Professionally-filmed video of Backyard Babies' full set at Hellfest 2018 is available for streaming below:

With an impressive track record of eight critically acclaimed studio albums, including Total 13 and Making Enemies Is Good, and extensive touring around the world, Backyard Babies have earned their reputation as a true force of nature.

It’s been a long wait since the release of their latest album, Four By Four, in 2015, but now Backyard Babies are back stronger than ever with their new single ”Shovin’ Rocks” as a part of the forthcoming album Sliver And Gold, which is scheduled for an early 2019 release.

The band comments, “We will soon enough celebrate 30 years as Backyard Babies, with the original lineup intact, and ‘Shovin’ Rocks’ is in full covering that fact. This is our first single in a major since ‘Look At You’, our breakthrough single from 1998. If you don’t’ love this, then you don’t love rock’n’roll.”

Watch the video for “Shovin’ Rocks”, directed by the band’s drummer Peder Carlsson, below. Follow this link to direct you to the single on all streaming and download platforms.

Jens Prueter, Head of A&R Century Media Europe comments on signing Backyard Babies, “It’s no surprise that you meet twice if both a label and a band are already around for almost 30 years. It’s 12 years ago when we worked together on the People Like People Like People Like Us album and it feels great to welcome back the Backyard Babies to celebrate their 30th anniversary of rock’n’roll with a new album in early 2019. And the new single is a perfect way to invite the guests to a party that won’t end soon. Some people don’t get older but just stronger. People like us.”

Lineup:

Nicke Borg - lead vocals / guitar
Dregen - lead guitar / vocals
Johan Blomquist - bass
Peder Carlsson - drums

Peaceville Records will reissue the 1995 Darkthrone album Panzerfaust on picture disc with cut-out sleeve on July 13th.

Panzerfaust was originally released in 1995. The album was recorded similarly to their previous release, Transilvanian Hunger, in that it was written and recorded solely by Fenriz at his home 'Necrohell' studio, with Nocturno Culto later adding vocals.

Panzerfaust was largely inspired by the works of Celtic Frost, a longtime favourite of the Darkthrone members, and also includes a couple of fast songs in the Bathory style, a follow-on to the faster tempo of the tracks featured on Transilvanian Hunger. Panzerfaust is also notable for including some of the most raw and primal vocals in black metal - completely well suited to the music on display and the misanthropic nature of the band at the time. With its feast of Frost-fuelled riffing, Panzerfaust is rightly hailed as one of THE classic Darkthrone black metal albums. It also features lyrical contributions written by Varg Vikernes of Burzum.

Preorders are available at this location.

Tracklisting:

Side A
“En Vind Av Sorg”
“Triumphant Gleam”
“The Hordes Of Nebulah”

Side B
“Hans Siste Vinter”
“Beholding The Throne Of Might”
“Quintessence”
“Sno Og Granskog (Utferd)”

Tony Reed is Mos Generator’s mastermind and main songwriter and now releases a collection of cover songs entitled The Lost Chronicles of Heavy Rock Vol 1as a Vinyl / CD bundle package on Listenable Records this July . 

Mos Generator have delivered some of the finest heavy rock since 2002 and have also just released their brand new studio album Shadowlands . As an extremely prolific songwriter, Tony Reed has written hundreds of songs for all his past projects including Mos Generator, and in various music genres from stoner rock, hard rock, doom metal, progressive rock and even hardcore punk as well. 

Over a period of four years, the man has recorded a series of cover songs from the ‘70s era and the result is nothing but outstanding in terms of delivery and production .Aside from the extraordinary performance (Reed also plays ALL instruments), It really sounds genuinely passionate. 

Tony Reed comments on the process of doing covers of those ‘70s gems:

“When I get a song stuck in my head it usually doesn’t go away until I cover it. With these songs I tried to be true to the original in playing and production style. It’s an exercise in recording and playing skills and a real challenge. 

“Many of these songs have been with me through my life and some have just been introduced to me by other fans of underground rock of the 1970's. There are, of course, many other songs that I could have done or added to this but I have chosen these because they moved me in some way.  Also, this is called Vol. 1 for a reason.. I would like to thank Henry Vasquez of Saint Vitus for bringing much of this music to my attention over the years. "

Throughout these 16 tracks, Lost Chronicles of Heavy Rock Volume One are an exciting celebration of some of the most obscure material and also of some underground hits from an artistically vibrant past sounding so relevant today still.

“Battle” (Boomerang ’72)
“Ain’t No Lovin’ Left” (Fanny Adams ’72)
“Fifteen” (Highway Robbery ’72)
“Queen Of Torture” (Wishbone Ash ’70)
“Nobody Else” (Atomic Rooster ’70)
“Garden Road” (Rush ’74)
“Still Born Beauty” (Necromandus ’73)
“Forever My Queen” (Pentagram ’73)
“Dier Not A Lover” (Bloodrock ’70)
“Court Of The Crimson King” (King Crimson ’69)
“Much Too Young To Know” (Pentagram ’78) *
“Need Your Love” (Cheap Trick ’79) *
“Walk Of The Bug” (Poobah ’73) *
“Know Who You Are” (Slade ’70) *
“Review Your Choices” (Pentagram ’73) *
“Butterfly Beau” (Iron Butterfly ’70)

*CD bonus tracks

Florida-based melodic power metal band Artizan is slated to release their new album Demon Rider on August 17th via Pure Steel Records. The tracklisting for Demon Rider has been released and can be found below.

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

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

Pre-orders are now available here.

Tracklisting:

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

Limited Version:

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

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

"Demon Rider" featuring Joey Vera:

German power metal band BRAINSTORM proudly announces the release of their new album, „Midnight Ghost“, scheduled for release on September 28th.
The band‘s already 12th studio album is seemingly forging into something very special.

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

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

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

„Midnight Ghost“ tracklisting:

CD:

01. Devil's Eye
02. Revealing The Darkness
03. Ravenous Minds
04. The Pyre
05. Jeanne Boulet (1764)
06. Divine Inner Ghost
07. When Pain Becomes Real
08. The Four Blessings
09. Haunting Voices
10. The Path

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

01. The World To See
02. Firesoul
03. Fire Walk With Me
04. Highs Without Lows
05. We Are
06. Worlds Are Coming Through
07. Shiva's Tears
08. End In Sorrow
09. How Much Can You Take
10. Falling Spiral Down
11. All Those Words
12. Shiver

Lucifer's Child, the Greek black metal band from Athens, has signed a record deal with Agonia Records. The band, combining members of Rotting Christ, Nightfall and Chaostar, is on the final lap of the recording process of their sophomore album, follow-up to 2015 debut The Wiccan.

Lucifer's Child music is a bridge to the world of atmospheric black metal, and a vessel for spiritual self-expression through lyrics. "Our goal was to create a untiy between the two", comments co-founder, George Emmanuel, a prolific guitarist primarily knwon for his work as part of Rotting Christ, and former guitarist of Chaostar. Together with bassist Stathis Ridis, orignially a member of another long-running Hellenic metal unit, Nightfall, they decided to form Lucifer's Child in 2013, which makes them a relatively newcomer to the genre.  

Vocalist Marios Dupont (Karma Violens) and drummer Nick Vell (Chaostar) complete the band's lineup. They joined in 2013 and 2015 respectively.

On signing with Agonia, Geroge said: "Lucifer’s Child new album shall resonate the black metal hordes through Poland’s most extreme metal label, Agonia Records. We look forward to our darkest and most extreme release!”

Lucifer's Child released their debut album The Wiccan on Dark Essence Records in 2015, displaying a sound that could be likened to Dissection, Nifelheim, Rotting Christ and Bathory. The album was followed by several festival appearances, including Inferno Festival (Norway), Blastfest (Norway) and Incineration Festival (UK). The band's new album is currently being recorded in Athens and is planned for a 2018 release.

Lineup:

George Emmanuel - guitars
Stathis Ridis - bass
Marios Dupont - vocals
Nick Vell - drums

Greek power metallers Secret Illusion have released a video for "Sailing The Open Sea", featured on their new album Awake Before The Dawn, out now via Lion Music. Watch below.

Tracklisting:

"Curtain Falls"
"Neverland"
"Fall Of Human Kind"
"Sailing The Open Sea"
"Hope Is Lost"
"Kings And Pawns (Napoleon)"
"Winds Of Tomorrow"
"Falling"
"Eerie"
"Awake Before The Dawn"

"Sailing The Open Sea" video:

"Hope Is Lost" lyric video:

"Neverland":

"Fall Of Human Kind" lyric video:

On September 22nd, 2017, Devin Townsend Project played a special show at the Ancient Roman Theatre in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the landmark Ocean Machine album in full, as well as a set of fan-requested tracks alongside the Orchestra of Plovdiv State Opera. This concert was filmed, and on July 6th it will see the light of day as Ocean Machine - Live At The Ancient Roman Theatre Plovdiv. An unboxing video can be found below.

Ocean Machine - Live At The Ancient Roman Theatre Plovdiv will be available as a limited deluxe 3CD/2DVD/Blu-Ray artbook (with liner notes from Devin and a special documentary dubbed ‘Reflecting The Chaos’ on the second DVD & Blu-Ray), Special Edition 3CD/DVD Digipak, standalone Blu-Ray and as digital audio download.

Pre-order here.

Tracklisting:

By Request with Orchestra

"Truth"
"Stormbending"
"Om"
"Failure"
"By Your Command"
"Gaia"
"Deadhead"
"Canada"
"Bad Devil"
"Higher"
"A Simple Lullaby"
"Deep Peace"

Ocean Machine

"Seventh Wave"
"Life"
"Night"
"Hide Nowhere"
"Sister"
"3 A.M."
"Voices In The Fan"
"Greetings"
"Regulator"
"Funeral"
"Bastard"
"The Death Of Music"
"Things Beyond Things"

Unboxing video:

"Regulator" video:

"Truth" video:

Italian power metallers Frozen Crown, signed to Scarlet Records, released their debut album The Fallen King on February 9th. They have checked in with the following update:

"When we started all this, we couldn't expect our debut album to sell so many copies. Your amazing support made it possible for us to go further and give The Fallen King a new incarnation. From today, a limited, 350 copies signed version of our debut album is available in vinyl on our BigCartel store! Thanks for setting this milestone with us. We owe you everything!"

Check out the band's official Facebook page here.

Frozen Crown are:

Giada "Jade" Etro - lead and backing vocals
Federico Mondelli - vocals, guitars, keys
Talia Bellazecca - guitar
Filippo Zavattari - bass guitar
Alberto Mezzanotte - drums

Canadian bashers Skull Fist have issued a long-awaited up date on their new album, which has been in the works for several months.

"Mega news: the Skull Fist record is being mixed right now by the mighty Eric Ratz, will be done next week. Release date real damn soon."

Skull Fist singer/guitarist Zach Slaughter has released the debut album for his new project, Freedumb. The musical style includes punk, acoustic, doom and traditional metal all combined with a cheeky sense of humour. The debut album Skate N Die was released on May 18th via Boonsdale Records and is available at this location.

Check out the song "Street Surfing Man" below

Freedumb’s debut release unleashes nine tracks of high energy punk/metal in the vein of Candlemass, Bad Religion, Dead Kennedys, Skull Fist, trademarked with Zach’s unique vocal style along with metal elements and virtuoso guitar solos, plus the lyrical humour of NOFX / Frank Zappa. Skate N Die offers an alternate approach to mainstream music that can give attention to the counter culture of today’s social circles.

Tracklisting:

"Punch Patrol"
"S.O.S."
"Shark Attack"
"Grand Canyon"
"Jerkathon"
"Skate N Die"
"Anarchy Will Prevail"
"Street Surfing Man"
"Finding Emo"

"S.O.S."

"Punch Patrol"

Italian legendary thrashers Extrema are currently in the studio, mixing their 7th album, the follow-up to 2013's critically acclaimed The Seed Of Foolishness.

Founder and guitar player Tommy Massara states:

“We have just finished the recordings of our 7th studio album and we’re actually mixing it, we decided to team up again with Gabry Ravaglia, that in the last ten years has been for us the 5th hidden member of the band, I shared the production with him and we recorded it at his own facility the ‘Fear studio’ in Alfonsine, Italy. Musically, it’s a 100% straight in the face metal album. The title says more than a thousand words: Headbanging Forever.”

Extrema has also released a first video form the studio:

Extrema recently welcomed their new singer Tiziano Spigno, chosen for his own style and personality. 

Tommy comments: “With Tiziano, we started again to work and explore first on the melody and on the vocal lines before the message itself. With the old course, at certain point of our path, something went wrong, now we think the fans will enjoy our music better than in the last years.”

Multi-instrumentalist Arjen Lucassen's beloved Ayreon metal opera outfit performed its first ever festival show on June 22nd at the Graspop Metal Meeting 2018 in Dessel, Belgium. Fan-filmed video from the performance is available below.

Lucassen has checked in with the following update:

"Thank you all so much for your amazing support at our Graspop performance, hope you enjoyed it as much as we clearly did! This was Ayreon’s very first festival show, so it was a bit scary. But what a warm welcome we got... a full house, 15.000 people showing us a whole lotta love. Thanks again from us all, you are the best crowd we could wish for! 

Thanks to all these amazing musicians! Left to right: Barry Hay, Tommy Karevik, Ferry Duijsens, Mike Mills, Tom Englund, Mark Jansen, Simone Simons, Robert Soeterboek, Ed Warby, Anneke van Giersbergen, Irene Jansen, Arjen Lucassen, Joost van den Broek, John Jaycee Cuijpers, Johan van Stratum, Marcela Bovio, Maggy Luyten, Jeroen Goossens, Maaike Peterse, Marcel Coenen, Lisette Marije, Ben Mathot and Damian Wilson."

The setlist was as follows:

"Age of Shadows" (with Mark Jansen, Tom Englund, John Jaycee Cuijpers, & Simone Simons)
"The Theory of Everything, Part 1"(with Marcela Bovio, Mike Mills)
"The Theory of Everything, Part 2" (with Marcela Bovio, Mike Mills)
"Intergalactic Space Crusaders" (Star One cover - with John JayCee Cuijpers, Damian Wilson)
"Dawn of a Million Souls" (with Magali Luyten)
"Into the Black Hole" (with Tommy Karevik)
"Valley of the Queens" (with Anneke van Giersbergen, Simone Simons & Marcela Bovio)
"Collision" (with Tommy Karevik, Tom Englund)
"Star of Sirrah" with Mike Mills, John Jaycee Cuijpers & Simone Simons)
"And the Druids Turn to Stone" (with Damian Wilson)
"Day Sixteen: Loser" (with Mike Mills, Ayreon Angels)
"Sail Away to Avalon" (with Barry Hay live debut; Golden Earring's '… more )
"Everybody Dies" (with Anneke van Giersbergen, Tommy Karevik & Mike Mills)
"The Castle Hall" (with Robert Soeterboek, Arjen Lucassen & Damian Wilson)
"Day Eleven: Love" (with Arjen Anthony Lucassen, Marcela Bovio, Robert Soeterboek, Ayreon Angels & Ed Warby on vocals)

Encore:
"The Eye of Ra" (Star One cover - with all singers)

Photo by Cristel Brouwer

In the video below, Neal Morse talks about the Life & Times album and tour with Paul Gosling. He also tells of future plans for Morsefest and The Neal Morse Band. The video features clips from his show at The Musician in Leicester, UK.

Get tour info and tickets here.

The Neal Morse Band's triumphant double album, The Similitude Of A Dream, is the most acclaimed release that Morse has helmed to date. The 2017 tour was their largest yet, including new continents for the band. At the O13 in Tilburg, Holland, the stars aligned for the most commanding performance of the run, captured for live release in stunning quality. "An epic night on an epic tour," proclaims Neal.

Released from Radiant/SONY/Metal Blade, it will be available on Blu-Ray and 2CD/2DVD. Join Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Eric Gillette, Bill Hubauer, and Randy George for over two hours of musical magic, as they play the album in its entirety, as well as a four song encore that will leave you breathless. Watch a second promo video below.

The Similitude Of A Dream: Live In Tilburg 2017 is now available for pre-order. Release date is June 15th. All pre-orders of both versions receive a free bonus track download. "Ways Of A Fool" includes just the vocals from the studio album. First 200 pre-orders of both versions signed by Neal Morse.

Tracklisting:

Disc One:
Intro
"Long Day"
"Overture"
"The Dream"
"City Of Destruction"
"We Have Got To Go"
"Makes No Sense"
"Draw The Line"
"The Slough"
"Back To The City"
"The Ways Of A Fool"
"So Far Gone"
"Breath Of Angels"

Disc Two:
"Slave To Your Mind"
"Shortcut To Salvation"
"The Man In The Iron Cage"
"The Road Called Home"
"Sloth"
"Freedom Song"
"I'm Running"
"The Mask"
"Confrontation"
"The Battle"
"Broken Sky / Long Day" (Reprise)
"Momentum"
"Author Of Confusion"
"Agenda"
"The Call"

Promo video #1:

Promo video #2:

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the official cause and manner of Vinnie Paul Abbott's death is still pending. Clark County spokesman Dan Kulin said that information will likely take several days to be issued.

Vinnie Paul passed away on Friday (June 22) at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 54. The former PANTERA drummer's death "did not appear suspicious," according to the official report of the event recorded by Metropolitan Police officers.

Officers were dispatched to a dead-body call at 5:41 p.m. Friday. Medical personnel were summoned, and Vinnie Paul was pronounced dead at the scene.

After an official cause of death has been determined, Vinnie's body will be flown to Texas to be buried between his mother and brother.

Abbott's brother, guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, was shot to death in December 2004 while performing onstage. The Abbotts founded the bands PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN together. After Dimebag's death, Vinnie Paul joined singer Chad Gray and other members of MUDVAYNE and NOTHINGFACE in HELLYEAH, who have released five albums.

While Vinnie Paul managed to carve out a second phase to his career even after the horrific tragedy of what happened to his brother, it's his staccato drumming and thunderous sound of PANTERA for which he'll be most remembered — as the backbeat for one of the most influential metal acts of all time.

In a 2010 interview with The Pulse Of Radio, Vinnie stated about the 20th anniversary of PANTERA's "Cowboys From Hell" album: "It's pretty amazing, man, it's pretty amazing, and you know, the great thing about it is that I think the record stood the test of time without a doubt. I think it still sounds amazing, the songs are pretty untouchable, the energy that we had on that record was pretty untouchable. You know, after being turned down by every record label 27, 28 times, we knew that we were a great live band — I think it all came through in the record when we were playing it."

Monotheist — Orlando’s progressive tech-death macabre just posted their brand new video for “The Grey King.” Featuring Christian Alvestam (ex-Scar Symmetry), “The Grey King” is the ireful opener off the latest Monotheist album, Scourge, out now on Prosthetic Records.

"We're excited to announce that we are hitting the road the finally! To celebrate, we are dropping our first-ever music video for the track 'The Grey King.' We are stoked to get out on the road for this east coast run and we can't wait to meet you guys. We also got some all-new merch coming out so come out and let's have an awesome time!" the band adds.    

Scourge features eight tracks, clocking in at almost an hour of music and sees the band taking their progressive and technical style of metal into the next stage of their musical evolution. It was mixed and mastered by Aaron Smith (7 Horns 7 Eyes) of Envisage Audio and features guest contributions from metal luminaries such as Bobby Koelble (ex-Death, Death to All) and the aforementioned Alvestam.

Scourge tracklisting:

"The Grey King"
"The Great Chain At The Neck Of The Earth"
"Mark Of The Beast Pt. 1: The Image"
"Mark Of The Beast Pt. 2: Scion Of Darkness"
"Infinite Wisdom"
"Desolate It Mourns Before Me"
"Abominable Acts"
"Scourge"

"Scourge":

"Mark Of The Beast Pt. 2: Scion Of Darkness":

"The Grey King":

In addition to the new video, Monotheist have also confirmed new tour dates in the U.S. this summer. Taking off in August, Monotheist will hit the road headlining the Consumed and Forgotten Tour.

Lineup:

Shiv - Vocals
Prophet - Guitar
Cooper Bates - Drums/Vocals
Tyler McDaniel - Guitar/Vocals
Jose Figueroa – Bass

(Photo - Anthony Basso)

Hard rock band KINGDOM COME was formed in 1987 and was quickly signed to Polydor Records. They released their first single "Get It On" which had a stranglehold on AOR radio in early 1988, prompting their self-titled debut album to ship gold. The quintet, comprised of guitarists Danny Stag and Rick Steier, bassist Johnny B. Frank, drummer James Kottak, and singer Lenny Wolf, took to the road immediately as part of the North American "Monsters of Rock" tour alongside VAN HALEN, SCORPIONS, METALLICA and DOKKEN. In addition to touring and extensive radio airplay, they also became MTV favorites with such videos as "Get It On" and "What Love Can Be" helping the band to sell two million debut albums worldwide.

2018 marks the 30th anniversary of the release of that classic album prompting James Kottak to revive KINGDOM COME. Along with original members Danny Stag, Rick Steier, Johnny B. Frank, a tour to commemorate the success of the band and album is born. Original singer Lenny Wolf declined to participate in the tour, but wishes the rest of the guys all the success and best in the world. Keith St. John (formerly of MONTROSE and LYNCH MOB) will be stepping up to fill that large void, "but is definitely up to the job” according to the bandmembers.


Stag says: "We all love each other like brothers, get along, and laugh a lot. It's like a miracle that this is finally happening!" Frank adds: "It was 30 years ago The Wolf recruited us, The Rock produced us, MTV aired us and VAN HALEN made us Monsters Of Rock. Grateful to rock another day!!!"

KINGDOM COME will tour in 2018 and 2019, performing its debut album in its entirety (when headlining) along with music from its second album, "In Your Face".


KINGDOM COME 30th-anniversary tour dates:

Sept. 27 - Seattle, WA - Club Sur Rocks

Sept. 29 - Sacramento, CA - Holy Diver

Oct. 03 - West Hollywood, CA - Whisky a Go-Go

Oct. 05 - Las Vegas, NV - Vamp’d

Oct. 06 - Ramona, CA - Ramona Mainstage

Oct. 11 - St. Charles, IL - Arcada Theatre

Oct. 17 - Warrendale, PA - Jergel’s

Oct. 18 - Sellersville, PA - Sellersville Theater

Oct. 21 - Derry, NH - Tupelo Music Hall

Oct. 23 - New Bedford, MA - Greasy Luck Brewpub

More shows will be added.

Kottak played on KINGDOM COME's first two albums, 1988's "Kingdom Come" and 1989's "In Your Face" before leaving. The drummer went on to play on MCAULEY SCHENKER GROUP's 1992 "MSG" album before joining SCORPIONS in 1996.

Last year, Kottak told Shut Up & Rock On that he is "so proud" the first two KINGDOM COME albums. "I co-wrote on both of them on a few songs," he said. "They're just great albums. The songs are great. Lenny's incredible. We just killed it."

LED ZEPPELIN comparisons dogged KINGDOM COME throughout the latter band's '80s peak, in particular, Wolf's vocal resemblance to ZEPPELIN singer Robert Plant and the group's penchant for blues-based hard rock, a style ZEPPELIN helped pioneer. Kottak was asked by Shut Up & Rock On how he felt about these ongoing claims. "If you're going to be accused of something, at least rip off the best," he said. "It was just great music. My drumming compared to [legendary ZEPPELIN drummer] John Bonham? Thank you, I'll take it. I think some of the responses from a couple of the guys in the band maybe misled people.

"The press is so funny when a band comes and they get huge really fast. They love to knock them down, some press people do. Sometimes the press won't. It's like, good news travels fast, but bad news travels faster. That's what happened to KINGDOM COME. The same thing happened to QUIET RIOT in the early days. It's what it was. I'm super-proud of this stuff. I never had a problem with it. Call us 'ZEPPELIN rip-offs.' Who cares?

"Before I even went to audition, I got this tape and these four songs were on there. It was just Lenny with his drum machine and him singing. I went, 'Oh my God! This is phenomenal.' I listened to the tape three times in a row. It was 'Get It On' and 'What Love Could Be' and '17' and some other song. I was just going 'This is great!' If anything, '17', if you listen to STP's [STONE TEMPLE PILOTS] 'Vasoline', it's a complete rip-off of '17'. It's the exact same riff. It goes round and round. Who cares? It's just rock and roll."

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

Two-time-Grammy-nominated blues-rock titan Joe Bonamassa returns with a brand-new studio album, "Redemption", which will be released on September 21 via his own record label J&R Adventures. As part of today's announcement, he shares the official music video for the hard-hitting title-track single "Redemption".


"Redemption", Bonamassa's 13th solo studio album and third in a row of all-original material, sees him at his most ambitious yet as he continues to redefine and push the barriers of blues-rock. It features a staggering collection of 12 songs that weave effortlessly through an assortment of genres and reflect the artistic rebirth that he is currently experiencing.

"I'm going through some other stuff in my life I didn't expect to be going through," he explains. "It's a rising, it's contrition, it's acceptance, it's everything. It's painful, but knowing that there's a rising coming."


The album reunites Bonamassa with some of Nashville's finest music minds such as Tom Hambridge, James House, Gary Nicholson as well as Richard Page and American rock and roll legend Dion DiMucci (THE WANDERER, RUN-AROUND SUE) who adds his songwriting expertise to the title track. Joe also continues his long creative relationship with Kevin Shirley and together create an album bigger than ever before. "From a producer's perspective, this is far and away the most challenging and diverse album that Joe has ever made, " says Shirley.


The album was recorded at various locations, including Blackbird Studios in Nashville, The Cave Australia in Sydney, Studio At The Palms in Las Vegas, Criteria Hit Factory in Miami and Addiction Sound Studios in Nashville. It was once again recorded with a remarkable collection of musicians, including drummer Anton Fig (DAVID LETTERMAN BAND), bassist Michael Rhodes, keyboardist Reese Wynans, horn players Lee Thornburg and Paulie Cerra, harmony vocalist Gary Pinto, background singers Mahalia Barnes, Jade McRae, Juanita Tippins, and Kevin Shirley introduced two additional guitar players, Kenny Greenberg and Doug Lancio. "It was interesting, because having two extra guitar players involved, allowed me to play a certain way," Bonamassa adds.

The album opens with a tip of the hat to LED ZEPPELIN on "Evil Mama" that burrows into a deep groove before ripping into the rockabilly-tinged boogie blues of "King Bee Shakedown". Next, Bonamassa dips into his BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION influence to tell a tragic tale with timeless hard rock riffs for "Molly-O" and "Deep In The Blues Again" changes the course yet again with a driving rhythm meant for the car stereo.


"Self-Inflicted Wounds" is most telling of Bonamassa's progression as a true singer-songwriter, and Joe claims it as his best songwriting yet. "Pick Up The Pieces" channels Tom Waits for a late night after hours while "The Ghost of Macon Jones" sees Joe trade vocals with Nashville country singer Jamey Johnson as they recount a cautionary tale of a rural renegade. "Just Cos You Can Don't Mean You Should" channels Gary Moore for an upbeat taste of blues-rock euphoria before Bonamassa makes light of his trials and tribulations on "I've Got Some Mind Over What Matters".


Then Joe strips it down to only acoustic guitar and vocals on the heart-breaking tale of "Stronger Now In Broken Places", which promises that things will be better over time and features MIDNIGHT OIL's Jim Moginie providing soundscapes and Kate Stone on the hand pan. After this intense musical journey, Joe wraps it all up with a traditional blues rock tune with "Love is A Gamble".


There is a resounding theme of redemption and salvation on the album, but also very much a sense of strength and empowerment. "We all need to be redeemed at some point in our lives. It's this yearning to redeem yourself after just this tremendous loss and this tremendous feeling of pain," explains Bonamassa.

Bonamassa is at his ultimate creative peak with "Redemption", which follows the recent release of his last live masterpiece, "British Blues Explosion Live", that debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Blues chart and marked his 20th No. 1 album. Bonamassa's fire is unstoppable both in the studio and live on the road. Joe will also be performing live on tour this summer and fall in North America as he debuts new tracks from "Redemption" as part of his live set.

Rhythm-driven heavy rock band SAULT — featuring members of internationally acclaimed power metal group KAMELOT and groove metal outfit ARCANIUM, and guest appearances by members of KING DIAMOND, ONE EYED DOLL and more — has released a lyric video for the song "Save Myself". The track is taken from SAULT's debut full-length album, "Seeds Of Power", which came out in March.

SAULT originally formed in 2014 as a solo project of acclaimed bassist Sean Tibbetts, who sought to write hookier metallic rock music while not in the studio or touring with his full-time band KAMELOT. After deciding to branch the project out to a full band, Tibbetts joined forces with solo guitarist/tattooist Curtis Jay, and — after an introduction via ONE EYED DOLL and SAULT guest vocalist Kimberly Freeman — linked up with singer Benjamin Riggs of groove metal group ARCANIUM. "Seeds Of Power" features the talents of two rotating drummers — Matt Thompson (KING DIAMOND) and Casey Grillo (KAMELOT).


SAULT draws influence from the heyday of '90s alternative and grunge rock — ebbing and flowing with inspiration from bands like TOOL, LIVING COLOUR, SEVENDUST, SOUNDGARDEN and beyond — and accented by a further heavy metal impact. The sound is catchy and hard-hitting that will appeal to diehard rock fans and metal headbangers alike.

The official video for the song "Last Man Standing" can be seen below. The clip features Michael McCallum and Pat Bird as actors, and was directed by Pat Bird, Pat Dowdle and Jasper Thewes at Bad Trip Design.

"Last Man Standing" is the second of two videos shot with producer Roy Warner — the first being the clip for the single "Adonai". Unlike "Adonai" that was shot in a studio in Detroit, Michigan, band takes for "Last Man Standing" were shot in a warehouse reserved for artist. The story line was filmed in the outskirts of town in a wooded area. The band and producer's crew all brainstormed after the initial shoot to come up with a plot for the story line. SAULT didn't want it to look dystopian or to look old school either; they were aiming for somewhere in the middle. The story meshed well with the music and captures an element of suspense, and the hero of the story did a great job of building up the character to become, in fact, the Last Man Standing.

Tibbets stated about "Last Man Standing": "When I originally wrote the song, I wasn't sure I wanted to use it. But once the guys in the band started putting their own vibe and feel to the song, it became this crushing riff that sticks in your head. It is my personal favorite SAULT song so far."


"Seeds Of Power" track listing:

01. Balance *

02. Guilt ^

03. Adonai ^

04. Entropy (feat. guest vocals by Kimberly Freeman of One Eyed Doll) *

05. Fragile ^

06. Peaceful Moment ^

07. Save Myself ^

08. Last Man Standing *

09. Null Space *

* feat. guest drummer Matt Thompson (KING DIAMOND)

^ feat. guest drummer Casey Grillo (KAMELOT)


"Seeds Of Power" was recorded using the power of the Internet, with different members recording their parts in Florida, Kentucky, Colorado and Texas. The album was then produced, mixed and mastered by Oliver Palotai (KAMELOT, ULI JON ROTH, DORO) in Stuttgart, Germany. Vocal tracking is credited to Adam Stewart of ARCANIUM and additional vocal edits were made by Jason Sewell of ONE EYED DOLL. Contributing writers on the album include Kole Kruger, Vic DeLeon and Jeff Garner.

FALLING IN REVERSE released the standalone single "Losing My Mind" earlier this year. It was a sonic triumph for a band that constantly thrills its fans with unpredictable musical left turns, accompanied by a neon-tinged, rebellious, and futuristic video. It racked up nearly seven million views and nearly three million streams since its release.

The band has followed with the frenetic sequel — "Losing My Life". Watch the video below.

"'Losing My Life' is the continuation of where 'Losing My Mind' ended," said singer Ronnie Radke. "[It's] the dichotomies and ironic parallels between self-reflection and the self-destructive nature that we as humans face on a daily basis in modern times. Whether it be constant judgments from our peers, not being good enough, to not knowing who to trust, I've come to the realization that we are all the same at our core. Yet, ironically, we project our fears in the form of hate onto each other."


He continued: "Bouncing between dimensions, as the video portrays, there are two of me that are polar opposites of each other: one trying to prove to the world he is good enough, and the other trying to stop him from it. He ultimately kills his 'reflection' — the mirrored entity negating his progress by inter-dimensional time travel — only to find that the other version of 'him' he kills comes back to life, regenerating the feelings again. It's my analogy of the cyclical battle we all face on a day to day basis. However, this underlying message can be translated in many different ways. It's all in the eyes and ears of the beholder."

FALLING IN REVERSE will perform at select dates of the final traveling edition of the annual Vans Warped Tour. The band appears from June 28 through July 16.

The band's latest full-length album, "Coming Home", is out now via Epitaph Records.

ALICE IN CHAINS will release its new album, "Rainier Fog", on August 24. The latest single from the effort, "So Far Under" can be streamed below.

About "So Far Under", ALICE IN CHAINS vocalist/guitarist William DuVall says: "It's about feeling completely up against it — outnumbered, surrounded, facing seemingly unbeatable odds and being really pissed off about it. It was inspired by personal circumstances, as well as events in the wider world. But it's not as resigned to defeat as it may seem. The lyric is a cold, hard assessment of a difficult situation but the music has a message all its own. There's still room to flip the script. Every aspect of writing and recording this song will always be remembered with a lot of joy — from recording the basic tracks and the guitar solo at Studio X in Seattle to doing further overdubs at Nick Raskulinecz's studio in rural Tennessee. Everyone in the band and our studio team really stepped up and knocked it out of the park on this one. We're extremely proud of this song and the entire album."

"Rainier Fog" marks a few firsts for ALICE IN CHAINS: in addition to being their first album in five years, it's their first album for BMG and their first time recording in their hometown of Seattle in more than 20 years (worth noting that the album title is a tribute to Seattle). They recorded at Studio X, the same facility where they tracked 1995's self-titled "Alice In Chains" album (back when the studio was known as Bad Animals). The "Rainier Fog" recording process also saw the band spend time at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles and at the Nashville studio of producer Nick Raskulinecz. "Rainier Fog" is the third straight ALICE IN CHAINS album recorded with Raskulinecz and engineer Paul Figueroa. The album was mixed by Joe Barresi (QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, TOOL).

"Rainier Fog" track listing:

01. The One You Know

02. Rainier Fog

03. Red Giant

04. Fly

05. Drone

06. Deaf Ears Blind Eyes

07. Maybe

08. So Far Under

09. Never Fade

10. All I Am

Guitarist and co-vocalist Jerry Cantrell told Guitar World about the upcoming LP: "It's not that we were keeping it a secret — we just didn't want to say a whole lot about it until we had something to say. And we certainly have something to say with this one. It's a fucking strong record."

As for the musical direction of the new ALICE IN CHAINS material, Cantrell said: "It's a record we haven't done yet, I can tell you that. But it's also a record that has all the elements of anything you would expect from us. It's got our fingerprint. And we're really proud of the material that we wrote and the performances we captured. There's some really heavy shit, some really ugly stuff, some real beautiful stuff, some weirdo trippy shit… it's good!"

Cantrell also addressed the fact that it has been five years since the release of ALICE IN CHAINS' last album. "It's a lot of work doing a record," he said, "and I think it gets harder the older we get. But we just wait until we're ready and until we have enough material that's up to the ALICE IN CHAINS standard, and then we do what we do. This is just the racket that we make when we get together."

"The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" was the band's second disc with Duvall, who joined in 2006 following the death of Layne Staley.

"The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" sold 62,000 copies in its first week of release. It followed up 2009's "Black Gives Way To Blue".

The first two singles from "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here", "Hollow" and "Stone", both hit No. 1 on the rock radio airplay charts, while the album itself debuted on the Billboard album chart at No. 2.

Photo credit: Pamela Littky

HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD's new single, "Gotta Let Go", now has an impressive video to accompany it. The offering showcases a raw, authentic performance from the quintet and follows the main character during the final moments of his life, including a surreal encounter in outer space where he learns to finally let go of the past. Watch it below.

"We wanted the 'Gotta Let Go' video to be a visceral experience about letting go of something we all have to part with in the end," says Johnny 3 Tears (vocals, bass guitar). "Our mortality is what gives life its defining purpose. It's our greatest gift and our greatest cross to bear. We wanted to capture that delicate legacy in our own way, and this video was our interpretation of life...and its inevitable ending."

"Gotta Let Go" marks a shift in HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD's sound, highlighting a more melodic and upbeat side of the band. More new music is also on the way — "Gotta Let Go" is the first of a batch of new songs to be released over the coming months.

2018 has been a massive year for HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD. The band recently clocked 1.1 billion total U.S. streams across their catalog, as well as garnering 1.7 million total Shazams, 57 million total global streams of their latest album, "Five", and 30 million views on all six music videos from the record. Their music has also landed on a number of impressive playlists: Spotify's "New Music Friday" and "New Noise" and Apple Music's "The A List Rock." The five-piece have also accumulated 5.5 million total Pandora artist station adds and 2.7 million total Pandora radio spins on their latest album.

After wrapping their headline tour across Europe, HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD will head back to North America for a short run of dates across the northeastern U.S. and Canada. The band will play headliners in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire and Poughkeepsie, New York, followed by slots at Bangor, Maine's Impact music festival and Montréal, Quebec's Heavy Montreal. The guys will also perform at the legendary Reading and Leeds festivals in August.

BLACK TUSK has released the second track from its new album, "TCBT", which is due on August 17 via Season Of Mist. The disc was recorded at The Garage Savannah and mixed by engineer and longtime collaborator Chris "Scary" Adams.

The track "Burn The Stars" can be streamed below.

"TCBT" track listing:


01. A Perfect View of Absolutely Nothing (1:22)

02. Closed Eye (2:28)

03. Agali (3:47)

04. Lab Rat (4:10)

05. Scalped (4:47)

06. Ghosts Roam (4:10)

07. Ill At Ease (4:03)

08. Rest With the Dead (4:55)

09. Never Ending Daymare (2:57)

10. Orange Red Dead (2:06)

11. Whispers (3:29)

12. Burn the Stars (4:14)

On the album, BLACK TUSK comments: "We decided to entitle this record 'TCBT'. It's a play on TCB, taking care of business, add a T to the end and it's 'Taking Care Of Black Tusk.' It's an idea, a slogan, if you will, that James and Athon came up with some years ago, and since his passing and essentially the reformation of this band, we found it fitting for a title.

"We turned inward after 'Pillars Of Ash'. Corey came on board and we did the tours to support that record playing the songs that we had written with Athon, then we took some time off and learned how to write with a new member, we took our time and worked out our ideas, we brought new ideas and talents into the fold.

"This record is something that we are truly proud of. It's its the culmination of two years of reworking ourselves as a band.

"We've closed one chapter of this band [and] are starting anew. We are Taking Care Of Black Tusk.

"We recorded this record as a three-piece and are going to tour to perform it as a four-piece.

"With a nod to our past and with the knowledge of lessons learned and experience gained, we are heading back out full throttle with a new energy and a new band.

"When you listen, you will hear BLACK TUSK, not the old as was, but a new BLACK TUSK keeping tour roots and carving a new path."

BLACK TUSK's latest full-length, "Pillars Of Ash", sadly had to appear posthumously for one member as the band had tragically lost their charismatic bass player Athon through a motorcycle accident. With a heavy heart, BLACK TUSK decided to honor Athon's memory by carrying on and recruited veteran musician and already longtime friend Corey Barhorst (ex-KYLESA) to take over his duties on the low end.


BLACK TUSK is:

Andrew Fidler - guitar, vocals

Corey Barhorst - bass, vocals

James May - drums, vocals

Chris "Scary" Adams - guitar, vocals

Florida death metallers MONSTROSITY will release their first studio album in 11 years, "The Passage Of Existence", on September 7 via Metal Blade Records.

The disc's first single, "Cosmic Pandemia", can be streamed below.

Drummer Lee Harrison recorded his drum tracks at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida with veteran metal producer Jason Suecof. A week was spent creating rock solid drum tracks. Guitar and bass tracks were handled at Ascension Sound in Tampa with the vocal tracks being recorded at OBITUARY's Redneck Studios in Gibsonton, Florida. The mix was handled by producer Mark Lewis (MEGADETH) and the resulting album was born.

Comments Harrison: "First off, I present to you the masterpiece of masterpieces in the MONSTROSITY universe.

"This album requires a certain justice though, and I ask you, as the listener, to properly step up to the task. Don't play this recording on a cheap portable radio or your tiny ear buds. This album was built to be played loud on a killer system. Do yourself that favor, at least for the first few times you play it.

"I know it's so horribly cliché to say 'Play it Loud,' but I can honestly say this album is made for that. Listen to it multiple times. These songs are going to 'pop' live, too. Can't wait to bring these songs to the stage. I'm curious to see the opinions. The response by the fans to the teaser clip we posted was super positive, so I'll be so glad when the single is released and the years of hard work finally come to fruition. Hope to see you guys on the road soon and blast it!"

"The Passage Of Existence" track listing:

01. Cosmic Pandemia

02. Kingdom Of Fire

03. Radiated

04. Solar Vacuum

05. The Proselygeist

06. Maelstrom

07. Eyes Upon The Abyss

08. Dark Matter Invocation (limited digi-CD bonus)

09. The Hive

10. Eternal Void (limited digi-CD bonus)

11. Century

12. Slaves To The Evermore

MONSTROSITY is:

Mike Hrubovcak – vocals

Lee Harrison – drums

Mike Poggione – bass

Mark English – guitars

Matt Barnes - guitars

"Turn To Miami", the new video from the Swedish classic/progressive rock supergroup THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA — featuring members of SOILWORK and ARCH ENEMY — can be seen below. The song is taken from THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA's fourth studio album, "Sometimes The World Ain't Enough", which will be released on June 29 via Nuclear Blast. The disc was again produced by the bandmembers themselves and was recorded at Handsome Hard Music / Larsson Music Studio as well as Nordic Sound Lab in Skara, Sweden. Mixing duties were taken on by the band's guitarist/percussionist Sebastian Forslund and mastering was done by Thomas "Plec" Johansson at The Panic Room.

Just like 2017's "Amber Galactic", the LP will feature two different covers (see below) — one for the regular and the other for the limited edition.

The limited first-edition digipack CD, as well as the vinyl, will include an exclusive bonus track. The Japanese version will also feature an additional cut.

"Sometimes The World Ain't Enough" track listing:

01. This Time

02. Turn To Miami

03. Paralyzed

04. Sometimes The World Ain't Enough

05. Moments Of Thunder

06. Speedwagon

07. Lovers In The Rain

08. Can't Be That Bad

09. Pretty Thing Closing In

10. Barcelona

11. Winged And Serpentine

12. The Last Of The Independent Romantics

13. Marjorie (limited-edition digipack CD and vinyl bonus track)

14. Pacific Priestess (Japanese bonus track)

THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA said in a statement: "THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA returns with another chapter in their steaming space opera that began with 'Amber Galactic'.

"This time, the female space commanders want even more revenge than they already had, space is even more infinite, and the amount of champagne it takes to keep this navy afloat and adrift in the cosmos is probably illegal on most planets!

"Never looking back, THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA boldly goes where no man or woman has ever gone before, and with this album, they've taken another step in their quest to elevate classic rock from being a music genre to becoming an immersive whole-body transcendental experience!

"It's time to prepare yourself, because the riffs will be riffier, the vocals will be throatier, the synthesizers will envelop you, the AOR will be AOR-ier, the long songs will be longer, the short songs will be shorter, the bass will seduce you, the drums will destroy you, the groove will hypnotize and paralyze you. Can you handle it?"

THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA is:

Björn Strid - Vocals

Sharlee D'Angelo - Bass

David Andersson - Guitars

Richard Larsson - Keyboards

Jonas Källsbäck - Drums

Sebastian Forslund - Guitars, Percussion, Special FX

Anna-Mia Bonde - Backing Vocals

Anna Brygård - Backing Vocals

Photo credit: Carlos Del Olmo Holmberg



Main cover:



Limited-edition cover:

Swedish black metallers MARDUK have released the official music video for the title track of their new album, "Viktoria", which was made available on June 22 via Century Media Records.

In a recent interview with the Impact metal channel, MARDUK guitarist Morgan Steinmeyer Håkansson stated about "Viktoria": "For me, it's a continuation of the 'Frontschwein' album. It's, in the sense, a MARDUK album, I would say. The music writes a different journey from 'Frontschwein', I would say, but it's still the continuation for the same thing. As with any other MARDUK, it's a complete different musical journey. It has a lot of variation, power, aggression, devotion, feeling. It's hard to explain when it's so fresh in your mind. But, we're proud of it. I think it's a great MARDUK album.

Morgan also talked about MARDUK's evolution, saying: "It's hard to describe. You constantly play and keep on doing what you believe in. Things change. That's the way it is. You don't do the same thing you did when you were 17 years old or whatever. Most people would say it's a natural progression. We're not one of those bands who sit down and think, 'We have to do this, we have to do that.' We always follow our instinct. We do whatever we think. It's always about making music and lyrics becoming one. The music is reflected in the lyrics and the other way around. That's why we keep on doing whatever theme the album has. This is the fourteenth album and I'm sure the fifteenth is going to be different as well."

Morgan stressed the significance of MARDUK's lyrics, explaining: "The thing that I always say is important is, as I said earlier on and I've said a thousand times, is to make music and lyrics to become one. For instance, a lot of bands, I get the feeling they write music and they just put some lyrics on it just to have something to sing. For us, the lyrics are equally as important as the music and we put a lot of energy into making it fit into each song so they reflect each other so you get the full picture in your mind and it creates a picture in your mind. It should be like a painting stuck in your mind."

"Viktoria" track listing:

01. Werwolf

02. June 44

03. Equestrian Bloodlust

04. Tiger I

05. Narva

06. The Last Fallen

07. Viktoria

08. The Devil's Song

09. Silent Night

Morgan is the sole remaining member of MARDUK who played on the band's debut album, 1992's "Dark Endless".

The official Sitcom Soldiers-directed music video for the song "Callow" from Northern Ireland rockers THERAPY? can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's 15th studio album, "Cleave", which will be released on September 21 via Marshall Records. Roughly themed around notions of duality and division, the band's follow-up to 2015's acclaimed "Disquiet" — and their first recording for Marshall — is a sharply focused, fiercely intelligent, impassioned and empowering set of songs from a band operating at a creative and artistic peak. A scathing, incisive state-of-the-nation address, investigating the schisms in contemporary society and the motivations of those seeking to propagate disjuncture, it's a powerful, challenging, uncompromising collection from a band never afraid to confront and dissect humanity's darkest impulses.

Frontman Andy Cairns talked about the inspiration behind "Callow", taking influence from the likes of Stephen Fry, Lil Peep and how the videos visuals are representative of a zombified society under pressure to utilize Xanax as a form of therapy.

"'Callow' is one of two songs on the album that I wrote start to finish," he said. "Everyone who knows anything about our band know that I love HÜSKER DÜ and THE BUZZCOCKS and RAMONES, and this is another melodic punky song in the vein of 'Nowhere' and 'Screamager' and 'Lonely, Cryin', Only', with maybe a hint of the MANIC STREET PREACHERS' 'The Holy Bible' too.

"My son Jonah is really into a rapper called Lil Peep, which sounds to me like emo with trap drum beats, with lyrics about how fucked up and lost and lonely he feels, and I managed to get Jonah a ticket for his show in London last year. A few months later, he said to me, 'Lil Peep is dead,' and I could see that he was really affected by it: I realized that, for him, this was like the passing of John Lennon or Ian Curtis or Kurt Cobain.

"In some of his music, Lil Peep talked about the antidepressant Xanax, the overuse of which has become a real problem in the U.K., and while I was thinking about that I remembered a Stephen Fry quote where, after he was prescribed antidepressants to combat his manic depression, and he said that he felt like a zombie for months. He said something like, 'If you take away my demons, you'll also take my angels.' His point was that, yes, there were dizzying heights and terrifying lows without antidepressants, but he'd rather have that than constant numbness. So this song is talking about how we negotiate the chaos of life right now, and to understand why someone might numb out so that they don't notice our divides."

From the thrillingly propulsive assault of "Wreck It Like Beckett" via the addictive "Callow" and the unsettling "I Stand Alone" to the disquieting, bleakly beautiful "No Sunshine", the ten tracks which make up "Cleave" coalesce to paint a portrait of a fractured, dislocated world rent by unprincipled, mendacious masters.

Cairns is justifiably proud of the unified drive and restless creativity evident in this powerful, questing collection and says this about the forthcoming opus.

"I know that we can be a difficult sell, because we have no particular niche and no desire to conform," he admitted, "but THERAPY? have always been the kind of band that when people discover us, they immerse themselves deep and keep us close to their hearts. We've never been part of a trend, so we've never been cast aside when fashions changed.

"'Cleave', to me, is THERAPY? at our most focused. I love our more experimental side, but I also love that this record sounds like it was made by a band who're all reading from the same script and moving forward with the same determination and hunger."


"We're living in a time riven by conflict," Andy Cairns stated baldly. "You look at what's happening in the United States at present, what's going on with Brexit in the U.K., with North and South Korea, with Palestine and Israel, and it's impossible not to see turmoil and turbulence. Some of these conflicts have been going on as long as I can remember, but they seemed to really reach a head again around the time we were writing the album. 'Cleave' is our response to the divisions we see all around us."

Cairns credits producer Chris Sheldon (FOO FIGHTERS, BIFFY CLYRO, FEEDER), who worked with the band on 1994's "Troublegum", 1998's "Semi-Detached" and 2003's "High Anxiety", for keeping the band fixated upon delivering their new material with maximum impact, streamlining arrangements and stripping away extraneous fat, setting aside ego in service of the songs.

The result is one of the most formidable, provocative and impactful albums of THERAPY?'s storied 29-year career, once again proving that the band's pre-eminence as one of the U.K.'s most inventive, fearless and individualistic musical artists.

THERAPY? is:

Andrew James Cairns - Vocals/Guitar

Michael McKeegan - Bass

Neil Cooper - Drums

Photo credit: Tom Hoad

Fan-filmed video footage of WHITESNAKE's June 23 performance at BB&T Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Bad Boys

02. Give Me All Your Love

03. Love Ain't No Stranger

04. Slow An' Easy

05. Crying In The Rain

06. Is This Love

07. Slide It In

08. Here I Go Again

09. Still Of The Night

WHITESNAKE and FOREIGNER kicked off their "Juke Box Heroes" tour on June 15 at Darling's Waterfront Pavilion in Bangor, Maine.

Joining WHITESNAKE frontman David Coverdale in the band's current lineup are guitarists Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra, bassist Michael Devin, drummer Tommy Aldridge and keyboardist Michele Luppi.

WHITESNAKE announced in April that it was pushing back the projected release date of its new album, "Flesh & Blood", to next year.

The band's record label, Frontiers Music Srl, issued a statement blaming the delay on "technical issues."

Coverdale recently told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation" that "Flesh & Blood" will "be the best WHITESNAKE album. I know that's clichéd stuff, but I know what I'm talking about. I should do after almost 50 years," he explained.

According to Coverdale, the new disc "has all the necessary WHITESNAKE elements that I need to call it WHITESNAKE, but with a vibrant, fresh coat of paint." The record will mark the first time he has written with WHITESNAKE guitarists Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra. "The longest-standing member of WHITESNAKE, Reb Beach, [he and I had] never written together until this project," he said. "So it's a family affair. It really is cool. I'm very excited for people to hear it."

Coverdale revealed that recording sessions for the new WHITESNAKE album were halted while he recovered from an illness last year. "I got that horrible H3 flu, which took me out for, I think, about six weeks before I started to feel like myself again," he said. "It was horrifying. It was that strain of flu that the anti-flu vaccination didn't cover. It was just an evil, evil, evil strain of flu."

WHITESNAKE filmed a music video for a new song called "Shut Up & Kiss Me" on March 10. "It's a kick-ass song; you're gonna love it," Coverdale told "Trunk Nation". "But there's gonna some real fun elements paying respect and nod to WHITESNAKE's past, but certainly not as dark and as gritty as [WHITESNAKE's] 'Burn' video [from 'The Purple Album']."

WHITESNAKE's latest studio disc, 2015's "The Purple Album", was billed as "a re-imagination of classic songs from Coverdale's time as the lead singer for DEEP PURPLE's Mark III and Mark IV studio albums." Coverdale was DEEP PURPLE's frontman from late 1973 to early 1976 and sang on the albums "Burn", "Stormbringer" and "Come Taste The Band".

Metal Wani's editor in chief Owais "Vitek" Nabi recently conducted an interview with vocalist Ray Alder of progressive metal pioneers FATES WARNING. You can listen to the entire chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On what prompted FATES WARNING to release a live album, "Live Over Europe":

Ray: "It's been about 20 years since we've done the last [live] album ['Still Life'], so, we haven't done a studio album in over nine years and we have a lot of new material that we wanted to play. Basically, after the last four or five years of writing and touring, we decided we're going to take a little break for now and in the meantime or the interim, rather, we would put something out, something for the fans, sort of a 'thank you' for all these years for being behind us and following us for all these years. They're really great fans. It figured it to be a really cool idea. Instead of doing one live show, do a tour out of it and play some of our favorite cities and put it together. It was a cool idea and it worked well, it worked out great for us. I hope people will enjoy it."

On how FATES WARNING selected and then edited the various live shows they recorded:

Ray: "The idea was that a live album is basically supposed to be live and there's no overdubs. The way we did it was we picked the different cities, different songs in different cities and basically, we would pull, if I did a bad part somewhere, we would pull that from another show and put that in there. It's edited together, it's all live, but some of it's from different shows. I'm not perfect. [Laughs] That was the cool idea that we would pull back and forth between different takes. It's sort of like when you record an album in the studio, you do the song ten times, then you pull the best part out of each and do it that way. I don't know if everyone does it that way, but we do it that way sometimes."

On FATES WARNING's varied fanbase:

Ray: "We've noticed that with that last couple of albums we had some younger fans in the audience. Of course, we have regulars and a lot of people that follow us around on European tours. It's crazy. I love it; it seems like a lot of money and a lot of effort. We have noticed that we have some new fans out there that aren't aware that we have back catalog that's as big as it is. That's really a good sign, especially for a band who has been around for 30 years, I think."

On whether FATES WARNING will record another studio album:

Ray: "Right now, we're not in a writing mode. Everyone is kind of doing their own thing. I'm sure that will come out soon enough, of what everyone is doing. For the meantime, there are no plans to write another FATES WARNING album — not in the near future, at least."

On FATES WARNING's future plans:

Ray: "Right now, there's just no plans to go into the studio or write. But, people are working on different things and we're working on another tour right now for South America, so that is still a little up in the air. It's 90 percent sure, but we'll see what happens with that. I can't say anything until it's confirmed."

On his expectations of himself when he joined FATES WARNING in 1987:

Ray: "I don't know. I was really young. It was just something I wanted to do. It wasn't something I planned on. I was kind of doing it as a hobby, just something to have fun with. Getting into the band, I just kind of rolled with it and see where it took us, kind of thing. I really didn't expect that 30 years later I'd still be in a band and touring and living in another country. Life changes without you knowing it."

"Live Over Europe" will be released on June 29 via InsideOut Music.

Captured during the most recent European headlining run for FATES WARNING's acclaimed latest studio album, "Theories Of Flight", in January 2018, "Live Over Europe" includes recordings from eight different cities (Aschaffenburg, Germany; Belgrade, Serbia; Thessaloniki and Athens, Greece; Rome and Milan, Italy; Budapest, Hungary and Ljubljana, Slovenia) and a total of 23 songs in over 138 minutes of playing time, spanning 30 years of the group's seminal career.

"Live Over Europe" was mixed by Jens Bogren (OPETH, KREATOR, SYMPHONY X) and mastered by Tony Lindgren at Fascination Street Studios in Sweden and will be available as limited 2CD mediabook, gatefold 3LP + bonus-2CD or as digital album.

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral