS OF BLACK, and all those bands — but there is some people, they don't give a shit. And they can tell you whatever, even trolling you or sending you private messages, to you, to your family, just because you don't like them. It's really sad. And I can tell you I was suffering a lot of shit. And the other day, it was, like, 'I need to say something, because I need this to stop. Or at least to tell the world what's going on.'"

He continued: "I was just trying to release all my feelings. And suddenly, what happened is that people understood — at least the people who read my words on social [media] — and they were very supportive. So I think it was worth it.

'I just want [fans] to understand that musicians, we are normal people, as they are," Ronnie added. 'We have a job, we have work doing music, which is different from other [lines of work], but we pay rent, we need to pay bills, and we have feelings and we have families, like everybody else. People sometimes, they need to realize that. I mean, you can listen to music, and you can like the music or you do not — maybe you don't like the music that I do. But that's it — nothing else. People are allowed to say, 'I don't like you,' 'I don't like you as a singer,' or whatever, 'I don't like your music,' 'I don't like your face,' or whatever. But that's it."

Romero made his live debut with RAINBOW in June 2016 after he was selected to front the latest version of the band guitarist Ritchie Blackmore had formed after quitting DEEP PURPLE.

In addition to RAINBOW, Romero is a member of LORDS OF BLACK, THE FERRYMEN and VANDENBERG.

In a recent interview with Matt Coe of Dead Rhetoric, ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann discussed the departure of longtime bassist and co-songwriter Peter Baltes 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 the 2019 "Symphonic Terror" tour, before being asked to join the band permanently.

"I was sad more than anything," Wolf said. "I was a bit heartbroken, to be honest. I wasn't really surprised when it happened; I was more surprised how it happened. I thought we would have this big sitdown and talk things over, convince him to stay. We could tell he really wasn't in it anymore, his heart and soul; he wasn't happy. It's not a good situation when you are in a band where somebody isn't happy. I don't know what was going on, but in the end, he sort of pulled the plug without giving us a chance to have that talk. It's almost two years since, we have a great new guy in the band [Motnik], and the train keeps rolling. The show goes on."

Hoffmann was then asked whether he would consider penning an autobiography to detail his career with ACCEPT that started in 1976. "[I] would not, short answer to that question," he said. "I'll tell you why: I have no fun in poking around in the past. It's painful for me to even talk about the previous albums in the past of the'70s, '80s and '90s. It forced me to relive these moments. A lot of mixed stuff happens in a career, some of it good, some of it not so good. Going back at it is really never any fun for me. Let the past be the past, and let's move on with the future. I wrote the song 'The Best Is Yet To Come' for that reason, it's my life philosophy. I don't enjoy second-guessing and reliving these old moments, all that kind of stuff. I find it not pleasant."

ACCEPT's new studio album, "Too Mean To Die", will be released January 15 via Nuclear Blast. The effort 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 last LP, 2017's "The Rise Of Chaos", marked the band's first release with guitarist Uwe Lulis and drummer Christopher Williams, replacing Herman Frank and Stefan Schwarzmann, respectively.

ACCEPT's latest release was "Symphonic Terror - Live At Wacken 2017", featuring the band's performance at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germ

Vocalist Simone Simons of Dutch symphonic metallers EPICA spoke to the "Scars And Guitars" podcast about what the concert industry might look like post-pandemic. She said: "You have to be realistic. Of course, we're all eager to go back on stage, but we all know by now that the art industry, the music business, entertainment business, is the last to start working again. And a lot of musicians are going crazy, especially the ones that live for touring."

She continued: "You have two kind of musicians: one that love to be in the studio — like my husband [KAMELOT keyboard player Oliver Palotai]; he loves it — but I also love to travel and be on stage. If I'm in the studio for too long, it's too much of the same for me. So I am itching to go back on tour, and some musicians are not. I know a couple of my close friends in the music business, they are also — you see that everybody is kind of venturing out into new directions, trying to keep themselves busy creatively, but we all have this big loss, or we miss something, that nothing, actually, can replace except for being on stage."

Asked if she and her bandmates have thought about different ways they will use modern technology to reach people during the pandemic, Simone said: "Some of our colleagues have started doing streaming concerts, and we are checking the options for us. The extra difficulty that we have is that we live in four different countries, and as long as we have lockdowns, we can't get together in order to create something like that. But the [new EPICA] CD is going to be released in February. Originally, our first postponement of the tour would have been in March, and that is, again, postponed to 2022, January. But we want to, of course, represent the album, and we have to be flexible and go with, like you say, the technology that we have now and try to come up with something really amazing for the fans."

EPICA will release its new album, "Omega", on February 26 via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2016's "The Holographic Principle" was once again produced by Joost Van Den Broek (POWERWOLF, AYREON) in part at Sandlane Recording Facilities in Rijen, Netherlands.

In the fall of 2019, EPICA celebrated the 10th anniversary of its milestone album "Design Your Universe". To mark this special occasion, EPICA re-released this fan-favorite LP as a "gold edition" through Nuclear Blast. This edition contained the album remixed and remastered by Joost Van Den Broek with updated artwork and a second disc containing newly recorded acoustic versions of "Design Your Universe" songs.

November 2019 saw the release of "The Essence Of Epica", a lavishly designed and fully illustrated, high-quality hardback which tells the story of EPICA in bandmembers' own words. The book is available in two distinct editions: the Classic is a 208-page, hardback with foil detailing, filled with over 200 images; the Signature hardback is signed by the band and comes in a deluxe clamshell box with three exclusive, original art prints created by Stefan Heilemann.

Photo credit: Tim Tronckoe

Psychedelic stoner/doom trio from Miami Bleeth and Ohio based label Seeing Red Records are excited to announce the signing of a new contract. Bleeth are planning to release their sophomore album in 2021. Details coming soon.

Statement from Bleeth: "2020 has been a hell if a year and I can't think of a better way to end it than this...We are beyond grateful and stoked to announce that we have been signed by Seeing Red Records.

"The commitment, passion and drive that holds SRR together makes us proud to be a part of. We look forward to building this relationship and being part of the SRR family. We can't wait for 2021 and all the exciting things coming including the release of our next album!"

Crystal Ball, Switzerland-based power metal bringers, are very pleased to welcome experienced musician Peter Berger as the new guitar player in the ranks.

Commented the band: "We are very delighted to introduce our new guitar player Peter Berger to you. He is an outstanding guitar player and a very cooperative person and therefore a perfect fit for Crystal Ball.

Peter gained years of experience as a guitarist in all these bands: Fortress, Daydreamer, Appearance Of Nothing, Banging Heart, Killer - Switzerland as well as these tribute bands: Cutest Beast (Judas Priest tribute), KUSS (A Tribute To KISS)."

Hailing from Sicily, Italy, occult doom metal purveyors Satyrus have announced the signing with Argonauta Records. The four-piece has recently self-released their debut album, Rites, comprised of 5 tracks and almost 45 minutes in total.

"We are very proud to have signed with the Argonauta family. We had a few offers from other labels but we choose the one that seemed most professional and cool to us," the band states.

"Rites is an album that digs into the old school occult music influenced by the likes of such as Coven, Black Widow or Sabbath, but with kinda new fuzzy sound, some black metal atmosphere and, especially our love for the occult. We hope you enjoy our sound and the ones who decide to buy this record, will be surrounded by pure and lisegic dark and heavy music."

DRAGONFORCE's Herman Li has paid tribute to Alexi Laiho, calling the former CHILDREN OF BODOM frontman "a great guitar player" who "was exciting to watch on stage."

Earlier today, Li uploaded a 27-minute video to DRAGONFORCE's YouTube channel in which he said about Alexi: "He was awesome. He was really good. I think a lot of us in the scene all looked at Alexi Laiho and thought, 'Man, this guy is so good.' Not only was he playing really good… There are a lot of great guitar players out there, but a lot of them cannot sing — cannot sing and play at the same time. And he was able to do both, and party like a rock star. That's one thing — a lot of us can play guitar, but we're terrible singers. Talk about being a frontman of the band. That's a whole different level than just being a great guitar player. He had a great stage presence. He was the frontman of the band — a great vocalist, singer for what he was doing — and he was exciting to watch on stage. And they had great songs. It's different when you can play the guitar and sing; you're a bit cooler. So he was another level up, because most of us can't sing."

Laiho died in his home in Helsinki last week. The 41-year-old had suffered from long-term health issues leading up to his death.

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

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

Alexi relished his role as stepdad in his family, and as uncle and godfather. Especially during the last years, the important family ties brought a welcomed balance to his life and the active touring. Laiho was particularly close with his big sister, parents and his sister's daughter.

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

Jaska Raatikainen (drums), Henri "Henkka T. Blacksmith" Seppälä (bass) and Janne Wirman (keyboards) announced their departures from CHILDREN OF BODOM in October 2019. Two months later, they confirmed that they were the rightful owners of the CHILDREN OF BODOM brand.

Brazil based prog/power metal act Caravellus have just released the cover artwork of their new studio album, Inter Mundos. The album will be released in the first half of 2021 by Rockshots Records (worldwide) and Metal Relics (Brazil) and will be their first in more than 10 years. Additional details coming soon.

Guitarist Glauber Oliveira explains the artwork idea: "Inter Mundos is a special album. It is an organic and visceral work, with an unprecedented conceptual story. Progressive metal and Brazilian music are connected. I didn't want art cover was something with manipulated images. This album asked for an old-fashioned cover. Ravelli is a genius of Brazilian illustration, as well as a great friend. He plunged headlong into the concept and my idea of ​​honoring the Paraiban writer by birth from the heart of Pernambuco, Ariano Suassuna. Art started on paper, with paints and brushes. Ravelli, literally, gave color and visual reference to Inter Mundos. The result was incredible."

The artist Marcus Ravelli talks about how it was to draw Inter Mundos: "Inter Mundos is a unique work, done with extreme commitment and competence, a real pride for the national metal. I was able to witness how much effort was put into making it sound perfect, in every way. Glauber came to travel to the place, which is far away as hell, to seek more inspiration and to dive further into the cultural imagery of the region. Excellent and creative musicians and compositions that took care to express in each note the mythical atmosphere and the unique cultural identity that surrounds the theme. So is this incredible job. I am very proud to participate with my art in this masterpiece of Brazilian metal."

Napalm Records announceS the signing of one of Germany’s standout rock acts, Kissin' Dynamite.

Founded in 2007 as a school band, the Swabian powerhouse acclaimed their status as one of the best live acts out there at more than 600 shows around the world, while sharing the stage with acts such as Powerwolf, Steel Panther and U.D.O.  

With six studio albums and various chart entries (#7 on the German album charts with Ecstasy [2018]), the band established their trademark style – characterized by modern sounds, massive anthems and catchy hooks, paired with an 80s stadium rock attitude and eccentric look. It’s their explosive mixture of potent rock ingredients that makes Kissin' Dynamite stand out and positions them right at the core of modern rock music. Now, the German high-flyers and Napalm Records join forces to mark the next step in the band’s highly successful career.

In addition to the record deal, Kissin' Dynamite signed a booking deal with Austrian Cobra Agency.

Kissin' Dynamite on the signing: “We're beyond happy to announce that we just signed a record deal with well-known Austrian label Napalm Records, as well as Cobra Agency for our booking affairs. With this international-acting team by our side, we're joining a club of companioned bands we're sharing common memories with! Let's do this together and #bringbackstadiumrock“

Napalm Records CEO Thomas Caser adds: "Welcome Kissing' Dynamite! One of the most energetic and up-and-coming bands Germany has produced in hard rock since the Scorpions! We are extremely motivated and are very much looking forward to a long-term cooperation with this highly talented band. Our focus will not only be on the domestic GSA market but specifically on the band's international development. Great things are coming!"

Feel the stadium rock energy and watch “I’ve Got The Fire”:

Drummer Devon Carothers, who joined Texas Hippie Coalition in 2019 and played on the High In The Saddle album that same year, has announced his departure from the band. A statement reads:

"I’ve enjoyed my time playing with Texas Hippie Coalition over the past few years but the time has come for me to part ways with the other members of the band. This is a decision made on both ends. I’m going to take a break from playing for a little while to deal with some personal things in my life because it’s starting to come between my duties to the band and I feel it’s not fair to the THC members and crew for me to not be able to give them my all. I love each and every one I’ve played with and the people I’ve met in my time with the band. I wish the band the best and can’t wait to see what they do in the years to come. Thanks to the THC family for taking care of us on the road and all of the great times. Thanks again for everything!

Love y’all,
Devon Carothers

Edited to add: I’ve received some messages since posting this and I didn’t want anyone to be concerned about me. This is more about making a life change, and not about anything going wrong in my life."



 

HighVolMusic artists Asphalt Valentine have released their new video for “Saving” through BraveWords! The track is the third single from their new album, Twisted Road, out now.

Vocalist Joe Flynt comments on the video: “I called up my buddy Matt Bryant from Muse Cinematic with the idea for the video. He had just gotten invited to the Cannes Film Festival for a short video he did. It took some convincing as we had to build the studio from scratch to do a proper green screen. After months of construction, we just let Matt and Andrew Burn from Residual Images have artistic control over the filming and post-production. We were blown away by the final product. They really nailed the storyline and brought the feeling of the song into an amazing visual. I think when people watch the video they will really connect with the song from their own past experiences.”  

The band set out to write and perform songs with that tone in mind. Influenced by every musical note they have ever heard, Asphalt Valentine fused them all together: the attitude of punk, the glam of decadence, the melody of pop, the blare of hard rock, the naiveté of youth, the worn weariness of country, and the soul of the rhythm and the blues.

 "The Only" video:

Progressive / power metal quartet Immortal Guardian has filmed a new sing-through video showcasing vocalist Carlos Zema as he performs the song "Fall" from the Age Of Revolution album, which was released in 2018.

The band urges fans to visit their online shop to pre-order their new album, Psychosomatic, which will be released on February 12th via M-Theory Audio. 

Immortal Guardian previously unveiled a music video for “Lockdown”, the second single from their forthcoming concept album, Psychosomatic. The clip, which showcases the group cleverly adapting to the same stay-at-home conditions that are affecting millions of people around the world at this moment can be viewed below.

"Rich or poor, it doesn't matter, every human this year experienced some kind of lockdown/isolation during this insane year,” says guitarist / keyboardist Gabriel Guardian. “We couldn't even just meet up because our borders were on lockdown for international travel. Thank god for the internet, as we were able to still create music and keep each other company online even with thousands of miles between each member. 'Lockdown' talks about all of the same questions we all have been asking ourselves since the start of the pandemic. Where did this all come from? Who's to blame? Is the lockdown saving more lives than it's destroying? We can only keep making music through these crazy times and hope for a better tomorrow."

Tracklisting:

"Psychosomatic"
"Read Between The Lines"
"Lockdown"
"Phobia"
"Clocks"
"Self-Isolation"
"Goodbye To Farewells"
"Candlelight"
"Find The Reason"
"New Day Rising"

After winning over new audiences with their acclaimed 2018 debut full-length Age of Revolution and touring relentlessly alongside fellow shredders such as Marty Friedman, Powerglove, and Exmortus, Immortal Guardian gathered in Las Vegas earlier this year to begin recording their second album. As the spread of COVID-19 and the subsequent pandemic began to ensue, each member of the band retreated to their respective hometowns. With shutdowns around the world being enforced, the band completely scrapped the record that they had been working on and were heavily inspired to write and create a new thematic record about their emotions surrounding current events.

The video for “Read Between The Lines” - produced and directed by SBLGA - also saw the members of Immortal Guardian contributing remotely from their respective homes, and shows off the continued refinement of their full-frontal assault of anthemic melodies, technical rhythms, furious shred and high-flying vocals.

Psychosomatic is the next step in Immortal Guardian’s evolution while still capturing the band’s exhilarating trademark melding of melodic power metal with progressive / shred tendencies.

Immortal Guardian is:

Gabriel Guardian – guitars / keyboards
Carlos Zema – vocals
Justin Piedimonte – drums
Josh Lopez – bass

Joel Hoekstra, best known to rock fans as the current guitarist for Whitesnake and Trans-Siberian Orchestra (and also known for his work with Night Ranger and the Broadway show Rock Of Ages), returns with his second album, Running Games from his electrifying solo project, Joel Hoekstra’s 13 on February 12. Joined by Russell Allen (vocals), Tony Franklin (bass), Vinny Appice (drums), and Derek Sherinian (keyboards), Joel and company pick up where his debut, Dying To Live left off.

Get a taste of the album with the new video for the song "Finish Line", available below. Pre-order/save the album here.

Hoekstra once again handles the bulk of the creative process, overseeing production, songwriting and arranging (music and lyrics), and crafting his vision for this powerful hard rock gem. Add Chris Collier’s masterful mixing and the result is ‘70s/’80s classic hard rock with 2020’s muscle. As with the debut, Running Games features an all-star cast of musicians including none other than Russell Allen (vocals), Tony Franklin (bass), Vinny Appice (drums), and Derek Sherinian (keyboards). The amazing Jeff Scott Soto also lends a helping hand with background vocals.

Says Joel, “Years ago, I released three solo albums that were mainly instrumental guitar music. With Joel Hoekstra's 13, I have started to work on something that showcases my production, writing, and playing in the genre that I'm known for, which is melodic hard rock.”

Like Dying To Live, Running Games can be described as Dio’ish at it’s heaviest, but is also influenced by the blues- based sound of Whitesnake as well as melodic bands like Foreigner, Journey, and the like.

Hoekstra says, "‘Hard To Say Goodbye’ definitely represents the more melodic sound of the album, but rock fans can also look forward to some aggressive tracks."

On Running Games, lyrically Joel focuses on escaping problems both past and present by providing playful, imaginary, and serious takes on the situations.

Long hailed for his fiery, tasteful guitar playing, Hoekstra’s playing here raises the bar to a new level.

Tracklisting:

"Finish Line"
"I’m Gonna Lose It"
"Hard To Say Goodbye"
"How Do You"
"Heart Attack"
"Fantasy"
"Lonely Days"
"Reach The Sky"
"Cried Enough For You"
"Take What’s Mine"
"Running Games"
"Lay Down Your Love" (Bonus Track - Digital)

"Finish Line" video:

"Hard To Say Goodbye":

Lineup:

Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake/Trans-Siberian Orchestra) - guitars
Russell Allen (Symphony X, Adrenaline Mob) - lead vocals, backing vocals
Vinny Appice (ex-Black Sabbath, DIO) - drums
Tony Franklin (ex-The Firm, Blue Murder) - bass
Derek Sherinian (Sons Of Apollo, Dream Theater, Black Country Communion) - keyboards
Jeff Scott Soto (Sons Of Appollo, Trans-Siberian Orchestra) - backing vocals

Special Guests:

Lenny Castro (Toto) - percussion
Chloe Lowery (Trans-Siberian Orchestra) - backing vocals
Dave Eggar (Evanescence, Coldplay) - cello
Katie Kresek (Adele, Five For Fighting) - violin, viola

2020 came to a close with Liquid Tension Experiment announcing their return and new album to be released on InsideOutMusic. Today, the legendary supergroup comprised of Mike Portnoy (Transatlantic, Sons f Apollo), John Petrucci (Dream Theater), Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), and Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel)  officially announce that the new album, LTE3, will be released on March 26 via InsideOutMusic, twenty-two years after the bands’ last studio album.

“After over 20 years since the last time we recorded together, the four of us stepped into the studio and it was as if no time had passed at all! All of the magic that made the first two LTE albums so special was still there and we had such a great time making this record. I’m extremely proud of what we created together and can’t wait for everyone to hear it!” - John Petrucci

“The best thing to come out of 2020 was this long-awaited reunion! And it was surely worth the wait as after all these years, the magic chemistry was still there and stronger than ever!” - Mike Portnoy

The pre-order will start on January 22 and the album will be available as:

• 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)

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.

(Photo - Tony Levin)

Season Of Ghosts have released an official video for "Listen", taken from the band's second studio album, A Leap Of Faith, released October 23rd, 2018. The clip features live footage taken during the band's 2019 European tour.

Season Of Ghosts vocalist / founder Sophia Aslanides is featured in a new interview discussing the band's plans for the follow-up to their 2018 album, A Leap Of Faith. Following is an excerpt from the story:

“The first album was just me wanting to combine a million different things," Sophia reveals. "It was like, 'This is going on the album. I don’t care if it doesn’t fit. I’m going to put it in there because it makes sense to me.' Everybody was freaking out and calling me crazy, but that was me manifesting my passion project. I think every artist is guilty of doing that at the beginning, but looking back I wouldn’t change a thing about The Human Paradox. I agree with you, though, that A Leap Of Faith has a much better flow to it, and that’s due to (guitarist) Zombie Sam’s influence.”

“What I promised to myself is that the third album would be more aggressive and more electronic oriented compared to A Leap Of Faith. We’re going to take both albums, the best of both worlds, and add a new element. To be honest, if I wanted to just perform the same thing over and over Sam would boil me alive in a cauldron (laughs). He refuses not to evolve, he is always coming up with new stuff.”

Following an off-the-cuff acoustic rendition of Blood Satin Child's “Stargazer” during one of the dynamic duo’s now infamous Bickering With Sam And Sophia live streams, positive fan reaction convinced them to go in and shoot an “official” live acoustic performance of the song. Since then the push has been on for Season Of Ghosts to record an acoustic album.

“‘Stargazer’ turned out well and that’s thanks to Sam because he came up with the arrangement. We’ve had very persistent requests to release an acoustic album; whether it would be digital or physical or both I don’t know, but we’ve had considerable pressure to do that. It’s going to happen, probably as an EP.”

Read the complete story here.

Season Of Ghosts recently released an official video for "How The Story Ends" exclusively through BraveWords. Check it out below.

Photo by Yvonne Otte

Sweden-based melodic death/doom metal band, Coldbound, have checked in with the following update:

"Lindsay Schoolcraft, (Antiqva, ex- Cradle of Filth) has recorded a vocal guest appearance for our upcoming full length album. The result is enchanting; as she was given the very difficult task to incorporate a rather challenging character. Special thanks to Tyler at  Monolithic Productions (Toronto, Canada) for the recording assistance."

Coldbound recently announced the release of their new single and music video, "Slumber Of Decay", on February 5th.

Says the band: "Upon discovering new ways to express our visions, finally we discovered this genuine portal of innocence, freedom but also of hardships. We have completed a very tough musical work for this release by capturing the moment and expanding our vision. A vision that resonates within our music in a mysterious way. A way that is capable of putting our audience into a unique trance of thinking through all kind of situations; whether these emotions are connected to a mysterious approach, freedom, fantasy or of inner struggles. This is 'Slumber Of Decay'."

Tracklisting:

"Slumber Of Decay" (album version)
"Slumber Of Decay" (radio edit)
"Slumber Of Decay" (Analogue Knobs & Orchestra Reprise)

Personnel:

The Band:
Liv Kristine - Vocals
Pauli Souka - Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Orchestration, Keyboards, Drums
Meiju Enho - Keyboards, Orchestrations

Session musicians:
Markus Riihimäki - Kantele
Lotta Sofia Kyrönaho - Woodwinds
Pasi Sipilä - Lead Guitar

Main Crew:
Pauli Souka - Production, Recording, Mixing at 'Stairway To Sound'; Hudiksvall, Sweden
Antti Välimäki - Recording at 'Studio Sampolaaris'; Tampere, Finland
Øystein G. Brun - Stem Mastering at 'Crosound Studio'; Bergen, Norway.

Artwork/Photography:
Balsara Inc - Xeniya Balsara Photography

Even as their second album, “If But For One”, was being released, an effervescent album full of creativity and imagination, Detritus were laying down their arms. The door was quietly closed on the tumultuous potential revealed by “If But For One” and its predecessor “Perpetual Defiance” and the members of Detritus turned and walked away. Until now.

The success of recent reissues of those early ’90s classics stirred up old memories and reignited flames; that closed door began to open once more and Detritus were reborn. The intervening years were blown away like so much dust on a neglected guitar and “Myths” began to take shape…

The music world has changed since Detritus first emerged onto the Bristol music scene in 1989, stunning audiences with their resolutely positive approach and high energy live shows. They drew fans to their banner thanks to rampaging live performances alongside the likes of Slammer, Acid Reign and the Galactic Cowboys, securing their loyalty with the riff-packed exuberance of “Perpetual Defiance” and its iconic Rodney Matthews artwork and the fresh, exciting songs that made up “If But For One”.

What hasn’t changed, despite the passage of time, is Detritus’ ability to create remarkable, Progressively minded Thrash Metal. If anything the band have emerged from their lengthy hiatus stronger than ever before, with “Myths” combining the best of both previous albums and striding still further ahead. This is no nostalgia trip, no flawed attempt to recreate the past…this is new and exciting music from a band who still have so much left to say.

On February 19th “Myths” will be revealed in all its glory and a new generation of Metal fans will have the chance to experience the unique power of Detritus. The potency of songs like “Forever Soldier” and “Call Me Human” is beyond question and somehow Detritus have eclipsed their past musical achievements with ease.

Bringing a message of hope in these times of fear and doubt, Detritus have returned!

“Bright Black”: