February 8th sees Downfall Of Gaia release their new album, Ethic Of Radical Finitude. The song "Of Withering Violet Leaves" is available for streaming below.

The band comments: "Today we're excited to present the third single of our upcoming album Ethic Of Radical Finitude! 'Of Withering Violet Leaves' gives another insight into our new record, showing another side of what to expect. We are extremely looking forward to share our new album with you guys very soon! Thanks for listening!"

Ethic Of Radical Finitude is the international quartet's most melodic, most structured and most dynamic release to-date, once more building upon the epic and unique sludgy, crusty, exploratory metallic sound that has organically evolved with every release. "It combines elements from our earlier releases with the path we took on Atrophy (2016)," states guitarist/vocalist Dominik Goncalves dos Reis. "There are long atmospheric parts with enough time to breathe, enough time to unfold, and on the other side there are harsh and melodic blastbeats. Each song is some kind of journey, with emotional ups and downs."

Find pre-orders at MetalBlade.com.

Tracking for the album was handled at Hidden Planet Studio, Berlin by Jan Oberg, and Backroom Studios in New Jersey by Kevin Antreassian of Dillinger Escape Plan, and proved an entirely drama-free process, with everyone on the same page. A handful of guests also contributed their time, including some faces familiar to longtime followers of the band - rejoined by guitarist Peter Wolff, one of the founding members of Downfall Of Gaia, on "Seduced By..." and the drones on the songs "The Grotesque Illusion Of Being" and "We Pursue The Serpent Of Time" come courtesy of their former drummer Johannes Stoltenburg, aka Hidehidehide. "Working together and creating something new with former bandmates is a very special thing. Even if our ways had to split at some point, it's a true pleasure to get together again, with everyone bringing in their own new influences," Goncalves dos Reis enthuses. Furthermore, they collaborated with Nikita Kamprad from Der Weg Einer Freiheit, who added vocals to "We Pursue The Serpent Of Time", and spoken words for the song "Guided Through A Starless Night" were supplied by their friend Mers Sumida of Black Table.

Unlike its predecessors, Ethic Of Radical Finitude is not a concept album per se, but there is a core theme that unites the songs: discontented minds and the never-ending pursuit for more. "I guess everyone in life is trying to find this special 'warm' and safe place, their special place. To feel 'home', to feel 'safe', to feel satisfied. But maybe at some point you need to accept that it may never come, that you will never 'arrive'," Goncalves dos Reis asserts.

When the band hits the road next year, fans can expect to hear most of the tracks, marking the beginning of an exciting new phase in the life of Downfall Of Gaia. "Everyone was absolutely focused on this record, and I think this is something you can really hear in every song. All of us are more than satisfied with the result, and we're extremely looking forward to playing these songs live, and sharing it with the audience."

Album formats:

- Hardcover Digipak-CD
- 180 g black vinyl
- Dead gold marbled vinyl (ltd. 300 - EU-exclusive)
- Grey marbled vinyl (ltd. 200 - EU-exclusive)
- Pic-LP (ltd. 200 - EU-exclusive)
- White/Black split vinyl (ltd. 100 - Evil Greed exclusive)
- Red/black marbled vinyl (ltd. 200 - US-exclusive)
- Clear vinyl (ltd. 100 - US-exclusive)

Tracklisting:

“Seduced By…”
“The Grotesque Illusion Of Being”
“We Pursue The Serpent Of Time”
“Guided Through A Starless Night”
“As Our Bones Break To The Dance”
“Of Withering Violet Leaves”

"We Pursue The Serpent Of Time" video:

“As Our Bones Break To The Dance”:

(Photo by: Florian Fassbinder)




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Swedish/German heavy rockers, Lucifer, performed at the Crossroads Festival in Bonn, Germany on October 10th, 2018. WDR Rockpalast has posted footage of the band's full set. Watch below.

Setlist:

"Faux Pharoh"
"Abracadabra"
"Eyes In The Sky"
"Phoenix"
"Dancing With Mr. D"
"Aton"
"Purple Pyramid"
"Morning Star"
"Take Me Away (Together As One)"
"Reaper On Your Heels"
"Anubis"
"California Son"




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Inter-dimensional space metallers, Gloryhammer, are about to return from another epic quest, and they come bearing their new album, Legends From Beyond The Galactic Terrorvortex, due this spring via Napalm Records. Today we receive the cover of the third chapter of the mighty Gloryhammer saga.

The galaxy waits in fear for the return of Angus McFife XIII, who fought the greatest battle the galaxy has ever heard of, against the evil sorcerer Zargothrax. All hope of the Kingdom of Fife lies in the strong arms and the infinite wisdom of their young prince.

In late spring, Gloryhammer's new album will tell us the whole story of the most gigantic battle of all time. Until then, we expect to receive more parts of what will end as the best power metal album the galaxy has ever seen. Keep your eyes and ears open.

Zargothrax on the new album: “Oh wow! I know a lot of people have been waiting on this album for what seems like centuries. For the last three years we've been working non-stop on it in absolute secrecy, and now it is finally complete! We can't wait for y'all to hear it... this is the greatest power metal album of all time. HOOTS!"




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MetallicaTV has uploaded footage of Metallica performing the Hardwired... To Self-Destruct album opener, "Hardwired", at Verizon Arena in Little Rock, AR on January 20th. Watch below:

Previously posted footage of Metallica performing "Moth Into Flame" during the same show can be seen below:

Metallica's complete tour schedule, which stretches into August, can be found at this location.

Metallica frontman James Hetfield tops off the coveted ensemble cast of the upcoming thriller, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, And Vile (Voltage Pictures). The film follows the relationship between notorious serial killer Ted Bundy, played by Zac Efron, and his longtime girlfriend, played by Lily Collins, who at the time, had no knowledge of the crimes. The movie had it's premiere at the Sundance Film Festival  on Saturday, January 26th. An official teaser video can be found below.

Hetfield portrays Officer Bob Hayward, a no-nonsense Utah highway patrol veteran who was the first law enforcement officer to arrest Bundy in 1975 after pulling the killer over and discovering burglary tools in his car but wisely suspecting much worse. While James has played himself in other films and television productions, this will be his first dramatic role taking on a different character.

Academy-award nominee Joe Berlinger (Paradise Lost) directs. Hetfield and Berlinger have crossed paths before when the latter directed and produced the seminal rock-doc Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster along with the late Bruce Sinofsky. Berlinger also penned a book about his experiences with the band, Metallica: This Monster Lives.

"Having spent hundreds of hours behind the scenes with James and the rest of Metallica, I have experienced his charisma and powerful presence close up," says director Joe Berlinger. "It seemed only natural that he would bring that same power and magnetism to a dramatic role, so when he agreed to my pitch that he be in the movie, I was thrilled."

Movie synopsis:

“1969. Ted (Zac Efron) is crazy-handsome, smart, charismatic, affectionate. And cautious single mother Liz Kloepfer (Lily Collins) ultimately cannot resist his charms. For her, Ted is a match made in heaven, and she soon falls head over heels in love with the dashing young man.

“A picture of domestic bliss, the happy couple seems to have it all figured out … until, out of nowhere, their perfect life is shattered. Ted is arrested and charged with a series of increasingly grisly murders. Concern soon turns to paranoia—and, as evidence piles up, Liz is forced to consider that the man with whom she shares her life could actually be a psychopath.

“This is the story of Ted Bundy, one of the most notorious serial killers of all time. Collins shines as Liz, while Zac Efron gives a performance that could redefine his career. Renowned filmmaker Joe Berlinger, best known for his true-crime documentaries, proves to be the perfect match to bring this Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Viletrue story to the screen.”




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Classical guitar virtuoso Thomas Zwijsen has released this new video, in which he performs a classical/flamenco arrangement of "Twisted Mind" by Tobias Sammet's Avantasia. The track is featured on Zwijsen's Nylon Metal album, available here.

Zwijsen  has joined forces with former Iron Maiden vocalist Blaze Bayley for a new classical acoustic album, entitled December Wind. A video for the title track can be found below, and the album is available now at ThomasZwijsen.com with worldwide shipping.

Tracklisting:

"Eye Of The Storm"
"Love Will Conquer All"
"2AM" (Iron Maiden)
"Miracle On The Hudson"
"December Wind"
"We Fell From The Sky"
"The Crimson Tide"
"The Love Of Your Life"
"Stealing Time" (Blaze)
"Russian Holiday"
"Soundtrack Of My Life" (Blaze)
"One More Step"
"Sign Of The Cross" (Iron Maiden)

"December Wind" video:




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Modern classic rock outfit, N’Tribe, have announced the release of their Root 'N' Branch EP, on April 19th via NorthPoint Productions.

N'Tribe (yes, short for the Nordic Tribe) is a living and kicking example of that: this new band was founded in 2018 by three highly esteemed professionals - André Andersen, Jonas Larsen, Henrik Brockmann - initially bonded through their original band Royal Hunt; all participated in numerous bands/projects, all received various accolades from the industry, sold tons of albums and toured the world countless times.

Message from the band: "We're very proud to be able to announce April 19th as the release date for our first EP, Root 'N' Branch. Hope you'll enjoy our take on “contemporary classic rock”, because if you will - we have a plethora of songs, just waiting for the chance to pound on your eardrums."

Tracklisting:

"Staring Down The Barrel"
"Down On My Knees"
"What Goes Around Comes Around"
"Paint It Black"

Soundbites are available at ntribe.dk.




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Frontiers Music Srl recently signed Sascha Paeth's Masters Of Ceremony, a new project masterminded by none other than one of the most talented writers, musicians, and producers of the German heavy metal scene, Sascha Paeth.

Sascha has put together this video to let you know more about the band and the upcoming album:

To label Sascha Paeth a multi-talented producer, engineer, musician, and songwriter might not quite cover his full set of skills and achievements. The Wolfsburg-born German multi-musician has produced countless bands including Avantasia, Kamelot, Rhapsody, Epica, and more. Having worked on, produced, and engineered over 200 albums since 1988, it’s fair to say he has a reputation for being at the forefront of shaping the European melodic power metal sound. Now, Paeth is taking the next step in his artistic journey by releasing his new project, Sascha Paeth’s Masters Of Ceremony.

Sascha says, “Finally, I am putting my energy into a metal project of my own. It is the sum of my experiences over the years and a bit of a revival of what I was doing in the past.”

As a 15 year old teenager, you might have found Paeth playing a more bluesy style, or Van Halen-meets-Accept style hard rock, but it wasn’t long before Paeth joined Heaven’s Gate, where the music was harder and heavier. The experience was where he learned to enjoy inspiration from adapting, from new styles, and from new collaborations. It was the start of a long journey through the music business, a journey that is far from over!

“It took a few years of nice, and ambitious, talks about a possible collaboration with Frontiers,” says Sascha. “It’s my very first metal solo album and I am looking forward to sharing the progress on the production and revealing the band members over the next weeks and months."




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Germany-based neo-classical power metallers Eternity’s End featuring members of Necrophagist, Symphony X, Obscura, Hibria, First Fragment and Alkaloid are gearing up to release their new album, Unyielding. They have signed with Ram It Down Records.

Unyielding will be the follow up to the internationally acclaimed 2016 debut, The Fire Within. This album features several line-up changes for the band, most notably Brazilian vocalist Iuri Sanson (ex-Hibria) and the addition of second guitarist and songwriter Phil Tougas (First Fragment), as well as bassist Mike LePond (Symphony X). Still on board are original guitarist Christian Muenzner, keyboardist Jimmy Pitts and drummer Hannes Grossmann. The album will feature 10 songs of technical, speedy and catchy power metal with a strong emphasis on intense riffing, huge choruses, over the top solo duels and harmony leads and the neoclassicisms found on the debut album.

The album is set to be mixed and mastered in September 2018 at Powerhouse Studios in Hamburg by Piet Sielck (Iron Savior). 

Band founder Christian Muenzner comments: “I’m extremely happy about the new line up and how the new material turned out. As opposed to the debut album, I’m not the sole composer of the new material anymore, but wrote this album together with our new guitarist Phil Tougas. The songs for Eternity’s End have always been written for a two guitarist situation, so the addition of a second guitarist was the next logical step for this band. Phil and me share many of the same influences, besides our shared background in extreme metal we are both influenced by neoclassical guitar players like Tony MacAlpine, Vinnie Moore, Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert, Bruce Bouillet, Joey Tafolla, Jason Becker, Tony Fredianelli, Michael Romeo and James Byrd among many others. We also share the love for '80s US power metal and mid to late '90s German power/speed metal, which will all be evident in the new material.

The writing process for the new album felt very natural, in many occasions one of us had the basis for a song and the other guy would come up with the exact riff or section that was the missing link to complete the piece. Our first collaboration had been on the debut album, Dasein, of Phil’s neo-classical tech death band First Fragment, on which I guested on one of the songs, and we did intense solo trade offs and harmony leads. This worked so well that many people went 'You guys have to do more of this', so here we are. There will be many harmonized solos in the vein of Racer X and Cacophony on this album, as well as triple harmonies and three part solo trade offs with our keyboard player Jimmy Pitts, so all the guitar nerds and shred freaks should watch out for this release.

Phil and me have been fans of Iuri Sanson’s vocals since we first heard the Hibria debut album Defying The Rules many years ago, to us he is the best metal vocalist currently around. The new material is a lot more aggressive, technical and in your face than the songs of our debut album, and Iuri’s voice fits the new material just perfectly.

The contact to bassist Mike LePond from Symphony X came through our keyboard player Jimmy Pitts. We are all big fans of Symphony X and Mike plays the exact style we were looking for on the new songs, going over the top and matching the shredding skills of the guitars where needed in places and providing a solid, locked in heavy metal groove with the drums in others.

The drums will be provided once more by my long time partner in crime Hannes Grossmann with whom I have been making music since more than 15 years now. I can’t think of a more perfect match for my songs.

We faced a little bit of bad luck with the situation with our old label Power Prog for The Fire Within, but we hope to get some better promotion and distribution the second time around.”

Guitarist Phil Tougas comments: "Becoming a part of this band and helping write the album has been a surreal experience. Not just because the members all played in bands I've been worshiping for many years, but I'd say it's also mainly because of how it all came together. The moment Christian asked me to join, we simply churned out riffs non-stop, day and night, as if our lives depended on it. It was so productive that we already have song ideas for another album. Our writing styles mashed together instantly, and being given the chance to contribute full songs to the band was very fulfilling. Sure, we do share the same influences and taste and all that, but it's this drive that we all have in common as well as this unquenchable thirst to write truly empowering and epic hymns that made us into the cohesive unit that we are now. I don't see Eternity's End as a side project. There is too much passion in these riffs for this band to just be something like that. I look forward to releasing this album and playing this material live."




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German industrial metallers RAMMSTEIN have posted a slideshow of photos from what appears to be a video shoot for their long-awaited new album. Among the Instagram pictures is one featuring two actresses dressed as nuns, and a shot of a clapperboard in front of singer Till Lindemann's face with the title "Black Dog, Big Fish" and director Jonas Åkerlund's name on it.

Longtime RAMMSTEIN collaborator Åkerlund is the original drummer of BATHORY, one of the first black metal bands, who made his mark directing music videos for artists from Madonna and THE ROLLING STONES to MAROON 5 and Beyoncé. These have won the Swedish director a host of awards, including several Grammys, an MTV VMA, MVPA Hall Of Fame award and more. Åkerlund has also directed a number of feature films, including cult favorite "Spun" starring Jason Schwartzman, Mickey Rourke, Brittany Murphy and John Leguizamo. He also helmed the upcoming film "Lords Of Chaos", based on true events in the Norwegian black metal music scene in the early 1990s, which will open in theaters February 8 and on demand on February 22.

RAMMSTEIN's first studio album since 2009's "Liebe Ist Für Alle Da" is tentatively due this spring. The effort was mixed at a Santa Monica, California studio with Rich Costey, an American producer who has previously worked with MUSE, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and FRANZ FERDINAND, among others.

RAMMSTEIN guitarist Richard Kruspe told Metal Wani about the making of the band's new album: "Well, when I thought to do another RAMMSTEIN record, I was like, 'No, I'm going to do that. I'm not going through more suffering,'" he said. "That was four years ago. But what we did in the beginning is we said 'Let's get together and try to come up with three or four songs.' We didn't really put any pressure on us, which was very important at this time. While we were starting to rehearse and stuff and getting ideas, I thought, 'Wow, it's actually very good. Things have changed.' All of a sudden, there's a certain kind of respect that I always missed a little bit. We just had good chemistry, which reminded me of the first time when we started. Then I felt, like, 'What would interest me on a new RAMMSTEIN record?' I thought, 'Every time people talk RAMMSTEIN, it's about fire. It's all about the show.' Nobody talks about the music anymore for RAMMSTEIN, and it kind of bothered me. I was thinking, 'I want to do another record. It has to be musical in a way that can really stand out from other records.' That was my goal, or our goal."

As for the disc's musical direction and how it compares to the band's previous efforts, Kruspe said: "It's so hard to say it, because I'm working four years on the record, I'm so close. I think when I listen to the record — we're still in the process, but it's almost 'RAMMSTEIN 3D' is how I describe it. We have written a lot of stuff, but we recorded, I think, 16 songs right now. We're probably going to mix 11 songs because we're running out of time right now. I think it's going to be out in April, which will be the release date. Then, we'll be on our first stadium tour, which is very exciting."

RAMMSTEIN recently announced a batch of summer 2019 European tour dates. The run of stadium and arena shows will kick off on May 27 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany and end of August 23 in Vienna, Austria.

View this post on Instagram ... no fire, but nuns! A post shared by Rammstein (@rammsteinofficial) on Jan 30, 2019 at 6:30am PST

A previously unreleased recording of WHITESNAKE performing the song "Ready An' Willing (Sweet Satisfaction)" live in Glasgow, Scotland in 1984 can be streamed below. The track is featured on the upcoming 35th-anniversary edition of the band's 1984 album, "Slide It In".

WHITESNAKE scored its first platinum-selling album with "Slide It In", a release that has sold more than four million copies worldwide thanks to hard-rocking songs like "Love Ain't No Stranger", "Slow An' Easy" and the title track. The classic album turns 35 this year and Rhino is celebrating with several new versions, including an enormous seven-disc box set.

"Slide It In: The Ultimate Special Edition" will be available on March 22. The 6CD/DVD collection includes newly remastered versions of both the U.K. and U.S. mixes of the album, plus unreleased live and studio recordings, music videos, concert footage, and a new interview with WHITESNAKE founder and lead singer, David Coverdale. The music comes with a 60-page hardbound book that's filled with rare photos and memorabilia from the era.

Three other versions of "Slide It In" will also be available the same day. A double-CD "Deluxe Edition" includes the newly remastered U.K. and U.S. mixes expanded with a selection of bonus tracks. The double-LP "Deluxe Edition" features the newly remastered U.K. and U.S. mixes. And finally, a single-disc version includes the newly remastered U.S. mix. The music will be available digitally as well.

After releasing "Saints & Sinners" in 1982, WHITESNAKE reconvened the following year in Germany to begin recording songs for what would become the band's sixth studio album, "Slide It In". At the time, band members included Coverdale, guitarists Micky Moody and Mel Galley, bassist Colin Hodgkinson and keyboardist Jon Lord. The album was initially released in 1984 in the U.K., where it climbed into the Top 10.

Soon after, the band's lineup changed. Lord left to rejoin DEEP PURPLE and Moody and Hodgkinson were replaced by guitarist John Sykes and Neil Murray, who was WHITESNAKE's original bassist. Prior to its U.S. release in 1985, "Slide It In" was remixed while newly recorded parts by Sykes, Murray and keyboardist Bill Cuomo were added, resulting in two distinct versions of the album, both of which are included in this set.

"Slide It In: The Ultimate Special Edition" features unreleased versions of every album track, including 35th-anniversary remixes made this year, as well as monitor mixes recorded in 1983. The set boasts more than a dozen unreleased live recordings from 1984 that feature an entire concert from Glasgow, Scotland, plus several songs from Lord's final show with WHITESNAKE in Sweden. The collection's final disc unearths 30 tracks that cover original demos and early mixes for album tracks, as well as unfinished song ideas.

Coverdale says: "'Slide It In' was always meant to be a structured, more electric modern take on the classic blues-based hard rock that WHITESNAKE were famous for — but our new hook city hooligan, mixer extraordinaire Christopher Collier, has hand-tooled this classic record for the 21st century.

"Hearing all the performances so fresh and so clear after 35 years was amazing. Mel, Cozy and Jon's playing on the record is as vital now as it was all those years ago. All the featured players shine.

"Not only did Christopher get the best out of the recording, but he gives the album a fresh coat of sonic paint bringing it right up to date. I'm personally thrilled with it."

The complete track listing can be found at Whitesnake.com.

Keith Leroux, who lives in Indianapolis and works for KISS as its social and digital media guru, has uploaded a 27-minute video look at the band's "End Of The Road" stage. Check it out below.

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

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

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

The first North American leg of "End Of The Road" will launch January 31 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at Rogers Arena and will hit an additional 43 cities.

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

The lineup features the current version of the band — Stanley, Thayer, Gene Simmons and Eric Singer. But Stanley has hinted that former members like Ace Frehley and Peter Criss could make appearances.

Previously unreleased drum-cam footage of late MEGADETH drummer Nick Menza playing along to the band's classic song "Holy Wars" can be seen below. The HD clip, shot in a four-camera-angle mix, was filmed in March 2014 at Uberbeatz Studios in Seattle, Washington and is believed to be some of the final studio drum recordings of Menza before he passed away more than two years later. The footage was supposed to be used for the late drummer's first-ever instructional DVD, "Intense Mega Drumming", that was to feature 10 re-recorded classic MEGADETH drum tracks with tons of tips and tricks from Menza's arsenal to help teach anybody out there become a better player. The DVD — which was produced and directed by Kari Pearson and Menza's manager, Robert Bolger — has since been shelved and the footage will be utilized for another project that will be announced soon.

Menza joined MEGADETH for the 1989 recording of the "Rust In Peace" album and for the next nine years became associated with the band's "classic" and most ever profitable era.

Nick died in May 2016 after suffering a heart attack and collapsing during a concert with Chris Poland and Robertino "Pag" Pagliari in their band OHM: at The Baked Potato in Studio City, California. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said Menza died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

A few days after Menza's passing, Dave Mustaine insisted that he had a "very, very close" relationship with the drummer, who previously accused the MEGADETH frontman of sending him a "ridiculous proposal" for a failed 2015 reunion of the band's classic "Rust In Peace"-era lineup. Mustaine told the Q103 radio station: "I think when you're that close with somebody, the temperatures run a lot hotter than in most relationships, so the love is that much more deeper and the anger is so much more hot and the sadness is so much more profound. So I think that's when you know that you're really in a relationship with somebody that matters to you."

He continued: "People think that we had this failed reunion attempt. There were several times that we tried to reconcile stuff, and it just didn't happen for whatever reason — I don't know why, but it didn't."

Menza's book "Megalife: The Autobiography Of Nick Menza" by J. Marshall Craig was released in December via Post Hill Press.

Veteran hard rock group SKID ROW will enter a Nashville, Tennessee recording studio next week with producer Michael Wagener — who also helmed the group's 1989 self-titled debut and 1991's "Slave To The Grind" — to begin tracking the final chapter of the band's "United World Rebellion" trilogy.

The album will mark SKID ROW's first release with South African-born, British-based vocalist ZP Theart (DRAGONFORCE, TANK, I AM I), who joined the band in 2016 following the departure of Tony Harnell (TNT, STARBREAKER).

The effort will feature collaborations with several outside songwriters, including Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT, STONE SOUR) and Lzzy Hale and Joe Hottinger of HALESTORM, a group that covered the title track of "Slave To The Grind" on its "ReAniMate: The CoVeRs eP" in 2011. SKID ROW also worked with songwriter-for-hire Marti Frederiksen, who has previously collaborated with AEROSMITH, DEF LEPPARD, Jonny Lang and Sheryl Crow.

Unlike 2014's "Rise Of The Damnation Army - United World Rebellion: Chapter Two" and 2013's "United World Rebellion: Chapter One", SKID ROW's forthcoming release will be a full-length record.

In an interview with Metal Wani last fall, bassist Rachel Bolan voiced excitement about the direction of the group's new material. "When we play it for people," he said, "they're like, 'Oh my God! This could be the second half of 'Slave To The Grind' or 'This could have been right before 'Youth Gone Wild' on the first record.' It's a really good feeling. And Michael Wagener, he pulls no punches when it comes to telling his opinions of what he thinks of the songs, which is great — that's what you need a producer to do. And he [told] us, 'This is some of the best shit you guys have written, for real.' So that makes me feel really good, because I really respect his opinion."

SKID ROW will perform at a number of high-profile European festivals in 2019, including Germany's Bang Your Head!!!, the U.K.'s Download, Sweden Rock Festival and Norway Rock '19. The group's next scheduled performances will be aboard the annual Monsters Of Rock cruise, which departs from Miami on February 24.

Earlier this month, Rhino released a 30th-anniversary remastered digital reissue of SKID ROW's quintuple-platinum 1989 debut album, which featured the hits "Youth Gone Wild", "18 & Life" and "I Remember You". The reissue also includes "Forever", a b-side recorded during the sessions for the album that previously appeared on the 1998 greatest-hits compilation "40 Seasons: The Best Of Skid Row", and a 10-track live performance recorded on April 26, 1989 at the Marquee in Westminster, California.

SKID ROW 2019 is:

ZP Theart - vocals

Rachel Bolan - bass

Dave "Snake" Sabo - guitar

Scotti Hill - guitars

Rob Hammersmith - drums

Progressive rock group KANSAS will enter the studio in August to begin work on its new album for a 2020 release.

The band's first new studio LP in 16 years, "The Prelude Implicit", arrived in 2016. It followed the 2014 departure of singer Steve Walsh, who had fronted KANSAS for all but a few years of its four-decade-plus existence.

KANSAS's new frontman is Ronnie Platt, a former member of the band SHOOTING STAR. The lineup includes two original members, guitarist Richard Williams and drummer Phil Ehart, as well as violinist/guitarist David Ragsdale, bassist Billy Greer (both longtime members of the group), guitarist Zak Rizvi and the band's latest addition, keyboardist Tom Brislin.


An internationally acclaimed musician, Brislin has performed and toured with a variety of artists, including YES (appearing on "Symphonic Live"), Meat Loaf, Debbie Harry of BLONDIE, CAMEL, RENAISSANCE and Dennis DeYoung (formerly of STYX). For years, he fronted the band SPIRALING and produced his debut solo album, "Hurry Up And Smell The Roses".

Most recently, Tom co-founded the progressive rock group THE SEA WITHIN. Along with guitarist Roine Stolt of THE FLOWER KINGS, bassist Jonas Reingold of the Steve Hackett band, and drum star Marco Minnemann, they released their first album in 2018 on InsideOut Music, joining KANSAS on the label's roster. Tom has also formed GOLD ROTATION, a collective of diverse musicians and songwriters who premiered with a performance at Progstock Festival in 2018.

Brislin's first performances with KANSAS will be aboard the Rock Legends cruise in February, followed by a March 1 gig in Baltimore, Maryland at the Modell Lyric where the band will be resuming the "Point Of Know Return" anniversary tour.

Photo credit: Emily Butler Photography

German hard rock legends SCORPIONS are preparing to record a "historic" new album with a "famous" producer, guitarist Rudolf Schenker has revealed.

The upcoming disc will mark the band's first release since 2017's "Born To Touch Your Feelings - Best Of Rock Ballads", which was an anthology of SCORPIONS' new and classic material.

SCORPIONS' last full-length collection of new recordings was 2015's "Return To Forever", partially comprising songs the band had in the vault from the '80s. It was the final recorded appearance of SCORPIONS' longtime drummer James Kottak, who was dismissed from the band in September 2016. He has since been replaced by Mikkey Dee, formerly of MOTÖRHEAD.

In an interview with Headbangers Lifestyle conducted at the end of last year, Rudolf confirmed that SCORPIONS are planning to begin work on a new LP in the coming months.

"Why we have this idea of recording a new album is because Mikkey became, let's say, a great force for SCORPIONS," he said. "When we were fighting for a change and [trying to] get us back on track with the band, and it didn't work, we found Mikkey. Mikkey just fits perfectly into the chemistry of SCORPIONS. Plus, he is a very creative person. That means we have now the chance to make an album that is special and fresh.

"Everybody in the band is now on leave and at home to celebrate the holidays with his family, until the New Year," Rudolf continued. "We will meet again in the New Year and everybody will come and bring in ideas in the studio. We already found a producer to record with. A famous and well-known personality… No, I'm not gonna say who he is… really not! But we are all very excited to produce a new, historic rock 'n' roll album."

SCORPIONS singer Klaus Meine recently said that the band is not opposed to making another studio album. "I think we never would say no, because it's so much in our veins to have this rhythm of touring, making records, being creative, going back into the studio," he told SiriusXM's Eddie Trunk.

"We just put an album out in 2015 with 19 songs, with all the extras and bonus tracks for Japan and whatsoever, so it takes a lot of time, it takes a lot of work in the studio," he continued. "And I think we might be ready [in 2019], at least to go back and come together and start songwriting, and let's see what comes out.

"At the end of the day, to make an album, to go back into the studio, you have to have the feeling we have great material, there are great songs, and it's time now to do it, and really to top yourself — at least give it a try," Meine added. "And it only makes sense if everybody feels it in the band, if everybody wants it, and we know the fans want it. And if we feel we have the right material, the right songs, the right setup, I think we might go back into the studio and maybe surprise a lot of people. But if we do it, we'll definitely go for the harder edge of the SCORPIONS. But if that would be reality, we have to figure out, and we have to see how things will turn out and if everybody's ready to go for another challenge and really try and go for the best. Because that's all what counts at the end of the day — if you make another album, then you'd better come out with something strong. And there are a few examples of bands [from] our generation — like JUDAS PRIEST recently; DEEP PURPLE as well — they came up with really strong new albums. So it can be done. And let's see what life will bring."

Norwegian rockers KVELERTAK have written "a lot of stuff" for their fourth album, tentatively due before the end of the year. The follow-up to 2016's "Nattesferd" will mark the band's first release since the departure of longtime frontman Erlend Hjelvik and addition of Ivar Nikolaisen.

KVELERTAK guitarist Vidar Landa told Ireland's Overdrive that the singer switch "was seamless in a way. We knew that Erlend wanted to quit and do other stuff," he said. "We were lucky that we had that close connection with Ivar. He's been part of KVELERTAK for a long time and has sung on a few tracks for us in the past, doing backing vocals. We've toured together in the past also so he was really the only one that we were thinking of to replace him when Erlend was first talking about leaving. Luckily, Ivar wanted to do it and it's all just fit really well, thankfully. It would have been much harder to go through the audition process and undergo that process of looking for a new vocalist. We were very lucky for the way it all happened."

KVELERTAK played eight concerts with Nikolaisen to start with, and "and it just gradually felt more comfortable," said bassist Marvin Nygaard. "We honestly thought those shows went better than we expected and are so happy with the transition. We're like a team when we hit the stage and that's the real feeling that we were worried about losing with the change, but as we said, we're very lucky with the way things have worked out.

Asked about the musical direction of KVELERTAK's next disc, Vidar said: "Right now, it's kind of hard to explain the new material, but we are working on the new album and have written a lot of stuff so far. The way it looks now, I guess we are working with things that we felt worked really well for us on 'Nattesferd' and stuff that really clicked with us on the first two albums. For us, 'Nattesferd' is not really that different to what KVELERTAK is about, and I'm sure the next album is going to solidify our sound if anything else."

According to Marvin, guitarist Bjarte Lund Rolland has come up with most of the initial ideas for KVELERTAK's upcoming album. "But we'll be entering into the rehearsal studio soon so we can all start working on the ideas," he said. "But, yeah, it's usually Bjarte that brings a lot of the new foundations to the tracks."

Nikolaisen made his live debut with KVELERTAK in July 2018 at the Fjellparkfestivalen in Flekkefjord, Norway.


"Nattesferd" arrived in May 2016. The follow-up to 2013's "Meir" was recorded live at Amper Tone Studio in Oslo, Norway and was produced by the band and mixed/engineered by Nick Terry (LINDSTRØM, TURBONEGRO, THE LIBERTINES).


Photo credit: Stian Andersen

Neo-classical guitarist Chris Impellitteri has dismissed suggestions that he is an "Yngwie Malmsteen clone," saying that he views himself as "much more of a child of players like Al Di Meola blended with a [Eddie] Van Halen and [Randy] Rhoads."

Impellitteri first made his mark in 1987 with the release of his debut EP, "Impellitteri". Chris has since issued 11 albums under his band name, IMPELLITTERI, including his latest, "The Nature Of The Beast", which features his longtime bandmates, vocalist Rob Rock and bassist James Amelio Pulli, plus ex-SLAYER and TESTAMENT drummer Jon Dette. The disc was recorded in Los Angeles with engineer/producer Mike Plotnikoff (VAN HALEN, AEROSMITH, IN FLAMES) and Canadian mix engineer Greg Reely (OVERKILL, FEAR FACTORY, MACHINE HEAD).

This past Sunday (January 27), Impellitteri took to his Facebook page to address the comparisons with the legendary Swedish guitarist, explaining that Yngwie is just one of many axemen who have had an influence on Chris's playing.

"On a daily basis, there seems to be weird people that constantly try to call me a Yngwie clone or ripoff or something of the sort, so I thought I would have some fun and address this once and for all as I never do," Impellitteri wrote.

"First of all, I have tremendous respect for Yngwie and he, like [Eddie] Van Halen, Al Di Meola, John McGlaughlin, Randy Rhoads, Michael Schenker, Tony Iommi, Paul Gilbert, Uli Roth, [Jimi] Hendrix, John Sykes, Gary Moore, [George] Lynch, and many more, has certainly had some impact on the way I play guitar. However, Al Di Meola, John McGlaughlin, Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Tony Iommi, Michael Schenker, [Ritchie] Blackmore, Vivaldi, Sykes, have had a significant influence on me. (Even early on, a guitar player named Jimi Bell was a significant help in influencing my speed and accuracy.) To say I am only an Yngwie clone would be spectacularly unfair to all the other guitar players out there, including some of the newer guys closer to my age, like Jeff Loomis, Zakk Wylde, Doug Aldrich, and so on that have an effect on me.

"I like to think of myself as a sponge," he continued. "I try to learn from all guitarists/composers and then take that knowledge and incorporate that into my own playing of which makes me me!

"It's funny, I read comments of people saying I even used to dress like Yngwie, which is wrong. In fact, in the 'Stand In Line' music video, I am playing a Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster, wearing the ridiculous white boots as a tribute to the RAINBOW era band with Graham of which Blackmore, Schenker, Uli Roth all wore those boots with two of them playing cream-colored Stratocaster with scalloped necks in the 1970s long before Yngwie...ha ha!).

"On a side note, I think Fender many years ago did give me a red Yngwie Strat, which I played but hated. The reason I tried the guitar for a short while was I wanted to try scalloped necks as Uli Roth, McGlaughlin and Blackmore used them for years in the 1970s and it was the only guitar Fender had in their custom shop with a scalloped neck that I could try.

"At the end of the day, I view myself much more of a child of players like Al Di Meola blended with a Van Halen and Rhoads, of which is why I sound very American vs. European. But Yngwie should still get credit, as I certainly feel he has had an influence on me, like others. I think I learned the four patterns that I occasionally use from him, although they are really a basic pattern Bach used a lot. I also do think his tone has had an influence on me, like Van Halen's tone on the first record.

"In the end, there will always be people with differing opinions which they have every right to voice! So please feel free to say what you want about me... I love it!! But I thought I would at least give credit to everyone that influences me."


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8voGBe7Bhhs

Malmsteen vs IMPELLITTERI.......on a daily basis there seems to be weird...Posted by Chris Impellitteri on Sunday, January 27, 2019

"Astorolus - The Great Octopus", the new video from Swedish doom metal legends CANDLEMASS, can be seen below. The track, which features a guest guitar solo by none other than BLACK SABBATH's Tony Iommi, is taken from the band's 12th album, "The Door To Doom", due on February 22 via Napalm Records. The disc unsurprisingly follows the plotline mastermind, songwriter and bass player Leif Edling established in the past years: epic world-class doom metal that relies on slow mammoth riffing.

Edling states: "Here's the video for 'Astorolus'. Monsters and Gods come in different shapes. The eternal wheel of birth and death portrayed in a cool video and great song. Talking about gods, the master himself Tony Iommi is playing the solo here (part 1+2 out of 3). Immense feeling, wonderful tome, so much presence! Just incredible! Hats off to him for helping us out. A dream coming true! Looking forward to play it live on the tour with GHOST. We're rehearsing it right now. New stuff and the old classics. Can't wait to go out on this tour. Johan is back singing, 'The Door To Doom' is getting brilliant reviews, the band is in great form... Will be a blast!"

Comments Iommi: "CANDLEMASS are a major force in Scandinavian heavy rock and have always acknowledged the influence we had on their music. They asked if I'd contribute to a track which sounded pretty good so I thought, 'Why not?'"

Adds Edling: "We feel very honored that Tony Iommi said yes to play the solo on 'Astorolus'. The song was sent to the management and amazingly enough, the master agreed to let his mighty SG sing on the track! For me personally, this is a dream come true. Tony Iommi has always been my hero and guiding light when it comes to heavy music, so to hear that he likes the song and also would like to play on it gave me chills down the spine! I'm still in shock! But kudos to him to be so cool to even listen to it. Hats off! Tony Iommi is and will always be God!"

"The Door To Doom" marks the recording comeback of newly returned singer Johan Längqvist, who recently replaced CANDLEMASS's frontman of the past six years, Mats Levén.

"The Door To Doom" track listing:

01. Splendor Demon Majesty

02. Under The Ocean

03. Astorolus - The Great Octopus (feat. Tony Iommi)

04. Bridge Of The Blind

05. Death's Wheel

06. Black Trinity

07. House Of Doom

08. The Omega Circle

Längqvist sang on CANDLEMASS's debut album, 1986's "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus", before exiting the group and being replaced by Messiah Marcolin.

CANDLEMASS's most recent full-length album, "Psalms For The Dead", came out in 2012 via Napalm Records. It was the last CANDLEMASS album recorded with singer Robert Lowe, who left the band just days before its release.

CANDLEMASS is:

Leif Edling: Bass

Mats "Mappe" Björkman: Guitars

Jan Lindh: Drums

Lars "Lasse" Johansson: Guitars

Johan Längqvist: Vocals

Photo by Anders Pålsson

Tom Morello has released the Sean Evans-directed music video for his rendition of "Every Step That I Take". The song, which features guest appearances by Portugal. The Man and Whethan, is taken from the guitarist's latest LP, "The Atlas Underground", which was released last year. The disc finds the RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist also collaborating with artists like Marcus Mumford, Vic Mensa, Big Boi and GZA as well as EDM acts like BASSNECTAR, KNIFE PARTY and Steve Aoki.

Morello previously revealed that "Every Step That I Take" was dedicated to his late AUDIOSLAVE bandmate Chris Cornell, and that he had partnered with the SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education) organization.

"With the passing of Chris [almost two years] ago, and the momentum towards removing the stigma from mental health issues and suicidal thoughts, it was very important to have a song from that point of view," Morello told the Chicago Tribune.

The guitarist continued: "I've had mental illness issues in my family and among my friends in the past, and there's a current trend toward this demystification to encourage people, among your friends, loved ones and professionals, there is help and there are ways... 'Every Step That I Take' is about how the dreams, and depression, and love and the lack of it on the emotional steps of the gallows are processed."

Regarding the musical direction of "The Atlas Underground", Morello told Rolling Stone: "I wanted to make a record that was unapologetically a guitar album, but that had the sonic imprints of 2018." He added of the album's EDM influence: "What I heard in their music was very simpatico with the analog rock and roll music that I love best… It was the tension and release, it was the huge drops, it was the communal frenzy that they created, for me in the mosh pit, for them on the dancefloor."

FOREIGNER and Eagle Vision have announced the release of the concert film, "Foreigner Live At The Rainbow '78", which is available on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital video from March 15.

After the band's self-titled debut album had spent a year in the U.S. Top 20, rock's conquering heroes played a sold-out show at London's celebrated Rainbow Theatre on April 27, 1978. Opening with "Long, Long Way From Home", fans were treated to a magnificent display of musicianship and performance, including hit singles "Feels Like The First Time" and "Cold As Ice", as well an exclusive preview of two tracks from the upcoming "Double Vision" album, "Hot Blooded" and "Double Vision".

Featuring the classic FOREIGNER lineup of Mick Jones (lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Lou Gramm (lead vocals, percussion), Ian McDonald (guitars, keyboards, sax, flute, backing vocals), Al Greenwood (keyboards, synthesizer), Ed Gagliardi (bass, backing vocals) and Dennis Elliott (drums, backing vocals), this show captures the essence of a group who would go on to become one of the world's best-selling bands of all time.

Forty years later, this definitive performance by the original band has been restored from the original film reels, remixed and remastered for this release.

"1978 was an absolutely magical time for the band," remembers Mick Jones, "and to come back over to the U.K. to play a headline show at the legendary Rainbow really was a dream come true. The audience was amazing that night. We couldn't have wished for a better show."

As FOREIGNER's music continues to resonate with fans old and new, the band celebrated their 40th anniversary playing amphitheaters and arenas throughout 2018.

Track listing:

01. Long, Long Way From Home

02. I Need You

03. Woman Oh Woman

04. Hot Blooded

05. The Damage Is Done

06. Cold As Ice

07. Starrider

08. Double Vision

09. Feels Like The First Time

10. Fool For You Anyway

11. At War With The World

12. Headknocker

British extreme metal veterans CRADLE OF FILTH will perform their third album, 1998's "Cruelty And The Beast", in its entirety at several shows this spring and summer.

Catch the opportunity to see this opus nocturne performed in full, along with some more hand-picked offerings and haunting classics at several headline shows in April, as well as at Dokk'em Open Air and Summer Breeze this summer.

As exclusive support for this tourgasm, the visionary hellhounds from Suffolk will bring their Nuclear Blast labelmates and new aeon black metal masters THE SPIRIT.

Tour dates:

Apr. 24 - D - Karlsruhe - Substage

Apr. 25 - F - Paris - La Machine du Moulin Rouge

Apr. 26 - CH - Pratteln - Z7

Apr. 27 - I - Parma - Campus Industry

Apr. 29 - PL - Warsaw - Progresja

Apr. 30 - SK - Bratislava - MMC

Jun. 28-29 - NL - Dokkum - Dokk’em Open Air *

Aug. 14-17 - D - Dinkelsbühl - Summer Breeze *

* CRADLE OF FILTH only

CRADLE OF FILTH will tentatively enter the studio in the fall to begin recording its new album. The follow-up to 2017's "Cryptoriana - The Seductiveness of Decay" is expected to arrive sometime in 2020.

Released in September 2017, "Cryptoriana - The Seductiveness Of Decay" was recorded at Grindstone Studios, Suffolk, U.K. by Scott Atkins, who has been the resident go-to producer for CRADLE OF FILTH for several albums.

In March, CRADLE OF FILTH will return to North America once again to promote "Cryptoriana - The Seductiveness Of Decay". For the second leg of its North American onslaught, the band has enlisted industrial/metal shock rocker WEDNESDAY 13 as well as theatrical metal newcomers RAVEN BLACK.

Brian Johnson has reportedly confirmed that he will appear on AC/DC's upcoming studio album.

Rumors of the singer's involvement with a new AC/DC record have been circulating for several months, ever since he and drummer Phil Rudd, along with guitarists Angus Young and Stevie Young, were photographed outside Vancouver's Warehouse Studios. Based on the pictures, the assumption at the time was that AC/DC was in the midst of making — or at least planning — another album, with Rudd and Johnson both back in the lineup. Online reports have also indicated Angus Young will dedicate the new AC/DC album to his late brother.

While AC/DC has yet to reveal any details of a new studio recording, Brian apparently let the cat out of the bag earlier this this week when he bumped into the American band TERRORIZER at an airport near his home in Sarasota, Florida.

On Monday (January 28), the grindcore trio — which features in its ranks former MORBID ANGEL drummer Pete Sandoval — took to its Facebook page to recap the group's just-completed European tour. After praising the other bands on the trek and thanking its road crew, TERRORIZER wrote: "We ran into Brian Johnson from AC/DC at the airport today after the flight home and we asked him about the rumors of him being on the new AC/DC album and he said 'yes' and that he is 'sick of denying it.' So that was a cool surprise ending to the tour."

Ever since AC/DC completed the tour cycle for its 2014 album "Rock Or Bust" more than two years ago — a turbulent trek that weathered the forced retirement and eventual death of co-founder Malcolm Young, plus the departures of Johnson, Rudd and bassist Cliff Williams — fans have wondered whether sole remaining founding member Angus Young would keep the band going or decide it was time for AC/DC to pack it in.

Johnson was forced to leave AC/DC mid-tour due to a dangerous level of hearing loss, and was eventually replaced on the road by GUNS N' ROSES frontman Axl Rose, while Williams decided to retire at the end of the cycle.


Last night we played the final show of the TERRORIZER - "Caustic Attack Over Europe" Tour 2019. The last week we have...Posted by Terrorizer on Monday, January 28, 2019

Original FOREIGNER singer Lou Gramm performed some of the band's classic songs with ASIA FEATURING JOHN PAYNE on January 26 at the Scottish Rite Auditorium in Collingswood, New Jersey. Check out fan-filmed video footage below.

Last month, Gramm announced his retirement from performing as a solo artist. The vocalist broke the news of his decision to stop touring at the conclusion of his December 29 concert in Schenectady, New York

Asked what he meant when he said that he was putting an end to his solo career, Gramm told WXXI's Beth Adams: "When I left FOREIGNER in 2003, I put together my own band and I've been playing with various versions of that band, on and off, [until] last [month]. And I decided that I've been doing this for over 45 years, and we have a little one at home, and I wanted to spend time at home with Robyn [Grammatico, Gramm's wife] and my baby girl's name is Luciana. [She's] a year and three months. She's a little redhead and she's feisty and sweet and so much fun to be around."

Pressed about whether it was a difficult decision for him to step away from the road, Lou said: "You know what? I thought it would be. But I've talked to some professionals in sports, and they tell me that they knew when it was time. And it wasn't because their skills were diminished; they just knew it was time to change courses."

Gramm made it clear that he wasn't completely retiring from performing live. "I'm still gonna be doing occasional shows with FOREIGNER," he said. "And there's other configurations. I do a show as a guest vocalist with ASIA. And there's a few other things that pop up every now and then. There's these things where there's orchestras and a rock band that play your hits and you sing with an orchestra as a background. I've done 'em over in Europe — they've been doing 'em over in Europe for about 20 years — and it's stunning how interesting it sounds. That kind of thing sounds real interesting on 'Juke Box Hero' and things like 'Cold As Ice' and stuff. Even the heavy songs sound good with strings behind them."

Gramm also confirmed that he was planning to release new music in the not-too-distant future. "I have a few little tidbits that I'm working on, massaging them into a song," he said. "But I'll tell you what I am doing. Back in the days when I did my solo albums, I put 10 songs on the album. There were probably 13 songs, and the other three weren't finished. And so those songs would be not put on the album. So between my two solo albums and SHADOW KING, there's about another album's worth of songs that were never finished. And what I'm doing is finishing them three at a time and putting them where they can be downloaded."

SHADOW KING was a collaboration between Gramm and current DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell. The group released a self-titled album in 1991 and performed live only once, at the Astoria Theatre in London, England on December 13, 1991.

By the time Gramm left FOREIGNER for the first time in 1990, he had already released two successful solo albums: 1987's "Ready Or Not" and 1989's "Long Hard Look". He went on to launch LOU GRAMM BAND, which released an all-Christian rock album in 2009. He followed it up with "My Baby" in 2015.

The 68-year-old Gramm left FOREIGNER for good in 2002 and has battled health issues in recent years, including the removal of a non-cancerous tumor. He told the Democrat & Chronicle last year that he was planning to retire, but still reunited with FOREIGNER for several shows in 2018 to celebrate the band's 40th anniversary.

Gramm was the voice on FOREIGNER's biggest hits, including "Feels Like The First Time" and "Cold as Ice" from the band's eponymous debut in 1977, and later songs like "Hot Blooded" and "I Want to Know What Love Is".

FOREIGNER replaced Gramm with Kelly Hansen in 2005. Guitarist Mick Jones, the only remaining original member, suffered from some health issues beginning in 2011, eventually resulting in heart surgery in 2012.

Ozzy Osbourne has been forced to postpone the entire European leg of his "No More Tours 2" on doctors' orders. This follows yesterday's (January 28) announcement that the BLACK SABBATH singer was postponing the first four dates of the tour because of the flu. After seeing his physician again, Osbourne has been diagnosed with a severe upper respiratory infection which the doctor feels could develop into pneumonia given the physicality of the live performances and an extensive travel schedule throughout Europe in harsh winter conditions.


Ozzy said in a statement: "I'm completely devastated for having to postpone the European leg of my tour. It just seems that since October, everything I touch has turned to shit. First the staph infection in my thumb and now coming down with the flu and bronchitis.

"I want to apologize to all of my fans who have been so loyal over the years, my band, my crew and to JUDAS PRIEST for letting you all down. However, I promise the tour with JUDAS PRIEST will be completed. It's being rescheduled right now to start in September. Again, I apologize to everyone. God Bless. Love you all, Ozzy."


Concert-goers should hold on to their tickets, as they will be honored for the rescheduled dates (details of which will be announced in the coming months). Refunds are also available at point of purchase.


"No More Tours 2" tour resumes on Sunday, March 9 in Australia. Shows will follow in New Zealand and Japan before a two-month North American leg.

The news of the tour postponement comes just days after Ozzy said that he coughed so hard that he burst a blood vessel in his eye.

This is not the first time an illness has forced the singer to call off a round of dates. Last October, Osbourne contracted a staph infection that required him to have surgery on his hand and resulted in him canceling several shows.

The European leg of Ozzy's "No More Tours 2" was being billed as the 70-year-old singer's official farewell to more than five decades of touring.

"No More Tours 2" is a reference to Ozzy's 1992 "No More Tours" trek, which marked the first time the singer announced the end of his days as a touring artist. The tour name was a pun based on the title of his then-most recent solo album, "No More Tears". Ozzy returned to action three years later and has been on the road ever since.

According to Rolling Stone, STAIND frontman Aaron Lewis will release his third full-length country album, "State I'm In", on April 12 via Big Machine imprint Valory Music. The follow-up to 2016's "Sinner" was produced by Buddy Cannon and it features 10 tracks, six of which were written or co-written by Lewis. Songwriting collaborators on the disc include Dan Tyminski, Keith Gattis and Waylon Payne.

The album's first single, "The Bottom", will arrive at streaming services on Friday, February 1.

The self-proclaimed "Northern Redneck" achieved critical and commercial success with "Sinner", and his in-demand live show electrifies audiences whenever he takes the stage.

"My music is very first person, very autobiographical," said Lewis. "It's from my life experiences that I draw inspiration for my songs."

"State I'm In" track listing:

01. The Party's Over (Aaron Lewis)

02. Can't Take Back (Aaron Lewis, Ira Dean, Dan Tyminski)

03. Reconsider (Charlie Brocco, Keith Gattis)

04. It Keeps On Workin' (Aaron Lewis, Ira Dean, Chris Wallin)

05. State I'm In (Aaron Lewis)

06. God And Guns (Aaron Lewis, Bobby Pinson)

07. Love Me (Aaron Lewis)

08. If I Were the Devil (Houston Phillips, Trent Tomlinson)

09. Burnt the Sawmill Down (Jim Elliot, Keith Whitley)

10. The Bottom (Waylon Payne)

Lewis's career in country music began in 2011 with the release of his "Town Line" EP. A full-length album, "The Road", followed in 2012.

Aside from a STAIND tour in summer 2014, that band has been inactive and Lewis said that fans should not expect to see a reunion any time soon. "I definitely see it staying on hold for a while," he told Rapid City Journal last August. "I've got to stay focused on this [country career]. I've got to take this to where it needs to get to before I can start risking things with the good ol' boy network reception and throwing in a handful of STAIND shows in the summertime along with all of my country shows. But that's down the road. I can't even think about that right now."

STAIND guitarist Mike Mushok is now playing in SAINT ASONIA with former THREE DAYS GRACE frontman Adam Gontier. The band's debut album was released in July 2015.

VOIVOD, CANCER BATS and KOBRA AND THE LOTUS are among the nominees in the "Metal/Hard Music Album Of The Year" category at this year's Juno Awards (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy Awards), set to be held on on March 17 at the Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario, Canada. It was announced this morning that Sarah McLachlan will host the show, which will be broadcast live on CBC.

Artists who released albums between September 1, 2017 and November 9, 2018 were eligible for nominations.

Eligible musicians must be Canadian citizens. This is defined by CARAS as 50 percent or more of group members holding Canadian birth certificates, passports or are Canadian Permanent Resident(s) with residency in Canada during the last six months of the eligibility period.

"Metal/Hard Music Album Of The Year" nominees:

* BEYOND CREATION - "Algorythm" (Season Of Mist)

* CANCER BATS - "The Spark That Moves" (New Damage)

* KEN MODE - "Loved" (New Damage)

* KOBRA AND THE LOTUS - "Prevail II" (Napalm)

* VOIVOD - "The Wake" (Century Media)

KEN MODE is no stranger to the Juno Awards, winning in the same category for 2011's "Venerable" and earning nominations for 2013's "Entrench" and 2015's "Success".

"It's always cool to be nominated, as with the kind of music we play it would be a ridiculous expectation to have — especially since this album is the most anti-social we've maybe ever written," Jesse Matthewson, guitarist and vocalist of KEN MODE, says in an e-mail to the Winnipeg Free Press.

"We actually kind of thought this might be the one that ruins our streak of nominations. Of the bands nominated, we're definitely the dirtiest and most underground, sonically speaking; so it will be interesting to see what happens!"

Billy Graziadei says that BIOHAZARD is "not over," despite the fact that the band hasn't played any shows since 2015.

The group, which is acknowledged as one of the earliest outfits to fuse hardcore punk and heavy metal with elements of hip-hop, has been out of the public eye since Scott Roberts left the band nearly three years ago.

Roberts, who played guitar on BIOHAZARD's 2005 album "Means To An End", rejoined the group in June 2011 as the replacement for bassist and co-vocalist Evan Seinfeld. Scott fronted BIOHAZARD for nearly five years before exiting the band in February 2016.

Asked by Germany's Moshpit Passion about BIOHAZARD's current status, Billy said (see video below): "I talk to Bobby [Hambel, guitar] and Danny [Schuler, drums] all the time. I just played with Danny a couple of weeks ago with SICK OF IT ALL and LIFE OF AGONY. There's still a BIOHAZARD. It's a different kind of band. POWERFLO and BILLYBIO is a a little bit more organized, but BIOHAZARD is more like a vibe. Like the planets, when everything aligns, we do something. Until then, who knows? But we're not over. We talk all the time. We write music together. We share things. When it's right, it's right, and there'll be a new BIOHAZARD record."

Last November, Billy told Mass Movement that BIOHAZARD has yet to find a replacement for Scott. "We had a couple of ideas, and it didn't work out," he said. "I became focused on [POWERFLO and my solo project]. The other guys have their families, as I do. I talked to the guys before I left, and we talked about some other ideas, but right now, there's just nothing going on."

Graziadei said that he no longer has any contact with Seinfeld, who left BIOHAZARD more than seven years ago after fronting the group since its 1987 inception. "I haven't talked to him since he quit the band a long time ago." Billy said. "I was a little bit… I would say 'bitter,' but hurt. But I think he quit the band years before he actually physically quit. But I wish him well. I don't have any ill thoughts on that situation. We moved on. And Scott was a great addition to BIOHAZARD, but he also quit."

Back in 2017, Roberts dismissed as untrue Graziadei's claim that he left BIOHAZARD because he was making more money working as a rigger in New York. He explained: "I was okay with losing money on tour as long as I was enjoying myself. I would have kept doing that. The real problem was I wasn't getting along with one of the members and wasn't enjoying myself on tour with them anymore. The only other reason for me to keep doing it, was to make a new record that I was into and proud of. When another member of the band made it clear to me that wasn't going to happen, there was no reason for me to do it anymore. That's the simplest way I can explain it."

Seinfeld made his final recorded appearance with BIOHAZARD on 2012's "Reborn In Defiance" album, which marked the first LP featuring the band's original lineup in 18 years.

Graziadei is currently a member of POWERFLO, which also features former FEAR FACTORY bassist/guitarist Christian Olde Wolbers, Sen Dog from CYPRESS HILL, and Rogelio Lozano from DOWNSET.

Billy's solo project, BILLYBIO, released its debut album, "Feed The Fire", on November 30 via AFM Records.

Sharon Osbourne has told Variety that she is developing a biopic about her childhood and early days with Ozzy.

"I don't want to do another rock and roll, sex, drugs and money movie about a musician," Sharon said. "That's not what I'm doing. There hasn't been a movie about a woman that actually works on the management side — that's a true story — and somebody that succeeds through the struggle and you come out the other side."

Sharon has approached Danny Boyle ("28 Days Later", "Sunshine", "Trainspotting") about directing the film, which will end when she and Ozzy get married in 1982. "It's everything before we get married," she said. "It's the madness of my childhood, growing up in the industry with a powerful father who was somewhat violent."

Sharon went on to say that she "would get a complete unknown" to play Ozzy. "It's Ozzy at a very young age," she explained. "It's Ozzy at 20."

Sharon's father, former music mogul Don Arden, became known as the "Al Capone of pop" and the "English Godfather" for his tough-guy business practices while overseeing the careers of acts ranging from ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA to BLACK SABBATH. Arden and his daughter became estranged in 1982 after she took over the management of Ozzy's solo career, also marrying the singer. Father and daughter were not on good terms for nearly 20 years until reconciling in 2002.

Sharon Osbourne had to pay her father $1 million in a court settlement after she gained control of Ozzy's affairs.

"End Of Silence", the new video from acclaimed Swedish dark melodic metal masters EVERGREY, can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's latest studio album, titled "The Atlantic", which was released on January 25. The clip was directed by Patric Ullaeus of Revolver Film Company, who has previously worked with DIMMU BORGIR, LACUNA COIL, IN FLAMES and KAMELOT, among others.

EVERGREY again teamed up with Jacob Hansen, who — just like with the band's previous releases, 2016's "The Storm Within" and 2014's "Hymns For The Broken" — took care of mixing and mastering.

EVERGREY's Tom S. Englund stated about the album's lyrical concept: "I think during the writing for the 'Hymns For The Broken' album, I started writing the lyrics, and I figured that I was writing about somebody else — somebody who was transitioning from being one person, leaving something that he was feeling secure within his life and entering another world. During that album, I realized that I was pretty much writing about myself, so I would say that 'Hymns For The Broken' was about realizing that you needed to make a move, while 'The Storm Within' was about the realization and the honesty that, fuck, this isn't going to work anymore — I have to leave, and the frustration and the fears and the darkness and all of that that came with that, but also some sort of hope for the future. At the same time, it wasn't set in play, and that's where 'The Atlantic' comes in. That's when you put both feet in the water and start shoving out the ship and leaving. I'm not saying that I'm on the other side of the ocean yet, but at least I embarked on the journey. The Atlantic — or any ocean — represents so much of what life is, really — the crashing waves, the darkness and the depths and the loneliness and the big vastness and feeling small in a huge world, and not knowing what is on the other side of the ocean and how that's going to treat you, [and] who you're going to become."

"The Atlantic" track listing:

01. A Silent Arc

02. Weightless

03. All I Have

04. A Secret Atlantis

05. The Tidal

06. End Of Silence

07. Currents

08. Departure

09. The Beacon

10. This Ocean

The cover art was created by Giannis Nakos and can be seen below.

TREMONTI, the band comprised of Mark Tremonti on vocals/guitars, Eric Friedman on guitars, and Garrett Whitlock on drums, has released a music video for the latest single from its Napalm Records album "A Dying Machine". "Throw Them To The Lions" is an up-tempo metal song, something that TREMONTI has come to be known for over its multiple releases through the years. The clip was filmed at a recent sold-out show in the U.K. and can be seen below.

To coincide with the release of the new single, TREMONTI is heading out on the road again. The band is special guest on the upcoming SEVENDUST headline tour, which kicks off February 1 in Houston, Texas and wraps up on March 3 in San Antonio, Texas. The trek will make stops in New Orleans, Louisiana; Boston, Massachusetts; Flint, Michigan; and Chicago, Illinois, to name a few.

TREMONTI's fourth album, "A Dying Machine" was released in June 2018 via Napalm Records. The disc was produced by Michael "Elvis" Baskette, who has helmed all previous TREMONTI albums along with ALTER BRIDGE's last four long-players.

From the militant drum assault of the album opener "Bringer Of War" to the instrumental closer "Found", "A Dying Machine" is TREMONTI's most-diverse musical offering to date. Songs like "From The Sky", "Throw Them To The Lions" and "A Lot Like Sin" are signature TREMONTI that fans have come to love from the trio. Tracks like "Trust", "The First The Last" and "Desolation" take the listener to new places sonically, all backed by Tremonti's signature vocal style.

"A Dying Machine" is the first concept album of Tremonti's career and the music is inspired by a story that came to Mark while on the last ALTER BRIDGE tour. During that time, the epic title track "A Dying Machine" was born. The story, which was turned into a full-length work of fiction authored by Mark Tremonti and John Shirley, takes place at the turn of the next century where humans and fabricated beings called "vessels" are trying to co-exist. Tremonti and Shirley are working on finishing the novel to release alongside the record.