Next Friday, May 19th, Swedish epic doom metallers, Below, will release their new album, Upon A Pale Horse, worldwide via Metal Blade Records. The album track  “Hours Of Darkness” is now available for streaming below.

Pre-order the album in the following formats at this location:

- Digipak CD
- 180g black vinyl
- silk gray-marbled vinyl (limited to 300 copies - EU exclusive)
- dim gray-marbled vinyl (limited to 200 copies - EU exclusive)
- transparent vinyl (limited to 100 copies - USA exclusive)

* digital options are also available.

Below comments: "With Upon A Pale Horse we feel that we have found our sound. We have grown as songwriters and this album contains our fastest and slowest, shortest and longest, heaviest and most melodic songs to date. Making this album more diverse yet still staying true to the core of heavy riffs and melodies that is Below. We recorded 'Upon a Pale Horse' in Deep Blue Studios, the studio where we recorded our first EP, so in some sense it felt like we were returning to our roots."

Upon A Pale Horse tracklisting:

“The Plague Within”
“Disappearing Into Nothing”
“The Coven”
“Upon A Pale Horse”
“Suffer In Silence”
“Hours Of Darkness”
“1000 Broken Bones”
“We Are All Slaves”

“Hours Of Darkness”:

“Disappearing Into Nothing” video:

“1000 Broken Bones”:

Below lineup:

Zeb - Vox
Hedman - Bass
Paud - Guitar
Berg - Guitar
Doc - Drums

(Photo - Below Facebook)

Since 2003 Dawn Of Disease have rumbled their way to the top as heavy weights of Germany's death metal scene. Hailing from Osnabrück, Dawn Of Disease indulge some old school Swedish groove and raspy riffs: Bloodbath and At The Gates provide modern inspiration for aural inclinations of the band.

However, their newest production won't enjoy the well-tried manginess of long forgotten death metal days: The brand new album, titled Ascension Gate, goes a different way with enthralling guitar work, enchanting management of melodies and brilliant tone. A hurricane of blastbeat drumming and the gigantic voice of Tomasz Wisniewski spark a fire that forges their spirit.

Now Dawn Of Disease unveil first and hotly anticipated details about their upcoming and fourth studio album Ascension Gate, which is set to be released on August 11th via Napalm Records!
    
Says the band: “Ascension Gate was created and given birth within a comparatively short lapse of time. Thus it embodies pure energy and raw intensity. In comparison to our former releases our fourth full-length album is different in many ways as it modifies and expanses the musical elements we used to employ before. Besides the typical Dawn Of Disease trademarks you will find more elaborate melodies that carry the listener through an atmospheric journey. Inspired by gloomy autumn days and the sheer endless darkness of winter Ascension Gate adds more depth and catchiness to our sound than ever before without neglecting a huge portion of blastbeating brutality. Regardless of this dark and melancholic leitmotif we can promise you one thing: Ascension Gate will bring you a very hot summer!“

Album artwork by Mark Cooper.

Tracklisting:

“Passage”
“Perimortal”
“Leprous Thoughts”
“Beneath The Waters”
“Ascension Gate”
“Akephalos”
“Fleshless Journey”
“The Growing Emptiness”
“Lucid”
“Mundus Inversus”

After monstrous records such as Legends Of Brutality , Crypts Of The Unrotten and most recently their epic Worship The Grave released just last year, Dawn Of Disease set a new standard for the expanding Swedish death metal scene with Ascension Gate  - their fourth hail of bombs full of volatile riff power. This is the new era of modern death metal.
    
Coming August 11th via Napalm Records on CD, LP Gatefold and Digital Download, Ascension Gate will be available for pre-order soon.

In support of their upcoming album, Dawn Of Disease will appear on several festival stages this summer. Catch them live on the following dates:

July
8 - Ballenstedt, Germany - Rockharz Open Air

August
3 - Wacken, Germany - Wacken Open Air
10 - Schlotheim, Germany - Party.San Open Air
12 - Graz, Austria - Metal on the Hill
16-19 - Dinkelsbuehl, Germany - Summer Breeze

September
1-2 - Katzenbach, Germany - Metallergrillen Open Air

Dawn Of Disease are:

Tomasz Wisniewski - Vocals
Lukas Kerk - Guitars
Oliver Kirchner - Guitars
Christian Wösten - Bass
Mathias Blässe - Drums

A fourth video trailer for Avatarium’s upcoming third studio album is available for streaming below. The Swedish doom metallers are back, and once again singer Jennie-Ann Smith and her gentlemen cast a spell over you with a truly magical sound experience. Hurricanes And Halos will be available via Nuclear Blast on May 26th.

The album artwork was once again created by Erik Rovanpera, who already designed the cover art of the band's debut album, and shows a mystical creature inspired by the epic track “Medusa Child”.

"To be asked to do the artwork for the new Avatarium album was an honor," states artist Erik Rovanpera. "And without knowing the lyrics to the title song “Hurricanes And Halos” this is my interpretation of the title. Inspired by art nouveau, comic books and many other things in the current art movement this is my take on the good, the bad, the beauty and the beast. And using a broader color palette than usual and thereby pushing my own borders was great fun to do.”

Hurricanes And Halos tracklisting:

“Into The Fire / Into The Storm”
“The Starless Sleep”
“Road To Jerusalem”
“Medusa Child”
“The Sky At The Bottom Of The Sea”
“When Breath Turns To Air”
“A Kiss (From The End Of The World)”
“Hurricanes And Halos”

Trailer #1:

Trailer #2:

Trailer #3:

Trailer #4:

“Into The Fire / Into The Storm” lyric video:

Once again, Avatarium rely on beauty and darkness, heavy guitars and fragile sounds, unique female vocals and the mystic vintage blues sound from the 60s, while still staying on modern ground and trusting into the haunting soul of doom rock. Six out of the eight new tracks were forged by Candlemass wizard Leif Edling, but guitar master Marcus Jidell and singer Jennie-Ann Smith also contributed to the songwriting and formed a worthy successor to The Girl With The Raven Mask.

The new album was produced by Marcus Jidell himself, while David Castillo (Katatonia, Bloodbath, Opeth) recorded and mixed it in the famous Ghost Ward Studios and the mastering was done by Jens Bogren (Soilwork, Sepultura). Together they created an organic and warm sound that sets Hurricanes And Halos apart from the overbred, electronically optimized mass.

"Recording Hurricanes And Halos has truly been an emotional roller coaster for me and I do think that has contributed to a pure and vibrating energy on the album. I am deeply proud of what we have achieved together," states lead singer Jennie-Ann Smith.

Guitar wizard Marcus Jidell adds: "It feels like the two previous albums and the EPs lead us to this one, it's been a natural flow to where we are today, musical and emotional wise.”

Legendary Misfits guitarist Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein will release his new solo album, As We Die, worldwide on CD and LP June 2nd. It's currently available for pre-order from EMP Merch, including several international versions with alternate artwork configurations, featuring art by legendary horror/comic/album cover artist Mister Sam Shearon, known for his iconic works with Rob Zombie, Iron Maiden, Clive Barker, KISS, Ministry, Rammstein, X-Files, and more.

The first video from As We Die for the song "Run For Your Life", directed by Brian Cox, can be seen below:

Doyle, the current project of Von Frankenstein, with Cancerslug vocalist Alex “Wolfman” Story, and a current touring lineup rounded out by bassist Brandon Strate and drummer Brandon Pertzborn, continues the lineage of Doyle’s former projects, pairing crushing metal riffs with ferocious punk rock swagger.

Tracklisting:

"Kiss Me As We Die"
"Beast Like Me"
"God Of Flies"
"Run For Your Life"
"Darkside"
"Witchcraft"
"King Of The Undead"
"Virgin Sacrifice"
"We Belong Dead"
"Show No Mercy"
"Dark Gods Arise"
"Blood On The Axe"
"Night Of Sin"

Doyle continues his global domination with the Abominate The World Tour 2017 featuring Davey Suicide. Launching June 1st in Raleigh, NC, the tour will wind south into Florida and Louisiana, then into California before heading East to finish in Niagara Falls, New York. The schedule is available below.

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich was interviewed by Justin, Scott and Spiegel of the Baltimore radio station 98 Rock the day before the launch of the North American leg of the band's "WorldWired" tour. You can now watch the chat in three parts below.

Asked which drummer he would name as his successor if METALLICA ever had to continue without him and he was given the opportunity to choose his replacement, Lars said: "If I could pick it, if I could hear somebody drum behind [James] Hetfield's riffs, I'd take Phil Rudd [AC/DC]. Just having his kind of vibe, like what he would do… And he's been probably my main, biggest source of inspiration when we did the turnaway from the super-progressive stuff, the crazy stuff after 'Justice', when we got into the 'Black' album and the 'Load' stuff, when it got a little more about the bounce and the riffs and the feel and the groove and all that. Phil Rudd, he's the top of that pyramid. Hearing Phil Rudd play behind James, that'd be pretty cool."

Ulrich also talked about a hypothetical scenario where one of the musicians in the current lineup of METALLICA was no longer able to play with the group and his bandmates had to decide whether or not to carry on with a replacement player. Asked if METALLICA could continue without one of its core members, the drummer said: "That's one of those extra-hard questions to answer. I think a lot of it would have to be under what the circumstances were. And what I've learned along the way… I always try to speak my momentary truth, and I've said a lot of shit over the years, and a lot of stuff comes back to haunt me. But I'll always say that, at that moment, whatever I was feeling, it was my truth — it wasn't a party line or whatever. And so, if somebody leaves, it's hard for me to imagine that we would not go, 'You know, we've had a great ride for thirty-five years…' But if somebody encourages the other three guys to continue, or there's an injury… I mean, there's so many arbitrary parts of that, and I can just see the headline on Blabbermouth now: 'Lars Ulrich says METALLICA will…' Whatever. And it's not any of that. But I'm just saying you never know what the circumstances are… It's hard for me to imagine, as I sit here on May-something 2017 to think that METALLICA would continue. But you never know what the circumstances would be. It's a hard question to answer, and I just want you to know that I'm happy that I don't get asked it very much. 'Cause , as you can see, I'm just waffling along here, really. I don't really have an answer. I'm just taking up time on the radio."

METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett confirmed in a 2015 interview with an Albany, New York radio station that the band at one point considered firing Ulrich back in 1986. The long-running rumor first gained traction in 2009 when ex-METALLICA guitarist Dave Mustaine revealed it to Rolling Stone, and surfaced again when ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian discussed it while doing press for his 2014 memoir, "I'm The Man: The Story Of That Guy From Anthrax".

Asked about the rumor by Albany station PYX 106, Hammett revealed: "That was just an old thing, you know. I think at one point or another, we were pissed off at Lars, around maybe 1985 or something. We were unhappy and we might have grumbled something to someone. And then that person might have picked up on it and made it something a lot bigger than it actually was. To be completely honest, [Lars] has a lot of drive, and that’s a part of the reason why I love the man. His drive and his motivation is just so intense, you know."

METALLICA's "Now That We're Live" live rehearsal special from M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore streamed on Facebook Live on Tuesday night (May 9). The webcast featured the band performing four new songs from the "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct" album, while also previewing the band's new stage production.

The special aired on the eve of METALLICA's first full-length North American tour in seven years, which kicks off Wednesday night (May 10) in Baltimore.

The trek will hit stadiums in 25 cities before winding down in mid-August. Support on the quartet's first North American trek since 2009 will come from AVENGED SEVENFOLD, VOLBEAT and GOJIRA.

EVANESCENCE frontwoman Amy Lee has finally revealed the details of the unique project which the band has been working on for the past few months. Due this fall, the album, titled "Synthesis", will be called that "because it is a synthesis — the combination, the contrast, the synergy between the organic and the synthetic, and also the past and the present," the singer said in a video message announcing the record.

According to Amy, "Synthesis" will be different from all previous EVANESCENCE albums in that it will be "about orchestra and electronica. We're taking our music, stripping out the big distorted guitars, stripping out the rock drums and replacing it with full orchestration in a completely synthetic world of beats and sounds. We've gone through our entire catalog of music and picked out the songs that are made to be heard in this way, and we're sewing them together from the ground up," she explained.

Clarifying that "Synthesis" is not a collection nof remixed versions of existing EVANESCENCE songs, Amy said that the album's creation involved rebuilding the material "from the ground up, with different tempos, with different parts, with intros and outros and segues and new pieces, and putting this all together like one big piece of music, like one big classical piece, or sort of like a soundtrack. Actually, in a lot of ways, it sounds a lot like the soundtrack of my life. [Laughs]"

In addition to reworked versions of EVANESCENCE songs that fans will already be familiar with, "Synthesis" will contain "two completely new and original compositions as well." Amy added: "We're collaborating on this with the legendary David Campbell, who arranged the strings for all three of our albums. This time he's come to the table with way more — full orchestra, meaning wood winds and brass and strings and harp and just the whole thing. It's really awesome."

In support of "Synthesis", EVANESCENCE will embark on a special tour this fall which will see the band performing with a "full orchestra." "Get ready to put on your fancy clothes and experience EVANESCENCE in a whole new way," Amy said.

EVANESCENCE debuted a previously unheard song called "Take Cover" during its North American tour last fall.

Lee also released a solo single called "Love Exists" in February, while a second solo song, "Speak To Me", appears on the soundtrack for the supernatural thriller "Voice From The Stone", which came out on April 28.

The current EVANESCENCE lineup includes Jen Majura, the German guitarist who joined the group in August 2015 as the replacement for Terry Balsamo.

Dez Fafara says that DEVILDRIVER will start performing material from COAL CHAMBER, the band that put him on the musical map and gave him his first and only gold-certified album in the shape of the group's 1997 debut.

COAL CHAMBER existed for ten years before disbanding in 2003 to pursue other musical projects. They reunited in 2011 for touring purposes but it wasn't until 2014 that the band began work on a new studio album of original material, 2015's critically acclaimed "Rivals". Several months of touring activity followed before Dez returned to DEVILDRIVER to make a new record, 2016's "Trust No One".

Speaking to Greece's Metalpaths, Fafara said: "I will tell you this now: DEVILDRIVER is going to start playing four COAL CHAMBER songs. I'm tired of wating to play the music that made me who I was. I waited thirteen years to play 'Loco' again, and that's the song that made me who I was, that I wrote… And I refuse to wait to play 'Fiend' or 'Sway' — any of those songs — anymore. I'm not gonna wait for people."

He continued: "I had a late-night phone call a couple of months ago with Glenn Danzig, who called my house. And Danzig told me: 'Listen when I left the MISFITS, I played SAMHAIN songs and MISFITS songs when I was playing DANZIG songs. When Rob Zombie left WHITE ZOMBIE, he played WHITE ZOMBIE songs. Why have you waited so long?"

Fafara painted a bleak picture of COAL CHAMBER's future during a 2016 interview with Revolver magazine. He stated at the time: "I had a lot of fun doing that record and playing shows with them again. But there were some circumstances that were not ideal and that's why that thing is not continuing as of right now. If something comes up and I have time and want to make a record and the members have their shit together, I'll do it. But as of now, there's some deep-seated shit that certain dudes in the band still need to work out. And if they work it out and want to tour or make another record, they can come back and give me a call. But right now, everyone in DEVILDRIVER is stoked. No one's fighting. And I feel lucky to be where I am."

Dez had stated in previous interviews that COAL CHAMBER's original split happened because "I did not want to be around the band's hard drug use and I realized that going onstage every night that the money was feeding their habit, so I walked to save my friends." He added that his COAL CHAMBER bandmates were "clean" as of 2012, which made him realize that "it was the right thing to walk [away from the group back in 2003]."

AEROSMITH's Joe Perry and Steven Tyler became same-day grandfathers on Wednesday, May 10. According to an announcement on AEROSMITH's Facebook page, the co-founders of the legendary Massachusetts hard rock band both welcomed new family members yesterday, with Tyler celebrating the birth of a grandson and Perry adding a granddaughter.

"Congrats to Steven Tyler and Joe Perry on the birth of their new grandchildren. Both born today!" the post reads. "How cool is that! The newest member of the Tyler family is a beautiful little boy, 7 lbs 11 oz born at 5:45 am. The newest member of the Perry family is a beautiful little girl, 6 lbs 9 oz born at 2:11 pm. Let's give them a huge #BlueArmy welcome."

Perry recently said that AEROSMITH pushed back a proposed North American tour for later this fall so that they can record a new album. The band heads out later this month on a prolonged string of dates dubbed their "Aero-Vederci Baby!" tour.

Perry spoke about the band putting future shows on ice to hit the studio before the end of the year, telling AZcentral.com, "We postponed the American tour we were supposed to do this fall. And we're gonna go out and tour until, you know, we're done. And we're gonna try and hit every place we've ever played and never played. There's always new places to go. New countries. I'd like to play China and the Far East. There's a lot of places that are off the beaten path. Is this the last tour? Well, I don't know. I don't think so."

AEROSMITH's most recent album, "Music From Another Dimension!", was released in November 2012 and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart. Perry maintains that the strength of any album begins and ends with the quality of the songwriting. "We've made records that have taken two years and cost millions of dollars," he said. "We made records in the early days that cost next to nothing. And the correlation between the two is never, 'A great record costs a lot of money, or a shitty record doesn't cost much.' One doesn't have anything to do with the other."

One of the most prolific hard rock vocalist of all time, Josh Todd (BUCKCHERRY) has returned with an amazing and dynamic new project appropriately dubbed JOSH TODD & THE CONFLICT. The group has just signed a worldwide deal with Century Media Records and plans to release its debut offering, "Year Of The Tiger", early fall.

In the meantime, JOSH TODD & THE CONFLICT will kick off this brand new partnership by headlining the label's sponsored stage at KISW's Pain In The Grass festival on June 24, alongside such acts as FOZZY, LIKE A STORM and many others.

Todd states: "It was time for me to make a record. It has been two years since I put out new music and that's a long time for me.

"I am a student of the game and this was an opportunity to not just make a traditional-sounding rock record like I have been doing in the past.

"THE CONFLICT stuff is heavy, melodic and honest, with a lot of risk taking and these are the records that bring out the best in me.

"Stevie D [BUCKCHERRY] and I wrote all the songs and it was a long time coming. He also co-produced the record with Eric Kretz (from STONE TEMPLE PILOTS) and we had a lot of fun doing it.

"After working with Stevie beating a lot of songs into shape, we started understanding our songwriting language.

"Stevie is a well-rounded musician and we are in the zone on this one. Both of us are in the same boat in every aspect of our lives and have been friends since I was 19.

"This record is a divine intervention with a lot more to come.

"The record is called 'Year Of The Tiger' and we are coming to every nook and cranny of the world to pulverize and mesmerize, put it on turn it up and go kick some ass!

"These guys are great people and amazing players and it comes off live in a BIG way. You don't want to miss it."

JOSH TODD & THE CONFLICT is:

Josh Todd - Vocals
Stevie D - Guitars/Back-Up Vocals
Sean Winchester - Drums
Greg Cash - Bass

As was the case for the recently completed U.S. shows, legendary U.S. heavy/doom metal band PENTAGRAM will play its previously booked European tour dates this summer without frontman and founding member Bobby Liebling.

PENTAGRAM explains in a statement: "Bobby called on April 17 saying he had been admitted to the hospital. He called again on April 19, this time after being transferred to a Maryland detention facility. He's now awaiting a preliminary hearing at which time it will be determined if a follow-up on any alleged charges are necessary. An update will be published when information is available. The band will be fulfilling all currently booked appearances with 36-year mainstay guitarist Victor Griffin performing all vocals."

Griffin, bassist Greg Turley and drummer Pete Campbell last month released a statement in which they blamed Liebling's absence from the gigs on "circumstances that are beyond anyone's control, that are a direct result of Bobby Liebling's personal actions."

Liebling was the focus of "Last Days Here", the critically acclaimed 2011 documentary that detailed his lifelong struggle with drug addiction and followed him as he revived PENTAGRAM in his 50s while emerging from his parents' basement to start afresh with a wife less than half his age and their newborn son.

PENTAGRAM adds in a "a personal note": "The outpouring of support on our recent U.S. dates was outstanding! Your energy was matched tenfold and encouraged us to carry on and deliver what many have called, even by skeptics, some of the best PENTAGRAM performances they've seen. Thank you!

"We have the best fans in the world and if not for you, the legacy of this band would have died long ago. We won't let you down now. The music lives on and as we move forward, we reiterate the lyrics of 'Curious Volume':
'In this venture, death waits in the shadows, but in survival, the volume won't die!"

THE OFFSPRING frontman Dexter Holland, an avid scholar with both his Bachelor's and Master's degree in Biology, has completed his dissertation and will graduate today (Thursday, May 11) with a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Southern California.

Holland began his studies before THE OFFSPRING achieved major commercial success with its third album, "Smash", in 1994. He eventually put his education aside to focus on his music career but asked the prestigious L.A. university five years ago if he could return and received the go-ahead.

"You might ask, why are you getting a Ph.D.?" Holland writes in a statement on THE OFFSPRING's official web site. "Well, pick the correct answer from the choices below!

A) I was bored
B) I like suffering
C) I am interested in the molecular dynamics of HIV infection and of virus:host interactions in general

"No, the answer's not all three!... Actually, as many of you already know, I started the Ph.D. a long time ago, but put it on hold when we started touring a lot. I finally went back a few years ago. To finish, I had to research and write a thesis, or dissertation, which is kind of like the biggest term paper you'll ever do (mine is about 175 pages).

"My research focused on the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, the virus which causes AIDS.I am interested in virology and wanted to contribute in some small way to the knowledge which has been learned about HIV and AIDS. This terrible disease remains a worldwide epidemic — over 35 million people worldwide are currently infected and living with the HIV virus. Over one million people a year die from this disease.

"My research is not meant to be a cure or even an immediate step toward a cure, but I believe that by adding to the vast amount of information that we've learned about HIV in the last 30 years or so, we'll get there.Toward that end, I'm going to continue to do research, and you'll probably see some of my research papers get published here and there over the next few years.

"So, what does this all mean for the band? It means...the BAND IS BACK ON! Well, we never really stopped touring and making records, but we'll be doing a bunch of shows all around the world this year plus recording new stuff every chance we get. Look for new music by us out soon."

Dexter's thesis, "Discovery of Mature MicroRNASequences within the Protein-Coding Regions Of Global HIV-1 Genomes: Predictions Of Novel Mechanisms For Viral Infection And Pathogenicity", can be found at this location.