In 2016, Within Temptation performed at the 013 in Tilburg, Netherlands, as part of their annual Black X-mas show.

A message from the band: "Since we are not doing a Black X-Mas show this year, we do want to give you a Black X-Mas treat: we are wrapping up this year with 12 live videos each day until X-Mas! But that’s not all. We will also look back on all our highlights of 2018! Want to join our feast?"

Watch the band perform "Covered By Roses" live at Black X-Mas 2016, below:

"All I Need":

"Mother Earth":

"Stairway To The Skies":

Watch more footage from Black X-Mas 2016:

"The Other Half (Of Me)":

"Poison":

"Sabbath Bloody Sabbath":

"Frozen":

"Stand My Ground":

Within Temptation recently announced their 2019 North American tour plans. The band will embark on a tour of the US and Canada this coming winter. The tour kicks off February 28th in Baltimore and runs through March 19th in Los Angeles. The trek makes several stops in Canada.

Special guests will be In Flames and Smash Into Pieces. All confirmed tour dates are below.

February
28 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live

March
1 - Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore
2 - New York, NY - Playstation Theater
3 - Boston, MA - House of Blues
5 - Montreal, QC - Olympia
6 - Toronto, ON - Rebel
8 - Chicago, IL - House of Blues
9 - Minneapolis, MN - Skyway Theater
11 - Denver, CO - The Summit
12 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
14 - Portland, OR - Roseland Ballroom
15 - Vancouver, BC - The Vogue Theater
16 - Seattle, WA - Showbox SODO
18 - San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
19 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern Theater

The band will now release its new album, Resist, on February 1st via Spinefarm/Universal Music in North America. Pre-order the album here.

Resist marks a departure from the Within Temptation's past. The record is armed with 10 anthemic tracks, driven by grand melodies and dark hooks. It brings a futuristic take on metal to the table - both instrumentally and thematically.

"Resist is a true milestone for us. If it wasn't for Resist, Within Temptation wouldn't be here anymore," the band stated.

"With this record, we've taken inspiration from modern music and gave it a face - a very dark one," said singer Sharon den Adel. "Sometimes, it feels that today's pop music lacks a rebellious edge. Our main goal was to collect pieces from sounds we did like and roughen it up as much as we could, resulting in a surprisingly new musical world that is heavier, dirtier and more futuristic than we’ve ever created before. Resist is our take on metal in a new way: to give modern music its rebellious edge.”

Resist tracklisting:

"The Reckoning" (feat. Jacoby Shaddix)
"Endless War"
"Raise Your Banner" (feat. Anders Fridén)
"Supernova"
"Holy Ground"
"In Vain"
"Firelight" (feat. Jasper Steverlinck)
"Mad World"
"Mercy Mirror"
"Trophy Hunter"

"Firelight" (feat. Jasper Steverlinck):

"Raise Your Banner" (feat. Anders Fridén) lyric video:

"The Reckoning" video "making of":

"The Reckoning" video:

"The Reckoning" lyric video:

According to a recent tweet by drummer/vocalist Deen Castronovo (THE DEAD DAISIES, ex-JOURNEY), REVOLUTION SAINTS — the melodic hard rock supergroup that also features bassist Jack Blades (NIGHT RANGER, DAMN YANKEES) and guitarist Doug Aldrich (THE DEAD DAISIES, BURNING RAIN, ex-WHITESNAKE) — will record their third album in 2019.

"Doug, Jack and I are gearing up for a new record with drum tracks being laid down end of March," Castronovo wrote on December 14.

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

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

REVOLUTION SAINTS is:

Deen Castronovo - drums, vocals
Jack Blades - bass, vocals
Doug Aldrich - guitar

Kevan Kenney of Build Series recently conducted an interview with KORN guitarist Brian "Head" Welch and Brian's daughter Jennea. The discussion focused mostly on "Loud Krazy Love", the new documentary that details Brian and Jennea's relationship and Welch's time away from KORN. You can watch the entire chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On what inspired him to create a documentary about when he left KORN:

Brian: "It goes way back to 2005. When I left KORN, MTV actually came to me and they were starting a new spiritual show and they wanted to film my journey, so I was, like, 'Sure.' We went to Israel and they followed me to New York and different places where I was doing things. The show fell through and so I got all the footage. Fast-forward to about five years ago, 2012, 2013, I was going back to KORN and I Am Second, the producers of the film, along with [co-director] Scott Mayo, just thought it would be a great story — me going back to KORN. The first edit was two hours and 15 minutes. The story is about me going back to KORN, the first few moments. Then we watched it and we all had a 'a-ha' moment where it's, like, 'That's not the story. The story is the father and daughter.' They did another edit, took out almost an hour of the movie and made it about me and her. So we had to go find all old footage of her, like the swim meet and her being born. That stuff I didn't even know we had, 25 terabytes of footage and they found priceless footage."

On what the most unexpected challenge in becoming a parent was for Welch:

Brian: "Relationship with the marriage. It's hard, because you have different ways that you are brought up. And so you take that. We've got hard drives in our souls and our brains, and our parents — god help 'em; god help us — they do their best, but we're fragmented hard drives. So I think that, trying to work it out with her, how to be the best parents we could, but at the same time, we kept falling back into addiction, so that was really hard. She was easy, but when you throw my career into it, being gone. Like, we didn't have FaceTime. I couldn't look at my daughter [and say], 'I love you' every day. I couldn't even talk to her. She was a baby; she didn't know what a phone was. And so it was just extremely difficult to come off of tour. I remember [the] 'Family Values' [tour]… 'Follow The Leader' album came out with KORN, and it just blew up. [We were on] MTV every day; we were just bona-fide rock stars — mega rock stars. And so we were gone, and I would come back home, and I would try to hug her and she just ran to mom. She's, like, 'Who are you?' And so that broke my heart. A lot of that was very hard. But the diapers and all that stuff, taking her to the parks and dance class, that was great. She was a perfect little angel kid. She was just the sweetest thing ever."

On Jennea's memories of touring with KORN as a toddler:

Jennea: "I think a lot of them are bittersweet. A lot of the times, it felt like a playground every day. They took me everywhere. I have this memory of… we were somewhere in Europe and there was this giant playground — like, hundreds of kids, and it was amazing. It stuck with me forever. And so there was a lot of those memories. Even being at shows, it felt like a giant playground. There was a lot of 'dark.' I think when you're a kid — this may sound weird — you're a little more spiritually sensitive, I guess. I felt like some people, even if they didn't look like him — it's my dad; he looks normal to me — people felt dark sometimes and depressed or angry, and that would scare me or I would see women or parties and stuff."

Brian: "To that, you heard on the trailer, she said, 'There's naked chicks walking around.' And I'm, like, 'Where?' Wouldn't that be my luck? My kid's on tour. 'Cause there wasn't naked chicks around all the time. If there was something going on in the bus with one of the guys, but it was a thing where if the kids were around, there was even respect back then. So I'm, like, 'How could that happen?' But there was a lot of partying going on. So they might have transferred from one bus to the next, or from the dressing room to the bus or something. Oh, god help us. [Laughs] But everything worked out. That's rock and roll for you. But we're all mature now and it's different."

Jennea: "It made me who I am."

On the status of KORN's next studio album:

Brian: "The drums are done for the songs we have written. I bet you we're gonna write more, because the producer, he just does that. He's, like, 'We don't have enough. I don't think we have enough.' So, drums are done. We're working on guitars. I don't know how much we have left. But the bass is far from done. Vocals, we've been on for a little bit. But we have some surprises coming on this record that we're stoked [about]. I can't say nothing, man — I wish I could give you a hint — but [there are] some cool, fun surprises that I guarantee everyone will love."

"Loud Krazy Love" premiered December 14 on Showtime. Featuring exclusive access on tour and at home, as well as in-depth interviews with Brian, his family and his KORN bandmates, "Loud Krazy Love" subverts the standard sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll narrative to explore his identity as a father and the complicated relationship he shares with Jennea.

KORN's latest studio album, "The Serenity Of Suffering", was released in 2016.

SATYRICON frontman Sigurd "Satyr" Wongraven says that his EIBON project ultimately disintegrated as a result of Philip Anselmo's severe drug addiction.

The short-lived black metal supergroup, which featured Satyr alongside the PANTERA singer, DARKTHRONE's Fenriz and NECROPHAGIA's Kiljoy, contributed one song to Moonfog Records' (Satyr's label) "A Different Perspective" sampler nearly two decades ago and was working on a debut album, only to be shelved, never to be heard from again.

During a recent interview with Landry.Audio, Satyr was asked if he thinks there is any chance that EIBON could eventually be revived. "Every time when my brother Philip and I meet, we talk about it," he laughed (hear audio below). "So that's surely something that we would love to do. But it is hard to make that happen. I'm not really in touch with Fenriz, and nor is Philip. I guess Killjoy of NECROPHAGIA didn't necessarily… I don't know if he… In terms of lyrics, that was pretty much Philip, for the most part, and in terms of music, that was 95 percent me, if not more.

"Being brutally honest, Philip and I could do EIBON without Fenriz and without our late brother Killjoy, but I think that we should have finished it when we were working on this back in the late '90s [and] early 2000s," he continued. "But, frankly speaking, it was Philip's addiction at the time that ruined this whole project. That's all there is to it. [We] can talk about this and that, but that's what it comes down to. At the time, he was beyond fucked up. Yeah, but he really was. We were in the studio trying to do things. I'd come out from the recording room, [and] I'd find him lying, passed out on pills, heroin, whatever, on the floor, with his entourage surrounding him, not wanting to interfere or do anything that could offend him, because he was the big guy. And then I'd be thinking to myself, 'What the hell is this? I love this guy and he's a great musician, but I'm a black metal guy; I'm not a PANTERA fan. And when I travel from the other side of the world to come work, I'm here to work, not to do drugs.' So, for me, that was a deeply frustrating period that really upset me. But I consider Philip one of my very best friends and an outstanding musician, so, in one way or another, I would love to do more music with Philip at some point, that's for sure."

Asked if he knew Anselmo for a long time before they decided to collaborate on an album, Satyr said: "No, I didn't. And perhaps if I would have, maybe things would have been a little bit easier. I can't remember if it was '98 or '99 where I got to know him. It might have been '98, I suppose. And then we were on tour with [PANTERA] in 2000. I have to say this, though, about their music: in hindsight, I like it. I didn't like the music back then when we were actually on tour with them and had a lot to do with them, but in hindsight, I've grown to like their music. I think the [Abbott] brothers [Vinnie and Darrell], the way they interact musically, it's very intriguing. There's nothing quite like it. This rhythmical understanding that the Abbott brothers had is unique. And Dime's guitar playing is phenomenal, of course, but it's also… he [was] very creative from a rhythmical point of view. And I think Vince's way of playing drums and taking all the awkard timing of Dime's riffs and making it a little bit more powerful and straightforward with his drum arrangements was a unique quality that Vince had. And Rex [Brown] providing a strong backbone with his playing, and then Philip being just one of the most unique frontmen and singers in modern heavy metal history, I suppose."

Earlier this year, Anselmo admitted to Bardo Methodology that he "was still a pill-popping, druggard idiot who'd nod off mid-sentence" while he and Satyr were trying to work on EIBON in the studio. "But Satyr was always a hard worker; he was the guy who led," Philip said. "I found it interesting from a musician's standpoint. We played primitive black metal, so, in my opinion, the listener would consider what we were playing extremely simple… and it was — but I was made to play by the Norge rule of strumming with the wrist instead of down-picking on half-time parts, which is totally crazy in my mind. I tried explaining to a very willful Satyr that the downward chop sounds heavier than halftime-picking, but, alas, he was having none of it. [Laughs] So, despite the music's simplicity, it was a fresh, unexpected challenge within the genre. I fucking loved it! Damned cool experiences."

Asked what ultimately became of the project, Anselmo said: "There was a slight Norge fallout between the natives, and I didn't wanna get stuck in the middle of that particular fight. So, the band never materialized. All I have left is three poorly mummified-sounding songs, recorded and mixed terribly raw, with one song featuring place-keeper-style vocals. Hardly impressive."

Philip went on to say that he still keeps in touch with Satyr, although he hinted that he and the SATYRICON frontman weren't necessarily musically aligned. "Satyr kinda freaked me out back in the late 1990s to early 2000s with the type of bands he liked — especially U.S. acts who were popular at the time," Anselmo said. "I'll just leave it at that. I couldn't believe it. Terrible music taste, in my opinion, but music is subjective. Satyr always had big things on his mind, and there's a palpable hunger within him. I couldn't have predicted the direction they'd go in, but, truth be told, I played no role in the scribing of any SATYRICON record. That's all on them."

Philip Labonte says that ALL THAT REMAINS has not yet decided on a permanent replacement for guitarist Oli Herbert.

After Herbert died two months ago, the surviving ALL THAT REMAINS members recruited guitar virtuoso and YouTube personality Jason Richardson (ALL SHALL PERISH, CHELSEA GRIN, BORN OF OSIRIS) to join them on their just-completed European tour.

Asked by Metalshop TV if it's difficult for ALL THAT REMAINS to play shows in support of its latest album, "Victim Of The New Disease", without Oli or if they are treating each live performance as a celebration of the guitarist's life, Labonte said (see video below): "I think it's a mix of both. It is hard. Oli was in the band for 20 years. He was the only original member left that wasn't me. He was the first guy to play that position. We were only a four-piece before Oli joined the band. So it's weird. And it's hard. But it was important to us to keep going. For a little while, we had to kind of figure out what was best for us, and then we figured Oli lived and breathed metal and he loved playing shows and he loved writing and loved being creative, and he would have wanted people to hear the record, for sure. So we kind of felt like we had to — whether we felt comfortable with it or not. We were, like, 'Well, you really need to go ahead and buckle down and get out there and get used to the idea, because he would have wanted you to play these shows and he would have wanted you to go out there and keep going.'"

Philip was also asked if Jason is just a temporary replacement for Oli or if he will join ALL THAT REMAINS full time: "Right now he's just playing the [European] tour," the singer responded. "We haven't really discussed at length what is gonna happen after the tour and moving forward with ALL THAT REMAINS. So, for right now, he's filling in. It's possible that people will see him next year doing some stuff with us in the U.S. and stuff. So we'll probably discuss a significant future with Jason or what the band wants to do about a permanent replacement probably after the beginning of the year."

According to TMZ, police were dispatched to Herbert's Stafford Springs, Connecticut residence on October 16 after someone reported him missing. Cops searched the area and found the 44-year-old musician in a nearby pond. Sources told the Hartford Courant investigators are treating the death as suspicious.

Labonte said last month that he was "shocked" by Oli's death. "He was 44 years old, and he wasn't really a big partier," Labonte told Meltdown Of Detroit's WRIF radio station. "He would go hang out with people and stuff, but he didn't really do a lot of drinking… He didn't do drugs, he didn't really drink a lot. He would smoke pot once in a while, but that was the extent of it."

Herbert began playing guitar at 14. He co-founded ALL THAT REMAINS with Labonte in 1998.

ALL THAT REMAINS has released nine studio albums, a live CD/DVD, and has sold more than one million records worldwide.

Tommy Lee has once again slammed President Donald Trump, saying the former host of NBC's reality show "The Apprentice" is an "asshole" whose supporters are "dumbasses."

The MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer's comments came as an apparent reaction to the partial federal government shutdown which began late Friday night. The third government shutdown of the year happened after the president issued an ultimatum to Congress to fund construction of his promised U.S.-Mexico border wall, the primary point of contention for Democrats.

Lee took to his Twitter account earlier today (Saturday, December 22) to write: "Hey @realDonaldTrump our beautiful country is not a reality show! Go back to hosting the Apprentice!!! Gtfoh"

After one apparent Trump supporter responded, "Got beat your drums or your meat. Make good choices.", Lee fired back, tweeting: "That's the problem ....all you Dumbasses who can't spell love this asshole"

This is not the first time Lee has been critical of Trump. A year ago, he called the president "a fucking idiot" and said the people who voted for him are "dickheads."

After Trump was elected president in November 2016, Lee expressed his disbelief on Twitter, writing: "What the actual fuck is happening?"

Just last month, Tommy lambasted Trump for blaming California's recent wildfires on poor forest management. "Can you be anymore insensitive you fucking moron" Lee tweeted.

Lee admitted in a 2008 interview with CNN that he was not a political junkie and he rarely watched television or listened to news reports. "Man, tell you the truth, I only listen to music," he said.

Tommy and his MÖTLEY CRÜE bandmates recently recorded four new songs for the film adaptation of the band's biography, "The Dirt - Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band", which will be reportedly be released in March. The movie, which is being helmed by "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa" director Jeff Tremaine, was picked up by Netflix after being previously developed at Focus Features and before that at Paramount.

Fan-filmed video footage of OPERATION: MINDCRIME, the band led by former QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate, performing on December 19 at Cacaofabriek in Helmond, The Netherlands can be seen below.

For most of 2018, Tate has celebrated the 30th anniversary of QUEENSRŸCHE's "Operation: Mindcrime" by playing the iconic concept album live in its entirety.

The "Mindcrime" live set covers all 15 songs from the album including such fan favorites as "Revolution Calling", "Operation: Mindcrime", "I Don't Believe In Love" and the closing track, "Eyes Of A Stranger".

His current touring band features Kieran Robertson from Scotland on guitar, Bruno Sa from Brazil on keyboards, Jack Ross from Scotland on bass, Scott Moughton from Canada on guitar, Josh Watts from England on drums and Geoff Tate's daughter Emily, who is singing the parts of Sister Mary.

Geoff told the Reno, Nevada radio station 105.7 KOZZ about performing "Operation: Mindcrime" in full on tour to commemorate its 30th anniversary: "I have to say, this tour especially has been really an interesting time for me, because I kind of got to take a step back from the album, looking at it with different eyes. I've got a really young band of musicians who are playing with such enthusiasm and passion, and I'm listening to all the stories from the audience members and people who have been affected by the album over the years, and really hearing a cross-section of what the album has meant to people. It's very humbling, and I'm very grateful for all the attention the album has and how strongly people feel about it. It's fantastic."

OPERATION: MINDCRIME has released three albums over three years as part of a trilogy: "The Key" (September 2015), "Resurrection" (September 2016) and "The New Reality" (December 2017).

On December 22nd, Helloween capped off their wildly successful Pumpkins United tour - which saw vocalist Michael Kiske and founding guitarist Kai Hansen rejoin the band, making them a seven-piece outfit - in their home town of Hamburg, Germany at the Sporthalle. Fan-filmed video is available below.

Back in August, Helloween made the following announcement:

"Among the massive Pumpkins United World Tour’s absolute open air highlights were, of course, the headliner slots at Wacken, Barcelona’s Rock Fest and Masters of Rock - but also the mega gigs with Iron Maiden at Sweden Rock Festival and Florence’s Firenze Rocks in June definitely were shows for all eternity.

"For those who mysteriously missed the tour, goosebumps footage of the Pumpkins United World Tour will be released as a live CD as well as on DVD and Blu-ray beginning of 2019! As of now, the wait until the release can be shortened with a stream of the full Wacken show at Magenta Music 360 right here.

"As we are still indulging in the Wacken encore or preparing for the show in Las Vegas/ USA, those maniacs are already launching the next sensation: For starters, Nuclear Blast has insisted to keep the band on their roster for a few more years, and - double bass drum roll - there’ll actually be a brand-new studio album with (vocalist Michael) Kiske and (guitarist Kai) Hansen. When the band around songwriting trio (Michael) Weikath, Hansen and (Andy) Deris will be retreating to the studio together with these two exceptional singers in 2019, it’s clear that the album scheduled for 2020 will be no less than EPIC. If this news doesn’t make you go all dewy, your proper rock baptism might not have happened yet - the rest of us are way over the moon as of now, because: THE PUMPKINS UNITED DREAM CONTINUES!

"Thanks to everyone who has been with us until now!"

German metalcore crushers Callejon will release their new album, Hartgeld Im Club, through Century Media On January 4th, 2019. They have released an official lyric video for "Porn From Spain 3" featuring a guest appearance by Body Count frontman Ice-T. Check it out below.

For information and updates on Callejon go to their official Facebook page here.

Body Count released a video for their track "All Love Is Lost" earlier this year featuring Max Cavalera, which is featured on the band's 2017 full-length, Bloodlust.

Co-written by Max Cavalera (Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy), "All Love Is Lost" delves into the intense feelings one has after a betrayal of trust by a loved one. Commingling his acting and music career, Ice-T enlisted his Law And Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC) co-star Kelly Giddish to play the vindictive lead.

The new video, directed by Jay Rodriguez, can be seen below.

Previously posted Body Count videos, for the Bloodlust tracks "This Is Why We Ride", “Raining In Blood / Postmortem”, and “Here I Go Again”, are available below:

Find Body Count's live itinerary here.

GHOST has just wrapped up its hugely successful "A Pale Tour Named Death" North American tour. A video for the song "Faith", directed by Bill Yukich, with photography by Ryan Chang, was shot at various stops along the way and can be seen below.

The North American trek visited nearly 40 cities, including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Toronto.

GHOST has been touring in support of its latest album, "Prequelle", which came out in June.

GHOST leader Tobias Forge performed as a "new" Papa Emeritus on each of the band's first three albums, with each version of Papa replacing the one that came before it. Papa Emeritus III was retired in favor of Cardinal Copia before the release of "Prequelle".

"Prequelle" debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and features the chart-topping rock single "Rats". The disc was tracked last year at Artery studios in Stockholm with producer Tom Dalgety (OPETH, ROYAL BLOOD) and mixed in January at Westlake Studios in West Hollywood, California with Andy Wallace (NIRVANA, SLAYER).

Earlier this month, GHOST nabbed two new Grammy nominations, "Best Rock Album" for "Prequelle" and Best Rock Song for "Rats". The latest nods took place nearly three years after GHOST became the first Swedish rock band ever to win a Grammy Award — 2016's "Best Metal Performance" for the song "Cirice".

Danish/American rock 'n' rollers VOLBEAT have entered the studio to begin recording their new album for a tentative early 2019 release. Guitarist Rob Caggiano told Loudwire about the follow-up to 2016's "Seal The Deal & Let's Boogie": "It's definitely not going to be the same thing as the last record or the record before it. It'll be slightly different. Obviously, we're right smack in the middle of it right now, so it's hard to say, but [it] definitely has a big rock feel to it, which I think is a cool thing."

According to Caggiano, VOLBEAT still has "tons of stuff to do" in the studio for the upcoming album. "We're right in the middle of it right now," he repeated.

This past summer, VOLBEAT frontman Michael Poulsen was asked by Greece's "TV War" if the new song "The Everlasting", which the band has been performing at some of its recent live shows, is indicative of the direction of the group's next studio album. He responded: "The last album turned out to be more like a rock album. And you can have certain ideas when you sit down and write your songs, and going through the material that what kind of direction you're going, but at the end of the day, when I write, everything changes every day.

"When we go to the rehearsal room, you can have a certain feeling about, 'This is a keeper. This is a song that's gonna end up on the album,'" he continued. "And then five or six rehearsals later, it goes, 'Oh, that doesn't work.' So we skip a lot of material to get to the right songs, where we feel, 'This seems right.' Because, at the end of the day, it has to be fun to play in the rehearsal room, and it has to be fun playing it two hundred times. And it has to be fun to record it, and it has to be fun to go on the road and play it live.

"The new song, 'The Everlasting', definitely has a heavy touch, but it's impossible for me to say if that's the direction for the next album.

"Lemmy actually said it the best way. There was a guy interviewing Lemmy from MOTÖRHEAD. [The interviewer] said, 'So you released a new album. It pretty much sounds like all the other MOTÖRHEAD albums.' And he said, 'Well, thank you very much. Because the last time I checked, I was still in MOTÖRHEAD.'

"When you have that signature sound, it's so much in your DNA how to write songs and how you sound like. But we're still in the process where we can develop the VOLBEAT style and progress the VOLBEAT style."

Asked if VOLBEAT has plans to invite guest musicians to appear on its next album, Poulsen said: "When it comes to guests, it's always about when we write the songs that when you keep on playing them in the rehearsal room, sometimes you hear different singers or guitar players or musicians being on top of that. [You think] 'Wow, this could be amazing with Danko Jones,' or, 'This could be amazing with Mille from KREATOR,' or something like that, or Barney from NAPALM DEATH. So we've never really been writing stuff where we sit down and say, 'Who are we gonna bring to this album?' and then we write the song. We always write the material and then listen to the songs and see if it could fit other artists out there. But we do have plans for certain guests that we're flirting with a little bit right now. Some of them are already installed; others we just have to wait and see. I can't say anything, because it can change. So who knows?"

VOLBEAT bassist Kaspar Boye Larsen confirmed to France's Loud TV that the band's upcoming LP is once again being produced by the group's longtime collaborator Jacob Hansen.

"Seal The Deal & Let's Boogie" arrived in June 2016 and featured the chart-topping "Black Rose" and "The Devil's Bleeding Crown", in addition to the Top Five title track.

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Chile's premier metal export CRIMINAL has announced the addition of drummer Danilo Estrella to the group's ranks. Estrella replaces Zac O'Neil, who left the band amicably over a year ago.

"We know many of you were waiting for an explanation as to what happened with Zac," states band leader Anton Reisenegger, "especially considering he had been in the band for 16 years. The simple truth is he didn't want to tour and was not into it anymore, so we had no choice but looking for a replacement.

"I know in an ideal world you would like your band to keep a constant lineup, which has proven difficult for CRIMINAL," elaborates Reisenegger, "but life has many twists and turns, and in the end, you've got to do what you've got to do in order to keep the machine rolling.

"Sergio suggested we try Danilo, whom he had known for years, from when they were in music school together. We made him jump in at the deep end, having to learn a whole set of songs and play live with just a couple of rehearsals, and he totally nailed it. For a while, we hesitated to make him an official member, but after we started working on new material, it became clear that he was ideal for the job. His youth, talent and enthusiasm are exactly what the band needs right now.

"We have already written three songs for a new album, and we are super excited about them. They are simpler in riffing and structure than our past few records, but we feel they connect with the band's beginnings while taking us to an entirely new place musically."

Danilo, who has already gained experience with bands such as TIMECODE and FORAHNEO, commented: "CRIMINAL is one of my favorite bands, and I've been listening to them for over two decades. It's an honor for me to be playing music with such great guys and excellent musicians. It's incredible for me to be typing these words, but it's true, now I'm a CRIMINAL!!!"

With the addition of Estrella, the CRIMINAL lineup is now three fourths Chilean again.

The band will enter the studio in the summer to record the follow-up to 2016's "Fear Itself". The new record will be released by Metal Blade Records towards the end of 2019.

Industrial metal pioneers MINISTRY were joined by JANE'S ADDICTION guitarist Dave Navarro and Chris Connelly for an acoustic performance of their early song "(Every Day Is) Halloween" at their two Los Angeles shows at the Fonda Theatre on Thursday, December 20 and Friday, December 21.

Although MINISTRY leader Al Jourgensen claimed at Thursday's concert that the band had never played the song live before, Setlist.fm contradicts that statement, listing 11 performances of the song in the band's early career, most recently in 1987.

MINISTRY will enter the studio in early 2019 to begin recording the follow-up to this year's "AmeriKKKant" album. Jourgensen told Consequence Of Sound in a new interview: "This [fall] tour pretty much closes out our touring on 'AmeriKKKant', and then we immediately, as of the first of the year, go into starting to record the new MINISTRY record. I have a studio in my house that is currently under construction to make it ready for next year. So when I go back, we'll go right into production on a new MINISTRY record and just record for, like, the next six months — very similar to what we did for [1988's] '[The Land Of] Rape And Honey' — and just record a bunch."

Last month, Jourgensen told Billboard that he was back on speaking terms with his former MINISTRY bandmate Paul Barker. "We're actually talking about doing something in the very near future," Jourgensen said, "so who knows what may pop up on the next MINISTRY album. That's really gonna get the old-school crowd going."

Barker was with MINISTRY from 1986 to 2003 and was the sole other constant member of the band through that time. He left after touring to support the "Animositisomina" album.

Released this past March, "AmeriKKKa" was produced by Jourgensen and was recorded at Caribou Studios in Burbank, California. The artwork was created by Mister Sam Shearon.

Former FREHLEY'S COMET members John Regan (bass), Tod Howarth (guitar/lead vocals) and Richie Scarlet (guitar/lead vocals) have joined forces with former ACE FREHLEY drummer Steve Werner in RETURN OF THE COMET.

Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley, Regan and world-renowned drummer Anton Fig formed FREHLEY'S COMET in 1984. The band went on to sell well over 1.5 million albums and had multiple MTV music videos in heavy rotation from 1987 to 1990.

Now for the first time ever, FREHLEY'S COMET alumni Regan, Howarth and Scarlet, along with Werner, will celebrate their writing, recording, touring and co-production contributions to the FREHLEY'S COMET legacy by performing the hits and classics from the FREHLEY'S COMET catalog and more under the name RETURN OF THE COMET.

RETURN OF THE COMET is:

* John Regan (FREHLEY'S COMET, ACE FREHLEY, PETER FRAMPTON) - bass
* Tod Howarth (FREHLEY'S COMET, CHEAP TRICK, TED NUGENT) - guitar/lead vocals
* Richie Scarlet (FREHLEY'S COMET, ACE FREHLEY, MOUNTAIN) - guitar/lead vocals
* Steve "Budgie" Werner (ACE FREHLEY, LESLIE WEST, HINDENBERG) - drums

Scarlet was in FREHLEY'S COMET from 1984 to 1985 and played in three of the band's seven different lineups. Howarth was in FREHLEY'S COMET from 1986 to 1988 and was in the group's last three lineups. Both Frehley and Regan were members of FREHLEY'S COMET for the duration of the band's four-year existence.

Frehley told Ultimate Classic Rock that the keyboards on FREHLEY'S COMET's debut album were a result of "Howarth's influence." He explained: "I tried to keep the keyboards to a minimum, because I'm really not a keyboard guy. KISS never really used them, except on a couple of songs. I always wanted to follow the same direction with my career as I had with KISS musically. It was almost like I had to fight to keep more keyboards off the record, because I was there with three other band members and my producer."

In a 2017 interview with the Poughkeepsie Journal, Regan — who met Frehley in the mid-1980s at a friend's recording studio in White Plains, New York — described Ace as "a kook, in a good sense. In a world full of copies, he's a one-off. He's an original."

Frehley reunited with Regan and Howarth to perform the songs "Rock Soldiers" and "Cold Gin" during his September 2017 concert in Poughkeepsie, New York. Fan-filmed video footage can be seen below.

Boston metalcore band ICE NINE KILLS has released the delightfully devious, holiday-and-horror-themed new video for the song "Merry Axe-Mas".

Singer Spencer Charnas states: "'Silent Night, Deadly Night' is one of my all-time favorite slasher flicks. In our song and video for 'Merry Axe-Mas', I wanted to pay tribute to the film's brilliant combination of sleaze, holiday cheer, absurdity, and vicious gore. Released in 1984 at the height of the '80s slasher craze, the film's axe-wielding-Santa marketing campaign threw uptight parents and the PC police into an unholy rage."

He adds: "Angered families staged protests in front of theaters and PTA groups across the country petitioned for the film's banishment. TriStar Pictures subsequently caved and 'Silent Night, Deadly Night' was pulled from theaters after only one week. However, all the negative publicity only fueled the forbidden fruit factor and the infamous film quickly gained cult status. This story just goes to show you that if you try and suppress something, it's only more likely to rear its (decapitated) head."

ICE NINE KILLS's latest album, "The Silver Scream", was released on October 5 via Fearless Records. All of the album's 13 anthems are based on 13 respective horror classics.

ICE NINE KILLS — Spencer Charnas (vocals), Justin DeBlieck (vocals, guitar, orchestration) and Justin Morrow (guitar, bass) — hit the studio with producer Drew Fulk (MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, AS I LAY DYING) in Los Angeles in early 2018 and recorded "The Silver Scream".

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IMPERIA — which is fronted by Norwegian singer Helena Iren Michaelsen (the original vocalist of the Dutch band SAHARA DUST, which later changed its name to EPICA) — will release its fifth studio album, "Flames Of Eternity", on February 22, 2019 via Massacre Records. It will be available as CD digipak, limited-edition vinyl LP, stream and download.

The mix and mastering was once again put into the magical hands of Jacob Hansen, while Jan Yrlund himself is responsible for the album's artwork.

Guest musicians on the album include Oliver Philipps (EVERON), original bandmember John Stam as well as the Finnish violin virtuoso Henrik Perelló.

"Flames Of Eternity" is a strong album, whose songs will take you on an intense ride through all different kinds of human emotions.

The first digital single from the album is expected to be released in January 2019.

KISS frontman Paul Stanley has entered the studio with his R&B band SOUL STATION to record a full-length album.

On December 19, Stanley tweeted a photo of him and what appears to be more than half a dozen other musicians in the studio and wrote in an accompanying caption: "A SOUL STATION ALBUM! Wow! Having a ball. Horns and strings next."

Stanley spoke to Rock Cellar Magazine about how the idea for SOUL STATION first came about. He said: "Well, my roots are much more broad and varied than some people might realize. This is funny; I was having tea with Jimmy Page in London and we were talking about this. I said, 'Before I ever saw [LED] ZEPPELIN or THE WHO or any of those bands, I saw Otis Redding. I saw Solomon Burke. I saw THE TEMPTATIONS.' So it's very much a part of my DNA. Motown and Philly soul and Stax/Volt, all that music is really, unfortunately too nostalgic at this point and used too often for loops and samples as opposed to hearing a great song. What's missing nowadays so much is great live performances of that material. What's being passed off now as R&B is usually a computer and a drum machine. For a while, I thought about that, and I had an opportunity a few years ago to put together something that was in essence SOUL STATION. We did a couple of private shows and we all looked at each other said, 'Why aren't we doing more of this?' It's great to have that coming from people who are not only in demand but working all the time with Stevie Wonder or Smokey [Robinson] or Pink or John Mayer. These are real crème de la creme players but everybody has the same passion for this music. To be able to recreate it, not in a sterile way but with the same passion and intensity that it was made with is something that we all feel very close to."

Asked what the greatest challenges are that he faces in delivering this material in a live setting, Paul said: "There's a big weight on my shoulders because I'm singing songs by some legends, and if I can't deliver them, I shouldn't be doing them. So if I'm gonna sing Smokey or if I'm gonna sing Al Green or David Ruffin or Eddie Kendricks, you'd better be on-point or you shouldn't be doing it, plus the rest of the band is so damn good. They have played with Smokey, they've played with Stevie Wonder, with Natalie Cole, they've played with Whitney Houston and John Mayer and with Carlos Santana; I mean, the list goes on and on. For us all to be together as peers and be creating something this exciting, everybody on stage is smiling. We're all just caught up in the moment. To hear Crystal [Starr] sing 'I Want You Back' is just mind-boggling. Her dad was a backup singer for Jackie Wilson. Everybody's got their roots. From the get-go, anybody I ever called to be a part of this immediately said, 'I'm in!' just to have the opportunity to recreate and revive these songs; you don't get that chance."

SOUL STATION made its live debut in September 2015 at West Hollywood, California's The Roxy Theatre. The ten-piece band also features KISS drummer Eric Singer.

Professionally filmed video footage of SOUL STATION performing the Smokey Robinson and THE MIRACLES classic "The Tracks Of My Tears" at The Roxy can be seen below.

Currently, it’s trendy for many indie and underground bands to release their music on dead media like cassettes, but Lords Of The Trident has taken it one step further. Their latest video for the song “Chasing Shadows” off of their latest album Shadows From The Past is being released exclusively as a game that actually works on the SEGA CD console.

The video game console, popular from 1991 - 1996 has been out of production for nearly 20 years, but that doesn’t stop vocalist Fang VonWrathenstein from collecting Sega CD games and memorabilia. As luck would have it, one of the producers from Digital Pictures - a company responsible for the production of a number of Full Motion Video (FMV) games - is a huge fan of Lords Of The Trident. After numerous talks, he was able to recruit some of his former Digital Pictures colleagues and the idea to craft the game was set in motion.

The band and the crew worked in secret for numerous months to create a “Make My Music Video” game for the system. These types of games were also created for Kris Kross, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, and INXS. Much of the backbone for previous Digital Pictures games (such as the controversial hit “Night Trap”) was used to create the game. “The real trick was making the console display widescreen,” Tom Zito the executive producer writes. “The old games were used to a smaller, non-widescreen display, so a lot of that had to be written from the ground up.”

To add to its exclusivity, only five official copies were ever created, and the music video can only be seen by playing the game, or by watching various playthroughs online. One copy of the game went to Pennsylvania-based YouTube gaming channel Halberd, run by the power metal vocalist Lee Prisby of the band Klaymore (and his video game channel Halberd). Another went to Ryan Schremp, a personal friend of the band and owner of the popular blog Topless Robot. A third copy made its way to long-time friends of the band, Guys Games and Beer.

The Lords Of The Trident have also posted their own playthrough video, demonstrating the game achieving a perfect 100% score. On the SEGA CD version there are a number of different levels of playthroughs available that correspond to other previously-published Lords Of The Trident music videos, but as of yet, no channels have posted them.

"It's a dream come true for us (me, specifically) to have our very own Sega CD game. I'd like to thank Tom Zito and the rest of the guys at Digital Pictures for pursuing this crazy idea of ours. I can tell you I've already played the crap out of this game, and although we can't make more copies for wider release, at the very least you can watch our 100%ed playthrough online!" says vocalist Fang VonWrathenstein.

In additional news, Lords Of The Trident recently announced their first quest of 2019 will be for The Metal, Spikes, And Chicken-Fried Steak Tour with A Sound Of Thunder. The metal warriors will be performing four dates kicking off the first in Cincinnati on January 17th and wrapping up the crusade in Atlanta on January 20th.

Dates:

January
17 – Cincinnati, OH – Urban Artifact (LOTT only)
18 – Charlotte, NC – The Milestone
19 – Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506
20 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade 

In additional news, the band recently released their limited edition Blood Red Vinyl for Shadows From The Past, which is a dual vinyl, 45RPM that comes with a Gatefold Booklet with artwork/lyric insert along with a 320kbps MP3 download card. It is exclusively available on the band's website here.

"This is our FIRST vinyl release, and we're incredibly excited to finally have this available! Fun fact: since this is the first press, instead of red dye, we used the blood of the unworthy who were slain at our concerts! Gives it a little extra touch!" says vocalist Fang Von Wrathenstein.”

Thrashers Hellnite have unleashed their second single "Phantom Force" off their forthcoming debut full-length Midnight Terrors slated for release February 12th, 2019, on Sliptrick Records. The track refers to the term “paralyzed dreams” where a person is awake/asleep and their body is physically paralyzed, but their mind is conscious. It is also known as a term for those who are superstitious and believe the body can suffer a spiritual possession by an evil entity while being awake yet numb. 

Vocalist/guitarist Paolo Belmar explains:

"'Phantom Force’ is basically about the fear of being possessed by that dark spirit. It represents that fight between you, your body and the spirit trying to possess it, the outro of the song is trying to achieve a progressive sound to compliment that sentiment."

Stream "Phantom Force" on Spotify.

Lyrically, the full-length is a paranormal and sci-fi themed concept album with influences from classic heroes such as Kreator, Slayer, Death; along with next generation thrash and heavy metal such as Havok and Skull Fist.

Belmar explains: “It’s basically an open door to the next stage of this project that I began in Mexico. I have been working on Midnight Terrors since 2014 and I think it will be well received from people who are into oldies and classic metal. I want to provoke curiosity with this album; my purpose is to catch people’s attention so they can follow the next movements of the band, which are going to be a little bit twisted in comparison with Midnight Terrors, and can't wait to share the next release after this one.”

Tracklisting:

"Projection"
"Phantom Force"
"Spirits Prevail"
"Beasts From The Deep"
"Thrash of The Living Dead"
"Darker Than Black"
"Stage On Fire"
"The Necromancer"
"Midnight Terror"

"Midnight Terrors" lyric video:

For further details, visit Hellnite on Facebook.

 

Austin, Texas-based multi-instrumentalist Mark Deutrom (Bellringer, ex-Melvins, Clown Alley) will release his highly anticipated new album The Blue Bird on January 4th, 2019 through Season Of Mist. Several pre-release singles and videos are now streaming, and preorders are available.

The first work under the Mark Deutrom name in almost six years, The Blue Bird is a full album listening experience; it explores melody, space, nuance, and volume as it flows from track-to-track like a prismatic audio storybook. From the classic unconventional heaviness of tracks such as "The Happiness Machine" to the fever dream haziness of the "Somnambulist" through the moody "They Have Won," Mark Deutrom moves from strength to strength without ever letting his foot off the gas. The Blue Bird is rock grandeur, oozing poise and purpose, and has all the hallmarks to be an abiding piece of heavy rock history.

Through thirteen diverse tracks, The Blue Bird delivers over fifty minutes of intoxicating, surreal, and spellbinding rock, with Mark Deutrom performing vocal, guitar, bass, keyboards, and more. Bellringer's live percussionist RL Hulsman (Robert Plant, Nashville Pussy, Tarbox Ramblers) handles the drums for the album, with guest drums/percussion and vibraphone on "Hell Is A City" and drums/percussion on "They Have Won" by Aaron Lack, upright bass on "Hell Is A City" and "They Have Won" by G. Pat Harris, and alto saxophone on "They Have Won" by Joe Morales. The album was recorded at Estuary Recording Facility in Austin, produced by Mark Deutrom, engineered by Chico Jones, with mixing and additional engineering by Chad Bamford, and mastering and additional engineering by Bernd Heinrauch. The bandleader's wife Jennifer Deutrom handled the album's cover art, photography, and video creation.

Set for release on Friday, January 4th, The Blue Bird is being issued on CD, LP, and all digital platforms, with each format featuring a slightly different track listing and arrangement. Season Of Mist also recently reissued Mark Deutrom's back-catalog including The Silent Treatment, The Value Of Decay, Brief Sensuality & Western Violence, and Bellringer on all platforms.

Following the release of The Blue Bird, Mark Deutrom and the Bellringer live lineup featuring drummer RL Hulsman and bassist Brian Ramirez will tour in support of the album. Watch for live actions to be announced shortly.

Tracklisting:

“No Space Holds The Weight”
“Futurist Manifesto”
“Radiant Gravity”
“O Ye Of Little Faith”
“Our Revels Now Are Ended”
“Hell Is A City”
“Somnabulist”
“Maximum Hemingway”
“Through The Ringing Cedars”
“They Have Won”
“On Father’s Day”
“The Happiness Machine”
“Nothing Out There”

“Maximum Hemingway” video:

“Nothing Out There”:

(Photo by: Jennifer Deutrom)

Philadelphia's progressive power metal outfit Mortanius are getting into the holiday cheer with their new lyric video for their cover of Wham's "Last Christmas". The track is one of five that will appear on the band's debut album Till Death Do Us Part that will be released on Rockshots Records on February 22nd, 2019 to follow EPs A Voice From Beyond (2016), Savage Garden (2015), and Ethereal Waltz (2014).

"With 'Last Christmas' we decided to emphasise the more melancholic nature of the lyrics while still keeping the ‘80s pop feel of the song. So instead of being a bouncy ‘80s pop song, it has become a slower ‘80s power ballad. The chorus is backed up by big choirs, and the guitar solo is very emotional." adds vocalist Lucas Flocco.

Mortanius, a progressive power metal band with symphonic and neo-classical elements was formed in 2013 by ex-Outlander vocalist Lucas Flocco and drummer Victor Cardone who were joined by guitarist Mike Gissi and bassist Jesse Shaw. From 2014 to 2016, the band recorded three EPs, each one steadily increasing the band's online presence and fan base. In 2016, after the release of their third and most successful EP at the time, A Voice From Beyond, drummer Victor Cardone departed from the band.

A year later in 2017, Mortanius returned to the studio to create their first full-length album, Till Death Do Us Part. Ollie Bernstein (Ousiodes) recorded all lead guitars on the album, while AJ Larsen (of Madison Rising, Vicious) handled rhythm guitar duties. Mortanius also reached out to renowned power metal singers, Leo Figaro (Minstrelix, Dragon Guardian) and Jonas Heidgert (Dragonland) to provide guest vocals. Till Death Do Us Part featured the longest production cycle out of any of Mortanius' previous releases, finally wrapping up production a year later, in the fall of 2018. This album features Mortanius' most fully fleshed out and dynamic compositions, tightest performances, and highest quality production to date. 

Vocalist Lucas Flocco comments:

"The album features a mixture of progressive and power metal. The songs all have melodic vocals that sing catchy lines. Choirs and harmonized vocals are featured heavily. Lead guitars shred fast and harmonized beautifully with each other, and the rhythm guitars are tight and intricate. Keyboards play an integral part to the sound of the album, providing atmospheric flavour and sometimes carrying the main melodies."

 

Tracklisting:

“Facing The Truth”
“Disengage”
“Jaded”
“Till Death Do Us Part”
“Last Christmas” (WHAM cover)

“Last Christmas”:

Brazilian metallers, Noturnall, have launched a video filmed at their Noturnall Freakshow! concert, which took place on April 24th at the Porto Seguro Theater in São Paulo, and featured Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie.

The night was marked not only by the participation of LaBrie, but also by a gala that impressed even those accustomed to overproductions of the kind that only happen at shows in Las Vegas.

The entire show was submerged in a dark and mysterious aura, plus all the songs bring tricks of illusion, performed by the band itself and produced behind the curtains by the great Brazilian magician, Wander Rabellow. Of course, a night like this could only be crowned with a recording of equally high quality. And that's what you see in the new video.

As usual, the production of audio and video was again the responsibility of the band itself and is jaw-dropping, in addition to the perfect marriage of the voices of both singer James, as well as the versatile and already "legendary" Thiago Bianchi, Noturnall's singer.

Hexvessel have released a new single, “Closing Circles”, from their forthcoming All Tree album, to celebrate the Winter Solstice. All Tree will be released on February 15th.

Mat McNerney says:  "Another solar year begins. Death and rebirth, both physical and metaphorical. As we celebrate Winter Solstice, we offer this symbolic sacrifice for you to partake. Two songs which carry great weight and meaning for us. The first of which is the closing ritual from our new album All Tree, called Closing Circles. The sun’s course reaches it’s lowest noon altitude and we mark the end and the beginning of another year of light. Closing Circles bids fare well to those we have lost. Light illuminates the darkness and we are purged and renewed once more, to shine onwards. […] May you have a blessed winter solstice and hold those you love dearly close. The blacker the sun, the darker the dawn."

You can watch a beautiful live version of the song, filmed at the mental institution in Pitkäniemi, Nokia, below:

All Tree is out on February 15th, and is available to pre-order now as Ltd. CD Digipak, Ltd. Gatefold LP & LP-Booklet, Digital Album, along with merch bundles here.

Mat McNernery comments on All Tree, the successor to the band’s highly acclaimed album “When We Are Death” (2016):

“All Tree is not just about going back to the heart of Hexvessel, with a slight return to our forest folk roots, it’s about drawing fresh inspiration from my own heritage too. The English pastoral folk influences are infused with Celtic mythology from my Anglo-Irish blood, with Finnish nature as our backdrop.

"From the Canterbury folk scene and early prog bands that sound tracked my youth in England, to the ghost stories I was told as a child on my uncle’s farm in Ireland, this album is a spiritual journey where the old myths are doorways to enlightenment. The dawn light across boggy fields, the wind blowing through the keyhole, the branches dragging their breath inwards as the seasons ignite a magic sense of mystery about the wilderness. That’s what we tried to bring out into the songs on this album. By bowing old dead tree branches with violin bows, by summoning the sounds of the fire and the birds in the field outside, we gave the music a life which, like the liminal spirits of Samhain drifts in and out of this world. That's what folk means. It's the countryside singing out from within me. It’s their story we sing. And no matter where I go or where I end up staying, it's that folk countryside which is the seed from which I sprang. All Tree."

“Old Tree”:

Following the tremendous success of 2017’s The Night Siren, legendary guitarist Steve Hackett (ex-Genesis) will release his new studio album, At The Edge Of Light, on January 25th. The new album, which features ten songs, sees Steve unite a vast amount of styles ranging from guitar driven rock to epic orchestration, from world music to the reflective and atmospheric all brought together in Steve Hackett’s unique style.

Today sees the release of the second single from the album, titled "Underground Railroad", featuring Durga and Lorelei McBroom (Pink Floyd). You can listen below.

Steve comments: “I was inspired to write 'Underground Railroad' in Wilmington, Delaware, discovering about that amazing network that helped slaves escape in pre-Civil War America, spearheaded by brave people like Harriet Tubman. Durga and Lorelei McBroom (both sang with Pink Floyd) sound amazing, expressing that heartfelt pain. As well as electric guitar, I play Dobro acoustic and also harmonica, transporting us back to those times...”

Of the new album, Steve adds: “In these dangerous times, deep shadows feel even sharper than usual and we find ourselves standing at the edge of light... The contrast between dark and light weaves its way throughout the album in many ways, from the sense of good fighting evil through to the interplay of dark and light opposites magically combining in cultures, including the heartbeat of India and primal tribal rhythms. Ultimately, this album embraces the need for all musical forms and cultures to connect and celebrate the wonder of unity in this divided world.”

Watch Steve discuss the new album in this interview:

At The Edge Of Light is released in a number of formats including a Mediabook CD plus extra DVD with 5.1 surround sound mix & behind the scenes documentary, double vinyl LP + CD, Jewelcase CD and digital album. Pre-order here.

Steve Hackett has established himself as one of rock music’s finest and recognizable guitarists through his time with the legendary Genesis who he joined in 1971 and a solo career following his departure from Genesis in 1977 and is a hugely influential guitarist particularly in the progressive rock genre. At The Edge Of Light will be Hackett’s 26th studio album in a solo career that began in 1975 with the release of his debut solo album, Voyage Of The Acolyte.

At The Edge Of Light was mainly recorded in Steve's own studio but also around the world. The album features international artists, including Durga and Loreley of Pink Floyd vocal fame with drummers Nick D'Virgilio and Simon Phillips from USA, Sheema on sitar from India, Icelandic drummer/percussionist Gulli Briem, tar player Malik Mansurov and Swedish bass player Jonas Reingold. This album also features Paul Stillwell on didgeridoo, Rob Townsend on sax, bass clarinet and duduk, Amanda Lehmann on vocals, John Hackett on flute, drummer Gary O’Toole, Roger King and Ben Fenner on keyboards, Dick Driver on double bass, violinist and viola player Christine Townsend. All magically honed and engineered by Roger King.

Tracklisting:

"Fallen Walls And Pedestals"
"Beasts In Our Time"
"Under The Eye Of The Sun"
"Underground Railroad"
"Those Golden Wings"
"Shadow And Flame"
"Hungry Years"
"Descent"
"Conflict"
"Peace"

"Under The Eye Of The Sun" video:

The album is released shortly before Steve performs as special guest on the Cruise To The Edge in February 2019 and the On The Blue cruise featuring Justin Hayward, also in February.

Hackett recently played a series of Genesis Revisited shows with Orchestra and will perform two UK dates with acoustic sets in early December before touring Europe in April/May 2019 and has just announced a UK tour in November 2019 with a much anticipated Selling England By The Pound & Spectral Mornings & Album Highlights set. You can find a full list of upcoming tour dates here.

(Photo - Tina Korhonen)

Enhancing a next string of live-activities, Swedish dark metallers, Tribulation, will release their Melancholia EP on vinyl for the first time on February 15th via Century Media Records. The special mini-album contains seven tracks with an overall playing time of 42 minutes.

The Melancholia EP will be available in the following colours and limitations:

- Black vinyl
- Transp. magenta vinyl - limitded to 100 copies worldwide, only available at CMDistro EU
- Clear vinyl - limited to 200 copies worldwide
- Dark green vinyl - limited to 100 copies worldwide, only available at Kingsroad
- Transp. red vinyl - limited to 100 copies worldwide, exclusively available through the band

Pre-order here.  

Tracklisting:

Side A:
"Melancholia" (album version)
"Melancholia" (Steingrim remix)
"Melancholia" (Author & Punisher remix)
"Pay The Man"

Side B:
"Holy Libations" (demo)
"The Motherhood Of God" (demo)
"Winds" (demo)

Don’t miss Tribulation on their upcoming Northern Ghosts co-headline tour with Gaahls Wyrd, alongside Uada and Idle Hands supporting, starting on February 21st, 2019.

Additionally, Tribulation have recently announced various new summer festival appearances across Europe, including their first visit of the prestigious Wacken Open Air and many more.

Find the band's tour itinerary here.

Lineup:

Johannes Andersson - vocals, bass
Adam Zaars - guitars
Jonathan Hultén - guitars
Oscar Leander - drums

(Photo - Ester Segarra)