The official music video for "Evermore", a brand new song from the Canadian heavy music artist Devin Townsend, can be seen below. The track is taken from his upcoming album, "Empath", which will be released on March 29 via InsideOut Music.

Devin explains in a letter direct to his fans: "So with the release of 'Empath' fast approaching and people having had various chances to hear the album, the reactions are pretty much what I expected: those interested in the more artistic and free form side of what I do really seem to like and understand it, and those looking for the more commercial or rocking side of what I do are maybe not so convinced :)

"The initial plan was to release a more commercial song next (the sole one on the album, 'Spirits Will Collide') but the video we've been working on for that is hilariously ambitious and we needed a bit more time. Therefore, we opted to release this song, 'Evermore', as a way to bridge that gap. It's slightly in the same vein as 'Genesis' on some level, I suppose, but a little more groovy and a bit less fractured in terms of structure.

"The lyrics are not as much about a bored space cat crash landing on 'planet fear' in a literal sense, but I guess that's easier to articulate with visuals at this stage than 'yet another song about trying to work through one's own midlife bullshit to find some sense of self-actualization,' though perhaps with more time, it will resonate further with that. Thanks to Wayne, Josh and Miles for the tag team animations.

"The drums on this particular track are all Anup Sastry (who is a great guy who loves his dog) and the Elektra choir helps out a lot again. I've got a strange relationship with singing at this stage of my career so I really appreciated the support.

"I encourage you (if you like this sort of stuff, that is) to check it out in headphones. There's a fair amount of candy in this song I spent a long time on. I think it's streaming now too...

"Thank you sincerely. The album is meant to be of some help in a weird way."

Over the past few years, the success that Devin has slowly worked for has fortunately come with the power to control his own creative destiny. The recent successes with the DVD from a sold-out Royal Albert hall, or his 2012 "Retinal Circus", or last year's "Ocean Machine" live DVD with the Orchestra And Choir Of State Opera Plovdiv has put him in a position where with the new album "Empath", he will once and for all define himself as a musical force outside of any particular genre classification.


On this album, Devin has decided to see what would happen if all the styles that make up his current interests were finally represented in one place. To finally shake the fear of expectation, and just do what it is he was meant to do creatively, "Empath", true to the name, is about allowing the audience a feeling for a variety of musical emotions. The musical dynamics represented on this single album are broad, challenging, and immense. To approach this sort of work with a long history of what makes heavy music "heavy," allows this to be done with a type of power rarely heard.


Joining Devin on this album is Frank Zappa alumni Mike Keneally as music director, as well as Morgan Ågren (MATS AND MORGAN, FRANK ZAPPA, FREDRIK THORDENDAL), Anup Sastry (MONUMENTS, PERIPHERY), Samus Paulicelli (DECREPIT BIRTH, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS), Nathan Navarro, Elliot Desagnes, Steve Vai, Chad Kroeger, Anneke Van Giersbergen, Ché Aimee Dorval, Ryan Dhale and the Elektra Women's Choir.


A bold statement with massive production values and dynamic, uncompromised musicality. This is a statement about not only pursuing creative freedom in a conservative scene, but also trying to show that heavy music is truly a valid musical tool.

"Empath" will be released on limited 2 CD digipak (including an entire disc of bonus material), standard CD jewelcase, gatefold 180-gram 2LP vinyl + CD + LP-booklet and as digital album.

The full track listing is as follows:


01. Castaway

02. Genesis

03. Spirits Will Collide

04. Evermore

05. Sprite

06. Hear Me

07. Why

08. Borderlands

09. Requiem

10. Singularity Part 1 - Adrift

11. Singularity Part 2 - I Am I

12. Singularity Part 3 - There Be Monsters

13. Singularity Part 4 - Curious Gods

14. Singularity Part 5 - Silicon Scientists

15. Singularity Part 6 - Here Comes The Sun

Upon its release last fall, Steve Perry's "Traces", his first new album in nearly 25 years, was met with wide acclaim and tremendous excitement from fans and critics all over the world. The album entered the Billboard 200 Albums chart at No. 6, Perry's highest debut as a solo artist and earned the Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer his best-ever chart entries in the U.K., Germany, Canada and Japan.

Now "Traces" is getting the deluxe treatment. Today, the album's full, expanded track listing of 15 songs (the standard album plus five bonus tracks from the "Traces" sessions) becomes widely available for the first time in a variety of formats. Fans can purchase the album digitally, on CD and in two 180-gram 2LP vinyl versions, one that features a collectible, limited-edition 3D lenticular cover. (The full track listings are below.) In addition, brand-new, special edition merchandise is now available exclusively on Steve's online store.

"These bonus tracks — 'October In New York', 'Angel Eyes', 'Call On Me', 'Could We Be Somethin' Again' and 'Blue Jays Fly' — are some of my most favorite songs in this 15-song collection," stated Perry. "I'm so glad they will now be available everywhere."

The album's third single, the affecting "We're Still Here" has just been released to radio. A new video to accompany the track — Steve's first official music video as a solo artist since "Missing You" in August of '94, and JOURNEY's clip for "When You Love A Women" in '96 — will be released very soon.


"Traces" deluxe CD track listing:

01. No Erasin'

02. We're Still Here

03. Most Of All

04. No More Cryin'

05. In The Rain

06. Sun Shines Gray

07. You Belong To Me

08. Easy To Love

09. I Need You

10. We Fly


Bonus Tracks

11. October In New York

12. Angel Eyes

13. Call On Me

14. Could We Be Somethin' Again

15. Blue Jays Fly

Perry reunited with JOURNEY for the first time in years as they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April 2017. The iconic singer appeared onstage with his former bandmates as they each gave speeches, but did not perform with the group later in the event.

During his speech, Perry praised each of JOURNEY musicians as well as the band's current singer, Arnel Pineda, who was not being inducted into the Rock Hall.

Perry's final full concert with JOURNEY took place in early 1987. He later rejoined his bandmates for a brief performance in 1991 to honor late concert promoter Bill Graham. He also appeared with JOURNEY when they received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in 2005.

POISON singer Bret Michaels has released the official music video for his new song "Unbroken". The track was co-written by his 13-year-old daughter, Jorja Bleu, who did an "amazing job," he told Digital Journal. "She played piano on it and she sang the harmonies with me. It was a great bonding experience. The song is about overcoming adversity."

Jorja and Bret's eldest daughter, 18-year-old Raine Michaels, along with their mom and Michaels's on-off love Kristi Gibson, appeared in the short-lived 2010 reality show "Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It".

In 2017 and 2018, POISON toured for the first time since 2012, a hiatus largely due to Michaels's frequent tours as a solo artist, during which he typically performs a setlist that differs little from what POISON plays.

Michaels said during POISON's "Nothin' But A Good Time" tour that while the band will take the year off in 2019, he'd like POISON to tour again and release something new in 2020. "I think one or two songs, singles route, 100,000 percent," he told Loudwire. "We've already written one song on the road that we've been jamming at soundcheck. It really sounds good — it's a very modern song with a great feel and great hook."

Michaels's songs have sold more than 50 million albums worldwide since he first rose to fame with POISON. Bret's Life Rocks Foundation donates to charitable causes and sends children with Type 1 diabetes to camp each summer.

Photo credit: Mark Mazzanti

GUNS N' ROSES' "Not In This Lifetime" is among 17 concert tours that ended in 2018 that have been recognized with Ticketmaster's inaugural Touring Milestone Award. The award was developed to recognize the amazing artists behind the top global tours as measured by the total number of tickets sold and fans reached. To qualify, a tour must have wrapped during the year with total global sales in excess 500,000 tickets.

Last year, Ticketmaster Music — the company's artist services division — supported more than 700 tours and Ticketmaster sold almost 500 million tickets globally.

Ticketmaster said in a statement: "When you look at the tours that wrapped this past year, it's incredible to see the caliber of artists that were on the road. These artists are unmatched in their ability to transport an audience to another place through their music, performance and production. This Touring Milestone Award is intended to recognize their commitment to their fans, to their art, and to the live experience."

"Not In This Lifetime" began in April 2016, and after 159 shows in 41 countries, it played its last date at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 8, 2018.

"Not In This Lifetime" is now believed to be the second-highest-grossing tour of all time, having generated more than $500 million since it began three years ago.

According to Pollstar, "Not In This Lifetime" topped $82 million in sales during 2018 alone, having grossed an average of $3.7 million per show over the course of the 24-date run.

GUNS kicked off its long-rumored and long-awaited reunion tour in April 2016 with a club show in Hollywood and appearances in Las Vegas and at California's Coachella festival.

The "Not In This Lifetime" tour features classic-lineup members Slash (guitar), Duff McKagan (bass) and Axl Rose (vocals) backed by guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer, keyboardist Dizzy Reed and second keyboardist Melissa Reese.

Photo credit: Katarina Benzova

Geddy Lee has told Premier Guitar in a new interview that he doesn't know what his next musical project is going to be. The RUSH bassist/vocalist, who recently released a book called "Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book Of Bass", explained: "I'm afraid I don't really have a plan at this stage. I don't know where I'm headed musically. My attitude is that I've been part of an amazing collaboration with two guys that I have so much respect for and for so many years, and we were very purposeful in our time together. The book has been a very cool way for me to transition out of that scenario, and now I feel like I'm in a position to truly clear the deck and hit the reset button, and see what I have to say musically. I need to give myself time to experiment with that and see what comes out that I feel strong enough to be a worthy thing to do next. I have no idea where that's going to take me.

"When I mess around at home, I'm sort of all over the map," he continued. "But that's also usually how a RUSH album starts. I don't imagine that whatever I do next will be drastically different, but because I have more guitars now, I'm playing more guitar in the studio and getting ideas that way. Stylistically speaking, I never felt like I was missing anything in the context of RUSH, because anything goes in that group. When I jam, I jam all over the place, but whether or not I'm going to follow it any one specific direction in the future, I have no idea. I never had any musical frustrations in RUSH. It was a totally fulfilling experience for me."

To date, Lee has only released one solo album, 2000's "My Favourite Headache". The disc was recorded during a time when RUSH's future was uncertain. The band was in the midst of what would be a five-year break from the road following the tragic deaths of drummer Neil Peart's daughter and wife in 1997 and 1998, respectively.

"Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass" documents the evolution of the bass guitar since the 1950s and shows how those evolutions changed the sound of popular music as we know it. The book includes photos of Lee's massive bass collection, as well as interviews with fellow bass players like John Paul Jones of LED ZEPPELIN, Bill Wyman of THE ROLLING STONES and U2's Adam Clayton.

RUSH has been completely inactive since completing its "R40 Live" tour four years ago.

QUIET RIOT drummer Frankie Banali has confirmed to Canada's The Metal Voice that the band is working on the follow-up to 2017's "Road Rage" album for a tentative late 2019 or early 2020 release.

"At this point, all the drums, bass and guitar tracks are done," he said (hear audio below). "About half of the vocals are done, so it's a matter of finishing the other half of the lead and background vocals. And then the mixing process will start."

Asked about the musical direction of the new QUIET RIOT material, Frankie said: "From my perspective, it is the most varied QUIET RIOT record that I have ever worked on. So I think it's gonna cover a lot of bases, I think it's going to surprise a lot of people, and I hope it'll be a pleasant surprise. But, again, it's the most varied record that I think QUIET RIOT has ever done.

"My consideration always is — not because I have to, but because of the way I am — my first consideration when I'm writing something, and when I write together with my writing partner Neil Citron, is, 'Would [late QUIET RIOT singer] Kevin DuBrow like this?'" he continued. "And the greatest thing about Kevin is he was so open-minded and he had such a broad taste in music that there were very few things that he didn't like. For instance, on the [2006] 'Rehab' record, some of the things that Neil and I wrote Kevin really liked but it was not in his comfort zone, which is why we went out and had some of the lyrics co-written by Glenn Hughes. But, again, a lot of credit goes to Kevin, whereas I could play him a song and he would love it, and he would say, 'I don't know what to do with this.' But that did not make it impossible for it to be on the record. So that continues with the future QUIET RIOT studio release."

As for a possible release date for the new disc, Banali said: "We're still working on the art and on all of those components, so I think best-case scenario [this] fall, worst-case scenario early next year."

DuBrow died in November 2007 of an accidental cocaine overdose. He was 52 years old.

QUIET RIOT's performance at last year's Frontiers Rock Festival was released in January on CD/DVD and Blu-ray under the title "One Night In Milan".

Banali recently said that James Durbin "has proved to be the best singer" QUIET RIOT has had since it was resurrected nine years ago.

Durbin, who became known as the "metal guy" on 2011's season of "American Idol" after performing "Living After Midnight" and "Breaking The Law" with JUDAS PRIEST, hooked up with QUIET RIOT after the dismissal of Seann Nicols (a.k.a. Sheldon Tarsha; formerly of ADLER'S APPETITE). Nicols was with QUIET RIOT for just a few months, but long enough to record the vocals for an early version of "Road Rage".

HELLYEAH has digitally released "333", the first song from the band's eagerly anticipated new album featuring the late Vinnie Paul Abbott's final recordings. The disc will be released this summer via Eleven Seven Music Group.

"Vinnie originally came up with the idea for '333'," said singer Chad Gray. "A lot of people may think Vinnie was just a drummer, but he was much more than just a badass, slamming, smashing drummer. He understood production and composition and he was very much a contributor to the writing process. This song was his baby; it belonged to and came from him. Unfortunately, by the time I was ready to actually write the lyrics, it was after Vinnie had passed. The lyrics embrace and recognize the feelings that most metal fans have. Being treated like outcasts and being judged for the way we look or dress. It's a reminder to all the metal fans that no matter what, you will always have a place in our worldwide metal community. With that said... Welcome to the family! We're all the root of half-evil-reppin' 333!"

Gray continued: "I love '333' and what it represents — being half evil. It was a part of Dime [Darrell Abbott] and Vinnie before HELLYEAH was formed and very much became a part of HELLYEAH as we carried the torch for Dimebag. They were both so accepting of me and many others, and they taught us to treat people with respect, dignity and humility."

The official music video for "333" was filmed in part on March 1 at Duff's Brooklyn in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York and can be seen below.

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

HELLYEAH will perform a one-night-only special concert, "Celebrating The Life And Legacy Of Vinnie Paul", on Saturday, May 11 at the House of Blues in Las Vegas, Nevada. The band and Live Nation will donate a portion of each ticket to the American Heart Association, in honor of Vinnie Paul.

Dimebag was shot to death in December 2004 while performing onstage. The Abbotts founded the bands PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN together. After Dimebag's death, Vinnie joined Gray and other members of MUDVAYNE and NOTHINGFACE in HELLYEAH, which has released five albums.

ABBATH, the solo project of former IMMORTAL frontman Abbath (real name Olve Eikemo), will release its second album, "Outstrider", on July 5 via Season Of Mist. The disc was recorded at Dub Studios in Kristiansand, Norway with producer Endre Kirkesola, who has previously worked with BLOOD RED THRONE, GREEN CARNATION, SIRENIA and IN VAIN, among others.

"Outstrider" consists of eight original songs and a cover version of the BATHORY classic "Pace Till Death".

Track listing:

01. Calm In Ire (Of Hurricane)

02. Bridge Of Spasms

03. The Artifex

04. Harvest Pyre

05. Land Of Khem

06. Outstrider

07. Scythewinder

08. Hecate

09. Pace Till Death (BATHORY cover)

ABBATH's sophomore album does not feature the contributions of bassist King Ov Hell, who left the Norwegian black metal band in June 2018. The musician, whose real name is Tom Cato Visnes, announced at the time that he was exiting the group "due to conflicting views on lyrical concepts of the upcoming disc." Claiming that the lyrics to ABBATH's new LP were inspired by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, King said that he found "Jung's connection to Christian mysticism… incompatible with the image of the band."

King said in the statement: "I wish members of the actual band, label, and crew all the best for the upcoming shows and album. The music itself is nothing short of brilliant. However, I must maintain artistic integrity and respectfully step aside."

King Ov Hell appeared on ABBATH's self-titled debut, which came out in 2016. He has also played with GORGOROTH, GOD SEED and AUDREY HORNE.

ABBATH 2019 is:

Abbath - Vocals, Guitar

Ole Andre Farstad - Guitar

Ukri Suviletho - Drums

Mia Wallace - Bass

Listenable Records welcomes Dutch death metal pioneers, Thanatos, to their ranks.

Thanatos, Holland’s first ever death/thrash metal band, has become an illustrious name that has been haunting the underground metal scene for decades and is now celebrating their 35th anniversary in 2019.

The band has always maintained a consistent quality over their entire catalog with their authentic brand of unrelenting death thrash metal - staying true to their initial merciless madness, faithfully unleashing frenetic hooks, crushing straight forward dynamics and original visceral brutality wrapped up in a massive production as the main killing components.

Stephan Gebédi comments: "When Thanatos emerged in 1984, Metal was still raw and unpolished and there was a strong ‘us against the world’ feeling amongst both bands and fans. We were at war with the establishment, organized religion and mainstream music. The current metal scene has lost a lot of its rough edges.A lot of bands have adopted a polished, plastic sound and a somewhat pleasant, politically correct attitude.Thank god, or rather Satan, for bands that still choose to go against the grain, stir up some controversy and never let go of the original feeling."

Following their 2014 album, Global Purification, the band will never show mercy and are currently writing new material for a brand new full length album of another display of pure violent death thrash madness, to be released in early 2020.

Lineup:

Stephan Gebédi - Vocals / Guitar
Paul Baayens - Guitar
Marco de Bruin - Bass
Martin Ooms - Drums

(Photo - Peet van Wees)




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Savannah, Georgia metal band BARONESS will release its eagerly awaited new album, "Gold & Grey", on June 14 via Abraxan Hymns. The official music video for the disc's first single, "Borderlines", can be seen below.

"Our goal is, was, and will always be to write increasingly superior, more honest and compelling songs, and to develop a more unique and challenging sound," offered BARONESS founder, guitar player and vocalist John Baizley. "I'm sure we have just finished our best, most adventurous album to date. We dug incredibly deep, challenged ourselves and recorded a record I'm positive we could never again replicate.

"I consider myself incredibly fortunate to know Sebastian, Nick and Gina as both my bandmates and my friends. They have pushed me to become a better songwriter, musician and vocalist. We're all extremely excited for this release, which includes quite a few 'firsts' for the band, and we're thrilled to be back on tour to play these psychotic songs for our fans. Expect some surprises."

While "Gold & Grey" found the outfit once again working with "Purple" producer Dave Fridmann (THE FLAMING LIPS, MOGWAI), sequestering themselves at Fridmann's remote upstate New York Tarbox Road Studio, the 17-track album ushered in two significant changes: a decidedly different recording process and guitar player Gina Gleason's debut on a BARONESS recording. The band, who tracked portions of the vocals, guitars and overdubs in Baizley's home-basement studio, another first for the band, eschewed their normal routine of entering the studio with meticulously detailed plans and instead opted for a looser, more improvisational approach that resulted in the band's most collaborative and emotionally evocative release to date.

"On 'Gold & Grey', we have taken some unexpected paths on a labyrinthine sonic adventure. We accepted sounds and styles that have not appeared on previous BARONESS albums, and I'm excited to welcome our fans into our new lair," added drummer Sebastian Thomson.

"Having the chance to create music without any preconceived boundaries was both liberating and intimidating," explained guitar player Gina Gleason. "As we pushed past our fear and comfort zone, the four of us connected in a way that allowed us to create freely, uplift one another and build the unique sonic world that is 'Gold & Grey'.

"As a longtime BARONESS listener, it is exciting to have created something new while still maintaining a deep love and understanding of the band's roots. To say that the making of this record was quite a journey would be an understatement. We are beyond excited to share this experience and music with everyone."

"Gold & Grey" track listing:

01. Front Toward Enemy

02. I'm Already Gone

03. Seasons

04. Sevens

05. Tourniquet

06. Anchor's Lament

07. Throw Me An Anchor

08. I'd Do Anything

09. Blankets of Ash

10. Emmett-Radiating Light

11. Cold Blooded Angels

12. Crooked Mile

13. Broken Halo

14. Can Oscura

15. Borderlines

16. Assault on East Falls

17. Pale Sun

"This is a very sad day in the history of the band," writes Lordi in an official statement. "Our long term bandmember and close friend Ox has decided to leave the band after the summer festivals 2019. Ox, all the best for your future and thanks for the fantastic time we had all together."

Below are some personal words from Ox explaining the situation:

"It has come the day that I have to tell you that I will be leaving Lordi. There is no drama, no major issues or anything like that. I just feel very strong urge to do something else in music and to be available for other musical journeys, what ever those will be. I will do the summer festivals with Lordi and after that it's time for the new guy to take it from there. I wanna thank the band and especially the best fans on this planet, for these 13 years and the greatest ride of my life. I love you all from the pound of my heart and I hope to see you again somewhere sometime."

Catch Lordi live in concert at the following shows:

July
3 - Rockharz - Ballenstedt, Germany
5 - Pfeffelbach Open Air - Pfeffelbach, Germany
6 - Pekelný Ostrov - Holýšov, Czech Republic

August
23 - Reload Festival - Sulingen, Germany

October
11 - Principal Club Theater - Thessaloniki, Greece
12 - Fuzz Live Music Club - Tavros, Greece

"Your Tongue's Got The Cat" lyric video:




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Canadian rocker Lee Aaron performed at Germany's Wacken Open Air festival in summer 2018. Pro-shot video of her full set can now be seen below.

Setlist:

"Metal Queen"
"Some Girls Do"
"Sex With Love"
"Diamond Baby"
"Fire & Gasoline"
"Barely Holding' On"
"Hands On"
"American High"
"I'm A Woman"
"Whatcha Do To My Body"




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Dream Theater have uploaded a new official animation video for "Paralyzed", a track from their recently released 14th studio album, Distance Over Time (InsideOut Music). Watch below.

Distance Over Time showcases a newfound creativity for Dream Theater while maintaining the elements that have garnered them devoted fans around the globe. The album also marks the first for the band’s new label InsideOutMusic / Sony Music.

The artwork was created by long-time cover collaborator Hugh Syme (Rush, Iron Maiden, Stone Sour). Distance Over Time was produced by John Petrucci, mixed by Ben Grosse and mastered by Tom Baker.

Distance Over Time tracklisting:

"Untethered Angel"
"Paralyzed"
"Fall Into The Light"
"Barstool Warrior"
"Room 137"
"S2N"
"At Wit’s End"
"Out Of Reach"
"Pale Blue Dot"
"Viper King" (Bonus Track)

"Paralyzed" official animation video:

The Distance Over Time Tour of North America kicks off on March 20th in San Diego, CA. The tour will run for seven weeks before wrapping up in Mexico City on May 4th. Select European festival dates for the summer are already announced with more dates being added and announced in the near future. Information on tickets for all upcoming shows as well as VIP packages can be found here




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Croatian hard rockers, Animal Drive, are streaming their cover of Warrant's "Uncle Tom's Cabin", to be featured on the band's upcoming Back To The Roots EP, coming soon from Frontiers Music Srl. Listen below and order the single here.

Animal Drive are preparing to begin work in earnest on the follow-up album to their stunning debut, Bite!. To hold fans over while they wait for the band's new album, Animal Drive jumped in the studio to record a covers EP, Back To The Roots. The tracklisting includes a super-heavy rendition of Roxette’s “The Look” (featuring the guest vocals of Frontiers labelmate and fellow Trans-Siberian Orchestra artist Rosa Laricchiuta), a magnificent and epic version of Whitesnake’s “Judgement Day”, Skid Row’s “Monkey Business”, and Warrant’s evergreen classic “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” Animal Drive showcase how much musical prowess the band possesses by covering these three hard rock classics and a mainstream '90s hit and completely making them their own.

On why the band chose to cover Skid Row's "Monkey Business", Dino Jelusic says, “People used to, and still do sometimes, compare Animal Drive to Skid Row and their Slave To The Grind era. That song opens the Slave To The Grind album and it’s a monster jam, so it felt like a logical fit."

Of the other covers on Back To The Roots, Jelusic continues, "The other three songs are 'Uncle Tom’s Cabin' by Warrant, 'Judgement Day' by Whitesnake and 'The Look' by Roxette. I've always wanted to cover 'The Look' in a heavy way, so it was cool to finally do it. We are big Whitesnake fans and had to go for one of their more epic jams. The Warrant song is one of their absolute best and shows what a great songwriters Jani and the band are, plus it's a great fit for a heavy band to cover."

As for what can fans expect from the next Animal Drive album, Jelusic says, "I more or less have all the songs down. It will be epic, a lot more versatile than the first album, more pianos and orchestra, progressive, but still very heavy and melodic. Probably my finest lyrical and musical work to date."

Back To The Roots is a great chance to get accustomed with one of the hottest new Hard Rock bands around and if you are a serious fan, this time you can’t go wrong.

Tracklisting:

"The Look" (featuring Rosa Laricchiuta)
"Judgement Day"
"Monkey Business"
"Uncle Tom’s Cabin"

"Uncle Tom’s Cabin":

"Monkey Business":




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Texas horde, Imprecation, will once again lay waste to false metal with eight new tracks of blasphemous black/death metal. The band’s forthcoming full-length, Damnatio Ad Bestias, will be out March 22nd on Dark Descent Records. A lyric video for the track "Morbid Crucifixion" can be found below.

Imprecation rises again from the blasted lands of Texas with their darkest spell ever, Damnatio Ad Bestias. This album expands upon the themes of their 2013 debut Satanae Tenebris Infinita with deadly results. An aura of true Satanic majesty is unleashed in tracks like, “Temple Of The Foul Spirit”, “Morbid Crucifixion”, and “Baptized In Satan's Blood”. Bludgeoning guitars, battering drums, and haunting keys create an experience that will terrify the unbelievers and convert the uninitiated.

Damnatio Ad Bestias tracklisting:

"Temple Of The Foul Spirit"
"Morbid Crucifixion"
"Baptized In Satan's Blood"
"Beasts Of The Infernal Void"
"Damnatio Ad Bestias"
"Dagger, Thurible, Altar Of Death"
"The Shepherd And The Flock"
"Ageless Of None"

"Morbid Crucifixion" lyric video:

"Temple Of The Foul Spirit":




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The soulful and bombastic ballad, “Nothing Left”, from Delain's second album, April Rain, is one of the multiple classics the band have created in their 17-year career. Performed together with Nightwish’s Marco Hietala, “Nothing Left” marked one of the highlights of the show at the infamous Utrecht Tivoli on the Danse Macabre Tour 2017.

This show was recently released as the live album + BluRay, Hunter’s Moon, on Napalm Records. Now you can watch the stunning live performance of “Nothing Left” and get a taste of what to expect on Hunter’s Moon.

Delain on the new video: "2019 marks 10 years since we first released 'Nothing Left' on April Rain. Nowadays it’s a rare treat to see the track performed at one of our live shows, but it hasn’t lost any of it’s power in the decade that has passed. Performing 'Nothing Left' together with Marco Hietala was one of the highlights of the night in Tivoli, and in fact, the entire show felt like a highlight; it was one of my favourite shows of our career so far. You can relive the night through our new Live Album/Blu-Ray Hunter’s Moon. As it was the first time we did an entire tour with Marco as a guest, all songs featuring him, including Queen cover 'Scandal' are included, and the video for 'Nothing Left' is now available on YouTube. We hope you enjoy it!"

Marco Hietala about the Danse Macabre Tour: ”I was really pleased to do the tour, because it gave me a chance to challenge myself in different surroundings and band dynamics. In the end it comes down to the same old but great thing. I love doing good shows with good people for good audiences. All for one and one for all!”

Hunter’s Moon is a thrilling live album, accompanied by a live BluRay from their sold out Danse Macabre tour across Europe in 2017, which featured multiple guest musicians including Marco Hietala. It is the final in the trilogy that started with their EP Lunar Prelude and their full album Moonbathers in 2016.

Hunter’s Moon hit the charts worldwide and Billboard featured them in their series “Emerging Artists Spotlight” right after album release:

- #24 (German Album Charts)  
- #24 (Swiss Album Charts)
- #54 (Dutch Album Charts)
- #65 (Billboard Top 200)

Hunter’s Moon is available in the following formats:

- CD + Blu-Ray Disc, including 6-page Digipack
- 2LP Gatefold Vinyl + Blu-Ray Disc
- Deluxe Box incl. CD + Blu-Ray Disc Digipak + poster flag + pendant + patch + lanyard/VIP pass
- Digital Album

Order here.

With artwork from Cam Rackam, the tracklisting includes:

Brand New Studio Tracks:

"Masters Of Destiny"
"Hunter’s Moon"
"This Silence Is Mine"
"Art Kills"

Live From Utrecht:

"Hands Of Gold" - Live (feat. George Oosthoek)
"Danse Macabre" - Live
"Scarlet" - Live
"Your Body Is A Battleground" - Live (feat. Marco Hietala)
"Nothing Left" - Live (feat. Marco Hietala)
"Control The Storm" - Live (feat. Marco Hietala)
"Sing To Me" - Live (feat. Marco Hietala)
"Not Enough" - Live
"Scandal" - Live (feat. Marco Hietala)
"The Gathering" - Live (feat. Marco Hietala)

“Masters Of Destiny” video:

Track-by-track videos:

"The Silence Is Mine":

"Hunter's Moon":

“Masters Of Destiny”:

"Art Kills":

Delain are:

Martijn Westerholt - Keyboards
Charlotte Wessels - Vocals
Joey Marin de Boer - Drums
Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije - Bass  
Timo Somers - Guitar
Merel Bechtold - Guitar




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Dee Snider has defended METALLICA's "Load" album, saying it was an "amazing" record that saw the band "growing" musically.

Released in 1996, "Load" marked a new direction for METALLICA, featuring what one critic has described as "a fresh take on LYNYRD SKYNYRD-tinged boogie rock for the 1990s."

Although "Load" and 1997's "Reload" were warmly received by critics at the time, they've since taken their place among the most reviled work of METALLICA's career.

During a recent installment of his "I Wanna Talk" podcast, Snider spoke extensively about METALLICA, including why he initially felt the band "wasn't going anywhere."

Addressing METALLICA's musical and image changes that came about with the release of "Load", the TWISTED SISTER frontman said (see video below): "I'm not a day-one die-hard METALLICA fan, so I wasn't invested in 'Kill 'Em All' or 'Ride The Lightning' or 'Master Of Puppets' the way you hardcore fans are. And I understand, when you're that invested, how changes can bother you. 'Cause I'm an early QUEEN fan, and QUEEN started much heavier. They were always melodic, but they changed when you got to 'Fat Bottomed Girls' and 'Bicycle [Race]' and bullshit like that. And as an original QUEEN fan, I was disheartened — they had changed. So I could see where you hardcore METALLICA fans felt they were giving in to what was going on. And I've gotta say they and MEGADETH were the two bands that stood up against the grunge era. MEGADETH didn't give an inch, to their credit. PANTERA, by the way, didn't give an inch. But if you're talking about ones that were coming out of the '80s, METALLICA — they seemed to give an inch with their logo, they seemed to give an inch with their hairstyles, they seemed to… I don't wanna say they gave an inch musically. They musically changed a bit."

Snider continued: "Bands need to be allowed to grow, and the fans don't want you to. So, as an artist, your years are going by, and if you're still connected with music, you're growing and changing, things are happening. Fans have a real reluctance to allow that to happen. They don't wanna see those changes happen. Yet at the same time, bands have been accused of being stale and not growing and changing. So it's a real Catch-22 for the band. And personally, [I think] the 'Load' record was amazing. But then again, one of my favorite MOTÖRHEAD records is 'Another Perfect Day', which is hated by MOTÖRHEAD fans. And I'm a MOTÖRHEAD fan. But that record was amazing with [guitarist] Brian Robertson. But was it a MOTÖRHEAD record in the traditional sense. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Some amazing stuff on there."

Dee went on to praise METALLICA for attaining massive commercial success without drastically altering its musical approach.

"There is no band more deserving of their success and they should be given that respect," Snider said. "Because if you're talking about breaking down the wall for metal and making true metal accepted by the masses, METALLICA did that for all of us. So, bravo."

One person who disagrees with Snider's assessment of "Load" is former PANTERA and current DOWN frontman Philip Anselmo, who has previously called it "a terrible record" that should have been released as a side project and not under the METALLICA banner.

In a 2013 interview with Revolver magazine, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich said that "Load" and "Reload" are "great records" that "are creatively on par with every other record we've made. Obviously, they're bluesier records, and at that time, we were listening to a lot of LED ZEPPELIN, DEEP PURPLE and AC/DC, and we had a different kind of foundation than records before or after," he said. "And I understand that there are people who couldn't quite figure out what was going on with the haircuts and the rest of it, and that's fine. But musically, if you strip all that other stuff away, if you just listen to the 27 songs — 'Load' and 'Reload' were intended as one double-record — it's a great collection of songs that is on par with everything else that we've done creatively."

METALLICA guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield has repeatedly expressed his dislike of the "Load" album cover and its inspiration, telling Classic Rock magazine in a 2009 interview: "Lars and Kirk [Hammett, guitar] were very into abstract art, pretending they were gay. I think they knew it bugged me. It was a statement around all that. I love art, but not for the sake of shocking others. I think the cover of 'Load' was just a piss-take around all that. I just went along with the make-up and all of this crazy, stupid shit that they felt they needed to do."

On April 19th, Allegaeon will release their new album, Apoptosis, via Metal Blade Records. A video for the new single "Extremophiles (B)", directed by Vince Edwards, can be found below.

A near-perfect symbiosis of technical, progressive, and melodic death metal, Apoptosis is a record that is as crushingly heavy as it is inventive, lithe and intelligent, and marks a significant leap forward in the band's songwriting.

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

- jewelcase-CD
- opaque grey vinyl (US retail exclusive - limited to 500 copies)
- black / white A/B side vinyl (US webstore exclusive - limited to 250 copies)
- oxblood / milky clear A/B side vinyl (US webstore exclusive - limited to 250 copies)
- clear w/ black smoke vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- silver w/ oxblood splatter vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- transparent purple w/ white and black splatter vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 100 copies)

Tracked at Flatline Audio in Denver with long-serving producer Dave Otero (Cattle Decapitation, Cephalic Carnage), Apoptosis is Allegaeon's fifth full-length, and the first to feature bassist Brandon Michael. "Musically, Brandon brings a huge new dimension," vocalist Riley McShane enthuses. "He has this wide breadth of music knowledge and stylistic proficiency that he draws from with excellent taste, and this makes a lot of the songs on 'Apoptosis' come to life."

The record also features a guest appearance by classical guitarist Christina Sandsengen, who duets with guitarist Greg Burgess on "Colors Of The Currents". "On this record, I was more open to new ideas that we might not have used in past," states guitarist Michael Stancel. "Rather than deleting something because 'it's not Allegaeon-y enough', I would take a step back and see if that idea fit the song and decide if it was worth keeping. With that mentality came some of my favorite songs, because I was less worried about if it fit into our old sound."

This statement is borne out across the whole album, which while very much embodying the core Allegaeon sound that has drawn fans in over the course of their impressive career, it pushes into new territory, and does so with unerring confidence. "Thematically, this record is all about contrast, and the music reflects that perfectly," says McShane. "The vocals are heavier than ever, but there are also more clean sections. The drums are faster than ever but also more dynamic, and the guitar playing is lower and slower than on most previous albums, but also provides long, melodic and beautiful sections throughout."

Apoptosis tracklisting:

"Parthenogenesis"
"Interphase // Meiosis"
"Extremophiles (B)"
"The Secular Age"
"Exothermic Chemical Combustion"
"Extremophiles (A)"
"Metaphobia"
"Tsunami and Submergence"
"Colors of the Currents"
"Stellar Tidal Disruption"
"Apoptosis"

"Extremophiles (B)" video:

"Stellar Tidal Disruption" video:




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On May 10th, Abnormality will release their third full-length, Sociopathic Constructs, via Metal Blade Records. A video for the first single, "Curb Stomp" - directed by David Brodsky - can be found below.

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

- jewelcase-CD
- 180g black vinyl (EU exclusive)
- root beer marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
- turquoise marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 100 copies)
- amber / red marbled vinyl (US exclusive - limited to 200 copies)

Exclusive bundles with shirts, plus digital options are also available.

The album was tracked primarily at The Brick HitHouse in Hyannis, Massachusetts with producers Peter Rutcho (Revocation, Ravage) and Shane Frisby (Becoming The Archetype, Bury Your Dead) with vocals produced by Zdenek Sikyr at Studio Hostivar (Cult of Fire, Master's Hammer) in Prague. Having worked with Rutcho since 2010, it was a painless, professional process, the band also bringing in Chaney Crabb of Entheos to add a guest vocal to the devastating "Penance".

"Sociopathic Constructs is the result of tons of hard work and shows the progress we have made as a band since Mechanisms (2016)," asserts Sundaramurthy. "We feel the time is now for such an album, the brutality perfectly reflects the darkness, violence, and harsh reality of our world."

Sociopathic Constructs serves to further cement Abnormality's place at the cutting edge of savage ultra-technical death metal. With this release, the quintet have stepped up their game across the board, making for a record that is as violent, complex and thought provoking as any you will hear in 2019, and the band were not afraid to explore and mix things up.

"I think this record we felt free enough to just go where we wanted to within a song," states guitarist Jeremy Henry. "We had no qualms with switching styles and approaches from riff to riff. To have a whole section grinding away and then just switch gears, hit the brakes and drop a slow, old school Morbid Angel warship groove in there. We felt free to follow our instincts, and just let our influences shine through."

Sociopathic Constructs tracklisting:

"Monarch Alpha"
"Penance"
"Kakistocracy"
"Transmogrification of the Echoborgs"
"A Catastrophic and Catalyzing Event"
"Aeturnum"
"Dying Breed"
"A Seething Perversion"
"Curb Stomp"

"Curb Stomp" video:




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Finnish heavy rockers, Leverage, have premiered their new music video for “Wind Of Morrigan”, from the upcoming album Determinus, out April 26th via Frontiers Music Srl. Watch below, and pre-order Determinus here.

Leverage is not a power metal band, nor an AOR band, and definitely not a throwback to the 80’s band. Leverage don’t fall into an easy category. Leverage developed their own style of heavy rock in the 2000’s. For the band, it has always been about making and playing music with all of their hearts and souls while having a blast doing it. Their sonic stamp says “Leverage”. That’s it. “The new album is the same but different,” says guitarist and founder Tuomas Heikkinen. “This is the way I write. It is heavy rock and draws from a variety of influences, mine or the other members. I used to make demos that had every bass, drum and keyboard note MIDI programmed to detail and then just asked the guys to reproduce that exactly, but now I only underline the passages that I feel are essential and let them have a go at expressing themselves as musicians. And just as importantly, I always try to hear the vocalist in my head when writing. Pekka and Kimmo are two different singers, that definitely guides the process."

Leverage landed on the scene in 2006 with the independent release of their debut album, Tides. With their blend of symphonic and melodic hard rock combined with some progressive metal twists, Leverage created a buzz on the scene and were signed by Frontiers for the release of their second album, Blind Fire in 2008. Spinefarm/Universal picked the band up for their next album, Circus Colossus (2009), but the band became inactive not too long after. “People that have heard the music say that it definitely has the Leverage vibe, but also covers new ground. It has variety, ranging from pretty damn heavy to all kinds of far ends at times. This album sounds like a band playing and there’s movement where we didn’t use to have it. There’s less overdubs, not too many huge hired choirs, very little MIDI orchestrations and less tracks all together,” continues Heikkinen.

Determinus also introduces their amazing new singer, Kimmo Blom (Urban Tale, Raskasta Joulua) and a new guitar player, Mikko Salovaara. “Kimmo is a phenomenal and very versatile singer. He draws pictures in front of you the way he sings,” concludes Tuomas. "He has a huge presence, both seen and heard and is not the most typical vocalist in this scene. He approaches each song as a short story and really throws himself in there. Mikko is a monster guitar player with a background of very heavy and complex metal with a band called Kiuas. It was like "I am going to get him or Leverage will have only one guitar". I am happy he wanted to join the band. I have been blessed to get to work with outstanding guitar players in Leverage, first with Torsti and now with Mikko."

"I’m really excited about all this, getting back to making Leverage music with a great group of people, old and new. And getting it out through a solid label to the fans," concludes Tuomas.

Determinus promises to be one of the highlights of the melodic metal genre in 2019.

Tracklisting:

"Burn Love Burn"
"Wind Of Morrigan"
"Tiger"
"Red Moon Over Sonora" (album version)
"Mephistocrate"
"Afterworld’s Disciple"
"When We Were Young"
"Heaven’s No Place For Us"
"Hand Of God"
"Rollerball"
"Troy"

"Burn Love Burn" lyric video:

Lineup:

Kimmo Blom - vocals
Mikko Salovaara - guitars
Tuomas Heikkinen - guitars
Sami Norrbacka - bass
Valtteri Revonkorpi - drums
Marko Niskala - keyboards




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Pectora has exclusively premiered the first single "Untaken" from their debut album by the same name via BraveWords! An almost 7-minute long song, rich on full-blown heavy metal, with a big and powerful melodic chorus as well as harmonies, that stick to your brain. All wrapped up in a modern and big production. The song tells the story of a post-apocalyptic nightmare visualized in the video, by several different sequences, combining pictures of death, terror, and war into art.

Untaken is produced by the band and mixed and mastered by one of Germany’s leading producers, Orden Ogans Sebastian “Seeb” Levermann (Orden Ogan, Rhapsody Of Fire, Riot V, Brainstorm), in Greenman Studios.

Singer, Kenneth Steen Jacobsen, comments: "Untaken is set in a post-apocalyptic world where we follow a group of survivors fighting to stay alive from the attacks of another unknown group. As the battle rages outside we hear the words of the people fighting to survive. The inspiration to these lyrics came from a view on the inner battles a person can have. Are you going to fight or are you going to "Run for your untaken lives"?"

Untaken will be released on CD, LP, and digital on May 3rd.

Tracklisting:

“Untaken”
“Collide”
“Haunted Memory”
“The Fare”
“Running Out Of Days”
“Unkindled Flame”
“No Regrets”
“The Arrival”

Lineup:
Vocal:s Kenneth Steen Jacobsen
Guitar: Morten S. Nielsen
Guitar: Søren Weiss Kristiansen 
Bas: Laurids Leo Münier
Trommer: Nicolas Kraunsøe Frandsen




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Black Oak County will release its second album, Theatre Of The Mind, on April 26th via Mighty Music. The record was produced by Jacob Hansen (Amaranthe, Pretty Maids, Volbeat), with the mixing and mastering being handled by Jonas Haagensen. BraveWords is premiering new single and video for "Wasted Life"; crank it up:

The band comments: "We feel that the making of this album have made us the band we want to be: focusing on the songs, and always working harder to achieve new goals. This album is a milestone for us, after the band became a trio. We are so happy about it and can’t wait to let people hear it. We hope they love it as much as we do!"

Theatre Of The Mind will be released by Mighty Music and will be available in CD, vinyl and digital formats.




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Fan-filmed video footage of former ACCEPT singer David Reece performing the band's song "Generation Clash" live on March 13 at KB in Malmö, Sweden can be seen below. Headlining the concert was U.D.O., the German metal act fronted by another ex-ACCEPT singer, Udo Dirkschneider.

Reece recently said that he doesn't believe his former bandmates were "thoroughly prepared" to replace Dirkschneider at the height of the group's success three decades ago.

The current SAINTED SINNERS vocalist was recruited by ACCEPT for the "Eat The Heat" album in 1989 following the departure of Dirkschneider. Reece's higher-pitched delivery was in sharp contrast to Udo's distinctive style, and overall, the album was a critical and commercial disappointment. Midway through the "Eat The Heat" tour, differences between the band and Reece had come to a head, leading to the altercation between the singer and bassist Peter Baltes in Chicago. By the end of 1989, ACCEPT had hung it up.

Reece, who has also played with BONFIRE and BANGALORE CHOIR, told "The Classic Metal Show" in a new interview that he thinks external influences were responsible for the ACCEPT singer change that resulted in him landing the gig.

"I've thought about this, of course, my whole life," he said. "That was 30 years ago. And I don't think ACCEPT were thoroughly prepared to make that choice. They were being pulled by the ring in their nose by the labels in America. 'This band is set up huge in Europe. Let's cross over the pond and really break this thing.' So they were, like, 'Yeah, we wanna be more famous and richer.' I don't really think they considered how big Udo really was. Now, you've got [current ACCEPT singer] Mark Tornillo. He's a soundalike — I mean, he's an Udo copy — and that sound works inside that German thing. But I never really heard them admit that they were prepared for what they really did, and they blamed me for a lot of things."

Reece also expressed his disappointment over the fact that the members of ACCEPT have never properly acknowleged "Eat The Heat" as the quality album that it really is.

"Why can't they just say, 'Hey, it's part of our legacy'?" David asked rhetorically. "I've heard Wolf [Hoffmann, ACCEPT guitarist] going as far as [telling journalists], 'Don't ask me about David Reece in interviews. Don't bring up that part of my history.' You know what, pal? I've got a couple of stinker albums in my collection in my life too. It gives a story. It's a story to talk about. You don't have to badmouth each other. You can say, 'It just didn't work. It was a great experience.' 'Cause I think Wolf Hoffmann actually got to play some pretty impressive guitar stuff ['Eat The Heat']… On that album, you get some David Gilmour tones with 'Generation Clash'. He's one of the greatest metal guitar players in the world, but he got to show that he can actually play. And I give him credit for it."

Back in 2017, Reece told Canadian rock journalist Mitch Lafon that he still looks back fondly on the "Eat The Heat" album. "You know what? It's weird, because the bad blood happened at the end of it, and I hated it — I hated everything about it," he said. "I knew it opened a bunch of doors for me, but… I, on a daily basis, get people telling me what that album means to them now. At the beginning, they hated me, but now it's, like, they have this rebirth of how great it is. And I listened to it the other day, and I went, 'That's a pretty dang good album for a first.'"

He continued: "Yeah, I'm proud of it. I mean, that's a… I mean, it's not ACCEPT — okay, let's be honest — but there's some cool stuff on there. And I still get paid royalties for that album. They [re-released] it on vinyl. I get these statements; people buy it from the old crowd and the new crowd. And I'm, like, 'Ooooh…' So it's got legs to this day, and that was '88… 1988, '89. Amazing."

CHILDREN OF BODOM bassist Henkka "Blacksmith" Seppälä spoke to Heavy Music Headquarters about the current state of the Finnish "melodic death metal" scene, more than 25 years after the band's formation. Asked if he sees a lot of new groups that are influenced by CHILDREN OF BODOM, Henkka said: "For me, it's hard to say what bands are influenced by us. I'm sure there are some. When we started, there were bands you could feel were inspired by us. Some bands said it, like NORTHER. I don't think they are alive right now. They were the first that made us say, 'Wow, they sound like us.' As far as the Finnish melodic and technical stuff, there are so many bands now in that genre, it's hard to say what is inspired by us. The scene is strong. There are a lot of bands now. I think there are more Finnish bands out there than ever before. Now that I follow my social media, there are bands playing all over the world and being quite successful. It's good to see those bands playing sold-out shows in big venues in front of big crowds everywhere in the world. Even though the industry is going through major changes, live music is still there. It's probably stronger than ever, and the Finnish metal scene is probably stronger than it's ever been."

Henkka went on to say that fellow Finns SENTENCED and AMORPHIS were some of CHILDREN OF BODOM's main influences when the band started. "SENTENCED was not so big at that time," he said. "I think they had a couple of big tours. When we first started touring, the first European tour we did was 12 days or 12 shows. To us, it was a long tour. We knew that SENTENCED had done a four-week tour. We were like, 'What the fuck? How can they do a four-week tour?' Nowadays, that's the normal thing to do. AMORPHIS was the first band that was going out playing a lot of shows in Europe and even the States. I remember they were playing headline shows in the States in the mid-nineties. That was a really big thing for a Finnish band. Even though they played small venues there, it was thought impossible for a Finnish band to go play the States. STRATOVARIUS was also very big in Europe and in Asia. There were three or four bands before us, and then we and SONATA ARCTICA came in. Of course, NIGHTWISH is now making history."

CHILDREN OF BODOM's tenth album, "Hexed", is being released today (Friday, March 8) via Nuclear Blast Records. The disc saw the return to Finland's Danger Johnny Studios where COB was reunited with Mikko Karmila ("I Worship Chaos", "Halo Of Blood", "Hatebreeder", "Follow The Reaper" and "Hate Crew Deathroll") who recorded everything except keyboards and also produced the album with the band. Janne Wirman recorded keyboards at Beyond Abilities Studios. The album was mixed and mastered at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, Finland.

According to BBC News, the song "Eaten" from the death metal supergroup BLOODBATH was used in a psychological test by Macquarie University's music lab.

The university concluded that neither the cannibalism-themed track — nor the gruesome lyrics of others of the genre — inspire violence.

Thirty-two self-declared fans of death metal or heavy metal music and 48 non-fans of such music participated in the study. Each participant was played Pharrell Williams's "Happy" or BLOODBATH's "Eaten" through headphones, while they were shown a pair of images — one to each eye. One image showed a violent scene, such as someone being attacked in a street. The other showed something innocuous — a group of people walking down that same street, for example.

"Eaten" was selected because it has explicitly violent lyrics that are accompanied by music with acoustic qualities that are characteristics of biological signals of aggression (e.g. nonlinearities, low mean pitch level, growling or screaming vocalizations). "Happy" was selected because it depicts prosocial and joyous lyrics accompanied by musical qualities with a positive emotional connotation (e.g. conventional song structure, major tonality, consonant sonorities and high mean pitch level).

"It's called binocular rivalry," explained lead researcher Yanan Sun. The basis of this psychological test is that when most people are presented with a neutral image to one eye and a violent image to the other — they see the violent image more."

"The brain will try to take it in — presumably there's a biological reason for that, because it's a threat," Professor Bill Thompson from Macquarie University, which is based in Sydney, Australia, said.

"If fans of violent music were desensitized to violence, which is what a lot of parent groups, religious groups and censorship boards are worried about, then they wouldn't show this same bias. But the fans showed the very same bias towards processing these violent images as those who were not fans of this music."

Thompson added: "[Death metal] fans are nice people. They're not going to go out and hurt someone."

BLOODBATH singer Nick Holmes told BBC News that his band had no issue with its music being used like this. "The lyrics are harmless fun, as the study proved," he said. He added that BLOODBATH's lyrical content was "basically an aural version of an 80s horror film".

"The majority of death metal fans are intelligent, thoughtful people who just have a passion for the music," he said. "It's the equivalent of people who are obsessed with horror movies or even battle re-enactments."

The findings are published in the Royal Society journal Open Science.

Grammy-nominated six-piece UNDERØATH has dropped the video for "Bloodlust". The song appears on the band's latest album, "Erase Me", out now via Fearless Records.

"For 'Bloodlust', which picks up where 'ihateit' left off, [singer] Spencer [Chamberlain] and I were chained to a pole for three hours with a stranger, who was the actress," said drummer Aaron Gillespie. "Making this video was a really interesting process, because the song deals with a lot of deep issues and struggles. But it was so late when we were filming that we were just hysterical. The video seems so serious due to the lyrical content, but it was a night."

"Erase Me" was written and recorded over the summer of 2017 with producer Matt Squire (PANIC! AT THE DISCO, 3OH!3) and mixed by Ken Andrews (FAILURE, JIMMY EAT WORLD).

Last year, UNDERØATH notched its first-ever performance Grammy nomination in the "Best Metal Performance" category for "On My Teeth". The band was previously nominated for two Grammys.

UNDERØATH is getting ready to embark on its first-ever arena tour in support of BREAKING BENJAMIN later this month. The band will next hit the road this summer with KORN and ALICE IN CHAINS.

Swedish sleaze outfit CRASHDÏET has re-signed with Frontiers Music Srl. The band's fifth album and follow-up to 2013's "The Savage Playground" will arrive before the end of the year.

This past January, CRASHDÏET released the official music video for the song "Reptile". The second CRASHDÏET track to feature the band's latest addition, singer Gabriel Keyes, was recorded at the group's own Dïet Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. It was produced by lead guitarist Martin Sweet and mixed by longtime collaborator Chris Laney.

The "Reptile" video was shot and directed by Jimmy Johansson and Martin Sweet.

In December 2017, CRASHDÏET released its first new song with Keyes, "We Are The Legion".

Keyes, a Stockholm-based singer, is CRASHDÏET's fourth vocalist. CRASHDÏET was previously fronted by Dave Lepard (2000-2006), H. Olliver Twisted (2007-2008) and Simon Cruz (2009-2015).

Cruz, who was previously a member of the Stockholm act JAILBAIT, joined CRASHDÏET in 2009 as the replacement for H. Olliver Twisted (now in RECKLESS LOVE).

"The Savage Playground" entered the official chart in Sweden at position No. 2. The CD was released in January 2013 via Frontiers.

According to AS.com, either AEROSMITH or AC/DC is expected to perform at the wedding of Sergio Ramos and Pilar Rubio are on June 15 in Seville, Spain.

The Real Madrid defender and his model girlfriend are believed to have been negotiating with both legendary rock bands over the past few months, with AEROSMITH reported to be the most likely to play at the reception, which will take place on Ramos's farm.

Ramos and Rubio appeared recently on Spanish TV program "El Hormiguero" ("The Anthill"), where they revealed that the wedding would be a highly private event. "The guests will leave their mobiles and cameras behind as soon as they enter the farm so they can relax and enjoy themselves," the said.

When they announced the wedding, Rubio hinted that a world-famous artist would join them to perform after they become man and wife.

She said: "There's going to be something very big but I can't say what.

"I'm as excited about putting on my wedding dress as I am about what's going to happen afterwards."

Photo credit: Zack Whitford

Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee and JOURNEY member Jonathan Cain will release his first new single of 2019, "More Like Jesus", on March 22 via Identity Records. Available at digital retailers and streaming outlets globally from The Fuel Music, the song is from Cain's fourth new solo album in as many years. Set to release May 3, the new full-length album title, track listing and more will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Written in response to Cain asking himself what he should pray for and what would be his ultimate New Year's resolution in 2018, "More Like Jesus" became his personal anthem that helped carry him through a huge, 58-city arena/stadium tour with JOURNEY that played to over one million people last year. An integral part to one of the most popular American rock bands of all time, Cain is intent on "walking his life out more in the mind of Christ."

"To be more like Jesus," Cain declares. "To find forgiveness after being forsaken, ready when I'm asked to sacrifice, to pray for the broken, to win souls along the way and declare His Living Word as truth."

Recording the song in his state-of-the-art Addiction Sound Studios in Nashville with producer, mixer David Kalmusky, known for his work on multiple platinum albums, Cain also released "More Like Jesus" as a lyric video.

The new music follows Cain's "The Songs You Leave Behind", which came out last summer as the companion to his book "Don't Stop Believin': The Man, The Band, And The Song That Inspired Generations". In the book, Cain shares his remarkable story as well as behind-the-scenes details of his decades-long career with one of America's favorite rock bands.

Writing/co-writing some of the biggest rock songs in history, including "Don't Stop Believin'", which is the No. 1 digital catalog rock song, as well as mega hits such as "Faithfully", "Open Arms", "Separate Ways", "Who's Crying Now" and many more, Cain released the acclaimed "What God Wants To Hear" in 2016 and his first Christmas solo album, "Unsung Noel", in 2017.

Savannah, Georgia metal band BARONESS has unveiled the full cover artwork of its upcoming album, "Gold & Grey". The band's fifth disc is due later in the year.

BARONESS guitarist/vocalist John Baizley created the new album artwork, just as he did for all four of the group's previous albums as well as the outfit's EPs.

Baizley stated about the "Gold & Grey" painting: "This is just the first piece of a much larger puzzle. Like the forthcoming album itself, it is the result of an intense, tireless, and psychotically convoluted creative process.

"Both artistically and musically, BARONESS have always taken a no-compromise approach towards our releases, and I can't express strongly enough how excited we are to be so close to the verge of our newest release.

"This painting was born from a deeply personal reflection on the past 12 years of this band's history, and will stand as the sixth and final piece in our chromatically themed records.

"It has been an absolutely wild ride, a truth much stranger than fiction, with nearly as many low points as there have been highs, but throughout all, this band has offered me an inspired place to express myself and find some level of comfort through our visual and sonic output.

"I hope you all enjoy this album cover (sorry it's not called 'Orange'). Don't look too closely, you might just see all the hidden elements.

"We want to thank everyone for your heartfelt support over the years, it means the world to us. We also appreciate your continued patience.

"'Gold & Grey' will be out soon, and then the real fun begins. I assure you, we have no plans to slow down anytime soon."

BARONESS played a new song, "Borderlines", live for the first time on March 8 at the opening concert of the band's co-headlining tour with DEAFHEAVEN in Houston, Texas. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

BARONESS released its Grammy-nominated fourth album, "Purple", in 2015.

BARONESS is Baizley, Gina Gleason (guitar), Nick Jost (bass) and Sebastian Thomson (drums).