Thrash metal stalwarts, Havok, have released a music video for “Intention To Deceive”, a track from their upcoming record, Conformicide, which will be released on March 10th via Century Media Records. Click this link to direct you to selected stores and download/streaming platforms. The new video can be found below.

In addition to Conformicide being released on CD, digital and streaming platforms, the album will also be available in an array of limited edition vinyl colors. See below for a complete list of these color LPs and where fans can purchase them.

Color Vinyls:

Black - All Outlets (unlimited)
White - CM Distro Europe Exclusive (100 copies)
Lilac - Europe (200 copies)
Golden - Nuclear Blast Europe Exclusive (200 copies)
Neon Yellow - US Stores / Indie Merch (400 copies)
Clear - Pledge Music Exclusive (300 copies)
Transparent Blue - Tour/Band Exclusive (300 copies)

Fans can now pre-order Conformicide via CMDistro or Pledge Music. Also available via iTunes, Amazon and Google Play.

Tracklisting:

“F.P.C.”
“Hang 'Em High”
“Dogmaniacal”
“Intention To Deceive”
“Ingsoc”
“Masterplan”
“Peace Is In Pieces”
“Claiming Certainty”
“Wake Up”
“Circling The Drain”

Bonus Tracks (Special Edition CD)
“String Break”
“Slaughtered”

Bonus Tracks (Gatefold 2LP + CD)
“String Break”
“Slaughtered”
“Claiming Certainty” (Live)

“Intention To Deceive” video:

"Ingsoc”:

"Hang 'Em High”:

Havok are on tour in the US with Suicidal Tendencies and Crowbar.

February
28 - San Antonio, TX - Paper Tiger

March
1 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall
3 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
4 - Ft. Meyers, FL - Harborside Events Center
5 - Tampa, FL - State Theatre
7 - Memphis, TN - New Daisy Theatre
8 - Lawrence, KS - Granada
10 - Denver, CO - Summit Music Hall Complex
11 - Salt Lake City, UT - Complex

 

 

European Headline Tour with Warbringer, Gorod & Exmortus:

April
1 - Edingburgh, UK - Heavy Scotland Festival * Havok only!
2 - Manchester, UK - Rebellion   
3 - Birmingham, UK - Mama Roux’s  
4 - London, UK - Underworld  
5 - Hasselt, Belgium - Muziekodroom   
6 - Tilburg, The Netherlands - 013   
7 - Hamburg, Germany - Logo  
8 - Aarhus, Denmark - Royal Metal Festival  
9 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Sticky Fingers  
11 - Helsinki, Finland - Tavastia  
13 - Stockholm, Sweden - Fryshuset Klubben  
14 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Pumpehuset   
15 - Berlin, Germany - Cassiopeia  
16 - Markneukirchen, Germany - Framus & Warwick Concert Hall  
17 - München, Germany - Feierwerk  
19 - Vienna, Austria - Arena  
20 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Orto Bar  
21 - Brescia, Italy - Circolo Colony  
22 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7  
23 - Saarbrücken, Germany - Garage  
24 - Nantes, France - Ferrailleur   
26 - Madrid, Spain - Caracol  
27 - Barcelona , Spain - Salamandra 1  
28 - Puget, France - Le Rats  
29 - Paris, France - Petit Bain  
30 - Essen, Germany - Turock

In a brand new interview with Billboard, DEEP PURPLE bassist Roger Glover spoke about the band's upcoming tour, "The Long Goodbye", which starts May 13 in Europe and includes a late-summer North American leg with ALICE COOPER and EDGAR WINTER. Asked if the tour title is trying to tell fans something, Glover said: "Well, we're letting you make your own minds up. No one wants to stop. But we know that I'm 71 now, [singer Ian] Gillan is 71, we're all about late 60s, early 70s, and bodies have a way of not keeping up with your brain or your career. We're all sort of approaching that point where I can't imagine another eight years to do an album."

Glover continued: "The time is approaching when it will end, but we don't want to face that. We don't actually want to make a date or a final tour or anything. We just want to carry on as long as nature allows or is kind of dignified. If we can't do what we do anymore, then yes, it's time to stop. But we're still doing it, and we're still enjoying it very much. So all we're saying is the door is closing, but it's not closed yet."

DEEP PURPLE will release their new album, "InFinite", the highly anticipated follow-up to their worldwide chart-topping effort "Now What?!", on April 7 via earMUSIC.

"InFinite" was tracked in February 2016 at a studio in Nashville, Tennessee and was once again helmed by Bob Ezrin, who has previously worked with KISS, PINK FLOYD, PETER GABRIEL, ALICE COOPER and KANSAS, among others.

DEEP PURPLE — which has been eligible for induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame for two decades now — finally entered the Rock Hall as part of the class of 2016. The band's first three lineups were inducted, including drummer Ian Paice, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, late keyboardist Jon Lord, and various singers and bassists — Rod Evans; Ian Gillan and Roger Glover; and David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes.

GHOST was honored in the "Best Hard Rock/Metal" category at the Swedish Grammis awards (Swedish Grammy equivalent), which was held Tuesday night (February 28) at Konserthuset in Stockholm. This marks the act's third win in this category.

The bands were nominated for their most recent releases, all of which came out during 2016.

"Best Hard Rock/Metal" nominees were as follows:

* AMARANTHE - "Maximalism"* CULT OF LUNA & JULIE CHRISTMAS - "Mariner"* DARK TRANQUILLITY - "Atoma"* GHOST - "Popestar"* IN FLAMES - "Battles"

None of the GHOST bandmembers' real names have ever been revealed, although singer Papa Emeritus is believed to be Swedish rock musician Tobias Forge, who writes almost all of the group's music and does most of the act's interviews disguised as a member of his backing band of Nameless Ghouls.

Since none of the musicians in the band are ever identified, personnel changes in the group have gone unannounced. It is believed, however, that the lineup has changed a few times over the years, including at the end of 2016, when Forge is rumored to have fired all five of the Nameless Ghouls following the completion of GHOST's North American tour. As a result, GHOST's upcoming European headlining trek — which kicks off at the end of March — will apparently mark the live debut of GHOST's new lineup, featuring Forge as the sole remaining member from the band that previously toured in support of "Meliora" and last year's "Popestar" EP.

"Popestar" was released last September. The effort features covers of songs from bands like ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN and EURYTHMICS along with a new original tune called "Square Hammer".

During a recent interview with Metal Wani, the GHOST leader touched on the subject of lineup changes and how they have affected the band's sound over the years.

"From a practical point of view, you're interested in, on the one hand, preserving the sound, or the elements that make up the sound, and you still wanna progress," he said. "I think one of the secrets behind our preserving ability is the fact that we don't necessarily have to have the same six people in the room to make that sound, which helps.

"It's always a blessing and a curse when you have some of these classic bands over the course of rock and roll history, where in order for them to sound like that exact band, you need those four individuals, and if one is missing, it does not sound like that," he continued. "And, fortunately, we don't have that problem. Because performing GHOST and recording GHOST has never really been the same thing. So that we can preserve our sound; we don't have to rely on… if some people come and go, which is good. QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE is the same thing. Everything goes through Josh's [Homme] hands, and therefore it sounds like QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, regardless of who he brings in and out of the band, which is, I guess, a similar situation."




[MESSAGE FROM THE CLERGY]

We wish to inform you that tonight Ghost won a Swedish Grammis Award in the category Hard Rock/Metal Act Of The Year. This is band's third Grammis win.

Thank you!

Posted by Ghost on Tuesday, February 28, 2017

DISTURBED is planning to return to the studio later this year to record an acoustic EP before beginning work on the follow-up to 2015's "Immortalized" album.

Prior to the arrival of "Immortalized", DISTURBED had been on hiatus since the fall of 2011, after completing the touring cycle for its previous studio effort, "Asylum", and issuing a rarities collection called "The Lost Children".

Asked by Germany's Rock Antenne how long fans will have to wait before the release of the next DISTURBED album, vocalist David Draiman said (see video below): "Well, the plan at this particular point in time is to take a little bit of time off, spend some time with our families, get some personal stuff done. We have an acoustic EP that we're working on. That's something we've wanted to do for years that we just never had the time or the opportunity to. So that we'll be working on in between our LP releases. And then probably 2018 we will head back into the studio to record the next record and hopefully have a release sometime in late 2018 and hit the road 2019 again."

Draiman also talked about the overwhelmingly positive response to DISTURBED's cover of SIMON & GARFUNKEL's "The Sound Of Silence", which can be found on "Immortalized". Asked if the band has encountered any fans who discovered DISTURBED's music through "The Sound Of Silence" and came to one of the band's shows expecting to hear more similarly stripped down material, Draiman said: "I haven't seen any of that. No evidence of that whatsoever. In fact, the most recurring series of comments that I get is that people who were introduced to the band via 'The Sound Of Silence' cover then were so excited and curious that they tried to listen to a bunch of the rest of the catalog."

He continued: "Even though there is obviously a marked stylistic difference between the majority of our catalog and a cover like 'The Sound Of Silence', it certainly isn't the first time we've done an acoustic track. There is a track off the 'Believe' record called 'Darkness', which is also acoustic and purely sung as far as the vocal delivery is concerned. But I do believe that the saving grace and the binding cohesive element that people are able to embrace within our music is the very, very intense and strong and melodic nature of it. And so people who are brought in by 'The Sound Of Silence' find very powerful melody throughout the rest of our catalog. Some of it is more aggressive, some of it is less aggressive, so they don't necessarily fall in love with all of it, but they fall in love with a lot of it. And there literally isn't a fan that I see in the audience that isn't participating, jamming out and singing to just about every song."

Draiman added: "Granted, 'The Sound Of Silence' is an amazing and beautiful moment within the performance every single night, but it's definitely not the situation that I was warned of, potentially. People used to tell me horror stories: 'Aren't you concerned about' exactly what you described? And they gave me the example of… If you remember back in the '80s, there was a band called EXTREME; they had a song called 'More Than Words'. For instance, they played Australia, and 'More Than Words' was the huge hit, and everybody came to see the band and they were expecting an entire set like that, and had a pretty shocking surprise when the rest of it was 'hair metal,' essentially. But we haven't gotten that at all. And I think that that's a wonderful, wonderful thing."

"Immortalized" became DISTURBED's fifth album to enter The Billboard 200 chart at No. 1 — a feat shared only with METALLICA and DAVE MATTHEWS BAND.

"The Sound Of Silence" was certified platinum last June for sales or downloads of more than one million copies, while "Immortalized" hit gold in September for 500,000 copies sold.

Experimental black metal band Farsot will release its third album, Fail·lure, on April 21st via Prophecy Productions / Lupus Lounge. Produced by V. Santura (Triptykon, Secrets Of The Moon), Fail·lure merges Farsot’s avant-garde songwriting with original black metal arrangements and a dynamism that could only come from one of the world’s most ambitious underground bands.

A blend of "failure" and "allure," Fail·lure is conceptually inspired by the critically acclaimed Peter Greenaway film, Drowning By Numbers, which won the award for Best Artistic Contribution at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, as well as Art Nouveau works such as Khnopff's Ishtar, Klimt's Water Serpents, Kotarbinski's Kiss Of Medusa and Schwabe's La Vague. The album art features a sculpture by French artist Denis Lavoyer that depicts a female idealized with threatening, claw-like branches for arms, addressing the inevitable dilemma between fascination and mania and seeming rifts between the sexes; it is an allegory of life as an endless game that cannot be won.

Tracklisting:

"Vitriolic"
"Circular Stains"
"With Obsidian Hands"
"Undercurrents"
"The Antagonist"
"A Hundred To Nothing"

Pre-order Fail·lure at this location.

More in line with Farsot’s debut |||| (2007) than its predecessor Insects (2011), Fail·lure musically mashes the feelings of failure (the act or instance of failing or proving unsuccessful) and allure (the quality of being powerfully and mysteriously attractive or fascinating) to create a soundtrack to delusion, desire, disgust, power, weakness, winners, losers, crime, punishment, man and woman and life and death.

Fail·lure will be released on CD in Arigato-Pac (with die-cut cover), as gatefold 2xLP, 2xCD book (18x18cm, 60 pages, incl. liner notes to all songs and additional photography) as well as complete box set (with gatefold 2xLP, 2xCD book, music video and art prints). Gatefold 2xLP and 2xCD book will also contain the audio bonus track, "Watertower Conspiracy", a 20 minute ambient work by G.B. / ColdWorld, which adapts motifs from all of the Fail·lure album tracks.

Hells Headbangers has revealed the cover art and tracklisting for Skelethal's debut album, Of The Depths... Hailing from the now-fertile French death metal scene, Skelethal comprise two diehard death metal addicts, Gui Haunting and Jon Whiplash, who decided in early 2012 to form a band mainly influenced by the genre's classics: Entombed, Carnage, Morbid Angel, Pestilence, Autopsy, and Death among others. With that foundation firmly in place, Skelethal unleashed the Morbid Ovation demo in 2012 and then two critically acclaimed EPs in 2014, Deathmanicvs Revelation and Interstellar Knowledge Of The Purple Entity, which were later compiled onto CD in 2015 as Morbid Revelations.

Having played many gigs and spread their name in several countries, Skelethal are now about to reveal their first full-length, Of The Depths..., for new label home Hells Headbangers. The duo's aim is plainly stated - absolute death worship - and once again, they will wield the metal of death like a scythe, an axe, and blunt hammer simultaneously, all in obeisance to occult forces beyond the mien of man. Being diehard death metal addicts themselves, Hells Headbangers couldn't be more pleased to have Skelethal among its roster, and are anxiously anticipating unleashing the band's rumbling, roiling tank-tread of a sound. 

Release date, first song, and pre-order info to be revealed shortly. Cover art and tracklisting are as follows:

"Sons Of Zann"
"Spectral Cemetery"
"Chaotic Deviance"
"Glimpse Of The Great Purpose"
"Catharsis"
"Pantheon Of The Abyss"
"Scaly Smelly Flesh"
"Outer Conviction"
"Morbid Ovation"
"Soon To Be Dead" (CD bonus)
"Macabre Oblivion" (CD bonus)

Visit Skelethal on Facebook for further details.

 

In October 2016, Robert Plant performed many Led Zeppelin favorites with his band the Sensational Space Shifters at a charitable event at the Ace Hotel and Theater in Los Angeles, California. On Sunday, March 5th at 10PM Eastern / 7PM Pacific, AXS TV will present the concert, Live at David Lynch’s Festival of Disruption. Best Classic Bands has premiered a clip of their performance of "Whole Lotta Love".

The hour-long event, says the press announcement, “gives fans a rare opportunity to experience the legendary frontman as they’ve never seen or heard him before, as he playfully interacts with the crowd and puts a new spin on beloved classics and modern favorites in an intimate setting.” Highlights include stripped down and acoustic renditions of Led Zeppelin classic rock hits “Black Dog”, “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You”, and “Whole Lotta Love”, as well as solo standouts “Turn It Up”, “Rainbow”, “The Enchanter”, “Little Maggie”, and more.

 

Harrogate, UK-based heavy-hitters, Blood Youth, have unleashed “Making Waves”, the second single to be taken from their debut album, Beyond Repair, set for release on April 7th via Rude Records. The track is available for streaming below.

Vocalist Kaya Tarsus reveals of the song’s origin and inspiration: “”Making Waves” is about numbing the pain, erasing memories and the conversations I had with strangers when I was at a very low point. It's about a time when I was living on my own, depressed with no distractions. I found myself just constantly thinking about everything I was going through. I thought that I could fix this by going out every single night, sometimes on my own, just so I could distract myself for a few hours. Ironically, I would always end up feeling so much worse in the morning. Making Waves was actually the first track written for Beyond Repair and inspired the entire album theme.”

Recording for Beyond Repair took place between Jonny Renshaw at Bandit Studios and Robin Adams at The Warehouse, with mixing by Studio Fredman and rounded off with mastering by Alan Douches at West West Side. The result is a blend of furious metal and hardcore, deep and dark with a jolt of adrenaline, offering up guaranteed circle-pit starters in tandem with opening up into massive sing-alongs.

As Tarsus puts it: “Beyond Repair is about being angry, it's about how we deal with this anger in the modern age. We were aiming to create something very aggressive but very real. With Beyond Repair, I believe we have achieved just that."

Pre-order the album here.

Tracklisting:

“Making Waves”
“What I’m Running From”
“Savanna”
“Parasite”
“I Remember”
“Reason To Stay”
“Pulling Teethv
“Buying Time”
“Bless”
“Man Made Disaster”

“Making Waves”:

“Reason To Stay” video:

Singapore's Rudra have released a lyric video for “Seer Of All”, a track from their eight full length album, Enemy Of Duality, released last December. The new video is available for streaming below.

Tracklisting:
 
“Abating The Firebrand”
“Slay The Demons Of Duality”
“Perception Apparent”
“Acosmic Self”
“Root Of Misapprehension”
“Seer Of All”
“Hermit In Nididhyasana”
“Ancient Fourth”

“Seer Of All” lyric video:

“Ancient Fourth”:

Lineup:

Kathir - Vocals, Bass
Vinod - Guitar
Simon - Guitar
Shiva - Drums

As the UK thrash legends Acid Reign gear up for their April Fools tour, the band announce the release of their brand new single, “The Man Who Became Himself”.

The follow-up to their acclaimed “Plan Of The Damned” single (as featured on the new Music for Nations Speed Kills VII compilation), “The Man Who Became Himself” (featuring artwork by Andy Pilkington from Very Metal Art) captures the band on bludgeoning form that picks up where the bruising “Plan Of The Damned” left off.

Frontman Howard “H” Smith commented: “An album is still some way off but we wanted to have a new song out for our first headline tour since 1990. See you all there we can’t wait!”

More than three years after announcing their reunion, female rockers VIXEN have yet to begin tracking their comeback studio album. Drummer Roxy Petrucci told Totally Driven Radio: "We have a bunch of demos that we recorded, but we're not there yet. It's a timing thing. We've just gotta take the time and start buckling down and doing it. It's just that everybody has lives going on too, so between playing live and then everybody going back to their homes, which is all over the place… We'll get there. We'll get there. We're having a lot of fun, and we love doing the live stuff right now."

Roxy also spoke about VIXEN's plans for the coming months. She said: "We are gonna start playing again. We took a little hiatus. March 25th, actually, is our first [show back]. We're playing Toledo. We recorded some stuff on the ship [Monsters Of Rock cruise] for a possible live release, so we're gonna see how that goes. But, yeah, we're gearing up to go back on the road. We're weekend warriors, but we plan on playing all summer long."

Petrucci, singer Janet Gardner and bassist Share Ross honored their friend and bandmate, guitarist and founder of VIXEN, Jan Kuehnemund, by resurrecting VIXEN in 2013.

The band was committed to reunite in 2012 but Kuehnemund's cancer diagnosis caused what was thought of at the time as a delay. Sadly, however, after a fierce battle, Kuehnemund succumbed to her illness, thus the reunion was not meant to be.

After discussing the idea with friends and family as well as lead vocalist from VIXEN's most recent lineup, Jenna Sanz-Agero, it was agreed that it was the right decision for the three surviving definitive members to carry on as VIXEN.

Joining forces with their JSRG bandmate, guitarist Gina Stile, VIXEN is performing at select festivals and showcase dates.

Kuehnemund was only 51 years old at the time of her death.

SIX FEET UNDER, the Florida-based death metal band fronted by ex-CANNIBAL CORPSE singer Chris Barnes, has announced the addition of former CANNIBAL CORPSE and DEICIDE guitarist Jack Owen to the group's ranks.

Barnes comments: "It is with great pleasure that I announce and introduce to you our new second guitarist, Jack Owen.

"As you all know, Jack and I started off together helping form one of the greatest death metal bands of all time.

"Jack and I began talking a few months ago, after his departure from his previous band, about joining forces.

"From my side of things, it's going to be amazing to work with Jack again!! We had some intense adventures, to say the least hahaha... and it's gonna be killer to step on stage with Jack for the first time in over 22 years!!

"Jack will be joining SIX FEET UNDER for the entire cycle of touring for the new album and beyond!

"As you can imagine, SIX FEET UNDER is planning a very exciting live set list for you all to freak out over!!!"

Owen adds: "I'm super excited to work with my metal brother Chris Barnes and the mighty SIX FEET UNDER! We've been talking about writing original material for years, and I hope it gets to that point. It would be amazing. For now, I'm looking forward to touring our asses off. I miss Europe, Canada, South America — hell, I just miss touring! It will be an honor jamming with Chris and his current SIX FEET UNDER lineup of talented musicians...and performing with Chris will be like reliving our youth. I can't wait to see all the SIX FEET UNDER and old-school CANNIBAL CORPSE fans across the globe!"

After Barnes left CANNIBAL CORPSE to form SIX FEET UNDER, he was replaced in the former band by George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher.

SIX FEET UNDER's twelfth studio album, "Torment", wwas released on February 24 via Metal Blade. The disc was brought to life by Barnes with bassist/guitarist Jeff Hughell (BRAIN DRILL) shouldering the load of writing the music, along with heralded drummer Marco Pitruzzella (BRAIN DRILL, ANOMALOUS, SLEEP TERROR).

LINKIN PARK performed its new single, "Heavy", on last night's (Monday, February 27) episode of CBS's "The Late Late Show With James Corden". The track features guest vocals from Kiara Saulters, who is best known for recording stop-motion, hip-hop-inspired electro-R&B under the name Kiiara and who performed with the band during last night's program.

"Heavy" sees LINKIN PARK teaming up with pop songwriter Emily Wright, who has worked with artists like Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry and Flo Rida. Vocalist Mike Shinoda told The Pulse Of Radio about the concept behind the song and its very different sound: "The question popped into my head, what would it be like, first of all, to write with people outside the band? What would it be like to really approach things with our arms kind of wide open, wrapped around a larger audience? And still make it a hundred percent LINKIN PARK and a hundred percent true to what we do. Almost a year and a half later, this is the first taste of what that sounds like."

Asked what the rest of "One More Light" is like, Shinoda told Billboard: "One of the reasons why we chose 'Heavy' as the first single is because it is really the core sound of the album. This wasn't a scenario where the whole album sounds one way and the single sounds different. This is how the album sounds. So we wanted to go out with a song like that, where everybody can get a sense of the direction of this body of work."

Shinoda also talked about LINKIN PARK's decision to collaborate with other writers this time around.

"The thing that really drove this album was we kind of flipped our writing process backwards," he said. "Historically for us the (instrumental) track usually comes first, like we'll make a body of music and the music will inspire the lyrics. In this case, we actually flipped that around and the very first thing we'd do each day is we'd get into the studio and say, 'What's on my mind? What do I want to sing about and write about?' and that defined a whole different kind of writing. It builds a wonderful foundation to put everything else on top of. And the soundmaking is actually one of the most fun parts for me, so then it's like icing on the cake. I know I've got a strong song, a strong foundation and then it's just icing to put on top of it."

Other tunes on the new CD include "Nobody Can Save Me", "Good Goodbye", "Talking To Myself", "Battle Symphony", "Invisible", "Sorry For Now", "Halfway Right", "Sharp Edges" and the title track.

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

BODY COUNT frontman, hip-hop legend, actor and director Ice-T says that he "had no problem" with METALLICA's collaboration with pop superstar Lady Gaga at this year's Grammy Awards.

METALLICA's appearance with Gaga at the 59th annual event in Los Angeles on February 12 turned into something of a disaster when the Grammy sound crew did not turn frontman James Hetfield's mic on, forcing him to share the mic with Gaga after the first verse and chorus.

As a further humiliation, presenter Laverne Cox did not even introduce METALLICA by name. At the end of the song, a visibly angry Hetfield hurled his guitar at a road crew member while kicking over his mic stand.

During an interview on the "The Countdown" show on SiriusXM Rush, Ice-T offered his opinion of METALLICA's performance on the Grammys, saying (hear audio below): "I had no problem with it. I had a problem with the person that announced them saying, 'The winner of this many Grammys…' and then they just forgot to say their name and then they said, 'Lady Gaga.' I'm, like, 'METALLICA. You forgot…' So I was, like, already, 'Oh-oh…' And then when James's mic wasn't on, I was, like, 'Okay.' But they're professionals; they just played it through."

He continued: "As far as Lady Gaga, she's the business. You know, I think entertainers respect real entertainers, and I think she's proved herself. Of course, when she hit the first scene, everybody was, like, 'Okay, this is all gimmick,' but she's a lot more than that. She's the business. I've been fortunate to meet her a few times. She's a nice girl, she's a nice lady. So God bless Lady Gaga. I think it was fly. And I think METALLICA was fly for saying, 'Let's do it.' You know what I'm saying? You know, what's the problem? What's the problem?"

BODY COUNT's new album, "Bloodlust", will be released on March 31 via Century Media. The disc was recorded with producer Will Putney (MISS MAY I, UPON A BURNING BODY), who also helmed 2014's "Manslaughter".

The new CD will feature guest appearances by Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, SEPULTURA), MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine and LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe. The effort will also contain BODY COUNT's medley of the SLAYER songs "Postmortem" and "Raining Blood".

Disciples of the heavy metal code don't just love our music, we need it: to maintain our cultural, personal and - perhaps most importantly - cosmic equilibrium. As a result, there is nothing more essential to our musical lives than bands that tap into our beloved genre's purest essence and re-imagine that primal magic in brand new and gloriously vivid hues. Sweden's Saturn more than fit the bill.

The sound of yesterday, filtered through the limitless refractions of an unknown future but rooted firmly in the here and now, Beyond Spectra - out March 31st via Rise Above Records - pulls off the neat and laudable trick of getting everything right and making it look easy, while also offering great substance to stir the soul and a few, jolting shots of originality and effortless cool. If you're lacking some steel in your aural diet, look no further. This band's fascinating voyage into virgin skies looks certain to provide all the nourishment you could ever need.

The first video offering from Beyond Spectra has been released for the song "Still Young”, available for streaming below.

Beyond Spectra is available for pre-order on iTunes and Amazon. Digital purchases include an instant download of "Still Young".

Tracklisting:

“Orbital Command”
“Wolfsson”
“Nighttime Badger”
“Linkans Delight”
“Electrosaurus Sex”
“Still Young”
“Force Of The North”
“Helmet Man”
“Silfvertape”
“Sensor Data”

“Still Young” video:

Having already proved their worth and potential three years ago with their stunning debut album Ascending, this young band have evolved into something truly extraordinary this time round. In stark contrast to many retro-minded records currently doing the rounds, Beyond Spectra offers much more than affectionate pastiche and Luddite petulance. Instead, this is the sound of red-blooded heavy metal with its eyes focused on the depths of outer space, as the rampaging grooves and analogue hiss of prime '70s proto-doom, the swaggering boogie braggadocio of UFO and the stately grandeur of Sad Wings-era Priest collide in a mesmerizing shower of irresistible riffs, unearthly melodies and moments of shimmering psychedelia.

"How we have evolved since Ascending? Our guitarist Linkan cut off his dreadlocks and that generally contributed to a good vibe, ha ha!" guitarist Robin Tidebrink laughs. "More seriously, the production of Beyond Spectrais way better. It sounds fatter without losing that vintage feeling to it. I also think that we're starting to find our own sound. You could say that every new song that we write is more and more Saturn. I would also say that we're more comfortable in writing new songs and we know what kind of different elements to add to make it all sound like we want it to."

Fans of Saturn's first album will not be freaked out by the band's great leap forward, but Beyond Spectra is plainly an album driven by a broader vision and an enhanced desire to forge a unique path. Songs like opening intergalactic rager Orbital Command and the sumptuous interwoven dynamics and dark drama of Nighttime Badger proudly proclaim their debt to the pioneering heavy metal greats of the '70s but there is so much energy, verve and ingenuity on display throughout that Saturn sound much more like the future than the past. That said, Beyond Spectra is also very much an album with its mind on the modern world too.

"The lyrical content on the album tries to explore and compare events in the world today from a historical point of view," says vocalist Oscar Pehrson. "Both from our personal perspective but also on a more global scale. The album title is a word play on trying to see the world in as many ways as possible and to be able to understand what is going on and where we are going.It is a serious topic but we're trying to add some humour and fiction to it as well. Music and comedy have the ability to be fun and still deliver a serious message."

As much as they exist in the present day, it hardly needs stating that Saturnare huge fans of old school, analogue tones and the ageless allure of that classic '70s hard rock sound. For those with a similar passion for that bygone era, Beyond Spectra offers an object lesson in conjuring ancient vibes and emboldening them with fresh perspective.

"Everything was recorded through two old mixing tables that used to belong to Swedish Radio, the government controlled public service radio, and anything that you run through those tables will sound really warm and sweet," says Robin. "Another factor is that we didn't add lots of effects in post-production because we wanted a clean and simple sounding recording. We didn't do any overdubs on this album...and we didn't on Ascending either! It's kind of tricky, because when somebody goes off to do a solo and you only have one rhythm guitar it can sound kind of weak... but that's part of the charm! It's more honest in a way. I believe that's a huge factor in how the final record sounds."

Australian metalcore masters THE AMITY AFFLICTION have debuted the official video for "Fight My Regret", from their latest album, "This Could Be Heartbreak". The clip, which was directed by Ryan Mackfall, can be seen below. "Fight My Regret" is the fourth video released from the new LP and follows "All F*cked Up", as well as the band's two-part epic laid out in the videos for "I Bring The Weather With Me" and "This Could Be Heartbreak". THE AMITY AFFLICTION will return to the States this spring for a pair of festival appearances at Carolina Rebellion in Concord, North Carolina (May 5) and Columbus, Ohio's Rock On The Range (May 19). They will then return home to Australia for a massive headline tour with special guests PVRIS, BEARTOOTH and MAKE THEM SUFFER, set to get underway June 17 at Thebarton Theatre in Adelaide, Australia. Furthermore, THE AMITY AFFLICTION has been announced for this year's prestigious Reading and Leeds festivals, where they will perform Friday, August 25 and Saturday, August 26.

Deeply personal and emotionally wrenching, "This Could Be Heartbreak" is THE AMITY AFFLICTION's most transformative and revealing record yet. Recorded by producer and longtime collaborator Will Putney at Melbourne's Holes And Corners with additional drum tracking done at Sing Sing Studios, the album finds THE AMITY AFFLICTION evolving their signature powerful and cathartic song craft. Both ambitious and grand, album standouts "This Could Be Heartbreak" and "All Fucked Up" are equal parts heavy and hopeful, fueled by frontman Joel Birch's desperation which achieves extraordinary transcendence through radical honesty and absolute power.

Iron Reagan have released a music video for the song “A Dying World”, the opening track of their recently released album, Crossover Ministry.  The video is directed by Dennis Williford and shot at President's Park in Williamsburg, Virginia.

The band is currently on tour throughout North American with Power Trip in support of Crossover Ministry. See all remaining tour dates listed below.

Released on February 3rd via Relapse Records, Crossover Ministry is comprised of 18 tracks in just thirty minutes. Mixed by Kurt Ballou and recorded by Iron Reagan guitarist Phil “Landphil” Hall, the album is a further continuation of the band’s punchy, thrashy gallops and unique hardcore punk attitude. Hear their vicious sermon at a circle pit near you in February and March (dates below) and stream Crossover Ministry in full below.

Iron Reagan are no strangers to the fine art of crossover thrash. Comprised of veterans Tony Foresta, Phil Hall, Mark Bronzino, Rob Skotis, and Ryan Parrish, between them they fill, or have filled the ranks of Municipal Waste, Cannabis Corpse, Mammoth Grinder, Darkest Hour and numerous other bands. Formed in 2012, the punk-metal quintet quickly released a demo EP followed by their debut full-length, Worse Than Dead via A389 Recordings, and splits with both Exhumed and Toxic Shock. The gang then signed to Relapse Records and released their self-produced sophomore full-length The Tyranny Of Will, mixed by Kurt Ballou (Converge) in 2014.

Since 2014, Iron Reagan have toured the world almost non-stop, with high-caliber acts in the punk, hardcore and metal worlds such as Poison Idea, Napalm Death, Voivod, Skeletonwitch, The Black Dahlia Murder, GWAR, Seven Seconds, Eyehategod, etc. including appearances at Hellfest, Full Terror Assault, Brutal Assault, This is Hardcore, Party San Open Air, and numerous others. Now in February and March 2017, Iron Reagan will tour North America with Power Trip (dates below).

Order the new album at this location.

Tracklisting:

“A Dying World”
“You Never Learn”
“Grim Business”
“Dead With My Friends”
“No Sell”
“Condition Evolution”
“Fuck The Neighbors”
“Power Of The Skull”
“Crossover Ministry”
“More War”
“Blatant Violence”
“Parents Of Tomorrow”
“Bleed The Fifth”
“Megachurch”
“Shame Spiral”
“Dogsnotgods”
“Eat Or Be Eaten”
“Twist Your Fate”

“Fuck The Neighbors” video:

“Bleed The Fifth” video:

Album stream:

Tour dates:

February (with Power Trip)
27 - Raleigh, NC - Kings *
28 - Richmond, VA - Broadberry *+

March (with Power Trip)
1 - Baltimore, MD - Soundstage *+
2 - New York, NY - Marlin Room +&
3 - Pittsburgh, PA - Spirit +$
4 - Cleveland, OH - Now That’s Class +$
7 - Boston, MA - Elk’s Lodge
8 - Montreal, QC - Les Foufounes Electriques
9 - Ottawa, ON - Brass Monkey
10 - Toronto, ON - Velvet Underground
11 - Detroit, MI - Marble Bar
12 - Chicago, IL - Reggie’s
13 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock
14 - Des Moines, IA - Vaudeville Mews
16 - Kansas City, MO - Riot Room
17 - Oklahoma City, OK - 89th Street Collective

* with Genocide Pact
+ withConcealed Blade
& with Krimewatch
$ with Protester

March
22 - Orlando, FL - Will’s Pub (with Wrong)
23 - Miami, FL - Churchill’s (with Wrong)
24 - Tampa, FL - Crowbar (with Wrong)
25 - Greensboro, NC - Blind Tiger

Le Chant Noir have signed with Brazilian label, Heavy Metal Rock, who will release the band’s debut album, Ars Arcanvm Vodvm, in May. The second single from the album, “Forsaken Ghosts”, is now available for streaming below.

The experimental project is founded by drummer Malphas (Mysteriis), guitarist Mantus (Patria / Mysteriis) and vocalist Lord Kaiaphas (ex-Ancient, Thokkian Vortex), mixing the oddest influences of metal, progressive and classical, still allied to a retro ritualistic tone of sci-fi and horror.

“Forsaken Ghosts”:

“Wormslayer”:

After a seven-year hiatus, Italian metallers LABYRINTH will return with a brand new studio album, "Architecture Of A God", on April 21 via Frontiers Music Srl.

The song "A New Dream", taken from "Architecture Of A God", can be streamed below. In the spring of 2016, the band's founding members, Andrea Cantarelli and Olaf Thorsen received a call from Frontiers asking them to discuss with vocalist Roberto Tiranti the possibilities of a reunion with a return to their classic sound to mount a comeback for the band. After much discussion, the guys agreed to make an album and also to make a very special appearance at the the first annual Frontiers Metal Festival, where they performed their signature album, "Return To Heaven Denied", in its entirety. [Said performance is being prepared for a future home video release.] Olaf says: "This has been easily the most difficult and challenging album I ever worked on.

"To be honest, when Frontiers contacted me, insisting to make this reunion happen, I was skeptical and worried. We couldn't simply make a new album; it wouldn't have been honest to the fans, to ourselves.

"Of course, this is as easy to say as also unbelievably tough to make real: we have so many good albums out there, looking at us from their past and which people still keep in their minds and hearts. That's why we decided to strengthen our lineup, joining with nobody else but the best musicians we believed they would have fitted perfectly into our perspective of the music we were about to write." Andrea adds: "The making of this album has been a fantastic journey. We brought back a lot of classic elements of our music, mixing it with something new and I'm so enthusiastic about the final result." Roberto Tiranti makes it short: "Just when you thought you already gave everything you could, expressing every possible musical aspect of your way of intending music for a band like LABYRINTH, then comes 'Architecture Of A God' to remind you that nothing is impossible!" With a new lineup rounded out by drummer extraordinaire John Macaluso (TNT, RIOT, ARK), Oleg Smirnoff (VISION DIVINE, EDRITCH) on keyboards, and Nik Mazzucconi on bass, LABYRINTH are truly coming back stronger than ever and have offered up a superb self-produced album. "Architecture Of A God" (mixed by DGM's Simone Mularoni) is a record that encompasses all the elements the band is known for: fast power metal songs with unforgettable hooks, epic prog-infused metal songs, and some great melodic numbers that compose a record which is easily going to be another milestone for the Italian metal masters! "What we have in our hands, now, it's 'Architecture Of A God': by far, the most mature and complete album we ever wrote," concludes Thorsen.

"There's no will to challenge our glorious past, but I'm really confident that, once released, this album will set a new standard for our music!"

"Architecture Of A God" track listing:

01. Bullets02. Still Alive03. Take On My Legacy04. A New Dream05. Someone Says06. Random Logic07. Architecture Of A God08. Children09. Those Days10. We Belong To Yesterday11. Stardust And Ashes12. Diamond LABYRINTH 2017 is:

Roberto Tiranti - lead vocalsOlaf Thorsen - lead guitarsAndrea Cantarelli - lead guitarsNik Mazzucconi - bass guitarOleg Smirnoff - keyboardsJohn Macaluso - drums

Finnish folk metallers ENSIFERUM recently entered the Astia studio in Lappeenranta, Finland to record a few demo songs for their upcoming seventh full-length album, due in September via Metal Blade Records. The quintet will soon return to the Astia to begin tracking the disc, which will be produced once again by Anssi Kippo (CHILDREN OF BODOM, IMPALED NAZARENE, ENTWINE).

ENSIFERUM bassist Sami Hinkka comments: "So, as some of you might have already noticed from our social media channels, we are getting ready to go record the next ENSIFERUM album pretty soon.

"Just a few weeks ago, we recorded demo versions with Anssi Kippo, who also recorded and produced 'One Man Army'. The demo session went smoothly, and working with Anssi is always such a pleasure because he is so full of creative ideas and positive attitude.

"The goal for the new album will be to capture ENSIFERUM's live energy on the songs, and we also plan to use analog recording as much as possible to guarantee the best possible sound.

"The song material will include familiar elements, but like we always love to do, we will also take ENSIFERUM's mighty warship to unexplored seas of musical madness."

Before the album's release, European fans will be able to catch ENSIFERUM at various festivals this summer.

Former PANTERA bassist Rex Brown has signed a worldwide deal with Entertainment One (eOne), with plans to release a debut solo LP later this year. The yet-to-be-titled full length will be the first time in Brown's career in which he will serve as both lead vocalist and guitarist in a band. "I've been working on these songs for a long time," says Rex.

"I am thrilled to have such an influential artist like Rex join the growing Entertainment One rock family," says Scott Givens, SVP Entertainment One. "He's influenced not just our other artists, but myself as well. It's an honor for all of us to work with him."

Brown wields a six-string guitar as confidently as he wore the bass in PANTERA and DOWN. His engaging voice crackles with easygoing spirit and truth-telling power. It's a crunchy drawl that's down-to-earth, grippingly relatable, charmingly welcoming, and gritty, somewhere between the achingly resonant spiritual shamanism of Tom Waits and the instantly recognizable everyman AM radio vibes of Tom Petty and THE HEARTBREAKERS.

After a season away to gather his wits about him, rediscover his own roots, and assemble a group of players ready to help him execute his vision for the days ahead, Rex Brown re-emerges with a semi truck's worth of rock n' roll tunes as honest and sincere as they come. The new album is the sound of the man's own truth, forthright and ego-free. As he likes to say, "You're only as good as your word and your word better be good."

Rex's solo album is full of mojo and the force of character, determination, and nerve. He tracked lead vocals, rhythm guitars, and bass, working with his primary collaborator and old friend Lance Harvill, a Nashville-based guitarist and songwriter, on the album's songs. "Lance was and is my main man on this. Everything we did was finely tuned, both musically and brotherly."

Drums were tracked by Christopher Williams, himself no stranger to diverse tastes, from funk music to punk. His talent has been utilized by country music star Lee Greenwood, the reconstituted BLACKFOOT and most recently, power metal legends ACCEPT. The album was produced by New Yorker-turned-Nashville-transplant Caleb Sherman, a multi-instrumentalist with work on records by LITTLE BIG TOWN and PORTER BLOCK, among others. "Caleb produced the project from a musician's standpoint," adds Brown. "Not just a typical producer's standpoint, which was something I definitely needed. Between Caleb and Lance, we were a force to be reckoned with. They really pulled out the best in me." Peter Keyes, known for his work with LYNYRD SKYNYRD, can also be heard on a few tracks. All bass tracking came from Rex himself as well.

"My motto these days is 'Shake some shit up,'" Brown declares. "I've had my ups and downs, like anybody in this business. I wanted to feel like a true artist again, where I can write and record songs without worrying about any of the bullshit. This is just something else I'm doing for fun, man. And musical freedom. Fun has to come into it or I'm not going to do it. I've had a tremendous career and now I feel like I'm twenty-five years old again. This has given me that freedom I needed."

"I've got so much more in me," he enthuses. "I'm just getting my feet wet."

Brown previously described his solo album as "a rock and roll record. It's not your standard fare or typical metal thing," he told Metal Hammer magazine. "I was always a big [LED] ZEPPELIN fan and even though it has its little fringes of it... It's a new journey that sounds like anywhere from FOGHAT to old Tom Waits. I'm a child of the '70s and I love those kind of songs."

After leaving DOWN in 2011, Rex went on play with KILL DEVIL HILL, which has released two albums so far: "Kill Devil Hill" (2012) and "Revolution Rise" (2013).

Italian death metal group Devangelic has revealed the details of sophomore album Phlegethon. The album will be released October 27th on Comatose Music.

The artwork was created by American artist Ken Sarafin (Sarafin Concepts) and is based on Dante's Inferno; the concept revolves around a journey through the darkest and most brutal elements that characterize the masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance Poet.

Phlegethon will consist of 100% pure US style brutal death metal mixed with unrelenting guitar riffs, dark atmospheres, intense blasting and ultra guttural vocals. The album will be mixed/mastered by Sasha Borovykh at TsunTsun Productions. Comatose Music will open pre-orders in the coming months.

Phlegethon tracklisting:

"Plagued By Obscurity"
"Mutilation Above Salvation"
"Of Maggots And Disease"
"Malus Invictus"
"Abominated Impurity Of The Oppressed"
"Condemned To Dismemberment"
"Wretched Incantations"
"Manifestation Of Agony"
"Decaying Suffering"
"Asphyxiation Upon Phlegethon"
----
"He Who Sleeps" (Morbid Angel cover) *
"Abominated Impurity Of The Oppressed" (Promo 2016) *

* The limited digipak version will be released with two bonus tracks.

 

"Sign Of The Crimson Storm", the new video from RIOT V, the band featuring the remaining members of legendary metal pioneers RIOT, can be seen below.

Originally recorded for RIOT's "Thundersteel" album in 1988, this song has been a staple of RIOT V live setlists over the past two years.

Footage and audio was taken from the RIOT V performance at the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan during the Middle Of The Mitt Music Festival on September 10, 2016.

RIOT V's debut album, "Unleash The Fire", was released in October 2014 via SPV/Steamhammer. The CD marked the first release from RIOT without the late, great founding guitarist Mark Reale, who passed away in early 2012 and was limited on his participation on 2011's reunion album "Immortal Soul" because of his health issues. The band was encouraged at the request of Mark and the Reale estate to forge ahead in his honor and has dedicated this new offering to him.

"Unleash The Fire" promised to please fans of the "Thundersteel" era of RIOT, as main songwriter and longtime Reale music collaborator Don Van Stavern did much of the writing, as he did on "Thundersteel" and "The Privilege Of Power". Don is joined by longtime RIOT bandmate, songwriter and Reale's guitar partner of over 20 years, Mike Flyntz, to create what they feel is something they are proud to call a RIOT record. The RIOT V lineup is completed by powerhouse vocalist extraordinaire Todd Michael Hall (BURNING STARR, REVERENCE), Frank Gilchriest (VIRGIN STEELE, RIOT's "Army Of One") and former Mike Flyntz guitar student and resident shredder Nick Lee.

RIOT V is working on the follow-up to "Unleash The Fire" and preparing for live dates later in 2017.

Mortiis is offering a second single and free download, “The Great Leap”, remixed by industrial metal godfathers Godflesh. The track is taken from the upcoming The Great Corrupter remix album, penned for release on April 21st April via Omnipresence Production.

Mortiis comments: “Godflesh was groundbreaking in bridging the gap between industrial and extreme metal in the ‘90s. Having their take on our song is simply amazing. Without Godflesh, a lot of fans would not have opened their minds to different genres of extreme music.”

The track is available as a double single to download here, and also includes a remix of “Hard to Believe” by Chris Vrenna (Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson).

Previously, Mortiis offered fans the first glimpse into The Great Corrupter with a free download of the ferocious “Doppelganger”/”The Shining Lamp Of God,” remixed by German industrial legends Die Krupps and club heroes Leæther Strip, respectively. The single is still available at the Mortiis´ Bandcamp site, here..

The Great Corrupter is a collection of tracks from Mortiis’ The Great Deceiver album, deconstructed and masterfully “corrupted” by Chris Vrenna, Rhys Fulber, Die Krupps, John Fryer, Godflesh, Merzbow, Apoptygma Berzerk, In Slaughter Natives, Raison D´Etre, Je$us Loves Amerika, PIG, and many more. The record will also contain unreleased material from the original recording sessions.
 
Each of the record’s formats will be as its own art package with collectible artwork, including limited edition colored vinyl and a limited edition DVD sized double-CD Digipak with additional exclusive remixes and many other extras.
 
Ahead of the release of the album, Mortiis will embark on a nine-date UK co-headline run this March with PIG, aka industrial pioneer Raymond Watts, ahead of the album’s release.

VIP packages for Mortiis’ Swine And Punishment tour include a copy of the ”lost" album, The Unraveling Mind, numbered in Mortiis’ own blood.

For the first time ever, Mortiis will offer an incredible VIP package, including a copy of The Unraveling Mind, to fans in the UK this March. The package will offer a Meet And Greet with the band, where fans will be able to take photos, have merchandise signed and ask all those long-pondered questions.

Additionally, the VIP package will include a copy of The Unraveling Mind, recorded in 2006 for an underground horror movie and unreleased until now. This release is strictly limited to 250 copies, split between five different vinyl colours. The first 50 copies, on red marbled vinyl, will be hand-numbered in Mortiis’ own blood. After the first 50 are sold out, fans can choose from the other four colours. Other goodies will include a flyer and sticker pack, an art print limited to 100 copies and a collector’s VIP laminate.

The four other colours, will also be available worldwide via the Mortiis webstore, and pre-orders are taken now.

Tour dates:

March
10 - Nottingham, UK - Rescue Rooms
11 - Glasgow, UK - Ivory Blacks
12 - Newcastle, UK - Think Tank
13 - York, UK - Fibbers
14 - Sheffield, UK - Plug
15 - Manchester, UK - Ruby Lounge
16 - Bristol, UK - Fleece
17 - Norwich, UK - Epic Studios
18 - London, UK - Garage

Royal Thunder have released a video for "April Showers”, a track from their new album Wick, due out via Spinefarm on April 7th. It's a delightfully creepy visual that matches the music's gloomy milieu. The video is available for streaming below.

The album is available for pre-order here and here.

Royal Thunder's unique, genre-bending sound has been turning heads since guitarist Josh Weaver founded the band in Atlanta, GA. His songwriting, plus bassist Mlny Parsonz's soul-searing vocals, have led to worldwide critical acclaim.

"Wick is different, a bigger jump as far as our sound goes. But it's still us - it's just the sound of Royal Thunder's evolution," said Weaver.

"Out of all of the albums, Wick was the hardest one to make. It was a fight, but to hear it now, to see it finished, is so gratifying. Finally it's over, it's amazing to be done with it. I'm looking at it, going we're done, it's over, be free,” said Parsonz.

Wick will carry the band's ambition and imprint out into the world. Prepare to be moved.

Wick tracklisting:

“Burning Tree”
“April Showers”
“Tied”
“We Slipped”
“The Sinking Chair”
“Plans”
“Anchor”
“Wick”
“Push”
“Turnaround”
“The Well”
“We Never Fell Asleep”

“April Showers” video:

Tour dates:

March
3 - Asheville, NC - Broadways
8 - Brooklyn, NY - Saint Vitus
9 - Baltimore, MD - Metro Gallery
10 - Richmond, VA - Strange Matter

April (with Brant Bjork and Black Wizard)
9 - Sacramento, CA - Blue Lamp
10 - San Francisco, CA - Slims
11 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theater
12 - Vancouver, BC - SBC
13 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
14 - Boise, ID - The Shredder
15 - Salt Lake City, UT - In The Venue
16 - Denver, CO - Marquis Theater
17 - Kansas City, MO - Riot Room
18 - Chicago, IL - Beat Kitchen
19 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Ballroom
20 - Baltimore, MD - Soundstage
22 - New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge
23 - Boston, MA - Middle East
25 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
27 - Austin, TX - Barracuda
28 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey Bar & Grill
29 - Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad
30 - Mesa, AZ - Club Red

May (with Brant Bjork and Black Wizard)
1 - Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex

Swedish prog ensemble, Carptree, have released their new video for “Fleeting Deep”. The track comes from their forthcoming album, Emerger, to be released on April 7th.

Carptree is a Swedish progressive symphonic rock duo made featuring Carl Westholm (keyboards, composer, producer) and Nicklas Flinck (vocals, composer, lyrics). Although Carptree is a duo they are almost always accompanied by the No Future Orchestra (NFO); A group of people from known and unknown other Swedish acts, who add their personal touch, more or less frequent. This is also the basis for other important people (OIP) who are also a part of the creative process in the making of a Carptree album.

Says the band, “This album was a really slow starter, we started already in 2014 with some of the songs, the first two song was 'Fleeting Deep' and 'Ultimately Lifeless' which both have taken a lot of different shapes along the process. 'Between Extremes' is also a song that has been around in different shapes for many years, first we recorded it in 2009, but was not happy and cut it down to a short version which ended up on Nymf 'Between Extremes, Prelude', then rewrote it and planned to release it as a single in 2012 but was not happy with the result. So again we rewrote it and when we recorded it with Jesper Skarin on the drums and Carl rerecorded everything with just his Fender Rhodes and organ and we were finally happy with it. That's why we wanted to release that song already in May 2016 as a Maxi single to give that special song a chance to stand on it's own.”

As always the duo used the No Future Orchestra on the new album, which is a loosely connected group of musicians very important to Carptree. Also on this album Jesper Skarin joined in on drums and percussion and Carl has played some bass and guitars. Except the mellotrons that are taken from a sampler software, all instruments and amplifiers on this album are analogue just as the mix and mastering.

On the CD there will be eight songs including a remixed version of “Dwindle Into Greatness” (The B-side of the Maxi single released in May 2016) as a bonus track. The vinyl version will have the other seven tracks and will be released approximately one month after the CD on the FOSFOR Creation label. (Two versions, Black and transparent Marine blue).

Martin Burger King is the new Buffalo Grillz album, recorded, mixed and mastered at Kick Recording Studio. The album tries to mix the typical north European grindcore sound of band like Nasum and Rotten Sound to the ferocity of American grindcore. The right album if you want 30 minutes of no compromise and no way to survive.

The new album will be out on March 3rd on CD, LP, Digital via Subsound Records, and tape (a very limited edition) produced by Time To Kill Records. Martin Burger King will be distributed worldwide.

Pre-orders available: CD/LP, Tape.

Tracklisting:

“GG Aulin”
“Lenny Grindvizt”
“66Seitan”
“Martin Burger King”
“Beverly Grillz 90666”
“Carne Diem”
“Fiat Factory”
“Creadle Of Findus”
“Scooby Doom”
“Fiorella Mannaiav
“Ponzio Pilates”
“Campari Sodom”
“Pus Sprengsteen”
“Le Bestie Di Santana” (Outro)

“Beverly Grillz 90666”:

(Photo - Serena Dattilo Photographer)

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions have signed Canada's evil black metal desecrators, Ordoxe, and are set to release their new album, Towards Eternity, on March 31st on CD and digital formats. A description follows.

Ordoxe make their Horror Pain Gore Death Productions debut with the new album entitled Towards Eternity. Formed in 1989, Ordoxe hail from Quebec, Canada and perform melodic black metal with elements of thrash, death and doom metal. Towards Eternity is the fourth album in the Ordoxe catalog and delivers a fierce, judicious mix of dark arts, bliss, grim moods and evil ambiences. For fans of Behemoth, Cradle Of Filth, Dark Funeral, Destroyer 666, Dissection, Enthroned, God Dethroned, Naglfar, Rotting Christ and Satyricon

Pre-order the CD for only $10 with free shipping at this location. Pre-order the digital download for only $6.66 here.

Tracklisting:

“We Are Eternal”
“The Auspicious One”
“Trépas I”
“Your Sorrow, My Sorrow”
“Sword Of Damocles”
“Soyez Illuminés”
“A Passage In Time”
“Trépas II”
“The Essence Of Life”
“Trépas III”

“We Are Eternal”:

Melodic metal band Pyramaze will release their new album, Contingent, on April 28th in Europe and North America through Inner Wound Recordings.

With their milestone fifth album, Contingent, Pyramaze have grown and matured into a band that is capable of satisfying their fans while simultaneously continuing to break new ground. The incorporation of modern cinematic film score elements mixed with progressive metal riffs and melodies will leave the listener breathless! Huge, sweeping, hard-hitting, and poignant, Contingent is an epic post-apocalyptic conceptual piece inspired by current events, the human spirit to overcome struggle and diversity, and the brotherhood that lies there in. Produced, mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Amaranthe, Epica, Evergrey).

"Divided by oceans, bound together by brotherhood, we must become that which divides us.... we are Pyramaze, and we are the Ocean!"

Check out an album teaser below.

Contingent tracklisting:

“Land Of Information”
“Kingdom Of Solace”
“Star Men”
“A World Divided”
“Nemesis”
“Contingent - Part I: The Campaign”
“20 Second Century”
“Obsession”
“Heir Apparent”
“Contingent - Part II: The Hammer Of Remnant”
“Under Restraint”
“The Tides That Won't Change”
“Symphony Of Tears”

Teaser:

Pyramaze lineup:

Terje Harøy - Vocals
Jacob Hansen - Guitars, Bass
Jonah W. - Keyboards
Toke Skjønnemand - Guitars
Morten Gade Sørensen - Drums