Swedish hair metal outfit, Crazy Lixx, will release their new studio album, Ruff Justice, on April 21st. The new record celebrates Crazy Lixx’s 15th anniversary as a band and offers 10 hair/sleaze/80s metal gems that harken back to the height of the hard rock era. Listen to the album track, “Snakes In Paradise”, available for streaming below.

The new songs draw inspiration from not only music, but also from 1980’s horror and action flicks and stand as a glowing reminder that pretty much everything was better in the 80s. With its big choruses, memorable hooks and riffs, impressive guitar solos, and a massive production by Danny Rexon and Chris Laney, this album is sure to resonate with old fans and new listeners alike.

“We’ve tried the same ‘all killers-no fillers’ approach that we’ve gone for on our previous albums, but this time, more than ever, I think we’ve come close to that vision,” says lead singer and producer Danny Rexon.

Ruff Justice will be the first Crazy Lixx album to feature the new lineup with Chrisse Olsson and Jens Lundgren handling axe duties.

“It does bring a certain feel to the album that I think we’ve been missing since the days of New Religion (2010). Once again the whole band pulls in the same direction and the end result, I believe, will be very well received among those who hold New Religion in high regards. If I would compare Ruff Justice to any of our previous albums, that would have to be the one,” Danny Rexon concludes.

The album also includes three songs which appear on the Friday The 13th video game soundtrack: “XIII”, “Killer“ and “Live Before I Die”. Friday the 13th: The Game is an upcoming survival horror video game developed by Gun Media and IllFonic, and published by Gun Media. It is scheduled for release in early 2017 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox, and Playstation 4.

Ruff Justice tracklisting:

“Wild Child”
“XIII”
“Walk The Wire”
“Shot With A Needle Of Love”
“Killer”
“Hunter Of The Heart”
“Snakes In Paradise”
“If It's Love”
“Kiss Of Judas”
“Live Before I Die”

“Snakes In Paradise”:

“XIII”:

Lineup:

Danny Rexon - vocals
Joél Cirera - drums
Jens Sjöholm - bass guitar
Chrisse Olsson - guitar
Jens Lundgren - guitar

Legendary Misfits Guitarist Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein is set to star in Death Ward 13, a remake of the cult-classic film Don’t Look In The Basement. With his iconic Devilock hair and impressive physical build, Doyle is best known as the guitar player for the American horror punk band the Misfits and will play the most terrifying character in the film. Now in pre-production, Death Ward 13 is directed by award-winning horror filmmaker Todd Nunes (All Through The House) and produced by The Readmond Company.

"I’m looking forward to starting my movie career with a starring role in Death Ward 13," says Doyle. "It’s time to release the beast on the big screen. Let the killing begin!"

"With Doyle’s horror punk background, we’ve always been looking for opportunities to have him cross over into film, but nothing has sparked his interest until now," says Bruce Miyaki (Insane Management.) "Death Ward 13 is a great breakout film for Doyle – his fans are going to love it."

Although he is known for playing guitar with the horror punk band the Misfits, which helped create the horror punk genre, Doyle also has a solo project rightfully named Doyle. In 2013 Doyle released the Abominator album with Monsterman Records, and he is currently on tour in the USA supporting his new CD As We Die in stores May 5th through the Monsterman Records/EMP Label Group. Death Ward 13 is Doyle’s first starring role in a film; he is currently in talks with the film’s producers and Monsterman co-founder Bruce Miyaki to provide music tracks for the soundtrack.

Death Ward 13 is inspired by S.F. Brownrigg’s Don’t Look In The Basement (1973) and Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “The System Of Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether" (1845). Death Ward 13 promises to deliver a thrilling grindhouse-inspired remake with a shocking collection of criminally insane patients: botched lobotomies, necrophilia, sexual deviance, and violent psychopaths.

"I'm excited to work with Doyle," says director Todd Nunes. "Doyle will be portraying a ruthless killer called The Duke - a psychopath and the most twisted and terrifying character in the movie. I’m a big fan of Doyle and his music and always thought he would make a menacing horror movie villain. With his threatening looks and massive build, this man will scare the crap out of everyone. Get ready for a horrifying ride!"

Death Ward 13 is Todd Nunes’ bloody love letter to Don’t Look In The Basement. This reimagined version will give fans a taste of the original film with added practical effects and bloody gore for modern horror fanatics. Death Ward 13 will also feature more nurses, freaks, and blood as well as a brutal climax with an updated, disturbing twist.

Synopsis: It's 1973 and the Stephens Sanitarium for the Criminally Insane prepares to shut down permanently. Days before closing, four beautiful nursing students arrive to care for the last handful of "harmless" mental patients in a suspiciously understaffed ward. Confronted by their violent charges, the nurses soon realize that they are trapped inside the asylum with a deadly crew of vicious lunatics. Each patient has their own perverse identity, their own personal demons, and their own violent agenda. Pushed to the brink of insanity, the young nurses find themselves in a gruesome fight for survival inside Ward 13. 

Death Ward 13 will begin shooting in 2017 with Todd Nunes partnering again with producers Stephen Readmond and Christopher Stanley. The team’s Santa slasher All Through The House (2016) received 23 awards and nominations, including the following wins: Best Slasher (RIP Horror Film Festival), Best Actress, Jessica Cameron as Sheila (Hardcore Horror Fest), Best Killer/Slasher (“Golden Skulls” Award, The Horrific Network), and Best Director (Hardcore Horror Fest).

For further details visit deathward13.com.

 

Avulsed has issued a preview of their forthcoming Night Of The Living Deathgenerations DVD. This three-disc deluxe digipack is set for release on April 17th through Xtreem Music. It was recorded live on November 19th 2016 at Changó Club in the band's hometown of Madrid, Spain during their 25th anniversary show.

As announced one year ago during the Avulsed crowdfunding campaign for their 25th anniversary double album Deathgeneration, the band recorded the entire special show in Madrid last November with six cameras for its release on a triple-disc release (2-CD, 1-DVD) under the title Night Of The Living Deathgenerations.

This release contains the two-hour show with all songs from Deathgeneration plus one more that wasn't played for at least 20 years. This live recording perfectly captures the unparalleled intensity of Avulsed on stage in front of a packed club with a totally crazy crowd, making this show the most perfect celebration of the band's 25 years of pure devotion to death metal.

Night Of The Living Deathgenerations will be released on a wonderful 8-panel digipack containing the three discs plus a 16-page booklet with over 150 professional photos taken by Unai Endemaño and Raquel García. The cover artwork, pictured below, was made by Juanjo Castellano, displaying all main characters from every Avulsed album cover in just one with genius style.

Tracklisting:

CD 1
"Prelude & Intro"
"Amidst The Macabre" (instrumental)
"Stabwound Orgasm"
"Breaking Hymens"
"Carnivoracity"
"Powdered Flesh"
"Sick Sick Sex"
"Horrified By Repulsion"
"Gorespattered Suicide"
"Addicted To Carrion"
"Devourer Of The Dead"

CD 2 
"Elegy For The Rotting" (interlude)
"Dawn Of The Apocalypse" (instrumental)
"Dead Flesh Awakened"
"Sweet Lobotomy"
"Daddy Stew"
"Red Viscera Serology"
"Blessed By Gore"
"Nullo (The Pleasure Of Self-Mutilation)"
"Hidden Perversions"
"Burnt But Not Carbonized"
"Exorcismo Vaginal"

The DVD contains the entire show plus interviews, photo gallery and extras.

 

 

Mystic Prophecy have released a lyric video for “Good Day To Die”, a track from their ninth studio album, War Brigade, released last year via Massacre Records. The new clip can be found below.

Tracklisting:

“Follow The Blind”
“Metal Brigade”
“Burning Out”
“The Crucifix”
“Pray To Hell”
“10,000 Miles Away”
“Good Day To Die”
“The Devil Is Back”
“War Panzer”
“Fight For One Nation”
“War Of Lies”
“Sex Bomb”

“Good Day To Die” lyric video:

“Burning Out” lyric video:

“The Crucifix” video:

“Metal Brigade” video:

Colorado-based black metal band, Nightbringer, will release their new album, Terra Damnata, on April 14th via Season Of Mist. The album track, “Of The Key And Crossed Bones”, is available for streaming below.

Recorded once again with Dave Otero (Cobalt, Cephalic Carnage, Cattle Decapitation, Archspire), Terra Damnata is a truly explosive take on metal's most orthodox sub-genre. On tracks such as "As Wolves Among Ruins", "Serpent Sun" and "Misrule" violent, breakneck speeds collide with whirling, pitch-black riffs and melodies as Nightbringer explore the darkest depths of true evil.

Tracklisting:

“As Wolves Amongst Ruins”
“Misrule”
“Midnight's Crown”
“Of The Key And Crossed Bones”
“Let Silence be His Sacred Name”
“Inheritor Of A Dying World”
“The Lamp Of Inverse Light”
“Serpent Sun”

“Of The Key And Crossed Bones”:

Pre-order the album at this location.

Swedish blackened metal band, King Of Asgard, will release its first new music in three years on March 17th. Titled Taudr, the EP sees the group return in force with a revamped lineup, newfound power, firm conviction and a few surprises. Produced by Magnus "Devo" Andersson (SubRosa, Marduk), Taudr is the follow-up to the band's 2014 release, Karg. The five song EP is King Of Asgard's first release for new label Trollmusic.

Formed in 2008 by guitarist / vocalist Karl Beckman and former drummer Karsten Larsson, each ex-members of Viking metal act, Mithotyn, King Of Asgard creates grim, slightly folk-inspired death metal that takes up the legacy of iconic pioneers such as Bathory and Isengard and adds its own twist, spicing well-known Nordic myths with odes to northern winds, snowy landscapes and tales of legend from its homeland. On the new album, Taudr, the quartet enriches its distinct sound with Nordic black metal nuances, adding epic melodies (in the vein of Moonsorrow, Kampfar or Myrkgrav) and pushes its lyrical themes towards death and the afterlife.

In addition to four new songs, Taudr contains a new version of the Mithotyn classic "Upon Raging Waves". The track is available for streaming below.

Tracklisting:

“The Curse And The Wanderer”
“Death…And A New Sun”
“Taudr”
“…For The Fury Of The Norse”
“Raging Waves” (Mithotyn cover)

“Raging Waves”:

Teaser:

Pre-orders available at this location.

Nor Cal’s Blessed Curse is back. It’s been some time since the trio released their full-length, self-titled album in 2012. But on March 31st these thrashers make a comeback with Beware Of The Night. Ripping and tearing their way through 5 new songs of blistering, aggressive metal once again produced by Juan Urteaga (Sadus, Exodus, Testament) at Trident Studios. A lyric video for the track “Nightbreed” can be found below.

The core of the band, drummer Derek Bean and singer/guitarist Tyler Satterlee, are childhood friends and have been playing music ever since. The group gained acclaim a decade ago under their previous moniker Devastator releasing a couple of praised demos and touring all over the west coast as part of the burgeoning thrash metal revival playing with peer bands like Warbringer, Hatchet, Fueled By Fire, Merciless Death and opening local area shows for larger acts like Kreator, Overkill, Napalm Death and Sodom. Changing their name to the more unique Blessed Curse and recording their debut the band supported it via national tours with Rattlehead and Sacrificial Slaughter before deciding to put the brakes on the band for a bit while Derek attended college. Now it’s time to get back into the game and Beware Of The Night picks up exactly where they left off – deadly inspired thrash metal with the band bringing in a few more progressive elements and better musicianship. Once again the guys went to Juan Urteaga to help them record some new material.

“Recording with Juan has been a great experience in the past and this time was no different,” states drummer Derek Bean. “I feel like this whole session was an improvement from the 2012 self-titled album from our playing to the final masters. We worked timely and efficiently on getting these songs recorded to the best of all our abilities, which definitely shows in the final release.”

Beware Of The Night also introduces new bass player Dan Keenan. “The delay of the band also just had to do with finding the correct person who has the same goals and desires as us and wants to improve and push us forward into our own sound and style which took some time,” adds Derek.

Now armed with a new recording, featuring striking cover artwork from Stone Design’s Brian Lewis (DevilDriver, Black Label Society, Cultural Warfare), Blessed Curse have been doing regional shows, including one this week supporting The Mentors at Café Colonial in Sacramento on February 18th, but are looking once again to tour the country behind the new release. In the meantime, the guys promise there won’t be as much delay between recordings as they already have several new songs written for a future full album.

Pre-orders at this location.

On April 7th, Australian thrashers Harlott will release their new album, Extinction, worldwide via Metal Blade Records. For another preview of the album, the second single, “The Penitent”, can be streamed below.

Harlott returns with a harrowing offering of thrash metal, and a bleak interpretation of mankind's future. A blistering assault of speed and aggression awaits those who endure Extinction, as well as a reverent journey into the power and force that is metal.

The album can pre-ordered here in the following formats:

- Digipak CD
- 180g black vinyl
- clear blue green vinyl (limited to 200 copies - EU exclusive)
- toxic green vinyl (limited to 100 copies - EU exclusive)
- burnt orange-marbled vinyl (limited to 100 copies - USA exclusive)

* digital options are also available

Featuring artwork by Andrei Bouzikov, Extinction is Harlott's third album and the successor to 2015's critically acclaimed Proliferation. Recorded at Monolith Studios (Orpheus Omega, In Malice's Wake, Bane of Winterstorm) and mastered by Jens Bogren (Kreator, Opeth, Soilwork), the album seeks to rain pure savagery upon any listener with furious riffs, spitting verses and face melting shred that are blended effortlessly with triumphant melodies and thundering groove to make a diverse and adaptable record which pays tribute to the kings of thrash metal, while making waves in the new dawn of evil. Taking what they had already mastered and pushing the limits of dissonance, evil, and atmosphere, they bring together an offering that will satisfy the bloodlust of their manic legion, and draw in the revelers of a dying breed. Containing 12 songs of pure bedlam, Extinction pauses only for the deafening silence between each blistering track.

Extinction tracklisting:

“Extinction”
“First World Solutions”
“The Penitent”
“Whore”
“No Past”
“Conflict Revelation”
“Better Off Dead”
“Violent Conspirator”
“And Darkness Brings The Light”
“Final Weapon”
“Parasite”
“Epitaph”

“The Penitent”:

“First World Solutions”:

In other news Harlott announce new lead guitarist Jake Weber: "We are psyched to announce we have found the right guy in Jake! It was never going to be an easy task but we couldn't be happier with how everything has fallen into place. With our new album 'Extinction' due out on Metal Blade on April 7th, he couldn't have come along at a better time!"

Jake had this to add: "A little over 16 years ago, I first picked up the guitar and I've been swinging that axe ever since. In that time, I've played for bands such as The Murdering and Deprivation, as well as toured and recorded at home and abroad. Finally, I feel like I've really found my home and it's right where I always thought it would be, playing Thrash! I've joined at a very important time in Harlott's career. Andy, Tom and Tim have welcomed me with open arms and we are ready to become the tightest, fastest and hardest working machine Harlott can be! See you in the pit!"

Harlott lineup:

Andrew Hudson - Guitar/Vocals
Jake Weber - Lead Guitar
Tomas Richards - Bass
Tim Joyce - Drums

The Letter Black, who first burst onto the hard rock landscape with their Tooth & Nail debut Hanging On By A Thread in 2010, are back with a new record and a new label. The band is set to release their third album, Pain, on May 26th via EMP Label Group. Produced by guitarist Mark Anthony, and mixed by the legendary Ben Grosse (Blink 182, Disturbed, Starset), the album, an aggressive step forward, shows the band venturing into heavier new territory.

“When we met to talk about the new record, it was unanimous that we wanted to do what we’ve been wanting to do all along, metal. Though we have had those moments in the past, we were always restricted for various reasons. Those barriers are gone now, and that allowed us to create the record the way we wanted. This album is The Letter Black. For the first time, I feel we have successfully delivered the most honest and true music in the band’s history”, recalls Mark.

Vocalist Sarah Anthony adds, “I wanted to really explore my vocals on this effort. I wanted to dive more into the aggressive side matching the more aggressive music but also touching on some more intimate moments on a few songs as well.”

In late 2016, the band, Vocalist Sarah Anthony, Guitarist Mark Anthony, and drummer Justin Brown, began talking to (Megadeth bassist) David Ellefson and Thom Hazaert of EMP Label Group. Through these talks, the band found themselves inking a new deal with EMP opening up a new direction for 2017.

“We are beyond excited to be working with David and Thom over at EMP. We really feel like they get what we are about. We have never spoken with anyone so open to letting us just go with it and create the album that we want to. That kind of trust makes us even more determined to do them proud and deliver the best album we ever have”, states Mark.

“The band’s previous releases had been a huge for the band at Tooth & Nail, and they have always been an amazing hard-working band”, says Hazaert. “So when the opportunity came to bring them into the fold at EMP we jumped at the chance. The Letter Black is one of the hardest-working bands out there, and we couldn’t be happier to welcome them to the family.”

The Letter Black released Hanging On By A Thread, and the 2013 follow-up Rebuild on Tooth & Nail, before departing the label before the recording of Pain. The band has since played over 100-150 shows a year, including support for Skillet, Thousand Foot Krutch, and more.

Queen continue to release new lyric videos for their classic songs, this time for “Radio Ga Ga”, featured on the band’s 1984 album, The Works. Watch the new clip below:

Queen previously released official karaoke style lyric videos for their songs “The Show Must Go On”, “I Want It All”, “Don’t Stop Me Now”, “Another One Bites The Dust”, and “We Will Rock You”, all available for streaming below:

Back by popular demand, Queen + Adam Lambert will rock North America this summer with a 25-city arena tour kicking off June 23rd in Phoenix, Arizona at Gila River Arena, followed shortly after with a special Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl performance, June 26th.

After wildly successful and sold out tours throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, Latin and North America, Brian May, Roger Taylor + Adam Lambert will debut a brand new show specially designed and created for this outing, bringing fans all their favorite Queen hits, like “Another One Bites the Dust”, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “We Will Rock You”, “We Are The Champions”. The high-energy concert will bring their history alive in all its passion and glory, with stops in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and more, before wrapping on August 5th in Houston, TX at the Toyota Center. The tour is presented by Live Nation.

Tickets are on sale now through the Live Nation mobile app and at Livenation.com. Exclusive VIP Package offers available at VIPNation.com.

Since their first meeting on the final of American Idol in May 2009, Queen + Adam Lambert’s magical combination has been recognized worldwide with sold out shows in every part of the world.

Tour dates:

June
23 - Phoenix, AZ - Gila River Arena
24 - Las Vegas, NV - T-Mobile Arena
26 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl
29 - San Jose, CA - SAP Center

July
1 - Seattle, WA - Key Arena
2 - Vancouver, BC - Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
4 - Edmonton, AB - Rogers Place
6 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center Arena
8 - Omaha, NE - CenturyLink Arena
9 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center
13 - Chicago, IL - United Center
14 - St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
17 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
18 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
20 - Detroit, MI - The Palace of Auburn Hills
21 - Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
23 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
25 - Boston, MA - TD Garden
26 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
28 - New York, NY - Barclays Center
30 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center
31 - Washington D.C. - Verizon Center

August
2 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
4 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
5 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center

Ahead of the release of their new studio album, V, on March 17th through Kscope, Blackfield - the collaboration between Israeli songwriter and musician Aviv Geffen, and British musician and producer Steven Wilson - have revealed a new video for the song “Lonely Soul”, created by long time collaborator Lasse Hoile.

Hoile explains his inspiration for the clip, “When I heard “Lonely Soul” for the first time I just felt it was like a scene from one of the many stories I’ve heard over the years, people’s experiences dealing with depression and anxiety. It became a personal story after a very good friend of mine had been suffering a great deal with this, and with their depression not being treated properly it developed into a form of self loathing. Although sad, this is an important subject I think we all need to be aware of and hopefully we will learn to reach out and help each other. The hardest part is often asking for help.”

The new studio album, Blackfield V, was written and recorded over a period of 18 months in both Israel and England and contains 13 linked songs that form a flowing 45-minute ocean themed song cycle. With the duo expertly handling vocals, guitars, and keyboards, they brought in Tomer Z from the Blackfield band on drums, Eran Mitelman on keys, and string arrangements were performed by the London Session Orchestra. Blackfield V is a powerful journey through catchy melodies, lush arrangements, and stunning production, with legendary producer / engineer Alan Parsons working on three of the album’s key tracks.

The pair makes for a formidable musical force; Geffen has worked with legendary producers Tony Visconti and Trevor Horn, has played live with U2 and Placebo, and is currently a judge on the Israeli TV show The Voice. Wilson, after a long tenure as the leader of the hugely influential band Porcupine Tree, has since embarked on a highly successful solo career, achieving three UK top 40 albums (the most recent also making the top 3 in Germany, and The Netherlands), and four Grammy nominations.

Blackfield V will be released on the following formats all of which are available for pre-order here.

- 2 disc - CD / Blu-Ray - presented in a deluxe media book with the Blu-Ray offering audiophiles a listening experience second to none, with the album in high resolution stereo and 5.1 surround sound. Includes a 36 page colour booklet
- Double 180g heavyweight LP - cut at 45 rpm and presented in gatefold packaging with a four page booklet and a free mp3 download
- CD - digipack CD
- LP Picture Disc -a Limited Edition single disc 140g vinyl with MP3 download, highlighting the stunning Lasse Hoile artwork
- Digital

Tracklisting:

“A Drop In The Ocean”
“Family Man”
“How Was Your Ride?”
“We’ll Never Be Apart”
“Sorrys”
“Life Is An Ocean”
“Lately”
“October”
“The Jackal”
“Salt Water”
“Undercover Heart”
“Lonely Soul”
“From 44 To 48”

(Photo - Hajo Meuller)

Finnish death dealers, Lantern, are streaming several songs from their forthcoming Dark Descent Records album, II: Morphosis. The band's second full-length is set for a March 17th release. Listen to the tracks below and pre-order the album on CD, black vinyl and blue/black splatter vinyl.

II: Morphosis was mixed and mastered by Dan Lowndes/Resonance Sound Studios. Artwork by Zbigniew M. Bielak.

Tracklisting:

“Black Miasma”
“Sleeper of Hypnagog”
“Hosting Yellow Fungi”
“Cleansing of the Air”
“Necrotic Epiphanies”
“Transmigration”
“Virgin Damnation”
“Morphosis”
“Lucid Endlessness”

II : Morphosis by Lantern

Lantern lineup:

Cruciatus - lead guitar
Necrophilos - vocals
J. Noisehunter - bass
St. Belial - rhythm guitar
J. Poussu - drums

(Photo - Lantern Facebook)

Professionally filmed video footage of DEVILDRIVER's entire performance at last year's Wacken Open Air festival, which was held in August 2016 in Wacken, Germany, can be seen below.

As previously reported, DEVILDRIVER is working on an album of outlaw country covers, to be released later in the year. According to singer Dez Fafara, the effort will include thirteen "insanely heavy, swinging badass outlaw tracks by some of the best outlaw country artists," including Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, George Jones and Johnny Paycheck and Steve Earle. Produced by Steve Evetts, the album will feature appearances by "fifteen high-caliber guests," among them LAMB OF GOD guitarist Mark Morton.

Said Fafara: "So just to be fucking clear, it's never been done; we are the first! We have been working on this for a year! Get ready — you've never heard anything like this!"

DEVILDRIVER guitarist Neal Tiemann told Guitar World about the band's approach on the covers album: "I think the point is to keep the memorable melodies and lyrics intact while providing and alternate and heavier music bed. It's easy to get carried away in one of our own riffs, so we've been sure to keep refocusing on the essence of the original material."

The project started out in early 2016 when Fafara was thinking about remaking punk classics. "I loved the idea of focusing on a single genre, but I felt that country was a better way to go, because the songs would give us more ideas to work with," explained DEVILDRIVER guitarist Mike Spreitzer.

Added Tiemann: "While the theme is centered in outlaw country, we're adding some numbers that go against the grain, rather than fit inside those genre barriers."

DEVILDRIVER's latest album, "Trust No One", was released in May 2016 via Napalm Records. The follow-up to 2013's "Winter Kills" was once again produced by Mark Lewis (ARSIS, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, WHITECHAPEL, DEICIDE, SIX FEET UNDER) with assistance from Jason Suecof (AUGUST BURNS RED, DEICIDE, DEATH ANGEL).

QUIET RIOT's seventh lead singer, "American Idol" finalist James Durbin stands by his statement that people who post negative comments on BLABBERMOUTH.NET are "bottom-feeding crotch goblins," explaining that he simply said "what a lot of people have been thinking throughout the years."

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

After Durbin blasted the "supreme scum" on BLABBERMOUTH.NET who have posted critical comments about his addition to QUIET RIOT, he defended his remarks during an interview with the "Trunk Nation" show on SiriusXM's Volume. He told host Eddie Trunk: "I've been getting so much positive feedback, and so many people are just super stoked and super pumped about this lineup and about coming to see us. And so it's all about keeping it on that wave of positivity. Yeah, there's places where people congregate to be unhappy, but, you know, you can't please those people, and those aren't the people coming to our shows to begin with."

He continued: "What's said is said, and I said what a lot of people have been thinking throughout the years. But, you know, if you wanna read more into that, there's plenty of gossip sites that keep posting things about me, so they're still talking. So that's the name of the game — is press."

Asked if he feels there are "pros and cons" to being a finalist on a mainstream reality show, especially when it comes to being embraced by the rock world, Durbin said: "Yeah, there's definitely pros and cons to it, but you take the good and you take the bad, you take 'em both and there you have [it]. There's definitely more good things that outweigh it. Of course, with anything, you're gonna have people that love it, people that hate it, people that are indifferent, people that just really don't care. And luckily, there's much more positivity and much more people that are super stoked about this than the thirty people going back and forth on a gossip site."

He went on to say: "To hear all these things and have people keep posting things and making attention out of it, I'm getting a lot of support from the hard rock and metal community, from the actual people that are doing it, and have been doing it throughout the years — the entertainers, the artists, the creative minds themselves; not the people that take something that took so much time and so much love and sadness and energy to create, and then just completely shit all over it. There's no point to that. I feel like, coming from an artistic stance, you can be indifferent to things and you don't have to like everything, but if you don't like it, just shut your mouth. You know? If you like it, fire off. I wanna hear it. If you don't, go away."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Durbin will make his live debut with QUIET RIOT on March 18 at The Cotillion in Wichita, Kansas. A handful of additional North American dates will take place during the next two months.

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

Guitarist Morgan Steinmeyer Håkansson of Swedish black metallers MARDUK has commented on the cancelation the band's concert in Oakland, California over concerns from police that the group would draw anti-fascist protesters.

Police said that MARDUK had been criticized for glorifying Nazi imagery and anti-Semitism.

The staff at the Oakland Metro Operahouse venue complied with a request from Oakland police to cancel the February 18 performance.

In a letter to the venue, police said that "based on the riot that occurred in Berkeley in regards to Milo Yiannopolous [a British journalist, author and former senior editor for Breitbart News, a far-right news and opinion web site] speaking at the university it is reasonable to believe that there would be a threat to public safety if these groups showed up to protest MARDUK."

Speaking to Metal Wani, Håkansson stated about the incident (hear audio below): "The whole thing about that, I think, was really blown out of proportion. It's actually a handful of kids who decide they wanna judge what people should listen to or see. It's the way they work there — not satisfied with anything in their lives, so they demonstrate and cause problems for other people. So I think it was really blown out of proportion. But the police decided to cancel it because of security reasons. Otherwise, the show would have happened, because the promoters wanted to do it, we wanted to do it. So it was just really blown out of proportion and giving air to those kind of people, so it was a bit retarded. But we'll be back over there. We're going back already in August/September."

The guitarist added that he wasn't disappointed by the outcome of the entire episode, explaining: "The world is really filled with retards, so shit will always happen. Every circus has its clown, so… whatever. Shit happens. I'm not gonna focus that much about it. We'll get over it like we have done with a lot of problems in the past. So it's no big deal."

Calls for the concert's cancelation came from the Anti-Fascist Action Bay Area group, which accused MARDUK of having "white supremacist ties" and pointed out that MARDUK's latest album, "Frontschwein", was written "entirely about the Third Reich."

In an interview with music blog Invisible Oranges shortly after the cancelation, Håkansson was asked if he identified with Nazi ideology. He plainly stated "No," explaining: "If you sing about something the way it happened and doing objective writing about it, what's the problem with it?

During the Metal Wani chat, Håkansson also offered a timeline for the recording and release of MARDUK's next album. He said: "We've done a lot of touring for the 'Frontschwein' album across most parts of this world, and we still have some to go, because we're gonna do the final touring… I think we'll be August and September over in North America — we're gonna do the U.S.A. and Canada again. And after that, I think we'll enter the studio around that time. We have completed a lot of music and everything is falling into its right place. We're just looking for the right option to enter the studio and then we'll see when. We're not gonna go out and speak a lot about it, but we will let everybody know when the album is completed; it'll be known. But we are far ahead in the process of it, so we're keeping busy, as usual."

Regarding whether MARDUK will experiment with new musical ideas on the upcoming effort, Håkansson said: "I don't know. We don't really sit down and try to be different or explore something new. For us, it's about making music and lyrics become one, and that takes us where it takes us. As I said, we have completed a lot of material, but it's also impossible to say how it will end up, because things have a tendency to change until the last day in the studio; things can change around a lot. So that will up to everybody to witness when the album arrives."

Florida metallers TRIVIUM will enter the studio later this year to begin recording their new album. Guitarist Corey Beaulieu told Static Age TV during a March 7 interview in Leipzig, Germany about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the follow-up to 2015's "Silence In The Snow": "This is our last tour for 'Silence In The Snow', so, obviously, the next thing we'll eventually be doing is working on new material. But it's too early to say anything about… We won't know when it's gonna come out until we've actually finished it. So until we get in and start recording it and then putting everything together, there's not really anything you can say at this point except eventually there will be a new record. We just can't say really much about it. [Laughs]"

Last November, TRIVIUM parted ways with the band's drummer of eleven months, Paul Wandtke and replaced him with Alex Bent (BATTLECROSS, DECREPIT BIRTH).

Paul joined the Florida outfit on the recommendation of DREAM THEATER's Mike Mangini and replaced Mat Madiro, who departed due to reasons of "creativity."

Madiro was the featured drummer on "Silence In The Snow", which was released in October 2015 via Roadrunner.

Bent made his live debut with TRIVIUM on February 11 in Dublin, Ireland.

"Silence In The Snow" debuted at No. 19 on The Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales of 18,000 equivalent album units. The follow-up to 2013's "Vengeance Falls" was produced by Michael "Elvis" Baskette (SLASH, ALTER BRIDGE, THE AMITY AFFLICTION) and was mixed by Josh Wilbur (GOJIRA, LAMB OF GOD).

Maryann Cotton revealed that he has started tracking songs for his new album. The new songs are being written with longtime partner and co-writer Hal Patino (ex-King Diamond):

"We're recording songs right now. We're writing and recording songs. We have about 15 demos down. And what we always do, we know the best ten songs are gonna make the album! It’s not really much of a concept album. It's gonna be a pure riff-rock-and-roll album! All the material we have down this time, is really good! It’s in that dark spirit as I've always wanted to do!

"I'm always in control of everything both music and lyrics, but me and Hal know each other so well and we both agreed that we wanted 'Maryann' (the character) to go in a much darker direction this time. I don't know when and who is going to release it yet, right now we are just focusing on getting all the recordings down! We are also negotiating with a new booking agency at the moment, so if all goes well, the album will be out this year followed by a tour in the States and Europe''

Maryann Cotton recently released a North American tour documentary, available for streaming below.

“You will get a little glimpse and a rare inside look at the rise of the Maryann Cotton band from Europe, through the first leg of their North American Tour. You will get to see footage from live shows, travelling, off days, etc. All clips filmed by the band, and based on private recordings.”

After a sold-out premiere in January 2015 and reprise concert in 2016, the Dick Wagner “Remember the Child” Memorial Concert returns for a star-studded sequel, presented by New Horizons Computer Learning Centers. Concert is set for Friday March 24, 2017 at MotorCity Casino, Sound Board, in Detroit.

The concert is jam-packed with an all-star lineup featuring Mark Farner (Grand Funk Railroad), Suzi Quatro & The Pleasure Seekers (Suzi is a groundbreaking female rocker & Happy Days’ “Leather Tuscadero”), Kip Winger (Winger), Robert Wagner, Jimmie Bones (Kid Rock), musical director & Grammy nominee Paul Brown, Johnny “Bee” Badanjek (Mitch Ryder, the Rockets), The Accidentals (Billboard’s 2015 Breakout Band at SXSW), Thornetta Davis, John Ellison (Some Kind of Wonderful), Danish shock rocker, Maryann Cotton, rock diva Miss Wensday, Detroit Music Award winners, Ray Goodman, Dennis Burr, David Winans II, Muruga Booker, and more!

All Concert profits Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, including Beaumont Children’s of Royal Oak and more. The Dick Wagner “Remember the Child” Fund (DWRTC), a 501(c)3 non-profit, creates and funds music therapy programs for hospitalized children. Each hospital receives funds to support the hiring of Board Certified Music Therapists as well as a broad selection of musical instruments.

The Dick Wagner Fund is proud to add Hurley Children’s Hospital, Flint, Michigan, as a beneficiary of 2017 concert profits. Flint water, contaminated with toxic lead poisoning, has adversely affected the health of thousands of children. Music therapy reduces the effects of lead poisoning on functional, behavioral, and cognitive skills.

The “Remember the Child” Concert honors the memory of legendary guitarist and songwriter, Dick Wagner, renowned for his lead guitar and songwriting with Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Aerosmith, Kiss, and Peter Gabriel, and his wildly popular early bands, The Frost and the Bossmen. Wagner co-wrote more than 100 songs with Cooper, including "Only Women Bleed," "I Never Cry," “You and Me,” and Welcome to My Nightmare, along with mega-hits for other artists. In his lifetime, Wagner donated his talent generously to benefit the lives of children, vets and the homeless. As Dick tells us, “There is more love in the human heart than can ever be given away.”

Celebrity-studded Live and Silent Auctions will feature autographed music and sports memorabilia, including guitars signed by The Hollywood Vampires (Johnny Depp, Alice Cooper, and Joe Perry), Mark Farner, Kid Rock, Suzi Quatro, Alice Cooper, Sports Celebrities, Balloon rides, and more.

Show details:
- March 24th, doors open 5:30 PM. MotorCity Casino, Sound Board, Detroit, MI
- Tickets $35, $75, $120, $150. Available at this location
- VIP $120 includes Meet & Greet, 2 Drinks, Priority seating, Gift Bags. VIP Hotline (888) 458 7900
- SUPER VIP $150 includes above plus invitation to private rehearsal on March 23. VIP Hotline (888) 458 7900.

The Dick Wagner “Remember the Child” Fund is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation. EIN 47-2279119. They create music therapy programs for hospitalized children. They provide musical instruments, teachers, cash funding -- and the soul-healing opportunity of learning to play a musical instrument.

Music Therapy supports the physical, emotional, social and cognitive well-being of children. Our board certified music therapists bring musical instruments, hands-on music activities and the joy of music to hospitalized children. Singing and playing music enhances mood and emotional expression, improves motor skills, and motivates children to grasp, reach, and stand. Clinical studies reveal physical benefits of improved respiration, decreased pain perception, stress relief, lowered blood pressure, and improved cardiac output.

In February 1992, a bunch of German kids set out from the middle of nowhere and founded a band that would conquer the hearts of a whole new generation of fans around the globe. Today, 25 years later, EDGUY's founding members Tobias Sammet and the two guitarists Jens Ludwig and Dirk Sauer, as well as Tobias "Eggi" Exxel (bass) and Felix Bohnke (drums), who joined the band 20 years ago, can look back at their hugely successful career to shows in more than 40 countries, countless tours in Asia, Australia and America, ten studio albums and Top 10 chart entries from all over the world. To celebrate such an exceptional career with their fans, EDGUY will get back on the road. And while the live program will only contain the best material of their entire career, the new release will not be just a "greatest hits" album one would expect to accompany such a tour: The 2-CD/DVD-package "Monuments" — due on July 14 via Nuclear Blast — will include brand new material, their best tracks of the last 25 years, and old rarities that have never been published before. In addition, the DVD will include an entire show from EDGUY's "Hellfire Club" tour in 2004 as well as the complete collection of the band's video clips. The limited edition will include an extensive coffee-table book containing material from throughout the entire history of EDGUY. Sammet states: "Whilst collecting all of this picture material together, we were once again made aware of how proud we are of what we have created.

"There are probably not many musicians who are lucky enough to be able to look back on a 25-year-old band history at the end of their thirties. And especially without any lineup changes in the last 20 years! This is even more incredible considering that we’re not from Birmingham, New York or a German metropolis but from a small town called Fulda, a place where you normally only know about the insights of the music business by hearsay. I mean, as kids we started to play EDGUY shows even before we had visited concerts as fans ourselves! Then we started to play shows outside our home town, then outside Germany and, all of a sudden, we found ourselves touring in Asia, America and Australia on a regular basis, because apparently there were people who liked our music. And they became more and more. For us, this always felt quite normal, the next step was all that mattered. We didn't think about what happened while things were happening. But if you look back now, you will realize how lucky we were!"

He continued: "It's now time to celebrate our anniversary with our fans. We'll celebrate our quarter century with the release of 'Monuments' and live in some selected cities! We'll perform a best-of set list, a journey throughout our past, with a lot of fuss and at full throttle!

"The first quarter century is over and we want to honour these years with our fans! To the next 25 years!"

Catch EDGUY live on the "25 Years - The Best Of The Best: Monuments Tour 2017":

Jul. 16 - CZ - Vizovice - Masters Of RockSep. 15 - D - Bremen - AladinSep. 16 - D - Hamburg - MarkthalleSep. 17 - D - Bochum - ZecheSep. 19 - D - Frankfurt - BatschkappSep. 20 - D - Saarbrücken - GarageSep. 22 - D - Cologne - EssigfabrikSep. 23 - D - Stuttgart - LKA LonghornSep. 24 - D - Munich - BackstageSep. 26 - D - Erlangen - E-WerkSep. 27 - D - Berlin - C-ClubSep. 29 - CH - Pratteln - Z7Sep. 30 - D - Memmingen - KaminwerkOct. 03 - D - Fulda - Wartenberg-Oval

TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy has told Japan's Roppongi Rocks that the band will spend part of this month beginning work on the material for the follow-up to last year's "Brotherhood Of The Snake" album. "Right after we get home from [our Japanese tour], we start writing," he said. "We have all of March off and then April we hit the road. Thirty-seven shows. Us, SEPULTURA, PRONG. It'll be a good package," Chuck said of the lineup for the U.S. tour. "Then, June we will have off, somewhere in July we will continue writing. We got a couple of shows in July in Europe and then a short run in August. Then we're doing a major headline tour at the end of the year in Europe. We haven't done that in a while, so it's something I'm looking forward to."

Chuck also dismissed the notion that TESTAMENT might employ a more experimental approach on future albums. "There are so many [new] bands out there that I love, and love the music and [it sounds] so heavy, so new and fresh," he said. "But we can't do that — we can't change and shift gears now to do that, or we'll get criticized. We have to stay on the path that we started or we're gonna get criticized and then it's done."

He continued: "None of our records are the same. They always seem to change and shift in a little way but you always know it's TESTAMENT if you hear it."

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

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

Professionally filmed video footage of METALLICA performing the songs "The Call Of Ktulu" and "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" on February 9 and February 7, respectively, at Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark can be seen below.

METALLICA played its third concert in Copenhagen on February 9 as part of what was initially supposed to be the final of a four-night stand at that city's Royal Arena. The first show was cut short on February 3 when frontman James Hetfield took ill.

Hetfield was put on complete vocal rest the next day, forcing the band to postpone the second show on February 5. METALLICA returned to the stage on February 7.

The North American leg of METALLICA's "WorldWired" 2017 tour kicks off on May 10 in Baltimore, Maryland and will hit stadiums in 25 cities before winding down in mid-August. Support on the quartet's first North American trek since 2009 will come mainly from AVENGED SEVENFOLD and VOLBEAT, with GOJIRA taking over for the latter group for the last six shows.

Each ticket purchased for the tour will come with a copy of METALLICA's new album, "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct", available as a physical CD or a digital download. Various VIP packages are up for sale as well.

METALLICA has also announced the formation of its All Within My Hands Foundation, which will raise funds through ticket sales to support national, local and Bay Area charities selected by the band members, while continuing to donate to music education programs and local food banks.

Throughout his forty-year music career, Bob Kulick has worked with an astonishing array of artists: from Meat Loaf to MOTÖRHEAD. From KISS to Michael Bolton. W.A.S.P. to Diana Ross as well as legends such as Roger Daltrey, Alice Cooper, Lou Reed and Paul Stanley's first solo album and tour.

After serving as a sideman and producer for much of his professional career, Kulick has decided that it was time to release a solo album — and he brought along a few of his good friends to support him in the endeavor.

"Skeletons In The Closet" will be released in late spring through Vanity Music Group (distributed via RED / Sony Music).

Joining Bob on the album are:

Lead vocalists

Dee SniderRobin McAuleyAndrew FreemanVick WrightTodd KernsDavid Glen EisleyDennis St. James

Bassists

Rudy SarzoChuck WrightBobby FerrariBruce KulickDennis St JamesKjell Benner

Keyboardists

Doug KatsarosJimmy Waldo

Drummers

Vinny AppiceFrankie BanaliEric SingerBrent FitzScot CooganChuck BurgiBobby RockJay Schellen

Bob himself provided all of the guitar tracks and co-produced the album, along with Bobby Ferrari at Vegas View Recording in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Half of "Skeletons In The Closet" is comprised of brand new material while the other half is comprised of retrospective material from Bob's albums with MURDERER'S ROW and SKULL.

"After finishing the five new songs, the idea of including five of my favorite songs from my past rounded things out nicely," Bob says. "Brand new songs and then the 'skeletons in the closet!'"

"Skeletons in the Closet" track listing:

01. Player02. Not Before You03. London04. Goldfinger05. Rich Man06. India (from MURDERER'S ROW)07. Skeletons In The Closet (from MURDERER'S ROW)08. Guitar Commandos (from Skull — also features a guitar duel with Bruce Kulick)09. Can't Stop The Rock (previously unreleased track)10. Eyes Of A Stranger (from SKULL)

His talents have earned Kulick a dozen gold and platinum records, and aside from writing for the traditional album format, he's written and performed songs for Nickelodeon's SpongeBob Square Pants (David Glen Eisley's "Sweet Victory") and the theme song for WWE's superstar wrestler Triple H, "The Game".

Photo credit: Julie Bergonz

Former GUNS N' ROSES bassist Tommy Stinson says that he has "nothing bad to say" about his time with the band.

Stinson, who was in GN'R from 1998 until 2014, told Fox News (see video below): "When they asked me to play in the band, I thought the idea of… Axl [Rose, GUNS N' ROSES lead singer] had the name, he owned it; it was his band. I thought what he was aiming to do to preserve himself and preserve his career and to keep going forward, I thought, was pretty punk rock. And I thought, you know, as ideas go, this is one of 'em, and it's a pretty good one. I thought it was pretty huge. And cut to eighteen years later, I really… I have nothing bad to say. I went and saw two of the reunion shows, and they're doing great. They're all my friends. They're having a ball. I keep in touch with them. You know… Good for them."

Stinson previously told Rolling Stone magazine that his split with GUNS N' ROSES happened after his marriage "went fuckin' south in a bad, bad way" forcing him to become a "fuckin' full-time dad — and happily a full-time dad."

A founding member of the seminal Minneapolis-based rock band THE REPLACEMENTS, Stinson last played with GUNS N' ROSES at a 2014 show in Las Vegas.

GUNS N' ROSES' current "Not In This Lifetime" tour features classic lineup members Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and Rose backed by drummer Frank Ferrer, guitarist Richard Fortus, keyboardist Dizzy Reed and new second keyboardist Melissa Reese.


Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

ME AND THAT MAN, which pairs BEHEMOTH founder, songwriter and singer Adam "Nergal" Darski with British/Polish rock musician John Porter, performed its song "Nightride" on a recent episode of Kuba Wojewódzki's Król TVN show. You can now watch video footage of their appearance below.

ME AND THAT MAN will release its debut album, "Songs Of Love And Death", on March 24 through Cooking Vinyl.

With the release of this side project, the duo puts away any pre-conceived ideas about what heavy music "should" be. The project draws heavily on blues, country and folk to make music as dark as if it was being screamed over shredding guitars. "Songs Of Love And Death" is a dark journey through sun-bleached, dusty plains, soundtracked by low-slung acoustic guitars and steeped in the rawest essence of rock and blues. The duo's debut will prove to be a revelatory affair for BEHEMOTH's huge global fan base, while simultaneously luring many more people into Nergal's artistic world. Fans of everything from Nick Cave, DANZIG, Leonard Cohen and Johnny Cash's American Recordings, through to the grim, frontier polemic of WOVENHAND will find countless mesmerizing moments on the album. "This album is not meant to turn ME AND THAT MAN fans into BEHEMOTH fans," Nergal notes. "If one day they follow, okay. Something like 'My Church Is Black' is a strong declaration, a song that naturally invites people from the extreme metal world, and perhaps they'll want to enter this world too. They might even like it. With ME AND THAT MAN, I'm telling simple stories in a simple way, not overloaded with metaphors and hidden meanings. It's just got to be as natural, organic and stripped down as it can be." He further explains: "With ME AND THAT MAN, the songs just come out in a very organic way. One would be bluesy, one would be more of a ballad, but put together they all made sense. I need ME AND THAT MAN to keep the balance, as the potential of my mother band seems limitless. It gets bigger and bigger, more advanced and more sophisticated... and darker ...and blacker. But ME AND THAT MAN is at the opposite pole, artistically speaking. With all the best art, once you have it in you, you have to release it, otherwise it becomes intoxicating and dangerous to your own system. This is how I deal with my emotions and my dark feelings and shadows. This is not happy music, but it's liberating." "This is a side-project, but I don't really know what it's going to grow into," Nergal concludes. The idea was just to get this music out to people. There's no hidden agenda. It is what it is, and if you like it, it's cool. If you don't, that's cool too. This is the battle we've already won." Plans are underway for a series of live dates in Europe around the release of the album and across the U.S. in April/May. Stay tuned for further details soon. "Songs Of Love And Death" features artwork by Daniel P. Carter and is available for pre-order now.

ICED EARTH has completed work on its new album, "Incorruptible" (formerly "The Judas Goat"), for a mid-June release.

The track listing for the effort is as follows:

01. Great Heathen Army02. Black Flag03. Raven Wing04. The Veil05. Seven Headed Whore06. The Relic (Part 1)07. Ghost Dance (Awaken The Ancestors)08. Brothers09. Defiance10. Clear The Way (December 13th, 1862)

Regarding how "Incorruptible" compares to previous ICED EARTH albums, guitarist and main songwriter Jon Schaffer told Metal Wani: "They're all kind of their own thing, but I have a very strong gut feeling about this, and so does everybody in the band, that this is one of the really special ones. So I put it up there with 'The Dark Saga' [1996], 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' [1998], 'Dystopia' [2011] — it's in that league of records — so it's really gonna be something special, man. I know musicians always say that, but there is something going on here, so it's cool. We're all very excited about it."

On the topic of the concept for the lyrics on "Incorruptible", Schaffer said: "There is no concept on this record; it's just ten individual tracks not related to each other. Actually, on 'Plagues Of Babylon' [2014], it was only the first six that were related to the 'Something Wicked' story; it was like a zombie apocalypse within the 'Something Wicked' framework. But this album, it's just ten individual songs. We have one called 'Clear The Way', which is about the Irish Brigade at the Battle Of Fredericksburg — very tragic, actually — but that's a big epic, like ten minutes; and then we have one called 'Black Flag', which is a pirate song. It's quite a… I think I pulled it off pretty well with the lyrics, to be able to tell such a big story in a very short amount of time. I think it's gonna be a highlight of the record. And then on [the last European] tour, [we opened] the show with a new song that will be the opener on the album — it's called 'Great Heathen Army' — that's got a Viking kind of a vibe to it. So there's a lot of different things, and none of it's really related. There's one called 'Raven Wing'… I can't really think of all of them righ now… 'Seven Headed Whore' — that's one that's actually pretty brutal; it's like a total kick in the balls. But, you know, there's a lot of varied emotions on this, and it's cool stuff, man."

Asked about singer Stu Block's contribution to "Incorruptible", Schaffer said: "Well, he came at the end of… for about the last month or so of pre-production… maybe a little bit more… five weeks… and we worked on his vocal parts. We do it like Stu and I normally do it. Some of the stuff we write together. I mean, I write the musical arrangements and do all that — he doesn't play any instruments — but he comes in… At the end of the writing process is when we focus on his parts. And the lyrics that we worked on together, on a song called 'Brother', which is about our brotherhood, [between] Stu and I and within the band… We've gone through a lot of shit together and we've had a lot of great times together, but the bond is very strong, and that's clear. So it's just a song, really, for us. And then he wrote the lyrics for 'The Great Heathen Army'. I'm trying to think… I can't think of 'em, man; I have to look at the list [of songs]. But usually, he goes to an area and works, and I go in my area and work. And, like I said, on some songs we collaborate sometimes. On this one, the only we did was 'Brother'… We work in the way we always work. And it's a very cool chemistry."

ICED EARTH took a break from touring in 2015, primarily due to Schaffer's second cervical fusion surgery.

Longtime ICED EARTH drummer Brent Smedley returned to the band for the current recording and touring cycle. Smedley had to step down due to personal family reasons in 2013 shortly before the recording of "Plagues Of Babylon".

Professionally filmed video footage of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's March 3 performance at Enmore Theatre in Sydney, Australia can be seen below. The multi-camera clips were shot by Christina Rowatt, D.K. Robinson and Tim Oxford and were edited by Christina Rowatt.

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and ANTHRAX will hit the road this spring to co-headline a 27-date North American tour, presented by SiriusXM. The bands' itinerary will also include an April 15 appearance at the Texas Independence Festival in Austin, as well as each band headlining two solo shows separate from the double bill.

With KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and ANTHRAX rotating the closing slot over the course of the dates, the tour will hit the ground on March 29 in Montclair, New Jersey and then criss-cross the continent, wrapping up in Boston on May 7. The intense and dynamic THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA will provide direct support on all dates.

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE recently released the "Beyond The Flames: Home Video Part II" two-disc, Blu-ray and CD package. At the heart of this release is a 75-minute documentary that chronicles the return of singer Jesse Leach, after nearly a decade of being apart, to the band he helped form back in 1999. The piece also takes a close look at the KILLSWITCH ENGAGE early years that eventually led to Leach's initial departure. Produced and directed by KILLSWITCH ENGAGE storyteller Denise Korycki, this documentary picks up right where their 2005 "(Set This) World Ablaze" release left off, revealing the untold rest of the KILLSWITCH ENGAGE story.

Reunited cult New York thrash metal act DEMOLITION HAMMER will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its second album, "Epidemic Of Violence", by performing the LP in its entirety at a special show on June 24 at the Gramercy Theater in New York City. There will also be special 25th-anniversary "Epidemic Of Violence" merchandise that will only be sold at the show and will never be manufactured and sold again afterwards.

Tickets for the show go on sale this Friday, March 17 at 10 a.m. EST.

DEMOLITION HAMMER was active between 1986 and 1994 and released three full-length albums — "Tortured Existence" (1990), "Epidemic Of Violence" (1992) and "Time Bomb" (1994) — all through Century Media.

A DEMOLITION HAMMER compilation, "Necrology: A Complete Anthology", was issued in 2008, also through Century Media. The set contained the band's entire three-album discography across two discs.

In March 2015, Century Media reissued "Tortured Existence" and "Epidemic Of Violence" on vinyl.

Asked how the DEMOLITION HAMMER reunion came about, guitarist Derek Sykes told Rock Hard magazine: "It's kind of something that we've been watching, or I've been watching, for a very long time. Our last show that we played, up until recently, was twenty-five years ago. I've kind of maintained web sites and things like that, and I've been just kind of listening to people talking about the band, and they started talking more and more and more and more. And I had the idea, went to Steve [Reynolds; bass/vocals] and said, 'Hey, what do you think? Maybe we [should] try it.' And he was, like, 'I don't know.' So it really just kind of sat for a while and I just sat in awe, looking at how many people were kind of into it. I didn't expect that at all. And then we reconnected with Jim [James Reilly, guitar] here, and it was great just all three of us hanging out and really just having a great time. And then we went to the Maryland Deathfest not last year, but the year before. And our friends' band SOLSTICE played one of our songs, and we saw the crowd went nuts, and that's really when it hit us: 'Holy shit! We can actually do this.' So we dusted off the guitars, dusted off our arms, and tried to re-learn stuff that we hadn't literally played in twenty years. And we got most of it right."

Added Reynolds: "Derek had been talking to me about it and said, 'Hey, there's really a lot of interest,' and I said, 'Yeah, you're crazy, you're delusional. No one cares about DEMOLITION HAMMER.' But I'm not somebody who's very connected with the Internet or Facebook or anything. He was persistent about it, and like he said, when we went to the Maryland Deathfest and I saw it with my own eyes how much interest there was, I said, 'Okay, you're not crazy. Maybe there is something about this.' Then when we talked to James about it and he was in, that's what really put us over the top."

Regarding whether there are plans for DEMOLITION HAMMER to record a new album, Steve said: "We've talked. But we were so busy just trying to work all this in, we haven't really solidified any plans for that. But we're still talking about it."

Added Reilly: "Now that we see how well this is going, we do have it in our heads to start writing some new material and see where it goes."

Said Derek: "We're just amazed that we can actually still play the stuff that we played twenty-five years ago, and it sounds relatively good. So the next step is, 'Can we still write stuff that holds up to what we did twenty-five years ago?' 'Cause if it doesn't, we're not doing it. So that's really the last hurdle: can we still do it? We'll try to find out."

Continued James: "I think we can. As long as we stay true to ourselves and try not to be something we're not, it should work. I think it'll work."

By Carl Begai

"Life is too short to wonder 'What would have happened if I'd done something else?'"

So says former Amaranthe vocalist Jake E., who announced back in February that he was leaving the band he co-founded in 2008 after nine years and four albums. His departure boiled down to being unhappy with Amaranthe's current musical direction, and following a great deal of soul searching Jake decided to call it quits in the interest of devoting his energy to family life and an assortment of projects. One such project became Cyhra, which began as a collaboration with an old friend and evolved into a band with a future.

"I formed Cyhra with a guitar hero of mine, Jesper Strömblad of In Flames," Jake begins. "Peter Iwers (bass) recently left In Flames and is also part of this, and on drums we have Alexander Landenberg from Luca Turilli's Rhapsody. The music is written straight from the heart and it's a lot of fun. It's an amazing feeling but it's also a little bit weird to start over."

"I think I had the idea of starting a new band for a long time," he continues, "but when you're in a band it's like being in a relationship. If it's bad you're thinking 'Things will get better...' but you get to a point where you have to move on. It was the Amaranthe fans that kept me from doing this earlier; playing the shows, meeting the fans afterwards and seeing how happy they are, I had a bad conscience about the situation. There is a sentimental value to it which is what prevented me from leaving earlier because without the fans I'd still be working at a bar. Without the fans I would be nothing."

Cyhra's origins are simple and pure, its foundation based on friendship and a shared drive to make music.

"Me and Jesper have been friends for many years," says Jake. "We're from the same city and I used to do pyrotechnics for In Flames way back in the day, so we became friends when we were on tour. At the end of 2015, beginning of 2016 we met at a bar and I told Jesper I was thinking about doing a solo album. He told me that he had also wanted to do a solo album and asked if I would sing on it. I suggested he play guitar on my solo album, and that's when Jesper had the idea that we should do something together."

"We started to write songs just for fun; no timeframe, no plans to release anything. Later in the year I mentioned to Alexander Landenberg that me and Jesper were working together and suggested he come in to play drums because I thought he really fit the project. A few months later we had four songs done and decided it wasn't just a project, that Cyhra would be a band. And then, out of the blue, Peter told us that he'd love to play bass on the new material (laughs). He decided to leave In Flames a short time later and that's when things came together. At that point we decided to look for a record label to make this band a reality."

Asked to describe Cyhra's sound to Amaranthe fans and worshippers of the Strömblad-era of In Flames, Jake doesn't mince words. Elements of both bands exist in Cyhra but this is a different animal entirely.

"You can immediately hear that Jesper is involved. It's not old In Flames or anything like that. The music is modern metal but you hear straight away that Jesper is a part of it; you hear his melodies and that's what makes working with him so interesting. It's like Slash.... you know directly that it's Slash playing when you hear him, and it's the same thing with Jesper. When it comes to Amaranthe fans hearing Cyhra, the hooklines, the melodies, the choruses that stick to your brain, that's how they'll know I'm a part of this. It's a combination of Jesper's style from old melodic In Flames and my vocal melodies. It's a good mixture. Our intention is that both Amaranthe fans and In Flames fans will at least have a listen to Cyhra and hopefully like what we're doing."

Looking back, Jake cites Amaranthe's first two albums (self-titled debut and The Nexus) as being "exactly what I wanted the band to sound like; a mix between those Soilwork-like guitars and melodic Bon Jovi-type vocals." It seems likely that Cyhra would follow a similar path given Jake left Amaranthe when those elements became stifled.

"In one way, yes," he agrees. "You can hear that Cyhra is metal but over the eight years that I was with Amaranthe, I became really inspired by bands like Bring Me The Horizon, 30 Seconds To Mars, SIXX:A.M. and bands like that. There are heavy guitars, heavy drums, heavy bass, but you also have a bit more of this melancholic feeling in some of the Cyhra songs. That's why I said the music sounds a bit more modern. As you get older you evolve as a songwriter and Cyhra is the result of that."

Once Cyhra's debut album is released (through Spinefarm/Universal) the next order of business will be touring, which Jake assures the fans will happen. This begs the question: will the band pull out an old Amaranthe or In Flames song as part of their live set?

"That's a really interesting question," Jake laughs. "I hadn't even thought about that doing that. I can't say yes or no, but it would definitely be fun. It would be really cool. I wonder how it would sound with me on an In Flames song.... maybe something like Bon Jovi singing Slayer (laughs)."

www.cyhra.com

"Come Alive", the new video from American musician Nick Douglas, can be seen below. The song is taken from his second solo album, titled "Regenerations", which was released in North America on March 10 via Metalville Records.

Commented Nick: "The song 'Come Alive' is about facing a difficult situation and not losing hope, no matter how challenging it may seem and the truth you discover inside yourself in the process."

He added: "The video was filmed at The Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania and directed by Steve Truglio. We had a small budget but a lot of ideas. I'd like to thank The Sherman staff, Steve and my friends for being a part of it."

Most noted for his work with the queen of rock and metal Doro Pesch, for the past 25 years Douglas has recorded several albums with DORO and has backed her on stages across the globe. Throughout the years, Douglas has also lent his talents to tours and recorded works with Blaze Bayley (IRON MAIDEN) and Chris Caffery (SAVATAGE).

"Regenerations" was recorded and produced mostly at Douglas's own studio and he performed nearly all instrumentation himself. The result is a contemporary rock album featuring eleven catchy tracks with real hit potential.

Douglas said: "The songs on 'Regenerations' were written over the course of about 15 years. I've learned and changed so much through this time and the lyrics reflect that. That's how the name of the album came about. Letting go of old ways and growing into something new."

"Regenerations" track listing:

01. Come Alive02. All On Me03. Before You Break (feat. Sharlotte Gibson)04. I Need Real05. Didn't We Try06. My Lucky Day07. Uncomfortable08. The Soul You Keep09. Blackwood10. You Break11. Blue (feat. Rebecca Gowarty) At the age of 19, Douglas became a member of the heavy metal band DEADLY BLESSING from Turnersville, New Jersey, with which he wrote and recorded songs for their first album, titled "Ascend From The Cauldron", on New Renaissance Records in 1988. In late 1989, he decided to leave the band and moved to New York City. In the summer of 1990, Douglas auditioned for Pesch and was chosen among many candidates. Douglas has been the bassist of Doro's band since then and recorded several albums with her, touring often in Europe as well as rest of the world. Douglas has also worked with Bayley's band BLAZE for the tours of 2004 and 2005. In 2005, he also played bass for Caffery on his "Faces" tour and at the end of the same year he participated in a reunion of DEADLY BLESSING for some live performances and the release of an album containing rare and previously unreleased material. In 2007, Douglas played bass on one track on Caffery's third solo album "Pins And Needles", afterwards going on tour with both Caffery and Doro. He also started making plans to release a new solo CD, to which he devoted time to in the breaks between touring.

Former PANTERA and current HELLYEAH drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott celebrated his 53rd birthday on stage during the latter band's concert this past Saturday, March 11 at the Samsung Hall in Duebendorf (Zurich), Switzerland.

Prior to launching into the song "Startariot", HELLYEAH was joined on stage by three members of the headlining band KORN — bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, guitarist Brian "Head" Welch and drummer Ray Luzier — who presented Vinnie Paul with a birthday cake. Fieldy handed the cake to the drummer, who proceeded to blow out the candles and take a bite of the cake before resuming the concert with his bandmates.

Vinnie Paul's long-awaited cookbook, tentatively titled "Drumming Up An Appetite With Vinnie Paul", is expected later this year. He told the Banana 101.5 radio station that the book will feature "a picture of me sitting behind the drum set. I'm holding two big, old turkey legs; those are otherwise known as drumsticks. And it's got a lot of really cool recipes that I came up with on my own; a lot of them my mom taught me when I was growing up; and just a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor, and it's just a lot of fun. It's not real serious."

Vinnie added: "A lot of people think cooking is throwing something in the microwave. It's really not. There's a passion to it. It's like playing music. If you love doing it, you really put everything you've got into it and want it to be special, and that's what we do."

HELLYEAH's cover of the 1982 Phil Collins hit "I Don't Care Anymore" is featured on the band's new album, "Unden!able". The song includes a guitar track from late PANTERA guitarist — and Vinnie Paul Abbott's brother — "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, which the siblings first recorded fifteen years ago.