Professionally filmed video footage of Metallica performing "Motorbreath" at Outside Lands in San Francisco, CA at Golden Gate Park on August 12, 2017 can be seen below:

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.
 
Support Metallica's All Within My Hands Foundation and you could win a Wherever I May Roam Black Ticket - the one ticket that will allow you floor access to as many shows as you want to attend on the 2018/2019 North American tour (festivals and special events excluded from promotion). That's up to 35 gigs! You pick the shows, register no less than 48 hours before the gig, and you're in.

Find complete details and enter now at this location.

AWMH is a non-profit philanthropic organization created by the members and management of Metallica dedicated to creating sustainable communities by supporting workforce education, the fight against hunger, and other critical local services. 100% of donations go to support the organizations that work with the Foundation. Please visit allwithinmyhands.org for more information.

Classical guitar virtuoso Thomas Zwijsen will release his seventh solo album, Nylon Metal, on September 3rd. The double CD contains 26 acoustic arrangements of metal and rock songs by Iron Maiden, KISS, Metallica, Deep Purple, Helloween, Led Zeppelin, Dream Theater, and many more. A new preview video featuring Thomas and Anne Bakker performing an acoustic rendition of the Deep Purple song "Burn" can be found below.

Zwijsen states: “My mission is to bring heavy metal to the classical guitar world and vice versa, combining the greatness of heavy metal compositions with the beautiful tone of the classical guitar. I can’t wait to present this album to guitar fans around the world.”

Guest musicians on the album are (ex)members of KISS and Iron Maiden, respectively Bruce Kulick and Blaze Bayley.

Tracklisting:

CD 1:
"The Good, The Bad, The Ugly" (Ennio Moricone)
"Future World" (Helloween)
"2 Minutes To Midnight" (Iron Maiden)
"Forever" (KISS) ft. Bruce Kulick
"Eye Of The Tiger" (Survivor)
"Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son" (Iron Maiden)
"Hollow Years" (Dream Theater)
"Renegade" (Hammerfall)
"The Unforgiven II" (Metallica)
"Four Lanes Of Chaos" (Original)
"Twisted Mind" (Avantasia)
"Soldier Of Fortune" (Deep Purple)
"The Final Countdown" (Europe)

CD 2:
"Where Eagles Dare" (Iron Maiden)
"Temple Of The King" (Rainbow)
"Lightning Strikes Twice" (Iron Maiden) ft.Blaze Bayley
"Enter Sandman" (Metallica)
"The Wickerman" (Iron Maiden)
"All My Love" (Led Zeppelin)
"Want You Bad" (The Offspring)
"Space Oddity" (David Bowie)
"Living After Midnight" (Judas Priest)
"Definitely Doable" (Original)
"Smoke On The Water" (Deep Purple)
"Eagle Fly Free" (Helloween)
"Detroit Rock City" (KISS)

"Burn" video:

"Lightning Strikes Twice" video:

Preview:

Trailer:

All songs are arranged by Thomas Zwijsen in his characteristic style, playing all essential melodies simultaneously on his Ortega signature guitar.

With his arrangements Zwijsen obtained over 20 million YouTube views and is now close to reaching 100,000 subscribers. He has played over 500 concerts in Europe, South America, Asia and the Middle East.

The release of the Nylon Metal album will be followed by a European tour in September with Anne Bakker, a European tour in November with Blaze Bayley, and three shows in Israel in 2019 followed by an extensive South American solo tour.

The Book Of Tabs - Together with the album, Zwijsen will release his second tab book, The Book Of Tabs. The book includes tabs & standard notation of 11 Iron Maiden songs and includes online video lessons for each song.

Table of contents:

"If Eternity Should Fail"
"The Wickerman"
"Afraid To Shoot Strangers"
"2 Minutes To Midnight"
"Iron Maiden"
"Lightning Strikes Twice"
"Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son"
"Hallowed Be Thy Name"
"Children Of The Damned"
"Where Eagles Dare"
"Alexander The Great"

More info and pre-ordering at here.

Professionally-filmed video footage of Skindred performing the Big Tings album cut "That's My Jam" at this year's edition of Germany's Wacken Open Air festival can be seen below:

Skindred have announced their return to North America in support of Big Tings. The tour kicks off September 26th in Jacksonville, FL and runs through October 12th in Tempe, AZ. Support on the tour will come from Sumo Cyco and Raven Black. A complete list of dates can be found below.

The band are eagerly anticipating their return: "We are blown away by the success 'That's My Jam'is currently having in America. It's heartwarming that our once second home is once again opening its arms to Skindred. This North American tour is so exciting for us, we can't wait to spread Big Tings across the land and so say all of us, Let's Dred into America!"

Dates:

September
26 - Jacksonville, FL - 1904*
27 - Ft. Myers, FL - The Buddha Bar
28 - Tampa, FL - The Orpheum*
29 - Longwood, FL - Shovelhead

October
2 - Baltimore, MD - Fish Head Cantina
3 - Harrisburg, PA - Chameleon Club
4 - Flint, MI - Machine Shop
5 - Grand Rapids, MI - Elevation - Intersection
6 - West Dundee, IL - Rockhaus
7 - Racine, WI - Route 20 Outhouse
8 - Minneapolis, MN - Turf Club
9 - Joliet, IL - The Forge
10 - Madison, WI - The Annex
11 - Ringle, WI - Q & Z Expo Center
12 - Tempe, AZ - Tempe Marketplace*

* support will not appear

Skindred's Big Tings album is out now via Napalm Records. Order the album here.

Tracklisting:

"Big Tings"
"That's My Jam"
"Machine" (Ft. Gary Stringer)
"Last Chance"
"Tell Me"
"Loud And Clear"
"Alive"
"All This Time"
"Broken Glass"
"Saying It Now"

"That's My Jam" video:

"Big Tings" lyric video:

"Machine" video:

The clip below features Soulfly / ex-Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera and Conan performing the Fudge Tunnel classic "Hate Songs In E Minor" at The Earache Factory during the Boomtown Fair in Winchester, UK this weekend. Both Soulfly and Conan were on the festival bill.

Max Cavalera is featured in a new interview with MetalShop, recently conducted in Prague. He discusses the band's forthcoming album, Ritual, and the new song "The Summoning", which the band has been performing live.

Metal Express Radio's Mick Burgess caught up with Soulfly frontman Max Cavalera to chat about the band's live shows, and to get the low down on their new album, Ritual, that hits the stores in October. Following is an excerpt from the interview.

Q: How`s "Summoning" been going down (on tour) seeing as though it`s from an album that`s not out yet?

Max: "The fans have been loving it. It`s a really cool song and starts with a blast beat and has this killer groove, and it has this awesome breakdown ending. When it comes in the fans just love it."

Q: You have a new album, Ritual, due out in a couple of months. How do you feel ahead of its release?

Max: "I`m very excited, it`s a very cool record and done in a very unique way. I worked hard on bringing in some of the early Soulfly influences from the tribal groove element along with the fast thrash death metal stuff that I love right now. There`s a Navajo chant that opens the record. There`s a song called 'Dead Behind The Eyes' that features Randy (Blythe) from Lamb Of God, and 'Under Rapture' has Ross (Dolan) from Immolation; that`s a great song, the ending is full-on death metal. It`ll be great playing those on a proper Ritual World Tour next year."

Q: Seven shows in eight days (in the UK) is quite a hectic schedule.  How do you pace yourself on tour?

Max: "You`ve just got to go for it. Sometimes we do 20-30 without a day off. One of our crew guys used to say 'Stay in your manhole and give `em Hell.' You`ve just got to man up and do it. Don`t complain, just enjoy. There`s a lot of worse jobs out there so we`re really lucky to do this for a living and we`re having fun."

Read the complete interview here.

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) have joined forces in a new project called THE THREE TREMORS.

THE THREE TREMORS' self-titled debut LP is due on September 20. Check out 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.

VENOM INC. frontman Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan has confirmed to AntiHero Magazine that the band is putting the finishing touches on the songwriting process for its sophomore album. "We've already got it ready," he said at this weekend's Bloodstock Open Air festival (see video below). "It'll be out in March of 2019. We're a machine now."

According to Dolan, VENOM INC. is planning to continue making new music while playing live shows that feature a setlist culled largely from VENOM's early catalog.

"People are going, 'You are always doing stuff.' And I said, 'Yeah, but if you're in a band, you write some new music, record some new music, release the music, you play some shows, then you write some new music, you record some new…' It doesn't take six years to write a fucking record," he explained. "It doesn't take 10 years to go, 'It's 10 years since we did the last show. We might tour.' I just wanna keep doing it.

"Time is running out, and I know it's running out, and this is what I wanna do," he added. "And when I watched my hero Lemmy go out on stage, going, 'This is what I'll do,' knowing that he was going, but he didn't stop. That inspired me to go, 'That's what I wanna do. I wanna go out playing music.' That's why I'm here. So, yeah, the more we can write, the more we can do… brilliant."

Dolan, who replaced Conrad "Cronos" Lant in VENOM almost 30 years ago, formed VENOM INC. with original VENOM members Jeff "Mantas" Dunn (guitar) and Anthony "Abaddon" Bray (drums).

Bray hasn't toured with VENOM INC. for the past few months as he focuses on family life following the birth of his daughter. He has since been replaced by Jeramie Kling of the Tampa-based melodic death metal band THE ABSENCE.

VENOM INC.'s debut album, "Avé", was released in August 2017 via Nuclear Blast.

VENOM INC. is not to be confused with the Cronos-fronted version of VENOM, which is continuing to tour and make albums under the VENOM moniker. Joining Cronos in that group are Rage (a.k.a. Stuart Dixon) on guitar and Danté (a.k.a. Danny Needham) on drums.

Dunn, Bray and Dolan released three albums as VENOM between 1989 and 1992 — "Prime Evil" (1989), "Temples Of Ice" (1991) and "The Waste Lands" (1992).

The classic lineup of VENOM — Lant, Dunn and Bray — is often credited with kickstarting the whole black metal movement, but is more accurately seen an early example of extreme metal.

VENOM's second album, 1982's "Black Metal", was a major influence on on the early Norwegian black metal scene.

Greek melodic power metal masters FIREWIND, the group led by guitar wizard and former OZZY OSBOURNE bandmember Gus G., have uploaded a video recap of their August 3 appearance at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany. The four-and-a-half-minute clip, which was directed and edited by Panagiotis Kountouras, can be seen below.

Gus recently told "The Classic Metal Show" that his decision to join Ozzy's band in 2009 contributed to a loss of momentum for FIREWIND. He said: "FIREWIND did take a backseat, obviously, when I joined Ozzy's band. I mean, I would have never changed that decision for anything in the world; I think it was the right thing to do and that opened up so many doors that probably would have never, ever happened with just sticking with FIREWIND. And that's my own baby, you know? And, of course, it helped me in a lot of ways — I mean, not only money-wise. With Ozzy, like I said, I got a lot more opportunities."

He continued: "I think the problem with FIREWIND was that it wasn't really only the fact that we took a backseat because I was so busy with Ozzy; it was also the fact that we had, actually, problems with the lineups — we couldn't really keep a singer. And when we had that momentum, our singer quit, back in 2013. And maybe we made a couple of records that didn't really resonate with our fanbase much. I think partly it's our own fault, why this band did not become any bigger when it should have. So I would definitely not put that on me joining Ozzy or anything. If nothing else, I think it gave the band a bigger boost in the sense that it made the brand more recognizable on an international level. So I think that was a lot of our own mistakes, which we're kind of trying to catch up on. I think we made the right record, if you like, with [2017's] 'Immortals' — it was the right comeback record — so it seems that there's some momentum going on again. I definitely do not plan on having a five-year break between the next album."

"Immortals" marked the first time FIREWIND used an outside co-producer, having worked with Dennis Ward (UNISONIC, PINK CREAM 69), who not only engineered, mixed and mastered the album, but also co-wrote it together with Gus G. The disc was also FIREWIND's first release with singer Henning Basse (METALIUM, SONS OF SEASONS), who previously toured with the band on various continents in 2007 and was most recently the singer in Gus's solo touring group.

Gus's latest solo album, "Fearless", was released on April 20 via AFM Records. The follow-up to 2015's "Brand New Revolution" was Gus's first release since exiting Osbourne's band in 2017.

Fan-filmed video footage of SEPULTURA's August 11 performance at the Brutal Assault festival in Josefov, Czech Republic can be seen below.

SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser confirmed to TotalRock Radio that the band has commenced the songwriting process for the follow-up to 2017's "Machine Messiah" album. "Already, me, Eloy [Casagrande, drums], Derrick [Green, vocals] and Paulo [Xisto Pinto Jr., bass], we have a few ideas, so we have where to start from — a few songs in demo version," he said at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany. "And we still have to develop [them] and stuff. We don't still have a kind of a direction or a theme or something, but it's getting there. We still like to enjoy a lot the road, and we don't write that much on the road as a band. Yeah, it's going, but it's still early."

Kisser also talked about SEPULTURA's relationship with Nuclear Blast Records, with whom the band has been for nearly a decade. "It's amazing, man," he said. "They are a metal label, and there are people that are on the scene since the beginning, the early days. It's a label that never sold out. Many other labels sold out to bigger companies and bigger labels, you change personnel, you think more on the business side. I think Nuclear Blast has a perfect balance between believing in music — in metal and hardcore and punk — and having the business able to sustain everything… And you see how many artists now are with the label, which is great. It's a great place to be. We have total freedom and support to do our stuff and to work with the producers we want and the artists for the cover — everything. They're very supportive, and they believe in the band, which is everything we need. It's great."

"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 this fall.

Years of anticipation are about to come to an end with the September 7 release of their self-titled debut album from DOWNPOUR. The band, which features members of SHADOWS FALL and UNEARTH, has marked this long-awaited announcement with the premiere of album track "Truth In Suffering".

The album is available for pre-order through DOWNPOUR's PledgeMusic campaign, which offers fans a number of incentives and options. Packages include items and collectibles for every level of fan! the digital album, autographed copies, vinyl, a signed and handwritten lyric sheet, a signed drumhead, the band performing your house party anywhere continental U.S., and the Nickel Bag of Funk, in which singer Brian Fair will chop off a nickel bag-sized chunk of his infamous dreadlocks for the first time since 1995!

DOWNPOUR started as a project without any expectations — just an unfettered desire to play music. Their initial instrumental jam nights among the members offered a respite from real life — things like 9-to-5s, crumbling relationships, bills, and beyond. Their sessions were akin to therapy sessions and the music became increasingly heavy.

Soon it morphed into a beast they could no longer hold back. It was becoming its own entity. The music they were creating was so invigorating that it convinced SHADOWS FALL vocalist Brian Fair to change lanes and join the band. It was a no-brainer, as Fair and drummer Derek Kerswill (UNEARTH, SEEMLESS) solidified their musical chemistry when they played together in the aforementioned SHADOWS FALL in the early '00s.


Kerswill says: "We consciously sat on the record for the last few years due to a lot of scheduling issues and we had all talked about the idea that back then. Everything was about content, and we wanted the days of SOUNDGARDEN- and TOOL-style mystery."


"When I was first approached by Derek about getting involved with the DOWNPOUR, ‪SHADOWS FALL was starting to come to an end and I wasn't sure I was ready to start working with another band," Fair admits. "When he sent me the instrumental versions of the songs, I knew immediately that I had to get in! The combination of musicianship, unique songwriting style, and a groove that can't be fucked with just absolutely blew my mind."


Fair adds: "This was not only music I had always wanted to hear — it was music that I thought would allow me to push myself as a vocalist and try totally new things. I tracked some lo-fi, home studio demos and sent them off to the boys, having no idea if they would be feeling what I was laying down but I know I was! Luckily, they got my vision and encouraged me to push it even further."


The band, rounded out by guitarist Matt LeBreton and bassist Pete Gelles, continues to maintain that same vision.


"We wanted to make a unique metal record that represented our varied influences, unrestrained by subgenre or any other restrictions," Fair says. "The vocal lines and lyrics seemed to flow effortlessly. The riffs and grooves really inspired me to find some deep and personal subject matter that I had yet to explore lyrically. Before I knew it, we had enough material for the record and we hadn't even all jammed in the same room yet!"

They eventually did come together and Fair labels those first rehearsals as "electric." Fans will be able to hear and feel that crackle in the finished product.

HANGMAN'S CHAIR will release its fifth studio album, "Banlieue Triste", on September 28 through Spinefarm Records in all territories outside of France.

A special double vinyl version of the album, featuring one black record and one red record, will be released in tandem. This comes as the result of a deal that will see the Paris outfit working with Spinefarm worldwide for future recordings.

The band has also shared a new song. Watch the video for "Naïve" below.


Over the past decade or so, HANGMAN'S CHAIR — Cedric Toufouti (vocals/guitars), Julien Chanut (guitars), Clement Hanvic (bass), and Mehdi Birouk Thepegnier (drums) — has released a steady flow of singles, EPs, albums, and split releases. They've all been housed in signature, stylish artwork and have showcased the band's trademark ability to blend emotional and musical weight with fragile interludes and atmospheric swathes of sound.


HANGMAN'S CHAIR stands as France's foremost name in the world of stoner doom, yet their music is in no way bound by style. This is evidenced by 10 new tracks on "Banlieue Triste" — from the epic riff-surge of "Naïve" through the shimmering, slow-burn instrumental "Sidi Bel Abbes" (featuring guitarist Marc De Backer from WOLVENNEST) to the soaring melody of "Tired Eyes" (a collaboration with French synthwave master Perturbator).

The album is a body of work where brute force and beauty are never too far apart.


"We feel that 'Banlieue Triste' has something special — a taste of relief," said Chanut. "With these songs, we believe that we've truly found our identity. We've never been this personal before in terms of the influences, the lyrics, the sound, and the artwork. 'Banlieue Triste' is what we are now and what we used to be as kids — it's full of nostalgia, the broken French dream."

Finnish electronic alternative metal outfit AWAKE AGAIN has inked a deal with Spinefarm Records. The band is working on its debut album, to be released later in the year.

For a taste of what's to come, check out the lyric video for the song "Below". The track was mixed by Jacob Hansen, who has previously worked with AMARANTHE and VOLBEAT.

"Working with professionals like Jacob has been an amazing experience," said AWAKE AGAIN. "The song became the best and the most versatile song AWAKE AGAIN has ever released,".

AWAKE AGAIN's first show abroad wasn't your average club show either — the band recently won the local Wacken Metal Battle. That means AWAKE AGAIN played at the legendary Wacken Open Air festival this summer.

Working with Spinefarm Records is another dream come true for the group. "When we were teenage heavy metal fans, it seemed like all the best metal bands at that time, like CHILDREN OF BODOM and NIGHTWISH, were on Spinefarm Records," the band said. "It feels incredible that now, in the year 2018, we belong to the same label where our idols were."

The band began its trek at the Turku Rock Academy in 2013. Founded by singer/bassist Matti Österman and guitarist Kasper Hellström, the band, which also includes drummer Markus Puranen and bassist Ville Loukola, released its first single, "Turning Point", independently in 2016. AWAKE AGAIN has been an active live band ever since, with past shows including Ruisrock and Nummirock festivals as well as support slots for the Swedish band SMASH INTO PIECES.

AWAKE AGAIN is:

Matti Österman - Vocals


Markus Puranen - Drums


Kasper Hellström - Guitar, keyboard, backing vocals


Ville Loukola - Bass, backing vocals

DIMMU BORGIR guitarist Silenoz spoke with Rawstatica about the eight-year gap between the band's 2010 album, "Abrahadabra", and its latest release, 2018's "Eonian". "Time is important, yeah, sure, and we usually lose track of time," he said (see video below). "So, for us, it doesn't feel like it's been eight years since the previous album. We cannot deliver something that we cannot stand behind 110 percent, so it has to take the time that it takes to finish it."

Silenoz went on to say that he is convinced the wait for the next DIMMU BORGIR album will be shorter. "I'm sure it won't [take as long next time around], but it is what it is," he said. "For us to feel 100 percent confident, we need to be ready to deliver the album to the label. Then it's out of our hands, out of our control, and the beast just has to live its own life from there on."

He added: "We have also deliberately kept a low profile the last few years to just focus on the task at hand, which was the new album. So that's why we haven't played much live. We're gonna try to make up for that now."

Released on May 4 via Nuclear Blast, "Eonian" contains 10 new tracks, produced by the band itself and engineered by Jens Bogren.

As previously reported, DIMMU BORGIR and KREATOR will team up for a big European co-headline run in late fall. Support on the trek will come from U.S. hardcore institution HATEBREED and death metal supergroup BLOODBATH.

Norwegian metallers AETERNUS will release their eighth full-length album, "Heathen", on October 12 via Dark Essence Records.

The first track from the disc, "The Sword of Retribution", can be heard below.

"Heathen", which will mark the band's 25th Anniversary, is all that you would expect from AETERNUS, which was founded in Bergen by guitarist and frontman Ares, and is one of the pioneers of the so-called "dark metal" genre. The seven-track album is packed full of AETERNUS's trademark sound, which combines features from both black metal and death metal. The complex extreme music is spiced with heavy riffs and melodic interludes, performed to perfection by vastly experienced, and extremely skilled, musicians.

With artwork by Tom Korsvold and photography by Ares, track listing for "Heathen" is as follows:

01. Hedning

02. The Sword Of Retribution

03. Conjuring Of The Gentiles

04. The Significance Of Iblis

05. How Opaque The Disguise Of The Adversary

06. Boudica

07. Illa Mayyit

Aside from Ares, AETERNUS's lineup features Phobos (GRAVDAL, GORGOROTH live) on drums and KRAKOW's Eld on bass. Live guitar duties have been taken up by Gorm (THYRUZ).

AETERNUS will accompany TAAKE on their South American tour in September.

Former DIO guitarist Doug Aldrich says that Ronnie James Dio would be "pissed" about the fact that a holographic version of the legendary heavy metal singer is being prepped for a world tour.

The former vocalist in BLACK SABBATH and RAINBOW, who died in 2010 at the age of 67, is now the subject of a touring show in which his three-dimensional representation is backed by members of his band DIO.

"I would like to see it myself, just to see it," Aldrich, who was in DIO between 2002 and 2006, told the "White Line Fever" podcast. "I love hearing those songs, I love Ronnie, so that would be cool. But I think Ronnie would be pissed. I think so. Ronnie would be, like, C'mon, let me be dead in peace!' Ronnie was a no-frills guy. He was not down for stuff like that."

What's more, Aldrich says Prince's former guitarist Wendy Melvoin believes her late boss would feel the same about similar tributes to the purple one.

Aldrich takes up the story. "At the Super Bowl, they had a half-time thing with Prince," he said. "A big curtain came down and there was a projection of Prince. It was, like, 300 feet tall. It was really cool, I thought.

"My neighbor is the old guitar players for Prince, Wendy. She had gotten her son a basketball hoop and was trying to assemble it by herself. I hadn't met her yet. I went over and said, 'You need a hand, I think,' and she's, like, 'Yeah, yeah. I don't know how the hell… There's all these parts.' We built this hoop for her together, and I said, 'Oh, by the way, what do you think Prince would think about that?' She goes, 'He'd hate it — hate, hate it!'

"But I thought [the Prince projection] was great, so I'd love to see the hologram thing. I just hope they get it to be bigger than life because that's how Ronnie was."

The Dio hologram was created by a company called Eyeillusion and made its debut at the Wacken Open Air festival in August 2016 in front of more than 75,000 fans.

The Dio hologram production uses audio of Ronnie's live performances from throughout his career, with the DIO band playing live, consisting of Craig Goldy on guitar, Simon Wright on drums and Scott Warren on keyboards, along with Bjorn Englen on bass. Also appearing with them are former JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim "Ripper" Owens and ex-LYNCH MOB frontman Oni Logan.

After the tour's initial seven-date run was completed last December, Ronnie's hologram is undergoing "some changes" before the launch of the next leg of the "Dio Returns" world tour, scheduled for 2019.

Former DIO keyboardist Claude Schnell recently slammed the Ronnie James Dio hologram, calling it a "travesty" and "disrespectful" to the singer's memory.

Wendy Dio, who is a member of the Eyellusion team, recently said that the people that criticize the Ronnie James Dio hologram should at least see it in person before voicing their disapproval. "Don't criticize it if you haven't seen it," she told "Whiplash", the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie. "It's done with love. The band love doing it. And we just wanna keep Ronnie's memory and his music alive."

She added that a digital version of Dio makes perfect sense. "I think that Ronnie was an innovator of heavy metal music, so why not be an innovator of technology?" she said. "And I think technology is coming a long way with holograms — a lot of people are doing it now. And I think the reason is because we are losing all of our innovators; everybody is getting older. And we need to keep them alive and keep their memory and their music alive. I think it's a new way. It's like when people first came out with a CD or a cassette: 'Ooh, we don't want that.' But then it was the way of technology."

"Beyond The Veil", the new video from Atlanta blackened rock metallers CLOAK, can be viewed below. The song comes from the band's debut album, "To Venomous Depths", which was released in 2017 via Season Of Mist.

Comments the group: "'Beyond The Veil' is a song that's grown in meaning and importance the longer it's been with us. It's a song about both the fear and comfort of knowing there is something much greater in charge here and the empowerment that it can bring. Regarding the visual aspects, we wanted to work with color this time. Being fans of Dario Argento and classic 'Hammer Horror' films, it only felt right to pair the song with rich and powerful colors."

CLOAK captures the magic, mystique and mystery of classic heavy metal with "To Venomous Depths". Drawing from metal's most impactful sub-genres, the quartet distill their collective influences into an enthralling full-album experience that honors the spirit of the early classics while standing firmly in the now. Captivating tracks like "Beyond The Veil", "Deep Red", "Forever Burned" and the title track are riveted with somber harmonies, driving rhythms and dramatic builds in momentum and suspense. CLOAK's bold and blackened metal teems with dark energy and "To Venomous Depths" is a testament to the genre's primal power and magic.

"To Venomous Depths" track listing:

01. To Venomous Depths/Where No Light Shines

02. Within the Timeless Black

03. The Hunger

04. Beyond The Veil

05. Death Posture

06. In the Darkness, The Path

07. Forever Burned

08. Passage

09. Deep Red

CLOAK lineup:

Scott Taysom - Guitars/ Vocals

Max Brigham - Guitars

Sean Bruneau - Drums

Billy Robinson – Bass

Dave Mustaine has confirmed to Guitar World magazine that MEGADETH is working on material for the follow-up to 2016's "Dystopia" album. "We have been for a few weeks now," he said. "All the bandmembers are at home writing stuff and putting it in the same spot, keeping all the riffs centralized in one place. And anybody can access anybody's stuff. And then once we're done, I'll start assembling everything."

Asked if that means we will see new MEGADETH music in 2019, Mustaine responded: "Absolutely. For sure. A whole new record, I would say the chances are probably 95 percent. And at least one new song, I'd say it's 100 percent. No question."

MEGADETH's upcoming effort will mark the group's first release to feature drummer Dirk Verbeuren, who officially joined the band more than two years ago.

Dave told "Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon" back in June that some of the new MEGADETH music is turning out to be more extreme than anything the band has done in the past. "The stuff that Dirk's been playing along to it is scary," he said. "We've never had any of those blast-beat kind of things on our music before, and some of the drumming on this is so mind-blowing. It's making me a better guitar player again, which I love. But I never thought we were gonna be playing this fast or this aggressive again."

Mustaine also revealed that the release of the band's next album would coincide with the launch of a new MEGADETH-curated event, to be held in at least two separate installments over the course of several months. "We've got a huge festival that we're gonna be announcing," he said. "It's really a big deal. It's kind of the equivalent of Gigantour, but it's a much fresher idea. We've got that set up in about 10 cities in April, and then we're gonna do it again for a three-day weekend in the middle of the year, and we're gonna do probably about another 10 of those dates at the latter part of the year."

"Dystopia" was MEGADETH's first album with guitarist Kiko Loureiro, who was previously best known for his work with ANGRA.

In 2018, MEGADETH is celebrating its 35th anniversary all year long, with special releases, exclusive merchandise items, and one-of-a-kind events and opportunities for fans worldwide.

KORN appears to have begun recording its new album in Tennessee. Drummer Ray Luzier posted an Instagram photo from his session at producer Nick Raskulinecz's Rock Falcon Studio inside the Nashville complex owned by the music and entertainment company Black River Entertainment. "Great day of tracking at Rock Falcon Studios," he wrote in the accompanying caption.

KORN guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer seemingly confirmed that sessions for the band's follow-up to 2016's "The Serenity Of Suffering" have begun. He replied to Ray's tweet with a simple "Yes," and included emojis for a CD and a checkmark.

KORN frontman Jonathan Davis recently that there were "really good ideas" and "cool grooves" in some of the early material that had been written for the band's next album. The singer also shot down as false Internet speculation that the band is using outside writers for material for its next studio album. "We're writing everything; we're still writing our own music," he said.

KORN will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of the group's classic third album, "Follow The Leader", by playing three U.S. concerts at the end of the summer. The shows will take place on September 12 at the Masonic in San Francisco, September 13 at the Palladium in Los Angeles, and September 15 at the Pearl Theater in Las Vegas.

KORN plans to embark on a full tour of some kind in 2019, although no further details have been revealed.

Great day of tracking at Rock Falcon Studios ⚡️ ?by @munky_korn #inthestudio #rockfalconstudio #drums #drummers #musicislife #lifer #newmusic #becreative #musicrow #musiccity #korn #nickraskulinecz A post shared by Ray Luzier (@rayluzierkorn) on Aug 9, 2018 at 8:53pm PDT

Yes!!?✔️— James'Munky'Shaffer (@JC_SHAFFER) August 10, 2018

STATUS QUO will release a pair of "twin" live albums, "Down Down & Dignified At The Royal Albert Hall" and "Down Down & Dirty At Wacken", on August 17 through earMUSIC. These releases capture the legendary band delivering two sets, each full of hits, energy and passion, while each offering a radically different tone and style of delivery.

Audio samples of the tracks that will appear on "Down Down & Dignified At The Royal Albert Hall" and "Down Down & Dirty At Wacken", can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

Francis Rossi said: "There's no other venue like the Royal Albert Hall; every artist wants to play there. So, to bring our 'Aquostic' show there was a dream come true. The QUO classics were stripped back and delivered by the band in a new fresh way that really allows the melodies to shine. Fully acoustic and featuring some fantastic extra musicians and vocalists, this is a show we'll always be proud of."

He continued: "Wacken is like no other festival. The energy, the crowd, the volume. Where better for QUO to get down and dirty and crank out all of the QUO classics as loud as possible? Naturally, this was a full electric set, delivered at full throttle. Nothing else would be acceptable at Wacken! It's full-blooded performances like this that QUO's reputation is built on."

STATUS QUO have sold more than 118 million records, received countless gold awards and top 10 singles, played over 6000 shows together and spent 23 years away from home on tour to rock around the world. The lineup for both these shows, recorded last year, features Francis Rossi, Andrew Bown, John "Rhino" Edwards, Leon Cave and Richie Malone.

"Down Down & Dignified At The Royal Albert Hall" and "Down Down & Dirty At Wacken" demonstrate both the evergreen quality of the timeless QUO catalogue, the sheer musicianship and stagecraft required to deliver those hits, and the versatility of the band.

Who else but QUO could deliver the stunning sets captured on these twin releases of such wildly differing style and be equally happy taking to the stage at the venerable Royal Albert Hall and in the midst of the Wacken wildness?

Fan-filmed video footage of British thrashers ONSLAUGHT performing a brand new song, "A Perfect Day To Die", on August 10 at the Bloodstock Open Air festival at Catton Park, Derbyshire, United Kingdom can be seen below.

Bloodstock Open Air marked the first live appearance of ONSLAUGHT's new lineup, featuring longstanding members Nige Rockett (guitar), Sy Keeler (vocals) and Jeff Williams (bass) alongside James Perry (drums) and Wayne Dorman (guitar).

Rockett commented: "The band is genuinely sounding more powerful and aggressively focused than ever before.

"James has been a great friend of the band for many years and is one hell of a drummer — a complete thrashing machine; so solid and lighting fast. Exactly the same applies to Wayne; he's the perfect fit for ONSLAUGHT — an awesome all-round guitarist; his lead playing is full-on 'metal', no bullshit, exactly what you would expect to hear in our music."

ONSLAUGHT's follow-up to 2013's "VI" album will be recorded during the coming months for a late 2018 release.

"Songs have been written, demo tracks recorded and the thrashing machine is racing forward at full throttle," the band said back in March. "This is shaping up to be ONSLAUGHT's most vicious and hard-hitting thrash metal attack yet!"

ONSLAUGHT released a concert CD/DVD, "Live At The Slaughterhouse", in February 2016 via AFM. The 13-song set captured two performances in the U.K. (Bristol and London) featuring the lineup of Keeler, Rockett, Williams, Leigh Chambers (guitar), and Mic Hourihan (drums).

ONSLAUGHT's sixth album, "VI", was released in September 2013 via AFM Records. The follow-up to 2011's "Sounds Of Violence" was mixed by Thomas "Plec" Johansson (TIAMAT, SCAR SYMMETRY) at Panic Room studios in Skara, Sweden.

Fan-filmed video footage of EVANESCENCE and violin virtuoso Lindsey Stirling performing a blended cover of Ozzy Osbourne's "No More Tears" and Sia's "Alive" on August 11 at the Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York can be seen below.

EVANESCENCE and Stirling have teamed up for co-headlining 2018 summer amphitheater tour across North America. The trek, produced by Live Nation, kicked off July 6 in Kansas City, Missouri at the Starlight Theatre and is making stops in 31 North American cities. The trek will wrap September 8 in Ridgefield, Washington at the Sunlight Supply Amphitheater.

Both artists' shows are accompanied by a full orchestra, highlighting both acts' musicality and incredible performance abilities. The orchestrated performances also perfectly accent the astounding amphitheater venues across the U.S. and Canada that the two are performing in, making for a magical summer evening.

Stirling made a guest appearance on EVANESCENCE's recently released single, "Hi-Lo". The track is one of two new songs that are included on EVANESCENCE's latest album, "Synthesis". The set is a reimagining of some of EVANESCENCE's best-loved tracks is the band's first full-length effort since its 2011 self-titled release.

Former KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Howard Jones once again made an appearance during the band's concert Saturday night (August 11) at the O2 Arena in London, England, dueting with current KILLSWITCH frontman Jesse Leach on the group's classic song "The End Of Heartache". Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below. Jones previously joined KILLSWITCH ENGAGE on stage for the same song Friday night at the O2 Arena.

After Friday night's show, Leach wrote in an Instagram post: "Nothing but respect for my dude Howard. It was rad to share the stage with him tonight and hear him belt out 'End Of Heartache'! What a voice! If you haven't already, you need to check out his killer band @lightthetorchband huge sing along and heavy riffs with those soaring melodies from my man Howard! Really happy to finally become good friends and keep in touch with him after all of these years."

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE is currently touring Europe as the support act for IRON MAIDEN.

Leach appeared on KILLSWITCH's self-titled debut and sophomore album, "Alive Or Just Breathing", before exiting the band. Jones took over on vocals for "The End of Heartache", "As Daylight Dies" and the 2009 self-titled set before being dismissed from the group six years ago.


Jones is currently the frontman of LIGHT THE TORCH, which recently released its debut album, "Revival", after issuing two efforts under its previous name, DEVIL YOU KNOW.

Howard recently recorded a guest appearance on a new KILLSWITCH track, to be included on the band's next album. Leach revealed that he wrote the lyrics to the track several months ago "with Howard in mind and our connection through our similar mental illnesses." He explained: "I mean, now that I've hung with this guy a few times, it's 'crazy' (pun intended) how similar we are. We are brothers in metal, anxiety, hardcore music, love of medicinal marijuana and fighting depression.

"We may be very different-sounding voices, but, in truth, we are similar in many ways in our minds," he added.

Jesse went on to say that the song's lyrics are "about keeping hope in dark times and helping out those in need."

Leach, who has previously blamed his exit from KILLSWITCH in 2002 on his battle with depression, said that he planned "on using this song to help continue to raise awareness for mental health and suicide prevention. Both Howard and I have a very strong outspoken stance on the subject and I will use this to help with the cause," he said.

Australian-born guitarist Orianthi rejoined her former bandmates in Alice Cooper's band Sunday night (August 12) during the legendary rocker's concert at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles for a performance of the set closer "School's Out". Check out fan-filmed video footage below.

Orianthi left Cooper's band in 2014 and was replaced by Nita Strauss, the Los Angeles-based guitar shredder who made her name with THE IRON MAIDENS and FEMME FATALE.

In a 2015 interview with Guitar Player magazine's "No Guitar Is Safe" podcast, Nita admitted that not all Cooper fans were willing to embrace her when she first joined the band.

"Somebody was wearing an Orianthi t-shirt at [a] meet-and-greet and they said mean stuff to me, " she said. "People say mean stuff to me all the time, 'cause Orianthi fans hate me. She is lovely, and a great player, but we have such disparate styles that the fanbase doesn't cross over. A lot of it does, and a lot of it doesn't."

Orianthi, who was the first woman to ever play in Cooper's band, has also worked with Michael Jackson, Carrie Underwood and BON JOVI guitarist Richie Sambora. In 2012, her song "According To You" became a platinum-selling single around the world.

Savannah, Georgia sludge metallers BLACK TUSK have released "Closed Eye", a track from their forthcoming studio album, "T.C.B.T.". The LP is due August 17 via Season Of Mist.

BLACK TUSK come storming back with their earth-shaking new album, "T.C.B.T.". This is the band's most articulate sonic vision yet and delivers signature levels of BLACK TUSK aggression with their most developed songwriting to date. "Closed Eye", "Burn The Stars", "Agali", and "Scalped" are hands down some of their finest tracks among a full album of killers. "T.C.B.T." is a full-throated war cry and indispensable addition to their storied catalog.

The album can be pre-ordered at this location.

"T.C.B.T." track listing:

01. A Perfect View Of Absolutely Nothing

02. Closed Eye

03. Agali

04. Lab Rat

05. Scalped

06. Ghosts Roam

07. Ill At Ease

08. Rest With the Dead

09. Never Ending Daymare

10. Orange Red Dead

11. Whispers

12. Burn The Stars


BLACK TUSK is:

Andrew Fidler - Guitars/Vocals

James May - Drums/Vocals

Corey Barhorst - Bass/Vocals

BLACK TUSK will embark on a North American tour WHORES and WHITE NAILS in support that kicks off today in Des Moines, Iowa, and wraps September 2 in Asheville, North Carolina.

STRYPER guitarist Oz Fox suffered a seizure while performing with SIN CITY SINNERS Saturday night (August 11) at Harrah's in Las Vegas, Nevada and will be unable to join his bandmates on their upcoming Australian and Japanese tours.

The group has issued the following update on the guitarist's condition: "Our dear friend and lead guitarist Oz Fox fell ill Saturday night while performing in Las Vegas with a side project that he sometimes plays in when not touring with STRYPER. Oz suffered a seizure causing a fall on stage. After performing an MRI, doctors discovered an area of concern near his brain which they are now running a biopsy on. The doctors have instructed him not to drive or fly for 90 days. No additional information is available at this time. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers and we will communicate additional information as it becomes available.

"The logistics and options for current tour dates are being discussed with the respective promoters. U.S. tour dates will play as scheduled and in anticipation of a full recovery will include Oz Fox. The upcoming Australian tour will be performed as a trio (with the blessing of Oz), and will include Michael Sweet, Robert Sweet and Perry Richardson. For our fans in Japan, please await an announcement from the concert promoter there as to the plans for the Japan tour."

STRYPER's tour of Australia is scheduled to begin this Friday (August 17). The band will then play two shows in Tokyo, Japan before returning to the States in September for a number of scattered dates that run through November.

35 years after its inception in Orange County, California, STRYPER has spent the last several months promoting a new album, "God Damn Evil".

Video footage of JASTA & FRIENDS, the solo project of HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta, performing on Sunday, August 12 at the U.K.'s Bloodstock Open Air festival, held in Walton-on-Trent, Derbyshire, can be seen below (courtesy of D.J. Pennell from TotalRock.com).

Jasta's solo band for the current European tour includes FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares, former KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and current LIGHT THE TORCH singer Howard Jones and CROWBAR frontman Kirk Windstein.

Prior to the trek's launch, Dino said in a statement: "It's a honor that Jamey Jasta asked me to be a part of the JASTA AND FRIENDS 'European Vacation' tour as well as performing at Jasta's birthday show on August 7th in Wallingford, Connecticut. Playing alongside Howard Jones, Kirk Windstein and Jasta will be honor and fun as hell. Hope to see you all out there."

This past May, Jasta released a new solo song titled "13 Appears". The track featured guest appearances by PRONG mainman Tommy Victor and guitarist Joey Concepcion, who has previously played with SANCTUARY, THE ABSENCE and ARMAGEDDON.

"13 Appears" was the first new solo Jasta song to be released since "Chasing Demons", which was made available last year. That track featured guest vocals from Jones.

Finnish metallers STRATOVARIUS are back with a new album — with some fresh and some very rare material. Due on September 28 via earMUSIC, "Enigma: Intermission 2" features three brand new songs as well as, for the first time in the band's history, four beautifully arranged orchestral versions of popular STRATOVARIUS songs.

The album is similar in concept to "Intermission", released 17 years ago between "Infinite" and "Elements", in the sense that these seven tracks made in 2018 are completed by nine very rare, very-hard-to-find power metal gems.

With over 30 minutes of brand new material and 50 minutes of previously rare metal, "Enigma: Intermission 2" is definitely more killer than filler!

Take "Enigma" and "Oblivion", for example, fresh from the studio in 2018. Both combine an epic melody with a bombastic chorus and heavy riffs for STRATOVARIUS's trademark sound and remind of "Unbreakable" from their 2013 album "Nemesis", the most streamed song in the band's history. Or "Kill It With Fire" and "Castaway", two epic and full-blown power metal tracks that were previously only heard by Japanese fans.

The official song stream video for "Oblivion" is now available below.

The sweeping melodic power metal grandeur of STRATOVARIUS, together with Timo Kotipelto's powerful yet emotional voice, is very much present on all of the 80 minutes of this release. This spirit truly makes "Enigma: Intermission 2" closer to a full new studio album than to a mere compilation.

"Enigma: Intermission 2" track listing:


01. Enigma (brand new studio song; recorded 2018)

02. Hunter†

03. Hallowed††

04. Burn Me Down (brand new studio song; recorded 2018)

05. Last Shore††

06. Kill It With Fire*

07. Oblivion (brand new studio song; recorded 2018)

08. Second Sight*

09. Fireborn†

10. Giants*

11. Castaway*

12. Old Man And The Sea††

Brand new orchestral versions (all recorded 2018)

13. Fantasy

14. Shine In The Dark

15. Unbreakable

16. Winter Skies

* previously unreleased in Europe

† rare bonus track

†† rare bonus track; first time on CD

This autumn, STRATOVARIUS will hit the road in Europe with Tarja Turunen on the "A Nordic Symphony '18" tour.

Finnish cinematic metal band DARK SARAH will release its new album, "The Golden Moth", on September 21 via Inner Wound Recordings. Audio samples of all the songs that will appear on the record can be found in the YouTube clip below.

"The Golden Moth" is the last part of the first DARK SARAH trilogy ("The Chronicles"). The trilogy tells about Dark Sarah's travel through three worlds: The Middle World ("Behind The Black Veil" album), The Underworld ("The Puzzle" album) and The Upper World ("The Golden Moth" album).

On "The Golden Moth" album, Dark Sarah has to face the final test and find her way to the gods in the Upper World. After she had solved the puzzle in The Underworld and found the three keys, the Iron birds came there for her and took her to the Upper World, a deserted waste land where the gods rule. But also a trespasser, The Dragon, came with her. In the heat of the desert, they meet again and there is something The Dragon wants from her.

JP Leppäluoto (CHARON) has joined the official lineup as The Dragon for the upcoming album. Also in the roles of The Gods you will hear artists like Zuberoa Aznarez (DIABULUS IN MUSICA) and Marco Hietala (NIGHTWISH).

DARK SARAH is a music project by Finnish metal band AMBERIAN DAWN's former vocalist Heidi Parviainen. During the years with AMBERIAN DAWN, she released four studio albums and did several European tours. After parting ways with AMBERIAN DAWN in late 2012, she started to build up her solo career and formed DARK SARAH.

DARK SARAH official lineup:

Heidi Parviainen (as Dark Sarah) - vocals

JP Leppäluoto (as Dragon) - vocals

Erkka Korhonen - guitar

Sami Salonen - guitar

Rude Rothstén - bass

Thomas Tunkkari - drums

The music video for "Trespasser" can be seen below.

"The Golden Moth" track listing:

01. Desert Rose

02. Trespasser

03. Wheel

04. My Beautiful Enemy

05. I Once Had Wings

06. Pirates

07. Sky Sailing

08. Wish

09. Gods Speak

10. Promise

11. Golden Moth

12. The Gate Of Time

Former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen has confirmed to Kaaos TV that she is working on material for her first rock album since 2016's "The Shadow Self". "I hope to hit the studio with the guys, [to begin] the production, in the beginning of next year, so you can expect the album release more or less maybe October — September or October, somewhere there, I could say," she said. Tarja added that fans can expect to see her performing at "a lot of festivals" in 2019.

Tarja has just a released a brand new live-art-album and video "Act II". It was filmed during Tarja's world tour "The Shadow Shows", during which the influential heavy rock singer circled the world 7.5 times with over 300,000 km travelled and played over 200 shows in 40 countries in front of one million people, "Act II" consists of the singer's very intimate 75-minute set filmed and recorded live at the Metropolis Studio in London, England and the live performance of one of her shows in Milan, Italy, and previously unreleased interviews and photo galleries.

"Act II" was released on July 27 on earMUSIC as 2CD digipak, 3LP gatefold (180g, black), DVD, Blu-ray, limited mediabook 2CD+2BD (including two full live shows filmed at Hellfest in France and Woodstock Festival in Poland as bonus) and digital.

"Act I", Tarja's first-ever live release, charted Top 10 all over Europe as well as almost all over the world, with a sensational No. 5 in Germany. The video version even remained for over two months at the peak of the Finnish music video charts.

Canadian metal maniacs Skull Fist  are set to unleash their third album, Way Of The Road, on October 26th, 2018 through NoiseArt Records.
 
A strong moral compass in battle with even stronger drinks...

When Skull Fist set off their first riffs and deliver their third studio album full of authenticity, honesty and shady lyrics, it feels like drowning in a sea of confusing heavy metal morality. The quartet from Toronto are locked in a life long struggle with a twist on nostalgic heavy metal and a persistent desire for spiritual glory and personal peace. Relight the fire that was started with the debut record and take another step further with every note and word of the new nine song album Way Of The Road.
 
Skull Fist frontman Zach Slaughter has issued the following statement:

"It's the Goldilocks equation, dudes. The first record was too cold, the second record was too hot, for us this record feels right. After a few years of bogus behavior, big ass obstacles and a ton of patience I am still surprised we managed to get this record finished. With every album we did, including that EP, fellas have come and gone as we tried to find a sound, but I think if there was anything that summed up my idea of what Skull Fist was and is it would be this record. You might love it, hate it, or it might speak to your own life, but then again it's all relative, you know? I guess our first mission is personal satisfaction, so it felt nice to step away from all of the effects that most recordings, including our own, have hidden behind. Minimal delays and verbs, real drums, one lead vocal. Sorta stepping back into a more natural sound. Got nothing to hide and even less to lose."
 
Stay tuned for more details, coming soon.

As a part of the promotional work being done for Skull Fist's new record, frontman Zach Slaughter took a trip to the hospital to do some informative Q&A's. Check out the video below.

Note: It turned out to be a knee-cap pop-out, and popped back in. Zach will be skating again in two weeks.

Skull Fist recently checked in with the following update on their long-awaited new album:

"The new record is done. Will announce the release date next week or two, it will be before this winter time metal fest. All the details on the new album are going to come real damn soon. Yes, Zach is singing again and yes, we will come play in your country. Going to announce some tours, release some music videos and get this ship sailing again. More info on the fest at this location. They will announce the final lineup soon we've been told."