Iconic Norwegian metal band, Satyricon, performed at Bloodstock Open Air 2024 in Walton-on-Trent, England on August 11th. Fan-filmed video of their entire show can be veiwed below.


Setlist:


"To Your Brethren in the Dark"
"Forhekset"
"Filthgrinder"
"Now, Diabolical"
"Black Crow on a Tombstone"
"Deep Calleth Upon Deep"
"Repined Bastard Nation"
"The Pentagram Burns"
"Fuel for Hatred"
"Hvite Krists Død"
"Mother North"
"K.I.N.G."







Polish black metal legends, Behemoth, have released a video trailer for "The Unholy Trinity" European tour, scheduled for April 2025. Find the clip below.


Says Behemoth: "Legions of Europe! It’s that time again… We are beyond thrilled to announce that we’ll be bringing together the blasphemous forces of Behemoth, Satyricon and Rotting Christ for ‘The Unholy Trinity’ European tour." 🔥


Tickets are on sale now. Dates are listed below.





Tour dates:


April
4 - Gasometer - Vienna, Austria
5 - Zenith - Munich, Germany
6 - Columbiahalle - Berlin, Germany
8 - Halle 622 - Zurich, Switzerland
11 - Olympia - Paris, France
12 - O2 Brixton Academy - London, England
13 - 013 Poppodium - Tilburg, Netherlands
15 - E-Werk - Cologne, Germany
16 - Schlachthof - Wiesbaden, Germany
18 - B-K - Stockholm, Sweden
20 - Inferno Metal Festival - Oslo, Norway*
22 - Ice Hall - Helsinki, Finland
23 - Palladium - Riga, Latvia
25 - Orbita Hall - Wrocław, Poland
26 - Ragnaroek Festival - Lichtenfels, Germany*
27 - O2 Universum - Prague, Czech Republic


* Behemoth only










window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails-feed',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails Feed',
target_type: 'mix'
});
















Featured Video

New Sepultura drummer Greyson Nekrutman - replacing Eloy Casagrande, who left the band to join Slipknot  - has shared live drum cam video of "Propaganda", shot on the road this year. Check it out below. 





As part of their massive "Celebrating Life Through Death" farewell tour, metal legends Septultura will be hitting the North American roads; you can witness the ambassadors of Brazilian metal with a career-spanning set that will honour the band’s 40 years of existence.




Joining them on this momentous tour will be Florida-based death metal veterans Obituary, iconic New York hardcore pioneers Agnostic Front, and Sao Paulo’s death/thrash metallers Claustrofobia. Together, this package will unleash an electrifying display of power, passion, and raw emotion.


Andreas Kisser comments: “We are so excited to announce the North American concerts of the 'Celebrating Life Through Death’ farewell tour. We are having a blast doing these shows and celebrating 40 years of history, and now it is your turn! Happy to share the stage with our brothers from Obituary, Agnostic Front, and Claustrofobia! Do not miss this! See you all on the road!”


Fans can purchase pre-sale tickets and VIP upgrades are on sale now through Soundrink, here. General sale will start Friday, June 7, June at 10 AM, local time, here.





Dates:


September
17 - Chicago, IL - ConcordMusic Hall
18 - Minneapolis, MN - UptownTheater
20 - Denver, CO - The Ogden Theater
21 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
22 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
23 - Seattle, WA - The Showbox SODO
25 - San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
26 - Los Angeles, CA - The Novo
27 - San Diego, CA - House Of Blues
28 - Tucson, AZ - RialtoTheatre
30 - Dallas, TX - The Factory


October
2 - Tampa, FL - JannusLive
3 - Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Theater
4 - Raleigh, NC - The Ritz
5 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live
6 - Philadelphia, PA - Franklin Music Hall
8 - Cleveland, OH - The Agora Ballroom
9 - Toronto, ON - Rebel*
10 - Montreal, QC - L’Olympia*
11 - Worcester, MA @The Palladium
12 - New York, NY - The PalladiumTimes Square


* - Harvest to open and no Claustrofobia







window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails-feed',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails Feed',
target_type: 'mix'
});
















Featured Video

Primitive Reaction has announced October 11th as the international release date for The Mist From the Mountains' second album, Portal - The Gathering Of Storms, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.


It was but the very beginning of 2022 when The Mist From The Mountains released their debut album, Monumental - The Temple Of Twilight, through Primitive Reaction. The record was presciently titled, too: hailing from the ever-fertile Finnish scene, The Mist From The Mountains were a brand-new formation with a very old heart, with their chilling-yet-breathtaking ruminations harkening to the golden days of melodic, nature-inspired black metal back during the mid '90s. Names invoked included old Borknagar, Kvist, Old Man's Child, Norway's Gehenna, and even earliest Dimmu Borgir, but on the songwriting strength across Monumental, these still-young Finns were well on their way to forging an odyssey all their own.


Two years later, The Mist From The Mountains return to deliver the next awe-inspiring chapter of that saga. Titled Portal - The Gathering Of Storms, the band's second album is indeed the next part of a trilogy, but whereas the not-inconsiderable debut was but a mere 38 minutes, this second full-length is an epic near-hour of mesmerizing majesty, its golden rays stretching infinitely beyond the horizon - laced with black, of course. Truly, Portal's textures are equally summer and autumnal: the warm embrace of the sun, with the stern suggestion (or at least austere awareness of) the eventual cold, and of course those mossy, turn-to-brown sensations of fall's inexorable transitions to darker, colder days. 




But, that's simply a surface sweep of The Mist From The Mountains' ever-growing sonic palette, for thematically, Portal is quite a different beast. A sea-themed album, the band explore its standing as untamed, dynamic force of nature that cannot be negotiated with: equally fierce, calm, and beautiful in all its inconsolability. As such, the Finns stretch their songwriting to more varied lengths; the melancholy and longing typical of Finnish music is fully accounted for, but there's a pronounced emphasis on immediate(ly hummable) melodies, cleaner vocals, and more engaging downtempos. One could call it more accessible, and that one would not be totally wrong, but more so does Portal reveal The Mist From The Mountains as weavers of utterly cinematic soundscapes, of magick and wonder taking fuller flight (and hitting waterier depths) that put the band in league with the likes of Moonsorrow, and Borknagar. But, lest one think that this is a more "mainstream" move, the album is not without its share of blasting battle-rage, betraying a truly vast canvas that can now only be distinctly The Mist From The Mountains.


The sea is a portal to new worlds - and, in mythology, also to the afterlife. The Mist From The Mountains once again paint an absolutely poignant picture with Portal - The Gathering Of Storms, and hereby cement their status as Finnish folkloric masters.


Hear for yourself with the brand new track "The Seer Of Ages" below. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:





"And So Flew The Death Crow" 
"The Seer Of Ages" 
"At The Roots Of The Vile" 
"Among The Black Waves" 
"In Longing Times" 
"Saiva" 





For further details, visit The Mist From The Mountains on Facebook.


 







window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails-feed',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails Feed',
target_type: 'mix'
});
















Featured Video







INFRARED - "Demon's Blood"

From the eerie mists of the Blue Mountains, Australia - Carmeria combine the haunting sounds of dark symphonic metal with the lovelorn energy of gothic rock. Carmeria reveal the lighter side of their sophomore LP, Tragédie D'amour, with the album’s second single, "Immortal". This energetic gothic rock number delves into the theme of eternal love, and demonstrates that the band are not afraid to push their boundaries in exploring the more positive elements of the human experience.


Singer / songwriter Jordan von Grae shares: "'Immortal' was a delight to work on. Mishka (keys) and I have long talked about introducing a song like this to the band's repertoire, and paying homage to our shared influence of HIM. This track is unlike anything we've done before in Carmeria, and we are incredibly excited to hear what our audience has to say about it."


Released on August 9th, "Immortal" showcases the versatility in Carmeria’s newfound direction. If the trajectory launched by the band’s debut album Advenae is anything to go by, Carmeria will reach new heights with Tragédie D'amour, available everywhere August 23rd.







Since reforming with a new lineup in 2018, the band has been on a momentous warpath through the Australian music scene. Carmeria's debut album Advenae (2021) saw the five-piece garner international acclaim. In the summer of 2021/2022, the group embarked on their first nation-wide tour, culminating in a sold out show in their hometown capital, Sydney. The following years saw the ensemble write and record music for their second opus, titled Tragédie D'amour, which consists of ten new songs and sees the band’s sound taking on a more energetic gothic rock approach than its predecessor. 





Tracklisting:


"Call Forth My Sorrow"
"A Thousand Winter Rains" 
"Thorns"  
"Leading The Lyre"
"Whispers Of Forgiveness"
"Shadow’s Throne"
"Immortal"
"Burning Ships"
"The Hoping Heart"
"A Vision In Passing" 


For further details, visit Carmeria on Facebook.


 







window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails-feed',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails Feed',
target_type: 'mix'
});
















Featured Video







INFRARED - "Demon's Blood"




View More





window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-rr',
co

Rambunctious Aussie scamps The Lazys have released a brand new song called "Ripper Of A Night". Listen to the track below, and stream / download it here. "Crack a cold one and turn this up to 11," urges the band.










It's been five long years, but finally The Lazys are coming back to Europe. Last seen in The UK at Ramblin' Man and Bloodstock festivals, things were just getting started for these renowned live ruffians when the pandemic hit and all their plans came to a screeching halt.


It's a testament to their love of rock n roll and sheer bloody-minded determination that the band stubbornly refused to give up. The newly announced tour dates in August and September 2024 include headline shows, a number of festivals, and a one-off slot in Bradford with Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons.


Amiable frontman Leon Harrison quips, "It’s been a while between biscuits and beers but to our pals in the UK and Europe, the next round's on us! See ya soon, legends!"


Guitarist Matty Morris adds, "UK and Europe! It’s been way too long between drinks. Been missing you guys since we left in 2019. It’s gonna be awesome to be back. These shows are going to be insane and I can’t bloody wait. Bring it on!" 


Tickets are on sale now at this location for the following shows:


August
29 - Manchester, UK - The Star & Garter
30 - Bradford, UK - Nightrain (supporting Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons)
31 - Buckley, UK - Tivoli


September
1 - London, UK - The Black Heart
3 - Dusseldorf, Germany - Pitcher
4 - Frankfurt, Germany - Nachtleben
6 - Munchen, Germany - Backstage Halle
7 - Schupfen, Switzerland - Gravel Pit Festival
8 - Paris, France - La Boule Noire
10 - Essen, Germany - Don't Panic
12 - Hamburg, Germany - Logo
14 - Marienmunster, Germany - Altenbergen Rock N Revel Festival
15 - Berlin, Germany - Badehaus 





(Photo courtesy of David McDonald Photography)


 


 







window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails-feed',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails Feed',
target_type: 'mix'
});
















Featured Video







INFRARED - "Demon's Blood"




View More





window._taboola = window._taboola || [];

Finland's Simulacrum have issued the following update:


"Simulacrum's previous album Genesis was released to worldwide praise, but at a difficult time. The COVID pandemic had just started and venues closed down. In the aftermath, the band chemistry and morale plummeted and we had to re-think how to progress. After a year or two of non-activity, we decided to part ways with drummer Tatu Turunnen, guitarist Antti Karhumaa and singers Niklas Broman and Erik Kraemer. These guys are still, to this day, absolute best friends and it was a hard decision.


Tatu decided to take a break from drumming, Antti is occupied with tons of bands and teaching work, Erik is very busy with musical work and Niklas has his family and works as a doctor. Everyone understood that some of us were more motivated to push forward and deliver top quality vintage prog metal in a time when such music is rarely released. Simulacrum is very grateful to our previous members for making the band what it is today, and you will possibly still heart hese guys on a recording or two in the future!




"But to the actual news... please welcome to the fold Matias Rokio as the new drummer. Matias blew us away from the start with his attitude, spirit and skills that allowed him to perform to perfection the difficult music that Simulacrum is. Here is what he had to say...


”I've always been passionate about metal music, thanks to my dad. At nine,I took my first drum lesson, sparking a lifelong love. For over 15years, drums have been central to my life, inspired by legends like Iron Maiden, Metallica, and Pantera. I focus on keeping a groove while adding a unique touch. I've played for bands like Sargassus, Frozen Land, and Erase This Earth. Joining Simulacrum, drawn by their technical and modern metal style, has been a rewarding challenge, especially with the upcoming exciting drum work on the fourth album!”


The band continues: "The new singer and guitarist will be revealed during September in the next media splash, and we can say they are well know personas in the metal scene. The new material we have slowly been working on is also sounding fantastic, so stay tuned!


Here is how Matias sounds on two songs from our previous album Genesis, also featuring solos from original members Chrism, Solomon & Olli Hakala."













window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails-feed',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails Feed',
target_type: 'mix'
});
















Featured Video

Thomas Zwijsen has released an acoustic guitar cover of "Whiskey In The Jar", the traditional Irish song written in the 17th century and later covered by The Dubliners, Thin Lizzy and eventually Metallica on the Garage Inc. album, bringing it it's ultimate fame. Thomas is joined on violin by Wiki Violin. Watch below:


















window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails-feed',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails Feed',
target_type: 'mix'
});
















Featured Video

Mötley Crüe have shared a recap of their August 10 show at the Illinois State Fair 2024, held at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Grandstand in Springfield, IL. Watch below.


Says the band: "It was a wild night in Illinois - you guys were loud!"







Catch Mötley Crüe live at the following shows:


August
10 - Illinois State Fair - Springfield, IL
17 - Lucas Oil Live at WinStar World Casino and Resort - Thackerville, OK
29 - Minnesota State Fair - Saint Paul, MN
31 - Mohegan Sun Arena - Uncasville, CT


September
26 - Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood Heliport - Hollywood, FL
28 - Louder Than Life - Louisville, KY


October
13 - Aftershock - Sacramento, CA


Mötley Crüe recently released the video below, taking you behind the scenes of the band's video for "Dogs Of War".


A message state: "Nikki and Tommy recently sat down with Nick DenBoer "smearballz' the creator of the groundbreaking 'Dogs Of War' music video to discuss the origins, ideas, creation and execution to bring the video to life."





Stream/download "Dogs Of War" here. Watch The Making Of "Dogs Of War" (Vevo Footnotes), the official music video, and a lyric video, below:
















window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails-feed',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails Feed',
target_type: 'mix'
});
















Featured Video







INFRARED - "Demon's Blood"




View More

CASANDRA'S CROSSING, the new musical alliance between guitar legend George Lynch and powerhouse singer Casandra Carson, has released its first single, "Stranger". The track is taken from CASANDRA'S CROSSING's debut album, "Garden Of Earthly Delights", which will arrive on October 25 via Frontiers Music Srl.

Casandra comments on "Stranger": "'Stranger' was a really fun one to write to. I always wanted the lyrics to match the vibe of the music, and every time I listened to George's demo, I got 'War Of The Worlds' / alien-invasion vibes. I was second-guessing myself and thought it might be kind of dumb to write a song about that, so I asked my boyfriend his opinion, and he simply said, 'Why not? Show me your ideas so far.' He actually liked what little I had, and proceeded to help me write the rest of the song that night! Little did we know, it would end up being the first single. So thank you, Jaron Gulino!"

The musical chemistry between these two talented artists has created a magnificent modern hard rock album that showcases Lynch's trademark riffage driven by the outstanding voice of Casandra Carson, who is set to be the next rock singing sensation.

About "Garden Of Earthly Delights", Casandra adds: "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever meet, let alone collaborate with such a legend as George Lynch! It was an absolute honor and pleasure to work with him on this record. George's tracks were so cool and inspiring, it was probably some of the most fun I've ever had writing lyrics and melodies. I truly couldn't be more proud of this album, and I'm so excited to finally share it with the rest of the world."

Lynch emerged from the 1980s hard rock scene with the Los Angeles-based group DOKKEN and went on to become a world-renowned guitarist. Aside from DOKKEN, he has also enjoyed great success with LYNCH MOB, the group he founded after leaving DOKKEN.

Lynch has gone on to become a prolific music creator, continuing with LYNCH MOB, releasing solo albums, and a wealth of collaborative efforts over the decades. Those include but are not limited to, KXM with Doug Pinnick (KING'S X) and Ray Luzier (KORN),THE END MACHINE with Jeff Pilson (FOREIGNER, ex-DOKKEN),Mick Brown (ex-DOKKEN) and Girish Pradhan (GIRISH & THE CHRONICLES),SWEET & LYNCH with Michael Sweet (STRYPER),ULTRAPHONIX with Corey Glover (LIVING COLOUR),and THE BANISHMENT with Joe Haze.

Carson is best known for her work fronting the Midwestern hard rock band PARALANDRA. Founded in 2013 with a strong DIY ethic, PARALANDRA found themselves on radio charts and festival stages in no time and by 2018 had a record deal, national tours supporting the likes of SALIVA, TANTRIC and DOKKEN, and even found themselves performing aboard the Kiss Kruise. The band remains active and their most recent studio album, produced by the legendary Michael "Elvis" Beskette, came out in April of this year.

"Garden Of Earthly Delights" track listing:

01. Stranger
02. Impatient
03. Closer To Heaven
04. Ring Me Around
05. Devastatiing Times
06. Waltzing Nites
07. Just Business
08. Mind Eraser
09. Run For Your Life
10. Wicked Woman
11. Kneel Before You

During an appearance on a recent episode of the "So...You Want To Be A Musician?" podcast with MR. BIG drummer Nick D'Virgilio, DREAM THEATER's Mike Portnoy was asked what he does to keep his drumming chops up. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'll be honest, I'm starting to feel my age a little bit. I'm not the kid I was 20, 30 years ago. So you've just gotta do the best you can. I mean, for me, I play so much that it keeps me on my toes. Up until rejoining DREAM THEATER recently, I was playing in so many different bands, which meant I was constantly playing, constantly surrounded by different musicians, which always inspired me. The different people I played with and a different style of music, all those 13 years outside of DREAM THEATER, where I did all these different bands and everything, that inspired me. Working with Neal [Morse] and Billy [Sheehan] and all these different people in these different bands and configurations, that always elevated me and inspired me to try new things and to try to just be the best I can. I can't really give much advice on the healthy side of it — eating and drinking and sleeping and blah, blah, blah — because I'm a horrible example of all that. But the playing has always kept me up to speed and keeps me growing and developing and the different scenarios. And now that I bring that back to where I am with DREAM THEATER, it's a cool perspective because I'm coming back to DREAM THEATER with a whole dozen years' worth of experiences that I've had outside the band. And they as well — they've gone the last 13 years with their own experiences that I didn't have with them. So it's kind of exciting at this stage of my life to bring it back together and have this third act, if you will."

Elaborating on his mindset when rejoining DREAM THEATER last October, Portnoy said: "At our ages, we realized when we decided to reunite and get back together, I'd be lying if I didn't say we didn't start to look in the mirror and look at the clock and say, who knows how much time we have left? The clock is ticking, and we realize we're not gonna be here forever. And we wanna spend whatever time we have left together making music with the people that we grew up with and the people that we love. So, yeah, that's kind of where we're at at this stage."

Portnoy recently admitted to Spain's Mariskal Rock that he "needed to get used to was being the 'new guy'" after rejoining DREAM THEATER, "being the new guy in a band that I helped form when I was a teenager. So it's a bit of a transition for me to go from being a bit of the leader, as I was back when I left the band, now I have to kind of find my way back into the chemistry and I need to respect the fact that they've been doing this for 13 years without me and they have maybe new ways of doing things, new ways of making decisions," he explained. "So … I have had to be very respectful for my role as the new guy and finding my way back into the chemistry of the band."

This past June, Portnoy was asked by Brazil's Marcelo Vieira and Matheus Ribeiro if DREAM THEATER's upcoming sixteenth studio album picks up from where the last DT LP he played on, 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings", left off or if it's a different thing entirely. He responded: "If I'm being honest, I think it picks up right where 'Black Clouds' left off, to be honest. There's a certain style that the five of us have when we write together. And if you listen to the album with this lineup from 1999, '[Metropolis Pt. 2:] Scenes From A Memory', through 2009's 'Black Clouds & Silver Linings', if you look at that string of five or six albums, that's the sound and style of these five people. So I think that's a good indication of what you can expect with the new DREAM THEATER album. It definitely sounds like classic DREAM THEATER."

DREAM THEATER's upcoming effort will mark the progressive metal legends' first LP since Portnoy's return to the group.

Portnoy co-founded DREAM THEATER in 1985 with guitarist John Petrucci and bassist John Myung. Mike played on 10 DREAM THEATER albums over a 20-year period, from 1989's "When Dream And Day Unite" through 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings", before exiting the group in 2010.

Mike Mangini joined DREAM THEATER in late 2010 through a widely publicized audition following the departure of Portnoy. Mangini beat out six other of the world's top drummers — Marco Minnemann, Virgil Donati, Aquiles Priester, Thomas Lang, Peter Wildoer and Derek Roddy — for the gig, a three-day process that was filmed for a documentary-style reality show called "The Spirit Carries On".

This past April, DREAM THEATER announced the European leg of its "40th Anniversary Tour 2024 - 2025". The trek — presented as "An Evening With Dream Theater" — is the first outing since Portnoy's return.

The European leg of DREAM THEATER's "40th Anniversary Tour 2024 - 2025" consists of stops in 23 cities and kicks off on October 20 and runs through November 24.

Photo credit: Travis Shinn

In a new interview with Bloodstock TV's Oran O'Beirne, HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta was asked if fans can expect to hear new music from the band in 2025. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, I hope so. Yeah, we're actually free agents right now. So we're talking to everybody, seeing what the options are. And I've been doing my own label… So people said, 'Stop producing all these records and do your own damn record.' It's time, yeah."

Asked if that means that the songs are done and "ready to go," and he and his bandmates are just looking for a home for them, Jamey clarified: "I have songs, and I have lyrics, and I thought about who would produce this record. Obviously, we always love Zeuss [Chris Harris] and go with Zeuss, but we're open. You know, we're saying we're, like, we're open to everything, but we're attached to nothing. So if Rick Rubin came out of the woodwork and said, 'Hey, you wanna do something?' people would say, 'Well, that's a pretty lofty goal.' But it's been done before — a little band from nowhere ends up getting a second wind in their career. And we've seen it with so many great bands that — not that we even had too much of a valley on the last one, but it did come out during a worldwide pandemic. So it's always peaks and valleys. And right now we're just headed towards the next peak."

As previously reported, HATEBREED will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a North American tour in the fall. The trek will kick off on September 26 in Portland, Maine and will conclude on October 27 in Norfolk, Virginia. Support on the tour will come from CARCASS, HARMS WAY and CRYPTA.

With dozens of pit-stirring anthems across their eight catalog albums, HATEBREED are celebrating three decades of ruthless breakdowns and consistently sold-out shows the world over. Over the course of their career, the band has gone from playing basements and backyards to being a featured, must-see attraction on countless festivals like Graspop Metal Meeting, Ozzfest, Warped and Download alongside massive high-profile tours.

Recently described by Forbes as "more relevant than ever in the metal and hardcore community," HATEBREED remains one of the most definitive live acts in music today and recently celebrated a milestone with their track "Looking Down The Barrel Of Today", which surpassed 75 million global streams on Spotify alone while generating over 600,000 global equivalents across all digital service providers, making it their single biggest career streaming track of the modern era. To date, HATEBREED has sold over 1.5 million albums in North America alone.

HATEBREED is:

Jamey Jasta - Vocals
Chris Beattie - Bass
Wayne Lozinak - Guitar
Frank Novinec - Guitar
Matt Byrne - Drums

Press photo courtesy of Atom Splitter PR

The original 1991 lineup of Swedish death metal pioneers GRAVE — Ola Lindgren (guitar, vocals),Jörgen Sandström (vocals, guitar),Jens "Jensa" Paulsson (drums) and Jonas Torndal (bass) — will reunite for a series of concerts in 2025 during which they will perform "an exclusive old-school set" consisting of material from the first three classic GRAVE albums: 1991's "Into The Grave", 1992's "You'll Never See..." and 1994's "Soulless". The first confirmed performance will take place at the Party.San Metal Open Air festival at Flugplatz Obermehler in Schlotheim, Germany in August 2025.

One of the very first Swedish death metal bands alongside NIHILIST, MORBID and TREBLINKA, GRAVE released its first demo in 1986 under the band name CORPSE, before they switched to GRAVE in 1988. GRAVE's debut album, "Into The Grave", arrived in August 1991 through the then-young record label Century Media.

Lindgren told the "Swedish Death Metal" book by Daniel Ekeroth about how GRAVE landed its record deal: "We sent our third demo to just every label there was. A lot of them kept in touch, such as Earache and Peaceville. But Century Media was working faster than any of them, so we just went with them without thinking too much about it. Century Media invited us down to Germany to record that single ('Tremendous Pain'),and it was only after that we started to discuss a deal. It felt amazing for us to go abroad, so in a way they lured us into their roster! But it turned out well."

After Century Media and GRAVE parted ways after seven albums with the release of 2006's "As Rapture Comes", the band launched two highly acclaimed albums, "Dominium VIII" (2008) and "Burial Ground" (2010) through Regain, before reuniting with Century Media for 2012's "Endless Procession Of Souls" and 2015's "Out Of Respect For The Dead".

In 2019, GRAVE teamed up with Century Media Records to bring back the albums "Dominion VIII" and "Burial Ground" as classy, limited colored and black vinyl editions, hand-numbered digipak CDs limited to 3,000 copies each, and digitally. Remastered in 2019 by Lindgren and mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel of Temple Of Disharmony, these records offer crushing and savage GRAVE tracks that fully live up to the group's morbid legacy.

This past January, GRAVE parted ways with bassist Tobias Cristiansson and guitarist Mika Lagrén.

Out of the Grave - Back from the Dead 2025 !

Featuring the original 1991 lineup:
Ola Lindgren - Jörgen Sandström
Jensa...

Posted by Grave on Monday, August 12, 2024
GRAVE
Swedish band circa 1992 #DeathMetal#OldSchool#Sweden#90spic.twitter.com/NZWx0J8EQu

— Death Metal Old School (@LegionsDeath) May 1, 2017

PANTERA will play a special club show Thursday night (August 15) at First Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

First Avenue tweeted out news of the show, which will take place the night before the reformed band — consisting of classic-lineup members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass),along with Zakk Wylde (guitar) and Charlie Benante (drums) — opens for METALLICA at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Tickets for the concert will go on sale Tuesday, August 13 at 10 a.m. via AXS.com, priced at $32. The club is enforcing a strict policy of no transfers or resale options with the tickets.

In a recent interview with Sweetwater, Brown spoke about the decision to tour with a reformed version of PANTERA. The lineup has reportedly been given a green light by the estates of PANTERA's founders, drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott and guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. Rex said: "The last show, man, I had a creepy, like a cold — something came by me. It felt like there was a cold feeling. And I've gotten this a couple of times before. When we were down recording with Charlie — me and Charlie just went down [in late 2022], put up eighty to a hundred hours of tape before Zakk [started rehearsing with us]. Zakk was still on the road. So we wanted to get the bass and the drum real tight, and we had this scratch guitar player. I felt that same chill. And, to me, they're angels. And I think you know who they are. Those guys, I think they're looking down, or they're looking around us, with us, and I think they're digging what they're seeing, man. I really do. And that's the only kind of way I can look at it, and get as close as we can with Charlie and Zakk. And God, it's getting really, really good. And there's so much more potential to get even tighter."

Speaking about the opportunity to perform PANTERA's music to new generations of fans who never saw the band before, Rex said: "There's a lot of memories in this band that are hard to put down. And losing the brothers, I just never in a million years thought that something like that would happen. Here we are 22 years later, and to see these new fans' faces. You've got one kid sitting there, or man, woman or child crying, and you have this other guy just going, 'You did it right.' It's just amazing."

In April, Rex spoke to American Musical Supply about how touring with PANTERA in 2024 is different from how it was in the band's heyday. He said: "This is a completely different thing, man. We have Charlie and Zakk now, and they're just — number one, they've been great friends of ours for all these years. We get along extra super cool. Charlie and I went down, probably put about eighty, hundred hours on tape of all the songs we were gonna do for the set, and others that we would want to do. Charlie and I worked on this for six months before we ever got into a rehearsal room. That's just how good friends we are. Charlie has been one of my best friends for years. So, this is another band. It's hard to fill the shoes of the brothers. At the same time, this has become a really tight unit. And Zakk just puts the extra… Dime was a very unique guitar player, and he was my best friend, and it's good to see those boys up on the screens and with us. And that's what this is about tonight, for me."

Regarding how he and the rest of the current PANTERA lineup have balanced honoring the band's legacy with any new creative goals they might have, Rex said: "There's many ways that we wanna keep this legacy alive, 'cause the music is still played all over. We have a whole new generation of fans that, they probably wouldn't have heard this stuff if we weren't playing out here playing these shows. And so, that generation of fans — let's say the 15-to-18-year-old kids that come out — they'll shortly have children, and that keeps that new generation alive. And Phillip even says it in the set, the parents of the '90s, which I'm a parent of the '90s, it's a very important statement in the set because it's about the gratitude.

"We're not doing this for ourselves; we're doing it for the name and the brand PANTERA," he continued. "And by God, this music needs to be heard again. It does. It needed to for a long fucking time. And that's what we're here doing tonight… It's just wonderful to be able to do this and pay homage to my music, the riffs that I wrote, or the riffs that Dime wrote, or the patterns that Vinnie played, and for what Phil came up with — tremendous impact on this music."

Also in April, Rex told Rolling Stone Australia about performing with PANTERA in 2024: "Two of our beloved brothers that just aren't here anymore man, that's life, you know? They're just not with us man. That's just fate; it's the way the ball rolls, dude."

He added: "This is no tribute band — Philip and I get to play these songs of ours that we haven't played in 23 years. And to be able to do that and connect with the enormity of what's happened is just extraordinarily fucking insane, you know?"

Regarding PANTERA's latest additions, Rex said: "We knew who would fit and who wouldn't. We knew what the obstacles were in front of us, and we knew after… I'll put it this way — Charlie and I came down in September [2022] before we played that [first] show in December [2022], and we have probably one hundred hours of tape of us playing every fucking PANTERA song that I could remember. And so, you know, me and Charlie lockin' in like that… the drummer and the bass player, that's your foundation. So when Zakk came in, there were certain things we had to go over and over and over, to get tight. And today, this band is about as tight and about as badass as I fucking want. You know what I mean, and that's all I'm gonna say on that."

"But, man, this band is on fuckin' fire, and I couldn't be happier, man," he added. "I just can't explain that as much as I need to, I could not be happier."

Rex previously told AndrewHaug.com that he was "absolutely" open to writing new music with the reformed version of PANTERA. "Yeah, I could tell you more but I'm not going to," he teased.

Earlier in the chat, Brown talked about what is has been like to go out and perform as PANTERA to a whole new generation of fans.

"You can't see it on the YouTube. You can't feel that vibe until you actually come to the show," he explained. "And we haven't been doing interviews just for the fact we want people just to come to the show. It's not about anything prior past or present that I wanna talk about today — just the show tonight.

"We're pinching ourselves over these new fans that have never seen this before, and it's a whole another generation that we either didn't know a) that were out there, b) that were still listening to us, and the turnout has just been unbelievable," Rex continued. "Of course, at first you had the naysayers and all that stuff, and as we played gig by gig, it's made us tighter. And I've been trying to rehearse this band as much as I can within schedules, and we'll just go down for no fucking reason and just jam. That's what makes a band tight."

The reformed PANTERA is headlining a number of major festivals across North America, South America and Europe and staging some of its own headline concerts. They are also supporting METALLICA on a massive stadium tour in 2024.

It was first reported in July 2022 that Anselmo and Brown would unite with Wylde and Benante for a world tour under the PANTERA banner.

Asked how it feels playing those "timeless" songs again, Rex told AndrewHaug.com: "You just said it — they're timeless. So getting to play them again is a… These were a big part of Philip and I's songs too. Of course, respect to the brothers. I think that looking down on us and giving us a big — and they're with us. It's just uncanny. That's the glue. Those guys are hanging around with us.

"Look, I'm not some crazy old man, man. I know that we're here for reasons," Rex added. "And this time he gave us a heavy load, and we have come through in spades. And I'm very proud of Charlie and Zakk and Phillip for stepping up… All of us [were very close back in the day]. We were intertwined. There was a close-knit family of friends — Jerry Cantrell and all those guys, ALICE IN CHAINS. We were all brothers and we all had each other's backs — even as fucked up as we got. We're fine now, I'll put it that way. But it's just such a different time and we're older men and can appreciate this more. And I feel 25 years younger, man. It's just insane."

Addressing complaints from some fans that Brown and Anselmo are going out and touring under the PANTERA name even though Dimebag and Vinnie Paul are not involved, Rex said: "I don't call it anything. I call it PANTERA. The show itself is a celebration of the lives of all four of us. Two are sadly not with us, and we cannot bring them back. God, do I want them back. But that's just not possible. So we're doing the best thing that we can to keep our music alive. And I think they're smiling down and saying, 'You guys are doing all right, man.' And they're with us. And I'm not shittin' you."

Asked what his initial thoughts were when he was first approached about relaunching PANTERA as a touring act, Rex said: "Philip and I talked for several months before. He got on the phone and said, 'Hey, man, you wanna do it? I didn't have — maybe a six-second… not a hesitation, but just to wrap my head around the full gravity of the enormity of it. I went, 'Okay, I've got a couple of questions.' And, man, ever since that call we've worked really, really hard to get this thing going. And we've jumped over a lot of mountains."

Up until his passing in June 2018, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for Dimebag's death.

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.

Vinnie, who was Dimebag's brother, and Anselmo had not spoken since PANTERA split in 2003. But the relationship got even more acrimonious when Vinnie suggested that some remarks the vocalist had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag's killer.
Just Announced: CFH at First Avenue on Thursday, August 15.

On sale Tues, August 13 at 10am → https://t.co/xD2CCtpVzd

Note: all tickets will be NON-TRANSFERRABLE
Note: no resale allowed pic.twitter.com/4odNreGrO3

— First Avenue (@FirstAvenue) August 12, 2024

AVENGED SEVENFOLD has announced a special throwback show featuring a setlist composed of songs from the band's breakout 2003 album, "Waking The Fallen", and its 2005 follow-up, "City Of Evil". Headlining the October 25 concert at Santa Ana, California's Observatory venue will be the long-running Southern California hardcore punk band DEATH BY STEREO

Tickets to the show will be available starting on August 16 at 10:00 am. PT exclusively for members of the Deathbats Club, a next-generation fan club and community built around AVENGED SEVENFOLD, priced at $25 each (there is a two-ticket limit on orders). You can sign up to become a fan club member at this location.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD and DEATH BY STEREO have a long history together, having toured together two decades ago. In addition, AVENGED SEVENFOLD singer M. Shadows contributed guest vocals to two songs — "Entombed We Collide" and "This Is Not The End" — on DEATH BY STEREO's 2005 album "Death For Life".

This past June, AVENGED SEVENFOLD guitarist Zacky Vengeance told NME that he and his bandmates were making plans to celebrate the anniversaries of their albums "City Of Evil" and "Nightmare", which are turning 20 and 15 in 2025, respectively. He said: "I think those albums are really monumental and fans have grown with them. They've meant a certain thing to people at a certain place in their life, so I think it's important that we do something."

Explaining that he didn't want AVENGED SEVENFOLD to be a "nostalgia act", Vengeance added: "I've always wanted to be as proud of whatever we put out today as I was when we put out those albums." But, he said, "I'm totally cool with celebrating those albums because it was such a great place and time. Plus, it's actually fun to relive and play those songs and get those reactions. To bank our entire career off past successes, we can't do it, but we'll definitely do something to celebrate those albums though. For us, the most exciting thing about looking back is recalling where our heads were at when we were young and writing them. Remembering that they're part of who we are."

"City Of Evil", AVENGED SEVENFOLD's third album, produced the singles "Bat Country" and "Beast And The Harlot", while "Nightmare", the band's fifth studio LP, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. Both records have since been certified platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for shipments in excess of a million copies in the U.S. alone.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD has spent much of the past year touring in support of its most recent album, 2023's "Life Is But A Dream…"

$25 for 25 years.
Deathbats Club presents Death By Stereo with special guests Avenged Sevenfold (playing their two new...

Posted by Avenged Sevenfold on Monday, August 12, 2024

Professor Reggie Almeida of the Renzo Gracie TN Brazilian jiu-jitsu school in Tennessee, who has been traveling with MEGADETH on the band's recent tours, has uploaded backstage and performance video of the Dave Mustaine-fronted outfit's June 7 concert at the Mystic Festival in Gdansk, Poland. Check out the clip below.

MEGADETH kicked off the "Destroy All Enemies" summer 2024 U.S. tour on August 2 at Walmart AMP, Rogers, Arkansas. Produced by Live Nation, the trek, which features MUDVAYNE and ALL THAT REMAINS as support, is hitting 33 cities, including Las Vegas, Boston and St. Louis, before wrapping up on September 28 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Finnish guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari joined MEGADETH last September after the band's longtime axeman Kiko Loureiro, announced earlier that month that he would sit out the next leg of MEGADETH's "Crush The World" tour in order to stay home with his children back in Finland. It was later revealed that Mäntysaari would continue to play guitar for MEGADETH for the foreseeable future, with Loureiro seemingly having no plans to return.

The 37-year-old Mäntysaari was born in Tampere, Finland and began playing guitar at the age of 12. In 2004, he joined the band WINTERSUN. He has also been a member of SMACKBOUND since 2015.

MEGADETH played its first concert with Mäntysaari on September 6, 2023 at Revel in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Loureiro officially joined MEGADETH in April 2015, about five months after Chris Broderick's exit from the group.

Since its inception in 1983, MEGADETH has ascended from its raw thrash metal roots to become an unstoppable force in the heavy metal world. With founder Dave Mustaine at the helm, MEGADETH's journey has been marked by a penchant for pushing the boundaries of speed, technicality, and complexity in their music. Their groundbreaking album "Rust In Peace", released in 1990, is frequently cited as a seminal work in the thrash metal genre. Along with the critically acclaimed "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?", it cemented MEGADETH's place in the annals of metal history.

Over four decades, the band's discography has earned numerous certifications, including platinum and multi-platinum awards, with albums like "Countdown To Extinction" and "Youthanasia" achieving widespread critical acclaim. 2016's "Dystopia" not only marked a high point with their first Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance" after twelve nominations but also set the stage for their latest triumph, "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" in 2022. MEGADETH's status as part of the "Big Four" of thrash metal underscores their trailblazing role in the genre, laying the groundwork for countless bands and musicians who have followed in their wake.

In a new interview with Kyle Meredith, LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe spoke about concertgoers using cell phones to take photos and videos of performances and sometimes filming entire shows instead of enjoying the moment. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Put your fricking phones down and be present. I haven't done this yet, but I'm going to. As the phones come more and more and more, I'm going to walk out one day at a particularly phone-driven show and I'm gonna bring a stool, and I'm gonna set it down in the middle of the stage after a song or two, and then I'm going to turn on my phone, and I'm gonna point it at the audience, and I'm gonna sit there, and I'm gonna sing a whole song. I'm not gonna move. I'm gonna do what they do. And then at the end, I'm gonna say, 'Did you people enjoy that? No? I didn't either. So why don't we be here together? Put your fricking phone down.' The memories that you're going to have, because you're experiencing this show through this digital filter or whatever of a crappy cell phone video… You're not [movie director] Steven Spielberg. Sit here and enjoy the show with me. Be here with me, because that's how it was when I started going to shows. Except for — thank God — those people back in the '80s who were photographer nerds. The weird people, there was always one or two with a camera who would take pictures, and thank God for them, 'cause they documented things. But everybody else was present. And people are missing it nowadays by viewing a show through a tiny iPhone screen. Be here with me."

Blythe went on to say that there is a particular reason he has publicly started to push back on these behaviors.

"I'm not asking for sympathy, like, 'Poor Randy, he feels bad.' But, yeah, the relationship is missing," he explained. "And I want a relationship with the audience. Because the harder you go, the harder I'm gonna go. The more you look at the phone, the more I wanna sit on a stool and film you. And it's gonna happen one day."

Asked if he has considered banning the use of cell phones at LAMB OF GOD concerts, similar to what TOOL has done, Randy said: "I thought about it. My band probably wouldn't be down with it. I'd be totally great if they were no cell phones. Because these things, they are warping the shape of our reality in a horrific way across the board.

"I'm not a Luddite, I am not anti-technology — clearly we are using it right now — but I think it would behoove us to step back and examine our relationship with technology and see what is being taken from us, the human aspect," he continued. "And I'm just gonna discuss music here — it's certainly removed that human aspect, in a lot of ways, from shows at times.

"I'm certainly not, like, 'Oh, nobody can take a picture,' I'm not that guy or whatever, but it's really disturbing to me how much people are missing," Randy added. "You are, in fact, missing the show. You're not here. You're looking at your phone, bro. When I went to shows, I was looking around and I wasn't looking at the band. I was looking around at the cute chicks who were there. You know what? You're not gonna get that on your cell phone. There is no 'swipe left' or whatever in the middle of the show. Get off your phone. Be here with us. Meet people, talk, have a human experience."

Back in September 2020, Blythe offered his perspective on the well-known downside of social media, which is the addiction it creates, in an interview with "The Hardcore Humanism With Dr. Mike" podcast. He said: "This is one thing that worries me for the younger generation, who are raised with these things. The 'pocket Jesus,' as I call it, the cell phone, has everything you need; it's your savior. The world is your oyster.

"For instance, I've traveled the world. I've been to every continent except for Antarctica. I can tell you there is a vast, vast difference from looking at pictures of, let's say, the Highlands in Scotland, or watching a documentary about the Highlands in Scotland — you can learn some things. There's a vast difference between viewing that on a screen and being there. It is unbelievable. That's a plug for the Highlands; it's an amazing place. But it's not comparable.

"So, for me, I'm not a Luddite — I believe the Internet is a valuable tool — but I feel it should be as the tool, a means to an end rather than the end itself. And I feel that's kind of, in a lot of ways, what it's become, with social media and so forth, people chasing likes and building their profiles and all that other stuff. And it's, like, to what end? What does that get you in the end? A bazillion Instagram followers. What does that get you? How does that translate into something of value within your life other than you're popular on cell phones. [Laughs]"

Blythe went on to say that while social media can be a valuable educational and communication tool, it can also be an immense distraction.

"When I lay down on my death bed, and I do hope I'm cognizant when I am dying — I hope I'm awake," he said. "I want to experience this; I want to understand what's happening, and hopefully I will meet it with fortitude and bravery. But when I lay down on my death bed and I think about my life, I doubt I will say to myself, 'You know, I really wish I had spent more time looking at my cell phone, building my social media profile. I really wish I had been on the computer more Googling kangaroos,' or whatever I was doing.

"I like to use these things in order to inject myself into the stream of life," he continued. "I'm lucky enough to travel — or I used to be — with my band a lot, and when we would go into a city, I'd go on Google. [I would look for] museums, or what's an interesting neighborhood here, or what's the local food. And then I put the phone in my pocket and I go. Because I want to taste that food, I want to walk in that museum — I want to see these things. And I think the challenge right now, being stuck at home so much, is there's a lot of things about my town, and I think this is for anyone probably, that they take for granted, that become mundane after you're exposed to them daily. And I'm trying to really broaden my perspective on where I live and go see some things I haven't seen in a while or maybe find some new things — try and view the world in a different way."

LAMB OF GOD launched its "Ashes Of Leviathan" co-headlining tour with MASTODON on July 19 in Austin, Texas. The trek, dubbed "Ashes Of Leviathan", also features openers KERRY KING and MALEVOLENCE.

"Ashes Of Leviathan" celebrates the 20th anniversary of LAMB OF GOD's "Ashes Of The Wake" and MASTODON's "Leviathan" albums, both of which were released on the same date in 2004 (August 31).

LAMB OF GOD is Randy Blythe (vocals),John Campbell (bass),Mark Morton (guitar),Willie Adler (guitar) and Art Cruz (drums). Formed in 1994, the Richmond, Virginia-based band have released nine critically acclaimed albums, received five Grammy Award nominations and are widely regarded as one of the most influential and innovative forces in heavy music. The band's most recent collection, "Omens", arrived in late 2022, with Kerrang! noting that the album finds the band "as reliably heavy, violent, and pissed off as ever," and Consequence saying the "album will break you down to nihilistic pieces."

In a new interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, DEEP PURPLE singer Ian Gillan addressed the name of the band's upcoming tour with YES, "=1 More Time". Asked how close the end of the road — and, perhaps, DEEP PUPRLE — feels to him, the singer, who will turn 79 next week, responded: "Well, you know what?! It was only recently that I heard somebody mention [the tour name]. I'd never heard that before. I'd never even spoken to anybody about it. No one asked me. That's rubbish. [Laughs] That's not the name of the tour. I think the tour is called 'Unleashed'. Not that it matters; it's a DEEP PURPLE tour and we're happy and whatever. But to answer your question: it is what it is. As soon as you start feeling unable to deliver at that level — of course, you adjust, of course, you adapt and make do the best you can. But when the energy level goes, that's time to stop because then it gets embarrassing and nobody wants that. But so far, so good. I think that's a much better title than what you just said. [Laughs]"

Last December, DEEP PURPLE drummer Ian Paice, who turned 76 in June, was asked by Zoom when he and his bandmates will eventually retire from performing live. He responded: "We have never planned a date to stop working. We are realists. The guys are getting older, and there's gonna come a point where maybe one or two of us don't want to do it anymore or [it's] not physically possible for them to do it. But we don't think about that. We're still having a great deal of fun. A lot of people still enjoy what we do, and so long as those two things stay in harmony, we'll continue.

"I don't think we'll ever know what the last gig, what the last tour is," he continued. "I think it'll come and just smack us in the face. Unless there's a definite plan, which there isn't, to do something as a final bye-bye, I just think we'll just go, 'Sorry, guys. We're finished. We can't do it anymore. It's been wonderful.' But even then, I think if we stopped touring, there's no reason why we couldn't make more records. That's the easiest thing in the world. All you've got to do is have the ideas. That's the hardest thing in the world. But physically making a record is easy."

Paice added: "Touring only works if you enjoy it. You can't just enjoy the two hours a night when you're playing. You've got to be able to deal with the whole thing. You've got to be able to deal with a ten-hour flight, a hotel which is less than perfect, transportation which goes wrong. You've gotta deal with all that. And if you can, and still enjoy it, then why would you stop something that you got into as a kid 'cause it made you happy? And if it still makes you happy, why would you stop it?"

Paice's PURPLE bandmate Roger Glover expressed a similar sentiment about the band's final tour in a June 2023 interview with Rock Hard Greece. The bassist, who turned 78 last November, said: "I don't like the idea of announcing the last show: 'And here they are. This is their last show.' I mean, the stress involved in that would be ridiculous. Where would it be? When would it be? For me, the ideal ending for PURPLE is that we just carry on until it stops. No announcement. We're not gonna announce, 'This is the last one.' People would buy tickets: 'Oh, this is the last one.' It's an exercise in making money. It's not very good. I've never liked it. I'd rather go and play and play and play and play, and one day when something happens and one of us drops dead or gets really ill or whatever, [we say], 'Well, that's that.' And leave it at that."

In 2022, DEEP PURPLE keyboardist Don Airey, who turned 76 in June, told Rolling Stone magazine that there is no concrete plan for him and his DEEP PURPLE bandmates to stop playing live shows.

"We started the farewell tour in 2017. It was due to end in 2019," he noted. "But the thing is, when you're a musician in a band, you think you're in control of it, but you're not. The business is running you.

"Of course, there was so much demand for the band to continue from the promoters and agents that we said, 'Okay, we'll do one more year.'"

Regarding when he thinks DEEP PURPLE will finally call it quits, Don said: "The words of T.S. Eliot [the greatest English-language poet of his generation] come to mind: 'This is the way the band ends. Not with a bang, but with a whimper.' I think we won't know it's the last gig. We won't have a clue that this one is going to be the last one. That's how it's going to end. It's going to be no big scenario.

"I like what Buddy Guy said. He said, 'Musicians don't retire. They drop.' You do have thoughts about being in the garden and bouncing the grandchildren on your knee, but it's part of your blood system, playing and touring. It's an addiction. I hope I keep playing for a while yet."

In July 2022, guitarist Steve Morse officially left PURPLE to care for his wife, Janine, who is battling cancer. He has since been replaced by Simon McBride.

DEEP PURPLE's latest album, "=1", came out on July 19 via earMUSIC.

Photo credit: Jim Rakete

SLIPKNOT bassist Alessandro "VMan" Venturella has unveiled his latest mask, created in collaboration with German visual artist, writer and sculptor Hedi Xandt.

Xandt's work ranges from poetry and time-based digital works to complex visuals and monumental sculptures, encompassing and evolving classical subjects such as vanity, physical tension and the depths of human life. An apt user of traditional and digital creation techniques, the artist blurs the lines between illusion and existence: though many of his works trigger the urge to obtain and possess them, they are often masterful, immaterial renditions of a fantasy, whereas others that seem to be confined in a digital space are in reality monstrous entities of stone and metal.

Venturella said about his collaboration with Xandt: "I've been a massive fan of his work and thought it was time to go get him to make me a piece of his art for SLIPKNOT. Beyond stoked!"

Hedi stated about the piece he created for Venturella: "Its design nods to earlier incarnations of V Man's face and references Italian expressionist sculptures ravaged and converted into a mask by brute force. This 'slashed' appearance is one of three different designs."

Xandt added: "It's been an absolute pleasure to work on these, and there's much more to show you! Thanks to @vmanshreds and the trust he put in me and my work."

Venturella debuted the new mask at the first show of the North American portion of SLIPKNOT's "Here Comes The Pain" tour on August 6 at the Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana. This year the nine are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their seminal debut album, "Slipknot", which catapulted the band back in 1999.

Venturella began working with SLIPKNOT during the recording of 2014's ".5: The Gray Chapter" album, contributing bass tracks along with guitarists Jim Root and Mick Thomson and former touring bassist Donnie Steele. He made his live debut with the band in 2014 at the first annual Knotfest.

In 2019, Alessandro told Bass Guitar Magazine that he landed in SLIPKNOT after getting a phone call from Root while working with MASTODON as guitarist Brent Hinds's tech.

"Me and Jim became friends while I was teching," Venturella said. "He was asking if I knew any bass players. When I found out what for, I put my hand up right away. He pointed out, 'But you don't play bass?' and I said something to the effect that I could do whatever he needed from me. Then I just had to make sure it was true."

According to Venturella, his role early on in SLIPKNOT was to "fill a great man's shoes and do him justice," referring to original bassist Paul Gray, who passed away in 2010. "My approach isn't the same as Paul's. I can't be him and never will be; every player is ultimately born different. That said, if you listen to Paul's note choices on 'Vermilion', he was all over the shop and it sounded great. I wanted to try things like that.

"After listening to his stems, I honestly looked at bass in a different light and understood how to support everything as the backbone," he continued. "Take the bass out of the mix and everything will fall flat on its arse — and equally, if you mix too bass-heavy, you're not going to get your point across either. Lead guitarists, on the other hand, always need to cut through because that's what the job entails. As the rhythm section, we're there to hold the fort."

Gray passed away from an accidental overdose of drugs.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alessandro Venturella (@vmanshreds)



View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alessandro Venturella (@vmanshreds)

In a new interview with Canada's The Metal Voice, former W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes was asked how he feels about Blackie Lawless embarking on a tour to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the band's debut album by performing the LP in its entirety. Chris said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "More power to him, if he can. I mean, you've gotta understand, the singing on there, it's not nice and pretty, and he's screaming the whole time and screaming over every song. The whole length, except for 'Sleeping (In The Fire)' he sang, but everything else is just screaming. I even told him that after [we recorded] the album, I go, 'You're gonna have problems singing this.' Hey, more power to him. If he can do that, and that's what the people wanna hear or see or whatever, more power to him."

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of "W.A.S.P.", W.A.S.P. will, for the first time in 40 years, play the entire album from top to bottom, start to finish, on a fall 2024 North American tour, dubbed "Album ONE Alive", this fall. Support on the trek will come from DEATH ANGEL and UNTO OTHERS.

Asked if he would be open to any of the former W.A.S.P. members who played on the "W.A.S.P." album — Holmes, guitarist Randy Piper and drummer Tony Richards — making guest appearances at any of the shows on the upcoming tour, Blackie told Chris Akin Presents… back in June: "I remember specifically having this conversation with someone who had been through the same thing. And he had basically lost his original band and had to rebuild it with studio musicians. And I remember him telling me at that point, he goes, 'These guys are ringers. They're killers, these musicians.' And it wasn't until years went by that I began to understand what he was saying and would compare his original band to what he had built later on with really ringers, musicians. And he was right.

"Here's what happened to us," Blackie continued. "When we started, and this goes back to what we were saying earlier on in the conversation about crafting your skill as a songwriter, getting better as a musician, learning how to use the studio as a tool, all those things you learn, the records get better, but the records get more complex. You reach a point where the musicianship starts to grow. Not everybody in the original incarnation of a band grows together, or do they grow in the same direction.

"Everybody's heard the age-old adage about, 'Well, we broke up because of musical differences,' and as corny as that may sound, a lot of times there is truth to that. And you really find people either growing in different directions or some guys can't keep up with the rest of the class. And so, for one reason or another, if nothing else, just attrition will start to weed guys out, especially when you start getting into more complicated material.

"You can't really compare the band… As much as whatever the first record that we did, the magic that is on that, and I recognize that not as a fan, but as the person who created it," Lawless added. "Again, you're never gonna see it like the average audience member does, because you can't — you're in a bubble. You cannot see it the way they see it. And you have to really open your ears and listen to them when they talk. Whether you agree or not, you have to listen and you have to try to take what they're saying into consideration. But when you reach a point where that band grows — in our particular case, you go from the first record to [1989's fourth album] '[The] Headless [Children]', the band that created that first record could not create 'Headless'. It was impossible. The musicianship that was required to make 'Headless' was vastly different than what created that first album. That first album was done with attitude and snot and spit. That was an angry record made by an angry band. But it kind of reminds me of… In the movie 'Rocky 3', where Rocky wants to fight Mr. T and Burgess Meredith, who plays his manager Mickey, he tells him, he goes, 'You can't,' he goes, 'You can't fight Mr. T. You can't win.' And Rocky goes, 'Yeah, I can. Yeah, I can.' He goes, 'Listen, kid.' He goes, 'Every fighter thinks they got one more good one in 'em.' He goes, 'The worst thing that could ever happen to a fighter happened to you. You got civilized.' That happens to rock bands.

"You mentioned early on in this conversation about the first five years of bands together. If you go back and you look at most bands that you like, their bones were made the first five years they were together," Blackie explained. "Almost every band fits that description. There are a few exceptions. And that doesn't mean that they cannot go on to make great records after that five-year period, but their bones are made those first five years they're together, and then they start moving and growing in different directions and it changes and it morphs.

"I appreciate the energy level that came out of that first [W.A.S.P.] record — I really do. But how do I go back to guys I've been playing with for 25 years and say, 'Your tenure in this band has been five times as long as the guys that I worked with originally, but you can't play on this tour.' I cannot do that. And secondly, we're gonna do the show in two halves. The first half is the first record in its entirety. The second half is like a best-of set. The band that's gonna play that first set has to be able to play that second set as well.

"Listen, I totally get the idea of the romance that people have in people's heads about what an original lineup could be, but me as the person who's on stage has to understand that no matter how much the audience may want that to be the way it was, my responsibility to them as ticket buyers, I have to give you the best show possible. I have that responsibility to you. No matter what you think it is you may want, I know I have to deliver for you. And again, especially when people have been out of the game for a long time, for us to do what is being suggested, that the original band do it, I would think that that would be pretty much an impossibility. Forget the marriage/divorce scenario that you first suggested [about reuniting the original lineup being akin to going on a family vacation with an ex-wife to make the kids happy], which is not altogether untrue, because there is a lot to be said for that, but as time goes on, unless you stay in this game and you stay active, you start to lose it. And we've all seen situations of something we thought would be great and then when you see it, you realize, no, it can never be what it once was. Unless you're working with people who have stayed constant, who stayed in shape, that have done whatever it is they need to do to keep that edge, they're gonna go out there and it's not gonna be very good. And I cannot do that to our fanbase."

Along with bassist Mike Duda and lead guitarist Doug Blair, whose tenures in the band are 29 and 26 years respectively, W.A.S.P. is joined by longtime drummer extraordinaire Aquiles Priester.

The 39-city run kicks off on Saturday, October 26 in San Luis Obispo, California, making stops across North America in Vancouver, British Columbia; Toronto, Ontario; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Dallas, Texas; New York City; Orlando, Florida; and more before wrapping up on Saturday, December 14 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California.

W.A.S.P. will again offer fans VIP tickets that give fans a chance to meet Blackie Lawless, get a personal photo with Blackie, autographs and take part in a very personal question-and-answer session with Blackie. VIP tickets can be purchased at waspnation.myshopify.com.

Because of the extensive back injuries Lawless suffered during the European leg of W.A.S.P.'s 40th-anniversary tour, the band's previously announced 2023 U.S. tour was canceled.

W.A.S.P.'s massive European leg of the 40th-anniversary world tour wrapped on May 18, 2023 in Sofia, Bulgaria at Universidada Sports Hall.

W.A.S.P. wrapped up its first U.S. tour in 10 years with a sold-out show on December 11, 2022 at The Wiltern in Los Angeles. This marked the 18th sold-out shows for the U.S. tour, which kicked off in late October 2022. W.A.S.P.'s performances included the return of the band's classic song "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)", which hadn't been played live in over 15 years.

W.A.S.P.'s latest release was "ReIdolized (The Soundtrack To The Crimson Idol)", which came out in February 2018. It was a new version of the band's classic 1992 album "The Crimson Idol", which was re-recorded to accompany the movie of the same name to mark the 25th anniversary of the original LP's release. The re-recorded version also features four songs missing from the original album.

W.A.S.P.'s most recent studio album of all-new original material was 2015's "Golgotha".

Image courtesy of Duke TV

Matt Tuck of Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE was a guest on a recent episode of Occupy The Void With Xtina and Tim, a new podcast about mental health, making music and staying alive hosted by Christina Rowatt and Tim Charles, violinist and clean vocalist of Australia's NE OBLIVISCARIS. You can now listen to the entire 44-minute episode on Spotify. Some of the highlights are available in the YouTube clip below.

Addressing the challenges of the touring lifestyle, Tuck said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's not for everyone, this way of life and what we do as a touring band. We're fortunate enough to be a global act, which is an amazing thing. Now we've worked really hard to accomplish that. But yeah, the traveling, the scheduling, all that kind of stuff, it does take its toll physically and mentally. It's a tough thing to deal with. We've adapted to it. We've had a career of nearly 20 years at this point, so we're kind of wise to how to handle it now. But back in the early days, the first couple of album cycles, it was really tough. The physical side was one thing, but I really struggled [mentally]. It was adapting to all that — just the lifestyle of being a successful touring rock band was just like a car crash and a beautiful thing at the same time. It all comes together. It's just hard."

Asked if adapting to the touring lifestyle became easier through experience or if he and his bandmates have had internal discussions about how to handle it, the BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE frontman said: "Like I said, we've had a career of nearly 20 years at this point, so we've just learned, as we've gone along, how to handle certain things and how to adapt going forward so we don't have to have as many struggles as we used to have. And it's all just about pacing yourself, the lifestyle thing, not drinking too much. Back in the early days, we would take it on hard and party and we were just enjoying life and experience. I think everyone does it in the early stages of a career.

"If you want a career out of it, there comes a point where you have a conversation about, 'All right, we need to chill this out. We need to take this a bit more seriously,'" he explained. "If anything, just for your health rather than your career, 'cause it will get you and it will fuck you up if you're not careful."

Tuck also talked about the fact that BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE has managed to beat the odds and become one of the most successful U.K. metal acts of the new millennium. He said: "I couldn't be more proud of myself, of my bandmates, the whole team has been around BULLET for a very long time. We threw everything at it with that gamble of no reward, super high risk, potential no reward. But that's what we were willing to do. We were so passionate about the band, about the potential that we had and we were aware that it was gonna be hard work and it was gonna be a long road, but it's fine. But yeah, we didn't care. We were having the experiences of being able to travel the world with your best mates and play music which you created in front of people that were singing it back. And that was the reward at that point. It was just getting to that point, which was the struggle. But thankfully we're still here and we're still going strong, better than ever. We're still writing the best music we've ever produced. And we control everything now, which is great, whereas in the early days, you're just told, 'This is what's going on,' and you just hope for the best."

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and TRIVIUM recently announced the continental European dates for "The Poisoned Ascendancy" tour.

"The Poisoned Ascendancy" will launch in the U.K. in late January 2025 for six shows, before the two bands, along with support act ORBIT CULTURE, head over to mainland Europe for 18 more concerts.

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and TRIVIUM will celebrate the 20th anniversary of "The Poison" and "Ascendancy" albums, respectively, by playing them in full, with the newly announced shows kicking off on February 2 in Düsseldorf, Germany and wrapping up at the end of the month in Madrid, Spain.

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE released the deluxe version of its latest, self-titled album in August 2022 via Spinefarm/Search & Destroy. This extended release featured four brand new tracks, plus "Stitches", a song previously only available as a Japanese exclusive. Following the CD and digital releases, a vinyl pressing launched in November 2022.

Buck Dharma, the writer, vocalist and lead guitarist of Blue Öyster Cult's “Don’t Fear The Reaper”, Burnin’ For You” and “Godzilla”, has released his first solo multimedia creation in decades.


"End Of Every Song" is a fascinating, disturbing and deeply moving audio and video journey. Follow as Buck chronicles the highs and lows of his life, and our lives, with his band, his family, friends and loved ones.







The single is available wherever music is streamed or sold. Complete audio and video credits, and the story of everybody in the video, can be found here. Watch the music video below:










window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails-feed',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails Feed',
target_type: 'mix'
});

In a new interview with The Big Takeover, MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine was asked if he, when he was starting out in the Los Angeles music scene more than four decades ago, had any inkling that he would have the kind of career that he ended up having. He responded: "In my heart, I had hoped that I could continue playing for as long as I live. The question was, how long was I going to live? We were all in this [L.A.] scene at the time that everybody was living super fast and dangerous. People like [MÖTLEY CRÜE singer] Vince Neil getting in a car crash and the drummer for HANOI ROCKS losing his life, that whole period around then — everybody was just dangerous. We had to get away from that. All I wanted to do was just play my guitar. I didn't want to hang. I was not one of those guys that would go over to people's houses and party all night. If I was doing anything, I would do it by myself in the house and play guitar. Not that I was alone in my house, but you know."

He continued: "For me, I didn't have a Plan B. And I didn't want to have a Plan B because my Plan A was all that mattered. And I wasn't going to take no for an answer. Growing up homeless, growing up a poor kid, that does something to you. So yeah, being a poor kid and going from house to house to house, and wearing hand-me-down clothes all the time, and living in a car for as long as I did, that changed me. And that's what I think drove me to want to be successful because I didn't want to be that guy. I didn't want to be stuck in a situation of being homeless and living in a car. I was not going to settle for that. So that's why I worked as hard as I did. Some people will say I was callous with the [MEGADETH] lineup changes and stuff like that, but with every one of the lineup changes we had, there was a really legitimate reason that we made a change."

A little over a year ago, Mustaine told Consequence that "there hasn't been that many" lineup changes in MEGADETH "when you think about how many some of these bands go through. A lot of popular bands will go through lineup changes and sometimes it's really bad for the band. Other times, it's necessary. So, I try not to hold it against guys that are in bands when they have personnel issues. Sometimes, you just end up having a different perspective, and when you guys start off doing stuff, it's very much like a marriage, and you want to have the same vision — but it doesn't always stay that way. So, compared to some bands, yeah, we've had several lineup changes, but not as many as others have. And the lineup that we have right now, I think is magic."

He continued: "I can tell you at any given time, we may have had a period where there was a more popular person on drums or a more popular person on bass or a more popular person on lead guitar. But the magic that the band is operating under right now is so different."

Back in 2012, Mustaine addressed the reasons for MEGADETH's many lineup changes, telling AL.com: "That's the problem when you start a band. You have to pick the right guys. But things happen. … We have our lineup and everything's working, and one guy says, 'I want more money.' Or 'I want to write more songs.' The truth of the matter is that it's hard to write songs. You have your whole life to write your first album. After that, it's hard."

In a recent interview with Portugal's Underground's Voice, MEGADETH drummer Dirk Verbeuren was asked how he has dealt with some of the recent lineup changes in the band, specifically with the departure of guitarist Kiko Loureiro and addition of Teemu Mäntysaari, as well as the return of bassist James LoMenzo following the dismissal of David Ellefson. He responded: "It's life. Things happen. It's difficult being in a band, especially for an amount of time. And it's like any job. Oftentimes they say, [being] in a band, it's kind of like a marriage. And sometimes it doesn't work out. People have things happen in their life. Like in Kiko's case, for example, he had family things happening that demanded that he should be there for his family. And we tour a lot, and it just became very difficult for him to really enjoy and be present on tour, because of the stuff that was happening back at home. So I think we all believe that he made the right decision, because family comes first, of course; his children come first. But that's how it is. And luckily, we found Teemu, who's an incredible guitar player. Kiko recommended him, and Teemu came towards the end of Kiko's time in the band. Teemu came and joined along and watched the show and went over all the details and stuff. And so when we finally started playing with him, he was already very familiar with how we operate. And he's been amazing. He's an amazing guitar player, he's a great person to be around. So it's been really nice. And the same with James. James, of course, he has been in MEGADETH for many years before, between 2006 and 2010, so when James came back, it was very natural as well. And he's an expert — he's been doing this for many years playing with a lot of different people. And [he's] a great person as well. I love James a lot."

MEGADETH's latest album, "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!", sold 48,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marked MEGADETH's eighth top 10-charting album. Of "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!"'s 48,000 units earned for the week, album sales comprised 45,000, SEA units comprised 3,000 and TEA units comprised a negligible sum.

MEGADETH's previous top 10 entries on the Billboard 200 were "Countdown to Extinction" (No. 2, 1992),"Youthanasia" (No. 4, 1994),"Cryptic Writings" (No. 10, 1997),"United Abominations" (No. 8, 2007),"Endgame" (No. 9, 2009),"Super Collider" (No. 6, 2013) and "Dystopia" (No. 3, 2016).

MEGADETH's "Destroy All Enemies" North American tour, produced by Live Nation kicked off in Rogers, Arkansas on August 2 and runs throughout the month before wrapping in Nashville, Tennessee on September 28. Support on the 33-city trek, which includes stops in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Boston and St. Louis, is coming from MUDVAYNE and ALL THAT REMAINS. The tour begins

Mäntysaari joined MEGADETH last September after Loureiro, announced earlier that month that he would sit out the next leg of MEGADETH's "Crush The World" tour in order to stay home with his children back in Finland. It was later revealed that Mäntysaari would continue to play guitar for MEGADETH for the foreseeable future, with Loureiro seemingly having no plans to return.

The 37-year-old Mäntysaari was born in Tampere, Finland and began playing guitar at the age of 12. In 2004, he joined the band WINTERSUN. He has also been a member of SMACKBOUND since 2015.

MEGADETH played its first concert with Mäntysaari on September 6, 2023 at Revel in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Loureiro officially joined MEGADETH in April 2015, about five months after Chris Broderick's exit from the group.

In a new interview with Moshpit Passion conducted at this month's Wacken Open Air festival in Germany, SOIL bassist Tim King was asked about the lack of new original material from the band following the release of 2013's "Whole" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "SOIL is kind of an enigma. It's been something that we've been very proud of for a long time. I guess the best thing to say is we pick and choose our battles. We do things that make sense and when they're gonna be good, like coming to Europe and playing Wacken Open Air festival and a bunch of other festivals and doing headline dates. We don't tour just to tour. We tour when it makes sense and we do things when it's a beneficial thing. With that being said, we are very, very, very long overdue for new material, which me and Ryan [McCombs, SOIL frontman] will not disagree with and we'll talk about all day long. The weird thing about that is we all live in very different areas. I'm not gonna make excuses at this point. We need to do new material.'

Tim continued: "Anyway, we got an offer to do a covers record and re-record old material, which we did during COVID, when nobody was doing anything. And honestly, the covers record I listen to more than any SOIL record that we ever released. I don't know why, but we just really nailed it. I think we did a great job on that. It sounds so good.

"But long story short, we're not gonna release anything else until it's something new, because the fans deserve that," King added. "We've waited long enough. We're long overdue. When the time comes that we have it ready to go, we'll do it. But we have really no excuses for it other than the fact that we suck. [Laughs]"

King went on to say that there are other factors involved in why writing and recording new music with SOIL is taking a lot longer than it used to.

"What is cool is as opposed to SOIL back in the day, when SOIL was our life, we all do different things," he explained. "Our guitarist Adam [Zadel] has his own business, our drummer TJ [Taylor] has his own business. I have the record label. I have my little side project, the death metal band. Ryan got asked to rejoin DROWNING POOL, and instead of being angry and mad about it, we were, like, 'Yeah, do it.'

"Everything's in a very great place," Tim said. "We embrace Ryan doing DROWNING POOL. We embrace what we do with SOIL. Ryan loves what we do with [my death metal side project] EMBRYONIC AUTOPSY. The older we've gotten, we embrace the outside activities to where we might've pulled them a METALLICA-type mentality back in the day, like, 'You can only do METALLICA. You can only do this. You can't do anything else. It's not right.' But now, it's kind of, like, guess what? It's a new era. It's a new thing. We're older, and we understand it more now. So you've gotta do what you need to do to either pay your bills or scratch your itch music or anything.

"But what's great about it is we've rekindled our relationship with DROWNING POOL when we had kind of a falling out before, and now we're all friends," King added. "And it's really awesome to just get along and all enjoy what we're doing. I look at Ryan playing in front of people at a DROWNING POOL festival, I don't get mad at it. I'm, like, 'Wow, cool. He's doing something great like that.' We just played Wacken in front of — what? — 20,000 people, whatever it was. And everybody's just happy for one another. And that comes with age, and it comes with what we're doing now. It's a great, great thing."

Last year, SOIL celebrated its long list of compositional accomplishments with "Restoration", a brand-new set of studio recordings of the band's biggest hits throughout their prolific history. "Restoration" highlighted the band's best musical moments, including smash hit singles "Halo" and "Breaking Down", from SOIL's 2001 award-winning album "Scars".

In August 2022, SOIL released the "Play It Forward" album, consisting of some of the songs that inspired the bandmembers throughout the years. Prior to that. SOIL issued "Scream: The Essentials" in September 2017 via Pavement Entertainment and AFM Records. That effort celebrated the band's 20-year career and featured early recordings as well as alternate versions and mixes.

In March 2023, it was announced that SOIL singer Ryan McCombs had rejoined DROWNING POOL.

McCombs originally hooked up with DROWNING POOL in 2005 and appeared on two of the band's studio albums, "Full Circle" (2007) and "Drowning Pool" (2010),as well as a live album, 2009's "Loudest Common Denominator". He rejoined SOIL after exiting DROWNING POOL in 2011.

McCombs is planning to continue to front SOIL and perform with both bands moving forward.

McCombs, who has lived in Swindon, England since 2018, played his first shows back with DROWNING POOL in March 2023 at Club L.A. in Destin, Florida and at the inaugural Throwdown At The Campground festival in Fruitland Park, Florida.

Legendary German metal queen, Doro, performed at Hellsinki Metal Fest in Helsinki, Finland on August 10th. Fan-filmed video of the entire show can be viewed below.


Setlist:


"I Rule the Ruins" (Warlock)
"Burning the Witches" (Warlock)
"Fight for Rock" (Warlock)
"Time for Justice"
"Metal Racer (Warlock")
"Raise Your Fist in the Air"
"Children of the Dawn"
"Für immer" (Warlock)
"Fire in the Sky"
"Revenge"
"Breaking the Law" (Judas Priest)
"All We Are" (Warlock)
"All for Metal"







Following the tremendous success of her latest album Conqueress - Forever Strong and Proud, released last year in October, Doro is conquering stages across Europe in 2024, bringing her electrifying performance to fans old and new.


As an extra special treat, she will be joining forces with the legendary Alice Cooper as a special guest on select dates!


August
24 - Newark, UK - Stonedead Festival
31 - Speyer, Germany - Halle 101


September
1 - Braunschweig, Germany - Applaus Garten
14 - Bergen, Norway - Full Metal Cruise 


October - Special Guest to Alice Cooper 
2 - Paris, France -  Zenith 
3 - Stuttgart, Germany - Porsche Arena 
4 - Lingen, Germany -  Emsland Arena 
6 - Oberhausen, Germany - Rudolf Weber Arena 
8 - München, Germany - Olympiahalle 
9 - Berlin, Germany - Max-Schmeling-Halle 
11 - Leipzig, Germany - Arena 


October
12 - Kapfenberg, Austria  - Wildstyle
13 - Lindau, Germany - Club Vaudevile
15 - Pratteln, Switzerland -  Z7
19 - Linz, Austria -  Wildstyle
26 - Salzburg, Austria - Wildstyle


December
16 - Hamburg, Germany - Große Freiheit 36
17 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
18 - Wiesbaden, Germany - Schlachthof
20 - Stuttgart, Germany - LKA Longhorn
21 - Markneukirchen, Germany - Musikhalle
22 - München, Germany - Backstage Werk





Doro recently released the thunderous new single, "Lean Mean Rock Machine", accompanied by an electrifying animated video crafted by acclaimed visual artist Balázs Gróf.


This adrenaline-fuelled anthem, taken from her latest album Conqueress - Forever Strong & Proud, perfectly captures the spirit of heavy metal and the freedom of the open road.


Embark on a thrilling journey with Doro as she rides her awesome tuned motorbike through a landscape pulsating with raw energy and the essence of rock 'n' roll.


Gróf's masterful animation brings to life the intense power of Doro's music, creating a visual spectacle that immerses fans in the heart-pounding world of heavy metal and motorbikes.


Doro comments: "I had the idea of making an animated video years ago, and when I recorded 'Lean Mean Rock Machine' I knew it was the perfect song for it. I've liked Balázs Gróf's work for a long time. He is really incredibly talented. I was totally impressed by how he was able to empathize with the vibe of the song, the lyrics, and me as an artist in order to implement 'Lean Mean Rock Machine' absolutely perfectly: exciting, funny, and world-class craftsmanship. There are so many details in the video that you always discover something new. I'm super happy with the clip!"










window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails-feed',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails Feed',
target_type: 'mix'
});
















Featured Video

Epica singer, Simone Simons, will release her debut solo album, Vermillion, on August 23 via Nuclear Blast Records. The album is a collaboration with Ayreon mastermind Arjen Lucassen.


Lucassen has shared the clip below.


"Dear Ayreonauts, here's a silly little video from me showing off the vinyl of the new Simone Simons album that I had the pleasure of working on with her. Vermillion will be out in nearly two weeks, hope you will enjoy!"







Lucassen is no stranger to Simone's soaring operatic voice, one that can stir even a gargoyle’s stone heart to tears. Together they have crafted a sonic universe that befits the influential figure she is. Vermillion emerges as a gargantuan goose-bump generator, a universally touching, stellar tour de force.


Pre-order / pre-save Vermillion here.





Vermillion tracklisting:


"Aeterna"
"In Love We Rust"
"Cradle To The Grave" (feat. Alyssa White-Gluz)
"Fight Or Flight"
"Weight Of My World"
"Vermillion Dreams"
"The Core"
"Dystopia"
"R.E.D."
"Dark Night Of The Soul"


"Aeterna" video:





"In Love We Rust" video





"R.E.D










window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails-feed',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails Feed',
target_type: 'mix'
});

DarWin, the ongoing musical exploration featuring Simon Phillips, Mohini Dey, Greg Howe, Derek Sherinian and Matt Bissonette, have shared an official video for the track, "The Sun". It is taken from their new album, Five Steps On The Sun.





Five Steps On The Sun is available on CD and strictly Limited Heavyweight Vinyl including exclusive poster.







Tracklisting:


"Soul Police"
"Inside This Zoo"
"Be That Man"
"One Step On The Sun"
"Five Steps On The Sun"
"The Sun"
"Imitation Suede"
"Seasons Of A Life"
"Hulks & Heroes"
"What Do We Know"


"One Step On The Sun" video:





"Be That Man" video:










window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-a',
container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails-feed',
placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails Feed',
target_type: 'mix'
});