London, England-based metal wizards, Harbinger, are streaming the track “The End Of Time” (listen below), taken from their new Human Dust EP, set for release on June 16th via Basick Records.

Human Dust is the follow-up to Harbinger's ferocious debut EP, Paroxysm, which sees a vicious blend of eccentric technical metal riffs coupled with a surplus of twists and turns. Human Dust is not your typical metal record; it's a vitriolic but at times ethereal release, where no song is even slightly the same, yet Harbinger still possess a much-improved core sound, having cleverly incorporated vicious beatdowns, tasteful shredding and some seriously impressive guttural vocals.

Guitarist Ben Sutherland states: "We are incredibly excited to announce that we have signed to Basick Records for the release of our new EP Human Dust on June 16th. Basick have been putting out records by some of our favourite bands for many years, so it is an honour to join the roster and release our music with them! We feel our new material is much more mature, considered and precise than our previous EP Paroxysm, but we haven’t dropped any of the groovy riffs and heaviness that people have come to expect from us."

Having already made waves with appearances at UK Tech Metal Festival, and previously played shows with the likes of Monuments and Slaughter To Prevail, Harbinger’s year is only just getting started. An appearance at the special HellFest Warm Up Ride at the New Cross Inn on May 11th is already in the books, and they are definitely poised for more live shows this year.

More details to follow soon.

Sweden's death metal squadron, Demonical, has announced significant changes in its lineup, most prominently including the parting of ways with long-time singer and producer, Sverker Widgren. His boots will be filled by none other than Alexander Högbom, who already proven himself behind the microphone in the ranks of October Tide and Centinex.  

Demonical commented: "We have parted with vocalist Sverker Widgren due to various time- and priority related matters. As there are always two sides to every story and answers might differ depending on who you ask, we prefer to keep the more detailed reasons amongst the ones involved and not publically go into further explanations. However, in order to avoid any speculations we can inform you that there is no bad blood between any of us, we want to thank Sverker for all the years in the band and we wish him the very best of luck for the future.

“As the band has always operated under the motto “only the best is good enough”, we are thrilled to announce that one of Sweden’s premium death metal vocalists, Alexander Högbom (known from acts such as October Tide and Centinex) has joined us as our new permanent commander.

“In order to raise the flames even higher, we can hereby also reveal that after more than two years in Demonical on a session basis, guitarist Eki Kumpulainen and drummer Kennet Englund have both become full-time members of the band.

“With this determined and solid lineup we are very much looking forward to the upcoming Finnish shows next week, the summer tour across Eastern Europe during July as well as the album recording in the autumn.

“Yes that’s right, during the fall we will (finally) record our fifth full-length album for an early 2018 release. We have tapped an award-winning Swedish producer for the task and we are confident that the album - which summons bits and pieces from all our previous releases - will become an improved quality-related chapter for Demonical and push our Swedish Death Metal Darkness to a new level. The future looks more than victorious!".     

Alexander Högbom added: “It is with excitement and great honor I will shoulder Sverker Widgren’s position in Demonical. I have known the band for almost 10 years now and we have toured together all over the globe with my other bands both as support and vice versa. This is one more step for me into the chasm of Swedish Death Metal Darkness”.

Demonical will continue to spread their live-madness with a combined festival and club summer tour in July focusing on the eastern territories. Finnish black metal tyrants Author will join in as support, together with Stockholm death/black squad Angrepp as guests on selected dates.

The first show of the tour will be an exclusive German club show with Brazilian death giants Krisiun as headliners.

Upcoming shows:

April
21 - Pori, Finland - Baarikaappi
22 - Tampere, Finland - Varjobaari

July (with Author, Angrepp)
20 - Greifswald, Germany - Klex*
21 - Volyne, Czech Republic - Enter the Eternal Fire Fest
22 - Ostry Grun, Slovakia - Gothoom Open Air
23 - Cluj-Napoca, Romania - Hard Club
24 - Bucharest, Romania - Fabricia
25 - Sofia, Bulgaria - Live & Loud
27 - Timisoara, Romania - Daos Club
28 - Körmend, Hungary - Total War Fest  

* with Krisiun.

Lineup:
Alexander Högbom - vocals
Martin Schulman - bass
Eki Kumpulainen - guitars
Johan Haglund - guitars
Kennet Englund - drums

German metallers, Varg, will release a new EP, entitled Götterdämmerung, on April 14th via Napalm Records. A lyric video for the title track is available for streaming below.

For over ten years, Varg have wielded the sceptre of German Pagan metal, currently holding it tighter than ever in their bloody claws. The Wolfskult remains hearty as well, with thousands of devotees following the call of the wild and making the pilgrimage year after year to the band’s Wolfszeit Festival.

Varg’s fifth epos, Das Ende Aller Lügen, touched down in the Top 20 of the German Album charts. It’s clear that they are stronger than ever, but the band will not rest on their laurels. No, they’ve given their new Götterdämmerung EP their all; rapid flaring melodic death metal riffs, heartshaking singalongs and brutal lyrics that breathe fire and brimstone.

Pre-order the EP at this location.

Guitarist J. Geils, born John Warren Geils Jr., has died at age 71, reports Billboard.com.

Geils was found dead in his Groton, Massachusetts, home. He had lived in the town for 35 years. Groton police said officers responded to Geils' home around 4 PM, ET Tuesday (April 11th) for a well-being check and found him unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

"A preliminary investigation indicates that Geils died of natural causes," police said in a statement.

As leader of The J. Geils Band, the group had 17 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including 10 top 40-charting hits. The band's biggest single, "Centerfold”, spent six weeks at #1 and "Freeze-Frame" peaked at #4.

Geils formed The J. Geils Band in 1967 with Danny Klein, Magic Dick Salwitz, Stephen Jo Bladd and Peter Wolf (later Seth Justman joined) while studying mechanical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. They released 11 studio albums before breaking up in 1985. The group would reunite on and off over the years following.

Read more at Billboard.com.

The first teaser and official poster artwork for the upcoming dramatically charged Rock & Roll Thriller — American Satan — have just been released. The movie featuring Andy Biersack (Black Veil Brides), Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange), John Bradley (Game Of Thrones), BooBoo Stewart (The Twilight Saga), Ben Bruce (Asking Alexandria), Mark Boone Junior (Sons Of Anarchy) along with Denise Richards, Bill Duke, WWE’s Bill Goldberg, Drake Bell, Larry King, Olivia Culpo and more, is slated for a theatrical release in the late summer of this year.

Written and directed by Ash Avildsen, produced by Sumerian Records & Films, American Satan follows the journey of a group of young men hailing from the US and England who drop out of college and move to Hollywood’s infamous Sunset Strip to pursue their dreams of becoming a Rock & Roll sensation. A full trailer will be released in the coming weeks, meanwhile the teaser can be viewed below.

For those of you in Southern California, there will be 250 tickets available to the public for the private industry screening of American Satan on April 18th at The Arclight in Hollywood. Tickets can be purchased at this location. The Arclight Hollywood is located at: The Dome Entertainment Centre, 6360 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA.

 

 

 

Formed in New York in 1987 and relocated in Florida in 1988, Malevolent Creation have produced some of the most powerful and devastating death metal of all time. Their albums feature some of the most groundbreaking playing and screaming ever.

Soon available again in exclusive limited edition digipacks and coloured vinyls, all wrapped up with the original amazing classic artwork drawn by the legendary Dan Seagrave, those three much sought after highly priced albums online are absolutely mandatory in any death/thrash metal connoisseur’s collection.

The Ten Commandments, Retribution and Stillborn are to be re-released via Listenable Records on May 26th in limited edition digipack and coloured vinyls.

More details and pre-orders coming shortly. Watch out for exclusive vinyl versions.

Swedish metallers, Night Viper, have inked a deal with Listenable Records.

Since the first whispers heard in 2014, the name of Gothenburg’s Night Viper has only gotten louder and louder. Thanks to a blistering debut on Svart Records and a reputation as one of the most energetic, exciting and downright headbangable live bands around, Night Viper is now a must see band for all metalheads.

After four European tours and unforgettable appearances at festivals such as Muskelrock, Roadburn and Hell Over Hamburg, they are now deadlier than ever.

The release of their new single, “Summon The Dead” in March 2017 signifies a new level of intensity for them and will lead them to their second full-length album, to be released on Listenable Records in fall 2017.

Listen to the band’s debut album below, or via Spotify.

Night Viper by Night Viper

Stryper frontman Michael Sweet is performing a solo acoustic show at the Narrows Center in Fall River, MA, on Friday, June 2nd, and the show will be filmed for a live DVD release. There will also be a meet and greet after the show, also due to be filmed.

Go to this location for more information. Click here for Swtt's complete tour schedule.

 

Ms. Mishap of The Vinyl Mishappenings recently sat down with Stryper guitarist Oz Fox to discuss 30+ years of battling the devil, and whether or not the original Stryper lineup will continue; an excerpt follows:

Stryper is going on a little bit of a break. Michael Sweet had hinted at some trouble within the band in his last interview, is this a reason for the time off?

Oz Fox: “Well it’s a number of things. A lot of it is Michael has a lot projects coming up that he wants to take time off to do, which is fine by me because I’ve got a lot of stuff going on here in town. As I get older in age, I kind of want to set myself up so that I’ll have more opportunities here in Vegas so that someday if I ever stop touring with Stryper, I can maybe stay here and work as a musician. He (Michael) definitely is going to be doing a second album with George Lynch. He also just released a solo album and wants to go out and tour that a little bit, and we (Stryper) are going to be playing on the Monsters of Rock Cruise the first week of February.”

Does that mean it will be the original lineup playing the Monsters of Rock Cruise come February?

Oz Fox: “As far as I know yes, but Tim (Gaines) our bass player is going through some personal issues and we're trying to let him work all of that stuff out. It’s no secret anymore, but he’s going through a divorce so we’re giving him time to work those things out. As far as I know, he’s looking like he’s on his way to making all of that stuff in his life correct and fixed, and then we’ll see where he stands after he’s all done with that; I know he wants to keep touring. It’s a very difficult thing to go through a divorce, it’s difficult for everybody. We’re very close to him and his wife, so it hurts us as much as it hurts them... as far as I know he’s going to be on the cruise with us. Then the only other thing I can say after that is there are plans to do another Stryper album, so we'll see how that goes later on.”

Do you think any of this will delay that new album?

Oz Fox: “I think there were plans to possibly get on it in January, it hadn’t been booked or anything. But once this whole thing started happening with Tim, we thought it was a better idea to just postpone everything. We decided to maybe wait until later on in the year. I think it’s good for us to just give him time to do his thing and deal with his issues, and then later on we can come back together after everything is already healed over.”

To read the complete interview, visit this location.

Fan-filmed video footage of GHOST's Apri 10 performance at Ancienne Belgique in Brussels, Belgium 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.

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."

EVERY TIME I DIE's Keith Buckley has uploaded a short clip of what appears to be a new song from THE DAMNED THINGS, his supergroup project also featuring ANTHRAX's Scott Ian, FALL OUT BOY's Andy Hurley and Joe Trohman, EVERY TIME I DIE's Josh Newton, and Rob Caggiano of VOLBEAT (and formerly ANTHRAX). Check out the video below.

Hurley recently revealed THE DAMNED THINGS has a new EP in the works. He told the "100 Words Or Less" podcast: "I recorded five songs for an EP with THE DAMNED THINGS. I don't think we'll be playing, ANTHRAX is still touring on their last record. EVERY TIME I DIE just put out their new record, uh, who else? Josh Newton, I think, has been playing lately. He tech'd for Joe for awhile. I'm not sure if he'll be back when we're back. So, you know, that's all over the place."

THE DAMNED THINGS released its debut album, "Ironiclast", in December 2010. After performing a few gigs together, the members took a hiatus and returned to their respective bands.

It's been more than four decades since the NEW YORK DOLLS first outraged mainstream critics and struck terror into the hearts of public guardians of taste and morality. In that time, the once-controversial quintet has been recognized as a seminal musical force and a key influence on the punk movement that came into being shortly after the DOLLS' breakup. Now, UMe celebrates the NEW YORK DOLLS' legacy with new limited-edition colored-vinyl editions of the band's two classic '70s LPs, "New York Dolls" and "Too Much Too Soon", out on May 5. The new vinyl releases, available in strictly limited editions of 500 each and exclusively available through uDiscover, are as flamboyant visually as the albums' musical contents. The self-titled disc boasts a unique opaque pink and black color scheme, while "Too Much Too Soon" has an equally audacious combination of opaque pink and clear. Both albums, which also feature their complete original cover art, are also available from UMe in standard black vinyl editions. With a classic lineup featuring frontman David Johansen, guitarists Johnny Thunders and Syl Sylvain, bassist Arthur Kane and drummer Jerry Nolan, the NEW YORK DOLLS served as a bridge between the edgy outrage of the VELVET UNDERGROUND and THE STOOGES and the raw aggression of the multiple generations of punk and hard-rock bands that would soon follow. In their original release, "New York Dolls" and "Too Much Too Soon" polarized audiences, embraced by a devoted core of kindred spirits and reviled by many mainstream listeners. "New York Dolls", produced in raw, hands-off style by Todd Rundgren, captures the band's love for raw, raucous rock 'n' roll and Brill Building teen-pop, with such landmark DOLLS anthems as "Personality Crisis", "Trash", "Jet Boy" and "Looking for A Kiss". It's now regarded as one of rock's greatest debut albums. "Too Much Too Soon", recorded with reclusive legendary producer Shadow Morton, was titled in acknowledgement of the band members' various personal indulgences. The album features a mix of such band originals as "Babylon", "Who Are the Mystery Girls?", "It's Too Late" and "Human Being", along with personalized covers of such tunes as the CADETS' "Stranded in the Jungle", ARCHIE BELL AND THE DRELLS' "There's Gonna Be a Showdown' and Sonny Boy Williamson's "Don't Start Me Talkin'". Although the NEW YORK DOLLS dissolved soon after "Too Much Too Soon", the band's ongoing influence, along with the patronage of DOLLS superfan Morrissey, led Johansen and Sylvain to assemble a new version of the band in 2004, leading to a series of tours and three albums of new DOLLS material. Despite that latter-day revival, "New York Dolls" and "Too Much Too Soon" remain the foundation of the NEW YORK DOLLS' rock 'n' roll legacy. Now they can once again be heard the way they were meant to be heard — on vinyl!

Fan-filmed video footage of POISON's reunited original lineup — Bret Michaels, Bobby Dall, Rikki Rockett and C.C. DeVille — performing on April 10 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada as part of its North American tour with DEF LEPPARD can be seen below.

POISON's setlist was as follows:

01. Look What The Cat Dragged In02. Ride The Wind03. We're An American Band (GRAND FUNK RAILROAD cover)04. Something To Believe In05. Your Mama Don't Dance (LOGGINS & MESSINA cover)06. Guitar Solo07. Fallen Angel08. Unskinny Bop09. Drum Solo10. Every Rose Has Its Thorn11. Talk Dirty To Me

POISON's tour with DEF LEPPARD will wrap on June 25 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Prior to the start of the DEF LEPPARD trek, Michaels said: "I'm really looking forward to the POISON tour. It's going to be incredible playing all the hits and putting on a hell of a high-energy rock show for the three generations of awesome fans."

POISON and DEF LEPPARD first hit the road together back in 2009, and then again three years later.

POISON appeared at the 2013 Indy 500 Miller Lite Carb Day, but has otherwise been mostly playing private shows, including one in January 2015.

The band hasn't done any major touring since taking part in the 2012 "Rock Of Ages" trek with DEF LEPPARD and LITA FORD.

Rockett was recently declared cancer free after undergoing an experimental treatment. He was diagnosed with oral cancer back in 2015.

A hologram of the late Ronnie James Dio made its U.S. debut this past February at the 28th annual Pollstar Awards at the The Novo (formerly Club Nokia) in Los Angeles, California. Created by Eyellusion, the appearance of the heavy metal icon took place during a performance by DIO DISCIPLES, which pays tribute to Ronnie and is fully supported by his widow/manager, Wendy.

The Dio hologram was first introduced at last year's Wacken Open Air festival in Germany.

During an appearance on the "Talk Toomey" podcast, Wendy spoke about plans for a tour featuring the hologram, which will showcase various eras of the legendary metal singer's career.

"We're getting prepared for that right now," she said (hear audio below). "We're making a new [hologram]. We're making, like, eight songs. So we're working on that. That should be ready by September, and we're hoping to go out and start touring in September on that."

She continued: "I feel that Ronnie was an innovator in music, and why not be an innovator in technology also? He tried to make a hologram in 1986. When we had the [DIO] 'Sacred Heart' tour, we did the big crystal ball with Ronnie's head in there talking, which was actually done with a rear projection, but we were always trying to do new things and exciting things. In fact, his personal [assistant] just called me a couple of weeks ago and he said, 'Hey, Wendy, I just found this interview that Ronnie did a long time ago, and they were asking Ronnie [if he had] plans to retire, and 'What will you do when you retire?' And he said, 'Well, I don't think I'll ever retire. I'll probably die on stage. Or if I don't, I'm sure Wendy will find something for me to do after.' [Laughs] So I thought that was quite funny."

Wendy, who manages DIO DISCIPLES and is affiliated with the Eyellusion team, also spoke about the response the hologram has gotten from Ronnie's fans and other musicians. "Some [reactions] are positive, some are negative," she said. "If you've actually seen it… I think the people that have actually seen it are very positive. We debuted it at Wacken last year in Germany for seventy-five thousand people, and they were all totally, totally blown away. And also, it's never been done before, because this is a live band — Ronnie's live band that he played with for the last seventeen years, with Ronnie, with a live track of Ronnie's. And it was so realistic; everybody was, like, crying, and it was very moving. And I think it's great for the fans that never saw Ronnie, that are able to come and see him. And for the ones that did see him that would love to see him again up on stage."

Hologram world tours have previously been announced, but never come to fruition. In 2015, it was announced that Whitney Houston would go on the road in holographic form, but a leak of a duet with Christina Aguilera, which suggested the hologram was not up to scratch, led to the withdrawal of the Houston hologram by her estate.

According to Wendy, it's only a matter of time before other rock legends return to life through holograms, the three-dimensional light projections that have opened new frontiers for the live music and other industries. "Absolutely," she said. "I think the company that we're working with is talking to a lot of different people. And I think it's the way of the future. It's like people were, 'Ooooh…' when the eight-track came out, 'Ooooh, what's this?' And then cassette. 'Oooh, what's this?' And digital, 'What's this? Oh, we don't wanna do that. We only want analog. We don't want digital.' But you know what? It's technology. And also, we're losing our legends day by day; we're losing the innovators of metal and hard rock music; we're losing 'em every day. What are we gonna do? I don't see a lot of bands coming up to take their place."

DIO DISCIPLES features former DIO members Simon Wright (drums), Craig Goldy (guitar) and Scott Warren (keyboards) alongside vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) and bassist Bjorn Englen (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN). They are joined by singers Oni Logan (LYNCH MOB) and Joe Retta (SWEET, HEAVEN & EARTH).

Goldy defended DIO DISCIPLES' decision to perform with the Dio hologram, saying: "We know how much the fans miss Ronnie and the special and unequaled element that he brought to his live performances. Being able to recreate that same kind of magic for his fans at Wacken was incredible. For so many years, Ronnie always invested big in his live shows as his way to give back to the fans, and that is exactly what we aimed to do with this latest performance. We can't wait to bring this experience to even more of his fans and perhaps even a newer generation when we bring this incredible live experience on the road."

Interview (audio):

James Hetfield says that Lady Gaga's "energy was very, very exciting" when METALLICA collaborated with the pop superstar at this year's Grammy Awards.

METALLICA's appearance with Gaga at the 59th annual event in Los Angeles on February 12 turned into something of a disaster when the Grammy sound crew did not turn Hetfield's mic on, forcing him to share the mic with Gaga after the first verse and chorus.

As a further humiliation, presenter Laverne Cox did not even introduce METALLICA by name. At the end of the song, a visibly angry Hetfield hurled his guitar at a road crew member while kicking over his mic stand.

Hetfield spoke about the Grammys mishap during an interview with journalist Claudio Vergara of the Chilean newspaper La Tercera, conducted before METALLICA's April 1 appearance at Lollapalooza Chile in Santiago. He said: "The actual show, live on TV, I was very angry, yes. All the rehearsals, everything was perfect; up to there, everything was working. But, you know, out of my control. Something happened… I don't know what happened. But the silver lining is that Lady Gaga and me were singing closer, and [there] was a little more collaboration. She's an amazing person — very talented."

He continued: "When we were asked to play the Grammys, we said, 'Of course,' we said, 'Yes.' But they need you to collaborate with somebody; they want to make it interesting. So I'm glad she was available to do it. She has a lot of integrity as an artist, [and she's] very creative."

Asked if he would perform again at the Grammy Awards in the future, Hetfield said: "Sure. Why not? I will have two or three microphones right next to each other, yes. [Laughs]"

Hetfield was also asked if he would want to collaborate with Lady Gaga again or another pop artist in some capacity. He responded: "No. But even just talking with her, being around her, her energy was very, very exciting. She has lots of ideas, and she likes to push the boundaries like we do. So it was a good fit."

Shortly after this year's Grammy Awards, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told Rolling Stone that Gaga was the "quintessential perfect fifth member of this band," saying, "Her voice, her attitude, her outlook on everything is so awesome. [The performance] was so effortless and organic and she just has the spirit of hard rock and metal flowing through her veins. It comes really easy for her. There's nothing contrived; she just has this super warm, easy energy."

METALLICA was up for a Grammy this year for "Best Rock Song" for the track "Hardwired" from its new album, "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct", but lost to the late David Bowie's "Blackstar".

(Special thanks to Claudio Vergara of La Tercera for providing BLABBERMOUTH.NET with the original audio of the Hetfield interview.)

KAMELOT frontman Tommy Karevik has commented on the April 7 truck attack in Sweden which left four people dead and injured 15 more.

The victims were killed when a 39-year-old man rejected asylum seeker from Uzbekistan drove a stolen beer truck through a crowd in a pedestrian shopping street in downtown Stockholm.

Rakhmat Akilov, who has been in custody since the attack, admitted responsibility for a "terrorist crime" at a custody hearing on Tuesday morning.

Karevik, a Swedish citizen who works as a firefighter when he is not busy touring and recording with KAMELOT, has posted the following message on his Facebook page:

"Stockholm... Sweden.... a place I have called home for 35 years and a place where I always felt safe. My haven, if you will.

"Last Friday, terror hit the heart of the city and took with it the lives of four innocent people, among those an 11-year-old girl. It is sickening and it makes my gut turn inside out. My thoughts go out to everyone affected.

"My mother was walking on the actual street, only a few hundred meters away when it happened, and for the first time in forever I felt unsafe and very vulnerable. It just felt very real and close. But... What I have witnessed over the last couple of days since Friday is nothing short of amazing. People stepping up to help each other, going out of their own way to do something for someone else, showing each other endless love and support. Coming together. And all this by a people and a country that is often viewed upon as being very private and reserved.

"It warms my heart to see that even the most evil act of chaos and turmoil can have byproducts such as love and compassion. Go, humanity!

"In times like these, I want to express my gratitude to all of my family, the ones that I love and care about and to all of you who sent me messages to make sure we were all OK. It is truly great to have that support and I wish that for all of you people out there. Stay safe."

KAMELOT's latest album, "Haven", was released in May 2015 via Napalm Records as part of an exclusive licensing deal through the band's Kamelot Music LLC.

Former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist and current ART OF ANARCHY guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal says he believes "rock will never die as long as people want to physically make music, and people, I don't think, will ever stop wanting to do that."

Asked by music journalist Anne Erickson with Audio Ink Radio about those who claim that "rock is dead," Thal said, "Anyone who says that, I mean I can understand what they might be saying, like, maybe rock has not been funded in the mainstream where was 30 years ago, but rock is far from that. If you don't believe me, you can go to any school of rock across the world or anything like it and see 7-year-old kids jumping around with guitars and doing it. Rock has never been more alive and well, and it always will be, because rock is the final form of physical music. If you look at all the types of music that there have been throughout history where the music is made by a person doing something to the instrument, whether it's the drums or guitar or keyboards or anything, rock is the final one that we have. Electronic music is not physical music. Rock will never die as long as people want to physically make music, and people, I don't think, will ever stop wanting to do that."

Thal joined GUNS N' ROSES in 2006 and played on 2008's "Chinese Democracy".

In ART OF ANARCHY, Thal performs with alongside CREED singer Scott Stapp and DISTURBED bassist John Moyer.

When asked what makes Stapp a good fit for ART OF ANARCHY, Thal replied: "Scott was looking for a band, we were looking for a singer, and it just happened. It's like anything in life. How did you find your husband or wife? In my case, my wife. A lot of times, it's just chance meetings with people lined up at the same place at the same time. I think he's singing better than he ever did. He sounds better than ever. He has a very unique voice. You know it's him when you hear him, not just the sound of his voice, but the way he writes melodies and lyrics that are personal to him."

Read the entire interview at Audio Ink Radio.

Vocalist Biff Byford of British heavy metal legends SAXON was recently interviewed by Canadian rock journalist Mitch Lafon. You can now listen to the chat below.

Asked why he thinks SAXON never managed to reach the same commercial heights in the 1980s as a band like IRON MAIDEN, Biff said: "I just think that they had a fantastic team around them — and still do have, actually — and I think that made the extra… made it a bit better. I don't think they were surrounded by 'yes men,' if you know what I'm saying, where I think we were surrounded a little bit by fawning 'yes men,' and we lost our way a little bit in the way that we wrote songs and the way we recorded songs. It would have been better if we had stayed with a winning team, if you know what I mean. That's the sort of thing I mean. It's not particularly anything to do with musically or fashion or anything. It's just a matter of… I think they had the right team at the right place at the right time. They really went for it in America, and we sort of probably went about fifty percent for America. You have to remember that we were probably bigger in Europe at that time. It's just how it goes, really. It's just the luck of the draw, as they say."

Byford was also asked why he thinks SAXON had a particularly hard time breaking the American market. He responded: "You're asking the wrong person. I don't know. I mean, we certainly had the songs: 'Power & The Glory', 'Wheels Of Steel', 'Strong Arm Of The Law', 'Princess Of The Night', 'Denim And Leather'… I just think it was the record company and the general team that surrounded us. There's no reason why SAXON shouldn't have been a multi-platinum [band] in America — no reason whatsoever, apart from probably our own naiveté."

He continued: "'Power & The Glory' [1983] was high in the [American] charts, and 'Crusader' [1984] was as well. We just didn't manage to get to the platinum club; that's all. It's as simple as that. But that doesn't mean to say that we don't have a lot of fans in America. I mean, this tour that we're doing now [with UFO], we've just done three and a half thousand people on the West Coast, and it's fantastic. So we have a lot of fans out there, and we have a growing fan base of younger fans as well, so it's great, really. We don't have any regrets."

SAXON recently revealed that the band's forthcoming follow-up to 2015's "Battering Ram" will include a song dedicated to MOTÖRHEAD, called "They Played Rock And Roll".

"Battering Ram" was released in North America via UDR Music. The effort featured Byford alongside Paul Quinn and Doug Scarratt on guitar, Nibbs Carter on bass and Nigel Glockler on drums.

Official video footage of METALLICA performing the song "No Remorse" live on March 3 at at Foro Sol in Mexico City, Mexico can be seen below.

The North American leg of METALLICA's "WorldWired" 2017 tour kicks off in Baltimore and 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 mainly from AVENGED SEVENFOLD and VOLBEAT, with GOJIRA taking over for the latter group for the last six shows.

The first European leg of "WorldWired" kicks off on September 4 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and stretches through November. After a break, the trek will pick up again on February 10, 2018 in Bologna, Italy, and continue through May, finishing up in Helsinki, Finland.

Speaking about what fans can expect from the stage show on the "WorldWired" tour, bassist Robert Trujillo told Italy's Virgin Radio: "Yeah, I think what's exciting about what's happening right now is it's all still very fresh, and we're figuring out, visually, where production's going, we're getting to know the stage a little more. We're playing in the round, and it's been a while, so what happens is there's a different sort of approach to where you're supposed to be or what's comfortable or where you need to be. We're still working through the visuals you may see on the stage, 'cause the stage itself is also a screen, really. So there's a lot of things going on, and it takes a little bit of time to navigate… what I say, 'navigate the terrain.' So we're still trying to figure it out."

Regarding how METALLICA goes about choosing the setlist for its live performances, Trujillo said: "Well, that's a challenge too, because you have the back catalog, which is pretty strong. A lot of the hardcore fans wanna hear the deep cuts — songs like 'Orion' or maybe like a 'Disposable Heroes'; you know, songs that we don't play all the time — and then, of course, they wana hear 'Sandman' and 'Nothing Else Matters' and some of the hits. So Lars's [Ulrich, drums] job is to balance that out as best as he can, and then we sort of go over it and see if that works. But we do try to change the set every night; it's never gonna be exactly the same, which keeps things fun and interesting."

He continued: "One of the things that I think is important, and I think there's some pride in this, is that over the last few years, we've actually played obscure songs, like 'Frayed Ends Of Sanity', off the 'Justice' album, which hadn't been played ever with METALLICA live. So we did that a couple of years ago. So the fact that we're still doing that, I think, helps us become, actually, a better band; we grow from those experiences. And I believe those are the experiences that have helped 'Hardwired' become that much better of an album."

Members of NIGHTWISH, STRATOVARIUS, WINTERSUN, AMORPHIS, HIM, BATTLE BEAST and CHILDREN OF BODOM are among the musicians who have contributed to "Tuska20 - The Anniversary Song", a track celebrating the twentieth anniversary of Finland's Tuska open-air metal festival.

Tuska promoter Jouni Markkanen said: "All proceeds from this project will be collected to the 'Tuska 20 Years' fund that operates under the umbrella of Elmu Säätlö, and will be donated to charity. The object of charity will be determined by an advisory board, which consists of musicians, industry notables and Tuska-related persons throughout the history of the festival."

"Tuska20 - The Anniversary Song" has also been a great experience for the musicians involved, and an exciting one, as CHILDREN OF BODOM drummer Jaska Raatikainen explained: "This project is more secret than North Korea. Even the musicians don't know what's going to happen…"

The seven-minute epic, which was written by Esa Holopainen of AMORPHIS, features guest appearances by the following musicians:

* Akira Takasaki (LOUDNESS)* Gus G. (OZZY OSBOURNE, FIREWIND)* Marco Hietala (NIGHTWISH)* Lauri Porra, Jens Johansson and Timo Kotipelto (STRATOVARIUS)* Roope Latvala and Janne Joutsenniemi (STONE)* Jari Mäenpää and Teemu Mäntysaari (WINTERSUN)* Santeri Kallio (AMORPHIS)* Janne Johannes Puurtinen (a.k.a. Burton; HIM)* Noora Louhimo (BATTLE BEAST)* Archie Cruz (SANTA CRUZ)* Esa Holopainen (AMORPHIS)* Nino Laurenne (THUNDERSTONE, Sonic Pump Studio)* Jaska Raatikainen, Alexi Laiho, Daniel Freyberg, Janne Wirman (CHILDREN OF BODOM)* Gas Lipstick (ex-HIM, HALLATAR)* Tomi Joutsen (AMORPHIS)* Kai Hahto (WINTERSUN, NIGHTWISH)* Marko Annala and Tuomo Saikkonen (MOKOMA)* Pasi Rantanen (THUNDERSTONE)* Antti Hyyrynen (STAM1NA)* Samy Elbanna (LOST SOCIETY)* Ville Sorvali (MOONSORROW)* Netta Skog (ENSIFERUM)

"Tuska20 - The Anniversary Song" is now available for streaming below and can be downloaded as an MP3 or WAV file through www.fundyou.io. Each download costs 5 euros.

HIM, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, MAYHEM, APOCALYPTICA, DIRKSCHNEIDER and SONATA ARCTICA are among the confirmed bands for the 20th-anniversary edition of the Tuska festival, set to take place June 30 - July 2 in Helsinki, Finland.

The 2016 edition of the Tuska festival saw 28,000 fans gathered at Suvilahti, formerly an energy production area, a present-day venue for festivals, flea markets and graffiti, located in Helsinki's Sörnäinen district.

The festival offers a variety of ticket options: from 255 euros for the three-day Tuska Turbo VIP package to 129 euros for a normal three-day ticket and 105 and 75 euros for a two- or one-day ticket, respectively. Tickets can be exchanged for wristbands at the festival site.

For more information, visit Tuska.fi.

Japanese trance metal act Blood Stain Child, who have been plagued in recent years by line-up changes, recently returned with a new single/video entitled "Tri Odyssey", released on April 3rd on all digital platforms (iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, etc.). It was produced by Jacob Hansen and features new vocalist Saika, along with new bassist Yakky. They replace Kiki - who joined in 2012 replacing Sophia (Season Of Ghosts) - and founding bassist/vocalist Ryo respectively.

Blood Stain Child have posted the official video for a new single, "Trance Dead Kingdom", which will be officially released on May 9th. The video for "Tri Odyssey" is also available below. A third single, "Gaia Evolution", will be released on June 6th.

Stay tuned for updates.

 

 

"Take On My Legacy", a brand new song from Italian metallers LABYRINTH, can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's new studio album, "Architecture Of A God", which will be released on April 21 via Frontiers Music Srl.

In the spring of 2016, the band's founding members, Andrea Cantarelli and Olaf Thorsen received a call from Frontiers asking them to discuss with vocalist Roberto Tiranti the possibilities of a reunion with a return to their classic sound to mount a comeback for the band. After much discussion, the guys agreed to make an album and also to make a very special appearance at the the first annual Frontiers Metal Festival, where they performed their signature album, "Return To Heaven Denied", in its entirety. [Said performance is being prepared for a future home video release.] Olaf says: "This has been easily the most difficult and challenging album I ever worked on.

"To be honest, when Frontiers contacted me, insisting to make this reunion happen, I was skeptical and worried. We couldn't simply make a new album; it wouldn't have been honest to the fans, to ourselves.

"Of course, this is as easy to say as also unbelievably tough to make real: we have so many good albums out there, looking at us from their past and which people still keep in their minds and hearts. That's why we decided to strengthen our lineup, joining with nobody else but the best musicians we believed they would have fitted perfectly into our perspective of the music we were about to write." Andrea adds: "The making of this album has been a fantastic journey. We brought back a lot of classic elements of our music, mixing it with something new and I'm so enthusiastic about the final result." Roberto Tiranti makes it short: "Just when you thought you already gave everything you could, expressing every possible musical aspect of your way of intending music for a band like LABYRINTH, then comes 'Architecture Of A God' to remind you that nothing is impossible!" With a new lineup rounded out by drummer extraordinaire John Macaluso (TNT, RIOT, ARK), Oleg Smirnoff (VISION DIVINE, EDRITCH) on keyboards, and Nik Mazzucconi on bass, LABYRINTH are truly coming back stronger than ever and have offered up a superb self-produced album. "Architecture Of A God" (mixed by DGM's Simone Mularoni) is a record that encompasses all the elements the band is known for: fast power metal songs with unforgettable hooks, epic prog-infused metal songs, and some great melodic numbers that compose a record which is easily going to be another milestone for the Italian metal masters! "What we have in our hands, now, it's 'Architecture Of A God': by far, the most mature and complete album we ever wrote," concludes Thorsen.

"There's no will to challenge our glorious past, but I'm really confident that, once released, this album will set a new standard for our music!"

"Architecture Of A God" track listing:

01. Bullets02. Still Alive03. Take On My Legacy04. A New Dream05. Someone Says06. Random Logic07. Architecture Of A God08. Children09. Those Days10. We Belong To Yesterday11. Stardust And Ashes12. Diamond LABYRINTH 2017 is:

Roberto Tiranti - lead vocalsOlaf Thorsen - lead guitarsAndrea Cantarelli - lead guitarsNik Mazzucconi - bass guitarOleg Smirnoff - keyboardsJohn Macaluso - drums

Sammy Hagar's video for "No Worries" can be seen below. The song is one of the new tracks included in his solo compilation "This Is Sammy Hagar Volume 1 - When The Party Started", which came out last November via Mailboat Records. The collection, which starts from his solo album post VAN HALEN, "Red Voodoo" in 1999 through to "Livin' It Up" in 2006, also includes a new remix of "Sam I Am", which is the new theme song for season two of his acclaimed TV show "Rock 'N' Roll Road Trip", as well as two new Hagar-penned tracks, the aforementioned "No Worries" and "I Never Got To Say Goodbye".

"With this collection, I wanted to revisit the music which would come to redefine my career post VAN HALEN," explained Hagar. "It was the first time since I'd joined MONTROSE in 1972 that I was free from the weight of being in a superstar, high-pressure band and the commercial machine that came with it. I was in a place of experimentation and discovery and that's when the party started again for me."

"This Is Sammy Hagar Volume 1 - When The Party Started" track listing:

01. Stand Up (5:58)02. Serious Juju (3:50)03. Little Bit More (3:37)04. Ten 13 (4:35)05. The Real Deal (3:12)06. Tropic Of Capricorn (4:34)07. Maui Wowie (2:11)08. Shag (Outtake Mix) (3:54) (+)09. Halfway To Memphis (4:29)10. Sam I Am (3:30) (+)11. Livin' On A Coastline (4:20)12. One Sip (2:18)13. No Worries (3:36) (*)14. Never Said Goodbye (3:09) (*)

* New track+ Alternate mix

THE WINERY DOGS, the power trio featuring drummer Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ADRENALINE MOB), legendary bassist Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, TALAS, DAVID LEE ROTH) and guitarist/vocalist Richie Kotzen (MR. BIG, POISON), will release a new concert DVD and Blu-ray in July via Loud & Proud Records. The set will include the band's entire May 27, 2016 performance at Teatro Cariola in Santiago, Chile as well as an EP of previously unreleased studio tracks.

THE WINERY DOGS last year completed a tour in support of its second album, "Hot Streak", which was released in October 2015 in North America.

"Hot Streak" debuted at No. 30 on The Billboard 200 chart, having shifted 13,000 equivalent album units in the week ending October 8, 2015.

In a recent interview with Myglobalmind, Kotzen said about THE WINERY DOGS' current status: "[There is] nothing [planned] at the moment, I don't foresee anything happening for a couple of years.

"It's an interesting thing, with THE WINERY DOGS I wasn't looking to join a band for the rest of my life," he continued. "My idea was to take a break from being Richie Kotzen and do something more collaborative. I thought it would be fun to do the first WINERY DOGS CD and tour to some key market shows and that would be the end of it. We ended up getting a great response and toured for over a year. People loved the CD so much that we got back in the studio to do the second one.

"For me, it's time to come home and do what I've always done. I have been making Richie Kotzen records since I was 18; it's a source of survival, sanity, art, and everything you want to call it. I know the other guys have something very exciting in the works which people will love. It may fill a WINERY DOGS void."

Kotzen added: "I'm not saying it's over; you never know in a couple of years from now we may get back together and do something. What I am saying is THE WINERY DOGS are the furthest thing from my mind right now with a new [solo] CD coming out."

Coming in July! It's the full Santiago concert as well as an EP of unreleased studio tracks! @LoudProudLabel will have a press release soon https://t.co/SURYeg9rZ5

— Mike Portnoy 🤘 (@MikePortnoy) April 10, 2017

According to TMZ, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has filed a new lawsuit against its longtime record label Prospect Park, calling the company a "sinking ship" which is drowning in debt.

Saying FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH is probably the only profitable band on the Prospect Park roster, the band has accused the label of "cooking up a bogus lawsuit last year to keep the band recording ... while it shopped the label," according to the tabloid site.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH wants a judge to release them from their contract with Prospect Park, and to order the label to more than a million dollars in damages.

Prospect Park tells TMZ the real issue is the band still hasn't delivered the album "required under the recording contract and expected by their fans."

The label sued FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH a year ago for breach of contract, alleging that the group wanted to rush the recording of a new album without proper creative input from the label and in order to "cash in" before the anticipated "downfall" of singer Ivan Moody, who was revealed at the time to be in rehab. In addition, Prospect Park wanted more time to promote 2015's "Got Your Six" release, and asked the band to provide just two new songs for a greatest-hits collection in the interim.

But the group allegedly rejected that plan, insisting instead on recording a new full-length album. According to Prospect Park's original lawsuit, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's four-album contract prohibits the band from beginning to record a new effort until at least nine months have passed since the release of the previous one.

The label said in its lawsuit that it wants to "prevent the band from disregarding the health and safety of a bandmate and destroying itself."

In addition to its concern over Moody's well-being, the label alleged in the suit that "radio has told Prospect Park that the 'sound' of FFDP is getting stale, requiring greater creative input" in the recording of its next album.

In May 2016, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH announced it had signed a new North American recording deal with the BMG-owned rock label Rise Records.

Brazilian metallers, Symmetrya, have released a lyric video for "Something In The Mist”, a track from the album Last Dawn, released at the end of 2014. The song features Angra guitarist Rafael Bittencourt, and is based on the Stephen King’s book, The Mist.

The lyric video for "Something In The Mist" was produced by Júlio Victor, musical producer, student of Psychology and YouTuber. He currently develops and produces cultural content for YouTube on the Tá Na Capa channel. In his resume, Julio carries productions of lyric videos with the band Hangar.

At the moment, Symmetrya is finalizing the pre-production of their new album, with more details to be released soon.

Drummer Dave Davis has returned to Ninth Circle after a year away. Dave and Ninth Circle had parted ways in March 2016 and was replaced with Jim Standerfer to complete the remaining dates on the Legions Of The Brave Tour and subsequent  Make America Metal Tour. The band had also begun rehearsing new material with Jim Standerfer for the new Ninth Circle record.

Bassist Frank Forray provides insight to the return of Dave Davis, “We had a very amicable split with Dave early last year. Even the word 'split' makes it sound harsh, as it was anything but. Dave needed some time away and the band’s schedule was such that we had to keep charging. So, in probably the friendliest terms we agreed to remain friends, and with Dave’s recommendation we sought out Jim as his replacement to maintain our commitments.”

While completing the remaining dates of the Legions Of The Brave Tour, Ninth Circle began rehearsing new material for the next record, “We completed the remaining live dates with Jim while beginning to rehearse new material for our upcoming record. Unfortunately, as we were over half way done with rehearsing new material, Jim informed us of his intention to leave the band. That was a blow to Dennis and me. The timing was awkward as we had been working diligently on new material to get into the studio to begin recording with Jim.”

Ninth Circle reunited the strong friendship with Dave. “Dennis and I had many conversations over two or three weeks about what to do next. We had seen Dave at the last show of our tour and we spoke a little that evening. Luckily for us he wasn’t working with anyone at the time so we decided to give him a call. Dave was available, excited, and enthusiastic about returning so it was an easy transition.”

The band has been in the rehearsal studio working on the new material, “We picked up right where we left off with Dave - same jokes, same timing and same songwriting strength that led to the success of Legions Of The Brave. We have been in the studio now for two weeks and we have completed structuring five songs of the twelve written for the next record. They sound extremely powerful.”

Dennis adds: "It's been apparent during our first rehearsals back together that we still enjoy arranging and working on new songs collectively. Although the songs have already been written, everyone has their chance to explore new parts or ideas if they enhance a song. It's as if Dave's break not only benefited Dave, but has recharged Frank and I." 

Dave Davis says, “I am excited to be back in Ninth Circle, and the new material is the strongest we've done yet. I am very much looking forward to recording, and playing these new songs."

Frank goes onto explain, “I have been listening back to the recordings of our rehearsals and it sounds heavy and mean! The next batch of songs will definitely have Ninth Circle fans banging their heads like never before!”

 

Detroit's Reverence have named Paul Kleff as their new guitarist. "Paul will be replacing our brother Pete Rossi who unexpectedly passed away earlier this year. Pete will be dearly missed but I know in working with him closely for the better part of a year, he would have loved nothing more than to have his music heard and live on," says singer Scott Oliva.

"After deciding to carry on without Pete, we surprisingly received many applications from guitarists all over the world, however, once I spoke to Paul and heard his playing; plus knowing he also had a friendship with Pete, I knew we had found the right guy,” adds founding guitarist Bryan Holland.

“Paul is a fantastic and experienced guitarist with many of the same qualities and techniques as Pete, which will help maintain the Reverence sound. Paul has performed and recorded with several known acts such as Metal Church, Ronny Munroe (Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Metal Church) and Firewolfe with vocalist David Fefolt (Fifth Angel, Masi) and drummer Jay Schellen (Hurricane, Asia. Unruly Child)."

Reverence is on track to release an EP later this year and a full length album early in 2018. They are planning on adding some summer US shows, and a European tour is being booked for this fall by Axel Wiesenauer at Rock N Growl booking.

Bryan states, “I would also like to thank all of our fans for the huge outpouring of support during these difficult times and especially my wife Tracy, my bandmates, booking and management, what a terrific team we have. Its been a tough road but it's much easier when you're not traveling it alone. Thank you my friends!"

 

Sleaze/punk influenced metal outfit, Sister, who hail from Stockholm, Sweden, has been working hard during the last ten years earning the reputation of being one of the best live acts out there. The band have now launched a brand new video for the song “Endangered Species”, taken off their latest longplayer Stand Up, Forward, March!

Comments Sister’s Cari Crow: "We went to the dirty streets of London to shoot the video for “Endangered Species”. The video touches the current mode in today's rock n' roll scene but also reflects the contrast of people living in large cities. We wanted to capture the raw reality and London was the right place to connect these two themes. We once again worked with René U Valdes and Greenworks Television and they really captured what we wanted to show."

Sister live dates:

April
13 - Jönköping, Sweden - Bongo Bar
28 - Oslo, Norway - All Is One Festival
29 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Rockfest

August
16-19 - Dinkelsbühl, Germany - Summer Breeze Festival

September
3 - Sheffield, UK - HRH Sleaze

ICED EARTH will release its new album, "Incorruptible", on June 16. The cover artwork for the disc (as well as additional illustrations to every song) was created by David Newman-Stump from Skeleton Crew Tattoo (pencil illustrations) and Roy Young (colors).

"Incorruptible" track listing:

01. Great Heathen Army (5:21)02. Black Flag (4:56)03. Raven Wing (6:25)04. The Veil (4:47)05. Seven Headed Whore (3:00)06. The Relic (Part 1) (4:59)07. Ghost Dance (Awaken The Ancestors) (6:35)08. Brothers (4:45)09. Defiance (4:08)10. Clear The Way (December 13th, 1862) (9:30)

The first two songs will be released on April 28 ("Seven Headed Whore") and April 29 ("Raven Wing").

"Incorruptible" will be available in the following formats:

* Deluxe CD digipak with extensive booklet, fold-out poster and slipcase (only available in Europe)* CD digipak (only available in the USA)* Strictly limited artbook with 36-page booklet with introduction, additional artworks, sketches and comments by Jon Schaffer to each individual song, CD and double 10" vinyl, worldwide limited to only 3000 copies* Deluxe 2LP version in various vinyl colors (see below for exact color split) with gatefold sleeve, 4-page lyric sheet, 180-gram vinyl, black anti-static inner sleeves, etching and 12-page LP-booklet with artworks to each of the 10 songs* Standard CD jewel case* Digital download / stream

The 2LP version of "Incorruptible" is offered in the following vinyl colors:

* Black vinyl: unlimited and offered through all retail channels* Dark-green vinyl: limited to 200 copies, exclusively available in the U.K.* Yellow vinyl: limited to 200 copies, exclusively available in France* Clear vinyl: limited to 100 copies, exclusively available at Century Media's European online store* Lilac vinyl: limited to 200 copies, exclusively available at Nuclear Blast* Silver vinyl: limited to 200 copies, exclusively available at EMP* Transparent-red vinyl: limited to 500 copies, distributed through RED in the USA* White vinyl: limited to 300 copies, exclusively offered in the USA through F.Y.E.* Transparent-orange vinyl: limited to 200 copies, exclusively sold by ICED EARTH on tour

The artbook version of "Incorruptible" will be offered in the following vinyl colors:

* Transparent-red vinyl: main version, available through all retail channels* Clear vinyl: limited to 100 copies, exclusively available at Century Media's European online store* Golden vinyl: limited to 200 copies, available at various online stores* Black vinyl: limited to 200 copies, available at various online stores* Silver vinyl: limited to 200 copies, exclusively available at Nuclear Blast* Transparent-orange vinyl: limited to 200 copies, exclusively sold by ICED EARTH on tour

Regarding how "Incorruptible" compares to previous ICED EARTH albums, guitarist and main songwriter Jon Schaffer told Metal Wani: "They're all kind of their own thing, but I have a very strong gut feeling about this, and so does everybody in the band, that this is one of the really special ones. So I put it up there with 'The Dark Saga' [1996], 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' [1998], 'Dystopia' [2011] — it's in that league of records — so it's really gonna be something special, man. I know musicians always say that, but there is something going on here, so it's cool. We're all very excited about it."

On the topic of the concept for the lyrics on "Incorruptible", Schaffer said: "There is no concept on this record; it's just ten individual tracks not related to each other. Actually, on 'Plagues Of Babylon' [2014], it was only the first six that were related to the 'Something Wicked' story; it was like a zombie apocalypse within the 'Something Wicked' framework. But this album, it's just ten individual songs. We have one called 'Clear The Way', which is about the Irish Brigade at the Battle Of Fredericksburg — very tragic, actually — but that's a big epic, like ten minutes; and then we have one called 'Black Flag', which is a pirate song. It's quite a… I think I pulled it off pretty well with the lyrics, to be able to tell such a big story in a very short amount of time. I think it's gonna be a highlight of the record. And then on [the last European] tour, [we opened] the show with a new song that will be the opener on the album — it's called 'Great Heathen Army' — that's got a Viking kind of a vibe to it. So there's a lot of different things, and none of it's really related. There's one called 'Raven Wing'… I can't really think of all of them righ now… 'Seven Headed Whore' — that's one that's actually pretty brutal; it's like a total kick in the balls. But, you know, there's a lot of varied emotions on this, and it's cool stuff, man."

Asked about singer Stu Block's contribution to "Incorruptible", Schaffer said: "Well, he came at the end of… for about the last month or so of pre-production… maybe a little bit more… five weeks… and we worked on his vocal parts. We do it like Stu and I normally do it. Some of the stuff we write together. I mean, I write the musical arrangements and do all that — he doesn't play any instruments — but he comes in… At the end of the writing process is when we focus on his parts. And the lyrics that we worked on together, on a song called 'Brother', which is about our brotherhood, [between] Stu and I and within the band… We've gone through a lot of shit together and we've had a lot of great times together, but the bond is very strong, and that's clear. So it's just a song, really, for us. And then he wrote the lyrics for 'The Great Heathen Army'. I'm trying to think… I can't think of 'em, man; I have to look at the list [of songs]. But usually, he goes to an area and works, and I go in my area and work. And, like I said, on some songs we collaborate sometimes. On this one, the only we did was 'Brother'… We work in the way we always work. And it's a very cool chemistry."

ICED EARTH took a break from touring in 2015, primarily due to Schaffer's second cervical fusion surgery.

Longtime ICED EARTH drummer Brent Smedley returned to the band for the current recording and touring cycle. Smedley had to step down due to personal family reasons in 2013 shortly before the recording of "Plagues Of Babylon".

"Sins Of The Mechanical" is the name of the first single from The Interbeing's new album Among The Amorphous. The song marks the first release for The Interbeing since their debut album Edge Of The Obscure in 2011. The new album Among The Amorphous is set to be released worldwide through Long Branch Records in CD, LP, download and streaming formats on June 23rd. Check out the video for "Sins Of The Mechanical":

The challenging second album for The Interbeing has been underway for some time. Numerously all the songs have been under review due to the band's ultimate determination to perfect each track and the album as a whole. The result appears in the form of the visionary dystopian concept album Among The Amorphous. An album that lifts the bar in regards of storytelling and songwriting in the world of technical metal. The songs have a sinister David Lynch feel to them, while the massive sections of polyrhythmic Meshuggah-inspired sonances envelop the listener. In conclusion the soundscape peaks with great evoking choruses that would most likely get Devin Townsend's stamp of approval. The Interbeing plunges into a futuristic music journey in which Dara Corcoran's constant shifting between growls, whispering, chanting and grand melodies makes this album one of the most ambitious albums in Danish Metal in many years.

Among The Amorphous was mixed by producer Jonas Haagensen and mastered by Jacob Hansen at Hansen Studios (Volbeat, Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, Pretty Maids); the cover art can be seen below:

Pre-orders can be placed here.

The Interbeing lineup:

Dara Corcoran - vocals
Torben Pedersen - guitars, vocals
Boas Segel - guitars, programming
Jacob Hansen - bass
Kristoffer Egefelt - drums