Reinvigorated black metal infamists Nargaroth have shared a special broadcast discussing their forthcoming seventh album, Era Of Threnody, set for international release on May 16th via Inter Arma Productions. In this broadcast, mainman Ash and partner Bernth discuss the new album's recording and its central themes. This broadcast can be heard via the Soundcloud audio player below:

German black metal's longest-running and most prolific band, Nargaroth has built a canon of work that's as infamous as it is legendary in the underground. Led as always by the peerless vision of vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Ash, the Nargaroth aesthetic has spanned the many extremes of black metal as an artform, but always done with bravado and self-belief, purity of intent and purity of purpose. Now, with the band's first full-length in a long eight years, Era Of Threnody has arrived to mark a glorious new epoch for Nargaroth.

Ever aptly titled, Era Of Threnody burns with rage and repose - a war cry from a battlefield long forgotten, a remembrance of sorrows past, present, and future. Across its 65-minute landscape, the 10 songs which comprise Era Of Threnody paint a portrait of Nargaroth at its most dynamic: nearly every unique era of the band is represented, but executed with a startling sense of professionalism. But let it be known that "professionalism" in no way should be conflated with mainstream ambitions, for this is still pure 'n' pristine black metal in all its monochromatic grandeur. More accurately, perhaps, Era Of Threnody is the sound of Nargaroth at the height of its powers, well rested from the studio hiatus and eager 'n' emboldened by an upcoming European tour with Absu and Hate. The time of reckoning is at hand, and it is indeed the Era Of Threnody!

In the meantime, a special teaser video can be enjoyed below. The cover art and tracklisting follow.

Tracklisting:

"Dawn Of Epiphany"
"Whither Goest Thou"
"Conjunction Underneath The Alpha Weel"
"...As Orphans Drifting In A Desert Night"
"The Agony Of A Dying Phoenix"
"Epicedium To A Broken Dream"
"Love Is A Dog From Hell"
"Era Of Threnody"
"TXFO"
"My Eternal Grief, Anguish Neverending"

 

 

With less than two weeks remaining before the April 14th release of their second full-length, Craven Idol has unleashed the second track from The Shackles Of Mammon, a song called "A Ripping Strike"; listen via the audio player below.

The Shackles of Mammon by Craven Idol

Recorded at Birmingham's Priority Studios and engineered by Esoteric's Greg Chandler (and mastered by Dan Lowndes at Resonance Sound), The Shackles Of Mammon boasts an old school production as well as Craven Idol's most fierce and varied songs to date.

Lyrically the album deals with the vices of man, the plagues they unleashed upon themselves, and the rationalisation of its own actions - be it in tragedy or ruin - through the creation of deities and cults. Mammon the - Demon of Avarice - reigns above all, whilst the black arts and countless religions seek to justify human failure. 

The album boasts artwork by the extraordinarily twisted Daniel Corcuera. The artist's powerful take on Sascha Schneider's 1896 wood carving 'Mammon und sein Sklave' is a striking work of art.  

Tracklisting: 

"Pyromancer"
"A Ripping Strike"
"Black Flame Divination"
"The Trudge"
"Dashed To Death"
"Mammon Est"
"Hunger"
"Tottering Cities Of Men"

Catch Craven Idol live in concert:

April
8 - London, England - Black Heart
15 - Glasgow, Scotland - North Of The Wall Fest

May
15 - London, England - Underworld (with Nifelheim)

 

 

Unleashing a furious and blistering sound bred from the union of varied creative metal borne winds, Brazilian metallers Siriun have persistently drawn eager ears since emerging in 2014 and are poised to do so again with the release of their debut album.

Hailing from Rio de Janeiro, Siriun was formed by guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Alexandre Castellan. His vision saw a tapestry of modern, brutal metal woven with progressive, grooved spun adventure around thought provoking lyrical explorations. To bring his ideas and imagination to life, Alexandre linked up with a long-time friend in bassist Hugo Machado and world renowned drummer Kevin Talley, famed for his explosive prowess through the likes of Six Feet Under, Daath, Feared, Suffocation, DevilDriver, and Battlecross. The result of aligning their striking individual talents has led to a first album which in perfect balance devours the senses and ignites the imagination as raw and tempestuous intensity entangles with technical and melodically grooved imagination.

In Chaos We Trust is a furnace of sonic and emotional fire as ravenous as it is seductive, each track drawing the listener into unique explorations of sound and provocation. It sees acoustic and predatory sides often entangling, exotically melodic and savagely invasive textures frequently aligning as the compelling lyrical and vocal confrontations of Alexandre roar.

The album's first single, "Mass Control”, is available for streaming below. It presents a hellacious echo of a live presence which has seen acclaim and an increasing tide of fans sweep towards Siriun, shows with the likes of Krisiun and The Black Dahlia Murder reinforcing the band's growing reputation now set to be pushed on again by the release of In Chaos We Trust.

Produced and mixed by Alexandre with mastering undertaken by Alan Douches (The Black Dahlia Murder, Revocation), the global introduction to Siriun simply demands attention. Wrapped in the glorious artwork of Dark Tranquillity guitarist Niklas Sundin, who also made the remarkable animated video for album track “Transmutation”, the imaginatively and physically voracious In Chaos We Trust goes for the jugular as it enslaves the imagination from its fiercely growling and creatively transfixing opener “Mass Control” right through to the intensively climactic close of final track “Becoming Aware”.

In Chaos We Trust is the next step in Siriun's hungry and rabidly inventive assault on the biggest metal spotlight which, with the new lineup of guitarist Elvis Damigo, bassist Ricardo Amorim, and drummer Braulio Drumond alongside Alexandre and another surge of live shows ahead, will not allow to go unnoticed.

Tracklisting:

“Mass Control”
“Infected”
“Spread Of Hate”
“Cosmogenesis”
“In Chaos We Trust”
“Transmutation”
“Intent”
“Becoming Aware”

“Mass Control”:

Hail Of Bullets performed at Germany’s Wacken Open Air festival in the summer of 2011. Footage of the band’s full set is available for streaming below.

Setlist:

“General Winter”
“Operation Z”
“Red Wolves Of Stalin”
“Kamikaze”
“Ordered Eastward”

"With sadness in our hearts, we hereby inform you that we have decided to pull the plug on Hail Of Bullets," reads a post dated March 13, 2017 on the band's official Facebook page. "The patient had been suffering from illness for a few years already. We thought we had cut out the disease a few years ago, but apparently the tumor was more widespread than we had expected. There are no immediate plans to resurrect the corpse…

PS: Personal messages/questions about this situation will not be answered. This is it, and both you and us will have to deal with that..."

 

 

Calling Rotterdam, Netherlands home, Hail Of Bullets released three albums via Metal Blade Records:  …Of Frost And War (2008), On Divine Winds (2010), and III: The Rommel Chronicles (2013).

At the end of 2015, Hail Of Bullets parted ways with singer Martin van Drunen (Pestilence, Asphyx) due to personal issues, and Dave Ingram (Bolt Thrower, Benediction) was announced as the permanent replacement vocalist. The remainder of the lineup for this Dutch old school death metal supergroup stayed intact from beginning to end, namely: guitarists Paul Baayens and Stephan Gebédi (Thanatos), bassist Theo Van Eekelen, and drummer Ed Warby (Gorefest, Ayreon). The band's lyricial content centered on World War II.

"Warsaw Rising" video:

"Swoop Of The Falcon" lyric video:

"Operation Z" video:

Like a Lovecraft-ian novel, death metal knows no bounds. It's themes are often filled with outlandish creatures and horrors that challenge the everyday monotony of our existence. It's through these musical and lyrical themes that we are afforded an opportunity to truly be free... to live among the creatures that dwell in our subconscious minds.

Straight from the deepest, darkest recesses of the mind is born a partnership of musical aberration, crawling from the murk in the form of Canada's Fumigation and The Path To R'Lyeh. This brutal two-some have joined forces on the CDN Records-released split CD, aptly-titled Invasion.

Invasion will be released on April 28th through CDN Records. Pre-orders can be made here.

Tracklisting:

Fumigation

“Arachnophobia”
“Forced Vaginal Harbourage”
“Earwigs & Earwax”
“A Beard Full Of Maggots”

“Arachnophobia”:

The Path To R'Lyeh

“Dream Eater”
“The Book Made Of Human Skin”
“Extra-Terrestrial Abomination”
“Y'ha-ntlei's Awakening”

Credits:

Artwork by Pzychopart
Layout by Yan Chatel

Fumigation guest vocals:

Track 1: Em Rodríguez (Green Lung Grinders)
Track 2: L-P Dugal (Ex-Fumigation / Accursed Creation)
Track 3: Tobin (Deamon / Deathrow Six)
Track 4: Corey Athos (Flesh Consumed)

All Music by Chris Humeniuk and Fumigation.
All Lyrics by Scott McConnery, L-P Dugal, Chris Humeniuk, Tobin, Jay Donelly
Drums tracked by Topon Das at "Apartment 2 Recording"

Engineered/Mixed/Mastered by Tom Hansen

The Path To R'Lyeh:

All music by Alain Harrison Cloutier
All lyrics by Yan Chatel
Guitars, Bass, and Drum Programming by Alain Harrison Cloutier
Vocals by Yan Chatel

Exterminating since early 2008, Fumigation is a five-piece death metal band from Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Today's metal scene lacks bands with a constant theme, or at least an interesting one. Through this void enters Fumigation "Your Death Metal Pest Control Specialists". The theme of insects, rodents and chemicals is entertaining, insightful, and humorous all at the same time. From phobias to infestations, harbourages to feeding habits, Fumigation will dissect the situation and select the best method of control. This method usually comes in the form of groove laden death metal.

Signed to CDN Records, Fumigation released their debut full length CD Integrated Pest Management in 2013. The band has been supporting large underground metal acts such as Vital Remains, Napalm Death, Malignancy, Revocation, Dehumanized, Incantation, etc. and have toured parts of Quebec and Ontario including participation in festivals. The band has also been featured on various Canadian and international compilations, Canadian and internet radio stations, blogs, mobile game apps, print magazines, and more.

Lineup:

Mat Desjardins: Drums
Jay Donnelly: Vox
Tom Hansen: Guitar
Chris Humeniuk: Bass
Matt MacIvor: Guitar

It is in the search of R'lyeh that the band took root. During this insane journey, no one could anticipate the meeting of the minds that now shapes The Path To R'Lyeh.

Having benefited for years from the lore of H.P. Lovecraft, it was felt that the metal scene was ready to contribute, once again, to the exceptional lore of this genius writer. The Path To R'Lyeh is not so much as a tribute as it is a willing contributor, aiming at adding to the world of Lovecraft as well as using its pillars to immerse the listener in a dark and mad place.

Quebec, Canada's The Path To R'Lyeh devotes themselves passionately and with abandon to prepare brutal, opaque and grim tales that will transport you into a nightmarish yet fascinating world where the holy does not exist and the wicked comes from distant worlds.

Lineup:

Alain Cloutier: Guitar
Milann Vaidya: Drum
Yan Chatel: Vocal
Jonathan Lattimore Desabrais: Guitar

Tony J. West, lead vocalist for Hollywood’s Blacklist Union, recently recorded six songs for Stone Temple Pilots in an attempt to secure the lead vocalist position left vacant by Chester Bennington (Linkin Park) and the late Scott Weiland.

XS Rock spoke with Tony about the songs, why he’s making them available as free downloads and his thoughts about the late Scott Weiland and Stone Temple Pilots.

Read the full story and get your free download at xsrock.com.

American melodic speed/true heavy metal warriors, Vänlade, have announced the addition of new bassist Jonathan Tennant to their ranks.

Vanlade vocalist Brett "Blackout" Scott has checked in with the following comment: “Welcome to a new era of Vänlade! We are excited to announce the addition of our new bass player, Jonathan Tennant, the man behind the bass onslaught of Midwest extreme metal legends such as Garoted and Verräter.

“Jonathan has years of experience shredding the low end alongside our drummer Nolan Weber in these projects and has become a good friend of ours over this time. We couldn't have found a better dude or more competent musician to fill this role, and we can't wait to show off what we can do now. Be on the lookout for upcoming new album updates and come catch us live at the Legions Of Metal festival in Chicago, Illinois on May 20th.”

Vanlade's last release was their 2016 covers EP, Wayward Sons: Masters Of Time Vol. I, which featured songs from Heart, Saxon, Black Sabbath, Rush, Judas Priest and Kansas.

Vänlade’s last full studio album, Rage Of The Gods, was released in 2015 via Metalizer Records (Germany) and was mastered by guitarist / producer Stu "The Hammer" Marshall.

Greek metallers, W.E.B., have announced their signing with Apathia Records. A message from the band follows:

“Dear Libertines, We are very pleased to announce that we have signed with French record label, Apathia Records. Not only are we glad to be part of their amazing band roster but, also France is a place W.E.B. have great memories and bond from, since the last time we toured the country extensively.

“We also reveal to you the title of our upcoming album. It is said to be the darkest place of Greek mythology.... TARTARUS! Tartarus full-length album is scheduled to be released within October of 2017. More about this will follow up. STAY DARK!”

(Photo - Georgina Staikou Photography)

Steven Tyler has told People magazine that he "can't say for sure" whether AEROSMITH's upcoming farewell tour will in fact mean the end of the band.

"We've gone through trying to get a job in a club that we thought was the only way we could pay our rent and having nobody there and asking the owner of the club, 'Can we please leave? There's no one here' and the guy saying no — to being in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and everything in between: rehabs and arguments and children being born and marriages coming and going and ups and downs and different managers and lawsuits and record labels," he said. "We've done so much; one thing we've never done is a farewell tour, so you never know — it may wipe the slate clean of some of the problems, things that happen with each other."

The singer added: "The band's been together for 40 years. Can you imagine? There are no marriages together for 40 years where the passion still runs as deep as it did the first 10 years, in my humble opinion … But the passion is still there."

Tyler's latest comments echo those made by AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry, who told The Arizona Republic that he wasn't ready to walk away from the band. He said: "No. It's like, try and picture your last meal. You're only gonna eat so many times in your life. You're gonna sit down at the table 258 million times. There's a finite number of times you're gonna do anything in your life. To picture a final AEROSMITH gig, it's like… I can't do it. There's too much of that 'rock until you drop' ingrained into this band. But we're at the end, so who knows how long it's gonna go?"

Last fall, AEROSMITH announced the 2017 "Aero-Vederci Baby!" European tour, posting on its Aerosmith.com site: "AEROSMITH will return across the Atlantic with one of the greatest rock shows ever seen and will undoubtedly be the ultimate must see event of 2017 as the band embark upon this, their 'farewell' tour, saying 'Aero-Vederci Baby!'"

In addition to Israel, AEROSMITH's spring and summer dates will hit Georgia, Russia, Germany, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, England, Ireland, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland. Perry and Tyler announced the tour via a fake newscast video featuring "The Toxic Twins" portraying cable TV anchors.

Guitarist Sven Atle Kopperud (a.k.a. Silenoz) of Norwegian symphonic black metallers DIMMU BORGIR spoke to Metal Shock Finland about the progress of the mixing sessions for the band's long-awaited follow-up to 2010's "Abrahadabra" album. "We're in the middle of it at the moment, but I would say it has even more variation than any of our previous albums," he said. "It's more epic and symphonic, it's more brutal, it's more black metal, it's more primitive. It includes everything that we are known for, and what's even better about it is that it has just come so easy. The challenge for us is always to shave off the stuff that we think is not good enough. So coming up with material is never really any problem; it's just to figure out which parts to use for songs. That's the challenge — to shave off the fat."

Asked if DIMMU BORGIR once again worked with British producer Russ Russell on the new album, Silenoz said: "This time, we have gone to Fascination Street Studios in Sweden with Jens Bogren. We felt it was time to just do something more organic for this type of a record, for this type of material we have, and to see what we could get out of his production skills, because we have always been fans of his mixes. We've also grown tired of all the digital type of sounding albums that come out here and there all the time. So we wanna go back to the roots in the sense that a drum kit should sound like a drum kit and a guitar should sound like a guitar and vice versa — you get my point. That's what we wanted to do this time."

In terms of the actual songwriting for the new album, Silenoz revealed that "I've done all the lyrics again, but for the musical part, I think we managed to split that pretty much three ways between Galder [guitar], Shagrath [vocals] and myself."

He continued: "After so many years being in a band together, you kind of know your spot really well — you know what your strengths are, what maybe your weaknesses are — and you kind of feed off each other's strengths instead of each other's insecurities. But, of course, being three alpha males in the kitchen, it always causes for a bit of a foodfight. But it shouldn't come easy all the time. It should be somewhat of a creative tension. I think that works in pretty much every artistic environment."

While Silenoz couldn't provide a firm release date for the new DIMMU BORGIR album, he predicted that the record would arrive before the end of the year. "If we keep somewhat to the schedule that we have in mind, I would personally estimate late summer, early fall release, if everything goes as planned," he said. "But it also comes down to timing and what the label thinks is smart strategically.

"It sucks to be sitting on this for another few months before people get to hear it, but I think once the fans sit down and actually listen to this album for real, they will understand that, okay, yeah, it sucked waiting for this for so many years, but it was definitely worth the wait," he added.

DIMMU BORGIR's new DVD, "Forces Of The Northern Night", will be released on April 14 via Nuclear Blast. The set will contain two of the band's live performances: their legendary show in Oslo, presenting DIMMU BORGIR on stage with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and a bombastic choir, as well as their entire performance at Wacken Open Air festival in 2012 in Wacken, Germany with almost a hundred musicians on stage.

DIMMU BORGIR's most recent touring lineup included Geir Bratland (APOPTYGMA BERZERK, THE KOVENANT) on keyboards and Terje Andersen (a.k.a. Cyrus; SUSPERIA) on bass.

Former MASSACRE vocalist Kam Lee has called the "controversy" surrounding the band's name "disgusting" and "pathetic."

Back in December, Lee and guitarist Rick Rozz DeLillo — after trading verbal barbs and taunts for many years — announced that they were rejoining forces in a revamped version of MASSACRE, dubbed MASSACRE X (the "X" was said to represent the band's tenth lineup). The main objective of the group — which also features Rozz's THE END bandmates Michael Grim (bass/vocals) and Mike Mazzonetto (drums) — was said to be "to rekindle the sound, style, aggression, and passion that originally elevated MASSACRE to cult status in the death metal scene two and a half decades ago."

Within a couple of days of Lee and Rozz's announcement, former MASSACRE drummer Bill Andrews — who moved to Japan in the early 1990s — released a statement saying that he did not approve of this latest attempt to reform MASSACRE and threatening legal action if Rozz and Lee moved forward with their plans.

In a brand new interview with Metal Rules, Lee explained that he and Rozz "patched things up" after a long-standing rift and insisted that "we get along great now." He went on to paint a bleaker picture about his relationship with Andrews and ex-MASSACRE bassist Terry Butler, noting: "Right now there is so much controversy behind the band name. It's disgusting. It's pathetic. And we are in so much legal stuff right now. It's the same thing that a lot of bands have gone through — VENOM and VENOM INC.; ENTOMBED and ENTOMBED A.D., etc. We are in a similar battle right now."

He added: "I'll just tell you this and you can put it on the record. It's going to come out anyway. They know that Rick and I got back together in November and started talking. On December 12th, we announced on Blabbermouth that we are going to do MASSACRE again. On December 16th, Terry Butler and Bill Andrews put a counter release out saying that they won't allow us to use the name because it is trademarked. We went to the trademark site to look it up. They applied for the name three days after we did our announcement on Blabbermouth. We've had lawyers look into it. They have applied for a trademark, [but] they don't have it yet. That's all I can tell you right now. We are calling our band MASSACRE X."

MASSACRE's last incarnation included guitarist Rozz and drummer Mazzonetto alongside Butler and vocalist Ed Webb. That lineup lasted for four years and released a critically acclaimed album, 2014's "Back From Beyond", via Century Media Records.

Earlier in the month, Butler — who is now playing bass for OBITUARY — told Metal Wani that Rozz and Mazzonetto "destroyed" MASSACRE with their "behind-the-scenes backtalking and backstabbing." He went on to make it clear that Rozz and Lee's new band "cannot be called MASSACRE." He said: "They can do all they want and write all the songs in the world they want, but it's not gonna be called MASSACRE."

MASSACRE X will make its live debut on June 24 at the Protzen Open Air festival in Protzen, Germany. Additional shows will take place later in the year.

The band's plan is to play songs from the "From Beyond" album, along with a few new tracks and old classics from DEATH and the pre-DEATH outfit MANTAS.

Former JOURNEY singer Steve Perry will be present to be inducted alongside his old band the 2017 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony in Brooklyn, New York on April 7, according to keyboardist Jonathan Cain.

Perry, who hasn't performed with JOURNEY in three decades, last December issued a short statement saying that he was "truly grateful" that JOURNEY was being inducted into the Rock Hall but gave no hint as to whether or not he would be willing to reunite for any kind of a performance with his former bandmates at the event.

"The ceremony is the first time we're going to get to see Steve Perry in a long time, so that'll be fun," Cain told Dayton Daily News in a new interview. "As far as we know he's just going to accept the award and then skedaddle. That's all I know, unless something changes. Arnel is going to represent very well, like he always does."

Cain is referring to Arnel Pineda, the Filipino singer found via YouTube who has filled the JOURNEY lead vocal slot vacated by Perry for the last decade.

"It's amazing because Arnel has been consistently on the road for ten years now," Cain said. "I don't think any singer in the band has stayed on the road as long as Arnel has. When we think back to the Steve Perry days, he wasn't in the band for ten years straight, faithfully being the road singer.

"Steve left and did his solo thing and years went on when we weren't playing anywhere," Cain continued. "We weren't doing anything."

The 32nd annual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony will take place on April 7 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where it will be held for the third time. An edited version will later air on HBO and there will be a radio broadcast on SiriusXM.

Artists are eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single.

JOURNEY's founding guitarist Neal Schon told Ultimate Classic Rock in December that he would be up for performing with Perry at the Rock Hall. "Musically speaking, I'd love to have him do a song with us — or two, or whatever," he said. "I'm open to everything. I'm very open-minded to whatever happens, and any ideas that are brought forth."

Perry last toured with JOURNEY following the release of 1986's "Raised On Radio". He briefly reunited with the group for the 1996 album "Trial By Fire", but left the band again two years later rather than be forced into hip-replacement surgery so that the band could tour behind the record. He's currently prepping his first solo album in over 20 years. In 2014, he made a couple of brief onstage appearances with the indie-rock band EELS.

In addition to Schon, Perry and Cain, original JOURNEY members Ross Valory, Gregg Rolie and Aynsley Dunbar will be inducted, as well as current drummer Steve Smith, who's on his third run with the group.

Pineda said last year that he hoped to finally meet Perry at the Rock Hall induction. "I'm longing to at least shake his hand," Arnel said. "I haven't had the chance for the past nine years."

Pineda also said that he didn't have a problem with the fact that he wouldn't be honored along with his JOURNEY bandmates. "It's only for the originals. I'm okay with that," he said.

Italy's SpazioRock recently conducted an interview with KORN bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu. You can now watch the chat below.

When asked whom he would like to see "on the other side," Fieldy said: "That's exciting. With my belief that when I die that I'm gonna go to heaven and I'm gonna see my loved ones, that's what gives me the hope to live — to know that I can. Everyone…. There's such a huge list, from my dad to friends and people that I know that passed, to even be surprised… It's such a surprising… It's just something to look forward to. It gives me hope to live in this world. 'Cause if it wasn't for that, I don't think I'd really wanna be alive if this was it, 'cause this is all stupid. If [this] was it, I'd just be, like, 'I'll go to sleep tonight.' 'Cause it's just not worth it."

Fieldy also talked about his strong sense of family values, explaining: "I've got five kids and a wife. It's important to me. Family first, over everything. If something was to happen with my family, I'd fly home right now and I'd have to cancel the tour. But God forbid, nothing like that has ever happened, but everybody in my band is pretty much that way. If something happened with the family, family's first and we'd be… Not that we'd have to cancel — we'd reschedule all this — but it can happen to anybody. When something goes wrong, family first. So that's my values — family first."

Both Fieldy and KORN guitarist Brian "Head" Welch have had highly public, though separate, conversion experiences, ones that have been greeted with a certain amount of skepticism.

Fieldy's 2009 memoir, "Got The Life: My Journey Of Addiction, Faith, Recovery And Korn", details his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction during KORN's early years and how he became a born-again Christian to help get his life together and get sober.

KORN and STONE SOUR will join forces for a summer tour, set to get underway June 16 at the USANA Amphitheatre in Salt Lake City, Utah and then continue through early August.

KORN's latest album, "The Serenity Of Suffering", came out at the end of October. The track "A Different World" features a guest appearance from SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor.

The new lineup of ELIMINATE, the band featuring former DARK ANGEL singer Don Doty, will make its live debut on April 8 at the Rage Of Armageddon festival in Brooklyn, New York.

ELIMINATE performs material from the first two DARK ANGEL albums, "We Have Arrived" and "Darkness Descends".

ELIMINATE's current lineup:

Don Doty - VocalsHenry Elizondo - GuitarKelly McLauchlin - GuitarDoug Williams - BassGreg Falzone - Drums

The previous ELIMINATE lineup played its first live show in November 2015 at Grindcore 2015 at Ukranian Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California.

Doty is not involved in DARK ANGEL's current reunion, which includes Gene Hoglan (drums), Eric Meyer (guitar), Jim Durkin (guitar), Ron Rinehart (vocals) and Michael Gonzalez (bass).

DARK ANGEL released two albums with Doty on vocals — 1984's "We Have Arrived" and 1986's "Darkness Descends" — before he exited the group and was replaced by Ron Rinehart (after a brief stint with Jim Drabos in 1987).

In related news, former ELIMINATE members Scott Owen (guitar/vocals; SUBVERSION A.D., ex-HIRAX, ex-PIRANHA) and Joe Cangelosi (drums; BROOKLYN MILITIA, ex-WHIPLASH, ex-KREATOR) recently teamed up with bassist Rich Day (BROOKLYN MILITIA , ex-PRIMAL SCREAM, ex-WHIPLASH) to form the new thrash metal outfit UNCIVIL WAR.

UNCIVIL WAR has recorded an independently financed demo in locations both in Texas and in New York. The demo should be mixed later this month in New York.

They say that time can heal many wounds, and for DIRGE WITHIN the past five years have proven that true. People grow, and people change, and for this band of brothers from the American Midwest, a half-decade apart has come to an end with an unexpected reunion and the prospect of unfinished business ready to be addressed. DIRGE WITHIN is back!

"After five years of not speaking, Shaun and I decided it might be cool to meet up and talk — just to make sure we could be in the same room without throwing punches!" said vocalist Jeremy "Jerms" Genske. "We had a couple drinks, talked about old tours, and hashed out our previous issues. I acknowledged my role in the split from DIRGE WITHIN, as did he. Eventually, the idea came up about a revival of DIRGE WITHIN, even if it was just to jam the old tunes for fun. We all met up at the rehearsal studio in Chicago a few weeks later, and once we started playing, it almost seemed like there was never a break. Almost. Some spots sounded even better than the first time around, while others needed some polish. What was certain is that there was definitely a buzz in the room. A full-blown rebirth? Only time will tell how far we'll go, but Goddamn, it feels good to play the tunes again!"

"Yes it's true — Jerms and the guys are all back in the saddle! Chuck, Frankie, Mike and I are throwing it down hard as nails, and Jerms sounds fantastic!" added founding guitarist Shaun Glass. "After just a few jams of our previously material, everything has been slamming. Strangely enough, it feels like we've never stopped. The past has been put behind us, and we're hopeful for the future. Stand by, as we're looking to level some stages very soon!"

Prior to the hiatus, DIRGE WITHIN's recorded works included "Force Fed Lies" (eOne), the "Absolution" EP (BTR) and "There Will Be Blood" (Rocket Science Ventures). All three releases are available to stream on Spotify, or to purchase at major retailers such as iTunes and Amazon. Live activities included tours and one-offs with the likes of TRIVIUM, FEAR FACTORY, DEVILDRIVER, DOPE, KITTIE, WHITECHAPEL, STATIC-X, GWAR, PRODUCT OF HATE, ALL THAT REMAINS and more.

In the time since, members of DIRGE WITHIN performed alongside vocalist Travis Neal as THE BLOODLINE, releasing one album, "We Are One", via Another Century/Century Media. That project is now retiring to the shadows as DIRGE WITHIN readies for the next chapter. As time has proven, doors can open, close and reopen once more.

DIRGE WITHIN is:

Jeremy "Jerms" Genske - VocalsShaun Glass - GuitarFrankie Harchut - DrumsMike Sylvester - BassChuck Wepfer - Lead Guitar




April 3, 2017FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE After a Five-Year Hiatus, DIRGE WITHIN Returns

(Chicago, IL) They say that time can heal many wounds, and for DIRGE WITHIN the past five years have proven that true. People grow, and people change, and for this band of brothers from the American Midwest, a half-decade apart has come to an end with an unexpected reunion and the prospect of unfinished business ready to be addressed. DIRGE WITHIN is back! “After five years of not speaking, Shaun and I decided it might be cool to meet up and talk - just to make sure we could be in the same room without throwing punches!,” said vocalist Jeremy “Jerms” Genske. “We had a couple drinks, talked about old tours, and hashed out our previous issues. I acknowledged my role in the split from DIRGE WITHIN, as did he. Eventually, the idea came up about a revival of DW, even if it was just to jam the old tunes for fun. We all met up at the rehearsal studio in Chicago a few weeks later, and once we started playing, it almost seemed like there was never a break. Almost. Some spots sounded even better than the first time around, while others needed some polish. What was certain is that there was definitely a buzz in the room. A full blown rebirth? Only time will tell how far we’ll go, but Goddamn, it feels good to play the tunes again!” “Yes it's true - Jerms and the guys are all back in the saddle! Chuck, Frankie, Mike and I are throwing it down hard as nails, and Jerms sounds fantastic!,” added founding guitarist Shaun Glass. “After just a few jams of our previously material, everything has been slamming. Strangely enough, it feels like we’ve never stopped. The past has been put behind us, and we’re hopeful for the future. Stand by, as we’re looking to level some stages very soon!” Prior to the hiatus, DIRGE WITHIN’s recorded works included “Force Fed Lies” (eOne), the “Absolution” EP (BTR) and “There Will Be Blood” (Rocket Science Ventures). All three releases are available to stream on Spotify, or to purchase at major retailers such as iTunes and Amazon. Live activities included tours and one-offs with the likes of Trivium, Fear Factory, Devildriver, Dope, Kittie, Whitechapel, Static-X, Gwar, Product of Hate, All That Remains and more. In the time since, members of DIRGE WITHIN performed alongside vocalist Travis Neal as THE BLOODLINE, releasing one album, “We Are One” via Another Century/Century Media. That project is now retiring to the shadows as DIRGE WITHIN readies for the next chapter. As time has proven, doors can open, close and reopen once more. Look for more news from DIRGE WITHIN to come in the near future. DIRGE WITHIN is:Jeremy “Jerms” Genske - VocalsShaun Glass - GuitarFrankie Harchut - DrumsMike Sylvester - BassChuck Wepfer - Lead Guitar For More Info Visit: https://www.facebook.com/Dirge-Within-Official-1952006338348818/

Posted by Dirge Within Official on Monday, April 3, 2017

METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo was interviewed by Cooperativa before the band's April 1 concert at Lollapalooza Chile in Santiago. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked if he is happy with the response to METALLICA's latest album, "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct", Trujillo said: "Yeah, the album's been very well received. It's doing incredibly well. I mean, I don't know if we could have asked for a better release.

"You never know what people are gonna think of your record. And for this album to so well received, and we get to do it our way. And I really am proud of the production; I love the sound of the bass — I think it's very powerful."

Trujillo also talked about the musical similarities between some of the songs on "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct" and those on METALLICA's earlier albums. He said: "We write together. I feel like 'Death Magnetic' was a first step and then this is a second step, and I feel good about the third step for the future. That's the thing — everything feels great. You know, a new producer who gets great sounds, who's a part of the team; new ideas, new tour… It's a great place to be. When you get into your career a little bit older, but you're still having fun."

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.

Fresh off a triumphant handful of U.S. dates — including a surprise pop-up performance that was the talk of SXSW — AT THE DRIVE IN has unleashed "Hostage Stamps", the third single from the highly anticipated new album, "Inter Alia" (Latin for "among other things").

Vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala describes the song as "like walking through the hallway in some war-torn ghetto and reading the writing on the wall. When you hear things like, 'Raise your nithing pole,' I don't think anyone will know what that is right away, but when you look it up, it's this curse. We are going to be victorious. Here's the fucking head on the stake in front of our army. We're coming back. It's reading the writing on the wall. It's going and keeping your ear to the ground and listening to the heartbeat of young people."

Expanding on that theme, the band has unveiled an ominous new video directed by Rob Shaw and Damon Locks (who also designed the characters and set) to accompany the single's release. Using a mix of stop-motion as well as digital animation, the video depicts faceless militaristic figures holding a man captive, as billboards bearing ominous messages flash in and out of view. The final scene is an eruption of chaos as the prisoner sets off an explosion.

AT THE DRIVE IN's North American tour in support of "Inter Alia" will kick off May 6 with a hometown show at El Paso's County County Coliseum.

AT THE DRIVE IN is Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Paul Hinojos, Tony Hajjar and Keeley Davis.

Max Cavalera will perform NAILBOMB's entire "Point Blank" album on tour with his SOULFLY bandmates. "Fuck yeah, NAILBOMB 'Point Blank' … one of my favorite records of all time," he says in a video message announcing the tour (see below). "I'll be playing the whole album for you guys."

Exact cities and dates for the trek have not yet been announced.

The sonic love child of Max and FUDGE TUNNEL's Alex Newport, this 1994 one-off album from their NAILBOMB union showcased dense, industrialized heaviness, seething with all-out punk aggression. In 13 tracks, the revered duo — crediting SEPULTURA alumns Andreas Kisser and Igor Cavalera, as well as FEAR FACTORY's Dino Cazares as players on the final product — managed to make an angry masterpiece that meets in the middle of what both SEPULTURA and FUDGE TUNNEL were doing at the time. But as for the visual representation of "Point Blank", the war-time photo of a Viet Cong woman with a gun to her head proves just as striking as the devastatingly heavy music within its sleeve.

Max told TeamRock last year about "Point Blank": "It's just such a pissed-off album! Me and Alex were pissed at everything and decided to make a real fuck-the-world 'hate project.' It is one of the most 'fuck-you' albums of all time; it aims at everything, and destroys everything. So, that'd be cool — to be remembered as a person who came here to fuck shit up, NAILBOMB's perfect!"



Max Cavalera Announces Point Blank Tour
Did someone say NAILBOMB? Max has something up his sleeve for all the rooted fans of his music, and after years of this single request???? We are finally proud to bring it to you.....

Check this video for more info!

Posted by Soulfly on Monday, April 3, 2017

Multi-camera fan-filmed video footage of LAST IN LINE's March 30 performance at Venu in Buffalo, New York can be seen below.

LAST IN LINE is the band featuring DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell alongside fellow founding DIO member Vinny Appice, plus singer Andrew Freeman, who has previously fronted HURRICANE and LYNCH MOB. Playing bass for LAST IN LINE is Phil Soussan (OZZY OSBOURNE, BEGGARS & THIEVES, Steve Lukather), who joined the group after original LAST IN LINE bassist Jimmy Bain passed away in January 2016 at the age of 68. He was reportedly suffering from lung cancer at the time of his death.

LAST IN LINE will enter the studio in September to begin recording its sophomore album for an early 2018 release via Frontiers Music Srl. Helming the disc once again will be Jeff Pilson, the veteran bassist and producer who has played with DIO, FOREIGNER, DOKKEN and T&N, among others.

Campbell told the "Trunk Nation" show on SiriusXM channel Volume (106) that the second LAST IN LINE album is "half written already." He added: "We started writing in January, and we have six songs on the go, and it sounds amazing — it's so, so good. So we're excited for that. We were hoping to get it out this year, but, unfortunately, due to my schedule with LEPPARD and Jeff Pilson's schedule with FOREIGNER… 'Cause Jeff produced the 'Heavy Crown' album for us, and we wanna work with him again on the next one. So we have to wait. It looks like September before we'll actually be able to start recording it, so it'll probably be an early 2018 release."

Fan-filmed video footage of WARRANT's April 1 performance at Sioux Falls Arena in Sioux Falls, South Dakota can be seen below.

WARRANT's new studio album, "Louder Harder Faster", will be relased on May 12 via Frontiers Music Srl. The disc was recorded with producer Jeff Pilson, a veteran bassist who has played with DIO, FOREIGNER, DOKKEN and T&N, among others, and was mixed by Pat Regan except for the song "I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink", which was mixed by Chris "The Wizard" Collier (FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, PRONG, LAST IN LINE).

With a lineup featuring original members Erik Turner (guitar), Jerry Dixon (bass), Joey Allen (guitar) and Steven Sweet (drums) along with singer Robert Mason (LYNCH MOB, CRY OF LOVE), WARRANT is now stronger than ever. Mason's vocals remain a breath of fresh air and his swagger on the songs gives new life and a bright future to the band. "Louder Harder Faster", true to the band's roots, is full of rockers with some classic ballads thrown in and will surely send their faithful fans into a frenzy.

Former WARRANT singer Jani Lane suffered from "acute ethanol poisoning" when he died in August 2011 at a Comfort Inn motel room in Woodland Hills, California. The singer had battled alcoholism for years and also had a history of alcohol-related arrests.

KAMELOT's Casey Grillo made his live debut with with QUEENSRŸCHE this past Saturday night (April 1) at Sycuan Casino in El Cajon, California. He is filling in for regular QUEENSRŸCHE drummer Scott Rockenfield, who is taking time off from the band's touring activities to spend time with his newborn son, appropriately named Rockson.

Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

Said Grillo: "It has been an amazing few days of practicing and learning some amazing songs for me to pull this show off' I would like to thank the 'RŸCHE gang. They are some amazing dudes."

QUEENSRŸCHE is preparing to enter the studio to begin work on the follow-up to 2015's "Condition Hüman" album, to be released later in the year via Century Media.

"Condition Hüman" debuted at No. 27 on The Billboard 200 chart, having shifted 14,000 equivalent album units in the week ending October 8, 2015.

QUEENSRŸCHE last fall completed a month-long headlining tour of the United States. Support on the trek came from ARMORED SAINT and MIDNIGHT ETERNAL.

Fan-filmed video footage of GHOST's March 29 performance at O2 ABC in Glasgow, Scotland can be seen below.

The new, predominantly U.K.-based lineup of GHOST — which is rumored to include musicians who have previously played with THE SISTERS OF MERCY, KORN, PENDRAGON and BLOODBATH — gave its first live performance on March 24 as the band kicked off its 2017 "Popestar" European tour in Norwich, England. As previously reported, rumors have circulated for several months that lead singer and founder Tobias Forge — who performs as Papa Emeritus — fired the entire previous lineup at the end of GHOST's fall 2016 North American tour.

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

Last month, however, Swedish guitarist Martin Persner released a video message in which he claimed to have played in GHOST for seven years under the name Omega. He also revealed that he exited the band last July, although he did not disclose the reasons for his departure.

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

GHOST will begin recording its fourth full-length album in August, after the band returns home from a North American tour with IRON MAIDEN.

Fan-filmed video footage of Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) performing with his solo band on April 2 at Whiskey Tango in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania can be seen below.

Owens told NorthJersey.com in a new interview that he had no problem with being fired from JUDAS PRIEST when Rob Halford reunited with the band in 2003.

"I was fine with Rob coming back," Owens said. "It was a time when Rob needed JUDAS PRIEST and JUDAS PRIEST needed Rob. I'm still great friends with the guys. I love PRIEST and I love the recognition. I love playing music and singing and I do it more now than I ever have."

Owens added that he "got lucky" when he was plucked from a PRIEST tribute band in 1996 to front the legendary metal group.

"I tell people that all the time, that I got a lucky break," Owens said. "But I've also worked my butt off and controlled my career really well."

Owens's vocals bore an uncanny similarity to those of Halford, as was immediately evident on Tim's first album with PRIEST, 1997's powerful comeback "Jugulator".

"I'm fortunate that my voice is tailored to be able to sing Halford's material, but in my own way," Tim explained.

Owens recorded two studio albums with JUDAS PRIEST — "Jugulator" and 2001's "Demolition" — before the band reunited with Halford.

Tim told The Metal Voice last year that he "wouldn't have quit JUDAS PRIEST." He clarified: "I wanted to leave JUDAS PRIEST, 'cause I had already recorded the ICED EARTH record ['The Glorious Burden']. So I wanted out of JUDAS PRIEST, 'cause I wanted to do other stuff, but I never would have quit. 'Cause I was great friends with them, and I was the singer of JUDAS PRIEST. But to make more money and to do more things, I had to branch out and do other things."

In a separate interview, Owens defended himself against accusations by some JUDAS PRIEST fans of changing the band's sound to a more brutal, modern direction on "Jugulator". He explained: "Every record JUDAS PRIEST puts out is different. I mean, 'Nostradamus' sounds nothing like JUDAS PRIEST ever wrote, ever. 'Turbo' sounded nothing like JUDAS PRIEST. You know, JUDAS PRIEST changes. They wrote 'Painkiller', and 'Jugulator' was a transition; it was kind of following what was going on."

He continued: "You've gotta remember, JUDAS PRIEST always went with the times a little bit. Glenn [Tipton, guitar] started playing arpeggios. PANTERA was really big [at the time]. [On the] 'Painkiller' [tour], they toured with PANTERA; PANTERA opened for JUDAS PRIEST. 'Painkiller' was a heavy record, and this was a natural progression. The difference is I probably had a few more different layers to my voice that they could tap into — some deeper, death metal kind of undertones to do backups and some different types of voices that they might be able to try. But it was JUDAS PRIEST."

According to The Pulse Of Radio, LINKIN PARK vocalist Chester Bennington has defended the band against the backlash caused by the pop direction of its new album, "One More Light". Speaking with Rock Sound, Bennington said that the group began writing pop songs even before recording its heavy 2014 album, "The Hunting Party". He explained: "We started down a pretty clear path of writing some pretty serious pop music. Mike [Shinoda, co-vocalist] was giving me litmus tests like, 'Hey, what would you say if I said let's do a collaboration with Katy Perry or Kelly Clarkson?' and I was like, 'Fuck yeah! I actually really like pop music.'"

Bennington continued: "It was just a test to see if I'd go, 'Absolutely not, that makes me want to puke' or if I'd be open to the idea, and I'm pretty much open to anything."

Bennington added that the group started taking risks as far as back as its third CD, "Minutes To Midnight", saying: "If the songs are great, that should be all that matters. We feel like we're pushing ourselves creatively… We like to really play with our palette and expand our abilities as songwriters and performers, and that's what we did on this record."

The singer also revealed that he went through a number of personal and family issues over the last couple of years that inspired the lyrics on the new disc, saying, "I literally hated life... it was a legitimate breakdown of me as a human being and then going through all of the effort and hard work it takes to rebuild it and reaping the rewards."

Bennington told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that he has often thrived as an artist on drama and turmoil. "For some reason, I feel comfortable being in uncomfortable situations. I don't like it, I don't like being tormented, so to speak, but for some reason, I'm drawn to… I feel more comfortable as a person being in chaos or being in a crappy situation because I'm used to that. Ever since I was really young, it's always been chaotic and always been crazy, there's always some kind of drama, and so I've just become accustomed to that."

"One More Light" is due out May 19. The band has released two songs so far from the record, "Heavy" and "Battle Symphony".

"Heavy" features guest vocals from Kiara Saulters, and was co-written with pop songwriter Emily Wright, who has worked with artists like Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry.

LINKIN PARK has already started booking dates in Latin America, Europe and Asia, but has yet to announce North American tour plans.

Photo credit: James Minchin

Robert Trujillo says that he was "really impressed" by Lady Gaga 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 frontman James 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.

Asked by Brazil's Cauê Moura if he has any guilty musical pleasures that some fans might find particularly surprising, the METALLICA bassist said (see video below): "In modern music, today, like what's going on, I'm boring. I don't have anything exciting to tell your fans about listening to Justin Bieber, 'cause I don't. I have an appreciation for Lady Gaga, because she can really sing and I didn't know that before her performance on the halftime show for the Super Bowl. I was impressed. Hey, me personally, I was impressed. And when I met her and I heard her singing the METALLICA song 'Moth Into Flame' at rehearsals, I was really impressed by her and her attitude towards, hey, music… She could play, she could sing, and it was honest and sincere and the attitude was there. I always love attitude. I love people that [approach performing like] it's all about having fun and kicking ass."

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".

Arjen Lucassen’s Ayreon recently released four fan-made videos for “The Source Will Flow”, featured on the upcoming album, The Source, and invited the fans to vote for thier favourite. Lucassen has issued the following update:

"And... Ayreonauts have come to a decision. After a massive amount of votes (more than 150k!), we have a winner for the fan-video contest! Congratulations, Beltrán Luque. And hugs from all of us for the beautiful model in your video :-) Enjoy the video and... the music of course, featuring the vocals of Tommy Rogers, James Labrie and Simone Simons. Thanks to everyone who made a video and to everyone who voted."

 

The Source is an exciting new chapter in Arjen Lucassen’s Ayreon saga, with contributions from renowned vocalists like James LaBrie (Dream Theater), Simone Simons (Epica), Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian), Tobias Sammet (Edguy, Avantasia), and Russell Allen (Symphony X). The Source will be released on April 28th through Ayreon’s new label Mascot Label Group/Music Theories Recordings.

Pre-order the album in various formats at this location.

The Source tracklisting:

CD1

Chronicle 1: The Frame
“The Day That The World Breaks Down”
“Sea Of Machines”
“Everybody Dies”

Chronicle 2: The Aligning Of The Ten
“Star Of Sirrah”
“All That Was”
“Run! Apocalypse! Run!
“Condemned To Live”

CD2

Chronicle 3: The Transmigration
“Aquatic Race”
“The Dream Dissolves”
“Deathcry Of A Race”
“Into The Ocean”

Chronicle 4: The Rebirth
“Bay Of Dreams”
“Planet Y Is Alive!”
“The Source Will Flow"
“Journey To Forever”
“The Human Compulsion”
“March Of The Machines”

DVD

Videos:
“Everybody Dies”
“Star Of Sirrah”
“Run! Apocalypse! Run”
“The Day That The World Breaks Down”
Interviews
Behind The Scenes
5.1 Audio Mix

“Everybody Dies” lyric video:

“The Day That The World Breaks Down”:

Vocalists confirmed for the new Ayreon album include:

- James LaBrie (Dream Theater) as The Historian
- Tommy Rogers (Between The Buried And Me) as The Chemist
- Simone Simons (Epica) as The Counselor
- Michael Mills (Toehider) as TH-1
- Floor Jansen (Nightwish) as The Biologist
- Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian) as The Astronomer
- Tobias Sammet (Edguy, Avantasia) as The Captain
- Michael Eriksen (Circus Maximus) as The Diplomat

United Rock Nations recently conducted an interview with British heavy metal vocalist Blaze Bayley (IRON MAIDEN, WOLFSBANE) and guitarist Chris Appleton of Blaze's solo band. You can watch the chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the success of Blaze's 2016 "Infinite Entanglement" album:

Blaze: "I really didn't expect 'Infinite Entanglement' to have any success. I hoped it would. I was really, really hoping that people would take the idea and be a part of it and start understanding. I've done some science fiction-themed songs and science fiction-themed concept albums once before with 'Tenth Dimension', but 'Infinite Entanglement' seemed to be much further out there, but all of my fans really liked it. I'm completely independent. I don't send my music to journalists or magazines before the fans, so my fans hear my album before any journalist. That's very important to me, personally. And they liked it. That was really encouraging and it was a huge relief. and when we did the tour, they sang the new songs and started to feel like the new songs are old friends in the set. Things started to go really, really well."

On whether he would have done the second part of the trilogy ("Endure And Survive") had the first not been received well:

Blaze: "Absolutely, yeah. My management that I have support completely my artistic vision. So does Chris. Once we knew that 'Infinite Entanglement' wasn't one album, when we understood that it had to be three, I said to Chris, 'This is not one album. It's three. It's a trilogy. It has a beginning and it has an end. This is a big idea.' Then everybody went, 'Oh, God!' But everybody stayed with me, believed in it, they didn't question the idea, they did their absolute best and it's just been fantastic."

On his passion for science fiction:

Blaze: "I used to watch science fiction programs with my mother when I was a boy. 'Doctor Who' and 'Moonbase Alpha' and the original 'Star Trek' series, so we watched these things together and fiction really inspired me and it's stayed with me. Reading books by Arthur C. Clarke and Philip K. Dick, those are things that have inspired me. Many science fiction movies have inspired me as well. It is very similar to heavy metal in one way. There's a lot of bad, ordinary science fiction movies, but when a great science fiction movie comes [out], it is incredible and life-changing, so I like science fiction. I like the feeling of the future is already there and we can take a picture of it in some way. That's why I really love it and also, science fact that the future is based on facts. Things that we touch on quantum physics and Einstein's 'Theory Of Relativity,' things are based on all of this stuff. It's put together in unusual ways and do amazing things."

On the first metal album he listened to as a kid:

Blaze: "It wasn't really metal, it was QUEEN's 'A Day At The Races'. It had a huge influence on me because of the melody and the guitar work of Brian May; so many of his guitar solos are flowing and memorable, melodic solos. I think from there and SWEET, the rock band from the '70s, those are the first kind of hints of heavy rock and metal that I started listening to. Of course, then as I got into metal, it became IRON MAIDEN, BLACK SABBATH. I was very lucky in a way that as a boy, THE SEX PISTOLS were in the charts and the first BLACK SABBATH album, I remember going to my friend's house, we both liked THE SEX PISTOLS and the energy, the anger of THE SEX PISTOLS, then I heard the first SABBATH album and I was like, 'This is scary.' The sound of that album is scary. Emotionally, it makes me feel uncomfortable. Many years later, I came back to that. I sought that discomfort. I sought that out, that difference and I think that's part of the attraction of metal when it's done really well, it asks you a question and it is dark and passionate and melancholic, and it will keep you coming back to that intense feeling that you remember when you first found out about it."

Bayley's ninth solo album, "Endure And Survive" was released on March 3 via Blaze Bayley Recording.

In a brand new interview with Guitar World, guitarist/vocalist Richie Kotzen was asked about the status of THE WINERY DOGS, his power trio with drummer Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ADRENALINE MOB) and legendary bassist Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, TALAS, DAVID LEE ROTH). He replied: "We did two back-to-back album cycles and it was very fun and well received. Billy and Mike are each doing some more recording and I hear there are exciting things in the works. Right now, I'm focused on being Richie Kotzen again. ['Salting Earth'] is my 21st solo record and my focus is on getting out there. We have a solid year's worth of dates, everywhere from Australia to Japan, Brazil, Uruguay and Peru. We're going all over the place and I'm thrilled. As for THE WINERY DOGS, who knows? Down the line, we may do something. I'm not sure when, but we always keep all the doors open."

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 via Loud & Proud Records.

"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.

THE WINERY DOGS' May 27, 2016 performance at Teatro Cariola in Santiago, Chile was professionally filmed and recorded for an upcoming DVD and Blu-ray, tentatively due later in the year.

Sheehan told HNGN that THE WINERY DOGS was always committed to being more than just a one-off collaboration. "When we started working on the first record, the idea was that if we're going to do this we should do a band, and if we do a band, it should be a real band and we should plan this out for many years and look forward to our sixth record and all of that. And I was totally into that, because as a fan — and I'm a big fan of a lot of music and I've got a huge iTunes collection — I invest emotionally when I get into a record or a band. They become part of me; music is the most important thing in my life, so when I find a new band I like, in a way I'm invested emotionally, and I'm sure other fans do the same thing, and I know how heartbroken I am when a band puts out a record and then they don't tour or they put out a second record and they have a different guy in the band or I found out later that they all hate each other. It breaks my heart. [Laughs] A lot of bands I found out later that they hated each other, they had separate tour buses, they didn't talk to each other, and here I was thinking they're all friends and happy and when I listen to their music I imagine them all hanging out together and having a good time. So right from the beginning we said if we're going to do it we should do it for real. Because if people are going to invest in us, we don't want to scam them and let them think it's something that it's not — it's either really a band and we're really doing this or it would just be another side project, and none of us wanted that."

"Salting Earth" will be released on April 14 via Kotzen's own custom label, Headroom-Inc.

Photo credit: Julia Lage

Bruce Dickinson has spoken out against the closure of small music venues in the United Kingdom due to noise complaints from people living in properties built next to existing clubs.

The IRON MAIDEN frontman was talking to WalesOnline when he was asked about Cardiff pub and live music venue Dempseys, which announced its closure in January.

Bruce said: "Sadly, that seems to be happening in a lot of places. It's the gentrification of the city centre, the dodgy hangouts which are really cool which kids like. We [IRON MAIDEN] wouldn't have been able to start out if there hadn't been venues like that.

"The good thing is you don't need a lot to have a place where you can have a racket and have people turn up."

He added: "Small venues are indispensable to bands... always have been and always will be. I think we miss a trick in this country and some countries in Europe do it better in that they protect their social infrastructure. And pubs and small venues are part of that social infrastructure.

"Just because something would be worth X a square foot, that is a case of people who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

"These are vital things [small music venues] and the reason why people come to a city centre is to keep it alive. And it's not just people who want to drink posh lattes, there are other people in the world who have cultural needs and rock and roll is pretty fundamental to people's lives these days."

IRON MAIDEN's headlining U.K. tour is scheduled to kick off on May 4 at Nottingham Motorpoint Arena.