The notorious Pirate Kings, Alestorm, hit the worldwide charts with their new long-player, Curse Of The Crystal Coconut. Now the time has come to unleash the fourth video off the album, “Shit Boat (No Fans)”. The animated masterpiece takes you straight onto the worst pirate ship you could possibly imagine - and Alestorm takes no prisoners!

“Shit Boat (No Fans)” is about 75 seconds of music that will be stuck in your head forever. It’s pure hedonism and unadulterated fun - a trademark Alestorm tune!

Alestorm on “Shit Boat (No Fans)”: "Oh wow, everyone knows that short songs are the best songs, so naturally we had to make a music video for the shortest song on our album. This animation was put together by the lovely people at RMIT University in Melbourne, and it features all the classic elements of an Alestorm video: Magical Girl transformations, giant Hungarian men dropping turds on your garden, rubber ducks, and crudely drawn cartoon penises. Enjoy!"

Producer Aaron McLoughlin on the video: “Yeah, the pandemic has been tough on everyone, but it's going to take a helluva lot more than that to stop RMIT Animation students from drawing pirates. The video took 17 weeks to complete and lecturer Simon Norton did an awesome job producing and directing it under quarantine. Each team member worked from home to create the most epic swashbuckling pirate adventure you're likely to see this year!”

Order Curse Of The Crystal Coconut here.

Tracklisting:

"Treasure Chest Party Quest"
"Fannybaws"
"Chomp Chomp"
"Tortuga"
"Zombies Ate My Pirate Ship"
"Call Of The Waves"
"Pirate’s Scorn"
"Shit Boat (No Fans)"
"Pirate Metal Drinking Crew"
"Wooden Leg Pt. 2 (The Woodening)"
"Henry Martin"

“Pirate Metal Drinking Crew” video:

“Fannybaws” video:

“Tortuga” video:

“Treasure Chest Party Quest” video:

Alestorm are:

Christopher Bowes - vocals, keytar
Gareth Murdock - bass
Mate Bodor - guitar
Peter Alcorn - drums
Elliot Vernon - keyboard




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Ayreon mastermind Arjen Lucassen has checked in with a new behind-the-scenes look at the forthcoming album, Transitus.

"Yeah, it’s really true... no Ed Warby on the new Ayreon. Find out more here, and meet the amazing Juan van Emmerloot on drums!"

Ayreon will be releasing a brand-new sprawling and epic studio album, titled Transitus, on September 25 via Music Theories Recordings.

The album will be available on 2CD, 2LP gatefold red transparent vinyl and a 48-page Earbook which includes 5 discs; 2CD album, 1CD instrumental versions, 1CD guide vocal versions, and a DVD with bonus footage which includes a behind the scenes video, a videoclip, trailer and a 5.1 audio and hi-def stereo mix of the album.

The release will be accompanied by a 28-page graphic novel which will be included in the Earbook as well as the 2LP. The physical pre-order was launched on June 25, where digital will go live on July 16th.

Ayreon mastermind Arjen Lucassen has checked in with the following update:

"Wow... the pre-sales of Transitus are going through the roof, thanks so much for your confidence and your nice comments!

Some of you have asked me about the different formats and what is for sale at which store. The good folks at Music Theories Recordings have put together these two images to give you a clear overview, this is their explanation:

The first image lists all products that are available from retail stores worldwide, the second image lists all products that are exclusively available from the official store. Of course, everything that’s available from retail stores is also available from the official store, such as for instance the Red Transparent 2LP.

So... thanks once again for being such amazing fans and never letting me down!"

Pre-order Transitus here. Watch a video trailer below.

In 2017 Ayreon released The Source, which revisited the Forever/Planet Y saga, but now three years later it is time for something completely different…

“The year is 1884, these are dark, troubled times, fraught with greed, envy and prejudice…” begins our narrator and storyteller, Tom Baker…

Transitus is built around an entirely new story, not connected to the Ayreon universe although as always it does have some subtle links. The sci-fi theme makes way for a gothic ghost story set (partly) in the 19th century with elements of horror and the supernatural. It’s on a dark thunderous night where our story of Abby and Daniel begins.

From the mastermind of Dutch multi-instrumentalist Arjen Lucassen, Transitus is inspired by supernatural movies such as The Others, The Changeling and Ghost along with the music of soundtrack composers John Carpenter (Halloween), Ennio Morricone (Once upon a Time in the West) and Jerry Goldsmith (Omen). “And of course, I revisited all my favorite rock operas such as JC Superstar, Tommy, War of the Worlds and the Wall,” Lucassen adds.

Transitus is narrated by one of the most iconic and recognizable voices in sci-fi history, most known from his eight-year stint as Doctor Who, Tom Baker. “I was looking for a real storyteller with a mature, deep, warm voice. As a kid, I was a huge Doctor Who fan and my favorite doctor was Tom Baker. I couldn’t believe my luck when he agreed to do it! We went to the UK to record him, and it was one of those unforgettable experiences.”

As with any Ayreon album, it is an explosive and expansive affair and features Tommy Karevik (Kamelot) as Daniel and Cammie Gilbert (Oceans of Slumber) as Abby. The all-star cast also features Simone Simons (Epica), Dee Snider (Twisted Sister), Joe Satriani, Marty Friedman, Johanne James (Threshold), Noa Gruman (Scardust), Marcela Bovio (MaYan), Caroline Westendorp (The Charm the Fury), Paul Manzi (Arena), Michael Mills (Toehider) and Amanda Somerville (Avantasia, Trilium) amongst many others.

“When I started this, I just had no idea that it was going to take me this long! It took about 3 years from start to finish, and it pushed me out of my comfort zone musically and creatively. But I always need that challenge, the harder it is, the more fun for me to work on it!,” comments Lucassen.

Transitus is Lucassen’s most ambitious work yet, "This is without a doubt the most cinematic and outrageous album I’ve ever done," he affirms.

"I always start with finding singers first before I write the vocal parts, because I write the parts specifically for their vocal strengths. Because I was going for a theatrical feel for this album, this time I picked the singers not just because they are amazing singers, but because they had a certain charisma and were able to act."

Transitus is accompanied by an amazing graphic novel drawn by the renowned artist Felix Vega. “Because Ayreon’s music is so visual, I’ve always wanted to do an Ayreon graphic novel/comic book,” he says.

Reflecting on the approach to Transitus he says, “I love my last Ayreon album The Source. I often say that it sounds so much like Ayreon... if someone else would have released it I could have sued them for copyright infringement and won easily! But “our genre” is called progressive, which for me means breaking new ground and experimenting musically. So, in the true prog spirit, I set out to try something entirely different than a “typical Ayreon,” I wanted to do something more theatrical, almost like a musical. “

Tracklisting:

CD1
"Fatum Horrificum"
  A] Graveyard
  B] 1884
  C] Daniel And Abby
  D] Fatum
  E] Why?!
  F] Guilty
"Daniel’s Descent Into Transitus"
"Listen To My Story"
"Two Worlds Now One"
"Talk Of The Town"
"Old Friend"
"Dumb Piece Of Rock"
"Get Out! Now!"
"Seven Days, Seven Nights"

CD2
"Condemned Without A Trial"
"Daniel’s Funeral"
"Hopelessly Slipping Away"
"This Human Equation"
"Henry’s Plot"
"Message From Beyond"
"Daniel’s Vision"
"She Is Innocent"
"Lavinia’s Confession"
"Inferno"
"Your Story Is Over!"
"Abby In Transitus"
"The Great Beyond"

Trailer:




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**UPDATE**: The original version of this article incorrectly stated that DESTRUCTION only played one show — on Saturday (July 4) — in front of a less-than-sold-out crowd. DESTRUCTION frontman Schmier has since informed BLABBERMOUTH.NET that two concerts were held, with Friday's (July 3) show drawing 250 people and Saturday's gig — which actually went on sale first — attended by a capacity crowd of 300 fans.

German thrashers DESTRUCTION played their first two concerts after the coronavirus pandemic closures on Friday (July 3) and Saturday (July 4) in Pratteln, Switzerland. In response to COVID-19 restrictions, only 300 tickets were made available for each show at the 1,600-capacity Z7 club. According to DESTRUCTION frontman Schmier, 250 people attended Friday's gig, and 300 fans were present at last night's show.

A couple of weeks before the Z7 concerts, Schmier spoke to Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio about the prospect of playing shows amid the pandemic. He said: "It feels a little bit surreal. Nobody expected this to come back so quick, but we're in the lucky position to live on the Swiss border, and Switzerland is far ahead of all the other countries … And there are very little corona cases, so that will be an interesting experience… It's going to feel weird to play a show again, because this is the first time in 20 years that we didn't play a show in three months. It's the longest time ever. It's very exciting, of course. We look forward to playing again, but it's going to feel a little weird, for sure."

Schmier also expressed his optimism about the prospect of additional live events in the coming weeks.

"What we're experiencing now is the first trial of concerts, and Switzerland, also, is far ahead, so the whole world will watch the country and see the developments. So, it's going to be interesting, and hopefully we're not going to get hit hard again, but the way things go at the moment, it looks good. Switzerland is open just a couple of weeks already. In Germany, we're still wearing masks when we're going grocery shopping and stuff, but in Switzerland, there's no masks needed anymore."

In a separate interview with The Metal Voice, Schmier said that he is not interested in performing drive-in concerts during the coronavirus crisis. "I'm not playing for cars," he said. "It's wrong — it's just wrong. If this is the last step to do — to play live shows in front of cars — I might think about it. But at the moment, no way — it's not working for metal. Metal people have to move, and we wanna feel the bass. This auto concerts, the music is on your radio, on your stereo in your car. There's no P.A. system. It's not a live impression, really. You're sitting in your car.

"I understand people doing this now, because people are desperate," Schmier added. "But [it's] not for DESTRUCTION. We had the offer to do this, actually, but I don't wanna rip my fans off with shit like this. I'm sorry."

As the coronavirus disease continues to spread, live event organizers have been canceling or postponing large gatherings, including concerts and festivals.

Entertainers, crew and other workers in the industry have already lost billions of dollars as a result of COVID-19-related cancelations, representing only a small fraction of the financial devastation that will be experienced by workers in the sector as cancelations continue to roll in.

In early April, Dr. Ezekiel "Zeke" Emanuel, one of the key architects of the Affordable Care Act and a special adviser to the director general of the World Health Organization, told The New York Times that he doesn't anticipate it to be safe to return to concerts, sporting events and other mass public gatherings until the fall of 2021.

According to the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, large events and mass gatherings can contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in the United States via travelers who attend these events and introduce the virus to new communities.

Two months ago, DESTRUCTION delivered a treat for fans stuck at home and unable to attend live shows: "Born To Thrash - Live In Germany", the band's first live album with the current lineup, is out now digitally on all streaming and download platforms.

DESTRUCTION's latest album, "Born To Perish", was released in August 2019 via Nuclear Blast.




Destruction on stage as we speak at the legendary Z7 in Pratteln, Switzerland! ?

Posted by Destruction on Saturday, July 4, 2020

Whitesnake's Joel Hoekstra stopped by Guitar World to give an exclusive lesson of the solo from band's single, "Get Up", off of their new album, Flesh & Blood. It features one of Joel's favorite soloing techniques, two-finger tapping.

Rhino Records recently released The Rock Album by Whitesnake - a new collection that features revisited, remixed and remastered versions of the group’s best rock songs. The album is the first release in the band’s “Red, White and Blues Trilogy,” a series of fresh, new collections organized by musical themes that will include: Love Songs (Red), The Rock Album (White) and The Blues Album (Blue).

In the album’s liner notes, Whitesnake founder and lead singer David Coverdale writes: “All the songs have been revisited, remixed and remastered. Some have been musically embellished where my co-producer Michael McIntyre, my new mixer Christopher Collier and I felt it appropriate or necessary to bring out the best in these songs.”

The Rock Album spans over three decades with songs originally released between 1984 and 2011 on six Whitesnake studio albums. One track – “She Give Me” – is taken from Coverdale’s 2000 solo album, Into The Light.

The group’s music from the 1980s is well represented by “Love Ain’t No Stranger” from Slide It In (1984) and “Judgement Day” from Slip Of The Tongue (1989), as well as “Still Of The Night,” “Give Me All Your Love” and the #1 smash “Here I Go Again” from Whitesnake’s 1987 self-titled album, which has been certified mega-platinum.

Restless Heart (1997) gets its due on the collection with four songs, including the blistering “Can’t Stop Now”. The Rock Album also features music from 2008’s Good To Be Bad (“Best Years” and “Can’t You Hear The Wind Blow”), in addition to the title track from 2011’s Forevermore. Other highlights from The Rock Album include a remixed version of “All Or Nothing” that features additional guitars pulled from the original multi-track tapes, plus an alternate arrangement of “Tell Me How” from Forevermore.

The Rock Album is available digitally, on CD, and as a 2-LP set pressed on 180-gram, white vinyl. Order yours now at this location.

CD / Streaming:

“Still Of The Night”
“Best Years”
“Tell Me How”
“Love Ain’t No Stranger”
“All Or Nothing”
“Give Me All Your Love”
“Can You Hear The Wind Blow”
“Restless Heart”
“Anything You Want”
“Here I Go Again”
“Judgement Day”
“She Give Me”
“Crying”
“Can’t Stop Now”
“Always The Same” *
“Forevermore”

LP:

Side A
“Still Of The Night”
“Best Years”
“Tell Me How”
“Love Ain’t No Stranger”

Side B
“All Or Nothing”
“Give Me All Your Love”
“Can You Hear The Wind Blow”
“Restless Heart”

Side C
“Anything You Want”
“Here I Go Again”
“Judgement Day”
“She Give Me”

Side D
“Crying”
“Can’t Stop Now”
“Always The Same” *
“Forevermore”

* previously unreleased

"Here I Go Again" HD video:

"Love Ain't No Stranger" HD video:

"Still Of The Night" (2020 Remix) video:

"Anything You Want" video:

"Give Me All Your Love" video:

"Always The Same" lyric video:

"Restless Heart" lyric video:




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THE ROLLING STONES will get the jigsaw puzzle treatment this summer.

"Exile On Main St.", "Emotional Rescue", "It's Only Rock Rock 'N Roll" and "Some Girls" will be made available on September 4, 2020 as 500-piece puzzles, plus there will be a 1000-piece version of "It's Only Rock Rock 'N Roll" out on September 18, 2020.

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.

QUIET RIOT's Frankie Banali is "doing great" after completing his 21st round of chemotherapy, says his bandmate Alex Grossi.

The drummer, who has been battling stage IV pancreatic cancer for the past 15 months, went public with his diagnosis last October, writing in a social media post that the cancer treatment had forced him to miss several live shows with the band.

Grossi discussed Banali's health status during a recent interview with Combat Radio. The guitarist said (see video below): "[Frankie is] fighting the good fight with cancer. He did his 21st round of chemo yesterday. And he's hanging in there. He's actually doing great. He looks great. He's out fighting the good fight. We obviously haven't been playing [due to the coronavirus pandemic] — no one has — so I think, in a roundabout way, it's been kind of good 'cause he can really rest up and get a handle on this thing."

Banali was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer after going to the emergency room for shortness of breath, leg pain and loss of energy. A scan of his lungs caught an image of his liver, which is where the first spots were seen. Then came the discovery of a tumor on his pancreas.

On June 10, Banali told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about his cancer battle: "I'm still doing the chemotherapy. I switched to a different chemotherapy a few months ago. And the side effects on this one are pretty brutal, and they pretty much last into the next round of chemo. So you kind of don't get a break for about three weeks, and then you get about maybe 10 days off, and then the cycle starts again. But it's part of what I'm doing."

At some of QUIET RIOT's shows last year, Banali was replaced by either Johnny Kelly (DANZIG, TYPE O NEGATIVE) or Mike Dupke (W.A.S.P.), depending on each musician's availability.

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

Banali played his first show with QUIET RIOT since he announced his cancer diagnosis in October at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

The drummer resurrected QUIET RIOT in 2010, three years after the death of founding member DuBrow.

QUIET RIOT's latest studio album, "Hollywood Cowboys" was released in November via Frontiers Music Srl.

TESTAMENT's Alex Skolnick has released a guitar playthrough video for the band's song "Return To Serenity" in order to help raise awareness of Metal For Nepal, a non-profit organization which aims to bring the global metal and arts community together to tackle the humanitarian crisis caused by COVID-19.

In a statement accompanying the clip, Alex wrote: "This one seems to get requested more than any other song or solo. As it hasn't been played by the band in forever, it required relearning and was planned for sometime later this year. Then, friends in Nepal recently asked if I might consider doing a 'play through' of a TESTAMENT song to help raise awareness of their humanitarian organization (metalfornepal.org) in wake of C19's particularly devastating effect on parts of the region. Since this tune seemed a perfect fit, it was moved to the top of the priorities list. Please consider visiting metalfornepal.org and supporting. Thank you and enjoy."

TESTAMENT's latest album, "Titans Of Creation", was released on April 3 via Nuclear Blast. The disc was produced by guitarist Eric Peterson and singer Chuck 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.

The official lyric video for the song "Thine Is The Kingdom" from British hard rock veterans LIONHEART can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's upcoming album, "The Reality Of Miracles", which will be released on July 31 via Metalville Records.

LIONHEART was founded in late 1980 by Dennis Stratton (ex-IRON MAIDEN), Steve Mann (MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST) and Rocky Newton (ex-MSG) with Clive Edwards (ex-UFO) completing the lineup a little later. The band started playing constant live shows, including regular sold-out gigs at the London Marquee Club. Between 1981 and 1984, more shows followed, including a performance at the Reading Festival 1981 and as support for DEF LEPPARD, WHITESNAKE and SAXON.

In 1984, CBS Records offered LIONHEART a contract. With the new singer Chad Brown, the debut album, "Hot Tonight", was recorded in Los Angeles. Phil Lanzon (URIAH HEEP) joined the band as a new keyboardist before Chad Brown was replaced by Keith Murrell (AIRRACE, MAMA'S BOYS) in 1985. The band was hit with managerial problems, and it was felt that the momentum was gone, and LIONHEART disbanded in 1985.

Rocky subsequently sang background vocals on the DEF LEPPARD albums "Pyromania" and "Hysteria" before joining the MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP. Steve set up his first commercial studio and then hooked up with Rocky again in the MCAULEY SCHENKER GROUP. Dennis began a 15-year collaboration with PRAYING MANTIS. Clive went on to play with Bernie Marsden and UFO.

In 1999, LIONHEART released a double album with old demos, which sold well and once again generated interest in the band. In 2016, the organisers of the Rockingham Festival in Nottingham invited LIONHEART to play a reunion show. The four founding members seized the opportunity and brought the former SHY frontman Lee Small on board as lead singer. The show received fantastic reviews, and they decided to record another album.

"Second Nature" was released to critical acclaim in 2017 and was voted "AOR Album Of The Year" by Classic Rock magazine. This was followed by an appearance at Sweden Rock Festival, mini co-headline tours through Japan with PRAYING MANTIS, and a U.K. tour with AIRRACE.

As the Christmas single "Mary Did You Know" was released in December 2018, the musicians were already recording the follow-up album. Although most of 2019 was taken up by the other projects, the band members got together in downtime to record "The Reality Of Miracles". The 13 songs were recorded in Steve Mann's studio in Hannover. Steve also produced, mixed and mastered the album.

"The Reality Of Miracles" track listing:

01. Salvation

02. Thine Is The Kingdom

03. High Plains Drifter

04. The Reality Of Miracles

05. Five Tribes

06. Behind The Wall

07. All I Want Is You

08. Widows

09. Kingdom Of The East

10. Outlaws Of The Western World

11. Overdrive

12. The First Man

13. Still It Rains On Planet Earth (Lacrimosa)

LIONHEART is:

* Dennis Stratton - former guitarist with IRON MAIDEN

* Steve Mann - current guitarist and keyboardist with MICHAEL SCHENKER

* Rocky Newton - former bass player and backing vocalist with MCAULEY SCHENKER GROUP

* Clive Edwards - former drummer with UFO, WILD HORSES and ULI ROTH

* Lee Small - former lead vocalist with SHY and PHENOMENA

Helsinki-based rockers Waltari have checked in with the following update:

"As you know we released our latest album, Global Rock, in March of 2020. Global Rock is Waltari's 14th studio album and was well received. Thank you!

Due to the pandemic, both touring and proper release parties had to be cancelled. But, we want to celebrate this release together with our fans and friends with a belated release show, brought to you via a livestream. 

The livestream by no means is just another gig; no, there are going to be interviews with the band members, and the stream will end with a Q&A session. If you miss the stream, no worries. The stream is available for 7 days afterward on G Livelab's site/app. Just buy the stream ticket and enjoy the joy the show. So let’s rock this together!!"
 
Showtime: Saturday, July 11th at 9:00 pm EEST / 8:00 pm CET
 
Go to this location to purchase tickets and for more information.

Global Rock, featuring artwork compiled by Tomo Kataoka, comes with 13 crisp songs, including a remake of Canned Heat’s “Going Up The Country”.

Tracklisting:

"Postrock"
"Metal Soul"
"Skyline"
"The Way"
"No Sacrifice"
"Sick n Tired"
"Boots"
"Going Up The Country"
"Orleans"
"Had It All"
"And The"
"Sand Witch"
"Beloved"

"Postrock" lyric video:




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Kamelot keyboardist Oliver Palotai has checked in with new content for the fans:

"Sometimes friends, fans, musicians come up with beautiful Kamelot covers. Here's a special one."

"End Of Innocence" is taken from Kamelot's 2015 album, Haven.

Mixing progressive rock, jazz, classical, and progressive metal, Montreal-based CYDEMIND is a special and unique band, one we’ll be hearing a lot more from in the future. Influenced by such bands as Dream Theater. Symphony X. Haken, Neal Morse Band, and jazzmen like Avishai Cohen and Tigran Hamasyan, violinist Olivier Allard describes their sound as “violin meets instrumental prog metal!”.

Prolific artists, Cydemind released its first EP Through Mists and Ages back in 2014 and soon after its single ‘What Remains’. After a few years of writing and refining their sound, the quintet (violin, bass, piano, guitar, drums) came back with their first full-length album. Entitled Erosion, its six tracks are centered around the theme of nature and its persistence through time. Epic is the word here, with one track clocking in at an impressive 27 minutes. ‘Erosion’ was released independently on Bandcamp, iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and all major online retailers.

Cydemind then branched off a bit from the usual metal band musical path to produce the music for the indie video game Navyblue And The Spectrum Killers. The game released in September 2018 and is available on Steam. In addition to writing the whole soundtrack for the game, Cydemind also released two singles ‘Navyblue’ and ‘Lights of Iberia’ as bonus content for the game. 

To further expand their musical soundscape and reach new audiences, the versatile band released its first music video ‘Winter’ in March 2019. The single is an arrangement of Vivaldi’s ‘Winter Violin Concerto’ from the Four Seasons. Shot in various locations in Quebec, Canada, the video highlights both the majestic Canadian winter and the highly energetic performance of the band.

In addition to its recording experiences, the band has performed many times in the Montreal area since 2011 in venues like : the Foufounes Électriques, the Katacombes, the Plaza Theater and more. They recently created the first edition of Proggy Nights in Canada, a small tour that reunited 3 Canadian prog bands in Québec City, Montreal and Toronto.

Aside from their performance expertise, Olivier (violin) and Camille (piano) have also been teaching their instrument for many years. Olivier is a doctorate student in violin performance at University of Montreal, while Camille graduated from the classical piano program at CEGEP St-Laurent in Montreal.

For information on Cydemind go to their official Facebook page here.




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One of Lenny Kravitz's classics, “Again”, has just received a folk re-interpretation courtesy of Aline Happ, frontwoman of Lyria. While in the original version, the rock n' roll sound is very present, in this version, the guitar and drums are replaced by violins, acoustic guitar, percussion, and even synthesizers and harpsichord accompanied by the bass. The song is part of a series of videos that already includes covers of  “Stricken” by Disturbed, “Titanium” by David Guetta, and “We Found Love” by Rihanna. 

“This song is very beautiful, the melody and the lyrics are very emotional. It is also very different from what I am used to singing, so I thought it would be fun to make a version of it in a more acoustic, folk and intimate style,” says Aline Happ.

During the COVID-19 quarantine, each person discovered a new talent. In the case of Aline Happ, it was through these videos that she became a music producer in addition to editing the clips, as highlighted by Aline below:

“Since we are living these strange times, without concerts, I felt the need to produce even more, so I decided to venture into this world of production. I'm learning a lot. I've been creating a lot of videos, images, art, marketing plans, etc. for Lyria, but I don't produce the recording of the songs, just the Lockdown Sessions. I always wanted to record versions, and now, without concerts, I decided it was the right time to launch my channel and try some new things.”

Among the novelties of this video is the launch of the sponsorship of the channel, via Patreon and it already has quite a few fans, mentioned at the end of the video. The support modality acts as an incentive for artists, especially for the independent ones.

“It is like an advantage club. I offer different rewards from having the names in the credits of my videos, to chat via Skype, also surprise boxes, backstage footage, among other things. Donations are monthly and people can donate from $1 per month. Each amount has a different reward. And it is always possible to increase, decrease or even cancel the donation,” explains Aline Happ.

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.

 




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Danish thrash / prog metallers, Manticora, performed inside Bullhead City Circus at Germany's Wacken Open Air festival in summer 2019. Watch the band's full set below.

Manticora recently unveiled the cover artwork for their upcoming (9th) album, To Live To Kill To Live - yet another amazing piece of art, created by the talented Danish painter / tattoo artist David Troest.

At the same time, the band exposed the tracklisting for the new album, which is the follow-up to 2018's To Kill To Live To Kill - the two albums, combined, complete the Manticora concept double-album, based on the thriller / horror novel that lead singer, Lars F. Larsen has written.

The 334 page novel itself was released in May 2018, followed by the first album of the concept in August 2018.

"Katana - The Moths And The Dragonflies/Katana - Mud"
"To Nanjing" (Instrumental)
"The Farmer's Tale Pt. 3 - Eaten By The Beasts"
"Slaughter In The Desert Room"
"Through The Eyes Of The Killer - Filing Teeth"
"Katana - Death Of The Meaning Of Life"
"Tasered/Ice Cage"
"Goodbye Tina"
"Tasered/Removal"
"Stalin Strikes" (Instrumental)
"Ten Thousand Cold Nights"
"Katana - Beheaded"

The music on both albums was recorded partially in the band's own studio and recorded / mixed in Hansen Studios, with producer, Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Destruction) who also produced the first two Manticora albums back in the last millennium.




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Guitarists Adam Bell and Ross McLellan of UK-based death metal powerhouse, Viscera, are featured in this new episode of the Guitar World series, Sick Riffs. In the clip below, they teach you how to play through the verse riff of title track of the band's new album, Obsidian.

Obsidian sees the band, which features a veteran lineup that includes ex - Sylosis and Heart Of A Coward vocalist Jamie Graham as well as former members of Martyr Defiled and Abhorrent Decimation, immediately establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with in extreme metal. The nine track effort showcases all of the fearless brutality, thrilling technicality, and song writing maturity that one would expect from musicians of their pedigree.

The album was mixed and mastered by Michael Leo Valeri (Brand of Sacrifice) with artwork being provided by Shindy Reehal (Ingested, Harbinger). Order here.

Tracklisting:

“Delilah”
“Immersed In Ire”
“Lamb To The Slaughter”
“Carpe Noctem”
“Affliction”
“Hammers And Nails”
“Lilith”
“Obsidian”
“Silentium”

"Immersed In Ire" video:

“Obsidian” lyric video:




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The final Quarantine Sessions video from modern metal band Imonolith, “Breathe,” is available now. Watch below.

“This is when the album takes a bit of a turn, offering a different vibe. Instantly this song sets itself apart from the others with a melodic clean guitar intro, accompanied with some cool sounding effects,” says vocalist Jon Howard. “My vocals beginning in the first verse are very relaxed and chill sounding, then build into a larger than life chorus. When I first heard the demo of this song, it sounded like it had been written before, like it was already a big hit from another band. Nope! It’s a new song, and we wrote it. So that’s a really good sign that we have something big here! Also, this song really captures our low tuned guitars, and even though it’s a slower tempo and very melodic, it crushes pretty damn hard with heavy guitars at the same time.”

Howard has also been testing his editing skills with each of the Quarantine Sessions videos, with each band member recording his own footage at home and sending video to the singer to compile.

“Each video in the quarantine series is footage taken by the band members in their home,” Howard says. “They record video with several different angles playing each song on the album, then send the footage to me for editing. Each song has a unique feeling, so when editing each video, I try to capture that with different filters and editing techniques. The goal when recording my own video footage is to do something completely different each time. I am fortunate to have a lot of space in my home and have come up with several new ideas when shooting my play through footage. For example, in this video I sang in a room with all the guitars I own. The various colors and lighting create a very warm vibe for this song. Since this is a more melodic slower tempo song, I felt this was a great approach.”

Imonolith features drummer Ryan Van Poederooyen (Devin Townsend Project), guitarist Brian ‘Beav’ Wadell (Devin Townsend Project), Jon Howard (Threat Signal), guitarist Kai Huppunen (Methods of Mayhem, Noise Therapy) and Scott Whalen (Econoline Crush). The collective of heavy-hitting players is at the top of their game recently releasing their debut album, State Of Being. The album features special guest appearances from Jens Kidman (Meshuggah) and famed Swedish vocalist Johannes Eckerström and is made up of 10 hook-laden, riff-heavy tracks that center around the theme of how people deal with various stages of life.

Tracklisting:

"State Of Being" (intro)
"Becoming The Enemy" (feat. Johannes Eckerstrom)
"Instinct"
"Dig"
"The Mourning"
"Forgone"
"Breathe"
"The Reign" (feat. Jens Kidman)
"We Never Forget"
"Hollow"
"Persevere"

"Hollow" video:

"Instinct" video:

"Dig"

(Photo - Erich Saide)




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Swedish multi-instrumentalist Rikard Sjöblom recently announced his new album under the Gungfly moniker, Alone Together. Set for release on September 4, it follows an extremely productive past few years, whether it be working with English progressive rockers Big Big Train, or taking the lead with Gungfly.

Today sees the launch of the first single, "Happy Somewhere In Between" and you can watch the video below.

Rikard comments: “I wanted to write an upbeat prog-rocker about a subject I was reading about, and got intrigued by: the dynamics in a relationship - how one person can be needy and the other one avoidant. These personality traits sometimes attract each other but then things get problematic when one needs a lot of attention and the other one tends to feel trapped by it. It’s also about mixing things up in general and pretty much a fun song about serious stuff.”

Alone Together will be available as a Limited CD Digipak (with two bonus tracks), Gatefold LP + CD & as Digital Album. Pre-order here.

Rikard comments: “I started writing these songs about a year ago but then it took some time to get started with the production because I had two tours lined up, one with Big Big Train in November and then opening solo for The Flower Kings on their European tour in December. After that my focus shifted back to Gungfly and it felt really nice so it all came together pretty fast!”

Alone Together saw Gungfly recording as a trio, with brothers and previous collaborators Petter and Rasmus Diamant on drums and bass respectively. “It was a lot of fun playing both keyboards and guitar because I had come up with a lot of nice parts but I knew early on that I wanted to make the album with the brothers on drums and bass - luckily they were very up for it!” This ‘power-trio’ have focussed on the rock this time, and you can hear that loud and clear: “I didn’t want to smother the production with layers upon layers of keyboards and bells and whistles but instead tried to keep it prog rock with the focus on ROCK. I wanted every instrument to mean something in the mix.” This is evident on tracks like "Happy Somewhere In Between" and the 13-minute epic "Traveler", where Gungfly have never hit harder.

The album cover features a painting by American artist Kevin Sloan (The Flower Kings). Rikard comments of the piece: “I had just written lyrics for the song ‘From Afar’ and was looking at Kevin’s paintings when I came across this one and I couldn’t believe the connection, particularly the lyric “A million eyes watching glimpses of each other’s lives”.”

Tracklisting:

"Traveler
"Happy Somewhere In Between"
"Clean as a Whistle"
"Alone Together"
"From Afar"
"On The Shoulders Of Giants"
"Grove Thoughts" (Bonus Track)
"Shoulder Variations" (Bonus Track)

"Happy Somewhere In Between" video:




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Season Of Mist announces the signing of Japanese music collective, Vampillia. The band is gearing up to release its new full-length - stay tuned for details.

The band comments: “It's a great honor for us to join the Season Of Mist legion with so many great other bands. We will work hard like gladiolus flowers with secret chords and inaudible lyrics to be the greatest of the corps.”

For a glimpse of what to expect, check out the discography of Vampillia on Bandcamp, here.

A musical conglomerate of over 10 members which transcends any singular genre. Vampillia can be described to include elements of all beautiful emotional music and like a mutant chimera that fuses all genres.

Vampillia has worked with several labels worldwide, including Virgin Babylon Records, Candlelight Records and Important Records. Counting full lengths, singles and collaborations, the discography of the Japanese entity counts an impressive count of 35 records released internationally. Past collaborations include μ-Ziq, The Body, Lustmord, Attila Csihar (Mayhem, Sunn O)))), Jarboe, and Jun Togawa.

With their unique approach to music and shows, it isn't surprising that Vampillia is a welcome guest to renowned festivals worldwide, such as Roadburn Festival (NL), Brutal Assault (CZ), Adelaide Fesival with Godspeed you!Black Emperor (AU), SXSW (US), Le Guess Who? (NL), State-X New Forms (NL), Incubate (NL), Concrete&Grass (CN), and Fuji Rock Festival (JP).

Yet, the endeavours of this group are more diverse than just records and live performances. In the past, they have also provide music for commercials, movie soundtracks and fashion shows. The band are currently working on a self produced, new album which will be released by Season Of Mist. Keep an ear out for it.




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Marenna-Meister is the new project of singer Rod Marenna (Marenna) and guitarist Alex Meister (ex-Pleasure Maker, Alex Meister solo). The band presents their debut album, Out Of Reach, which will be released on September 28 via Danish label Lions Pride Music, and features 10 extremely powerful tracks with the energy of the 80's hard rock and glam metal.

With the most intense vibrations, combining her experiences of more than 25 years dedicated to this style, Marenna-Meister promotes an exciting union between melodic and striking vocals, powerful riffs and guitar solos with tons of energy to be listened to the maximum volume. , Out Of Reach guarantees a trip to the golden times, inspired by Danger Danger, Dokken, Winger and Warrant.

While the partnership's first full-length is in the post-production phase, the duo released the first single, “Follow Me Up”, available on all streaming platforms here. You can listen to the song below:

Alex Meister is a songwriter, producer and renowned guitarist with more than 30 years of career. He has played alongside several bands and abroad, such as Savatage, Whitesnake, Motörhead, Queensrÿche, Saxon and Angra. His career includes several works launched worldwide, projects alongside names like Mark Boals (ex-Yngwie Malmsteen) and Edu Ardanuy (Dr. Sin). He edited four CDs; instrumental solo Alex Meister - My Way (2011) and three more with the Hard Rock’s band Pleasure Maker, Love On The Rocks (2004), Twisted Desire (2008) and Dancin' With Danger ( 2018), albums that have been released and distributed in countries in North America, Europe and Asia for labels such as Spiritual Beast (Japan), Perris Records (USA), Steelheart Records (Italy) and Animal Records (Brazil). To promote these works, the video clips of “What’s Up?” and “Helena” in a solo career, as well as “It Ain’t Bout Love” and “Dancin’ With Danger ” with the Pleasure Maker. The year 2019 marked the new phase of his career, ending the cycle of the band Pleasure Maker after more than 15 years on the road and releasing the single "Just Thinkin 'About You", which brought him back to his solo career, debuting the front vocals and debuting his brand new Marenna-Meister project.

Rod Marenna is a singer and songwriter with more than 25 years of career, always mixing hard rock and heavy metal in his bands/projects, where he developed his own style. Rod created his own solo project called Marenna, which was launched as a web project with special guests and new musicians, in 2014. Due to the project's great prominence, he was a finalist in the Sweden Rock Festival Competition. The musician has the EP My Unconditional Faith, the Full-length album No Regrets - released in the US, Europe and Japan by Lions Pride Music, and the live album Livin 'No Regrets released in Europe and Japan by Rock Company of the Netherlands.

Lineup:

Rod Marenna (vocals)
Alex Meister (guitar, vocals)
Cris Gavioli (bass, vocals)
L.A. Tilly (drums)

(Photos - Eduardo Amayo, Roger Clots)




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Ennio Morricone, the Oscar-winning composer of "The Ecstasy Of Gold", the song from the classic film "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" which has been opening METALLICA live shows since 1983, has died. He was 91.

According to Morricone's longtime lawyer, the composer died early Monday in a Rome hospital of complications following a fall, in which he broke a leg.

In response to the news, METALLICA wrote on social media: "R.I.P. Ennio Morricone, Your career was legendary, your compositions were timeless. Thank you for setting the mood for so many of our shows since 1983."

Back in the mid-1980s, METALLICA frontman James Hetfield explained why he and his bandmates chose "The Ecstasy Of Gold" as their intro music.

He said: "Originally we had a really dreadful tape as our intro. Just the sound of a heart with the beat getting faster. Rubbish. Then our manager at the time came up with the idea of replacing it with 'The Ecstasy Of Gold'. And from the first time we used it, something happened. It just set us up for the night, and got the fans excited."

METALLICA eventually recorded a metalized cover version of "The Ecstasy Of Gold" for inclusion on a tribute to Morricone, also featuring some of the greatest names from the worlds of contemporary pop, rock, jazz, and classical music. It was released in February 2007 via Sony Classical.

METALLICA played "The Ecstasy Of Gold" live for the first time ever in July 2009 at the Forum in Copenhagen, Denmark.


R.I.P. Ennio Morricone

Your career was legendary, your compositions were timeless. Thank you for setting the mood for so many of our shows since 1983.

Posted by Metallica on Monday, July 6, 2020

Vancouver-based stoner metal torchbearers, Dead Quiet, debut the first single taken from their epic third album, Truth And Ruin, due out September 11 via Artoffact Records. Unleash the power of "The Sign Of A Sealed Fate" and pre-order the album now.

From Vancouver, Canada, comes Dead Quiet. The third full-length Truth And Ruin shows the band at its peak, delivering its arena-ready, proto-metal bacchanal with power and flair. Dead Quiet's dramatic, organ-heavy songs are saturated with respect for the hard rock and heavy metal titans of the late '70s and early '80s - there are traces of blazing Deep Purple jams and hellbent Judas Priest bangers - but the band rocks with a prowess all its own. Dead Quiet respects its elders while fully owning its own craft. It is a fine balance, which brings to mind Ghost, among others.

Stream new track "The Sign Of A Sealed Fate" below.

"We just wanted to make a record that was relentless. On Grand Rites we took our time and meandered quite a bit but with Truth And Ruin it was more about 'point and shoot,' always keeping us and the listener on their toes. I love a good hook. I like the idea of a song that rips but also gets stuck in your head like a good pop song." frontman Kevin Keegan states. "I had a really rough year and the inspiration came from there. I was in a really unhealthy relationship, I had some friends pass away, and I experienced some real trauma in my line of work as a frontline worker dealing with the fentanyl epidemic. Brock, Dana, and I all work in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver as mental health, overdose prevention, and harm reduction workers."

Truth And Ruin was engineered and mixed by Jesse Gander (Japandroids, White Lung) at Rain City Recorders in Vancouver, BC. It was mastered by Alan Douches (Mastodon, Chelsea Wolfe) at West West Side Music in Hudson Valley, NY. Cover art was designed by Taylor Borque. Pre-order here.

Tracklisting:

"Atoned Deaf"
"Forever Unsung"
"Of Sound And Fury"
"Truth And Ruin"
"Partial Darkness"
"The Sign Of A Sealed Fate"
"Cold Grey Death"

"The Sign Of A Sealed Fate":

Truth and Ruin by Dead Quiet

Dead Quiet is:

Kevin Keegan - vocals, guitar
Brock MacInnes - guitar
Mike Grossnickle - bass
Mike Rosen - keyboards, backing vocals
Jason Dana - drums




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British rockers ASKING ALEXANDRIA have released "Antisocialist (Unplugged)" . The track is featured on the group's sixth full-length studio album, "Like A House On Fire", via Sumerian Records and the full-band version of the song is currently sitting at No. 4 at Active Rock Radio and hit No. 1 on SiriusXM's Octane "Big Uns Countdown" this week.

Speaking about the unplugged version "Antisocialist', guitarist Ben Bruce says: "Over the years, we have been known to release many acoustic versions of our songs from a number of albums. 'Antisocialist' has rapidly become our most successful active rock single of our entire career, so we wanted to do something special.

"Instead of just another 'acoustic version' of a song, we decided to really strip this one back and try and recreate the song as an unplugged version that lives and breathes its own identity. An unplugged, vulnerable rendition of the song that hopefully allows people to feel like they are in the room with the band whilst we play it.

"To all of our fans, old and new, we truly hope you enjoy this unique version of 'Antisocialist' as much as we do. We love you."

"Like A House On Fire" was once again recorded by producer Matt Good (HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD, FROM FIRST TO LAST), who also helmed 2017's self-titled effort. The disc was recorded throughout 2019 in between a high-profile arena tour supporting SHINEDOWN and a direct support slot on the road with PAPA ROACH. The intermittent sessions allowed ASKING ALEXANDRIA to tap into the energy of touring, resulting in a 15-track opus of massive, arena-filling rock songs.

Professionally-filmed footage of Scorpions performing "Still Loving You" live at France's Hellfest in June 2015 can be seen below:

Previously released videos from the same show:




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Enterprise Earth have released a quarantine style playthrough video of their smoldering rendition of Necrophagist's "Fermented Offal Discharge". The cover appears on the band's Foundation Of Bones EP, recently issued via Entertainment One (eOne).

Featuring one new song (the title track), two cover tunes - the aforementioned Necrophagist track and Lamb Of God's iconic "Now You've Got Something To Die For" - an acoustic interpretation of "There Is No Tomorrow" from their Luciferous LP, and an instrumental version of the new track, the surprise EP serves as a bridge piece from Luciferous into the work being laid down for their forthcoming LP. Foundation Of Bones also marks the band's first ever self-produced output.

Comments Enterprise Earth guitarist Gabriel Mangold of the band's choice to cover Necrophagist, "When the idea of doing some covers came up, Necrophagist was one of the first bands we considered. Like Lamb Of God, they're a massive influence on all of us. We had a bit of a difficult time deciding which Necro song to cover as both albums are classic tech-death staples - and all of the songs are hard to play - but we ultimately decided on 'Fermented....' It was a lot of fun to record and perform."

Purchase Foundation Of Bones here, where the EP can be streamed in full.

Tracklisting:

“Foundation Of Bones”
“Now You’ve Got Something To Die For” (Lamb Of God cover)
“Fermented Offal Discharge” (Necrophagist cover)
“There Is No Tomorrow” (acoustic)
“Foundation Of Bones” (insturmental)

“Now You’ve Got Something To Die For” video:

“Foundation Of Bones” video:




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Necrot occupy the 116th instalment of Decibel Magazine's flexi-series with a re-recorded version of their 2016 demo track "Into The Labyrinth". A subscriber exclusive, the flexi is included in Decibel's August 2020 issue.  

If you missed your subscription opportunity, head here, where an extremely limited number of issues carrying the flexi remain.

The Decibel flexi serves as a teaser to Necrot's impending new full-length, Mortal, set for release on August 28 via Tankcrimes.

Recorded by Grammy award winning engineer Greg Wilkinson (High On Fire, Autopsy) and mastered by Alan Douches (Cannibal Corpse, Cattle Decapitation, Mastodon) at West West Side, the follow-up to 2017's Blood Offerings is at once earth rupturing and memorable. Easily their most precise performance to date, Mortal foams at its mouth with destructive rhythms, intricate guitar leads, and guttural domination.

Necrot's Mortal comes cloaked in the cover art of Marald Van Haasteren (Baroness, Mortuous) and will be released on CD (standard jewel case + limited mailorder only digipack), gatefold LP, cassette, and digital formats.  Find physical pre-orders at this location. For digital orders, click here.

Tracklisting:

"Your Hell"
"Dying Life"
"Stench Of Decay"
"Asleep Forever"
"Sinister Will"
"Malevolent Intention"
"Mortal"

"Asleep Forever":

"Stench Of Decay":

(Photo - Chris Johnston)




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Sons Of Apollo / former Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian has posted a short video clip of himself performing Eddie Van Halen's "Spanish Fly" on piano. The track is taken from Van Halen II, released in 1979.

MMXX, the new album from Sons Of Apollo - which features former Dream Theater members Mike Portnoy and Derek Sherinian, Rob "Bumblefoot" Thal (ex-Guns N' Roses), Billy Sheehan (The Winery Dogs, Mr. Big, David Lee Roth) and Jeff Scott Soto (ex-Journey, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force) - is available as a standard CD package, Limited Edition 2 CD package (which includes instrumental mixes and a cappella excerpts), 2 LP + CD package, and on all digital formats. Order here.

MMXX tracklisting:

"Goodbye Divinity"
"Wither To Black"
"Asphyxiation"
"Desolate July"
"King Of Delusion"
"Fall To Ascend"
"Resurrection Day"
"New World Today"

"Asphyxiation" lyric video:

"Desolate July" video:

"Fall To Ascend" video:

"Goodbye Divinity" video:




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The Annihilation Of Tyrol is the fourth live effort from Atlantean Kodex (all going under an "Annihilation Of" banner), recorded at the Park In Club (Live In Hall - Tyrol, Austria) on March 28, 2015. It's an "authorized" bootleg, the band posting it on their Bandcamp site as a free download, saying "It was a very memorable gig, because three of us got very sick after eating at a shady bar in town. It was a constant fight against throwing up on stage while playing." 

From BraveWords scribe Mark Gromen:

"Apparently, someone (unbeknownst to the band) made a soundboard recording, so they have taken the proverbial lemons and rewarded the fans with lemonade So no easier (cheaper?) way to check out one of Germany's exciting youngsters!

Amongst the nine originals (plus a killer rendition of Warlord's 'Lucifer's Hammer') there's only material from the initial pair of studio albums, the majority from the (then) new record. The version of 'Heresiarch' has been further pared from the demo days. The original expanse was more than 17 minutes! 

Committed to the aforementioned The White Goddess album, they cut six minutes from the length and here, even though it's live, another two minutes have been lost, the opposite of most bands' onstage extravagance."

Check out the album here or via the widget below.

The Annihilation Of Tyrol by ATLANTEAN KODEX

Tracklist:

"Enthroned In Clouds And Fire"
"Sol Invictus"
"Heresiarch"
"From Shores Forsaken"
"Pilgrim"
"A Prophet In The Forest"
"Temple Of Katholic Magick"
"Lucifer's Hammer"
"Twelve Stars And An Azure Gown"
"The Atlantean Kodex"




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Kaledon guitarist Alex Mele has signed an agreement with Underground Symphony for the release and distribution of his first solo album. The new album, titled Alien Doppelgänger will be available in digipack CD format and on the major digital platforms from September 30th. 

The album was recorded between 2013 and 2019 and sees the participation of the talented singer Alessia "Melany" Scolletti (Temperance). Underground Symphony will issue three singles before the album release date and, the first one will be available July 15th… save the date.

Alien Doppelgänger artwork and tracklisting:

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

Lineup:

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




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Sweden’s HammerFall have returned with another episode of HammerFall TV, this time guitarist Oscar Dronjak discusses 2016’s Built To Last album.

Episode 9 focused on 2002's Crimson Thunder.

Episode 8 centered on 2006's Threshold.

Episode 7 revolved around 2011's Infected:

HammerFall recently announced they have cancelled their scheduled North American tour. A message from the band follows:

"Some of you have already started to get your refunds, so now it's official: the North American tour that was to take place in September/October is cancelled. That sucks, but with the current global pandemic wreaking havoc on the world we (meaning the local promoters, booking agent and the band) had no choice.

"We are hopeful to be able to rebook the tour for a future time, but since everything is so unstable at the moment the decision was made to scrap it altogether and return to it when things have calmed down. We are as sorry for this as you are, but hope you have understanding for our predicament brought on by the Corona virus.

"Stay safe, stay healthy, stay metal, and take care of each other!"




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Swedish doom / sludge metal band Serpent Omega are back after seven years away with their new single / video "Land Of Darkness", taken from the band's forthcoming new full-length, II. The album arrives September 4th via Icons Creating Evil Art.

“Land Of Darkness” is a showcase for vocalist Urskogr’s rasped and guttural delivery, filthier than ever but tempered by clean passages, adding elements of both strength and vulnerability which only deepen the overall sense of a looming end. Urskogr from the band explains:

"'Land Of Darkness' basically sums up the essence of Serpent Omega with its brutal energy and simple yet complex sound. The lyrics were written by me and Jonson while we were recording the song. Like most of the stuff Serpent Omega does, we do it together and everyone contributes with a lot of passion. That is usually a really time-consuming process since we rarely agree about stuff in the band, but 'Land Of Darkness' was more like binge drinking with Lemmy, in comparison to our usual way of working. The riffs were written a while before the lyrics but when they merged together it was a perfect fit. The song was just there. 'Land Of Darkness' needed to be unleashed and it basically wrote itself."

Serpent Omega meld sludge, doom, metal and crust into a unique and sordid brew. The first and self-titled album was released in 2013. The long-awaited sequel II was recorded in Stockholm, Sweden by Jonsson at Dark Prod Studios, mixed at Studio Humbucker by Robert Pehrsson (Runemagick, Death Breath, Robert Pehrsson’s Humbucker) and finally mastered by Magnus Lindberg Productions (Cult Of Luna).

To say it sounds grotesquely heavy and good is obviously an understatement. Seven years since its debut, the Stockholm-based quartet offers the perfect soundtrack to what may well be the end of the world as we know it. It’s all here… despair, hopelessness, fury, and perhaps a glimmer of bloody triumph and distant hope in the inevitability of a new beginning. The songs are a pile of bleak upon bleaker riffs that move from a slow and low crawl into d-beat and black metal territory with a smattering of NWOBHM in for good measure.

Serpent Omega has recently changed personnel, bringing well-renowned drummer Peter Stjärnvind, a.k.a Fast Feet Pete (Entombed, Nifelheim, Merciless) joining original members Urskogr (vocals), Brief (bass) and Jonsson (guitar).

For further details, visit Serpent Omega on Facebook.

(Photo: Jonas Husbom)

 




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Honeymoon Suite guitarist Derry Grehan and vocalist Johnnie Dee got a chance to record virtual video of their iconic hit "New Girl Now". 

"We can't be out there playing for you all right now so this is the next best thing until we see you again. More videos to come. Stay tuned...."

Honeymoon Suite have released a new single, "Find What You're Looking For", which is now available on all digital platforms. Check it out below.

In late 2019, Honeymoon Suite released a new single entitled "Tell Me What You Want". Check out the official video for the song below.




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Dukes Of The Orient, which features John Payne and Erik Norlander, will finally release their eagerly anticipated second album, Freakshow, on August 7 via Frontiers Music Srl. Pre-order/save Freakshow here, and listen to the album opener, "The Dukes Return", below.

John Payne says, "Working on the second Dukes Of The Orient album has been a very cathartic experience. The addition of Alex Garcia, guitar, and Frank Klepacki, drums, was a very positive move for a more signature, cohesive sound. As with the previous album, we continue our rich analog keyboard approach layered with guitars by myself and Alex. Mixed and recorded on a traditional board with vintage outboard, we wanted to create an echo to the past and write songs with strong melodic content."

"Freakshow is much more focused both in concept and in sound as it was written and recorded in a single year with a tight group of musicians," says Erik Norlander. "Our debut album came out fantastic, but it was recorded over a period of 10 years with many different contributing musicians, and in many ways, it sounds like that. Freakshow has the cohesiveness of vision where the same five musicians performed all the material that was written expressly for this album. I also think our writing on this album is more focused for the same reasons. After working together for so many years, I can write a vocal melody for John, he can write a keyboard part for me, and the parts just work right out of the gate.”

Dukes Of The Orient is a collaboration between vocalist John Payne (ex-Asia, GPS) with keyboardist Erik Norlander (Last In Line, Lana Lane, Rocket Scientists). Payne’s powerful arena-seasoned vocals carry soaring melodies and lush harmonies over the sea of classic synthesizers and keyboards artfully painted with Norlander’s signature sonic palette.

Dukes Of The Orient origins lay in 2007 with Asia Featuring John Payne, a band that continued on after Asia keyboardist Geoff Downes left the band to re-form the original 1982 lineup. Payne recruited Norlander to join the band for tour dates in the US and that’s where their partnership began. Eventually Asia Featuring John Payne would come up with the track “Seasons Will Change,” which was released as a video in 2013 and that eventually found its way onto the Dukes of the Orient debut.

Following the death of original Asia vocalist, John Wetton, in early 2017, Payne and Norlander decided that these recordings they had been working on for Asia Featuring John Payne should give birth to a new band, both out of respect for Wetton and for clarity with the Downes-led Asia. Dukes Of The Orient are however the legitimate successors of John Payne’s Asia. If you like albums such as “Aqua,” “Aura,” or “Silent Nation” then Dukes Of The Orient is for you!

Tracklisting:

"The Dukes Return"
"The Ice Is Thin"
"Freakshow"
"The Monitors"
"Man Of Machine"
"The Last Time Traveller"
"A Quest For Knowledge"
"The Great Brass Steam Engine"
"When Ravens Cry"
"Until Then"

"The Dukes Return":

"The Monitors" video:

Lineup:

John Payne - Vocals, Bass, Guitars
Erik Norlander - Keyboards
Frank Klepacki - Drums
Alex Garcia - Guitars
Eric Tewalt - Saxophone




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