Ace Frehley joined Alice Cooper on stage for the last song on the final show of their joint Australian tour. The former KISS guitarist and the shock rocker teamed up for an eight-minute-plus version of Cooper's classic "School's Out" Wednesday night (October 25) in Brisbane, featuring multiple guitar solos from Frehley.

The Brisbane concert was part of Cooper's "Spend The Night With Alice Cooper" world tour, which also marks the fortieth anniversary of his first ever concert tour of Australia back in '77.

Prior to the trek, Ace stated about the prospect of playing with Cooper: "I have been friends with Alice since the '70s, but I've never had the pleasure of touring with him. Our tour of Australia and New Zealand in October this year will be a major rock and roll event Down Under and leave all our fans with big smiles and wanting more! I can't wait to hit the road."

Cooper released "Paranormal", his first album in six years and twenty-seventh overall, via earMUSIC in August. The disc features special guests like U2's Larry Mullen Jr., who plays on nine of the twelve new songs; Billy Gibbons of ZZ TOP; DEEP PURPLE's Roger Glover, as well as a highly anticipated mini-reunion of the original Alice Cooper band members.

Upon release, "Paranormal" climbed the iTunes rock charts, landing at No. 1 in twelve countries and the Top 5 in twenty countries.

Frehley last month released a newly expanded deluxe edition of his 2009 album, "Anomaly", via eOne Music. Among the new tracks are two previously unreleased demos: "Hard For Me", which was later reworked into the album's "Foxy & Free", and an early take of "Pain In The Neck", different in tempo and arrangement from the final version. Also included is the previously digital-only "Anomaly" bonus track "The Return Of Space Bear".

Marking thirty years of depravity, highly influential U.S. death metal pioneers AUTOPSY return with the "Puncturing The Grotesque" mini-LP, containing seven tracks of blistering sickness, and their first new material since the pulverizing "Skull Grinder", on December 15. The release will be available exclusively through the Peaceville store on CD, LP and digitally (with all pre-orders receiving the title track as an instant download).

With the returning lineup of Chris Reifert, Eric Cutler, Danny Coralles and Joe Trevisano, AUTOPSY once more delivers a rancid concoction of slow brooding doom and high-octane metal madness injected with twisted solos and an overdose of vocal insanity.

"Puncturing The Grotesque" was recorded at Earhammer Studios (VIOLATION WOUND), in Oakland, California with engineering and co-production duties carried out by Greg Wilkinson. The delightfully distasteful artwork comes courtesy of Dennis Dread (DARKTHRONE, ABSCESS).

Of the thirtieth anniversary of AUTOPSY, Reifert comments: "Thirty years of AUTOPSY... how the hell did that happen? Seems like just yesterday but somehow a million years ago that a couple of degenerate teenagers formed this beast that still lumbers and lurches around the confines of the studio and the expanse of the world itself. It's hard for us to believe too. Just don't think we're letting you out of the audio noose yet... we still have some of our sickest tricks up our sleeves for your horrific pleasure!"

One of the early breed of U.S. death metal acts, AUTOPSY formed in 1987 in San Francisco and released four albums on Peaceville — beginning with the classic debut, "Severed Survival", in 1989 — before disbanding in 1995, with members going on to form ABSCESS. AUTOPSY triumphantly and officially returned from the grave after a fifteen-year hiatus with the 2010 EP "The Tomb Within". This was followed by the release of the band's fifth studio album, "Macabre Eternal", in 2011, to great acclaim, and the band has subsequently remained at the top of the death metal pile since. The full legacy of AUTOPSY was also recently extensively documented in the book/set "After The Cutting". "Puncturing The Grotesque" track listing

01. Depths Of Dehumanization02. Puncturing The Grotesque03. The Sick Get Sicker04. Gas Mask Lust05. Corpses At War06. Gorecrow07. Fuck You!!! In addition to the mini album, there is a special treat for fans of the grotesque: as part of the ongoing seven-inch series marking thirty years of Peaceville comes a new vile treat in the form of a double feature from two titans of death metal — AUTOPSY have teamed up with the Sweden’s kings of gore BLOODBATH to create a limited-edition split seven-inch. AUTOPSY presents a high-octane version of the none-too-subtly titled "Fuck You!!!", originally known from '80s West Oakland act BLOODBATH (which once featured current AUTOPSY guitarist Danny Coralles). BLOODBATH U.S. was a large inspiration for AUTOPSY in their formative years, and the track is presented here in an exclusive alternate version to that featured on "Puncturing The Grotesque".

BLOODBATH brings us its own nod to the past and inspirations, in the form of a relentless rendition of the CANCER classic "Blood Bath", recorded specially for this release, and giving a clear indication as to where the seeds of their own path to masterful brutality were sown.

AUTOPSY comments: "'Fuck You!!!' is a cover song of a cover song.... and the only song we've ever considered covering. Eric and I loved the version that Danny's old band BLOODBATH did before we even knew Danny, let alone knowing that he'd end up joining AUTOPSY. And Danny didn't even know it was a cover song at the time! Got it? It's a crazy world and a crazy song. It's also a cool tribute to Dane Petersen (R.I.P.), the original BLOODBATH vocalist. We feel we gave it the treatment it deserved... now it's up to you to crank it up and hold those middle fingers high!"

BLOODBATH says: "Most of you would know this already, but for those of you who don’t, it was the title of the first song, on the first album by U.K. death metallers CANCER, which we originally lifted our band name from. Now with Peaceville celebrating its thirtieth anniversary, there would be no better token than offering this cover song to glorify the old-school, brutal and trashy death metal legacy of CANCER fucking CANCER, once more! And as if it couldn't get any better, we've the honor to split these seven inches with gore legends AUTOPSY who also bathe in their own blood!"

"The Prophets Of Loss", the new video from San Diego-based deathgrind masters CATTLE DECAPITATION, can be seen below. The clip was filmed during the band's summer 2017 European tour by director Paul McGuire of Obscenery Films, who captured behind-the-scenes and live footage.

CATTLE DECAPITATION is currently headlining the "North American Extinction Tour Part II: Inhuman Beings", with support from REVOCATION, FULL OF HELL and ARTIFICIAL BRAIN. The trek will run through November 20. "The Prophets Of Loss" is taken from CATTLE DECAPITATION's most recent full-length album, "The Anthropocene Extinction", which came out in August 2015 via Metal Blade. The CD was once again helmed by Dave Otero (ALLEGAEON, CEPHALIC CARNAGE), who worked on 2012's "Monolith Of Inhumanity".

CATTLE DECAPITATION enlisted a surprising array of guests to help achieve their vision. The one and only legendary Philip H. Anselmo lent his throat to "The Prophets Of Loss" while signee to his Housecore Records label, fellow San Diegan and friend of the band, AUTHOR & PUNISHER, brought forth the industrial damnation as an intro to the track "Plagueborne". Additionally, Germany's dark metal misanthrope, Mr. Jurgen Bartsch of the almighty BETHLEHEM, lent a spoken-word piece in his native tongue to the apocalyptic final track "Pacific Grim".

The record also saw the band extending their collaboration with illustrator Wes Benscoter, who's handled the artwork for every CATTLE DECAPITATION release since 2002's "To Serve Man".

British/American hard rock legends DEEP PURPLE and earMUSIC have announced the release of the ninety-seven-minute documentary "From Here To inFinite", which is due out on November 3. It shows the history and origin of "inFinite" and provides a deep insight into the workings of the band for the first time on Blu-ray.

The Blu-ray further includes two hours of bonus material, including music videos such as "The Surprising", three previously unreleased live videos ("Time For Bedlam", "Birds of Prey" and "Smoke On The Water"), all filmed and recorded at Hellfest 2017, as well as in-depth behind-the-scenes footage, movie documentary outtakes, interviews, and an audio commentary by DEEP PURPLE themselves — all previously unreleased.

A trailer for "From Here To inFinite" is available below. In conjunction with the release of the Blu-ray, DEEP PURPLE and earMUSIC are also releasing "The inFinite Live Recorings, Pt. 1" on a special three-disc vinyl LP, produced by Bob Ezrin. This was recorded at Hellfest 2017, the biggest metal festival in France and contains a brand new previously unreleased eighty-minute live performance. "From Here To inFinite" track listing (Blu-ray)

* The Movie – "From Here To inFinite" (97 minutes) Bonus (132 minutes)

* Audio commentary by DEEP PURPLE* Live At Hellfest 201701. Time For Bedlam02. Birds Of Prey03. Smoke On The Water

* Outtakes "From Here To inFinite"01. Full Interview with Joe Satriani02. Corky - The Recording Engineer

* Official Music Videos01. The Surprising02. Johnny's Band03. Johnny's Band Documentary04. All I Got Is You

* About "inFinite" - Interviews01. About the Album02. Beyond the Album03. Track by track04. Rapid Fire interview05. Behind the Scenes photoshoot

"Sinister", the first joint studio album by Carmine and Vinny Appice, will be released on October 27 through SPV/Steamhammer as CD digipack, double gatefold vinyl, download and stream.

The official video for the disc's first single, "Monsters And Heroes", can be seen below.

You're unlikely to find a phenomenon like Carmine and Vinny Appice a second time in the history of rock music. For more than forty years, the two brothers have been among the most sought-after and renowned rock drummers worldwide. Carmine and Vinny (each of them on his own) can be heard on numerous legendary albums and have toured countless times with some of the world's greatest acts. Carmine embarked on his musical path in the 1960s with the unforgotten VANILLA FUDGE, manning in the course of his illustrious career the drums for superstars such as Rod Stewart and Ozzy Osbourne, among others. His brother Vinny, who is eleven years his junior, looks back on an equally spectacular career, having worked with acts such as BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL and DIO, among others. With the exception of the live album "Drum Wars - Live!" (2014), there has been no direct collaboration between the two so far. That's about to change!

"Sinister" was recorded with the support of a number of prestigious guests. Vinny says: "As Ringo said: with a little help from our friends." "Sinister" consists of a total of thirteen tracks, recorded by Carmine and Vinny together with distinguished colleagues. "Killing Floor" and "Future Past" feature the wonderful Craig Goldy (together with bassist Tony Franklin), Franklin resurfacing, together with Paul Shortino, on "Suddenly" and on "You Got Me Running". Shortino also lends his awesome vocals to "War Cry" and the programmatic "Monsters And Heroes", the latter also featuring BULLETBOYS guitarist Mick Sweda, while Shortino teams up with WHITESNAKE stringsman Joel Hoekstra on "War Cry". Talking of vocals: "Sinister", "Danger" (bass: Phil Soussan), "In The Night" (guitar: Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal) and "Sabbath Mash" (guitar: Erik Turner, keyboards: Erik Norlander) are all sung by Jim Crean, while Chas West recorded the vocal parts for "Killing Floor", Scotty Bruce featuring on "Future Past" and Robin McAuley on "Riot". The biggest surprise of all: Carmine himself doubles as vocalist on "You Got Me Running". Vinny says: "Carmine has been singing lead and background for years. He's a very good singer and I"m glad he sang one number on this record."

Track listing:

01. Sinister02. Monsters And Heroes03. Killing Floor04. Danger05. Drum Wars06. Riot07. Suddenly08. In The Night09. Future Past10. You Got Me Running11. Bros In Drums12. War Cry13. Sabbath Mash

Lineup and guests

Carmine Appice (drums, vocals)Vinny Appice (drums)

Jim Crean (vocals)Paul Shortino (vocals) (ROUGH CUTT, ex-QUIET RIOT)Robin McAuley (vocals) (MSG)Chas West (vocals) (ex-LYNCH MOB)Scotty Bruce (vocals)

Craig Goldy (guitar) (ex-DIO, ex-GIUFFRIA)Bumblefoot (guitar) (ex-GUNS N' ROSES)Joel Hoekstra (guitar) (WHITESNAKE)Mike Sweda (guitar) (BULLETBOYS)Erik Turner (guitar) (WARRANT)David Michael Phillips (guitar) (KING KOBRA)

Tony Franklin (bass) (ex-BLUE MURDER, ex-THE FIRM)Phil Soussan (bass) (ex-OZZY OSBOURNE)Johnny Rod (bass) (KING KOBRA, ex-W.A.S.P.)Jorgen Carlson (bass) (GOV'T MULE)

The lyric video for the song "Monsters And Heroes" can now be seen below.

Carmine Appice comments on the song and lyric video: "The song 'Monsters And Heroes' is a song about the great Ronnie James Dio. The song is a tribute to his legacy. The track features both Vinny and I on drums as well as special guest Paul Shortino (who wrote the lyrics) handling the vocal duties. We all knew Ronnie very well and wanted to do this video so everyone can see what a great tribute this is to Ronnie. Check it out it is a piece of rock art!!!" Adds Vinny: "'Monsters And Heroes' is special song that was inspired by the greatest singer and person in rock! My friend Ronnie James Dio. This is a special tribute to the man who gave us such great music and words and also took the time for all his fans who he loved."

Top photo of Carmine Appice and Vinny Appice was taken by Joey Wester

Bringing to close an unforgettable 14-date European Winter tour of their 2016 summer hit album Your Wilderness, The Pineapple Thief, led by post-progressive mastermind Bruce Soord and reinforced by Gavin Harrison on drums with Darran Charles on guitar, gave the sold-out Islington Assembly Hall in London a truly awe-inspiring gig on February 11th, 2017.

Where We Stood (out now) showcases a powerful performance from both band regulars and guests on new tracks from Your Wilderness, including "In Exile", "No Man's Land" and "The Final Thing On My Mind", and of the classics from previous albums, "Nothing At Best", "Show A Little Love" and "Simple As That". Watch a new video trailer below.

Bruce Soord says about the show and release: “It was our last show of the tour and our biggest headline show ever. We had 15 cameras, a massive jib, but more importantly - a sell-out crowd!  The pressure was indeed on, but it’s safe to say that the stars aligned for us that night and it turned out to be one of the most memorable performances of our career so far.

We've thrown everything but the kitchen sink at this special edition Blu-ray.  It has the full show; documentary footage and interviews; and two different 5.1 surround mixes (one natural, one discrete) - all in high resolution 24/96 stereo.  It also has our last album Your Wilderness in stereo and surround, plus the special 8 Years Later album in stereo with a brand-new surround mix too.  All of that plus five acoustic tracks (also stereo and surround) and loads of bonus videos. This is without doubt the definitive Your Wilderness release.”

Find order options here.

Legendary Celtic Frost bassist Martin Eric Ain (real name Martin Stricker) died unexpectedly on Saturday, October 21st of a heart attack. Celtic Frost frontman Tom G. Warrior (real name Thomas Gabriel Fischer) has released the following:

Martin Eric Ain. 18. July 1967 - 21. October 2017

“I have had to draft a disconcerting number of obituaries in recent years, mourning the loss of individuals who were either very close to me or of distinct importance to my life. But this obituary is by far the most difficult one to write.

“Because Martin Eric Ain was unique beyond any description.

“Martin was a part of me, and I was a part of him. Our lives were intertwined in a symbiosis that, at times, almost resembled a marriage, and yet our relationship was of an intricate nature and frequently fraught by disagreements. We both had a substantial impact on the development of each other's path, and we both owed the escape from the fetters of the environment that defined our teenage years to each other's existence.

“I first met Martin around the time Hellhammer recorded the Triumph Of Death demo in 1983, when Steve Warrior and I would spend our Saturday nights at the then popular "Heavy Metal discos". One of these events was called Quo Vadis, and it took place where Martin's lived, in the village of Wallisellen, Switzerland. When I interviewed him for my second book, In September of 2007, Martin recalled:

"The first time I saw Tom and Steve Warrior, they were part of a group of four or five metal fans, headbanging in unison while the non-metal crowd stood around them in a circle, staring. They walked as a leather-clad wall, and everybody got out of their way. It radiated power and violence, and I was extremely impressed.

We were in awe of these guys. They had arrived wearing sunglasses, and their jackets were covered with logos and patches of obscure bands which we had never heard of. They wore boots, leather jackets, bullet belts, studded armbands, and even studded gaiters. They all had long hair and were three or four years older than us and therefore obviously further along than we were. It totally blew our minds. It was like seeing members of Motörhead or Judas Priest standing in front of us. They looked like an album cover.

All of a sudden, there was a radical band within our field of existence. My parents were scared that Tom would seduce us into a life of alcohol abuse, drugs, and other illegal activities. They never recognized the actual threat which emanated from him. Just like so many people, they failed to recognize the power of this music. They perceived heavy metal as some asinine phase, as mere noise; they thought that nobody would ever take any of this seriously. They completely missed the fact that the music led to a radicalization inside of me and to the desire to define my life with music."

“Martin and I soon began to develop a close friendship. We spent uncounted nights discovering music together, discussing books, history, religion, occultism, or art, and then one of us would have to either bicycle or walk home to his own village, through pitch black forests at some ungodly hour. Martin's intelligence, horizon, and vision were truly remarkable. I suppose it was only a question of time before we would begin to create music together, but Martin initially lacked the confidence and hesitated. Instead, he adopted the alias of "Mart Jeckyl" and began to support Hellhammer in a managerial role, supplying us with memos that detailed how we could improve our concept, image, and lyrics. He was only 16 at the time!

“By the time Hellhammer produced the final demo that resulted in our first record deal, Martin was a co-author of some of our lyrics and sang some backing vocals on it. And then he finally became the bassist for good. The development of the group became fierce, and only five months later, we felt the need to drastically expand the scope of our alliance by starting from scratch, with a new project. This was the birth of Celtic Frost, during the night from May 31 to June 1, 1984.

“Martin was one of the very few people who were prepared to embark on this journey with me, uncompromisingly and against significant opposition, unlike many others who only supplied hollow talk and then withered away. Completely self-thought, Martin became a superb and vastly original bassist with an almost uncanny ability to learn songs very quickly. And even though he initially wrote hardly any music, his many other contributions to the group were just as important. Celtic Frost's uniqueness depended heavily on our creative collaboration, as I would inadvertently - and foolishly - prove a few years later. In the course of the 34 years we knew each other, we would jointly experience and survive just about any situation one might be able to imagine, not least the destruction of Celtic Frost - twice!

“The partnership with Martin Eric Ain was instrumental in enabling me to fulfil my ardent teenage dream of becoming a musician. Determining Martin's own deeper motivation to pursue this quest is more difficult, however. I think his was more a sense of rebellion against the surroundings in which he grew up, and once this was accomplished, the musical path no longer had the same importance to him. He subsequently became a very intuitive and thriving entrepreneur and embarked on ventures that often were blatantly at odds with the values he so fervently stood for during his youth.

“It was much the same after we reunited Celtic Frost in 2001, recorded the triumphant Monotheist album, and toured the world. Whereas Martin had initially agreed with me that the reunion would be a long-term venture, he confided to me towards the end of the tour that he felt we had sufficiently proven ourselves, and that he did not see a necessity for another album, at least not in the foreseeable future. Moreover, he was weary of the strains of touring and maintaining a band in a vastly changed modern musical landscape versus the comparatively comfortable and lucrative life he led in Zurich managing clubs and bars. His attention was already elsewhere, and I realized that the reunion for him, again, had served a different purpose.

“Martin had a complex personality, coloured by contradictions and indulgence (and I am sure he would describe me exactly the same). He frequently accused me of exorbitance (and undoubtedly had a point), and yet he himself pursued immoderation, if on different levels. He knew, of course, and once labelled his acquisitiveness "pathological". He resorted to verboseness to mask insecurities and his discomfort about revealing too much about his emotions. He was the best and most amazingly generous friend anybody could wish for, as those fortunate enough to know him closely will confirm. And yet, in an interview published in Switzerland in January of 2010, he himself asserted: "I don't like people who embark on ego trips that end up hurting others, although I cannot deny being guilty of exactly such behaviour."

“He would often choose the path of least resistance or refrain from taking a side instead of acting decisively to quench the mounting band-internal conflicts. He watched Celtic Frost's protracted and painful self-destruction, only to tell me, a month after my exit from the group, that if he would have spoken up, the band could have been saved. But by that time, Martin had grown so tired of the dysfunctional group that I became convinced he was secretly relieved that I left, because it spared him of having to quit himself. But I often had the feeling that part of him felt a nagging sense of guilt ever since.

“I am no stranger to the passing of a beloved human being, and death itself is not an abstract or intimidating concept to me. But the fact that a friend of such profound significance has irrevocably been taken from his life is exceptionally painful. I am very glad that I instigated the Celtic Frost reunion in 2001, and that I thus was granted to experience Martin as a newly mature and astonishingly capable musician and songwriter. Notwithstanding the strenuous work involved, touring the world with him one final time was a privilege. In fact, every minute spent in Martin's company was a privilege, and this includes our last meeting over coffee, a short time before his death.

“Martin's passing affects me deeply. The world will never be the same without him. His death signifies the end of an era, both for our music and on a profoundly personal level. I, the older one, had always subconsciously expected him to survive me and become the custodian of the legacy we created together. The shock about his untimely death, the pain, and the sense of loneliness and loss are unbearable and insurmountable.

“Martin, I will miss you deeply until my days, too, will come to an end.” - Tom Gabriel Fischer

(Above photo at the Westend in Zürich, Switzerland on March 26th, 2017 by Tom Gabriel Fischer)

BraveWords is premiering White Wizzard’s lyric video for the new song, “Storm The Shores”.

Says band leader and bassist Jon Leon: “White Wizzard is very excited to release our first single and accompanying lyric video for the song "Storm The Shores" from our forthcoming album, Infernal Overdrive, being released by M-Theory Audio on January 12th, 2018. The song and video is a tribute to military personal and those that have fought and died for the ideals of peace and freedom all around the world.

“White Wizzard in no way is making any political statement with this song and video - it is simply a tribute to the men and women that have served and died in combat. We respect all nations, creeds and cultures.

“We do however want to recognize those that have suffered and fought for freedoms many of us in the western world take for granted. Many of them poor with only the military to build a life, or many in the past drafted with no choice. They fought for a belief that sadly in this day and age has been raped by greedy corporate politicians on BOTH sides of the political spectrum. The belief in a dream. We want to light that candle and remember them, and that dream.

“There is nothing more pure than passion and dreams. Many of these men and women were not fighting for a government, but something much more important. A belief in a future and opportunity. A belief in a chance to live in a world of peace. So we say screw the entire system that has betrayed the men and women that fought and died with greed and corruption. Forget taking a side. See beyond that and realize that these men and women that fought and died deserve to be remembered and revered regardless of your political affiliations, not for fighting for a government, it's ideology or corporate greed.....but for dreaming a bigger dream and for wanting freedom for all.

“That's why I wrote this song and that's what this video is about. Nothing more.”

White Wizzard recently unveiled concrete plans regarding their long anticipated new album. Jon Leon earlier this year announced the return of classic members, vocalist Wyatt “Screaming Demon” Anderson and guitarist James J. LaRue, to the ranks of White Wizzard, as well as a new label deal with M-Theory Audio. The band have spent much of 2017 crafting their finest offering to date, helmed once again by producer Ralph Patlan (Megadeth, UFO, Flotsam and Jetsam).

Entitled Infernal Overdrive, the band’s fourth full-length, will be released January 12th on CD and gatefold double vinyl. (Pre-order now at M-Theory Audio). The album is over an hour long and captures all the ingredients of past White Wizzard work but expands upon the template with seasoned maturity, outstanding musicianship and a widening of influences including ‘70s hard rock and progressive rock/metal.

“We’re very excited to FINALLY release the official artwork and title for our new album, Infernal Overdrive. Despite madness and delays we’ve persevered through hard work and determination and this album has finally come to be,” explains Jon Leon. “This is, in everyone’s opinion, a special album and what we feel is our best work to date. It has a lot of dynamics and amazing vocals by Wyatt with stunning lead guitar by James J. LaRue.

“The cover art for the album was created by a fan in the UK named Christopher Hardy, who did a killer job based on my latest Pontiac GTO, as well as a bunch of cool pieces for each individual song; which will definitely make it to a couple t-shirts! I am very proud of the work we have all done on this album. It's something that upon writing it I felt was going to be special, and it's turned out to exceed even my highest expectations. Thanks to the fans, especially all the Kickstarter donators who can finally expect to see their packages close to release date. We can't wait to see you all on tour and cannot thank you all enough for the amazing support and passion.”

White Wizzard have announced a handful of special shows in the Southwest to kick off the new release, as well as one in London March 31st which will be part of a planned European tour.

Dates:

January
10 - Hollywood, CA - Whisky A Go Go
11 - San Diego, CA - Brick By Brick
12 - Las Vegas, NV - The Beauty Bar
13 - Laguna Niguel, CA - Karman Bar
14 - Mesa, AZ - Club Red

March
313 - London, UK - Underworld

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" will feature 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.

Singer and frontman Kobi Farhi comments: "We are thrilled and so happy to finally reveal you the great artwork of 'Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs'!

"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. There will also be a U.S. tour already in September 2017.

ORPHANED LAND is:

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

PHIL CAMPBELL AND THE BASTARD SONS (formerly PHIL CAMPBELL'S ALL STARR BAND), the band featuring MOTÖRHEAD guitarist Phil Campbell alongside his sons Todd, Dane and Tyla, plus vocalist Neil Starr, has announced the details of its upcoming debut album.

Titled "The Age Of Absurdity", the disc was recorded at Rockfield Studios and Longwave Studios in Wales and produced, engineered, and mixed by Romesh Dodangoda. The record was then passed over to the acclaimed Abbey Road Studios in London for mastering.

The album will feature eleven songs and one bonus track and will be released on January 26, 2018 via Nuclear Blast. The album will be available in various formats, with pre-orders launching soon.

Commented Phil Campbell: "I am really excited for the fans to hear our debut record. Every part of the process was done in Wales, from the writing, to the recording and even the artwork!

"The album title, 'The Age Of Absurdity', was inspired by the crazy world we live in today. The world to me seems to be a bit of a theater show, so the album artwork idea just seemed to fit so well with the whole concept and album title."

Added Starr: "Writing and recording this album was a lot of fun. We got to record at Rockfield Studios where so many great artists had been over the years — it really was inspirational. Hearing the blistering riffs that the Campbell family seem to churn out effortlessly made me ensure I pushed myself to the limits when writing the melodies and lyrics. It's an album that I, and the rest of the band, are very proud of and can't wait to share it with the world!"

"The Age Of Absurdity" track listing:

01. Ringleader02. Freak Show03. Skin And Bones04. Gypsy Kiss05. Welcome To Hell06. Dark Days07. Dropping The Needle08. Step Into The Fire09. Get On Your Knees10. High Rule11. Into The Dark12. Silver Machine (HAWKWIND cover feat. Dave Brock of HAWKWIND)*

* only to be included in the first pressing of the CD version of the album

The cover art was created by Matt Riste and can be seen below.

PHIL CAMPBELL AND THE BASTARD SONS' last release was a digital-only live EP, "Live At Solothurn", which came out in June.

The song "Wonder Who You Are" from the female-fronted melodic metal band ANGEL NATION can be streamed below. The track is taken from the group's new album, "Aeon", which will be released on October 27 in Europe and North America via Inner Wound Recordings.

ANGEL NATION is a melodic metal band founded by the classically trained Finnish singer Elina Siirala who moved to London in 2008 and fell in love with the power of rock and metal.

Their debut album — released in 2014 under the name ENKELINATION — "Tears of Lust", was received with glowing reviews all over the world. Shows at Bloodstock Open Air and Finland followed before Elina joined LEAVES' EYES in 2016 as that band's new vocalist.

"Aeon" continues the musical diversity that Elina likes to express in her songwriting. The unique blend of retro and modern sounds is developed even further with this album. The power of metal and rock combined with Elina's ethereal-yet-strong-and-emotional vocals create the perfect platform for stories of both earthly and otherworldly she likes to create with her lyrics.

The album features a guest appearance by Jukka Pelkonen (OMNIUM GATHERUM) on vocals and the artwork was created by Darkgrove Design (APOCALYPTICA, DELAIN, LEAH).

"Aeon" track listing

01. Burn The Witch 02. Blood Is On Your Hands 03. Breathe Again 04. Wonder Who You Are 05. Farewell06. Free07. Enough Is Enough 08. Music Plays 09. Fireflies 10. Destination

POWERMAN 5000's new album, "New Wave", can be streamed in its entirety using the SoundCloud widget below. The disc will be released on October 27 via Pavement Entertainment.

"New Wave" is POWERMAN 5000's eleventh official release since forming in 1992 and continues the strides and success, from their platinum-selling album "Tonight The Stars Revolt!" to their most recent chart-topping single in 2014, "How To Be A Human".

Regarding the overall sound of the follow-up to 2014's "Builders Of The Future", vocalist Spider One said: "We went a bit dirtier on this one. Ripped it up more than the last couple of records. One of the goals was to recreate the noise of the live show. Keep in the chaos."

On the topic of the new album title, Spider said: "New Wave? Are we a new wave band? Well, I would say that we have always had more in common with DEVO than DIO."

POWERMAN 5000's legacy continues to push the boundaries of rock, metal, industrial, rap and punk to create innovative and groundbreaking releases time and time again. With songs like "David F**king Bowie", "Cult Leader" and "Sid Vicious In A Dress", the new album is sure to please longtime fans, as well as turn the heads of many more to come.

Spider One told Rock Revolt Magazine about "Sid Vicious In A Dress": "It's funny. We made the record. We had the record done. You always get to that point of making an album, you go, 'Okay, it's done now. We can put this out. I feel good about it. Let's write one more song just for fun.' That's what this song was. I was like, by the time you make a whole album, you end up with ten or eleven songs, but you've probably exhausted forty or fifty ideas, so by the time you get to that point, you're a little bit burnt. It's like, 'What else do I have? What other ideas do I have?' I went back to my notes in my folder and I had this song title 'Sid Vicious In A Dress' written down. I always felt, 'Maybe if I ever write a song for someone else, that would be a good song to use.' It's not a POWERMAN song, but it kept coming back and so I said 'Fuck it! That's a POWERMAN song now.' We tracked and wrote that song in an afternoon and it was no pressure kind of thing and it ended up being the first single, which is pretty crazy. Yeah, sonically, it's a pretty straight-ahead POWERMAN song, but lyrically, it's a little different. It's a little tongue-in-cheek and maybe a simpler of a concept. I tend to sometimes be my own worst enemy lyrically and write these things and people are, like, 'What the fuck does that mean?' This one, there's no mistaking what it's about, although I must say, there is confusion. This, I never thought in a million years this would be confusing, but welcome to the Internet. In my mind, I thought, 'Everybody knows who Sid Vicious is. He was the bass player for the SEX PISTOLS.' Apparently, there was a WWE wrestler named Sid Vicious so people were going, 'Why would they want to put the wrestler in a dress? I don't get it.' People were just all confused. So I was going 'Oh, fuck.' You think things couldn't be any more confusing, but I was like 'Okay.'"

"New Wave" track listing:

01. Footsteps And Voices02. Hostage03. Sid Vicious In A Dress04. David F**king Bowie05. Cult Leader06. No White Flags07. Thank God08. Die On Your Feet09. Get A Life10. Run For Your Life

"Spectral War", a brand new song from CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, the band led by brothers and founding SEPULTURA members Max (also of SOULFLY) and Igor Cavalera, can be streamed below. The track is taken from CAVALERA CONSPIRACY's fourth album, "Psychosis", which will be released on November 17 via Napalm Records. The disc, which was produced by longtime friend Arthur Rizk, was recorded primarily at a studio in Phoenix, Arizona.

The cover artwork for "Psychosis" can be seen below.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Insane02. Terror Tactics03. Impalement Execution04. Spectral War05. Crom06. Hellfire07. Judas Pariah08. Psychosis09. Excruciating

Speaking to Metal Wani's Jake Patton, Max stated about the follow-up to 2014's "Pandemonium": "The album right now is finished. It was produced by Arthur Rizk, our friend and a great producer — an upcoming, underground producer. And he did a great job. I love the record. There are nine songs. We've got one song with Justin [Broadrick] from GODFLESH — just a great NAILBOMB, GODFLESH, CAVALERA kind of song. The rest is all pure thrash madness. And we had it mastered a couple of days ago by Joel Grind from TOXIC HOLOCAUST; he mastered the album. And it's great, man. It's a beast of an album. I think a lot of people are are gonna be surprised when they hear it. It's, for me, the best of all the CAVALERA albums, my favorite one. And it's got the same intensity and energy of the old stuff like [SEPULTURA's] 'Beneath The Remains' and 'Arise'. So a lot of people are gonna be happy to hear that."

Max also talked in more detail about the lyrical themes covered on the new CAVALERA CONSPIRACY disc. He said: "It's a bit… kind of like a mix. There's some stuff about what's going on right now, so there's some terrorist stuff in songs like 'Impalement Execution' and 'Terror Tactics' and 'Excruciating'. And there's some kind of fantasy stuff, like 'Crom', which is the father of Conan. That was a really fun song to make. We have a song called 'Insane' — it's about the state of the world, with Donald Trump and the bombings in England and France. And then, of course, there's an instrumental called 'Psychosis', which is the name of the album, which I think is cool, because I think it also reflects the state of mankind right now, the state of the world right now. It's pretty much psycho — we're living in a psycho age, with madness everywhere we go. The GODFLESH song is called 'Hellfire' — it's about drones. It was inspired by a movie called 'Eye In The Sky' and a movie called 'Good Kill', which is about drones and how people just sit in an air-conditioned office in Nevada and bomb people in Afghanistan and Pakistan with those crazy drones. It was a really cool song built around that, and I really love Justin from GODFLESH's vocals. He sings more in the line of the 'Streetcleaner' vocals from the early GODFLESH, so that came out really nice."

Asked if Max and Igor's recent tour on which they celebrated the twentieth anniversary of SEPULTURA's classic album "Roots" by performing the LP in its entirety influenced the musical content of the new CAVALERA CONSPIRACY material, Max said: "The 'Psychosis' song is very tribal. Some of the recordings were done with Igor in Uganda, in Africa. Igor went there for a thing he did with his wife, like helping people from Uganda, a humanitarian kind of thing. And he recorded a bunch of cool sounds when he was in Africa. So we created this kind of… almost like a voodoo, ambient kind of real tribal… It could have been on [SEPULTURA's] 'Roots'; this song could be on the 'Roots' album. It's got a really great buildup with the drums, and then it has real cool melodic guitars on it — almost like prog rock a little bit. It's kind of like the one 'off' song of the album that really is not like the rest of the record. But it's very cool, it's very tribal and definitely influenced by 'Roots'."

Igor told HeavyMetal.dk that it was "good" for him and Max to have Rizk involved with the new CAVALERA CONSPIRACY album because Arthur "is super passionate about music, the same way we are. So to have someone like him coming in and helping us with ideas and things like that, I think it's gonna surprise a lot of people, 'cause he understands a lot about what's going on today in music, and that's pretty cool — that exchange with us, with the old-school ideas with also someone that understands music right now. I'm far more excited than I've been in many years to put out a record like this. So I have to say I'm quite into it, what we're doing right now."

Max concurred, telling HeavyMetal.dk: "[Arthur] captured the classic Max and Igor in a way that's never really quite been captured before. It was always his objective from the beginning — he wanted to capture the soul of the brothers, and I think he did. I think it's quite amazing, looking back, that somebody can get that out of you after twenty-five years, man. That's awesome. But, like Igor said, there's a lot of noise also — between songs we're gonna hear all this kind of crazy just pure noise and heaviness, which is unheard of. So I'm very excited."

"Pandemonium" sold around 2,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 177 on The Billboard 200 chart.

CAVALERA CONSPIRACY's previous CD, 2011's "Blunt Force Trauma" opened with around 5,000 units to land at No. 122.

The band's first CD, 2008's "Inflikted", registered a first-week tally of 9,000 copies to enter the chart at No. 72.

"Pandemonium" was produced by John Gray, who has previously worked with SOULFLY.

Swedish death metal band Throne Of Heresy are streaming their new video for "Liber Secretorum", which can be seen below. It was filmed on location at the Alvastra Abbey ruins in Östergötland, Sweden.The track is taken from the band's forthcoming concept album Decameron, scheduled for release November 3rd. 

The band commented "'Liber Secretorum' takes it's name from the book Liber Secretorum Eventuum by John de Rupescissa who foretold the coming of the Antichrist in the 14th century. He was jailed for heresy but managed to survive the Black Death and finished writing the Liber while imprisoned. 

This is one of the most atmospheric tracks on the album. The churning mid-pace of the track conveys a sense of oncoming doom that is resolved in the final part, which is probably the heaviest riff on the entire album.

Our video producer Guilherme Henriques did a great job in capturing the bleak morbidity of the track and creating a perfect visual companion for it."

Check out the Decameron cover art and tracklisting: 

"The Shores Of Issyk-Kul"
"Pax Mongolica"
"Siege Of Caffa"
"The Plague Ships"
"Decameron"
"Liber Secretorum"
"Järtecken"
"A Silent Vigil"
"Alvastra"
"The Pale Burden"

Pre-orders can be placed at this location.

 

Season Of Mist has announced the signing of the Norwegian black metal band Vreid (Norwegian for Wrath). The veteran quartet will release their highly anticipated new album in early 2018 through Season Of Mist worldwide.

Regarding their signing Vreid comment: "We are extremely pleased to get signed by Season Of Mist. Like us, they have been around for years, and we have a strong relationship to their people and admiration for their work. We are well on our way with our new album, and are very proud to have Season Of Mist as a partner when we will launch the upcoming beast. Our march continues."

Vreid were formed in 2004. The Norwegian band was established as the spiritual successor of the highly influential, pioneering folk / black metal band Windir. Not content with simply replicating their past, Vreid have carved out a space within their native Norwegian scene as of the leading purveyors of Black N' Roll.

Throughout the course of their career, Vreid has been a band that has constantly evolved their sound. To date, the band's discography, seven well-received full-lengths, have all showcased the band's ability to combine the strongest elements of black metal - visceral riffs, melodic compositions, and crushing aggression alongside lyrics ranging from extreme emotional themes to historical matters in their native country.

Currently, the veterans are working on new material and are looking to record their eighth album this fall. Vrreid composer and mastermind, Hváll comments, "It will be one hell of an album. After more than 20 years of playing together our spirit is stronger than ever and we can hardly wait to get in studio again to give birth to our new creations".

Vreid recently announced a headlining tour across Japan. The tour begins in November, and sees support from Keep Of Kalessin and Solefald. A full list of confirmed dates can be found below.

November
13 - Tokyo - Chelsea Hotel
14 - Nagoya - Apollo Base
15 - Osaka - Live House Soma
16 - Tokyo - Club Seata

 

Australia’s Ne Obliviscaris will release their new album, Urn, on October 27th via Season Of Mist. An advanced album stream is available below.

Urn is bound to be a career defining moment for the band. The Australian extreme prog stars have honed and re-balanced the key elements of their unique sound to a razor sharp musical edge. Fierce growls intertwine with emotive vocals, while devastating, intricate guitar riffs and thundering drums play against an unleashed violin and gorgeous string arrangements. Ne Obliviscaris innovate the epic, progressive and intense extreme metal forms of expression once again, marking a new peak in the steep rise of the band.

Urn is now available for pre-order across various CD and LP formats at the Season Of Mist e-shop.

Tracklisting:

“Libera (Part I) - Saturnine Spheres”
“Libera (Part II) - Ascent of Burning Moths”
“Intra Venus”
“Eyrie”
“Urn (Part I) - And Within The Void We Are Breathless”
“Urn (Part II) - As Embers Dance In Our Eyes”

Album stream:

“Intra Venus” video:

"Intra Venus" drum playthrough video:

Ne Obliviscaris have announced a headlining North American tour. The Urn North American Tour 2017 begins on November 1st in San Francisco, and sees the band traveling across the country, making stops in Los Angeles, Vancouver, Montreal, New York, Austin, and more, before concluding on December 4th. Support comes from Allegaeon. A full list of confirmed tour dates can be found below.

Regarding the tour, the band comments: "We will be landing for this tour only a few days after Urn is released and couldn't be more excited to present to you the first tour of our Urn album cycle. You can expect a full 90 min. show featuring songs from all three albums!"

Tour dates:

November
1 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of The Hill
2 - Los Angeles, CA - Whisky A Go Go
3 - Las Vegas, NV - Beauty Bar
4 - Salt Lake City, UT - Loading Dock
5 - Denver, CO - Globe Hall
7 - Seattle, WA - Studio Seven
8 - Portland, OR - Dantes
9 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theater
11 - Calgary, AB - Dickens
13 - Winnipeg, MB - Park Theatre
14 - St Paul, MN - Amsterdam
16 - Chicago, IL - Reggie's
17 - Cleveland, OH - Foundry
18 - Ottawa, ON - Mavericks
19 - Montreal, QC - Les Foufounes Electriques
20 - Boston, MA - Sonia
22 - New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge
24 - Greensboro, NC - Blind Tiger
25 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
26 - Orlando, FL - Haven
28 - New Orleans, LA - Gasa Gasa
29 - Ft. Worth, TX - Rail Club
30 - Houston, TX - Acadia Live

December
1 - Austin, TX - Come & Take It Live
3 - Phoenix, AZ - Club Red
4 - Santa Ana, CA - Constellation Room

Bloody Disgusting are exclusively reporting that Rob Zombie is directing a follow-up to The Devil’s Rejects, released in 2005 as a spinoff of his directorial debut, House Of 1,000 Corpses (2003).

Says Bloody Disgusting: “The Devil’s Rejects, arguably Rob Zombie‘s best film, ended in a hail of bullets that gave homage to Bonnie and Clyde. In the scene, Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig), Otis (Bill Moseley), and Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie) drive directly into a shootout that ends all of their lives. Yet, Zombie plans to resurrect them.”

Read more at Bloody Disgusting.

Finnish cinematic metal band, Dark Sarah, is preparing their third album, The Golden Moth, which is scheduled to be released next year, and have opened a crowdfunding campaign and pre-sale of the album.

Dark Sarah have also released the music video for "Trespasser” with JP Leppäluoto, the first single from the upcoming album. Watch the clip here.

The third Dark Sarah album, The Golden Moth, is the last part of the first trilogy (The Chronicles). The trilogy tells about Dark Sarah's travel through three worlds: The Middle World (Behind The Black Veil album), The Underworld (The Puzzle album) and The Upper World (The Golden Moth album).

On The Golden Moth album, Dark Sarah has to face the final test and find her way to the gods in the Upper World. After she had solved the puzzle in The Underworld and found the three keys, the Iron birds came there for her and took her to the Upper World, a deserted waste land where the gods rule. But also a trespasser, The Dragon, came with her. In the heat of the desert they meet again and there is something The Dragon wants from her..

JP Leppäluoto (Charon) has joined the official lineup as The Dragon for the upcoming album. Also in the roles of The Gods you will hear featuring artists as Zuberoa Aznarez (Diabulus In Musica) and a yet unnamed guest.

Dark Sarah official lineup:

Heidi Parviainen (as Dark Sarah) - vocals
JP Leppäluoto (as Dragon) - vocals
Erkka Korhonen - guitar
Sami Salonen - guitar
Rude Rothstén - bass
Thomas Tunkkari - drums

Crowdfunding campaign video:

IQ reports that Metallica last night made history by playing to a record-breaking 22,211 people at The O2 in London, England, smashing the previous record of 21,000 set by Muse in 2016. Watch the band perform "Spit Out The Bone" at The O2:

The ‘in-the-round’ format allowed for an extended seating capacity for the US rockers’ two O2 shows, part of the UK leg of their WorldWide tour, which now heads to the SSE Hydro in Glasgow. To mark the occasion, Metallica were presented with a specially commissioned illustration by The O2’s head of programming, Christian D’Acuna.“Earlier this month Northern California, the community that we have called home for over 34 years, suffered devastating wildfires that have destroyed homes and displaced over 100,000 of our neighbours in Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake and other counties in the North Bay,” says Metallica.

“We’re extremely saddened by the suffering that so many are feeling in the Bay Area, but are also inspired by the enormous outpouring of love and support from all around the country and want to jump in and help in the way we know how to - through music!

“With that said, we are proud to be a part of Band Together, a benefit concert at AT&T Park in San Francisco on Thursday, November 9th, 2017 to assist the families impacted by the fires and show our immense appreciation to the thousands of first responders who have been working tirelessly since the fires began. Joining us will be Dave Matthews Band, G-Eazy and more friends to be announced soon.

“All funds from ticket sales will benefit Tipping Point Community, who have set up an Emergency Relief Fund for low-income, vulnerable communities impacted by the crisis, including vineyard workers, immigrants, displaced young people, and students. 100% of the ticket price will be donated to this fund and you can learn more about them at TippingPoint.org.

“Fifth Members may purchase tickets during a pre-sale on Thursday, October 26th beginning at 10 AM, PDT through 10 PM, PDT. The public on sale is Friday, October 27th at 10 AM, PDT, both through Ticketmaster.com. Fifth Members can find their personal pre-sale code displayed on their Metallica.com profile.

“We hope you’ll join us on November 9th in assisting our friends and neighbors who have lost so much, but if you cannot attend the show and would still like to contribute, you may donate directly to Tipping Point. You may also donate to the Metallica All Within My Hands Foundation through the Foundation's Facebook page. All Within My Hands will be making a donation to Tipping Point Community, and 100% of your contribution will be included.”

For more information on the event, visit bandtogetherbayarea.org.

 

Minneapolis bred sludge-metal band, Boson, will release their debut, full-length album, Domain Of Ember, on November 3rd via Anxious & Angry Records. The album’s opening track, “Shadowlands”, is available for streaming below.

Guitarist/Vocalist, Jim Adolphson talks about the new song: “‘Shadowlands’ is a really good example of a lot of elements we like to us as a band. Trying to combine melody and dense harmony with aggression can be a really challenging thing and I'm really happy with how that turned out on this particular track. It's also one of my favorites to play live, especially with the big build from the quiet section in the middle.”

With Domain Of Ember, Boson has made their entry into the metal scene armed with massive, sludging-riffs and  searing, intense vocals. Melding elements of atmospheric post-metal, doom-metal and hardcore, the band wields a monstrous sound that finds a unique balance between melody and cacophony.

Adolphson adds:  “We started Boson so we could play loud, heavy music and have fun doing it. We wanted to find ways to come up with music that made you want to get stoned and bang your head a little bit without trying too hard to be difficult and cerebral.”

Tracklisting:

“Shadowlands”
“Mass Of The Phoenix”
“Echo Of The Mute Stars”
“Heaven's Black Corners”
“Eye Of The Augur”
“Prayer of Ash”

“Shadowlands”:

“Mass Of The Phoenix”:

Pre-order Domain Of Ember at anxiousandangry.com, or Bandcamp.

Babylon A.D. are one of the few hard rock bands from the late '80s/early '90s that are still operating with all of their original members: Derek Davis, vocalist/songwriter, guitarists and songwriters, John Matthews and Ron Freschi, drummer Jamey Pacheco and bassist Robb Reid. The band formed in 1987 and to celebrate their 30th anniversary, will release their new album, Revelation Highway, on November 10th. A music video for the album track “I’m No Good For You” is available for streaming below.

Vocalist Derek Davis on the new album: "This record kicks ass, from the opening track 'Crash And Burn' to the last track 'Saturday Night'. The band had a blast making the album and a lot had to do with original founding member lead-guitarist John Matthews rejoining the band. He really lit the fire that got the bands blood pumping to make a new record. For me it was awesome to produce and mix such a cool record. It's very hard hitting yet melodic, with some great lyrical story telling and great stand out tracks like, 'One Million Miles', 'Tears', 'Rags To Riches, and 'She Likes To Give It'. The songs are so catchy and memorable on the first listen I know our fans are gonna love it! And of course there are some burning guitar leads to keep the metal heads happy. The band is very grateful that Frontiers Music Srl listened to the tracks and felt the same way about them as we do and offered us the opportunity to get this record out. We can't wait to hit the road and play the material live."

Featuring 10 tracks of the energetic classic hard rock the band is known for, Revelation Highway is sure to please fans of the band's classic early material. The band will play shows in the UK and Germany this August/September to kick off promotion for the album with more touring planned both in the US and UK/Europe.

Tracklisting:

“Crash And Burn”
“Fool On Fire”
“One Million Miles”
“Tears”
“She Likes To Give It”
“Rags To Riches”
“Last Time For Love”
“I'm No Good For You”
“Saturday Night”
“Don't Tell Me Tonight”

“I’m No Good For You” video:

“Rags To Riches”:

“Crash And Burn” video:

Babylon A.D. lineup:

Derek Davis - Lead Vocals, Keyboards, Acoustic Guitar
Ron Freschi - Guitars & Vocals
John Mathews - Guitars & Keyboards
Robb Reid - Bass & Vocals
James Pacheco - Drums & Percussion

Swedish metallers, The Poodles, are back with "It’s No Good", the second single from the upcoming album Prisma, in virtual and physical stores early 2018.

"We took on the challenge to do our version of an iconic song from a different genre", says lead singer Jakob Samuel. “Depeche Mode is such an influential band and their darker 90s stuff is really cool!” he continues.

The choice to do a heavy rock version of "It’s No Good" stems from the simple fact that everyone liked the song”, guitarist Henrik adds. "It is a dark, epic song about broken relationships, which is always and interesting theme to explore.”

"We wanted to add an explosive element that would catch the listener’s ear and develop the hypnotic groove of the song into something more modern sounding, says Kicken, drummer of the band. “People are going to be surprised when they hear it!”

Listen here.

In a new interview with Metal Discovery, Michael Schenker reveals that Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett will appear on the upcoming Michael Schenker Fest album.

“We have Kirk Hammett doing a guitar part with me,” says Schenker. “Kirk, you know, he’s a Michael Schenker fan all the way, and he has become a friend, and he plays in the biggest band on this planet. So, I asked him if he wanted to do this and he was more than happy. And so, Michael Voss flew over there and recorded him.”

Michael Schenker is one of the most significant rock guitarists in the history of music. He has mesmerized the rock community since the 70's with his characteristic guitar play and contributed not only to Scorpions classics such as "Lovedrive", "Coast To Coast" and "Holiday", but also constructed himself a monument during his time in UFO by writing hits like "Doctor Doctor" and "Rock Bottom" among others. His playing has influenced several generations of guitar players enormously.

Back in 1979, the "German Wunderkind" decided to be his own boss. He founded the Michael Schenker Group aka M.S.G. and released the masterpieces Assault Attack and Built To Destroy, the live legacy One Night At Budokan as well as the McAuley Schenker Group pearls Perfect Timing and Save Yourself. Around that time, outstanding musicians such as Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big), Don Airey (Deep Purple), Cozy Powell (ex-Gary Moore), Chris Slade (AC/DC), Pete Way (UFO) and Neil Murray (ex-Whitesnake) were all invited by Schenker to play with him. M.S.G. also became home of great vocalists, most notably Gary Barden, Graham Bonnet and Robin McAuley. Those guys were also a part of the comprehensive Michael Schenker Fest, whose celebrated Tokyo show was released as live CD, DVD and Blu-ray this March recently passed.

Now the time has come for Michael Schenker to move another step forward: He fulfills the long-awaited dream of all hard rock fans by entering the studio as Michael Schenker Fest. The band are recording a brand-new studio album with producer Michael Voss. Its release is set for spring 2018 through Nuclear Blast, the band's new record label.

Comments Schenker, "I am very happy to have signed with Nuclear Blast Records and I am looking forward to releasing a killer Michael Schenker Fest studio album in the spring of 2018. The album will feature three original M.S.G. singers - Gary Barden, Graham Bonnet & Robin McAuley - plus Doogie White (Michael Schenker’s Temple Of Rock). Keep on rockin'!"

Michael Schenker Fest tour dates:

October (featuring original M.S.G singers Gary Barden, Graham Bonnet, Robin McAuley)
27 - Santander, Spain - Escenario Santander
28 - Pamplona, Spain - Auditorio de Burlada
29 - Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz
31 - Zoetermeer, Netherlands - De Boerderij

November (featuring original M.S.G singers Gary Barden, Graham Bonnet, Robin McAuley)
2 - London, UK - O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
3 - Sheffield, UK - O2 Academy
4 - Manchester, UK - O2 Ritz
5 - Hull, UK - City Hall

March (featuring original M.S.G singers Gary Barden, Graham Bonnet, Robin McAuley, plus Doogie White)
6 - The Fillmore - Silver Springs, MD
7 - Carnegie Music Hall - Pittsburgh, PA
9 - Berklee Performance Center - Boston, MA
10 - Irving Plaza - New York, NY
11 - Theatre of Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA
12 - Club Soda - Montreal, QC
14 - Royal Oak Music Theatre - Detroit, MI
16 - Agora Theatre - Cleveland, OH
17 - Concord Music Hall - Chicago, IL
18 - Pabst Theater - Milwaukee, WI
19 - Cabooze - Minneapolis, MN
22 - Neptune Theatre - Seattle, WA
24 - Events Center - San Jose, CA
25 - The Grove - Anaheim, CA
26 - Marquee Theatre - Phoenix, AZ
27 - House of Blues - Las Vegas, NV
29 - Cervantes Ballroom - Denver, CO
31 - Vibes Event Center - San Antonio, TX

April (featuring original M.S.G singers Gary Barden, Graham Bonnet, Robin McAuley, plus Doogie White)
1 - Bomb Factory - Dallas, TX
4 - The Ritz - Tampa, FL

German rockers Guano Apes are celebrating their 20th Anniversary with a re-recorded / updated version of their 1997 debut album Proud Like A God. It features a cover of the Eminem classic "Lose Yourself" and Canadian rocker Danko Jones guesting on a new version of the band's first hit, "Open Your Eyes".

Proud Like a God went to #4 in Germany and was certified Platinum.

Proud Like A God XX features the following tracklist:

Disc 1
"Open Your Eyes" (2017 Mix)
"Maria" (2017 Mix)
"Rain" (2017 Mix)
"Lords of the Boards" (Remastered)
"Crossing The Deadline" (2017 Mix)
"We Use the Pain" (2017 Mix)
"Never Born" (2017 Mix)
"Wash It Down" (2017 Mix)
"Get Busy" (2017 Mix)
"Suzie" (2017 Mix)
"Score" (2017 Mix)

Disc 2
"Open Your Eyes" (2017 Version featuring Danko Jones)
"Lose Yourself"
"Rain" (2017 Version)
"Crossing The Deadline" (2017 Version)
"This Is Not America"
"Never Born" (2017 Version)
"Precious"
"Suzie" (2017 Version)
"Get Busy" (2017 Version)

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, AC/DC producer and The Easybeats' star George Young died at the age of 70 on October 22nd).

AC/DC said in a statement:

“It is with pain in our heart that we have to announce the passing of our beloved brother and mentor George Young. Without his help and guidance there would not have been an AC/DC.

As a musician, songwriter, producer, advisor and much, much more, you could not ask for a more dedicated and professional man.

As a brother, you could not ask for a finer brother. For all he did and gave to us throughout his life, we will always remember him with gratitude and hold him close to our hearts.”

On Monday, October 23rd, Guns N' Roses paid tribute to Young with a performance of "Whole Lotta Rosie" when they played Hartford, Connecticut. Check out the footage below. 

Whola Lotta Rosie goes out to Angus Young tonight in dedication to his brother George Young
— Guns N' Roses (@gunsnroses) 24 October 2017

George Young was the eldest brother of Australian rock legends Malcolm and Angus Young. He was born in Scotland in 1946 but emigrated to Australia with his family when he was still a child.

He co-produced AC/DC's early albums, such as Let There Be Rock, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, T.N.T., Powerage and High Voltage.

New York progressive death metal/post metal act Cryptodira have debuted a brand new music video for their track, "In Hell As On Earth." The video is the second song from their new LP the band is sharing early and the first music video.

Cryptodira will release The Devil's Despair via Good Fight Music on November 17th. All pre orders are live today, including merch bundles - links below. “Medusa Misgendered” is live on all streaming platforms and is also available as an iTunes instant gratification track. Meaning, fans who pre order the LP on iTunes will get “Medusa Misgendered” as an instant download immediately.

Drummer Matthew Taibi explains the band's thought process behind the LP title, "Much of The Devil’s Despair deals with the themes of dehumanizing social forces; forces which come from human activity and yet become confused for rigid, natural laws. In “Medusa Misgendered,” the trend being criticized specifically is the objectification of femininity under the gaze of masculinity, reversing the myth of Medusa as the title suggests. Even for the side that benefits from reification, there is still an unnecessary loss of substance and they themselves become a reflection of the very world they've frozen. This hits on the larger theme captured by the artwork, where the Devil himself becomes a victim of the demonic force of dehumanization which originally emanated from him."

Tracklisting:

“Neutralization”
“Constituted - I. Constitutum”
“Constituted - II. Constituens”
“Medusa Misgendered”
“The Gods Of Epicurus”
“Longing Belonging”
“In Hell As On Earth”
“The Fascist's Phantasy”
“Negation Consumes Affirmation”
“Negation Consumes Itself”

"In Hell As On Earth" video:

“Medusa Misgendered”:

Pre-order the album via the following links:

- Digital
- Physical

The band is hitting the road this December with The Number Twelve Looks Like You on the Nuclear Sad Nuclear 12th Anniversary Tour. Tickets are now on sale.  

December
12 - Voltage Lounge - Philadelphia, PA    
13 - Middle East     - Cambridge, MA    
14 - Ottobar - Baltimore, MD    
15 - Local 506 - Chapel Hill, NC    
16 - Backbooth - Orlando, FL    
17 - CrowBar - Tampa, FL    
18 - Gasa Casa - New Orleans, LA    
19 - The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA    
20 - Open Chord - Knoxville, TN    
21 - Mr. Smalls - Millvale, PA    
22 - Mohawks - Buffalo, NY    
23 - Brooklyn Bazar - Brooklyn, NY   

"Thrown Into The Fire", the new video from Florida metallers TRIVIUM, can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's latest album, "The Sin And The Sentence", which arrived on October 20 via Roadrunner Records.

TRIVIUM is set to return to the road in North America later this month, embarking on a co-headline tour with ARCH ENEMY, featuring support from WHILE SHE SLEEPS and FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY. The tour will kick off on October 27 in Orlando, Florida and make its way across the U.S. and Canada before finishing on December 6 in Houston, Texas. Recorded with producer Josh Wilbur (LAMB OF GOD, GOJIRA) at Santa Ana, California's Hybrid Studios, "The Sin And The Sentence" finds TRIVIUM — Matt Heafy (lead vocals, lead guitar), Corey Beaulieu (guitar, vocals), Paolo Gregoletto (bass) and Alex Bent (drums) — returning with its first new music since its celebrated 2015 LP "Silence In The Snow". The new LP also features the band's first recordings with new drummer Bent, who joined the band last year. Earlier this summer, TRIVIUM debuted the album's incendiary title track, "The Sin And The Sentence", the official music video for which has amassed over three million views in under three months. "The Sin And The Sentence" track listing:

01. The Sin And The Sentence02. Beyond Oblivion03. Other Worlds04. The Heart From Your Hate05. Betrayer06. The Wretchedness Inside07. Endless Night08. Sever The Hand09. Beauty In The Sorrow10. The Revanchist11. Thrown Into The Fire

Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group has announced the signing of '90s progressive metal adventurers GALACTIC COWBOYS. The band's reunited original lineup — lead vocalist Ben Huggins, drummer/vocalist Alan Doss, guitarist/vocalist Dane Sonnier and vocalist/bassist Monty Colvin — will release its first album in seventeen years, "Long Way Back To The Moon", on November 17. They descended upon Doss's studio in Houston, Texas in early 2016 to write and record.

A new GALACTIC COWBOYS song "Zombies", taken from "Long Way Back To The Moon", can be streamed below.

GALACTIC COWBOYS has always been a musical enigma. Hailing from Houston, Texas, the band combined melodic thrash, progressive metal, and BEATLES-esque harmonies into a genre of its own creation. Blending these considerable musical chops with a quirky sense of humor, the band quickly distinguished itself from anyone else in the world, garnering fans amongst some of music's biggest stars. Their first time around, though, they were the right band at exactly the wrong time. On this outing, they shoot for the moon again, and celebrate the journey back. The COWBOYS' most notable fanbase became other musicians—an exclusive club that included other 1990s musical misanthropes such as JELLYFISH, KING'S X and Kevin Gilbert. Reflecting both the musicality and diversity of the band, GALACTIC COWBOYS toured with two hard rock/metal legends, ANTHRAX and DREAM THEATER.

Said former DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy: "The GALACTIC COWBOYS were (and still are) one of my favorite bands to emerge from the '90s. Great songwriting, killer players and euphoric harmonies. They were always criminally underrated and overlooked, which led to their premature demise in 2000. My last seventeen years have had a hole in my musical palate without them and I couldn't be happier at the announcement of their return! Welcome back boys... I missed you!"

The eleven new tracks (and two bonus tracks) included on "Long Way Back To The Moon" harken back to the COWBOYS' iconic songs, but are infused with a contemporary hard rock sound. In the tradition of ALAN PARSONS PROJECT, Steven Wilson and PERIPHERY, the album is completely organic: engineered, produced, mixed, and mastered by the band — even all the artwork. One trapping of contemporary production set aside by the band was an over-reliance on studio trickery — no Pro Tools, drum triggers or even vocal tuning. Just real music by real musicians.

The album's sound is alternately heavy, whimsical, charging, and crunching, combining inescapable atmosphere with the drive of a band on a mission. Old fans will feel at home, but hard rock fans who have never heard GALACTIC COWBOYS before will also be instantly hooked. As with all GALACTIC COWBOYS albums, the songs are emotional in topic, and often including a large dose of ironic humor. Each song is performed, sung, and written with intense passion.

Said Colvin: "It was an absolute pleasure getting back together with the guys to record this album. I think we've all grown as musicians and as people since we first got together in '89, and I think our fans will really love this new stuff."

The song "Zombies" is a tongue-in-cheek study on finding love on the last day of human existence, blended with social commentary regarding modern society's obsession with its electronic screens. Timely topics continue with "Next Joke": from kids' sports in which everyone gets a trophy to Disney telling kids to wish upon a star and all their dreams will come true, our unrealistic expectations have set us all up for failure: the joke is on us. "Internal Masquerade", the album’s first single, examines the turmoil endemic to the human experience and the difficulties in keeping self-generated darkness at bay, themes revisited in darker "Blood In My Eyes".

A special treat for fans both old and new is "In The Clouds", the album’s leadoff track and also the first GALACTIC COWBOYS song ever written. Penned in 1989 by Doss and Colvin after the demise of their previous outfit, THE AWFUL TRUTH, the song explores leaving the banal confines of this world behind and ascending to a higher plane of existence. It's also the song Huggins sang to earn his spot in the band!

Said Sonnier: "We can't wait for everyone to hear this, and it's great to be back. Back from the Ranch on Mars and onward to the moon."

Emerging young Michigan rockers GRETA VAN FLEET will release "From The Fires", an eight-song double EP, on November 10 via Lava/Republic.

"From The Fires" will feature on one disc four brand new GRETA VAN FLEET recordings as well as the four critically acclaimed tracks from the band's breakout EP "Black Smoke Rising", including "Highway Tune", the band's debut single that spent five consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Radio chart. The four new tracks were recorded last month at Rust Belt Studios in Detroit and produced by the same duo that produced "Black Smoke Rising" earlier this year, Al Sutton and Marlon Young.

According to the band's vocalist Josh Kiszka, compiling the four "Black Smoke Rising" tracks with the four new recordings made for an ideal grouping. "All eight of these songs share a theme of basic humanity," he said.

"From The Fires" will be available both digitally and as a physical disc. For those fans that have already purchased the "Black Smoke Rising" tracks via iTunes, they are invited to complete their "From The Fires" double EP at a special price. Log on to iTunes for those details.

The cover art for "From The Fires" was conceived by Josh, who said: "When we were all kids, our extended families and friends spent part of every summer together at a place called Yankee Springs. We were out in the middle of the woods, and every night, we'd sit around a campfire, play music and tell stories. I always loved that as it reminded me of ancient times when people would gather around the fires with the tribes' elders telling fables of wisdom and courage, passing down human history. That concept is where the cover art and title come from."

GRETA VAN FLEET — Kiszka, brothers Jake (guitar) and Sam (bass, keys) and family friend Danny Wagner (drums) — is currently on tour in the U.S., having sold out every one of its headline shows through to the end of the year.