OBITUARY bassist Terry Butler spoke to Heavy Culture about how he and his family are coping with the coronavirus crisis in their home state of Florida. He said (see video below): "We're still practicing social distancing. And here at our house, we don't really go out unless we need to get food or something. We're still being as safe as possible.

"It's horrible," he continued. "The whole world is experiencing this. It's shut down a lot of stuff, but the music industry has been completely shut down. And I just hope soon we can get a vaccine or something and get back to some kind of normalcy on the planet.

"Everything we had scheduled for this year has been postponed, and it's gonna be rescheduled for 2021. So hopefully that will go through — festival dates and some tours we had lined up."

Asked how things are going with OBITUARY at the moment, Butler said: "Things are going good. Things are starting to kind of move along a little bit. We actually started writing some new material for a new album. We have a handful of songs kind of written — a lot of rhythms getting kicked around. We're gonna start practicing soon.

"We're gonna be doing something really cool," he added. "I can't announce it yet. We're gonna announce it in about a week. I don't wanna say it at the moment, because I don't wanna be the one to get in trouble. But it's gonna be cool, and we'll blast it out over all the social sites.

"For about three or four months, we kind of didn't do anything, just because the world was crazy. I mean, it's still crazy. So we're kind of starting to pick the instruments up right now and do some stuff and get the blood flowing again.

"Our hope is in 2021, maybe in the first half of the year, put a new record out."

OBITUARY's latest, self-titled studio album was released in 2017 via Relapse.

QUIET RIOT guitarist Alex Grossi has thanked fans for their support following the announcement that the band was planning to carry on after drummer Frankie Banali's death. The group, which now features drummer Johnny Kelly (DANZIG, TYPE O NEGATIVE), will play a couple of shows in October as well as and a string of dates in 2021.

Earlier today, Grossi wrote on social media: "So great to see the outpouring of support from all over the world with regard to QUIET RIOT's anouncement to continue.

"Since meeting Kevin DuBrow, Frankie Banali and Chuck Wright when I joined the band in 2004, I have experienced both the amazingly great and the horribly tragic. No matter what, we always forged ahead.

"While I am still devastated from the loss of one of the most important people in my life, I take comfort in knowing that Frankie Banali's legacy could not be in better hands and will carry on as he wanted.

"Whether you like it or not — QUIET RIOT isn't going anywhere. Neither is the rock n' roll spirit that Kevin DuBrow, Randy Rhoads and Frankie Banali embodied.

"Looking forward to seeing you out on the road soon...!"

Banali, who joined QUIET RIOT in 1982 and played on its breakthrough album, 1983's "Metal Health", the first heavy metal LP to top Billboard's album chart, died in August after a 16-month battle with pancreatic cancer.

Th surviving members of QUIET RIOT said it was "Frankie Banali's wish that the band continue and we keep the music and the legacy alive."

At some of QUIET RIOT's 2019 and 2020 shows, Banali was replaced by Kelly or Mike Dupke (W.A.S.P.), depending on each musician's availability.

QUIET RIOT's shows last year with Kelly and Dupke marked the first time ever that the band performed without any of the members from its classic lineup: Banali, singer Kevin DuBrow, guitarist Carlos Cavazo and bassist Rudy Sarzo.

QUIET RIOT initially featured the late guitar legend Randy Rhoads and went through some early lineup shifts before securing the musicians that recorded "Metal Health".

Bassist Chuck Wright has been a part of QUIET RIOT, on and off, since 1982, having initially been involved in the "Metal Health" recordings (he played bass on the tracks "Metal Health" and "Don't Wanna Let You Go"). Grossi was in the last version of the band, from 2004 through 2007, before Kevin passed away, and was asked by Banali to return in 2010.

QUIET RIOT went through two vocalists — Mark Huff and Scott Vokoun — before settling on Jizzy Pearl in 2013. Pearl announced his exit from QUIET RIOT in October 2016 and was briefly replaced by Seann Nichols, who played only five shows with the group before the March 2017 arrival of "American Idol" finalist James Durbin. Pearl returned to QUIET RIOT in September 2019.




pic.twitter.com/SYuiixRECD

— Alex Grossi (@AlexGrossi) September 11, 2020

Video footage of Scorpions performing "Hit Between The Eyes" live at Deutschlandhalle in Berlin, Germany in November 1991 has surfaced. Watch the clip below:

Previously posted footage of the band performing “Bad Boys Running Wild” during the same show is available below:

Scorpions are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first release of “Wind Of Change” with an exclusive box set, out October 3. Pre-order here.

Wind Of Change: The Iconic Song includes an 84-page hardcover book with rare and previously unseen photographs, vocal and piano arrangements and five versions of the song - including one unreleased - on CD and 12" LP.

Heart and centrepiece of the box set is a handcrafted unique piece of the Berlin Wall, customized with the red “Wind Of Change” star and a handwritten lyric by Klaus Meine.

Deluxe box set includes:

- 12“LP & CD
- 84-pages hardcover book with story written by Dr. Edgar Klüsener former editor-in-chief of Metal Hammer and close confidant of the band
- Rare und exclusive photographs by Didi Zill, band photographer during that period
- Interview with Klaus Meine
- Material from Klaus Meine‘s private archive
- Vocal and piano arrangement
- Handcrafted unique piece of the Berlin Wall customized with the red “Wind Of Change” star and a handwritten lyric by Klaus Meine.

Tracklisting:

CD
"Wind Of Change" (Crazy World Version)
"Wind Of Change" (Scorpions & Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Version)
"Ветер перемен" (Russian Version)
"Viento de Cambio" (Spanish Version)
"Wind Of Change" (Unreleased Demo Version by Klaus Meine)

LP
Side A
"Wind Of Change" (Crazy World Version)
"Wind Of Change" (Scorpions & Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Version)

Side B
"Ветер перемен" (Russian Version)
"Viento de Cambio" (Spanish Version)
"Wind Of Change" (Unreleased Demo Version by Klaus Meine)

A worldwide retail version of the box will be available in an altered form in November 2020, 30 years after the release of the album"Crazy World with an 84-page book, vocal and piano arrangement and Vinyl & CD.




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Norwegian death metal beasts Insidious Disease, featuring current/former members from Dimmu Borgir, Morgoth, Nile, Susperia and Napalm Death, will release their first album in a decade, After Death, on October 30 via Nuclear Blast.

In a new trailer released today, the band discuses their storied past and the journey that's led them to one of the most ferocious records this year. Watch below:

Sonically inducing a depraved and morbid condition of the mind, Insidious Disease returns this fall to present their second full length album. Freshly signed to Nuclear Blast Records, the band convenes to create a modern venture into classic death metal. Still in the early stages of existence with only their debut album Shadowcast (2010) preceding, Insidious Disease are ripe with a hellish energy that seeks to sear its way across the universe of heavy metal.

“It’s not supposed to be re-inventing the wheel or anything, it’s just about finding a good groove that we feel comfortable with,” explains guitarist Silenoz.

Pre-order your copy of After Death in the format of your choice here. Pre-save the album on Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer here.

After Death tracklisting:

"Soul Excavation"
"Betrayer"
"Divine Fire"
"Unguided Immortality"
"Invisible War"
"Born Into Bondage"
"Enforcers Of The Plague"
"An End Date For The World"
"Nefarious Atonement"
"Secret Sorcery"

"Betrayer" lyric video:

"Enforcers Of The Plague" visualizer:

Lineup:

Marc Grewe - Vocals
Silenoz - Guitar
Cyrus - Guitar
Shane Embury - Bass
Tony Laureano - Drums




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In a brand new interview with MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn's "No Fuckin' Regrets With Robb Flynn" podcast, NAPALM DEATH singer Mark "Barney" Greenway reflected on the passing of the band's guitarist Jesse Pintado.

After Flynn brought up the fact that Pintado would get into intense confrontations while intoxicated during NAPALM DEATH's 1994 tour with MACHINE HEAD, Greenway said: "By that time, he was pretty much a full-on alcoholic. It took his mind in certain directions. I don't really wanna judge him and say [anything] negative, but things do open up your mind when you're [taking various] substances or drink or anything like that. So he got into some actually pretty interesting stuff along the way. But it did get pretty intense. I don't exactly remember when he started to go beyond that and start disappearing and stuff like that, which was always interesting.

"We had a couple of recordings a little bit later on, and he just disappeared out of the country completely when we were supposed to be recording," he continued. "It all led up to a point where we had to let him go for a bit, or rather let him go back to Los Angeles, to be with his family and hopefully get himself straightened out. Unfortunately, it didn't work in the end, with the obvious end result. Yeah, it got really intense."

Pintado passed away at Holland's Erasmus MC hospital on August 27, 2006 due to liver failure.

"It's a weird one, looking back at it, because he made his choices, definitely," Greenway said. "Jesse was always his own person, and I admired him for that. Unfortunately, some of the choices killed him.

"I do miss him. He was fucking annoying sometimes, but he was also a great guy. And I do miss him.

"He had been out of the band for a few years at that point," Barney continued. "We were on tour, and we were maybe flying back from somewhere, and [bassist] Shane [Embury found out] that he died. And we didn't find out the facts until afterwards. I remember getting home, walking through the door, and then the realization kind of hit me a little bit harder. And I just kind of cried for a while, and I got it out of me. And after that, I was quite philosophical about it.

"Jesse, he took his path. And before he got heavily into the alcohol — he was a good guy after that, but before it, he was also just a good person. And it was sad to hear that he left, that he passed away."

"As far as we know, it was that that basically killed him. Literally, his body was just poisoned.

"People always think in the physical terms — 'Oh, yeah, your liver just disintegrated' — but, actually, it's the chemical change; that's what can set you on a path to the point of no return, basically. So, without going into the exact details of it, basically, Jesse's body just turned toxic to the point of no return. And I think when they found him, they obviously rushed him to hospital, but he was effectively brain dead, as far as I understand it."

Pintado reportedly coined the terms "grindcore" back in 1983 to describe a fledgling musical revolution that incorporated the extreme aggression of political anarchic chaotic sounds of U.K. punk rock and the ferocious sledgehammer guitar chord grinding of extreme metal.

Pintado's final release was the TERRORIZER reunion CD, titled "Darker Days Ahead", which came out in August 2006 via Century Media Records.

SEVENDUST singer Lajon Witherspoon has been admitted to the emergency room after he cut himself with a knife.

Lajon took to his Instagram earlier today (Monday, September 14) to share a photo of him at Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City, and he included the following message: "Accidents do happen can't believe I'm the ER thanks everyone at saint lukes. Haven't been in a emergency room since 1975. Cut my finger with a Swiss Army knife. stitches and all".

Witherspoon's injury comes less than two weeks after SEVENDUST announced its first-ever livestream and its only show of 2020: "Sevendust: Live In Your Living Room". The event will take place on October 23 — the release date of the band's 13th studio album, "Blood & Stone", via Rise Records. The show will be live starting at 9:00 p.m. EDT/6:00 p.m. PDT and available globally at the corresponding hour for each territory.

Tickets for the live stream are $17.00 and available here.

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.

Witherspoon has spent the last few years working, on and off, on his upcoming debut solo album. He has been collaborating with multi-instrumentalist Daniel "Sahaj" Ticotin, who contributed to MÖTLEY CRÜE's "The Dirt" soundtrack. Witherspoon released the standalone single "Love Song" in 2017.
























View this post on Instagram


































Accidents do happen can’t believe I’m the ER thanks everyone at saint lukes. Haven’t been in a emergency room since 1975. Cut my finger with a Swiss Army knife ? ?☘️☘️?????stitches and all ???

A post shared by Lajon (@ljspoon) on Sep 14, 2020 at 8:06am PDT

New Zealand metal band, Alien Weaponry, join Los Angeles based management company, The RSE Group, home to high profile artists including Slayer, Gojira, Mastodon and Ghost.

“We couldn’t be more excited to work with Rick Sales and be a part of the company that manages some of our favorite artists,” said Henry de Jong, drummer of the powerhouse trio. “Rick Sales is a legend, and an influential figure in the metal scene worldwide.”

Lewis de Jong, singer/guitarist adds, “We’re pretty humbled to be welcomed into this exclusive family of artists.”

The New Zealanders have been making headlines across the world with their unique fusion of thrash metal and their native language, te reo Maori. They occupied the #1 slot for 13 weeks on the ‘Devil’s Dozen’ countdown on SiriusXM Liquid Metal, their debut album Tū was voted album of the decade by Finnish metal magazine Tuonela, in Denmark they were welcomed to the Copenhell festival by a crowd of 10,000 doing a haka in their honor, and opened up for Slayer in Stuttgart, Germany on their final European show last year.

While the world has been in lockdown due to COVID-19, the band has been back at home in New Zealand, writing and recording their second album. The album was due for release in 2020, but has been delayed until 2021 because of the pandemic.

While Alien Weaponry has had to cancel all overseas touring in 2020, they will soon be announcing dates and locations for a New Zealand tour later this year.

(Photo - Piotr Kwasnik)




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As part of a two-pronged initiative to raise awareness for the current COVID-19 mental health crisis and continue support for the David Z Foundation, Paulie Z and his new band, Bohemian Queen, have released their anthemic rendition of the iconic Queen hit, “The Show Must Go On”.

“The Show Must Go On” video, which was produced by Paulie Z and can be seen below, is part of a series of lockdown videos the band has made which gives the viewer a glimpse into the Bohemian Queen (BQ) project. BQ features an all-star musical lineup including rrontman/lead vocalist Paulie Z (Sweet, ZO2, Z Rock, Ultimate Jam Night), bassist/vocalist Aaron Samson (Steven Adler of Guns N' Roses, Odin, BulletBoys, George Lynch), guitarist Steve Zukowsky (Sheer Heart Attack, Led Zepalive, Dog ‘n Butterfly, Acoustic Graffiti), drummer/vocalist Glenn Jost (ReLoVe, Bostyx), keyboardist/guitarist Victor Bender (Sheer Heart Attack, Bostyx).

The group describes itself as a “theatrical Queen experience” performing a wide range of songs from Queen’s entire catalog and featuring multiple costume changes by Paulie Z to showcase Freddie Mercury’s iconic outfits throughout the years. The band is currently booking 2021 dates with its debut show slated for January 9 at the Sycuan Casino Resort in El Cajon, CA.

“We started Bohemian Queen during the early days of the pandemic as a fun way to collaborate and connect musically and personally at a time when everyone was feeling so isolated,” said Paulie Z. “We truly believed Freddie’s words that ‘The Show Must Go On’ which is why now, as we embark on National Suicide Prevention Week, we feel it’s important to remind others that no matter how tough it gets or how lonely we all feel, we have to keep going.”

Paulie Z knows about pushing forward. His brother David Zablidowsky, better known as David Z, tragically died in a roadside accident in 2017 while on tour with Adrenaline Mob. Before joining Adrenaline Mob, David had been the bass player for the popular Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Along with his brother Paulie, the two had been a part of the power trio ZO2 and starred in their own TV series “Z Rock” on the IFC network.

Paulie and David, also known as “The Z Brothers,” were very active in developing young people through music and to continue the legacy, the David Z Foundation was created to raise money for music education in David’s memory. Its latest initiative is a new partnership with the Greater Susquehanna Valley United Way to bring a pilot after-school program to the Central PA region. The program is designed for at risk students and will focus on channeling the students’ emotions into original songwriting and music video production.

“Losing my brother was the most painful experience I have ever been through, but music saved me and it can save others,” said Paulie Z “One of the goals of DZF is to help young people navigate through the ups and downs of life through music and we are excited to bring our programming to Central PA.”  

For more information and/or to donate to The American Foundation For Suicide Prevention and The David Z Foundation visit afsp.org and gofundme.com/f/dzf2020.

For more information about Bohemian Queen, head here.




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STATIC-X bassist Tony Campos says that "it's up to the fans" whether the group's current lineup will continue once he and his bandmates have finished touring in support of "Project Regeneration".

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

Asked in a recent interview with the "Thunder Underground" podcast whether STATIC-X would consider creating fresh music from scratch after the completion of the "Project Regeneration" touring cycle, Tony said (hear audio below): "I don't know. We'll see. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I'm not opposed to it. I still wanna go do other things. I'd love to work with MINISTRY again. I'd love to play with the Cavalera brothers [Max and Igor] again. I'm working on an ASESINO record.

"It's up to the fans," he added. "If they wanna see us continue on as doing this with [new singer] Xer0, then yeah. It's up to them."

In total, "Project Regeneration" volumes one and two will consist of more than 20 brand new or previously unreleased STATIC-X songs and will feature all of the remaining works left behind by Static, along with Campos, Jay, and Fukuda.

Last year, STATIC-X wrapped up a world tour comprised of nearly 100 mostly sold-out dates in celebration of the 20th anniversary of its platinum-selling debut album "Wisconsin Death Trip". The shows also served as a traveling memorial for Wayne, who passed away more than five years ago.

While the identity of Xer0 has not been officially revealed, strong rumors suggest that DOPE frontman Edsel Dope is the one performing with Jay, Fukuda and Campos and appearing in all of STATIC-X's promotional videos.

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

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

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

KINGDOM COME is in talks with original singer Lenny Wolf about releasing new music.

Wolf is not involved with KINGDOM COME's current reunion tour, which recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of the release of the band's self-titled debut album.

KINGDOM COME's 2020 lineup consists of drummer James Kottak alongside guitarists Danny Stag and Rick Steier, bassist Johnny B. Frank and vocalist Keith St. John (formerly of MONTROSE and LYNCH MOB).

Asked in a new interview with RockMusicStar.com if there are plans for KINGDOM COME to release a new studio LP, Keith said (hear audio below): "It's still up in the air. There is uncertainty with what the legalities are with this lineup right now and everything being where it is, without signing any new contracts or agreements with us releasing something under the name KINGDOM COME. Of course, we can call the band something else and release anything we want as a band, but I believe we're still in negotiations with Lenny Wolf to sign off on releasing another KINGDOM COME record. And I'm not sure exactly where that's at right now, because we haven't really been talking about it since the COVID thing started."

He added: "So, the short answer is we have songs, and we wanna put 'em out, and when it's legally the right time to do it, we will."

Steier said in a recent interview that KINGDOM COME would debut some new material at the band's September 5 "Monsters Of Rock Cruise" live streaming event. He went on to describe the group's new songs as "in the same vein as the KINGDOM COME-slash-ZEPPELIN vibe."

In a May 2019 interview with "Talking Metal", Kottak was asked about KINGDOM COME's future plans as it relates to recording. He responded: "Rick has enough music — I'm not kidding — riffs and stuff for, like, 10 albums; he's a songwriting machine."

During the same chat, Steier talked about KINGDOM COME's decision to play without Lenny, saying: "Lenny retired. It's something that he wanted to do. He wasn't into going and performing anymore. So God bless him, and we wish him all the best. But we still have some rocking blood in us. So we wanna get out there."

Back in 2018, Kottak admitted that he and his bandmates were initially concerned about whether people would accept KINGDOM COME without Wolf.

"When we first put the word out to promoters and buyers, at first they were going, 'Oh yeah! KINGDOM COME!'" the drummer recalled to Eonmusic. "Then we had to go back a few weeks later and say, 'Sorry. Unfortunately, there will be no Lenny Wolf.' So, out of the 20 or so offers we had from different buyers, only three actually pulled out. I was surprised; I thought we'd get a little more backlash. But so many bands, especially bands with longevity, they change members; look at THIN LIZZY, how they changed, or name any band that's been around for 25, 30 years, and there's very few that have all the original members."

After its early run of success in the '80s, KINGDOM COME released several albums, with Wolf remaining the only constant member of the band. The group's most recent effort was 2013's "Outlier".

Donald Trump once called GUNS N' ROSES music video for the song "November Rain" "the greatest music video of all time."

The president's unlikely praise was revealed in Sarah Huckabee Sanders's memoir, "Speaking For Myself: Faith, Freedom, And The Fight Of Our Lives Inside The Trump White House", which has been described by NPR as "an unabashed homage to Trump."

In the book, the the former White House Press Secretary writes that America's 45th president originally wanted the 1991 rock anthem to be placed on his rally playlist back in 2018. Trump went as far as to tell Sanders that the clip was "the greatest music video of all time" and made her watch it with him in the Oval Office to prove his point, even though she hadn't disagreed.

Trump eventually got his wish, and "November Rain" was finally played last Thursday (September 10) at a campaign event in Michigan.

GUNS N' ROSES singer Axl Rose has frequently spoken out against the Trump administration, including in July, when he defended his right to voice his political opinions, saying that he feels an "obligation to say something" about the "irresponsibility of this administration."

In late 2018, when Trump neglected climate change and accused poor forest management as the cause of the California wildfires while threatening to cut federal financial relief, Rose pointed fingers at Trump as the "root" of the problem and said that "only a demented n' truly pathetic individual would twist that around n' use a tragedy to once again misrepresent facts for attempted public/political gain at other's expense."

Back in November 2016, Rose took to Twitter to condemn then-President-elect Donald Trump's choice for U.S. attorney general, and to berate Trump for demanding an apology from the cast of the Broadway show "Hamilton" after then-Vice President-elect Mike Pence was booed when he attended the musical. One month later, Rose invited fans at a GUNS N' ROSES concert in Mexico City to beat the crap out of a large piñata designed to look like Trump.

In January 2018, Axl blasted the Trump administration as the "gold standard of what can be considered disgraceful."




“November Rain” played at Trump Michigan rally tonight. @SarahHuckabee writes in her book about how Trump added it to the playlist in 2018 and made SHS and Hope Hicks watch the Guns n Roses video in the Oval Office because it was the “greatest music video of all time.” pic.twitter.com/67T2veDdoS

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) September 10, 2020

Italian prog metallers Headless, featuring former Yngwie Malmsteen vocalist Göran Edman, have announced Martin Helmantel (Elegy, 7 Miles To Pittsburgh) as their new bassist.

Guitarists Walter Cianciusi and Dario Parente are both extremely thrilled about having such an experienced musician on board; Martin Helmantel shares their excitement: “I really look forward to working with these lads…I am very happy that they asked me to join!”

The band has started recording their new album, due in early 2021 via Mighty Music.

At the same time Headless has also signed with the booking agency Sakåda Music, which includes the likes of Fabio Lione and Trick Or Treat. This heralds a long series of live shows for the new line-up in the near future.

(Photo by: DCH Photography)




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Hellenic black metal band Varathron have unveiedl a new single from their 30th anniversary live album Glorification Under The Latin Moon, out September 25 on Agonia Records. Listen to "Flowers Of My Youth" below.

Recorded in its entirety on August 4, 2019 in São Paulo (Brazil) during the final show of Varathron's 30 Years Of Darkness Tour, the historic setlist boasts some of the band's finest compositions, from 1988 and beyond, most notably including the entirety of classic His Majesty At The Swamp from 1993, to most recent songs, taken from the acclaimed Patriarchs Of Evil album, which made it to an awful lot of year-end lists in 2018.  

Varathron had this to say about its first live album since its 1988 inception: "During these weird and uncertain days we wish to all our friends, brothers, and sisters health and better days to come. In recent years we had the chance to meet wonderful people! We are happy to share with you some important news especially dedicated to you, our supporters and friends: we present to you our new - first time ever - live album! Glorification Under The Latin Moon was recorded in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the last show of our 2019 adventure in South America. The album includes a historic setlist with songs since 1988, our latest opus Patriarchs Of Evil and His Majesty At The Swamp in its entirety. The show was organized by our tour manager and friend Robson Calura and Storm Productions. Lots of thanks to every photographer, engineer and organizer who helped us create something truly special!”

The artwork that graces the cover was created by Juanjo Castellano. Achilleas Kalantzis mixed and mastered the album at Suncord Audiolab.

Formats:
- Digipak CD
- Gatefold DLP
- Limited Red Splatter Gatefold DLP
- Limited Royal Blue Gatefold DLP
- T-shirt

Pre-order here.

Tracklisting:

“Cultum Deus Aeternum (Intro)”
“Ouroboros Dweller”
“Cassiopeia’s Ode”
“Tenebrous”
“Saturnian Sect”
“His Majesty At The Swamp”
“Son Of The Moon”
“Unholy Funeral”
“Nightly Kingdoms”
“Lustful Father”
“Flowers Of My Youth”
“The River Of My Souls”
“The Tressrising Of Nyarlathotep”
“Genesis Of Apocryphal Desire”
“Sic Transit Gloria Mundi (Outro)”

"Flowers Of My Youth":

"Tenebrous":

"Son Of The Moon":

(Photo- Evi Savva)




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Canada’s Skyless Aeons have announced they have signed with CDN Records for the release of their new album Drain The Sun on October 2, 2020. The band was already in motion to unleash the album independently, with two singles recently discharged in promotion of it.

The band comments:

“We are very excited to be working with CDN and to be on a roster alongside some of the sickest and nastiest bands from our area and beyond. They’ve been in business since the 90s and we know their old school approach of going through the underground is the perfect way to get our strange music in the ears of those who will truly appreciate it”

A unique blend of extreme metal styles come forth on the album “Drain the Sun”, which is loosely intended to be a concept album, with a much darker, more focused and tense sound than fans will expect. The title is a metaphor: “the sun” refers to whatever it is that gives us life, light, purpose, structure, or pleasure. In countless forms, humans have a habit of taking something that is good for us and abusing it until it literally destroys us. The band explains this further:

“Even if you’re aware of it happening (and a lot of us are), the machinations of society and the bleak reality of everyday living force us towards the sun in order to cope. Everyone has their sun - that thing that makes life bearable and worth living - and everyone will drain their sun until it cannot provide any more energy, collapses in on us and we are sent hurtling into the abyss. This album is our artistic interpretation of both where we’re at and a terrible warning of what we’re headed towards.”

This new album adds more progressive, technical, and yet somehow more deliberate and doomy influences simultaneously, leading to a more progressive death metal sound.

Preorders available here.

Tracklisting:

“Ascension Towards Nothing”
“A Consciousness Decays”
“Go Fort And Multiply”
“The Age Of Regression”
“Dimensional Entrapment”
“Path Of Desolation”
“Drain The Sun”

“Go Forth And Multiply”:

“Dimensional Entrapment”:

(Photo by: Skye Camera)




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Irish metal band For Ruin has announced their four track digital-only EP titled Elapse. The EP will be available on September 17, 2020 digitally on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp and all other common streaming platforms. The first digital single from the EP, “Fuel To The Fire”, is streaming below.

The single marks the band’s first release in 7 years – the previous release being the band’s third full-length titled Ater Angelus, released in August 2013.  The band took a hiatus after this period for several years, playing only sporadic shows in the period since.

Founder and current sole member John Murphy reignited the band’s spark over the past 2-3 years, writing a wide range of new material. Once a home studio renovation was completed, he began to refine and record songs aimed at both For Ruin and also the doom band he is active in, The Grief (whose debut EP’s are both being released in 2020).

Eight For Ruin songs have been recorded and performed by Murphy at The Barn and these are being released over two digital EP’s the first of which is titled Elapse, while the second EP will be titled Relapse and will be released in the autumn.

The eight songs have been mastered by Marko Tervonen (The Crown) during August 2020 at Studio-MT, in Sweden.  Artwork for both EP’s comes from Ken Coleman (Morbid Angel, The Cranberries etc.) and track four, “The Measure Of A Man”, features a guest bass performance by Pete Lawlor who has played on For Ruin releases since Last Light (2009).

Tracklisting:

“Elapse”
“Fuel To The Fire”
“The Worm Turned”
“The Measure Of A Man”

“Fuel To The Fire”:




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Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon from Canada's The Metal Voice recently spoke to multi-instrumentalist Aldo Novo about his new album The Life and Times of Eddy Gage. Also in the chat Aldo Nova talks about his writing credits with various bands such as Bon Jovi, Blue Oyster Cult and many more.

On the album’s musical direction:

"It's a rock opera, it's got super rock songs, it's got techno songs, it's got a song with a 40 piece orchestra and my voice, it's got a heavy duty rock songs, synth pop, gospel, rock and rap, so it's mix of everything, every song is different. Every song is written around every character. One thing that is in common in me and my music, is that it has to draw emotion, it can't be sterile. For me I make music out of emotion. It took 12 years to finish, twenty-three songs and two hours long. "

On the concept behind the album:

"The story you might as well call it is an autobiography, it might as well be called The Life and Times of Aldo Nova. The story is of this young kid who plays clubs and then gets noticed by a big record company executive. Then he gets famous (the main character) and then he goes and plays big stages, then he gets introduced to a woman by the powerful Greek record tycoon. The woman leads him down the path of drugs and he has a psychotic breakdown. It's my life story pretty much. It ends with redemption where he is happy spreading his message of faith, hope and love which he originally wanted to do from the beginning. There are 23 songs on the album and you might have maybe 19 characters."

On how the album will be released:

"There is either one plan where I release one song every two weeks to keep people involved. Also talks are in progress to bring this to a huge stage production which was my dream all along."

If his contribution to Bon Jovi’s debut album has been downplayed:

"He is pretty cheap with credits, instead of saying Aldo Nova did this and that (referring to contributing to the album), he just said Aldo Novo appears courtesy of Portrait records and that was it. On my albums everybody gets credit."

Canadian rocker Aldo Nova released a new single, "When All Is Said And Done", on May 29. The track is taken from his upcoming rock opera, The Life And Times Of Eddie Gage. It's heavy hard rock sound with its bombastic guitar riff to his unmistakable vocal shows that Aldo Nova has never ceased to evolve and is back with a vengeance.

The official video for the song can be viewed below.

Aldo Nova posted the photo above, along with the caption: "Here during the shooting for the video of my new song, 'When All Is Said And Done'. Many hours were spent for 3 nights with Sylvia Bechard behind the camera to get exactly the shots that director Christian Jacques had carefully mapped out for us to create his vision of the video which will be amazing.

"I work with a great team of extremely talented friends that are the top in their respective fields and great musicians and together we always give 1000%, and it makes us feel good when you feel good."

(Photo - Sylvia Béchard)




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The story told by acclaimed Israeli progressive/symphonic metal band Scardust in last week's music video for “Tantibus II” is continued in their new music video for “Addicted,” the second single from their upcoming concept album, Strangers, which is set to be released on October 30 via M-Theory Audio.

In “Tantibus II,” we met a protagonist who decided to disconnect from reality into her own mind, and now in “Addicted,” we find that there is someone who cares about her. This caring person tries to show her the meaning of addiction, and explain to her that she is running away instead of facing reality.

“This video shows us the passage between the worlds of reality and addiction,” says Scardust vocalist Noa Gruman. “The character in 'Addicted' can walk freely between those worlds, as she is neither stuck nor fighting to get out. The choir represents the way out, and the string quartet represents the way in.”

“Addicted” and “Tantibus II” will premiere on streaming platforms this Friday, September 18. The two songs will also be offered as instant downloads with all digital pre-orders of Strangers.

Scardust has also launched the “Mist Cover Challenge,” an invitation for fans to play or sing along with the final minute of the new song “Mist,” the closing track of Strangers, with the chance of winning a deluxe package of signed CD and vinyl copies of Strangers, a new Scardust t-shirt design and guitar picks. To enter the challenge, follow the instructions at this location and upload your video anywhere on social media, tagging the band and including the hashtag #scardustmist. Entries close on October 25, and winners will be announced by the band during a special livestream on November 1.

An intriguing concept album built of complementary song pairs working from the outside in, Strangers was written and composed jointly by singer Noa Gruman and composer Orr Didi, who also collaborated with Scardust on their full-length debut Sands of Time and their 2015 EP Shadow.

The recording sessions for Strangers – which includes a guest appearance from German folk musician Patty Gurdy, as well as vocals by the Hellscore choir and England’s prestigious Westbrook Hay Prep School Chamber Choir – began in the winter of 2020. From there, the band was faced with the outbreak of COVID-19, which brutally destroyed their recording plans, ironically forcing them to continue the process in isolation, estranged from one another, in their individual home studios.

Vocalist Noa Gruman explains, “Strangers deals with the concept of being estranged. Written from multiple perspectives, it explores the ways in which people can be estranged from one another, from themselves, from society, from their loved ones and even from their own subconscious. After the overture, which introduces musical themes, the album separates into two parts. Every song from the second part is a mirror image of a parallel song in the first. Each pair of songs tells the story of a pair of strangers. They can be played together as a standalone piece, as individual songs or as part of the album, whatever the listener’s heart desires.”

Pre-orders for CD and limited-edition gray smoke vinyl editions of Strangers – mastered by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Devin Townsend, Arch Enemy) – are now live here.

Tracklisting:

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

"Addicted" video:

"Tantibus II":

Teaser:

Band lineup:

Noa Gruman - Vocals
Yanai Avnet - Bass
Yadin Moyal - Guitar
Itai Portugali - Keyboards
Yoav Weinberg - Drums




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On September 15, 1916, The Battle of Flers-Courcelette began. Sabaton pay tribute to this battle with a very unique video created using... building blocks! Watch the new clip below:

Sabaton’s latest album, The Great War, was released in 2019 and it hit the #1 in the charts in various countries including Germany, Switzerland and Sweden. The record has been lauded by fans and critics since its debut on worldwide charts last summer.




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Sick Of It All dearly miss playing live, so the band decided to film a series of live clips - straight in their living rooms. First is a real classic, “Alone”.

The band comments: “Quarantine gave us a reason (and an excuse) to dust off some of our favorite songs that haven’t been featured in our live set either in a while, or ever. We wanted to rekindle their fire, and share them with our fans worldwide. So for the next months, we’re going to release one song every fortnight to try to keep the torch of hardcore lit through this drought of live music that’s driving us all crazy! Please stay tuned for details and release dates.”

(Photo - Jammi York)




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On October 16, Rivers Of Nihil will release an LP reissue of their sophomore album, 2015's Monarchy, via Metal Blade Records. Pre-order your copy here, where hoodie, t-shirt, guitar tab book and flag bundles are also available.

See below for an overview of formats:

- beer w/ black splatter vinyl (US exclusive)
- bone / aqua blue melt vinyl (US exclusive)
- red inside electric blue vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- beer vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 100 copies)




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Enslaved are set to release their 15th studio album, Utgard, on October 2 via Nuclear Blast. Learn more about the involvement of multi-talent Martin Horntveth on the new album in this video trailer:

Utgard will be available in these formats:

- CD jewel case (available with signed insert from Recordstore.co.uk)
- Limited Edition Black Vinyl (available with signed insert from Recordstore.co.uk)
- Limited Edition Grey Vinyl (300 copies)
- Limited Edition Blue Vinyl (300 copies)
- Limited Edition UK Exclusive Transparent Green Vinyl (300 copies + available with signed insert from Recordstore.co.uk)

Pre-order here.

Utgard tracklisting:

"Fires In The Dark"
"Jettegryta"
"Sequence"
"Homebound"
"Utgardr"
"Urjotun"
"Flight Of Thought And Memory"
"Storms Of Utgard"
"Distant Seasons"

"Urjotun" video:

"Jettegryta" video:

"Homebound" video:

Enslaved are:

Ivar Bjørnson - guitars
Grutle Kjellson - vocals
Arve 'Ice Dale' Isdal - guitar
Håkon Vinje - Keyboards, Clean Vocals
Iver Sandøy - Drums

(Photo - Roy Bjørg)




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In the new video below, Steve Vai plays Joe Satriani's "Teardrops", off of Joe's new backing tracks release Stripped x Three.

Joe's album is available NOW for pre-order at http://satriani.com/discography/Strip...

The release 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.

Says Vai: "We all love playing to stripped tracks, and now Joe is releasing a gold mine of naked delights. Three of his albums are being released without the melody or solo guitars, and he sent me the gorgeous 'Teardrops' to play a little over. Enjoy!"

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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Mattsson, the progressive metal act featuring Lars Eric Mattsson and singer Lance King (Balance Of Power, Empire), are set to release a remixed edition of the 2003 album, Power Games, including bonus material, on September 25 via Lion Music.

Power Games features two short interludes, eight tracks of progressive metal, of which one is instrumental, the 17+ minute "Beyond The Horizon-Guitar Concerto No. I"

For the 2020 remaster this composition was split up in six parts to simplify the listener experience. Turn-n-burn fretwork, dazzling flourishes, and lots of melodious guitar lines mark Power Games.

The 2020 remaster also includes the bonus track "Season To Change" which was originally written and recorded for Lars' 1995 Astral Groove project. The album's opener "Preludes" includes a short acoustic guitar piece not included on the original version, thereby the name.

Tracklisting:

"Preludes"
"Open The Gate"
"Victim Of Freedom"
"Blind Faith"
"Chained To My Pain"
"Bridge To The Past"
"Into Safety"
"Safely Through The Fight"
"Beyond The Horizon (Guitar Concerto no 1) Act I"
"Beyond The Horizon (Guitar Concerto no 1) Act II"
"Beyond The Horizon (Guitar Concerto no 1) Act III"
"Beyond The Horizon (Guitar Concerto no 1) Act IV"
"Beyond The Horizon (Guitar Concerto no 1) Act V"
"Beyond The Horizon (Guitar Concerto no 1) Act VI"
"Lead Me On My Way"
"Season To Change" (bonus track)

Lineup:

Lars Eric Mattsson - Guitars, bass, keyboards and vocals
Lance King - Lead Vocals
Eddie Sledgehammer - Drums




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Blacktop Mojo has released the official music video for their single, "Signal's Gone", off of their May 2020 released EP, Static. Watch the clip below.

"All too often today, people have the option of not having the hard conversations with the people in their lives because we no longer have to do it face to face. It is much easier to "ghost" someone, and let a relationship fade in time with no real closure than it is to look that person in the eye and say, 'This isn't working.'" - Matt James

Blacktop Mojo will perform an acoustic storytellers concert available for online viewing on Wednesday, September 30, beginning at 4 PM, EST. The show will feature songs from the band's three studio albums: I Am, Burn The Ships, and Under The Sun, as well as a selection of their most popular cover songs.

Supporting Blacktop Mojo on this special performance will be RavenEye from the UK, Like Machines, Nathan Bergman, and upcoming Texas band American Merit. Tickets for the live stream are $7 with multiple merch bundles also available for purchase. The stream will remain available for an additional 48 hours for on demand viewing especially for fans in international time zones. To pre-order the show, click here.

Static EP details below.

Tracklisting:

"The End"
"Watch Me Drown"
"Leave It Alone"
"Signal's Gone"

"Watch Me Drown":

"The End":




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Malta-based metal band, DiggerThings, have released their new single, "Three Days Of Judgement", featuring former Iron Maiden singer, Blaze Bayley.

Watch the video below, and find out more about DiggerThings here.




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TraiLight mastermind Omer Cordell has checked in with the following update:

"I present to you the artwork for the new album Sophia -Eon.

In the Gnostic Philosophy, Sophia is part of the story as an embodiment of a principle of innocence, but also power and wisdom. Sophia is the divine spark within, our Essence, that has fallen from a place of light (the Absolute), into matter and duality. This story may be familiar to us on some level, as it is a universal story of a fall and redemption, and is the story of each of our soul’s journey.

The artwork, depicts the moment Sophia created the physical Universe."

Cordell recently posted a clip from the studio featuring some more vocal tracking:

"This is the chorus of the track 'Aftershock' from the forthcoming TraiLight album, Sophia - Eon, due fall 2020."

BraveWords spoke with Cordell about ex-Annihilator fromtman Dave Padden's reported involvement on the new album, and he offered the following:

"I'm basically doing everything again. I am having Dave mix it with me; he's mixed one of the songs and it's really banging! It's too early to say if he'll sing on it, but I may have him do a vocal or two. Not sure yet. But mixing, yes!"

Padden sang on the TraiLight debut, The Primitive Mountain, released in 2015. Check out "Open Doors" below.




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Swedish death metal cult Disrupted have shared their new track "Human Stew". The song is the second to be revealed from the band's sophomore album, Pure Death, set for international release on October 26th via Memento Mori on CD format; the vinyl version will be released by De:Nihil Records on October 9th.

Featuring guest guitar solos from Per "Sodomizer" Eriksson (Katatonia / Bloodbath), hear Disrupted's "Human Stew" in its entirety now:

Pure and total Swedeath: one will find no better modern, old-style example of it than Swedish juggernaut Disrupted. Naturally, Pure Death is as fitting of a title as they come! This sophomore album is massive in every respect.

Disrupted specialize in ultra-crunchy, extremely rotten, heavy-as-a-concrete-block, and genuine-to-the-bone death metal that their country was worldwide known for in the late '80s and early '90s. No nice melodies, nothing experimental, no progression: think Nihilist / Entombed, Interment, Grave, and God Macabre with a healthy dose of D-beat ala more recent acts such as Bombs Of Hades or Bastard Priest, and you'll get quite an accurate picture of what to expect. Simply put, Disrupted don't try to be anything they're not - and what they are is proud 'n' powerful Swedeath, straight from the source. As such, Pure Death is an album that retains the old glory and aesthetics of the Swedish tradition but enhances the sound, the speed and, yes, the heaviness. And they pack it all into finely honed songwriting that sticks in the brain and sticks to the ribs... if they haven't already crushed 'em!

And for such a young band, Disrupted have quite an enviable pedigree, as Pure Death features some hot-shit guest appearances: guitar solos by Per "Sodomizer" Eriksson (Bloodbath, Katatonia), Tomas Åkvik (Lik), and Mats Andersson (Wretched Fate), and guest vocals by none other than Nick Holmes (Paradise Lost, Bloodbath). Want to know exactly what you're getting into here? The simple-yet-elegant cover art courtesy of Woodcvtter Illustration should say more than enough. Time to rot again - only more gruesomely!

Tracklisting:

"Blood Worship"
"Human Stew"
"Born In A Corpse"
"Carve"
"Headless Torso"
"Total Death"
"Pestilential Vomit"
"Goat Lord"
"Chopped Into Oblivion"
"Slave From The Grave"

Begin rotting again (and more gruesomely) with the brand-new track "Blood Worship":

 




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Michael Sweet, the frontman of Stryper, is currently promoting his band's new album, Even The Devil Believes, During a recent interview with Steve Harrison of ARfm’s The Unchained Rock Show, Sweet confirmed that he will start work on a new recording project at the beginning of 2021 with Whitesnake guitarist Joel Hoekstra and the singer from Inglorious, Nathan James.

During the in-depth interview, which can be heard below, Michael told Steve, "After the first of the New Year, I start a new project with Nathan James and Joel Hoekstra... we are doing like a Whitesnake throwback kind of album and then I’m doing a new Sweet And Lynch album right after that."

Michael went on further to explain how the idea for the project came about, "Well, I’ve become dear friends with Nathan and I love his voice; and I was asked to work with him by Frontiers and it worked out where we are doing something. I’m going to be playing guitar and singing a few songs, a duet with him and I’m co-producing and co-writing and it’s going to be really cool... he is fantastic, I love him, great guy, great heart, great vocalist, he is one of my favourites, I can’t wait to work with him."

Stryper have released a video for "Do Unto Others", a track from their new album, Even The Devil Believes, out now. Watch the clip below.

Once again proving their lasting durability, Stryper returns with their 13th studio album, Even The Devil Believes. Filled with the band’s signature riffs, harmony-laden melodies and positive themes, the 11-track project is Stryper’s first studio album with Perry Richardson (Firehouse) on bass and background vocals.

Stryper is renowned for its distinctive brand of “heavenly metal,” extraordinary crossover success and venerable endurance. The group ascended to prominence in the 1980s with Billboard Top 40 hits like “Calling on You,” “Honestly,” and “Always There for You,” and has maintained a global fanbase ever since. Stryper is the first band to ever have two songs in MTV’s Top 10 simultaneously with their hits “Free” and “Honestly.” To date, the Dove Award-winning and Grammy-nominated band has sold over 10 million albums worldwide.

Even The Devil Believes tracklisting:

"Blood From Above"
"Make Love Great Again"
"Let Him In"
"Do Unto Others"
"Even The Devil Believes"
"How To Fly"
"Divider"
"This I Pray"
"Invitation Only"
"For God & Rock 'N' Roll"
"Middle Finger Messiah"

"Do Unto Others" video:

"Blood From Above" lyric video:

 




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Ehab Omran of South Of Eden has long admired Soundgarden and Rage Against The Machine. However, the Jordan-born, Ohio-raised singer only learned about “this crazy band called Audioslave” in 2012. He recalls hearing the group’s song “Show Me How To Live” for the first time while in high school and being flabbergasted by their spirited chemistry, reports Joshua M. Miller of Spin.

“I fell in love with it instantly,” he recalls. “It’s a very heavy riff, but it grooves at the same time, and that’s why I think Tom Morello is a god for doing all the things he does on the electric guitar. And obviously Chris Cornell is nothing to pass over at all, may he rest in peace.”

“It’s a little bit out of our territory but definitely not out of our musical influence,” says Omran. “When COVID hit around March, it kind of came back up in our library. Obviously, we’ve all been huge fans for a long time, but it really resonated with us… The lyrics mean a lot to us right now, with everybody going through quarantine and going through all these crazy things. Just the title, ‘Show Me How To Live,’ [it’s] like, ‘Show me how to live in these crazy times,’ or however you want to take the meaning.”

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After releasing their debut EP The Talk in August, buzzing Columbus, OH rock band South Of Eden have unleashed the official music video for the EP’s title track.

Talking about the clip, the band said: "This video ties all the ideas from the record together. Distorted views, unclear agendas, the masses following along and a sense of unsettling tension. All accompanied by a mixture of emotions, moods and lights. ‘The Talk’ was a lot of fun to shoot and quite a strange experience! The pandemic has changed a lot all over the world, and here in Ohio the laws are very strict on social distancing." 

"When it was time to start planning a video, we knew a lot of work and research had to be done to ensure the video came out exactly how we envisioned it and that all of the guidelines were met. Temperature on arrival, masks, social distancing, the whole nine-yards. Kinda hard to read the cameraman’s face when you can’t see it! The craziest part was the director was monitoring on a zoom call from a different state! Everyone did such an awesome job and were so professional about it, it ended being an awesome experience. I’m interested to see what the world looks like when it opens back up again."

The Talk artwork and tracklisting:

"The Talk"
"Solo"
"Morning Brew"
"Dancing With Fire"

"Dancing With Fire" official video:

"Dancing With Fire" lyric video:

 




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Helix frontman Brian Vollmer has unearthed another gem from the archives. Check it out below.

Vollmer: "Wow! The Old El Macombo (in Toronto) is opening again with Big Wreck playing. Helix played there once for the CHUM live radio broadcast. This was a year before we were finally signed by Capitol / EMI We were still playing songs like 'Crazy Women', 'White Lace & Black Leather', and 'Heavy Metal Love'. The place was packed and the recording sounded great on the airwaves. I have most of this recording; does anyone out there have the whole thing? Here's 'Women Whiskey & Sin' from that night. This song was on the White Lace & Black Leather, album which became a #1 British Import in Sounds Magazine. I stole the chorus from the Styx song 'Born For Adventure'."

Helix recently released the Eat Sleep Rock CD on Perris Records, a compilation album with some of singer Brian Vollmer’s personal favorite songs recorded since leaving Captiol/EMI in 1990. The album was recorded at bassist Darryl Gray's own Dawghouse Studios, mixed by Siegfried Meier and mastered by Harry Hess (Harem Scarem). The artwork was done by ex-Helix guitarist Brent Doerner with photos by Victor Azziz Studios. "Brent is a very creative guy," states Vollmer. When he was in the band writing songs, he was with us for I think 16 or 18 years. I've always found him as a person who thought outside the box when it came to creativity so it's great still having him involved with Helix projects. He's like a 6th member."

Eat Sleep Rock adds the new track "Eat Sleep Rock" and includes "The Story Of Helix," a rap that Brian wrote a couple of years ago to kick off the acoustic show. "Eat Sleep Rock" is the first to feature new Helix guitarist Gary Borden, a veteran of the Canadian music scene who has played with Sass Jordan, Toronto and The Guess Who, worked with Gowan, and fronts his own original act Blood Of VanGogh. Brian continues, "Kaleb left last year, he was a solid member for over 10 years and he is still involved with the band writing for the next studio album. Gary is a great guy and he fits right in. It's great having guys with personalities like Gary and Chris (Julke, guitarist) to bring you up as it's tough when you are out there doing it all weekend long, travelling, playing, getting up early and flying. I got a great bunch of guys behind me."

For anyone that missed the August 14th BraveWords video premiere for "Eat Sleep Rock", check out the clip below.

Keep up to date with all things Helix in their newly designed website at Planethelix.com.




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