OTEP, the band led by singer, poet, illustrator, author and activist Otep Shamaya, is about to unveil the most uncompromising, candid, all-inclusive and controversial assessment of the current residing political regime that it has ever released in the form of its eighth full-length album, titled "Kult 45". Drawing influences from politically charged recording artists of the past but allowing her artwork to remain fully and undeniably OTEP, Shamaya continues her nearly two-decade invasion of the senses on July 27 when "Kult 45" drops via Napalm Records. This is OTEP like you've never heard them before.


"Kult 45" is available for pre-order now exclusively via the Napalm Records online store, and will be available in CD (jewel case) format with bonus tracks and vinyl format in black, as well as individual red and gold vinyl colors (each Napalm Records exclusives). Digital pre-orders will become available soon.


Throughout the span of her career, Shamaya has been an undeniable force in bringing awareness via various acclaimed mediums to social and political injustices felt by various communities and subcultures. For years, publications such as Revolver magazine have lauded Shamaya for "following in the footsteps of outspoken musicians from folk singer Woody Guthrie to RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Zach de la Rocha, dubbing her "one of music's catalysts for social change". So, with the political climate as it is today, it's prime time for OTEP to make their voices heard in their primary medium — song.


"You can expect a complete and total mutiny of the senses on 'Kult 45'," says Shamaya. "That said, it's important for fans to know that this record is not just an indictment of Trump. The idea is rather to empower people to stand up and remind them this is our country and we have the power. It's primarily a rallying cry for people with common sense and good-natured patriots to rise up and know that we own this nation.


"Although the album is produced well technically, lyrically, it's very raw," she continues. "Musically, we explore different genres — we're trying to reach everyone. I don't want to be limited to one genre or to be anchored to a particular space where I can only reach certain political minds. It's important to me that I'm sending a clear and concise message to the Resistance — the people out there bending the barricades and fighting for justice is this country."


"Kult 45" was recorded at The Lair in Los Angeles, completely utilizing the same equipment used for OTEP's first album, "Sevas Tra" (down to Shamaya's vocal microphone, a SHURE Beta 58), in order to create a sound reminiscent of their roots. "Kult 45" was self-produced by the band, with assistant engineering from Larry Goetz, Nicolas Schilke and Lizzy Ostro.


Shamaya explains that "Kult 45" is the most authentic album OTEP has ever released, at least since their first record, and self-producing it helped achieve this result. "We had the freedom to be able to write, record and exist within the songs on 'Kult 45'," she says. "Things needed to be said and songs needed to be written that reflect the times. We weren't under anyone else's agenda, there was no pressure to create a 'single' or a song for radio, and the band was really able to shine."


"Kult 45" track listing:

01. Hail To The Thief

02. Halt Right

03. Molotov

04. Said The Snake

05. Undefeated

06. Trigger Warning

07. Cross Contamination

08. Shelter In Place

09. Boss

10. To The Gallows

11. Sirens Calling

12. Invisible People

13. Be Brave

14. Wake Up (cover of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE)

15. Feral Oracle (bonus track)

16. The Tribe Speaks (bonus track)


OTEP does not hold back on "Kult 45", pointing out all sorts of political duplicities and leaving them in their wake. The band explodes on aggressive, adamant anthems like "Halt Right" and "Molotov", which act as timely outcries against the recent resurgence of hate groups. Tracks like the in-your-face "Cross Contamination" explore the hypocrisy of the evangelical right giving Trump a pass on his infidelities, and cherry-picking scriptures to fit their ideologies. "Invisible People" approaches immigration issues while pointing a strong finger at Trump, the electronically charged "Boss" aims to break, fight, and redefine gender roles, and "Trigger Warning" targets rape culture — specifically Stanford rapist Brock Turner — with a vengeance.


"Shelter In Place" investigates the topic of school shootings, specifically. "This song is extremely important to me because it was inspired by the bravery of those Parkland students who formed the March For Our Lives," says Shamaya. "The outro is, 'hey hey NRA, how many kids did you kill today?' because they've actively taken measures to make our kids less safe in school. They want to arm teachers, they want to put more guns in schools and on the street. The song itself isn't specifically anti-gun, but aimed at the hypocrisy of the NRA and certain belief systems that lose sight of what's truly important — the lives of our children."


The album pre-closes with a cover of "Wake Up" — an homage to political music icons, major "Kult 45" writing inspiration, and original track recording artists RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE — as well as a unique finisher, "The Tribe Speaks", featuring recorded voicemails from fans expressing how OTEP's music has changed their lives. "In the voicemails people say they feel empowered, that the music saved them," explains Shamaya. "They told us that they discovered their identities with our music. There was a girl who said that she considered committing suicide and that our music pulled her out of that. These were all based on last album, and I think that this album will have a similar impact on people. These are so moving — it's what keeps me fighting. Really."


"We want to empower people," ends Shamaya. "This album wasn't written to only wake people up, it's meant to carbonate people with the hope and confidence that they can make a difference."


OTEP will go out on a headline tour supporting "Kult 45", beginning July 5 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Hard Rock Hotel And Casino. The tour will run for nearly a month and a half, coming to an end in Ventura, California on August 18.

Singer, songwriter, producer, performer, mother, teacher, rock 'n' roll legend… Lee Aaron is wearing a lot of hats these days. With a career spanning over 35 years and still going strong, Aaron is one of Canada's most diverse artists and, as Billboard once described her, "an invincible voice."

She proves it yet again on "Diamond Baby Blues", out April 27. Aaron delivers a world-class vocal performance that may very well be the finest in her career.

She was one of the first women in Canada to navigate the male-dominated waters of rock 'n' roll, pioneering the way for a significant number of artists. Her 1989 album, "BodyRock", was proclaimed by Chart magazine as "one of the 20 most influential Canadian albums of the '80s, with artists like Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morissette and Shania Twain under Aaron's influence."

Born in Belleville Ontario, Lee's family relocated to Winnipeg when she was two. Living two doors down from the MacLean family (MacLean & MacLean), Burton Cummings was a frequent visitor and Aaron's earliest musical memories were of the rehearsals and parties that occurred in that Dowling Avenue home throughout much of her early childhood.

Smitten by the music bug, after moving back to Ontario she studied voice and piano as a teenager as well as appearing in numerous musical theatre productions. At 15 she was invited to join a band in the Toronto suburbs. Initially playing saxophone and keys, by 17 she had evolved into the band's lead singer and was discovered by local talent agent the summer she graduated school. Working with Canadian greats from MOXY, SANTERS and Rick Emmett, by 19 she had written and recorded her debut album, 1982's "The Lee Aaron Project".

Between 19 and 21, Aaron weathered a period that she today describes as "painful and embarrassing" in which she was subjected to overtly sexist marketing, exploitive photographs, emotionally uncomfortable stage wear and "being thrown into situations I had neither the self confidence, maturity or life experience to navigate." As a result of this, the song "Metal Queen" was born. A response — not just to her own experience but the entire sexist culture of '80s rock — the song was intended as a feminist statement of power and strength. Women were much more than the ornamental, eye candy depictions of the era, but strong and intelligent, in control and a force to be reckoned with. The song and subsequent video catapulted Aaron to iconic status with legions of fans around the globe and over the years has become an enduring anthem of empowerment for men and women alike.

The late '80s and early '90s brought radio hits, gold and multi-platinum sales with "BodyRock" and "Some Girls Do" (1991), multiple JUNO nominations and song writing awards. She appeared on the cover of dozens of magazines — even TV Guide! — and for several years seemed to be everywhere, her videos in near constant rotation on MuchMusic. Aaron turned the tables on the sexist status quo in her video for "Whatcha Do To My Body", which featured a group of rugged, attractive men objectified in a tongue and cheek, yet respectful manner. This resonated deeply with the public and became a smash hit.

Recurrent themes in her writing — from teenager to maturity — have always been female empowerment and individualism, challenging the feminine stereotype and of course, love, in all its beauty and iniquity.

She re-emerged in 1998 performing blues and jazz in intimate venues around Vancouver, surprising fans and industry insiders alike with a musical left turn and released "Slick Chick" (2000) a spirited and soulful nod to her early influences. Despite initial skepticism, her authenticity and solid live performances from coast to coast led to credibility as one of the country's most respected and versatile female vocalists and songwriters.

She followed up with the jazz-infused "Beautiful Things" (2004) but perhaps her most challenging career move to date was to become a wife and mother. Less than a month after completing the "Beautiful Things" tour, Lee and her husband welcomed a daughter in 2004 and a son in 2006. She took a recording hiatus to focus on her young family, but continued to perform selected live dates. She also released "Museum", a collection of jazz performances on DVD in 2006; "Rarities, Studio & Live", a 3-DVD career anthology in 2008; "Live In Sweden", a DVD of her 2011 concert at Sweden Rock Festival; and a 30-year commemorative CD, "Radio Hitz And More", in 2012.

During this time, Aaron returned college to expand on her post secondary education, acquiring a certification in specialized education. Working with exceptional youth in her community, she soon found herself helping design and implement programs for gifted children. "I've worked with differently-abled thinkers all my life… they're called musicians!" she says. "Working with kids who learn in unconventional ways is intuitive work; just like music. When you find a teaching strategy that works — just like a song idea — the light bulb goes on and it's magical."

In 2016, Aaron catapulted back onto the scene with "Fire And Gasoline", a stellar collection of rock originals. Canadian and European dates followed and video singles "Tom Boy", "Fire And Gasoline" and "Bad Boyfriend" have well over 100,000 views on YouTube and continue to grow in popularity.

Last year brought multiple honors, with a permanent star on the Arts Walk Of Fame in her former hometown of Brampton, Ontario, her iconic "Metal Queen" and "BodyRock" outfits on display at The National Music Centre in Calgary and the "Back In The Spotlight" Fan's Choice award from Music Express.

"Diamond Baby Blues" is a fiery collection of blues-based rockers, rock 'n' roll and hard-rock that pays homage to the giants of the late '60s and '70s music scene.

Set to perform at Wacken Open Air, Germany's biggest open-air festival this summer, Sweden's Skogsrojet and a string of Canadian shows, this multi-talented songstress shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

On the eve of their first tour ever tour of Australia, drummer Linda McDonald from The Iron Maidens revealed plans to the Australian Rock Show for the band to record a new tribute album in August. Speaking to the Australian Rock Show podcast McDonald stated: "We are actually going into the studio to record another Tribute CD in August. We've already released a few but they're all out of print - people keep asking for them. The CDs we did record previously do not feature any of the more recent band members, so we're gonna go ahead and do that, give the fans what they want"

McDonald also spoke about Phantom Blue's plans to re-unite with the original members, but after guitarist Michelle Meldrum passed away in 2008 the plan was put to rest. Check out the audio interview here.

Los Angeles-based guitarist Nikki Stringfield (The Iron Maidens, Femme Fatale, solo) has released a cover of Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box" in tribute to Kurt Cobain, who passed away 24 years ago on April 5th, 1994.

Nikki says: "Kurt was the reason I decided to start playing guitar when I was 14 years old and continued to inspire me throughout the years. Most people don't realize the impact he had on me and my music so I wanted to finally cover one of my favorite Nirvana songs. I've been wanting to do this for a long time so I hope you all enjoy!"

Directed by Diego Gonzales - Don Diego Productions
Filmed at Metal Sanaz's "Unfriendly Studios" in Los Angeles, CA
Produced by Patrick Kennison of Heaven Below/Lita Ford
Special thanks to Mary Whitman

Nikki has her own signature model guitar from Schecter Guitars and is also endorsed by GHS Strings and Seymour Duncan pickups.

PANTERA has released a new teaser for the band's long-awaited fourth home video as "a special '4' 20 surprise" on Friday, April 20. Check it out below.

PANTERA's last home video, titled "3: Watch It Go", was released in 1997 on VHS format through Elektra Records. The set featured over two hours of music videos, concert footage and various backstage clips.

"Dimebag" Darrell Abbott's longtime girlfriend Rita Haney told the "Talk Toomey" podcast in a 2017 interview that the release of PANTERA's fourth home video will depend on the success of the "Dimevision Vol. 2: Roll With It Or Get Rolled Over" set, which contains video footage of the late PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN guitarist captured between the mid-'80s and his later years.

She said: "There's not a market for DVDs anymore, and that's what the industry told us. They passed on [releasing 'Dimevision Vol. 2'], and I had to go to our really good friend Brian Slagel, just to get this going with Metal Blade. So this video is kind of, 'We're gonna prove you wrong. There's still this strong cult following for PANTERA home videos and 'Dimevision'.' So if the people get out and really support this package and go old school and not the digital format… 'cause it's so hard to get clearances for every little thing. That's exactly why the previous PANTERA videos are not out there on iTunes that you can get them, because trying to go back and get all those clearances, it would be so expensive today, there's no way. So we have to go with the old-school format. And if people will support it and show the love and it does well, then that gives us the green light for the next project. So it's really gonna depend on that."

Haney added that she has "so much footage" for a possible new PANTERA home video. "'Cause you have to think, after [1994's] 'Far Beyond Driven', there was still, like, four huge two-year tours for the live [album, 1997's 'Official Live: 101 Proof'], [1996's] 'The Great Southern Trendkill', [2000's] 'Reinventing The Steel'… So there is more than enough for more than one volume than four, for sure."

"Dimevision Vol. 2: Roll With It Or Get Rolled Over" was released in November via Metal Blade Records. The DVD/CD set — which includes more raw footage, true gems and classic Dimebag moments — also contains five previously unreleased demos, picked from a vast catalog Dimebag accrued since Haney gave him his first four-track in 1984.

Dimebag was shot and killed by a crazed gunman while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at a Columbus, Ohio rock club in December 2004.

Here’s a special “4” 20 surprise! #panterahomevideo4 #420 #pantera #dimebagdarrell #rexbrown #philanselmo #vinniepaul A post shared by Pantera (@panteraofficial) on Apr 20, 2018 at 4:37pm PDT

"Scream For Me Sarajevo", a documentary telling the story of a 1994 concert given by IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson while the Bosnian War was raging and Sarajevo itself was under siege, will be released on June 29 on DVD, Blu-ray and digital via Eagle Vision. In addition, the music from the film is being released on CD/double LP via BMG.

Comprising music from the film which spans Bruce Dickinson's solo career, the album features the rarities "Acoustic Song" (previously only available as a bonus track on the 2001 "Best Of Special Edition"), "Inertia (Live)" (previously only available as a bonus track on the expanded re-release of "Skunkworks" in 2005) and the album closer "Eternal" (previously only available as Japanese bonus tracks on "Tyranny Of Souls").

"Scream For Me Sarajevo" album track listing:

01. Change Of Heart

02. Tears Of The Dragon

03. Gods Of War

04. Darkside Of Aquarius

05. Navigate The Seas Of The Sun

06. Road To Hell

07. Arc Of Space

08. Omega

09. River Of No Return

10. Power Of The Sun

11. Strange Death In Paradise

12. Inertia (Live)

13. Acoustic Song

14. Eternal


"Scream For Me Sarajevo", the film and album, is now available to pre-order exclusively via PledgeMusic at www.screamformesarajevo.com.

"Scream For Me Sarajevo" will be released beginning May 10 in select theaters across the U.S. and Canada.

The first time Dickinson was in Sarajevo, the city was cut off from the world, its citizens brutally terrorized by shooting, bombing and starvation with electricity and water supply being nothing short of a luxury. Bruce and his then-solo band drove through the frontlines and ultimately played a show for the people trapped in the city. What this gig meant to the people and how it changed Bruce and his band is told in "Scream For Me Sarajevo".

Featuring footage from the historic gig, the film also meets those that made it to the show and made the show happen; determined to keep living their lives despite the atrocities going on around them. Interviews with the band, crew and security bring home the reality of the situation that was not only dangerous, it was barbaric.

"We weren't protected, there was no plan and the bullets were real, but fuck it, we went anyway," said Bruce in his autobiography "What Does This Button Do?" "The gig was immense, intense and probably the biggest show in the world at that moment for the audience and for us. That the world didn't really know didn't matter. It changed the way I viewed life, death and other human beings."

In addition to the feature film, a specially recorded interview with Dickinson will be included as exclusive theatrical-only content in participating theaters.

In a December 2015 interview with the Radio Sarajevo show "The Aebyss", Bruce spoke about the security concerns he has in an age of terrorism when it comes to deciding which countries to travel to in order to play for the people there. He said: "Personally, yeah, I'll play no matter what. Your concern has to be, actually, for people who don't have a choice in the matter. I mean, it was my choice [in 1994] — actually our choice, collectively, 'cause we all, collectively, said, 'Yeah, we're all crazy enough to try and do this thing and drive into Sarajevo in the middle of a war and see if we can do and do a gig. And [laughs] we're not quite sure when we're gonna come back.' But those poor people that went for that [EAGLES OF DEATH METAL] concert at the Bataclan [in Paris, France] had no choice; they were completely, completely innocent in every possible way. And, of course, nobody knew that the place was gonna get targeted. So, unfortunately, there's a judgment call that people have gotta make, and you have to make it on the best information available — as to whether or not you're suddenly gonna get… If somebody says, 'We're gonna massacre everybody at a rock concert,' you say, 'Well, is it some lunatic, or is it genuinely credible that this might happen?'"

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

Ex-GUNS N' ROSES drummer Steven Adler performed live for the first time with members of the the newly formed ADLER'S APPETITE FEATURING CONSTANTINE MAROULIS band at the the fourth annual "Ride For Ronnie" motorcycle ride and concert, which took place on Sunday, May 6 in Encino, California.

Joining Adler for the "Mr. Brownstone" performance were his ADLER'S APPETITE bandmates Constantine Maroulis (vocals), Carl Restivo (rhythm guitar) and Michael Thomas (lead guitar) along with special guest Tanya O'Callaghan on bass. Check out video footage below (courtesy of Jessica Chase of Metal Horns Social Media Marketing).

Adler, Maroulis, Restivo and Thomas, plus bassist Sean McNabb, will celebrate the 30th anniversary of GNR's classic debut album by performing "Appetite For Destruction" in its entirety on an Australian tour later this month.

Each stop on Adler's Australian tour will feature a question-and-answer session with Steven and his mother, Deanna Adler, steadfast supporter and author of "Sweet Child Of Mine: How I Lost My Son To Guns N' Roses". During the last quarter century, Deanna Adler kept her diaries, journals, and personal letters, as well as a dozen scrapbooks and hundreds of photographs, putting them aside for safekeeping. This is your opportunity to experience the rare personal and emotive journey about raising her son, and the efforts of keeping him alive and herself sane.

Tour dates:

May 16 - Discovery, Darwin

May 17 - The Gov, Adelaide

May 18 - Capitol, Perth

May 19 - The Backroom, Brisbane

May 25 - 170 Russell, Melbourne

May 26 - Max Watts, Sydney

ADLER'S APPETITE FEATURING CONSTANTINE MAROULIS will make its official live debut on May 10 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

"Of course, GUNS N' ROSES was the soundtrack to my youth," Maroulis told Billboard. "To play with Steven has been the highlight of my career. He's a lovely guy, and his playing on 'Appetite [For Destruction]' was second to none, and that sound he made on it defined that whole generation's sound."

Adler stated about the singer: "Let me just fucking tell you something... this guy Constantine, who I call 'Casanova'... he came up to New York and I'm, like, 'Oh my God, I got this great rock and roll singer!' I'm finally working with a real superstar again. I call him 'Casanova' because he's so goddamn sexy. Because he dresses so nice. I wish I was his size so I could double my wardrobe! ... He flew up to New York and within five minutes, I wanted to kick his fuckin' ass! And within 10 minutes, I fell in love with him!"

Adler added: "GUNS N' ROSES are the biggest rock band in the fuckin' world now, and since the guys don't want me to play with them and I love these songs and I'm so proud of them ... now I finally have a singer who can compete with the young Axl Rose. Axl is Axl and Casanova is fuckin' Casanova.... That's all I want. Also, his name isn't 'asshole' it's Axl. It sounds like you're saying 'asshole,' but it's Axl."

Metallica have released pro-shot footage of their … And Justice For All classic “The Shortest Straw”, filmed at Arena Leipzig in Leipzig, Germany on April 30th

Earlier today, Metallica have checked in with the following announcement:

"In March we kicked off the All Within My Hands eBay auctions including autographed memorabilia, music, and Metallica experiences with all proceeds benefiting the foundation. The first two auctions have blown us away! We are so appreciative of the donations we’ve received from Metallica fans around the world. Now round three is underway!

This month’s first featured item is a complete set of the Funko POP! Rocks: Metallica, autographed by all four members of the band. We’re also bringing you a classic… the Live Shit: Binge and Purge VHS Set again, autographed by all four members of Metallica. Yes… you read that right: old school VHS set straight from 1993! Both auctions will end Tuesday, May 8th at 1:30 PM PDT. 

Keep an eye out for new auctions on the first Tuesday of each month and stay tuned to AllWithinMyHands.org as well as the AWMH Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts for updates and links to each auction. Are you a collector and want to make sure you don’t miss a thing? Auction alerts won’t always come from the Metallica Mailing List, so sign up for the AWMH Mailing List now to receive notifications each time a new auction begins. All funds raised will be donated to a cross-section of national and local charities and as always, we appreciate all your love and support!"

Last year Metallica announced the formation of All Within My Hands, their foundation that aims to assist and enrich the lives of members of the communities who have supported them for so many years, as well as encourage participation from fans and friends and facilitate volunteerism among the Metallica family. With that in mind, Metallica today announced their first day of service on Wednesday, May 23rd, inviting Metallica fans across the United States to volunteer for a day at the community food banks the band supported during last summer's North American tour.

In cooperation with Feeding America Metallica made contributions to their local partners in each city they performed in during the 2017 stadium tour. With the aim of continuing to support the fight against hunger, Metallica is encouraging fans to give a few hours of their time on May 23rd to make a difference. Check the list below to find participating food banks and more information about how to sign up to pitch in that day. Each registered volunteer on May 23rd will receive a special All Within My Hands t-shirt commemorating Metallica's first united day of service. Please note that space is limited and fans must register. Unfortunately walk-ins will not be accepted.

For those who do not live near one of the food banks listed on the site or are unavailable on this day, the band encourage visiting Feeding America to find a local food bank in their community.  

For more information and a list of participating food banks, please visit metallica.com and allwithinmyhands.org.  

Fan-filmed video footage of Sebastian Bach's May 5 performance at the M3 Rock Festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland can be seen below (clips uploaded by YouTube user Jennifer Harrell).

Bach recently began "cutting demos" for one of the tunes for his next studio album. According to the former SKID ROW singer, the song was written by former MARILYN MANSON and current ROB ZOMBIE guitarist John 5, "and it rips."

Sebastian previously stated that "the mission" of his next record "is to capture a cool vibe, and I think that really involves live drummers playing — not just a drum machine, which seems to be too pervasive today in music."

According to Bach, he is still "in the writing and demoing stage" for the follow-up to 2014's "Give 'Em Hell". "I'm in the process of changing record labels," he said. "My manager, Rick Sales, wants me to have a good demo that he can take to people to play for them. Right now we have seven songs. Two of them are by John 5, and I also have Steve Stevens [BILLY IDOL] sending me some tunes, and Billy Morrison [BILLY IDOL]. And Brent Woods [VINCE NEIL]. And we will see which riffs make the cut."

Sebastian also talked about the inspiration for his forthcoming album. He explained: "My tastes have changed a bit since my doctor told me that if I wanna keep my hearing in great shape, I have to turn the music down sometimes. He told me this a couple of years back. And since he told me that, I've taken his advice and I don't crank my music as loud as it will go anymore, and that's all I can tell you. So I've gotta make a record that I like. So I don't think it's gonna be a death metal record; I think it's gonna be more uplifting and fun. And also real people playing real music — that's very important to me."

Bach was particularly thrilled to be once again working with John 5, whom he described as "just incredible. Everybody knows him and he is one of the greatest guitar players in rock and roll.

"Some people always want me to reunite with the old band, but think of it this way — I get to make records with John 5. So that's pretty amazing," he added.

Bach hasn't released a full-length disc since "Give 'Em Hell", which was criticized by some for sounding "too modern" and a departure from his '80s hard rock past.

Sebastian's autobiography, "18 And Life On Skid Row", came out in December 2016 via Dey Street Books (formerly It Books), an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Napalm Records has announced that legendary Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider inked a deal with the label for his upcoming solo album. This opus is entitled For The Love Of Metal and will deliver what its name promises: pure world class metal.

Dee Snider doesn’t need any introduction anymore, right? Influential hard rock legend, reality TV star, Broadway alumni, horror movie director, radio host and as you all know - he is a thoroughbred heavy metal enthusiast.

For The Love Of Metal is produced by Hatebreed vocalist Jamey Jasta and features contributions from Howard Jones (ex-Killswitch Engage), Mark Morton (Lamb Of God), Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy), Joel Grind and Nick Bellmore (Toxic Holocaust) and Charlie Bellmore (Kingdom Of Sorrow). So prepare for a unique masterpiece.

This brand new Dee Snider album will be out this summer.

Dee Snider on the signing: “I am beyond excited to be working with one of the world’s leading labels for heavy music, it’s a perfect home for this album! I believe there’s something for every hard rock and metal fan on this record and I cannot wait to unleash it on the world July 27th!”

Thomas Caser, Managing Director of Napalm Records comments: "We are absolutely delighted to announce this signing today. It’s an honor to work with such an iconic artist such as Dee who lives and breathes METAL! This album is nothing but pure metal and adrenaline!”

Song titles set to appear on the LP include "American Made" and "Lies Are A Business", which will open the disc. More album details coming soon.

Live dates:

August
3-4 - Rejmyre, Sweden - Skogsröjet Festival
10-12 - Kortrijk, Belgium - Alcatraz Metal Festival

Hollywood-based bashers Salems Lott have posted a guitar solo playthrough of their song "Fatal Attraction" from the record, Mask Of Morality. Solo by Jett Black.

Salems Lott recently released a new video for the track Royal Desperado from their new album "Mask Of Morality" released on April 6th.

Check out the brand new music video directed by Ian Moore, produced by UWOWI with photography by Hector Puig:

Salems Lott guitarist Jett has checked in with the following comment:

"Mask Of Morality is the story of the individual vs the bloodthirsty mob. ‘Royal Desperado’ is one of the songs that embodies this tale the most and in the story section of the video we see the elements of re-emerging and rabid tribalism vs individualism. If you're paying attention to western society and it's affinity towards consuming repetitive & tranquilized art with little sign of counter movements in addition to our predilection towards mob justice, you should be very alarmed by our increasing tendency towards resentful, robotic and self-enslaving herd-like behavior that risks demolishing the cornerstone of our society (the individual)."

Fan-filmed video footage of QUEENSRŸCHE's May 5 performance at the M3 Rock Festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland can be seen below (clips uploaded by YouTube user Jennifer Harrell).

For the past year, QUEENSRŸCHE's founding drummer Scott Rockenfield has been taking time off from the band's touring activities to spend time with his young son, who was born in February 2017. Filling in for him is former KAMELOT drummer Casey Grillo.

Earlier this year, QUEENSRŸCHE entered the studio with producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris to begin recording the follow-up to 2015's "Condition Hüman" LP, but has not indicated if Rockenfield was involved with the making of the disc. However, the band did confirm that Grillo did not play on the record, which will mark QUEENSRŸCHE's third full-length release with singer Todd La Torre, following the departure of Geoff Tate in 2012.

Back in December, La Torre spoke to KNAC.COM about where he is getting his lyrical inspirations from for the new QUEENSRŸCHE material. "A lot of the stuff on this, I think, just has to do with, again, the political spectrum and just what's going on in the world," he said. "And QUEENSRŸCHE always injected those kinds of topics in their content. And so a lot of it has to do with just what's going on socially and politically, and globally and these subjects are timeless. So, if you listen to songs from the '60s that have to do with social discourse and stuff like that, it still applies today."

ALICE IN CHAINS has released the official video for its new single, "The One You Know". The song is taken from the band's much-anticipated follow-up to 2013's critically acclaimed album "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here". Due out later this year, the new disc was recorded in part at Henson Studios in Los Angeles with Nick Raskulinecz, who produced both "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" and its predecessor, 2009's "Black Gives Way To Blue", and was mixed by Joe Barresi (TOOL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE).

Guitarist and co-vocalist Jerry Cantrell told Guitar World about the upcoming LP: "It's not that we were keeping it a secret — we just didn't want to say a whole lot about it until we had something to say. And we certainly have something to say with this one. It's a fucking strong record."

The basic tracks for the new ALICE IN CHAINS album were laid down at Studio X in Seattle, marking the first time the band had recorded in the city in more than 20 years, since tracking its 1995 self-titled album at the same facility back when it was known as Bad Animals. "It was cool to be back, because the studio is a part of our history," Cantrell told Guitar World.

As for the musical direction of the new ALICE IN CHAINS material, Cantrell said: "It's a record we haven't done yet, I can tell you that. But it's also a record that has all the elements of anything you would expect from us. It's got our fingerprint. And we're really proud of the material that we wrote and the performances we captured. There's some really heavy shit, some really ugly stuff, some real beautiful stuff, some weirdo trippy shit… it's good!"

Cantrell also addressed the fact that it has been five years since the release of ALICE IN CHAINS' last album. "It's a lot of work doing a record," he said, "and I think it gets harder the older we get. But we just wait until we're ready and until we have enough material that's up to the ALICE IN CHAINS standard, and then we do what we do. This is just the racket that we make when we get together."

"The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" was the band's second disc with singer William Duvall, who joined in 2006 following the death of Layne Staley.

"The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" sold 62,000 copies in its first week of release. It followed up 2009's "Black Gives Way To Blue".

The first two singles from "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here", "Hollow" and "Stone", both hit No. 1 on the rock radio airplay charts, while the album itself debuted on the Billboard album chart at No. 2.

On June 29, GUNS N' ROSES will reissue its classic 1987 debut album, "Appetite For Destruction", in a "Locked N' Loaded" box via Universal Music Group.

The "Appetite For Destruction: Locked N' Loaded" box is the one true GN'R Holy Grail. The box includes the Super Deluxe Edition with four CDs featuring the album newly remastered for the first time ever; "B-sides N' EPs" newly remastered; the previously unreleased 1986 Sound City Session N' More recordings; a Blu-ray Audio disc with the album, bonus tracks and music videos in brand new 5.1 surround sound along with the unearthed music video for "It's So Easy" originally shot in 1989 but never finished; and a 96-page hardcover book showcasing unseen photos from Axl Rose's personal archive and a wealth of memorabilia.

Among the rare and previously unreleased material are two songs GUNS N' ROSES recorded with producer Mike Clink, "Shadow Of Your Love" — laid down during a trial session that resulted in Clink getting the production job — and an acoustic version of "Move To The City", which was recorded during the "GN'R Lies" sessions. Additional highlights of the unreleased audio include the first two work-in-progress recording attempts of the 1991 epic masterpiece "November Rain" which was originally penned as the ballad for "Appetite", covers of songs like Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel", AEROSMITH's "Mama Kin", two distinctly different recordings of THE ROLLING STONES' "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (one electric, one acoustic) and two never-finished tracks/jams, "The Plague" and "New Work Tune".

On the vinyl front, the original "Appetite For Destruction" album has been broadened to 2LPs for the first time, including expanded gatefold jacket art and a limited-edition foil printed plastic slipcase. The music itself is being presented on three sides only for maximum audio fidelity, with the fourth side featuring a vinyl Hologroove Hologram of the band's iconic logo. Seven seven-inch singles are also included: the five original singles from the album, plus one for "Patience" and a new song, the aforementioned "Shadow Of Your Love". All of the bonus tracks appearing on 12-inch vinyl will only be available in the "Locked N' Loaded" box, including a reissue of the band's first EP, "Live ?!*@ Like A Suicide".

Watch the official lyric video for "Shadow Of Your Love" below. Also available is the official "Locked N' Loaded" unboxing video.

"Appetite For Destruction: Locked N' Loaded" track listing:

Disc One - Appetite For Destruction

01. Welcome To The Jungle

02. It's So Easy

03. Nightrain

04. Out Ta Get Me

05. Mr. Brownstone

06. Paradise City

07. My Michelle

08. Think About You

09. Sweet Child O' Mine

10. You're Crazy

11. Anything Goes

12. Rocket Queen

Disc Two - B-sides N' EPs

01. Reckless Life

02. Nice Boys

03. Move To The City (Live)

04. Mama Kin

05. Shadow Of Your Love (Live)

06. You're Crazy (Acoustic Version)

07. Patience

08. Used To Love Her

09. You're Crazy

10. It's So Easy (Live)

11. Knockin' On Heaven's Door (Live)

12. Whole Lotta Rosie (Live)

Disc Three - 1986 Sound City Session

01. Welcome To The Jungle (1986 Sound City Session)

02. Nightrain (1986 Sound City Session)

03. Out Ta Get Me (1986 Sound City Session)

04. Paradise City (1986 Sound City Session)

05. My Michelle (1986 Sound City Session)

06. Think About You (1986 Sound City Session)

07. You're Crazy (1986 Sound City Session)

08. Anything Goes (1986 Sound City Session)

09. Rocket Queen (1986 Sound City Session)

10. Shadow Of Your Love (1986 Sound City Session)

11. Heartbreak Hotel (1986 Sound City Session)

12. Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986 Sound City Session)

Disc Four - 1986 Sound City Session N' More

01. Shadow Of Your Love

02. Move To The City (1986 Sound City Session)

03. Ain't Goin' Down No More (Instrumental Version - 1986 Sound City Session)

04. The Plague (1986 Sound City Session)

05. Nice Boys (1986 Sound City Session)

06. Back Off Bitch (1986 Sound City Session)

07. Reckless Life (1986 Sound City Session)

08. Mama Kin (1986 Sound City Session)

09. New Work Tune (1986 Sound City Session)

10. November Rain (Piano Version - 1986 Sound City Session)

11. Move To The City (Acoustic Version - 1986 Sound City Session)

12. You're Crazy (Acoustic Version - 1986 Sound City Session)

13. November Rain (Acoustic Version - 1986 Sound City Session)

14. Jumpin' Jack Flash (Acoustic Version- 1986 Sound City Session)

15. Move To The City (1988 Acoustic Version)

Blu-Ray Audio

01. Welcome To The Jungle

02. It's So Easy

03. Nightrain

04. Out Ta Get Me

05. Mr. Brownstone

06. Paradise City

07. My Michelle

08. Think About You

09. Sweet Child O' Mine

10. You're Crazy

11. Anything Goes

12. Rocket Queen

Bonus Tracks

01. Shadow Of Your Love

02. Patience

03. Used To Love Her

04. You're Crazy

05. Move To The City (1988 Acoustic Version)

Music Videos

01. Welcome To The Jungle

02. Sweet Child O' Mine

03. Paradise City

04. Patience

05. It's So Easy (Brand New Video From 1989)

Female vocalist Pamela Moore, who is best known for her performance as Sister Mary on QUEENSRŸCHE's 1988 epic release "Operation: Mindcrime" and 2006's sequel "Operation: Mindcrime II", has just released a new album, "Behind The Veil".

A team of masterful musicians helped bring this masterpiece to life: Rudy Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE) on bass, Casey Grillo (KAMELOT, QUEENSRŸCHE) on drums, Michael Posch on guitar and orchestration and newcomer Craig Church on guitar and orchestration. The record also features special guest appearances by Ralf Scheepers (PRIMAL FEAR), Randy Piper (W.A.S.P.) and Elliot Anders.

"I am very grateful and deeply honored to have such amazingly talented friends who agreed to join me on this album," Pamela said.

"'Behind The Veil' is by far my most personal work yet. The sudden loss of my mother really hit home and left me asking some very difficult questions. It was a reality check of sorts and that's what I would say 'Behind The Veil' has become... a reality check.

"Life is short. Don't waste it. Run for your life and always be grateful that you still can run!"

Moore is a proven musical powerhouse and veteran entertainer. A native of Seattle, Washington, Pamela moved to New York City in the late nineties to become the singer for RADAR, recording the band's 2000 release, 'R.P.M." When RADAR dissolved in 2001, Pamela returned to the Pacific Northwest. Pamela continued following her passion, making guest appearances on various albums in the next decade. Pamela also toured with QUEENSRŸCHE between 2003 and 2008 as a featured vocalist and stage actress. That tour reignited Pamela's desire to record her own album, and she began writing songs with former RORSCHACH TEST guitarist Benjamin Anderson. The two found instant chemistry as Pamela's lyrics and melodies brought Anderson's musical ideas to life. "Stories From A Blue Room", released in 2006 under Planet Sweet Records, was the compelling result. The eleven-track album featured guest vocals from Terri Nunn (BERLIN) and contributions from guitarists Michael Wilton (QUEENSRŸCHE) and Jeff Loomis (NEVERMORE).

After touring extensively with QUEENSRŸCHE, Pamela took her time finding the perfect collaborators for her next album, "Resurrect Me". Chicago-based guitarist Michael Posch (RADAKKA) provided potent, addictive metal grooves and soundscapes. Combined with Pamela's stylistic, emotive power vocals and inquisitive lyrics, they created pure metal magic. "Resurrect Me" was released in 2013, with very happy fans across the globe.

"Behind The Veil" track listing:

01. Rise

02. Sickness

03. Beneath The Voodoo Marsh

04. My Eternal

05. Slow Burn

06. WiFi Zombies

07. These Scars

08. Just Breathe

09. Undertow

10. Run

Joey Severance, frontman for Finland-based Tornado, has checked in with the following update:

"Dear Friends! I am excited to share with you the cover of the forthcoming new Tornado album. This cover was created by DigitalRowye and as you can see, it's right up our alley! We are extremely proud of this record and can't wait for you to hear it."

Tornado - Commitment To Excellence tracklist:

"A Minute Of Nothing"
"White Horse Of The Apocalypse" (Solo: Karl Sanders/Nile. Additional Vocals: Niko Kalliojärvi/ex-Amoral)
"Global Pandemic"
"Spirit And Opportunity" (Additional Vocals: Ross Dolan/Immolation)
"The Flight Of Yuri Gagarin"
"Endless Forms Of Torment" (Additional Solo: Adam Phillips/Pro-Pain)
"Through Difficulties To Victory"
"Supremacy
"Chaos Among The Ruins"
"United Forces (S.O.D. Cover)
"At The Chapel Of Rest (Additional Solo: Glen Drover/ex. Megadeth)

Tornado:
Superstar Joey Severance - vocals
Tommy Shred - guitar
Henri Steel - bass
Jimmy Grey - drums

UK-based doom pop band Courtesans have checked in with the following update:

"We recently recorded a couple of tracks acoustically, here is one of the results....a song destined for our new album, 'Walking On Waves'." 

The clip below is an exclusive interview with Sinead La Bella, Saffire Sanchez, Agnes Jones of Courtesans for the radio show Louder with Ore B on Rhino Radio (RhinoRadio.co.uk). It was conducted in Birmingham, England on December 6th, 2017. During the interview they discuss the effects of bullying and supporting the Sophie Lancaster Foundadtion, which was launched after 20 year-old Sophie Lancaster was beaten to death in August 2007 for looking "different."

Following the release of their acclaimed debut album 1917 and 2016's successful Pledge Music campaign, Courtesans released their 5-song EP, Better Safe Than Sober, on March 31st, 2017. Check out "Feel The Same" below, the second music video to be taken from the EP

The Courtesans on "Feel The Same" - "A tale of deception, desperation and resignation. It’s about a hollow belief in other people’s honour, honesty and good intentions when dealing with your emotions.Holding on to what you thought you were told was true but being confronted with the chilling reality of having been lied to and then left alone to battle the pain of understanding the lies you were spun, questioning everything you thought was real."

Germany's Lord Of The Lost have released a video for "On This Rock I Will Build My Church", a song from their sixth studio album, Thornstar, out on August 3rd via Napalm Records. The band have also announced European tour dates in October.

Class Grenayde comments on the song: “'On This Rock I Will Build My Church' is the perfect opener for the very large and heavy packaging in which this monster was trapped. The song paves the way for a lot more…”

Chris Harms adds: “For the video we came up with something very special. We’ve invented both, a time machine and a rejuvenation apparatus to live up to our roots and as children, somewhere between the 80s and 90s to shoot this very special music video on VHS. That was damn expensive, but it was worth it.”

Lord Of The Lost are a multi-talented, modern metal band whose music presents itself far beyond genre stereotypes: a solid metal base featuring industrial parts or other dark rock elements - nothing is impossible. This band takes a flying leap beyond genre parameters - better than ever! Their previous releases topped the German album charts already, while the upcoming release Thornstar will in no way be inferior to past efforts. This, their sixth studio album, reveals even more sonic facets of the band, all the while remaining hard and forceful.

The deep and emotional concept behind the album follows the story of a doomed high civilization - Thornstar is a record unique in both sound and concept.

Singer Chris Harms on this concept: “From the beginning it has been a big vision we had with Thornstar - the concept demands a lot of responsibility. And the final result overtook us completely.”

Pre-order Thornstar here.

Tracklisting:

CD1
"On This Rock I Will Build My Church"
"Loreley"
"Black Halo"
"In Our Hands"
"Morgana"
"Haythor"
"Naxxar"
"Cut Me Out"
"The Mortarian"
"Under The Sun"
"In Darkness, In Light"
"Forevermore"
"Ruins"

CD2
"Abracadabra" (feat. Dero Goi)
"Voodoo Doll"
"The Art Of Love"
"Lily Of The Vale"
"Penta"
"Free Radicals"
"Live Pray Die Repeat"

Lord Of The Lost tour dates are listed below. Buy tickets here.

October
4 - Frankfurt, Germany - Batschkapp
5 - Hannover, Germany - Musikzentrum
6 - Berlin, Germany - Columbia Theater
11 - Nuremberg, Germany - Hirsch
12 - Cologne, Germany - Essigfabrik
13 - Dresden, Germany - Alter Schlachthof
18 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
19 - Munich, Germany - Backstage
20 - Stuttgart, Germany - Im Wizemann
26 - Leipzig, Germany - Werk 2
27 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
31 - Barcelona, Spain - Salamandra 1

November
1 - Toulouse, France - Rex
2 - Nantes, France - Ferrailleur
3 - Paris, France - Boule Noire
21 - Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK - The Cluny
22 - Glasgow, UK - Ivory Blacks
23 - Manchester, UK - The Ruby Lounge
24 - London, UK - Electrowerkz
25 - Bristol, UK - The Fleece Bristol

(Photo - Franz Schepers)

Danish/Swedish death metal band Thorium will release their new album Blashphemy Awakes on June 1st via Mighty Music. Pre-order the album on CD and vinyl here, and watch a music video for the track "Penance" below.

Tracklisting:

"Intro"
"Penance"
"Depravity"
"Maniac"
"Slow Deep And Dead"
"Trust No One"
"Blasphemy Awakes"
"Whispers From The Grave"
"Dead Soul"
"Reign Of Osman"
"Tengil"
"Under The Black Skies"

"Penance" video:

"Maniac" video:

German neoclassical heavy metal band, Eternal Flame, have released a lyric video for “Got A Rock & Roll Fever”, featuring Göran Edman (ex-Yngwie Malmsteen, John Norum) on vocals. The song is taken from their third album Smoke On The Mountain, to be out on May 18th, via ROAR! Rock Of Angles Records.

The album is produced by Michael Schinkel & Helmut Kohlpaintner, co-produced by Timothy Touchton, mixed by Michael Schinkel and mastered by Christoph Stickel. Smoke On The Mountain also features Mark Boals (ex-Yngwie Malmsteen, Ring of Fire) and on vocals.

Timothy Touchton (known by lyrics such as "Go for Gold" Olympics in Seoul 1988, "Sail Away" Joe Cocker as well as 11 Top 40 and three top 5 hits), Carsten Lizard Schulz (Evidence One, Midnite Club, Domain) and Rainer Holzapfl wrote the lyrics.

Tracklisting:

“Ignition”
“Smoke On The Mountain” (Mark Boals on vocals)
“This Is My Life”
“Queen Of The Hill”
“You Can Save Me”
“Whatcha Gonna Do”
“I Believe In This Miracle” (Mark Boals on vocals)
“Got A Rock & Roll Fever” (Göran Edman on vocals)
“Out In The Dark”
“Dreaming”
“Take Me There For A Night”
“Tease My Love” (Göran Edman on vocals)
“Close To The End”

“Got A Rock & Roll Fever” lyric video:

Michael Schinkel's Eternal Flame is:

Michael Schinkel – Vocals & all Guitars
Helmut Kohlpaintner – Keyboards
Thomas Keller – Bass & Backing Vocals
Michael Hencky - Drums

STONE SOUR played a special acoustic set Friday (May 4) as part of the the "Zippo Sessions" at this weekend's Carolina Rebellion festival at Rock City Campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Video footage of the performance — courtesy of Antihero Magazine— can be seen below.

STONE SOUR is continuing to tour in support of its sixth studio effort, "Hydrograd", which came out last June and features the chart-topping rock radio hit "Song #3".

Guitarist Josh Rand sat out STONE SOUR's Canadian tour so that he could receive treatment for "an alcohol and Xanax dependency." The band enlisted a temporary replacement for the trek, with singer Corey Taylor later saying that Rand would rejoin his bandmates on April 27 at the Welcome To Rockville festival in Jacksonville, Florida.

STONE SOUR will support Ozzy Osbourne on the initial North American leg of the legendary vocalist's "No More Tours 2" tour, which kicks off August 30 in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Swedish death metal legends Unleashed have inked a worldwide deal with Napalm Records.

When it comes to Swedish death metal in its traditional Stockholm-style and death metal in general, there is one band you HAVE to mention: Unleashed. Formed back in 1989 by Johnny Hedlund, Unleashed have been delivering supreme death metal from day one.

After recording two demos the band released their legendary debut album Where No Life Dwells and toured Europe and the US with Morbid Angel. From this point Unleashed has become one of the biggest names in death metal worldwide. Dealing with Viking traditions and values they stepped up their game and became extreme metal trendsetters, musically and lyrically. Unleashed have toured the world with bands like Grave, Dismember, Entombed, Krisiun or Belphegor and became true masters of death. Now Unleashed rage on with their crucial crusade by signing with Napalm Records!

Johnny Hedlund on the signing: “Warriors! Unleashed are proud to announce that we have signed a new recording deal with Napalm Records! Our 13th album is scheduled for recording in Chrome studios, in May 2018. We are very much looking forward to this new cooperation on our journey into the bands 30th anniversary (in 2019). Hail Odin!”

Be on the lookout for a brand new studio album in late-2018.

Unleashed are:

Johnny Hedlund - Bass, Vocals
Anders Schultz - Drums
Tomas Masgard - Guitars
Fredrik Folkare - Guitars

Multinational outfit The Ocean is starting their European tour tonight where they will perform their legendary Precambrian album (the Proterozoic part) in its entirety. It's the 10th anniversary of the album, and mainman Robin Staps released a 3-LP reissue of it through his own label, Pelagic, recently. The reissue features a new track, which is a rerecording of the Precambrian opener "Rhyacian", with the band's current lineup. 

The digital single of "Rhyacian" will be available next Friday through all digital outlets via Metal Blade Records.

Dates:

May
4 – Dortmund, Germany – FZW Club
5 – Rambouillet, France – I’Usine A Chapeaux
6 – Aarau, Switzerland – Flosserplatz
7 – Nancy, France – Le Hublot
8 – Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg – Kulturfabrik
9 – Nijmegen, Netherlands – Doornroosje
10 – Gieben, Germany – Post Valley Fest
11 – Zottegem, Belgium – Dunk!festival

(Photo - David Robison)

Scandinavian melodic metal / hardcore band Halcyon Days have released a video for "July", a track from their second full-length, Rain Soaked Pavements & Fresh Cut Grass, out on June 15th via Indie Recordings. Watch the clip below.

Halcyon Days is a melodic metal and hardcore band not swaying stylistically too far away from bands such as Architects, Underoath and Counterparts. Since their beginning in 2012, they have released two EP’s, and most importantly their debut album (2014) titled .ELEVATE. Their debut album was frequently play listed and recommended on Norway’s national radio, NRK P3. Two years after their debut album, they released a self-titled EP in 2016, scoring more than 250k total streams on digital platforms. The EP was met with an amazing response from their fans all over the world, in addition to awarding the band the title of “Band of the Week” from NRK P3’s Urørt at the end of 2016. The band is now ready to release their second full-length album, with the title Rain Soaked Pavements & Fresh Cut Grass.

The album tells stories in simple ways. The book of synonyms that we all love so dearly had been tossed out of the window, focusing on a way more simple vocabulary. The stories talks about reflections on specific events or periods in our lives. The intention from their side was to write songs that wasn’t too open for interpretation, but as you read the lyrics you will get a view into their personal lives and thoughts, with the intent of having the listener being able to relate to the message the songs carry.

Tracklisting:

“Fragments”
“Lights Out”
“July”
“Cerca Trova”
“Catcher”
“In Memoriam”
“Keeper”
“Monument”
“Winter”
“Friendship”

“July” video:

German hard rock band Fargo has released "Step Back", their second single and video out of their comeback album Constellation.

36 years after their last release F in 1982, German cult act Fargo has announced the arrival of a brand new studio album. Constellation is due out via Steamhammer/SPV on May 25th, and will be available on CD Digi and coloured gatefold LP.

The current lineup includes founder members Peter Ladwig (vocals/guitar) and Peter "Fargo-Pedda" Knorn (bass). Two songs on the album feature original drummer Frank "Franky" Tolle. In addition, the group consists of guitarist Arndt Schulz (Harlis, Jane) and drummer Nikolas Fritz (Mob Rules).

The Fargo reunion was preceded by the major success of Knorn’s autobiography, Bis hierhin und so weiter, 20 Jahre Rock'N'Roll, in summer 2016. Ever since its release, the musician and band manager has increasingly seen himself faced with urgent requests by faithful Fargo fans to reactivate the band which had ceased to exist since the foundation of Fargo’s successor, Victory, in the early 1980s.

“Suddenly I wondered how Fargo would sound today if the band was still around - or indeed returned,” Peter Knorn explains the initial spark of inspiration that triggered the comeback.

Tracklisting:

"Step Back"
"Leave It"
"Mind Your Own Business"
"Loser's Blues"
"Buzz Buzz"
"Cross To Bear"
"Don't Talk"
"Southern Breeze"
"Boozy Vivienne"
"What's Wrong"
"Goddess Of Destiny"
"Goodnight"

"Step Back" video:

"Leave It" video:

Founded in 1973 by Peter Knorn and Peter Ladwig, the group soon earned itself a faithful fan base and went on to sign a recording contract only a few years later. For a while guitarist Matthias Jabs, who joined the Scorpions in 1978 and went on to make a global career, was also part of the Fargo fold. Fargo themselves developed into an internationally acclaimed act, too, released their debut album in 1979 and brought out three more superlative studio albums by 1982, all of them on EMI, the major label giant of that time. The band toured all over Europe, played with the greatest luminaries of the rock scene, performed outstandingly successful tours with AC/DC, Mothers Finest and The Small Faces, among others, and wowed TV audiences on a regular basis. Thanks to their sensational live shows (including Knorn’s legendary nightly head-first somersault), Europe’s biggest teen magazine Bravo devoted two full pages to the Fargo bassist in January 1981.

You can see the stunt below at 2:09:

Following a time of upheaval, the hard rock act Victory emerged from Fargo in 1984 and continued the successful career of its predecessor seamlessly.

(Photo - martinhuch.de)

In the new video below, guitarist Thomas Zwijsen performs a renaissance/baroque-style version of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matter" on classical guitar.

Says Thomas: "What if Metallica lived 500 years ago? And what if Metallica wrote the famous Spanish Romance (or Romance Anonimo or Jeux Interdits)? 'Nothing Else Matters' would have sounded something like this."

Zwijsen performs an acoustic rendition of Iron Maiden's "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son" on classical fingerstyle solo guitar below.

Blaze Bayley (ex-Iron Maiden) and Thomas Zwijsen (Nylon Maiden) recently performed an intro of "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly", followed by Iron Maiden's 1996 single "Virus", live in Istanbul, Turkey. Check out the video below:

Helsinki-based heavy metal band OCEANHOARSE has released the official music video for the song "Waves". The menacingly slow and undeniably heavy track holds a special place in the band's heart.

"Playing this song has sent chills down my spine at every show. It feels like glazing a gingerbread house with a firehose. In slow motion," says drummer Oskari Niemi.

"'Waves' is our heaviest and most epic song so far. I can barely keep my balance onstage with that humongous riff working its way into my brain like hot lava," singer Tommy Tuovinen added.

After two years of working in the shadows, OCEANHOARSE, which consists of familiar faces from the Finnish metal scene, released its debut single and video, "The Oceanhoarse", in January. It was followed by two sold-out shows in Finland supporting BEAST IN BLACK.

It was a conscious decision to hold up the launch until the band was extremely tight, the song material strong enough, and the band's own unique voice beginning to take shape. Good songs were canned along the way, if the group felt they didn't fit or weren't original enough.

Early on, the members of OCEANHOARSE also set some ground rules for themselves: There would be zero use of backing tracks or synthesizers. The focus would be on kick-ass, live-oriented heavy metal. The band would also have to be number one priority to all of its members, no exceptions.

"It was early December 2016 when I realized that it was time to disband my old group AMORAL and start something new, from scratch," guitarist Ben Varon says. "And, most importantly, do it with musicians who share my drive and passion for playing music, musicians that would be willing and able to put 130 percent of themselves into this band. The first guy I thought of was bassist Jyri Helko. I called him that very same day."

It didn't take long to convince Helko, formerly of FOR THE IMPERIUM, to jump on board.

"The call came at the perfect time," Jyri says. "Like Ben, I also felt the need to play in a hard-working, tight band that would blow all other groups off the stage. It was an easy decision."

When it came to finding the right frontman, Varon and Helko had their eyes set on one guy only: ex-MYGRAIN singer Tommy Tuovinen.

"I got excited about the idea right away," Tommy remembers. "I had had it with bands and projects that went nowhere, so just the attitude alone of these dudes spoke to me. Once I heard the songs they were working on, I knew I needed to be in this band."

Filling the drum spot was looking tricky for a while. All serious candidates were already involved in multiple bands, and sharing was not an option. But the Gods of Heavy Metal decided to bless the new band with the best-kept secret in Finnish metal: young newcomer Oskari Niemi was found through recommendations of friends, and his attitude and playing blew the guys away. It was clear to all that Oskari was the missing piece. OCEANHOARSE was now complete.

DRAGONFORCE guitarist Herman Li joined KAMELOT on stage last night (Saturday, May 5) at City National Grove Of Anaheim in Anaheim, California to perform the song "Forever". Video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

KAMELOT is touring North America in support of its latest album, "The Shadow Theory", which was released on April 6 via Napalm Records. The follow-up to "Haven" was helmed by longtime producer Sascha Paeth and mastered by Jacob Hansen. Guests on the album include Lauren Hart (ONCE HUMAN), Jennifer Haben (BEYOND THE BLACK) and Paeth. The cover artwork was created by Stefan Heilemann.

New KAMELOT drummer Johan "Jo" Nunez is sitting out the band's current tour after recently suffering a leg injury that is temporarily preventing him from performing live. His replacement for the trek is Alex Landenburg (RHAPSODY, CYHRA), who previously sat behind the kit for KAMELOT in July 2017 when the band supported IRON MAIDEN in San Bernardino, California.

Nunez joined KAMELOT as the replacement for the band's longtime drummer Casey Grillo, who left the group earlier in the year.

DRAGONFORCE will make a number of European festival appearances this summer, starting on June 2 at FortaRock in Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

The band's fifth album, "The Power Within", which was originally released in early 2012, has been completely remastered and remixed and reissued under the title "Re-Powered Within" in Europe via earMUSIC and in Japan through JVC Victor.

British rock and rollers The Temperance Movement have released an exclusive live performance video of their song "Pride", which was recorded at a recent YouTube session in London. The track is taken from the band's brand new studio album, A Deeper Cut, out now.

More videos from the session can be seen below:

Tour dates:

June
8 - Madrid, Spain - Garage Sound Festival
9 - Castle Donington, UK - Download Festival
10 - Aberdeen, UK - The Garage

July
6 - Glasgow, UK - TRNSMT Festival
9 - Verona, Italy - Verona Arena
11 - Nichelino, Italy - Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi
13 - Aix-les-Bains, France - Musilac Aix-les-Bains Festival
20 - Hamina, Finland - Hamina Bastioni
21 - Tammisaari, Finland - Stallörsparken
28 - Breitenbach am Herzberg, Germany - Burg Herzberg Festival

Get tickets here.

Swedish metal act Follow The Cipher have released a lyric video for "A Mind's Escape", a track from their upcoming self-titled debut album, available on May 11th through Nuclear Blast. Watch the video below, and pre-order the album here.

Follow The Cipher tracklisting:

"Enter The Cipher"
"Valkyria"
"My Soldier"
"Winterfall"
"Titan's Call"
"The Rising"
"A Mind's Escape"
"Play With Fire"
"I Revive"              
"Starlight"
"Carolus Rex"

Bonus DVD
"Valkyria" - Music Video
"Carolus Rex" - Music Video
"A Mind's Escape" - Lyric Video
"The Rising" - Lyric Video
"Enter The Cipher" - Live from Masters of Rock
"My Soldier" - Live from Masters of Rock
"A Mind's Escape" - Live from Masters of Rock
"Winterfall" - Live from Masters of Rock
"I Revive" - Live from Masters of Rock
"My Soldier" - Live from Falkenberg w/ studio sound
"Carolus Rex" - Live from SOA w/ camera sound
Presentation - Ken Kängström
Band Interview
Masters Of Rock - Vlog
Sabaton Open Air - Vlog
Behind The Music Videos - Vlog

"A Mind's Escape" lyric video:

"Carolus Rex" video:

"Valkyria" video:

"The Rising" lyric video:

Trailer #1:

Trailer #2:

Trailer #3:

Trailer #4:

Trailer #5:

Follow The Cipher live dates:

June
1-3 - Pilsen, Czech Republic - Metalfest Open Air
21 - Dessel, Belgium - Graspop Metal Meeting

(Photo - Georgios Grigoriadis)

Avantasia guitarist Oliver Hartmann's new single "Simple Man" featuring Eric Martin of Mr Big and The Vardigans has been released, the official video is below. The song is taken from the new hartmann album, Hands On The Wheel, due out on May 18th. It is available now via his online shop here.

The complete album tracklist is as follows:

"Don't Want Back Down"
"Your Best Excuse"
"Cold as Stone"
"Simple Man" (feat. Eric Martin)
"Last Plane Out"
"Soulmates"
"The Harder They Come"
"Dream World"
"I Remember"
"Lost in Translation"
"The Sky Is Falling"
"Heart of Gold"

Germany's most successful symphonic rock event will be touring the world in 2019 with its new album Moonglow.

After sold-out shows in Asia, America and Europe, the tremendous success of their Ghostlights World Tour 2016/2017 culminated in a headline show broadcasted on TV at Wacken Open Air, and next year, Tobias Sammet's Avantasia is getting back on the road, to present its album Moonglow, due to be released in January 2019.

The unique concert experience mixing epicness, rock and opera has attracted over 1.2 million people around the globe within the last few years and is now returning with an even more opulent show in which Tobias Sammet will share the stage with the world's best rock singers.

Tobias Sammet, hailing from Fulda, created the rock event Avantasia in 1999 and celebrated its live premiere in 2008. With over 3.5 million records sold, he is one of the most successful musicians of Germany and has worked with Alice Cooper, Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker (Scorpions), Bruce Kulick and Eric Singer (KISS), Eric Martin (Mr. Big) as well as many other stars from the international music business. For a long time, Tobias Sammet's Avantasia  has been considered an insider tip. But after countless headline performances at some of the world's largest rock festivals (Sweden Rock Festival, Quebec Music Festival, Barcelona Rock, etc.), gold awards and several top 10 positions in the world charts, the upcoming Avantasia - Moonglow World Tour 2019 can only be considered the biggest rock event of the year.

Tobias Sammet states: "I've been trying to calm things down for the last 18 months, but apparently my best way of relaxing is to be creative! During this phase, tons of ideas have been coming to my mind, that literally demanded to be realized in Avantasia's epic style. I was so convinced of the songs that I realized very quickly: if ever there is to be a new chapter of Avantasia, then it has to happen with this material - past all the trends and rules of the music industry, hand-made and personal, with epic 10-minute pieces alongside catchy rock songs! Everything was created for only one reason: to write great music without any business men shaping it into bite-sized pieces for the modern entertainment landscape. Moonglow will be the most lavish album of my career, the biggest, most colorful thing and the best and most unreasonable luxury, I have ever created in my life. I can’t wait to release the album in January and then take the Moonglow World Tour on a journey around the globe, where you will witness the biggest show Avantasia has ever put on stage!"

Tour dates:

March
30 - Kaufbeuren, Germany - All Karthalle
31 - Mailand, Italy - Alcatraz

April
2 - Prague, Czech Republic - Forum Karlin
3 - Berlin, Germany - Huxley´s
5 - Ludwigsburg, Germany - Arena
6 - Bamberg, Germany - Brose Arena
8 - Fulda, Germany - Esperanto Halle
9 - Saarbrücken, Germany - Saarlandhalle
10 - Paris, France - Olympia
12 - Osnabrueck, Germany - Stadthalle
13 - Hamburg, Germany - Mehr! Theater
14 - Oberhausen, Germany - Koenig Pilsener Arena
16 - London, UK - The Forum
18 - Offenbach, Germany - Stadthalle
19 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
20 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
24 - Bilbao, Spain - Santana 27
26 - Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz 1
27 - Madrid, Spain - Palacio Vistalegre

More countries to be announced shortly.