The official music video for the song "Obscene As Cancer" from Birmingham extreme metal miscreants ANAAL NATHRAKH can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's 10th full-length album, "A New Kind Of Horror", which will be released on September 28 via Metal Blade Records.

When writing about "A New Kind Of Horror" in the record's liner notes, ANAAL NATHRAKH vocalist Dave Hunt is succinct in his description: "This is not a happy album; it is bitter, vengeful, sarcastic, sardonic, violent, terrified and horrified, terrifying and horrifying in equal measure. Above all, it is human, and all that that entails. It's as sincere as we could make it."

Those exposed to the ten tracks comprising the band's tenth full-length will be unable to deny the truth to these words, for lyrically, musically and sonically it is a punishing listen mired in darkness and seething with raw emotion. With multi-instrumentalist Mick Kenney pushing their distinctive hybrid of symphonic black metal, death metal, industrial and grindcore ever forward, Hunt draws lyrical inspiration primarily from the horrors of the First World War, contemporary politics, and the letters of D.H. Lawrence, creating one of the most powerful, timely and unique releases of 2018.

"There's a lot that goes into our albums, of course, but it all comes about as a natural result of who we are, and for 'A New Kind of Horror' we felt early on that it was clearly its own thing," Hunt says. "It doesn't have to stand in comparison with anything, because to us it's in a class of its own."

"A New Kind of Horror" track listing

01. The Road To...

02. Obscene As Cancer

03. The Reek Of Fear

04. Forward!

05. New Bethlehem/Mass Death Futures

06. The Apocalypse Is About You!

07. Vi Coactus

08. Mother Of Satan

09. The Horrid Strife

10. Are We Fit For Glory Yet? (The War To End Nothing)

The Danish/Swedish group NORDIC UNION — which features PRETTY MAIDS vocalist Ronnie Atkins and guitarist/songwriter/producer Erik Martensson (ECLIPSE, W.E.T., AMMUNITION) — will release its sophomore album, "Second Coming", via Frontiers Music Srl on Nov. 9.

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.

"Second Coming" track listing:

01. My Fear & My Faith

02. Because Of Us

03. It Burns

04. Walk Me Through The Fire

05. New Life Begins

06. The Final War

07. Breathtaking

08. Rock's Still Rolling

09. Die Together

10. The Best Thing I Never Had

11. Outrun You

Listen to the track "Walk Me Through The Fire" below.

Recording lineup:

* Ronnie Atkins - Lead & Backing Vocals

* Erik Martensson - Lead & Rhythm Guitar, Bass, Keyboards and Backing Vocals

* Magnus Ulfstedt – Drums

Atkins, 53, co-founded PRETTY MAIDS with guitarist Ken Hammer in Denmark in 1981. The group has released 15 studio albums to date, most recently 2016's Jacob Hansen-produced "Kingmaker", which cracked the Top 40 in Germany, Switzerland and Sweden. The band plans to release a new album in 2019.

Martensson is a prolific Swedish producer, guitarist and songwriter who is best known for fronting ECLIPSE — who will also release a new album in 2019 – and serving as the "E" in the melodic rock supergroup W.E.T., whose third album, "Earthrage", was released via Frontiers on March 23.

As Sensory Records prepares for the release of The Persistence, the new LP from Italian prog outfit Kingcrow, the band has issued the album's first video single. The video for the song "Father" has been premiered as the band prepares to begin their European tour supporting Pain Of Salvation this week.

The video for "Father" was filmed by Devilnax, directed by Devilnax and Kingcrow's Diego Cafolla. With the premiere of the new song, Cafolla offers, "This is a song that was written very quickly. I had the whole first part written with just a basic drum machine loop and Thundra came up with that hypnotic drums pattern, which I liked a lot. It's a pretty dark song and the only one we already played live in a show in Rome and it worked beautifully. I think it shows very well our interest in both trip hop atmospheres and heavy stuff and I like that a lot of things happen in less than five minutes, from the atmospheric first part to the heavy, proggy ending."

The Persistence will be released on CD, 2LP, and digital formats worldwide on September 7th via Sensory Records. The vinyl version features three bonus tracks recorded at ProgPower USA have a new mastering by Alan Douches on the D-side. Find preorders here.

The release of The Persistence is tied in conjunction to Kingcrow's support slot for Pain Of Salvation, which will run from August 31st through September 20th.

Cafolla offers of The Persistence, "With the last record, Eidos, we finished what we call the 'life trilogy' which included Phlegethon, In Crescendo, and Eidos, and when we started talking about the new chapter everyone agreed we needed somehow to step a bit outside of our confort zone and refresh our sound. With that in mind, I started to write a lot of music, which ended up being three hours of music more or less, trying different things until I came up with a couple of songs that sounded interesting and fresh to us and showcased the 'X factor' of the new record. 'Everything Goes' and 'Devil's Got A Picture' were the first two written. These early songs sounded different from what we did in the past but still somehow sounding like us, with a kind of a dark ambient, more modern vibe mixed with a heavier rock attitude. Devilnax was also determined to have a different cover style for the album, and after nights spent listening to the demos and discussing the lyrical content, for the first time all by vocalist Diego Marchesi, he came up with that very powerful image that fits beautifully with the main vibe of The Persistence."

"Night's Descending":

"The Persistence":

(Photo by: Devilnax)

SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser spoke to Metalshop TV about his band's plans for the follow-up to 2017's "Machine Messiah" album. "We're always working," he said. "I have a few demos with a drum machine and a few ideas — very raw still. I know Eloy [Casagrande, drums] has some stuff on drums, Derrick [Green, vocals] already wrote some ideas, and we're gonna start gathering and putting together the ideas pretty soon. But we have something where to start from — we have a few ideas to develop for the future."

Kisser added that a new SEPULTURA album won't arrive before 2020. "We're still gonna take our time and really work hard to do a better album than 'Machine Messiah'," he said. "That's our challenge."

"Machine Messiah" was released in January 2017. The disc was recorded at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with Swedish producer Jens Bogren. The CD's cover artwork was created by Filipino artist Camille Della Rosa.

SEPULTURA's official documentary, "Sepultura Endurance", will tentatively be released on DVD and Blu-ray in late 2018 or early 2019.

SEPULTURA has released 14 studio albums to date.

British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST played their classic song "Delivering The Goods" live for the first time in 38 years last night (Wednesday, August 29) at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

As part of its ongoing "Firepower" world tour, PRIEST has been playing a number of tunes from its classic '70s albums that created the blueprint for modern metal. Earlier this year, the band performed "Saints In Hell" from 1978's "Stained Class" and dusted off 1976's "Tyrant".

JUDAS PRIEST and DEEP PURPLE have joined forces for a co-headlining North American tour. The 25-date trek launched August 21 in Cincinnati and concludes September 30 in Wheatland, California.

JUDAS PRIEST is touring in support of its latest album, "Firepower", which was released in March via Epic.

"Firepower" entered the Billboard 200 chart at position No. 5, making it the band's highest-charting album ever.

Bassist Ian Hill is the sole remaining original member of PRIEST, which formed in 1969. Singer Rob Halford joined the group in 1973 and guitarist Glenn Tipton signed on in 1974. Rob left PRIEST in the early 1990s to form his own band, then returned to PRIEST in 2003. Founding guitarist K.K. Downing parted ways with the band in 2011, and was replaced by Richie Faulkner. Earlier this year, Tipton stepped down from touring with the band due to his battle with Parkinson's disease. His spot in the band is being filled by "Firepower" album producer Andy Sneap.

Atlanta progressive metallers MASTODON have canceled their previously announced tour with DINOSAUR JR. The dates were scrapped "due to a critical situation of a member of the MASTODON family," according to a statement released by the band. Tickets and VIP upgrades will be refunded at point of purchase.

The members of MASTODON "would like to extend their sincerest thanks to their loyal fans as well as the fans of DINOSAUR JR. for their support and understanding at this time," the statement continues. "The band hopes to make up these shows at a future time, but as of now, no plans for rescheduling have been set. "

MASTODON's tour with DINOSAUR JR. was scheduled to kick off on September 1 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

MASTODON won a Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category at the 60th annual Grammy Awards in January at Madison Square Garden in New York City. MASTODON got the nod for the song "Sultan's Curse" from its 2017 album "Emperor Of Sand", with the latter also being nominated for "Best Rock Album." It was the fourth and fifth time MASTODON had received Grammy nominations, having missed out on the three previous occasions — "Colony Of Birchmen" (2007), "Curl Of The Burl" (2012) and "High Road" (2015) — it had been up for the "Best Metal Performance" award.

CANCELLATION ALERT: @mastodonmusic regrets to inform fans that due to a critical situation of a member of the Mastodon family, their upcoming tour with Dinosaur Jr. will be cancelled. Tickets and VIP upgrades will be refunded at point of purchase.

Clyde box office (260) 747-0989— The Clyde Theatre (@ClydeTheatre) August 30, 2018



.@mastodonmusic regrets to inform fans that due to a critical situation of a member of the Mastodon family, their upcoming tour with @dinosaurjr will be cancelled.

Tickets and VIP upgrades will be refunded at point of purchase. More info » https://t.co/M4SAKBKegJ pic.twitter.com/gpxYZM8kOq— The Rave / Eagles Club (@therave) August 30, 2018

On September 7, Metal Blade Records will release "Cruel Magic", the new album by NWOBHM legends SATAN. The cover artwork for the disc was created by renowned artist Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with TESTAMENT, HATEBREED, SOULFLY and KATAKLYSM, among many others.

For another preview of "Cruel Magic", listen to the third single, "Death Knell For A King", below.

SATAN comments on the new single: "Playing this song in rehearsals is such a rollercoaster, and it's obvious already that it's going to be part of the SATAN live show for some time to come. This song has been in the making since 2014 and we are so excited to finally unleash it on the new record. It's our album opener, so turn up the volume and hold on!"

Bearers of the NWOBHM movement and responsible for '83's seminal "Court In The Act" and '87's "Suspended Sentence", SATAN makes it abundantly clear with its upcoming album that in 2018, it is not interested in simply capitalizing on past glories. Comprised of 10 tracks of searing metal, it is blatantly and profoundly the work of the Newcastle upon Tyne natives at their very best, infusing their signature sound with a more raw, wild and spontaneous vibe than they showcased on 2015's mighty "Atom By Atom" — and in the process, displaying more passion and energy than slews of bands half their age.

Tracking the album at First Avenue Studio, they further demonstrated their trust and rapport with past collaborators, recruiting engineer Dave Curle and Dario Mollo to handle the mix, letting them handle the technical side of things so the quintet could focus all of their energies on giving the best performances. Confident in the songs they had written and how they wanted them to sound made the process a very easy one, walking out of the studio with a record of which they are understandably proud, and will reign supreme in the speakers and headphones of metalheads the world over when it drops in September.

"We truly feel we've got it 100 percent right this time, the balance between considered content and reckless performance," SATAN says. "We always break loose on stage so why not on record?"

"Cruel Magic" track listing:

01. Into The Mouth Of Eternity

02. Cruel Magic

03. The Doomsday Clock

04. Legions Hellbound

05. Ophidian

06. My Prophetic Soul

07. Death Knell For A King

08. Who Among Us

09. Ghosts Of Monongah

10. Mortality

In support of "Cruel Magic", SATAN will head out on the road this October for a USA tour, which includes an appearance at the Frost And Fire IV festival in Ventura, California.

U.S. dark melodic metal masters WITHERFALL will release their sophomore album, "A Prelude To Sorrow", on November 2.

Songwriters Joseph Michael (vocals, SANCTUARY) and Jake Dreyer (guitar, ICED EARTH) succeeded in perfectly combining the group's technical proficiency with an appropriate eerie and somber atmosphere, manifesting also in Kristian Wåhlin's majestic cover painting. For mix and mastering, WITHERFALL again worked with Chris "Zeuss" Harris (SANCTUARY, QUEENSRŸCHE, ICED EARTH).

Regarding the follow-up to 2017's "Nocturnes And Requiems", WITHERFALL said: "'A Prelude To Sorrow' is a concept record, though not in the sense that most people have come to know the form. Ours is not a story where each song acts as a chapter. The inspiration lays in the supremely dark reality that was the passing of our drummer and one of our best friends, Adam Sagan.

"These songs are raw emotional reflections, composed in the witching hours under the influence of wine and sorrow, while watching and helping our friend fight and ultimately lose his battle with lymphoma. 'Nocturnes And Requiems' was dedicated to Adam after the fact. 'A Prelude To Sorrow' is written specifically about his and our personal tragedy.

"Like 'Nocturnes and Requiems', the songs have been arranged to still have the peaks and valleys that any great record should. With 'Prelude', these peaks just might be a little steeper and the valleys might be a little deeper, alternating between violence and beauty.

"The titles initials are an acronym for 'Adam Paul Sagan.' He came up with 'Nocturnes And Requiems' so we suppose it is kind of fitting that he also inspired this title. Hope he doesn't come knocking on our door for royalties.

"We hope that this will be a fitting requiem for our friend and talented musician."


An album artwork trailer can be seen below.

"A Prelude To Sorrow" track listing:


01. A Prelude To Sorrow

02. We Are Nothing

03. Moment Of Silence

04. Communion Of The Wicked

05. Maridian's Visitation

06. Shadows

07. Ode To Despair

08. The Call

09. Vintage

10. Epilogue


The album will be released as limited-edition digipak, jewelcase CD (U.S. only), gatefold 2LP plus poster and etching on Side D as well as digital album.


WITHERFALL is:

Jake Dreyer - Guitar

Joseph Michael - Vocals/Keyboards

Anthony Crawford - Bass

Fili Bibiano - Guitar

Steve Bolognese - Drums

KING'S X frontman frontman Doug "dUg" Pinnick has confirmed to Rock Titan that the band is preparing to enter the studio to begin working on the long-awaited follow-up to 2008's "XV" album. "We've decided to make a record," he said (see video below). "We officially decided yesterday. We had a meeting with our manager, and we said, 'Okay. It's a go. Move forward.' So that's the next thing. He's gotta work the contract out, the logistics of where to make the record, who's gonna produce it, where we're gonna stay, how we're gonna do it, how we're gonna rehearse before, how we're gonna go there and write together, how we're gonna bring songs in — how we're gonna do it. So that's the next step. But it's getting done. And that's a good thing. Before, it was just talk for years and years and years. Now we have a commitment. I'll see how long that lasts, but I'm waiting."

"XV" was KING'S X's highest-charting album since 1996's "Ear Candy".

In 2005, VH1 included KING'S X in its list of "100 Greatest Artists In Hard Rock."

In addition to Pinnick, KING'S X features drummer Jerry Gaskill and guitarist Ty Tabor.

In a 2016 interview with The Sacramento Bee, Pinnick said that KING'S X wasn't in a hurry to work on new material.

"We have a lot of songs to choose from [for performances], and that's probably why we haven't done a record in so long," he said. "In a way, we've kind of pulled all the tricks out of our bag.

"To this day, we're perceived by our fans and outsiders as some huge thing even though we never had a really big hit," he added. "I just think we weren't considered a good flavor so we were left on the shelf."

KING'S X was sidelined by several health scares in recent years, including Pinnick's two hernia operations and two near-fatal heart attacks suffered by Gaskill.

Indian heavy metal band Against Evil are taking the road with their third video “Mean Machine”. The song is taken from their full-length album titled All Hail The King. The album features also their famous song “Stand Up And Fight!” whose official video went viral. Also the second video for “Sentenced To Death” with guest appearance by Jeff Loomis (Nevermore, Arch Enemy) is from All Hail The King.

The band released All Hail the King as their second album on April 6th, 2018 independently. It is available via the Bandcamp widget below. 

All Hail the King (Heavy Metal) by AGAINST EVIL (India)

The complete tracklist is as follows:

"Enemy At The Gates"
"The Army Of Four"
"All Hail The King"
"Stand Up and Fight!"
"Sentenced To Death" (feat. Jeff Loomis)
"Bad Luck" 
"We Won't Stop" 
"Gods of Metal"
"Mean Machine"

20 Buck Spin presents Frights, the new album by Slasher Dave, set for release this Halloween season. The album's first single "Fulzzi" is streaming below.

Slasher Dave, the formidable frontman of Detroit's Acid Witch, and 20 Buck Spin have united forces to bring a special treat for this year's Halloween loot bag. On Frights, his fourth solo record, Slasher Dave introduces a heavier side to the instrumental synth album world. Terrifying industrial rhythms pulse through a stark electronic soundscape of analog synthesizers, pounding bass, distorted guitars, warped lo-fi horror samples and sedulous sound design. The entire album is written, recorded, mixed, and produced by Slasher Dave, and, as with his past solo releases, he handled all artwork and design as well.

Timed for release as All Hallow's Eve approaches, Slasher Dave's Frights is as creepy as it is entertaining. These twelve nightmares of deranged horror-synth are sure to send chills down the spine on Halloween but will fulfill any horror fiends' lust for the strange and unusual year around.

With the debut of the track "Fulzzi" Slasher Dave delves, "'Fulzzi' started out as more of a Fabio Frizzi influenced track with the Mellotron and repeating kick drum pattern but morphed into a heavier track along the way. The samples are warped and glitchy. I don't write with modular synth too much but there is a modular patch at the beginning, middle, end, and in the background of the heavier parts if you listen closely, just enough to add a little flavor and rawness to the track, and there's a little bit of guitar and amp feedback I blended together to make that heavy pumping effect. A perfect introduction to Frights."

Frights will see release through 20 Buck Spin on LP, CD, and digital formats - including an exclusive glow-in-the-dark vinyl version available only through 20 Buck Spin mailorder - on October 26th. Watch for additional audio premieres, album preorders, and more to be issued over the weeks ahead.

Tracklisting:

“Corpse Magician”
“Frights”
“Death Chamber”
“In The Dark It Glows”
“Shrieks And Creaks”
“Fulzzi”
“Blue Labyrinth (Fogmaze)”
“Strobe Room”
“Let The Creeps Inside”
“Video 1 (Late Fees)”
“Asylum Head”
“Neon Shadows”

“Fulzzi”:

Tampa Bay, Florida-based thrash/death metal band, Generichrist will release their limited EP Rotting In The Swamp in late November. It will be the band’s first musical offering since 2015's Taste Of Death album that was released on Philadelphia label Horror Pain Gore Death Productions. Generichrist spent a major part of 2018 working with Mark Prator at Red Room Studios, Prator produced the bands last two records, Taste Of Death and House Of Ill Repute. 

The band has also unveiled the artwork for the Rotting In The Swamp EP that was done by artist Ipoet Poetra. The three song EP will be the beginning of a busy 2018/2019 for Generichrist who will release their next full-length Ego Killer in early 2019.

Generichrist recording lineup:

Tony Anderson (Fleshreaper, Doomsilla) - vocals
Joe  Hujbar ( ex-Mass Mutilation ) - guitar
Marco Escalante - guitar
Ed Webb (Hideous, ex-Massacre, ex-Diabolic, ex-Eulogy) - bass/vocals
Chris Maraman (ex-Sorcerer, ex-Unearthed) - drums

Florida-based melodic power metal band Artizan released their new album Demon Rider on August 17th via Pure Steel Records. An official lyric video for "Soldiers Of Light" can be found below.

The sensational Demon Rider artwork was illustrated by Berlin based artist Eliran Kantor, who has created numerous masterpieces for the likes of Testament, Iced Earth and Hatebreed.

The album is available as standard and limited edition CD, as well as standard vinyl with bonus poster. The limited edition CD will include a bonus track featuring vocalist Harry Conklin (Jag Panzer), live tracks, and isolated drum and bass tracks, showcasing the extraordinary performance of guest bassist Joey Vera.

Orders are now available here.

Tracklisting:

Standard Edition

“Demon Rider”
“The Hangman”
“Soldiers Of Light”
“The Endless Odyssey”
“When Darkness Falls”

Limited Edition

CD1
“Demon Rider”
“The Hangman”
“Soldiers Of Light”
“The Endless Odyssey”
“When Darkness Falls”
“Demon Rider” (feat. Harry Conklin)
“Hopeful Eyes” (live)
“I Am The Storm” (live)

CD2
“Demon Rider” (instrumental, drums-bass)
“The Hangman” (instrumental, drums-bass)
“Soldiers Of Light” (instrumental, drums-bass)
“The Endless Odyssey” (instrumental, drums-bass)
“When Darkness Falls” (instrumental, drums-bass)

"Soldiers Of Light" lyric video:

“The Hangman” lyric video:

"Demon Rider":

The VAN HALEN episode of "Breaking The Band", the new original docu-series from the Reelz TV network, will re-air on Saturday, September 1 at 10:00 p.m. ET / PT. The special, which features new interviews with Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar, was originally broadcast this past June.

A new "Breaking The Band: Van Halen" preview clip, featuring Anthony, can be seen below.

Michael said via Instagram that being interviewed for "Breaking The Band" "brought up many great memories," while Hagar added that the interviewers "were great."

Show synopsis: "They were the biggest rock band in the world and infamous for their excess and raucous live performances. With strutting front men, wild hair and a penchant for spandex, they were the archetypal '80s rock band. But behind the scenes, all was not well inside VAN HALEN and a battle for control raged between the brothers at the heart of the band and its lead singer, David Lee Roth. Years of touring, substance abuse and personality clashes had left them on the brink. When Roth's ambitions grew beyond the band, the VAN HALEN brothers forced him out. Millions of fans were devastated, but VAN HALEN rose from the ashes with a new front man, Sammy Hagar. Against the odds, they reached even greater heights with a string of No. 1 albums. But with the new success, tensions emerged again. 'Breaking The Band' sits down with band members including Sammy Hagar and bassist Michael Anthony to ask what finally split up VAN HALEN?"

After "Breaking The Band: Van Halen" first aired back in June, Eddie Van Halen's wife, Janie, who is also his publicist, tweeted: "Great job @ReelzChannel on the inaccuracies, bad wigs and overall embarrassing(for u and those who participated) junk tv. Fucking hysterical?. It’s amazing what gets produced these days."

Last November, Hagar said that he had lost hope there would ever be another VAN HALEN reunion, explaining that Eddie and Alex Van Halen did not want to reconnect with him as friends.

Hagar, who exchanged tweets with Eddie Van Halen in January 2016, hasn't made music with Eddie or Alex since his final tour with VAN HALEN back in 2004.

In 2007, the Van Halen brothers, Wolfgang Van Halen and Roth announced they would be hitting the road for a reunion tour. Anthony later told Music Radar that he "found out about that tour like everybody else did — in the press."

Anthony has played primarily with Hagar in the 14 years since he last performed with VAN HALEN, in groups like CHICKENFOOT and THE CIRCLE.

The brainchild of mercurial Cambridgeshire mystic Kevin Starrs, UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS have been making extraordinary music since 2009. Now they return with their fifth full-length album. 47 minutes of vital, audacious and frequently bewildering heavy psychedelia, it bears the title "Wasteland" and is instantly recognizable as Starrs's most immersive and evocative body of work yet. The album is set to be released on October 12 via Rise Above Records.

Always too bold and idiosyncratic to be easily pigeonholed, they emerged from an obscure corner of the labyrinthine English underground as shadowy purveyors of a new and overwhelmingly psychedelic take on the gruff and gritty rudiments of hard rock and turbo-blues, powered by the dark, lysergic heart of the late '60s and early '70s and drenched in woozily macabre imagery. Steeped in both the wayward melodies and mischievous arrangements of psychedelic pop and the dissonant thunder of proto-metal and doom, Starrs's greatest feat has been to create an entirely fresh sonic world from these most familiar of ingredients.

"There's not enough melody or harmony in new music for my liking," says Starrs. "I wanted to go even further with all of that this time, and really force it down people's throats! It's important to me that someone keeps it going, especially in heavy music. I always write to my own tastes, so as long as it appeals to me, I don't really think about it. But I would say that it's all been an instinctive progression."

A disorientating journey through Starrs's wonkiest dreams, "Wasteland" glides majestically from punchy and direct psych-rock anthems like "I See Through You" and "Shockwave City" to the vicious, somnambulant ooze of the eight-minute "No Return" and the twinkly-eyed bad trip of the album's mesmerizing title track. Recorded at the legendary Sunset Sound studio in Los Angeles, "Wasteland" boasts the kind on irresistibly raw and exuberant sound that only the greatest bands can generate.

"We recorded the basic tracks the way we always do," says Starrs. "Everyone in one room, live and straight to tape. We worked with a great engineer called Geoff Neal (NINE INCH NAILS, MOTÖRHEAD), who really understood what we were going for and how to capture it. Playing in the same room where so many classic albums were made definitely inspired us. Even small things like running the guitars through the same echo chamber that VAN HALEN used in the '70s, it all added to the overall experience."

While most musicians seem content to chase their own (or other people's tails), UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS remain proud and resolute individualists and "Wasteland" is simply their most powerful and memorable spurge of creativity to date. Masterfully echoing the magical atmospheres of heavy music's turbulent past while sounding entirely unlike anything else available to human ears, this is what happens when the shadows come to life and suffocating darkness, UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS style, is the only show in town.


The band will only play one North American show in 2018, at the Desert Days festival in Lake Perris, California, the weekend of October 12-14.


"Wasteland" track listing:

01. I See Through You

02. Shockwave City

03. No Return

04. Blood Runner

05. Stranger Tonight

06. Wasteland

07. Bedouin

08. Exodus

The official lyric video for the song "Invaders From The Sky" from THE THREE TREMORS, the new project featuring acclaimed heavy metal singers Tim "The Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN), Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin (JAG PANZER) and Sean "The Hell Destroyer" Peck (CAGE, DEATH DEALER, DENNER/SHERMANN), can be seen below.

THE THREE TREMORS' self-titled debut LP is due later this year. Check out additional audio samples on THE THREE TREMORS' PledgeMusic page.

"Sean's band, CAGE, opened for JUDAS PRIEST on the 'Jugulator' tour in San Diego — that is where I first met him," recalls Ripper. "He hit me up about resurrecting the idea and actually doing a record, and then a band, to put this out in the live setting also, and I thought it sounded really cool. The record came out really strong and I think the fans deserved to have a thing like this actually exist. We performed two of the songs live already when I was out in San Diego shooting the video for the first single, and it was a blast."

"It was about five years ago, I was camping and thinking about the whole THREE TREMORS urban legend from long ago and what a shame it was that it never happened," says Sean. "Then I started thinking about if there was a resurrected 2018 version of it, who would I get, and Tim and Harry were at the top of my list. I immediately reached out to Tim, who agreed to embark on this adventure and Harry quickly joined next. It took a long time to put it together, create the right songs, and get it properly arranged, but the results are beyond my wildest expectations. I think the fans are really going to freak out on what we have done with this record, and live it's going to be almighty I assure you!"

"Sean and I ended up at a party together in Germany, where we were both playing the same festival, and he told me about the THREE TREMORS album he was putting together and asked if I would be into it," adds Harry. "He described the concept and how he wanted to bring this old idea to actual life and I said I was in. Once I started hearing the songs that were being sent over for me to record, I knew this thing was going to be really powerful. Then when I got sent the final mixes with all three of us on it, my jaw hit the floor on how well it all came together. For heavy metal fans, this is the ultimate."

THE THREE TREMORS nourish in heavy metal anthems, and feature the illustrious chops of guitarist Dave Garcia, whose tenacity fuels the fire, allowing the music to naturally flow in complimentary tone. Second guitarist Casey Trask picks up the pace and pushes the boundaries alongside bassist Alex Pickard, who highlights a melodic sensibility giving character to the overall tonality. On drums, the thrash machine Sean Elg adds in his perfectly placed fills and signature double bass patterns.

THE THREE TREMORS' self-titled debut highlights artwork ingeniously created by renowned artist Marc Sasso (DIO, HALFORD, ADRENALINE MOB, DEATH DEALER), to showcase an apocalyptic battle between demonic hyper-wolves and the Three Tremors, who marched into an underworld overshadowed by evil forces only armed with bullets powered by heavy metal sorcery to reclaim the dystopian lands.

THE THREE TREMORS' self-titled debut album will feature 12 new songs that depict monumental stories of time honored heavy metal themes as written by Peck, focusing on original concepts to highlight three of the most revered and relentless voices in heavy metal.

"The Three Tremors" track listing:

01. Invaders From The Sky

02. Bullets For The Damned

03. When The Last Scream Fades

04. Wrath Of Asgard

05. The Cause

06. King Of The Monsters

07. The Pit Shows No Mercy

08. Sonic Suicide

09. Fly Or Die

10. Lust Of The Blade

11. Speed To Burn

12. The Three Tremors (bonus track)

THE THREE TREMORS was the provisional name given to a proposed project featuring Bruce Dickinson (IRON MAIDEN), Geoff Tate (QUEENSRŸCHE) and Rob Halford (JUDAS PRIEST).

It was announced in 2000 that Tate would be joining Dickinson and Halford in the all-star group, which was slated to record an album's worth of material with Dickinson's solo guitarist and Roy "Z" Ramirez.

Dickinson said that he and Roy wrote "about three songs" for THE THREE TREMORS during a session in Los Angeles before he "realized it was going to take us a lot longer than three weeks to write a project with three singers that would work."

Before Dickinson's proposed collaboration with Halford and Tate was officially scrapped, the name THE THREE TREMORS was changed to TRINITY because "we figured they would sue our ass if we called it THE THREE TREMORS," Bruce explained in an interview several years ago.

Back in late 2016, Owens, Tate and ex-IRON MAIDEN singer Blaze Bayley played a number of U.S. shows under the "Trinity" banner. Owens later said that while the tour "was a lot of fun," he would not be working with Tate again.

A revamped version of KINGDOM COME — comprised of guitarists Danny Stag and Rick Steier, bassist Johnny B. Frank, drummer James Kottak, along with singer Keith St. John (formerly of MONTROSE and LYNCH MOB) — will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of the band's self-titled debut album by embarking on a U.S. tour in the fall. Original singer Lenny Wolf declined to participate in the trek, which will kick off on September 27 in Seattle, Washington.

Kottak, who played on KINGDOM COME's first two albums, 1988's "Kingdom Come" and 1989's "In Your Face" before leaving, spoke to IndiePower.com about the band's setlist for the upcoming tour.

"What's funny is, we went through this, and everybody said, 'You've gotta play the entire first album,'" he said (see video below). "Okay, we are doing that. There's only 10 songs — that's 48 minutes. But the second album is really awesome, so we picked about four or five songs from that. And then also, because Keith St. John and myself played with MONTROSE, we're doing a MONTROSE song, and, of course, man, we're gonna play some [LED] ZEPPELIN — 'cause I love me some ZEPPELIN.

"It's gonna be fun, it's gonna be a party — it's not all seriousness," he continued. "It's about entertaining the troops and everybody who's here. And we wanna make everybody happy and deliver everything — not just KINGDOM COME. Because, quite honestly, after an hour and 15 minutes, it's, like, 'Next.' I wanna play some rock and roll — I wanna play everything."

Kottak also talked about his September 2016 dismissal from the SCORPIONS during his well-publicized battle with alcoholism. (He has since been replaced by former MOTÖRHEAD drummer Mikkey Dee.) Calling his exit an "amicable departure," he said: "I have had my problems with alcoholism — I will not deny that. I've been in recovery for about two years. I'm not perfect; I've struggled. I've been up, I've been down, I've been in and out. But the thing is that I'm working my program, and I'm working hard, and I don't preach it — I'm not going, 'Don't drink.' Eff that, man. This is my personal situation. I've had my problems with alcoholism. Thank God I was never a pill addict — that was never my cup of tea. And it is what it is. And I acknowledge that, and I'm working on it. And it's a thing. And I have the gene — I'm an alcoholic. But the thing is I'm working on it…"

The drummer, who joined the SCORPIONS in 1996 and played with the band for 20 years, continued: "I'm not special. I'm a guy — I play rock and roll drums in a rock band, and I'm just a guy. The thing is I have the gene and I'm an alcoholic. But I'm working on it. And it's progress, not perfection — and that's what it's all about."

This past June, Wolf issued a statement via his official web site in which he said that it was "time" for him "to let go" of KINGDOM COME. "I'm not saying that I will never write a song again, or never again enter a stage, but the chapter called 'KINGDOM COME' is now closed," he said. "One day I may revisit the music scene with a new band called 'IRON BANANA', but until then, it is what it is.

"I hope the KINGDOM COME songs have given many of you energy, joy and strength, as they did for me," Lenny said. "The KINGDOM COME songs will live on, long after we all have turned to dust, and will hopefully do the same for many generations to come, unless of course, we have blown up our planet before then."

After its early run of success in the '80s, KINGDOM COME released several albums, with Wolf remaining the only constant member of the band. The group's most recent effort was 2013's "Outlier".

The new lineup of ADLER'S APPETITE was joined by former DOKKEN and current FOREIGNER bassist Jeff Pilson for a performance of the GUNS N' ROSES classic "Sweet Child O' Mine" on August 25 at The Canyon in Santa Clarita, California. Video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

ADLER'S APPETITE's current lineup includes former GUNS N' ROSES drummer Steven Adler alongside Ariel Kamin, the singer of Argentinian GN'R tribute band SON OF A GUN, plus guitarist Michael Thomas and bassist Tanya O Callaghan.

Kamin replaced Constantine Maroulis of "American Idol" and "Rock Of Ages" fame, who was the vocalist for ADLER'S APPETITE for a dozen or so dates this past May, including an Australian tour.

Steven previously played with Ariel when the drummer joined SON OF GUN on stage in November 2016 in Buenos Aires, Argentina to perform several GN'R classics, including "You Could Be Mine" and "Welcome To The Jungle".

ADLER'S APPETITE FEATURING CONSTANTINE MAROULIS celebrated the 30th anniversary of GN'R's classic debut album by performing "Appetite For Destruction" in its entirety on the aforementioned Australian tour.

Back in April, when Constantine was first announced as the new frontman of ADLER'S APPETITE, Steven said: "GUNS N' ROSES are the biggest rock band in the fuckin' world now, and since the guys don't want me to play with them and I love these songs and I'm so proud of them ... now I finally have a singer who can compete with the young Axl Rose."

Frontiers Music Srl has announce the signing of Alan Parsons. Alan is working on a new studio album, tentatively scheduled for release in the spring of 2019.

Alan and Frontiers' relationship began in 2010 when the label released "Eye 2 Eye - Live in Madrid". They have kept in close contact since, with the ultimate goal to release another album together. Alan wanted it to be a really special album and only recently have the right plans and ideas fallen into place where Alan felt ready to enter the studio to record what he had in mind.

"The writing and recording sessions are going incredibly well," says Alan. "The album already has a working title, which is 'The Secret', and it will include musical and lyrical themes that are very close to my heart and my own interests and passions. I do not really want to reveal a lot about it, except that for the moment everything that surrounds 'The Secret' is going to be just that… a secret!"

The overall musical approach of the album is expected to be in keeping with the symphonic rock that Alan explored on his earlier solo records and the "Project" albums. But, of course, there will be new twists and turns and robust new creative inspiration behind the album. Some special guests will be on the album, but those will be revealed later... again, in keeping with the working title of the album, "The Secret".

Frontiers president Serafino Perugino commented: "This is pretty much a dream come true for me. For Frontiers being able to represent the artistry and the talent of such a huge artist is a magnificent opportunity. We look forward to this release as much as Alan's fans and it will see the light of day in multiple exciting formats. Stay tuned!".

Parsons said: "I wish to thank Serafino and the team for the commitment and the patience to make this happen. To the fans… we'll see you soon on a world tour!"

Parsons's music career started at 19 when he earned one of his his first credits as assistant engineer on THE BEATLES' "Abbey Road", an album recorded in the legendary London studios of the same name. He soon become a well-respected studio engineer, working for Paul McCartney, THE HOLLIES, and many others. He is particularly renowned for his work as recording engineer on the PINK FLOYD masterpiece "The Dark Side of The Moon". This classic album was recorded in 1972 and Parsons experimented with many of the most advanced recording techniques of the time. As a producer, he enjoyed many successes with PILOT, STEVE HARLEY AND COCKNEY REBEL, John Miles, and Al Stewart, including the masterwork "Year Of The Cat".

In 1975, Alan Parsons formed THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT along with principal songwriter (and occasional singer) Eric Woolfson. The PROJECT consisted of a group of studio musicians and vocalists, often involving the members of three bands Alan produced: PILOT (Ian Bairnson, Stuart Tosh and David Paton), COCKNEY REBEL's Stuart Elliott on drums, and (on the first album) American progressive pop/rock band AMBROSIA.

THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT released ten acclaimed studio albums, but never performed live during the heyday of the albums, even after several U.S. and European Top 20 hits. The PROJECT made its final album at the end of the '80s with the album "Gaudi". Since then, Alan has released a number of recordings under his own name using several musicians that also appeared on the "Project" releases.

As well as receiving gold and platinum awards from countless countries, Parsons has received eleven Grammy Award nominations for his engineering and production work. In 2007, he was nominated for "Best Surround Sound Album" for his studio album "A Valid Path".

In 1994, Alan Parsons started touring regularly as THE ALAN PARSONS LIVE PROJECT and has released a number of live releases in audio and video. His live concerts continue to this day.

"Mt. Skull", the new video from PIG DESTROYER, can be seen below. The song is taken from the band's first album in six years, "Head Cage" (named after a grisly medieval torture device), which will be released on September 7 via Relapse Records.


The "Mt. Skull" clip was directed by Joe Stakun. The band states: "Did someone say banana peels?!?! We here at Pig Destroyer Industries are happy to announce our third video in conjunction with Joe Stakum, so get out your coffins and skate 'Mt. Skull'!"

A visceral vortex of animalistic rage and extreme sonic brilliance, "Head Cage" is a true work of extreme metal art, that with the addition of a bass player, is hands down their most dynamic and heaviest recording to date. Across twelve tracks, PIG DESTROYER weave together harrowing tales of philosophical dualities, touching on mortality and depression, fear and violence, and the darkest complexities of the human condition, all told through the distorted lens of delightfully transgressive vocalist/lyricist JR Hayes. Musically, the band continues to push the boundaries of metal, grindcore, noise and punk, ramping up the intensity and leaving you bludgeoned in a state of utter shock, all in less than 33 minutes.


"Head Cage" was recorded by guitarist Scott Hull at Visceral Sound Studios, mixed and mastered by Will Putney (EXHUMED, EVERY TIME I DIE, BODY COUNT) and features striking artwork by Mark McCoy (FULL OF HELL, NOTHING) along with guest vocal appearances by AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED's Richard Johnson and Kat Katz plus FULL OF HELL's Dylan Walker.


The "Head Cage" cover artwork was created by Mark McCoy and can be seen below.


"Head Cage" track listing:


01. Tunnel Under The Tracks

02. Dark Train

03. Army Of Cops

04. Circle River

05. The Torture Fields

06. Terminal Itch

07. Concrete Beast

08. The Adventures Of Jason And Jr

09. Mt. Skull

10. Trap Door Man

11. The Last Song

12. House Of Snakes

Photo credit: Joey Wharton

Nuclear Blast has announced the signing of Greek symphonic death metallers SEPTICFLESH to a worldwide deal.

The group's unique blend of symphonic arrangements, avant garde elements, atmosphere and eviscerating extreme metal has been converting legions into fans since the '90s. Now, with a streak of modern classic albums under their belt such as "Sumerian Daemons" (2002), "Communion" (2008), "The Great Mass" (2011), "Titan" (2014), and "Codex Omega" (2017), there seems to be no stopping this creative juggernaut.

"We are honored to have signed with one of the world's leading record labels, Nuclear Blast Records," commented the group. "SEPTICFLESH has always been a hard-working band looking to the future while keeping traditional elements and utilizing a modern and dark feel to our music. We needed someone who would understand this and we are happy to have found our new home with Nuclear Blast. In the meantime, our latest album, 'Codex Omega', continues to gain ground worldwide. We will keep touring in support of it and prepare for the conquests set before us."

Nuclear Blast stated: "We at Nuclear Blast are fans huge fans of SEPTICFLESH, and we're extremely excited to be working with one of the most revolutionary and forward thinking extreme metal bands around. We very much look forward working with the band on their upcoming pieces of sonic art!"

SEPTICFLESH plans on releasing its Nuclear Blast debut in 2019.

"Codex Omega" was the first SEPTICFLESH album to feature former DECAPITATED drummer Kerim "Krimh" Lechner. Months of hard work and experimentation crafted the album, and resulted in 10 compositions of dark sonic bliss. Lyrically and musically, "Codex Omega" is by far the most infernal release of SEPTICFLESH to date. The album was helmed by acclaimed metal producer Jens Bogren (OPETH, AMON AMARTH, KREATOR). Besides the orchestral side represented once again by the Filmharmonic Orchestra of Prague, the band utilized traditional instruments such as Oud and Duduk and also a 12 string electro-acoustic guitar, enhancing the mystical atmosphere of the compositions. Of course, as always, "Codex Omega" is dominated by the relentless death guitar riffing and the pale melodies that are the trademark of SEPTICFLESH.


SEPTICFLESH is:

Seth (brutal vocals, bass)

Christos Antoniou (guitars, orchestral)

Sotiris V. (guitars, clean vocals)

Kerim "Krimh" Lechner (drums)

Rufus Publications will release the book "Bernie Marsden - Tales Of Tone And Volume" in November.

Bernie Marsden is one of the U.K.'s foremost rock and blues guitarists, famous for his time in professional bands since 1972 and a founding member of one of the biggest rock acts of all time, the mighty WHITESNAKE.

But there is a lot more to this man, from his first band UFO to treading the boards of the National Theatre in London, on stage with Ringo Starr in Monaco, playing the Beacon Theatre in New York with THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND, writing and playing with Joe Bonamassa and MOTÖRHEAD.

His long-term friendships with so many top names in the guitar business, Billy Gibbons, Steve Lukather, Warren Haynes, rejoining the new WHITESNAKE lineup of recent years and a solo career that keeps him both on the road and in the studio. He became interested in guitars as a teenager watching THE BEATLES, his fascination continues to this day.


Bernie has developed one of the most unique and expansive private guitar collections in the world.

Over the last two years, the collection has been extensively photographed by Melvyn May and the Rufus team using a special "light painting" technique to reveal them in all their glory, from the unseen wonders of the world-famous "The Beast" to the intricate detail on his much signed and cherished Martin Coletti. Every guitar comes with its own story, from how it was acquired to where and when it was played. You will be able to see the very guitar he used during the writing and recording of some rock classics, many anecdotes of some pretty famous people encountering his guitars on the road and in the studio.

The images have been assembled into this beautiful, 340-page-plus full-color luxury book, available in three stunning editions. Accompanying the book will be a CD of original guitar backing tracks written just for this project. The CD will contain a backing track for the user, plus lead guitar from a vintage guitar seen in the book. The two high-end editions also ship with a genuine piece of an original '50s Lifton guitar case, taken from Bernie's collection and carefully cut down to include with each copy.

As Bernie says: "I love guitars and I've seen and collected many books on the subject. The time and effort spent creating these images and the finished book makes this an extraordinary book by any standard. I'm really proud of what has been created here. I'm bound to say it, but if you are a guitar collector, a player, or simply an official guitar nerd, you are going to love this book. And the photographs of 'The Beast' took my breath away."

A great cross section of vintage Gibson, Fender, Gretsch and Martin guitars, the PRS Bernie Marsden Prototype, his legendary Les Paul, the 1920s acoustic Martin Coletti signed first by bluesman Honeyboy Edwards, Gary Moore, Peter Green, Billy Gibbons and many, many more musicians Bernie has worked with and admires.

"The Beast Edition" is a large A3 Portrait book, quarter bound in brown re-cycled leather, that comes in a wooden clamshell case, engraved with "The Beast" logo. It also ships with exclusive framable prints of "The Beast", a CD of music, a seven-inch vinyl single and a folder containing a piece of vintage 1950s Lifton guitar case. Limited to 100 Signed and numbered copies worldwide.

The Deluxe Edition is also an A3 Portrait book, bound in black leather, that comes in a special embossed clamshell case. It also ships with exclusive framable prints of guitars from the book, a CD of music, and a folder containing a real piece of 1950's Lifton guitar case. Limited to 350 Signed and numbered copies worldwide.

The standard Edition is an A4 Coffee Table book that comes in its own card slipcase and is a brilliant way to enjoy this beautiful book. This book is not limited.

For more information, go to this location.

Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee have reunited for a studio project.

A picture of the MÖTLEY CRÜE bandmates was posted on the band's Facebook page, along with the caption "28th August 2018." Appearing them in the photo is longtime MÖTLEY CRÜE producer and collaborator Bob Rock. In addition, a brief video of Lee playing drums was posted on his Instagram, with the drummer captioning the clip: "It's that new shit!!!"

MÖTLEY CRÜE fans have speculated that they the trio were working on music for the film adaptation of the group's biography, "The Dirt - Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band".

The movie, which is being helmed by "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa" director Jeff Tremaine, is being produced by LBI Entertainment's Julie Yorn and Rick Yorn, along with Erik Olsen and Amanda Adelson, who wrote the script. Netflix will distribute the project, which was previously at Focus and before that at Paramount.

Back in late 2016, Sixx shot down any possibility of the CRÜE returning as a recording act, telling TeamRock that there was "no chance" of the band making another record. "I want to just leave it intact," he said. "I see no reason. We couldn't be creative as a band, so how the hell can we continue? But I'm glad the way it finished — we did it all, we did what we said we were going to do, and now I'm excited about the future."

MÖTLEY CRÜE's last studio album was 2008's "Saints Of Los Angeles", which was followed by a 2009 "Greatest Hits" compilation.

A tour film about MÖTLEY CRÜE's final shows, "The End", came out in 2016.

In 2015, MÖTLEY CRÜE completed "The Final Tour", closing the book on the band's iconic career after performing a total of 164 shows in 72 markets, grossing over $100 million.

To cement the sense of finality, the four members of MÖTLEY CRÜE in 2014 publicly signed a "cessation of touring" contract that prevents any of them from performing under the CRÜE name in the future.

28th August 2018Posted by Motley Crue on Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Boomz!!!!!! A post shared by ☨☯ɱɱ¥ ᒪ☰☰ (@tommylee) on Aug 26, 2018 at 11:30am PDT

"Take Me Away", the new video from Finnish metallers KALMAH, can be seen below. The song is taken from the band's latest album, "Palo", which was released on April 6 via Spinefarm Records.

Once again recorded at Tico Tico with trusty old Ahti Kortelainen manning the helm and finalized by studio sorcerer Svante Forsbäck (RAMMSTEIN, VOLBEAT, APOCALYPTICA), "Palo"'s poignant, almost beautiful melodies intertwining with relentless rip-your-face-off aggression are everything its equivocal name suggests and more — a testimony to and a prime example of burning passion for music; a piece of unbridled all-consuming wildfire of melodic death metal mastery likes of which come by maybe once in a decade.

Guitarist Antti Kokko states: "Almost 30 years of swamp madness and here we are today representing our eighth album with fishing tridents sharpened shiny. The album stands strongly on the very roots of KALMAH sound yet introduces fresh breath from the Swamplord's tar-stained lungs."

In a time when others in the melodic death metal genre increasingly lap up influences from more commercial and contemporary genres of music, KALMAH stays true to its roots of death metal, Finnish melodic heritage, cantankerous never-say-die attitude and themes of Northern nature and the folly of mankind. "Palo" presents its listeners with a set of songs that with their web of melodies and in-your-face aggression exemplify the band's ongoing evolution towards becoming an international death metal powerhouse.

"Palo" track listing:

01. Blood Ran Cold

02. The Evil Kin

03. The World Of Rage

04. Into The Black Marsh

05. Take Me Away

06. Paystreak

07. Waiting In The Wings

08. Through The Shallow Waters

09. Erase And Diverge

10. The Stalker

KALMAH is:

Veli-Matti Kananen - Keyboards

Timo Lehtinen - Bass

Pekka Kokko - Vocals, Guitars

Antti Kokko - Guitar

Janne Kusmin - Drums

On October 5, Polish black/death overlords BEHEMOTH will unleash their new album, "I Loved You At Your Darkest", upon the world via Metal Blade Records in North America and Nuclear Blast in Europe. In the clip below, frontman Adam "Nergal" Darski discusses the disc's artwork.

Of course, BEHEMOTH is no stranger to blasphemy. Over the course of the last 27 years, they've pushed the boundaries of black metal and heresy alike. While anti-Christian sentiment might seem like stale bread where most metal bands are concerned, for BEHEMOTH such ideas represent a very real threat to their physical freedom. Time and again, the government of their native Poland has charged them with various "crimes" such as tearing up a bible onstage in 2007 and using the Polish coat of arms on a BEHEMOTH t-shirt in 2017. "Obviously, stuff like that can piss you off. But I think it's good to be pissed off," Nergal says with a laugh. "Anger can be a massive driving force, especially when you make extreme music. But politically and socially, Poland is a very disparate country. You can never feel totally safe here. That makes it easier for me to get inspiration. If I lived in Holland or Australia, I don't think I'd be doing what I do now. You can do or be anything you want there. I'm a huge fan of that kind of freedom, but I don't really have it here. Struggling with that on a daily basis makes me who I am, and fuels my passion for this music."

Nergal and his bandmates — Orion (bass) and Inferno (drums) — have channeled that passion into "I Loved You At Your Darkest". A crushing salvo of black metal majesty replete with hellish riffs, thundering drum cannonades and soaring liturgical choirs reminiscent of classic horror cinema, the album is also bejeweled with nimble-fingered rock guitar solos on songs like "God = Dog", "Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica" and "Sabbath Mater".

"I really wanted to redefine ourselves with this record," Nergal explains. "'I Loved You At Your Darkest' is a more dynamic record. It's extreme and radical on one hand, but it's also more rock-oriented than any other BEHEMOTH record."

Nergal doesn't view the heightened rock influence as a conscious creative decision so much as a renewed interest in the historical origins of the music he makes. "We don't give consideration to musical direction, we simply create what naturally comes to us," he says. "But 15 years ago, if you had asked me who I thought was the best band on the planet, I probably would have said MAYHEM or MORBID ANGEL. Today if you asked me, I'd say AC/DC. That should give you a clear indication of why this album is more rock-based. It all comes down to the songwriting."

Lyrically, "I Loved You At Your Darkest" revels in the kind of religious provocation that BEHEMOTH do best. "It's very religion-driven, maybe more than anything we've done before," Nergal offers. "But it's not just cheap goading. I believe this is some deeper metal language. It's art."

Unlike "The Satanist", which was primarily recorded in one studio, "I Loved You At Your Darkest" saw its production spread across Poland and the United States. It was produced by the bandmembers themselves, with drum co-production by Daniel Bergstrand (MESHUGGAH, IN FLAMES), mixing by Matt Hyde (SLAYER, CHILDREN OF BODOM) and mastering by Tom Baker (NINE INCH NAILS, MARILYN MANSON). Which is to say nothing of the 17-piece Polish orchestra arranged by Jan Stoklosa and engineered by Tomasz Budkiewicz. Or as Nergal sums it up: "Pretty much every instrument was recorded in a different studio, and a lot of amazing people were involved."

"I Loved You At Your Darkest" track listing:

01. Solve

02. Wolves Ov Siberia

03. God = Dog

04. Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica

05. Bartzabel

06. If Crucifixion Was Not Enough...

07. Angelvs XIII

08. Sabbath Mater

09. Havohej Pantocrator

10. Rom 5:8

11. We Are The Next 1000 Years

12. Coagvla

Portland rockers Red Fang have shared a cover of the 1978 cult hit “Listen to the Sirens” originally performed by Gary Numan’s Tubeway Army. Watch the official music video, directed by Ray Gordon, below.

The music video which is a departure from Red Fang’s usual antics, showcases the band playing the song in their rehearsal place while taking in the sites and sounds of their hometown, Portland.

The group commented about the cover/video: "We've been a fan of Tubeway Army for a long time. It was a blast to record a song of theirs with Adam Pike and equally great to make a video with Ray Gordon! I hope people get as creeped out by our version of 'Listen To The Sirens' as the original!"

Additionally, Red Fang begin their US Fall headlining tour next week with support from Big Business, Monolord (select dates), and Dead Now. Red Fang has also announced a string of New Year’s Eve shows in the Pacific Northwest. Select dates with Thunderpussy, R.I.P., Wizard Rifle and Gaythiest. All confirmed tour dates are available below.

September (with Big Business, Dead Now)
7 - Raleigh, NC - Hopscotch Music Festival ^
8 - Richmond, VA - Capital Ale House #
9 - Washington, DC - Rock & Roll Hotel #
11 - Pittsburgh, PA - Spirit Hall
12 - Columbus, OH - A&R Music Bar
13 - St. Louis, MO - Firebird
14 - Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room
16 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon
18 - Harrisburg, PA - Stage on Herr - HMAC
19 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
20 - Hamden, CT - Space Ballroom
21 - Boston,  MA - The Sinclair
22 - Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts
24 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
25 - Grand Rapids, MI - Pyramid Scheme
26 - Detroit, MI - El Club
28 - Indianapolis, IN - The Hi-Fi

^ Red Fang Only
# with Monolord and Dead Now, no Big Business

December
28 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom (with Thunderpussy & Gaythiest)
29 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom (with R.I.P. & Wizard Rifle)
31 - Seattle, WA - The Showbox (with Thunderpussy)

Metallica has uploaded footage covering Budgie’s “Breadfan” live on the European WorldWired Tour.

 

Metallica has announced their newest collaboration as the Nixon x Metallica hardcore watch collection is now available for pre-order at Metallica.com, in stores, and online at Nixon.com on November 5th of this year.

Nixon, who began in the '90s in Southern California with the goal of “making stuff a little better” with a line of custom-built watches, have grown to become one of the premiere lifestyle watch companies, working with some of the greatest action sports athletes in history, including Tony Hawk, John John Florence, Leila Hurst and scores of others; as well as with amazing franchises like Star Wars & Disney. They are the perfect partner for Metallica... independent and unique, with a focus on creativity and quality, and they’ve been looking forward to working with them again since their first experience back in 2010 when they teamed up for a series of limited edition rocker watches using old guitar straps and leather jackets from various ‘Tallica members to create watch bands (with proceeds going to the Musicians Assistance Program).

The Metallica collection includes eight hard rocking models, plus one special limited edition. Prices range from $125 to $750.

Metallica are currently taking a break from the road. The band launch a North American arena tour on September 2nd at Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Find their live itinerary here.

 

The Man Who Loves To Hurt Himself, the powerful documentary about Today Is The Day's Steve Austin, sees its official release through global entertainment distribution operation Gravitas Ventures on all digital platforms as well as DVD and Blu-ray today, August 28th. A new clip from the film can be seen below.

Directed and filmed by Anthony Short, The Man Who Loves To Hurt Himself is not your typical music documentary, but rather a film that focuses on the story of the iconic Steve Austin himself, and what it means to express yourself on an existential level no matter what the cost. The trailer for this film on YouTube had over twenty-thousand hits within three months of being posted and has received a wide array of awards through its screenings at various international film festivals over the past year.

Steve Austin offers, "Surround yourself with people you love. The struggle is real. You can never give in if you truly believe in what you are doing. I hope this film reaches out to everyone who is following their dreams."

The film's director Anthony Short humbly offers, "After three long years, I'm happy this film is finally getting released. I'm thankful for all the people standing by us during this process."

The Man Who Loves To Hurt Himself is out now via Gravitas Ventures on Blu-ray, DVD, and across all video on demand and digital platforms. Find the film at iTunes here, at Target on DVD here and Blu-ray here, and at Barnes & Noble on DVD here and Blu-ray here.

Steve Austin, whose noise-laden, experimental and fiercely aggressive musical output over two decades has served as testimony, touched hearts and myriad troubled lives. Not many people can say they have so fully dedicated themselves to what they love and believe as Steve Austin has. To many, he defines the word "legend." The loose but subdued methodical subtlety of the movie stands in sharp contrast to an artist known in the worldwide underground of extreme music for abrasive, loud, chaotic spectacle and neo-violent imagery through a slow, brooding and emotional ninety-three minutes that covers a year of conversations and ride-a-longs with the casual aesthetic of natural conversation supported by raw grainy fan shot footage, old pictures, personal home videos, career spanning amulets, in a self-examination of the psyche of a modern-day "madman" and "master."

Ride along as Austin's first-person account brings balance to these opposing forces, reckoning and stretching himself from the drive to create his musical vision, engaging and performing intense shows around the world, to being home with his wife and children. How one near-death experience led him to connect with the love of his life and begin the transition, fulfilling his destiny as a loving family man while completing his mission to bring relief his followers, and overcome being the man who loves to hurt himself.

Anthony Morgan of Metal Forces recently conducted an interview with MOONSPELL vocalist Fernando Ribeiro. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On new MOONSPELL DVD "Lisboa Under The Spell":

"It's a big project, and it seems like people are really getting into it. To be honest, DVDs and live recordings are sometimes something that bands just put out there, and I've never been a huge fan of live recordings myself. Obviously, I really like 'Live After Death' by IRON MAIDEN [1985] and 'Earth Inferno' by FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM [1991], but it's rare. However, I do understand that especially for the fans, they really like alternative releases, and not only music. A lot of people saw us live, and they want to have kind of a document. When we set up to do 'Lisboa Under The Spell', I told Napalm that it would have to be really different from what's out there. With all due respect to the 'Live At Wacken' DVDs that bands tend to release, I said, 'We have a history, so let's try to tie it together and really show.' That's why we played the three albums as a whole. The feeling and the attitude going into the DVD was definitely to give people something a little bit different; something more entertaining, and more representative of what MOONSPELL is. At the end of the day, I think we definitely came up with a very different idea for the DVD, with all of the big show and also the documentary — the fact that we are also showing more private parts of our lives. I think that was really the deal breaker for us, that the DVD definitely had to be something that could get the fans' attention, and not something that was just put on the shelf. So, definitely. We worked hard to make something… It's not like MOONSPELL is a spectacular band every time onstage. It's not what we mean with the DVD, but we mean that MOONSPELL is a different band, and that we definitely want people to know about that."

On the decision to play the albums "Wolfheart" [1995], "Irreligious" [1996] and "Extinct" [2015]:

"The idea behind that was quite obvious. I think hands down, 'Wolfheart' and 'Irreligious' are the foundations of our fanbase. There was no discussion about that, but we also have a big musical thread that holds up after 'Irreligious', of course. Many people would have probably split up after making two such amazing albums, but that was never the plan. We never wanted to be defined by just two albums. I think that music is a process, and definitely a longer path than just getting lucky with the first couple of albums. We kept that in mind, rather than the band crumbling, so that people didn't lose track. We definitely wanted to play 'Extinct' onstage, which is an album that we really love. It was our latest album, released before '1755' [2017] — '1755' is musically about the Portuguese / Lisbon earthquake. On the other hand though, 'Extinct' is also the album where musically and also probably concept-wise we're gonna pick when we set ourselves next year to make a new album. So, there's a lot more from MOONSPELL. I think that there's formidable playing though, and these three are integral sing-along albums. It's great. We could have done it with a lot of other albums, but I think this fit 'Lisboa Under The Spell', which is more of a travel through time type of concert. We definitely wanted to show the time, as it unveils, for us, which isn't always being caught up in our glorious past. There's also the fact that every day, on the scene, with all of the bands and all of the competition, we are still trying to make great music."

On founding Alma Mater Books & Records:

"It's just a small project. I wanted the old repertoire from MOONSPELL to be well taken care of. Sometimes I saw editions that I weren't happy with and that the fans weren't happy with as well. I definitely wanted to change that, so I founded Alma Mater Books & Records. The first thing we did was to get in touch with Century Media — and they've been an incredibly supportive partner — and re-release stuff that's already sold out, like 'Irreligious' on vinyl. Also, for the first time ever, our single 'Opium' – probably our most famous song — is on vinyl as well. It was sold out. We decided to not put the money in our pockets, but to invest more in the label, and that's what we did. Right now, we are re-releasing the old repertoire of MOONSPELL. They're very collector oriented with amazing editions and releases, but also we extended it a little bit. There used to be big companies like Universal and Sony in Portugal but I wasn't happy with them, so we decided to take it in our own hands. From that moment on, we started thinking of signing bands with just a click. We have a concept of signing only Portuguese bands, so far. I think many bands — whether they be English, French, Swiss — get signed, but the Portuguese bands don't get signed, and I don't know why. So, I decided to sign them myself with Alma Mater Books & Records, and also to try to make a good job with them – trying to use MOONSPELL's contacts, etcetera. We signed a death metal band called OKKULTIST, and that's going to be out next year. I worked on getting my own book translated into English; there's a poetry book called 'Purgatorial', which you can buy from Alma Mater. Also, we've released the second poetry book by Till Lindemann ['On Quiet Nights'], the singer of RAMMSTEIN. For the first time though, there's going to be a Portuguese version. All in all, it's a lot like MOONSPELL. It came out of something I love, and now it's becoming a little bit serious because we are doing stuff right. Also, I've been in business with Century Media, Napalm Records, Steamhammer, Nuclear Blast, etcetera, so we have a little bit of all that knowledge put together as well, and hopefully we can use it for our own bands. For now and up until we change this, we'll just be signing Portuguese bands and not bands from any other country."

On writing sessions for the forthcoming MOONSPELL album:

"I've already written a lot of lyrics for what's going to be the forthcoming album of MOONSPELL, and the other guys are working on some music that I know of. I think that people can expect us to go into the studio in 2019, and probably release an album in 2019, 2020. We want to take our time. We want to make a big album, so absolutely. I think it's a constant process. That's what we love to do the most, is write new stuff and discover new stuff, and not to go to the old repertoire and put something together. I think it's interesting if you like what I like, but our guitar player and our keyboard player may have a different opinion, so that's why we write music. I think we're going to write new music, definitely. We're always doing it, sort of, and I think next year we will be able to release an album. If not next year, then maybe 2020. We're not in any rush."

Read the entire interview at Metal Forces.