Society 1 has revealed the first collaboration in the band’s 20-year career in the single “It’s Life”, which sees the unlikely pairing of the industrial-fused metal band with hip hop legend DMC of Run-DMC.

“Collaborating with DMC was an absolute dream come true,” says Society 1 frontman Lord Zane. “Before I knew about The Doors or Jimi Hendrix, Run-DMC were my gods. I showed up to my very first guitar lesson with a copy of Raising Hell because my teacher asked me to bring in music with my favorite artist. I swear to you, I almost cried when I heard his iconic voice over my music for the first time. It was a religious experience.”

DMC likewise has praise for Zane’s musical artistry. “Lord Zane creates music that is insane,” DMC says. “Powerful, energetic, fun, and captivating. The beat and the guitars for the collaboration we did grabbed me in a headlock! The sound, arrangements and vibe are a force to be reckoned with. He has allowed me to continue to live my rock ‘n’ roll dream.”

Check out the track and its accompanying lyric video by Scott Kennedy at 12 Inch Media below. The song is also available here.

Zane first connected with DMC when the late Static-X frontman Wayne Static introduced the two, believing Zane, who also heads the production company Lord Zane Production, would be a good fit for directing the music video for the DMC track “Noise Revolution”, which featured guest vocals from Static. Years later, after re-focusing on his music career, Zane wrote the music for Society 1’s first intended collaboration, keeping DMC specifically in mind. Zane handled guitar duties on “It’s Life”, and DMC himself contributed the song’s lyrics.

“Life is to be lived,” DMC says. “Believe in yourself. Create your own adventure. In life there are ups and downs, good days and bad days. Lord Zane captured a feeling with this track that is empowering, invigorating and inspiring. Attack each day’s struggles and adversity like a superhero. Life isn’t easy so it’s up to us to make it fun!”

Stay tuned for possible further collaborations and live performances with Society 1 and DMC.

Society 1 is:

Lord Zane - Vocals
Jimmy Minj- Bass
Zhenya Pro- Drums
Johnny Pilz - Guitar




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Respected metal vocalist, Mark Boals, will release a two album ‘best of’ collection, All The Best!, covering his work both as a solo artist and with his band Ring Of Fire, on October 9 via Frontiers Music Srl. Pre-order/save the album here, and listen to "Circle Of Time" below.

Doug Aldrich, Tony MacAlpine, Jeff Kollman, Neil Citron, Vitalij Kuprij, Vinny Appice, Virgil Donati, Erik Norlander, Chris Brooks, and Steve Weingart are the list of musicians who have recorded with him on these efforts over the years.

Mark Boals says, "I am very happy and proud to announce the release of this collection of my solo and Ring Of Fire band albums! Included are songs from my first solo album, which was only released in Japan and is very hard to find (rare), with guitars by the great Doug Aldrich. My second solo album turned into the band Ring Of Fire later on, because the lineup was too good to only work together on one album, and I wanted it to continue, which it did, for four more studio albums. With Tony Macalpine and Virgil Donati working together, there was a chemistry of genius, and with the addition of Vitalij Kuprij, it made a magnificent blend of magic!"

Continues Boals, "On my Edge Of The World solo album, I worked with several other great musicians and a hero of my childhood and the best hard rock drummer in history, Vinnie Appice! When I listen to all those very high notes I had sang, and the incredible amount of virtuoso notes played per song, I surprise myself sometimes, hahaha! We were all pushing ourselves to newer heights of excellence in those days. A lot of good memories come back when I hear these songs... Riding motorcycles around Los Angeles with Tony Macalpine and always ending up hanging out on the beach drinking beers til the wee hours... Having Snoop Dogg in the next room of the studio we were recording in (Paramount Studios), and having him listen to our music and telling me that I needed to smoke something with him, LOL, and it DID help hahaha. Recording keyboards in a Beverly Hills mansion belonging to a famous movie star friend, with Vitalij Kuprij, and drinking rare whiskey together after the sessions and talking all night..."

Boals concludes, "I really enjoyed making these albums and I hope you will enjoy just as much listening to them too! Wishing good times, good health, and happy listening to all!"

Mark Boals is one of the signature voices of the neoclassical metal subgenre. This is no surprise to fans of the genre as Mark fronted Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force in 1986, releasing the now legendary album “Trilogy” along with five more albums and some long-form videos over the years.

Mark has also recorded three solo albums: Ignition (originally released only in Japan in 1998), Ring Of Fire (2000), and Edge Of The World (2002).

In 2002, he launched his own band, Ring Of Fire (based off the title of a previous solo album) with members Tony Macalpine, and later on George Bellas, on guitar, Virgil Donati on drums, Philip Bynoe on bass, and Vitalij Kuprij on keyboards (and on The Oracle album George Bellas). The band went on to release four milestone albums and one live CD/DVD recorded in Japan.

Most recently, Mark recorded a melodic metal album with Vision Divine and Labyrinth guitarist Olaf Thorsen under the name Shining Black.

Mark Boals is a classically trained singer and has performed classical concerts with various orchestras as a Tenor solo and has performed and recorded opera arias on some of his albums and tours.

Tracklisting:

CD1 - Mark Boals

"Jane"
"Broken Heart"
"I’m Sorry"
"My Turn"
"Find Our Way"
"Ring Of Fire"
"Death Row"
"Keeper Of The Flame"
"Alone"
"Battle Of The Titans"
"Betrayed"
"Lady Babylon"
"Between Two Mirrors"
"Through The Endless Night"
"Up To You"
"Garden Of Pain"

CD2 - Ring Of Fire

"Circle Of Time"
"The Oracle"
"Take Me Home"
"My Deja Vu"
"Blue Sky"
"Ghost Of America"
"Invisible Man"
"Lapse Of Reality"
"You Were There"
"Perfect World"
"Darkfall"
"Mother Russia"
"Land Of Frozen Tears"
"Our World"

"Circle Of Time":

"Ring Of Fire":




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Enslaved are set to release their 15th studio album, Utgard, on October 2 via Nuclear Blast. In a trailer released today, guitarist Ivar Bjørnson discusses the themes explored on the upcoming album.

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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On September 18, Behemoth will release CD and vinyl reissues of their debut EP, And The Forests Dream Eternally, which can be pre-ordered here.

Available formats:

- digibook 2CD (hardcover digibook, 48-page booklet)
- 180g black vinyl (EU exclusive)
- white vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 666 copies)
- clear sepia marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 300 copies)
- forest green marbled vinyl (EMP exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- silver / black splatter vinyl (Kings Road exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- clear / black dust vinyl (Kings Road exclusive - limited to 100 copies)
- cool grey marbled vinyl (US exclusive)

Originally released in 1995, And The Forests Dream Eternally is available as a double LP or 2CD Mediabook, both containing bonus vintage audio material and exclusive archival content. See below for details:

Gatefold 2LP

- Audio: Disc 1: And the Forests Dream Eternally; Disc 2: bonus vintage material
- 24 page booklet includes: lyrics, old photos, old flyers, old interviews from magazines, liner notes from bands around the world, interviews with two Behemoth founding members (Nergal and Baal), interview with owner of Entropy Records (original label in 1995), J-cards of rare rehearsal from 1993 (given only to close friends at the time - features some songs from And the Forests Dream Eternally), scans of old signatures and descriptions from old photos

2CD Mediabook

- Audio: Disc 1: And the Forests Dream Eternally; Disc 2: bonus vintage material
- 40 page booklet includes: lyrics, old photos, old flyers, old interviews from magazines, liner notes from bands around the world, interviews with two Behemoth founding members (Nergal and Baal), interview with owner of Entropy Records (original label in 1995), J-cards of rare rehearsal from 1993 (given only to close friends at the time - features some songs from And the Forests Dream Eternally), scans of old signatures and descriptions from old photos




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Dianthus is currently in the midst of recording their brand new album, Realms, with producer Steve Evetts (The Dillinger Escape Plan, Symphony X, Butcher Babies, etc.), and they will be releasing a series of singles monthly leading up to the full release tentatively due in early 2021. The first single, “Realms”, was released in July and quickly gained the attention of press and fans alike.

Now Jackie and Jessica are back with their second single, “Creeping In”, and had this to say about it, “'Creeping In' is a song that deals with the pressures of self-doubt and negative thoughts. At times, we are all faced with lies about ourselves, whether it is from our own thought process or the words of others. Those inner feelings can create a war within our minds and we must find a way out. Harvest the true, good beliefs you have and never feed the harmful voices. Feelings of angst, determination, and optimism set the tone for this song.”

You can view the brand new lyric video below. Download/stream “Creeping In” here.

Due to the overwhelming response to Dianthus, Deko Entertainment have re-released their debut self-released album, Worth Living For. Completely repackaged, and re-mastered by Alan Douches, Worth Living For was produced by Black Veil Brides guitarist “Jinxx” at Matt Sorum’s (Guns N’ Roses, The Cult) Drac Studios in Los Angeles, CA in 2017.

You can order it now and also get the exclusive new Dianthus T-shirt from Deko Entertainment, which can be ordered here.

This bundle includes:

- One (1) Dianthus - Worth Living For CD
- One (1) Dianthus Logo Shirt

Dianthus manager, Jeff Keller, states “'Creeping In' is the perfect second single as it continues to capture the essence of Dianthus. The reissue of the band’s self released debut album made a lot of sense to do following the great response we have had with Realms. Worth Living For is a fantastic album and shows the band’s evolution from where they started to where they are now with Realms. I am very pleased that Deko asked us to reissue it with new packaging and a remastered sound.”

Deko Entertainment president, Bruce Pucciarello, continues, “Deko is really excited to bring new Dianthus’ music to a quickly expanding fanbase.  Jackie and Jessica create songs that are undeniably catchy. Creeping In is another great example... (spoiler alert) the video is killer too.”

Tracklisting:

Intro
"Within Hazel Eyes"
"Please Say (You're Pretending)"
"Before The Rain"
"Black Snow"
"The Unveiling"
"Interlude"
"When The World Says 'Give Up'"
"Chrysalis"
"Every Ounce"
"While We Live"
"Sincerity"




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Bay Area thrash legends, Heathen, will release their fourth studio album, Empire Of The Blind, on September 18 via Nuclear Blast Records. Today, the band releases their fifth album trailer and discuss the artwork for Empire Of The Blind. Watch below:

Empire Of The Blind was for the most part engineered, produced, mixed, and mastered by Christopher “Zeuss” Harris at Planet Z Studios. Additional details - rhythm guitars, etc. - were put to digital “tape” by Kragen Lum at SubLevel Studio in Little Rock, AR. The album features guest appearances by Gary Holt (Exodus, Slayer), Rick Hunolt (ex-Exodus) and Doug Piercy (ex-Heathen).

The cover art for Empire Of The Blind was once again handled by renowned artist Travis Smith (Overkill, Exhorder).

Empire Of The Blind will be available in the following formats:

- CD Jewel Case
- Vinyl
  Red with Black Splatter (US exclusive)
  Red with Black Swirl (US exclusive)
  Black
  Red
  Yellow with Red Splatter
- Red Cassette (US exclusive)
- T-Shirt
- T-Shirt + CD Bundle (US exclusive)
- T-Shirt + Red with Black Splatter Vinyl Bundle (US exclusive)
- CD + Patch Bundle

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

Empire Of The Blind tracklisting:

"This Rotting Sphere"
"The Blight"
"Empire Of The Blind"
"Dead And Gone"
"Sun In My Hand"
"Blood To Be Let"
"In Black"
"Shrine Of Apathy"
"Devour"
"A Fine Red Mist"
"The Gods Divide"
"Monument To Ruin"

"Empire Of The Blind" lyric video:

"The Blight" lyric video:

Heathen is:

David White - Vocals
Lee Altus - Guitar
Kragen Lum - Guitar
Jason Mirza - Bass
Jim DeMaria - Drums




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The Shame, The Shy Limbs, King Crimson, Emerson Lake & Palmer, solo artist, producer, composer, lyricist, bass player extraordinaire, Greg Lake had it all. On October 23, BMG will pay fitting tribute to Greg Lake’s career journey with The Anthology, an essential collection of his outstanding songs and iconic performances.

The Anthology has many notable highlights: for starters there’s the hugely collectable Psych 45 "Love" that Lake recorded in 1969 whilst with the Shy Limbs, alongside carefully curated treasures from ELP’s hit albums, notably "Take A Pebble", "C’est La Vie" and "Lucky Man". No anthology would be complete without that much-loved solo hit "I Believe In Father Christmas", the inclusion of King Crimson’s "21st Schizoid Man", "Peace" and "‘In The Court Of The Crimson King", plus Greg’s re-recording of the old ELP favorite "Closer To Believing", which he made towards the end of his life and can be heard on CD2.

The Anthology is presented as a deluxe 2CD hardback set and on double gatefold vinyl. Inside is an extended essay from author Chris Welch alongside a host of unseen photographs alongside contributions from ELP manager Stewart Young and Greg Lake’s wife of 40 years, Regina Lake, and many heartfelt tributes from other friends and colleagues.

Gregory Stuart Lake was born on November 10th, 1947 in Poole, Dorset. Greg was given his first guitar by his mother at the age of 12 and he took individual lessons with guitar teacher Don Strike, who also taught Al Stewart, Andy Summers and Robert Fripp. Once Greg learned some basic chords he wrote his first song, "Lucky Man", which would become one of ELP’s best loved tracks.

At 17, Lake joined the group Unit Four as lead singer and guitarist. Unit Four split up in 1965 and in 1966, Greg formed the Time Checks. His next group was The Shame, who in 1967 recorded a Janis Ian song, "Don’t Go ‘Way Little Girl". Greg’s confident voice is unmistakable even then. After The Shame came The Shy Limbs who recorded two cult psychedelic singles in 1969, including "Reputation" with Greg singing lead vocals on the B-side, "Love". He was later invited to join The Gods, with Ken Hensley and Lee Kerslake, who went on to form Uriah Heep. Six months into a Gods’ residency at the Marquee Club in London, Greg returned home to Bournemouth where Robert Fripp had asked him to become lead singer and bass player with the band that was to become King Crimson.

On December 10th, 1969, at San Francisco’s Fillmore West during a US tour, King Crimson were billed alongside fellow British group The Nice, led by showman organist Keith Emerson. When King Crimson arrived in San Francisco, members Ian McDonald and Michael Giles announced they were leaving the band. Greg and Keith met backstage and discussed a partnership that would lead to the creation of a phenomenal, ground-breaking new rock group that went on to conquer the world.

On their return to London, Greg left King Crimson and Keith quit The Nice. They recruited virtuoso drummer Carl Palmer, formerly with the Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Atomic Rooster, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer was born. Signed to Atlantic Records in America and Island in the UK, ELP premiered at the 1970 Isle Of Wight Festival where a huge audience were left astonished by the dynamic arrangements from their self-titled debut album.

ELP soon achieved global success, unleashing a succession of Gold and six Platinum albums including Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Tarkus, Pictures At An Exhibition, Trilogy, Brain Salad Surgery, Welcome Back My Friends...To The Show That Never Ends and Works Volume 1. At the helm was Stewart Young, who became the band’s manager at the personal request of Greg Lake. Stewart and Greg remained close friends until the latter’s tragic death in 2016.

ELP took a break after Brain Salad Surgery and, in 1975, Greg’s "I Believe In Father Christmas" became a number two solo hit in the UK singles chart. It has since become a perennial Christmas classic, often copied but never bettered. Stewart: “Greg had come up with this idea for a Christmas song. He told me: ‘I really love Christmas and it’s important to me’. He wanted to write one that wasn’t too sugary. When he got out his guitar and played me the song, I said: ‘Wow - it’s fantastic.’ Keith Emerson also loved it and suggested an idea that would work well with the song”. Keith inserted part of Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kijé orchestral suite, with the familiar ‘Troika’ theme played on keyboards.

Following Greg’s solo success, in 1977 ELP released the album Works Volume 1, which had one side featuring Keith’s Concerto, one by Greg, another by Carl Palmer and a fourth by ELP with an orchestra. The tracks included Aaron Copland’s "Fanfare For The Common Man" and Greg’s haunting ballad "C’est La Vie". In 1978, after enormous worldwide success, the release of studio album Love Beach and a farewell tour, ELP broke up. While Love Beach is regarded by many as untypical of ELP’s style, it included some songs sung with tenderness and strength, notably Greg’s "For You".

In 1981 Greg released an acclaimed, eponymously titled solo album. Lead guitarist Gary Moore joined the band and they went on tour. A concert they recorded at Hammersmith Odeon in London, on 5th November 1981 featured an incredible version of King Crimson’s "21st Century Schizoid Man", which is included on this Anthology. In 1983, Greg released his second solo album, Manoeuvres, that yielded "Haunted", a ballad he sang with considerable emotion, and the achingly beautiful "Slave To Love".

Eager to revive the spirit of ELP, Keith and Greg teamed up with drummer Cozy Powell, as Carl Palmer was involved with Asia and unavailable. They released Emerson, Lake & Powell in 1985, a record that included the magnificent "Touch And Go".

The original ELP, with Carl Palmer, then reunited for the Black Moon album in 1992. A subsequent tour captured on an exciting 1993 live album. Paper Blood revealed an ELP determined to rock out and reach a new generation of fans. The band embarked on a successful tour of America but lapsed into inactivity later in the decade. Determined to stay musically active, in 2001 Greg toured with Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band and in 2005, the newly formed Greg Lake Band toured the UK with Brett Morgan (drums), Trevor Barry (bass), Florian Opahle (guitar) and Dave Arch (keys) playing new interpretations of ELP classics.

In 2009, Greg and Keith decided to write together and, in the breaks, played some old ELP numbers for fun. They were intrigued by how they sounded with just the two of them, taking the songs back to their roots. A US tour followed, yielding a live album that included "Bitches Crystal", "The Barbarian" and "Take A Pebble". In 2010 the final appearance by the original ELP came at the High Voltage rock festival held in London’s Victoria Park.

In 2012 Lake embarked on his Once In A Lifetime Tour where one of favorite gigs was recorded live at the Teatro Municipale, in Piacenza, Italy. In 2014, Lake was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Stewart: “I went to see Greg just four days before he passed away. He was obviously in terrible shape, but I took a little portable player with me and his new album Live In Piacenza that he’d recorded in Italy. I’d also got the final mix of his new version of ‘Closer To Believing’, which I thought was fabulous.” Stewart asked Greg if he’d like to hear the track, even though they were in a hospice and the music was quite loud. Should he turn it down? Greg replied: “Well it’s only four o’clock in the afternoon - turn it up!”

“And he loved it. This was four days before he died.”

Pre-order here.

Tracklisting:
 
The Anthology CD One (& Digital):
 
King Crimson - "Peace - A Beginning" - From the album In the Wake of Poseidon by King Crimson, 1970)
The Shame - "Don't Go 'Way Little Girl" (Single Mix) - From The Shame single ‘Don't Go 'Way Little Girl’, 1967
The Shy Limbs - "Love" (Single Mix) - From The Shy Limbs single ‘Reputation’, 1969
King Crimson - "The Court of the Crimson King" (Live at the Fillmore West, San Francisco - From the album Epitaph by King Crimson, 1997
Emersion, Lake & Palmer - "Take A Pebble" - From the Emerson, Lake & Palmer album Emerson Lake & Palmer, 1970
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "Lucky Man" - From the Emerson, Lake & Palmer album Emerson Lake & Palmer, 1970
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "The Only Way (Hymn)" - From the Emerson, Lake & Palmer album Tarkus, 1971
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "Oh My Father" (2012 Stereo Mix) - Extra track from the 2016 deluxe edition of the the Emerson, Lake & Palmer album Tarkus, originally released in 1971
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "The Great Gates Of Kiev" (Live at Newcastle City Hall, 26th March 1971) - From the Emerson, Lake & Palmer album Pictures At An Exhibition, 1971
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "From The Beginning" - From the Emersion, Lake & Palmer album Trilogy, 1972
 Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "Trilogy (First Section)" - From the Emerson, Lake & Palmer album Trilogy, 1972
 Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "The Endless Enigma (Part Two)" - From the Emerson, Lake & Palmer album Trilogy, 1972
 Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "Still ... You Turn Me On" - From the Emerson, Lake & Palmer album Brain Salad Surgery, 1973
 Emerson, Lake & Palmer - '"Epitaph" from Tarkus: vi. Battlefield (Live, 1973/74) - From the Emerson, Lake & Palmer album Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends ~ Ladies and Gentlemen, 1974
 Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "I Believe In Father Christmas" (Original Single Version) - From the Greg Lake single ‘I Believe In Father Christmas’, 1975
 Greg Lake - "Closer To Believing" (Final Version, 2016) - Previously unreleased 2016 version. Originally from the Emerson, Lake & Palmer album Works Volume 1, 1977

The Anthology Disc Two (& Digital)

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "C'est La Vie" - From the Emerson, Lake & Palmer album Works Volume 1, 1977
 Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "Lend Your Love To Me Tonight" - From the Emerson, Lake & Palmer album Works Volume 1, 1977
 Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "Watching Over You" - From the Emerson, Lake & Palmer album Works Volume 2, 1977
 Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "For You" - From the Emerson, Lake & Palmer album Love Beach, 1978
 Greg Lake - "Black And Blue" - From the Greg Lake album Greg Lake, 1981
 Greg Lake - "It Hurts" - From the Greg Lake album Greg Lake, 1981
 Greg Lake - "Haunted" - From the Greg Lake album Manoeuvres, 1983
 Greg Lake - "Slave To Love" - From the Greg Lake album Manoeuvres, 1983
 Emerson, Lake & Powell - "Touch And Go" - From the Emerson, Lake & Powell album Emerson, Lake & Powell, 1986
 Greg Lake & Geoff Downes - "Affairs Of The Heart" - From the Greg Lake & Geoff Downes album Ride The Tiger, 2015
 Emersion, Lake & Palmer - "Paper Blood" - From the Emerson, Lake & Palmer album Black Moon, 1992
 Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "Daddy" - From the Emerson, Lake & Palmer album In The Hot Seat, 1994
 Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "The Sage" (1994 Studio Version) - Extra track from the 2016 deluxe edition of the Emerson, Lake & Palmer album Pictures At An Exhibition, originally released in 1971
 Greg Lake - "21st Century Schizoid Man" (Live at Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK, 5th November 1981) - From the Greg Lake album London ’81, by Greg Lake, originally released in 1995
 Greg Lake - "I Talk To The Wind" (Live from the 'Songs Of A Lifetime Tour’, USA, 2012) - From the Greg Lake album Songs Of A Lifetime, 2013. Venue unknown
 Greg Lake - "Karn Evil 9 1st Impression - Part 2" (Live at Teatro Municipale, Piacenza, Italy, 28th November 2012) - From the Greg Lake album Live in Piacenza, 2017
 King Crimson - "Peace - An End" - From the album In the Wake of Poseidon by King Crimson, 1970




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Italian symphonic/melodic metallers, Eternal Idol, return with a revamped, re-energized lineup and an exciting new album, Renaissance, on November 6.

Featuring Fabio Lione (Rhapsody, Angra) and Claudia Layline on co-lead vocals, guitarist Nick Savio (Hollow Haze), bassist Andrea Burratto (Secret Sphere, Hell In The Club), and drummer Enrico Fabris, Eternal Idol’s sophomore album is an epic maelstrom of symphonic/melodic metal that will delight fans of the genre who treasure intense songwriting and impeccable vocal performances.

For your first taste of new music from the band, watch the video for "Into The Darkness" below. Pre-order/save the album here.

Fabio Lione took care of most of the lyrics and vocal melodies together with new co-vocalist Claudia Layline, while Nick Savio worked hard on songwriting and arrangements. The album was produced by Nick Savio and Fabio Lione and mixed by Simone Mularoni (DGM, Sunstorm). Renaissance represents a promise and a statement from Eternal Idol: to be one of the absolute best symphonic/melodic metal releases of the year!

"This is the album I have dreamed of making my entire career. We had a vision and made it with no compromise. Claudia and Enrico are the perfect new additions to complete our symphonic/hard/melodic sound that we wanted to achieve. The first video, 'Into The Darkness', is the most epic video of the band thus far….simply fantastic and we love how it turned out. When the time comes, we are ready to hit the stage and share these new songs with all of you," says Nick Savio.

Fabio Lione adds, "This is a new step for the band. Great songs, production, and overall sound make this record really special. Each song is unique and I'm sure people will love it!!!"

"I'm glad to be part of this amazing project and this great band. With my bandmates, it was immediate cohesion, both artistic and musical. We quickly realized that we're going in the same direction and the creative process that led to the new album was very natural and the result is a real bomb! The video for 'Into The Darkness' is majestic, we really put our heart into it and I can't wait to share it with everyone," says Claudia Layline.
 
Eternal Idol is a symphonic/melodic metal band formed by Rhapsody and Angra vocalist Fabio Lione and Italian guitarist Nick Savio of Hollow Haze. Their plan was to create a new and original sound which could catch symphonic metal fans by surprise. In fact, Eternal Idol offers an intriguing mix of classic metal, symphonic rock, and a few progressive metal twists.

The band’s debut, The Unrevealed Secret, was released in December 2016 and received an overall excellent response. The band toured Europe and Italy in support of the release in early 2017. Original co-lead singer Giorgia Colleluori and drummer Camillo Colleluori left the band afterward to pursue different musical projects, but eager to keep Eternal Idol going, Nick and Fabio later regrouped. They brought in new members up-and-coming vocalist Claudia Layline and drummer Enrico Fabris to join themselves and original bassist Andrea Buratto (Secret Sphere, Hell In The Club) to complete the lineup. Re-energized and with a brand new album under their belt, the band is now ready to once again unleash its baroque metal sound on the world!

Tracklisting:

"Into The Darkness"
"Black Star"
"Dark Eclipse"
"Without Fear"
"Away From Heaven"
"Not The Same"
"The Edge"
"Flying Over You"
"Lord Without Soul"
"Renaissance"

"Into The Darkness" video:

Lineup:

Fabio Lione: Lead Vocals
Claudia Layline: Lead Vocals
Nick Savio: Guitars - Keyboards - Orchestral arrangements
Andrea Buratto: Bass
Enrico Fabris: Drums




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Finnish melodic metal band Dead End Finland have released a new single entitled "Wounded & Bleeding", released via Inverse Records. It will be included on a new EP due to be released in late 2021 

Guitarist / bassist Santtu Rosén comments: "The Inter Vivos album, released in the beginning of the year, was supposed to be our only release in 2020. However, after Corona mixed schedules, we decided to go to the studio and take the most of it. The song was completed during the summer and we decided to release a new single to bring joy to our listeners. We found something new and fresh again and have to say we are very happy with the result."

Check out Dead End Finland's official Facebook page here.

Line-up:

Mikko Virtanen - vocals
Santtu Rosén - guitars & bass
Miska Rajasuo - drums
Jarno Hänninen - keys




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Silvertung have released a music video for "You're Fine". It is the third music video to be released from their (But, At What Cost??!) album released through Thermal Entertainment.

The band have also released a remastered version of the song today available on all DSPs.

Pertaining to the song and video the band stated: "We wrote this song for you because we see the effects that mental illness has in life. But more importantly the strengths you have, you may not even know."

Hailing from Baltimore, MD, Silvertung consists of Speed Vincent (vocals/guitar), Codey Red (guitar), Sam Sour (bass) and Boma Jax (drums). The band is currently prepping their next album release during the pandemic downtime.




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Arizona's Realize channels Godflesh, Nailbomb, and Meathook Seed with their sophomore full-length, Machine Violence, assembling an abrasive and hyper-aggressive take on industrial metal. The band, featuring Kyle Kennedy (Sex Prisoner), Matt Underwood (Sex Prisoner), and Matt Mutterperl (North, Languish), amalgamates crushing metal riffs with driving, yet often unorthodox industrial rhythms and dissonant noise. New video for "Melted Base" is streaming below.

Machine Violence will be released via Relapse Records September 25 on CD, LP, and digital formats. Physical pre-orders are available here and digital downloads/streaming services here.

The pace of Machine Violence is unrelenting throughout. Realize tackles stark themes such as isolation, altered reality, simulations, and anxiety, taking inspiration from science fiction writers such as Phillip K. Dick and Frederik Pohl. Redefining "heavy," tracks such as "Disappear" and "Slag Pile" see the band unleashing menacing riffs against in-your-face, confrontational vocals, while "Alone Against Flames" and "Melted Base" thrash the listener straight away with faster tempos and a hardcore swagger.

Adhering to an old-school approach to writing and recording, Realize and Machine Violence reflect on the advancing convergence of organic life and machines. No amps or drums were used in the recording process; vocals, guitars, and bass all used computerized amps and effect modulations, and drums were programmed on an Alesis machine. With Machine Violence, Realize leaps forward and showcases industrial metal at its most ferocious and uncompromising.

Machine Violence tracklisting:

"Alone Against Flames"
"Melted Base"
"Ghost In The Void"
"Long Stare"
"Hypermech"
"Disappear"
"Simulated World Down"
"Slag Pile"
"Gateway Trial"
"Heavy Legs In The Mansion"

"Melted Base" video:

"Slag Pile" video:

"Disappear" video:

(Photo - Kiley Kennedy)




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Dual-violin folk metal band Isenmor has unveiled a lyric video for “Furor Teutonicus,” the furious new single from the band’s October 9 debut full-length, Shieldbrother. Preorders are available on Bandcamp.

“‘Furor Teutonicus’ is one of the most intense tracks on ‘Shieldbrother,’” says guitarist/vocalist Tim Regan. “It has become a mainstay of our live set because of the energy and ferocity it delivers. The song is topped off by Nick’s lightning-fast violin run at the end, which sounds amazing and is hypnotizing to watch.”

Isenmor sings tales of harrowing battlescapes and historic foes in their gewyrdelic folk metal style: a blend of metal, orchestral, and folk music, combining intricate violin leads and rich vocal harmonies with a strong guitar-driven folk metal base inspired by the stalwarts of the genre including Týr, Ensiferum, and Eluveitie. “Gewyrdelic” is an Old English word that roughly translates to “historical.” The meaning of the term, as well as its etymology, describe Isenmor’s lyrical and thematic focus on the history and legends of the Anglo-Saxon and Germanic peoples. 

In line with this historical approach, “Furor Teutonicus” explores Roman characterization of Germanic warriors from the Late Republic and Empire. The track’s title is attributed to a phrase first used by the Roman historian Lucan to describe these warriors in his book Pharsalia. 

“While it is fun to explore this characterization as we did in ‘Furor Teutonicus,’ it is important to remember that it is just that, a characterization,” says violinist/vocalist Nicholas Schneider. “The image painted by late Roman authors is not a wholly accurate one, often used for moralizing purposes. Those who have used this image to promote theories of racial characteristics or superiority based on descent from Germanic tribes do so in an attempt to justify their already held views, which are not grounded in reality.”

Shieldbrother delivers tales of glory with the triumphant title track, sorrowful tales of woe such as the mournful “Battle Scarred” and the dirge-like “Mount Badon,” a 17-minute epic entitled “Sigurd’s Song,” the obligatory folk metal drinking song (with an Isenmor twist), “Drink To Glory,” and more tales steeped in the myth and history of the dark ages. The album was self-recorded and mixed, then mastered by the legendary Dan Swanö of Unisound.

Tracklisting:

“Battle Scarred”
“Shieldbrother”
“Mount Badon”
“Furor Teutonics”
“Drink To Glory”
“Kings Of The Cold Mountains”
“Wanderlust”
“Sigurd’s Song”

“Battle Scarred” lyric video:




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Israeli progressive/symphonic metal band Scardust – whose new concept record, Strangers, will be released October 30 – have unveiled a music video for the album’s first single, “Tantibus II.”

“Tantibus II” continues the story of the band’s 2015 song “Tantibus” (a word with Latin roots meaning “nightmare”), in which the protagonist is stuck within a sleep paralysis and looking for a way out. In “Tantibus II,” the protagonist becomes addicted to this feeling and disconnects from reality into her own mind, where she feels safe. The EXIT sign in the video represents a way out of the nightmare, as seen in the original video for “Tantibus” when the protagonist chases it without ever reaching it. The opening shot of “Tantibus II” is an EXIT sign broken into pieces at the feet of the protagonist, who is holding a hammer. This is when she decided to destroy her way out and sink into her nightmare.

“Tantibus II” will not be the end of this tale. Soon, we will discover that there is someone who cares about our protagonist, and their side of this story will be told in the next chapter of this ongoing saga, to be unveiled one week from today.

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.”

Tracklisting:

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

"Tantibus II":

Teaser:

Band lineup:

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




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Helion Prime have released their third single and the first music video from the upcoming album, Question Everything, due out October 5.

"The Gadfly" is based on the Greek philosopher Socrates. He was found guilty of “impiety” and “corrupting the young”, sentenced to death, and then required to carry out his own execution by consuming a deadly potion of the poisonous plant hemlock.

The video reflects Socrates' ultimate decision to honor his conviction and carry out his death by hemlock while his followers and friends stood by having to accept his fate.

It's been about two years since the band's sophomore release Terror Of The Cybernetic Space Monster, and Sacramento sci-fi power metallers Helion Prime return with their third effort and the much shorter title, Question Everything, set for release on Monday, October 5 via their label Saibot Reigns.

This is Helion Prime's first album with new vocalist Mary Zimmer, who has also accompanied the band on two separate tours of the United States. It also sees the band's original singer, Heather Michele, returning in a writing capacity and contributing all lyrics and melodies. Heather Michele also along with other former Helion Prime vocalist Sozos Michael and with John Yelland (Judicator/Dire Peril) add their guest vocals on the full length.

The third record is a concept album, with each song revolving around different figures throughout human history who had the courage to question the status quo of their respective worlds/societies, in some cases even dealing with harsh persecution as a result. Those Helion Prime chose to write about-faced prejudice, mockery, ex-communication, and persecution - yet through it all, they held true to their beliefs and ideas. Time would be their greatest ally as their ideas and identities were eventually validated, oftentimes not until after their passing. They serve as an inspiration for all minds to continue thinking outside the box and staying true to themselves.

Jason speaks on the album itself: "This album has truly been amazing to work on. The idea behind it is something I've been holding on to since around the time I started the band. Aside from writing some of what I consider to be Prime's best work it was a great experience getting to work with Heather again on an album as she once again contributed her talents for the lyrics."

Question Everything was mixed by Chris Collier and mastered by Brett Caldas-Lima with additional mixing/drum edits/reamping by Alex Nasla of Gear Gods Studio. Guitar/Bass edits by Michael Goodrich and cover art by Marc Whisnant.

Pre-order here.

Tracklisting:

"The Final Theory"
"Madame Mercury"
"Prof"
"The Gadfly"
"Photo 51"
"E Pur Si Muove"
"Words of The Abbot" ft. guest vocals John Yelland (Judicator, Dire Peril)
"The Forbidden Zone"
"Question Everything" ft. Heather Michele (ex-Graveshadow, ex-Helion Prime) and Sozos Michael (ex-Helion Prime, Planeswalker)
"Reawakening"
"Kong at the Gates" (Misfits Cover)

"The Gadfly" video:

"Madame Mercury" lyric video:

"The Forbidden Zone" lyric video:

Helion Prime lineup:

Jason Ashcraft - Guitar
Chad Bill Anderson - Guitar
Mary Zimmer - Vocals
Alex Bosson - Drums
Jeremy Steinhouse - Bass

(Photo - Casey Frederick)




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Respected metal vocalist, Mark Boals, will release a two album ‘best of’ collection, All The Best!, covering his work both as a solo artist and with his band Ring Of Fire, on October 9 via Frontiers Music Srl. Pre-order/save the album here

Doug Aldrich, Tony MacAlpine, Jeff Kollman, Neil Citron, Vitalij Kuprij, Vinny Appice, Virgil Donati, Erik Norlander, Chris Brooks, and Steve Weingart are the list of musicians who have recorded with him on these efforts over the years. You can hear the track "Ring Of Fire" from the collection below.

Mark Boals says, "I am very happy and proud to announce the release of this collection of my solo and Ring Of Fire band albums! Included are songs from my first solo album, which was only released in Japan and is very hard to find (rare), with guitars by the great Doug Aldrich. My second solo album turned into the band Ring Of Fire later on, because the lineup was too good to only work together on one album, and I wanted it to continue, which it did, for four more studio albums. With Tony Macalpine and Virgil Donati working together, there was a chemistry of genius, and with the addition of Vitalij Kuprij, it made a magnificent blend of magic!"

Continues Boals, "On my Edge Of The World solo album, I worked with several other great musicians and a hero of my childhood and the best hard rock drummer in history, Vinnie Appice! When I listen to all those very high notes I had sang, and the incredible amount of virtuoso notes played per song, I surprise myself sometimes, hahaha! We were all pushing ourselves to newer heights of excellence in those days. A lot of good memories come back when I hear these songs... Riding motorcycles around Los Angeles with Tony Macalpine and always ending up hanging out on the beach drinking beers til the wee hours... Having Snoop Dogg in the next room of the studio we were recording in (Paramount Studios), and having him listen to our music and telling me that I needed to smoke something with him, LOL, and it DID help hahaha. Recording keyboards in a Beverly Hills mansion belonging to a famous movie star friend, with Vitalij Kuprij, and drinking rare whiskey together after the sessions and talking all night..."

Boals concludes, "I really enjoyed making these albums and I hope you will enjoy just as much listening to them too! Wishing good times, good health, and happy listening to all!"

Mark Boals is one of the signature voices of the neoclassical metal subgenre. This is no surprise to fans of the genre as Mark fronted Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force in 1986, releasing the now legendary album “Trilogy” along with five more albums and some long-form videos over the years.

Mark has also recorded three solo albums: Ignition (originally released only in Japan in 1998), Ring Of Fire (2000), and Edge Of The World (2002).

In 2002, he launched his own band, Ring Of Fire (based off the title of a previous solo album) with members Tony Macalpine, and later on George Bellas, on guitar, Virgil Donati on drums, Philip Bynoe on bass, and Vitalij Kuprij on keyboards (and on The Oracle album George Bellas). The band went on to release four milestone albums and one live CD/DVD recorded in Japan.

Most recently, Mark recorded a melodic metal album with Vision Divine and Labyrinth guitarist Olaf Thorsen under the name Shining Black.

Mark Boals is a classically trained singer and has performed classical concerts with various orchestras as a Tenor solo and has performed and recorded opera arias on some of his albums and tours.

Tracklisting:

CD1 - Mark Boals

"Jane"
"Broken Heart"
"I’m Sorry"
"My Turn"
"Find Our Way"
"Ring Of Fire"
"Death Row"
"Keeper Of The Flame"
"Alone"
"Battle Of The Titans"
"Betrayed"
"Lady Babylon"
"Between Two Mirrors"
"Through The Endless Night"
"Up To You"
"Garden Of Pain"

CD2 - Ring Of Fire

"Circle Of Time"
"The Oracle"
"Take Me Home"
"My Deja Vu"
"Blue Sky"
"Ghost Of America"
"Invisible Man"
"Lapse Of Reality"
"You Were There"
"Perfect World"
"Darkfall"
"Mother Russia"
"Land Of Frozen Tears"
"Our World"

"Ring Of Fire":




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In a recent interview with New York's Q104.3 radio station, STEEL PANTHER drummer Stix Zadinia recalled the time his paths crossed with the legendary artist Prince. He said (see video below): "I was in a band a long, long time ago. We were doing disco covers many years ago up in San Francisco. And Prince played at the 'Shark Tank,' which is the San Jose hockey arena. After his shows, he would find a club in a nearby city and he would go in. And his deal was, 'Hey, I'm Prince. I'm gonna come play your club after hours. I'm gonna charge at the door and keep the door. You keep the bar.' And the club goes, 'Okay. Cool.'

"So word gets out," he continued. "We were the house band — just kind of a no-name house band at the time. And Prince borrows our gear. Because he doesn't wanna bring gear, and I understand it. So he goes on an hour late. We get kicked out of our own dressing room. Prince goes in there. You're not allowed to look at Prince. But he plays the guitar, and then at the end, he holds the guitar up over his head and he drops it behind him onto the ground. And my guitar player is, like, 'What the fuck?' Then he switches and he plays bass. And after the song, he takes the bass and he sets it diagonally on the floor and the drum riser, so it's just at an angle. And he takes his little tiny Prince foot and he [breaks] the neck."

Stix added: "At the end of the show, we came up to his manager and his entourage, and we go, 'Dude, what is the deal?' And the manager flips our guitar player. He goes, 'Here's a hundred bucks.' And he gives our bass player another hundred bucks. He goes, 'Here you go. Go get it fixed, guys.' And they left. And we were just standing there… It was some serious assholery going on."

Prince was 57 when he died of an accidental fentanyl overdose on April 21, 2016.

STEEL PANTHER played its second virtual concert event, "Rockdown In The Lockdown", on August 16 from the ultra-sanitized, production-filled, multi-camera Drum Channel Studio at Drum Workshop, located in Oxnard, California. The performance was streamed live globally and is now available on demand through August 31.

STEEL PANTHER's latest album, "Heavy Metal Rules", was released last September. The disc, which is described in a press release as a "heavy metal version of a self-help manual and ultimate party album combined," was once again produced by Jay Ruston, who collaborated with the band on all of its previous recordings, including 2017's "Lower The Bar".

MOTÖRHEAD has released a new animated lyric video for a previously unreleased live version of "Shoot You In The Back", recorded in Orleans in 1981. The full concert is available as part of the "Ace Of Spades" 40th-anniversary box set.

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

Now, following on from last year's fan and media acclaimed anniversary editions of the seminal "Overkill" and "Bomber" albums, comes the record that launched MOTÖRHEAD into the stratosphere and carved their name into the walls of rock n'roll history forever: "Ace Of Spades". To celebrate the 40th anniversary of this milestone album, it is being presented in new deluxe editions on October 30. There will be hardback book-packs in two CD and triple LP formats, featuring a previously unheard concert from the "Ace Up Your Sleeve" tour, the story of the album and many previously unseen photos. Also, the album will be released as an ultimate fan, collector edition "Ace Of Spades" box set, containing a bevvy of era-specific treasures and some 42 previously unreleased tracks.

The "Ace Of Spades" deluxe box set contains:

* The "Ace Of Spades" album, half-speed mastered and created from the original master tapes.

* Two double live albums of previously unheard concerts from the "Ace Up Your Sleeve" tour.

* "A Fistful Of Instrumentals": A 10" EP of previously unreleased, instrumental tracks from 1980.

* "The Good, The Broke & The Ugly": A double album of B-sides, outtakes and rare tracks.

* "Ace On Your Screens": A DVD compilation of rare TV appearances from 1980-81, a live concert from 1981 and a 5.1 audio mix of the original album.

* The "Ace Of Spades" story. A 40-page book telling the story of "Ace Of Spades" through previously unpublished interviews with the people that were there. Includes never before seen photos and memorabilia.

* The "Ace Up Your Sleeve" tour program

* The MOTÖRHEAD Rock Commando comic.

* A set of 5 poker dice that can be played on the game board inside the box set lid.

* All encased in a classic Wild West dynamite box.

* A limited edition 7" reproduction of the Dutch "Ace Of Spades", with a previously unreleased instrumental version on Side B. (while stocks last!)

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

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

Box set track listing

"Ace Of Spades"

Side One

01. Ace Of Spades

02. Love Me Like A Reptile

03. Shoot You In The Back

04. Live To Win

05. Fast And Loose

06. (We Are) The Road Crew

Side Two

01. Fire Fire

02. Jailbait

03. Dance

04. Bite The Bullet

05. The Chase Is Better Than The Catch

06. The Hammer

"A Fistful Of Instrumentals"

Side One

01. Ace Of Spades (demo)

02. Hump On Your Back (demo)

03. Shoot You In The Back (demo)

04. Fast And Loose (demo)

Side Two

01. Dirty Love (demo)

02. Love Me Like A Reptile (demo)

03. Dance (demo)

"Riders Wearing Black"

Live At Whitla Hall, Belfast - December 23, 1981

Side One

01. Ace Of Spades

02. Stay Clean

03. Over The Top

04. The Hammer

05. Shoot You In The Back

06. Metropolis

Side Two

01. (We Are) The Road Crew

02. No Class

03. Bite The Bullet

04. The Chase Is Better Than The Catch

Side Three

01. Jailbait

02. Leaving Here

03. Capricorn

04. Too Late, Too Late

Side Four

01. Overkill

02. Bomber

03. Motörhead

"Dead Man's Hand"

Live At Parc Expo, Orleans - March 5, 1981

Side One

01. Ace Of Spades

02. Stay Clean

03. Over The Top

04. Metropolis

05. Shoot You In The Back

Side Two

01. The Hammer

02. Jailbait

03. Leaving Here

04. Fire Fire

05. Love Me Like A Reptile

Side Three

01. Capricorn

02. Too Late, Too Late

03. (We Are) The Road Crew

04. No Class

Side Four

01. Bite The Bullet

02. The Chase Is Better Than The Catch

03. Overkill

04. Bomber

The Good, The Broke & The Ugly

Side One

01. Ace Of Spades (Alternative Version)

02. Dirty Love

03. Love Me Like A Reptile (Alternative Long Version)

04. Shoot You In The Back (Alternative Version)

Side Two

01. Hump On Your Back

02. Fast And Loose (Alternative Version)

03. (We Are) The Road Crew (Alternative Version)

04. Fire Fire (Alternative Version)

05. Jailbait (Alternative Version)

Side Three

01. Waltz Of The Vampire

02. The Hammer (Alternative Version)

03. Dirty Love (Alternative Long Version)

04. Bastard

05. Godzilla Akimbo

Side Four

01. Love Me Like A Reptile (Alternative Version)

02. Dirty Love (Alternative Version)

03. Please Don't Touch (Performed by HEADGIRL)

04. Bomber (Performed by GIRLSCHOOL)

05. Emergency

"Ace On Your Screens" DVD

Part 1: Motörhead on TV 1980-1981

Part 2: BBC In The City; Live In Belfast '81

Part 3: 5.1 audio mix of Ace Of Spades

METALLICA has released video of the pre-show tuning-room jam at the band's September 6, 2019 and September 8, 2019 concerts with the San Francisco Symphony.

METALLICA and San Francisco Symphony's "S&M²" concerts were historic on multiple levels: They served as the grand opening of San Francisco's Chase Center, reunited the band and Symphony for the first time since the 1999 performances captured on the Grammy-winning "S&M" album, and featured the first-ever symphonic renditions of songs written and released since those original "S&M" shows.

Over the weekend, "Metallica And San Francisco Symphony: S&M²" entered the Billboard 200 chart at position No. 4. The effort, which was recorded exactly a year ago, earned 56,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending September 3, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.

On August 29, METALLICA broadcast a show to hundreds of drive-in and outdoor theaters across the U.S. and Canada, as part of the "Encore Drive-In Nights" series. The concert was filmed nearly three weeks earlier, on August 10, at the Gundlach Bundschu winery, about a 30-minute car ride from the band's headquarters in San Rafael, California, and was subsequently edited and mixed by the band's award-winning production team to the highest standards possible.

Last month, METALLICA took part in an interview and short performance on "The Howard Stern Show".

In early May, the four members of METALLICA overcame social distancing to record a new version of their song "Blackened", with each member separated in his own home. The split-screen video was posted to the band's social media channels.

METALLICA had been largely out of the public eye since last fall when the band canceled an Australian tour and announced that frontman James Hetfield was returning to rehab for the first time since 2002 to battle his addictions.

In a new interview with the "Three Sides Of The Coin" podcast, former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley was asked if there is any chance of him revisiting and recording updated versions of his previously unreleased demo songs like "The Girl Can't Dance", "Audio Video" and "Backstage Pass". He responded (hear audio below): "I don't see 'The Girl Can't Dance' ever being revisited. I didn't write that; that was given to me by one of my early managers. 'Audio Video' has a chance of possibly being revisited. Sean Delaney turned me on to that song, and I thought it was a little reminiscent of 'Deuce', to an extent. A very powerful song.

"There are several demos that I've heard on the Internet that have leaked out over the years, and I may revisit some of them and rewrite them," he continued. "For example, I rewrote the song 'Pursuit Of Rock And Roll'. I recorded that song three separate times, but I was never fully happy with the end result. But on my last album, 'Spaceman', when I rewrote it, I ended up changing the chorus, because on the original chorus, every chord was descending. And I came up with the idea, on the last version of 'Pursuit Of Rock And Roll' to change the lyric and go up on every other chord — the first run of chords descends, and then the second line goes up. And I think that's what made the chorus more interesting for me and not as mundane. And [there were] a couple of other changes — I think I rewrote the bridge on that. So that's why that song ended up on a record finally. But there's so many songs that I worked on that have made it and haven't made it. You never know. I mean, the chorus for 'Rockin' With The Boys' I wrote 25 years ago, but I could never get the verses right until this last record, 'Spaceman'. [Laughs]"

Ace's "Origins Vol. 2", the sequel to his 2016 collection of cover songs that inspired the former KISS guitarist, will be released on September 18 via eOne.

Frehley has released two songs from "Origins Vol. 2" thus far: a cover of the classic THE BEATLES track "I'm Down", featuring a guest appearance by ROB ZOMBIE guitarist John 5, and a rendition of DEEP PURPLE's "Space Truckin'".

"Origins Vol. 2" also features cover versions of LED ZEPPELIN's "Good Times Bad Times", THE ROLLING STONES' "Jumpin' Jack Flash", THE KINKS' "Lola" and THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE's "Manic Depression", among others. A cover of the 1975 KISS tune "She" also appears as a bonus track. Guests on the set also include CHEAP TRICK's Robin Zander, Lita Ford and former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.

Frehley's last collection of original material, "Spaceman", was released in October 2018 via eOne. KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons co-wrote two tracks on the disc, "Without You I'm Nothing" and "Your Wish Is My Command", the latter of which also features Simmons's bass playing.

Dave Mustaine says that he really wanted Nick Menza and Marty Friedman to return to MEGADETH more than five and a half years ago.

The opportunity for MEGADETH's most celebrated lineup to regroup arose following the departures of guitarist Chris Broderick and drummer Shawn Drover in 2014.

Menza was approached by Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson to replace Drover at the end of that year, and he started working out new tracks with the band. But the plan collapsed after he was offered a contract he described as "very unfair." A year and a half later, in May 2016, Nick died after suffering a heart attack during a concert with OHM: at The Baked Potato in Studio City, California.

Mustaine spoke about Menza while promoting his new book, "Rust In Peace: The Inside Story Of The Megadeth Masterpiece", which details the making of the band's iconic record "Rust In Peace". In a video interview with Loudwire, Dave said (see below): "The chemistry of Nick and Marty, don't get me wrong — that was amazing. And my heart aches when I think about that. And, in fact, that's why I wrote at the back of the book 'In Loving Memory' and not 'In Memory Of'.

"Nick said some shitty things about me at the end, especially to you guys and to Blabbermouth where he would just wail on me," Dave continued. "And I would think, 'Nick, why are you doing this? I never did anything to you. I'm always fighting for you.

"When I would read the stuff that he would [say about me], I would just be so hurt. 'Cause when we went to do the reunion, you see Ellefson tell the story, I wasn't the one that said Nick wasn't ready — Dave said that. I was really bummed about that; I wanted things to work out with Nick. And then in fact, I even said, 'You know what? If it's not gonna work with him playing in the studio, let's have somebody else go into the studio and play, and then we can have Nick play live.' I was bending over backwards to get a place for Nick. And then he said he wanted this exorbitant amount of cash to work for us and to be able to sell all kinds of merchandise that he had."

Mustaine added: "Marty has a really successful career in Japan where he makes quite a lot of money. And this is the part where I thought it was a little weird, where he said he said that he has to pay all his team while he's gone instead of just himself. 'Cause I thought we'll pay you what you're making so that's switching horses in the middle of the river — it's no big deal unless you fall off. And then when we found out that he wanted to sell his merch, his this, his that, his this, his that, then he wanted this crazy amount of money and he wanted to fly first class everywhere. I said to our management, 'I can't deal with this.'"

Back in 2015, Menza explained to the "The Sick Room" podcast why his return to MEGADETH failed to materialize. He said: "I went out there [to Dave Mustaine's studio] and jammed with [Mustaine and Ellefson]. We played for, like, a weekend — like, three days — and on the third day, we were working on new songs. And everything was cool. They were telling me, 'You're back in the band. We'll do a press release.' And I'm, like, 'I don't wanna say anything until I have an agreement, a contract in writing of what's gonna happen.' And then they send me this ridiculous proposal stating that, 'You're not gonna paid anything until the touring starts.' So, basically, I was gonna work for nothing, doing the record. Which I was still kind of ready to bend in that direction anyway. But I'm, like, 'You know what?! I'm not gonna break or sell myself short with something that's gonna be huge. They've gotta realize the longevity of it.' And then they were kind of coming back at me the same way. So the whole thing was silly. I didn't even get a chance to negotiate with them about anything. They just put it off and said, 'That's it.' And I couldn't get hold of anybody."

Mustaine previously spoke about his attempt to reunite MEGADETH's "Rust In Peace" lineup during a 2016 interview with the "Eddie Trunk Podcast". Reflecting on his December 2014 jam with Ellefson and Menza, Dave said: "We started playing, and we did 'Rattlehead'. And we didn't get through the first chorus, and the song got messed up, so we stopped. We started again, it got messed up, we stopped. We started again, it got messed up, we stopped. I put my guitar down and I walked out of the studio. 'Cause I didn't wanna say anything mean to Nick. And David Ellefson came up to me and he goes, 'Man, this is a lot worse than I thought it was.''

He continued: "I had talked to Chris Adler [then-LAMB OF GOD drummer] about him playing on the new MEGADETH record. 'Cause I said, even if we do a reunion tour with these guys [Menza and Friedman], when we make a new record, we wanted to have someone who was just a monster on drums; we wanted [Chris Adler] to play [on it]. And when we did the rehearsal thing [with Menza] that didn't pan out, it was, like, 'Man, I'm worried.' So we were at the [January 2015] NAMM show, and we [Mustaine, Ellefson, Friedman and Menza] met there. And the guy that was managing us at the time had said something at dinner. We all had a band dinner with this guy. And he said something that really pissed Marty off really bad. And it was so obvious that it wasn't meant to be. It's like trying to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic; the boat's going down [and] there's no sense doing it."

Mustaine added: "I think it's better off that the fans just hold on to that wonderful memory of the four of us playing together and the music that we made than trying to do something that, obviously, there's a lot of history and a lot of scars and a lot of tension and stuff like that. 'Cause if you remember how everything ended, Marty had a nervous breakdown and wanted to play more J-Pop. And when we were doing 'Risk', he said that we needed to go even more alternative than that record was. And I said, 'No.' We needed to go back to our roots. And Nick had injured his arm, so his playing ability had been challenged. Now, do I still love those guys? Of course I do. They are my friends and brothers from the band's alumni. Now, do we all get along? Well, you know, what day is it?"

Asked whether Nick's playing was simply not up to par during his rehearsal with Mustaine and Ellefson, Dave told the "Eddie Trunk Podcast": "Don't get me wrong. Nick is a good player, but 'Rattlehead' is straight-forward all the way through the song, and the beats would get mixed up [when we tried rehearsing it with him]. As well as, he had said that I make him nervous and that he wasn't feeling well and this and that and the other thing. And it just wasn't meant to me. I think that Nick has got the talent and the capability to play whatever he wants, and if he does form a band, it'll be great. But it just wasn't happening. Maybe it was just that day. But it wasn't happening."

Mustaine also confirmed that MEGADETH didn't hold any rehearsals with Friedman while attempting a reunion of the "Rust In Peace" lineup.

"Marty had sent some e-mails saying, 'Oh, man, you know, the fans have this self-inflated importance of 'Rust In Peace' beyond what it really is. And I was, like, 'Huh?'" Dave said. 'So I didn't know if that was a backhand to the face of the fans or not, but he had basically said that if we were gonna do anything, it had to be better than 'Rust In Peace'. And he sent me over some links to some songs that he thought should be the direction that we were going in, and one of it was this J-Pop band with some Japanese girl singing, and I was, like, 'Uh-uh. This ain't gonna work.' More power to [Marty for being into that stuff]. Do what you want, Marty. He's a great guitar player. But I'm not gonna sing like a Japanese girl."

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

DREAM THEATER guitarist John Petrucci released his second solo album, "Terminal Velocity", on August 28 via Sound Mind Music/The Orchard. The follow-up to 2005's "Suspended Animation" features guest musicians Mike Portnoy (SONS OF APOLLO, ex-DREAM THEATER) on drums and Dave LaRue (DIXIE DREGS) on bass. The effort marks the first time Petrucci and Portnoy recorded together in over a decade, as well as their first time playing together since Portnoy departed DREAM THEATER.

In a new interview with "Coffee With Ola!", Petrucci said about his renewed working relationship with Portnoy (see video below): "People are really happy about it. It's funny — you know how things are online with social media and the different outlets that we put music and videos out, you try not to get sucked too much into the comment section. However, I do like to kind of scan that, and what I saw was people just very happy, not only that Mike and I were doing something musically together, which the main comments were mostly that, but just that they thought the [first] song [to be released from the album] was very positive and uplifting. And I love that.

"With my solo music, I want it to be something that you look forward to listening to and that could enhance your mood when you're doing something," he continued. "When you're going to the gym, you're going for a drive, you're going to the beach — whatever you're doing. 'I'm gonna put this on 'cause it's gonna elevate my mood.' The last thing I wanted to do was make some kind of depressing, dark, pandemic-themed thing. It's not what I'm about as a guitar player.

"It was really great for me to have Mike play on the record. I hadn't done anything musically with him since he left DREAM THEATER over 10 years ago. And it was really just fun, because it's different when you're in a band with somebody. Really, we grew up together — we met when we were 18. And you're in business together. It's different than when it's, like, fast forward, now it's, like, my friend is playing drums on my album. It was so easy going and so cool. He was able to come to my studio despite the pandemic situation on the East Coast in the U.S. It was safe for him to come to the studio — he doesn't live that far from me. And he spent a week, and we had fun. And he did a killer job.

"These songs take a lot of different skills, I think, as a drummer — some are uplifting and happy; some are metal; some take double-bass chops; some you've gotta do a shuffle; some are blues; some is Latin feel," Petrucci explained. "And it's just a testament to Mike's playing — he knows how to do all that stuff. And he came in, totally easy going, did it. We had fun. And I'm really happy that he did it."

Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more than 30 years ago, abruptly quit the band in September 2010 while on tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD. He has since been replaced by Mangini (ANNIHILATOR, EXTREME, JAMES LABRIE, STEVE VAI).

RAVEN bassist/vocalist John Gallagher has blasted bands who rely heavily on pre-recorded tracks during their live performances.

In recent years, more and more artists have been given a pass for using backing tracks, drum triggers and other assorted technology that makes concerts more synthetic but also more consistent.

Speaking to The Metal Gods Meltdown about some rock acts' reliance on pre-recorded tracks, John said (hear audio below): "It's ludicrous. I saw bands who've got nine people on stage and still 50 percent of what you hear is on backing tracks. It's disgusting. C'mon, man. You don't need that. Take a band like QUEEN. They had more overdubs and more pomp and circumstance and extra icing on the cake than any other band in history, especially then. They really did. And what did they do live? Four guys playing it. And you know what? It worked, and it worked brilliantly. They adapted what they did to make it work with just the four guys. Later on, they had one guy come in and you'd hear some extra guitar and keyboards, but he was a real musician. That's true talent, and you cannot replace that.

"I saw something the other day, the pop band COLDPLAY. What they do, they do great, but there's parts where they're all jumping around and it's all on tape," he continued. "C'mon. Even for what they do, they're talented — they don't need to do that. It's just ridiculous.

"So, no, I'm not a big fan [of bands using pre-recorded tracks]."

RAVEN's new album, "Metal City", will be released on September 18 via SPV/Steamhammer.

Considered part of the "New Wave Of British Heavy Metal" movement of the early '80s, RAVEN is perhaps best remembered for its trailblazing tours in America in the early '80s that gave groups like METALLICA and ANTHRAX their first taste of the road.

RAVEN's albums "Rock Until You Drop", "Wiped Out" and "All For One" virtually invented both the speed metal and power metal genres, with the band consistently pushing the envelope while retaining its unique sound and attack — both in the studio and in their true element: onstage.

Image credit: Vic's Music

Phil Demmel says that a world of opportunites opened up for him once he decided to leave MACHINE HEAD at the end of the band's fall 2018 North American tour.

"It was frowned upon, but I was allowed to do other stuff [while I was in MACHINE HEAD]," the guitarist told Australia's Riff Crew in a new interview. "I was doing METAL ALLEGIANCE while I was in MH. And I was doing some of the things. But towards the end… Fuck, I don't know how much I wanna talk about that.

"Here we are, going on almost two years since I did that last tour, and I felt like I've really talked about the bad stuff with that band enough. I felt like I kind of purged myself, and I wanna get to a place to where it's just like…

"The day after I quit MACHINE HEAD, the day I was a single guy, I got the call from SLAYER [to fill in for Gary Holt], and since then, it's just been this whole whirlwind of doing stuff [with other musicians].

"I spent close to 16 years being that guitar player in MACHINE HEAD, and it was such an amazing ride and it was such a cool experience, and I couldn't change any of it. From the negative I learned from, and the relationships that I learned from and going forward. So I'm not gonna frown on my time there — it was a relationship that just soured, and then we just separated ways."

According to Demmel, it took him a while to come to terms with the fact that he needed to quit the job that had occupied most of his life for a decade and a half.

"I don't wanna say I was doing it just for a paycheck," he said. "It was hard to walk away from such a high-profile… I mean, playing guitar for MACHINE HEAD is fucking rad; it's awesome. It was a hard thing to walk away from, even if I wasn't agreeing with the direction or the music or the tunes or any internal bullshit. That's still a tough gig [to give up]. 'I'm not gonna play all these rad shows and get to travel all these places and get to play music for a living.'"

Last year, Demmel told the "In The Pitts Of Metal And Motor Chaos" podcast that MACHINE HEAD ended up becoming a Robb Flynn solo project toward the end of his time with the group. "We weren't a band," he said. "That was Robb's trip, and we were basically just being told what was gonna happen… Everything had changed over time. Shit, we were together for 16 years and stuff changes after that. It's been the band that he started. So things shift, and as they weren't what we agreed to or what we wanted to be a part of, [drummer Dave McClain and I] just left. So we do our own thing, and [Robb] does his thing." Demmel also said that the musical side of MACHINE HEAD took a sharp turn for the worse during the writing stage for 2018's "Catharsis", an album he said he hated.

Demmel told SiriusXM's Liquid Metal that there were "a lot of things" that he couldn't do while he was a member of MACHINE HEAD, including speak to the press. "There was a point where we were taking liberties and still doing [interviews]," Phil said. "It got to be where the talks that came along with it, it was unbearable. It was just like, 'Man, I'm punching the clock here. I'm gonna show up. What songs do you wanna play? Okay. Cool. We're gonna play the songs. When are the dates? Okay. Cool.' For the last cycle, it was the paycheck. That was my living. I didn't like my job anymore."

Phil also revealed that he decided to quit MACHINE HEAD after spending "many stressed-out nights" talking with his wife and occasionally "losing sleep" over everything that was going on with the band. "And it just got to the point to where I [couldn't] do this anymore," he explained. "It's unhealthy for me physically, it's totally unhealthy for me mentally, and it's taking its toll on my family now, and there's where I've gotta draw the line," he said. "This isn't fun, and I've gotta quit my job. And there was a straw that broke the camel's back."

Demmel has spent much of the past year and a half playing sporadic shows with the reunited VIO-LENCE, which recently inked a deal with Metal Blade Records. The band's new EP is tentatively due to be released in early 2021.

HALESTORM's Lzzy Hale has confirmed to U.K.'s Rock Sound that she has been using her coronavirus downtime to compose material for the band's follow-up to 2018's "Vicious" album. "I've been writing, honestly, some of the best songs I've ever written, because I've just had the time, and there isn't any deadline and nobody's breathing down my neck, saying, 'Hey, where are those demos?'," she said (see video below).

"I haven't been home without a gig for this long in probably over 15 years, so that's a strange thing. I think in one way, I have the time, but in another way, I'm seeking that high out, I'm seeking that joy that I find from playing out live every night. I'm not writing for any other reason — I'm not writing for a deadline, I'm not writing for a record, even though technically I am; we are technically working on a new HALESTORM record. But I'm writing from such a position of joy right now, literally just getting excited about some small piece of music. And I'm taking more risks now, because I have the space and the time and I've settled into something. And I'm not even quite sure what that is, and I feel like it's gonna reveal itself maybe later, but right now, I'm in it, and it's exciting.

"It's funny, because I thought about these pros and cons," she continued. "The cons of this pandemic have been I have to be home and I don't get to do what I love to do, as in travel. I'm not with my road crew and my bandmates every day. But on the other hand, everything that I was writing before the pandemic hit I kind of put on the backburner and I just started fresh. The lyrics mean something different now, and the music means something different now. It's not just this thing you do because it's fun to play. It's almost like you're being your own ambassador of rock music. And what does that actually mean to you, besides just, like, 'Yeah, we're gonna rock out.' Like, what is that? So it's been fun to go down that rabbit hole."

Asked what stage of the songwriting process the new HALESTORM album is and whether there is any material that is fully tracked, Lzzy said: "I have a lot that's fully tracked. It's kind of been a relay sport, because we're not all in the same room. So how it's pretty much been going is that, obviously, I have a studio down here, but I have two writing stations upstairs — one by a piano and then one just a simple rock rig with a guitar. So basically, I've been writing the song in its entirety in how I see fit, and then I pass the baton to my guitar player, and then I pass the baton to our rhythm section, and then we discuss it later. It's been really exciting. We have a lot that's finished, which I think is awesome.

"With this pandemic and the future kind of being unknown, at least for me, the way I'm feeling is that I'm living in the now," she explained. "I'm, like, hey, if this is the last song I ever write right now, I'm gonna finish it and I'm gonna enjoy every bit of it. I'm not gonna settle. I'm not writing for radio or what I think the fans wanna hear or what I think our label wants to hear, our management — whatever it is — I'm writing from an element of my truth. And I've always done that, but I think it's just peeling back another layer of that onion."

"Halestorm Reimagined", a collection of reworked HALESTORM original songs as well as a cover of "I Will Always Love You", the love ballad made famous by Whitney Houston and Dolly Parton, was made available on August 14.

Lzzy and her brother Arejay (drums) formed the band in 1998 while in middle school. Guitarist Joe Hottinger joined the group in 2003, followed by bassist Josh Smith in 2004.

In December 2018, HALESTORM was nominated for a "Best Rock Performance" Grammy Award for its song "Uncomfortable".

In 2012, the band won its first Grammy in the category of "Best Hard Rock/ Metal Performance" for "Love Bites (So Do I)". According to the Grammy web site, Lzzy became the first woman to earn a Grammy in the category.

On August 28, VOLBEAT guitarist Rob Caggiano spoke to Matt Pinfield of "Raise Your Horns" about how he has been spending his coronavirus downtime. He said (see video below): "[The other members of VOLBEAT have] been writing [new music] over [in their home base of Denmark]. Michael's [Poulsen, VOLBEAT guitarist/vocalist] been writing a bunch of stuff. I've been super busy here [at home] in New York. It's really all we can do at this point — is just create and write music. There's not much else going on. So I've been super creative; they've been super creative… The past couple of months, I've just been writing music — just getting ideas out; just my own stuff. Where the stuff ends up, I'm not really sure yet. But yeah, it's been a lot of fun, just coming up with new ideas.

"Obviously, this whole coronavirus pandemic is a terrible thing, and at this point, it's gone on way too long," he added. "But I think we kind of needed a reset. I've been enjoying a lot of family time. It's nice to not be traveling all over the place for once. I haven't been idle like this in I don't even know how long — 25 years, 30 years. It's kind of crazy. But, yeah, it's a really great time to be creative and do stuff that we normally wouldn't have time to do, and things like that."

This past June, Poulsen told "Whiplash", the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie, that he was "very much inspired" to write new VOLBEAT songs. "I can't wait to start working on these songs in the studio when the time is right, because there's a certain energy that really, really takes me back to the beginning," he said. "There's a lot of heavy stuff in some of the new songs that I've got."

Speaking about how the new VOLBEAT music compares to last year's "Rewind, Replay, Rebound" album, Poulsen said: "I know for sure that what I'm writing right now is not really similar. That's gonna be another different VOLBEAT album, because if I was writing an album like that again, I would be old before I want to. So right now I'm doing a lot of spontaneous VOLBEAT songs that have really a lot of… [It's] uptempo, it's heavy, it's very riffy, there's even thrash songs, but again, there's also these really huge rock songs. Right now, I'm in a place where I'm kind of revisiting some of more uptempo and more heavy stuff. So I'm very excited about my whole situation when it comes to writing for VOLBEAT."

Michael went on to discuss his songwriting process in more detail, saying: "Writing is such an emotional thing — things have to come to you very naturally and then you just have to go with the flow. You can sit down and you can ask yourself, 'Where am I going with this?' And if you try to change it, it becomes another monster, and it's not necessarily a monster you wanna work with. So you just have to go with what your heart tells you. And that's what I'm doing also right now with the stuff that I'm writing right now, because I think everybody's kind of getting crazy being locked up in their own home. We have a lot of energy we wanna burn out. Even though I run every morning, I still have a ton of energy that I need to get rid of, and I get all that energy out in the new VOLBEAT music. That's why I'm saying that what I'm writing right now is more uptempo. I's very, very, very spontaneous writing, and there's a lot of energy in it."

This past May, VOLBEAT's U.S. tour with CLUTCH and THE PICTUREBOOKS was officially canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the globe.

"Rewind, Replay, Rebound" was released in August 2019 via Republic Records. The disc was produced by longtime collaborator Jacob Hansen and co-produced by Caggiano and Poulsen. It marked VOLBEAT's the first studio album with Kaspar Boye Larsen on bass.

Photo credit: Ross Halfin

This past July, Ensiferum released their new full-length, Thalassic, via Metal Blade Records - which landed on the worldwide charts:

- Finland: #1 - official albums chart
- Germany: #3 - official albums chart
- Switzerland: #5 - official albums chart
- USA: #10 - current hard music albums chart
- USA: #14 - top new artist albums chart
- USA: #26 - current rock albums chart
- USA: #94 - top current albums chart
- Canada: #7 - hard music albums chart
- UK: #11 - rock / metal album chart
- Belgium: #22 - official albums chart (Wallonia)
- Belgium: #83 - official albums chart (Flanders)
- Austria: #26 - official albums chart

For a preview of Thalassic, a new lyric video for the album track "Run From The Crushing Tide" can be found below. Order the new album here.

Thalassic tracklisting:

"Seafarer's Dream"
"Rum, Women, Victory"
"Andromeda"
"The Defence Of The Sampo"
"Run From The Crushing Tide"
"For Sirens"
"One With The Sea"
"Midsummer Magic"
"Cold Northland (Väinämöinen Part III)"
"Merille Lahteva" (Bonus Track)
"I'll Stay by Your Side" (Bonus Track)

"Run From The Crushing Tide" lyric video:

"For Sirens" lyric video:

"Andromeda" video:

"Rum, Women, Victory" video:




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NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) legends DIAMOND HEAD have commenced work on the songwriting process for the follow-up to last year's "The Coffin Train" album.

"For the past six months, that's all I've done almost — just keep working on new ideas and revitalizing old ideas," guitarist Brian Tatler told MetalAsylum.net in a new interview (see video below). "Sometimes I've had a riff for years but it's never made it into a song, or I've always thought I liked that riff but it hasn't had a chorus maybe — it didn't get to the final stage where we get vocals on it, and things like that.

"I've been doing a lot of preparation for the next album, and I think already I've got some great ideas, and I think people will like it," he continued.

As for the musical direction of the new DIAMOND HEAD material, Brian said: "We've done the same thing — it's 'stick to the brief.' We're trying to make a DIAMOND HEAD album and not go too far in any weird direction. We always use that brief as a way of just keeping it together and not offending anybody."

Added singer Rasmus Bom Andersen: "We're not trying to go out on any tangents; we're just trying to make sure that we echo what is the core part of DIAMOND HEAD and the DIAMOND HEAD sound. Although we are trying to push things a little bit more. It's 2020, so we're trying to move things along a little bit without pushing it too much."

Continued Brian: "The last album was very well received, so we think, okay, well, we can go slightly further. But also, I wanna do an even more powerful album than 'The Coffin Train'. I've got it in mind the sort of record we should make. So I think it's in hand."

Asked if fans should expect to see a new DIAMOND HEAD album in 2021, Rasmus said: "We'll see what the story is gonna be with lockdown. We don't know when we can get together and actually function as a band again in a writing scenario. So we have to wait and see what happens. But we're doing all the legwork that we can to get most of the pre-production on the go before we start to work together and we can go outside again and it's not a nuclear holocaust and all that."

"The Coffin Train" was recorded at Vigo Studios in Walsall, Circle Studios in Birmingham and Raw Sound Studio in London, and is the second DIAMOND HEAD album to feature Rasmus Bom Andersen, who joined the band in 2014.

Formed in 1976 under the riff-rolling leadership of Tatler, DIAMOND HEAD would quickly establish themselves as a vanguard of the exploding New Wave Of British Heavy Metal scene. With their genre-defining debut album "Lightning To The Nations", DIAMOND HEAD has influenced and opened gates for many metal bands.

Tatler has repeatedly expressed his gratitude over the years to METALLICA, who have covered four DIAMOND HEAD songs and kept the band in the spotlight.

He said in a 2011 interview: "Without METALLICA, we wouldn't be going now. We split in 1985 when everything dried up, and we wouldn't have reformed without them. They're like DIAMOND HEAD's support system — they breathed new life into the band by namechecking us hundreds of times and covering our songs."

The publishing royalties generated from METALLICA's versions of DIAMOND HEAD tracks like "Am I Evil" have kept Tatler afloat. "I don't know what I would have done without that," he said. "We never made money in the early days. I was on the dole after we finished — I had nothing left and I was living at home with my parents. I probably wouldn't have my own house now."

Kaledon guitarist, Alex Mele, will release his first solo album, Alien Doppelgänger, on digipack CD and via major digital platforms on September 30 through  Underground Symphony. Pre-order here, and find a lyric video for the song ""On The Way With My Double" below.

The album was recorded between 2013 and 2019 and sees the participation of the talented singer Alessia "Melany" Scolletti (Temperance).

"Arrivals"
"Abduction"
"A New Truth"
"One In A Million"
"The Rainbow"
"On The Way With My Double"
"The Mind Fighters"
"The Supervisor"
"The Doppelgangers"

"On The Way With My Double" lyric video:

"One In A Million" video:

"The Mind Fighters":

Lineup:

Alex Mele - guitars
Alessia Scolletti - voice
Paolo Campitelli - keyboards
Enrico Sandri - bass
Manuele Di Ascenzo - drums




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Legendary Swedish black metal formation, Mörk Gryning, will release their new album, Hinsides Vrede, via Season Of Mist on October 23, making it the band's debut to the label. The second single from the upcoming album, "A Glimpse Of The Sky" can be heard below.

The band comments, "This is our homage to Bathory - the Blood Fire Death'era. It's got a steady groove in contrast to most of the other songs on the album. The lyrics will speak for themselves: 'Ripped apart / Our hearts are fed to the vultures / The soil has been cursed / Our souls like silent statues of stone.'"

Pre-order the album here.

Tracklisting:

"The Depths Of Chinnereth"
"Fältherren"
"Existence In A Dream"
"Infernal"
"A Glimpse Of The Sky"
"Hinsides"
"The Night"
"Sleeping In The Embers"
"For Those Departed"
"Without Crown"
"Black Spirit"
"On The Elysian Fields"

"Fältherren" video:

Lineup:

Draakh Kimera - Lead Vocals, Guitar, Drums
Goth Gorgon - Bass, Guitar, Backing Vocals
Avathar - Lead Guitar

Recording lineup:

Draakh Kimera: Lead & Backing Vocals, Guitars, Drums, Keyboards
Goth Gorgon: Bass, Lead Guitar, Backing vocals, Lead vocals on “Black Spirit”, Keyboards
Avathar: Lead Guitar     
C-G: Drums on “Fältherren” & “Black Spirit”
Aeon: Backing Vocals, Piano on “For Those Departed” & “On The Elysian Fields”

Guest musicians:

Laura Ute: Vocals on “Black Spirit”

Live members:

C-G - Drums
Aeon - Keyboards

(Photo - Peter Wendin)




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Former VIXEN singer Janet Gardner has confirmed in a new interview with Rock Titan that she still works part-time as a dental hygienist in Connecticut when she is not on the road with her husband.

"One of the best things I ever did for my relationship with music is to take money out of it — to not have to make any decisions based on what's gonna make the most money," she said (see video below). "I like to be able to have the freedom to do what we feel like doing, and I know that me and my family and everybody's taken care of. I can work more when I want, I can work less hours when I want and do more music, or go to Australia or do whatever. It has a lot of flexibility, and I don't have to make musical decisions based on money, on finances, and it feels great."

Back in 2018, Janet told "The Five Count" radio show that she has never gotten pulled off the road for somebody's emergency root canal surgery or anything like that. "Luckily, nobody I know has ever needed emergency cleaning, so I can book people when I'm around," she explained. "But the poor dentist I work for has to deal with that all the time. But, luckily, he lives about 20 seconds away from the office, so he can go in and do those emergency root canals and I don't have to hear a thing about it. He's really a cool guy too, and he's so good with me having to take off to do music and stuff like that, 'cause he gets it. He's, like, 'Oh, yeah. You'd be crazy not to. So get out of here. I'll see you when you get back.'"

GARDNER/JAMES, Janet's collaborative project with her husband, guitarist/producer Justin James, has just released its new album, "Synergy", via Pavement Entertainment.

"Synergy" is the first Gardner/James album to be released under the GARDNER/JAMES banner. The couple previously collaborated on Janet's first two solo albums, 2018's "Janet Gardner" and 2019's "Your Place In The Sun".

Janet announced her departure from VIXEN in January 2019, saying in a statement that it was time for her to step aside and let drummer Roxy Petrucci and bassist Share Ross "pursue their vision for the future of VIXEN."

Gardner, Petrucci and Ross are considered to be part of VIXEN's classic lineup, along with founding guitarist Jan Kuehnemund, who died of cancer in October 2013.

Gardner contributed lead vocals to VIXEN's most commercially successful studio albums — "Vixen" (1988), "Rev It Up" (1990) and "Tangerine" (1998) — as well as the group's latest release, 2018's live album "Live Fire".

In January 2018, Gardner underwent surgery to remove blood clots in her brain, a condition known as a subdural hematoma.

While Gardner was recovering from her surgery, VIXEN played a show in Durant, Oklahoma in March 2018 with a fill-in singer, Lorraine Lewis of FEMME FATALE. In January 2019, Lewis was announced as Gardner's official replacement.