Canadian metal upstarts ARRIVAL OF AUTUMN will release their second full-length album and Nuclear Blast debut on March 29. "Harbinger" was produced and mixed by Jason Suecof (DEVILDRIVER, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, ALL THAT REMAINS, TRIVIUM) and mastered by Alan Douches (DARKEST HOUR, EVERY TIME I DIE, SUICIDE SILENCE).

The lyric video for the second single, "Witness", can be seen below.

"'Witness' is about trying to survive when everything around you is falling apart," commented vocalist Jamison Friesen. "It's told through a fictional post apocalyptic setting, inspired by the Mad Max films. The protagonist finds he's a hero in times where there doesn’t seem to be a point in trying."

"Harbinger" track listing:

01. Hurricane On The Horizon

02. End Of Existence

03. Witness

04. The Horror

05. Old Bones // New Blood

06. Better Off Without

07. Symbiotic

08. An Omen Of Loss

09. The Endless

10. Apocalyptic

ARRIVAL OF AUTUMN started as a band with a mission to play music without compromise and carve its way through the music scene on its own terms. Coming from a small city in Northern Canada, this was a necessary strategy, since the band didn't come up in a big city scene with regular promoters, venues and attendees.

After touring in support of two self-released albums, "Endless Nights" and "Shadows", the band began plotting its next release. On a whim, they decided to send some of the new demos to one of their heroes, Jason Suecof at Audiohammer Studios, to see if he would be interested in recording them. To the band's absolute surprise, Jason liked what he heard, and found time between some of the heavy-hitters that he had been working on to record the material. This was an opportunity the band couldn't pass up, and immediately started planning the trip of flying over 3,000 miles, from one end of the continent of North America to the other, to record the best songs the band had ever written.


Fast forward to after two successful recording sessions produced by Jason Suecof and mastered by Mark Lewis, the band was able to attract the attention of A&R legend Monte Conner. Conner was impressed with what he heard and quickly struck a deal with the band. With such a rapid ascent thus far, there's no telling what great things lurk in ARRIVAL OF AUTUMN's not-too-distant future.

ARRIVAL OF AUTUMN is:

Jamison Friesen - vocals

Brendan Anderson - lead guitar

Kevin Student - bass

Ryan Sorensen - guitar

Ty Fox - drums

Ahead of 2019 Experience Hendrix Tour date on March 4th in Clearwater, Florida, Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine spoke with Tampa Bay Times about the tour, Hendrix, politics and the state of the world, and more.

Asked if he and late Pantera legend Dimebag Darrell were into each other’s gear, and if they had different philosophies on the instruments they played, Mustaine reveals: "I did not. He may have, because he was a better guitar player than I am, and he was much more into that stuff. Being a bandleader/guitar player/rhythm player/lead player/blah blah blah, I don’t have the availability to spend as much time working on my solos as I’d like to. But I’m also very satiated with what I’ve done with my career. And with Darrell, when you look at his playing, he’s a monster. He’s one of those guys that in trios, with the bottom dropping out, he was really able to keep that going. Of course, on the studio releases, there was an additional track going, but live, that’s the real litmus test, right? And he was a spectacle to watch."

Dave continues: "I actually called him up and asked him to play in Megadeth. Fate would have completely changed if I would have called him before I called Nick Menza. I said, 'Hey, Darrell, I’m looking for a guitar player.' And he goes, 'Can I bring my brother?' And I went, 'Who’s your brother?' He goes, 'Vinny Paul! Don’t you know Vinny Paul?' He wanted to bring his brother and have him play with us, and I go, 'Oh, man, I just hired Nick Menza.' Can you imagine what Vinny and Darrell would have been with me and Junior (bassist Dave Ellefson)? Would’ve been pretty cool."

Read the full interview at Tampa Bay Times.

2019 Experience Hendrix Tour dates are listed below.

March
3 - Pompano Beach Amphitheater - Pompano Beach, FL
4 - Ruth Eckerd Hall - Clearwater, FL
5 - Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts - Melbourne, FL
6 - Florida Theatre - Jacksonville, FL
8 - North Charleston Performing Arts Center - North Charleston, SC
9 - Fox Theatre - Atlanta, GA
10 - Schermerhorn Symphony Cente - Nashville, TN
11 - Von Braun Center - Huntsville, AL
12 - Tivoli Theatre - Chattanooga, TN
14 - Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts - Raleigh, NC
15 - Ovens Auditorium - Charlotte, NC
16 - Tennessee Theatre - Knoxville, TN
17 - Taft Theatre - Cincinnati, OH
19 - The Louisville Palace - Louisville, KY
20 - Overture Center for the Arts - Madison, WI
21 - The Riverside Theater - Milwaukee, WI
22 - he Chicago Theatre - Chicago, IL
23 - Fox Theatre - Detroit, MI
24 - The Clay Center - Charleston, WV
26 - Warner Theatre - Washington, DC
27 - Xcite Center at Parx Casino - Bensalem, PA
28 - Theatre at Westbury - Westbury, NY
29 - New Jersey Performing Arts Center - Newark, NJ
30 - Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino - Niagara Falls, NY

April
1 - Landmark Theatre for the Performing Arts - Syracuse, NY
2 - Count Basie Center for the Arts - Red Bank, NJ
3 - Palace Theatre - Albany, NY
4 - Lowell Memorial Auditorium - Lowell, MA
5 - Zeiterion Performing Arts Center - New Bedford, MA
6 - Toyota Presents Oakdale Theatre - Wallingford, CT




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The producers of the Slave To The Grind documentary have released classic footage of Napalm Death on November 28th, 1988 in Uppsala, Sweden. The set features soon-to-be Cathedral mainman Lee Dorrian on vocals.

Check out Bravewords’ review of the film here.




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Former MANOWAR guitarist David Shankle says that he hopes his replacement, Karl Logan, will come out "standing strong" after being arrested last summer on charges of possessing child pornography.

Karl, who joined MANOWAR in 1994 as the replacement for Shankle, was arrested on August 9, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina and charged with six counts of third-degree exploitation of a minor. According to arrest warrants, the offenses took place between June 18, 2018 and August 2, 2018.

The warrants say the 53-year-old musician was in possession of several videos which depicted girls between the ages of four and 12 years old engaged in a variety of sexual acts with unidentified men. Each video is described in graphic detail, including one scene where a girl age 10-12 "chokes and becomes visibly upset."

In a new interview with France's Duke TV, Shankle expressed his shock over Logan's charges and voiced his desire to see his colleague move past the allegations.

"Unfortunately, that's a sad thing, when I found out about that, that Karl was arrested with some B.S. about child pornography," Shankle said (see video below)

"I hope, for Karl's sake and his family, that he will come out of this standing strong, and if there is any truth to any of it that he'll get the help that he needs because he's a great guitar player," David continued. "He was always a nice guy to me, and this is still a shock.

"There's people that come to me and [former MANOWAR guitarist] Ross [The Boss] every day that say, 'You should be back in the band,' or, 'Should it be Ross?' Well, that's neither here or there. That band is Joey [DeMaio, bass] and Eric [Adams, vocals] and whoever they got, good luck. I hope it works out for you. But Ross and I, we've made our legacy and our time in that band.

"I do wish the best for Karl. I do hope the dust can settle and he can hold his head up high, 'cause that's an awful accusation," Shankle added. "And from my heart to him, I hope it's not true and I hope a lot of it's just misunderstood to where he can hold no shame. So that's all I've got to say about that."

MANOWAR recently recruited guitarist E.V. Martel for its "Final Battle" world tour, which resumed on February 25 in Tel Aviv, Israel. The trek will span over 28 cities; from Russia to Germany, Scandinavia and Birmingham, England to the far west of France.

Rock singer Jessie Galante returns with her new video for "Nights in White Satin", a dreamy, dramatic and fantasy story about the pain of love but also the beauty of it.

Directed by Chuck Anderson (Image Recording Studio),  the clip shows Jessie dreaming, reaching, waiting and then moving on showing how the pain of the loss of love can also teach you the beauty of it to move on. 

The video is dedicated to Jessie's late husband Larry Swist, double platinum producer who has worked with Lou Gramm, Spyro Gyra, Tina Turner and many others.

Many locations were used for the video shoot, all in the area of Jessie's hometown of Buffalo, NY; every place has a particular meaning, like the castle used to highlight the fantasy part of the video, or the art gallery used to show the connection between music and art symbolizing Larry's passions and talents (architecture, painting, sculpture and music).

The music from the video is Jessie's personal version of The Moody Blues classic "Nights In White Satin", included in The Show Must Go On album released via Tanzan Music Records.

The recording features Galante's dynamic production team inspired by members of her musical family; (LA) film composer, orchestrator and performer Rossano Galante (Live Free Or Die Hard, The Wolverine, The Shallows, Avengers); (NYC) recording, production,producer, performer, Giuseppe Galante, including performances by Carmelo Galante, Joey Jr. Galante and Charlie Galante.

Also included are Buffalo born legendary bassist, Billy Sheehan (Talas, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, The Winery Dogs); Buffalo, NY engineer Mike Rorick (Living Colour, John Jessel-Toto, Ani DiFranco) with Galante's vocals produced by multi-platinum award winner Armand Petri (Goo Goo Dolls, 10,000 Maniacs, Denny Laine).

For further details, visit JessieGalante.com.

 

 




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Greek technical/progressive death metal band, Acid Death, will release the sixth album, and eighth official release, entitled Primal Energies, on March 15th via 7hard/7us Media Group GmbH on CD digipack and digital formats. A lyric video for the track "Godless Shrines" can be found below.

The album, recorded from April 2018 - January 2019, was produced by Acid Death, co-produced by Tommy Vetterli.

Drums for the album were recorded at Devasoundz Studios, Athens, Greece with sound engineer Fotis Benardo. Guitars, bass, vocals & keyboard arrangements recorded at S.I.A. Recordings, Athens, Greece with sound engineer Savvas Betinis.

The album was mixed and mastered at New Sound Studios, Zurich, Switzerland by Martin Zeller. Album cover and inlays created and processed by Giannis Nakos (Remedy Art Design).

Tracklisting:

"My Bloody Crown"
"Inner Demons"
"Godless Shrines"
"Primal Energies"
"The Rope"
"Fire Of The Insane"
"Reality And Fear"
"Regret/Repent"
"The Void Before..."
"H.U.M.A.N."

"Godless Shrines" lyric video:




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Nuclear Blast/Arising Empire announce the worldwide signing of Sweden's four-man rock sensation and party machine, Royal Republic.

"We're stoked to officially have Nuclear Blast be part of the Royal Republic family! After three divorces, we're sure we found the right one this time! It's with tremendous excitement we look into the future, together. Hopefully. Just kidding. Seriously stoked!" - Adam Grahn, Royal Republic

Royal Republic don't believe in "guilty pleasures" - only pleasures, free of compromise. Since meeting at the Malmö Academy Of Music in 2007, they've become Sweden's most addictive rock 'n' roll export; mixing riffy guitars, king-sized tunes and jet-packed beats with their own eclectic tastes and inimitable joie de vivre. Plus the kind of snazzy suits most of their contemporaries wish they had the balls to pull off. They encapsulate the raw spirit of punk with the hips of James Brown and swaggering braggadocio of James Bond. No wonder they struggle to label themselves! They’ll rock the shit out of you and make you dance like you've just won the lottery.

"Royal Republic is the band you'd want to play at your party. I was overwhelmed by the four the moment I saw them live for the first time. Ever since their 2010 colossal debut We Are The Royal I wanted to work with them. I'm very excited this is finally happening!" - Tobbe Falarz, Arising Empire

"We are absolutely excited to be releasing the band's new album after their hugely popular record Weekend Man." - Marcus Hammer, Nuclear Blast

Royal Republic have just finished the production of their forthcoming studio album which is expected to be released in 2019.

Lineup:

Adam Grahn - vocals
Hannes Irengård - guitars
Jonas Almén - bass
Per Andreasson - drums




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Germany's Double Crush Syndrome recently released their new Flash & Blood EP, which includes a cover of Skid Row's "Riot Act" featuring guitarist Scotti Hill on a guest solo. Check out the official video below.

The Flash & Blood EP tracklist is as follows:

"Rebel Yell" (Billy Idol cover)
"I Don't Like You"
"Riot Act" (Skid Row cover featuring Scotti Hill)
"Breakin' The Law" (Judas Priest cover)
DCS Live In Madrid - May 27th, 2018
- "She's A Pistol"
- "Yeah! Pain!"
- "Blood On My Shirt"
- "Die For Rock N' Roll"
- "Gimme Everything"




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The new lineup of VIXEN performed aboard the ninth annual Monsters Of Rock cruise, which departed Miami on February 24 for an epic voyage that includes stops in Jamaica and on a private island before returning on March 1. Fan-filmed video footage can be seen below (courtesy of YouTube user "Hellsinki Rocks").

This past January, VIXEN recruited FEMME FATALE's Lorraine Lewis as its new lead singer following the departure of Janet Gardner.

Lewis had already performed with VIXEN, having fronted the group in March 2018 in Durant, Oklahoma while Gardner was recovering from surgery.

Prior to Lewis's addition to VIXEN, Roxy Petrucci (drums), Share Ross (bass) and Brittany Denaro (guitar) Lewis vowed to "expand upon the VIXEN legacy while remaining true to our musical roots."

Gardner, who released her debut self-titled solo album in 2017, broke the news of her exit from the group on January 16.

"After much soul searching and many sleepless nights, I have decided that it's time for me to step aside and let Roxy and Share pursue their vision for the future of VIXEN," she wrote.

"VIXEN will always have a very special place in my heart and I am incredibly grateful to have been a part of it," she continued.

"I would like to thank everyone for the amazing support over the years, and as Roxy and Share continue to keep the heart and soul of VIXEN alive and well and I continue on my path, your continued support to all would be greatly appreciated."

Gardner, Petrucci and Ross are considered to be part of VIXEN's classic lineup, along with founding guitarist Jan Kuehnemund, who died of cancer in October 2013.

Gardner contributed lead vocals to VIXEN's most commercially successful studio albums — "Vixen" (1988), "Rev It Up" (1990) and "Tangerine" (1998) — as well as the group's latest release, last year's live album "Live Fire".

In January 2018, Gardner underwent surgery to remove blood clots in her brain, a condition known as a subdural hematoma. At the time, she was touring in support of her solo album, which came out in August 2017 via Pavement Entertainment. The disc was a collaboration between the singer, who works days as a part-time dental hygienist, and her husband, guitarist/producer Justin James, who has previously worked with STAIND, COLLECTIVE SOUL and TYKETTO.

KITTIE will release a new concert film titled "Kittie: Live At The London Music Hall" on March 26. It features footage of the Canadian metal band's October 27, 2017 20th-anniversary hometown show at the London Music Hall in London, Ontario. The event, which also served as a screening of the long-in-the-making documentary "Kittie: Origins/Evolutions", saw KITTIE mainstays Morgan Lander (guitar, vocals) and Mercedes Lander (drums) take the stage with a number of their former bandmates to perform songs from the group's entire repertoire.

A short clip of the song "Charlotte" from "Kittie: Live At The London Music Hall" — featuring a reunion of KITTIE's original lineup — can be seen velow.

In addition to Morgan and Mercedes, the musicans that took the stage that night included:

* Ivy Vujic (bass)

* Jennifer Arroyo (bass)

* Jeff Phillips (guitar/bass)

* Fallon Bowman (guitar/vocals)

* Tanya Candler (bass)

The the final song, "Funeral For Yesterday", was played unplugged and dedicated former KITTIE bassist Trish Doan, who died earlier in 2017.

"I know we have people here from Germany and Australia, and all over," Morgan told the audience at the London show. "Tonight has been so special, and it really means so much to all of us. We have the best fans in the world."

KITTIE was formed in 1996 by Mercedes and Morgan, lead guitarist Fallon Bowman and bassist Tanya Candler. Tanya left KITTIE soon after recording of its debut album, "Spit", which has sold more than 1.2 million copies. Bowman exited the group in 2001. Guitarist Tara McLeod and bass player Trish Doan joined the band in 2005. Although Doan left for health reasons in 2008, she returned three years later. Other musicians who have played with KITTIE during the years include Talena Atfield, Lisa Marx, Jennifer Arroyo and Ivana "Ivy" Vujic.

The band has released five albums since "Spit": "Oracle" (2001), "Until The End" (2004), "Funeral For Yesterday" (2007), "In The Black" (2009) and "I've Failed You" (2011).

Legendary rocker Alice Cooper joined JOHN 5 AND THE CREATURES — comprised of world-renowned guitarist John 5, bassist Ian Ross and drummer Logan Miles Nix — on stage on February 26 at Club Red in Mesa, Arizona to perform the JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE classic "Foxy Lady".

"If it wasn't for this man, there would be no KISS," John 5 introduced his special guest, who has lived in Phoenix since he was in his early teens. "There would be no Marilyn Manson, there would be no Rob Zombie, there would be nothing without this man. This man is the master, he is the king. Let's give it up for your very own, Mr. Alice Cooper!"

Fan-filmed video footage of Cooper's appearance can be seen below (courtesy of YouTube user "Jason Forst").

JOHN 5 AND THE CREATURES kicked off their North American "Invasion" tour in Mesa. Select dates of the trek — specifically Hollywood, California; Anaheim, California; and Sacramento, California — are scheduled to feature more very special, high-caliber mystery guests. It has already been announced that the Hollywood, California show will feature special guests Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT, STONE SOUR), Shavo Odadjian (SYSTEM OF A DOWN), Fred Coury (composer, CINDERELLA) and Michael Anthony (CHICKENFOOT, ex-VAN HALEN). The entire tour features support from blues-rock guitarist Jared James Nichols and rock outfit DEAD GIRLS ACADEMY.

JOHN 5 AND THE CREATURES' new album, "Invasion", will be released this summer. Just like 2017's "Season Of The Witch", the new disc — produced and mixed by Barry Pointer — is being made available via a series of music videos.

Professionally filmed video footage of FOO FIGHTERS frontman Dave Grohl, METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo, and AUDIOSLAVE members Tom Morello and Brad Wilk performing a version of AUDIOSLAVE's "Show Me How To Live" at this past January's Chris Cornell tribute concert at the Forum in Los Angeles, California can be seen below.

A number of other artists appeared at the event, billed as "I Am The Highway: A Tribute To Chris Cornell", such as METALLICA, FOO FIGHTERS, Josh Homme of QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, Tim McIlrath of RISE AGAINST, Taylor Momsen from THE PRETTY RECKLESS, Perry Farrell of JANE'S ADDICTION, THE MELVINS, BLACK SABBATH's Geezer Butler and Ryan Adams, along with members of Cornell's bands SOUNDGARDEN, AUDIOSLAVE and TEMPLE OF THE DOG.

Morello told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation" about the decision to perform "Show Me How To Live": "We thought about closing the show with 'Like A Stone' because it's really like a beautiful prayer, as well as the most well known AUDIOSLAVE song, but I said, 'Let's close with a fat fucking jam.' So when Dave Grohl and Robert Trujillo stormed on stage and joined us for 'Show Me How To Live' and the place just came apart, we realized that we made the right decision. When I asked Dave what he thought he would like to sing, he said that he thought he could scream his way through that song."

The show was presented by Cornell's family and closest friends, with Jimmy Kimmel hosting.

Each ticket purchased online for the show included a copy of Cornell's recently released self-titled career retrospective album.

Chris took his own life in May 2017 after a SOUNDGARDEN show in Detroit.

View this post on Instagram #Audioslave performing "Show Me How to Live" with #DaveGrohl and @robtrujillo at #IAmTheHighway: A Tribute To Chris Cornell. A post shared by Chris Cornell (@chriscornellofficial) on Feb 28, 2019 at 8:01pm PST

Croatian hard rockers, Animal Drive, are streaming their cover of Skid Row's "Monkey Business", 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"

"Monkey Business":




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BRING ME THE HORIZON singer Oli Sykes has fully recovered from the ruptured vocal cord which caused the cancelation of the last two shows of the band's U.S. tour.

Earlier today, Sykes took to his Twitter to write: "Just been to the voice doctors my voice is fully healed woop woop see u all soon !"

BRING ME THE HORIZON's concerts in Phoenix and Las Vegas were called off last month, with Sykes saying he was told that if he didn't rest his voice immediately, he would be "in serious danger of doing permanent damage."

Sykes added at the time: "I've been trying my best to fulfill our commitments as I really hate letting you guys down, not to mention these shows have been literally the most fun ever. But at this point, me singing would be the equivalent of a footballer running on a broken leg. Once again, I'm so sorry. I hope you all understand."

Sykes later went on Twitter to explain the situation further, writing to a fan: "People forget the vocal cords are a muscle, a muscle that can be compromised by not just exertion but the elements/conditions etc... This is just something that happens sometimes... as much as it sucks!"

BRING ME THE HORIZON is touring in support of its latest LP, "Amo", which landed at No. 1 on the U.K. album chart but failed to crack the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 survey when it arrived in January. The pop-oriented sound of the new disc has divided fans of the group's earlier, heavier musical style.

Just been to the voice doctors my voice is fully healed woop woop see u all soon !— Oliver Sykes (@olobersyko) March 1, 2019

Goregӓng play wicked and corpulent death / crust metal that pays homage to the genre's greats, as well as keeps things interesting by mixing it all up. Imagine Autopsy covering early Grave and Wombbath and you're getting close. Listen to the self-titled track via the following promo clip, and stay glued for more coming your way.

Goregӓng will release Neon Graves on May 20th via Transcending Obscurity Records.

Death metal / crust maniacs Goregӓng have worked hard on their first full-length album after causing a bit of a stir with their short debut. With members of reputed bands like Venom Inc., Ribspreader, Soilwork (live), in their lineup, everything is top-notch and well-thought right down to the Mark Riddick logo, the jaw-dropping Juanjo Castellano artwork, not to mention the impeccable production and execution of the music that can be summed up as a perfect amalgamation of death metal with a lethal dose of crust / grind. There's added menace in the vocal delivery, with Kling mixing it all up and pacing it beautifully to the undulating music. There's an undeniable charm to the proceedings as the songs chug along with maniacal glee, breaking into faster punkish parts and rampaging till the end. It's an album littered with so many variations that you'll need to get back to it to keep track of it all. It's a rare album that eschews the standard template and does things its own way to keep it entertaining and yes, brutal.

Tracklisting:

"A Cavity In Reality"
"False Flags"
"Cathedral Of Chemicals"
"Silence Is Consent"
"Spray Of Teeth"
"Feeble-Minded Rash"
"Neon Graves"
"Plague Of Hammers"
"Goregӓng"
"Weightless Sentinels"
"Putrid Judgement"
"This Era Of Human"

Goregӓng is:

Jeramie Kling - vocals, guitars (Venom Inc., Ribspreader, ex-Wombbath)
Taylor Nordberg - drums (Ribspreader, ex-Soilwork [live], ex-Wombbath)

For further details, visit Goregӓng on Facebook.

 




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Portland heavy metal unit Lord Dying will release their third studio album, Mysterium Tremendum, worldwide on April 26th via Entertainment One (eOne).

Captured at Los Angeles' West Valley Recording Studios in August of 2018 with engineer Mike Plotnikoff (Fear Factory, In Flames) and mastered by Howie Weinberg (Slayer, Pantera), Mysterium Tremendum is a monolithic, riff-heavy concept album boasting eleven heaving tracks examining the many facets of dying and what may or may not exist in the afterlife.

An emotionally satisfying record, lyrically and musically Mysterium Tremendum's exploration of death goes beyond the mere longing for it in order to see what lies beyond ("Lacerated Psyche" is about the death of guitarist Chris Evans' sister). There are many layers to it - you might even find parallels between the record's concept and life itself. It's a journey. And in their quest to pursue death, Lord Dying has themselves found new life.

Tracklisting:

 "Envy The End"
"Tearing At The Fabric Of Consciousness"
"Nearing The End Of The Curling Worm"
"The End Of Experience"
"Exploring Inward"
"Severed Forever"
"Even The Darkness Went Away"
"Freed From The Pressures Of Time"
"Lacerated Psyche"
"Split From A World Within/Devoid Of Dreams/Death The Final Loneliness"
"Saying Goodbye To Physical Form"

"We set out to write a record about life, and it ended up being about death," says Lord Dying guitarist / vocalist Erik Olson about the band's third studio album Mysterium Tremendum.

While the new record centers around death, it focuses more on what awaits us on the other side while also exploring our culture's fear of dying, and the struggles with our own mortality. The ideas for the concept have been kicking around for some time, but it's fitting that they're only now coming to fruition.

At the core of these Portland, Oregon, heavy metal titans is Olson and guitarist Chris Evans, who've been making music together since fifth grade. They formed Lord Dying before they had a name or a record when another Portland powerhouse Red Fang beckoned them to open some shows for them in 2010. Two records and countless live performances - including tours with Voivod and Crowbar - followed.

Mysterium Tremendum is the record Olson and Evans have wanted to make since the band's inception. It's easily Lord Dying's most musically diverse album, but one that could only be made following the band's jackhammer 2013 debut Summon The Faithless, and 2015's brooding Poisoned Altars. "It's more along the lines of what we wanted to do early on," says Evans.

Lord Dying was already beginning to expand its musical palette - including moodier interludes and Olson's expanded vocal range - but Olson says once the decision was made to make a concept record, he and Evans pushed themselves to match the themes musically and vocally. You'll hear it in songs like "The End Of Experience" and the floating "Severed Forever," which sees Olson melodically doubling his vocals before returning to his trademark growl. Shorter interludes like "Tearing The Fabric Of Consciousness" and "Even The Darkness Went Away" are stunning and fragile, like nothing the band has ever done.

Olson and Evans worked tirelessly on the songs together over the course of a year-and-a-half, using programmed drum parts, and sending ideas back and forth. As Olson puts it, "It was the first time we were really able to put things under a microscope." The songs were all but ready by the time they headed to Los Angeles' West Valley Recording Studios in August of 2018 with engineer Mike Plotnikoff. L.A.-based bassist Matt Price and drummer Chase Manhattan jumped right in to bring these songs of death to life, and the results are huge and seamless.  

"Envy The End":

(Photo credit: Alyssa Herrman)




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Philadelphia's Nothing return with Spirit Of The Stairs - B-Sides & Rarities, a collection of tracks spanning the band's career at the forefront of independent rock. Previously unavailable digitally, Spirit Of The Stairs... faithfully captures Nothing's themes of addiction, loss, anxiety, and more, through demos and live recordings of such tracks as their renowned single "Dig", Tired Of Tomorrow's "Fever Queen", a faithful cover of Grouper's "Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping", and much more. The full compilation sees its release next Wednesday, March 6th via Relapse Records on all digital platforms.

Spirit Of The Stairs - B-Sides & Rarities artwork and tracklisting:

"Fever Queen" - 2014 Wilkesbarre Demo
"Pattern After Us" - DOTB B Side
"In Metal" - 2013 (Originally by Low)
"Dig" - 2012 Philly Demo
"The Mohegan" - DOTB B Side
"Vapour Trail" - Live WKDU Philly 2011 (Originally By Ride)
"I Hate The Flowers" - NPR World Cafe Live Session
"Heavy Water / I'd Rather Be Sleeping" - DOTB B Side (Originally by Grouper)
"Dirty White Glove" - DOTB B Side
"Leave Me Alone" - 2013 (Originally by New Order)
"Spell" - TOT B-Side
"Joey" - NPR World Cafe Live Session (Originally by Concrete Blonde)
"Us/We/Are" - Live Piano Version Dreamland Studios
"Tic Tac Toe" - 2013 Ave C Demo

"Heavy Water / I'd Rather Be Sleeping":

Nothing Tour Dates:

March
6 - Asbury Park Brewery - Asbury Park, NJ
7 - Brooklyn Bazaar -  Brooklyn, NY
8 - Amityville Music Hall - Amityville, NY
9 - Wind Up Space - Baltimore, MD
10 - Amo's Southend -  Charlotte, NC
11 - Republic NOLA - New Orleans, LA
12 - Stereogum Range Life - Austin, TX
13 - Three Links - Dallas, TX
14 - Official Levitation SXSW Showcase at Hotel Vegas - Austin, TX
15 - Dr. Martens Unofficial at Container Bar - Austin, TX
16 - Thrasher x Vans Deathmatch - Austin, TX

May
11 - The Broadberry - Richmond, VA
14 - Theater of the Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA
16 - Royale - Boston, MA
17 - Rec Room - Buffalo, NY
18 - Mr. Smalls Theatre - Pittsburgh, PA
21 - Hell at The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
22 - Metro - Chicago, IL
24 - Exit / In - Nashville, TN
25 - The Citadel - Indianapolis, IN
26 - Majestic Theatre - Detroit, MI

(Photo by: Nick Sayers)




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According to the Tampa Bay Times, FOZZY singer and WWE wrestling superstar Chris Jericho has purchased a gated lakefront estate in Odessa, Florida for $3.255 million. The 8,569-square-foot house has five bedrooms, six full bathrooms, a six-car garage and tennis court. Amenities include wine storage for 500 bottles.

Acclaimed actor, wrestler, musician, author, podcaster, game show host and television personality, Jericho has established himself as a multi-faceted performer with millions of fans worldwide. Jericho is one of the most popular performers in the history of World Wrestling Entertainment. In 2001 he was crowned the WWE Undisputed Champion and in 2017 become the first ever "Double Grand Slam" champion in WWE history. He has been named one of the top five most charismatic performers of all-time by WWE.com. In January 2019, he officially signed with All Elite Wrestling — a brand new pro wrestling company started by the owners of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, Tony and Shahid Khan.


Jericho hosts the hugely popular "Talk Is Jericho" podcast on Westwood One, that has amassed over 220 million downloads. Topics are diverse and past guests include Dennis Miller, Larry King, William Shatner, Steve Austin, DMC, Paul Stanley, Lars Ulrich, Kiefer Sutherland, Maria Menounos, Mike Tyson, Cheech Marin and Slash. His successful The Jericho Network also produces over a half dozen hit podcasts per week.


Chris is the lead singer of the internationally successful rock band FOZZY, whose seventh album, "Judas", has over 20 million streams on Spotify, while the hit single title track has over 26 million YouTube views, was No. 1 on iTunes charts in eight different countries and spent nine weeks in the top ten on the Active Rock Charts in the USA.


Jericho is also a four-time New York Times bestselling author with his autobiographies 2007's "A Lion's Tale: Around The World In Spandex", 2011's "Undisputed: How To Become The World Champion In 1,372 Easy Steps" and 2014's "The Best In The World: At What I Have No Idea" and "No Is A Four Letter Word" all displaying his witty, self-deprecating writing style.


Chris was a popular contestant on Season 11 of "Dancing With The Stars", hosted the ABC game show "Downfall" and the Syfy reality series "Robot Combat League" and received huge social media coverage for his appearances on "Whose Line Is It Anyway", "The Tonight Show" and AMC's "The Talking Dead".


Jericho's acting credits include featured roles in the upcoming Kevin Smith films "Kilroy Was Here" and "Jay And Silent Bob Reboot", Comedy Central's hilarious digital series "Nothing To Report", Nickelodeon's "The Thundermans", as well as creating, producing and starring in CBC's critically acclaimed original series "But I'm Chris Jericho", with Season 2 released in December 2017.

What's going on? Ex-WWE star Chris Jericho buys Odessa estate for $3.255 million - Tampa Bay Times https://t.co/Dr8UB5s12h Get found -> https://t.co/NueGBdHHfM— Irvine Business News (@IrvineBusiness) February 28, 2019

KING'S X will enter a Los Angeles-area studio in mid-April to begin recording its new album. The follow-up to 2008's "XV" is tentatively due in late 2019 via the Australian independent record label Golden Robot Records and its partners in the U.S., Europe and Japan.

Drummer Jerry Gaskill told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation" that KING'S X was "still writing" music for its new disc, while bassist/vocalist Doug "dUg" Pinnick added that he has "about 30 songs" written for possible inclusion on the band's upcoming effort.


"XV" was KING'S X's highest-charting album since 1996's "Ear Candy".

In 2005, VH1 included KING'S X in its list of "100 Greatest Artists In Hard Rock."

In a 2016 interview with The Sacramento Bee, Pinnick said that KING'S X wasn't in a hurry to work on new material.

"We have a lot of songs to choose from [for performances], and that's probably why we haven't done a record in so long," he said. "In a way, we've kind of pulled all the tricks out of our bag.

"To this day, we're perceived by our fans and outsiders as some huge thing even though we never had a really big hit," he added. "I just think we weren't considered a good flavor, so we were left on the shelf."

KING'S X was sidelined by several health scares in recent years, including Pinnick's two hernia operations and two near-fatal heart attacks suffered by Gaskill.

Arising Empire Records has announced the worldwide signing of intrepid British metal quintet Heart Of A Coward. Welcome to the family! Heart Of A Coward announced the addition of vocalist Kaan Tasan to their ranks early last year, alongside the release of bruising new track "Collapse". The band have since been busy working on new material, and are planning to release a new album in 2019.

The band stated: “We are incredibly excited to be a part of the Arising Empire family for our 4th release. Album four is always a difficult one and we couldn’t have picked a more supportive label to put this out for us. We look forward to seeing you all in 2019.”

Heart Of A Coward will be playing Download Festival UK on June 16th, and the band will be touring Europe in April as special guests to Any Given Day, alongside Tenside.




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Twelve years after the release of DRAGONFORCE's "Through The Fire And Flames", the song's music video reached a new milestone: It surpassed one hundred million views on YouTube — the band's first music video to do so.

According to Billboard, "Through The Fire And Flames", the leadoff track from 2006's "Inhuman Rampage" album, sparked a watershed moment in DRAGONFORCE's career. The song's inclusion in the "Guitar Hero" video game catapulted the band's international profile and inspired multitudes of gamers to try to keep up with guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman's lighting-fast riffs. In honor of its massive popularity, "Guitar Hero Live" included the song in its "Shred-A-Thon" on GHTV.

"It was a great feeling to see our music was heard by so many people around the world, and people were completely freaking out over it," Li recalled of when "Through The Fire And Flames" was at the height of its popularity. "We definitely do not make three-minute long, commercial music. A seven-minute, fast, melodic metal song with long guitar solos and crazy retro video games sounds became totally cool. We were getting recognized everywhere we went, from Best Buy to airport security. A couple TSA officers once asked to see my fingers. They wanted to see the fingers that recorded 'Through The Fire And Flames'!"

"Inhuman Rampage" was officially certified gold in July 2017 by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for sales in excess of half a million copies.

DRAGONFORCE's third album, "Inhuman Rampage" sold almost 10,000 copies in its first week of release to land at position No. 103 on the Billboard 200 chart.

"Inhuman Rampage" was the second-to-last album to feature original DRAGONFORCE frontman ZP Theart (now in SKID ROW), who exited the band in 2010 and was replaced by Marc Hudson.

DRAGONFORCE's latest album, "Reaching Into Infinity", was released in May 2017 via earMUSIC.

We did it, 100 million+ views on our TTFAF video!!!
Thank you so much for your support! We couldn't have done it without you. What do you like the most about this song/video? Share with us some memories.??????https://t.co/IWOgDgqQNV— DragonForce (@DragonForce) March 1, 2019

Norwegian progressive rockers LEPROUS have entered the studio to begin recording their sixth album, due later in the year via InsideOut Music.

LEPROUS drummer Baard Kolstad commented: "We entered the studio to record the drums for half of the album last week with David Castillo at Ghostward/Fascination Street Studios, same studio as we recorded the two latest studio albums. As an over-autistic control freak I am when recording myself, this time around I had more time than ever to perfectionise and experiment with my sound almost without compromises, so a big thanks to Einar and David for their patience! We also recorded one song together, drums and bass, something neither LEPROUS or I have ever done before. Feeling very good to leave the drum recording for now, focusing on the last half of the album to be recorded in May. I'm so looking forward to hear the outcome just in a few days when the guitarists have put their touch. Will be a different LEPROUS album for sure, but still LEPROUS!"

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone India, LEPROUS singer and keyboardist Einar Solberg said the band's next record would "take a pretty controversial direction."


After touring restlessly across European and North America, LEPROUS is currently on its debut tour of Latin America as the next step of its touring cycle for the current and much-acclaimed album release "Malina".

With his project Avantasia, he has long been recognized as one of the most accomplished German rock musicians. With releases and chart success in 40 countries all over the world throughout his career, Tobias Sammet has now reached the top of the charts with a sensational  #1 with his album Moonglow. But not only in Germany - the album entered the charts in countries all over the world:

Germany - #1
Sweden Rock/ Metal - #1
UK Rock Top 40 - #1
Switzerland - #3
Austria - #4
Canada Hard Music Albums - #5
Finland Physical - #5
Spain - #5
US Current Hard Music Albums - #5
Sweden - #6
Czech Republik - #8
Scotland - #9
Finland - #13
Japan (Western Music) - #13
Canada Top Current Albums - #17
France Top 150 Physical And Download - #22
Italy - #31
UK - #38
Belgium VL - #38
France Top 150 - #43
US Top Albums - #46
Netherlands - #83
Belgium WA - #121

Moonglow is available in the following formats:

- CD
- Digibook (36 pages)
- 2CD-Artbook (64 pages)
- 2LP (different colours) in gatefold
- BOX * (Digibook + CD in Sleeve + 2LP (ice blue + dark blue marble) in gatefold + bonus 10" (black) im sleeve + signed photo card + certificate + poster)

* NB-Mailorder exclusive

Order the album here.

Comprising 11 tracks, the new opus once again features several guest vocalists. This time round, Tobias worked not only with well-known faces such as Ronnie Atkins, Jørn Lande, Eric Martin, Geoff Tate, Michael Kiske and Bob Catley, but also with new singers like Candice Night, Hansi Kürsch as well as Mille Petrozza who help to vitalize the new Avantasia record. Its cover artwork was created by Alexander Jansson.

Moonglow tracklisting:

"Ghost In The Moon"
"Book Of Shallows"
"Moonglow"
"The Raven Child"
"Starlight"
"Invincible"
"Alchemy"
"The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn"
"Lavender"
"Requiem For A Dream"
"Maniac"

Bonus Track:
"Heart"

"Starlight" lyric video:

"Moonglow" video:

"Moonglow" lyric video:

"The Raven Child" lyric video:

The Moonglow World Tour 2019:

March
30 - Kaufbeuren, Germany - All Karthalle
31 - Mailand, Italy - Alcatraz

April
2 - Prague, Czech Republic - Forum Karlin
3 - Berlin, Germany - Huxley´s
5 - Ludwigsburg, Germany - Arena
6 - Bamberg, Germany - Brose Arena
8 - Fulda, Germany - Esperanto Halle
9 - Saarbrücken, Germany - Saarlandhalle
10 - Paris, France - Olympia
12 - Osnabrueck, Germany - Stadthalle
13 - Hamburg, Germany - Mehr! Theater
14 - Oberhausen, Germany - Koenig Pilsener Arena
16 - London, UK - The Forum
18 - Offenbach, Germany - Stadthalle
19 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
20 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
24 - Bilbao, Spain - Santana 27
26 - Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz 1
27 - Madrid, Spain - Palacio Vistalegre

May
2 - Stockholm, Sweden - Arenan
4 - Moscow, Russia - Glav
6 - Budapest, Hungary - Barba Negra




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Fan-filmed video footage of RED DRAGON CARTEL, the band led by former OZZY OSBOURNE and BADLANDS guitarist Jake E. Lee, performing on February 28 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California can be seen below.

RED DRAGON CARTEL's sophomore album, "Patina", was released in November via Frontiers Music Srl.

The follow-up to RED DRAGON CARTEL's eponymous 2014 debut, "Patina" marks the group's first release with drummer Phil Varone (SAIGON KICK, SKID ROW) and bassist Anthony Esposito. The band's current lineup is rounded out by singer Darren James Smith.

RED DRAGON CARTEL's new album was recorded at Esposito's Obscenic Arts studio in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania and was mixed by legendary producer Max Norman, who has previously worked with OZZY OSBOURNE, MEGADETH, SAVATAGE and LOUDNESS, among others.

In addition to being the new bassist for RED DRAGON CARTEL, Esposito co-produced the album alongside Lee.

"I think we had a great production partnership," says Jake. "He never discouraged me from trying things that were a bit outside the box; in fact, he encouraged it. His attention to detail in the recording of everything was exceptional. Much more than I alone would have toiled over. He has an incredible work ethic that kept me from lapsing into complacency. If we disagreed on how something should be, we'd find a perfect marriage of the two sides, or completely reimagine it. We didn't settle on anything unless we both agreed it was perfect. If I do another album, I'd love it to be with him again."

Another new member to RED DRAGON CARTEL is drummer Phil Varone, whose style Lee really appreciated. "Phil is a very solid and groove-oriented player, who is not afraid to turn things upside down to give the song a more unique flavor," explains Lee.

"Patina" marks a change of style from the debut RED DRAGON CARTEL album, featuring a more bluesy hard rock direction as opposed to its predecessor's heavier leanings.

Lee says: "The first album was more of a piecemeal production with some of the song ideas being 10 years old and never having more than one player in the room at any time. I wanted to do this one from scratch with all the songs originating and worked on with everyone in the room, on their instruments. It felt much more organic, like the way I used to do it for the first 20 years of my career — more honest to my roots."

When asked about his musical inspirations for the record, Jake says: "My inspirations for 'Patina' are from the artists I loved during my youth. Robin Trower, Santana, BLACK SABBATH, CAPTAIN BEYOND, THIN LIZZY, GRAND FUNK RAILROAD, David Bowie… I could go on and on, but let me also say that there are also hints of SLY & THE FAMILY STONE, Dick Dale, psychedelia and even some George Benson. Don't let any of that scare you — it all makes sense!"

"Patina" is a definitive statement of Jake's unbelievable skills with a monster production from Esposito and a perfect mix, courtesy of Norman, whose relationship with Jake dates back to the guitarist's days with OZZY OSBOURNE.

Back in September 2015, RED DRAGON CARTEL was rejoined by Darren James Smith after a period of several months during which the band played shows with a number of other vocalists, including former JONES STREET frontman Shawn Crosby, Canadian singer Paul D'Eath (CITIZENS UNITE, MUSHROOM TRAIL), Chas West (Jason Bonham, LYNCH MOB, 3 LEGGED DOGG) and Michael Beck.

JOHN 5 AND THE CREATURES — comprised of world-renowned guitarist John 5, bassist Ian Ross and drummer Logan Miles Nix — have released yet another music video in support of their forthcoming full-length album, "Invasion", this time for the track "I Am John 5". The clip acts as a sequel to the album's first music video/single, "Zoinks!", once again featuring an innovative blend of classic 2D hand drawn animation and mindblowing 3D computer generated imagery.


As with "Zoinks!", the "I Am John 5" video was animated, written and directed by Disney animator Brett Boggs ("Frozen", "Wreck-It Ralph") with scoring by Fred Coury and recording/mixing by Barry Pointer.


The mad scientist in the "I Am John 5" video is voice acted by none other than Butch Patrick, a.k.a. the iconic Eddie Munster, himself.


Check out the video below.


John 5 says: "In this video, I am transformed into a mechanical monster and controlled by the mad scientist — performed by Butch Patrick a.k.a. Eddie Munster — to destroy Hollywood! I'm programmed with my laser beam guitar to destroy everything in my path! You'll have to watch to see what happens..."


Just like 2017's "Season Of The Witch", "Invasion" — produced and mixed by Barry Pointer and scheduled for release during the summer of 2019 — is being made available via a series of music videos.


JOHN 5 AND THE CREATURES just kicked off their North American "Invasion" tour in Mesa, Arizona. The show featured a very special encore performance guest — the mighty Alice Cooper. Select dates of the trek — specifically Hollywood, California; Anaheim, California; and Sacramento, California — are scheduled to feature more very special, high-caliber mystery guests. It has already been announced that the Hollywood, California show will feature special guests Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT, STONE SOUR), Shavo Odadjian (SYSTEM OF A DOWN), Fred Coury (composer, CINDERELLA) and Michael Anthony (CHICKENFOOT, ex-VAN HALEN).


The entire tour features support from blues-rock guitarist Jared James Nichols and rock outfit DEAD GIRLS ACADEMY.

Less than two years since the release of "The Missing Peace" — the first L.A. GUNS album since 2002's "Waking The Dead" to feature founding guitarist Tracii Guns and vocalist Phil Lewis — the group will issue a follow-up effort, "The Devil You Know", on March 29 via Frontiers Music Srl.

The latest single from the disc, "Rage", can be streamed below.

Sonically, "The Devil You Know" covers a lot of ground and incorporates influences from BLACK SABBATH to LED ZEPPELIN to KYUSS to THE HELLICOPTERS, all while distinctly sounding like L.A. GUNS. The band is rejuvenated and inspired after relentless touring and is taking no prisoners.

"After the success of 'The Missing Peace', a lot of people requested that the next record stay on track with the more metal side of the band's music, which is my personal favorite side of the band," says Guns. He continues: "I drew from my typical influences of NWOBHM [New Wave Of British Heavy Metal], while still not forgetting my earlier influences of the late '60s and early '70s."

"It's loaded with attitude and most of it bad," says Lewis of the album's lyrical content. You want a love song — [fuck] off and listen to JOURNEY. They say write about what you know, and lord knows we've all known some evil bitches and dudes that have gone out of their way to make life difficult for us. We say unanimously from the whole band — [fuck] you, we're going places you could only dream about. We know what it's like to be put down, poked, ridiculed... but guess what, looks like we get the last laugh. This band has always been fueled by adrenaline and anger and this record is a glimpse inside the carnival of rage that dwells deep inside our collective souls. Not much sunshine and hold tight to your lollipop... This is gonna be a fast, loud, bumpy ride!"

"The Devil You Know" track listing:

01. Rage

02. Stay Away

03. Loaded Bomb

04. The Devil You Know

05. Needle To The Bone

06. Going High

07. Gone Honey

08. Don't Need To Win

09. Down That Hole

10. Another Season In Hell

11. Boom (bonus track; CD and digital only)

When "The Missing Peace" was released in October of 2017, it added a new and unexpected chapter to the long and often confusing history of L.A. GUNS, who, along with W.A.S.P., are the longest-running, continuously active group of the 1980s Sunset Strip scene.

Since being founded by guitarist Guns and drummer Rob Gardner in 1983, more than 50 musicians have performed under the L.A. GUNS moniker, including Axl Rose (who fronted the group prior to forming HOLLYWOOD ROSE, and then again for a brief period after that band's breakup), Ralph Saenz (better known as Michael Starr of STEEL PANTHER), Jizzy Pearl (LOVE/HATE, QUIET RIOT), Chuck Garric (ALICE COOPER), Chris Holmes (W.A.S.P.) and Keri Kelli (NIGHT RANGER, RATT).

In 1987 — two years after Guns left the original lineup of GUNS N' ROSES to restart L.A. GUNS with a group of musicians, including Mick Cripps — the band 's "classic lineup" was solidified with the additions of vocalist Lewis (GIRL), bassist Kelly Nickels and drummer Steve Riley (W.A.S.P.). Those five members appeared on the group's first three albums — its eponymous 1988 debut, 1989's "Cocked & Loaded" and 1991's "Hollywood Vampires".

When Riley left the band in 1992, it began a rotating door lineup that continues in full force in 2018, a year in which four guitarists have performed alongside Guns. The group's current lineup officially features Guns, Lewis, drummer Shane Fitzgibbon, bassist Johnny Martin and bassist-turned-guitarist Adam Hamilton, who played with the band from 2001 to 2007 and rejoined earlier this year after the departure of Johnny Monaco (ENUFF Z'NUFF). Because Hamilton is unable to tour extensively, however, the group recently announced that FASTER PUSSYCAT guitarist Ace Von Johnson will join them on longer tours.

For a number of years after Guns left the band in 2002 to focus on BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION — a group that also featured MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx — there were two competing versions of L.A. GUNS: one featuring Lewis and Riley, and another featuring Guns. After the latter incarnation disbanded in 2012, Guns and Lewis gradually began making amends, performing a full set of L.A. GUNS material together at a Las Vegas concert in 2015 before officially joining forces (while initially being billed as L.A. GUNS' PHIL LEWIS & TRACII GUNS) for a handful of concerts the following year. For the past two years, the group has toured and recorded simply as L.A. GUNS.

In 2019, however, there are once again competing incarnations of L.A. GUNS, as Riley — who was in the group for a total of 27 years and is said to own 50 percent of the band's name — will perform at the M3 Rock Festival in Columbia, Maryland in May under the L.A. GUNS moniker with a lineup that will include Nickels and guitarist Scott Griffin (who played bass for the band from 2007 until 2009, and then again from 2011 to 2014).

Since the M3 performance was announced, Guns and Riley have traded barbs on social media. "Some guys would rather headline a sports bar than play on a great bill like M3," Riley wrote on December 6. "L.A. GUNS is back to being a fantastic band and Steve Riley is still a drummer," Guns responded. He subsequently added, "What would you have done without my name [for] the last 15 years, you ungrateful punk?"

Tim "Ripper" Owens says that the albums he made with JUDAS PRIEST feature some of the most diverse vocals of his career.

The Ohio-based singer created two studio LPs with the British heavy metal legends — 1997's "Jugulator" and 2001's "Demolition" — before the band reunited with Rob Halford.

During a brand new interview with "The Metal Command", Owens reflected on the music he produced with PRIEST, saying: "'Demolition', in time, ended up becoming my favorite one I did with them, because there's some of my favorite songs on it, as a whole. But 'Jugulator' is an amazing record. And what I like about it… It was hard to record, because they were like kids in a candy store. Glenn [Tipton, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist] would just say, 'Can you do this?' 'Can you sound like this?' 'Can you sing like this?' It's got all the way from death metal undertones that I'm singing underneath — death metal to the high notes. It's funny, because people don't realize this — it probably has one of the biggest ranges of vocals on it that I've done on a record, because of that… And ICED EARTH had a wide range as well, but the only one that has never been put as much on a record until maybe BEYOND FEAR was the hard, PANTERA, death metal kind of voice. Glenn loved it, man. He would just always push me and push me and push me: 'Do this.' 'Cause he knew I could do it. I had a different type of range that I had [and] different voices that I could sing."

Owens continued: "It was a great time and great records. One of my favorite songs of all time was 'Blood Stained'. And then to come back and do songs like 'Hell Is Home' and 'One On One'. 'One On One', there's those death metal undertones in. The studio version is fantastic, when I go back and listen to it, 'cause it has that… I always said it needed to be a song that a wrestler or a boxer would be coming into a ring with."

Tim also defended "Jugulator" and "Demolition" against criticism over the albums' commercial performance. No longer on a major label, changing attitudes in the music scene towards heavy metal found PRIEST playing mostly to smaller venues with a scaled-down stage set.

"It was a different singer, different time," Tim said. "First of all, heavy metal was almost nonexistent at that time. No bands — AC/DC; I don't care who you were — you weren't playing arenas, first of all. It was bad. It was a really bad part of metal, that time. But those records, to me, are amazing."

In a 2016 interview with StrikeCanal, Owens defended himself against accusations by some JUDAS PRIEST fans of changing the band's sound to a more brutal, modern direction on "Jugulator". He explained: "Every record JUDAS PRIEST puts out is different. I mean, 'Nostradamus' sounds nothing like JUDAS PRIEST ever wrote, ever. 'Turbo' sounded nothing like JUDAS PRIEST. You know, JUDAS PRIEST changes. They wrote 'Painkiller', and 'Jugulator' was a transition; it was kind of following what was going on."

He continued: "You've gotta remember, JUDAS PRIEST always went with the times a little bit. Glenn started playing arpeggios. PANTERA was really big [at the time]. [On the] 'Painkiller' [tour], they toured with PANTERA; PANTERA opened for JUDAS PRIEST. 'Painkiller' was a heavy record, and this was a natural progression. The difference is I probably had a few more different layers to my voice that they could tap into — some deeper, death metal kind of undertones to do backups and some different types of voices that they might be able to try. But it was JUDAS PRIEST."

Swedish unorthodox black/death metal band Godhead Machinery is set to release their second album, Aligned To The Grid, on April 5th via Inverse Records. The official video for the first single, "Alpha", can be viewed below.

The band has issued the following statement:

“We are very proud and excited to finally pronounce that our second album, Aligned To The Grid, is ready for release and that Inverse Records will stand behind our cause once again. Our new blasphemous production was made in Endarker Studios and is filled with songs and lyrics of a much broader spectrum than ever before. The song 'Alpha' will be our first single and will also take form as our first real music video as a band. It’s very hard to pick one track for the representation of the whole album, but 'Alpha' was chosen since it summaries most of our musical and lyrical strive.”

The Aligned To The Grid tracklist is as follows:

"Tithe II"
"Alpha"
"The Existential Strive"
"Call of the Banner"
"Defiant Silence"
"Hymns of the Wicked"
"Above a Legion of Equals"
"Impassive Atrocity"
"Illusion"
"Aligned To The Grid"




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LACUNA COIL frontwoman Cristina Scabbia says that the band's next album will be "heavy and dark."

The Italian heavy rockers' follow-up to 2016's "Delirium" is tentatively due before the end of the year via Century Media.

Earlier today, Scabbia took to her Instagram account to write: "So many great things going to happen but I can’t say anything now, damnit!! Oh, the new record is going to be damn awesome, heavy and dark, just so you know...#staytuned #aaaaahcantwait"

Back in 2017, Cristina told Metal Wani that LACUNA COIL's next disc could see the band pursuing a heavier 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 said. "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 oinn 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.

View this post on Instagram So many great things going to happen but I can’t say anything now, damnit!! Oh, the new record is going to be damn’ awesome, heavy and dark, just so you know...#staytuned #aaaaahcantwait A post shared by ???????? ??????? (@cristinascabbia) on Mar 1, 2019 at 10:49am PST