Sally Steele of Vegas Rocks! Magazine conducted an interview with WINGER bassist/vocalist Kip Winger and lead guitarist Reb Beach prior to the band's November 23 show at Vinyl at Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. You can watch the entire chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On whether they think '80s bands never get any respect for their work:

Kip: "I don't know. I think they're starting to get respect again, right? There was a period when the grunge thing hit and we were all the bands that sucked — on, like, 'Beavis And Butthead' and all that stuff — so all the respect went down. But I think it's gone way up now. I think the bands that were really big then — like DEF LEPPARD — they're still selling out arenas. And they're [being inducted into] the [Rock And Roll] Hall Of Fame."

On whether WINGER will ever be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame:

Kip: "That will be a cold day in hell. That will never happen."

Reb: "But I'm always surprised at the amount of people that come to our shows. And all of us '80s band people know each other. We all do the same shows in the Midwest and parts of the country that really appreciate that music. We get lots of people out there, and they all have such a great time. It's just good-time music."

On Kip being a "sex symbol" during their 1980s heyday:

Kip: "I was totally comfortable with it. I went through — we all went through that phase. 'Cause it's the Paul Stanley [KISS] factor — you wanna be a total rock star; David Lee Roth [VAN HALEN], Paul Stanley kind of vibe. But then, musically, we're putting more sophisticated… I don't wanna make value judgments about the music, 'cause KISS is amazing, but there's technically more difficult stuff going on in our music, which we intentionally did that. But being a sex symbol and all that stuff, that was fun. I was a kid, and it was a blast. I did well."

On whether there was instant chemistry when WINGER formed in 1987:

Reb: "It was when we wrote together the first day."

Kip: "It was weird. When we finally got past my solo thing.I had a solo thing that I asked Reb to play some stuff on. Then we called it VICEVERSA, but it wasn't really a band. It was my songs and Reb played on them. But when Reb and I actually started writing, then that's when really the band began. Because Reb's a riff-meister. 'I got this one riff I've had since I was 15.' It was 'Seventeen'. I'm more of a song arranger. He writes great riffs and I know how to arrange, so the chemistry became really obvious early on. We made a commitment to not take any outside work for about six months to see how far we could get, so we wrote the whole first album in those six months."

On the future of rock and roll:

Kip: "There's so many fans all over the world that are still going to see rock shows."

Reb: "I opened GUNS N' ROSES [in Mexico] last week [with WHITESNAKE] and there were 50,000 people there. So, it's still happening. I'm doing Download [festival] next year. Giant shows."

Kip: "Rock is alive and well. It's just that there's a lot of other things out there that are popular. But that was always the case, I think — different genres. It's just that now everybody is so exposed to them all, and there's so much access to them through your phone. It just seems like we get inundated with all these different styles. But I think, ultimately, it really helps everyone's creativity. And then you hear all this fusion stuff coming — like country music has a lot of R&B influences. And in the '90s, it sounded like DEF LEPPARD, 'cause [producer] Mutt Lange was doing it. We just stick to our lane and we do what we do and if people dig it, that's great for us. 'Cause we're still doing it after 30 years, so that's cool. We're not huge, but we do well and we enjoy it."

WINGER's most recent studio album, "Better Days Comin'", was released in 2014 via Frontiers Music Srl.

KISS members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons recently announced that all TSA employees can eat for free at their Rock & Brews restaurants during the government shutdown, now the longest in U.S. history. The political stalemate has caused some 800,000 federal workers to miss paychecks — even though thousands of government employees are required to keep working.

TSA employees can choose to eat either a Pulled Pork Sandwich or a Strawberry Fields Salad.

Speaking to CNN, Stanley said (see video below): "It's obviously tough when people's mortgages are on the line, when people are trying to pay for meals for their children. This is horrific.

"Look, Chris Wallace on Fox said to [Vice President] Mike Pence yesterday that he believed that the government should be open and that this was just leverage," he continued. "The problem is when you're leveraging the government and you're shutting it down… Who is the government? The government is of the people, by the people and for the people. Who are you hurting? You're hurting the people. These are the people who make this country what it is, and to see them in this horrendous position… Everybody — not just me; not just Rock & Brews — everybody can do something.

"The gift of giving is a gift to the people who give also," he added. "So everybody can't give the same, but I always say, 'Don't give until it hurts. You give until it feels good.' It feels good to help people. Those are the people who help us."

Asked for his personal opinion of the current state of the U.S. government, Stanley said: "I think, again, people need to put their political affiliation aside and the priority has to be to get people back to work, back on the payrolls, and then let's figure out what the solution is. I certainly have my own point of view, but I'm not gonna share it, because I'm a rock and roller and I know my place."

In his prime-time address earlier this month, President Donald Trump said a wall along the southern border is key to national security, as he called for lawmakers to fund it and end a partial government shutdown. Democrats called the idea of a physical barrier across the entire border expensive and ineffective, and said the solution involves more personnel and detection technology.

Trump, whose central campaign promise was that Mexico would pay for a wall stretching across the roughly 2,000-mile border, admitted that Mexico would not directly cover the cost of the wall's construction, claiming that it will instead be paid for by revenue gained from a new trade deal pending in Congress.

Public polling continues to indicate a majority of Americans oppose the construction of a border wall. Meanwhile, Trump has continued to argue the wall is needed to resolve a security and humanitarian "crisis," blaming illegal immigration for what he said was a scourge of drugs and violence in the U.S.

According to The New York Times, illegal border crossings have been declining for nearly two decades. In 2017, border-crossing apprehensions were at their lowest point since 1971.

Video footage of METALLICA playing a cover version of the JUDAS PRIEST classic "Delivering The Goods" — with drummer Lars Ulrich on lead vocals — can be seen below. The clip was shot in the METALLICA tuning room before the band's October 18, 2018 concert at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Back in 2016, METALLICA's original manager revealed to Metal Hammer magazine that the band briefly considered making Ulrich its frontman.

Jon "Jonny Z" Zazula, who started working with METALLICA before the release of the band's debut album, "Kill 'Em All", recalled James Hetfield's lack of confidence in handling lead vocal duties. As a possible solution, it was suggested that Ulrich could step up from the drum stool to the microphone.

Zazula told Metal Hammer: "Lars and I planned a lot of stuff. But James wasn't the most confident of singers. I don't think he felt comfortable.

"At one point there was even talk of Lars becoming the frontman. For about five seconds."

Other singers who were being considered for the frontman position in METALLICA included Jess Cox of Newcastle, England's TYGERS OF PAN TANG and John Bush of ARMORED SAINT (and later ANTHRAX), who actually turned the offer down.

Bush later said in an interview: "METALLICA did ask me to join, but I said no for all the right reasons. People must think that's crazy, but you have to remember the scene then. METALLICA was nobody. ARMORED SAINT was hot; you have to remember that. Also, I was very tight with the [ARMORED SAINT] guys, back to elementary school in fact. ARMORED SAINT was getting interest from all kinds of places, and we had a lot of people starting to turn up at shows."

He continued: "METALLICA came to see SAINT at a gig in Anaheim, at The Woodstock in 1982. I heard they were interested in asking me to join, which they did later. The thing was that METALLICA was this new kind of thing, and nobody back then. I don't care what they say now; nobody could have predicted what would happen. I didn't know the guys either, so there was no real interest. It was great to be asked — in fact, a lot of people asked — but ARMORED SAINT was really strong.

"Some time after 'Kill 'Em All' had come out, I heard the same thing again, but I never understood that because James was singing great then and he was doing a great job. I understood the lack of confidence back in '82 but not for 'Ride The Lightning'. James owns that record."

In a 1989 interview with Metal Forces, Ulrich talked about what METALLICA could have sounded like had Bush ended up fronting the group. He said: "Only a couple of days ago, we were actually sitting around talking about how it would be now if John Bush had joined the band. Obviously, it's impossible to know how different it would have been, but I can't imagine METALLICA without James Hetfield up there growling into the microphone, fucking curved over and everything. It's really weird to think about it. I mean, nothing against John Bush — I think he's a great vocalist — but ... Well, thank God it didn't happen."

Welsh glam metal veterans TIGERTAILZ have been forced to cancel their appearance at the HRH AOR VII festival in Wales as a result of guitarist and founding member Jay Pepper's battle with hearing loss which threatens to curtail his long career.

Earlier today, Pepper released the following statement: "I'm very sad to inform you that we have had to cancel our show at Hard Rock Hell in March.

"This has come about as a result of my hearing loss as I was diagnosed with mild hearing loss in 2016.

"Unfortunately, my hearing has continued to deteriorate, and has been further compounded by the onset of severe tinnitus.

"I recently had more audiology tests and the results show I now need to completely remove myself from any loud noise to protect what hearing I have left. It seems the years have finally caught up with me.

"I'm looking at options that will enable me to carry on playing in the future. So hope to be back [as soon as possible].

"Really sorry about this as we never cancel shows. Hope to see you all soon."

HRH AOR VII is scheduled to take place March 14-17 at Haven Hafan y Mor Holiday Park, Pwllheli, Gwynedd, in North Wales.

TIGERTAILZ in 2015 tapped its bassist, Rob Wylde, to sing for the group following the departure of Jules Millis. Wylde was previously the frontman in TEENAGE CASKET COMPANY and the U.K. POISON tribute act POIZON.

Millis left TIGERTAILZ in March 2015 "due to personal reasons." He joined the band in 2012 folllowing the acrimonious exit of TIGERTAILZ's longtime singer Kim Hooker.

TIGERTAILZ's was originally fronted by Steevi Jaimz, who left the group in 1988. Jaimz later attempted to register the TIGERTAILZ name as a trademark with the U.K. Patent Office and launch his own version of TIGERTAILZ with drummer Ace Finchum.

Pepper is the sole remaining member of TIGERTAILZ's classic lineup.


Hi Maniacz,

I’m very sad to inform you that we have had to cancel our show at Hard Rock Hell in March.

This has come...Posted by Tigertailz on Tuesday, January 22, 2019

20th Century Fox's QUEEN biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody" received five Academy Award nominations this morning (January 22): "Best Picture," "Sound Editing," "Sound Mixing," "Film Editing," and "Best Actor," for Rami Malek's portrayal of Freddie Mercury.

The smash biopic will compete for the "Best Picture" prize alongside "Black Panther", "BlacKkKlansman", "The Favourite", "Green Book", "Roma", "A Star Is Born" and "Vice".

Malek was nominated alongside Christian Bale ("Vice"), Bradley Cooper ("A Star Is Born"), Willem Dafoe ("At Eternity's Gate") and Viggo Mortensen ("Green Book").

These five Oscar nominations come after "Bohemian Rhapsody" took home the Golden Globes for "Best Motion Picture – Drama" and "Best Actor - Motion Picture – Drama" for Malek.

Presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, this year's 91st Academy Awards honors films that were released within the 2018 calendar year. The ceremony airs February 24 on ABC and will likely be host-less for the first time in 30 years.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" has already become the highest-grossing musical biopic of all time, bringing in more than $700 million at the worldwide box office.

Sacha Baron Cohen and Ben Whishaw were set to play Freddie Mercury at different stages in the movie's development, prior to Malek's casting. Cohen's vision for the film was reportedly very "adult" in tone and clashed with what the surviving members of QUEEN had in mind, leading to the actor's departure.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" began production with "X-Men" director Bryan Singer behind the camera, but the filmmaker was fired from the movie after he disappeared from set and caused production delays. Dexter Fletcher, best known for making "Eddie The Eagle", stepped in to replace Singer in the director's chair.

German industrial metallers RAMMSTEIN are putting the finishing touches on their first studio album since 2009's "Liebe Ist Für Alle Da". Tentatively due this spring, the effort is being mixed at a Santa Monica, California studio with Rich Costey, an American producer who has previously worked with MUSE, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and FRANZ FERDINAND, among others.

Several new photos from the studio were posted earlier today (Tuesday, January 22) on RAMMSTEIN's official Twitter account and can be seen below. An accompanying caption reads: "Getting closer! Finalizing the mix for the new album in Santa Monica, CA.#Rammstein"

RAMMSTEIN guitarist Richard Kruspe told Metal Wani about the making of the band's new album: "Well, when I thought to do another RAMMSTEIN record, I was like, 'No, I'm going to do that. I'm not going through more suffering,'" he said. "That was four years ago. But what we did in the beginning is we said 'Let's get together and try to come up with three or four songs.' We didn't really put any pressure on us, which was very important at this time. While we were starting to rehearse and stuff and getting ideas, I thought, 'Wow, it's actually very good. Things have changed.' All of a sudden, there's a certain kind of respect that I always missed a little bit. We just had good chemistry, which reminded me of the first time when we started. Then I felt, like, 'What would interest me on a new RAMMSTEIN record?' I thought, 'Every time people talk RAMMSTEIN, it's about fire. It's all about the show.' Nobody talks about the music anymore for RAMMSTEIN, and it kind of bothered me. I was thinking, 'I want to do another record. It has to be musical in a way that can really stand out from other records.' That was my goal, or our goal."

As for the disc's musical direction and how it compares to the band's previous efforts, Kruspe said: "It's so hard to say it, because I'm working four years on the record, I'm so close. I think when I listen to the record — we're still in the process, but it's almost 'RAMMSTEIN 3D' is how I describe it. We have written a lot of stuff, but we recorded, I think, 16 songs right now. We're probably going to mix 11 songs because we're running out of time right now. I think it's going to be out in April, which will be the release date. Then, we'll be on our first stadium tour, which is very exciting."

RAMMSTEIN recently announced a batch of summer 2019 European tour dates. The run of stadium and arena shows will kick off on May 27 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany and end of August 23 in Vienna, Austria.

In 2016 and 2017, RAMMSTEIN played a number of concerts where the band opened each show with a brand-new song, presently only known as "Ramm 4". The track contained lyrics that seemed to be a combination of various titles of previous RAMMSTEIN songs.

Getting closer!
Finalizing the mix for the new album in Santa Monica, CA.#Rammstein pic.twitter.com/A7m60BQ6f1— Rammstein (@RSprachrohr) January 22, 2019

John 5 spoke to WRIF's Meltdown about ROB ZOMBIE's forthcoming studio album, which will arrive later this year via the iconic rocker's new record label, Nuclear Blast Records.

"It's completely finished, all ready to go," he said (hear audio below). "I don't see the artwork, 'cause [Rob] does all the artwork, but the music is mixed, mastered — everything. It's all ready to go. And it is a monster.

"I was just talking to Rob's manager yesterday, and we were really, really excited for it," the guitarist continued. "And we're really excited to play new songs. That's the other thing. It's so fun to get out there and play new songs. It's fun for the band and it's fun for the crowd too."

Asked how long the ROB ZOMBIE band has been working on the new record, John 5 said: "We work on it every little once in a while and we tweak on it. But everything is scheduling. Rob's working on a new movie right now. So everything is scheduling, and he is the master of that stuff. 'Cause he gets everything done. He's not one of those people that says, 'I'm gonna do this,' but you never see it happen. If he says he's gonna do something, it will always come out. And I've learned that from him big time, that's for sure."

John 5 also talked about how the upcoming ROB ZOMBIE album compares to the shock-rocker's previous efforts. "Let's see how I can explain it," the guitarist said. "So, how we used to make records — and maybe I'm just letting the cat out of the bag — but how we used to make records [was] we would come up with music, me and Rob would just come up with this music, and then he would write lyrics to it, and melodies. And that's traditionally how most do it, I would say. So what happened this time is there was very, very, very basic music written and he would write his lyrics and melodies first. So then I came in and then wrote all the stuff. He was absolutely 100 percent perfect and happy with his vocal and melody, and they were phenomenal. Because there wasn't any other music getting in the way, so he could really do exactly what he wanted. And then when I came in and I put all the music around it, it was, like, 'Woah! It took us 15 years to figure this out.' And it is so great. And it's heavy, and it's hooky, and it's exciting."

John 5 went on to say that he hopes other people like the new ROB ZOMBIE record as much as he does. "Because coming from me, I'm a Zombie fan, I'm a WHITE ZOMBIE fan, and I listen to things like that as well, and I've heard it a bunch, and I'm, like, 'Man, this is, like, really something special,'" he said. "If WHITE ZOMBIE came out with this record, I'd be, like, 'This is incredible. This is rad.' It's heavy. It's hooky. It's all the things that we want a ROB ZOMBIE record to be. He really hit it out of the park this time."

Last year, John 5 compared ROB ZOMBIE's upcoming album to THE BEATLES' groundbreaking LP "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", saying that it is "by far the best Zombie record that he's ever done." He added: "A lot of people say, 'Oh, it's just our greatest record,' and I don't say that. Whatever I say is so honest when I'm doing interviews. So I think it's our best record."

2016's "The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser" was the second consecutive effort to feature Zombie and John 5 alongside bassist Piggy D. and drummer Ginger Fish.

Zombie told Loudwire about his upcoming album: "I think it's the best record we've made. Parts of it are the heaviest, parts are the weirdest, it's the most complex record we've ever made, but at the same time, it's always very catchy and listenable, but it's the most intricately structured record."

He added: "There are those songs that go in a direction we've never even gone near before. Personally, I like records that are very varied in sound. Not just like, 'Oh, here's 12 super heavy tracks,’ and they're all the same tempo. I like records that are all over the place. That's why I think my favorite BEATLES record was always The White Album."

According to ScreenDaily.com, a documentary on the life and career of Phil Lynott is now in the works from award-winning Irish filmmaker Emer Reynolds.

"Phil Lynott: Songs For While I'm Away" will include interviews with THIN LIZZY's Eric Bell, Scott Gorham, Darren Wharton, U2's Adam Clayton, Suzi Quatro, Huey Lewis and METALLICA's James Hetfield.

"Having been a huge THIN LIZZY fan throughout my life, it's an incredible honor to be bringing this celebratory and intimate portrait of lead singer and songwriter Philip Lynott to the big screen," said Reynolds.

No release date has been set for "Songs For While I'm Away".

Since his untimely death in 1986, Lynott has left a musical legacy that continues to influence and inspire musicians around the globe. Even the legendary Bob Dylan has been quoted singing LIZZY's praises. Over the years, Lynott's songs have been covered by an array of such diverse performers as HENRY ROLLINS, THE CORRS, SMASHING PUMPKINS, RANDY BACHMAN, HUEY LEWIS, METALLICA and THE CURE.

Last month, RTÉ, Ireland's national television and radio broadcaster, aired "Phil Lynott: Scéalta Ón Old Town", the story behind the making of the late THIN LIZZY singer's promotional video for his song "Old Town", on RTÉ One. The documentary was made exclusively for RTÉ.

In a new interview with Loudwire, Rex Brown recalled how he found out about the passing of his onetime PANTERA bandmate Vinnie Paul Abbott last June. "It was just another phone call of, 'Are you sitting down?'" he said. "And I'm, like, 'Oh my god. Who is it now?' Never in a million years would I have thought it would be Vinnie. It's just wild, and it's insane."

The 54-year-old bassist, who lost another PANTERA bandmate, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, 14 years earlier, continued: "I had to reflect on it and it's something you have to process. I learned the first time with Dime, and it took me years in therapy to get the fuck over.

"When those tragedies hit, you just pull your boots up as much as you can and you go," he said.

Brown looked back fondly on his time in the legendary metal band.

"We just had a hell of a rhythm section, and it hasn't been touched since," he said. "I don't want to sound egotistical about it, but we were pretty fucking tight, dude… even at our sloppiest [Laughs] … even at our drunkest [Laughs]."

He added: "I played along with Vinnie and to Vinnie, and Vinnie would play off of Dime. It was very integrated, and we knew exactly where each other were going to go. I think all those years we played in the clubs just made us a tighter band. That's why we had that big sound with the guitar, and everything just had its place.

"Vinnie was just an incredible drummer and I really miss the camaraderie of years past," he said.

Rex went on to say that he is proud of PANTERA's legacy.

"We get new fans daily," he said. "Somebody who hasn't heard of PANTERA may hear of it from their dad or from other kids. I may go to the mall like once a year to get something, and I'll see brand new PANTERA shirts all over the fucking mall. Kids are still wearing them. It's everywhere. It's a weird phenomenon that I've been incredibly blessed with. We did something right and we made a mark somewhere and it still stands the test of time and is something to be proud of."

Vinnie Paul's death came about a year after he slammed Rex's memoir as "a bunch of mythology."

In Brown's 2013 book, "Official Truth, 101 Proof: The Inside Story Of Pantera", the former PANTERA bassist referred to Vinnie as "a strange person" who "was always all about the 'party, party, party'" but "only got laid maybe one out of ten times."

Brown defended his comments about Vinnie Paul during an interview with the "Energize With Lonn Friend" podcast.

"I didn't go out of my way to maliciously hurt any individual," he said. "But at the same time, if you're gonna tell the truth, by God, you'd better be on the skinny… If [you're] not [being completely truthful in your memoir], I think it's all a bunch of charade… And why would you wanna do that?"

Rex's debut solo album, "Smoke On This…", was released in July 2017 via Entertainment One (eOne). The effort marked the first time in Brown's career where he served as both lead vocalist and guitarist in a band. A follow-up LP is tentatively due later this year.

After more than 25 years out of print, Cathedral's all time classic The Ethereal Mirror is finally being reissued on vinyl via Earache Records; the street date is April 5th.

The Ethereal Mirror was almost as drastic a departure from Cathedral's slow and meloncholic doom drenched debut, Forest Of Equilibrium, as was Lee Dorrian fronting Cathedral after playing in Napalm Death. Featuring fan favourites and MTV video hits "Midnight Mountain" and "Ride", this album ushered in the Cathedral we know and recognise today with their doomy Sabbath-esque riffs mixed with more groove laden rock!

Coming in three different colours of wax, as well as black vinyl for the purists, the album is also available to order as a bundle, with the choice of either the Forest Of Equilibrium t-shirt or The Ethereal Mirror t-shirt. Pre-order your copy here.

Tracklisting:

"Violet Vortex (Intro)"
"Ride"
"Enter The Worms"
"Midnight Mountain"
"Fountain Of Innocence"
"Grim Luxuria"
"Jaded Entity"
"Ashes You Leave"
"Phantasmagoria"
"Imprisoned In Flesh"

 

 

Female fronted thrash outfit Dying Gorgeous Lies will release its new album The Hunter And The Prey on March 22nd via Massacre Records.

The album was mixed and mastered by Charles Greywolf at Studio Greywolf. The killer artwork - available below along with the tracklisting - was created by Thomas Kilian / Soulcatcher Photography.

"From The Ashes / Hellfire"
"We Are The Apocalypse"
"Revolution Day"
"…And As The Bombs Fell"
"Fatal Craving"
"New World Order"
"Ancient Tales"
"Beast Mode"
"Greetings From Aleppo"
"Sweet Taste Of Lies"

The band keeps on evolving: with the addition of keyboardist / piano player Jay'Na D., the songs turned out to be more open and melodic without losing their heaviness. And Liz's voice is even more brutal and versatile.

Dying Gorgeous Lies has released two short teaser videos, both of which include snippets from new songs. Portions of "From The Ashes" and "New World Order" are featured in the first teaser, whereas an audio glimpse of "Hellfire" is featured in the second teaser.

For further details, visit Dying Gorgeous Lies on Facebook.

 

A Pale Horse Named Death released their third studio album, When The World Becomes Undone, on January 18th via Long Branch Records; an imprint of SPV. A full album stream can be found below.

The new album was mastered by Maor Appelbaum (Faith No More, Meat Loaf, Yes, Sepultura, Halford) at Maor Appelbaum Mastering while the artwork was once again created by Sam Shearon (Rob Zombie, Fear Factory, Cradle Of Filth).

When The World Becomes Undone can be ordered here.

Available album formats:

- Box-Set
- Limited and serially numbered (550 copies worldwide) incl. exclusive green-black marbled 2LP Version, CD Digipak, Beanie, Patch, Guitar pick, Sticker)
- Long Branch Records Shop Bundle
- EMP Bundle
- 2LP Edition incl. 180g black vinyl, printed inner sleeves and download code
- CD Digipak
- Download
- Stream

Tracklisting:

"As It Begins"
"When The World Becomes Undone"
"Love The Ones You Hate"
"Fell In My Hole"
"Succumbing To The Event Horizon"
"Vultures"
"End Of Days"
"The Woods"
"We All Break Down"
"Lay With The Wicked"
"Splinters"
"Dreams Of The End"
"Closure"

Album stream:

(Photo - Sandi Ryan Golightly Photos)

WDR Rockpalast has uploaded professionally-filmed video of Blackberry Smoke's entire performance on October 13th at Crossroads Festival 2018 in Bonn, Germany. Watch below.

Setlist:

"Nobody Gives A Damn"
"Good One Comin' On"
"Waiting For The Thunder"
"Let It Burn"
"Believe You Me"
"Medicate My Mind"
"Sleeping Dogs"
"Come Together"
"Sleeping Dog"
"Shakin' Hands With The Holy Ghost"
"The Whippoorwill"
"Run Away From It All"
"Sailin' Shoes"
"Ain't Got The Blues"
"Flesh And Bone"
"One Horse Town"
"Like An Arrow"
"Ain't Much Left Of Me"
"Rollin' And Tumblin'"
"Ain't Much Left Of Me"

Seminal Canadian melodic death/folk metal band, Blackguard, announces their first show in over four years as well as their plans to independently release their long-awaited fourth studio album, Storm, in 2019 to follow their 2011 full length Firefight on Victory Records and 2009's Profugus Mortis, released on Sumerian and Nuclear Blast.

The band made the following announcement: “It is with great pleasure that we can finally start sharing with you our plans for this year! We will be playing our first show in four years at Coalition in Toronto on March 22nd with Crimson Shadows (Napalm Records) and Borealis (AFM Records)! This will be one hell of a fun show with some of our oldest friends so come out and make this a night no one will forget.

"Details / pre-order info for our new album, Storm, will be revealed in the coming weeks and of course, some new music for everyone to sink their teeth into. It’s been a long time coming, but we’re finally here so stay tuned!

"We would like to take this time to thank all of you from the bottom of our black hearts for your continuing support for this musical entity that has been such a huge part of our lives for so long. This next chapter in our history is a return to our roots, we’re going at this alone again without the shackles of business obligations that brought us to the brink in the past. This is a labor of love beyond the typical metrics of “success” or “failure” and sharing this piece of us with you is our apotheosis.

"And finally, for those who don’t know how this all began….

"Our out of print first record, So It Begins…, under our original name Profugus Mortis, is now available for download on our Bandcamp page for $5. It’s a trip to hear the band’s evolution to what we are now and we hope you will enjoy this glimpse into our history."

DEVILDRIVER's upcoming co-headlining tour with STATIC-X will see the Dez Fafara-fronted outfit performing material from COAL CHAMBER, the band that put him on the musical map and gave him his first and only gold-certified album in the shape of the group's 1997 debut.

COAL CHAMBER existed for ten years before disbanding in 2003 to pursue other musical projects. They reunited in 2011 for touring purposes but it wasn't until 2014 that the band began work on a new studio album of original material, 2015's critically acclaimed "Rivals". Several months of touring activity followed before Dez returned to DEVILDRIVER to make a new record, 2016's "Trust No One".

Earlier today, Fafara took to Twitter to confirm that DEVILDRIVER will finally start playing songs from COAL CHAMBER during its live set when the former outfit kicks off its tour with STATIC-X on June 18 in Tempe, Arizona.

He wrote (edited for clarity): "So, yes, for the first time ever DEVILDRIVER is playing a bunch of COAL CHAMBER songs, and when you hear this shit with double kick and two guitars, there's no going back — trust that! I waited years and tried to keep 'em separate, but it's time for me to embrace all that I am as a singer.

"I might also add that unlike other cats like [Rob] Zombie, etc., when I left COAL CHAMBER, I never hung my hat on playing those songs with DEVILDRIVER. In hindsight, and as I waited for things to reform, it was a mistake and apologies to all who waited almost 20 years for one short-lived COAL CHAMBER run and record, so here I go into the future embracing all that's ever been me as a vocalist. [Keep] in mind this will ONLY BE SELECT SHOWS, so I would get tickets fast as I'm seeing already tons of venues are gonna sell out!

"There's times you fucking lay in bed and go, 'When is the right time?' And that's for anything. Or what if someone passes away, etc.? then what then when. And that pertains to everything as well, so I thought it out and talked it out.

"COAL CHAMBER MUSIC is YOURS, not mine, so why wait, why hold people off, why make people wait, the older generation, the new generation that want to hear [COAL CHAMBER] songs sung by the guy who fucking recorded 'em.

"Now, think DEVILDRIVER. Now think that band doing these [COAL CHAMBER] songs. Now think, 'Holy fuck! How is the stage not gonna fucking implode?'"

Fafara painted a bleak picture of COAL CHAMBER's future during a 2016 interview with Revolver magazine. He stated at the time: "I had a lot of fun doing that record and playing shows with them again. But there were some circumstances that were not ideal and that's why that thing is not continuing as of right now. If something comes up and I have time and want to make a record and the members have their shit together, I'll do it. But as of now, there's some deep-seated shit that certain dudes in the band still need to work out. And if they work it out and want to tour or make another record, they can come back and give me a call. But right now, everyone in DEVILDRIVER is stoked. No one's fighting. And I feel lucky to be where I am."

Dez had stated in previous interviews that COAL CHAMBER's original split happened because "I did not want to be around the band's hard drug use and I realized that going onstage every night that the money was feeding their habit, so I walked to save my friends." He added that his COAL CHAMBER bandmates were "clean" as of 2012, which made him realize that "it was the right thing to walk [away from the group back in 2003]."

Portuguese heavy metal battalion, Ravensire, has entered Studio 13 in Lisbon to begin work on their third full-length album, A Stone Engraved In Red. The album will be engineered once again by Paulo 'Paulão' Vieira and is due next summer via Cruz Del Sur Music.

The follow-up to 2016's The Cycle Never Ends will be the first to feature new members Mário (guitar) and Alex (drums), both of whom took part in live activity that saw Ravensire take their brand of traditional metal into Europe.

According to founding guitarist Nuno, A Stone Engraved In Red will feature all the trademarks of Ravensire's sound, but with some new twists. "We have started exploring a bit more when it comes to developing musical themes inside a song," he says. "We have a couple of longer - even by our standards - songs, with plenty of changes in moods and tempo. The material is quite diverse and, personally, it is always a good sign when you listen to your own stuff and enjoy it!"

"The songwriting remained the same for us," he continues. "Someone will come up with a skeleton for a song more or less finished, and then we work it up as a whole band and everyone adds their part. There is one song, however, that was co-written by me and Mário. He did come up with an initial idea and then I added other parts and we created a structure. But, that was the exception to the norm!"

Nuno confirms song titles such as "Carnage At Karnag", "Gabriel Lies Sleeping" and "The Games Of Titus" and their own tribute to recently-deceased Manilla Road leader Mark Shelton, "After The Battle".

"Mark gave so much to the scene, so we felt it was right to dedicate this song to him. In addition, we have another tribute called 'Dawning In Darkness,' which is dedicated to Hartmuth 'Barbarian Wrath' Schindlerwho had a terrible misfortune in the hospital and has been in a coma for more than a year. We want to pay our deepest respect and friendship to both of them."

Like previous Ravensire efforts, the album artwork for A Stone Engraved In Red will be in black and white, although Nuno admits there may be a surprise within the cover. As such, Nuno says the title of the album has a deeper meaning for the band: "It's a statement that no matter what we do, we want it to be rock solid and stand the test of time, just like the epitaphs of old."

British rockers BRING ME THE HORIZON have released another new song called "Mother Tongue". The track, which was just featured as Zane Lowe's World Record on Apple Music's Beats 1, is taken from the band's upcoming album, "Amo", which will be released on January 25 via Columbia Records. The band spent last summer writing and recording in Los Angeles, with singer Oli Sykes and keyboardist Jordan Fish handling production.

Oli told Zane Lowe about the musical direction of "Amo": "We didn't really know what we wanted, but we just knew we wanted to be different. We wanted to still be BRING ME THE HORIZON, but make people feel the things they felt with us in different ways and try to do it sonically different. And it took a while to find that sound and stuff, 'cause I think, for me, I love the fact that I can sing now and I can write these lyrics that have important messages and they can almost stick in people's heads, so that they're easier to get across. So, for us, we still wanted those huge choruses, but I feel like we had so much experimentation in us that we've been dying to do for maybe the last five years or so."

Regarding "Mother Tongue", Oli said: "The whole album's kind of explores loving and different aspects of that. Toxic relationships and the end of relationships, really. It's also about the positive side of love and obviously when you first fall in love, it's got to be the greatest feeling. It's probably the most gushing, out-there, just straight-up love song we've ever written. This was one of the easier ones to write, because it was positive. It's about when I first met my new wife. She's from Brazil, and she didn't speak so much English. She talked a lot better than my Portuguese, but from the very start, we had a really, really strong connection, and it was just a crazy time. And this song's just talking about those experiences, which they just stick in my head. So, that was really one of the easier ones to write about."

BRING ME THE HORIZON is in Nashville preparing for tomorrow's kickoff of its Live Nation-produced North American headline tour, to be followed by shows in South America, Australia and a plethora of festivals around the world.

Ingested have announced an extensive round of dates in March and April. The Kings, Gods, Deities tour, which will see the Manchester-based band playing a number of headlining shows as well as supporting The Black Dahlia Murder, runs from March 27th to April 14th and will cover a massive portion of the UK and Ireland.

The band commented, "After a short break from touring The Level Above Human in 2018, we have been working on our most extensive UK tour in our 13 year history, 17 shows across the UK and Ireland with some select dates supporting The Black Dahlia Murder. This is only the beginning of 2019 for us. Stay tuned for more announcements in the coming weeks!"

Dates:

March
27 - Glasgow, UK - Audio
28 - Dundee, UK - Beat Generator
30 - Stoke-On-Trent, UK - Underground
31 - Leicester, UK - Soundhouse

April
1 - York, UK - Fibbers
3 - Nottingham, UK - Alberts
4 - Plymouth, UK - Junction
5 - Bristol, UK - Fleece (with The Black Dahlia Murder)
6 - Northampton, UK - The Black Prince
7 - Dublin, IE - Voodoo Lounge (with The Black Dahlia Murder)
8 - Limerick, IE - Dolan's (with The Black Dahlia Murder)
9 - Belfast, UK - Voodoo
10 - Manchester, UK - Rebellion (with The Black Dahlia Murder)
11 - London, UK - Underworld (with The Black Dahlia Murder)
12 - Southampton, UK - Joiners
13 - Worthing, UK - Bar 42
14 - Canterbury, UK - UCA Bar

Ingested have also entered the studio recently to begin recording a new EP and follow-up to their career defining 2018 album ,The Level Above Human. More details coming soon.

A performance clip of "Arrival (Live At The Fillmore)", taken from the forthcoming KING DIAMOND DVD/Blu-ray, "Songs For The Dead Live", can be viewed below. The set will be released on January 25 via Metal Blade Records.

There is only one King Diamond, and for more than thirty years the great Dane has been dropping classic albums and putting on shows fans remember for the rest of their lives. Perhaps the only downside to having such a formidable catalogue is that there are just too many great songs to fit into a single set. However, you would be hard-pressed to find a fan who wouldn't want to hear 1987's seminal "Abigail" in its entirety, and "Songs For The Dead Live" captures this, twice, and in very different locales. Boasting eighteen songs per set, each of the two shows — Belgium's Graspop Metal Meeting in June 2016 and Philadelphia's Fillmore in November 2015 — features a brace of classic KING DIAMOND and MERCYFUL FATE tracks, including "Welcome Home", "Halloween" and "Eye Of The Witch" before launching into "Abigail". The performances of the all-star lineup of musicians, comprising of guitarists Andy LaRocque and Mike Wead, bassist Pontus Egberg and drummer Matt Thompson, are absolutely ferocious, hammering home every single moment.

"Songs For The Dead Live" can be pre-ordered in the following formats:

* 2DVD/CD 6-Panel Digipak

* Blu-ray (includes audio digital download of Philadelphia Show)

* special edition box set with 5 discs (2DVD, 2CD, 1 Blu-ray) plus poster, flier, laminate, setlist, ticket, sticker, and guitar pick (limited to 3000 copies)

* opaque blue with white splatter vinyl (U.S. retail exclusive - limited to 600 copies)

* opaque red with black splatter vinyl (U.S. webstore exclusive - limited to 200 copies)

* opaque white with black splatter vinyl (U.S. webstore exclusive - limited to 200 copies)

* 180g black vinyl (EU exclusive)

* transparent amber marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 700 copies)

* clear ghost white vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 500 copies)

* orange-brown/black marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 300 copies)

* black/purple melt vinyl (Nuclear Blast exclusive - limited to 200 copies)

* orange/red marbled vinyl (Napalm exclusive - limited to 300 copies)

* clear lavender marbled vinyl (EMP exclusive - limited to 200 copies)

* clear ash grey marbled vinyl (Bengan exclusive - limited to 200 copies)

* pink blue marbled vinyl (Ebay exclusive - limited to 200 copies)

Captured on film by director Denise Korycki for Wild Wind Studios, she worked closely with King on every aspect of filming, and throughout the viewer finds themselves front and center as the shows unfold. This includes some inventive camera placement, such as riding in on the back of the wheelchair as it is wheeled out to "Out From The Asylum" at the start of the show, or looking up from the coffin at the commencement of "Abigail" opener "Funeral", which adds an extra dimension to proceedings. Naturally, the theatricality that has become synonymous with KING DIAMOND is there in full force, making for an even more immersive experience. The gothic stage set and the participation of actors playing out certain scenes tying into the songs definitely increases the drama and the sense of complete disconnect from the trappings of reality, ensuring that the shows remain riveting from start to finish.

While the setlists are virtually identical, the drastic difference in the two venues make for distinctly different atmospheres. The sweeping, epic scale of Graspop and the virtual sea of baying metalheads makes for a particularly thrilling spectacle, King holding them all in the palm of his hand. The Fillmore show is immediately more intimate, and rather than a mixed bag of metal lovers drunk on a weekend of the heavy stuff, the audience is comprised entirely of the KING DIAMOND devout, screaming back every word, their love for their hero bleeding from every frame. "Songs For The Dead Live" gives those who missed out on seeing these shows in the flesh a chance to vividly experience them, offering so much deeper an experience than your run of the mill live DVD.

Graspop Metal Meeting track listing

01. Out From The Asylum

02. Welcome Home

03. Sleepless Nights

04. Halloween

05. Eye Of The Witch

06. Melissa

07. Come To The Sabbath

08. Them

09. Funeral

10. Arrival

11. A Mansion In Darkness

12. The Family Ghost

13. The 7th Day Of July 1777

14. Omens

15. The Possession

16. Abigail

17. Black Horsemen

18. Insanity

The Fillmore track listing

01. Out From The Asylum

02. Welcome Home

03. Sleepless Nights

04. Eye Of The Witch

05. Halloween

06. Melissa

07. Come To The Sabbath

08. Them

09. Funeral

10. Arrival

11. A Mansion In Darkness

12. The Family Ghost

13. The 7th Day Of July 1777

14. Omens

15. The Possession

16. Abigail

17. Black Horsemen

18. Insanity

After turning back the clock in 2018 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of its Jamey Jasta-produced debut, "As Real As It Gets", the Queens, New York-based SWORN ENEMY resets its sights on the present day with its punishing new album, "Gamechanger". Due April 5 via M-Theory Audio, the disc — produced by Robb Flynn of MACHINE HEAD, and engineered, mixed and mastered by Zack Ohren (SUFFOCATION, FALLUJAH, WARBRINGER) — features 11 tracks that expertly fuse metal, thrash and New York hardcore.

Vocalist and founding member Sal Lococo says the new album — nearly five years in the making — will be worth the wait. "The new album is savage as fuck," he says. "Now it's time to get back out on the road and show everyone how fucking great this new shit is!"

"Gamechanger" track listing:

01. Intro

02. Prepare For Payback

03. Seeds Of Hate

04. Coming Undone

05. Justify

06. DOA

07. Fragments Of A Broken Life

08. The Fall Of Modern Man

09. Selling A Dream

10. The Consequence

11. Integrity Defines Strength

SWORN ENEMY was first signed by HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta, who released the group's first two EPs on his Stillborn Recordings label in 2001 and 2002. He also produced the band's full-length debut, "As Real As It Gets", memorably praised by Lambgoat as "music that inspires you to want to beat the living piss out of the next unsuspecting person who walks in the room." The album was released by Elektra Records in 2003, a year that saw the band deliver memorable performances on tour with Ozzfest.

In the 15 years since, SWORN ENEMY released four additional albums of punishing metallic hardcore and toured with a number of notable acts, including ANTHRAX, MASTODON, FEAR FACTORY, SEPULTURA, SUICIDE SILENCE, DYING FETUS, EARTH CRISIS, MADBALL, BIOHAZARD and HATEBREED.

SWORN ENEMY is:

Sal Lococo - vocals

Matt Garzilli - guitar

Mike Pucciarelli - bass

Jeff Cummings - guitar

Taykwuan Jackson - drums

Tommy Victor will reflect on more than 30 years of PRONG releases through a YouTube series called "Tommy Plays Prong, Retrospects Of Music And Life". In the series, Victor will highlight various tracks from the 12-album PRONG catalog and do guitar playthroughs. Victor will also discuss growing up in Flushing, Queens, New York, living on the Lower East Side of New York City in the violent eighties, working at CBGB as a sound engineer from 1986 to 1990, and touring with PANTERA, WHITE ZOMBIE, BAD BRAINS and SEPULTURA.

"PRONG was definitely a Lower East Side band," says Victor. "We weren't a bunch of kids in the suburbs playing in garages. We were part of that whole art scene, the same scene as street artists like Keith Haring and Basquiat. It was a completely different world back then. A lot of people were willing to live Spartan lifestyles in shitty conditions in this fantasy art world."

On doing sound at CBGB from 1986 to 1990:

"Hilly (owner CBGB) just threw me in there. I had no idea what I was doing. He trusted me because I was 'in a band' and had me give thumbs up or down on the band playing the hardcore matinees."

Having been clean from drugs and alcohol for many years, a sober Tommy reflects on the glorification of the early "druggie-chic" days.

"In those days, it was cool to be a junkie. A lot of early punk times revolved around that. That type of rebellion against society, the ultimate rebellion is trying to kill yourself with drugs. That era, where a dark hedonism was a priority in people's lives doesn't really exist anymore, which I think is good."

On longevity, and finding one's path:

"Inevitably, if you survive, you come to the realization that all that stuff was a fad, really, and there's more to life than those old statements that you thought were so important earlier on. There's important aspects of it, but there has to be balance in your life, you have to move on, you keep walking in life, you don't just stay there."

The first two trailers for the "Tommy Plays Prong" series can be seen below.

VIXEN has recruited FEMME FATALE's Lorraine Lewis as its new lead singer following the recent departure of Janet Gardner.

Lewis has already performed with VIXEN, having fronted the group in March 2018 in Durant, Oklahoma while Gardner was recovering from surgery (see video below).

VIXEN members Roxy Petrucci (drums), Share Ross (bass) and Brittany Denaro (guitar) announced Lorraine's addition to the band in a Facebook post earlier today.

"Waiting for the Big One”!?!??! Then wait no more!" they wrote.

"Show some love and support for Hurricane Lorraine Lewis!

"Back with VIXEN to take care of some unfinished business!

"Join us on our 2019 'There's no Cryin' in Rock N Roll' Roadshow.

"See you at The Show!"

Last week, Petrucci, Ross and Denaro vowed to "expand upon the VIXEN legacy while remaining true to our musical roots."

Gardner, who released her debut self-titled solo album in 2017, broke the news of her exit from the group on January 16.

"After much soul searching and many sleepless nights, I have decided that it's time for me to step aside and let Roxy and Share pursue their vision for the future of VIXEN," she wrote.

"VIXEN will always have a very special place in my heart and I am incredibly grateful to have been a part of it," she continued.

"I would like to thank everyone for the amazing support over the years, and as Roxy and Share continue to keep the heart and soul of VIXEN alive and well and I continue on my path, your continued support to all would be greatly appreciated."

Gardner, Petrucci and Ross are considered to be part of VIXEN's classic lineup, along with founding guitarist Jan Kuehnemund, who died of cancer in October 2013.

Gardner contributed lead vocals to VIXEN's most commercially successful studio albums — "Vixen" (1988), "Rev It Up" (1990) and "Tangerine" (1998) — as well as the group's latest release, last year's live album "Live Fire".

A year ago, Gardner underwent surgery to remove blood clots in her brain, a condition known as a subdural hematoma. At the time, she was touring in support of her solo album, which came out in August 2017 via Pavement Entertainment. The disc was a collaboration between the singer, who works days as a part-time dental hygienist, and her husband, guitarist/producer Justin James, who has previously worked with STAIND, COLLECTIVE SOUL and TYKETTO.

Swiss folk metallers ELUVEITIE will release their new album, "Ategnatos", on April 5 via Nuclear Blast. The cover artwork for the disc was created by Travis Smith and can be seen below.

The band states: "'Ategnatos' probably became our most organic album by all accounts. It is the result of a thoroughly intuitive process, where we gave creativity full scope. And during this process quite some back-to-the-roots developments emerged in diverse aspects. Many a riff off 'Ategnatos' reminds on the guitar work on 'Slania'. Following our gut feeling, we brought the mixing duties back to Jens Bogren's Fascination Street studios, where our Nuclear Blast debut was produced. And regarding the album artwork, it soon became very clear to us that we'd love to work with the fabulous Travis Smith again, who already created the front covers of our albums 'Spirit' (14 years ago!) and 'Everything Remains As It Never Was'. And we're honestly excited with the result! The front cover shows a spectacular scenery in central Switzerland, a so-called 'vulva cave', as it was sought to mark sacred rites of fertility and celebrations of life in ancient times! The artwork mystically and beautifully expresses the 'Ategnatos''s very core and essence! Once again, it was a pleasure to work with Travis!"

Recordings for "Ategnatos" took at New Sound Studio with their engineer of choice Tommy Vetterli.

A work based on archaic archetypes and the ancient concept of renewal, "Ategnatos" unfolds an elemental force to be reckoned with. "These archetypes are still within us," leader Christian "Chrigel" Glanzmann says. "People didn't change that much during the last 3000 years — and men were always just men." No wonder the album follows a decidedly darker, monumental tone that suits them very well.

Of course, ELUVEITIE has long had its very own trademark sound, a sonic adventure often copied but never overcome. With "Ategnatos", the dedicated nine-piece not only worked with a real string quartet and granted Fabienne Erni's sublime mastery of the harp the room it deserved; they also undertook a holistic upgrade resulting in some of the catchiest, most aggressive and most epic tunes the Swiss metal nobility has ever offered.


ELUVEITIE has also announced a European tour with LACUNA COIL and INFECTED RAIN.


ELUVEITIE states: "Our last few months have been extremely intense, creating 'Ategnatos'. Now we simply cannot wait to bring our new songs to the stages and to share our passion, pure fucking metal and heartfelt Celtic mysticism with you all! And all the more we're excited to bring such great bands with us! We feel honored to team up with our fellows of the heavyweight institution called LACUNA COIL and also with the amazing wizkid that is INFECTED RAIN, whom we've shared festival stages with a few times already!"

LACUNA COIL adds: "Transformation is a process and as life happens you need tons of new music! That's why we are really excited to team up with ELUVEITIE and our buddies in INFECTED RAIN for this fantastic tour package. The bill is pretty diverse and interesting and we can't wait to bring it around Europe. We will play some of our classic songs and introduce some new tunes! We know this tour is going to be rocking, and we know the fans are going to enjoy this as much as we are!"

Lena from INFECTED RAIN comments: "2019 appears to be very promising for INFECTED RAIN! A lot of new releases, new relationships and new places to visit. We are excited about all of this and especially about the autumn tour that is going to end the year so perfectly. We are going to support two great bands and amazing people on tour for more than forty shows around Europe. We are honored to share the stage with ELUVEITIE and LACUNA COIL."

Tour dates:

Nov. 02 - I - Bari - Demodè **

Nov. 03 - I - Rome - Orion **

Nov. 05 - I - Bologna - Estragon **

Nov. 06 - I - Milan - Live Club **

Nov. 08 - D - Stuttgart - LKA Longhorn

Nov. 09 - D - Oberhausen - Turbinenhalle II

Nov. 10 - B - Antwerp - Trix

Nov. 12 - GB - Manchester - Ritz **

Nov. 13 - GB - Glasgow - Garage **

Nov. 14 - IRL - Dublin - Academy **

Nov. 15 - GB - Bristol - SWX **

Nov. 16 - GB - London - The Forum **

Nov. 17 - NL - Utrecht - Tivoli Ronda*

Nov. 19 - D - Frankfurt - Batschkapp

Nov. 20 - D - Hannover - Capitol

Nov. 21 - D - Berlin - Huxleys

Nov. 22 - D - Leipzig - Felsenkeller

Nov. 23 - D - Munich - Tonhalle

Nov. 24 - A - Dornbirn - Conrad Sohm

Nov. 26 - F - Bordeaux - Le Rocher de Palmer

Nov. 27 - E - Barcelona - Razzmatazz II

Nov. 28 - E - Madrid - Mon Live

Nov. 29 - F - Toulouse - Le Bikini

Nov. 30 - F - Rennes - L'Etage

Dec. 01 - F - Paris - Elysée-Montmartre

Dec. 03 - D - Saarbrücken - Garage

Dec. 04 - D - Nürnberg - Hirsch

Dec. 05 - SLO - Ljubljana - Kino Siska

Dec. 08 - A - Vienna - Arena

Dec. 12 - LV - Riga - Melna Piektdiena

Dec. 13 - FIN - Helsinki - Tavastia

Dec. 14 - FIN - Tampere - Pakkahuone

Dec. 15 - EST - Tallinn - Rock Cafe

Dec. 17 - S - Stockholm - Klubben Fryshuset

Dec. 18 - N - Oslo - Vulkan Arena

Dec. 19 - S - Gothenburg - Trädgarn

Dec. 21 - D - Hamburg – Docks

* without LACUNA COIL

** headliner LACUNA COIL

ELUVEITIE in May 2016 announced the departure of drummer Merlin Sutter, vocalist Anna Murphy and guitarist Ivo Henzi.

The band's new lineup made its live debut at the Eluveitie & Friends festival in January 2017 at Z7 in Pratteln, Switzerland.


ELUVEITIE is:

Jonas Wolf - guitars

Matteo Sisti - whistles, bagpipes, mandola, bodhran

Nicole Ansperger - fiddle

Alain Ackermann - drums

Chrigel Glanzmann - vocals, whistles, mandola, bagpipes

Fabienne Erni - vocals, celtic harp

Kay Brem - bass

Michalina Malisz - hurdy gurdy

Rafael Salzmann - guitars

Las Vegas-based hard rock band, Bravo Delta, is slated to release their first full-length album, Unbreakable, on February 1st. A video for the title track can be seen below.

“This new album and single is three years in the making and features the best material we’ve ever created. Being broken, disconnected, kicked to the ground…and still having the will to get up, fight, and learn from it is the spirit of Unbreakable. And I think you can feel that in the music, the artwork, and everything about this new album," says Brandon Davis.

Bravo Delta was formed in 2011 and is comprised of Brandon Davis (vocals/guitar), Andy Ingraham (guitar), Brian Scott (drums), and Roman (bass). The band’s previous independent releases include two EPs Shutdown Sequence (2013) and Sunset Wasteland (2012). Their music has been distributed worldwide via all major online retailers, and has been heard on Sirius Octane, Pandora, and several terrestrial radio stations in the US.

Bravo Delta has shared the stage and toured with Nothing More, The Used, P.O.D., Corey Taylor (Slipknot/Stone Sour), Adelitas Way, Saliva, and Alien Ant Farm.

Tracklisting:

"Unbreakable"
"Fire"
"Numbers"
"Dark Room"
"Sleepless Dream"
"Karma"
"Virus"
"Modus Operandi"
"Lost At Sea V.1"
"Lost As Sea V.2"
"Insignificant"
"Dreamless Sleep"
"Knights Of Desire"

"Unbreakable" video:

Louisiana-based progressive death metal project, A Novelist, are streaming the new song “His Kingdom Is Vast”, featured on the band's sophomore full-length, Folie, out on February 8th. Listen below.

 A Novelist is the creative partnership of drummer Alex Babineaux and vocalist, guitarist, and multi-instrumentalist Ben Nugent. Started in 2009 between friends in Lafayette, Louisiana, they began with the simple goal of writing and playing death metal. Over time their goals as a band grew larger, driven by a bold desire to expand the idea of what death metal can be through free and uncompromised expression.

The band once again enlisted the talents of renowned sound engineer Jamie King (Between The Buried And Me, Wretched, etc.) to ensure the best possible production for their new album.

Tracklisting:

“Folie Noire”
“Exteriors”
“Tombeau”
“Apparitions”
“His Kingdom Is Vast”
“Strangers In The House Of Auto-da-Fe”
“Acacia Crown”
“Caveat Lector”
“Stockholm Blues”
“Crestfallen”
“Learning Paralysis”
“Interiors”

“His Kingdom Is Vast”:

"Apparitions":

“Learning Paralysis”:

Palma, Spain's melancholic doom outfit, Helevorn, have posted a lyric video for the song "Nostrum Mare (Et deixo un pont de mar blava)", which is sung in eight different languages. The video is in support of their fourth album, Aamamata, due out this Wednesday, January 23rd via Solitude Productions / Bad Moon Music. Watch below, and pre-order the album here.

Aamamata follows their 2014 album, Compassion Forlorn, 2009's Forthcoming Displeasures and 2005 debut full length, Fragments, which have anchored Helevorn's place in the global doom scene.

The band states: “We think that fans will love the new album. We know that we are not discovering something new, we are creating 90’s goth-doom metal in present times. It should be received like a piece to reborn the scene and for the music to relate on the decadence of humankind through the drama of the refugees that are dying and trying to escape from the hell that the Western countries have put them in."

Tracklisting:

"A Sail To Sanity"
"Goodbye, Hope"
"Blackened Waves"
"Aurora"
"Forgotten Fields"
"Nostrum Mare (Et deixo un pont de mar blava)"
"Once Upon A War"
"The Path To Puya"
"La Sibil·la"

"Nostrum Mare" lyric video:

"A Sail To Sanity" lyric video:

"Blackened Waves" video:

Heavy metal frontrunners Incite - lead by frontman Richie Cavalera - are set to release their upcoming fifth full-length album, Built To Destroy, on January 25th via Minus Head Records. Produced by Steve Evetts (The Dillinger Escape Plan, Suicide Silence) and mastered by Zeuss (Rob Zombie, Hatebreed), Built to Destroy is a visceral, urgent, voracious distillation of modern metal with reverence for the past, and boasts a progressed, matured sound for Incite.

Today, Incite have revealed a new video for the track "Resistance", featuring real footage from Los Angeles' Skid Row area juxtaposed with images of opulence and excessive affluence to illustrate the immense wealth gap in America. Watch the music video, directed by Tommy Jones at Video Hammer Studios, below.

Richie Cavalera says, "'Resistance' touches upon the huge problem of wealth inequality in America, as well as the rest of the world. When the 1% has more than billions of people, shit has become out of control. We shot this video at Skid Row in Los Angeles, which I think shows first-hand how absolutely fucked up the problem is. This is a heavy song, along with a video that hopefully opens some eyes."

Built To Destroy is available for pre-order now via Bandcamp, iTunes and Amazon.

Tracklisting:

"Built To Destroy"
"Ruthless Ways"
"Backbone"
"Resistance"
"Human Cancer"
"Confronting Darkness"
"Leech"
"Poisoned by Power"
"Cessation"
"Hate for Life"
"Savior Self"

"Poisoned By Power" featuring Chris Barnes:

"Built To Destroy" video:

"Ruthless Ways":

Incite's North American tour with headliners Soulfly and direct support artist Kataklysm, begins on the same day as the new album's release. The tour will visit several cities across North America, coming to an end on February 26th in Los Angeles, CA. The tour will feature additional support from Chaoseum, Alukah and Skinflint on select dates. Tickets are on sale now. See below for all confirmed tour dates.

January
25 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater*
26 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey*
27 - Austin, TX - Come & Take It Live*
28 - New Orleans, LA - Santos*

February
5 - Orlando, FL - Soundbar #
6 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade #
7 - Frederick, MD - Cafe 611 #
8 - Clifton, NJ - Dingbatz #
9 - Reading, PA - Reverb #
10 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall #
11 - New York, NY - Gramercy Theatre #
12 - Toronto, ON - Mod Club &
13 - Flint, MI - Buick City Events Center &
14 - Joliet, IL - The Forge &
15 - Ft Wayne, IN - Piere's &
16 - Dayton, OH - Oddbodys &
17 - Lexington, KY - Manchester Music Hall &
18 - Kansas City, MO - Riot Room &
19 - Colorado Springs, CO - Sunshine Studios Live ^
20 - Grand Junction, CO - Mesa Theater ^
22 - Spokane, WA - The Pin ^
23 - Seattle, WA - Club Sur Rocks ^
24 - Portland, OR - BossaNova ^
25 - Petaluma, CA - Phoenix Theatre ^
26 - Los Angeles, CA - 1720 Club ^
 
Support lineup key:

* with Incite supporting Soulfly
# with Kataklysm, Incite, Chaoseum supporting Soulfly
& with Kataklysm, Incite, Alukah supporting Soulfly
^ with Kataklysm, Incite, Skinflint supporting Soulfly

Incite is:

Richie Cavalera - Vocals
Lennon Lopez - Drums
Christopher "EL" - Bass
"Dru Tang" Rome - Lead Guitar

(Photo - Jeremy Saffer)

Interstellar duo, Neorhythm, have released a new digital single, a cover of Death's "Crystal Mountain". The original song appears on Death's 1995 album, Symbolic.

Stream the single below, or at neorhythm.bandcamp.com.

Crystal Mountain (Death cover) by Neorhythm

Neorhythm recently released the Meteoric Thoughts EP. The follow-up to this year's creatively aggressive debut album, Zetetic, includes three new tracks, as well as pummeling covers of Disturbed's "Stricken" and Mudvayne's "Dig".

Stream Meteoric Thoughts in its entirety, here.

Meteoric Thoughts is available on Spotify, iTunes, Bandcamp, Google Play, Napster, Deezer, Tidal, and Amazon.

The new character "Bass Eddie" recently arrived for the Iron Maiden: Legacy Of The Best game. In the new video below, Steve Harris is introduced to the new character.

Visit the Iron Maiden: Legacy Of The Best game website, here.

Iron Maiden will bring the Legacy Of The Beast Tour to North America in 2019 for an extensive series of arena and amphitheater shows produced by Live Nation, including a first ever headline appearance at the Banc of California Stadium in LA. The tour will cover a total of 33 cities right across the US and Canada, including Portland, Oregon where they haven’t played since 1987 on the Somewhere In Time Tour, Hartford, Connecticut where they last played in 2005, and many other places not visited since the Maiden England 2012/13 Tour. The full list of dates is below.

Tickets for the North American tour are on sale at LiveNation.com. You can also go to ironmaiden.com for all ticketing details.

Support on the 2019 tour comes from The Raven Age. Additionally, Fozzy will be guests for the Banc of California Stadium show in Los Angeles.

The Legacy Of The Beast Tour production and set list is inspired by Maiden’s free to play mobile game of the same name which is available on iOS and Android platforms at ironmaiden.com/play.

July
18 - Sunrise, FL - BB&T Center
20 - Atlanta, GA - Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood
22 - Charlotte, NC - PNC Music Pavilion
24 - Washington DC - Jiffy Lube Live
26 - Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center
30 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center

August
01 - Boston, MA - Xfinity Center
03 - Hartford, CT - Xfinity Theatre
05 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
07 - Quebec, QC - Videotron Centre
09 - Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage
10 - Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage
13 - Buffalo, NY - KeyBank Center
15 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center
17 - Pittsburgh, PA - PPG Paints Arena
19 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
22 - Chicago, IL - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
24 - Indianapolis, IL - Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
26 - St Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
28 - Winnipeg, MB - Bell MTS Place
30 - Edmonton, AB - Rogers Place
31 - Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome

September
03 - Vancouver, BC - Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
05 - Tacoma, WA - Tacoma Dome
06 - Portland, OR - Moda Center
09 - Sacramento, CA - Golden 1 Center
10 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena
13 - Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Garden Arena
14 - Los Angeles, CA - Banc of California Stadium
17 - Phoenix, AZ - Talking Stick Resort Arena
19 - Albuquerque, NM - Isleta Amphitheater
21 - Dallas, TX - Dos Equis Pavilion
22 - Houston, TX - The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
25 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center
 
No further cities will be added to this touring schedule.

For the 2019 shows, Iron Maiden will, in conjunction with the Promoters, be implementing a partial digital ticketing system in as many venues as possible. This technology, being used by the NFL amongst others, is a progression of the paperless system that Maiden have been successfully using since 2010 and has worked well in lessening ticket scalping and the drain of prime tickets into the Secondary market.

Fans in the US and Canada will once again be able to enjoy a Trooper VIP Upgrade package allowing early access to the venue, a pile of Trooper goodies, Trooper beers, food and a designated area to meet with other fans, plus the opportunity to win some great prizes. Packages will be available from ironmaiden.com priced at US $220 ($290 CAD for Canadian shows), with a 10% discount for Iron Maiden fanclub members.

PEARL JAM bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard spoke to Rolling Stone about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's long-awaited follow-up to 2013's "Lightning Bolt" album.

"It'd be fun to record or even just write a song together," Ament said. "I think when Chris [Cornell] passed, that's really been a tough one to wrap our heads around, and then there's just life stuff."

Gossard added: "We're going to make a record, and we're in the middle of it. We're just going to keep plugging away until we get one done."

"We've gone in, probably, four or five times in the last couple of years, so we have a whole ton of unfinished stuff," Ament said. "We're just sort of in a little bit of limbo. I'm sure everybody's got a bunch more riffs, and I'm sure Ed's [singer Eddie Vedder] got a handful of journal lyrics. It's just going to take us all getting into a room together for six weeks and just knocking something out."

Last March, PEARL JAM released a new song called "Can't Deny Me". The just-over-two-and-a-half-minute track was co-produced by the band and Brendan O'Brien and is set to appear on PEARL JAM's forthcoming LP. The music for the song was written by guitarist Mike McCready and lyrics by Vedder. Artwork for the single was created by Ament and videographer Kevin Shuss. The song appears to take direct aim at President Donald Trump — albeit without mentioning his name.

Photo credit: Danny Clinch