It’s been 17 years since Ainur thought to transform Tolkien’s masterpiece The Silmarillion into music. Each member of the band was lost in his own musical themes inspired by Tolkienian mythology. As if hypnotized, they outrageously composed themes for the main characters and started to imagine this huge concept work to which they still create to this day.

Their next anticipated record War Of The Jewels is due out March 19, 2021 (CD+Digital) (Vinyl - June 12) via Rockshots Records, which sees the band take an interesting evolution in sound from previous releases. Ainur will completely immerse fans in J.R.R. Tolkien’s war atmospheres. They have imagined every story and every battle and recreate them through unique and deep music.

The band comments:

"War Of The Jewels is the eleventh volume of The History of Middle-Earth. In Tolkien’s mythology is the tale of the big wars that came out after the creation of the Silmarils by Fëanor. The main theme is the big battles of Beleriand, except for Nirnaeth Arnoediad that will have big space in our next album. The main implied character is Fëanor, the mightiest of the Elves. Musically, it’s a thematic album as all our previous and future ones and you will recognize musical themes that we already used in From Ancient Times, Children of Hùrin and Lay of Leithian; however, the atmospheres are more aggressive and mighty than in the past because the topics we have put in Music this time needed a more powerful musical support." 

The compositional process of War Of The Jewels has been very long. It started in 2009 (or maybe before) and it ended more or less last year. Ainur sees it as their “rebirth” album. They have been working hard composing and arranging their music to create the best tribute to Tolkien’s histories that they can. 

Today, the collective shares the first single off the upcoming full length. Entitled "Spirit Of Fire", the song features Roberto Tiranti (Labyrinth) with narration excerpts by Ted Nasmith. 

The band adds:

“When we realized that Roberto (Tiranti) would be a guest on this album, we had no doubt of which song he was perfect for. ‘Spirit Of Fire’ is the most iconic track on the album, because it deals with one of the greatest characters that Tolkien has ever invented: Fëanor, the mightiest of Elves. He has a spirit of fire and in this song, Luca (that is the main composer of this one) had the same spirit. Big guitar riffs, chords, and progressions, but also choirs and melodies that are one of Luca’s most characteristic styles. Roberto put the icing on the cake and made this song epic and unforgettable. We are sure it will become an Ainur’s masterpiece in the next years!” 

Fans of Tolkien’s work along with fans of Ayreon, Queen, and John Williams will be surprised by the majesty and the energy of this work.

Artwork by Felipe Machado (Blind Guardian, Axel Rudi Pell):

Tracklisting:

“Fate Disclosed” feat. Ted Nasmith
“Wars Of Beleriand”
“Hell Of Iron”
“Wars Begin”
“Kinslaying (The First)” feat. Ted Nasmith
“Grinding Ice”
“Battle Under The Stars” feat. Derek Sherinian
“Spirit Of Fire” feat. Roberto Tiranti and Ted Nasmith
“The Broidress”
“The Great Battle (Or The War Of Wrath)” feat. Ted Nasmith
“Apocalypse”
“Apocalypse” (Acoustic bonus track – digital only)

“Spirit Of Fire” lyric video:

A Killer's Confession, the band led by former Mushroomhead vocalist Waylon Reavis, has released its brand new single, "Remember", via Wake Up! Music Rocks (a division of Wake Up! Music). The single is from the band's third album, coming out later this year.

The song can be streamed here , and a video can be found below.

"Sometimes in life, people are quick to forget the good and the bad," states Reavis. "We all need to be reminded from time to time where the line in the sand is truly drawn.”

Formed in 2016 in Cleveland, OH, A Killer's Confession (AKC) is led by vocalist Waylon Reavis and consists of Morgan Bauer (drums), JP Cross (bass), and Tommy Church (guitar).

The debut album from AKC Unbroken was released in May 2017 via EMP Group, the label founded by Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson. The first single, "A Killer's Confession", featured Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch. After the contract term ended with EMP Group, the band self-released their next three singles ("Angel On The Outside," "I Wish," and "Reanimated") all to critical and commercial acclaim, racking up over 2 million cumulative streams on Spotify.

In 2019, Pepper Gomez, the founder and CEO of Chicago and Miami based Wake Up! Music Group signed A Killer’s Confession. The band’s sophomore album The Indifference Of Good Men was produced by Sahaj Ticotin (vocalist for Ra) in Los Angeles, CA. It included the single "Numb,” along with the previously released singles "I Wish,” “Reanimated,” and "Angel On The Outside.”  The band is managed by Jeromy Jerome for FM Music Management.

After releasing three studio albums, two EPs, and one live collection of original material, New Orleans’ musical ambassadors Down – featuring vocalist Phil Anselmo (Pantera), guitarists Pepper Keenan (Corrosion Of Conformity) and Kirk Windstein (Crowbar), bassist Pat Bruders (Goatwhore), and drummer Jimmy Bower (Eyehategod) – will put their unique stamp on a collection of songs initially done by others. Speaking exclusively to BraveWords writer Aaron Small, Down drummer Jimmy Bower revealed his band’s plans for 2021.    

“We’re supposed to do a covers record pretty soon, that’s the next thing. We haven’t figured out exactly when we’re going to do it, or completely what songs yet… it’s just been an idea we’ve had forever. I know that’s in the works. Down was scheduled to play some festival shows last summer (2020) in Europe, and they got cancelled. I think we’re booked again this summer, but it just depends (on the COVID-19 pandemic) you know.”

Will each of the guys in Down pick two songs to cover, thereby making a ten-song album, or does the band have to collectively agree on each of the cover songs? “I’m sure we have to collectively agree,” answers Bower. “There’s already been a bunch of songs thrown out, some really cool ones, but I’m not going to tell you which ones at all.” In case they don’t end up being on the as yet untitled covers album. “There’s definitely been some weird ones that I was like, ‘Wow, that would be killer!’ It’s going to be fun to do, to put our own take on ‘em. They’re not going to sound exactly like… we’ll put the Down take on it.”

Are these potential covers, songs that most people would know, or did you guys dig deep into your record collection, blow the dust off some vinyl, and rediscover some almost forgotten, yet cool tracks? “That’s the idea, to be obscure about it,” confirms Bower. “There’s a couple we decided on doing that I would think everybody would know, but then again you never know. Some of ‘em to me, are kind of obvious, just because I’m in the band. If you’re a true Down fan, you really know what we’re influenced by; some of ‘em will be no brainers. I’m excited to get working on that, it’s going to be really fun!”

(Photo - Danin Drahos)

 

Peaceville Records has announced the April 2 release of Darkthrone - Shadows Of Iconoclasm, a limited edition box set. Pre-order here.

This deluxe set marks the formative years of one of Norway’s finest and most celebrated metal exports, as well as highlighting the 30th anniversary of their ground-breaking debut opus Soulside Journey, this extensive vinyl and cassette boxset contains the full early works of the band, much of which sees a release for the first time, including restored material courtesy of Patrick Engel at Temple of Disharmony. From humble beginnings to revered gods of metal, Shadows of Iconoclasm unfolds the band’s early journey towards greatness.

The special cover artwork for this set is inspired by the early works of the band & comes courtesy of notable artist Zbigniew Bielak.

This box set has been compiled and curated with the band and features content from their personal archives – Fenriz comments: “We only had a few months to write what would become ‘A Blaze in the Northern Sky’ and we had to blacken up a whole song from the ‘Goatlord’ session, and here and there on ‘A Blaze…’ you can hear a few riffs from ‘Goatlord’. Ironically I ended up listening way more to the ‘Goatlord’ album than I ever did with ‘A Blaze in the Northern Sky’. Maybe because ‘Goatlord’ feels super-real to me and I want to thank Patrick Engel for cleaning up the rehearsal sound without manipulating it much.”

He continues “The real sensation in this box is the live performance from Bootleg Stage Oslo 1990, soundboard sound with live performances of several of the tracks from our Goatlord album, I was so stoked when I discovered this (and no, I never had this on video myself so it was the first time I heard the audio now after over 30 years and it made me very happy. It was a non-alcoholic stage but we were pretty wasted too!)”

Contents:

• 6 LPs plus 7” featuring:  
 - A newly remastered 30th anniversary edition of 1991’s Soulside Journey
 - The original Goatlord instrumental rehearsal/album – specially transferred & restored from Fenriz’ original tape
 - Live in Esbjerg, Denmark 1990 – first time on vinyl
 - Live in Oslo November 1990 –a new digital transfer from the original master tapes from the Bootleg TV archive. Previously unreleased.
 - Live in Riihimaki & Lahti, Finland. Darkthrone’s 1991 – first time on vinyl format
 - Tracks from Oslo 1989 Bootleg TV appearance on 7” vinyl, including the Celtic Frost cover, ‘Visual Aggression’
• The 4 cult Darkthrone demos presented on cassette tape with their original art & layout
• DVD featuring a new digital transfer of Darkthrone’s November 1990 Oslo appearance from original master tapes, as well as their Finnish tour date appearances,
    plus bonus footage from Oslo 1989 & a previously unseen track from their September 1990 Oslo gig
• 60 page book with a large collection of band photos, plus text covering the early years of the band as featured in the ‘Black Death & Beyond’ book, including additional text for this release, plus bonus chapters compiled from rare Darkthrone titles
• Band promotional photo print replica
• Soulside Journey art print

Watch a video trailer below:

Whether or not Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor were tuned in when their future frontman, Adam Lambert, auditioned for the eighth season of US singing competition American Idol, his performance of "Bohemian Rhapsody" definitely launched Lambert's successful singing career.

Watch Adam's performance, which first aired in 2009, below:

Queen + Adam Lambert's latest release, Live Around The World, comes in CD, CD+DVD, CD+Blu-ray and Vinyl formats. Order here, or via the official Queen Online Store here.

The set presents a compilation of concert highlights captured the world over personally selected by Taylor, May and Lambert from over 200 shows they have performed with several featured here becoming available for the very first time. These cover concerts from Rock in Rio, Lisbon, to the UK’s Isle of Wight Festival, Summer Sonic, Japan, selected UK and North America tour dates, and - from one of their very last performances before lockdown - the Fire Fight Australia benefit show. All formats include the band’s entire 22-minute Fire Fight Australia appearance in which they performed Queen’s original history-making 1985 Live Aid set in full: Bohemian Rhapsody, Radio Ga Ga, Hammer To Fall, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions. While even Freddie Mercury’s iconic Ay-Ohs feature.

The twenty tracks featured include firm Queen fan favourites like ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ and ‘I Want To Break Free’ as well as rarities such as their versions of the Freddie Mercury penned “Love Kills” and “I Was Born To Love You”. The live album comes in CD, CD+DVD, CD+Blu-ray and Vinyl versions, with the DVD and Blu-ray featuring extra performance footage which include a Roger Taylor ‘Drum Battle’ with drummer son Rufus Taylor, and Brian May ‘Last Horizon’ guitar solo.

CD / vinyl tracklisting:

"Tear It Up" - The O2, London, UK, 02/07/2018
"Now I'm Here" - Summer Sonic, Tokyo, Japan, 2014
"Another One Bites The Dust" - Summer Sonic, Tokyo, Japan, 2014
"Fat Bottomed Girls" ft. Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders - American Airlines Center, Dallas, USA, 2019
"Don't Stop Me Now" - Rock In Rio, Lisbon, Portugal, 2016
"I Want To Break Free" - Rock In Rio, Lisbon, Portugal, 2016
"Somebody To Love" - Isle of Wight Festival, UK, 2016
"Love Kills" (The Ballad) - iHeart Radio Theater, Los Angeles, USA, 2014
"I Was Born To Love You" - Summer Sonic, Tokyo, Japan, 2014
"Under Pressure" - Global Citizen Festival, New York, USA, 2019
"Who Wants To Live Forever" - Isle of Wight Festival, UK, 2016
"The Show Must Go On" - The O2, London, UK, 04/07/2018
"Love Of My Life" - The O2, London, UK, 02/07/2018
"Bohemian Rhapsody" - Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020
"Radio Ga Ga" - Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020
"Ay-Ohs" - Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020
"Hammer To Fall" - Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" - Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020
"We Will Rock You" - Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020
"We Are The Champions" - Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020

DVD / Blu-ray tracklisting:

"Tear It Up" - The O2, London, UK, 02/07/2018
"Now I'm Here" - Summer Sonic, Tokyo, Japan, 2014
"Another One Bites The Dust" - Summer Sonic, Tokyo, Japan, 2014
"Fat Bottomed Girls" ft. Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders - American Airlines Center, Dallas, USA, 2019
"Don't Stop Me Now" - Rock In Rio, Lisbon, Portugal, 2016
"I Want To Break Free" - Rock In Rio, Lisbon, Portugal, 2016
"Somebody To Love" - Isle of Wight Festival, UK, 2016
"Love Kills" (The Ballad) - iHeart Radio Theater, Los Angeles, USA, 2014
"I Was Born To Love You" - Summer Sonic, Tokyo, Japan, 2014
"Drum Battle" - Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia, 2014
"Under Pressure" - Global Citizen Festival, New York, USA, 2019
"Who Wants To Live Forever" - Isle of Wight Festival, UK, 2016
"The Guitar Solo" (Last Horizon) - The O2, London, UK, 2018
"The Show Must Go On" - The O2, London, UK, 04/07/2018
"Love Of My Life" - The O2, London, UK, 02/07/2018
"Bohemian Rhapsody" - Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020
"Radio Ga Ga" - Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020
"Ay-Ohs" - Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020
"Hammer To Fall" - Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" - Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020
"We Will Rock You" - Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020
"We Are The Champions" - Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020

2021 is destined for heaviness: Sweden's finest stoner rock four-piece, Greenleaf, have just announced their upcoming full-length, Echoes From A Mass, out March 26 via Napalm Records. The successor to their 2018 epic, Hear The Rivers, is poised to disperse their renowned sludgy energy to all disciples of the genre.

Once again, Greenleaf have combined all of the finest stoner metal ingredients for their forthcoming offering - impacting with a prog and psychedelic-laced punch that accents the Swedes’ already motile sonic firmament. Heavy desert riffs, sprawling drums, captivating melodies and grooving rhythms make their new record an absolute must-listen.

Their first single, “Tides”, and its intense official music video, immediately draw the listener into a swirl of guitar driven soundscapes, while Arvid Hällagård’s remarkable voice merges with hypnotizing background vocals, ceremonially inviting the listener into a heavy reverie.

Greenleaf on the new album: “2020 was a shitty year for sure but there was at least a little bit of light in the darkness, Echoes From A Mass was written and recorded! This is an album that we are extremely proud of and we hope you will like it as much as we do.”

Watch the new video for “Tides” below.

Once again, Greenleaf prove that they dare to think outside the box and deliver a heavy roller comprised of Sebastian Olsson’s rumbling drumming performance, fuzzy guitars, Fröhlich’s haunting bass lines, Arvid Hällagård’s powerful yet ghoulish vocals and undeniable heavy stoner, southern desert and blues vibes. Echoes From A Mass was recorded at Studio Gröndahl in October 2020 by former band member Karl Daniel Lidén, who also mixed and mastered the record at Tri-Lamb Studios. Lidén is recognized for his work with well-known acts such as Katatonia, Bloodbath, Lowrider and Crippled Black Phoenix, to name a few.

Echoes From A Mass will be available in the following formats:

- 1 CD Digipak
- 1 LP Gatefold Vinyl Black
- 1 LP Gatefold Vinyl Cream/Black
- 1 CD Digipak + Patch Bundle  
- 1 CD Digipak + Shirt Bundle

Pre-order Echoes From A Mass here.

Echoes From A Mass tracklisting:

"Tides"
"Good God I Better Run Away"
"Needle in My Eye"
"Love Undone"
"Bury Me My Son"
"A Hand Of Might"
"March On Higher Grounds"
"Hang On"
"On Wings Of Gold"
"What Have We Become"

"Tides" video:

Greenleaf are:

Arvid Hällagård - vocals
Tommi Holappa - guitar
Hans Fröhlich - bass
Sebastian Olsson- drums

(Photo - Peder Bergstrand)

The Hollywood Stars will release their new single, "Escape" (Live) on February 15 via Golden Robot Records.

The Hollywood Stars released their version of "King Of The Night Time World" in December via Golden Robot Records a song they originally recorded in 1974 and was later recorded by KISS and released in 1976 on the Destroyer album.

Now they are set to release a new single "Escape" (Live). Recorded live at the world-famous Whisky A Go Go in 2019, this is the original version of the Alice Cooper song, "Escape", performed by the original band. This is a much more rock and roll version than Cooper’s 1975 recording complete with the energy of a live recording. This was the band’s return to the club that was their home in the mid-70s.

It would seem like every nook and cranny in rock ‘n’ roll history has been explored ad infinitum by this point. Countless books and magazine articles have been written, painstakingly excavating the lives and careers of everyone from Chuck Berry to Aerosmith, Wanda Jackson to Arcade Fire. But what if there was a band with deep roots whose story had barely been broached?

A band with direct ties to Little Richard, The Kinks, The Mamas & the Papas, The Electric Prunes, The Strawberry Alarm Clock, Alice Cooper, KISS, Iggy Pop, The Runaways, The Flamin’ Groovies, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Steppenwolf, Meat Loaf, and Blue Cheer.

Such a band does exist. They are The Hollywood Stars. And now, after more than 40 years apart, they are performing together again and making new music.

Pre-order/pre-save "Escape" (Live) here.

The Hollywood Stars lineup:

Ruben De Fuentes - Lead guitar
Scott Phares - Lead vocals
Terry Rae - Drums, vocals
Chezz Monroe - Second guitar
John Schayer - Bass guitar, vocals

New Zealand's speed metal overlords, Stälker, returns with a sweat-inducing visual from their 2019 tour across Europe - a nostalgic collection of intense live footage from a pre-pandemic time. Along with the blistering single “Sentenced To Death” cut from their 2020 Napalm Records release Black Majik Terror, Stälker gives us a taste of what we’re in for as soon as live shows are up and running again.

Watch the official music video for “Sentenced To Death” below:

The band's second full-length album, Black Majik Terror, is available via Napalm Records. Order your copy here.

Tracklisting:

"Of Steel And Fire"
"Black Majik Terror"
"Sentenced To Death"
"Stalker"
"Holocene's End"
"Demolition"
"The Cross"
"Iron Genocide"
"Intruder"

"Holocene's End" video:

"Intruder" video:

"Of Steel And Fire" video:

(Photo - Michael Mahne Lamb)

Connecticut power thrashers Sacred Oath will release a second single “Hammer Of An Angry God” on January 29 for streaming and download on all digital platforms. The single features cover artwork by Kenny “Thundarr” Evans. BraveWords is hosting the premiere of the lyric video for the new track; check it out below!

“‘Hammer Of An Angry God’ is a more traditional-style metal song than ‘Return Of The Dragon’” says the band’s singer Rob Thorne. “It’s also the first proper introduction of our new three guitar arrangement, guitar solos and all. It’s a fun track and gets right to the point.”

Subsequently, Sacred Oath will release three more singles on February 12, February 26, and March 19. Each single features a new and unique cover painted by Evans. Platforms like Spotify and YouTube will also feature each art piece on video and canvas.

Album art for the full-length cover was also painted by Evans and features a return to the band logo used for albums such as World On Fire and editions of A Crystal Vision.

Preorder for both the deluxe CD and double LP editions will begin on January 29 exclusively on the band’s website. These editions will be limited-edition pressings of 500 copies and LPs will be hand-numbered and signed. The CD will contain a 24-page booklet including all 11 original art pieces, lyrics, and photos.

Digital preorder will begin on Spotify, Apple, and Amazon Music on March 19 with instant delivery of all five singles.

Return Of The Dragon is the first studio album to feature the newly officially added 5th band member - guitar and keyboard phenom Damiano Christian. Christian joined the band during the Twelve Bells At Midnight tour in 2017 and appears on the live album that followed in 2019, Thunder Underground – Live from NYC.

Sacred Oath is best-known for releasing A Crystal Vision in 1988, an album that evolved into a cult-classic of the powerthrash-metal genre. It was followed by six more critically acclaimed studio albums, including fan-favorites World On Fire, Sacred Oath, Darkness Visible, and Ravensong. The single “Counting Zeros” from their eponymous 2009 release was chosen as iTunes “Discovery Download of the Week”, and their first live album Till Death Do Us Part (2008) was listed as a Top Ten Metal Album of the year by Apple Music in its year of release. The band appeared on MTV2 Headbangers Ball in its last televised season with a featured interview.

Tracklisting:

“Cthulhu Wakes”
“Last Ride Of The Wicked Dead”
“Return Of The Dragon”
“At The Gates”
“Empires Fall”
“Hammer Of An Angry God”
“The Next Pharaoh”
“Primeval”
“Into The Drink”
“Root Of All Evil”

"Return Of The Dragon" lyric video:

In a new interview with the "Shockwaves Skullsessions" podcast, EXODUS singer Steve "Zetro" Souza discussed METALLICA's late 1980s/early 1990s transition from being uncompromising thrash metal standard-bearers to arena rock's heaviest band.

"It's funny," he said (see video below). "[SLAYER's] Tom Araya told me one thing long, long, long ago. He said, 'Zetro, just stay heavy and everything else will fall into place.' And he's right. Who's the biggest band in the world? They're a thrash band. If you really look at it from the beginning, the biggest band in the world is a thrash band.

"In 1985, I remember, I [was] 21 years old," he continued. "I just finished the LEGACY [Zetro's pre-EXODUS band, later renamed TESTAMENT] demo. I had a guy, a very good friend of mine, and I remember the conversation fucking vividly. And he said, 'Do you ever think METALLICA will ever have a Number One record?' And I said, 'Of course I do.' And he was trying to rip me apart, going, 'It'll never happen.' And I said, 'I'm gonna tell you something' — and this is 1985 — 'as society gets heavier, so will the music.' And look, here we are — 35, 36 years later, and who's the biggest band [in the world]? Not just the biggest thrash band in the world — the biggest fucking band in the world."

EXODUS's new album, "Persona Non Grata", will be released this summer via Nuclear Blast. It will be the follow-up to 2014's "Blood In Blood Out", which was the San Francisco Bay Area thrashers' first release since the departure of the group's lead singer of nine years, Rob Dukes, and the return of Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

"Persona Non Grata" was recorded at a studio in Lake Almanor, California and was engineered by Steve Lagudi and EXODUS. It was produced by EXODUS and was mixed by Andy Sneap.

"Persona Non Grata" will feature a guest appearance by ex-EXODUS guitarist Rick Hunolt.

Longtime EXODUS fans will recall that Hunolt — the other half of the famed EXODUS "H-Team" who is on every studio recording from 1985 through 2004 and co-wrote some of the band's best-known songs such as "A Lesson In Violence" and "Deliver Us To Evil" — left EXODUS after the band's highly acclaimed 2004 reunion album, "Tempo Of The Damned". Following his departure, Hunolt was replaced by HEATHEN guitarist Lee Altus.

"Blood In Blood Out" was notable for featuring a guest appearance by former EXODUS guitarist Kirk Hammett, who left the band in 1983 to join METALLICA.

The original lineup of EXODUS consisted of guitarists Hammett and Tim Agnello, Hunting and vocalist Keith Stewart. Holt joined the band in 1981, while Kirk left two years before EXODUS's debut album, "Bonded By Blood", saw the light of day.

Souza is now on his third stint with EXODUS, having previously fronted the band from 1986 to 1993 and 2002 to 2004. A decade following his second departure, Souza returned to the fold in 2014, just in time to appear on "Blood In Blood Out".

EXODUS frontman STEVE 'ZETRO' SOUZA

Indiana Oath Keepers have issued a statement claiming ICED EARTH guitarist Jon Schaffer is not a member of their organization.

The 52-year-old musician, who resides in in Edinburgh, Indiana, was photographed wearing an "Oath Keepers Lifetime Member" cap during the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He is facing six federal criminal charges after he was accused of spraying a police officer with a pepper-based bear repellant.

The Oath Keepers describe themselves as an association of former law enforcement and military personnel dedicated to "support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic." But the Anti-Defamation League describes it as "a large but loosely organized collection of right-wing anti-government extremists who are part of the militia movement, which believes that the federal government has been coopted by a shadowy conspiracy that is trying to strip American citizens of their rights."

The Indiana Oath Keepers share the same logo and mission statement as the national Oath Keepers organization, but it is unclear to what extent the two groups are affiliated.

In a statement posted on the Indiana Oath Keepers web site, the group wrote: "The individual arrested in Columbus, Indiana and was wearing an Oath Keepers (not Indiana Oath Keepers) hat in the US Capitol building on January 6th is NOT a member of Indiana Oath Keepers." The organization added that it "does not and has never sponsored, planned or funded any activities that involve riots, violence or unlawful actions. No IOK members were sent to Washington DC on January 6th nor did IOK leadership ask for volunteers to travel to Washington DC."

Indiana Public Media reported last Friday that Schaffer has waived a preliminary hearing after he was charged with multiple federal crimes at this month's insurrection, and he will soon be extradited to Washington, D.C.

The guitarist is currently being held in the Marion County Jail after surrendering to police on January 17.

The government lawyers and Schaffer's legal team have mutually agreed to handle all proceedings in Washington.

Last week, government lawyers asked the judge to not offer Schaffer a bond when he goes in front of U.S. magistrate.

Schaffer must prove to the federal magistrate that he is not a threat to himself or the public before being released on bail. Others who have been charged for insurrection at the Capitol have been given bail but ordered to surrender their firearms, avoid contact with other alleged Capitol rioters and stay away from all state capitol buildings. Some other alleged rioters have been prohibited from using social media and participating in any political rallies.

Schaffer made his first court appearance on January 18 after turning himself in to police in Hamilton County the day before. He faces six federal charges, including engaging in an act of physical violence in a Capitol building.

Authorities say Schaffer was photographed and seen on surveillance video carrying a pepper-based bear repellant and arguing with Capitol Police officers inside the Capitol.

Just hours after the insurrection, ICED EARTH fans recognized Schaffer in a photo released by federal investigators in which he could be seen at the front of a mob, wearing black leather fingerless tactical gloves and pointing his finger while yelling at someone out of the frame.

Schaffer is believed to be one of at least 200 people who are being investigated by FBI officials over their roles in the insurrection. Additionally, the FBI has received roughly 140,000 digital media tips from the public.

While Schaffer has not yet said anything publicly about his involvement in the riot, his ICED EARTH bandmates put out a statement on Instagram and Facebook opposing the insurrection.

"We absolutely DO NOT condone nor do we support riots or the acts of violence that the rioters were involved in on January 6th at the US Capitol building," they wrote. "We hope that all those involved that day are brought to justice to be investigated and answer for their actions."

Earlier in the month, German daily newspaper Die Welt uploaded a video interview it conducted with Schaffer last November at a Washington, D.C. demonstration supporting Trump and protesting the 2020 presidential election results. In the chat, the guitarist said that "a group of thugs and criminals hijacked this country a long time ago" and warned that "they're messing with the wrong people here. Because now we see you, and you're going down. Mark my words."

Schaffer also seemingly threw his support behind Trump, saying "he's not your typical Republican" and claiming that America's 45th president is "dealing with a criminal mafia that has been in the shadows running the world, frankly, for a very long time. They wanna destroy all of our sovereignty and bring about global government," he added. "We're not having it… It will not happen. There will be a lot of blood shed, if it comes down to that — trust me. The American people will not go for that bullshit — once they understand what's actually happening. So, that's where we're at. Nobody wants this, but they're pushing us to a point where we have no choice."

Schaffer is also a member of power metal supergroup DEMONS & WIZARDS, which features BLIND GUARDIAN frontman Hansi Kürsch. He also had a solo project called SONS OF LIBERTY.

Former FAITH NO MORE guitarist Trey Spruance has looked back on the difficult recording of the band's "King For A Day… Fool For A Lifetime" album, citing an "unhealthy, toxic atmosphere" within the band at the time of its' creation. Trey made the remarks while talking to Eonmusic about MR. BUNGLE's "Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo", which is available now via Ipecac Recordings.

Speaking about the 1995 release, which saw the members at odds with each other, as well as creative tensions within the band, Trey admitted: "It seemed to me that they were in a worse place when we finished recording that record, interpersonally, than they were when they started."

The only FAITH NO MORE album to feature Spruance, "King For A Day" was the band's first to be recorded without iconic six-stringer Jim Martin. Keyboardist Roddy Bottom, meanwhile, was also largely absent from the sessions, after going through some well-publicized personal problems. All of this compromised, according to Trey, the band's usual razor-sharp focus.

"Yeah, it was a strange time for them," he admitted. "For me, the most fundamental change that they were going through was that they got rid of Jim, which is a very, very big deal. They wanted to expand their horizons, but the thing is FAITH NO MORE is a very organic band, so it's hard to say, 'This is the direction we're going to go in.'"

He continued: "They were just in a state of disarray, musically."

Spruance, who formed MR. BUNGLE in 1985 along with FNM's Mike Patton went on to reveal that the singer had actually warned him against taking the position. "Patton, he wasn't enthusiastic about me even doing it," he said. "He essentially was warning me, like, 'It's not that great a situation.' He knew that maybe there wouldn't be the smoothest sailing there."

The album's direction, which veered from the full-on metal assault of "Digging The Grave" to the lounge jazz of "Evidence", and in particular its lo-fi sound, was also a source of frustration for the six-stringer.

"I don't have a creative voice — at least not like a big one, so I'm not going to say, 'Why are we doing a bunch of stripped down stuff that sounds like, kind of a pop version of BLACK FLAG?', when we're recording in Bearsville Studios, like, the biggest, most godly tracking room," he explained.

Unsurprisingly, Trey left the group following the album's completion.

"The whole thing felt unsavory to me," he conceded. "[There was] this unhealthy kind of, toxic atmosphere, and I think I just [didn't] want to be involved in it."

Despite all this, the Eureka native looks back fondly on the album. "I think the record, in retrospect, turned out exactly perfect," he said. "I wouldn't want it to have those big, huge sounds now. I think it was all exactly how it was supposed to be".

Read the full interview at Eonmusic

TESLA bassist Brian Wheat, who is promoting his recently released autobiography, "Son Of A Milkman: My Crazy Life With Tesla", spoke to Sofa King Cool about what the touring circuit might look like post-pandemic. He said (hear audio below): "I don't know how it's gonna be, man. First, let's get it started back up. But I don't know how it's gonna be different. I imagine everyone's gonna be wearing a fucking mask, right? I don't know, man. Who knows? You've got this vaccine now, so that's gotta help."

Asked if he will get the COVID-19 vaccine, Brian said: "I don't know… A lot of people are just waitin' and seein'. I don't know if I'm gonna get the vaccine or not. I mean, I'm probably gonna have to, only in the sense that I think the government or whatever — because the government now is really trying to run your fucking life — are gonna make you do it, or they're not gonna let you go back to work… So, I imagine I'm gonna have to. But I'm gonna put it off.

"I don't know if it's good or bad, this vaccine," he continued. "It's like anything — when they had polio, and they had a vaccine for polio, it took a while for everyone to figure it out, how to do it. It's in the early stages, but thank god President Trump was able to get that thing put together in nine months, 'cause it could have took [sic] 10 years, man. And a lot of people wanna bag on President Trump, but the one thing that people can't take away from the fucking guy — whether you love him or hate him — is he got a vaccine in nine months. That's pretty fucking remarkable. So, hats off to the man. Give the guy a little bit of credit."

Former U.S. president Donald Trump has repeatedly credited Operation Warp Speed initiative with providing the money and resources the government and private companies need to bring a vaccine to the population quickly. But Pfizer, the company behind the vaccine which received FDA approval in early December, has distanced itself from Operation Warp Speed. In early November, Kathrin Jansen, a Pfizer executive, told The New York Times Pfizer was "never part" of Operation Warp Speed, and that the company had "never taken any money from the U.S. government." However, Pfizer did agree to a $1.95 billion purchase order with the federal government, providing the company a massive guaranteed market if the vaccine proved to be safe and effective.

In November, Trump reportedly fumed that Pfizer intentionally withheld an announcement about progress on its vaccine trial until after Election Day. This despite the fact that Pfizer itself did not receive the preliminary results from its independent study monitors until that group met five days after the election.

"Son Of A Milkman: My Crazy Life With Tesla" arrived on December 15 via Post Hill Press.

TESLA spent most of 2019 touring in support of its latest album, "Shock", which was released in March of that year via UMe. The follow-up to 2014's "Simplicity" was produced by DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen.

MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson spoke to the "Thunder Underground" podcast about what the band's latest addition, drummer Dirk Verbeuren, has added to the MEGADETH sound on the upcoming follow-up to 2016's "Dystopia" album. He said (hear audio below): "[Dirk's] amazing, man. One of the things about Dirk, probably more than any other drummer, he really… Obviously, he's great at [playing] the current stuff. When you come into MEGADETH at this point, man, you've got some pretty serious legacy to cover and to really do it well.

"We've had some great musicians in the band, for sure, but Dirk is a guy who fundamentally channels his inner Gar Samuelson [late MEGADETH drummer]. [Laughs] It's one thing to listen to it as a listener, it's a whole other thing when you're really in the room… Me and Dave [Mustaine, MEGADETH leader] will look at each other and go, 'Jeez, man, he plays just like Gar.' And to really know that, because Dave and I were in the room with Gar when he was writing and playing his parts and recording them.

"I think the difference is Gar, in a jazz tradition, never played the same thing twice, and if you asked him to, he would almost purposefully and rebelliously not play the same thing twice, because that was part of his jazz rebellion. Jazz was kind of the original rock and roll — the original rebellious music.

"Because Dirk is such a schooled musician — he's a great player; he can write charts; he can read music; he's got a great ear… Obviously, he's one of the progressive, and I don't mean 'prog rock,' but the grindcore progressive, he's an inventor of that style of drumming and really owns it and is respected around the world and around the drum community, especially for that drum genre, which is so progressive, that he can come in and just add so much really special flavor to MEGADETH.

"I can't wait for people to hear the record. We're wrapping basic tracks, so I can't really talk too much about it yet, because there's still some to be recorded, but speaking to Dirk, man, he is a shining star on the new record."

Verbeuren had been playing with SOILWORK for more than a decade before joining MEGADETH in 2016 as the replacement for Chris Adler (ex-LAMB OF GOD), who called Dirk "probably [one of the] top three drummers in the world."

As previously reported, MEGADETH's North American tour with LAMB OF GOD, TRIVIUM and IN FLAMES has been rescheduled for 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

THE END MACHINE, the new band featuring two members of the classic DOKKEN lineup — George Lynch (guitar) and Jeff Pilson (bass) — along with former LYNCH MOB and current WARRANT singer Robert Mason, will release its sophomore album, "Phase2", on April 9 via Frontiers Music Srl. The disc's first single will arrive in late February.

Track listing:

01. The Rising

02. Blood And Money

03. We Walk Alone

04. Dark Divide

05. Crack The Sky

06. Prison Or Paradise

07. Plastic Heroes

08. Scars

09. Shine Your Light

10. Devil's Playground

11. Born Of Fire

12. Destiny

Last September, Lynch revealed to KNAC.COM that THE END MACHINE's second album would feature drummer Steve Brown, son of former DOKKEN drummer "Wild" Mick Brown, who played on THE END MACHINE's self-titled 2019 debut.

Regarding the musical direction of the new THE END MACHINE material, George said: "On the new THE END MACHINE album, we went more DOKKEN-centric, which is what the label requested. The label is Frontiers, and they wanted something that was a little bit more geared towards the DOKKEN sound. When you hear it, I think you’ll agree that we were very successful in achieving that."

Pilson previously said that THE END MACHINE was "not just ex-DOKKEN members with a different singer or a rebooted incarnation of LYNCH MOB. This is a new sound," he said. Mason concurred, telling Love Is Pop: "I understand fans [expecting] it to be like B-sides from DOKKEN with me stapled on it, but it's definitely not that. I told them right away, I don't want to be involved if it's just gonna be that. Because that would feel like a shortcut, and I had no interest in doing that. But if it's got its own legs and its own entity, then we'll see how it goes. And when they started sending me ideas, I thought I could do something with them to the degree that it would be a unique animal. The DNA is there. George plays and you know it's George Lynch. I can't change my voice so much — I don't want to. Why would I? But everybody's got other influences. Jeff Pilson has got a real progressive rock kind of thing, and I dig that stuff. I'm a lot more bluesy. George has got his thing. And we really tried to make it different. And I think we did. Hopefully, fans embrace it. As I said, I don't want to reiterate too much, but they will hear the elements of it, but to us it absolutely doesn't sound like a DOKKEN record."

"Phase2" recording lineup:

George Lynch - guitar

Jeff Pilson - bass, keyboards and background vocals

Steve Brown - drums and background vocals

Robert Mason - lead and background vocals

METALLICA members Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo, along with their good friends Whitfield Crane (UGLY KID JOE), Joey Castillo (QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, ZAKK SABBATH) and Doc Coyle (BAD WOLVES, GOD FORBID), performed on July 26, 2019 at Cosmopolitan Music Hall at Cosmo Music in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. Dubbed THE WEDDING BAND, they played classic covers from bands like AC/DC, BLACK SABBATH, Billy Idol, and more.

Newly uploaded professionally filmed video footage of THE WEDDING BAND playing a cover of Billy Idol's "White Wedding" at the event can be seen below.

Kirk told Cosmo Music about THE WEDDING BAND: "It's just really fun jamming with these guys. It's something different. For Rob and I, it's cool, because we get to indulge our love of funk and punk... I was listening to all sorts of crazy music in the '70s — a lot of funk, R&B — so I've always had a real appreciation of the music of that time. When I found out that Rob did, we started playing our favorite songs. Funk from the '70s is so unique, and it's almost a lost art because no one is writing songs like that anymore... We got together and started jamming out tunes, and it sounded amazingly good, and then we started to improvise, and it sounded amazingly good... It's primarily a way for Rob and I just to jam out. We love to jam; we love playing with people; we love to play funk. It's become a little bit of an outlet for us, but it's nothing really serious or anything like that. We're really open to anyone coming and playing with us. I even asked the other guys in [METALLICA] if they want to come by and jam. [We're] always open — this is not a closed-border sort of band situation. Anyone can come in and play, as long as they're good... It's so recreational, but musicians need recreational music as well. They need to play stuff that they don't really have to worry too much about, and that we don't have too much accountability over. It's just a light, cool, fun thing for us, and Rob and I need that, because a lot of times, we put so much into our performance. There's so much intensity, so much riding on having to execute this song and play the shit out of it. You've just got to put a lot of love and care into our band's music, and that's fine, and I love it – I'm super-passionate about it — but it's also fun to just go to Disneyland for a while and play some tunes that are just fun for you to play, inspired you, make you smile, make you sweat and make you go, 'Man, I needed that.' I think everyone needs something like that... It's just so fun. We're something that's not to be taken too seriously, because none of us want to take it that seriously."

Last year, Hammett confirmed that he and his METALLICA bandmates have begun working on the follow-up to 2016's "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct" album while in quarantine. A year earlier, Hammett said that he had already accumulated "a lot" of "kick-ass, great" ideas for METALLICA's next LP.

The METALLICA axeman famously lost his iPhone containing hundreds of riffs in 2014. About six months later, he told "The Jasta Show" podcast that he "was crushed" when it happened, but still expressed hope that it "might turn up."

Hammett is not credited on any of the songs on "Hardwired…To Self-Destruct".

Hammett previously said that losing his phone was a "devastating" experience.

Despite the setback, Hammett said that he was pleased with how "Hardwired...To Self-Destruct" turned out.

"Hardwired… To Self-Destruct" debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 album chart, selling 291,000 copies in its first week of release.

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the debut album of rock's most mysterious band GHOST, Super7 will release a Papa Emeritus I figure as part of the Ultimates! Figures Collection.

Papa Emeritus I was the progenitor of the heavy rock phenomenon GHOST. From the shadows, he and his Nameless Ghouls filled the airwaves with sounds of dark rituals, human sacrifices, and satanic hymns. Known for his mysterious nature and aggressive stage presence, Papa Emeritus I elevated GHOST to heights few in the clergy ever come to achieve. During his tenure as Papa, he toured the U.S. and Europe several times, all while staying true to the message of the Dark Ministry. While Papa Emeritus I's achievements in the name of Satan were numerous, the clergy had even greater plans of world domination...

This made-to-order deluxe 7" highly articulated figure features Papa Emeritus I from the "Opus Eponymous" album era. The figure is lavishly detailed and painted and features an epic assortment of interchangeable accessories:

* 2 heads (Papa I with Original Mitre and Papa I with Golden Mitre)

* 1 pair of black gloved fists

* 1 pair of black gloved gripping hands

* 1 pair of black gloved expressive hands

* 2 soft goods vestments (original red / black and white / gold)

* 2 Thuribles with real chains (silver and gold) Microphone with stand

* Microphone and mic stand

Papa Emeritus I will also come packaged in a deluxe slipcase-style box.

The GHOST Ultimates! Figure - Papa Emeritus I is a made-to-order release and is expected to ship in the winter 2021.

Super7 is the premier pop-culture design house and producer of lifestyle-oriented collectibles, toys and apparel based in San Francisco. Led by designer Brian Flynn, Super7 has harnessed the graphics, aesthetics and energy of his youthful obsession with science fiction, giant monsters, comic books, punk rock, skateboarding, robots and rebellion to build a unique and innovative business that crosses all categories and is not bound by traditional manufacturing boundaries. Besides its own branded products, Super7 has also designed, manufactured, and distributed officially licensed programs for "Star Wars", "Masters Of The Universe", the original "Alien" and "Planet Of The Apes" movies, as well as for music legends IRON MAIDEN, MISFITS and Lemmy.

Super7 actually started as a side project for Flynn, who also founded Hybrid-Design in 2

SALIVA's previously announced reunion with original frontman Josey Scott "has been put on hold" due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Scott left SALIVA at the end of 2011 after 15 years with the group, reportedly to pursue a solo Christian music career. He was quickly replaced by Bobby Amaru, who can be heard on SALIVA's last four releases: "In It To Win It" (2013), "Rise Up" (2014), "Love, Lies & Therapy" (2016) and "10 Lives" (2018).

Scott broke the news of his return to SALIVA in October 2019 during an appearance on "The Morning Dump", a podcast hosted by "The Big Mad Morning Show" in Tulsa, Oklahoma. At the time, Josey said that he wanted to get together with SALIVA and "write a badass record."

SALIVA drummer Paul Crosby addressed Scott's status with the band during a new appearance on "The Chuck Shute Podcast". Asked if there are still plans for Josey to reunite with SALIVA for a possible album and/or a tour, Paul said (hear audio below): "Honestly, that is completely his decision. I'm not sure where his head's at. There was talk of all that, and then the pandemic put the brakes on it. And, obviously, we're still dealing with the remnants of the pandemic, so I'm not sure what's gonna play out. All I can is that all that has been put on hold at least for now — till everything clears up, and then maybe we'll revisit it."

Last February, it was announced that SALIVA would team up with POWERMAN 5000, ADEMA and FLAW for a run of summer 2020 shows dubbed the "Nu-Metal Revival 2020" tour. A short time later, Scott revealed in an interview that he would not take part in the trek. (The shows were eventually canceled due to the pandemic.)

Almost a year ago, Josey told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station that he wanted to write new music with former SALIVA guitarist Chris D'Abaldo and current SALIVA guitarist Wayne Swinny. "They're kind of the original nucleus of what SALIVA had to offer, I believe," Scott explained. The singer also expressed interest in releasing new music to coincide with the 20th anniversary of SALIVA's second album, 2001's "Every Six Seconds". As for SALIVA's lineup for the reunion tour, Josey said that Tosha Jones would sit behind the drums while former BREAKING BENJAMIN member Mark Klepaski would likely play bass.

SALIVA released six albums with Scott and tasted platinum success and a Grammy nomination for its first big hit, "Your Disease".

During an appearance on the latest episode of the "WTF With Marc Maron" podcast, David Lee Roth spoke about his decision to leave VAN HALEN in 1985 to pursue a solo career.

"Why did it fracture? 'Cause all rock bands fracture," he explained. "It turns into diverse interests. People have the friction of time. And that friction is family; that friction is… sometimes it's partying, but I don't know if that's what really separated VAN HALEN.

"There were always creative differences," Roth continued. "We never got along. It was a beautiful, beautiful pairing of… You've seen cowboy movies where the guys are always sabotaging each other but they're working to somehow accomplish something. And I think you'll see that in a lot of popular bands. They may have gotten through it, but I don't know that we ever really grew up and became gentrified. Now, that may not be a good thing; a part of me remained 23 years old forever."

Roth reunited with VAN HALEN in 2007 after 23 years apart and released a comeback album, "A Different Kind Of Truth", in 2012.

"VAN HALEN's perfect, and I always sensed that perfect would get back together — perfect in its imperfections," David said. "Think of your most ruined jeans that barely are jeans. They're your favorite because of the holes in 'em… Your favorite part of your cowboy boots is the fucked up part… That kind of imperfection, we value that and we still have it — it's in the music, and it makes the music more popular than ever."

Asked if he could sit down with the Van Halen brothers today and have dinner, David said: "Nope. Not even close. Not even close. This is not a golf club. This is a little closer to 'The Wild Bunch'. There is a fury and an antagonism, and what comes out of that is, when it's good — oh, man."

VAN HALEN has been inactive since it completed its U.S. tour in October 2015 in Los Angeles, California.

The trek was VAN HALEN's first since an aborted North American run three years earlier in support of "A Different Kind Of Truth".

"We finished up here a couple of nights at the Hollywood Bowl," Roth said. "[They were] some of the best shows we've ever done. I remember walking off that deck twice in a row going, 'Oh, yeah. That was some of the best of my career.'

"In the last 3000 days that I've been back, we've performed 150 times, and it was something — something special, something unique."

Although the shows themselves were hugely successful, Roth admitted that he and the other members of VAN HALEN "were at each other all throughout the tour — constant. And then you assign yourself to the producer who will either take Eddie's side or my side — you're either a Dave guy or an Eddie guy," he said. "We're all mature enough to understand that we're all pirates here. Of course you're gonna betray me."

Roth went on to say that he will be seeing the Van Halen brothers "in a couple of weeks," but he didn't offer any information about a possible new tour or fresh music in the works.

Four years ago, VAN HALEN released "Tokyo Dome In Concert", its first-ever live collection featuring Roth, despite numerous pro-shot concerts from the band's original heyday being heavily booted for years.

Photo by Bart Heemskerk

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

The official music video for the disc's first single, "Taking My Chances", can be seen below.

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

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

Track listing:

01. Taking My Chances

02. Running

03. Scars

04. Some People

05. Glory Road

06. Solar Fire

07. You Don't Know Me

08. I Wanna Stay

09. 'Til Tomorrow

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

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

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

The album will be available in these formats:

* Digipack CD

* 12" black vinyl with embossed sleeve

* Digital (streaming and download)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Favorite Hollywood hired gun, bassist Sean McNabb, took to the studio to record a classic Albert King song, "Born Under A Bad Sign". McNabb brought in some of music's elite to round out this Mississippi blues-driven track.

"I have always loved the blues. It really resonates with me," explains McNabb.

McNabb undertook this blues project with a lot of love and honesty of one of his favorite blues heroes, Albert King.

"I am known as a bassist, but I love to sing and this song spoke to me," he says. "It fits my voice like a glove and I am so honored to sing this track.

"Some of my favorite blues legends are Albert King, Buddy Guy, B.B. King and Eric Clapton."

To make this experience roll smooth, McNabb enlisted friends Gilby Clarke (recording, mixing, background vocals), Toshi Yanagi (guitar, recording, mastering), Cleto Escobedo III (sax), Teddy Zig Zag (keys) and Lenny Roberto (drums). McNabb maintained bass duties and took on lead vocals. His natural whiskey-soaked voice and vocal expression drives home a tasty new version of "Born Under A Bad Sign".

McNabb is best known as a rock and roll bassist, working and recording with such names as DOKKEN, QUIET RIOT, HOUSE OF LORDS, GREAT WHITE and MONTROSE. McNabb has also played and recorded with a diverse array of artists, from Willie Chambers, Don Felder and Edgar Winter to THE MUSIC OF CREAM.

McNabb is also an actor, most recently in "Street Survivors: The True Story Of The Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash" (Amazon Prime, 2020). He's had two supporting roles in movies on Lifetime network, "Dying For A Baby" and "Cheerleader Nightmare", as well as seasons 4-6 of "Sons Of Anarchy" (FX).

You can purchase McNabb's version of "Born Under A Bad Sign" on iTunes.

Sentient Ruin presents the imminent and highly anticipated release of Spire's immense sophomore full-length LP, Temple Of Khronos.

The obscure Australian dark metal futurists return after a lengthly silence with their immense sophomore full-length album, a reality-bending psychedelic/progressive extreme metal masterpiece of the highest order that will disassociate the listener and teleport them outside their own consciousness, reality, and self. Continuing their cryptic inner war against metal traditionalism and musical conventions in general, this time the Australian atmospheric black metal shapeshifters have fearlessly peeled back the hazy outer layer of their primordial black metal sound to reveal a previously unseen, massive, and glistening, architecture of cinematic sonic dark matter that elevates their imaginative and visionary power to unseen heights, opening worlds inside the listener into which be drawn, trapped and dissolved within one's own consciousness and self. 

Immensely evocative, and shrouded in a profound and majestic mysticism, Temple Of Khronos is a foreboding sonic gateway that will push your imagination to its limits as it explores the concepts of time as a deity, tyrant, and as ultimate engineer and destroyer of reality to connect the listener with an obscure and distant future civilization that in facing its own inevitable demise stares back into time facing us with our own nothingness, powerlessness and finality. 

The album's immense atmospheres and its seemingly boundless imaginative force stem primarily from its crisp but layered and dense production quality that works as a catalyst to channel an unseen and massive sensorial overload of sound in which cinematic and multilayered vocal arrangements (the temple's "choir"), lysergic atmospheres and winding, epic instrumental constructs cyclically collapse to surround the listener and submerge them in an otherworldly ritual of consciousness-altering and space-time distorting aural immensity.

A defining point in our history so far, Temple Of Khronos also marks the label's second ever release on CD format, to be released along with the staple cassette, vinyl, and digital formats, all on February 19, 2021 via Sentient Ruin exclusively worldwide.

For updates go to Spire's official Facebook page here.

Drum legend Mike Portnoy is walking you through his latest vinyl collection in a series of eight videos. Episode #7 focuses on new reissues, S - T. Watch below:

Watch previous episodes below:

Episode #1 new reissues, A - B:

Episode #2 new reissues, B - F:

Episode #3 new reissues, F - L.:

Episode #4 new reissues, L - M:

Episode #5 new reissues, M - O:

Episdoe #6 new reissues, P - S:

Florida rockers Fame On Fire are looking to build upon the success that 2020 brought them. As their reinterpretations of various Top 40 hits brought them widespread attention, their Hopeless Records debut Levels brought their unique sound to the masses. As the band has been working on new songs for a future release, they have created a music video for the album favorite “I’m Fine.” The video was created from an idea by Bryan Kuznitz (vocals), Blake Saul (guitarist), Paul Spirou (bass), and Alex Roman (drums) to showcase the band’s passionate live performance since their touring plans were halted due to the global pandemic. It also visualizes the song’s lyrical message that talks about the internal battle of getting out of that dark place in your head.

Fame On Fire have built a loyal fanbase with the release of their album Levels last September 4. The band gets more than a million streams every month on Spotify and have become favorites at Active Rock radio thanks to their consistency to create infectious melodies over memorable musical beds. Levels was out to prove the band was more than the covers that garnered them global attention. Holding multiple meanings, Levels is both about going through the motions of life, the various levels, ups and downs that all people can relate to, and about the quest to level-up and continue to progress and move forward.

Leaving absolutely nothing on the table, Fame On Fire have set out to prove they are more than just a cover band. The band strives to be genre-defying while pushing the boundaries of the relationship between rock, hip hop, and heavy music, by unapologetically being themselves. Showcasing their musical abilities, Bryan Kuznitz (vocals), Blake Saul (guitarist), Paul Spirou (bass), and Alex Roman (drums) self-produced, tracked, and mixed their debut album Levels on their own, in the studio they built, laboring over every lyric, chord, beat, and riff, and painstakingly polishing every track. Holding multiple meanings, Levels is both about going through the motions of life, the various levels, ups and downs that all people can relate to, and about the quest to level-up and continue to progress and move forward. This dichotomy defines a band that is not willing to stand still or be complacent, but one that continuously tries to evolve their sound and craft.

(Photo by: Roman Films)

Formed in 2012, Denver’s Scepter Of Eligos has been conjuring up heavy, sludge doom metal that is ravaged with death metal overtones and highlighted with psychedelic groove. They are releasing their first full-length album Inverted Illusions in 2021 and are tantalizing listeners with a second single, “Inverted Illusion” off the record.

Coined as “psychedelic metal of death”, Scepters Of Eligos blur the lines between genres, creating a sound that is powerful, dissonant, and heavy as hell. According to the band, the single “Inverted Illusion” is a sonic injection of adrenaline and LSD: they continue with their take on the album:

“We wanted this collection of songs to represent all the various influences as well as our own individual style which we feel that we are developing. This album is a cohesive representation of the band’s sound, using our favorite elements of various metal subgenres.”

Taking notes from influential bands in a variety of sub-genres including psychedelic rock, death and black metal, Scepter Of Eligos formed thanks to having similar ideas of what they wanted from a band, the ability to be fully creative and not have to stick to a strict formula. The result is songs that are always loud and punishing and interesting enough to keep even the most fastidious metalheads enthralled.

Ever entertaining live as well as recorded, Scepter of Eligos is a band to watch; they intend to release more music in the future. Scepters of Eligos are recommended for fans of death metal, doom metal and in particular Disfear, Ufomammut, and Acid Bath.

Tracklisting:

“Reabsorbed”
“Biological Possession”
“Starless Chasms”
“Inverted Illusion”
“Procession Of Spectres”

“Inverted Illusion”:

(Photo by: Alvino Salcedo)

In a release that’s anything but “Futile,” Canadian rockers Derev harness the intensity of metal with atmospheric progressive sounds, all while incorporating elements of their Arabic and Armenian heritage in this, their propulsive new single is available now.

The freshly pressed debut track for the Toronto-based three-piece features the guest vocals of Adel Saflou (Ambrotype); its video then whisks audiences on a vivid journey through the mind of an individual who is exhausted from a life lived glued to a screen and yearns to return to a more natural way of life.

“Contrary to what one might assume when seeing the music video, it’s not meant to illustrate or predict our future as this ‘doomsday,’” says Syrian drummer and songwriter Michel Karakach. “We’re not predicting the future or saying that our species is going to be dominated by machines or overtaken by this advanced artificial intelligence.”

“Rather, it’s about the present situation and how integrated we have become with this technology,” Armenian guitarist and songwriter Armando Bablanian adds. “We are so dependent on it that we hardly do any activity that does not involve us being behind a screen.”

“Futile” is the first single to land ahead of Derev’s forthcoming EP, Leap Of Faith — available this spring.

“Musically, the album combines the energy and intensity of metal music with the atmospheric feel of old-school progressive rock music,” bassist Liam Horrigan considers. “It’s also filled with mellow sections and solos that trigger emotions and deliver the message of the EP, not only through melodies and lyrics, but also through a personal and intimate experience.

“There’s many peaks and troughs.”

Although Leap Of Faith isn’t slated as a concept album, per se, the common theme is about seeing things from a different perspective. “And taking action to make a change,” Bablanian offers. “Each song aims to discuss a different topic, and we target numerous controversial ones — including social issues our community faces on a daily basis.”

“It starts with a track that talks about questioning things that are culturally presumed as absolute truths: what is moral, what is taboo, the idea of going to war for peace, and so on…” Karakach expands. “The album also discusses personal struggles and hurdles that bring us down, leaving us stumped and overwhelmed with doubt and remorse, rather than taking action and achieving what we set out to do.

“The overall experience of Leap of Faith delivers a message that every listener can relate to on some level, and be moved by.”

Leap Of Faith may be Derev’s newly minted breakout album, but the band’s earliest rumblings could be heard a long time ago.

With Bablanian and Karakach first meeting in high school while living in Kuwait, “we were unable to pursue the project at the time due to the circumstances of living in the Middle East,” they share.

In the meantime, Karakach received his dental degree in Syria before immigrating to Canada, actively drumming and songwriting along the way. For his part, Bablanian received an engineering degree from the University of Toronto while also part of Canadian metal band, Till I Conquer — with whom he released an EP and three singles. Horrigan — also a UofT engineering alum — used to be in the Ottawa-area band Open Season; he’s also released a solo alt-rock offering under @t_ii_f.

“Futile” is available now.

Leap Of Faith is available April 23, 2021.

Steel Mountain Crossing featuring former Quiet Riot singer Mark Huff have disbanded. Guitarist Dennis DiNunzio explains that due to the present state of the COVID-19 pandemic and creative differences with Huff, the band has folded.

DiNunzio explains in a statement: “I have officially folded SMC and my decision to leave is the first step to continue to move forward.  I wish Mark the best with his painting and carpentry and his tribute band.

“I was in an Ozzy (Osbourne) tribute band for 20 plus years. Right now, I want to play original music with like-minded artists. I was a big Quiet Riot fan as a child and it was fun to collaborate with Mark at times. I have nothing against any member or former members of QR. It was a thrill to play QR songs with him.  I love playing Randy Rhoads guitar and can all night. 

“I want to thank everyone who supported the project from the potential labels to the people who created the Facebook page and did social media for us. I don’t compete with anyone. I believe in labels and the workers they have that show up to work every day from 9 to 5, I enjoy working with the industry and I personally let them do their job. After playing guitar for over three decades, not once has anyone in the industry told me how or what to play. I certainly would not tell anyone at a label interested in collaborating how to run their label or how to sell a rock ‘n’ roll band in this or any other climate.

 

“I play and create music for the fun of it. Right now, I think I have found the musicians and industry folk I want to play and work with, I am also talking with some bands I am pretty sure you all have heard of. To be honest I am not political, I am just a guitarist. I am not a manager or a psychiatrist or a recording engineer.  I try to keep my mouth shut and focus on playing hard and heavy electric guitar. I show up on time I do my homework at home. 

“I have the same problems everyone else has, but when the chance comes to play, I can appreciate that and can very easily focus. It’s all great when people support you to get your groove on, but most people don’t realize that in the entertainment industry you have to get your groove on and play 120 percent under every and any circumstance; not just when people kiss your ass. I played the Rhoads To Riot guitar tracks with a broken right thumb, I couldn’t hold a pick if I was paid to.   

“Looking forward to get back out to see you all again.  Hopefully this will happen sooner than later.  Best of luck to Mark and Quiet Riot whatever form they may be in. PEACE! God Bless!"

Fade To Silence Records & Filmworks via Distribution Solutions, a division of Alliance Entertainment will release Honor Amongst Men worldwide in February.

Honor Amongst Men is a new film revolving around a day in the life of John Halmo, a veteran police officer who is trying to juggle his turbulent home life, the daily stresses of his job, and the apparent inevitable biker war that's about to engulf his hometown. Get your first chance to view Honor Amongst Men, the new movie, an old fashioned code of honor starring Chuck Zito, Robert Clohessy, Joan Jett, Edward Asner, Vincent Pastore.

Honor Amongst Men is a dramatic thriller about a day in the life of a veteran police officer who is trying to juggle his turbulent home life, the daily stresses of his job, and the apparent and inevitable biker war that's about to engulf his hometown. The film features a terrific, diverse cast including, Chuck Zito (Carlito's Way, Homefront, Cops & Robbers, Oz, 13, Man on the Moon, The Juror), Robert Clohessy (Blue Bloods, The Avengers, Oz, The Wolf of Wall Street, 16 Blocks), Joan Jett (Light of Day, The Sweet Life, Love and Roll Forever, Steven King's Big Driver), Edward Asner (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Lou Grant, Elf, Up, Roots, JFK, Ft. Apache, the Bronx), Vincent Pastore (Sapranos, Goodfellas, Shark Tale, Mickey Blue Eyes, Money Train, The Ref).

Honor Amongst Men was written by Matt Morillo with Chuck Zito and Edward C. Wahl. Directed by Fred Carpenter, Cinematography/Editing by Steven Sage Goldberg.

On Saturday September 8, Edward C. Wahl presented a special open invitation screening of Honor Amongst Men with Director Fred Carpenter and Casting Director Maryann Flynn-Gianno at the Bellmore Movie Theater in Long Island, New York. The night beganwith a Ride with the "Satan's Few" to the Bellmore Theater from the New Rochelle Dinner.The first 200 people that arrived received a free signed copy of Chuck Zito's new book, Street Justice.

Honor Amongst Men won the "Audience Favourite Award" at the Long Island International Film Expo (LIIFE).

Chuck Zito received the "Icon Award" at the AOF Action On Film International Film Festival Award's Dinner & Black Tie Event at the beautiful Palms Hotel in Las Vegas, on August 25, 2018. Chuck Zito was also nominated for the "Rising Action Star" in a feature film, Honor Amongst Men, and won this award.

Robert Clohessy was Nominated for "Best Supporting Actor" in a Feature Film at the AOF Action On Film International Film Festival.

Avatar recently launched a series of concert streams, Avatar Ages - An Impossible Concert Experience, that is taking place over the course of January. The four-part concert film experience launched January 9 and features songs from Avatar’s celebrated catalog, starting with a performance of their latest album in full, Hunter Gatherer, out now via eOne.

Watch "Napalm" from the January 23 show, below:

The concerts feature fan voted set lists - chosen by ticket purchasers - with songs from Avatar Country, Feathers & Flesh, Hail The Apocalypse, Black Waltz, Thoughts of No Tomorrow, Schlacht and Avatar. Tickets are now on sale here.

The final Avatar Ages - An Impossible Concert Experience concert stream takes place Saturday, January 30 - Age Of Memories (Thoughts of No Tomorrow, Schlacht and Avatar fan voted set list)

About the performances, frontman Johannes Eckerström says, “Nothing can top the feeling of standing eye to eye with the roaring beast that is a metal crowd, hungry for blood. Instead, what we are setting out to do is a series of shows we could never do on a normal stage. You will see Avatar as you've never seen us before. More music, more madness. We enter this with a game plan like no other, but ultimately the power is yours. This is something we'll create together. We have missed you.”

Concert stream tickets are available for individual shows and as a four-show package. Various ticket bundles are also available, offering exclusive merchandise such as t-shirts, hoodies, vinyl, and a commemorative laminate. A limited number of exclusive virtual Meet & Greets with the entire band are also available.  Fans will be able to select their date and time period in advance, and after their personal Meet & Greet, they’ll receive a video file of their conversation, as well as the opportunity to take pictures during the experience. Visit AvatarAges.com for all details and to purchase tickets.

Each livestream debuts on its respective date at 1 PM, PT / 4 PM, ET / 10 PM, CET and remains on-demand for 72 hours.

Pre-orders are now available for Thanatos Rising, the third full-length from Southern California progressive-leaning metal quintet, Sorizon.

Though the group’s music has a definite progressive metal bent, Sorizon aims to break down subgenres to bring metalheads together. Sorizon's previous releases have garnered overwhelmingly positive reviews, including proclamations that they “rival the better work of Symphony X” and “the guitarists complement each other like not many bands have done; Maiden and Priest come to mind.”

Thanatos Rising, featuring powerful artwork painted by Eliran Kantor (Testament, Sodom, Havok), is scheduled for released digitally and on limited edition blood red and black galaxy vinyl on February 26. Music samples and pre-orders are available via Sorizon’s Bandcamp page, here.

"Thanatos Rising is a journey through the nightmarish battles of life and death, ending with worth and wisdom,” says guitarist Dr. Danny Mann.

The themes of Thanatos Rising resonate with the state of the world: death, fear of the unknown and the hope of renewal. Thanatos Rising brings Sorizon's peak of songwriting and critically acclaimed production. Through 2020, Sorizon began building momentum for Thanatos Rising throughout 2020 by releasing eight singles from the upcoming album on all major online music platforms. Check out the sci-fi inspired video for “Imminent Contact” and the album’s title track below.

During lockdown, Sorizon continued to stay connected with fans through regular livestreams where the whole band partied with the audience by playing interactive games, giving away free prizes, sharing exclusive previews of new music and answering crazy questions. They also have been bringing their local metal community together by inviting special guests from other bands to the livestreams and promoting a Spotify playlist featuring some of the best underground metal in California.

Thanatos Rising tracklisting:

"Descending Into Darkness"
"Thanatos Rising"
"A Distant Echo"
"Lost In A Dream"
"Eternity’s Door"
"Prisoner To Yourself"
"Hidden Evils"
"Imminent Contact"
"Destined For Despair"
"Awaken To This Light"
"Virtual Deception"
"Worth And Wisdom"

"Imminent Contact" visualizer:

"Thanatos Rising" visualizer:

Keith McIntosh (vocals), Dr. Danny Mann (guitar) and Sean Elston (drums) began making metal in the band Joust in 2006. After a short but successful run, they decided to get heavier and more progressive, thus spawning Sorizon in 2008. After a few lineup changes, Sorizon now rocks an undeniable chemistry with Tim Hall on guitar (since 2011) and Kevin Vickers on bass (since 2012).

At the close of 2009, Sorizon released their debut full-length album Behind the Emerald Starscape. The album was mastered in Finland at the famous Finnvox Studios by Mika Jussila (Children of Bodom, Dragonforce, Nightwish). The fall 2013 release of the second album, Somnus, marked an enormous leap forward for the Sorizon sound. The combination of musical maturity and extensive collaboration within the lineup led to this classic album. Somnus is a themed album based on sleep and dreams, and song inspirations ranged from personal dreams, insomnia, the Greek gods of sleep and more. The cover art by Dennis Hamilton is a graphic depiction of a post-apocalyptic Mann had, which also inspired the music for the song “Illusions.” The album was professionally mastered by Tony Lindgren at Fascination St. studios in Sweden (Opeth, Amon Amarth, Kreator, Symphony X).

In 2016, Sorizon unveiled their third independent release titled End of Entrapment. The title not only relates to the lyrical theme of the EP, but it also represented breaking any musical chains that had bound the band to any specific sound. This six-song, high-energy, rock ‘n’ roll release was a departure from what most Sorizon fans were used to but also featured their fastest song ever, “Lay to Waste,” as well as their shortest song, “Minutemen” and even an acoustic version of the fan-favorite “Cosmic Eden” from the first album.

(Photo - Karina Diane Concert Photography)