Helsinki-based Oceanhoarse have checked in with the following update:

"Live at the Hoarse Ranch! 'REW'. Video by Arto Lindén

We had already started rehearsing new songs and testing some stage lights for Hoarsefest when the new restrictions put the event on hold (new date Feb 27th!). So the 'stage' was already set but there was no one to play to, so we invited our trusted partner-in-crime Arto Lindén to come over to our rehearsals to hear the new songs. Things escalated quickly into a full-blown video shoot!"

Oceanhoarse likes to keep busy. After the touring plans for this fall were put on hold due to the pandemic, an idea struck somewhere in between the relentless songwriting and the upcoming studio-sessions: just jam on a couple of Ozzy songs – and film them!

The band was joined by Sinergy vocalist Kimberly Goss - who dropped off the metal radar years ago - for "Perry Mason". Here's what Kimberly had to say about Ozzy, and this collaboration:

"You can't be a lover of metal without Ozzy having had an influence on you at some point in your life. The first vinyl record I ever owned was Paranoid by Black Sabbath. I fondly remember sitting in my room, turning on my black light and listening to Electric Funeral over and over again! I was also a huge fan of Ozzy's solo career, but when Ben (Varon) asked me to partake in this Ozztober project that Oceanhoarse was doing, I was a little hesitant at first.

I dropped off the face of the metal scene about 14 years ago to focus on raising my daughter. I've really enjoyed the anonymity that comes along with being in a suburb while living the mommy life. I never stopped being involved in music, but I just switched gears to something more befitting to my role as a mom. In recent months, however, I've started collaborating on a metal album with a killer guitarist in hopes that now when my kid is older and less dependent on me, I could concentrate on starting a new band and work on the second phase of my career in metal. As scary as it is to put myself back out there after such a long absence, I figured this would be a fun way to reintroduce myself! I've been close friends with Ben for almost 18 years, so it was a great pleasure to finally work with him on something and I hope the fans enjoy it. Be sure to keep an eye out for my new band debuting within the next year or two. We still need a complete line up, so if anyone else is looking to come out of retirement, hit me up!"

Check out Oceanhoarse here.

Depths Of Hatred has released the video for "Sadistic Trials", from their upcoming new album, Inheritance, due out on March 19, 2021 via Prosthetic Records. Armed with a new vocalist and reinvigorated sound, "Sadistic Trials" sees the Canadian band capitalise on William Arseneau’s mellifluous vocal capabilities whilst staying true to their signature death metal foundations.

Keeping production duties in house and allowing themselves to work at their own pace has resulted in a polished, mature sounding collection of songs, which was then mixed and mastered at The Grid Studio by Christian Donaldson (Beneath The Massacre, Shadow Of Intent). 

A progressive slant to their rejuvenated sound means that they have stayed true to their definitive death metal roots, yet allowed themselves the opportunity to open up and explore metalcore and beyond. With ambitions to take their new material on the road as soon as they are able to do so, Depths Of Hatred have every intention of making this fresh start really count.

Inheritance artwork and tracklisting:

"Enslaved Through Lineage"
"Sadistic Trials"
"Pulsating Rhythm"
"Fastidious Imitation"
"Drop Of Red"
"Illusive Obsession"
"The Gift Of Consciousness"
"Shivers"
"Inheritance"
"The End Of Ourselves"
"Emerging As One"

Pre-order your copy of Inheritance now at this location.

(Photo credit: Dominic D.D.)

 

Symphonic power metal band Winterage has issued a video for the song "Orpheus And Eurydice", taken from their new album The Inheritance Of Beauty, which was released on January 15, 2021 via Scarlet Records.

According to the band, “The song displays the wide spectrum of sounds and influences within Winterage’s music: from power metal to opera singing, violin melodies, folk interludes and symphonic orchestrations. It tells the ancient story of Orpheus and his descent into hell in the presence of Hades, in order to bring his wife Eurydice back to life. The video climax is reached during their ascension to earth when he turns his glance to her (quoting ‘The Metamorphoses’ by Ovid)."

The theme of Winterage's new album, The Inheritance Of Beauty, is the fight of beauty against decadence. Botticelli's Venus, representing authentic art, has turned back to stare at our world: what she sees is decadence, forgetfulness of art's values and the forsaking of Nature. The inheritance of real beauty is hidden in the essence of human beings and artists can give it new life.

Tracklisting:

"Ouverture"
"The Inheritance Of Beauty"
"The Wisdom Of Us"
"Of Heroes And Wonders"
"The Mutineers"
"Orpheus And Eurydice"
"Chain Of Heaven"
"La Morte Di Venere"
"Oblivion Day"
"The Amazing Toymaker"

"Of Heroes And Wonders" Lyric Video:

 

UK hard rock band, Silk Road, have released a music video for their brand new single "Amber". It’s the new single taken from their debut album Grit For The Pretty, which will be out later this year. The song can be ordred here.

Hard hitting and full of attitude from the beginning, this single was recorded at Shredder Live Lounge with producer Jay Shredder. Written during a turbulent political climate, "Amber" expresses feelings of anger, resentment and fear all wrapped up alongside the in your face opening riff and pounding rhythm section. 

Silk Road is a four piece hard rock band spewing out groovy riffs and music you can dance and mosh to. Taking influences from anywhere between Tool and David Bowie, Stevie Wonder to Slipknot, Silk Road wishes to create the perfect sound for a purposeful point. Their goal is to create great music without being boxed into just one genre and without adhering to the norm of rock and roll.

Check out Silk Road's previously released videos for "Sonder", "Just Like That", and "The Self, The Inner And You", also from their forthcoming debut album Grit For The Pretty:

Silk Road is:

Bradley Taylor - vocals
Charles Evans - drums
Andy Gray - bass
Rory Drohan - guitars

For further details, visit Silk Road on Facebook.

 

The Dead Daisies have released a four-minute album recap video, showcasing snippets of all 11 songs that appear on their new album, Holy Ground, scheduled for release on January 22nd via SPV.

Influenced by '70s and early '80s rock, The Dead Daisies sound is soulful and accessible – equal parts of Aerosmith, Bad Company and Foreigner: muscular vocals, bluesy riffs, big choruses, powerful melodies and strong hooks. With stellar musicianship and pulverizing live shows, fans across the globe are discovering the band that is bringing back Rock & Roll! 

The current incarnation of The Dead Daisies features guitarist Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake, Dio), drummer Deen Castronovo (Journey, Bad English, Hardline), bassist and singer Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Black Country Communion), and rhythm guitarist David Lowy (Red Phoenix, Mink).

Pre-order the Holy Ground album here.

Tracklisting:

"Holy Ground (Shake The Memory)"
"Like No Other (Bassline)"
"Come Alive"
"Bustle And Flow"
"My Fate"
"Chosen And Justified"
"Saving Grace"
"Unspoken"
"30 Days In The Hole"
"Righteous Days"
"Far Away"

"Holy Ground (Shake The Memory)" video:

“Bustle And Flow” video:

 

Germany's Motorjesus play a high-octane mixture of classic heavy metal and dirty hard rock, with a tour history that includes supporting Motörhead, Anthrax, Prong and many more. Their last studio album, Race To Resurrection, hit the German Album Charts at #42 which was their highest position in Germany's Media Control Charts to date. 

They have released a new single, "Dead Rising", taken from their upcoming album Hellbreaker, which is due to be released on April 9th via AFM Records. Check out the official lyric video below.

Check out the official Motorjesus Facebook page here for information and updates.

Grenoble, France's Avaland welcomes fans to their symphonic and operatic metal world with their debut music video "Theater Of Sorcery". The song is the title track from their forthcoming debut album due out April 2021 via Rockshots Records. The full length was directed, written, and composed by 22-year-old prodigy Adrien G. Gzagg.

"This song is a great introduction to the world of Avaland, like a kind of hymn. It teases what’s gonna happen throughout the album, it's an invitation for an epic and magical journey. Adam, the main character is about to share his story. The song also introduces the character The Master Of Sorcery performed by Emmanuelson (Rising Steel, Ellipsis), who helped me a lot with this album and coached me to do my best. He is a mentor to me so it was obvious to have him as the Sorcerer who will teach Adam to control his power. He and I share a great passion for music and I’m really proud to open the Avaland story with him. For the title track's guitar solo, I asked Ricky Marx (Now Or Never, ex-Pretty Maids), because after seeing him play with Now Or Never, I noticed something mystical in his guitar feelings that I found really cool, he's got this old school touch that I admire. I really love the magic of his solo on this track!" adds Adrien G. Gzagg.

Inspired by heroic fantasy, history, mythologies, and esoterism, Gzagg decided to create an epic story with eight characters. Entitled Theater Of Sorcery, the debut will be a theatrical metal adventure that tells the story of a young sorcerer Adam Wilstorm who could be the salvation of bringing back the light to the kingdom of Avaland and during his journey, he must learn to control his powers linked to the Storm.

For Avaland, Gzagg reunited with four musician friends Camille Souffron (Bass), Christophe Feutrier (Guitars), Lucas Martinez (Guitars), and Léo Mouchonay (Drums) that he has performed with in the past to help him to record the metal opera's debut full-length. The record also includes talented guests for vocals and guitars with Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear), Zak Stevens (Savatage/TSO), Zaher Zorgati (Myrath), Emmanuelson (Rising Steel), Stéphan Forté (Adagio), Madie (Nightmare) among many other great musicians. 

Gzagg adds:

"I started my heavy metal life as a great fan of Avantasia and Ayreon. I was impressed by those big teams Tobias Sammet and Arjen Lucassen could create. I quickly knew I would make something like this in my life! It wasn’t easy to find musicians who were crazy enough to follow me in this adventure, and I thank them so much for their trust in this project, especially guitarist Christophe Feutrier (guitars) my partner in crime for Avaland for 5 years now.

“I like to also add that Avaland is not a “classic” band, it’s a Metal-Opera and when Covid is over, I plan to take it the stage with many vocalists to perform this theatrical tale of an epic and magical story. To sum it up, Avaland is a modern-age opera to not just fans of metal, but beyond!"

The album will be released on April 2, 2021.

Tracklisting:

“Theater Of Sorcery” feat. Emmanuelson
“Gypsum Flower” feat. Scheepers/Emmanuelson/Zorgati
“Let The Wind Blow” feat. Zorgati/Heli/Kanji
“Storyteller” feat. Zak Stevens
“Escape To Paradise” feat. Zorgati/Kanji
“Holy Kingdom Of Fools” feat. Jeff Kanji
“Never Let Me Walk Alone” feat. Madie
“Deja-Vu” feat. Emmanuelson
“I’ll Be Ready For Your Love” feat. Heli Andrea
“War Of Minds” feat. Zorgati/Madie
“Rise From The Ashes” feat. orgati/Madie/Stevens/Heli/Kanji/Emmanuelson/Scheepers  

“Theatre Of Sorcery” video:

Former VAN HALEN bassist Michael Anthony was asked by Chad Tyson of the Portland rock radio station 105.9 The Brew to name his favorite memory of the band's legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen. Michael responded (hear audio below): "Just that he was a very humble guy. He never let the fame or stardom or all the accolades that he acquired playing guitar go to his head. He always just considered himself a guy who played guitar, and that was really special about him."

Asked if he has talked to Eddie's son, VAN HALEN bassist Wolfgang Van Halen, in the months following the guitarist's death, Michael said: "I've texted with him a couple of times. I haven't actually talked with him. I wanted to kind of let the family have their privacy. I briefly spoke with Alex [Van Halen, VAN HALEN drummer] after Ed passed. But everything is good. It's really cool what Wolfgang did to his [solo] song 'Distance'. And I wish him the best of luck with the [MAMMOTH WVH] album. It's a hard time right now for somebody to come out with a new album, a new band, or whatever, but I know he'll do well with it when he can get it all out there."

In November, Wolfgang revealed that Eddie Van Halen had contemplated a "kitchen-sink tour" that would have included Anthony, as well as vocal turns from both Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth. There was even talk about bringing back Gary Cherone, who sang with VAN HALEN on one poorly received album, 1998's "Van Halen III".

VAN HALEN and Anthony had not been on good terms for more than a decade, with Anthony not invited to join the reunion with Roth that began in 2007. The subsequent two tours and studio album, "A Different Kind Of Truth", featured Wolfgang on bass.

Anthony took a pay cut and signed away all of his rights to the band name and logo in order to participate in VAN HALEN's 2004 tour, which featured Hagar.

Eddie died on October 6 at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California. The iconic VAN HALEN axeman passed away from complications due to cancer, his son confirmed.

Finnish prog metal band Wheel have announced their new album Resident Human.  The follow-up to their 2019 album Moving Backwards will be released on March 26, 2021. Second single, “Hyperion,” is streaming below. Preorder Resident Human here.

“This song was inspired by Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons and considers humanity's relationship to mortality and ultimately, death.

“Considering that all of us are travelling along the same linear experience of time from a point of nothingness, to (in all likelihood) another point of nothingness, this song considers that this knowledge should make us more empathetic to others on the same journey and that however divided we may be otherwise, there is no division or variance for how lives end.” – James

From the desperate content harvest of copy/paste culture ("Ascend") to the polarized rhetoric surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement in America ("Movement"), Resident Human is Wheel vocalizing the ashes they’ve witnessed falling throughout 2020 - putting a voice to our fallible nature.

“We joked at the start of the year that it's going to be the year of progressive music concept albums about COVID,” James laughs. “And we’ve kind of done that…but it's more about the time COVID has allowed us to explore ourselves rather than the pandemic itself.”

Tracklisting:

“Dissipating”
“Movement”
“Ascend”
“Hyperion”
“Fugue”
“Resident Human”
“Old Earth”

“Hyperion”:

“Movement” video:

(Photo by: Ville Juurikkala)

Dread Sovereign has released their third full-length, Alchemical Warfare. For a preview of the record, a video for the single, "She Wolves of the Savage Season" is streaming below.

Alchemical Warfare can be preordered here in the following formats:

- digipak-CD
- 180g black vinyl (EU exclusive)
- slate blue / grey marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- raisin rouge marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 150 copies)
- gold / black dust vinyl (Kings Road exclusive - limited to 100 copies)
- white / black marbled vinyl (US exclusive)

Dread Sovereign was formed in Dublin, Ireland in 2013 by Primordial vocalist Nemtheanga to give praise to filthy cult old doom, black and heavy metal. Their first EP, 2013's Pray To The Devil In Man, came out on Roadburn/Burning World Records to coincide with the band's live debut. Soon after, two full-lengths were released by Van Records: All Hell's Martyrs (2014) and For Doom The Bell Tolls (2017). And now, in early 2021, the band will release their new album, Alchemical Warfare, through Metal Blade Records.

"Our motto when we started was 'The World is Doomed'…and it seems life is imitating art…as we are looking like filthy prophets!" says vocalist/bassist Nemtheanga. "Several years in the making, the new Dread Sovereign is ready for the End of the World, which might be next year in case you didn't know! A bit more reckless and up-tempo than the previous releases, yet the template remains doom, Alchemical Warfare just has a bit more Venom and Motörhead thrown into the mix. If it's the end of days we might as well go out with middle fingers raised right?"

Alchemical Warfare tracklisting:

"A Curse On Men"
"She Wolves Of The Savage Season"
"The Great Beast We Serve"
"Nature Is The Devil's Church"
"Her Master's Voice"
"Viral Tomb"
"Devil's Bane"
"Ruin Upon The Temple Mount"
"You Don't Move Me (I Don't Give A Fuck)" * CD+digital bonus track only

"The Great Beast We Serve" video:

"Nature Is The Devil's Church" video:

Dread Sovereign lineup:

Nemtheanga - vocals/bass
Bones - guitars
JK - drums

Since the pandemic began, Alan/Nemtheanga has also started a podcast, entitled Agitators Anonymous. Well over 30 episodes with almost 75,000 listens, Agitators Anonymous is a mixture of tour stories, politics, the occult, culture, history, travel, black humour, special guests, deep dives into books, events, writers, and characters from the past - and of course, metal.

Fans can listen at the below links and across all podcast platforms:

- Spotify
- shows.acast.com
- YouTube

Peaceville Records will release an extensive collection of Sigh’s early demos, EPs, and rarities titled Eastern Darkness on double gatefold vinyl. Preorder here.

Cult Japanese black metal legends Sigh formed in 1989/90, featuring mainman Mirai Kawashima, Satoshi Fujinami, and Kazuki Ozeki. Following initial demos, Shinichi Ishikawa was brought in to the band, and Kazuki removed from the line-up. It was following this shift that the band set about recording the masterpiece debut Scorn Defeat for Euronymous’ Deathlike Silence Productions, going on to become one of the country’s greatest and most revered metal exports.

Eastern Darkness contains a comprehensive collection of Sigh’s early rare works showing their swift musical evolution as well as the strong utilisation of keyboards in their compositional process throughout. The collection includes the band’s legendary demo tapes, Desolation, and Tragedies , plus their EPs and rarities, as well as contributions to various compilation releases in the mid-1990s. 

Considering Sigh’s well-known regard for UK legends Venom throughout their career, Eastern Darkness also contains the band’s own tribute to the 1980s black metal pioneers, in the form of tribute To Hell And Back, originally released on tape in 1995.

Eastern Darkness is presented on double gatefold vinyl, and features an interview with Mirai Kawashima about the early years of the band, along with his recollections of the origins of each title contained within the release, three decades on from Sigh’s formation.

Tracklisting:

Side A
“Weakness Within”
“Desolation Of My Mind”
“Mentally Numb”
“Death Throes”
“Sigh”
“Mentally Numb”
“Desolation Of My Mind”

Side B
“The Knell”
“Desolation”
“Taste Defeat”
“The Zombie Terror”

Side C
“Suicidogenic”
“Schizo”
“Carnage”
“The Seven Gates Of Hell”
“Black Metal”
“The Shadowking”

Side D
“Black Metal”
“The Seven Gates Of Hell”
“Schizo”
“Welcome To Hell”
“Poison”
“Witching Hour”

Los Angeles based 80’s hard rock band, Fortress, have released their new record, Waiting For The Night, via Sonic Age Records - Cult Metal Classics.  The album features remastered unreleased songs from 1986-1988 and is now available on compact disc and all digital formats.

Fortress made their way onto the Sunset Strip metal scene in the mid-80’s and opened for many bands including Poison, Warrant, Alcatrazz, Malice, Heaven and many more. Fortress features an all original lineup and includes singer Ted Heath (Mesheen), Kevin Reyes (White Lie, Black Sheep), keyboardist Chris Turbis (Mr. Crowley, Boys Of Summer), drummer Chris Silva (Delirium, Project UFO, DIA) and bassist Arthur Dominguez.

Tracklisting:

"Feel Your Touch"
"Changes In Your Mind"   
"Cycles Of Life"
"Waiting For The Night"
"Fire Burnin In Me"
"When Will The Fighting End"
"Never Look Away"   
"Time To Tell" (Engineered by Frankie Avalon Jr.)
"Rock Is My Life" (Bonus Live Track)

Swedish melodic power metal force, Bloodbound, will release their new album, Creatures Of The Dark Realm, on May 28 via AFM Records.

The band returns today with a musical highlight for every power metal fan - “When Fate Is Calling” comes as a powerful and majestic song, that almost theatrically bonds its listeners and takes them into a modern power metal world that has been created very precisely and with ultimate artistic perfection. Watch the lyric video for the song below, and pre-order the new album here.

When Bloodbound surfaced in 2005 with their debut album, Nosferatu, it was an album that celebrated the band's admiration for metal icons like Iron Maiden, Helloween and Judas Priest, recorded on a small budget with no visions of grandeur behind it. With eight studio albums, a live record and an EP under their belts since then, Bloodbound have returned in 2021 with album #9, Creatures Of The Dark Realm, and a renewed drive to take the band even further.

Creatures Of The Dark Realm descends with scarcely two years gone since Rise Of The Dragon Empire was unleashed. The three-headed songwriting team of keyboardist Fredrik Bergh, guitarist Tomas Olsson and vocalist Patrik Selleby started from scratch, compiling song ideas they collected individually and finally ending up with 11 solid in-your-face tracks kicked off by a deceptive acoustic intro.

On paper, Creatures Of The Dark Realm satisfies all the requirements of what makes a power metal band, but the listening experience is one of epic proportions. Not a single ballad in sight, the new album is an-up-tempo assault through the songs "Eyes Come Alive", "The Gargoyles Gate", "Ever Burning Flame", "The Wicked And The Weak" and the title track. Bloodbound is not afraid to change things up, however, offering up a heavy groove anthem with "Kill Or Be Killed" and straight-ahead commercial metal on first single, "When Fate Is Calling", always keeping things fresh from one song to the next.

Tracklisting:

"The Creatures Preludium"
"Creatures Of The Dark Realm"
"When Fate is Calling"
"Ever Burning Flame"
"Eyes Come Alive"
"Death Will Lead The Way"
"Gathering Of Souls"
"Kill Or Be Killed"
"The Gargoyles Gate"
"March Into War"
"Face Of Evil"
"The Wicked And The Weak"

"When Fate Is Calling" lyric video:

Stockholm, Sweden's Metalite have released a lyric video for the title track of their upcoming album, A Virtual World, out March 26 via AFM Records. Pre-order the album here, and watch the video below.

Tracklisting:

"A Virtual World"
"Cloud Connected"
"Talisman"
"Beyond The Horizon"
"Peacekeepers"
"The Vampire Song"
"We're Like The Fire"
"Artificial Intelligence"
"Alone"
"Running"
"Synchronized"

"A Virtual World" lyric video:

"Peacekeepers" video:

Progressive-rock pioneers Crack The Sky - John Palumbo  (Lead Vocals, Guitars, Keys), Rick Witkowski (Guitars & Vocals), Joey D’Amico (Drums & Vocals), Bobby Hird (Guitars & Vocals), Glenn Workman (Keyboards & Vocals) and Dave DeMarco (Bass & Vocals) - have released their 18th studio album, Tribes, via Carry On Music.

Fans can listen and purchase here, and videos for the first two singles (the title track and “Another Civil War”) can be seen below.

Last August, the band joined forces with their new label to make a number of their albums digitally available worldwide for the first time ever. Spanning 35 years (1983-2018), the 15 releases included World In Motion 1, The End, Raw, From The Greenhouse, Dog City, Cut, Live | Recher Theatre 6.19.99, Ghost, Dogs From Japan, The Sale, Machine, Ostrich, The Beauty of Nothing, Living In Reverse, and Crackology.
 
Though the Weirton, West Virginia-bred rock outfit respectfully celebrated the 45th anniversary of their critically acclaimed self-titled 1975 debut in 2020, Crack The Sky have no intention of gliding by on the past accomplishments of a deep-rooted career, but rather have their respective sights set on conquering the road that lies ahead.

To that end, Crack The Sky have poured their fervently beating hearts and razor-sharp creative souls into a fierce manifesto quite aptly titled Tribes, which was mainly recorded at Studio L in Weirton, West Virginia and produced, engineered, and mixed by guitarist Rick Witkowski and mastered by longtime band associate R. Lee Townsend at Real Time Studios in Maryland.

The 13 tracks that comprise Tribes signify what may very well be Crack The Sky’s finest hour on wax to date. Just witness the breadth of its contents, whether it be the drawn swords of the title track, the warning shots of unrest in “Another Civil War,” the grand irony that permeates “Another Beautiful Day,” the 9-minute protective cocoon that runs amok before returning to tranquility in “Quick,” the skittish out-of-place textures of “Stranger in a Strange Land,” or the horn-driven funky turn of “The Lost Boys,” for starters. Overall, Tribes encapsulates the tenor of our times with style and panache by blending the band’s signature Crack The Sky crunch with an intrinsic sense of melody in a way that has made the band diehard fan favorites for decades.

The band has multi-tiered goals for what they’d like their audience, both new and old alike, to experience after listening to Tribes. “What I’d like people to walk away with from the record is for them to go, ‘Gee, I’d love to hear that again!’” guitarist Rick Witkowski says with a laugh before adding, “I do like the fact that we don’t take sides. We’re presenting the current state of affairs. We are not saying we’re this, or we’re that. I would love people to come together to agree to disagree — but still love one another. It’s easy to love the ones who love you back. But it’s not easy when someone disagrees with you and doesn’t think like you. It’s hard to love them.”

Singer John Palumbo acknowledges that we all live in trying times indeed. “The world has changed,” he concludes. “People have some really intense emotions, but if music can knock some sense into some of them, that would be terrific. It’s an aftereffect I’d be very happy about. Is that a goal? Well, I guess, somewhere down in my brain, it must be, because I keep trying to do it.” Palumbo pauses before rephrasing the question. “What am I trying to achieve with Tribes? I want people to think. That’s it. I just want ’em to think. I also want them to be entertained, which is why we do this — but the entertainment part really comes from live performance. But, overall, I want people to think.”

(Photo - Rei Perri)

In advance of the worldwide January 22 release of their fifth full-length album Kvitravn via By Norse Music and Sony Music/Columbia Records, the traditional Nordic folk outfit, Wardruna, have shared a new single, “Skugge”.

Translated to “Shadow” in English, the song traces an eerie sonic journey voicing a dialogue between man and shadow. Its brooding introduction recalls the subtle majesty of fan favorite track "Helvegen" (from their 2013 album Runaljod – Yggdrasil) as Wardruna's idiosyncratic synthesis of hypnotic percussion and delicate vocal interplay comes to the forefront. The lyric video for “Skugge” was recorded by Ragnarok Film with producer/director Ole Fredrik Wannebo, photographer/editor Toni Kotka and Sverre Brandtzaeg. Watch it below or view it across all streaming platforms along with pre-order options for Kvitravn, here.

Each track on Kvitravn is ingrained with meaning that delves deep into the philosophical, the esoteric, the Nordic myths and how old traditions define human nature and nature itself.

“‘Skugge’ feels particularly personal for it shifts the focus inwards,” remarks founding member and composer Einar Selvik. "It is a song about shadows, echoes and the balance between seeking answers and wisdom internally and externally. The accompanying lyric video allows the listener to journey deep into Wardruna's world and offers space for reflection and contemplation, should you submit to it...”

Tracklisting (with translations):

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

“Kvitravn” video:

"Grá" video:

(Photo - Arne Beck)

Ohio-based death metal outfit, Sanguisugabogg (Latin for "bloodsucker"), have signed to Century Media Records. The band will release its label debut, Tortured Whole, on March 26. It's available for pre-order here.

The band crafts uncompromising, in-your-face, and not-for-the-weak death metal that siphons inspiration from the traditions of Cannibal Corpse, GWAR, and Dethklok. The NSFW video for the new song, "Menstrual Envy", can be found below.

"We gather here today to announce our partnership with Century Media and to release 'Menstrual Envy', the first single off our LP Tortured Whole," the band says. "This is a love song about chopping off your own damn hog. Thanks."

Mike Gitter, VP of A&R, shares, "Sanguisugabogg were one of the most unlikely and explosive success stories of 2019. Their acid-addled take on death metal struck a raw nerve with a scant 11 minutes of genre-busting insanity on the Pornographic Seizures EP. In a short space of time, they became the most buzzed-about band in extreme metal. Now, Tortured Whole is a creative step into a more unsettling terrain, probably death metal's answer to PFunk's Maggot Brain. This is your brain on Sanguisugabogg."

Philipp Schulte, Director of Century Media Records, says, "We are very happy having partnered up with Sanguisugabogg, one of the most promising new death metal bands from the United States of America. Even though it might take you a while to get the pronunciation right, every death metal fan on this planet will soon know the name. Sanguisugabogg solidifies Century Media's commitment to releasing extreme music, and we are very much looking forward to the first quarter of 2021, when the band's debut album is going to be unleashed."

While establishing their own unique and ferocious musical approach, one can clearly notice the '80s and '90s influences in Sanguisugabogg's music. The band pays tribute to genre legends like Bolt Thrower, Obituary, Cannibal Corpse, and Mortician.

Tracklisting:

"Menstrual Envy"
"Gored In The Chest"
"Dragged By A Truck"
"Pornographic"
"Dead As Shit"
"Tortured Whole"
"Interlube"
"Dick Filet"
"Urinary Ichor"
"Posthumous Compersion"
"Felching Filth"

"Menstrual Envy" video:

(Photo - Chongripper)

In the fall of 2018, Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer, Steve Perry, made his long-awaited return with the release of Traces, the legendary musician’s first new album in 25 years. The album’s personal expression of love, inspiration and renewal resonated with both critics and fans around the world, thrilled to have their voice of a generation making new music once again.

Now, on Traces (Alternative Versions & Sketches), available via Fantasy Records, Perry revisits several of his favourite tracks, stripping away the grand production touches, taking the songs down to their essence. Presented acoustic and raw, (including some in sketch form) tracks like "Sun Shines Gray", "No Erasin’, No More Cryin’", and "Most Of All" take on new and richer meaning. In this setting, Perry’s iconic soulful voice glides out-front vibrant, clear and warm while the lyrics take on greater significance as well, even more intimate than before.

Produced by Perry and his longtime collaborator and friend, Thom Flowers, Traces (Alternative Versions & Sketches) offers a fascinating glimpse into Perry’s creative process and a deeper understanding into an already treasured album.

“When writing these songs, the original inspiration is always my first compass – where the songs should go,” stated Perry. “Alternate Versions & Sketches is exactly that, and I’m very excited to have you hear the original seeds of these songs.”

Brand-new, special edition merchandise is now available exclusively on Perry’s online store. Order Traces (Alternative Versions & Sketches) here.

Listen to "No More Cryin'" (Acoustic) from the release below.

Tracklisting:

"Most Of All" (Radio Mix)
"No Erasin’" (Acoustic)
"I Need You" (Acoustic)
"No More Cryin’" (Acoustic)
"Most Of All" (Stripped)
"We’re Still Here" (Acoustic)
"You Belong To Me" (Stripped)
"Sun Shines Gray" (Acoustic)

"No More Cryin'" (Acoustic):

"I Need You" (Acoustic):

"Most Of All" (Radio Mix):

"I Need You":

"No Erasin’" (Acoustic):

"Most Of All" (Stripped) visualizer:

"Most Of All" performance video:

(Photo - Myriam Santos)

During an appearance on the latest episode of the "Rock 'N' Roll Icons With Bode James" podcast, guitarist Brian Young reflected on the experience of playing with David Lee Roth for a four-year period in the early 2000s. He said (see video below): "It was great. To be in the David Lee Roth band, you've basically gotta go through this boot camp to toughen you up. I wouldn't say [he's] difficult, but he expects a lot, and he's demanding, and he's a perfectionist for everyone else, even for himself. So working with him wasn't easy."

He continued: "I heard about his mood swings before I joined, but I didn't see a single one for the first month. Then finally, when it happened, it was, like, 'Okay, he can get where it's like a volcano's erupting.' So he kind of has a little bit of an up-and-down mood-swing type thing. But when he's in a great mood, it's the coolest hang you'll ever have in your life — absolutely. And when he's in a bad mood, it's a bummer. But like I said, the good thing is it's training ground. After you play with him for a while, you can handle anything."

Young reiterated that playing in Dave's band "toughened" him up "for being able to deal with different things." He explained: "I've always been pretty easy-going. And what I liked working with Dave is he's the boss, and you know it. He's paying everybody. It's his name on the marquee, so there's no argument. When Dave says something, you just do it. And I do like that. Because when you're in a band with four guys, and there's no real boss, then it can become more arguing and this and that — 'Why do you say this?' Or, 'Why did you get more credit?' But when you're working with a leader, and it's a for-sure thing that he's the leader, it's very easy to just go, 'Okay…' And whatever he says, whether it's right or wrong, everybody agrees [with it] or not, you just go, 'Hey, he's the boss. It's his way.' And then, if it's a mistake, he owns up to it. So that's the part that made it kind of easy. You just do what Dave tells you, and everything's fine."

Young recently filmed a quarantine video of the VANDENBERG hit "Burning Heart" with vocalist Jeff Scott Soto (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JOURNEY, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, SONS OF APOLLO, TALISMAN, SOTO) and keyboardist Michael Ross (LITA FORD, MISSING PERSONS, HARDLINE). You can see it below.

"Rock 'N' Roll Icons With Bode James" is an "organically formatted interview program" with the leading names in both the worlds of rock and roll and comedy. The podcast can be heard on on all major podcast platforms as well as on YouTube.

During an appearance on a video podcast hosted by Todd Kerns, the bassist of SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS, GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Richard Fortus talked about what it was like to work with Buckethead for a couple of years in the early 2000s. The eccentric musician (real name Brian Carroll), who wears a fried-chicken bucket on his noggin and talks only through a hand puppet, quit GUNS N' ROSES in 2004 after becoming fed up with GUNS' inability to complete an album or tour, his manager told MTV at the time.

"Bucket is very musical, but I think a lot of guys like that — phenomenal, prodigious talent — they're not necessarily… I think Bucket's music is great," Fortus said (see video below). "What he does on his own, he's out there, but he did understand how to make three guitars work, and that's a very difficult thing. And he would lay out and just stand there and be weird and Bucket-y, and then he would come in on the choruses, and it would be huge. He got that; he understood that. [He's] a phenomenal talent. But the thing is, socially, guys like Bucket spend so much time in their bedroom practicing that they don't really — it's just different for them socially.

"Being in a band, you've gotta relate to people," Fortus continued. "And I think Bucket struggled with that. I always got along with him, but I think he really had a tough time with that. Same with [another former GUNS guitarist] Ron Thal [Bumblefoot] — he had a difficult time sort of assimilating into that 'band world,' 'cause he hadn't done it before."

Richard, who joined GUNS in late 2001 or early 2002, went on to talk about how playing with a group of people requires an ability to understand and connect to others, thereby developing social skills.

"When you think about that time that you spent rehearsing with other people, playing on stage with other people, traveling in a van, sleeping on floors with people, that teaches you how to be married to four other people," he said. "It really is a skill that you learn; it's a skillset that you have to develop, or it doesn't work. You've gotta be a team player, but you've also gotta be driven and motivated."

Last September, Fortus told "The Radical With Nick Terzo" podcast that it has been at times difficult to adjust to the different musicians that came through GUNS N' ROSES since he joined the band nearly two decades ago.

"I love Robin [Finck, guitar]. I loved his playing. I loved working with him. And, obviously, Tommy [Stinson, bass] is like my brother. We were all very tight. And then there was Bucket, who was just sort of out on his own. But it was very musical, and it was exciting to be a part of. He's a phenomenal talent. Man, he's pretty out there. And he definitely can be difficult to work with. I enjoyed working with him, 'cause he's very musical.

"It was a difficult dynamic to make three guitars work," Fortus said. "[Buckethead] did an excellent job, because he understood the dynamics of it and how the puzzle pieces have to fit together, and Bucket really understood that. Everything sort of has to have its place.

"When [Buckethead] left and Ron Thal [a.k.a. Bumblefoot] came in, it was a different dynamic, because I think Ron had been used to sort of doing his own thing, with his own band, so he didn't really get how that worked, or how to make it work. So it was difficult at that time."

Fortus got his big break when his band PALE DIVINE opened for THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS. This led to Fortus forming the band LOVE SPIT LOVE with PSYCHEDELIC FURS frontman Richard Butler and drummer Frank Ferrer. In 2000, Fortus and Ferrer became touring members of the reformed PSYCHEDELIC FURS before Fortus hooked up with GUNS N' ROSES. Ferrer himself joined GN'R in 2006.

GUNS N' ROSES is now reportedly working on a new studio album — the first under the GUNS banner since 2008's "Chinese Democracy" and the first to feature guitarist Slash, singer Axl Rose and bassist Duff McKagan since 1993.

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich has opened up about what it was like seeing James Hetfield re-enter a treatment program to work on his recovery from alcohol addiction.

The METALLICA frontman went back to rehab in September 2019, forcing the postponement of the band's tour of Australia and New Zealand.

In a new interview with METALLICA's So What! fan-club magazine, Ulrich discussed Hetfield's addiction issues and how it affected the rest of the group.

"[Back in September 2019], two [or] three days out from [having done] 'S&M²', I was told that James had some issues, and that he had to go and deal with that, and nobody at that time really knows what that means," Lars said. "You know, what does it mean for him, what does it mean for us, what does it mean for scheduling, all that shit. You just kind of sit there, and obviously your first thoughts are, is he okay? What's going on? Then the Australian dates got moved. Then there was the 'Helping Hands' concert that got moved, so on and so forth. And you start understanding more.

"We spoke a couple times," he continued. "We were texting. Started getting some more clarity, I mean, we're coming up on 40 years here. You surrender to the elements. It's part of the ride, and, obviously, none of us are officially married to each other, but you know, in marriage vows you say 'in the good times and the bad times, in health and in sickness, in ups and then downs,' and if there's anything that's clear almost 40 years later, it is that we're in this for the long haul. We love each other, we believe in each other. We have each other's backs. We will fight for each other. And we sort of roll with it.

"I'm not gonna bullshit you, if I look back to a year ago, there were days where I was more positive, there were days where I was less positive, and there were days where you sit and wonder, 'How is this going to play out?' And Kirk [Hammett], Rob [Trujillo] and I were probably talking and communicating closer and more intimately than ever before. This shit is never easy, but it's also part of the ride, and so you just learn.

"We're different people from each other," Lars explained. "We're independent people from each other. We live our own lives, and METALLICA's the thing that connects us. And so like in any next level, strong, binding relationship, there are parallel paths, which are the state of the collective — the group — and the state of the individuals. So it's like, 'How is James, how is Lars, how is Kirk, how is Rob?' That's one conversation. And then, 'How is METALLICA?' which is a different conversation, and what gets tricky is that both of those conversations exist on parallel trajectories, but also overlap more often than not.

"When you were 19 years old, maybe there was a greater emphasis on the collective or on the gang mentality, and when you're 156 years old, like I am now, maybe the percentages shift. There's a significant emphasis on your family, yourself, and the trajectory you've created for yourself outside of METALLICA, so it's an interesting place where all that kind of comes to a head and you have to prepare yourself for the ups and downs.

"I don't know what Kirk told you [in his So What! interview], I don't know what Rob told you, I didn't read James's interview. It's hard for me to imagine that everybody was not feeling sort of the same thing, which was first and foremost, 'How is James? Is he okay? Will he be okay? Will he find the tools, and will he find what he needs on the path of his recovery?' And then at the same time, 'How am I feeling about this? How is the band feeling about this?' and all that kind of stuff.

"But a year later, here we are, all engaged. James is in a very healthy place, the band is in a very healthy place, and obviously COVID has played a major role in all of it," Ulrich added. "It's been a mindfuck of a year; I'm sitting here on October 16th, I feel confident and excited about the state of the METALLICA nation, and I feel very optimistic about what's ahead."

Lars went on to say that there is now "more clarity" on METALLICA's path forward. He explained: "In order for this band to function, the band members have to function, families have to function, and personal lives have to be in order. METALLICA lives have to be in order. So there's all these sorts of relationships, people, and dynamics to work with. As we move forward and the earth rotates through the universe, I think we continuously get a little more clarity on the path forward in terms of the balances needed to keep everything rolling, to keep the band functioning, to keep the band members happy, to keep the lights on — all those different things. I think we're better at it now than we were ten years ago, ten years ago we were better at it than we were ten years before. So it's all just part of the path forward.

"Obviously, you understand that if you are in a group, if you are in a collective setting, there are pros and cons to that," he continued. "There's four members, and if one of those four guys goes down for whatever reason, and I don't want to sound clinical about this, then we deal with it to the best of our ability, and with the resources and the knowledge that we have. I feel that every time somebody goes down, we learn from that and so the next time we deal with it better."

In a 2003 interview with Kerrang! magazine, Hetfield spoke about his battle with alcohol addiction and the much-publicized trip to rehab in 2001 that had seemingly enabled the singer to emerge a much healthier and more positive-thinking person that he was during much of the group's 35-plus-year career.

"Going away to rehab taught me about priorities," he said. "I've been in METALLICA since I was 19 years old, which can be a very unusual environment, and it's very easy to find yourself not knowing how to live outside of that environment, which is what happened to me. I didn't know anything about life. I didn't know that I could come home and live a family life. I didn't know that I could live my life in a different way to how it was in the band since I was 19, which was very excessive and very intense. And if you have addictive behavior, then you don't always make the best choices for yourself. And I definitely didn't make the best choices for myself.

"But rehab is like college for your head," he continued. "I really learned some things about myself in there. I was able to reframe my life and not look at everything with a negative connotation. That's how I was raised. It was like a survival technique for me. And getting into METALLICA meant that initially I had to fight to survive, for food, for the towel, for the shower, for everything. And then fighting to be the best band you can be, and putting other bands down. Finding fault with everything was how METALLICA was fueled. And not only did I play a part in that, I was buried in that."

"[In rehab] I learned that every human being is born perfect. I learned that the flaws in ourselves comes from the things around us, from our backgrounds and influences. But when we're born, we all have the same-sized soul. There are certain things that are genetic, but that doesn't mean that I have to act in a certain way, and I didn't know that. My lifestyle has been very intense, and I didn't know how to remove myself from that. Rehab taught me how to do that. It basically taught me how to live."

"I was afraid of so many things. I'd look at other people's friendships and think, 'Man, why can't I have friendships like that?' But I didn't know how to. So I used to try and buy friendships."

Asked whether it was difficult to say to himself, "Look, things have gone too far for me, I need to reach out for help," James said: "Yes, it definitely was difficult. That was one of the most difficult things of all. I had no humility and I felt that I couldn't show any weakness. For me, I was James Hetfield of METALLICA rather than just James Hetfield. And I was trying to live that lifestyle at home, I was trying to wear that mask all the time. And it's amazing how long you can wear a mask for. We're performers who play music — I mean, this is us. This isn't an act. But now I've learned how to be more congruent with where I am. Admitting that sometimes being on tour really sucks, and that I would rather go home. Or that I'm not in a good mood right now, and not worrying if people turn around and say, 'Hey, you're an asshole.' That can't hurt me now, whereas I used to be so concerned that people liked me.

"There's a lot of machoism in this world, but I suppose the most manly thing you can do is face up to your weaknesses and expose them. And you're showing strength by exposing your weaknesses to people. And that opens up a dialogue, it opens up friendships, which is definitely what it has done for me."

During a 2017 interview with "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast, Hetfield spoke in more detail about checking into rehab 17 years ago and how he almost lost his family in the process.

"Fear was a big motivator in that for me," Hetfield said. "Losing my family, that was the thing that scared me so much. That was the bottom I hit, that my family is going to go away because of my behaviors that I brought home from the road. I got kicked out of my house by my wife; I was living on my own somewhere. I did not want that. Maybe as part of my upbringing, my family kind of disintegrated when I was a kid. Father left, mother passed away, had to live with my brother, and then kind of just, where did my stuff go? It just kind of floated away, and I do not want that happening. No matter what's going on, we're going to talk this stuff out and make it work."

He continued: "[My wife] did the right thing — she kicked my ass right out of the house and that scared the shit out of me. She said, 'Hey, you're not just going to the therapist now and talking about this. You've got to go somewhere and sort this shit out.' So that's what I did… What worked for me was seven weeks someplace — like, basically tearing you down to bones, ripping your life apart. Anything you thought about yourself or what it was, anything you thought you had, your family, your career, anything, gone. Strip you down to just — you're born. Here's how you were when you were born — you were okay. You were a good person. Let's get back to that again. Then they slowly rebuild you."

Hetfield's issues with addiction and alcoholism were detailed in the 2004 documentary "Some Kind Of Monster".

Drummer Lee Kerslake has died at the age of 73. Kerslake, who played on several Uriah Heep albums as well as Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard Of Oz and Diary Of A Madman, passed away after a lengthy illness battling prostate cancer.

The sad news was confirmed by former Uriah Heep member Ken Hensley, who revealed, "It's with the heaviest of hearts that I share with you that Lee Kerslake, my friend of 55 years and the best drummer I ever played with, lost his battle with cancer at 03:30 this morning. He died peacefully, praise The Lord, but he will be terribly missed. I know many of you were praying for him not to suffer and I thank you for that and, now that Lee is at peace, our thoughts and prayers should turn to his wife Sue who will need all the support she can get at this time."

Writer and Pigface member Joel Gausten has posted the following tribute to Kerslake:

"In a year of continued loss, we now say goodbye to Lee Kerslake - a brilliant drummer and a lovely man. 

It was no accident that he was nicknamed 'The Bear.' He was tough, gruff and spoke his mind without a filter, but he was also funny, friendly and without pretense. His impact on the world of drumming was more significant than some might realize. Listen to Steven Adler's tom-heavy fills that usher in the epic finale of 'Paradise City'. Steven came up with those by playing Lee's intro to 'Over The Mountain' backwards. Just ask him; he'll tell you just how great Lee was.
 
Most of all, Lee spent decades fighting against music industry mistreatment by demanding fair acknowledgement and compensation for his work. While this was largely an unfulfilled mission, his efforts shone a light on the struggles of many drummers to get their due. All of us who hold sticks in our hands are in his debt. He was a soldier in the field for us.
 
Lee sent me the picture below in March 2019 after I contributed some money towards his cancer treatment. I will treasure it as much as I will be forever awed and inspired by his remarkable body of work."




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Extreme harsh-grinding quartet, Full Of Hell, are streaming the song “Silmaril”, off their new album, Weeping Choir. Watch the accompanying visualizer below.

Says the band: "Silmaril is about the upheaval of forbidden knowledge. We enlisted Paulo Paguntalan, NYC's own purveyor of gore and death for additional vocal duties on this song. 'All goes onward and outward, all collapses'."

Full Of Hell make their Relapse debut with their most explosive album to date, Weeping Choir, coming May 17. Dynamic, pissed, and wholly urgent, the highly anticipated Weeping Choir is a definitive statement of intent by one of the underground’s most dynamic and virulent entities.

Weeping Choir is due out May 17th on CD/LP/CS/Digital. Physical packages are available for pre-order via Relapse.com here. Digital Downloads / Streaming Services are available here.

On Weeping Choir, Full Of Hell have once again culled the extreme elements from hardcore, metal, and power electronics to redefine darkness and sheer brutality. Distorted guitars, and ominous, disparate electronics grind and gnash against rapid-fire drumming, as Full Of Hell take themes of religion, loss, hatred, and set them ablaze. Recorded by the critically acclaimed Kurt Ballou at GodCity Studio, Weeping Choir sees Full Of Hell fully unleashed. Abrasive, confrontational, none equal!

Tracklisting:

"Burning Myrrh"
"Haunted Arches"
"Thundering Hammers"
"Rainbow Coil"
"Aria Of Jeweled Tears"
"Downward"
"Armory Of Obsidian Glass"
"Silmaril"
"Angels Gather Here"
"Ygramul The Many"
"Cellar Of Doors"

"Burning Myrrh" video:

(Photo - Reid Haithcock)




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Tony Iommi spoke to The Midland Rocks about the progress of the remixing sessions for BLACK SABBATH's 1995 album "Forbidden". The LP, which features singer Tony Martin, drummer Cozy Powell and bassist Neil Murray, is often regarded as the band's worst studio recording.

"I've had the time, on and off, to start to remix the 'Forbidden' album," Tony said at yesterday's (Saturday, February 9) unveiling of a BLACK SABBATH bench in Birmingham, England. "I never liked the final mix and sound of it — none of the band did actually — so I've been working on that. I'm taking my time, and there is no rush with it. It will be done when it's done. But it's been good to go back and pull it all apart and start to put it back together again."

Asked what the problem was with how "Forbidden" sounded at the time of its release back in 1995, Iommi said: "Well, we weren't involved with how it ended up sounding like it did. It was produced by Ernie C. from the band BODY COUNT and he also got Ice-T to appear on it on the opening track ['Illusion Of Power'] and they were from a totally different background to us. So he came in and did a good job at the time, but I just felt that, without changing any of the songs, there was an opportunity to go back and bring out some of the sounds and make it more what people would expect SABBATH to sound like. I met up with Tony Martin recently and I'm sure he will listen to what I have done with it at some point, but at the moment it is just myself and [engineer] Mike Exeter who have been working on it."

Iommi went on to say that the upcoming "Forbidden" reissue doesn't necessarily mean that other albums from SABBATH's Tony Martin era — such as "Tyr" or "Headless Cross" — will also get the remix treatment.

"It was definitely that album that kind of irritated everybody," Iommi explained. "I was never happy with the guitar sound and Cozy was definitely never happy with the drum sound. He would go on and on about it. So I thought it would be nice to do it for him in a way."

BLACK SABBATH started working on "Forbidden" in Par Street Studios in Liverpool, England in 1994 and completed most of the recording sessions over a 10-day period at Devonshire Studios in Los Angeles with Ernie C.

In a 2011 interview with Gibson.com, Martin stated about "Forbidden": "Well, 'Forbidden' is I want to say 'crap,' but it's actually not. The songs worked really well in rehearsals, and then things started to get political, and I got wind of an Ozzy [Osbourne] reunion [with SABBATH] — not from SABBATH directly, of course. But before that came, there was a meeting at the SABBATH offices in London to which we were summoned to discuss the possibility of doing a RUN-D.M.C. type of album. I thought it wouldn't work, and voiced that. Cozy Powell thought it wouldn't work. I was never sure that most of the others were convinced, but we were kinda steered into a 'rap SABBATH' album. Then I was told that Ice-T was gonna be doing it and they couldn't or wouldn't tell me if he was doing the whole thing or just one track... and I still didn't know the answer to that when I was in the studio singing the tracks. They said they were gonna take it and see what Ice-T wanted to do. So it has a distinct ill feeling about it. The album eventually didn't really work, although some fans love it. And it was the penultimate album to my being removed from the band, the last album to be released being 'Sabbath Stones', a compilation album, which kept my name in the band to span 10 years and six albums."

BLACK SABBATH released six albums with Tony Martin on vocals: "The Eternal Idol" (1987), "Headless Cross" (1989), "Tyr" (1990), "Cross Purposes" (1994), "Cross Purposes Live" (1995) and "Forbidden" (1995).

SABBATH completed its last major tour in February 2017 with two shows in Birmingham, closing out the quartet's groundbreaking 49-year career.

The trek was the band's last because Iommi, who was diagnosed with cancer in late 2011 and is currently in remission, can no longer travel for extended amounts of time. But he has said he would not rule out special events or one-off shows.

German metal queen Doro Pesch says her forthcoming "Forever Warriors, Forever United" double album is dedicated to the memory of late MOTÖRHEAD frontman Lemmy Kilmister. Pesch and Kilmister teamed up several times over the years for duets, including "Love Me Forever" and "Alone Again". Pesch also went on to add that Kilmister was her "best friend" in the music industry and has had to find ways to cope with his late 2015 passing.

In a recent interview with France's Loud TV (see video below), Pesch was asked how "Forever Warriors, Forever United" became a double album. "I don't know, we didn't plan on it, but yeah, it came out and I had so many songs and suddenly, there were 35, 40 songs and I thought, 'Wow,'" she said. "It would be such a shame if we would throw out 25 songs and I talked to the record company. At first, they said, 'In this day and age, not many people do it.' A couple of months ago, they said, 'Okay. Go for it. Do it.' I was so happy because I think every song on these records, they are definitely worthy of being on a record. Even the bonus songs, I think they are very unique and special and different. I'm so happy we can put out the double album. And you never know. In the next couple of years, you don't know if you will get the chance to put out songs on vinyl and this one, we do two double vinyls with the nice artwork, which was done by my favorite artist, Geoffrey Gillespie. He lives actually in France and he did all of our albums from the [WARLOCK] 'Triumph And Agony' album on and I love his artwork. It was just twice the work. That's the reason why it took a little while, two and a half years. Actually, three years ago, it started a little bit, but two and a half years ago, we really concentrated on the songs and the production.

"I'm so happy we can put it out," she continued. "Every song has a different meaning. Every song gives out a different vibe. Like, some songs are very empowering, some songs are very high energy, lots of positive energy. Sometimes, they are very soulful, very sad. So, it depends on the mood you are in. You probably want to listen to a certain song when you feel like, 'Yeah, I need some more uplifting stuff.' Then I would probably recommend the song 'Lift Me Up'. If you're feeling mellow and feeling a little bit lonely, then maybe stuff like 'Living Life To The Fullest', which is dedicated to Lemmy Kilmister.

"The CD is dedicated to Lemmy because he was my main inspiration for this record and he was my best friend and I miss him so much," she said. "Actually, the song 'Living Life To The Fullest', it was the first song which was written for the record. I wrote it when I was in the airplane on my way to Lemmy's funeral and I was so heartbroken and I thought, 'I want to write a song for Lemmy.' I hope he will love it. I don't know if he's still with us in spirit, but I wanted to write a song to dedicate to Lemmy because he was my best friend in the music world, definitely. Him and Ronnie James Dio, both of them, I think they were so unique and that friendship that would stay with me forever, but on the other hand, it's so sad that you can't pick up the phone anymore and talk. Yeah, it's a different world right now. I know millions of fans feel the same. But I want to keep their spirit alive, too and all the young fans who maybe never had the chance to see them live, to see MOTÖRHEAD or DIO live, I definitely want to make sure that everybody knows that stuff was the greatest. It's still the greatest."

Pesch was then asked about the double album's lyrical themes, many of which appear to touch upon heaven and hell. "Actually, heaven, I tell you, I was flirting with the other side when I started my first bands, but I think it's quite dangerous," she said. "It sounds like fun, but now I feel in this time and age, it's so important to give out positive energy and the world is dark enough, I think, so many people in power have maybe not the best intentions. So many people out there are without heart and soul, so I definitely want to concentrate on the good and positive stuff. I feel like the rock fans, the metalheads, they are people who really are passionate about things, who feel something, who are very, very loving and very sensitive and I deeply appreciate that. Yeah, I definitely turned towards the positive side and call it 'heaven,' I like the positive energy. It's very important, I think."

She was also asked whether she dabbled in the "dark side," including drugs and alcohol. "I was fooling around and flirting with a lot of dark things and I remember when I was moving to New York, I played the Ouija board," said Doro. "It was forbidden in Germany, so of course, it was very attractive to do it in America. I did it with my producer, Joey Balin. I did the 'Triumph And Agony' and 'Force Majeure' albums [with him] and we actually wrote some new songs for the new album, 'Turn It Up' and 'A Thousand Years'. He showed me a couple of things and we played the Ouija board. It got totally out of hand, it got out of hand so bad, our apartment almost burned down because I think we were definitely flirting with some evil spirits out there and I definitely realized there is another dimension and it's not good. It's not good if you want to survive and when I was young, I was very much checking out everything, I was very curious. And it was actually a cool thing to do, especially in metal in the beginning. Everything was very mystical and everything was demons and heaven and hell and stuff, but, I think I learned my lesson and yeah, I think it's better the other way, I must say. But it's much more difficult to write cool metal lyrics when you want to empower the people with positive energy. It's easier to destroy everything. It's pretty easy, but to do something that is meaningful and is touching and is positive, it takes much more thought. But I like it that way because I was close to death when I was 15. I was very, very sick, very ill for a whole year. I didn't know if I would survive, so I thought if I would ever survive, then I want to do something with my life. I want to make people happy. I thought I wanted to do something in music, but before I didn't do it, but then I got out of the hospital and two weeks later, I had my first band. The band was called SNAKEBITE, then it was BEAST, then ATTACK, then WARLOCK. We were at the right time and the right place. It was when metal got bigger and bigger. It was actually great to be a part of it. When you have the experience when you are that close to dying, then everything is getting into a different perspective. And you really want to live. Before, you're just living, you don't care. But, then it got really serious. I thought, 'Yeah, I want to make people happy. I want to give back if I'm the lucky one who survived. I definitely want to make people happy with music.'"

"Forever Warriors, Forever United" will be released on August 17 via Nuclear Blast. The first single from the epic collection of tracks, "All For Metal", features an assortment of metal heroes, who can also be seen in the official music video: Mille Petrozza (KREATOR), Johan Hegg (AMON AMARTH), Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT), Warrel Dane (NEVERMORE, SANCTUARY), Jeff Waters (ANNIHILATOR), SABATON, Ross The Boss (MANOWAR), Rock 'N' Rolf (RUNNING WILD), DETRAKTOR, Tommy Bolan (ex-WARLOCK), Andy Brings and The Ultimate Doro Clan.

The album cover artwork was once again created by Doro's favorite artist, Geoffrey Gillespie. It portrays Doro in the middle of a swarm of wild metalheads exuding attitude, power and positive vibes.

The long-awaited follow-up to 2012's "Raise Your Fist" will be the German singer's first release since 2016's "Love's Gone To Hell" single.

Tobias Forge says he wanted his pre-GHOST death metal outfit REPUGNANT "to become a big band" similar to AMON AMARTH but laments their stalled progress because they were "unfashionable" and "unprofessional."

Forge formed REPUGNANT in 1998 and performed under the name "Mary Goore", eventually releasing a few demos and an EP before recording their lone full-length "Epitome Of Darkness" in 2002. REPUGNANT called it quits in 2004, with Dutch independent Soulseller Records releasing "Epitome Of Darkness" two years later. The album — a veritable concoction of vintage Stockholm death metal with obscure, eerie melodies — had only mild impact upon its release but appears to have preceded the current crop of death metal bands who have parlayed largely the same formula to greater underground metal notoriety.

In a recent interview with BLABBERMOUTH.NET's David E. Gehlke, Forge was asked whether his success with GHOST ever made him reflect about his time with REPUGNANT. He said: "The one thing I don't think was very evident just because of how things played out with REPUGNANT, was that, if you asked me in 1999 or 2000 or 2001, I really wanted REPUGNANT to be signed up by a Roadrunner or Nuclear Blast or a big label. I wanted to be super-professional with the band. At the time, we were very unfashionable. It was just not asked for in that sort of realm and had things been played out differently or maybe I played my cards differently, because if I look back on how I did things, it was unprofessional and I didn't really have the foresight, I guess. I had the dream, but I didn't have the foresight. We were picked up by a real label at the time and got a manager and had everyone kept their ducks in a row, I would have loved to have that band, the closest example of a band like that could be comparable is like AMON AMARTH. A real band that was out touring. I always wanted that. I really wanted to become a big band. I wanted that, but I couldn't. I don't know if we were good enough or whatever. Now, knowing a lot of the things that is required, how many stars that need to align and all the decisions you have to make, I can definitely look back on myself as a 21-year-old and quickly see why I didn't achieve that with REPUGNANT. I wasn't mature. I wasn't thinking. I wasn't there yet."

The last-known lineup of REPUGNANT included current and former members of IN SOLITUDE, TRIBULATION and WATAIN, providing a mish-mash of some of Swedish metal's most critically-acclaimed bands of the last decade. Forge says that he has repaired the relationship with his former bandmates after the split but warns against the idea of a full-blown REPUGNANT reunion. "I think the band that was REPUGNANT on 'Epitome Of Darkness', I think we are now better friends than we've been over the last ten years, at least, ten, fifteen years," he said. "We had various degrees of falling out for different reasons. It just sputtered out. We've had our disagreements and whatnot, the same shit that everybody goes through. But, nowadays, we don't really have much to do with each other anymore, but we're just friends. We're all, except for one of us, we all have kids, we're all married. We're old dudes. [Laughs] I don't feel very old. We're a little bit wiser now and maybe that alone gives us a reason to not sort of resuscitate that corpse again. Just let it lie."

While there was little debate as to what subgenre of metal REPUGNANT fell, GHOST remains a band without a true home, something that Forge says he has done on purpose. Since the band's occult rock-oriented "Opus Eponymous" debut, GHOST has subsequently added new wrinkles to their sound including ballads ("He Is") rock anthems ("Year Zero" and "Square Hammer") and proto-metal mashers ("Absolution" and "Cirice"). "Dance Macabre", the second single from the band's forthcoming fourth album "Prequelle", further expands GHOST's sonic scope to pop and dance territories, which will only serve to fuel the debate whether GHOST has a permanent place in the hard rock and metal scene.

"I always tried to refrain sort of painting the band into a corner," said Tobias. "As much as I myself am a big fan of a lot of bands that paint themselves into a corner, I just never really felt that was a good idea, especially if you're into it, making yet another one, like 'Prequelle', it doesn't feel like there's a certain…we do not have really one thing that we're known for. It's various things. So, even if I was to do what I call a 'sell-out move' because that would be trying to conform what you think is expected, I think either way, it would be a loss because if I went completely, 'Okay, just be an occult rock band.' And then only just focus on the sort of '70s vibe that was more predominant on the first and second record, then these people wouldn't like it. If I only wrote a bunch of ballads, these people wouldn't like it. If I just made songs like 'Absolution', these people wouldn't like it. Either way you do it, there's always someone who sort of gravitates toward a certain element in certain songs, I guess. And, luckily, since that wasn't what I wanted to do in the first place anyway, I always wanted it to be very varied, like a multiple course at dinner with different courses lining up after each other so there's a little bit of a culinary trip. If you use big words just to give you an example of my inspirations and the bands that I really look up to in terms of variation, QUEEN, for example, THE WHO, bands that constantly just try to write new songs that they didn't have."

Forge has often said that one of the principle tenants of his songwriting approach is to never write the same song twice. With four studio albums now under his belt, the GHOST frontman sounds pleased at what he's accomplished with "Prequelle", in particular, not succumbing to the trappings of a proven formula. "It makes it more interesting, but it also makes things harder," he said. "Sooner or later you come to a point where you're like 'What are we doing again?' Then you might start repeating yourself. Now, having made the fourth record, I definitely felt a relief, at least we made a record that felt genuine, inspired, it was done in the same playful manner as I did writing 'Opus Eponymous'. You cannot count on that happening so many times in your life. Whether it's a success, I have no idea. We'll see. But, at least it feels like it comes from the heart. It's done whole-heartedly and yeah, I feel very pleased."

Later this year, GHOST will play two headlining arena shows in Los Angeles and New York. As metal's old guard is either in the process of retiring (Ozzy Osbourne, SLAYER) or already at retirement age (IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST), there is speculation as to whether GHOST will be the next band to ascend to arena level. Now trekking across the United States on the "Rats! On The Road" tour that sees the band playing theaters as opposed to traditional concert venues, Forge confirms that arenas is the next logical step for GHOST.

"In one way, we already are because we've already done arenas, so technically, we are an arena band," he said. "But, whether or not we can maintain that at a level where we can do that everywhere we go? I don't know. I don't know; I hope so. That would be phenomenal. I've learned that once you take a certain step in production value in a certain area and a certain city and the next day, you take the show to a place where you don't have that ability, there also can be a little bit of a backlash because people are, like, 'Oh, shit. You're not going to bring pyro?' 'We can't do pyro here because your theater is old wood so we don't have the permits.' 'Oh, that's a bummer, man.' From that point of view, to be able to have a standard of the things people expect you to deliver, it would be an absolute dream come true to be able to bring the show identically to everyone who is paying a ticket to see it and to get everybody so excited about us coming to their town. I'd love that. That would be fantastic, but it takes a lot of time and a lot of work and it's baby-stepping. Now, we're doing it in a few cities this fall and hopefully, the next leg we'll do it in certain other cities we're not doing it in. Sooner, or later, if hopefully everything goes according to the plan or the trajectory or the fucking gravitational pull or whatever [laughs], hopefully we can phase out the shows we're doing and just concentrate on the ones that really is the full thing so we can get everybody enthusiastic about what they're seeing. But, we'll see if we get there. I'm working towards that. If we don't, that needs to be fine as well. But, we're doing great. It's cool."

"Prequelle" will be released on June 1 via Loma Vista Recordings. The record was tracked last year at Artery studios in Stockholm with Tom Dalgety (OPETH, ROYAL BLOOD) and mixed in January at Westlake Studios in West Hollywood, California with Andy Wallace (NIRVANA, SLAYER).