Brutal death metal rulers Aborted have released a new video clip for the song “Fallacious Crescendo”, taken from their Bathos EP (2017). The video was shot at Aborted’s impressive live appearance on last year’s Wacken Open Air and presents the band in flawless shape. Behold:

Aborted’s new studio album TerrorVision is about to be finished in May. The release date is set for September 22nd. We dare to say that this new work of relentless brutality is going to have no equals. If you loved Retrogore and Bathos, you will surely worship TerrorVision. More news in the upcoming weeks.

Shortly after the release of the new album Aborted will start the Hell Over Europe II headline tour, supported by Cryptopsy, Benighted and Cytotoxin.

Tour dates:

November
1 - Leeuwaarden, Netherlands  - Neushoorn
2 - Mulhouse, France - Noumatrouff
3 - Sint Niklaas, Belgium - Casino
4 - St. Brieuc, France - La Citrouille
5 - Paris, France - Petit Bain
7 - Nantes, France - Le Ferrailieur
8 - Biarritz, France - Atabal
9 - Madrid, Spain - Caracol
10 - Barcelona, Spain - Boveda
11 - Lyon, France - CCO
12 - Brescia, Italy - Circolo Colony
13 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Orto Bar
14 - Fribourg, Switzerland - Fri-Son
15 - Vienna, Austria - Arena
16 - Munich, Germany - Feierwerk
17 - Uherske, Switzerland - Hradiste Mir
18 - Prague, Czech Republic - Futurum
19 - Poznan, Poland - Klub Y Bazyla
20 - Berlin, Germany - Cassiopeia
21 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Pumphuset
22 - Hamburg, Germany - Bambi Galore
23 - Essen, Germany - Turock
24 - Weinheim, Germany - Café Central
25 - Eindhoven, Netherlands  Dynamo

Aborted lineup:

Sven De Caluwe: Gurgloroth
Mendel Bij De Leij: Flesh Upon The Razor Wire
Stefano Francescini: Nocturnal Pulse
Ken Bedene: Hymen Blaster
Ian Jelekis: Immaculate Resection

Singer/guitarist Zach Slaughter (frontman for Skull Fist) has announced his new project, Freedumb. The musical style includes punk, acoustic, doom and traditional metal all combined with a cheeky sense of humour. The debut album Skate N Die will be released on May 18th via Boonsdale Records.

Zach Slaughter comments: "Since we're pulling a chinese democracy on the new Skull Fist album I decided to say goodbye to any credibility I have left. Nine tracks of pure bullshit. From doom or punk to classic heavy metal with some high notes and a few guitar solos... I think I might need to start drinking again?"

Check out the official video for "S.O.S. (Soldier of Satan)"

Freedumb’s debut release unleashes nine tracks of high energy punk/metal in the vein of Candlemass, Bad Religion, Dead Kennedys, Skull Fist, trademarked with Zach’s unique vocal style along with metal elements and virtuoso guitar solos, plus the lyrical humour of NOFX / Frank Zappa. Skate N Die offers an alternate approach to mainstream music that can give attention to the counter culture of today’s social circles.

Tracklisting:

"Punch Patrol"
"S.O.S."
"Shark Attack"
"Grand Canyon"
"Jerkathon"
"Skate N Die"
"Anarchy Will Prevail"
"Street Surfing Man"
"Finding Emo"

Promo video:

Vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN), guitarist Glen Drover (MEGADETH, KING DIAMOND, TESTAMENT, EIDOLON), drummer Shawn Drover (MEGADETH, ACT OF DEFIANCE, EIDOLON) and bassist Adrian Robichaud (EIDOLON) joined forces to perform heavy metal classics under the A NIGHT OF METAL banner on April 12 at Piranha Bar in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

Glen, Shawn and Adrian have a shared 10-year history as members of EIDOLON on Metal Blade Records. "Shawn is my brother, and Tim and I have been friends for a while," Glen told The Cornwall Seeker. "So when we put this together, and needed a bassist, it was a no-brainer to call Adrian. The chemistry is there, and that's especially important when we only do these shows once in a while. I live in Windsor, and the others live in Atlanta, Ohio, and all over the map. We can't spend a week in rehearsal. We need people we can rely on."

Regarding A NIGHT OF METAL's live performances, Glen said: "The fans can identify with both the music and the members of our band. Whether we play MEGADETH or JUDAS PRIEST or other classic metal like OZZY OSBOURNE, we're good at what we do, and it's a great show."

Owens recorded two studio albums with JUDAS PRIEST — 1997's "Jugulator" and 2001's "Demolition" — before the band reunited with Rob Halford.

Glen left MEGADETH at the end of 2007 and was replaced by Chris Broderick, who previously played with NEVERMORE and JAG PANZER.

Shawn joined MEGADETH in 2004 as the replacement for Nick Menza, who had only just rejoined the group. Drover performed on four MEGADETH studio records: 2007's "United Abominations", 2009's "Endgame", 2011's "TH1RT3EN" and 2013's "Super Collider".

Robert Trujillo and Kirk Hammett played a cover version of the ACCEPT classic "Balls To The Wall" during METALLICA's April 30 concert " at Arena Leipzig in Leipzig, Germany. Professionally filmed video footage of their performance can be seen below.

METALLICA has played 20 shows in Europe since early February and has another five dates booked between now and mid-May.

METALLICA recently announced the details of the 2018-2019 North American leg of of its "WorldWired" tour in support of the band's latest album, "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct".

The 34-date trek kicks off September 2 in Madison, Wisconsin and runs through March 13 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Each ticket purchase will be accompanied by a physical or digital copy of "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct".

METALLICA's "WorldWired" trek was the fifth-highest grossing tour of 2017, with 1.5 million tickets sold and $153 million earned. The band was also the top-selling rock act of the year and had the third best-selling rock album.

Cult Swedish metal band ICE AGE has released the official music video for the song "Clever". The track is taken from the group's debut album, "Breaking The Ice", which came out last October via GMR/PHD. The disc, which was laid down at Gothenburg Rock Studios, features re-recorded versions of five classic songs from the original demos plus five brand new songs.

Regarding the video for "Clever", frontwoman Sabrina Kihlstrand says: "We are incredibly happy to present our second video from our album 'Breaking The Ice'. The video is directed by Berget Bergman (MMI, REIGNSAW) and was filmed during our Scandinavian tour with REIGNSAW and F.K.Ü. The song itself is about being let down by a friend from an ironic perspective."

As one of the more acclaimed thrash bands in Europe during the 1980s, it was nothing short of criminal that the all-female lineup ICE AGE never got to release any material except via their classic demo tapes.

ICE AGE's current lineup consists of original members Sabrina Kihlstrand (rhythm guitar and vocals) and Viktoria Larsson (bass), alongside André Holmqvist (drums) and Linnéa Landstedt (lead guitar).

ICE AGE, from Gothenburg in Sweden, was formed in January 1985 by Kihlstrand and Pia Nyström, who met through an ad in a music store. The band lineup was completed with Sabrina's sister, Helena, and Tina Strömberg behind the drums.

During the band's early stages, they were more power metal-oriented, and this sound fed through their first demo, "Rock Solid", (which was the band's original short-lived name before changing to ICE AGE — something more akin with their origins in the cold winters of Scandinavia).

There then came the first of the band's lineup changes when Helena passed over her bass duties to Larsson at the end of 1986.

Their sound gradually became more raw, which distanced them from the more standard metal riffs of IRON MAIDEN and QUEENSRŸCHE, and more towards the thrash style of early MEGADETH and METALLICA.

ICE AGE played very technical thrash, which can be heard in their demos "General Alert" (1987) and another that was untitled (1988).

The band toured in several countries and played many festivals, including the well-known Open Air in Lamone, Switzerland, in front of five thousand people. They also played the legendary Marquee club in London.

The four Swedes gradually gained more and more popularity, which surged after the recording of their next demo, "Instant Justice", in 1989.

Midway through their next tour came a major problem though: vocalist Sabrina left the band due to irreconcilable problems with the band's then-manager.

Curiously, it wasn't one but two new members that replaced her: the Italian guitarist Isabella Fronzoni and American Debbie Gunn on vocals. This lineup existed only for six months and yet again, problems with the bands then-manager were too difficult to repair.

Finally, ICE AGE split in 1990 after having sold thousands of copies of their demos.

Over the years, the interest from fans worldwide has remained, and although ICE AGE may have long been split, they have not been forgotten.

U.S. epic metal shooting stars WITHERFALL will enter the studio later this month to record their second album, titled "A Prelude To Sorrow". The follow-up to "Nocturnes And Requiems" is tentatively due in early November via Century Media Records.


The band comments: "WITHERFALL have finished writing and are deep into pre-production of our second LP. On 15 May, WITHERFALL will head into the studio to self-produce our follow-up to 'Nocturnes And Requiems'. Tracking and engineering wizardry will be handled by JJ Crews at Boogie Tracks studios in Panama City. The compositions are both melodically violent and beautifully aggressive with a much darker tone than 'Nocturnes'. More news to follow..."


Krisitan Wåhlin, who has painted the hauntingly beautiful cover artwork of "Nocturnes And Requiems" and who is known for his work for bands as KING DIAMOND, TIAMAT, DISSECTION and many others, is already working on the cover for "A Prelude To Sorrow".

WITHERFALL stirred up the international scene with its unique approach of combining epic metal with dark heavy metal and complex yet catchy progressive metal to style that reminds of early CRIMSON GLORY, the "Conspiracy"/"The Eye" era of KING DIAMOND and the great achievements of bands like NEVERMORE, FATES WARNING and QUEENSRŸCHE.

The band features guitarist Jake Dreyer (ICED EARTH, KOBRA AND THE LOTUS, WHITE WIZZARD) and singer Joseph Michael (WHITE WIZZARD, SANCTUARY)

WITHERFALL 2018 lineup (from left to right in photo):

Joseph Michael - Vocals, Keyboards

Anthony Crawford - Bass

Steve Bolognese - Drums

Jake Dreyer - Guitars

Fili Bibiano - Guitar

Former FORBIDDEN and NEVERMORE guitarist Tim Calvert died this morning after battling an aggressive form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. He was only 52 years old.

Tim's passing was announced by his sister, Vicky Calvert-Hawkins, who wrote in a Facebook post: "Myself and my husband Bret (along with several wonderful doctors, and hospice providers) are so honored to have been able to be Tim's caregiver, in our home, for the last five months. We are so incredibly thankful to have had this time to spend with Tim.

"November 7, 1965 - April 30, 2018. Note the dash '-' in the dates. Life is all about how you live your dash '-'... And you, my dearest Timothy, did one hell of a badass, bang-up job living your dash to its fullest. Well done! Incredible musician, airline captain, world traveler, lover of nature and animals, faithful Oakland Raiders and Oakland A's fan, comedian and supreme master guru of WW II military/aviation history and memorabilia. I love you, big bro. Cheers, until I see you again."

Calvert played on three FORBIDDEN albums — 1990's "Twisted Into Form", 1994's "Distortion" and 1997's "Green" — as well as one NEVERMORE LP, 1999's "Dreaming Neon Black".

FORBIDDEN guitarist Craig Locicero mourned Tim's death in a Facebook post. He wrote: "Beyond sorrow. We just found out Tim Calvert has passed. Some have known he was battling an aggressive form of ALS for a while now. It was all very private as per his wishes.

"The greatest songwriter, musician and guitarist I have ever had the pleasure or creating music with has left the building. Tim's genius will live on forever in the three FORBIDDEN records he helped create with us."

Added FORBIDDEN bassist Matt Camacho: "The great Tim Calvert passed away quietly this morning with his family present. It's so like Tim to request we keep it quiet because he was such a humble soul. I believe he just didn't want anyone to make a fuss over him.

"Everyone who knows Tim is a better person for it. He was the kinda guy who had no enemies and was extremely talented at everything he does. Always really funny, the kind of guy who always had the witty comeback and could talk shit with the best of them, which when living on a tour bus was essential to be able to put bandmembers in their place.

"When he joined FORBIDDEN, I barely knew how to play, and [Paul] Bostaph [drums] and Locicero didn’t have a lot of patience to show me the songs. I would spend many hours as Tim walked me through all of the painstaking details and putting in his own time making sure I wouldn't get booted from the band.

"Not a lot of people know this about Tim, but after he stepped away from NEVERMORE, who was even a bigger band than FORBIDDEN, he went on to become a pilot and became a captain at United.

"What a badass motherfucker... Dude left a legacy of incredible guitar playing and became an expert in a field people spend their whole life trying to achieve.

"What a fine job you did, Tim Calvert… Life well lived!

"The good ones die way fucking too young... This one is gonna be tough to get through."

Ex-NEVERMORE guitarist Jeff Loomis wrote: "Truly a sad day today to learn about the passing of my dear friend and fellow bandmate Tim Calvert. Not just an incredible guitarist and songwriter, but one who followed his love and passion of aviation to become an airline captain. To this day, I'm blown away by all of his accomplishments. ALS is a horrible disease and took my friend away far too soon. May you rest in peace, Tim."

Norwegian/French symphonic metallers SIRENIA will release their as-yet-untitled ninth full-length album this fall via Napalm Records. The follow-up to 2016's "Dim Days Of Dolor" will mark the band's second LP to feature French vocalist Emmanuelle Zoldan, who replaced Spanish singer Ailyn Giménez García two years ago.

SIRENIA guitarist Morten Veland spoke about the band's upcoming disc in a brand new interview with Heavy New York. He said (see video below): "As soon as we get back home from this [North American] tour" — which ends on April 29 in Brooklyn, New York — "we'll get into the studio and start recording. And the date is set for 26th of October. That's when we aim to release the next album."

Prior to the recording of "Dim Days Of Dolor", SIRENIA collaborated with Zoldan on choir vocals on all its albums except its 2002 debut, "At Sixes And Sevens". She also did some lead vocals on SIRENIA's cover version of Leonard Cohen's "First We Take Manhattan" on the 2004 EP "Sirenian Shores".

Emmanuelle told Femme Metal Webzine about her musical background: "I learned the piano when I was child, and I tried drums later, but I had to admit very fast that I was better in singing. So I began to sing in a pop/rock band as the lead singer. We made some really nice shows, and won some competitions. It was a really nice period of creativity and concerts we did in the same time we did our studies at the university. Then I decided to go the conservatory to learn a good vocal technique, and after some years of work and two years of specialization, I began a career… in opera. It was a bit unexpected, but life can be really strange sometimes. But during my operatic career, I never stopped doing a lot of other music projects, in different styles (rock, jazz, R&B), creating music, making concerts and recording metal albums for many bands, choirs parts and also lead vocals."

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Japanese pop metal act BABYMETAL has built a new partnership with 5B Artist Management And Records, a leading global music, events, and marketing firm, which manages well-known artists such as SLIPKNOT and MEGADETH. Additionally, with the powerful duo of 5B Artist Management And Records and Cooking Vinyl, which has handled the release of prestigious artists such as MARILYN MANSON and THE PRODIGY, BABYMETAL has announced the establishment of a new record label, Babymetal Records.

Formed in 2010, BABYMETAL is the offshoot of the Japanese pop idol group SAKURA GAKUIN that performs a distinctly Japanese mix of schoolgirl J-pop and heavy metal.

BABYMETAL's members — Suzuka Nakamoto (a.k.a. Su-Metal, who handles vocals and dancing), Yui Mizuno (a.k.a. Yuimetal) and Moa Kikuchi (a.k.a. Moametal), the latter of whom both scream and dance — admit that they had never listened to metal before joining the group. The girls wear gothy schoolgirl costumes, do choreographed dance routines and bang their heads violently.

BABYMETAL recently released its two concerts from December 2-3, 2007 at Hiroshima's Green Arena on a new Blu-ray titled "Legend S - Baptism XX". The limited-edition set, featuring 16 songs, a live CD and a booklet, is only available for members of the band's fan club, The One.

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Jesse Leach is resting after undergoing vocal cord surgery.

The procedure was apparently performed earlier today (Monday, April 30) at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City by Dr. Peak Woo, a board-certified otolaryngologist with special interests in the voice, voice disorders, and surgery designed specifically to improve the voice.

Leach posted a post-operation update on his Instagram account, saying that the "surgery went well" and thanking "Dr. Woo and the amazing staff at Mount Sinai hospital." He added: "Time for rest and recovery. That was a surreal day. I'm glad it's over and I'm headed home."

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE was forced to cancel seven shows in late April and early May as a result of Jesse's surgery.

The band has spent the last few months working on a new album for a tentative late 2018 release.

The follow-up to 2016's "Incarnate" will mark KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's third full-length effort since the return of Leach, who rejoined the group in 2012.

Leach appeared on KILLSWITCH's self-titled debut and sophomore album, "Alive Or Just Breathing", before exiting the band. Howard Jones took over on vocals for "The End of Heartache", "As Daylight Dies" and the 2009 self-titled set before being dismissed from the group six years ago.

WHITESNAKE has pushed back the projected release date of its new album, "Flesh & Blood", to next year.

The band's record label, Frontiers Music Srl, issued a statement earlier today blaming the delay on "technical issues."

"It is with great disappointment that, following technical issues whilst mixing the new 'Flesh & Blood' album, WHITESNAKE and Frontiers have mutually agreed to delay the album release until early 2019," the statement reads.

"The release of the new studio record is to coincide with the WHITESNAKE 'Flesh & Blood' world tour.

"WHITESNAKE would like to express their sincere regrets to our fans all over the world for any and all disappointment and promise the album and tour will be worth waiting for."

Frontman David Coverdale recently told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation" that "Flesh & Blood" will "be the best WHITESNAKE album. I know that's clichéd stuff, but I know what I'm talking about. I should do after almost 50 years," he explained.

According to Coverdale, the new disc "has all the necessary WHITESNAKE elements that I need to call it WHITESNAKE, but with a vibrant, fresh coat of paint." The record will mark the first time he has written with WHITESNAKE guitarists Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra. "The longest-standing member of WHITESNAKE, Reb Beach, [he and I had] never written together until this project," he said. "So it's a family affair. It really is cool. I'm very excited for people to hear it."

Coverdale revealed that recording sessions for the new WHITESNAKE album were halted while he recovered from an illness last year. "I got that horrible H3 flu, which took me out for, I think, about six weeks before I started to feel like myself again," he said. "It was horrifying. It was that strain of flu that the anti-flu vaccination didn't cover. It was just an evil, evil, evil strain of flu."

WHITESNAKE filmed a music video for a new song called "Shut Up & Kiss Me" on March 10. "It's a kick-ass song; you're gonna love it," Coverdale told "Trunk Nation". "But there's gonna some real fun elements paying respect and nod to WHITESNAKE's past, but certainly not as dark and as gritty as [WHITESNAKE's] 'Burn' video [from 'The Purple Album']."

WHITESNAKE will embark on the "Juke Box Heroes Tour" this summer with FOREIGNER and Jason Bonham.

WHITESNAKE's latest studio disc, 2015's "The Purple Album", was billed as "a re-imagination of classic songs from Coverdale's time as the lead singer for DEEP PURPLE's Mark III and Mark IV studio albums." Coverdale was DEEP PURPLE's frontman from late 1973 to early 1976 and sang on the albums "Burn", "Stormbringer" and "Come Taste The Band".

QUIET RIOT played a cover version of the AC/DC classic "Highway To Hell" during the Frankie Banali-led band's April 28 appearance at the Frontiers Rock Festival in Milan, Italy. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below. The concert was filmed for a forthcoming DVD.

Asked by Italy's Linea Rock what he would say to anyone claiming that the group's current lineup is not the "real QUIET RIOT," the drummer said: "I think first of all, it's important for everybody to understand that I have been involved with QUIET RIOT since 1980. The bass player that's with us, Chuck Wright, has been a part of QUIET RIOT on and off since we recorded 'Metal Health'. Alex Grossi, our guitarist, has been in the band for 14 years. The new singer is James Durbin, who was on 'American Idol' during the tenth season. I think it's also important to understand that in the history of QUIET RIOT, there have been nearly 40 different members. It hasn't just been myself and Rudy Sarzo, who is my dearest and closest friend and a big supporter of me doing QUIET RIOT, and Kevin DuBrow, who of course passed away, and Carlos [Cavazo]. That was the iconic lineup, but if you look at any band these days, they're not all original members either because people have left, people have passed away, but you're going to get a wonderful representation of QUIET RIOT."

Durbin told the Noise Pollution web site that he has been embraced by QUIET RIOT fans so far. "The reception has been all good," he said. "I haven't encountered a single unsatisfied fan at any of the gigs we've done together, which is pretty awesome. It's a non-stop, in-your-face, nostalgic 75-minute rock and roll show, so there's no phoning it in. If I didn't want to be on that stage singing these songs, I wouldn't, and I think the fans get that energy from us. Because we certainly get that energy back from them."

He went on to say that he keeps to DuBrow's musical vision while singing QUIET RIOT's classic songs. "I stay pretty true to the way Kevin DuBrow did it for all those years," James said. "I personally love watching QUIET RIOT's set from the US Festival in '83. It was raw, live and real, and if it worked then, why change it?"

QUIET RIOT's latest album, "Road Rage" — the band's first with Durbin — was released last August via Frontiers Music Srl.

Durbin, who became known as the "metal guy" on 2011's season of "American Idol" after performing "Living After Midnight" and "Breaking The Law" with JUDAS PRIEST, hooked up with QUIET RIOT after the dismissal of Seann Nicols (a.k.a. Sheldon Tarsha; formerly of ADLER'S APPETITE). Nicols was with QUIET RIOT for just a few months, but long enough to record the vocals for an early version of "Road Rage".

Dutch metallers DELAIN will issue a new EP in the fall via Napalm Records. The band will promote the EP's release by playing two intimate headlining shows on in October.

Oct. 11 - Live Music Hall - Cologne, Germany

Oct. 12 - Patronaat - Haarlem, Netherlands

DELAIN is scheduled to make appearances at several European festivals this year and embark on a South American tour with NIGHTWISH.

As previously reported, DELAIN is working on material for the follow-up to 2016's "Moonbathers" album. "We're writing," keyboardist Martijn Westerholt told Heavy New York before a recent concert on the band's North American tour as the support act for KAMELOT. "Right now, we're not, because we're touring the U.S. and Canada, of course. But when we're back [from the road], we will continue writing. It's a little bit quiet on purpose, because we wanna focus on writing. And the plan is to release [the new album] next year, so let's hope it works out."

Last year, Westerholt told music journalist Joel Gausten that DELAIN would spend most of 2018 away from the road as the band works on its next disc. He also confirmed that DELAIN's next album will mark the first time guitarist Merel Bechtold will be involved with one of the band's full-length recordings from the start of the creative process. "That's true, but in our case, it's never a big issue," he said. "To be frank, [singer] Charlotte [Wessels], [studio collaborator] Guus [Eikens] and I already do everything, and we do try — and are very open — to welcome band members to participate on it. But this train is rolling with or without them — preferably with them. But for us, it's not a big issue. We do like to have them involved and stimulate that. For example, Timo [Somers, guitar] did a lot of guitar arrangement on our previous album. I don't think people will hear a big difference. With all due respect to Merel — because she's great — it's not the way DELAIN works, so to say. But I do hope that she will contribute, and she surely has the talent for it. She's very creative, so let's see what happens."

DELAIN spent much of 2016 and 2017 celebrating its tenth anniversary — from the release of "Moonbathers" and an anniversary edition of its debut disc, "Lucidity", to extensive headline tours across Europe and North America to gracing some of the world's biggest festival stages — and capped it off with the release of its first-ever live DVD/Blu-ray package.

Last fall, DELAIN completed the "Danse Macabre" tour, featuring special guest and frequent collaborator Marco Hietala from NIGHTWISH on all dates.

A newly launched web site, GNR.FM, appears to be teasing an upcoming product or event related to GUNS N' ROSES' classic "Appetite For Destruction" album. The site, which is registered by Universal Music Group, is displaying the message "DESTRUCTION IS COMING" along with the #AppetiteForDestruction hashtag. In addition, a billboard featuring five skulls — each representing one of the classic GN'R members from the "Appetite For Destruction" cover — has popped up in the Camden area of London and is also promoting the GNR.FM site.

There is speculation among GN'R fans that "Appetite For Destruction" will be reissued in a special deluxe edition featuring lots of bonus material, although this has not yet been corroborated by an official source.

"Appetite for Destruction" was certified in September 2008 by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for U.S. sales in excess of 18 million copies. The LP has reportedly accumulated worldwide sales in excess of 28 million since its 1987 release.

The album's original cover, based on the Robert Williams painting "Appetite for Destruction", depicted a robot rapist about to be punished by a metal avenger. After several music retailers refused to stock the album, they compromised and put the controversial cover art inside, replacing it with a cover depicting a cross and skulls of the five band members (designed by Billy White Jr., originally as a tattoo), each skull representing one member of the band: Izzy Stradlin, top skull; Steven Adler, left skull; Axl Rose, center skull; Duff McKagan, right skull; and Slash, bottom skull. The photographs used for the back of the album and liner notes were taken by Robert John.

Adler recently said that both he and Stradlin are "heartbroken" that they're not part of the GUNS N' ROSES reunion tour.

Although he wasn't included in the lineup that launched the "Not In This Lifetime" trek in 2016, Adler rejoined GUNS N' ROSES at several shows on the tour, including three stops on the U.S. leg and one gig in Buenos Aires, Argentina, playing drums on "Out Ta Get Me" and "My Michelle".

In February 2017, Adler revealed to podcaster Mitch Lafon that he was originally supposed to appear at more than just a handful of shows on the GUNS N' ROSES reunion trek. He claimed that he expected to play all the "Appetite For Destruction" material during the entire tour, only to be told he was out after he hurt his back during rehearsals.

It was rumored that Stradlin turned down a five-figure fee to play with GUNS N' ROSES at the April 2016 reunion shows. The guitarist later tweeted about the dispute, writing that the band didn't want to "split the loot equally."

GUNS N' ROSES will return in June for a seven-week European jaunt, but the band's plans until then, and beyond that, remain unknown for now. The three core members — Rose, Slash and McKagan — have not given a single interview together.

What the hell? What is happening? New billboard in Camden, could this mean an original linup tour for guns n’ roses? Let’s hope so! Would be seriously EPIC! #appetitefordestruction #GNR #GunsNRoses #Slash #AxlRose #StevenAdler #DuffMcKagan #IzzyStradlin #MakeThisHappen #SuperEpic pic.twitter.com/45WREkVMOM— Tom Moeyaert (@slashtom1) April 29, 2018



Nueva foto y nuevo ángulo de lo que hablábamos ayer... #AppetiteForDestruction #destructioniscoming #gnr.fm #gunsnroses A post shared by gunsnroses (@gnr_news) on Apr 30, 2018 at 7:18am PDT

A PERFECT CIRCLE's "Eat The Elephant", the Maynard James Keenan- and Billy Howerdel-led rock band's return release following a 14-year gap between new albums, debuted atop numerous Billboard charts, grabbing the No. 1 spot on the Rock, Independent and Alternative Albums charts, a No. 2 entry on the Top Current Albums chart (for pure album sales) and a No. 3 album debut on the Billboard 200. This is the band's fourth consecutive studio album to have debuted in the Top 5 on the Billboard 200.

A PERFECT CIRCLE kicked off release week with a rare fan forum, taking questions via a live-streamed Q&A from Las Vegas, which was followed on Monday by a "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" performance of "TalkTalk" and "So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish". In the midst of the release-week activities, the band also announced a new round of tour dates for both the U.S. and Europe.

While "Eat The Elephant" was made available in the traditional incarnations (digital/CD, various vinyl colorways), it received a special treatment as part of a deluxe box set, with Sundance award-winning filmmaker Steven Sebring ("Horses: Patti Smith And Her Band", "Dream Of Life") creating the world's first hologram album. The 58-minute hologram, which unfolds through the eyes of a young girl over the 12-song album arc, reveals itself when fans place the prism on their smartphones and enter a special code. The box set can be ordered via the A PERFECT CIRCLE store.

"Having Maynard and Billy's trust to create this for A PERFECT CIRCLE was a true artist's dream," said Sebring. "Their 14-year break allowed technology to catch up with their groundbreaking music and gave me the chance to apply new ideas of dimensional capture to this stunning album."

Two decades since its last release, Norwegian hard rock band CONCEPTION has reunited with its familiar lineup: Roy Khan, Tore Østby, Ingar Amlien and Arve Heimdal. Having decided to control the process themselves, the bandmembers now turn to their fans via a PledgeMusic campaign to help generate the funds they need for releasing their brand-new material.

Since releasing the album "Flow" in 1997, the members have been working on separate projects, but fans never gave up hope of seeing them together as a band again. There have been rumors and speculations for some time about a possible reunion, and now they confirm they've been quietly working for some time on this new material.

Says singer Roy Khan (ex-KAMELOT): "It's great to be back together. The strong bond we have makes for a great foundation for creativity. We can't wait to present our new music which we feel shows development but still bears the signature of CONCEPTION."

Adds guitarist Tore Østby: "I can only agree with Roy. I think it's been a surprising experience for all of us to meet each other musically again and find where this work has taken us."

The decision to do this on their own has been unanimous, to explore the possibilities in having full control. They have already formed a team of professionals believing in the band's comeback. The band intends to raise money to release a single and EP in the autumn.

Khan (full name: Roy Sætre Khantatat) recently released his first-ever solo song called "For All". The track, which was written by Khan, was recorded at Stable Studios in Oslo, Norway in March 2018 and features Roy on vocals, piano and keyboards alongside Leif Johansen on fretless bass and Geir Olav Akselsen on all guitars.

After his departure from KAMELOT seven years ago, Khan, who is a devout Christian, joined a church in the coastal town of Moss, Norway. As an employee of Moss Frikirke, Khan worked with the youth, mainly with the choir and the skaters of the village. Roy stopped working at the church in September 2016, but is reportedly still living and working in Moss.

Khan announced his exit from KAMELOT in April 2011 after taking several months off to recover from a "burnout." He explained in a statement at the time: "I told the guys in the band already last fall (well after my burnout) that I was leaving the band. Naturally enough, they were shocked (as was the label and everyone else working with KAMELOT). In addition to risk of dropping ticket sales, they wanted to give me time to think things over, and so I did. My decision still stands; it is finished."

KAMELOT officially announced Tommy Karevik as its new lead singer in June 2012. The Florida-based band has recorded three albums so far with the Swedish vocalist: 2012's "Silverthorn", 2015's "Haven" and "The Shadow Theory", which arrived earlier month.

ROBERT PLANT & THE SENSATIONAL SPACE SHIFTERS have released an official video for the song "The May Queen", filmed live at the O2 Apollo Manchester on November 30, 2017. The clip, directed by Ryan Mackfall and produced by Crashburn Media, can be seen below.

ROBERT PLANT & THE SENSATIONAL SPACE SHIFTERS recently completed a 12-city North American tour in support of their latest album, "Carry Fire".

Released in February on DVD and digital video was ROBERT PLANT & THE SENSATIONAL SPACE SHIFTERS "Live At David Lynch's Festival Of Disruption". The eight-song performance was captured on October 8, 2016 at L.A.'s Ace Hotel Theatre as part of David Lynch's inaugural Festival Of Disruption, which raised money for The David Lynch Foundation. In addition to newer solo material, Plant dips into his LED ZEPPELIN back catalogue with updated takes on such classics as "Black Dog", "Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You", "Going To California" and a medley of "Hoochie Coochie Man / Whole Lotta Love / Mona".

Robert Plant explained to The Pulse Of Radio that the truest expression of his musicality today can be summed up by the work he does with SENSATIONAL SPACE SHIFTERS. "The biggest joy is to get it right — to feel that you got it right," he said. "The whole thing, it's like a weave, because it's not the kind of... what people would expect. I've made a lot of music in Nashville and I've worked a lot with... [I've] modified my singing style quite a lot to fit in with another process. So, the music that I made with Alison Krauss and with the BAND OF JOY was more reflective. And when I came back to the U.K. recently, I just missed these guys and the way that they — they're coming from great places, y'know? It's strong urban British music."

IN THIS MOMENT has released the official music video for the song "Black Wedding". The track, which features a guest appearance by JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford, is taken from IN THIS MOMENT's latest album, "Ritual", which came out last July. The clip was co-directed by frontwoman Maria Brink and Robert John Kley and features a gloriously wicked and thoroughly dark take on the traditional matrimonial ceremony.

Brink said that having Halford guest on "Ritual" was "an honor." She also told "DOMKcast" that the PRIEST singer added his vocals after all the other parts were already laid down.

"We actually recorded the song first, we had all of our stuff on it, and then he came in afterward and put his parts into it," she said. "But we had already kind of shown him [how we wanted it to sound]."

According to Brink, "it's pretty common nowadays" for musicians to collaborate on records without actually being in the studio together, "because artists are always doing something — some of them are on tour" or in different parts of the world. "When I did our song on our last album with Brent [Smith] from SHINEDOWN, it was the same thing — we weren't in the studio at the same time," she said. "I wish we could be in the studio at the same time — it feels like it could be more connecting or something like that — but it went down this way. But it doesn't matter."

Maria added that "Black Wedding" is "definitely gonna be a single. And I think that's gonna be a favorite, for sure, on this album. And we're honored to have [Rob] be a part of it. He's a legend. So we're so excited. We became friends with him, and what an honor to have him be a part of it."

IN THIS MOMENT guitarist Chris Howorth told Metal Wani in an interview that Halford was a natural choice for the "Black Wedding" track.

"Maria was doing the lyrics — and it's almost like a duet, but she's singing to herself with the mother and the priest and we're, like, 'Rob Halford is the priest! He would be the coolest dude ever to have on this song.'

"A couple of years ago, he actually expressed interest in our band and came to see us. It blew our minds completely. We became friends with him from that point.

"He's been super influential to us and when we were doing the song, Maria was, like, 'I'm going to see if Rob's interested,' and he jumped right on it. It's so cool to have him on this song with us."

"Ritual" was released via Atlantic Records in partnership with Roadrunner Records.

With GODSMACK's seventh studio album, "When Legends Rise", just released on Friday (April 27), frontman Sully Erna discussed 10 albums that changed his life in a new interview with Classic Rock. Leading the list was AEROSMITH's 1976 album "Rocks", about which Erna said: "I'd been a musician since I was three-and-a-half years old, and I was raised on blues and more jazzy music... A friend played me 'Last Child' from 'Rocks'. I think it was the first time I smoked a joint, and it was a really life-changing point for me, because it really lured me into the world of rock. It was super-cool for a young kid."

Other albums on Erna's list include AC/DC's "Back In Black", METALLICA's 1983 debut "Kill 'Em All", the 1979 live LP "Unleashed In The East" from JUDAS PRIEST and IRON MAIDEN's "Piece Of Mind".

The bottom half of Erna's list included RUSH's "Moving Pictures", PINK FLOYD's "The Dark Side Of The Moon", "Dirt" from ALICE IN CHAINS — which included the song "God Smack", from which Erna's band got its name — "Into The Labyrinth" from DEAD CAN DANCE and his own band's self-titled 1998 debut.

Erna told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that meeting one particular musical hero was a highlight of his 20 years as a recording artist. "Being able to meet [RUSH drummer] Neil Peart a couple of times, I didn't need to meet anyone else after that. As much as I love the Steven Tylers and the Joe Perrys and the James Hetfields, you know, I quit school because of RUSH. Really, that's all I did is I studied RUSH, you know. I sat home and strapped on headphones and played 'Moving Pictures' and 'Exit… Stage Left' and 'Signals' and all these great albums."

"When Legends Rise" follows up 2014's "1000hp" and comes as GODSMACK commemorates its 20th anniversary as a recording act. The first single is called "Bulletproof".

GODSMACK is performing at several music festivals this spring and summer, before launching a tour with SHINEDOWN on July 22 in Clarkston, Michigan.

In November, ARMORED SAINT will embark on a European tour commemorating the band's classic "Symbol Of Salvation" album. On this special run, the group will perform "Symbol Of Salvation" in its entirety.

ARMORED SAINT frontman John Bush comments: "Looking forward to coming to Europe in November to play the Metal Hammer Paradise show and others. Plus we're playing some cities for the first ever: Milan, Budapest and Zagreb. All this and 'Symbol Of Salvation' in its entirety. Should be an awesome tour. Come on out metalheads. SAINT will heat things up on these cold fall nights."

Tour dates:

Nov. 02 - Enschede, Netherlands - Atak

Nov. 03 - Weissenhäuser Strand, Germany - Metal Hammer Paradise

Nov. 08 - Budapest, Hungary - A38

Nov. 10 - Zagreb, Croatia - Mochvara Club

Nov. 11 - Milan, Italy - Legend Club

Bush previously said that "Symbol Of Salvation" was "arguably ARMORED SAINT's most important record. These songs came out of us being dropped from Chrysalis Records and finding out about guitarist Dave Prichard developing leukemia. The songs took on a much more emotional meaning than any other previous record. We wrote songs of desperation like 'Another Day' and 'Last Train Home'. Experimental tunes like 'Tainted Past' and 'The Truth Always Hurts'. Classic SAINT rockers like 'Reign of Fire', 'Dropping Like Flies' and the title track.

"After Dave passed, the band regrouped with Phil and Jeff returning as the guitar tandem. It was a family again. Dave Jerden produced the record and this marked the beginning of Joey becoming the producer of the band.

"It's going to be a memorable tour. Songs like 'Burning Question' and 'Spineless', we've never played live before. Come share it with us. Let's make Dave proud."

To further celebrate the legacy of this album, Metal Blade Records will reissue "Symbol Of Salvation" on CD and LP on May 18. The LP will feature a vinyl remastering from Patrick W. Engel as part of the "Metal Blade Originals" series. Special treatment and 400g heavy cardboard spine sleeves (inside out print), 60x60cm two-sided artwork posters and 250g inserts guaranteed! The CD will include four bonus tracks.

* CD (tour edition digipak w/ 4 bonus tracks)

* 180g black vinyl

* dark red maroon marbled vinyl (limited to 300 copies - EU exclusive)

* clear red/purple/black/white splattered vinyl (limited to 200 copies - EU exclusive)

* violet rosy brown marbled vinyl (limited to 300 copies - USA exclusive)

* pastel pink lilac marbled vinyl (limited to 200 copies - USA exclusive)

CD track listing:

01. Reign of Fire

02. Dropping Like Flies

03. Last Train Home

04. Tribal Dance

05. The Truth Always Hurts

06. Half Drawn Bridge

07. Another Day

08. Symbol of Salvation

09. Hanging Judge

10. Warzone

11. Burning Question

12. Tainted Past

13. Spineless>

14. Medieval Nightmares (Demo)

15. Get Lost (Demo)

16. Toungue and Cheek (Demo)

17. Pirates (Demo)

Vinyl track listing:

Side A

01. Reign of Fire

02. Dropping Like Flies

03. Last Train Home

04. Tribal Dance

05. The Truth Always Hurts

06. Half Drawn Bridge

07. Another Day

Side B

01. Symbol of Salvation

02. Hanging Judge

03. Warzone

04. Burning Question

05. Tainted Past

06. Spineless

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral

THE SEA WITHIN — the new art-rock collective comprise of Roine Stolt (TRANSATLANTIC, THE FLOWER KINGS), Daniel Gildenlöw (PAIN OF SALVATION), Jonas Reingold (STEVE HACKETT, THE FLOWER KINGS, KARMAKANIC, THE TANGENT), Tom Brislin (YES SYMPHONIC, RENAISSANCE, SPIRALING, DEBORAH HARRY) and Marco Minnemann (THE ARISTOCRATS, STEVEN WILSON, UK, JOE SATRIANI) — will release its debut self-titled album on June 22 via InsideOut Music.

The first studio trailer for the album can be seen below.

Let's get one thing straight from the start. THE SEA WITHIN is more of an amalgamation of some serious talents than a regular "supergroup." These musicians have come together to create a unique album. Guitarist/vocalist Roine Stolt, bassist Jonas Reingold, keyboard player/vocalist Tom Brislin, drummer/vocalist Marco Minnemann and vocalist/guitarist Daniel Gildenlöw have a vast reservoir of experience.

"I suppose it all began to take shape in the autumn of 2016," explains Stolt. "I had a chat with Thomas Waber, the boss at InsideOut Music, about the idea of putting together a new band. I wanted to move in a fresh direction with new collaborations. So Thomas gave me the 'go-ahead' to seek musicians for a new project." First onboard was THE FLOWER KINGS bass player Jonas Reingold. "He is a longtime bandmate and friend and we were also very keen to get keyboardist Tom involved — after seeing his synth pyrotechnics with legends YES 'Symphonic' and with CAMEL. Then we have been a fans of ARISTOCRATS drummer Marco for a long time; I first heard of him 15 years ago and he is a brilliant drummer, unique energy. Then when we discussed ideas for singers, Daniel's name came up, he has such a great range and dynamic voice and we've worked together on and off over the years." Also added later to the band's lineup for live shows was vocalist and guitarist Casey McPherson of FLYING COLORS and ALPHA REV, who also sings a couple of songs on the album.

Initially the band went to Livingston Studios in London last September to begin the process of assembling all the material and recording it for the debut album. "Most of the material you'll hear are really band compositions," says Stolt. "Of course, ideas were triggered by all of us. Sometimes Jonas would come up with a part, chord sequence or tune and then I or Tom would write melody and lyric and some new riff section and Marco enhancing with further musical metric twists and developments. Then Daniel would add or rewrite some of the lyrics, change or add more melodies. Overall, the vast majority of the tracks have been worked on and developed by all of us in one way or another."

The entire recording situation took about six months, and the band also have some very special guests featured on the album.
"We have got Jordan Rudess from DREAM THEATER playing piano on one song," says Stolt. "The legendary Jon Anderson sings on another track, while 'wind ace' Rob Townsend, who plays saxophone and flute with Steve Hackett, is also on the record. Each of them brings a different flavor to the music.

"People have asked me how I would describe what we have done, and it is almost impossible. I would have to say it sounds like…us, THE SEA WITHIN," continued says Stolt. "Our tastes are very eclectic — from prog to jazz to classical, to heavy rock, folk, punk, electronica and pop. We all come from a different background — so here everything goes. This has been about putting those diverse influences into the music. I feel you will hear all that's good about pop — with great melodies and hooks — plus the rawness of metal, improvisations, symphonic and movie soundtracks. We also left room for each of us to take off on flights of instrumental jamming. That was the basic idea, anyway. But until we all got together, we had no idea where it would lead or if it would actually work." The band ended up recording close to two hours of music, and will release it all in June on what will be a self-titled album.

THE SEA WITHIN as a music collective has plans to perform live, and will make its stage debut at Night Of The Prog in Loreley, Germany which happens from July 13-15 and will bring special guests for that evening. "As far as I am concerned, we will try do as much touring as possible," says Stolt. "We have a great band, great label and our agent Rob Palmen onboard. We have great artwork by Marcela Bolivar, all looks bright. However, Daniel will not be able to join us for touring now, as he has commitments with main band PAIN OF SALVATION. With Casey taking the vocal spot, now with us live, we can go out on the road and play this album and beyond and grow as a band. We have so much to offer musically, on record and on stage and I am sure we will develop a lot over the next few years. But 'The Sea Within' album is a great start. I am excited for everyone to hear what we have done and am now thrilled to start working on the songs for the live show."

The album will be available as a special edition 2CD digipak, gatefold 2LP vinyl and 2CD and as digital download.

You can find the full track listing below:

Disc 1:

01. Ashes Of Dawn

02. They Know My Name

03. The Void

04. An Eye For An Eye For An Eye

05. Goodbye

06. Sea Without

07. Broken Cord

08. The Hiding Of The Truth

Disc 2:

01. The Roaring Silence

02. Where Are You Going?

03. Time

04. Denise

"Prey", the new Neal Walters-directed video from the Australian metal band PARKWAY DRIVE, can be seen below. The song is taken from the group's upcoming studio album, "Reverence", which will be released on May 4 via Epitaph Records.

Frontman Winston McCall stated about the follow-up to 2015's "Ire": "'Reverence' represents the most honest and personal record we have ever created. It has been born through pain, sacrifice, and conviction, with the ultimate goal of expanding not only what PARKWAY DRIVE stand for musically, but who we are as people."

Regarding the album title, McCall told Rock Sound: "'Reverence' is basically making the most of what you have and the time you have, and being conscious of it. It's quite simply that. It comes from a very dark place and the revelation of that came from a very dark place too. It's the fact that what you have can be gone very quickly. You have no idea how fast it can all come crashing down. It's simply taking the time to realise just what you have, because, at the end of the day, time is the only thing that's worth anything. You can't buy it."

McCall also spoke about PARKWAY DRIVE's musical evolution, saying: "Very early on, we were, like, 'Let's just write whatever the hell we want.' 'Ire' was written in a way where we were searching for reinvention. It was really difficult and stressful. It was breaking our old walls down and forging something new out of it for us. Trying to find what we really liked and what we still loved and fusing the two together. It was going somewhere too scary for us too. So this time around, coming off the back of 'Ire', which is the most successful thing we've ever created, it was just us saying that we're going to do whatever the fuck we want. It was really awesome and it made writing the album really easy musically. We were so terrified. The band became far more successful than we ever hoped, and we were like, 'Shit! Do we stop now?' 'Vice Grip' was the 'what the fuck' moment, then the rest of it everyone was, like, 'Yeah, I get it.' This record, though, there is far more variation, but there isn't going to be anything that shocks anyone. PARKWAY DRIVE is still there, but we are there in a far different way."

"Reverence" track listing:

01. Wishing Wells

02. Prey

03. Absolute Power

04. Cemetery Bloom

05. The Void

06. I Hope You Rot

07. Shadow Boxing

08. In Blood

09. Chronos

10. The Colour Of Leaving

PARKWAY DRIVE is McCall, guitarists Luke Kilpatrick and Jeff Ling, bassist Jia O'Connor and drummer Ben Gordon.

Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE have released the official music video for their new single, "Over It". The song is taken from the band's sixth studio album, "Gravity", which will be made available on June 29.

The "Over It" clip was directed by Stuart T. Birchall of Numinous Pictures.

"Gravity" will be issued through BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's new label home, Search And Destroy, the imprint launched in 2014 by Spinefarm and international artist management company Raw Power Management. The follow-up to 2015's "Venom" marks BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's full-length recording debut with new drummer Jason Bowld (PITCHSHIFTER, AXEWOUND), who has been touring with the group for the past two years, and bassist Jamie Mathias (formerly of REVOKER), who joined the band after the last disc was completed.

"Over the last 12 months, I've been thinking about the word 'contemporary' a lot," singer/guitarist Matt Tuck says. "And I feel this is a contemporary record. It's not an old-school, heart-on-your-sleeve influences thing. We've done that so let's move forward and make the band more interesting. We don't want to alienate anyone… but we don't want to write the same shit anymore. Metalheads will enjoy this. I actually feel the softer electronic parts make the heavy moments even more crushing. It's about engaging the listener and taking them on a journey, messing with their heads a bit…"


The three years since "Venom" haven't been easy for BFMV's commander-in-chief. But instead of falling deeper down a tunnel of self-despair, he channelled his life experiences into art like never before. It would be one of the most introspective and revelatory processes of his life — by his own admission, a personal and creative evolution that simply needed to happen…

"This is me pouring my heart out into song," continues Matt. "It's all about that journey. I picked up my guitar, even though I didn't really want to, and it's like I couldn't stop it, like I couldn't fight it… Something boldly experimental can't be done on a whim, we had to be comfortable and eventually we got there. The album is so up and down, so positive on tracks like 'Not Dead Yet', which is all about seizing the day and catching the moment. Then 'Under Again' is all about the crushing depression I had about a year ago. The whole thing captures the character of… well, me — with some help from [producer] Carl Bown. There's so much weight to this music without being complicated. That's exactly what this album is: very uncomplicated."


BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE recently completed an extensive American tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD and BREAKING BENJAMIN.

RIVERDOGS, the band featuring DEF LEPPARD and LAST IN LINE guitarist Vivian Campbell, played its first show since 2004 last December at the Frontiers Rockin' Christmas Bash 2017 at The Canyon club in Agoura Hills, California.

Award-winning filmmaker Sebastien Paquet captured the group during the week of rehearsals and showcases leading up to the show and produced this brief retrospective piece in the band's own words.

The visually stunning film shows behind-the-scenes and performance footage of the band while Campbell and Rob Lamothe (lead vocals, guitar) guide the viewer through the story of the band and its 27-year history.

RIVERDOGS' comeback album, "California", was released last July via Frontiers Music Srl.

Featuring original members Campbell, Lamothe and Nick Brophy (bass, vocals), along with drummer Marc Danzeisen, the band's fifth album is RIVERDOGS' first new music since the eight-song mini album, "World Gone Mad", came out in October 2011.

Mixing the soulful vocals of Lamothe with the edgy guitarwork of Campbell and solid rhythmic lines from Brophy and Danzeisen, the album marks a definitive return to the sound of their critically acclaimed 1990 self-titled debut album.


On the making of the album, Campbell said: "When my friends at Frontiers suggested a RIVERDOGS album in the spirit of the original debut record, I jumped at the chance to make it. In my opinion, 'Riverdogs' was a highlight of my career with some of my best guitar playing and definitely a record that flew under the radar. Having a clear direction of exactly what kind of record to make really helped the four of us create the music and there was an intense collective focus throughout the entire process that never wavered. I really think that we hit the target in creating a record that has all the hallmarks, the integrity and the emotional strength of the original debut. The fact that we've all remained such close friends throughout all the years only added to the joyous experience that was the making of this record."

Added Lamothe: "Going into this project, my goal was to enjoy the opportunity of making music with some of my best friends, to share this incredible experience with my family... and to create something that RIVERDOGS fans will probably think is pretty bloody awesome. Big guitars! Beautiful melodies! Words about crazy, complicated, real stuff! I feel like Nick, Viv, Marc and I all brought our 'A' games to the writing and recording sessions. That's way more important than money and awards and fame to me."


Brophy summed up the writing process for the album: "In summer of 2016, I found myself in Los Angeles, reunited with three of my closest friends, about to begin a new RIVERDOGS album. Marc had arranged a rehearsal environment at a friend's house, which was to provide the creative atmosphere for writing new material. I stood there with bass in hand thinking, 'Okay, now what?' Little did I know that a few days later we would have six new RIVERDOGS songs and the album 'California' was born. The remaining six songs came, surprisingly, just as easily, a testament to the amazing talents of Vivian, Rob, Marc and the effortless way in which we work as a group. Our clear goal for this album was to remain true to the original RIVERDOGS sound and provide fans with a new set of songs which carry on the legacy of a truly remarkable band."


RIVERDOGS formed in Los Angeles at the end of the '80s when flashy, glitzy hard rock ruled the day, but they were determined to avoid clichés and adopted an original sounding blues-rock style. Campbell of SWEET SAVAGE, DIO and WHITESNAKE fame at the time (soon to join and become a long-standing member of DEF LEPPARD and later, founding member of LAST IN LINE as well) was initially brought on board to produce the band's first demo, but was so impressed with the band that he actually became a member and played on the debut album. Soon after the release, Marc Danzeisen joined Rob, Nick and Vivian to complete the lineup.


Though fans and critics gave the album a warm reception and high regard, the unfortunate and age old story of change of personnel at their record label came about and eventually led the band members to go their own ways, with Campbell settling into the DEF LEPPARD lineup and Nick Brophy becoming a respected engineer and producer. RIVERDOGS, with a revamped lineup, released two more records in 1993, "Bone" and "Absolutely Live", before going on an extended hiatus. They reconvened, with the original lineup, in 2003 to record new material and play a few reunion shows. Those new songs were recorded as demos, but only completed in the studio in 2011 when "World Gone Mad" was released.

URIAH HEEP guitarist Mick Box was recently interviewed by 365NYportal.com. The full conversation can be seen below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):

On whether he thinks the music industry has changed for the better over the years:

Mick: "It's very hard to say. I think it's a bit of each. It's good that things are so immediate now, but it's also a disposable age where you can do everything with one button in your home, and it arrives the nxt morning, so there's no anticipation, no romanticism involved with the music. It's very disposable. That's the bad side of it. The good side is the immediacy, with Facebook and web sites and Instagram and things, everything happens very quickly. In the old days, you used to wait six months for a fan letter, but now, it's six seconds, and you're in."

On the musical scene in England in the late 1960s:

Mick: "It was total madness. It was changing very quickly from all these bands that wore suits and did little dances while they played, to those growing long hair and being rebellious and big stacks of amplifiers behind us. It was a very exciting time, and it was only done out of the love and passion of what you did. That's why so many good songs came out in that era, and they still stand the test of time today."

On the 16-minute title track of the group's 1971 sophomore album, "Salisbury":

Mick: "It's a very long song. It's very adventurous, very progressive, but I think that depicts the time that we wrote that song. It was all very free. There were no rules; we were making new rules, so we didn't stay within the three-minute format. It was all part of that rebellion. To us, it was just a song that we allowed to dictate where we went with it, rather than stop it and say, 'Now we need a middle-eight. Now we need a chorus.' We just let it breathe, and by doing that, it became very good."

On original URIAH HEEP vocalist David Byron, who sang on the group's first ten albums and died of alcohol-related complications in 1985:

Mick: "David was one of the best vocalists I've ever worked with, simply because he never just sang a song; he lived in the song. Therefore, it touched everyone that heard his voice, because he was very believable. I think that was his greatest asset. After that, he became a charismatic person, and he was a star 24/7. He never left it, whereas I can get up there, do my piece and come down and I'll be the same as anyone else. He couldn't — he had to live it."

On why he's never released a solo album:

Mick: "I have a balance in life between my family and my musical life. It's very important for me to keep that balance, and it keeps me sane. If I go home after six weeks or twelve weeks on the road and say I'm going to go and start working on a solo album and I'll be away for another three months, I think my family would kill me. [Laughs] If I have to do it, I'd only do it correctly and get a band together — a bunch of musicians that I really like to play with. We'd go in, we'd rehearse it proper and we'd go through the whole process of getting the album together. I couldn't do it cheaply on a computer at home or anything like that. I think that balance in life just doesn't allow me to do it because URIAH HEEP takes up so much of my time."

On the group's forthcoming album, "Living The Dream":

Mick: "It's recorded. We recorded it in January in 19 days with a Canadian producer called Jay Ruston, who's a marvelous guy. He's produced [THE] WINERY DOGS and STONE SOUR; he's worked with BLACK STAR RIDERS, with EUROPE. He's in L.A. now mixing it. We'll release it in September."

On being the first Western rock band allowed to perform in Soviet Russia in the late 1980s:

Mick: "I don't think we had any message other than what we had with our music. We just let our music do the speaking. We were invited over there when Gorbachev and Reagan were having their peace talks, and we thought, 'Why not?' We said, 'Are we popular enough to be going over there?' Our Hungarian promoter said, 'You won't believe how popular you are.' We went over and found out how popular we were through the black market. We played to 180,000 people, and it was wonderful."

On his favorite URIAH HEEP album:

Mick: "The next one. Never look back. Be proud of your history, but never look back, and never let it be a weight around your neck. You have to keep moving forward."

"Living The Dream" will be made available via Frontiers Music Srl.

URIAH HEEP is:

Mick Box: Guitar, Vocals

Phil Lanzon: Keyboards, Vocals

Bernie Shaw: Lead Vocals

Russell Gilbrook: Drums, Vocals

Dave Rimmer: Bass, Vocals

Ozzy Osbourne official kicked off his "No More Tours 2" Friday night (April 27) at the Welcome To Rockville festival in Jacksonville, Florida. He was joined at the gig by his longtime collaborators Zakk Wylde (guitar), Rob "Blasko" Nicholson (bass), Tommy Clufetos (drums) and Adam Wakeman (keyboards)

The setlist for the concert was as follows:

01. Bark At The Moon

02. Mr. Crowley

03. I Don't Know

04. Suicide Solution

05. No More Tears

06. Road To Nowhere

07. War Pigs

08. Miracle Man / Crazy Babies / Desire / Perry Mason (Zakk Wylde Guitar Solo)

09. Drum Solo

10. I Don't Want To Change The World

11. Shot In The Dark

12. Crazy Train

Encore:

13. Mama, I'm Coming Home

14. Paranoid

Osbourne has one more show booked in the U.S. this month — Sunday, April 29 at the Fort Rock festival in Fort Lauderdale, Florida — before heading overseas for much of May, June and July.

The main North American leg of "No More Tours 2" will launch on August 30 at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania and run through October 13 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ozzy will be joined by STONE SOUR for this leg of the tour.

"No More Tours 2" is a reference to Ozzy's 1992 "No More Tours" jaunt, which was meant at the time to be his goodbye to the road.

The heavy metal legend said in a statement: "I've been extremely blessed to have had two successful music careers. I'm looking at this final tour as being a huge celebration for my fans and anyone who has enjoyed my music over the past five decades."

Ozzy admitted a while back that his voice doesn't always hold up these days. "Sometimes it blows out," he said. "I do the best I can. Sometimes I sound terrible, and sometimes it's good, you know. But I'm only human. I mean, I'm honest about it, you know."

Ozzy's solo swan song is expected to last into 2020 and will mark his final bout of global touring, although he will still perform selected shows in the future. He and BLACK SABBATH bid farewell to their 50 years on the road more than a year ago with two final concerts in their hometown of Birmingham, England.

Tommy Vext and Doc Coyle of BAD WOLVES performed an acoustic version of their band's cover version of THE CRANBERRIES' "Zombie" in the 97.1 The Eagle AT&T Thanks Sound Studio. Check out video footage of the performance below.

Vext recently said that he and his bandmates were "overwhelmed" by the reaction to their rendition of "Zombie", which they have released in tribute to THE CRANBERRIES' late singer, Dolores O'Riordan.

O'Riordan was slated to record vocals for BAD WOLVES' cover of the track (which she described as "killer") on the day of her passing. The band decided to release the song in her honor with all BAD WOLVES' proceeds going to her children.

Vext said the idea of covering "Zombie" came about when he was writing material for BAD WOLVES' debut album.

"I kind of do the same thing every day: I go to the coffee shop, I write lyrics and then we go to the studio. And 'Zombie' came on the radio," Tommy recounted. "It really took me back to a place. I loved THE CRANBERRIES when I was a kid. I started playing music when I was 13 and them and NIRVANA and SOUNDGARDEN were these alternative bands that really, really touched me. And then I looked into the lyrics and really got into it and it felt like we should really do this thing."

After finding out about O'Riordan's passing, "I was devastated," Vext said. "I think the whole band has kind of being going through a process. It's one of those things, it's like: we don't mourn the death of an artist because we knew them; we mourn them because they helped us know ourselves. And that was my experience with her art and her music."

BAD WOLVES, which is managed by Zoltan Bathory of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, consists of of Vext, Coyle, guitarist Chris Cain (BURY YOUR DEAD) and bassist Kyle Konkiel (ex-IN THIS MOMENT).

BAD WOLVES' debut album, "Disobey", will be released on May 18 via Eleven Seven Music.

The band will tour the U.S. later in the year with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH and SHINEDOWN.

Pittsburgh-based traditional heavy metal outfit ICARUS WITCH has announced the addition of vocalist Andrew D'Cagna (BRIMSTONE COVEN, IRONFLAME) to the group's ranks. The band has also released a music video for "Goodbye Cruel World", the title track of its forthcoming studio album, due later this year via Cleopatra Records.

"After working closely with Andrew in IRONFLAME, I heard his voice in my head singing the new ICARUS WITCH material and thought it would fit perfectly," explains ICARUS WITCH guitarist Quinn Lukas, who also plays live in IRONFLAME. "He delivers his melodies with grit and attitude."

For his part, Andrew says: "I'm both grateful and excited to be part of this new era of ICARUS WITCH. I see this as a chance to expand my horizons as a vocalist and bring a new dynamic element to the band."

The "Goodbye Cruel World" drum sessions were performed by Jon Rice (JOB FOR A COWBOY, SCORPION CHILD) with mixing and pre-production duties handled by Grammy Award-winning producer Neil Kernon (JUDAS PRIEST, NEVERMORE, QUEENSRŸCHE).

"We wanted to go for a different sonic approach this time out — work with someone who was integral to classic metal's heyday but who also still has an ear for modern production," says ICARUS WITCH founder and bassist Jason Myers. "One of the albums Quinn and I always bonded over in terms of production is QUEENSRŸCHE's 'Rage For Order', so Neil Kernon was on our short list of dream producers to work with. The fact that he's been behind the board for vintage KANSAS and LYNCH MOB albums but also worked with trad contemporaries like 3 INCHES OF BLOOD and CAULDRON made him the logical choice to help us push our odd hybrid of dark AOR and proggish metal."

D'Cagna produced his own vocals at Sacred Sound Recording, a busy studio that he operates when not on the road or running Hot Rod Tattooing & Body Piercing shop, both of which are in Martins Ferry, Ohio.

The guitar, bass and drums were tracked by one of Pittsburgh's most in-demand up-and-coming engineers Shane Mayer (DEATHWHITE, POST MORTAL POSSESSION) at Cerebral Audio Productions, where he also edited the video that he filmed for the "Goodbye Cruel World" single.

When it came time to choose a mastering facility, former ICARUS WITCH producer/guitarist Dave Watson recommended Fascination Street in Stockholm, Sweden as they did an admirable job polishing his last production for fellow Pittsburgh metallers ARGUS. This proved to be an excellent match for the new WITCH, which was consequently mastered by Jens Bogren whose work includes the most recent AMORPHIS and KATATONIA.

"We wanted to tell the world about Andrew joining the WITCH last fall when we made it official," Myers admits of the delayed announcement. "At the same time, we wanted to let the music do the talking rather than have people speculate for months what the new music might sound like with his voice. We're stoked to finally be able to share a sample of the new energy and creativity that he helped breathe into the band's sound ahead of our sixth album!"

Photo credit: Shane Mayer

LION'S SHARE and ASTRAL DOORS singer Nils Patrik Johansson has released the official lyric video of for "Evil Deluxe", the title track of his debut solo album. The disc will be released on May 25 via the German label Metalville.

"I have thought about a solo album for ten years, but then CIVIL WAR came into the picture and I used all my ideas for the three albums that we did" Nils Patrik reveals. "After my departure from them, I felt that I wanted to focus 100 percent on ASTRAL DOORS and LION'S SHARE. But all of a sudden inspiration came back — and from out of nowhere, I had 10 new killer songs. It felt natural to hire my LION'S SHARE bandmate Lars Chriss as producer and guitar player. My son Fredrik Johansson plays drums on the record, so finally father and son Johansson will appear on the same album."

Other musicians on the album:

Chris Boltendahl (GRAVE DIGGER) - Vocals

Andy Loos (LION'S SHARE, GLORY) - Bass

Fredrik Bergh (BLOODBOUND) - Keyboards

Kay Backlund (LION'S SHARE) - Keyboards

Anuviel (SAECRED SPIRIT) - Keyboards

Marcus Bengts - Bass

Video footage of POISON frontman Bret Michaels performing acoustic versions of the songs "Something To Believe In" and "All I Ever Needed" as part of his new "Live From The Living Room" series can be seen below.

Michaels is a multiplatinum global superstar who has turned his passion for music into a multi-faceted brand that encompasses record-breaking touring sales, reality TV stardom, legendary songs that have sold over 32 million records, product endorsements as well as being a devoted philanthropist, all supported and followed by three generations of loyal fans.

Bret was born in Butler, Pennsylvania on March 15, 1963. Rising to fame as the frontman of POISON, one of rock's most iconic and enduring bands, he helped define rock 'n' roll on the Sunset Strip. POISON's massive success includes selling over 30 million records worldwide and numerous hit singles. Bret's solo career has charted its own course with multiple solo albums. His last album, "Custom Built", included guest appearances by Joe Perry (AEROSMITH) Loretta Lynn, Jimmy Buffett, Ace Frehley (KISS), Michael Anthony (VAN HALEN) and members of LYNYRD SKYNYRD.

When this multi-talented performer is not touring, he can be found both in front of and behind the camera as a director, producer and a reality TV superstar. Shows like "Rock Of Love With Bret Michaels" on VH1, "Life As I Know It" and Bret has also starred in and won Donald Trump's NBC hit "Celebrity Apprentice".

Michaels's latest television endeavor, "Rock My RV With Bret Michaels" will see him and his team revamping and redesigning dilapidated RVs in true rock star form and style. The show will begin airing on the Travel Channel in May.