SLIPKNOT has announced a European tour for summer 2021.

The trek will kick off on July 16 at Moscow, Russia's Park Live Festival and conclude on August 19 at Charleville-Mézières, France's Cabaret Vert Festival. There will also be stops in Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany and Sweden.

SLIPKNOT's 2021 European tour dates:

Jul. 16 - Moscow, Russia - Park Live Festival

Jul. 18 - Kiev, Ukraine - Upark Festival

Jul. 21 - Bucharest, Romania - Romexpo

Jul. 22 - Plovdiv, Bulgaria - Hills Of Rock

Jul. 24 - Athens, Greece - Release Festival

Jul. 28 - Graz, Austria - Stadthalle

Jul. 29 - Prague, Czech Republic - O2 Arena

Jul. 31 - Wacken, Germany - Wacken Open Air

Aug. 01 - Malmö, Sweden - Rock Slap Festival

Aug. 07 - Turku, Finland - Port Of Turku

Aug. 13 - Gdansk, Poland - Ergo Arena

Aug. 15 - Geneva, Switzerland - Arena

Aug. 19 - Charleville-Mézières, France - Cabaret Vert Festival

Last month, SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor told "Good Company" that the band is "thinking about putting another album out maybe next year. But I don't know. I don't know what the plan is yet. But I know that we were talking about doing it, 'cause we only have one album left on our contract [with our record label]."

In October, SLIPKNOT percussionist M. Shawn "Clown" Crahan confirmed that the band has been using some of the downtime during the coronavirus crisis to work on new material.

"We Are Not Your Kind" came out in August 2019. The disc sold 118,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Furthermore, the album made an impact worldwide with No. 1 debuts in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Australia, Canada, Japan, Ireland, Belgium, Portugal and Finland, as well as Top 5 debuts in Germany, France, Norway, Italy, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain and New Zealand.

"We Are Not Your Kind"'s sales in the U.S. were boosted by a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer with SLIPKNOT's summer 2019 tour.

Earlier this year, Crahan said that a set of 11 previously unreleased songs recorded by four members of SLIPKNOT during the sessions for its 2008 LP "All Hope Is Gone" will arrive at some point during the "We Are Not Your Kind" touring cycle.

Crahan revealed the existence of the music in 2018, saying that he, Taylor, guitarist Jim Root and DJ Sid Wilson wrote and laid down the more psychedelic-flavored tunes at a separate studio during an impasse in the recording of "All Hope Is Gone".

PANTERA frontman Philip Anselmo and his solo band, THE ILLEGALS, will perform "A Vulgar Display Of Pantera" set on a European tour in the summer of 2021. Support on the trek will come from BAEST.

Tour dates:

Jul. 24 - St. Petersburg (RU) A2 Green concert

Jul. 25 - Moscow (RU) Adrenaline Stadium

Jul. 29 - Tolmin (SL) Metal Days

Jul. 30 - Saint maurice de gourdans (FR) Sylak Festival

Jul. 31 - Utrecht (NL) Tivoli

Aug. 01 - Oberhausen (DE) Turbinehalle

Aug. 04 - Budapest (HU) Barba Negra

Aug. 05 - Belgrade (RS) Beogradski Sajam

Aug. 06 - Sofia (BG) Yunak

Aug. 07 - Brasov (RO) Rockstad Extreme Fest

Aug. 09 - Vienna (AT) Simm City

Aug. 10 - Krakau (PL) Studio

Aug. 11 - Jaromer (CZ) Brutal Assault Festival

Aug. 13 - Derbyshire (UK) Bloodstock Festival (no BAEST)

Aug. 14 - Kortrijk (BE) Alcatraz Festival

In the summer of 2019, Anselmo spoke to Revolver about his decision to play a number of PANTERA songs during the latest tour with PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS.

"We were about a month out from touring [the second ILLEGALS album, 'Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue'] when Vince Paul passed away and that was horrific and so unexpected," he said. "It was something that stopped me dead in my tracks. I was in my kitchen and I just dropped to the floor and just had to breathe for a little while. That's when the big plea for us to do more PANTERA songs became irresistible. The tribute had to be then. It had to be right. And I never thought it would be THE ILLEGALS. Clearly the mission for us was to be a sweaty hole-in-the wall death-metal band. I've got to say huge props to them for learning the PANTERA material. They didn't even flinch, man, and just went for it.

"The vibe from most of the shows have been so fucking great, man," he continued. "And what really tickles me is seeing the young bloods out in the audience, freaking out on the PANTERA stuff. And you know it's their parents who got them into PANTERA."

On the topic of whether his PANTERA tribute will continue into the future, or if it's something he is doing right now, Anselmo said: "I'd like it to be just for now. For me, PANTERA was PANTERA and there's no substitute. So playing those songs, I didn't mind doing it for a one-off thing here and there with a group of guys — we used to do it in 'Metal Masters', [with] Kerry King and the ANTHRAX guys. But I wasn't going to learn a set of PANTERA with another band. I didn't feel entitled to do that. It's not like I feel entitled now. I feel now it's necessary."

Up until his death in June 2018, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for the death of Dimebag, who was his brother.

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, they formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.

Vinnie Paul died of dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, as well as severe coronary artery disease. His death was the result of chronic weakening of the heart muscle — basically meaning his heart couldn't pump blood as well as a healthy heart.

Vinnie was buried on June 30, 2018 next to his brother and their mother, Carolyn, at Moore Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Arlington, Texas.

The reunited expanded classic lineup of German power metallers HELLOWEEN will release its much-anticipated album in the summer of 2021. The disc's first single, "Skyfall", will arrive on April 2, 2021.

The "Pumpkins United" lineup features returning singer Michael Kiske and guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen alongside current singer Andi Deris, guitarists Michael Weikath and Sascha Gerstner, bassist Markus Grosskopf and drummer Daniel Löble.

Produced by Charlie Bauerfeind and Dennis Ward, the new HELLOWEEN LP was recorded in part at the H.O.M.E. Studios in Hamburg (where everything started in 1984). The same recording console used for such HELLOWEEN albums as "Master Of The Rings", "Time Of The Oath" and "Better Than Raw" was utilized to record the band's new material. The effort was mixed at the Valhalla Studios of Ronald Prent (IRON MAIDEN, DEF LEPPARD, RAMMSTEIN).

HELLOWEEN's new album saw the legendary German power metallers going "back to the roots," with the band recording fully analogue and Löble playing the drum kit previously used by HELLOWEEN's original drummer, the late Ingo Schwichtenberg, on the legendary "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" recordings.

"Skyfall" will be available on CD, digitally and in two different vinyl versions.

Single 1: Vinyl, CD, digital:

"Skyfall" (single edit) + "Skyfall" (exclusive alternative vocals mix). Both are exclusive single versions and will not be on the album. Around 20 minutes playing time.

Single 2: Vinyl only

"Skyfall" (single edit) + "Indestructible" (exclusive album track). This is a strictly limited version of the new single with one exclusive album track.

The epic 12-minute track "Skyfall", written by Hansen, has the long-yearned "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" vibe, but it isn't musically telling the whole story of the album. Lyrically, "Skyfall" tells about an alien landing on earth, and the accompanying music video, produced by Martin Häusler, will be the most elaborate clip in the history of the band, featuring 3D animation and a cinematic look.

The "Pumpkins United" tour marked the first time Kiske had played live with HELLOWEEN since 1993. Hansen, who departed HELLOWEEN in 1988, had been joining the band onstage on various tours and festival appearances throughout the years. The set featured several duets with Kiske and his replacement, Deris, along with many rarely played songs, including "Kids Of The Century", "Rise And Fall" and "Livin' Ain't No Crime". Hansen — who fronted HELLOWEEN until late 1986 — sang a medley of several early HELLOWEEN classics, including "Ride The Sky", "Judas", "Starlight" and "Heavy Metal (Is The Law)".

HELLOWEEN's European "United Alive World Tour Part II", which was originally scheduled to take place in September and October will now take place next year.

The "Pumpkins United" lineup of HELLOWEEN already released one new song — aptly titled "Pumpkins United" — in October 2017.

This Tuesday, December 8, former NIGHTWISH vocalist Tarja Turunen will take part in an Instagram Live chat with current NIGHTWISH singer Floor Jansen. The discussion will start at 19:30 CET / 1:30 p.m. EST / 10:30 a.m. PST.

Tarja announced the chat via her Facebook page on Sunday (December 6). She wrote: "On Tuesday at 19:30 CET I will be having a chat with Floor Jansen in my Instagram live about my forthcoming 'Christmas together world wide live streaming concerts' and her recent activities."

Turunen and Jansen previously performed a duet together at the 2013 edition of the Metal Female Voices Fest at Oktoberhallen in Wieze, Belgium. The women joined forces on a cover version of "Over The Hills And Far Away", originally written and recorded by the Northern Irish singer and guitarist Gary Moore and previously covered by NIGHTWISH on the 2001 EP of the same name.

Jansen made her live debut as the frontwoman of NIGHTWISH on October 1, 2012 at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington following the abrupt departure of the band's lead singer of five years, Anette Olzon.

Jansen officially joined NIGHTWISH in 2013 and made her recording debut with the group on 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" album.

NIGHTWISH's ninth studio album, "Human. :II: Nature." , was released in April via Nuclear Blast. The effort is a double album containing nine tracks on the main CD and one long track, divided into eight chapters on CD 2.

Last year, Turunen dismissed Internet chatter about her possible return to NIGHTWISH after her December 2017 onstage reunion with the band's bassist/vocalist Marco Hietala during a "Raskasta Joulua" concert in Hämeenlinna, Finland.

"I know a lot of fans would love to see something happen, but it's a very long distance away," she told Kerrang! magazine. "Personally, I don't see anything happening with me and them, to be perfectly honest. Marco came a little later into the band; he wasn't there since the beginning. He was always a guy I was close to. Me and [NIGHTWISH keyboardist/leader] Tuomas Holopainen, however, haven't seen each other in a long time… but we have been in touch. It's not bad. The past is what it is; we can't change that. We can only change the future."

Turunen was fired from NIGHTWISH at the end of the band's 2005 tour by being presented with an open letter which was published on the NIGHTWISH web site at the same time. In the letter, the other members of NIGHTWISH wrote: "To you, unfortunately, business, money, and things that have nothing to do with emotions have become much more important."

Holopainen later called the decision to part ways with Turunen "the most difficult thing I ever had to do." For her part, Tarja said the way she was kicked out of the group proved that her former bandmates were not her friends. "Maybe one day I'll forgive, but I will never forget," she said.

Tarja's new live album "Christmas Together: Live At Olomouc And Hradec Králové 2019", was released on November 6 via earMUSIC. Her latest studio LP, "In The Raw", arrived in August 2019 via earMUSIC.


On Tuesday at 19:30 CET I will be having a chat with Floor Jansen in my Instagram live about my forthcoming “Christmas...

Posted by Tarja Turunen on Sunday, December 6, 2020

SAINT ASONIA, featuring former THREE DAYS GRACE frontman Adam Gontier and STAIND guitarist/founding member Mike Mushok, has released the deluxe edition of its 2019 sophomore effort, "Flawed Design". The new version features two additional songs: "Say Goodbye" and "Weak & Tired".

The digital deluxe edition is available here via Spinefarm Records.

"Flawed Design" originally came out in fall 2019. The single "The Hunted", featuring GODSMACK's Sully Erna, was a Top 10 radio smash.

Gontier told Audio Ink Radio about SAINT ASONIA's collaboration with Erna: "Mike and Sully started writing the song a few years ago. and they wrote the song with the intention of it being on a movie soundtrack, and it didn't end up being on the soundtrack, so the song was sitting around a few years. They played it for me, and I loved it. I tweaked a few things, and Mike tweaked a few things, and I came up with different melodies, and we revisited the song in the studio when we were making this record, and it turned out great. We asked Sully if he would want to guest on it, since he co-wrote it, and we're lucky to have him on the record."

Gontier also talked about another track on the record, "Sirens", featuring a guest appearance by Sharon Den Adel from WITHIN TEMPTATION.

"I've been a big fan of WITHIN TEMPTATION for years," Adam said. "They're a really cool band. When we wrote 'Sirens', I co-wrote that song with Dustin Bates from STARSET, and when we decided to add a guest vocalist, we passed around a few names, and Sharon was the one we really hoped we could get to say yes. And she did. It's definitely one of my favorite songs on the record."

SAINT ASONIA sparked into life six years ago when Gontier and Mushok decided to turn their joint ambition to make music that is "raw, real, and straight from our hearts" into a new band and a fully-fledged studio outing.

The result was their acclaimed self-titled debut, released in 2015, which charted Top 10 in Canada and entered the Billboard U.S. Rock Albums chart at #2. The album was driven by the Top 10 radio tracks "Better Place" and "Let Me Live My Life", as well as the high-concept video to the featured track "Fairy Tale".

Given the pedigree and profile of the musicians involved — they are collectively responsible for 28 Top 10 U.S. rock radio hits, including 17 No. 1s — the demand was immediately there for SAINT ASONIA to take to the road. Following an inaugural main stage appearance at Rock On The Range in 2015, the band set off on U.S. amphitheater tours with BREAKING BENJAMIN and DISTURBED.

In Europe, they guested on an arena run with MÖTLEY CRÜE, visiting the U.K., Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, and Finland, as well as playing several dates in Russia and Eastern Europe. As a consequence, Gontier has been back to the region for extensive solo acoustic shows.

MÖTLEY CRÜE has launched its own line of hot sauce. The limited-edition CRÜE hot sauce set is available for $75.00 and includes six hot sauces of different heat levels:

* Shout At The Devil Extra Hot Sauce (Extra Hot Heat Level)

Blends fresh carrots, onions, garlic and a hint of lime juice with the habanero. Naturally hot, vegetable base.

* Live Wire Hot Sauce (Hot Heat Level)

Less hot version of the Shout At The Devil sauce. Blends fresh carrots, onions, garlic and a hint of lime juice with the habanero. Naturally hot, vegetable base.

* Dr. Feelgood Jalapeno Hot Sauce (Spicy Heat Level)

Robust flavor with mild heat, this sauce captures the essence of the jalapeno.

* Primal Scream Scorpion Pepper Hot Sauce (Super Hot Heat Level)

Coupled the Scorpion Pepper with a vegetable base to balance the heat and flavor. Be prepared — this is a HOT one!

* Wild Side Garlic Hot Sauce (Mild Heat Level)

Garlic version of the Shout At The Devil sauce. Blends fresh carrots, onions, garlic and a hint of lime juice with the habanero. Naturally hot, vegetable base.

* Home Sweet Home Mango Pepper Hot Sauce (Mild Heat Level)

Sweet, robust mango flavor in combination with the distinct flavor of habanero. Try this for basting, marinates and salad dressings.

You can order the MÖTLEY CRÜE hot sauce set at the band's official webstore.


Motley Crue Hot Sauces

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Posted by Motley Crue on Friday, December 4, 2020

According to Noise11, AC/DC's "Power Up" has has become the band's longest-running No.1 album in Australia, as it tops the Australian ARIA Albums Chart for the third week in a row.

AC/DC previously spent two weeks at No. 1 with 1992's "Live".

"Power Up" hit the No. 1 spot in 18 countries, including in the U.S., where it sold over 117,000 copies in the first week.

AC/DC is the only Australian group in history to have had a No. 1 album in its home country across five decades: "Back In Black" (1980s), "Ballbreaker Live" (1990s), "Black Ice" (2000s), "Rock Or Bust" (2010s) and "Power Up" (2020s).

"Power Up" holds Germany's biggest first week of 2020 and the biggest first week for an international act in four years, as well as being the U.K.'s fastest-selling album of 2020 and the biggest first week of the year. In the U.K., it opened with first-week sales of 62,000. 52,955 units of these were on a physical format (CD, vinyl, cassette).

"Power Up" features AC/DC's 2020 lineup of Brian Johnson (vocals), Phil Rudd (drums), Cliff Williams (bass), Angus Young (guitar) and Stevie Young (guitar). The LP was recorded over a six-week period in August and September 2018 at Warehouse Studios in Vancouver with producer Brendan O'Brien, who also worked 2008's "Black Ice" and 2014's "Rock Or Bust".

"Power Up" is a tribute to Angus's brother Malcolm Young, who died in 2017 from effects of dementia at age 64. Malcolm is credited as a writer on all 12 tracks on "Power Up", along with Angus.

"Power Up" is available in multiple configurations, including digital, CD, and deluxe versions. The limited edition, one-of-a-kind deluxe "Power Up" box is the ultimate fan package. Hit the button on the side of the box and watch the flashing neon AC/DC logo light up while the opening bars of "Shot In The Dark" blast out of the built-in speaker. Inside the box is the full CD package in a soft-pack with a 20-page booklet that features exclusive photos and USB charging cable allowing the box to remain powered up and on display. The vinyl LP was pressed on 180-gram vinyl and housed in a gatefold jacket. Limited-edition variants of the LP are available at select retailers nationwide, as well as the band's online st

In a new video posted to his official YouTube channel, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Jesse Leach offered an update on the status of the new album from TIMES OF GRACE, his collaborative project with KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz.

He said: "We are finalizing up stuff. Hopefully by the end of this year and early next year, we'll start previewing music and stuff."

As for the reason for the delay in getting new TIMES OF GRACE music out there, Jesse said: "Obviously, this year has just been a shitshow. We just wanna make sure it comes out properly — the way that we want it to be presented, and have some good visual ideas and some good artwork. And we found a good home at a label. So all of that is wrapping up."

This past August, Dutkiewicz told the Metal Blade Live Series that he was "really excited" about the new TIMES OF GRACE material. "There's some pretty mellow vibes on that record, for sure," he said. "It's definitely one of the darkest things I've ever written topically."

In July, Leach told the "BREWtally Speaking Podcast" that the new TIMES OF GRACE album is "leaps and bounds better [than 2011's 'The Hymn Of A Broken Man']. It's more creative, it's more genuine, I feel," he said. "I feel like there was definitely a bleed-in of KILLSWITCH influence on that first record, and how could there not be, with me and Adam working together. And I feel like this new record sort of pulls away from that and really sort of defines us and our sound as TIMES OF GRACE, where I listen back to 'Live In Love' [from the first TIMES OF GRACE album] and certain songs like that, and you can hear the KILLSWITCH influence. And that's cool, and fans, I'm sure, appreciated that, but I'm very happy to pull away from that and do something different for this new record."

Leach went on to speak in more detail about TIMES OF GRACE's musical progression and the band's plans to release a full-length album and a separate EP.

"It's a mixed bag [of musical styles]," he told "BREWtally Speaking Podcast". "There's definitely some of that sort of bluesy [stuff] — definitely a lot of blues, I should say. But it comes in different forms. I'd say there's a mixture of a touch of some stoner vibes going on there. There's definitely a touch of, like, I guess the term would be 'post metal,' atmospheric metal — guitars with a lot of delay and space with big, heavy bass and slow-moving stuff. There's more rock and roll, more indie rock. And there's still traces of the metal that we're known for here and there."

He continued: "I think with the direction we're heading in, and why there's gonna be two releases, this first release we wanted to make sure it sort of didn't really have any of that heavy KILLSWITCH-y vibe to it. So the first record is going to be what I feel is our signature sound that we've sort of embraced, and it just kind of happened through Adam's writing. And then the EP will be a little bit more of the metal that you have come to know and reflect on the first record. So it's a real mixed bag. And I'm glad to say I don't think you can really put a genre on us because of that. We'll see. I'm sure people are gonna still call it metalcore. I don't even know what the fuck that term means anymore. But I'm happy to say that I think that we are no longer going to be called that style of music, because I think we're more of a heavy metal/rock band, if you will."

TIMES OF GRACE entered Signature Sound studio in San Diego, California in late 2017 to begin recording material for its new LP. Sitting behind the drum kit during the sessions was Dan Gluszak, who previously played drums for TIMES OF GRACE on tour and has since been named an official member of the band.

"The Hymn Of A Broken Man" was released in January 2011 via Roadrunner Records. The CD sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 44 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Dutkiewicz and Leach originally worked together on KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's benchmark album, 2002's "Alive Or Just Breathing". That record has become definitive for an entire generation of American metal, with Leach's voice and uplifting lyrics serving as one of the key elements that propelled the album to "modern classic" status. Leach left KILLSWITCH ENGAGE shortly after "Alive Or Just Breathing"'s release but rejoined the group in early 2012 following the departure of his replacement, Howard Jones.

TRIVIUM's Matt Heafy recently teamed up with the four members of SEPULTURA to record a quarantine version of the SEPULTURA classic "Slave New World". Check out video below. The original version of the track appeared on SEPULTURA's 1993 album "Chaos A.D.".

Guitarist Andreas Kisser told Metal Hammer about SEPULTURA's approach on the LP, which was recorded at the legendary Rockfield Studios in South Wales with producer Andy Wallace: "You have to understand that we had spent two years touring with 'Arise'. It was the first time that we'd seen the world, and actually could analyze and understand what it was like being Brazilian outside of the country. We saw Brazil from a different angle — one that changed the way we felt. Even with 'Arise', we were still writing lyrics that were very heavy metal, very based in fantasy. But now we began to get more social and political. We wrote about things that were going on in our country — the poverty, the repression — because these things made an impact on us. Musically, we'd also developed. We had learnt what worked, and what didn't, from playing so much live, and getting to know people like Ozzy [Osbourne]. We had made the jump from boys to men.

"Andy helped enormously. We learnt so much form him during our time together, not just in terms of studio experience, but he also got us to think more about how we wrote songs."

SEPULTURA's latest LP, "Quadra", was released in February via Nuclear Blast Records. It is a concept effort created at Sweden's Fascination Street Studios with renowned producer Jens Bogren.

SEPULTURA comprises Kisser, vocalist Derrick Green, bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr., and drummer Eloy Casagrande.

SEPULTURA was formed in Belo Horizonte by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, who are no longer with the band.

"Quadra" is the follow-up to "Machine Messiah", which was SEPULTURA's fourteenth studio album and the eighth since Green joined the ranks.

In a new interview with RadioactiveMike Z, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM radio program "Wired In The Empire", PUDDLE OF MUDD frontman Wes Scantlin was asked to name his favorite band of the so-called "Flannel Five": NIRVANA, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, ALICE IN CHAINS, SOUNDGARDEN and PEARL JAM. He responded: "I'm gonna go SOUNDGARDEN on that, dude. They just shred, man; those guys are just amazing. I seriously walk in circles before I go into the studio trying to kind of get a vibe and sing a little bit like Chris Cornell. But he's got a really insane voice.

"All of [those bands] are all wonderful artists and just simplified music, in my opinion," he added. "And God bless Eddie Van Halen. I appreciate and I celebrate his life, but I could not play any of the solos that Eddie Van Halen did. I still can't."

As for which SOUNDGARDEN song is his favorite, Wes picked "Burden In My Hand", the second single from the band's fourth studio album, 1996's "Down On The Upside".

PUDDLE OF MUDD's latest album, "Welcome To Galvania", was released in 2019 via Pavement Entertainment.

Wes had almost non-stop problems with the law, alcohol, finances and other issues, before finally getting sober in 2017. After changing his life around and getting the band back in order, Wes and PUDDLE OF MUDD rebuilt a touring base, which paved the way to new music and a new album.

"Welcome To Galvania" was PUDDLE OF MUDD's first full-length collection of music in a decade. Scantlin stated about the LP title: "My dad measures my songwriting by the galvanic skin response, which is an electric current. It's when you get goosebumps and you feel this insane, awesome sensation in your body."

PUDDLE OF MUDD broke into the mainstream with 2001's "Come Clean", which yielded three hits — "Control", "Blurry" and "She Hates Me".

DEEP PURPLE is planning to enter the studio in 2021 to begin work on another album.

The news of the legendary British rockers' upcoming recording activity was broken by bassist Roger Glover during a virtual meet-and-greet with Finnish fan Anssi Herkkola.

Speaking about how he and the other members of PURPLE have been spending their coronavirus downtime, Roger said (see video below): "All this COVID situation has meant that we can't tour. We're twiddling our thumbs, really, for over a year, and the idea was to possibly go back in and do another album. And so we're just working towards that. It's so quick after we'd done the last album, [and] maybe that will spoil things, but we're gonna try and do another album at some point next year. We're experimenting with stuff."

DEEP PURPLE's latest album, "Whoosh!", was released this past August via earMUSIC. The LP was once again helmed by Canadian producer Bob Ezrin (KISS, PINK FLOYD, ALICE COOPER), who also worked on the band's previous two studio albums, 2017's "Infinite" and 2013's "Now What?!"

Glover recently told Den Of Geek about the PURPLE songwriting process: "All our songs come from jamming. We don't actually write songs, they just evolve as we play. The first writing session is usually a lot of fun. We just explore different rhythms and riffs and whatever, and then take a break to listen to them, and figure out which ones we really want to work on, and that's the second writing session. And then we go to the studio and record them, but at this point, we rarely have finished vocals or lyrics. It's usually when the album has been all recorded instrumentally that [singer] Ian Gillan and I go off on our own somewhere for a couple of weeks and we write the words. Sometimes he writes on his own, sometimes I write my own. Sometimes we write together. And that's how it comes out.

He added: "You don't go to a PURPLE session with anything like a finished song. You go with an idea, and we all work on it together. It's got to be a collective. That's the point of the band — it's a collective. So, one person couldn't write a DEEP PURPLE song. It takes five of us.

"We've always done it that way. It's a strange way to write songs, I know. Most people write the songs before they go in the studio, we write them after we've been in the studio. But it was like that in '69 when I joined the band. It's been the same ever since."

In the Den Of Geek interview, Glover also said that DEEP PURPLE has "always" been a democratic group. "It was right from when I first joined the band," he explained. "We decided that whoever writes any particular idea, we all share, because we all contribute. The way we play is almost as much a part of the writing process as what the riff or the lyrics are. So we all shared everything. It didn't last that way. When I left the band, and Gillan left the band, it changed. It changed up until when Steve Morse joined. When Steve Morse joined, we said, 'Right, let's share everything.' It takes away stress, it takes away ego, it takes away jealousy, it takes away bad vibes. And I think we all share and we all write for it. We all work our bits. So that's the way we do it, and it is a democratic band."

Legendary LED ZEPPELIN guitarist Jimmy Page has told Total Guitar magazine in a new interview that he has been using the coronavirius downtime to reconnect with his instrument.

"Under the circumstances of having a lockdown and isolating, I picked up the guitar and made a point of playing the guitar every day," he said. "Whereas before the lockdown, it had gotten to the point where I was always complaining that I didn't have enough time to play the guitar because there was all this other stuff that was going on.

"It's surprising how many things there are, even with LED ZEPPELIN, so I was not finding enough time to play the guitar as much as I would like," he explained. "It was there, but not being played. I thought, that's not going to be the case. I'm now going to play it. I don't want to make it sound like I'd locked the guitars away. That wasn't the case. But there were so many things that kept getting in the way of playing — or playing the way that you need to if you're exploring the instrument still."

When the interviewer pointed out to Page that a lot of people would love to see him play again, the guitarist responded: "That was the idea before we locked down. But — but — there'll be a time when we'll be able to play, so the thing to do is to think how you'd do it if you did do it, and have some surprises up your sleeve, you know?

"I did think about it," he confirmed. "But I thought, I better do some serious practicing first [laughs], because it's been a long time since [LED ZEPPELIN's concert at] the O2. I hope we'll meet up one day, when I'm doing this mythical show one day."

Last year, Page said that he was planning to tell his life story in the form of a book. Speaking to Uncut magazine, he said: "I will definitely do an autobiography. Every six months brings new things for me to write about or comment about. I have a number of ways I plan to approach it. But I am determined that I'll write it first and then go to a publisher, because I don't want to be held to a deadline."

In October 2018, LED ZEPPELIN released its first and only official illustrated book, "Led Zeppelin By Led Zeppelin". It was a unique collaboration between Page, singer Robert Plant and bassist John Paul Jones, who gave Reel Art Press unrestricted access to the LED ZEPPELIN archive.

ZEPPELIN last performed in December 2007 in London, with drummer Jason Bonham filling in for his late father John Bonham

JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford says that an "incredible display of love " between the members of the band is what got them through their subliminal-message trial in Reno, Nevada.

In August 1990, a judge ruled that JUDAS PRIEST was not liable for the deaths of two young men who cited the band's music as the reason they killed themselves.

Just before Christmas, 1985, 19-year-old James Vance watched his best friend Ray Belknap shoot himself to death with a .12 gauge shotgun in a churchyard outside Reno, Nevada. Then Vance pulled the trigger on himself. He survived but was severely disfigured. Vance later claimed his actions had been influenced by the heavy metal music of JUDAS PRIEST, prompting his family to sue the band.

At the heart of the lawsuit was the claim that JUDAS PRIEST's "Stained Class" album's songs contained messages that, when played backwards, said "try suicide" and "let's be dead." Lawyers said it was the song "Better By You, Better Than Me" with its subliminal command of "do it, do it, do it" that pushed the two men over the line to end their troubled lives.

Vance told attorneys that he and Belknap were listening to JUDAS PRIEST when "all of a sudden we got a suicide message, and we got tired of life." In a letter to Belknap's mother, he later wrote, "I believe that alcohol and heavy-metal music such as JUDAS PRIEST led us to be mesmerized."

"JUDAS PRIEST and CBS pander this stuff to alienated teenagers," the Belknaps' attorney argued. "The members of the chess club, the math and science majors don't listen to this stuff. It's the dropouts, the drug and alcohol abusers. So our argument is you have a duty to be more cautious when you're dealing with a population susceptible to this stuff."

Halford looked back on the Reno trial while promoting his recently released autobiography, "Confess", on "The Radical With Nick Terzo" podcast.

Rob said (hear audio below): "This, to me, was just this incredible display of love between all of us in the band. We never talked about it, 'cause that's the kind of guys we are and the generation that we're from. But that's what got us through it — loving each other and caring for each other and supporting each other, and being extremely focused on the elements of the trial.

"I've said it before, and I'll never stop saying it, those two beautiful heavy metal guys took their lives," he continued. "[It had] nothing to do with metal. They loved their heavy metal music. They were just totally locked into experience — it gave them a lot of connectivity; it was who they were as persons with the music that they loved. But the horrible side issues of what was going on with their family, plus the state of mind, which was messed up terribly that particular fateful day, with alcohol and other chemicals, it was like a ticking time bomb.

"But, yeah, we were literally fighting for our lives, weren't we?" Rob added. "We were accused, firstly, of killing somebody. How do you cope with that? But we did. And it was an incredibly strong, tough part of the life of JUDAS PRIEST that I would like to say we got through unscathed, but we didn't, because we all carry that with us, as do a lot of other people. And because of the context of the story, it's very important to have it included in 'Confess'."

Halford also talked about the fact that PRIEST returned to Reno at some point after the trial to play a show for the community which supported the group during one of its darkest periods.

"We went back to Reno some years later, as just a validation of us all getting through that and still being together, and still not having any hate," Rob explained. "'Cause hate is a horribly destructive, corrosive, mean, nasty, terrible thing to have to go through, because it doesn't have any value whatsoever — it's just pure negativity. So for us to go back and to celebrate, it was important."

Other lawsuits at that time sought damages because of violent lyrics in music, but the JUDAS PRIEST case was one of the first to claim that subliminal messages hidden behind those lyrics caused the deaths of young men.

A month ago, SYSTEM OF A DOWN released "Protect The Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz", the band's first new songs in 15 years. The tracks were motivated by the recently erupted conflict between Artsakh and Azerbaijan, the latter aided by Turkey and accountable for the greatest violence the region has endured in 26 years. Produced by guitarist/vocalist Daron Malakian, who also wrote the music and lyrics, both songs are streaming now on all DSPs and are available for purchase on Bandcamp with band royalties earmarked for the Armenia Fund.

In a new interview with Dave Lawrence of Hawaii Public Radio, SYSTEM OF A DOWN singer Serj Tankian spoke about how the two tracks came about. He said (hear audio below): "I was [at home] in New Zealand and already dealing with activism having to do with the war effort in terms of awareness and fundraising. And we [the four members of SYSTEM OF A DOWN] were connecting about having SYSTEM about helping disseminate that information, which we did. And then John [Dolmayan, drums] hit us up and said, 'Listen, guys, I know we haven't been in the studio and put out music in so many years. I think it would be vital to do something for our people. What do you guys think?' And we all agreed immediately. And it turned out Daron had a song that he had written about the soldiers who defend the land, who defend their families in Artsakh specifically. And so he played it for us, he sent us the song, and we listened to it, and it made total sense; the lyrics were on the nose. And so I started working on some harmonies and stuff in my studio in New Zealand and sending it him. And then he also had another song that he had written earlier on that he wanted SYSTEM to do that we had never done. At first, I was just thinking that we were doing one song, but then it turned into two, which is fine. But it got all done in, like, three days in the studio."

According to Serj, recording two full tracks in a matter of just a couple of days is "not our normal pattern" of working. "[Under normal circumstances] we would have sat down, reviewed the music, tried different parts, tried different things and whatnot," he said. "It was more about expediting it. It was more about, 'Listen, we need to get this out next week. We need to do this for our people.' And so not only our guard was down personally, because we were doing it for a cause outside of ourselves, but we were also not very critical. We just said, 'Let's do this. Let's make it the best we can.' And I think we did. And I think it's resonating because of that. I think it has nothing to do with SYSTEM OF A DOWN and more to do with our passion for justice and helping our people."

Asked if he completed his recordings for the new SYSTEM songs in Los Angeles or New Zealand, Serj said: "I could have done the recordings [in New Zealand] for vocals, 'cause I have a little studio, but we were flying back anyway to see family, 'cause we were in New Zealand for about nine months. So I was coming here anyway, so we did it literally… I got into the studio two days after I landed. We just got in and did it and then started doing the program to get all of this out and just try to fundraise… And we just wanna keep the momentum going. And we appreciate how people have resonated with the songs and the excitement around them.

"It's great to see art open minds," Tankian said about the reaction to the new SYSTEM material. "And it's something that I've always believed in through what I've done for years with music, but it's great to see it in a very kind of non-ambiguous way and a very direct way, talking about the issues. The band has a message that you can see online about what these songs mean to us and what's going on in Armenia and Artsakh and how it's important to us. So all of that awareness is really crucial and it's really made a difference. And we're still working — we have a lot of work to do — and we won't stop until we get some justice."

The music video for "Protect The Land" incorporates recent footage of the protests and on-the-ground fighting in Artsakh, but in a very personal and aesthetic way. As he did for all previous SYSTEM OF A DOWN releases, bassist Shavo Odadjian executive-produced the music video and curated the cover and brand art for the project.

"Protect The Land" a was originally written by Malakian for the next album by his other group, SCARS ON BROADWAY, while "Genocidal Humanoidz" was penned three or four years ago when Odadjian, Malakian and Dolmayan convened for a jam session that produced several songs, only to abandon them when Tankian wouldn't commit to an album.

Within a week of their release, "Protect The Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz" landed at positions No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, on Billboard's Hot Hard Rock Songs chart. "Land" topped the chart with 2.7 million U.S. streams and 5,000 downloads sold in the week ending November 12, while "Humanoidz" garnered 1.8 million streams and 5,000 downloads.

As a result of renewed interest in SYSTEM OF A DOWN's music, the band's 2001 album "Toxicity" re-entered the Hard Rock Albums chart at No. 10 (5,000 equivalent album units; up 32%) while 1998's "System Of A Down" has shot back up to No. 11 (5,000 units; up 308%).

SYSTEM OF A DOWN is planning to film a music video for "Genocidal Humanoidz" in December. "I've written out the storyline, and I've got a couple of surprises that I'm gonna be putting [in there]," Odadjian told geopolitical analyst Richard Èlmoyan in a recent interview.

Photo credit: Clemente Ruiz

LACUNA COIL's Cristina Scabbia has called out people who claim that the coronavirus is "just a flu" and that the impact of the virus has been vastly exaggerated.

Earlier today, the Italian singer took to her Instagram to share a photo of her negative coronavirus test, and she included the following message: "Nope, I'm not pregnant, sit down ;) But. I got tested and I am negative to covid-19.

"Happy? For sure. Celebrating? Nope, we are not out of this mess yet and I still think about the ones who lost their lives and others who are still fighting for it.

"Even though way more people (compared to the first lockdown period) around me got the virus, I have been trying to prevent as much as I can, wearing a mask and keeping my distance from others and so far I've been lucky.

"Please be careful out there, we all want to go back to normality and whoever thinks 'it's just a flu' should definitely visit some hospitals of simply the houses of some people I know who met this micro bastard. It's definitely no fun.

"Wish you all the best and all the health".

This past July, Scabbia blasted people who promote the conspiracy theory that the COVID-19 pandemic is part of a strategy conceived by global elites — such as Bill Gates — to roll out vaccinations with tracking chips that would later be activated by 5G, the technology used by cellular networks. She also criticized people who refuse to wear a mask in public spaces to protect others from possible infection.

About 2 percent of diagnosed coronavirus cases are lethal, compared with 0.1 percent of diagnosed flu cases, according to The Washington Post.

More than 1.6 million people have been infected with the coronavirus in Italy, where LACUNA COIL is based, and more than 58,000 have died.

Italy recorded 993 COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, eclipsing the 969 peak reached on March 27, when the country was in full lockdown.
























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UK doom metal trio Godthrymm -- vocalist/guitarist Hamish Glencross (ex-My Dying Bride, Vallenfyre, Solstice), drummer Shaun "Winter" Taylor-Steels (ex-My Dying Bride, Anathema), and bassist Bob Crolla -- today unleashes brand new single, "The Vastness Silent," via Bandcamp.

The track was initially intended to appear on the band's Reflections LP, released earlier this year via Profound Lore, but was not completed in time to make the cut. The band eventually re-entered the studio with Mark Mynett (My Dying Bride) to finish the song in addition to completing an alternate version of "We Are The Dead (And Dreaming)" with cello.



Comments Glencross, "We are so incredibly proud to release these two songs and end 2020 on a positive note for Godthrymm. We released our debut album Reflections in February to great reviews, but like so many artists, have been unable to promote in the usual live arena that we love so much. However, this situation has allowed us to revisit a song that was not included on the album, and also do a new reinterpretation of a song from the album that has proven to be a firm favorite. We were fortunate to work with acclaimed producer Mark Mynett to bring you these songs, and his approach has brought a widescreen cinematic epic vision to these songs. These tracks were recorded and mixed in their entirety by Mark, completely independent of the album sessions.

Writing for 'The Vastness Silent' began before the album was recorded," he continues, "but was only completed after the album release. We always loved it musically and are now pleased to present it in this epic state with thundering bass from Bob Crolla and the additional vocals of Catherine Glencross. 'We Are The Dead' is somewhat of a signature tune for us, and is now presented as 'We Are The Dead (And Dreaming)' - retitled to reflect the grandeur of this reworked deluxe version now featuring not only Bob, Winter, Catherine, and myself, but also with the sublime cello playing of Jo Quail. We now look to the future with hope and positivity for what 2021 may bring. And we wish all the best moving forward."

Seven years after Flesh Is Heir, whose vanguard approach brought to life a mesmerizing mixture of industrial and death metal, Debemur Morti Productions announce the fourth The Amenta opus, namely Revelator. As depicted in the cover artwork, the heart of the Australian extreme metal innovators might be crooked, but full of energy and will to transcend and further expand the limits of the metal genre.

The Amenta have, therefore, used their seven-year hiatus to methodically deconstruct and reimagine their already distinctive core sound: incorporating maximalist industrial black metal ballast, disturbingly cinematic ambient / noise textures, treated violin, dread acoustics and circuit-bent electronics into a labyrinthine set of infectious hymns to societal collapse which juxtapose dreamlike moments of strange calm with sensory overload, savage discord and unease.



Tracklisting:

"An Epoch Ellipsis"
"Sere Money"
"Silent Twin"
"Psoriastasis"
"Twined Towers"
"Parasight Lost"
"Wonderlost"
"Overpast"
"Parse Over"

To celebrate The Amenta's return to the scene, a sinister as well as symbolically dense video clip was created for the song "Sere Money". Debemur Morti Productions premiered these moving pictures, aesthetically located somewhere between the spookiness of David Lynch, the grandeur of Blade Runner and the philosophical deconstruction of French post-structuralist thinkers.

Revelator will be released on CD, vinyl, tape and digitally on February 19, 2021. Pre-orders are possible now at this location.



For The Amenta frontman Cain Cressall, it was clear from the beginning that "Sere Money" needed moving pictures to accompany the tunes:

"I think the main thing why we chose 'Sere Money' as our first single was its cinematic, infectious energy which pulses throughout the track. It has a very strong 'visual' element to it that inspires the imagination and takes the listener on a ride. The opening hook grabs you by the throat takes you on a descent into deeper and deeper levels of cathartic discomfort. That 'grab-factor' just seemed to appeal to all of us as a great way to introduce our new sound to our listeners."

However, one may also understand 'Sere Money' as a necessary and conscious disruption for the listener, making sure no one believes that Revelator is simply sounding the same as Flesh Is Heir, as keyboard player and composer Timothy Pope states: "I think in some ways we chose this song to introduce the band because it is such a huge step away from what came before. If we had come back from a seven-year hiatus with something that sounded too close to a continuation of what came before, we personally would be bored and uninspired by it. I’m not sure if that is the case for listeners to our band, but for us as artists that would have just been a waste of time. Who knows if it will work, but imagining myself as the ideal consumer of our music, I would prefer to be somewhat confused by an initial song but be intrigued enough to dig into the album to try to understand it. In my experience with other bands who have gone through similar evolutions, this has been the most rewarding way to understand and appreciate their art. I hope this has the same effect for others."

Recorded by the band and mixed by guitarist Erik Miehs, Revelator is the most openly organic and crushing the band has sounded to date. Mastering has been meticulously crafted by Maor Applebaum (Faith No More, Sepultura) and the album features artwork by Metastazis (Morbid Angel, Behemoth). Graced with an incisively dynamic pummeling from drummer-extraordinaire David Haley (Psycroptic, Pestilence) and an avowedly contemporary, genre-defying performance from vocalist Cain Cressall, Revelator sees a band always dead-set on boundary-pushing reveling in a fresh sense of renewal as they combine harrowing concepts, inventively virtuous musicianship and immediate song craft into the landmark record of a lauded career.