SLAYER frontman Tom Araya has shared a manipulated video of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden sleeping during a live television interview.

The the original video, which was of an interview with veteran singer and actor Harry Belafonte almost nine years ago, during which he appeared to doze off, was doctored to show Biden sitting in Belafonte's place.

On Tuesday (September 1), Araya posted the clip to his verified Instagram account, captioning it: "president of the United States really!??" After a number of people pointed out to Araya that the video was fake, Tom edited his post to say: "Edit - Fake police are out!!! Can't get anything past you guys".

This is not the first time Araya has generated controversy for his political social media posts. Two years ago, he angered some of his fans by sharing an ages-old chain letter that compared liberals' actions unfavorably to those of conservatives on a number of issues. Prior to that, the 59-year-old musician, who was born in Chile, made headlines in 2017 when he said that the United States Of America had become "a nation of crybabies" following the election of Donald Trump as president, with many of its citizens unable to "even laugh at themselves" because they were "mad" that "they didn't get their way."

A few months earlier, Araya drew criticism from some SLAYER fans in January 2017 when a photoshopped picture of Donald Trump and the members of SLAYER appeared on the band's Instagram account. Araya posted the image and later criticized fans who objected to the photo, saying that he "thought it was funny" and that anyone who disagrees should keep quiet.

The same image first appeared on the official SLAYER Instagram account on inauguration day, but was mysteriously removed before being reposted a few days later.

A SLAYER band representative told Rolling Stone that Tom took it upon himself to post the photo and stressed that the image was "not something the band would have posted if asked," insisting that such a picture "does not belong on a SLAYER social page." The representative added: "We all have our personal opinions, some of which we have voiced in the past, but SLAYER has never endorsed any political party or any candidate, and the band intends to keep it that way."

Araya later told Chilean radio station Futuro that he posted the picture after someone sent it to his wife. "She showed it to me," he explained. "I laughed. I thought it was funny. And I thought it was funny because of all the rhetoric that Donald Trump is getting and how everybody hates him. And I decided to post the picture. I knew that some people wouldn't like it. You have to do that, though, you know what I mean? I'm in SLAYER [laughs], and being in SLAYER, sometimes you do stuff like that just to piss people off. [Laughs]"

Even though Araya expected to get some flak for posting the Trump photo, the ferocity of the reaction from SLAYER fans surprised him. "I didn't realize it was gonna be the way it was, which is blown out of proportion and people saying really mean things," he said. "I'm amazed. I was just amazed at the response, as far as people thinking it's funny and they thought it was great and they support Trump, and other people that didn't like it, they thought it was ugly and they can't believe that I support Trump. [Laughs] I don't even support Trump. I didn't vote for Trump and I didn't vote for Hillary [Clinton]. Those are two people that are the furthest from… that I would ever vote for. I was taken aback by the response and how people reacted. But it was all in fun. It was all to make people laugh, 'cause I thought it was funny. And also to piss some people off. I just didn't realize that I was gonna piss so many SLAYER fans off. [Laughs]"

Back in 2016, SLAYER drummer Paul Bostaph called Donald Trump "the biggest joke I've ever seen in my life," and referred to some of Trump's rhetoric as "the scariest shit I've ever seen as an American — in my lifetime." Similarly, SLAYER guitarist Kerry King said that Trump was "the biggest liar I've ever seen in politics," clarifying, "I mean, most of them are liars, but he just outright in-your-face lies." King's words were echoed by fellow SLAYER guitarist Gary Holt who described Trump as a "serial liar" who refused to disavow former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke.
























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president of the United States really!?? ?? Edit - Fake police are out!!! Can’t get anything past you guys?

A post shared by Tom Araya (@tomarayaofficial) on Sep 1, 2020 at 6:41am PDT

Following the outstanding success of their 2019 American tour, progressive rock legends YES will release "The Royal Affair Tour: Live From Las Vegas" through BMG on October 30. Eager fans will be able to get hold of the physical formats from October 2 if ordered exclusively through the YES store.

All YES concert tours are special events for their legions of fans and "The Royal Affair" tour was no exception, conceived as a wonderful celebration of the best of British progressive music. Guests on the tour were ASIA (with YES keyboardist Geoff Downes and a special appearance by Steve Howe), John Lodge of THE MOODY BLUES and Carl Palmer's ELP LEGACY featuring Arthur Brown.

Of "The Royal Affair Tour" album, Alan White says: "'The Royal Affair' tour album, being released in October, is a welcome new chapter in the wide expanse of YES live recordings. I hope you enjoy it."

Steve Howe adds: "Having the opportunity to bring together the band members in the development of a well-refined set of songs that captures the bands true potential is simply an honor for me."

The show features many classic tracks across the period 1970 - 1980. The set opened with "No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed", the Richie Havens cover from YES's second album "Time And A Word" (1970). "Tempus Fugit" was taken from "Drama" (1980), Geoff Downes's first as a member of YES, while "Going For The One", "I've Seen All Good People" and "Siberian Khatru" are from some of YES's iconic mid-'70s albums. The set included a rare live performance of YES's cover of Paul Simon's "America" and John Lodge shared vocals on YES's cover of John Lennon's "Imagine". Soon-to-be YES drummer Alan White played on the original studio recording.

"The Royal Affair Tour" live set and album, recorded at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas in July 2019, reaches a climax with two of the best-loved YES tracks "Roundabout" and "Starship Trooper", always a high note on which to close the set.

YES is Steve Howe (guitar), who joined in 1970; Alan White, drums since 1972; Geoff Downes (keyboards), who first joined in 1980; vocalist since 2011, Jon Davison; Billy Sherwood, who played guitar/keyboards in the 1990s and was the late Chris Squire's choice to take over bass/vocals in 2015. Jay Schellen played additional drums.

"The Royal Affair" tour also featured an exhibition of original art by Roger Dean whose artwork is synonymous having designed the iconic YES logo and the band's best-loved album covers. Roger Dean recently painted "The Royal Affair" tour album artwork live on Facebook while also fielding questions from fans.

"The Royal Affair Tour: Live In Las Vegas" track listing:

01. No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed

02. Tempus Fugit

03. Going For The One

04. I've Seen All Good People

05. Siberian Khatru

06. Onward

07. America

08. Imagine

09. Roundabout

10. Starship Trooper

According to Billboard, METALLICA has become the first act to have No. 1s on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs airplay chart in four different decades.

The band's latest single, "All Within My Hands", recorded live with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, achieved the milestone on the survey dated September 5, giving the band No. 1s in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s.

METALLICA's Mainstream Rock No. 1s, according to Billboard:

* Until It Sleeps (peaked at No. 1 on June 8, 1996)

* Hero Of The Day (peaked at No. 1 on Deember 7, 1996)

* Turn The Page (peaked at No. 1 on November 28, 1998)

* No Leaf Clover (peaked at No. 1 on January 22, 2000)

* I Disappear (peaked at No. 1 on June 10, 2000)

* The Day That Never Comes (peaked at No. 1 on September 20, 2008)

* Cyanide (peaked at No. 1 on April 4, 2009)

* Hardwired (peaked at No. 1 on October 8, 2016)

* Atlas, Rise! (peaked at No. 1 on February 18, 2017)

* All Within My Hands (peaked at No. 1 on September 5, 2020)

METALLICA and San Francisco Symphony's September 6 and September 8, 2019 "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.

On Saturday night (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.

Photo credit: Anton Corbijn

Professionally filmed video footage of FOZZY performing the song "Judas" at last year's Bloodstock Open Air festival, which was held in August 2019 at Catton Park, Derbyshire, United Kingdom, can be seen below.

Two months ago, former SKID ROW frontman Sebastian Bach accused FOZZY's Chris Jericho of using pre-recorded vocal tracks during live performances. On July 16, Jericho challenged Bach to a "singoff" with "no effects, no tuning, no bullshit" in response to Sebastian's allegation. "Bas is a great singer...but I'm better," Chris wrote on Twitter." The wrestler-turned-singer added: "I've never mimed anything ever! I will fucking sing in your face anytime, anyplace dude. I've been a fan & a defender of u since day one...but don't u ever question my rock abilities!" Bach fired back: " You're full of s*** bro. Every clip on the Internet is you miming to a tape. I will sing in your f****** face anytime. Wrestling is not rock and roll. I will show you f****** rock and roll. Check your texts set up The Sing-Off I am ready when you are".

When Bach first went public with his Jericho accusation, FOZZY guitarist Rich Ward called Sebastian "universally disliked" and said that seeing Bach "publicly go after the only guy that I have ever witness utter a nice word about him is sad."

Sebastian, who has been outspoken about rock bands using pre-recorded backing tracks during live shows, later tried to explain his outburst, writing: "I'm not trying to beat anybody at anything. I'm actually trying to say hey Chris maybe you're right maybe I'll stop singing live and prance around while the tape is playing just like you do Chris. I'm tired of trying so hard it's like beating my head against the wall."

After a self-proclaimed Bach fan called Sebastian "an asshat" on Twitter for firing "the first shots" in his war of words with Jericho, Bach came back with: "Hey man f*** you. I have spent my life learning how to sing live on stage. When someone comes along and mimes to a tape it sucks for all of the rest of us that don't. You want to go see a wrestling match good. Don't call it rock and roll".

Jericho recently spent time in the studio recording vocals for FOZZY's follow-up to 2017's "Judas" album.

In a new interview with "The Ex-Man" podcast hosted by Doc Coyle (BAD WOLVES), HELLYEAH guitarist Tom Maxwell said that he isn't sure there will be a follow-up album to the band's latest effort, "Welcome Home", which was completed after the passing of HELLYEAH drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott.

"When he died — I'm not gonna lie — my passion, my love affair died as well with him," Tom said.

"I don't even know if there's gonna ever be another HELLYEAH record. I don't even know if I wanna make another HELLYEAH record without him.

"I'm at a point right now where I've done some amazing shit with some amazing people and I've released a lot of great records. And I've found success in those — more elsewhere than others," he continued.

"Like I said, my love affair has kind of been cockblocked a little bit. I don't find a need or a necessity to continue without Vince."

"Welcome Home" was released in September 2019 via Eleven Seven Music. The disc marked HELLYEAH's final effort with Abbott (formerly of PANTERA), who passed away more than two years ago.

STONE SOUR drummer Roy Mayorga stepped in as Vinnie Paul's replacement for the touring activity in support of "Welcome Home".

According to Maxwell, it was difficult for him to get up on stage as HELLYEAH without Vinnie manning the drums behind him.

"Vin passed, and we did two tours, and it didn't feel right, even though we had Roy, who's a brother," Tom admitted. "There's a lot of shows where I felt I was just phoning in my presence — I wasn't there."

He then reiterated: "I don't know if I even wanna do another HELLYEAH record. I just don't have the emotional need and drive.

"I feel personally, as Tom Maxwell — I'm not speaking for anybody else at all — but I don't know what I wanna do. I write songs all the time, and I write 'em for me, like I always did.

"I don't see myself doing another HELLYEAH record; I really don't."

Maxwell said that he doesn't rule out launching a fresh project as a way to get his music heard.

"I would love to get into something new, 'cause I have a lot of songs and I have a lot of music left in me that I'd probably wanna get out there, but I don't see it happening with what I have at my disposal right now," he said. "I need a breath of air, a new lung.

"I would need motherfucking players, for me to even have any interest in getting into a studio with everybody. I need motherfuckers.

"For my own sanity, I need to write, I need to fucking play songs. But with who and for who, I don't know. It's gotta be the right thing. I need to feel like I'm with guys that are likeminded — not green motherfuckers.

"I'm not a kid," he added. "Doing music and being in a band and being in an explosive band is a young man's world. And for me to be productive, I need to be with other productive motherfuckers that have juice. I have juice, but do the other people with me have juice? And if they don't have juice, I'm totally cool with not having juice and being home.

"I'm not throwing in the towel — nothing like that — and I'm not saying that I'm fucking done with shit," he clarified. "But what I am saying is it's gonna take something… For me to fucking leave my house, it's gonna take guys, gals, aliens — I don't give a fuck — with a vision and something special about it.

"So, moving forward, if something new were to come along, it would have to be something that is real and honest and transparent and fucking badass."

Mayorga's addition to HELLYEAH was made official in May 2019. At the time, the band said Roy was the perfect guy to take Vinnie Paul's place. "These men had so much love and mutual respect for each other, this makes our transition so much easier," HELLYEAH said in a statement.

Like the last two records, 2016's "Unden!able" and 2014's "Blood For Blood", "Welcome Home" was recorded at The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada with producer Kevin Churko.

Vinnie Paul died in June 2018 at the age of 54 in his sleep at his home in Las Vegas. The official cause of death was dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, as well as severe coronary artery disease.

During a recent chat with BraveWords, Kamelot guitarist Thomas Youngblood was asked if he has heard the new Conception album, State Of Deception, featuring former vocalist Roy Khan. He left Kamelot in 2011 for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by current singer, Tommy Karevik. Following is a previously unpublished portion of the interview.

Youngblood: "I've heard it and we've spoken a couple times because we're still partners on a lot of the Kamelot back catalogue. I've never really talked to him about why he left but I get it. When I look back now... like I said before, time is your most valuable asset. If you're not happy doing something it's smart to step away, and maybe do it a different way. Everything is cool. I was a Conception fan back in the day, which was one of the reasons I knew about Roy, so I'm just glad to see him, Tore (Østby / guitars) and the guys releasing new music. It's awesome."

Check out the new Kamelot feature on BraveWords here.

Conception released their new album, State Of Deception, on April 3rd, their first full length offering in over two decades. They have released an official video for "Anybody Out There", which can be viewed below.

Following on from 2018’s successful EP release My Dark Symphony, State Of Deception was released via their own Conception Sound Factory label.

State Of Deception follows a twenty year interval during which band members Roy Khan, Tore Østby, Ingar Amlien and Arve Heimdal remained friends throughout, and the album release marks the full-circle evolution of the band. Lead singer Roy Khan: ”The reception we’ve had from fans made recording a new album almost inevitable; they’d have rioted if we didn’t get this out! But we’re mightily proud of what we have put together here; I actually think it’s the best thing I’ve ever been involved in. We can’t wait to share it with everyone!”

In fact, reflecting the band’s desire for an entirely direct relationship with their fans, the album is wholly fan-funded. Moreover, State Of Deception is wholly self-produced, benefits from the stellar mix skills of Stefan Glaumann (Rammstein, Within Temptation, Europe etc), and is comprised of 9 tracks in total. Guitarist Tore Østby explains further, “Producing this new album has been an emotional and exciting process, digging deeper into the heart and soul of the band than ever before. The result is dynamic and intense, it really feels like we managed to capture the state of Conception 2020!”

State Of Deception perfectly captures the band’s trademark breadth of progressive sound, from symphonic melodrama to rock riff utopia, and also features eminent Amaranthe vocalist Elize Ryd.

State Of Deception tracklist:

“In Deception”
“Of Raven And Pigs”
“Waywardly Broken”
“No Rewind”
“The Mansion” (featuring Elize Ryd)
“By The Blues”
“Anybody Out There”
“She Dragoon”
“Feather Moves” (remastered)

“By The Blues”:

"Waywardly Broken" lyric video:




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On the latest episode of the 80’s Glam Metalcast, original Spread Eagle bassist Rob De Luca and vocalist Ray West talk about their plans for a new album in 2021, their comeback album Subway To The Stars, their killer debut record and more.

On what the band is currently up to

De Luca: "We are writing our follow up to Subway To The Stars. It's going really well so far. I'm very happy. It's always so cool to be creative, I never get tired of it. Our last record got the best reviews of career. We knew we had to make a strong comeback album. You can't comeback after all this time with a plate of shit. We worked very hard on Subway To The Stars. So I am hoping it will be at the same level. What we are coming up with is aggressive and maybe even a touch heavier. It's definitely geared toward Spread Eagle fans. Spread Eagle fans are geniuses. They are the smartest music fans in the world!" 

Looking back at their debut and coming out 30 years ago

De Luca: "It's crazy. It shows you how fast time goes by. We didn't tour with a lot of bands back then. We basically went out and headlined with local openers. We were heavier than a lot the bands that came out of the 80's. We weren't really a hair metal band. We called ourselves Street Metal. It was a grittier, dirtier version of what was big at the time. We liked what we were. We had our own thing in the genre." 

On their record label MCA

De Luca: "I don't know if they were the best label. They were mostly an Urban label. They were a rock label in the 70's. They decided to focus more on rock after Guns N Roses sold a billion records. There is a learning curve to everything and they weren't really up to speed of knowing what to do with bands like us. We didn't have that pop hit that they could plug into their machine to make us big. Bands like Spread Eagle require a different kind of grassroots building. You need a lot of patience and people out on the street promoting it, and they didn't get that. So it could have been a lot better for us." 

On getting sidelined by the grunge movement 

De Luca: "We liked a lot of grunge. But one of the strangest things happened that I had ever seen regarding style. All of sudden if you weren't in a grunge band or didn't look like you were in a grunge band....you sucked! It's impossible for a band like Nirvana to come in and make everything else not good, right? It's cool when new sounds come in, but people were acting like everything that came before 1991 sucks! It was really ridiculous. We were pretty dumbfounded by it. We were like building up, succeeding, gaining more fans. Then all of a sudden you are the most uncool band in the world. It wasn't realistic and it wasn't fair." 

Spread Eagle burst upon the hard rock scene of the late ‘80s/early ‘90s playing a brand of rock that hailed straight from the mean streets of New York City. When Paul DiBartolo (guitar), Rob De Luca (bass), and Tommi Gallo (drums) moved to New York City and met up with Ray West (vocals), East Coast Streetmetal was born. The group was quickly snatched up and signed to MCA/Universal Records, then sent straight into the legendary Record Plant studios to record their debut album. The self-titled debut was produced by Charlie Gambetta and featured a gritty and dangerous sound, wailing vocals and razor sharp guitar, demonstrated through songs such as "Switchblade Serenade", "Scratch Like A Cat", and "Broken City". Four years later, after the release and touring of their second album, "Open To The Public" (also produced by Gambetta), the band took an extended break and went about their own personal projects.

Spread Eagle reformed in 2006 under the direction of Ray West and Rob DeLuca (who has also worked with UFO and Sebastian Bach) along with two new members, Ziv Shalev (guitar) and Rik De Luca (drums). The band has been together ever since and decided to start production on a new album, scheduled for release in August 2019 on Frontiers. Songs for “Subway To The Stars” were put together in the Music Building in NYC, which is the exact same place where the songs for their debut album were rehearsed and written. Recording took place at Studio E in Brooklyn, NY with Grammy Award winning engineer Tom Camuso. The new album does not disappoint and picks off up where the band left off. Spread Eagle is a welcome addition to the Frontiers' family, where they will become yet another vital band from the '80s/'90s rock scene to release amazing new music in the 21st century.

Tracklisting:

"Subway To The Stars"
"29th Of February"
"Sound Of Speed"
"Dead Air"
"Grand Scam"
"More Wolf Than Lamb"
"Cut Through"
"Little Serpentina"
"Antisocial Butterfly"
"Gutter Rhymes For Valentines"
"Solitaire"

"Cut Through":

"29th Of February":

"Grand Scam":

"Sound Of Speed" video:

Lineup:

Ray West - Lead Vocals
Rob De Luca - Bass, Vocals
Ziv Shalev - Guitars
Rik De Luca - Drums, Percussion




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Two-time-Grammy-nominated band BRING ME THE HORIZON has enlisted fellow Brit Yungblud for its new single "Obey", out now via Columbia Records. The track premiered as Annie Mac's "Hottest Record" on her BBC Radio 1 show earlier today.

The official video for the single also premiered today. Directed by BRING ME THE HORIZON frontman Oliver Sykes, the visual was shot in London and stars both Oli and Yungblud who battle each other as robots before an unexpected turn of events occurs.

"Obey" is a soaring ode about how, as a society, oppression has been so normalized in our DNA that we can't even see it anymore. Oli says: "We consider ourselves free, but only because the chains are invisible, and we are controlled in ways we don't even want to think about. They tell us how to live with a smile on their face, like shit ain't fucked up, inform us of tragic statistics like it's nothing… it's a weird world."

Yungblud adds: "We are being told to conform to a completely outdated idea that we don't relate to or even understand. They teach us to turn against each other and to fight against our differences rather than embrace and celebrate them. They try to keep us divided because it makes us weaker. Robots follow robots, because they feel nothing at all. But what they don't realize is that to us, to be different is to be free, and a world of fucking love and equality is a world we want to be part of. We will rise above the hate and the diversion. We will fight for the world we want to be a part of. We will not obey."

Written by BRING ME THE HORIZON with additional production by Doom and Doom Eternal composer Mick Gordon, "Obey" is the third track lifted from the band's first EP of the "Posthuman" series. It follows the group's first song released during isolation "Parasite Eve", which has over 35 million streams to date. BRING ME THE HORIZON continues to use this time to create and write what is set to be some of its most boundary-crossing, powerful music to date.

Photo credit: Haris Nukem

SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor has unveiled his latest single, "HWY 666". It is available on all streaming platforms now and joined by an official lyric video.

Kicking up dust, rustling acoustic guitars introduce "HWY 666" as the tempo increases to a gallop only to turn on a dime towards road-burning distortion. The song blurs the boundaries between outlaw country, punk, and hard rock, complete with cinematic storytelling and a soaring hook.

"HWY 666" is the third single from Taylor's debut solo album, "CMFT", which will be released on October 2 via Roadrunner Records. Taylor recorded the effort with his band consisting of Jason Christopher on bass, Dustin Schoenhofer on drums, and Zach Throne and Christian Martucci (STONE SOUR) on guitar. The LP was completed at Kevin Churko's The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas with producer Jay Ruston, who has previously worked with ANTHRAX, STEEL PANTHER and STONE SOUR, among others.

"I love what I've done in the past, I love the projects that I've been attached to, but this, honestly, was probably the most enjoyable album that I've done since the first SLIPKNOT album," Corey told Kerrang! magazine. "There was such a sense of, 'We're doing it together.' I hadn't felt anything like that for a really long time, man. People grow apart, relationships become fractious… people stop liking each other sometimes, in certain bands, you know? But with this, it was totally different, because we were all friends before that. We just happened to all play together, and then we formed a band around that friendship, and it all really galvanized it.

"This has definitely made me appreciate making music again, let's put it that way," he added.

The first two singles from the album, "CMFT Must Be Stopped" and "Black Eyes Blue", were released in July and are also available on all streaming platforms now.

"I was talking to my wife about this the other day — I was, like, 'Fuck! There's nobody for me to hide behind!'" Corey told Kerrang! "It's easy to take risks when you have the benefit of a well-established name — and by that, I mean the bands that I've been in for 20 years. But I also feel like I've earned the right to put something out there and throw people for a loop — not only with the things that I've done with both bands, but the guest spots that I've done with several bands: everybody from TONIGHT ALIVE to Zakk Wylde to Tech N9ne. I mean, I've really spread out, in a cool way. I've never sequestered myself to one corner of the genre; I've never allowed myself to be painted into a corner. And I think because of that, people's minds are a lot more open when they hear that I'm putting something out. They're gonna come into it with this mindset of, 'Okay, I don't know what the fuck I'm about to hear. This should be interesting. I think by doing that, that really sets the tone for your career."

SLIPKNOT recently canceled all of its previously announced summer 2020 tour dates, including the "Knotfest Roadshow", Knotfest UK and Knotfest At Sea, due to the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the globe.

PINK FLOYD will get the jigsaw puzzle treatment this fall.

"Ummagumma", "Animals", "Pulse", "The Division Bell", "Wish You Were Here" and "The Later Years" will be made available on November 6, 2020 as a 500-piece puzzles.

Zee Productions will release the album cover as a jigsaw via its Rock Saws imprint. The iconic arts of some of rock's most influential and highly regarded albums is presented in puzzle form for the first time ever. All puzzles come in a vinyl-box-set-sized box, perfect to fit alongside a vinyl record collection.

Back in April 2019, Zee Productions launched its new range of rock and metal jigsaw puzzles, Rock Saws.

The first collection included jigsaws based on some of the greatest albums in heavy metal history from IRON MAIDEN, MOTÖRHEAD, JUDAS PRIEST and SLAYER.

Released in September 2019 were the first four classic METALLICA album covers as 500-piece jigsaws ("Kill 'Em All", "Ride The Lightning", "Master Of Puppets" and "…And Justice For All") as well as four classic RUSH album covers ("Fly By Night", "A Farewell To Kings", "Permanent Waves" and "Moving Pictures").

For more information, go to this location.

Grammy-nominated band CODE ORANGE will release "Under The Skin", a new digital album, this Friday, September 4. The record officially captures and chronicles CODE ORANGE's full-band stripped-down "Under The Skin" livestream with enhanced audio.

Conceptually akin to classic "MTV Unplugged" performances, but with digital twists and turns, CODE ORANGE originally transmitted "Under The Skin" around the world live via Twitch from Pittsburgh, Pennyslvania earlier this summer. "Under The Skin" also includes a striking rendition of the ALICE IN CHAINS classic "Down In A Hole", which is now available on the band's YouTube channel with performance footage shot and edited by Sunny Singh of hate5six. Furthermore, the band has launched limited-edition "Under The Skin" merch, including a DVD of the performance.

Earlier this year, CODE ORANGE's hour-long livestream "Last Ones Left: In Fear Of The End" saw the band delivering a powerful performance interspersed with cinematic imagery to nearly 13,000 concurrent viewers, with it quickly trending Top 15 on Twitter in the United States.

CODE ORANGE's latest album, "Underneath", was released in March via Roadrunner Records. Produced by Morgan and Nick Raskulinecz with co-producer Will Yip, the LP features additional programming from Chris Vrenna, and was mixed by Yip and CODE ORANGE's own Eric "Shade" Balderose.

In 2017, CODE ORANGE flipped the heavy music world on its head with their breakthrough album "Forever", a collection that masterfully mixed hardcore aggression with urgent industrial textures, earning the band a breakthrough Grammy nomination and top placement on several "Best of 2017" lists, including Rolling Stone's "20 Best Metal Albums of 2017", Revolver's "20 Best Albums of 2017" and The Independent's "Top 20 Rock & Metal Albums of 2017."

Last summer, CODE ORANGE made headlines in the professional wrestling world with the release of "Let Me In", their official entrance theme for WWE superstar "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt. CODE ORANGE previously featured at WWE's NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III performing a rendition of wrestler Aleister Black's entrance theme alongside Incendiary's Brendan Garrone. "Let Me In" followed CODE ORANGE's 2018 release of "The Hurt Will Go On", a digital EP featuring "3 Knives" and "The Hunt" featuring Corey Taylor, as well as "The Hurt Will Go On" (Shade Remix), an official remix of CODE ORANGE's "Hurt Goes On" helmed by the band's guitarist and vocalist Shade. More recently, CODE ORANGE collaborated with a wide array of artists, co-producing Injury Reserve's "HPNGC" featuring JPEGMAFIA, as well as serving up a pair of remixes for alt-J's "Hit Me Like That Snare" and "Adeline".

Swedish melodic death metal band DARK TRANQUILLITY will release their new album, "Moment", on November 20 via Century Media. The follow-up to 2016's "Atoma" will be the group's first LP since the addition of guitarists Chris Amott (ex-ARCH ENEMY) and Johan Reinholdz (ANDROMEDA) to the group's ranks. The two musicians have been members of DARK TRANQUILLITY's touring lineup for the past three years.

Founding DARK TRANQUILLITY guitarist Niklas Sundin announced his departure from the band in March, explaining in a statement that he "always enjoyed the creative process more than the performance aspects of being in a band, and the required extensive touring held less and less appeal with every album."

DARK TRANQUILLITY's current lineup is:

Mikael Stanne - Vocals

Anders Jivarp - Drums

Martin Brändström - Keyboards

Anders Iwers - Bass

Johan Reinholdz - Guitar

Chris Amott - Guitar

"Atoma" was recorded at Rogue Music in Gothenburg, the studio owned by DARK TRANQUILLITY keyboardist Martin Brändström. Mixing duties were handled by David Castillo, known for his work with bands such as KATATONIA, OPETH and CANDLEMASS. The cover artwork was once again created by Sundin.

In early 2017, DARK TRANQUILLITY released a seven-inch single featuring the two songs — "The Absolute" and "Time Out Of Place" — which had previously only been released as bonus tracks of the limited-edition CD version of "Atoma". These cuts were the most experimental and daring numbers ever from the DARK TRANQUILLITY camp, featuring a very different approach to their usual brand of melodic death metal.

PEARL JAM guitarist Mike McCready has praised NBA, MLB and other professional athletes for boycotting sports in protest of the recent police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The protests came on the heels of Sunday night's shooting of Blake, a black man, who was shot in the back seven times by a Kenosha Police Department officer. Blake was paralyzed from the waist down.

Earlier today (Thursday, August 27), PEARL JAM released the following statement from McCready via social media: "Thank you NBA, WNBA, MLB, and MLS for using your platform to protest and stand for equality in this country.

"We have to be continuous allies because we are up against 400 years of systemic oppression written into the laws of this country — laws that made it impossible to protest, vote, send kids to better schools, access hospitals, choose where to live, and even around marketing alcohol.

"Systemic racism goes deep and is embedded in our laws. In the neighborhood where I grew up, they had sundown laws. A local real estate company used to write in the legal deeds of houses that the 'property shall not be resold, leased, rented, or occupied except to or by persons of the Aryan race...' This stuff existed all around us but many of us are still blind to the extent of it and its impact. Only now is America finally waking up.

"As Martin Luther King Jr. said, 'the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.' I have to believe in the inherent value of protesting as part of the fabric of America. Everyone has to use the resources available to them to bring about equality. #JacobBlake"

The NBA postponed Thursday's playoff games. For the second straight night, three MLB games were also postponed. The NHL announced that four games scheduled for Thursday and Friday had been called off as well.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump was asked about several NBA teams opting not to play Wednesday night in protest of police violence against black Americans.

"I don't know much about the NBA protest," he said. "I know their ratings have been very bad because I think a lot of people are a little tired of the NBA, frankly. But I don't know too much about the protest, but I know their ratings have been very bad, and that's unfortunate. They have become like a political organization, and that's not a good thing. That's not a good thing for sports or the country."




#JacobBlake pic.twitter.com/BAsy3CuYXN

— Pearl Jam (@PearlJam) August 27, 2020

Cyhra guitarist Euge Valovirta has launched a new band, Red Wolf. Their first video, "Crossing The Line" can be viewed below. The song will be released on all digital platforms on September 2nd. The album Sessions Vol. 1 will be released on October 14th featuring 10 songs of riff based, groovy kickass metal.

They have unveiled the cover art and the tracklist for the album, which can be viewed below. Pre-save the album here.

Tracklist:

"Crossing The Line"    
"The Road"    
"The Point Of No Return"
"Running In Circles"
"The Devil Inside Of Me"
"Hypocrite"
"Watch It Burn"
"Coming For You"
"Face Of God"
"I Am The Night"

It all started in Spring 2020, during the COVID – 19 lockdown, when Euge Valovirta (Cyhra) had received compliments and questions about the songs he had used on his YouTube channel’s videos which were just 1-2 minute clips of cool riffs basically written for a particular video about a certain amp, effect pedal, etc.

Around the same time Adde Larsson, with whom Euge had played several Cyhra shows since he had filled in for Alex Landenburg, called Euge that he really likes Euge’s solo album, Easy Does It, and if he ever plans to record another he’d like to be the drummer on that.

Since all of their main band’s tours were cancelled, they had plenty of time so they decided that Euge will complete the aforementioned clips into full songs at his home studio in Helsinki, Finland and Adde will then record drums on them in his hometown Gothenburg, Sweden. When the demos of the songs were finished Euge decided that the songs require vocals and someone to finish the writing process with him and the first guy he thought who’d be perfect for the job was Samy Elbanna (Lost Society) and Samy replied immediately, without hearing a single song, that he is in.

Around the same time, Euge thought that he wants his old bandmate from Suburban Tribe Janne Joutsenniemi (Stone, Suburban Tribe) to play bass on the songs and Janne also replied immediately that he is in. Janne also growls on the album which he hasn’t done since Stone’s last album Emotional Playground (1991).

After the drums were done Euge, Samy and Janne recorded their parts at their home studios and by early July the recordings were finished, without the guys meeting once during this time, and the mixing started at IYP studios in Gothenburg, Sweden by Matthias Törngren.

Euge Valovirta: “All of this happened very naturally & effortlessly and this has been probably the easiest album writing & recording process that I’ve ever been a part of and I’m really happy how everything turned out. 'Crossing The Line' was the first song we completed and it set the direction for the rest of the album. It’s working title was 'JCM800' ‘cos it was written for my YouTube channels’ – video about my all time favourite amp; Marshall JCM800 2203 which I used on the album, naturally."

Samy Elbanna: "As a person who always has enjoyed creating and doing as much as possible, this was an absolute dream to be a part of! This has been without a doubt one of the funniest and most organic projects I’ve ever had the honor to participate! Great songs and a great group of guys, what could be better?!"

Janne Joutsenniemi: "I haven’t played or sung for a while so this was a nice change for me to rock out with the guys, even from a distance since everybody played their parts on their own for obvious reasons. I haven’t even met or talked with Adde but it was really fun to play the bass on top of his drums and my playing fitted naturally to his playing. I can hear hear the fresh and enthusiastic touch in everyone’s playing and everything was done in the spur of moment since we had no time or need to analyze and rehearse things any further. It was straight forward full speed ahead, trusting your own intuition and that’s what music is all about."

Adde Larsson: "Having been working together with Euge as a stand in drummer for Alex Landenburg in Cyhra for about 2 years and with a bunch of shows and tours under the belt together, me and Euge have really hit it off and he has become a very good and dear friend of mine. When this opportunity rose to do this project together there was absolutely nothing that would stop me in my tracks to take the change and join! To also be playing with Samy and Janne in the same band was a massive extra privilege and a surprise to say, especially knowing what they have achieved in their individual careers! It makes me very humble and excited to be a part of this machine and it’s just simply awesome and honouring to be a part of this all."

Red Wolf is:

Euge Valovirta – guitar
Samy Elbanna – vocals & guitar
Janne Joutsenniemi – bass & vocals
Adde Larsson - drums

Check out the band's official Facebook page here.




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Seven Kingdoms has dropped their new Short Film: The Great Goat Rodeo. The Great Goat Rodeo is released on video today as a special perk because the crowdfunding campaign for this release hit the first of three goals in less than 24 hours. Check out their Kickstarter here.

“It’s always pretty unbelievable to watch something like a crowdfund happen. We are so thankful for the fans that we have and hope that everyone enjoys this wild and ridiculous release”, commented vocalist, Sabrina Cruz. 

“Dictionary.com defines a Goat Rodeo as "a slang term for something going totally, unbelievably, disastrously wrong, and there’s nothing left to do but to sit back and watch the trainwreck. 

“Due to how the pandemic has hit the music industry, as a band, we had to make some serious changes to our release and touring schedule. We wanted to push something new a little sooner than later, and make something that is representative of the 'Goat Rodeo' that 2020 is. We have recorded a standalone Single, a Short Film and also an 8 Episode Documentary for immediate release as goals are met in our Crowdfunding Campaign. The Great Goat Rodeo is a fun idea we have had for a very long time, and it’s designed to give people a little comic relief in these uncertain times. We will immediately begin work on our next EP while this rolls out. Take a look at our Campaign for more information on the Project!”




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Brooklyn metal formation Tombs will be releasing their new studio album Under Sullen Skies on November 20 via Season of Mist. The tracklist and cover art can be found below. In conjunction with the announcement, the band is now sharing the devastating first single, "Barren". Preorders available here.

“The album’s title came during all this and the sort of post-apocalyptic world we’re living in,” frontman Mike Hill explains. “It encapsulates an overall feeling of gloom and depression which is pretty much how we’ve been living for most of this year. The title was the last piece to fall into place. I remember standing on the roof of the building I was living in at the time on a grey day and it was raining – actually, it wasn’t even raining; it was a half-assed attempt at rain! – and depressing and I just thought, ‘What a sullen sky’ and it just stuck with me.”

The album starts with “Bone Collector,” a furious blast of melodic black metal that shifts gears towards an anthemic fist-pumping slog through the Goth rock-thrash metal Venn Diagram. “Void Constellation” takes as many cues from Peaceville Three gloom and doom as it does the death metal stomp of Obituary and Incantation. “Descensum” mines the various well-worn parts of Ride The Lightning for influence before blasting the doors open with some startlingly spacious chromatic single-note atonality. As the album progresses, further textures and moods are employed via acoustic instrumentation and keyboards as well as sampled soundscapes all butting heads with furious second wave black metal and sly to nods to death rock heroes Sisters Of Mercy and Fields Of The Nephilim, all of the band’s motivations and interests being dropped into the chameleonic pair of tracks closing the album, “Sombre Ruin” and the appropriately titled “Plague Years.”

“‘Barren’ stands out as the song that’s most collaborative,” notes Hill. “Justin wrote the bulk of the riffs on that one, that sort of NWOBHM/Scorpions ending part is something I came up with, Matt added a bunch of guitar harmonies over it and Drew’s bass is laid thick underneath. That one is one of the biggest group efforts and one of the strongest songs on the record.

“I explore a lot of the archetypes that are used in folklore on this record, like werewolves and vampires which I’ve always been interested in, and on a song like ‘Secrets of the Black Sun’ I talk about the finite nature of our time on this planet, that nothing is really permanent and being aware of that whether as an individual or as a civilization, which I guess fits in with the pandemic and the changes that are going on. There are all kinds of other people, civilizations and creatures that have come and gone long before us and if you think about it over a long enough time span, everyone’s life expectancy goes down to zero.”

Cover art by Valnoir:

Tracklisting:

“Bone Furnace”
“Void Constellation”
“Barren”
“The Hunger”
“Secrets Of The Black Sun”
“Descensum”
“We Move Like Phantoms”
“Mordum”
“Lex Talionis”
“Angel Of Darkness”
“Sombre Ruin”
“Plague Years”

“Barren”:

(Photo by: Dan Higgins)




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Italian Gothic metal band Cadaveria is teasing their “return” on October 2. A short teaser can be seen below:

Cadaveria recently emerged with a quarantine version of their track “100.000 Faces”, taken from their 2007 album In Your Blood.

With this video, made during the lockdown, the band breaks a silence that lasted over two years, due to the singer's illness.

Cadaveria herself commented: 

"I haven't sung a Cadaveria song since December 28, 2017, the date of our last gig. I had decided to take a break in 2018 to make new experiences and to compose. Breast cancer came, not exactly the experience I wanted. Uh, what a hit! A great suffering ... and a great teaching. Many people is asking me if I am healed. ‘Who knows?’ I answer. The doctors can’t speak. Till now everything is fine and I go on. One of the things cancer taught me is that if you like dancing you don't have to wait for the storm to pass, but you have to learn to dance in the rain.

“We started to compose again, with enthusiasm but calmly. Meanwhile, we took off some cobwebs and recorded this quarantine video. See you soon!"




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Lyria's vocalist, Aline Happ, recently released on her YouTube channel folk reinterpretations with Celtic influences for the songs “Wasted Years” and “Children Of The Sea”, by Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath, respectively. The songs are part of a project developed during the Covid-19 pandemic, in which the singer covers pop and rock/metal songs. The video series features versions of David Guetta, Rihanna, Lenny Kravitz, Creed, among others.

“I really like both bands, they are classic! And these two songs are true rock/heavy metal classics. Heavy metal is already epic and it matches with symphonic and folk elements. So my idea was to bring an epic atmosphere with a folk and Celtic style for the songs,” explains Happ

“Wasted Years” is part of the album Somewhere In Time (1986) and was composed by the guitarist Adrian Smith. The song is one of the classics of the British heavy metal band, becoming an anthem for fans who admire the power of the riffs and the strong chorus: “So understand / Don't waste your time always searching for those wasted years / Face up, make your stand / And realize you're living in the golden years”.

The second song is “Children Of The Sea”, composed by Tony Iommi and with lyrics written by Ronnie James Dio. The song is part of the album Heaven And Hell (1980), the first without Ozzy Osbourne, and it was developed during a jam session between the two musicians. The album was the first of the band to receive silver certification, selling more than 60,000 copies in UK. This album attained gold certification, being the only one in the band's history to receive both certifications in the English chart.

The video was once again made entirely by Aline Happ, from conception to completion. The artist creates the instrumentals, records, mixes, masters, and even records and edits the videos posted on her channel. It is worth mentioning that the videos are made with the support of the fans on Patreon and Padrim (Brazil). Known worldwide, Lyria is a Brazilian band founded in 2012 by Aline Happ. Since then, the group has released two albums with crowdfunding support, Catharsis (2014) and Immersion (2018) and played in several Brazilian cities.

(Photo: Happ Photography)




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The Pineapple Thief have shared their new single, “Driving Like Maniacs”, which is the latest track to be taken from their upcoming album, Versions Of The Truth, which is out on September 4 via Kscope.

The track itself is harmonious and affecting in its delivery yet despite its atmospheric bliss, tackles the heavy subject of loss and separation. The accompanying video is a melancholic yet beautifully visual piece of work and captures a personal and profound journey through the eyes of frontman Bruce Soord whilst weaving between performances by the band.

“The song has a very specific meaning to me, from a very specific event in my life. But I always give George (Laycock), who produces and directs all of our videos, total control over how he wants to adapt it for the big screen. The main shoot was shot along a coastal road on the Dorset Jurassic coast, and I spent the sunset of an August evening driving up and down the coastal road in a car.  It brought back vivid memories from my youth,” comments Soord.

“The song is about estrangement, but George managed to find his own take on it.  About a father forced to abandon his child in order to save him, to care for him in absentia. Ultimately at least, there is light at the end of the dark tunnel.”

The performance element is also very important, sitting within that narrative. “We wanted to include the full band in this video. The Pineapple Thief is definitely a band, a true collaboration, so it made sense that George also included shots of Gavin, Jon and Steve playing.”

Throughout the album, The Pineapple Thief explore vast swathes of sonic territory, with minimalist passages building to explosive crescendos and instrumentals which blend disparate elements into flowing expressionism to create an immersive dichotomy.

It’s an album that holds up a mirror to the chaos and conflict of 21st-century life and tries to make sense of the distorted reflections that gaze back at it. A blurring between the real and the perceived, between meaning and intent. The title says it all: this is the soundtrack for a post-truth world.

“When you have conflict, the truth gets bent and kicked around, the facts get changed,” says Soord. “That’s why people argue or get divorced or fight - because nobody can agree on what the truth is. That idea of different versions of the truth especially applies to the world we’re living in right now. All these things are happening where nobody has any idea of what the real truth of anything is because everything is so distorted.”

The darkly anthemic title track opens the album and sows the seeds for what follows. Alluding to broken friendships and how the truth becomes the first casualty even in the most personal conflicts, it finds Soord approaching the subject from two opposite yet connected perspectives.

That very personal undercurrent flows beneath the entire album. The haunting and nocturnal "Driving Like Maniacs" paints a vivid picture of a friendship always destined to crash and burn, while the seven-and-a-half minute "Our Mire" finds Soord addressing the consequences that come in the wake of a broken relationship.

The themes of the album - ever-changing perspectives and malleable truths - are reflected in its artwork. An etching by the late German artist Michael Schoenholtz, it features a series of kinetic, abstract shapes that seem to reveal a different image to whoever looks at it. Gavin Harrison came across the etching just as the band were finishing Versions Of The Truth, and showed it to his bandmates.

“That particular etching just seemed to resonate with me,” says Harrison. “Within five minutes we had all chosen the same image. It was the fastest selection process of a band that I’ve ever witnessed. As is often the case with modern contemporary art, different people find different meaning within it. Personally I see it as an intriguing maze that depicts the mental process of creativity. It never has straight lines.”

Produced by the four members of the band - vocalist Bruce Soord, keyboardist Steve Kitch, bassist Jon Sykes and drummer Gavin Harrison - Versions Of The Truth marries a stellar musical breadth to a spectrum of emotions that run from anger and confusion to sadness and regret and even glimmers of hope. In places, the album is starkly autobiographical. In others, it confronts the chaos of modern life head-on.

What has emerged stands as The Pineapple Thief’s finest album yet. It takes the creative and commercial triumphs of their last two albums, 2016’s breakthrough Your Wilderness and its follow-up Dissolution and magnifies them. Musically bold and lyrically thought-provoking, this is the sound of a band determined to push themselves forward.

Versions Of The Truth will be released on CD, LP, digitally, Blu-Ray disc with bonus track and is now available for pre-order here.

Tracklisting:

"Versions Of The Truth"
"Break It All"
"Demons"
"Driving Like Maniacs"
"Leave Me Be"
"Too Many Voices"
"Our Mire"
"Out Of Line"
"Stop Making Sense"
"The Game"

"Driving Like Maniacs" video:

"Demons" video:

(Photo - Diana Seifert)




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Bay Area thrash legends Hexx have released a video for "Vultures Gather Round" - new song taken from the forthcoming studio album, Entangled In Sin.

The album will be released on September 25 on High Roller Records, and will be available as a vinyl LP, CD and digital download.

"The new album was recorded at the Sonic Room Studios in Livermore California and was engineered by Tim Narducci and produced by Bart Gabriel” says Hexx guitarist and founder, Dan Watson. "We put a lot more time and thought into pre-production with this album than we did for the Wrath Of The Reaper record. Bart Gabriel was key in helping us during the pre-production process. I would send him demos of potential new songs and he would check them over and advise us on everything from tempo to lyrical content and everything in between. He was a valuable asset to this recording and I will always be grateful to him and the folks at High Roller Records for their support,” he adds.

Stylistically the new album is closer to Hexx’s power metal roots than to the band’s brutal thrash/death metal period. "Yes, that was our intent from the beginning,” confirms Watson. "We love that classic '80s US power metal sound. It is the nearest to our hearts (...) There are some frantic thrashy elements to the new album but I would call this a classic US Power Metal record. I would say the opening track ‘Watching Me Burn’ is a fair cross-cut example of the material on this new album. Although each song is different and has its special place on the record contributing to the overall body of work.”

Tracklisting:

“Watching Me Burn”
“Entangled In Sin”
“Vultures Gather Round”
“Beautiful Lies”
“Power Mad”
“Internal Enemy”
“Strive The Grave”
“Touch Of The Creature”
“Wise To The Ways World”
“Over But The Bleeding”
“Signal 30 I-5” (bonus track)
“Night Of Pain” (bonus track)
“Terror” (bonus track)

“Vultures Gather Round”:

(Photo - Glenn Herring)

 




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One year ago, Portland, Oregon's Vintersea grabbed the ears of forward-thinking metal fans with their sophomore album (and M-Theory Audio debut) Illuminated. The group's sound was a great mix of majestic progressive metal, harsh blackened death and post-metal beauty.

On October 16, M-Theory Audio will shine a brighter light on the acclaimed predecessor to Illuminated, 2017's The Gravity Of Fall, with a limited-edition double-LP release that will spread Vintersea's initial full-length blast of sonic power – as well as their debut five-track 2014 EP, Constellations – across four sides of blackened wax. A CD reissue featuring expanded artwork and the Constellations material as downloadable bonus tracks will also be offered. Both formats are available now for preorder here.

Says guitarist Riley Nix, "Ever since the original independent release of The Gravity Of Fall more than three years ago, our fans around the world have been clamoring for a vinyl release. Our wonderful partnership with M-Theory Audio has now made that possible. When we entered the recording studio for the first time as a band, we couldn't have imagined that a few years later, we would be releasing that material – for the second time – in such a beautiful and complete package. As always, we want to acknowledge that this is only happening because of our incredible fans who loudly and publicly demand our music in every format imaginable! Thank you all."

Originally self-released in 2017, the album was recorded by Justin Phelps (The Mars Volta, Joe Satriani) and mixed by Evan Sammons (Last Chance To Reason). A taste of the group's nascent sound of the time can be found in the chilling music video for “The Host,” which has received more than 500,000 views on YouTube, and was produced, directed, and edited by Vintersea bassist Karl Whinnery.

Fronted by Malaysian-born singer Avienne, whose vocal range spans from haunting melodies to fierce growls, Vintersea delivers heavy, emotionally powerful and technically intriguing music that is undeniably inspired by the majesty of the Pacific Northwest. The band's compelling combination of progressive metal, black metal and post-metal has been showcased live alongside groups such as Ne Obliviscaris, Jinjer, The Ocean, Sirenia and Arkona. The group – which recently released a “quarantine playthrough video” for the “Illuminated” track “Fiery Tongue” – is currently putting the finishing touches on another new music video, which will be released in the coming weeks.




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Greek symphonic death metal outfit, Septicflesh, has revealed Kerim “Krimh” Lechner has completed the recording of drums for their upcoming album with producer Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios.

Kerim “Krimh” Lechner comments, “Working with Jens Bogren is always a special experience. His meticulous approach for drum sound and performance pushes you to give your absolute best. Can’t wait to show you what we have created!”

A studio teaser was released earlier in August:

Septicflesh recently released their Infernus Sinfonica MMXIX DVD / Blu-Ray. The Infernus Sinfonica MMXIX concert was taped in February 2019 during a sold out show at the Metropolitan Theater in Mexico City, Mexico. The unforgettable night was the largest production of its kind at the venue, which included the band, over 100 musicians from the Symphonic Experience Orchestra, the Enharmonía Vocalis Choir, and the National University of Mexico Children’s and Youth Choir.

The Blu-Ray / DVD can be ordered at this location.

“The Vampire From Nazareth” video:




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

Today, the band has revealed a new trailer in which they discuss the album's artwork, created by Dan Seagrave (Entombed, Gorguts). Watch below:

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

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

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

After Death tracklisting:

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

"Betrayer" lyric video:

"Enforcers Of The Plague" visualizer:

Lineup:

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




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German folk rock frontrunners, Schandmaul, have officially signed a worldwide contract with Napalm Records.

Founded in Munich 1998, Schandmaul quickly took the German and international music scenes by storm. Now with seven top 10 long-players (Germany), two nominations for the German Echo Award and millions of streams, they’ve truly manifested their standing at the top of the folk rock scene. Their musical trademark is stamped with bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, flutes and other standard medieval folk instruments. Schandmaul are the leading edge of the spear, with every album in their catalog offering a comprehensive example of their musical expertise.

Schandmaul state: "We are very much looking forward to working with Napalm Records and are bursting with energy! The further discussions have been very motivating - especially in these difficult times for our industry - like a light at the end of the tunnel. We're ready - Folk 'n Roll"

Thomas Caser, Managing Director Napalm Records, states: "Welcome - Schandmaul! We have been following the path of this unique act for a very long time and are incredibly proud to be able to successfully shape the future with Schandmaul. The new album will be another milestone in the band's career and we will spare no effort to ensure its success."

Schandmaul are:

Thomas Lindner - vocals, guitar, piano, accordion
Stefan Brunner - drums
Martin Duckstein - acoustic guitar, e-guitar, cister, banjo
Birgit Muggenthalter - bagpipes, (folk) flutes
Matthias Richter - e-Bass, double bass
Saskia Forkert - violin, hurdy-gurdy, background vocals

(Pictured at top, from left to right: Martin Duckstein, Saskia Forkert, Thomas Lindner, Stefan Brunner, Birgit Muggenthaler, Matthias Richter)




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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 artwork for Utgard, and what it was like working with Truls Espedal again:

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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Stone Sour have released a demo version of "My Name Is Allen", which is available for streaming below.

Guitarist Josh Rand states: "'My Name Is Allen': A darker side of The Human that wants to supersede the warring sides completely and plunge the shell into madness and rage- a cryptic hand of a drowsy God."




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Stardust, a Hungarian melodic rock/AOR band, will release their debut full-length, Highway To Heartbreak, on October 9 via Frontiers Music Srl. Today, fans can get their first taste of music from the album with the new single and video, "Runaway". Watch the clip below, and pre-order/save Highway To Heartbreak here.

One of the hottest new AOR bands to come out of the underground European scene, Stardust's independently released self-titled debut EP stirred up quite a buzz in the underground melodic rock scene. The band were put to the attention of Frontiers' staff during one of the Frontiers Rock Festivals. Impressed with the band's melodic rock stylings on their debut EP, Frontiers moved swiftly to sign the band to the roster. Of the band's sound, vocalist Adam Stewart says, "We love Def Leppard, Winger, Journey and all the 80's stuff... So, we took those influences and mixed it in with our own 'Stardust' way of doing things."

Of notable mention is that none other than the mighty Mark Spiro (Bad English, House of Lords, Giant) and Swedish guitar hero Tommy Denander helped the guys with songwriting and production for their debut album.

"One day I got a note from Mark Spiro! He wrote, 'Hey man, I found a good song that you would really love, what do you think?' I immediately listened to the song and it blew my mind! '2nd Hand Love' is a typical Spiro song with a magical atmosphere and a catchy chorus. I jumped right on it and made a new, modern kinda musical arrangement for the song. A riff centered verse, a bluesy chorus and a brand new intro part," explains Stewart of first single, '2nd Hand Love'."

“Our first EP got really good feedback from the fans, not only from Hungary, but from around the world,” says Stewart. “I am certain that our debut album will be enjoyed by even more melodic rock fans thanks to our new cooperation with Frontiers. Stardust plays AOR/Melodic Rock with catchy melodies and lyrics, so Frontiers is truly a perfect home for us!"

Founded by two friends, Adam Stewart (lead vocals) and Tim Keeley (drums) in 2015, the band is rounded out by Facey (lead guitar and vocals), Dave Legrand (keyboard), and Ben Martin (bass and vocals). The group's style is an amalgam of the classic melodic hard rock and AOR genres, with hooky choruses, beautiful keyboards, vocal harmonies, and loud guitars in the style of their favorite mid-80's bands, bringing to life this well beloved music in the 21st century.

Tracklisting:

"Runaway"
"Heartbreaker"
"Bullet To My Heart"
"Perfect Obsession"
"2nd Hand Love"
"Shout It Out"
"Can’t Stop Loving You"
"Eye To Eye"
"Hey Mother"
"Blue Jeans Eyes" (Bonus Track)
"The River Is Rollin’"

"Runaway" video:

"2nd Hand Love" video:

Lineup:

Adam Stewart - Vocals, rhythm guitars
Ben Martin - Bass
Dave Legrand - Keyboards
Facey - Guitars
Tim Keeley - Drums




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On October 2, Anaal Nathrakh will release their 11th full-length, Endarkenment, via Metal Blade Records. For a preview of the album, a lyric video for the new single, "The Age of Starlight Ends", can be seen below. The clip was created by Metal Blade Records' Vince Edwards, based on his interpretation of the lyrics (and approved by the band on that basis).

For a first preview of the album, the title track can be heard below.

The new album can be pre-ordered here in the following formats:

- jewelcase-CD
- 180g black vinyl (EU exclusive)
- clear grey / brown marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 300 copies)
- red / black marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- bloody pork pink marbled vinyl (EMP exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- clear w/ black, red, & white splatter vinyl (Kings Road exclusive - limited to 100 copies)
- oxblood red / brown marbled vinyl (US exclusive)
- clear sperm / white marbled vinyl (US exclusive)

Extremity has been Anaal Nathrakh's stock in trade for more than two decades, and with Endarkenment, they maintain their legacy of aural devastation. However, for all the furor they stir up, the duo have never been a two-dimensional entity, with a great deal of depth involved in everything that they do, and on many levels the new record is distinguished from its predecessors. "I think in terms of feel, it's brighter, more open and direct than maybe we've been in the past," states vocalist Dave Hunt. "Obviously I don't mean it's happy-go-lucky sounding, or suggestive of a sunny disposition. I mean something more like it burns with light rather than glowers with darkness. It's coruscating." The evolution since 2018's towering A New Kind Of Horror has been personal and profound, and is very much in line with that experienced by many of their listeners. "Personally, I feel more cynical, more bitter, with a greater sense that the world is fucked, and is continually re-fucked by people who have no idea what they are doing. Musically, I think we're more mature - not less frenetic, but better able to channel our energies where they'll be most effective. That's an ongoing process, you never finish growing into what you're doing and being better able to push at the edges of what you can do. But we aren't interested in evolving what we do, only how we do it. We remain unlike the vast majority of other bands in our sound, and we're proud of what we do."

With laying out a plan and then executing it not conducive to the kind of energetic, chaotic vigor Hunt and multi-instrumentalist Mick Kenney look for, the band follow ideas where they are taken by them and work spontaneously. Coining the phrase "riding a dragon" when recording - "making music with a sense that all you can do is hang on" - this very much embodies the tumultuous racket thrown up by Endarkenment, with its storms of blastbeat driven violence, frenzied riffing and panoramic choruses that suddenly change the direction of tracks. "We only really know what an album is like after we've finished it. Doing it any other way just wouldn't be right for us." One thing that was very clear to the band was the album's title and how prescient it is in current times, standing as the opposite of the Enlightenment, a movement that went against superstition and ignorance. Writing in the album's liner notes, Hunt says: "There has been, and continues to be, increasingly widespread rejection of Enlightenment-style values such as rationalism, skepticism, the rejection of faith in favour of judgements dependent on empirically verifiable phenomena and so on. There are local versions in many places, but in our native UK, this was summed up by politician/sinister gnome Michael Gove's famous claim that we've 'had enough of experts'. Thus we enter the age of endarkenment." With this as an overarching theme, Hunt, one of the more intellectual lyricists in contemporary metal, penned the lyrics to the record, exploring a diverse range of subject areas and looking in often uncomfortable directions.

The music was tracked entirely in Kenney's studio in southern California while the vocals were laid down in an industrial estate in Birmingham, UK, in a unit just down the corridor from where an S&M porn was being filmed. "It occurred to me not long ago that we haven't recorded together at the same place twice for ten years or more, and I think part of the reason for that is that is that the place itself doesn't really affect us. It changes the experience of actually doing it in terms of being there in person, obviously, but it doesn't really make any difference to the way we work together. Dedicated studios, expensive gear, acoustically isolated live rooms and so on - they're all great, I'm sure, but give us a quiet room with a lightbulb, a laptop and a shitty mic and we'll still do basically the same thing. The music and the atmosphere and the inspiration are in us, not in places or pieces of equipment."

Endarkenment tracklisting:

"Endarkenment"
"Thus, Always, To Tyrants"
"The Age Of Starlight Ends"
"Libidinous (A Pig With Cocks In Its Eyes)"
"Beyond Words"
"Feeding The Death Machine"
"Create Art, Though The World May Perish"
"Singularity"
"Punish Them"
"Requiem"

"Endarkenment":




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On October 30, progressive rockers The Flower Kings will release their new double album, Islands, via InsideOutMusic, just a year after the group’s much celebrated Waiting For Miracles.

Due to the COVID-19-pandemic, the album comes out quite a bit sooner than originally planned as the band’s creative mastermind Roine Stolt explains: “All shows and festivals were cancelled and the future didn’t really ‘unfold’ itself like we had hoped. To sit out the pandemic with no activities was not an option for us! We can’t be stopped by an evil virus! So, with members living in the USA, Italy, Austria and Sweden, the only way to realize this album, was to use the magic of the ‘net’, sending files around the globe and start building what now has become a mammoth-sized double album of 21 songs.”

The 92 minutes long Islands features artwork by legend Roger Dean (Yes, Asia, Gentle Giant, Greenslade, Uriah Heep) and all trademark sounds and melodies, the band is renowned for. From vintage keys to epic guitar solos, from odd drum patterns to symphonic elements, The Flower Kings present a dynamic and complex record that is bold, bombastic and beautiful.

Stolt reveals the following about the concept of the record: “The theme of the album is isolation - so the title ‘Islands’ felt like a most relevant title - as much of it circulates around isolation, loss, and the fear of being disconnected. Having to face this unexpected pandemic will leave marks on each one of us for a very long time and to lose loved ones forces us to soldier on, learning and growing a stronger version of ourselves in this fragile cycle of life.

"Musically; the aim has been to  create a bigger grand epic piece out of 21 songs - so they are all connected with themes that weave in and out - like the way ‘Sgt Peppers’ or ‘The Lamb’ were built on shorter songs,  but yet linked. So view it as one mega song or as 21 separate pieces, it is all  tailored to be listened to as one piece - like a cinematic 90min long ride.”

Islands will be available as massive Limited 3LP & 2CD box set with slipcase and 180 gram vinyl housed in two gatefolds, one single sleeve; as Limited Edition 2CD Digipak and Digital Album. Pre-sales will start September 11.

Tracklisting:

Disc One
"Racing With Blinders On"
"From The Ground"
"Black Swan"
"Morning News"
"Broken"
"Goodbye Outrage"
"Journeyman"
"Tangerine"
"Solaris"
"Heart Of The Valley"
"Man In A Two Peace Suit"

Disc Two
"All I Need Is Love"
"A New Species"
"Northern Lights"
"Hidden Angles"
"Serpentine"
"Looking For Answers"
"Telescope"
"Fool’s Gold"
"Between Hope & Fear"
"Islands"

Lineup:

Roine Stolt - Vocal, Ukulele, Guitars, Additional Keyboards
Hasse Fröberg - Vocal & Acoustic Guitar
Jonas Reingold - Bass, Acoustic Guitar
Zach Kamins - Pianos, Organ, Synthesizers, Mellotron, Orchestrations
Mirko DeMaio - Drums, Percussion
Guest: Rob Townsend - Soprano Saxophone

(Photo - Lilian Forsberg)




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Blue Öyster Cult founding member, Joe Bouchard, recently released his brand new solo album, Strange Legends. Today, he premiers the music video for the song, "Hit And Run". Watch below:

Joe Bouchard is best known as a founding member of Blue Öyster Cult. The original lineup sold millions of albums for Columbia Records, with such classic songs as “Don’t Fear the Reaper” and the #1 hit on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, “Burning For You”. Contributing to songwriting, and lead vocals on some of their greatest songs, such as “Hot Rails To Hell”.

Joe releases his sixth solo album Strange Legends though his and his brother’s (Albert Bouchard) new imprint RockHeart Records / Deko Entertainment (ADA/Warner Music Group).

Also, to celebrate the launch of RockHeart Records and the release of Strange Legends, the Bouchard brothers are offering a limited amount of the official RockHeart Records Cowbell autographed personally by both Joe and Albert.

Albert’s infamous cowbell part in “Don’t Fear The Reaper” was the basis of the classic Will Ferrell skit on SNL, which also starred Christopher Walken. With “The Reaper,” an all-time classic on YouTube and every other digital platform, with zillions of views, the Bouchard brothers are forever cemented in pop culture.

There are limited edition “Cowbell” bundles (while supplies last), which can be ordered here.

Strange Legends tracklisting:

"The African Queen"
"Forget About Love"
"Walk Of Fame"
"Hit And Run"
"Racin' Thru The Desert"
"She's A Legend"
"All Day And All Of The Night"
"Once Upon A Time At The Border"
"Bottom For The Bottomless"
"Strangely In Love"
"Winter"

"The African Queen" video:

“She’s A Legend” video:

"Forget About Love" video:




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