Pink Floyd has agreed to sell their recorded-music and name-and-likeness rights to Sony Music for approximately $400 million, sources confirm to Variety.


The deal, one of the largest of many in recent years, apparently has finally concluded despite decades of ongoing infighting and bitter words between the band members, notably chief songwriters Roger Waters and David Gilmour; also involved are drummer Nick Mason and the estates of keyboardist Richard Wright and founding singer-songwriter Roger “Syd” Barrett.


The deal comprises recorded-music rights but not songwriti

Norway is known for pioneering a legendary branch of extreme metal, but no band embodies the scene's epic resolve quite like Keep Of Kalessin.


This band has always possessed fantastic foresight. After all, they are named after one of Ursula K. Le Guin's arch-dragons. Their original lineup did split after two albums of dark, fast and war-faring black metal, but over the past two decades, founding member Arnt Obsidian has brought Keep Of Kalessin into the national spotlight. While he and his colossal crew have toured with the likes of Satyricon, Behemoth and Dimmu Borgir, they've carved their own legacy by forging a different path.


With seven albums and three EPs under their hilt, Keep Of Kalessin brandish an epic arsenal of extreme metal. The band's mastery at welding blackened melodies and scouring death metal riffs with magical keys and misty synthesizers has rewarded them handsomely. They've scored two Spellemannprisen nominations and scaled to the top of Norway's album charts. To further test their mettle, they became the first Norwegian metal band to compete for a spot in the Eurovision Song Contest.




Today, Keep Of Kalessin are cracking open the next chapter of their long and prosperous journey. The band have signed with Season Of Mist, who will release their next two albums and reissue some of the defining moments from their extensive back catalogue.


"We are very proud and excited to announce that we have signed with Season Of Mist," Arnt Obsidian says on behalf of his bandmates Robin Isaksen and Wanja Gröger. "I have known Michael for more than 20 years. He has always been passionate about the music and very supportive of his signings. Back in 1999, Keep Of Kalessin played three shows in Norway with Bloodthorn, who were signed to Season Of Mist at the time. Michael traveled all the way up from France just to see them.


"Our paths have crossed many times since that tour. I've watched Michael build one of the strongest metal labels in the world. His staff shares in his extreme passion. What they've accomplished is an amazing feat.


"Keep Of Kalessin has always been the underdog, the loner, the different kid. We're a unique band and cannot be put into a certain category. It's been difficult finding a home where our potential can be nurtured and harnessed to its full potential. But after talking with Michael and seeing how we fit with Season Of Mist's roster, I'm confident that we've now found a label that understands and can truly support us while we take the band to the next level. You can be sure that Keep Of Kalessin will return with the best Epic Extreme Metal we've ever done in 2025!"  








Lineup:


Arnt Obsidian - Guitars, Vocals
Robin Isaksen - Bass
Wanja Gröger - Drums


As one of the pioneers of epic extreme metal, Norway's Keep Of Kalessin have collected an impressive number of milestones.  


Since forming in 1993, Keep Of Kalessin have established a reputation for treasured releases. Their first two albums, Through Times of War (1997) and Agnen: A Journey Through the Dark (1999) paired the band’s sense for melody and virtuoso playing with the harshness traditionally expected from black metal.  


After the band’s original lineup split up, founding member and guitarist Arnt Obsidian served as Satyricon’s live guitarist from 2002 until 2007. He played hundreds of shows with the Norwegian black metal legends, including headlining Wacken Open Air in 2004.  


It was through this fortuitous partnership that Keep Of Kalessin reunited. Obsidian was joined by Frost for the 2003 Reclaim EP, which also features Atilla Csihar from Mayhem. Like all good things, this lineup did come to an end, but the band was far from done.  


In fact, Keep Of Kalessin came back in a big way during the mid-2000s. Experimenting with piano, keyboards and synthesizers earned the band’s next two albums, Armada (2006) and Kolossus (2008), nominations in the metal category at the Norwegian Grammy Awards.  


Then in 2010, Keep Of Kalessin shocked the world by becoming the first metal band to compete

De Mannen Broeders is the debut collaboration featuring Colin H. van Eeckhout and the Zeeuws Flemish folk icon Tonnie ‘Broeder’ Dieleman. The former is the frontman for Belgian post-metallers Amenra, a band known for their overwhelming heaviness both in sound and emotion. The latter is a Dutch folk singer whose music is inspired by his religious upbringing and the rural culture of his Zeelandic homeland, who has collaborated with Baby Dee and Bonnie Prince Billy.


Today, De Mannen Broeders share  the official short film for the album’s opening track & third single, “Alle Roem is Uitgesloten”. The film was directed by Sam Debaecke and shot by Thomas Vercauteren.


“This film was shot over the course of a year, initially made as a stand-alone film named A Blue Blue Dream. During the editing process a collaboration was formed between the filmmakers and De Mannen Broeders which gave the film and its narrative a new direction. Even though it was produced  largely separately from the music, loosely based on a dream concerning recent events of militarisation and conflict, the music and film formed a perfect match upon meeting each other. Later, inspired by the sounds and story of 'Alle Roem Is Uitgesloten' additional scenes were shot, and a new film came into being. We would like to thank the crew and everyone who enabled us to realize the film, as this was fully developed by volunteers and patrons.”  - Colin H. van Eeckhout & Sam Debaecke







De Mannen Broeders' debut album, Sober Maal, is out October 11 via Relapse Records. Pre-order on LP/CD/Digital here.





Tracklisting:


"Alle Roem Is Uitgesloten"
"Asemruumte"
"Verteere Heel"
"Van Licht Ontdaan"
"Grafschrift"
"Omer III"
"Onze Lieve Vrouwe"
"Ons Nu Voorbij"
"Sober Maal"


"Grafschrift" video:





More De Mannen Broeders info:


When Van Eeckhout & Dieleman met, they felt an instant connection.


“As a creating artist, it’s these encounters that you pray for,” says Colin. “As soon as you meet someone like that, you know you have to do something together.”


Their connection was deepened as they discovered how much they had in common, from their similar dialects and their strong ties to their homeland, to their leanings towards the spiritual and the melancholic. “My work is all about death and sadness,” says

Iconic guitarist and composer, Timo Tolkki, has announced the release of his latest single, “Faust”, inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s classic work. The track features Jeff Scott Soto (vocals), Jari Kainulainen (bass), and Peter Dellermann (drums).


The song delves into the eternal dilemma of Faust, a man who sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. The video was directed by Anderson Bellini, the director behind the documentary Andre Matos – Maestro do Rock. Check it out below.


“Musically, I tried to create something a bit more modern, with a lot of detail in the track

In a new interview with Matt Sweeney, host of Guitar Moves, SLIPKNOT guitarist Jim Root spoke about the importance of the collaborative aspect of the band's songwriting process. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "You can self-produce at home and do everything in your bedroom now — from vocals to drums, to even recording acoustic drums. A lot of dudes are doing that too, with the technology that's out there today, which is cool. But I'm at a disadvantage 'cause I'm not a lyricist — I can't write vocals; I don't know what I'm doing there — so I feel like half of that world is closed off to me. It's almost like not having all your senses in a way. So when I write an arrangement, I have to kind of guess what Corey [Taylor, SLIPKNOT singer] or whoever I'm writing the song for or with would do vocally. Or I think, 'This is what he's gonna do. Here's an epic part for him to sing on,' and then he'll write scratch lyrics to it, and he won't even be singing on this part. I'm, like, 'That's the epic part of the song for you to shine on, and you haven't even sang on it.'"

Root went on to say that he and Corey "go back and forth" on music once he has presented the initial song idea to the vocalist. "Everybody's approach to things — you and I could be playing the exact same thing, but we're hearing it differently and our approach to it would be totally different, which is the other great thing about not just guitar, but instruments in general," Root explained. "So if I give Corey something that came out of my head that's like a five-minute arrangement and I've taken the time to layer guitars, put bass on it and program the drums and keyboards to thicken it up, and it sounds like a song to me, he might be hearing something that I have as, let's say, a pre-chorus, he might be hearing that as part of a verse, for the way he thinks about music. But that's how the evolution of our music can go. Then he'll give it back to me, and I'll be, like, 'Okay, wait a minute. You're looking at it that way, so maybe I need to rearrange how I'm thinking about this song.' Nobody wants to get an arrangement from somebody and then be, like, 'Yeah, yeah, that's cool,' and chop it up. But it's hard to communicate that. You hurt people's feelings or whatever. They feel a certain way about a song or whatever. So it's a big deal. Like, 'What? You don't like my arrangement?' or whatever. And it's not about that. You've gotta let that go and see where it can go and let it grow as a collaboration — unless you're doing everything 100 percent by yourself and you're in control of the entire creative process."

Elaborating on why checking his ego at the door when collaborating with his bandmates is an important part of the process, Jim said: "Anything that I write, as soon as I put it into the world of SLIPKNOT, I have to know that by the time that comes back, it may not sound anything like what I gave to them or what we end up working on together, and you have to be okay with that. After a while, you're listening to things and you're hearing them totally different, because they're evolving so much from where they began. If you start with one color red and you just keep throwing every color in the palette on top of it, but then you start taking things away and they start making new colors and then all of a sudden a new idea kind of presents itself out of something that four things make, all of a sudden these four different instruments are making one sound or one melody. It's, like, there's the fucking song right there. Like, holy shit."

Asked when he and his bandmates got to that place where they can collaborate with each other like that, or if it's something that was there from the very beginning, Root said: "No. I think everybody gets there in their own time. I don't think that's something you can teach anybody. I don't think that's anything that you can really… I don't know if you can go to Juilliard and learn that. You can know all the theory in the world and you can be the most fluent musician on the planet, but are you gonna make that song that makes people go, 'Oh, God'? and feel that thing. That's a human emotion. And I'm not saying that those learned musicians don't do that — I mean, absolutely, they fucking do — but being a dumb guitar player from Iowa [laughs], you get there naturally when it's time. The universe is, like, 'Okay, it's time for me to be your muse and to give you the inspiration that you need to make this music that doesn't just move you emotionally or make you feel like you've accomplished something, but makes those people out there connect with something in their life that they can relate to and emote with.'"

Jim added that "open-mindedness and trust" in his bandmates play a big role in the process. "There's a lot of trust with it too. Trust and patience and objective opinions," he said. "'Cause you don't always know what's best. You may think you know what's best right. 'Well, I wrote this idea. This riff came out of my head, so I know what's best for it.' But that's not always the case. Somebody might come in — Sid [Wilson, SLIPKNOT DJ] might come in and do one thing that all of a sudden makes it go, 'Holy shit. This is where it needs to go.' And the first and second record are full of stuff like that. Hell, even '[.5:] The Gray Chapter' and other records, it's, like, if Sid wouldn't have done a certain thing, or if Mick [Thomson, SLIPKNOT guitarist] wouldn't have had a certain effect on his pedal board, it might have been an entirely different song."

The first time Root was invited to join SLIPKNOT, the guitarist said no. He was already in a group, the Des Moines, Iowa metal band DEADFRONT. SLIPKNOT was in California recording its 1999 self-titled debut, and guitarist Josh Brainard had just left the group.

In a 2019 interview with WMMR, Root explained that he was first approached by SLIPKNOT's original singer Anders Colsefni about replacing the band's original guitarist Donnie Steele back in 1996. "I said no at that time because I hadn't been playing guitar and I knew that those guys were players," he told WMMR. "My chops were bad. I [hadn't] even touched a guitar in years, so I was just kind of, like, 'Nah, I'm just going to be a regular dildo, work and do all that.'"

In 1996, Root joined Taylor's STONE SOUR, only for Taylor to replace Colsefni in SLIPKNOT in 1997.

SLIPKNOT has since put out seven albums, including its latest, "The End, So Far". The band has won a Grammy, toured the world and put on its own festival, Knotfest. There have also been a number of low points and several lineup changes, most notably the death of founding member and bassist Paul Gray in 2010 of a drug overdose. Founding drummer Joey Jordison was fired in 2013.

Polish extreme metal giants, Behemoth, will release their monumental anniversary concert, XXX Years Ov Blasphemy, from 2021, on October 25, as 3CD + BluRay, 3LP and Digital Album.


The career-spanning show, held at and filmed on three different locations, has a total running time of 90 minutes, divided into three different acts. This very special set features fan favourites as well as a few selected deep cuts that Behemoth had rarely played live before.


As a second preview you can now watch the live video for the song "The Thousand Plagues I Witness" which originally appeared on their 1998 full length, Pandemonic Incantations. Stream the song here, watch the clip below:







XXX Years Ov Blasphemy will be released on the following formats:


- 3CD+Bluray Mediabook
- 3LP (Gold / Silver / Clear)
- Digital Album


Pre-order/pre-save here.





Tracklisting:


Act 1:
"Chant Of The Eastern Lands"
"Lasy Pomorza"
"Summoning (Of The Ancient Ones)"
"Blackvisions Of The Almighty"
"Cursed Angel Of Doom"
"Pure Evil and Hate"


Act 2:
"The Thousand Plagues I Witness"
"Decade Ov Therion"
"Christians To The Lions"
"44 (The Youth Manifesto)"
"Heru Ra Ha: Let There Be Might"
"Chant For Ezkaton 2000"


Act 3:
"Demigod
"At The Left Hand Ov God"
"Alas, Lord Is Upon Me"
"Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer"
"Rom 5:8"
"O Father O Satan O Sun!"


"Cursed Angel Of Doom" video:





Behemoth recently released a video trailer for "The Unholy Trinity" European tour, scheduled for April 2025. Find the clip below.


Says Behemoth: "Legions of Europe!

Danish/Faroese progressive metal collective, Iotunn, today unveil "Iridescent Way" and its accompanying video. The moving acoustic track appears on the band's second full-length album, Kinship, set for release on October 25 via Metal Blade Records.


Iotunn's Kinship is a massive album arising from the primeval sea. It's a mythological journey through eight tracks that span immense spheres both musically and lyrically, exploring the deep roots of human nature, its connection and disconnection with everything and everyone, and how our choices have always defined ourselves and the lives lived.


Comments guitarist Jesper Gräs on "Iridescent Way", "It has been our wish for years to make an acoustic song. [Guitarist] Jens Nicolai [Gräs] and I have origins in playing classical guitar and this, combined with the folk tradition in the North as well as in the West as such, has been a huge gift and inspiration throughout the years. The intro and outro part came to me in a dream, and I woke up and played it. It laid a foundation for this song which is very special to the whole band, and we hold it very dearly."




Jens Nicolai agrees, "It's clearly a stand-out song on the album. Finally, we pulled ourselves together to do something like this. There's no brave or out-of-box decisions here. Just us doing something that also feels natural to us."





Kinship unfolds the story of a tribesman who is part of a prehistoric tribe. It tells the story of life's manyfold conditions as themes of unity/disunity, light/dark, body/mind, nature/culture, good/evil, creation/destruction, and human/inhuman are unfolded throughout the album. The album shows Iotunn unfold their musical worlds to their fullest scales to date which has been the dream achievement throughout the years creating the album.


"In my mind, Kinship is a grand work of heavy metal art, one that I am very proud to have taken part in creating," notes drummer Bjørn Wind Andersen. "Musically, it encompasses so many different colors and emotions. It is, in many ways, the music to which I've always dreamt of contributing drums. It is the finest accomplishment this far, for me personally and for the band."


The artwork and art pieces of Kinship were created by the ink and graphite illustrator and artist, Saprophial (Hammers Of Misfortune), with the design and layout created by art director Brian Ames at Metal Blade Records. Kinship was mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen at Hansen Studios Denmark (Arch Enemy, Katatonia, The Black Dahlia Murder, Volbeat, Týr).





Iotunn‘s Kinship will be available on CD and digital formats as well as vinyl in the following color variants:


- Dark Jade Marbled (US)
- 180g Black (EU)
- Olive Beige Marbled (EU)
- Teal w/ Red, Orange

COHEED AND CAMBRIA has released a new song, "Blind Side Sonny", the first taste of the band's next full body of work. Following 2022's highly regarded "Vaxis Act II: A Window Of The Waking Mind", which garnered critical success and the band's first Top 10 radio single of their career with "Shoulders", "Blind Side Sonny" marks COHEED AND CAMBRIA's arguably most aggressive track to date and unveils a brand new villain featured as part of the band's "The Amory Wars"/"Vaxis" universe. Alongside the new single, COHEED AND CAMBRIA shares the Max Moore-directed video that features the band performing to their rampant fanbase, while the insidious Sonny slowly seeps into the crowd.

Speaking about the new single, vocalist Claudio Sanchez shares, "'Blind Side Sonny' is a song about revenge. What may seem like an innocent choice to someone could be the breeding ground of another's malicious misunderstanding. Perception can be your worst enemy."

"Blind Side Sonny" arrives on the heels of COHEED AND CAMBRIA's North American tour with INCUBUS, which saw the band play legendary venues across the country, including sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City and Allstate Arena in Chicago as well as a co-headline tour with legendary funk-prog masters PRIMUS. This October, COHEED AND CAMBRIA is slated to headline the Saturday night at Furnace Fest in Alabama in addition to both dates of When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas before they head to Australia to headline the multi-city Monolith festival.

For the last 20 years, COHEED AND CAMBRIA have continuously broken the mold of what a rock band can be, forging their own path and building a universe around their music unlike any other. Whether it is in the way their genre-spanning approach to songwriting has allowed them to bridge worlds without being contained to one, or the multifaceted story arc of their albums and comic book series which mark the longest-running concept story in music, COHEED AND CAMBRIA have consistently shaped new standards, never conformed. Comprised of Claudio Sanchez (vocals / guitar),Travis Stever (guitar),Josh Eppard (drums) and Zach Cooper (bass) the band has gripped listeners and press around the globe with their visionary compositions and conceptual mastery.

Photo credit: Alan Poizner

Italian metal titans LACUNA COIL will release their tenth studio album, "Sleepless Empire" — their first collection of new songs since 2019's "Black Anima" — on February 14th, 2025 via Century Media Records. The official music video for the LP's latest single, "Oxygen", filmed in Latina and directed by Daniele Tofani, that shows singer Cristina Scabbia in the lead role, will make its online debut today at 9 a.m. PDT / 12 p.m. (noon) EDT.

Scabbia commented on the track and her experience filming the video: "'Oxygen' is a powerful exploration of emotional struggle and inner conflict. The lyrics convey a sense of drowning in a toxic environment, both literally (in the video) and metaphorically, where attempts at salvation, represented by 'oxygen' are somehow futile. This song encapsulates the feeling of struggling to break free from what holds us down, when the journey is filled with difficulty. It's a raw anthem of vulnerability, resilience, and the courage to face what seems insurmountable. Having to stay in the water for so many hours during the video shoot was cathartic for me, the realization that the pleasant sensation of floating could in an instant become dangerous and deadly if I wasn't careful was very fitting with the song's theme."

Inspiration to create "Sleepless Empire" came during the sessions for "Comalies XX" (2022),the acclaimed remake of LACUNA COIL's breakthrough third record "Comalies". Writing and recording took place in northern Italy between Milano (the band's hometown) and Como, where SPVN Studios are located. As with their previous albums, production was done in house with Marco "Maki" Coti Zelati at the helm, and artwork was hand curated by the talented Italian artist Roberto Toderico. Two other very special talents enrich the album, namely the guest vocalists: LAMB OF GOD's Randy Blythe on the song "Hosting The Shadow" and NEW YEARS DAY's Ash Costello on "In The Mean Time".

As a token of the band's love for the gaming world (which we've seen in past endeavors such as their card game "Horns Up" and their collaboration with Zombicide for which they wrote the track "Never Dawn"),the band have created an oracle "game" to be played with custom made dice available only in the box set version of "Sleepless Empire".

The new album is comprised of 11 tracks; each one is a richly textured soundtrack to a specific time and place. With "Sleepless Empire", that place is dark, cinematic, and unmistakably true to the unique characteristics that have given LACUNA COIL such a celebrated entry in the annals of heavy music.

The band shares: "'Sleepless Empire' captures, through our eyes, the chaos of a generation trapped in a digital world that never stops, where social media consumes identity and every day pushes us one step closer to becoming soulless zombies. We find ourselves in between, having witnessed a full analogic world and the modern one, confronting the evolution and searching for a true meaning of it all. Throughout every song, the journey is an undercurrent of rebellion, a desperate cry to reclaim oneself in an era that seems to have lost its sense of time and reality."

"Sleepless Empire" track listing

01. The Siege
02. Oxygen
03. Scarecrow
04. Gravity
05. I Wish You Were Dead
06. Hosting The Shadow (feat. Randy Blythe)
07. In Nomine Patris
08. Sleepless Empire
09. Sleep Paralysis
10. In The Mean Time (feat. Ash Costello)
11. Never Dawn

Later this month, LACUNA COIL will embark on a tour of U.K. and Ireland with Finland's BLIND CHANNEL. Tickets are available here.

LACUNA COIL played its first concert with the band's new touring guitarist — whose name has not yet been disclosed — on August 4 at the Rockstadt Extreme Fest in Râșnov, Romania.

This past June, LACUNA COIL announced the departure of guitarist Diego Cavallotti.

Cavallotti, who joined LACUNA COIL in 2016, initially as a fill-in guitarist following the exit of Marco "Maus" Biazzi, later said in a social media post that "this decision is not the result of my dissatisfaction or desire to explore new opportunities."

When LACUNA COIL announced Cavallotti's departure on June 17, the band wrote in a statement: "As we step into a new cycle, writing and recording our next album, we are parting ways with Diego 'DD' Cavallotti. We thank him for the many unforgettable moments shared over the years and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours.

"All future live plans remain unchanged and the new songs are taking form, we can't wait to share them with our fans."

LACUNA COIL recently completed the "Ignite The Fire" U.S. tour with support from NEW YEARS DAY and OCEANS OF SLUMBER.

"Comalies XX" was made available on October 14, 2022 via Century Media Records.

LACUNA COIL celebrated the 20th anniversary of "Comalies", by performing it in its entirety at a one-night-only concert on October 15, 2022 at Fabrique in Milano.

"Comalies" was originally released on October 29, 2002 through Century Media Records. The LP, which featured the band's breakthrough single "Heaven's A Lie", has reportedly gone on to sell over 300,000 copies in the United States alone.

LACUNA COIL recording lineup:

Cristina Scabbia - Vocals
Andrea Ferro - Vocals
Marco Coti Zelati - Bass, Guitars, Synths
Richard Meiz – Drums

Photo credit: Cunene

Swedish metallers SOILWORK are back with a brand new single, "Spirit Of No Return", along with a powerful and visually striking music video. The track marks a significant milestone in the band's evolution, with longtime live guitarist Simon Johansson recently officially joining the ranks of the band.

"Spirit Of No Return" showcases SOILWORK's signature blend of frenzied intensity, soaring melodies, epic arrangements, and a touch of progressive complexity — traits that have cemented their reputation over the last decades. Johansson's contribution to the songwriting channels the band's essence while bringing fresh energy to their unmistakable sound.

The video is equally captivating, featuring a stunning sequence where the iconic SOILWORK symbol is reforged, representing the band's resurgence and renewed strength. This visual narrative perfectly complements the song's theme of perseverance and transformation.

SOILWORK frontman Björn "Speed" Strid comments on the song: "'Spirit Of No Return' is a fierce reminder of the past, but also an introduction of the new SOILWORK era, where we've taken the thrashier early days and dressed it in a new heavier suit. Lyrics are dealing with the urge of belonging and fitting in — and how it in the end can be disastrous as you abandon your true self.”

In October the band will embark on their biggest tour adventure yet, supporting IN FLAMES and ARCH ENEMY on a European arena tour.

SOILWORK's high-class creative consistency, which they have been delivering solidly throughout their career, is the virtue that probably best defines them. Founded at the end of 1995, SOILWORK released their debut album "Steelbath Suicide" in 1998, garnering a great early response. By 2001 SOILWORK had joined Nuclear Blast, and by 2003 they already had five records under their belt.

Continuing their tradition of high-quality musical output, 2022 saw their twelfth studio album "Övergivenheten", which represents the band in their growth and their current phase of life — marked by a time that probably no one on this planet will forget so quickly.

SOILWORK is:

Björn "Speed" Strid - vocals
Simon Johansson - guitars
Sven Karlsson - keyboards
Sylvain Coudret - guitars
Bastian Thusgaard - drums
Rasmus Ehrnborn – bass

Photo credit: Daniel Wahlström

During her Heavy Strings Theater Tour 2024, singer / songwriter Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-The Gathering) performed a cover of the Slayer classic, "South Of Heaven". Fan-filmed video of a performance from the tour can be viewed below.










Slayer‘s second reunion show, scheduled for September 27 at the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Kentucky, was canceled due to severe weather linked to the remnants of Hurricane Helene. The band are scheduled to perform at Sacramento's Aftershock on October 10.


Slayer reunited at Chicago's Riot Fest 2024 on September 22. Fan-filmed video can be viewed below.


Setlist:


"South Of Heaven"
"Reborn" (first time live since 2014)
"Blood Red"
"Postmortem"
"Repentless"
"Payback"
"Temptation"
"Jihad"
"Seasons In The Abyss"
"Born Of Fire"
"War Ensemble"
"Hate Worldwide"
"Disciple"
"Dead Skin Mask"
"Hell Awaits"
"213" (first time live since 1998)
"Mandatory Suicide"
"Raining Blood"
"Black Magic"
"Angel Of Death"

Metallica have shared more official video footage from their show at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City, Mexico, on September 20. "Seek & Destroy" joins the previously posted video for "King Nothing" from the concert. Watch both clips below:










Metallica have launched the pre-order for the recordings from their September 27 and 29 concerts in Mexico City. It was their second round of shows following the September 20 / 22 No Repeat Weekend.





Says Metallica: "Relive the September 27 & 29 concerts from Estadio GNP Seguros with the ultimate souvenir... an official live audio recording on CD. Both shows are available now for pre-order in the Met Store individually and as a bundle. And in case you missed it, both shows from the previous weekend are available for pre-order, too!


Thanks again for four amazing shows across two incredible weekends in Mexico City. We hope to see you all again soon!"


Live CDs and bundles are available via the official Metallica online shop here.


Expected availability date is November 29.


"We’re kicking off year three of M72 with 21 North American shows across April, May, and June of next year," begins a recent M72 2025 update from Metallica. "This leg will stop in 14 cities with 18 shows in the round, plus two festival stops, seven No Repeat Weekends, and seven one-night-only stops.


"We’re continuing the M72 tradition of unique support acts - a mix of Pantera, Limp Bizkit, Suicidal Tendencies, and Ice Nine Kills - and setlists for each No Repeat Weekend show. The Snake Pit will remain in the center of the stage for all in the round (non-festival) stops. And we’ll be sure to have plenty of extracurricular events planned for the Metallica Family to stay busy around the shows.


"Enhanced Experiences ranging from access to a meet and greet, production and stage tour, food and beverage in the “Black Box” lounge to early entry into the venue and the aforementioned Snake Pit will be available. The I Disappear Ticket is back for the fan who wants to run away with us for all the shows. And new to M72, travel packages, including hotel, ticket, and shuttle options, will be available for most locations.


"North America is not our only stop in 2025, as this year, we will return to Australia and New Zealand after far too long away!!! Stay tuned for the full announcement coming VERY soon."





Tour dates:


April

Acclaimed KING'S X bassist, songwriter and co-vocalist Doug "dUg" Pinnick will release a new solo album, "Thingamajigger", on October 25 via Rat Pak Records. The LP features 11 brand new songs and follows his successful 2021 release "Joy Bomb".

From the opening chords of "Climbing Up the Mountain", it is clear that Pinnick's trademark tone lays the bedrock for his latest solo release "Thingamijigger". Doug tackles a wide array of emotions and topics with layered harmonies, hooky rhythmic sensibilities, and the total groove that remains a crucial ingredient to the KING'S X sound.

Pinnick states: "I wrote a new batch of songs, so it's time for another album! 'Thingamajigger' is my new offering to the universe. I hope it feels good in everyone's ear hole!"

The 74-year-old Doug proves that age is nothing to him and provides an album packed with the groove, swagger and soul that he has honed and perfected over his extensive career. Pinnick's ability to combine a multitude of his influences into one seamless offering is on full display. "Climbing Up The Mountain", "Let The Music Play", "The Valley", "Keep On Going" and "More Strings Attached" show why Doug is still one of the best at his craft, while "The Alarm", "Believe It" and "The One Thing" exemplify his ability to think outside the box and expand his range.

"Thingamajigger" track listing:

01. Climbing Up The Mountain
02. Keep On Going
03. More Strings Attached
04. Let The Music Play
05. Love Defines You
06. From The Now
07. The Alarm
08. The One Thing
09. The Valley
10. Working It Out
11. Believe It

For more information, visit ratpakrecordsamerica.com.

KING'S X released its 13th studio album, "Three Sides Of One", in September 2022. The LP was recorded during 2019 at Black Sound Studio in Pasadena, California with Emmy Award-winning producer Michael Parnin.

KING'S X was sidelined by several health scares in recent years, including Pinnick's two hernia operations and two near-fatal heart attacks suffered by drummer Jerry Gaskill.

In October 2019, KING'S X canceled all of its previously announced tour dates for the year so that Gaskill could undergo undisclosed heart "procedures."

2008's "XV" was KING'S X's highest-charting album since 1996's "Ear Candy".

In 2005, VH1 included KING'S X in its list of "100 Greatest Artists In Hard Rock.

In a new interview with Neil Jones of TotalRock, ex-JOURNEY bassist Ross Valory was asked about his current relationship with his former bandmates. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I haven't been in touch with anybody except for maybe [former JOURNEY drummer] Steve Smith once in a while. Everybody's moved on with their lives.

"So many people are curious about what went wrong," he continued. "My point is we should talk about what went right. All those fabulous musicians that have come under that roof over the decades, the musicians that remain, the band that remains, with Arnel [Pineda] singing and Jonathan [Cain, JOURNEY keyboardist] and Neal [Schon, JOURNEY guitarist]. They continue to this day. I wish them the best."

Valory also talked about JOURNEY's induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as part of its 2017 class. Asked if he ever imagined, as a kid, one day entering the Rock Hall, Ross said: "Well, as a child, I'd always been very, very musical. I had other potential paths to take, whether it was in science or medicine, something, but music was always there. And as rock and roll came into my life, that became the focus of my attention and the direction in which I went.

"As a child, I did not imagine being in rock and roll," he explained. "I imagined being a musician of sorts, possibly symphony, symphonic music for the better part of 10 years, and sang in choirs and choruses and acapella and all that in a very competitive way. But I hadn't imagined, as a child, being in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. It is quite a gift. It is quite a blessing. One would have thought that by what the requirements are to be in to be nominated that JOURNEY had met those requirements long before we received the award. So I can't say it was anticlimactic, but I was certainly not surprised [to finally get in], with all grace and gratitude there. It's an amazing thing to have achieved. But you know what? There's something very interesting. When [actor] Morgan Freeman got his first Oscar — I don't know, maybe he's gotten more sense — he had a very casual interview, and the guy said, 'Well, this has gotta be amazing, Morgan. Look at what you've got in your hands there. What does this mean for the future?' And Morgan said — not sarcastically or cynically — he goes, 'It may not get me my next film and it certainly doesn't get you a cab.' That might be a digression there, but to have the accolade of being in the Hall Of Fame, I think, especially adds to my ability to have the opportunity to reach more people. It's from the output of the industry that gets attention for me. And for that alone, I appreciate it."

Valory was part of JOURNEY from its inception in 1973 through 1985, then from 1994 to 2020, when he departed after being embroiled in a legal dispute with Schon and Cain. Valory played on 13 of the band's 15 studio albums. In April 2021, Schon and Cain "reached an amicable settlement agreement" with Valory and Smith.

JOURNEY now consists of Schon and Cain, longtime singer Pineda, drummer Deen Castronovo, keyboardist/backing singer Jason Derlatka and bassist Todd Jensen.

Valory released his debut solo album, "All Of The Above", in April.

Sebastian Bach joined TESLA on stage last night (September 28) at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut to perform a part of the SKID ROW classic "Youth Gone Wild" as well as the TESLA song "Signs".

Earlier in the night, Bach played a set with his solo band which ended abruptly during a performance of "Youth Gone Wild", reportedly due to technical difficulties.

In introducing Sebastian back to the stage, TESLA bassist Brian Wheat referenced the technical issues from Bach's set, telling the crowd: "Hey listen, there was a little miscommunication tonight. Things got a little bit messed up, but we're gonna do a little special thing for you, man… We love that guy. That's our buddy, Sebastian… He's gonna come up there and he's gonna finish what he started. And then he's gonna stay and sing a song with us."

Bach is continuing to tour in support of his latest solo album, "Child Within The Man", which came out in May via Reigning Phoenix Music.

Sebastian will embark on a North American tour this fall. The trek will kick off October 4 in Portland, with dates in the U.S., including two shows at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, plus 16 dates in Bach's native Canada.

"Child Within The Man" was recorded in Orlando, Florida; produced and mixed by Michael "Elvis" Baskette; engineered by Jef Moll, assistant engineered by Josh Saldate and mastered by Robert Ludwig of Gateway Mastering. Bach wrote or co-wrote all the album's 11 tracks and sang all lead and backing vocals.

"Child Within The Man" features guest appearances from John 5 (MÖTLEY CRÜE, ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON),Steve Stevens (BILLY IDOL) and Orianthi (ALICE COOPER, MICHAEL JACKSON) — who all co-wrote their respective tracks with Bach — and two tracks co-written with ALTER BRIDGE's Myles Kennedy ("What Do I Got to Lose?" and "To Live Again"). Devin Bronson (guitars),Todd Kerns (bass) and Jeremy Colson (drums) round out the players on the album.

Prior to "Child Within The Man"'s arrival, Bach hadn't released a full-length disc since "Give 'Em Hell", which came out in March 2014.

TESLA is preparing to release a new single called "All About Love". It will be the follow-up to "Cold Blue Steel", which came out in August 2021, and "Time To Rock!", which arrived a year later.

Some fans criticized TESLA for adopting a 1980s-style polished production for its latest album, 2019's "Shock". The follow-up to June 2014's "Simplicity" was helmed by DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen, whose own group is no stranger to slicked-up, glossy-sounding recordings.

In September 2023, TESLA released the official music video for its cover of AEROSMITH's "S.O.S. (Too Bad)". The song is a bonus track on TESLA's live album, "Full Throttle Live!", which arrived in May 2023. The LP includes the band's "Time To Rock!" single, plus other songs, all recorded in August 2022 at Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis, South Dakota.

In September 2021, original TESLA drummer Troy Luccketta announced that he would "take a little time from the road" to spend with family and friends. He has since been replaced at TESLA's gigs by Steve Brown, the younger brother of former DOKKEN drummer Mick Brown.

TESLA's debut album, 1986's "Mechanical Resonance", went platinum on the strength of the hits "Modern Day Cowboy" and "Little Suzi". The 1989 follow-up album, "The Great Radio Controversy", produced five hits, including "Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)" and "Love Song", which hit the pop Top Ten.

DOWN played its rescheduled concert at Inn Of The Mountain Gods Resort And Casino in Mescalero, New Mexico this past Friday, September 27. Fan-filmed video of the performance can be seen below.

The long-running heavy metal supergroup, which features vocalist Philip H. Anselmo, guitarists Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein, drummer Jimmy Bower and bassist Pat Bruders, was originally supposed to perform at at Inn Of The Mountain Gods on June 20, but the show was called off due to a pair of rapidly growing wildfires which were converging on a village inside a tribal reservation in the state. Thousands of residents in southern New Mexico were ordered to evacuate their homes and the fires prompted the partial closure of U.S. Highway 70 south of the village of Ruidoso.

As a result of the postponement, DOWN played two pop-up shows in Louisiana — on June 20 at Southport Hall in New Orleans and on June 21 at Varsity Theatre in Baton Rouge.

$5 per ticket from each of the DOWN pop-up shows went to Mescalero Apache Nation - South Fork Fire relief fund.

When DOWN's concert at Inn Of The Mountain Gods Resort And Casino was first announced in April, the band said that Windstein would sit out the show due to his commitments with CROWBAR. Filling in for him at the June gigs was former DOWN guitarist Bobby Landgraf. Windstein was able to rejoin his DOWN bandmates for the rescheduled Inn Of The Mountain Gods Resort And Casino show.

Prior to Southport Hall, DOWN's last concert took place in September 2022 at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Alton, Virginia.

DOWN made a handful of rare live appearances in the spring and summer of 2022. The band launched a three-date U.S. run of shows in May 2022 at the Welcome To Rockville festival in Daytona Beach, Florida. After playing in Atlanta and Dallas immediately after Rockville, DOWN took a three-week break before regrouping for three European festival appearances in June. The aforementioned appearance at that year's Blue Ridge Rock Festival followed in September 2022.

In August 2021, DOWN took part in a very special in-person live and virtual experience. "NOLA Town Throwdown" was held at the Fillmore in New Orleans, Louisiana and featured fans attending the show in person as well as watching it in real time from the comfort of their living room.

In August 2020, DOWN celebrated the 25th anniversary of "NOLA" with a special livestreamed event. Dubbed "The Quarter Century Throwdown", the high-production, multi-camera event took place using cutting-edge streaming technology to create a one-of-a-kind virtual concert experience.

A founding member of DOWN, Windstein left the band in 2013 in order to focus on CROWBAR and his family life. He was replaced by Bobby Landgraf, DOWN's former guitar tech who was previously in GAHDZILLA MOTOR COMPANY, a 1990s outfit also featuring Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS, WATCHTOWER),and HONKY.

Windstein announced his return to DOWN in 2019, with the band confirming a number of festival appearances for 2020 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of "NOLA", all of which were later canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic which swept the globe.

Prior to the August 2020 livestream, DOWN's last live appearance took place in August 2016 at the Psycho Las Vegas festival in Las Vegas.

The supergroup hasn't issued anything since the arrival of the "Down IV – Part Two" EP in May 2014.

"Down IV – Part Two" sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release in May 2014 to debut at position No. 23 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's previous EP, "Down IV Part I – The Purple EP", opened with around 12,000 units in September 2012 to land at No. 35.

"Down IV – Part Two" was recorded at Nodferatu's Lair — Anselmo's home studio — and produced by Michael Thompson. It was released via Down Records/ADA Music.

You know it’s DOWN as soon as you hear them! There’s no mistaking those gargantuan riffs, swamp blues leads, crashing...

Posted by Inn of the Mountain Gods on Thursday, July 11, 2024

In a new interview with Benni of Thomann Music, NIGHTWISH keyboardist and main songwriter Tuomas Holopainen spoke about his knack for writing long songs that do not follow the traditional format for radio-friendly singles. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We've been doing things this way for almost 28 years now, so why the hell would we change anything at the moment? But, yeah, it's really tedious to me that you have to do a song like under four minutes all the time — it has to have a chorus, it has to talk about somebody's love life or broken relationships. It's just tedious and boring to me. There is a time and place for those songs as well, but if you have a story you want to tell, and it needs some time to be told in a proper way, you just take your time and the song lasts however [long] it needs to last. As simple as that."

NIGHTWISH's latest album, "Yesterwynde", arrived on September 20 via Nuclear Blast. It marks the band's tenth studio LP, following on from the release of "Human. :II: Nature." in 2020.

Five months ago, Tuomas told Kerrang! magazine about the new album's first single, "Perfume Of The Timeless": "When we had the first meeting with Nuclear Blast, talking about the new album and singles, I told them the first single will be a song called 'Perfume Of The Timeless' and it's eight and a half minutes long and the chorus comes in at 3:30. And they were, like, 'Perfect!' I think that has to do with the fact that we have a long legacy. You know, we can do whatever we want, and I do, but it says something that we can do that, when I heard that for Spotify it's good to have the vocals start after 15 seconds, or people skip it; they don't have the attention span anymore."

Holopainen previously said about the new NIGHTWISH LP: "'Yesterwynde' took more time to make than any previous NIGHTWISH album. The new album was intensively worked on for three and a half years. My ambition and piety really skyrocketed, and I just couldn't let go of the creative process — and didn't want to. Along the way, 'Yesterwynde' became both an exhilarating obsession and a comforting haven for me. All aspects of the making — compositions, lyrics, arrangements, cover art, videos, mixing and so on — were given more attention than ever before."

The lyrics of "Yesterwynde" deal with large-sized universal themes: memories, mortality, humanism, time and much more. "The new album is the conclusion of the trilogy — textually, it follows in the footsteps of its predecessors 'Endless Forms Most Beautiful' and 'Human. :II: Nature.'," Holopainen said. "At the same time, 'Yesterwynde' is the band's most lyrically driven album: our music has never been so 'married' to the lyrics. So here's a tip: if something in the composition puzzles you, the words might clear it up."

"For me, one of the key lines is 'we are because of a million loves' — taken from the song 'Perfume Of The Timeless'," he continued. "Each of us is part of an unbroken chain that stretches back billions of years. If even one of your ancestors had died too young — mauled by a cave bear, for example — during this incredibly long period of time, you would never have been born. In other words: our existence is such an unfathomable privilege."

What does the term "yesterwynde" mean? Tuomas said: "It describes a feeling that cannot be found in any human language. That's why we had to invent a whole new word. The album is supposed to open that feeling to the listener."

Photo credit: Tim Tronckoe (courtesy of Nuclear Blast)

In a new interview with Chasta and Baby Huey of San Francisco Bay Area's 107.7 The Bone radio station, SYSTEM OF A DOWN frontman Serj Tankian, whose 2021 documentary "Truth To Power" charted the impact of his political activity and growth as a musician, both with and without SYSTEM OF A DOWN, was once again asked how he feels about possibly losing some of his fans over his activism. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think early on you have to decide what role you wanna play within this industry. If you want to maximize your fanbase, be a good musician, write music, and not talk about things that might turn people away, then you're going to probably be an incredible entertainer, and I'm a fan of a large number of entertainers who play music. But if you're going to be an actual artist, whether it's a painter, a musician, an architect, any type of thing, you have to have honesty, and that honesty has to come through your soul and through your work. And you will end up turning people away, you will end up pissing some of your fans off, and so be it. It's something that you have to accept as part of the journey for you to remain intimate with the truth."

Asked where that passion comes from, Serj said: "Well, I guess I was an activist before becoming a musician. So it kind of carried through. And so the truth was always something important for me, in my personal life as well as what's transcendent into my artistic life. And so that's where it really comes from. The varied degrees of job experience or career experience just add to my kind of understanding of the intricacies of the music industry and some of the weird things about it. I don't take a lot of this stuff seriously, as far as the celebrity aspect and all of that stuff. It's nice to get reservations at restaurants, but that's as far as it goes. So I think that's helped me stay a bit grounded, even though I think we've all lost our heads a little, based on the success of the band and of our music and everything. But I try to remain in a world where I can look at people in the eye and see their excitement and thank them for it and be authentic about it. I mean, one of the reasons, when we opened up the [Kavat Coffee] Café [And Eye For Sound] Gallery a few months ago, I drop in any chance I get and see people and take pictures and hang out and have conversations and have coffee with them. And it's fucking amazing. I love the person-to-person [interactions]. I don't get that at shows 'cause shows are huge and there's too many people and it's impossible to connect [on a] one-on-one level with anyone, really. I mean, even backstage, there's hundreds, hundreds of people. So I enjoy that. I'm getting a kick out of that these days."

Tankian previously discussed the impact of his activism on his music career this past May in an interview with NPR. He said at the time: "I'm okay with [potentially alienating some fans] because an artist isn't supposed to please everyone. An artist is supposed to basically try to receive through the collective consciousness whatever truths that we're trying to live by, the truths of our times. If we can't do that as artists, then we're entertainers. From day one, you have to make that choice: Are you an entertainer only or are you going to be an artist? If you're an entertainer, that's cool; there's many entertainers I follow and love. But if you're going to be an artist, then the road is not going to be easy. You're going to have to be honest with yourself and everyone else at all times, and people are going to like you and people are going to hate you, and that's okay."

He continued: "I was more of the activist in the band than anyone else. There was always this push and pull between the message and the music. The other guys, rightfully so, didn't want the music to be victimized by the message at all times. I understood that because I loved the music as well, but when there was [a message] that needed to be dispersed, I felt like that was just as important, if not more important, than the music."

In a separate interview with Books On Pod, Tankian touched upon how learning about his grandparents' Armenian background in his early teens prompted him to become an activist.

"When you're in a democracy and you are afraid to speak the truth because of backlash, that's when you feel like that something's really wrong," he said. "And mind you, that, coupled with growing up as an Armenian-American in Los Angeles, paying taxes to a country that is not properly recognizing the genocide of our ancestors, a democracy not recognizing proper history because of political expediency, because of Turkey being a NATO ally, and they didn't want to recognize it, just dirty political fucking geopolitics, that makes you an activist. That made me an activist. That made me someone who fights for truth and justice, not just having to do with Armenians or Armenian issues, but many issues — in the U.S., human rights issues around the world and even animal rights, climate issues. You see the world of injustice and justice, you see that imbalance, and you wanna kind of tip the scales up because you know that that's gonna make the world a better place in every way."

He added: "I've always spoken truth to power, but only because I cared. If I didn't care, I wouldn't speak my mind."

Tankian's autobiography, "Down With The System", was released in May via Hachette Books.

Tankian is best known as the lead singer of the Grammy Award-winning rock band SYSTEM OF A DOWN, but he is also a solo artist, composer, activist, painter, poet, and filmmaker. Since launching on to the rock scene in 1993, he's performed for millions of fans and sold more than 42 million albums worldwide. He's also a proud Armenian-American and a dedicated activist; along with Tom Morello, Tankian co-founded the non-profit organization Axis Of Justice, which strived to bring together musicians, music fans, and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice. He has composed scores for many films and television series, had his paintings exhibited in galleries in the U.S. and New Zealand, and released two books of his own poetry. He has also been an executive producer on multiple documentaries, including "I Am Not Alone", which tells the story of Armenia's 2018 revolution and which won awards at the Toronto International Film Festival, DOC NYC, American Film Institute Festival, and the Palm Springs International Film Festival, among others. Tankian lives with his wife and his son, splitting their time between Los Angeles and New Zealand.

SYSTEM OF A DOWN has toured intermittently since ending its hiatus in 2011, but has only managed to record two songs in the last 19 years, "Protect The Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz". Released in November 2020, the tracks were motivated by the conflict between Artsakh and Azerbaijan, with all proceeds supporting humanitarian efforts in SYSTEM OF A DOWN's ancestral homeland of Armenia. Along with other donations from fans on their social pages, they raised over $600,000.