Canadian progressive metal band, Auras, have released a video for “Spiral” (streaming below), featured on their debut album, Heliospectrum, to be released on September 30th via Good Fight Music. Pre-order options can be found at this location.

Tracklisting:

“Waterstone”
“The Ripple Effect”
“Eloquence”
“Stars Abound”
“Cosmic Black”
“Dream Elixir”
“Chronos Fear”
“Spiral”
“Infinite Influence”
“Solar Pulse”

“Spiral” video:

“Infinite Influence”:

"Dream Elixir" video:

“Waterstone”:

Auras is heading out on a fresh batch of tour dates alongside Erra and Phinehas, watch a tour commercial below.

This Friday, March 24th, Cut Up will release their sophomore album, Wherever They May Rot, worldwide via Metal Blade Records. Just as brutal as its predecessor, 2015's Forensic Nightmares, Wherever They May Rot offers a rougher edge and is catchier overall. The title track is available for streaming below.

Pre-order the new album, which features artwork by Lukasz Jaszak, at this location.

Cut Up guitarist/vocalist Andreas Bjornson comments: "Wherever They May Rot is an utter bloodbath from start to finish. We have managed to push the savagery even further than before, also broadening our sound without compromising one inch of aggression. Everyone has performed at the top of their game and the new songs are without a doubt the strongest we've ever created, reaching new heights in both speed and heaviness. We have sharpened our blades and the thirst for blood is unquenchable. The year of 2017 belongs to Cut Up!"

Wherever They May Rot tracklisting:

“From Ear To Ear”
“Necrophagic Madness”
“Behead The Dead”
“Wherever They May Rot”
“Vermin Funeral”
“By Hatred Bound”
“Psychosurgery”
“In The Aftermath”
“Master Dissector”
“Cranium Crusher”
“Raped By The Blade”

“Wherever They May Rot”:

"Vermin Funeral" video:

“From Ear To Ear”:

Wherever They May Rot will be available in the following formats:

- Digipak CD (EU)/Jewelcase (US)
- 180g black vinyl (EU exclusive)
- olive green-marbled vinyl (limited to 300 copies - EU exclusive)
- brass colored vinyl (limited to 100 copies - EMP exclusive)
- green/black-marbled vinyl (limited to 100 copies - USA exclusive)
* exclusive bundles with a shirt, plus digital options are also available

Cut Up lineup:

Erik Rundqvist - vocals & bass
Andreas Bjornson - vocals & guitar
Anders Bertilsson - guitar
Tobias Gustafsson - drums

North London three-piece, Puppy, mark the arrival of spring on the Northern Hemisphere with a video for newly recorded track "Beast”, available for streaming below. The video dropped at the very moment in which the plane of Earth's equator passed through the center of the Sun, commonly known as the Vernal Equinox, and can be enjoyed by all here.

The video for "Beast" was made by Puppy drummer Billy Howard. The song will be added to the band’s most recent five-track Vol. II EP, which will be re-released this summer in remastered form with new artwork and a tweaked title.

This re-worked EP will mark the first Puppy release (on 12" vinyl, CD, and download) under their freshly-inked worldwide deal with Spinefarm Records.

"We couldn't be more pleased to be working with the guys over at Spinefarm, and for a company of their caliber to be involved with us is a bit of a dream come true," the band said. "Being able to say we're on the same label as some killer bands we're really into still feels mad when we stop and think about it, but more than anything, it's a real honor. We are so stoked, my dudes."

Head of A&R UK Dante Bonutto said, “For me, the best bands operate on different levels – there's the songs, of course, but behind that a way of seeing the world, a singular vision that informs both music and visuals. From the first time we met the guys in Puppy and heard their music, we were drawn into their world, their vision, and knew we wanted to bring that world to Spinefarm."

Following the success of their debut album, Reign Of Suffering, UK hardcore-metal mob, Malevolence, return with the video for new track “Slave To Satisfaction”, the first single to be taken from the band’s follow-up album, Self Supremacy, set for release on May 19th through BDHW Records. Find the new video below.

"We are very excited to be making our return this spring with our follow up album; Self Supremacy,” says frontman Alex Taylor. “We’re picking up where our previous effort left off; same unique brand of intelligent guitar work, crushing mosh parts and soulful, anger drenched vocals but now with the unmistakable maturity of a band that has spent years honing their craft. We’re very excited to be working very closely with our friends in Germany’s boutique BDHW Records. The boys are back and we’re not playing games."

Pre-orders are available at the following links:

- Physical
- Digital

Self Supremacy tracklisting:

“Self Supremacy”
“Trial By Fire”
“Severed Ties” ft. Andrew - Comeback Kid
“Wasted Breath” ft. Kevin - The Merciless Concept
“Body Count”
“4am On West St”
“Slave To Satisfaction”
“Spineless”
“True Colours”
“Outnumbered”
“Low Life”

“Slave To Satisfaction” video:

24 Hours - Bootleg Records is a portion of a documentary, originally aired in the UK in 1971. It includes Pink Floyd manager Steve O’Rourke being interviewed, as well as a portion of Pink Floyd working on “Echoes” from the album Meddle, in the studio.

This clip and others are included on the CD/DVD/Blu-ray package Pink Floyd - The Early Years 1971 Reverber/ation, which also includes a photo booklet, memorabilia from the period, and a credits booklet. Available from March 24th. More details at this location.

The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains opened on May 13th and runs for 20 weeks at Victoria And Albert Museum in London, England. Purchase tickets here. A video trailer can be found below.

The first international retrospective of one of the world’s most iconic and influential bands. Experience a spectacular and unparalleled audio-visual journey through Pink Floyd's unique and extraordinary worlds, chronicling the music, design and staging of the band, from their debut in the 1960s through to the present day.

Daily: 10 AM - 5:30 PM
Last ticketed entry: 4:15 PM

Friday: 10 AM - 9:30 PM
Last ticketed entry: 8:15 PM

Tickets cost £20 – £24 (varying weekday and weekend prices apply)

Presented by the V&A, Pink Floyd and Iconic Entertainment Studios. More details at this location.

San Francisco Art Exchange LLC (SFAE) has been selected to exclusively represent the most valuable collection of rock and roll artwork ever to be offered for sale: eleven original paintings created and hand-selected by famed English artist Gerald Scarfe, from Pink Floyd’s 1982 masterpiece The Wall. A major exhibition will be held in July with Scarfe in attendance at the invitation-only premiere to be held at SFAE’s gallery (458 Geary St, San Francisco, CA). Details to be announced.

The paintings being offered have been carefully selected by Scarfe as his most important works, and include several of the most famous images in rock history due to their association with The Wall. Among the paintings are the true definitive originals for iconic artworks such as The Scream (pictured above), Wife With Flaming Hair, Giant Judge and Hammers, The Mother, Education For What? No Jobs!, The Wife's Shadow, One Of The Frightened Ones, The Gross Inflatable Pig, Comfortably Numb, and The Teacher, as well as the massive original storyboard created for the film which incorporates 50 original renderings.

To view available artworks, including in-depth descriptions and histories, click here.

Epic in scale and steeped in rock history, these original works of art are marquis collectibles for major individual, corporate, and institutional collectors. Due to the extensive distribution of the imagery via album, live-performances, music-videos, and the film (along with the accompanying publicity), the artwork offered is among the most instantly recognizable and significant in pop culture.

One of the paintings available for purchase, Giant Judge and Hammers, will be prominently on display in London beginning May 13th as part of the Victoria & Albert Museum’s eagerly anticipated The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains, the first international retrospective of one of the worlds’ most ground-breaking and influential bands. This exhibition is expected to become one of the most successful on record.

The Wall album topped Billboard charts for 15 weeks, and in 1999 was certified 23 x Platinum. It remains one of the best-selling albums of all time, selling over 19 million copies between 1979 and 1990 in the US alone. The film was critically acclaimed when it was released in 1982 and won BAFTAs for Best Original Song and Best Sound. Scarfe developed the film's entire visual environment before the project began and his characters became a mixture of live-action and animated imagery, all of which played an integral role in the surreal narrative.

(Above: Judge With Marching Hammers)

 

Gerald Scarfe is one of the world's most famous political cartoonists and caricaturists whose work has been seen in The Sunday Times and The New Yorker for decades. His artworks reside in the following permanent collections, among others: Tate Gallery, National Portrait Gallery and The Parliamentary Art Collection in London, as well as the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

San Francisco Art Exchange is the sole gallery authorized to sell these paintings. San Francisco Art Exchange is known worldwide for record-breaking sales of album cover related artwork, and has represented such revered artworks as the originals for Abbey Road, Meet The Beatles, Rubber Soul, Imagine, Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, Ummagumma, Animals, Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, The Best Of The Doors, Candy-O, and many, many more.

For sales and inquiries, please contact San Francisco Art Exchange, sales@sfae.com, or call 415-441-8840. More information at www.sfae.com.

Atmospheric black metallers, Ghost Bath, are streaming the track “Ambrosial”, from their impending new full-length, Starmourner, set for release on April 21st via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. Listen to the song below.

Starmourner was recorded, mixed, mastered, and produced by Josh Schroeder (Battlecross, Still Remains), and features cover artwork by Luciana Nedelea (Enbilulugugal, Foehammer).

Starmourner tracklisting:

“Astral”
“Seraphic”
“Ambrosial”
“Ethereal”
“Celestial”
“Angelic”
“Luminescence”
“Thrones”
“Elysian”
“Cherubim”
“Principalities”
“Ode”

“Ambrosial”:

“Thrones”:

Pre-order the album at this location.

Tour dates:

April (with Astronoid)
14 - The Park Theatre - Winnipeg, MB
15 - TBA - Regina, SK
16 - Distortion - Calgary, AB
17 - Astoria - Vancouver, BC
18 - Highline - Seattle, WA
19 - Ash Street Saloon - Portland, OR
20 - Thee Parkside - San Francisco, CA
21 - Complex - Los Angeles, CA
22 - Soda Bar - San Diego, CA
23 - Yucca Tap Room - Tempe, AZ
25 - Marquis - Theater Denver, CO
26 - Riot Room - Kansas City, MO

Former Blue Murder bassist Tony Franklin has tweeted footage of himself and former bandmate Carmine Appice jamming on the band's "Valley of The Kings" prior to a recent Cactus show in Maracay, Venezuela. Check out the footage below.

Franklin and Appice were members of the original incarnation of Blue Murder from 1988 - 1992, backing frontman John Sykes (Whitesnake).

Jamming Valley Of The Kings with Carmine Appice. Just like riding a bike! @carmineappice1 pic.twitter.com/4WqWu4chbg
— Tony Franklin (@FretlessMonster) March 19, 2017

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich has slammed President Donald Trump's plan to build "a great wall" along the U.S.-Mexico border, saying that "we need to bring people together."

Days after being sworn in, Trump issued an executive order to build a wall on the southern border, later explaining that it will be "a very effective weapon against drugs and crime." His vow to make Mexico pay for the wall — estimated to cost up to $20 billion — has stirred resentment there, where the country's leader has repeatedly said there will be no such payment.

METALLICA concluded a three-night residency in Mexico City Sunday night (March 5), and Ulrich was asked by Paola Rojas of Mexico's Las Estrellas television network for his opinion on the proposed wall. The drummer responded (see video below): "I don't think the world needs any walls. I think we need to bring people together. METALLICA travels all over the world, and through music we try to bring people together. So whether we're in Mexico or whether we're in Asia or whether we're in Europe or whatever, we encourage as many different people from as many different backgrounds to come together and share music and life and culture and all these experiences. And so, being one Danish guy, being asked an opinion, I don't think any walls are necessary, and I think that, increasingly, as far as METALLICA traveling all over this beautiful planet, we break down barriers with music."

After Trump — one of the most polarizing figures to assume the office — was officially sworn in as the 45th president of the United States on January 20, a number of celebrities took to social media to share their thoughts, including METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett, who urged fans to "defend democracy" and "reject American carnage."

In a series of tweets, the METALLICA guitarist was critical of Trump's inaugural address, which painted a bleak picture of life for some in the United States. "To say America is not great, that it lacks greatness, sets up a scenario for manipulation and control from others —pay attention, people!" Hammett wrote.

In October, Ulrich said he would consider moving back to his native Denmark if Trump were elected president.

"I am a hundred percent Danish citizen. I pay taxes in the U.S.A., but I can't vote in America," he said. "Yes, certainly sometimes I think about moving home to Denmark… If Trump becomes President and everything goes to shit, I might make my way to the airport and ask if I can get back in again."

MÖTLEY CRÜE and SIXX:A.M. bassist Nikki Sixx says he is worried that Donald Trump could put America at war, doubling down on his previously stated belief that the real estate mogul is not "the right choice" to lead the United States.

Speaking to Anneke Ter Veen in an interview that was conducted in Hamburg, Germany last June but only now posted on YouTube, Sixx talked about the U.S. presidential election and how it has affected the lyrical content of SIXX:A.M.'s latest double album, "Prayers For The Blessed" and "Prayers For The Damned", which came out during 2016.

"We're not a political band by any stretch of the means, but we are a reflective band and we do feel a responsibility, when we're writing, to write about a lot of stuff — stuff that's going on internally and externally," he said.

"Back in America, it's a very volatile time, and it's a bit embarrassing, to be honest with you, mostly coming from one side."

He continued: "In general, our belief is that you have the right and you have the responsibility to stand up and rise up — which is what the song 'Rise' is about — and force a chance.

"When it becomes so stressful to young people that they say they're not gonna vote, they don't care anymore, they become apathetic, it's a scary time."

Asked if he had a favorite candidate in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Sixx said: "Listen, I think it's a really uncomfortable time. I personally don't… My opinion isn't anybody else's opinion. With politics and religion, if you say something, people get very [upset by it]. And it's okay.

"My concern is that somebody like Donald Trump could put our country, America, at war, and that is not the answer for anything. We have allies, we've supported each other over the years, different countries have had each other's backs financially, politically and military-wise."

Sixx added: "I don't wanna become the only country that's on an island by itself and everybody goes, 'We don't want anything to do [with you], because your leader's crazy.' With that being said, if anybody out there believes the same as I do — obviously, this is German fans, so they can't vote in America — but, just in general, say something, stand up, say something. Go vote against, or if you believe I'm wrong, vote for."

SIXX:A.M. singer James Michael told BBC News prior to the election that 2016 was "one of the loudest, most volatile election years I can remember." He explained: "There's a reason for that. There's a reason people like Donald Trump are getting so much traction. Because he's just saying things very loudly, very boldly. He's not being politically correct. And the reason people are reacting to that type of a voice is they're angry. They're scared on a global level and a personal level. It affects them right down to the dinner table."

Sixx added: "You have a lot of people rallying behind that campaign, who are clearly fed up, and clearly engaged and activated. But when you really look at the policies being offered to those people, they don't sync up.

"A lot of people who say 'I like Donald Trump because he speaks his mind,' are following someone who's not really going to act in their best interests. That's what we're reacting to."

He continued: "We are under siege. Politics has become reality television. It is ridiculous.

"We have presidential candidates not being presidential at all, saying the most ludicrous stuff and the media regurgitates it, over and over. It is nothing to be proud about. So how can people not stand up and say 'this is BS'?"

BODY COUNT guitarist Ernie Cunnigan, better known by his stage name Ernie C, has weighed in on Donald Trump's presidency based on his first six weeks in the Oval Office.

Almost exactly two months after his inauguration, President Trump has seen his approval ratings sag and the political divisions of his election deepen.

Speaking to Metal Wani about how the current political climate in the United states has affected the lyrical content of the band's new album, "Bloodlust", Ernie said: "We kind of felt that we would have the president that we would have now — just 'cause of the way the climate of the country felt. It just felt like it was going in the wrong direction. So when he got elected, it wasn't a big surprise, 'cause everything was going in the wrong direction, with him running for office. So he brought up a lot of undercurrent; it came up bubbling up to the top."

He continued: "We had Obama for eight years, and everyone got kind of of comfortable. He was a good president, and we got a little comfortable, and we didn't actually notice all the underlying things that were going on. But Trump got here, and in six weeks — it seems like he's been president for a long time, but it's been six weeks — and he kind of tipped over the table, and everyone's kind of looking around, saying, 'What's going on?' But we felt it all along. You know what I mean?"

The guitarist added: "Twenty-five years ago, we did 'Cop Killer' as a warning. So now, twenty-five years later, it's still going on. Now we're saying, on this record, 'Watch out.' 'Civil War' and songs like that, it's kind of warnings of what we feel. 'Cause being a musician, you get the opportunity to travel to different places, travel around the world. We've gone around the world, and we felt that America, something was happening and it's not exactly right. And it's happening in a lot of different places now — from France to Italy to… even Sweden. A lot of things are happening."

Calling the process of making albums "a way of venting," Ernie praised protesters demonstrating against Trump's executive orders and offered his opinion on why Trump was elected in the first place.

He said: "We need for people to get out and about and get out and protest and even vote, but do it in a positive way and have a direction. You can't just say, 'I don't like the president.' You've gotta get out and vote and find something better. 'Cause this last election here in America, we didn't really have a good choice. That's why he won. There's no good choices anymore. People don't want to be in public office — good people. Every once in a while, you get good people in there."

He continued: "Obama was a good man. I always say, whether you liked him as a president or not, he was a good man, he had good values. Right now we've lost all our values. We have someone that's lying… He's on television right now lying. He's just lying and you know it's a lie, but there's still 40 percent of people who follow a person that lies, and they know it's a lie, and they're not worrying about it. They're worrying about getting a job and things like that that are more important. That's more important than morals. And morals help out in a lot of different ways."

In a recent interview with AllHipHop.com, Ernie's BODY COUNT bandmate Ice-T spoke about the likelihood of Trump being removed from office by Congress.

"I think Trump is going to be turned on by his own people," Ice-T said. "I don't know if it will be impeachment, but most of his pain is not going to come from the Democrats or liberals. By the way, this year was the first time I've ever been called a liberal. The people who voted for him will turn on him, because I don't think he's going to be able to bring them the jobs and we've already seen the healthcare replacement plan."

He added: "In the gang world, if you want to run things, the other gangsters will only give you, like, six months, and if it doesn't pay out, they're turning on you."

"Bloodlust" will be released on March 31 via Century Media Records. The disc was recorded with producer Will Putney (MISS MAY I, UPON A BURNING BODY), who also helmed 2014's "Manslaughter". The new CD features guest appearances by Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, SEPULTURA), MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine and LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe. The effort also contains BODY COUNT's medley of the SLAYER songs "Postmortem" and "Raining Blood".

BOLT THROWER and MEMORIAM frontman Karl Willets has weighed in on Brexit — Britain's decision to leave the European Union, an economic and political partnership involving 28 European countries — and the election of President Donald Trump, both of which have sent shockwaves through the democracies of Western Europe and emboldened far-right parties in Germany, France, the Netherlands and possibly Italy, where elections will be held in the next few months.

Speaking to Hot Metal, the British vocalist said: "I'm a staunch believer in Europe. We are a strong trading block, and have a strong cultural unity with the European Union. I've got forefathers from two world wars who fought to unify us and to get to the point where we are now. To move away from that, it definitely scares me, and the rise of Donald Trump is farcical. It still seems to be reactionary politics, which is driven by the right-wing media, and it's all about power, not about inclusion. It's all about separation. Building walls, cutting people off and denying people that are different from us. For me, the acceptance of difference is what makes this world that we live in such a great place."

MEMORIAM is the new Birmingham, United Kingdom-based death/grind metal band featuring Willets on vocals, Frank Healy (BENEDICTION, CEREBRAL FIX) on bass, Scott Fairfax (CEREBRAL FIX) on guitar and Andy Whale (BOLT THROWER) on drums, can be seen below. The band's debut album, "For The Fallen", will be released on March 24 through Nuclear Blast Records. The album's artwork was created by Dan Seagrave (BENEDICTION, DISMEMBER, HYPOCRISY, SUFFOCATION).

Band photo credit: Gobinder Jhitta

Former KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and current DEVIL YOU KNOW singer Howard Jones is collaborating with ex-SOILWORK guitarist Peter Wichers on a new studio project. Jones recently visited Wichers's studio in North Carolina to begin laying down ideas for the project's upcoming full-length debut, details of which will announced as they become available.

In related news, DEVIL YOU KNOW will commence the songwriting process for its third full-length album this month.

Jones was fired from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE in January 2012 because of his struggle with personal issues, including diabetes that had gone untreated for several years. He has since been replaced by Jesse Leach, who previously sang on the band's first self-titled album, which came out in 2000, and on their landmark 2002 Roadrunner debut "Alive Or Just Breathing".

Wichers left SOILWORK for the second time in June 2012. He blamed his exit on "creative differences" but the band's lead singer, Björn "Speed" Strid, later said that Peter simply could not deal with the touring lifestyle anymore.

Wichers worked as a songwriter on DREAM THEATER singer James LaBrie's 2013 solo album, "Impermanent Resonance". Prior to that, he collaborated with varios metal singers — including Anders Fridén (IN FLAMES), Strid and John Bush (ANTHRAX, ARMORED SAINT) — to make a CD much in the same style as "Roadrunner United", titled "Nuclear Blast All-Stars". He also co-wrote Warrel Dane's (NEVERMORE, SANCTUARY) first solo album, "Praises To The War Machine".

On March 14, Kanye West was photographed wearing a CRADLE OF FILTH long-sleeve shirt as he was exiting Los Angeles restaurant Bandera, less than a day after his cousin, Ricky Anderson (who happens to work for Kanye's record label GOOD Music), tragically lost his 1-year-old son, Avery.

Check out a picture below in a tweet from DailyMail.co.uk.

It didn't take long for CRADLE OF FILTH to react to seeing the rapper sporting a piece of the band's merchandise. The next day, the British extreme metallers posted the above-mentioned photo on Facebook and wrote in an accompanying message: "Kanye West. CRADLE OF FILTH fan. Fortunately not a collaborator."

Kanye has previously been criticized for repping vintage band tees, and Kim Kardashian is regularly spotted wearing METALLICA t-shirts. More recently, Kim's maternal half-sibling Kendall Jenner was seen getting around in a SLAYER tee, and SLAYER guitarist Gary Holt apparently responded by wearing a t-shirt onstage that read "Kill The Kardashians".

After Kanye was seen wearing a TESTAMENT t-shirt last December, the band's guitarist Alex Skolnick reacted negatively in an online post, writing: "Goodness gracious. This whole decrepit clan must have picked up a pile of old concert t-shirts (the same pile Kourtney K's SLAYER shirt came from) which have somehow become a 'thing' in trendy fashion (who'd have thought?!!). Inconceivable that any of these pop-culture vultures know who the heck any of the bands are. My guess is he thinks it's a religious group (not the first time that's happened). That is, if he thinks at all, which lately seems unlikely. And I thought this time period couldn't get any weirder..."

U.D.O. — the German metal band fronted by former ACCEPT singer Udo Dirkschneider — has commenced work on the follow-up to 2015's "Decadent" album for a tentative late 2017 release.

In a new video message, Udo offered an update on the new disc writing sessions, saying: "We are working already, yeah, you can say, nearly one week on the new album, and what can I say? I mean, it will be — you can believe me — a really, really good album coming up [with] a lot of good songs. And watch out."

Finnish guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen recently left U.D.O. for personal reasons.

Udo spent the last year touring under the DIRKSCHNEIDER banner, performing classic ACCEPT songs for the last time.

"Decadent" was released in Europe in January 2015 via AFM. The disc was recorded in Udo's current home, Spanish island Ibiza, and also at Redhead Audio Productions in Wilhelmshaven.

The current U.D.O. lineup includes Udo's 23-year-old son Sven Dirkschneider, who joined the group as the replacement for drummer Francesco Jovino.

DIRKSCHNEIDER released a live album called "Live - Back To The Roots" in October via AFM Records. The effort, which was recorded on April 2, 2016 at Kaminwerk in Memmingen, Germany, was made available as two-CD digipak and gatefold three-vinyl in four different colors (black, gold, silver and clear).

British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST have entered the studio to begin recording their long-awaited follow-up to 2014's "Redeemer Of Souls" album. Helming the sessions for the new disc are the band's longtime producer Tom Allom, acclaimed British knob-twiddler Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, EXODUS, TESTAMENT, ACCEPT) and engineer Mike Exeter (BLACK SABBATH).

The first photo of the entire JUDAS PRIEST team and its current production team can be seen above.

Allom produced every PRIEST release from "Unleashed In The East" (1979) through "Ram It Down" (1988), along with several live records since then. As a young engineer, he also worked on the first three BLACK SABBATH records under producer Rodger Bain.

During a January 2017 appearance on "Trunk Nation", Eddie Trunk's show on SiriusXM channel Volume (106), PRIEST singer Rob Halford said about the songwriting process for the band's new disc: "Yeah, everything's coming together great. We're excited to be making new material.

"As you know, whenever we go out to play, we like to say that we're there for not only the reason to see our wonderful fans again but to show off what we're doing. And that's what we're doing right now — we're hard at work, and it's all coming together great."

Halford also confirmed that there is no set-in-stone timetable for the release of PRIEST's next album. "You know, there is no rush," he said. "There is no rush. We feel great. We're very happy, we're very confident, we're very excited. And so, yeah, we're working with our label and with promoters, and there's a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes."

He continued: "When we go out, we want it to be good — we want it to be good, we want it to be well planned, we wanna make sure that everybody's happy."

Halford said last year that JUDAS PRIEST wasn't interested in making "a 'Redeemer Of Souls Part Two'." He explained: "I think it's very important that we make another stand-alone record again, a heavy metal record that's going to have its own legs and just be as different as all of them have been so far."

"Redeemer Of Souls" was released in July 2014. The follow-up to 2008's double-disc concept album "Nostradamus" was billed as a return to JUDAS PRIEST's heavy-metal roots.

"Redeemer Of Souls" sold around 32,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 6 on The Billboard 200 chart.

JUDAS PRIEST's tenth studio album, "Turbo", was recently remastered and will be released via Sony Music on February 3 on three CDs (the original album and two bonus discs) as well as one-LP 150-gram vinyl. Included on disc 2 and 3 of the CD reissue is, previously unreleased, "Live in Kansas City", a live recording from the band's 1986 "Fuel For Life" tour in support of "Turbo".

Frontiers Music Srl will release HAREM SCAREM's fourteenth studio album, "United", on May 12. The disc offers up eleven tracks of trademark HAREM SCAREM music from Harry Hess (lead vocals, keyboards), Pete Lesperance (guitars, bass, keyboards), longtime drummer Creighton Doane, and backing vocals from original sticksman and current RED DRAGON CARTEL singerDarren Smith (who will be playing live drums for the band on tour dates).

The official video for the song "Sinking Ship", taken from "United", can be seen below. Frontman Harry Hess says: "This year will mark the thirtieth year of HAREM SCAREM and I can tell you that we are just as excited about writing and recording today as we were then. The brand new 'United' album is one of the best collection of songs we have ever put on one release and I can't wait for everyone to hear it!" HAREM SCAREM make it clear they still have something to say right from the start with the title track, "United", a chunky slice of guitar-driven melodic rock nirvana that kicks off their strongest studio outing since the early 2000s. From there, the album lifts off with well-crafted songs featuring big choruses with simple and addictive hook-laden earworms. Each track carries a power-rock-packed punch, swaggering riffs, and hooks to die for. Hess and Lesperance without a doubt show the world that their partnership still works, that they indeed are still "united." With sales of well over a million records in forty-three countries and twelve Top 40 hits around the globe, HAREM SCAREM has returned and is ready to dominate while touring the world in support of "United". "United" track listing: 01. United02. Here Today Gone Tomorrow03. Gravity04. Sinking Ship05. One Of Life’s Mysteries06. No Regrets07. Bite The Bullet08. Things I Know09. The Sky Is Falling10. Heaven And Earth11. Indestructible HAREM SCAREM is: Harry Hess - lead vocals, guitarPete Lesperance - lead guitarStan Miczek - bass guitarCreighton Doane - drumsDarren Smith - background vocals, live drummer

Jonne Järvelä, the driving force of the internationally successful folk metal band KORPIKLAANI, will release his second folk music album titled "Kallohonka" on April 28 via Playground Music Scandinavia. The band that carries his name, JONNE, consists of ten well-known musicians from the world of rock, metal and folk music. The first single from the album is called "Vieras" and can now be heard through all music services worldwide.

Järvelä released his debut solo album, "Jonne", on 2014. The stripped and rawer interpretation of shamanistic folk music attracted great attention and gained a lot of supporters all around the world. Although it started out as a solo project, JONNE has now become a fully active live band with ten musicians from the Finnish rock, metal and folk scene. The band consists of Jonne Järvelä, Santeri Kallio (AMORPHIS), Jan Rechberger (AMORPHIS), Natalie Koskinen (SHAPE OF DESPAIR), Eero Haula (OCEANWAKE), Jussi Rautio (BATTLELORE, LOVIJATAR), Yovan Nagwetch (WABANAG), Pinja Lintonen, Matti Karjalainen and Toni Perttula. Also Ante Aikio, a well-known Saami artist, features on several tracks on the album.

"Kallohonka" is based on eternal tunes and stories about the returning to foregone roots. To set the right feel, musicians used a variety of folk music instruments, such as mandolin, kantele, fiddle, accordion and flute, yet they didn't forget about some classic live-band instruments — both acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards and percussion.

"Vieras" is the first song in which Järvelä has used a musical instrument from the Baltic psaltery family — Finnish kantele.

Another song worth mentioning is "Pimeä On Oksan Taitto" which will be featured in the Finnish fantasy/horror movie "Backwood Madness" (October 2017). "Pimeä On Oksan Taitto" is a mysterious journey in the troll-occupied fantasy world. Ville Sorvali, bassist and vocalist of of the Finnish pagan metal band MOONSORROW, appears on the track as a guest vocalist. Both the movie and the music video for the song are directed by Ari Savonen.

"Kallohonka" track listing:

01. Vieras02. Tanssi03. Ajan Taakse04. En Olé05. Pimeä On Oksan Taitto06. Kallohongassa Kotini07. Hulivili08. Hauki09. Yön Syli10. Suojärvi11. Rajat Ruumiini12. Nu'tenmaqnituk

Metal Wani's Chuck Marshall recently conducted an interview with TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy. You can now listen to the chat below.

Asked if it's going to take TESTAMENT another four years to release the follow-up to 2016's "Brotherhood Of The Snake" album, Billy said: "No, no, no. Our goal is two years. We hope to have a record out next year. Because we thought we'd have a record out after two years; it just ended up being four, because the process just… I don't know what happened, but it took forever. So this time, like, you know what? I don't wanna do that again. I told Eric [Peterson, guitar] exactly when we were done recording. I said, 'You know what? It's a great record now, but I don't wanna go through what I had to go through to do this again. So why don't we start writing now?' So we decided that when we're not on the road, let's get together and just jam and maybe come up and at least get to that point where we were with this record — a bunch of ideas and riffs and lyrics."

Billy also talked about TESTAMENT's longevity and enduring influence on younger metal bands. He said: "I think we've stayed true to what we've done from the '80s up to where we are today. There's a lot of music changes and industry changes and radio and MTV and the whole format, everything's changed from when we began to where we are today, but through all that, I think we've stayed true to what we do and our style and what we want to play, and somehow I think the fan appreciates that. Most bands either stop playing or they try to conform to what's current and people are buying. And I don't think bands could make it that long, 'cause I don't know… It's not real."

According to Billy, part of the reason TESTAMENT has managed to thrive after being in the business for more than thirty years is the fact that "we never copied ourselves [musically]." He explained: "You know it's TESTAMENT, but we haven't copied… 'Oh, that's their last record,' 'Oh, that's 'Practice [What You Preach]'.' We're always kind of evolving, but you know it's TESTAMENT. You're kind of going, 'Cool, man. It's a different feeling or a different vibe this song's hit me. So I think that has something to do with it as well."

"Brotherhood Of The Snake" was released last October via Nuclear Blast. The cover was once again created by renowned artist Eliran Kantor, who also handled the art for the TESTAMENT's previous album, 2012's "Dark Roots Of Earth", and worked with bands like HATEBREED, SOULFLY and KATAKLYSM in the past.

"Brotherhood Of The Snake" was recorded under the watchful eyes of producer Juan Urteaga (EXODUS, HEATHEN, MACHINE HEAD), guitarist Eric Peterson and Billy and was mixed and mastered by British metal producer Andy Sneap (ACCEPT, ARCH ENEMY, CRADLE OF FILTH, KREATOR, MACHINE HEAD, MEGADETH).

Following on his historic reunion with the classic MISFITS lineup attended by record numbers at last year's Riot Fest in Denver and Chicago as well as the recent confirmation of a headlining set at this year's "Blackest Of The Black" festival, Glenn Danzig has now confirmed the title and release date of first DANZIG album of all new material since 2010's widely acclaimed "Deth Red Sabaoth". "Black Laden Crown", 50 minutes of long-awaited brand new DANZIG music, will be released mid-May on Evilive Records/Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The details of "Black Laden Crown" follow on the announcement of DANZIG's "Blackest Of The Black" festival: two days of non-stop music and mayhem taking place at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado, California on May 26 and may 27. DANZIG will close the festivities May 27, headlining a bill featuring more than 20 artists playing amidst a full scale takeover and transformation of the park grounds featuring literally dozens of attractions, vendors, performers, and other surprises musical and otherwise. "Blackest Of The Black" promises to create a site-wide atmosphere like no festival before or since. A full rundown of performers and attractions will be announced shortly. This June also marks the 25th anniversary of "Danzig III: How The Gods Kill". "How The Gods Kill" was the first DANZIG album to crack Billboard's Top 30 and the first DANZIG album produced by the band's frontman and namesake Glenn Danzig himself. In honor of this momentous occasion, DANZIG will play a select handful of shows this summer and will perform many songs from "How The Gods Kill".

In a 2015 interview with Noisey, Glenn Danzig was asked what it is that keeps him coming back to the creative well. He responded: "It's so many different things. There's always stuff to write about, but I think that the whole punk thing helped a lot. If it gets boring, change it, fix it, make it exciting, make it relevant again, and that's what I did without sacrificing the music. That's what I try to do. I try to do stuff where first thing is I'm excited about the record, and then I hope that the people who listen to my music are gonna dig it too. That's pretty much how I go into doing a record, and I don't do a new record until I have stuff to write about it. I don't force myself to do a record. Someone doesn't come to me and say, 'Hey, it's been a year or two since your last record. You've gotta write a record and put one out in a couple of months.' No one comes to me and says that to me."

Asked if that attitude of not forcing the creative process is something that's always been there for him, Danzig said: "Yeah. I mean, I used to do it on a more frequent basis. [Laughs] But I think even back in the MISFITS and SAMHAIN days, I put out a record every two years, I think. The same thing with DANZIG, too, where I put out a record every two years. Later on it became further and further apart, but that's just the way it worked out. I think in between 'Danzig IV' and 'V' was probably a two-year period, and then between 'V' and 'VI' was probably a three-year period. It seems to be now it's gone to four or five. I think one of the things also was for 'Deth Red' we toured a lot over those years. Not two or three months at a time, but we just kept getting offers to go to Europe and then back to America. The record did pretty well for me, especially the way it was received, so hopefully the next one will be the same."

Glenn's covers record, "Skeletons", was released in November 2015 in North America via Nuclear Blast Entertainment/Evilive Music. A labor of love that dates back to 1979, "Skeletons" saw Danzig pulling back the curtain behind his influences with a collection of ten covers spanning artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, ZZ TOP, and AEROSMITH to BLACK SABBATH, THE TROGGS, THE EVERLY BROTHERS, and more.

ANTHRAX's "For All Kings 7-Inch Box Set" hits stores this Friday, March 24, and the band has just made a new track from the set available. "Vice Of The People", previously released as a bonus track only in Japan, can be streamed at SoundCloud.com.

Available exclusively in North America and released in conjunction with the band's upcoming spring co-headline tour with KILLSWITCH ENGAGE — "KillThrax" — the "For All Kings 7-Inch Box Set" will retail for $79.99, and is an absolutely stunning collector's item for any ANTHRAX fan, as the unboxing video below illustrates.

The "For All Kings 7-Inch Box Set" includes a removable lenticular cover and contains ten seven-inch vinyl discs featuring twenty songs — the eleven finished album tracks, two brand new covers (THE WHITE STRIPES' "Black Math" and the classic KANSAS song "Carry On"), six demos from the "For All Kings" track listing, and "Vice Of The People". The original album cover art sketch by Alex Ross is also part of this package, as well as a download card enabling the holder to access the box set's track listing for free.

Each seven-inch disc features gorgeous, double-sided four-color artwork designed by Douglas Heusser with additional art by Stephen Thompson, as well as band photos by Jimmy Hubbard. The tracks are pressed onto different-colored vinyl discs — red, green, blue, maroon, orange, most with a two-color swirl design.

"Doing a box set edition of 'For All Kings' was something that we've always wanted to do," said ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante, who worked closely with Heusser and Thompson on the box set's artwork. "We wanted to do something special, something that was so much more than the original release, and have it be fun for our audience when they open it up, just be floored by the different colored vinyl, the artwork, everything that's inside. And we think we've done that."

"For All Kings 7-Inch Box Set" track listing:

Breathing Lightning (album version)Breathing Lightning (demo)

Monster At The End (album version)Monster At The End (demo)

Suzerain (album version)Suzerain (demo)

Black Math (THE WHITE STRIPES cover)Carry On (KANSAS cover)

You Gotta Believe (album version)For All Kings (album version)

Evil Twin (album version)This Battle Chose Us (album version)

All Them Thieves (album version)Vice of the People (previously unreleased in North America)

Zero Tolerance (album version)Zero Tolerance (demo)

Blood Eagle Wings (album version)Blood Eagle Wings (demo)

Defend Avenge (album version)Defend Avenge (demo)

Danish old school death metallers Deus Otiosus are streaming a new song from their upcoming album Opposer. Listen to "Kneel" below, the opening track on their new album, Opposer.

Deus Otiosus have signed a deal with aptly named French label, Great Dane Records. Opposer will be released on April 30th. The recording of the album was finished in Fast Beat Records, Copenhagen, with producer Rasmus Toftlund. Talented Danish artist Claude Wit created the cover artwork.

Opposer is the follow up to 2014's Rise album released by Deepsend Records. In 2015 Deus Otiosus released the EP Sis Mortuus Mondo, with one new song, "Greater Horror", as a pre-view to the upcoming album.

Great Dane Records is a French death metal label distributed by Season Of Mist.

Tracklisting:

“Kneel”
“Disturbing The Dead”
“Stand Your Ground”
“Haunter”
“Towering Flames”
“The Opposer”
“To The Graves”
“Return To Slavery”
“Greater Horror”
“March Of The Unworthy”

"Kneel"

 

“Disturbing The Dead”:

Canadian metallers Striker, currently on the road in Europe supporting Sonata Arctica, performed at the Metronum in Toulouse, France on March 11th. Quality footage of the band in action can be viewed below.

Setlist:

"Crossroads" 
"Former Glory" 
"Locked In"
"Lethal Force" 
"Phoenix Lights" 
"Out for Blood" 
"Born to Lose" 
"Too Late" 
"Fight for Your Life"

 

 

 

 

Striker will be returning to their shredding grounds of Alberta in April for their first Canadian shows since unleashing their fifth studio album last month. The band has been on tour across the US plus Europe with Sonata Arctica in support of the album for the last three months.

Their shows, April 13th in Calgary at Dicken's Pub, hometown return on April 14th in Edmonton at Starlite Room, and April 15th in Red Deer at The Vat will be CD release events for their Albertan fans that have been loyal over the years supporting Striker’s career in the province and beyond.

Show Details:

Thursday, April 13th
Dicken's Pub, 1000 9 Ave SW, Calgary, Alberta T2P 2Y6
Doors - 8 PM
Bands: Striker, Ravenous, Riot City & In/Vertigo
Tickets: $10.00 advance tickets available online at www.ConcertWorks.ca & at Sloth Records
$20.00 advance ticket with download of the new self titled album
Direct Ticket Link
18+ No Minors

Friday, April 14th
Startlite Room, 10030 102 St NW, Edmonton, Alberta T5J 0V6
Doors - 8 PM
Bands: Striker, Ravenous & Tylor Dory Trio
Tickets: $15.00 GA advance tickets available online at www.ConcertWorks.ca & at Blackbyrd Myoozik
$20.00 advance ticket with download of the new self titled album
Direct Ticket Link

Saturday, April 15th
The Vat Pub, 101-5301 43st, Red Deer, Alberta T4N 1C8
Doors - 8 PM
Bands: Striker, Ravenous, Wraith Risen, and Bodies Burn Black
Tickets: $10 Adv. - Tickets from myshowpass.com, The Soundhouse, The Vat Pub, and local bands
Direct Ticket Link

(Photo - Dan Zuk)

Mastodon performed at the Empire Garage in Austin, TX as part of SXSW 2017 on March 17th. During the set they unleashed three songs from their new album, Emperor Of Sand, with "Sultan's Curse," "Show Yourself," and "Andromeda" getting their live debut. 

The setlist on the night was as follows:

"Sultan's Curse" (live debut)
"Wolf Is Loose"
"Divinations"
"Bladecatcher"
"Black Tongue"
"Megalodon"
"Andromeda" (live debut)
"Show Yourself" (live debut)
"Motherpuncher"

Mastodon have released a new music music video for the Emperor Of Sand album track, “Show Yourself”, available for streaming below.

The band have announced their first live late night televised appearance in support of Emperor Of Sand, which will be released via Reprise Records on March 31st. The band will perform on the outdoor stage at ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! on April 3rd, and the following day, April 4th, a rare, intimate show at Amoeba Music Hollywood, 6400 Sunset Blvd., at 5 PM.

Beginning on Friday, March 31st, fans who purchase Emperor Of Sand at Amoeba Hollywood will receive admission to the in-store and a limited-edition “Mastodon Live At Amoeba" lithograph commemorating the show. Admission is limited to in-store orders only and two LP/CD + ticket per person. Admittance lines for the in-store will form on Ivar Avenue beginning at 2 PM on April 4th and is limited to first purchasers and the store's capacity.

The album can be pre-ordered in various formats at this location.

Tracklisting:

“Sultan’s Curse”
“Show Yourself”
“Precious Stones”
“Steambreather”
“Roots Remain”
“Word To The Wise”
“Ancient Kingdom”
“Clandestiny”
“Andromeda”
“Scorpion Breath”
“Jaguar God”

“Show Yourself” video:

“Andromeda”:

“Show Yourself”:

“Sultan’s Curse”:

The Devin Townsend Project performed on March 17th at the Eventim Apollo Hammersmith in London, England, delivering a live performance of the classic Ocean Machine album in its entirety to celebrate the record's 20th Anniversary. Fan-filmed video is available below.











Devin Townsend returns to the Be Prog! My Friend festival in 2017 with the Devin Townsend Project for an exclusive performance of his 1997 album Ocean Machine in full to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Devin himself describes Ocean Machine as "a labor of love that was born more out of adversity than almost anything else. I’m very proud of this album, and has a very obvious 'blue' feeling to me."

For Be Prog! My Friend Festival 2017 details go to this location.

The Devin Townsend Project will now play Ocean Machine in its entirety on the following dates in 2017:

June  30 - Be Prog! My Friend - Barcelona, Spain

September 22 - Roman Amphitheater - Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Former Megadeth guitarist Jeff Young has uploaded video footage of the legendary Appice Brothers, Carmine and Vinny, covering the Black Sabbath classic "Mob Rules.

For the first time, the Appice Brothers are joining forces to record a studio album that will feature new songs as well as classic songs from their individual histories.

The brothers, who have worked with artists such as Black Sabbath, Dio, Ozzy Osbourne, Rod Stewart, Blue Murder and more, chose to work with PledgeMusic because they are the frontrunner for direct-to-fan platforms, and they want to bring their fans into this project on a personal level.

"This is very exciting for us! We are reaching out to you, our fans, to help us get this album recorded - as Ringo said, "We'll get by with a little help from our friends." This will be a great sounding, spine-shaking, rhythmic foundation with giant melodic guitars and blazing vocals and melodies that will tear it all up!"

Legendary rock drummer, Carmine Appice (Ozzy Osbourne, Rod Stewart, Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, and Jeff Beck to name a few), has enjoyed an amazing almost 50-year career as a rock star, music educator, author, and rock pioneer. He is widely considered to be one of the most accomplished showmen in rock. Carmine is the recipient of numerous awards including Modern Drummer Hall of Fame, Hollywood Rock Walk of Fame, and dozens of gold and platinum selling records. He co- wrote such monster selling hits as "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" and "Young Turks". He has broken new ground in every aspect of his career - as a performer, as a teacher, and as a writer, he continues to inspire drummers and listeners throughout the world with his originality and his unwavering dedication to the art of drumming. In May 2016, Carmine released his autobiography, Stick It!: My Life of Sex, Drums and Rock 'n' Roll (Chicago Review Press).

Vinny Appice's unique, powerful drumming is marked not by his performances with a single group, but by his flawless musical contributions and drumming to an extensive list of rock and roll icons like Black Sabbath, Ronnie James Dio, Heaven & Hell, Rick Derringer, John Lennon and more! A consummate performer and drummer, Vinny is also a brilliant clinician, performing clinics and master classes all across the globe, as well as making appearances in films and television. Vinny can be heard on rock classic albums like Black Sabbath's Mob Rules and Dio's Holy Diver and The Last in Line.

The Appice Brothers have some very special offerings for those that pre-order the record. "We have put together a great list of items from the making of the album  itself, to drum related items and a lot more things! We are looking forward to completing a killer album for you and we thank you all for your continued support!"

Find out more and pre-order the record at this location.

Warbringer performed at The Den Of Sin in Sacramento, CA on March 17th with Havok, Exmortus, Psychosomatic and Thrown Into Exile. Video of their complete set is available below courtesy of Capital Chaos TV.

On March 31st, Warbringer will deliver their monumental fifth record, entitled Woe To The Vanquished, via Napalm Records. A new video for the album track, “Remain Violent”, directed by Orie McGinness, is now available for streaming below.

Woe To The Vanquished has been carefully crafted over a period of time, and the album was produced and mixed by Mike Plottnikoff (Fear Factory, In Flames), mastered by Howie Weinberg (Slayer, Pantera) with cover art by the esteemed  Andreas Marschall (Sodom, Blind Guardian, Obituary).

Album formats:

- Regular Jewel Case Edition    
- 1LP Gatefold Edition (black & other coloured editions)      
- Super Deluxe Wooden Box Warchest Edition (CD, exclusive 2 track 7" single, flag, band logo dog tags) only available via the Napalm Records webstores in the US and Europe - strictly limited to 500 copies

Pre-order the album here.

Tracklisting:

“Silhouettes”
“Woe To The Vanquished”
“Remain Violent”
“Shellfire”
“Descending Blade”
“Spectral Asylum”
“Divinity Of Flesh”
“When The Guns Fell Silent”

Bonus 7" Single trackisting:

“Evil Dead” (Death cover featuring Chris Monroy of Skeletal Remains)      
“Arc Lite” (Coroner cover featuring Jadran 'Conan' Gonzalez of Exmortus)

“Remain Violent” video:

“Shellfire”:

"Silhouettes" video:

More info on Woe To The Vanquished and the story behind it described by singer John Kevill, who is not only fronting Warbringer, but also studying to be a history professor:

"The title Woe to the Vanquished comes from early Roman history--before they were the huge empire they became. In 390 BC, a host of Gauls led by a warlord called Brennus attacked Rome, and captured all the city except the Capitoline Hill. From this hill the defeated Romans made a bargain, they would pay 1,000 pounds of gold for the Gallic army to leave the city with no further bloodshed. The Romans bring the gold before Brennus, who uses his own scales to measure it. On the Gaul's scales, the Roman's thousand pounds of gold measured to be less, which led the Romans to complain that the scale was rigged (it probably was). Responding to this, Brennus speaks "Vae Victis" (Woe to the Vanquished) and throws his sword on the counterweight. Because the Romans lost, they have to pay the rigged sum of gold as well as the weight of the sword, to add insult to injury. The irony here is that vowing this type of humiliation would never happen again, Rome went on to become an ancient war machine conquering and subjugating most of the old world. On the record Woe to the Vanquished is spoken in an ironic, mocking tone--the defeated are trampled and time marches on, uncaring, and forgets they ever existed."  

Woe To The Vanquished “making of” :

Just in time for their album release March 31st, the band will be hitting the road all over Europe in spring and summer, including already confirmed festivals like Spain's Resurrection Fest, Slovenia's Metal Days and Devilstone in Lithuania, with more to be announced.

Find the band’s live itinerary here.

On May 19th, Soul Demise return with their new album Thin Red Line. To get a first glimpse on the new material, the band unveils the first track off that record entitled “Deceive The Masses”. Starting with a mellow acoustic guitar, the song turns into a melodic death metal inferno.

Red is one of the most frequently used signal colors in science and in our everyday life. Soul Demise talk about a Thin Red Line and they will for sure address something significant. On their last album Sindustry the five Germans showed that they are able to look beyond the boundaries of melodic death metal. This time, they are even more ambitious.
 
Defying the conventions, all individual instruments were recorded in different studios. Drums were laid down with the help of Christoph Brandes in his Iguana Studios, Dennis Schneider guarded the tracking of the guitar- and bass-parts in the Mainblast Studios and the vocals were recorded in the Rebound Studios under the watchful eyes of Simon Hammer. In the end of the process, Tue Madsen in his Antfarm Studios handled mixing duties and succeeded in creating a very powerful sound, which represents all the strengths of the new material. The band’s musical statement is perfectly visualized within the artwork by Bjoern Gooßes from Killustrations.
 
Thin Red Line will be released on May 19th via Apostasy Records. 

Tracklisting:

“Plagued By Fear”
“Desperate Cry”
“Deceive The Masses”
“Empty”
“Live On The Edge”
“Frustration”
“T.R.L.O.S.”
“The Glow Of The Rich Man’s Friend”
“Purity Of Soul”
“Braindead”
“Hopeless Case”

“Deceive The Masses”:

In a new update on their Facebook page, Chicago death metallers Broken Hope have revealed they have finished tracking their new album, Mutilated And Assimilated, due for release this summer via Century Media Records.

According to the band, the album title is a “pure tribute to John Carpenter’s The Thing.” The album possesses an extra-special touch as all of Jeremy Wagner and Damian Leski's rhythm guitar tracks feature the boys using only the original Jeff Hanneman guitars Wagner acquired from Hanneman's estate last year.

“These famous axes have already inspired and channeled many of the riffs I wrote for the next full-length,” explains Jeremy.

The video below shows the band at Mercenary Digital Studios starting the mixing and mastering process of the new album:

Australia's NORTHLANE has released the official music video for its new song "Citizen". The track was recorded in New Jersey by producer David Bendeth (BRING ME THE HORIZON, A DAY TO REMEMBER, PARAMORE).

Speaking about the meaning of the song, NORTHLANE guitarist Josh Smith said: "'Citizen' is a song that was written about the First World police state and our willingness to live under the watch of those in power, for their means, while those who blow the lid on it suffer.

“Writing this one was quite a mission. We went through five completely different sets of lyrics and the final incarnation of the song was the eighth revision. It took a lot of work, but we are proud of it and beyond excited to share it with you all."

"Citizen" is the first new NORTHLANE song to be released following "Intuition", which received its live debut at UNIFY Gathering 2017.

NORTHLANE's last full-length studio release was 2015's "Node". A split three-track "Equinox" EP with IN HEARTS WAKE — featuring all ten members of both bands — came out last year.

"Node" was the first NORTHLANE to feature vocalist Marcus Bridge, who joined the band after the departure of longtime frontman Adrian Fitipaldes. Adrian left the band unexpectedly in 2014, citing health issues.

QUIET RIOT made its live debut with the band's seventh lead singer, "American Idol" finalist James Durbin, last night (Saturday, March 18) at The Cotillion in Wichita, Kansas. Video footage of the concert can be seen below (courtesy of Steven Seuferling).

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, joined QUIET RIOT earlier in the month 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 the band's upcoming album, "Road Rage".

Prior to yesterday's show, Durbin — who recently collaborated with QUIET RIOT guitarist Alex Grossi on the "Maps To The Hollywood Scars" EP — explained his decision to join QUIET RIOT, saying that it was partly motivated by his desire to elevate the band's status to levels not seen in the decade following original singer Kevin DuBrow's death.

"Me stepping into QUIET RIOT is me wanting to use the attention that I have and the things that I have done to highlight a band that I feel is being forgotten, or is being remembered for the wrong reasons," he said.

"[The QUIET RIOT documentary 'Well Now You're Here, There's No Way Back' is] a great movie, it's a great story, it's tragic, it happens to every band. Whenever somebody loses a member, you go through this thing where you're trying to find somebody to fill that spot, and in some cases, it's just another guy, but in other cases, it's your best friend or your brother. And you've really gotta find people that you really gel with and really work with and really understand."

He added: "Even though I know Alex for the past four months, and two days of rehearsal — the only two times I've ever been in a room together with [QUIET RIOT drummer] Frankie [Banali] and Chuck [Wright, QUIET RIOT bassist] and Alex all together — I feel like we know each other already. I feel like I've known Frankie for years. And so it's this natural progression where I come in, I know the material, I'm prepared. I had two weeks to learn the sixteen-song set — more than other people that have had much longer time. And I come in, and I know it, and I'm happy to be there, I'm grateful to be there, I'm happy to be working with people that wanna work and love to play music.

"For me, the whole 'Idol' thing and everything all together, the reason I did was just so that I could be a working musician and play music for a living and support my family. And that's who I'm in a band with. So it's pretty cool. It's come full circle. But nothing in this music industry or the rock and roll world or anything comes without a price to pay, so whatever the ticket price is, I'll pay it. But you can guaran-damn-tee that I will be there every single night banging my head, making you feel the noise, and I will never phone it in, dial it in, make a gimmick of myself or this band, because they deserve it, Kevin DuBrow's legacy and memory deserves it, and QUIET RIOT deserves it."

QUIET RIOT announced earlier in the month that it would delay the release of "Road Rage" until this summer so that Durbin could replace all the vocals on the album with new lyrics and melodies.

Banali revived QUIET RIOT in 2010, three years after DuBrow's death, along with Grossi and Wright. The group went through two vocalists — Mark Huff and Scott Vokoun — before settling on Jizzy Pearl in 2013. Pearl announced his exit from QUIET RIOT last October.