Vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe of U.K. doom metal veterans MY DYING BRIDE has opened up about the circumstances that led to the cancelation of the band's four festival appearances in late 2017. At the time, Aaron said the reason for the concerts being called off was "a severe and fearful illness that has struck a family member of my immediate family for which I have now dedicated all my time until signs of improvement." He also shot down rumors that the group was splitting up and assured fans that he and his bandmates were working on the follow-up to 2015's "Feel The Misery" album.

Earlier today (Tuesday, September 18), Stainthorpe released the following statement via MY DYING BRIDE's Facebook page:

"Many of you have been wondering what has happened to the band since we cancelled all our shows back in late 2017. Well, here is the answer.

"In September 2017, my beautiful little daughter, just five years old, was diagnosed with cancer. This event devastated the whole family as well as close friends and of course all of MY DYING BRIDE and related colleagues. A black hole of worry and panic opened up before me and I was fearful of what was to come. The horror that surrounds this terrible disease is real and brutal and relentless.

The highly destructive but very necessary poison that is chemotherapy was started and, after a time, surgery removed the main tumour but it had spread. Early 2018, a second major operation was needed to finally get rid of the visible mass but cells were still in her body, so radiotherapy took place to destroy these. The side effects of both chemo and radio therapies left her a broken and sorry little thing and my heart was aching like never before. As the father of a deeply sick child, I was on the brink of total implosion.

"After the worst year of our lives, and stress beyond belief, we were gifted the news that so many other people never get; she is clear. She has beaten one of the cruellest of God's bitter and loveless creations.

"Despite this positive outcome, there will be years of tests and potential complications which may result in many returns to hospital. I will fear for her every day for the rest of my life and hope that when I finally go to my grave, she will be a strong and forthright woman.

"We really need to thank the wonderful people at the NHS Children's Hospital in Leeds for everything they have done and also the wonderful Candlelighters, children's cancer charity for their endless and loving support.

"The band took a small hiatus at the devastating news but gradually began to muster forces and start work on the next LP which we can happily tell you all, is well under way and, in fact, is almost complete. I have not taken part in any writing as yet, but will return to the fold this week, pen in hand and a new focus and eagerness to fulfil my role as wordsmith and vocalist for this remarkable band. We have returned!"

For 28 years, MY DYING BRIDE from West Yorkshire has been the voice of the hopeless and broken, combining haunting sounds with crushing misery and melancholy. With their signature sound, they've shaped the doom metal scene like barely any other act and integrated both soft violin melodies and violent death metal growls into their music, while always staying strictly loyal to themselves. And since the early '90s, the band's masterminds and founding members Andrew Craighan and Aaron Stainthorpe forged beautiful grief into 12 studio albums with songs of epic length.

Peaceville Records celebrated the 25th anniversary of MY DYING BRIDE with a deluxe 92-page 12-inch hardback book on the rise of the U.K. doom metal legends. The book contains five discs of rarities, early works, newly unearthed and never-before-heard pre-production demos, band track favorites, and live audio.


A message from Aaron.

“Many of you have been wondering what has happened to the band since we cancelled all our shows...Posted by My Dying Bride on Tuesday, September 18, 2018

SACROSANCT, the German-Dutch progressive thrash metal outfit founded by former PESTILENCE guitarist Randy Meinhard, has signed a multi-album deal with ROAR! Rock Of Angels Records. SACROSANCT returns reformed to the scene after a 25-year hiatus.

Kees Harrison (formerly of Dutch prog-metal act SPHERE OF SOULS) recently joined SACROSANCT on bass: "Having been a fan of SACROSANCT for many years, I'm both honored and excited to be working with Randy on the band's new album," he says.

SACROSANCT is:

Richard F. Hesselink - vocals

Randy Meinhard (ex-PESTILENCE) - guitars

Christian Göwert - guitars

Kees Harrison (ex-SPHERE OF SOULS) - bass

Jonas Schütz - drums

b>SACROSANCT was formed in 1988 by guitarist Randy Meinhard and drummer Marco Foddis, who had learned to know each either while joining PESTILENCE. In 1990, SACROSANCT released its debut album, "Truth Is - What Is". The album is characterized by technically sophisticated thrash metal. The dual guitars create a straight as well as spherical and melodious tapestry of sound, interrupted by the tight drumming and the moaning, but angry and rude voice. Creative band head Randy Meinhard considered guitar duos of bands like QUEENSRŸCHE, EXODUS and IRON MAIDEN as a main influence, and Ace Frehley of KISS as initial spark.

SACROSANCT released its second album, "Recesses For The Depraved", in 1991. With a more edgy sound it was little melodious and spheric than the debut. For the album cover, SACROSANCT even managed to secure the rights for H.R. Giger's picture "Das Spiegelbild". When Giger died, 23 years later, Rolling Stone magazine stated "the disturbing Giger cover art accurately conveyed the savage nature of the music."

The third album, "Tragic Intense", was even more melodious and spherical than the debut. On the other hand, staccato parts are rarely on it. In an interview for the music mag Iron Pages, Randy Meinhard stated in 1993 that the dark basic mood is what we intended to do. It just should sound sinister. In that issue Markus Wosgien (Nuclear Blast) described the album as a mixture of thrash, doom and power metal, and classified it as a milestone in this genre.

"A Life In Vision" is a photographic journey of one of the most admired and respected rock vocalists of all time — Ronnie James Dio.

Due on December 7, this beautiful collection of photos was taken by New Jersey photographer Frank White. They capture Dio from his first-ever U.S. show with RAINBOW in 1975 through to 2009, just a few months before he lost his fight with cancer in May 2010. This collection covers Dio's career with BLACK SABBATH, his own band DIO and HEAVEN & HELL.

Throughout the decades, Frank White captured Ronnie on stage in both the USA and Europe. Frank also took many shots of Ronnie relaxing off stage; at TV studios as well as dedicated shoots with his band.

"A Life In Vision" also includes White's recollections of working with Dio as he recalls the many times shared in his company from the other side of the lens.

b>"A Life In Vision" comes in its own custom-made, block-foiled buckram presentation box with a set of full-color prints, perfect for framing.

This unique item is limited to 500 copies worldwide. Order by October 30 and have your name printed in the book on a dedicated page.

Book notes:

- 144-page A4 hardback

- Printed on 170gsm silk paper

- Photos digitally restored and cleaned

- Custom-made block-foiled, buckram presentation box

- Set of four prints on 400gsm card

During an appearance on "America's Got Talent" season 13 finale earlier tonight (Wednesday, September 19), KISS confirmed that it will embark on its "farewell" tour, dubbed "One Last Kiss: End Of The Road World Tour", in 2019. The news was delivered in trademark larger-than-life KISS style with a blistering performance of "Detroit Rock City", proving why the band is known as one of the most iconic live performances that simply can't be missed.

Said KISS frontman Paul Stanley: "This is gonna be our last tour. It will be the most explosive, biggest show we've ever done. People who love us, come see us. If you've never seen us, this is the time. This will be the show."

KISS added in a statement: "All that we have built and all that we have conquered over the past four decades could never have happened without the millions of people worldwide who've filled clubs, arenas and stadiums over those years. This will be the ultimate celebration for those who've seen us and a last chance for those who haven't. KISS Army, we're saying goodbye on our final tour with our biggest show yet and we'll go out the same way we came in... unapologetic and unstoppable."

Gene Simmons recently told Sweden's Expressen newspaper that KISS's next tour will last three years. Calling it the band's "most spectacular tour ever," the bassist/vocalist added that the trek will make stops on "all continents."

umors of KISS's final run of live shows gained strength several months ago following the news that the band was attempting to trademark the phrase "The End Of The Road." An application from KISS was filed in February to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, which means that the band could use it in connection with "live performances by a musical band."

As most fans remember, back in 2000 and 2001, KISS already performed a "Farewell Tour". The trek, which was the last to feature drummer Peter Criss, played 142 shows over five legs, covering North America, Japan, and Australia. Stanley later said that the 2000 tour was nothing more than an attempt by the group to "put KISS out of its misery" after years of ego clashes and disagreements over songwriting credits between the band's original members.

"The 'Farewell Tour' was to get off the stage with our tails between our legs while we still had some self-respect left," Simmons explained. "And it became very clear the fans didn't want us to go."

Simmons said in a 2017 interview that KISS had "a few more years" left before it would call it quits. He told Glasgow Live: "We're the hardest-working band in show business. I wear over forty pounds of studs and armor and all that stuff, seven-inch platform heels, spit fire and have to fly through the air and do all that stuff." He continued: "In hindsight, it would have been smarter to be a U2 or THE [ROLLING] STONES, to wear some sneakers and a t-shirt and you're comfortable. No, we had to do it the hard way.

"So we're not gonna be able to do it into our 70s, and I'm 67 now," he explained. "We'll do it for a few more years, and then when we think it's time to go, we'll go, and we'll do it the right way, with a big party. I'd like to think that we would do something that rocks the planet — something big and worldwide and maybe free."

Earlier this year, Stanley said that he wasn't sure "about the idea of KISS coming to an end. We've built something that's so iconic, and I think it transcends any of the members so I can certainly see me not being there, seriously." He also spoke about his reasons for wanting to spend less time on the road. "I don't want to go leave home," he said. "I have a family and I have children and, honestly, I think my primary responsibility is to be a dad, and I don't want to miss out on that. And certainly, as we got older, we know that life is finite and I pick and choose what I want to do at this point."

Mexico’s Cirrosis have released their lyric video for “A Better Place To Hate” featuring Kevin Talley (Dying Fetus, Suffocation, Chimaira). The single is off their new album, The Collector Of Truths, due out December 1st via Concreto Records.

The video was done by Javier García de León at Elipsis Films and the music is a mix of death and thrash, suitable for fans of Fear Factory, Morbid Angel and Pestilence. The band has been lurking in the shadows, and with Grammy nominated producer Francisco ‘Chucky’ Oroz playing guitar, they are finally ready to return to the underground metal scene and prove they can still write fast and technical music.

Vocalist Sir Oz is excited to show fans what Cirrosis has been working on and tells us what can be expected: “I guess that fans will like to see a more versatile and technical Cirrosis. Organized brutality and non-pretentious songs. There are songs that seem an insane competition of virtuosity, we respect that, but we seek to offer a good song, heavy but structured songs. However, this does not mean that fans are not going to find technical aspects in our album; actually, they are going to find it a lot."

The Collector Of Truths will be the band's second studio album, which comes 20 years after their debut Reciclando Desesperación, the Spanish language album released in 1999.

Tracklisting:

"Asfixia"
"Nowhere … But Here"
"Kill My Name"
"The Art Of Breathing"
"Resistencia"
"A Better Place To Hate"
"The Daydreamer's Nightmare"
"I'm The Universe"

For further details, visit Cirrosis on Facebook.

 

On the back of his recently released autobiography, "What Does This Button Do?", IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson is making a string of speaking appearances. On the tour, Dickinson is reading excerpts from his book, delivering slides and hosting a question-and-answer session in which fans can ask all the questions they have been dying to know about what it's like to front one of music's most iconic bands.

Video footage of Dickinson's entire September 8 spoken-word gig at DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, Denmark, can be seen below. (Note: The video is mislabeled as "Malmö, Sweden".)

"What Does This Button Do?", landed at No. 10 on the New York Times "Hardcover Nonfiction" best sellers list. It was released in the U.S. last October via Dey Street Books (formerly It Books), an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Asked about his decision to keep his family life — including current and former wives, divorces and children — out of his autobiography, Dickinson told BBC Radio 2: "Well, first of all, I don't read that many autobiographies. So one of the things, when they said, 'You wanna do it?' I went, 'Hmmm. Okay, let me have a look. Let me think to the last couple of autobiographies I read that I really enjoyed.' And you have to go back a long way to one called 'The Moon's A Balloon' by [British actor] David Niven, which was brilliant. What a great read! It was like a romp. It was like being in a pub with the guy, except you wouldn't be in a pub with David Niven; you'd be on a yacht, drinking champagne. But anyway, it was like being with him, telling you great stories. And the other one was George Melly 'Rum, Bum And Concertina', which was, again, a fantastically well-written, well-crafted series of stories. And I thought, 'What's the common theme there?' They're all really good stories, they're all uplifting books in their own right, and none of them are particularly nasty to other people. There's no need for it, really. And I think there's a belief that that nastiness somehow sells books. And I'm not sure one, that it does, and two, that it's particularly the sort of book that I want to be a part of. So I made the decision that, in amongst not being horrid to people, 'cause there's no point, at the same time, I thought, well, I also don't want to tell confidences about other people's lives. If I wanna share a confidence about my life, 'cause it's my autobiography, fair enough, but dropping other people in it for the sake of, well, ratings, basically, I think is immoral."

b>Dickinson admitted, however, that he struggled with whether to involve his family when writing about how he dealt with his cancer diagnosis in 2015. "I did wonder about that, about including [them]," he said. "'Cause, obviously, my wife was pretty key to surviving the whole thing, and they all had to undergo it, in a sense, in the same way as me. And they were relatively powerless in it as well. I allude to that. But, yeah, I did agonize about that a little bit, because I thought, 'Am I being entirely fair?' But I thought, 'I'll stick with…' Because you open up a little Pandora's box there. Because then people say, 'Well, who are all these people? Why did they suddenly turn up at the end?' So, for the sake of continuity, and for the sake of it just it being a good book [I left them out of it]."

Dickinson joined IRON MAIDEN in 1981, replacing Paul Di'Anno, and made his recording debut with the band on the 1982 album "The Number Of The Beast". He quit the band in 1993, pursuing several solo projects, and rejoined in 1999.

Dickinson, who turned 60 last month, has several other interests beyond music. He is a licensed commercial pilot and owns an aviation company. He has written other books, done some acting and brewed beer.

Wisconsin based, extreme death metal visionarists Ara have signed with Lavadome Productions for the release of their sophomore album Judisprudence. The album was recorded at Howl Street Studios and mastered by Leon Macey of death metal powerhouse Mithras.

Jurisprudence will be released early next year. In the meantime, you can already stream the third track of the album "Cytokine Storm".

The band's guitarist, Jerry Haupa, issued the following statement in regard to the revealed track:

"'Cytokine Storm' represents the most focused attack of the band on the record thematically, while still challenging the listener and the boundaries of the death metal approach in general. The lyrical theme is about how the body self-destructs during the final stages of infection from Ebola, so the music takes on a viral approach as though the listener is bombarded with inhibiting structures, eventually succumbing to fatal illness while paralyzed by confusion and despair."

For further details, visit Ara on Facebook.

 

 

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA has signed a deal with Solid State Records for its next album. Details about the band's label debut will be announced soon.

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA has also announced the second leg of its very special anniversary tour this fall. The band is extending its trek celebrating the upcoming tenth anniversary of its landmark third studio album, "With Roots Above And Branches Below". THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA will play the record — which arrived on May 5, 2009 via Ferret Music — in its entirety.

The first leg of the tour kicks off on September 27 in Seattle and runs through October 12 in Springfield, Missouri. The trek includes several stops in Canada. The second leg launches on November 23 in Chicago and wraps on December 16 in THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA's native Ohio. Support on both the first and second legs will come from FIT FOR A KING and '68.

Leg 1:

ep. 27 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon

Sep. 28 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre

Sep. 30 - Edmonton, AB - Union Hall

Oct. 01 - Calgary, AB - The Gateway

Oct. 03 - Winnipeg, MB - The Garrick Centre

Oct. 04 - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater

Oct. 05 - Iowa City, IA - Blue Moose Taphouse

Oct. 06 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave II

Oct. 07 - Detroit, MI - St. Andrew's Hall

Oct. 09 - Indianapolis IN - Deluxe at Old National Centre

Oct. 10 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogart's

Oct. 11 - Nashville, TN - Exit Inn

Oct. 12 - Springfield, MO - The Riff

Leg 2:

Nov. 23 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge

Nov. 24 - Lawrence, KS - Granada Theater

Nov. 25 - Denver, CO - Summit Music Hall

Nov. 28 - Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades

Nov. 30 - Las Vegas, NV - Vinyl

Dec. 01 - Pomona, CA - The Glass House

Dec. 02 - Mesa, AZ - Club Red

Dec. 04 – San Antonio, TX - Alamo City Music Hall

Dec. 05 - Dallas, TX - Canton Hall

Dec. 06 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live

Dec. 07 - Destin, FL - Club LA

Dec. 08 - Tampa, FL - The Orpheum

Dec. 09 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade

Dec. 11- New York, NY - Gramercy Theatre

Dec. 12 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium

Dec. 13 - Lynchburg, VA - Phase 2

Dec. 14 - Milvale, PA - Mr. Smalls Theatre

Dec. 15 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Intersection

Dec. 16 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA's latest album, "Transit Blues", was released in October 2016 via Rise Records.

From the rocky shores of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Hitman have been conjuring up their next EP The Offering: Side 1 set to be released on September 14th. This will be the third EP from the whisky infused, stoner groove rock quartet and it is sure to be a hit among a wide range of listeners who are currently fans of Black Sabbath, Pantera and Sleep. Offering a sound that is familiar to the genre, but still refreshing and creative, Hitman is poised to continue proving why they are one of Canada’s best up and coming acts that has been gaining notoriety by playing hundreds of gigs along with festivals plus whom were once endorsed by Rob Halford of Judas Priest when he wore a Hitman T-shirt onstage during a performance in Halifax in 2015. 

A full stream of the EP can be found below.

"We are extremely excited and proud to be releasing The Offering: Side 1! We've poured our heart, souls (and wallets) into this project and along with our amazing studio team are excited to bring you the first EP that feels truly representative of our band. We’re a stoner band that drinks too much and loves to party. Basically we just want fans to enjoy the music and live shows as much as we enjoy making the tunes and performing,” says drummer Sylvain Coderre.

With a wide variety of ideas, and the professional musicianship to go along with it, Hitman is focused on bringing their high energy stoner rock to the masses through both their recorded music and live shows where they have supported bands like Sum 41, New Found Glory, Silverstein, Metalian, Zaum, Skull Fist, The Agonist, Black Wizard, Diemonds, and Black Moor. The Offering: Side 1 will be followed up by The Offering: Side 2 slated for release in 2019.

Tracklisting:

“Curtain Call”
“Under The Weight”
“Nero”
“Enchanted Wizard /Hail The Outro”

EP stream:

"Curtain Call":

“Nero”:

(Photo by: Emily Wilkins)

Prior to his performance at the United Kingdom's Stonedeaf festival on August 25, legendary rock vocalist Graham Bonnet (ALCATRAZZ, RAINBOW, MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP) spoke with Mighty Matt Mason of TotalRock Radio. The full conversation can be viewed below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On playing Stonedeaf, which paid homage to the Monsters Of Rock festival — the initial year of which was headlined by RAINBOW:

Graham: "We've gone full circle. I used to play little, tiny clubs as a kid, and suddenly I find myself playing stadiums and big theaters with RAINBOW. Now suddenly, we're playing little clubs again. But everybody's doing that, and it's kind of a good thing because some of the clubs are really great. This is kind of weird — how many years ago was that? It was something I'll never forget. My family was there, my friends from school. It was the most incredible night. I'll always remember it."

On the importance of touring in the modern music business:

b>Graham: "We play where we have to, because things have changed now. We all know that people don't buy CDs anymore, and the only way to get the music across to the people is to play live, so that's what we do."

On his first single, THE MARBLES' 1968 release "Only One Woman":

Graham: "THE BEE GEES wrote the song for us. It's kind of like a bluesy, R&B song. That's when my career sort of started. We did very well. My brother had a bet with me — Joe Cocker had 'A Little Help From My Friends' out at the time, and he said, 'I think he's going to get to the top of the chart before you do.' He was right, unfortunately."

On his longevity:

Graham: "I always get a round of applause when I tell people how old I am. They can see how old I am, but it's kind of funny to say I'm coming up to my 71st birthday. [They ask], 'How do you sing like that?' It's a matter of resting and not talking too much, keep your voice in shape, sleep as much as you can. I just drink water — that's about it. I don't drink booze anymore. Just keep it lubricated — my voice, I mean. I get asked by a lot of singers, by young people — 'How do you keep your voice in shape?' I don't practice any kind of voice exercises or anything, really. I just go on there and hope it's going to be there. I don't know if that's talent or just stupidity."

On THE GRAHAM BONNET BAND:

Graham: "I still live in Los Angeles. Beth-Ami [Heavenstone], our bass player, and I live together. We started this band, the two of us, about three years ago. It's been kind of cool. We've had a couple of people — different guitar players and different drummers — but I think now, we have the right lineup. We just put out the album called 'Meanwhile, Back In The Garage', which is kind of a little hint to my past and everybody else's who's ever been in a band, and everybody used to rehearse in the garage. We still do. I recorded it in the garage, this album — some of it."

"Meanwhile, Back In The Garage" came out on July 13 via Frontiers Music Srl. The disc offers 13 new songs where Bonnet lays down his inimitable vocals over a selection of tunes full of great hooks and melodies. It includes a bonus live DVD captured at a "Live From Daryl's House" performance in early 2018.

Former SCORPIONS drummer James Kottak spoke about the recently announced partial reunion of the original lineup of '80s rockers KINGDOM COME, a band perhaps best known for its uncanny musical resemblance to LED ZEPPELIN. Kottak played on the band's first two albums, 1988's "Kingdom Come" and 1989's "In Your Face" before leaving the same year. Kottak went on to play on MCAULEY SCHENKER GROUP's 1992 "MSG" album before joining SCORPIONS in 1996.

Asked "how fair" it was for KINGDOM COME to be constantly compared to LED ZEPPELIN, Kottak told KNAC.COM: "It was unfair, but when a journalist asked about the influence, I'd take it. And if I was asked about the John Bonham influence? I'd say, 'Hell yeah! Of course he's an influence. That's a huge compliment.' [Laughs] Listen, I embraced the LED ZEPPELIN comparison anytime it came up. There were a couple of guys in the band that frowned on it, but I was, like, 'Guys, you're missing the point here. We're being compared to the biggest rock band in the history of rock 'n' roll!' I remember in an interview for one of the magazines, one of our guys was quoted as saying sarcastically, 'I've never heard of LED ZEPPELIN.' Of course he was kidding, but sarcasm doesn't translate well to print. I remember that quote was used as the headline and most people would see that and didn't bother reading the article."

Asked which band sounds more like ZEPPELIN, KINGDOM COME or GRETA VAN FLEET, Kottak said: "I would say GRETA VAN FLEET. [Laughs] I remember the first time I heard them, I thought it was LED ZEPPELIN until I realized I wasn't familiar with the song. [Laughs] Those kids are going through the exact thing that we went through. I have heard and read interviews where they mentioned KINGDOM COME, so they really know their classic rock history."

A revamped version of KINGDOM COME — comprised of Kottak, guitarists Danny Stag and Rick Steier, bassist Johnny B. Frank, along with singer Keith St. John (formerly of MONTROSE and LYNCH MOB) — will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of the band's self-titled debut album by embarking on a U.S. tour in the fall. Original singer Lenny Wolf declined to participate in the trek, which will kick off on September 27 in Seattle, Washington.

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

Forget wild and chaotic behavior, heavy metal music culture is inclusive and governed by etiquette and codes of conduct, according to new UCL (University College London) research.

After several years on the road, touring with a variety of metal bands from USA and Europe, UCL Anthropology PhD student Lindsay Bishop has found that the global heavy metal community is complex and transgenerational with elders passing on rules of etiquette, such as most pit behavior, to younger members.

Bishop, whose study is the first ethnography of its kind to focus on the significance of live heavy metal performance from the perspectives of both the audience and the musician, examines heavy metal from a strictly anthropological perspective. She has carried out extensive interviews and documented bands including FEAR FACTORY, 3TEETH, MORTIIS, PIG and COMBICHRIST. Footage captured while touring with industrial artist Jayce Lewis has just been released in his new video single with Universal Music.

The study finds that far from the popular perception of "angry teenage males," heavy metal is culturally inclusive, with a rich and varied audience — including many women and older adults — that embraces an array or religions, sexual orientations and political leanings.

b>Bishop's research will culminate in an open-source documentary, which will be made available via her web site, and a book exploring the capacity of musical performance to create metal communities that have sustained through several generations and have now spread across the globe. Her headline findings include:

Mosh pit etiquette

The research finds that older generations of metal fans pass on mosh pit etiquette and behavior to newcomers and younger generations to ensure an environment of "controlled chaos." This includes an implicit understanding that the mosh pit is voluntary, that those who fall over should be picked up immediately and if someone is hurt they are taken to the bar by the person responsible.

Participants from Bishop's fieldwork comment:

"When somebody goes down, you get them straight back up: 'You all right, mate? All your earrings intact?' But it's like that in metal — its being in a huge club and you don't necessarily know everyone's name but you give each other a nod." – Anonymous A

"There is a kind of… not a chain as such, but guidance, if you like, a kind of etiquette of things. It is kind of unwritten." – Anonymous B

Bishop says: "Mosh pits, crowd surfing, circle pits in an abstract sense epitomize the metal community. The older generations teach mosh pit etiquette and newcomers learn that moshing is not a fight, it's a way to release tension and often create lasting bonds with people.

"Metal culture doesn't have a history of aggression towards mainstream culture that, for example, punk has become synonymous for. In metal culture, aggression is released through catharsis within the crowd."

Inclusivity

Despite the perception of the heavy metal community as a "brutish rite of passage for teenage boys," Bishop says that, it is a "complex, inclusive and global community" that now encompasses several generations.

The metal community has evolved since its inception in the 1960s, and today women make up on average one-third of gig-goers and many older adults, families, disabled, LGBTQ people participate throughout the globe.

Bishop explains, however, that there is still work to be done to change perceptions: "While there's been a steady increase in women among the metal community, there is still a perception issue that might give young girls and women the impression it's not for them. When, in fact, women all over world are part of the metal community, notably in the South African country of Botswana, there is a community of 'Botswana Queens' that are smashing gender stereotypes through metal music."

Friendship & fandom

Traditionally, studies have focused on either the musicians performing on stage or the audience, but rarely has the collective experience between the two been addressed, particularly from a transgenerational perspective.

The metal community is far reaching and today, in the wake of the digital revolution, bands have evolved their approach to producing music. More emphasis is placed on touring and connecting with the audience than ever before. Thanks to social media, gig-goers and performers are now forging long-lasting friendships.

The relationship between audience and performer is integral in the metal community, and there are a number of rituals that demonstrate this two-way dialog, such as physical connection with the audience, singers conducting the audiences singing, throwing drumsticks and other paraphernalia from stage, and the audience throwing t-shirts or gifts to the performers.

The relationship is also somewhat a consequence of the music industry and dwindling record sales, which has seen bands rely increasingly more on income through touring.

Bishop comments: "Touring is crucial if a metal band is to survive, and this relies on ticket and merchandise sales. Additionally, crowd funding is bigger than ever among the community, and in many ways this is positive as it cuts out the middle man and gives people a more direct connection to the musicians.

"Any band that can withstand the test of time gains a lot of respect. It would be virtually impossible to see a manufactured band in metal, because in this community, to be successful, you have to put in the time, graft and earn the respect of your audience."

The closest genre to classical?

In metal, the genre is united by many, many subgenres including black metal, power metal, nu-metal, speed metal, doom metal and now even Viking metal. The huge number of subgenres and the complex compositional structure of the music, have led to suggestions that classical and metal are closely related, however there is no direct evidence.

Bishop comments: "What we do know is that there are certainly correlations with classical. Many heavy metal bands are influenced by classical music and a number of metal musicians I have spoken to have studied classical music. There is a similar appreciation among the audience. In Russia, for example, it is common for older metal gig-goers to take sheet music to concerts as they would the opera."

Bishop is working on a diagram for the final study that will depict nuances of different metal genres, ranging from the rhythmic complexity of groove metal to the thick and heavy tempo of doom music and the speed and dissonance of thrash metal to the wild virtuosity of power metal.

Bishop concludes, reflectively: "I went to one metal gig where a 'doom' band played a single song that lasted for a solid 50 minutes. It was like funeral music. The venue was jam-packed and the audience was dead still. It was just a wall of vibration."

One participant described it as "a great stress reliever, particularly because you can stand there and almost feel your internal organs vibrating."

According to Billboard, Ozzy Osbourne has dropped his anti-trust lawsuit against AEG after company officials announced plans to end its policy requiring acts that wanted to play the O2 Arena in London to also play Staples Center in Los Angeles.

On Friday (September 21), Ozzy's attorney Daniel Wall filed a stipulation to dismiss the case, ending the lawsuit filed in March against AEG. The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning Osbourne can't refile the lawsuit.

AEG released the following statement in response regarding the end of the Osbourne lawsuit:

"On Friday, Ozzy Osbourne dismissed the class action lawsuit he filed against AEG. This dismissal with prejudice is a victory for AEG. We were fully prepared to see the case through to vindicate our policy, but now that Osbourne has decided to dismiss with prejudice, the case is over.


Our policy was an appropriate, lawful and effective competitive response to Irving Azoff's pressure tactics seeking to force artists into the Forum. If those tactics resurface, we will redeploy our policy as needed.


"The Osbourne suit was instigated by Azoff and paid for by MSG and Live Nation. It was hatched on the back of an artist who we believe had no idea what he was biting off. The suit was a transparent public relations ploy that failed to pressure AEG into backing down from a booking policy that was an effective competitive response to the MSG-Forum tie.

"It is no surprise that once AEG refused to back down, Azoff, MSG and Live Nation became eager to drop the case as soon as possible. They dismissed the case with prejudice after realizing AEG would aggressively defend it, costing them tens of millions of dollars and posing a source of embarrassment once their questionable tactics were exposed in the course of discovery and trial."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dutch death metal veterans PESTILENCE have parted ways with bassist Tilen Hudrap due to "scheduling differences" and have replaced him with Edward Negrea (NECROVILE).

Tilen states: "Thanks to all our fans all over the world for mega support this year! It's appreciated more than you can imagine! It was an insane year, a crazy ride indeed with my life-long brothers Patrick, Calin and Septimiu, filled with good vibes and energy.

"I'm extremely proud to be a part of this historic legacy of death metal that is PESTILENCE and playing alongside my bro and one of the biggest innovators in extreme metal genres ever, Patrick Mameli! I will cherish these times forever!

"Sometimes life gives us opportunities that we can't say 'no' to and 2019 is going to be so busy for me in my other musical journeys that I had to make the most difficult decision ever: to leave PESTILENCE, because the band has a mega hectic schedule for 2019 planned as well. All the experiences we had together will stay with me forever and I wish my brothers in PESTILENCE absolute success in the future!"

b>Tilen will stay in PESTILENCE until end of this year and will play all the booked shows in 2018 with PESTILENCE in Mexico and Europe.

Edward says: "I'm active in the music industry since 2009. My main instrument when I started, was the piano. During these piano years, I learned both the electric and bass guitar. Playing the piano helped me alot to get a deeper understanding about music and music theory in general.

"Since 2014, I've been playing with several bands like MARCHOSIAS, PADDINGMOTH and the most important one: NECROVILE.

"I've been playing across Europe as a bass player alongside bands like NILE, SUFFOCATION, CANCER, NAPALM DEATH, CARCASS, KREATOR, SEVERE TORTURE, WORMED, OPETH, ANNIHILATOR and the list goes on and on.

"I am very excited to be given this opportunity to show my bass skills to the metal world, and I hope the fans will accept me as PESTILENCE's new bassplayer".

Edward will showcase his six-string bass talent with PESTILENCE beginning in 2019 through touring, festivals and new music.

PESTILENCE's latest album, "Hadeon", was released in March via Hammerheart.


We present to you: Edward Negrea. PESTILENCE's new bassplayer. Edward will be replacing Tilen Hudyrap. Tilen will,...Posted by Pestilence (official) on Monday, September 24, 2018

Dutch metallers WITHIN TEMPTATION have released the official video for "The Reckoning", the first single from their forthcoming studio album, "Resist". The track features a guest appearance by PAPA ROACH frontman Jacoby Shaddix.

"He's so much fun!" WITHIN TEMPTATION vocalist Sharon Den Adel told Metal Hammer about Shaddix. "He's just fun to be around. After he recorded his part, he was, like, 'You guys are so great — you've been going 20 years, and with this song, you'll be going another 20."

"Resist" will be released on December 14. It is the band's first release through Spinefarm Records, the specialist hard rock label of Universal Music Group.

"Resist" will also feature IN FLAMES' Anders Fridén and ARID's Jasper Steverlinck on guest vocals.

b>"Resist" track listing:

01. The Reckoning (feat. Jacoby Shaddix)

02. Endless War

03. Raise Your Banner (feat. Anders Fridén)

04. Supernova

05. Holy Ground

06. In Vain

07. Firelight (feat. Jasper Steverlinck)

08. Mad World

09. Mercy Mirror

10. Trophy Hunter

"Resist" marks a departure from the WITHIN TEMPTATION's past. The record is armed with 10 anthemic tracks, driven by grand melodies and dark hooks. It brings a futuristic take on metal to the table — both instrumentally and thematically.

"'Resist' is a true milestone for us. If it wasn't for 'Resist', WITHIN TEMPTATION wouldn't be here anymore," the band stated.


"With this record, we've taken inspiration from modern music and gave it a face — a very dark one," Sharon said. "Sometimes, it feels that today's pop music lacks a rebellious edge. Our main goal was to collect pieces from sounds we did like and roughen it up as much as we could, resulting in a surprisingly new musical world that is heavier, dirtier and more futuristic than we've ever created before. 'Resist' is our take on metal in a new way: to give modern music its rebellious edge."

Earlier this year, Sharon told Cryptic Rock that the four years since the release of WITHIN TEMPTATION's last album, "Hydra", have been "like a roller coaster. It has always been like a roller coaster with WITHIN TEMPTATION, since the day we started the band," she explained. "The train started moving and it just has kept on going. Also, with 'Hydra', it was a very successful album, we toured everywhere in America and Europe. It was an intense tour again, although we did try to plan it a little bit better from previous years.

"When I returned home, I was pretty exhausted," she continued. "Normally, when I come back from a tour I have a lot of ideas and I want to start writing again immediately. This time, I didn't have any energy for anything, I was really exhausted. I thought, 'Okay, I am going to start anyway,' but nothing came out, and it was pretty frustrating. Also, that has always been my way to deal with life — I love writing music, it's the best thing for me, even more than being on stage because that's where everything starts creatively. There was an essential part of me that didn't work anymore. I didn't panic in the beginning, but later, I panicked a little bit more because I felt, 'Okay, if I don't have this anymore, did I lose the magic somewhere? What is happening to me and why?' Figuring that out, I came to the conclusion that I didn't have the kind of vibes I needed to write songs for WITHIN TEMPTATION. WITHIN TEMPTATION is big, storytelling, but epic and always very powerful as well as uplifting in a way. I didn't feel that way at all and it's very difficult to write that kind of music if you don't feel that.

"I felt like I needed to take a step back to see why that was happening and why I was feeling this way," she added. "It was taking more time for myself to do a little bit of soul searching. [Laughs] There was some time I took off for that, it's still a process that goes on and on, and it went deeper than I thought. I have been touring WITHIN TEMPTATION for so many years and there is always a pressure to perform. Also, I never really had the time to re-evaluate what I was doing, to think, do I still like what I am was doing? I liked what I was doing, but I never had the time to process the highs and lows of our career as well as personal life. That was in front of me and I needed to deal with it. Out of that came music again."

Den Adel's pop solo project, called MY INDIGO, released its self-titled debut album in April.

"The Time Is Now", the new video from the California metalcore band ATREYU, can be seen below. The song is taken from the group's seventh full-length album, "In Our Wake", which will be released on October 12 through Spinefarm.

Following a hiatus post-"Congregation Of The Damned" in 2009, Alex Varkatzas (vocals), Brandon Saller (drums, vocals), "Big" Dan Jacobs (guitar), Travis Miguel (guitar) and Porter McKnight (bass) returned firing on all cylinders with "Long Live" during 2015. It crashed the Top 30 of the Billboard Top 200 and earned widespread acclaim. Along the way, the boys sold out countless headline shows in addition to sharing the stage with everyone from SLIPKNOT and LINKIN PARK to Chris Cornell and AVENGED SEVENFOLD.

As they commenced writing for their seventh full-length, the band posed an important question…

"What are you going to leave behind?", asks Brandon. "We named the album 'In Our Wake' because a lot of the concepts address this question. There are lyrics about dealing with your own personal demons and darkness. Some of it is about our children, which his who we live directly in our wake. Others are about the general public and the outpouring of hate and fear — especially in our country. We created something of a concept record without even trying."

Everything we do causes a ripple or a wake," adds Alex. "It can be positive and good, or it can be fucked up and horrible. However, we are the masters of our own destiny. We want to leave something good behind."

Following a two-year tour cycle for "Long Live", ATREYU regrouped in Southern California and started sharing ideas for what would become offering number seven. Ceremoniously, they all agreed it would be the right time to reunite with producer John Feldmann who famously helmed "Lead Sails And Paper Anchor".

"'Long Live' was really heavy and reminiscent of our early material," continues Brandon. "While we were on the road, fans kept asking to hear more from 'Lead Sails And Paper Anchor'. It made us revisit that era of the band. It was a fun, experimental, and explorative time for us, which is so fun. We wanted to give ourselves and the landscape of heavy music a jolt, so we reached out to Feldmann."

The band recorded in two chunks bookended by Brandon's touring obligations for HELL OR HIGHWATER. Working out of Feldmann's Los Angeles studio, they embraced this new approach as the producer still made them"wonderfully uncomfortable and willing to push harder," according to Alex.

"Every song with the exception of two was fully written in the studio," says Brandon. "We'd split off into groups and crank out two ideas per day. We'd never written a fresh idea from scratch every day. Spontaneity makes things flow so much better though. We also never spread an album out like this either. We laid the foundation with five recordings, sat with them, and finished with a better picture of where we wanted to go."

As a result, the record sees ATREYU once again evolve. The first single and title track "In Our Wake", hinges on a slow burning, but bombastic percussive buildup before charging ahead with an undeniable chant and fiery fretwork.

"It's a deep one," admits Alex. "We looked up to Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington, and their deaths were fresh during the writing process. It made us think of what we'll leave in our wake. We have a choice to change the lives of others for the better."

A ticking clock gives way to a stadium-size chant on follow-up single "The Time Is Now". It seesaws between a robust beat and scorching call-and-response by Alex and Brandon as they carry the carpe diem chorus.

"It's all about just grabbing life by the balls, picking yourself up by your bootstraps, and realizing you only have one shot at this," Brandon goes on. "That was very reminiscent and reflective of this album. In our heads, there's no time to fuck around or just do what we've always done. We have to really fucking go for it. Tomorrow isn't promised, so we went for it."

Meanwhile, "Terrified" swings from a hypnotic refrain into an acoustic bridge, illuminating the diversity at the heart of "In Our Wake". Closer "Super Hero" (featuring M. Shadows of AVENGED SEVENFOLD and Aaron Gillespie of UNDEROATH) conjures visions of "ATREYU meets QUEEN meets Disneyland meets E.L.O." with its cinematic orchestration, horns, flutes, and grandiose production.

"It's about being your kid's superhero, so we invited other singers who are fathers to join us," Brandon explains. "Everyone wrote his own respective part and gave perspective on what fatherhood meant to him. I wanted it to feel like the music from the Soaring Over California ride at Disney's California Adventure park. It ends on such a huge note and offers a breath of fresh air."

In the end, "In Our Wake" doesn't just reaffirm ATREYU's legacy, it expands it like never before.

"We want to give listeners an experience," Alex concludes. "Every track functions as its own moment. There's something that you can hopefully come back and listen to again and again."

"I feel like this is the record that people will remember our band by," Brandon states. "I'm saying that because the best parts of ATREYU happened on it. We're continuing something we began a long time ago. This band means everything to me. We've been through incredible highs and incredible lows. We've loved each other, and we've wanted to kill each other. Somehow, twenty years later, it's reached a whole new level. I feel like we're alive, and ATREYU has never been more on fire than we are now."

"In Our Wake" track listing:

01. In Our Wake

02. House Of Gold

03. The Time Is Now

04. Nothing Will Ever Change

05. Blind Deaf & Dumb

06. Terrified

07. Safety Pin

08. Into the Open

09. Paper Castle

10. No Control

11. Anger Left Behind

12. Super Hero

Professionally filmed video footage of METALLICA performing the song "Blackened" on September 13 at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada can be seen below.

According to CBC News, METALLICA's concert in Winnipeg set an attendance record, with more than 17,000 fans watching the band perform at Bell MTS Place.

METALLICA broke its own arena attendance record, previously set in 2009 when 16,130 people bought tickets.

The September 13 METALLICA show, promoted by Live Nation, was set up in the round, with the floor open for general admission standing room with no seats.

s previously reported, METALLICA's September 6 concert at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska was dubbed the heaviest ever by the Lincoln Journal Star, with a "dynamic weight" of up to 240,000 pounds.

Some 15,000 fans attended the record-setting show, with the five-year-old building's roof holding up under the tonnage which hung from the arena's rigging grid and steel beams attached to the major trusses. What made that even more impressive was that the stage was in the middle of the arena, so all the production gear, sound and lighting hung in a circle in the middle of the building.

The setup took less than five hours to complete — far less than the nearly 10 hours it took to get everything ready at Minneapolis's Target Center two days earlier. Venue manager Tom Lorenz explained: "That was a desire we had during the design phase, about having the structural capacity to hang the biggest shows and to have the building really fitted for concerts… Not every building will be able to put up all of [METALLICA's] show. We were able to do it well and do it fast."

METALLICA is in the back half of its three-year, 134-city "WorldWired" tour in support of its most recent release, 2016's "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct".

Former CANDLEMASS singer Messiah Marcolin joined ENTOMBED A.D. on stage on September 22 at Katalin in Uppsala, Sweden to perform a cover version of ROKY ERICKSON AND THE ALIENS' "Night Of The Vampire". Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

ENTOMBED A.D. recently returned with a new single, "Fit For A King". The song is taken from the band's forthcoming third album, which is currently in the works.

ENTOMBED A.D.'s second album, "Dead Dawn", was released in February 2016 via Century Media.

Marcolin joined CANDLEMASS in 1986 as replacement for Johan Längqvist, who sang on the band's debut album, "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus". Messiah made his debut with CANDLEMASS on the group's second LP, 1987's "Nightfall", and stayed on for two subsequent albums, 1988's "Ancient Dreams" and 1989's "Tales Of Creation". Due to personal differences with some of the other members, Marcolin left CANDLEMASS during the "Tales Of Creation" tour.

he "Nightfall"-era lineup of CANDLEMASS reformed in 2002 and played various festivals and gigs. CANDLEMASS released recordings from its live activity during this period as "Doomed For Live" and issued a compilation, "Essential Doom", which included a demo version of "Witches", a song that would later be included on CANDLEMASS's self-titled 2005 album. CANDLEMASS announced in October 2006 that Messiah had left the band once again.

Hungarian metallers EKTOMORF will release a brand new two-track digital single in October. The single, which was recorded in one day in early September at No Silence Studio in Hungary, will feature a new EKTOMORF song as well as a cover version of METALLICA's "Hardwired".

Video footage from the studio sessions can be seen below.

EKTOMORF's latest album, "Fury", came out in February via AFM. The effort marked the band's first release since the departures of Tamás Schrottner (guitar), Szabolcs Murvai (bass) and Róbert Jaksa (drums) and addition of Simon Szebasztián, Csaba Zahorán and Dániel Szabó, respectively.

EKTOMORF was founded in 1993 in Mezökovacsháza, Hungary by Zoltán "Zoli" Farkas. The band's breakthrough came when EKTOMORF started its collaboration with Danish producer Tue Madsen in 2003. Madsen helped the group to find a modern and powerful sound that EKTOMORF has expanded upon since the release of 2004's "Destroy".



Here is a video of the one day Recording sessions !

Share it ??Posted by Ektomorf on Sunday, September 9, 2018

Germany's Double Crush Syndrome have released their new EP, Flash & Blood. Purchase or stream it here.

The tracklist is as follows:

"Rebel Yell" (Billy Idol cover)
"I Don't Like You"
"Riot Act" (Skid Row cover featuring Scotti Hill)
"Breakin' The Law" (Judas Priest cover)
DCS Live In Madrid - May 27th, 2018
- "She's A Pistol"
- "Yeah! Pain!"
- "Blood On My Shirt"
- "Die For Rock N' Roll"
- "Gimme Everything"

The video for "Rebel Yell" is available below.

The band's live schedule is currently as follows:

September
28 - Hamburg, Germany - Indra
29 - Berlin, Germany - Maze

Rock/Metal dynamic act God's Army - featuring current and former members of Helloween, Scanner, Firewind, Outloud, Vivaldi Metal Project, Joe Stump's Tower Of Babel - will release their second full length album, Demoncracy, on October 12th via Rock Of Angels Records (ROAR). The album will be available as digipack CD and Black Vinyl (limited to 300 copies worldwide).

They have released a video for their first single "Free Your Mind". Check it out below.

Demoncracy was mastered by Ade Emsley at Table Of Tone Mastering in London (Iron Maiden). The artwork and layout design was made by Anestis Goudas.

Digipack CD tracklisting:

"You Are You"
"Free Your Mind"
"Enemy Maker"
"Final Destination"
"Games Without Frontiers"
"The All Seeing Eye"
"Before The Fall"
"The Replicant"
"Heroes & Demons"
"My Way"

Black vinyl tracklisting:

Side A
"You Are You"
"Free Your Mind"
"Enemy Maker"
"Final Destination"
"Games Without Frontiers"
"The All Seeing Eye"

Side B
"Before The Fall"
"The Replicant"

The album can be pre-ordered here.

God's Army is:

John ABC Smith – vocals / bass 
Mark Cross – drums / backing vocals
Ian O´Sullivan – guitar / backing vocals
Eddie van Dahl – guitar

Finnish metal band Where's My Bible have unleashed their debut album, M 'N' R, and a new video for track "Absinthe". The album was released on September 21st by Inverse Records. Check out the video below.

Vocalist Jussi Matilainen comments:

"We are very excited to introduce our debut album to all of you. In this album (Mosh 'N' Roll) you can hear how our mixed thoughts and chaotic feelings have somehow integrated to this one complete musical performance. Even though the journey has been long during making this album, we have learned our own way of making music and grown more together as a band. The new music video 'Absinthe' which we are releasing with the album tells visually almost everything you need to know about Where's My Bible and the way of Mosh 'N' Roll. We take our music seriously with a twist of humour."

 

Where's My Bible was formed in Heinola, Finland in 2014. Their music blends rock and punk influences with death and black metal. The band is no stranger to the big stages, having performed on the main stage of Tuska Open Air, and made an appearance at the Russian Emergenza final.  

The M'N'R tracklist is as follows:

"Intro"
"Speedload"
"Dancefloor"
"Absinthe"
"Interlude"
"Meatholder"
"Me Myself and I"
"Transcendence"
"Failure" (Bonus Track)

Line-up:
Jussi Matilainen - vocals 
Toni Hinkkala - guitars
Pasi Löfgren - guitars
Jarno Laakkonen - bass
Antti Jokinen - drums

Photo by Olli Tiainen

Symphonic/Celtic vocalist Leah - described affectionately by her fans as "the metal Enya" - recently announced the release of her upcoming full-length album, The Quest, out Friday, October 5th via Inner Wound Recordings. The album features a stronger Celtic and Fantasy connection in comparison to her previous release, Kings & Queens, as well as prog rock elements and ethereal ambiance, combined with traditional symphonic metal elements. A new lyric video for “Edge Of Your Sword” is available below. Preorder the album at this location .

Leah says about the track: "This track was interesting to write... it was inspired by a mood, more than anything else - medieval rock vibes with a bit of spice. I hope those vibes get passed onto the listener! Some of that spice is attributed to Chen Balbus (Orphaned Land) who added the Middle Eastern saz on the track, which gave it a really cool and unexpected flavour! Also on the track is Barend Courbois (Blind Guardian) playing bass, Timo Somers (Delain) playing rhythm guitars (with an epic solo!), and Sander Zoer (ex-Delain) on Drums and percussion. Oliver Philipps (Everon, Phantasma) added a ton of orchestration which really beefed the whole sound up.

“My part in it was composing the song, playing a lot of the keys, harps, synths, arrangements, lyrics, and of course vocals. I was actually scared out of my mind about that high note in the last chorus! I knew I could technically execute it, but was mentally blocked for some time about it. I had to do weird things in the vocal booth to overcome my vocal mental block, such as drawing an arrow pointing down on a piece of paper that I could look at, also using physical gestures when I went to sing it, such as pointing to the ground with my hands. The reason is because when you go to sing a high note, most singers tend to tense up and squeeze their vocal chords up, which make a horrible tone and tense up the voice. So, to overcome that default tendency, I had to convince my brain that I was actually singing lower and it would get easier, not harder. And when that note came out, it actually was a piece of cake! Amazing how the mind works!"

The album was mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Amaranthe, Evergrey) and musicians on the album include Troy Donockley (Nightwish), Timo Somers (Delain), Chen Balbus (Orphaned Land) and Barend Courbois (Blind Guardian).

The concept for The Quest is very simple: we're all on a journey, and sometimes we lose our way. There are adventures, wildernesses, treasures, monsters, looters, people out to send us down the wrong path. Through it all, we must grow in wisdom and experience, find our compass once again and find our way back to the true path in order to reach our full potential: our destiny.

The Quest tracklisting

"The Quest"
"Edge of Your Sword"
"Lion Arises"
"Heir"
"Ruins of Illusion"
"Labyrinth"
"Abyss"
"Oblivion (Between Two Worlds)"
"Ghost Upon a Throne"
"The Water Is Wide"

"Edge Of Your Sword" lyric video:

Visit Leah's official Facebook page here.

Swedish progressive rock instrumentalists Gösta Berlings Saga are streaming the new track "The Shortcomings Of Efficiency", featured on their upcoming fifth album, Et Ex, out on October 12th via InsideOutMusic. Listen to the song below, and pre-order the album here.

The music of Gösta Berlings Saga is an incredibly dynamic Nordic instrumental adventure, tilting from melodic, starkly beautiful lines shimmering like an aurora borealis over the desolate Arctic tundra, to powerful and aggressive riffs reminiscent of glacier calves crashing into rugged Scandinavian fjords. Over the years the band’s music has been compared to King Crimson, Goblin and Radiohead, mixed into their very own and peculiar sonic universe.

Gösta Berlings Saga was formed in 2000 in the Stockholm suburb of Vällingby, taking its bandname from one of the most famous works in Swedish literature, the debut novel of Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf, which was published in 1891. To date GBS have released four albums as follows: Tid Är Ljud (translated “Time Is Sound”) in 2006, Detta Har Hänt (translated “This Has Happened”) in 2009, Glue Works in 2011 and most recently Sersophane in late 2016.

Tracklisting:

"Veras tema"
"The Shortcomings of Efficiency"
"Square 5"
"Over and Out"
"Artefacts"
"Capercaillie Lammergeyer Cassowary & Repeat"
"Brus från stan"
"Fundament"

"The Shortcomings Of Efficiency":

Lineup:

Alexander Skepp - Drums & Percussion
David Lundberg - Fender Rhodes, Mellotron & Synthesizers
Gabriel Tapper - Bass Guitar & Moog Taurus
Rasmus Booberg - Guitars & Synthesizers

(Photo - Mai Nestor)

Video footage of the members of KORN rehearsing for their three very special shows in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the band's "Follow The Leader" album can be seen below.

While it was initially assumed that the band would perform the LP from front to back at those shows, only "most" of the record was played. Back in June, guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer explained to KLOS 95.5 DJ Full Metal Jackie: "There's some songs that we did collaborations — we [had guest appearances by] Tre [Trevant Hardson] from THE PHARCYDE, which is a hip-hop group; Ice Cube — everybody knows Ice Cube; and Fred [Durst] from LIMP BIZKIT. So those are the songs that are, like, 'Okay, well, we can't really recreate that.' But we're gonna play a handful of the songs that people haven't heard and maybe we haven't played in 20 years."

The shows took place on September 12 at The Masonic in San Francisco, September 13 at the Palladium in Los Angeles, and September 15 at the Pearl Theater in Las Vegas.

The San Francisco concert marked KORN singer Jonathan Davis's first public appearance since the passing of his estranged wife. Deven Davis died on August 17 at the age of 39. The former girl-on-girl porn star's cause of death has not yet been revealed. However, she reportedly struggled with sobriety and substance abuse throughout her life.

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

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

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

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

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

Episode 1 - Bakersfield
Korn TV 2.0: Episode 1 - Bakersfield #FTL20Posted by Korn on Friday, September 21, 2018

Fan-filmed video footage of Yngwie Malmsteen's September 21 performance at Escenario Santander in Santander, Spain can be seen below.

Yngwie will take part in the 2018 edition of the "Generation Axe" tour alongside Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde, Nuno Bettencourt and Tosin Abasi. Beginning on November 7 at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California, the run will return to markets where the inaugural tour was celebrated and hit several new cities for the first time.

Yngwie's latest album, "World On Fire", came out in June 2016 via King Records. He told Seymour Duncan about the CD: "I spent two years [working] on it, touring, recording, touring, recording. And that's much, much better, actually, in a way. Back in the day I would write the songs then rehearse them with some musicians, then go and do a backing track and we'd record it, mix it, learn the songs to go play them on tour, then do it all again. That way isn't necessarily conducive to making the best music, y'know what I mean? So in a very, very backhanded way, this weird twist of fate in the music industry has actually made it a more inspiring environment, for me at least. I can write anytime and record anytime. My recording studio is always open, 24 hours. I can just record when I want and it's a beautiful thing."

Asked what his latest record sounds like, Malmsteen said: "It's a Malmsteen record. [Laughs] But I would say it's a little different. First of all, I do all the lead vocals on it. Any time I did lead vocals in the past, I was singing blues stuff. This time I decided to do lead vocals in my style of songwriting, so it's different in that way. It's a very hard-hitting album and some parts are very advanced, very complicated. But it's a broad record. It's definitely a must-listen-to!"

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On September 6th, Brazilian metallers Angra perormed at ProgPower USA 2018 at Center Stage, Atlanta, GA. Fan-filmed video of the band's entire show, which included theire new ØMNI album performed in its entirety, is available below. The setlist on the night was as follows.

"Newborn Me"
"Angels and Demons"
"Acid Rain"

ØMNI
"Light of Transcendence"
"Travelers of Time"
"Black Widow's Web" (Fabio Lione and Adrienne Cowan on vocals)
"Insania"
"The Bottom of My Soul" (Rafael Bittencourt on vocals)
"War Horns"
"Caveman"
- drum solo -  (Bruno Valverde)
"Magic Mirror"
"Always More"
"ØMNI - Silence Inside"
"Spread Your Fire"
"Nothing to Say"
"Crushing Room" (Rafael Bittencourt and Doro on vocals)

Encore:
"Rebirth"
"Carry On / Nova Era"
"ØMNI - Infinite Nothing"

Angra guitarist Rafael Bittencourt has proven himself to be among the most dedicated band leaders in the metal world. Despite a constantly rotating roster that recently saw his fellow founder and guitar-slinger Kiko Loureiro leave for Megadeth, Bittencourt has kept the band both alive and relevant for nearly 20 following the implosion that saw the exit of their rhythm section and original singer, Andre Matos. With new guitarist Marcelo Barbosa (Almah) in tow, Angra embarked on their biggest tour ever, currently hitting the United States in support of their new album ØMNI.

Bittencourt, drummer Bruno Valverde, and longtime bassist Felipe Andreoli spoke with Sonic Perspectives just before they were to take the stage for their fourth performance at the prestigious ProgPower USA in Atlanta, headlining the second night of the event. Check out the interview below.

Pink Floyd's P.U.L.S.E live album was recorded during the European leg of the band's Division Bell Tour in 1994 and released in May 1995.

No parts of the songs were re-recorded in the studio, unlike the previous live album, Delicate Sound Of Thunder. However, the band and Guthrie fixed songs that had bad notes (as heard on some bootlegs) by lifting solos and corrected vocal lines from other performances as the band recorded most of the European leg.

On September 28th, Pink Floyd Records will release, for the first time on vinyl,  A Foot In The Door - The Best Of Pink Floyd, a collection of classic Pink Floyd tracks, chosen by members of the band.

Originally released in 2011 on CD only, the artwork for this compilation is the last work of long-term Floyd designer, the late Storm Thorgerson. This is the perfect Pink Floyd album for both devoted fans and those discovering their music for the very first time.

The career-spanning compilation features some of the best-known album tracks from 1967 - 1994, including the band’s first UK Top 10 single "See Emily Play", and the iconic "Wish You Were Here", "Comfortably Numb", "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and "High Hopes".

The tracks have been newly mastered for vinyl by longstanding Pink Floyd associate James Guthrie, with Joel Plante, and with lacquers cut by Bernie Grundman of Grundman Mastering in Los Angeles, California. The 2-LP version features the reinstated version of "Time", with the ringing alarm clocks at the start of the track restored, after being omitted on the CD release.

The original sleeve design, has been amended by Pink Floyd Creative Director Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis and Peter Curzon, to include alternate versions of the photographs used in the original CD version. The album package comes in a gatefold outer sleeve, with two separate printed inner bags, and is pressed on heavyweight 180-gram vinyl.  

Tracklisting:

LP1 Side A
"Hey You"
"See Emily Play"
"The Happiest Days Of Our Lives"
"Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2"
"Have A Cigar"

LP1 Side B
"Wish You Were Here"
"Time" / "Breathe" (Reprise)
"The Great Gig In The Sky"
"Money"

LP2 Side A
"Comfortably Numb"
"High Hopes"
"Learning To Fly"

LP2 Side B
"The Fletcher Memorial Home"
"Shine On You Crazy Diamond"
"Brain Damage"
"Eclipse"

The new Metal Allegiance album is out now. Watch this highlight clip of the band's rehearsals, album release show and press for the Volume II: Power Drunk Majesty album.

Order your copy of Volume II - Power Drunk Majesty here.

Metal Allegiance will be performing the debut Black Sabbath album in its entirety, as well as a special set of original Metal Allegiance songs from their two albums, on Saturday, October 27th at Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn, New York.

Support on the date comes from Judas Priestess, Alekhine's Gun, and Magus Beast. Tickets are on sale here.

The list of musicians for Volume II - Power Drunk Majesty include Trevor Strnad (The Black Dahlia Murder), John Bush (Armored Saint), Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth (Overkill), Mark Tornillo (Accept), Max Cavalera (Soulfly), Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Johan Hegg (Amon Amarth). It also marks the return of Mark Oseguesda (Death Angel) and Troy Sanders (Mastodon).

Volume II - Power Drunk Majesty was produced by Mark Menghi and Alex Skolnick while Mark Lewis of MRL Studios handled the mixing and mastering. The cover artwork was created by renowned artist Marcelo Vasco and Rafael Tavares.

Tracklisting:

"The Accuser" (feat. Trevor Strnad)
"Bound By Silence" (feat. John Bush)
"Mother Of Sin" (feat. Bobby Blitz)
"Terminal Illusion" (feat. Mark Tornillo)
"King With A Paper Crown" (feat. Johan Hegg)
"Voodoo Of The Godsend" (feat. Max Cavalera)
"Liars & Thieves" (feat. Troy Sanders)
"Impulse Control" (feat. Mark Osegueda)
"Power Drunk Majesty (Part I)" (feat. Mark Osegueda)
"Power Drunk Majesty (Part II)" (feat. Floor Jansen)

"The Accuser" track video:

"Bound By Silence" video:

"Voodoo Of The Godsend" lyric video:

"Mother Of Sin" video:

A second track of Ultha’s upcoming album The Inextricable Wandering has been released. Delve into the depths of sorrow with “Cyanide Lips” below.

The Inextricable Wandering will be released as ltd. Digipak CD, gatefold 2LP and digitally on October 5th. Preorders are available at  this location.

The 2LP version is available in the following vinyl colours:

Black vinyl: unlimited
White vinyl: ltd. to 100 copies, exclusively available at CM Distro --- SOLD OUT
Golden vinyl: ltd. to 200 copies, available at various online stores
Clear vinyl: ltd. to 100 copies, exclusively offered by Ultha
Silver vinyl: ltd. to 100 copies, exclusively available at Vendetta Records --- SOLD OUT

"Cyanide Lips":

“The Avarist (Eyes Of A Tragedy)”:

Lineup:
Manuel (Drums)
Ralf (Guitar)
Chris (Bass/Vocals)
Ralph (Guitar/Vocals)
Andy (Electronics)