AUGUST BURNS RED has been playing SYSTEM OF A DOWN's "Chop Suey!" before taking the stage at its always-packed live shows for several years now. Today, the band has dropped its official cover of the song. They have put a very AUGUST BURNS RED spin on the beloved '00s track. The original video for SYSTEM OF A DOWN's "Chop Suey!" just crossed a billion views, so there's no time like the present for this cover to arrive.

"After years of playing 'Chop Suey!' over the PA system right before we took the stage at our shows, we decided to take a crack at the song ourselves," says guitarist JB Brubaker. "This is truly one of the most legendary rock/metal songs of all time and it was so much fun to cover. I'm especially proud of our singer Jake and our bassist Dustin. We haven't done much clean singing in our music and this song showcases our vocalists in a whole new way."

ABR's latest full-length, "Guardians", is out now through Fearless Records. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hard Music Albums chart, the Rock Albums chart, and the Vinyl Albums chart upon release. ABR also graced the cover of the spring 2020 issue of Revolver.

Asked who AUGUST BURNS RED's "guardians" are, vocalist Jake Luhrs told Revolver: "For the band, our guardians would be our fans. When you think of guardians, they help, right? Or they nurture or they provide. Our fans definitely do that for us. When we're coming out with a new record, they're buying actual copies or they're getting all the vinyl. They come to all of our shows. We have people who have gone to 40 shows. I don't know that I've ever gone to 40 shows outside of my band to go see anybody, ever. So we have these just diehard fans. They support the band. They give us a place to exist and continue our work. They genuinely care about us.

"For myself, personally? I mean, it's going to sound really cliché and really, really stupid and cheesy, but it is Jesus. God has just been through all of it with me — when everybody else was gone or no one came to help me. Who do you think I was talking to when I was drinking 18 drinks a night? When I woke up at three p.m. in the afternoon, who do you think was I talking to? I was talking to God. He just got me through it all. That's my guardian and it's the truth."

Earlier this year, Brubaker told Billboard that he and his bandmates have grown more comfortable with the "metalcore" tag in recent years.

"The word metalcore became a little bit taboo for us in like, 2013," he said. "There was just this enormous boom of bands playing metalcore and it was just so watered-down and predictable and boring. And at this point now in 2020, I feel like so much of that heap of bands that were active seven years ago, so many of them have come and gone now that I'm not as embarrassed by the term 'metalcore' anymore. Because I feel like the bands who are left standing from that boom, it's sort of like the cream rose to the top. And while I much prefer just calling AUGUST BURNS RED a metal band, I get why people would call us a metalcore band. I mean, we play a ton of breakdowns. So if you want to get quite literal about it, the 'core' is obvious."

THE APOCALYPSE BLUES REVIVAL, the Florida-based psychedelic rock side project of GODSMACK drummer Shannon Larkin and guitarist Tony Rombola, released its self-titled album on December 11. The official music video for the disc's latest single, "Waltz Of The Antichrist/Impure", can be seen below.

The nine-track album loosely follows an autobiographical narrative centered around a protagonist on the left-hand path, embracing dark magic rituals that begins on "Waltz Of The Antichrist/Impure", and later changes his ways to ascension concluding with the seven minute-plus track, "A Gecko (Part 2) - The Endless Possibility Of Water (666 Reprise)" that stretches towards a fiery musical catharsis.

Larkin stated: "When you listen to the album, I'd love it if you actually took a trip with us through this dark abyss and came out of it 45 minutes later with a new perspective."

THE APOCALYPSE BLUES REVIVAL sinks into the sweet spot between devilish Delta blues, hard-hitting rock, and inter-dimensional psychedelia. The eclectic array of genres offers opposites of light and dark through musical expression, with tribal percussion echoes alongside a thick bass line during "The Abomination Of Desolation", and a wild wah pedal and slick rhythm on "The Doorway".

"The Apocalypse Blues Revival" track listing:

01. Waltz Of The Antichrist/Impure

02. The Abomination Of Desolation

03. Can't Shake The Blues

04. No One Will Miss Me

05. The Doorway

06. Written In To The World

07. Optimystic

08. Enjoy The Ride

09. A Gecko (Part 2) – The Endless Possibility Of Water (666 Reprise)

THE APOCALYPSE BLUES REVIVAL materialized in 2020. For nearly a decade, Larkin and Rombola threw down at biker bars, blues haunts, and dyed-in-the-wool venues around the country in an RV with bassist Brian Carpenter. "Tony and I are in our fifties now, and we got to rough it," he laughs. "We felt like real blues guys!"

Under the name of THE APOCALYPSE BLUES REVUE originally, they churned out two albums, "The Apocalypse Blues Revue" (2016) and "The Shape Of Blues To Come" (2018), that generated nearly one million total streams. During late 2019, Shannon welcomed lifelong friend and lead singer, Shane Hall into the fold. A few years ago, Shane held down vocals in a wild funk outfit alongside Shannon and Tony, sparking a flame fanned to its fullest potential in THE APOCALYPSE BLUES REVIVAL.

The quartet casted an unbreakable spell on their new self-titled independent full-length debut. For Shannon, this idea of the new album initially blossomed on a tour bus during a freezing January in Europe. Slowly but surely, the songs came to life in order, sketched out on hotel notepads and written wherever possible. Processing the loss of his sister, he translated this pain into the story.

"It's a completely different band," affirms Shannon. "We've shifted into more of a psychedelic rock sound. My big vision was to simply mix the influences from my two favorite classic rock artists — David Bowie and PINK FLOYD — with my favorite blues artists: Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughan and B.B. King. The foundation is always blues. That's how I approach the drums, but we're veering off into more eclectic areas and rock. As the guy who writes the lyrics and melodies, I'm limited to my singer. Shane has taken all of those limitations away. He's such an extension of me that it's no wonder we've been best friends for twenty years."

Photo credit: Jamièe Alethea Hall

Stern Pinball, Inc., a global lifestyle brand based on the iconic and outrageously fun modern American game of pinball, announced today a new line of pinball machines based on the legendary rock band LED ZEPPELIN and its music. The LED ZEPPELIN pinball machines will be available in Pro, Premium, and Limited Edition (LE) models.

Formed in London in 1968, LED ZEPPELIN consisted of vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. Together they became one of the best-selling bands with estimated record sales of 300 million units worldwide. In 1995, LED ZEPPELIN was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame for their innovative and influential impact on the entire music industry.

In this high-energy rock and roll pinball concert experience, pinball and music are fused together. Players are transported back to LED ZEPPELIN's early days and tour the world from 1968-1980. As if players were members of the band playing its music, their play updates game features at the start of each verse and chorus of ten iconic LED ZEPPELIN songs:

* "Good Times Bad Times"

* "Whole Lotta Love"

* "The Song Remains The Same"

* "Rock And Roll"

* "Trampled Under Foot"

* "Ramble On"

* "Kashmir"

* "Immigrant Song"

* "Black Dog"

* "Communication Breakdown"

"There is nothing more energizing and fun than bringing pinball and music together," said Gary Stern, chairman and CEO of Stern Pinball, Inc. "Partnering with LED ZEPPELIN, we created a one-of-a-kind pinball experience. It's our dream goal to create a pinball machine with this iconic rock band."

The Pro, Premium, and Limited Edition models all feature a custom-molded Hindenburg Zeppelin toy, based on the iconic imagery from the "Led Zeppelin I" album. When lit, the Zeppelin toy scores speed locks on the player's musical journey to Zeppelin multiball. A custom Swan Song Records trademark Icarus sculpted leaper toy takes flight when smashed by the chaotic pinball. A 3-bank of drop targets, 3 custom steel ramps, and 3 flippers keep the pinball action rolling.

The Premium and Limited Edition models feature an innovative interactive Electric Magic toy. This device is a unique motorized toy which rises from below the playfield to create different magical pinball experiences. An optical spinner charges the Electric Magic magnet, capturing and making balls disappear. The Electric Magic device also converts into a physical pinball bash toy capable of locking a ball or launching a ball around the playfield.

In true rock concert fashion, the Expression Lighting System with 96 intelligent RGB LED's enables full color spectrum control. Positioned in pockets cut into the cabinet sides to provide color themed full playfield illumination, this integrated playfield lighting system is synchronized to custom light shows specifically designed for every song and dynamically responsive to game events.

As an encore, these models have an additional reversing scoop and metal combo ramp, allowing players to keep the hits coming with constant adrenalized pinball action. A back panel mounted illuminated song status board indicates which LED ZEPPELIN song is in play.

Only 500 Limited Edition games will be made for sale throughout the world. This limited version includes an exclusive Icarus themed full color mirrored backglass, exclusive custom themed cabinet artwork, custom high gloss Paradise Shimmer Blue powder-coated armor, a custom autographed bottom arch, exclusive custom art blades, upgraded audio system, anti-reflection pinball glass, a shaker motor, and a sequentially numbered plaque.

Pricing and Availability:

Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price:

MSRP for sales to USA end-users, before any VAT, GST, Sales Tax, Duties, or other taxes.

Pro Model: $US 6,199

Premium Model: $US 7,799

Limited Edition Model: $US 9,199

LED ZEPPELIN pinball machines and accessories are available through authorized Stern Pinball distributors and dealers around the world. More information can be found here.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has released a lyric video for "Bad Company (The Five Finger Dim Mak Steve Aoki Remix)". The song was included on the second instalment of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's greatest-hits collection, "A Decade Of Destruction - Volume 2", which came out in October.

"A Decade Of Destruction - Volume 2" contains four previously unreleased tracks: "Broken World", the aforementioned Steve Aoki remix of "Bad Company", a Joe Hahn remix of "Wash It All Away", a Felmax remix of "Trouble" and a new acoustic version of "Wrong Side Of Heaven".

In October, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH confirmed that it officially parted ways with guitarist Jason Hook back in February 2020, during the band's sold-out European arena tour. He has since been replaced by renowned British virtuoso Andy James, who is also featured on "Broken World".

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's latest album, "F8", was released in February. The follow-up to 2018's "And Justice For None" capped a turbulent period for FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH in which singer Ivan Moody finally got sober after a near-fatal struggle with addiction, while co-founding drummer Jeremy Spencer bowed out of the band due to physical issues.

Much of "F8"'s lyrical content deals with Moody's battle with addiction, its aftermath and his recovery. The singer celebrated two years of sobriety in March.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's new disc was once again helmed by Kevin Churko, the Canadian record producer/engineer and songwriter who currently lives in Las Vegas, where he works out of his private studio, The Hideout Recording Studio. The drums on the LP were laid down by Charlie "The Engine" Engen, who made his live debut with the group during its fall 2018 tour with BREAKING BENJAMIN.

In an interview with Berlin, Germany's Star FM, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Zoltan Bathory spoke about the inspiration for the title of "F8". He said: "Originally, we were just gonna call it '8', sort of. We thought it's the eighth record, and if you wanted to be esoteric about it, we figured, well, if you turn the '8' sideways, it's the symbol of infinity. There was some play with the visuals. I do most of the design and the graphics for the merch in the band in general… So, I was playing around with the graphics and I thought it maybe needs a bit more. And we were bouncing around ideas, and we added the letter 'F.' So it was, like, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's eighth record. At the same time, if you want to read it phonetically, it could be 'fate.'"

Bathory told The Pulse Of Radio the band felt a different kind of vibe when it finally got into the studio to make "F8". "After eight records, I don't think we have to say, 'Well, we are here to stay,'" he said. "But there was this image of getting into the studio and 'Let's light this on fire.' This was this different sort of power, this different sort of energy that was driving us."

METALLICA's James Hetfield performed an acoustic version of Bob Seger's "Turn The Page" at Joe Walsh's fourth annual VetsAid charity concert, which took place virtually on Saturday, December 12. Also appearing with the legendary EAGLES guitarist were PEARL JAM's Eddie Vedder, Jon Bon Jovi, Alice Cooper, Daryl Hall, Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, Blake Shelton, Steven Van Zandt, Brandon Flowers, Gwen Stefani, Jason Isbell, Ben Harper, and many more.

Video of Hetfield's "Turn The Page" rendition can be seen below.

Walsh said in the event's press release: "For the past three years, we've held this glorious traveling circus in cities across the country with a day-long rock and roll festival and jobs fair to support our veterans and their families. Typically, we fill up an arena, play for five hours, and raise a bunch of money — nearly $1.5 million to date — to help our veterans get the care and support they deserve. But because of COVID this year, we're going virtual as so many things are."

He continued: "Our veterans community already suffers from increased poverty rates, mental health issues, re-entry difficulties and personal crises in the best of times. During this pandemic, they are especially vulnerable. I'm proud of this nationwide tradition we have built and I can't think of a better way to remember and honor the men and women who have served our country this holiday season than by helping us raise funds to support their essential and basic needs."

All net proceeds from the 2020 festival are going directly to the veterans' services charities selected through a vetting process coordinated in tandem with the Combined Arms Institute.
























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For the first time in history, Iranian and Scandinavian metalheads have joined forces to pay a tribute to the unique rock and metal legend, Lemmy and with BraveWords at the helm to premiere this tribute to the Motörhead legend. Jupiterium has released “King Of Spades”, a tribute song to Ian Fraser Kilmister, Lemmy; featuring amazing artists as special guests, Marko Hietala (Nightwish, Tarot), Johan Koleberg (ex-Hammerfall, ex-Therion, Wolf), Niclas Etelävuori (ex-Amorphis, Flat Earth) via a lyric video:

The song was mixed and mastered by Jupiterium’s Ehsan Imani and artwork and lyric video was done by Mohsen “Stargazer” Fayazi at Stargazer MultiMedia.

“I think we can call 2020 many names, but one can be the year of division, even in the metal music community, people are getting divided over their political opinions and this virus makes it even worse,” stated Jupiterium’s Mohsen “Stargazer” Fayazi. “I believe in situations like this,  Lemmy, an icon over anyone or anything, could bring us all back together and remind us that we, metal brothers and sisters are more alike than different! That’s what we tried to do in this tribute project but still no one is like him! We miss you very much Lemmy! Gone but not forgotten!”

2020 is the 40th anniversary of Motörhead’s iconic song, “Ace Of Spades” which was released on October 27, 1980 and stormed British music charts for weeks. This year is also the fifth anniversary of Lemmy’s death, who died on December 28, 2015.

DREAM THEATER keyboardist Jordan Rudess has teased a reunion of LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT, his instrumental progressive rock/metal project with fellow DREAM THEATER member John Petrucci (guitar), alongside ex-DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy and progressive rock icon Tony Levin (bass) of KING CRIMSON and PETER GABRIEL fame. The band has not performed live since 2008, when it embarked on a brief tour commemorating the tenth anniversary of its self-titled debut.

Earlier today, Rudess shared what appears to be a recent photo of the four members of LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT wearing masks, with each mask featuring either a letter of the alphabet or a number. The resultant phrase, "LTE3", is an apparent reference to the fact that LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT is working on its third studio album, the follow-up to 1999's "Liquid Tension Experiment 2".

This past May, Rudess addressed the prospect of a LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT reunion while filming a video message on Cameo, which lets users hire celebrities to record brief, personalized video messages about virtually any topic.

Asked if he thinks LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT will ever get back together, Jordan said: "Well, the answer is we are looking at our schedules, we are organizing a time. With the [coronavirus] pandemic, it's been a little difficult to coordinate personal kind of gatherings, but it looks very good, my friend."

In February 2019, Portnoy and Rudess reunited on stage during the Cruise To The Edge to perform "Instrumedley" from DREAM THEATER / LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT. They were joined by NEAL MORSE BAND guitarist Eric Gillette and HAKEN bassist Conner Green.

Back in April 2015, Portnoy and Rudess both joined the British progressive metal band HAKEN on stage in New York City. Three months earlier, they were photographed having what appeared to be friendly banter at the 2015 NAMM show in Anaheim, California.

Nearly three years ago, Portnoy posted a photo of him hanging out with Petrucci in a move that clearly represented a thawing of tensions between the two musicians who had been friends for more than three decades. More recently, Portnoy laid down the drum tracks on Petrucci's second all-instrumental solo album, "Terminal Velocity", which was released in August through The Orchard Music on John's Sound Mind Music record label.

In February 2019, Rudess discussed his Cruise To The Edge encounter with Portnoy during an appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation", which is hosted by Eddie Trunk. The keyboardist said: "I think it's really nice. People whose music you love, you wanna see them getting along. So, even from my perspective, I see John and Mike together, and I'm, like, yeah, that makes sense. They were so close. They made so much music together."

He continued: "I told Mike the other night. I said, 'The way I look at our relationship is that we've toured around the world together numerous times, we've written all this music together, we've been on tour buses everywhere. How many people in this lifetime that we're in can you be that close to and have that many experiences with?"

Although Portnoy and his former bandmates in DREAM THEATER engaged in a public war of words following his exit from the group, Rudess said that he harbors no resentment toward his longtime friend.

"When Portnoy left the band, there was tension — natural tension — because it was a big deal," Jordan told "Trunk Nation". "But what's really important to me is finding that… especially somebody who I care about, who I had so much life experience with. And he's a really great guy. There are so many wonderful things about him. So I wanna enjoy that.

"People will say, 'Oh my God! DREAM THEATER is gonna have Portnoy back in the band.' That's not what it's about," Rudess added. "This is about people and people who spent a lot of time together being able to be close together and be friends."

Rudess acknowledged that some of his other DREAM THEATER bandmates have "their own feelings" about maintaining a connection with their former drummer. "But Mike and I enjoyed hanging out and chatting about old times and all the stuff," he said. "So it was really cool."

In November 2017, Mike told Loud that he left DREAM THEATER because he wanted to expand his musical horizons. "[I didn't] want to go to my grave and just be the drummer from DREAM THEATER," he said. "I knew there was way more to what I had to offer."




pic.twitter.com/gxFVgxp5rE

— Jordan Rudess (@Jcrudess) December 15, 2020

Evergrey will release their new album, Escape Of The Phoenix, on February 26, 2021 via AFM Records. Pre-orders can be placed now at this location. More shops and worldwide pre-order links to follow soon.

One of several high points on Escape Of The Phoenix, both lyrically and musically, is "The Beholder" featuring Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie singing a duet with Englund. As a fan of the band, and crediting Dream Theater and LaBrie as playing a key role in his development as a musician, Englund felt the song would benefit from the addition of LaBrie's performance. It was a sentiment shared by all of Evergrey's members, and the collaboration came together with a simple e-mail.

Englund: "I just wrote to James and told him about the idea for the song, and that it would be great to have him on it. He really liked the song and agreed to do it."

"It's done, here it is, our first single and video is out now," says Evergrey. "Officially beginning a new chapter... wow! Escape Of The Phoenix came to life according to plans that had been laid out in 2019, but written and recorded it's been during the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic... we're so happy that this mission has been successfully accomplished, so we can share it with you all. We honestly hope you all feel well."

"A new lyric video has gone live just now - it's called 'Forever Outsider' - and it's the first single of our upcoming record. Hope you enjoy watching it wherever you are."

Escape Of The Phoenix will be available in various formats - from regular CD digipak to limited vinyls (picture, marbled, coloured), also available as an Artbook (limited to 1000 units, 36 pages, 28cm x 28cm including CD version of the album with bonus tracks, 7” picture vinyl single with exclusive bonus track "The Darkness In You", exclusive and extensive photographic footage,  and introduction written by frontman Tom S. Englund). On top of that, AFM offers a special and exclusive t-shirt print and various shirt bundles in the AFM online shop.

Tracklisting:

"Forever Outsider"
"Where August Mourns"
"Stories"
"A Dandellion Cipher"
"The Beholder" (featuring James LaBrie)
"In The Absence Of Sun"
"Eternal Nocturnal"
"Escape Of The Phoenix"
"You From You"
"Leaden Saints"
"Run"
"The Darkness In You" (Artbook Bonus Track)

One year after their latest release, the Greek heavy metallers Serpent Lord (GR) have released a new single called “The Gospel Of Judas”. The song is an introduction to a new chapter for the band, which will come with their upcoming album. The song was recorded during the summer of 2020 at Infected Studios, with Nash Makridis participating as a session drummer.

A new lyric video for the track, directed by Giannis Antoniou, can be seen below:

As the band states, “The Gospel Of Judas” is inspired by the Apocrypha Gospel of Judas, which was found and given in publicity for the first time in 2006. Serpent Lord (GR) presents a different approach on Judas’ character, who wasn’t a traitor, but Christ’s favorite student. Judas executes the Divine Plan, in order to lead Christ to his resurrection. However, Judas hangs himself because he felt guilty, which shows, according to the band, that the he was manipulated by God and that’s why he is remembered as a traitor and not as a savior, as he should be.

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

The single itself is available for streaming and purchase on digital music platforms such as Bandcamp, Apple Music, and Spotify. CD and limited-edition purple vinyl pre-orders for Psychosomatic, which will be released by M-Theory Audio on February 12, 2021 are available now here.

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

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

The result is a truly multi-national record, with guitarist/keyboardist Gabriel Guardian remaining in Las Vegas, vocalist Carlos Zema recording his vocals from his home in Brazil, new drummer Justin Piedimonte joining the band from his hometown in Montreal, Canada, and new bassist Josh Lopez remaining in Immortal Guardian's native Texas. The video for “Read Between The Lines” - produced and directed by SBLGA - also saw the members of Immortal Guardian contributing remotely from their respective homes, and shows off the continued refinement of their full-frontal assault of anthemic melodies, technical rhythms, furious shred and high-flying vocals.

The group - founded by Gabriel Guardian, whose uncanny ability to play guitar and keyboard simultaneously has been showcased on MTV's “Amazingness” and on his unique dual-instrument covers of classics by the likes of Iron Maiden, Pantera and Guns N' Roses that have garnered hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube - began building their following through multiple self-released EPs before signing with M-Theory Audio for the 2018 release of their first full-length record, Age Of Revolution. The band has also performed live alongside some of the biggest names in metal, including Judas Priest, Dragonforce, Kamelot, Symphony X, Sonata Arctica, Slayer, Metal Church, Soilwork and Steve Vai, and in countries such as Brazil and Russia, and during high-profile performances at ESPN's X Games, South By Southwest and the Fun Fun Fun Fest.

Psychosomatic is the next step in Immortal Guardian’s evolution while still capturing the band’s exhilarating trademark melding of melodic power metal with progressive/shred tendencies. More information about the album will be revealed in the weeks to come.

Immortal Guardian is:

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

Sammy Hagar and his CIRCLE bandmates have once again teamed up via the Internet, this time to record a version of the Red Rocker's Christmas song "Santa's Going South". The original track was released in 2011 and was a duet between Hagar and country singer Toby Keith.

In a statement accompanying the YouTube release of the CIRCLE version of "Santa's Going South", Sammy wrote: "This song has been waiting many years for a video. Here it is, courtesy of Lockdown 2020. Merry Christmas Redheads!"

As previously reported, SAMMY HAGAR & THE CIRCLE will release "Lockdown Sessions" as an album collection titled "Lockdown 2020" on January 8, 2021. Fans who pre-order the album now will also receive a new instant-grat track, a cover of David Bowie's "Heroes". Additionally, all proceeds from the song "Heroes" will be donated to food banks nationwide.

"Lockdown Sessions" began in March, when the COVID-19 shelter-at-home order went into effect. With time on their hands and their upcoming tour in limbo, the band's legendary drummer Jason Bonham challenged his bandmates Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony and Vic Johnson to record a warmup jam they'd been playing backstage before concerts for several years. Equipped with iPhones and their respective instruments, they each laid down their individual tracks from the den, music room, closet and even showers of their homes, and "Funky Feng Shui" and the band's "Lockdown Sessions" were born.

"When we first start doing these lockdown sessions, it was only meant to stay in touch with the fans until we could get back out on the road again," Hagar explained. "But as the weeks and months drew on, it also became a fun way to keep the band together, musically and creatively."

Over the next eight months, their "Lockdown Sessions" became a hit with critics and fans alike, producing 10 tracks and reaching an online audience approaching 30 million. The sessions gave the band the opportunity to throw down raw and raucous compact covers of classic hits that they'd jammed to backstage but never planned to record, including THE WHO's "Won't Get Fooled Again", Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds", AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie" and more. When plans for an album came to fruition around the holidays, the band came together to record one more track, a cover of David Bowie's "Heroes" which they'd offer as an instant download or single purchase.

"With the addition of 'Heroes', it made sense to help those who are struggling from the effects of COVID-19," Hagar said. "It probably wouldn't have happened without it."

"Lockdown 2020" track listing:

01. Funky Feng Shui

02. Won't Get Fooled Again (THE WHO)

03. Good Enough (VAN HALEN)

04. Three Little Birds (Bob Marley)

05. Whole Lotta Rosie (AC/DC)

06. For What It's Worth (Buffalo Springfield)

07. Keep A-Knockin' (Little Richard)

08. Right Now (VAN HALEN)

09. Don't Tell Me What Love Can Do (VAN HALEN)

10. Sympathy For The Human (SAMMY HAGAR & THE WABOS)

11. Heroes (David Bowie)

This past May, SAMMY HAGAR & THE CIRCLE's U.S. tour with NIGHT RANGER was officially canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the globe. Produced by Live Nation, the outing was scheduled to kick off July 9 in West Palm Beach, Florida at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre and make stops in Tampa, Cincinnati, Dallas, Phoenix and more, before wrapping September 20 in Chula Vista, California at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre.

THE CIRCLE's first album of all-original material, "Space Between", was released in May 2019 via BMG.

Rockshots Records has announced their signing of Grenoble, France's Avaland, an epic and symphonic metal opera, directed, written, and composed by young 22-year-old prodigy Adrien G. Gzagg.

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

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

Gzagg adds:

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

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

The album will be released on April 2, 2021.

In October, California metallers ATREYU surprise-released a new song called "Save Us". It was the first taste of the band's music since the departure of vocalist Alex Varkatzas a month earlier.

ATREYU's current lineup features drummer Brandon Saller focusing completely on singing after previously sharing lead vocals with Varkatzas for most of the band's two-decade-plus existence. Sitting behind the kit is Saller's HELL OR HIGHWATER bandmate Kyle Rosa, who had filled in for Saller on drums last year after Varkatzas bowed out of the band's European tour while dealing with serious back and hernia issues.

Asked in a recent interview with "Sappenin' Podcast With Sean Smith" if the band is still on speaking terms with Varkatzas, Saller said (hear audio below): "We'll call it a breakup. There's obviously a separation, so I think that's something that, in our hopes, the future will heal. But the five of us in the current situation are tighter than ever."

Regarding whether its feels like the latest lineup changes have injected new energy into ATREYU, Saller said: "It does [feel like that]. To me, it very much does. Being in a band for so long, I would say almost no bands are granted the insane opportunity to get a whole new big huge bag of inspiration and hunger handed to them. I feel like complacency is the killer of art. I feel like having this shift and having to almost re-prove ourselves and have something new to represent, it takes all that away and it brings you back to that youthful place."

He continued: "I said this a lot when I was doing my other band, HELL OR HIGHWATER, that it's like this invigorating, new energy that you only feel when you're young and starting. Obviously, we have decades of history behind the band and an insanely massive and incredible fanbase, but to us, we have to make sure that they're all on board, and we have to make sure that we're showing them what we're working with now."

Two months ago, Brandon told "Cutter's Rockcast" that the singer change was a long time coming. "I think people see things on the Internet, and they assume that it just happened," he said. "When you are in a band, and you have a band that's been around for 20-plus years, obviously, it's a business as well, so you have to really go through the motions and then really think everything through and do everything properly. So this has been something that has been kind of happening for a while now. Obviously, we're putting out music, so we were in the studio [making a new album]. So there was definitely the moment of when everything sort of became present that this was going to happen. We kind of had to figure out, if this happens, what is the next move? How do we go from here? Because the four of us are nowhere near done with this yet.

"I think we were really blessed with a moment [in the] summer [of 2019], where we had to go to Europe without Al, because of his back," he continued. "The two things are completely unrelated and have nothing to do with each other, really, but we had played in Europe and felt what that was like with the lineup that we currently have, and it worked, and it felt strong. So when it came time to figure out what was gonna be, obviously, Kyle Rosa was our first choice to call to play drums. If anyone knows me in HELL OR HIGHWATER, Kyle is the drummer of HELL OR HIGHWATER. He's one of my best friends and just a phenomenal human. So we kind of started playing with him and jamming with him and going through the motions to see how it felt, and it still felt really great. So that's where we are now."

Saller went on to explain why ATREYU decided against bringing in a new vocalist to replace Varkatzas.

"A new voice, I think, would completely shatter people, whereas I think just having me — everyone knows me, every ATREYU fan knows my voice and knows what it is in the band, and it's still there," he said. "And we just integrated Porter [bassist Marc McKnight] doing a lot more of the screaming stuff. I'm doing some of the screaming stuff on [upcoming] the record, but most of it's Porter. If you know our last five records, you know his voice too. Since he's been in the band, he's been screaming on records and he's been in the mix. So it still felt really familiar. We're trying to take ourselves outside of the band and put ourselves in the fans' shoes. And this still feels so much like ATREYU, and I feel like we're stronger than ever. And it feels good, and we all are so excited for this."

Regarding the aggressive nature of "Save Us", Saller said: "I think a lot of people expected us to, for some reason, put out a pop album. It's probably the heaviest record we've made in a long time. And that's not to say there isn't some freakin' pop-style stuff on there — there is, just like every other ATREYU record. Every record we've done for the past decade-plus has had those moments, and that's always been the band we are. It's brutal, and it still feels like ATREYU to me.

"This isn't a slight on Al at all, but not everyone lives and breathes on the Internet," he added. "There's a lot of people that will hear this just on the radio and will have no idea, because it's not a crazy departure style-wise."

Earlier this year, ATREYU was working on material for its eighth album. The band was once again collaborating with producer John Feldmann, who previously helmed 2018's "In Our Wake" and 2007's breakout album "Lead Sails, Paper Anchor".

In August 2019, ATREYU released a deluxe edition of "In Our Wake" via Spinefarm Records. The new version featured the original "In Our Wake" album, along with seven additional tracks. The bonus material included B-sides from the sessions for both "In Our Wake" and 2015's "Long Live", along with alternate versions of the title track and "The Time Is Now" from "In Our Wake". The deluxe edition featured completely redesigned artwork and a total of 19 songs.

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood have chosen BMG to collect the royalties due when their recordings are played on TV and radio around the world, so-called neighboring rights. BMG will also continue to represent Jagger and Richards's music publishing interests.

The deal to represent the four members of THE ROLLING STONES comes just six months after BMG announced the launch of its boutique neighboring rights service.

It coincides with a new extension of BMG's long-term deal to represent the music publishing rights of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. BMG also represents much of the recorded catalogue of Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and drummer Charlie Watts.

BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch said: "If you are in the business of selling services to artists and songwriters, these are the kinds of client you dream of attracting. We are immensely grateful to Mick, Keith, Charlie and Ronnie for putting their faith in us."

BMG's neighboring rights service will collect royalties due for the performance of legendary recordings such as "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Start Me Up". The arrangement includes recordings ranging from their very first single, 1963's "Come On", to their widely acclaimed 2020 worldwide hit "Living In A Ghost Town".

Alistair Norbury, BMG president repertoire and marketing U.K., said: "At a time when streaming is further highlighting the value of iconic music rights, our objective is to offer the best possible service to artists and songwriters. We are delighted for the opportunity to further demonstrate the value we can add for four of the greatest names in rock with our neighboring rights service."

The extension of BMG's long-running publishing relationship with Jagger and Richards covers all of the works written by the iconic duo dating back more than 50 years.

BMG will continue to be directly responsible for publishing all of the songs written by THE ROLLING STONES songwriting team since 1983. Additionally, it will be responsible for handling Jagger and Richards's shares of their pre-1983 copyrights which are represented by ABKCO (1963-1971) and EMI Music Publishing (1971-1983).

Songs directly published by BMG span the albums "Dirty Work" (1986), "Steel Wheels" (1989), "Voodoo Lounge" (1994), "Bridges To Babylon" (1997) and "A Bigger Bang" (2005) as well as future compositions. They include classic STONES tracks such as "Mixed Emotions", "Love Is Strong", "You Got Me Rocking" and "Doom And Gloom". BMG will also administer Jagger and Richards's interests in all of their ROLLING STONES hits dating back to 1963, including "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", "Brown Sugar" and "Angie".

The new expanded relationship precedes the celebration of THE ROLLING STONES' 60th anniversary in 2022.

Earlier this year, THE ROLLING STONES released their newest single "Living In A Ghost Town". Their first new music in eight years, "Living In A Ghost Town" is the first original song they have released since "Doom And Gloom" and "One More Shot", which were featured on their greatest-hits album "Grrr!", released in 2012. In 2016, the band released "Blue & Lonesome" comprising covers of some of the greatest blues artists who inspired them, including Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Magic Sam, Jimmy Reed and Willie Dixon

Edmonton’s Boneyard recently released their new album Oathbreaker. The album is now available on red colored vinyl, limited to 100 copies. Purchase here.

The album illustration is by Calgary based artist Tom Bagley (Forbidden Dimension).

Fates Warning lyric video:

Boneyard is an original hard rock/ metal band from Edmonton, Alberta. The band features lead vocalist, Pamtera. Rounding out the rhythm section, is bassist Dennis Cooke and drummer Jefftimus. The band also enjoys injecting some classic metal cuts into the set list. Its members bring a wealth of experience from previous projects that include: Tyrant, Powerslave and Septimus.

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions are set to release the new 2CD collection from Japan's doom infested death metal legends Coffins. Defilements is up now for preorder and will be released January 22 on Double CD and Digital formats.

This 2CD compilation presents material from these out of print EP releases: Craving To Eternal Slumber, Noise Room Sessions 2014, March Of Despair, Sewage Sludgecore Treatment and Live At Asakusa Deathfest 2016. This official Coffins collection was designed and approved by Uchino himself, clocking in at nearly 2 hours of horrific, bone crushing doom infested death metal which further cements the bands legacy as leaders of the underground. Preorder here.

Tracklisting:

CD1
“Hatred Storm”
“Tyrant”
“Craving To Eternal Slumber”
“Stairway To Torment”
“An Obscure Pain”
“Decapitated Crawl”
“Hellbringer”
“Under The Stench” (alt. version)
“Till Dawn Of The Dooms Day”
“Grotesque Messiah”
“Carpet Of Bones”
“In Bloody Sewage”
“Corpsegrinder” (Death cover)

CD2
“Broken” (Buzzoven cover)
“Sisterfucker Part 1” (Eyehategod cover)
“Evazan” (Noothgrush cover)
“I Hate You” (Grief cover)
“Black Aspirin” (Iron Monkey cover)
“Sisterfucker Part 1” (live)
“Here Comes Perdition” (live)
“Under The Stench” (live)
“Decapitated Crawl” (live)
“Tyrant” (live)
“Evil Infection” (live) (bonus track)

“Hatred Storm”:

Vessel Of Light has unveiled the latest video from the Doom-laden hard rockers’ fourth album, Last Ride, in the Sabbath-esque “Torture King.”

The video was captured by Jason Stewart and includes footage from one of Vessel Of Light’s rare full-band rehearsals, when vocalist Nathan Opposition flew in from Cleveland to join the rest of the guys in New Jersey just before Halloween.

“The opening riff to ‘Torture King’ was the first riff I wrote after we finished our last album,” says guitarist Dan Lorenzo. “Even though it's not drop tuning it just sounded so heavy. Obviously, it's very Sabbathy and I was curious if Nathan could come up with a cool melody line to it. When I first heard what he wrote to it I was blown away...I still am. I actually asked him if we should change the name of our new album from ‘Last Ride’ to ‘Torture King’ at one point.”

As the title may suggest, “Torture King” is in line with the lyrical theme that permeates Last Ride, exploring the darkest sides of humanity and indulging both Opposition and Lorenzo in their fascination with true crime.

“The riff in ‘Torture King’ is so heavy and dark that I wanted to make the lyrics evil and descriptive to get into the listeners head and convey a message equally as dark and sinister,” Opposition says. “For me it's about creating a mood when I sing and when I write lyrics. The mood of ‘Torture King’ is sadistic terror through the eyes of a cold-blooded killer. The subject matter is a familiar story, from Jack the Ripper to Dennis Rader. Sick people in the world playing sick games, winning sick prizes. Just a pawn in someone else's game of chess where human life holds no value and the ones who suffer are the innocent. There will always be real horror out there in the world no matter how much we try to hide it. There's no escape from it, just a blind eye.”

The most refined of Vessel Of Light’s releases, Last Ride, released October 23 via Nomad Eel Records, is rife with depth, harmonies, the trademark riffs and guitar sound of guitarist Dan Lorenzo while also maintaining a familiar feel. Like the haunting first single and title track from Last Ride, “There’s No Escape” has a sinister lyrical theme, keeping in line with the darker subjects that permeate this record.

Darrell Millar, best known as the drummer for Canada's Killer Dwarfs, announces exclusively via BraveWords that he will be releasing a new book next year titled, Thunder Foot: Chronicles Of A Rock N Roll Pirate Volume I.

"Volume I of the book will come out in the Spring of 2021," reveals Darrell. "Autographed copies will be available at my website dunkspirateshop.com, or online hard copy purchases shall be offered via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Chapters. The book spans 45 years of my music career and all bands in between. It will be released in two volumes. Volume I comes out in Spring 2021, and Volume II will be released in 2022."

Pictured below, for the first time anywhere, is the cover to Thunder Foot: Chronicles Of A Rock N Roll Pirate Volume I. The photograph was taken by widely respected photographer Igor Vidyashev of Rockxposure. Exact release date tbc.

Thunder Foot: Chronicles Of A Rock N Roll Pirate Volume I will actually be Millar's second book. In 2018, Darrell issued his debut as an author, Guardian Of A Time Keeper. The synopsis reads:

"After the death of my father, Bill Millar the piano man and war vet, on September 2nd 2017, things changed. Although he was 93 years old and had lived an amazing life, I don't think you can ever be totally prepared to lose a parent, or any family member for that matter. After his death, I took to the keyboard and started writing more of a journal of memories and times that I can remember as a kid. I really started doing this as a part of the grieving process, and found it comforting. After spending a full year doing this, I realized I had stumbled upon ten short chapters of near death mishaps that occurred from the time I was three years old, up until present day. My father was involved with some of these events. Thus, Guardian Of A Time Keeper was born."

Guardian Of A Time Keeper is still available with autographed copies being offered at dunkspirateshop.com, and non-signed books via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Chapters.

(Photos courtesy of Darrell Millar and UnkleDunk Records, all rights reserved)

 

In the video below, Venom Inc. guitarist Mantas covers The Dead Daisies track, “Resurrected”.

Mantas says, “Cover version of the song ‘Resurrected’ from the album Burn It Down by The Dead Daisies. This song and its lyrics means so much to me given what happened in 2018 [referring to the heart attack he suffered] and ironically it was released around three weeks before the event.”

Venom Inc. guitarist Jeff "Mantas" Dunn and Behemoth frontman Adam "Nergal" Darski teamed up for a lockdown version of the Venom classic "Satanachist" in May. Check out the clip below.

Nergal: "That came out spontaneous... just to have some fun and kill the time during quarantine. But to me, as a big Venom devotee, it’s a fan boy moment. Thank you, Jeff Dunn, for involving me, means a lot. Ladies and gents, from the very depths of hell... one of my all time favorite Venom songs, 'Satanachist'.

PS: Shout out to Haldor Grunberg for making all this possible in his home studio... plus thanx for backing vocals!

PS2: Becoz this riff sounds almost EXACTLY the same as Burzum’s 'War', I used the same opening scream 'This is... war' just like Varg did. Just to build the link and show who inspired who..."

"Satanachist" appears on Venom's fourth album, Possessed, from 1985. It was performed by the band's classic line-up of Mantas, Cronos (vocals, bass) and Abaddon (drums).

Tis the season for holiday music to be heard on every street corner, in every grocery store aisle and over every personal stereo playing the same 5-10 songs over and over and over again. As mid-December approaches, the discernible music lover will be in search of the uniquely crafted, expertly arranged holiday versions to break the merry monotony.

Enter Rick Wakeman’s much-loved album from 2000, Christmas Variations. Featuring a mix of familiar tunes - “Silent Night”, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”, and “O Come All Ye Faithful” - as well as lesser known classical-based compositions such as “Christians Awake Salute The Happy Mourn” and “Once In Royal David’s City”, this superb album offers bold interpretations of holiday songs as played by one of the most celebrated keyboardists in all of music.

And this year brings a special offering as a deluxe reissue of Christmas Variations has just been released. Not only does this reissue offer a complete revamp of the artwork, it also has two bonus tracks: “Silent Prayer” and a very moving live performance of “Amazing Grace”.

Christmas Variations is available now on digital, digipak CD and a glorious 2LP colored vinyl set in a gatefold jacket. Order here.

Tracklisting:

"Silent Night"
"Hark The Herald Angels Sing"
"Christians Awake Salute The Happy Mourn"
"Away In A Manger"
"While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night"
"O Little Town Of Bethlehem"
"It Came Upon A Midnight Clear"
"Once In Royal David's City"
"O Come All Ye Faithful"
"Angels From The Realms Of Glory"

Bonus Tracks:
"Silent Prayer"
"Amazing Grace" (Live At Lincoln Cathedral 2018)

The Rods, who have 40 years of heavy metal history with many classic albums and legendary metal hits, are set to collaborate with High Roller Records on 40th anniversary reissues of their catalog.

Says drummer Carl Canedy: "I am thrilled that High Roller Records are doing official reissues of the entire The Rods catalog! From original sources and with high-quality artwork, as well as bonus material. Finally the fans will have the chance to purchase The Rods‘ music as it was intended. It has been an amazing journey and after 40 years we are happy that the fans have this opportunity! There has been various bootleg and low-fi stuff released over the years so this is very exciting for the band as well!"

The reissues will be available in late summer/ autumn 2021.

To celebrate this and 40 years of The Rods, the band has available on all digital platforms the new 2020 40th anniversary version of "Crank It Up" mixed by the brilliant Fred Coury.

The Rods are an American heavy metal band formed in 1980 by David "Rock" Feinstein (guitar, vocals), Steven Starmer (bass, vocals), and Carl Canedy (drums, vocals). Their first album was originally released independently as Rock Hard in 1980 and the following year the band was signed by Arista Records, who reordered the album tracks and released it simply titled The Rods. Their second album, Wild Dogs, followed in 1982. All in all the band has released eight studio albums so far.

The Acacia Strain - Vincent Bennett (vocals), Kevin Boutot (drums), Devin Shidaker (guitar), Griffin Landa (bass), and Tom "The Hammer" Smith, Jr. (guitar) - have shared the video for "One Thousand Painful Stings". The song, which features Spiritbox singer Courtney LaPlante, appears on the band's eighth full-length album Slow Decay, out now through Rise Records.

In lieu of an actual live show, the clip is a socially distanced sign of the times - featuring the band members performing in fuzzy onesies, substituting pet cats for instruments and Swiffers for mic stands, LaPlante's living room mosh, and much more. It's truly a hilarious (and thoroughly metal) way to cap off what has been quite a tumultuous year.

"Having a record come out during a pandemic is hard," says Bennett, who also directed the video. "No touring, no playing the new songs, no nothing. All of us live far away from one another, so we cannot do a cool livestream, either. We couldn't even get together to make a music video, so we did this! Stay safe, stay sane, and stay away from each other!"

Latvian hard rockers, Bloody Heels, have released a "live from the studio" video for "No Matter", a track from their new album, Ignite The Sky, out now via Frontiers Music Srl. Watch the clip  below, and order the album here.

Formed in 2012 in Riga, Latvia, Bloody Heels have a musical style that could be best described as a sort of missing link between Crashdïet and Crazy Lixx, with heavier elements like early W.A.S.P. and Kissin’ Dynamite. The band have already made a name for themselves with the EP Summer Nights (2014) and the album Through Mystery (2017). They’ve played shows all around Europe including Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Netherlands, Belgium, and the Baltic States.

Tracklisting:

"Ignite The Sky"
"Criminal Masterminds"
"No Matter"
"Sugar & Spice"
"Farewell To Yesterday"
"Black Swan"
"Stand Your Ground"
"Thin Line"
"Silhouette"
"Healing Waters"
"Streets Of Misery"

"Black Swan" video:

"Farewell To Yesterday" 360° video:

"Ignite The Sky" video:

"Criminal Masterminds" video:

 
Lineup:

Vocals - Valts Berzins (Vicky White)
Guitars - Haralds Avotins (Harry Rivers)
Bass - Gunars Narbuts (Gunn Everett)
Drums - Gustavs Vanags (Gus Hawk)
Cello on track "Silhouette" - Erna Daugaviete
Saxophone on track "Healing Waters" - Dagnis Rozins

Fates Warning have released a guitar playthrough video for "Scars", a track from their new album, Long Day Good Night, available via Metal Blade Records. Watch below:

Long Day Good Night can ordered here in the following formats:

- digipak-CD
- ltd. digibook-CD
- 180g black vinyl (EU exclusive)
- red / black marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 500 copies)
- dark goldenrod marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 300 copies)
- clear / black marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- orange / black dust splatter vinyl (Kings Road exclusive - limited to 100 copies)
- orange / red marbled vinyl (US exclusive)
- clear w/ red & orange splatter vinyl (US exclusive)

Fates Warning have been a formidable presence in progressive metal for more than 35 years, helping to shape and drive the genre without ever compromising their integrity or losing relevance. They return in 2020 with Long Day Good Night, the most epic and longest album of their storied career - mixed by Joe Barresi.

"The styles of music we've written distinguish this record from the rest of our catalogue," states vocalist Ray Alder. "There are some songs with electronics and some with a nice ethereal feel, as well as some pretty straightforward grooves, at least for us. And there are also some pretty heavy songs. We tried to give the listener a host of different things to listen to, as opposed to an album where every song sounds the same."

As such, the album is something of a rollercoaster ride, moving through various moods and making for perhaps their most vital release to date.

Guitarist Jim Matheos began writing the album in mid-2019, working closely with Alder for about a year, honing the songs, completing 13 for their 13th full-length - which un-coincidentally has a total running time of 72:22. Despite their long history of making records, Alder makes it clear that the songs take a lot of work to realize.

"Like all albums, nothing comes easy. It's quite a process to go from the idea to the actual finished song. Sometimes you think you're done with it, then you hear something else and you have to try that. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but you at least have to try it just so you know that in the end you've done everything possible to make it as good as it can be. Jim and I spent practically every day for the last year writing this album. I am very happy with the outcome, and with the blend of styles. I guess I could say that this album represents all of the years that we have been together."

The record also features guest appearances from touring guitarist Mike Abdow, who contributed some solos, plus Porcupine Tree/The Pineapple Thief drummer Gavin Harrison plays on "When Snow Falls", and "Under The Sun" sees the band incorporating a full string section for the first time. The result of all the hard work put in by all involved is undeniable, and with Long Day Good Night, Fates Warning once again take a bold step forward into the next phase of their exhilarating career.

Long Day Good Night tracklisting:

"The Destination Onward"
"Shuttered World"
"Alone We Walk"
"Now Comes The Rain"
"The Way Home"
"Under The Sun"
"Scars"
"Begin Again"
"When Snow Falls"
"Liar"
"Glass Houses"
"The Longest Shadow Of The Day"
"The Last Song"

"Begin Again" video:

"Now Comes The Rain" lyric video:

Album stream:

Australian progressive metal band, Teramaze, recorded their own version of the Savage Garden hit, "Break Me Shake Me". A video for the song can be found below.

Vocalist Dean Wells states: "Most of our fans know that i am a massive SavageGgarden fan and we thought it would be fun to do our own version of their smash hit ‘Break Me Shake Me’. We wanted to do a respectful homage to the original version, but add the appropriate amount guitar grit and shred that fans would expect from a Teramaze song. We live in such a crazy time that putting something light and fun out felt like the right thing to do. It’s a great track and I really enjoyed singing this one."

Teramaze are:

Dean Wells : Vocals / Guitars
Andrew Cameron : Bass Guitar
Chris Zoupa : Guitar
Nick Ross : Drums

Hammer King will set forth on a heroic journey in 2021 and have chosen their mighty allies for the trek - none other than Napalm Records. The band has signed a worldwide record deal with the premier rock and metal label and are set to release new music soon.

Ever since Hammer King burst onto the scene in 2015 with their first album, Kingdom Of The Hammer King, swiftly followed up with King Is Rising in 2016 and Poseidon Will Carry Us Home in 2018, they have proven themselves as an unstoppable force. Celebrating the truest of heavy metal in the tradition of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Pfalzgraf Luitpold, the band keeps it heavy with speedy riffs, energetic grooves and fist-pumping choruses, devoting their existence to the one and only myth of the godly Hammer King himself.

Hand-picked by thy majesty himself, the band consists of former Ross The Boss vocalist Titan Fox and former Saltatio Mortis drummer Dolph A. Macallan, alongside Gladius Thundersword on bass and Kleveland's most timeless lead guitarist: Gino Wilde. Now proudly joining the Napalm Records roster, this powerful heavy metal unit is even more of a serious force to be reckoned with in 2021.

Hammer King on signing to Napalm Records: “It has been done! Ever since thy Majesty, the Hammer King, founded the band, it was our strongest desire to move onward and upward. Now, signing with Napalm Records, we are joyous, proud and confident to have taken at least one giant step upward. Napalm Records has always been our dream partner for Hammer King as they very obviously are doing an outstanding job promoting and pushing their classy roster of bands.

"We are blessed to now be a part of that roster and we are equally sworn to work as hard and consistently as possible to deliver whatever it takes to fulfill Napalm's expectations in us – as well as our own and those of the Hammer King. We kneel in gratitude – and we stand with the Kingly Hammer raised to take the world!

"God bless the King, may the King bless you!”

Hammer King is:

Titan Fox V - Vocals|Guitar
Gino Wilde - Guitar
Gladius Thundersword - Bass
Dolph A. Macallan - Drums

(Photo - Tommy S. Mardo)

The documentary film "Mean Man: The Story Of Chris Holmes" will be made available on Blu-ray, DVD and VOD on January 15. A new preview clip in which Chris Holmes and some of his childhood friends look back at his earliest bands can be seen below.

Written and directed by French filmmakers Antoine De Montremy and Laurent Hart (whose music production career includes televised interviews with SCORPIONS, DEEP PURPLE, SLAYER, GUNS N' ROSES and more), "Mean Man: The Story Of Chris Holmes" was a project that was born in 2014 after they had an opportunity to meet and direct Holmes in a music video for the Holmes-penned song "Let It Roar" in Cannes, France. At that time, the former W.A.S.P. guitarist had more or less disappeared from the music scene, leaving his home in the U.S. to seek a new beginning with his wife Sarah in France. Not content with merely directing a music video for the reborn Holmes, De Montremy pursued his bigger dream of writing and directing a documentary film about this iconic metal guitar legend, and for the next several years shadowed him throughout Europe while filming everything from band rehearsals, to recording sessions to live performances.

By creatively combining archival footage, interviews with past and present band members and musical peers, family members and childhood friends — interspersed with beautifully filmed concert performances of Holmes's current solo band — De Montremy skillfully portrays the story of an iconic guitar player who has lived a life of extreme highs and lows. After losing the publishing rights of his own songs and combatting dangerous addictions, the legendary W.A.S.P. guitarist is shown starting over from scratch while living at his mother-in-law's in Cannes, France as he puts together, with his wife, a brand new band and a brand new musical role as not only the main guitarist, but now as the actual lead singer of this newly born musical project aptly named MEAN MAN.

Says De Montremy: "Over the last five years, I've had the privilege to establish a true relationship with Chris Holmes and to follow him throughout Europe. I was impressed by his charisma, his approach towards life, his multiple experiences and taste for simplicity which have actually altered my own vision of existence. In fact, he has almost become a spiritual father to me, in the way that he inspired me in many of my own decisions."

Holmes joined W.A.S.P. in 1982 and remained with the group until 1990. In 1996, the guitarist returned to W.A.S.P. and stayed with the band until 2001. Chris has not played with W.A.S.P. since.

During a November 2017 press conference in Moscow, Russia, W.A.S.P. leader Blackie Lawless was asked what he would say to those fans who continue to call for the band to reunite with Holmes. He responded: "People get divorced for certain reasons, and there's times when the kids want the parents to get back together, but sometimes it never happens. And this is one of those [times]. Sorry."

Frontiers Music Srl will release "One Shot", the new solo album from Danish vocalist Ronnie Atkins, album on March 12, 2021. The disc's first single, "Real", can be streamed below.

"To be honest, I initially had no intention to do a solo album to begin with, but for various reasons, and in particularly my own personal health situation, I finally decided to have a crack at it," says Atkins.

"Around Easter 2020, and only some six weeks after I was told that everything seemingly looked very positive for my health, I was, unfortunately, diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and told it was incurable, which was devastating news for me. Needless to say, that was a total game changer and I went into kind of a panic situation for a while. But when the dust had settled, I realized there were two ways to approach the situation. I could sit down, accept the facts, and feel pity for myself or I could pull myself up, set some goals, pursue my dreams, and carry on living. And with fantastic backup from my family and true friends, I went for the latter."

With the global pandemic shutting down touring for the foreseeable future, Atkins knew a tour promoting the latest PRETTY MAIDS album, "Undress Your Madness" (2019), was not going to be in the cards anytime soon. Suddenly, the timing for working on a new solo album seemed to have presented itself.

"Well, I couldn't change the way things were, by any means," he says. "The whole world was on a lockdown and the future prospects of concerts were very uncertain and still is to this day. Basically, that meant that if I was gonna carry out the idea of a solo album, it had to be now since I don't necessarily have all the time in the world. I had all these ideas recorded on my iPhone that I felt were too good to never see the light of day and I was writing a lot at the time to help ease my frustrations."

Ronnie's next step was to hook up with good friend and PRETTY MAIDS bandmate and producer Chris Laney to begin the work of putting these ideas together into songs. Chris is overseeing production, Jacob Hansen will mix, and musicians/singers appearing on the album include, in addition to Laney, Allan Sørensen, Morten Sandager, Pontus Egberg, Pontus Norgren, Kee Marcello, Olliver Hartmann, John Berg, Anders Ringman, Linnea Vikström Egg and Björn Strid.

"Not being able to handle the recordings myself since I'm old school and a complete idiot when it comes to IT, Pro Tools, etc. I hooked up with my PRETTY MAIDS friend and firesoul Chris Laney, who literally cheered me up and convinced me to go ahead with it," Ronnie says. "So, I decided to get moving and literally recorded my ideas on either piano or guitar and with a mellotron click to keep the beat and the accompanying vocal. Then I would send these along to Chris, who did the instrumentation in Stockholm and would then send back demos to me. Then I recorded the vocals first, which is totally the opposite of what you'd normally do, but based on the uncertainty of my health situation, I wanted to get them down. After that we did the basic tracks, drums, guitars, keys, backing vocals, etc. Odd way of doing it, for me at least, but it worked. And so, this procedure slowly moved on during the summer and finally turned into an album of 12 new songs."

"I wouldn't have been able to carry out this project without the enthusiasm of Chris, who has been my constant partner in this project from day one," Atkins adds. "On top of that, I had the pleasure of working with a variety of great musicians/singers such as Pontus Norgren, Kee Marcello, Olliver Hartmann, Pontus Egberg, Linnea Vickström Egg, Björn Strid, and at last, but not at least, my PRETTY MAIDS relatives Allan Sørensen and Morten Sandager.

"Musically and lyrically, this album has been a different process for me, considering everything going on. Musically, it could have gone in various directions. It's always a question of what you want it to be. A good song is a good song, so it's really a matter of how it is packaged. But I decided to make it appeal to the fans, the supporters who've been following me for almost 40 years, so this is basically a melodic rock album with a heavy twist. Lyrically, it also has a different approach. I found it hard to write about sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll, etc. due to the situation I'm wrapped up in, so I guess it turned out a bit more personal and maybe melancholic at times. But it reflects my thoughts at the given time these lyrics were written."

"One Shot" track listing:

01. Real

02. Scorpio

03. One Shot

04. Subjugated

05. Frequency Of Love

06. Before The Rise Of An Empire

07. Miles Away

08. Picture Yourself

09. I Prophesize

10. One By One

11. When Dreams Are Not Enough

Lineup:

Ronnie Atkins: Lead and backing vocals

Chris Laney: Rhythm guitars, keyboards and backing vocals

Allan Sørensen: Drums

Morten Sandager: Keyboards

Pontus Egberg: Bass

Acoustic guitars: Anders Ringman

Lead guitars/solos: Pontus Norgren, Kee Marcello, Olliver Hartmann, John Berg, Chris Laney

Additional backing vocals: Chris Laney, Linnea Vikström Egg, Olliver Hartmann, Björn Strid

Produced by: Chris Laney

Mixed by Jacob Hansen

The 55-year-old Atkins was diagnosed with lung cancer last year and underwent at least 33 radiation and four chemotherapy treatments last fall before being declared cancer-free. In October, he announced that his cancer had returned.

Photo credit: Tallee Savage

The twin metal duo, Dianthus, are currently in the midst of recording their brand new album, Realms, with producer Steve Evetts (The Dillinger Escape Plan, Symphony X, Butcher Babies, etc.), and have been releasing a series of singles leading up to the full release tentatively due in early 2021.

The first single “Realms” was released in July and quickly gained the attention of press and fans alike. Watch a video for the song below.

Now, Jackie and Jessica are back with their new single “Lonicera”, and have given us a little insight into the song, “'Lonicera' is one of the most conceptual songs from our forthcoming album. The introduction sets the storyline by first defining a ‘lonicera’. The song then shifts sonically to other forms. We wanted this track to be symbolic of the imaginative world we are creating with our album Realms. Lonicera alludes to the mysterious and subliminal nature of the mind’s conscience.”

You can download/stream “Lonicera” here. Listen below: