The clip below features Warner Music's look inside Black Sabbath's new box set, The Vinyl Collection 1970 - 1978. 

The limited edition, 9LP set brings together the band's first eight suit albums, plus a new mono singles collection. Available here, the set was produced in a limited, numbered edition of 3,000 copies.

When Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward formed Black Sabbath in 1969, the quartet conjured a primal sound that was heavier, louder and more menacing than anything that had come before. The band recorded a series of metal masterpieces in the ’70s that became the blueprint for heavy music and influenced generations of headbangers for years to come.

Rhino’s new collection spans the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s first eight years with a nine-LP boxed set that includes 180-gram vinyl pressings of the band’s eight studio albums from the era, along with a new mono singles collection. The set also comes with a 7” single featuring “Evil Woman (Don’t Play Your Games With Me)” and “Wicked World,” a single that wasn’t originally released in North America. Also included in the set are reproductions of the original tour books from this era.

The collection brings together some of the most powerful metal albums ever recorded, including the band’s eponymous debut (1970); the multi-platinum landmark Paranoid (1970); the platinum albums Master Of Reality (1971), Vol. 4 (1972), and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973); the gold-certified Sabotage (1975); plus Technical Ecstasy (1976) and Never Say Die! (1978)

These albums contain a long list of metal classics, like “Black Sabbath,” “War Pigs,” “Iron Man,” “Paranoid,” “Sweet Leaf,” “Children Of The Grave,” “Into The Void,” “Changes,” “Supernaut,” “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,” “Never Say Die,” and “Dirty Woman.”

The Vinyl Collection 1970-1978 also comes with Monomania, a new compilation of mono versions for several key songs from the Black Sabbath canon, including edited versions of “Iron Man,” “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” and a previously unreleased edit of “Into The Void.” In addition to mono versions of studio tracks, Monomania also features a radio ad released in 1970 to promote Black Sabbath.




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Finnish power metal band Metal De Facto has unleashed a lyric video for "The Ascending of Jupiter," the latest single from their upcoming debut album, Imperium Romanum, due for release on November 22 in Europe and December 13 in North America via Rockshots Records.

Singer Mikael Salo and bass player Sami Hinkka comment about the song, "'The Ascending of Jupiter' is about the mighty Roman thunder god. Besides writing about the mythology behind Jupiter, we also wanted to explore how gods influenced the life of the average Roman citizens. Musically, we wanted to combine the blistering speed and soaring melodies of power metal, to the pounding strength and viciousness of traditional heavy metal! The video was made by Jouni Valjakka, who is also known from the band Whispered. We're big fans of Jouni's video work, and knew that no one else could capture the thunderous flight through the heavens which the song and its theme require quite like him!"

Imperium Romanum was recorded, mixed and mastered at Goodman Studios and Tadaa Music Studio by Esa Orjatsalo. The artwork was created by the renowned Hungarian artist Gyula Havancsák (Blind Guardian'sTwilight Orchestra, Stratovarius, Accept, Grave Digger, Powerwolf). The album also features a spoken word by Maurizio Iacono (Kataklysm, Ex-Deo) in the last song, "Germanicus."

Metal De Facto was formed in late 2017 by Esa Orjatsalo (ex-Dreamtale) and Sami Hinkka (Ensiferum), who had met and discussed the deeper meanings of power metal on Ensiferum's tour bus. The lineup was soon completed with Atte Marttinen (ex-Kivimetsän Druidi), Benji Connelly (Everfrost), Mikko Salovaara (Leverage) and Mikael Salo (Everfrost). The band promises to "Make Power Metal Great Again" with their powerful sound and epic concepts that deal with different historical themes and mythologies.

The idea was that every album would have a theme based on a certain country's/culture's history and mythology. The debut album will deal with the Roman Empire and the many tales, true stories and philosophies associated with it. Each song is about a different aspect of this grand topic, and while being enjoyable as escapist storytelling in itself, also delves into the mindset of the different characters and people from whose perspectives the songs are written.

Tracklisting:

“The Conqueror”
“Legionnaires’ Oath”
“Naturalis Historia”
“Inferno”
“Bacchanalia”
“Echoes In Eternity”
“Colosseum”
“Ides Of March”
“The Ascending Of Jupiter”
“Germanicus” (feat. Maurizio Iacono)

"The Ascending Of Jupiter" lyric video:

“The Conqueror”:




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SAXON guitarist Doug Scarratt spoke to The Metal Voice about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's follow-up to 2018's "Thunderbolt" album. He said (hear audio below): "We don't go into the studio and lock the doors anymore; we do write more at home, just because it's just such a large commitment now for everyone to make. But we had quite a few weeks in the studio together hacking out some ideas. Nibbs [Carter, bass] has written a lot of material on this record. But, at the moment, we're at a stage where a lot can change and songs can disappear and other songs can come up; there's still time."

According to Doug, SAXON Biff Byford will put his vocals down on the new songs in early 2020 — just a few months after the band was forced to postpone all its previously announced 2019 shows so that Byford could undergo an emergency triple bypass surgery in September.

"We've got 10 or 11 tracks to lay down, and I think Biff's gonna start… I mean, he's already been working on some of the stuff anyway — lyrics and melody. So I think his plan is to start trying to put some stuff down January/February time and see where we go.

"We're early on in the process, but we have quite a bit of material to play with at the moment," he said. "They're vehicles for Biff to write lyrics and melody to. Although I think Biff — he can't sit still, so he's been sat at home… There are some definites there. And they might not all be definite. But we're at a phase where until we actually put guitars down and try some things, the things could still change quite a bit at this point.

Asked about drummer Nigel Glockler's recent comment that the new SAXON material is shaping up to be "more groove-oriented yet still heavy," Doug said: "There's definitely a couple that fit that bill. There's some mad fast stuff as well at the moment. But at the moment, they're just kind of musical structures. You get a thing that you like the sound of what's happening, but until there's vocals and melody on there, you've just got a backing track. So it's not a song yet. But you still usually get a feel when something is just gonna be great. You're not always right — sometimes you write music and you think, 'I love this,' and it just doesn't go anywhere. But that's the nature of what we do. And we do like to experiment still."

Byford and guitarist Paul Quinn are the sole remaining original members in the group's current lineup, which issued its 22nd LP, "Thunderbolt", in February 2018.

Originally from South Yorkshire, England, SAXON has gone on to sell about 23 million albums and has produced such classic songs as "Denim And Leather", "Princess Of The Night", "Wheels Of Steel" and "Power And Glory".

METALLICA's Lars Ulrich has paid tribute to MERCYFUL FATE's Timi Hansen, calling him "part of a musical force that helped shape METALLICA's sound, direction and desire to be in a hard rock band."

Hansen died on Monday (November 4) after a long battle with cancer. His death was confirmed by his former bandmate, MERCYFUL FATE singer King Diamond.

Timi went public with his diagnosis in early August after it was announced that he wouldn't participate in MERCYFUL FATE's 2020 reunion. Filling in for him will be ARMORED SAINT and FATES WARNING bassist Joey Vera.

Earlier tonight, Ulrich took to his personal Instagram to share a photo of Hansen and wrote in an accompanying message: "Incredibly saddened to hear the news of Timi Hansen's untimely passing. He was not only a close friend of mine and a close friend of the band's, but he was part of a musical force that helped shape METALLICA's sound, direction & desire to be in a hard rock band.

"Timi was of course the OG bass player in MERCYFUL FATE, who most of you hopefully know have played a significant role in our history. Along with his fellow bandmates, King, Hank, Michael & Kim, they welcomed us to Denmark in 1984 with open arms, let us use their rehearsal studio where we wrote songs for the 'Ride The Lightning' album, leant us their equipment, showed us the best of Copenhagen, became our partners in crime....Over the years we enjoyed endless amounts of incredible moments together, including an almost complete reunion at our 30th Anniversary shows at the Fillmore in 2011. And ultimately, again as most of you know, we recorded 12 minutes of their finest musical moments as the track 'Mercyful Fate' on the 'Garage Inc.' album in '98 and have enjoyed playing that occasionally over the years with various members joining us for their respective parts."

Ulrich, a fellow Dane, also added a short message in Danish, writing: "Timi Forhelvede man, tak for de fede minder og for de fedeste stunder!"

MERCYFUL FATE will reunite for an unspecified number of concerts throughout Europe during the summer of 2020, including next year's edition of the Copenhell festival, set to take place June 17-20, 2020 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Lars played drums on a new version of MERCYFUL FATE's "Return of the Vampire" on the "In The Shadows" album, which came out in 1993.

METALLICA's medley of classic MERCYFUL FATE songs, "Mercyful Fate", included parts from "Satan's Fall", "Curse Of The Pharaohs", "A Corpse Without Soul", "Into The Coven" and "Evil".
























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Incredibly saddened to hear the news of Timi Hansen’s untimely passing. He was not only a close friend of mine and a close friend of the band’s, but he was part of a musical force that helped shape Metallica’s sound, direction & desire to be in a hard rock band. Timi was of course the OG bass player in Mercyful Fate, who most of you hopefully know have played a significant role in our history. Along with his fellow bandmates, King, Hank, Michael & Kim, they welcomed us to Denmark in 1984 with open arms, let us use their rehearsal studio where we wrote songs for the “Ride the Lightning” album, leant us their equipment, showed us the best of Copenhagen, became our partners in crime....Over the years we enjoyed endless amounts of incredible moments together, including an almost complete reunion at our 30th Anniversary shows at the Fillmore in 2011. And ultimately, again as most of you know, we recorded 12 minutes of their finest musical moments as the track “Mercyful Fate” on the Garage Inc. album in ’98 and have enjoyed playing that occasionally over the years with various members joining us for their respective parts. Timi Forhelvede man, tak for de fede minder og for de fedeste stunder! Rest In Peace.

A post shared by Lars Ulrich (@larsulrich) on Nov 4, 2019 at 6:27pm PST

Madfish proudly present the ultimate box set of Gentle Giant music - Unburied Treasure. Highly regarded in the prog-rock world for the 12 albums they released between 1970 and 1980, this comprehensive set sees the band’s catalogue augmented by 15 new concert albums: seven never previously released, seven never previously officially released and one never previously released on CD. The 30-disc total also includes two posthumous live/outtake albums and a Blu-ray bonus disc. Also included are books, posters, replica promotional items and much more.

Unburied Treasure will be released on December 6 and is limited to 2,000 copies. Fans can pre-order it here.

Gentle Giant members - Malcolm Mortimore, Kerry Minnear, Derek Shulman & Gary Green – reunited to unbox the first-ever copy of Unburied Treasure in front of fans at the 20th anniversary of GORGG (Global On-Reflection Giant Gathering) in New Jersey, USA, October 2019. Watch the band also reminisce over photos, albums, performances and memorabilia:

Giant emerged from the ashes of chart hitmakers Simon Dupree and the Big Sound to become standard-bearers of the Seventies progressive movement. Their career often paralleled Genesis, their neighbours in the record racks, but while they frequently fought shy of commerciality – largely due to their pop past – and paid the price in sales terms, their uncompromising attitude won them a strong following in continental Europe.

They also enjoyed cult status in the States. When Frank Zappa was asked in 1978 who he was currently listening to, he namechecked Queen and Gentle Giant. (Coincidentally, Roy Thomas Baker not only engineered Giant's earliest sessions but went on to produce the iconic “Bohemian Rhapsody”.)   

Strictly limited to 2,000 copies, this lavishly presented collection is clad in Bob Venables' new artwork, based on the iconic sleeve created by illustrator and Bowie alumnus George Underwood for the band’s Vertigo label debut in 1970. That full album has been remixed for this release's Blu-ray disc by prolific rock musician Steven Wilson, whose reputation for remixing prog-rock classics in recent years is second to none. The remix is available in high resolution 96/24 Stereo LPCM, 96/24 5.1 surround LPCM and DTS-HD 5.1 surround mixes, and the instrumental mixes for every track are also included.

The foundation of the set is the dozen albums officially released during Gentle Giant's 11 years as a recording act – but, for all their studio skills, Giant's musical abilities were given freest rein on stage. Yet only one live album, 1977's double vinyl Playing The Fool, was issued in their lifetime, so fans will be in seventh heaven at the prospect of 15 unreleased sets. Covering almost every period of the band's existence, they allow the individual members' multi-instrumental abilities to be appreciated to their fullest extent.

Arrangements were changed and refined from tour to tour, including many segues and medleys, so these concert recordings offer year-by-year evidence of the band's progression. All the music, live and studio, has been remastered by Pete Reynolds, acclaimed for his work on the Wishbone Ash box of 2018.

The audio experience is enhanced by a magnificent 136-page coffee table book. This combines rare photographs and memorabilia with a painstakingly researched history by Alan Kinsman. A fan for 45 years, he has achieved the near impossible by interviewing all members of the band in depth, including Phil Shulman who left brothers Derek and Ray to pilot the band in 1973 after providing much of the initial impetus. The result is a must-read that will unlock many mysteries, clear up misunderstandings and finally give the music the context it deserves.

Also exclusive to this limited-edition set are:

- A band photo signed by the classic line-up of Derek Shulman, Ray Shulman, Gary Green, Kerry Minnear and John Weathers.
- An exclusive 96-page tour history book compiled by Jack Skelly offering informed commentary on the live recordings, set lists, on-the-road memorabilia and more.
- Two replica posters, one from Giant’s debut gig in 1970 and the other promoting 1974's classic The Power And The Glory album.
- Replicas of album giveaway items: the Playing The Fool LP booklet (included with the initial pressing only) and the Giant For A Day mask.
- A replica of the jigsaw used to promote the Missing Piece album.
- The chance to win a reproduction of Giant's rarest ever piece of memorabilia – a screen-printed mirror produced to promote The Power And The Glory; only 100 were originally created. A golden 'missing piece' included at random in one box set may be traded in by the lucky winner for this coveted item.

For too long prog-rock's best-kept secret, Gentle Giant finally achieved wider recognition in 2015, upsetting the odds to scoop Prog magazine's coveted Lifetime Achievement Award. Two years later, their home city of Portsmouth honoured their achievements both as a band and individually by inducting them into the Hall of Fame at the Guildhall; Derek went on to become a leading record-business figure, Ray a noted producer. Unburied Treasure is further recognition that this was a band ahead of its time, and one whose unwillingness to compromise has ultimately enhanced its legacy.

“Giant always set out to have a good time and to make sure the audience had a good time,” says drummer John Weathers. “We'd always go on and see if we could play better than we did the night before. I can't wait to see this definitive box set.”

Derek Shulman would “like Gentle Giant to be remembered as a group with integrity. It wasn't done for any other reason than simply being together playing music and challenging ourselves to be better. We hated compromise, and we had a lot of integrity in terms of what the music was about.”  

For fans of quality progressive rock, Unburied Treasure is the motherlode.

Watch the Unburied Treasure trailer below. Pre-order the box set here.




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Australian melodic death metal group Remission have just unveiled a music video for the title track from their forthcoming debut album The Tether’s End, which is set for release on November 15th.

Recorded between Vision Studios and their rehearsal space by Cody Brooks, mixed and mastered by Colin Dickie, The Tether's End features 11 tracks spanning 53 minutes of powerful and aggressive music. It’s a fierce and pummelling mixture of crushing thrash and melodic death metal in the vein of Sylosis and The Black Dahlia Murder.

For further details, visit Remission on Facebook.

 




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LAST IN LINE bassist Phil Soussan has accused Democrats of "exhibiting antiquated Soviet communist tactics and behavior."

Soussan, who frequently tweets in support of President Trump's policies, took to the social media platform last week to assail Democrats for their efforts to impeach the 45th U.S. president.

"Democrats have become so far left that they are now exhibiting antiquated Soviet Communist tactics and behavior," he wrote. "You cannot eliminate politicians because you don't like them or have #TrumpDerangementSyndrome Ironically the very same implying that their own mentors hurt an election"

When a fan responded, "My democratic dollars buy your records, tour shirts, and tickets to your shows," Soussan wrote: "I do a lot of business with traditional democrats and understood that in a democracy one can have a difference of opinion?" The fan countered, "Absolutely. But it does wear thin when artists one admires beat the 'anti' drum so loudly and regularly. I guess that's why so many people hate Bono." To that, Soussan replied: "I get it. I am a fiscal conservative and believe that business builds everything, not governments. Growing up in Iron Curtain Europe I know first hand where extreme socialism leads and cannot support it. I do respect traditional democrats however, although they are a dying breed"

The same day, Soussan implored his Twitter followers who "object to this diehard impeachment narrative" to sign a petition against the Democrat-led efforts.

According to a new Fox News Poll, nearly half of voters want President Trump impeached and removed from office. The president quickly dismissed the results, saying that he has "the real polls" and that all others are "fake" and "lousy." He told reporters on Sunday: "You're looking at the wrong polls. I have the real polls. The CNN polls are fake. The Fox polls have always been lousy. I tell them they ought to get themselves a new pollster." Trump went on to say that "real polls" actually show that the public is not in favor of impeachment. The impeachment investigation, according to him, is a "hoax" and a "phony scam."

Back in March, Soussan angered some people on Twitter when he slammed the environmental Green New Deal — the landmark proposal by Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez which seeks to address climate change and income inequality — saying that "global temperature fluctuations are caused primarily by solar activity." A few days earlier, the 58-year-old British-born bassist lambasted Wolf Blitzer of CNN after attorney general William Barr released a summary of special counsel Robert Mueller's report that noted the "investigation did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election."

LAST IN LINE's sophomore album, "II", was released in February via Frontiers Music Srl.




Democrats have become so far left that they are now exhibiting antiquated Soviet Communist tactics and behavior You cannot eliminate politicians because you don't like them or have #TrumpDerangementSyndrome Ironically the very same implying that their own mentors hurt an election

— Phil Soussan (@philsoussan) October 31, 2019








I do a lot of business with traditional democrats and understood that in a democracy one can have a difference of opinion?

— Phil Soussan (@philsoussan) November 1, 2019








I get it. I am a fiscal conservative and believe that business builds everything, not governments. Growing up in Iron Curtain Europe I know first hand where extreme socialism leads and cannot support it. I do respect traditional democrats however, although they are a dying breed

— Phil Soussan (@philsoussan) November 2, 2019








If you object to this diehard impeachment narrative - Sign the Petition! https://t.co/hzauMeb6Ro via @Change

— Phil Soussan (@philsoussan) October 31, 2019

Season Of Mist have announced the signing Swedish folk rock pioneers, Garmarna. The band will release their brand new album via Season Of Mist in 2020, which is mixed by Heilung's Christopher Juul.

Regarding the signing, the band comments: "We are excited to join the expansive world of Season Of Mist! For us, this is a new chapter and we appreciate the label is taking a new turn in joining us on this continuous saga. The new album is a fresh take on the classic sound of Garmarna. Mixed by Christopher Juul of Heilung, with guest appearances of Maria Franz (Heilung), Ulf Gruvberg (Folk & Rackare) and Anders Norudde (Hedningarna), we embrace our past and find a new way to play with it for the future. Backed by dedicated fans in our Kickstarter-campaign, we have a very solid new Garmarna album and we are eager to take this on together with Season Of Mist!"

More than 25 years in the making, Garmarna is continuing to invent what music rooted in the Scandinavian tradition is about. After 15 years of silence the band’s sixth album, 6, was released early 2016, moving them further into previously unexplored territory. Not that they have backed away from excursions previously, as perhaps most obvious on Hildegard von Bingen (2001), but 6 focused more on Garmarna’s own abilities - as well as several cooperations with other Swedish major artists (Maxida Märak, Thåström, Annika Norlin).

The lineup hasn’t changed over the years, the core of the music is still the same and their persistence hasn’t only won them a Swedish Grammy, a cover on Billboard Magazine and taken them on countless tours over most parts of the world; it has proven a beloved recipe for anyone with a deep love of music, no matter what genre.

Garmarna is without borders, inclusive and generous. Feel free to join.

Lineup:

Emma Härdelin: Vocals, violin
Stefan Brisland-Ferner: Violin, viola, hurdy gurdy, tagelharpa, electronics, backing vocals
Jens Höglin: Drums, electronics
Rickard Westman: Guitar, bass
Gotte Ringqvist: Guitar, violin, tagelharpa, backing vocals

(Photo - Severus Tenenbaum)




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LINDEMANN, the project featuring vocalist Till Lindemann of German industrial metallers RAMMSTEIN and Swedish producer and multi-instrumentalist Peter Tägtgren (HYPOCRISY, PAIN), will embark on a European tour in February.

So far, the following shows have been announced:

Feb. 04 - Hannover, Germany - Swiss Life Hall

Feb. 06 - Cologne, Germany - Palladium

Feb. 08 - Vienna, Austria - Gasometer

Feb. 10 - Prague, Czech Republic - O2 Universum

Feb. 12 - Offenbach, Germany - Stadthalle

Feb. 14 - Leipzig, Germany - Haus Auensee

Feb. 17 - Munich, Germany - Zenith

Feb. 19 - Zurich, Switzerland - Halle 622

Feb. 21 - Paris, France - La Cigale

Feb. 23 - London, UK - O2 Forum Kentish Town

Feb. 27 - Stockholm, Sweden - Munchenbryggeriet

Feb. 29 - Helsinki, Finland - Black Box

LINDEMANN's second album, "F & M", will arrive on November 22. The follow-up to 2015's "Skills In Pills" was once again produced and mixed by Tägtgren.

In this renewed collaboration, the duo takes some unfamiliar and sometimes unexpected paths.

"Skills In Pills" reached gold status in Germany and was entirely in English. On this second opus, the rules have changed: German lyrics sung by Lindemann's unmistakable voice are set in an intense and unique musical composition.

The starting point of these new LINDEMANN songs was a collaboration between Lindemann and the Hamburg Thalia Theater in the context of a modern adaptation of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Hänsel & Gretel", which addresses topics such as fear, hope, poverty, abundance, cannibalism or death.

Five songs from this critically acclaimed play have been supplemented with six brand new masterpieces to form the impressive new studio work from LINDEMANN.

"F & M" will be released on the following formats:

* Standard edition (6-panel digipack)

* Special edition (deluxe hardcover book)

* 2LP (180-gram black vinyl)

* Digital formats

Metallica have released video footage of their performance of "Disposable Heroes", filmed at Kantolan Tapahtumapuisto in Hämeenlinna, Finland on July 16, 2019. Watch below:

Metallica's next schedule live performance is on March 28, 2020 for the All Within My Hands Helping Hands Concert & Auction at The Masonic in San Francisco, CA. Find the band's live itinerary here.

Metallica have released a preview for the upcoming new book, The ABCs Of Metallica. Watch "K" Is For Kirk below.

Metallica announced the book with the following message: "We have a new book coming out and this time it rhymes! We’re having a bit of fun as The ABCs Of Metallica hits the shelves and online book stores on November 26, 2019, all for a great cause with a portion of the proceeds benefiting All Within My Hands as we continue to support workforce education and the fight against hunger.

"Including rhymes and illustrations, The ABCs Of Metallica looks back at the history of the band from, duh, A to Z! Each letter of the alphabet highlights a moment along our journey from Garage Days to Master Of Puppets to fun facts about us. The book is co-authored by Howie Abrams (The Merciless Book of Metal Lists, Hip-Hop Alphabet), with illustrations by Michael "Kaves" McLeer, who participated in Metallica's Obey Your Master exhibit in 2012.

"Books, as well as bundles with Young Metal Attack merchandise, are available for pre-order now in the Met Store."

Danny Wimmer Presents recently announced that Metallica will exclusively headline all five of the premier independent producer’s hard rock festivals in 2020 in a unique collaboration unprecedented for any American festival promoter or band. Metallica's 2020 US festival press conference is now available for streaming below.

Says Metallica: "You know we love a challenge, so when Danny Wimmer Presents invited us to headline all five of their Spring/Fall US rock festivals, that sounded like great fun. But play two separate sets on two nights in the same weekend? Definitely count us in! In another Metallica first, we’ll be playing at all five of the Wimmer rock festivals in 2020 with two separate sets, one on Friday night, one on Sunday night."

Recently named the world’s biggest all-time touring act by Pollstar, Metallica will - for the first time ever - perform two separate headlining sets at all of the following events in 2020:

- Epicenter (May 1-3) at its new location at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC

- Welcome To Rockville (May 8-10) at its new location at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL

- Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival (May 15-17) at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, OH

- Louder Than Life (September 18-20) at Highland Festival Grounds at KY Expo Center in Louisville, KY

- Aftershock (October 9-11) at Discovery Park in Sacramento, CA

These events will be the only chance to see Metallica at a US festival in 2020. In addition to two appearances at each festival, Metallica will also deliver a unique set list for each performance, resulting in 10 different shows over the course of the year.

“Metallica isn’t just another headliner. When Metallica takes the stage, it’s an event. It’s an experience. That’s the same standard we’ve set for every DWP festival – from the first band to the last band, and everything that happens in between. I can’t wait to bring the biggest band in the world to the biggest rock festivals in America,” says Danny Wimmer, founder of Danny Wimmer Presents, the largest independent festival producer in the U.S. “Metallica paved this road that we travel. How many artists on the bill at these five festivals first picked up an instrument, or first started a band, because of Metallica?”

Buy tickets at MetallicaXX.com or the Epicenter, Welcome To Rockville, Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival, Louder Than Life and Aftershock websites.

Watch the official DWP 2020 festival announcement trailer below:

For each ticket sold through November 19, Danny Wimmer Presents will donate 25 cents to Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation. AWMH is a non-profit, philanthropic organization created by the members and management of Metallica, dedicated to creating sustainable communities by supporting workforce education, the fight against hunger, and other critical local services. 100% of donations go directly to local organizations that the Foundation supports. Please visit AllWithinMyHands.org for more information.

To further celebrate this historic collaboration, Danny Wimmer Presents invites fans to enter the Golden Ticket contest. One lucky person will win an all-expenses paid trip to any DWP festival of their choice to see Metallica play 2 different nights and 2 different sets over 1 incredible weekend. The prize package includes rock star accommodations, exclusive festival access, opportunities to watch the show from the legendary Metallica Snake Pit, meet and greets, amazing memorabilia and more.

Fans are automatically entered to win by purchasing a Weekend GA or Weekend VIP pass to any of the five Danny Wimmer Presents US 2020 rock festivals featuring Metallica, by signing up for the Fifth Member Fan Club or by subscribing to any of the five Danny Wimmer Presents US 2020 rock festival newsletters. Offer only valid on purchases or signups between October 10, 2019 and November 19, 2019. Winner must be at least 18 years old by May 1, 2020. For more information visit MetallicaXX.com.




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Progressive rock legends, The Flower Kings, are streaming the new song, "Wicked Old Symphony", from the band's upcoming new studio double-album, Waiting For Miracles, out via InsideOutMusic on November 8. Listen below.

The album is comprised of 15 new tracks, recorded over the summer at RMV studio in Stockholm, Sweden – a vintage studio space owned by ABBA star Benny Andersson.

The album will be released as a 2CD, gatefold 2LP + 2CD, and as digital album, featuring beautiful artwork by American artist Kevin Sloan. Pre-order here.

Disc 1:
"House Of Cards"
"Black Flag"
"Miracles For America"
"Vertigo"
"The Bridge"
"Ascending To The Stars"
"Wicked Old Symphony"
"The Rebel Circus"
"Sleep With The Enemy"
"The Crowning Of Greed"

Disc 2:
"House Of Cards Reprise"
"Spirals"
"Steampunk"
"We Were Always Here"
"Busking At Brobank"

"Wicked Old Symphony":

"Miracles For America":

"Black Flag":

Trailer:

The Flower Kings will be heading out on tour this December with label mates Kayak. Roine Stolt: "We're happy to go on tour in Europe again in December - We will present The Flower Kings music from the early days - concert favourites - plus some brand new music - that is along the lines of the early music of the band - symphonic rock. We're happy to bring our friends in Kayak along for this proggy double bill - it will be a monumental meltdown of melodic prog - not to be missed."  

The two bands will perform 12 dates across six countries, and you can find the full list of shows below, tickets on sale now:

December
1 - Bahnhof St. Pauli - Hamburg, Germany
2 - Musikzentrum - Hannover, Germany
3 - OK Andaluzia - Piekary Slaskie, Poland
4 - Klub U Bazyla - Poznan, Poland
6 - Burgerweeshuis - Deventer, Netherlands
7 - De Boerderij - Zoetermeer, Netherlands
8- Scala - London, UK
9 - Piano - Dortmund, Germany
10 - Columbia Theater - Berlin, Germany
11 - Amager Bio - Copenhagen, Denmark
12 - Brewhouse - Gothenburg, Sweden
14 - Kraken - Stockholm, Sweden

The Flower Kings started as an outlet for guitarist/singer/composer Roine Stolt in 1994 - a time when prog-rock wasn’t mere history, nor a dirty word. The band quickly gained momentum and was one of a handful of bands helping to revive the progressive rock scene worldwide. Roine has since collaborated with a host of legendary musicians across various projects, including his acclaimed 2015 album with YES legend Jon Anderson, progressive-rock supergroup Transatlantic alongside Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy and Pete Trewavas, and a year as bass player with Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. The Flower Kings however, has always felt like home for Roine and the other band veterans Jonas Reingold and Hasse Fröberg.




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Finland’s Grave Pleasures  will release Doomsday Roadburn (Live At Roadburn Festival 2018) on November 8 via Century Media digital and Svart Records on LP/CD. Pre-order here.

Not only will you get the show from Roadburn Festival 2018, but also two rare tracks from the Motherblood studio sessions: “Violence Of Night” and “There Are Powers At Work In This World”. The album was mixed and mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano at Orgone Studios and comes with artwork by Daniel Martin Diaz. You can check out a static video for the song “Violence Of Night” below.

The band comments on the song: "’Violence Of Night’ was our last spill of Motherblood. Some last dregs in the glass, but strong and very potent sips. It's a lone shark and one with it's own M.O. ‘Desire on the darkest edge’, this is about ‘mutual execution’ when it all gets brutal."

(Photo - Tekla Valy)




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Earlier this year, Fractal Universe released their new full-length, Rhizomes Of Insanity, via Metal Blade Records, and toured across Europe in support of it. During their album release show at Le Gueulard+ in Nilvange, France, on April 19, the band recorded their performance, where they played Rhizomes Of Insanity in its entirety, along with some fan favorites.

See the first video from this set, "Fundamental Dividing Principle", below. Shot by Vincent Tournaud, the complete live show will be posted soon.

Next year, Fractal Universe will hit the road again in Europe, this time with Obscura, God Dethroned, and Thulcandra.

Fractal Universe comments: "We're stoked to be part of this amazing lineup alongside prog-death giants Obscura as well as our Metal Blade label-mates from God Dethroned and German death/black heavyweights Thulcandra! This is a huge opportunity for the band and we're looking forward to meeting old and new fans all over Europe! Special thanks to Kult Management and Obscura for their trust."

Tour dates:

November
30 - Audincourt, France - Le Moloco w/ Klone, Betraying the Martyrs

December
7 - Marmoutier, France - La Charrue

January
31 - Esch/Alzette, Luxembourg - Kulturfabrik

February
15 - Zug, Switzerland - Galvanik
16 - Bologna, Italy - Locomotiv
17 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Orto Bar
18 - Graz, Austria - Explosiv
19 - Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina - Palma
20 - Sofia, Bulgaria - Mixtape5
21 - Bucharest, Romania - Quantic Club
22 - Belgrade, Serbia - Bozidarac
23 - Budapest, Hungary - Dürer-Kert
24 - Bratislava, Slovakia - Randal
25 - Prague, Czech Rep. - Futurum
26 - Krakow, Poland - Kwadrat
27 - Warsaw, Poland - Proxima
28 - Riga, Latvia - Melna Piektdiena
29 - Tallinn, Estonia - Tapper Club

March
1 - Helsinki, Finland - Tavastia
3 - Stockholm, Sweden - Klubben
4 - Oslo, Norway - John Dee
5 - Aarhus, Denmark - Voxhall
6 - Essen, Germany - Turock
7 - Landshut, Germany - Rocket Club

(Photo - Lucie Gallego)




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Cabal have released a new single, "Tongues". The track comes with a video which was shot at the Copenhell Festival 2019 in the band's homebase Copenhagen, Denmark.

"Tongues" is the first foretaste of what to expect from Cabal in 2020. A new album is about to be finished and the band will be playing their first ever US tour in February as support for Ingested.

Cabal aims to create a visceral and doom-laden atmosphere throughout both their music and visual expression. The production is crystal clear, whilst the songs draw a lot of inspirations from everything from black and death metal to djent and hardcore. After the success of their self-released debut EP Purge in 2016, the band signed with Long Branch Records and released their first full-length Mark Of Rot in early 2018. Now new material is just around the corner and in 2020 Cabal will wrap the world in darkness again.

(Photo - HeartMatter Artworks)




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Zurich, Switzerland-based dark metallers Triptykon, featuring the legendary Tom Gabriel Warrior, performed at the 2011 edition of Germany's Wacken Open Air festival.

Professionally-filmed video footage of the band performing Celtic Frost's "Procreation (Of The Wicked)", as well as the Triptykon original, "The Prolonging", has surfaced, and can be seen below:




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The newly announced RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE reunion appears to have spelled the end of PROPHETS OF RAGE, the supergroup launched more than three years ago by RAGE members Tom Morello (guitar), Brad Wilk (drums) and Tim Commerford (bass) along with PUBLIC ENEMY's Chuck D and CYPRESS HILL's B-Real.

Several hours after it was revealed that RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE will reunite for a series of shows in 2020, including an appearance at next year's Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival, B-Real took to his Instagram to write: "I want to say thank you to the fans that supported @prophetsofrage for the time we've been rocking together. It's been an honor to rock stages and people of all ages with these guys. It's been a great time and great memories in a short time. Rockin along side of Chuck and Tom has been amazing to say the least. It was fun while it lasted and I hope we left a big impression and that the music has been a source of inspiration for those that needed it. That was the purpose we got together. So I say to y'all stay informed, stay engaged and fight the good fight."

A short time later, Chuck D chimed in via Twitter, writing: " It was about doing something greater than self. 2020 keeping ZDLR spot warm for @RATM & powering a statement for 1000 days was a honorable truth mission in the hours of chaos from the jump... And so the bands rock on.... Let's go @cypresshill @PublicEnemyFTP @prophetsofrage"

In response to one of the fans on Instagram, B-Real clarified PROPHETS OF RAGE's status, writing: "The band is no more, bro"

PROPHETS OF RAGE was formed in early 2016, called to action by the election of President Donald Trump. At its live shows, PROPHETS performed material from all of its members' prior projects as well as similarly styled new songs.

PROPHETS OF RAGE made its live debut in May 2016 in Los Angeles and released its first album in September 2017. The band has since issued three standalone singles: "Heart Afire", "Made With Hate" and "Pop Goes The Weapon", the latter of which arrived in September.

The news of the RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE reunion broke early on Friday via a post on an unverified Instagram account under the group's name. That account has since been verified, which means Instagram has confirmed that an account is the authentic presence of the public figure, celebrity or global brand it represents.

The original announcement included a pair of 2020 headlining slots at Coachella as well as three other shows, two of which are in towns along the Texas/Mexico border.

An industry source familiar with Coachella confirmed the booking to Billboard, verifying the April 10 and April 17 dates, though the festival has not yet announced its 2020 lineup.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE last played together in 2011 at L.A. Rising and has resisted calls for a reunion, with vocalist Zach De La Rocha previously believed to be the lone holdout.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE recorded three original studio albums and one set of covers before breaking up in 2000. The group reformed in 2007 but only played sporadic gigs and never a full tour. Morello said in 2012, "We'd have to agree to go on one. Once a year, the band meets and very seriously discusses and turns down awesome offers to tour the world."
























View this post on Instagram


































I want to say thank you to the fans that supported @prophetsofrage for the time we've been rocking together. It's been an honor to rock stages and people of all ages with these guys. It's been a great time and great memories in a short time. Rockin along side of Chuck and Tom has been amazing to say the least. It was fun while it lasted and I hope we left a big impression and that the music has been a source of inspiration for those that needed it. That was the purpose we got together. So I say to y'all stay informed, stay engaged and fight the good fight. ✌?️??

A post shared by BReal™ (@breal) on Nov 1, 2019 at 11:22am PDT










It was about doing something greater than self. 2020 keeping ZDLR spot warm for @RATM & powering a ??statement for 1000 days was a honorable truth mission in the hours of chaos from the jump... And so the bands rock on.... Let’s go @cypresshill @PublicEnemyFTP @prophetsofrage pic.twitter.com/sFqvwTxfhv

— Chuck D (@MrChuckD) November 2, 2019

LAMB OF GOD's Willie Adler and John Campbell, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Tom Morello, DISTURBED's David Draiman, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's Jesse Leach and ALTER BRIDGE's Mark Tremonti are among the artists in the rock and metal community who are featured in Consequence Of Sound 's new video paying respect to SLAYER, which will kick off the final leg of its farewell tour tonight (Saturday, November 2) in Asheville, North Carolina.

"They're so good at what they do, masters of the art," Draiman said. "So dark, so unapologetic in their subject matter, in creating art, and in their execution. They really defined the more hardcore end of thrash for generations to come."

"The Final Campaign", the seventh leg of SLAYER's farewell world tour, will see the band taking its goodbye bow at the Los Angeles Forum on November 30. Accompanying SLAYER for this last ride are PRIMUS, MINISTRY and PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS performing a vulgar display of PANTERA, who will support on all dates.

SLAYER's final world tour began on May 10, 2018 with the band's intention to play as many places as possible, to make it easy for the fans to see one last SLAYER show and say goodbye. By the time the 18-month trek wraps on November 30, the band will have completed seven tour legs plus a series of one-off major summer festivals, performing more than 140 shows in 30 countries and 40 U.S. states.

SLAYER's final world tour has been a wild ride. Three bus drivers, four truck drivers, and a crew of 32 have traveled all over the world to set the stage for this farewell. At most shows, SLAYER's pyro expert set off 160 pounds of propane and 10 liters of 99% isopropyl alcohol, prompting the Phoenix New Times reviewer to comment on the "eyebrow-singeing pyrotechnics that could be felt even 10 rows behind the pit."

According to U.K.'s Mirror, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson has split with his wife of nearly three decades.

The rocker and Paddy Bowden, who were married 29 years ago, reportedly separated in 2018. He has since relocated to Paris, France, where he is living with his new girlfriend.

The 61-year-old heavy metal legend and Paddy have three children: sons Austin, 29, and Griffin, 27, and daughter Kia, 28.

In a recent interview with Argentina's Clarín, Bruce confirmed that he is residing in Paris with his "girlfriend."

According to the report, Bruce and his wife have no immediate plans for divorce.

Five years ago, Dickinson was diagnosed with stage 3 throat cancer after doctors discovered a golf ball-size tumor on his tongue and another in the lymph node on the right side of his neck.

The singer got the all-clear in May 2015 after radiation and nine weeks of chemotherapy and later covered his cancer battle in his 2017 autobiography, "What Does This Button Do?"

Two years ago, Dickinson told BBC Radio 2 that he made a conscious decision to keep his family life — including current and former wives, divorces and children — out of "What Does This Button Do?" "There's no need for it, really," he said. "And I think there's a belief that that nastiness somehow sells books. And I'm not sure one, that it does, and two, that it's particularly the sort of book that I want to be a part of. So I made the decision that, in amongst not being horrid to people, 'cause there's no point, at the same time, I thought, well, I also don't want to tell confidences about other people's lives. If I wanna share a confidence about my life, 'cause it's my autobiography, fair enough, but dropping other people in it for the sake of, well, ratings, basically, I think is immoral."

Dickinson admitted, however, that he struggled with whether to involve his family when writing about how he dealt with his cancer diagnosis in 2015. "I did wonder about that, about including [them]," he said. "'Cause, obviously, my wife was pretty key to surviving the whole thing, and they all had to undergo it, in a sense, in the same way as me. And they were relatively powerless in it as well. I allude to that. But, yeah, I did agonize about that a little bit, because I thought, 'Am I being entirely fair?' But I thought, 'I'll stick with…' Because you open up a little Pandora's box there. Because then people say, 'Well, who are all these people? Why did they suddenly turn up at the end?' So, for the sake of continuity, and for the sake of it just it being a good book [I left them out of it]."

MACHINE HEAD was forced to perform with a "compromised" sound for part of its concert last night (Saturday, November 2) at the at O2 Academy Brixton in London, England after an "asshole" threw "a full 32-ounce beer" on the band's soundboard, completely taking it out of commission during the "Burn My Eyes" portion of the show.

As with the rest of the ongoing European leg of MACHINE HEAD's 25th-anniversary tour for the band's classic debut, "Burn My Eyes", the three-hour performance consisted of two parts: part one saw MACHINE HEAD's modern classics, such as "Imperium", "Halo" and "Locust", played by a lineup featuring guitarist/vocalist Robb Flynn and bassist Jared MacEachern alongside new recruits, Polish guitarist Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (DECAPITATED) and British drummer Matt Alston (DEVILMENT, EASTERN FRONT); part two featured "Burn My Eyes" played in its entirety for the first time ever, with original drummer Chris Kontos and guitarist Logan Mader joining in.

According to Ultimate Classic Rock, KISS has unveiled the first details of 75 new shows which will take place between February and October of next year.

The new dates were listed on screens aboard this year's "Kiss Kruise", the annual event aboard Norwegian Pearl which set sail October 30 to November 4 from Miami, Florida and traveling to Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas and Falmouth, Jamaica.

KISS has not yet revealed the venue and ticket information for these new shows.

"End Of The Road" 2020 dates

Feb. 01 - Manchester, NH

Feb. 04 - Allentown, PA

Feb. 05 - Buffalo, NY

Feb. 07 - Charlottesville, VA

Feb. 08 - Greensboro, NC

Feb. 11 - Columbia, SC

Feb. 13 - Lexington, KY

Feb. 15 - Peoria, IL

Feb. 16 - Fort Wayne, IN

Feb. 18 - Springfield, MO

Feb. 19 - Wichita, KS

Feb. 21 - Sioux City, IA

Feb. 22 - Grand Forks, ND

Feb. 24 - St. Paul, MN

Feb. 25 - Lincoln, NE

Feb. 29 - Laughlin, NV

Mar. 02 - Bakersfield, CA

Mar. 04 - Los Angeles, CA (makeup date)

Mar. 06 - Oakland, CA (makeup date)

Mar. 09 - El Paso, TX

Mar. 10 - Lubbock, TX

Mar. 12 - Tulsa, OK

Mar. 14 - Lafayette, LA

Mar. 15 - Biloxi, MS

Apr. 24 - San Salvador, El Salvador

Apr. 28 - San Jose, Costa Rica

Apr. 30 - Bogata, Columbia

May 02 - Lima, Peru

May 05 - Santiago, Chile

May 07 - Asuncion, Paraguay

May 09 - Buenos Aires, Argentina

May 12 - Porto Alegro, Brazil

May 14 - Curitiba, Brazil

May 16 - Sao Paulo, Brazil

May 19 - Uberlandia, Brazil

Jun. 09 - Paris, France

Jun. 12 - Derby, U.K. (Download)

Jun. 14 - Dortmund, Germany

Jun. 15 - Hamburg, Germany

Jun. 18 - Copenhagen, Denmark

Jun. 20 - Sandnes, Norway

Jun. 23 - Gothenburg, Sweden

Jun. 25 - Stockholm, Sweden

Jun. 27 - Helsinki, Finland

Jun. 29 - Kaunas, Lithuania

Jul. 01 - Prague, Czech Republic

Jul. 04 - Barcelona, Spain

Jul. 05 - Madrid, Spain

Jul. 07 - Lisbon, Portugal

Jul. 10 - Frankfurt, Germany

Jul. 11 - Stuttgart, Germany

Jul. 13 - Verona, Italy

Jul. 15 - Gilwice, Poland

Jul. 16 - Budapest, Hungary

Jul. 18 - Sofia, Bulgaria

Jul. 21 - Geneva, Switzerland

Jul. 25 - Johannesburg, South Africa

Aug. 28 - Mansfield, MA

Aug. 29 - Hartford, CT

Aug. 31 - Canandaigua, NY

Sep. 01 - Bangor, ME

Sep. 04 - Atlantic City, NJ

Sep. 05 - Burgettstown, PA

Sep. 08 - Atlanta, GA

Sep. 09 - Raleigh, NC

Sep. 11 - Clarkston, MI

Sep. 13 - Tinley Park, IL

Sep. 14 - Dayton, OH

Sep. 15 - Milwaukee, WI

Sep. 19 - George, WA

Sep. 20 - Ridgefield, WA

Sep. 22 - Boise, ID

Sep. 24 - Salt Lake City, UT

Sep. 26 - San Bernardino, CA

Sep. 27 - Chula Vista, CA

Sep. 29 - Phoenix, AZ

Oct. 01 - Austin. TX

Oct. 03 - Ft. Worth. TX

Oct. 30-Nov. 04: Kiss Kruise X

"End Of The Road" 2021 date:

Jul. 17 - New York, NY

Earlier on Saturday, KISS revealed that the last concert of its "End Of The Road" farewell tour will take place on July 17, 2021 in New York City.

"End Of The Road" kicked off on January 31 in Vancouver and will resume on November 16 in Perth, Australia.

KISS's current lineup consists of original members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, alongside later band additions, guitarist Tommy Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991).

Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, drummer Peter Criss and lead guitarist Ace Frehley, KISS staged its first "farewell" tour in 2000, the last to feature the group's original lineup.

This past summer, Stanley told The Sydney Morning Herald that "End Of The Road" was KISS's "victory lap. It's us celebrating everything we created with our audience and with our fans," he explained. "It's that time for people who've been with us over the years to come and celebrate all that we've had together. There's people who've never seen us before and they're leaving the show and thinking, 'Why didn't I come to this earlier?' It's terrific.”

Asked why he thinks KISS has endured this long, while other bands have fallen by the wayside, Stanley said: "People who experience KISS really are affected by it in a way that goes beyond it being a rock band. It's fascinating and amazing to be at these shows nightly and see parents and grandparents who want their offspring to experience what they experienced. It's far beyond typical rock bands, where you hate the idea of your little brother being there, or your neighbor. KISS is an amazing tribe and it's incredibly gratifying."

Finland's Evil Drive have announced that their new drummer is Antti Tani, from Kotka. Tani has been rehearsing with the band for a couple of months, and he is now an official member of the group.

Tani will play drums on the upcoming Evil Drive album, which will be released worldwide through Reaper Entertainment Europe in April. The first single/video will be published early next year, and a tour will follow after the album is out.

The band comments...

Ville Viren: “Antti has raised the band on a new level. He has a lot of experience, tons of energy, which makes the songs better and stronger than ever. Evil Drive has never sounded this good as it is now!"

Viktoria Viren: “Antti’s playing skills give us freedom and ability to try and create musically a lot of things which were not possible with our previous line-up. He’s a passionate player and loves to rehearse, and that helps the whole band a lot. I feel that the band is now re-born, and I can’t wait to play live shows with Antti after the album is out!"

Antti Tani: "I am honoured that I was chosen to join this band. This will be an unforgettable journey! Evil Drive guys and a girl are great people, and I love their music. Need I say more?"




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Cyhra will release their sophomore album, No Halos In Hell, on November 15 via Nuclear Blast. They have released a guitar playthrough video for the first single from the album, "Out Of My Life", which can be viewed below. 

Founded by vocalist Jake E (ex-Amaranthe) and guitarist Jesper Strömblad (ex-In Flames), Cyhra has gone from being reminiscent of the duo's former bands to having a unique identity. In fact, No Halos In Hell is one of those rare albums that defies being neatly placed in a genre box; coming out heavy and dynamic, the record is loaded with melodic vocal hooks that stay nailed to the brain for days, achieving maximum impact throughout. Fusing a relentless energy and heaviness the best way possible was Cyhra's main focus this time out. The addition of guitarist Euge Valovirta (ex-Shining) as a full member has raised the creative process to a level where, according to Jake E, "Everyone is playing to the point of what is best for the song.” No Halos In Hell is one of those rare albums that defies being neatly placed in a genre box: delivering tunes that are both heavy and dynamic, the record is loaded with melodic vocal hooks and musical ear-worms.

Produced by Jacob Hansen and co-produced by the band's very own Jake E, the album is filled with 12 live-oriented songs, ensuring maximum catchiness.

No Halos In Hell will be available as 2 CD digipak, black vinyl or download on November 15. The bonus CD included in the limited digipak includes six additional songs, three of them being exclusive acoustic versions. You can pre-order the format of your choice here.

Tracklisting:

"Out Of My Life"
"No Halos In Hell"
"Battle From Within"
"I Am The One"
"Bye Bye Forever"
"Dreams Gone Wrong"
"Lost In Time"
"Kings Tonight"
"I Had Your Back"
"Blood Brothers"
"Hit Me"
"Man Of Eternal Rain"

"Out Of My Life" video:

(Photo - Linda Florin)




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MERCYFUL FATE bassist Timi Hansen has died after a long battle with cancer. His death was confirmed by his former bandmate, MERCYFUL FATE singer King Diamond.

King wrote in a Facebook message earlier today: "I just found out that I lost one of my dearest friends, who has been fighting cancer for a long time, in such an incredibly brave way. He was not just my roommate on the early MERCYFUL FATE tours, but he was always my favorite bass player of all times. I was fortunate to have been able to visit him at his apartment with some other good friends, and we had a great afternoon that will never be forgotten.

"When I last talked to Timi on the phone on October 24th, I could understand that things had gotten tougher than they ever were, and yet he said 'we fight on.'

"I feel so so sad for his entire family, you have my absolute deepest sympathy.

"Rest in Peace my dear dear friend."

Hansen went public with his diagnosis in early August after it was announced that he wouldn't participate in MERCYFUL FATE's 2020 reunion. Filling in for him will be ARMORED SAINT and FATES WARNING bassist Joey Vera.

On August 1, Timi released a statement via the Facebook page of Livia Zita-Bendix, wife of King Diamond, saying: "There are many questions about why I won't appear as part of the MERCYFUL FATE reunion in 2020. The honest explanation is simply that I am currently fighting a fight against cancer. But believe me, I will fight everything I can to be ready.

"It's my big dream to be on stage again playing the old MERCYFUL FATE numbers in front of all of you very loyal fans. If this wasn't going to happen, I'd like to ask you to take good care of Joey Vera. I totally agree with King that he is a perfect 'stand-in,' so take good care of him."

The 61-year-old Hansen played in MERCYFUL FATE from 1981 to 1985 and again from 1992 to 1993. He was also a member of KING DIAMOND from 1985 to 1987.

MERCYFUL FATE will reunite for an unspecified number of concerts throughout Europe during the summer of 2020, including next year's edition of the Copenhell festival, set to take place June 17-20, 2020 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

MERCYFUL FATE's lineup for the shows will consist of Vera, King Diamond, Hank Shermann on guitar, Bjarne T. Holm on drums, and Mike Wead on guitar.

Said King: "We asked Joey Vera to fill in because he has a very unique style and sound playing with his fingers, much like that of Timi Hansen. This is very important, since the setlist will only consist of songs from the very first 'mini LP', the 'Melissa' album, and the 'Don't Break The Oath' album, plus some brand new songs written specifically in that very same style.

"This will very much be MERCYFUL FATE as we were in the very beginning, except for a brand new major stage production."

MERCYFUL FATE's last studio album, "9", was released in 1999.

MERCYFUL FATE will be remembered for its unquestionable mark on the history of metal with its innovative sound, complex arrangements, memorable melody, and its influence on bands that later took the genre to new heights.

In 1998, METALLICA paid tribute to MERCYFUL FATE by recording a medley of classic MERCYFUL FATE songs on the album "Garage Inc." Titled "Mercyful Fate", the medley included parts from "Satan's Fall", "Curse of the Pharaohs", "A Corpse Without Soul", "Into the Coven" and "Evil".

Lars Ulrich of METALLICA (a fellow Dane) played drums on a new version of MERCYFUL FATE's "Return of the Vampire" on the "In the Shadows" album, which came out in 1993.

Photo courtesy of Timi Hansen's Facebook page


I just found out that I lost one of my dearest friends, who has been fighting cancer for a long time, in such an...

Posted by MERCYFUL FATE on Monday, November 4, 2019

Belgian throwback metal miscreants Terrifiant are the latest addition to the Gates Of Hell Records roster. The label will issue the band’s debut full-length in February 2020.  

As the story goes, Terrifiant was formed when garrulous, rough-housing troublemaker guitarist ZZ Slop met a “mysterious sleazeball” by the name of Lord Terrifiant at a festival parking lot. The two proceeded to hash out their idea for a metal band that would commit itself to the “ways of old and forgotten metal gods of yore.” Enter Terrifant. 

The band’s lineup was eventually rounded out in 2018 after scouring every back alley, dive bar and street corner in their native Brussels, eventually landing the services of Alcoloic (drums), SlimeValdi (guitars) and Sniffany Baggs (bass). Terrifiant, appropriately enough, found their sound by mixing the rawness of NWOBHM and early U.S. metal, along with strong nods to metal from the Far East. The result is an uncompromising offering to the metal gods backed with a “fist full of rock ‘n’ roll attitude and seriously bad intentions.”

To date, Terrifiant has just a self-titled demo released via Messe Noir to their credit.

Demo by TERRIFIANT

(Photo by: Sam Barhd)




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REVOLUTION SAINTS, the band featuring Deen Castronovo (JOURNEY, BAD ENGLISH), Doug Aldrich (THE DEAD DAISIES, WHITESNAKE, DIO), and Jack Blades (NIGHT RANGER, DAMN YANKEES), has released a new song called "When The Heartache Has Gone". The track, which is available digitally, is taken from the band's forthcoming third full-length studio album, due in early 2020 via Frontiers Music Srl.

REVOLUTION SAINTS was conceptualized by Frontiers Music Srl president Serafino Perugino, a longtime JOURNEY fan who wanted to find a vehicle for Castronovo — a long-established drummer who has performed with artists as varied as OZZY OSBOURNE, SOCIAL DISTORTION and BAD ENGLISH — to display his vocal prowess. The label released the group's self-titled debut album, which featured guest appearances by JOURNEY members Arnel Pineda and Neal Schon, in 2015.

In 2017, the group made its live debut (and to date, their sole concert performance) in Milan, Italy at the Frontiers Rock Festival IV. Later that year, they released their second album, "Light In The Dark", which — like their debut — was produced by Alessandro Del Vecchio (HARDLINE, JORN). Most of the album was recorded at Del Vecchio's studios in Somma Lombardo, Italy, with additional recording taking place at Blades's studio in Washington, Aldrich's CasaDala studio in Los Angeles and in other countries all over the world while Aldrich was on tour with THE DEAD DAISIES.

REVOLUTION SAINTS is:

Deen Castronovo - drums, vocals

Jack Blades - bass, vocals

Doug Aldrich - guitar

Former JUDAS PRIEST members K.K. Downing (guitar), Les Binks (drums) and Tim "Ripper" Owens (vocals) teamed up earlier tonight (Sunday, November 3) in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom to perform "a full-length set of PRIEST classics" with MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson. Joining them on second guitar was A.J. Mills of HOSTILE, the British metal band whose two albums, "Eve Of Destruction" and "The New World Disorder", were both produced by Downing.

Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

The setlist was as follows:

01. Riding On The Wind

02. The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Clown)

03. Hell Is Home

04. Running Wild

05. Beyond The Realms of Death

06. Exciter

07. Metal Gods

08. Burn In Hell

09. Before The Dawn

10. Between The Hammer And The Anvil

11. Hell Bent For Leather

12. Living After Midnight

Encores:

13. Take On The World (with Thom Hazaert)

14. Breaking The Law (with Thom Hazaert)

The one-off show at K.K.'s Steel Mill featured a full band set from Ellefson's "Sleeping Giants" band, followed by the PRIEST set with Downing, Binks and Owens. Former IRON MAIDEN vocalist Blaze Bayley was the evening's opening support act. Additionally, the Steel Mill hosted a special pre-show VIP event whereby attendees were treated to a "More Life With Deth" book-signing event and one-on-one question-and-answer session with Ellefson, Downing and Ellefson's "More Life With Deth" co-author Thom Hazaert, moderated by Mark Eglinton, who co-authored Downing's recent memoir "Heavy Duty Days And Nights In Judas Priest".

During an appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation", Downing talked about how the gig came about.

"Dave had this idea, 'cause he was coming up to the U.K. He wondered if I would join him in the celebration of the release of his new book," K.K. recalled. "And just through telephone conversations, it was a case of, 'What about this?' and, 'What about if we do that?' And the next thing was, I'm involved with this really quite large venue in the U.K. So I said, 'Why not? We'll come up to the Steel Mill and play a show and make a really good event of it.' So that's what it's gonna be. On the night, there'll be me, Dave, Ripper, Les Binks and a great guest guitar player, A.J. Mills, who is a player also from the Birmingham area. So that's a pretty good fit with the roots of PRIEST. And A.J. looks good, plays good and performs good, and I like that. And it's gonna be a great show… And also we've got the interview with various personnel — definitely Dave, obviously, because it all surrounds his evening — with interviews, questions and answers. And it's just gonna be a big celebration, really, party event. Kind of a 'MegaPriest' fest, I think. We're really looking forward to it."

Downing, who left PRIEST in 2011 amid claims of band conflict, shoddy management and declining quality of performance, was replaced by Richie Faulkner, nearly three decades his junior.

Binks played drums on PRIEST's "Stained Class", "Hell Bent For Leather" (released as "Killing Machine" in the United Kingdom) and "Unleashed In The East" albums.

Owens joined PRIEST in 1996 and recorded two studio albums with the band — 1997's "Jugulator" and 2001's "Demolition" — before PRIEST reunited with Rob Halford in 2003.




















KK Downing - Before the Dawn - live 3.11.19

Ripper Owens, Les Binks y David Ellefson.

?❤??

Posted by Judas Priest Argentina on Sunday, November 3, 2019





Judas Priest aka KK Downing, Tim Ripper Owens, Les Binks plus David Ellefson at KKs Steel Mill.

Posted by Rock into the Weekend on Sunday, November 3, 2019





Excelentes músicos: K.K. Downing, Tim Ripper Owens, David Ellefson y Les Binks.

Posted by David García Moya on Sunday, November 3, 2019

























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And there’s your setlist from tonight’s gig @kkssteelmill ????#kkdowning #judaspriest #metal #heavymetal

A post shared by K.K Downing/ Heavy Duty (@k.kdowningheavy) on Nov 3, 2019 at 3:47pm PST

KISS played the song "It's My Life" live for the first time during its set Friday night (November 1) aboard the "Kiss Kruise IX". Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

The group' setlist was as follows:

01. Say Yeah

02. Larger Than Life

03. Strutter

04. Watchin' You

05. Got To Choose

06. Do You Love Me

07. Christine Sixteen

08. Heaven's On Fire

09. Cold Gin

10. I Was Made For Lovin' You

11. Crazy Crazy Nights

12. It's My Life

13. God Gave Rock & Roll To You II

14. Detroit Rock City

15. Rock And Roll All Nite

In early 2018, Paul Stanley disputed Gene Simmons's explanation of how "It's My Life" came together, insisting that he "wrote the title, chorus, chords, melody and lyric" to the track before Gene got involved and "wrote the rest."

"It's My Life" was originally demoed for KISS's 1982 album, "Creatures Of The Night", but it did not make the final record. It was later re-recorded for 1998's "Psycho Circus", but once again found itself excluded from a KISS album for which it was recorded.

Gene's original demo version of "It's My Life" is one of the tracks featured on his massive collection "Gene Simmons - The Vault Experience: 1966-2016", which celebrates the KISS co-founder's 50 years in music.

A different version of "It's My Life" was included on "WOW", the debut solo studio album by THE PLASMATICS singer Wendy O. Williams, which was produced by Simmons and released in 1984 by Passport Records.

While promoting "The Vault" box set, Simmons told the story of how "It's My Life" came to be recorded by Williams. He said: "KISS had taken out THE PLASMATICS, featuring Wendy O. Williams on lead vocals. During one of the shows, Wendy came up and said that she wanted to do a solo record and would I like to produce her. And I said, 'Sure. I think it'd be a great idea. But if I'm gonna produce you, I'm gonna decide everything. I'm gonna decide which songs you record, and if you don't have the songwriting talent within the band, then I'll get you the songs, or I'll write some stuff for you. But the songs have to be first and foremost.'"

He continued: "Paul Stanley had an old piece that he started working on called 'Every Little Beat Of Your Heart', so I took the chordal passage and I wrote a brand new song around it called 'It's My Life': 'I've got a reputation / people know who I am / rules are made to be broken / you can't kill what you don't understand,' which felt very much, and I designed it, to be Wendy talking about herself, about being an individual. And, yeah, she's a chick, but she'll be damned if she'll let any guy tell her what to do."

After BLABBERMOUTH.NET published an article about Simmons's first-ever live performance of "It's My Life" — which took place during his February 16, 2018 concert at the Lynn Auditorium in Lynn, Massachusetts — Stanley took to his Twitter account to set the record straight regarding the song's origin.

Paul wrote: "For anyone it matters to... The song 'It's My Life' had nothing to do with any other song of mine. I wrote the title, chorus, chords, melody & lyric to 'It's My Life' and didn't want to use at the time. Gene wanted to use it so he wrote the rest. THAT'S the story!"

He added in a separate tweet: "FYI...I wrote for the song 'Every Little Beat Of Your Heart' for the Bob Ezrin project which became 'The Elder'. It's transformation started when Lou Reed wrote a terrific lyric poem for it called a 'A World Without Heroes'. Bob put them together."

On October 10, old-school Brazilian thrash/death metal band TORTURE SQUAD played a show with Chuck Billy from TESTAMENT at one of the biggest and most popular festivals in the world, Rock In Rio. The fourth day of the festival was the "Metal Day" and was the only day the festival was completely sold out, with more than 120,000 fans in attendance.

Singer Mayara Puertas said: "It was a very special moment in our career, and was a huge pleasure to share the stage with Chuck, who is an influence for the band."

This epic show took place on the Sunset Stage, alongside bands like NERVOSA, CLAUSTROFOBIA, ANTHRAX and SLAYER.

TORTURE SQUAD opened the set with its new single, "Blood Sacrifice", while a dancer with her body painted in blue made a representation of Hindu goddess Makali, who inspired the song's lyrics. That was soon followed by TORTURE SQUAD's classics "Raise Your Horns" and "Horror And Torture".

After that, they called in Billy and CLAUSTROFOBIA to play TESTAMENT's classics "Disciples Of The Watch", "Practice What You Preach" and "Electric Crown", with around 60,000 people singing along.

TORTURE SQUAD released recently a split with LIVING METAL. Now the band is writing a new album and preparing a big tour in Europe for next year.

DEF LEPPARD drummer Rick Allen celebrated his 56th birthday onstage with his bandmates this past Saturday (November 2) at the grand opening of Northern California's newest casino and hotel, the $440 million Hard Rock Sacramento at Fire Mountain, in Wheatland.

Video footage of the members of DEF LEPPARD and the audience singing "Happy Birthday" to Allen — whose actual birthday was on November 1 — can be seen below.

Allen became the drummer for DEF LEPPARD at age 15. At the height of worldwide fame in 1984, he had a car accident that changed his life. Rick lost an arm, but turned personal tragedy into spiritual transformation and continued his musical career. While he was already a hero to millions of young people, he soon added millions of new admirers. Since then, Rick has been reaching out and giving support to others all over the globe by sharing his personal experiences and his love of drumming. Over the past 17 years, Rick has reached out to teenage cancer patients, children with special needs, at risk youth in crisis, families of domestic violence and veterans who have served in Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan. He was awarded the Humanitarian Award by Maria Shriver's Best Buddies in 2002 and in 2012, was also awarded the prestigious Wounded Warrior Project's Carry It Forward Award. Rick continues his work helping wounded warriors through Project Resiliency's Warrior Resiliency Program sponsored by his charity foundation the Raven Drum Foundation.

An integral part of Rick's creative life went public in 2012. After years of personal photographic work, Allen ventured into the fine art world with a blockbuster debut collection of abstract artwork built from rhythm. Allen has become a pioneer in the new medium, utilizing drumsticks and rhythm to dictate abstract visuals on canvas.

WHITESNAKE and FOREIGNER will embark on a six-date U.K. co-headlining arena tour next spring. Support on the trek will come from EUROPE.

The tour will kick off on May 31 at London's O2 Arena and wrap up on June 8 at Manchester Arena.

Tickets go on Friday, November 8 at 9 a.m.

"Thrilled beyond words we can finally come see you all in the U.K.!" says WHITESNAKE's David Coverdale. "It's going to be one helluva night together! With our friends FOREIGNER and EUROPE! Can't wait! See you soon!"

"We can't wait to kick off the summer in the U.K. with a massive tour alongside our friends WHITESNAKE and EUROPE," adds FOREIGNER's Mick Jones. "We're looking forward to playing all our biggest hits for our fans, and rocking across the country."

EUROPE's Joey Tempest says: "What an explosive start to the summer of 2020 for us! A U.K. arena tour with our friends in WHITESNAKE and FOREIGNER! Yeah! An evening of some of the biggest anthems in classic rock! We are truly honored to be invited as special guests."

Tour dates:

May 31 - London, UK @ The O2 Arena

Jun 01 - Cardiff, UK @ Motorpoint Arena

Jun 03 - Birmingham, UK @ Arena Birmingham

Jun 04 - Glasgow, UK @ SSE Hydro

Jun 06 - Newcastle, UK @ Utilita Aren

Jun 08 - Manchester, UK @ Arena