German thrash metal veterans DESTRUCTION have revealed the cover artwork for their upcoming 17th studio album, "Born To Perish". This visualization was created by acclaimed artist Gyula from Hungary, who has also created artwork for ANNIHLATOR, GRAVE DIGGER, STRATOVARIUS, TANKARD and many more.

A trailer where you can follow the creation of the artwork is available below.

Gyula states: "Schmier wanted to get a simple and different image than my previous DESTRUCTION covers. When we discussed the new concept, I was happy with this approach because I had the chance to use a different tool, no painting but ink-drawing style.

"When the band mentioned the album title, I got the idea of a crest composition without the typical brave lion or eagle but vultures with two heads and we filled the image with several symbols.

"I love this DESTRUCTION cover — maybe my fave I did for them so far!"

Mastermind Schmier adds: "We wanted something basic this time. I had something like an emblem in mind, a stamp, a DESTRUCTION coat of arms.

"We had so many great colorful graphical covers in the past; this dark album title needed something different.

"This record marks the debut of the four-piece DESTRUCTION again. I am very happy with the result and that the great Gyula understood right away what direction we wanna go — the album is vicious, dark and hard-hitting. The cover art is the perfect prelude for that."

"Born To Perish" will be released on August 9 via Nuclear Blast. The disc was recorded in January and February 2019 with V.O. Pulver (PRO-PAIN, BURNING WITCHES, NERVOSA) at Little Creek Studios in Switzerland and is the first DESTRUCTION album to feature Randy Black on drums and second guitarist Damir Eskic.

Schmier recently told France's Duke TV about the making of DESTRUCTION's upcoming album: "It's a process that took us three months — writing, recording and mixing. The new influence of the guys is there, because there's more shredding leads. Randy is a very solid, very tight player — very groovy also. You can hear that. We tried to make songs this time that are hitting on the target faster — the songs hit you right away. It's brutal, but it's very catchy. So you hear the songs the first time, right away you will remember [them]. You don't write an album like this every time. Sometimes you write songs, and after a while, you're, like, 'It's maybe too complicated,' because you wanna be an artist, you wanna express yourself. I think this time we managed to write an album that's very punchy."

Damir is a Swiss guitar player of Bosnian decent who works as a guitar teacher, himself being a former pupil of Tommy Vetterli (CORONER). He also plays in a heavy metal band called GOMORRA and previously contributed three solos to DESTRUCTION's 2016 album "Under Attack".

DESTRUCTION previously played with two guitarists in the late 1980s (with the addition of Harry Wilkens) and then again throughout much of the 1990s (Michael "Ano" Piranio).

ALICE IN CHAINS' new Peter Darley Miller-directed video for the title track of the band's latest album, "Rainier Fog", can be seen below.

"In a world where things are becoming increasingly serious, with 'Rainier Fog' we have continued our long tradition of making asses out of ourselves in videos," says drummer Sean Kinney. "So for all of you that were raised bottle-fed, this one is for you. Mission accomplished."

"We had a great time working with Peter Darley Miller again," says vocalist/guitarist Jerry Cantrell. "We made 'AIC 23' in 2013 with him, which was amazing. We had a blast making the 'Rainier Fog' music video, which continues the northwest theme of the record. We hope you enjoy it and have a laugh."

"The band's maternal instincts were spot on," says Miller. "It was a kind and loving environment. I felt special."

Miller's "AIC 23" followed 2009's tongue-in-cheek "Black Gives Way To Blue" EPK and the legendary "Nona Tapes".

On May 20, ALICE IN CHAINS will launch an international headlining tour that will take them to Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, Birmingham, London, the Netherlands, Paris, Brussels, Luxembourg, Zurich, Prague, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Finland, Russia and Greece. They'll return Stateside in time for the summer's hottest tour, a co-headlining run with KORN that kicks off July 18 in Austin, Texas. The band has also announced that it will perform a special hometown show to close out the "Rainier Fog" album cycle on Friday, September 20 at the WaMu Theater with special guests CITY AND COLOUR.

According to Cleveland.com, MÖTLEY CRÜE has taken the lead in Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's in-museum "Voice Your Choice" fan vote.

Fans can cast their ballot in person at the Rock Hall museum in Cleveland using the "Voice Your Choice" interactive section in the new Hall Of Fame Gallery.

The Los Angeles rockers are currently in the No. 1 spot ahead of BLINK-182, IRON MAIDEN, THE DAVE MATTHEWS BAND and WEEZER. CRÜE has been surging since the release of the band's biopic "The Dirt" on Netflix in March.

Last fall, Rock Hall nominating committee member Alan Light told SiriusXM that he and his colleagues did in fact take the Rock Hall museum's "Voice Your Choice" visitor poll into account when considering the 2019 nominees. Stevie Nicks and DEF LEPPARD were the top two leaders all summer and both were nominated. But Rock Hall foundation president Joel Peresman denied the poll's influence to the Plain Dealer, saying: "The new in-museum voting system does not factor into the nomination process as the members of the nominating committee aren't made aware of that. And we rely on their independent thinking, which in this case happened to match up."

Earlier this year, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx said that the group was told by the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame that it will never be inducted into the institution because of how he and his bandmates "acted."

Despite the fact that artists are eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single, iconic hard rock and metal bands like MÖTLEY CRÜE (which has been eligible since 2006), IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST have yet to be recognized by the institution, which inducted GUNS N' ROSES in that group's first year of eligibility.

Back in 2015, Sixx said that if his band was ever honored into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, he would "probably decline" the nomination, explaining that the Rock Hall "has lost touch with art, songwriting craft, lyrics and influential music." He explained: "It's a fixed old-boy network that has lost touch with art, songwriting craft, lyrics and influential music and usually has other agendas at hand. Young bands tell me it's a joke, and these bands are the future."

Three months later, CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars told Rolling Stone that he didn't think the band would ever get the Rock Hall nod. "We were there when the thing was being built; we had to wear hard hats while we were walking around the building site. They were like, 'One of these days, you guys will be in here!' Right. [Laughs] I'd have to say, 80 percent no, 20 percent yeah. But it's like when you're a kid in kindergarten, and you take a nap and get a gold star as a reward. I don't need a few handful of people to say that I got a gold star, because I already got it from my fans. I see the crowds, I see the enthusiasm, I see all that stuff, and that's already satisfying enough for me."

Drummer Tommy Lee told Rolling Stone that he was somewhat torn on the question of even wanting to be in the Hall in the first place. "I do give a shit about it, because it's a time-stamp, it's the acknowledgement of your peers and fans and the music industry," he explained. "But then again, there's a part of me that goes, 'If we don't, that's fucking cool, too!' In my heart, I know that we came, we saw, we kicked its fucking ass; I don't need a pat on the back, or an induction, or another platinum album or two. Maybe I'm just not good with compliments."

Singer Vince Neil chimed in: "We'll probably go in at some point, but we might not all be alive when it happens. Our grandkids will probably have to pick up the awards."

Photo credit: Paul Brown

After nine strong albums, Italian folk power metal band, Elvenking takes the next step in their career: Reader Of The Runes - Divination will be released on August 30 via AFM Records.

With this album, the group creates a complete new world embracing and containing the essence of Elvenking, the concept of their message and the atmospheres of their music. Built as a concept, Reader Of The Runes - Divination is an adventurous journey into a mystic world of runes, magic and ancient powers far away from the visible.

The band about their new album: "Expect big melodies, folk tunes, lots of acoustic breaks and heavy stuff in an album that those who already listened to it already consider (one of) our best ever."

Reader Of The Runes - Divination will be available on digipak, ltd. gatefold vinyl and boxset. Pre-order here.

Tracklisting:

"Perthro"
"Heathen Divine"
"Divination"
"Silverseal"
"The Misfortune Of Virtue"
"Eternal Eleanor"
"Diamonds In The Night"
"Under The Sign Of A Black Star"
"Malefica Doctrine"
"Sic Semper Tyrannis"
"Warden Of The Bane"
"Reader Of The Runes - Book I"




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Polish heavy metal powerhouse, Crystal Viper, have started work on a new studio album, scheduled for the release in fall this year.

The seventh full length effort from Marta Gabriel and her crew will be entitled Tales Of Fire And Ice, and will be released via AFM Records on CD, limited edition vinyl LP and digital download.

"We just finalized pre-production process, and I think that a lot of our fans will be very surprised," says Marta Gabriel. "The new songs still sound like Crystal Viper, but the energy and the vibe are way, way different," she adds.

Crystal Viper's latest album, Queen Of The Witches, was released in February 2017 via AFM, and in the summer of 2018 Crystal Viper released a special limited edition 10" vinyl EP entitled At The Edge Of Time.

Upcoming live dates:

June
29 - Gardloryki Festival - Nowe Miasto Nad Warta, Poland

July
4 - Nord Rock Festival - Cvikow, Czech Republic

August
2 - Rock Pod Kamenom Festival - Slovakia
16 - Sabaton Open Air - Falun, Sweden

September
14 - Barba Negra - Budapest, Hungary

October
5 - Rising Fest - Longvic, France




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SYSTEM OF A DOWN guitarist Daron Malakian says that "creative differences" between singer Serj Tankian and the rest of the band are to be blamed for stalled attempts to record a follow-up to their "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize" albums, which came out in 2005.

Last summer, Malakian publicly accused Tankian of not wanting to record, with Tankian responding that creative and financial issues with Malakian led to the stalemate. In a message on Facebook, Tankian wrote that Malakian wanted to control SYSTEM's creative process, take more of the publishing money and be the only band member to speak to the press.

Daron, who reactivated SCARS ON BROADWAY last year, told "Talk Is Jericho" in a brand new interview that Serj and the rest of SYSTEM OF A DOWN have been unable to come to an agreement over how to go about making new music.

"SYSTEM had a certain way of putting together the albums and the music, and I guess that was me writing and all that, and producing the records, along with Rick [Rubin]," Daron said (hear audio below). "And Serj wants to do things a different way. And it's not just me — it's kind of three of us that don't necessarily see eye to eye with where he would wanna take the band. So that's kind of where we're at. A lot of people think it's just between me and him, and that's not really the case."

Despite their creative differences, Daron insists that there is no bad blood between Serj and the other members of SYSTEM OF A DOWN.

"I don't hate anybody in my band," he said. "A lot of people are, like, 'Well, creative differences. In our case, that's the truth. It really is a creative-difference type of thing where a few of us wanna take the band and where someone wants to take the band in another way. And it's a creative-difference thing. When it comes to happy holidays, Easters, birthdays, we're all still cool, we all consider each other like a family. SYSTEM OF A DOWN is a special thing, and it's us four. Like I said, in our case, there is none of that, 'I can't stand seeing the guy eat a hamburger.'"

Serj recently told Rolling Stone that the public airing of his dispute with Daron didn't open up any more conversations about SYSTEM's future. "I think it released a lot of tension and negativity," he said. "Everything became more public and open, and that was that. There were no further discussions."

In a recent interview with Consequence Of Sound, SYSTEM OF A DOWN bassist Shavo Odadjian confirmed that disagreements between Malakian and Tankian over the band's songwriting process have been brewing for a decade, explaining: "That stuff happened a long time ago. So, it's like, 10 years later, something new came up, but it wasn't really new. It was something that was really old, and they were just hashing it out."

SYSTEM drummer John Dolmayan revealed in a 2016 interview that the group had written music for more than a dozen new songs. Odadjian concurred, remarking: "Between you and me and this world, and to the people who read this interview, we have material that tops everything we've done. And that's me telling you, honestly. I can't wait to record that and drop it."

SYSTEM OF A DOWN has several live shows on tap for 2019, including headlining slots at Columbus, Ohio's Sonic Temple festival and Chicago Open Air, both later this month.

BUTCHER BABIES are in the studio working on their fourth album.

The disc will be the follow-up to "Lilith", which was released in October 2017 via Century Media.

Earlier today, BUTCHER BABIES co-vocalist Carla Harvey wrote in an Instagram post: "We're holed up in the studio making new @butcherbabies for you. Who's excited?"

"Lilith" was produced by Steve Evetts (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, SEPULTURA, SUICIDE SILENCE) and marked BUTCHER BABIES' recording debut with drummer Chase Brickenden, who replaced Chris Warner in 2016.

Harvey told Meltdown Of Detroit's WRIF radio station that the music on "Lilith" "runs the gamut" from "great thrash metal" to "a little bit of '90s influence." She said: "We're singing, we're screaming and it's just a great, great album. I couldn't be prouder of it. I think there's four songs where we do predominantly singing on it. And normally that would scare even me, 'cause I'm, like, 'I'm a metal girl! I don't wanna be singing.' But it's so beautiful — it really is. So it's kind of ballady, but not too ballady. It's very dark, sensual — the lyrics are very sensual on this album."

Asked what the most challenging aspect of being in BUTCHER BABIES is, co-singer Heidi Shepherd told Psycho Babble TV: "The thing is, we wake up every day and we love what we do and when we step onstage, it's a new day. There are days when you wake up in your bunk and you're not feeling your best. Your voice hurts, or your back hurts. Or, maybe you had a tiff with one of the band members, but when it comes down to it, we're five best friends first and foremost. We're five best friends who get to tour the world and do cool shit together. We keep that in mind and that's the reality of it. With 'Lilith', this album, we call it our 'rebirth.' We did take a year off to write and record, but we also had a member change that brought a whole new, fresh energy into the band. Even just looking at things from a different perspective, like slightly sometimes, offers a rebirth."

View this post on Instagram We’re holed up in the studio making new @butcherbabies for you ?who’s excited? Photo by Wauters Rudi Metal Collection #butcherbabies #bb4 A post shared by Carla Harvey (@carlaharvey) on May 14, 2019 at 4:21pm PDT

Supersonic Blues Machine will be releasing their brand new live album, Road Chronicles, on July 12 via Provogue/Mascot Label Group. Road Chronicles is their first live album, following the release of two acclaimed studio records, West Of Flushing South Of Frisco (2016) and Californisoul (2017). The recordings capture the band on their first European headline tour, and was recorded during their show in Brugnara, Italy on July 20, 2018.

The show was the final one of a 10 date tour that started at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London and took them through Switzerland, Poland, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain and finally bassist Fabrizio Grossi’s native Italy. The legendary Billy F. Gibbons joined the band throughout the tour, and it was the first run to feature fast-rising UK blues-rocker Kris Barras on lead vocals and guitar, taking over from Lance Lopez.

“The funny thing is,” remembers Grossi, “that we were not planning to record a live record, the recordings we were capturing were just for me to study and evaluate at the end of the tour, but as soon as were done with the last show in Brugnera, the promoter was celebrating with us and asked me "do you have a flash drive with you so I can give you tonight's recordings?" That's when I realized they recorded all the tracks isolated, and the curiosity started creeping in. Gibbons was with me when I first opened up the tracks. I couldn't stop smiling.”

As there weren’t any plans to record the show at the time, they approached it like any other and things just fell into place. It just felt perfect; the weather, the setlist, the band were tight and then there was the crowd. “The cheers, noises and crazy antics people do when they come to see us, it's extremely humbling and energizing” explains Grossi.

The setlist weaved through the two Supersonic albums - West Of Flushing’s.... (‘Remedy,’ ‘Whatchagonnado’ and ‘Running Whiskey’) and Californiasoul, (‘I Am Done Missing You’, ‘Elevate’ and ‘Broken Heart’) as well as some ZZ Top classics and surprises thrown in. “The beauty of this band is that we always bring around or have guests joining us on stage, we get used to hearing our music taking the most unexpected turns and shapes every night,” he says. “As soon as the intro tape stops, we kind of unleash the Kraken.... the Soul Kraken,” he laughs. Drummer Kenny Aronoff, Barras and Grossi are the faces and the core of the band with The Reverend Gibbons andthe party is rounded off with Alex Alessandroni Jr. on keyboards, Serge Simic on guitar and Andrea and Francis Benitez Grossi on background vocals.

With a prolific career as a producer, mixer and bass player Grossi has worked with some of the finest musicians around today pulling into an array of eclectic styles, from Steve Vai to Tina Arena, Nina Hagen to Alice Cooper as well as Glenn Hughes, Dave Navarro, George Clinton, Joe Bonamassa, Leslie West, Zakk Wylde, Ice T, Slash and Paul Stanley to name a few. New York native but Indiana raised Aronoff brought with him the experience of working with a huge collection of artists such as John Mellencamp, Smashing Pumpkins, Meat Loaf, Brandon Flowers, John Fogerty, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Joe Cocker amongst a host of others.

An incredible list of collaborators gives the band added warmth and propels it on to another level; Billy F. Gibbons, Walter Trout, Warren Haynes, Robben Ford, Eric Gales, Joe Louis Walker, Steve Lukather, Chris Duarte all have joined the band on record and/or live, with them all having a deep and personal connection to Grossi and Aronoff.

“We could have done records and shows that was jam packed of famously random guests, but we didn’t want to do that. That’s not the idea.” He elaborates, “They’re not just guests, those guys are part of our family and just happened to show up on that song, these guys will always be part of our life, they are so important to the sound of Supersonic Blues Machine.”

Pre-order the album here, and watch a lyric video for "Running Whiskey", below.

Tracklisting:

"I Am Done Missing You" (Live)
"I Ain't Fallin' Again" (Live)
"Remedy" (Live)
"Can't Take It No More" (Live)
"Watchagonnado" (Live)
"Elevate" (Live)
"Bad Boys" (Live)
"Let It Be" (Live)
"La Grange" (feat. Billy F. Gibbons) (Live)
"Broken Heart" (feat. Billy F. Gibbons) (Live)
"Dust My Broom" (feat. Billy F. Gibbons) (Live)
"Running Whiskey" (feat. Billy F. Gibbons) (Live)
"Got My Mojo Working" (feat. Billy F. Gibbons) (Live)
"Going Down" (feat. Billy F. Gibbons) (Live)
"L.O.V.E." (Live) (Bonus Track)
"Hard Times" (Live) (Bonus Track)

"Running Whiskey" lyric video:

The band will make these appearances amongst others in the near future - each with special guests Billy F. Gibbons and Joe Louis Walker:

July
30 - Madrid, Spain - Noches del Botanico

August
2 - Notodden, Norway - Notodden Blues Festival
3 - Combloux, France - Megeve Blues Festival - Combloux

(SBM photo - Alex Solca; Billy F. Gibbons photo - Scott Rosenbaum)




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Nita Strauss joined EVANESCENCE on stage this past Friday, May 10 at the the Epicenter festival in Rockingham, North Carolina to perform the song "Disappear". Fan-filmed video footage of her appearance can be seen below.

Back in 2015, EVANESCENCE's Jen Majura revealed that Strauss was on singer Amy Lee's short list of candidates for the guitarist slot in the band before Majura herself landed the gig.

EVANESCENCE has around two dozen live appearances scheduled this spring and summer, with plans to spend the rest of the time writing material for its long-awaited follow-up to 2011's self-titled effort.

The band spent much of the last two years recording and touring in support of 2017's "Synthesis", which contained some of EVANESCENCE's best-loved songs — as well as a couple of new ones — reinvented with full orchestra over a deep electronic landscape.

Strauss has been playing with Cooper since 2014 when she replaced Australian musician and former Michael Jackson player Orianthi. She joined Alice in time for a mammoth MÖTLEY CRÜE tour. She was recommended to Cooper by the legendary rocker's former bass player and WINGER frontman Kip Winger.

Nita's debut solo album, "Controlled Chaos", was released in November via Sumerian Records.

Instrumental rockers, Monkey3, performed the song "Prism", a track from their sixth full length studio album, Sphere (Napalm Records) on April 8 at Feierwerk in Munich, Germany. Watch below:

Sphere is available in the following formats:

- 4 Page Digipack
- 2LP Gatefold
- LP Deluxe Box, including Double-LP Gatefold + 1 LP Bonus LP Gatefold + Slipmat
- Digital Album

Order here.

Tracklisting:

"Spirals"
"Axis"
"Prism"
"Mass" (feat. Bumblefoot)
"Ida"
"Ellipsis"

"Ellipsis" video:

"Spirals" video:

"Prism" art video:

Monkey3 are:

Walter - drums
Kevin - bass
Boris - guitar
dB - keys




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Frontiers Music Srl will release Hollow Haze's new album, Between Wild Landscapes And Deep Blue Seas, on July 12. Pre-order the album here, and listen to the song "It's Always Dark Before The Dawn" below.

Hollow Haze is the Italian melodic metal band put together by guitarist Nick Savio after he quit Eternal Idol, the band he had put together with famed Italian metal vocalist Fabio Lione (Angra, Rhapsody). Hollow Haze had previously released six studio albums before Nick started Eternal Idol, but the “new” Hollow Haze features a revamped lineup and a fresh, new sound. Along with longtime bassist Davide Cestaro, Hollow Haze now features Fabio Dessi (Arthemis) and Paolo Caridi (MLB) as vocalist and drummer, respectively.

“In the past few years, we were all involved in other projects, but now I am back to my first creation, Hollow Haze,” says guitar player and main composer Nick Savio. "Here I can play with amazing musicians without compromise. The new album is a natural evolution of the band's sound. Of course, the new singer Fabio and the new drummer Paolo bring something fresh, which is the perfect connection with my songwriting.”

The new album is melodic, heavy, and symphonic and was the result of very dedicated teamwork that involved everyone in the production process. The 12 songs lyrically touch on the meaning of life and great adventures, while being delivered with tremendous musical passion.

Hollow Haze offers a hard and heavy sound featuring a screaming, warm, melodic voice and deep intense hooks. The listeners can find many different musical influences taken from classic metal glories as well as more modern rock. Thanks to their passion and hard work, the group has delivered a crown jewel in the Hollow Haze discography with their new album Between Wild Landscapes And Deep Blue Seas.

Tracklisting:

"Destinations"
"Oblivion"
"It’s Always Dark Before The Dawn"
"Through Space And Time"
"I Will Be There"
"The Upside Down"
"New Era"
"A Different Sky"
"Resurrection"
"Your Are My End And My Beginning"
"Behind The Wall"

"It's Always Dark Before The Dawn":

"Oblivion" video:

Lineup:

Nick Savio: Guitars, Keyboards And Orchestral Arrangements
Fabio Dessi: Lead And Backing Vocals
Paolo Caridi: Drums
Davide Cestaro: Bass

(Photo - Annalisa Russo)




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Highly respected Australian brutal death metal titans Disentomb have officially signed with Unique Leader Records, who will release the band's monstrous new album The Decaying Light on July 12th. 

Following up their legendary 2014 album Misery, The Decaying Light contains 13 slabs of dissonant, atmospheric extreme metal and shows the band truly coming into their own and cements their place as one of the most unique and exciting bands in the genre.

Guitars for The Decaying Light were tracked by band guitarist Jake Wilkes, drums and bass were recorded by Joe Haley (Psycroptic), and vocals were tracked by Dan Field at Sledgehammer Studios. Mixing and reamping for the effort were done by Disentomb bassist Adrian Cappelletti, and mastering was done by Colin Davis at Imperial Mastering (Deeds of Flesh, Devourment). 

Artwork for The Decaying Light comes from the incredible Nick Keller with the layout and design coming from Steve Crow of Condemned. 

The band commented on the effort, "These 13 tracks combined make up an album we have always wanted to write and have been on the path to writing since the birth of Disentomb 10 years ago. The Decaying Light solidifies a unique sound we have worked to carve out, 13 tracks of dissonant Brutal Death that we feel is our most personal and accomplished work to date. The addition of Adrian on bass has helped Disentomb reach new levels of songwriting and cemented our sound. We understand five years is a long time between albums, especially for touring bands, and we thank our fans for their patience."

Tracklisting:

“Collapsing Skies”
“Your Prayers Echo Into Nothingness”
“Indecipherable Sermons Of Gloom”
“Undying Dysphoria”
“Centuries Of Deluge”
“The Decaying Light”
“The Great Abandonment”
“Dredged Into Existence”
“The Droning Monolith”
“Dismal Liturgies”
“Invocation In The Cathedral Of Dust”
“Rebirth Through Excoriation”
“Withering”

“Your Prayers Echo Into Nothingness”:




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Devouror defines its sonic wrath arrogantly as ‘Bestial Deathcult Warfare’ with late ‘80s/early ‘90s influence from Possessed, Sarcofago, Necrovore, Blasphemy, Death, Sodom. Devouror is not a project of sorts, all members are veteran diehards with filthy back-grounds of over 25 long years of dedication and commitment raising the old glorious flag of unholy black death.

The band’s debut Slay For Satan mini CD was released on January 21st on Metal Zone Records (Malaysia) . It was mixed and mastered December 2018 at Studio47 by Nizam Aziz, Artwork was drawn by Jenglot Hiram.

Slay for Satan has received a tremendous response and support worldwide in such a short amount of time. Panzerfaust Records (Malaysia) released a limited edition cassette of 200 copies in April.

The band has joined Listenable Records for a multi album deal and looks ahead to destroy more stages and focus on their debut full-length album to be recorded later this year.

Slay For Satan by Devouror




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Finnish modern metal act As I May will be releasing their second album My Own Creations this coming July. Signing with labels Rockshots Records and Spiritual Beast (Japan), the sophomore full length is slated for a worldwide release on July 26th along with it being available in Japan on July 24th.

My Own Creations is a fast-paced blend of modern metal with metalcore highlights. It’s heavy, melodic and unique; and sonically more mature than As I May's previous release Speak No Evil (2017). Working on writing music that is easy to identify with a digital atmosphere, As I May make their listeners headbang and sing along to the catchy choruses.

The first single from the album is “Pride Goes Before A Fall”, it is full of unique tones, dynamic riffs, and impeccable production. As part of an album that is written to be listened to in full, “Pride Goes Before A Fall” sets a dark tone with excellent production in the video. The song already entered the largest editorial playlists both on Spotify and Deezer. Find album preorder options here.

Tracklisting:

“End Of The Beginning”
“Pride Goes Before A Fall”
“What A Waste Of Life”
“I See You In Me”
“Silent”
“Necessary Evil”
“Cure Is More Worse Than Disease”
“Quiet Place”
“Loud”

“Pride Goes Before A Fall” video:




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Hardline have released a video for "Place To Call Home", the lead track of their new studio album, Life, out now on CD/LP/Digital via Frontiers Music Srl. Watch below, and order the album here. A special limited edition colour vinyl version of the album is available exclusively at the Frontiers' EU store, here.

In the past two years, Hardline has performed a number of shows across Europe, including festivals and more intimate gigs, and that live “energy” can certainly be felt on their new studio album. The band went back to 1992's Double Eclipse album for influence for the songs on this record, but additionally they also looked a little closer in the rearview at the tremendous predecessor to this album, Human Nature.

The resulting album, Life, perfectly blends the influences of those two albums and sees Hardline heavier, stronger, bigger, and better than ever. The band entered the studio feeling loose and relaxed from all their gigging. The two newest members, Marco Di Salvia on drums and Mario Percudani on guitar, had gelled seamlessly with the rest of the band from all those shows and combined with Anna Portalupi's pulsating rhythms and Alessandro Del Vecchio's songwriting and production abilities, Life was almost effortless for the band to create. And of course, Johnny Gioeli sings like only he can over top of these incredible musicians.

Tracklisting:

"Place To Call Home"
"Take A Chance"
"Helio's Sun"
"Page Of Your Life"
"Out Of Time"
"Hold On To Right"
"Handful Of Sand"
"This Love"
"Story Of My Life"
"Who Wants To Live Forever"
"Chameleon"
"My Friend"

"Place To Call Home" video:

"Page Of Your Life" video:

"Take A Chance" video:

"Who Wants To Live Forever":

Hardline has announced the first leg of tour dates on their 2019/2020 Life tour. The band will begin the tour in Italy at the Frontiers Rock Festival, with Johnny Gioeli performing an acoustic set on the first night with original Hardline band mate Deen Castronovo, and the current lineup performing the following night.

The band will be touring throughout Europe and say they are currently working to make some shows happen in the US next year. “We’ve been touring steadily since 2013, and the promoters are realizing that Hardline really is back. We have an incredible chemistry with the current lineup and won’t be slowing down any time soon. It’s time to bring it home to the States.”

More dates will be announced soon for 2019 as well as a full second leg of the tour in 2020.

Lineup:

Johnny Gioeli - vocals
Alessandro Del Vecchio - keyboards
Mario Percudani - guitar
Marco Di Salvia - drums
Anna Portalupi - bass




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Torche will release Admission, the band’s fifth album, and first new music since 2015’s Restarter, on July 12 via Relapse Records.

“This album is more revealing of who we are. I think the core of the band is happier and more inspired than we have been in some time, and we’ve got somebody new who’s excited to be a part of it. It’s just refreshing. It feels right. It feels real,” says guitar player Jon Nuñez, referencing the band’s new line-up which includes a shift from bass to guitar for Nuñez and the addition of bass player Eric Hernandez (Wrong). Steve Brooks (guitar/vocals) and Rick Smith (drummer) round-out the band.

“Slide,” a new song from the Nuñez produced album, is available for streaming below. “’Slide’ is one of the first songs Eric came to the table with, fully realized and arranged,” explains Smith. “Eric is a total beast of a songwriter. I suggested he use the first three Gary Numan records as inspiration and he came back at us with some melodically sound material that nailed the Torche vibe.”

Admission pre-orders are available now via Relapse’s webstore. The 11-song album is available in various formats (CD/LP/CS/Digital) with several highly-limited colored vinyl options on-sale now.

The album artwork was created by Richard Vergez, a Cuban-American visual artist, who is known for his handmade collages that highlight the meeting of human and technological elements in our modern society. His work has been shown at No Romance Galleries (TriBeCa), Urban Arts Society (Chicago) and Kids of Dada (London).

Admission tracklisting:

"From Here"
"Submission"
"Slide"
"What Was"
"Times Missing"
"Admission"
"Reminder"
"Extremes Of Consciousness"
"On The Wire"
"Infierno"
"Changes Come"

"Slide":

Torche have announced their first wave of tour dates, including performances at this year’s Levitation, The Fest and Sled Island festivals. Tickets for all non-festival dates are on-sale this Friday at 10 AM, eastern.

Tour dates:

May
31 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Doomed and Stoned Festival

June
15 - Denver, CO - Electric Funeral IV
20 - Calgary, AB - Sled Island

July
26 - Tampa, FL - The Crowbar
27 - Jacksonville, FL - The Justice Pub
28 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
31 - Washington, DC - Black Cat

August
1 - Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts
2 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Bazaar
3 - Allston, MA - Great Scott
4 - Pawtucket, RI - The Met
5 - Hamden, CT - Space Ballroom
6 - Lancaster, PA - Chameleon Club
7 - Wilmington, NC - Reggie’s 42nd Street Tavern
8 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
9 - Orlando, FL - Henao Center
10 - Miami, FL - Las Rosa's

September
21 - Asheville, NC - Heavy Mountain

November
1-3 - Gainesville, FL - The Fest
9 - Austin, TX - Levitation

(Photo - Keans Llamera​​​​​​​)




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Frontiers Music Srl recently announced the release of Italian prog metal band Mind Key’s long awaited third album, MK III - Aliens In Wonderland, on July 12.  Pre-order MK III - Aliens In Wonderland here, and listen to the song "Hate At First Sight" below.

MKIII - Aliens in Wonderland marks the return of one of the most gifted Italian progressive metal outfits to the scene after a nine year absence. Formed in Napoli in 1999 by Dario De Cicco (keyboards) and Emanuele Colella (guitars), the two wanted to create a band that melded the sound of bands like Dream Theater, Symphony X, Evergrey, and Pain of Salvation with a songwriting approach inspired by '80/'90s hard rock style.

Mind Key released their debut album, Journey Of A Rough Diamond, in July 2004 on the Frontiers label. The band played various gigs in support of the album’s release, including shows with Dream Theater, Vision Divine, and Pendragon, among others. They then began work on their second album, Pulse For A Graveheart. Released in 2009, the album saw the band refining their songwriting approach and introduced their new singer, Aurelio Fierro. Fierro was truly able to showcase his vocal potential on the album, which can be described as a powerful mix of Ronnie James Dio, David Coverdale, and Jorn Lande.

Pulse For A Graveheart grew the band's fanbase along with touring for the album which included shows with Edguy, Vanden Plas, Europe, and Hammerfall. However, the band went on an unexpected hiatus afterwards. "On the one hand, you could say the delay was because we simply took the right time to write the songs and work harder on the arrangements and final product,” says Dario De Cicco “but on the other hand, we also had to face some lineup changes and with Emanuele and Lucio moving abroad for some time things became more complicated. I also had to face a severe illness in 2014, but I overcame the hurdle and I'm stronger than ever right now! Aurelio also spent some time with “The Voice” Italy TV show, which cause further delays. So, quite a lot of things happened, but our motivation and desire to accomplish this musical mission we began got the better of us and here we are!"

The band is joined on this album by new members bassist Lucio Grilli (ex-Soul Secret) and drummer Mirko De Maio (The Flower Kings, Hangarvain).

MK III - Aliens in Wonderland can be described as a further evolutionary step in Mind Key’s sound. "We all had a metal/hard rock/prog backgrounds, but we felt that our playing style was changing towards a more direct and concise approach,” says Lucio Grilli. "And our way to conceive the songs was influenced as well. In addition to that, we were also looking for something more suitable for Aurelio's powerful voice, something closer to rock/metal to fully let his voice be heard. It's more natural for us to talk about MK simply as a melodic metal band than a prog metal one."

Guitarist Emanuele Colella concludes, “The current line-up is the best one to achieve our goal to create the perfect mix of melodic rock, progressive metal, and classic hard rock. What made everything different and better was the alchemy, walking in the same exact direction. This, I really think, makes MKIII - Aliens in Wonderland truly special!”

Tracklisting:

"Alien In Wonderland"
"Hank (The Blazing Eyes)"
"Hate At First Sight"
"Angry Men"
"Hands Off Cain"
"Be-Polar"
"Oblivion"
"Psycho World"
"Vertigo (Where The Cold Wind Blows)"
"Pure He/Art"
"Non-Existence"

"Hate At First Sight":

"Alien in Wonderland" video:

Lineup:

Aurelio Fierro Jr. - Vocals
Dario De Cicco - Piano & Keyboards;
Emanuele Colella - Guitars;
Lucio Grilli - Bass;
Mirko De Maio - Drums

(Photo: Stefano Di Stasio - Elena De Santis)




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Willowtip Records welcomes Canadian tech-death band, Gomorrah, to its roster. The deal will see Willowtip reissue the band’s self-titled album on vinyl, CD and digital formats.

Released March 22, 2019, Gomorrah is the band’s second full-length album and was produced by Hannes Grossmann (Hate Eternal, Blotted Science). Check out the video for album track “Frailty”, below.

Gomorrah is a death metal project founded in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. The project's two official members are vocalist Jeff Bryan and guitarist Bowen Matheson. Gomorrah have released two full-length releases and are in the writing process of their third album to be released by Willowtip Records.

The Willowtip re-ssue of Gomorrah is slated for a fall 2019 release.




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Danish/American hard rock group VOLBEAT will release its seventh album, "Rewind, Replay, Rebound", on August 2 via Republic Records. For the album, VOLBEAT — Michael Poulsen (guitars/vocals), Rob Caggiano (guitars), Kaspar Boye Larsen (bass), and Jon Larsen (drums) — builds upon its distinct, psychobilly, punk-tinged rock 'n' roll sound it is known for, while reaching for new creative summits.

"The whole point for us going into the studio, is because you still have something to prove — not just for the fans, but mostly for yourself," says Poulsen. "We would not be able to do this record if it wasn't for the work we have done in the past. No matter how old the band gets or how many records we do, there is always going to be that signature sound."

"Rewind, Replay, Rebound" is available for pre-order on all formats, including a 2 CD deluxe edition, a special deluxe edition box set, and transparent and blue colored vinyl, numbered and limited to 1,000 copies each.

VOLBEAT's music video for the song "Leviathan" can be seen below.

At this point in their already storied career, VOLBEAT has opened for METALLICA, MOTÖRHEAD and SLIPKNOT, garnered the 2014 "Best Metal Performance" Grammy nomination for "Room 24" and won multiple Danish Music Awards. For this album, they mine their own personal histories and that of their genre: "Last Day Under The Sun" lyrics are inspired by a book about Johnny Cash. Poulson admits: "When I read his book, he went through tough times with alcohol and drugs... He walked into a cave to lay down to die. But he wakes up and feels like he has been given a second chance…" Furthermore, the song "When We Were Kids" finds VOLBEAT ruminating on immortality and innocence we all naively experience in our youth, while "Rewind The Exit" and "Die To Live" both explore how the pursuit of perfection can be a hollow goal.

"Rewind, Replay, Rebound" was produced by longtime collaborator Jacob Hansen and co-produced by Rob Caggiano and Michael Poulsen. This marks the first studio album with Kaspar Boye Larsen on bass. To achieve the album's sound, the band also drew upon a myriad of guests. In addition to again working with backing vocalist Mia Maja on several tracks, they also reunited with the Harlem Gospel Choir. CLUTCH vocalist Neil Fallon is featured on "Die To Live", the result of touring together and a love for the singer's gruff and powerful style. Raynier Jacob Jacildo (piano) and Doug Corocran (saxophone) of JD McPherson's band also lend their talents to the song. "Cheapside Sloggers" features a ripping guitar solo by EXODUS and SLAYER guitarist Gary Holt. Ultimately, VOLBEAT have not lost their passion to create and progress. It's that which keeps them hungry — and musically honest on the new album.

Today, the band also announce the first leg of the "Rewind, Replay, Rebound" world tour, with support from BARONESS and DANKO JONES. This tour will find the band performing in cities including London, Madrid, Berlin, Hamburg and Stockholm (full dates below) and tickets for all dates will go on sale on Friday, May 24 at 9 a.m. BST and 10 a.m. CST and 11 a.m. EEST. Members of the Rebels And Angels fan club will have access to ticket pre-sales at 1 p.m. local time.

"Rewind, Replay, Rebound" track listing:

Standard CD/2LP

01. Last Day Under The Sun

02. Pelvis On Fire

03. Rewind The Exit

04. Die To Live (feat. Neil Fallon)

05. When We Were Kids

06. Sorry Sack of Bones

07. Cloud 9

08. Cheapside Sloggers

09. Maybe I Believe

10. Parasite

11. Leviathan

12. The Awakening of Bonnie Parker

13. The Everlasting

14. 7:24

Deluxe 2CD/Digital

Disc 1:

01. Last Day Under The Sun

02. Pelvis On Fire

03. Rewind The Exit

04. Die To Live (feat. Neil Fallon)

05. When We Were Kids

06. Sorry Sack of Bones

07. Cloud 9

08. Cheapside Sloggers

09. Maybe I Believe

10. Parasite

11. Leviathan

12. The Awakening of Bonnie Parker

13. The Everlasting

14. 7:24


Disc 2:

01. Under The Influence

02. Immortal But Destructible

03. Die To Live

04. Last Day Under The Sun (Demo)

05. Rewind The Exit (Demo)

06. When We Were Kids (Demo)

07. Maybe I Believe (Demo)

08. Leviathan (Demo)

VOLBEAT European tour dates with BARONESS and DANKO JONES:

Sep. 23 - Newcastle, UK - Academy O2

Sep. 24 - Glasgow, UK - Academy

Sep. 26 - London, UK - Brixton Academy

Sep. 28 - Bristol, UK - Academy O2

Sep. 30 - Birmingham, UK - Academy

Oct. 01 - Manchester, UK - Apollo

Oct. 03 - Belfast, UK - Ulster Hall

Oct. 04 - Dublin, IRE - Olympia

Oct. 06 - Paris, FR - Olympia

Oct. 07 - Luxembourg, LUX - Rockhal

Oct. 09 - Madrid, SP - La Riviera

Oct. 10 - Lisbon, PT - Coliseu

Oct. 12 - Barcelona, SP - Razzmatazz

Oct. 14 - Milan, IT - Fabrique

Oct. 29 - Warsaw, PO - Torwar

Oct. 31 - Prague, CZ - O2 Universum

Nov. 01 - Berlin, DE - Mercedes-Benz Arena

Nov. 03 - Stuttgart, DE - Schleyerhalle

Nov. 05 - Zurich, CH - Hallenstadion

Nov. 07 - Frankfurt, DE - Festhalle

Nov. 08 - Munich, DE - Olympiahalle

Nov. 10 - Leipzig, DE - Arena

Nov. 11 - Hamburg, DE - BarclayCard Arena

Nov. 14 - Cologne, DE - Lanxess Arena

Nov. 17 - Vienna, AT - Stadthalle

Nov. 19 - Amsterdam, NL - Ziggo Dome

Nov. 21 - Antwerp, BE - Lotto Arena

Nov. 27 - Helsinki, FI -Hartwall Arena

Nov. 29 - Stockholm, SE - Tele2 Arena

Photo credit: Ross Halfin

Slipknot have released two new teaser videos in anticipation of a big reveal, expected to be made on Thursday (May 16). Watch the clips below, and stay tuned for more details.

Slipknot are scheduled to make their televised return on Friday, May 17, as the musical guests on Jimmy Kimmel Live! The outdoor stage performance - set to air at 11:35 PM, ET on ABC - will Slipknot demolishing the standard expectations set for late-night stages.

Slipknot has sold-out their homecoming show at the Iowa State Fair Grandstand. On August 10, a capacity crowd of 16,000 will pack the Grandstand for a historic moment, Slipknot’s first ever show at the Des Moines, Iowa fairgrounds. The momentous performance will see Slipknot celebrating the release of their long-awaited new studio album set to arrive on August 9.

“This is big for us,” notes the band’s own M. Shawn Crahan. “I watched Metallica, from the outside - I didn’t have anyone to take me in. The fair is, and was always, about music - main stage, little stages, even little puppet stages. But there was livestock, agriculture, games - even the police had a presence there, showing crime scene photos to kids so they’d understand the world a bit better. It was chaos. As a kid, this was our internet. To have sold this out, this early, is intense.”

Slipknot’s forthcoming LP has quickly become one of the most anticipated albums of the year. Major details regarding the album are on the way.

Slipknot shocked fans around the globe last year with the release of a brand new track, “All Out Life”. Reaction to the unrelenting track was staggering, with the official music video - directed by the band’s own M. Shawn Crahan – trending Top Ten of all videos worldwide on YouTube in its first day on the band’s official YouTube channel. In the four months since release, “All Out Life” has already racked up over 33 million streams worldwide across digital service providers and 35 million YouTube views. “All Out Life” is available now at all digital service providers.

This summer Slipknot will embark on their Knotfest Roadshow headline tour set to traverse across North America with Volbeat, Gojira, and Behemoth joining as special guests on all dates. Produced by Live Nation, the 29-city outing will kick off July 26 in Mountain View, CA at Shoreline Amphitheater and continue through September 8 where it will conclude with a performance at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, TX (see itinerary below).

Tour dates:

July
26 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre
27 - San Bernardino, CA - San Manuel Amphitheater
30 - Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheater

August
1 - Salt Lake City, UT - USANA Amphitheatre
3 - Albuquerque, NM - Isleta Amphitheater
4 - Phoenix, AZ - Ak-Chin Pavilion
6 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
8 - Lincoln, NE - Pinnacle Bank Arena
10 - Des Moines, IA - Iowa State Fairgrounds*
11 - Tinley Park, IL - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
12 - Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
14 - Virginia Beach, VA - Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
16 - Noblesville, IN - Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
17 - Bonner Springs, KS - Providence Medical Center Amphitheater
18 - Maryland Heights, MO - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
20 - Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage
21 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center
23 - Burgettstown, PA - KeyBank Pavilion
24 - Scranton, PA - The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
25 - Darien Center, NY - Darien Lake Amphitheater
27 - Mansfield, MA – The Xfinity Center
28 - Wantagh, NY - Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
30 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
31 - Camden, NJ - BB&T Pavilion

September
1 - Bristow, VA - Jiffy Lube Live
3 - Alpharetta, GA - Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
4 - Tampa, FL - MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre
6 - Austin, TX - Austin360 Amphitheater at Circuit of The Americas
7 - Dallas, TX - Dos Equis Pavilion
8 - The Woodlands, TX - The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman

October
24 - Melbourne, Australia - Marvel Stadium (with Metallica)

November
2 - Auckland, New Zealand - Mt. Smart Stadium (with Metallica)

* Iowa State Fair - Slipknot & Gojira only




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Monster Voodoo Machine frontman has posted the following message for old time's sake:

"There were moments playing with M.V.M. when I felt like we could destroy anyone. Any band. Any big time rock stars. And there were times when we actually did. The chemistry we had playing with each other was 100%. Stupid band name. Incredible band. This is one of those performances caught on tape. Two-and-a-half minutes of fire. I'd put this up against any band. Any time."

Monster Voodoo Machine, the heavy, genre defying experimental band formed in 1991 released several EPs: Burn (Epidemic Records, 1992), State Voodoo / State Control (RCA Records, 1994), Pirate Satellite (45 Revolutions Records, 1995), and two full-length albums Suffersystem (RCA Records, 1994), and Direct Reaction Now! (Mercury / Dr. Dream Records,1998).

The band's Suffersystem album won the 1995 Canadian Juno Award for "Hard Rock Album Of The Year" and they would become the first Canadian band invited on to the massive hard rock touring juggernaut Ozzfest (1998).  

After splitting in late 1998, the band reformed for a potential new album in 2007. However, a third album was never recorded, and they have since performed only a handful of times, mostly for charity, benefit, and memorial concerts.      

Monster Voodoo Machine finally saw Suffersystem re-released on June 30th, 2017 via RCA. The album, which highlighted the band's signature blend of heavy Black Sabbath-inspired guitar riffs, hardcore vocal intensity, and electronic sampling flourishes has been unavailable commercially for over 20 years.

Recorded in early 1994 at the legendary Chicago Trax Studios with producers Critter (Ministry, Guns N Roses, A Perfect Circle, Blink 182) and Howie Beno (Ministry, Depeche Mode, Tom Jones), Suffersystem features guest appearances from Faith No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum ("Fetal Position"), the late Wesley Willis ("Defense Mechanism"), Ruby's Leslie Rankine ("Fetal Position"), and cover artwork by legendary illustrator Pushead.

The album would go on to win the Canadian 1995 Juno Award for "Hard Rock Album Of The Year".

"History was, ummm... not particularly kind to that band," says Sewell, laughing. "We worked very hard, and accomplished a lot musically with that record. And then... it just disappeared, as though it never existed. It was like having an important part of your young life erased. I want to thank everyone at RCA, and Sony Music Canada who have helped to have the album re-released. It really means a lot to us. And we're very happy to finally have it made available world wide for the first time."      

Between 1994, and 1995 the band spent close to 18 months on the road in North America touring in support of the Suffersystem album, including tours with Marilyn Manson, Carcass, Life Of Agony, Fear Factory, SNFU, Pigface, Fight, Skrew, and Soulstorm.

"We spent a lot of years on the road promoting our releases," adds guitarist Darren Quinn. "Everything was word of mouth, pre-Facebook, MySpace and all of the media services... so this is very exciting for us!"

Suffersystem tracklisting:

“Threat By Example”
“Copper Theft”
“Bastard Is As Bastard Does”
“Motionless”
“Inside These Walls (Salvaged & Recycled)”
“Fetal Position”
“Adding Insult To Injury”
“Slowburn”
“Removal”
“Temple”
“Defense Mechanism”
“Sunspots”

Monster Voodoo Machine (Suffersystem lineup):

Adam Sewell - vocals / keyboards
Jason Cuddy - guitar
Terry Landry - bass
Darren Quinn - guitar
Dean Dallas Bentley - drums
Stacey Hoskin - keyboards




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PureGrainAudio recently conducted an interview with guitarist John Petrucci of progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER. You can listen to the entire chat via the SoundCloud widget below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the members of DREAM THEATER leaving their families and home lives to record their latest album, "Distance Over Time" in an upstate New York studio:

John: "It's been like that for a long time. We all started families pretty early, so trying to balance between what we do professionally and all the time that we are away and raising our families and stuff, it's always been something we've faced. I think actually as you get older and the kids are adults, it actually becomes a bit easier. You hear that all the time with people whether they're in the music profession or not, they're kind of able to have more of that time. Taking a trip like that as guys, the timing was really perfect."

On whether DREAM THEATER should be known as a "concept album" band:

John: "No. We do have two concept albums, but that's two out of 14. The one we're doing now, 'Scenes' [1999's 'Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory'], it came out 20 years ago, almost 20 years later when we did 'The Astonishing', our second one. It's a part of what we do. But, obviously, the more sort of standard albums is more normal for us. When I was younger, I was influenced by IRON MAIDEN, they always had those long, story-driven songs like 'Hallowed Be Thy Name' and 'The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner', stuff like that. I think that's probably where that comes from. You can hear that on our very first album ['When Day And Dream Unite'] which came out in 1989 and the song 'The Killing Hand'. Prog music is the perfect setting to do story-driven music. It's dramatic and cinematic. It's a lot of fun."

On performing "Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory" live in full:

John: "We put a lot of work as we always do into the production side so that the show becomes more than just about the songs, but about the experience. We want people to have a very stimulating visual experience. We try to do something new. This 'Scenes' show we're doing is nothing like the original tour we did 20 years ago. This has all new animated content, really depicting the story. That's what we try to do. Every time we go out, we try to do something fresh and unique, especially for people who have seen the band multiple times."

On whether DREAM THEATER will record a show from their current "Scenes" tour for future release:

John: "Yeah. We will eventually and we're talking about where to do that. We have a long world tour ahead of us. There's going to be a lot of locations. Toronto would have been really cool, but we'll [decide] that later in the tour for sure."

On whether he's always recording his riffs and how large of a back catalog of ideas he has stored on his hard drive:

John: "If I come across like a cool riff, melody or idea, I always record it right away. But I just do it very simply on my iPhone in the voice memos and I label it. It's very easy to get back to and access anywhere. When we went in to do 'Distance Over Time', I had a huge collection. Sometimes they're only 30-second little bits or riffs or ideas, sometimes they're a little longer, but for example, 'Fall Into The Light', is largely based on riffs I collected and ideas, again, while I'm playing my guitar and something hits me: 'Hey, that's really cool. I should record that.' I don't step into a studio. I basically record it on my iPhone and it's an easy way to capture that and it works out great."

"Distance Over Time" was released on February 22. The artwork was created by longtime cover collaborator Hugh Syme (RUSH, IRON MAIDEN, STONE SOUR). The disc was produced by Petrucci, mixed by Ben Grosse and mastered by Tom Baker.

EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt says that he has "a massive stockpile of stuff" written for the band's next album.

The San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal legends haven't released a full-length LP since 2014's "Blood In Blood Out". That effort marked EXODUS's first album since the departure of the group's lead singer of nine years, Rob Dukes, and the return of Steve "Zetro" Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

Asked in a brand new interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station if EXODUS is working on a new studio disc, Gary said (hear audio below): "I've been writing [for] it for a long time now — [drummer] Tom [Hunting] and I — and I've got a massive stockpile of stuff ready to go. It's crushing — just savage."

Holt went on to say that EXODUS has yet to enter the studio to record the new album. "[We're just] writing songs right now — [making] home demos and stuff like that."

Last December, Hunting said that he and Holt had "the makings of four great songs" for EXODUS's next LP.

"I think [Gary is] itching to get back into the creative process, because SLAYER doesn't use him to write riffs; they just kind of use him to shred live and play that stuff," Tom said.

Holt began filling in for SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman at live shows in 2011, and became the band's full-time co-guitarist as of 2013, while remaining a member of EXODUS.

Holt spoke in a 2017 interview about the musical direction of EXODUS's next disc. He said: "Of the stuff I've written so far, I think the songs are shorter, but I think they're also at the same time more progressive than the last album. It's a little outside the box. It's really super crushing, but I think people will be surprised."

He added: "It's an EXODUS album, but as of now, the stuff Tom and I have been putting together is a bit different. It's got those subtle changes that make for a departure, but it will still stay true to the core of the band's sound."

According to Billboard, the first North American leg of KISS's "End Of The Road" tour grossed $58.7 million and sold 518,395 tickets.

The trek kicked off on January 31 in Vancouver and played an additional 42 shows throughout the U.S. and Canada before wrapping up on April 13 in Birmingham, Alabama

All but five dates have grossed at least $1 million and all but seven sold at least 10,000 tickets. The tour's biggest showing was at New York's Madison Square Garden on March 27, where KISS grossed $1.947 million and sold 13,359 tickets.

The rest of 2019 will see KISS playing 26 dates in Europe, an additional 26 in North America, and eight final shows in Australia and New Zealand.

The "End Of The Road" tour — the initial European leg of which begins in Leipzig, Germany on May 27 — is expected to continue throughout 2020.

KISS frontman Paul Stanley recently said about the "End Of The Road" tour and stage production: "People say is this bittersweet? No. If the tour is anything like this stage, it's totally sweet. We always try to raise the bar — that's just for us — but when other bands would see us, they would feel they had to up their game. Let me tell you something: everybody better start working out, because we're upping the game that much more. This is absolutely mind-bogglingly good. It's totally KISS. And I'll be looking for you on the 'End Of The Road' tour."

KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer told Australia's Hysteria Magazine that the group's farewell tour would be "the biggest" one the band has ever done "in terms of production." It will be "a whole new thing for KISS," the guitarist said. "It's just gonna be the bombastic show KISS has always been famed for."

In September, KISS announced its "End Of The Road" farewell tour on NBC's "America's Got Talent", and a month later, the band revealed the first set of dates and cities in North America, produced by Live Nation. International markets were announced simultaneously.

"One thing for sure is that this is the last tour," Stanley told Billboard. "What goes beyond that is really hard to say. The tour may go three years, but once we play your city, it is done. That is our big thank you."

The lineup features the current version of the band — Stanley, Thayer, bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons and drummer Eric Singer.

James Kottak says that fans will have to wait at least another year for new music from KINGDOM COME.

Singer Lenny Wolf is not involved with KINGDOM COME's current reunion tour, which is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of the band's self-titled debut album.

The trek, which kicked off last September, features Kottak alongside guitarists Danny Stag and Rick Steier, bassist Johnny B. Frank and vocalist Keith St. John (formerly of MONTROSE and LYNCH MOB).

During an interview with "Talking Metal" at this month's M3 Rock Festival, the drummer was asked about KINGDOM COME's future plans as it relates to touring and recording. He responded (see video below): "2020 is shaping up to be a really busy year for us. We're gonna play, basically, every weekend. And of course, we wanna do new music. Contractually, we have to wait two years. And it's the nature of the beast and the way it is. But, again, we respect Lenny and what he's decided to do.

"Rick has enough music — I'm not kidding — riffs and stuff for, like, 10 albums; he's a songwriting machine," he continued. "And we're gonna see what happens. We're just taking it month to month, day by day — one day at a time."

During the same chat, Steier talked about KINGDOM COME's decision to play without Lenny, saying: "Lenny retired. It's something that he wanted to do. He wasn't into going and performing anymore. So God bless him, and we wish him all the best. But we still have some rocking blood in us. So we wanna get out there.

"We did a couple of months run [last fall], and then [now] we're doing weekend warrior stuff, getting the name back out, making sure people remember us playing and showing people we still can play," he said. "'Cause a lot of bands get worse as they get older."

Last fall, Kottak admitted that he and his bandmates were initially concerned about whether people would accept KINGDOM COME without Wolf.

"When we first put the word out to promoters and buyers, at first they were going, 'Oh yeah! KINGDOM COME!'" the drummer recalled to Eonmusic. "Then we had to go back a few weeks later and say, 'Sorry. Unfortunately, there will be no Lenny Wolf.' So, out of the 20 or so offers we had from different buyers, only three actually pulled out. I was surprised; I thought we'd get a little more backlash. But so many bands, especially bands with longevity, they change members; look at THIN LIZZY, how they changed, or name any band that's been around for 25, 30years, and there's very few that have all the original members."

After its early run of success in the '80s, KINGDOM COME released several albums, with Wolf remaining the only constant member of the band. The group's most recent effort was 2013's "Outlier".

EVANESCENCE has around two dozen live appearances scheduled this spring and summer, with plans to spend the rest of the time writing material for its long-awaited follow-up to 2011's self-titled effort.

"I just wanted to do some shows to get us back together, back rocking again, get our vibe on, back to our roots, so that we can really focus on spending time together in creation mode this year," singer Amy Lee told DC 101 in a new interview (hear audio below). "So, [we're] not doing too many shows in there. I don't want it to be a major distraction. I want it to be a good fuel to push us into album writing. And we're gonna have a little session right after this tour, and we'll have more throughout the year. So I'm excited."

She continued: "This tour is too short, like I said, but it's perfect, because it just makes us hungry to go do more. And even just being out here playing our show, but also doing some of these festivals and watching bands that we love and admire, like ROB ZOMBIE and KORN, it just puts us in the mood and it makes us feel inspired. It just makes us wanna go in there and create. So it's perfect. I'm very excited to work on the next thing."

Asked when fans can expect to see the next EVANESCENCE LP, Amy said: "I can't put a time frame on it, but we're working this year, with the goal of next year."

EVANESCENCE spent much of the last two years recording and touring in support of 2017's "Synthesis", which contained some of the band's best-loved songs — as well as a couple of new ones — reinvented with full orchestra over a deep electronic landscape.

"Synthesis" sold 34,000 equivalent album units in its first week of release to land at position No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart. Of that sum, 30,000 were in traditional album sales. EVANESCENCE's 2011 self-titled release debuted at No. 1. "Synthesis" was the group's fourth top 10 effort, following "Evanescence", "The Open Door" (No. 1 in 2006) and "Fallen" (No. 3, 2003).

Last year, Lee told the 93.3 WMMR Rocks! radio station that she wasn't opposed to the idea of releasing singles and EPs instead of full-length albums, especially as streaming services like Spotify continue to alter the way people consume music.

"I just think it's cool to be able to have this freedom to commit to less and do more," she said. "I'm totally open to doing a few songs instead of an album here and there, and see what happens."

Photo credit: Paul Brown

Listen to "It's Mike Jones: Amy Lee of Evanescence" on Spreaker.

IN THIS MOMENT has set "Mother" as the title of its new album, tentatively due in August. The disc was once again recorded at The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada with producer Kevin Churko.

Speaking to Cutter of Green Bay, Wisconsin radio station Razor 94.7/104.7, IN THIS MOMENT guitarist Chris Howorth stated about the musical direction of the follow-up to 2017's "Ritual" (hear audio below): "This is our heaviest record since [2012's] 'Blood'… ['Ritual'] was getting heavier than [2014's] 'Black Widow'. 'Black Widow' was heavy in its own way, but this one's just… Now that it's all done and I'm hearing it as one thing, I'm, like, 'Damn! This is really heavy.' So I think a lot of our fans are gonna really like that about it."

Regarding the inspiration for the new IN THIS MOMENT album title, Howorth said: "It's 'Mother' in the sense of Maria's [Brink, IN THIS MOMENT singer] a mother, mother Maria, but also Mother Earth. Mother is the key to life."

While IN THIS MOMENT is "still working on the artwork" for "Mother", Chris said that it "will reflect the songs and the stage, and everything will all fit together in a nice little package."

Howorth also talked about IN THIS MOMENT's new stage show, which the band premiered earlier this month at the Welcome To Rockville festival in Jacksonville, Florida.

"It's like a village or something come to life," he said. "We kind of wanted to make it very theatrical. We've always been theatrical; we wanted to take it up a notch. And it's almost like a little Salem village come to life on stage. We have another dancer with us now. There's three girls in addition to Maria, so there's four of them up there now, which is really cool — it adds a whole another dimension to the show. The lighting is really, really cool. The little village lights up and does cool stuff.

"We're still working on it," he continued. "We just started this. We had all these ideas while we were working on the record, and we kind of started sketching it out. And everything was just 'rush, rush, rush' to get it done, 'cause we literally finished the record and we had two weeks at home before we went to Nashville to start building this production. And we were literally there for two and a half weeks working on the lights, making sure the staging… sending it back to get worked on again. And then the first two shows being festivals, you can't really do your whole thing, so we're having to figure out how we're gonna this work there and then do it at the headlining show. But, thankfully, it's kind of locked in a little groove. It is a whole new thing. It's kind of exciting, too, for us to be playing for all of our fans that have seen us so many times and supported us with a brand new thing."

"Ritual" included an eerie cover of Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight", and Brink previously told KLAQ's Lisa Sanchez that there was a good chance the follow-up effort would see IN THIS MOMENT tackling yet another classic song.

IN THIS MOMENT has a number of shows scheduled through the rest of the year, including summer festival appearances in the U.S., dates with DISTURBED in September/October and a European tour in November.

Listen to "Rockcast 128 - Backstage with Chris Howorth of In This Moment" on Spreaker.

Italian heavy rockers LACUNA COIL have entered the studio to begin recording their new album. The follow-up to 2016's "Delirium" is tentatively due before the end of the year via Century Media.

Singer Cristina Scabbia took to Instagram earlier today to express her satisfaction with the band's new music, saying: " I feel so very happy and on fire (and so are the boys!). I am in LOVE with new stuff."

This past March, Scabbia said that LACUNA COIL's next album would be "heavy and dark." Her comments echoed those she made two years earlier when she said that LACUNA COIL's next disc could see the band pursuing a more aggressive musical direction, just as was the case with "Delirium". "I believe that it could definitely be even way heavier, because that's what we like to perform on stage," she told Metal Wani. "Of course, we like the ballads and the mellow songs, but we like better to perform songs that are heavier. And we love that music."

2018 marked the 20th anniversary of LACUNA COIL's debut. To celebrate the occasion, they played an exceptional show in January 2018 in London at the O2 Forum Kentish Town. The unique, one-time event was filmed and recorded for "The 119 Show - Live In London", which was released last November.

Nita Strauss, the Los Angeles-based guitar shredder for the ALICE COOPER band, has released a music video for her single "Mariana Trench", featuring footage from her recent headline tour, including her packed hometown show at the legendary Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, Calfornia. Check it out below.

As well as wowing fans all over the world as Cooper's touring guitarist, gracing the covers of Guitar World and Guitar Player, performing for millions upon millions of WWE fans worldwide at "Wrestlemania" and "Evolution", becoming the first female to have a signature Ibanez guitar (which now hangs in the entrance to the legendary Guitar Center on Sunset Blvd ), breaking attendance records at guitar clinics across the country, playing "America The Beautiful" at the the Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Rams NFL game last year and being interviewed about her strict fitness regime in the likes of Muscle & Fitness Hers, Nita also found time to write, produce, engineer and record all guitar and bass parts on her debut solo album, "Controlled Chaos".

Having launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the recording of the record, which reached its goal in two hours and ended up being over 800% funded , Nita signed a deal with world renowned independent record label, Sumerian Records, which released the album worldwide in November. "Controlled Chaos" is a complete expression of who Nita is as an artist and yet another example of the truly unstoppable force she is.

Speaking about her solo debut, Nita says: "From bright and fun to aggressive and dark, from peaceful to chaotic, this album is a way for me to give the listener a glimpse into my personality and what goes on inside my mind."

Through obsession, dedication and sheer hard work, Nita has not only been firmly established as one of the best guitarists in the world, she is also a role model, a trail blazer, a fitness fanatic, a phenomenal performer and a total badass. She was honored at this year's She Rocks Awards as the recipient of the "Inspire" award that was presented to her by her lifelong hero Steve Vai.

As well as performing with Cooper, she has also played with R&B star Jermaine Jackson, early MTV darlings FEMME FATALE, video game supergroup CRITICAL HIT and popular tribute band THE IRON MAIDENS. Her skill, exuberant stage presence and love for all things guitar have seen Nita become a truly unstoppable, limitless force, blazing a previously untrodden trail.

MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil performed with his solo band on May 11 in Ridgefield, Washington. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below (courtesy of YouTube user S Backroader21).

Neil is continuing to tour the world with his backing group, which includes Dana Strum and Jeff Blando from SLAUGHTER, along with drummer Zoltan Chaney.

Speaking to "Trunk Nation", Vince acknowledged that he is currently the only member of MÖTLEY CRÜE who is waving the flag for the band's music by performing CRÜE songs as a solo artist.

"It's a cool thing, because I love MÖTLEY CRÜE, I love MÖTLEY CRÜE's music, and I love singing, and I love the fans' reactions when they hear the songs," he said. "Whether we're playing in front of a thousand people or twenty thousand people, I can only see the front row anyway. So I'm happy for me and for the fans to be able to still hear that music after MÖTLEY CRÜE is finished."

The film adaptation of MÖTLEY CRÜE's biography, "The Dirt", was released on March 22. The movie, which was helmed by "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa" director Jeff Tremaine, was picked up by Netflix after being previously developed at Focus Features and before that at Paramount.

Last year, MÖTLEY CRÜE recorded four new songs for "The Dirt" movie, including the single "The Dirt (Est. 1981) (Feat. Machine Gun Kelly)", "Ride With The Devil", "Crash And Burn" and the band's own spin on Madonna's "Like A Virgin".

MÖTLEY CRÜE's last studio album was 2008's "Saints Of Los Angeles", which was followed by a 2009 "Greatest Hits" compilation.

In 2015, MÖTLEY CRÜE completed "The Final Tour", closing the book on the band's iconic career after performing a total of 164 shows in 72 markets, grossing over $100 million.

To cement the sense of finality, the four members of MÖTLEY CRÜE in 2014 publicly signed a "cessation of touring" contract that prevents any of them from performing under the CRÜE name in the future.

A tour film about MÖTLEY CRÜE's final shows, "The End", came out in 2016.