Rivers Of Nihil has launched a video for "The Silent Life", taken off the band's latest album, Where Owls Know My Name.

Guitarist Brody Uttley comments: "This live music video for 'The Silent Life' was filmed by the kind folks over at MyGoodEye Visuals in our hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania on the last date of our recent headlining tour. We had our good pal Zach Strouse playing live saxophone with us that night, so it seemed like a great chance to catch some footage. As always, working with David Brodsky and his team was a blast. We hope you enjoy. We will also be embarking on our second European tour late this November with our friends in Revocation, Archspire, and Soreption. We will be playing a nice selection of new tunes as well as some old favorites. Come out and get in the pit!"

Next week, Rivers Of Nihil will join Archspire, Soreption, and labelmates Revocation for a European tour. See below for all dates.

November
28 - Berlin, Germany - Badehaus
29 - Aarhus, Denmark - Voxhall
30 - Hannover, Germany - Chez Heinz

December
1 - Dresden, Germany - Puschkin
2 - Poznan, Poland - U Bazyla
3 - Brno, Czech Republic - Melodka
4 - Vienna, Austria - Viper Room
5 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Orto Bar
6 - Munchen, Germany - Backstage
7 - Milano, Italy - Circolo Svolta
8 - Aarau, Switzerland - Kiff
9 - Marseille, France - Jas Rod
10 - Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz 2
11 - Madrid, Spain - Caracol
12 - Porto, Portugal - Hard Club
13 - Bilbao, Spain - Stage Live
14 - Pau, France - l'Ampli
15 - Paris, France - Petit Bain
16 - London, UK - Underworld
17 - Birmingham, UK - Mama Roux
18 - Bristol, UK - The Fleece
19 - Manchester, UK - Rebellion
20 - Brussels, Belgium - Magasin 4
21 - Nijmegen, Netherlands - Doornroosje
22 - Essen, Germany - Turock

Ohio-based metal band Axemaster unfortunately announces that, due to separate life situations, lead guitarist Damin Bennett and bassist Jim Curtis are no longer with the group. Both parted ways with the remaining band members as good friends and will always remain as important members of the extended Axemaster family. Jim and Damin's contributions to the band have been extremely valuable and will always be remembered; both will definitely be missed, but Axemaster will continue to move forward!

In moving forward, Axemaster is glad to report that they have recently added a new lead player named Shannon Rivera. Originally hailing from Tuscon Arizona, he relocated to the Cleveland, Ohio area in 2001 and has since been the lead guitarist for the bands Drenalin, Blackjack Symphony, and Sociopath; and has shared the stage with the likes of Metal Church, Kings-X, Y&T, Doro Pesche, Michael Schenker, and Jake E. Lee's Red Dragon Cartel. Obviously Shannon is a very experienced and talented player, and the band is very happy to have been able to add him to both the Axemaster lineup and family!

In other news, Axemaster is currently scheduled to play a portion of the upcoming 2019 U.S. tour by Leather Leone's solo band (the voice of Chastain, "the voice of the cult"!). Axemaster is scheduled to play throughout the month of March with the possibility of playing additional selected dates throughout the year. Fans can check for dates / locations as they become available at axemasterofficial.com.

 

This past Saturday, September 17th, Sebastian Bach headlined a sold out concert at The Venue, in his hometown of Peterborough, Ontario.

Marcus Ferguson was in attendance, and has issued the following review:

Bach home! Former Skid Row vocalist and Peterborough native Sebastian Bach returned to his hometown of Peterborough for a sold out show at The Venue on September 17th. 

This was his first live show in nearly 30 years bringing his brand of hard rock and heavy metal to a Peterborough stage. 

He made reference to the last time he visited the community a few years ago that he found himself in jail for an altercation at a nearby bar just up the street (as reported by TMZ).

He reminisced and shared stories of some of his favourite places growing up in Peterborough. 

He made reference to the live venue he was performing in as being the location of his first date back when it was the Odeon Movie Theatre. 

He played a smattering of songs from his solo career as well as many Skid Row classics. 

Several times during the show he paused and smiled as the room applauded and cheered the hometown hero and he soaked in the love, beaming a smile ear to ear. Who says you can never go home.

In attendance were many friends, his wife, his mom, a few of his siblings, and at one point he looked down into the front row and exclaimed "Oh my God! You were my Babysitter! And your (relative) took me to see Van Halen on the Diver Down tour!"

At one point, a fight broke out during the ballad "I Remember You". He told the crowd "If you came here tonight to fight get the (explicit) out of here". He went on to say "How the hell does a fight break out during that song!" 

There were unconfirmed reports of a number of people being ejected from the venue and possibly half a dozen arrests were made. 

From this reviewer's vantage point, I was oblivious to the most of the rough housing and felt he put on an excellent show. 

Ahead of tonight's second Peterborough show, Sebastian Bach took to social media with the following message:

"Peterborough, how fitting is it that we are ending our whole tour right here! #fullcircle Saturday night was so insane we are not going to do the same set again tonight, going to throw in some other tunes for the last night of over 100 cities this year! Geezus! Hard to believe this is the last show of the #homesweethome #HomeAwayFromHome tour that has kept us onstage for a full 4 months of the year for God's sakes! I would like to thank my awesome band @brentwoodsguitar @bobby_jarzombek Rob DeLuca and road crew @showlogisticssound @dizzman66 Jeff Meredith, Clayton, Randy, Mark Clayborne, Lonnie Bowling, Jon Franco for being the most professional coolest guys in the business! And also I have to thank everyone of you for coming out on this tour and supporting the band we couldn't do it without you, and this has been our best tour in a long time! Now it's time to make a new record! But not before we rock Peterborough Ontario Canada one more time people! Check out this killer guitar done by Peterborough artist Tim James thank you very much for the amazing gift man! And thank you to everyone for the amazing tour!!!"

 

 

Ian Gillan says that Steve Morse helped rebuild DEEP PURPLE after the band's disastrous final period with Ritchie Blackmore.

Blackmore is a co-founder of DEEP PURPLE and wrote many of their most memorable riffs, including "Smoke On The Water", but he has not played with the group since his 1993 departure.

Morse effectively took over Blackmore's slot in 1994 and has since been in the group longer than Ritchie.

During a brand new interview with SiriusXM's Eddie Trunk, Gillan praised Morse's contributions to DEEP PURPLE, saying: "When he came onboard, he reignited the band. We were pretty low ebb. I mean, [fill-in guitarist] Joe Satriani saved us from drowning completely and got us out of the hole. But Steve was there to help us rebuild with the 'Purpendicular' album, and from there on, we embarked on a completely different regime with a different way of working and everything else. He's been great."

sked if it was extremely difficult for Morse to replace an iconic guitarist like Blackmore, the singer said: "You must remember a couple of things. DEEP PURPLE was sinking with Ritchie. We were playing to quarter houses in Europe, which is one of our strongest territories — in Germany. Smaller venues, and they weren't even full. So had we continued that way and had Ritchie not walked out, we would have finished; that would have been the end of it. And the other thing was Steve's answer to that question when we did our first press conferences. When somebody asked him, 'How does it feel to fill Ritchie Blackmore's shoes?' And he said, 'As far as I know, Ritchie took his shoes with him when he left the band.'"

Blackmore was recently quoted saying he woud like to play one last show with DEEP PURPLE "for nostalgia reasons." He also previously suggested that the band's manager had blocked him from joining them onstage during the 2016 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony, and he used that as an excuse for not attending the event.

Despite Blackmore being a no-show at Rock Hall, he was given several shoutouts during the induction speeches of the DEEP PURPLE members in attendance. In addition, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich, who inducted DEEP PURPLE into the institution, praised "Ritchie fucking Blackmore" for one of the most memorable guitar riffs of all time on "Smoke On The Water".

Metallica have shared this live video, performing "Battery" at House of Vans in London, England on November 18th, 2016.

Metallica has donated $100,000 toward wildfire relief efforts in California through their successful All Within My Hands non-profit foundation. The following statement has been issued:

"Sadly, once again, communities in California are experiencing historically devastating wild fires in both the Northern and Southern parts of the state. All Within My Hands has made a $50,000 donation each to the North Valley Community Foundation and the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation; both agencies provide service to victims at evacuation centers and other much needed relief. We would like to encourage you to join us in supporting those in need and our first responders in any way you can by donating money, non-perishable food, clothing and other supplies or by giving your time volunteering or providing temporary housing. Every little bit helps."

Metallica recently released an official live video for "All Within My Hands". The clip was recorded live at the All Within My Hands Foundation Helping Hands Concert & Auction at The Masonic in San Francisco, CA on November 3rd, and features Avi Vinocur on mandolin & background vocals, David Phillips on pedal-steel, Henry Salvia on keyboards, and Cody Rhodes on percussion.

Says Metallica: "The event raised $1.3 million which will be used to work with our partners at Feeding America and the American Association of Community Colleges as All Within My Hands continues to tackle the issues of hunger and workforce education and work to create sustainable communities."

Get the audio recording at Metallica.com and LiveMetallica.com.

The official music video for the song "My Last White Light" from German/Dutch progressive metallers SACROSANCT, founded by former PESTILENCE guitarist Randy Meinhard, can be seen below. The track is taken from SACROSANCT's fourth album, "Necropolis", which will be released on November 30 via ROAR! Rock Of Angels Records. The disc was engineered, mixed and mastered by Max Morton of Morton Studios, who has also remastered the entire SACROSANCT back catalog. A prolific professional with a broad clientele, Max has worked with a wide variety of acts, including prominent Ukranian metalcore combo JINJER. The objective with "Necropolis" was to record a classic, analog-sounding album using modern technologies, and at the same time avoid any modern metal clichés.

The epic cover art for "Necropolis" was designed by Giannis Nakos based on the band's ideas, and perfectly portrays the album's dark subject matter. It prominently features SACROSANCT's new mascot, the Weeping Angel — a guardian and an avenger of injustice.

"Necropolis" track listing:

01. The New Age Of Fear

02. My Last White Light

03. The Grim Sleeper

04. Only One God

05. Melancholy

06. Clouds Obscured The Sun

07. NecroPolice

08. The Pain Still Lasts

hile "Necropolis" bears all of the hallmarks and intricacies that characterize SACROSANCT, it displays a more mature and focused songwriting approach. Songs like "The New Age Of Fear", "My Last White Light" and "Only One God" are lyrically thought-provoking, creating a brand of metal that still makes the band hard to categorize. Like its predecessor, "Tragic Intense", which was released in 1993, "Necropolis" places a strong emphasis on melancholy melodies and clean vocals, but also incorporates many harmony guitar parts, faster tempos and some modern twists that mark the beginning of a new chapter for the band.

SACROSANCT will celebrate the release of "Necropolis" with a special party at Hypothalamus in Rheine, Germany, on Friday, November 30.

SACROSANCT is:

Richard F. Hesselink - vocals

Randy Meinhard (ex-PESTILENCE) - guitars

Christian Göwert - guitars

Kees Harrison (ex-SPHERE OF SOULS) - bass

Jonas Schütz - drums

SACROSANCT was formed in 1988 by guitarist Randy Meinhard and drummer Marco Foddis, who had learned to know each either while joining PESTILENCE. In 1990, SACROSANCT released its debut album, "Truth Is - What Is". The album is characterized by technically sophisticated thrash metal. The dual guitars create a straight as well as spherical and melodious tapestry of sound, interrupted by the tight drumming and the moaning, but angry and rude voice. Creative band head Randy Meinhard considered guitar duos of bands like QUEENSRŸCHE, EXODUS and IRON MAIDEN as a main influence, and Ace Frehley of KISS as initial spark.

SACROSANCT released its second album, "Recesses For The Depraved", in 1991. With a more edgy sound it was little melodious and spheric than the debut. For the album cover, SACROSANCT even managed to secure the rights for H.R. Giger's picture "Das Spiegelbild". When Giger died, 23 years later, Rolling Stone magazine stated "the disturbing Giger cover art accurately conveyed the savage nature of the music."

The third album, "Tragic Intense", was even more melodious and spherical than the debut. On the other hand, staccato parts are rarely on it. In an interview for the music mag Iron Pages, Randy Meinhard stated in 1993 that the dark basic mood is what we intended to do. It just should sound sinister. In that issue Markus Wosgien (Nuclear Blast) described the album as a mixture of thrash, doom and power metal, and classified it as a milestone in this genre.

Infernal hard rockers, Chrome Division, have released their fifth and final studio album, One Last Ride,, which celebrates the band's fifteenth anniversary with heavy riffs, catchy melodies and roaring engines.

For this last trip, the Norwegians led by Dimmu Borgir's Shagrath enticed their original vocalist Eddie Guz back on board and have brewed up a new masterpiece crackling with metallic energy and spinning wheels.

Today, Chrome Division unveil the third album trailer, in which Eddie Guz speaks about the meaning behind two of the band's tracks, "You Are Dead To Me" and the latest single, "I'm On Fire Tonight". Watch below:

Get the new album here.

Tracklisting:

"Return From The Wastelands"
"So Fragile"
"Walk Away In Shame"
"Back In Town"
"You Are Dead To Me"
"The Call"
"I’m On Fire Tonight"
"Staying Until The End"
"This One Is Wild"
"One Last Ride"
"We Drink"
"Towards The Unknown"

Bonus track:
"Esta Noche a A Quemar"

"I'm On Fire Tonight" lyric video:

"Walk Away In Shame" lyric video:

"One Last Ride" lyric video:

Chrome Division will hit the road with their new material and play ten shows around Europe in February 2019. Supported by Crossplane and Virginia Hill, the dates are as follows:

February
8 - Oslo - John Dee*
9 - Hamburg - Headcrash
10 - Osnabruck - Bastard Club
11 - Munchen - Backstage Club
12 - St. Maurice - Manoir
13 - Mannheim - MS Connexion
14 - Eindhoven - Dynamo
15 - Dusseldorf - Pitcher
16 - Oldenburg - Cadillac
17 - Copenhagen - Beta*

Lineup:

Eddie Guz - lead vocals
Shagrath - guitars, bass & backing vocals
Mr Damage - lead guitar, bass & backing vocals
Tony White - drums, cowbell & percussion

(Photo - Eva Rose)

As explained by Annihilator frontman / founder Jeff Waters in a recent Facebook post about postponement of the band's fall 2018 tour, the new dates are in the poster below. He has checked in with the following update:

"This tour is going to KILL. Just going through the zillion bands to tour with us on this one... gotta make a special line-up here for many reasons. Since we postponed the For The Demented touring until the below dates, we will play some songs from it and songs the upcoming NEW studio CD! That should come out in Sept/Oct 2019, if we are lucky... and of course, some Alice In Hell gems and tributes, in honor of our fallen metal brother, Randy Rampage. Bigger production than usual, lots of energy, as always and some cool people joining us! Get tix now! Love to you all!

Waters' original Facebook post can be viewed below.

"So, I have been quiet about the passing of one of our previous and legendary singers, Randy Rampage, and as well about the upcoming headline tour(ing) next month. Hopefully, this video will explain the silence, why current tour dates are postponed and hint to you about new dates coming to you on Tuesday. On an unrelated note, construction on Watersound Studios UK (Durham, UK) is coming along nicely and will be a dream come true. Love to my Canadian family and love to my new UK family!"

Gathering Of Kings' debut album, First Mission, will arrive in late January. A music video for the new single, "Love Will Stay Alive", can be found below. The video was directed by Robert Hellström of RH Foto and filmed at Röda Kvarn in Lidköping, Sweden.

The album was produced, mixed, and mastered by Thomas Plec Johansson (Soilwork, The Night Flight Orchestra, Nocturnal Rites, Dynazty) at The Panic Room in Skövde, Sweden. All songs were written by Victor Olsson except "The Runaway", which was written by Maurice Gibb and Robin Gibb from Bee Gees. The song is a cover of Carolas hit single from 1986. So that's a tribute to the best Swedish female singer of all time.

The cover artwork was created by the German artist Markus Vesper.

First Mission tracklisting:

“The Gathering”
“Forever And A Day”
“Love Will Stay Alive”
“Endless Paradise”
“Saviour”
“Passing Rain”
“Out Of My Life”
“Lonely Road”
“Angels”
“Long Way From Home”
‘The Runaway” (Carola cover)
“Battle Cry” (Bonus Track)

“Love Will Stay Alive” video:

"Saviour":

"Out Of My Life":

"Forever And A Day":

Musicians:

Rick Altzi - vocals (Masterplan, Herman Frank, At Vance)
Björn Strid - vocals (Soilwork, The Night Flight Orchestra)
Apollo Papathanasio - vocals (Spiritual Beggars, Firewind)
Tobias Jansson - vocals (Saffire)
Jens Westin - vocals and Guitar (Corroded)
Alexander Frisborg - vocals (Helldog)
Victor Olsson - guitar and keyboards (Saffire)
Stefan Helleblad - guitar (Within Temptation, Jono)
Martin Sweet - guitar (Crashdiet, Sister)
Erik Martensson - guitar (Eclipse, W.E.T, Nordic Union, Ammunition)
Nalle Påhlsson - bass (Therion, Treat)
Richard Larsson - keyboards (The Night Flight Orchestra)
Chris Laney - keyboards (Pretty Maids)
Erik Wiss - keyboards (Cap Outrun)
Jonas Källsbäck - drums (The Night Flight Orchestra, Mean Streak)
Efraim Larsson - drums (Streamline, Diamond Dawn)
Robban Bäck - drums (Mustasch, Eclipse, Sabaton, W.E.T)
Henrik Sethsson - backing vocals (Casanovas)

(Photo - Ron Dahlgren)

Columbus, Ohio metalcore band LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES has released a new EP, "Dark Divine Reimagined", via Rise Records. The EP features three tracks from last year's album "Dark Divine" performed acoustically.

"To help celebrate the one-year anniversary of 'Dark Divine' and the headline tour, we reworked a few of our favorite songs from the record in an acoustic setting," the band said. "It's been something we've wanted to try since since we started having conversations about the record. This will close out the cycle for us on releases. See you next year!"

"Dark Divine Reimagined" track listing:

01. Empty The Same (Acoustic)

02. Even God Has A Hell (Acoustic)

03. Nowhere Left To Sink (Acoustic)

b>"Dark Divine" was released in November 2017 via Rise Records. The follow-up to 2015's "The Dying Things We Live For" was produced by Erik Ron at Grey Area Studios and mixed by Caleb Shomo (BEARTOOTH).

Drummer Greg Diamond told The Garden Statement about "Dark Divine": "I think the biggest component, this was the first record we did without [producer] Will Putney, who's done all of the releases in the past. This is the first record where every single member wrote on, and wrote hard on. [Guitarists Zach Pishney and Jeremy Smith], this is their first record that they've done with us, so they were so stoked on recording and writing. Zach has a little bit of a different style, [and] so does Jeremy. Everyone else that we worked with, it was kind of a 'Dream Team,' really. So everyone brought something different to the table, and everyone contributed, and eveyrone wanted to contribute, which is awesome."

Formed back in 2010 in Greenville, North Carolina, AETHER REALM have been delivering their very own mixture of melodic death metal and folkish hymns. This raging quartet managed to thrill the heavy metal world with its unique songwriting and performance – especially their latest studio album Tarot is talked about as a classic release already.

Now AETHER REALM rage on with their by signing with Napalm Records!

Napalm Records comment: “Napalm Records is very proud to announce the signing of Aether Realm! Tarot is an absolute brilliant album. We are super excited to partner up with Aether Realm to work on another masterpiece! Welcome to the Napalm Records family!”

Listen to latest AETHER REALM music right HERE:

With new album "Shiny And Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun." just out in stores this past Friday (November 16), THE SMASHING PUMPKINS may already have some new recording plans on the immediate horizon. Band leader Billy Corgan told USA Today that he's interested in having the PUMPKINS record a Christmas-themed LP at some point.

Corgan explained: "We're already talking about tour stuff for next year, so there will be more PUMPKINS shows in 2019. But for me, once we get off tour, I'm either going to be doing some writing in L.A. with some friends or going back to Chicago to start writing new SMASHING PUMPKINS. I also have an inkling to try and get us to do a Christmas record one day, so I might try to use the Christmas spirit to put the record together in concept, even if we're not ready to record it."

Asked if a holiday album would contain covers or original material, Corgan answered: "It would be a mixture. I have released two Christmas songs, and I was thinking it would be nice to re-record those in the context of the record we would make. It would be probably lean more acoustic... When I think Christmas music, I tend to think something you want to put on and sit around the tree with the kids and not rock out to. I don't see us doing a rocking-out Christmas album."

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS will kick off a short string of 30th anniversary shows on November 30 in the band's hometown of Chicago, winding down with two nights at the Forum in Los Angeles on December 8 and December 9.

b>"Shiny And Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun." is the first PUMPKINS album in over 18 years to feature Corgan, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin recording together.

Dutch rock legends Focus have announced the release of their new studio album, Focus 11. The title is currently available exclusively on the band's November UK tour and via the band's official online store.

The current lineup of Focus, which features Thijs van Leer, Pierre van der Linden, Menno Gootjes and Udo Pannekeet, completed the new studio album earlier this year and are debuting the CD edition on their November UK tour.  

The 11-track album will be available on CD, gatefold coloured LP and download via the band's own In And Out of Focus Records, through Cherry Red, in late January. The album features artwork by Roger Dean.

When asked about the album, Thijs van Leer responded with this poem:

"Wow, my joy could not increase
To see this new release
It has Mazzel, Palindrome and Heaven
Plus a title track called Eleven
Both angelic and a beast
It's Focus, to say the least!"

For fans who can't attend the November tour, the only place where the CD can be ordered online (with orders being fulfilled in November) is the band's own webstore.

For fans wishing to pre-order the CD and LP for when they are released in January, Amazon is starting to take pre-orders now.

- CD
- LP

Find the band's tour itinerary here.

(Photo - Rens Plaschek)

Cardiff, Wales-based newcomers Holding Absence have released a music video for their new single, "Like A Shadow".

Vocalist Lucas Woodland comments: "'Like A Shadow' is a very important song for this band. We wrote the song directly after a big line-up change, and it breathed new life and fresh perspective into us. The song carries over the intensity and urgency that we love in our live show and the catchiness that we try to maintain in our choruses for all the listeners at home. It’s a song very close to our hearts, and we can’t wait to hear what people think of it.”

Holding Absence are currently on the road as part of the Great Depression tour with As It Is, Trash Boat, and Courage My Love. The band will also play a special headline show on November 30th at Jag's in Aberdare, UK with support from Nightlives, The Decoy, and Blank Atlas.

Holding Absence lineup:

Lucas Woodland - Vocals
Chris Smitheram - Guitar
Scott Carey - Guitar
James Joseph - Bass
Ashley Green - Drums

With four studio albums under their belt, headline tours, support slots for metal giants such as Machine Head, Epica, and Life Of Agony plus several appearances at Europe's biggest festivals: Belgian dark rock outfit Diablo Blvd's career has brought them countless remarkable events and made them travel back and forth across the continent. Sadly, the band has decided to call it quits. They recently issued the following statement:

"To all of you reading this message, we will start by announcing our first headline show ever at the legendary Ancienne Belgique venue on the 10th of December 2018. For some reason we never played the AB before so we're absolutely thrilled to finally head over to one of Belgium's most beautiful venues. No doubt this will be a night to remember especially because it will also be our last show ever. Yes, you're reading this right: the DB is calling it a day.

We can imagine this might come as a surprise to many of you. Even for us it feels unreal knowing that we are about to close a very important chapter in our lives. Over the last 13 years we've seen a lot of things come and go but we always did this our way. There's no negativity here, there's only love. We thank you all for your undying support and for giving us the time of our lives. We hereby invite you all to the Ancienne Belgique on the 10th of December for the final curtain. Ticket presale will start tomorrow (Friday 29th of June at 11AM) via abconcerts.be. Regarding all the booked summer shows: we cannot wait to continue our festival run and enjoy every last second of it. Looking forward to see you all out there."

Sincerely,
Alex, Andries, Kris, Tim & Jan

The band has released a video for their last song, aptly titled "The Song Is Over". It’s a compilation of live footage from Wacken, Graspop, 70000 Tons Of Metal, and many other festivals, shot between 2005 and 2018.

After 13 successful years, the band has decided to call it a day… but not without a serious final bang. They will play a final show at the Ancienne Belgique, Brussels on December 10th. Get your tickets here.

Watch the music video for "The Song Is Over" below.

Wednesday 13’s current Lonesome Road To Hell Tour ends November 24th in Los Angeles at The Whisky. A week and a half later on December 5th, W13 will be hitting the studio to begin recording his eighth full-length album. That must mean everything is completely written? “Yes, for the most part,” answers The Duke of Spook, speaking exclusively to Brave Words scribe Aaron Small aboard his tour bus, which is parked outside The Rockpile in Toronto.

“We’ve written all the songs, I’ve written most of the lyrics; I just need to fine tune it. We did the demos. We’ve just got to work on the intro, the outro… and there’s another thing I want to do, but I don’t want to give it away. So, we have 99% of the music ready. We might write one or two more songs before then, just to have and see what happens.”

Previously, Wednesday indicated via social media that this new music is “heavy and dark.” A statement which he elaborates upon further. “Yes. Maybe I spoke too soon. It’s not as heavy as Condolences, it’s not as heavy as Monsters Of The Universe. It’s still got a heavy quality to it, but it’s more of a… it’s almost got more of a fun atmosphere to it – not as fun as Calling All Corpses. Maybe a little more Dixie Dead. I think Condolences, that title and that song kind of took over the whole concept of that record; it was all death and dark. This is a little more fun, haunted house, Return Of The Living Dead kind of record; if I could compare it to a movie.”

Back in September, W13 also mentioned online that he thought he had the album title. Is that name still going to grace the new record? “No. It’s totally changed. It’s going to be called Necrophaze. And I’m really stoked about this one! I got the title because someone asked me why my songs deal with necrophilia? I answered, ‘I guess I’ve been going through a phase… a Necrophaze… my whole music career.’ I’m already working on the artwork with my artist. This is something I’ve never really had a chance to do. I’ve got months to work with the art, whereas with Condolences, I had less than two weeks. They literally said, ‘You want this record out June 2nd (2017), you’ve got have it turned in by February 8th. I had no idea if I could get it done, but we did. The photo in the record was the only photo we saw that we liked, and we had to go with that. There wasn’t a lot of time to go through and pick out stuff. This time, it’s going to be completely thought out; there’s a lot of cool artwork. I’m still that old school fan of having the total package, and this package I’m working on is going to pull you into that world. It’s going to be a cool visual thing; something I haven’t done before. It’s the next chapter, we’ll see what happens…”

W13 recently played a few shows with guitarist John 5 (Rob Zombie), any chance of 5 making a guest appearance on Necrophaze? “I don’t think so… but we have some special guests already. I don’t want to make it seem like – I mean, it definitely crossed my mind cause the guy’s fucking awesome! And he really liked the band. Those shows, I wish we could have kept touring together, I wish we could have brought that here (to Toronto). We’ve definitely talked about doing some stuff, but I didn’t want this next record to be full of guests, cause as of right now we have three guests on it. And I’ve never had a guest. It’s not like I’m getting these guests to make people pay attention to it; it just all worked out with the songs and it makes sense.”

As far as a potential release date goes… “I’ve heard June, maybe April. I don’t know yet, it really is up to the label; Nuclear Blast. Our deadline to have the record finished and mixed is February 25th (2019).” Who will be handling the production duties? “I can’t tell you who we’re using yet, but Zeuss (who produced, mixed and mastered Condolences) is involved. We have a different producer, but Zeuss is mixing it. We’re going with someone else, and we’re doing it in Los Angeles. I want it to be comfortable, I want to be able to go home every night. I want to enjoy making this record. We’re doing it in an actual studio. This is the one! We’re building a lot more around this record. Next year we’ve got so much shit going on.” When pressed for a song title or two from Necrophaze, W13 replied, “Ah… no, it’s too early.”

Something that is coming in the very near future is New Year’s Eve, which means Wednesday 13 playing Ozzfest at The Forum in Los Angeles. “Yeah, we got that! I don’t know how we achieved that, but it’s really cool and we’re super stoked to be a part of that. It’s going to be great! My first New Year’s Eve with something cool to do. And, I get to do it with Ozzy, Manson, and Zombie.” Ever been to an Ozzfest before? “Not as Wednesday 13, but Murderdolls played with Ozzy, Steel Panther, and Korn at The O2 in London, England (in 2010) where Michael Jackson was rehearsing right before he passed away. This will be the first Ozzfest as Wednesday 13; that’s a good thing to have on your resume.” Did you attend an Ozzfest as a fan? “I’ve been to one Ozzfest, and that’s where I met Rob Zombie. I went to meet Rob Zombie, so I didn’t really stay for the day. I actually just went there to meet him and that was it, then I left. That was in North Carolina when Transylvania 90210 came out (in 2005). I heard he was a fan of the record. He had a radio show for five seconds and he played The Cramps, old school stuff, and ‘Look What The Bats Dragged In’. That was cool! He was a fan of it and that was the first time I met him. So that’s the only Ozzfest I’ve attended.”

On a personal note, Wednesday 13 has stopped drinking, lost weight, and is approaching ten months sober. What prompted this healthy living and abstinence from alcohol? “I got sick and tired of it. I just woke up one day and said, I don’t want to do this anymore.” Like the line in “I Just Want You” by Ozzy Osbourne – ‘I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired, I used to go to bed so high and wired.’ “Pretty much. I pretty much drank my 30s away. I’m 42 now, I’m a grandpa. It’s a lot of shit. There’s people who depend on me. I couldn’t separate the road life from going back home, cause I don’t do anything when I go back home except wait for the next tour. When you’re on tour, it’s the only job where you’re accepted if you’re fucked up or drunk. It’s easy to get eight bottles of Jack Daniel’s a night and drink ‘em all. It’s one of those jobs where you literally have it right in front of you every day, and I just kind of got dependent on it. It became my crutch I would use every night. It was not making me feel well. I’d had enough of it. First of the year, I was trying to do one of those New Year’s Resolution things. I started off good, and then I fucking fell off again in January and had a really bad night. I woke up the next day and went, alright, that’s it! No more of that. And I haven’t drank since then. I’ve dropped 45 pounds. I exercise every day. I just wanted to get healthy, and now I feel awesome; it’s given me this new confidence. I go on stage now like a mad man, instead of a drunk mad man. And I’m having fun!”

Going back to the Halloween shows in London, England; that’s something North American fans were incredibly envious of. On Friday, October 26th, W13 played the Skeletons album in its entirety to celebrate its tenth anniversary. “Yeah, first time we played some of those songs ever. Luckily, it went over great and we had a lot more time, this time. Cause we did the Transylvania ten-year anniversary, we did Fang Bang, and we didn’t have much rehearsal. We literally had about two days to learn a lot of that stuff. It’s like The Ramones with a lot of my older songs; it’s a lot of the same chords, just played different. That sounds easy, but it’s not. It was the first time we had a week to rehearse all of that, and work on the Frankenstein Drag Queens set, which was so much fun. So yeah, the Skeletons set went over great – I can’t believe it’s been ten years since that record.” Did you ever consider re-releasing Skeletons, with bonus tracks and/or live material, to commemorate the occasion? “Coming next year. I’m working on re-releasing everything next year. Basically, all those old copies out there, get ‘em while they last cause they’re going to change. The new ones will have bonus tracks, liner notes, different artwork; this is going to be everything I couldn’t do before, including vinyl.”

Jumping to the next night, Saturday, October 27th Wednesday, along with guitarists Roman Surman and Jack Tankersley, bassist Troy Doebbler, and drummer Kyle Castronovo played a complete Frankenstein Drag Queens set in full costume - including wigs and fishnet stockings. Originally, W13 had planned to play guitar during this extra special one-off show, but he didn’t. “It used to be just one guitar. Then we added a second, you don’t need three guitars for this. I feel good, I’m in shape, I want to kick my leg up in these hot pants; I don’t need a guitar holding me down. We’ve got two awesome guitar players, I’m going to have fun, and that was cool to do. The original (FDQ) lineup was so long ago, that was me in my parents’ garage with my friends. To hear those songs with this lineup, knowing how to play – and me knowing how to sing without blowing my voice out – we killed those songs! We down-tuned them to C, so they sounded even heavier. ‘Screwdriver’ sounds like a freight train! It makes you want to punch people, babies!” Please tell me you filmed this, the inaugural reunion of Frankenstein Drag Queens. “Yeah. We have a guy who did that last DVD just for touring, South Of Hell. The same guy films everything on tour, so we have footage from Bloodstock, from that; we’ll probably put out another just for tour DVD with that, and behind the scenes stuff. Eventually, we’ll do a professional surround sound DVD; there’s all kinds of stuff we can do.”

Touring will continue in 2019. In fact, W13 promises, “We’ll be back in Canada in March / April doing several dates, coming back as main support for a band. It will not be a headline run. That’ll be announced soon.”

 

Greek extreme metal veterans ROTTING CHRIST will release their new album, "The Heretics", on February 15, 2019 via Season Of Mist. The artwork for the disc created by Greek artist Maximos Manolis and can be seen below.

"The Heretics" track listing:

01. In The Name of God (04:14)

02. Vetry Zlye (03:13)

03. Heaven And Hell And Fire (04:52)

04. Hallowed Be Thy Name (05:06)

05. Dies Irae (03:46)

06. I Believe (03:42)

07. Fire God And Fear (04:50)

08. The Voice of the Universe (05:23)

09. The New Messiah (03:07)

10. The Raven (05:23)

ROTTING CHRIST is currently touring Europe as the support act for WATAIN.

ith "The Heretics", ROTTING CHRIST is opening a brand new chapter. Guitarist and vocalist Sakis Tolis, in collaboration with his brother Themis on drums, achieves a perfect balance of amalgamating the band's classic and unique style of riffing and rhythm with exciting new elements sprinkled in to keep its material exciting and fresh. The experience is enhanced by Jens Bogren's equally clear and transparent yet also massive as well as sombre mix and mastering at his widely renowned Fascination Street Studios (AMORPHIS, BORKNAGAR, MOONSPELL, DEVIN TOWNSEND).


With more than 30 years, 13 studio albums, a dozen EPs, singles and split releases, as well as more than 1,250 shows under their belt, 2018 marked the year of ROTTING CHRIST's "Their Greatest Spells", where the band musically revisited its exciting legacy to connect its past with the present.

Asked in an interview with Pavillon 666 if he thought ROTTING CHRIST would last 30 years upon the band's 1988 formation, Sakis said: "It's a full life. No, of course [not]…you don't start the band to exist for 30 years or to be famous or rich or whatever the fuck. We just started the band because I wanted to sound like my idols back then. I wanted to play only one show and now I'm in a position where I've played 1,500 shows. And, no, I didn't expect something like this, but the spirit remains the same, even if I'm not that young. I still have the spirit and the hope that if we are in good health to keep playing with the band until our death. If health permits, of course. It's not up to me. If health does not permit, then I will not serve."

ROTTING CHRIST is:

Sakis Tolis: vocals, guitar, keys

Themis Tolis: drums

George Emmanouil: lead guitar

Van Ace: bass

The official music video for the song "Mariana Trench" from Nita Strauss, the incredibly talented guitarist who has rocked out on stage with ALICE COOPER, FEMME FATALE, Jermaine Jackson, THE IRON MAIDENS and more, can be seen below. The track is taken from her debut solo album, "Controlled Chaos", which was released on November 16 via Sumerian Records.

Nita says: "From bright and fun to aggressive and dark, from peaceful to chaotic, this album is a way for me to give the listener a glimpse into my personality and what goes on inside my mind."

"Controlled Chaos" is available for pre-order at NitaStrauss.com.


Strauss has been fighting to make a name for herself in the guitar world for years. She is one of the most sought-after clinicians in the industry and has done extensive clinic tours across multiple continents. Her consistent touring schedule has shown her to play in front of over a million audience members per year consistently for the past several years. 2018 has already proven to be a banner year for Nita with her being named as the first-ever female Ibanez signature artist in the company's 60-year history. She played WWE suprstar Shinsuke Nakamura's entrance music at "WrestleMania" in New Orleans in front of an audience of 78,000 fans and millions streaming worldwide just before surpassing her Kickstarter campaign eight times over, allowing her to self-produce and record "Controlled Chaos".


he 11-track album was a challenge to Strauss and an opportunity for her to reconnect with what inspired her to pick up a guitar in the first place. She says: "I started playing guitar because of instrumental guitar music. All my real heroes made instrumental albums. All my own career has been spent playing in bands, but I never forgot that dream of what inspired me to pick up the guitar in the first place."


"Controlled Chaos" track listing:

01. Prepare For War

02. Alegria

03. Our Most Desperate Hour

04. Mariana Trench

05. Here With You

06. The Stillness At The End

07. The Quest

08. Hope Grows

09. Lion Among Wolves

10. Pandemonium 2.0

11. The Show Must Go On

Asked by Albany, New York radio station Q103 whether she thinks it will be difficult for listeners to get into her solo album since it's all instrumental, Nita said: "In some cases, I would think so, but what I really tried to do with 'Controlled Chaos' is make an album that the average rock fan can listen to. Yes, there's a lot of notes being played, of course, but I wanted to make a sort of a gateway drug rock album into instrumental guitar music. The casual rock or metal fan might go, 'I don't want to listen to music without words. It's one long guitar solo.' I wrote songs. I wrote songs with a verse and a chorus and a bridge and a guitar solo section, a big giant solo section. I think the audience will really get that. They will totally understand that."

Nita's skill, exuberant stage presence and love for all things about her instrument have earned her a stellar reputation in the music industry and endorsements including Ibanez Guitars, Marshall Amplification, DiMarzio pickups, Monster Energy and more.


Photo credit: Larry Dimarzio

German industrial metallers RAMMSTEIN are putting the finishing touches on their long-awaited new album for an early 2019 release. The follow-up to 2009's "Liebe Ist Für Alle Da" will be mixed at a Los Angeles studio beginning in mid-December with Rich Costey, an American producer who has previously worked with MUSE, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and FRANZ FERDINAND, among others.

RAMMSTEIN guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe spoke about the band's upcoming disc while promoting "A Million Degrees", the upcoming third effort from his EMIGRATE side project. Saying that he was "very proud" of the new RAMMSTEIN album, Kruspe told France's United Rock Nations that the record was "almost finished," with only "last touch-ups, like small things here and there," remaining to be done.

Asked about the musical direction of the new RAMMSTEIN music, Kruspe said: "To me, the process of doing this record was something that I'm very happy with, because we've managed to gain a certain kind of respect back that we have lost in the past. It also kind of reminded me, the way that we are the moment, as the beginning from RAMMSTEIN. So, music-wise, I think it's richer when it comes to harmonies and melodies. That was also something that I was trying to do, because in the past, every time you talked about RAMMSTEIN, it's all about this big burden about the show and the fire. Nobody really talks about the music, which is, to me, as a [music] writer, kind of a slap in your face. It was also important to me that we kind of step up, music-wise, in a way. It's almost like RAMMSTEIN 3D, I would describe it."

Kruspe said that there are no plans for EMIGRATE to tour in support of "A Million Degrees", explaining that "I really don't have the time for that. I'm going to Los Angeles in the middle of December to mix the RAMMSTEIN record," he said. "After that, we [RAMMSTEIN] are in the middle of tour preparation, and then we're gonna be on tour for the next three years. So first of all, there's no time, but even if there were time at the moment, I like the balance that I have with the EMIGRATE project and RAMMSTEIN."

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

In 2016 and 2017, RAMMSTEIN played a number of concerts where the band opened each show with a brand new song, presently only known as "Ramm 4". The track contained lyrics that seemed to be a combination of various titles of previous RAMMSTEIN songs.

PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS, the project led by the former PANTERA and current DOWN/SUPERJOINT frontman, played an 11-song set consisting entirely of PANTERA classics last night (Friday, November 16) at The Viper Room in West Hollywood, California.

At the start of the gig, Anselmo addressed his reasons for playing a full show of PANTERA songs. He told the crowd: "Let's make this clear: I'm doing this set in honor of Vince and Dime," referring to his late PANTERA bandmates "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott and Vinnie Paul Abbott.

PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS' setlist for The Viper Room concert:

01. Use My Third Arm

02. Mouth For War

03. Becoming

04. Walk

05. Death Rattle

06. I'm Broken (with CHILD BITE's Shawn Knight)

07. This Love

08. Fucking Hostile

09. Hellbound

10. Domination / Hollow

11. A New Level

an-filmed video footage of the show can be seen below.

The concert was livestreamed on PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS' Facebook page and can be watched in its entirety at this location.

All of PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS performances on the current U.S. tour have seen the band play a mini-set of PANTERA songs, including such fan favorites as "Walk", "Mouth For War", "A New Level", "I'm Broken", "Becoming", "This Love", "Hellbound" and "Domination / Hollow".

THE ILLEGALS' latest trek kicked off in Austin, Texas on November 1, exactly four months after a video message from Anselmo was played at the public memorial for PANTERA drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott. It was the first time the singer had publicly commented on his former bandmate's death.

The event, which was held at Bomb Factory in Dallas, Texas, included emotional tributes from a number of Abbott's fellow musicians, some of whom appeared in person while others sent short video speeches expressing their affection for the fallen PANTERA and HELLYEAH drummer.

Anselmo's tribute was a few seconds long and saw him speaking in his trademark deep voice. "Vince, always have love in my heart for you, man," he said. "Rest in peace."

Vinnie Paul and his brother Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, they formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.

Up until his death, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo.

Vinnie and Anselmo's relationship got more acrimonious when Vinnie indirectly blamed Philip for Dimebag's death, suggesting that some remarks the vocalist had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag's killer.

Vinnie passed away on June 22 at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 54.

The PANTERA and HELLYEAH drummer was buried on June 30 next to his brother and their mother, Carolyn, at Moore Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Arlington, Texas.

PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS' sophomore album, "Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue", was released in January via Anselmo's Housecore Records in the U.S. and Season Of Mist in other parts of the world. The disc is the follow-up to PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS' debut, "Walk Through Exits Only", which came out in 2013 to mostly positive reviews.

METALLICA has donated $100,000 toward wildfire relief efforts in California.

The band made the donation through its All Within My Hands non-profit foundation, which was launched in 2017 to help creating sustainable communities by tackling the issues of hunger and workforce education and encouraging volunteerism.

"Sadly once again communities in California are experiencing historically devastating wild fires in both the Northern and Southern parts of the state," METALLICA's foundation wrote in a statement Friday.

"All Within My Hands has made a $50,000 donation each to the North Valley Community Foundation and the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation; both agencies provide service to victims at evacuation centers and other much needed relief."

he statement continued: "We would like to encourage you to join us in supporting those in need and our first responders in any way you can by donating money, non-perishable food, clothing and other supplies or by giving your time volunteering or providing temporary housing. Every little bit helps."

In its first six months of operation, All Within My Hands donated more than $750,000 to local food banks around the world — a practice the band and the Foundation have continued on METALLICA's current North American tour. They've donated $10,000 to local food banks in every city and met dedicated people who focus their daily lives on helping others.

The Camp Fire, which started November 8 in Northern California, has destroyed about 9,800 homes scorched 146,000 acres. It is the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in state history.

The Woolsey Fire in Southern California has claimed three lives and destroyed 548 structures in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. More than 98,000 acres have been burned since the blaze began November 8.

GHOST played its first-ever U.S. arena headlining show last night (Friday, November 16) the Forum in Inglewood, California. The concert at the 17,500-capacity venue, as well as the December 15 show at the 19,000-capacity Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, was announced before the rest of the tour was revealed. GHOST later added Laval, Quebec's Place Bell, which seats 10,000, on December 7.

Fan-filmed video footage of the Forum performance can be seen below.

GHOST leader Tobias Forge told Forbes in a new interview that the key logistically during a tour that jumps from larger mid-size venues —mostly 1,500-3,000-capacity theaters — to arenas and back, is how to present that show in the larger setting without losing what makes it a virtually unparalleled staging in a more intimate environment.

"I think that one of our biggest hurdles right now — not in terms of imagination and planning but just economically and practically — is how to make those arena shows not look like we just put our theatre show into The Forum or Barclays. It needs to look like we look like this every night on the tour," Forge said. "There's usually a makeshift stage — a very generic square stage. A PA company has come in and put up a big PA, usually with a lot of speakers and stuff in front of the stage. So you end up in a situation that in a way sort of increases the distance between you and the crowd. Whereas if you go see BON JOVI, he will have built a stage that is meant to be in some sort of proximity to the crowd.

b>Forge added that he likes the challenge involved in properly pulling off GHOST's first American arena concerts. "This is my job," he said. "This is my dream. This is what I have been wanting ever since I was a kid. I sat in front of my TV in our living room. I had a VCR looking at tapes I'd freeze frame and draw the stage. I loved that stuff. It takes a lot of planning and you definitely have to grind your teeth a lot knowing [maybe] it won't really turn out the way I wanted… but fuck it."

Forge, who performs as Cardinal Copia, said in an interview with El Paso, Texas radio station KLAQ that his original character of Papa Emeritus could return. Forge explained: "One thing that I'm looking forward to is having a pope back in the lead…. Cardinal Copia is not the leader yet; he's working his way up. And I'm definitely also looking forward to him possibly becoming the real deal."

Forge added: "I'm okay with the Cardinal... But I'm definitely looking forward to, in the future, where he could also have his additional papal robes. And I think that, given the right production setting, there's definitely a lot of things that we can do that will be even more theatrical, more gags and more things changing."

Forge told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that he knew early on that GHOST would be a theatrical act. "This is not just like a T-shirt band," he said. 'This sounds like something that would be theatrical and, you know, over the top, so this must be like a theater band — yeah, and then we started like, very quickly it was like, there should be a pope, and it should be like a nameless band that should be in it, big church, and it quickly ramped up to where we had to make a decision where this is not just something that we can just wing at a bar."

Forge performed as a "new" Papa Emeritus on each of GHOST'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 the band's latest album, "Prequelle".

"Prequelle" debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and features the chart-topping rock single "Rats".

Gathering Of Kings debut album First Mission will arrive in late January. The album was produced, mixed, and mastered by Thomas Plec Johansson (Soilwork, The Night Flight Orchestra, Nocturnal Rites, Dynazty) at The Panic Room in Skövde, Sweden.

All songs were written by Victor Olsson except "The Runaway", which was written by Maurice Gibb and Robin Gibb from Bee Gees. The song is a cover of Carolas hit single from 1986. So that's a tribute to the best Swedish female singer of all time.

The cover artwork was created by the German artist Markus Vesper.

An official video for the upcoming fourth single "Love Will Stay Alive" to be released next week. Until then you can listen to the three previous singles on Spotify.

Musicians:

Rick Altzi - vocals (Masterplan, Herman Frank, At Vance)
Björn Strid - vocals (Soilwork, The Night Flight Orchestra)
Apollo Papathanasio - vocals (Spiritual Beggars, Firewind)
Tobias Jansson - vocals (Saffire)
Jens Westin - vocals and Guitar (Corroded)
Alexander Frisborg - vocals (Helldog)
Victor Olsson - guitar and keyboards (Saffire)
Stefan Helleblad - guitar (Within Temptation, Jono)
Martin Sweet - guitar (Crashdiet, Sister)
Erik Martensson - guitar (Eclipse, W.E.T, Nordic Union, Ammunition)
Nalle Påhlsson - bass (Therion, Treat)
Richard Larsson - keyboards (The Night Flight Orchestra)
Chris Laney - keyboards (Pretty Maids)
Erik Wiss - keyboards (Cap Outrun)
Jonas Källsbäck - drums (The Night Flight Orchestra, Mean Streak)
Efraim Larsson - drums (Streamline, Diamond Dawn)
Robban Bäck - drums (Mustasch, Eclipse, Sabaton, W.E.T)
Henrik Sethsson - backing vocals (Casanovas)

First Mission tracklisting:

“The Gathering”
“Forever And A Day”
“Love Will Stay Alive”
“Endless Paradise”
“Saviour”
“Passing Rain”
“Out Of My Life”
“Lonely Road”
“Angels”
“Long Way From Home”
‘The Runaway” (Carola cover)
“Battle Cry” (Bonus Track)

FM have released an official live video for "Killed By Love", a track from their new album, Atomic Generation, released back in March. Watch the clip below:

FM's eleventh studio album, Atomic Generation, was recorded at Coal House Studios in Staffordshire and West3 Productions, London, engineered by Scott Ralph and mixed by Jeff Knowler (Indiscreet 30, Heroes & Villains, Rockville, Metropolis).

Tracklisting:

"Black Magic"
"Too Much Of A Good Thing"
"Killed By Love"
"In It For The Money"
"Golden Days"
"Playing Tricks On Me"
"Make The Best Of What You Got"
"Follow Your Heart"
"Do You Love Me Enough"
"Stronger"
"Love Is The Law"

"Golden Days" lyric video:

"Killed By Love" video:

"Playing Tricks On Me" video:

"Black Magic" video:

The Italian melodic power metal band Kalidia has released a video for "Circe's Spell", the third single from their new album The Frozen Throne.

The Frozen Throne will be released on November 23rd via Inner Wound Recordings. The album will be available on CD, digital and as an exclusive black wooden box edition, limited to 250 hand-numbered copies.

Inspired by classic power metal bands like Rhapsody Of Fire, Hammerfall and Stratovarius as well as new bands like Beast In Black, Kalidia have created an uplifting melodic power metal album with the roots in classic power metal with a modern and fresh touch.

The Frozen Throne was produced, recorded and mixed by Lars Rettkowitz (Freedom Call), mastered by Achim Köhler (Primal Fear, Amon Amarth, Brainstorm) and the cover artwork was created by Stan W. Decker (Vanden Plas, Primal Fear).

Led by the charismatic vocalist Nicoletta Rosellini and with a really strong album behind them, Kalidia are ready to show the metal scene that they are a force to be reckoned with.

Tracklisting:

“Frozen Throne”
“Circe’s Spell”
“Black Sails”
“Orpheus”
“To The Darkness I Belong”
“Myth Of Masada”
“Midnight’s Chant”
“Go Beyond”
“Amethyst”
“Lotus”
“Queen Of The Forsaken”

"Circe's Spell" video:

"Black Sails" lyric video:

"Frozen Throne" video:

Italy's power/prog metal band S91 has inked a worldwide record deal with Rockshots Records for the release of their sophomore album coming out in early 2019.

Their debut album Behold The Mankind was released in 2016, and was a concept album about human history in a Christian approach. S91's style is in the wake of a coordinated progressive-metal with symphonic influences, led by the warm and strong voice of Maria Londino standing above. The album was produced by Cristiano Bertocchi (Labyrinth, Vision Divine, Wind Rose) and mastered by Simone Mularoni (Domination Studios), and was very well welcomed by critics and audience allowing the band to play shows in Italy and abroad, including a performance at the latest edition of  "Elements Of Rock", the largest Christian metal festival in Europe.

Currently the band is in studio to define the final details of the sophomore album, a new and exciting concept album coming out in early 2019 with a worldwide release and distribution by Rockshots Records.  

S91 are:
Maria "Marì" Londino: lead vocals
Francesco "Franz" Romeggini: guitars, lead/backing vocals
Giacomo "Jack" Manfredi: bass
Francesco "Frank" Londino: keyboards
Giacomo "Giachi" Mezzetti: drums and percussions, lead/backing vocals

Halestorm and In This Moment kicked off the third leg of their all-female fronted tour, with New Year’s Day supporting. The tour began on November 16th in Norfolk, VA, and runs through December 16th, wrapping in St. Petersburg, FL. Fan-filmed video from the kick-off show, which includes In This Moment doing an instrumental Metallica jam (starting at the 5:00 minute mark) is available below.

“You asked for it, and now you’re gonna get it,” said Halestorm frontwoman Lzzy Hale. “I’m so excited to announce the third leg with my empowering, beautifully Vicious women! Three tours and we don’t show any signs of slowing! We are joined by our friends in In This Moment and New Years Day starting in November! Get your tickets now because you don’t want to miss this!”

"We are so beyond excited to be announcing the third leg of such an empowering and beautiful tour,” said Maria Brink of In This Moment. “We knew after completing the first leg that this was something people were going to be paying attention to, and it felt strong, it felt powerful, and it felt liberating. I am so excited to see everybody at the upcoming shows!"

“Touring with Maria and Lzzy has been, by far, the best touring experience I’ve ever had,” said Ash Costello of New Years Day. “I am lifted up and supported by the amazing women of this tour, and everyone feels as if they are family who are rooting for each other to kill it every single night. The positivity is incredible on a personal level. Not to mention, the shows are absolutely ferocious. I am honored to be on stage with these incredible women of metal and rock once again! And honestly, I hope there’s no end in sight!”

Tickets go on-sale this Friday, July 27th, the release day of Halestorm’s fourth album, Vicious. Also this Friday, all three bands kick off the second leg of the tour at Kansas City, MO’s Silverstein Eye Centers Arena.

Tour dates (with special guests New Years Day unless noted)

November
20 - Evansville, IN - Old National Events Plaza
21 - Ft. Wayne, INvAllen County ExpoCenter
23 - Syracuse, NY - Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center
24 - New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom
26 - Cleveland, OH - Masonic Auditorium

December
1 - Broomfield, CO - 1st Bank Center
2 - Park City, KS - Hartman Arena
4 - Springfield, MO - Shrine Mosque
5 - Lexington, KY - Rupp Arena
7 - Hammond, IN - Horseshoe Casino
8 - Minneapolis, MN - The Armory
11 - San Antonio, TX - Aztec Theater
12 - Dallas, TX - South Side Ballroom
14 - Orlando, FL - Amway Arena
16 - St. Petersburg, FL - MahaffeyTheater

(Photo - Jeremy Saffer)

Last month, STARBREAKER — the group featuring vocalist Tony Harnell (TNT, SKID ROW) and guitarist Magnus Karlsson (PRIMAL FEAR) — released "Pure Evil", its first new song in more than a decade and the first taste of the group's forthcoming third album, "Dysphoria".

Featuring an aggressive, JUDAS PRIEST-like vibe, the track was described by Harnell in a press release as "the heaviest ['Dysphoria'] gets and not indicative of the album as a whole," comments he echoed during a recent interview with Totally Driven Radio.

"The rest of the album is not like that," Harnell explained (hear audio below), "but the label thought it would be a great first single, and I think it's perfect, because it's really getting people's attention. It's just a very simple, pedal-to-the-medal, short and sweet, fast, heavy song, and I don't think people have heard me do this kind of thing for a long time, so it's kind of cool... A lot of the other songs are just really well-written, melodic hard rock/metal, a little bit proggy, even a little goth-y at times, with some of the moody kind of stuff. I think for a first song, and it's been a really long time, I think this was an effective thing. It's a simple, pure, honest metal song, and I think putting out a song that would be more thoughtful is a good idea for the second single, because now people are like, 'Okay, you have our attention,' and now they'll maybe sit back and listen to something. I think putting out something first that required more time to listen and absorb is maybe a little difficult after being away for so long, so it's nice to kind of slam people over the head and then say, 'Okay, now here's the nice song for you to maybe fall in love with and absorb, and has a little more color and texture and meaning and so forth.' Not that this one doesn't have a lot of meaning, because certainly the lyrics have quite a lot of meaning."

"Dysphoria" marks Harnell's first full-length studio release since his 2013 folk-rock effort "Tony Harnell & The Wildflowers Featuring Bumblefoot", a collaboration with former GUNS N' ROSES and current SONS OF APOLLO guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal. "It's exciting for me," Harnell said of "Dysphoria". "I'm excited because it was an interesting record to do and it reflects a lot of things and a lot of experiences that I was experiencing at the time I was writing the songs. I'm just excited I have new music out, because I've been mostly touring the last five, six years, so it's nice to get some original music out there. I hope not to have such a big gap between records [in the future], and I won't for a while, because I actually just finished another one — but we won't talk about that yet. We'll talk about that when the time comes."

lthough STARBREAKER has yet to perform live, Harnell hopes that will change soon after the release of "Dysphoria". "We do hope to eventually get some live shows going with this band," he said. "We haven't played live yet, but I hope we will."

"Dysphoria" will be released on January 25, 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl.

STARBREAKER started as Harnell's side project while he was still fronting TNT. He was initially working on a solo record with Karlsson, former TNT drummer John Macaluso, and bassist Fabrizio Grossi, but they morphed into STARBREAKER, releasing their first self-titled studio album in 2005.

In 2007, Harnell flew to Sweden to write the bulk of the songs for the new album with Karlsson, and started recording the new songs at the end of that year. The group's second album, "Love's Dying Wish", was released in 2008. It featured new bassist Jonni Lightfoot, who replaced Grossi, and was produced by Harnell and Karlsson, with Tommy Hansen (TNT, PRETTY MAIDS, HELLOWEEN) serving as the mixer.

The songwriting process for "Dysphoria" started before Harnell rejoined TNT in 2016, but it was after his ultimate split from that band in October 2017 that he and Karlsson put the pedal to the metal and quickly completed the album. It showcases everything the project has become known for: metal sensibilities; melodic songs with killer hooks; thought-provoking lyrics; inventive, intricate guitar playing; occasional prog twists; a crisp production; and explosive performances from Harnell and Karlsson.


STARBREAKER 2018 is:

Tony Harnell - vocals

Magnus Karlsson - guitars, keyboards, backing vocals

Jonni Lightfoot - bass

Anders Köllerfors - drums