THE MUTE GODS, featuring Nick Beggs (STEVEN WILSON, STEVE HACKETT), Roger King (STEVE HACKETT) and Marco Minnemann (THE ARISTOCRATS, THE SEA WITHIN), will release its third studio album, "Atheists And Believers", on March 22.


Arriving just over two years after its predecessor, "Tardigrades Will Inherit The Earth", "Atheists And Believers" sees Beggs once again turning his attention to the state of the world as we know it now, focusing on universal topics such as politics, humanity and love over the course of 10 tracks that run from turbulent rock compositions to more sentimental pieces of music.


Nick comments: "The album's key message is that we now empower stupid people and don't listen to educated, informed experts anymore because truth is no longer fashionable.”


For "Atheists And Believers", Beggs has enlisted some very special guests, including Alex Lifeson, RUSH's legendary guitarist; Craig Blundell, renowned drummer currently playing with Steven Wilson's band; multi-instrumentalist Rob Townsend, with whom Beggs worked in Steve Hackett's band; and his vocalist daughter, Lula Beggs.

"Atheists And Believers" will be released on limited CD digipak, gatefold 180g 2LP + CD and as a digital album.


"Atheists And Believers" track listing:

01. Atheists And Believers

02. One Day

03. Knucklehead

04. Envy The Dead

05. Sonic Boom

06. Old Men

07. The House Where Love Once Lived

08. Iridium Heart

09. Twisted World, Godless Universe

10. I Think Of You

Beggs's career spans nearly four decades, working with artists across a broad musical spectrum. Bassist, stick player, composer and vocalist, Beggs has sold more than three million records with his own groups, including KAJAGOOGOO, as well as contributing to genres such as pop, rock, funk, soul, Celtic and, more recently, progressive rock.


Among the artists with whom he has collaborated are rock and pop legends John Paul Jones (LED ZEPPELIN), Belinda Carlisle, Kim Wilde, Gary Numan, Seal and Engelbert Humperdink, as well as progressive rock's Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, IONA and LIFESIGNS.


Alongside Beggs in THE MUTE GODS are his regular collaborators Roger King and Marco Minnemann. King is the keyboard player, guitarist and producer of "Atheists And Believers", and Steve Hackett's right-hand man for more than 20 years. Minneman, who has also played with Joe Satriani, is regarded as one of rock's most exciting drummers and has worked with Beggs on Wilson tours and recordings.

The official music video for the song "Bull's Eye" from Danish hard rock veterans PRETTY MAIDS can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's latest album, "Kingmaker", which was released in November 2016 via Frontiers Music Srl.

PRETTY MAIDS frontman Ronnie Atkins told Kansai Finder about "Kingmaker": "'Kingmaker' was actually more or less written just prior to going in the studio. The thing is that you write more or less all the time and record bits and pieces that you might use at some later point. We also had some ideas that we've done in either 2014 or 2015 that ended up on 'Kingmaker'. But the majority of the album was written in January 2016 and we entered the studio on February 1, 2016."

PRETTY MAIDS guitarist Ken Hammer told The Rockpit that the band employed a tried-and-tested songwriting approach on "Kingmaker". "Our intention with this album was not any different from any other album that we have done," he said. "This is our last album on Frontiers, and, as always, we are trying to do our best every time. We always first of all write songs that we like ourselves. [2014's] 'Louder Than Ever' [a collection of new songs and re-recorded tracks from the band's past albums] was in our opinion an 'in-between' album and we wanted all our new fans to hear some of the stuff that we did in the 1990-2000s with a more up-to-date sound."

Atkins also said that there were no plans for PRETTY MAIDS to retire any time soon. "I definitely don't see any stop signs yet," he told Kansai Finder. "We're still having fun and enjoying what we do. As long as we have a fan base that still wants to buy our music or come to the shows, then it's all worth it. The fan base has been increasing the last couple of years; a lot of younger fans have checked in, which tells me that we must somehow still be kind of relevant in what we do and that's a nice feeling."

American rock queen Suzi Quatro has been in the music business for more than 50 years, delivering her greatest hits such as "Can The Can", "48 Crash", "If You Can't Give Me Love", "She's In Love With You" and "Devil Gate Drive" with unbridled energy, mixing them with her current material. March 29 will see the arrival of her new studio album, "No Control", on SPV/Steamhammer, with the lead single, "No Soul/No Control", scheduled to arrive on February 15.

"No Control" contains 11 new songs (plus two bonus tracks), including a first-time collaboration with Suzi's son Richard Tuckey.

"I've never stopped releasing through the years," she says. "'Back To The Drive' in 2006, 'In The Spotlight' in 2011, 'Quatro, Scott & Powell' in 2016. These albums were thought about and planned out in great detail. I'm proud of all three releases, very proud. But my new album, 'No Control', is its own animal."

Suzi says about the signing with SPV/Steamhammer: "I am very pleased to be releasing my new album on SPV/Steamhammer. I am more than ready to rock n roll my way into 2019!"

Olly Hahn, A&R/product manager at Steamhammer, adds: "Suzi Quatro, the ultimate queen of rock n' roll, has now joined our roster at SPV. Many of us have grown up with her fantastic hits, so did I. That's why we feel proud and honored to release her new studio album."

Suzi will embark on a major tour of Australia and Europe later this year.

Ensiferum have released an official live video for ""For Those About To Fight For Metal", a track from the band's Two Paths album.

Says the group: "On the tour last spring we shot a video and it’s finally out. Enjoy!"

Ensiferum are back in North America on a month-long headlining tour. The trek runs through January 29th in Tampa, Florida. Support will be provided by Septicflesh and Arsis. Following the tour, Ensiferum will also make an appearance on the 70,000 Tons Of Metal 2019 cruise before heading to Mexico.

Ensiferum tour dates are listed below.

January (with Septicflesh, Arsis)
7 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
8 - Quebec City, QC - Imperial Bell
9 - Montreal, QC - Corona Theatre
10 - Toronto, ON - Opera House
11 - Detroit, MI - Harpo's
12 - Joliet, IL - The Forge
13 - Minneapolis, MN - Skyway Theater
14 - Kansas City, MO - The Riot Room
15 - Denver, CO - Oriental Theater
17 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
18 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre
19 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre
20 - Oakland, CA - Metro Opera House
21 - Los Angeles, CA - The Regent
22 - Mesa, AZ - Club Red
23 - El Paso, TX - Rockhouse Bar & Grill
24 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey Bar & Grill
25 - Austin, TX - Come and Take it Live!
26 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall
28 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade (Hell)
29 - Tampa, FL - The Orpheum

January
31-Feb. 4 - 70000 Tons Of Metal - Fort Lauderdale, FL

February
6 - 3 Stage - Guadalajara, Mexico
7 - Cafe Iguana - Monterrey, Mexico
8 - Circo Volador - Mexico City, Mexico

Swiss rockers Stoneman have released an animated video for "Niemandsland", a track from their new album, Geil und Elektrisch (Massacre Records). Watch the clip below, and order the album here.

Geil und Elektrisch tracklisting:

"Dein General"
"Niemandsland"
"Fremd"
"Tiefschwarz"
"Tanzmusik"
"Geil und Elektrisch"
"Fass mich nicht an"
"Alles Gute"
"Für immer"
"Worte"
"Dein General" (Elektro Edit)
"Geil und Elektrisch" (Elektro Edit)

"Niemandsland" video:

"Fremd" lyric video:

"Geil und Elektrisch" video:

"Dein General" video:

Unboxing / pre-listening video:

(Photo - Matteo Fabiani)

Japan’s Crystal Lake has debuted a music video for their new single, “Lost In Forever”, featured on their upcoming album, Helix, out on February 15th via SharpTone Records. Pre-order the album here, and watch the new clip below.

Tracklisting:

"Helix"
"Aeon"
"Agony"
"+81"
"Lost In The Forever"
"Outgrow"
"Ritual"
"Hail To The Fire"
"Devilcry"
"Just Confusing"
"Apollo"
"Sanctuary"

"Lost In Forever" video:

“Aeon” video:

Crystal Lake will join August Burns Red, Fit For A King and Miss May I for their first ever US tour. Dates listed below. Tickets on sale now.

Tour dates:

January
24 - Lexington, KY - Manchester Music Hall
25 - Richmond, VA - The National
26 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
27 - Charleston, SC - Music Farm
29 - Destin, FL - Club LA
30 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
31 - San Antonio, TX - Alamo City Music Hall

February
1 - Odessa, TX - Dos Amigos
2 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater
4 - Tucson, AZ - The Rock
5 - Pomona, CA - The Glass House
6 - Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades
8 - Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory
9 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
10 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
11 - Grand Junction, CO - Mesa Theater
12 - Fort Collins, CO - Aggie Theatre
14 - Oklahoma City, OK - Diamond Ballroom
15 - Lincoln, NE - Bourbon Theatre
16 - Minneapolis, MN - Cabooze
17 - Des Moines, IA - Wooly’s
18 - Grand Rapids, MI - Intersection
20 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
22 - Ottawa, ON - TD Place
23 - Quebec City, QC - Imperial De Quebec
25 - Hampton Beach, NH - Wally’s
26 - Portland, ME - Aura
27 - Clifton Park, NY - Upstate Concert Hall
28 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom

March
1 - Hartford, CT - The Webster
2 - Poughkeepsie, NY - The Chance Theater

Gene Hoglan says that he once joked about suing the members of METALLICA for allegedly "ripping off" a DARK ANGEL song for their classic track "One".

The DARK ANGEL drummer revealed his band's musical connection to METALLICA while discussing the evolution of double-bass drumming during a recent appearance on Dean Delray's "Let There Be Talk" podcast.

When Delray brought up METALLICA's 1988 cut as an example of how the use of unison sextuplets between a wall of guitars and Lars Ulrich's aggressively EQ'd kick drums redefined the use of double-bass drums in metal, Hoglan said: "I'll flat out tell you, that comes from a DARK ANGEL song. That comes from 'Darkness Descends' [the title track of DARK ANGEL's 1986 album]. And it's well known in the scene that as soon as [METALLICA] put out 'One', I got so many phone calls going, 'You know those guys are ripping you off.'"

Gene continued: "We had [METALLICA's longtime] soundman, 'Big' Mick [Hughes], we had him on a tour, and METALLICA was up for the Grammy at the time, but it hadn't been announced or anything yet. And I was joking that, 'If they win the Grammy, I'm gonna sue.' [I was] totally joking. And Mick was, like, 'You should. They'll probably give you a hundred grand to shut you up.' And I was, like, 'I'm not gonna become the pariah of the metal scene by suing METALLICA.' Everybody's stolen METALLICA riffs."

Asked by Delray if he believes "One" was inspired by "Darkness Descends" in the drumming only or in "the musical part" as well, Hoglan responded: "The whole everything. The drum part, definitely. And that's why I just thought it was kind of funny. The first line in the whole thing is, 'Darkness…' And it comes right from 'Darkness Descends', opening track on the second [DARK ANGEL] record. So, as soon as you hear it, you'd catch it."

Gene went on to say he never brought up the similarity to Ulrich despite the fact that he had toured with METALLICA many years later when he was a member of FEAR FACTORY.

"One" was featured on METALLICA's fourth album, "...And Justice For All", which was the band's last LP to be engineered and co-produced by Flemming Rasmussen, who also worked on "Ride The Lightning" (1984) and "Master Of Puppets" (1986). According to Rasmussen, Ulrich blasted out the double-bass machine gun section in one take. "He just flew straight through that," he told Songfacts.

Two years ago, Hoglan told LA Weekly that the "Darkness Descends" title track was the first metal song inspired by Judge Dredd, right before ANTHRAX did its own tribute to Dredd with "I Am The Law" on the 1987 album "Among The Living".

A short YouTube clip pointing out the musical similarity between "One" and "Darkness Descends" can be found below.

DARK ANGEL is continuing to work on material for its long-awaited comeback album. The band's first CD since 1991's "Time Does Not Heal" will feature the lineup that has performed sporadic live shows since reuniting in 2013: Hoglan, Eric Meyer (guitar), Jim Durkin (guitar), Ron Rinehart (vocals) and Michael Gonzalez (bass).

Jonathan Davis is back in the studio laying down vocals for KORN's upcoming album.

The singer, whose estranged wife passed away in August, checked in with fans via Instagram, thanking them for their support during a difficult time in his life and revealing that he was working on the band's follow-up to 2016's "The Serenity Of Suffering".

He wrote: "I want to thank you all for your kind words over the last couple months what I'm going thru has not been easy by any means. You all helped make the pain bearable. In return I promise to give you my all on this amazing new @korn_official record we all can heal together. #recordingvocals"

KORN's new album is tentatively due in the fall. The effort, which is once again being produced by Nick Raskulinecz, will feature songwriting collaborations with GOLDFINGER's John Feldmann, while BLINK-182's Travis Barker recorded the "temporary drums" on some of the early demos, according to KORN guitarist Brian "Head" Welch.

This past November, Davis told "The Jasta Show" about the making of the new KORN album: "When they write and get together, they send me demos, and if I'm digging it and feeling it, when I'm gone doing [my solo shows], then I'll pick the ones I like. They came out to Bakersfield and worked at our studio, and then I went to Nashville at Nick's studio and I got to actually sit and help write with them, and that was really, really fun. It brings a different dynamic."

He continued: "For years — I don't know how many years — the last three records, I wasn't really that much involved; I couldn't be, 'cause I was dealing with things at home. So I pretty much had to just do as much as I could, but I had to… you know, family first. So I have a little bit more freedom now to be able to do that, and I really enjoy writing with my brothers, and they're really happy to have me back. And I like it. I like when they write by themselves, 'cause they'll come up with stuff… I'll probably steer them in a different way, 'cause I want more mellow, but they like more heavy. So it's a nice… I don't know. It's a nice relationship."

Last year, Davis said that there were "really good ideas" and "cool grooves" in some of the early material that had been written for KORN's next album. The singer also shot down as false Internet speculation that the band is using outside writers for material for its next studio album. "We're writing everything; we're still writing our own music," he said.

Jonathan's wife, Deven Davis, died from the effects of mixing five drugs, including cocaine and heroin. The 39-year-old former girl-on-girl porn star reportedly suffered with sobriety and substance abuse throughout her life.

In a statement released last August via his social media channels, Jonathan called Deven "an amazing wife, amazing mother and amazing friend" who was suffering from "a very serious mental illness."

View this post on Instagram I want to thank you all for your kind words over the last couple months what I’m going thru has not been easy by any means. You all helped make the pain bearable. In return I promise to give you my all on this amazing new @korn_official record we all can heal together. #recordingvocals A post shared by Jonathan Davis (@officialjonathandavis) on Jan 5, 2019 at 9:21pm PST

20th Century Fox's QUEEN biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody" was named best drama at the 76th Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, and Rami Malek won best actor for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury. Malek beat out Bradley Cooper in "A Star is Born", John David Washington in "BlacKkKlansman", Lucas Hedges in "Boy Erased" and Willem Dafoe in "At Eternity's Gate".

"Oh my god, I am beyond moved," Malek said at the podium. "My heart is pounding out of my chest. This is a profound honor to be counted among such extraordinary actors. I am privileged. Thank you to the Hollywood Foreign Press and to everyone who worked so tirelessly on this film. I have to thank [producers] Graham King and Denis O'Sullivan. You've worked over a decade to make sure this story was told. Thank you to 20th Century Fox. You believed in us."

He continued: "I have to thank my mom and my family. Of course, to QUEEN. To you, Brian May, to you, Roger Taylor, for ensuring that authenticity remains in the world. And to Freddie Mercury, this is for you."

Backstage, Malek said about the movie: "There's only one thing we wanted to do and that is to celebrate Freddie Mercury with this film. There is only one Freddie Mercury, and nothing was going to compromise us giving him the love, celebration and adulation he deserves."

Asked whether Mercury changed him in a particular way, Malek responded: "Very powerfully. … there are aspects of Freddie Mercury that I relate to. You can look at this man and see him step onstage with these incredible individuals and together form this superhero rock god icon status. He is a deity, he is a god. He could hold an audience in the palm of his hand.

"I tried to find the humanity in him," Malek continued. "I related to the nature of him being an immigrant, struggling to discover his identity … looking at that, he lifted me up to be everything I could be on this film."

QUEEN guitarist Brian May, who was in the audience, addressed the fact that "Bohemian Rhapsody" was 10 years in the making. "We had this thing that if we didn't do it with the right people, it would get done wrong by somebody else and it wouldn't do Freddie justice," he said. "We found the right people at the right time, or we wouldn't be standing here."

May also spoke about the fairly mixed critical reviews the movie received upon release. "To be honest the mistake some of the critics made was to review the trailer and then jump to conclusions," he said. "And when people do stake their claim on something it's hard for them to withdraw. A couple of them have rather graciously said, 'Actually, we were wrong.'"

"Bohemian Rhapsody" has already become the highest-grossing musical biopic of all time, bringing in a huge $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.

On December 31st, Rammstein performed in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico at Explanada Flamingos. Fan-filmed video including frontman Till Lindemann's New Year's Eve countdown is available below.

The setlist on the night was as follows:

"Ramm 4"
"Reise, Reise"
"Hallelujah"
"Zerstören"
"Keine Lust"
"Feuer Frei!"
"Seemann"
"Mein Teil" (first live performance since 2013)
"Du Riechst So Gut"
"Mein Herz Brennt"
"Links 2-3-4"
"Ich Will"
"Du Hast"
"Ohne Dich"

Encore:
"Sonne"
"Amerika"
"Stripped" (Depeche Mode cover - countdown 2019)

Encore 2:
"Te Quiero Puta!"

According to The Pulse Of Radio, ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist and singer Jerry Cantrell's 2002 solo effort "Degradation Trip Volumes 1 & 2" will be issued on vinyl for the first time ever next month. The four-LP set will be pressed on yellow, red and black 180-gram vinyl and is limited to 2,000 individually numbered copies. A February 15 arrival in North America is expected.

Cantrell began working on the project in mid-1999 after touring behind his 1998 solo debut, "Boggy Depot". Although he was dropped by ALICE IN CHAINS' label, Columbia Records, he continued to work on the music as it expanded to some 30 songs.

Cantrell was eventually signed to Roadrunner Records, which requested that he pare the now double album down to a single disc. The original 14-song "Degradation Trip" arrived in June 2002, while the complete "Volumes 1 & 2" edition, featuring all 25 songs he had recorded, followed in November of that year.

Cantrell told The Pulse Of Radio at the time that "Degradation Trip" was the most "personal and self-digging" album he'd ever written. "It's the deepest I've gone in my writing both musically and lyrically," he said. "So it's a very personal journey this record to me. It's an incredible record."

"Degradation Trip" was also Cantrell's last solo outing, as ALICE IN CHAINS regrouped in 2006 after a decade-long hiatus with William DuVall replacing the late Layne Staley on vocals. The band recently released its sixth studio album and third with DuVall, "Rainier Fog".

France's Loud TV recently spoke with BLOODBATH members Nick Holmes (also of PARADISE LOST) and Anders Nyström (also of KATATONIA). The full conversation can be seen below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the group's recent European tour with HATEBREED, DIMMU BORGIR and KREATOR:

Nick: "It's fun to do it. This is the first tour we've done. We usually do the festivals, but it's like more of that, really, but it's just every day. Of course it's fun to do, and it's nice to play to lots of people as well."

On whether BLOODBATH should be considered a "full-time band" now that KATATONIA is on hiatus:

Anders: "No, it's not as easy as that — it's not as black-and-white as that. We don't want to know what's going to happen with KATATONIA right now. It's not really our concern now when we're on tour with BLOODBATH. We try to do each thing at a time, and we're having really fun doing this. This was planned a long time ahead, so we're happy to fulfill this tour. As Nick said, this is the first time we do it — it's an experiment, and it's turning out great. It's death metal for half an hour each day — pretty much what I like. A perfect proportion."

On how the band members approach BLOODBATH:

Anders: "We like to do things professionally, but it doesn't mean things have to be boring. We like to entertain ourselves [and] the audience, and have fun while doing it. Death metal, that goes way back for all of us, back to our teens. That was the music we enjoyed. It's something that sticks with you [and] will never really go away. It's kind of cool to revisit that again, and that's a lot of fun to do that."

On the old-school sound the group favors:

Anders: "We're just obsessed about that sound, really. It's all about the Sunlight studio, that school, Tomas Skogsberg, the HM-2 Boss [Heavy] Metal [effects] pedal... all that thing is just such a legendary, classic sound. When we really worshiped death metal, you had two divided scenes — the American scene and the European scene. Of course, you had great bands in Germany, Holland [and] the U.K. as well, but the Swedish scene was really focused on that sound at the time, and it's just something that's so special. We like to represent it these days. Twenty years ago, 1998, when we did start BLOODBATH, there was nobody doing that anymore, having that sound, really. We just kept waving that flag."

Nick: "I remember when I listened to death metal, the underground bands before they were on vinyl, when ENTOMBED were called NIHILIST, always the best-sounding demos were the Swedish bands. They always sounded the best. That had that really kind of... the pedal did a hell of a lot for it, but I always looked forward to the Swedish bands, because they just sounded better. They just had that sound."

On BLOODBATH's lyrics:

Nick: "If you start singing about the undead, you can't really talk about the lyrics that much, really. It's not that you're going to go in depth about the undead [laughs]. It's kind of what you see is what you get. It's like, 'Can you do a track-by-track breakdown?' 'Well, this one's about zombies. What [else] can I say?'... The topics all tick the boxes for this genre of music, and it fits it perfectly. You can have a lot of fun with it as well."

Anders: "I had a blast writing the lyrics. It's fun. It's all death metal — there's no boundaries; there's no rules; you can do whatever you want with it. Basically, for me, it just comes down to entertainment. If you put a horror flick on the TV, you do it for your own entertainment. Same with BLOODBATH. That's how I see it. Of course, you have the power to put a message through it and everything, but I wouldn't really focus on doing that through death metal."

On the artwork for the group's latest album, "The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn":

Anders: "It's a guy called Eliran Kantor. We more or less gave him the title and wanted him to come up with a concept for the artwork — like, a visual representation. I think it's magnificent. It kind of needs to grow on you a little bit, maybe, because it's very different artwork for a death metal band. It definitely stands out, but we [prefer] standing out than just a planned, standard thing you forget about in the bin immediately. It definitely worked out great. I think it's horrifying, the artwork, actually — it's really uncomfortable."

Nick: "It's beautiful yet hideous."

On whether the group plans to tour more in the future:

Anders: "It's up in the air. We'll see how this tour, what it does to us, I guess. But yeah, there will be more live action for sure, in different shapes and forms."

On the future of KATATONIA:

Anders: "It's too early to say anything about that yet. We'll have to see next year what we sort out. There's a lot of things to be solved, and we want to do it from the ground up. It might sound dramatic, but you've got to do it right or otherwise, you'll regret it later. We've been keeping on for such a long time now that you've got to really be concerned about the next step and make sure you still have the right vibe in the band, and the will to carry on."

BLOODBATH's fifth album, "The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn", was released on October 26 via Peaceville. The record – the group's second with Holmes — was recorded with Karl Daniel Liden at Ghost Ward, City Of Glass and Tri-Lamb Studios.

ANTHRAX's Scott Ian has praised QUEEN, saying that the British rockers' music sounds "even better" now, more than four decades after he was first introduced to the iconic band.

The guitarist took to his Instagram on Thursday to post a picture of him with his wife Pearl Aday and QUEEN legend Brian May, and included the following message: "I've been listening to QUEEN since 1975, you could say I'm a big fan. Our son got into them heavily about 6 months ago and their catalog has been playing 24/7 in our house. Getting to experience them through my son's ears has been an amazing experience, delving deeper than I ever have into their records, their arrangements, their completely original sound. It's like hearing them for the first time 43 years later and they sound even better, just utterly fantastic. And if that's not enough, check out this super-cool piece that Brian just did as a tribute for a recent NASA mission. In case you didn't know, Brian (Dr. May) is also an astrophysicist."

Ian previously called QUEEN 'the most original rock band in my lifetime," adding: "There was no QUEEN before QUEEN. And Freddie [Mercury] was the greatest frontman of all time."

ANTHRAX's latest album, "For All Kings", was released in February 2016. Its arrival followed a five-year period during which the band experienced a rebirth of sorts, beginning with ANTHRAX's inclusion on the 2010 "Big Four" tour with METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH, and continuing with the 2011 release of comeback LP "Worship Music".

View this post on Instagram I’ve been listening to Queen since 1975, you could say I’m a big fan. Our son got into them heavily about 6 months ago and their catalog has been playing 24/7 in our house. Getting to experience them through my son’s ears has been an amazing experience, delving deeper than I ever have into their records, their arrangements, their completely original sound. It’s like hearing them for the first time 43 years later and they sound even better, just utterly fantastic. And if that’s not enough, check out this super-cool piece that Brian just did as a tribute for a recent NASA mission. In case you didn’t know, Brian (Dr. May) is also an astrophysicist. Here’s the link: https://gizmodo.com/brian-mays-anthem-for-the-new-horizons-probe-is-really-1831428899 @pearlcaliforniacountry @brianmayforreal @officialqueenmusic @nasa #tbt A post shared by Scott Ian (@scottianthrax) on Jan 3, 2019 at 12:51pm PST

RAINBOW singer Ronnie Romero has exited LORDS OF BLACK. He announced his departure from the Spanish melodic progressive metal band in a post on his Facebook page. Ronnie wrote: "Just to inform that since some weeks ago I did leave my 'job' as lead singer in LORDS OF BLACK. Almost five years of good music, great experiences and too much love and support from the fans around the world. Means a lot, so THANKS so much to all!! All the best to my ex-bandmates in their career."

LORDS OF BLACK guitarist Tony Hernando added in a separate statement: "I just want to confirm that Ronnie Romero is no longer the singer for LORDS OF BLACK. This is something that I knew when I was already working on new LORDS OF BLACK music, and, as you can imagine, it's something disappointing and truly heartbreaking.

"I respect his decision, and I can only say it has been a great journey these five years making great music together and achieving goals that seemed impossible. For that I will be forever grateful.

"Now it's time to find a new singer, get the band at full speed again and make the best album yet. I want to be clear about confirming that LORDS OF BLACK will be at Leyendas Del Rock festival in August, and other live gigs are being booked at the moment. Last but not least, I want to thank YOU the fans! You have been amazing and I will give you everything I have! LORDS OF BLACK rules!!"

LORDS OF BLACK's third album, "Icons Of The New Days", was released last May via Frontiers Music Srl.

Romero, originally from Chile but now settled in Madrid, Spain, made his live debut with RAINBOW in June 2016 after he was selected to front the latest version of the band guitarist Ritchie Blackmore had formed after quitting DEEP PURPLE.

In addition to Romero and Blackmore, the current incarnation of RAINBOW includes STRATOVARIUS keyboardist Jens Johansson, BLACKMORE'S NIGHT drummer David Keith, bassist Bob Nouveau (a.k.a. Robert "Bob" Curiano, ex-BLACKMORE'S NIGHT), and backing singers Candice Night and Lady Lynn.

The two shows RAINBOW played in Germany in June 2016 were caught on camera to produce "Memories In Rock - Live In Germany", which was released in November 2016 via Eagle Rock Entertainment on DVD+2CD, Blu-ray+2CD, and digital formats.

Romero told Metal Shock Finland about his performances with RAINBOW: "I feel really good with my job, because I tried to make justice, not just to the songs, but all these singers — Ronnie James Dio, Joe Lynn Turner, Graham Bonnet, Ian Gillan and David Coverdale. I just tried to sing the songs in my own way and my own style, and I think the people appreciate that. I'm not just a copy of the other singers. I prefer to sing like Ronnie Romero singing these songs of Ronnie James Dio and David Coverdale and whatever. And I think the people prefer that, and they really appreciate the situation, because I think the people don't like to see a guy or pay for a ticket to see a guy try to sing like Ronnie James Dio. It's not a good idea. So I feel really good with my job and I know the people and the fans that have sent me messages and told me that they really appreciated [how I interpreted the songs]."

Maynard James Keenan says that he has completed recording his vocals for TOOL's long-awaited new album. The singer took to his Twitter account earlier today to write: "Update- Final vocals tracked MONTHS ago. Then U.S.-UK-Euro run w #APC. If Tool all inst are tracked, long process of Mixing now. Meanwhile write/film/track w @puscifer for #puscifer2020 & troll the band FBs with wine posts. #funnyshit #whileyouwerewhiningiwasworking"

Last year, Maynard publicly called out his bandmates during TOOL's show at the Northern Invasion festival, asking them to finish recording their parts for the band's new disc so that he could record his parts and finally complete the LP. Keenan said from the stage: "Eventually you wonderful people are going to run out of fucking patience. So I beg you, Danny [Carey, drums], Adam and Justin [Chancellor, bass], please finish your parts so I can finish mine."

The new TOOL album, its first since 2006's "10,000 Days", will likely arrive at the end of this year. Recording commenced in March 2018, with Carey laying down his drum tracks first and Chancellor recording his parts next.

Maynard attempted to explain the long gap between TOOL albums in a 2017 interview with "The Joe Rogan Experience". Speaking about his bandmates, the singer said: "Their writing process is so drawn out. And I'm sure there's a lot of reasons why the delay has been long. Their process is very analytical, and I think, at some point, maybe because so much time has gone by from the last album, there has to be a little bit of fear in here. [You think to yourself] 'Is this record gonna be as good as the last one?' The anticipation now is… Now the pressure is huge, so I'm sure there's some of that [that] goes into play."

Keenan spent part of 2018 touring with A PERFECT CIRCLE, whose first album in 14 years, "Eat The Elephant", came out last April.

Update- Final vocals tracked MONTHS ago. Then U.S.-UK-Euro run w #APC. If Tool all inst are tracked, long process of Mixing now. Meanwhile write/film/track w @puscifer for #puscifer2020 & troll the band FBs with wine posts. #funnyshit #whileyouwerewhiningiwasworking— Maynard J Keenan (@mjkeenan) January 4, 2019

According to The Pulse Of Radio, the woman who the band GRETA VAN FLEET is named after admitted in a new interview with the Detroit Free Press that she is not really a fan of the hard-rocking quartet's music. 88-year-old Gretna Van Fleet, who gave the group her blessing for the name, revealed: "It's not my favorite music, and the boys know that. But I think they're very talented, and I support them."

Van Fleet, a lifelong Michigan resident who lives in the town of Frankenmuth, is retired and content devoting her time to family, sewing and church activities. She said her musical tastes run more toward classical and old pop standards.

But Van Fleet, a musician herself who plays the violin, dulcimer and drums, has now become a bit of a rock star herself thanks to the band being one of the big rock breakouts of the last couple of years. She explained: "Every day, out in town, somebody will stop me. People are so excited to meet me... It's amazing how many friends I have now. It's been incredible. The family are supportive, and they think it's fun."

GRETA VAN FLEET's debut full-length album, "Anthem Of The Peaceful Army", was released on October 19 of last year — which was also Gretna Van Fleet's 88th birthday. That night, the town of Frankenmuth threw a bash that was part record-release party, part birthday celebration. Gretna Van Fleet said: "I didn't think it would last long — they wouldn't hang on to this crazy name."

Drummer Simon Wright, currently of DIO DISCIPLES and also known for his work in AC/DC, DIO, RHINO BUCKET and UFO, was recently interviewed by the "Talking Metal" podcast. You can now listen to the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On his memories of the recording sessions for AC/DC's "Fly On The Wall" album (1985):

Simon: "Oh, yeah, it was a little overwhelming. We were in Switzerland for a start, in Montreux, where DEEP PURPLE 'Smoke On The Water' happened, the casino burning down. It was a little bit surreal, to be honest with you. But we eventually got comfortable and started bashing down tracks and going over things and finetuning things. It was a great time. It wasn't a pressured kind of time. The way they work is kind of relaxed and just getting on with things. And it was great. We were in a part of the casino which was a recording studio as well, and it was a huge round building. And the drums sounded massive in there. It was a great time.

"It's a funny thing, the album 'Fly On The Wall'. I get a lot of people that talk to me about it and say it's kind of been overlooked and stuff. And I think when it did come out, it was the climate at the time. AC/DC had had 'Back In Black' and 'For Those About To Rock', which were massive albums, and I really honestly don't think that you can keep up that, keep those albums like that coming out. And grunge was rearing its head too — not that there was anything wrong with that. But I think the music climate was changing. The shows that we did on that tour, they were still selling out and doing really good. We were just getting on with things the way that the band did things. But I think it was difficult to keep that momentum up, with such massive-selling albums. But in the end, I think a lot of people came around to that album and have a liking for it. It's a little bit different-sounding too, I think — the production changed; it wasn't 'Mutt' Lange anymore. But I think it's a good album."

On recording three new songs — "Who Made Who" and the instrumentals "D.T." and "Chase The Ace" — for the AC/DC 1986 soundtrack album "Who Made Who" to accompany the Stephen King film "Maximum Overdrive":

Simon: "They booked a studio in the Bahamas — Compass Point — where they did some of 'Back In Black', I guess, if not all of it; I'm not sure. But they'd been there before anyway. Again, it was down to business. I thought it was great, that song ['Who Made Who']. It had a great rhythm and good feel and catchy chorus. It was pretty cool. But the tracks for the movie that were kind of the instrumental things, that was a little weird. They put TVs up in the studio to play to, and Angus [Young] would do some blues licks. It was kind of a jumbled up album. I was hoping that we could have done just a normal album without anything to do with a movie. But that wasn't my call. There were a lot of things in that band that weren't my call. So I just went along with it… As for the movie, well, I'm not sure about that one. [Laughs] [It was] kind of a cult classic, I guess you'd get away with calling it. [Laughs]"

On how he exited AC/DC and joined DIO:

Simon: "It was about 1990. Basically, it sounds a little crazy, but I really lost my enthusiasm for things. You can't really be like that in a band like that — you've gotta give 110 percent — and my enthusiasm had become a bit complacent, and it wasn't fair on them, and it definitely wasn't fair on the fans and people coming to the shows. So I started thinking, 'I've gotta move on here.' And luckily, through a friend of a friend of a friend, or whatever, I managed to meet up with Ronnie [James Dio]. We did some rehearsals. It was mainly for the new album that he had going on, called 'Lock Up The Wolves'. 'Cause it was straight into recording, basically, before we did any shows. And we did that. And it kind of worked out. I'd met Ronnie a couple of times in the past before that, and I thought he was such a clever, funny, intelligent guy. And I'd loved his singing, obviously, with [BLACK] SABBATH and RAINBOW and his own stuff and everything. And it just kind of worked out. Yeah, it was a great time."

Wright lasted in AC/DC for six years. A then-unknown drummer whose first credits included Manchester, England metal outfit A II Z, he joined AC/DC in time for the touring cycle for "Flick Of The Switch" and played with the Australian rockers throughout the '80s before leaving to join DIO in 1989.

U.K.'s This Is Money web site recently conducted an interview with KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons. Asked if he has ever struggled to make ends meet, Gene said: "No. I have never lived above my means. I washed dishes and picked up garbage, but I never struggled to make ends meet. If I was down and out, I never knew it at the time. I always had a job and could pay my way."

Simmons also spoke about an instance when he was paid "silly money." He said: "There was a royal event I had to speak at for an hour and they paid me millions of pounds. It is not proper to say which royal family it was, but they just wanted me there. God knows why. I did not even perform, I just spoke."

Asked what his biggest money mistake was, Simmons said: "The biggest was lending $400,000 to someone I thought was a friend. I never saw that money again."

Gene also revealed that 2016 was the best year of his financial life. "I made millions of pounds, but I have made millions every year for more than 40 years," he said.

Read the entire interview at This Is Money.

Back in 2017, Simmons said that taking breaks from work is the biggest thing holding people back from becoming rich and achieving their career goals.

"It's too easy to sit back," he told "CNBC Make It". "We like to binge watch TV."

Simmons said that most people live in an "entitlement area" in which they want to enjoy the perks of being rich but don't want to put in the work that it takes to get there.

"You take two days off every week and do nothing, if you even have a job," he said. "Times 52 weeks is 104 days."

That doesn't even include the time you take off for holidays and vacations, which are generally spent shopping and gossiping, he said. That lost time could be better spent making money.

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.

British/American metal trio RAVEN releases a new single and video for the song "Hung, Drawn & Quartered". The track is taken from the band's new live album, "Screaming Murder Death From Above: Live In Aalborg", which will be released through SPV/Steamhammer on January 18 as CD digipak, 2LP gatefold, download and stream.

When RAVEN left the Skråen stage at the end of November 2017 after its acclaimed concert in Aalborg, Denmark, brothers John (bass, vocals) and Mark Gallagher (guitar) along with new member Mike Heller (drums) didn't foresee their show being recorded for posterity. "We were surprised of course, since nobody had informed us of this beforehand," John Gallagher explains. "We had a flash drive with the recording delivered to us and when we checked it, we realized that — barring some small technical problems — we had a truly magical live recording on our hands. It was a near perfect concert thanks to the great atmosphere inside the hall and our out of control attitude — since, you know, we weren't aware the show was being recorded." It's the unbridled show of a band who has been writing metal history for the last 45 years.

As to the differences between the current "Screaming Murder Death From Above: Live In Aalborg" and earlier RAVEN live recordings? "We have, of course, gotten better and better on a technical level over the years. Also, on 'Destroy All Monsters/Live in Japan' (1996), you can clearly hear that I was wrestling with voice issues due to a bout of laryngitis. And if you compare 'Screaming Murder Death From Above: Live In Aalborg' with 'Live In The Inferno' from 1984, it almost seems as if we had taken sedatives back then," Gallagher says laughingly and concludes with: "The Aalborg recording matches the energy which RAVEN is exuding 100 percent. It's the best representation of us as a live band yet."

Track listing:

01. Destroy All Monsters

02. Hell Patrol

03. All For One

04. Hung, Drawn & Quartered

05. Rock Until You Drop

06. A.A.N.S.M.M.G.N.

07. Tank Treads (The Blood Runs Red)

08. Faster Than The Speed Of Light

09. On And On

10. Break The Chain

11. Crash Bang Wallop

RAVEN is putting the finishing touches on its new album for a tentative early 2019 release. The follow-up to 2015's "ExtermiNation" will mark the band's first effort with Heller (FEAR FACTORY), who replaced Joe Hasselvander in 2017.

Speaking to Mark Taylor of Record Collector magazine before RAVEN's September 5, 2018 concert in London, John Gallagher said: "We have a new album in the can, which features this lunatic" — referring to Heller — "very heavily. We're very excited about it. It's definitely a jump forward. There's some very fast music on it, but it's very quirky and melodic at the same time, so there's a real dichotomy in that, which is always in the best RAVEN music anyway."

Added guitarist Mark Gallagher: "Actually, the record needs a little fine-tuning, some mixing, but it's pretty much done."

"ExtermiNation" was released in April 2015 via SPV/Steamhammer.

Considered part of the "New Wave Of British Heavy Metal" movement of the early '80s, RAVEN — led by Newcastle natives/brothers John Gallagher and Mark Gallagher — is perhaps best remembered for its trailblazing tours in America in the early ’80s that gave groups like METALLICA and ANTHRAX their first taste of the road.

RAVEN's albums "Rock Until You Drop", "Wiped Out" and "All For One" virtually invented both the speed metal and power metal genres, with the band consistently pushing the envelope while retaining its unique sound and attack — both in the studio and in their true element: onstage.

Fan-filmed video footage of AS I LAY DYING's December 2, 2018 concert at Poppodium 013 in Tilburg, Netherlands can be seen below.

Last month, AS I LAY DYING frontman Tim Lambesis, who served time in prison for hiring a hitman to kill his wife, said that part of his life's work now is to undo the hurt he has caused.

In May 2014, Lambesis was sentenced to six years in jail after pleading guilty to paying a San Diego police officer posing as a hitman $1,000 to kill his wife. Approximately two and a half years later — on December 17, 2016 — he was discharged from a California detention facility and was transferred to the Division of Adult Parole Operations.

In June 2018, AS I LAY DYING played its first show with Lambesis in five years and released a new single. Lambesis also owned up to his crimes in a long apology on the band's Facebook page after his release.

November saw AS I LAY DYING complete its first U.S. tour in five years and the band followed it up with a European run of shows.

Prior to AS I LAY DYING's concert in Munich, Germany on December 8, Lambesis once again took to the band's Facebook page to say that he has reconstructed his life and rededicated himself to the principles of honesty and commitment to community necessary to garner public trust.

He wrote: "I stand against who I became in my past and am pursuing a new purpose in the rebirth of AILD. We collectively are.

"People who support AILD are not supporting the person I once was, because part of my life's work now is to undo the hurt I've caused and to help others in addiction. Instead, I think AILD fans are supporting the belief that people can change.

"I will never be able to undo my greatest mistake, but I believe it's better to do something rather than give up.

"AILD collectively condemns all forms of domestic abuse and violence. Its aftermath is one of pervasive, long-lasting hurt and there is no acceptable excuse or defense for such behavior. Our agenda as a band is to actively back and work with organizations who offer support to those who are emotionally suffering and in pain. Whether it be from a history of abuse, hardship, or mental illness — pro-activity in healing and recovery is at the core of what this band is now."

AS I LAY DYING's 2018 single, "My Own Grave", marked the first fresh music from the band since it issued its sixth album, "Awakened", back in September 2012.

The return of AS I LAY DYING raised some questions, particularly since guitarist Nick Hipa categorically denounced the band's disgraced frontman as a "sociopathic narcissist in definite need of rehabilitation" in a social-media post back in 2014.

In October, the organizers of Spain's Resurrection Fest removed AS I LAY DYING from this year's lineup following an outcry from certain fans.

German metallers HELLOWEEN have posted a video recap of the 2018 leg of their "Pumpkins United" tour, which concluded in December. The six-and-a-half-minute clip, which can be seen below, was created by Aurora Motion Pictures.

In a message accompanying the video, the band said: "It's been over 14 months since we started the 'Pumpkins United' world tour. It was a blast to see all these beautiful pumpkinheads around the globe! We're honored to have one of the best fans in the world.

"Here's a small glimpse about the last shows in Hamburg, Bamberg and Karlsruhe. Just to say thank you! It was an amazing time we had with you and our beloved crew!

"Now we need a small big break from touring!

"If you hadn't the chance to grab one of our merch items, feel free and grab one at our worldwide shipping store.

"So far we wish you a great start in 2019!"

HELLOWEEN's "Pumpkins United" tour features former vocalist Michael Kiske and guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen alongside current singer Andi Deris, guitarists Michael Weikath and Sascha Gerstner, bassist Markus Grosskopf and drummer Dani Löble.

The "Pumpkins United" tour marks the first time Kiske has played live with HELLOWEEN since 1993. Hansen, who departed HELLOWEEN in 1988, has been joining the band onstage on various tours and festival appearances throughout the years. The set features several duets with Kiske and his replacement, Deris, along with many rarely played songs, including "Kids Of The Century", "Rise And Fall" and "Livin' Ain't No Crime". Hansen — who fronted HELLOWEEN until late 1986 — sings a medley of several early HELLOWEEN classics, including "Ride The Sky", "Judas", "Starlight" and "Heavy Metal (Is The Law)".

The reunited HELLOWEEN has captured "the very best moments" from its ongoing "Pumpkins United" world tour and will make the footage and recordings available as a live CD as well as on DVD and Blu-ray in early 2019. In addition, there will be a brand-new HELLOWEEN studio album featuring Kiske and Hansen. The band's songwriting trio of Michael Weikath, Hansen and Deris will retreat to the studio in 2019 to begin work on the disc, which is scheduled to arrive in 2020 via Nuclear Blast.

Bay Area natives, Aenimus, will release their sophomore album, Dreamcatcher, on February 22nd via Nuclear Blast Records. Today, the band releases their second single, "The Dark Triad".

Guitarist Sean Swafford comments, "'The Dark Triad' is based on Silence of the Lambs and Clarice trying to understand Hannibal. Clarice tries to categorize Hannibal by using the dark triad in psychology which refers to the personality traits of narcissism Machiavellianism and psychopathy. However, Hannibal’s condition isn’t anything she has encountered before which leads Hannibal to manipulate her."

This week, the band are playing three west coasts shows leading up to the release of Dreamcatcher. Catch them live at the following dates:

January
4 - Arlene Francis Center - Santa Rosa, CA
5 - The Haul - Grants Pass, OR
6 - Bossanova Ballroom - Portland, OR

Dreamcatcher is a concept album that draws inspiration from horror novels and movies,such as It, The Shining, Hannibal Lecter, and The Dead Zone. The album was recorded by the band while mixing and mastering were handled by Jamie King. The album features guest appearances from Mike Semesky (Intervals, The Haarp Machine), Jamie Hanks (I Declare War), Brian James (Fallujah), Sims Cashion and Leonardo Guzman.

Dreamcatcher will be available in the following formats:

- CD jewel
- Vinyl – black, purple w/ black splatter, blue w/ white splatter
- Album Cover Long sleeve
- Album Cover Hoodie
- Album Cover T-shirt
- CD + Web Design T-shirt + Poster Bundle
- Vinyl (purple w/ black splatter) + Web Design T-shirt + Poster Bundle

Pre-order your copy of Dreamcatcher and receive a download for "Before The Eons" instantly.

Dreamcatcher tracklisting:

"Before The Eons"
"Eternal"
"The Ritual"
"My Becoming"
"The Dark Triad"
"Between Iron And Silver"
"The Overlook"
"Caretaker"
"Second Sight"
"Day Zero"
"Dreamcatcher"

"Before The Eons" video:

Album trailers:

#1:

#2:

#3:

#4:

#5:

Aenimus will embark on the Death… Is Just The Beginning 2019 North American tour as direct support for co-headliners and label mates Hypocrisy and Fleshgod Apocalypse. The tour kicks off on March 15th at the The Regent in Los Angeles and will make stops in Richmond, Toronto and New York before concluding in Oakland, CA on April 15th.

March
15 - Los Angeles, CA - The Regent
16 - San Diego, CA - Brick by Brick
17 - Mesa, AZ - Club Red
19 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
20 - Denver, CO - Oriental Theater
21 - Kansas City, MO - Riot Room
22 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey Bar & Grill
23 - Austin, TX - Come and Take it Live!
24 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar
26 - Orlando, FL - The Haven
27 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
28 - Raleigh, NC - The Maywood
29 - Richmond, VA - Canal Club
30 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
31 - New York, NY - Gramercy Theatre

April
1 - Montreal, QC - Théâtre Corona
2 - Quebec City, QC - Imperial Bell
3 - Toronto, ON - Mod Club
5 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge
6 - Minneapolis, MN - Studio B
7 - Winnipeg, MB - Park Theatre
8 - Regina, SK - The Exchange
9 - Edmonton, AB - Starlite Room
10 - Calgary, AB - Dickens Pub
12 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre
13 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
14 - Portland, OR - Bossanova Ballroom
15 - Oakland, CA - Metro Opera House

Aenimus is:

Alex Green - Vocals
Sean Swafford - Guitar
Jordan Rush - Guitar
Seth Stone - Bass
Cody Pulliam - Drums

MEGADETH is teasing a special announcement that will be delivered on Friday, January 11 via the band's official web site and social media.

A 25-second video featuring a snippet of MEGADETH's classic track "Take No Prisoners" has been uploaded to the band's YouTube channel, leading some fans to speculate that the announcement will involve a reissue or event related to 1990's "Rust In Peace" album, on which the song originally appeared.

MEGADETH's landmark fourth LP, "Rust In Peace" was the band's first effort to feature the Dave Mustaine/Marty Friedman guitar team and is regarded as one of the most instrumentally complex and technically proficient metal releases in history.

Last fall, Mustaine discussed the making of "Rust In Peace" in a video to promote a new limited-edition pressing of the album on translucent blue 180-gram vinyl.

Speaking about the LP's musical makeup, Dave said: "The scope and the grandeur of the arrangements is something that I truly believe is beyond the scope of my little brain. And the playing is so... the caliber is so high that I believe if I was left on my own, I probably wouldn't have challenged myself so much."

Mustaine also gave credit to Friedman, who joined MEGADETH just prior to the album's recording.

"You have to add in the secret weapon — Marty Friedman came into the band," Mustaine said.

He continued: "When we auditioned him… we had been looking for years, and [we had] his little CDs on the table. I looked at it and Marty had black hair to here and orange hair down to here. I thought, 'He looks like a piece of Halloween candy'... I just thought it was goofy-looking, so I kept looking, kept looking, kept looking and I finally got mad and I said, 'Okay! Put that in there!' And he puts it in and I went [give a look of surprise], 'That guy wants to play with us?' He says, 'Oh yeah.' I said, 'Get him down here.' So we're playing along, the solo comes up, and [Marty] goes over there and I was like... [surprised] because... he did it... and no one was able to do that."

The official video for "Rock The Rock", the first new song from GUNS N' ROSES singer Axl Rose in 10 years, can be seen below. The track is featured in the TV show "New Looney Tunes", which airs on the Boomerang streaming service.

The episode, which premiered on December 24, features Axl as a character. In the clip called "Armageddon Outta Here, Part Two", Rose asks Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig and company how to get to the Civic Center, where he is scheduled to perform that night with his band STEEL UNDERPANTS. After the "Looney Tunes" characters tell Axl there is a giant asteroid heading towards earth, he informs them his new speakers can "shake mountains to the ground." Bugs then proposes that Rose play loud enough to destroy the asteroid before it can land, with the "Looney Tunes" gang serving as his backing band. The group then proceeds to play a song called "Rock The Rock", ultimately blowing up the asteroid and saving the world.

"Rock The Rock" is the first new recording from Rose since GUNS N' ROSES' latest studio album, "Chinese Democracy", which came out in 2008 and featured only Axl from the classic lineup. However, it appears that Axl did not contribute to the songwriting of "Rock The Rock". The song is registered on BMI as having been written by Joshua Funk and Rob Janas. Funk is an Emmy-nominated composer who has written music for Comedy Central's "Key & Peele", "Wabbit", "The New Looney Tunes", "Scooby Doo: Shaggy's Showdown", "Teachers" and NBC's "Red Nose Day".

Rose is known to be a fan of "Looney Tunes" — GUNS N' ROSES has used the original show's iconic theme song as intro music during its "Not In This Lifetime" reunion tour.

Joining Rose and guitarist Slash on the mammoth trek, which launched in 2016, are bassist Duff McKagan, drummer Frank Ferrer, keyboardist Dizzy Reed, guitarist Richard Fortus and second keyboardist Melissa Reese.

The last album on which Rose, McKagan and Slash appeared together was 1993's covers set "The Spaghetti Incident?"

Photo credit: Katarina Benzova

British band, Ewigkeit, will release DISClose on February 23rd digitally and on March 23rd on CD, via the label Death To Music. New video, "Guardians Of The High Frontier", is streaming below.

The theme of DISClose is inspired by the growing movement of modern Ufology as well as the push toward official testament and disclosure of an alien presence visiting our skies.

"I've always had a keen interest in UFOlogy," says Fogarty and continues to explain that "things have been really become active over the last 18 months." He assumes the reason being: "Aside from revelations about multiple exoplanets, the passing of massive interstellar object Oumuamua and revelations of the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, there has also been the planned launch of the U.S. government's 'Space Force'." Fogarty honestly believes that "we are on the cusp of the official confirmation of intelligent Extraterrestrial life, perhaps of a form that is genuinely threatening to our own - and it is this hypothetical conflict that I wrote the song 'Guardians of the High Frontier' about."

The video has been animated by Fogarty with the help of Jessica Tilley and Lenny Bridgeman.

Ewigkeit is the ever-changing project of British multi-instrumentalist James Fogarty (In The Woods, Old Forest, Jaldaboath and others). Starting off as a black metal project in the mid 90s, the project has veered from symphonic black mMetal to industrial to 70's space rock and back again in the many years of it's on / off existence. The project has dealt with various themes over this time - whatever has been the current interest of it's creator.

DISClose is the 8th album; this has the greatest audio 'density' of all the releases, and sees the guitar settle somewhere around a baritone middle ground of early death doom and modern extreme metal topped with memorable riffs. The vocals are a mix of blackened metal and clean harmonies, not unlike those on the new In The Woods album (which was recorded simultaneous to this). The keyboards again add an ambience and space that is common to all Ewigkeit releases. DISClose is the strongest and most coherent album since 2005’s Conspiritus album (Earache).

The theme of this album is inspired by the growing movement of modern Ufology and the push toward official testament and disclosure of an alien presence visiting our skies: "Beyond the Black Majestic coven of 12 lie the secrets of flying saucery - the time to Disclose the truth of the Alien presence on Earth is upon us."

Cover artwork is designed exclusively for Death To Music productions by graphic artist Lenny Bridgeman. Album mastering was completed by Frederic Gervais of Studio Henosis.

DISClose is available to pre-order now from deathtomusic.com, and will be released digitally across all platforms to buy & stream on February 23rd, and on CD on March 23rd.

Tracklisting:

"1947"
"Disclosure"
"Oppenheimer's Lament"
"Guardians Of The High Frontier"
"Resonance"
"KRLLL"
"Moon Monolith"

"Guardians Of The High Frontier" video:

Teaser:

(Photo - Jessica Tilley)

St. Louis underground prog heroes Pavlov's Dog have released a video for the track "Paris," taken from their new album Prodigal Dreamer, released through Rockville Records.

Filmed live at Voorhuit in Ghent, Belgium at the final show of the band's Pampered Menial and Beyond 2018 European tour on November 14th, the song, written by David Surkamp and Douglas Rayburn is, according to Surkamp, "simply a song about the beauty of the City of Lights." 

Produced and directed by Manfred Ploetz, the audio mix for "Paris" was done by Matthias Lingenfelder and Andreas Weimann handled the film recording and editing.

Prodigal Dreamer can be found in all good record stores as well as iTunes and Amazon.

Germany's Oomph! will release their new album, Ritual, on January 18th via Napalm Records. The band have released a music video for the album opener, "Tausend Mann und ein Befehl".

A message from the band states: "We are very excited to show you our brand new video for "Tausend Mann und ein Befehl"! This song is about the tragedy of blindly following orders during warfare. Without a strict hierarchy most wars would certainly not happen."

Since their founding back in 1990, Oomph! have been leaders in the scene and have created their very own version of hard rock music. Along their journey they were never afraid of fusing any influences. This courage was rewarded by creating their own niche between metal, industrial, EBM and gothic. They have shaped a new musical genre in Germany with bands such as Rammstein, who have named Oomph! as one of their influences.

"Our most aggressive, heaviest and darkest album in a while," singer Dero says in regards to the upcoming Ritual album.

The band states: "This album contains 100% Oomph! We wrote, produced and mixed everything in our own recording studio! We used our time in between two tours to get some fresh and very inspiring impact of the recent live experiences and composed the majority of the songs in jam sessions all together. That probably explains why the songs on Ritual are hard, riff-heavy and dark. The album artwork brilliantly supports the mystical character of our songs and lyrics and leaves plenty of scope for own interpretations."

Pre-order Ritual here.

Ritual tracklisting:

"Tausend Mann und ein Befehl"
"Achtung! Achtung!"
"Kein Liebeslied"
"Trümmerkinder"
"Europa" (feat. Chris Harms / Lord Of The Lost)
"Im Namen des Vaters"
"Das Schweigen der Lämmer"
"TRRR - FCKN - HTLR"
"Phönix aus der Asche"
"Lass' die Beute frei"
"Seine Seele"
"In der Stille der Nacht" (Bonus Track)
"Lazarus" (Bonus Track)
"TRRR - FCKN - HTLR" (Lord of The Lost Remix) (Bonus Track)

"Kein Liebeslied" lyric video:

"Kein Liebeslied" track-by-track video:

(Photo - Heilemania)

2018 will go down in the history as an important year for Finnish folk metal superstars, Korpiklaani. The band celebrated its 15th anniversary, released their 10th album, Kulkija, and finally wrapped up the year with a successful North American tour in December.

2019 will be just as busy. The band will start the year with an 8-date Finnish tour and will be joined on stage with a brass section from Lahti Sinfonia. With Korpiklaani attracting a wide and varied audience, it is especially nice that the tour includes also two all-ages shows at Nosturi in Helsinki and Finlandia Klubi in Lahti. The show in Helsinki will be opened by Waltari and the Norwegian Trollfest, while all Finnish shows will also be supported by Profane Omen who recently released their album, Ooka.

After the Finnish tour, Korpiklaani will continue their worldwide Kulkija tour with a month-long European run with Turisas and Trollfest, and in May, the band will once again head down to Australia and New Zealand.

Find the band's live itinerary here.

Just recently, Pyynikin Craft Brewery unveiled a tasty Korpiklaani lager and to celebrate this occasion, the band will release a special tour edition of their new album Kulkija ("Wanderer"), which doesn't only include the regular songs, but also a bonus CD titled Beer Beer. This disc, only available in the physical package, includes 14 versions of Korpiklaani's iconic song "Beer Beer", graced by the likes of Christopher Bowes (Alestorm), Steve "Zetro" Souza (Exodus), Andreas "Gerre" Geremia (Tankard), Jesper Anastasiadis (Turisas), Trollfest, Heidevolk, and many more of their friends' bands and musicians.

The first taster is released today in the form of a lyric video for "Beer Beer" and you can listen to the track with Christopher Bowes, below. Download or stream the single here.