California metalcore band ATREYU will release its seventh full-length album, "In Our Wake", on October 12 through Spinefarm.

Everyone leaves a legacy behind. No matter how big or small, our words and actions echo forever and make a lasting imprint.

Two decades since their 1999 formation in Southern California, that truth weighed heavy on the members of gold-selling metal mavericks ATREYU — Alex Varkatzas (vocals), Brandon Saller (drums, vocals), "Big" Dan Jacobs (guitar), Travis Miguel (guitar) and Porter McKnight (bass).

Of course, their musical legacy speaks for itself. 2002's "Suicide Notes And Butterfly Kisses" established them as an influential force, while 2004 follow-up "The Curse" sold 450,000-plus copies as the group rose to global renown. "A Deathgrip On Yesterday" and 2007's "Lead Sails Paper Anchor" both bowed in the Top 10 of the Billboard Top 200 with the latter garnering a gold certification from the RIAA — a highly rare accomplishment for a 21st-century rock band.

Following a hiatus post-"Congregation Of The Damned" in 2009, the musicians returned firing on all cylinders with "Long Live" during 2015. It crashed the Top 30 of the Billboard Top 200 and earned widespread acclaim. Along the way, the boys sold out countless headline shows in addition to sharing the stage with everyone from SLIPKNOT and LINKIN PARK to Chris Cornell and AVENGED SEVENFOLD.

As they commenced writing for their seventh full-length, the band posed an important question…

"What are you going to leave behind?", asks Brandon. "We named the album 'In Our Wake' because a lot of the concepts address this question. There are lyrics about dealing with your own personal demons and darkness. Some of it is about our children, which his who we live directly in our wake. Others are about the general public and the outpouring of hate and fear — especially in our country. We created something of a concept record without even trying."

"Everything we do causes a ripple or a wake," adds Alex. "It can be positive and good, or it can be fucked up and horrible. However, we are the masters of our own destiny. We want to leave something good behind."

Following a two-year tour cycle for "Long Live", ATREYU regrouped in Southern California and started sharing ideas for what would become offering number seven. Ceremoniously, they all agreed it would be the right time to reunite with producer John Feldmann who famously helmed "Lead Sails And Paper Anchor".

"'Long Live' was really heavy and reminiscent of our early material," continues Brandon. "While we were on the road, fans kept asking to hear more from 'Lead Sails And Paper Anchor'. It made us revisit that era of the band. It was a fun, experimental, and explorative time for us, which is so fun. We wanted to give ourselves and the landscape of heavy music a jolt, so we reached out to Feldmann."

The band recorded in two chunks bookended by Brandon's touring obligations for HELL OR HIGHWATER. Working out of Feldmann's Los Angeles studio, they embraced this new approach as the producer still made them"wonderfully uncomfortable and willing to push harder," according to Alex.

"Every song with the exception of two was fully written in the studio," says Brandon. "We'd split off into groups and crank out two ideas per day. We'd never written a fresh idea from scratch every day. Spontaneity makes things flow so much better though. We also never spread an album out like this either. We laid the foundation with five recordings, sat with them, and finished with a better picture of where we wanted to go."

As a result, the record sees ATREYU once again evolve. The first single and title track "In Our Wake", hinges on a slow burning, but bombastic percussive buildup before charging ahead with an undeniable chant and fiery fretwork.

"It's a deep one," admits Alex. "We looked up to Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington, and their deaths were fresh during the writing process. It made us think of what we'll leave in our wake. We have a choice to change the lives of others for the better."

A ticking clock gives way to a stadium-size chant on follow-up single "The Time Is Now". It seesaws between a robust beat and scorching call-and-response by Alex and Brandon as they carry the carpe diem chorus.

"It's all about just grabbing life by the balls, picking yourself up by your bootstraps, and realizing you only have one shot at this," Brandon goes on. "That was very reminiscent and reflective of this album. In our heads, there's no time to fuck around or just do what we've always done. We have to really fucking go for it. Tomorrow isn't promised, so we went for it."

Meanwhile, "Terrified" swings from a hypnotic refrain into an acoustic bridge, illuminating the diversity at the heart of "In Our Wake". Closer "Super Hero" (featuring M. Shadows of AVENGED SEVENFOLD and Aaron Gillespie of UNDEROATH) conjures visions of "ATREYU meets QUEEN meets Disneyland meets E.L.O." with its cinematic orchestration, horns, flutes, and grandiose production.

"It's about being your kid's superhero, so we invited other singers who are fathers to join us," Brandon explains. "Everyone wrote his own respective part and gave perspective on what fatherhood meant to him. I wanted it to feel like the music from the Soaring Over California ride at Disney's California Adventure park. It ends on such a huge note and offers a breath of fresh air."

In the end, "In Our Wake" doesn't just reaffirm ATREYU's legacy, it expands it like never before.

"We want to give listeners an experience," Alex concludes. "Every track functions as its own moment. There's something that you can hopefully come back and listen to again and again."

"I feel like this is the record that people will remember our band by," Brandon states. "I'm saying that because the best parts of ATREYU happened on it. We're continuing something we began a long time ago. This band means everything to me. We've been through incredible highs and incredible lows. We've loved each other, and we've wanted to kill each other. Somehow, twenty years later, it's reached a whole new level. I feel like we're alive, and ATREYU has never been more on fire than we are now."

"In Our Wake" track listing:

01. In Our Wake

02. House Of Gold

03. The Time Is Now

04. Nothing Will Ever Change

05. Blind Deaf & Dumb

06. Terrified

07. Safety Pin

08. Into the Open

09. Paper Castle

10. No Control

11. Anger Left Behind

12. Super Hero

The official music video for the title track can be seen below. Also available is the song "Anger Left Behind".

The music of Genesis has always been grandiose in scope, but guitarist Steve Hackett has taken things one step further with his latest Genesis Revisited tour with a full 41-piece orchestra. Metal Express Radio's Mick Burgess called him up to talk about the tour and the progress of his forthcoming solo album. Following is an excerpt from the interview.

Q: Have you toured with an orchestra before?

Hackett: "I`ve played odd shows in the past with an orchestra but I`ve never done a tour with a rock band and an orchestra before so there’ll be the regular six-piece band with a 41-piece orchestra called the Heart of England Philharmonic orchestra."

Q: It must be a logistical nightmare to coordinate everything.

Hackett: "It is. The first thing we had to decide upon was who was going to count everybody in, was it the conductor, the drummer or me?  Brad (Thachuk / conductor) was great and he told Gary, the drummer, that he would count in and everyone else would follow him.

Q: It`ll be pretty expensive, too?

Hackett: "Nobody takes an orchestra out on the road to make money and thankfully a lot of shows are sold out, so that`ll mitigate some of the costs. So I don’t think I`ll have to sell my house."

Q: What songs will you be working on with the orchestra for the shows?

Hackett: "I`ll be doing some classic Genesis stuff like 'Supper`s Ready', 'Dancing With The Moonlit Knight' and 'Firth of Fifth', which work wonderfully with an orchestra. They`re great tunes. I`ll also be doing some solo stuff and maybe doing 'Shadow of the Hierophant' if we can fit it in or at least the crescendo section. We may do the whole song if Amanda Lehmann is available. Some of these songs were just made to be played with an orchestra."

Read the complete interview here.

The decision to undertake this tour was cemented following the critical success of last year’s one-off US performance of the Genesis Revisited music with his band and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the charismatic Bradley Thachuk. It went down a storm with the audience and sounded amazing, with the orchestra adding even more texture and colour to these classic tracks, prompting Steve to want to perform more shows in this way. Such was the gusto and verve brought to the performance by conductor, Bradley Thachuk that he will fly over to the UK to conduct the October shows. This show promises to be a transcendent experience!

Get tickets here, and watch a trailer below:

With 15 million streams worldwide, "Dance Macabre" is already one of the most popular tracks from "Prequelle", the new album from Grammy Award-winning Swedish rock band GHOST. Today "Dance Macabre" is reborn with a provocative remix by the eclectic and mysterious French synthwave artist Carpenter Brut. You can check out the track and its companion animated visual below.

"I've been a big fan of GHOST since their beginning," said Carpenter Brut, "and when I had the opportunity to open for the band in 2016, I was super excited. Last April, I received an email from Tobias [Forge, GHOST leader] himself asking if I would remix 'Dance Macabre', and, of course, I accepted. I wanted to bring a funky and disco touch, not just confine myself to the pure synthwave style that would have been expected, but to make this remix a disco rock song and bring out the pop side of the band that is always underlying in their music."


The Carpenter Brut remix crosses GHOST into the realm of dance music by injecting an infectious energy into a song that stays true to the album's overall theme of The Black Plague that took place in 14th century Europe. The Plague spread rapidly, killing people within days of being infected. At the time, local inns, taverns and brothels thrived as the populace knew there was no tomorrow, so they danced and partied, celebrating the End of Days.

Forge is a longtime Carpenter Brut fan, having invited them to fill the support spot on GHOST's fall 2016 tour. Forge always felt that "Dance Macabre" was a song he wanted to do a remix of and Carpenter Brut was his first choice.

The "Dance Macabre" Carpenter Brut remix comes on the heels of GHOST's record-setting run at U.S. rock radio where "Rats", the lead single from "Prequelle", has just completed its ninth consecutive week at No. 1, the longest-running track to top that chart this year.

GHOST will headline a sold-out concert on September 9 at London's prestigious Royal Albert Hall, certainly on every musician's bucket list. The band will then set off on its "A Pale Tour Named Death" fall North American tour that starts in Dallas, Texas on October 25. The North American trek includes two headline arena shows, The Forum in Los Angeles and New York City's Barclays Center.

German heavy metal legends Accept are releasing a very special, limited 10" vinyl single "Balls To The Wall" / "Symphony No.40 In G Minor", out on October 5th via Nuclear Blast. Both songs are from their upcoming live album Symphonic Terror - Live at Wacken 2017, which will be out on November 23rd.

Tracklisting:

Side A
"Balls To The Wall" (Live At Wacken Open Air 2017, with CNSO Symphony Orchestra)
 
Side B
"Symphony No.40 In G Minor" (Live At Wacken Open Air 2017, with CNSO Symphony Orchestra)
 
Pre-order here. Pre-order digitally here.

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

Over the past few months, the German band has been anything but passive, instead they’ve been finalizing their latest project, their upcoming live release Symphonic Terror - Live at Wacken 2017, which will be released on this fall via Nuclear Blast.

Fans can expect a unique, 2 hour Accept show, shot on August 3rd, 2017 at the legendary W:O:A, where the band played the biggest and most extraordinary show of their career in front of 80.000 live fans at the festival, on top of thousands more fans watching via the live stream! The show was divided into three parts, showing the full creative power of Accept: The first part hosted the premiere of new tracks "Die By The Sword" and "Koolaid," as well as some of their most popular songs, such as "Restless And Wild" and "Pandemic". The middle part hosted guitarist Wolf Hoffmann accompanied by a symphony orchestra, presenting the best-of from his recent solo album Headbangers Symphony, which includes metal versions of some of the world’s biggest classical compositions (e.g. from Beethoven, Mozart, Vivaldi...). And last but not least part, fans were able to bang their heads to Accept anthems (also accompanied by the orchestra), such as "Princess Of The Dawn," "Breaker," "Fast As A Shark" and "Metal Heart," as well as to new songs like "Stalingrad," "Shadow Soldiers" or "Teutonic Terror". The finale could be nothing less than an 8 minute version of their eminent hit 'Balls To The Wall'.

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

By the way: What started as a world premiere in Wacken and caused quite a stir worldwide (thanks to the live streams) will be continued in early 2019. This means: Accept are planning to tour across Europe with an orchestra in spring 2019!

"I really hope we will be able to fulfill our dream - we are working hard on it!" tells Wolf Hoffmann with eager anticipation. "What I can already say now is that there will be lots of optical and musical surprises, that fans of Accept have never experienced before. We want to multiply what we have achieved in Wacken and are happy about every bit of support we get. One thing is for sure: 2019 will be exciting!"

Tour dates:

September
28 - Agoura Hills, CA - The Canyon
29 - Pasadena, CA - The Rose
30 - Santa Clarita, CA - The Canyon

October
6 - Monterrey, Mexico - Tecate México Metal Fest
10 - Belém, Brazil - Botequim
12 - Fortaleza, Brazil - Complexo Armazém
14 - São Paulo, Brazil - Carioca Club
16 - Belo Horizonte, Brazil - MG

November
2 - Weissenhäuser Strand / Ostsee, Germany - Metal Hammer Paradise

Starkill's new single "Until We Fall" is available now via all digital retailers, along with a music video directed by Davide Cilloni (Epica), which can be found below.

“Our new songs are the first we’ve put together where Sarah Lynn Collier was a full time member before we started writing, so we were able to fully utilize her vocals, which is evident in our first single Until We Fall,” stated guitarist Parker Jameson. Adding, “As is usually the theme in Starkill, it's not like anything we've done before.”

The writing and recording of “Until We Fall” was a cathartic process for the band, lyrically the song addresses the band’s personal experiences with the struggles of being in the music industry and being able to cut free and break loose from the clutches of it. A fitting theme, being this is Starkill's first fully independent release.

Director/animator Davide Cilloni’s take on the song’s lyrical concept shows the band as a crew of space pirates leading a revolt with fellow inmates in a space prison. “Being big fans of Dethklok, anime, and having a sci-fi-esque name like Starkill, we figured it was just time to embrace a more epic type of music video,” added guitarist Parker Jameson.

“Until We Fall” was engineered and mixed by Parker Jameson, with additional mixing by Chuck Macak (The Fall Of Troy, Born Of Osiris) and mastered by Troy Glessner (Disturbed, Devin Townsend).

''See Emily Play'' was the second single released by Pink Floyd. Published in 1967, it was initially thought to be a non-album single but was later included on the US debut album The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. Watch a video for the song below:

''Arnold Layne'' was Pink Floyd's first single, released in 1967. The video, directed by Derek Nice, was made in late February 1967 and was filmed on the beach in East Wittering, West Sussex, England. The song was later published on the 1971 album Relics, the 1983 Works and the album Echoes: The Best Of Pink Floyd. It is also included in the Early Years box set.

Pink Floyd's "Not Now John" was released in 1983 and was the only single released from the album The Final Cut. "Not Now John" is the only song on the album with David Gilmour as the lead vocalist singing the verses and Roger Waters singing the refrains and interludes. Watch this rare video:

"One of These Days" is the opening track from Pink Floyd's 1971 album Meddle. The song is instrumental and only has one spoken/sung sentence by drummer Nick Mason, "One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces." This video was created the British artist and filmmaker Ian Emes who became widely known for his creative animations and for being the original animator for Pink Floyd.

Pink Floyd released "Point Me At The Sky" as their fifth UK single in 1968. The song has become one of the rarest official recordings of Pink Floyd and was not successful at the time, with it's B-side "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" becoming more popular.

Pink Floyd's "Paintbox'', written and sung by keyboardist Richard Wright, was first released in 1967 as the B-side to the single "Apples And Oranges". The promotional film was shot for a Belgian television programme. In the video, the band is miming to the song on a bridge in Brussels. This is David Gilmour's first appearance on film with Pink Floyd.

"Apples And Oranges" is the third UK single by Pink Floyd, released in 1967. It was the final song written by Syd Barrett with the group. After David Gilmour replaced Syd Barrett, the band recorded a promotional video in Belgium in a fruit market with Roger Waters lip-synching to the song.

All of the above tracks are included in The Early Years 1965–1972. Get it here.

On September 28th, Pink Floyd Records will release, for the first time on vinyl,  A Foot In The Door - The Best Of Pink Floyd, a collection of classic Pink Floyd tracks, chosen by members of the band.

Originally released in 2011 on CD only, the artwork for this compilation is the last work of long-term Floyd designer, the late Storm Thorgerson. This is the perfect Pink Floyd album for both devoted fans and those discovering their music for the very first time.

The career-spanning compilation features some of the best-known album tracks from 1967 - 1994, including the band’s first UK Top 10 single "See Emily Play", and the iconic "Wish You Were Here", "Comfortably Numb", "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and "High Hopes".

The tracks have been newly mastered for vinyl by longstanding Pink Floyd associate James Guthrie, with Joel Plante, and with lacquers cut by Bernie Grundman of Grundman Mastering in Los Angeles, California. The 2-LP version features the reinstated version of "Time", with the ringing alarm clocks at the start of the track restored, after being omitted on the CD release.

The original sleeve design, has been amended by Pink Floyd Creative Director Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis and Peter Curzon, to include alternate versions of the photographs used in the original CD version. The album package comes in a gatefold outer sleeve, with two separate printed inner bags, and is pressed on heavyweight 180-gram vinyl.  

Tracklisting:

LP1 Side A
"Hey You"
"See Emily Play"
"The Happiest Days Of Our Lives"
"Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2"
"Have A Cigar"

LP1 Side B
"Wish You Were Here"
"Time" / "Breathe" (Reprise)
"The Great Gig In The Sky"
"Money"

LP2 Side A
"Comfortably Numb"
"High Hopes"
"Learning To Fly"

LP2 Side B
"The Fletcher Memorial Home"
"Shine On You Crazy Diamond"
"Brain Damage"
"Eclipse"

Indian/American progressive metal band, Skyharbor, have released the title track from their upcoming album, called "Sunshine Dust".

 
"'Sunshine Dust' is the personal favorite for us," says guitarist Keshav Dhar. "It was written at the end of the Guiding Lights sessions and has gone through a lot of metamorphoses before arriving at its current form, with Kim from Dead Letter Circus co-writing a lot of the melodies. It encapsulates everything that defines our sound, the heart-on-sleeve emotion, drenching ambiance, and big riffs. It's possibly Eric's finest moment on the record."
 
Skyharbor will hit the ground running once their record is released. The band is scheduled to perform at this year's Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, KY on September 28th. Skyharbor will then continue through various stops in the US with 10 Years and Tremonti. This is the first time the band is back performing on American soil since their run with Babymetal this past spring. See below for a complete list of dates.
 
Skyharbor will release Sunshine Dust on September 7th via Entertainment One (eOne) / Good Fight Music. 

Keshav adds: "It’s taken almost four years and it’s been a real labor of love, but we’re thrilled to finally get this record out there to our fans. We’re incredibly stoked on these songs and have really dug in deep to explore and represent what we truly feel is the Skyharbor sound." 
 
The all-new LP was recorded in Australia with renowned producer Forrester Savell. Sunshine Dust, the band’s nearly four years in the making third full-length album, delivers on the atmospheric and emotional promise of their earlier material, with breathtaking tectonic shifts between a wall of sound ambiance and groove.
 
On Sunshine Dust, the immersive wall of sound Skyharbor first perfected in the studio environment, while as polished and precise as ever, shines with a new almost analog warmth, born of the kind of collaborative camaraderie that only happens when musicians trust each other enough to experience growth.

Skyharbor Fall 2018 tour dates:

September
28 – Louisville, KY - Louder Than Life Festival

October
3 – Asbury Park, NJ - Asbury Lanes *
5 – Angola, IN - The Eclectic Room #
8 – Green Bay, WI - Riverside Ballroom ^
9 – Milwaukee, WI - The Rave II ^
11 – Peoria, IL - Monarch Music Hall ^
12 – Miami, OK - Buffalo Run Casino & Resort *
13 – Fort Smith, AR - Temple Live *
14 – Lafayette, LA - The District *

* = w/ 10 Years
# = w/ Shaman’s Harvest
^ = w/ Tremonti and 10 Years

A brief update from crushers Immortal Bird, fronted by Thrawsunblat drummer Rae Amitay:

"Our mini-live EP from Migration Fest is now available for free (or pay-what-you-like) streaming/download on our Bandcamp!"

Live at Migration by Immortal Bird

The tracklist features the songs "Neoplastic" and "Saprophyte".

New Jersey-based progressive metal quartet Etherius have released their remarkable new instrumental progressive metal EP, entitled Thread Of Life, today.

In celebration of today's release, Etherius have revealed a brand new music video for their barnburner track, "March and Defy", filmed/directed/edited by Michael J Adams of Blackline Studios and recorded at High Tor State Park, NY.

Guitarist Jay Tarantino says about the track and video: "'March And Defy' was the last track that was finished for this EP. When I brought the song to the guys we agreed that it felt incomplete. We worked out a new section for after the intro and made some changes to the arrangement and it really came together. It features some of my most challenging lead work and I love the way the main hook came out."

The new video for "March And Defy" introduces new guitarist Jon Perkins, stepping in for former guitarist John Kiernan. Perkins originally hails from São Paulo, Brazil, and brings a strong a jazz guitar and classical composition background into the fold, accelerated by his studies at both UMiami's Frost School of Music and Columbia University. He came in contact with the members of Etherius after performing with drummer Zaki Ali in guitarist Gus Sinaro's backing band.

Perkins says, "It's been exciting getting to know the members of Etherius and getting a sense of how they interpret musical ideas in a performance setting. I've come to see a strong sense of musical discipline and a shared sense of focus, determination and all around professionalism in everyone. I am greatly looking forward for the album release and what lies ahead for Etherius."

Jay Tarantino adds, "We're excited to have Jon come into the band. We've had the chance to get to know him after he filled in on guitar for us a few months ago for a gig at the last minute. I was impressed with how quickly he picked up the material, because it is not easy music to play. His jazz background makes him a versatile player and his attitude and work ethic fit right in with the chemistry that's been created between Zaki, Chris, and myself."

Etherius recently revealed a new bass playthrough video for the masterful track "Thread Of Life", featuring bassist Chris Targia performing amidst a beautiful forest setting. The video was filmed/directed/edited by Michael J Adams of Blackline Studios and recorded at High Tor State Park, NY.

Bassist Chris Targia says, "'Thread Of Life' starts off with a slower tempo acoustic section, so I used fretless for this part of the song. The rest of the song is fretted and alternates between fingerstyle in the verses and bridge, and slap sections in the chorus, with the final chorus/solo adding more slap variations and fills."

While online, check out the latest Etherius behind the scenes videos detailing the making of Thread Of Life.

Part 1:

In the video, Chris Targia says, "I like to be very varied with my play style, depending on what section of what song needs what. So sometimes I'll be playing with a pick, sometimes I'll be playing with fingers or slap, and I also have a fretless bass I used on the beginning of the song "Thread of Life". Fretless allows you to be more expressive with slides and vibrato."

The concept of Thread Of Life and the album's artwork was inspired by ancient Greek mythology. "The Greeks believed that many aspects of a person's life were determined by the three fates, or Moirai (moy-ray) as they were called," says Tarantino. "The Moirai were three sister goddesses who "spun out" a child's destiny at birth. The sisters determined when life began, when it ended, and the events that occurred throughout one's life. The first sister, Clotho, or spinner, spun the thread, which was a person's life. The second sister, Lachesis, or unbending, measured the thread, which was the length of that life. The third sister, Atropos, meaning inevitable, chose the manner in which life ended, thus cutting the "Thread Of Life". The reason they are depicted as having no eyes on the album cover is because the ancient Greeks described the sisters as "cold" and "unmerciful."

Thread Of Life tracklisting:

"Thread Of Life"
"The Soothsayer"
"March And Defy"
"The Inevitable End"
"Lament"

"The Inevitable End" video:

Thread Of Life was produced and engineered by Jay Tarantino and Zaki Ali with Angel Vivaldi acting as co-producer, was recorded at Backroom Studios in Rockaway, New Jersey (owned by Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Kevin Antreassin), and was mixed/mastered by Mutiny Within vocalist Chris Clancy at Audioworks Productions. Additional tracking was completed with Angel Vivaldi at his home studio.

Tarantino says about the band's writing and recording process, "Whereas a lot of modern bands compose music in pieces, swapping ideas back and forth through email/Dropbox and using modern recording technology to cut and paste it, we write music together in our rehearsal space and arrange the parts as a band. This gives the music a more organic quality that doesn't sound as mechanical or sterile as it does with the former approach. We try to rely on technology as little as possible when composing songs."

With one listen to Thread Of Life it's clear that combined, the four extremely talented musicians of Etherius produce a clean, awe-inspiring sound merging powerful progressive elements that will appeal to not only the most discerning and critical metal fans, but to the heavy music-loving masses as well.

Rivers Of Nihil has launched a video for the title track of their new album, Where Owls Know My Name, exclusively via Apple Music. Subscribe to Apple Music and watch the clip (directed by David Brodsky) here. Fans that aren't currently Apple Music subscribers can sign up for a free trial here.

Where Owls Know My Name debuted on the Billboard and Canadian music charts upon its release in March: #3 Top New Artist Albums (Billboard / USA), #9 Current Hard Music Albums (Billboard / USA), #57 Top 200 Current Albums (Billboard / USA), #61 Top 200 Albums (Billboard / USA), #50 Top 200 Chart (Canada), #10 Top Hard Music Charts (Canada).

Where Owls Know My Name can be previewed and purchased here.

This September/October, Rivers Of Nihil will head out on the road with Revocation, Exhumed, and Yautja. Following this trek, Rivers Of Nihil will join Archspire, Soreption, and labelmates Revocation once again, for a European tour in November/December.

  A very ambitious band passionate about writing and playing extreme music, Ottawa ON's Ominous Eclipse draws their inspiration from a wide variety of genres to create a unique hybrid sound with death metal being the main aspect combined with elements of thrash, groove, black, melodic, etc. Active since 2014, Ominous Eclipse has been making waves on the local scene opening for names such as Revocation, The Agonist, Kalmah, Archspire, Incantation, Vesperia, Beyond Creation, Rivers of Nihil to name a few. In the same year of their conception, they unleashed a four song EP Beyond The Apocalypse with a full-length End Of Days following not long after in 2015. Now in 2018, they return with their sophomore album Sinister due out September 14th and have a new trailer ready to unleash to get fans evil about.

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

Tracklisting:

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

Trailer:

"Sinister" video:

"Spiral Into Insanity" lyric video:

"The Horde":

(Photo - Max Southwood)

Helion Prime and their mascot - the mighty Saibot - return with their sophomore effort Terror Of The Cybernetic Space Monster, out on August 31st via AFM Records. The album consists of nine brand new tracks - with the seventeen minute monster title song marking a stunning finale. Check out a lyric video for "Urth" below, and pre-order the album here.

The Sacramento, California-based power metal band’s new piece of work was mixed and mastered at LSD studio by Lasse Lammert (known for his work with bands like Alestorm and Gloryhammer). Helion Prime continues their theme of blending science fiction with science fact.

Founder Jason Ashcraft comments: "I wasn't sure where I was going when writing this album. As fans who follow us closely know, it's been a bumping two years for us since the release of our debut. We are back and fully inspired. This album focuses more on human nature and our battle with the good and evil within ourselves. I did not plan this when starting the album but that is where it naturally evolved. I am very pleased with the result and hope you are all as equally excited.”

This album will mark the first time the full band lineup is joined together on a release. This also marks the debut of Sozos Michael on vocals.

Sozos remarks on the subject: "Working on this album has been an incredibly rewarding experience. While Jason had a clear vision as to what this album would shape up to be as the principal songwriter, he was always open to my ideas on vocal lines and lyrics. Our collaboration went very smoothly and it definitely shows on the final product."

Jason also comments on the audition of Sozos: "He is the kind of singer I have always dreamed of working with. Not only are his vocal skills top notch but he understands and knows what the music needs. Writing together for this album was a breeze and I hardly had to ask for any rewrites. Often he would send me ideas that was exactly what I was thinking. I am thrilled to work with someone like that and can't wait to see what we accomplish together."

The cover art was once again done by Marc Whisnant, who was already responsible for the artwork of the band’s self-titled debut album, which was released via Divebomb Records in early 2016 before AFM Records signed the band to a worldwide deal and re-issued Helion Prime almost exactly a year after its initial release. Press hailed the album as a breath of fresh air in the power metal scene and called it one of the most innovative power metal records in a long time.

Tracklisting:

"Failed Hypothesis"
"A King Is Born"
"Bury The Sun"
"Atlas Obscura"
"Urth"
"The Human Condition"
"Spectrum"
"Silent Skies"
"Terror Of The Cybernetic Space Monster"

"Urth" lyric video:

"Spectrum" video:

"Silent Skies" video:

Circuitry surges signature electricity into modern heavy music. Years of experimentation in multiple genres have resulted in a potent, debilitating groove to which there is no known antidote. The trio, consisting of vocalist, Joel Monet, guitarist and background vocalist, Christian Colabelli, and drummer, Matt Guglielmo, fuses elements of modern progressive metal with classic metalcore, death, and catchy hooks, into an unmistakable signature sound.

This is immediately apparent on the band's sophomore effort, Untouched By Human Hands, set to be released November 16th.

As an early preview of the album, Circuitry is streaming lyric video “Waving A White Flag”. "Waving A White Flag," delivers devastating drumming firepower, frenetic guitar gymnastics, and tortured vocal carnage rounded out by an infectious earworm of a chorus. This angular anthem offers a glimpse into the inner folds and depth of a noticeably well-crafted, painstakingly original collection of songs. Circuitry is sure to cement their foothold in the heavy music realm with this ambitious sophomore release.

"We matured significantly as a band since our debut release, honed our sound and crafted a collection of songs that we are truly proud of. In the process, we stretched the limits of who we are as musicians. There were times where each of us considered walking away from the project. Had it not been for the overwhelming support and inspiration that we received from fans, both on the road and through social media, we're not sure this album would have come to fruition. This record is the result of three dudes putting everything we had into writing the best songs we were physically capable of at the time, says Circuitry of the new album.
 
Additionally, the artwork and track listing for the album have been revealed today.  The eye-popping, colorful, instantly recognizable album artwork, courtesy of Steven McCorry reflects the sonic content contained within. Genre bending exploration, otherworldly harmony, polished songwriting, and controlled chaos abound on this 11 song maelstrom. The band upped the ante by recruiting Steve Seid of Graphic Nature Audio to mix the album. The depth and clarity of the record is immediately noticeable, with every subtle nuance shining through.

Although relatively young in their existence, Circuitry displays an uncanny musical maturity that will only ripen with age. Garnering comparisons to Periphery, Animals As Leaders, Protest The Hero, Chiodos, Fall Of Troy, Killswitch Engage and Circa Survive, it's apparent that the band is in good company and spurns eclectic tastes. Brightness surely sits on the horizon for Circuitry.

Tracklisting:

“Snake”
“Waving A White Flag”
“The Merit Of An Argument”
“A N G E L”
“Writing History”
“Moment Of Clarity”
“Parasite”
“Lady Parts Of Death”
“Prayers And Curses”
“Kept In A Shallow Grave”

“Waving A White Flag” lyric video:

German power metal band Brainstorm have released a video for the new single "Ravenous Minds", featured on their new album Midnight Ghost, scheduled for release on September 28th. Watch below.

The band‘s 12th studio album is seemingly forging into something very special. Vocalist Andy B. Franck comments: "Midnight Ghost is the album we always wanted to create for our fans - and ourselves. Every song, the sound, the cover artwork… it feels perfect to us! It all has such an incredible power, which is hard to describe. For me it’s definitely one of our best albums and I’m confident that we can reach a new Brainstorm level with Midnight Ghost now. We can’t wait to bring this to the stages!“

Midnight Ghost was produced by Seeb Levermann (Orden Ogan, Rhapsody Of Fire), the cover artwork was created by Gyula Havancsak (Annihilator, Stratovarius).

The album will be available as CD, CD/DVD Digibook, blue vinyl (limited to 400 units), yellow/blue splatter vinyl (limited to 100 units and exclusively available in the AFM webshop), and box set.

Midnight Ghost tracklisting:

CD:

"Devil's Eye"
"Revealing The Darkness"
"Ravenous Minds"
"The Pyre"
"Jeanne Boulet (1764)"
"Divine Inner Ghost"
"When Pain Becomes Real"
"The Four Blessings"
"Haunting Voices"
"The Path"

Digibook bonus DVD: Scary Creatures Over Europe 2016 at LKA Stuttgart:

"The World To See"
"Firesoul"
"Fire Walk With Me"
"Highs Without Lows"
"We Are"
"Worlds Are Coming Through"
"Shiva's Tears"
"End In Sorrow"
"How Much Can You Take"
"Falling Spiral Down"
"All Those Words"
"Shiver"

"Ravenous Minds" video:

"The Pyre":

(Photo - Alex Kühr)

"Knievel Has Landed", the new video from STONE SOUR, can be seen below. The song is taken from the band's acclaimed 2017 LP, "Hydrograd", which will be released as a deluxe edition on August 31. The two-disc set, "Hydrograd Deluxe Edition", collects unreleased covers, b-sides, live recordings and alternate versions of songs from "Hydrograd". Available for pre-order along with a new exclusive t-shirt at StoneSour.com, the deluxe edition is highlighted by "Burn One Turn One", a previously unreleased b-side from "Hydrograd". "Burn One Turn One" is also available as an instant-grat download with all pre-orders. Fans can also pre-order signed physical copies of "Hydrograd Deluxe Edition" via PledgeMusic. "Hydrograd Deluxe Edition" features 13 rare or unreleased songs including an acoustic version of the No. 1 rock song "Song #3", as well as covers of hits from RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, SOUNDGARDEN and VAN HALEN.

"Hydrograd Deluxe Edition" track listing:

Disc 1:

01. YSIF

02. Taipei Person /Allah Tea

03. Knievel Has Landed

04. Hydrograd

05. Song #3

06. Fabuless

07. The Witness Trees

08. Rose Red Violent Blue (This Song Is Dumb & So Am I)

09. Thank God It's Over

10. St. Marie

11. Mercy

12. Whiplash Pants

13. Friday Knights

14. Somebody Stole My Eyes

15. When The Fever Broke

Disc 2:

01. Burn One Turn One

02. Bootleg Ginger

03. Live Like You're On Fire

04. Subversive

05. Unchained

06. Bombtrack

07. Outshined (Live at Sphere)

08. Song # 3 (Acoustic)

09. Mercy (Acoustic)

10. Rose Red Violent Blue (This Song Is Dumb & So Am I) (Acoustic)

11. The Witness Trees (Acoustic)

12. Mercy (Live at Sphere)

13. Fabuless (Live at Sphere)

"Hydrograd" was recorded at Sphere Studios in North Hollywood, California with producer Jay Ruston, who has previously worked with ANTHRAX and STEEL PANTHER.

STONE SOUR drummer Roy Mayorga told Topeka's rock station V100 about the making of "Hydrograd": "It came about pretty natural. It's just a collective of everyone. A lot of it was written together, live at my house. We demoed all of it at my studio at my house and just kind of pieced everything together there. We did five or six songs at a time, and every three months we'd get back together and do it that way. Corey [Taylor, vocals] would bring in some songs; Josh [Rand, guitar] would bring in some songs; Christian [Martucci, guitar] brought in a lot of stuff; I would submit some riffs to Christian and he would put 'em together… We wrote about, I'd say, 28 to 30 [songs], and we whittled it down to what you hear. You write as many as you can, you write the best songs you can, and then just pick from there."

STONE SOUR will support Ozzy Osbourne on the initial North American leg of the legendary vocalist's "No More Tours 2" tour, which kicks off August 30 in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

"Mantra", the new video from British rockers BRING ME THE HORIZON, can be seen below. The song is taken from the band's upcoming album, "Amo", which will be released on January 11, 2019 through RCA/Sony.

BRING ME THE HORIZON has been on a rocket of a journey over the last few years, selling over four million albums globally to date, playing sellout shows in over 40 countries, including two sold-out nights at London’s O2 plus wowing a traditionally non-rock crowd at Glastonbury Festival in 2016.

Poised now to release its sixth studio album, the band has spent the summer writing and recording in Los Angeles, with Oli Sykes and Jordan Fish handling production. What has transpired is one of BRING ME THE HORIZON's most exhilarating, genre-crossing albums to date.

Of the new disc, Oli says: "'Amo' is a love album that explores every aspect of that most powerful emotion. It deals with the good the bad and the ugly, and as a result we’ve created an album that’s more experimental, more varied, weird, and wonderful than anything we’ve done before."

On Tuesday, BRING ME THE HORIZON released "Mantra", with Sykes telling BBC Radio 1 about the track: "It felt like the first thing we wanted to show people upon our return."

Sykes said the music he and his bandmates are working on is "completely different" from "That's The Spirit", hinting, "We want to be a heavy band, but not in the way you think of heavy."

Prior to the new song's premiere, BRING ME THE HORIZON launched a mysterious campaign, including a billboard reading "Do You Want To Start A Cult With Me?" — a line that ended up being one of the lyrics in "Mantra".

While "Amo" will have some surprises, it very much sticks to the band's successful fan-pleasing formula of massive stadium-bouncing rock songs with huge singalong choruses. A sound that has earned them five A-list Radio 1 records to date.

The promotional campaign also saw the band starting a web site, joinmantra.org, with an initial message that read: "There are those who will say that only after a lifetime of sacrifice and good doing can the soul be free — that God demands conditions in the freedom and that some have the power of making mankind slaves."

The band's 16-city "First Love Tour" will kick off January 23 in Nashville, Tennessee and see them perform across the country, including stops in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and more before wrapping February 16 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Kyle Pavone, vocalist for the Michigan metalcore act WE CAME AS ROMANS, has died. He was only 28 years old.

Pavone's passing was revealed by his bandmates, who wrote in a statement: "Today, music lost another great with the passing of Kyle Pavone of WE CAME AS ROMANS. Kyle's tragic loss came too early in his life and those of his bandmates. All are devastated by his passing. We will miss his smiles, his sincerity, his concern for others, and his impressive musical talent.

"In lieu of flowers, we will provide information regarding charity donations this coming week.

"The family and the band wish to thank their fans and the music community for all of their love and support as they navigate their grief."

According to TMZ, Kyle was transported to a Michigan hospital last Sunday (August 19) and pronounced dead six days later, the morning of Saturday, August 25.

A cause of death for Pavone is pending a toxicology report, according to TMZ.

Bandmate Joshua Moore commented on the news on Instagram, sharing a picture of him and Pavone.

"I love this picture so much because it shows you how I'll always remember you," he captioned the image. "The craziest, goofiest, most funny and lovable kid. I miss you so much."

WE CAME AS ROMANS' fifth album, "Cold Like War", was released last October through SharpTone Records.

One week ago, Pavone tweeted, "Will i be remembered or will i be lost in loving eyes," a lyric from the song "Promise Me" from "Cold Like War".

Pavone joined WE CAME AS ROMANS in 2008 as vocalist and keyboardist and appeared on all five of the band's albums. Their 2013 LP, "Tracing Back Roots", peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart.

WE CAME AS ROMANS was scheduled to embark on a U.S. tour in September as the support act for BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE.

pic.twitter.com/AnvpTwZNm4— We Came As Romans (@wecameasromans) August 25, 2018



Will i be remembered or will i be lost in loving eyes— • D O N • S O L O • (@kylepavone) August 18, 2018



I love this picture so much because it shows you how I’ll always remember you. The craziest, goofiest, most funny and lovable kid. I miss you so much. A post shared by @ awesomejoshua on Aug 25, 2018 at 8:33am PDT

The official lyric video for the song "My Only Sin" from WE ARE SENTINELS (formerly SENTINELS), the new project featuring vocalist Matt Barlow (ICED EARTH, ASHES OF ARES, PYRAMAZE) and composer, keyboardist and pianist Jonah Weingarten (PYRAMAZE, STRUCTURE OF INHUMANITY), can be seen below. The track is taken from WE ARE SENTINELS' self-titled debut album, which was released on July 6 in Europe via SAOL.

The track listing for the effort is as follows:

01. From My Tower

02. My Only Sin

03. Life, Death, Rebirth

04. Kingdom In Winter

05. Dreaming In Winter

06. Battle In Winter

07. In Memoriam

08. Sirens of Odysseus

09. Miracle

10. Soul On Fire

11. Holy Diver

The official Chance White-directed video for the song "Kingdom In Winter" can be seen below.

Said Weingarten: "The 'Kingdom In Winter' video tells the epic tale of an infant child who has been prophesied to be the key to the gates. These gates lead to a land of peace, prosperity, and shelter from the cold and bitter winter and are protected by two stoic sentinels. Led by a mighty Shaman priestess, a group of refugees and warriors set out to bring the child to the gates against all odds.

"'Kingdom In Winter' turned into such an epic track that we knew we needed a music video that would truly bring it to life. It blends the fantasy elements of classic '80s movies like 'Willow' and 'Krull' with more modern cinematic visuals like 'Lord Of The Rings' and 'Game Of Thrones'. Director Chance White was able to fulfill this vision."

Combining sweeping motion picture style orchestral arrangements, modern classical piano, thunderous percussions, and the dynamic and powerful vocals of Barlow, WE ARE SENTINELS has set out to create something truly unique and groundbreaking. With musical and thematic elements inspired by the great drama, sci-fi, and fantasy films of the last thirty years — combined with duo's obvious enthusiasm for all things heavy metal — WE ARE SENTINELS works to embody the very essence of the word "epic."

WE ARE SENTINELS is:

Matt Barlow: Vocals, Lyrics, Choirs

Jonah Weingarten: Keyboards, Piano, Percussion, Orchestration

Following up on their critically acclaimed album "A Maze Of Recycled Creeds" and the thrashy EP "Kiss The Freak", French technical metallers GOROD will release their new album, "Aethra", on October 19 via Overpowered Records.

The 10th release from GOROD was produced and recorded by GOROD guitarist/mastermind Mathieu Pascal in his own Bud Studio, mixed at Dugout Studio by Daniel Bergstrand (MESHUGGAH, BEHEMOTH, DECAPITATED, IN FLAMES) and mastered by Lawrence Mackrory at Obey Mastering (DECAPITATED, NIGHTRAGE).


In comparison to GOROD's previous albums, the band sees "Aethra" as a profound progression in terms of production, songwriting and arrangements. Pascal says: "We decided that I would be in charge only for the recording in my studio, and chose Daniel Bergstrand for the mixing and mastering, as we love his work for decades. It puts some pressure on me, firstly because I'm used to working alone with the production of GOROD albums. The tracks should be clear and perfect enough to be easily understood and included into the mix the way I imagined. But also, because I still feel like a newbie compared to Bergstrand and I just didn't want to look like an amateur job! Bergstrand and McCrory did an awesome job on this album, the sound is powerful but still natural and balanced."


"Aethra" track listing:

01. Wolfsmond

02. Bekhten's Curse

03. Aethra

04. The Sentry

05. Hina

06. And The Moon Turned Black

07. Chandra And The Maiden

08. Goddess Of Dirt

09. Inexorable

10. A Light Unseen


With "Aethra", GOROD transports the listener to a tragic and melancholic universe — a completely new level of darkness — while preserving what GOROD considers their tried and true core sound: incomparable groove, remarkable dexterity, and relentless technicality. But all the while, the band never sacrifices earworm hooks and unforgettable riffage.


Vocalist Julien Deyres explains the concept behind "Aethra": "The moon: a star, an allegory, a universal symbol that concerns all peoples and eras... this is the central theme of the lyrical concept of this album which is divided into ten texts that follow a form of parity in terms of genres: four titles are devoted to female lunar deities, four to male deities. The remaining two are respectively dealing with the universal symbolism of the owl and the star itself.


"The concept is basically a study of different cults associated with the moon through the ages and peoples. Some themes are treated in a purely narrative way, some others in a more philosophical or poetic way, but generally it remains a personal reading of each myth, which aims to awaken critical thought as much as evasion."


Pascal adds: "The writing process was exceptionally short, only six weeks. I wanted more spontaneous and song-oriented music with clear and efficient structures. For the first time I tried to write the music always thinking stage-wise, always anticipating how every riff or lead would be perceived live, and, of course, how it could be performed."


As a live band through and through, GOROD plans to bring its trademark power and precision to North America on a full tour in support of "Aethra". Before coming to the states, GOROD will tour in Europe with headliners BEYOND CREATION, as well as fellow support acts ENTHEOS and BROUGHT BY PAIN.

GOROD is:

Julien "Nutz" Deyres: Vocals

Mathieu Pascal: Guitars

Ben "Barby" Claus: Bass

Nicolas Alberny: Guitars

Karol Diers: Drums

Finnish cinematic metal band DARK SARAH will release its new album, "The Golden Moth", on September 21 via Inner Wound Recordings.

The official lyric video for the song "The Gods Speak" — featuring guest appearances by Marco Hietala and Zuberoa Aznárez — can be seen 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

The legendary death metal compilation "Death... Is Just The Beginning" is back!

Nuclear Blast's involvement with death metal harkens back to the late '80s and early '90s explosion of this heavy and deadly genre. The "Death... Is Just The Beginning" compilations paved the way to the introduction of many soon-to-become-legendary acts such as PUNGENT STENCH, DISMEMBER, HYPOCRISY and KATAKLYSM. While the scene suffered a bit of stagnation somewhere in the mid-to-late '90s, the genre as a whole never went away and Nuclear Blast continued to release quality death metal in the form of bands such as HYPOCRISY, KATAKLYSM, DECAPITATED, etc.


…And just like the undead, they always come back! Nuclear Blast is proud to announce the unearthing of this legendary series simply titled "MMXVIII". Highlights for this latest installment include some re-recordings of classic tracks, Nuclear Blast bands performing covers of classic songs from other Nuclear Blast artists, demos and rarities of previously released and unreleased songs, original cover artwork by Blake Armstrong and layout by Marcelo Vasco (SLAYER, HATEBREED, KREATOR).


"Death... Is Just The Beginning MMXVII" track listing:

01. BENEDICTION - Tear Off These Fucking Wings (unreleased demo of new song)

02. KATAKLYSM - The Awakener (re-recorded)

03. HYPOCRISY - They Lie (THE EXPLOITED cover)

04. THE SPIRIT - Illuminate The Night Sky

05. MEMORIAM - The War Rages On (demo)

06. INSIDIOUS DISEASE - Soul Excavation (unreleased new song)

07. POSSESSED - Abandoned (unreleased demo of new song)

08. THY ART IS MURDER - The Son Of Misery

09. IMMOLATION - Morbid Visions (feat. Max Cavalera) (SEPULTURA cover)

10. NAILED TO OBSCURITY - King Delusion (unreleased new song)

11. BLEEDING GODS - Beloved By Artemis

12. DECAPITATED - Sane (Meshuggah cover)

13. AENIMUS - Before The Eons (unreleased new song)

14. PARADISE LOST - Frozen Illusion (previously released Japanese only b-side)

15. CARCASS - A Wraith In The Apparatus

16. BRUJERIA - Viva Presidente Trump! (previously only available digitally and on vinyl)

"Death… Is Just The Beginning MMXVII" will be available as a CD jewel, limited cassette, colored vinyl, long sleeve shirt, T-shirt + CD bundle and mail-order edition boxset. Pre-order the compilation here.

A new tribute album dedicated to legendary guitarist Gary Moore will be released this fall.

Due on October 26 via earMUSIC, "Moore Blues for Gary - A Tribute To Gary Moore" is the brainchild of Bob Daisley, who had played bass with Gary since the early eighties.

The sky was crying when Moore passed away on February 6, 2011. From THIN LIZZY to COLOSSEUM II, together with his solo hits "Parisienne Walkways" and "Out In The Fields", Gary influenced a whole generation of guitar players and guitar playing.

Daisley is known for suggesting to Gary that he should make a blues album — the rest is history. "Still Got The Blues" was an immense hit, followed by a series of classic modern blues albums. Bob, also known for his contributions to RAINBOW and OZZY OSBOURNE, was the driving force behind "Moore Blues For Gary".

"In my opinion, Gary was one of the best guitarists who ever lived," says Bob Daisley. "It was an honor for me to have worked with him and to have known him so well.

"When Gary passed away in 2011, the world lost one of the all-time greats. I don't think that enough was said or done at the time to acknowledge the loss of such a great player so I took it upon myself to pay personal tribute to the man and record some new versions of his music, mostly from his blues catalog.

"I asked many members of the Gary Moore family tree, and some other great players, to contribute to the project. The response was not only encouraging but very moving. It seems that the name Gary Moore is also synonymous with the words 'respect', 'honour' and 'greatness.'

"I didn't set out to recreate anything that Gary had done, or to compete in any way. These arrangements and performances represent a 'hats off' to Gary and nothing more.

"Long live the memory of Robert William Gary Moore. Yes, he was another 'Bob' — something that I wasn't aware of for all of those years that I worked with him.

"I feel such gratitude towards the people who contributed to this album and I'm honored to have worked with them all."

John Sykes (ex-THIN LIZZY, WHITESNAKE) makes a triumphant return after a long absence with an uber-emotional rendition of "Still Got The Blues", with the soulful vocals by Daniel Bowes (THUNDER) complementing each other.

"Parisienne Walkways" is played by Steve Morse (DEEP PURPLE, DIXIE DREGS) and Ricky Warwick (THIN LIZZY, BLACK STAR RIDERS, THE ALMIGHTY), with the unlikely pair resulting in a miraculous chemistry.

Gary's friends are here — his rocking keyboard / guitar / vocal sidekick Neil Carter sings "Empty Rooms", which he co-wrote with Gary. Don Airey (DEEP PURPLE, RAINBOW) and Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE) had joined forces with Gary on numerous occasions, together with Eric Singer (KISS) and Darrin Mooney (PRIMAL SCREAM). Brush Shiels, the leader of Gary's first professional band SKID ROW, also makes an appearance.

Doug Aldrich (WHITESNAKE, DIO), Steve Lukather (TOTO), Joe Lynn Turner (RAINBOW), Jeff Watson (NIGHT RANGER), Damon Johnson (BLACK STAR RIDERS, ALICE COOPER) and Stan Webb (CHICKEN SHACK) also unsparingly pour all their emotions to show their appreciation to Gary.

Gary's sons Jack and Gus are also involved, playing guitar and singing on "This One's For You", showing that the "Blood Of Emeralds" still runs their veins.

During his blues days, Gary made two albums to thank the guitarists that made him who he was: "Blues For Greeny" for Peter Green of FLEETWOOD MAC, and "Blues For Jimi" for Jimi Hendrix. Now, this is his turn to be rewarded with an album full of love and respect. We still got the blues for you.

"Moore Blues for Gary - A Tribute To Gary Moore" track listing and personnel details:

01. That's Why I Play The Blues

Vocals - Jon C. Butler

Guitars - Tim Gaze

Bass Guitar - Bob Daisley

Drums - Rob Grosser

Keyboards - Clayton Doley

02. The Blues Just Got Sadder

Vocals - Joe Lynn Turner

Lead Guitar - Steve Lukather

Rhythm Guitar And Slide Guitar – Tim Gaze

Bass Guitar - Bob Daisley

Drums - Rob Grosser

Keyboards - Clayton Doley

03. Empty Rooms

Lead Vocal, Keyboards – Neil Carter

Bass Guitar, Harmonica, Backing Vocals – Bob Daisley

Drums - Rob Grosser

Guitars - Illya Szwec

Backing Vocals - Rosanna Daisley

04. Still Got The Blues (For You)

Vocals - Danny Bowes

Guitars - John Sykes

Keyboards - Don Airey

Bass Guitar - Bob Daisley

Drums - Rob Grosser

05. Texas Strut

Vocals - Brush Shiels

Bass Guitar - Bob Daisley

Guitars - Tim Gaze

Drums - Rob Grosser

06. Nothing's The Same

Vocals - Glenn Hughes

Fretless Acoustic Bass – Bob Daisley

Cello - Ana Lenchantin

Guitars - Luis Maldonado

07. The Loner

Guitars - Doug Aldrich

Drums - Eric Singer

Bass Guitar - Bob Daisley

Keyboards - Don Airey

08. Torn Inside

Vocals, Lead Guitar – Stan Webb

Bass Guitar, Riff Guitar – Bob Daisley

Drums - Darrin Mooney

Keyboards - Lachlan Doley

09. Don't Believe A Word

Vocals, Lead Guitar – Damon Johnson

Bass Guitar - Bob Daisley

Drums - Rob Grosser

Rhythm Guitar - Illya Szwec

10. Story Of The Blues

Lead Vocal - Jon C. Butler

Bass Guitar, Riff Guitar, Backing Vocals – Bob Daisley

Lead And Rhythm Guitar – Tim Gaze

Drums - Rob Grosser

Keyboards - Lachlan Doley

Backing Vocals - Rosanna Daisley

11. This One's For You

Vocals - Gus Moore

Lead Guitar - Jack Moore

Bass Guitar - Bob Daisley

Drums - Rob Grosser

Rhythm Guitar - Illya Szwec

12. Power Of The Blues

Vocals - Joe Lynn Turner

Lead Guitar - Jeff Watson

Bass Guitar, Riff Guitar – Bob Daisley

Drums - Darrin Mooney

Rhythm Guitar - Illya Szwec

13. Parisienne Walkways

Guitars - Steve Morse

Vocals - Ricky Warwick

Bass Guitar - Bob Daisley

Drums - Rob Grosser

Keyboards - Clayton Doley

Carlos Denogean, drummer for North Carolina's bastard sons of sludge WEEDEATER, has died.

Denogean joined WEEDEATER in 2017 as the replacement for Travis Owen, who stepped down from the group due to health issues.

Denogean's passing was confirmed by his bandmates, who wrote in a statement: "There is no easy way to say this. Our dear friend and bandmate Carlos Denogean passed away yesterday. It is with a heavy heart and intense sadness that we bring you this unfortunate news. He left this world far too soon and will be missed immensely by all of us.

"Anyone that knew Carlos was enamored by his kindness and his warm personality. He was an incredibly talented musician and a real joy to be around. He brought something truly special to the band and we all loved working with him. We simply cannot express how devastated we are by this loss.

"We don't know any details at this time and we ask that you please leave us to grieve now along with Carlos's family. Thank you for all of your kind wishes. Cherish what you have while you have it."

Prior to joining WEEDEATER, Denogean had played with BEARD OF ANTLERS, SALVACIÓN and ASG.

WEEDEATER's latest album, "Goliathan", was released in 2015.

BLACK VEIL BRIDES singer Andy Biersack (a.k.a. Andy Black) has released his new single, a cover of Frank Sinatra's "My Way", as a companion piece to his 12-page cover feature in the August edition of Alternative Press. This marks his 10th Alternative Press cover.

A video for "My Way" was recently filmed with director Patrick Fogarty and will be made available soon.

"I have always loved this song and the idea of doing my own take on it as an homage to my influences was initially inspired by the [Alternative Press] cover shoot and story," Biersack wrote on Instagram. "I cannot wait for you guys to hear it!"

Andy and longtime producer John Feldmann are putting the finishing touches on the follow-up to Biersack's 2016 critically acclaimed debut solo album, "The Shadow Side", to be released in early 2019.

"The Shadow Side" featured help from members of FALL OUT BOY, MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, BLINK-182, ALKALINE TRIO and more.

Fan-filmed video footage of JUDAS PRIEST's August 24 performance at the Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill in Sterling Heights, Michigan can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Firepower

02. Grinder

03. Sinner

04. Lightning Strike

05. Bloodstone

06. Turbo Lover

07. Rising From Ruins

08. Freewheel Burning

09. You've Got Another Thing Comin'

10. Hell Bent For Leather

11. Painkiller


Encore:

12. Metal Gods

13. Breaking The Law

14. Living After Midnight

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. 2014's "Redeemer Of Souls" debuted and peaked at No. 6, while 2008's "Nostradamus" landed at No. 11 and 2005's "Angel Of Retribution" came in at No. 13.

"Firepower" moved 49,000 equivalent album units in first week of release. Of that sum, 48,000 were in traditional album sales, just shy of the 54,000 copies sold by "Angel Of Retribution" in that album's first week. The "Firepower" chart position was bolstered by sales generated from a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer in association with the band's spring 2018 North American tour.

Longtime JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Glenn Tipton found out he had Parkinson's disease four years ago — after being stricken by the degenerative condition at least half a decade earlier — but only recently announced he was going to sit out touring activities in support of "Firepower". The guitarist, who is now 70 and has performed on every PRIEST LP since the band's 1974 debut set, "Rocka Rolla", is not quitting the band, but simply cannot handle the rigorous challenges of performing live. He is being replaced on the road by "Firepower" producer Andy Sneap, who is also known as the guitar player in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrashers SABBAT.

Ian Gillan has reunited with his pre-DEEP PURPLE band THE JAVELINS to record the group's debut album. "Ian Gillan And The Javelins" will be released August 31 as a CD digipak, a vinyl LP and a digital download. The 16-track collection features covers of American blues, rock 'n' roll, soul and country tunes, including renditions of rock classics like THE CONTOURS' "Do You Love Me", Roy Orbison's "Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)" , Chuck Berry's "Memphis, Tennessee" and "Rock And Roll Music", Jerry Lee Lewis's "High School Confidential", Buddy Holly's "It's So Easy", Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightnin'" and Ray Charles's "What I'd Say".

In the video below, you can listen to audio snippets of the entire "Ian Gillan And The Javelins" album.

Every DEEP PURPLE true lover knows how much their magic and powerful style is the result of many different influences brought in by the single members, all merging into the powerful sound loved by millions of rock fans. Ian Gillan's love for American soul and R&B as well as skiffle and early rock and roll has been well documented in many articles and interviews.

Founded in the early 60s, THE JAVELINS were influenced by pop, soul, country, jazz and blues artists from America. They soaked up the music of their heroes, added their own stamp and went from town to town to perform their favourite songs in front of a small but ever growing audience — becoming local heroes themselves.

This was the time when Ian Gillan discovered himself, broke the chains and "found his voice."


THE JAVELINS paved the way for the Ian Gillan who, only a few years later, wrote music history with DEEP PURPLE, becoming one of the most iconic frontmen of all time and, together with very few others, shaped rock music the way we know it today.

"These contemporary recordings (2018) by THE JAVELINS are drawn from our set lists, circa 1963, when I was 18 years old. Now, a few years later, I have the privilege and joy of working with my old mates from the original group; Gordon Fairminer (lead guitar); Tony Tacon (rhythm guitar); Tony Whitfield (bass guitar); Keith Roach (drums), as we make a long-overdue LP."

Ian Gillan has defined this new studio album as "a collection of catchy rhythms and feel-good melodies". This understating definition shows Gillan's ability to still look at those songs and his whole career with the same eyes of the 18-year-old boy who sang them many years ago.

But there is a lot more to this recordings…

By paying tribute to music legends such as Chuck Berry, THE DRIFTERS, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Charles, Buddy Holly and Bo Diddley, IAN GILLAN & THE JAVELINS have not only managed to do that.

Avoiding the use of any modern technology, the band has managed to find the spontaneity and true sense of freedom of pop and rock and roll music of 50 years ago, probably without completely realizing it themselves.

One world superstar and four friends who have taken very different directions in life (none decided to "turn pro" as they would say it) but still able to capture the essence of what being a performing band is about.

This album is what happened during four days of recordings in a studio in Hamburg, Germany, where instruments, microphones, lyrics sheets and memories were the only tools allowed.

This album is not an act of nostalgia, or a celebration of the purity of the old days versus modernity. This is simply what the Javelins were in 1963… and this is what they are now, if they happen to meet in the studio, embracing their guitars and look at each other with a big smile on their face.

This is where it all started.

"Ian Gillan & The Javelins" has been recorded at the Chameleon Studios during a five-day recording session in Hamburg, March 2018, Germany. It features Don Airey (DEEP PURPLE) as special guest on piano. It will be released on August 31 on earMUSIC as CD digipak, 1LP gatefold (180g, black) and digital.

Gillan told Kaaos TV about THE JAVELINS: "The guys in the band, most of them tickled along at the occasional gig and they practiced, but most of them haven't really played in any progressive way for 50 years or more — 55, 56 years now.

"I prepared all the material with Steve Morris, my old partner from Liverpool — not Steve Morse; Steve Morris. And we sent the tapes, 16 songs, to each of the guys, and said, 'Okay, practice like crazy for six weeks.' And so we all met in the studio in Hamburg and we recorded 10 songs on the first day. And the whole 16 were recorded in two days, and then the solos and extra bits and pieces, a few mistakes, were repaired on a Wednesday, and then we did a video, and that was it. It was unbelievable."

He continued: "I was listening to the rough mixes, before we put on the vocal backings, the girls, and the brass section, because a lot of those old songs, like THE COASTERS and Ray Charles, had brass sections on them, so we're doing it authentically, augmenting the band. But, you know, because they hadn't played professionally for 50 years, they didn't evolve at all — they kept playing in the style which was in 1962, and consequently, when I'm listening to it, I think, 'My God! This is so authentic. It sounds just exactly as it did in those days.' It's not musicians from today trying to do a retro version of those songs, which I've heard plenty of, and they're always high production — there's no breathing space; no nothing. It sounds, to me, just as I remember it.

"Of course, we're all in our 70s, and we're like a bunch of school boys in the studio," he added. "We had a reunion a couple of years ago — at Christmas, we all went on a boat up the river Thames and had a fantastic night. And it was great — the old banter was still there, the jokes and the sense of humor. And it was wonderful — just truly wonderful. A great experience for these guys who have not been in a studio like that before. We did try another project a few years ago and made another set. So I think there were some nerves and some apprehension prior to the session, but by God, they went through it great. After every day's work, we sat down, we had a meal and drank some beers together and just talked about things. It was great. It was certainly a fantastic experience."

METAL ALLEGIANCE — with its four core members: David Ellefson (MEGADETH), Alex Skolnick (TESTAMENT), Mike Portnoy (THE WINERY DOGS, ex-DREAM THEATER) and Mark Menghi — began as a celebration of heavy metal, powered by the almost tribal bond shared between the extreme music community's most revered trailblazers, armed with a list of contributors onstage (and off) that read like a Wikipedia entry on the genre itself.

The band will release its sophomore album, "Volume II - Power Drunk Majesty", on September 7 via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The thrash-worshiping disc merges old-school legends with the modern metallers of the scene to produce groove-driven, adrenaline-soaked anthems while tackling the frustrating state of the world.

With less than two weeks until "Volume II - Power Drunk Majesty" is released, METAL ALLEGIANCE is offering a third single. Watch the music video for "Bound By Silence" featuring John Bush (ARMORED SAINT) below.

Alex Skolnick comments: "Bringing in John Bush to sing on 'Bound By Silence' feels like a real coup. He has the perfect voice for this track musically, as well as the ability capture the intensity of the lyrics in terms of storytelling. A great addition the the METAL ALLEGIANCE family."

Mark Menghi states: "'Bound By Silence' tells the true tale of an amazing Vietnam War vet, a brave soul who told me his incredible story with only a few months left to live due to pancreatic cancer. It's a very personal song to me. I've since come to learn he recently passed on while leaving a great legacy behind. Forever bound by silence."

Other guest musicians on "Volume II - Power Drunk Majesty" include Trevor Strnad (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER), Max Cavalera (SOULFLY), Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth (OVERKILL), Mark Tornillo (ACCEPT), Floor Jansen (NIGHTWISH) and Johan Hegg (AMON). The album also marks the return of Mark Oseguesda (DEATH ANGEL) and Troy Sanders (MASTODON).

"Volume II - Power Drunk Majesty" was produced by Menghi and Skolnick while Mark Lewis of MRL Studios handled the mixing and mastering. The cover artwork was created by renowned artist Marcelo Vasco (SLAYER, MACHINE HEAD, SOULFLY, HATEBREED) and Rafael Tavares.

"Volume II - Power Drunk Majesty" track listing:

01. The Accuser (feat. Trevor Strnad)

02. Bound By Silence (feat. John Bush)

03. Mother Of Sin (feat. Bobby Blitz)

04. Terminal Illusion (feat. Mark Tornillo)

05. King With A Paper Crown (feat. Johan Hegg)

06. Voodoo Of The Godsend (feat. Max Cavalera)

07. Liars & Thieves (feat. Troy Sanders)

08. Impulse Control (feat. Mark Osegueda)

09. Power Drunk Majesty (Part I) (feat. Mark Osegueda)

10. Power Drunk Majesty (Part II) (feat. Floor Jansen)

Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD have released the Heath Bradley-directed animated video for their cover version of the MINISTRY song "Jesus Built My Hotrod". The track is taken from LAMB OF GOD's covers album, "Legion: XX", which was released under the BURN THE PRIEST banner on May 18 via Nuclear Blast in Europe and Epic Records in the U.S.

Guitarist Mark Morton says about the track: "This was a benchmark song from the early '90s. We didn't even originally plan on doing it — producer Josh Wilbur and I learned it real quickly and put it together. It turned out to be one of our favorite songs of the album. It features a side of Randy [Blythe, vocals] that people aren't used to hearing. Nothing was planned, so it felt fun, and we just went for it."

LAMB OF GOD may be one of the biggest bands in modern metal, but they will never forget where they came from. Mark Morton (guitar), John Campbell (bass) and Chris Adler (drums) formed the first incarnation of the band, BURN THE PRIEST, in the winter of 1994 after meeting four years earlier as students at Virginia Commonwealth University. Less than a year later, in the summer of 1995, they met Blythe before adding Chris Adler's brother, Willie Adler (guitar), prior to transitioning to LAMB OF GOD — and the rest is global metal history.


Morton says: "To truly understand the essence of the band BURN THE PRIEST, one must first consider the landscape in which it began: the mid-'90s. Grunge and alternative music ruled the airwaves. Social media and the internet had yet to assume their role as our collective sources for entertainment and cultural exchange. It was a time when DIY 'zines turned us on to new bands and regional scenes, and 'copy and paste' still implied a print shop and a glue stick."


BURN THE PRIEST's self-titled debut album, released via Philadelphia-based Legion Records, documented what was, in essence, a primal punk band performing metal. Ultimately, as they grew in local popularity, the five-piece chose to stray away from their name to avoid being associated with satanic metal, choosing the name LAMB OF GOD.


Morton continues: "As our sound and songs developed, so did our goals… we began playing basement parties and warehouse shows and in doing so, we realized that the energy we were creating was transferable. The shows we played in those squats and warehouses [in Philadelphia] and the people we met there are forever embedded in our collective consciousness and the DNA of our band."


As they enter their 20th year since releasing their first self-titled album as BURN THE PRIEST, the band has released a full-length covers album that reflects on the greatness of classic punk, hardcore, crossover and noise — rock subgenres that contributed to what LAMB OF GOD, and indeed, the world, now view as modern heavy metal.


As BURN THE PRIEST, the band presents "Legion: XX" — featuring tracks originally performed by CRO-MAGS, AGNOSTIC FRONT, QUICKSAND, MINISTRY, BAD BRAINS, MELVINS, S.O.D., THE ACCÜSED, BIG BLACK and Richmond punk band SLIANG LAOS. The tracks are performed with the unmistakable precision that has kept the band vital for two decades, but ultimately harks back to the raw, punk-driven sound first explored by four unsuspecting college students and a line cook-turned-vocalist in their formative years. Produced with Josh Wilbur at the helm, "Legion: XX" exhibits BURN THE PRIEST in their true element.


"Our inauspicious beginnings somehow grew into something none of us had ever even imagined possible, let alone aspired to, however, this is the story of BURN THE PRIEST," adds Morton. "The songs we chose to cover on this album reflect that story. They are touchstones from that point in time. The inspiration we gleaned from these bands and these songs carries through our work and our creative pursuits, even to this day. Many thanks to these bands for lighting our fire and endless gratitude to our fans around the world for keeping it lit."


"Legion: XX" track listing:

01. Inherit The Earth (THE ACCÜSED cover)

02. Honey Bucket (MELVINS cover)

03. Kerosene (BIG BLACK cover)

04. Kill Yourself (S.O.D. cover)

05. I Against I (BAD BRAINS cover)

06. Axis Rot (SLIANG LAOS cover)

07. Jesus Built My Hotrod (MINISTRY cover)

08. One Voice (AGNOSTIC FRONT cover)

09. Dine Alone (QUICKSAND cover)

10. We Gotta Know (CRO-MAGS cover)

Bonus song (only on LP!):

11. In The Meantime (HELMET cover)

LAMB OF GOD is supporting SLAYER on the North American leg of the latter band's farewell world tour. The trek kicked off with a May 10 concert at San Diego's Valley View Casino Center, with dates running through August 26 at San Jose, California's SAP Center.

RED DRAGON CARTEL, the band led by former OZZY OSBOURNE and BADLANDS guitarist Jake E. Lee, will release its sophomore album, "Patina", on November 9 via Frontiers Music Srl.

The follow-up to RED DRAGON CARTEL's eponymous 2014 debut, "Patina" marks the group's first release with drummer Phil Varone (SAIGON KICK, SKID ROW) and bassist Anthony Esposito. The band's current lineup is rounded out by singer Darren James Smith.

RED DRAGON CARTEL's new album was recorded at Esposito's Obscenic Arts studio in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania and was reportedly mixed by legendary producer Max Norman, who has previously worked with OZZY OSBOURNE, MEGADETH, SAVATAGE and LOUDNESS, among others.

The track listing for the disc is as follows:

01. Speedbag

02. Havana

03. Crooked Man

04. The Luxury Of Breathing

05. Bitter

06. Chasing Ghosts

07. A Painted Heart

08. Punchclown (bonus track)

09. My Beautiful Mess

10. Ink & Water

The official music video for "Havana" can be seen below.

"I chose 'Havana' as the first song to be released from the new album for a few reasons," Lee told Guitar World. "First off, it begins with a lone guitar playing the riff, promoting the idea that this is a guitar-heavy record. The song's production is about as straightforward and basic as it gets on this album and I wanted it to be apparent that, overall, it's more of an old school approach, as opposed to its predecessor [RED DRAGON CARTEL's self titled, 2014 debut album.] And, it's just a cool riff I couldn't wait to share with anyone interested in what I'm doing!"

Lee also told Guitar World about RED DRAGON CARTEL's newest members, saying: "Anthony Esposito is on bass. I first met him when he was a part of the original LYNCH MOB. He brings with him not just the solid, groove-oriented style he's known for, but a very lyrical and inventive, not unlike John Paul Jones, presence to the tracks. Phil Varone is the drummer. He was originally in SAIGON KICK (one of the best band names ever) and, like Ant, is a very solid and groove oriented player, who is not afraid to turn things upside down to give the song a more unique flavor."

Back in September 2015, RED DRAGON CARTEL was rejoined by Darren James Smith after a period of several months during which the band played shows with a number of other vocalists, including former JONES STREET frontman Shawn Crosby, Canadian singer Paul D'Eath (CITIZENS UNITE, MUSHROOM TRAIL), Chas West (Jason Bonham, LYNCH MOB, 3 LEGGED DOGG) and Michael Beck.

Issued in January 2014, RED DRAGON CARTEL's debut CD sold around 5,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 69 on The Billboard 200 chart.