STYX's James "JY" Young spoke to Steve King of the Q105.7 radio station about how he and his bandmates are dealing with the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the globe. He said (hear audio below): "We have Zoom calls about every two to four weeks, and we are recording a new album, to be released, but we wanna wait until we can actually start touring again to actually put it out there. Now the most optimistic thing, I think, is the end of this year, and if Dr. Fauci [Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases] is right, it's the end of next year, so that would put us out in 2022, which would be the 50th-anniversary year of us signing our first recording contract, which is February 22, 1972. But if it's in '22 that this record comes out, it'll be 2-22-22, so maybe that's what we've gotta wait for."

STYX's upcoming album will be the follow-up to "The Mission", which was released in June 2017. That disc marked STYX's first new LP in 14 years. It was recorded at Blackbird Studios in Nashville, co-produced and co-written with Will Evankovich, a longtime collaborator of guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw's in the SHAW/BLADES band and who also plays with THE GUESS WHO.

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, four straight STYX albums sold at least two million copies — "The Grand Illusion" (1977), "Pieces Of Eight" (1978), "Cornerstone" (1979) and "Paradise Theatre" (1981). The band eventually replaced original singer/keyboardist/songwriter Dennis DeYoung in 1999 with Lawrence Gowan.

A&E Network's Emmy Award-winning "Biography" banner will premiere a new documentary special celebrating one of rock's biggest stars. Featuring exclusive interviews and archival footage, "Biography: The Nine Lives Of Ozzy Osbourne" delves into the many lives and incredible career of the man who has personified rock and roll rebellion for decades. "Biography: The Nine Lives Of Ozzy Osbourne" will premiere on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

The first trailer for "Biography: The Nine Lives Of Ozzy Osbourne" is available below.

"Biography: The Nine Lives Of Ozzy Osbourne" traces Ozzy's life from his childhood in poverty and time in prison, to fronting legendary Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees BLACK SABBATH and successful Grammy Award-winning solo career, to one of rock's elder statesman and a loveable 21st century television dad. The two-hour documentary explores how Ozzy has continually reinvented himself and his career to propel himself toward greater success. As Ozzy turns 70, he reflects on the intimate details of his successes, failures, and his unique ability for survival and perseverance —including never-before-seen interviews about his recent Parkinson's diagnosis. The documentary, a selection of the 2020 SXSW Film Festival, also features interviews with Sharon, Kelly and Jack Osbourne as well as friends and fellow musicians, including Rick Rubin, Ice-T, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Jonathan Davis, Post Malone and more.

"Biography: The Nine Lives Of Ozzy Osbourne" is produced by Osbourne Media and Critical Content for A&E Network. The documentary is produced and directed by R. Greg Johnston. Executive producers for Osbourne Media are Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy Osbourne, Jack Osbourne and Peter Glowski. Executive producer for Critical Content is Jenny Daly. LB Horschler is a co-executive producer. Executive producers for A&E Network are Elaine Frontain Bryant and Brad Abramson. A+E Networks holds worldwide distribution rights for "Biography: The Nine Lives Of Ozzy Osbourne".

Last month, Jack told "The Talk" about "Biography: The Nine Lives Of Ozzy Osbourne": "When you make a doc like this, it's a totally collaborative effort, and I'd done a documentary on my dad about 10 years ago. When A&E approached us, they were, like, 'We wanna do an A&E biography on Ozzy,' and everyone was on board. And the kind of stipulation for us was, we don't wanna make the same A&E biography that people have seen — this very kind of plug-and-play-type bio piece. Our director, Greg Johnston, who the family's worked with since 'The Osbournes' — he was one of the executive producers of that back in 2001; he knows the family better than anyone. And he came on board, and we basically said, 'All right, let's take the gloves off and get really honest.' And we gave him every bit of footage we have from 50 years of my dad's career. Creatively, it was very much Greg's vision, and I think he knocked it out of the park. Even mom [Sharon], who's been the kind of overwatch of Dad's entire life, I remember when we did the first screening for it, [she] really [was], like, 'Okay, that's good.'"

The celebrated "Biography" brand continues to highlight newsworthy personalities and events with compelling and surprising points-of-view and remains the defining source for true stories from some of the most accomplished non-fiction storytellers of our time. Extensive on-air and branded digital content, including short form, will roll-out on all platforms, including Biography.com, the home to hundreds of profiles of notable cultural figures and influencers.




FIRST LOOK at @AETV’s “Biography: The Nine Lives of #Ozzy Osbourne” premiering Monday Sept 7th!!https://t.co/wca4shUKNH pic.twitter.com/KUwIwZV3iG

— Ozzy Osbourne (@OzzyOsbourne) August 24, 2020

SHINEDOWN singer Brent Smith spoke to the "Talk Is Jericho" podcast about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's follow-up to 2018's "Attention Attention" album. Asked if he and the other members of SHINEDOWN are working on music remotely, Smith said: "[We're] definitely not doing the Zoom thing. At the moment, Zach [Myers, guitarist] will kind of send some stuff periodically. On the last record, it started with me and Eric [Bass, bassist and producer] — we'd kind of get in there and start kind of figuring some things out, seeing what the sounds are, and then we'd start bringing people in. But this time around, obviously, Zach's gonna be coming in sooner than later. Barry [Kerch, drums], he kind of comes in in the back half. I know for the very first time we're gonna bring our kind of the fifth member of the band in the studio; [Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer] Dave Bassett's gonna come to Charleston [South Carolina, where Eric has a studio] for a couple of weeks here in the next month or so. We're kind of figuring that out right now.

"We have to be together," Brent explained. "We've still gotta get in the same room with one another. And it's a collective… There's not an agenda. It's just, 'Let's get in here when it's time to go,' and right now it's time to go."

Last week, SHINEDOWN broke the record for the most No. 1s ever in the 39-year history of the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart, scoring its 16th No. 1 hit with "Atlas Falls". This also marked the band's 17th No. 1 on the Mediabase Active Rock chart and its sixth consecutive No. 1, following "How Did You Love", "Devil", "Get Up", "Monsters" and "Attention Attention".

Originally written in 2013, "Atlas Falls" was first made available from SHINEDOWN's vault in March as part of an exclusive song and T-shirt bundle for the band's COVID-19 fundraising effort.

SHINEDOWN also recently released its "Live In London" full concert video on YouTube.

This past Friday (August 21), SMITH & MYERS — the musical duo comprised of Smith and Myers — released dual singles, an original song "Not Mad Enough" and a re-imagining of "Rockin' In The Free World", followed by an album in October on Atlantic Records.

September 11 will see the release of the new DVD "Flying V". Issued as part of the popular "Inside Metal" series, "Flying V" was directed by Peter Hansen and produced by Hansen and Michael Denner, and features in-depth interviews with countless renowned metal guitarists who have helped make this make/model one of the most instantly identifiable instruments in all of rock.

"Flying V" chronicles the origin of the most unique guitar on earth and its incredible influence on the history of rock and roll and heavy metal. Hear from the rock stars themselves as they describe how, when, and why the Flying V forever changed their careers and altered their entire approach to guitar playing.

Journey inside the minds of the biggest icons of our era as they tell their riveting tales of discovery and passion for their beloved Flying Vs. Included are exclusive interviews with members of METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER, JUDAS PRIEST, MERCYFUL FATE, SCORPIONS, ACCEPT, MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP and more. This musical journey is one you will want to take over and over again as secrets of the Flying V guitar are revealed like never before.

Among the musicians appearing in the documentary are Dave Mustaine, James Hetfield, Kerry King, Michael Schenker, Michael Denner, Hank Shermann, Wolf Hoffmann, K.K. Downing, Mathias Jabs, Richie Faulkner, Andy Sneap, Brian Tatler, Andy La Rocque and Michael Amott.

And the rave reviews that this 67-minute documentary has already accumulated are impressive, including renowned rock photographer Mark "Weiss Guy" Weiss saying: "Whenever I saw the Flying V on stage, I knew it was going to be a killer show. I love photographing the V. How could you not? It screams rock 'n' roll! It has a presence all to its own. If I were to rate the Flying V, in the words of the TAP, I would give it an eleven one louder!"

Additionally, Bob Nalbandian (director of the "Inside Metal" series) declared it as an "awesome doc on the Flying V! Very informative and intimate interviews with some of the greatest guitarists in rock and metal. An absolute must for the guitar enthusiast!"

In a 2018 interview, Hetfield stated about his love of Flying V guitars: "As most kids who love certain bands, you just wanna get the same guitar that guy is playing. I mean, really! I wanted a white Flying V forever — that was it. I mean, c'mon! The SCORPIONS, JUDAS PRIEST… It was a heavy metal guitar. You know, Michael Schenker — white V. It was my dream to have a white V. When I finally got a V, it was kind of weird to play. When you're standing with it, sometimes it rolls off you. And you've seen pictures of THE KINKS with a Flying V, and he's playing through the middle, holding it this way. It's, like, 'Wow! That's weird.' But actually, when you're sitting down with it, you've got the V down there, it's super easy. I loved the V shape once I got used to it."

Hetfield's main guitar for recording and touring behind METALLICA's debut album, "Kill 'Em All" was a white Flying V copy by Electra. James used this in the studio and live until the neck snapped and it was retired.

"I got my white V in 1980," James told Guitar World. "It was the second guitar I ever owned, and I probably bought it for $200. I knew it was a copy, but we treated it as a real Gibson. I wanted a white one because Michael Schenker of UFO had one, so I needed one too. The neck snapped on it twice on tour. It's been glued quite a few times. It's got Seymour Duncan pickups in it, with a little more output for the crunch than the originals had. The only other thing that's customized is the artwork. That was the first guitar I started scratching stuff into."

SCORPIONS guitarist Rudolf Schenker told JAM Magazine about his trademark Gibson Flying V guitar: "I played a lot of guitars before I was running into the Flying V. [I] actually started with Framus, a German company, [before] going into Vox guitars. From Vox, I got [my] first Gibson guitar from my father. It's a Trini Lopez [ES-]175, I think, but this one was, especially when we start playing with the big Marshall amplifiers, very difficult to play because of the feedback floor. Then I got, believe it or not, a Fender, which I didn't like — it's not my way — but then I saw one picture of Johnny Winter with the Flying V. I said to my brother [Michael], 'This is my guitar. You think me, for a rhythm guitar player, it's not too much?' He said, 'No.' I [got] this guitar and started playing it with a fifty-watt Marshall [amplifier]. The sound was fantastic, so from this moment on, I played a Flying V. But there was one thing in between — my brother. He actually had a girlfriend and he took his Les Paul to his girlfriend's house. Somehow he forgot the guitar in the house of the girlfriend, and the girlfriend went with her parents over the weekend somewhere. We had a big festival to do, and... my brother came to me and said, 'Hey, I have no guitar. What can we do?' In the end... [I said,] 'Try my Flying V with the fifty-watt Marshall.' He tried it and he said, 'Yes, that's working.' After the concert, he came to me and said, 'Rudolf, I can't give you back the Flying V. The sound is so good.' That's the point when my brother went to UFO... I said to myself, 'I want to have back the Flying V,' because I tried Firebirds, I tried Explorers, all this stuff, and none made the sound... like the Flying V. I play [a] Flying V since then permanently."

As Y&T was about to wrap up its 27-city 2020 U.S. tour last March, the virus hit. Three shows canceled, and the band was sent home three days early. Fast forward five months later — no touring or Y&T shows to be had and nothing but time to kill.

After doing a few solo acoustic live streams, Y&T bassist Aaron Leigh started writing some new solo material in June.

"I've been wanting to release some solo material for a while now, but with Y&T's usual year-round touring schedule, it made finding time to record difficult... but now the time is right," Aaron says.

Leigh's new solo single, "Insanity", was written and produced with all vocals and instruments performed by Aaron with the exception of a guest spot featuring his good friend Frank Hannon (co-founder/lead guitarist of TESLA), who played a guitar solo on the track.

"As I was in the recording process for 'Insanity', I was already thinking that I wanted Frank Hannon to play a guitar solo on the track... and, of course, he nailed it," Aaron says.

"Insanity" will be available on all streaming services on Friday, September 25.

On Saturday, August 29 at 3 p.m ET, Florida-based metallers TRIVIUM — the kings of streaming who've been embracing the art of the livestream for years — will play a free show that will stream on singer/guitarist Matt Heafy's Twitch channel. The performance will take place live from the band's rehearsal space in Orlando.

In addition to a new and limited-edition merch drop, the set will be filled with deep cuts that fans may never have seen live before. See the full setlist below.

"The Deepest Cuts" setlist:

* "Torn Between Scylla & Charybdis"

* "No Way To Heal"

* "Suffocating Sight"

* "Like Callisto To A Star In Heaven"

* "Detonation"

* "The Revanchist"

* "A Skyline Severance"

* "Of Prometheus And The Crucifix"

* "When All Light Dies"

* "Ascendancy"

* "To The Rats"

* "Dusk Dismantled"

* "Scattering The Ashes"

* "Bending The Arc To Fear"

* "The Ones We Leave Behind"

TRIVIUM's ninth full-length album, "What The Dead Men Say", was released on April 24 through Roadrunner Records. The LP, which was produced by TRIVIUM and Josh Wilbur, is the follow-up to 2017's "The Sin And The Sentence". That effort marked the band's first release with drummer Alex Bent, who joined TRIVIUM in 2016.

As previously reported, TRIVIUM's North American tour with MEGADETH, LAMB OF GOD and IN FLAMES has been rescheduled for 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.




On Saturday, August 29th we, The Kings Of Streaming present you: The Deepest Cuts, a free livestream series live from our rehearsal room via @matthewkheafy’s Twitch channel at 12pm LA * 3pm NY * 8pm UK * 9pm EU*. See you there! pic.twitter.com/B0obD6wIIG

— Trivium (@TriviumOfficial) August 24, 2020

Don Dokken spoke to Full In Bloom about DOKKEN's longtime drummer "Wild" Mick Brown, who left the band last year due to health issues. He said (hear audio below): "I remember the day he quit. We were at the airport. And we knew he was struggling — his knees hurt, his arms hurt, his elbows hurt, his fingers hurt. And I remember he pulled me aside. We only had three shows to go, and we had a couple of days off. And we were standing outside in front of the airport, and he says, 'Look, man, I can't do this anymore. I just can't.' And I said, 'You're not happy?' And he goes, 'No. I just can't physically do it. I'm done. I've been playing drums for 50 years, since I was 10 years old, and my body is worn out. My back hurts.'"

He continued: "There was, like, little signs. We'd get off the airplane and we'd be taking our carry-ons and walking to baggage and Mick would be way behind us walking real slow and limping. His hips hurt, his legs hurt. He just wore himself out, like a football player. You play football and you get beat up long enough, you can't play football anymore. And Mick had the hardest job in the whole band. I'd like to see anybody bash those drums for 50 years and not get injured. Same as Neil Peart and RUSH. He retired because of all his physical problems, because you play drums and it kicks your ass. Just flying would hurt Mick's back and his hips — just sitting in a plane. He'd be in a lot of pain. A couple of times, I used to have to help him out of his seat because he was just hurting."

Asked what Brown is doing now, Dokken said: "Honestly, I have not spoken to him since the day he left the band. We were friends for 40 years. He went off social media and shut all his social media down, and his web site. I heard, a week after he got home, he put his drums up for sale, and I hear that he's just living in Arizona, riding his Harley and kicking back and playing PlayStation. But he kind of, for some reason, broke off contact with everybody. I know he did a video with [George] Lynch and [Jeff] Pilson and Robert Mason called THE END MACHINE, and he's playing drums on that, in the video. But I did notice in the video of THE END MACHINE — I know Mick pretty well and I could see Mick in the shots and he's playing a lot softer than he used to. But I have not spoken to Mick since the day he left the group, which is kind of sad, 'cause I always thought of us as really good friends. We grew up together… Mick sees it as his past and he just wants to let it go."

Brown's replacement in DOKKEN is BJ Zampa, who has previously played with HOUSE OF LORDS.

DOKKEN's classic lineup — including Dokken, Brown, Lynch and Pilson — reunited for a short Japanese tour in the fall of 2016. The trek marked the first time in 21 years the four musicians had hit the road together.

Sam Astaroth, frontman for Toronto-based black metal band Astaroth Incarnate, has checked in with the following update:

"Hey everyone! Your friendly neighborhood demon Sam Astaroth here! Cattle Decapitation is one of my favorite death metal bands and I absolutely admire Travis Ryan's vocals. So, I figured to restart my channel and start doing vocal covers again, why not attempt to cover this beast of a song! 'Bring Back The Plague' felt like the perfect song to cover during this Covid pandemic quarantine times, so here it is. Enjoy!" 

Astaroth Incarnate recently released a new EP, entitled Ascendance. It includes a cover of the Cradle Of Filth classic "Her Ghost In The Fog" featuring guest appearances from Hexenklad / former Eclipse Eternal frontman Voldemars and Alina Snowmaiden. They have released an official video for the track, which can be viewed below.

Check out the band's new Ascendance EP via Spotify here.




(function() {
var zergnet = document.createElement('script');
zergnet.type = 'text/javascript'; zergnet.async = true;
zergnet.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https:" : "http:") + '//www.zergnet.com/zerg.js?id=70729';
var znscr = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
znscr.parentNode.insertBefore(zergnet, znscr);
})();

Lzzy Hale says she has "already succeeded in besting" HALESTORM's 2018 album "Vicious" with the material she has been writing for the follow-up effort.

"Write...redraft...write... ok ...there's something special...follow it...finish it!" she wrote in an Instagram post on Friday (August 14).

"I can't wait for all of you to hear these new tunes myself and the boys have been cooking up.

"If You are your own worst critic... like I am... you know how good it feels to be so proud of a little piece of music, to chase down in mid-air something that excites you and turn your thoughts into life.

"I feel like I'm writing the best songs I ever have ... and have already succeeded in besting our last album. So I will continue to pour my heart into everything that I do...and be my truest self."

Lzzy and HALESTORM's Joe Hottinger recently told Cryptic Rock that they have been using the coronavirus downtime to work on the band's new disc. "Yeah, we have a lot of new music," Joe said. "We had a ton of new music that we had been working on before this thing went down. Now, since we've been stuck [at home in Nashville], Lzzy has written a ton of songs and I've been working on those. It all feels kind of fresh again; topics have deeper, new meanings."

Lzzy added: "There is that dichotomy of, I'm sad that we can't be in a studio right now to make our new record. However, we were one of the lucky ones because we actually slated this time to be able to write a record. Right now we are supposed to be in pre-production in the studio, but we can't do that. The positive is, I think, we are writing better songs right now with everything at a standstill. It has become less of a career move, less of 'We have to do a record and promote it.' It's more looking deeper inward, but also looking at that big picture in all aspects; everything means something different now. I'm trying to take advantage of that as much as I can."

HALESTORM has been writing and demoing material since January, with Hale saying she can record almost everything except drums in her home studio.

Lzzy and her brother Arejay (drums) formed the band in 1998 while in middle school. 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.
























View this post on Instagram


































Write...redraft...write... ok ...there’s something special...follow it...finish it! I can’t wait for all of you to hear these new tunes myself and the boys have been cooking up. If You are your own worst critic... like I am... you know how good it feels to be so proud of a little piece of music, to chase down in mid-air something that excites you and turn your thoughts into life. I feel like I’m writing the best songs I ever have ... and have already succeeded in besting our last album. So I will continue to pour my heart into everything that I do...and be my truest self. Love and miss you all! Photo by @thejoestorm

A post shared by LZZY HALE (@officiallzzyhale) on Aug 14, 2020 at 5:33pm PDT

William Shatner will release a new album, "The Blues", on October 2 via Cleopatra Records. The effort find the legendary actor deliver exactly what the title suggests: covers of blues classics. Due on October 2, it will feature versions of songs penned by Robert Johnson, Albert King and B.B. King, Muddy Waters and other genre shapers, plus THE DEAD SOUTH smash "In Hell I'll Be In Good Company" and one original.

"The Blues" is Shatner's fourth album with Cleopatra, following 2011's "Seeking Major Tom", 2013's "Ponder The Mystery" and 2018's "Shatner Claus: The Christmas Album".

Among the guests featured on "The Blues" are Brad Paisley ("Sweet Home Chicago"), Jeff "Skunk" Baxter ("Smokestack Lightnin'"), Steve Cropper ("Route 66") and Pat Travers ("I Put A Spell On You"). The LP's latest single, "The Thrill Is Gone", featuring iconic DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW guitarist Ritchie Blackmore on guitar and his wife, Candice Night, on background vocals, can be streamed below.

"The Blues" will be released on CD and limited-edition colored vinyl.

An animated music video for the track "I Put A Spell On You", featuring Travers, will coincide with the album's release.

"The Blues" track listing:

01. Sweet Home Chicago (feat. Brad Paisley)

02. I Can't Quit You Baby (feat. Kirk Fletcher)

03. Sunshine Of Your Love (feat. Sonny Landreth)

04. The Thrill Is Gone (feat. Ritchie Blackmore)

05. Mannish Boy (feat. Ronnie Earl)

06. Born Under A Bad Sign (feat. Tyler Bryant)

07. I Put A Spell On You (feat. Pat Travers)

08. Crossroads (feat. James Burton)

09. Smokestack Lightnin' (feat. Jeff "Skunk" Baxter)

10. As The Years Go Passing By (feat. Arthur Adams)

11. Let's Work Together (feat. Harvey Mandel & CANNED HEAT)

12. Route 66 (feat. Steve Cropper)

13. In Hell I'll Be In Good Company (feat. Albert Lee)

14. Secrets Or Sins

Ozzy Osbourne has weighed in on the latest celebrity trend: face tattoos.

While notable figures like Mike Tyson and Tekashi 6ix9ine have sported face tats in the past, recent months have seen more stars than ever tatting their cheeks and foreheads, including MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee, rapper Post Malone and model Amber Rose.

Speaking on his Ozzy's Boneyard SiriusXM channel, Ozzy said about the prospect of getting a face tattoo: "I would never do that.

"Anything above the collar should be stopped. To be honest, it makes you look dirty."

The 72-year-old BLACK SABBATH singer went on to admit he hasn't been able to handle tattoo pain as well as he used to.

"They reckon that as you get older, it hurts more," he said. "When I started getting this fucking sleeve, I was, like, 'I am too old. Stop.'

"I was 50 something and I was like, 'What the fuck are you doing?' When he got my elbows, I was, like, 'What are you doing? What are you paying this fucking asshole to do?' "

Last year, SLAYER and EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt said that he was alarmed by the number of younger rap artists having face tattoos. "That's what dudes looked like when they passed out on the bus — we'd Sharpie the fuck out of you," Gary said. "And now that's what they look like on purpose. It's crazy. They're all fucking Sharpied up."

Post Malone recently added a new inking of a buzzsaw dripping with blood. He also has the phrase "Always Tired" tattooed under each of his eyes.

Earlier this year, Malone opened up about his many face tattoos, telling GQ Style that there's more to it than aesthetics.

"I'm a ugly-ass motherfucker," he said. "[The face tattoos do] maybe come from a place of insecurity, to where I don't like how I look, so I'm going to put something cool on there so I can look at myself and say, 'You look cool, kid,' and have a modicum of self-confidence, when it comes to my appearance."

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH frontman Ivan Moody sports a couple of tattoos on his head: a mohawk tattoo made to look like reptilian scales and feathers on his scalp, and a phoenix in flight, which marks his first year sober.

Back in 2014, Moody's FIVE FINGER bandmate Jason Hook got the word "Driven" added to his right temple.

KORN bassist Fieldy has a couple of face tattoos: a crucifix on the left side of his face, and the word "love" in Hebrew on the right side. KORN guitarist Brian "Head" Welch also has several symbols on his face, including stars, teardrops, music notes and a cross.

Sweden's TRIBULATION will release a new album, "Where The Gloom Becomes Sound", in January 2021 via Metal Blade Records in North America and Century Media Records in the rest of the world.

Having most recently toured comprehensively across Europe with GHOST in support of its first live album/DVD, 2019's "Alive & Dead At Södra Teatern", "Where The Gloom Becomes Sound" marks TRIBULATION's fifth studio album release, and the follow-up to 2018's "Down Below", which received worldwide critical acclaim and also won a Grammis award in the group's home country.

"Where The Gloom Becomes Sound" was engineered and produced throughout the last months with Jamie Elton at Studio Ryssviken in Stockholm, Sweden, mixed and addionally produced by Tom Dalgety (GHOST, OPETH, KILLING JOKE, PIXIES) at Psalm Studios, U.K. and mastered by Magnus Lindberg at Redmount Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. The album's elegant cover artwork features a statue by Fernand Khnopff from the 19th century and can be seen below.

TRIBULATION checked in with the following comment about "Where The Gloom Becomes Sound": "'Down, further down, Where the Gloom Becomes Sound...', Anna-Varney Cantodea once sang in a previous millenium, in a different world. And further down than 'Down Below' we went with this one. The album is a sombre one, filled with ghastly shadows and elemental magic — a mythological bestiarium vocabulum ranging from the desert sands to the midnight sun, from our murky prehistorical past to our potentially luminous futures. Figuratively, literally and musically. We worked together with producer Jamie Elton to create something wild and imaginative, something that would take the listener on a nightly adventure along with Fernand Khnopff's enigmatic sibyl on the cover and with all the gods and goddesses, nymphs and demons that we conjured up during the recording. As an icing on an already frosted cake we had the help of Tom Dalgety for the finishing touches."

TRIBULATION is:

Johannes Andersson - Bass/Vocals

Jonathan Hultén - Guitars

Adam Zaars - Guitars

Oscar Leander - Drums

Rising from the pandemic ashes, the Polish melodeath pirates Vane have something special for all the groove/melodic death metal maniacs out there - a brand new video for "Walk The Plank" and the announcement of their new EP The Nightmare, due September 3rd.

Directed by Robert Zembrzycki (who also happens to play guitar in the band), the "Walk The Plank" video is the latest installment in the cinematic tale that accompanies Vane's crushing brand of metal. With production value that wouldn't look out of place on the big screen, the video evokes a riff-fueled adventure on the high seas; shots of the band are intermixed with a look into the sinister world of the dread-pirate Charles Vane. And yes... there are plenty of pyrotechnics; both on screen and courtesy of the band's fearsome approach to songwriting. If you're a fan of Carcass, At The Gates, In Flames, Lamb Of God or simply pirates, you're going to find something to love in this new video.

Vane has revealed the artwork and tracklisting for their new EP The Nightmare, which will be released on September 3rd. Pre-orders can be placed now at this location.

"Row, Ye Scallywags!"
"The Cannibal"
"The Burial"
"Become The Nightmare"
"Walk The Plank"

The new EP, which contains two previous singles and three brand new songs, completes the band's melodic death metal re-telling of the story of the legendary pirate ship The Flying Dutchman and its dark legacy of piracy, murder and the occult.

 




(function() {
var zergnet = document.createElement('script');
zergnet.type = 'text/javascript'; zergnet.async = true;
zergnet.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https:" : "http:") + '//www.zergnet.com/zerg.js?id=70729';
var znscr = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
znscr.parentNode.insertBefore(zergnet, znscr);
})();

3Teeth has released Guns Akimbo - a two track album featuring cover songs of "Ballroom Blitz" by Sweet and "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" by Dead Or Alive. Both songs are featured in the 2019 film Guns Akimbo starring Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter). Purchase or stream the new music here.

"We were in the middle of an eight-week summer tour when Jason (the director) hit me up on Twitter basically asking if we'd be interested in working on some music for his new movie," states 3Teeth frontman Alexis "Lex" Mincolla.

"I thought his last film Deathgasm was super fun and when he told me the plot and showed me some scenes for Guns Akimbo, I was immediately interested. He then told me the cover songs it would be, which made me a little skeptical, and then told me we basically had like ten days to turn in masters, which was pretty daunting because we literally had one day off on our tour schedule which landed two days before it needed to be turned in. I knew it was going to be nearly impossible but I said fuck it, we'll make it happen. So after our show in Nashville we spent a full 12-hour day at Southern Ground Studios and didn't leave til we had the tracks. I remember thinking to myself at one point, why the fuck did I agree to this time frame? And how badly everyone just wanted to sleep in on our day off, but somehow someway it wall worked out and Jason and the producers loved the music. So the lesson learned here is, fuck days off." 

"I was approaching the end of Guns Akimbo post production, and had a big problem," adds director Jason Howden. "None of the music cues for a particular action scene were working. The scene features our hero Miles (Daniel Radcliffe) being tracked down to his work by a deranged spree killer, who proceeds to spray the office with a lead bukkake. It needed something special. I decided to reach out to one of my favorite bands: 3Teeth. I had been thrashing their latest album Metawar, which is pretty much the official soundtrack to the apocalyptic hellscape we call modern society. I knew their catchy brand of industrial metal would be perfect for the on-screen insanity."

"Although they were busy touring, Lex generously agreed to smash out a version of Dead Or Alive's - 'You Spin Me Round' on one of their rest days. I was under the gun, being told that if we didn't have a track in a few days, a lame generic music cue would have to suffice. Fortunately, 3Teeeth blew everyone away with a crushing take on the '80s glam pop hit that both surpasses and subverts it. The producers loved the track so much that they agreed to have them record a second cover song, Sweet's 'Ballroom Blitz'. Working with 3Teeth on the film was an absolute blast. These singles are like crack for your ears, and compliment the bubblegum hyperviolence of Guns Akimbo perfectly." 

Guns Akimbo trailer:

"You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)":

"Ballroom Blitz":

(Photo - Sequoia Emmanuelle)




(function() {
var zergnet = document.createElement('script');
zergnet.type = 'text/javascript'; zergnet.async = true;
zergnet.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https:" : "http:") + '//www.zergnet.com/zerg.js?id=70729';
var znscr = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
znscr.parentNode.insertBefore(zergnet, znscr);
})();

Members of SLIPKNOT, LAMB OF GOD, VOLBEAT, ANTHRAX, EXODUS, OVERKILL, MACHINE HEAD, HATEBREED and TRIVIUM are among the musicians who have reacted to the passing of Riley Gale, lead singer of thrash metal band POWER TRIP, who has died at the age of 35.

The Dallas, Texas-based group confirmed Riley's death in a statement on Tuesday (August 25).

"It is with the greatest of sadness we must announce that our lead singer and brother Riley Gale passed away last night," the band wrote.

"Riley was a friend, a brother, a son. Riley was both a larger than life rock star and a humble and giving friend.

"He touched so many lives through his lyrics and through his huge heart. He treated everyone he met as a friend and he always took care of his friends.

"We will celebrate Riley's life and never forget the great works of music, charity, and love that he left behind.

"You, the fans, meant so much to him, please know how special you are.

"If you have a memory of Riley please share it, no matter how small, as we remember him."

POWER TRIP released two albums on Southern Lord, 2013's "Manifest Decimation" and 2017's "Nightmare Logic". A rarities compilation, "Opening Fire: 2008-2014", followed in 2018.

"Nightmare Logic" peaked at No. 22 on Billboard's Hard Rock Albums chart.

POWER TRIP was said to be working on its third album at the time of Riley's death.




Rest easy Riley pic.twitter.com/BWzR02MSSD

— Volbeat (@VOLBEAT) August 26, 2020








We are saddened to hear this shocking news. Thoughts go out to Riley’s friends and family. RIP brother @powertriptx https://t.co/uf6CPzBWqA

— OVERKILL (@OverkillBand) August 26, 2020








Just heard about Riley. Goddamnit. Sending love to his family and friends and his band. @powertriptx

— Scott Ian (@Scott_Ian) August 26, 2020








Totally shocked about this, RIP Riley ?, my heart goes out to his family and the #powertrip guys https://t.co/vZ019nmZZd

— Charlie Benante (@skisum) August 26, 2020








Sorry to hear the news of #RileyGale passing, we have crossed paths before and I want to give my regards to his family, friends and band-mates. @powertriptx

— Joey Belladonna (@jbelladonna) August 26, 2020








Very sad to hear about the death of Power Trip singer Riley. Saw them open for Cannibal Corpse and they were fucking awesome. Sending positive energy to the bandmembers and his family ??? https://t.co/pzJU3D0rwk

— Robb Flynn (@TheGeneralMH) August 26, 2020








So sad to hear of Riley Gale’s passing. I only had the good fortune of meeting him once, but he had a way of making you feel like you’d known him forever, instantly. Such a profound loss. Love and deepest sympathies to @powertriptx and everyone close to him.

— Jay Weinberg (@jayweinbergdrum) August 26, 2020








Rest In Power Riley Gale. A great frontman, wise beyond his years & bad ass on the mic! You will be greatly missed. Such a loss for heavy music. Our condolences to all who loved him. #RipRileyGale #PowerTrip https://t.co/t26lcEb4oG

— Hatebreed (@hatebreed) August 26, 2020








Posted in Tribute to my friend Riley Gale.... Gone far to soon.. 35yrs old.. GOD BLESS YOU homie... So Fn sad.... pic.twitter.com/DwHoXdVj7R

— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) August 26, 2020








We are in complete shock.

Riley and the PT family have ALWAYS been welcoming and kind to us, from day one. Our community lost genuinely one of the nicest, most fun loving souls I have ever encountered. Tell your friends and family you love them, even the ones you don’t talk to. https://t.co/AGbc7fHiLR

— Harm's Way (@harmsxway) August 26, 2020








Rest In Peace Riley. Thank you for the pic @alexbentdrums pic.twitter.com/cKljwndQdB

— Matthew kiichichaos Heafy (@matthewkheafy) August 26, 2020








Rest in Power Riley Gale. 34 is waaayyy too young.#rileygale #powertrip #texasthrash #dallasmetal #manifestdecimation #nightmarelogic #southernlord pic.twitter.com/HrxZVgzfQA

— Earache Records♠️ (@EaracheRecords) August 26, 2020








We lost a real one maniacs...Rest in Power, Riley. #RIPRileyGale pic.twitter.com/m4yj2eRPSt

— EXCITER (@ExciterBand) August 26, 2020








This is awful. Devastating news. My deepest condolences to Riley’s band, family, friends and fans. Please respond w/ a memory or your favorite PxT jam. See you on the other side brother. ??❤️ https://t.co/iGNhljGnbs

— Jamey Jasta (@jameyjasta) August 26, 2020








I’m heartbroken. Riley was always such a cool dude and I’ll always remember the great times we had on tour together . RIP brother pic.twitter.com/2WHqW7sj07

— Alex Bent (@AlexBentDrums) August 26, 2020








One of the best parts about touring is getting to hang on days off with the bands we tour with, the crew, and our friends from all over the world. #RIPRiley pic.twitter.com/FZYF4dQQC6

— Paolo Gregoletto (@TriviumPaolo) August 26, 2020








Man, this fucking sucks so bad for the PT dudes, Riley’s family, and the entire metal scene. What a fucking loss, man.

— Paolo Gregoletto (@TriviumPaolo) August 26, 2020








Riley always put on for the home team, he and Power Trip helped open a lot of doors for us and many other bands out of the Texas hardcore scene over the years. The music world lost a huge star, Rest in Power Riley Gale. https://t.co/DK75XRKi5N

— Creeping Death (@CreepingDeathtx) August 26, 2020








Really sad to hear of the loss of our friend Riley Gale from Power Trip. We played Dallas with them this past January. We were there because they personally invited us. My thoughts are with his family and the band.https://t.co/EhayCfw57A

— Dave Carlo (@davecarlorazor) August 26, 2020








Rest in Power, Riley Gale of Power Trip. We were looking forward to making memories together next year. Our thoughts are with you all. https://t.co/zbuynYcm55

— Coheed and Cambria (@Coheed) August 26, 2020








Rest In Peace Riley.

you made a huge dent in heavy music history that will last forever.

our deepest condolences to his friends, family and the guys in @powertriptx https://t.co/bIqlX49dfN

— Code Orange (@codeorangetoth) August 26, 2020








Man, horrible news. Sending love to his family, friends and bandmates. Rest In Peace Riley. https://t.co/dAiocBnnG4

— Nonpoint (@nonpoint) August 26, 2020




























View this post on Instagram


































Big loss to the musical and metal community... Rest in POWER Riley. Awful news... my condolences to the @powertriptx band, crew and family??

A post shared by J E S S E L E A C H (@jesse_d_leach) on Aug 25, 2020 at 5:47pm PDT






























View this post on Instagram


































Crushed. [email protected] send our love and support to our brothers in @powertriptx , a band on our short list of absolute brothers, people who sharing a stage with is an HONOR. A PRIVILEGE. All our support goes out to the Power Trip family, Exodus are here for you. Riley , you will forever be missed

A post shared by Gary Holt (@garyholt_official) on Aug 25, 2020 at 6:54pm PDT






























View this post on Instagram


































Repost from @markmenghi • This is absolutely awful. RIP Riley. Man this sucks as he was so young and an absolutely amazing dude. Riley and I became close in 2017. We’ve had some great conversations that I’ll always cherish. My heart goes out to his family and his band, the amazing @powertriptx whom are one of my favorite “newer” thrash bands. #rileygale #powertrip #thrashmetal

A post shared by Metal Allegiance (@metalallegiance) on Aug 25, 2020 at 7:58pm PDT






























View this post on Instagram


































Rest In Peace, Riley Gale. I don’t know what happened to him yet, but I do know that I was really looking forward to touring with him & @powertriptx again- in fact, we were already have supposed to have toured in Europe & then this pandemic happened & screwed that up. When I sent him these photos I took last year while doing some Euro festivals together, we were talking about how stoked we were to hit the road together & hang again. Besides being a great frontman, Riley was smart, articulate, well read, politically astute, compassionate, & fearless in expressing his views. These are all things I value highly in an artist & a human being- we got along really well. He loved hardcore and metal, & it is shame for our scene that someone who burned so brightly is gone way too soon- he was a mere 34 years old. Just a great dude with some insanely hilarious stories, & I’ll really miss shooting the bull about life & comic books with him. Just two days ago Riley crossed my mind & I thought “I better shoot him a message & check in & see how he’s holding up down there in Texas”- & then I got distracted & forgot. I really wish I had now. My condolences & so much love to Riley’s family & all the Power Trip homies. #riprileygale #powertrip #powertriptx

A post shared by D. Randall Blythe (@drandallblythe) on Aug 25, 2020 at 7:16pm PDT






























View this post on Instagram


































One of my favorite bands of all time. Rest in fucking power Riley.

A post shared by Caleb Shomo (@calebshomo) on Aug 25, 2020 at 5:58pm PDT






























View this post on Instagram


































Waking up? GOOD! Waking up to this? Bad Bad Bad ?RIP little brother...my condolences to everyone..no real words. Can...#powetrip @powertriptx #greatloss #withallourhearts

A post shared by Venom Inc. (@venom_inc) on Aug 25, 2020 at 10:29pm PDT






























View this post on Instagram


































Much love and condolences to the band mates, friends and family of Riley Gale. A friend of the Century Media family, Riley and Power Trip frequently shared stages with with many of our artists. He recently lent his unmistakable presence to Body Count’s track ‘Point The Finger’ which was nothing short of a vulgar display of vocal power. We’re honored to call Riley a friend. 34 years old is too young to be gone. Rest In Power. @powertriptx

A post shared by Century Media Records USA (@centurymedia) on Aug 25, 2020 at 9:56pm PDT










RIP Riley Gale pic.twitter.com/qECXm9r6SZ

— Trevor Strnad (@TrevorTBDM) August 26, 2020








To learn about Riley’s passing this morning was a big shock for all of us. He was a kind soul and a truly one of a kind person.

Our thoughts go out to Power Trip, your close friends, family, loved ones and crew.

Riley Gale forever. Rest in peace brother. pic.twitter.com/Mg0Au5tAsw

— Venom Prison (@Venomprison) August 26, 2020








RIP to our brother, Riley Gale. We will see you again and finish the business we started! Love and respect - Kreator Family ? pic.twitter.com/6zWs6EezgS

— Kreator (@kreator) August 26, 2020








R.I.P. Riley. Condolences to the Power Trip family.

— Converge (@Convergecult) August 26, 2020








We're truly saddened to hear of the passing of Riley Gale from Power Trip. Our thoughts are with Riley's family, bandmates and loved ones today. RIP? pic.twitter.com/vKC1Pw95fy

— Download Festival (@DownloadFest) August 26, 2020

POWER TRIP vocalist Riley Gale has passed away. His death was announced in a statement issued by his family earlier today. He was only 35 years old.

"Dear POWER TRIP fans worldwide," the statement reads. "It is with the greatest of sadness we must announce that our lead singer and brother Riley Gale passed away last night.

"Riley was a friend, a brother, a son. Riley was both a larger than life rock star and a humble and giving friend. He touched so many lives through his lyrics and through his huge heart. He treated everyone he met as a friend and he always took care of his friends.

"We will celebrate Riley's life and never forget the great works of music, charity, and love that he left behind. You, the fans, meant so much to him, please know how special you are.

"If you have a memory of Riley please share it, no matter how small, as we remember him.

"Please respect our wishes for privacy during this time.

"In lieu of flowers please send donations to Dallas Hope Charities, the link to donate directly is here.

"Signed, Rlley's Loving Family

"P.S. Funeral and visitation arrangements are pending."

Formed in 2008, POWER TRIP has released two full-length studio albums — 2013's debut, "Manifest Decimation", and 2017's "Nightmare Logic" — via Southern Lord Records.

Hailing from Dallas, POWER TRIP's most recent touring lineup consisted of Gale, guitarists Nick Stewart and Blake Ibanez, bassist Chris Whetzel and drummer Chris Ulsh.

"Nightmare Logic" earned overwhelming praise from New Yorker to Pitchfork's Best New Music to NPR. It landed countless No. 1s on best-of/year-end lists from the likes of Rolling Stone, Billboard, Stereogum, AV Club, Bandcamp, LA Weekly, SPIN, Vinyl Me Please, Dallas Observer and so many more. Touring relentlessly, the band has headlined shows across North America, Europe and Japan.

Photo by: Kevin Estrada




pic.twitter.com/wJM1WnqXDp

— POWER TRIP (@powertriptx) August 26, 2020

Billy Sheehan spoke to the "Rock N Roll Experience With Mike Brunn" about the progress of the recording sessions for the new studio album from TALAS, the 1970s upstate New York band which initially earned its name while performing gigs in the Buffalo and Rochester scenes. Although TALAS started out by playing covers, it eventually introduced originals to its setlist.

"We've got most everything done," Billy said (see video below). "Unfortunately, the virus thing is ruining everything. Fortunately, we got together and did all the drums. We were all in the same room, so we were really locked in. Now we just have to do vocals. We've got some new software that enables me to have the singer in Toronto, Phil Naro, and I can hear him in real time on my computer, and then see him on a second computer with Zoom, and we can talk and make sure we get all the lyrics right and everything. It's slow going, but we'll have it done. And we're excited about it. We got Mitch Perry to come in and play on a couple of songs too — the original guitar player. And we're trying to get Johnny Angel, the guy we got to replace him, to do a song also. We're not sure about the logistics of that yet, but we're gonna give it a try."

According to Billy, the new TALAS record could get done "in about another three or four weeks, including the mixes." As for a title for the effort, Billy said that he is not ready yet to reveal it, but he indicated that "it will reflect exactly the whole purpose behind the record."

TALAS's new album will be released through Metal Blade Records.

Kings of the Buffalo bar circuit, TALAS slogged it out through the 1970s and 1980s, hoping for the breakthrough that never quite came. When David Lee Roth left VAN HALEN, Sheehan immediately joined Roth's band, putting an effective end to TALAS.

Sheehan's penchant for innovation has revolutionized the way the bass guitar is played. He formed MR. BIG in 1989, achieving a Billboard No. 1 single in the USA and 14 other countries with "To Be With You" from the band's second Atlantic Records album release, "Lean Into It". While developing his trademark style of playing, he performed over 4,000 live gigs on every continent except Africa and Antarctica.

STEEL PANTHER guitarist Satchel has weighed in on Nikki Sixx's claim that he doesn't get the credit that he deserves as a bass player.

Last week, the MÖTLEY CRÜE rocker was asked by a fan on Twitter to name "the most underrated bass player ever." Sixx replied simply: "Me".

Asked in a new interview with Pennsylvania's 97.9X radio station for his take on Sixx's comment, Satchel said (see video below): "The most underrated bass player? [Laughs] Does he play the bass in that band? [Laughs]

"Nikki Sixx, I don't think anybody really gives a shit how well he plays the bass.

"Listen, everybody loves MÖTLEY CRÜE, everybody loves those songs," he continued.

"I give it up for CRÜE — I love 'em; they're great. But I've seen MÖTLEY CRÜE a bunch of times, and they've never sounded great live. But nobody gives a shit. He should be glad that they don't really have to sound great live. Vince [Neil] has never been a great live singer. Who gives a shit? They've got great songs.

"Listen, we toured with those guys, and I think [Nikki] said two words to me the whole fucking tour.

"I love those guys. They can hate us as much as they want. We're gonna keep on fucking rocking.

"Those guys are great," he added. "And if [Nikki] wants to bag on us, that's cool. We're a great live band. If he wants to come out and see us some time and jam with us, he can sit in with us and I'll tell him all the right notes to play on the bass."

Last year, a war of words between STEEL PANTHER and MÖTLEY CRÜE broke out when STEEL PANTHER drummer Stix Zadinia and singer Michael Starr were asked in an interview which musician from the past they would like to bring back. Starr replied, "I'd bring back Vince Neil," and Zadinia chimed in, "He's not dead." Starr pressed on, saying: "I'd bring back Vince Neil from back in the day because that guy is dead."

After news of STEEL PANTHER's comments made the rounds, Sixx tweeted: "The singer in Steal Panther [sic] can go fuck himself … wanna-be band putting down Vince Neil?" One fan then pointed out that STEEL PANTHER sometimes plays MÖTLEY CRÜE songs during its concerts, to which Sixx replied, "That's why they are assholes. Backstabbers."

This was not the first time members of STEEL PANTHER and MÖTLEY CRÜE had traded barbs. In 2017, Zadinia said that his band "really felt unwelcome" during its tour with MÖTLEY CRÜE several years ago. The drummer, whose real name is Darren Leader, told Music Life Magazine: "[MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer] Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx did not like it when we went on tour with them in 2011. And that was the only time that we really felt unwelcome. The thing with those guys is I think they thought we were actually making fun of them directly. And I just gotta chalk that up to their egos being too big, because nothing that we do has anything to do with them directly. But we ended up doing the tour and it went off great and everything was totally fine."

Sixx told Australia's Music Feeds in 2016 that he didn't care for STEEL PANTHER's music. "You know, it's not my thing," he said. "That's just me personally. I don't know. It doesn't feel… I guess a lot of people think it's funny and they're kind of a joke band and that's cool. But that's not my cup of tea. I kind of take my music a little more seriously."

Back in June 2015, Starr revealed in an interview that Lee "was pretty upset over the fact we poked fun at Vince Neil. He didn't like it. He just thinks we're just a joke, like a stupid joke band that shouldn't be playing with them. But all their fans like us."

Starr added that members of MÖTLEY CRÜE simply "take themselves a little too serious," except for Vince Neil, who "totally loves it."

"You know, he told me, 'Hey, Michael, when we retire, you can have all our fans,'" Starr said.
























View this post on Instagram









































A post shared by 979X (@979xrocks) on Aug 20, 2020 at 9:50am PDT

Corey Taylor has once again said that his record company stopped him from singing with ANTHRAX when the opportunity for him to work with the band presented itself more than a decade ago.

The SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman had harbored hopes of replacing Joey Belladonna for the follow-up to "We've Come For You All", recorded with John Bush in 2003.

"It was something that really we hadn't talked about too much at length," Corey said during a August 12 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation Virtual Invasion" (see video below). "It was just something that we had talked about doing just ostensibly as a one-off, but we were just gonna kind of see what could happen.

"That actually started as an idea because of an acoustic gig that I did with Scott [Ian, ANTHRAX guitarist] and Frankie Bello [ANTHRAX bassist] at a place in New York. And I cannot remember what the name of the place was. I know it was a club that Scott had maybe an interest in it, so we were helping to promote the club. And it was something really cool that it was just, like, 'Hey, do you wanna come do this?' I was, like, 'Yeah, man. Let's do it.' So we went down, we had dinner, we did the acoustic show. And then afterwards, we were all kind of just hanging out, and the half-joking line got thrown out, 'Hey, wouldn't it be cool if you joined ANTHRAX?' And we all laughed, and then we all stopped. And we all just went, 'Hmmm. That could interesting.' It was between Joey and John [Bush], so everything was kind of up in the air. It was before — what was his name? — Dan [Nelson]. And we talked about it more and more, and it was something that I was really, really into. They sent me a bunch of music, most of which ended up on [2011's] 'Worship Music' — luckily, because the music was so good. Nothing got recorded, because the day I was supposed to fly to Chicago to rehearse and start demoing with Scott and with Charlie [Benante, ANTHRAX drummer], I got a phone call from Roadrunner [SLIPKNOT's record label] telling me that they weren't gonna let me do it. They wanted me to go back and do [SLIPKNOT's] 'All Hope Is Gone', because we [were] still contracted to do another SLIPKNOT album, and they weren't going to allow me the wiggle room. I don't even know if those people are still at Roadrunner, to be honest. But I know that they cracked the whip on it and were really hardcore."

He continued: "It was the first time I had ever felt like I was kind of backed into a corner. Not that I didn't wanna do a SLIPKNOT album, but I was so into the idea of doing an ANTHRAX album. And I remember having to call and tell the guys [in ANTHRAX] that I wasn't gonna be able to make it. It broke my heart so hard. But, obviously, things worked out for the better for them. They're making music that's just as good now as the older stuff than it's ever been. What needed to happen is exactly what happened. I'm just grateful that: a) I'm a part of their conversation, and b), that they're still my friends."

ANTHRAX split with Belladonna in January 2007, less than two years after reuniting with him and other members of the band's "classic" lineup of the '80s and early '90s. Bush had been a member of the band before that, from 1992 to 2005.

ANTHRAX eventually reunited with Belladonna in May 2010 and recorded two more albums with the singer: the aforementioned "Worship Music" and 2016's "For All Kings".

ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian recently spoke to "Hardcore Humanism With Dr. Mike" about how he is dealing with the coronavirus crisis and what the touring circuit might look like post-pandemic. He said (hear audio below): "We never would have electively, as a band, said, 'Let's take two years off.' It's not something we would ever have done. Financially, it's not something we could afford to do even. But even just on every level, that conversation — 'Let's take a hiatus' — that's not gonna happen. We've been forced into that situation. So if there's one silver lining about this for me, [it's] I get to be home with my family for longer than I've ever been. That's awesome. So figuring out ways to work with everything going on on the planet and being able to stay creative and stay busy and work and make things work financially, it was kind of like starting over, in a weird way, four months ago.

"All right, what I do is not essential, which that was not hard to come to grips with," he continued. "I understand. I get to be home with my family. Now I get to do this full time. And then how are we gonna make it work with the band so financially we could keep our heads above water as well? Because who knows how long this is gonna be? We're gonna be the last ones to go back to work. So, figure it out.

"There's a part of me now that's in those same shoes I was in when I was 17 years old, because it's trying to figure out, how are we going to do this? Luckily for us, this year was kind of an off year from touring anyway, because we're writing a record, and the plan was to have it out at the end of this year. That's all changed. We're hoping next summer. But it's still a crapshoot. Nobody knows. Everyone's saying everything's gonna happen again in '21 — maybe.

"In my mind, I'm not going back to work, probably, till, I'm thinking, '22," Ian said. "Realistically, that's when things will maybe start to get somewhere back to normal, for my world, as a touring musician. So now it's become a case of, how do I keep things running for the next two years — with the luxury of being home. Because if it was up to me, I'd just hang around and jam with my son all day long. But now I have to be able to have the balance of I get to just be home and I get to go to the beach and hang out. And it becomes very easy to do nothing. And when I say nothing, I don't mean nothing in a lazy way. I mean, not have anything to do with my band and literally be on vacation from my work. So it's almost like a retraining. Even doing interviews, I kind of, at one point, said, 'I'm not doing anything.' You know what? I have a chance now to literally take a break. And I did. We kind of did. And then we started doing these 'Instajam' collaboration things online and whatnot and slowly but surely getting our feet back in the game, and I'm sure that'll pick up over the months.

"But I'll tell you what: I love being home," he admitted. "I love not traveling. I love not getting on a plane. I was looking at our schedule, 'cause it was all on my calendar. I was supposed to be in Europe for the last two weeks playing festivals. I was, like, 'Oh my God. I am so glad I am not in the Ukraine right now.' Imagine there was no pandemic. I'm literally, like, I'm home right now, and I'm sitting in my living room hanging out. Just the idea of that, it's never happened. We've never canceled shows. It was out my hands. And it was nice to have no power. For kind of the first time, it's all out of my hands. It's, like, 'Hey, there's nothing I can do. [I'm] just gonna hang out here with my family. You tell me when it's okay to come back to work.'"

The 30th-anniversary Deluxe Edition of ANTHRAX's "Persistence Of Time" album was released on August 21 via Megaforce Records. Produced by ANTHRAX and Mark Dodson, it was made available exclusively on disc and vinyl. The CD package includes two CDs and one DVD, the vinyl edition offers four LPs, as well as revised cover art that reflects what had been the album's original visual concept.

Last week, Ian said that ANTHRAX has "a lot of material" written for its next studio album. The follow-up to 2016's "For All Kings" will be ANTHRAX's third full-length release since the 2010 return of singer Joey Belladonna, who came back into the fold for the "Big Four" shows with METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH, in the process helping inspire a new wave of creativity.

James Hetfield's METALLICA bandmates have opened up to U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine about what it was like seeing him re-enter a treatment program to work on his recovery from alcohol addiction.

The METALLICA frontman went back to rehab last September, forcing the postponement of the band's tour of Australia and New Zealand.

In the brand new issue of Metal Hammer, which is on sale from today, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo and Lars Ulrich discussed Hetfield's addiction issues and how it affected the rest of the group.

Trujillo said: "We really didn't see it coming. James seemed like he was fine, but then you look back and you try to analyze the situation over time and see where there were red flags.

"Being on the road can be very challenging, and I would imagine for James, to get up there in front of all those people and have to be 'on,' meanwhile your family’s not with you and all these things are going on, it builds up."

Hammett added: "Whenever something happens to a bandmember like this, it's so deeply unsettling. It comes as a shock. You have to do a bit of scrambling just to cover some ground."

In a 2003 interview with Kerrang! magazine, Hetfield spoke about his battle with alcohol addiction and the much-publicized trip to rehab in 2001 that had seemingly enabled the singer to emerge a much healthier and more positive-thinking person that he was during much of the group's 35-plus-year career.

"Going away to rehab taught me about priorities," he said. "I've been in METALLICA since I was 19 years old, which can be a very unusual environment, and it's very easy to find yourself not knowing how to live outside of that environment, which is what happened to me. I didn't know anything about life. I didn't know that I could come home and live a family life. I didn't know that I could live my life in a different way to how it was in the band since I was 19, which was very excessive and very intense. And if you have addictive behavior, then you don't always make the best choices for yourself. And I definitely didn't make the best choices for myself.

"But rehab is like college for your head," he continued. "I really learned some things about myself in there. I was able to reframe my life and not look at everything with a negative connotation. That's how I was raised. It was like a survival technique for me. And getting into METALLICA meant that initially I had to fight to survive, for food, for the towel, for the shower, for everything. And then fighting to be the best band you can be, and putting other bands down. Finding fault with everything was how METALLICA was fueled. And not only did I play a part in that, I was buried in that."

"[In rehab] I learned that every human being is born perfect. I learned that the flaws in ourselves comes from the things around us, from our backgrounds and influences. But when we're born, we all have the same-sized soul. There are certain things that are genetic, but that doesn't mean that I have to act in a certain way, and I didn't know that. My lifestyle has been very intense, and I didn't know how to remove myself from that. Rehab taught me how to do that. It basically taught me how to live."

"I was afraid of so many things. I'd look at other people's friendships and think, 'Man, why can't I have friendships like that?' But I didn't know how to. So I used to try and buy friendships."

Asked whether it was difficult to say to himself, "Look, things have gone too far for me, I need to reach out for help," James said: "Yes, it definitely was difficult. That was one of the most difficult things of all. I had no humility and I felt that I couldn't show any weakness. For me, I was James Hetfield of METALLICA rather than just James Hetfield. And I was trying to live that lifestyle at home, I was trying to wear that mask all the time. And it's amazing how long you can wear a mask for. We're performers who play music — I mean, this is us. This isn't an act. But now I've learned how to be more congruent with where I am. Admitting that sometimes being on tour really sucks, and that I would rather go home. Or that I'm not in a good mood right now, and not worrying if people turn around and say, 'Hey, you're an asshole.' That can't hurt me now, whereas I used to be so concerned that people liked me.

"There's a lot of machoism in this world, but I suppose the most manly thing you can do is face up to your weaknesses and expose them. And you're showing strength by exposing your weaknesses to people. And that opens up a dialogue, it opens up friendships, which is definitely what it has done for me."

During a 2017 interview with "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast, Hetfield spoke in more detail about checking into rehab 17 years ago and how he almost lost his family in the process.

"Fear was a big motivator in that for me," Hetfield said. "Losing my family, that was the thing that scared me so much. That was the bottom I hit, that my family is going to go away because of my behaviors that I brought home from the road. I got kicked out of my house by my wife; I was living on my own somewhere. I did not want that. Maybe as part of my upbringing, my family kind of disintegrated when I was a kid. Father left, mother passed away, had to live with my brother, and then kind of just, where did my stuff go? It just kind of floated away, and I do not want that happening. No matter what's going on, we're going to talk this stuff out and make it work."

He continued: "[My wife] did the right thing — she kicked my ass right out of the house and that scared the shit out of me. She said, 'Hey, you're not just going to the therapist now and talking about this. You've got to go somewhere and sort this shit out.' So that's what I did… What worked for me was seven weeks someplace — like, basically tearing you down to bones, ripping your life apart. Anything you thought about yourself or what it was, anything you thought you had, your family, your career, anything, gone. Strip you down to just — you're born. Here's how you were when you were born — you were okay. You were a good person. Let's get back to that again. Then they slowly rebuild you."

Hetfield's issues with addiction and alcoholism were detailed in the 2004 documentary "Some Kind Of Monster".

Metal Hammer image credit: Future

In a new interview with "That Jamieson Show", TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy was asked if there are plans for the band to take part in any virtual performances amid the coronavirus pandemic. He responded (see video below): "Our problem is Alex [Skolnick, guitar] is in New York, Gene [Hoglan, drums] is down south [in San Diego], so just getting together, first of all, is probably gonna be difficult. We wanna do something together — kind of like METALLICA did; you get together and you jam. I think that would just be, for us, not only soothing to our soul, getting together and playing music again, but just hanging out with each other instead of doing it through Zoom or something like that. So we have some plans to do that.

"When the [latest TESTAMENT] record ['Titans Of Creation'] came out [in April], we just finished the European tour and had plans for America and everything, and everything just kind of shut down," he continued. "And for a moment, we were asked if we wanna stall the record. There was so much going on, and we thought people need something new right now, something positive, so we decided let's release the record; the campaign was going. And so, of course, we had plans that were all canceled, 'cause we had a full year and a half of touring in the books that now has been rescheduled, and now, as it looks, kind of moved a year later, which is cool. So agents are starting to build tours. I just heard NAMM [for 2021] is canceled, so I would imagine early [next] year, maybe some shows ain't happening; I don't know yet. But we're working on it. And I really miss it. I can't wait to get out there."

Billy recently told "Riff Crew" that TESTAMENT would consider working on another album while waiting for the pandemic to subside. "Well, if it is truly, as someone says, a two-year period, of course, we're gonna go write another record, and when it all settles, we'll have two records," he said. "And if it had to be that long, then, yeah, we would probably consider just writing another record. But we're looking at it as it's gonna be a year out now, so we're gonna try to think of some clever stuff or some other things. I don't wanna spoil it yet, but we've been talking about something. Once we get back out there, kind of as a relaunch of the record, a reintroduction, we've got something kind of cool we're working on. I don't wanna spoil it yet, but we're putting our heads together trying to come up with ideas. But as far as touring goes out there again, yeah, we're gonna have to start really thinking what to do. We're actually launching our own merch again and going back old school, stuffing envelopes ourselves. What else are we gonna do? We'll sit at home, send the merch here, we'll take orders and stuff envelopes. So we're doing everything we can."

"Titans Of Creation" was produced by guitarist Eric Peterson and Billy, while Juan Urteaga of Trident Studios handled co-producing, recording and engineering. Andy Sneap was responsible for the mixing and mastering of the album. Eliran Kantor stepped up once again to create new artwork for the cover of this release.

TESTAMENT recently completed "The Bay Strikes Back 2020" European tour with EXODUS and DEATH ANGEL.

During an appearance on the latest episode of "Ned's Coffee & Quarantine", which airs on Iowa's Rock 108 radio station, STATIC-X bassist Tony Campos was asked when the last time was that he had a clean-shaven face. He responded (see video below): "As far as the beard, I think I started growing it in '97, '98, maybe. Obviously, once I hit puberty, I never had a clean-shaven face — 'cause I always had a moustache — but I shaved the moustache once. It's funny, 'cause my baby sister had never seen me without my moustache, and I think she was, like, nine or 10 when I said, 'Fuck it! Let me shave off the moustache.' And she flipped out, like, 'What the fuck? Who is this? What did you do to your face?' And it was funny, 'cause I had this white strip of untanned skin, and I was, like, 'Oh, I'm never doing this again.' [Laughs] It was literally a strip of white. And I was, like, 'Oh, man. This is dumb. I'm not doing this again.' So, yeah, no more clean-shaven face for this guy."

When host Ned told Tony that his beard has become his trademark, Campos said: "I don't know. The beard, I have to give credit or responsibility — whatever you wanna say — I've gotta that to [SLAYER's] Kerry King. He told me how to grow the beard. 'Cause before I took his advice, it wasn't like [it is right now] — it was a little smaller and a little shorter up front. Of all places, we were backstage at a QUEENSRŸCHE show — they were playing the House Of Blues in Anaheim. And we were both hanging out backstage. And he taps me on the shoulder. I was, like, 'Hey, Kerry, what's up?' He was, like, 'You're growing that wrong.' 'Really?' He was, like, 'You've gotta grow it from back here.' [points to the back of his chin] 'Cause at that point, I was only growing it from the edge of my chin. He was, like, 'No. You've gotta grow it from back here, down by your throat.' I was, like, 'Oh! Okay.' So I took his advice, and here we go. So when people say I look like Kerry King, I say it's his fault. He told me how to grow the fucking thing. So take it up with him. If he didn't want me looking like him, he wouldn't have gave me the fucking advice."

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

Former GUNS N' ROSES drummer Matt Sorum says that his heart goes out to all the musicians around the world who are facing economic hardships because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"I get called every day to do a Zoom charity, and this charity, and that charity," Matt told the "Drum For The Song" podcast, hosted by Dane Campbell, drummer of PHIL CAMPBELL & THE BASTARD SONS (see video below). "That's been going on for a long time, but in the last four or five months, more than ever. And I always to people, 'Don't forget about us musicians.'

"I think there's some notion that we're all out here doing this for fun and that we actually don't have families to feed and bills to pay," he continued. "And music is sort of this gray area of, 'Oh, yay! You're just doing that for fun, right?' And I go, 'No. It's actually [how] I make [my living].' I work. And there's some [preconceived] idea that we don't work hard. It's, like, actually, we do work really hard. When we tour, we're in a van or a bus bouncing down the highway for eight or ten hours, and we get onstage and we play, and then we get right back in that van and we go down the highway and we're tired. And we're entertaining, and that's what we do — we're entertainers.

"As an artist, you should be able to decide what you wanna give of yourself," Sorum added. "Because everybody comes to us, 'Hey, I've got this charity thing. Will you guys play?' You're, like, 'God, I've done ten this year.' Don't get me wrong — I love helping; I love all of that. But then there's a point, especially now, that it's time for musicians and artists to have some relief. And what's gonna happen to us? This isn't about you going out and having a good time. We've chosen our lives, and this is what we're doing.

"So I hope that we can find a solution to this for musicians, artists, crew guys, touring individuals, guys that run venues, clubs. It's tough, man, and my heart goes out to all the guys that are really struggling out there."

Sorum's autobiography, "Double Talkin' Jive: True Rock 'N' Roll Stories From The Drummer Of Guns N' Roses, The Cult, And Velvet Revolver", which was previously due in April and was subsequently pushed back to early July, will now arrive in 2021.

Sorum, who replaced Steven Adler in GUNS N' ROSES, recorded the highly successful albums "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II" (both 1991) and "The Spaghetti Incident" (1994). He also supported the group on the "Use Your Illusion" tour and can be heard on GUNS N' ROSES' "Live Era: '87-'93" (1999) and "Greatest Hits" (2004).

Sorum has said in the past that a GUNS reunion tour should have included both him and Adler, with each playing the songs they recorded with the group. Sorum was inducted as a member of the band into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April 2012.

Photo credit: Michael Segal

AC/DC lead guitarist, and eternal schoolboy Angus Young, recently spoke with Paul Elliott of Total Guitar. During their chat, the Back In Black album took the spotlight. An excerpt has been transcribed as follows:

After the Highway To Hell tour, you, Malcolm (Young, rhythm guitarist) and Bon (Scott, vocalist) got together in London (England) to begin working on the album that would become Back In Black. How much of it was written with Bon?

Angus Young: "Bon wrote a little of the stuff, a week before he died. We started writing the music with Bon on drums. He was a drummer originally. He’d bang away while me and Malcolm worked out the riffs."

When Bon died in February 1980, after one too many drunken nights, had you feared that his life might end that way?

Angus Young: "As a person, Bon stared death in the face a lot. The way he said it was, ‘One day you gotta go. You gotta be a stiff.’"

Did you feel, as most AC/DC fans did, that Bon was irreplaceable?

Angus Young: "Well, when we auditioned singers, they'd say, 'How am I supposed to sing over all this volume?' We said, 'We don’t want you to sing - we want you to scream!’"

You certainly found the right man for the job in Brian Johnson.

Angus Young: "Yeah. I always said he sounds like somebody dropped a truck on his foot. And, like Bon, Brian had a good sense of humor."

On the simplest level, Back In Black was a great rock ’n’ roll record. But on a deeper level it was, as you described it, a memorial.

Angus Young: "The whole Back In Black album was our dedication to Bon. That’s why the album cover was pure black, and why the album starts with a bell ringing, something sombre and different to anything else we’d done."

To read the complete interview, visit this location.

Back In Black, the band’s seventh studio album, was their first to feature vocalist Brian Johnson, following the death of Bon Scott. The album, produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, spawned the singles "You Shook Me All Night Long", "Hells Bells", "Back In Black", and "Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution".

 




(function() {
var zergnet = document.createElement('script');
zergnet.type = 'text/javascript'; zergnet.async = true;
zergnet.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https:" : "http:") + '//www.zergnet.com/zerg.js?id=70729';
var znscr = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
znscr.parentNode.insertBefore(zergnet, znscr);
})();

ENTOMBED will get the jigsaw puzzle treatment this fall.

"Left Hand Path" and "Clandestine" will be made available on November 6, 2020 as 500-piece puzzles.

Zee Productions will release the album covers as jigsaws 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.

Drum-cam video of MACHINE HEAD drummer Chris Kontos performing the song "A Thousand Lies" with his bandmates on February 21 at Fox Theater in Oakland, California can be seen below.

The North American leg of MACHINE HEAD's 25th-anniversary tour for the band's debut album, "Burn My Eyes", kicked off in Phoenix on January 16 and wrapped up on February 22 at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, California. Each show on the trek consisted of two parts: part one saw frontman Robb Flynn and bassist Jared MacEachern performing alongside new recruits, Polish guitarist Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (DECAPITATED) and British drummer Matt Alston (DEVILMENT, EASTERN FRONT); while part two features "Burn My Eyes" played in its entirety for the first time ever, with original drummer Kontos and guitarist Logan Mader joining in.

Asked what it has been like getting Logan and Chris back on board, Robb told Kerrang! magazine: "Logan and I have stayed in touch. We kinda squashed everything and became friends again as far back as 2004. He comes out to all the shows. We played 'Davidian' together at the 'Roadrunner United' concert in New York. Chris and I haven't spoken in a long time for no reason other than that when I'm off the road, I'm just this boring suburban dad. He kinda quit music for a little while to do some BMX racing. He was in a whole other world. As it happened, Logan reached out to me about [the anniversary tour] and I thought it was a killer idea. Then I think my manager reached out to Chris and he was game, too. We just went out for dinner for two hours and just laughed and caught up. [Chris] just has such a huge personality: he's this loud, funny dude. It was a really good vibe, so we decided to just go for it."

Kontos left MACHINE HEAD before the release of the band's second album, 1997's "The More Things Change", and was replaced by Dave McClain.

Mader contributed to two MACHINE HEAD albums, the aforementioned "Burn My Eyes" and "The More Things Change", before exiting the group and being replaced by Ahrue Luster and, later on, Phil Demmel.

Demmel and McClain left MACHINE HEAD in the fall of 2018.

During a recent appearance on Ted Nugent's "Spirit Campfire" Internet TV show, drummer Tommy Clufetos (BLACK SABBATH, OZZY OSBOURNE, ROB ZOMBIE, TED NUGENT, ALICE COOPER) spoke about what the touring circuit might look like post-pandemic.

He said (see video below): "After all this time off, I'm gonna blow up, man. But during all this chaos, I'm trying to take it as, 'Okay, this is your breather, man. Take your breather, and just be ready.' 'Cause it's happening for a reason. But rock and roll is gonna explode after this. People are gonna go nuts.

"People are saying, 'Well, I don't know if people are gonna go to concerts again.' And I'm going, 'Are you crazy?' People don't care," the 40-year-old rocker continued. "They're gonna go, 'Virus smirus.' When they're allowed, people are gonna come out in droves. They're gonna let loose like the end of the war, man. They're gonna go nuts, and we're gonna be right there rocking for 'em."

Clufetos worked with such rock icons as Nugent, Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie before joining Ozzy Osbourne in 2010. That led to a spot as the drummer on BLACK SABBATH's last two world tours.

In a 2018 interview with The Oakland Press, Clufetos stated about playing with SABBATH: "All four of those original SABBATH guys have a very unique way of playing, four unique individuals creating a sound. You can't copy them. You've just got to get into the heartbeat of the music and do it justice. Hopefully I did it justice. I tried my best."

As for Osbourne, Tommy said: "He's a special guy. He has a special talent and a unique charisma unto himself that I've never seen before. He's just entertainment, all the way around. He's a master at what he does, and he knows how to entertain a crowd and give them what they want. He sets the tone, and you want to go to war with him. It's a great feeling being behind him."

KATAKLYSM guitarist Jean-François Dagenais says that he is feeling "much better," less than a week after tested positive for COVID-19. The Canadian-born musician, who has lived in Dallas, Texas, for the past decade, exhibited "severe symptoms" of the novel coronavirus before it was confirmed he had COVID-19.

Earlier today, Dagenais released the following statement: "Hey, folks! First, I want to thank everyone for the outpour of support from all our awesome fans and music colleagues around the world. It really gave me a morale boost!

"Last week started like any normal week. I was doing press for KATAKLYSM's new album, 'Unconquered', and on Wednesday morning, I woke up and felt like I got hit by a train; I had a slight fever, body aches, and very low energy. The next day, I went to my doctor after no improvement and they administered the COVID test to be on the safe side. It came back positive, and I was shocked because I'm the extra-careful type of guy. I wear a mask religiously, wash my hands, and barely go out.

"Anyhow, over the weekend I started to feel much better and started feeling like my old self again. Luckily, I am in decent health with no underlying conditions. I will self-quarantine at home with my family (so far they are fine) and will be free of this thing in no time.

"I don't want to make a big thing out of this and overshadow the new album, but wanted to share the news that anyone can get this so be careful out there. It is a nasty bug. The first few days were brutal, but at the end of the day, I'm fine, and I will get over it."

The Dallas County Health Department has reported 68,572 cases of the virus since testing began in March. There have been 855 confirmed deaths attributed in the county to the virus, which is now the third leading cause of death in the county behind diseases of the heart and cancers.

KATAKLYSM will release its 14th full-length studio album, "Unconquered", on September 25 via Nuclear Blast Records. The disc was recorded and engineered by Dagenais at JFD Studio in Dallas.

In 2018, The New Black guitarist Fabian "Fabs" Schwarz took a bold step out of his comfort zone by launching a solo project dubbed Who Brought The Dog in collaboration with BraveWords writer Carl Begai. With two albums under their belt, they have released a new single / video "Little Johnny Sunshine".

Carl: "A few of months ago a fellow Canucklehead by the name of Jeff Waters - he has a little thrash legend band called Annihilator - called out the beachgoing Legion Of Stupid in Florida for gathering in droves in spite of this little global pandemic we have going on. I was inspired by Jeff's rant, and the news footage that went with it, to write about that destructive mentality. All those thoughts in my head created a fucktard I call Little Johnny Sunshine. So it goes that Fabs worked his musical magic for our next Who Brought The Dog single."

The second Who Brought The Dog album, No World Order, features 10 songs that follow a similar path to the debut and expand on the Who Brought The Dog sound. Lyrically based in the world of real people and real situations - and in the case of "Who Brought The Dog", a shameless tribute to the project - the songs are based on a solid rock foundation with Fabs building on it in unexpected directions. Combining jazz-oriented grooves with Bollywood soundbytes ("When The World Stops Turning"), an AOR big band vibe ("Saviour To None"), or dance club beats gone rock ("Dark Side Mary"), these are just a few examples of the "no fear" attitude that makes Who Brought The Dog stand out in a cluttered music scene.

Heading into 2020, Who Brought The Dog will take things to the next level with official videos and more live shows. The songs earmarked to bring the Fabs' new music to the world - "Celebretard", "No World Order" and "The Music Man" - showcase various facets of his musical personality, from quirky fun, to straight ahead rock, to provocatively dark. No matter the respective musical direction of the 10 songs on the album, however, there is never a dull moment.

As cliché as it sounds, it's best to go into No World Order expecting the unexpected, which is what the world needs right now.

Tracklist:

"Who Brought The Dog"
"Choking On Your Halo"
"Dark Side Mary"
"No World Order"
"Celebretard"
"The Music Man"
"Saviour To None"
"Your Careless Spark"
"In Case You Missed It"
"When The World Stops Turning"

"Who Brought The Dog"

"No World Order"




(function() {
var zergnet = document.createElement('script');
zergnet.type = 'text/javascript'; zergnet.async = true;
zergnet.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https:" : "http:") + '//www.zergnet.com/zerg.js?id=70729';
var znscr = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
znscr.parentNode.insertBefore(zergnet, znscr);
})();