With Metallica set to reissue their classic album ...And Justice For All (available everywhere on November 2nd), the band are posting live versions of each song from the album from over the years. In the video below, Metallica performs "Blackened" at the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit, Michigan on December 31, 1999:

More rare live videos can be found at the bottom of this article.

Says Metallica: "Next up in our line of reissues is …And Justice For All! As many of you know, we’ve been rereleasing our albums remastered for the most advanced sound quality possible along with special deluxe editions including previously unreleased audio and video recordings. Next up is …Justice, coming to your favourite music retailer, Metallica.com and the Probity Merch UK/EU Metallica Shop on November 2nd with pre-orders beginning today.

"Available in both physical and digital versions, there will be multiple options to suit your taste... double LP on 180-gram vinyl, CD, cassette, 3-CD expanded edition and deluxe box set, all remastered as overseen by Greg Fidelman. The 3-CD set includes the remastered album, two discs including never before released rough mixes, demos and live tracks, and an expanded booklet including unseen photos taken by the master, Ross Halfin. The limited edition, one-pressing-only deluxe box set includes the remastered CD and double LP versions of the album, “One” 10” vinyl picture disc, triple live LP set featuring a newly mixed version of the band's iconic show from Seattle ‘89 by Greg Fidelman, 4 DVDs, 11 CDs of unreleased demos, rough mixes, interviews and live tracks, many of which have never been available and were pulled from our personal collections. There’s also a 120-page hardcover book with rare and never-before-seen photos from Ross Halfin’s vaults and friends and family, along with essays by those who were with us for the madness. Still not enough? The box also includes a set of four patches, a Pushead print, a tour laminate, lyric sheets and a download card for all the audio goodies included.

"Pre-order your copy now and we’ll send you a digital remastered version of “Dyers Eve” (streaming below), while pre-orders of the expanded and deluxe editions will receive an additional instant download of “Eye Of The Beholder" (Live at Hammersmith Odeon, London, England – October 10, 1988) (streaming below). Several additional instant grats will be sent to all pre-orders between now and November 2nd.

"Deluxe box sets are limited edition collectors’ items, so get yours before they are gone! You may pre-order all the configurations in the Met Store now and also our store serving European fans and beyond, and of course …And Justice For All will be available at your local record stores around the world on Friday, November 2nd."

"The Shortest Straw" "writing in progress" demo:

Unboxing video:

"Dyers Eve" (Remastered):

Rare live videos:

"The Shortest Straw" at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. on July 17th, 1992:

"Eye Of The Beholder" (Live at Hammersmith Odeon, London, England - October 10th, 1988):

"Harvester Of Sorrow at the Monsters of Rock Festival in Donington, England on August 17th, 1991:

Nordic Union is the collaboration between singer Ronnie Atkins of the legendary Danish hard rock institution Pretty Maids and the up-and-coming Swedish songwriter and producer Erik Martensson of Eclipse and W.E.T. fame.

The partnership between the two Scandinavians came about sometime in 2015, when Atkins was sent a bunch of demos put together for him by Martensson. The enthusiastic reaction from Atkins sparked a brand new musical alliance that culminated in Nordic Union’s self-titled debut album, which was released in January 2016.

Musically, the duo presented a hybrid of the more melodic aspects of Pretty Maids’ sound mixed with elements of Eclipse, Talisman, and W.E.T., while still possessing their own identity. Following requests from fans for a follow up to the debut, the two musicians decided to give Nordic Union another shot, so after a few months production, Second Coming will land soon much to the delight of melodic rock fans worldwide!

Every aspect of the album screams quality. The songwriting is of the highest standards, the musicianship faultless, and the production top notch, crispm and clear as a bell. Ronnie Atkins continues to improve with time as he deftly demonstrates throughout the album that he knows how to use his voice effectively at any given point in a song. Heavy riffs, soaring vocals, thumping beats, and a grand ballad... this album has it all and flows perfectly with songs that are memorable, rocking, and of course, melodic. Prepare to delight your ears with a great new album from the sensational Nordic musical alliance known as Nordic Union.

Pre-order the new album here, and listen to the track "Because Of Us" below.

Tracklisting:

"My Fear & My Faith"
"Because Of Us"
"It Burns"
"Walk Me Through The Fire"
"New Life Begins"
"The Final War"
"Breathtaking"
"Rock's Still Rolling"
"Die Together"
"The Best Thing I Never Had"
"Outrun You"

"Because Of Us":

"Walk Me Through The Fire":

Lineup:

Ronnie Atkins - Lead & Backing Vocals
Erik Martensson - Lead & Rhythm Guitar, Bass, Keyboards and Backing Vocals
Magnus Ulfstedt - Drums

In anticipation of the release of their sophomore EP entitled Punishment, Southern California blackened death metal outfit Witch Casket have premiered music video for the title track from their upcoming album due out October 15th.

Vocalist Drogoth had this to say about the video:

"This was just one of those weird concepts that just popped into my head one evening, and I became obsessed with it and had to make it happen. Basically, I was listening to an oldies rock station, and I started thinking about what it would look like if a death metal band was featured on a British Pop Music TV Show.  A lot of the art direction ideas came from the first appearance of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan show in 1964.  I used that as a visual target and put the rest together with my own ideas. I needed a period appropriate band to open the video to add contrast, so I elicited the help of my buddies from the Rockabilly band SoCal Rocket Dynamics to play the opening act. British actor Scott Butler is also a friend who I thought was perfect for the role of the Host. It was a really fun project and I sincerely enjoyed getting all of these incredibly talented artists together to make something cool!"

Witch Casket was formed by ex-members of symphonic black metal band Sothis from Los Angeles, and guitarist Neal Tiemann. After over a decade of creating symphonic black metal, these musicians were looking to write more melodic death metal style songs, while still keeping the dark symphonic aspects from the previous band's style.

The Punishment cover art and tracklisting are as follows:

"So It Goes"
"Punishment"
"Water"
"Spectres Of Misery"

"Punishment" video:

Order your copy of Punishment now at this location.

"Here we go! Our anniversary EP, Dogs Always Bite Harder Than Their Master, is right here for you guys!," reads a message from French death-grinders Benighted.

"20 years of Benighted. We are happy to share with you these 3 new tracks, our version of the At The Gates track "Slaughter Of The Soul" and 6 live tracks from our anniversary show in Lyon with great guest vocalists. We hope you will enjoy it. Support us and order yours now!"

Listen to the EP below, and order your copy at this location. The EP will be released this Friday, October 12th.

Taiwanese metallers CHTHONIC have released the official music video for "A Crimson Sky's Command", the second track from their upcoming album, "Battlefields Of Asura". Check it out below.

Earlier on in March, CHTHONIC performed the song in public for the first time at one of the biggest music festivals in Taiwan — Megaport Music Festival. The symphonic melody immediately resonates with the fans; one of the fans even covered and uploaded the refrain right after the show. For the music video, CHTHONIC used clips from their performance at Megaport and blended it with the bold and vigorous calligraphic elements.

Many tracks on "Battlefields Of Asura", which is due on October 12, are associated with different Taiwanese gods and goddesses. "A Crimson Sky's Command" is one of them and was inspired by the god of war "Te-ia-kong", or "Xuantian Shangdi" in Mandarin. Since it's about the god of war, the lyrics naturally take on the warpath and aggressiveness. However, vocalist Freddy Lim stated that on top of the imagery at the face value, it also represents the courage we need to face, confront and overcome our own weakness.

"Battlefields Of Asura" track listing:

1. Drawing Omnipotence Nigh

02. The Silent One's Torch

03. Flames Upon The Weeping Winds

04. A Crimson Sky's Command

05. Souls Of The Revolution

06. Taste The Black Tears

07. One Thousand Eyes

08. Masked Faith

09. Carved In Bloodstone

10. Millennia's Faith Undone

11. Autopoiesis

According to CHTHONIC, "Battlefields Of Asura" depicts the adventure of deities in Taiwan through eleven songs carrying messages about resistance, freedom and fraternity. The journey is full of hostility, adversary, impregnable fortresses and desires but also inspires infinite courage to search for eternal wisdom. Anyone deeply touched by this album will eventually realise that it is the origin of all thrilling epic stories portrayed in the past albums. This album sounds like gods versus devils and fights among evil spirits on the surface; however, everyone can feel the empathy of fury, grief and even strength of resurgence from the lyrics.

When asked why the band named the new album "Battlefields Of Asura", Doris Yeh, the spokesperson of CHTHONIC, stated that "this album is the prologue of the albums released in the past and was inspired by and dedicated to the activists of Taiwan's first modern political reform movement back in 1920s."

On October 12, Eagle Vision will release EVANESCENCE's "Synthesis Live" on DVD+CD, Blu-ray+CD and digital formats.

Recorded late last autumn during the band's critically acclaimed "Synthesis" tour, the concert was captured in state-of-the-art 4K by director P.R. Brown and produced by Craig Ziogas of CTGS Productions.

A performance clip of the song "Lacrymosa", taken from "Synthesis Live", can be seen below.

The songs span EVANESCENCE's 20-year history to now, reinvented with full orchestra over a deep electronic landscape. "Synthesis" is a soulful and sweepingly grandiose event to witness live. Seated at the piano, Amy Lee opens the set with a single note that builds into the instrumental "Overture", seamlessly leading into the crushing wave that is "Never Go Back". "Bring Me To Life", the anthem that brought most people to discover EVANESCENCE in the first place, reaches a new level of power and emotion with a pounding, electric heartbeat and soaring orchestral accompaniment, while songs like "My Immortal", "Lithium" and "Lost In Paradise" feel like heartbreaking scenes from a beautiful, timeless film.

b>Amy Lee's incredible vocal range and the group's expressive, multi-layered music naturally lends itself to orchestral accompaniment, shining a light on the singular beauty of the arrangements by composer David Campbell and conducted by Susie Seiter — creating a truly dynamic, cinematic sound. Lee has called this "a passion project," which undoubtedly shines through. The sense of occasion is not lost on the band or audience alike in this unique and highly emotive show.

EVANESCENCE recently brought its "Synthesis" live tour around the world, delivering highly-acclaimed performances throughout Europe, North America and Australia. This summer, the band teamed with violinist Lindsey Stirling on a tour of North American amphitheatres, one of Live Nation's Top 10 tours of the summer.

"Synthesis Live" track listing:

01. Overture

02. Never Go Back

03. Lacrymosa

04. The End Of The Dream

05. My Heart Is Broken

06. Lithium

07. Bring Me To Life

08. Unravelling (Interlude)

09. Imaginary

10. Secret Door

11. Hi-Lo

12. Lost In Paradise

13. Your Star

14. My Immortal

15. The In-Between (Piano Solo)

16. Imperfection

17. Speak To Me

18. Good Enough

19. Swimming Home

Haken's fifth studio album, Vector, is due out on October 26th. The album was produced by the band themselves, and recorded and mixed by Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood (Periphery, Devin Townsend Project), with the artwork once again being handled by Blacklake.

The band have launched a video for the track "Puzzle Box", which you can watch below.

Haken comments: “‘Puzzle Box’ was born from some of the jam sessions we had early on in the writing process. The music has a raw and slightly psychotic nature to it that is brilliantly complimented in Crystal Spotlight’s video. To achieve favourable consequences we suggest taking this dose of Vector at regular intervals throughout the day.”

Fans can enter a competition to win the signed puzzle box from the video here.

The album will be available as limited edition 2CD Digipak (including instrumental versions), gatefold vinyl 2LP + CD, & as digital download.

Tracklisting:

"Clear"
"The Good Doctor"
"Puzzle Box"
"Veil"
"Nil By Mouth"
"Host"
"A Cell Divides"

"The Good Doctor" video:

Haken and Leprous will join forces for a North American co-headline tour launching later this month, with InsideOut label-mates Bent Knee as special guests. A video trailer for the tour can be found below.

Dates:

October
30 - The Crofoot Ballroom - Pontiac, MI
31 - Opera House - Toronto, ON

November
2 - Underground Arts - Philadelphia, PA
3 - Highline Ballroom - New York, NY
4 - The Sinclair - Boston, MA
6 - Soundstage - Baltimore, MD
7 - Cat’s Cradle - Carrboro, NC
8 - The Orpheum - Tampa, FL
9 - Revolution - Fort Lauderdale, FL
10 - The Plaza Live - Orlando, FL
11 - Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, GA
13 - Gas Monkey - Dallas, TX
14 - Barracuda - Austin, TX
16 - Crescent Ballroom - Phoenix, AZ
17 - Glasshouse - Pomona, CA
18 - August Hall - San Francisco, CA
19 - Hawthorne Theatre - Portland, OR
20 - The Crocodile - Seattle, WA
21 - Rickshaw Theater - Vancouver, BC
23 - Metro Music Hall - Salt Lake City, UT
24 - Bluebird Theater - Denver, CO
25 - Granada Theater - Lawrence, KS
26 - Delmar Hall - St Louis, MO
27 - Exit/In - Nashville, TN
29 - Rex Theater - Pittsburgh, PA
30 - Beachland Ballroom - Cleveland, OH

December
1 - Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL

Haken have also announced European and Latin American live dates in support of their new album.

Latin America 2019

January
26 - Teatro Teleton - Santiago, Chile
27 - Groove - Buenos Aires, Argentina
29 - Caricoa Club - Sao Paolo, Brazil
30 - Auditorio Centro De La Amistad Peruano China - Lima, Peru

February
1 - Lunar - Mexico City, Mexico

Europe 2019

February
15 - Academy 3 - Manchester, UK
16 - St Luke’s - Glasgow, UK
17 - The Fleece - Bristol, UK
19 - Essigfabrik - Cologne, Germany
20 - Batschkapp - Frankfurt, Germany
21 - Übel & Gefährlich - Hamburg, Germany
22 - Lille Vega - Copenhagen, Denmark
23 - John Dee - Oslo, Norway
24 - Debaser Strand - Stockholm, Sweden
26 - Columbia Theater - Berlin, Germany
27 - Kwadrat - Krakow, Poland
28 - A38 - Budapest, Hungary

March
2 - Szene - Vienna, Austria
3 - Futurum - Prague, Czech Republic
4 - Conne Island - Leipzig, Germany
6 - Im Wizemann - Stuttgart, Germany
7 - Backstage Halle - Munich, Germany
8 - Kiff - Aarau, Switzerland
9 - Magazzini Generali - Milan, Italy
10 - Transbordeur - Lyon, France
12 - Mon Live - Madrid, Spain
13 - Kafe Antzokia - Bilbao, Spain
14 - La Maroquinerie - Paris, France
15 - De Boerderij - Zoetermeer, Netherlands
16 - Islington Assembly Hall - London, UK
23 - Tavastia - Helsinki, Finland

Full ticket details here.

(Photo - Will Ireland)

Heavy metal vocalist, songwriter and former Accept/Bonfire frontman David Reece will be releasing his new solo album worldwide through Mighty Music on November 9th. Resilient Heart, an album rich on full blown melodic heavy metal, will be the follow-up to his Compromise album, released in 2013. 

New single “A Perfect Apocalypse” is streaming below.

Reece comments about the song: "With all the crap that's happening around right now, if I turn on the news I find out that I get angry and depressed with all the conservative right and the ultra-left. Same with what's happening in the Middle East... it never seems to end. We're doing a really good job at destroying ourselves. So, it's a perfect apocalypse. And I truly believe, with the separation of what's happening in the universe, between people and their political beliefs, religious beliefs, that we're in for a lot more trouble than what we're seeing now. And I think now is horrible... But I'm inspired by what I see in TV, what people are talking about and what I see in the newspapers. So that's where the lyric came from. Actually, Jon Wild was personally involved in that, and Marco Angioni only wrote the riff. It's got a really cool kind of Iron Maiden break in the middle of the solo section. We actually play it live quite often because we're doing some of the Eat The Heat stuff that I did with Accept, and the audience loves it. There's a great keyboard section in the opening... It's symphonic, it's heavy, it got it all.”

Resilient Heart is the perfect album for all fans of heavy metal. It's a wide album containing all of the greatest elements within heavy rock and melodic metal. Yet with a modern production.

On Resilient Heart David Reece has teamed up with the Danish musicians Marco Angioni (guitar), Martin J. Andersen (guitar), Malte Frederik Burkert (bass) and Sigurd J. Jensen (drums).

Resilient Heart comes with two different tracklistings. One for CD/digital and one for the ltd. 500 blood red vinyl edition.

CD/digital tracklisting:

"Any Time At All"
"Wicked City Blues"
"Karma"
"Desire"
"I Don't Know Why"
"Two Coins"
"Ain't Got The Balls"
"Forest Through The Trees"
"Perfect Apocalypse"
"Live Before You Die"
"I'm The One"

Vinyl tracklisting:

Side A
"Karma"
"Any Time At All"
"I Don't Know Why"
"I'm The One"
"Forest Through The Trees"

Side B
"Perfect Apocalypse"
"Heart Of Stone"
"What About Yesterday"
"Two Coins"
"Live Before You Die"

"A Perfect Apocalypse" video:

"Any Time At All" commentary video:

"Any Time At All" video:

Lineup:

Vocals: David Reece
Guitar: Marco Angioni
Guitar: Martin J. Andersen
Bass: Malte Frederik Burkert
Drums: Sigurd J. Jensen

Golden Robot Records has announced that globally revered King's X are now part of their international roster. King's X recently signed a global deal with Golden Robot Records which will see their long-awaited forthcoming new album released worldwide in 2019 via partners in the US, Europe and Japan.
 
"I'm really excited to release the next King's X album with Mark, Derek and the crew at Golden Robot! May the groove be with us all," says vocalist/bassist dUg Pinnick. Guitarist Ty Tabor adds, "I'm looking forward to working with Golden Robot Records!"
 
Drummer Jerry Gaskill adds, "It's been a while since we've made a record. During that time, I've been thinking, when and if we make a new record, I want it to be the best we can do. I want to believe in it. I want to make it great, whatever it takes. I don't want to just make another King's X record. I think and hope that we are in that place. I think and hope its time and I feel good about the team we'll be working with at Golden Robot Records. I'm going do my best. Let's do this thing."
 
"When we started to talk to King's X about signing with Golden Robot in the U.S. and we met dUg in LA a few times, I knew 100% that we would end up working with them. I'm loving the fact they are still the original members and I really believe this new album will be there best yet! It's incredible how many people inside the industry - and I'm talking about very well-known musicians - love these guys and can't wait for a new album. We are all very excited indeed," says Mark Alexander-Erber, Group Founder and President.

"I am delighted to finally be able to work with one the most respected, creative rock bands of the past 30+ years. King's X is not only a superb rock band with an ardent fan base, but are also a 'musician musicians' band. Golden Robot Records is determined to finally help King's X receive the worldwide recognition it fully deserves," says Derek Shulman, Executive Chairman of Worldwide Expansion.

Fan-filmed video footage of Alice Cooper's entire October 4 concert at the Palace Theater in Albany, New York can be seen below.

In August, Cooper released the live album "A Paranormal Evening At The Olympia Paris".

The legendary rocker is continuing to tour in support of his most recent album, 2017's "Paranormal". The current leg of the trek runs through October 29, ending just in time for Cooper to celebrate Halloween.

"Paranormal" was Cooper's first studio album in six years. Produced by Bob Ezrin, it was immediately saluted as a classic Alice Cooper album, featuring collaborations with iconic guests such as ZZ TOP's Billy Gibbons, U2's Larry Mullen, Jr. and DEEP PURPLE's Roger Glover, as well Neal Smith, Dennis Dunaway and Michael Bruce — the three original Alice Cooper band members.

he album charted at #4 in the German and Australian official album charts, #6 in the U.K. and in Sweden and overall, it reached the highest chart positions for Alice in several decades.

Dying Fetus performed live in Sacramento, CA at Holy Diver on October 4th with Gatecreeper, Genocide Pact and Incantation also on the bill. Check out the entire Dying Fetus set below courtesy of Capital Chaos TV.

The setlist on the night was as follows:

"Wrong One to Fuck With"
"Panic Amongst the Herd"
"Grotesque Impalement"
"From Womb to Waste"
"Fixated on Devastation"
"Subjected to a Beating"
"Induce Terror"
"Seething With Disdain"
"Praise the Lord (Opium of the Masses)"
"Blunt Force Trauma"
"Your Treachery Will Die With You"
"Kill Your Mother, Rape Your Dog"

(Photo - Scott Kinkade)

High On Fire has released "Spewn From The Earth", another new single from the upcoming Electric Messiah album, out on October 5th via Entertainment One (eOne). This is the second and final song the band will release from the new album.

"Spewn From The Earth" is the seventh instalment of the Adult Swim 2018 Singles Program, which will feature new music from a variety of artists. Listen to the song here.

"Cryogenically frozen giant kings of old, awake and smash through the bowels of Earth to free themselves," says vocalist and guitarist Matt Pike. "In a campaign to usurp their throne from man, and impregnate the populace once again."

High On Fire just kicked off a European co-headlining tour this month alongside Enlaved. The band will then head back to The States to participate in this year's Adult Swim Festival this coming weekend at The Row in Downtown Los Angeles before heading back to the UK.

High On Fire will tour in North America this fall on the Speed Of The Wizard tour. The dates will be co-headlined by Municipal Waste with Toxic Holocaust and Haunt in support. The three-week trek will kick off in Dallas, TX at Canton Hill on November 2nd, hitting both coasts before wrapping up in San Diego, CA on November 25th. Tickets are now on sale.

"Spewn From The Earth" and "Electric Messiah" are now available on all streaming services and as iTunes instant grat tracks. Meaning, if you pre-order the LP on iTunes, you will receive both songs as instant downloads.

“I had a dream about Lemmy,” says Pike, explaining the inspiration behind the title of High on Fire’s title track, "Electric Messiah". “When Lemmy was still alive I always got compared to Lemmy,” the gravelly-voiced guitarist elaborates, “so I had this dream where he got pissed at me."

"He gave me a bunch of shit, basically, and was hazing me. Not that he didn’t approve of me, but like I was being hazed. The song is me telling the world that I could never fill Lemmy’s shoes because Lemmy’s Lemmy. I wanted to pay homage to him in a great way. And it turned out to be such a good title that the guys said we should call the album Electric Messiah."

Electric Messiah will serve as the follow-up to Luminiferous released in 2015, which reunites the band once again with producer Kurt Ballou (Converge, Torche, Kvelertak) for the third time. “Kurt just has a knack for us, man,” Matt Pike says. “We all work really well with him. Even if we have differences about how we want to record something, he works with us and understands what we do. We’ve been sticking with him because we haven’t made a bad record with him yet.”

It feels absurd to think that this late into their career High on Fire has hit a new career peak, but that’s what happens when you have a trio that works this well together. For all of Ballou’s sonic wizardry, Electric Messiah is all about the evolution of Pike, Matz, and Kensel. They simply cannot be denied a permanent spot among American royalty.

“This band keeps evolving,” Pike enthuses. “This is by far the best record I’ve ever made with the High on Fire stamp. It just keeps getting better and better. We just try to outdo ourselves. I’m not saying the old work is progressively worse, it’s just that we get better every time instead of burning out, which is a common finality for a lot of bands. This album is fucking excellent, I just love everything on it, I’m not bummed about anything. It’s great when you think that about your record.”

Electric Messiah tracklisting:

“Spewn From The Earth”
“Steps Of The Ziggurat/House Of Enlil”
“Electric Messiah”
“Sanctioned Annihilation”
“The Pallid Mask”
“God Of The Godless”
“Freebooter”
“The Witch And The Christ”
“Drowning Dog”

"Electric Messiah" lyric video:

(Photo - Jen Rosenstein)

Drawing their inspiration from a wide variety of genres, Ominous Eclipse is a brutal quartet that create a unique hybrid sound with death metal being the main aspect combined with elements of thrash, groove, black, melodic, etc. Unleashing their sophomore album Sinister last month on September 14th, the band will be performing their hometown CD release show on October 6th at House of Targ in Ottawa along with performing in Montreal, QC the following week on October 13th at Piranha Bar. A full album stream can be found below:

The band comments: "There's no concept or theme on this album so all the songs have different meaning. The title track itself divulges into the inevitable end to humanity and potentially the world with it. It discusses the issues around the globe and also addresses the ignorance and selfishness of those indirectly affected by the chaos. It has a strong "United We Stand, Divided We Fall" theme in regards to how people can turn their backs on those in need in order to save their own skin, which ironically will lead to our end as it causes people to turn on each other. Musically for this album, you will notice we have evolved from the first release and have moved away from thrashy overtones to become more diverse including more heavily stated melodic and technical with a solid groove and death foundation."

Tracklisting:

"Death By Dissection"
"Sinister"
"Spiral Into Insanity"
"Lost At Sea"
"No Redemption For The Damned"
"Breaking The Chains"
"The Horde"
"Eye Of The Raven"

Trailer:

"Sinister" video:

"Spiral Into Insanity" lyric video:

"The Horde":

(Photo - Max Southwood)

To commemorate the first anniversary of Tom Petty's passing, the California-based pagan metal group Helsott has released a music video for their rendition of his 1989 classic, “Runnin' Down A Dream,” which features Elvenking violinist Lethien.

Petty might seem like an unlikely influence for a pagan metal band, but according to Helsott vocalist Eric Dow, covering one of his songs was an easy decision. “Tom Petty was and will forever be an American songwriting hero,” Dow says. “He was one of my all-time favorites, and I was lucky enough to see him live several times. We were working on 'Slaves And Gods when he passed away. I had just seen him at the Hollywood Bowl during what would be his final run of shows, and I was very inspired. We decided very quickly that we were going to cover a song and put it on the new record. We chose 'Runnin’ Down A Dream' because we felt we related most with those lyrics and the song rocks!”

Dow explains how the song's guest star and its music video came to pass. “I felt like instead of acoustic guitar accompanying us, we would ask Lethien from Elvenking to throw down some violin. He did a great job,” he says. “In the spirit of the album and having so many guest musicians on it, we had a local artist named Hunter Havokk do the guitar and bass. We really liked the outcome, so we decided to do a tribute video and release it on the anniversary of Tom Petty’s passing. Since he made shit happen with little to no money, we decided to approach this video in a very DIY manner. We had a GoPro and our friend Frank to film us. I did all the editing, and I am no means a video guy. We were just three guys having fun in the spirit of Tom Petty. We wanted to do a story line that was believable but still lucid enough to seem like a dream. I could very easily see one of us having a dream where our drummer Cooper was playing a pink junior kit in the back of our trailer. Then our van breaks down and we do whatever we can to pass the time, but it’s okay because a Jedi will come and fix it.”

Helsott's cover of “Runnin' Down A Dream” appears on the group's second full-length album, Slaves And Gods, due October 12th via M-Theory Audio. In addition to Lethien, the album features a number of notable guests from the world of folk metal, including Masha Scream (Arkona), Lazar (Arkona), Dr. Leif Kjonnsfleis (TrollfesT), Trollmannen (TrollfesT), Damna (Elvenking), Lethien (Elvenking), Dom Crey (Equilibrium, Nothgard), Kevin Storm and more.

Slaves And Gods was mixed and mastered by J-F Dagenais (Kataklysm, Misery Index, Despised Icon) and features cover art by Felipe Machado Franco (Iced Earth, Blind Guardian, Rhapsody of Fire). Physical copies on CD and limited-edition blue marble vinyl can be pre-ordered via the M-Theory Audio webshop, while digital pre-orders – which include instant downloads of “Runnin' Down A Dream” and the title track – are now underway via Bandcamp, iTunes and Amazon.

Slaves And Gods tracklisting:

“Slaves And Gods“ (feat. Dr. Leif Kjonnsfleis and Bjorn Friedrichsen)
“The Coward's Curse“ (feat. Kevin Storm and Bjorn Friedrichsen)
“Winter Smells Like Death“ (feat. Masha Scream, Lazar and Bjorn Friedrichsen)
“Whiskey Breath“ (feat. Bjorn Friedrichsen)
“Eye Of The Past“ (feat. Damna, Dom Crey, Kevin Storm and Bjorn Friedrichsen)
“Trollskald“ (feat. Trollmannen, Kevin Storm and Bjorn Friedrichsen)
“Zep Tepi“
“Return Hyperborea“
“Honour Thy Valkyrie“
“Runnin' Down A Dream“ (Tom Petty cover feat. Lethien)

"Runnin' Down A Dream" video:

“Slaves And Gods” lyric video:

Helsott plans to perform “Slaves And Gods” live during their summer tour, which kicks off tomorrow night in Dallas, Texas. The group will be supported by labelmates Sicocis, as well as Malphas and Dark Visions of Terror on select dates.

August
11 - Reno’s Chop Shop - Dallas, TX
12 - Come and Take It Live - Austin, TX
13 - Santos Bar - New Orleans, LA
14 - Exit In - Nashville, TN
16 - Local 506 - Chapel Hill, NC
18 - Maryland Folk Metal Festival - Ottobar - Baltimore, MD
19 - Lizard Lounge - Lancaster, PA
20 - Kingsland - Brooklyn, NY
22 - Reggie’s Rock Club - Chicago, IL

San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD kicked off the final tour with the band's current lineup Thursday night (October 4) at Ace Of Spades in Sacramento, California. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

Last week, MACHINE HEAD announced that the band's "Freaks & Zeroes Tour" would be the last one to feature guitarist Phil Demmel and drummer Dave McClain.

A few days ago, Demmel issued a statement saying that it was "simply time" for him "to step away and do something else musically." The guitarist, who first played with MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn in VIO-LENCE in the late 1980s and early 1990s, added: "People naturally grow apart over time and it's no one's fault. It's amazing, and we're so fortunate to have been able to it for so long.

"This last run will give us an opportunity to say goodbye as a group and have a sense of closure to an incredible run."

n a video message, Flynn blamed Demmel and McClain's departures on the fact that he and his bandmates "have grown apart as people. Musically, we've grown apart. I have held on too tight to the reins of this band, and I have suffocated those guys." He went on to say that his "rough edges" have given MACHINE HEAD the success that it has, but "they've also hurt the people around me. I've got a lot of drive, but I've got a lot of anger and rage. And that drive of mine has alienated folks in the band," he said.

Flynn, who is the sole remaining original member of MACHINE HEAD, insisted that he doesn't hold any grudges against his soon-to-be-former bandmates.

"I ask that you respect Phil and Dave's decision, as I respect their decision," he said. "I wanna say that I'm honored and grateful for everything that they've contributed to MACHINE HEAD, which is a lot. 15 years with Phil, 23 years with Dave."

Flynn went on to say that he doesn't "know what the future holds." He added: "We're all a little scared. I'm scared, and they're scared. But if you're looking for a drummer or a guitar player, you can find no better people to have [than Dave and Phil]."

Personally, Flynn plans to "do a little bit of soul searching here in my life and take a long, hard look at myself, as I've done in the past. I've done 20 years of therapy at this point, and apparently it wasn't enough," he laughed. "I guess I need to do about 20 more."

Flynn later clarified in a separate video message that "this is the farewell tour of this lineup, this era of MACHINE HEAD. This is not the farewell tour of MACHINE HEAD," he said.

MACHINE HEAD's final tour with the current lineup will conclude on November 24 in Santa Cruz, California.

The band's latest album, "Catharsis", was made available in January via Nuclear Blast.

According to Uncut, Rhino will release special purple vinyl editions of Deep Purple’s 1970 classic Deep Purple In Rock and 1971’s Fireball on November 23rd.

Both albums have been newly remastered by Andy Pearce and Matt Wortham from the original analogue tapes, and have been cut at half-speed by Barry Grint at Alchemy Mastering.

Deep Purple In Rock was the band’s first #1 album in Germany, Austria and Norway, featuring such band staples as “Speed King” and “Child In Time”. It sits at nearly five million units sold worldwide. Fireball hit #1 in the UK, Germany, Austria, Norway and Finland.

Rock/Metal band God’s Army featuring current and former members of Helloween, Scanner, Firewind, Outloud, Vivaldi Metal Project, Joe Stump’s Tower of Babel have released a new lyric video for “Before The Fall”, the track is taken from their upcoming second full length album ‘Demoncracy‘, out on October 12th via ROAR! Rock Of Angels Records.The album will be available as digipack CD and Black Vinyl (limited to 300 copies worldwide).

Demoncracy was mastered by Ade Emsley at Table Of Tone Mastering in London (Iron Maiden). The artwork and layout design was made by Anestis Goudas.

Digipack CD tracklisting:

"You Are You"
"Free Your Mind"
"Enemy Maker"
"Final Destination"
"Games Without Frontiers"
"The All Seeing Eye"
"Before The Fall"
"The Replicant"
"Heroes & Demons"
"My Way"

Black vinyl tracklisting:

Side A
"You Are You"
"Free Your Mind"
"Enemy Maker"
"Final Destination"
"Games Without Frontiers"
"The All Seeing Eye"

Side B
"Before The Fall"
"The Replicant"

"Before The Fall" lyric video:

"Free Your Mind" video:

The album can be pre-ordered here.

God's Army is:

John ABC Smith – vocals / bass 
Mark Cross – drums / backing vocals
Ian O´Sullivan – guitar / backing vocals
Eddie van Dahl – guitar

Symphonic/Celtic vocalist Leah - described affectionately by her fans as "the metal Enya" - released her new full-length album, The Quest, today. The album features a stronger Celtic and Fantasy connection in comparison to her previous release, Kings & Queens, as well as prog rock elements and ethereal ambiance, combined with traditional symphonic metal elements.Order the album at this location .

In celebration of the album's release, Leah has revealed another new lyric video, this time for the track "Lion Arises".

Leah says about the track: "Lion Arises was a really fun song to write. As soon as I wrote and sang that chorus I knew immediately this song would work because it felt so good! Lyrically, my fans generally know I tend to write rather vaguely and in terms of moods, themes, and images. So, you won't find a crazy detailed story, but rather, words of images that came to me through the intuitive writing process. I prefer to allow the listener to decide what it's all about while constructing the mood and vibes for their story. The chorus contains the main picture of a character asleep, whilst being surrounded by evil, but is at complete peace because of the lion guarding her. The artwork by Jan Yrulnd captured this mental image of mine perfectly."

The album was mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Amaranthe, Evergrey) and musicians on the album include Troy Donockley (Nightwish), Timo Somers (Delain), Chen Balbus (Orphaned Land) and Barend Courbois (Blind Guardian).

The concept for The Quest is very simple: we're all on a journey, and sometimes we lose our way. There are adventures, wildernesses, treasures, monsters, looters, people out to send us down the wrong path. Through it all, we must grow in wisdom and experience, find our compass once again and find our way back to the true path in order to reach our full potential: our destiny.

The Quest tracklisting

"The Quest"
"Edge of Your Sword"
"Lion Arises"
"Heir"
"Ruins of Illusion"
"Labyrinth"
"Abyss"
"Oblivion (Between Two Worlds)"
"Ghost Upon a Throne"
"The Water Is Wide"

"Lion Arises" lyric video:

"Edge Of Your Sword" lyric video:

Visit Leah's official Facebook page here.

A member of INSANE CLOWN POSSE apparently tried to dropkick Fred Durst mid-concert. The incident happened last night (Saturday, October 6) at Camden, New Jersey's Rock Allegiance festival, which was being headlined by LIMP BIZKIT.

LIMP BIZKIT had just finished performing a cover version of George Michael's "Faith" at the BB&T Pavilion when Joseph William Utsler, better known by his stage name Shaggy 2 Dope, attempted to kick Durst but missed. The INSANE CLOWN POSSE member, whose band performed earlier in the day, was then dragged offstage by security. It is not clear what promted Shaggy 2 Dope's outburst.

Back in 2012, Durst collaborated with INSANE CLOWN POSSE on a cover of AMG's "Bitch Better Have My Money". The recording appeared on "Covered, Smothered And Chunked", the bonus covers album that was sold with the "red pop" version of ICP's "The Mighty Death Pop" LP.

Six years ago, INSANE CLOWN POSSE's Violent J spoke to Hatchet Herald about the Durst collaboration. He said: When we first started touring, LIMP BIZKIT was doing it fuckin' big. As big as possible. They we're definitely mainstream to the fullest. But a lot of the music and their shows were just that dope. Back then, we liked some of what we heard, of course, but we left it alone. I won't lie; it was way too popular for us. But as you know, there's a time limit when you're on top like that. When that time runs out, then you gotta scoot the fuck down over."

e continued: "Here we are a full decade later or so and Shaggy and me are sittin' there thinking of who we could get for these crazy collabos. Who would people never expect to hear on a track with ICP? And who would be down to do it? Bang! Nobody would ever expect an ICP / Fred Durst collabo! We reached out and turns out, and I can't lie, he was cool as fuck. We got him on the phone and kicked it for days. He definitely has mad respect for ICP. He said he's always dug our shit but figured we would hate on him if he ever said anything about it. He was cool as hell about everything. We [were] shocked.

"I sent him two songs to choose from and he chose the remake of AMG's 'Bitch Better Have My Money'. He knocked it out, and he didn't want shit for it. He was just happy and surprised that we wanted him on it."





View this post on Instagram Some dickbag( aka Shaggy 2 dope )tried drop kicking Fred off the stage. ? #limpbizkit #faith #rockallegiance #livemusic #musicfestival #crazy A post shared by Robin Nelson (@sgthamsandwich) on Oct 6, 2018 at 9:21pm PDT

The surviving members of NIRVANA reunited at the end of FOO FIGHTERS' set at Cal Jam festival Saturday night (October 6) to perform six songs. Dave Grohl, Pat Smear (both of whom are members of FOO FIGHTERS) and Krist Novoselic (who played earlier in the day with his band GIANTS IN THE TREES) were joined during the NIRVANA mini-set by John McAuley of the band DEER TICK and Joan Jett. They played three songs with John on lead vocals — "Serve The Servants", "Scentless Apprentice" and "In Bloom" — before Joan took over for "Breed", "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "All Apologies", with the latter featuring Brody Dalle on bass and Krist moving on to the accordion.

Here's the setlist for last night's NIRVANA reunion:

01. Serve The Servants (with John McCauley)

02. Scentless Apprentice (with John McCauley)

03. In Bloom (with John McCauley)

04. Breed (with Joan Jett)

05. Smells Like Teen Spirit (with Joan Jett)

06. All Apologies (with Joan Jett and Brody Dalle)

Jett previously fronted NIRVANA at the latter's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction in 2014, while McAulay, along with Jett, took part in the induction aftershow party performance.

he 2014 set consisted of 19 songs, with Lorde, Kim Gordon and St. Vincent also participating.

Last year, Grohl looked back on NIRVANA's Rock Hall reunion, saying: "I got together with my old bandmates, Krist and Pat, and guests including Joan Jett and Lorde, and we played those songs again. It sounded just like it did, but, of course, with one thing missing. We hadn't played a NIRVANA set since Kurt [Cobain] died. Could we do that again? I don't know."

Check out up-close video video footage of Accept on their second last show of their US tour at the from Gas Monkey in Dallas, TX below. The band's upcoming live itinerary can be found here.

“Up To The Limit”:

“Teutonic Terror”:

“Midnight Mover”:

“Balls To The Wall”:

“Stalingrad”:

Accept recently released their very special, limited 10 inch vinyl single "Balls To The Wall" / "Symphony No.40 in G Minor" via Nuclear Blast. Both songs on the vinyl are from their upcoming live album Symphonic Terror – Live at Wacken 2017, which will be out on November 23rd.

Watch the live video clip of "Balls To The Wall" below.

Get the single in physical format via this link or get it digitally here.

Side A - "Balls To The Wall"
Side B - "Symphony No.40 in G Minor"

Accept are experiencing more success than ever, and have hit their stride creatively! In the 10th year since the band's reunion, the quintet can look back on four top 10 albums in Germany, including an unbelievable #1 with Blind Rage (2014) and a brilliant #3 with their latest album The Rise Of Chaos (2017).

Over the past few months, Accept has been anything but passive, instead they‘ve been finalizing their latest project, their upcoming live release Symphonic Terror - Live At Wacken 2017, which will come out on November 23rd via Nuclear Blast!

The pre-sale has started for this amazing live document, which will be available as:

- BluRay+2CD-Digi
- DVD+2CD-Digi
- 2CD-Digi
- 3LP Box (black) incl. booklet, poster
- 3LP Box (gold) incl. booklet, poster // NB Mailorder exclusive
- BluRay+DVD+2CD-Earbook
- BluRay+DVD+2CD-Earbook + photo card (signed) // NB Mailorder exclusive

Pre-order here.

Tracklisting:

DVD/Blu-Ray

Part 1: Accept
"Die By The Sword"
"Restless And Wild"
"Koolaid"
"Pandemic"
"Final Journey"

Part 2: Headbanger’s Symphony
"Night On Bald Mountain"
"Scherzo"
"Romeo And Juliet"
"Pathétique"
"Double Cello Concerto in G Minor"
"Symphony No. 40 in G Minor"

Part 3: Accept with Orchestra
"Princess Of The Dawn"
"Stalingrad"
"Dark Side Of My Heart"
"Breaker"
"Shadow Soldiers"
"Dying Breed"
"Fast As A Shark"
"Metal Heart"
"Teutonic Terror"
"Balls To The Wall"

Bonus:
Making Of: Wacken
Making Of: Headbanger’s Symphony

Fans can expect a unique, 2 hour Accept show, shot on August 3rd, 2017 at the legendary W:O:A, where the band played the biggest and most extraordinary show of their career in front of 80.000 live fans at the festival, on top of thousands more fans watching via the live stream! The show was divided into three parts, showing the full creative power of Accept: The first part hosted the premiere of new tracks "Die By The Sword" and "Koolaid", as well as some of their most popular songs, such as "Restless And Wild" and"Pandemic'. The middle part hosted guitarist Wolf Hoffmann accompanied by a symphony orchestra, presenting the best-of 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 new songs like "Stalingrad," "Shadow Soldiers" or "Teutonic Terror". The finale could be nothing less than an 8 minute version of their eminent hit "Balls To The Walls"!

"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," continues Wolf happy, "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."

By the way: What started as a world premiere in Wacken and caused quite a stir worldwide (thanks to the live streams) will be continued in early 2019. This means: Accept are planning to tour across Europe with an orchestra in spring 2019! "I really hope we will be able to fulfill our dream - we are working hard on it!" tells Wolf Hoffmann with eager anticipation. "What I can already say now is that there will be lots of optical and musical surprises, that fans of Accept have never experienced before. We want to multiply what we have achieved in Wacken and are happy about every bit of support we get. One thing is for sure: 2019 will be exciting!"

Bonfire will release Legends, an outstanding tribute album to all the rock legends that take part in the Bonfire & Friends tour in November 2018. The album will be available via AFM Records on October 19th. Their take on Toto's smash hit "Africa" is available for streaming below.

Tracklisting:

CD 1:

"Africa"
"Hold The Line"
"Rosanna"
"Man On The Silver Mountain"
"I Surrender"
"Stone Cold"
"Death Alley Driver"
"Black Masquerade"
"Burning Heart"
"Eye Of The Tiger"
"Caught In The Game"
"Doctor Doctor"
"Lights Out"
"Rock Bottom"
"Child In Time"

CD 2:

"Jet City Woman"
"Silent Lucidity"
"Eyes Of A Stranger"
"Tears In The Rain"
"The First Time"
"Save Up All Your Tears"
"Hot Cherie"
"Dr. Love"
"Hallelujah"
"Rebellion"
"Heavy Metal Breakdown"
"Love Don't Lie"
"I Wanna Be Loved"
"King Of Dreams"
"Frei wie die Geier"
"Erinnerung"
"Alt wie ein Baum"

"Africa":

Find out more about their upcoming Bonfire & Friends tour here.

Lineup:

Alexx Stahl (Vocals)
Hans Ziller (Guitar)
Frank Pané (Guitar)
Ronnie Parkes (Bass)
Tim Breideband (Drums)

U.D.O., the German metal band led by former ACCEPT frontman Udo Dirkschneider, has announced the addition of Dee Dammers on guitar and Tilen Hudrap on bass.

The group states: "Both are very talented musicians and we are really excited to have them in U.D.O.

"We hope that you will enjoy the new lineup, and that it will be around for a very long time.

"The new lineup will start rehearsals for the upcoming U.D.O. tour of Russia very shortly. We will, as always, keep you updated on our progress via social media.

And of course, our very best wishes to [former bassist] Fitty [Wienhold], who has been much, much more than just the band's bass player for all these years."

U.D.O.'s current lineup is rounded out by Udo's son and drummer Sven Dirkschneider and guitarist Andrey Smirnov.

Fitty, who joined U.D.O. in 1996, announced his departure from the band last month, saying in a statement that he "decided to take a new way" in his life.

In an interview with Metal Forces magazine, Udo said guitarists Kasperi Heikkinen and Bill Hudson were no longer in U.D.O. because "they were not team players. I'm not a solo artist; we work in the band as a team," he explained.

U.D.O.'s new album, "Steelfactory", was released on August 31 via AFM.

Overkill songwriter and bassist D.D. Verni will be releasing his long awaited debut album, Barricade, worldwide through Mighty Music on October 12th. A music video for the album track "Night Of The Swamp King" can be found below.

Pre-order Barricade now on CD, White LP (limited to 500 copies) and digital.

D.D. Verni's first effort has a host of guitar players doing guest spots on the record. Jeff Loomis (Arch Enemy), Angus Clark (Trans Siberian Orchestra), Jeff Waters (Annihilator), Bruce Franklin (Trouble), Mike Romeo (Symphony X), Mike Orlando (Adrenalin Mob), Steve Leonard (Almost Queen), and Andre "Virus" Karkos (Dope) who also contributed the rhythm guitar tracks. Rounding out the group is former Overkill drummer Ron Lipnicki. The record was mixed and mastered by Chris "Zuess" Harris (Rob Zombie, Queensrÿche, Hatebreed).

In addition to 18 Overkill full length releases, Verni has four releases with his side band The Bronx Casket Co. D.D. Verni continues, "So why do a solo record... well I never really stop writing material,and after some time it starts to pile up and take shape and I wonder what it will be. In the past anything that was not Overkill material I would put aside for my other band The Bronx Casket Co, but when I starting pulling these songs together it was clearly not that, and I thought, OK I guess it's a solo record. The material was kinda Metal and kinda rock and kinda punk, so those really are my basic influences.

"In Overkill I take all that background and funnel it into our Thrash sound. But these songs were not Thrash but a combination of the other stuff. I would never really have an interest in doing a record that was thrash sounding outside of Overkill, I just don't think it could be any better. The fun is trying new shit and seeing where it goes for me. I could always do all the instruments myself as I have in the past on projects but thought this could be a good opportunity to try working with some new people. My wife was hearing me thinking out loud and basically said why don't you just call some guys who's work you like and see if they would be interested, and so that's what I did."

Barricade tracklisting:

"Fire Up"
"Miracle Drug"
"Off My Leash"
"(We Are) The Broken Ones"
"Lost In The Underground"
"The Party Of No"
"Night Of The Swamp King"
"We Were Young"
"Slow My Ride​"
"Heaven Calling​"

"Night Of The Swamp King" video:

"Lost In The Underground" lyric video:

"Fire Up" lyric video:

BAD WOLVES has released a music video for the track "No Masters". The song is the third single issued from the group's debut album, "Disobey", following the current Top 10 rock track "Hear Me Now" and the chart-topping smash cover of THE CRANBERRIES' "Zombie".

Meanwhile, BAD WOLVES is also crowdfunding a documentary on the group's rapid rise to fame, so far raising just under $15,000 of its $65,000 goal. You can find that campaign over at Indiegogo, along with a video clip that elaborates on the documentary and the effort to raise funds for it.

Vocalist Tommy Vext told The Pulse Of Radio that the members of BAD WOLVES have been around long enough to appreciate their success. "I mean, sometimes it doesn't feel real, you know what I mean, like the label and the management is like, 'Okay, we got this tour,' and we're like, 'Wait, what?'" he said. "You know, we're a baby band, but I think, you know, because we're all veterans and we've kind of been in the industry a long time, it doesn't feel too weird. But it's weird that we're a new band and we're getting these opportunities."

BAD WOLVES released "Zombie" earlier this year as a tribute to Dolores O'Riordan, the late frontwoman for THE CRANBERRIES, who was set to record and reprise her iconic vocals on the track the day she tragically passed away. On June 19, the band presented her kids with a $250,000 check, donating their proceeds from the massively successful and incredibly resonant track.

b>BAD WOLVES is currently overseas with THREE DAYS GRACE on a European tour, but will follow that up by heading back out across North America later this fall with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, BREAKING BENJAMIN and more.

BAD WOLVES is drummer John Boecklin (ex-DEVILDRIVER) and vocalist Tommy Vext (DIVINE HERESY, SNOT), as well as guitarists Doc Coyle (ex-GOD FORBID), Chris Cain (BURY YOUR DEAD), and bassist Kyle Konkiel (ex-IN THIS MOMENT).

Photo credit: Alysse Gafkjen

On November 16, AMON AMARTH will release its new documentary and supporting live album(s), "The Pursuit Of Vikings: 25 Years In The Eye Of The Storm" — which includes a retrospective documentary that features a wealth of live and behind-the-scenes content and extensive band interviews. This film tells the Swedish quintet's history, through both their own eyes and those of the fans that have supported them along the way. It is a thrilling collection that pays respect to the faithful, as well as making for a detailed and riveting introduction for those new to their inspiring story. Paired with this documentary is the live video/audio, which contains two different sets at 2017's Summer Breeze festival in Dinkelsbühl, Germany, capturing the unit at their very best.

A performance clip of the song "Twilight Of The Thunder God", taken from "The Pursuit Of Vikings: 25 Years In The Eye Of The Storm", can be seen below.

Having played the German festival numerous times over the years, and loving the family vibe they have always experienced there, AMON AMARTH leapt at the chance to appear twice in the same year. Playing a secret, smaller scale set that focused primarily on older material, and then headlining the main stage with full production — including their giant sea serpent and lots of fire — allowed them to showcase their songs at their best, though putting together setlists from such a mighty catalog was not the easiest of tasks.

"For the first night, we wanted to write a set that the fans would enjoy by wholly diving into our back catalog but also keeping it interesting," explains guitarist Olavi Mikkonen. "But putting the two shows together also made us realize that we have a lot of songs to choose from!"

or the band, producer Alexander Milas (who contributed to Kerrang! and was an award-winning editor-in-chief of Metal Hammer, before starting his own creative solutions company, Twin V Ltd.) and director Phil Wallis, "The Pursuit Of Vikings" has been a true labor of love.

"I think I first became conscious of AMON AMARTH around the release of 2002's 'Versus The World'," Milas states. "It was a really transitional time for metal, and it seemed there wasn't a credible band on the heavier end of the scale that hadn't in some way responded to or been influenced by the pioneering sounds of the Swedish death metal scene, but I distinctly remember thinking that there was something unique about these guys: the artwork, the thematic underpinnings, even that curiously timeless logo."

While their sound certainly displays strong echoes of the nation that birthed them, AMON AMARTH arguably wield a unique aura, a "lusciously crafted escapism" that Milas likens to the classic bands he grew up with: DIO, IRON MAIDEN and others who exist on a spectrum of their own making.

For a preview of "The Pursuit Of Vikings", a trailer can be viewed now below.

The DVD/live album can be pre-ordered in the following formats via Metal Blade Records in the USA:

* CD/2DVD 8-Panel Digipak

* Blu-ray (includes audio digital download of Main Stage Show)

* special edition hardcover book with 6 discs (3DVD, 2CD, 1 Blu-ray) plus amulet and patch - (import - limited to 500 copies)

* transparent orange vinyl (U.S. retail exclusive — limited to 500 copies)

* clear with black splatter vinyl (U.S. webstore exclusive - limited to 250 copies)

* transparent yellow with orange marble vinyl (U.S. webstore exclusive — limited to 250 copies)

CD track listing (Main Stage Show: August 17, 2017):

01. The Pursuit Of Vikings

02. As Loke Falls

03. First Kill

04. The Way Of Vikings

05. At Dawn's First Light

06. Cry Of The Black Birds

07. Deceiver Of The Gods

08. Destroyer Of The Universe

09. Death In Fire

10. Father Of The Wolf

11. Runes To My Memory

12. War Of The Gods

13. Raise Your Horns

14. A Dream That Cannot Be

15. Guardians Of Asgaard

16. Twilight Of The Thunder God

DVD Digipak and Blu-ray track-listings:

- Documentary

T-Stage Show: August 16, 2017

01. Twilight Of The Thunder God

02. Free Will Sacrifice

03. With Oden On Our Side

04. The Last With Pagan Blood

05. For The Stabwounds In Our Backs

06. Thousand Years Of Oppression

07. Gods Of War Arise

08. Versus The World

09. Asator

10. Under The Northern Star

11. Fate Of Norns

12. Varyags Of Miklagaard

13. Live For The Kill

14. Victorious March

Main Stage Show: August 17, 2017

01. The Pursuit Of Vikings

02. As Loke Falls

03. First Kill

04. The Way Of Vikings

05. At Dawn's First Light

06. Cry Of The Black Birds

07. Deceiver Of The Gods

08. Destroyer Of The Universe

09. Death In Fire

10. Father Of The Wolf

11. Runes To My Memory

12. War Of The Gods

13. Raise Your Horns

14. A Dream That Cannot Be

15. Guardians Of Asgaard

16. Twilight Of The Thunder God

**Note: special edition hardcover book contains all of the above, plus audio from T-Stage Show: August 16, 2017**

Following ANTHRAX's August 7 performance at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan as the opening act for SLAYER, singer Joey Belladonnna stopped by Founders Brewing Co.'s "Founders Open Mic" to belt out some JOURNEY classics karaoke-style in front of a live audience. Check out video footage below (video shot by Nicholas James Thomasma).

When he is not busy touring and recording with ANTHRAX, Belladonna plays drums and sings for a classic-rock covers band called CHIEF BIG WAY. The upstate New York-based group, which also features Dave Mickelson on bass, Joe Precourt on guitar and John Goodwin on keyboards, plays versions of songs from JOURNEY, AC/DC, ZZ TOP, BOSTON, CHEAP TRICK, FOREIGNER, PINK FLOYD, VAN HALEN, COLLECTIVE SOUL, THE WHO, THE DOORS, SHINEDOWN and BON JOVI, among others.

In a 2005 interview with MusicDish, Belladonna was asked about the rumor that he came to the table with a JOURNEY tune during his 1985 audition for ANTHRAX. "Actually, what happened was I went into the room and they said, 'Just go on in,' and they hadn't heard me sing," he said. "They'd heard of me and they asked me to come in, but we were going in to start tracking and stuff, to get the mic set up and all that and they said, 'Let's get you in there and get you warmed up.' I hit the mic and belted out some JOURNEY… I think it was [the song] 'Lights'. I didn't know what the hell I was getting into in the first place. I just wanted to lay some vocals or something. Just to kinda give an idea and that's what happened. It wasn't really anything more than that. I just kinda belched it out. I think I did 'Oh Sherrie' [written by JOURNEY singer Steve Perry], too, or something. I dunno why, but I just did. It was something off the top of my head I could do a cappella and it was kinda challenging. I thought maybe in range or something that would be kind of intriguing. It was definitely one they weren't expecting."

ANTHRAX's 2013 EP "Anthems" EP included the band's cover version of JOURNEY's "Keep On Runnin'" alongside classics by RUSH, THIN LIZZY, AC/DC, CHEAP TRICK and BOSTON.

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Swedish heavy metal band Liv Sin, featuring former Sister Sin vocalist Liv Jagrell, has entered the studio to record the follow up to their 2017 debut album, Follow Me. For the upcoming second album the Swedish quintet has chosen to record with producer Emil Nödtveidt (Deathstars) in Black Syndicate studio.
 
When asked why the band came to choose Emil Nödtveidt as producer, singer Liv Jagrell states: "We wanted to explore a more modern sound with some synthesizers on this album. I think that this album might surprise a lot of our fans. I have known Emil for many years, so it was really fun to reconnect. The first moment he sent us his ideas of our demos I was delirious!"
 
The band recorded their debut Follow Me with Stefan Kaufmann (Accept, U.D.O.) and had guests including Jyrki 69 (The 69 Eyes) and Schmier (Destruction). The sound had a classic metal vibe with Liv’s aggressively piercing yet melodic signature vocals.
 
Guitarist Chris Bertzell explains how the song writing process differed from their debut: "For the first album Liv Sin was only Patrick, Liv and Per. Now we have spent two years together as a complete band of five on the road and in the studio. Along with more songwriters the band has evolved into having a lot more attitude and catchy melodies."
 
 Earlier this year, Liv Sin released a music video for their cover of Danzig's "Devil's Plaything", from their Inverted EP. The band commented:

"Sinners! We are incredibly proud to announce the official release of our new single "Devil's Plaything", a cover of Danzig taken from our upcoming Inverted EP, produced by Martin Sandvik of Hardcore Superstar at Studio Österlyckan! Stream it, buy it and request it at your local radio station! We will also release this in a very exclusive vinyl edition which will feature a previously unreleased bonus track!"

Inverted EP tracklisting:

"Devil's Plaything"
"Black Souls"
"Killing Ourselves To Live"
"Murphy's Law"

"Devil's Plaything" video: