KISS icon Gene Simmons is featured in a new interview conducted by Michael Cavacini for The Aquarian Weekly. Simmons discussed his new boxset, The Vault, at length as well as his Gene Simmons Band, collaborating with former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley, and his thoughts on guitarist Vinnie Vincent. An excerpt is available below.

Q: Is there any chance of the Gene Simmons Band releasing a studio album or a live album?

Simmons: "I really haven’t thought about it. It started in January of this year. A lot of the speaking engagements I had wanted to know if I’d jump up on stage and do a few tunes, so I quickly put together this band. They’re actually from Nashville and are spectacular musicians. It just kind of happened all of a sudden. In a week I go to Japan and then Bolivia. South American countries. Mexico. If you go to GeneSimmons.com you’ll see the dates. They’re just filling up. So, most of the time I keep saying, 'No.' But when there’s enough time and KISS is not touring, my little band, the Gene Simmons Band, picks up dates here and there. There are no rules, I’m just having an awful lot of fun. About just as much fun as I can have with my pants on."

Q: Would the Gene Simmons solo band or KISS ever tour together with Ace Frehley’s band?

Simmons: "As you know, Ace jumped up on stage and helped me put together this relief concert for the hurricane victims in Houston. We raised $1.3 million, and food trucks went right down to Houston. Ace asked me to write for his next solo record and I did. We wrote two songs, which Ace tells me are going to be on the record. But there are no plans. Everything is nice and easy. He’s happy. KISS is happy. When parents get divorced kids always ask, 'Hey, Mom, when are you going to get back together with Dad again?' And they don’t understand."

Q: Speaking of people you got divorced from, Vinnie Vincent is re-emerging from seclusion in January for a KISS Expo. Would you ever work with him again?

Simmons: "No. No. He’s a very talented guy. Everybody’s got their troubles in life. You can’t fix everything. I’m a big supporter of his talent. You know, go with god. Enjoy life, be happy. But I don’t need more dark clouds over my life. It’s nice and calm. Eric and Tommy have been with us for a very long time, and it’s professional to the highest degree. Everybody is happy to be together. Everybody shows up on time. There’s no, 'The dog ate my homework.' None of that crap.

When you use drugs and alcohol and other bullshit things, it’s everybody else’s fault. You’re always the victim. You never take charge of your situation, and I’m sick of it. I don’t tolerate any of that. I won’t have any of those losers around in my life. That includes regular people too. If somebody I work with in other areas drinks, they’re gone. By the way, they don’t care about you. They just want what they want."

Check out the complete interview at this location.

Simmons performed with his solo band on June 2nd at the Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, following the Wizard World Comic Con event at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Fan-filmed video footage from the show is available for streaming below.

Gene performed the following setlist:

“Deuce”
“Shout It Out Loud”
“Nothin' To Lose”
“Calling Dr. Love”
“Do You Love Me”
“I Love It Loud”
“Parasite”
“Radioactive”
“Christine Sixteen”
“Sweet & Dirty Love” (live debut)
“Got Love For Sale”
“Cold Gin”
“Charisma”
“Domino”
“Rice Pudding” (Jeff Beck cover)
“Let Me Go, Rock 'N' Roll”
“Rock And Roll All Nite”

BEHEMOTH leader Adam "Nergal" Darski will be rejoined by his former bandmates Adam "Baal Ravenlock" Muraszko (drums) and Leszek "Les" Dziegielewski (guitar, bass) during the band's December 14 and December 15 "Merry Christless" concerts at Progresja in Warsaw, Poland.

BEHEMOTH's current lineup was solidified during the making of 2004's "Demigod" album, featuring Nergal on vocals and guitar, Patryk "Seth" Sztyber on backing vocals and guitar, Tomasz "Orion" Wróblewski on bass and vocals, and Zbigniew "Inferno" Promiński on drums.

BEHEMOTH is planning to enter the studio by the end of the year to begin recording its new album for a tentative fall 2018 release. The follow-up to 2014's "The Satanist" will mark the band's first effort since Nergal completed an LP and a short tour with ME AND THAT MAN, his blues, country and folk side project with British/Polish rock musician John Porter.

Before the release of BEHEMOTH's next studio effort, fans will receive a "massive" concert DVD and album recorded during "The Satanist" tour, according to Nergal. There will also be a video for another track off "The Satanist", to be included with the DVD.




If you thought you will never see „Grom” line up one stage one day... you’ve been wrong! Former drummer Baal and Les...

Posted by BEHEMOTH! on Thursday, November 23, 2017

Fan-filmed video footage of AGNOSTIC FRONT's entire November 24 concert at Gorod in Moscow, Russia can be seen below.

AGNOSTIC FRONT's eleventh album, "The American Dream Died", was released in 2015. The disc, which was produced by MADBALL singer Freddy Cricien and engineered, mixed and mastered by Paul Miner (H2O, TERROR), features guest appearances by Cricien, Toby Morse (H2O) and Lou Koller (SICK OF IT ALL).

In an interview with RockSverige.se, AGNOSTIC FRONT singer Roger Miret was asked at what point the American dream died. "You know, that's just a statement from me," he responded. "I'm just stating that, little by little, this country is leaning towards losing its values, Americans are losing their constitutional rights. You see it happening, and it's no secret; it's out there and you can see what's going on."

He continued: "The main focal point to why we call the record 'The American Dream Died' and how this all started is the collapse of the housing market. When that collapsed, and you saw what followed with the banking collapse and then the world's banks collapsed. Everything went to hell all over the world pretty much, and that's when I clearly was making that statement, but it followed through."

Roger added: "It's a little bit of everything. You watch all of the corruption on all these higher levels. Police corruption and all this police violence going on. Everything just escalated. I'm not saying the American dream when it comes to cars, apple pie, baseball… it's all there and anybody can come to America. You can buy a home, but you won't own it for 30 years. America is a beautiful country, but the government is just so corrupt, it's destroying your dreams."

Miret's autobiography, "My Riot: Agnostic Front, Grit, Guts & Glory" — written with Jon Wiederhorn — was released in August.

In a 2015 interview with Invisible Oranges, Miret stated about AGNOSTIC FRONT's three-and-a-half-decade-long career: "I think the secret to our longevity is that we're true, we're real, we're passionate about what we do. And people want to relate to that. Nobody wants to be a part of something that's not genuine. I think that's why people gravitate to us and is the secret to our longevity and success. We're genuine people, the band's genuine, we have genuine stuff to say. At some points it can be controversial, but you know what? Some people don't want to be confronted because the truth hurts. And that confrontation is sometimes important because you get people talking. And if I sometimes have something to say, and I back up everything I have to say for sure, most of it is true-life experiences. I like a good challenge. I like people to ask me stuff and I like to be challenged. And I'm not ignorant. I'll take whatever the challenge is and get the best out of it and I'll learn something from it. I'm not a hundred percent right, I'm not all your answers, but I'm willing to accept when I'm wrong and learn something from it. That's what hardcore is all about."

Long-running German metallers ATROCITY will release a new EP, "Masters Of Darkness", on December 8 via Massacre Records. The disc is the perfect harbinger of the upcoming album "Okkult II", which will be released in 2018 via Massacre. Fans of harder ATROCITY material like the first "Okkult" album and the death metal classics "Hallucinations", "Todessehnsucht", "Blut" and "Atlantis" will surely be delighted with the new EP.

The "Masters Of Darkness" title track can now be streamed below.

"Masters Of Darkness" will be available as a limited four-track digipak EP as well as a limited two-track seven-inch vinyl single with a different colored artwork. The EP and seven-inch single are already available for pre-order.

"Masters Of Darkness" was produced by Alexander Krull at Mastersound Studio. The artwork was created by Stefan Heilemann of Heilemania (LINDEMANN, EPICA, KAMELOT).

"Masters Of Darkness" track listing:

01. Masters Of Darkness02. Menschenschlachthaus03. Gates To Oblivion04. Devil's Covenant

Part one of what was said to be ATROCITY's album trilogy, "Okkult", was released in May 2013 via Napalm Records.

KnuckleBonz has launched a pre-order for the Rob Zombie Iconz Statue. Only 1,965 statues will be available. Reserve now at this location. The Rob Zombie Rock Iconz Limited Edition Statue is currently in production and slated for a February / March 2018 ship date.  

This is a fine-art collectible; the statue is hand-cast in resin and hand-painted. It ships with a hand-numbered certificate of authenticity on the base of the statue. Each statue ships in custom styrofoam and color packaging to protect your investment. The statue stands approximately 8 Inches tall and is officially licensed from Rob Zombie. 

KnuckleBonz creates hi-end music collectibles that feature the most legendary and highly influential artists in rock music. Check out the KnuckleBonz Facebook page for updates on production.

 

New York influential post-hardcore band GLASSJAW will release its long-awaited third album, "Material Control", on December 1.

Speculation grew when a mysterious pre-order of the album was briefly visible online and then, suddenly, it disappeared. Word of the pre-order quickly spread across Reddit, Twitter and various music blogs and web sites. Fans began to cautiously believe that, indeed, a third album would drop soon.

GLASSJAW, notoriously tight-lipped, fueled more speculation when fans across the globe began to randomly receive mysterious postal service packages from the band. The packages included thousands of postcards sent to express the band's gratitude to the dedicated fanbase who have waited patiently for new music for over a decade, since GLASSJAW's last critically acclaimed full-length release, "Worship and Tribute". These "thank you" postcards double as playable vinyl of each new track from "Material Control". The first track from the album, "New White Extremity", was released exactly two years prior to the album's December 1 release date and precedes the current single, "Shira". "Shira" is available as a digital single on all download and streaming platforms. You can also pre-order the digital album and get "Shira" as an instant-grat track. "Material Control" track listing:

01. New White Extremity02. Shira03. 11 Days04. Golgotha05. Pretty Hell06. Bastille Day07. Pompeii08. Bibleland09. Closer10. My Conscience Weighs A Ton11. Material Control12. Cut And Run

German newcomers Schattenmann have released an official 360° vidoe for their new single, "Licht An", taken from their forthcoming debut album which is due out in 2018 via Drakkar Entertainment. Watch the video on a mobile device using the YouTube app for the full 360° experience.

For information on Schattenmann go to their official Facebook page here.

Schattenmann is:

Frank Herzig - vocals 
Jan Suk - guitars
Luke Shook - bass
Nils Kinzig - drums

Ritchie Blackmore's wife has called new RAINBOW frontman Ronnie Romero "an amazing find" who "checked all the boxes" when it came to his live performance and singing ability.

Romero, originally from Chile but now settled in Madrid, Spain, made his live debut with RAINBOW in June 2016 after he was selected by Ritchie to front the latest version of the band Blackmore had formed after quitting DEEP PURPLE.

Candice Night, who has been married to Ritchie for nine years but has been together with the legendary guitarist for nearly thirty, told "Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon" that she came across a video of Romero while having a late-night discussion with Ritchie about a possible RAINBOW comeback.

"It was a 2-o'clock-in-the-morning YouTube search where Ritchie and I were talking about… He had been mentioning maybe reforming RAINBOW and the pros and cons of using people that had names or didn't have names or what to do, and he wasn't really sure — it was kind of back and forth," Candice recalled. "So, honestly, I just looked up some bands that did cover work of [Ronnie James] Dio-era RITCHIE BLACKMORE'S RAINBOW [songs], and I discovered… There were three guys — I narrowed it down to that — that I thought were amazing, and I showed all three of them to Ritchie, and Ronnie was definitely the forerunner — I mean, far and away the forerunner."

After they settled on Romero as their choice, they set about contacting the singer via social media. "And the cool thing is, I went on his Facebook page and [Ronnie] was so, like, normal — it was just a picture of him and his wife having dinner," Candice said. "There was no expletives, it wasn't like him drinking and getting crazy and stupid; it was him as a solid and normal person, which is awesome — and very rare in this industry. And, actually, there was another thing too — there was an a cappella version of him singing in the studio, and Ritchie was, like, 'Wow! That's amazing,' 'cause it's not masked by any of the music. He was amazing."

Romero's audition consisted of a face-to-face get-together in Germany between the vocalist, Ritchie and Candice. "He flew in and met us at a castle," she revealed. "Ritchie brought out the acoustic guitar and we sat in the back room and gave some songs to have Ronnie sing along to. And he was pitch-perfect. He can turn that rasp on or off whenever he wants to. His range… he can handle everything from 'Child In Time' to any of the Dio stuff to the Joe Lynn Turner stuff to the Graham Bonnet stuff, which is… that's pretty tricky. That's four completely different styles of singing, and yet he still manages to make it his own, but has enough grit to it where it's just edgy, it's rock… And it's amazing. And even watching him onstage, he's just solidly confident, and he checks all the boxes. So we said, 'Let's go ahead with it and see how it goes.' And he's a really nice guy; we love working with him. This is his priority, even though he does, obviously, a lot of other bands at this point. And it's just great. He's an amazing find. We're so happy about it."

In May, the revamped version of RAINBOW released its first new music in more than two decades. Two tracks were made available on iTunes: an instrumental song called "Land Of Hope And Glory", which is is a reworking of the 1902 British patriotic song of the same name from Edward Elgar's "Pomp And Circumstance March No. 1", and a re-recording of the RAINBOW classic "I Surrender", which was written by Russ Ballard and was first released by RAINBOW in 1981. The latter song features vocals recorded by Romero.

According to Night, Blackmore and Romero have already "written a couple of songs" for future release. "I know that Ritchie had released 'I Surrender' with [Ronnie] singing, so it's like a 2017 version of that. So that's out there. But he did actually write another song with him," she said. "I think he's planning on writing some more songs with him for some studio stuff in the future. There's definitely one out there that's already in the can that hasn't been released yet, but I know it's gonna be released; we're just waiting for that to happen. It's called 'Waiting For A Sign'. Yeah, so that should be definitely happening in the future."

Candice, who has been recording and touring with Ritchie as part of the internationally heralded Renaissance rock band BLACKMORE'S NIGHT for the past two decades, said that she was thrilled with the prospect of her husband revisiting his hard rock roots. "I thought it was great — even if he didn't have me in any capacity in the band," she said. I wasn't sure if he wanted background singers or if he was gonna choose other background singers, or whatever he wanted, but I've always been the biggest supporter of Ritchie, so whatever he decides to do, that's what I'm gonna support — that is his decision — and I've been like that since day one.

"He's got a lot of situations where he's either surrounded by 'yes' people or people who just put up a wall in front of him before they even hear what the idea is," she explained. "He and I just have long, communicative discussions and decision-making things. And it's, like, 'Look, what is your heart telling you? What do you wanna do?' And he was excited to do it. He hadn't done these songs in a long time, so it was a bit of a challenge for him. And Ritchie is a completely improvisational player, so he'd forgotten how to play a lot of these songs and the arrangements, and he's not big on studying them either — he doesn't want to sit there and listen to how he played 20 years ago, 'cause he's right in the now, always. So it's kind of a challenge for him to do the homework on what these songs were and what they sound like. But he puts his new spin on them while retaining the spirit of the original songs. And he goes out there and he has a great time doing it."

According to Candice, Ritchie has "always told me his heart is with BLACKMORE'S NIGHT, and that's his main project. But as far as nostalgia is concerned and doing these for the fans, because a lot of the fans had wanted to hear the rock songs from way back when, he's, like, this is sort of his special gift for them."

The current incarnation of RAINBOW includes Romero as well as STRATOVARIUS keyboardist Jens Johansson, BLACKMORE'S NIGHT drummer David Keith, bassist Bob Nouveau (a.k.a. Robert "Bob" Curiano, ex-BLACKMORE'S NIGHT), and backing singers Candice Night and Lady Lynn.

The two shows RAINBOW played in Germany in June 2016 were caught on camera to produce "Memories In Rock - Live In Germany", which was released in November 2016 via Eagle Rock Entertainment on DVD+2CD, Blu-ray+2CD, and digital formats.

Norwegian rockers TNT have recruited Baol Bardot Bulsara as their new singer. The Spanish vocalist made his live debut with TNT on Wednesday, November 22 at the Oslo Spektrum on Oslo, Norway, where the band performed as the support act for the SCORPIONS.

TNT said in a statement: "This will be a new chapter for TNT and we wish Baol Bardot Bulsara welcome as our new singer. A big thank you to all the people that welcomed him in Oslo Spektrum on Wednesday and for supporting us. We look forward to a new year with gigs and a new album coming up soon!"

Baol stated in a video message: "I'm very happy and very grateful to be here, to be a part of the TNT family now. This is a dream come true for me, actually, because I've been a fan of TNT since my teens. You could say I grew up listening to the band. So this is kind of a strange karma for me, you know.

"Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I'm very grateful," he continued. "I appreciate so much your warmth there at the Spektrum and in the social media. You've been very kind to me, and I'm thankful for that. And I just wanted to tell you that I'm here to continue with the legacy and hopefully see you all in the near future touring and having fun together."

TNT announced last month that it was once again parting ways with American vocalist Tony Harnell.

Harnell rejoined TNT in May 2016, less than a year and a half after his previous departure from the group.

At the time of Harnell's latest exit from TNT, the band was said to be working on a new studio album for a 2018 release via Frontiers Music Srl.

Harnell previously quit TNT in January 2015 after a fifteen-month stint with the band.

British singer Tony Mills appeared on three studio albums from TNT: 2007's "The New Territory", 2008's"Atlantis" and 2010's "A Farewell To Arms".




This will be a new chapter for TNT and we wish Baol Bardot Bulsara welcome as our new singer. A big thank you to all the people that welcomed him in Oslo Spektrum on Wednesday and for supporting us. We look forward to a new year with gigs and a new album coming up soon!

Here’s a personal message from Baol Bardot Bulsara - Singer to our fans!

Posted by TNT on Friday, November 24, 2017

Steve Moore (Zombi) returns with a hypnotizing score for the acclaimed action/horror film Mayhem, starring Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead, Okja). A veritable portrait of shock and dread across seventy-plus minutes of analog synth tension, Steve Moore methodically crafts pulsating rhythms and penetrating arpeggios that constrict the listener into a deep sense of aural anxiety. With four soundtracks under his belt, Steve Moore is quickly becoming one of the most sought out synth composers in the horror realm and Mayhem is the ultimate demonstration of his unquestionable mastery of the style.

Mayhem is out now on CD/2xLP/Digital via Relapse Records. Physical and digital orders are available via Relapse.com here and digital retail outlets here. A full album stream is available below.

Mayhem Tracklisting:

“Welcome To TSC”
“Thank God For Coffee”
“9 O’Clock”
“Drop Of Water”
“Deep Shit”
“File 45A”
“We Are Brave”
“Thumbs Turned”
“The Reaper”
“ID-7”
“Dead Inside”
“The Bull”
“Loophole”
“Two Pepperoni Pizzas”
“Time To Worok”
“Wednesdays”
“Extreme Measures”
“On The Count Of…”
“Nevil Reed”
“Allergies”
“Make Your Move”
“Showdown”
“Can We Talk”
“Negotiations Have Ended”
“No More Bullshit”
“Fuck This Place”
“Up To 11”
“So What Now”
“Irene Smythe”
“Level 3”
“Bullets Are For Cowards”
“You Belong Here”
“Surrender”
“Mine’s Bigger”
“The King Falls”

Album stream:

German rockers The New Black have released a video for "Dead In The Water", a track from their album A Monster's Life, released last year via AFM Records. Watch below.

Tracklist:

"Long Time Coming"
"Blockbuster Life"
"With A Grin"
"Send In The Clowns"
"Dead In The Water"
"Buddha Belly"
"The Beer Of No Return"
"A Pill Named Ting"
"Better"
"That’s Your Poison, Not Mine"

"Dead In The Water" video:

The New Black will support Extreme on the following dates:

December
4 - Frankfurt, Germany - Batschkapp
7 - Stuttgart, Germany - LKA Longhorn

Tickets are available here."

For information and updates on The New Black go to this location.

Swiss melodic metal band, Gods Of Silence, have released a music video for the song "Demons", featured on the band’s debut album, out now via ROAR! Rock Of Angels Records. The video can be viewed below.

Neverland, includes 11 tracks and was produced, mixed and mastered by Dennis Ward (Unisonic, Pink Cream 69). The album/cover artwork was made by Stan W Decker (Masterplan, Vanden Plas, Resurrection Kings, Stryper).

Tracklisting:

“Gods Of Silence (Intro)”
“Army Of Liars”
“Against The Wall”
“Neverland”
“Full Moon”
“The Phoenix”
“Demons”
“Wonderful Years”
“Alone”
“You Mean Nothing More To Me”
“All My Life”

“Demons” video:

“Neverland” video:

Gods Of Silence is:

Gilberto Meléndez - Vocals (Maxxwell, ex-Gonoreas)
Sammy Lasagni - Guitars (ex-Kirk, Godiva, Granit)
Bruno Berger - Keyboards (ex-Kirk, In Your Face)
Daniel Pfister - Bass (ex-Kirk)
Philipp Eichenberger - Drums (Legenda Aurea, ex-Kirk, ex-Pain)

Finnish rockers THE 69 EYES have released a music video for their song "Christmas In New York City". The clip was filmed and directed by Ville Juurikkala, known from his previous work with THE 69 EYES, HIM, NIGHTWISH and AMORPHIS.

"This is about the last thing we haven't done yet — so it's our time to release a Christmas song!" says THE 69 EYES singer Jyrki 69. "This is also our tribute to the RAMONES and New York which both have been our main influences."

He added: "I wish nobody has to feel alone this Christmas. This song is all about that. The best feedback would be if Jesse Malin wrote and recorded a song called 'Christmas In Helsinki'!"

The Finns are currently working on the follow-up to their 2016 album "Universal Monsters".

Edged Circle Productions has set January 5th, 2018 as the international release date for Magick Touch's second album, Blades, Chains, Whips & Fire. A music video for the album track "The Great Escape" is available for streaming below.

Magick Touch are a power trio - with the emphasis on power - from the southwestern coastal town of Bergen, Norway. The band - HK Rein on guitar and vocals, Bård Nordvik on drums, and Christer Ottesen on bass and vocals - formed in 2014 and released their debut album, Electrick Sorcery, through Edged Circle in 2015. The album went on to reap worldwide acclaim for its simple-yet-profound pleasures.

As the trio encompasses at least two singers and three songwriters, Magick Touch is almost like getting several bands for the price of one. Even more so than their celebrated debut, Blades, Chains, Whips & Fire plays this out with absolute (and absolutely addicting) aplomb. The vocals are characterful indeed, blending into slick harmonies on infectious choruses whilst Rein’s wah-drenched solos are splendidly delivered. Once again, this is that rich 'n' rewarding middle point between hard rock and heavy metal, and Magick Touch finesse it with a truly magickal touch.

Tracklisting:

"Under The Gun"
"The Great Escape"
"Midnite Sadusa"
"Believe In Magick"
"Polonium Blues"
"Siren Song"
"Lost With All Hands"
"After The Fire"
"Electrick Sorcery"
"Blades, Chains, Whips & Fire"

"The Great Escape" video:

"Under The Gun" video:

Swedish progressive hard rockers Nightingale are streaming the track "Black Tears" from their first-ever live album, Rock Hard Live, out on December 8th. Listen below.

Following Nightingale’s latest studio album, Retribution, which was released in 2014 via InsideOutMusic, Rock Hard Live, was recorded at Germany’s Rock Hard Festival in 2016.

Nightingale’s Dan Swanö checked in with the following comment about Rock Hard Live: “After eight Nightingale studio releases the time had come for a proper live album!

“When we were invited to perform at the prestigious Rock Hard Festival in May 2016 we felt that this could be the right time and place to capture the energy of a Nightingale live performance.

“Once we listened back to the recordings of the gig it became obvious that there was a special vibe both on stage and in the audience that day. In order to capture that we decided to mix the album with a very high percentage of the sound coming from the two audience microphones. This approach gives the listener the sensation of actually being there at the gig when you listen to it, but this also means that you have the occasional out-of-time and tune-notes here and there since there is no way to fix anything in the studio once you mix an album this way.

“So, Rock Hard Live indeed is a genuine sonic snapshot of what Nightingale sounds like on stage, warts and all!”

While InsideOutMusic is handling digital release for Rock Hard Live, its CD and LP (black or colored vinyl) formats will be issued via Spain’s Alone Records, who are also launching an LP version of Nightingale’s latest studio album Retribution on December 8th.

Tracklisting:

“Nightfall Overture”
“A Raincheck On My Demise”
“Hideaway”
“Forevermore”
“Into The Light”
“Chasing The Storm Away”
“Revival”
“Steal The Moon”
“Black Tears”

“Black Tears”:

“Chasing The Storm Away”:

U.K. hardcore punk legends DISCHARGE have released the official music video for the song "The Broken Law". The clip was shot in the fall of 2017 in London by Stuart Sterling.

"The Broken Law" is taken from DISCHARGE's latest album, "End Of Days", which was released in April 2016 via Nuclear Blast.

The band states: "So what do we have to say about this video? Nothing. The words and the images in the video speak for themselves... this is the world we are living in."

DISCHARGE vocalist Jeff "JJ" Janiak told Metal Forces that "End Of Days" is "more like the [band's] earlier" material, which is "just really short. Yeah, I think it stands up against a lot of the stuff. DISCHARGE did have a run of bad albums in the mid-to-late '80s, and even into the early '90s. It's not the most memorable stuff, and so I definitely think this stands above that period of DISCHARGE."

In a separate interview with Distorted Sound, Janiak admitted that there was "a bit" of pressure on him to deliver on "End Of Days", being that it was his first album with DISCHARGE since he joined the band in 2014. "It was a hard decision for me," he said. "Because I know when Rat [former vocalist Tony 'Rat' Martin] was singing, he got a lot of shit off people, basically just because he wasn't Cal [former vocalist Kevin 'Cal' Morris], really. And I really didn't want to put myself in that situation at first. So I was asked to join, they had some gigs lined up already and they asked me to join and that first gig was, like, two weeks later, and it was in front of 20,000 people at this massive festival over in Europe. So I had two weeks to learn the songs and I learned them, and I wasn't really sure whether I was going to make it a permanent thing at that point, I was just kind of doing a favor and filling in. But once all the videos went up and once the word got out there and whatnot and people actually heard it, all the feedback from it was great. I was literally getting messages off DISCHARGE fans from around the world saying, 'Please stay in the band!' so that kind of made the decision for me, really. How can I say no to that for a band that's been going for so long? It is hard to replace, especially being a singer, it is hard to replace original singers, but luckily, I've been accepted, so happy days."

Photo credit: Fabiola Santini

German progressive rockers, Long Distance Calling, will released their new album, Boundless, on February 2nd via InsideOut Music.

Says the band: "We are happy to announce our new album Boundless, which will see the light of day on February 2nd, 2018. This time around the four of us locked ourselves in a room over a couple of months and pretty much got back to where we started as a band to catch this “go with the flow” feeling. This is probably the purest LDC album ever, no guests, no vocals, purely instrumental. We're stoked how it turned out and this album got a lot of energy, heaviness, melodies and twists, we hope you will enjoy it as much as we do."

Boundless will be released as a special edition digipak CD, Gatefold 2LP + CD (incl. etching on side D) and as digital download. Pre-order here.

Special bundles are available in LDC's official band store (first button in the pre-order link above), featuring strictly limited vinyl colour (200 copies, sun yellow) as well as an exclusive shirt, hardtickets, etc.

Tracklisting:

"Out There"
"Ascending"
"In The Clouds"
"Like A River"
"The Far Side"
"On The Verge"
"Weightless"
"Skydivers"
"Flashback" (Bonus Track)

Teaser:

Overdrive recently caught up with Opeth frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt, whi discussed the band's stylistic changes over the years. An excerpt is available below.

Overdrive: Here you are with album number 12 (Sorceress) and finally having your very own label (Moderbolaget Records) to work under. Did this give you a sense of creative freedom in any way mentally or was it just business as usual?

Mikael: "Yes, I agree for sure. That’s another aspect of the need to adopt new sounds. I bet Rob Halford (Judas Priest) is thinking 'Fuck, why did I do some much high-range singing back in the day?' (laughing) I can only guess that it’s not easy to do the older you get. I’m fortunate enough that I can still do the screams when I need too and I enjoy doing them when it’s right for the music. My biggest concern is that I’m going to get bored with music you know? My dream, when I was a young child, was to do this for the rest of my life and the last thing I want to do is ruin it by playing it safe? Hell no!"

Overdrive: It’s widely reported that you are a fan of the '60s, '70s bands due to the experimental element of the music back then. Do you find that the entire business has become homogenized and ultimately bland to a degree?

Mikael: "I think people back in the day were complaining about categories being slapped on them more than they are today. I personally used to like the philosophy of categories and used to have so much fun with it back in the day with fanzines interviews. I used to invent completely fabricated genres such as 'Forest Metal' or 'we play dark medieval metal' (laughing). I have a lot of problems with music today and how people consume it. There is no value left anymore and very little appreciation for the creativity and time process involved in creating music. The fact that you can just shuffle through an album in the wrong sequence of tracks that were carefully picked in that order just amazes me. Would you watch the end of a new movie the first time and skip the beginning? It’s the same thing in my opinion. When people ask us these days what kind of band Opeth is, I just say we are a rock band (laughing). I’ve lost interest in making up new genres to describe what we do."

Read the complete interview here.

Opeth guitarist Fredrik Akesson was interviewed on November 19th at Rock City in Nottingham, England. The complete chat can be viewed below; an excerpt has been transcribed as follows:

What's the plan after this tour? Are you in the process of making news music?

"In a way, yes, I would say. This is the last run we do (in support of Soreceress), and then we have a break. We might play some festivals during the summer, but before that, there's no gigs. So it's a bit of a break, but also starting to write for a new album, absolutely. So we'll see how that goes. But nothing is… no direction is settled yet or anything like that."

Is there always writing going on?

"For me personally, I sit around and play a lot of guitar during the day, and sometimes you come up with a little melody or a little riff or something, and I just record it in my voice memory in the phone. So small stuff like that. But it's not… working on a song kind of thing rarely happens on the road. Especially for Mikael (Akerfeldt - vocalist / guitarist), I know he needs to be in his bubble, you know. So that's why we wanna take a break now as well, because for him, also, it's important to don't have to think about the shows or anything like that, just focus on coming up with new material."

Cormac Neeson of Irish rockers THE ANSWER will release his first solo album, "White Feather", in 2018. The disc will be recorded in Nashville starting in January with producer Blue Miller, who played in the pop group JULIA and performed and recorded with Bob Seger before recording three solo albums and creating Emmy-winning music for various television documentaries.

"This is obviously a first for me and means I have to take a short break from THE ANSWER activity," Neeson said. "I have had the great opportunity to write with some of Nashville's finest writers and artists over the last 12 months and these collaborations have added a vibrancy and focus that will give this album its own unique identity."

"White Feather" will feature a music style influenced by Americana, country, Irish folk and Delta blues. Through a series of well-crafted, introspective songs, Neeson will deliver a fantastic new sound, drawing heavily on his deeply personal experiences of upheaval and seismic change over the last number of years.

A demo version of Neeson's solo song "Whole Again" can be streamed below. The singer stated about the track: "I wrote this song with my good friends Lisbee Stainton and Blue Miller on my very first day in Nashville. With regards to the subject matter, Lisbee and Blue were kind enough to let me take the lead and talk about my son's first days and weeks of his life spent fighting for his life in a Belfast hospital. The session quickly evolved into a very emotional but infinitely rewarding date for all of us. The perfect start of my time in Tennessee."

In addition to Miller, "White Feather" is expected to feature Neeson's collaborations with many of the leading Nashville country songwriters, including Corey Lee Barker, Steve O'Brien, James Elliott and Allen McKendree Palmer.

ALTER BRIDGE frontman Myles Kennedy has signed with Austria's Napalm Records for the release of his debut solo album, "Year Of The Tiger". The 12-song effort was helmed by ALTER BRIDGE's longtime producer Michael "Elvis" Baskette and will arrive in the spring.

Myles states: "I'm excited to announce I'm teaming up with Napalm Records for the release of my first solo record, 'Year Of The Tiger'. This record is something I've always wanted to make and I'm grateful to Napalm for believing in me enough to get behind it."

"Year Of The Tiger" was described by Kennedy in a recent interview with Metal Wani as "probably the closest thing to a full-on concept record that I've ever written. I mean, the story is congruent throughout the entire... It basically tells a story from start to finish, and it documents when my father passed away when I was a kid and basically what happened after that with my mom, my brother and I — it tells that story," he said. "So it's a full-on concept from start to finish."

"Year Of The Tiger" is actually the second solo album Kennedy recorded, having previously completed a full-length record's worth of material over a several-year period beginning in 2009. Although that album was mixed in early 2016, Myles "decided not to move forward" with the project because "I'm kind of a firm believer that songs can have a shelf life with an artist," he told Metal Wani. "And what happened was I'd been chipping away at the solo record for quite a while when I had time. Obviously, I was very busy playing with ALTER BRIDGE and touring with that, but in my spare time, I was chipping away at this record, so when I actually documented it and finished it, I had to step back and look at it with a fresh perspective and say, 'You know what? You've gotta be honest with yourself as a writer. Is this where you are now? No. And is this what you want to represent where you are now? No.' That was a hard decision for me to make, because there was a lot of work that went into it. Not just work, but time and money, and I just felt like, regardless of that, I had to scrap and start over. So I started writing again late last year, early this year, and, fortunately, I had plenty of ideas to draw from."

Kennedy eventually wrote a fresh batch of music for "Year Of The Tiger" but ended up "totally re-recording" one song from his scrapped first solo album. "I basically just used the demo [version of the track] and rebuilt around it," he said. "So a few people [close to me] were happy to hear that, 'cause it was one of their favorites from that record. The content suited the record that I just completed, the 'Year Of The Tiger' record, perfectly, so it definitely will see the light of day this time."

Asked how "Year Of The Tiger" compares to the musical direction of Kennedy's abandoned first solo disc, he said: "'Year Of The Tiger' definitely has much more of a blues-based vibe. Though I started the first record wanting to keep it more acoustically based… Sometimes you get in a studio and you have all these… With multi-tracking, with Pro Tools and all the toys available, it's kind of like the sky is the limit as far as what you do from a production standpoint. So songs that started out very acoustic-based and very stripped down then grew into something different. So what I tried to be very aware of on 'Year Of The Tiger', and Elvis as well, my producer, was to kind of tie our hands and keep things limited as far as how many tracks we could use. We went straight to tape for the majority of the record. So it was really just the idea of 'less is more' and trying to take that approach to making the album."

Saying that "Year Of The Tiger" sounds like "Myles Kennedy," the ALTER BRIDGE frontman went on to reiterate that people "who've heard it have commented that there's definitely more of a blues-based vibe on it. The instrumentation is certainly somewhat of a departure. I tried to veer away from any sort of high-gain wall of sound. There's plenty of resonator guitar, mandolin… there's even banjo, a lot of lap steel. So it's definitely different from what I've done."

"Year Of The Tiger" will feature a guest appearance by drummer Zia Uddin of THE MAYFIELD FOUR, a group Myles descries as his "first real national touring band" back in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

ALTER BRIDGE is continuing to tour in support of its fifth album, "The Last Hero", which came out in 2016.

The group is expected to take most of 2018 off from the road while the bandmembers focus on other projects.

Writing for the follow-up to "The Last Hero" will begin next year, with tentative plans to release the effort in 2019.

Pictured in photo below (left to right): Billie Klein (Napalm Records), Myles Kennedy, Tim Tournier (manager)

A new trailer video for the Iron Maiden: Legacy Of The Beast game can be seen below. The mobile game is now available on iOS and Android platforms.

Developed in close collaboration with Iron Maiden's management, players take on the role of the band's iconic mascot, Eddie, in his many forms - each with unique abilities. Players explore new worlds, travel through time, and battle a cast of dramatic and engaging characters drawn from the expansive catalogue of Maiden's albums and art. Gameplay is enhanced with a soundtrack using songs spanning the band's entire career, including previously unheard live recordings of Iron Maiden classics adapted for the game by engineer Tony Newton under the close scrutiny of bassist and founding member Steve Harris.

See Ironmaidenlegacy.com for more details.

Going into the last few dates of their North American Rage On The Stage! tour, I Prevail have released their video for "Already Dead", starring Tenacious D’s Kyle Gass. Directed by Samuel Halleen, the video features Gass as a vengeful internet troll creating mayhem in the I Prevail world, intent on harassing them online. The band ultimately turns the tables on the social media evildoer as the story unfolds. Watch the video below.

"We wanted to make a video for 'Already Dead' because it gets a great reaction live and is so much fun to play," lead-guitarist, Steve Menoian, explains. "When Kyle Gass agreed to collaborate with us, it became a bucket list dream come true."

The band is currently on their Rage On The Stage! North American tour, which kicked off in early September. With only seven more shows remaining, the band will start 2018 working on their second full-length follow-up to their debut album, Lifelines. To date, Lifelines has sold over 300,000 copies worldwide.

Tour dates:

November
24 - Masonic Temple - Detroit, MI
25 - Pieres - Fort Wayne, IN
26 - The Intersection - Grand Rapids, MI
28 - Stage AE - Pittsburgh, PA
29 - Express Live - Columbus, OH

December
1 - The Cotillion - Wichita, KS
2 - 7 Flags Event Centre - Clive, IA

Greek black metallers Varathron are working on their sixth studio album, Patriarchs Of Evil, and today have released the first video from the recording sessions. Watch drummer Haris record drums at Infinite Loop Music Studio in Ioannina (Greece) and hear fragments of new pre-production songs below.

Varathron commented: "We are very excited to announce that the recordings of our upcoming album Patriarchs Of Evil have come to an end and we are already in the mixing process! Drums were recorded once again at Infinite Loop Music Studio in Ioannina, Greece. In the video you can see some great moments capturing Haris' performance. Rest of the recordings took place at Crown Audio Conspiracies along with the mixing and mastering of the album which is scheduled to be delivered to Agonia Records this December. The cover artwork is in progress by master Juanjo Castellano - well known for his amazing art and previous work with Varathron.

"Patriarchs Of Evil contains eight tracks and we promise that it will be a true heavy, blasphemous and unique masterpiece. 2018 is our 30th year anniversary and we plan to make it really, really special!"

Varathron was formed in 1988. The band's early albums are considered as cornerstones of the Hellenic black metal scene, alongside releases of Necromantia and Rotting Christ, with whom the group shared members and similar fascination towards early style.

Varathron's trademark are mid-paced riffs that have a classic, old-school feel strengthened by a progressive view, as well as epic atmosphere that only few can match.

The bands last studio album, Untrodden Corridors Of Hades, was released in 2014. Listen below:

Lineup:

Stefan Necroabyssious - vocals
Achilleas C - guitars
Sotiris - guitars
Stratos - bass
Haris - drums

Germany's Powerwolf are heavily back at work on their seventh studio album. Set to be released in 2018 via Napalm Records, Powerwolf have finished the songwriting for their follow-up to Blessed & Possessed, and will enter Fascination Street Studios in January to record the album together with producer Jens Bogren (Arch Enemy, Amon Amarth, Kreator).

"It feels exciting and spurring to have one of our all-time fave producers working with us on this adventure. Can't wait to record a truly epic new chapter of the metal mass - be forewarned!," says guitarist Matthew Greywolf.

Powerwolf's history of success is a metal fairytale: Thanks to lifeblood, passion and talent the band has gathered an enormous amount of followers with until now six albums and uncountable captivating live gigs. With their latest records placed in the Top 3 of the German album charts, a number #1 live DVD, sold-out headliner shows and frenetically celebrated festival gigs all over Europe, Powerwolf prove: metal is religion, and the wolves will continue to lead the holy metal mass. Amen & attack!

Israeli progressive folk metal masters ORPHANED LAND will release their new studio album, "Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs", on January 26, 2018 via Century Media. Jens Bogren once again took over mixing and mastering duties of what turned out to be the band's best and biggest production so far.

"Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs" features a guest appearance of guitar virtuoso Steve Hackett as well as guest vocal appearances by no other than Hansi Kürsch (BLIND GUARDIAN) and Tomas Lindberg (AT THE GATES). The great album artwork was created by Valnoir.

A teaser for "Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs" is available below.

Singer and frontman Kobi Farhi comments: "Our music has always been a combination of anger, tragedy, protest and joy.

"We can't wait for you to hear the thirteen brand new tracks of this album. As always, it will be very eclectic — no song sounds like the other and the whole album is a one big musical journey.

"We feel that this album takes our feelings to a new level of anger, protest and tragedy.

"The cover speaks for itself and it was made as tribute to the way governments design their money."

"Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs" track listing:

01. The Cave02. We Do Not Resist03. In Propaganda04. All Knowing Eye05. Yedidi06. Chains Fall To Gravity07. Like Orpheus08. Poets Of Prophetic Messianism09. Left Behind10. My Brother's Keeper11. Take My Hand12. Only The Dead Have Seen The End Of War13. The Manifest - Epilogue

The release of "Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs" will be followed by an extensive European tour in early 2018 with IN VAIN, SUBTERRANEAN MASQUERADE and AEVUM.

ORPHANED LAND is:

Kobi Farhi - VocalsChen Balbus - GuitarIdan Amsalem - GuitarZelcha - BassMatan Shmuely - Drums

Italian power metal band, Arthemis, performed inside the Bullhead City Circus at Germany's Wacken Open Air festival in the summer of 2014. Professionally filmed video of the band's full set can be seen below.

Setlist:

"Scars On Scars"
"Still Awake"
"We Fight"
"Blood Of Generations"
"Empire"
"7 Days"
"Vortex"

German true metal outfit Wizard released their new album, Fallen Kings, earlier this year via Massacre Records. A full album stream can be found below.

Fallen Kings was mixed and mastered by Achim Köhler at Indiscreet Audio. The artwork was created by Aldo Requena (Feanor, Black Majesty, Paragon).

Tracklisting:

"Liar And Betrayer"
"We Are The Masses"
"Live Your Life"
"Brothers In Spirit"
"White Wolf"
"Wizard Until The End"
"Father To Son"
"Let Us Unite"
"Frozen Blood"
"You're The King"

Album stream:

“Liar And Betrayer” lyric video: