Tye Trujillo, the 12-year old son of METALLICA's Robert Trujillo and member of NorCal group THE HELMETS, played his second show with KORN last night (Wednesday, April 19) at Espaço Das Américas in São Paulo, Brazil. Fan-filmd video footage of the concert can be seen below.

Tye is filling in for KORN's regular bassist, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, who is unable to make the band's South American tour due to "unforeseen circumstances."

Said KORN in a statement: "We are bummed Fieldy can't join us on this run but excited to do a few gigs with a young player like Tye. We look forward to welcoming our brother Fieldy back when we return to the States in May."

Remaining KORN shows with Tye Trujillo on bass:

April 21 - Live Curitiba - Curitiba, BrazilApril 23 - Pepsi On Stage - Porto Alegre, BrazilApril 25 - Estadio Malvinas Argentinas - Paternal, ArgentinaApril 27 - Teatro Caupolican - Santiago, Chile

Fieldy will rejoin his KORN bandmates at the Carolina Rebellion festival on May 6.

Robert Trujillo told Brazil's Globo Play about Tye: "I never forced him on music. I always felt that if he wanted to embrace an instrument, great; I'd try to help him with it. So initially, at first, it was drums. And then around that same time, when he was one, he had a little plastic guitar, and he would play it all the time, just strumming it — always strumming it everywhere, to the point where the plastic was worn down."

He continued: "It's a beautiful thing, 'cause he's still a 12-year-old, and he still acts wild and crazy, as a twelve-year-old should, but when it comes to music, he's very focused. And with KORN, it's funny, because I haven't shown him anything at all for the KORN stuff — I've been too busy and I've been out of town a lot — and he's taking this opportunity very serious."

Robert Trujillo previously told the Huffington Post that Tye was "an amazing bass player and a really great writer. The bass lines that he's writing and the riffs, I'm like, 'Man, I wish I had written that.' He's coming up with stuff on his own, but he's also been influenced by players like Jaco Pastorius, but also Miles Davis or BLACK SABBATH or LED ZEPPELIN."

Trujillo added: "He's like a sponge. He loves funk. He loves James Brown, he's this little 12-year-old who's soaking up and embracing all this different music and I can tell that it's helping him creatively in what he's writing with his band."

Tye's own band, THE HELMETS, counts TOOL, ALICE IN CHAINS and METALLICA among their influences. Tye told Billboard last year, "We hate pop, we despise it. It's all the same sound."

EARTH CRAWLER, the new San Francisco Bay Area metal band featuring former FORBIDDEN and TESTAMENT guitarist Glen Alvelais, will release its debut album, "From Below", on May 5. Recorded at the Blue Room Recording Studio by mix and mastering engineer Eric Hill (XEROSUN, PLENTY HEAVY, GRAVEL, SOCOTRA), the effort "features six tracks of punishing riffs, melodically emotive and furious leads, dynamic vocal interplay that reaches into uncomfortable territory, and will show you that EARTH CRAWLER isn't afraid to wear their classic Bay Area Thrash influences on their sleeve," according to a press release.

A teaser for the album is available below.

EARTH CRAWLER's music doesn't concern itself with the confines of any subgenres. Since their inception in 2016, their goal has been to write songs that incorporate any and all influences from every corner of the musical world they have experienced, while challenging themselves to reside outside of each member's comfort zone. By not having a preconceived niche to fit in, EARTH CRAWLER creates songs whose journey is devoid of staleness or redundancy. Without rehashing concepts from song to song by bringing in elements of death metal, thrash, hardcore, post-metal, doom, and stoner metal to the table, nothing feels foreign to the world that EARTH CRAWLER lives in.

EARTH CRAWLER is:

Ryan Reynoso - VocalsGlen Alvelais - Lead GuitarKimo Sanborn - Guitar, VocalsNick Benigno - Drums

Swedish crossover kings Dr. Living Dead! are set to enter the studio this weekend to record their fourth full length album, the follow up to 2015's Crush The Sublime Gods, released via Century Media Records.

The recording will take place in Studio Rovljud in Örebro, Sweden and will again be helmed by Martin Jacobsson and Anders Alexandersson who both worked with the band on the previous effort as well.

Comments Dr. Living Dead!: "This album is way overdue and we are proud to announce that this is finally happening. We promise a hard hitting and dynamic piece of crossover in your ugly faces. If not, we strongly encourage you to bitch about it online. A big thank you to everyone who supported us up until now, you know who you are and we look forward to unleashing new music for your ear pleasure!"

The as of yet untitled album is set for a fall release via Century Media Records, with touring to follow. Stay tuned for updates.

"Sorry Not Sorry", the new video from GEMINI SYNDROME, can be seen below. The song is taken from the band's latest album, "Memento Mori", which was released last August via Another Century. The alternative hard rock outfit continues to push the envelope both musically and thematically on the record, which is the follow-up to their 2013 debut, "Lux". "Memento Mori", which was produced by the legendary father/son duo of Kane and Kevin Churko, is a direct successor to "Lux" in a three-part trilogy; with the latter being a representation of birth, and the former acting a reminder of life.

Says GEMINI SYNDROME: "Our brand-new music video for 'Sorry Not Sorry' tells the story about a husband and wife who have lost themselves in vanity and greed. The woman injects herself with large painful needles and cuts her face, while the man chops up a briefcase full of cash and snorts it like drugs. As the wife sits down with her husband at the dinner table, she looks cartoonish, while the husband is sweating over a large mirrored plate of money. Things then really start to take a turn for the worse for them both and you gotta watch to find out their fate.

"The song itself shines a light on the collective mental illness that our society seems to be infected with. Now more than ever, it's so easy to lose ourselves in a false virtual reality that glorifies materialism and self-seeking satisfaction. We've become ironic memes of ourselves, social zombies lost in our devices, where tangible human interaction has become unnecessary and burdensome. We're desensitized from only seeing others and ourselves through self-imposed filters. It's time to wake up from the spell and look ourselves, and each other, in the eye."

GEMINI SYNDROME is currently taking part in the "Half God, Half Devil" tour with IN THIS MOMENT, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE and AVATAR.

Having released his new album, Inverted Grasp Of Balance, last year via Metal Blade Records, Monte Pittman is now launching a performance video for the album track "Obliterated", featuring drummer Richard Christy and bassist Billy Sheehan (both of whom played on the album).

There are great guitarists, great vocalists and great songwriters, but Monte Pittman is one of the elite few who can truly lay claim to all three titles. With his fourth full-length, Inverted Grasp of Balance, he has once again raised the stakes, delivering a riveting collection of full force metal that showcases his continuing evolution, undoubtedly expanding his devout - and ravenous - fan base.

 

 

The record also features powerhouse drummer Richard Christy of Charred Walls Of The Damned/Iced Earth/Death fame and virtuoso bassist Billy Sheehan, famous for his work with a plethora of talented artists - including David Lee Roth, Mr. Big and, more recently, Winery Dogs. The skill of all concerned explodes from the speakers.

To preview and purchase Inverted Grasp Of Balance, head here.

Swedish hard rockers, JD Miller, will release their new album, World War X, on April 28th via Mighty Music. A lyric video for the album track “Clouded Minds” is available for streaming below.

World War X sounds like the musical child bred by Eclipse and Evergrey. If you like melodic, guitar driven rock fronted by edgy vocals and soaring harmonies all wrapped up in modern production - JD Miller is your thing.

World War X was recorded at Studio Haga and Studio Berghem in Sweden by JD Miller themselves. The album was mixed by former member Christian Svedin as he understands the sound of JD Miller, and it was mastered by one of Swedens true audio greats in Thomas ’Plec’ Johansson at The Panic Room.

Tracklisting:

“Journey Through The Past”
“Against The Wind”
“My Open Arms”
“Evergrey”
“Power”
“Clouded Minds”
“Forgotten”
“Isolation”
“Wanderer Of Light And Sorrow”

“Clouded Minds” lyric video:

Teaser:

An official live video for “Ghosts Of Insanity”, from DGM’s upcoming Passing Stages release is available for streaming below. Passing Stages will be released on June 2nd.

DGM’s last album (their eighth), The Passage, was released in August 2016 and marked the culmination of almost 20 years of hard work that started back in 1997 and has pushed the Italian band into the elite rankings of the international progressive metal scene. Over the years, DGM has managed to tour the world, taking part in some of the biggest and most celebrated metal festivals around the globe and sharing the stage with the likes of Heaven and Hell, Dream Theater, Symphony X, Avantasia, Scorpions, and many others.

With a bulletproof line-up comprised of producer/guitarist Simone Mularoni, singer Marco Basile, bassist Andrea Arcangeli, drummer Fabio Costantino, and keyboardist Emanuele Casali, DGM can now share their awesome musicianship and songwriting skills with all audiences via the release of this truly beautiful live release.

“Passing Stages is the best possible illustration of what DGM are capable of on a stage these days,” says Simone Mularoni. “We put our hearts and souls into the making this one and managed to capture magical nights that we'll remember forever. In our career, Passing Stages will be a milestone in our discography and a great conclusion of the first decade of this line-up. Here’s to the future.”

Herein are captured two separate performances for fans to enjoy via audio on CD and MP3 and visually via DVD or Blu-Ray. The first show is the entire performance held in front of the inaugural Frontiers Metal Festival, in Trezzo Sull’Adda (Milano) on October 30th, 2016 and has a set-list centered around the latest album, The Passage.

“We wanted to show to the whole world how great the Italian fans are and how much we love to play in our home country, and we had the best occasion with the first edition of Frontiers Metal Festival,” continues Simone. “With our last album, The Passage, I think we managed to reach an even bigger crowd and that particular day was really one of a kind... the best Italian live club, packed with fans, together with a lot of friends and a gig focused on the last album.”

The second show captured sees the band in action at the ProgPower Festival in Atlanta, GA on September 11th, 2014. The setlist shows an emphasis on the albums Frame and Momentum.

“Our second time at ProgPower USA was an important step of the Momentum tour and filming that evening was mandatory,” explains Simone. “We felt the warmth of the crowd, we worked with fabulous technicians and with one of the best crews ever. The atmosphere pervading the Center Stage in Atlanta is unique and we did our best to honor this awesome festival with a performance at the top of our abilities. I'm pretty sure that whoever watches the concert will feel like being right in front of the stage singing with us.

Tracklistings:

CD1:

“The Secret Part 1”
“The Secret Part 2”
“Animal”
“The Passage”
“Reason”
“Daydreamer”
“Disguise”
“Fallen”
“Ghosts Of Insanity”
“Hereafter”

CD2:

“Void”
“Reason”
“No Looking Back”
“Universe”
“Numb”
“In A Movie”
“Repay”
“Heartache”
“Enhancement”
“Chaos”
“Trust”
“Brand New Blood”

DVD/Blu-Ray:

“The Secret Part 1”
“The Secret Part 2”
“Animal”
“The Passage”
“Reason”
“Daydreamer”
“Disguise”
“Fallen”
“Ghosts Of Insanity”
“Hereafter ”
“Void”
“Reason”
“No Looking Back”
“Universe”
“Numb”
“In A Movie”
“Repay”
“Heartache”
“Enhancement”
“Chaos”
“Trust”
“Brand New Blood”

“Ghosts Of Insanity” video:

DGM lineup:

Marco Basile: vocals
Simone Mularoni: guitars, background vocals
Andrea Arcangeli: bass guitar
Emanuele Casali: keyboards
Fabio Costantino: drums

The previously announced U.S. tour by veteran Japanese metallers LOUDNESS was canceled after the band was denied entry to the United States Tuesday night at a Chicago airport, apparently due to the new immigration policies from the Trump administration.

The news of the tour's cancelation was broken by the Chicago club Reggies, where LOUDNESS was scheduled to perform Wednesday night.

A statement on the venue's Facebook page read: "Due to the new strict policies the U.S. government has placed on foreigners entering the country, LOUDNESS was denied entry into the United States and sent back home this morning. All shows on the U.S. tour are canceled. Refunds for Wednesday’s show will be issued at original point of sale."

LOUDNESS frontman Minoru Niihara confirmed in a post on his blog that the tour was scrapped. He wrote: "I stayed in Chicago for three hours and returned home." The singer added that neither he nor the band as a whole had ever before been denied entry to the United States.

LOUDNESS's agency Katana Music told Japan Today that the band was able to enter the United States in the past with proper invitation letters but that the immigration this time requested visas for the musicians.

Reggies owner Robby Glick told the Chicago Tribune that he spoke to the band's PR rep who cited an issue with "exemption papers," which were acceptable for entry the last time the band visited the U.S., but denied this time around.

"It's a little bit harder," said Glick. "I don't know if it's a product of the administration or if LOUDNESS was flying by the seat of their pants, but there is a difference since our new president came in."

MR. BIG is continuing work on its new album, "Defying Gravity", tentatively due this fall via Frontiers Music Srl. The follow-up to 2014's "...The Stories We Could Tell" is being produced by Kevin Elson, who helmed all of MR. BIG's early LPs, including "Mr. Big" (1989), "Lean Into It" (1991) and "Bump Ahead" (1993).

In a new video message for Japan's Young Guitar magazine, MR. BIG bassist Billy Sheehan stated about working with Elson again (see below): "He's quite a legendary guy. He's also one of the nicest, easiest guys to work with in the world."

Added MR. BIG guitarist Paul Gilbert: "I really enjoyed working with Kevin again — both to work with him and just to hang out with him. We had such good times back in the day, and he's getting amazing sounds for us. He's just doing everything you want a producer to do. And it's a pleasure. And it's working. We're getting a lot of stuff done."

Sheehan also talked about the "Defying Gravity" songwriting process, explaining: "It's kind of cool to have the luxury of being together in the studio and coming up with parts as opposed to having to go fast and get everything done first. We really can create in here. With the help of Kevin Elson, it's been going really smoothly, and we're coming up with some cool stuff."

"Defying Gravity" will feature MR. BIG's original lineup —

The official video for "Feed The Machine", the title track of the forthcoming ninth album from the multi-platinum, chart-topping rock band NICKELBACK, can be seen below. Written by NICKELBACK and co-produced with Chris Baseford (SLASH, SHINEDOWN), the song is a defiant rock anthem featuring blistering guitar riffs and face-melting rhythm tracks.

Set in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future where machines have imprisoned humans (think "The Matrix" and "The Terminator"), the "Feed The Machine" clip sees NICKELBACK leader Chad Kroeger and his bandmates depicted as freedom-fighting revolutionaries who free the enslaved humans from their machine captors.

"Feed The Machine" will be released on Friday, June 16 via BMG.

NICKELBACK is set to hit the road this summer on the colossal headlining "Feed The Machine" tour. Produced exclusively by Live Nation, the "Feed The Machine" trek will begin on June 23 in Noblesville, Indiana, with 44 dates across North America including stops in Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver, and more. DAUGHTRY will join NICKELBACK as their special guest for all of the U.S. dates, as well as Toronto and Montreal, while SHAMAN'S HARVEST will be seen on all dates. Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame icons CHEAP TRICK will be special guests for the western Canadian leg of the tour.

In June 2015, NICKELBACK canceled the majority of its tour dates in support of the band's eighth album, "No Fixed Address", so that Kroeger could recover from surgery to remove a cyst on his vocal cords.

NICKELBACK filed a $13 million insurance claim with Lloyd's of London after scrapping the tour. But Lloyd's sued to cancel the singer's insurance, alleging that Kroeger already had the throat condition and failed to disclose it before taking out the policy.

Last year, NICKELBACK countersued Lloyd's, claiming that the firm is making false allegations about the band so that it doesn't have to pay out the claim.

"No Fixed Address" debuted at No. 4 on The Billboard 200 album chart in November 2014.

Photo credit: Richard Beland

STONE SOUR filmed a music video for the band's new single, "Fabuless", on Tuesday (April 18) in Los Angeles. Frontman Corey Taylor shared some photos from the video shoot via his Instagram account. Check them out below.

"Fabuless" is expected to make its online debut at the end of April. The track is taken from STONE SOUR's upcoming album, "Hydrograd", which will be released in late June via Roadrunner.

Taylor recently said about the full-length follow-up to "House Of Gold & Bones": "It is the best stuff that we've ever written. It's got a lot of different directions, but at its core it's very hard rock, almost in a modern/classic sense. There are some hints of punk in there. There's some cool hard rock/heavy metal. There's just all of these really cool elements that we've never maybe allowed ourselves to kind of go to."

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.

"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 14 or 15 will make the CD.

STONE SOUR will play the Rock On The Range Kick-Off Party on Thursday, May 18 at Express Live! in Columbus, Ohio. The event will start the Rock On The Range weekend, with METALLICA, SOUNDGARDEN and KORN headlining this year's festival.

STONE SOUR will also be special guests of KORN on the latter act's "Serenity Of Summer" trek, which starts on June 16 in Salt Lake City and wraps on August 2 in Cleveland.

Swedish metallers SOILWORK have announced the addition of 25-year-old drummer Bastian Thusgaard to the group's ranks. Thusgaard has been blazing the kit for the band for the past ten months, but will make his official debut as a permanent member of the band at their upcoming summer festival performances. Thusgaard first started playing with SOILWORK machine as their touring drummer after Dirk Verbeuren left the group to join MEGADETH. Thusgaard began his journey as Verbeuren's understudy, eventually taking over touring duties for SOILWORK full time in the summer of 2016. Watch a video of Thusgaard deftly performing "The Chainheart Machine" with SOILWORK via a Sick Drummer Magazine video below. In a band statement, SOILWORK says: "We are super stoked to announce Bastian Thusgaard as our permanent drummer. He's been touring with us for quite a while and has been nothing short of amazing to work with, both on a musical level and on a personal level. Taking over after Dirk must have been pretty hard, but he has proven, time and time again, through our tours through North America, South America and Europe, that he is the perfect man for the job. Bastian is only 25 years old and already possesses such great groove and fantastic technique. We can't wait to see, how his ability will take us to the next level while we write our next album. It will be a beast, there's no doubt about it. We have so much left to say musically and Bastian will be the perfect drummer to help the band evolve on our constant musical journey. Give Bastian a warm welcome, everyone!" Thusgaard adds: "First and foremost, I would like to thank Björn, Sven, David, Sylvain, Markus and everyone else involved in the SOILWORK team for their very warm welcome. I want to thank Dirk for his guidance, support and ability to inspire young drummers like myself, to put in the hours needed in order to make it to this level. He is the reason that I've had my life's best musical experiences during these past ten months. To the fans that I've already met around the world and all the wonderful people surrounding me, thank you for your great support and positive feedback. It has truly been overwhelming. "I am truly honoured to be given the opportunity to continuously work with SOILWORK, a band that I grew up listening to and one of the key elements of my musical education. I am 100% committed to SOILWORK and am looking forward to create music with my childhood heroes and to see what the future will bring. See you all on the road."

Photo credit: Marc Duvollet

Swedish black metal band Svartsyn has revealed details surrounding its new album In Death, set for release on June 9th via Agonia Records. Firs single “Seven Headed Snake” is streaming below.

In Death is the successor to Black Testement from 2013. The album was recorded in the Belgian Mortsella Studio in March and December 2016, and in January 2017. Mixing and mastering took place at Clintworks Studio (Amon Amarth, 3 Inches Of Blood, Misery Index). The cover artwork was created by Chadwick St John (Arckanum, Horna, The Piper graphic novel).

Svartsyn plays dark, grim and misanthropic black metal. The music operates from mid-paced to fast and sinister tempos, featuring a dynamic melodic range injected into an overall feeling of obscurity and brutality. Originally formed as Chalice in 1991, and renamed to Svartsyn three years later, the band can be considered as a one man project led by Ornias. He sang and played all instruments on In Death, except for drums. Along its career, the band put out a number of albums celebrated in the underground black metal scene, including the 1998 debut album The True Legend.

Ornias comments: "The new record completes and combines the Black Testament and the Nightmarish Sleep albums. My revelations. My deathwork.”

Album formats:
-Jewelcase CD
-Limited Red LP and regular black LP
-Two different black t-shirts with white and silver/grey print.

Tracklisting:

“Seven Headed Snake”
“Dark Prophet”
“With Death”
“Inside The White Mask”
“Wilderness Of The Soul”
“Black Thrones Of Death”
“Exile In Death”

“Seven Headed Snake”:

Preorders available on Agonia Records.

Frontman Steve "Lips" Kudlow of Canadian metal legends Anvil appears on the new Thunder Underground podcast, available for streaming below.

Lips says Anvil will enter the studio this summer, and will have their next album ready for release in January, 2018. When asked about the status of the follow-up to the Anvil! The Story Of Anvil documentary, he revealed that they have 40 minutes of footage, but that he would be surprised if it ever gets completed. He notes the issues with finding someone to fund the project.

Hear Lips talk about the above mentioned topics and much more in the podcast below (Lips interview starts at the 26:40 mark):

On April 15th, Anvil played the Red Dog in Peterborough, Ontario and were joined for three songs by original guitarist Dave Allison. Check out fan-filmed video below of Allison performing "Metal On Metal" and "Forged In Fire" with Anvil for the first time in 27 years.

The band's tour schedule is as follows:

April
21 - Kingston, ON - Overtime Sports Bar      
22 - Hamilton, ON - This Ain't Hollywood
27 - Québec City, QC - L'Anti Bar & Spectacles    
28 - Montreal, QC - Foufounes Electrique   
29 - Jonquière, QC - Salle Le 4 Barils      

May
5 - Ottawa, ON - The Brass Monkey
26 - Sudbury, ON - The Asylum    
27 - Sudbury, ON - The Asylum

June
1 - Kitchener, ON - Starlight
2 - Toronto, ON - Coalition

 

 

Twin dual harpists Camille And Kennerly are back with a cover of the Black Sabbath classic, “Iron Man”.

Says the girls: “You have seen “One” and “North”, our 2 Girls 1 Harp videos… so now we give you 2 Girls 3 Harps! “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath is one of our favorite classic heavy metal songs. To get a wide array of sounds, we use fuzz distortion on our electric harp and well as numerous mechanical techniques on our acoustic harp, including hand percussion and pedal buzzes. We love arranging complex songs in a way that we can play live at our shows, exactly as you see and hear them in our videos! No loops, overlays, or backtracks! Please like, comment and share! We have more metal covers coming… so subscribe and don’t miss out!”

A couple of Camille And Kennerly’s previous videos can be seen below:

“Enter Sandman” (Metallica):

“The Trooper” (Iron Maiden):

KnuckleBonz is in production on two statues of Alice Cooper.

* Alice Cooper I (Straightjacket) Rock Iconz statue features Alice as he appears during the "Ballad Of Dwight Fry" performance, complete with his iconic straightjacket and microphone. The base design on this statue has some pretty interesting elements as well.

* Alice Cooper II (Snake) Rock Iconz statue: This second collectible depicts Alice with a snake wrapping around his neck as he stands on top of a "Billion Dollar Babies" base design.

Both statues are limited editions (only 3000 of each are made). These are officially licensed and approved directly by Alice.

KnuckleBonz expects to start shipping in the fall.

KnuckleBonz creates high-end sculpture that features rock's most highly influential artists. Dedicated to honoring rocks greatest through master artistry, KnuckleBonz established the music-based sculpture series Rock Iconz.

For more information, visit KnuckleBonz.com.

Fan-filmed video footage of GHOST's April 18 performance at Volkshaus in Zurich, Switzerland can be seen below.

As previously reported, GHOST frontman and founder Tobias Forge, who performs as Papa Emeritus, is being sued by four ex-members of the group. The quartet of former Nameless Ghouls have accused Forge of cheating them out of their rightful share of the profits from the group’s album releases and world tours.

The lawsuit, filed in the district court of Linköping, Sweden, where GHOST was originally based, claims that Forge solely controlled the band's business affairs without input from anyone else in the group, while also carrying out management duties. The four musicians are asking the court to order Forge to disclose GHOST's revenues and expenses for the financial years 2011 to 2016 and reveal the company's assets as of December 31, 2016.

If Forge fails to act as ordered, the musicians are asking the court to force Forge to pay a penalty of approximately $22,000 or an amount that the court considers reasonable.

The lawsuit alleges that Forge has been collecting all revenues from sales of the band's merchandise and recordings since the band was formed in 2010, and has insisted that the "company" was not yet profitable while at the same time refusing to disclose financial statements.

The situation became dire in 2012, when the band members did not receive any compensation at all. Forge was finally pressured to pay them, which he did only sporadically while still claiming that the band was broke.

The four musicians were offered two separate contract proposals by Forge in 2016, which they rejected as "slave agreements." That may have led to Forge's wholesale firing of the band at the end of 2016.

The new lineup of GHOST is rumored to include musicians who have previously played with THE SISTERS OF MERCY, KORN, PENDRAGON and BLOODBATH.

Since the musicians wear masks and are only identified as Nameless Ghouls, personnel changes in the group over its seven-year existence have gone unannounced.

Forge writes almost all of the group's music and does most of the act's interviews disguised as a Nameless Ghoul.

Asked for his reaction to the lawsuit by Swedish outlet Corren, Forge said: "I can't comment on it because it is a legal process. The lawsuit will be answered fairly soon by my legal counsel."

Napalm Records premieres its fourth DVD compilation of their finest metal and rock hymns! The Realm Of Napalm Records, Vol. IV DVD will be released as a 6-page digipack including a bonus audio CD of the most recent Napalm Records hits.

The set includes special material from doom patrons AHAB, hardcore heroes Walls Of Jericho, thrash metal giants Warbringer and street punk's finest Toxpack. The hottest video clips from Napalm Records including a bonus audio CD will be released worldwide (excl. US/Canada) via Napalm Records on May 26th. 26 videos, 16 singles, one package.

Throwback and throw down with this synthesis of senses! You've got Myles Kennedy's Alter Bridge, power metal chart breakers Hammerfall (pictured above) and Powerworlf, heavy Californian groove from DevilDriver, fresh and funky progressive tunes from Jinjer, the reggae rock power pack Skindred, heavy metal titans Civil War, symphonic sweetness of Xandria and Visions Of Atlantis and to top it all off Kamelot’s feature "Liar Liar" with Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz.

DVD tracklisting:

Alter Bridge - “Show Me A Leader”
Hammerfall - “Hammer High”
Powerwolf - “Army Of The Night”
Kamelot - “Liar Liar” (feat. Alissa White-Gluz)
Delain - “Suckerpunch”
Devildriver - “Daybreak”
Otep - “Zero”
W.A.S.P. - “Scream”
The Answer - “Solas”
Grave Digger - “Healed By Metal”
Jinjer - “Words Of Wisdom”
Skindred - “Volume”
Moonspell - “Extinct”
The Agonist - “The Moment”
Serum 114 - “Wilde Zeit”
Civil War - “Tombstone”
John Garcia - “Kylie”
Megaherz - “Einsam”
Monster Magnet - “The Duke Of Supernature”
Alestorm - “Drink”
Xandria - “Nightfall”
Serenity - “Follow Me”
Visions Of Atlantis - “Winternight”
American Head Charge - “Let All The World Believe”
Adept - “Dark Clouds”
Greenleaf - “A Million Fireflies”

Bonus CD tracklisting:

Xandria - “Call Of Destiny”
Walls Of Jericho - “Reign Supreme”
Draconian - “Rivers Between Us” (feat. Daniel Änghede)
Warbringer - “Remain Violent”
The New Roses - “What If It Was You”
Gloryhammer - “Rise Of The Chaos Wizards”
Black Mirrors - “Funky Queen”
AHAB - “Like Red Foam (The Great Storm)”
Skalmöld - “Niðavellir”
Nervosa - “Hostages”
Diabulus in Musica - “Earthly Illusions”
Evil Invaders - “Raising Hell”
Be´lakor - “An Ember’s Arc”
Drescher - “Unten”
8kids - “Blitzschlag”
Toxpack - “Willkommen im Klub”

Get your copy here.

US progressive power metal band MindMaze will release their new album, Resolve, on April 28th in Europe and North America through Inner Wound Recordings. A lyric video for the second single, “One More Moment”, is available for streaming below.

Over the span of 68-minutes of melodic and powerful music ripe with recurring themes, the band takes the listener on a whirlwind journey through the scope of human emotion in hopes they will be able to project their own experiences into these intensely personal lyrics inspired by an amalgam of real-life events.

Resolve reprises the band's ever-present influences from bands like Queensrÿche, Dream Theater, Iron Maiden, Savatage, and a mixture of contemporary power metal and melodic rock hooks and songwriting while moving the band further into progressive and theatrical territory with more atypical song structures used to best serve the concept of the album.

The band continues to forge their footprint as one of the most promising and unique female-fronted bands to come along in recent times.

Resolve tracklisting:

“Reverie” (Instrumental)
“Fight The Future”
“In This Void” (Instrumental)
“Drown Me”
“Sign Of Life”
“Abandon”
“Sanity's Collapse” (Instrumental)
“One More Moment”
“Twisted Dream”
“True Reflection”
“Shattered Self”
“Release”
“The Path To Perseverance”

“One More Moment” lyric video:

“Sign Of Life” video:

Upcoming MindMaze tour dates:

April
25 - Baltimore Soundstage - Baltimore, MD (Supporting Y&T)
27 - Ralph's - Worcester, MA
28 - Dingbatz - Clifton, NJ
29 - Funhouse - Bethlehem, PA

May (supporting Arkona and Sirenia)
13 - Webster Hall - New York, NY
14 - Firehouse 13 - Providence, RI
15 - L'Anti - Quebec City, QB
16 - L'Astral - Montreal, QB
17 - Mod Club - Toronto, ON
18 - Subterranean - Chicago, IL
19 - Cabooze - Minneapolis, MN
20 - Riot Room - Kansas City, KN
21 - Marquis Theater - Denver, CO
23 - Studio Seven - Seattle, WA
24 - Bossanova Ballroom - Portland, OR
25 - Metro Opera House - Oakland, CA
26 - Echoplex - Los Angeles, CA
27 - Pranksters - Scottsdale, AZ
28 - Rockhouse - El Paso, TX
29 - Curtain Club - Dallas, TX
30 - Grizzly Hall - Austin, TX

June
1 - TBA - Atlanta, GA
2 - The Milestone - Charlotte, NC

Spanish '70s hard and heavy rock band The Wizards recently inked a deal with Fighter Records for the release of their second album, Full Moon In Scorpio, which will see the light on May 16th internationally. Check out the new video for "Calliope (Cosmic Revlations)" below.

Formed in Bilbao (Basque Country) back in 2013, these five outcasts decided to form a band after several intense sessions of drug abuse and hard liquor drinking marathons at backyard parties where the records of Black Sabbath, Danzig, The Cult, Blue Oyster Cult, Pentagram, Deep Purple, Dio, Horisont, and Electric Wizard were played so loud, neighbors would call the police sooner than expected.

In January 2014, The Wizards recorded their first demo, Plagues. With only four songs recorded and a bunch of covers, they were able to win the 26th edition of the local pop/rock contest Villa de Bilbao, and during 2015, they released their self-titled debut album through their own label, Witch Records, in collaboration with French label Geea Music.

The band played live in France, Basque Country, and Spain opening for legendary bands and artists such as The Dictators, Iggy Pop, and Turbonegro, sharing the stage with bands like Horisont, Peter Pan Speed Rock, and Hypnos among others. They were even invited to participate in festivals such as Madrid Stoner Scene Fest, Kriston Fest, and Faan Fest.

During April 2016, The Wizards entered Gaua Studio together with Brooklyn-based produced Dean Rispler, current bass-player for The Dictators. During two weeks, they recorded eight songs that form their upcoming second album, Full Moon in Scorpio, engineered by Asier Zubelbu and mixed & mastered by Jesse Cannon (The Cure, The Misfits, The Dillinger Escape Plan) at Cannon Found Soundation in Union City, New Jersey.

Full Moon In Scorpio contains eight tracks of hard & heavy rock attack, the lyrics dealing with such issues as the destruction of the veils that blind us, the vast concepts of space and time, the search for spiritual enlightenment, and so on. For the band, it truly means a step forward in their quest for world domination. The sound is bigger, the songs are better, and The Wizards are ready to destroy and fuck things up wherever their presence is needed. The western world is collapsing - let's dance over the fires while we howl at the Scorpio Moon. 

The Wizards' Full Moon in Scorpio will be released May 16th through Fighter Records on CD and vinyl LP formats.

Tracklisting:

“Avidya”
“Calliope (Cosmic Revelations)”
“Odinist”
“Stardust”
“Leaving The Past Behind”
“Halftones To Eternity”
“Who Are You, Mr. Gurdjieff?”
“When We Were Gods”

"Calliope (Cosmic Revelations)" video:

“Avidya”:

Swedish rock/metal band The Torch have announced their new album Chasing Light. The album features ten songs was recorded from July to October 2016 in Studio Fonic, Gothenburg. A release date will be revealed soon.

Chasing Light was produced and engineered by Sebation Olsson (Avatar) and mixed and mastered by Dan Laskiewicz in Springfield, MA (The Acacia Strain).

Lineup:

Martin Söderqvist - vocals and guitars
Per Romvall - bass and backing vocals
Peter Derenius – drums

Canada's Mortör have released a lyric video for “Burn Up The Dead”, the title track of their new album, due for release this Friday, April 22nd via CDN Records. Watch the new clip below.

After launching two pulverizing albums back to back, Metal Ride in 2010 and Shoot ‘Em Up in 2012, the war metal household that is Mortör fell back to recharge its line up and compose their third album. In 2016, the band resurfaced, more vicious than ever, with a new secret weapon ready to be dropped upon the face of the world, entitled Burn Up The Dead.

Burn Up The Dead follows in the tank tracks laid by previous Mortör albums, utilizing similar firepower and tongue-in-cheek themes, yet, at the same time, advances considerably on all fronts. Buzzwords such as 'dynamic' and 'organic' fit easily alongside the proven descriptors, such as 'catchy-as-all-fuck' and 'head-crushing brutality'.

Burn Up The Dead pre-orders can be made here.

Cover artwork below created by Daniel Beaudin, Septral Illustrations.

Tracklisting:

“Pleasure Of Hate”
“Cross The Line”
“Burn Up The Dead”
“A Place In Hell”
“Hail Guns”
“The Executioner”
“F.U.B.A.R.”
“Sold To Bleed”
“Parasite”
“Bloody Mess”
“Count The Days”
“Beg For Lead”

“Burn Up The Dead” lyric video:

“Pleasure Of Hate”:

Credits:

Guitar solo on “Cross The Line” by Matt MacIvor
Guitar solo on “Burn Up The Dead” by Antonin Perras-Foisy
Guitar solos on “Executioner”, “Fubar”, “Bloody Mess”, “Parasite” and “Get My Gun” by Adam Pell
Guitar solo on “A Place In Hell” by Christian Donaldson
Guitar solos on “Hail Guns” and “Cattle Ride” by Paul Kelly
Guitars, bass and vocals recorded by Dave Paquette, Ottawa
Drums recorded by Chris Donaldson, The Grid Studio, Montreal
Mixed and mastered by Chris Donaldson, The Grid Studio, Montreal

Band lineup:

Dave Paquette - guitars
Jonathan Boulay - vocals
Jay Cross - drums
Nicolas Miquelon - bass guitar

(Band photo - Brittany Dawn Krause)

The official video for the song "End Of The Road" from THE FERRYMEN, the new project featuring guitarist Magnus Karlsson (MAGNUS KARLSSON'S FREE FALL, PRIMAL FEAR), vocalist Ronnie Romero (LORDS OF BLACK, RAINBOW) and drummer Mike Terrana (TARJA, RAGE, AXEL RUDI PELL, VISION DIVINE), can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's self-titled debut album, which will be released on June 2 via Frontiers Music Srl.

The songs for "The Ferrymen" were written by Karlsson in Sweden during the summer of 2016. Once Romero was sent the music via their main bands' shared label home Frontiers, he immediately wanted to be part of the project. Terrana was the last piece of the puzzle and he recorded his drums in Italy, where he currently resides. The resulting album is a shot of adrenaline for all lovers of melodic metal! Musically, you can expect maximum melodic metal fusing the songwriting and epic structures of the great ALLEN/LANDE records (for which Magnus Karlsson was the main architect of the first three widely praised releases) with the Ronnie James Dio-esque vocal approach of Romero. (Let's not forget that Romero was hand-picked by DEEP PURPLE (1968-1976) and RAINBOW's legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore to be the lead vocalist for RAINBOW's recent reunion shows, so the Dio comparison is more than accurate!) Says Magnus: "When I wrote this record, having Ronnie singing, I had no limits in mind with the lyrics. Ronnie could sing everything and I am also very proud of the songs." Adds Romero: "I am used to working with LORDS OF BLACK in a certain straight style, but this record was very different and it was very exciting for me." "Overall, I think it is one of the coolest and grooviest records I've ever done," concludes Terrana, a drummer with more than a hundred records under his belt! With stunning artwork courtesy of Stan W. Decker and an outstanding mix courtesy of Simone Mularoni (of Italian prog metal masters DGM), "The Ferrymen" is an album which will take the metal world by storm in 2017. "The Ferrymen" track listing: 01. End Of The Road02. Ferryman03. Fool You All04. Still Standing Up05. Cry Wolf06. One Heart07. Darkest Hour08. How The Story Ends09. Enter Your Dream10. Eyes On The Sky11. Eternal Night12. Welcome To My Show

Cradle Of Filth's keyboardist / backing vocalist Lindsay Schoolcraft has checked in with the following update:

"Stupidly excited about a new project I'm involved with which is going to consume most of today for me. It's quite brilliant and involves a lot of extraordinary talents. Of course, I've taken on a lot of the organization roles, but it's not a bother because of how much I believe in this project and the people in it. It will be revealed mid year. I just had to say something because it's. So. So. EXCITING!
 
Disclaimer: the new Cradle album is done and sounds glorious thanks to those gents. And the solo material is rapidly forming with a big surprise to be revealed later this year. Yes, you all should be as excited as I am!"

In live news, Cradle Of Filth will be playing a special one-off festival warm-up show in Portsmouth, UK. The show will take place at The Wedgewood Rooms on June 23rd. Tickets are now on sale here.

Joe Bonamassa’s new release, Live At Carnegie Hall - An Acoustic Evening, will be available on  on June 23rd on 2CD, 3LP, 2DVD and Blu-ray via Mascot Label Group. A trailer for the upcoming release can be found below, and pre-orders can be made at this location.

Last year, on January 21st and 22nd, Joe Bonamassa performed two unique all-acoustic shows at the iconic Carnegie Hall in New York City. Both performances were filmed and made into Joe Bonamassa Live At Carnegie Hall - An Acoustic Evening.

An evening of extraordinary music with new arrangements of favourite songs as well as brand new, never-before-heard songs. It will be released on Double CD, Double DVD, Blu-ray and 3 LP Vinyl on June 23rd. The video pieces include 104 minutes of feature film, over 45 minutes bonus features and all are sold in beautifully designed packages that are perfect for a music lover’s collection.

The concert was part of a special all-acoustic tour and featured an all-star ensemble of world-class musicians. Acclaimed Chinese cellist and erhuist Tina Guo, whose repertoire stretches from classical to heavy metal; and Hossam Ramzy, the Egyptian percussionist and composer, who has performed on dozens of film soundtracks and records, including on Jimmy Page and Robert Plant’s No Quarter: Unledded Tour. Reese Wynans (piano), Anton Fig (Drums) Eric Bazilian (mandolin, hurdy-gurdy, saxophone, acoustic guitar, vocals), and three Australian backing vocalists, Mahalia Barnes, Juanita Tippins, and Gary Pinto round out the band.

Says Bonamassa: “Despite being among the most ambitious things I’ve done - I played with a 9 piece acoustic band - It came out great. It was a typical Joe freak show.”

DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen is a guest on tonight's (April 19) episode of Comedy Central's new comedy and music series "The Comedy Jam".

The eight-episode season features celebrities dishing on a cherished memory linked to an iconic song and then performing that song with the Comedy Jam Band in front of a live audience.

This week's episode sees Collen join forces with "Orange Is the New Black" star Taryn Manning to perform the LEPPARD classic "Pour Some Sugar On Me".

You can now watch the performance below.

Also on the April 19 episode, Bert Kreischer and Scott Stapp (CREED) perform "Higher" by CREED and Hal Sparks and Sebastian Bach (SKID ROW) perform "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC.

Taryn previously recorded and toured with a band called BOOMKAT, which she formed with her brother Kellin. The group's debut album, "Boomkatalog. One", was released in 2003, but duo subsequently parted ways.

Hailing from the fringes of the cosmos, ARCADEA will make its arrival known with the release of its self-titled debut album on June 16 via Relapse Records.

ARCADEA was born when drummer-vocalist Brann Dailor of MASTODON teamed up with guitarist and keyboardist Core Atoms (ZRUDA) to create a synth-laden progressive, heavy psych band. Adding guitarist Raheem Amlani (WITHERED) on synth, the three recorded their visionary, ten-song synth odyssey at Orange Peel Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.

Unlike their other bands, ARCADEA uses only keyboards in a unique blend of crushing, organic drums and psychedelic synthesizers. The music is at once electronic but not electronica, synthetic but not processed, heavy but not metal.

The album envisions a future five billion years from now, where the impending collision of galaxies creates a new order of planets. Where cold, distant moons pledge alliance to new suns and expanding gas giants implode into black holes. Ancient drones, forever adrift, record toxic tales of love between dying stars. Where lifeforms in suspended animation, dream among the ice rings of Saturn and cosmic war wages among gods and planets. It is in this universe that ARCADEA reign supreme as the last surviving space wizards since the final extinction.

ARCADEA's previously released song, "Gas Giant", can be streamed below.

Florida power metal act, Seven Kingdoms, have released a lyric video for “Stargazer”, the lead track on their forthcoming full-length album and Napalm Records debut, Decennium. The clip can be seen below.

Decennium will be released worldwide via Napalm Records on May 5th. Pre-order here.

Decennium was recorded with Jim Morris (Iced Earth, Savatage, Death) and Phil Pluskota (Abiotic, King Conquer) at North Avenue Studios and Morrisound Recording. Seven Kingdoms mixed the album at Morrisound Recording and was mastered by Jacob Hansen (Avantasia, Evergrey, Volbeat).

Decennium tracklisting:

“Stargazer”
“Undying”
“In The Walls”
“The Tale Of Deathface Ginny”
“Castles In The Snow”
“Kingslayer”
“The Faceless Hero”
“Neverending”
“Hollow”
“Awakened From Nothing”
“In The Walls” (EP Master) (Bonus Track)
“Undying” (EP Master) (Bonus Track)
“The Bloody Meadow” (Re-Recording) (Bonus Track)
“Stormborn” (Re-Recording) (Bonus Track)

“Stargazer” lyric video:

“Neverending” video:

Seven Kingdoms will embark on full length North American tour with Evergrey, Need and Ascendia in May and June 2017 to support the new album. More shows are being added; catch them live at the following confirmed shows:

May
6 - The Haven - Orlando, FL
7 - The Orpheum - Tampa, FL
9 - Scout Bar - Houston, TX
10 - Gas Monkey - Dallas, TX
11 - The Rock Box - San Antonio, TX
13 - Joe's Grotto - Phoenix, AZ
14 - Brick By Brick - San Diego, CA
15 - Adrenaline bar - Las Vegas, NV
17 - The Viper Room - Los Angeles, CA
18 - TBA - San Francisco, CA
19 - TBA - Portland, OR
20 - Studio Seven - Seattle, WA
21 - The Rickshaw Theater - Vancouver, BC
22 - Dickens Pub - Calgary, AB
23 - Exchange - Regina
25 - The Cabooze - Minneapolis, MN
26 - Reggie's - Chicago, IL
27 - The Token Lounge - Detroit, MI
28 - Mod Club - Toronto, ON
30 - L'Anti - Quebec City, QC

TBA - New York, NY
TBA - Philadelphia, PA

More dates will be announced shortly.

Seven Kingdoms lineup:

Sabrina Valentine - Vocals
Camden Cruz - Guitar
Kevin Byrd - Guitar
Keith Byrd - Drums
Aaron Sluss - Bass

Broken Teeth, led by former Dangerous Toys frontman Jason McMaster, have released a video for the title track of their  new album 4 On The Floor, out this Friday, April 21st, via EMP Label Group. Watch the new video below, and pre-order the album at this location.

Twenty years after seizing power in Austin, Texas, rock-roll battering squad Broken Teeth throw it's hardest punch ever after signing with Megadeth bassist David Ellefson and former Corporate Punishment President Thom Hazaert at their powerhouse EMP Label Group.

"I've had my eyes and ears on Broken Teeth for a few years now and have a history with singer Jason McMaster," Ellefson said. "It was only a matter of time until I found a way to partner with them. Given their reputation as a crushing live act, along with their previous string of classic, underground hard-rock albums, I couldn't be more proud to welcome Broken Teeth to the EMP family and help them share their music with an even wider audience."

Once described as "a pissed-off AC/DC," Broken Teeth has evolved into a hard-rock / heavy metal bomb blast built on the swaggering boogie of bad-boy blues. Not surprisingly, 4 On The Floor continues the band's gritty legacy with odes to the rebellious, forbidden love of rock-n-roll (the slow-stomping "Sinful"); standing proud as a loner (the riotous burner, "House Of Damnation"); life on the rock-n-roll highway to hell (the bluesy shuffle of "Borrowed Time"); and the ultimate salute to legendary Motorhead mainman, Lemmy Kilmister (the appropriately rollicking "Never Dead", which was written before Lemmy's passing). "We don't really do tributes, but Lemmy and the kind of rock-n-roll he did is what we're all about," said Broken Teeth guitarist Jared Tuten. "It just felt right for Broken Teeth to immortalize him forever."

Tracklisting:

"4 On The Floor"
"Sinful"
"All Or Nothin'"
"Getcha' Some"
"Borrowed Time (W.O.M.G.)"
"House Of Damnation"
"Let The War Machine Roll"
"Never Dead"
"All Day Sucker"
"Rock Bottom"

"4 On The Floor" video:

Broken Teeth is:

Jason McMaster - vocals
Jared Tuten - guitar
Bruce Rivers - drums
David Beeson - guitar
Robb Lampman - bass

Matt Holt, former singer of NOTHINGFACE, passed away at home in Maryland on April 15. He had been battling a degenerative illness for several years. He is survived by his parents and his younger brother.

While he had not been active musically in recent years, Holt, who toured the world several times over with his band in the early 2000s, is remembered as being an unparalleled talent and as one of most skilled vocalists of his generation, thanks to his incredibly impressive range, which shifted from terrifically brutal to beautifully melodic.

NOTHINGFACE released five studio albums, including 2000's "Violence" and 2003's "Skeletons", before splitting in 2004, citing musical differences, internal turmoil and label troubles. NOTHINGFACE reunited in 2005 and went through a couple of lineups before finally disbanding again in 2009.

Former NOTHNGFACE guitarist Tom Maxwell, who is now a member of HELLYEAH, told the "Talk Toomey" podcast last year that he had no interest in a NOTHINGFACE reunion, largely because of his nonexistent relationship with Holt.

"It was a good time, but, you know, people change and people are different — they're not the same people," he said. "Matt Holt, you know, is doing his thing and we don't get along, we don't talk, I don't want nothing to do with him or his life. It's not gonna happen man. I have dignity."

He added: "There's just nothing anymore. There's no communication, there's no desire. I don't need to do it, I don't have to do it. I'm happy where I'm at and I'm going to leave it right where it is. It's dead."