The video for “Like It Or Not”, the first video released off of the debut, self-titled album from Dark Sky Choir, can be seen below.  Written by Dark Sky Choir and produced by Fred Gorhau, this hard driving rock anthem features infectious guitar riffs, soaring vocals, a punchy rhythm section, and blistering guitar solos.

The video was filmed, edited and produced by Rob Shotwell at Traxx East Studios in South River, NJ during the recording of the album, which was engineered by Eric Rachel (Skid Row, Symphony X).

The record release party will take place on June 23rd at The Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ, and will be hosted by Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine of That Metal Show.  The show is being sponsored by WRAT and WDHA radio stations.  

Artwork for the project was created by legendary cover artist Ioannis (Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Dream Theater, Dokken, Fates Warning, Skid Row, Sepultura, Yngwie Malmsteen).  The album will also feature guest appearances by Chris Caffery of Savatage, and Michael Pinnella of Symphony X.

Tracklisting:

“Death Of A Nation”
“Like It Or Not”
“Walking By Myself”
“Die Young (Maybe He Wanted To)”
“The End”
“Sails Of Charon”
“Cry For The Legions”
“Show No Mercy”
“Bedouin Caravan”

"Like It Or Not" video:

The Gloved ones have returned with a new music video in tow. Boston Gamers, Powerglove, with the help of Zenbeast Studios and Production in Boston, have put together for your viewing pleasure, “Kirby”.

Kirby is a famous Nintendo character who first appeared in 1992 in Kirby’s Dream Land for the Game Boy. He has starred in over 20 games and is a playable fighter in the famed Super Smash Bros. series. 

 

World Entertainment Inc. and Powerglove recently announced a new partnership with Knife Fight Media, who will manage the next album cycle, which will mark the band's return to video game themes. Instead of releasing an album all at once, the band will be releasing one track a month for the next 13 months, culminating with a box set released on the final month of the album cycle. 

Released on May 1st was "Mario Minor 2", check out the artwork below:

Following is a message from the band:

“Pay attention my supple lads, for the time has come for the long anticipated next chapter from the purveyors of video game metal. Behold the first track of PowerGlove’s new release, Continue?. Each month, I, Zebediah, master magician, will release Powerglove from their musty basements, so they may bestow upon you a new piece of pompous, penis-pummelling powermetal, infused with videogame nostalgia, and a hint of lime. Be wary, hold a keen eye, and clench firmly, because if you do not hear these songs, you shall forever miss the chance to join Powerglove in the halls of videogame Valhalla.”

On March 31st, "Kraid's Lair" was issued:

Hailing from the outer reaches of flavor country, the Powerglove woodwind quartet is the perfect choice for any bat mitzvah or funeral procession. Top scientists from Powerglove University in Prague have ascertained specific evidence from the children of Sanchez the Wise that Powerglove’s music is answer to domestic abuse, and gout. However, clinical trials, have yet to prove that Powerglove is in any way effective against dysentery. These four young men, full of bold and fresh flavor, as well as all requisite herbs and spices will dance for you until the siren call of the Great Mancuso beacons us home to the undying realms with the audacity of succulent ham.

In March of 2013, Powerglove posted a message to their fans saying that they have started working on “Continue?” the Video Game Themed follow up to 2010’s Saturday Morning Apocalypse, and are releasing that effort in 13 parts over the course of 2017 (a song a month). Powerglove are no strangers to taking a ridiculous and silly concept and translating it into metal excellence, and they can't wait to tour across the universe again and make their audiences headbang and laugh ‘till they soil themselves at the same time once again.

For further details, visit powergloveband.com.

 

On August 25th, French metal force Dagoba will release its seventh studio album, Black Nova, as a cooperation of Jive/Epic for France and Century Media for the rest of the world. The first single, "Inner Sun", is available for streaming below. The single is now available for download across all digital platforms.

Formed in 1997 and inspired by 90’s American metal greats such as Pantera, Machine Head and Fear Factory, Dagoba quickly expanded their furious sound with dark, symphonic and industrial elements culminating on what is to become their strongest album to date, Black Nova.

Shawter - singer, guitarist, composer and leader of Dagoba - helmed the recordings of Black Nova, which took place at Eagle Black, his own studio in Marseille, whereas Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Epica, Heaven Shall Burn) took care of mix and mastering. Black Nova sounds massive with rich dynamics, towering riffs, vigorous shouts and infectious melodic choruses all over the place. The equally powerful artwork was created by Seth Siro Anton (Septic Flesh).

Black Nova tracklisting:

“Tenebra”
“Inner Sun”
“The Legacy Of Ares”
“Stone Ocean”
“The Infinite Chase”
“The Grand Emptiness”
“Lost Gravity”
“Fire Dies”
“Phoenix et Corvus”
“Vantablack”

“Inner Sun”:

Dagoba is:

Nicolas Bastos - drums
Werther Ytier - bass
Shawter - vocals, machines
JL Ducroiset - guitar

On July 14th, Norwegian death metallers Execration will release their new album, Return To The Void, via Metal Blade Records. Today, the band premieres the title track as the first single/video (streaming below) and starts the pre-order for the album on digi-CD and vinyl.

"Coming off of two double 12" vinyl albums, the first clear goal for writing Return To The Void was to deliver the same kind of dynamic and shifting song-writing in a more condensed to-the-point package", comments Execration. Stripping songs down to their essential core has been a driving force while writing, and it shows - there is not a wasted moment on the album. Ticking it at 42 minutes - a perfect fit for the vinyl format - the album takes the listener through a whirlwind of thrash, death, black, and even heavy metal, fast and slow parts, and the trademark Execration shifts in mood, tempo, and atmosphere.

"As with the previous two albums, we wanted to capture the feel of a live performance, so all the basic tracks (drums, guitars, bass) were recorded live in our rehearsal studio in Oslo over the course of a weekend. Vocals, synths, and various effects where recorded the following weeks with assistance from Andreas Tylden (One Tail, One Head / Altaar). The album was then mixed and mastered by Tom Kvålsvoll of Kvålsonic Labs."

Thematically, the album takes off into outer space, the world of dreams, and philosophic musings on time and space. The album's seven songs and two instrumental tracks are permeated with the mysteries of the universe, both in lyrical content and concept, and in the music itself. This theme is further brought to life by the magnificent art of Zbigniew M. Bielak that adorns the front cover.

Return To The Void tracklisting:

“Eternal Recurrence”
“Hammers Of Vulcan”
“Nekrocosm”
“Cephalic Transmissions”
“Blood Moon Eclipse”
“Unicursal Horrorscope”
“Through The Oculus”
“Return To The Void”
“Det Uransakelige Dyp”

“Return To The Void” video:

Execration lineup:

Cato Syversrud - Drums
Christian Johansen - Guitar / Vocals
Jørgen Maristuen - Guitar / Vocals
Jonas Helgemo - Bass

(Photo - Carsten Aniksdal)

Germany’s Black Space Riders will enter the studio in mid-July to record new material. The thematic journey and musical cycle that covered the internationally acclaimed last album Refugeeum and the subsequent Beyond Refugeeum EP has been completed.

Singer/guitarist JE comments: "We have written a lot of interesting and new songs, too much material to fit on a classic double album. These are tracks that are flirting with different musical styles; we're looking outside the box. We will start recording in July and then we'll see what we're going to do with this giant pile of music. In the beginning of 2018 there will definitely be a new release from us. Watch out!"

Black Space Riders are:

JE - Lead Vocals, Guitars, Organ, Beats
SEB - Lead vocals
C.RIP - Drums, Percussion
SLI - Guitars
SAQ - Bass Guitar
HEVO - Additional Bass Guitar

A lyric video for “The Tides That Won’t Change”, a track from Pyramaze’s Contingent album is available for streaming below. The album is out now via Inner Wound Recordings.

With their milestone fifth album, Contingent, Pyramaze have grown and matured into a band that is capable of satisfying their fans while simultaneously continuing to break new ground. The incorporation of modern cinematic film score elements mixed with progressive metal riffs and melodies will leave the listener breathless! Huge, sweeping, hard-hitting, and poignant, Contingent is an epic post-apocalyptic conceptual piece inspired by current events, the human spirit to overcome struggle and diversity, and the brotherhood that lies there in. Produced, mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Amaranthe, Epica, Evergrey).

"Divided by oceans, bound together by brotherhood, we must become that which divides us.... we are Pyramaze, and we are the Ocean!"

Contingent tracklisting:

“Land Of Information”
“Kingdom Of Solace”
“Star Men”
“A World Divided”
“Nemesis”
“Contingent - Part I: The Campaign”
“20 Second Century”
“Obsession”
“Heir Apparent”
“Contingent - Part II: The Hammer Of Remnant”
“Under Restraint”
“The Tides That Won't Change”
“Symphony Of Tears”

“The Tides That Won’t Change” lyric video:

“Star Men” lyric video:

“A World Divided” video:

“Kingdom Of Solace” lyric video:

“20 Second Century” lyric video:

Pyramaze lineup:

Terje Harøy - Vocals
Jacob Hansen - Guitars, Bass
Jonah W. - Keyboards
Toke Skjønnemand - Guitars
Morten Gade Sørensen - Drums

Unleashing their new album The Immortalist on May 26th, Calgary, AB progressive death metal band Divinity are streaming the new album in full ahead of its release.

The band comments:

"We're very proud of our new album! Our dedication to song writing, recording and producing these 12 songs over the past 5 years has been a crazy musical journey and a huge learning experience that we will never forget. Our lyrical content and artwork is based on an original science-fiction concept story about a character who wakes up in a random field within an intricate crop circle with no memory of who he is or how he got there. The character is then thrown into a crazy adventure and eventually learns who he is and how to become immortal. There's so much more to the story but we don't want to give it all way just yet."

Preorders of the album at Divinity.ca, iTunes, and Amazon plus an exclusive digipak CD available on their website for those who want to support the band directly.

The Immortalist is a culmination of 5 years of hard work and dedication to their craft.  The album features 12 tracks that include their two previous EP releases The Immortalist, Pt. 1 – Awestruck and The Immortalist, Pt. 2 –Momentum with their 3rd EP The Immortalist Pt. 3 - Conqueror now finished completing the trilogy series for one huge full length album. All the tracks on the album are remixed and remastered by the talented Chris Donaldson (Cryptopsy, The Grid Productions) to make the songs more cohesive and work as a full-length album experience. This album also features Bjorn ‘Speed’ Strid of Soilwork on vocals for the song “D.M.T.”. Divinity is also offering fans an exclusive digipak CD available on their website for those who want to support the band directly.

The bands comments on release:

"Closure is such great thing! We’ve finished our third EP for The Immortalist trilogy concept and have decided to take all three EP’s and turn it into a full-length album."

Tracklisting:

“Manhunt”
“Atlas”
“Hallowed Earth”
“D.M.T.”
“PsyWar”
“Distorted Mesh”
“The Dead Speak From Behind”
“Lucid Creator”
“The Reckoning”
“All Seeing Eyes”
“Momentum”
“Conqueror”

"Atlas" video:

“Manhunt” video:

Album teaser:

Guitarist Ray Suhy of the bands Six Feet Under, Cannabis Corpse and ex-East Of The Wall is set to release Fulmination, his first release since 2015's fusion record Tessellations. Suhy returns this time with an explosive, instrumental metal EP. Fulmination will be released June 16th via Cessation Engine Records. Check out the video for new track "Cerulean" below.

Suhy explains how Fulmination came to be: "Fulmination has been a long time in the making. Creating an instrumental guitar record that was riff heavy and had interesting melodies and solo sections has been in the back of my mind for about 7 years now.

“The drums, which were performed by 19-year-old Victor Montanaro, had been sitting on my hard drive for about two years. Victor was perfect for this project. He was easily able to navigate all the shifting time signatures and adapt my programmed drums into his own parts. During some down time after recording the new Cannabis Corpse record and between Six Feet Under tours I decided to finish this thing up.

“The meaning of Fulmination is "an expression of vehement protest" or "a violent explosion". I felt it was the perfect title for the song and the EP overall. I use music to express the many things I feel each day and sometimes that expression is an angry and violent one when I'm trying to process all of the insane things that are happening in the world today. As artists, we can either let what's happening around us be very upsetting and stifling to our creativity or we can flip that around and use that energy in a cathartic and positive way. Fulmination was a great for me in that way.”

Fulmination is available for pre-order in a various formats here.

Fulmination tracklisting:

“Cerulean”
“Fulmination”
“Subjugation”
“Cess Pool”

"Cerulean" video:

Trailer:

The music coming back from commercial on That Metal Show, the song cranked up before third down at Dallas Cowboys games, the tune pumping behind the MTV promo, the powerplay song for the Dallas Stars, the intro music for the nationally syndicated Lex and Terry show, and songs heard on Gene Simmons Family Jewels, VH1, and absolutely loads of TV spots, radio ads, and even a movie soundtrack. That is Rivethead.

Heavy, grooving, and sometimes melodic metal, laced with the electronic elements of a sci-fi movie soundtrack. If the Blade Runner, Tron, and Mortal Kombat soundtracks were thrown into a musical blender with Metallica, Pantera, Korn, and Fear Factory, you’d get something pretty wicked. It might sound a lot like this. Drawing influences heavily from bands such as Static-X, Powerman5000, White Zombie, NIN, Ministry, and Rammstein, Rivethead is a hard-rocking quartet, born from the Dallas scene, which has gone on to national exposure through live gigs, radio, television, and film.

The new album, Fix Our Enemy, is out now. It features the single, "Start a Revolution!” which infuses stadium rocking metal with industrial filler, to create an up-tempo, mob inciting anthem.

Declassified Records has announced the newest album from progressive fusion legends BangTower entitled With N With Out is now also available in retail stores in Japan serviced by Marquee Distribution. The 13 track sophomore album, originally released late December, marks the first full-length CD since the internationally acclaimed 2010 debut release, Casting Shadows. 
 
Returning to the project are fretless bass guitar legend Percy Jones of Brand X, Grammy winner Neil Citron, L.A. Drum Guru Walter Garces, and musician/producer Jon Pomplin. In addition, the album also features several guest artists including drummers Frankie Banali of Quiet Riot and Rodger Carter of John 5 as well as fretless bassist Robertino “Pag” Pagliari of Ohm” Joan Fraley of The Rave, Chris Colovus, Josh Greenbaum and Justin Stone.
 
BangTower was designed from the beginning to explore new musical landscapes by bringing together artists from different musical specialties, disciplines and physical locations to create something exciting and exceptional. When numerous unavoidable and unexpected scheduling issues arose with the core members after production of the new record had started, the concept was expanded to include several other friends of the band as guest musicians to complete the record. The result turned out even better than anticipated and remained true to the BangTower ideal. 
 
By combining digital technology and traditional studio recording techniques, musicians from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Hawaii were able to collaborate, write and record intricate, soulful music with a distinctive and fresh personality that is can be enjoyed numerous times. Compositions that challenged each player's imagination and style by pushing the edge of their musical “comfort zone”, while remaining familiar and accessible to both the musician and non-musician fan alike. Although each piece of music is an exceptional stand-alone masterpiece, each track remains an integral part of the over-all context and feel of the album, and the BangTower project as a whole. 

Tracklisting:

“Hello I’m Here”
“PCH”
“Chipotle”
“Soul To Sole”
“Roger, Wilco N Out”
“Uncle Floyd”
“Kitty’s Real Groove”
“My Fathers Smile”
“McGown’s Pass”
“This Is My Town”
“6/8 Primate”
“Good Bye N Good Nite”
“Hair Of The Dog” (Digital bonus track)
“I’ll Be Home For Christmas” (CD bonus track)

The new limited edition CD of record With N With Out also contains a “bonus holiday track”. A new interpretation and arrangement of the winter classic “I'll Be Home For Christmas” featuring Percy, Walter and Neil, originally recorded in 2013.

Special “limited edition” autographed CD bundles and merchandise are also available from the official BangTower store located at Bandcamp.

Decibel Casualties, the new album from US titans Destructor, is set for release on June 9th via Pure Steel Records. A video trailer for the upcoming release is available for streaming below.

Dave Overkill (vocals, guitar) and Matt Flammalbe (drums) from the Ohio-based band have returned with sharpened steel. After the 2016 release, Back In Bondage, now the brand new album is ready. High speed and energy like in their early 20s is the one and only basis for the guys. Nick Annihilator (guitar) and Tim Hammer (bass) joined the legends and you can be sure that Destructor sounds fresher than ever before.

Tracklisting:

“Restore Chaos”
“Keep The Faith”
“Metal Spike Deep”
“We Are Ready”
“The Last Days”
“Firey Winds”
“Metal Till Death”
“In Hell”

Trailer:

Lineup:

Dave Overkill - vocals, guitars
Tim Hammer - bass
Matt Flammable - drums
Nick Annihilator - guitars

Norwegian progressive metallers ENSLAVED have finished recording their as-yet-untitled fourteenth album for a fall release via Nuclear Blast. The disc is currently being mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren (SOILWORK, OPETH, KATATONIA, AMON AMARTH) at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden.

According to ENSLAVED, they are "putting the final touches to an epic first leg of a European tour that will be announced shortly." The band adds in a Facebook post: "2017 will be the year we move forward with our sound and aim for more progressive and melodic horizons, adding an organic and old school-ish touch — and several courageous experiments. Exciting, right?"

ENSLAVED's new album was recorded at Duper & Solslottet Studios in Bergen.

The eye-catching cover and artwork is once again being created by renowned designer and painter Truls Espedal.

ENSLAVED mastermind Ivar Bjørnson recently stated about the band's new album: "I have never worked this hard to put together music for an album before. We are a tighter unit than ever before, which is obvious sonically. The concept conjured by myself and old war-brother Grutle is the strongest we have worked with. Finally, I am proud that we have taken more risks than ever before, and one in particular — and it is yielding awesome results. What does that mean? Stay tuned to find out!" ENSLAVED's thirteenth studio album, "In Times", came out in 2015.

STONE SOUR has released a Ryan Valdez-directed for the band's new track "Song #3". The clip, which shows the band going through several costume changes, can be seen below.

"Song #3" is taken from STONE SOUR's upcoming album, "Hydrograd", which will be released on June 30 via Roadrunner Records.

In other news, STONE SOUR has announced a 21-date European winter tour. The trek will kick off in Copenhagen, Denmark on November 15 and wrap up in Milan, Italy on December 15. Support on the tour will come from THE PRETTY RECKLESS with the exception of the Paris show on November 24.

STONE SOUR singer Corey Taylor previously stated about "Hydrograd": “We have six singles on this album. I'm really excited. This album is great because it's got elements of everything. It's got the heavy energy of the '80s, there's punk moments, there's hard rock moments — all the great amalgam of music. There's even jazz and hip-hop moments; it's really, really cool. It's probably the coolest album I've made since the first SLIPKNOT album. I feel very confident making that statement because it's so good."

"Hydrograd" was recorded at Sphere Studios in North Hollywood, California with producer Jay Ruston, who has previously worked with ANTHRAX and STEEL PANTHER.

The band tracked the album live in the studio, cutting a total of 18 songs from which 15 will make the CD.

Bassist Johnny Chow described the disc as "a straight rock and roll album" in an interview with Detroit radio station WRIF, adding, "It's just very groove-oriented, very melodic (with) big choruses. We've got some mellower songs on there too, which are equally just as amazing and have a lot of groove to them."

Chow called the record a "bit of a departure" from previous STONE SOUR albums.

STONE SOUR has had eight Top 10 songs on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs, dating back to "Bother" in 2002. The band has landed three top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 and has sold 2.1 million albums in the United States to date, according to Nielsen Music.

"Welcome To The New Disaster", a new song from RIVERDOGS, the band featuring DEF LEPPARD and LAST IN LINE guitarist Vivian Campbell, can be streamed below. The track is taken from RIVERDOGS' comeback album, "California", which will be released on July 7 via Frontiers Music Srl.

Featuring original members Campbell, Rob Lamothe (vocals, guitars) and Nick Brophy (bass, vocals), along with drummer Marc Danzeisen, the band's fifth album is RIVERDOGS' first new music since the eight-song mini album, "World Gone Mad", came out in October 2011.

Mixing the soulful vocals of Lamothe with the edgy guitarwork of Campbell and solid rhythmic lines from Brophy and Danzeisen, the album marks a definitive return to the sound of their critically acclaimed 1990 self-titled debut album. On the making of the album, Campbell says: "When my friends at Frontiers suggested a RIVERDOGS album in the spirit of the original debut record, I jumped at the chance to make it. In my opinion, 'Riverdogs' was a highlight of my career with some of my best guitar playing and definitely a record that flew under the radar. Having a clear direction of exactly what kind of record to make really helped the four of us create the music and there was an intense collective focus throughout the entire process that never wavered. I really think that we hit the target in creating a record that has all the hallmarks, the integrity and the emotional strength of the original debut. The fact that we've all remained such close friends throughout all the years only added to the joyous experience that was the making of this record."

Adds Lamothe: "Going into this project, my goal was to enjoy the opportunity of making music with some of my best friends, to share this incredible experience with my family... and to create something that RIVERDOGS fans will probably think is pretty bloody awesome. Big guitars! Beautiful melodies! Words about crazy, complicated, real stuff! I feel like Nick, Viv, Marc and I all brought our 'A' games to the writing and recording sessions. That's way more important than money and awards and fame to me" Brophy sums up the writing process for the album: "In summer of 2016, I found myself in Los Angeles, reunited with three of my closest friends, about to begin a new RIVERDOGS album. Marc had arranged a rehearsal environment at a friend's house, which was to provide the creative atmosphere for writing new material. I stood there with bass in hand thinking, 'Okay, now what?' Little did I know that a few days later we would have six new RIVERDOGS songs and the album 'California' was born. The remaining six songs came, surprisingly, just as easily, a testament to the amazing talents of Vivian, Rob, Marc and the effortless way in which we work as a group. Our clear goal for this album was to remain true to the original RIVERDOGS sound and provide fans with a new set of songs which carry on the legacy of a truly remarkable band." RIVERDOGS formed in Los Angeles at the end of the '80s when flashy, glitzy hard rock ruled the day, but they were determined to avoid clichés and adopted an original sounding blues-rock style. Campbell of SWEET SAVAGE, DIO and WHITESNAKE fame at the time (soon to join and become a long-standing member of DEF LEPPARD and later, founding member of LAST IN LINE as well) was initially brought on board to produce the band's first demo, but was so impressed with the band that he actually became a member and played on the debut album. Soon after the release, Marc Danzeisen joined Rob, Nick and Vivian to complete the lineup. Though fans and critics gave the album a warm reception and high regard, the unfortunate and age old story of change of personnel at their record label came about and eventually led the band members to go their own ways, with Campbell settling into the DEF LEPPARD lineup and Nick Brophy becoming a respected engineer and producer. RIVERDOGS, with a revamped lineup, released two more records in 1993, "Bone" and "Absolutely Live", before going on an extended hiatus. They reconvened, with the original lineup, in 2003 to record new material and play a few reunion shows. Those new songs were recorded as demos, but only completed in the studio in 2011 when their last album, "World Gone Mad", was released.

Now, six years after their last studio album, RIVERDOGS have crafted "California", a record that truly recreates the magical sounds of their early days and that will surely be welcomed with open arms by fans both old and new. "California" track listing:

01. American Dream02. The Revolution Starts Tonight03. Something Inside04. Golden Glow05. You're Too Rock And Roll06. The Heart Is A Mindless Bird07. Searching For A Signal08. Welcome To The New Disaster09. Ten Thousand Reasons10. Catalina11. I Don't Know Anything

POWERFLO — the new band featuring BIOHAZARD's Billy Graziadei and former FEAR FACTORY bassist/guitarist Christian Olde Wolbers alongside Sen Dog from CYPRESS HILL, Rogelio Lozano from DOWNSET, and Brazilian drummer Fernando Schaefer — played its unofficial first live show for family and friends last night (Monday, May 22) at South Bay Customs in El Segundo, California. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below (courtesy of Chris Nicholas).

POWERFLO's self-titled debut album will be released on June 23 via New Damage Records. Those who preorder the album digitally will receive "Resistance" as an instant grat track. Both New Damage and PledgeMusic pre-orders include bundle options with various exclusive limited items, including snapback caps, rolling papers, signed vinyl, test presses, exclusive performances and more. Melding hip-hop, metal, punk, and rock into a potent offering, POWERFLO draws on its powerhouse resume to collectively smash boundaries. The album is produced by Josh Lynch and Billy Graziadei, mixed by Jay Baumgardner (GODSMACK, PAPA ROACH, HELMET) and mastered by Maor Applebaum (FAITH NO MORE, HALFORD, ADRENALINE MOB) at Maor Applebaum Mastering. Of the "Resistance" lyric video, Sen Dog commented, "We're here to make honest music. It's not about pleasing anybody or confirming anything. We're creating from a pure place. We worked our asses off. It's not a one-time thing. It's just the first POWERFLO album. There's much more to come..." Graziadei added: "Getting our music out there has been a while in the making but I'm looking forward to finally having POWERFLO in everyone's hands. We dropped a video for 'Resistance' first since it basically sums up how we all roll, living life on our terms! Our lives, our way, rising up against any force that stands against us. Next up, live POWERFLO in your face like a shotgun blast!" The origins of POWERFLO can be traced back over more than two decades as the members of the band would collaborate on numerous occasions. In addition to both CYPRESS HILL and BIOHAZARD appearing on the landmark platinum-selling "Judgment Night" soundtrack, Sen Dog delivered a cameo on BIOHAZARD's "State Of The World Address" in 1993, while Christian both guested on CYPRESS HILL's chart-topping 2000 double-album "Skulls & Bones", which Roy also guested on, and 2001's "Stone Raiders" in addition to performing with the group countless times. In 2015, longtime friend Roy played demos for Sen on a ride to the airport. The music immediately spoke to the rapper and thus POWERFLO was born.

Regarding how the name for the new project came about, Christian told The New American Media: "Basically, Sen Dog was spitting his game on some of the heavy riffs and shit. And he was, like, 'Do you like this?' And Roy, the other guitar player, said, 'Yeah. A power flow. That's good.' So that's where it kind of came from."

Graziadei has described POWERFLO's musical direction as a cross between IRON MAIDEN, BLACK SABBATH and CYPRESS HILL.

Band photo credit: Travis Shinn

TAU CROSS, the multinational punk/heavy metal collective featuring AMEBIX bassist/frontman Rob "The Baron" Miller, VOIVOD drummer Michel "Away" Langevin, and members of cult crust outfits MISERY and WAR//PLAGUE, will release its second full-length album, "Pillar Of Fire", on July 21 on CD, 2xLP, and digital formats via Relapse Records. In advance of the record's release, the band has unveiled a Jakub Moth-directed music video for first single, "Deep State". Comments TAU CROSS on the new album: "'Pillar Of Fire' is the continuation of some of the ideas that were explored on our first album. This time we have managed to share the songwriting more equally and introduce some other textures to the songs. This should help to establish TAU CROSS as less of a one-off phenomenon and more of an ongoing musical collective producing our own distinctive sonic environment." "Pillar Of Fire" was recorded across three different countries and co-produced by "The Baron" in the same manner as their eponymous debut. The drums were tracked in Montreal, guitars in Minneapolis, bass in Seattle and Minneapolis, and vocals on the Isle Of Skye in Scotland. "Pillar Of Fire" further expands the group's unique musical approach ranging from dark folk witchery to industrial punk metal brutalism; a moody melting pot of KILLING JOKE's metallic post-punk and MOTÖRHEAD's anthemic, hard rock with flourishes of traditional instrumentation and an infusion of 16th Century English mysticism. "Pillar Of Fire" is a musical unearthing of TAU CROSS's philosophical preoccupations: mythological motifs, ultra-terrestrial hypotheses, surreal, social political landscapes, and the endless search for meaning in a controlled universe. "Pillar Of Fire" track listing:

01. Raising Golem02. Bread And Circuses03. On The Water04. Deep State05. Pillar Of Fire06. Killing The King07. A White Horse08. The Big House09. RFID10. Seven Wheels11. What Is A Man12. Three Down (Vinyl + Digital Bonus Track)13. We Are The Terror (Vinyl + Digital Bonus Track)14. In Time (Vinyl + Digital Bonus Track) Formed in 2013 across two continents and three countries, TAU CROSS is the natural evolution of Miller's work in AMEBIX. The band's self-titled debut was recorded in 2014 and released via Relapse Records in May 2015 to widespread critical reception, including an inclusion on Rolling Stone's Metal Albums Of The Year list.

TAU CROSS made its live debut in 2016 in North America, followed by a special mainstage performance at the legendary Roadburn festival in the Netherlands. TAU CROSS is:

Rob "The Baron" Miller - bass/vocalsAndy Lefton - guitarJon Misery - guitarMichel "Away" Langevin - drumsTom Radlo - bassJames Adams - keyboards

IRON MAIDEN has condemned the terror attack in Manchester, England last night (Monday, May 22) which left 22 dead and 59 injured.

The British heavy metal legends, who are in the middle of a U.K. headlining tour, said in a statement: "We are shocked by last night's terrible events at the Manchester Arena. Our thoughts go out to everyone affected. We can advise fans that our last three U.K. shows in Cardiff and at London's O2 will proceed as planned. Of course any extra means to ensure fan safety are being examined with the relevant authorities."

The final three dates on the U.K. leg of MAIDEN's "The Book Of Souls" tour are as follows:

May 24 - Motorpoint Arena - Cardiff, UKMay 27 - O2 Arena - London, UKMay 28 - O2 Arena - London, UK

In a December 2015 interview with the Radio Sarajevo show "The Aebyss", IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson spoke about what security concerns he might have in an age of terrorism when it comes to deciding which countries to travel to in order to play for the people there. He said: "Personally, yeah, I'll play no matter what. Your concern has to be, actually, for people who don't have a choice in the matter. But those poor people that went for that [EAGLES OF DEATH METAL] concert at the Bataclan [in Paris, France in November 2015] had no choice; they were completely, completely innocent in every possible way. And, of course, nobody knew that the place was gonna get targeted. So, unfortunately, there's a judgment call that people have gotta make, and you have to make it on the best information available — as to whether or not you're suddenly gonna get… If somebody says, 'We're gonna massacre everybody at a rock concert,' you say, 'Well, is it some lunatic, or is it genuinely credible that this might happen?'"

He continued: "You can't take the responsibility for what might be some lunacy, massacring people, just because you wanna be kind of 'macho man' and stand up and say, 'Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah, we did this and people threatened us, but we were like macho men.' And that's great until one day it turns out that somebody does go and do [something like that] and then you have lots and lots of dead women and children, and you go, 'Maybe we shouldn't have done the show, because there was a credible threat.' So, unfortunately, you've gotta be grown up about it. But, at the same time, you still need to be able to offer people that hope and send that message out there. They can't stop… Real life just carries on. I mean, when the Irish Republican Army, years and years ago… when I was a kid, things were getting blown up left, right and center in the U.K., and one lot was blowing things up and horrendous things happened, and nothing stopped — people just got on with it and carried on. You don't stop. You don't back down from living your life. There is light at the end of the tunnel there. So all those kinds of things are acts of defiance, but not involving guns or bombs or bullets and things like that."

IRON MAIDEN's "The Book Of Souls" world tour will return to North America for an extensive series of arena and amphitheater shows in June and July. Support on the trek will come from GHOST.




We are shocked by last night’s terrible events at the Manchester Arena. Our thoughts go out to everyone affected. We...

Posted by Iron Maiden on Tuesday, May 23, 2017

CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, the band led by brothers and founding SEPULTURA members Max (also of SOULFLY) and Igor Cavalera, has entered a studio in Phoenix, Arizona to record its fourth album. The disc, which is being produced by longtime friend Arthur Rizk, will be released in the fall via Napalm Records.

The first in a series of video clips from the studio, titled "The Conspiracy Diaries", can be seen below.

Max told Faygoluvers earlier this year that CAVALERA CONSPIRACY's follow-up to 2014's "Pandemonium" would "be a beast of an album. We're gonna try to make the best one of all, everything we've done. We'll try to clean slate on the whole thing and make just an awesome, in-your-face great record."

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

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

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

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

Max and Igor have spent the last year celebrating the twentieth anniversary of SEPULTURA's classic album "Roots" by performing the LP in its entirety.

Frontiers Music Srl has announced the signing of a new melodic rock combo from Sweden: KRYPTONITE. Sometimes musicians are put together who only know each other from afar via their respective recordings, but something clicks and triggers a magical moment. That's exactly what happened when Jakob Samuel from THE POODLES met up with producer Alessandro Del Vecchio on the heels of a concept created by Frontiers president Serafino Perugino. Together, they set off to work on a new band that could offer lyrical concepts that are deep and intelligent with music that operates within the genres they excel in. And most importantly, has a great energy and impact. Samuel, Del Vecchio and Perugino handpicked each musician to be part of their vision for a strong lineup of young and hungry Swedish musicians that would be ready to go out there and kick some ass. Pontus Egberg, formerly of THE POODLES and now the bass player for KING DIAMOND and TREAT, was the first one to enter the picture, followed shortly thereafter by Robban Back of MUSTASCH (and ex-ECLIPSE). The choice of guitar player fell to the young and immensely gifted Mike Palace. Mike showed his huge talents as a writer and performer on his band Palace's debut album and on several songs he has already written for the label. The recording and writing sessions flowed freely and the songs came naturally. This band will truly set a standard for what fans perceive as melodic hard rock in today's climate. It is classic, but modern at the same time, groovy and cool.

Introducing KRYPTONITE!
Hello, we are Kryptonite! Check out this introductory behind-the scenes video to learn more about us and our upcoming self-titled album, which will be released via Frontiers Music srl. And the best part is you get to hear some snippets of music in the video too!

Our first single and music video will be released VERY SOON, so stay tuned for that, news about the release date, pre-orders, and more!

Kryptonite is: • Jakob Samuel (The Poodles) - Vocals• Pontus Egberg (Treat) - Bass• Robban Back (Mustasch) - Drums• Mike Palace (Palace) - Guitar

Posted by Kryptonite - Sweden on Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Professionally filmed video footage of METALLICA performing the song "Fuel" on May 19 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts can be seen below.

METALLICA was joined in Foxborough, as they will be on most of the rest of the North American leg of the "WorldWired" tour, by VOLBEAT and AVENGED SEVENFOLD.

The North American run will hit stadiums in 20 more cities before ending in mid-August. METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told Rolling Stone that the band was genuinely surprised to learn they could still play stadiums, saying, "It was like, 'Holy fuck, people really still care about this band in ways that you stopped taking for granted literally decades ago. It was very inspiring and kind of eye-opening."

He added: "Full stadium runs can sometimes be a little intimidating. There's all these things to worry about like, 'You should really try to play maybe only on the weekend,' and, 'Where do you play on Tuesday?' and some of those practicalities can get a little bewildering. We just threw caution to the wind. Doing a stadium run seemed like the perfect thing on the back of how well this record has been received and all the good will that's out there in METALLICA's world right now."

The next stop on the tour is St. Louis, Missouri on June 4.

British metal band Kill II This has released a video for their new track, “Sleeper Cell”. Speaking about the new song, guitarist and producer Mark Mynett said, “We’re having a blast in Kill II This at the moment and we’re really proud of 'Sleeper Cell'. Stylistically it’s the result of the four of us each putting our own stamp on things. It still has that Kill II This sound but it feels really fresh.”

Vocalist Simon Gordon said, “With all the new material we're writing, we’ve really tapped into the energy and feel that Kill II This is known for, without simply reproducing what was done back in the day. We’re still using samples and technology in all the new songs and on 'Sleeper Cell' we’ve added pianos and strings. Once it all came together, we knew that was exactly what it needed. We’re working on an album but that’s a little way off yet, so we wanted to give people something to whet their appetites."

Kill II This features original members: Mark Mynett (guitar), Pete Stone (bass) and Jeff Singer (drums) as well as Simon Gordon (vocals) who sang on the City Of God side project with Mynett and Singer in 2005. The release of the new material coincides with the band’s forthcoming appearance at the Uprising Festival, which takes place on May 27th at De Montfort Hall in Leicester, UK.

Kill II This released four albums between 1996 and 2004, most notable were their Deviate and Trinity albums. The band built on this with extensive European tours including support slots for Slipknot, Machine Head, Megadeth and Fear Factory.

 

Cradle Of Filth backing vocalist / keyboardist Lindsay Schoolcraft is a featured guest on the song "Morning Light" from Dubai-based Ascendant's new album, A Thousand Echoes. The track is streaming below, go to this location to check out the album. Lindsay has posted a video message commenting on recording the song with the band.

A Thousand Echoes by ASCENDANT

For information on Ascendant go to this location.

Season Of Ghosts vocalist/mastermind Sophia has checked in with a long overdue update for her fans:

"I’m pretty sure all of you have been wondering about the future of Season of Ghosts, since The Human Paradox is two year old now. Good question.

As it always happens with music stuff, there has been all sorts of delays, the worst of which is my ongoing health issues. I might tell you more about this on another blog, but for sure it’s been the #1 reason why there’s not much new SoG material out there yet. I honestly did not have the mental or physical strength to compose, to sing or to even talk sometimes.

Also life happens and since I’m a person who seeks personal evolution, I’ve been working on new scenarios, exploring new possibilities, working towards several goals and there’s only 24 hours per day, so imagine. My average working time per day is 12 hours,but I can easily go to 15 hours, depending on the workload. Yes, I’m a workaholic, I’m very goal-oriented and never settle. So I freak when people ask me to 'chill' or 'calm down' or 'go have fun.' Balancing out the stress is really important and I’m guilty of openly neglecting this principle for at least eight years.

Achieving certain goals will allow me to nurture, protect and expand my art, therefore I’ve been focusing on said goals at the expense of music. After all, forcing myself to release a quick album just because I 'had to' would certainly end up in disaster. So I chose to take life one day at a time, in order to preserve my sanity and my music quality.

Things have recently taken a slight turn for the better and I have slowly amassed enough ideas, so the second album is finally taking shape, as a new entity. Like last time, I’m gonna let things flow intuitively and let the music in me find its perfect place. Every album I make has a certain dynamic, an identity that I don’t want to disrupt by overthinking about the current musical trends, or the marketability, or genre cliches. I’d lose my creativity plus I never cared about fitting into anything as a person, so I don’t care about fitting into any musical moulds and presets either. If it feels *right* I’ll do it, even if everyone is protesting against it. Because I *see* it in its final form, I see it into the future (and apparently I’m not very democratic when I work :P).

I don’t believe the coming album is gonna have a solid theme like The Human Paradox, but I won’t know until I sit down and let the stories come to me. Until then, please keep supporting me and Season of Ghosts on this creative journey. Your love has kept me alive all these years, even when I felt my existence falling apart. Thank you."

Currently working on new music for 2017, Season Of Ghosts took time out to work on something special for Halloween 2016 inspired by the Tim Burton movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Sophia checked in with the following update:

"You asked, we delivered! Season of Ghosts' version of 'Sally's Song'! Orchestrated and arranged by Zombie Sam. I'm under the impression that we made the song a liiiittle spookier..."

Season Of Ghosts is a groundbreaking music project, dedicated to the love for the unseen and film soundtracks, combining extreme rock and metal sounds, harsh electronics and powerful, compelling vocals, through the eerie spectrum of a Sci-Fi and horror movie.

Tracklisting:

"Nothing Disappears Without A Trace"
"Genesis - The Phoenix Syndrome"
"Time Travellers"
"Dream; Paralysis"
"The Human Paradox"
"[NE]: MESIS - The Kiss Of Justice"
"Beautiful Eternal Things"
"Dreaming In The Gray Lands"
"The Road To Acheron"
"Quantum - Through The Looking Glass"
"Reincarnation"
"There And Back Again"

Code Orange have unveiled their official music video for “Bleeding In The Blur”. The clip, directed by Max Moore, can be seen below.

Next month, Code Orange kick-off a run of European dates which will see the Pittsburgh, PA band supporting System Of A Down on their headline tour, and call into the UK's Download Festival. Tickets for all dates on Code Orange’s upcoming run are available here. Code Orange will then return to The States in July for a series of festival performances.

Forever tracklisting:

“Forever”
“Kill The Creator”
“Real”
“Bleeding In The Blur”
“The Mud”
“The New Reality”
“Spy”
“Ugly”
“No One Is Untouchable”
“Hurt Goes On”
“dream2”

“Kill The Creator” visualizer:

“Forever” video:

Helix frontman Brian Vollmer checked in on May 17th with a new update on the making of his forthcoming solo album, Get Yer Hands Dirty:

"Yesterday we finished off Get Yer Hands Dirty at Noble Studios in Toronto. Everyone is blown away by the results and it isn't even mixed yet! Just have to get Danko Jones to sing his part and then we should be away to the races. Cheryl Lescom was fantastic on her parts. She can scream where only dogs and little children with virgin ears don't fear to tread."

Check out some behind-the-scenes footage from the studio below.

Catch Helix live in concert:

July
22 - Rock & Roar - Kitchener, ON
23 - Voyageur Days - Mattawa, ON

August
2 - Canna Fest - Grand Forks, BC
27 - Great Canadian Kayak Challenge & Festival - Timmins, ON

November
4 - Club Regent Event Centre - Winnipeg, MB

After the release of their most recent album You Are Next, Dutch metal band Martyr played successful support slots in front of Saxon and Trivium. Now they have issued a lyric video for the song "Monster", which appears on You Are Next. This clip comes at the same time as the debut of You Are Next on 12" vinyl, which can be purchased here.

Martyr will celebrate their 35th anniversary this year in Amstelveen, Netherlands on September 22nd at Heavy Metal Maniacs Fest. Their complete live schedule is as follows:  

May
27 - Big Ass Metal Fest – Utrecht, Netherlands

July
7 - Dystopia Metalfest – Deventer, Netherlands
16 - Baroeg - Rotterdam, Netherlands (with Diamond Head)

August
18 - Festival T Zeeltje – Deest, Netherlands

September
8 - Olensfest – Olen, Belgium
22 - Heavy Metal Maniacs Fest - Amstelveen, Netherlands

 

 

 

LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe has reacted in horror at the news that at least 22 people were killed and more than 50 others injured after a reported explosion took place at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena in England on Monday.

Authorities are still investigating the incident, but it is believed that the attack was carried out by a lone suspect carrying a bomb.

Blythe took to his Instagram account to repost the news headline "Explosion, Panic And Death At Ariana Grande Concert In England", and wrote in an accompanying message: "I am so sick of reading headlines like this. We as a race, THE HUMAN RACE, have to do better than this.

"A music concert is supposed to be a place where people gather to forget their problems for a few hours, not somewhere to roll the dice with your life.

"At times like this, I think the only thing a normal person can do is try to be the best, most moral, human they can be- —in our jaded era, I believe this is more necessary than ever.

"For instance, this evening after I read this headline, I ran into a very loose acquaintance at the grocery store and mentioned the news. This person joked, 'Maybe they did it because it was an Ariana Grande show.' I was too shocked to even say anything — I utterly fail to find the humor in the fact that at least 19 people are dead and many more injured, whatever you may think of someone's music.

"I know nothing about Ariana Grande or any of her songs, but I can guarantee that people of many different races, religions and beliefs were at that show for the same reason — to have a good time. Some of them won't go home tonight. This is not fucking funny to me. This sort of jaded, joking mentality is evidence to me of the continual chipping away of our humanity by the pathetically low standards of our era. We are better than this, people. It's dehumanizing, just like the freakish and twisted beliefs that allowed this asshole terrorist to kill a bunch of people they didn't know.

"Everything you do and say has consequences, even if you don't believe that.

"Make sure you do your best to think and speak with a moral heart — maybe your kindness will prevent someone from going down a dark path. You never know who you may affect positively.

"My thoughts and prayers are with y'all in the U.K. tonight."

The crowd at the Ariana Grande concert was reportedly made up of mainly younger people.

Universal Music Group, parent company for Grande's record label, Republic Records, said in a statement: "We are deeply saddened to learn of tonight's devastating event in Manchester. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this tragedy."