SLIPKNOT guitarist Mick Thomson says that he was "horrified" the first time he heard METALLICA's self-titled LP.

Released in 1991, the so-called "Black Album" represented a shift toward a slower, more melodic, and more commercial heavy-metal sound, with many of METALLICA's hardcore fans believing that radio-friendly hard-rock anthems like "Enter Sandman", "The Unforgiven" and "Nothing Else Matters" betrayed the thrash metal roots of the band's first four albums.

Although METALLICA had scored its first radio and video airplay with its previous effort, 1988's "...And Justice For All", "Metallica" was the band's biggest breakthrough, producing five singles and making them into one of the most popular rock acts in the world.

Thomson told Metal Hammer magazine that his initial impression of "The Black Album" was not a positive one.

"I understand now that I'm in a band that you have to stop repeating yourself or you'll be bored, but I loved those first four albums so much and I was horrified when I heard 'The Black Album,'" he said. "I felt insulted and didn't listen to them for years, but that's over now. Are there similarities to how SLIPKNOT have changed? I don't think so. And besides, I certainly never cut my fucking hair."

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich addressed the "Metallica" album's musical shift in a 1991 interview with Rolling Stone. "We felt inadequate as musicians and as songwriters [early in our career]," he said. "That made us go too far, around 'Master Of Puppets' and on '...And Justice For All', in the direction of trying to prove ourselves. We'd do all this weird-ass shit sideways to prove that we are capable musicians and songwriters."

The album was the first of four collaborations with producer Bob Rock, with whom the band clashed throughout the recording of the disc.

Ulrich said about Rock in NME: "We'd never really had anybody push us before… We've always thought of ourselves as 'big bad METALLICA,' but Bob taught us a new word none of us had ever heard before: soulful."

METALLICA performed "The Black Album" in its entirety at a number of European festivals in 2012.

In 2014, "Metallica" became the first album to sell 16 million copies since Nielsen SoundScan started tracking sales in 1991. To date, it has shifted almost 17 million units in the U.S.

The album in 2009 surpassed SHANIA TWAIN's 1997 record, "Come On Over", as the best-selling CD of the SoundScan era.

Montreal progressive metallers Heaven’s Cry have uploaded a new video covering the Rush classic “Jacob’s Ladder”. 

Video details:
Filmed by: Benoit Nantel
Directed and edited by: Sylvain Auclair
Mixed by: Pierre St. Jean & Michel Coulombe
Lucid Vision Studios

Canadian heavy music artist Devin Townsend will release his new album, "Empath", on March 29 via InsideOut Music.


In the lead-up to the album's release, Devin will walk fans through how "Empath" came together with a series of documentary episodes recorded as phone conversations during the course of the albums recording. The fist episode, dubbed "Thesis", can be seen below.


Devin comments: "Hello everybody, this is Devin Townsend and I would like to formally announce that after almost a year and a half of working, I have finished 'Empath'. Now, this record has taken me down a lot of very interesting psychological and technical avenues and the process was documented from the very get-go by a series of documentary videos that I have done that outline everything from the gestation of the idea to the actualisation of it, through all the existential ups and downs that went on. As such, this record is different to any record that I have released thus far, and trying to get people on board for what it is versus what it isn't, I think needs to be dealt with in a different way."


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


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


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


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

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

The full track listing is as follows:


01. Castaway

02. Genesis

03. Spirits Will Collide

04. Evermore

05. Sprite

06. Hear Me

07. Why

08. Borderlands

09. Requiem

10. Singularity Part 1 - Adrift

11. Singularity Part 2 - I Am I

12. Singularity Part 3 - There Be Monsters

13. Singularity Part 4 - Curious Gods

14. Singularity Part 5 - Silicon Scientists

15. Singularity Part 6 - Here Comes The Sun

Swedish metal crust punks MARTYRDÖD are in the studio recording their seventh album, "Hexhammaren". The session are taking place once again at Studio Fredman (AT THE GATES, IN FLAMES) in Gothenburg, Sweden with producer Fredrik Nordström.

Tentatively due in May, "Hexhammaren" will be MARTYRDÖD's first release on Century Media Records.

MARTYRDÖD comments: "We're very excited to be back in Studio Fredman and feel that the material for the new album, 'Hexhammaren', might be the strongest stuff we've ever made."

MARTYRDÖD, founded in Stockholm in 2001, has gained a strong following in the crust, punk and metal scenes worldwide with the release of six studio albums. Especially the band's latest studio albums, "Elddop" (2014) and "List" (2016), have stirred up the extreme music scene massively, showing a new side of MARTYRDÖD by entwining more wicked melodies into the metal-induced crust songs. Influenced by acts like WOLFPACK, AT THE GATES, ANTI CIMEX, TOTALITÄR and BATHORY, MARTYRDÖD is not your typical crust band, covering a far wider range of styles without ever losing focus on its roots.

MARTYRDÖD is:

Jens Bäckelin - Drums

Mikael Kjellman - Guitars, Vocals

Tim Rosenqvist - Guitars

Daniel Ekeroth - Bass

Pictured left to right: Mikael Kjellman (guitars and vocals), Tim Rosenqvist (guitars), Fredrik Nordström (producer), Daniel Ekeroth (bass)

The music video for "Release The Soul", a brand new song from Florida death metal veterans MALEVOLENT CREATION, can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's latest album, "The 13th Beast", which was released on January 18 via Century Media.

"The 13th Beast" introduces a new lineup consisting of Phil Cancilla (drums), Josh Gibbs (bass), Phil Fasciana (guitar) and vocalist/guitarist Lee Wollenschlaeger (THRONE OF NAILS, IMPERIAL EMPIRE).

"No one can destroy this MALEVOLENT CREATION" is a legendary line by the late, great Bret Hoffmann, who passed away on July 7, 2018. Renowned and revered for his vicious vocal style and unique onstage presence, Hoffmann is impossible to replace, but co-founder Phil Fasciana decided to face the challenge and affirm the truth behind this lyric from the group's 1991 debut "The Ten Commandments".

"This is the biggest honor I could ever be given," says Lee. "The opportunity to front one of my all-time favorite bands, and an even bigger pleasure of jamming with such great people.

"We have created one of the most relentless albums of MALEVOLENT CREATION's history. As a fan, I know we are going to shock a lot of people at how intense this new album is. Done in a way only MALEVOLENT CREATION can.

"I can't wait to see all you guys on the road in 2019 and beyond, playing songs from all the albums, including our new album, 'The 13th Beast'!"

"Lee was the missing link when I was searching for a new vocalist and guitarist," adds Fasciana. "Each new member is a solid musician and songwriter sharing the same passion for extreme music MALEVOLENT CREATION has been striving for since 1987.

"I'm very proud of this album and look forward to present it live as well as songs from our massive back catalog, including stuff that hasn't been played live in a long time or ever."

Musically, "The 13th Beast" expands upon 2014's "Dead Man's Path" yet also incorporates a brutality known from albums such as "The Will To Kill" and "Eternal", which is further accentuated by Wollenschlaeger's understandable-yet-deeper vocal tone and songwriting contributions. Just like "Dead Man's Path", the record offers artwork by German Latorres, and was mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö at Unisound.

"The 13th Beast" was released as black and limited colored LP plus four-page LP booklet, CD, and digital album.

Track listing:

01. End The Torture

02. Mandatory Butchery

03. Agony For The Chosen

04. Canvas Of Flesh

05. Born Of Pain

06. The Beast Awakened

07. Decimated

08. Bleed Us Free

09. Knife At Hand

10. Trapped Inside

11. Release The Soul

MALEVOLENT CREATION is (from left to right in photo):

Lee Wollenschlaeger - vocals / guitars

Phil Fasciana - guitars

Phil Cancilla - drums

Josh Gibbs - bass

British hard rock five-piece THE TREATMENT will release a new album, "Power Crazy", on March 22 via Frontiers Music Srl.

The lyric video for the first single, "Bite Back", can be seen below.

"Power Crazy" is the band's fourth full-length album and continues their successful formula of coupling sonic power with a taste for infectious riffs. With this record, THE TREATMENT is firing on all cylinders with its slice of no-frills hard rock. A quick listen will instantly reveal the essential ingredients of a classic hard rock album: riffs, huge choruses, catchy licks, and straight to the point songs.

"Power Crazy" is also THE TREATMENT's first album to feature new singer Tom Rampton. With his raspy voice reminiscent of the classic Bon Scott tone, you can rest assured he knows how to ride high on the guitar attack from guitarists Tao and Tagore Grey.

"We believe this record is a strong statement from the band and we look forward to playing the new songs live," says THE TREATMENT. "We will be touring throughout 2019 and can't wait to see all you TREATMENT troops at our shows."

"Power Crazy" track listing

01. Let's Get Dirty

02. Rising Power

03. On The Money

04. Bite Back

05. Luck Of The Draw

06. Hang Them High

07. Scar With Her Name

08. King Of The City

09. Waiting For The Call

10. Laying It Down

11. The Fighting Song

12. Falling Down


To coincide with the release of "Power Crazy", THE TREATMENT will embark on a U.K. co-headline tour with AIRRACE in March and will hit the road in the U.K. once again in May on the headlining "Power Crazy" tour with special guests BIGFOOT.

The H Collective has partnered with prolific Japanese composer and musician Yoshiki on the next installment in the "xXx" franchise, "xXx 4", starring Vin Diesel. The film will feature a theme song with music written by Yoshiki. "xXx 4" is in pre-production with casting currently under way, and principal photography set to commence this year.


In addition, The H Collective has invested in its first animated feature, "Spycies", an action spy comedy produced by Chinese entertainment giant iQiyi. Yoshiki will be working on the theme song and music for the feature which has been animated in France by Lux Populi Production. "Spycies" will be released in theatres across China on August 8.


Yoshiki is a composer, classically trained pianist, rock drummer, and the leader of the world-famous rock group X JAPAN, which has sold 30 million singles and albums combined. Yoshiki's film and television credits include composing music for "Saw IV", "Repo! The Genetic Opera", "The Golden Globe Awards", and the hit anime series "Attack On Titan". After receiving the Asian Icon Award from Classic Rock magazine, Yoshiki was chosen as the first Japanese man to appear on the cover of Vogue Japan. Yoshiki is currently finalizing X JAPAN's first new studio album in over 22 years.


"Yoshiki is a great friend of ours at THC and we are incredibly proud to be working with such a talent on two movies which are both global in scope," said The H Collective CEO Nic Crawley. "'Spycies' brings together talent from the U.S., Japan, China and France."


Yoshiki said: "I'm excited to be part of the new 'xXx' film and 'Spycies'; composing the new theme songs and collaborating on the film scores."


Yoshiki is represented by WME.

Indestructible Noise Command (I.N.C.) have posted a brand new song “Declaration”, the track is taken from their new album Terrible Things, which will be released on March 8t. It will be the group’s first album in five years as it is the follow-up to 2014’s Black Hearse Serenade. Stream the track on Soundcloud.

Guitarist Erik Barath commented: “The song is a declaration of our three and a half decade of commitment to thrash and metal. It’s a Declaration of Thrash-dependence and speaks to the brotherhood of the three of us, Erik, Dennis and Anthony who have been strong and tight since high school.”

The Connecticut heavy metal outfit are ready to unleash another aggressive album, which would mark their third full-length effort since their return in 2010. The band began working on their overall fifth studio album back in January 2018 and entered the studio in September. The group worked with Nicky Bellmore at Dexter Labs studios as the record promises to deliver the group’s thrash roots from albums such as 1987’s Razorback as well as adding a technical edge.

Los Angeles-based five-piece The Crown Remnant released their brand new album, The Wicked King: Part II, last Friday. The album is available to order now via Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and Bandcamp.

This week, The Crown Remnant are pleased to reveal a brand new drum playthrough video featuring drummer Art Ramirez performing the song "Into The Depths".

The Crown Remnant have mastered the art of melodic, theatrical, yet hard-hitting heavy metal, and the world is about to take notice. Combining a variety of metallic influences ranging from modern metalcore and prog, thrash and more, The Wicked King: Part II acts as the second part of the band's previous release, The Wicked King: Part I. Within the first month of its release, The Crown Remnant garnered over 10,000 streams of their first single cut from The Wicked King: Part I, entitled "Haunted". The band plans to follow suit and beyond with The Wicked King: Part II.

The Wicked King: Part II is loosely based on thematic concepts of oppression and tyranny. Originally recorded as one long album, the band decided to split it into two releases - with The Wicked King: Part II acting as the "darker" side of the two. Part II addresses tales of betrayal, mortality, exploring the afterlife and more. Intertwined within these ideals are scattered lyrics pertaining to the character designed on the front cover of the album: The Wicked King. He remains an everlasting shadow of a forgotten king set on immortality, with his insatiable lust for never-ending life.

The Wicked King: Part II was recorded in multiple studios throughout Southern California, with the help of S&W Audio, and producer/engineer Tyler Ruehl (Noble, At The Skylines, Taipan, Lion I Am). After a rigorous tracking process, the songs were mixed by Robin Leijon (In Dying Arms, Atena, Eternal Void).

The Wicked King: Part II tracklisting:

"Into The Depths"
"The End"
"Legacy"
"Inferno"
"The Eternal Façade"
"As Faith Fades"
"The Wicked King"

"Legacy" video:

"Inferno" guitar playthrough video:

"Inferno" live video:

Behind-The-Scenes Part 1 - "Into The Depths": https://youtu.be/qjSLgL7Wylk

Lineup:

Geordy Shallan - Lead Vocals
Will Ash - Lead Guitar
Jorge Lopez - Rhythm Guitar
Josue Lara - Bass Guitar
Art Ramirez - Drums

Former TNT singer Tony Harnell says that the rise of the early grunge movement, which symbolized the working-class spirit and focused on music over image, was ultimately a positive thing for the rock genre because it "shined a really harsh light on how boring and repetitive" the '80s glam metal scene had become.

Upon release in September 1991, NIRVANA's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" wreaked confusion upon the hair metal vanguard, putting an end to an era dominated by glamorous, androgynous and sparkly rock stars who absolutely saturated the radio waves and were almost exclusively what aired on MTV.

"I remember seeing the NIRVANA video on MTV, and I instantly knew," Harnell told the "Cobras & Fire" podcast (hear audio below). "I think the first time I saw it, I just was, like, 'Yeah, this is gonna change things for everybody.'"

According to Harnell, however, he has a "different" take on the impact of grunge on the overall rock scene, insisting that bands like NIRVANA, SOUNDGARDEN and ALICE IN CHAINS sounded fresh and exciting compared to the acts of the '80s which focused more on girls, clothes and haircuts than coming up with original-sounding material.

"A lot of my peers and a lot of the fans are, like, 'Oh, I hate that shit. Grunge killed our music,'" Harnell said. "I don't see it that way at all. I think the labels started signing way too many bands that looked and sounded like other bands. And there was never really a rock era that was like that before. Because if you think about the '70s, you had a lot of different styles of big hard rock bands. On one side, you had LED ZEPPELIN, you had DEEP PURPLE — they were very different from each other. You had AEROSMITH — they were different. You had KISS, you had JUDAS PRIEST, you had BLACK SABBATH. You had all these different bands that were very, very not like each other at all, but they were all hard rock. And they looked a little different, they had their own image. And then, all of a sudden, in the '80s, everybody wanted the same clothes, the same hair, the same guys, the same producers, the same songwriters."

He continued: "If anything, when NIRVANA and SOUNDGARDEN and these bands came out, all it did is it shined a really harsh light on how boring and repetitive everything got. Because it would have made more sense to take the bands that were already established — big and medium — and develop them more rather than to get all these other bands that sounded like other bands… Like I said, it was the same look, the same songwriters, the same producers, and it just started to be… Nobody was offering anything… Don't get me wrong, there were a few that got in there that were interesting and different, but, for the most part, they were all just sort of rehashes, slightly, of other bands."

Harnell has been in and out of TNT several times, most recently in 2016 and 2017. He was also briefly the singer for SKID ROW in 2015.

Tony is currently promoting "Dysphoria", the third album from his STARBREAKER collaborative project with PRIMAL FEAR guitarist Magnus Karlsson. The disc will be released on January 25 via Frontiers Music Srl.

DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell spoke about the band's decision to record a a heavy cover of DEPECHE MODE's "Personal Jesus", at Spotify's studio for the streaming service's "Spotify Singles" series. The track was also included on DEF LEPPARD's latest greatest-hits collection titled "The Story So Far - The Best Of", which was released in November.

"Mike sent out an e-mail to all of us, asking us to come up with an idea of a song, a cover song, for the Spotify sessions," Vivian explained (see video below). "They wanted a classic DEF LEPPARD song, which we decided was gonna be 'Hysteria', and something that was a little bit outside of our genre — not a hard rock band. Don't be covering AC/DC or something like QUEEN or whatever. My first choice was ABBA. I thought that we would rock the hell out of ABBA because of our vocals. So I wrote back to everyone. I said, 'Knowing Me, Knowing You' by ABBA. I think we could do a good rock version of it. Plus, there's a little harmony line in it, an instrumental line, that would have been a great rock guitar line. I know it's a bit of a happy song, but I think we could have darkened it up a bit. Anyway, that got shot down in flames. But, fortunately, my second suggestion was, 'Why don't we do 'Personal Jesus' by DEPECHE MODE?' And everyone picked up on that. So, we did it. And, to be honest, it was probably a much, much easier song to do than anything by ABBA. But I still think we could rock the shit out of ABBA. Someday."

"The Story So Far - The Best Of" was made available in multiple configurations: a 2-CD set comprised of 35 tracks, 1-CD set comprised of 17 tracks, 2-LP vinyl, and digital. Among a blockbuster track listing loaded with timeless smashes, all four versions feature three new songs, including "Personal Jesus", "Rock On (Remix)" and the original holiday song "We All Need Christmas". As a bonus for collectors, the first pressing vinyl copies of "The Story So Far" feature an exclusive seven-inch single of "Personal Jesus" and "We All Need Christmas".

DEF LEPPARD will be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame this spring. The honor comes after the British rockers got the most votes in the Rock Hall's online fan poll.

One of the top-selling rock acts of of all time, DEF LEPPARD has been eligible for the Rock Hall since 2004.

The 34th annual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony will be held March 29 at Brooklyn, New York's Barclays Center. HBO will broadcast a truncated version of the ceremony later in the year.

A new clip has been released from Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund's upcoming horror-movie biopic on Norway's notorious Mayhem, Lords Of Chaos. Watch below:

The film, being released by Gunpowder and Sky, is co-produced by VICE Studios, 20th Century Fox, Scott Free Productions and Insurgent Media, opens in theaters February 8th and On Demand February 22nd.

Drawing from personal experience - Åkerlund was for a drummer for the Swedish extreme metal band Bathory for a short time in the early 80s - his adaptation of Michael Moynihan and Didrik Søderlind's book Lords Of Chaos details of the group's rise and fall via Mayhem's co-founder/guitarist Øystein Aarseth, aka Euronymous (Rory Culkin) and his relationship with two volatile collaborators: Per Yngve Ohlin aka Pelle aka Dead (Jack Kilmer), the band's ultra-melancholic first singer who killed cats and then himself; and Varg Vikernes, aka the Count (Emory Cohen), a fellow outcast and Aarseth's eventual murderer.

Visit the official Lords Of Chaos website here.

Video footage of several former IRON MAIDEN members — original singer Paul Mario Day (1975 - 1976), guitarist Terry Wapram (1977 - 1978), drummer Doug Sampson (1977 - 1979), guitarist Terry Rance (1975 - 1976) and guitarist Dave Sullivan (1975 - 1976) — performing on January 20 at the legendary pub Cart & Horses in London, England can be seen below.

Last month, four-fifths of the original IRON MAIDEN lineup reunited for the first time in 42 years. Bassist Steve Harris, who formed IRON MAIDEN on Christmas day in 1975, was photographed with Paul Mario Day, and Sullivan and Rance. Missing from the photo op was drummer Ron "Rebel" Matthews.

Day's latest face-to-face meeting with Harris came four years after the singer suggested in an online post that he had co-written the MAIDEN song "Strange World" but was never credited for his contributions.

Day wrote at the time: "This is my opinion. When I sang in IRON MAIDEN, it was a new pub band and nobody wanted to see or hear them. We were all nobodys all trying to make the best music we could and fighting for an audience.

"In 1976, photos/recording were next to impossible to have if you were poor boys from East London, so I cannot prove I wrote the words and melody for 'Strange World'.

"As for before the time of albums and recording deals, I would say it was creative theft, not deliberate, as probably I would have done the same thing myself to keep it clean and simple. I think, however, if it made me a mega amount of money in the future, I would have done the right thing and [made] amends. As back then we were all pulling for the same side and it still hurts to think the first-ever song I ever composed was on a big-selling album and nobody knows it was me. Not to mention how I scrape to earn a living while Mr. Harris is living like a god!"

Due to his lack of stage presence, Day was replaced in MAIDEN by Dennis Wilcock. Day went on to front SWEET and MORE while Terry Rance still plays with AIRFORCE, which features former IRON MAIDEN drummer Doug Sampson.

MAIDEN's first demo recording, "Soundhouse Tapes", featured Harris, singer Paul Di'Anno, guitarist Dave Murray and Sampson. It eventually landed MAIDEN a record deal with EMI in 1980. The band's self-titled debut album brought about a new lineup with the addition of Clive Burr to replace Sampson and Dennis Stratton on guitar.

"Wrathchild" soundcheck with Paul Mario Day, Terry Wapram and BUFFALO FISH:



"Wrathchild" live first time with Paul Mario Day, Terry Wapram and BUFFALO FISH:



Whole AIRFORCE set with Paul Mario Day and Doug Sampson:



"Prowler" with Marius Danielsen, Terry Wapram and BUFFALO FISH:



"Iron Maiden" with Paul Mario Day, Terry Wapram and BUFFALO FISH:



Paul Mario Day, Terry Wapram, Terry Rance and Dave Sullivan on stage together with BUFFALO FISH:

Los Angeles-based metal trio Athanasia - featuring former members of Five Finger Death Punch, Sebastian Bach and Murderdolls - will release its upcoming full-length album, The Order Of The Silver Compass, on March 15th via Seeing Red Records and Rock Of Angels Records. This one-minute teaser showcases clips of several tracks from the band's scorching debut:

One might not expect the former members of such bands to be rooted in the fabric of extreme metal, but Athanasia is more than your average power trio. Questioning the moral fabric of man amidst complex narratives tackling power, corruption and greed, the band's unique amalgamation of melodic metal is enough to satisfy the desires of casual listeners and extreme metal fans alike.

Recorded and produced by Bingham at Nightmare Sound, The Order Of The Silver Compass embodies all things heavy, dark and stylish. The album's eight tracks were mixed by Chris Collier (Prong, Flotsam And Jetsam, Metal Church) at Mission:Black Studios and mastered by Joe Bozzi (Mastodon, L.A. Guns) at Bernie Grundman Mastering, while Jorden Haley (Dååth, Deicide, Mindless Self Indulgence) handled the cover art and design.

Athanasia was founded in California by guitarist Caleb Bingham under the band's original name Ascension. As a result of passing the band's early demos around LA's Sunset Strip, the young guitarist landed a gig with newly-formed Five Finger Death Punch in 2005. Upon being released from the group in 2007 due to his age, Bingham continued to write under the name Ascension, recording several more unreleased demos (and one EP) at the behest of veteran Roadrunner Records A&R Monte Conner. Largely due to the label's merger with WMG, negotiations broke down and the band was once again shelved while Bingham played with Swedish death metal act Zonaria from 2010-2014. After parting ways with Zonaria due to a leg injury sustained while playing with the group, Bingham decided to put all his efforts back into what he worked so hard to create...

Joined by bassist Brandon Miller and veteran drummer Jason West (Murderdolls, Wednesday 13, Sebastian Bach), Caleb Bingham resurrected the project under a new moniker, Athanasia, diligently recording its first full-length release over the span of several years.

“I’m very proud to announce that after years of literal blood, sweat, tears and countless hours of hard work, Athanasia's debut LP The Order Of The Silver Compass is finally about to see the light of day," says frontman Caleb Bingham. "Blast it in the car and you’ll notice your gas pedal hitting the floor in a matter of seconds! \m/"

The Order Of The Silver Compass tracklisting:
 
"Read Between The Lines"
"Spoils Of War"
"The Order Of The Silver Compass"
"Cyclops Lord (My Will Is Done)"
"The Bohemian"
"Mechanized Assault"
"Nightmare Sound"
"White Horse"

Athanasia is:

Caleb Bingham - guitars, vocals
Brandon Miller -  bass, vocals
Jason West - drums

On March 22nd, Harem Scarem will release The Ultimate Collection Box Set, a 14CD limited edition deluxe box set and four titles (Weight Of The World, Higher, Thirteen, United) on limited edition colour vinyl via Frontiers Music Srl. All tracks remastered by Harry Hess. Pre-order here.

North American customers pre-order here. This is the ONLY store in North America where the limited edition box set will be available and it's strictly limited to 100 copies. That's it. Only 100 copies being sent to North America. For the coloured vinyl, only 150 copies are being sent to North America. 50 copies of each limited edition colour vinyl are available at this store with the remaining 100 copies shipping to our North American distributor for distribution to physical retailers. If you absolutely want to guarantee that you will secure yourself a copy of one of the vinyl reissues, then your best bet would be to order from here. We cannot know or guarantee which retail stores will get copies of the remaining 100 as it will be first come, first serve.

European customers pre-order here.

Given the "hard to find" nature of many titles in Harem Scarem's catalog, the band, in cooperation with Frontiers, has decided to make their catalog available in an exclusive, limited edition box set. The result is a mammoth box set inclusive of 13 studio albums encompassing the entire Harem Scarem discography plus a gargantuan amount of rare, unreleased, and bonus tracks which comprise a full bonus disc, in addition to original bonus tracks added to individual albums. The 14 CDs will be packaged in vinyl replica slipcases housed inside a collector's box.

On top of this, Frontiers and the band decided to add a very special one time limited run of coloured vinyl for the signature Frontiers' catalogue releases Weight Of The World, Higher, Thirteen, and the band’s last studio album, United. These vinyl runs are extremely limited.

The full set will also be available digitally.

Tracklisting:

CD 1 - Harem Scarem
"Hard To Love"
"Distant Memory"
"With A Little Love"
"Honestly"
"Love Reaction"
"Slowly Slipping Away"
"All Over Again"
"Don't Give Your Heart Away"
"How Long"
"Something To Say"

Bonus tracks:
"Hard To Love" (Acoustic)
"How Long" (Acoustic)
"Honestly" (Acoustic)
"Slowly Slipping Away" (Acoustic)

CD 2 - Moodswings
"Saviors Never Cry"
"No Justice"
"Stranger Than Love"
"Changes Come Around"
"Jealousy"
"Sentimental Blvd"
"Mandy"
"Empty Promises"
"If There Was A Time"
"Just Like I Planned"
"Had Enough"

Bonus tracks:
"Change Comes Around" (Acoustic)
"No Justice" (Crazy Pants Remix)
"If There Was A Time" (Acoustic)
"Jealousy" (Acoustic)
"Just Like I Planned" (Acoustic)
"Stranger Than Love" (acoustic)

CD 3 - Voice Of Reason
"Voice Of Reason"
"Blue"
"Warming A Frozen Rose"
"Let It Go"
"And That's All"
"Breathing Sand"
"Candle"
"The Paint Thins"
"I'll Be Brief"
"Untouched"
"Necessary Evil"

Bonus track:
"Candle (Acoustic)

CD 4 - Believe / Karma Cleansing
"Believe"
"Die Off Hard"
"Hail, Hail"
"Staying Away"
"Baby With A Nail Gun"
"Morning Grey"
"Victim Of Fate"
"Rain"
"I Won't Be There"
"Karma Cleansing"
"Cages"
"The Mirror"
"Rain" (Acoustic)

CD 5 - Big Bang Theory
"So Blind"
"Climb The Gate"
"Reload"
"Tables Turning"
"Turn Around"
"Seas Of Dissension "
"Sometimes I Wish"
"Never Have It All "
"Lying "
"Without You"
"Wasted Time"
"New Religion"
"What I Do"
"In My State Of Mind"
"So Blind" (Acoustic)

CD 6 - Weight Of The World
"Weight Of The World"
"Killing Me"
"Outside Your Window"
"All I Want Is Everything"
"This Ain't Over"
"Internude"
"You Ruined Everything"
"Charmed Life"
"If You"
"See Saw"
"Voice Inside"
"End Of Time"

CD 7 - Higher
"Reach"
"Waited"
"Torn Right Out"
"Give It To You"
"Higher"
"Run And Hide"
"Lucky Ones"
"Lies"
"Gone"
"Lost"
"Wishing"
"Higher" (Acoustic)

CD 8 - Overload
"Dagger"
"Afterglow"
"Rise & Fall"
"Don't Come Easy"
"Can't Live With You"
"Forgive & Forget"
"All You're Getting"
"Leading Me On"
"Understand You"
"Same Mistakes"

CD 9 - Human Nature
"Human Nature"
"Next Time Around"
"Caught Up In Your World"
"Reality"
"Hanging On"
"Don't Throw It Away"
"Give Love/Get Love"
"21"
"Starlight"
"Going Under"
"Tomorrow May Be Gone"
"Human Nature" (Acoustic)
"Caught Up In Your World" (Acoustic)

CD 10 - Hope
"Watch Your Back"
"Time Bomb"
"Hope"
"Days Are Numbered"
"Dark Times"
"Beyond Repair"
"Never Too Late"
"Shooting Star"
"Calm Before The Storm"
"Nothing Without You"

CD 11 - Thirteen
"Garden Of Eden"
"Live It"
"Early Warning Signs"
"The Midnight Hours"
"Whatever It Takes"
"Saints And Sinners"
"All I Need"
"Troubled Times"
"Never Say Never"
"Stardust"
"Garden Of Eden" (Acoustic)
"The Midnight Hours" (Acoustic)

CD 12 - United
"United"
"Here Today Gone Tomorrow"
"Gravity"
"Sinking Ship"
"One Of Life’s Mysteries"
"No Regrets"
"Bite The Bullet"
"Things I Know"
"Heaven And Earth"
"Indestructible"
"Here Today Gone Tomorrow" (Acoustic)
"Sky Is Falling" (Acoustic)

CD 13 - The Early Years
"Whatever I Want"
"When The Morning Comes"
"Say Goodbye"
"Looking Back"
"All Over Again"
"Honestly"
"Lovin’ Like 90"
"One Step At A Time"
"Staying Away"
"Last Time"
"One Of The Wounded"
"Right Time"
"You’re The One"
"Out Of Love"
"Lost In Yesterday"
"I Can Hear Them Now"

CD 14 - Bonus Tracks
"Easier "
"If I’d Been Awake"
"World Gone To Pieces"
"Brighter Day"
"Remember"
"Anarchy"
"Why"
"Freedom"
"More Than You’ll Ever Know"
"Good Enough"
"Coming Down" (Acoustic)

Children Of Bodom will release their tenth album, Hexed, on March 8th via Nuclear Blast Records. Today, the band chats about the musical direction of Hexed. Watch the third trailer below.

COB frontman guitarist and mastermind Alexi Laiho comments, "This time around, we had Daniel on guitar for the first time. It is a lot of fun for me to work with that dude 'cause he is very enthusiastic and has that hunger and drive to be involved. I love that drive and fire. He calls me up asking questions and throwing ideas around. Saying, 'Ya, let's get together and jam.' I haven't really had that in my life for a long time now that I think about it. And that is how we used to roll. We would just get together and play guitar just for the hell of it and really cool things would come out of it and this what we did with Daniel - it paid off and was fun."

Hexed will be available in the following formats:

- CD Digipak
- Pink w/ Black splatter vinyl – Limited to 300
- CD Digipak + T-Shirt + Poster

Pre-order your copy here.

Hexed tracklisting:

"The Road"
"Under Grass and Clover"
"Glass Houses"
"Hecate’s Nightmare"
"Kick in the Spleen"
"Platitudes and Barren Words"
"Hexed"
"Relapse (The Nature of My Crime)"
"Say Never Look Back"
"Soon Departed"
"Knuckleduster"

Bonus tracks:
"I Worship Chaos" (live)
"Morrigan" (live)
"Knuckleduster" (remix)

"Under Grass And Clover" video:

Trailers:

Children Of Bodom have announced their Hexed 2019 North American Tour. The trek will kick off in Quebec City on March 13th and conclude in New York City on April 19th. Supporting the band are Finnish death-doom melody-makers Swallow The Sun and Finnish epic melodic death metal quartet Wolfheart, as well as Summoner's Circle (March 13-16, April 9-19), Hollow Cry (March 18-29) and Fragmentum (March 30, April 7) who are opening select shows.

COB frontman, guitarist, and mastermind Alexi Laiho comments, "Hello North America! Just wanna say and empathize the word “finally” ... fuckin' finally we’ll be back on the road - like old school style and over the pond too!! We’ll be in your town just as you're getting your hands on the new record. Even if you do not have it, don’t worry cause we’re gonna rotate the setlist to include old tracks that will blow your mind back to hell so it’s gonna be a good fuckin' party ladies and gentlemen. Hoping to see you there!!"

Confirmed dates are listed below.

March
13 -  Imperial - Quebec City, QC*
14 - Corona Theater - Montreal, QC*   
15 - Bronson Centre - Ottawa, ON *
16 - The Phoenix Concert Theater - Toronto, ON*   
18 - St. Andrews - Detroit, MI**  
19 - House of Blues - Chicago, IL**      
20 - Skyway Theater - Minneapolis, MN**      
22 - The Summit - Denver, CO **     
23 - Metro Music Hall - Salt Lake City, UT**      
25 - The Palace Theatre - Calgary, AB**  
26 - Union -  Edmonton, AB**  
27 - The Vogue Theater - Vancouver, BC**      
29 - El Corazon - Seattle, WA**   
30 - Hawthorne Theater - Portland, OR ***  

April
1 - The Regency Ballroom - San Francisco, CA***    
2 - The Observatory - Santa Ana, CA ***  
3 - Club Red - Phoenix, AZ***    
5 - Alamo Music Hall - San Antonio, TX ***   
6 - Warehouse Live - Houston, TX ***   
7 - Canton Hall - Dallas, TX ***   
9 - The Ritz - Tampa, FL *
11 - Masquerade - Atlanta, GA *
12 - The Underground - Charlotte, NC *
13 - Baltimore Soundstage - Baltimore, MD*   
14 - Mr Smalls Theatre - Pittsburgh, PA*
16 - Westcott Theater - Syracuse, NY*
17 - The Royale - Boston, MA*
18 - Reverb - Reading, PA  *
19 - Irving Plaza - New York, NY *

* Summoner's Circle opening (March 13-16 & April 9-19)
** Hollow Cry opening (March 18-29)
*** Fragmentum opening (March 30  April 7)

(Photo - Marek Sabogal)

Virgin Steele have released "In The Devil's Garden", An Audio/Visual Sampler Or Psychodrama. Above, below, behind, and inside the music… An intimate look deep inside the pagan heart of the Seven Devils Moonshine 5 CD Box Set.

"Using cool bare bones old school technology, informal personal at home footage, live rehearsal footage, both moving video clips, and still photos, plus musical excerpts/samples and narration, we have crafted and assembled what we call: an Audio/Visual Symphony. Something like a Radio-Play (think H.G.Wells “War Of The Worlds” for example….) or perhaps more accurately what we have created is a “Psychodrama” describing, detailing and providing an above, below, inside & “behind the music” view so to speak, of what this Seven Devils Moonshine box set contains, and what it is all about. This work is raw, wild and untamed, bruised yet beautiful and no… Steven Spielberg was not involved. Enjoy!"

You can watch the full movie below.

David DeFeis discusses the Seven Devils Moonshine "Movie":  "I wanted to have this  “Movie” out sooner but my father became quite ill and he passed away on December 20th, 2018 so I was quite involved with many other matters for quite some time… but now we have finally completed this very huge audio/visual documentary, and well…here it is…

"Like the albums found within the Seven Devils Moonshine Box Set this “Psychodrama” also takes one on a trip… a journey through the Kingdom of Steele, offering a behind the scenes look into the 5 albums contained within…it is a sort of “Photo-Essay”, part documentary, and part audio sampler… it works strictly from the aural perspective like a radio broadcast, with voiceover details and musical excerpts/samples from about 40 or so songs out of the 88 pieces found within the collection, but… with the inclusion of all the visuals it has become something even more descriptive and revealing. I originally thought it would be about 8-10 minutes long… but like the Box Set, it grew and grew into this monumental, Epic “Road-Trip” we now have. This audio/visual sampler is an anniversary celebration of our history, as well as a glimpse into some of what we have been doing for the past year, and it is also a depiction of what life is like for us. Here you will find energy, passion, drama, a whole lot of darkness, as well as light (the Danse Macabre is ever present…) and yes within all that turbulence there is also a sense of humor as well…

"The visual imagery get more & more elaborate as we delve deeper into the “Chapters”… and like some of our more “Operatic” musical moments there are recurring visual themes that are introduced… and which develop and morph throughout this “Movie”. In the weeks ahead we will select and prepare certain songs from each of the 5 discs, and present their complete full-length video versions.

"Hail & thanks so very much for listening and for being a part of our world…" - David DeFeis (January 17, 2019)

SPV / Steamhammer released the boxset Seven Devils Moonshine on November 23rd, 2018 including 5 CDs (a total of 88 songs) where 3 CDs contain totally new songs and new versions. The package include a sticker and a 24 page booklet with new lyrics and photos by David DeFeis.

Swedish bashers Darkane have checked in with the following announcement:

"This year marks the 20th anniversary of our debut album Rusted Angel. To celebrate this occasion we have decided to do something special for our fans. Throughout 2019 we will be performing Rusted Angel in its entirety. This will be very special for us and for our long time fans in particular. We hope to see you there!"

Confirmed dates:

March 
22 - Hammerfest - Pwllheli, Wales
23 - Underworld - London, UK 

June 
28 - Dokk’em Open Air - Dokkum, Netherlands

More dates will be announced soon.

On January 18th, Last Union performed at Florentia Rock Live in Porto D'Ascoli, Marche, Italy. They have posted a full multi-angle live clip of the song "Back In The Shadow", taken from their full length debut, Twelve.

Last Union have been confirmed to support Delain for two shows in Russia in February. Dates are as follows:

February 
16 - Moscow, Russia - Известия Hall
17 - St. Petersburg, Russia -Зал Ожидания

Last Union recently released a new music video and single for "President Evil". The track is taken from their debut album, Twelve, released on December 21st, 2018 via ROAR! Rock Of Angels Records. Watch the clip below.

The album was mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren, best known for his work with Arch Enemy, Symphony X, Devin Townsend, Angra, and Opeth, to name a few. The album artwork was created by Thomas Ewerhard (Avantasia, Rage, Threshold).

The quiet city of Tolentino in the Marche region of Central Italy not only boasts a rich historical background, it is also the place progressive metal band Last Union calls home. Founded by vocalist Elisa Scarpeccio, guitarist Cristiano Tiberi and keyboardist Claudio Feliziani in 2007, the band - originally known as Blazing Ice - embarked on their journey in the pursuit of sharing their thoughts and feelings about life, and ultimately their art, with the world. With the assistance of professional session bassists and drummers, the trio established themselves on the Italian scene with a string of shows that helped them evolve and refine their craft. Over the course of 20 shows, Last Union presented songs that would eventually make the final cut for their debut album.

Strong and positive reactions to their music spurred Scarpeccio and Tiberi on to take the first of many bold steps. The first was to invite drummer Uli Kusch to join the fold, who expressed interest in joining the band as a full member rather than just a touring drummer after hearing the music. A similar scenario played out with Symphony X bassist Mike LePond and Last Union was officially born. The icing on the cake, however, was getting Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie to sing on three tracks.

Tracklisting:

"Most Beautiful Day"
"President Evil" (Feat. James LaBrie)
"Hardest Way"
"Purple Angels"
"The Best Of Magic"
"Taken" (Feat. James LaBrie) - Radio Edit
"18 Euphoria"
"A Place In Heaven" (Feat. James LaBrie)
"Ghostwriter"
"Limousine"
"Back In The Shadow"
"Taken" (Feat. James LaBrie)
"President Evil" (Feat. James LaBrie) - Video Version

"President Evil" video:

Rising out of Phoenix, Arizona, Angel Black will be releasing their debut record Killing Demons via Rockshots Records. As the band blasts into their first single "Black Heart", one thing is clear, nothing is subtle about Angel Black. Big sound and melody set the mood for this classic heavy metal band. Angel Black doesn't look to re-invent heavy metal, they clearly go after their fans with an aggressive assault for the ages.

The band comments on the upcoming debut:

"The concept of Killing Demons is that everyone has some kind of demon. Money, Drugs, Sex, Power. They can all be a demon if you let them. We feel we touched on a lot of them with the songs on the album. Strikeforce, touches on the armed forces that keep us a free world. Cyber Spy, talks about how much we let government into our private lives. Black Heart, is about those evil women that take you down. We play honest pure heavy metal from the heart and we think that Angel Black will be well received as a band that gives the fans what they expect. Music that you turn up loud and play over and over again."

Killing Demons will be released on March 22nd.

Tracklisting:

“Strikeforce”
“Cyber Spy”
“Death Mill”
“Black Heart”
“Killing Demons”
“The Dream That Stood Alone”
“Killing Me”
“Metal Gods” (Judas Priest cover)

“Black Heart” video:

Santa Cruz, CA based tech death giants Continuum have premiered a Scott Ruud produced lyric video for their song "Theorem". The pummeling and mind blowingly technical track is off of the group's new album Designed Obsolescence which will be unleashed on February 22nd. Find preorders here.

Vocalist Riley McShane commented, "The album title Designed Obsolescence comes from the term ‘planned obsolescence’ which refers to a policy of planning or designing a product with an artificially limited useful life, so it will become obsolete (that is, unfashionable or no longer functional) after a certain period of time. That idea is, in the tradition of our debut album The Hypothesis, applied to a science-fiction background in which humans are commingled with machine elements and designed to live, function, and then die out accordingly. This doubles as an analogy for modern civilization in which people are born, grow up, work, retire and die according to what is deemed to be normal and expected of them, often without question or opposition. It's an age-old storytelling device used to persuade people to break out of the scheduled and mundane and view the world in a less bleak perspective, hopefully in our sophomore release we can do the same."

Designed Obsolescence was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Zack Ohren at Castle Ultimate Studios and features nine violent, incredibly technical, and endlessly engaging tracks which showcase how the group, which features current and former members of Animosity, Deeds Of Flesh, Decrepit Birth, Allegaeon, possess an otherworldly command of the genre. Drums were recorded by new member Ron Casey (Inanimate Existence, ex-Brain Drill, ex-Rings Of Saturn) whose surgically precise playing is the perfect complement to band's technical prowess. Artwork was created by the incredible Par Olofsson.

Guitarist Chase Fraser commented on the album, “We’re really excited to release our second record for Unique Leader Records. I feel like this album incapsulates the feel of our first album while adding many more layers and expanding on the concept of what Continuum can do as a
band.”

Continuum have released a digital single for their song ,"Release From Flesh And Blood". Listen via Spotify, or below. Pre-orders for the album will be available very soon.

Designed Obsolescence tracklisting:

"Theorem"
"Release From Flesh And Blood"
"A History Denied"
"Designed Obsolescence"
"All Manner Of Decay"
"Autonomic"
"Into The Void"
"Remnants Of Ascension"
"Repeating Actions"

"Theorem" lyric video:

"Release From Flesh And Blood":

Continuum is a technical death metal band from Santa Cruz, CA that was formed in the summer of 2009 by Chase Fraser following the disbanding of Animosity, a bay area metal band. After a couple years writing and rehearsing with different musicians, a lineup was fleshed out featuring Riley McShane of Allegeon on vocals, Ivan Munguia of Deeds Of Flesh on guitar, Nick Willbrand on bass and Spencer Edwards on drums. This lineup started playing very frequently in the bay area with bands like Fallujah, Obscura, Pathology, Abigail Williams, Decrepit Birth, Abysmal Dawn among others, and eventually released their first album on Unique Leader records in April of 2015.

Fast forward three years and Continuum is back with their second album on Unique Leader coming very soon. With the addition of Ron Casey on drums (Inanimate Existence, ex-Braindrill, ex-Rings Of Saturn) and a wider spectrum of progressive technical death metal song writing this is by far their most realized and well thought out release to date.

Born out of the emerging metal scene of Calgary, AB, Red Cain is a modern melodic metal project with European roots. With intricate songwriting, a heavy yet melodic feel reminiscent of progressive acts, and eerie ambient elements, Red Cain champion a fluid, dynamic, and unique musical style centered around telling dark, conceptual Faustian sagas and constructing those into an unforgettable live experience. Listeners might well pick out elements reminiscent of such luminary acts as Kamelot, Symphony X, Tesseract, Draconian, Marilyn Manson, whipped into a venomous new shape. 

Having released three singles in 2018 "Wing Of The Crow" ft. Kobra Paige (Kobra And The Lotus), "Zero" and "Snakebouquet" off their upcoming debut full length "Kindred: Act I", the band is proud to reveal the album's artwork by Timur Khabirov, cover design by Igor Zayarny and track listing below. 

The album was produced by Sascha Laskow (Every Hour Kills, ex-Divinity) with the band at Perfect Filth Studios and features guests Kobra Paige (Kobra And The Lotus), Daniel Louden (Benevolent Like Quietus) and guitarist Tyler Corbett.

Due out March 1st, 2019, album preorder for Kindred: Act I is available on Bandcamp.

Tracklisting:

“Snakebouquet”
“Midnight Sarabande”
“Zero”
“Blood & Gold”
“Juliet”
“All Is Violence”
“Wing Of The Crow”

“Wing Of The Crow” lyric video (featuring Kobra Paige):

The Italian melodic death metallers Desecrate have announced that Edoardo "Irmin" Iacono (Misteyes, Gotland, ex-Black Propaganda) and Gabriele "Hyde" Gilodi (Misteyes, Gotland, ex-Energy Of The Elements) have joined the band as their new vocalist and keyboardist after the long-time members Gabriele Giorgi and Andrea Grillone left the band in 2018. 

The band states:

"We immediately got along with Irmin and Hyde and we were impressed by the great professionality and seriousness, in addition to the very high technical skills and qualities.
We start again from where we stopped, anticipating that we wrote a lot of new material in these months and we are looking forward to letting you hear it.”

Fresh off their split with Finland's Coronary, Canada's Traveler will release their self-titled first full-length on February 22 via Gates Of Hell Records. Recorded at three different studios throughout 2018, Traveler will feature eight songs of up-tempo, classic metal, right up the alley for fans of vintage Judas Priest, Manilla Road and Riot. Listen to new single "Street Machine":

Traveler by Traveler

According to guitarist and founding member Matt Ries, Traveler will certainly appeal to fans of their debut demo and split with Coronary. The three songs from their demo have been re-recorded and given new life thanks to Traveler's now-complete lineup, a first for the band. "To have this become a reality is amazing," he says. "I've learned a lot about who you jam with and not settling for anything less than the best. I've also learned how much work comes behind taking the reins on everything, but it's all worth it." 

Traveler, who are now rounded out by vocalist Jean-Pierre Abboud (also of Gatekeeper), second guitarist Toryin "Junior" Schadlich, bassist Dave Arnold and drummer Chad Vallier, tracked drums at AB Records, guitars at Ries's home studio and vocals at Richhobo Studios. In all, their self-titled album shows just how far Traveler has come in the span of a year, with the re-recorded songs from the demo blending seamlessly with the band's new compositions.

"The newest songs all vary differently from each other," says Ries. "We feel this will make for a really interesting album. But, of course, the album has no shortage of dueling guitars and powerful vocals. And, after hearing the vocals laid out for the first time over these songs, I can safely say they all pound just as hard! The lyrical themes are mixed with real life experiences and total exaggerated scenarios. Ripping leads and harmonized guitars. Driving bass lines. Everything I love to hear when I throw on a record. So, if we share the same taste, you'll be raising your fist."

Traveler, who originally started as an outlet for ideas that weren't suitable for Ries's other bands Gatekrashör and Hrom, has enjoyed a year that has gone far beyond the guitarist's expectations. Starting with the positive feedback from their split with Coronary to the writing and creation of their full-length debut album, Traveler has capably handled the whirlwind that was 2018 and now has their eye toward 2019. 

"This year has been a really exciting experience," says Ries. "It's also been extremely challenging getting everything together. Our love for the music has kept us on the right track. However, the feedback from everyone has lit a fire under our asses to make the best possible record. I didn't expect to be working under such a great label so soon. Again, all of this has been nothing but motivation to keep moving. Now that we are wrapping up the year, we are focused on making a great live show for everyone! We can't wait to rock the stages for all of you. We have a lot of great plans in the works for shows and future projects. So, the way I see it, we're just getting started. FEEL THE REIGN OF STARBREAKER!"

Italy's prominent death metal force and Agonia Records recent signees, Hour Of Penance, have finished writing songs for their eighth album and will enter studio in less than a month to commence the recording process. 

The band issued a statement on what's to come:

"Prepare yourselves, we’re finally ready to hit the studio once again. The follow up to Cast the First Stone will consist of nine tracks written during the course of the last two years in which we put all our best efforts to give you another piece of extreme speed and brutality. We decided to record all drums at Bloom Recording Studio in February, while guitars, bass and vocals will be tracked at Kick Recording Studio. To take things up a notch this time, we’ll fly to Poland in March to do all mixing and mastering at Hertz Recording Studio (Behemoth, Decapitated, Vader, Hate and many more) and give you the sonic assault your ears are craving for. We worked harder than ever on every single detail of every single song, and we cannot wait to let all of you get your hands on our new opus. We’ll share more information and details over the next weeks, stay in touch!”

Hour Of Penance signed a record deal with the Polish-based label in November of 2018, after parting ways with Prosthetic Records, via whom the band released three of their last albums, including 2017's Cast The First Stone. The release date of the new album is set for 2019 and is yet to be determined in detail.

Recently, the band have been confirmed to perform at Metaldays Festival 2019 held in Tolmin (Slovenia), alongside Akerocke, Dimmu Borgir, Dream Theater, Kvelertak, October Tide and other artists.

Sally Steele of Vegas Rocks! Magazine conducted an interview with WINGER bassist/vocalist Kip Winger and lead guitarist Reb Beach prior to the band's November 23 show at Vinyl at Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. You can watch the entire chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On whether they think '80s bands never get any respect for their work:

Kip: "I don't know. I think they're starting to get respect again, right? There was a period when the grunge thing hit and we were all the bands that sucked — on, like, 'Beavis And Butthead' and all that stuff — so all the respect went down. But I think it's gone way up now. I think the bands that were really big then — like DEF LEPPARD — they're still selling out arenas. And they're [being inducted into] the [Rock And Roll] Hall Of Fame."

On whether WINGER will ever be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame:

Kip: "That will be a cold day in hell. That will never happen."

Reb: "But I'm always surprised at the amount of people that come to our shows. And all of us '80s band people know each other. We all do the same shows in the Midwest and parts of the country that really appreciate that music. We get lots of people out there, and they all have such a great time. It's just good-time music."

On Kip being a "sex symbol" during their 1980s heyday:

Kip: "I was totally comfortable with it. I went through — we all went through that phase. 'Cause it's the Paul Stanley [KISS] factor — you wanna be a total rock star; David Lee Roth [VAN HALEN], Paul Stanley kind of vibe. But then, musically, we're putting more sophisticated… I don't wanna make value judgments about the music, 'cause KISS is amazing, but there's technically more difficult stuff going on in our music, which we intentionally did that. But being a sex symbol and all that stuff, that was fun. I was a kid, and it was a blast. I did well."

On whether there was instant chemistry when WINGER formed in 1987:

Reb: "It was when we wrote together the first day."

Kip: "It was weird. When we finally got past my solo thing.I had a solo thing that I asked Reb to play some stuff on. Then we called it VICEVERSA, but it wasn't really a band. It was my songs and Reb played on them. But when Reb and I actually started writing, then that's when really the band began. Because Reb's a riff-meister. 'I got this one riff I've had since I was 15.' It was 'Seventeen'. I'm more of a song arranger. He writes great riffs and I know how to arrange, so the chemistry became really obvious early on. We made a commitment to not take any outside work for about six months to see how far we could get, so we wrote the whole first album in those six months."

On the future of rock and roll:

Kip: "There's so many fans all over the world that are still going to see rock shows."

Reb: "I opened GUNS N' ROSES [in Mexico] last week [with WHITESNAKE] and there were 50,000 people there. So, it's still happening. I'm doing Download [festival] next year. Giant shows."

Kip: "Rock is alive and well. It's just that there's a lot of other things out there that are popular. But that was always the case, I think — different genres. It's just that now everybody is so exposed to them all, and there's so much access to them through your phone. It just seems like we get inundated with all these different styles. But I think, ultimately, it really helps everyone's creativity. And then you hear all this fusion stuff coming — like country music has a lot of R&B influences. And in the '90s, it sounded like DEF LEPPARD, 'cause [producer] Mutt Lange was doing it. We just stick to our lane and we do what we do and if people dig it, that's great for us. 'Cause we're still doing it after 30 years, so that's cool. We're not huge, but we do well and we enjoy it."

WINGER's most recent studio album, "Better Days Comin'", was released in 2014 via Frontiers Music Srl.

KISS members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons recently announced that all TSA employees can eat for free at their Rock & Brews restaurants during the government shutdown, now the longest in U.S. history. The political stalemate has caused some 800,000 federal workers to miss paychecks — even though thousands of government employees are required to keep working.

TSA employees can choose to eat either a Pulled Pork Sandwich or a Strawberry Fields Salad.

Speaking to CNN, Stanley said (see video below): "It's obviously tough when people's mortgages are on the line, when people are trying to pay for meals for their children. This is horrific.

"Look, Chris Wallace on Fox said to [Vice President] Mike Pence yesterday that he believed that the government should be open and that this was just leverage," he continued. "The problem is when you're leveraging the government and you're shutting it down… Who is the government? The government is of the people, by the people and for the people. Who are you hurting? You're hurting the people. These are the people who make this country what it is, and to see them in this horrendous position… Everybody — not just me; not just Rock & Brews — everybody can do something.

"The gift of giving is a gift to the people who give also," he added. "So everybody can't give the same, but I always say, 'Don't give until it hurts. You give until it feels good.' It feels good to help people. Those are the people who help us."

Asked for his personal opinion of the current state of the U.S. government, Stanley said: "I think, again, people need to put their political affiliation aside and the priority has to be to get people back to work, back on the payrolls, and then let's figure out what the solution is. I certainly have my own point of view, but I'm not gonna share it, because I'm a rock and roller and I know my place."

In his prime-time address earlier this month, President Donald Trump said a wall along the southern border is key to national security, as he called for lawmakers to fund it and end a partial government shutdown. Democrats called the idea of a physical barrier across the entire border expensive and ineffective, and said the solution involves more personnel and detection technology.

Trump, whose central campaign promise was that Mexico would pay for a wall stretching across the roughly 2,000-mile border, admitted that Mexico would not directly cover the cost of the wall's construction, claiming that it will instead be paid for by revenue gained from a new trade deal pending in Congress.

Public polling continues to indicate a majority of Americans oppose the construction of a border wall. Meanwhile, Trump has continued to argue the wall is needed to resolve a security and humanitarian "crisis," blaming illegal immigration for what he said was a scourge of drugs and violence in the U.S.

According to The New York Times, illegal border crossings have been declining for nearly two decades. In 2017, border-crossing apprehensions were at their lowest point since 1971.

Video footage of METALLICA playing a cover version of the JUDAS PRIEST classic "Delivering The Goods" — with drummer Lars Ulrich on lead vocals — can be seen below. The clip was shot in the METALLICA tuning room before the band's October 18, 2018 concert at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Back in 2016, METALLICA's original manager revealed to Metal Hammer magazine that the band briefly considered making Ulrich its frontman.

Jon "Jonny Z" Zazula, who started working with METALLICA before the release of the band's debut album, "Kill 'Em All", recalled James Hetfield's lack of confidence in handling lead vocal duties. As a possible solution, it was suggested that Ulrich could step up from the drum stool to the microphone.

Zazula told Metal Hammer: "Lars and I planned a lot of stuff. But James wasn't the most confident of singers. I don't think he felt comfortable.

"At one point there was even talk of Lars becoming the frontman. For about five seconds."

Other singers who were being considered for the frontman position in METALLICA included Jess Cox of Newcastle, England's TYGERS OF PAN TANG and John Bush of ARMORED SAINT (and later ANTHRAX), who actually turned the offer down.

Bush later said in an interview: "METALLICA did ask me to join, but I said no for all the right reasons. People must think that's crazy, but you have to remember the scene then. METALLICA was nobody. ARMORED SAINT was hot; you have to remember that. Also, I was very tight with the [ARMORED SAINT] guys, back to elementary school in fact. ARMORED SAINT was getting interest from all kinds of places, and we had a lot of people starting to turn up at shows."

He continued: "METALLICA came to see SAINT at a gig in Anaheim, at The Woodstock in 1982. I heard they were interested in asking me to join, which they did later. The thing was that METALLICA was this new kind of thing, and nobody back then. I don't care what they say now; nobody could have predicted what would happen. I didn't know the guys either, so there was no real interest. It was great to be asked — in fact, a lot of people asked — but ARMORED SAINT was really strong.

"Some time after 'Kill 'Em All' had come out, I heard the same thing again, but I never understood that because James was singing great then and he was doing a great job. I understood the lack of confidence back in '82 but not for 'Ride The Lightning'. James owns that record."

In a 1989 interview with Metal Forces, Ulrich talked about what METALLICA could have sounded like had Bush ended up fronting the group. He said: "Only a couple of days ago, we were actually sitting around talking about how it would be now if John Bush had joined the band. Obviously, it's impossible to know how different it would have been, but I can't imagine METALLICA without James Hetfield up there growling into the microphone, fucking curved over and everything. It's really weird to think about it. I mean, nothing against John Bush — I think he's a great vocalist — but ... Well, thank God it didn't happen."

Welsh glam metal veterans TIGERTAILZ have been forced to cancel their appearance at the HRH AOR VII festival in Wales as a result of guitarist and founding member Jay Pepper's battle with hearing loss which threatens to curtail his long career.

Earlier today, Pepper released the following statement: "I'm very sad to inform you that we have had to cancel our show at Hard Rock Hell in March.

"This has come about as a result of my hearing loss as I was diagnosed with mild hearing loss in 2016.

"Unfortunately, my hearing has continued to deteriorate, and has been further compounded by the onset of severe tinnitus.

"I recently had more audiology tests and the results show I now need to completely remove myself from any loud noise to protect what hearing I have left. It seems the years have finally caught up with me.

"I'm looking at options that will enable me to carry on playing in the future. So hope to be back [as soon as possible].

"Really sorry about this as we never cancel shows. Hope to see you all soon."

HRH AOR VII is scheduled to take place March 14-17 at Haven Hafan y Mor Holiday Park, Pwllheli, Gwynedd, in North Wales.

TIGERTAILZ in 2015 tapped its bassist, Rob Wylde, to sing for the group following the departure of Jules Millis. Wylde was previously the frontman in TEENAGE CASKET COMPANY and the U.K. POISON tribute act POIZON.

Millis left TIGERTAILZ in March 2015 "due to personal reasons." He joined the band in 2012 folllowing the acrimonious exit of TIGERTAILZ's longtime singer Kim Hooker.

TIGERTAILZ's was originally fronted by Steevi Jaimz, who left the group in 1988. Jaimz later attempted to register the TIGERTAILZ name as a trademark with the U.K. Patent Office and launch his own version of TIGERTAILZ with drummer Ace Finchum.

Pepper is the sole remaining member of TIGERTAILZ's classic lineup.


Hi Maniacz,

I’m very sad to inform you that we have had to cancel our show at Hard Rock Hell in March.

This has come...Posted by Tigertailz on Tuesday, January 22, 2019

20th Century Fox's QUEEN biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody" received five Academy Award nominations this morning (January 22): "Best Picture," "Sound Editing," "Sound Mixing," "Film Editing," and "Best Actor," for Rami Malek's portrayal of Freddie Mercury.

The smash biopic will compete for the "Best Picture" prize alongside "Black Panther", "BlacKkKlansman", "The Favourite", "Green Book", "Roma", "A Star Is Born" and "Vice".

Malek was nominated alongside Christian Bale ("Vice"), Bradley Cooper ("A Star Is Born"), Willem Dafoe ("At Eternity's Gate") and Viggo Mortensen ("Green Book").

These five Oscar nominations come after "Bohemian Rhapsody" took home the Golden Globes for "Best Motion Picture – Drama" and "Best Actor - Motion Picture – Drama" for Malek.

Presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, this year's 91st Academy Awards honors films that were released within the 2018 calendar year. The ceremony airs February 24 on ABC and will likely be host-less for the first time in 30 years.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" has already become the highest-grossing musical biopic of all time, bringing in more than $700 million at the worldwide box office.

Sacha Baron Cohen and Ben Whishaw were set to play Freddie Mercury at different stages in the movie's development, prior to Malek's casting. Cohen's vision for the film was reportedly very "adult" in tone and clashed with what the surviving members of QUEEN had in mind, leading to the actor's departure.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" began production with "X-Men" director Bryan Singer behind the camera, but the filmmaker was fired from the movie after he disappeared from set and caused production delays. Dexter Fletcher, best known for making "Eddie The Eagle", stepped in to replace Singer in the director's chair.