QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT have shared a fan video for "Don’t Stop Me Now" from the recently released "Live Around The World" album. Check it out below.

The band wrote in an accompanying message: Thank you for sharing all your QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT Memories! This is your story. Although we are apart, we can be Live Around The World. Enjoy your memories to 'Don't Stop Me Now'. #QALLive".

"Live Around The World" was released on October 2 in CD, CD+DVD, CD+Blu-ray and vinyl formats. The set presents a compilation of concert highlights captured the world over personally selected by Roger Taylor, Brian May and Adam Lambert from over 200 shows they have performed with several featured here becoming available for the very first time. These cover concerts from Rock In Rio, Lisbon, to the U.K.'s Isle Of Wight festival, Summer Sonic, Japan, selected U.K. and North America tour dates, and — from one of their very last performances before lockdown — the Fire Fight Australia benefit show. All formats include the band's entire 22-minute Fire Fight Australia appearance in which they performed QUEEN's original history-making 1985 Live Aid set in full: "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Radio Ga Ga", "Hammer To Fall", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions".

The 20 tracks featured include firm QUEEN fan favorites like "Don't Stop Me Now" and "I Want To Break Free" as well as rarities such as their versions of the Freddie Mercury-penned "Love Kills" and "I Was Born To Love You". The live album comes in CD, CD+DVD, CD+Blu-ray and vinyl versions, with the DVD and Blu-ray featuring extra performance footage which include a Roger Taylor "Drum Battle" with drummer son Rufus Taylor, and Brian May "Last Horizon" guitar solo.

Since their first appearance together in 2009 when QUEEN members May and Taylor appeared as guests on the finale of the eighth season of "American Idol" on which Lambert was a contestant, the combination of QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT has gone from strength to strength becoming one of the world's biggest drawing touring bands. Their most recent tour of Oceania saw them selling out to massive audiences, with a single show at Sydney's ANZ stadium drawing a record crowd of over 60,000. To date the band has played to a worldwide audience approaching four million.

Had this been different times, Brian, Roger and Adam would have just ended a further tour with a colossal run of 27 shows across nine European countries. However, the arrival of COVID-19 forced their European summer tour to be postponed until next year. With this in mind, QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT looked to other ways to console the almost half a million disappointed fans already holding tickets. This is when they turned first to YouTube. No strangers to the platform with 12.5 million subscribers already following them, the band presented a special QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT "Tour Watch Party", an hour-long show of live highlights from previous tours across the world. The positive engagement from fans worldwide showed that despite the global blackout of live shows, the show could still go on. But it wasn't just the 500,000+ viewing fans who were impressed, so were the band themselves.

"We hadn't really watched those clips before; we were always too busy touring," Taylor said. "We weren't aware of how good the band sounded. So we thought, well, maybe there's a live album of highlights of concerts that we've done over the last eight years with Adam Lambert to be made."

May said of the historic live album: "As we all grapple with the challenge of creating live shows in a world dominated by a formidable viral enemy, it seemed the perfect time for us to create a collection of hand-picked live highlights from our QUEEN shows over the last seven years with our brother Adam Lambert.

"It's a first! As you watch and listen to these tracks you'll be journeying all around the world with us, and experiencing a complete virtual live set. The collection climaxes in Sydney earlier this year when, in support Fire Fight Australia, we recreated the complete QUEEN Live Aid set. It was a historic event for a great cause — with perhaps the highest adrenaline level since the original Live Aid in 1985. It makes me particularly happy that we can now share this unique moment with the whole world."

Lambert added: "When we couldn't tour this year, we wanted to give the fans something in place of that, and a live album just felt right. It's the first time we have released an album together, and we have had a lot of fun putting it together, picking out favorite performances over the past seven years."

QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT's postponed 27-date European "Rhapsody" tour is now rescheduled to begin May 23, 2021, in Bologna, Italy, with its final date to be played in Madrid, Spain, on July 7. The full set of dates includes a 10-day residency at London's The O2 Arena in June.

ARMORED SAINT has released a "home" music video for the song "Never You Fret". The track is taken from the band's eighth full-length album, "Punching The Sky", which was released in October via Metal Blade Records.

Leaders and stalwarts of the American heavy metal scene since the early 1980s, ARMORED SAINT's "Punching The Sky" sees them returning hard. A diverse, attitude-drenched collection, it's everything the band's faithful have come to expect from them while pushing their signature sound forward.

"The goal is to write really good music. I know I'm stating the obvious here but that's about the size of our agenda," says bassist Joey Vera. "We've been able to shed a lot of expectations that sometimes plague a band like ours that has been around a long time, and we've recently moved into a comfort zone with just being ourselves. We have this kind of freedom now that we didn't really have early in our career, and we can take some chances and make the kind of music that we want to hear. This record is a reflection of where we are at, right now."

Exploding to life with the crunchy, rousing "Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants" and not letting up until the closing ruthless riff of "Never You Fret", the record is possessed of an urgency and vigor which very much places it in the right now, but could only be the work of Vera, guitarists Phil Sandoval and Jeff Duncan, drummer Gonzo Sandoval and vocalist John Bush.

"When you're a band that began four decades ago, you really have to push yourself harder than ever when it comes to making a new record," states Bush. "The last thing you ever want is for it to appear as though you were going through the motions or that you're just putting a product out to do some touring. The records are immortal. They'll be here long after us. Every one needs to count in its own individual way."

With Vera acting as producer, he recruited the same engineering team that worked on "Win Hands Down", with drums recorded by Josh Newell at El Dorado Studios in Burbank, California, guitars tracked by Bill Metoyer at Skullseven studios in North Hollywood, California, and vocals, bass and additional recordings by the bassist at his studio.

"I like working with people that I trust and have a good personal rapport with," Vera says. "That same reason is why I hired Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, AMON AMARTH, STONE SOUR) to mix the record. It's important to be able to work with people who understand what the end goal is."

The process of realizing the album was a lot of hard work, Vera admitting he took on too many of the tasks himself, but he states that overall it was a good experience and everyone brought their A-game to the table and the right attitude for getting things done.

"At the end of the mixing stage, I always have a hard time walking away from the project we've been working on for so long," he says. "It's hard to let it go. The end result is good though. Everyone played and sang their asses off and it shows."

"Punching The Sky" features a few guest musicians further expanding its sonic palette, the whole thing kicking off with the sound of Uilleann Pipes, Vera finding player Patrick D'Arcy in Los Angeles and recruiting him to the cause. GUNS N' ROSES keyboardist Dizzy Reed also contributes, Vera giving both him and D'Arcy some general directions and letting them loose, both of them delivering strong performances. The band's own Gonzo Sandoval plays an American Indian flute on "Never You Fret" — a first for ARMORED SAINT and their drummer. Also Jacob Ayala, the son of a childhood friend who is a drum major in high school, added some marching snare on one of the tracks, which really stands out.

With the band's place in the metal scene firmly re-established with "Punching The Sky", they are staring down their four decade anniversary, which Vera reflects on.

"Part of me feels like I can't believe we've been doing this for that long. It's kind of incredible," Vera says. "So I feel pretty damn lucky really, that we've been able to have the support from fans and our record company for all these years. Without this support, we really couldn't do any of this. So this is the big part of what has kept us going, and when I stop and look around, I am humbled that we've had this opportunity to make music and tour for such a long time. That's what our initial goal was back when we were just 18 years old."

"Punching The Sky" track listing:

01. Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants

02. End Of The Attention Span

03. Bubble

04. My Jurisdiction

05. Do Wrong To None

06. Lone Wolf

07. Missile To Gun

08. Fly In The Ointment

09. Bark, No Bite

10. Unfair

11. Never You Fret

STYX has released a video for its classic hit "Too Much Time On My Hands", filmed from the band's home studios specifically for Pittsburgh #SteelersNation in time for yesterday's (Wednesday, December 2) game against the Baltimore Ravens.

STYX's affiliation with the Pittsburgh Steelers has been strong for years. One of the band's other signature hits, "Renegade", has been an adopted theme song of the team for over a decade, and they've sung the national anthem at many Steelers games in recent years.

STYX recently asked fans for donations to be made to the Pittsburgh Foundation Emergency Action Fund. The Pittsburgh region is facing unprecedented economic, health and human services challenges in the global public health pandemic brought on by the COVID-19 virus. In response, on March 16, local philanthropies partnered to create the Emergency Action Fund, which awarded operating grants on a rolling basis to emergency service providers and nonprofit organizations serving on the front lines of recovery.

STYX has spent the last few months working on its new studio album, The upcoming effort will be the follow-up to "The Mission", which was released in June 2017. That disc marked STYX's first new LP in 14 years. It was recorded at Blackbird Studios in Nashville, co-produced and co-written with Will Evankovich, a longtime collaborator of guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw's in the SHAW/BLADES band and who also plays with THE GUESS WHO.

STYX's James "JY" Young told Radio Forrest in September that the band will hold off on releasing the new album until it can go back on tour. "That's the current plan," he said. "Because we like to have everything kind of get launched at once. It's easier to make people aware of it if it's not released in a vacuum. But if you can get a tour going, and tickets are selling, and then the record's out, it's easier to build a critical mass for awareness."

This past August, Young told the Q105.7 radio station that STYX's next LP may not arrive for at least another year. "If Dr. Fauci [Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases] is right, [we won't be able to tour until] the end of [2021], so that would put us out in 2022, which would be the 50th-anniversary year of us signing our first recording contract, which is February 22, 1972," he said. "But if it's in '22 that this record comes out, it'll be 2-22-22, so maybe that's what we've gotta wait for."

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, four straight STYX albums sold at least two million copies — "The Grand Illusion" (1977), "Pieces Of Eight" (1978), "Cornerstone" (1979) and "Paradise Theatre" (1981). The band eventually replaced original singer/keyboardist/songwriter Dennis DeYoung in 1999 with Lawrence Gowan.

Outspoken conservative rocker Ted Nugent has weighed in on professional football players kneeling during the U.S. national anthem to protest against police brutality, saying "they should be ashamed of themselves."

Nugent, who played "The Star-Spangled Banner" at several Donald Trump rallies leading up to this year's presidential election, discussed the issue of NFL players taking a knee during the anthem in an interview with "America This Week With Eric Bolling", Sinclair Broadcast Group's weekly news program hosted by conservative Fox News alum Eric Bolling.

Speaking about how he feels about players who do not stand during the national anthem and who "disrespect the flag" of the United States of America, Ted said (see video below): "Well, it makes me identify those people as being real soulless, real stupid. They don't even know what they're doing. They claim that somebody's hands were up and they got shot. That's a lie. I know the situation. I've studied the situation. Nobody's hands were up, and nobody got shot. So the entire premise of that so-called protest is based on a lie. And they can't be that stupid — they know it's a lie. They're just liars. So when you see someone disrespecting our flag, they don't deserve any respect themselves, and they should be ashamed of themselves."

Trump has been fiercely critical of NFL players who have kneeled during the national anthem and taken stands to protest social injustice across the United States.

After Detroit Lions' quarterback Matthew Stafford and Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson took a knee before the teams' annual Thanksgiving game at Ford Field in downtown Detroit, Trump tweeted: "No thanks!"

The controversy started simmering four years ago when former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was the first to kneel during the national anthem.

Players who have gotten on one knee during the anthem have said that it is a form a protest against police shootings and racial injustice.

A number of musicians and celebrities have shown their solidarity with the athletes for not standing during the anthem. PEARL JAM offered support for "everyone's constitutional right to stand up, sit down or #takeaknee for equality," while LIVING COLOUR guitarist Vernon Reid pointed out in a tweet that the protests aren't against the flag or the anthem but institutionalized racism. PEARL JAM frontman Eddie Vedder and PROPHETS OF RAGE are among the artists who have posted pictures or videos of themselves "taking a knee" in concert. Others, like STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet, have said that players should just "play ball and do the job that you get paid millions and millions of dollars to do."

QUEEN's Brian May has expressed his "shock" at the fact that 70 million Americans voted for Donald Trump after he "constantly lied and bullied and cheated and made a complete disgrace of himself" in his term as the country's 45th president.

The presidential race ended with a victory for Joe Biden with 306 electoral votes. Biden had received nearly 79 million votes across America — the most votes cast for any presidential candidate in history — compared to 73.1 million votes for Trump.

On Sunday, May took to his social media to post a video dubbed "On The Need For Truth" in which he said: "Looking at America, I feel an amazing of bewilderment. And I've spent a lot of time in the States, so I have a little bit of understanding — not enough understanding to make me even have a clue what happened in this recent election.

"It seems to me there are good people on both sides — this is indisputable. Between Republicans and Democrats, there's enormous polarization, and the country is split down the two, and not in a very amicable way. But there are definitely good people on both sides, and I don't think anyone can dispute that. And the other indisputable thing is there's a lot of skullduggery going on, because given the same set of facts, if those facts are agreed, I think most human beings would come to the same kind of conclusion.

"The conclusion that I've come to is that we must be given different sets of facts according to where we reside and what information we tune in to," he continued. "Now, this has been already suggested in this very interesting film called 'Social Dilemma'. The theory is that once we express an opinion, we are fed the information that we want to hear and so we get more and more polarized.

"To us over here [in the United Kingdom], almost to a man, we were shocked that almost half of America could look at what Donald Trump has done over the last four years and like it and actually want more of it. I mean, to us, it's almost impossible to understand that. And this is where you guys can start to hate me. But what I'm telling you is based on the information that we have been fed, that was an inescapable conclusion. It seemed, from the way it was painted and the media that we tune in to, that the man constantly lied and bullied and cheated and made a complete disgrace of himself. But still, 70 million people went, 'Okay, he's a good man.'

"Now, that can only be the case if the information which we had is wrong, or the information which you guys who voted for Mr. Trump [had] is wrong," May added. "Somewhere there must be some truth; somewhere there must be an absolute truth, surely. And I haven't actually seen the information which leads to the conclusion that Donald Trump is a good man, and I would like to see it — I really would — because what we're getting is none of that.

"I'm prepared to look at the fact that we're wrong. It could well be so, if we are actually somehow being fed false information. We think it's impartial — we have the BBC, we have our newspapers, et cetera. But I don't know."

May went on to suggest the formation of a committee of fact-checkers to verify claims made by politicians and pundits during stump speeches and press briefings.

"My thought is, wouldn't it be interesting to set up a board, a commission, of people on both sides of the gulf — some good Republicans, some good Democrats, perhaps people that everyone agrees are decent people, or at least the majority of people agree on that," he said. "You put them together, and maybe some people who are not committed either way. And maybe some people who are not committed either way. Maybe some people outside the U.S. who can take an impartial way, because they are actually not anchored to any political party.

"So you set up these people, a board of I don't how many people — 20 people — and they go on a mission. And the mission is to find out the truth, to evaluate all these claims that are made both for and against Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden and find out what the truth actually is. I wonder if that would make a difference. I wonder if it would start to heal the gulf, the dreadful split which is paralyzing America. And it's not so different in this country [United Kingdom]; there is a gulf here too. But I think this would be a good place to start. So I would like to see somebody put that commission together — the truth commission. And let's find out what's actually been happening. Let's find out why we have such radically different views, and some people see a great man and some people see a very bad man. I wanna know. And I think a lot of people would like to know. I would like the truth to be somehow sealed in a bottle and put somewhere safe so that we can always refer to it."

More than a week after major news networks declared Biden the nation's president-elect, Trump still refuses to concede the election, citing baseless allegations of voter fraud.

On Sunday, Trump for the first time acknowledged Biden's victory while continuing to falsely blame his loss on a string of conspiracy theories.

West Virginia-based Screaming Butterfly Entertainment has announced "This Was My Life", an uncensored documentary focusing on late MEGADETH drummer Nick Menza.

"This Was My Life" will be the first-ever film to memorialize Menza's legacy and celebrate his life exactly how it was. It is described in a press release as "an unflinching exploration into the life of one of the most successful thrash-metal drummers of all time, authorized by the Menza family. From his childhood all the way through to the end of his life including a true blow-by-blow account of the repeated failed attempts of the classic 'Rust In Peace' lineup."

"This Was My Life" will feature rare and never-before-seen photos and video footage from Nick's archived VHS tape collection, personally filmed by Menza himself from 1988 through 1991. Included will be exclusive content showcasing Nick working at the studio, personal home movies, casual time and party time with his fellow bandmembers, as well as other well-known artists of the era that Nick toured with.

Menza's longtime personal manger Robert Bolger said: "I am very excited to be working with Screaming Butterfly Entertainment on Nick's official documentary.

"There's a lot of published misinformation out there about Nick that isn't true and I am very happy to bring the truth forth.

"Nick loved his fans and always said without the fans none this would be possible. I really think Nick's fans will enjoy this journey through his life."

Executive producer Holly Mollohan from Screaming Butterfly Entertainment added: "As both a filmmaker, and fellow metalhead who deeply values the metal community, I am honored and excited to go on this journey alongside all of you.

Menza's official autobiography, "Megalife: The Autobiography Of Nick Menza" by J. Marshall Craig, was released in December 2018 via Post Hill Press.

Late in the evening on May 21, 2016, Nick collapsed after suffering a heart attack during a concert with Chris Poland and Robertino "Pag" Pagliari in their band OHM: at The Baked Potato in Studio City, California and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said Menza died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Nick rightfully earned his place as one of heavy metal's fiercest drummers during MEGADETH's 10-year commercial peak. The highlight of his career, Nick said, was playing Rock In Rio before more than 100,000 people. The lowest point was being fired by MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine while he was still in a hospital bed after surgery to remove what doctors feared was a cancerous growth.

Former MÖTLEY CRÜE singer John Corabi has completed work on his autobiography. Titled "Horseshoes And Hand Grenades", it was written wih the help of MÖTLEY CRÜE historian/author Paul Miles, and is tentatively due in early 2021.

In a new interview with the "Thunder Underground" podcast, Corabi stated about his book: "It literally goes from my birth — back to the very beginning. It talks about my side of the family — and my mom's. My dad's side of the family came from Italy; my mom's side of the family came from somewhere in Ireland. And the neighborhood I lived in. And just everything. It goes all the way back. It explains the Uncle Jack. If you're familiar with the MÖTLEY record [I sang on], you know that [the song 'Uncle Jack'] was about my uncle, and it goes through all of that shit. Marriages and divorces and infidelities, and then the bands as well. What I was going through trying to get a record, and once I got the record deal. So it's not just focused on MÖTLEY or one band; it's literally my life from front to back, right up until now. [It covers] THE DEAD DAISIES — leaving the DAISIES to [going] back to pursuing my solo career, making John Corabi a brand or a household name. And there's no punches [being pulled]. I know I'm being honest. I know there's a few people I'm probably gonna piss off — a few ex-wives and whatever. But fuck it. It is what it is. It's honest."

Corabi also confirmed that he is working on his first electric-band album of original solo material, which he hopes to release early next year. The effort is a collaboration with producer and songwriter-for-hire Marti Frederiksen, who has previously worked with AEROSMITH, DEF LEPPARD, Jonny Lang and Sheryl Crow, among many others.

"Most of it is stuff that [Marti] and I worked on together," he said. "I do have a song that I worked on with a buddy of mine, Dan Karkos, who actually co-wrote with me for my acoustic record."

As for the musical of his new solo LP, Corabi said: "All I can say is '70s… This is the shit that I love, I grew up with. So I've got some stuff that's very [LED] ZEPPELIN-esque. I've got stuff that's just swampy, acoustic dobro blues. And then I've got some stuff that's very '70s pop — old [Peter] Frampton or QUEEN. And I'm just throwing it all together.

"I think the coolest thing about the music industry right now is nobody's selling any records, so you pretty much have fucking free rein to do whatever the fuck you want," he explained. "A guy like me, I'm never gonna get on the radio — ever. I'm never gonna get on MTV. So I'm, like, fuck it. I might as well just do what I want. So if it's really eclectic, or too eclectic for people's tastes, it doesn't really matter at this point. So I'm just doing what I want."

Corabi joined CRÜE in 1992 as the replacement for the group's original singer, Vince Neil, who was dismissed due to personal differences. With Corabi on vocals, MÖTLEY CRÜE released one critically acclaimed full-length CD, which ended up being a commercial failure in the wake of grunge despite a Top 10 placing on the album chart. When Neil returned to the fold in 1997, Corabi was left on his own and formed the band UNION with ex-KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.

In February 2018, Corabi released a live album of his performance of MÖTLEY CRÜE's entire 1994 self-titled album, recorded on October 27, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee. "Live '94: One Night In Nashville" documents the album in its entirety along with the bonus track "10,000 Miles", which was originally released as a bonus track on the Japanese version of the "Quaternary" EP.

Paul Stanley has blasted Republican senators for not speaking out against Donald Trump as Trump claimed that President-elect Joe Biden must prove that the votes he received in the presidential election were not "illegally obtained" in order to enter the White House.

The KISS frontman criticized GOP senators for not publicly recognizing Biden's win and for not countering the promotion by Trump and his campaign of unfounded claims that voter fraud disrupted the presidential election.

"Republican politicians who now cower before this president are the same ones that ridiculed & dismissed him in the 2016 primaries," Stanley tweeted. "Their silence IS a choice & not sharing their opinion IS a coward's way out. It feeds the mistrust that eats at the core of this country I love."

Trump tweeted that Biden can only enter the White House as president if he can prove that his "ridiculous 80,000,000 votes were not fraudulently or illegally obtained. When you see what happened in Detroit, Atlanta, Philadelphia & Milwaukee, massive voter fraud, he’s got a big unsolvable problem!" The tweet was flagged by Twitter with a warning label that reads, "This claim about election fraud is disputed."

Trump's tweet came after Biden crossed the 80-million vote threshold, with final ballots still being counted. Biden became the first presidential candidate in U.S. history to surpass 80 million votes.

Trump received the second-most votes of all time with over 73 million votes.

There is no requirement for Biden to "prove" his votes were legally obtained for him to take office.

Trump's lawyers have not presented any evidence of voter fraud and have repeatedly admitted in court cases that they are not even alleging voter fraud.

At least 40 lawsuits have been filed by Trump or other Republicans related to the election results. The majority have been dismissed, denied, settled or withdrawn.

On Sunday morning, Trump baselessly claimed in an interview on Fox News that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice may be involved in a conspiracy to steal the election from him.

"This is total fraud, and how the FBI and Department of Justice — I don't know maybe they're involved. But how people are allowed to get away with this stuff is unbelievable," the president told Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo.




Republican politicians who now cower before this president are the same ones that ridiculed & dismissed him in the 2016 primaries. Their silence IS a choice & not sharing their opinion IS a coward’s way out. It feeds the mistrust that eats at the core of this country I love. https://t.co/lKfSU5hhcX

— Paul Stanley (@PaulStanleyLive) November 27, 2020

JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford says that he still doesn't know why he and his bandmates were subjected to a subliminal-message trial in Reno, Nevada more than three decades ago.

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", in an interview with U.K.'s Metro.

Asked why JUDAS PRIEST was accused of brainwashing its fans to kill themselves, Rob replied: "I still don't know to this day. We were targeted. Two boys had committed suicide in Reno and a group of people, backed by people who were against heavy metal music, said we were writing songs that if listened to in a certain way made you kill yourself. It was insane. Ozzy Osbourne went through it with his song 'Suicide Solution' and then it was our turn. We went to court in America and dealt with it."

Asked how he and his bandmates debunked the existence of hidden messages in their songs, Rob said: "The prosecution said if you played heavy metal albums backwards you'd get devil-worshipping messages. I said to the guys, 'Let's prove them wrong.' We got some Frank Sinatra albums, played them backwards in the hotel, and these unusual messages started appearing. One was, 'I gave her a peppermint.' It was ludicrous. I played them to the judge, who was a very conservative Mormon, and when he listened, he physically moved — he was surprised. It was a remarkable episode."

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.

In the latest episode of "Tatler's Tales", DIAMOND HEAD guitarist Brian Tatler was asked for his opinion of METALLICA's cover versions of his band's classic songs. "They're great," he said (see video below). "They're always more powerful and a little faster than the DIAMOND HEAD versions. I mean, they're a great band. They [have] their own sound. Of course, it was very flattering. The first song they covered was 'Am I Evil' They were the first band that ever covered a DIAMOND HEAD song. And it came out in 1984; it was on the 'Creeping Death' 12-inch single, which was on Music For Nations. And I was just really flattered that 'Lars's [Ulrich] band' had covered one of our songs and done such a respectful job and worked out the guitar solo. Everything was really good — really close to our version, but a bit more modern, a bit tougher, [with] more attitude."

He added: "More power to them. Fantastic. It's done the band a huge favor."

DIAMOND HEAD influenced a slew of early '80s thrash metal bands, in particular METALLICA, which recorded "Am I Evil" as a B-side to their 1984 "Creeping Death" single and again included on the band's multi-platinum 1998 covers album "Garage Inc." METALLICA would record three additional DIAMOND HEAD songs: "Helpless" ("Garage Days", 1987), "The Prince" ("One" single B-side, 1989) and "It's Electric" ("Garage Inc." , 1998).

According to Brian, the royalties that he receives from the DIAMOND HEAD back catalog, including the METALLICA recordings of his songs, are enough for him to live on. "It's my biggest source of income," he revealed in a 2019 interview. "It's great and I don't know what I would do without it. It gives me the freedom to do what I like. I'm very grateful."

A reimagined and re-recorded version of DIAMOND HEAD's "Lightning To The Nations" album has just been released via Silver Lining Music. "Lightning To The Nations 2020" includes four cover tracks, including METALLICA's "No Remorse".

"I wanted to cover a song from METALLICA's debut album, 'Kill 'Em All'," Tatler explained, "partly because METALLICA covered songs from DIAMOND HEAD's debut album 'Lightning To The Nations' and it felt like things have come full circle to me. None of the band members knew how to play any of the songs from 'Kill 'Em All', and I eventually decided we should all learn 'No Remorse'. Then when we got into the rehearsal room, we played 'No Remorse' and immediately it just sounded great; it was very 'DIAMOND HEAD' and it really suited us as a band. Of the four covers we ended up doing, 'No Remorse' sounded the best straight away. I've seen METALLICA live over twenty times and they don't play 'No Remorse' very often, but it's always great when they do!"

DIAMOND HEAD's latest collection of all-new material, "The Coffin Train", was released in May 2019 via Silver Lining Music. The album was recorded at Vigo Studios in Walsall, Circle Studios in Birmingham and Raw Sound Studio in London.

ANTHRAX's Scott Ian has reflected on the passing of Eddie Van Halen, saying the VAN HALEN axeman was "the complete package in every way."

Ian discussed his appreciation for the groundbreaking musician, who died from cancer on October 6 at age 65, during an appearance on Dean Delray's "Let There Be Talk" podcast.

He said (hear audio below): "There's not a bad song from 'Van Halen I' to '1984' — for me, there's nothing that I don't love. Every song, for me, is as important as the big songs. Every song. I love 'You Really Got Me' — of course I do. But for me, on the first record, my favorite song is 'I'm The One'… His solo on 'So This Is Love?' Oh my God. He cleaned the tone up. And just the feeling in that solo and the way he moves around. 'Top Jimmy'… You can go and on. Every song is a fucking masterpiece."

"He was the complete package in every way — in every way," Ian continued. "He was the [John] Lennon and [Paul] McCartney of hard rock, or heavy metal. They were metal before people were saying metal. 'I'm The One', 'Romeo Delight', 'Light Up The Sky' — those are metal tunes. 'Atomic Punk' — it's fucking metal. Unbelievable songwriter and arranger and just overall musician. Just a fucking master.

"I think you could argue that he was the greatest overall talent, he was the biggest talent of the last… from 1975 on," Scott added. "To me, there's nobody more talented in any field of entertainment. For me, Eddie Van Halen would be the biggest talent of all. And where does that go? What a void that leaves."

Eddie died at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California. His wife, Janie, was by his side, along with his son, Wolfgang, and Alex, Eddie's brother and VAN HALEN drummer.

The iconic VAN HALEN axeman died from complications due to cancer, his son confirmed.

VAN HALEN was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked Eddie Van Halen No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.

In a new interview with Fresno, California's KSEE24, SYSTEM OF A DOWN singer Serj Tankian was asked if it's a challenge trying to appeal to a mainstream audience while also including political messages in the band's music. He responded (see video below): "I'll tell you this: we've never tried to appeal to a mainstream audience. If we were, we wouldn't be writing the type of music we did from day one — very left of center, nutty and comical and deadly serious at the same time.

"Music has many amazing purposes — from making us feel good and entertaining us and whatnot — but part of the music that I really pay attention to are ones that move me beyond and really, really challenge my senses for finding justice and doing things with the music outside of just the entertainment aspect of it," he explained. "And those are the artists that I really appreciated over the years. So that's been a huge part of what SYSTEM OF A DOWN does, needless to say, and our fans, I think, appreciate that."

Less than 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.

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 drummer John 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

Billy Sheehan spoke to the "Music Matters" podcast about the progress of the recording sessions for the new studio album from TALAS, the 1970s upstate New York band which initially earned its name while performing gigs in the Buffalo and Rochester scenes. Although TALAS started out by playing covers, it eventually introduced originals to its setlist.

"We're just about to finish [the] new TALAS record," Sheehan told "Music Matters" host Darrell Craig Harris (see video below). "That's the version of TALAS that I left in '85 to go join Dave [Lee Roth's solo band]. And instead of rewriting the songs better and smarter, because I know a lot more now than I did then, [we wanted] to do it like we did it when we did it. And so we're doing exactly a little snapshot of what we did back in 1985 — from the heart and for real. And it's really cool, it's shaping up to be. The drummer, Mark Miller, is as good as ever, and he was just one of the greatest drummers.

"We're doing all songs that we never really recorded in the studio," he continued. "Some we did on the 'Live Speed On Ice' record, but they were never recorded for real in the studio. All those songs are all the songs from our live set, which we never recorded. It's kind of just a snapshot of the way we left it back when we did."

TALAS's new album will be released through Metal Blade Records.

Kings of the Buffalo bar circuit, TALAS slogged it out through the 1970s and 1980s, hoping for the breakthrough that never quite came. When David Lee Roth left VAN HALEN, Sheehan immediately joined Roth's band, putting an effective end to TALAS.

In 2017, Sheehan rerformed TALAS with a lineup featuring Phil Naro and Mark Miller, along with new member Kire Najdovski, to play at the "Bands At Barnard" charity event in Greece. The group has played sporadic shows since then.

Last month, Naro revealed that he is battling tongue cancer. The 62-year-old musician told iHeartRadio.ca that his cancer returned in the fall of 2019, six years after he had a tumor removed from his neck.

Sheehan's penchant for innovation has revolutionized the way the bass guitar is played. He formed MR. BIG in 1989, achieving a Billboard No. 1 single in the USA and 14 other countries with "To Be With You" from the band's second Atlantic Records album release, "Lean Into It". While developing his trademark style of playing, he performed over 4,000 live gigs on every continent except Africa and Antarctica.

STATIC-X bassist Tony Campos says that he knew "there would be some negativity" in response to the band's decision to reunite without its late frontman Wayne Static.

STATIC-X's recent tour celebrated the 20th anniversary of the band's platinum-certified "Wisconsin Death Trip" album and paid homage to Static, who died six years ago.

While the identity of STATIC-X's touring singer — who goes by the name Xer0 — has not been officially revealed, strong rumors suggest that DOPE frontman Edsel Dope is performing alongside Campos, drummer Ken Jay and guitarist Koichi Fukuda.

Campos discussed STATIC-X's comeback during a recent appearance on "The SDR Show". Speaking about how the idea of Xer0 wearing a mask in the likeness of Static came about, Tony said: "When we were trying to figure out how we were gonna do this live, the first thing that came up was the hologram thing, and that got shot down pretty quick.

"The thing about the band for us was the energy and the vibe that we all got from the interaction the four of us had on stage, and you just don't get that with a hologram. So that got chucked out the window pretty quickly. So we figured out it had to be somebody. Once we found Xer0 and saw and heard that he could do the job, we were, like, 'Cool. How do we present this in a cool way that doesn't make it about…?' 'Cause we didn't wanna come out and, like, 'Hey, here's STATIC-X with their new singer.' That's not what we were trying to do. It was about remembering Wayne and remembering the good times we had back in the early days and remembering the fun we all had together 20 years ago touring on 'Wisconsin Death Trip'. And so we really wanted to keep the focus on that and not on the new singer. So the idea of a mask came."

Campos continued: "Initially, we came up with a helmet that looked like the robot from the 'Push It' video and even shot some video footage of Xer0 wearing that, and it looked great. Logistically, it wasn't gonna work, though, 'cause you're blind in the thing. And so, what are you gonna do? Have somebody walk him out to the front of the stage, make sure he doesn't fall off the stage? So we were, like, 'Okay, what else can we do?' And so we thought of all these different merchandise items that we had, with skulls, with Wayne's hair and beard, and thought, 'Well, let's try something like that.' So we gave the idea to a friend of ours who designs masks for the SLIPKNOT guys, John 5, various other people, and she came back with that Xer0 mask. And then once we put the hair up, we were, like, 'Oh, yeah. Dude, that's it.' And so we went with that."

Asked if STATIC-X is still keeping Xer0's identity a secret even though "everyone knows" who he is, Tony said: "Yeah, but I still like to keep that distinction, 'cause, again, I'm trying to keep the focus [on remembering Wayne]."

According to Campos, Xer0 wasn't the only singer who was in the mix for the STATIC-X frontman job. "I had a few ideas in my head, but he was the first to come up and actually demonstrate that he could do the job," Tony explained. "So I was, like, 'I don't think I need to look any further.' [Laughs]"

Campos went on to say that he "knew there would be some negativity" on the Internet once STATIC-X had announced its comeback. "It was definitely a talking point, for sure," he said. "But I think once people heard our story and heard that Wayne's family had given us their blessing to do what we were doing, and then once they actually saw it, I think that was the big turning point. Once people came out and experienced the show and saw what we were doing, I think it made most of those people turn around."

STATIC-X's latest album "Project Regeneration Vol. 1", came out in July. The first of two volumes, "Project Regeneration Vol. 1" features 12 brand new tracks, containing many of the final vocal performances and musical compositions of Static, along with Campos, Jay and Fukuda. Both volumes are being worked on by longtime STATIC-X producer Ulrich Wild.

Asked how close "Vol. 2" is to completion at this point, Campos told "The SDR Show": "We're still working on stuff. Some stuff was further along than others, and we're a lot closer now, but we still have a lot more work to do. And I don't wanna say a tentative release date or anything, 'cause we did that the last time and we had to delay the record a couple of times and pissed off a lot of people. So I don't wanna do that again."

Last year, STATIC-X wrapped up a world tour comprised of nearly 100 mostly sold-out dates in celebration of the 20th anniversary of "Wisconsin Death Trip".

Static died after mixing Xanax and other powerful prescription drugs with alcohol, according to the coroner's report. The 48-year-old, whose real name was Wayne Richard Wells, was found dead in his Landers, California home on November 1, 2014.

Static founded STATIC-X in 1994 and achieved commercial success with "Wisconsin Death Trip", which included the rock radio hit "Push It".

The group issued five more studio albums before disbanding permanently in June 2013. Static had been pursuing a solo career at the time of his death.

Canadian documentarian Sam Dunn of Banger Films says that he would love to make the "definitive" documentary about VAN HALEN.

"VAN HALEN, for me, has always been a bit of a Holy Grail story, particularly the David Lee Roth years, up to '83, '84," Dunn told DEATH ANGEL's Ted Aguilar as part of the "Alive & Streaming" YouTube interview series (see video below). "That run of records is such a phenomenal run, and it happened in such a short period of time.

"I know there's been books written about VAN HALEN, and I know that it would never be an easy film to make, for many reasons," he continued. "And that's fine. And maybe it won't get done. Maybe someone will be blessed with the opportunity to do it one day. But certainly for me, that's one that I would love to do.

"VAN HALEN's place in the canon of rock legends is firmly established. They do not need a documentary to cement that. It would be more about really digging deeper into the story about how that band came together and getting beyond the stock stories that we've heard many, many times over the years. To get the deeper story, to get the more intimate story, to get to understand who initially those four guys were as people, as kids.

"The thing I love about making these films probably more than anything is kind of going back one or two steps further than we know," Sam added. "Like that footage of Alex Lifeson as a teenager [from the RUSH documentary 'Beyond The Lighted Stage'], that's the stuff I wanna know. I wanna know who these musicians were as kids and their family life and their struggles growing up in those early days. That's the stuff I'm really fascinated with, and that's a part of the VAN HALEN story that I don't think — it's there in pieces, it's definitely there, but it's never been put together in any sort of definitive documentary way."

Dunn also reflected on the career and influence of VAN HALEN guitar legend Eddie Van Halen, who passed away last month after a long battle with cancer.

"Eddie, and it's been said many times before — I'm not the first one to say it — he was one of the few people that had made an instrument sound completely different than what it had sounded before," Sam said. "He literally pulled sounds out of that instrument no one had heard. He seemed like an alchemist to me when I heard 'Eruption' and those tones, especially on that first VAN HALEN record. So, for me, as a music fan, that stuff is endlessly fascinating, digging into how people create these sounds. He's one of the greats that transformed it, and they don't come around very often. Eddie was the one that kind of redefined the guitar for me as well; I'm of that generation."

Eddie and his brother Alex Van Halen formed a band called MAMMOTH in Pasadena, California in 1972, then renamed it VAN HALEN when Roth joined the group and, later, bassist Michael Anthony.

VAN HALEN was one of the biggest rock bands in the country in the 1980s, with hits like "Runnin' With The Devil", "Dance The Night Away", "Hot For Teacher", "Panama" and "Jump". The group, which later featured Sammy Hagar on vocals, was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.

Banger Films' previous documentaries include two on heavy metal, 2006's "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey" and 2008's "Global Metal", 2010's "Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage", 2009's "Iron Maiden: Flight 666" and 2014's "Super Duper Alice Cooper", as well as the TV documentary miniseries "Metal Evolution".

According to Below The Line, Banger Films has a staff of 40 people, including Dunn's longtime film partner Scot McFadyen, plus a vice-president of production, and staffers in business affairs, development, and post-production.

"It's such a hugely collaborative effort," Dunn told Below The Line about Banger's projects. "We started by doing one feature film at a time. 'Metal Evolution' in 2011 was the first series. For series work, you need that many more bodies to get the job done. Now, typically, [we have] three or four productions going on at once."

Seattle rock greats HEART will get the biopic treatment.

The news of a HEART movie was broken by frontwoman Ann Wilson during a November 25 chat with Lyndsey Parker on the SiriusXM show "Volume West".

The HEART biopic will be written and directed by Carrie Brownstein, of SLEATER-KINNEY and "Portlandia" fame, and will be produced for Amazon by Lynda Obst, who has produced more than 20 movies and TV shows, including "Interstellar", "Contact", "Sleepless In Seattle", "The Fisher King", "Flashdance"; Amazon's "Good Girls Revolt", TVLand's "Hot In Cleveland", SyFy's "Helix" and NBC's miniseries "The '60s".

"I can't tell you all about it, because it's still being written right now," Ann said (hear audio below). "I saw the first draft of [Brownstein's] script, and it's really cool."

According to Ann, "a few actresses have come forward" to play her and her sister Nancy, "[but] no one that's right. But it's known that the role of Nancy and the role of me is now being cast." One actress who was interested in playing Ann in the film is Anne Hathaway, "but I don't think she's exactly right for it," Ann said.

Ann went on to say that she doesn't know if the lead actresses will actually sing, or lip-sync. "I'm really not sure," she said. "That's still in development right now. Because of COVID, it slowed everything down. But it's definitely coming along.

The movie will begin in the Wilson sisters' childhood and end in the '90s.

HEART toured North America in the summer of 2019 after a nasty split that kept the Wilson sisters estranged for three years.

Ann and Nancy had a falling out during HEART's 2016 tour, when Ann's husband Dean Welter was arrested for assaulting Nancy's then-16-year-old twin sons in a backstage altercation at a gig near their hometown of Seattle. He pleaded guilty to two lesser assault charges to avoid jail time.

After completing HEART's 2016 tour, Nancy formed a new band called ROADCASE ROYALE and released an album, "First Things First". ROADCASE ROYALE featured three members of HEART along with Liv Warfield from Prince's NEW POWER GENERATION band and her guitarist Ryan Wilson.

Ann's 2018 solo album, "Immortal", contained cover versions of classic songs by artists who have passed away.

Last month, Ann dropped the official lyric video for "The Revolution Starts Now", her first release in two years. The song was originally recorded by Steve Earle and first appeared as the title track of his Grammy-nominated 2004 album "The Revolution Starts Now".

Nancy's debut solo LP, "You And Me", is tentatively due in February or March 2021 via Carry On Music. The disc's first single, a rendition of Bruce Springsteen's "The Rising", arrived in October.
























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The list of metal classics that the late/great Ronnie James Dio was responsible for penning or co-penning is endless - “Man On The Silver Mountain,” “Heaven And Hell,” “Holy Diver,” “Rainbow In The Dark,” “The Last In Line,” etc. And now, in honour of the man (who passed away in 2010 at the age of 67, from stomach cancer), several renowned names of the metal world have united to record a cover of “Stand Up and Shout” - which was originally the lead-off track from Dio’s classic solo debut from 1983, Holy Diver.

The song can be streamed here, and you can watch the video below.

Produced by David Bendeth (who has previous worked with Of Mice And Men, Breaking Benjamin, and I Prevail, among countless others), the track features contributions from the newly-formed LeRoi XIII (Thirteen), which is comprised singer Terry LeRoi (Granny 4 Barrel), guitarists Troy McLawhorn (Evanescence) and Sammy Boller, bassist Aaron Pauley (Of Mice and Men), and drummer Will Hunt (Evanescence). 100% of the proceeds/profits from this song go to the Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund (for the mission of support, research, and education that furthers early detection, prevention, and treatment of prostate, colon, and stomach cancers).

“I am so pleased with this cover of ‘Stand Up And Shout,’ and I know Ronnie would be so honored.” - Wendy Dio

“This was an amazing and unforgettable experience working with these incredibly talented artists and legendary producer David Bendeth! It’s truly an honor to pay tribute to Ronnie James Dio and to have this opportunity to support Wendy and the Dio Cancer Fund.” - Terry LeRoi

“Working with this great crew of people, and paying homage to Ronnie James Dio, one of the greatest rock singers that ever lived, was an amazing experience...When you hear it, just stand up and shout! FUCK CANCER!” - David Bendeth

“I’ve been a fan of Dio for as long as I can remember. To play on this cover with such amazing musicians was a real honor.” - Sammy Boller

“‘Stand Up And Shout’ is such a timeless and more meaningful than ever classic metal masterpiece. We had a great time making this and knowing that it’s to support the Dio Cancer Fund made this whole experience even better” - Will Hunt

“When I was asked to join these great musicians to record a tribute to Dio with ‘Stand Up And Shout,’ I was honored and excited. When I found out the proceeds would go to this great cause, I was 100% in.” - Troy McLawhorn

When David Bendeth gives me a call to work together, I'm onboard. When that opportunity involves working with incredibly talented musicians like Terry, Troy, Will, and Sammy to recreate a metal classic - with all proceeds from the track going to the Dio Cancer Fund - it doesn't get much better than that!" - Aaron Pauley

As fans will soon hear for themselves, new energy and passion has been infused into this song 30 years later, and Stand Up and Shout Board unanimously approved the song. Keeping true to the honor and memory of Ronnie James Dio, this song was recorded in the month of May 2020 - which was the month of his passing 10 years ago. And due to COVID-19, all of the events that were planned for the 10th year anniversary of Ronnie’s passing were unfortunately canceled. But through the determination and creativity of these musicians and producer of this song, it was still able to be recorded... despite the virus.

And one can’t overlook the timely nature of the song, and how thematically, it’s more relevant than ever - encouraging empowerment, finding inner strength, using your voice and having the courage to take charge of your destiny. Help keep Ronnie’s legacy, music, and memory alive - and support a great cause - by purchasing, streaming the “Stand Up And Shout” single by LeRoi XIII.

"Stand Up And Shout" video:

The band had a chance to connect with radio/TV personality Matt Pinfield. Watch below:




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Ulthima is based on a vision of Ricardo Escobar and Antonio Valdés, who are from the city of Monterrey in Mexico. They tried for years to get the band started and played a few gigs but the metal scene in Mexico was difficult for new bands with a niche genre during that time. They wanted to move to Finland with the sole purpose of making music, and through some twists and turns as well as some serious hardships they finally ended up there in 2016, managed to stabilize their lives and started to focus on the band again. Towards the end of 2018, Ulthima was finally in its current form and in 2020 they recorded their first studio album out of songs that has been over 10 years in the making. It is due to be released via Inverse Records.

In the early days of writing the songs for Ulthima, Ricardo was inspired by for example Children of Bodom and Kalmah, as well as some power metal bands that can be recognized from the themes of the lyrics and the less melancholic melodies than most bands in the genre. Later the scope of influences has broadened and they’ve added vibes from bands such as Japanese symphonic metal band Versailles.

Ulthima consists of Ricardo Escobar on lead guitar, Antonio Valdés on bass, Jon Welti on rhythm guitar, Niko Sutinen on keys, Ville Nummisalo on drums and Tuomas Antila on vocals.

Ricardo: "Although 'Eternity' was written under pressure as the last song to finish the album recording, it is still one of my favorites. The chorus was the first riff I wrote after moving to Finland becoming a very significant melody for the album. The lyrics express darker thoughts from the past." 

Tuomas: "First, I didn't really even quite understand what the song was about even though I wrote a couple lines for it. It leaves lots of room for the listener to interpret and the melodic variety in it makes it really fun to perform."

Check out Ulthima's official Facebook page here.




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Recently, Swedish visionary metallers Soilwork released a brand new song called "The Nothingness And The Devil". It foreshadows the band's upcoming A Whisp Of The Atlantic EP that will be released on December, 4th via Nuclear Blast.

Drummer Bastian Thusgaard recently signed with Search Drumheads and today he presents a new drum playthrough video in which he demonstrates their products. You can watch Bastian’s take on "The Nothingness And The Devil" below.

Bastian on the video: "I’m stoked to announce that I’ve officially signed with Search Drumheads, a new brand based in Denmark. Having been a customer in the brand owners drum shop for many years, I also love the fact that I can work with a domestic brand and support local business. In this play-through of the latest Soilwork single ‘The Nothingness And The Devil’ I’m testing Search D57’s, S3’s, S10’s and S10D5’s which makes the playing experience even better. Fans do really have something to look forward to when Soilwork’s EP, A Whisp Of The Atlantic, drops in a few days. We have challenged ourselves beyond anything with this release and something truly epic is coming your way." 

On December 4th, Soilwork will release the new EP, A Whisp Of The Atlantic, via Nuclear Blast. You can preorder the EP in various formats here. To give an idea of the overwhelming energy driving Soilwork into the creation of their masterpiece, the band recently released the first single, "The Nothingness And The Devil". Check out the video below.

Guitarist David Andersson states: "Between 'The Nothingness And The Devil' is a song about how the old concept of a patriarchal God doesn’t work anymore, and how everyone with any logic reasoning must accept that we have to create our own deities, if we need them. Or if we don’t, we’ll have to accept the fact that our lives are essentially meaningless unless we are able to find our meaning and make ourselves feel fulfilled. The video also hints at the emasculation of a male god, and how gender shouldn’t be a factor in any form of religious discourse anymore. Perhaps this is the time to question your beliefs and accept that no God will correct the mess that we all have put ourselves into."

Soilwork's musical and their philosophical approach on the new EP does not only close the circle of the The Feverish Trinity, but also invites the listener to dive deep into the most primal element: Water.

Starting with "Feverish" and ending with "A Whisp Of The Atlantic", the whole EP is a journey from the rage of individuals to the search for something that replaces religion.

Andersson: “From the desire of 'Feverish', the urge of 'Desperado', the determinism of 'Death Diviner', the insights and questions of 'The Nothingness And The Devil' and the acceptance and spiritual searching of A Whisp of the Atlantic. The whole song and video sequence is like a slightly different take on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. It’s all about realising that we’re all stuck on this rock and that we need to find something more inclusive than religion to get through this together. Because in the end, we’re all outsiders, genetically hunter-gatherers trying to fit in in a world that we created but at the same time wasn’t really made for us. The overarching theme is liberation from the extremely low level of the social and cultural debate these days, and it starts with the fundamentals and ends with the phenomenological. From liberation into ascension.”

The tracklist reads as follows:

"A Whisp Of The Atlantic"
"Feverish"
"Desperado"
"Death Diviner"
"The Nothingness And The Devil"




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Japan's Serenity In Murder recently completed work on their fourth album, entitled Reborn. It is due to be released on February 10th, 2021. They have issued the following update:

"We are planning our very first YouTube live stream: December 13 at 20:00 (Japan Time GMT+9). Join the stream and Let us know what you think about our new song, artwork and vocalist!"

The band has released a new single, "The Glow Of Embers", which is available for streaming below. They issued the following update back in April:

"Please welcome our new vocalist, Ayumu! She is a professional grid girl, working at many major events such as Super GT, FIA GT, Asia World Cup, SEMA Show and The Tokyo Motor Show. She is now bridging the gap from extreme sports to extreme metal and is now part of the Serenity In Murder family. We have finally began the recording process for our long awaited fourth studio album and are expecting to release it later this year."




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Finnish symphonic death metal band Ephemerald is releasing their debut album early 2021 and now they present second single from the upcoming album. "No Fall Is Too Deep" is now available on most digital platforms. Check out the official lyric video below.

The band comments: "Between The Glimpses Of Hope album tells a story about countless new beginnings and attempts to break free from the shackles of the past. Yet if it’s mainly the external factors which are changing without a profound attempt to improve yourself, there’s often a familiar darkness lurking in the shadows after the first rays of dawn have withered away. 'No Fall Is Too Deep', however, has an optimistic approach to this theme and suggests it is possible to overcome any hardship."

Ephemerald was formed in 2016 by Joni Snoro (ex-Frosttide), Lauri Myllylä (ex-Frosttide), Vesa Salovaara (Vorna) and Juho Suomi (Betrayed) in order to create epic yet furious and straightforward metal music coming straight from the hearts of its creators.

Tracklist:

"Grand Creation"
"I Bear Fire"
"Servant"
"Lost"
"All There Is"
"Reborn"
"No Fall Is Too Deep"
"Till The Sea Swallows Us Whole"
"Into the Endless"

Pre-order the album here. Check out the band's official Facebook page here.




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The "not so distant future" has arrived and with it comes Night Cobra. The Houston heavy metal band -- featuring current and former members of Necrofier, Venomous Maximus, Killer Hearts and The Satanic Overlords of Rock N Roll -- plays uncaged music for an age of discontent as heard on its debut EP, In Praise of the Shadow. As the unceasing insanity that is 2020 crawls to a close, Night Cobra unveils "Escape From Earth", a five and a half minute mini-film that takes inspiration from the shelved John Carpenter film of the same name and the proposed second sequel to Escape From New York that would have starred Kurt Russell reprising his famous role as former Special Forces operator/war hero turned criminal Snake Plissken.

“Night Cobra’s style of old heavy metal fits perfectly with the dystopian-style future of the 'Escape from New York' and 'Escape from LA' films,” says Night Cobra frontman Christian Larson. “‘Our song, "Escape from Earth", is based off the idea of the third John Carpenter movie in the series that was never made. I thought it would only be fitting to make a video inspired by his work as tribute.”

“Night Cobra’s vocalist, Christian, asked if we could pull off an 'Escape from New York' style music video on almost no budget, with minimal crew and without the band playing in the video,” confirms video director Dwayne Cathey. “It would be ‘all story’ like the classic videos of old. Challenge accepted!”

In Praise Of The Shadow artwork and tracklisting:

"Chains Of The Beast"
"Escape From Earth"
"In Praise Of The Shadow"
"Nightmare Eternal"

For further details, visit Night Cobra on Facebook.

(Photo by: Violeta Alvarez)

 




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Javier Estrada and Evgeny Gromovoy (pictured above) of Adamantis have joined forces with members of Traveler, Borrowed Time, Hellville and Lethargus to pay tribute to metal legends Queensrÿche with a cover of their classic track, “Eyes Of A Stranger”, filming a video to capture the proceedings.

Drums recorded by Steve Aliperta from Kennedy Studios. Mixed by Jan Loncik.

Lineup:
Vocals - Jean-Pierre Abboud (Borrowed Time, Traveler, Gatekeeper)
Guitars - Oscar Chaves (Hellville)
Guitars - Javier Estrada (Adamantis)
Bass - Dennis Schwan (Borrowed Time)
Keys - Elena Alonso (Lethargus)
Drums - Evgeny Gromovoy (Adamantis)




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Bliss Of Flesh have released their brand new video for “Krieg”, taken from the band’s new album Tyrant, released on October 30 via Listenable Records.

Necurat comments: "The accession to the Tyrant's Throne is done at the expense/price of His humanity/humanness. From this rebirth, chaos will arise from violence."

"The cover of this new album is a hand drawing made by the Hungarian artist Balázs Jacsó especially for us," says the band. "Inspired by medieval artists, he tried to imitate the techniques of this area, creating an infinity of details. In the vein of the Etienne de la Boétie’s concept dealing with the voluntary servitude, the artist tried to enlighten the overwhelming power of a tyrant, placing the viewer in the situation of the servant. As you can notice, he has no face. Everyone is free to see the tyrant he has accepted to serve obediently. We’re all someone’s bitch.

“The three circles drawn around the frame symbolize the three elements of the submission: the whip for the oppressive strength, the crown for the symbol of power and the key for the illusional hope of freedom. It’s like the holy trinity. The tyrant also wears broken chains, underlining his past as a servant himself… and the fact that we are most of the time our own tyrant, prisoner of a vicious circle."

“Tyrant”:

(Photo - Emmanuel Brillet)




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Israeli progressive metal group, Scardust, have released a new music video for "Break The Ice:. The track is taken from their new album, Strangers, which was released on October 30 via M-Theory Audio. Watch below:

Mastered by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Devin Townsend, Arch Enemy), Strangers was written and composed jointly by singer Noa Gruman and composer Orr Didi, who also collaborated with Gruman on Scardust's full-length debut, Sands Of Time, and their 2015 EP Shadow. The album features guest appearances from German folk musician Patty Gurdy, as well as vocals by the Hellscore choir and England’s prestigious Westbrook Hay Prep School Chamber Choir.

Order here.

Tracklisting:

"Overture For The Estranged"
"Break The Ice"
"Tantibus II"
"Stranger"
"Concrete Cages" (feat. Patty Gurdy)
"Over"
"Under"
"Huts"
"Gone"
"Addicted"
"Mist"

"Addicted" video:

"Tantibus II":




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Voyager recently debuted an online concert via the Veeps Platform. The show was filmed in the band's hometown of Perth, Australia, and saw immense success. Now, the band is sharing the standalone performance video for "Severomance", which is taken from the same set, ahead of their upcoming February Australian tour dates and one-off show at Milk Bar in Perth on December 12. The video can be seen below.

The show, dubbed Voyager Biosecurity (Human Biosecurity Emergency) (Human Coronavirus with Pandemic Potential) (Overseas Travel Ban Emergency Requirements) Determination (Cth) Online Show 2020, was named after the legislation that was passed in Australia that is preventing the band from touring. The stream took place at the "Department of Prog, Synths and Riffs" and can still be seen until December 31, 2020. The full set can be viewed here.

The band comments, "We really enjoyed experiencing a new kind of live experience, and it was beautiful seeing fans join us all around the world. We don't know what the future holds, but right now we're going to make the best of it and try to unite us and our fans in an alternative way. Right now, it's looking positive for our Australian tour in February and we're taking this show for a test run on December 12 at Milk Bar in Perth."

The band's 2019 release, Colours In The Sun, can be ordered here.

Tracklisting:

"Colours"
"Severomance"
"Brightstar"
"Saccharine Dream"
"Entropy"
"Reconnected"
"Now Or Never"
"Sign Of The Times"
"Water Over The Bridge"
"Runaway"

"Saccharine Dream" playthrough video:

"Entropy" video:

"Water Over The Bridge" playthrough video:

"Colours" video:

Lineup:

Danny Estrin - Vocals
Simone Dow - Guitars
Alex Canion - Bass
Scott Kay - Guitars
Ash Doodkorte - Drums




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After gathering millions of clicks on YouTube and Spotify, Italy’s finest up-and-coming comedy metal outfit, Nanowar Of Steel, will re-release their previously sold out 2018 album, Stairway To Valhalla, with an exclusive first ever vinyl reissue via Napalm Records this Friday, December 4.

To celebrate Stairway tT Valhalla’s re-release, the band have revealed the music video for their power metal anthem “In The Sky”, where they go on a mission to seek their way into, well… the sky. Watch below.

Bassist Gatto Panceri 666 states: “‘In The Sky’ is the first video about the sky actually being recorded in the sky while at the same time not being in the sky. Potowotominimak, Mr. Baffo and some fans - the winners of the In The Sky Nanowar challenge last year - were lucky enough to be in the sky while not being in the sky thanks to the sophisticated technology of FlyX.

"The video was shot in Cinecitta' World, an amusement park in the outskirts of Rome which let us organize a special event, that included a tour of the park guided by Nanowar Of Steel as well as a concert in the evening.

"We also would like to remind everyone that to be in the sky is better than not to be in the sky.“

The reissued vinyl edition will be available in two different colors and comes along with a bonus CD as well as yet-unreleased fountains of fun, starting with party smashing “Uranus” featuring Michael Starr. On their forth full-length, the five-piece offers hits such as “The Call Of Cthulhu” and “Barbie, Milf Princess Of The Twilight” featuring Fabio Lione (Turilli/Lione Rhapsody). The bonus CD also contains Nanowar Of Steel’s smashers “Norwegian Reggaeton” and “Valhalleluja” amongst others.

Pre-order the Stairway To Valhalla reissue here.

Tracklisting:

"Declination"
"Barbie, Milf Princess of the Twilight"
"The Call of Cthulhu"
"Heavy Metal Kibbles"
"Il maestro Myiagi di Pino"
"L'opelatole ecologico"
"Images and Swords"
"In the Sky"
"... And Then I Noticed That She Was a Gargoyle"
"Tooth Fairy"
"Vegan Velociraptor"
"Another Drill in the Wall"
"Ironmonger (The Copier of the Seven Keys)"
"Bum Voyage"
"Uranus"
"The Crown and the Onion Ring"
"The Quest for Carrefour"
"Hail to Liechtenstein"
"Uranus" (feat. Michael Starr)

Bonus CD:
"Valhalleluja"
"Sottosegretari alla presidenza della repubblica del True Metal"
"Norwegian Reggaeton"
"Bestie di Seitan"
"Sneeztem of a Yawn"
"A cena da Gianni"
"Kurograd"
"Esce ma non mi rosica" (Shahram Shabpareh Cover)
"Deep Throat Revolution" (Immanuel Casto Cover)
"Norwegian Reggaeton" (Remix)

“Uranus” video:

Nanowar Of Steel are:

Gatto Panceri 666 - Bass
Potowotominimak - Vocals
Mr. Baffo - Vocals
Abdul - Guitar
Uinona Raider - Drums

(Photo - Valerio Fea)




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Frontiers Music Srl has announced the release of Kreek’s self-titled debut album on February 12. Kreek is a hot new British band fronted by ex-Bigfoot frontman Antony Ellis, which sees Ellis keeping his foot firmly planted in the fertile UK hard rock scene from which he emerged. Fans can get their first taste of the band's debut album with the release of the single and video for "Million Dollar Man". Watch the clip below, and pre-order/save the new album here.

Kreek offers up kick ass rock 'n' roll with strong melodies, hooks, and lyrics and is Antony’s next evolutionary step after Bigfoot. "I had a blast with my former band, but as I had personal goals and growth in my songwriting skills, I realised this new outlet was very necessary,” tells Antony. "With Kreek, I am very much the driving force behind the music and the band members are guys I handpicked so I could truly flex my musical muscles."

Kreek was first formed in the summer of 2019 after Ellis’ had parted ways with Bigfoot, who would eventually disband. Impressed with Ellis’ vocal ability from their time working with his previous band, Frontiers reached out to Ellis about continuing to work together. Ellis had already been thinking about putting something new together and was keen to create a great new hard rock band. He soon found a group of musicians in Nick Clarke (guitar), Lee Andrews (bass), Seb Sweet (drums), and later on Dan Collict (guitar), who were ready to join him and thus Kreek was born.

"Me and Nick first began jamming nearly 18 months ago and in reality we are the roots of the band that is Kreek,” continues Antony. Lee and Seb also joined the band fairly quickly after Antony started the search for the right musicians. The last find was Dan Collict. "I even contemplated just keeping it as a four piece. As time went on my gut told me that I needed the second guitar player to make the songs come alive. When Dan plugged away at the songs and sent me clips of his progress, I could see that he was gonna fit in just fine. We got in the room together to jam and it rocked!” says Antony.

Produced by Dan Rossall (Passion, Revolution Saints), Kreek’s self-titled debut is now ready to be unleashed this coming February. Fans of the fruitful British hard rock scene will find much to enjoy within Kreek.

Tracklisting:

"At The Bottom Of Hell"
"Missiles"
"Meet Your Maker"
"Million Dollar Man"
"One Voice"
"Man On My Shoulder"
"Stand Together"
"Down 'N Dirty"
"Get Up"
"On Your Own"

"Million Dollar Man" video:

Lineup:

Antony Ellis - Vocals
Nick Clarke - Guitar
Dan Collict - Lead and rhythm guitar
Seb Sweet - Drums
Lee Andrews – Bass




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Scour - the extreme metal supergroup featuring Philip H. Anselmo (Pantera, Down, En Minor), John Jarvis (Agoraphobic Nosebleed), Derek Engemann (Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals), Mark Kloeppel (Misery Index), and Adam Jarvis (Pig Destroyer, Lock Up) - have released a drum playthrough video for "Doom", the lead track of the band's new release, The Black EP. Watch Adam Jarvis rip through the track below:

Mixed and mastered by Ryan Vincent at Apollo Audio Alternative with vocals and drums engineered by Stephen "Big Fella" Berrigan (Down, Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals, Eyehategod), The Black EP includes guest appearances from Erik Rutan of Hate Eternal, Pat O'Brien of Cannibal Corpse, and actor Jason Momoa (Dune, Game Of Thrones, Aquaman, et al), and serves as the final instalment of the band's EP trilogy.

The Black EP is available on CD, LP, cassette, and digital formats via Housecore Records (North America) and Nuclear Blast Entertainment (internationally). Find order options at the Scour Bandcamp page at this location, the Housecore Store here, and Nuclear Blast here.

The Black EP tracklisting:

"Doom"
"Nail"
"Propaganda"
"Flames"
"Microbes"
"Subprime"

"Flames" video:

"Doom" video:

"Propaganda" video:




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