Finnish melodic death metallers MyGrain have released new music after five years of silence. They have issued a three-song digital  EP, III, today (November 23rd). The EP is their first sign of life since the Planetary Breathing album in 2013.

MyGrain was launched in 2004 and disbanded in 2015. This past summer the band announced they are back and will release new songs by the end of this year. The new EP is available on most common digital platforms: Spotify, Deezer, iTunes, Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon, Radio, AOL, X-BOX Music and Google Play.

MyGrain has announced two live gigs for Finland, due to take place in January 2019. Dates are as follows:

January
18 - JKL Metal Festival  (Lutakko) - Jyväskylä, Finland  on 18th of
19 - Metal Crane Festival (Nosturi) - Helsinki, Finland

Check the band's official Facebook page here for updates.

Reactivated Norwegian progressive metallers CONCEPTION, who feature in their ranks former KAMELOT singer Roy Khan, have released a new EP, "My Dark Symphony". The EP features six tracks, including two from the recently released three-song single called "Re:Conception".

"My Dark Symphony" track listing:

01. Re:Conception

02. Grand Again

03. Into The Wild

04. Quite Alright

05. The Moment

06. My Dark Symphony

You can now listen to the entire "My Dark Symphony" EP below.

ince releasing the album "Flow" in 1997, the CONCEPTION members — Roy Khan, Tore Østby, Ingar Amlien and Arve Heimdal — have been working on separate projects, but fans never gave up hope of seeing them together as a band again. There have been rumors and speculations for some time about a possible reunion, and earlier this year, they confirmed that they had quietly been working for some time on this new material.

After his departure from KAMELOT seven years ago, Khan (full name: Roy Sætre Khantatat), who is a devout Christian, joined a church in the coastal town of Moss, Norway. As an employee of Moss Frikirke, Khan worked with the youth, mainly with the choir and the skaters of the village. Roy stopped working at the church in September 2016, but is reportedly still living and working in Moss.

Asked by Italy's "Heavy Demons" radio show if his spirituality will have an effect on CONCEPTION's lyrics, Roy said: "CONCEPTION is never going to be a religious band by any standards and there are some lyrics that I would think now that I would think differently about, but that doesn't mean we can't play the songs or anything. I look upon myself as an artist and let's say you act in a theater play and 'Faust', for example, somebody has the play the part of Mephistopheles. It doesn't mean that person is evil or bad in any sense. I think it's important to be able to portray the tragic and darkest side of life without being suspected of being a bad person yourself. That being said, there will, of course, be some songs that will touch in on the themes. Anything else would be awkward. It's not going to be a religious album, obviously."

After releasing their 1991 "The Last Sunset" debut on its own CSF Records ("Conception Self-Financed Records"), CONCEPTION was signed by Germany's Noise Records when label head Karl-Ulrich Walterbach was given a demo tape of the band. Walterbach, who by then had largely soured on melodic and power metal, was impressed by CONCEPTION's progressive angle and thought-provoking lyrics and saw them as an alternative to the more fantasy-driven melodic metal bands on the label.

The band's 1993 "Parallel Minds" and 1995 "In Your Multitude" full-lengths were well-received by fans and critics alike, earning CONCEPTION opening slots with the likes of GAMMA RAY and SKYCLAD. CONCEPTION's last studio album, 1997's "Flow" was more experimental in nature, prompting them to fall out of favor with Noise, leading to the dissolution of the band in 1998. Shortly thereafter, Khan was contacted by KAMELOT leader Thomas Youngblood, who invited the Norwegian vocalist to join the band.

Khan announced his exit from KAMELOT in April 2011 after taking several months off to recover from a "burnout." He explained in a statement at the time: "I told the guys in the band already last fall (well after my burnout) that I was leaving the band. Naturally enough, they were shocked (as was the label and everyone else working with KAMELOT). In addition to risk of dropping ticket sales, they wanted to give me time to think things over, and so I did. My decision still stands; it is finished."

KAMELOT officially announced Tommy Karevik as its new lead singer in June 2012. The Florida-based band has recorded three albums so far with the Swedish vocalist: 2012's "Silverthorn", 2015's "Haven" and 2018's "The Shadow Theory".

"Sinners", a brand new song from former ACCEPT guitarist Herman Frank, can be streamed below. The track is taken from Frank's upcoming fourth solo album, "Fight The Fear", which will be released on February 8, 2019 via AFM.

Frank has been an integral part of the German metal scene since the early '80s, from ACCEPT to VICTORY to his solo project and his work as a producer.

Featuring MASTERPLAN frontman Rick Altzi, guitarist Heiko Schröder, former RAGE drummer André Hilgers and JADED HEART bassist Michael Müller, Frank's new album contains razor-sharp riffs, sublime, hell for leather solos, consistently delivered high-class vocals between melody and heaviness, and a rhythm section, that drives every single song forward like a clockwork.

Track listing:

1. Until The End

02. Fear

03. Terror

04. Sinners

05. Hatred

06. Hail & Row

07. Hitman

08. Stay Down

09. Rock You

10. Don't Cross The Line

11. Are You Ready

12. Wings Of Destiny

13. Waiting For The Night

14. Lost In Heaven

Recording lineup:

Vocals - Rick Altzi (MASTERPLAN)

Drums - Andre Hilgers (ex-RAGE)

Bass - Michael Müller (JADED HEART)

Guitars - Heiko Schröder

Guitars - Herman Frank

Herman joined ACCEPT in 1982 shortly before the release of the band's "Restless And Wild" album and exited the group for the first time after the arrival of 1983's "Balls To The Wall" LP.

When ACCEPT reunited for festival appearances in 2005, Herman handled second-guitar duties alongside founding axeman Wolf Hoffmann, with Stefan Schwarzmann sitting behind the kit.

Frank and Schwarzmann were involved in ACCEPT's comeback with new singer Mark Tornillo and appeared on the reunited group's first three studio albums: 2010's "Blood of the Nations", 2012's "Stalingrad" and 2014's "Blind Rage".

Shortly before his exit from ACCEPT was made official in December 2014, Herman gave an interview to Metalholic in which he spoke about his frustrations at being unable to contribute to the band with his songwriting. He said: "[I've been writing] songs [for] 30 years, since I began my music career [in] a school band. And it's a shame that I can't show my talent [by] writing a couple of ACCEPT songs. I really would like to write some songs [for ACCEPT], but Peter [Baltes, ACCEPT bassist] and Wolf [Hoffmann, ACCEPT guitarist] decided, 'We are ACCEPT and we wanna do it [on] our own.' So why should I stop, 'cause I'm playing in ACCEPT, to write songs? I wrote songs for VICTORY, for HAZZARD, for MOON'DOC, for my two solo albums… for so many bands, you know. It's normal that I don't stop [writing songs]. PANZER and all these other bands give me a chance to just put out my music, which is in my head, you know?!"

Australian deathcore masters THY ART IS MURDER have released a brand new single, "Death Perception". The song, which was written and recorded during the sessions for last year's "Dear Desolation" album, was produced, mixed and mastered by longtime collaborator Will Putney.

This past summer, THY ART IS MURDER guitarist Andy Marsh spoke to Illawarra Mercury about the 2015 departure of the band's vocalist, CJ McMahon, over financial woes and substance-abuse issues. The frontman has since returned to the fold for "Dear Desolation".

"CJ's one of those people, he's never been diagnosed but probably has some kind of borderline personality disorder or bipolar," the guitarist said. "He was always difficult, and then compound that with drugs. Our problem was he was a dick, and his problem was that he had problems, and he was a drug addict."

According to Marsh, a number of factors have contributed to making band activities far more enjoyable in the year and a half since McMahon came back to the group.

The band has made more money, we became more successful and we can afford things like tour buses and [therefore] travel a lot more comfortably," he said. "That makes a massive difference on the road when we're doing these long tours. He quit the drugs, worked on his personality a lot and we make more money so he's less stressed. And because we make more money, we can have crew who can work for us to make things easier."

"Dear Desolation" was released in August 2017 via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The disc was produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Will Putney at Graphic Nature Audio in Belleville, New Jersey. Artwork was created by Eliran Kantor (HATEBREED, TESTAMENT, ICED EARTH, SODOM).

Earlier this year, CJ McMahon told Exclaim! that he hates it when THY ART IS MURDER is lumped in with the "cliché hashtag" of deathcore music.

"We all listen to so many different styles of music," he said. "That's what makes us unique; that we're so in touch with music as a whole.

"We're just writing music that we want to play and hear," he explained. "If people aren't going to give us a chance because they've heard someone call us a deathcore band, I really don't give a fuck. It is mindblowing that people will put shit on you without listening to your band just because of a genre's name. It's just a strange thing, man. I really don't get it."

"Demolition Man", the new video from Arizona metal veterans FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, can be seen below. The song is taken from the band's upcoming 14th album, "The End Of Chaos", which will be released on January 18, 2019 via AFM Records.

The album will be available as a digipak, on clear orange, gatefold vinyl (limited to 450 units), black gatefold vinyl (limited to 450 units), limited picture vinyl (limited to 500 units), gold black splatter gatefold vinyl and limited boxsets with T-shirts.

Vocalist Eric "A.K." Knutson told Capital Chaos TV about the new disc: "There's 12 songs on the record. This was [whittling] down from 40-something songs these guys wrote for me to put lyrics on, and we had to quickly go through all of them and go, 'Which ones capture our attention the most?' Those are the ones we concentrated on. There was just great song after great song after great song coming to my house every other day, and I'm like, 'Wow, how am I going to keep up with this?' It worked out pretty good."

Added guitarist Michael Gilbert: "We used to have a certain template that we'd write. Now, we're writing more for this guy to sing a heavier, more memorable chorus for people. You're always learning as a songwriter, trying to achieve the perfect chorus that someone's going to remember after the song's over. If you've got that going, then you've [written] a successful song."

ontinued Eric: "Things have evolved a little more catchy with our songwriting, but not really on purpose too much. It was just as we evolve and our tastes and our loves in music evolve, so does our writing. I really like the direction we're going now."


FLOTSAM AND JETSAM recently officially welcomed Ken Mary (ALICE COOPER, ACCEPT) as the band's permanent drummer. Mary began touring with the group last year after Jason Bittner was invited to join OVERKILL.

"This album kills! It's all five guys with the gas pedal pushed to the floor for the entire album!" stated Mary.

Added bassist Michael Spencer: "It was cool to have a new element of influence on this album with having Ken's drum parts to partner with and play in and around his playing that also do with the guitars and vocals. Glad to have had Jacob Hansen bringing this album to the overall sound and energy it has. Jacob really highlights A.K.'s vocal melodies, as well as Steve and Michael's songwriting, while the power of the rhythm section drives the songs."

"The End Of Chaos" track listing:

01. Prisoner Of Time

02. Control

03. Recover

04. Prepare For Chaos

05. Slowly Insane

06. Architects Of Hate

07. Demolition Man

08. Unwelcome Surprise

09. Snake Eye

10. Survive

11. Good Or Bad

12. The End

After a successful North American tour earlier this year in support of Swedish power metal giants HAMMERFALL, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM will be returning to the road for a trek across North America, continuing its "Tour Of Chaos 2019".

FLOTSAM AND JETSAM states: "We're excited to hit North America for a headlining tour next spring in support of our upcoming album release, 'The End Of Chaos'. We'll be following up our March 2019 European tour with OVERKILL and DESTRUCTION, with this 34-show run throughout May/June 2019. Look for us to be playing music from the new album, as well as digging into our catalog to play FLOTSAM songs that haven't been in the set for a while, if ever, in our headline set. We're looking forward to bringing FLOTSAM AND JETSAM's metal to the masses, once again!"

Three teenagers, known as Alien Weaponry, from a tiny town in the small South Pacific nation of New Zealand have managed to capture the imaginations of people all over the world with their unique thrash metal sound and commanding live performances. They recently performed their song "Kai Tangata" live at the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards 2018. Check out the pro-shot clip below.

Alien Weaponry have invaded North American shores for the first time ever, supporting industrial legends Ministry. The tour started on November 21st in San Francisco, CA and runs through December 21st in Los Angeles, CA.  A complete list of dates can be found below.

Sirius XM Liquid Metal's Jose Mangin cannot wait until they make their North American debut, "Alien Weaponry is one of the most remarkable bands on our station right now! Fans continue to be turned on to their music through SiriusXM, and we love helping fans discover new killer music!  This band is seriously one of our favorites and will be part of our Devil's Dozen"of the year for sure! We're f'in stoked that they're doing their first American tour, and we can't wait to see them live!"

November
23  - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
24  - Denver, CO - Fillmore
27  - Minneapolis, MN - Skyway Theatre
29 - Joliet, IL - The Forge
30 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre

December
1 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Theater
2 - Toronto, ON - Rebel
4 - Rochester, NY - Anthology
5 - Washington, DC - Fillmore
6 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza
7 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza
8 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
10 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
11 - Memphis, TN - New Daisy Theater
12 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey
13 - Houston, TX - House of Blues Houston
14 - San Antonio, TX - Aztec Theater
16 - Phoenix, AZ - Marquee
18 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues San Diego
20 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda
21 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda

Message from the band regarding the tour:

Belgian symphonic black metal outfit Lemuria has released details about their upcoming album, The Hysterical Hunt. The concept album is set to be released on January 18, 2019 via Massacre Records, and tells a long forgotten tale about fear and monstrosity.

The Hysterical Hunt was mixed and mastered by Yarne Heylen at Project Zero Studio. None other than Kris Verwimp (Old Man's Child, Arch Enemy, Paths Of Possession) created the album's artwork.

Tracklisting:

"Prologue (The Land Of The Beast)"
"A Plague Upon The Land"
"The Hysterical Hunt"
"Between Man And Wolf"
"As Darkness Falls"
"Of Winter And Hell"
"A Secret Life"
"Deceptive Hibernation"
"An Elusive Monster"
"Endgame (The Impending Truth)"
"Epilogue (Before The Dawn)"
"A Dream That Never Came" (Bonus Track)

Alexandra Kastrinakis (Daedric Tales) contributed guest vocals, and the Belgian actor Herbert Flack serves as narrator. The first single from The Hysterical Hunt is scheduled to be released in mid-December.

(Photo by Jonas De Kooning)

Mortal Scepter have just inked a deal with Xtreem Music for the release of their debut album, Where Light Suffocates, scheduled for January 22nd, 2019. Check out the new track "Murder The Dawn" now:

Mortal Scepter was born in 2012 and released their first demo in 2014, followed by a six-song EP titled As Time Sharpens The Sentence in 2015, released by Unspeakable Axe Records (sublabel of Dark Descent). During the two following years, the band played several shows across France and Europe, including a tour with Skelethal in 2017. During the first months of 2018, Mortal Scepter finished the recording of their first full-length album, Where Light Suffocates, which caught the attention of Xtreem Music, who offered them a deal.

The style of Mortal Scepter perfectly captures the essence of the ancient French bands which emerged in the late '80s like Massacra, Agressor, Loudblast, and Mercyless, and can be defined as a raw, savage, and primitive blend of old-school death and thrash metal, dragging influences from bands like Massacra, Sodom, Possessed, Dark Angel, Kreator, and very early Sepultura.

The cover art and tracklisting for Where Light Suffocates are as follows:

"A Ray Of Despair"
"Where Light Suffocates"
"Murder The Dawn"
"Lust Spells"
"Perish With The Flesh"
"The Carpathian Castle"
"Spear And Fang"
"Swallow Your Tongue"
"...The Scepter Reigns"

For further details, visit Mortal Scepter on Facebook.

 

In the video below, all Canadian cover band Toque, featuring Todd Kerns and Brent Fitz - both of whom play in Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators - along with Cory Churko (Shania Twain) offer up their version of Chilliwack's 1981 hit "My Girl".

In live news, Toque will be part of The Grey Cup Festivities in Edmonton, Alberta with a pair of upcoming shows. On Friday, Novermber 23rd, Toque will be playing a FREE SHOW at 4:15 pm at the Nissan Titan Street Festival on Jasper Avenue.

Then on Sunday, November 25th, Toque will perform at a ticketed event - the Boston Pizza Grey Cup Outdoor Tailgate Party at Commonwealth Stadium.

 

Dark, meditative music group, Shibalba, are streaming their new studio album, Stars Al-Med Hum, due out tomorrow, Friday, November 23rd, via Agonia Records. Listen below, and pre-order the album here.

Shibalba was created by the members of black metal bands, Acherontas and Nåstrond. It differs greatly from the aforementioned acts, with main focus set on expressing shamanic, trance-like states, by the use of ethnic instruments and musical technics peculiar to religious rituals. In doing so, the band also incorporates contemporary synthesizers and guitar drones. Some of the more traditional instruments they use include Tibetan horns & singing bowls, bone & horne trumpets, darbukas, ceremonial bells & gongs as well as percussion instruments made of bones and skulls. The music is richly detailed and multidimensional, while its outcome is deep, unsettling and subconscious. As a whole, it offers an otherworldly voyage.

Co-founder Acherontas V. Priest commented (original spelling): "The Secret Society of Shibalba dives deep into the unmapped Astral oceans and corridors of Stars Al-Med Hum. Orchestrating a journey to the most obscure spheres beyond human perception, the pathways of otherworldly ingression and ecstasy, a newborn entity is brought to the Light. A soundtrack to the sexual Tantric Magick Meditation and a Sinister vocalization of the darkest corners of the psyche, as the Adept ascends to the astral worlds, the ones below and the ones above, within trances of lucid slumber and Inner awakening. Planes of All and Nought, envisioned by impulses and vibrations while the disciples of the sonic architects are dancing to invoke the sabbatical names of unspeakable Goddesses of the Moon. Kundalini and Brahmanic theurgy combined to solar and lunar atoms ascending and entwined around the spinal medulla, projecting the soul by mantras sacred and ancient, to the Astral worlds of Stars Al-Med Hum".

Stars Al-Med Hum was recorded and produced by the band themselves and both mixed and mastered by Nekelmu Ilu. The latter also created the album's cover artwork.

Tracklisting:

"Alignment I Fa Ra On"
"Alignment II TEI Re Re Re"
"Alignment III Ana Hat"
"Alignment IV La Ra"
"Alignment V Egi Pto"

Album stream:

Trailer:

Lineup:

Acherontas V.Priest
Aldra-Al-Melekh
Karl NE/Nachzehrer

German/American heavy metal legends ACCEPT have just released a live set, "Symphonic Terror - Live At Wacken 2017", via Nuclear Blast. It features a unique ACCEPT show, shot on August 3, 2017 at the legendary Wacken Open Air festival, where the band played the biggest and most extraordinary show of its career in front of 80,000, on top of thousands more fans watching via a live stream.

The two-hour concert was divided into three parts, showing the full creative power of ACCEPT: The first part featured the premiere of new tracks "Die By The Sword" and "Koolaid", as well as some of the band's most popular songs, such as "Restless And Wild" and "Pandemic". The middle part featured guitarist Wolf Hoffmann accompanied by a symphony orchestra, presenting the best tracks from his recent solo album, "Headbangers Symphony", which includes metal versions of some of the world's biggest classical compositions (e.g. from Beethoven, Mozart, Vivaldi). And in the last but not least part, fans were able to bang their heads to ACCEPT anthems (also accompanied by the orchestra), such as "Princess Of The Dawn", "Breaker", "Fast As A Shark" and "Metal Heart", as well as to newer songs like "Stalingrad", "Shadow Soldiers" and "Teutonic Terror". The finale was an eight-minute version of ACCEPT's classic song "Balls To The Walls".

A performance clip of the song "Shadow Soldiers", taken from "Symphonic Terror - Live At Wacken 2017", can be seen below.

"Symphonic Terror - Live At Wacken 2017" is available as:

Blu-ray+2CD digipak

* DVD+2CD digipak

* 2CD digipak

* 3LP box (black) including booklet, poster

* 3LP Box (gold) including booklet, poster (Nuclear Blast mailorder exclusive)

* Blu-ray+DVD+2CD earbook

* BluRay+DVD+2CD earbook + photo card (signed) (Nuclear Blast mailorder exclusive)

DVD/Blu-ray track listing:

Part 1: Accept

01. Die By The Sword

02. Restless And Wild

03. Koolaid

04. Pandemic

05. Final Journey

Part 2: Headbanger's Symphony

06. Night On Bald Mountain

07. Scherzo

08. Romeo And Juliet

09. Pathétique

10. Double Cello Concerto In G Minor

11. Symphony No. 40 In G Minor

Part 3: Accept with Orchestra

12. Princess Of The Dawn

13. Stalingrad

14. Dark Side Of My Heart

15. Breaker

16. Shadow Soldiers

17. Dying Breed

18. Fast As A Shark

19. Metal Heart

20. Teutonic Terror

21. Balls To The Wall

Bonus:

22. Making Of: Wacken

23. Making Of: Headbanger's Symphony

"This was a mash-up of intensity and precision," Wolf Hoffmann says about the fusion of heavy metal and classical music. "The fans are extremely open-minded, but I was nervous 'till the last minute before the show anyway. After all, it's still a metal festival! But I think that, after many years of ACCEPT combining both worlds, fans have started to really accept this concept."

After the Wacken performance, Hoffmann told TotalRock's Whitney Alyson Ribbins: "It was phenomenal. We didn't really know what to expect. We did some rehearsals and stuff, but that was the first time we were ever on stage with an orchestra. It was totally different to what we normally do, but it sounded fantastic and it felt great. Everybody was smiling, the orchestra people had a lot of fun, the conductor was in a great mood and everybody was, like, 'This is fun.' It all went really, really smooth and it couldn't have gone better."

He continued: "A lot of preparation went into it — months of talking about it and organizing everything and writing the scores and writing all the sheet music for everybody, because playing with an orchestra, you can't just jam."

What started as a world premiere at Wacken will be continued in early 2019. ACCEPT is planning to tour with an orchestra across Europe in the spring of next year.

The song "Firelight" from Dutch metallers WITHIN TEMPTATION can be streamed below. The third single from the band's forthcoming studio album, "Resist", features a guest appearance by Belgian singer Jasper Steverlinck.

Vocalist Sharon Den Adel said: "It was originally written for my solo project MY INDIGO, but the trak felt too dark back then. However, it was and still is one of my favorite songs, even more now Jasper is singing it with me. I think he's one of the best alternative rock singers in the world. He's Belgium's best-kept secret!"

"Resist" will be released on December 14. It is the band's first release through Spinefarm Records, the specialist hard rock label of Universal Music Group.

"Resist" will also feature PAPA ROACH's Jacoby Shaddix and IN FLAMES' Anders Fridén on guest vocals.

b>"Resist" track listing:

01. The Reckoning (feat. Jacoby Shaddix)

02. Endless War

03. Raise Your Banner (feat. Anders Fridén)

04. Supernova

05. Holy Ground

06. In Vain

07. Firelight (feat. Jasper Steverlinck)

08. Mad World

09. Mercy Mirror

10. Trophy Hunter

"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," Sharon said. "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."

Regarding the nearly five-year gap between "Hydra" and "Resist", Sharon told Poland's Interia.tv: "It took me a long time because of several reasons. We had a heavy touring schedule with 'Hydra', and we toured a long time. We've been together as a band for such ages, and so when I came back, I didn't have any inspiration. There was a lot of things happening in my personal life, so all that came together and I just couldn't write music. I was very much blocked. I needed for myself to discover if I still wanted to do the touring and also writing music for WITHIN TEMPTATION, if I still wanted to be in the band, because it didn't bring me any joy at the time. I was just not in a very good place at that time. Now, I'm feeling a bit — a lot better, actually, and the strange thing is that I couldn't write because I didn't feel the music. I didn't know where to go. Not just me, but also the guys that I work with find it very difficult to write for WITHIN TEMPTATION, because we didn't have any inspiration. It was not just me, but I had a lot of other issues besides not being able to write. That's why it took a long time, and when I did start writing again, I wrote [a] different kind of music — I wrote singer-songwriter kind of songs, and that's not really WITHIN TEMPTATION material. I needed to get that out of my way, so I made a solo album, and when it did start again — when I did feel the songs coming back again to us, and the inspiration and everything — we wrote this album and recorded it in one year. Last summer until this summer, we recorded it, wrote the songs and produced everything."

Italian symphonic power metal kings RHAPSODY OF FIRE will release their new album, "The Eighth Mountain", on February 22, 2019. The disc will be the band's first collection of brand new material to feature vocalist Giacomo Voli and drummer Manu Lotter, who joined RHAPSODY OF FIRE in 2016.

The track listing for the disc is as follows:

01. Abyss Of Pain

02. Seven Heroic Deeds

03. Master Of Peace

04. Rain Of Fury

05. White Wizard

06. Warrior Heart

07. The Courage To Forgive

08. March Against The Tyrant

09. Clash Of Times

10. The Legend Goes On

11. The Wind, The Rain And The Moon

12. Tales Of A Hero's Fate

RHAPSODY OF FIRE will perform in more than 17 cities all around Europe in February and March with as-yet-unannounced special guests.

he band's latest release was 2017's "Legendary Years", a compilation album featuring re-recorded versions of songs from "The Emerald Sword Saga", a five-concept-album-long story started on RHAPSODY's first album "Legendary Tales" in 1997 and concluded on "Power Of The Dragonflame" in 2002.

Asked how he chose Giacomo Voli to be the replacement for RHAPSODY OF FIRE's longtime singer Fabio Lione, keyboardist Alessandro "Alex" Staropoli said: "I saw Giacomo performing on TV. I felt he was surely a person I wanted to meet. I contacted him to sing and to gather singers for the epic choir recordings for our latest studio album, 'Into The Legend'. So I finally had the pleasure to meet and work with him for the first time back then. He is one of the sweetest guys I've ever meet. I feel truly blessed. After Fabio left, I immediately thought about Giacomo and called him up. I am very satisfied. As a producer, I tend to push people to their limits and I have to say Giacomo reacted quite well, very professional and dedicated. I am the main composer of RHAPSODY OF FIRE, but lately I have worked with my brother Manuel Staropoli as well, and, of course, also with Roby De Micheli, both for the electric guitar side and for some songwriting. Roby has a lot of talent for guitar riffs especially and I really like to enrich our music with heavy riffs. Said that, I always leave the door open to someone's ideas. So, if Giacomo comes with an idea that literally shocks and excites me, well, that would be great, of course. I'm doing this music genre for more than two decades, so I can openly say that I exactly know what I am doing; I can recognize a great idea that would perfectly fit for this band when I hear it."

Regarding how he writes RHAPSODY OF FIRE songs, Staropoli said: "When I write for RHAPSODY OF FIRE, I often imagine movie landscapes, or natural scenarios. I was born in Trieste, Italy, a beautiful town where mother nature was really generous. We have the sea, the mountains, lakes, rivers, lots of caves and by driving just a few hours we can reach the alps. Trieste is a dream town and all those natural elements are always with me everywhere I go. So my sources of inspiration are strongly radicated in me. I have to sit in my studio, alone, and play my piano keys. Usually I never play randomly, I prefer to sit down with a specific idea and a goal to reach, then the notes come smoothly and fluent. I just do it."

The official music video for the song "A Silent Arc" from acclaimed Swedish dark melodic metal masters EVERGREY can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's upcoming studio album, titled "The Atlantic", which will be released on January 25, 2019 via AFM Records. The band has worked extensively on the follow-up to 2016's "The Storm Within" (which entered the charts on high positions in numerous countries).

Says the band: "We wanted to invite you into the world of 'The Atlantic' by listening to the music without a real music video. However, you can trust that those are coming as well. We have been waiting forever to give this to you, so let's hear your thoughts!"

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

EVERGREY's Tom S. Englund states: "Guys! This is album number 11! Isn't that just sick?! It's also the third album of a concept that might have reached its destination or at least one conclusion. It might also have been something that some of you saw coming or anticipated.

We've fought through giant private obstacles as well as an extremely complicated break-in at our headquarters studio to bring this album to you. So, at the same time as it's certainly not been painless or at all easy, it's been rewarding in new ways and our creativity has been painted in colors of honesty and sincerity.

"This is our heaviest, darkest, and perhaps also our most diverse album to date. It's everything we wanted to compose and the written words come straight from a place of transparency and never before experienced lucidity. Finally, as of yesterday, we've reached new shores. We can't wait for you to share this journey with us and dive into our worlds, our depths, and the waters of 'The Atlantic'!"

"The Atlantic" track listing:

01. A Silent Arc

02. Weightless

03. All I Have

04. A Secret Atlantis

05. The Tidal

06. End Of Silence

07. Currents

08. Departure

09. The Beacon

10. This Ocean

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

Italian progressive metal band LAST UNION has released a music video for the song "Taken". The track, which features a guest appearance by DREAM THEATER singer James LaBrie, is taken from the group's debut album, "Twelve", which will be released on December 21 via ROAR! Rock Of Angels Records.

"Twelve", which also features Mike LePond (SYMPHONY X) on bass, Uli Kusch (HELLOWEEN, MASTERPLAN) on drums, was mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren, best known for his work with ARCH ENEMY, SYMPHONY X, DEVIN TOWNSEND, ANGRA and OPETH, to name a few. The cover artwork was created by Thomas Ewerhard (AVANTASIA, RAGE, THRESHOLD).

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

Strong and positive reactions to their music spurred Scarpeccio and Tiberi on to take the first of many bold steps. The first was to reach out to Kusch, who, after hearing the music, expressed interest in joining the band as a full member rather than just a touring drummer. A similar scenario played out with LePond and LAST UNION was officially born. The icing on the cake, however, was getting LaBrie to sing on three tracks.

rack listing:

01. Most Beautiful Day

02. President Evil (feat. James LaBrie)

03. Hardest Way

04. Purple Angels

05. The Best Of Magic

06. Taken (feat. James LaBrie) (radio edit)

07. 18 Euphoria

08. A Place In Heaven (feat. James LaBrie)

09. Ghostwriter

10. Limousine

11. Back In The Shadow

12. Taken (feat. James LaBrie)

13. President Evil (feat. James LaBrie) (video version)

Guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, ZAKK SABBATH) recently spoke with Deathwish Coffee's "Fueled By Death Cast" podcast. The full conversation can be seen below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET and Deathwish Coffee).

On returning to Ozzy's band:

Zakk: "It's business as usual. I always said back in the day [that] it was a miracle anything ever got done, because everybody is always cracking up laughing. All's I got to do is hang around with the boss for about five minutes... he's always taking the piss out of himself, and whatever current events are going on in the world or whatever's going on. He's hilarious, man."

On his reasons for founding Wylde Audio, his line of guitars, amplifiers and other musical equipment:

b>Zakk: "For me, it was just a matter of the next progression of where things go. Derek Jeter, he played with the Yankees; then, let's say, Derek Jeter was managing the Yankees; then he was the GM; then Vice President of Operations. The only next logical step for Derek would be to be a team owner. For me, I couldn't be treated any better than everywhere I was at. And I consider them all family to me — being with Gibson and Marshall and Dunlop. All the companies I've been with, I have great relationships with everybody there and they're all great people, so I love them all. It's just a matter of that. I mean like with Ozz, I couldn't be treated any better, and you have all the freedom in the world as a guitar player. Ozzy just lets you do whatever you want to do. But if you want to write lyrics, you want to come up with melodies, you want to do the artwork, you want to produce, then you have to start your own thing outside of that. Your parents aren't gonna let you put your LED ZEPPELIN posters up in the living room. You need to get your own apartment at that point, you know what I'm saying?"

On his long-term goals for the company:

Zakk: "I think it's just like with everything — you start the band and you play in front of 10 people at the pub, and then you play in front of 15 people, and then 20 people. Eventually, we're making a living with the band. I think with all bands, that's how you start out. Obviously, it'd be, like, 'Oh, man, it'd be great if we could do this for a living,' and if you get anything on top of that? Then it's gravy. It's just icing on the cake. You start off small and you just [go] brick by brick and you keep building. You have to embrace the process. It's just like learning guitar or... lifting weights or working out or somebody that wants to lose weight or anything like that. If you're going to get frustrated after a week if you didn't lose 20 pounds... if you don't lose that weight and people get discouraged and they quit, but if it's just a slow build... That's the whole thing, is embracing the process. If you're learning guitar and you're practicing, the whole thing is you just have little goals and you set them and then you try and reach them. I think that's where a lot of people have problems, if you're not embracing the process. [It's the] same thing with a band. If your band isn't as big as THE [ROLLING] STONES after putting the band together after eight weeks... come on, man."

On mixing engineer Adam Klumpp's role in BLACK LABEL SOCIETY:

Zakk: "JD [DeServio, bass] and Adam, they'll end up mixing, and then I'll come in at the end and I'll do the soup tasting at that point.They pretty much knock it out of the park all the time anyways and I'll just [add] a little more cilantro, a little more sour cream and then it's just, like, perfect... Anything you don't know, you hire somebody that does know. You delegate the power. Obviously, Adam knows the console way better than I'm going to. I'd rather spend more time running scales and writing songs. I can obviously take a course at MI on mixing on a console, but I'd rather just have my buddy who knows what he's doing do that."

On juggling working with Ozzy, BLS, ZAKK SABBATH and his periodic tours as a solo artist:

Zakk: "I love it. I wouldn't change [anything]. This is the reason why you have posters up on your wall when you were 15 years old. I'm truly living the dream."

On the origins of ZAKK SABBATH:

Zakk: "That started with me and Blasko when we were doing the Metal All Stars [tour]. What happened was whenever we'd get together and do those things, we'd [find] the common ground. I mean, if you're a classical musician, part of your education is gonna be Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. Somewhere you know a piece of their [catalogs]. It's part of your education and learning how to play. As far as hard rock goes, part of your education is gonna be BLACK SABBATH, LED ZEPPELIN or DEEP PURPLE. You're going to know something in there, whether you know 'Iron Man', 'Whole Lotta Love' or 'Smoke On The Water'. At some point, at one time or another, we've all played these songs in cover bands. It's part of your education. The common ground would always be like, 'Well, let's see if anybody knows — if the drummer that we're gonna be playing with, if he knows any SABBATH.' It would always be, 'Yeah, yeah, what do you want to play?' And then it would always end up being like 'War Pigs', 'Fairies Wear Boots', 'Into The Void', 'Snow Blind' or whatever we were going pick. When there was another drummer that we'd have to play with, I'd say [to Blasko], 'What do you want to play?' And he'd just go, 'Well, do you want to just do the ZAKK SABBATH set?' That was the running joke. That's how basically ZAKK SABBATH was born, out of those Metal All Stars sessions that we used to go and do... The whole thing is, it was just a great excuse to go out and jam. It's basically the same thing like when we were 15 years old, except now I'm 51 years old and we're still playing these songs, but instead of my buddy's living room or the kitchen, we've done those gigs."

On ZAKK SABBATH drummer Joey Castillo, who has also played with QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, DANZIG and EAGLES OF DEATH METAL:

Zakk: "I think Blasko knew him, so he just called Joe and said, 'Hey, Joe. We need a drummer right now. You want to come jam?' Ever since then, Joe's been our guy. Joe's amazing — the cannonball. It's just like cannonballs going on back there, you hit so hard. On top of it, he's, like, the sweetest guy on the planet... Playing with him, it's just awesome. He's a force to be reckoned with. That's why I call him the cannonball."

On his fans:

Zakk: "It's not fans — we have fams. It's the BLACK LABEL family of doom or the ZAKK SABBATH family or the Ozzy family o'doom. I've known people now with BLACK LABEL for over 20 years. They've had kids, and now their kids are, like, 19 years old... Everybody is like one gigantic family. It's almost kind of like THE GRATEFUL DEAD. It's bigger than a band. Everybody has a common ground where everybody meets and they have a good time and everything like that. It's definitely way cool."

On interacting with his fans:

Zakk: "Just be nice to people... I'll be sitting and going to get something to eat, and it's just like, 'Hey, Zakk, will you take a picture? It's like, 'Yeah, no problem man.' It'll take two seconds. Just don't be a tool bag."

Wylde is currently on the road as part of the "Generation Axe" tour, which also features Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt (EXTREME) and Tosin Abasi (ANIMALS AS LEADERS).

Each tour stop will include a variety of collaborations by the five players, including everyone performing together as one cohesive band with a shared rhythm section.

Wylde will spend much of 2019 on tour with Ozzy Osbourne, whose "No More Tours 2" tour resumes on New Year's Eve.

Chris Holmes has revealed that he almost walked out on W.A.S.P. in the middle of the band's 1989 "The Headless Children" world tour. In a chat with Eonmusic, the guitarist also talked about his return to the shock rockers in 1997, and how he "hated" the comeback album that he recorded with them.

Speaking of why he almost quit the shock rockers, Holmes said: "There was some really bad conflicts on the road, and I was lied to, and I almost left on the road, because it's not about the money to me. I got lied to from somebody, so I was going to leave in the tour."

However, it was only following advice from W.A.S.P.'s tour manager that Chris reconsidered his position. "He said, 'Chris, if you leave now, you'll get sued for all the money," Holmes recalled. "He goes, 'You'll be working at McDonald's in ten years still trying to pay off the debt to Sanctuary [Management]."

He continued: "So I finished the whole tour, and once I was done, I was gone. I didn't want to play anymore. I didn't really care what Blackie [Lawless, W.A.S.P. leader] did after that.

When you live with people, you want to be treated as equal; that's it," he said. "I don't want to be treated any less, or any more, and when they treat you down, I don't like being around people like that."

Although Holmes returned to the band for the industrial-tinged "Kill.Fuck.Die" album in 1997, he says that he only played a small part in its creation. "I really didn't play that much on that," he said. "I played, I think, two solos. I had some influence on a song or two writing lyrics."

Going on to slate the release, the guitarist said: "That album was done because somebody — I won't say his name — was scared of Marilyn Manson taking his spot in rock and roll. It was a really stupid album to do. I hated it."

Holmes will release a new EP, "Under The Influence", in December. A new full-length album will follow a year later.

"Under The Influence" was recorded in Cannes, France, where Holmes has lived since 2014.

According to 93X.com, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH singer Ivan Moody has helped coordinate a donation of sleeping bags to an organization that serves those in need in the Twin Cities.

After consulting with 93X Minneapolis about shelters in the area, Moody donated 50 sleeping bags to Catholic Charities Of St. Paul And Minneapolis on Tuesday afternoon — just hours before FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH took the stage at Target Center on a co-headlining U.S. tour with BREAKING BENJAMIN. The sleeping bags were presented to the reps of the organization before the show.

Earlier in the month, Moody donated 50 sleeping bags to Urban Peak Colorado Springs, a nonprofit that serves homeless youth.

Catholic Charities Of St. Paul And Minneapolis, over its 150 years, has been one of the Twin Cities' most influential charitable organizations.

atholic Charities shelters the homeless and connects those individuals to safe, permanent housing, work opportunities and social services.

From 2012 to 2017, Catholic Charities accounted for about 12 percent of the total number of refugee resettlements in Minnesota.

Sally Steele of Vegas Rocks! magazine recently conducted an interview with GREAT WHITE guitarist Mark Kendall and singer Mitch Malloy. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On how Mitch came to join GREAT WHITE as the replacement for Terry Ilous, who was fired from the band in July:

Mark: "The first time I saw Mitch was when we recorded our album with Michael Wagener last year in Nashville, we had a part in two songs where we wanted kind of a shout vocal. So we had, like, 20 people come down; he was one of those. I'm not sure if we spoke on that occasion; we might have said hi. And then the second time was on the Monsters Of Rock cruise; I believe Terry had him up on stage. And Michael sent me a picture, and I saw Mitch next to me on stage. [I thought] 'That looks interesting.' I kind of liked the way that looked. And then one morning I was on my cell phone, and by accident I saw this VAN HALEN story, about Mitch being in VAN HALEN for a few weeks or whatever, which I'd never heard, so I was real interested to look at that. I saw the video, the little documentary about it, and that got me interested in listening to his voice. So I went back and heard a few of his songs, from his solo career. It sounds like he's got pipes. Then I call [GREAT WHITE guitarist and keyboardist] Michael Lardie, and he goes, 'Oh, yeah, I've been looking into him for a while.' And I'm, like, 'What? Nobody tells me this stuff.' And then I heard my agent, Sullivan [Bigg], was pitching him to Michael or something, but nobody tells me. So this all was not by design as far as, like, 'Oh, we're looking for a singer. We'll put out ads or have a guy come down and audition.' It was all, like… It happened, but it was kind of freaky the way it all went down. So we got hold of Mitch, and he put his vocals on some songs — some old ones and new ones. And [I went], 'Man, that sounds pretty amazing. Let's see if he'll come out.' He came out and sang the first day, the second day, or whatever, and by the second day, it sounded pretty good, so we were getting all excited. And we clicked right away — kind of a little beyond the pink cloud, 'Oh, new guy in the band. We've got this new energy.' It was like we really were cool. We were taking pictures when we normally wouldn't, and stuff like that. But the shows are going great. He's getting real close to the songs, the old ones. So it's all going amazing."

On what happened with Terry to cause his exit from GREAT WHITE:

b>Mark: "Nothing drastic. We were growing apart a little bit, but it wasn't like there was this massive fight and we said, 'I hate you. Go away,' or whatever. It was just one of these things that… Like a marriage grows apart… Nobody was feeling it anymore. Plus I was really happy for him anyways kind of going back to his home, which, to me, is XYZ. I know it went on for a long time, and he did a great job. And we really like the job Mitch is doing. We think he's a great fit for the band. When we just stand next to each other, it just looks cool; he makes us look good."

On whether he thinks he will ever "patch things up" with original GREAT WHITE singer Jack Russell:

Mark: "We've never gotten in a fight. I don't think I've ever gotten in a fight with Jack — maybe one argument in 30 years. So there's really not a whole lot to patch up. He just moved into a real dark world, wasn't treating himself too good and started to break down. We waited for him to come back, and instead of [him] coming back, we got sued. I have nothing against Jack; I'm not ashamed of any of our years together. But as far as us patching up, I hear that over and over, and I'm, like, 'But we've never fought before.' It's all lawyered out and fighting, and that kind of thing. I shook his hand, we just did that kind of thing after we made our settlement. He's able to play, I guess, so more power to him. And we're happy. So there you go."

Ilous, formerly of '80s L.A. hard rockers XYZ, joined GREAT WHITE in 2010 after stepping in for touring vocalist Jani Lane (WARRANT).

The Ilous-led GREAT WHITE released two albums, 2012's "Elation" and last year's "Full Circle", before Terry was shown the door.

This version of GREAT WHITE is not to be confused with JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE, which features Jack Russell alongside Robby Lochner (FIGHT) on guitar, Dan McNay on bass, Tony Montana on guitar and Dicki Fliszar on drums.

Steve Harris says the release of BRITISH LION's next studio album rests largely on IRON MAIDEN's 2019 schedule. The MAIDEN bassist's hard rock side-project already has its second opus in the can and has been performing select cuts from it during recent tour dates. Meanwhile, MAIDEN has revealed that it will embark on the North American leg of its "Legacy Of The Beast" tour in July.

In a recent interview with Yannick Tremblay of Quebec's Radio X (audio below), Harris was asked how he became part of BRITISH LION after previously working with the musicians as their mentor. "I felt I had to join the band to make sure the songs that had been worked on in the past basically saw the light of day," he said. "Because, back in the day, I was managing them and doing some writing with them, too. I never told anyone at the time, but when the band followed up, I thought, in the future, I could try and work with it. I thought the best way to do it was be in the band and get involved a little bit and just take it like that. I'm glad I did, because I'm really, really enjoying it. It's a lot of fun."

Harris also talked about what fans can expect from a BRITISH LION show, which has one studio album to its credit with 2012's self-titled effort. "There will be songs from the first album, but there will be songs from the second album too because we just finished the second album," Steve said. "We will release it at some point next year, depending on, of course, what MAIDEN is doing; we always have to wait for that. We don't have a release yet."

Considered to be one of the most prolific songwriters in metal history, Harris was asked why so many of his songs are taken from a historical point of view, most notably, some of MAIDEN's most enduring songs like "The Trooper" and "Aces High". "I loved history in school as a subject, so I've always been interested in it," he replied. "I can't say there's any one period in history that I love more than the other. I think later history, like the Industrial Revolution on, I wasn't as keen on that as much, but older stuff is what I like more. I was interested also in the stuff from the two World Wars, but basically older stuff. I really find that fascinating."

b>BRITISH LION toured Canada for the first time earlier this month.

The band has been performing two new songs, "Spitfire" and "Bible Black", during some of its recent shows. A studio recording of "Spitfire" can be heard below.

BRITISH LION's debut album sold around 3,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 3 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"British Lion" was released in the U.S. in September 2012 via Universal Music Enterprises (UMe). Mixed by Kevin Shirley — whose credits include IRON MAIDEN as well as LED ZEPPELIN, JOURNEY and RUSH — the CD featured Harris alongside singer Richard Taylor, guitarists Graham Leslie and David Hawkins and drummer Simon Dawson.

Photo credit: John McMurtrie

According to Billboard, SHINEDOWN holds the record for the most top 10s in the history of Billboard's Rock Airplay chart. The band has just scored its 11th top 10 with "Get Up", the second single from its latest album, "Attention Attention".

SHINEDOWN was previously in a tie with FOO FIGHTERS for the most top 10s in the chart's nine-year history.

Prior to "Get Up", SHINEDOWN had its last top 10 with "Cut The Cord", which peaked at No. 8 in August 2015. The band's four subsequent singles peaked within Rock Airplay's top 13 but were unable to crack the top 10.

"Attention Attention", SHINEDOWN's sixth studio album, debuted at No. 1 on the Top Rock Albums chart back in May. The follow-up to 2015's "Threat To Survival" marked SHINEDOWN's first full-length effort to be produced entirely by bassist Eric Bass. The 14-song release that tells the story of a character who starts out defeated and slowly overcomes pain and personal struggles and becomes confident at the end. The album also lyrically touches upon singer Brent Smith's former drug addiction and Bass's depression.

Eric probably got 100 or so gray hairs from producing the album," SHINEDOWN drummer Barry Kerch told the Lexington Herald-Leader. "He put a lot of pressure on himself and we put a lot on pressure on him. A lot of people say it’s the death knell when you self-produce. But he knew how to do the job. He's produced bands before, many different styles of bands — rock 'n' roll bands, metal bands. So we had full faith and trust in him. But we also had full faith and trust in each other because we still get along. We still like each other. We still have fun together. We're friends, and we love each other like brothers. That made it a lot easier. For me, it was fun just to watch him work with the talent that he had."

SHINEDOWN will embark on a U.S. headlining tour in February. Support on the trek will come from PAPA ROACH and ASKING ALEXANDRIA.

Veteran Japanese metallers ANTHEM have signed with Nuclear Blast Records for the European territory. The first release under the deal will be a greatest-hits album, featuring re-recordings of the band's most popular songs with English lyrics. Mixing and mastering the disc was renowned Swedish producer and engineer Jens Bogren, known for his work with a multitude of big-name artists.

A remarkable point worth noting about this release is that all of the songs except "Venom Strike" were written after their reunion in 2001 — proving that ANTHEM has never needed to rely solely on its past glories.

This compilation of re-recorded greatest hits, "Nucleus", includes a variety of ANTHEM's classics, perfectly demonstrating the band's musical quality and proving that they can be ranked as a top-notch band even in the international market.

Naoto Shibata (bass): "Our re-recorded greatest hits album with English lyrics, 'Nucleus', will be released internationally on March 29th, 2019. The title represents the fact that this work is ANTHEM's nucleus. I am proud that we can internationally release this album right before our 35th anniversary with this current great lineup, and I am also honored from the bottom of my heart that we can present this to our fans. ANTHEM will keep doing our best to move forward, always heading towards the future. I hope you will all enjoy 'Nucleus'."

b>Akio Shimizu (guitar): "Finally our re-recorded greatest hits album with English lyrics, 'Nucleus', is set to be released internationally! I tackled these recordings head on, putting all of my pride into it. Those 13 songs were not easy at all; however, I believe they’ve fully captured the sound and the expression of today's ANTHEM while being true to the originals at the same time. I am really happy that our music is now flying into the internatinal market, hoping for new possibilities. Please give it a listen and feel all of the details of the album with the fresh mixing by Jens Bogren."

Yukio Morikawa (vocals): "Four years have already passed since I rejoined ANTHEM. I can say that my musical activities have been very busy and fulfilling, containing two full-length albums, some video works and a lot of live concerts. And I must say, I am so excited that in 2019, at last ANTHEM will internationally release an album, the re-recorded greatest hits. Singing all the songs in English was not at all easy for me, but I hope that this album will show the world that Japan has a band like us who loves metal so much. I hope you enjoy 'Nucleus'."

Isama Tamaru (drums): "I am glad and excited that we can internationally release our re-recorded greatest hits album, 'Nucleus', at this point in time, and we have the opportunity to present ANTHEM's current music and our way of living not only to Japan but also to the rest of the world. I would like you to listen carefully to the sound by Jens Bogren, who we worked with for the first time. With the current lineup, we have been going through a lot of changes by tackling a lot of new things, which has made the bond between the members and the crew much stronger. I would like to say thank you to all the fans who have been supporting us."

World-renowned bassist/vocalist Rev Jones has released his long-awaited debut album, "Bakwash".

Jones is known in the rock world for his amazing bass techniques and his crazy energetic stage presence, as seen onstage all over the world with several major acts, including STEELHEART, Leslie West, MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP (MSG), MOUNTAIN and FUEL.

On this album, Rev not only breaks every rule of thought with his bass performance, but he also takes care of the lead vocals with a very interesting sound and style.

Playing drums on the album is "Motor Man" Jeff Martin. Most people know him as the singer for RACER X, but he was also the drummer in BADLANDS. Rounding it off and completing the album trio on guitar is Jim Dofka.

b>"Bakwash" is full of heavy rock songs with catchy riffs, intense vocals, killer drum fills and lots of insane, over-the-top bass and guitar soloing.

"Backwash" track listing:

01. Bakwash

02. Ring Of Pain

03. New Drug

04. Long Legged Lady

05. Candy

06. Bette Blue

07. Mr. Paulie Ester

08. One Track Mind (3 Blind Eyes)

09. Songbird

10. Rev Jones Touching Bass

Almost from the very beginning of his career, Rev has been recording and touring pretty much nonstop. He first picked up a bass in 1985 and a couple of months later played his first handful of shows. Shortly after that, he entered the recording studio, and then the following year he hit the road for the first time and realized that was his calling in life.

Rev's unique two-handed tapping style and his amazing over the neck fingering technique brings an incredible energy and musicality to his role as foundation of the music. Onstage, he's a self-described madman intent on providing the audience with a visual experience to match the complexity of the music their hearing.

When Rev is not on tour playing bass, he heads out on tour with THE DESTROYERS as George Thorogood's guitar tech. As he described it: "I have the best second job that there is. I get paid to work with, talk to, hang out with, and watch one of the baddest entertainers ever to step on stage." Rev also plays rhythm guitar offstage on two songs.

Norwegian heavy metal/power metal band, Guardians Of Time, have released a lyric video for "Drawn In Blood", a track from their fifth album, Tearing Up The World, out now via ROAR! Rock Of Angles Records. The clip can be found below.

Tearing Up The World features guest performances from Abbath and Tim ”Ripper” Owens. The vinyl version of the album includes an exclusive bonus live version of the song “Empire”. The album was mixed and mastered in cooperation with Studio Fredman (Dimmu Borgir, Hammerfall, In Flames, Opeth, Soilwork). The artwork and layout was designed by Carlos Cabrera.

Tracklisting:

"Tearing Up The World"
"Raise The Eagle"
"We'll Bring War"
"Burning Of Rome"
"Kingdom Come"
"Valhalla Awaits"
"Brothers Of The North"
"Light Won't Shine"
"As I Burn"
"Drawn In Blood"
"Masters We Were"
"Empire" - Live (LP Bonus Track)

"Drawn In Blood" lyric video:

"Tearing Up The World" lyric video:

Guardians Of Time is considered as one of the leading heavy/power metal bands in Norway, with members holding experience from other bands such as Trail Of Tears, Susperia and Harm. Focusing on in-your-face heavy metal and live performances filled with power and energy, the band is always keen on giving their audience what they want; a heavy metal party! In the recent years they have toured Europe six times, supporting bands like Sabaton, Sepultura and Fear Factory. Guardians Of Time have played in Serbia, Spain, Hungary, Croatia, Belarus, Russia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Romania.

Guardians Of Time lineup:

Bernt Fjellestad - Vocals
Paul Olsen - Guitars
Andreas Vågane - Guitars
Willy Aaraas - Drums
Jonkis - Bass

German metal band, Metal Inquisitor, will release their new album, Panopticon, on January 18th via Massacre Records. The album will be available as limited edition CD digipak as well as limited vinyl LP.

The album was mixed at Gates Of Dawn Studio, and mastered at HOFA-Studios. Dimitar Nikolov created the cover artwork, which is available below along with the tracklisting.

On their new album, Metal Inquisitor keep on doing it the traditional way, without ignoring the zeitgeist. A first digital single from the new album will be released in mid-December.

Tracklisting:

"Free Fire Zone"
"Change Of Front"
"Beyond Nightmares"
"Trial By Combat"
"Shock Tactics"
"Re-Sworn The Oath"
"Scent Of Fear"
"War Of The Priests"
"Discipline And Punish"

(Photo - Maily Fernandez)

Filthy Bastard Culture, the new album from thrash titans Warpath, will officially hit stores tomorrow, Friday, November 23rd, via Massacre Records. An official video for the new single, "St. Nihil", can be found below. For the video, Warpath once again teamed up with Spanish director Dani Moreno / Chaparra Entertainment.

Filthy Bastard Culture was mixed and mastered by Eike O. Freese at the Chameleon Studios, Chris Hergt took care of the album artwork. You can get the album here. It will be available on CD Digipak, limited vinyl LP, stream and download.

Tracklisting:

"The World Beyond" (Intro)
"Unbroken Soul"
"Back To Zero"
"Filthy Bastard Culture"
"Believe In Me"
"Into The Dark"  
"Killing Fields"
"Below The Surface"
"F.U."
"Violent Starr"
"Slow Motion Violence"
"St. Nihil"
"Nebelkrähe" (Digipak Bonus)
"For The First Time" (Digipak Bonus)

"St. Nihil" video:

"Into The Dark" lyric video:

"F.U." video:

(Photo - Markus Erler)