"Judgment Day" is the fourth video from former Accept frontman David Reece's current album, Cacophony Of Souls, created by Valerio Fea, who was responsible for the video "Two Coins And A Dead Man" from the last album.

Reece: "This song 'Judgement Day' seems very fitting for the times we are all living in now. I am a firm believer in good over evil, and I feel the lyrics and music along with the video describes the current events of our world."

Cacophany Of Souls features Reece teaming up with ex-U.D.O. / Sinner guitarist Andy Susemihl.

Tracklist:

"Chasing The Shadows"
"Blood On Our Hands" 
"Judgement Day" 
"Collective Anaesthesia" 
"Cacophony Of Souls"
"Another Life Another Time"
"Metal Voice" 
"Over And Over" 
"Back In The Days" 
"A Perfect World" 
"Bleed" 
"No Disguise"

Reece returned to the El Puerto family for his next album. In a video message, he explains why:

Label boss Torsten Ihlenfeld: "Great to work with David again. Reece released an amazing album lately, followed by a great tour and extensive live activities, but looking at what is on the recording machines right now, this was just the beginning of something big to come. We are stoked to the max and can’t wait to bring this masterpiece to life!"

For more information go to Reece's official website here.

David Reece talks to BraveWords about Cacophony Of Souls at this location.




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Season Of Ghosts has checked in with the following update:

"This homemade version of 'Astero[:ID]' was recorded live, with the exception of backing vocals and keyboards that were sampled from the original track, as it appears on the band's second studio album, A Leap of Faith."

Season Of Ghosts guitarist Zombie Sam recently checked in with the following:

"What A Time To Be Alive is a Season Of Ghosts project where fans from all over the world can participate in our next Season of Ghosts video clip. This video is for you all. The song we picked for the fan project is "What A Time To Be Alive".

How to participate:

1) Take a horizontal video of yourself showing your love for Season of Ghosts (we won't use the audio).

2) Submit your videos to seasonofghosts@gmail.com

Done! Easy peasy right?

Have fun!"




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The Lonely Ones are a hard rock act from Ohio’s capitol city, Columbus. Formed in the summer of 2019, The Lonely Ones are a four piece vocal-oriented hard rock band with an ear for melody and a taste for success. No strangers to the hardships of the music industry, The Lonely Ones know what they want and know how to get it. The first singles "Eternal Sadness" and "The Lonely One" debuted in March of 2020.

The Lonely Ones live:

July
18 – Pataskala, OH – Desert Knights Annual Summer Bash

October
15 – Mishawaka, IN – Smokestack Brew
16 – Janesville, WI – The Back Bar
30 – Battle Creek, MI – Music Factory
31 – Akron, OH – Empire 




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Stone Sour has released a demo version of "Unfinished", which is available for streaming below.

Guitarist Josh Rand states: "The main riff for 'Unfinished' had been rolling around in my head for awhile. I was able to flush out most of the idea with Jeremy Colson when we were at Sun Prairie Studios. It wasn’t until a year later when Corey came over and sang on it that it became a Stone Sour song."




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Sepultura is back with another SepulQuarta session; this time with a playthrough of the track “Mindwar”, taken from their 2004 record Roorback.

Andreas Kisser about the idea of the SepulQuarta sessions, earlier:

"SepulQuarta was born out of the necessity to express ourselves in a different way since we’re all facing a new situation. We came with this idea still influenced by the concept of our last album 'Quadra', using geometry, numerology and numbers. Wednesday, which is the fourth day of the week, was chosen for an event."

(Photo - Marcos Hermes)




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Virtues Of The Vicious, the forthcoming full-length debut by the Boston-based dark, melodic power/thrash group Let Us Prey, features guest guitar solos by a number of notable shredders, including Jon Donais (Anthrax, Shadows Fall), Metal Mike Chlasciak (Halford, Testament), Jimi Bell (Autograph, House of Lords) and the late Oli “The Wizard” Herbert (All That Remains).

Herbert's contribution to the album – due July 24 via M-Theory Audio – appears on the track “The Saint Of Killers,” which is now available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp and other digital platforms. A lyric video for the song – which Lopes says is based on the DC Comics series “Preacher” and films such as “The Terminator” and “Blade Runner,” and which sees Let Us Prey guitarist Jesse Near, a former student of Herbert's, performing the solo – can be seen below.

Says Lopes, “This tune is extremely special to me for the simple fact of getting to work with brother Oli Herbert, and now – especially after the misfortune of his passing – it stands as our tribute to his memory. Our mutual love for comics, movies and metal is how we became good friends in the first place after a chance meeting at a show I was playing with a metal cover band I was in. Oli was all about jamming a shredding solo for us, as we wanted to work together and this song seemed perfect.”

Pre-orders for Virtues Of The Vicious on CD and limited-edition blood red vinyl are available here, and here (including bundle options). Digital pre-orders include instant downloads of "The Saint Of Killers" plus both “Halo Crown” and the album’s opening track, “Above The Vaulted Sky.” The tracks can now be streamed on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp and other digital platforms.

Led by Lopes (who designed the album’s cover art and music videos) and guitarist Jon Morency, Let Us Prey incorporates numerous subgenres of metal into their style while still sounding organic. The group's adventurous music sees elements of thrash, death, power and progressive metal meld seamlessly with industrial samples and symphonic keyboards. The drumming is surgically precise and blisteringly fast without sounding mechanical; the guitars mix crushing, down-tuned brutality with dense harmonies and ripping leads; and Lopes shifts effortlessly from thrash/death metal growls to soaring melodic vocals and searing Halford-esque highs with layered harmonies.

Virtues Of The Vicious - the follow-up to Let Us Prey's 2016 EP, The Saint Of Killers - was recorded by Nick Bellmore (Hatebreed, Toxic Holocaust, Five Finger Death Punch) and Pete Rutcho (Revocation, Havok, Bury Your Dead), with the latter also handling mix and mastering. In addition to Donais, the album also includes a number of notable guest musicians, including “Metal” Mike Chlasciak (Halford), Jimi Bell (House Of Lords/Autograph) and the late Oli Herbert (All That Remains).

Tracklisting:

"Above The Vaulted Sky"
"Virtues Of The Vicious"
"In Suffering"
"Halo Crown"
"Murder Thy Maker"
"The Saint Of Killers"
"Ghost Echoes"
"The Cruel Creation Of Me"
"Prey"
"And Hell Followed With Me"

"The Saint Of Killers" lyric video:

"Halo Crown" video:

"Above The Vaulted Sky" video:




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Czech black metal revelation Somniate has inked a deal with Lavadome Productions for the release of its debut album The Meyrinkian Slumber.

The Meyrinkian Slumber is scheduled for June 30 release through Lavadome Productions on CD/LP/digital and can be preordered on Bandcamp. The tape edition will be handled by Cloven Hoof.

The inspiration and the concept for the album comes from the novel, The Golem, written by Gustav Meyrink between 1907 and 1914. The album's five tracks represent a sophisticated black metal flight above the esoteric plot of the writer´s masterpiece. A tale of searching for the ascension through identity shifts, alchemical concepts and suffering, all set in a distorted vision of Prague.

Mixed and mastered at the infamous BST Studio (Aosoth, The Order of Apollyon, Totalitarian).

The iconography of the album's coverart was crafted by View From The Coffin:

Tracklisting:

“The Sleepless Stone”
“Rephaim”
“In Bone Incorruptible”
“A Penitentiary Triptych”
“Of Fragrance And Light”

“Of Fragrance And Light”:




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RATT singer Stephen Pearcy spoke to Marci Wiser of the 95.5 KLOS radio station about his recently released solo single, "All That I Want".

"I didn't know where that song was gonna end up — a RATT song or solo — so I decided it's just gonna be put out there," he said (hear audio below).

Asked if the track will appear on a full-length album at some point in the future, Pearcy said: "No. It's just a song. That's all I do is write with Erik Ferentinos, a co-writer friend of mine, been in my band forever, solo band. And it's all good. We just write and if we feel it fits to be heard, we put it out."

As for the lyrical inspiration for "All That I Want", Pearcy said: "It's a relationship song, and it just felt right for the times. Everybody's locked up, and what's really important to you? Your partner — somebody close to you, somebody to dig, love."

This past March, Pearcy released another new solo song called "Making Crazy".

Pearcy's fifth solo LP, "View To A Thrill", came out in November 2018 via Frontiers Music Srl. The follow-up to 2017's "Smash" was produced by Matt Thorne and Pearcy and was mixed and mastered by Thorne and Ferentinos.

Speaking about the songwriting process for his solo material, Pearcy told Music Existence: "RATT's music is its own entity and animal, and it has its own schematics. With my solo stuff, I tend to do whatever I like — an acoustic song, a really heavy song — and go places and talk about things that I want to. It's my freedom of speech. That's one thing I like about it, and I'm always writing, so what else can I do, you know? Just try to get it out and get it heard! I don't care if it sells ten million or nil million; it's just what I do. You do the best that you can."

Pearcy and bassist Juan Croucier are the sole remaining original members in RATT's current lineup, which made its live debut in July 2018 in Mulvane, Kansas. Joining them in the band are drummer Pete Holmes (BLACK 'N BLUE, RATT'S JUAN CROUCIER) and guitarist Jordan Ziff (RAZER).

Pearcy told Sleaze Roxx that Erik was briefly considered for a position in RATT before Ziff and now-former RATT guitarist Chris Sanders (BRITNY FOX, KNIGHT FURY) came along. "He's literally been in my band for years, in my solo band," he said. "He's a big part of my life, my solo records, the mixing, the engineering, just everything. I mean, we're like a team when I go in to do my solo records with Matt Thorne in the studio, and Erik and myself. We get in there and there is no stopping us, so I wanted to keep that a little separate, but he's always ready to go at any moment. He's a total professional."

Lzzy Hale has voiced her support for the "Black Lives Matter" movement following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.

The HALESTORM frontwoman took to her Tumblr earlier today (Monday, June 8) to express solidarity with the black community and to say she opposes racial discrimination and violence.

In a blog entry dubbed "The Spirit of Rock n Roll", Lzzy wrote: "I want to start by saying that I do not have a degree in political science; nor am I an expert on social injustice. But you don't need to be an expert or have a masters degree to know the difference between Right & Wrong and Good vs Evil. This is something instilled in you when you learn empathy and compassion.

"The notion that all Humans deserve to be treated as equals shouldn't be an optional belief, or a political opinion. It should be something that we all practice as a fundamental trait of our species. It should be a No Brainer. Justice for ALL, not Justice 'for some.' We are all born with that trait. But some of us are taught to fear, hate or discriminate against another human based on the color of their skin.

"Look inside your soul. If you are uncomfortable with or truly do not believe that all humans should be treated equally… than You are part of the problem.

"But it's ok to be wrong. And just because you are wrong doesn't mean that 'that's that' and we should just resolve to be divided on this. Fuck No, it's never too late to educate yourself and abolish that dinosaur mentality. Together we can be the asteroid that puts racism to rest once and for all.

"I truly believe hope and optimism are on the way. Unfortunately right now our country is plagued with Untamed Narcissism, Police Brutality and a Broken System. But sometimes it takes a horrific tragedy (or many horrific tragedies in the case of 2020) to unite us. So, This is not the time for Silence.

"We must keep up the momentum, if we don't, history is doomed to repeat itself. And We must not let that happen!

"I know a lot of you are telling me to shut up and sing. Well, this is me singing. I am an artist. And art has always played a role in revolution. I am specifically a Rock N Roll artist. Since the dawn of Rock, the genre has always been a safe haven for outcasts. In fact the WHOLE idea behind the Rock N Roll spirit is to rebel and stand up against injustice! And who birthed Rock N Roll? Black Musicians!

"So I will not shut up. If what I'm saying makes you uncomfortable, then you need to take a deep dive into your soul, figure out why, unlearn it, and come join us in the fight for change. We will welcome you with open arms.

"To my Black brothers and sisters, I will never truly understand your pain because I was born white. But I am outraged and heartbroken that you still have to endure this crushing weight that should've been lifted long long ago. I stand in solidarity with you.

"I will continue to use my voice to spread the Spirit of Rock n Roll.

"Love, equality, peace, empowerment, support and understanding.

"Black Lives Matter."

On May 25, Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was killed in an incident caught on camera. A police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeled on his neck for nearly ten minutes while Floyd was handcuffed. Chauvin faces second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges, while his former colleagues J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas K. Lane and Tou Thao are charged with one count of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. Video of the killing sparked riots and outrage across the country.

Lzzy was among the artists who "disconnected" from their usual work or promotion online in honor of #BlackOutTuesday (June 2).

Many of the artists shared posts on social media under the #TheShowMustBePaused hashtag and expressed solidarity with the black community.

Mike Portnoy is walking you through his latest vinyl collection is a series of eight videos. Episode #2 focuses on new reissues, B - F. Watch below:

Episode #1 focuses on new reissues, A - B:

BPMD - the new juggernaut featuring Portnoy, along with heavy metal icons Bobby Blitz (Overkill) on vocals, bassist Mark Menghi (Metal Allegiance) and guitarist Phil Demmel (Vio-lence, ex-Machine Head) - will release their full-length album of '70s rock covers, American Made, this Friday, June 12, via Napalm Records.

The members of BPMD have revealed their third single, the charging new version of Grand Funk Railroad's classic anthem, "We're An American Band". Check out the raucous new rendition via the lyric video below.

Bassist Mark Menghi says about "We're An American Band": “The goal of American Made was, and is, to pay tribute to some of the great music of the '70s, in particular, American music from the 70’s. We love music from all over the world; England, Germany, Brazil, Canada, Australia, etc... but at the end of the day, we are an American band, so it made sense to pay tribute to one of the greatest American bands of the '70s by covering one of the greatest songs of that decade by the mighty Grand Funk... Being that this song was originally written about being on tour, we’ve been reminiscing about days on the road and how much we miss our fans! Touring is the lifeblood of most bands - we can’t wait to perform some shows and play these BPMD tunes, and see music flourish in a live setting once again.”  

Frontman Bobby Blitz adds: "'American Band', in my opinion was the icing on the cake for this project. The idea of American Made, the 70's called for it. The song was iconic then and truly stood the test of time. The call and answer between my vox and Phil's guitar on the outro make the track that much more special."

It’s evident within the initial seconds of BPMD’s American Made, as the legendary Bobby Blitz chants the introductory lyrics to Ted Nugent’s “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang” in his signature skyscraper-high howl, that he and his equally iconic bandmates are here to have a damn good time. Featuring 10 unforgettable rock classics reimagined as heavy bangers, American Made is a party on wax. Tracks such as the raucous “Toys in the Attic” (Aerosmith) and rager-ready “Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers” (ZZ Top) prove that BPMD not only manages to capture the essence of each original track on the album, but skillfully transforms each classic into an unforgettable metallic anthem for a new age. The seasoned quartet flex their musical muscles on renowned classics such as “Saturday Night Special” (Lynyrd Skynyrd), “We’re an American Band” (Grand Funk Railroad) and “Walk Away” (James Gang), and introduce a whole new heavy generation to deeper cuts like blues standard “Evil” (Cactus/Willie Dixon) and “Never In My Life” (Mountain). Channeling nostalgia while maintaining a fresh attitude, American Made is a summer soundtrack for all ages.

After connecting over their mutual love for the classics and forming their current line-up, the members of BPMD traveled to drummer Mike Portnoy’s home studio in Pennsylvania and set up shop. Since the whole concept of the band was born the night Menghi was listening to “Saturday Night Special”, BPMD were determined to record the song for the album. Beyond that, each musician picked two ‘70s rock tracks and everyone had to learn them!

American Made was mixed and mastered by Mark Lewis, also known for his work with Metal Allegiance (featuring Mark Menghi), as well as artists such as DevilDriver, Trivium, and many others.

American Made will be available in the following formats:

- 1-CD Jewel Case
- 1-LP Gatefold Black
- 1-LP Gatefold Red/White/Blue Splatter (NPR Mailorder exclusive)
- American Made T-Shirt + Jewel Case Bundle (NPR Mailorder exclusive)
- American Made T-Shirt + Vinyl Black Bundle (NPR Mailorder exclusive / North America ONLY)
- American Made T-Shirt + Vinyl Red/White/Blue Splatter Bundle (NPR Mailorder exclusive / North America ONLY)
- Digital Album

Pre-order here.

American Made tracklisting:

"Wang Dang Sweet Poontang"
"Toys In The Attic"
"Evil"
"Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers"
"Saturday Night Special"
"Tattoo Vampire"
"D.O.A."
"Walk Away"
"Never In My Life"
"We're An American Band"

"Evil" guitar playthrough:

"Evil" drum playthrough:

"Evil" lyric video:

"Toys In The Attic" video:

"Toys In The Attic" drum playthrough video:

"Toys In The Attic" guitar playthrough video:

“Absolutely f*cking brilliant! God bless the real music krankers of America! Godspeed!" - Ted Nugent

”Turbocharged version of D.O.A. by BPMD. These guys are rocking!” - Michael Anthony (Chickenfoot, ex-Van Halen)

(BPMD photo - Scott Diussa)




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Riot Act have released their latest video, featuring a re-recording of the classic Riot song, "Overdrive", which was featured on the band's first album ,Rock City. The song is a tribute to the late Lou Kouvaris, who played on the song and the original debut album, and suddenly died due to COVID-19 on March 28.

Guitarist Rick Ventura told The Metal Voice that they will continue to perform and write new material. As for who will replace Lou, the extra guitar duties for now will be done by lead singer, Don Chaffin.

Watch the new video below:

Original Riot guitarist Lou A. Kouvaris - who appeared on the first Riot album Rock City (1977) and wrote songs for Narita (1979) - tested positive for COVID-19 and passed away due to complications on March 28, 2020 in Long Island, New York. He was 66 years old.




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In the new video below, Sweetwater's Nick Bowcott (ex-Grim Reaper) performs Chicago's 70s hit, "24 Or 6 To 4", played the 80's metal way.

A message states: "Chicago's '25 Or 6 To 4; is a classic - now check out how it sounds as an '80s metal rocker with Nick Bowcott!"




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Volbeat lead guitarist, Rob Caggiano, joins Guitar World to teach you how to play Rewind, Replay, Rebound lead single, "Leviathan", in its entirety. Tabs available here.

In addition to teaching the track, he also offers up some serious eye candy, repping his latest signature guitar, the Jackson Rob Caggiano Shadowcaster with DiMarzio pickups. This is running through an Antelope Audio Zen Tour Synergy Core interface and a Neural DSP Granophyre digital amp modeler.




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Dark folk project, The Devil's Trade, will be releasing the sophomore full-length, The Call Of The Iron Peak, on August 28 via Season Of Mist, marking its debut to the label. The project is the brainchild of singer/musician Dávid Makó. The emotional first single, "Dead Sister," is out now and can be heard below.

Dávid Makó comments on the track: "The muse for this piece was probably the biggest storm cloud I have ever seen covering the perfectly clean summer night sky. I was sitting right under the eye of the storm on a plain somewhere in the Hungarian countryside. It was like sitting under a gate to another ancient world. The world went silent the air stopped and I was waiting to be smashed by the elements. For about twenty minutes it felt like I was connected to the otherworld. Then a cool wind came and blew it away. The sister part is too personal. It took thirty years to understand that someone I never met has such a powerful influence on me. If there is an afterlife I hope she will be there and I can hug her."

Available formats:

- Digipak
- LP in various colours
- Digital

Pre-order here.

Tracklisting:

"The Iron Peak"
"Dead Sister"
"III"
"No Arrival"
"Expelling Of The Crafty Ape"
"IIIIIIIIIIII"
"Három Árva"
"Eyes In The Fire"
"IIIIII"
"Dreams From The Rot"
"The Call Of The Iron Peak"

"Dead Sister":




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Caligula’s Horse, hailing from Brisbane, Australia, a leading light in contemporary progressive metal worldwide, recently released their new album, Rise Radiant. Produced by the group’s guitarist Sam Vallen, and mixed by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Devin Townsend Project, Leprous), Rise Radiant is the band's most focussed and potent artistic statement to date.

Today the band launch the video for new single "Oceanrise", watch below.

Dale Prinsse comments: "'Oceanrise' frames life’s triumphs by celebrating the legacy we each leave behind in death. This was the first song written for the album, and represents Caligula’s Horse in a dynamic, colourful, and uplifting way. Performing in this music video was incredibly fun and full of smiles. The filming coalesced with the day we released our fifth album ‘Rise Radiant’, and the first time the band had seen each other in person for many months. We hope you enjoy it."

The band are also celebrating their highest chart positions yet, including hitting number 23 in the Australian charts. Find the full list of results below:

Rise Radiant is an uncompromising exploration of the human experience dressed in vivid musical colour and virtuosic performances. It is an anthem for the regeneration of self-belief, an exploration of the themes of legacy, and a rallying cry for survival. Comprised of 8 tracks, Rise Radiant is available as a limited CD Digipak, Gatefold 2LP + CD and as digital download. The formats also include two bonus tracks: covers of the Split Enz track "Message To My Girl" and Peter Gabriel’s "Don’t Give Up", which also features a guest appearance by Lynsey Ward of Exploring Birdsong.

Order here.

Tracklist:

"The Tempest"
"Slow Violence"
"Salt"
"Resonate"
"Oceanrise"
"Valkyrie"
"Autumn"
"The Ascent"




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Canadian bashers Sven Gali, who reunited back in March 2018, will release their comeback EP, entitled 3, this Friday, June 12, via RFL Records. An advanced stream of the EP can be found below.

Sven Gali built a name fast with their live shows; drawing growing crowds on the Canadian and US circuit while building their songwriting chops and a wild reputation. David Bendeth signed the band to BMG Music Canada in 1991 and produced the self-titled debut, released in 1992.

The masterful debut album includes the hit, which was MuchMusic Best Metal Video award of 1993, "Under The Influence" and the emotional sweet balladry of "Love Don't Live Here Anymore", a song that became the #6 CanCon song of 1993. Following their profound release, the band was nominated for Hard Rock Album Of The Year and Most Promising Band at the Junos. Sven Gali went gold in Canada that year.   

Following extensive touring worldwide, being a major event on stages with legends (April Wine / Foreigner / Pearl Jam / Def Leppard), Sven Gali didn't stop there, and continued their journey with release of their sophomore, InWire, in 1995.

Just recently, after a long time in the shadows, twenty-five years after their debut album went Gold in Canada, in 2018 Sven Gali came back rockin', kicking out the jams with modernized edged rock covered in metal with "Kill The Lies", and a year later, serving "You Won't Break Me".

It appears that Sven Gali are here to take on the 00s, and it has been evident with sold out Canadian shows in 2018 and 2019 and a promise to continue to play solo and festival dates in North America and Europe through 2021 and beyond.

Pre-order the EP via the following links:

- Physical
- Digital

3 tracklisting:

"Kill The Lies"
"You Won't Break Me"
"Now"
"Hurt"

EP stream:

Sven Gali is:

Dave Wanless - vocals
Andy Frank - guitars
Shawn Minden - bass
Dan Fila - drums
Sean Williamson - guitars




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Past and present members of COLD, CROBOT, CANDLEBOX, BREAKING BENJAMIN, EARSHOT and LIFER have united to record one of the most iconic songs of our generation. As part of Nick Coyle's (guitarist for COLD and singer for LIFER) "Corona Sessions" series, which features a rotating list of all-star musicians recreating the music that inspired them from their respected quarantine headquarters, the rockers teamed up to unleash a masterful live version of TEMPLE OF THE DOG's "Hunger Strike".

The "Corona Sessions: Hunger Strike" video features Coyle on vocals, Brandon Yeagley (CROBOT) on vocals, Chris Bishop (CROBOT) on guitar, Aaron Fink (LIFER, EARSHOT, ex-BREAKING BENJAMIN) on guitar, Chad Szeliga (BLACK STAR RIDERS, WALKING WITH LIONS, ex-BREAKING BENJAMIN) on drums, Brian Quinn (CANDLEBOX) on acoustic guitar, and Adam Kury (CANDLEBOX) on bass.

According to Coyle, his mission for the project is to "bring artists together despite social distancing and offer fans a sense of inclusiveness during these troubling times."

"The only good thing that has come out of this whole COVID-19 shut down is that now musicians who may have never have had the opportunity to collaborate before now have the time to do so," Coyle said.

Coyle said he and the musicians specifically selected "Hunger Strike" not only because of its importance to the 1990s music scene and the impact it had on each of them as musicians but because of the relevance it still has today.

"'Hunger Strike' is one of those songs that will always be relevant," he said. "That's the genius of Chris Cornell. His music and lyrics are timeless."

Prior to "Hunger Strike", Coyle released a masterful version of FILTER's Billboard-topping hit "Take A Picture" with past and present members of FILTER, COLD, BREAKING BENJAMIN, CANDLEBOX and LIFER.

In a brand new interview with Rolling Stone, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford reflected on his decision to publicly declare his homosexuality back in 1998 during an appearance on MTV News. Asked what he learned from that experience, Rob said: "I learned that you've got to let yourself out of the cage and you can't live your life for other people. To come out into what was at the time, and still is to a certain extent, a very alpha-male–dominated experience — and that's no disrespect to the great female metalheads — it brought me a lot of peace and helped me in my work more than anything else. If you're still in the closet, you can't really focus on life and what you're here to do in life when you've got that shadow hanging over your head. Black it out, smash it down, burn it, tear it apart. You're entitled to live your life as a human on this planet on your own terms."

Asked what advice he has for metalheads who feel like they're stuck in a very straight culture but want to come out, Rob said: "Well, you don't have to feel as alone as I did. At your fingertips are all of these resources, places you can go to help steer you through making that decision. It is up to you to decide. I have friends that are still deeply closeted of their own choice. That's just the way it works for them.

"Gay metalheads, man, just come and join us and just get out and just have a blast," he continued. "Have a good time with your life and don't be afraid. It's just fear more than anything else: fear of rejection, fear of being kicked out of the house by your family. It's just unbelievable how there are always cruel aspects within a family that you didn't know. But please don't let that stop you. It's your life. Claim it. It belongs to you."

Three years ago, Halford told Fox Sports 910 AM's "The Freaks With Kenny And Crash" radio show in Phoenix, Arizona that the response to his addressing his sexuality publicly for the first time was overwhelmingly positive.

"So I said that thing [during the MTV interview], and I went back to the hotel, and I thought, 'Oh, what have I done? There's gonna be a fallout,'" he admitted. "[But] I'd never seen such an outpouring of love from people in all my life — the letters, the faxes, the phone calls from everybody in the metal community: 'Rob, we just don't care. We want you to be who you are. We want you to sing those songs. We wanna come see you.' And that was a tremendously uplifting moment for me. And it was also a tremendously uplifting moment for metal. Because, for the longest time, metal was the underdog in rock and roll, metal was never getting any respect, metal was always at the back of the line. And so I thought, 'Well, isn't this great?' This just goes to show you that we in the metal community, as we call ourselves — probably because of the pushback that we felt because of the music that we love — we are the most tolerant, if you wanna say, the most open-minded, the most loving, the most accepting of all the kinds of music that we know in rock and roll. So it was a great moment."

OVERKILL frontman Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth has confirmed to A&P Reacts that the band is working on material for a new studio album. Speaking about the musical direction of the new OVERKILL songs, Blitz said (see video below): "I see it as a natural progression from 'The Grinding Wheel' [2017] and 'The Wings Of War' [2019]. It think when we had done the 'Ironbound' record [2010], it almost became like a trilogy in there — it was kind of like 'Ironbound', 'The Electric Age' [2012] and 'White Devil Armory' [2014], and they seemed to be the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost kind of a thing. I think we kind of broke the mold a little bit with 'The Grinding Wheel', and then I think a little bit more with 'The Wings Of War'. And on this one, I see it way more. And what I mean by that is that we've used other tools from our toolshed in the past, and that's the slow grind that is coupled with that fast gallop. So it feels like a natural progression, but maybe two records ahead of what 'The Wings Of War' is. And that's probably as objective as I can be."

According to Blitz, "there's 10 songs right now" in various stages of completion. "I'm messing around with them, Dave Linsk [guitar] is messing around with them," he said. "Listen, there's no better time to have the old norm for us during a time when the new normal is obviously right around the corner for all of us in the world. So I think that we're gonna have more time to write it, and I think this also gives us the opportunity to scrutinize it a little bit more, which we didn't do on the last record, and I'm happy to have that extra time."

As for a possible release date for the next OVERKILL album, Blitz said: "April 2021 is what we're targeting. We're looking to start mixing it mid-December, so it should be done somewhere around the holidays or delivered in the first week of January type of thing. We've also gone so far as to tentatively search out [tour] dates on the release — 2021 in the U.S., or in North America for that matter. And then Europe would be October of 2021. But we have the whole festival season that's been canceled from this summer, is gonna be shifted to summer of 2021, so we're gonna slide over into that Wacken and the Wacken cruise and a bunch of other things that we have on the plate."

Ellsworth is currently promoting "American Made", the debut album from the BPMD project, also featuring drummer Mike Portnoy (THE WINERY DOGS, SONS OF APOLLO), bassist Mark Menghi (METAL ALLEGIANCE) and guitarist Phil Demmel (VIO-LENCE, ex-MACHINE HEAD). Due on June 12 via Napalm Records, the LP is described in a press release as a "10-track homage to some of rock music's greatest treasures."

OVERKILL has spent the last year touring in support of its 19th studio album, "The Wings Of War", which was released in February 2019 via Nuclear Blast. The disc was recorded at Gear Recording Studio in New Jersey, SKH Studio in Florida and Jrod Productions with engineering handled by bassist D.D. Verni and guitarist Dave Linsk. The album was produced by the band while Chris "Zeuss" Harris took care of the mixing and mastering. Travis Smith (NEVERMORE, OPETH, SOILWORK, DEATH) was again enlisted to create the artwork for the album.

"The Wings Of War" marked OVERKILL's recording debut with drummer Jason Bittner (SHADOWS FALL, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM), who joined the band in 2017.

MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee spoke to Terry "Beez" Bezer of Knotfest.com about the postponement of the band's "The Stadium Tour" with DEF LEPPARD, POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS to the summer of 2021.

"The Stadium Tour" was scheduled to kick off in less than three weeks — on June 18 at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida — and run through September 5 in Los Angeles. The bands reportedly also booked time at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville to rehearse for the tour.

"We were just about to start [rehearsing]," Lee said (see video below). "We were gonna start at the beginning of May, rehearse everything, get the production and everything ready, all of May. We would have been in Miami right now rehearsing in the stadium — we had locked out five days in the stadium to rehearse. This week, we would have left rehearsals here in Burbank and we would have been on our way to go set up shop at the stadium and we'd be ripping it right now."

Asked what people can expect from the CRÜE's stage show when the tour eventually happens, Tommy said: "Dude, oh my God. I wish I could tell you… Alls I can tell you is, once again, be careful what you wish for. We take it seriously, and what you can pull off in an arena, I think we've pulled off pretty much everything you could possibly ever even fucking think of. So now we get to play with a fucking ginormous stadium that has no roof on it… I'm just telling you right now: the production… And it's still there — it's just put away in a couple of giant warehouses. But, dude, can I just say it's fucking ridiculous?"

Lee went on to say that he can't wait until that time to come when its okay for large gatherings to occur again once the coronavirus pandemic has subsided.

"I want to be on stage when that day comes and it's okay for a fucking stadium to be filled with people going fucking crazy for the first time," he said. "Dude, that's where I wanna be when this is over. People say, 'What do you wanna do when this is all kind of over?' That's what I wanna do. I wanna be on stage. Because that energy? Can you imagine? I mean, you're seeing it now with people fucking rioting, although it's for many different reasons, but you've got a lot of fucking pent-up anger, energy, and people are going fucking bananas. And I can't wait for it to go in that other direction of excitement in, 'Oh my God! We're fucking going crazy, and the music's loud as fuck, and everything's cool.'"

As of January 30, "The Stadium Tour" had already grossed $130 million from one million tickets sold, plus another $5 million worth of VIP seats, according to Billboard.

Tickets ranged from $150 to $400, not counting some varied pricing that reflected demand as part of "dynamic pricing."

When it happens, "The Stadium Tour" will mark the CRÜE's first live dates since wrapping its 2014/2015 farewell tour. CRÜE toured with POISON back in 2011 and DEF LEPPARD teamed up with POISON for a string of road dates in 2017 — but the upcoming jaunt marks the first time all four acts have hit the road together for an extended tour.

In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, thousands of concerts and festivals have either been postponed or canceled, as social distancing and self-quarantining make performing live music and attending live shows all but impossible.

More than 7.1 million coronavirus cases have been reported worldwide and more than 407,000 deaths so far, putting public health systems and emergency services under immense pressure.

U.S. officials have repeatedly urged Americans to heed what federal, state and local officials are asking of them in order to curtail the spread and dampen the impact of the virus on the population.

A "S&M²" box set, featuring METALLICA's 2019 performance with the San Francisco Symphony will be made available in August.

The news of the set's release was broken by drummer Lars Ulrich, who chatted with METALLICA superfan Tracey Bednar, a pediatric ICU nurse from Long Island, New York, during last night's episode of "Jimmi Kimmel Live!"

During the quarantine, the ABC program is paying tribute to those who are on the frontline of the crisis. Last night's #HealthCareHero was Bednar, who was surprised by Ulrich with VIP tickets to a METALLICA concert and a copy of the "S&M²" box set signed by everyone in the band.

Showing a copy of "S&M²", Ulrich said (see video below): "This is our next release called 'S&M2', which is coming out in August. And you'll have the first signed copy of this special box set from me and the fellas coming your way shortly."

The "S&M²" concerts featured METALLICA reuniting with San Francisco Symphony for the first time since the original "S&M²" performances in 1999 documented by the Grammy-winning live album "S&M" — plus the first-ever METALLICA/San Francisco Symphony renditions of songs written and released since those shows. Filmed over the two sold-out METALLICA shows that opened the Chase Center — the new 18,064-seat arena in San Francisco — "S&M²" captures more than two and a half hours of James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo joining forces with the nearly 80-strong San Francisco Symphony, with a special appearance by legendary conductor Michael Tilson Thomas.

A clip of "The Memory Remains" performance from the "S&M²" movie can be seen below.

The shows each drew 16,000 fans and saw the four members of METALLICA playing on a circular, revolving stage in the center of the arena floor, surrounded by 75 members of the Symphony and conductor Edwin Outwater.

The three-hour concerts were split into two parts and included a rendition of "Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth)" from METALLICA's debut album, "Kill 'Em All", performed as a solo by the Symphony bassist Scott Pingel in tribute to METALLICA's late bassist Cliff Burton.

Ulrich told Kerrang! magazine: "The 'Anesthesia' bass solo was incredible. The way the fans reacted to that was goosebump-city. I loved the dare of playing 'Iron Foundry'. I loved revisiting songs we don't play so often like 'The Outlaw Torn' and 'The Call Of Ktulu'.

"I loved how Edwin brought one sort of dynamic when he was conducting the more rock stuff, and how Michael Tilson Thomas — the maestro, the elder statesman of his world — brought in some different pieces and encouraged the fans to understand where the symphonic and rock worlds overlap.

"Most of all, though, the fact that there was no barricade stood out. When was the last time you went to a rock show of that size without one? What does that barricade do? What does it mean? It's a safety thing, but in essence it's something that separates people. I loved just being able to walk out with the fans. At one point, I leaned back and let myself go into their embrace. That was a great moment."

Set I

01. The Ecstasy Of Gold (Ennio Morricone cover) (performed by the San Francisco Symphony)

02. The Call Of Ktulu

03. For Whom The Bell Tolls

04. The Day That Never Comes

05. The Memory Remains

06. Confusion

07. Moth Into Flame

08. The Outlaw Torn

09. No Leaf Clover

10. Halo On Fire

Set II

11. Scythian Suite, Op.20, Second Movement (Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev cover) (performed by the San Francisco Symphony)

12. Iron Foundry (Alexander Mosolov cover) (live debut)

13. The Unforgiven III (performed by the San Francisco Symphony)

14. All Within My Hands (acoustic)

15. (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth (bass part performed by San Francisco Symphony bassist)

16. Wherever I May Roam

17. One

18. Master Of Puppets

19. Nothing Else Matters

20. Enter Sandman (with "The Frayed Ends Of Sanity" outro)

In a recent video question-and-answer session with fans, EXODUS bassist Jack Gibson was asked to name the "most annoying thing about being in a band." He responded (see video below): "You're dealing with four other people and their opinions and their emotions and everything, and it's kind of like having four girlfriends, because you're all fighting about something that you care about and you love. And sometimes being out on the road, being on tour and being forced into such close confines with people, even when you're really, really close with people, after [being physically] that close that long, it starts to get annoying. It's probably that — being out on the road for a while and being stuck close to everybody. It doesn't matter how close you are and how much you like somebody, things just start getting annoying in that environment."

Last month, EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt said that he has been writing "crushing" new riffs for the band's forthcoming follow-up to 2014's "Blood In Blood Out" album.

This past April, EXODUS singer Steve "Zetro" Souza confirmed that Holt's COVID-19 diagnosis "put a damper" on EXODUS's ability to move forward with the songwriting process for its new LP. "By now, we would have been working together for probably a good month on it," Zetro explained. "Gary's got many riffs and many things that he needs to put together. It starts with him and Tom [Hunting, EXODUS drummer], basically. Everybody knows, drummer and guitar, and that's how EXODUS has always done it. But because of this distancing, that's been kind of impossible to do, so that's put a damper on it. But I can guarantee you, I did hear some of the stuff that they were playing around with in soundcheck on [the recently completed] 'The Bay Strikes Back' [European] tour, and EXODUS fans are gonna be very pleased. Again, I'm not hearing full songs — I'm just hearing riffs and pieces and stuff like that — and I'm [like], 'Wow!' I'm not saying — it's just pretty damn heavy."

Holt joined EXODUS in 1981 shortly after the band's formation, and has been its main songwriter ever since. Holt has performed on every EXODUS album, and is considered highly influential in the world of thrash metal. In 2011, he began filling in for Jeff Hanneman at SLAYER live shows, and became the band's full-time co-guitarist as of 2013, while remaining a member of EXODUS. In October 2014, EXODUS released its tenth studio album, "Blood In Blood Out", on the Nuclear Blast label.

"Blood In Blood Out" marked EXODUS's first album since the departure of the group's lead singer of nine years, Rob Dukes, and the return of Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

Matt Heafy (TRIVIUM), Alissa White-Gluz (ARCH ENEMY), Mikael Stanne (DARK TRANQUILLITY) and Björn Strid (SOILWORK) have contributed vocal performances to "Metal: Hellsinger", the new game from developer The Outsiders and publisher Funcom.

"Metal: Hellsinger" is a rhythm first-person shooter (FPS) game, where your ability to shoot on the beat will enhance your gameplay experience. The more in sync you are with the rhythm, the more intense the music will become and the more destruction you will cause.

Defeat the demon hordes with a skull-clad blade or a wide range of murderous guns. Each weapon has its own ultimate ability, such as Murder of Crows or The Big Goodbye.

Play through an epic storyline, narrated by award-winning actor Troy Baker. Then conquer the leaderboards or challenge your friends to beat your score in Challenge Mode.

Although commonly known as Hell, The Infernal Planes is in reality a union of a thousand Hells, all of which are terrifying and diabolical in their own way. In order to dethrone The Red Judge, you must fight your way through the fiercest corners, from the icy world of Voke to the maddening world of Stygia.

"Metal: Hellsinger" is created by an experienced FPS team at The Outsiders and is the passion project of David Goldfarb, game director on "Payday 2" and lead designer on "Battlefield 3" and "Battlefield: Bad Company 2".

"There's this zen state you get into with rhythm games, and I also get into it with first-person shooters. And I thought it would be cool if you could do both. Especially if I could do it with music that I love," Goldfarb told IGN.

"Metal: Hellsinger" will be released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and PC in 2021.

Neoclassical Compositions No. 2: Duets is collection of compositions by David T. Chastain that were written for two guitars that are sometimes in counterpoint and at other times very in sync with each other. There were acoustic guitars and 6 & 7 string electric guitars used with no amp distortion.

David explains, "I recorded this during the great 2020 Quarantine when I was more or less trapped in my home studio. I decided to use the time to try something totally different from what I had recorded before. What started as an exercise in blind counterpoint where I recorded two guitars without hearing each other quickly evolved into a more structured endeavor that at times swings with a baroque dance feel to a more 'normal' contemporary feel. I have had a lot of these baroque melodies bouncing around in my head since my college days. With that said if these parts were played through a Marshall stack with a drummer and a bassist I think it would come off quite metal."

Divebomb Records will reissue the CJSS records Praise The Loud and World Gone Mad as deluxe edition CDs on July 10. 

Legendary guitarist David T. Chastain formed CJSS during the mid-'80s, bringing with him two former members—Mike Skimmerhorn (bass) and Les Sharp (drums)—of his prior outfit, Spike, alongside charismatic vocalist Russell Jinkens (formerly of Prizoner). The intention was for Chastain to focus on writing and performing his own original material in a manner true to his artistic vision. Based solely on the popularity of both Spike and Prizoner, more than 1,000 fans attended the very first CJSS live performance at Bogart's in Cincinnati, OH; and by the summer of 1985 the group had already entered Counterpart Creative Studios to begin tracking their debut full-length with engineer Dale "Smitty" Smith.

About World Gone Mad:

Released in January of 1986 through Chastain's own Leviathan Records (with a European pressing through Black Dragon Records), the 37-minute World Gone Mad was packed with powerfully diverse, melodic heavy metal anthems and scorching leads aplenty—while lyrical themes encouraged listeners to hold strong in the face of the fear, anger, and depression of the world around them. A quick U.S. tour in support of the album followed, and the admirably productive musicians would find themselves right back in the studio mere months later.

Over 30 years after the fact, Divebomb Records is excited to present this expanded edition of World Gone Mad—for the first time ever on standalone CD. The core nine-song full-length has been bolstered by four rare demo tracks that never found their way onto a proper CJSS album. Fully remastered by Jamie King Audio, the set will be housed alongside a detailed booklet including a retrospective interview with David T. Chastain and Russell Jinkens.

Tracklisting:

“Hell On Earth”
“No-Man’s-Land”
“Communication Breakdown”
“World Gone Mad”
“Run To Another Day”
“The Gates Of Eternity”
“Destiny”
“Welcome To Damnation”
“Living In Exile”

Bonus tracks:
“Stand Up (Fight For Your Life)”
“Wild In The Streets”
“Forever Young”
“Paradox 13”

About Praise The Lord:

Having just released their debut full-length, World Gone Mad, in January of 1986, mere months later CJSS returned to Counterpart Creative Studios with Dale "Smitty" Smith to record sophomore outing, Praise The Loud. Their second full-length album to see the light during 1986—once again via Chastain's Leviathan Records—the LP's 38 minutes represent an adventurous affair that finds the songwriting fine-tuned toward an even catchier brand of scorching, fist-raising heavy metal. More live shows ensued, but the initially productive run of CJSS would begin to ease up in the years that followed (though David T. Chastain himself would remain highly active with a number of other projects).

Over 30 years after the fact, Divebomb Records is excited to present this expanded edition of Praise The Loud—for the first time ever on standalone CD. The core nine-song full-length has been bolstered by four rare demo tracks that never found their way onto a proper CJSS album. Fully remastered by Jamie King Audio, the set will be housed alongside a detailed booklet including a retrospective interview with David T. Chastain and Russell Jinkens.

Tracklisting:

“Out Of Control”
“Land Of The Free”
“Don’t Play With Fire”
“Citizen Of Hell”
“Danger”
“Metal Forever”
“Thunder And Lightning”
“The Bargain”

Bonus tracks:
“Sands Of Time”
“There’s Truth In The Fire”
“How Long”
“Movement QP827”




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During an appearance earlier today (Tuesday, June 9) on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation", STYX's Tommy Shaw was asked about the possibility of a reunion of the DAMN YANKEES, the supergroup he formed more than three decades ago with Jack Blades, Ted Nugent and Michael Cartellone. He responded: "Well, we never broke up… We are all still best of friends. [So] who knows? It's hard, because with STYX, we work so much, and to do that [a DAMN YANKEES reunion], it would mean putting [the members of STYX] out of work for a while. So it's a tough one. But every once in a while, we wind up on the same stage."

Asked if he feels there is some "unfinished business" with DAMN YANKEES creatively and whether he would like to do a record or a song with the band to "put a button on it," Shaw said: "Well, we can always do more. I don't think you can ever put a 'we're done' button on any of the members of the DAMN YANKEES. Who knows? Never say never. And we haven't said never."

DAMN YANKEES formed in 1989 and released two albums, an eponymous debut and the 1992 follow-up "Don't Tread". Hit singles included "Come Again", "High Enough" and "Coming Of Age".

DAMN YANKEES has reunited twice since its early-'90s heyday — in 1998 and 2010.

In 1999, A&R guru John Kalodner tried to reunite the DAMN YANKEES for a new album for the Portrait Records imprint, but Shaw's commitments to STYX prevented him from taking a major part in the writing and the recording. Kalodner later told Melodic Rock about the aborted effort: "I didn't think it was quite good enough, and at the time with 80's style rock, you'd have to come up with something pretty spectacular. I was disappointed in the record mostly because of Tommy Shaw's non-participation. I say that was probably the greatest problem. Tommy was totally an integral part of it. He was busy with STYX and it was sort of my mistake because I just couldn't control him. It's one of those projects that I failed on. I mean the buck stops here. It lacked the input of Tommy Shaw."

STYX guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw spoke to SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation" about the progress of the writing and recording sessions for the follow-up to "The Mission". 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 Shaw's in the SHAW/BLADES band and who also plays with THE GUESS WHO.

"We've been working on it," Shaw said. "You just never stop writing and co-writing and working on stuff till you feel, like, 'Okay, that one's ready.' And then you work on another one. And then, next thing you know, we're thinking, 'We need to go ahead and record this. Otherwise, we're gonna have enough for…' Actually, we do have enough for a double album, but we're just gonna pick what we think are the best ones that go together. So we did start, and we've got one version that we really like. I'm just talking about writing demos."

Speaking about the recording process for the next STYX album, Tommy said: "Todd's [Sucherman] ready to go in and start cutting drums. That's how we do it. Because we're all in different places — especially now, we can't all be in the same room. But we're all used to recording that way… We haven't [recorded in the same room] since the '70s. Especially since Pro Tools came about. Because I've always lived somewhere else, getting everybody to do that in-the-same-room thing, it wasn't that big of a benefit for us. There are some bands, like if you're TEDESCHI TRUCKS [BAND], their whole thing is that the thing is moving and it's a living organism. Ours is more compositional — it's almost like a little rock symphony. Everybody has parts, and you play your part. And Todd, he's the glue that holds it together, and Ricky [Phillips, bass]. And we're fine with it. You keep working on your part, and it's all built to fit together."

Asked about STYX's penchant for putting out new music even when most fans of classic rock bands don't always like to listen to fresh material and prefer to hear old favorites, Tommy said: "It's something I can't turn off. And all of us are like that. You wake up in the morning, and next thing I know, I'm singing a song to the dog. And I go get the guitar and I say, 'I should record that 'cause I'll forget it.' I've got so many little song seeds that are on iPhone, iMovies. Like on this record, I went through it and found some and I started to plan it. I was, like, 'We can flesh this out into a song.' And then Will gets ahold of it and he starts arranging and building demos, and I add to that. And we start pretending were Ricky Phillips and Todd on the drum machine, just so we can give those guys an idea. Then they get in and they make it theirs.

"It's so real and it's still us — it's the same people who did those songs back then," he continued. "We didn't change — we just have more life experience. And we play the new music with the same kind of authority that we play the songs we've played a thousand times. And our experience has been, especially with 'The Mission', that even if people… You can look out there [into the crowd] sometimes if we're playing a song like 'Red Storm', and it starts out [with people going], 'I don't know that one,' and as it builds, there's people sitting on the edge of their seat, and by the time it gets to the end of it, with Lawrence [Gowan] playing that huge keyboard solo and Todd whaling away on the drums, people, they stand up, and I can tell it's like a 'holy shit' thing. So what is not to like about that?

"I understand some people, they might not want us to do that, just thinking about it, but once they're there in that seat and they realize that we're playing this new music… If we didn't believe in it, we wouldn't have released it," Shaw added. "We have plenty of songs that don't belong on albums. That happens when you write — sometimes you have to write the awful stuff to get to the good stuff. But we choose it very carefully, and we craft these records so that it's… We have to like it. And we're deadly critical of ourselves: 'This is too long,' 'I'm bored now,' 'Put this one in.' So by the time you heard this album, this thing has been beat up and kicked around and worked on. It's something we're very proud of, and we look forward to playing it live."

Sucherman recently told Audio Ink Radio that the new STYX material "definitely leans to a progressive side with always a big, heavy emphasis on melody and lyrics. There are several songs and several lyrics in there that — I haven't even talked to Tommy about this — that are almost about what's going on in the world right now," he said. "It's like a prophecy, some of the bits in the lyrics… There's one song called 'Sound The Alarm' that I damn near stopped playing and burst into tears while rehearsing because it sounds like it was written about what's going on today, like he wrote it today. So next time I talk to Tommy, I've gotta ask him, 'What made you write that four months ago?'"

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 Gowan.

Richmond, Virginia-based metallers LAMB OF GOD will release their new, self-titled album on June 19 via Epic Records in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast Records in Europe. The follow-up to 2015's "VII: Sturm Und Drang" marks LAMB OF GOD's first recordings with Art Cruz, who joined the band last year as the replacement for the group's founding drummer, Chris Adler.

Asked by American Songwriter what it was like writing and playing with Art after recording with Chris for over a decade, guitarist Mark Morton said: "It was fantastic. The songwriting process hasn't changed at all. We start with guitar riffs. So the same guys are writing the guitar riffs that always were. We have a different drummer, and there are differences for sure. Chris was a phenomenal talent, and he's a great drummer, and we made a lot of amazing music together. But Art is also a phenomenal talent and a great drummer. He's more feel-oriented. He's a little less robotic, and I don't mean that as a dig. I don't want to compare them too much. They're just two different drummers. But Art is a real feel, finesse player. I think the prime example I can give is live with Chris we used to play everything to a click. There was a click in our ear and that was a machine that kept timing consistent and the same every night. Within a week of playing with Art live, we were off the click. We were just playing the songs together instead of playing them at the same time. And I think that really made its way into our creative process as well."

Earlier this week, Cruz told Terry "Beez" Bezer of Knotfest.com's "Mosh Talks With Beez" that he had no intention of copying Adler's style. "I'm never going to be Chris Adler, and I don't want to be Chris Adler; I want to be me," he said. "I wanna be Art Cruz, but I've been able to use what he's inspired me for and build who I am… I was lucky to be able to create what I did and not lose that LAMB OF GOD sound. It's the LAMB OF GOD sound — it's not the sound of the drummer. Yeah, you need [John] Bonham for LED ZEPPELIN, but if you don't have Jimmy Page, you don't have LED ZEPPELIN. It's a formula, so at the end of the day, I have to keep that sound, and that's what it is. I pay homage to the drum parts a lot, 'cause that's what it is — it's the LAMB OF GOD sound."

Art filled in for Chris on several LAMB OF GOD tours in the past couple of years before being named Adler's official replacement last July.

Cruz made his live debut with LAMB OF GOD in July 2018 in Gilford, New Hampshire.

"Lamb Of God" was recorded with longtime producer Josh Wilbur (KORN, MEGADETH, GOJIRA, TRIVIUM) and includes special guest appearances by Jamey Jasta (HATEBREED) and Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT).

According to a survey conducted by the newly formed National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), nearly all of independent music venues may be forced to close their doors for good due to the coronavirus pandemic.

2,000 members from all 50 states took part in the survey, which found that 90% of the venues "will close permanently in a few months without federal funding."

NIVA recently sent a letter calling on Congress to provide assistance in the wake of the "unique and dire situation" facing the industry.

Dayna Frank, NIVA board president and owner of Minneapolis's First Avenue, explained: "Our passionate and fiercely independent operators are not ones to ask for handouts. But because of our unprecedented, tenuous position, for the first time in history, there is legitimate fear for our collective existence.

"Due to the unique circumstances that have led to the indefinite closure of our industry — resulting in zero revenue for the foreseeable future — NIVA has requested specific funding programs to assist for the duration of the government's mandatory shutdown. The goal is to enable independent venues to survive the crisis, reopen in the future, and once again contribute to the economic revival of our communities."

In a fact sheet released on Monday (June 8), NIVA broke down the situation in the following way:

* Independent venues were the first to close and will be the last to reopen.

* Venues have zero revenue, but obligations like mortgage/rent, bills, loans, taxes, and insurance continue.

* We have no work to offer our employees for the foreseeable future.

* The shutdown is indefinite and likely to extend into 2021 as our venues are in the last stage of reopening.

* The ability to open at partial capacity is not economically feasible. Rents, utilities, payroll, taxes, insurance, and artist pay are not on a sliding scale matching the capacity we’re permitted to host. They are fixed costs.

* Due to the national routing of most tours, our industry will not recover until the entire country is open at 100% capacity. NIVA members need assistance in order to survive until that day.

Regarding the impact on independent venues, NIVA wrote:

* According to a survey of NIVA members, 90% of independent venues report they will close permanently in a few months without federal funding. Current PPP funding will not solve the crisis.

* Pollstar estimates a $9 billion loss in ticket sales alone — not counting food and beverage revenue — if venues remain closed through 2020.

* Live events provide 75% of all artists' income.

* For every $1 spent on a ticket at small venues, a total of $12 in economic activity is generated within communities on restaurants, hotels, taxis, and retail establishments.

* The estimated direct annual economic impact venues bring to local communities is nearly $10 billion.

NIVA is requesting SBA Payment Protection Program loans, tax relief, debt deferral, and a business recovery fund as well as reopening support like guidelines and personal protective equipment (PPE).

A letter that was sent to House of Representative and Senate leaders in late May reads: "Live event venues were among the first to close as COVID-19 spread across the country, and they are likely to be among the last to reopen. Concerts and live events may not be possible until a vaccine is readily available to the public, which could be months away. Until that time, live event venues will remain shuttered, leaving employees without jobs and businesses without revenue. The continued closures will impact the hundreds of contractors, suppliers, and business partners that support the live entertainment industry in our states and districts."

Gary Holt says that SLAYER's November 30, 2019 performance at the Forum in Los Angeles was indeed the band's last-ever concert. "To my knowledge, to what I know, it [was the final show]," the guitarist told Dean Delray's "Let There Be Talk" podcast (hear audio below). "People say, 'Oh, maybe they'll come back in a few years.' I don't know. If it does, if it ever happens, it has nothing to do with me. Someone else would call and say, 'We wanna [do this].' To my knowledge, it's done. And I think it should be that way. The band went out fucking on a bang, went out on SLAYER's terms, and how many people get to say they did that?"

He continued: "Everybody's happy doing their own thing. I'm happy as fuck. Not that SLAYER made me unhappy — I was treated like family — but I'm back with my first family," referring to San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal legends EXODUS. "I'm back with not my stepbrothers — I'm back with my real brothers. And that's where my heart is, and I missed it, and I was missing it more and more all the time."

In 2011, Holt began filling in for Jeff Hanneman at SLAYER live shows, and became the band's full-time co-guitarist as of 2013, while remaining a member of EXODUS. When Delray suggested that no one else could have replaced Hanneman as well as Holt did, Gary responded: "I think there's other guys. I'm not that narcissistic to think that I'm the only guy. I mean, yeah, I had old-school cred. I don't think they could go and get some young kid. Like, 'Who's this fucking 25-year-old dude?' I think there would have been a huge culture shock within the band. I think that was it more than anything — having to be comfortable and know the guy. I was pretty well accepted in the ranks of SLAYER fans. There's always someone, like, 'Ah, he fucking doesn't even play Jeff's solos.' No, I don't. And no one in the band ever asked me to. And if the band really wanted that, there's a million guys in tribute bands who are nailing every fucking crazy note that Jeff ever played, and they would have been a better fit for that. When I first did it, it was supposed to be a short-term thing, and people were, like, 'Oh, cool. We get to see Gary put his stamp on it,' and that's what I did."

Asked how he approached the solos in SLAYER and whether he actually sat down and wrote out the leads, Holt said: "A couple of times I did. I'd work something out usually improv, and then I'd find something I like and I'd stick to it. And then over the last two years, I worked out a solo in 'Seasons [In The Abyss]' I liked. I was just winging it. I'd look back at Warren Lee, my guitar tech, and if I did a really good job, he'd be, like, 'That was hot,' and then I'd try something different that didn't work and he'd look at me, like, 'That sucked.' But I tried to keep the vibe there."

He continued: "A lot of the early, early stuff, like the 'Show No Mercy' stuff, Jeff put out a lot of melody, put a lot of signature lines, and I tried to keep those. If there was a time when he broke from the chaotic fast stuff and put, like, a written melody, I tried to keep that there or something really similar. But the band allowed me to do my own thing, 'cause I can't play like Jeff; that shit's crazy. Jeff did it naturally, so if somebody wants to play like Jeff, that's a guy in a tribute band who's dedicated himself to learning how to play like Jeff. I'd have to relearn how to be a guitar player to do that shit. I'm a rock guitar player who plays real fast songs. I grew up on hard rock, and that's what I am. I have an easier time playing the Angus [Young, AC/DC] solos than Jeff's 'cause those are my roots."

After SLAYER played its final concert, Ayesha King, wife of SLAYER guitarist Kerry King, said that there is "not a chance in hell" that the thrash metal icons will reunite for more shows following the completion of their farewell tour.

A year and a half earlier, Tom Araya's wife said that he had not questioned his decision to embark on one final SLAYER tour before the band called it quits.

Sandra Araya, who has been married to the SLAYER frontman for more than 20 years, told the Metal Pulp And Paper web site that the announcement that the band was pulling the plug on its nearly four-decade-long career didn't come as a surprise to her. "Not to me," she said. "I can't comfortably go into too much detail. I'll just leave it with a no."

Asked if the decision to end SLAYER was a difficult one for Tom and Kerry to make, Sandra said: "Tom never second-guesses any decision he makes. I have no idea about Kerry."