Long-running southern hard rockers JACKYL will release a new concert DVD and CD, "Family Reunion - Live In Kansas City". The set was recorded during the band's December 21, 2019 performance at The Midland in Kansas City.

Pre-orders for "Family Reunion - Live In Kansas City" are available now exclusively through JACKYL's fan club, The Chainsaw Mafia (membership is required, but it's free to join). Items will ship beginning on December 11, 2020, and your copy will be autographed.

"Family Reunion - Live In Kansas City" track listing:

01. Blastoff

02. My Moonshine Kicks Your Cocaine's Ass

03. Mental Masturbation

04. Encore

05. Screwdriver

06. Down On Me

07. Push Comes To Shove

08. Just Because I'm Drunk (Don't Mean You're Right)

09. Secret Of The Bottle

10. I Stand Alone

11. When Will It Rain

12. Dirty Little Mind

13. Just Like A Negro (feat. DMC)

14. It's Tricky (feat. DMC)

15. Redneck Punk

16. Cut The Crap

17. The Lumberjack

JACKYL frontman Jesse James Dupree spoke about the DVD during a May 2020 Facebook Live chat. He said: "JACKYL did record a live DVD. And we recorded it — a live concert — at The Midland Theatre in Kansas City in December. It was sold out. There were nine cameras. [There were] 3,000 people in attendance. The place was just electric. We had DMC from RUN-DMC come out and sit in with us. We did 'Just Like A Negro', we did 'It's Tricky'. It was just a special night. It was the last show of the year.

"The cool thing about… You've heard people say before, 'The crowd was the star of the show,' and I've heard that almost cliché over the years," he continued. "But seriously, when you see this DVD, or you see the live stream, or however we end up releasing this thing, when you see it, you're gonna truly see that the crowd was the star of the show. And we were so humbled by the attendance that night, and they sang every word to every song. DMC was there, and he was blown away.

"I'm very proud of it," he added.

JACKYL's latest album, "Rowyco", was released in August 2016 via Mighty Loud Records.

September 25th marked 25 years since Rammstein emerged from Berlin with its debut album, Herzeleid. To celebrate the anniversary, the RammWiki page on YouTube continues to roll out rare audio and video material from the band's career. The latest installment features demos of "Ich Tu Dir Weh" - working title "Legion" - and "Mein Land".

"Ich Tu Dir Weh" is taken from the Liebe Ist Für Alle Da album, released in 2009 and "Mein Land", which was featured on the Made In Germany compilation from 2011. Check out the final album versions below.

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

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

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

The limited editions can be pre-ordered here.

Tracklisting:

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




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No, it's not a slow news day. Just something lighthearted amongst the doom and gloom of your average global pandemic. Enjoy.

Both renditions above are courtesy of Álvaro Galán, who goes by the name Algal the Bard. Check out his Facebook page and his YouTube Channel.

His first EP, This Is Bardcore: Vol. 1, is available on all digital platforms.

Tracklist:

"Toxicity"
"Nothing Else Matters"
"Somebody To Love"
"Aerials"
"Meme Music Medley"




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It has been 30 of your Earth "years" since your Lords and Masters GWAR released what many consider to be the band's career-defining album "Scumdogs Of The Universe". In celebration of this momentous occasion, GWAR is pleased as piss to unveil 30th-anniversary versions of "Scumdogs Of The Universe". The album will be available on October 30 on CD, double LP, cassette and digital and is available for pre-order here.

Today the band unleashes a classic performance video, featuring the newly remixed and remastered audio version of "Cool Place To Park". Watch it below.

Since GWAR's formation, the band has released fourteen studio albums, two live albums, numerous music videos and have sold over 800,000 records in the United States alone. Known for its outrageous violence and sexual humor often incorporating social and political satire, GWAR has attracted acclaim and controversy for both their music and live performances.

The story of GWAR begins in the deepest reaches of outer space. Long ago, the beings who would become the infamous shock rock band GWAR were part of an elite fighting force, the Scumdogs of the Universe. For eons, they served as thralls to a supreme being known only as the Master. But one by one, each member of the band earned a glaring reputation for being an intergalactic fuck-up. And so, they were banished, sent away on a fool's errand to conquer an insignificant shit ball floating in a dark corner of the universe; the planet Earth. Once here, GWAR shaped the face of the globe, destroying and rebuilding the natural world, and giving rise to all of human history before settling into their role as the most outrageous rock band in history. Aliens to some, gods and demons to others, GWAR is eternal.

Dave Brockie, who fronted GWAR under the name Oderus Urungus, was found dead in his home in Richmond, Virginia in March 2014. According to Virginia's State Medical Examiner's Office, he died from acute heroin toxicity by accidental means.

Brockie was last remaining original member of GWAR, which was founded 36 years ago. He was 50 years old.

The satirical metal band earned a following for its macabre, over-the-top costumes, offensive lyrics and graphic, gore-soaked shows, in which the bandmembers performed as the descendants of alien warriors who arrived on Earth to enslave and slaughter the human race.

Born of life, love, and spirituality, Ascension Of The Watchers features pioneering vocalist Burton C. Bell, John Bechdel, and Jayce Lewis. Bell's unmistakable, harmonious inventory once renowned in one of metal's finest trailblazing acts has brought life to a new concept, a genre of its own: ambient atmospheres, melodies, and introspective lyrics that shed light of Bell's visions, as seen in their purest form.

Following a decade-long journey of writing and recording, from California, Pennsylvania, New York, and Wales, the trio released their Apocrypha full-length last month via Dissonance Productions. In commemoration of the release, the band has unveiled a clip recounting its creation. The observational documentary was filmed during the making of Apocrypha, and takes viewers through the history, collaboration stories, and recording process of what became the band's second album.

Industrial gothic rockers Ascension Of The Watchers released their new album, Apocrypha, in October via Dissonance Productions.

A music video for the song "The End Is Always The Beginning" can be found below. Says Bell: "Now, more than ever, my words are a true reflection of my mind. 'The End Is Always The Beginning' is a true statement, in every aspect of life, it all depends on the individual perspective. The video was created by Victor Hugo-Borges and is another surreal snippet into Ascension Of The Watchers. The meaning is unique for every listener and viewer. There is no incorrect analysis. Take what you will from it. For me, this is the beginning of a whole new chapter, and this song validates my personal strength to truly understand what it means to move forward."

The recording is available on CD, two limited vinyl formats and through all major digital outlets. Order on CD and vinyl here, or via streaming platforms here.

Tracklisting:

“Ghost Heart”
“The End Is Always The Beginning”
“Apocrypha”
“A Wolf Interlude”
“Honoree”
“Stormcrow”
“Cygnus Aeon”
“Key To The Cosmos”
“Bells Of Perdition”
“Wanderers”
“Sign Your Name”

“Ghost Heart” video:

Ascension Of The Watchers lineup:

Burton C. Bell - vocals and guitar
John Bechdel - keyboards
Jayce Lewis - drums, backing vocals and programming

 




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A breed of hard rock that carries a heavy, stripped-down sound is what Dead Original continues to produce. "Let It Burn" is the next single from their debut album, Bought And Sold, due out in January 2021.

Former Trivium drummer turned frontman Paul Wandtke (Rock Of Ages), drummer Sean McCole, and bassist Mike Petrasik (Bedlem) signal that the feel of their rock maintains "less is more." 

"'Let It Burn' is a little bit different from our whole album, as it’s a slower paced groove track with a big vibe and lyrics centered around embracing one's problems and misfortunes," explains vocalist / guitarist Paul Wandtke.

Bought And Sold artwork and tracklisting:

"Move"
"Hard To See"
"Bored Again"
"Restrained"
"Bought And Sold"
"Blasted"
"Let It Burn"
"My Friends"
"Beached"
"Fade To Light"
"Searching"
"Die Alone"
"Circles" [intro]
"Circles"

"Restrained":

"Bought And Sold":

For further details, visit Dead Original on Facebook.

 




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LA Pop Art, a leader in "word art" design and apparel, has recreated one of the world's most iconic band logos using the titles of AC/DC's biggest hits as well as some of the iconic imagery that has defined the incredible career of one of the greatest rock bands of all time.

LA Pop Art company founder Joseph Leibovic says: "This one-of-a-kind design is a must-have for any AC/DC fan, especially on the heels of the new 'Power Up' album release, a beautiful tribute to the late, great Malcolm Young — the bands co-founder, songwriter and guitarist who sadly passed away in 2017."

The AC/DC-branded clothing and merchandise (t-shirts, sweatshirts, tank tops, tote bags and much more) was visualized through a deal with New York-based licensing company Perryscope Productions along with the band's partners, Los Angeles-based Epic Rights.

The fully licensed branded line of apparel is available for men, women and kids, and is available for purchase at LAPopArt.com, Macys.com, Amazon.com and other fine retailers.

The company's full line of products are available at www.lapopart.com.

LA Pop Art is the exclusive home to unique "word art" apparel that combines the visual images of pop culture's most celebrated icons with the language that made them famous, creating unique works of art.

The company creates text-based artwork, entirely drawn by hand, using the ancient technique of micrography, an art form of writing text in very small letters to form the illusion of an image.

LA Pop Art is the premier pop art micrographic imaging firm with a portfolio of film, music, and pop-culture artwork from the biggest names in the business, and has been featured in top magazines, movies, TV shows and in major art collections and exhibits.

About a year after their disbanding announcement, Czech doomsters Somnus Aeternus revealed in a Facebook post that they would reunite to record a shorter album using material from previous sessions as a band.
The lineup for this release is going to consist of guitarists Wohma and Kubýk Fritsche, bassist Anna Boudová, and vocalist Jan ''Insomnic'' Sojmilk. Drums will be recorded by Doomed drummer Pierre Laube.

The statement of the band is as follows:

''Dear fans,
even though we have disbanded, we still remain friends and we plan on making more music together in the future (even if it won't be with SA). But we have not been idle up until now either. Before the demise of SA we had some material prepared for another album and it would be a big shame not to share it with you.
Therefore we are happy to announce, that we are going to release a shorter album!

Our proven lineup is at work now including:
Wohma- guitars
Kubýk- guitars
Anna- bass
Insomnic- vocals

Initially we were going to only have digital programmed drums. That changed when our friend Pierre Laube from the great DOOMED offered to compose and acoustically record the drums for our release!! We couldn't be happier about this and the first recording already sounds sick as hell!
We are working on music, that is disturbing, uncompromisingly heavy and dark. Watch our fb page as we will release more information in some time. Thank you for your support and say hi to Pierre!''

The PANTERA "Far Beyond Driven" 3D vinyl is currently in production and is now available for pre-order.

Officially licensed and released in a limited edition of only 1994, this unique 3D Vinyl statue is hand-painted, numbered and comes with a certificate of authenticity printed on the back of the collectible. Created to capture some of the most iconic images in album art, the PANTERA "Far Beyond Driven" 3D Vinyl is 9" (tall) x 7" (wide).

Only 1,994 are made. Each piece is hand-crafted. All collectible statues are officially licensed and made in a limited edition. This is a fine-arts process where each statue is hand-cast, painted and numbered. Each comes with a certificate of authenticity on the base of the statue.

Product specifications:

Hand-cast resin statue, weighing approximately 7.5 lbs.

Product dimensions:

9" (h) x 7" (w)

3D Vinyl captures the great album art of the last several decades and brings that to you in a statue collector series.

The 20th-anniversary reissue of "Far Beyond Driven", which still stands as the heaviest LP to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard chart, was made available in 2014. Singer Philip Anselmo told TV Rock Live about the chart achievement: "I don't think any of us had any idea at all that we would have a No. 1 record or anything like that. As a matter of fact, when I was first told about it, I didn't even believe it. My dad told me. 'Hey, son, your record's No. 1.' I was, like, 'You're drunk.' But then I found out later, of course, it was true."

PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo told ARTISTdirect.com about the making of "Far Beyond Driven": "I think, at that time, we were all very much on the same page, so to speak.

"PANTERA had a lot of success before I was in the band. When I first joined the band, I was singing fucking tracks on 'Power Metal' after two weeks of being with them. Then, we wrote 'Cowboys From Hell' all throughout the rest of 1987 and 1988. We had been playing those songs live. We had been through a lot up to the point as far as personalities go and getting to know each other.

"Becoming a trusted member and true singer for this band was a process to where I didn't have the rest of the band peeking over my shoulder like, 'What are you writing about?' By the time I got to 'Far Beyond Driven', it was, 'I'm going to write what the fuck I'm going to write.' So, I was very comfortable at the time. I guess the rest of the guys were like, 'Leave Phil alone. Let him do his job.' [Laughs] It felt so fucking natural."

Asked if those "Far Beyond Driven" sessions were particularly intense, Anselmo said: "Well, I knew that's what I wanted. There was a lot of speculation out there about what type of record we were going to make. I definitely had a chip on my fucking shoulder because there was no way in hell I was going to go the fucking commercial route. At the time, I think we were very aware of other heavy metal bands that had found a little bit of fame and taken that 'commercial route,' so to speak, with their music. I very much instilled that there was no fucking way I was doing that into the other guys. I think they were on board quite a bit. It's like when you have a favorite band, you follow their entire career, you wait anxiously to buy their new record, you open up it, you put it on, and it's a letdown. That's a shitty feeling. We knew what our fan base wanted. We were very focused on delivering what our fan base had come to know and come to know of us. A lot of people like to say we did things in reverse. Meaning, we didn't start out this heavy fucking band and get more commercialized. It was kind of the other way around. That was the main focus there. When I laid my vocals on that fucking record, I wanted people to feel the fucking spit on their faces coming out of the speakers. [Laughs] I meant every fucking second."

German thrash metal veterans KREATOR have collaborated with coffee roasters The Barn on their first blend, Black Sunrise. The coffee sources beans from Brazil and features a "smooth and chocolatey" taste.

The band states: "We're excited to announce our collaboration with the finest coffee roasters in Germany, The Barn. If you've visited one of their spots in Berlin, you will understand why we chose them to represent KREATOR — high quality and big flavors.

"Brazil is one of our favorite places in the world and we wanted to pay tribute to that with this deliciously smooth and chocolatey offering. Awaken to 'Black Sunrise'!"

Black Sunrise is available from TheBarn.de.

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

"That's what we've been doing this summer — just working on new songs," Leclercq said. "But there's not much to say about it. We're just working, and the vibe is great. That's what matters the most. If you follow Mille [Petrozza, KREATOR guitarist/vocalist] on the Internet or myself, you can tell that there's good energy, and the songs are great. I'm a fan of the band, so I want something violent and evil, so that's cool."

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

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

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

According to Sami, there is no set release date for KREATOR's new album, which is not expected to arrive before next summer at the earliest.

"I wish that the time tables would be more clear, because of these COVID times and so on, but it's also giving us a chance to reinvent ourselves and make the best music possible and give it all we've got," he said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Leclercq's AMAHIRU project will release its self-titled debut album on November 27 via earMUSIC in Europe and the U.S. and and Ward Records in Japan.


Hordes! We’re excited to announce our collaboration with the finest coffee roasters in Germany, THE BARN. If you’ve...

Posted by Kreator on Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Devin Townsend has checked in from quarantine with a new song. Check it out below.

"I know it’s early, but I guess the plan is to record songs over the next month so I just kind of started. I dunno...been a year.

Such a tired old song… tried to make it nice. There have been people in my immediate family asking me to do Christmas songs for years, and I just haven’t had the energy… but its a rough year, so here you go. If Youtube isn’t sufficient, I've put it up on Bandcamp for a dollar if you’d like. 

Hope you guys are doing ok, hang on through the season, it can be rough on some of us I know. take care of yourself.

Love, Dev"

Townsend made a new livestream Christmas show announcement yesterday:

"Hey all, as this year grinds to a chaotic close, I think it would be nice to do a more chilled out show for the holidays. If any of you caught the acoustic tours I had been doing over the past few years, I would like to do something like that for this stream. It has been five Quarantine concerts so far this year, and I'm wanting to bring this one back to the vibe of the first few. I know it's a trying time lately and it's easy to let the thoughts get away from us, but let's try to have a lovely afternoon and I'll play you some songs. Half of the proceeds will go to the food bank, as they need it now more than ever in many ways. I hope to see you there."

The show will take place on December 23rd at 1pm PST / 4pm EST / 21:00 GMT / 22:00 CET. Tickets are 10 USD each and can be purchased here.




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Melbourne based band Shotgun Mistress recently returned with another nose-to-the-grind indie hard rock onslaught, "Collide", out now via Crusader Records. Check out the official video below.

Stream / buy "Collide" here.

Shotgun Mistress was formed by Matt Wilcock (The Berzerker, Akercocke, Abramelin), internationally renowned death-metal demon guitarist best known for playing at light speeds. He hooked up with “Diamond” David Lee on drums to jam out LA Strip-era rock. Ben Curnow (Earth) joined on bass, along with vocalist Glenn Patrick (Collegians).

Shotgun Mistress is the first Australian band to join Golden Robot’s new metal label Crusader Records.




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This is your last chance to dance to a new Sick Of It All live session for now. While everybody is dying to see live-shows the band filmed a series of live clips – straight in their homes! After releasing “Alone”, “The Bland Within”, “Paper Tiger”, “Hardcore Horseshoe” and “Never Back Down” make sure to check out “Deep State” below.

The band comments: “Here it is the last Quarantine Jam we have recorded. We went ‘Deep’ off the latest album ‘Wake The Sleeping Dragon!’ for this one. The heavy pounder that got that SOIA groove, ‘Deep State’ we saved this for last because we love how it came out, the performance, the visuals, the sound! Also the lyrics to remind everyone that no matters who’s in charge they don’t care about you and want to keep us at each other’s throats! Thank you for all the love you have shown these videos and we hope you love this one as well. We don’t know if this is the final one yet. But to produce these ain’t free and we ain’t touring! So we will see what’s next!”

"Never Back Down":

The previously released "Hardcore Horseshoe", "Paper Tiger", “Alone” and “The Bland Within” are available below:

(Photo - Jammi York)




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Powerhouse all-star band Disciples Of Verity (D.O.V.) continues to build momentum with the release of the fourth single and video, “I Am I,” from their upcoming debut album, Pragmatic Sanction.

“My hat goes off to the folks doing all that hard work to make this video,” says frontman Corey Glover. “The director and the crew did a great job. The story they told was one of struggle and overcoming a system that more often than not, puts people (women) in financial and physical danger. I am proud of everyone who was involved in telling this story.”

Adds guitarist Mark Monjoy, “We had a great couple days of shooting with Tony at Kennette Productions. We trusted his vision of what the video needed to capture, and we made it happen. Once you have a good team in place it makes our job that much easier.”

Fueled by an insatiable urge to create and collaborate, D.O.V. combines the broad range of talent of its all-star lineup - which also includes drummer Corey Pierce (God Forbid) and George Pond (Negative Sky) - to forge a new breed of crossover metal. The band’s debut, scheduled for a late summer/early fall release via The Label Group, features guest performances from numerous Platinum-selling and Grammy-winning artists including Morgan Rose (Sevendust), Phil Demmel (Machine Head), Jeff Loomis (Arch Enemy), Tara McLeod (Kittie), JJ Sammataro (Negative Sky) and solo artist Joe Gareri.

D.O.V. released a lyric video for the track “The Flow,” featuring a guest appearance by Sevendust drummer Morgan Rose, followed by a cover of X Ambassadors’ “Unsteady” and “The Lost Ones.”

Pragmatic Sanction is scheduled for release next year via The Label Group. The album was produced by George Pond and Charlie Berezansky, co-produced by Corey Pierce and Jay Muench, mixed by Charlie Berezansky at Rival Sound, and mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side.

 Pre-orders are available here.

Tracklisting:

“Lying To Myself” (feat. Phil Demmel)
“The Flow” (feat. Morgan Rose)
“Worthy” (feat. Jeff Loomis)
“The Lost Ones” (feat. JJ Sammataro)
“Confiding In Shadows” (feat. Joe Garen)
“Remember The Living” (feat. Tara McLeod)
“Unsteady” (X Ambassadors cover)
“I AM I” (feat. Joe Garen)

“Unsteady”:

“The Flow”:

“Lying To Myself”:

(Photo by: @kennetteproductions)




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Lord Of The Lost's new classical ensemble album, Swan Songs III, proclaims its mission statement almost immediately, not least due to Chris Harms’ distinctive voice and the sophisticated arrangements of this extraordinary line-up. Being the first band of their genre to release a cover of John Cage's piece 4’33”, the dark metal sensation proves that they can’t be pigeonholed. 

The original piece is based on occasional noises, created and perceived by the listener during a performance – thus 4'33" is a composition that differs from other arrangements primarily because it recreates itself every time it’s played or performed. 

The track symbolizes the fleeting nature of the moment turning all the ambient noises, usually hidden behind harmonies and sounds, inside out whilst emphasizing a new level of tonal sophistication. 

Lord Of The Lost takes the composition to a new meta-level and sets a statement according to the currently prevailing pandemic and the resulting, mostly silent, music and live culture. 

Lord Of The Lost talks about the new single and the video:

"The idea to record a cover version John Cage's legendary piece, '4'33”', was born from a joke, yet by the fascination of its message: silence is as much a part of music as notes or sounds of any kind. What happens if you extend the silence to the conceivable maximum? Is it still music? And if not, why? What provides us with the right to judge? When you have a look at the past - most of those appearances once being declared as “noise” are now a solid part of our culture. 

Not only talking about rock or metal, but also about modern classical music or jazz. The last genre is the living proof that a rebellious movement against the establishment can become an important part of itself. 

Nowadays the average attention on social media stories has dropped down to 15 seconds, so it becomes unmistakably clear how long 4 minutes and 33 seconds appear – unbearably long and silent. Due to the developments over the course of the current Covid-19 pandemic and the partially necessary shut down of the entire music- and live- culture, '4'33"' was turning from a joke, or modern auditory artwork, into a memorial. A memorial to the oppressively loud silence surrounding us, all our fellow musicians and billions of music fans around the world."
 

Watch an unboxing video for Swan Songs III below:

The standard version of Swan Songs III consists of new songs, all recorded with The Lord Of The Lost-Ensemble, and brand new versions of a hand-picked selection of Lord Of The Lost classics, including the standout 18-minute-long song “Letters To Home”.

For all dark metal connoisseurs, Swan Songs III comes with a high quality deluxe box, including the instrumental Swan Symphonies III-versions of all songs and previously unreleased demo versions of eight new songs. As a special bonus, there is a full live set, recorded at their 10th anniversary show in 2019 in their hometown of Hamburg. More than five hours of Lord Of The Lost in all facets on seven CDs.

Swan Songs III will be available in multiple formats, including a high-class Earbook, a box set and a 2LP Gatefold Vinyl. The album is a gift to all music fans and marks the next highlight in Lord Of The Lost's musical career. Pre-orders available here.

Lord Of The Lost on the album: "The Swan Songs project started as a musical infidelity, continued in a beloved carry-on and became like a second musical DNA. Meanwhile, we feel at home in our second musical facet, as well as in our classifying Lord Of The Lost sound / shell. Swan Songs III has a musical depth that even surprises ourselves with a certain distance to its finishing. It is by no means the last part of a trilogy, but so far our personal highlight of Lord Of The Lost’s classical-career.”

Swan Songs III CD1 tracklisting:

“A Splintered Mind”
“A One Ton Heart”
“Dying On The Moon” (feat. Joy Frost)
“Zunya”
“Unfeel”
“Deathless”
“Agape”
“Hurt Again”
“Amber”
“We Were Young” (feat. Heaven Can Wait Choir)
“4’33””
“Dying On The Moon” (Joyless Version)
“We Were Young” (feat. Heaven Can Wait Choir - ZDF Version)

Swan Songs III CD2 tracklisting:

“Loreley” (Swan Songs III Version)
“Morgana” (Swan Songs III Version)
“Black Halo” (Swan Songs III Version)
“Cut Me Out” (Swan Songs III Version)
“In Silence” (Swan Songs III Version)
“Seven Days of Anavrin” (Swan Songs III Version)
“My Heart Is Black” (Swan Songs III Version)
“Letters To Home” (Swan Songs III Version)

Swan Symphonies III CD1 tracklisting:

“A Splintered Mind” (Swan Symphonies III Version)
“A One Ton Heart” (Swan Symphonies III Version)
“Dying On The Moon” (Swan Symphonies III Version)
“Zunya” (Swan Symphonies III Version)
“Unfeel” (Swan Symphonies III Version)
“Deathless” (Swan Symphonies III Version)
“Agape” (Swan Symphonies III Version)
“Hurt Again” (Swan Symphonies III Version)
“Amber” (Swan Symphonies III Version)
“We Were Young” (Swan Symphonies III Version)

Swan Symphonies III CD2 tracklisting:

“Loreley (Swan Symphonies III Version)
“Morgana” (Swan Symphonies III Version)
“Black Halo” (Swan Symphonies III Version)
“Cut Me Out” (Swan Symphonies III Version)
“In Silence” (Swan Symphonies III Version)
“Seven Days of Anavrin” (Swan Symphonies III Version)
“My Heart Is Black” (Swan Symphonies III Version)
“Letters To Home” (Swan Symphonies III Version)

Swan Songs Demos tracklisting:

“A Splintered Mind” (Demo)
“A One Ton Heart” (Demo)
“Dying On The Moon” (Demo)
“Zunya” (Demo)
“Unfeel” (Demo)
“Hurt Again” (Demo)
“Amber” (Demo)
“We Were Young” (Demo)

Opus X CD1 tracklisting:

“Lament For The Condemned” (Live In Hamburg 2019)
“Morgana” (Live In Hamburg 2019)
“Prison” (Live In Hamburg 2019)
“Sex On Legs” (Live In Hamburg 2019)
“I.D.G.A.F.” (Live In Hamburg 2019)
“Die Tomorrow” (Live In Hamburg 2019)
“Black Lolita” (Live In Hamburg 2019)
“Dry The Rain” (Live In Hamburg 2019)
“One Day Everything Will Be Okay” (Live In Hamburg 2019)
“Credo” (Live In Hamburg 2019)

Opus X CD2 tracklisting:

“Raining Stars” (Live In Hamburg 2019)
“Full Metal Whore” (Live In Hamburg 2019)
“Loreley” (Live In Hamburg 2019)
“Voodoo Doll” (Live In Hamburg 2019)
“Forevermore” (Live In Hamburg 2019)
“Blood For Blood” (Live In Hamburg 2019)
“Six Feet Underground” (Live In Hamburg 2019)
“La Bomba” (Live In Hamburg 2019)
“Trisma” (Live In Hamburg 2019)
“Drag Me To Hell” (Live In Hamburg 2019)

The Lord Of The Lost Ensemble 2020:
Chris Harms: Vocals, Violoncello, Semi Acoustic Guitar
π: Acoustic Guitar
Bengt Jaeschke: Acoustic Guitar
Class Grenayde: Acoustic Bass
Gared Dirge: Grand Piano
Corvin Bahn: Organ, Harpsichord, Celeste
Maline Zickow: 1st Violin
Felicitas Fischbein: 2nd Violin
Ida Luzie Phlipp: Viola
Miriam Göbel: Violoncello
Julia C. Pfänder: Contrabass
Niklas Kahl: Percussions
Daniel Möhrke: Percussions
Henrik Petschull: Percussions




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California death metallers Fallujah have announced the addition of new guitarist, Nico Santora, formerly of Suicidal Tendencies, The Faceless, and Lillake. 

Check out this video documenting some of their history together and most recent writing sessions for a new album.




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Accuser recently released their new self-titled album via Metal Blade Records. Get it here, and watch a guitar playthrough video for "A Cycle's End", below:

Since they began flying the flag for German thrash in the '80s, Accuser have gone on to prove themselves one of the most enduring forces in global metal. With eleven full-lengths behind them, they return in 2020 with their latest masterwork: a blistering collection that captures everything that makes the band so vital, produced by longtime collaborator Martin Buchwalter (who has worked on five Accuser albums) and mastered by Dan Swanö.

Accuser tracklisting:

"Misled Obedience"
"Phantom Graves"
"Temple Of All"
"Lux in Tenebris"
"Be None The Wiser"
"Rethink"
"Psychocision"
"Contamination"
"The Eliminator"
"Seven Lives"
"A Cycle's End"

Album stream:

"Phantom Graves" video:

Accuser lineup:

Frank Thoms - vocals/guitars
René Schütz - guitars
Frank Kimpel - bass
Olli Fechner - drums




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Syria’s Maysaloon has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to complete their new album.

The band states: “We started composing the album in Syria in 2018 as a follow up to our debut The Forgotten Dawn. We are really excited about this album as it’s inspired by our cultural heritage. The album title will be A Lip To Earth, A Lip To Heaven And A Tongue To The Stars, and it’s inspired by the Baal Cycle, a Middle Eastern mythology based around the cycle of life and death.

“But being in war-torn Syria made it impossible to produce a professional album. There, there is no technical, financial or even social support for what we do. We decided to leave Syria and made the journey to Beirut, Lebanon.

“We had hoped to find refuge in Beirut, only to be held back by the tug of social & economic crises, not to mention the recent devastating port blast that nearly destroyed one of our bandmates' residence and half the city.

“We are an independent band and this release, from beginning to end, is 100% self-made. We need your support to cover production and release costs.

“We know how the world is in these difficult times and how everything is affected by the pandemic. We waited before launching this campaign, in the hope that the right moment would come, sadly to no avail. There is no right moment, we need to plough through.

“We really appreciate your belief in us and we are counting on you for this project to see the light in the hope that it may bring joy & solace in these absolutely dark days.”




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In a new interview with Derek Scancarelli of Forbes, IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith talked about his immediate reaction when he first found out that his bandmate, singer Bruce Dickinson, had been diagnosed with throat cancer back in late 2014.

"Nothing can prepare you for something like that," he said. "It was an incredibly dark time. I suppose my immediate thought was that he'd probably beat it because he's that kind of person. Plus, the first thing we do is find out the facts of his cancer: what stage is it? That's very important. We found out it was treatable and in a relatively early stage. Although I think he'd had it when we were doing the album 'The Final Frontier' [2010]. I was there when he was doing vocals. I could hear it in his voice sometimes; he didn't sound quite right. But we found out it was treatable. We tried to give him a bit of support, but really, what can you do? He had to go through it. He did and he beat it. It was quite incredible. He's got such a strength of character. He's never negative about anything. He's always a very positive person. 'If I can put my mind to it, I can do anything,' sort of person. And he usually does. But we didn't know about the band. Who knows about these things? But I thought he'd probably recover and thank God he did."

Smith also reflected on getting really emotional at MAIDEN's first show of "The Book Of Souls" tour in 2016, when he watched Bruce take stage for the first time after overcoming cancer.

"I didn't expect it at all," Adrian said. "That is such a great intro to the show, the way he sings the intro to the song 'If Eternity Should Fail'. When he did it live, the first time, I was actually in tears. I was completely choked up. I don't know where that came from. But there he was. He finished and we were back on stage. It didn't happen again. It only happened that once.

"To be quite honest with you, I had the same reaction when I saw MAIDEN after I'd left and I went to Donington [in 1992]," he continued. "I was standing at the side of the stage, Steve [Harris] said, 'Come down and see us and get up and play with us.' I thought it was a nice olive branch to keep things cool. But as I was watching them, the same thing happened. I was actually overcome with emotion. I had a couple of whiskeys. Then I got on stage and I was all right."

Dickinson, who had a golf gall-size tumor on his tongue and another in the lymph node on the right side of his neck, got the all-clear in May 2015 after radiation and nine weeks of chemotherapy.

Bruce previously told iNews that he wanted to cover his cancer battle in his 2017 autobiography, "What Does This Button Do?", to raise awareness of the condition, which affects people who often have no or minimal history of tobacco or alcohol abuse. The individuals with HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer who undergo treatment have a disease-free survival rate of 85 to 90 percent over five years.

During an appearance on the Swedish TV show "Malou Efter Tio", Dickinson spoke about how his singing voice has changed following his cancer diagnosis six years ago.

"[It's] a little bit different," he said. "Two things are slightly different. One is my saliva, which obviously lubricates your throat a little bit, is a bit less than it used to be. Although, back ten years ago, if I had the same cancer, I wouldn't be making any saliva. But now, I'm probably 70 percent, which is great. Thanks very much, everybody upstairs. [Laughs] And the other things is that I think that the shape of possibly the back of my tongue, which forms vowel sounds and things like that, might have changed shape slightly, because, obviously, it had a big lump in it, and the lump's gone. So maybe the surface has changed shape. So I notice a few differences. Funnily enough, the top end of my voice is maybe even a little bit better than it was before. [Laughs]"

Dickinson said that he was given "the all-clear" by his specialists following an MRI scan after a course of chemotherapy and radiology.

"I was amazed," he said. "My cancer was a 3.5-centimeter tumor in my throat and a 2.5-centimeter one in my lymph node, and that was the one that I could feel — that was the secondary one. But I did 33 sessions of radiation and nine weeks of chemo at the same time, which is fairly standard therapy for it. And it was gone. And I said to my oncologist: 'What do you mean it's gone? Where has it gone?' And he said, 'Well, your body just gets rid of it.' A body is an amazing thing."

Smith's memoir, "Monsters Of River & Rock", was released in September via Virgin Books.

Adrian joined IRON MAIDEN at the end of 1980. He is the bandmember who has collaborated on the most side projects outside of IRON MAIDEN, as well as writing and recording a series of albums in the early '90s, before rejoining the band.

Max Cavalera has confirmed to Ireland's Overdrive that SOULFLY is working on material for the follow-up to 2018's "Ritual" album. "I'm currently writing loads of stuff with Zyon [Cavalera, SOULFLY drummer and Max's son] three times a week," he said. "On the way to the jam space, we are playing a lot of stuff that he [Zyon] has never heard before. Like, the other day we were driving along and I was playing C.O.C. 'Technocracy', which is their hardcore stuff which they don't play anymore. I was telling Zyon to pay attention and check out the old-school stuff. [Laughs]

"Having him in a band with me is such a cool situation as we get to jam so many different ideas and he will bring some new stuff to the table that I've not heard before," Max continued. "One of the things that is really cool is the way Zyon plays is very free. Not so much technical but more 'free-spirited,' if you know what I mean. Kind of like old ENTOMBED. He's a little out of control, as it's like an animal — slightly crazy and raw.

"Today, everybody is obsessed with making the most perfect-sounding album, and I don't like that at all," he added. "I like mistakes and things to be kind of crazy. If you listen to those early KREATOR records, the drumming and the riffs are all over the place. It's like they weren't playing together but it sounds so fucking killer. I want to go back to that old-natural live sound for the next SOULFLY album."

Elaborating on his comment that he wants to make a more organic-sounding LP next time around, Max said: "I'm not worried too much about the technical side of things and want to capture the rawness of sound, kind of like HELLHAMMER. I want that insanity and brutal beauty for this album. Going from KILLER BE KILLED to SOULFLY is going to be a big jump in sound and songwriting, as they are two very different entities. Put it this way, I've never had so much time to work on a new SOULFLY album so this new one is going to be very interesting."

Asked when fans can expect to hear the new SOULFLY album, Max said: "Well, right now I can't really say. I'm not really in a big hurry to put out the next SOULFLY. I just want to write the best material I can for it. I'll know when the time is right. I would say that I will be in the studio with SOULFLY next year, but whether that means a new album will follow in the same year? I just can't tell at this stage."

Max's side project KILLER BE KILLED has just released its sophomore album, "Reluctant Hero", via Nuclear Blast. He is joined in the supergroup by Troy Sanders (MASTODON), Greg Puciato (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN), and Ben Koller (CONVERGE, ALL PIGS MUST DIE, MUTOID MAN).

This past June, SOULFLY released a new digital EP, "Live Ritual NYC MMXIX". The effort was recorded at The Gramercy in New York City on February 11, 2019 while SOULFLY was on tour in support of its most recent full-length album, "Ritual". The audio for the EP was mixed and mastered by Charles Elliott (ABYSMAL DAWN) from Tastemaker Audio. Cover artwork was comprised of live photos taken by Rodrigo Fredes.

"Ritual" was released in October 2018 via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2015's "Archangel" was produced, recorded and mixed by Josh Wilbur (KILLER BE KILLED, LAMB OF GOD, GOJIRA). Cover artwork was painted by artist Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, ICED EARTH, SODOM). Additional booklet art was handled by Marcelo Vasco (SLAYER, HATEBREED, KREATOR), who also handled the package design. The album features multiple guests, including Randy Blythe (LAMB OF GOD).

German metal queen Doro Pesch played three drive-in concerts in her home country this past summer. The shows complied with Germany's social distancing regulations amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Drive-in concerts have received a mixed response from artists and fans, with MACHINE HEAD's Robb Flynn calling them "the stupidest fucking shit I've ever seen," and DESTRUCTION's Schmier outright refusing to play them, indicating "I don't wanna rip my fans off."

In a recent interview with Dead Rhetoric's Kyle McGinn, Doro shared her thoughts on the experience.

"It was a great adventure," she said. "It's not the same, like a normal concert or festival but it's better than doing nothing. We were all so happy that we could do it. The fans had a great time, and the band and road crew all had something to do. Usually people think about it being too much with another tour or gig, but everyone was so ready to run. It was great. When we did the first one, someone filmed part of it on a cell phone so we put it on our socials and in two days it had so many views! I think like 600,000 people saw it and then we got more phone calls from promoters and people who own drive-in theaters asking us to put on shows. Some of them had never done a rock show but thought they could pull it off. So, we did more drive-in shows and it was so great."

She continued: "Every show was totally different. Sometimes the rules and regulations were very strict, and sometimes they were more loose. I asked if I could go into the audience, with social distancing, and sometimes the answer was no and a few times I could do it as long as I was wearing a mask. So I did, no problem, and I wore a mask and sung anyway! It works! It actually looked a lot like our [WARLOCK] 'All We Are' video. We played on top of a tour bus and everyone was in their cars, and they are frozen but come to life through the magic of metal and it looked exactly like that when I hopped on stage. It was like déjà vu! Going back in time to 1987 to when we filmed that video. That was surreal."

The first Live Nation drive-in show was held in May in Denmark, with 600 cars in attendance.

The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten said the crowds were respectful of distancing regulations and there were no notable incidents at the event, according to the Los Angeles Times.

In June, Flynn ruled out the potential of MACHINE HEAD playing drive-in concerts in the future.

"I just watched some stupid drive-in show the other day where people sat in their cars and honked when they liked what the band was playing, and it was the stupidest fucking shit I've ever seen," he told Kerrang! magazine. "If cover bands want to do that shit, it's cool. They should have fun. But the whole point of a MACHINE HEAD show is having those 5,000 people screaming every word, pressed against the barrier, getting sweaty and piling into giant circle pits — just that cathartic release of energy. If the only option is drive-ins for a while, I can wait."

SCORPIONS guitarist Matthias Jabs also dismissed the possibility of his band playing drive-in concerts during the pandemic, telling "Pollstar Live! Digital Session": "The SCORPIONS aren't [interested in playing] those — how do you call it? The car, movie-theater type of shows. It doesn't have any atmosphere, I don't think, for the audience, and especially not for the bands. You need to be able to communicate with the audience, and that's the same thing if you do, like, livestreamed shows in someone's studio without an audience. It gives people something to watch, but for the artist, especially for a band like the SCORPIONS [which] loves to communicate with the audience. What are you gonna do? You can maybe hold that energy level for the first two, three songs, but what will you do after one hour? There's nobody to play to, nobody to talk to and nobody who can sing along with you, and I don't think that feels right. I think it's not really an option for us."

Doro released a video for her new single, "Brickwall", in June. The track was made available digitally via Nuclear Blast and on vinyl on July 31.

Doro is currently working on the follow-up to 2018's "Forever Warriors, Forever United" studio album.

Rob Halford says that JUDAS PRIEST's Parkinson's disease-suffering guitarist Glenn Tipton "will always be a fully integrated member" of the band.

Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson's more than six years ago — after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier — but announced in early 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of PRIEST's latest album, "Firepower". He was replaced by "Firepower" album producer Andy Sneap, who is also known for his work in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT. Tipton occasionally joins PRIEST onstage for its encores, performing "Metal Gods", "Breaking The Law" and "Living After Midnight".

Asked for an update on Tipton's health, Halford told "Talk Is Jericho" (hear audio below): "He's been dealing with Parkinson's for a long, long time. He had it forever, and he didn't even know he got it until they began all these trials and tests. And they said, 'You know this started in body so many years ago.' I'm, like, God, I can't believe that he was still able to go out and work. It's a horrible, horrible, cruel thing for anybody to have to deal with. And so Glenn's still bravely battling on.

"Glenn is and always will be a fully integrated member of PRIEST," Rob continued. "He's back in the U.K. now probably riffing. He's still able to play the guitar, and he's still writing music. And his name will be all over the next bunch of PRIEST songs when we finally get back into the world of being able to write and record again for some more sessions.

"We've got this Glenn Tipton Foundation, and our beautiful fans around the world have already raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, which goes to research," Halford added. "You can do that by going to any PRIEST socials and finding the connection — if it's a dollar, whatever, anything, penny, whatever. We also put the bike out in front of the show for everybody to sit on, put a buck into the pot, ten bucks into the pot, whatever. We're always raising cash, 'cause with anything like this, whether it's Parkinson's, cancer, whatever, there's never enough money to fund research. So it's all good."

Tipton turned 73 last month (October 25).

Bassist Ian Hill is the sole remaining original member of PRIEST, which formed in 1969. Halford joined the group in 1973 and Tipton signed on in 1974. Rob left PRIEST in the early 1990s to form his own band, then returned to PRIEST in 2003. Founding guitarist K.K. Downing parted ways with the band in 2011, and was replaced by Richie Faulkner.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, JUDAS PRIEST recently postponed most of its previously announced fall 2020 U.S. tour dates to the summer/fall of 2021.

Listen to "Rob Halford - Confessions Of A Metal God" on Spreaker.

For the first time since its release in 1981 and after a jaw-dropping 412 weeks on the chart, QUEEN's landmark "Greatest Hits" compilation has hit the Top 10 of the Billboard 200, rocketing from No. 36 to No. 8. Its previous peak was No. 11, which it hit in 1992. The nine-times-platinum-selling career-spanning collection also hit No. 1 on Billboard's Vinyl Albums chart with the second-largest sales week of 2020 for any vinyl release.

Spanning QUEEN's triumphant first act, "Greatest Hits" includes some of the world's most iconic rock songs, including the stadium-sized symphonic chart-topper "Bohemian Rhapsody", the most-streamed song of the 20th century around the globe and the most-streamed classic rock song of all time. Other gems featured on this compendium include the roof-raising "We Are The Champions", the crowd-rousing "We Will Rock You", the tongue-in-cheek "Fat Bottomed Girls", the stomp-stomp-stomp late-'70s-disco-inspired "Another One Bites The Dust", to the finger-snapping jukebox retro-rock homage "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and the soaring, impassioned, gospel-tinged "Somebody To Love".

QUEEN recently teamed with Target and Walmart for two separate "Greatest Hits" vinyl exclusives, both being two-disc LPs, 180-gram, with fans having a choice between ruby blend marble vinyl or red and white-colored vinyl.

In an era dominated by hip-hop and pop, QUEEN is bigger than ever with a timeless appeal and a new generation of fans. Their recently released live album, QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT "Live Around The World", shot to No. 1 on the U.K.'s Official albums chart, their first time topping that chart since 1995's "Made In Heaven".

"Greatest Hits" marks the ninth top 10 album for QUEEN, joining the "Bohemian Rhapsody" soundtrack (No. 2 in 2019), "Greatest Hits I, II & III: The Platinum Collection" (No. 6, 2019), "Classic Queen" (No. 4, 1992), "The Game" (No. 1, 1980), "Jazz" (No. 6, 1979), "News Of The World" (No. 3, 1978), "A Day At The Races" (No. 5, 1977) and "A Night At The Opera" (No. 4, 1976). This past Saturday marked the 45th anniversary of the release of "A Night At The Opera".

QUEEN's "Greatest Hits" remains the best-selling album of all time in the U.K.

Gene Simmons made an appearance last Friday (November 20) to announce KISS's upcoming "Kiss 2020 Goodbye" concert. The band will send off 2020 in its larger-than-life style on New Year's Eve by bringing the biggest and baddest concert event and pyrotechnics show of the year directly into your living room live from Atlantis Dubai on December 31.

"KISS is here to make life a little bit better," Gene said (see video below). "We wanna bring cheer, shake the heavens and you can see it live New Year's Eve around the world. We're gonna stream it wherever you are. Stay at home. Be safe. Join the biggest, baddest party. KISS is gonna be live from Dubai in your living room."

Filmed with more than 50 cameras and 360-degree views, this show produced by Landmarks can be seen globally with ticketing technology and livestream powered by TIXR and experienced like no other virtual concert before.

Tickets to the event can be purchased at Kiss2020Goodbye.com, with prices starting at $49.99 and gong all the way up to $999 for a bundle that includes 14 "exclusive and limited edition items," including a Blu-ray of the concert.

"Frankly, I wasn't interested in doing a stream on the level of Live at the Troubadour in L.A.," frontman Paul Stanley told Rolling Stone. "Not that those aren't good, but they aren't KISS. Either we do this right, or we don't do it. For us, size matters. We don't have to reinvent the wheel; we invented it and it runs real well. We're just making sure it's on a scale and a size that does justice not only to the situation we're in, but that it makes the people watching at home feel like they're a part of it."

Simmons stated: "We play big. There's not a lot of subtlety in what we do. It's like the Fourth of July. You don't want chaos. You can have the biggest, but it won't be the baddest because just random explosions everywhere and 300-foot fireballs going off, you can't tap your foot to that or sing along. You want to have something that has coordination. So everything that we're naturally doing onstage is going to be amplified — 10-to-100-fold bigger, oh my God.

"The best way to shut everybody up and get everybody to enjoy life right now is to make a big resounding noise and shake the heavens with some pyro," he added.

In January 2019, KISS launched its "End Of The Road" farewell tour, which was previously scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City.

KISS's current lineup consists of original members Stanley (guitar, vocals) and Simmons (bass, vocals), alongside later band additions, guitarist Tommy Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991).

Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, Peter Criss (drums) and Ace Frehley (guitar), KISS staged its first "farewell" tour in 2000, the last to feature the group's original lineup.

In its 46-year career, KISS has accumulated 23 gold and platinum albums — more than any other U.S. band.

In a new interview with Barbara Caserta of Italy's Linea Rock, RAINBOW singer Ronnie Romero was asked about the current status of the band, four years after the Ritchie Blackmore-led outfit first reformed to play sporadic shows. He said (see video below): "Well, we are locked down. [Laughs] We will see. Obviously, nothing's gonna happen next year. And Ritchie and [his wife] Candice [Night], they're really focused on the new BLACKMORE'S NIGHT record. So probably if everything comes back to normality in the next few years, probably we'll do some more shows. But at the moment, everything is on standby."

In May 2019, RAINBOW released a new digital single, "The Storm", via Minstrel Hall Music. The song was described as "a rocked-up remake" of an old BLACKMORE'S NIGHT track from the album "Fires At Midnight", which was issued back in 2001.

A month earlier, RAINBOW released a newly recorded version of its song "Black Sheep Of The Family".

The original recording of "Black Sheep Of The Family" — a cover of a track by the band QUATERMASS from 1970 — was included on RAINBOW's debut album, 1975's "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow".

The first new RAINBOW single since 1996, "Waiting For A Sign", came out in March 2018. The song was penned by Blackmore, with lyrics by Candice and vocals from Romero, who is originally from Chile but is now settled in Madrid.

The latest incarnation of RAINBOW released two new studio recordings in 2017, but they weren't original compositions; one was an instrumental song called "Land Of Hope And Glory", which was a reworking of the 1902 British patriotic song of the same name from Edward Elgar's "Pomp And Circumstance March No. 1", while the other was a re-recording of the RAINBOW classic "I Surrender", which was written by Russ Ballard and was first released by RAINBOW in 1981.

"Waiting For A Sign" is included on "Memories in Rock II", which was released in April 2018 via Minstrel Hall/Soulfood. The set also contains a double CD of the June 2017 U.K. RAINBOW concerts, a DVD containing over 80 minutes of interview footage with the band and crew, an additional backstage clip and a video for the 2017 studio version of "I Surrender".

Blackmore stepped away from his Renaissance-inspired brand of music with BLACKMORE'S NIGHT in 2016 to perform a handful of shows with a brand-new lineup of the band he had formed after quitting DEEP PURPLE.

Although Ritchie initially said that he had no plans to make a new RAINBOW album — explaining in early 2016 that he wanted to "just get back to playing the old songs one more time" — he revealed to Japan's Burrn! magazine that he changed his mind.

In addition to Blackmore and Romero, the current incarnation of RAINBOW includes STRATOVARIUS keyboardist Jens Johansson, BLACKMORE'S NIGHT drummer David Keith, bassist Bob Nouveau (a.k.a. Robert "Bob" Curiano, ex-BLACKMORE'S NIGHT), and backing singers Candice Night and Lady Lynn.

The two shows RAINBOW played in Germany in June 2016 were caught on camera to produce "Memories In Rock - Live In Germany", which was released in November 2016 via Eagle Rock Entertainment on DVD+2CD, Blu-ray+2CD, and digital formats.

After Ritchie left DEEP PURPLE for the final time in 1993, he reformed RAINBOW for one album (1995's "Stranger In Us All") and one tour, ending things in Denmark in 1997.

Following the release of their semi-prophetic Top 10 album "Easter Is Cancelled" at the end of last year, British rockers THE DARKNESS are returning to close 2020 with a new message of festive joy and goodwill with a live concert and stream from London's Indigo at The O2 on December 18 at 8 p.m. GMT. It will also be recorded for a live album, "Streaming Of A White Christmas", out in April 2021 on CD and vinyl, in partnership with Live Here Now.

Tickets for "Lockdown Live: Streaming Of A White Christmas With The Darkness" are available on presale via the band's official merch store via Townsend. Fans can also pre-order the forthcoming live album. Tickets will be made available for general sale at 9 a.m. GMT on November 27 via AXS.

The show promises to be a flamboyant extravaganza packed with all the snow and tinsel one could dream of as the band unwrap a selection of their biggest hits, fan favourites and Christmas cracker surprises galore.

Regarding the show, frontman Justin Hawkins says: "Okay, so we pressed the wrong button and cancelled Easter. And we're sorry about that. Let's move on, yeah? Christmas is coming, and nothing says joy and surprise like THE DARKNESS rocking live in your living room! Santa gets a day off as we deliver the Premier Cru streamed concert of the year live to you from the IndigO2 in London town. Let us in at your interweb window as we celebrate life, love, Christmas and rock music, all wrapped in tinsel and delivered to you on a golden dream sleigh of almost ludicrous proportions.

"Expect hits, old and new. Beards, flayed by the snow engines of entertainment. Fairy lights, plugged in and mostly working. A few brave and/or immune rockers will have the good fortune to join us in the stadium of dreams for this exclusive event — check out our written facts to understand. This will be an unparalleled night of true artistic integrity, so don't dilly dally. Let's rock our cocking socks off together for Christmaaaaaas!"

In addition to the virtual live-stream, VIP ticket options are available for fans which are offered in different tiers — including attending the event itself, with all social distancing requirements being met. Fans attending the show are encouraged celebrate the festivities and arrive in Christmas themed fancy dress.

Tier 1 is offering front rows seats at the show, soundcheck access with a band Q&A, a chance to meet the band and a signed art show poster. Tier 2 allows access to the sound check and Q&A. There is also a Virtual VIP option allowing online access to the sound check and advance submission of questions for the Q&A, which will be selected at random on show day.

Spreading further Christmas cheer this year, THE DARKNESS have teamed up with Signature Brew to create the special extra seasonal bitter Bells End.

Regarding the beer, guitarist Dan Hawkins says: "The tasting session for Bells End went well. It was a big night and we tried every ale that we could think of. We wanted a beer that's punchy and drinkable at the same time. Signature Brew really know their stuff and captured exactly what we were after. Bells End has got a bit of oomph to it but it's something you can drink in the run-up to Christmas and throughout the whole season. It's a very wintry beer, it's perfect and we can't wait for everyone to try it."

THE DARKNESS released its latest album, "Easter Is Cancelled", in October 2019. It became the band's fourth Top 10 album and topped the Official charts Top 40 Rock And Metal chart and the iTunes Rock chart, while receiving swathes of critical praise as the band continued to prove why they are one of the most beloved U.K. rock bands of our time.

SEVENDUST will perform its entire "Animosity" album during a January 8, 2021 livestream event from Opav in Orlando, Florida.

Tickets for the virtual concert can be purchased at this location.

SEVENDUST's third album, "Animosity" was released in November 2001 through TVT Records. The disc peaked at No. 28 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in March 2002 for shipments in excess of half a million copies.

Last month, SEVENDUST played its first-ever livestream and its only show of 2020: "Sevendust: Live In Your Living Room". The event took place on October 23 — the release date of SEVENDUST's 13th studio album, "Blood & Stone", via Rise Records.

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

From the pulsating intro of opener "Dying To Live" to the album-closing cover of SOUNDGARDEN's "The Day I Tried To Live", SEVENDUST continues to push the sound it has made their own for more than 25 years. Tracks like "Love", "Blood From A Stone", "Kill Me" and "Against The World" showcases why the band has been adored by fans and critics alike. Lajon Witherspoon, Clint Lowery, John Connolly, Vince Hornsby and Morgan Rose have raised the bar with "Blood & Stone". The new music fits perfectly alongside with the bands most seminal tracks that have become the cornerstone of the band's live performances.

Lowery spoke about the new SEVENDUST LP in an interview with Front Row Entertainment Live. The guitarist/vocalist said: "I think this is one of our strongest records in a while. I'm proud of all the music we do. Every band likes to say, 'Oh, yeah, the new record is the best one we've ever done.' I think it's a very reflective record for where we're at musically, where we're at as a band. So that's always a goal. I think we just wanna be genuine. We don't wanna put out a dud record. Not everyone's gonna like it; we understand that. We just try to do what we do best. We're not the heaviest band in the world; we're not a pop-rock band at all either. We're just this aggressive band that has our own thing, and we stay true to that."




7D Family, we are proud to announce our brand new live stream event in 2021! SEVENDUST: LIVE IN YOUR LIVING ROOM - Performing "Animosity" front to back...and then some. Friday, January 8th! We hope to “see” you all there!!!

GET ACCESS NOW: https://t.co/ZyVy8rivdS pic.twitter.com/FCp8wb9SdA

— SEVENDUST (@Sevendust) November 23, 2020

Aaron Lewis was joined by his STAIND bandmate Mike Mushok for the first-ever acoustic performance of the group's song "Mudshovel" during Lewis's November 20 "From The Couch" paid livestream. The 10-song concert included selections from STAIND's debut album "Dysfunction" as well as music from Aaron's 2011 EP "Town Line".

Lewis's second "From The Couch" show will take place on November 27 and will feature music from his 2012 solo country debut album "The Road" as well as songs from STAIND's multi-platinum "Break The Cycle" LP.

You can buy your tickets now at aaronlewisvip.com.

This past June, Lewis confirmed that STAIND was finally working on its first new music in nearly a decade.

STAIND played its first full live show in five years in September 2019 at the Louder Than Life music festival in Louisville, Kentucky.

The band was scheduled to support DISTUBED on "The Sickness 20th Anniversary Tour" throughout North America this summer. The amphitheater trek has since been postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the globe.

STAIND has released seven albums since 1995, the latest being the 2011 self-titled effort. The band has had a number of hit songs during its first two decades, including the Top 10 smash "It's Been Awhile" from the No. 1 album "Break The Cycle". Follow-up LPs "14 Shades Of Grey" and "Chapter V" also topped the Billboard chart.

Lewis released his third full-length country album, "State I'm In", in April 2019 via Big Machine imprint Valory Music.

Mushok and ex-THREE DAYS GRACE vocalist Adam Gontier unveiled SAINT ASONIA in early 2015, releasing a self-titled debut album and scoring a Top 10 rock single with "Better Place". SAINT ASONIA's second full-length effort was released last year via Spinefarm Records.


























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Fan-filmed video footage of ELLEFSON, the solo band of MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson, perorming cover versions of Post Malone's "Over Now" and TWISTED SISTER's "Tear It Loose" on November 19 at the Emerson Theater, Indianapolis, Indiana can be seen below. Joining Ellefson in the group are singer Thom Hazaert and guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (formerly of GUNS N' ROSES), along with Dave Sharpe and Opus of DEAD BY WEDNESDAY.

ELLEFSON released its covers album, "No Cover", on November 20 via earMUSIC (Europe) and Ward Records (Japan). The effort was made available in conjunction with Ellefson's revived Combat Records, which issued the album in North America via Amped.

Produced by Ellefson and Hazaert, with additional production by guitarist Andy Martongelli and Matt LaPlant (NONPOINT, SKINDRED, LIL' JON), mixed by Alessio Garavello, and mastered by Maor Appelbaum (FAITH NO MORE), "No Cover" includes ELLEFSON-ized versions of 19 classic tracks from MOTÖRHEAD, W.A.S.P., DEF LEPPARD, CHEAP TRICK, QUEEN, JUDAS PRIEST, TWISTED SISTER, FASTWAY, FIGHT, DEAD KENNEDYS and more. Featuring cover art by Melody Myers (ALTITUDES AND ATTITUDE, ESCAPE THE FATE), an homage to the legendary DEF LEPPARD debut "On Through The Night", "No Cover" is the second release under the ELLEFSON banner, the follow-up to 2019's "Sleeping Giants", a double-disc compilation combining new tracks, with unreleased Ellefson solo and F5 material.

ELLEFSON, featuring Ellefson on bass, vocalist Thom Hazaert, guitarists Andy Martongelli and Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (SONS OF APOLLO, YES, ex-GUNS N' ROSES), and drummer Paolo Caridi, are joined on the album by a who's who of legendary guests including Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX), Eddie Ojeda (TWISTED SISTER), Brandon Yeagley (CROBOT), Dirk Verbeuren (MEGADETH), Frank Hannon and Troy Lucketta (TESLA), Mark Slaughter, Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS, ex-WATCHTOWER, EVIL UNITED), Greg Handevidt (KUBLAI KHAN, ex-MEGADETH), Chuck Behler (ex-MEGADETH), Gus G., John Aquilino (ICON), Doro Pesch, Dave McClain (SACRED REICH, ex-MACHINE HEAD), Dave Alvin (WHITE TRASH), Todd Kerns (SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS, Andrew Freeman (LAST IN LINE), Jacob Bunton (Mick Mars), Al Jourgensen (MINISTRY), Russ Parrish (FIGHT), DEAD BY WEDNESDAY, and more.

Ellefson said: "Before any of us started writing our own songs, we all began playing cover songs by our heroes during our formative years as musicians. So it's fun to go back in time and revisit those songs which helped us to become the artists we are today, especially when, ironically, many of those artists have now become peers and friends.

"During the process of recording some covers for B-sides and bonus tracks for the upcoming ELLEFSON solo LP, Thom and I just said, 'This is a blast. Let's just do a whole album of covers.' Literally, within two weeks, we had the songs recorded, and began calling our friends to join us, many of whom we had just performed with on the Megacruise back in October. From there, the album just fell into place."

He continued: "A lot of our buddies have been playing covers and quarantine jams on the Internet during the pandemic, so this is really just an extension of that, but we took it the next level and actually recorded a full studio album. We've been working remotely anyway, as we're all over the globe, so it was easy to incorporate some guests jumping in with some outstanding performances of their own. It's been a really fun nod to making great music with our friends, who are kick-ass players, and many legends in their own right, which is the whole reason we got into this in the first place."

Said Hazaert: "It's all songs and artists that really mutually influenced both myself and David, especially a lot of early 'metal' and harder classic rock. Some stuff I picked, some stuff he picked, but for the most part is was all artists that we both loved. What's funny, as there's a bit of an age gap, we were sometimes more influenced by different eras of the same bands. But it was really him saying, 'Let's do this song,' and me saying, 'Yes!!! And let's do this song.' And before we knew it, we had over 15 songs. And it's a lot of album tracks, deep cuts, early tracks, stuff people might not expect, which was what was so fun."

He added: "It was also great that we were able to work in a lot of nods to David's history, getting Chuck Behler to play with us, bringing in original MEGADETH guitarist Greg Handevidt to play on 'Love Me Like A Reptile', a song they used to play in cover bands together before they moved to L.A. (which we wrote about in 'More Life With Deth'), and Randy Burns is going to mix a track or two. As a singer, these are literally bands I've listened to, and covered all my life, and for me, getting to play with Eddie Ojeda, the TESLA guys, Charlie Benante, Jason McMaster, Mark Slaughter, etc, and sing these songs that mean so much to me. I mean, literally, the entire record is my bucket list of people I'd love to play with, and some of my favorite bands. So, it's truly an honor to put together something so fun, and really as effortless as this was. It truly is a love letter to rock n' roll, an homage to what made us, musically, who we are today."

2019 saw the release of Ellefson's "More Life With Deth" memoir, co-written with Hazaert, which led to the pair collaborating on the ELLEFSON compilation release "Sleeping Giants", released as a companion album to the book. Ellefson and Hazaert followed up the release of "Sleeping Giants" with an extensive U.S. and European tour, dubbed "More Live With Deth", with HATCHET guitarist Clayton Cagle, as well as FLOTSAM AND JETSAM's Steve Conley, stepping in on second guitar in the U.S., including several now-legendary shows featuring MEGADETH alumni Chuck Behler and Chris Poland.

The European "More Live With Deth" tour saw the permanent addition of guitarist Andy Martongelli and drummer Paolo Caridi into the recording lineup, as well as the return of Bumblefoot to the fold, and ELLEFSON was born. March 2020 brought the release of the single "Simple Truth", which was premiered on SiriusXM by Eddie Trunk, followed in May by the release of their re-imagined Post Malone cover "Over Now", both of which garnered national airplay.

ELLEFSON is set to tentatively release its debut full-length studio LP in 2021.






Tonight at The Emerson - DAVID ELLEFSON of Megadeth + more!

Tickets: www.theemersontheater.com

ELLEFSON (Megadeth) & more LIVE at The Emerson Theater!

Posted by The Emerson Theater on Thursday, November 19, 2020