Tengger Cavalry are back! After their split up right after the release of the latest album Cian Biin February 2018, Tengger Cavalry have gathered their forces and return with a big bang. The Nomadic folk metal pioneers led by mastermind Nature have renewed completely and strike back with their new single "Heart", which is available as the regular 13-minute version and as a shortened radio and music video edit as bonus track.

Nature about the new single: "It is a long 13 min track featuring multiple nomadic folk artists from China and few amazing American musicians. As the song title suggests, it is a song dedicated to all of my fans who put their hearts into what they truly love and believe"

Watch the first video of the regrouped band below:

Nature about the re-groupment of Tengger Cavalry: "After a long break, it is great to feel like creating what I love again. Moreover I am more than grateful to have all the band members, friends, fans and ppl around me to give a support for relaunching the band. It is more than a passion. It is a cultural project that I intend to share with everyone and I will do my best to keep on going. Last but not least, I want to thank Napalm Records for believing in me and giving me time to heal even when I was in my darkest hours."
 
The new lineup is as follows:

Nature - Guitar, Morin Khuur, Vocal
Pat Reilly - Guitar
Greg Baker - Double Bass
Randy Tesser - Drum
Muren - Morin Khuur
 
Tengger Cavalry, or "the army of the sky god", teach the greatness of a unique sound symbiosis: With their mighty mix out of Mongolian overtone singing and violin empowered folk metal, these New York mind blasters create something very special.They are not just a Billboard-featured metal band, but also the symbol of nomadic warrior spirit that connects fans from all over the world.

Since the band formed in 2010, they successfully completed two headlining tours across over 40 cities of North America, performed at legendary venues such as The Marlin Room at Webster Hall and the Whisky a Go Go, a sold out show at Carnegie Hall and have been featured on CNN, the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

The next highlight in the eventful career of Tengger Cavalry follows on September 20th, when they return to the legendary Carnegie Hall in their hometown New York.

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.

The video is included in The Early Years 1965–1972. Get it here.

RATT's new lineup played its second show ever last night (Friday, July 13) at the OC Fair at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, California. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

Singer Stephen Pearcy and bassist Juan Croucier are the sole remaining original members in RATT's current lineup, which also includes drummer Pete Holmes (BLACK 'N BLUE, RATT'S JUAN CROUCIER) and guitarists Jordan Ziff (RAZER) and Chris Sanders (BRITNY FOX, KNIGHT FURY).

During an appearance on the "Trunk Nation" radio show on SiriusXM, Pearcy spoke about the circumstances that caused guitarist Warren DeMartini's exit from RATT. "Waren just didn't wanna go out there," he said. "And when you have a corporation or a company, that company doesn't cease if the majority wants to move forward.

"We wanted to clean house, and that's it, and go out and enjoy ourselves for once," he added. 'Enough drama. We've been through enough."

"I'm just moving forward — Juan and myself — and just trying to keep some legacy involved.

"It's very simple — you either like what you're doing or you don't," he said. "And we do. But it has to be with the right people. It's not like we need to hire Jimmy Page or somebody. We're gonna work with people that we have a great time with."

Pressed about the specific issues that Warren and other two members of RATT's classic lineup couldn't agree on, Stephen said: "I can't speak for the guy… The guy didn't wanna go out there. I wouldn't even call it work. We're privileged enough, 35 years later, to be able to go out and do what we do. And there's still a lot of great fans out there who'd love to hear the music. That's all that concerns me. So if somebody else doesn't wanna do it in the band, regardless [of whether it's Warren] or somebody else, [they can] take a hike."

Pearcy went on to stress that "Warren was not fired — he wasn't fired at all. He just took it upon himself to not be involved, but I'm not gonna dwell on that subject anymore either; it's not worth it," he said.

According to Pearcy, he and Juan "thought things were going copacetic" with DeMartini "but later found out there were other things going on with this guy, and he just didn't wanna partake in these shows. And that's just how it turned out," he said. "Hey, all I know is we didn't fire the guy. I don't tend to dwell on things, so it doesn't bother me. I just move forward, and that's what we did. We wanna go out and have a good time and celebrate. It's no big deal.

"Warren is no longer in the group — his choice; not ours," Stephen clarified. "The company is one thing, the corporation is another, but being in a band, that's a whole another world."

Asked how RATT found its latest additions, Pearcy said: "We went through auditions — many people — and we invited a lot of people to come down. We move forward; we don't waste time — or at least Juan and I don't. We didn't want this just to hit a curb. So we auditioned all these people and decided on guys that we thought would hang around for a bit and grow and hopefully see a few more years out of this… And it wasn't a simple task, by any means, but that's what we settled with. We didn't settle — we actually wanted it to work. And so far… we have lift-off."

Pearcy also confirmed that there are plans for the current lineup of RATT to record and release new music before undertaking a more extensive tour next year.

"What we're gonna do this time around is we're going to record a few songs and release it as we see fit," he said. "We're not gonna go into a full record until we've put a few songs out there and not prove ourselves. 'Cause if it's Juan and me — we've written songs together for years. He's a great singer guy; I'm the singer guy. We just know what we do. It's not as complex as people are making it or trying to make it. It's very simple. We're gonna go out there and we do wanna record a few new songs, yeah. And we will. We'll put a few out there before the next tour, next year — 2019."

Asked why he and Juan chose not to reveal the identities of RATT's newest members prior to this past weekend's concert, Stephen said: "We just wanted to work people in and not have to change midstream — find out, 'Okay, it's not working with this individual' or something. We wanted to know exactly what was happening. And the word got out anyway a day before the show, which is no big deal. I just like to keep things under cover until you're ready to go. And we were ready to go. And now the next show, I'm sure, it's gonna be more of an ass-whippin', 'cause now we got our feet wet."

RATT's new lineup is:

* Stephen Pearcy - Vocals

* Juan Croucier - Bass

* Jordan Ziff (RAZER) - Lead Guitar

* Chris Sanders (BRITNY FOX, KNIGHT FURY) - Rhythm Guitar

* Pete Holmes (BLACK 'N BLUE, RATT'S JUAN CROUCIER) - Drums

The clip below was filmed at Festival d'été de Québec in Québec City, Québec on July 14, 2017 and has only now been uploaded to YouTube. It features Metallica performing their Master Of Puppets classic "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)". 

Germany's Mothergrid recently posted a series of videos taking fans behind-the-scenes of the staging and production of the European leg of Metallica's WorldWired Tour. Watch four segments below.

Part 1: Rob Koenig, Gene McAuliffe and Michael "Kilty“ Petite talk about the visual system of the Metallica WorldWired Tour at Olympiahalle München.

Part 2: System Tech Tom Lyon talks about the sound system for the Metallica WolrdWired Live Tour at Olympiahalle München. The sound system consists of Meyer Sound LEO element and Meyer Sund 1100 LFC subwoofer elements.

Part 3: Metallica's Lighting Designer for the WorldWired Tour - Rob Koenig - leads us head by head through the lighting rig setup in Olympiahalle München. The lighting system consisted mainly of fixtures from Robe Lighting, Martin by Harman and SGM Lighting plus some Flares.

Part 4: A chat with "Big Mick“ Hughes and Markus Wilmsmann in front of the mighty setup of the 2018 WorldWired Tour: about the microphones from Audio-Technica, DPA and Shure that are to used to the Fractal Amp Emulators. A Meyer Sound Line Array PA system was flown over the center stage at Olympiahalle München. Big Mick Hughes mixes the show on a Midas XL8 Digital Audio Console.

Kittie drummer Mercedes Lander's other band, The White Swan, sees her singing and playing guitar teamed up with bassist Kira Longeuay and guitarist Shane Jeffers. The trio have announced plans to release a new EP, Touch Taste Destroy, this September. A teaser is available below. More details will be revealed soon. 

The trio recently posted video from their recording sessions.

The White Swan released The White EP in July 2017. The tracklist is as follows:

"North Carolina"
"Lions"
"The White"

The White EP was engineered by Alastair Sims on March 26th, 2017 in London, Ontario at Villa Studios. The cover art and album layout by Colin Sinclair. Check out "North Carolina" below.

For information and updates on The White Swan go to this location.

Hard rock/metal trio To Whom It May (TWIM) has released their new video for “Calculate”; the track comes from their new album The Great Filter, out Friday, July 20th, through Candlebox frontman's Kevin Martin's label G4L Records.

Jonathan Jourdan (Frontman/Guitarist): “We are very excited about releasing this video for “Calculate”. Thanks so much to Donald Kilgore, Jeremy Hawa, Robb Flurry and the whole crew.”

Dexas Villarreall (Drummer): “The whole experience of this video shoot was definitely top notch. I had fun and it was an honor to work with such a dedicated and productive team. It's nice to see the love that the crew had for not only their craft, but each other and what they were making for us. And I really couldn't have asked for more.”

Robb Mars (Bassist): “The ‘Calculate’ shoot was the best video shoot I’ve ever been a part of; very pro but fun as well. The crew was great, they’re the real deal!”

Jeremy Hawa & Donald Kilgore (videographers): “Working with TWIM on the music video for ʻCalculateʼ was an amazing experience for both myself and my cinematographer (DK) Donald Kilgore!

“With such an abbreviated production schedule (in this case less than a month) the process had to move quickly with clear vision and open communication between artists and filmmakers who had never had the opportunity to work together before. On top of being great performers, DK and I found John, Rob, and Dex to be true collaborators which made realizing their vision both efficient and extremely rewarding creatively.

“In the end, we wound up with a music video that stands as probably one of my favorite works. One that echoes the songs strong themes of how we can sometimes becoming lost in our own failures and regrets. And, how there are always those persistent voices calling thru the darkness, reaching to us gently at times and violently at others, as they attempt to beckon us back to the light.”

Featuring their hard-hitting single “Calculate”, which will be unveiled to radio and available digitally starting July 9th, TWIM’s latest effort is already being hailed as an impressive lesson in contrasts by many, including the group’s frontman Jonathan Jourdan. As the band’s main songwriter, he describes the record as “a blend of rhythmic and melodic ideas that depend on each other to sound complete.” He goes on to say that it also encompasses “chaotic and soothing moments that depend on each other for balance”.

This dichotomy is also evident within the band itself. Featuring elements of prog, metal, and unadulterated rock n’ roll, the paired down threesome has created a complexity that is larger than the sum of its parts. Featuring Dexas Villarreal on drums and Robb Mars on bass, these two stellar musicians serve up the group’s signature hard-rocking, groove-infested backbeat while Jourdan adds his guitar riffs soaring into the ether. The result was enough to make multi-platinum selling artist Kevin Martin a fan.

"I knew the minute I heard To Whom It May that I wanted to work with them in any way possible”, said Martin. “There is something intangible about EVERYTHING TWIM does musically and that's what I love about them; they make me want to listen more and more to try and put my finger on it, challenging me, if you will, to understand why, who, or what has inspired these musicians to create such awe-inspiring music!”

The concept for The Great Filter, which was produced by Dean DiChosa (Candiria, Family Force 5), is based on the Great Filter Hypothesis, answers the question as to why we humans haven’t made contact with aliens yet. It suggests that at some point there is an evolutionary leap that no species can survive, leaving humans with two choices: we’ve passed “The Filter” and were the lucky species that survived or we haven’t met “The Great Filter” yet and inevitably will meet our extinction.

“This resonated with us as an album title because, in a lot of ways, this album was our personal Great Filter, said Jourdan. “A lot of people also have their own ‘Great Filter’ in their life. Something that makes them fear an inevitable defeat. In that moment you can chose to be paralyzed by it, or you can believe that you will survive.”

The album will be supported by a series of shows immediately following its release, including Warped Tour dates that start on Friday, July 6.

The Great Filter tracklisting:

"Bypass"
"Calculated"
"Quick"
"Descend"
"Weight Of The Stone"
"The Signal Fire"
"Firescape"
"Sick Day"
"Ghost"
"Take What I Can"

Canadian metal trio Cauldron are streaming "Letting Go", a track from their new album New Gods, out September 7th through The End Records (North America) and Dissonance Productions (Europe). Listen below.

For the follow up to their critically-acclaimed 2016 album In Ruin, Jason Decay (lead vocals/bass), Ian Chains (guitar) and Myles Deck (drums) together with producer Chris Stringer (Timber Timbre, Wooden Sky) honed and recorded the songs at Union Sound in Toronto for what would become New Gods.

New Gods, the group’s fifth full-length studio record, once again promises a strong emphasis on songwriting and melody, complete with high-end organic production to match. “We have always prioritized songwriting above anything else. For me personally, I have always felt more confident writing than as a "musician" and for the first time I think we have found the production that best suits our songs,” says Decay.

"I am very proud of the songwriting, performances and production on this one, and it is definitely the most confident I have been in a finished album of ours.  It is dark, it’s heavy and it has a very melodic sense of AOR. Most importantly, it still sounds very Cauldron. I’m pretty sure people who were into In Ruin will like this one just as much if not more!”

Tracklisting:

“Prisoner Of The Past”
“Letting Go”
“No Longer”
“Save The Truth / Syracuse”
“Never Be Found”
“Drown”
“Together As One”
“Isolation”
“Last Request”

“Letting Go”:

Cauldron have announced a set of shows with support act Barrow Wight to celebrate the new album.

Dates:

September
6 - Boston, MA - The Middle East
7 - Philadelphia, PA - Boot & Saddle
8 - Brooklyn, NY - The Kingsland

The band also has a headline release show planned in their hometown of Toronto set for September 15th at Junction City Music Hall.

Finnish melodic metallers SoulHealer are streaming the new song "The Final Judgement", featured on the band's upcoming album, Up From The Ashes, out on September 14th via Rockshots Records. Listen below.

SoulHealer play traditional heavy and power metal with no compromises, with an old fashioned attitude to the 80's blended with a modern metal sound. Catchy lyrics and unforgettable guitar riffs will deliver a perfect record to both the 80's lovers and the new listeners looking for great melodies and easy-to-remember songs.

Tracklisting:

“Up From The Ashes”
“Through Fire And Ice”
“Fly Away”
“Sins Of My Father”
“Prepare For War”
“Pitch Black”
“The Final Judgement”
“Behind Closed Doors”
“Am I In Hell”
“Land Of The Free”

"The Final Judgement":

Bloodguilt, the upcoming new EP from Montreal’s Depths Of Hatred blends ferocious vocals with aggressive riffs and relentless drumming in a tour-de-force of technical death metal. Set for official release on July 20th, the EP title track is available for streaming below.

Fusing technical dominance with relentless ferocity; Depths Of Hatred brandish an unforgiving six song earsplitter that will leave you writhing in the thorny snares of death metal splendour. Bloodguilt marks the first recording with new frontman, Nico Monette and is already receiving praise as their most vile offering to date. The anticipated new releases will be available in all digital formats and compact disc. Pre-order the title here.

Tracklisting:

“My Penance Beheld”
“An Infidel’s Dissent”
“Covenant Curse”
“The Nail Remains”
“Throes Of Desperation”
“Bloodguilt”

“Bloodguilt”:

"An Infidel's Dissent" video:

Just before the release of Bloodguilt, the band will embark on a two and a half week Canadian run with Hideous Divinity.

Dates:

July
19 - Montreal, QC - Pirahha Bar
20 - Ottawa, ON - Maverick's
21 - Guelph, ON - DSTRCT
22 - Windsor, ON - The Beer Exchange
23 - St. Catharines, ON - Warehouse
24 - Toronto, ON - Coalition
25 - Sudbury, ON - The Asylum
26 - Thunder Bay, ON - Black Pirates Pub
27 - Winnipeg, MB - The Handsome Daughter
28 - Regina, SK - Cloud 9 Live
29 - Edmonton, AB - The Forge
30 - Grand Prairie, AB - Better Than Fred’s
31 - Calgary, AB - Distortion

August
1 - Vernon, BC - Record City
2 - Kamloops, BC - The Duchess
3 - Vancouver, BC - Astorial
4 - Victoria, BC - Victoria Event Centre
5 - Nanaimo, BC - The Cambie

Depths Of Hatred is:

Nico Monette. - Vocals
Martin Trottier - Guitar
Felix Demers - Guitar
Karl Desjardins - Drums
Antoine Millette - Bass

On August 17th, King Diamond will release LP reissues of the classic albums Abigail II: The Revenge, House Of God, and Voodoo via Metal Blade Records. Available as 180g picture discs, these exclusive editions can be purchased now at metalblade.com/kingdiamond.

"You can spiral yourself into darkness with these classic King Diamond albums, or you can exhibit them on your wall like I will. Either way, enjoy." - King

Abigail II: The Revenge tracklisting:

Side A
"Spare This Life"
"The Storm"
"Mansion In Sorrow"

Side B
"Miriam"
"Little One"
"Slippery Stairs"

Side C
"The Crypt"
"Broken Glass"
"More Than Pain"

Side D
"The Wheelchair"
"Spirits"
"Mommy"
"Sorry Dear"

House Of God tracklisting:

Side A
"Upon The Cross"
"The Trees Have Eyes"
"Follow The Wolf"

Side B
"House Of God"
"Black Devil"
"The Pact"

Side C
"Goodbye"
"Just A Shadow"
"Help!!!"
"Passage To Hell"

Side D
"Catacomb"
"This Place Is Terrible"
"Peace Of Mind"

Voodoo tracklisting:

Side A
"Louisiana Darkness"
"LOA House"
"Life After Death"

Side B
"Voodoo"
"A Secret"
"Salem"

Side C
"One Down Two To Go"
"Sending Of Dead"
"Sarah's Night"

Side D
"The Exorcist"
"Unclean Spirits"
"Cross Of Baron Samedi"
"If They Only Knew"
"Aftermath"

Status Quo are to release a pair of ‘twin’ live albums, Down Down & Dignified At The Royal Albert Hall and Down Down & Dirty At Wacken on August 17th 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.

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. 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?

Pre-order Down Down & Dirty At Wacken here, and Down Down & Dignified At The Royal Albert Hall here.

"Down Down" (Live At Wacken 2017) video:

Prophecy Productions has announced its partnership with American black metal legends - Xasthur. 

“I'm looking forward to working with Prophecy Productions. I'm glad that they are daring enough to be working with me on this new genre of music I'm building upon and that they're giving it a chance.”  -Scott Conner, Xasthur

From the very beginning, Xasthur has left a deep impact on the US black metal scene and evolved into becoming one of the genre’s most notorious and mysterious acts. Starting as a one-man band, Xasthur has always been noted for its extreme introversion and commitment to dwelling in the shadows. Since 1995, Xasthur has been releasing records that have been viewed as mandatory listening within the scene. 
 
By the early 2010's, Creator Scott Conner, formerly known as Malefic, wanted to reach beyond black metal. Today, Scott pursues a different artistic vision, which is free of scene boundaries, with a more resonating ideology; ‘doomgrass’. This self-coined term encompasses doom inspired vocals, disharmonic touches and a dark atmosphere while integrating instrumentation and complexity seen in folk genres such as blues and bluegrass. For this, Conner has changed his formula completely by opening up to collaboration and establishing a three person line up. The new compositions are dreamy yet comprehensible pieces stripped down to three instruments crafting vast sonic landscapes. While Xasthur's past creations embraced more traditional black metal themes, Conner now has abandoned the genre completely, and uses his lyrics to tackle abysmal and explicit realism. 
 
In the pursuit of bringing their sound to new audiences, Xasthur's signing with Prophecy Productions' ever-expanding roster is the next logical step. Prophecy will launch this partnership with a new, limited edition EP that functions as an exclusive preview of Xasthur's upcoming full length, building on his new doomgrass style. The EP, Aestas Pretium MXVIII, will be sold exclusively on his forthcoming, extensive US tour - 30 dates, starting on July 21st, accompanying Six Organs of Admittance and Wino. In 2018, Xasthur is full of energy and ready to expand. The artist had this to say: “I'm looking forward to working with Prophecy Productions. I'm glad that they are daring enough to be working with me on this new genre of music I'm building upon and that they're giving it a chance.” 
 
Xasthur is: 
Scott Conner - guitar, bass, music, lyrics 
Chris Hernandez - guitar, bass, vocals 
Rachel Roomian - bass

Livesay, the melodic, power rock band from New York, NY, has signed a worldwide record deal with Pittsburgh based, RFL Records. A longtime staple of the neo-classical regime, Livesay are about to unleash a new album to the masses that will embrace the bands past and throttle in a new and exciting future. 

Livesay is a prime example of a band that has flown under the proverbial radar and has self-sustained four incredible albums – Livesay – S/T (1996), Darkest Hour (2000), Awaken the Giant (2010) and Frozen Hell (2016). Livesay is not a novice to the big stage and has opened for a multitude of hard rocks premier acts such as Ronnie James Dio, Y&T, Dokken, Lynch Mob, Ratt, Thin Lizzy, Vince Neil, Sebastian Bach, Quiet Riot, Michael Schenker, UFO, Fates Warning and many others. In addition to appearing at the Rock N’ Skull Festival 2 years in a row, they have headlined many times as well. With very little major backing, it’s been a willingness and belief that has driven this band. Gregg Livesay had this to say, “It has always been about all of the members of this band, not just me.” “I would have nothing without them and their dedication to delivering a top-notch product to the fans.” 

Livesay’s sound is not easily classified; musical diversity is what powers these guys. It can best be described as Neo-Classical, Melodic, Hard Rock meshed with Progressive elements that combined, deliver a sonic, dream symphony.  The band draws influences & inspiration from the likes of Yngwie Malmsteen, Classic Deep Purple, Racer X, Early Dream Theater and Early Fates Warning. With a magnitude of melodic, catchy hooks and vocal harmonies to the dark, mystical, heavy, technical progression, there is something for every rock genre to latch onto. 

The new album titled Chronicles will feature 13 Tracks that bring the history of Livesay full-circle. From the earliest unreleased material, to the best of 1996 – 2016 and culminating with the brand new track and single, “International Man,” this album is certain to draw the attention of hard rock fans no matter what their taste. “Chronicles” drops September 14th on RFL Records.     

"We are really thrilled to be announcing our partnership with RFL Records and Jon Marchewka and look forward to a great future together,” says the band. 

Tracklisting:
“Live & Let Rock”
“Fallen Nights”
“Red Room”
“Evil Eyes”
“No Way Out”
“Under The Table”
“Darkest Hour”
“Love N’ Chains”
“You Won’t See Me Fall”
“Awaken The Giant”
“The Burning Times”
“Aphasia”
“International Man” (Bonus Track)

Lineup:
Mike Gill - Vocals
Gregg Livesay - Lead Guitars, Backing Vocals
Tony Stahl – Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Rich Andrews - Bass, Backing Vocals
Keith Michaels - Drums

Danish power/progressive metal masters Royal Hunt have released a video for "The Wishing Well", a track from the band's Cast In Stone album, out now. Watch below.

Cast In Stone is available in a regular edition (a single CD digipak with 16-page booklet) and a deluxe edition double CD box set with 20-page booklet and bonus material. Order here.

Tracklisting:

"Fistful Of Misery"
"The Last Soul Alive"
"Sacrifice"
"The Wishing Well"
"Cast In Stone"
"A Million Ways To Die"
"Rest In Peace"
"Save Me II"

"The Wishing Well" video:

"Fistful Of Misery" video:

"A Million Ways To Die" lyric video:

Lineup:

André Andersen - keyboards
DC Cooper - vocals
Andreas Passmark - bass
Jonas Larsen - guitars
Andreas "Habo" Johansson - drums

Two years after the release of their crushing debut album Buried In Violence on Napalm Records, Wisconsin’s Product Of Hate are back with the first taste of the next phase.

“Rapture” is the first single from the band’s as-yet-untitled sophomore album, for which they once again joined engineer Scott Creekmore (Broken Hope, Repentance) for recording at Mercenary Digital Studios. Chris Collier (Prong, KXM, Repentance) of CMC21 Productions is handling the mixing and mastering this time around. “Rapture” is available for streaming and download now on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and all major digital platforms. Listen below.

“It’s been a long time coming, but the era of new music from Product Of Hate has finally arrived!,” comments frontman Adam Gilley. “We’re excited to share ‘Rapture’ with the world - it’s mean, it’s heavy, and it’s the perfect song to get you through a long, agonizing day of work.”

“After touring in support of ‘Buried in Violence’ for the two years, we couldn’t be more thrilled to start releasing our new, aggressive material,” adds lead guitarist Geno Rathbone. “The new record is completely tracked and takes everything we did on the first album and cranks it up a few notches. ‘Rapture’ is only the beginning, as we plan to follow it up by releasing a little surprise within the next month or so as a way to thank the amazing fans who’ve shown such undying support to us between these two albums!”

Fourteen songs have been recorded for the new album, with a tracklisting and title to be announced in the near future as the final release plan and partnerships are revealed. Product Of Hate is celebrating the release of “Rapture” tonight with a special Friday the 13th show in direct support of DevilDriver at The Forge in Joliet, Illinois.

LINKIN PARK vocalist Mike Shinoda has released a music video for the song "Lift Off", taken from his solo album "Post Traumatic". The track features guest appearances by DEFTONES frontman Chino Moreno and rapper Machine Gun Kelly.

Shinoda spoke with ET Canada about the songwriting process for "Post Traumatic", which was released on June 15. He explained: "It started in a really dark place. In the beginning, I wasn't leaving my house. It felt very claustrophobic, having lost one of my closest friends and collaborators. We associate who we are, to some degree, with what we do, so I felt very lost."

He continued: "The experience of this last year has been crazy, and I wanted to put it into music, not only to just put a stamp on it and say, 'This happened,' but also to allow the fans and the people who have been along for the ride, to guide them on that journey in terms of keeping up with my narrative or understanding where I'm at."

Asked how difficult it was to write the songs for the album, many of which dealt with the death of LINKIN PARK singer Chester Bennington, Shinoda added: "Life was difficult; music was easy. The music made things easier."

Shinoda also spoke about dealing with his own grief over Bennington's suicide last summer, saying: "I had terrible days, and now I have less bad days. And eventually, I will find a new 'normal,' like a new stasis."

Shinoda played his first solo shows since the death of Bennington on May 12 at the KROQ Weenie Roast in Los Angeles and May 13 at the Identity LA festival, also in L.A. Shinoda mashed up some LINKIN PARK songs along with his solo material, singing some of Chester Bennington's parts from songs like "Bleed It Out". He played "In The End" on piano and let the fans sing most of Chester's vocal parts, though at times he came in and sang his parts.

German heavy metal legends Grave Digger recently announced details for their upcoming studio album, The Living Dead, out on September 14th via Napalm Records. Pre-orders here.

Now the band reveals the first single “Fear Of The Living Dead” and its lyric video.

Chris Boltendahl on the song: “Here it is: the new Grave Digger lyric video. Normally we don't like lyric videos so much - but this one reproduces the atmosphere of the song very well and it’s scary, weird and tough. The song is the first track we have written for the new album and this song contains all trademarks of Grave Digger - and much more: it’s fast, epic and sounds fresh as well. Enjoy people and watch out for the living dead!”

Watch the lyric video below.

Tracklisting:

"Fear Of The Living Dead"
"Blade Of The Immortal"
"When Death Passes By"
"Shadow Of The Warrior"
"The Power Of Metal"
"Hymn Of The Damned"
"What War Left Behind"
"Fist In Your Face"
"Insane Pain"
"Zombie Dance"
"Glory Or Grave" (Bonus Track)

"Fear Of The Living Dead" lyric video:

Album announcement:

Since their founding back in 1980, Grave Digger have been leaders in the German heavy metal scene. They created their very own version of Teutonic heavy music - albums like Heavy Metal Breakdown, Witch Hunter and Tunes Of War became classics in the scene.

Grave Digger will hit the road again in 2019 with a series of headline appearances on their Tour Of The Living Dead, opening in Hannover, Germany on January 11th and finishing in Barcelona, Spain on February 3rd. See the full list of dates below.

Tour Of The Living Dead 2018 (with Burning Witches)

January
11 - Hannover, Germany - MusikZentrum
12 - Andernach, Germany - JUZ Live Club
13 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
14 - München, Germany - Backstage
15 - Aschaffenburg, Germany - Colos-Saal
16 - Saarbrücken, Germany - Garage
17 - Bochum, Germany - Zeche
18 - Glauchau, Germany - Alte Spinnerei
19 - Neuruppin, Germany - Kulturhaus Neuruppin
20 - Rotterdam, Netherlands - Baroeg
22 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
23 - Berlin, Germany - Lido
24 - Bamberg, Germany - Live Musik Club
25 - Regensburg/Obertraublingen, Germany - Eventhalle-Airport
26 - Memmingen, Germany - Kaminwerk
27 - Ludwigsburg, Germany - Rockfabrik
28 - Paris, France - Petit Bain
29 - London, England - The Underworld
30 - Vosselaar, Belgium - Biebob
31 - France - Venue TBA

February
1 - Bilbao, Spain - Santana 27
2 - Madrid, Spain - Mon Live
3 - Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz 2

Lineup:

Chris Boltendahl - Vocals
Axel Ritt - Guitar
Jens Becker - Bass
Stefan Arnold - Drums
Marcus Kniep - Keyboards

(Photo - Jens Howorka)

Powerwolf will release their new album The Sacrament Of Sin worldwide on July 20th via Napalm Records.  The Sacrament Of Sin definitely holds some surprises for you. The special edition comes as 3CD earbook edition with studio album, a covers album and an orchestral album. Communio Lupatuml features the biggest Powerwolf hits covered by international stars of the metal scene. A video for Saltatio Mortis' take on "We Drink Your Blood" can be found below.

Communio Lupatum tracklisting:

"Sacred & Wild" - Epica
"We Drink Your Blood" - Saltatio Mortis
"Kiss Of The Cobra King" - Caliban
"Resurrection By Erection" - Battle Beast
"Night Of The Werewolves" - Heaven Shall Burn
"The Evil Made Me Do It" - Kadavar
"Let There Be Night" - Kissin' Dynamite
"Amen & Attack" - Mille Petrozza (Kreator) & Marc Görtz (Caliban)
"Army Of The Night" - Amaranthe
"Nata vimpi cvrmi da / Ira Sancti (When the Saints Are Going Wild)" - Eluveitie

"We Drink Your Blood" - Saltatio Mortis video:

The Sacrament Of Sin is available as:

Regular Editions:
- 2 x 1 CD Mediabook (36 pages+ 24 pages)
- 1 CD Jewelcase
- 1 LP Gatefold black

Special Editions:
- 1 LP Gatefold green
- 1 LP Gatefold gold
- "Priest-Edition": 3-CD Earbook (Regular-, Cover-, & Orchester Album) + Metal Cross (14 x 10 cm, Antique Copper Look) + Manipel (Preacher Scarf - 150 x 16 cm, Cotton with Embroidered Logo)

Deluxe Hardcover Box (Only Non-Europe):
- 3-CD Earbook (28 x 28 cm, 80 Seiten) incl. Bonus Track (Earbook Exclusive) + Cover Album (Cover Songs – 10 POWERWOLF Hits performed by Various Artists) + Bonus Album (Orchestral Songs – Earbook Exclusive)
- 1-LP in Gatefold (Gold)
- Bonus 1-LP in Silver (Cover Songs – Deluxe Box Exclusive)
- Cover Flag (150 x 100 cm)
- 5 Signed Photo Cards
- Cotton Bag
- Sticker

Pre-order here.

The Sacrament Of Sin tracklisting:

"Fire & Forgive"
"Demons Are A Girl‘s Best Friend"
"Killers With The Cross"
"Incense And Iron"
"Where The Wild Wolves Have Gone"
"Stossgebet"
"Nightside Of Siberia"
"The Sacrament Of Sin"
"Venom Of Venus"
"Nighttime Rebel"
"Fist By Fist (Sacralize Or Strike)"
"Midnight Madonna" (Bonus track, only available at EMP and Napalm Records mailorder)

"Incense And Iron" lyric video:

"Fire & Forgive" video:

"Demons Are A Girl‘s Best Friend" video:

Pre-listening session:

Tour dates:

July
14 - Balingen, Germany - Bang Your Head Festival

August
3 - Rasnov, Romania - Rockstad Extreme Fest
10 - Villena, Spain - ESP Leyendas Del Rock
16 - Dinkelsbühl, Germany - Summer Breeze Open Air
17 - Graz, Austria - Metal On The Hill
18 - Falun, Sweden - Sabaton Open Air

October (with Amaranthe, Kissin Dynamite)
26 - Wiesbaden, Germany - Schlachthof
27 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
29 - Hamburg, Germany - Grosse Freiheit 36
31 - Berlin, Germany - Huxleys

November (with Amaranthe, Kissin Dynamite)
1 - Warsaw, Poland - Progresja
2 - Leipzig, Germany - Haus Auensee
6 - Vienna, Austria - Arena
7 - Milan, Italy - Live Club
9 - Munich, Germany - Tonhalle
10 - Ludwigsburg, Germany - MHP Arena
11 - Eindhoven, Netherlands - Effenaar
12 - London, England - Koko
14 - Lausanne, Switzerland - Les Docks
15 - Zurich, Switzerland - Komplex 457
16 - Geiselwind, Germany - Music Hall
17 - Saarbrücken, Germany - Saarlandhalle

Black Fast has released a video for "Phantom I Am", a track from the Spectre Of Ruin album, out now via Entertainment One. Watch below.

"This track has some really dark and unique progressions, an interesting overall arrangement and a ripper solo," says guitarist and vocalist Aaron Akin. "It's one of the songs that asks for the most repeat listens. Lyrically it sums up the overall theme and vibe of this record. Doused in the adipocere of extinction, the scorched husk peels, and the insect sings."

Like its predecessor, Black Fast’s Spectre Of Ruin was summoned into sharp focus at Mana Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida, with Erik Rutan, the Hate Eternal frontman and ex-Morbid Angel guitarist who has produced albums by genre titans like Cannibal Corpse, Goatwhore, and Six Feet Under. It’s all killer, no filler, demonstrating the destructive force of focused neo-thrash and progressive death-infused heavy metal at its finest.

Black Fast follow the roadmap laid down by the great bands with “Angel” and “Death” in their names, swearing off the trappings of the mainstream with a steadfast dedication to their chosen craft. As vocalist/guitarist, Aaron Akin once summarized, “We’ve pushed our chips all-in since the beginning. We threw caution to the wind. We’re playing metal. We don’t really give a shit about ‘making it.’”  

This music is a vibrant soundtrack to society’s collapse and a celebration of defiant resolution. The Black Fast mission is ruthlessly simple: champion musical aggression, bark at the moon, raise a fist and headbang like there’s no tomorrow.

Order digital copies of the album here, or physical copies here.

Tracklisting:

"Cloak Of Lies"
"Silhouette Usurper"
"Scarecrow And Spectre"
"Phantom I Am"
"Mist Of Ruin"
"Temple Of Leviathan"
"Famine Angel"
"Crescent Aberration"
"Husk"

"Husk":

"Silhouette Usurper":

"Silhouette Usurper" guitar playthrough:

"Cloak Of Lies" video:

Death metal icons Deicide return with Overtures Of Blasphemy, which sees the band return to their roots to create a stellar and uncompromising extreme metal masterpiece. The effort was produced by the world-renowned Jason Suecof (The Black Dahlia Murder, Trivium) at Audio Hammer Studios and will be released through Century Media worldwide on September 14th. A lyric video for the new song "Excommunicated" can be found below.

You can pre-order the album at this location in the following formats:

- Standard CD Jewelcase
- Ltd. box with CD, metal pendant, sticker set and woven patch
- LP with 180 gram vinyl
- Digital album

The LP version is available in these vinyl colours:

- Black vinyl - unlimited
- Silver vinyl - limited to 100 copies, exclusively available at CM Distro Europe
- Clear vinyl - limited to 200 copies, available at various online stores
- White vinyl - limited to 200 copies, exclusively available at Nuclear Blast
- Transparent-red vinyl - limited to 200 copies, exclusively available at EMP

Cover art was created by Zbigniew M. Bielak (Ghost, Paradise Lost, Mayhem). Bielak comments: “If you experienced the death metal boom of the early 90s first hand, you know why Deicide's flaming logo was the ultimate threat in the sanity department. Working with Glen Benton was a great honour and a throwback to the time, when death metal aesthetics were at their vilest. Satan Spawn the Caco Deamon is alive and well.”

Benton states: "This album came together over time, meaning we didn't want to rush it. A few people might remember an interview where Steve Asheim (original member, drummer/songwriter) said 'the material is done, but it's just not there yet.' Well, that was the jumping off point of when this album truly started taking shape and the songs became what they are now... complete, compact and effective. As the band pushed forward, so did the writing process and a few other processes which made the record and the band stronger. The result is Overtures Of Blasphemy, perhaps the group’s strongest release to date. Jason Suecoff lended his considerable talents and attention to detail in making the tracking of the songs as great as they can be and the final mix as sonically brutal, yet as listenable as possible. An arduous process, but one well worth the time and effort."

Tracklisting:

"One With Satan"
"Crawled From The Shadows"
"Seal The Tomb Below"
"Compliments Of Christ"
"All That Is Evil"
"Excommunicated"
"Anointed In Blood"
"Crucified Soul Of Salvation"
"Defying The Sacred"
"Consumed By Hatred"
"Flesh, Power, Dominion"
"Destined To Blasphemy"

"Excommunicated" lyric video:

Lineup:

Glen Benton (vocals, bass)
Steve Asheim (drums)
Kevin Quirion (guitars)
Mark English (guitars)

Tulsa, Oklahoma-based metallers The Agony Scene have dropped another track from their new album Tormentor, out July 20th via Outerloop Records/Cooking Vinyl. The album is available for pre-order here.

"'Serpent's Tongue' was the first song we wrote after getting back together in 2014," said Chris Emmons, guitar. "Lyrically, the song is about individuals who give no fucks about deceiving or trampling on others for personal gain. The track also features a guitar solo performed by the one and only Emil Werstler."

A lyric video for "The Submissive" can be seen below.

"The song is about the abuse of power and trust," the band said. "More specifically - authority figures preying on naivety and using fear as a means to control and manipulate."

Tormentor is the band's first album since 2007's Get Damned (Century Media), which was preceded by 2005's The Darkest Red (Roadrunner) and 2003's self-titled release (Solid State).

The band will appear on the annual Summer Slaughter Tour with Between the Buried and Me, Born of Osiris, Veil of Maya, and more.

THE APOCALYPSE BLUES REVUE will release its new album, "The Shape Of Blues To Come", on July 20 via Provogue/Mascot Label Group.

The third single from the disc, "Nobody Rides For Free", can be streamed below.

Following 2016's self-titled debut, GODSMACK's Shannon Larkin (drums) and Tony Rombola (guitar) return with some more bone-shaking blues with Brian Carpenter (bass) and the shamanistic frontman Ray "Rafer John" Cerbone.

Larkin discovered Cerbone at a biker bar. The singer had no idea that he was speaking to the drummer from GODSMACK; it was just a couple of guys hanging out. "It wasn't a recruitment at all," Larkin says. Just two guys who liked to ride, and enjoy music. "It wasn't like I was a guy in a big band, and he was starstruck at all. I went over to Ray's house with my wife to have dinner, and I happened to see his guitar sitting in the corner. I didn't know what he did, so I asked him to play a song, and I really loved his voice."

Grizzled "Rafer John" may be no spring chicken, but the truth is that this is his first band, though he has for years worked as an acoustic blues troubadour. He picks up the story. "Next thing you know, Shannon calls and says that he and Tony are down the road in a recording studio working on a blues song, and they needed someone to sing it," he recalled. "I said, 'Yeah, I know a few guys who could sing that for you, and he said, 'No. I want you to sing it!' I got in there, sang that song, and the rest is history."

This is more than a side project. "We're very excited about this second record," affirms Larkin. "I've never seen four wills join so strongly with one intent as I have in this band. That's something special."

Larkin tells of a pre-production meeting with producer Dave Fortman (GODSMACK, EVANESCENCE, ANTHRAX) at The Vibe Recording Studios in Southwest Florida (Fort Myers), in which the two settled into the control room, ingested certain mind-expanding compounds, and they then proceeded to listen to many hours of the records they loved the most. The phrase Larkin comes back to again and again are, "it has to be real, it has to be genuine." This record is exactly that. It drips with the existential stew of four guys playing together in a small room, in fact, that is exactly much of what we are hearing — the band laid the basic tracks in just one long day, but they captured it all with the cinematic vision and clarity of a great filmmaker.

Larkin continues: "Our mission is to see if APOCALYPSE can reshape the shape of blues to come. We're a different shade of blue. Our approach is to write and play as a traditional blues band. Our original influences came from [LED] ZEPPELIN, Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughan. We came to the blues later in life, and we've found our groove and sound, and it sounds unique and original to us. We don't try to hide our rock influences, it comes through creating a new shade of blue."

The band again wrote together for this record, but in a strange twist of coincidence, the tracks selected were all lyrically from the pen of Shannon Larkin. In terms of lyrical content, he reveals that his lyrics are often spiritual in nature, but he hesitates to define his meanings as he defers to the imaginations of the listener to find their own meanings.

Somewhere there is a kid who has been listening to GODSMACK, who will now come to know THE APOCALYPSE BLUE REVUE, and from this revelation of the blues they will back pedal to discover the long and honorably trod path that leads to Robert Johnson, the Kings (B.B., Albert, and Freddie), all the way forward to THE DOORS and the British blues rock boom, which finally leads straight to today.

Rombola provides the six-string fireworks with tight, tough riffs and incendiary solos, while Larkin brought a sheaf of lyrics that are straight ahead reflections of the biker's blues life. As close as they get to metal mythology is on the sultry, "Sincere", in which Cerbone intones, "Some say I worship the devil, I say he worships me." These songs are about walking the walk of life. Somewhere between Larkin's metal alter-ego and Cerbone's Americana roots there lies a place where passion, the roots of the blues, and the combined experience of everyone in the room work together to create a tantalizing path.

Sonically, "The Shape Of Blues To Come" covers a lot of ground, from the traditional blues changes of "Sincere" to the more cerebral textures found on the FLOYD-ian "What A Way To Go" with Rombolo's evocative late-night Strat tones, Larkin's soft, musical touch on the drums, sweet background choirs, and Cerbone's sung-spoken recitation of "What a way to go, when the wind's never at your back." "Open Spaces", which opens the album with a nod to Jimi's blues, then gradually ups the ante as the band's rock blood begins to boil and cast about with heavily flanged guitars and vocals is an ideal way to get a panoramic view of what is to come. The beauty lies in the fact that this band has been six years in the making, and while the album lies rooted in very traditional blues structures and sounds, Rombola, Larkin and Carpenter's rock roots do shine through. The album's closing number, "Noumenal Blues", finds Cerbone duet with Nancy Koerner, whose silky tones match Ray's earthy baritone alongside Carpenter's languidly loping bass line and some fingerpicked acoustic guitar before Larkin, Carpenter and Rombola put the record to sleep with a bit of unabashed rock.

There is a healthy dose of psychedelia that infuses the record, filtered through the blues of Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour and Billy F. Gibbons, and guitarist Tony Rombola runs the gamut from earthy comping to explosive shards of metallic but no less bluesy slide guitar on "We Are One". Rombola's riffing, writing, and soloing is a beautiful blend of chops and taste. This is a great guitar record, and Rombola displays a lifetime of woodshedding, listening, learning, and his playing is a thrill from beginning to end. Another important piece of the puzzle here is the rhythm section of Larkin and Carpenter. Carpenter's huge, gritty tones are a perfect complement to the dynamic drum work, and together they have the feel and sound of a classic blues rock engine room.

"The Shape Of Blues To Come" track listing:

01. Open Spaces

02. We Are One

03. Hell To Pay

04. Have You Heard?!

05. To Hell With You

06. Nobody Rides For Free

07. Sincere

08. What A Way To Go

09. Noumenal Blues

SYSTEM OF A DOWN guitarist Daron Malakian's long-dormant side project, SCARS ON BROADWAY, has released a brand new single. "Guns Are Loaded" is taken from SCARS ON BROADWAY's new album, "Dictator", which is due on July 20. The band itself, now rebranded DARON MALAKIAN AND SCARS ON BROADWAY, has undergone a complete overhaul, with none of the members from the group's 2008 debut — including SYSTEM drummer John Dolmayan — appearing on the new songs.

Malakian explained the personnel changes in an online post, saying: "Nobody quit. When I first started SCARS, I always said that it would be different lineups from album to album. Depends on the type of direction I want to take. Different musicians work for different styles. That is partly why I added my name in front of the band's."

"Guns Are Loaded", "Lives" and the "Dictator" title track are available as instant downloads when pre-ordering the album ahead of its release on iTunes or Amazon.

"Dictator" saw Malakian write, produce and play every instrument — including all vocals — over the course of a 10-day recording session. The album's cover art was created by Daron's father, Vartan Malakian, who also designed the artwork for SYSTEM OF A DOWN's twin 2005 releases, "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize".

"I told my Dad that the album was going to be titled 'Dictator'," recalls Daron. "I didn't go into any other details. I went to my parents' house a week later and he already had the album cover done."

"Dictator" was recorded in 2012 but has remained unreleased — until now.

"I recorded the album, and then around that time, SYSTEM started playing live again," Daron told Rolling Stone. "So every time we'd play live, there'd be conversations like, 'Maybe we'll do an album.' So being the guy who wrote the majority of almost all the SYSTEM songs in the past, I was, like, 'All right, let me see what's happening with it. Let me hold on to these songs and let me see how this develops.' We talked about it and we weren't all on the same page. Not everybody was into the idea. But every time we played live, it kept coming up.

"I just got to the point now where a lot of people were asking about the SCARS album — I hear it all the time — so I was. like, 'I'm gonna put this album out.' Not knowing what's happening with SYSTEM has kept me from putting my own stuff out. Too much time has passed, and I'm really excited to finally get some music out finally."

Daron also confirmed that everything on the album is from 2012. "Yeah," he said. "I played everything on it. I went into the studio and recorded an album in less than 10 days. I played all the instruments — the drums, everything — and I've just been sitting on it for six years. [Laughs]"

SCARS ON BROADWAY has just the one LP to its credit so far and last performed in 2012 as the opening act for DEFTONES in Los Angeles.

The group has only played live sporadically over the years: a headlining trek in 2008 was canceled, with Malakian citing his lack of enthusiasm and "his heart not being into touring" as the chief reasons behind the decision.

The guitarist later explained that he thought it was "almost too soon" for him to go on the road after SYSTEM OF A DOWN went on hiatus in 2006, also citing issues in his personal life that "made it impossible" for him to tour.

SYSTEM OF A DOWN, which has toured intermittently since ending its hiatus in 2011, has some shows coming up this year but has not released new music in 13 years.

Rare video footage of Destruction performing the tracks "The Butcher Strikes Back" and "Total Desaster" at the 2004 edition of Germany's Wacken Open Air festival is available for streaming below:

Destruction frontman Schmier recently announced his split with Pänzer, which also features Pontus Norgren (Hammerfall), V.O. Pulver (G.U.R.D., Poltergeist), and Stefan Schwarzmann (Accept, ex-Running Wild).

Says Schmier: "I had some great fun with Pänzer the last years but now it is time for me to move on! Yes I need to let go. I wanna focus 100% on Destruction and the upcoming challenges. A new drummer and a new record... I wanna thank all the Pänzer boys and hope they will go on without me, I was never a great heavy metal singer but I had fun doing it! 😛

"Good-byes are never easy but I need to do this for the sake of my lifetime project, my privacy and my future! Thanks to those who supported my Pänzer years - United we stand! See you hopefully soon on the stages of the world."

ROAR! Rock Of Angels Records announces the signing of Full House Brew Crew to the label.

Full House Brew Crew is a 4-piece band that was found during 2009 by Rotting Christ bassist Vagelis "Van" Karzis. Vagelis is the lead singer, lead guitar player and the main songwriter of the band. In 2009 he wrote 10 heavy groove songs influenced from bands like Pantera, Black Label Society, Five Finger Death Punch, Godsmack, Metallica and in 2011, having Spiros (bass) and Sakis (drums) by his side, they recorded and self-released their first full-length album called Bet It All.

Album number 2, is already finished and just like a thunderbolt charging straight from the top of Mount Olympus, these heavy-riffing monsters are ready to unleash it via ROAR! Rock Of Angels Records. More information on the album title and release date coming soon.

Full House BC are:

Vagelis Karzis - Guitars, Vocals
Spiros Dafalias - Bass
George Tzatzakis - Guitars
Alex Keito - Drums

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.

In the second trailer for "Volume II - Power Drunk Majesty", the core four members discuss the long list of all-stars that came together on the record as well as the back stories of the collaborations.

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

The official video for the first single from the disc, "Mother Of Sin", featuring Ellsworth, can be seen below.

"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)

"Mortification Of The Vulgar Sun", the new video from Germany's progressive death metal masters OBSCURA, can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's new album, "Diluvium", which is due out July 13 on CD, LP and digital via Relapse Records.

OBSCURA completes its long-running, four-album conceptual circle with the release of "Diluvium" (defined as a great oceanic flood), the band's most evocative, diverse and vibrant release to date.


Recorded with longtime producer V. Santura (TRIPTYKON, PESTILENCE) at Woodshed Studios in Landshut, Germany, "Diluvium" is a stunning achievement for the illustrious quartet and a landmark release for progressive metal as a whole. Complete with all the band's signature elements plus groundbreaking polyrhythms, dramatic songwriting, and jaw-dropping virtuosity, "Diluvium" will go down in the annals of metal history as one of the most astonishing performances the genre has to offer.

Vocalist/guitarist Steffen Kummerer told Distorted Sound about the lyrical concepts covered on the "Cosmogenesis", "Omnivium", "Akróasis" and "Diluvium" albums and how the four are linked: "The four records are linked within the four colors red-blue, green-yellow, the titles Omni-vium-Dilu-vium, Cosmogene-sis-Akró-sis and build up a cycle of birth, evolution, consciousness and death. All in all, the four records represent a life cycle. All lyrics are based on three different topics — philosophy, astrophysics and religion at the same time — while being in either a meta or macro point of view. Musically, the albums are linked within melody lines or themes. For example, 'Emergent Evolution' is linked to 'Incarnated', 'The Conjuration' to 'Velocity' and 'The Seventh Aeon' to 'Orbital Elements'. Also, within the lyrics, a few themes I started with during the first three records are finished through 'Diluvium'. 'Sermon Of The Seven Suns' was taken by 'The Seventh Aeon', for example. If you sit down and read clearly through the four albums, there is much more to find and achieve."

"Diluvium" track listing:

01. Clandestine Stars

02. Emergent Evolution

03. Diluvium

04. Mortification Of The Vulgar Sun

05. Ethereal Skies

06. Convergence

07. Ekpyrosis

08. The Seventh Aeon

09. The Conjuration

10. An Epilogue To Infinity

11. A Last Farewell (Bonus Track)

Additionally, OBSCURA has announced a North American headlining tour, set to take place from mid-September through early October. The band will be joined by BEYOND CREATION, ARCHSPIRE, INFERI and EXIST for what is sure to be the most talked about progressive death metal tour of the year.

Album art credit: Orion Landau

Photo credit: Christian Martin Weiss

SMASHING PUMPKINS performed a surprise cover of LED ZEPPELIN's "Stairway To Heaven" during the opening concert of their reunion tour Thursday (July 12) in Glendale, Arizona. It marked the first time Billy Corgan and company had performed the classic song live.

The "Shiny And Oh So Bright" North American arena tour is SMASHING PUMPKINS' first in nearly 20 years to feature founding members Corgan, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. Longtime SMASHING PUMPKINS guitarist Jeff Schroeder, bassist Jack Bates, and keyboardist Katie Cole are also taking part, as the band moves to a three-guitar lineup to better emulate the signature tones and textures of their albums.

Last month, SMASHING PUMPKINS dropped "Solara", the first recording in over 18 years to feature founding Corgan, Iha and Chamberlin. Recorded in Malibu, California at Shangri La Studios with producer Rick Rubin and guitarist Jeff Schroeder, "Solara" is available now to stream and download on all digital music platforms via Martha's Music under license to Napalm Records.

Corgan, Iha and Chamberlin last played together on 2000's "Untitled". "Untitled" was Iha's last PUMPKINS recording prior to "Solara", while Chamberlin's was 2009's "FOL".

Original SMASHING PUMPKINS bassist D'Arcy Wretzky is is not taking part at all in the band's reunion after recently claiming that Corgan offered to have her come out and do sporadic appearances on the current reunion tour.

Formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988, SMASHING PUMPKINS released their heralded debut album, "Gish", in 1991 and found mainstream success with 1993's four-times-platinum "Siamese Dream" and 1995's 10-times-platinum "Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness".

Former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen has revealed the latest song from her brand new live-art-album and video "Act II".

"Victim Of Ritual" was recorded live at the Woodstock festival in Poland and can be seen below.

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 1 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 breathtaking live performance of one of her shows in Milan, Italy, and previously unreleased interviews and photo galleries.

The theatrical rock adventure "Act II" combines two incredible-yet-slightly-different live performances on video: The first chapter, "Metropolis Alive", has been filmed two months prior to the release of Tarja's 2016 success "The Shadow Self". Twenty winners from all over Europe were lucky to witness Tarja's set at Metropolis Studios in London, where the singer performed songs from her then unreleased album — for the first time in front of an audience.


"Act II" is the second chapter and was recorded on November 29, 2016 at the magnificent Teatro della Luna Allago in Milan, Italy and includes numerous hits from all four Tarja albums such as "Innocence", "Die Alive", "Until My Last Breath", as well as an incredible cover of MUSE's classic "Supremacy". That night's setlist also enchants the soprano's long-time fans with a medley consisting of the distinctive NIGHTWISH evergreens: "Ever Dream", "Slaying The Dreamer" and "The Riddler". It was all topped off with a remarkable acoustic set, which presented Tarja classics in a brand new way.


Even though the shows deliberately differ in look, sound, approach to the music and adrenaline, both have one thing in common: from the very first to the very last tune, the state of the art production displays Tarja's energetic performance and her graceful, charming presence.


"Act II" will be 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.