Tel Aviv’s dark metal band Tomorrow's Rain  will release the fifth single from their debut album Hollow on November 5. "The Weeping Song" is the band's special cover version of Nick Cave's track from his album The Good Son (1990). Tomorrow's Rain's version features Anders Jacobsson (Draconian), Kobi Farhi (Orphaned Land) and Lisa Cuthbert (Live Fem. Vocals of The Sisters Of Mercy) as guests.

States vocalist Yishai Swearts: "Growing up in the 80's Nick Cave was always there, an idol, his lyrics found a warm place within my heart when I was pretty young, apart from that Nick is a mentor when it comes to face traumatic events in life and carry on, heal your soul and sing your pain, Nick's last 2 albums are pure reflection of the message we try to deliver in Hollow: at the end of the day we have to carry on, we have to heal ourselves and continue the journey.

"We think that the interesting idea in a cover version is always to the take song to "your own" area, never understood bands who just played the original song as is, it's pointless and in almost every case it's weaker than the original, by doing a cover the idea is not to be stronger than the original but to play the original in your own language, in your own way.

"Our dear old friend Kobi Farhi from Orphaned Land sang with me the duet, the idea was that one of us will be the father and the other will be the son, also joined in are Anders from Draconian doing growling vocals with me and Lisa Cuthbert with female voc."

Says Kobi Farhi: "Nick Cave is probably my favorite artist, second only to Leonard Cohen. From childhood till this day he never ceases to amaze me with his great ability to create sincere, painful art and music. I am honored to take part in a cover made for one of his classic songs, I think covers is a very tricky thing that you shouldn't go and do so easily, but this cover definitely achieved its goal and it's a great one!"

Hollow boasts an assortment of guest musicians including Aaron Stainthorpe (My Dying Bride), Greg Mackintosh (Paradise Lost), Jeff Loomis (Arch Enemy/Nevermore), Fernando Ribeiro (Moonspell), Spiros Antoniou (Septicflesh), Sakis Tolis (Rotting Christ), Mikko Kotamaki (Swallow The Sun), Kobi Farhi (Orphaned Land), Anders Jacobsson (Draconian), Shlomi Bracha (Mashina) and Lisa Cuthbert (live session vocalist for Sisters Of Mercy).

Order links below:

- Europe
- North America
- Digital

Hollow tracklisting:

"Trees" feat. Shlomi Bracha (Mashina)
"Fear" feat. Aaron Stainthrope (My Dying Bride)
"A Year I Would Like To Forget"
"In The Corner Of A Dead End Street" feat. Greg Mackintosh (Paradise Lost), Sakis Tolis (Rotting Christ) & Kobi Farhi (Orphaned Land)
"Misery Rain" feat. Fernando Ribeiro (Moonspell) & Mikko Kotamaki (Swallow The Sun)
"Into The Mouth Of Madness" feat. Jeff Loomis (Nevermore/Arch Enemy) & Kobi Farhi (Orphaned Land)
"Hollow" feat. Spiros Antoniou (Septicflesh)
"The Weeping Song" feat. Kobi Farhi (Orphaned Land), Anders Jacobsson (Draconian) & Lisa Cuthbert (Live Female vocals of The Sisters Of Mercy)
"Fear" (Acoustic Version)

"Into The Mouth Of Madness":

"In The Corner Of A Dead End Street" lyric video:

"Fear" lyric video:

Tomorrow's Rain was formed by Yishai Sweartz and The L.A Mastering Engineer Maor Appelbaum (Mayhem, Sabaton, Cynic, Abbath), present and past band members have previously played in acts such as Nail Within (Listenable), Distorted (Candlelight), Salem (Morbid Rec/System Shock) and Orphaned Land (Century Media).
 
Band lineup:

Yishai Sweartz - Vocals
Raffael Mor - Guitars
Yoni Biton - Guitars
Yaggel Cohen - Bass
Shiraz Weiss - Keyboards
Nir Nakav - Drums




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Finland’s Shiraz Lane have released an official music video for their new stand alone single, "Broken Into Pieces", exclusively via BraveWords. The band has issued the following statement regarding the track:

"'Broken Into Pieces' is the product of a fruitful collaboration with multiple musical talents. On this specific track we had the pleasure of working with and including insight from Jean Beauvoir, Per Aldeheim and Joonas Parkkonen, who helped us squeeze out the full potential of the composition. The song has a dark flavoured mood along with the unquestionable Shiraz hit factor introduced in the chorus. The track will surely be one of the hard rock songs to remember from this decade."

Video director Ville Juurikkala comments:

"This was a great project! The song is great and the guys are so nice to work with. It also helped a lot with the video that their bassist Joel is a professional video maker, so it was easy to plan everything with them. I think we managed to make some great ideas all in all, and fortunately we got Pyroman Finland to execute our crazy ideas."

Shiraz Lane is currently working on a new full length album. It's not known at this time if "Broken Into Pieces" will be included on the record. 

For information and updates go to the band's official Facebook page here.




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Back in September, Canadian rockers Honeymoon Suite released a new single, "Find What You're Looking For". The band has now released an official video for the track.

Honeymoon Suite guitarist Derry Grehan recently posted a video on Facebook along with the following message:

"A little jam from our new album called 'Livin' Out Loud'..."




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Canadian rockers Storm Force featuring Brighton Rock guitarist Greg Fraser, have launched the new video for the song "Breathe" below. Singer Patrick Gagliardi talks about the song: “When writing ‘Breathe’, I wanted to approach the subject of depression and how having a solid support system ( in this case, a lover) can bring you out of the funk. I also always liked the term ‘Breathe’ as in relax and just breathe. After the lyrics were written, Greg brought up the idea of making it a duet. This idea fit perfectly with the song lyrically. He suggested Serena Pryne (The Mandevilles) and we all agreed. I love the way her and my voice sound similar, and really mesh well together. She was perfect for the song. Can't wait to one day sing it live with her”

Greg Fraser recently spoke with BraveWords scribe Carl Begai about the Storm Force debut album, Age Of Fear. Following is an excerpt from the story.

“It was about three year in the making, just kinda chipping away at it,” Fraser says of Age Of Fear, having been out of the limelight for several years. “Sometime I wondered if it was ever going to be finished because we’ve got different things going on, but once we got the deal (with Escape Music) it put things into overdrive. We wanted the record to be finished before we started shopping around but it didn’t happen that way, which is kind of a good thing because it could have been another year before the record was done.”

“Any kid that’s 20 years-old today, they’re never going to buy a CD in their lifetime,” he adds. “It’s the people in their 30s, 40s, 50s and older that are willing to buy 10 songs all at once. Kids today… one song at a time and that’s all they need. I’m still old school. If I hear a song I like, I wanna know where the rest of the songs are (laughs). The fact I have a label (Escape Music) that’s willing to print CDs is amazing, because that’s the only way you can make any money off of any product. You can’t make anything off of streaming.”

That said, the motivations behind forming Storm Force according to Fraser had little to do with wanting to make big money or needing the spotlight, and far more to do with being hungry to get new music out into the open.

“I’m a songwriter and I always have songs buzzing around in my head; vocal melodies, a drumbeat, a pattern, a guitar riff… it’s a blessing, but sometimes it’s a curse. I’ll have this stuff buzzing in my head, I’ll record the ideas and maybe finish them off, and the songs start to accumulate. It’s like being a painter and having all your paintings scattered everywhere around the house; at some point it would be nice for someone else to look at them. That’s what it’s like. It had been a while since I’d put a record out and I was really digging what I was hearing in all this stuff coming out of me, so I felt it was time to do one.”

Post-Brighton Rock project Fraze Gang (2006 - 2012) was new territory for Fraser in that he was up front as guitarist and vocalist. Storm Force sees him stepping back from the microphone, which he was only too happy to give up to singer Patrick Gagliardi. He explains:

“Being in Brighton Rock and the other bands I was in, I was just the guitar player. I just played, hang back, didn’t have to worry too much. I found that fronting a band when you’re playing guitar leaves you with much bigger shoes to fill. I’m used to finishing a song, grabbing a beer or a towel for my face before the next song starts while the singer raps with the crowd. You can’t have dead air when you finish a song on stage, so it was tough for me fronting Fraze Gang. Remembering the lyrics, singing in key, playing guitar, all of that… I didn’t like it. I was relieved when the show was over, like ‘Thank God we pulled it off.’ I wasn’t having fun with it. I enjoyed writing and recording the Fraze Gang stuff, but I missed having a frontman and a real singer. I don’t consider myself a phenomenal singer by any stretch, and Patrick singing for Storm Force is unbelievable. He always makes my vocal ideas 10 times better than I thought they would be.”

Fraser is the main songwriter in Storm Force, and he maintains that Age Of Fear was written the same way he wrote for Brighton Rock and Fraze Gang. The album shares a vibe reminiscent of Brighton Rock’s third album, Love Machine, but is far and away from the band first two and ultimately more popular records. Asked if he has any idea why Storm Force stands apart from his previous works, Fraser admits he doesn’t have a concrete answer.

“I think maybe I’m too close to this to answer that. If Gerry McGhee sang these songs I’m pretty sure you’d say ‘Yeah, there’s Brighton Rock.’ I really haven’t changed my approach to songwriting. I write the music and the vocal melodies, I’ll have the basic arrangement done, and then I give it to Patrick (Gagliardi) and he goes with my vocal melodies and writes lyrics, maybe changes things up a bit so the melody feels better for him. I plant the seed and the other come in and add to the ideas. As time goes on other music might rub off on me and influence the way I write, I don’t know.”

Read the complete story here.

Storm Force is the explosive new band that fans of classic hard melodic rock have all been waiting for. Led by Canadian rock legends Brighton Rock founder and lead guitarist Greg Fraser and featuring one of today’s most powerful and versatile lead vocalists in Patrick Gagliardi (formerly of Surface Tension), their debut record produced by Darius Szczepaniak (Black Crowes, Sum 41, Big Sugar) combines colossal, crushing melodic rock with hook-laden ballads and massive choruses reminiscent of vintage Cinderella, balanced by classic rock sensibilities of acts like The Who and Van Halen.

The group hails from Niagara Falls, Canada and is rounded out by the blistering one-two punch rhythm section of ex-Panik and Step Echo drummer Brian Hamilton and sought-after session musician and touring bassist Mike Beradelli.

Storm Force’s groundbreaking new record is the result of a rich blend of rock influences spanning Triumph, UFO, Thin Lizzy, Foreigner, and so many more, and will be available on Escape Music worldwide. Order your copy now from The Music Shop.

"Beacuse Of You"

"Dirty Vegas"




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AC/DC will release their new album, Power Up, on November 13 via Columbia Records. Singer Brian Johnson and guitarist Angus Young spoke with NME about the album, and during the chat, Brian recalled the time when he and late guitarist Malcom Young headed off on a whiskey-fuelled quest to discover the Loch Ness monster.

“We both had these Land Rovers and we’d taken them for a trip around Scotland - Malcolm loved his fireworks and he’d taken a big box with him,” he chuckles. “One night, we were four sheets to the wind and staying at this hotel right on the side of the loch. Mal just said, ‘C’mon, let’s go and find the Loch Ness monster! I’ve got fireworks and it might attract it!’

“There we were, going straight into the water in our shoes, up to our knees, and it was freezing! Mal had a drink in one hand, a box of fireworks in the other, and was trying to set fire to the loch. We were just howling. By the time we got back to our wives we had straw in our hair and were covered in mud. What a night!”

Read the full interview at NME.com.

The Limited Edition Deluxe Lightbox, CD, Vinyl and Digital Download editions of Power Up are available for pre-order here. The official AC/DC store also has an array of pre-order options, which can be viewed at this location.

Power Up is AC/DC’s 17th studio album. For Power Up, the band reunited with producer Brendan O’Brien who helmed the double-platinum Black Ice in 2008 and the gold Rock Or Bust in 2014. Charged up for the next decade, AC/DC cut twelve new tracks for the album, proudly maintaining their signature sound and all of its powerful hallmarks.

The AC/DC lineup of Angus Young (lead guitar), Brian Johnson (lead vocals), Cliff Williams (bass guitar), Phil Rudd (drums), and Stevie Young (rhythm guitar) is firing on all cylinders once again.

Tracklisting:

"Realize"
"Rejection"
"Shot in the Dark"
"Through the Mists of Time"
"Kick You When You're Down"
"Witch's Spell"
"Demon Fire"
"Wild Reputation"
"No Man's Land"
"Systems Down"
"Money Shot"
"Code Red"

"Shot In The Dark" video:

Trailers:




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David Coverdale has remembered Eddie Van Halen as "an absolute monster musician," and suggested that a reunion of VAN HALEN with former frontman Sammy Hagar may have been on the cards before the guitarist's passing. Coverdale made the comments while speaking to Eonmusic about the release of WHITESNAKE's forthcoming "Love Songs" compilation, which is due next month via Rhino.

Regarding how Eddie first came to his attention, David revealed that it was when considering John Sykes for WHITESNAKE in 1983 that he became aware of Van Halen's talents. "I'd only heard of VAN HALEN because once I started to work with the unique talent of John Sykes, I like to do my homework on people, and I thought, 'He's influenced by this American guy Edward Van Halen," Coverdale said. "That's when I first heard those records, and heard this fucking phenomenal guitar playing. The last time I'd heard guitar playing like that was Jimi Hendrix and John McLaughlin and Jeff Beck; this unique scenario."

David went on to recall the last time he saw Eddie, presumably around 1993 or 1994, when he was working with LED ZEPPELIN's Jimmy Page as COVERDALE PAGE. He said: "The last time I saw him, I was sitting in my hotel suite in London with Jimmy. It was like 10 o'clock in the morning, and we were just having a very elegant gentlemen's cup of tea; tea pot and everything. [Laughs] And the door to my suite goes, and Edward just pushes past, and I go, 'Edward, how are you doing?' And he goes, 'All right, great to see you… Ah! Jimmy Page! Jimmy Page!' And, well, first off, he goes to my minibar immediately at 10 o'clock in the morning and takes a fucking Heineken out, and he's at Jimmy's feet, and he picks up my acoustic, and he's, like, 'How did you play this fucking thing?!' [Laughs] You know, it's amazing — I had Eddie Van Halen and Jimmy Page sitting there, and Eddie had a Heineken, and Jimmy and I had a cup of tea!”

Coverdale then revealed that he had been in touch with Sammy Hagar in recent months, and suggested that a reunion between the Red Rocker and VAN HALEN had been a very real possibility. He said: "I'd been aware of Edward's illness for quite some time, and Sammy and I had talked about it, but Sammy still had the energy that he was going to have another opportunity to do the rounds as the singer with VAN HALEN, because all was not well with the camp before. But I don't think Edward could do [it]."

Finally, David summed up Eddie's passing philosophically, saying: "Artists — musicians or painters; musicians, singers — the thing is, they are as alive to me, in my heart, my mind, my soul, my spirit. You know, the music's there. Eddie Van Halen, I just played the early VAN HALEN albums, and it's just amazing stuff — the ultimate, a great American party band."

He concluded: "The sad thing is, you don't get to hug them, but Edward's still alive to me, and I just feel for his family for his physical absence. That's the big sadness. But what a monster, monster musician. An absolute monster."

Check out the full story here, and read the entire interview with David Coverdale, only on Eonmusic, from Friday, October 30.

40 years ago today, the "Ace Of Spades" single was released and to celebrate, Motörhead have released a new HD version of the original video, which can be seen below:

Upon its release in 1980, the Ace Of Spades album was nothing short of a game changer for all forms of hard rock. Like lightning in a bottle, it perfectly captured everything great about hard rock, heavy metal, and punk, amped it all up to 11, and came racing out of the gates at what felt like a million miles an hour, pushing at every musical boundary. Nothing was harder. Nothing was faster. And certainly nothing was louder.

Now, following on from last year’s fan and media acclaimed anniversary editions of the seminal Overkill and Bomber albums, comes the record that launched Motörhead into the stratosphere and carved their name into the walls of rock ‘n’ roll history forever; Ace Of Spades. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of this milestone album, it is being presented in new deluxe editions. There will be hardback book-packs in two CD and triple LP formats, featuring a previously unheard concert from the Ace Up Your Sleeve tour, the story of the album and many previously unseen photos. Also, the album will be released as an ultimate fan, collector edition Ace Of Spades box set, containing a bevy of era-specific treasures and some 42 previously unreleased tracks!

Release is set for October 30, pre-order here.

In addition to the previously announced expanded editions of Ace Of Spades and the deluxe collectors box set, the album will also be released digitally in 360 Reality Audio, a new immersive music experience utilizing Sony’s spatial audio technology, that will let listeners hear this behemoth like never before. The 360 Reality Audio content will be available on Deezer and Tidal and can be enjoyed on any headphones and also on Amazon Music HD, playing on the Amazon Echo Studio. For additional details visit 360 Reality Audio official website here.

The Ace Of Spades Deluxe box set contains:

- The Ace Of Spades album, half-speed mastered and created from the original master tapes.
- Two double-live albums of previously unheard concerts from the Ace Up Your Sleeve tour.
- A Fistful Of Instrumentals : A 10” EP of previously unreleased, instrumental tracks from 1980.
- The Good, The Broke & The Ugly. A double album of B-sides, outtakes and rare tracks.
- Ace On Your Screens: A DVD compilation of rare TV appearances from 1980-81, a live concert from 1981 and a 5.1 audio mix of the original album.
- The Ace Of Spades story. A 40 page book telling the story of Ace Of Spades through previously unpublished interviews with the people that were there. Includes never before seen photos and memorabilia.
- The Ace Up Your Sleeve tour programme
- The Motörhead Rock Commando comic.
- A set of 5 poker dice that can be played on the game board inside the box set lid.
- All encased in a classic Wild West dynamite box.
- A limited edition 7" reproduction of the Dutch Ace Of Spades, with a previously unreleased instrumental version on Side B. (while stocks last!)

In 1980, off the back of two essential albums, Overkill and Bomber the previous year, Motörhead continued to get bigger, better, louder and faster by the second. This time, on Ace Of Spades they teamed up with producer Vic Maile and came up with twelve songs; each and every one of which crams a regular band’s ten minutes of playing into an average of three. The song titles alone made ears bleed; “Love Me Like A Reptile”, “Shoot You In The Back”, “The Chase Is Better Than The Catch” and “The Hammer” were a few examples. This landmark album saw the three amigos of Lemmy, Fast Eddie Clarke and Philthy Animal Taylor at the helm of the juggernaut that was Motörhead, gaining phenomenal growth in popularity as they forged onward. The band’s and fans ideas, wants and inspirations, converged at a perfect tangent. Anyone disputing this fact need look no further than any heavy metal gig of the time and play ‘spot the Motörhead T-shirt and jacket’. They outnumbered anyone else by at least five to one. A statistic that is still accurate some forty five years since they first began!

The Ace Of Spades album release was a magical moment in rock ‘n’ roll history, an album which had enormous global impact and continues to resonate and inspire people worldwide. Fans to this day still remember where they were when they first heard it, and it immediately inspired bands worldwide to absorb the album’s energy, speed, and attitude into their own work. Ace Of Spades is ground zero for thrash, speed metal, and punk / metal crossover.

Tracklisting:

Ace Of Spades

Side One
“Ace Of Spades”
“Love Me Like A Reptile”
“Shoot You In The Back”
“Live To Win”
“Fast And Loose”
“(We Are) The Road Crew”

Side Two
“Fire Fire”
“Jailbait”
“Dance”
“Bite The Bullet”
“The Chase Is Better Than The Catch”
“The Hammer”

A Fistful Of Instrumentals

Side One
“Ace Of Spades (demo)
“Hump On Your Back” (demo)
“Shoot You In The Back” (demo)
“Fast And Loose” (demo)

Side Two
“Dirty Love” (demo)
“Love Me Like A Reptile” (demo)
“Dance” (demo)

Riders Wearing Black – Live At Whitla Hall, Belfast – December 23, 1981

Side One
“Ace Of Spades”
“Stay Clean”
“Over The Top”
“The Hammer”
“Shoot You In The Back”
“Metropolis”

Side Two
“(We Are) The Road Crew”
“No Class”
“Bite The Bullet”
“The Chase Is Better Than The Catch”

Side Three
“Jailbait”
“Leaving Here”
“Capricorn”
“Too Late, Too Late”

Side Four
“Overkill”
“Bomber”
“Motörhead”

Dead Man’s Hand – Live At Parc Expo, Orleans – March 5, 1981

Side One
“Ace Of Spades”
“Stay Clean”
“Over The Top”
“Metropolis”
“Shoot You In The Back”

Side Two
“The Hammer”
“Jailbait”
“Leaving Here”
“Fire Fire”
“Love Me Like A Reptile”

Side Three
“Capricorn”
“Too Late, Too Late”
“(We Are) The Road Crew”
“No Class”

Side Four
“Bite The Bullet”
“The Chase Is Better Than The Catch”
“Overkill”
“Bomber”

The Good, The Broke & The Ugly

Side One
“Ace Of Spades” (Alternative Version)
“Dirty Love”
“Love Me Like A Reptile” (Alternative Long Version)
“Shoot You In The Back” (Alternative Version)

Side Two
“Hump On Your Back”
“Fast And Loose” (Alternative Version)
“(We Are) The Road Crew” (Alternative Version)
“Fire Fire” (Alternative Version)
“Jailbait” (Alternative Version)

Side Three
“Waltz Of The Vampire”
“The Hammer” (Alternative Version)
“Dirty Love” (Alternative Version)
“Bastard”
“Godzilla Akimbo”

Side Four

In the beginning of June, Norwegian hard rock icons, Vreid, streamed a unique live performance that took place against the breathtaking backdrop of the mountains in their hometown of Sogndal, Norway. Vreid played a classic set from their entire Sognametal history, including songs that have never been played live before as well as several Windir tracks. Vegard, the brother of late Winder vocalist Valfar, and former Mistur vocalist Odne made a guest appearance during the concert. The live stream was an immense success with over 130,000 people viewers across the globe!

Now, the band has released their entire "In The Mountains Of Sognametal" concert via YouTube. Watch below.

Vreid songwriter and bass guitarist Jarle Hváll Kvåle comments: "It was such a unique experience. It was a moment where we embraced our entire legacy, and I am so proud of how it came together. It was organized with a true Sognametal spirit, in a strong DIY manner with help from our closest friends and family. The response to the stream was overwhelming and we hope that when this pandemic is over, we can invite the audience to watch a special concert in the same surroundings. That would be mind blowing.

"Launching the entire concert is also a kickstart to what is going to be the most intense and creative year in our lives. We are progressing with our new album and what an album it will be. Let's just say that we have been possessed with working on this record and can’t wait to release it in 2021. In conjunction with the album, we are also doing something completely new, a project that will give the music a new dimension.

"Furthermore, in a few weeks  we have absolutely wild news for all of you that enjoy the Sognametal legacy. But first, we have opened the gates to our beloved mountain farm and made the 'In The Mountains Of Sognametal' concert available for all of you. Enjoy the show, spread it wherever you can and keep following us for some intense months to come. The march continues!"

In addition to the video, Vreid reopened the concert scene in Oslo on August 15, 2020. The historic performance took place at the legendary Rockefeller venue and was the first show at the venue since the COVID-19 closure. The show sold out immediately.




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Papa Roach are giving fans asneak peek into new music with the video below.

Says the band: "It's 2020 and like all bands, we had to cancel massive tours, so we're taking this opportunity to get in the studio and write new music together. We all got tested and quarantined ourselves in "the bubble" to write our next album."




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Joe Satriani has released the new video below, along with the following message:

"Dave Martone (who also chants on 'Crowd Chant')  explodes on 'Premonition'! I can’t remember the last time I heard such a variety of techniques used so well, all in one song."

"At the heart of it is my love for composing unique and moving music for the electric guitar. I love the journey as much as the end result. With this compilation of backing tracks you get to peak behind the curtain a bit and experience that journey as I built the songs in the studio. And, of course, you can play along!" - Joe Satriani

Stripped x Three features full backing tracks from the complete Shapeshifting, Black Swans And Wormhole Wizards and"Is There Love in Space? albums, a special digital compilation booklet with original liner notes and credits and it is all packaged within a replica Joe Satriani Ibanez signature guitar USB stick and custom case. Pre-order here.

Satriani on Stripped x Three: "This collection represents three albums of backing tracks released years apart from each other spanning 16 years: Is There Love In Space? from 2004, Black Swans And Wormhole Wizards from 2010, and 2020's Shapeshifting. Three remarkably different albums recorded and mixed in remarkably different locations. At the heart of it is my love for composing unique and moving music for the electric guitar. Each album project I undertake pushes me to discover new ways to write , play, produce and record. I love the journey as much as the end result. With this compilation of backing tracks you get to peak behind the curtain a bit and experience that journey as I built the songs in the studio. And, of course, you can play along!"




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Iron Maiden has added the four final dates to their 2021 Legacy Of The Beast European Tour, which includes shows in Switzerland, Croatia, Hungary, and Frankfurt, Germany.

Dates:

June
5 – Basel, Switzerland – St. Jakobshalle
7 – Zagreb, Croatia – Arena
9 – Budapest, Hungary – Groupama Arena (Special guests Lord Of The Lost)
11 – Warsaw, Poland – PGE Narodowy
13 – Bremen, Germany – Buergerweide
15 – Prague, Czech Republic – Sinobo Stadium
16 – Wiener Neustad, Austria – Stadium Open Air
19 – Barcelona, Spain – Olympic Stadium
21 – Lisbon, Portugal – Estadio Nacional
24 – Bologna, Italy – Sonic Park
26 – Stuttgart, Germany – Mercedes Benz Arena
27 – Antwerp, Belgium – Sportpalais
30 – Gothenburg, Sweden – Ullevi Stadium

July
6 – Frankfurt, Germany – Deutsche Bank Park
8 – Cologne, Germany – Rhein Energie Stadium
10 – Anrnhem, Netherlands – Gelredome
11 – Paris, France – La Defense Arena 




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German medieval rock masters, Feuerschwanz, have released the official music video for the song "Hier kommt Alex" (english: Here Comes Alex). The song - originally written and performed by Die Toten Hosen - comes off their covers album Die Sieben Todsünden, the bonus to their brand new album Das Elfte Gebot, which was released on June 26 and landed at #3 on the official German album charts, where it remained for eight consecutive weeks.

Commented the band: ""In einer Welt in der man nur noch lebt, damit man täglich roboten geht..." (In a world in which you only live, so you can function every day...) This line seems depressingly real in these strange times - even though, back in 1988, Die Toten Hosen were inspired by Anthony Burgess' novel "A Clockwork Orange" as well as the movie of the same name by Stanley Kubrick, to write this huge German rock classic! We love the song as well as the movie and its eerie message and thus put it into a medieval sound. Let's ascend to Burg Abenberg again, harken Mieze Myus' gentle harp before we shout: Hier kommt Alex!"

Das Elfte Gebot is the successor of 2018's Methämmer album, and can be ordered here.

Das Elfte Gebot tracklisting:

"Meister der Minne"
"Metfest"
"Das elfte Gebot"
"Kampfzwerg"
"Im Bauch des Wals"
"Mission Eskalation"
"Schildmaid"
"Malleus Maleficarum"
"Lords Of Powermet"
"Totentanz"
"Unter dem Drachenbanner"

Die Sieben Todsünden (bonus covers album) tracklisting:

"Ding" (Seeed)
"Hier kommt Alex" (Die Toten Hosen)
"Amen & Attack" (Powerwolf)
"I See Fire" (Ed Sheeran)
"Gott mit uns" (Sabaton)
"Limit" (Deichkind)
"Engel" (Rammstein)

"Im Bauch des Wals" video:

"Ding" video:

"I See Fire" video:

Lineup:

Hauptmann Feuerschwanz - vocals, guitars
Johanna von der Vögelweide - fiddle, hurdy gurdy
Sir Lanzeflott - drums
Jarne Hodinsson - bass
Prinz Hodenherz - winds, vocals
Hans der Aufrechte - guitars




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Birmingham, UK-based death metal legends, Benediction, have released a drum playthrough video for "Iterations Of I", the opening track of their eighth full-length studio album, Scriptures, available now via Nuclear Blast. Order the album in various formats here, and watch the new clip below:

Benediction are without a doubt one of the few remaining originals in the death metal scene and have achieved legendary status through various albums over the years. Until today they love what they do and always do their job without compromise - on record and on stage. After more than 30 years in the business and 12 years after their last album Killing Music, Benediction are now back with one of their best releases and play once again in the Death Metal Champions League.

Scriptures (produced by Scott Atkins at Grindstone Studio in England), sounds 100% like Benediction: they blend death metal with a "fuck-off punk rock attitude", heavy metal riffing and a groove that hardly any other band can perform like this. Dave Ingram's "signature-growls" and powerful lyrics enhance the tonal framework so that you can hear after a few notes that you are listening to Benediction. As usual the tracks vary from slow and heavy to fast and intense, from shorter "in your face" numbers to epic masterpieces.

The artwork fits perfectly to Benediction and awakens an immediate desire in the devoted old school death metal fan to enjoy the new album. It was created by Birmingham artist Simon Harris and is reminiscent of the iconic artwork of the first albums. Without a doubt it will fit very well in every vinyl collection next to Subconscious Terror, The Grand Leveler or Transcend The Rubicon, and will be appearing on shirts and posters in the future.

All in all, Scriptures is an album from scratch, where everything is just as it should be. A jewel in the catalogue of a band that has been present from the very beginning and - freely based on one of their most popular songs "We Bow To None" - has always remained true to themselves and their fans.

Tracklisting:

"Iterations Of I"
"Scriptures In Scarlet"
"The Crooked Man"
"Stormcrow"
"Progenitors Of A New Paradigm"
"Rabid Carnality"
"In Our Hands, The Scars"
"Tear Off These Wings"
"Embrace The Kill"
"Neverwhen"
"The Blight At The End"
"We Are Legion"

"Iterations Of I" video:

"Stormcrow" video:

"Rabid Carnality video:

Benediction lineup:

Darren Brookes - guitar
Peter Rew - guitar
Dave Ingram - vocals
Dan Bate - bass
Giovanni Durst - drums




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Norway-based hard rockers, Wig Wam, are reunited and back with a brand new single, "Never Say Die". Stream or download the single from your preferred service here, and watch the video below.

What's next for Wig Wam? Stay tuned.

Lineup:

Åge Sten Nilsen - vocals
Trond Holter - guitars
Bernt Jansen - bass
Øystein Andersen - drums




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Karkaos / Kittie vocalist Morgan Lander is featured below in a lockdown cover of the Carcass classic "Buried Dreams" with Jeff Phillips (guitar, bass) and Michael Sage (drums / samples). 

The track was mixed and mastered by Doug Fury at Fortissimo Sound. The song is taken from Carcass' 1993 album, Heartwork

The trio previously released a cover of the Prong classic "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck", which is now available on Spotify.




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Counting Hours' freezing debut album The Will is now available via The Vinyl Division on Black and Red Vinyl, and on six-panel Digipak as well. The record sees the Finnish five-piece making their own way down the pathways of the dark and gothic scene, delivering an original and absorbing musical experience in the vein of Katatonia, Paradise Lost and October Tide.

Counting Hours have also released a brand new video for "To Exit All False", the third single to be extracted from The Will.

Guitarist and founder Jarno Salomaa (Shape Of Despair, ex-Rapture) comments: "This particular song was quite interesting to write. It all started with one riff, which ridiculously reminds us of one certain band from a neighbouring country of ours. With a few changes, I got it rolling onto the right direction while keeping the flow on it. Ilpo (Paasela, vocalist) poured down some words on the end  of everything after all failures in life, and the song itself - in all its catchiness and almost cheerful beginning and end - is very powerful and faithful to the band’s roots."

The Will artwork and tracklisting:

"The Will"
"Profound"
"Atonement"
"To Exit All False"
"Saviour"
"Blank Sunrise"
"Buried In The White"
"Our Triumph"
"Among The Pines We'll Die"

"Blank Sunrise":

"Our Triumph":

For further details, visit Counting Hours on Facebook.

 




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Helsinki-based Oceanhoarse likes to keep busy. After the touring plans for this fall were put on hold due to the pandemic, an idea struck somewhere in between the relentless songwriting and the upcoming studio-sessions: Let's just jam on a couple of Ozzy songs – and film them! 

"Here's our take on 'Miracle Man', with guest guitar and vocals by Pete Lindroos from Ensiferum. Recorded live at the Hoarse Ranch. Enjoy!"

Check out the band's two previous Ozzy covers, "Shot In The Dark" and "Perry Mason", featuring Janne Wirman (ex-Children Of Bodom) and Kimberly Goss (Sinergy) respectively.

Check out Oceanhoarse here.




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During an appearance on "The Dennis Miller Option" podcast, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons recalled a time in the mid-1980s when he and Eddie Van Halen were both backstage at a METALLICA show in Southern California.

"METALLICA was coming up in the world," Gene said (hear audio below). "And we all started to hear about this new band and stuff. So I went out to Long Beach Arena, had a limo and bodyguard — all that stupid rock star stuff. And backstage, Edward comes up, 'Hey, man, what are you doing?' 'Checking this band…' 'Yeah.' In fact, I jumped up on stage with the guys and we did 'Cold Gin' together.

"At any rate, when we got offstage, I was saying [to Eddie], 'It's great seeing you. I hope everybody is okay. I'm gonna jump in my car and go back to L.A.' He goes, 'No, man. Come with me. I've got my Jeep here, and I'll drive you back.' I go, 'Sure. Sure. Why not?' So I told the limo driver, 'You know what? Make your way back. I'm gonna go with this guy.' Well, be careful what you wish for.

"So he puts me into this old jalopy thing with no doors," Gene added. "Ever see [the American war comedy-drama television series] 'M*A*S*H' with those helicopters that don't have doors on them, and they're flying sideways and you think you're gonna die? This thing's got no doors. It's got seatbelts. And Edward's smoking away like a chimney and driving what I thought was a hundred miles an hour up the 405 [freeway]. And I'm holding on for dear life and trying to pretend that I'm a guy without fear and all that. [I was] scared to death. And I said, 'Eddie, Eddie, slow down.' And a cigarette was hanging out of his mouth, and he said, 'Why?' I didn't quite know what to answer."

Simmons has claimed in several interviews that he once had to talk Eddie out of leaving VAN HALEN and teaming up with KISS.

Simmons has repeatedly taken credit for "discovering" VAN HALEN and flying the band to New York to record a 15-song demo at Electric Lady Studios, with Gene at the production helm. But he ended up not working with the group after his KISS bandmates and manager, Bill Aucoin, expressed little interest in his demos.

Eddie died on October 6 at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California at the age of 65. His wife, Janie, was by his side, along with his son Wolfgang, and Alex, Eddie's brother and VAN HALEN drummer.

Joe Bonamassa’s new Abbey Road-recorded solo album, Royal Tea – inspired by British blues rock heroes like Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin and Cream – is out now. Check out "Lookout Man!", the newest single and video from the album below.

The Abbey Road Studio recordings follows Bonamassa’s recent instrumental side project called The Sleep Eazys, who released their critically-acclaimed debut album, Easy To Buy, Hard To Sell. The album was produced by Bonamassa and features some of his frequent collaborators, along with his all-star touring band. The Sleep Eazys project is Joe’s second time in the studio as a producer, after Reese Wynans’ debut solo album Sweet Release.

Tracklist:

 

"When One Door Opens"
"Royal Tea"
"Why Does It Take So Long To Say Goodbye"
"Lookout Man"
"High Class Girl"
"A Conversation With Alice"
"I Didn't Think She Would Do It"
"Beyond The Silence"
"Lonely Boy"
"Savannah"




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New Jersey based heavy rock band Rahway, also known as the Slum Lords Of New Jersey (which is also the name of the band’s freshly released EP), has released their heavy rock tale of love heartbreak, and coping with the pain, "Stone".

Preceded by their poignant video for "Sugar", filmed during the 2020 Lockdown, "Stone" was produced and engineered by Mike Orlando (Adrenaline Mob) and recorded at Sonic Stomp Studios in Staten Island, NY, while the music video was produced, directed, and edited by Larry Jones (Arc Angel Entertainment).

Slum Lords Of New Jersey artwork and tracklisting:

"Acetylene" 
"Stone" 
"Only The Strong" 
"Sugar" 
"Jet"

 




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"Dedicated to all you heavy metal ghosts and gobblins", Detroit’s Artificial Agent have released a video for "Do You Love Me", a track from the band's fourth studio album, Death Ray, released back in February.

As the legendary horror movie television host Sir Graves Ghastly would say, "So my dear hearts... Turn out your lights, roll down the shades, draw the drapes, cuddle up in your favorite spot by the telly, and glue your little eyes to your TV screen … for today’s TALE OF TERROR!"

The band previously released a video for “Eye For An Eye”, the opening track from Death Ray:




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At the beginning of April 2020 just as the world as we knew it began to change, Finnish heavy melodic death metal band Wolfheart released their newest full-length crusher, Wolves Of Karelia, via Napalm Records. Today, the band has emerged from the darkness once again with a vibrant lyric video for their blisteringly heavy track "Horizon On Fire", cut from the new album.

Wolfheart frontman Tuomas Saukkonen says about the track and video: "Of the entire album, 'Horizon On Fire' is the song that best underlines how outnumbered the Finnish army was with only 32 tanks against over 2500 Russian tanks, 114 aircrafts against Russian 3800 aircrafts and manpower almost three times the enemy during one of the coldest winters of those times. I was born in the Karelian region and my father’s family farm is only 7km from the border that was drawn after the war, so I also have a very strong personal connection to those historical events. So, lines like below were written purely to honor the sacrifice of the generation that fought the war.

In the shelter of the woods
Edges of lakes and fields ages have stood
Winters fury on our side
We can't be defeated
We have to hold the line

"This lyric video was done by our graphics guy, Nikos Stavridakis of VisionBlack, who has done all of our album graphics for the previous three albums. We wanted to give him a bigger role and get him involved in our video production too so he could bring the album graphic work into life in video format, and underline the Finnish Winter War theme even more deeply."

Watch the lyric video for “Horizon On Fire” below:

Just as wildlife itself maintains harmony with a violent clash of beauty and unpredictability, Wolves Of Karelia explores the band’s previously coined genre of “winter metal” – smoothly bridging a traditional approach of extreme genres with tracks like the breakneck epic “Reaper”, while maintaining atmospheric and acoustic elements on songs such as the bludgeoning wall-of-sound “The Hammer” and grandiose “Horizon On Fire”. Crowned by the deeply stunning instrumental interlude “Eye Of The Storm”, Wolves Of Karelia could easily go down in metal history as Wolfheart’s most intense record.

The album’s lyrical and musical content is inspired by the Winter War waged between Russia and the band’s native country, Finland, which took place during the winter of November 1939-March 1940. Finland ultimately managed to stop the Russian troops from invading their country. Wolfheart mastermind and frontman Tuomas Saukkonen was inspired by the personal stories of local veterans, conveying the tales of what they experienced and survived from their perspectives. Somber, frostbitten and heroic, Wolves Of Karelia portrays these tales with stunning musical precision.

Order the new album here.

Wolves Of Karelia tracklisting:

"Hail Of Steel"
"Horizon On Fire"
"Reaper"
"The Hammer"
"Eye Of The Storm"
"Born From Fire"
"Arrows Of Chaos"
"Ashes"

“Reaper” video:

"The Hammer" video:

"Hail Of Steel" video:

"Ashes" lyric video:

Wolfheart is:

Tuomas Saukkonen: Guitar, Vocals
Joonas Kauppinen: Drums
Lauri Silvonen: Bass, Backing Vocals
Vagelis Karzis: Session Guitar

(Photo - Valtteri Hirvonen)




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Progressive deathcore unit, Within The Ruins, will release their sixth full-length, Black Heart, via Entertainment One (eOne) / Good Fight Music on November 27. A video for the track "Black Heart" can be found below.

The mission statement for album six was simple: domination. Within The Ruins set out to top themselves, in every conceivable way, and with the suitably titled Black Heart, they clearly succeeded. Vicious, unrelenting, and hyper-focused, Within The Ruins hammers home ten songs of sheer terror with an unforgiving mandate to destroy. Combining the breakneck precision of classic slabs like Invade and Elite with the unrestrained raw aggression of Halfway Human, Black Heart emerges from the most extended space between records with remarkable urgency and energy.

The track "Black Heart" serves as the second single off the album and incorporates some relatively unfamiliar territory for the band: clean singing. Known for their technical progressive prowess and intricately laid melodic foundations, bassist, Paolo Galang, showcases his vocal range through an undeniably catchy clean chorus, complimenting their instrumentation and Steve Tinnon's aggressive vocals. The refined writing is on full display here, balancing inventive and chaotic.

Comments vocalist, Steve Tinnon, of the poignant track and accompanying video, “We’re extremely excited to release the video for the title track to our new album, Black Heart! We really enjoyed making this one and getting to tell a bit more of the story behind the music. It’s a very angry, personal song, and a lot of the tracks stem from what it’s about. It’s an important track in regards to the overall theme of the record, and we couldn’t be happier with how the video turned out!”

Black Heart will be released on CD, LP, and digital formats. For pre-order options, head here.

Black Heart trackisting:

"Domination"
"Deliverance"
"Black Heart"
"Open Wounds"
"Eighty Sixed"
"Devil In Me"
"Hollow"
"Outsider"
"RCKLSS"
"Ataxia V"

"Black Heart" video:

"Deliverance" video:

Lineup:

Joe Cocchi - guitars
Kevin McGuill - drums
Paolo Galang - bass, vocals
Steve Tinnon - vocals

(Photo - Chris Klumpp)




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At Wacken Open Air 2019, Austrian power metal band, Dragony, became Austrian Metal Battle finalists and served some colourful tunes inside History Stage - the stage which was based on the stage of the very first Wacken Open Air back in 1990. Watch the band's performance below.

Setlist:

Intro (Game of Thrones)
"Shadowrunners"
"Lords Of The Hunt"
"Defenders"
"If It Bleeds We Can Kill It"
"Wolves Of The North"

Earlier this year, Dragony signed a worldwide record deal with Napalm Records. Eight years have passed since they debuted with their first album, Legends, and despite their humble beginnings back in 2007, the band is now a well-known representative of the genre. Owing to their outstanding live performance skills, Dragony quickly arose to share the stage with Blind Guardian, Sonata Arctica, Powerwolf, Van Canto and many others.

After their second release, Shadowplay, the band performed at major European festivals as well as headlining Vienna’s popular Donauinselfest in 2016. Since then, Dragony followed up with two strong releases and reinforced their stance even more. Referencing fantasy-scenarios as well as pop-culture elements, like video games and movies, the Austrians conquered the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise and the legendary Wacken Open Air in 2019.

But Dragony are far from stalling and will move even further. Napalm Records is proud to join forces with the Austrian powerhouse and is ready to bring symphonic power metal to the next level!

Dragony on the signing: “Metal is coming home! We are more than thrilled to announce that Dragony has signed a new worldwide record deal with Napalm Records!  As an Austrian band, it truly feels almost like a "homecoming" for us to not only work with one of the best labels for metal and rock music in the world today, but one that is also based in Austria. We feel that Napalm Records is the perfect place for our brand of tongue-in-cheek power metal, as the label is also home to many of our favorite acts from the genre. We are very much looking forward to releasing our upcoming fourth album through Napalm, and we are very thankful and excited about all the possibilities of this new collaboration for the next chapter in Dragony history. We stand - with forces united! Stay glorious!”

Dive deep into the world of Dragony and watch the newest music video, “If It Bleeds We Can Kill It”:

Dragony are:

Frederic Brünner - Drums
Herbert Glos - Bass
Manuel Hartleb - Keys
Andreas Poppernitsch - Guitars
Simon Saito - Guitars
Siegfried Samer - Vocals




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In a new interview with Guitar World, DEEP PURPLE guitarist Steve Morse spoke about the experience of recording the band's latest album, "Whoosh!", with Canadian producer Bob Ezrin (KISS, PINK FLOYD, ALICE COOPER), who also worked on the band's previous two studio LPs, 2017's "Infinite" and 2013's "Now What?!"

Regarding how he goes about tracking his guitar solos, Morse said: "If I do anything that sounds like me, Bob puts his head in his hands and says, 'Morse! C'mon, save it for your solo album, gimme something melodic!' Often by limiting ourselves we can automatically institute a change in our playing. The effect was interesting — it's hard to say that's a baritone or six-string bass you hear there. Being put on the spot by Bob forced me to play slower and more melodic. That's his job, to make the album different to what it would be like if he wasn't there."

Steve went on to say that he doesn't work out his guitar leads before recording them.

"I don't really plan out my solos," he admitted. "It's not really a solo if you do! I don't mind taking bits of improvisation and fitting them together. In fact, Bob does that sometimes without my knowledge! He might take the parts he likes best, which are often not the parts I like best, and put them together into a new solo I never would have played. And I don't mind that at all; it becomes a whole new section to explore."

Morse effectively took over Ritchie Blackmore's DEEP PURPLE slot in 1994 and has since been in the group longer than Ritchie.

Morse's solo career has encompassed rock, country, funk, jazz, classical and fusion. Having started playing guitar around the age of 11, he later on attended University of Miami's School of Music, where he studied classical guitar and jazz. A "guitarist's guitarist", he was voted "Best Overall Guitarist" in the Guitar Player Readers' Poll for five consecutive years, before being removed from eligibility to open the award to other musicians, and being inducted into their Gallery Of Greats. His work has received seven Grammy Award nominations, and he has appeared on over 200 albums.

Mikkey Dee spoke to "The MetalSucks Podcast"about the progress of the recording sessions for SCORPIONS' new album. The drummer and his bandmates recently regrouped to resume work on the effort, which is tentatively due in 2021.

"I actually go back to Germany here on Sunday and continue the record," Mikkey said (hear audio below). "We're making a very good record. We record everything live together, and it's coming along really nice.

"We're just in the beginning of the actual recordings, because it's quite a lot of production, demoing, doing the writing," he explained. "I think we have over 25 songs, and that's gonna be down to 12. And that's all great. And I can't wait to continue smacking the drums on that record."

The initial session for SCORPIONS' new LP are taking place at Peppermint Park Studios in Hannover, Germany. The disc will mark the German hard rock legends' first release since 2017's "Born To Touch Your Feelings - Best Of Rock Ballads", which was an anthology of SCORPIONS' new and classic material.

SCORPIONS originally intended to record the new album in Los Angeles with producer Greg Fidelman, whose previous credits include SLIPKNOT and METALLICA. However, because of the pandemic, most of the work so far has been done remotely, with Fidelman taking part via Zoom.

Singer Klaus Meine recently told Talking Metal that the goal with using Fidelman to produce the new LP is to bring "the old vibe from albums like 'Blackout', 'Love At First Sting' or even 'Lovedrive'. We try to focus on those albums and this attitude," he said. "If we get there, who knows — it's so many years later. But it's the spirit and it's the whole vibe around this album. This time, the focus is on the harder songs."

According to Meine, SCORPIONS' new LP will feature "no outside writers at all," unlike 2015's "Return To Forever", which was largely co-written by the album's producers, Mikael Nord Andersson and Martin Hansen.

Fidelman began his career as the guitarist and songwriter for RHINO BUCKET before launching his career as a producer, engineer and mixer, finding an early mentor in Rick Rubin.

SCORPIONS' last full-length collection of new recordings was the aforementioned "Return To Forever", partially comprising songs the band had in the vault from the '80s. It was the final recorded appearance of SCORPIONS' longtime drummer James Kottak, who was dismissed from the band in September 2016. He has since been replaced by Dee, formerly of MOTÖRHEAD.

Tommy Lee has called his friend John Travolta "the sweetest man" he has ever met.

The 58-year-old MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer discussed his friendship with the 66-year-old actor in a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight.

Speaking about how Travolta is coping with the devastating loss of his wife Kelly Preston to breast cancer earlier this year, Lee said: "I just talked to him; he's back in town here. He's doing really well. He has a great team of people around him, his kids are doing wonderful. He's doing everything to make them comfortable, and I think, just personally knowing that it's been happening or coming up, I'm sure it doesn't ease the pain at all of… having something slowly come that you can kind of start to prepare for.

"He's in good spirits. What a lovely man," he added. "He's probably the sweetest man I think I've ever met, honestly."

Last month, Lee spent time with Travolta and John's 20-year-old daughter Ella to celebrate Tommy's wife Brittany Furlan's 34th birthday. The group also included Lee's son Brandon and Furlan's friends, Mikaela Hoover and Daniella Beckerman.

"Lovely lunch today with the Lee's," Travolta captioned the photo. "Happy birthday @brittanyfurlan!"

Travolta's wife of nearly 29 years, Preston died in July following a two-year battle with breast cancer. She was 57 years old.

Lee's latest solo album, "Andro", came out earlier this month.


























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Tres Amigos

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Lovely lunch today with the Lee’s. Happy birthday @brittanyfurlan!

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In a new interview with "theFIVE10" podcast, MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson was asked how he stays relevant when the music industry changes so frequently. He responded (hear audio below): "I think you just roll with the punches. I remember when the whole Napster thing was going on, and Lars [Ulrich], in particular, of METALLICA was fighting the good fight, and they were absolutely right. And I remember our manager saying, 'Oh, don't jump into that controversy. You've gotta be careful.' And I said, 'Fuck that. They're wrong. They're stealing our music. They are wrong, and Lars is right.' Unfortunately, it was an unwinnable battle. It's like looting — somebody just opened the front door of Walmart, and everybody ran in and stole everything. So even they [METALLICA] had to just sort of back off and let it take its course.

"Thank God for our pal Steve Jobs who, in my opinion, saved the music business," he continued. "Even though it was self-serving 'cause he wanted to sell iPods — 'Hey, I've got a device. How do I get the music on there?' — but Steve, to his credit, in his time away from Apple, he had made friends with [David] Geffen and [Jeffrey] Katzenberg and all these guys down in Hollywood, and he understood Hollywood. He understood the film business, the music business, so with him being a computer guy, he rallied it together.

"I still buy everything on iTunes," Ellefson added. "I subscribe to Apple [Music] radio. I don't subscribe to Spotify. I don't give them my money, since they don't give me very much of my money. But Apple pays well, so thank you, Apple. And I buy all their products, and I own their stock. So I'm an Apple guy, through and through."

Asked what he thinks the next platform or medium will be for getting music out to the masses, David said: "Well, look, who knows? I mean, all I know is we live one day at a time… So, the future — who knows? I mean, China sneezes on us, and now we're doing Zoom meetings. Who knows? So to predict the future… Again, I think you just kind of take it one day at a time. I think the biggest thing about it is just be resilient. People ask, 'Do you have any advice for musicians?' And it's just learn to play along, learn to play nice, learn to play nice with your bandmates and the world around you, because things change quickly. Someone who was playing behind you last year is now the headliner over you this year, and that's how it goes. So, be resilient."

Two and a half years ago, Ellefson lamented Spotify's meager artist payouts, telling Graspop Metal Meeting: "As great as the digital streaming is as a promotional thing, it's extremely unfair to us. They've built entire massive fortunes on the backs of our music that we don't get paid for. And that, fortunately, is gonna change… Now, as far as the fans, the user? My daughter, my kids, I don't think they hardly bought any music — they always get everything… My daughter, for sure, gets things off Spotify, so I pay attention. And certainly YouTube and all that stuff, so, of course, it's important. Because if we're not on our drums and guitars, we're probably on our phones. So it's important that we pay attention to it, because our fans are a part of it. So if we wanna connect to our fans, we need to be there.

"Thank goodness, again, like I said, the middle is getting connected better as far as the fairness of the royalty and everything, which, of course, makes us feel better, because we feel like we're being compensated for a lot of hard work," he added. "And somebody had to pay to make those records, so it's nice that everybody now starts to get a fair take on that."

METALLICA sued Napster after the band discovered that a leaked demo version of its song "I Disappear" was circulating on the pioneering music file-sharing service before it was released.

In May 2000, Ulrich famously delivered a literal truckload of paper to Napster Inc., listing hundreds of thousands of people who allegedly used the company's software to share unauthorized MP3s of METALLICA's songs.

METALLICA representatives compiled the more than 60,000-page list of 335,435 Napster user IDs over one weekend in response to Napster's promise to terminate the accounts of users who trade material without permission. Real names were not included in the list.

In later years, METALLICA embraced digital music: in December 2012, the band made all of its studio albums, as well as various live material, singles, remixes and collaborations, available on Spotify.

Ellefson's namesake band will release its covers album, "No Cover", on November 20 via earMUSIC (Europe) and Ward Records (Japan). The effort will be made available in conjunction with Ellefson's revived Combat Records, which will issue the album in North America via Amped.

In an October 22 YouTube livestream, MEGADETH guitarist Kiko Loureiro broke down Eddie Van Halen's sound and style. The full 46-minute can be seen below.

When Eddie's death was first announced on October 6, Kiko took to his social media to write: "An unfortunate incident is the passing of Eddie Van Halen. I'm sick at the moment and this hit me so hard. As a guitarist, Eddie always influenced me in music."

Back in 2016, Kiko named VAN HALEN's "Hot For Teacher" one of his favorite guitar solos of all time. He told U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine: "I could have chosen 'Eruption', of course, but I think this song is super-cool. The very American groove, with the whole 'shuffle' thing.

"Eddie Van Halen has done so many great solos — I almost chose his solo in Michael Jackson's 'Beat It'. [Laughs]

"Again, it's not about how difficult the solo is, but how important it is in 'Hot For Teacher'.

"I remember trying to play this song, and watching the music video with him walking on top on the school desks. It was all very impressive for me as a teenager. I was going crazy, thinking, 'I could never play that.' But it made me practice.

"Eddie's such a genius. Only ten years after Jimi Hendrix, he brought something completely fresh, like a guitar acrobat."

Loureiro also told Classic Rock magazine that VAN HALEN's classic 1978 debut was one of his "Five Essential Guitar Albums." He explained: "When I began taking electric guitar lessons at the age of 13, the first thing my teacher got me to do was 'Black Dog' from LED ZEPPELIN. But after that, he taught me what Eddie Van Halen was doing on this album. Now, that was in about 1985, so the album was several years old by then. But it was all new to me. Of course, a lot of guitarists were already aware of the stuff on this album, but for me it was a revelation.

"I went out and bought a copy of the album, and I listened to it all the time, to soak in what was being [done] technically, and I could appreciate why VAN HALEN took the world by storm when it came out.

"Eddie Van Halen changed the way people thought about the guitar, and even now it still amazes me. Nobody needs to be told this was a crossroads for guitar playing."

The official music video for AC/DC's new single, "Shot In The Dark", can be seen below. Also available is an exclusive conversation with the band and longtime video director David Mallet telling the stories behind your favorite AC/DC videos. The talk was moderated by AC/DC's creative director Josh Cheuse.

"Shot In The Dark" is the first single from AC/DC's long-awaited comeback album, "Power Up", which is due on November 13. The follow-up to 2014's "Rock Or Bust" features AC/DC's 2020 lineup of Brian Johnson (vocals), Phil Rudd (drums), Cliff Williams (bass), Angus Young (guitar) and Stevie Young (guitar).

Angus told Rolling Stone about "Shot In The Dark": "It's got that great AC/DC vibe about it, great swagger, and a good AC/DC rock and roll chant. The title is a little bit cheeky because we all like a little nip [of alcohol] in the night or a few shots in the dark. I was very glad when the record company heard it [that] they felt it was a very strong song and should be the first one that people hear."

"Power Up" was recorded over a six-week period in August and September 2018 at Warehouse Studios in Vancouver with producer Brendan O'Brien, who also worked 2008's "Black Ice" and 2014's "Rock Or Bust".

"What I like about Brendan is that he keeps you working when you're doing a project with him," Angus said. "He's talented himself. He knows his bass and his guitar and a bit of drums. And piano. He covers the spectrum for what we can do musically. It's very good because you’re working with a musician, since he can apply that musical knowledge."

Although AC/DC originally planned on releasing "Power Up" earlier this year, the pandemic forced the band to reconsider.

"We were hoping to get the album out before all this happened," Angus said. "They were getting ideas together for packaging and video promo things. And then that virus thing came along. It kind of put everyone on hold."

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

"Power Up" track listing:

01. Realize

02. Rejection

03. Shot In The Dark

04. Through The Mists Of Time

05. Kick You When You’re Down

06. Witch's Spell

07. Demon Fire

08. Wild Reputation

09. No Man’s Land

10. Systems Down

11. Money Shot

12. Code Red

Ever since AC/DC completed the tour cycle for its 2014 album "Rock Or Bust" four years ago — a turbulent trek that weathered the forced retirement and eventual death of co-founder Malcolm Young, plus the departures of Johnson, Rudd and Williams — fans have wondered whether sole remaining founding member Angus Young would keep the band going or decide it was time for AC/DC to pack it in.

The legendary hard rockers postponed the last ten dates of their North American tour in 2016 after doctors told Johnson he faced a total loss of hearing if he did not stop touring immediately. He was eventually replaced on the road by GUNS N' ROSES vocalist Axl Rose.

Rudd was ousted from AC/DC when he was sentenced to eight months of home detention by a New Zealand court in 2015 after pleading guilty to charges of threatening to kill and drug possession.