During an appearance on MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn's "No Fuckin' Regrets With Robb Flynn" podcast, MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson recounted the experience of listening to METALLICA's debut album, "Kill 'Em All", for the first time with Dave Mustaine, MEGADETH frontman and former METALLICA member, a mere three months after Mustaine was ejected from METALLICA.

"[The record] got sent out to us [by mail]," Ellefson recalled. "I remember [MEGADETH's then-guitarist] Greg [Handevidt] — he remembers in detail sitting there for like an hour of silence, or 38 minutes of silence, opening the box, looking at the record, opening the shrink wrap and putting it on the turntable. It was obviously a weird moment, 'cause me and Greg are there going, 'Oh my God. This is the moment.' It's like that moment you probably see your ex with somebody else. The pictures are there, and we were sitting there listening to it. [Dave was] listening to it, just staring at the speakers in complete silence, studying the songs. And I remember me and Greg sitting around him, just kind of nervously going, 'Oh my God. What's the reaction gonna be to this?' And I remember one of the first things he said, he goes, 'He fucking ripped off my solos.' That was Dave's first reaction — that Kirk [Hammett] had played his solos. They're not entirely the same, but to some degree."

He continued: "I remember that was a very personal thing to Dave — the solos. At that point, those [METALLICA] songs at least were well known in the [San Francisco] Bay Area, and people knew of those songs, and that ['No Life 'Til Leather'] demo had been traded around, so people knew. Dave definitely put the stamp and the die had been cast on that demo, the 'No Life 'Til Leather' demo. And you know how Dave plays — what he plays he plays night after night after night. It's a written part of the song. It's not some ad-libby, groovy jam solo. What's been recorded, that's there forever — that's exactly the way it's played night after night. So to Dave, the solo was as much a part of the composition — it wasn't a blues jam. And then, obviously, seeing the way the credits were on the record — songs Dave had written and brought it, and now the credits were divided up. So probably a lot like a divorce. He was pissed. And that was that moment that I think was, like, 'Oh, God. Here's the reality of it.' And, of course, for me, I'm, like, 'What's the big deal? We've got our own band. We're doing our own thing.' But at the same time, we had to be respectful. Obviously, this was Dave coming out of this big group that we had not heard of yet, METALLICA."

Hammett addressed the fact that he copied parts of Mustaine's original "No Life 'Til Leather" solos in a 2009 interview with Music Radar. He said: "I had a week to learn the songs [after being asked to join METALLICA]. At the end of that week, I flew out and I had a week to rehearse with them, and then we started playing shows. Every show just kept on getting better. When it came time to go into the studio, Johnny Z, our manager, said, 'You know you have to play Dave's solos.' I said I didn't really want to. 'Then why don't you take the opening to every solo, so that people think that they're Dave's solos and then you can go somewhere else with them?' he said.

"As a 20-year-old kid, put in a position like that, you don't want to rock the boat too much, especially being the new kid in town — the fresh guy," Hammett explained. "So I said, 'Sure.' That's exactly what I did. I took the first four bars of most of the solos and changed them. When I changed them, it was always for the better, and everyone liked it."

Mustaine did not play on any METALLICA albums and did not attend their induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2009.

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich later explained to The Plain Dealer that Mustaine was not included because "you've got to kind of cap it somewhere. Dave Mustaine never played on any METALLICA records. No disrespect to him. But there [were] half a dozen other people that were in the lineup in the early days. We thought . . . the fair thing to do would be to include anybody that played on a METALLICA record." He added: "Dave Mustaine was in the band for 11 months, predominantly in 1982... I'm not trying to play it down. I have nothing but respect and admiration for his accomplishments since."

Mustaine told Lydverket that he never had any intention of attending METALLICA's Rock Hall induction if he wasn't going to be honored along with his former bandmates.

"I think someone would have to be a complete fool to think I was gonna go there and sit in the audience and watch them be inducted into the Hall Of Fame," he said. "It was nice that Lars that invited me, but any of the public that thinks I was gonna go... But what are you — stupid?! I'm proud of them, I wish them well, but what do I have to do?! That's masochism."

In a 2009 interview with Norway's Lydverket, Mustaine said that he was "so hurt" by getting kicked out of METALLICA for allegedly drinking too much. "I said, 'What?! No second chance, no warning? C'mon, we all drink. C'mon.'" he recalled. "And [they were like], 'No, that's it. You're gone.' And I was like, 'All right.'"

Mustaine also went on to claim that an altercation with METALLICA frontman James Hetfield led to his being fired from the band.

"I was selling pot," Dave said. "When I would go play in concert, people knew that my pot was sitting in my apartment just saying, 'Go ahead and keep me company.' So I was broken in on. People stole everything that I had; all my stash. And I figured, screw this. I'm gonna get some dogs to stay in the apartment when I leave. So I got two dogs and I took one of them up to a rehearsal one time and she put her paws up on Ron's [McGovney, METALLICA's then-bassist] car. And James kicked it right in the side. And I was like, 'What did you do?' [And I was like] 'It's a dog, it's what they do. You don't kick animals.' So we went into the house, and we started arguing some more. And I ended up punching him in the face and I think that was the root of why I lost my job."

In a 2009 interview with the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas radio station 97.1 The Eagle Rocks, Hetfield said that it was "so odd" to hear Mustaine still talking about his exit from METALLICA. "It is very Dave, and that's him," James said. "And no matter what band he was in or whatever... I mean, Dave is not in this band for a reason, and this is the reason. It's super-simple. He was in the band for 11 months and it goes on and on and on and on and on. I don't know any other band on this planet that there was a member in the band for a short amount of time and they've still got this big chip on his shoulder. It's insane.... You know what?! He's in love, and that's fine, 'cause we love him back."

Back in 2016, Hammett told the "Word Of Wheeler" podcast that he understood Dave's continued resentment toward his former bandmates over the way he was dismissed from the group. "I've always seen Dave as someone who was just really, really sad, really angry, really frustrated about his situation with METALLICA, and he never could let that go," he said. "And, you know, I've always shown a lot of empathy for him, understanding that he was just pissed off. It's the equivalent of the woman of your life leaving you. I mean, really. When your band kicks you out… I've never been kicked out, but I can imagine it's a horrible experience, especially if it's a band that you feel really passionately about. So I can understand Dave's plight over all these years. But I will also say that when we did these 30th-anniversary shows at the Fillmore [in San Francisco], and we invited Dave to play on all those 'Kill 'Em All' songs, man, it felt so good to have him playing on stage. It felt perfectly fine for me to, while Dave was playing the guitar solos, for me to go over to James and play the rhythm parts with James, and it wasn't a big deal at all. And I could see from the look on Dave's face and just from his whole attitude that it was super-cathartic for him. And I could see how it was helping him. And so I just took it all in stride. And it's interesting, because since then, I think, Dave's relationship with us is a little bit better now. I'd like to think that that whole thing just kind of healed some scars that needed to be healed."

After Hammett's comments about Mustaine were reported by BLABBERMOUTH.NET and other music sites, Dave took to his Twitter to respond. He wrote: "I have tremendous respect for @KirkHammett and I appreciate his take on this. he is almost 100% accurate...almost. I wish him the best."

In a September 2011 interview with Artisan News, Mustaine appeared to concur that his onstage reunion with METALLICA went a long way toward healing the wounds from the way his tenure in the band ended. Dave said: "When we [played a cover of DIAMOND HEAD's] 'Helpless' [as part of a 'Big Four' jam] one night, I walked over to say hello to Kirk on the stage and he said, 'Do you wanna take the solo?" and I said, 'Yeah.' [Laughs] But we forgot to tell anybody on the stage or [running] the sound out front that I was gonna do the solo, so the song's playing along and Kirk's playing rhythm full blast, and I'm sitting there going you can't hear what I'm doing. At least we knew what had happened. It was kind of a symbolic passing of the torch back to me and it was a nice gesture. I think that that helped Kirk and my relationship improve a bit."

In a September 2004 interview, Mustaine famously stated, "I really don't care about Kirk — he stole my job, but at least I got to bang his girlfriend before he took my job. How do I taste, Kirk?"

During an appearance on the latest episode of Music Is Win's "Guitar Villains" podcast, DRAGONFORCE's Herman Li was asked for his opinion on the criticism that guitarists who play a lot of notes don't have any feel or emotion in their music. He responded (see video below): "This is the same thing I've heard [for] years and years and years. Once upon a time — this is when I first started playing the guitar and I discovered Jason Becker; this is back in '92 or '93 — I went to my music teacher and I said, 'Listen to this guy.' I played him [the song] 'Altitudes' from [the] 'Perpetual Burn' [album]. And my music teacher listened to it and said, 'This is terrible. This guy can't play. There's no music there. It's just masturbation. It's terrible. You shouldn't listen to this kind of stuff.'

"Some people just don't have the ear for certain type of things," Herman continued. "That's why there's music for everybody."

Li went on to say that he likes playing fast because he finds it exciting. "It's fun for me at the same time," he said. "And that's it. Some people like it; some people don't like it. And me myself, I listen to all kinds of music. So it's all okay with me. But I don't think you have to have listened to music for years to like that kind of music.

"The first time I heard a guitar solo, which was Richie Sambora on a BON JOVI song, I thought, 'Man, I love this sound. What is it?'" Herman recalled. "And some people are just never gonna like guitar lead solos, and things like that. And you can see the trend how it went — there was nu metal, there was metalcore, and everyone was, like, 'Oh, we don't play guitar solos. We're songwriters now.'"

Li admitted that he was "pretty disappointed" when so many people were "talking shit" about him and his band shortly after they first arrived on the metal scene. "[They were saying] how terrible I am as a guitar player, 'DRAGONFORCE is terrible,' the solos, this and that," he said. "And they were saying, 'Oh, well, Steve Vai is kicking his ass — Steve Vai and [Joe] Satriani.' I was thinking, 'If you met me in a bar, I would be your best friend.' Because I hung out with so many people, talking about guitars. I was the guy lining up for [the] 'G3' [tour] three nights in a row; I love that kind of music. But when you became something like in a band, people have this thing against me. It's, like, well, sorry, if I was [just] a normal guy, you'd have no problem with me."

He added: "But I can also understand part of this, because when I play on stage, I do have this different kind of persona, and people think I'm really up my ass — I think I'm so badass. But it's, like, I'm sorry. I'm playing a show. I'm trying to provide some entertainment. You prefer me just staring at my feet and just not doing anything, or you want me to do crazy stuff and have fun with the guitar."

Li recently told Nuclear Blast's "Saturday Night Lockdown" that he and his bandmates have stayed creative during the coronavirus downtime, with the songwriting process for DRAGONFORCE's next album "almost finished."

DRAGONFORCE's early 2020 European and North American tour dates marked its first with new bassist and backing vocalist Alicia Vigil (VIGIL OF WAR), who joined the band in January. In August 2019, DRAGONFORCE parted ways with longtime bassist Frédéric Leclercq. Playing bass for the group at some its shows late last year was Damien Rainaud, who produced DRAGONFORCE's latest album, "Extreme Power Metal".

TV icon David Hasselhoff recently collaborated with the two-man metal project CUESTACK on a song called "Through The Night". The track is now available digitally on Spotify, Amazon Music, iTunes Music and Apple Music.

Speaking about how the song came about, Hasselhoff told Consequence Of Sound: "The truth is I did it because it was in front of me and because it was fun. And because [CUESTACK member and VFX designer] Martin [Kames] had done such an amazing job on my last two concerts — he did all the backdrops, and it just blew me away. And [CUESTACK's] Bernth [Brodträger], the guitar player, also blew me away. And so they sent me this track.

"I had found out through a record label that I have a heavy metal following, and I started to laugh. And I looked out in the audience [at one of my shows] and I saw some heavy metal guys and I went, 'Wow.' And I did a song called 'True Survivor' for 'Kung Fury'. I did [a cover of David Bowie's] 'Heroes' with Tyler Bates and it was really cool and it was really hard rock.

"I'm a major fan of METALLICA. I'm a fan of IRON MAIDEN, and I followed IRON MAIDEN at a concert called Nova Rock [in 2014]. You can look it up. And I said, 'I'm following IRON MAIDEN — my stuff is, like, cheesy pop!' It was about 130,000 people. And I thought 100,000 would leave and we'd have still have 30,000. Nobody left. Everybody came to watch me. It was amazing. And even IRON MAIDEN hung out to watch my set.

"Everyone's got a childhood and everyone grows up and they still sing the songs that they remember as a child. My songs may not be the greatest songs in the world, but they were great when you were eight to 18, and they remember the songs.

"And so I did this as a tip of my hat to heavy metal, 'cause I do listen to heavy metal. I do like hard rock. I did an album [last year] called 'Open Your Eyes', which was an album of cover songs from the '80s — from the JESUS AND MARY CHAIN, ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN, 'Lips Like Sugar'. And I went, 'Wow, these are great songs.' And [the song] 'Open Your Eyes' by THE LORDS OF NEW CHURCH has really incredible lyrics that are so pertinent for today: 'Open your eyes to the lies right in front of you.' And I did that because it was pertinent to today.

"And the same thing happened with 'Through the Night'. I ended up working with Bernth on the lyrics, and saying, 'These lyrics mean nothing to me.' I needed to say something, like 'You'll Never Walk Alone', one of the greatest songs: 'Walk on through the wind/ Walk on through the rain/ Though your dreams be tossed and blown/ Walk on, walk on.' And that's kind of what I've lived by a long time. The first book that I read was — and he became a fan and a friend — 'Yes I Can' by Sammy Davis Jr. And that really affected me. So I kind of took that motto and that mantra into my life. And I've been made fun of, and pretty much, David Hasselhoff going into heavy metal, it's easy to write something negative.

"But all I did was a song for a friend that I loved, and I think it turned out great. I'm happy with the song and we'll see what happens. If we sell 10 copies, we sell 10 copies. If we sell 10,000 or 100,000, we sell them. But I know that I'll probably end up doing 'Though the Night' in concert, and people will respond probably in a positive way. I've yet to do an American tour, but I've toured all over Europe, and people know my music. It's really strange. And in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, obviously they know my music. I've got 35 gold and platinum records on the wall, right in back of me. I just never stopped, and I'm still going."

Fans of this unique collaboration can also get the extended "Through The Night" box set, a digipak CD featuring a retro synthwave remix by BEARTOOTH singer and mastermind Caleb Shomo, as well as an unplugged version and two additional CUESTACK songs. The box set also contains a unique poster, gym bag, autograph card and baseball cap. "Through The Night" is available for physical purchase at the official CUESTACK webshop.

Hasselhoff's latest album, "Open Your Eyes", was released in September 2019, his first with L.A.-based label Cleopatra Records.

The first full-length CUESTACK album, "Diagnosis:Human", will be released in 2021.

In a new interview with Tom Power, host of "Q" on Canada's CBC Radio One, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello was asked if he was surprised that the band became so commercially successful within such a short period of time after its early 1990s formation. He responded (see video below): "I was surprised that we were ever even able to book a club gig. It's hard to paint a picture — in 1991, there were no neo-Marxist, multi-ethnic rap-punk-metal bands. There was zero — zero — commercial ambition. We wrote those songs, and the only goal was to make a cassette demo. I had had a record deal before, with a band that had more commercial leanings, and I knew that a record deal didn't mean — my life got worse, not better, when I had a record deal. So that didn't matter. So we just made music as a means of self-expression, with Zack's [De La Rocha] tremendous lyrics and the band's musical chemistry, and that was it."

He continued: "I remember the first time anyone outside the four of us ever heard a note of our music. We were rehearsing at this industrial complex, and this worker guy would pass by every once in a while, and he said, 'What are you guys doing?' I said, 'We're a band.' And he said, 'Can I listen?' I was, like, 'I suppose so.' At the time, we only had a few songs together. So he sat down in our rehearsal room. He was the first guy to ever hear RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. We didn't have a name or anything. And we played him a few songs, and the cymbals die away at the end of the last song. [I was], like, 'What do you think?' And he stood up and he said, 'Your music makes me wanna fight.' [Laughs]"

Morello added: "From the very first time that we performed in public, it was obvious that there was a connection to an audience that was very different than anything I'd ever been around."

This past June, Morello, with the help of some fans, roasted a former listener who claimed he "used to be a fan until your political opinions came out" — a strange hill to die on considering that RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE has been sharing its leftist political message since first hitting the scene in 1992.

The person wrote in a now-deleted tweet: "I used to be a fan until your political opinions came out. Music is my sanctuary and the last thing I want to hear is political BS when I'm listening to music. As far as I'm concerned, you and Pink are completely done. Keep running your mouth and ruining your fan base."

Morello responded: "Scott!! What music of mine were you a fan of that DIDN'T contain 'political BS'? I need to know so I can delete it from the catalog."

Other RAGE fans also came to the band's defense, with one writing, "What . . . machine did you think you were raging against? The busted up toaster? A faulty dryer? Did the printer run outta toner?"

Morello also posted another exchange from a while back in which he responded to someone saying he had "instantly" become a "political expert" by retorting that he was an honors graduate in political science from Harvard University.

The guitarist told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that the idea that musicians and entertainers should keep quiet about their political views is nonsense. "The reason why you hear from celebrities is because they have some access to the media to present an alt — you're not gonna hear that on the Fox News," he said. "They will not — they will have General This and General That and Generalissimo This. The fact that we have some, for lack of a better word, celebrity and are able to inject a different opinion, you can take it for what you want. We each get one vote, and we each have one voice."

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE was set to tour last summer for the first time in more than a decade until the pandemic pushed those plans to next year.

Smashing Interviews Magazine caught up with Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford to discuss his new autobiography, Confess, and the current status of the band. An excerpt from the chat is available below.

Smashing Interviews Magazine: How did the image of head-to-toe leather, spikes, the bondage-style getup begin for Judas Priest begin?

Rob Halford: "It’s like any band, you know. In those first few moments, you’re searching and just want to develop and get some sense of the creative platform you wish to do. The visual part of the image finally found itself, and we finally started to look like the music sounded, and that is important for any band. With our kind of strong, powerful, forceful music, we had to find the appropriate visual image that would correspond to the volume, the excitement and the energy. And it slowly came to be quite an adventure because once we had that established, that became a heavy metal look."

Smashing Interviews Magazine: The Ozzy Osbourne/Judas Priest tour has been rescheduled?

Rob Halford: "We’re going for 2022 now. That’s just the way the actual venues and the logistics are being worked out. Ozzy’s not going to be ready to work until then. And we’re almost to the end of this year, so it’s basically about a year and change before we go out. We’ve all been disappointed because we love our fans, and we know the disappointment they’ve experienced as much as we have. But you’ve just got to use common sense really because we can’t get together in facilities right now because it’s dangerous. It’s very, very dangerous, and we don’t want to put our fans in danger as much as I don’t want to put us in danger. So we’re just being sensible ad taking the necessary precautions. But it will happen, and it’s going to be great. 

It’s going to be so special because Ozzy’s from the same neck of the woods as Priest, and we’ve known each other forever. We’ll have us together on a lengthy tour, and Ozzy’s going to be quite remarkable. In the meantime, we’ll have to reschedule our fall tour for our anniversary for the same reasons. So everybody’s getting ready for the launch party in the summer of next year. This pandemic is not going to vanish, you know. We’re going to have to learn how to live with it like we live with the flu until everyone gets the vaccine."

Smashing Interviews Magazine: Ozzy’s had some health problems. I hope he’s feeling better.

Rob Halford: "Yeah. We know as much as everybody else, but he’s just a remarkable man and great musician. He’s got a remarkable voice. Nobody sounds like Ozzy. He’s got a unique voice. I love him. He’s said on recent television shows that he has improved. We wish him all the best and look forward to that tour together."

Read the complete interview here.

Ozzy Osbourne recently announced the postponement of his UK and European shows on his “No More Tours 2” tour.

Due to the unprecedented and ever-changing situation, the six-week trek scheduled for October 2020, has been moved to 2022. The rescheduled 19-date arena tour, with lifelong friends Judas Priest as special guests, will kick off on January 26, 2022 in Berlin, and includes a brand new date in Hungary, at the Budapest Arena. Fans should hold onto their tickets as they remain valid for all rescheduled tour dates, and refunds must be sought at point of purchase.

Says Ozzy: “I really want to thank my fans for their loyalty and for waiting for me. Believe me, I can’t wait to see you all again. Please stay safe in these uncertain times. God Bless you All!  Love Ozzy”

Rescheduled 2022 European dates:

January
26 - Berlin, Germany - Mercedes-Benz Arena
28 - Prague, Czech Republic - O2 Arena
31 - Zurich, Switzerland - Hallenstadion

February
2 - Budapest, Hungary - Budapest Arena*
5 - Madrid, Spain - WiZink Center
8 - Bologna, Italy - Unipol Arena
11 - Mannheim, Germany - SAP Arena
14 - Hamburg, Germany - Barclaycard Arena
17 - Helsinki, Finland - Hartwall Arena
19 - Stockholm, Sweden - Friends Arena
21 - Dortmund, Germany - Westfalenhalle
24 - Munich, Germany - Olympiahalle
27 - Nottingham, UK - Motorpoint Arena

March
1 - Dublin, Ireland - 3Arena
4 - Birmingham, UK - Resorts World Arena
7 - London, UK - The O2
9 - Manchester, UK - AO Arena
12 - Newcastle, UK - Utilita Arena
14 - Glasgow, UK - The SSE Hydro

* new date, without Judas Priest

Collateral frontman Angelo Tristan will be releasing his Acoustic Covers Lockdown EP on December 25th - Christmas Day! The EP will only be available digitally. You can pre-save it here on all digital streaming and download platforms. 

Acoustic Covers Lockdown EP artwork and tracklisting:

"Living On A Prayer" (Bon Jovi)
"Hysteria" (Def Leppard)
"Hallelujah" (Leonard Cohen)
"Dream On" (Aerosmith)

(Photo by Rob Nankivell)

 

SLIPKNOT's Jay Weinberg spoke to Vater Drumsticks about how he was influenced and inspired by watching his father Max perform with Bruce Springsteen's E STREET BAND in the early 2000s.

He said (see video below): "I never took a drum lesson in my life. I wanted to find out what I really loved about the drums for myself. 'Cause I had some guitar teachers that made it feel like I was going to school, and I didn't wanna go to school after school, so I really wanted to find out what I loved about drums just by doing it. So I wanted to play along to my RAMONES records and my METALLICA records, and so on and so forth. But what I really learned, and what I feel was completely invaluable, was everything else about music…

"Being a drummer who plays in a band every single night, the music almost feels like that much of it [puts two fingers close together], and the rest of it is all about just tenacity and application and endurance," he explained. "And not just physical endurance through playing the music, but endurance to see an artistic vision through with the people that you're collaborating with. It takes a lot of fortitude to really make all those things fire on all cylinders, and it takes the right combination of people, takes the right combination of attitudes. And so I got to learn that at a really young age by seeing them do it night in and night out."

Jay continued: "The real learning was seeing, to me, the baddest band in the land, the real tenacious E STREET BAND, watching them do what they did for four hours a night. To this day, you don't see bands doing that; they're in a league of their own. So to have that education of seeing that happen every night, it's, like, there's no partying here. It takes so much focus to deliver on your vision and what Bruce and the E STREET BAND have done for decades has been flawlessly executing a certain vision. So that's what I really took away from that experience, and then, of course, now applying that to SLIPKNOT. It's a vision that I've come to understand, and [I] was a fan when I was very young. I knew the band inside and out, knew the songs like the back of my hand, knew the vision of the band and the direction that the band was going. It takes that application and tenacity of just, like, every day you wake up and you've gotta bash down the door. So that was the best lesson that I ever got from Max Weinberg University."

Jay was asked to fill in for his dad as the touring drummer for BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND more than a decade ago. Earlier this year, he described the experience as "completely insane. And I didn't expect for that to happen, but the stars aligned in that way that just like it was one of those 'right places at the right time' kind of things," he said.

Jay discovered SLIPKNOT when he was a pre-teen, through his father. He was hooked immediately and was a huge fan of SLIPKNOT by the time he was invited to Los Angeles to try out as replacement for Joey Jordison in 2014.

SLIPKNOT announced its split with Jordison in December 2013 but did not disclose the reasons for his exit. The drummer subsequently issued a statement saying that he did not quit the group.

SLIPKNOT spent most of last year touring in support of its sixth studio album, "We Are Not Your Kind", which was released in August 2019 via Roadrunner Records.

Guitarists David T. Chastain, Vinnie Moore, Mitch Perry, Michael Angelo, Kurt James, and Joey Tafolla participated in the legendary first Guitar Heroes Tour in Japan in the late '80s. Each guitarist played a set and had an onstage interview. Then all the guitarists joined up on stage for a late night jam session. The video below features David T. Chastain's performance of the track "Spontaneous Combustion" and following onstage interview. 

Leviathan Records - the label owned by Chastain - recently uploaded a new video clip along with the following message:

"Chastain - Leather Leone on vocals, David T. Chastain on guitar, Mike Skimmerhorn on bass, Les Sharp on drums, and special guest Pat O'Brien on guitar - toured the United States in support of their The 7th of Never album. The last night of the tour they played Harpo's in Detroit. Unbeknownst to the band someone was shooting an unsanctioned video of the band. That tape was traded and sold in the metal underground for years. We decided to take that tape, remaster it and put it in HD so it could be officially available for viewing."

Setlist

"Intro / We Must Carry On"
"Ruler Of The Wasteland"
"Paradise"
"The Wicked Are Restless"
"827"
"I Fear No Evil"
"The King Has The Power"
"Living In A Dreamworld"
- Les Sharp drum solo - 
"I Can See Tomorrow"
"Forevermore"
"Fighting To Stay Alive"
"There Will Be Justice"
- David T. Chastain guitar solo - 
"The Black Knight"
"When The Battle's Over"
"The 7th of Never"

Chester Bennington's ex-wife, Samantha Bennington, released her inaugural book, "Falling Love Notes: Memories From A Rock Star Wife", last month through Around The Way Publishing. The book offers readers a refreshingly candid perspective into the personality of a woman who doesn't know the word "no." This brave missive, written by the first wife of the late LINKIN PARK singer, takes readers into Samantha's quest for personal and professional actualization and the many fantastic adventures contained therein.

"I began this project of my memories around eight to nine years ago," Bennington told Billboard. "I had planned for 'Falling Love Notes' to be released in the fall of 2017. Unfortunately, our lives changed dramatically that June. I could not give my project the attention it would take to launch or deserved, as our son, family, and I needed to grieve and work on major healing. Honestly, my project took a major back seat to my life at that time. Now that my ending has changed and I continue to heal. I found a huge amount of purpose and needed to finish what I had started."

Beginning with life-changing events from early childhood, carrying us through joy and pain of significant events before, during and after her marriage to Chester, and bringing us to her present-day life as a mother, life coach and entertainment entrepreneur, "Falling Love Notes" is the story of a fierce emotional journey. Strength and survival manifested through love and gratitude are the central themes of this raw, heart-wrenching and inspirational book as we learn of the many loves and losses of Samantha's life, perhaps most profoundly, the untimely death of her late ex-husband and best friend.

Part autobiography, part conversation, throughout her story, Samantha speaks candidly about the paths she has chosen to be her true self. From her rebellious punk rock teens, early financial independence and eventual quest to answer questions about her unknown past, we learn of the fierce determination contained inside this inquisitive, independent thinker. As she shares of the financial sacrifices and emotional strength required to support the dreams of a loved one, we feel compassion for, and belief in, her dedication to her family.

Finally, Samantha speaks of the unusual combination of heartbreak and rational thinking surrounding the decision to end a marriage, we can identify with the bittersweet memories of love and loss. As the writer speaks of the work, she and her late husband performed to co-parent their child while remaining close after their divorce, it is made clear to us that Samantha Bennington is, first and foremost, a profoundly committed mother. Throughout her story we are continuously reminded of this, a mother's dedication to love, protect and nurture. In the most recent chapter of her life, as a certified theta healer and life coach, we catch glimpses of how her work, throughout the many seasons of her life, has continued along this path.

Samantha and Chester's son, Draven, was born on April 19, 2002.

Chester married Talinda Bennington shortly after his divorce from Samantha, and had three children with her.

It was revealed in October 2017 that Chester left his entire estate to his widow and his six children.

The LINKIN PARK singer, who tragically took his own life in July 2017, left his retirement account to Talinda Bennington and divided the remaining assets among his six kids through the Chester And Talinda Bennington Family Trust. The trust was created in 2007 and amended in 2009, according to the will documents obtained by TMZ.

TMZ previously reported that Chester requested his children to visit each other after his death, even dedicating a fund for them to use for trips.

Chester committed suicide at the age of 41. He was buried in a private service nine days later.

Samantha reportedly made a public post on Facebook in August 2017, claiming that she and Draven were not allowed to speak at Chester's funeral, that the service itself resembled a radio festival and that there had been a "lack of respect and honesty" on the part of Talinda. Samantha also claimed that Chester's parents were not at the funeral and not mentioned in the program, which she said looked like a "cheap happy-hour menu."

In support of their December 18th livestream event, Trans-Siberian Orchestra are streaming "Wish Liszt (Toy Shop Madness)" from The Lost Christmas Eve (2004). Listen below:

In August, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) was forced to make the heartbreaking announcement that, for the first time in more than 20 years, the group will not be able to tour during the holiday season, instead bringing fans together from around the globe for its first-ever livestream event, Christmas Eve And Other Stories Live In Concert, on Friday, December 18th. 

BraveWords caught up with legendary guitarist Chris Caffery to talk about the event, the current state of the music industry and much more. He also talks about the ongoing rumours of Savatage being resurrected some day; if you recall TSO had blown the dust off some classics like "Prelude to Madness" (renamed "The Mountain”), “Handful of Rain”, “Believe” and "Chance" during recent tours. Here is an excerpt from our Streaming For Vengeance chat.

BraveWords: I’m really curious since TSO’s late founder, composer, and lyricist Paul O’Neill was deeply rooted in Savatage, there must have been talks about resurrecting that band, especially given the fact that TSO were playing some of the band’s classics which fit the theme perfectly. I have to wonder if his vision with Savatage could have followed the rock opera spectacle that TSO created. Is that a disrespectful thing to ask you about?

Caffery: “No, I don’t think so at all, I think when TSO was able to get off the ground because it was something that Paul had had in his head to do for a very long time, and all of us from Savatage were included in it, he never disconnected the two worlds because he knew how, as you said, underrated or unrecognized Savatage was and I think ultimately that was part of his plan, to get a lot of our music released through that channel. And then getting Streets to broadway and bringing that music alive - things like Dead Winter Dead and stuff like that. I think we were progressing, we were getting to music like ‘Chance’ and ‘Hourglass’ with Savatage on the road, and ‘Gutter Ballet’ when we played Europe. There were a lot of Savatage songs in the second half of the set on one of those Beethoven tours. I think it was always there. The Criss Oliva guitars would pop out of the ground on the screens. There was something really special with Paul and the Olivas, a special relationship, a special creative relationship. Especially the way Paul and John Oliva would write ballads, it was very special the way that stuff would come out. I mean, Paul loved that band. He loved Criss Oliva and his playing and he loved everything that we did. For me, I started working with him at such a young age, I’d never really worked for anyone else before. There was only about a year and a half total when I wasn’t working with John and Doctor Butcher on something, so I didn’t spend a lot of time away from the organization and I watched a lot of really incredible things happen in my life and my career from Paul. I mean, the guy was a genius. I think that happens with anybody you’re really super close with, sometimes you don’t realize just how lucky you are because they’re kind of like air, it’s there all the time, but if you cut my air off right now, I couldn’t breathe. So losing Paul, it was tremendously different for me, and it will be tremendously different without him forever because there are so many things that he would make happen that I couldn’t even dream of imagining, because he would make the impossible possible. That was his whole thing.”

BraveWords: In a hundred years I truly believe people are going to be listening to Savatage, like Mozart. Is there anyone who is going to fill Paul’s shoes?

Caffery: “I mean we’ve been speaking about it for the last 20 years now, since the last record. It’s always able to happen and something else stops it - you’ve got Haley’s Comet coming around once in a while, and every hundred years you have a pandemic, and once every 20 years there’s a Savatage record. It will be 20 years in 2022 so maybe that’s when it will show up. I’m kind of hopeful that it does, I know I’ve done a lot of writing, and Jon has, and Al (Pitrelli - TSO’s Music Director and lead guitarist) always has a lot of music, so we could make a record. Things would never be exactly the same without Paul, but they were never exactly the same without Criss Oliva either, but we still managed to do Dead Winter Dead and Wake Of Magellan and Poets And Madmen. Songs like ‘Chance’ were done after Criss had passed, so we were able to keep things alive. Especially me and Jon, we channel the same spirit that’s always been there, that’s something very unique about Savatage. Somebody who has been a Savatage fan their whole life asked me today; no matter how many bands they interview or how many records they hear, they’ve not really heard anyone who has come along to take up the torch for Savatage. That meant a lot to me because that means we did something that special. I don’t think anyone came along and took the torch for The Beatles - I’m not saying that Savatage is The Beatles - and I don’t think that anybody is going to take over for Freddie Mercury from Queen. It just means we did something special. When you hear that, it means you filled your hole - like Eddie Van Halen did for guitar, there are lots of guitar players, but only one Eddie Van Halen. I definitely think there’s only going to be one Savatage. I think we have our own little spot, and as I watch how our music has grown with people and how it’s developed over the years and how much bigger the band has gotten without us even trying - it’s worldwide - we want to go play because there are so many places just waiting to see it. For a lot of people, it will be the first time because we haven’t played a lot of these places in 20 years. It would be amazing to get out and get the younger kids to see this band. It’s a special band. I don’t necessarily take advantage of it, but I’ve been living it, and I’ve been a part of what’s happened with it. It’s definitely a great band, and there’s a lot of great bands that you can say that about - that there’s only going to be this one band - to me I think that’s special when you can identify a band like that on their own, for being that particularly special.

BraveWords: The last time I witnessed Savatage live was at the Wacken Open Air 2002 and Jeff Waters was on stage with you.

Caffery: “Yeah, the Canadian that lives in England. I love his studio. He’s online so I look at his stuff all the time. That was a fun couple of weeks because here is Jeff Waters - one of my favourite metal guitar players - because we needed somebody to replace Al (Pitrelli) who couldn’t get to Europe for this tour. I remember when I got the phone call from Adam at our management and he’s like ‘What about Jeff Waters?’ ‘Really?’ It was just funny, cuz when you see Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and you watch him when shows up at the restaurant as Abe Froman, the Sausage King Of Chicago. So Waters shows up and he’s just such a goofball. And I was like, ‘You’re Jeff Waters?’ I had met him and saw him, but he was just so funny, and no offence, so Canadian. He has that sense of humour on all the time. It was just so funny. I was just there and he said ‘I’ll play rhythm on anything you need me to do.’ So he was my rhythm guitar player for most of the show. Which was just insane right there. But we played together and it was so much fun to make some music with him because he is such a great player. I was actually really worried about him, because the first show we did was somewhere in Spain and we had to wait because he was playing the next day with Annihilator and he had passed out in the heat on stage. We were afraid that we had almost lost Jeff Waters. But he’s a lot of fun. He’s a great player and he’s a great person and one of my dear friends, so it was a lot of fun to get that time with him.”

BraveWords: What is the health status of Jon Oliva?

Caffery: “He’s doing much better, because a couple of years ago he had a bit of an incident. So he hit a bump in the road with something inside of him. I see the masked mountain king every day and probably the last four five years he’s looked the best he has to me. A weird thing that Paul (O’Neill) said was that ‘Jon Oliva is going to out-live us all.’ He’s Jon. He’s there and he’s healthy. A lot of people worry about Jon, but he’s doing alright. I get together with him and he starts complaining about everything at home, so I know everything is back to normal. He’s got the normal problems in life like me, he’s making his music, telling jokes and talking about football. That’s the great thing about the Savatage guys; we are so close in that kind of personal way. I see people like Johnny (Lee Middleton) and half the time we are just laughing and being silly. That’s how we always have been. These guys are my family.”

BraveWords: Doctor Butcher was never really a live band, and right now you can’t go on the road. Any new Doctor Butcher material on the horizon?

Caffery: “I could’ve done 20 Doctor Butcher albums by now. These are all the questions you need to ask Jon (laughs). And he’d probably say, ‘You need to ask Chris about that.’ It’s not true. It’s never me. I’m waiting. But I’d love to do another record with Jon. We’ve talked about it and I’ve even written a bunch of songs. I’ve stolen some of my Doctor Butcher songs for myself. When I released that single “I’m Sick Of This Shit” earlier this year, Jon said that could’ve been a Doctor Butcher song. I thought it was a really cool metal song.”

The Swedish-American collaborative project between Tom S. Englund, vocalist of Swedish progressive group Evergrey, and virtuoso classical pianist Vikram Shankar, feels at once lushly cinematic, warmly intimate, darkly melancholic and incandescently beautiful. It’s making is a story of a deep musical kinship between two seemingly divergent talents. Their first album, Satellites, is out now via AFM Records. 

They have checked in with the following update:

"Silent Skies presents their adaptation of the beloved traditional "Ave Maria," as a holiday gift for their fans. We know that this year has been a challenging one in many respects, and we hope this bonus gift, on top of our recently released record, Satellites, can give you strength and joy this holiday season. This track is also a tribute to the great Johann Johannsson, a musical guiding light, departed from us all too soon. Please enjoy our special gift to you, and share it with everyone you know!"

The song is available on digital platforms found here.

"Horizons"
"Endless"
"Dreams"
"Us"
"Solitude"
"Oceans"
"Here Comes The Rain Again"
"Walls"
"Distance"
"1999"

Satellites is available as Digipak and ltd. black/white double Vinyl. Order here.

Finnish cello metallers Apocalyptica continue to dig through their archives. This week they have posted pro-shot video of their "Grace" performance at the Pol'and'Rock Festival 2016.

It is with great regret, but obvious and necessary compliance, that Apocalyptica has had to postpone their upcoming North American tour a second time to August/September 2021 due to the ongoing restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Please note that all tickets bought will remain valid for the rescheduled dates and tickets remain on sale.

Apocalyptica's performances will be comprised of new songs from most recent full-length Cell-0 as well as from the band's rich catalog. Lacuna Coil, who was scheduled to support on all North American dates, remain confirmed for the California, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Illinois, and Canadian shows. Support on the remainder of the tour is yet to be announced.

To keep the band's fans and everyone else involved with the tour safe at this time, the shows have been postponed to the following dates. Additionally, the Toronto show will now take place at Rebel.  

Dates:

August
16 - Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
17 - Plaza - Orlando, FL
19 - House Of Blues - Houston, TX
21 - Emos - Austin, TX
23 - Sunshine - Albuquerque, NM
24 - Van Buren - Phoenix, AZ
25 - Mayan - Los Angeles, CA (with Lacuna Coil)
26 - The Regency - San Francisco, CA (with Lacuna Coil)
27 - Crystal - Portland, OR (with Lacuna Coil)
28 - Showbox Sodo - Seattle, WA (with Lacuna Coil)
29 - Commodore - Vancouver, BC (with Lacuna Coil)
30 - Commodore - Vancouver, BC (with Lacuna Coil)

September
1 - Midway - Edmonton, AB (with Lacuna Coil)
2 - The Palace - Calgary, AB (with Lacuna Coil)
4 - First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN (with Lacuna Coil)
5 - House Of Blues - Chicago, IL (with Lacuna Coil)
6 - Rebel - Toronto, ON (with Lacuna Coil)
7 - Mtelus - Montreal, QC (with Lacuna Coil)
8 - Big Night Live - Boston, MA
9 - Webster Theatre - Hartford, CT
11 - Webster Hall - New York, NY

New Orleans band Cane Hill have dropped the video for another brand new song titled "Kill Me."

"I think if this year has taught me anything, it's that this dreadful voice of negativity in my head is loudest when my life is quiet," explains singer Elijah Witt about the song's relatable subject matter. "Just like everyone else, my mental health has taken a steep decline this year, and giving life to that horrific voice was the easiest way for me to try and combat it. 'Kill Me' is what I feel in the parts of me I can ignore when life is normal."

About the accompanying video, which is stepped in the traditions and culture of their native city, Witt says, "'Kill Me' adds another chapter to 'Krewe De La Mort' that continues to bring Louisiana folklore to life. Building upon the visual intensity we established with 'P.O.T.H.,' we worked closely with Dreamseeker Productions in further exploring elements of witchcraft and the occult while staying true to these Cajun tales."

Cane Hill recently returned with the brand new song and video "Power Of The High."

Stay tuned for even more from Cane Hill in 2021.

Finnish thrash metallers Demonztrator have released a lyric video for the brand-new track entitled “Murderlust Invitation”. The video was edited and directed by JP Immonen. The track was written by new drummer Seppo Tarvainen, guitarist Jörgen Reinholm and guitarist Timo Ahlström. The lyrics are a study of the dark side of the human mind and were written by vocalist Jari Hurskainen and guitarist Timo Ahlström.

The band had to postpone the start of the recording of the forthcoming album from April to June 2020 due to the ongoing global pandemic. All recording work was done at East Sound Studios, Helsinki, Finland with Pekka Laine acting as a producer. "Murderlust Invitation" will feature on the yet untitled full-length album due in 2021.

Myrkur has returned with the new single, “Dronning Ellisiv”. Recorded during the Folkesange album sessions, “Dronning Ellisiv” sees Amalie Bruun harnessing the very magic that has made her new album so special - from soaring atmospheres to lush instrumentations accompanying Bruun's bold, immense voice, “Dronning Ellisiv” is cinematic in every way. Find listening options here.

The single, a reimagining of a song by the great Harald Foss, tells the tale of the Grand Prince Yaroslav of Novgorod and his daughter Elisiv of Kiev. Elisiv would later marry King Harald of Norway and become Queen Consort of Norway in the 1040's. Immersive and ethereal, the mood of “Dronning Ellisiv” dives into the source material and continues to evoke the sounds of expansive folk music, breathing new life into an old Nordic tale. Nostalgic and timeless, “Dronning Ellisiv” continues to usher in a new era for Bruun and Myrkur.

(Photo by: Shawn Brackbill)

Hard rock band Crown The Empire are closing out 2020 by dropping the futuristic and participatory video for the track "Red Pills," taken from 2019's Sudden Sky.

The Matrix-inspired, visually frenetic video comes equipped with two (!!!) endings. At the 2:10 mark, viewers can choose between the alternate endings — either the "Red Pill" or the "Blue Pill" — just like Neo had to in The Matrix.

"We created an interactive experience where you, the viewer, will be taken down a wormhole to decide your own ending," the band says. "Choose your destiny wisely..."

The song is also currently in rotation on SiriusXM's Octane.

Shark Island was once the house band at the world famous Gazzaris on the Sunset Strip. Signed to Epic Records in 1989 the band released their debut album, Law Of The Order, and also saw the tracks "Dangerous" and "Father Time" featured in the movie Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, as well as the song "My City" from the movie Point Break.

Richard Black would go on to be part of the short lived supergroup Contraband which also featured Michael Schenker (Scorpions, UFO), and members of L.A. Guns, Ratt and Vixen. They released one album in 1991 before disbanding.

As part of the Japanese release of Bloodline 2.020, Shark Island included a live acoustic version of “Paris Calling”, which is now being released digitally worldwide through Deko  Entertainment.

Richard comments on this unique version, “Recorded at a private, and  closed performance, of about 15 people. A reunion of sorts; Spencer and I laid it down.
A song of long lost love.”

Listen to it here, and below:

Bloodline 2.020 is out now and features the unreleased extended version of “Rocks on the Rocks” and the newly recorded “Someday”.

As part of this deluxe 2.020 version, they are making available limited edition Mega-Bundles (while supplies last), which can be ordered here.

This bundle includes the following items:

- One (1) Shark Island Bloodline 2.020 CD
- One (1) Shark Island Fandana
- One (1) Shark Island T-Shirt
- One (1) Shark Island Signed Poster
- One (1) Shark Island Sticker
- One (1) Shark Island Bracelet

Bloodline 2.020 tracklisting:

"Make A Move"
"Fire In the House"
"Policy Of Truth"
"Aktion Is"
"7 Tears"
"Crazy 8’s"
"Rocks On The Rocks"
"Butterfly"
"When She Cries"
"Law Of The Order"
"On And On"
"Someday"
"Rocks On The Rocks" (Producer’s Cut)

"Someday" video:

Acclaimed prog rocker, Neal Morse, recently released a new live set, Jesus Christ The Exorcist (Live At Morsefest 2018). As the title suggests, this new live album and DVD/Blu-ray was captured at the annual Morsefest in 2018, where Neal and band performed his then new album, Jesus Christ The Exorcist, in its entirety.

Watch a performance of "Gather The People" from the set below, and order Jesus Christ The Exorcist (Live At Morsefest 2018) here.

Tracklisting:

CD1
Introduction
"Overture"
"Getaway"
"Gather The People"
"Jesus’ Baptism"
"Jesus’ Temptation"
"There Is A Highway"
"The Woman Of Seven Devils"
"Free At Last"
"The Madman Of The Gadarenes"
"Love Has Called My Name"
"Better Weather"
"The Keys To The Kingdom"
"Get Behind Me Satan"

CD2
"He Must Go To The Cross"
"Jerusalem"
"Hearts Full Of Holes"
"The Last Supper"
"Gethsemane"
"Jesus Before The Council And Peter’s Denial"
"Judas’ Death"
"Jesus Before Pilate And The Crucifixion"
"Mary At The Tomb"
"The Greatest Love Of All"
"Love Has Called My Name" (Reprise)
Morsefest 2018 End Credits

DVD / BR:
Introduction
"Overture"
"Getaway"
"Gather The People"
"Jesus’ Baptism"
"Jesus’ Temptation"
"There Is A Highway"
"The Woman Of Seven Devils"
"Free At Last"
"The Madman Of The Gadarenes"
"Love Has Called My Name"
"Better Weather"
"The Keys To The Kingdom"
"Get Behind Me Satan"
"He Must Go To The Cross"
"Jerusalem"
"Hearts Full Of Holes"
"The Last Supper"
"Gethsemane"
"Jesus Before The Council And Peter’s Denial"
"Judas’ Death"
"Jesus Before Pilate And The Crucifixion"
"Mary At The Tomb"
"The Greatest Love Of All"
"Love Has Called My Name" (Reprise)
Morsefest 2018 End Credits

"Gather The People" video:

The Madman Of The Gadarenes video:

"Love Has Called My Name" video:

MorseFest 2018: Behind The Curtain

Lineup:

Musicians:
Neal Morse: Guitars, keyboards
Paul Bielatowicz: Guitars
Bill Hubauer: Keyboards
Eric Gillette: Drums
Randy George: Bass

Cast:
Ted Leonard: Jesus
Talon David: Mary Magdalene
Nick D’Virgilio: Judas
Rick Florian: The Devil
Matt Smith: John the Baptist
Jake Livgren: Peter
John Schlitt: Caiaphas
Neal Morse: Pilate, Demon 1, Disciple 1
Mark Pogue: Israelite 1, The Madman of the Gadarenes, Pharisee 2
Wil Morse: Israelite 2, Demon 3, Pharisee 1
Gabe Klein: Demon 2, Pharisee 4
Gideon Klein: Demon 4
Julie Harrison: Servant Girl

Additional musicians:
Wil Morse: Percussion, keyboards
Gabriel Klein: Percussion
Violin I: Laura Epling
Violin II: Jake Tudor
Viola: Michael Lucarelli
Cello: Maggie Chafee
Double Bass: Gideon Klein
Horn: Holly Smith
Trombone: David Cooper
Trumpet: Dominique Caster
Sax/Flute: Gabriel Collins

Choir director: Gideon Klein

Background vocals: Amy Pippin, April Zachary, Debbie Bresee and Julie Harrison

Choir: Bill Gilliam, Lisa Gilliam, David Klein, Laurie Klein, Jerry Klein,
Rosie Klein, Robin Hanloh, Martin Wilde, Joanie Howard, Kathy O’Keefe, Brant Pippin, Levi Pippin, Josh Turrentine, Trevor Larkin, Elizabeth Turrentine, Pamela George, Dominic D’Virgilio and Marie-Claire Toussaint

Dutch futuristic multi-metal eruption, Cryptosis, present the video for “Prospect Of Immortality”. Watch below.

Says the band: "'Prospect Of Immortality' is a song in which we used an experimental approach of songwriting. In contrast to other material, this song is a lot more atmospheric and doesn’t make use of a clear verse/chorus structure. The lyrics are written as a suicide note by a person who can no longer cope with the 24/7 surveillance and human experiments that she is being subjected too. The experiments and lost sense of reality has caused her to believe suicide is the only way out. Trapped inside a continuous cycle of endeavours, she is unable to succeed. The song consists of 5 chapters, each representing a different part of her reality."

Check out the previously released video for “Decypher”:

Cryptosis are:

Laurens Houvast (vocals/guitar)
Frank te Riet (bass/mellotron/backing vocals)
Marco Prij (drums)

Amorphis have kicked off the pre-order for their special 30th anniversary vinyl box set, Vinyl Collection 2006 - 2020, that will contain all their albums featuring Tomi Joutsen on vocals since their 2006 classic Eclipse.

The box set will be released on May 21 via Nuclear Blast, and will also contain the exclusive double live album, Live At Helsinki Ice Hall. The concert during which the album was recorded took place on December 7, 2019, and it was also Amorphis' last live performance in Finland before the COVID-19 pandemic. The live album contains 15 tracks in total with a playtime of around 1.5 hours. The live album will also be available digitally and on 2CD.

The box will contain the following albums:

Eclipse - 1LP (2006)     
Silent Waters - 2LP (2007)
Skyforger - 2LP (2009)
Magic And Mayhem - 2LP (2010)
The Beginning Of Times - 2LP (2011)
Circle - 2LP (2013)
Under The Red Cloud - 2LP (2015)                    
Queen Of Time - 2LP (2018)
Live At Helsinki Ice Hall - 2LP (2020)       

Pre-order the box set here.

(Photo - Lars Johnson)

Alta Reign, featuring Trans-Siberian Orchestra/Savatage drummer Jeff Plate, are streaming the new song, "Thin Red Line", from their debut album Mother’s Day, out January 8 via Rat Pak Records. Find a static video for the song below.

Jeff Plate joined forces with TSO keyboardist Jane Mangini, along with Tommy Cook (guitars/lead vocals), Collin Holloway (guitars/lead vocals), Kevin McCarthy (bass, vocals) and Zach Hamilton (keyboards, guitars/vocals) to form the band and record the songs for the debut album.

Mother’s Day is the reflection of dedication as the initial idea spawned 30 years ago and ended in 2020 before locking in the 2021 release date. The album is available for pre-order at RatPakRecords.com and iTunes.

From the album's opening riffs of “Shine”, to the majestic "Mother's Day", the reflective mood of "Always", and the mindful closer “Rise,” Alta Reign has created something very different and original. Drawing from his history, his influences and his heroes, Plate has combined melodic, progressive, hard rock and straight up metal to create a unique landscape for the listener. Other TSO brethren make an appearance on Mother’s Day as guitarist Joel Hoekstra can be heard on the title track and guitarist Chris Caffery shows up on “Rise.” Songs like “Thin Red Line,” the frenetic instrumental “ESC (Escape)” and “Let’s Go! (I’m In Charge Now)” present every indication that the talent of these musicians is limitless.

Mother’s Day tracklisting:

"Shine"
"Witness "
"Thin Red Line"
"Never Say Never"
"Mother's Day" feat. Joel Hoekstra
"ESC (Escape)"
"Come Out and Play"
"Let's Go! (I'm In Charge Now)"
"Always"
"Immortal "
"Passage"
"Rise" feat. Chris Caffery

"Thin Red Line":

“Immortal”:

Alta Reign lineup:

Jeff Plate - Drums and Percussion
Jane Mangini - Keyboards
Tommy Cook - Guitars, Lead Vocals
Kevin McCarthy - Bass, Vocals
Collin Holloway - Guitars, Lead Vocals
Zach Hamilton - Keyboards, Guitars, Vocals

Italian orchestral death metal masters, Fleshgod Apocalypse, have released a new single titled "No", produced by Jacob Hansen (Epica, Volbeat), and an accompanying music video directed by Marina L. McLean (Sanda Movies). The standalone single's cover was created by Travis Smith (Opeth, Katatonia) who also provided the art for the band's recent acoustic rendition of "The Day We'll Be Gone".

Commenting on the single, Fleshgod Apocalypse frontman Francesco Paoli states: "We live in a world where people are searching for easy answers to complex questions. Self-styled gurus, fake news and miracle pills show up on screen as the silver bullet that may cast out all your fears and troubles. If you need shortcuts to dominate the intricate reality we live in, be aware that the outcome might not be what you expect. Will you find a way to save this world on Google? No. Will things change if we don't act? No. Will self-delusions lead us somewhere? No. Can music, and art in general, help us cope with this chaos? Absolutely yes."

Francesco Paoli adds: "This release marks another milestone for our lineup, featuring Veronica, Fabio and Eugene as official band members."

Stream "No" on all digital services, here. Watch the video below:

Loudblast have released a video for "Todestrieb", from their new album, Manifesto, out now via Listenable Records. The video was directed by Brice Hincker, who also directed their previous video for "The Promethean Fire".

Band leader Stéphane Buriez comments: "It is a bitter take on the cynicism of demagogues and the exploitation of the collective, a devastating uncompromising 'deathdrive'."

Loudblast recorded Manifesto at Vamacara Studio in France. Produced by HK Krauss and band leader Stéphane Buriez, Manifesto contains ten new songs (and several more bonuses recorded for limited editions).

The cover art was made by Eliran Kantor who once again achieved a stunning piece of work: "Stéphane told me about the album title, and I came up with the idea for the cover late at night while I was trying to fall asleep: I pictured a book that instead of bringing enlightenment (usually portrayed by rays of light), is emanating shadows. A dark cast revealing the evil nature bubbling in black tar beneath those who read it."

Basic tracklisting (without bonuses -  no specific order):

"Todestrieb"
"Solace In Hell"
"Erasing Reality"
"The Promethean Fire"
"Invoking To Justify"
"Into The Greatest Of Unknowns"
"Infamy Be To You"
"It Hides Until It Feeds"
"Festering Pyre"
"Unit 731"

"The Promethean Fire" video:

Clay Anthony, who played bass for Junkyard from 1987 to 1991, appearing on the albums Junkyard, Sixes, Sevens & Nines, Shut Up - We're Tryin' To Practice!, and Put It On Ten And Pull The Knobs Off!, has succumbed to the injuries he sustained in a car crash in Hawaii.

Junkyard vocalist David Roach has issued the following tribute to his fallen bandmate:

"After a couple of months making noise on the scene, skateboard legend Tony Alva quit the band, deciding we were destined to be a bar band. Smart man. Nonetheless we carried on. I walked in to rehassle and there’s Clay sitting there with his old black lab Zeke, chain smoking. Clay knew all the songs and didn’t dress funny and we generally didn’t bother about much else concerning auditions, he was in." 

"In those days, as in these, there were a lot of poseurs. There were leagues of guys trying to be Keith (Richards) or Sid (Vicious) or Johnny Thunders, DeeDee Ramone or just trying to be 'hard' or 'street.' GN'R just got signed and we were one of the bands that became the quasi- movement 'sleaze rock.' Now to be certain, we we’re definitely more 'street' than most of the Sunset Strip set, but Clay, he was for real. He gave us real street cred. Lots of people talk about what they’d do in some situation or another and they are full of shit and I’m among them, but Clay was real, always ready to throw down, to defend."

"When we were on the road, he protected the bus like an inmate staking his territory in the yard. If you didn’t respect our boundaries,you dealt with Clay. A couple bouncers in Ohio found that out. Clay’s vices got the best of him eventually, (a fact we could all relate to) and Todd (Muscat) would replace him. It’s hard to have to do that, but we loved him and we’re happy to hear he had cleaned up and was even touring in South America with a band a few years back. He sat in with us recently in OC, like old times."

"Clay was killed in an automobile accident in Hawaii. He was tough, he was funny, he was no bullshit, he was our friend and I’ll miss him. Good luck on your journey brother, it’s a long way home."

BraveWords sends our condolences to Clay's family, friends, fans, and bandmates. R.I.P.

(Photo courtesy of David Roach's Facebook page)

 

 

Toby Knapp took to social media to pay tribute to his former Onward bandmate, Chris Payette, who has passed away at 49 years of age.

Says Toby: "Last weekend the Heavy Metal community lost a true warrior and I lost one of my dearest friends. Chris Payette passed away, he was 49.

"Chris was one of the kindest people I've ever known. It's a loss for so many. My heart goes out to his family and countless friends. He bonded us with his wisdom, humor and compassion.

"Thirty years ago this month I met him and his band, Forced Religion. They played in my hometown, with no lead guitarist, and I convinced him to give me the gig. This was the start of a long lasting collaboration and friendship with him. He played bass in my mid-nineties Black Thrash Metal band, Defiled. A few years later he would join me again in the band, Onward. He relocated us to Las Vegas and fulfilled all the tour dates for our album, Reawaken.

"He was a walking encyclopedia of rock music and I loved conversing with him for hours on everything from the mixing mistakes on early Grand Funk Railroad albums to the various incarnations of Venom. To me, and I'm sure many,  he was the epitome of cool. I could go on forever.

"We will miss you Chris and I will celebrate you for the rest of my days. Thank you my friend. Toby."

Chris Payette, June 14, 1971 - December 12, 2020.

On January 29, Tribulation will release their new album, Where The Gloom Becomes Sound, via Century Media Records (worldwide excluding North America). For a preview of the record, a video for the new single "Hour Of The Wolf" - directed by Gustav Ohman Spjuth / Fanny & Alexander Productions - can be viewed below.

Tribulation commented: "The Hour Of The Wolf is upon us! Feast your eyes on this, the second single of our upcoming album..."

Where The Gloom Becomes Sound is available for pre-order here.

Tribulation entered Linus Björklund's Studio Ryssviken in April and exited (informally) nearly two months later. The group - guitarists Adam Zaars and Jonathan Hultén, Johannes Andersson (vocals/bass), and Oscar Leander (drums) - used the first 10 days of their studio time to rehearse. Once the bone-oil had sufficiently run its course, the group and co-producer Jamie Elton started to hammer into the rudiments of the recording process. Elton, who also serves as Tribulation's soundman and is a long-time friend, took the reins from Martin Ehrencrona, who helmed the 2018 Down Below sessions. Together, they crafted a well-appointed production, one that's luxuriously grim and auricularly inviting. Where The Gloom Becomes Sound”was then given to Grammy-nominated producer Tom Dalgety (Ghost, Rammstein) to mix at Psalm Studios. Once the mixing was finished - Dalgety would send over versions from his studio in Wales - Tribulation re-enlisted Magnus Lindberg at Redmount Studios in Stockholm to master.

The band's resulting fifth full-length indisputably elevates the Swedes to the highest echelons. The source of their glinting darkness: a yawning, bottomless rift deep within. "We immersed ourselves in the world of myth and magic," says Zaars. "With a specific focus on elemental magic, and the elements, in general, from both the Western and Indian esoteric traditions, not the Buddhist four elements but the five elements. Myth and magic are obviously not something new in the world of Tribulation, but it got a bit more specific on this album. We just present it from a slightly different perspective."

Where The Gloom Becomes Sound isn't representative of monumental change, but rather the accrual of ambition over time in conjunction with continued exposure to and profound experiments with crossroads devilry. Being their most expressive and inventive album to-date, where it will take them is only to greatness and with reverence.

Where The Gloom Becomes Sound tracklisting:

"In Remembrance"
"Hour Of The Wolf"
"Leviathans"
"Dirge Of A Dying Soul"
"Lethe"
"Daughter Of The Djinn"
"Elementals"
"Inanna"
"Funeral Pyre"
"The Wilderness"

Bonus tracks:

"The Dhampir, Pt. I" *
"The Dhampir" **
"Månvisan" ***

* Bonus on Ltd. CD Mediabook, First chapter of the song
** Bonus on Ltd. Deluxe LP Artbook, Complete version of the 18-minute song
*** Bonus on Ltd. Deluxe LP Artbook, Instrumental song

"Leviathans" video:

Album teaser:

As previously announced, guitarist Jonathan Hultén has amicably parted ways with Tribulation, and Joseph Tholl has taken his place. This new lineup (Johannes Andersson, Adam Zaars, Joseph Tholl, Oscar Leander) will hit the road in support of Where the Gloom Becomes Sound later next year.

Tribulation lineup (from left to right at top):

Johannes Andersson - vocals, bass
Adam Zaars - guitars
Joseph Tholl - guitars
Oscar Leander - drums

(Photo - Ester Segarra)

Danish death metal band, Baest, announce the release of their new studio album, Necro Sapiens, out on March 5, while dropping the bone-crushing first single “Abattoir”.

The band comments: "Necro Sapiens is ultimately the most Baest-sounding record. The influences are there, but this is by far the record, where we sound the most like ourselves. The best Baest there is!"

About "Abattoir": “Far from earth and out of reach, The Abbatoir lays the foundation of the necro sapiens enslaved existence. A nocturnal breed inhabits this parliament, who has one goal in sight; misanthropic and totalitarian domination.”

“Abbatoir” is now available on all digital platforms, here. Watch the visualizer below:

Baest come from Aarhus in Denmark and have successfully established themselves as one of the country’s most promising metal acts in recent years. While deeply rooted in straight-forward classic death metal inspired by genre legends like Dismember, Entombed, Morbid Angel, Death, and Bolt Thrower, the 2015 formed band evolved from a Danish underground phenomenon to an internationally touring act (2018 tour with Abbath, 2019 EU/UK trek with Decapitated). Also, at festivals like Summer Breeze, Copenhell, Ruhrpott Metal Meeting, Roskilde, they left audiences impressed and begging for more. After their already praised debut album, Danse Macabre, the band took it to the next level in 2019 and delivered Venenum where they refined their already steamroller-like signature sound.

With the expectation-bar already set so high for their next record, Baest truly drops their most anticipated and most important album so far. Stay tuned for more info.

Baest will join Philip H. Anselmo & The Illigals on their summer 2021 tour.

The band comments: “Somethings are goddamn awesome, but others are GODDAMN ELECTRIC - Baest are supporting the great southern trendkiller throughout Europe and beyond. 15 shows supporting Anselmo & the Illegals, when they perform a vulgar display of fucking hostile classics! This is what life on the road is about - getcha pull.”

Tour dates:

July
24 - St. Petersburg, Russia - A2 Green Concert
25 - Moscow, Russia - Adrenaline Stadium
29 - Tolmin, Slovenia - Metal Days
30 - Saint maurice de gourdans, France - Sylak Festival
31 - Utrecht, Netherlands - Tivoli

August
1 -   Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
4 -   Budapest, Hungary - Barba Negra
5 -   Belgrade, Serbia - Beogradski Sajam
6 -   Sofia, Bulbaria - Yunak
7 -   Brasov, Romania - Rockstad Extreme Fest
9 -   Vienna, Austria - Simm City
10 - Krakau, Poland - Studio
11 - Jaromer, Czech Republic - Brutal Assault Festival
13 - Derbyshire, UK - Bloodstock Festival
14 - Kortrijk, Belgium - Alcatraz Festival

Baest will set sail for Europe in February 2021.

Baest are:

Simon Olsen - vocals
Svend Karlsson - guitar
Lasse Revsbech - guitar
Mattias Melchiorsen - bass
Sebastian Abildsten - drums

(Photo - Anna Marin)