Dragonslayer, the debut album from Swedish metallers Dream Evil, will be released on vinyl for the first time on November 9th via Inner Wound Recordings. The vinyl edition is strictly limited to 500 copies (300 copies with black disc and 200 copies with white disc) worldwide.

Dragonslayer vinyl tracklisting:

Side A
"Chasing The Dragon"
"In Flames You Burn"
"Save Us"
"Kingdom Of The Damned"
"The Prophecy"
"The Chosen Ones"

Side B
"Losing You"
"The 7th Day"
"Heavy Metal In The Night"
"H.M.J."
"Hail To The King"
"Outro"

Metal Blade Records will reissue the classic Monstrosity albums Rise To Power and Spiritual Apocalypse on October 19th. 

Both titles will be available for the first time ever on vinyl and on digipak CD. The digipaks will also include exclusive bonus tracks. Find preorders on Metal Blade.

Spiritual Apocalypse formats:
-- Ltd. digipak-CD with three bonus tracks
-- 180g black vinyl
-- Grey marbled vinyl (limited to 300 copies - EU exclusive)
-- Pale yellow vinyl (limited to 200 copies - EU exclusive)
-- Clear yellow/white splattered vinyl (limited to 100 copies - eBay exclusive)
-- Yellow grey marbled vinyl (limited to 100 copies - US exclusive)

Tracklisting:

“Spiritual Apocalypse”
“Firestorm”
“Apostles Of The Endless Night”
“Within Divisions Of Darkness”
“The Inhuman Race”
“Remnants Of Divination”
“Illumination”
“Sacred Oblivion”
“The Bloodline Horror”
“Triumph In Black”
“Firestorm” (Rehearsal)
“Within Divisions Of Darkness” (Rehearsal)
“Spiritual Apocalypse” (Rehearsal)

Tracks 11, 12, and 13 are bonus tracks and taken from the 2010 Metal In The Forest Rehearsals. Features original Monstrosity bassist Mark Van Erp.

Line-Up:
Lee Harrison; Drums
Mike Hrubovcak; Vocals
Matt Barnes; Guitars
Mark English; Guitars
Mark Van Erp; Bass
Produced and Engineered by Lee Harrison
Mastered by Alan Douches

Rise To Power formats:
-- Ltd. digipak-CD with three bonus tracks
-- 180g black vinyl
-- Pastel golden yellow vinyl (limited to 300 copies - EU exclusive)
-- Yellow ochre / black marbled vinyl (limited to 200 copies - EU exclusive)
-- Clear yellow/white splattered vinyl (limited to 100 copies - eBay exclusive)
-- Dark brown marbled vinyl (limited to 100 copies - US exclusive)

Tracklisting:

“The Exordium”
“Awaiting Armageddon”
“Wave Of Annihilation”
“The Fall Of Eden”
“Chemical Reaction”
“A Casket For The Soul”
“Rise To Power”
“Visions Of Violence”
“From Wrath To Ruin”
“Abysmal Gods”
“Shadow Of Obliteration”
“Wave Of Annihilation” (Demo)
“Visions Of Violence” (Demo)
“From Wrath To Ruin” (Demo)

Tracks 12, 13, and 14 are bonus tracks taken from the 2002 Pre-Production Demo. Features Sam Molina on vocals.

Line-Up:
Lee Harrison; Drums
Tony Norman; Guitars
Sam Molina; Vocals
Mike Poggione; Bass
Produced and Engineered by Lee Harrison
Mastered by Alan Douches

Assembled in 2003 to infiltrate, build and destroy, Gatineau, QC's Insurrection is an aural onslaught assaulting witnesses in both languages of French and English. Known for blending calculated technicality with a signature mixture of merciless death metal, the band has annihilated the masses with four full-lengths, their most recent 2017's Extraction unleashed on Galy Records to follow Prototype (2013), Fracture (2010) and Prologue (2009). Emerging as one of the most prominent metal bands to come out of Eastern Canada, the brutal quintet have a new music video "Assassins", which features live clips from their 2018 festival performance at Montebello RockFest. Insurrection has played on Montebello Rockfest eight times since their first performance on the festival in 2009.

Vocalist Stef Jomphe comments:

"This is something we're really proud to present, as it showcases the band how it should be seen, the way most of our fans have found out about us, in a proper live setting. We hope you enjoy watching it anywhere near as much as we have playing it!”

In additional news, Insurrection's latest album Extraction was recently nominated for Metal Album of The Year at this year's upcoming a GAMIQ Awards (Gala Alternatif de la Musique Indépendante du Québec). The album is a ten track aberration that has shocked and blasted fans to the next life. The album was produced by Pierre Rémillard at Wild Studio (Cryptopsy, Obliveon, Anonymus, Voivod, Krisiun, Ghoulunatics, Despised Icon, Beneath the Massacre, Gorguts, Martyr).

Upcoming shows:

October
6 – L’Assomption, QC – KB & Friends Fest

November
16 – Toronto, ON – Coalition

December
14 – Ottawa, ON – Mavericks 

Swedish dark metallers Tribulation have announced a co-headline tour with Gaahls Wyrd. The Northern Ghosts tour starts on February 21st, 2019. US black metal hopefuls Uada have been confirmed as main support. 

Tribulation comment on the tour: "We're proud to announce that we'll be joining forces with Gaahls Wyrd and Uada early in the year of their lord 2019 through Europe! We're looking forward to give you all a longer setlist more in line with our vision!"

Says Gaahls Wyrd: “We have a lot of respect for our travel partners, Tribulation and Uada, and can’t wait to join forces for what we believe will be a thoroughly enjoyably and diverse package the we are confident will hit home in the metal community. We’re also massively eager to present songs from our brand new album that will be released next year. 2019 can’t come soon enough.”

European tour dates are as follows:

February 
21 – Hamburg, Germany – Kronensaal
22 – Essen, Germany – Turock
24 – Utrecht, Netherlands – Helling
25 – London, UK – O2 Islington Academy
26 – Paris, France – Petit Bain 
28 – Munich, Germany) – Backstage

March
1 – Winterthur, Switzerland – Gaswerk
2 – Vienna, Austria– Viper Room 
3 – Prague, Czech Republic Nova Chmelnice 
5 – Poznan, Poland - U Bazyla
6 – Warsaw, Poland – Proxima
7 – Berlin, Germany – BiNuu
8 – Leipzig, Germany – UT Connewitz
9 – Weinheim, Germany – Cafe Central
10 – Leeuwarden, Netherlands– Neushoorn

In addition, there is a brand-new video to the song “Nightbound”, taken from Tribulation’s highly praised album, Down Below. Check it out below.

Tribulation: "We once again collaborated with director Robert Piel, this time to create the imaginative and enigmatic video for Nightbound! The long night comes with grace!"

To coincide with the start of their North American co-headline tour with Pallbearer, Swedish metallers Tribulation have released a new 7" / Digital EP. The Nightbound 7" features both a recent live recording and a previously unreleased instrumental demo version of the song “Nightbound”, off their latest album Down Below.

The Nightbound EP is available in the following vinyl colors and worldwide limitations:

Transparent blue vinyl – 100 copies / CM Webshop Europe
White vinyl – 200 copies / CM Distro Europe
Dark green vinyl –100 copies / At band’s webstore via Kingsroad
Transparent red vinyl – 100 copies / From the band on tour
Black vinyl – 500 copies / CM Distro Europe

Order here, and listen to "Nightbound" below:

Tribulation's fall tour of North America kicked off on September 14th in Montreal, and features a mix of headlining performances as well as a number of co-headlining dates with Pallbearer.  

Tribulation, collectively, said of the outing: "We are at last heading back over the Atlantic Ocean to the New World, this time to its northerly part that is the great North America. How we've waited! Along for the ride this time we have the mighty and the very heavy Pallbearer to close each evening, deepening the Dionysian spirit that we, hopefully, have managed to spark in you. Montreal, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New Orleans and the East Coast will see us playing without Pallbearer with support acts yet to be announced and with us closing each night. We urge you to join us in these nocturnal festivities where both bands will be playing long sets. The tickets go on sale on Friday, get yours while you can!"

Pallbearer added, "After a long period of constant touring behind Heartless, it’s almost time for us to settle into the cold season and begin crafting our next musical endeavor. But before that, we are heading out once more across North America to bring this chapter to its conclusion. We look forward to stretching out our sets each night on this double bill with Tribulation, revisiting some songs from our past and adding extra layers to newer material."

Tour dates:

September
18 - Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge
19 - Minneapolis, MN - Turf Club
20 - Kansas City, MO - The Riot Room *
21 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
22 - Salt Lake City, UT - Metro
24 - Calgary, AB - Dickens
25 - Edmonton, AB - Starlite
27 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw
28 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
29 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne

October
1 - San Francisco, CA - Slim’s
2 - Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room *
3 - Phoenix, AZ - Rebel Lounge
5 - Austin, TX - Barracuda
6 - Dallas, TX - Trees
7 - Houston, TX - White Oak
8 - New Orleans, LA - Santos Bar *
9 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade *
10 - Greensboro, NC - Blind Tiger *
11 - Washington, DC - Rock & Roll Hotel *
12 - Brooklyn, NY - Elsewhere *
13 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall *

* - Headlining date (all non-headlining dates are co-headlines with Pallbearer)

Tribulation released their Down Below album in January via Century Media Records. The hauntingly beautiful cover painting for Down Below was done by Tribulation guitarist Jonathan Hultén.

Down Below tracklisting:

"The Lament"
"Nightbound"
"Lady Death"
"Subterranea"
"Purgatorio"
"Cries From The Underworld"
"Lacrimosa"
"The World"
"Here Be Dragons"
"Come, Become, To Be" (Bonus Track)

"The World" visualizer:

"The Lament" video:

(Photo - Ester Segarra)

Cyhra have digitally released the single "Forever", which was previously only available on the Japanese edition of their debut album Letters To Myself. The album is out now via Spinefarm Records. Listen to "Forever" here.

"This song is an interesting collaboration between many different songwriters," said singer Jake E. "The song was first written by Grammy Award nominated songwriter/artist Randy Goodrum —previous work includes Toto, Steve Perry, Michael Bolton, Chicago, Diztord, and more."

He continued, "When I first heard the demo of the song, I begged on my knees to get approval to make my own version. Luckily, it was approved and we got free hands in Cyhra to contribute and make our version of it. It ended up as the Japanese bonus track for Letters To Myself and I'm happy to have it released to the rest of the world as it's an amazing song."

Guitarist Euge Valovirta added, "'Forever' is such a great track and I actually would've liked to have seen it on the album originally. But it didn't find its place so we decided to put it on the Japanese edition of Letters To Myself as a bonus track. Now, finally, it's available for the whole world to enjoy!"

The band is currently recording the follow-up at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark with producer Jacob Hansen. The album will be released in the first half of 2019.

Regarding the forthcoming sophomore album, Jake E said, "The whole process has been smooth and I can reveal that it will have more fierce songs, as well as more riff-oriented material than the first album. I can't wait to hear the final results after Jacob Hansen has worked his magic mixing it. And I can't wait for you to hear it, too!"

For further details, visit Cyhra on Facebook.

New York band Pirosaint have released the new track, "Faster Than Before". The track features original singer Gonzalo Rodriguez and it was written around the New God EP-era back in 1997-98 by Alfredo Vicencio, Gonzalo Rodriguez and Ignacio Orellana. This is one of those tracks that never got to be recorded until now. Listen below.

The abstract cover is a mind reflection of going through life trying to have everything perfect but we don’t realize how insane we have become by doing it. The song was recorded at Oily Sound Studios, New Windsor, NY and mixed and mastered in New York, NY by Ignacio Orellana.

Pirosaint is:

Gonzalo Rodriguez - Vocals
Bill Smith - Guitars
Ron Buckner - Bass
Ignacio Orellana - Drums

Soulfly are set to release their new album, Ritual, on October 19th via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. Today, the band has released the fifth of several album trailers. Watch guitarist/vocalist Max Cavalera discuss working with the Navajo tribe, below:

Ritual was produced, recorded and mixed by Josh Wilbur (Lamb Of God, Gojira). Cover artwork was painted by artist Eliran Kantor (Testament, Iced Earth). Additional booklet art was handled by Marcelo Vasco Arts (Slayer, Kreator), who also handled the package design. The album features multiple guests including Randy Blythe (Lamb Of God) and Ross Dolan (Immolation).

Pre-order Soulfly's eleventh studio album in various physical and digital formats here.

Ritual tracklisting:

"Ritual"
"Dead Behind The Eyes" (feat. Randy Blythe)
"The Summoning"
"Evil Empowered"
"Under Rapture" (feat. Ross Dolan)
"Demonized"
"Blood On The Street"
"Bite The Bullet"
"Feedback!"
"Soulfly XI"

"Dead Behind The Eyes" visualizer:

"Ritual" 360° video:

"Evil Empowered":

Trailers:

Frontiers Music Srl has announced a new musical journey from the iconic songwriting maestro Jim Peterik, the Grammy Award-winning songwriter/musician behind THE IDES OF MARCH, PRIDE OF LIONS, formerly of SURVIVOR, a man who has helped write hits for THE BEACH BOYS, .38 SPECIAL, Sammy Hagar, and more. The time has now come for Jim to release the follow-up to his now legendary "Jim Peterik's World Stage" album, which will see a release in spring 2019.

"Listening to voices blending as one has always inspired me, going back to THE BEATLES and other great vocal groups. I decided to do the same thing and began contacting artists I had the pleasure of working with through the years," says Peterik.

"World Stage" is the opus that arose from that initial idea: the musical and spiritual collaboration of great artists and friends. The resulting album clearly displays the many talents of Jim Peterik, enhanced and embellished by a cast of noted singers and musicians.

The new album, "Winds Of Change", will be another musical masterpiece featuring brand new Peterik songs, in collaboration with a who's who of melodic rock's greatest superstars, including Kevin Chalfant (ex-THE STORM), Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, Kelly Keagy (NIGHT RANGER), Lars Safsund and Robert Sall (WORK OF ART), Toby Hitchcock (PRIDE OF LIONS), Danny Vaughn (TYKETTO), Mike Reno (LOVERBOY), Kevin Cronin (REO SPEEDWAGON), Jason Scheff (ex-CHICAGO), and a very special previously unreleased track by the late great Jimi Jamison.

Since the success of my first 'World Stage' album back in 2001 and countless shows since, I have wanted to create a new musical legacy with this format," says Jim.

In the words of Frontiers' president Serafino Perugino: "Maestro, it is time for a new 'World Stage' album. And that time time is coming soon!"

Peterik, through the years, has written or co-written some of rock's most memorable songs: "Vehicle" by the THE IDES OF MARCH (on which he was lead vocalist), "Eye Of The Tiger", "The Search Is Over", "High On You" and "I Can't Hold Back" for SURVIVOR, hits for .38 SPECIAL such as "Hold On Loosely", "Caught Up In You", "Fantasy Girl" and "Rockin' Into The Night", "Heavy Metal" with Sammy Hagar, and many many more. Jim, now a part of PRIDE OF LIONS with vocalist Toby Hitchcock, is one of the most esteemed and loved recording artists and songwriters, not only on the Frontiers label, but in the larger melodic rock community.

In a recent interview with Finland's Rauta, KREATOR frontman Mille Petrozza was asked how he maintains his energy level considering he's not 25 anymore. He responded (see video below): "I guess the music keeps you young and fresh. And being disciplined about poisoning your body anymore; I don't do that anymore — I used to, when I was really young. Nowadays it's all yoga and health food and veganism. I wanna keep doing this until I'm very old. I guess that's the key — just try to focus; focus on what's important. And to me, the older I get, the more clear it becomes that the reason why I started this was the music and not abusing your body, not doing anything that's unhealthy and not overdoing the partying and just focus on the music. And that, to me, was what always was the most fun anyway. So I'm totally happy."

As Petrozza and other traveling performers would attest, being a touring musician and maintaining a healthy lifestyle aren't exactly compatible: spending hours a day on a bus, living out of suitcases and staying in hotels means that staying healthy is a constant struggle. Still, Mille is reluctant to force his lifestyle on to some of his younger counterparts.

"You should find out by yourself," he said. "I'm not gonna say, 'Do this or that.' Everybody should just do whatever they want — that's my philosophy. Just go out and do stuff and find out for yourself. You might think that… When you're young, you think you're invincible — you're strong and you can do drugs and you can drink everything, whatever. And once you get older, you just feel, like, 'Man, it's not worth it.' When I drink, I have a hangover the next day, so two days are gone. [Laughs] It's, like, 'No.' [Laughs] Do whatever you want, but just be careful. I don't wanna preach — I don't wanna push my lifestyle on to other people."

KREATOR will take 2019 off from touring to focus on writing the material for the follow-up to 2017's "Gods Of Violence" album.

s previously reported, KREATOR will join forces with Norwegian symphonic black metal giants DIMMU BORGIR for a big European co-headline run in late fall. Support on the trek will come from U.S. hardcore institution HATEBREED and death metal supergroup BLOODBATH.

"Gods Of Violence" entered the official chart in Germany at position No. 1. The cover artwork for the album was created by renowned artist Jan Meininghaus, who also made the limited-edition artwork for "Phantom Antichrist" and has lent his talents to bands like BOLT THROWER, ACCEPT and OVERKILL in the past.

Drummer Kjetil-Vidar "Frost" Haraldstad of Norwegian black metallers SATYRICON spoke to Canal Metal about his appreciation for good food and his recent adoption of a mostly vegan diet. He said (see video below): "If you have started to appreciate quality in arts, like music or otherwise, it is not that far fetched that you will look for the same things in other areas of life. So I look for that in foods that I eat. I mean, I don't crave high-quality foods that just blow me away all the time, but whenever there's a special occasion, I find that to be important. But I still don't eat shit — mainly vegan these days, actually. I've come to realize that that is gonna be the future. So my prediction, in 10 years from now, the world will be completely different on the subject of food — and even quality of food, actually."

Frost went on to say that shifting to a vegan-based diet has helped him become more productive with SATYRICON.

"I just realized at some point that it's not about politics — it's about understanding how you work," he said. "If I spend a lot of time trying to make my body work better, whenever I rehearse or record or play live, why the hell shouldn't I focus on health in the food department, because that matters a lot — it has an impact. And then quality, actually, gets another meaning, because high quality then means that it has high nutritional value, for instance, that you don't eat something that brings you away from your goals — it's something that helps you achieve it. I think it does matter, clearly. And as I said, when I realized, I just couldn't pretend that this doesn't carry meaning, and I've also become very convinced that what I and many others have concluded is gonna be the conclusion of the majority of people in the foreseeable future — I'm pretty certain."

The vegan diet means eliminating all animal products from your diet — as in meat, fish, poultry, dairy and eggs.

ccording to The Atlantic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated that 2018 will be the United States' biggest year for meat consumption yet. A recent Gallup poll found that only 5 percent of Americans identify as vegetarian and 3 percent identify as vegan, signaling little to no growth in the movement from 2012.

SATYRICON's latest album, "Deep Calleth Upon Deep", was released in September 2017 via Napalm Records. The disc was recorded in Oslo, Norway and Vancouver, Canada, during early 2017 and mixed together with revered studio guru Mike Fraser (who previously worked on "Now, Diabolical").

Neo-classical hard rock project Amoriello - launched by renown guitarist, educator, and author Tom Amoriello and featuring former members of Black Sabbath, Dio, Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Quiet Riot, TNT, Loudness, Dokken, Impellitteri, and Cacophony - has released a teaser for their self-titled LP, a 12-inch vinyl due out December 2018 via H42 Records. The first single, "Battle Song" (a tribute to metal legand Ronnie James Dio), is slated to release on September 28th.

"Amoriello represents emotional songwriting with world class musicianship from metal legends," says guitarist and lyricist Thomas Amoriello. "From power ballads to neo-classical shred instrumentals, it was so fulfilling to explore this range of music that I have admired over the years and has inspired me as a guitarist. I would like to thank all of the musicians involved on the project for bringing their 'A' game! It was an honor. Hope to see you live in 2019!"

Members:

Guitar:
Thomas Amoriello

Vocals:
Nick Z Marino (Yngwie Malmsteen)
Mark Boals (Yngwie Malmsteen)
Mike Vescera (Yngwie Malmsteen)

Bass:
James Amelio Pulli (Impellitteri)
Neil Murray (Whitesnake)
Phil Soussan (Ozzy Osbourne)
Bjorn Englen (Quiet Riot)

Drums:
Vinny Appice (Dio)
Kenny Stavropoulos (Le Mans)
Shane Gaalaas (MSG)
John Macaluso (Yngwie Malmsteen)
Atma Anur (Cacophony)

Keys:
Michael Troy (Yngwie Malmsteen)

 

Professionally filmed video footage of METALLICA performing the song "Atlas, Rise!" on September 11 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota can be seen below.

According to the Argus Leader, METALLICA's show at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls set an attendance record. More than 12,000 fans came to see the band perform — more than the previous record-setting crowd for Carrie Underwood in October 2016.

Both METALLICA and Underwood featured a stage in the middle of the Premier Center floor, opening up seats on the east side of the area. And both shows opened the entire floor to general admission standing room, with no seats.

In the song "Atlas, Rise!", METALLICA frontman James Hetfield calls out Atlas, the Greek mythological figure which was responsible for bearing the weight of the heavens on his shoulders, a burden given to him as punishment by Zeus.

b>Hetfield told Rolling Stone Australia that he had his METALLICA bandmate Lars Ulrich in mind when he wrote the lyrics to the track. "Lars is, 'I have to do everything, or else it's wrong,'" he explained. "He's got the weight of so much on him. And 'Atlas, Rise!' started out as a, 'Here, let me help you with that. You don't need to carry all that, brother.' And then it morphed into more — and this is not specifically him, but I'm plugging him into this — I think he likes that. There's a drama that makes him work, and we all have a bit of that. He wants the control but he doesn't really have control. The illusion of control, and then the ability to complain about how you have to do everything yourself, and then you still do it."

"Atlas, Rise!" is taken from METALLICA's latest album, "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct", which debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 album chart, selling 291,000 copies in its first week of release.

METALLICA kicked off the 2018/2019 U.S. leg of the "WorldWired" arena tour on September 2 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

ALL THAT REMAINS played its new song titled "Fuck Love" live for the first time last night (Monday, September 17) at the Manchester Music Hall in Lexington, Kentucky. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

The band has just kicked off a short headlining tour with support from TOOTHGRINDER, GEARS and ESCAPE THE PARADIGM.

"Fuck Love" is expected to appear on ALL THAT REMAINS's upcoming album, which was reportedly produced by THE ACACIA STRAIN guitarist Daniel "DL" Laskiewicz and will arrive in early 2019.

ALL THAT REMAINS's most recent disc, "Madness", was released in April 2017 via Razor & Tie in the U.S. and Eleven Seven Music in Europe.

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After several headlining tours of North America with the likes of such acts as CHELSEA WOLFE and DEATH GRIPS, MINISTRY will continue to support its critically acclaimed album "AmeriKKKant" with a full U.S. tour this November and December. Joining the American industrial juggernaut will be Franck Hueso, better known by his stage name Carpenter Brut, a French synthwave artist from Poitiers.

MINISTRY has just released a visualizer for the track "AmeriKKKa", taken from "AmeriKKKant". Check it out below.

Produced by mainman Al Jourgensen, recorded at Caribou Studios in Burbank, California and with striking artwork created by Mister Sam Shearon, the psychedelic, politically influenced and very much in-your-face "AmeriKKKant"'s nine tracks are rooted in Jourgensen's unadulterated anger for what he says is happening in America today: the waning respect for the U.S. Constitution, the growing acceptance of one's opinions replacing facts, the decline of our leaders' sense of morals, ethics and personal responsibility to the country and to their constituents, and the "mad man in the White House."

In a 2017 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Jourgensen stated about America's 45th president: "Trump is just one pimple on the rash. And I found that out while doing the three [George W.] Bush albums. By the last album I did, 'The Last Sucker', it was not just about Bush being a sucker — he was an idiot, a puppet, a mouthpiece for of the powers that be. But I realized that I'm a sucker for getting so bent out of shape about Bush, because Bush was just one pimple in the rash. It's the same thing with Trump. He's detestable, of course, but how could anybody actually like this person? Unless you're in the top one percent of spoiled, rich, misogynist man-toddlers who are entitled to getting anything they wanted. I mean, Trump's in the new album, saying some stupid shit, but he's not the focal point. I'm basically holding up a mirror to society and saying, 'How have we allowed [ourselves] to be duped this way?'"

or decades, the powerhouse of psychotic sound that is MINISTRY has overcome millions with releases such as "Filth Pig", "The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste", "Psalm 69", "From Beer To Eternity", and a flood of others. Since the '80s, Jourgensen has been combining elements of synth pop, punk, metal and even dub in a way that is instantly recognizable and has influenced many other bands.

With timeless classics such as "Just One Fix", "Thieves" and "Jesus Built My Hotrod", MINISTRY is a one-of-a-kind musical pioneer.

With six Grammy nominations to date, over three million records sold, more than 2,000 live performances, and movie soundtrack work on "The Hurt Locker", "Artificial Intelligence", "Matrix", "RoboCop" and "Saw", MINISTRY has been contributing to the music industry for over three decades.

Boston's UNEARTH will release its new album, "Extinction(s)", on November 23. For its seventh release and Century Media debut, the band worked with Will Putney (EVERY TIME I DIE, BODY COUNT, GOJIRA, THY ART IS MURDER, SILENT PLANET) at Graphic Nature Studios. Additionally, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's Adam Dutkiewicz recorded drums for the effort.

According to a press release, "Extinction(s)" "is full of venom toward the wrongs of the world, fighting back against the precarious position civilization is in, determined to effect some kind of change. The inevitability of death, loss, and tragedy is a persistent theme throughout 'Extinction(s)', deep within the band’s most profound and hard-hitting lyrics thus far."

"Extinction(s)" track listing:

01. Incinerate

02. Dust

03. Survivalist

04. Cultivation Of Infection

05. The Hunt Begins

06. Hard Lines Downfall

07. King Of The Arctic

08. Sidewinder

09. No Reprisal

10. One With The Sun

he first single from the album, "Incinerate", can be streamed below.

The band comments: "'Incinerate' brings the raw aggression and heaviness of our early material while also showcasing elements of where we've gone as a band since. Lyrically, it is meant to be a song of unity in a time of great polarization around the world. We are constantly being told to not like our neighbor because they might have different views. The theme is a faith in humanity to come together and combat and rid the world of those that are intentionally dividing us."

Immediately upon its release this summer, "Incinerate" shot to No. 1 on SiriusXM Liquid Metal's "The Devil's Dozen" and was among the Top 100 most played songs on Amazon Music.

After an awe-inspiring 20 years of blazing trails and dominating stages, UNEARTH is now institutionalized as a relentless force in heavy metal, standing the test of time with consistently triumphant creative output, tireless road warrior resilience, blue collar-style workmanship and a resolute determination to deliver the goods.

With over 500,000 in worldwide album sales, UNEARTH's continued staying power has also hinged on its highly interactive and toweringly heavy live performances.

UNEARTH etched its name into the annals of hard rock history through unrelenting determination, tireless energy and a catalog of stone-cold classics. Two decades into a triumphant career, the Massachusetts-bred New Wave Of American Heavy Metal trailblazers are both elder statesmen and newly relevant all over again.

Korn drummer Ray Luzier says the band’s follow-up to 2016’s The Serenity Of Suffering is scheduled to arrive in March 2019.

He was speaking with Sabian Cymbals in a video shot recently during the band’s Follow The Leader 20th anniversary shows, where Luzier discussed his kit and the projects he’s been involved with.

As for the follow-up to Korn’s 2016 album The Serenity Of Suffering, Luzier says: “We’re heavily working on the new Korn record right now and I start tracking drums for it when I get home to Nashville – we’re just about done with the demo stages.”

He reports that it’ll be out in March and that producer Nick Raskulinecz, who worked on The Serenity Of Suffering, is once again helming the project. Raskulinecz's most recent work was with Halestorm on Vicious and new Alice In Chains record Rainier Fog.

Watch the interview below.

Speaking with Metal Hammer in the summer, Korn frontman Jonathan Davis said of the early material: “I’ve listened to a bunch of stuff. There’s been really good ideas, really cool grooves. It really doesn’t start taking place until I get there and glue all the shit together with the arrangements and put my vocals on it.

“But they’re working with different producers and we’re gonna do the record and we’ll see – I’m really excited for it.

He added: “I’m more impressed on these than I was with The Serenity Of Suffering."

BLACK VEIL BRIDES singer Andy Biersack (a.k.a. Andy Black) has released the official music video for his new single, a cover of "My Way", the Paul Anka-penned timeless classic made famous by Frank Sinatra, then infamous by Sid Vicious. Both versions seem to get a nod on Biersack's take. The clip was filmed with director Patrick Fogarty and can be seen below.

"I have always loved this song and the idea of doing my own take on it as an homage to my influences was initially inspired by [a recent Alternative Press] cover shoot and story," Biersack wrote on Instagram.

Andy and longtime producer John Feldmann are putting the finishing touches on the follow-up to Biersack's 2016 critically acclaimed debut solo album, "The Shadow Side", to be released in early 2019.

"The Shadow Side" featured help from members of FALL OUT BOY, MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, BLINK-182, ALKALINE TRIO and more.

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Almanac recently finished off their 2018 festival season. To celebrate, the band has released some live videos from these appearances to give fans at home an idea of what they've missed. Check them out below.

States Victor Smolski: "This year's summer festival tour was amazing! We played a fantastic stadium show at JUMF Festival in South Korea first. This concert, including an outstanding light show was recorded for a DVD release. The Almanac machine has never run as well as it did there! Afterwards, we headlined Milagre Festival in Portugal, where our new vocalist Patrick Sühl proved once again that he can replace our former singers David Readman and Andy B. Franck perfectly, and that he really knows his own style. 

Last but not least, we were invited to perform at my favorite festival of this year's season - Werner Rennen. I could work with my racing team there for 4 days on two tracks at full throttle, too. We even brought one of the trophies home. On Sunday, Almanac performed at Kesseldrom Stage and had lots of fun with our fans! Thanks to every single one of you for the immense support! See you on our next tour, which is already in progress!"

"Hands Are Tied" (Live in Portugal):

"No More Shadows" (Live in Portugal):

"Children Of The Sacred Path" (Live in Portugal):

Almanac at JUMF Festival (snippet):

Tragic themes and a folk-tinged southern gothic Americana sound form the basis of "The Devil Is My Friend", the haunting full-length solo debut by Henry Derek Elis (a.k.a. Henry Derek Bonner; ACT OF DEFIANCE, SCAR THE MARTYR), with contributions from Aubrey Richmond and John Schreffler Jr. (Shooter Jennings), Jarboe (SWANS), Tara Vanflower (LYCIA), Neal Tiemann (DEVILDRIVER) and many more.


In a marked stylistic departure from his persona as frontman for heavier rock acts, Henry has crafted a poetic and deeply personal solo debut, steeped in memories of his childhood in Milledgeville, Georgia, the same place Blind Willie McTell and Flannery O'Connor made their death beds; "the kind of small town with a haunted past that can swallow you up whole if you let it," says Henry.


Dynamic rock arrangements reflect Henry's encyclopedic knowledge of dark folk, classic country, traditional blues and classical music, resulting in an atmospheric, apocalyptic landscape, where lonely sonic highways are littered with the detritus of misfortune and the soft glimmering of something that might be hope.


Henry Derek Elis's origins are about as strange as his career in the music business. Raised by his grandmother, Henry grew up next to Central State Hospital, once known as the largest psychiatric facility in the world. Throughout his childhood, Henry observed the ravages of illness, addiction and suicide first hand.


b>Henry came to prominence upon moving to Atlanta, playing in mostly rock and metal bands before joining THE SWEET MEAT LOVE & HOLY CULT, a folk collective with legendary artist Jarboe (formerly of the influential band SWANS). This inspired him to create acoustic-based folk music under the moniker: TO THE BOY ELIS, a reference from the work of Austrian-born poet Georg Trakl.


Henry moved to Los Angeles and recorded demos with various bands, including members of GORGOROTH, TYPE O NEGATIVE and ANTHRAX. In 2013 he joined the band SCAR THE MARTYR with drummer Joey Jordison of SLIPKNOT fame. After releasing one album on Roadrunner Records, Henry went on to help form the extreme thrash metal band ACT OF DEFIANCE, featuring former members of MEGADETH and SHADOWS FALL.


"The Devil Is My Friend" will be released on October 26. Henry Derek Elis sings, plays banjo, mandolin, bass, organ, dobro, classical, baritone, acoustic and electric guitars.


"The Devil Is My Friend" track listing:

01. No Skin

02. The Devil Is My Friend

03. What's Left of Us

04. Sing For The Dead Man

05. Weeping Willow

06. Corpse Carver

07. If It's Not Too Late

08. Only Bones

09. M.O.M.

10. Graveyard Country Blues

According to Billboard, KISS will perform at the "America's Got Talent" season 13 finale on Wednesday.

The legendary rockers will open the two-hour program, which will air at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

Gene Simmons recently told Sweden's Expressen newspaper that KISS will launch a three-year world tour in January 2019. Calling it the band's "most spectacular tour ever," the bassist/vocalist added that the trek will make stops on "all continents."

Simmons's comments echoed those made by his bandmate, Paul Stanley, who told CNBC's "Squawk Box" that KISS will embark on its "biggest tour" next year.

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 — should it be accepted — means that the band could use it in connection with "live performances by a musical band." As it stands now, no official farewell tour has been announced.

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.

NIGHTWISH's upcoming concerts in São Paulo, Brazil (September 28 at Tom Brasil) and Buenos Aires, Argentina (September 30 at Estadio Cubierto Malvinas Argentinas) will be filmed for an upcoming DVD.

Keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen said about NIGHTWISH's decision to professionally film and record one or more of the shows on the group's current tour in support of its recently released "Decades" compilation: "The majority of these songs that we are doing on this tour are never gonna be played again, I think, so it's a good idea to immortalize them."

This past July, Holopainen revealed that he had "about 80 or 90 percent of the material" already written for the next NIGHTWISH album. "It's gonna be 10, 11 songs, most likely," he said. "And we're gonna start recording next summer, in July, so if everything goes as planned, we're looking at a spring 2020 release."

Tuomas also said that there is a lyrical theme tying together all the songs he has written for NIGHTWISH's next record, but he declined to elaborate, saying: "No other bandmembers have heard anything. We've had some discussions over the things and some of the songs, but it's in such an early stage, and I'm still working at home on my own, so… let's keep it a mystery a while longer."

b>NIGHTWISH's next album will mark the band's second full-length release with singer Floor Jansen, who has been touring with the group since 2012.

METALLICA, SLIPKNOT, SHINEDOWN and BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE are among the featured artists on the soundtrack to WWE's upcoming video game "WWE 2K19". Interestingly, the songs were chosen by a host of WWE superstars themselves, bringing a variety to the selections that's as varied as the WWE roster.

Various wrestlers, including AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan and Samoa Joe, picked the songs for "WWE 2K19", making it the most diverse soundtrack a WWE game has had in years. Baron Corbin chose "Devil" by SHINEDOWN, while Triple H picked "Spit Out The Bone" by METALLICA.

Here's the complete list of superstars and their chosen tracks.

* "Ungrateful & Thankful" by WALE (New Day's choice)

* "Passion" by AWOLNATION (Daniel Bryan's choice)

* "Skin" by BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE (The Miz's choice)

* "Survival" by EMINEM (AJ Styles's choice)

* "Spit Out The Bone" by METALLICA (Triple H's choice)

* "Champion" by FALL OUT BOY (Alexa Bliss's choice)

* "Work Hard" by MIGOS (Samoa Joe's choice)

* "Ric Flair Drop" by OFFSET & METRO BOOMIN (Flair Family's choice)

* "The 11th Hour" by RANCID (Sami Zayn's choice)

* "Rockstar" by POST MALONE ft. 21 Savage (Elias's choice)

* "Override" by SLIPKNOT (Seth Rollins's choice)

* "Devil" by SHINEDOWN (Baron Corbin's choice)

he standard edition of "WWE 2K19" will be released on October 9. Players who opt for the "WWE 2K19" deluxe and collector's editions gain early access four days ahead of time on October 5.

Dutch symphonic metallers EPICA recently announced that they are working on their first-ever book, "The Essence Of Epica". This unique book will tell the story of the remarkable musical journey of EPICA in the bandmembers' own words, and is illustrated throughout with rare, candid and classic photographs.

Speaking to Metal Wani, EPICA guitarist Mark Jansen stated about the band's plans for the coming months (hear audio below): "At this moment, we are very busy with the book, so I'm also collecting old pictures that I find on my old computers. And I'm also collecting old things that I find, what can be interesting for the book. And besides that, I wrote one song already for a future EPICA release. But we will have a lot of time now, because we will probably hit the studio at the end of 2019, so there's plenty of time to write new stuff. And that's also intentionally like this, that we don't rush it too much this time."

"The Essence Of Epica" will contain first-person testimony from Mark Jansen (vocals, guitars), Coen Janssen (keyboards), Simone Simons (lead vocals), Ariën Van Weesenbeek (drums), Isaac Delahaye (guitar) and Rob Van Der Loo (bass) along with that of former members, friends and colleagues of the band. The story of EPICA's rise from Dutch newcomers to international symphonic metal giants is described in majestic and mesmerizing style in this official, exclusive book.

For more information, visit EpicaBook.com.

lso in the works is EPICA's unique collaboration with the Metropole Orkest. The Metropole Orkest is a world-renowned Dutch orchestra which has performed and/or recorded with the world biggest superstars such as Sting, Bono and Brian Eno.

EPICA VS METROPOLE ORKEST "Beyond The Matrix - The Battle" will be released as a limited-edition vinyl and digital download on October 26 through Nuclear Blast.

EPICA's "Attack On Titan" EP was made available outside of Japan on July 20 via Nuclear Blast Records. The release features metal versions of the theme songs from the highly successful manga-series-turned-worldwide-aired anime "Attack On Titan".

Jansen's MAYAN project will release its new album, "Dhyana", on September 21 via Nuclear Blast.

In a brand new interview with the Pioneer Press, JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford spoke about what it's like to be an openly gay man in America circa 2018. "Where do I start?" the singer, who splits his time between the U.S. and England, said. "I knew I was gay when I was 8 or 9. I've been through a lot. Stonewall in New York, many, many similar things in England. It's been a fucking slog. When I was a teen coming to terms with it, I thought when I was an old man, all of this will be forgotten, the color of your skin, your orientation, your religion. Boy, was I wrong.

"With the current administration, it doesn't look particularly healthy right now. On the other side of it, (much has changed) so we can reach this level of equality. There is still a hell of a lot more to be done and it's taking forever. Sometimes it's like one step forward, two steps back. But these types of challenges only make us stronger, you know?

"When I walk out on stage, the last thing I think about is that I am a gay man in a heavy metal band. And to me, that is a victory. There's something to be said about standing there and not saying a word. On the flip side of that, I make a hell of a lot of noise on that stage."

Halford, who revealed he was gay 20 years ago, also talked about the importance of coming out, saying: "When people realize they know gay people, it makes them confront their own intolerance and homophobic tendencies. They're the ones who have to deal with it and face up to their prejudice. That is a win/win situation. We win every time."

uring a 1998 interview with MTV, Halford addressed the subject of his sexuality publicly for the first time, telling the music channel: "I think that most people know that I've been a gay man all of my life, and that it's only been in recent times that it's an issue that I feel comfortable to address, and an issue that has been with me ever since recognizing my own sexuality."

JUDAS PRIEST's latest album, "Firepower", was released in March via Epic.

Las Vegas based rockers Crash Midnight have revealed a new single and video for “Another Day In Hell”.

Vocalist Shaun Soho tells BraveWords: 

“We wrote Another Day In Hell about a year and a half ago during our trips back and forth to L.A. meeting with Sony reps to discuss an album deal.  After being wined and dined, told how excited they were to bring us on board, and that they'd be drawing up the papers that week - hell, we left with fucking Sony coffee mugs as gifts haha.  The week went by and the contracts never came and the calls went un-returned.

“We finally got a weak explanation of something to the effect of the budget being an issue and the timing etc.  This is what led us to say the hell with labels and just do it all ourselves since major distro is cheap and easy, terrestrial radio is on life-support, and streaming is where it's at. 

“I really dig how the track came out.  It has sort of a Leonard Cohen via Hank Moody from Californication vibe to it.”

Crash Midnight recently released their single and video for “Diamond Boulevard”.

Soho told BraveWords:

“This song has been with us for a long time.  We had several producers try to put their own stamp on it, but we always liked it the way we originally wrote it.  After we got the song back from our last label, we decided to put this thing out the way we intended and that's what you're getting.  

“‘Diamond Boulevard’ was written about the reality of this situation going on with the band in our early days when things were beginning to take off.  We had so many people coming out of the woodwork looking to lock us into deals and take a piece of what we were doing.  To everyone on the outside, it looked like things were great, but behind the scenes, everything was fucked - from some bullshit contracts we'd been naive enough to get pushed into signing to just a lot of empty promises from ‘industry’ people.  That's why we started closing every show with this song and still do to this day.  It's become our anthem railing against everything that tried to hold us back or get in our way.

“It's real cool that this original version of the song is going to come out right in time for the first of our Crash The Boulevard recurring headline nights at Brooklyn Bowl, Las Vegas, June 1st.  We're going to be performing it the way it was originally written for the first time in years that night.  Crash The Boulevar" is a scene night that we've put together with Brooklyn Bowl to showcase some of best breakout artists in the Las Vegas scene and really put this town back on the map for rock ‘n' roll.  Brooklyn Bowl has even been genius (or insane) enough to let us throw one of our infamous after-parties upstairs in their Roxy Room after the show.  So this thing is going to be just like one of our early shows back in Boston, just with a lot bigger budget."

Head to this location for more information on the Crash The Boulevard event.

Swedish death metallers AMON AMARTH will release a new DVD and Blu-Ray, "The Pursuit Of Vikings: 25 Years In The Eye Of The Storm", in November. The set will include a documentary as well as footage of the band's 2017 performance at the Summer Breeze festival in Dinkelsbühl, Germany.

AMON AMARTH is working on material for its next album, tentatively due in early 2019. The follow-up to 2016's "Jomsviking" will mark the band's recording debut with drummer Jocke Wallgren, who joined AMON AMARTH more than two years ago.

"Jomsviking" debuted at No. 19 on The Billboard 200, having shifted 21,000 equivalent album units in the week ending March 31, 2016. The disc was released via Metal Blade in North America and Sony Music internationally. The first concept record in AMON AMARTH's storied career was produced and mixed once again by Andy Sneap (JUDAS PRIEST, MEGADETH, TESTAMENT, ACCEPT).

AMON AMARTH enlisted a session drummer, Tobias Gustafsson (VOMITORY, CUT UP), during the recording sessions for "Jomsviking", following the departure of longtime drummer Fredrik Andersson.

b>AMON AMARTH bassist Ted Lundström previously described Wallgren as "a super-solid drummer" who is "very professional" and "very on-the-spot all the time." He added: "It is much easier to play if you have a drummer who is [tight]. It makes our lives easier."

The band of Mat Sinner (also Primal Fear, Rock Meets Classic, etc) SINNER and German label AFM Records extend their partnership for one more album after the Top 50 success of the latest SINNER album „Tequila Suicide“ (2017).

Mat Sinner comments: Thanks for the trust & partnership Nils, Timo, Jochen & the great AFM team. We are ready & very happy to continue our great cooperation! It was so much fun to write, record & tour Tequila Suicide, we’re excited for our next musical journey!

Next SINNER shows

With Primal Fear:
11.11.2018 Japan - Tokyo
12.11.2018 Japan - Nagoya
13.11.2018 Japan - Osaka
16.11.2018 Australia - Melbourne
17.11.2018 Australia - Sydney
Festivals:
07.12.2018 Germany - Geiselwind
08.12.2018 Germany - Balingen

"My Antidote", a new song from SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS, can be streamed below. The track is taken from the band's new album, "Living The Dream", which will be released on September 21 via Slash's own label Snakepit Records, in partnership with Roadrunner Records.

"Living The Dream" is Slash's fourth solo album, and third with Slash and his bandmates Myles Kennedy (vocals), Brent Fitz (drums), Todd Kerns (bass and vocals) and Frank Sidoris (guitar and vocals). The band has launched a physical pre-order for "Living The Dream" including: a limited-edition deluxe premium 2LP yellow vinyl within a premium "Living The Dream" vinyl-size 20 page hardback book, an exclusive one-sided seven-inch single of "Driving Rain" featuring an etching on the B-side with a special set of Slash guitar picks, standard digital and physical CD album, poster as well as a limited-edition t-shirt and hoodie are available.

The band has also unveiled the album cover art and tracklisting for "Living The Dream". The artwork was created by renowned visual artist Ron English.


"Living The Dream" track listing:


1. The Call Of The Wild

02. Serve You Right

03. My Antidote

04. Mind Your Manners

05. Lost Inside The Girl

06. Read Between The Lines

07. Slow Grind

08. The One You Loved Is Gone

09. Driving Rain

10. Sugar Cane

11. The Great Pretender

12. Boulevard Of Broken Hearts

From the barnstorming, high-octane riffery of opener "Call Of The Wild" to the wah-drenched funk rock of "Read Between The Lines", the haunting majesty of "Lost Inside The Girl" to the swaggering deep-in-the-pocket seventies grooves of "Serve You Right", the stately, quasi-classical melodic themes of "The Great Pretender" to the massive hooks and anthemic, singalong choruses of first single "Driving Rain", "Living The Dream" packs a compendium of sounds and styles into 12 tightly arranged and sharply executed tracks, all of it shot through with Slash's trademark electrifying and dynamic riffing and high-wire, lyrical solos.

"It's a natural progression from 'World On Fire', for sure," Slash says of the new album. "I think it has a little more diversity — some of the ideas are not really what I would consider to be predictable." At the same time, he adds, "The record is also a bit more structured, with songs that are shorter and more to the point than last time." Kennedy concurs. "I don't know that there are as many of those sort of 'epic sonic journeys' that we took on the last record," he says. "Although there are songs that take you on a trip, like 'Lost Inside The Girl'. But overall, a lot of these songs — things like 'My Antidote', 'Read Between The Lines', 'Slow Grind' — they're pretty precise statements, and they definitely fall in line with the type of sound we're known for. There's a certain type of sonic calling card that we've developed over the years, and you can hear it front and center on this record."

"It's just a snapshot of where we're at," Slash continues, summing up "Living The Dream". "Which is what we're going for with each new album — to be present in what we're doing and come up with something that is representative of and reflects this moment in time."

For Slash and the band, this moment in time has been unlike any in their past. The seeds of what would become "Living The Dream" were first planted back on the "World On Fire" tour, when Slash began bringing in material for the band to work on at soundchecks.

"Historically, the way we write is we'll be on the road and I'll have my guitar with me, coming up with ideas sitting in the hotel room or in the dressing room or even sometimes on the bus," Slash explains. "When I have something, I'll bring it to soundcheck and I'll start jamming it out with Frank and Todd and Brent. Then Myles will start humming ideas into the recording apparatus on his telephone, and that's how the nucleus of these songs will start."

"I can tell you that's the way it happened for some of the early songs, like 'Lost Inside The Girl' and 'Serve You Right'," Kennedy says. "We were touring Europe in 2015, and at soundchecks Slash would start playing one of those riffs and everybody would jump in. I remember grabbing my phone and singing some ideas into it right then and there, just being really excited about those two tracks. And at that point there were pieces of a few others, like 'The Great Pretender' and 'The One You Loved Is Gone'. So we were definitely embarking on the songwriting process for a new album."

The plan, according to Slash, "was that we would finish up the 'World On Fire' tour, take a little break and then go right into preproduction and get started on a new record." Which, of course, was not quite what happened. Instead, the GUNS N' ROSES reunion was announced, and Slash went directly into rehearsals with that band. As GN'R hit the road, Kennedy reconvened with his other group, ALTER BRIDGE, for an album and tour, and eventually began writing and recording his solo debut ("Year Of The Tiger"). Any work on a new CONSPIRATORS record was put on indefinite hold.

It wasn't until December of 2017, in fact, that Slash, with GN'R on a break, returned to L.A. and resumed writing in earnest for THE CONSPIRATORS. In addition to the songs that had already been worked up, he used his time at home to write a few new ones, among them the slinky rocker "Slow Grind" and the track that would become the album closer, "Boulevard Of Broken Hearts". Then, in January of this year, Slash and THE CONSPIRATORS finally came back together in a rehearsal space in L.A. to pick up where they had left off years earlier. "I wouldn't even call what we did rehearsals," Slash says. "It was really about just getting back into shape after being apart for so long." But even as the band was finding its groove again, the new songs kept coming. The barnstorming "Mind Your Manners", powered by a turbocharged Slash riff and a double-time rhythm, was written on the very first day of rehearsal. "I just sort of came up with it on the spot to give us something to warm up with," Slash says. "It was the very first thing we jammed on. And from there we fell back into revisiting the old songs, polishing them up and getting the arrangements together. Then we rehearsed everything and jumped into the studio and started recording."

The "Living The Dream" sessions, which commenced in late March, saw the band reunite with producer Michael "Elvis" Baskette, who also helmed "World On Fire". But while the producer stayed the same, the studio this time changed, with Slash opting to move operations to his newly active recording facility, Snakepit Studios. "At some point a couple years ago, I bought a small residential property in L.A. and put together a rehearsal space and studio," he explains. "It has a 16-track digital board, and we did pretty much everything there except the drums. It's just a very homey and cool and cozy spot."

"The environment there is definitely 'Slash,'" says Kennedy of Snakepit Studios. "It's got a lot of the things that over the years I've come to equate with him — dinosaurs, pinball machines, photos of guitar players like Rory Gallagher and Keith Richards on the walls, stuff like that. It's a vibey hang. It was good for the creative process."

To demonstrate just how good for the creative process it was, Kennedy points to the lyrics to one new song, "Serve You Right", which he says were partly inspired by a painting hanging on the bathroom wall at the Snakepit — "a picture of this kind of devilish nun," he says. "That's the only way I can describe it." "It's actually a masturbating nun," Slash clarifies, then laughs. "I've never talked to Myles about it, but the lyrics he came up with for that song, which are insanely suggestive for him, I knew they were influenced by that picture."

Dinosaurs and devilish nuns aside, the sessions at the Snakepit went quick. Recording was completed by early May, at which point the album was mixed and mastered… and then held, as Slash headed back on the road with GN'R for a European tour. "That was definitely a weird feeling," Slash says. "I've never done a record where I've had to wait four or five months for it to come out after we recorded it." He laughs. "Now I understand what actors feel like after they finish shooting a movie…"

As it stands, that pause will be the last extended break for THE CONSPIRATORS for the foreseeable future. The band will be heading out on the road in September for what will be the beginning of a lot of touring across a lot of the world. "We're going to do the U.S. this fall, and then I'll be out with GUNS N' ROSES in in November and December," Slash says. "Then we'll get together and do Europe, and after that it'll be South America, Australia… we'll try to hit as many places as we can. Because as much as I enjoy the writing and recording process, when I'm creating music it's always with the intent that it should be played in front of an audience. For me, that's always the endgame — to get out there with the band and perform the music live. That's what I love the most."

You could say, then, that Slash is, in fact, living the dream. But he'll only laugh in response. "Well, you know, the album title is actually meant to be a sarcastic statement about the world we're living in at the moment," he explains. "I never wax political on records, but it was just something that came to mind — this tongue-in-cheek thing directed at social political events across the globe."

That said, Slash continues, "If you do take it in the literal sense, then, yeah, making records and touring and getting up onstage every day and playing music with these guys, that is the essence of living the dream. And that's why I was always dead-set on getting back together with this band and continuing to do this. And I always knew it would happen. Because THE CONSPIRATORS story is not over yet."

The group's North American headlining tour wil visit 20 major cities, including New York, Denver, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, DC, Chicago, Austin, Houston, and more before ending October 14 in Sacramento.