Progressive rock trio Alizarin have released the first single from their debut album Cast Zenith. The track, titled “Anomaly”, can be streamed below or at the links provided. The album is set to be released July 20th, in CD, digital, and streaming formats.

Cast Zenith was tracked both at Big Scary Tree Studios in Sunland, CA and at the Alizarin home studio in May. The seven tracks cover a wide spectrum of instrumental sonic landscapes and emphasize the melodic journey over intense technique (though the album does offer plenty of head-imploding technical jargon for the speed fiends). Consider if King Crimson and Opeth had a baby but were forced to raise it outside the city, due to an overabundance of djentrification. This may be a place to start but Alizarin is a group that strives to create compelling music that defies rock conventions.

The album also features guest keyboard solos from Adam Holzman (of Miles Davis, Steven Wilson, and Brave New World fame).

Tracklisting:

“Faint Home”
“Anomaly”
“The Vast Enigma”
“Cast Zenith”
“Gethsemane”
“Luminous Apparition”

“Anomaly”:

One Life All-In, featuring members of The Spudmonsters, Abbath and Benighted, have released a video for "Change", a track from their debut EP, The A7 Session.

Despite the fact that this band comes from the hardcore and metal scenes, this new video shows that they're also able to play in punk-rock playgrounds. Watch below.

Lineup:

Don Foose (The Spudmonsters, Run Devil Run) - Vocals
Franco - Bass
Kevin Foley (Sepultura, Abbath, Benighted) - Drums
Clem - Guitars

this_inline_share_toolbox'>




In a recent interview with Spain's Metal Journal, JUDAS PRIEST bassist Ian Hill was asked if he can foresee the band one day existing without him, guitarist Glenn Tipton and singer Rob Halford. "Well, that sort of thing you don't know until it happens, do you?" he responded. "We have to wait and see on that one. And it's not down to us; it's more down to the fans than anything else — whether they'll accept that or not. It's up to them, really — not us."

Hill was also asked if he expects guitarist Andy Sneap to remain a guest member of JUDAS PRIEST even after the "Firepower" tour ends. "We'll see," he said. "Andy's got, obviously, his other career, which is a record producer. And this tour's gonna go on into next year anyway, so we've got a lot of time to start thinking about that. So we'll see where we stand at the end [of it]. This tour will go into next year — maybe to the end of next year. We'll see."

Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease four years ago — after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier — but only recently announced he was going to sit out touring activities in support of PRIEST's latest album, "Firepower". The guitarist, who is now 70 and has performed on every PRIEST record 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 tour by "Firepower" album producer Andy Sneap, also known for his work as the guitar player in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT.

PRIEST will return to the United States at the end of August for a co-headlining run with fellow classic heavy rockers DEEP PURPLE.

The GUNS N' ROSES "Appetite For Destruction" 3D vinyl is officially licensed and offered in a limited edition of only 1987 through KnuckleBonz, Inc. Each 3D vinyl statue is hand-painted and comes with a certificate of authenticity printed on the back. Created to capture some of the most iconic images in album art, this 3D vinyl is 12 inches tall and 12 inches wide, and this unique collectible can be desk-mounted or wall-mounted. Only 1,987 are made.

"In 1987, GUNS N' ROSES released 'Appetite For Destruction', arguably the greatest debut album of all time," remarks Tony Simerman, founder/creative director of KnuckleBonz, Inc. "After all these years, the band is still very closely tied to the iconic skull and Celtic cross album art depicted here. It was a sculptor's dream to work on the detailing of the skulls for the five original members."

Pre-order now at this location.

GUNS N' ROSES has just released a deluxe edition of "Appetite For Destruction". The package includes 73 songs — including 49 tracks that never before been released — spread out across four CDs and seven 12-inch 180-gram vinyl LPs.

In addition to a remastered version of the original album, the set contains the 1986 "Live ?!*@ Like A Suicide" EP, a second EP containing B-sides from the era, 25 previously unreleased recordings from the band's 1986 sessions at Sound City studios, and two previously unreleased tracks from the recording sessions. A super deluxe version also includes a 96-page hand bound book with unreleased photos from singer Axl Rose's personal archive, 12 new lithographs visualizing each song from the original LP, and replica memorabilia.

There are no plans — at least for now — for the original band that cut "Appetite For Destruction" to reassemble and perform the album in its entirety on tour, despite rumors that such an event was in the works.

GUNS N' ROSES recently returned to the road for a seven-week European jaunt, continuing the semi-reunion tour that started in April 2016 and features Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan.

Former drummer Steven Adler and guitarist Izzy Stradlin, who both played on "Appetite", have not been part of the reunion trek, although Adler did play drums on two songs at a handful of stops on the tour.

"Appetite For Destruction" was certified in September 2008 by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) for U.S. sales in excess of 18 million copies.

The LP has reportedly accumulated worldwide sales in excess of 28 million since its 1987 release.

The album's original cover, based on the Robert Williams painting "Appetite For Destruction", depicted a robot rapist about to be punished by a metal avenger.

After several music retailers refused to stock the album, they compromised and put the controversial cover art inside, replacing it with a cover depicting a cross and skulls of the five band members.

Sunday's (July 1) public memorial for Vinnie Paul Abbott in Dallas, Texas included emotional tributes from a number of Vinnie's fellow musicians, some of whom appeared in person while others sent short video speeches expressing their affection for the fallen drummer. One musician who appeared via video was SOUNDGARDEN and PEARL JAM drummer Matt Cameron, who stated in his message (see video below): "Hello, this is Matt Cameron. On behalf of the entire SOUNDGARDEN band and crew, we'd like to offer our deepest condolences to the Abbott family on the passing of the great Vinnie Paul.

"I thank you for the invitation to the memorial service, but I'm on tour, and I really appreciate the invitation. I wish I could be there.

"I was in awe of Vinnie's playing — his double kick, precision, his power, his groove. The style of drumming that Vinnie helped create and perfect was incredibly technical and incredibly difficult. He did it with such grace and power, and you could tell he loved what he was doing. He had so much charisma onstage. He loved his fans, he loved his band — you could just tell he loved what he was doing.

"There was a tour in 1992 that SOUNDGARDEN was on. We opened for SKID ROW and there was one show where we shared the bill with PANTERA. We had the difficult task of following PANTERA. I had never seen them at that point before 1992, and at that time, I was pretty confident with my band; I wasn't really intimidated that easily. But after watching PANTERA smoke us, I was a little intimidated. And I was in awe of the band.

"After the show, I kind of sheepishly went up to Phil [Anselmo] and Rex [Brown], and I introduced myself. And they were total sweethearts; they could not have been nicer. They invited me on the bus, and I met Darrell and then Vinnie. Darrell rolled a big fatty, Vinnie gave me a beer… They were really hospitable guys. And I just remember that being a life lesson where I decided to stick my tail between my legs and go meet the masters.

"I'll never forget that experience of working with PANTERA in the early '90s.

"I miss those guys a lot. I wish they were around. They were taken from us far too early, but their music will live on forever, and Vinnie Paul will live on forever. God bless."

The PANTERA and HELLYEAH drummer was buried on Saturday (June 30) next to his brother, PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, and their mother, Carolyn, at Moore Memorial Gardens cemetery in Arlington, Texas. He was laid to rest in a custom "Kiss Kasket" provided by KISS members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley as a gift to Vinnie's family. Vinnie was also buried in some of his trademark clothes, including his hat, shoes and flannel.

Speakers at the service included former GRIM REAPER guitarist Nick Bowcott, while among the attendees were original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley, DISTURBED's David Draiman, NICKELBACK's Chad Kroeger, ANTHRAX's Charlie Benante, FOZZY's Chris Jericho and ROUGH CUTT's Paul Shortino.

Vinnie passed away on June 22 at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 54. The drummer's death "did not appear suspicious," according to the official police report. Sources close to Vinnie told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he suffered a "major heart attack," but that information has not been corroborated yet by an official source.

Quality multi-camera footage of BEAST IN BLACK performing the song "Blind And Frozen" on June 29 at LankaFest in Puolanka, Finland can be seen below.

BEAST IN BLACK is the Helsinki, Finland-based metal band led by former BATTLE BEAST guitarist and main songwriter Anton Kabanen.

BEAST IN BLACK's debut album, "Berserker", was released last November via Nuclear Blast. The disc was produced by Kabanen and recorded primarily at his studio, Sound Quest Studio. The cover artwork is a collaboration between Anton and Roman Ismailov, who was the original illustrator and graphic artist for BATTLE BEAST.

Kabanen told Kaaos TV that BEAST IN BLACK was pleased with the reaction to "Berserker". "We had no expectations, basically," he said. "We felt that, 'Okay, we did a good job,' and were happy with the album and the reviews kept coming in and they kept coming and it was more than we expected. Good and bad, but mostly good. YouTube is a big part nowadays for every band and there, we also kind of took a 'rocket launch' beginning. People are watching the video very much, the first music video we released. That also plays a big role nowadays. One song can matter very much. People don't have that much album listening going on in this world nowadays. They listen to single songs in their playlists, so we've had help with that."

Anton went on to say that he was relieved that BEAST IN BLACK has gotten off to such a strong start. "I remember when we finally released the first song and the feedback started to come. It felt like I was out of jail, so to speak. It's been a long process. When you work on something for quite a long time, you don't know any more what's the reality, is it good or bad, you become blind to your own stuff, but you do. When it was out, the first song, it felt like, 'Yes! It's working. People like it.' We did something that's meaningful and that feels rewarding. It's like an out of the jail feeling, although I've never been in jail, but mental jail, mental prison."

Kabanen was dismissed from BATTLE BEAST in February 2015 due to what was described at the time as "insurmountable disagreements" with the other members of the band.

According to The Sun, British heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN are being sued by their former singer Dennis Willcock for allegedly stealing the lyrics to some of their classic early songs.

Willcock claims to have written the words to the tracks "Prowler", "Charlotte The Harlot", "Phantom Of The Opera", "Iron Maiden" and "Prodigal Son", which were recorded and released by MAIDEN on their first two albums, 1980's self-titled effort and 1981's "Killers".

According to the lawsuit, "Prowler" "was inspired by a friend of Mr. Willcock and was performed by Mr. Willcock wearing a rubber mask"; "Charlotte The Harlot" "was inspired by a colleague of Mr. Willcock"; and "Phantom Of The Opera" "was based on the novel by Gaston Le Roux". The lawsuit adds that IRON MAIDEN performed a song called "Iron Maiden" "at the time when Mr. Willcock joined the band. In substitution for the then-existing lyrics, Mr. Willcock wrote new lyrics to fit in with a theatrical stunt involving a sword and fake blood." Willcock also claims that he co-wrote — with IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris — the lyrics to a song called "Prodigal Son" "in or about 1978."

Also suing IRON MAIDEN is musician Terry Wilson-Slesser, who claims his lyrics for BECKETT's 1974 song "A Rainbow's Gold" were lifted by MAIDEN for 1982's "Hallowed Be Thy Name".

Willcock, who fronted MAIDEN from 1976 to 1978, was replaced in the band by Paul Di'Anno. He claims never knew his lyrics were used because he never listened to the band's albums.

The lawsuit, which names as defendants IRON MAIDEN members Steve Harris and Dave Murray, along with their publishing company Imagem, seeks damages in excess of £2 million (approximately $2.64 million).

Willcock was MAIDEN's second singer. The band's original vocalist, Paul Day, co-founded the group in 1976 along with Harris.

An IRON MAIDEN spokesperson told The Sun: "This is outrageous. Absolutely ridiculous."

Willcock and Wilson-Slesser's lawsuit was filed by retired rock band manager Barry McKay, who previously took Harris and Murray to court over "Hallowed Be Thy Name", claiming MAIDEN reproduced major parts of another song, "Life's Shadow", co-written nearly a decade earlier by musician Brian Quinn, under the name Brian Ingham.

"Life's Shadow" was a collaboration between Quinn and Robert Barton, who later recorded the song for the self-titled 1974 album from his band BECKETT. At the time, BECKETT was managed by Rod Smallwood, who went on to become the manager of IRON MAIDEN.

In court documents, Harris's lawyers admitted he saw BECKETT perform in 1973 and said that BECKETT's debut was one of his favorite albums when it was first released. They also acknowledged that some six lines from "Life's Shadow" were "referenced" in "Hallowed Be Thy Name".

Although McKay said that Harris and Murray were ordered to pay £900,000 in costs and damages, a spokesperson for IRON MAIDEN told BLABBERMOUTH.NET that the actual figure was £100,000. The MAIDEN representative also referred to McKay as "a serial litigant." McKay later fired back, calling Harris and Murray and their managers "bad losers."

In a brand new interview with Metal Wani, SYMPHONY X guitarist Michael Romeo was asked if there are any plans for the band to regroup next month to begin work on material for the follow-up to 2015's "Underworld" album. "Yeah, I mean at some point," he said. "I just finished up [my solo album 'War Of The Worlds / Pt. 1'], so I'm kind of just concentrating on this and just kind of waiting to hear where Russ [vocalist Russell Allen] is at too. I spoke to him two weeks ago. He's been through a lot with the accident, and I think it puts everything in perspective a little different, so I'm not really sure what he wants to do. So we're just kind of playing that by ear. But at some point, we'll figure out what we're gonna do and just move ahead. We're just waiting to see. Like I said, he's definitely been through a lot — the tragedy of the accident, it's gotta be a lot. So I gave him the time… I just gave him a little time to sort things out. It's totally understandable. Anybody who's been through that kind of situation, that's heavy, that's a lot. So, hey, take your time, collect your thoughts and just let us know what we're doing."

In July 2017, Allen and his ADRENALINE MOB bandmates were involved in a crash that killed the group's bassist, David Zablidowsky.

The singer, who is also a member of TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, later said that TSO's 2017 tour saw him feeling "more free" than ever before to express himself. "The stage has been the safest place on earth for me, man," Allen told Brad Parmerter in an interview. "I feel at home up there, more than I've ever been so that's really where it's at. I step out on stage and whatever things that are coming out of my mouth are right from my heart. There's no filter. I'm not thinking, 'Oh, this is gonna be cool?' You know what I'm saying? I think that's what you're seeing — a man who has been through hell and back. I'm just up there loving life and showing my love for the crowd through these songs. That's the best way I can explain it."

SYMPHONY X completed an extensive tour behind "Underworld" in 2016, including a U.S. run of shows with OVERKILL and a pair of headlining performances in Australia.

"War Of The Worlds / Pt. 1" will be released on July 27 via Music Theories Recordings / Mascot Label Group.

Joe Rock of West Babylon, New York's WBAB radio station recently conducted an interview with former THE BLACK CROWES and current THE MAGPIE SALUTE guitarist Rich Robinson. During the chat, which can be heard at this location, Rich once again said that there is little hope for a reunion of the group he formed with his older brother, singer Chris Robinson.

"Being in a band [editor's note: referring to THE MAGPIE SALUTE] that seems a lot more functional now, I wouldn't really ever wanna wish to play in THE CROWES again," he said. "It's too toxic.

"I don't have a brother anymore," he continued. "I don't speak to him. We don't speak. I haven't spoken to him in four years. And I think that that is what it is. So I would never wanna go down that road again.

"It is a shame that it became about money, which it did. Regardless of how Chris wanted to spin it, or whatever it was, or he can go on 'Howard Stern' and say that I'm in a cover band, or whatever he does and says, and then puts together a cover band with musicians that never played on BLACK CROWES records to tour, like he did last year, or this year. Ultimately, he wanted everyone's money. He felt that he was more important and bigger and better than everyone else, and that's delusional and not the case, and I just felt like it wasn't very righteous to live that way. And so the band split up. And now, with getting a few years away from it, I'm pretty happy it did, because I wouldn't have been in this situation that I feel like I can really add to something that is never gonna go down that road. We're vigilant about not letting it go down that road."

THE BLACK CROWES played their final show in December 2013.

Chris Robinson recently put together a band called AS THE CROW FLIES to perform primarily BLACK CROWES songs. Joining the singer in the new group are fellow former CROWES members Adam MacDougall, Andy Hess and Audley Freed, plus Marcus King and Tony Leone.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Chris Robinson was asked whether he misses his estranged brother. He responded: "All of us have our lives and I wish him all the best and I only want him to be happy, healthy and safe with his family and the people that he loves. Other than that, no."

THE MAGPIE SALUTE, which features Rich Robinson and Marc Ford from THE BLACK CROWES, bassist Sven Pipien (also from the CROWES) along with lead singer John Hogg (HOOKAH BROWN, MOKE), drummer Joe Magistro and guitarist Nico Bereciartua, will release its debut album, "High Water I", on August 10. It is the follow-up to last year's "The Magpie Salute (Live)", which was largely recorded in front of a studio audience in Woodstock, New York.

MESHUGGAH drummer Tomas Haake spoke to Finland's Kaaos TV about the recent passing of PANTERA and HELLYEAH drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott. He said: "I was stunned at first. Obviously, he was way too young — only 54, I think. Yeah, it definitely came as a shock. I mean, I don't know him that well, but, of course, over the years, we have run into each other and we have hung out and had beers and talked about life and music and stuff. So it's definitely a sad loss. And what can you say? Too early."

Haake went on to say that the first time he "actually met and hung out with" Vinnie Paul "and talked to him" was around nine or 10 years ago in Australia. And although MESHUGGAH never toured with either PANTERA or HELLYEAH, "we have run into [HELLYEAH] and we played a lot of the same stages around the same time at festivals and stuff like that," Tomas said. "So we definitely ran into them a bunch of times."

According to Haake, PANTERA's music had a "huge" influence on MESHUGGAH in the early years of the Swedish band's career. "I mean, during the grunge years, if you wanna call it that, early '90s, where metal kind of just dipped down and there was not much going on, you had METALLICA, of course, 'cause they were always big, but other than METALLICA, PANTERA was the only band that kind of just got stronger through those years. And for us, early on in our career, they had a huge impact. Of course. Definitely."

Asked what, in his opinion, made PANTERA's music so special, Tomas said: "I don't know. They certainly had a unique style of drumming, unique guitar playing, unique vocals — the best metal singer, probably, on the planet. So just the combination. The songwriting was excellent. It was really brutal, beatdown music and had little hints of hardcore, a little bit of older hard rock, if you look at their early years, before the [major-label] PANTERA stuff. So, I don't know… It was just a really cool mix. Also, their productions really kind of stood out and everything was really clear — you could really hear everything. So [it was] just a combination of all those things that made PANTERA a great band."

Haake also talked specifically about Vinnie Paul's drumming during his time with PANTERA, saying: "That was one of the things that stood out early on too. He had some things that he did, both with his feet and hands, that were kind of a new thing and that I think a whole generation of drummers kind of snipped off on and started using a little bit — where you do, like, three hits on two bass drums, and stuff like that. So definitely signature Vinnie Paul stuff. They basically shaped a whole generation of musicians, for sure, in metal — there's no doubt."

Haake said last month that fans shouldn't expect to see a new MESHUGGAH studio album from before "2020 at the earliest."

The experimental Swedish metal group's last disc, "The Violent Sleep Of Reason", came out in 2016 and resulted in a "Best Metal Performance" Grammy nomination for the song "Clockworks".

Vinnie passed away on June 22 at his home in Las Vegas. He was buried on Saturday (June 30) next to his brother and their mother, Carolyn, at Moore Memorial Gardens cemetery in Arlington, Texas.

The official lyric video for the song "From My Tower" 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 will be 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

LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler says that he implored Vinnie Paul Abbott not to reform PANTERA without "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott.

Ever since Dimebag was murdered in December 2004, people persistently called for Vinnie to consider reuniting with singer Philip Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown, with guitarist Zakk Wylde standing in for Vinnie's late brother. But Vinnie continually rejected the idea, saying that such a reunion would not be "right at all."

While paying tribute to Vinnie during an appearance on the "Talk Is Jericho" podcast, Adler discussed his feelings on a hypothetical PANTERA "reunion," saying that he spoke to Vinnie "at length about that. Not that my opinion mattered whatsoever, but I encouraged him repeatedly, 'Please, don't. It's not right,'" he said.

"As much as I love Zakk, or whoever else might be able to do it, and I know the fans would want that, and I know there is this concept of, 'Do it for the fans. Do it for the songs. Celebrate this,' it's celebrated by the fact that it's over; it's celebrated by the fact that we all remember it well with the appropriate pieces to the puzzle," he continued.

Adler went on to say that the key to PANTERA's success was the right combination of musicians complementing each other applying their talents toward a common goal.

"There's a chemistry you have as a band, and sometimes in my band, it can become tumultuous, it can become difficult, and sometimes those things, actually, are beneficial in ways that you push each other creatively and kind of get around the obstacles," he said. "But in [PANTERA's] case, it was a positive chemistry… No, I don't know the internals of how everything fell apart and how things went down, obviously — it didn't go that way the whole time — but I really love the idea of it not being… It's not that Vinnie said 'no'; it's that it wasn't possible. Whatever other unit would be put together, it's not capable of creating the chemistry necessary to put on the show that Vinnie and his brother did."

Chris also shared fond memories of Vinnie, who died last month, saying: "I really feel like he and his brother kind of set the standard for what the good-guy model is. And sadly — I don't obviously know everyone everywhere — I feel like he may have been the last good guy. In the way that we're all self-conscious about what we do, and we're tied up in our daily activities and worried about what it is we have going on, both Vinnie and Dime, in how I knew them, would go out of their way to make you feel comfortable, to be present outside of their own troubles or daily stuff. And it's unheard of; I don't know anyone like that. Vinnie had a way — and Dime did as well — of making a room of people, strangers even, feel like they were his best friend. And I've never met anyone like either of them."

PANTERA broke up in 2003 due to an ongoing rift between Anselmo and the rest of the band.

Dimebag was shot and killed by a crazed gunman while performing with his and Vinnie's post-PANTERA act DAMAGEPLAN at a Columbus, Ohio rock club.

Vinnie Paul told Germany's EMP Rock Invasion in a 2014 interview that fans who continued to clamor for a PANTERA reunion were "selfish." He added: "They want what they want; they don't care what you want. And it's unfortunate that people go, 'Oh, wow, man, they can get Zakk Wylde to jump up there on stage and it's PANTERA again.' No, it's not, you know. It's not that simple. If Eddie Van Halen was to get shot in the head four times next week, would everybody be going, 'Hey, man, Zakk, go play for VAN HALEN. Just call it VAN HALEN.' You see what I'm saying? I mean, it's really selfish for people to think that, and it's stupid. It's not right at all."

Vinnie added: "They call it a reunion for a reason. It's called bringing the original members back to what it was. So there's a lot of these things that they call reunions that aren't really reunions. They've got one dude from the band floating around in them, you know. That's not a true reunion. With PANTERA, it'll never be possible."

Vinnie Paul was buried on Saturday (June 30) next to his brother and their mother, Carolyn, at Moore Memorial Gardens cemetery in Arlington, Texas.

Vinnie passed away on June 22 at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 54. The drummer's death "did not appear suspicious," according to the official report of the event recorded by Metropolitan Police officers. Sources close to Vinnie told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he suffered a "major heart attack," but that information has not been corroborated yet by an official source.

THE PRETTY RECKLESS singer Taylor Momsen has released a music video for her cover version of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land". The clip, which features photos by late THE PRETTY RECKLESS producer Kato Khandwala, with sound by Jonathan Wyman, can be seen below.

Khandwala passed away on April 25 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident.

In addition to producing every single THE PRETTY RECKLESS piece of music, he has worked with BLONDIE, BREAKING BENJAMIN, PAPA ROACH, DROWNING POOL and PIERCE THE VEIL, among others.

A couple of days after Kato's death, Momsen paid tribute to the producer, calling him "our ringleader" and "our confidant" and saying that "nothing will be the same without him."

THE PRETTY RECKLESS's third album, "Who You Selling For", was released in October 2016.

After a world premiere debut at Night Visions Film Festival in Helsinki, Finland, Dream Evil Pictures announces the highly anticipated DVD release of The Mentors: Kings Of Sleaze Rockumentary. DVDs can be directly purchased at this location.

This feature length documentary explores the intrigue of The Mentors, one of the most controversial rock bands to emerge from the 1970’s. Most known for their shock rock stage presence akin to GG Allin & The Murder Junkies, a long history of false rumors and outrageous myths also helped augment their fame and notoriety. Learn how this trio inspired and offended masses worldwide using chauvinistic satire and an obscene comical act, playing an identifiable role in moral depravity and pushing the boundaries of freedom of speech.

While weaving together rare archival footage, recent tour coverage and an intimate collection of interviews, filmmaker April Jones captures the bands climb from scum to shock to success, culminating in a shocking conspiracy that involves former member, Eldon Hoke, famously known as El Duce.  Interviews include The Mentors own Stephen Broy and Eric Carlson, along with select members from Gwar, Fang, Exodus, The Dwarves and others.

“With The Mentors, there is only a fine line between offensive content and humor, but April Jones’ documentary approaches its subject from an unbiased viewpoint. Jones looks past the band’s executioner hoods and provocative outbursts, unfolding the obscene story in an entertaining way.” - Rokumentii Rock Film Festival

“The Mentors is a film with something to offend everyone…loved it!” - Gary Sherman, Director, Vice Squad & Poltergeist III

"You understand that there will be hell if they play...." - Antifa
"Despite widespread controversy, I was able to dig deep to reveal who The Mentors really are. Get ready to be rocked, shocked, and offended by yourself for laughing! This film removes the hoods and facade only to capture the truly intimate, hilarious, and surprising story of the undeniable Kings of Sleaze." - April Jones, Filmmaker, The Mentors: Kings Of Sleaze Rockumentary

"This documentary was an amazing representation of who El was. April did a great job of recording the life of someone who was truly a unique character and deserves to be remembered." - Hunter Jackson, Co-Founder/ Techno-Destructo GWAR

View a trailer below:

Juno award-winning metallic noise rock band KEN mode will release their seventh studio album Loved on August 31st through New Damage Records in Canada. The album is now available for pre-order here.

The band have released a Christopher Mills-directed video for the track "Feathers & Lips", which follows the release of the first single “Doesn’t Feel Pain Like He Should” and its companion video. Both tracks are now available as instant downloads when fans pre-order Loved.

About “Feathers & Lips” guitarist/vocalist Jesse Matthewson had this to say, “I've never understood why so many of the most aggressive and extreme/cruel political figures are also the least likely candidates to win in an actual fight. This isn't exclusive to either side of the spectrum. There's a hole in these people that is being filled with being a dick to and/or trying to control other humans with some of the most irrational bullshit. And their voices are always the ones being heard, because they tend to be yelling the loudest..."

Loved, which follows KEN mode’s critically acclaimed and Juno nominated 2015 release Success, represents yet another pivot point in the group’s sound. Moving away from the indie/noise, punk focused tracks on Success, Loved sees the band delving deeper and darker than ever before, resulting in what may be the group’s quintessential statement of violence and despair made sonic.
 
Drawing from not only the desperate noise and industrial sonics of the 80’s and 90’s, on Loved, KEN mode has mixed in the decidedly more extreme tone and presence of death and black metal, expertly captured by producer Andrew Schneider’s (Unsane, Cave In, Daughters) sick vision of noise and girth. “We entered writing for this album with one goal in mind – to please the smile”, states Matthewson, referring to the album cover piece by the band’s long-time collaborator Randy Ortiz – see below.
 

Tracklisting:

“Doesn’t Feel Pain Like He Should”
“The Illusion Of Dignity”
“Feathers & Lips”
“Learning To Be Too Cold”
“Not Soulmates”
“Very Small Men”
“This Is A Love Test”
“Fractures In Adults”
“No Gentle Art”

“Doesn’t Feel Pain Like He Should” video:

Live dates with Shallow North Dakota:

September
28 - Winnipeg, MB - The Good Will Social Club
29 - Saskatoon, SK - The Black Cat Tavern
30 - Calgary, AB - Palomino

(Photo - Brenna Faris)

Ammunition, featuring Norwegian singer Age Sten Nilsen (ex-Wig Wam), have released a lyric video for "Miss Summertime", featured on the band's self-titled album released earlier this year. Watch below.

Tracklisting:

"Time"
"Freedom Finder"
"Virtual Reality Boy"
"Gung Ho (I Told You So)"
"Eye For An Eye"
"Tear Your City Down"
"Caveman"
"Wrecking Crew"
"Miss Summertime"
"Bad Bones"
"Klondike"

"Miss Summertime" lyric video:

"Freedom Finder" video:

Lineup:

Age Sten Nilsen - lead and backing vocals
Erik Martensson - guitars, backing vocals
Victor Cito Borge - bass
Jon Pettersen - guitars
Lasse Finbråten - keyboards
Magnus Ulfstedt - drums

Chicago-based technical/progressive metal group Without Waves have released a video for "Victorian Punishment", featured on the band's Lunar album, released last year via Prosthetic Records. Watch the clip below.

Without Waves effortlessly create a rich fusion of extreme, progressive metal and cascading soundscapes with precision songwriting, showcasing blistering riffs and unorthodox time signatures paired alongside dreamy melodies and poetic chord structures. An important new addition to a new wave of young, progressive and urgent technical metal artists.

Tracklisting:

“Sewing Together The Limbs”
“Poetry In Putrid Air”
“Us Against”
“Never Know Quite Why”
“Victorian Punishment”
“EDMS”
“Lost Art”
“Fractals”
“Memento More”

“Victorian Punishment” video:

“Never Know Quite Why” video:

Brazilian death metallers KRISIUN will release their eleventh studio opus, "Scourge Of The Enthroned", on September 7 via Century Media Records. The disc was recorded at Stage One Studio (BELPHEGOR, LEGION OF THE DAMNED) in Germany with producer Andy Classen, who previously worked with the band on "Conquerors Of Armageddon", "Southern Storm" and "The Great Execution" releases. The cover artwork was created by Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, HATE ETERNAL, INCANTATION).

The band comments: "We proudly present you the cover for our new record! Based on Sumerian mythology, it shows three ancient gods transcending the beginning of creation, represented by the incredible art of Eliran Kantor.

"The sound of this record came out very organic, unlike many of the super edited/digital sounding albums these days. The songs are faster and more brutal than the previous records. Pure relentless death metal in your face!"

The first single from "Scourge Of The Enthroned" will be "Demonic III", to be released on Friday, July 13.

"Scourge Of The Enthroned" track listing:

01. Scourge Of The Enthroned

02. Demonic III

03. Devouring Faith

04. Slay The Prophet

05. A Thousand Graves

06. Electricide

07. Abysmal Misery (Foretold Destiny)

08. Whirlwind Of Immortality

KRISIUN is currently wrapping up touring plans in support of "Scourge Of The Enthroned" and has just announced a special release show in Essen, Germany with SULPHUR AEON on September 7.

Active since 1990, KRISIUN is one of the most ferocious death metal bands in history and belong to the most successful metal acts to have ever emerged from Brazil.

Professionally filmed video footage of MEMORIAM performing the song "Bleed The Same" at this year's edition of the Rock Hard Festival, which was held in May in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, can be seen below.

MEMORIAM is the Birmingham, United Kingdom-based death/grind metal band featuring Karl Willets (BOLT THROWER) on vocals, Frank Healy (BENEDICTION, CEREBRAL FIX) on bass, Scott Fairfax (CEREBRAL FIX) on guitar and Andy Whale (BOLT THROWER) on drums.

The group's second album, "The Silent Vigil", was released in March via Nuclear Blast. The disc's artwork was once again created again by Dan Seagrave (BENEDICTION, DISMEMBER, HYPOCRISY, SUFFOCATION).

MEMORIAM was primarily developed to fill the void that was left following the tragic death of Martin "Kiddie" Kearns, the drummer from BOLT THROWER, back in September 2015. BOLT THROWER subsequently placed all activity on hold for the foreseeable future which gave Karl Willetts an opportunity to develop a new project with friends that had expressed interest in forming a band for some time.

MEMORIAM is an old-school death metal band, maintaining the standards set by their previous bands, focusing on the themes of death, loss and war. Initially, the bandmembers got together to play covers of songs that had influenced them throughout their careers within the death metal scene. However, it soon became apparent that the new songs that they created were of a superior standard.

"Chocolatize", a brand new song from KYUSS and FU MANCHU legend Brant Bjork, can be streamed below. The track is taken from his thirteenth solo album, titled "Mankind Woman", which is due on September 14 via Heavy Psych Sounds Records.

Although this is indeed a Brant Bjork record, it is the first record Brant so closely collaborates with a producer and co-writer: his LOW DESERT PUNK BAND guitarist and friend Bubba Dupree. Brant and Bubba wrote and performed the music along with guest appearances by bass player Armand Secco Sabal, Nick Oliveri and vocalist Sean Wheeler, who has been a touring member of the LOW DESERT PUNK BAND. The recording took place in March of 2018 at Zainaland, a creative villa owned by Brant's wife Zaina Alwan, in the California desert town of 29 Palms. The record was recorded and engineered by Yosef Sanborn who also owns and operates Massive FX pedals in Los Angeles. Multiple pedals designed by Yosef were used by Brant and Bubba for this record. Additional tracks were recorded by Bubba Dupree at Brant Bjork's home studio in Venice Beach, California.

Brant Bjork and Bubba describe the sound of "Mankind Woman" as modern classic. It is evidently clear that both Bjork and Dupree specialize in the craft of the sound and feel of the music spawned in the '60s and '70s. This record is inspired by this great era; however, the intention was not to try to recapture or mimic in retro terms these influences but to strive for a contemporary quality. Brant Bjork might have gone deeper in the lyrics than on any record before.

Focusing on personal sensitivities, elite hypocrisies, racism, sexism and the daily struggle to find peace, love and understanding in today's American society. Once again, Brant Bjork created a record that reminds the listener that it is the ingredients of the jazz, blues and funk, that makes rock music taste so good. A must-have for all collectors, genre-fans and beyond!

"Mankind Woman" track listing:

01. Chocolatize

02. Lazy Wizards

03. Charlie Gin

04. Mankind Woman

05. Pisces

06. Swagger & Sway

07. Somebody

08. Pretty Hairy

09. Brand New Old Times

10. 1968

11. Nation Of Indica

The cover artwork was created by Robin Gnista.


In support of his new album, Brant Bjork will be heavily hitting the road again this year, with very special guest Sean Wheeler. Bjork comments: "Looking forward to returning to Europe in November and bringing all the European fans some of our fresh jams along with the classics. 'Mankind Woman' is our new record and we can't wait to turn Europe on! See you all soon!"

Fan-filmed video footage of TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider performing his new solo single, "Become The Storm", on July 2 in Tel Aviv, Israel can be seen below. The track is taken from Snider's upcoming solo album, titled "For The Love Of Metal", which will be released on July 27 via Napalm Records. The disc, which was produced by HATEBREED vocalist Jamey Jasta, will feature contributions from Howard Jones (ex-KILLSWITCH ENGAGE), Mark Morton (LAMB OF GOD), Alissa White-Gluz (ARCH ENEMY), Joel Grind and Nick Bellmore (TOXIC HOLOCAUST), and Charlie Bellmore (KINGDOM OF SORROW).

The official video for "Become The Storm" was directed by Doug Quill and is expected to make its online debut in the coming days. A teaser clip is available below.

Speaking to Chris Annunziata of the New Jersey radio station 90.3 WMSC-FM, Snider stated about "For The Love Of Metal": "This is a really exciting album I did not expect to make, especially at this point in my life. I was doing Jamey Jasta's podcast, and he challenged me to make a contemporary rock record. And I was, like, 'Who's producing?' He said, 'I am.' And so we went in the studio [with] no record deal, and people started flocking [to appear on the LP]. It just amazed me, the enthusiasm and excitement that these younger musicians — younger than me, at least — had for working with Dee Snider and being a part of this project."

Dee went on to say that "the album turned out phenomenal," so much so that "we had a bidding war from all the major metal labels," he said. "As Jamey would say, it is hard. It harkens back to my earliest work with TWISTED SISTER, but it's very contemporary sounding with my voice. And people are astounded, actually, that I still have a very strong, very powerful, and as Jamey says, an important, iconic rock voice. So I'm very excited about this album."


Jasta previously described the LP as a "full-on metal album," adding that "people are gonna lose their minds when they hear this." He also called Dee "one of the best vocalists of our time" whose "voice is up there with Ozzy [Osbourne], [Ronnie James] Dio, [Bruce] Dickinson and [Rob] Halford to me. "And it's as powerful as ever!" he said.

"Although this album will be very heavy, the songs are anthemic and will fit well in his solo set with 'We're Not Gonna Take It', 'I Wanna Rock', 'Burn In Hell', 'We Are The Ones', 'So What' and others," Jamey promised.

Snider's last solo album, "We Are The Ones", was released in October 2016 via Red River Records. Produced by Damon Ranger, the disc was described by Dee as "an album that is think part FOO FIGHTERS, part IMAGINE DRAGONS, part THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS."

TWISTED SISTER called it quits in 2016 after completing a farewell 40th-anniversary tour.

PROPHETS OF RAGE bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk were interviewed by Kaaos TV before the band's June 30 show at Provinssi in Seinäjoki, Finland. You can now watch the chat below.

In addition to Commerford, Wilk and guitarist Tom Morello, all of whom previously played together in RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and AUDIOSLAVE, PROPHETS OF RAGE also features Chuck D and DJ Lord from PUBLIC ENEMY and B-Real from CYPRESS HILL.

Asked what the response has been like to PROPHETS OF RAGE's debut album, which came out last September, Tim said: "As far as I'm concerned, it was a great imprint of us as a band. We made a record, and it was an imprint in time, and we did that. And we're on to another record now; we've already finished a 13-song record that we are just in the process of just putting together at this moment in time. So there's a lot going on. We have a new song that comes out on July 7th. And it's on to new territory, new sounds and new music."

Although PROPHETS OF RAGE was originally formed as what Morello described in a 2016 interview as an "elite task force of revolutionary musicians determined to confront this mountain of [American] election year bullshit," the band has since made it clear that they would still be together even if Hillary Clinton was in the White House.

"I don't think anybody was putting expiration dates on it when we got together," Brad told Kaaos TV. "So we got together and started songs, and it started sounding really good and we all were into what we were doing. So that made sense to continue. And so we continued to write music. We just spent a few months writing new music, and it was an awesome experience with this guy [editor's note: referring to Tim] and with B-Real and Chuck and Tom and Lord. I think that we can continue making new music. The more new music we play live, the better it'll be."

Asked if PROPHETS OF RAGE has found more of its own sound and style with its new music, Tim said: "Here is the thing. This is the beauty of this group. And first of all, to just be in a band and be able to play music and be able to get together with other artists and make music, art and collective consciousness, work on it together and create something that we all feel great about, that is a beautiful thing. It doesn't matter if you're playing at a festival or if you're playing in your living room with your buddies, that's a great thing. But in our situation, which is that we get to make art together, but we also get to make whatever kind of art we want. We have guys like [me and Brad] who played some of the heaviest music that's ever been made, and we have people like Chuck and B-Real, who, if it weren't for their bands playing some of the heaviest music ever made, we wouldn't even exist here today. And we can make any kind of music we want. We wanna make a rock record? We make a rock record. We wanna make a hip-hop record? We can make a hip-hop record. There's so many things that we can do, and so I'm excited about just the future of making new music and what that means. And, like I said, we just finished our new musical outlook, and it's a beautiful one."

As for the musical direction of PROPHETS OF RAGE's upcoming disc, Tim said: "It's a different direction, it's not the same, and I love that. I grew up, and Brad grew up, listening to bands that made records and you were waiting at the record store to hear what it might sound like — the new record by some band. And so that's the way I feel like we're doing it right now. We're growing and we're creating and we're going in a new territory and I feel really good about it."

PROPHETS OF RAGE's self-titled debut album was recorded with legendary producer Brendan O'Brien who has done notable work with RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and AUDIOSLAVE.

Barbara Caserta of Linea Rock conducted an interview with SHINEDOWN members Brent Smith (vocals), Barry Kerch (drums) and Eric Bass (bass) on June 26 at the Santeria Social Club in Milan, Italy. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked to comment on the recent passing of Vinnie Paul Abbott, Smith said: "The very first time that we met [Vinnie and his brother Dimebag] both was at a festival in Kansas City. We played early in the day and we had a trailer that had a door in between and two doors on both sides. We didn't know who was gonna be next to us. About 4:30 in the afternoon, 'cause we played really, really early, like at noon, something like that… This is in 2003. And then, all of a sudden, you kind of hear these footsteps and people yelling, the trailer's kind of shaking and doors open and then Mr. Darrell Abbott proceeded to kick the door in between the two of us here, and walked in with Vinnie behind him and said, 'What's your name? Who are you?' And we said 'hello' and this and that, and he was, like, 'I know we just met each other, but there's not gonna be any separation for the rest of the day. At this moment, you might have not known us, and we don't know you, but at this moment in time, we're family. So here's a Black Tooth. Cheers! Knock 'em back, boys!''

He continued: "That's just kind of the way they were. They always just had that very… Everything about rock and roll that you love, that's what they were. All that makes rock and roll not a label and not a genre of music… It's why I say rock and roll is a way of life, and it is. And they embodied that."

Smith added: "I don't think — I know — that there's an incredible jam session going on right now around us — maybe in a different alternate universe. But they gave a lot to not only music but just to — in my opinion, they gave a lot to the world."

SHINEDOWN is continuing to tour in support of its sixth studio album, "Attention Attention", which was released on May 4. The disc is a concept effort which addresses a society both enabled and blinded by technology and the decline and rise of an individual in that society.

Vinnie passed away on June 22 at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 54. The drummer's death "did not appear suspicious," according to the official police report. Sources close to Vinnie told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he suffered a "major heart attack," but that information has not been corroborated yet by an official source.

Following is an update from journalist Greg Prato:

"On June 22, 2018, news broke that drummer Vinnie Paul had died in his sleep at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the age of 54. Best known as the drummer for Pantera and as the brother of the late guitar great Dimebag Darrell (as well as the drummer for Damageplan and Hellyeah), Vinnie inspired an entire generation of drummers with his hard-hitting playing on such now-headbanger standards as 'Cowboys from Hell', 'Domination', and 'This Love'. 

During the '90s, Pantera could single-handedly be credited with keeping heavy metal alive. While many veteran bands either lost singers (Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Anthrax) and/or lost their way (Metallica, Megadeth, Mötley Crüe) as the decade wore on, Pantera - whose classic line-up consisted of singer Phil Anselmo, Dimebag, bassist Rex Brown, and Vinnie - issued a string of classic albums comprised of 100% pure metal, tops being 1990's Cowboys From Hell, 1992's Vulgar Display Of Power, and 1994's Far Beyond Driven.

In 2015, I tried to make sense of this troubling decade for metal, with the book Survival of the Fittest: Heavy Metal in the 1990's, which included all-new interviews with members of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Kiss, Def Leppard, Guns N' Roses, Nirvana, and Nine Inch Nails, and of course, Pantera. Here are parts from a chapter in the book, entitled "You Could Count On The Cowboys," in which Pantera's importance is fully explored - and also, can now serve as a tribute to Vinnie Paul and his musical accomplishments."

An excerpt from Prato's tribute is available below.

Rex Brown: "Metallica puts out The Black Album, and of course, it's a great record in hindsight. But at the same time, all the thrash leading up into that movement, it was kind of a disappointment to the fans that were waiting for them to put out another Master Of Puppets. They went in kind of a different direction. We had been on the road since '89, through '92. We had put out Cowboys From Hell, and then Vulgar Display Of Power. When we put out Vulgar, we've got this huge following, and there's a little, itty-bitty hole here, where we can possibly jump through and carry the genre that we loved. And we came out with Far Beyond Driven, that hit #1 on the charts (in 1994)."

Phil Anselmo: "That's a tough call, man (if Pantera was the top metal band of the '90s). Because there was - and always has been, since I've been in the business - a band named Slayer, that's very tough to argue that they were anything but heavy metal or thrash metal... which I think go hand-in-hand. I don't know, we were definitely one of them. And I think with the rapport I had with the audience, I made it very well known that we were a heavy metal band and proud to be that. So maybe that's why people might say we were the 'top heavy metal band.' But once again, at the same time, in the underground, there were really some very heavy metal bands - whether it was black metal or death metal. You cannot deny the 'metal' part of it. As far as commercially selling big, perhaps we were the top metal band aside from Metallica, who during the '90s, kind of fell from grace a little bit. But maybe it's not for me to decide. Maybe it's best that everybody else has chimed in on this."

Rob Halford (Judas Priest): "When Pantera broke through with Cowboys From Hell, it was a very exciting, potent time in metal. You have this unbelievable guitar player who was doing things that no one else was doing. Just a basic four-piece making such a noise. And the fact that we were able to take the band out with us to Europe for the first time, nobody had a clue about Pantera. And remember as well, this is just about the time when the Internet is kicking in, so prior to that, the only way you communicate is with magazines. So the word was spreading in the underground metal scene in America. But outside of there, they were completely unknown. And I used to stand on the side of the stage and watch them walk out and play, and the Priest audience would be looking, and they'd fire up 'Cowboys From Hell', and they'd just be sheer stunned. In shock and awe. By the time they'd finish their set, they had everybody in their back pocket, because everybody knew they were witnessing the birth of an incredibly powerful, important, great metal band."

Read more here.

The official Pantera Facebook page has announced A Public Celebration Of Life event for late drummer Vinnie Paul.

The event will take place on July 1st at 3:33 PM at The Bomb Factory in Dallas, TX. There are no advance tickets, lines, or lists. The line for wristbands to the event will begin 12 PM on the day of the event.

Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist John Katsilometes reports that the death of Vinnie Paul “did not appear suspicious” according to the official report of the event recorded by Metropolitan Police officers.

According to records of the event, officers were dispatched to a dead-body call at 5:41 PM on Friday (June 22nd) on the 6900 block of Procyon Street (Paul lived on Procyon). Medical personnel were summoned, and Paul was pronounced dead at the scene.

Metro spokeswoman Laura Meltzer added that responding officers did not take such further action as calling homicide detectives to the scene, further indication that Paul was considered medically deceased.

The Clark County coroner’s office has since picked up the investigation into the cause and manner of Paul’s death. The founder of the bands Pantera and Hellyeah died at age 54. Clark County spokesman Dan Kulin said today that official cause of Paul’s death is still pending and would likely take several days to be issued.

Updates to follow.

KORN will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its breakthrough third album, 1998's "Follow The Leader", by playing three U.S. shows in late summer. But while it was initially assumed that the band would perform the LP from front to back at those shows, guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer has confirmed that only "most" of the record will be played.

Speaking to KLOS 95.5 DJ Full Metal Jackie, Munky explained: "There's some songs that we did collaborations — we [had guest appearances by] Tre [Trevant Hardson] from THE PHARCYDE, which is a hip-hop group; Ice Cube — everybody knows Ice Cube; and Fred [Durst] from LIMP BIZKIT. So those are the songs that are, like, 'Okay, well, we can't really recreate that.' But we're gonna play a handful of the songs that people haven't heard and maybe we haven't played in 20 years."

The shows are scheduled to take place on September 12 at the Masonic in San Francisco, September 13 at the Palladium in Los Angeles, and September 15 at the Pearl Theater in Las Vegas. These will be KORN's only North American concerts of the year.

Munky told Full Metal Jackie that he looks back fondly on the "Follow The Leader" period of KORN's career. "Because we were really young, and it really was the first bit of money that we started to see from so many years of hard work," he said. "And we just really had a lot of fun. And musically, we kind of experimented with collaborations. We were in a real studio, in North Hollywood, in the middle of town. Because we recorded our first two records with [producer] Ross Robinson up at Indigo Ranch, and that was so remote and removed from anything, and that's how he liked it. But once we had the freedom and the money and the record label support to get into a real studio and have, like, a real beer budget…

"I think, honestly, the making of that album was something like 30 thousand dollars in alcohol by the time it was all done," he continued. "It was fun; that showed you how much fun we had. But, really, it was trying to figure out, 'Okay, we kind of did these two angst records. Let's kind of move into more of a song-based, lightened-mood.' Like, 'Let's have fun a little bit.' That's when we really started to kind of find who we were and make changes as far as song structures and listening to each other play. Like, 'Man, you're really good. I didn't realize it before.'"

Munky went on to say that "Follow The Leader" represented "a really special moment" in KORN's career. "That's when MTV was hitting, and everybody was watching all these boy bands," he said. "And then KORN topping the charts of all the 'TRL' stuff. I feel like it was a turning point. I feel like if you didn't like the whole boy-band thing and the pop thing, you had us over here."

According to Munky, "Follow The Leader"'s influence has reverberated beyond the hard rock world. "It's crazy" he said. "All these young hip-hop kids now are coming up to me, saying, 'Man, I love your band. Because of your band, I'm into this, this and this.' And they're all these young rapper kids with tattoos all over their faces — just super hardcore. So there's a whole new movement. So it's kind of nice for them to step up and give us an homage, I guess."

"Follow The Leader" was a massive commercial breakthrough for KORN, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, selling five million copies in the U.S. and yielding two hits singles in "Got The Life" and "Freak On A Leash".

@fullmetaljackie and @munky_korn taking over the airwaves until midnight. Tune-in now or you’ll probably regret it! A post shared by 95.5 KLOS (@klos955) on Jun 27, 2018 at 7:49pm PDT

Gretsch has honored the late Malcolm Young, whose rock-solid rhythm guitar swagger and songwriting provided the unshakeable foundation for monumental rock titans AC/DC, with the G6131-MY Malcolm Young Signature Jet.

The G6131-MY pays homage to Young's famously battle-hardened Gretsch Jet. Nicknamed "The Beast," Malcolm certainly made the instrument his own, not least by removing two of the three pickups, stripping away the finish, and pounding out some of the hardest and most memorable rhythms the world has heard.

"I mean, as soon as you hear that first… chord, you know it's him," said his brother Angus Young. "To do this… you have to be a master of rhythm, and that's exactly what Mal [was]."

This model features the essential hallmarks of one of rock's most iconic instruments including "DIY" pickup routes with simulated screw holes, chrome switch plugs, Space-Control bridge with ebony base and '60s-style tailpiece. Open-cavity thunder roars from the thin-skin satin finished chambered mahogany body and is magnified by a high-output TV Jones Power'Tron pickup.

"AC/DC had a sound of their own and this guitar was the foundation of the sweet and nasty tone we all know them for," said SOCIAL DISTORTION's Mike Ness.

Malcolm Young's fiery rock 'n' roll spirit lives on through AC/DC's enduringly timeless music, and it is Gretsch's great privilege to pay fitting tribute to him with a finely crafted instrument bearing his name.

The G6131-MY Malcolm Young Signature Jet will be available November 2018.

For more information about Gretsch, visit gretschguitars.com.

Malcolm, who co-founded AC/DC with Angus in 1973, died in November at the age of 64 after suffering from dementia and failing health for several years. His condition forced him to leave the band in 2014, with his nephew Stevie Young stepping into Malcolm's position.

Burton C. Bell, frontman and founding member of FEAR FACTORY, has announced release plans for the second album from ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS, his musical collaboration with John Bechdel (KILLING JOKE, PRONG, FEAR FACTORY, MINISTRY). After returning from a 10-year hiatus, the pair's eagerly awaited album, "Stormcrow", is set for release via the PledgeMusic platform. Check out the project page to watch the campaign's video, narrated by Bell and find out more details about the new release.

Burton is "excited and delighted" to begin recording on their second album and share this journey with their fan base, as PledgeMusic actively involves fans in the project's campaign in order to fund the album's birth and development. "Stormcrow" features the lead single "Ghost Heart", together with an enchanting video created by the Brazilian filmmaker Victor Hugo-Borges. Joining Bechdel and Bell in ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS are Edu Mussi (STILL LIFE DECAY) and Jayce Lewis (U.K. industrial/electronic artist) who will help create, produce and mix the collection at Jayce's Northstone Studios in Bridgend, Wales.

ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS was created in 2002 in Central Pennsylvania as a new creative outlet for Bell and Bechdel. Inspired by the writings within "The Book Of Enoch", they independently released the "Iconoclast" EP in 2004, which was a vision born of life, love and spirituality. The music, melodies and lyrics gives one the opportunity to share in Burton's visions as he saw them in their purest form. Their critically acclaimed debut LP, "Numinosum", was released in 2008 on Al Jourgensen's (MINISTRY, REVOLTING COCKS, LARD, PAILHEAD) 13th Planet label. Around that debut album, ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS was honored to be invited to tour the U.S. with KILLING JOKE on their reunion tour as special guests.

With the PledgeMusic campaign, ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS enables Burton's vision of an album that truly represents his true passions; sonic textures, dark melodies and lyrical melancholy. Remaining true to the concept of the fallen angels (The Watchers) from "The Book Of Enoch", the lyrical concepts in "Stormcrow" herald their penitence to their one true love that banished them from heaven.

While the ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS campaign can be found on the PledgeMusic web site with multiple purchase options, Devfire Entertainment/Cargo Records will release "Stormcrow" worldwide in the spring of 2019.

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION is planning to enter the studio in January to begin recording its fifth album. The disc will be the follow-up to "BCCIV", which was released last September and marked BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's first studio effort since 2013's "Afterglow".

During a brand new interview with the "Iron City Rocks" podcast, drummer Jason Bonham was asked if there are any plans for BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION to play more shows in support of "BCCIV". He responded: "I believe we're gonna go back in the studio again in January. That's what I heard. And then we can focus more on touring next year."

He continued: "They definitely like to plan way ahead. They were looking at my schedule. I'm playing in Cabo at an event New Year's Eve, so I'm gonna be on the West Coast, so we'll probably go to the same studio we recorded 'IV' in."

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION is the Anglo-American rock group comprising Bonham, vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, TRAPEZE), keyboardist Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER, ALICE COOPER, BILLY IDOL) and blues-rock guitarist/vocalist Joe Bonamassa.

Just like its three predecessors, "BCCIV" was overseen by Kevin Shirley, whose catalogue of hit records for LED ZEPPELIN, IRON MAIDEN, AEROSMITH, JOURNEY and THE BLACK CROWES has made him one of the hottest producers that rock music has to offer. Shirley, who originally had the idea of putting Hughes and Bonamassa in a band after seeing them jamming together onstage in Los Angeles back in November 2009, is the group's unofficial "fifth member."

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's inception took place when Hughes and Bonamassa fused their styles on stage in Los Angeles in November 2009 for an explosive performance at Guitar Center's King Of The Blues event. With the help and guidance of Shirley, they further added to their rock lineage by recruiting Bonham and Sherinian.

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION played two exclusive concerts in the U.K. in January.

According to Amplify, lawyers for Ozzy Osbourne have responded to AEG's motion to dismiss his anti-trust claims, calling it "baseless on the facts and the law alike." The BLACK SABBATH singer has alleged that AEG is using a practice called "block-booking" to force him to perform at the Staples Center in Los Angeles against his wishes.

Ozzy had tentatively agreed to perform at London's O2 Arena on February 11, 2019 as part of his "No More Tours 2" farewell run, but he claims that AEG added a provision stating that if Osbourne played an indoor arena within 25 miles of Los Angeles that was promoted by competitor Live Nation during the tour, he would have to play the AEG-owned Staples Center as well.

Osbourne's attorney Daniel Wall with Latham Watkins accused AEG of being a "monopolist" and trying to force Ozzy to play AEG's venue in Los Angeles in exchange for a London date at the arena.

In its motion to dismiss the lawsuit from Osbourne, AEG said that Osbourne cannot claim anti-trust injury since the policy ties the promoter to the agreement, not the artist.

Wall has since submitted a rebuttal to the motion to dismiss, writing that AEG is misleading the court and is fully aware that the policy forces artists to play their venue in Los Angeles, sometimes against their will.

"Factually, AEG misrepresents its own practices with respect to the tying requirement it enforces," Wall's rebuttal reads. "The formal venue hire agreement for the O2 referenced in the Staples Center Commitment unambiguously requires the promoter to ensure that the artist plays Staples when in Los Angeles."

AEG previously told Billboard in a statement that the company "has always worked hard to put artists first. At the same time, we must respond to the actions of those we compete with, specifically Live Nation and Madison Square Garden. Fighting for a level playing field is fair competition at its core."

Osbourne wants a judge to invalidate the provision in his contract that forces him to perform at Staples.

Variety reported that AEG's O2/Staples requirement came about in response to a challenge from MSG that found the company refusing to book acts into Madison Square Garden if they played at AEG's Staples Center in Los Angeles instead of the MSG-operated Forum. In response, AEG informed agents and promoters that acts who perform at The Forum instead of Staples will not be booked at London's O2 Arena.

Ozzy's final world tour is slated to last until 2020.