KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Jesse Leach has posted a new eight-minute video containing some of his thoughts from a walk near his home in the Catskills, the vast expanse of the Appalachian Mountains situated in southeast New York state.

Speaking about how the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent government reactions to it have affected our mental health, Leach said: "I know it's hard with the masks and social distancing and all these things that we're going through, but we're arguing way too much. There's way too much division about this virus, about the state of the world, about a vaccine, about control, and people can't have differences of opinion and have a discussion, it seems like. It seems like you either believe one thing, and you're on that side, or you believe [some other] thing, and you're on that side. For me personally, I'm in the middle — I have beliefs and thoughts on both sides of the spectrum here, and I'm questioning things, and I'm researching things, and I'm not swallowing what I'm told or what somebody tells me to think. And I think there's a lot of that going on — there's a lot of swallowing the information and regurgitating what you've been told without the research. Without common sense, too."

He continued: "Just think about some of the things that are going on. Checks and balances. The power of contemplation, thinking and discussion. Because some people have changed my mind on certain things, from having a respectful discussion. And I think that's also part of adaptation — being willing to change your point of view, change your mind, change your opinion and grow. There's way too much of this 'I think this and that's it, period,' 'You're either black and you're white' when there's a ton of gray. There are shades of gray on so many different levels with what's going on right now. So it's nuances, it's adaptation, it's survival, and it's staying positive — as hard as that is. And trust me — I have my days; I have my days where this is hard. It's really hard. But I'm pushing through, and I'm finding new ways."

While 346,000 Americans have died so far as a result of COVID-19, a number of people have come out against COVID-19 response measures, including lockdowns, physical distancing and mandatory mask policies, saying that they violate constitutional rights.

More than 77,000 people in the U.S. lost their lives in December to COVID-19, while 6.4 million contracted the virus. There are now more than 20 million confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S.

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's latest album, "Atonement", was released in August 2019 via Metal Blade Records in the U.S. and Sony Music Entertainment in the rest of the world. The disc features guest appearances by the band's former lead singer Howard Jones and TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy. It marks the band's third full-length release since the return of Leach, who rejoined the group in 2012.

German thrash metal veterans KREATOR have written 15 songs for their next album, tentatively due in 2021 via Nuclear Blast.

The news of KREATOR's songwriting process was revealed by the band's guitarist/vocalist Mille Petrozza, who took to his Instagram earlier today (Thursday, December 31) to write: "Ok, let's wrap up 2020.

"Maybe one of the most productive years for me. I have 15 songs and counting for the next @kreatorofficial! We released our live album 'London Apocalypticon', plus the new single '666 - World Divided' earlier this year. Apart from this, my personal highlight was connecting with old and new friends on a deeper level. Something touring doesn't allow me to do sometimes, since I am always somewhere.

"I got to read tons of cool books, discovered amazing new music and watched some great movies. Most importantly, I stayed healthy, and I hope you did too!

"Ok, sometimes I was bored, so see my top 10 playlist in the comment section. What's yours?

"What were your highlights and lowlights in 2020?

"See you in 21! The new year will be spectacular! I can feel it."

Last month, KREATOR bassist Frédéric Leclercq confirmed to Moshpit Passion webzine that the band had entered a studio in Essen, Germany to begin writing, arranging and recording demos for its next album. The follow-up to 2017's "Gods Of Violence" will mark KREATOR's first album with Leclercq, who joined the group last year.

This past September, KREATOR guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö described the sessions for the band's new album to Italy's Poisoned Rock as "a lot of fun," adding that the "mood" in the band "is great. And the general vibe and the atmosphere is very good," he said. "[These are] creative times for KREATOR at the moment."

Speaking about the KREATOR songwriting process, Sami said: "The main composer for KREATOR is for sure Mille. And then he likes to send us some demos over. But then we all arrange them together and bring new ideas to it and try to enhance them and sometimes bring our own ideas, of course, as well. That's what we're doing right now, and just try to make the best possible result imaginable, because we really want to work hard on the next album."

On the topic of KREATOR's musical evolution, Yli-Sirniö said: "I like to think that there's a progression all the time and we're always looking for something new. That's always what you become most afraid of, with an older band like us, after doing so many albums together — is to find a new angle and a new perspective for every album. And that is the difficult part, but it's also the challenging part and the part that I like the most. And now that we have a new member in the band, Fred, he brings a lot of new ideas and a different angle, and it's fantastic. He's also an amazing guitar player."

This past March, KREATOR surprise-released a new single, "666 - World Divided". The song was produced by Andy Sneap and Markus Ganter and was recorded at Hansa Tonstudios in Berlin, Germany.

The music video for "666 - World Divided" was created under the direction of Jörn Heitmann, who was responsible for the music videos for "Radio" and "Ausländer" by RAMMSTEIN.

KREATOR played its first show with Leclercq in October 2019 in Santiago, Chile.

Before joining KREATOR, Leclercq rose to fame with U.K.-based extreme power metallers DRAGONFORCE for whom he handled bass duties from 2005 until August 2019.

KREATOR's previously announced "State Of Unrest" European tour with LAMB OF GOD has been rescheduled for 2021 in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

KREATOR released a new live set, "London Apocalypticon - Live At The Roundhouse", in February via Nuclear Blast. The effort was professionally filmed and recorded on December 16, 2018 at the Roundhouse in London, England.
























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SCORPIONS singer Klaus Meine says that the suggestion that the group's classic ballad "Wind Of Change" was written by the CIA "shows how powerful music can be."

Meine and his bandmates have always maintained that they wrote "Wind Of Change" after performing at 1989's Moscow Music Peace Festival in Moscow, where they shared the stage with other hard rock acts like BON JOVI and MÖTLEY CRÜE.

The theory that "Wind Of Change" was actually penned by the CIA as a piece of late Cold War propaganda was first raised in an eight-part podcast series, also called "Wind Of Change", which premiered on Spotify in May.

Produced by Crooked Media and Pineapple Street Studios, the podcast was hosted by New Yorker journalist Patrick Radden Keefe, who said he launched the investigation after hearing a second-hand story from a friend who used to work for the CIA — that "Wind Of Change" was actually written by the CIA to encourage change throughout the Soviet Union.

In a recent interview with "That Jamieson Show", Meine stated about the CIA rumor (see video below): "I would be ashamed if I would bring up a story like this. Everybody would say, 'Klaus, no. No way.' Like, a marketing plan, 30 years of 'Wind Of Change'. It's, like, you never would go that far, because I don't know anybody who believes that kind of story.

"I think the success of the 'Wind Of Change' podcast is because people get into this, they're drawn into this kind of scenario," he continued. "It's, like, 'Hmm, it could be true. It could be true. Or maybe not. Maybe yes.' And I think this is what this whole story is about the CIA and the SCORPIONS. And everybody picks it up around the world, and I go, 'God. The New York Times? Jeez. Rolling Stone? Again? Oh, come on.'

"On the other side, of course it's not true at all," he added. "It shows how powerful music can be. If they think this song was like a tool to help to bring down communism — I mean, Jeez. [Laughs] It just underlines, in a heavy way, if that would be possible, the power of music.

"We live in times where conspiracy theories are all over the place, in many directions," Klaus said. "And a lot of people start to believe what they see, what they hear or what they think what is the truth and what is for real, and in many cases, it's not. It's also a lot of people, they don't wanna go with the mainstream. It's, like, 'You know what? I know the USA was never on the moon. It was all fake.' There are many people who believe that theory… It's the kind of people, they wanna give you the feeling, 'You believe that? I know better.'"

Earlier in the month, Deadline reported that the "Wind Of Change" podcast was being adapted for television at Hulu.

Alex Karpovsky is writing and executive producing the project, along with Jason Winer. 20th Television is the studio and is producing in association with Winer's Small Dog Pictures, Crooked Media, Pineapple Street Studios and Spotify.

Keefe told Deadline about his decision to explore the topic: "It's a story that stretches across musical genres, and across borders and periods of history. So, it was important to me that you hear the music, and the accents and the voices, and judge for yourself who might be lying and who is telling the truth. I've had so much fun pursuing this crazy story over the course of a year, exploring the dark byways of Cold War history and doing nearly a hundred interviews in four countries with rockers and spies."

Tommy Vietor, the co-founder of Crooked Media, added: "We know that the CIA covertly sponsored cultural events during the '50s and '60s. They paid to film George Orwell's '1984' and 'Animal Farm'. They sponsored a European tour for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Why not help a German rock band write a power ballad to shred the iron curtain? And while the CIA closely guards its secrets, Patrick is one of the best investigative journalists and writers of his generation, and no one is better positioned to find out the truth."

Back in 2015, SCORPIONS said "Wind Of Change" was inspired by the sight of thousands of Russians cheering them on in 1988 — when they became the first hard rock band to play in Russia — and in 1989, at the aforementioned Moscow Music Peace Festival, even though they were a German band.

"We wanted to show the people in Russia that here is a new generation of Germans growing up," guitarist Rudolf Schenker said. "They're not coming with tanks and guns and making war — they're coming with guitars and rock 'n' roll and bringing love!"

"There were so many emotional moments in Moscow," Meine added. "I guess it could have been BON JOVI or MÖTLEY CRÜE, any of these guys who had gone home inspired by what they saw, but for them it was like, 'Hey! We rocked the Soviet Union, dudes!' For us, maybe it was different. We saw so many changes from Leningrad in '88 to Moscow in '89. That was the inspiration for 'Wind Of Change'."

Pain / Hypocrisy mastermind / frontman Peter Tägtgren capped off 2020 with the following message, offering some hints as to what he has in store for 2021:

"Happy new year everyone! It’s been a different year for sure; a lot of people lost their jobs or lost close ones. To be honest, it’s been a shit year; only pharmacies and politicians had a good year, working people got buried up to our necks or broke it.

My next year will start of with release of a couple of new songs from Pain (February) and Hypocrisy beginning of summer, new project album somewhere in between. Stay safe and see you soon."

 

It was recently announced that Tägtgren and Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann have decided to end their collaboration on Lindemann. According to the statement announcing Lindemann's parting of ways, a live DVD of their show in Moscow 2020, which will be released in spring 2021. Till Lindemann will be active under the name Lindemann within a new set-up in the future.

 

 

Stay tuned for updates.

 

 

Tägtgren launched Hypocrisy in 1991 and has released 12 albums. The band's latest album, End Of Disclosure, was released in 2013 via Nuclear Blast. Pain, which started out as Tägtgren's industrial hobby project in 1997, has released six albums, the latest one being Coming Home from 2016.

 

 

 

 

 

September 25th, 2020 marked 25 years since Rammstein emerged from Berlin with its debut album, Herzeleid. To celebrate the anniversary, the RammWiki page on YouTube continues to roll out rare audio and video material from the band's career. The latest clips are taken guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe's pre-Rammstein band, Orgasm Death Gimmick.

Orgasm Death Gimmick was formed in 1991 in Berlin, Germany. In August 1991 they produced their first demo tape. Ten months later, in June 1992, they produced their second demo tape, which was followed by their third and last demo in 1993. In February '93 the band broke up. Rammstein was formed in 1994 by Kruspe, vocalist Till Lindemann, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, drummer Christoph Schneider, and keyboardist Christian "Flake" Lorenz. The line-up remains unchaged.

Orgasm Death Gimmick is always credited for the riff in the Rammstein song "Sehnsucht", which is taken from the song "Cyber".

To celebrate Rammstein's first indelible impact on global hard rock history, the band and Vertigo/UMe will release limited, remastered editions of the band’s groundbreaking debut on December 4. They have released an official trailer for Herzeleid (XXV Anniversary Edition - Remastered) featuring the CD and vinyl LP versions of the album.

Herzeleid (XXV Anniversary Edition - Remastered) will feature the album’s original tracklist on a single CD, housed in a lavish, cross-shaped digipak with deluxe slipcase, and, for the first time ever, the remastered album with HD sound will be available digitally.

In addition, there will be a 2LP version with a slipcase containing two 180 gram heavyweight black vinyl discs with blue splatter effect. The creator of the original artwork, Dirk Rudolph, is also responsible for the Anniversary Edition packaging. The booklets also contain the original band portraits shot by Praler. Both the CD and vinyl editions are strictly limited.

Tracklisting:

"Wollt Ihr Das Bett in Flammen Sehen"
"Der Meister"
"Weisses Fleisch"
"Asche zu Asche"
"Seemann"
"Du Riechst So Gut"
"Das Alte Leid"
"Heirate Mich"
"Herzeleid"
"Laichzeit"
"Rammstein"

QUEEN's Brian May and Roger Taylor. Along with Sarah Brightman, performed "Endless Rain", a song composed by X JAPAN's Yoshiki, on the biggest TV show in Japan this past New Year's Eve. Yoshiki appeared from Los Angeles.

"Kohaku Uta Gassen", broadcast on Japan's public broadcaster NHK, is an annual music program in Japan for the past 70 years and continues to be the most popular TV program each year, with a viewership of over 40%. It has long been viewed as the true barometer of status for domestic artists with an unrivaled influence on an artist's profile, status, and sales in Japan.

In light of the difficulties faced by people all over the world in 2020 and a pressing desire for togetherness, NHK concluded the broadcast with a special performance featuring the biggest artists from the show to perform the timeless hit song "Endless Rain", composed by Yoshiki, one of the most influential composers in Japanese history.

In 1994, Taylor and Yoshiki co-wrote "Foreign Sand" (lyrics by Taylor, music by Yoshiki), which entered the U.K. chart, and have been friends ever since. Also, Yoshiki opened the Classic Rock Awards (2015, London) with QUEEN's greatest hit "Bohemian Rhapsody", which was praised by May, who attended the event.

Brightman chose Yoshiki's composition "Miracle" to be a single and was featured in her 2018 album. They have joined each other on stage for selected dates during her world tour, Yoshiki's classical tour and at "Kohaku Uta Gassen" in 2018.

Yoshiki also appeared on the TV show. Ever since the impact of COVID-19 in February, Yoshiki has remained in L.A., so he joined remotely for the performance.

The 2020 "Kohaku Uta Gassen" marked Yoshiki's sixth consecutive performances and a total of eleven — eight performances as X JAPAN and three consecutive performances as a solo artist.

Yoshiki said: "I feel honored and grateful to be performing with Brian May and Roger Taylor, and Sarah Brightman and all those Japanese superstars. I hope that through the music, we can give everyone courage."

Hard rock band, Sainted Sinners, have released a music video for "Stone Cold Sober", the song is taken from their new album Unlocked & Reloaded, which was released December 4th, 2020 via El Puerto Records. 

The video was directed and edited by Volker Thiele: "Stone Cold Sober" tells the story of reality and (another) fantasy. "It's about the pub scene, how it has been until this year and how we have to deal with it in recent times. It's the story about real life and a sobering couch-potato existence."

After two albums with David Reece on vocals, the new Sainted Sinners record is the first with new singer Iacopo "Jack" Meille (Tygers Of Pan Tang) on vocals.

Unlocked & Reloaded was mixed by Dick Dropkick at SpitFire Studio and mastered by Harry Hess (Harem Scarem, Danko Jones, Grim Reaper). The cover artwork was designed by Manfred Smietana / MS Art Design.

Tracklisting:

"Same Ol’ Song"
"Standing On Top"
"Early Light Of Day"
"40 Years"
"The Hammer Of The Gods"
"Free To Be"
"I Can’t Wait"
"Stone Cold Sober"
"Call It Love"
"Wall Of Sound"
"Farewell To Kings"

(Photo by Matt Bischof)

 

BEHEMOTH frontman Adam "Nergal" Darski says that he will receive his first shot of the coronavirus vaccine in less than two weeks.

The 43-year-old Polish native, who was diagnosed with a severe case of leukemia a decade ago, revealed his plan to take the vaccine in an end-of-year message on Instagram.

He wrote: "All righty 2020. Nuff of this bullshit! I'm sure I did make the best out of it considering isolation, restrictions and all that physical and mental prison virus put us in. Enough is enough.

"I'm taking vaccine in 10 days. And I DO hope world will start opening up in upcoming months to finally bloom and recover from all those massive damages it did to all of us.

"Let's all do our best do make this transition smoother... coz I'm dying here without social contacts with all of YOU legions! Let's bring music to the stages of venues all across the globe! U r with me here???"

According to Reuters, Poland has bought over 60 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from six producers. The plan is for the country's entire adult population of around 30 million people to be vaccinated across some 8,000 vaccination points.

A recent survey commissioned by Rzeczpospolita and conducted by Warsaw's Institute for Social Research and Market (IBRIS) found that 47% of Poles want to get vaccinated, while 44% refuse, with 9% undecided.

Nergal was diagnosed with leukemia back in 2010 and, via the donation of bone marrow and extensive treatments, has since made a full recovery.

Two years after his diagnosis, he finally got to meet his donor, then-25-year-old Gregory Kite.

In a 2014 interview with The Guardian, Nergal recalled being devastated when he first found out he had leukemia.

"I remember that the doctor handed me the printout with the description and the details about the type of leukemia I had and then he left," he said. "It was just me and my girlfriend in the room and I started crying. I had no idea what I was confronting. I just read the word, read that it may be fatal in many or most cases and it was shocking. I won't play the hero or pretend I'm a tough guy, but it took me maybe five minutes to get over the shock and very soon after' I was shaving my head. It looked like I was going to war and I needed a warlike attitude and a warlike haircut."

BEHEMOTH's latest EP, "A Forest", was released in May via Metal Blade. The EP's title track is a cover of THE CURE classic, and it features a guest appearance by SHINING frontman Niklas Kvarforth. The "A Forest" EP also includes a live version of the title track as well as the two songs from the "I Loved You At Your Darkest" album sessions.

BEHEMOTH supported SLIPKNOT on an arena tour of Europe in January and February.
























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American metal torchbearers Pounder have revealed their new track, "Hard City." The song is the second to be revealed from the band's sophomore album, Breaking The World, set for international release on January 29th via Shadow Kingdom Records.

Breaking The World by POUNDER

It was but early 2019 when Pounder dropped their proud 'n' powerful debut album, Uncivilized. Wasting no time keeping that envious momentum going, Pounder return with all guns blazing on Breaking The World. Leaner, meaner, and all-too-accurately titled, Breaking The World sees the band - vocalist/guitarist Matt Harvey, bassist Alejandro Corredor, and lead guitarist Tom Draper - getting both heavier and more anthemic, more American in their metal but also more wide-ranging in their reach. Comprising seven songs in a satisfyingly compact 37 minutes, Breaking The World keeps the energy flowing freely across these more concertedly epic songs.

Above all, just like Uncivilized before it, Breaking The World reaffirms what's so invigorating and life-affirming about the art of heavy metal. "We won't live forever / we just get one chance / so let's do it right," Harvey sagely sings in the album's opening moments. And in this state of the world right now, more than ever do we need Pounder to break it and build it back up again. "Give Me Rock"? You shall have it!

Breaking The World artwork and tracklisting:

"Spoils Of War" 
"Breaking The World" 
"Hard Road To Home" 
"Never Forever" 
"Hard City"
"Give Me Rock" 
"Deadly Eyes"

"Hard Road To Home":

 

 

During a December 5-6 Headbangers Con live virtual panel, SOIL vocalist Ryan McCombs spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the long-awaited follow-up to 2013's "Whole" album. He said: "We just started writing here recently with the SOIL guys. So that's been a breath of fresh air for me, 'cause I've been going a little nuts not having something to write for a long time.

"Not having something to write is like an artist not having use of their hands to draw or paint, or whatever their medium is. I've never been able to play an instrument for shit, so I've always been reliant on having a good music writer, instrumentation-wise, a music writer, and I've been blessed with C.J. Pierce [during my days with DROWNING POOL] and Adam Zadel. So not having one of those guys sending me musical ideas to bounce back and forth on, I feel like an artist with no hands. So having, all of a sudden, half a dozen songs in two weeks' time to write with, I feel like a mad scientist. I feel like my legs work again; I've got hands again. It's been awesome."

Ryan also talked about how SOIL might go about releasing new music and whether putting out full-length albums makes sense anymore.

"It's been about 137 years since the last album, so we've talked ad nauseam about what could be a way of working," he said. "I think one of the things that goes against us at times is Tim [King, SOIL bassist] being in the music business on the other side of the fence. Tim's on the label side of things as well, with Pavement, so he sees the problems that the business is having. And so it's hard for him sometimes to separate the fact of the artist and the shirt-and-tie. And so that goes against us sometimes, because, as an artist, we're just going, 'Let's write a new record. Let's write some new songs. Let's get a new record out there.' And he's the same way, but then he's gotta [look at it from the point of view of], 'What are we gonna do?' Because, at the end of the day, nobody is selling anything. Records aren't selling anymore. Hard copies, CDs aren't selling anymore — not at the numbers that they need to to make them worthwhile for printing. So that puts us into bouncing ideas off each other, and that's usually where things end up screeching to a halt. I think, actually, my dumb ass made the comment, 'Well, to begin with, we need material. Until we have material, there's no reason to worry about how you're going to release it. So let's get writing.' And that's when Tim finally [said], 'You're absolutely right.' And that's when he started writing the stuff. And now Adam's on fire about it."

In October 2019, SOIL released a "theatrical interpretation" of its song "One Love". Conceptually, SOIL wanted to do something different and interesting with the song since "One Love" originally appeared on "Whole". Indie filmmakers David Gregory (director) and James Morgan (director of photography) were tapped for the job. Filming was shot in the U.K. during SOIL's tour supporting STATIC-X.

SOIL's latest release was "Scream: The Essentials", which arrived in September 2017 via Pavement Entertainment and AFM Records. The effort celebrated the band's 20-year career and featured early recordings as well as alternate versions and mixes.

MindWars teamed up with video producer Camilo Copat (Warehouse17) to create a lyric video for “Digital Dictatorship”. The song, from the album The Fourth Turning, and the video, are a look into the world of digital control.

The Fourth Turning artwork and tracklisting:

“The Awakening”
“Fall In Line”
“MindWars”
“(Who’ll Stop The) Aryan Race”
“The System”
“Digital Dictatorship”
“Marching Off To War”
“Black Death”
“Blood Red”
“Holy Terror”
“Criminally Insane” (Slayer cover, bonus track)

“MindWars”:

“The System”:

For further details, visit MindWars on Facebook.

 

Michael Sweet of openly Christian rockers STRYPER has shared a list of some of his New Year's resolutions, including that he wants "to pray & play harder" and "to ban CNN" from his life.

The 57-year-old Massachusetts resident posted his list on social media on Thursday (December 31), writing: "Here are a few of my 2021 New Years Resolutions:

1-To live life to the fullest

2-To make more music

3-To get back my 6 pack

4-To ban CNN from my life

5-To pray & play harder

6-To show/give Lisa more love

7-To eat less Taco Bell

8-To buy less gear

To stop pretending my Subaru is an Ferrari

9-To stop and smell the roses

10-To go somewhere I've never been

11-To skydive

12-To talk myself out of skydiving

13-To make the best albums of my life/career

14-To learn a new language

15-To learn a new instrument

16-To go to Mars

17-To kick the [crap] out of 2020

18-To see all of you on tour;-)"

Two months ago, Sweet defended his support of Donald Trump, saying that the real estate mogul "has done a lot of good things for America."

Despite the fact that he is twice divorced and has faced over two dozen accusations of sexual misconduct, Trump was white Christians' preferred candidate for last year's presidential election, with some insisting that the president is a Christian hero who is standing up for religious rights.

Asked in a recent interview with Slabber.net why he voted for Trump in 2016 and why he believes Trump is a Christian, Sweet said: "I have put it out there already that I voted for Donald Trump four years ago. I voted for him because I had really become fed up with politicians. I feel like most, if not all, politicians are there to tell us what we want to hear so they can get into office, and once they get there they don't deliver. So, when Donald Trump came around, I thought, okay, this guy is not a politician and he's going to be different, and that's why I voted for him.

"I don't think his delivery is often good," Sweet continued. "I wish he would stay off Twitter. The way he presents himself, the way he speaks, and some of the things he says get under my skin as much as anyone else. But I do feel Donald Trump has done a lot of good things for America, especially for the economy.

"I think it's very easy to blame someone for the economy tanking due to a pandemic that's not their fault. This pandemic would have come along regardless of who the president is, and the economy would have tanked regardless. No president in the world could stop the coronavirus coming but Donald Trump has been easy to blame. I don't feel that is justifiable and I feel that it's wrong.

"Joe Biden is an example of someone using Trump and this virus to suit his agenda of getting into office," Michael added.

"There's a lot of people out there who don't like their boss, but their boss is in the that position because they do a good job for the company they work for. That's kind of how I view Donald Trump. I don't love everything he says or does, but I voted for him. But by saying all of that, and being Michael Sweet of STRYPER, that opens the door for me to be attacked. I'm okay with that. I'm not gonna run from what I do or say. I'm not afraid to be challenged for my decisions."

Back in November 2016, Sweet drew criticism from some STRYPER fans for posting a picture of Donald Trump and congratulating the real estate mogul for "working his ass off for the presidency of the United States of America."

In March 2019, Sweet praised Trump's actions that served to ramp up the federal government's response to the COVID-19 epidemic — even after Trump was criticized by some parts of the media for downplaying fears about COVID-19 or actively spreading misinformation about its repercussions.

Last May, Sweet said that he would like to see his band represented by Trump's fourth White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany.

In October, Sweet praised Amy Coney Barrett, who narrowly won confirmation to fill the vacancy left by the death in September of liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, for answering questions during confirmation hearings "with poise, grace, patience, humility and intelligence."

Barrett has close ties to People Of Praise, a charismatic Christian religious group which has conservative stances on the role of women in society and other social issues. Former members of the group say it teaches that wives must submit to the will of their husbands.

According to The Washington Post, 65 percent of Republicans are white Christians, but white Christians account for only 38 percent of Democrats.


Here are a few of my 2021 New Years Resolutions:

1-To live life to the fullest

2-To make more music

3-To get back my 6...

Posted by Michael Sweet on Thursday, December 31, 2020

Mystic Prophecy, who signed with Rock Of Angels Records in 2018, have released their new official lyric video for the song "Here Comes The Winter". The track is taken from the band’s highly acclaimed Metal Division albu, which hit #20 on the German charts.

"Mystic Prophecy say goodbye to a once in a lifetime year by sharing their most touching track off their latest album, Metal Division. 'Here Comes The Winter' is an ode to all the people feeling depressed and overwhelmed by sad feelings. This song is an outcry for courage and positive mental attitude!"

Metal Division is available via the digital platforms found here,

For information and updates on Mystic Prophecy go to their offucial Facbook page here

Drum legend Cozy Powell is known for his work with artists including The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Gary Moore, Robert Plant, Brian May, Whitesnake, Emerson, Lake & Powell, and Black Sabbath. He died on April 5th, 1998 in a car crash. Former Rainbow bandmate Graham Bonnet has posted the following message on social media celebrating Powell's birthday:

"It's hard to wish Happy Birthday to someone who is gone. Every year on this day (December 29th), I am consumed by sadness and yet can't help remembering Cozy with a smile. He was one of a kind; smart, funny, kind and the greatest drummer with which I've ever played. I remember getting the call from Don Airey saying something like 'It's the old boy. He's gone.' After he explained to me what had happened and when I finally finished crying, I opened up the back door and looked out on to the mountainside where there was the most vivid double rainbow you could imagine. I said to myself 'Is that you, Cozy?' I was filled with a sense of wonder. Nothing would ever be the same and I miss Cozy as much today as I did on that day in 1998, but I am so lucky to have had the time with him that I did. Happy Birthday, CP. You will never be forgotten.

If anyone has any photos of Cozy and me together, please post them here. I would love to see them. Thanks!"

On Saturday, August 16th, 1980 Rainbow took to the stage to headline the first rock festival to be staged at Castle Donington. It was the culmination of the band’s tour in support of the hugely successful Down To Earth album, released in 1979, and would prove to be the last live show featuring this particular line-up of the band: Ritchie Blackmore (guitars), Don Airey (keyboards), Graham Bonnet (vocals), Roger Glover (bass) and Cozy Powell (drums). The set featured tracks from the new album alongside classics from earlier in their career. There were virtuoso solo spots for Blackmore, Airey and Powell which served to highlight the sheer musical prowess in the band.

FOO FIGHTERS have released a new single, "No Son Of Mine". The track, which can be streamed below, will appear on the band's upcoming 10th studio album, "Medicine At Midnight", due on February 5, 2021 via Roswell Records/RCA Records.

"No Son Of Mine" ignites the second half of "Medicine At Midnight" with a lightning strike of a riff that builds into the album’s most full-on barnstormer. Replete with nods to familiar FF influences from QUEEN's "Stone Cold Crazy" to "Ace Of Spades"/"Iron Fist"-era MOTÖRHEAD to METALLICA's "Kill 'Em All", "No Son Of Mine" features a streamlined, minimalist chassis of searing Dave Grohl, Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett licks atop a steel-trap-tight Taylor Hawkins/Nate Mendel rhythmic frame.

"This is the kind of song that just resides in all of us and if it makes sense at the time, we let it out," Grohl explains, adding, "Lyrically, it's meant to poke at the hypocrisy of self righteous leaders, people that are guilty of committing the crimes they’re supposedly against…"

"Medicine At Midnight" is a nine-song, 37-minute effort which was produced by the FOO FIGHTERS and Greg Kurstin.

The first single from the disc, "Shame Shame", was released in November. An accompanying music video for the song was directed by Paola Kudacki and co-stars Grohl and Sofia Boutella. "Shame Shame" renders in stunning black and white an interpretation of a recurring dream that's haunted Grohl since his childhood days.

Grohl told SiriusXM's Alt Nation about the "Medicine At Midnight" musical approach: "It's our 10th album, and it's our 25th anniversary. We're. like, okay, let's look back at all the stuff that we've done before. We've made that loud sort of noisy punk rock fast stuff. We've made the sleepy acoustic kind of gentle acoustic record stuff. We've done the three- or four-minute-long bubblegum rock and roll, pop, single thing before. And it was, like, well, what haven't we done? And we had never really made a groove-oriented sort of party record.

"It's hard to put the words 'dance' or 'funk' or 'disco' in the same sentence as the FOO FIGHTERS; it scares the shit out of me," Dave admitted. "But all of us grew up loving rock and roll records that you could like bounce around to, like THE CARS. Like, oh my God, we love THE CARS. Or David Bowie's 'Let's Dance'. Or POWER STATION. Or THE [ROLLING] STONES' 'Tattoo You' — things like that. We're, like, 'All right. We've never really explored that territory before. Let's do it.

"We're lucky in that everybody in the band has diverse influences and everybody loves different kinds of music, but I honestly think we're capable of doing almost anything," he said. "So if we put our minds to it, we can kind of chameleon and turn into a death metal band, or we could be like THE CARPENTERS. So we just have to come together and make the decision, like, 'All right, which way do we wanna go? Which way are we gonna turn the wheel?' And this time we did it to make this party record."

Photo credit: Danny Clinch






The wait is over.

Listen to No Son of Mine: https://t.co/TzxkFRtBeE

Pre-order/save Medicine At Midnight: https://t.co/8PVlKIpILc #HAPPYNEWYEAR pic.twitter.com/FbeLfDudh3

— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) January 1, 2021

METALLICA's music was streamed 1.1 billion times on Spotify in 2020. This marks the second year in a row that the band's songs were played more than a billion times on the digital music service in a 12-month period.

The heavy metal legends' social media revealed their latest streaming feat on Wednesday (December 30), adding that "We thought last year's numbers were insane… you guys have outdone yourselves! 99.3M hours?! That’s like if someone started listening on October 27, 9318 B.C. and never stopped. Can anyone guess what this year’s most played song was, clocking in at 128.6M streams??

"You remain the most dedicated fans in the world – thank you for spending so much of your year with us!"

Back in December 2012, METALLICA made the first nine of its studio albums, as well as various live material, singles, remixes and collaborations, available for the first time on Spotify. The move was significant because Sean Parker, who co-founded Napster, later sat on the board of Spotify. METALLICA waged a battle with Napster more than a decade earlier over the illegal sharing of the band's music, which resulted in both legal action and a battered public image for the band.

At the press conference in New York announcing the Spotify deal in December 6, 2012 Parker and METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich appeared together and seemingly buried the hatchet. Ulrich said, "When [Parker] and I saw each other a few months ago. We could see that we had been put down as adversaries. We realize we had much more in common and sitting down was long overdue . . . We were younger, maybe somewhat more ignorant. We sat down and had a heart to heart."

In a statement at its web site, METALLICA said, "We are extremely proud to be a part of Spotify, who not only has a proven track record, but is by far the best streaming service."

METALLICA is able to make these deals directly since, as of 2012, the band has complete control over the master tapes of all its audio and video recordings. The band has also launched its own label, Blackened Recordings.
























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Legendary English guitarist John Sykes (TYGERS OF PAN TANG, THIN LIZZY, WHITESNAKE, BLUE MURDER, SYKES) has released the official music video for a new song called "Dawning Of A Brand New Day". The track, which was recorded at least four years ago, is expected to appear on Sykes's long-awaited new solo album, "Sy-Ops", tentatively due later this year.

The "Dawning Of A Brand New Day" video was produced by Parker Thibault, with additional footage courtesy of Natasha Gregory and James Sykes.

Last year, Sykes parted ways with Golden Robot Records without releasing a single record through the label.

Sykes's partnership with the Australian company was first announced in January 2019. At the time, John promised that his his first album in two decades would arrive before the end of 2019. However, things apparently went south shortly after the signing, with Sykes later accusing the label of making "little attempt to move things forward despite our best efforts and patience."

"Sy-Ops" is expected to include such other tracks as "Believe In Yourself", "My Guitar" and "Out Alive".

Speaking to Reality Check TV at the January 2019 Hall Of Heavy Metal History event in Anaheim, California, Sykes stated about his absence from the rock scene: "I'm looking forward to getting out on the road and playing again. I kind of go underground and stay there for a while. I don't know, man. Sometimes I just take off and shut it all down. But I'm getting the itch, I've been having the itch to get back out and play, so I'm looking forward to that."

Asked about the musical direction of his new record, Sykes said: "It's kind of got flavors of old and new. But I think it'll be pleasing to a lot of people to hear it. I think it'll touch a fair few people if they check it out. It's a good, solid album — it's not just a couple of tracks and a load of fillers."

Sykes's band for his upcoming tour is expected to include his onetime BLUE MURDER bandmate Tony Franklin (bass) and Fred Boswell Jr. (drums), both of whom are pictured with John below.

John's best-known work was when he joined WHITESNAKE and co-wrote the band's self-titled seventh studio album, released in 1987. It produced a major power ballad hit, "Is This Love", along with the No. 1 hit "Here I Go Again". The album was a major crossover hit, eventually selling over eight million copies in the U.S. alone.

Sykes announced his departure from THIN LIZZY in July 2009, explaining that "I feel it's time to get back to playing my own music."

In a new interview with Terry "Beez" Bezer of Knotfest.com's "Mosh Talks With Beez", MOTIONLESS IN WHITE frontman Chris "Motionless" Cerulli spoke about how he and his bandmates have been staying busy during the coronavirus pandemic. He said (see video below): "We have done a few projects — just different kind of out there… like, 'Let's try something different.' We did some theatrical versions of some songs we did; we did a cover of a KILLERS song; we did a 'Creatures' anniversary song — all things that just felt like we had the unique time frame to try these things; let's go for it. And all those things have been really cool, 'cause they're just a different extension of what our band can do [and] just hasn't been able to touch on it, and just cool, creative moments."

According to Chris, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE has also been working on music for the follow-up to 2019's "Disguise" album. "But we're not really sure what to do right now," he admitted. "Do we do a record? Do we do singles? Do we hold off for a while? What do we do? That's kind of the scenario we're stuck in and still trying to figure out — what's next? We can do all these projects and all these different alternate versions of songs all we want, but at some point, there's gotta be another record. It's just when do we do that? Do we wait and see what happens with the pandemic? Do we do a record? Do we do a bunch of singles over the course of next year until there's more clarity in what's going on? What do we do? But in the meantime, we've just been writing, and shit's been really cool. I've personally done a bunch of heavy songs, which feels cool to be in touch with that again — like, really heavy songs. But, as I said before, the record will maintain its usual mix of heavy, experimental and whatnot."

Last week, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE released a brand-new standalone single, "Creatures X: To The Grave". The track arrived as the band prepared to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its acclaimed debut album, "Creatures", with a special "deadstream performance" on October 28, which saw the band performing the album in its entirety during the event.

Furthermore, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE has revealed a special 10th-anniversary reissue of "Creatures" — available on vinyl, cassette, and digital formats. The vinyl release features newly reimagined artwork, while the deluxe digital release includes three bonus tracks — "Dragula", "Creatures (Celldweller Beauty Remix)" and "Mallevs Maleficarvm (Tim Skold Remix)". The LP comes pressed on yellow, purple, and black-splattered vinyl, and is available on the band's official store alongside a limited edition run of 1,000 cassette copies.

Just last month, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE surprised fans with a cover of THE KILLERS' "Somebody Told Me" which is available on all streaming platforms with an official visualizer streaming on the band's YouTube channel. The cover followed the arrival of MOTIONLESS IN WHITE's "Another Life / Eternally Yours: Motion Picture Collection" EP, which was produced by Justin Deblieck and mixed by Steve Sopchak. For the EP, the acclaimed Scranton, Pennsylvania band reconstructed, reimagined, and reinvigorated two fan-favorite singles: "Another Life" and "Eternally Yours". Additionally, they included brand new cinematic instrumental tracks for both. For this big screen-worthy interpretation of "Another Life", they recruited dark pop Estonian artist Kerli to contribute an emotionally charged vocal. Over a bed of orchestral strings and sparse piano, frontman Chris Motionless locks into a haunting and hypnotic duet with her. The official music video offers a ghostly counterpoint and alternate view of the original as well.

Meanwhile, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE enlisted Australian vocalist Crystal Joilena to join this nocturnal take of "Eternally Yours". Classically inspired piano cuts through swells of strings as the vocals reach heavenly heights on a solemn promise. Punctuated by lasers and galactic vignettes, the accompanying visual complements the song’s otherworldly energy.

A highlight of the group’s latest album "Disguise", the original "Another Life" ascended to the Top 15 at Active Rock radio, becoming the band's highest-charting single to date. It has notably gathered 11.5 million views on the official music video.

KISS's New Year's Eve performance in Dubai, United Arab Emirates broke Guinness world records for highest flame projection in a music concert and for most flame projections launched simultaneously in a music concert.

"I can reveal that you achieved a grand total of 73," a Guinness representative told the band about the number of projections launched. "You are officially amazing." As for the height of the flame projections, the new benchmark is now "35 meters."

Landmarks Live Presents produced the $10 million spectacular, which was filmed with more than 50 4K cameras and 360-degree views and was held on a massive 250-foot stage at The Royal Beach at Atlantis. The show included "a million dollars' worth of pyro," according to frontman Paul Stanley.

KISS partnered with event company Tixr to beam the "Kiss 2020 Goodbye" show around the world.

Tickets to view the stream are currently on sale on the event's official web site.

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons told The Oakland Press about the band's decision to play the Dubai concert: "We get offers all the time, thank goodness, and we've been saying no to everybody because it's just not safe — for us, for the fans. With this, we happened to be in the right place at the right time, and it all make sense. The folks in Dubai, which is a fascinating place, suggested something crazy and said, 'You can do anything you want here, no restrictions.' And we said, 'Wait a minute. You mean we can put on the biggest pyro show of all time, since Krakatoa and the Big Bang? You mean we're gonna be safe going over there?' They said 'yeah,' so there you are."

Landmarks Live creator, director and executive producer Daniel E. Catullo told KhaleejTimes.com that this wasn't his first time collaborating with the rock legends.

"I worked with KISS back in 2005 and I wanted to have a crack at doing a bigger show with them," he said. "Somehow, I developed a reputation of producing challenging shows, whether doing one with Andrea Bocelli at Palazzo Vecchio, the FOO FIGHTERS at the Acropolis or pulling off the biggest show of the year in the middle of a pandemic. Hosting the KISS show in Dubai was a logical step. The United Arab Emirates is among the world leaders in mitigating the spread of COVID and continues to effectively manage the pandemic given the government’s extraordinary response measures. It [made] sense for us to bring Landmarks Live to the UAE."

Catullo went on to say that working with KISS has been "a dream come true" for him. "To be able to capture them in such an explosive and record-breaking way will certainly be a highlight of my career," he said. "Logistically, this was the largest undertaking I've ever done, and during a pandemic made it all the more challenging. Our crew is comprised of over 400 people, most of whom are based in Dubai. It has been a very complex show to put together: almost five months of planning, hundreds of working crew, coordination with the Dubai government, major coordination with the band; this show will go down in the record books. We're also filming a documentary on how we are pulling this show off. We're doing the biggest production in KISS's history.

"The most arduous task has been developing a safe COVID compliance protocol amid the pandemic to ensure no virus transmission among the crew. The crew will essentially create a bubble for the show setup, particularly the few staffers who will be in direct contact with KISS. American Hospital is conducting daily testing. We have to take beyond-extraordinary measures to keep people safe."








#KISS2020Goodbye broke the #GuinessWorldRecords for highest flame projection in a music concert and for most flame projections launched simultaneously in a music concert! Watch it at https://t.co/ttra65NC7P@ATLANTIS @LandmarksLive @visitdubai @Dubai_Calendar @emirates @AHDubai pic.twitter.com/6PNf9Ioceo

— KISS (@kiss) December 31, 2020

TESLA bassist Brian Wheat, who is promoting his just-released autobiography, "Son Of A Milkman: My Crazy Life With Tesla", spoke to OC Sound Radio about how the rise of grunge in the early 1990s forced most hard rock bands off the radio and MTV, with album and tour sales plummeting.

"When we put out 'Bust A Nut', which was '94, and all of a sudden people were telling us our career was over, it was pretty discouraging," Brian said (hear audio below). "Because we had thought we had made this great record, we thought we had made what was gonna be our breakthrough record, and it sold close to eight hundred thousand records, which is nothing to sniff at. But because it didn't do double platinum, like the one before it, and you had these new bands come out that everyone was going crazy over, including our record company, it was a bit discouraging for us, so we got kind of kicked to the curb, if you will. Our manager said to me point blank, 'It's over, dude. It's over for you' — my manager, Cliff Burnstein. I remember just thinking, 'Wow, how can he say that? That's not very encouraging.' It was so nonchalant: 'Well, your career is over now.' I'm thinking, what did we do wrong? What did we do? Why is it over? They loved us last year.

"So that was hard, and I think that contributed a lot to [TESLA's] breakup in 1995 and during that. It definitely fucked wih our psyches. And then, obviously, we had the problems with Tommy [Skeoch, then-TESLA guitarist] at that time, which we always had problems with Tommy, it seems like, but that's when they first started. And it fucked with our psyche, and eventually we broke up."

Asked if the sharp downturn in TESLA's critical and commercial fortunes contributed to his alcohol abuse, Wheat said: "The alcohol abuse was kind of always there. It got worse as it went on. But it certainly led to the drugs. So the last year the band was together [before the split], if you had asked the guys in the band, 'Does Brian do blow or does he smoke pot or any of that?', they'd say, 'No, he just likes to drink.' But that last 18 months, [after] it was basically laid out to me, 'Look, your career is over,' I started doing drugs. I remember, there's a story where I called the band's blow dealer and I go, 'Hey, can you bring me over an eight ball?' and he's, like, 'I've been told to stay away from you, that you don't do this stuff, and you're absolutely against it.' And I went, 'I'm telling you, man. I'm not against it. Bring over the eight ball, please.' So, I think I just got deflated. And then that started that kind of spiral effect of getting on that slippery slope and almost losing control of it all."

In June, the members of TESLA got together — virtually — to jam out a quarantined version of "Breakin' Free" as part of their online series "Home To Home".

The original recording of "Breakin' Free" appeared on TESLA's 2008 album "Forever More".

"Son Of A Milkman: My Crazy Life With Tesla" arrived on December 15 via Post Hill Press. In this 304-page hardcover book, Wheat lifts the lid on living the rock 'n' roll life while struggling with anxiety, depression and other issues seldom discussed by musicians.

"Son Of A Milkman" features a foreword by DEF LEPPARD vocalist Joe Elliott, and was co-written with award-winning journalist and author Chris Epting, whose titles include "Adrenalized" (co-written with DEF LEPPARD's Phil Collen) and "Change Of Seasons" (co-written with John Oates).

Wheat co-founded TESLA, which became one of the biggest bands of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Brian owns a recording studio by the name of J Street Recorders in Sacramento, California. PAPA ROACH, TESLA, PAT TRAVERS, DEFTONES, KODIAK JACK, FLASHFIRES and many others have recorded there.

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

SEVENDUST frontman Lajon Witherspoon has released his new solo single, a cover of British singer Jacob Banks's 2017 song "Chainsmoking". You can now listen to it below.

This past September, Lajon told Talking Metal about his long-in-the-works debut solo album: "The solo thing for me has been fun. I've not had any pressure. It hasn't been something that, 'Oh, I have to do this.' This is something I've done on my own.

"I've been working with a very close friend of mine, Sahaj [Daniel Ticotin], [who] is the lead singer from the band RA, which I think a lot of people out there would know," he continued. "[He's] an incredible friend and artist, and we write well together."

Asked about the musical direction of his solo material, Lajon said: "You can be on the avenue and hang out with my solo stuff. It's rock. It's a little bit of heavy, but I think it lends more towards a bluesy, soulful, more radio friendly… I'm not saying SEVENDUST isn't radio friendly, but I think this is more of a radio friendly… I don't know. It's a lot, a lot, a lot of melody. It's cool."

Witherspoon released the standalone solo single "Love Song" in 2017.

SEVENDUST's 13th studio album, "Blood & Stone", was released in October via Rise Records. The follow-up to 2018's "All I See Is War" was once again tracked at Studio Barbarosa in Gotha, Florida with producer Michael "Elvis" Baskette, who has previously worked with ALTER BRIDGE and SLASH, among others.

In the latest issue of Classic Rock magazine, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich promised the follow-up to 2016's "Hardwired...To Self Destruct" will be the best album he and his bandmates have ever made.

"It's the heaviest thing, the coolest," Ulrich said. "But all kidding aside, if it wasn't because we thought that the best record was still ahead of us, then why keep doing it?

"In METALLICA, we love the creative process, and it’s hard for me to imagine that we'll ever stop making records."

Last month, Ulrich said in an interview with Rolling Stone that METALLICA was nearly a month into "some pretty serious writing" sessions for its next studio album. A couple of weeks earlier, Lars told Kara Swisher at the CNBC Evolve Summit that he and his METALLICA bandmates have been working on new music for "the last six [to] eight weeks virtually." But he admitted that they have encountered a myriad of technical issues which have slowed their progress.

"Being a rock and roll band and working virtually is not super easy," Lars said. "Time delays, all these things make it really hard. The main thing we miss is being able to hear each other. [Laughs] So if we're all four in a room together, we can connect with each other and we can hear each other. If I'm playing here in San Francisco, and Kirk [Hammett] and James [Hetfield], our two guitar players, are either in O'ahu or Colorado, there are significant time delays. It's very hard for us to play at the same time. If I'm doing what we call steering, which means that I'm playing a beat and they're playing to me, I can't hear what they're playing, and vice versa. We can't all hear each other in a universal fashion. So there are some significant complications we have. Our recording team and our production team are speaking to software makers all over the world [about] how to crack the code on this. Nobody has quite figured it out yet."

In early May, the four members of METALLICA overcame social distancing to record a new version of their song "Blackened", with each member separated in his own home. The split-screen video was posted to the band's social media channels. That same month, Ulrich told Swedish talk show host Fredrik Skavlan that he and his bandmates were "sending ideas to each other via e-mail and via Zoom and [trying to] make music in these unusual situations."

In August, METALLICA broadcast a show to hundreds of drive-in and outdoor theaters across the U.S. and Canada, as part of the "Encore Drive-In Nights" series. The concert was filmed nearly three weeks earlier, on August 10, at the Gundlach Bundschu winery, about a 30-minute car ride from the band's headquarters in San Rafael, California, and was subsequently edited and mixed by the band's award-winning production team to the highest standards possible.

METALLICA's "Live & Acoustic From HQ: Helping Hands Concert & Auction" was streamed live from the band's headquarters on November 14. The special acoustic show benefited METALLICA's All Within My Hands foundat

Japanese pop-metal band BABYMETAL will play 10 shows at Tokyo's famed Nippon Budokan venue next year as part of the group's 10th-anniversary celebration. The shows, which will mark the final chapter of the "Metal Resistance" era, will kick off with two dates in January (19 and 20) and four concerts in February (16, 17, 19 and 20) before continuing later in the year.

BABYMETAL previously played Budokan twice in early 2014 ("Red Night" and "Black Night"), becoming the youngest female artists ever to perform at the legendary indoor arena.

BABYMETAL's Moametal told Billboard about the upcoming concerts: "I consider the Budokan shows as the period we properly display everything we've gained in our journey over the past 10 years, and our gratitude to everyone who encountered us along the way."

BABYMETAL recently released a greatest-hits album titled "10 Babymetal Years". Ten songs are featured on ten special editions of the LP, including a Regular Edition released on CD and vinyl; First Press Limited Edition A, containing a Blu-ray with all 16 of BABYMETAL's music videos on it; First Press Limited Edition B, which comes in a special vinyl-size CD cover containing ten newly taken photos of Su-metal and Moametal; and First Press Limited Edition C, which includes a Blu-ray featuring 10 Legend Movies, a special video of ten songs chosen by fans in the 10 Legend Songs Tournament. Members of the BABYMETAL fan club, The One, can also purchase The One Edition A, which includes a karuta battle set (Japanese playing cards); and The One Edition B, which comes with the "Chronicle Set", featuring a video containing interviews with the bandmembers. Also being made available are the Su-metal Edition, Moametal Edition, and Kobametal Edition, each of which comes with all three different Prophet Cards included in all the other editions mentioned and each with unique serial codes. These three bandmember editions also contain ten songs chosen respectively by each member of their personal favorite tracks the band has released. A special X Edition will arrive at a later date and will come with a mystery item that "Only The Fox God Knows", which will serve as the final piece of the puzzle to "10 Babymetal Years".

A book about the first ten years of BABYMETAL, "Bessatsu Kadokawa Souryoku Tokushuu", was released in Japan in October. It contains a long interview with Su-metal and Moametal as well as never-before-heard stories from band producer Kobametal from BABYMETAL's decade-long history, photos taken from live shows, a discussion between Demon Kakka and Kobametal, and much more.

BABYMETAL's third studio album, "Metal Galaxy", was released in October 2019 via earMUSIC/Edel. The follow-up to 2016's "Metal Resistance" is based on the concept of "The Odyssey Of Metal Galaxy".

"Metal Galaxy" hit No. 19 in the U.K. official album chart, No. 1 No. 1 on Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart, becoming the first Asian act to land at No. 1, and No. 18 on the German chart.

In the U.S., "Metal Galaxy" earned 28,000 equivalent album units (of which 27,000 were in album sales) in its first week of release. The album also topped the Hard Rock Albums chart.

"Metal Galaxy" entered the all-format Billboard 200 chart at No. 13. The group's previous disc, 2016's "Metal Resistance", peaked at No. 39.

"Metal Galaxy" contains 14 songs, including four singles that were released prior to the LP's arrival: "Pa Pa Ya!!", "Starlight", "Distortion" and "Elevator Girl". The album expresses light and darkness, emotions like duality and ambivalence, and "new metal" created by various chemical reactions as other entities evolved and expanded in this album.

The album includes five songs that feature guest appearances from worldwide musicians who were perfect to the character of each song. Vocalist Joakim Brodén from SABATON is featured on "Oh! Majinai". Guitarist Tim Henson and Scott LePage from POLYPHIA are featured on "Brand New Day". Vocalist Alissa White-Gluz from ARCH ENEMY is featured on "Distortion". Rapper F.Hero is featured in "Pa Pa Ya!!"

In 2018, BABYMETAL announced the departure of Yuimetal, who was formerly one of the members of the Japanese group's core trio. She exited the band, explaining in a statement that she would go on to pursue a solo career as Mizuno Yu.




#NHK紅白 で「イジメ、ダメ、ゼッタイ」を披露しました?

復習は、ぜひ21年開催 #BABYMETAL 武道館10公演にて?

『10 BABYMETAL BUDOKAN』DOOMSDAY ‒ I～VI

オフィシャル先行受付中（2021年1月3日23:59まで）?https://t.co/nh6LfI2iSs#BABYMETAL #BABYMETAL_BUDOKAN pic.twitter.com/XW2CrBrKuR

— BABYMETAL (@BABYMETAL_JAPAN) December 31, 2020

EDGUY and AVANTASIA frontman Tobias Sammet has lamented the devastating impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on the music industry, with canceled concerts, tours and music festivals, all leaving hundreds of thousands of crew members out of work.

In his end-of-year message on social media, Tobias wrote: "Friends, here's to a better 2021! May you be healthy and happy.

"2020 was difficult, for my job, for our whole industry, for many people's personal economic and mental situations, but probably even more devastating for those who lost loved ones or had to fight hard for their health.

"It's been a dark year but even though there is shadow in this world, where there's a shadow there is light. I know many people who have supported each others, who silently put their own needs or beliefs second in order to prevent further damage, no matter how heavy a wind would blow into their faces doing so.

"Whatever your conviction and belief is, as long as respect and love prevails, hope is going to prevail.

"Who knows what the future holds? I have no clue, but I have hope. We are many! Shine your lights into the darkness... and if the storm descends upon you, so be it! Light prevails!

"Love and health to all of you, you may keep distancing but don't let your hearts keep a distance!

"A coffee-cheers from the studio and whatever 2021 brings, it will for sure bring the best AVANTASIA album of the year!"

This past March, Sammet revealed that he was working on a new album from his AVANTASIA project. The disc will be the follow-up to "Moonglow", which came out last year. In addition, the German singer and songwriter said that his long-running band EDGUY was "on hiatus."

"Moonglow" was released in February 2019 via Nuclear Blast. The album debuted at No. 1 in Germany and also cracked the Top 10 in Sweden, Switzerland, Austria and Spain.

"Moonglow" featured guest apppearances by Geoff Tate (QUEENSRŸCHE), Ronnie Atkins (PRETTY MAIDS), Jørn Lande (MASTERPLAN), Eric Martin (MR. BIG), Michael Kiske (HELLOWEEN), Bob Catley (MAGNUM), Candice Night (BLACKMORE'S NIGHT), Hansi Kürsch (BLIND GUARDIAN) and Mille Petrozza (KREATOR).


Friends,

here's to a better 2021! May you be healthy and happy. 2020 was difficult, for my job, for our whole industry,...

Posted by Avantasia on Thursday, December 31, 2020

GUNS N' ROSES has released video footage of the band's October 2019 performance at the Exit 111 festival in Manchester, Tennessee. The 32-minute clip is part of the GN'R web series dubbed "Not In This Lifetime Selects" featuring highlights from the four-year "Not In This Lifetime" tour.

Featured songs:

01. Live And Let Die (WINGS cover)

02. Shadow Of Your Love

03. Black Hole Sun (SOUNDGARDEN cover)

04. Knockin' On Heaven's Door (BOB DYLAN cover)

05. Paradise City

In a recent interview with Guitar Player's "No Guitar Is Safe" podcast, Slash spoke about what it felt like for him to step back out on stage with GUNS N' ROSES for the first time in over two decades at the band's April 2016 concert at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, California.

"That was our first gig back," the guitarist said. "I think probably the last time that we ever played there was in 1985. I don't think we even played there in 1986. Probably '85 was the last time we played there. "[The April 2016 concert was] our first show together after 20 years. We obviously had more gear and more crew than we did back in the day, I'll tell you that much. And it was loud. But it was a lot of fun. It was an almost poignant moment to fucking stand there and look at that crowd in that sort of room and have that kind of nostalgic feeling."

Last year, Slash told Guitar.com that his first concert back with GUNS N' ROSES was an "overwhelming" experience. "It was so cool," he said. "Because it was a long time — we're talking more than 20 years from the last show in 1994… it was 22 years since the last time we'd played together. And obviously I'd played with [bassist] Duff [McKagan] [since then] but there's a certain dynamic in the three of us together. It was awesome, and it's a really great experience."

In July, GUNS N' ROSES announced the rescheduled dates for its North American stadium tour.

GUNS N' ROSES' "Not In This Lifetime" tour recently became the No. 3 highest-grossing tour in the history of Billboard Boxscore.

"Not in This Lifetime" featured classic-lineup members Slash, McKagan and singer Axl Rose backed by guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer, keyboardist Dizzy Reed and second keyboardist Melissa Reese.

GUNS kicked off its long-rumored and long-awaited reunion tour with the aforementioned club show in Hollywood and appearances in Las Vegas and at California's Coachella festival.

The band 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 Rose, Slash and McKagan since 1993.

Photo credit: Katarina Benzova

The legendary Danish studio where JUDAS PRIEST recorded parts of its "Ram It Down" album has been destroyed in a fire (see photos from Pressefotos.dk below).

According to Foreigner.fi, the Puk Recording Studios complex, located in Gjerlev, north of the city of Randers, in western Denmark, burned down early Monday (December 28). It was not known what caused the fire, and there were no reports of any people being injured.

Puk was established in a converted farmhouse in 1978 by John "Puk" Quist, and at one point was considered one of the most technologically advanced studios in the world.

Other artists who recorded their albums at Puk include Elton John ("Sleeping With The Past"), George Michael ("Faith"), DEPECHE MODE ("Violator" and "Music For The Masses"), Gary Moore and THE KINKS. The last LP recorded at Puk was MESHUGGAH's "The Violent Sleep Of Reason", which came out in 2016.

According to Discogs.com, Quist sold the studio in 1992, and in 1994, a separate mastering studio was added and branded as Puk Digital Mastering. Peter Iversen bought the studio in 1999 and remained the owner until Puk's ultimate closure in 2016. Iversen moved all the studio equipment elsewhere and sold the complex to a windmill company.


Det legendariske Puk Studio ved Kærby nord for Randers er brændt ned natten til i dag, 28. december 2020.

Hele det...

Posted by Pressefotos.dk on Monday, December 28, 2020

DISTURBED frontman David Draiman spoke to "That Jamieson Show" over the summer about how he has been dealing with the coronavirus crisis. In the interview, which has just been uploaded to YouTube, the singer offered his prediction on what the concert industry will look like post-pandemic, saying: "I'm confident as hell that once there is a vaccine of some sort that people will come out in droves; I think people are starving for live experiences and gatherings like never before. But here's the harsh reality of it: my wife and I, we have friends of ours that they lost their entire family in a week — seven people; all died. And if you go ahead and you buy in to the whole 'it has something to do with genetics and blood type,' well, then it makes a whole lot of sense. This poor girl lost all seven members of her family in a week — they all dropped dead from the virus. Not complications from the virus — from the virus. So it's a very real thing."

Draiman, who resides in Hawaii with his wife and their son, also touched upon how protests against police violence and racial injustice, as well as other mass demonstrations, could play a role in the spread of the virus.

"Whether it's protesting peacefully, or real protesting, or whether it's gathering for a rally or any other reason, these public gatherings, if they're not dealt with in the right way — and even if they are dealt with in the right way — you get a whole bunch of people together, socially distanced from one another, screaming their lungs out, maskless or not, enough of that particular matter is gonna get in the air and you're gonna fucking catch something; it's gonna happen," he said.

"If everything the scientists are telling us is true, people just need to calm the fuck down on every level when it comes to this right now. Just chill — chill the protests, chill the gatherings. Until we figure out how to really best deal with this thing, and until people that we love stop dying for unnecessary reasons, there's no other way around it."

Draiman went on to imply that he understands why some people hold the view that any cure involving a loss of economic momentum is worse than the disease itself.

"There's a very delicate balance between how much do you accept of death from the disease before it ends up becoming death from depression and suicides and loss of revenue and loss of businesses and all the things that go along with the other side of this," he said. "It's like the perfect storm of shit. There's no good answer to any of this. That's the saddest part."

This past June, Draiman told Download Festival TV that he has spent some of his downtime during the coronavirus pandemic "having conversations with the other guys in DISTURBED about getting some new material going, and we've got some stuff in its infancy. One song, definitely, that's killer in our back pocket; we just haven't tracked it," he said. "And we've got a few more song ideas, [but] nothing that's been hashed out enough."

Draiman went on to say that making music over the Internet has presented its own set of problems, especially since most of DISTURBED's last couple of albums were composed with the core members in a room together bouncing ideas off each other.

"We kind of need to get back into the rhythm of being able to do stuff like this in Zoom format or online as opposed to in person," he said. "At least it's some kind of real-time connection so that you can be creating together improvisationally to an extent, but there's still issues with audio — it's not as clear as you want it sometimes, there's too much compression and you lose level; it's a challenge — and the vibe isn't there. There's nothing that replaces you being in front of your co-songwriter and being able to feed off each other's energy and create in person."

In September, DISTURBED released a cover version of Sting's 1993 single "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You".

Back in May, DISTURBED's "The Sickness 20th Anniversary Tour" was postponed until summer 2021 due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Reunited San Francisco Bay Area thrashers VIO-LENCE will enter Trident Studios in Pacheco, California on January 18 to begin recording their new EP, tentatively due in late summer via Metal Blade Records. Helming the sessions will be producer Juan Urteaga, who has previously worked with TESTAMENT, MACHINE HEAD and EXODUS, among many others.

Singer Sean Killian previously described VIO-LENCE's new material as "a cross between 'Eternal [Nightmare]' [1988], 'Oppressing [The Masses]' [1990] and also our '93 demo. It's fast, it's heavy. We've got a couple of good chunk riffs and stuff like that," he explained. "We wanna get stuff in that's gonna start a pit up too. But we think people are gonna go crazy when they hear it. We've got some heavy lyrics, some heavy subjects. I mean, we're not a political band by any means, so when I say 'heavy,' it's just heavy shit that comes out of my demented head."

Back in May, guitarist Phil Demmel told EXODUS frontman Steve "Zetro" Souza's YouTube channel, Zetro's Toxic Vault, that VIO-LENCE was taking its time coming up with the best material possible. "When [the songs are] ready, they're ready," he said. "This [coronavirus pandemic] has given us more time. But still, it's gotta be fucking killer. I had a riff that the [other] dudes were kind of digging, and I'm all, 'I don't got a boner with this one.' I want a 10-foot boner with everything that we're doing now. It's gotta be better, it's gotta be fucking kick-ass… I don't wanna put out some crap."

This past August, VIO-LENCE released a new digital single, "California Über Alles", a cover version of the DEAD KENNEDYS classic. The band also filmed a music video for the song with director Scott Kirkeeng.

In January, VIO-LENCE parted ways with guitarist Ray Vegas and replaced him with Bobby Gustafson (ex-OVERKILL). The band's current lineup also includes drummer Perry Strickland and bassist Christian Olde Wolbers (ex-FEAR FACTORY).

VIO-LENCE released three studio albums between 1988 and 1993. The group reunited soon after Demmel left MACHINE HEAD in late 2018.

VIO-LENCE performed its first comeback concert in April 2019 at the Oakland Metro in Oakland, California and spent the last year playing select shows in the U.S. and Europe.

Although MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn was part of VIO-LENCE's classic incarnation and played on the band's debut album, "Eternal Nightmare", he wasn't approached about taking part in any of the comeback shows.

Killian underwent a successful liver transplant surgery in March 2018. The year before, Killian was diagnosed with stage four liver cirrhosis, which was caused in part by a genetic condition called hemochromatosis.

Photo credit: James Willard
























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"Rock Camp: The Movie" from filmmaker Doug Blush will be released in January.

Summer camp meets "Spinal Tap" as we journey to Rock' N' Roll Fantasy Camp, where dreamers from across America and around the world gather to shred with their heroes — and learn to rock like the legends.

Rock Camp is an institution and cultural phenomenon that has been going on in Los Angeles, New York, and other cities since 1996. Rock Camp is the brainchild of music producer David Fishof. It boasts a jaw-dropping array of rock star "counselors" that include Roger Daltrey, Alice Cooper, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, Nancy Wilson, Joe Perry, Jeff Beck, Slash, and countless other rock legends.

Directed and produced by Blush, co-directed and edited by Renee Barron, and produced by Jeff Rowe, "Rock Camp: The Movie" takes us back more than four decades to the beginnings Fishof's career as a sports agency and eventually an entertainment executive and music producer. Fishof founded Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp, which has been making dream comes true for more than 25 years. The camp brings together musicians from all walks of life for an unforgettable experience with legendary rock stars. These musicians teach, inspire, and jam with the campers over four days., concluding with a live performance at a famed venue.

The experience takes music lovers from spectator to the stage, sharing the limelight with their musical heroes. "Rock Camp: The Movie" follows four campers (and their families) through their journeys to shred with their heroes and see how they overcome their fears and transform their lives.

Blush is an award-winning director, producer, editor, and cinematographer. His credits include, as editor, the Oscar- and ACE Eddie Award-winning "20 Feet From Stardom" (2013), as executive producer, the Oscar-winning "Period. End Of Sentence." (2018) and, as consulting producer and editor, the Oscar-winning "Icarus" (2017).

Theatrical Bookings – Virtual Cinema Release

Opens Friday, January 15, 2021

Bedford, NY - Bedford Playhouse

Bellingham, WA - Pickford Film Center

Bethlehem, NH - Colonial Theater

Billings, MT - Art House Billings

Buffalo, NY - North Park

Chicago, IL - Music Box Theater

Cleveland, OH - Cleveland Cinemtheque

Cleveland, OH - Cedar Lee Cinemas

Columbus, OH - Gateway Film Center

Concord, NH - Red River

Dallas, TX - Angelika Anywhere

Dayton, OH - Neon Theater

Detroit, MI - Cinema Detroit

Florence, OR - City Lights Cinemas

Honolulu, HI - Angelika Anywhere

Lake Forest, IL - Gorton community Center

Lakeland, FL - Polk theater

Larkspur, CA - Lark Theater

Los Angeles, CA - Laemmle Theaters

Miami, FL - O-Cinema

Montclair, NJ - Montclair Film

New York, NY - Angelika Anywhere

Newburgh, NY - Downing Film Center

Newport, RI - Jane Pickens

Orlando, FL - Enzian Theater

Oxford, MS - Oxford Film Festival

Pelham, NY - Picturehouse

Phoenix, AZ - Film Bar

Sacramento, CA - Angelika Anywhere

San Diego, CA - Angelika Anywhere

San Francisco, CA - Balboa

San Francisco, CA - Vogue Theater

Sarasota, Fl - Burns Court Cinema

Seattle, WA - SIFF Cinema

Tucson, AZ - Loft Cinema

Vancouver, WA - Vancity Cinema

Washington DC - Angelika Anywhere

Opens Friday, January 22, 2021

Chicago, IL - Gene Siskel Film Center

Denver, CO - Sie Film Center

Phoenix, AZ - Cinema Society

Salina, KS - Salina Art Center

San Diego, CA - Cinema Society

The countdown begins! Sign up now at LeppardVault.com to unlock the Def Leppard Vault on January 13. Check out the following preview:

The Def Leppard Vault is the first ever collection of the band's artifacts and related stories, curated from and told by Joe, Sav, Rick, Phil and Viv. The Def Leppard Vault will serve as a constantly curated museum, including special installations where fans can gather to see the band’s history from 1977 to now.

Below is the initial trailer for The Def Leppard Vault: