Finnish melancholic progressive metallers AMORPHIS have entered the studio to begin recording their new album, due later in the year via Nuclear Blast. According to a press release, "the pre-production process is already done and most of the recordings have been finished. But this time, the band didn't rush at all and took their time to focus on details so there'll be also some really amazing surprises: additional recordings with real strings and flutes, as well as orchestra arrangements and choirs! In addition, this is the first time that people will be able to hear their lyricist Pekka Kainulainen on the album as he contributes a speech in Finnish!"

AMORPHIS's new album is once again being produced by Jens Bogren, who has previously worked with OPETH, AMON AMARTH, KATATONIA, SEPULTURA and KREATOR, among others.

Longtime AMORPHIS bassist Niclas Etelävuori exited the band in April 2017 over management issues.

AMORPHIS's latest album, "Under The Red Cloud", was released in September 2015 via Nuclear Blast. Keyboardist Santeri Kallio described the LP in an interview with CrypticRock.com as "a continuation from [2013's] 'Circle'. For 'The Beginning Of Times' [2011], we were thinking that the songs were... I don't know. [2009's] 'Skyforger' was such a big album for us and for the audience — I mean, we toured our asses off for 'Skyforger'. I think we went, from my point of view, we went too poppy, or too mellow and mid-tempo in sound with 'The Beginning Of Times'. When we performed live, the songs were not aggressive enough. So I would say it was not Peter's [Tägtgren] production, but the songs we ourselves were making for 'Circle' were heavier and faster. With 'Under The Red Cloud', we were going even heavier. Jens Bogren came in and he sped up some of the songs, like in 'Bad Blood'. He suggested instead of a vocal melody, how about this grunt-type vocal. That's what the great producers do — they extend what the band wants. I think Jens heard in our demos that we were going heavier. He helped us achieve that. We were already going that way, you know, because after 'The Beginning Of Times', we couldn't possibly go any mellower or we would be only a hard rock band."

"Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue", the sophomore album from from PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS, the project led by the former PANTERA and current DOWN/SUPERJOINT frontman, can be streamed in its entirety using the SoundCloud widget below. Due on January 26 via Anselmo's Housecore Records in the U.S. and Season Of Mist in other parts of the world, the disc is the follow-up to PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS' debut, "Walk Through Exits Only", which came out in 2013 to mostly positive reviews.

The lineup of the THE ILLEGALS has changed on several position since album one. This is what Philip has to say about his new crew: "Their creative input is fucking fantastic. This is something that was very different from the first record where I was very staunch. I wanted it to be ugly. I was very firm that I was writing every fucking note. The thought was, 'This is my contribution to ugly music right this second in a heavy metal vein.' That was great at the time. 'Walk Through Exits Only' made its own little statement that I am a free agent and I belong to no single band. This time, I worked closely with everyone. We tried different ideas together. It made the spirit of this thing come alive even more because of the enthusiasm these guys bring. It enhanced the integrity of the project."

"Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue" track listing:

01. Little Fucking Heroes
02. Utopian
03. Choosing Mental Illness
04. The Ignorant Point
05. Individual
06. Delinquent
07. Photographic Taunts
08. Finger Me
09. Invalid Colubrine Frauds
10. Mixed Lunatic Results

Anselmo comments: "Our new album, 'Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue' is going to get hated. It's going to get loved. Like every record, I've ever done, I put zero expectations upon my peers, critics, or the general fucking public. If you take one thing away from it, let it be this: Do not bog yourself down to one brand, character, or whatever. Have the guts to spread your wings and fucking flourish. I can promise you this is a beginning. As my music trickles out over the next two years, it's going to be quite the roller-coaster ride. This new ILLEGALS is just the tip of the whole fucking avalanche."

Anselmo is an iconic artist — maybe a little bruised, scarred, singed, and somewhat battered by time, himself, and others. But the Lousiana resident remains proudly standing, unbent, and still angry. Loved and hated, attacked and praised, Philip is not ready to go down into the archives of musical history without a fight.

His new cooperation with the band that Philip himself created, THE ILLEGALS, is as brutal, kicking, lashing, and fury-filled as one could expect from this artist and "Walk Through Exits Only". "Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue" is a much the metaphorical fist in the face and display of force as his adherents could wish for.

"Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue" is not a simple repeat of the past — as tempting as that might sound, considering that no other artist left a deeper mark on metal in the 90's than PANTERA. Raging, roaring, and bulldozing their way through the metal scene, the Texans have left a lasting legacy. At their front stood anger and hostility personified, Philip H. Anselmo. What followed for example with DOWN and SUPERJOINT RITUAL has further cemented the singer's reputation as a living legend. As an artist in his own right, Philip finally emancipated onto a solo-path with "Walk Through Exits Only", which enabled him to do exactly as he pleased – with no need to compromise on anything.

Back in October 2015, PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS parted ways with guitarist Marzi Montazeri and replaced him with Mike DeLeon. Anselmo told Metal Underground about the split with Montazeri: "What I wanted to do with Marzi was jumpstart his career, which I did. He's the type of guy that needs to be the focal point of pretty much anything he does. So he's got that now and I'm happy for him. More power to him."

Regarding how the addition of DeLeon came about, Anselmo said:"Mostly from his association with my drummer, Blue [José Manuel Gonzalez], and my other guitar player/bass player from SUPERJOINT, Steve [Stephen Taylor]. Steve Taylor was constantly saying, 'DeLeon is the guy. DeLeon is the guy. He wants it the most! He wants it the most!' I trust them. I trust their judgment. I trust their intuition. So far, every time DeLeon has come to jam, it has been serious grinding. He takes a good beating, man. He's great. He's a pleasure to work with."

PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS lineup:

Philip H. Anselmo: Vocals
Mike DeLeon: Lead Guitar
José Manuel "Blue" Gonzalez: Drums
Stephen "Schteve" Taylor: Guitar
Walter Howard: Bass

The official video for "The Last Stand", the title track of SABATON's eighth album, can be seen below. The clip features footage shot during "The Last Tour"

"The Last Stand" was released in August 2016 via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2014's "Heroes" was once again produced by Peter Tägtgren (PAIN, LINDEMANN, HYPOCRISY).

The artwork for "The Last Stand" was created by Peter Sallaí, who has worked with SABATON since "Carolus Rex".

SABATON will kick off a North American co-headlining tour with German thrash veterans KREATOR on February 8 in Phoenix, Arizona. Opening the trek will be CYHRA, the new band featuring vocalist Jake E (ex-AMARANTHE), guitarist Jesper Strömblad (ex-IN FLAMES), guitarist Euge Valovirta (ex-SHINING), bassist Peter Iwers (ex-IN FLAMES) and drummer Alex Landenburg (LUCA TURILLI'S RHAPSODY).

SABATON bassist Pär Sundström told Sticks For Stones in a recent interview that the band will not "do that much touring" in 2018. "We have been touring extensively the last years, and we did a lot in 2017 and 2016," he said. "In 2018, we need to focus on a new album. We have to take a little bit of time off from touring and focus on a new album. It's difficult to keep up the songwriting cycle that you used to have when you're touring more than ever, so we will have to take a little bit of a break in touring to make a new album."

SABATON in 2016 parted ways with guitarist Thobbe Englund and replaced him with Tommy Johansson (GOLDEN RESURRECTION, REINXEED).

Israeli progressive folk metallers ORPHANED LAND have just released the digital single "Chains Fall To Gravity", taken off the band's upcoming album, "Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs", which is due this Friday, January 26. The song features a guest solo performance by guitar virtuoso Steve Hackett (ex-GENESIS).

ORPHANED LAND vocalist Kobi Farhi explains: "'Chains Fall To Gravity' is a very important song on our new album and its concept. It is the point where the hero is being unchained and starts his way out of the cave, and for the first time he has to leave anything he thought to be the truth.

"I remember telling Steve Hackett about this song and the concept and he was definitely put all these emotions into the guitar solo he performed here, which is in my opinion, one of the best guitar solos ever on an ORPHANED LAND song. We are just too lucky and honored to have a rock legend playing with us in this one!"

Hackett comments: "I was thrilled to have Kobi Farhi sing on one of my album tracks. His voice sounds beautiful and mystical on the track. It was equally a pleasure to do a guitar solo for this exciting track on ORPHANED LAND's album, which has a great vibe!"

Regarding how Steve Hackett came to guest on the album, Kobi told Loud TV: "It's strange, because he contacted me. He wanted me to sing on his solo album. He did a song for peace and he wanted me to be a part of it, and to bring also an Arab singer to sing it with me, so I did it. Then he asked me, 'Do you want me to pay you for recording this, or do you want me to record [a] solo for your new album?' I was like, 'Hmmm... solo.' What would I do with money? Buy [a] jacket? Buy food? Go to the cinema? I will forget about the money, but the solo is forever. I explained to him about the concept, and he really gave one of the best solos I think he ever wrote."

You can watch a static video of the full-length album edit of "Chains Fall To Gravity" below. The radio edit of "Chains Fall To Gravity" is available as a digital single on all download and streaming platforms. All physical formats of the new album "Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs" are also available for pre-order.

"Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs", which features artwork by Valnoir, was mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren. Its release will be followed by an extensive European tour with IN VAIN, SUBTERRANEAN MASQUERADE and AEVUM.

Kobi told Loud TV about "Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs": "We are back to concept albums. Concept albums give you the opportunity to be diverse, progressive. This is the best way for us to do albums. I think that in this album, we wanted to make a combined album of [2013's] 'All Is One', which was more upfront, and the concept and progressive music of [2004's] 'Mabool' and [2010's] 'ORWarriOR'. We thought that if we make a combination of them, it will be the best ORPHANED LAND album [yet].

"You always need to find a way, how do you find a new concept after you did music for 26 years?" he continued. "I didn't know what to do. The band was already writing music, and they told me, 'Kobi, what's going on?' I was like, 'I don't know — I don't have it.' I need to find an inspiration and to find a story to be stronger than before. I don't want to repeat. I don't want 'All Is One II', or 'Mabool Number Two'. I want to find something new. So, looking at the world and finding the story of '[Allegory Of] The Cave' by Plato was my main inspiration, and it took me a while, but from the moment I found it, it was very fast and very quick and very intense work. Once I have the concept, we know how to fix the music in the album."

Norwegian symphonic metallers DIMMU BORGIR will release their new album, "Eonian", on May 4 via Nuclear Blast.

The songwriting core of DIMMU BORGIR furthermore consists of charismatic vocalist Shagrath, as well as the string wizards Silenoz and Galder, but other familiar faces also emerge from the darkness: drummer Daray and keyboardist Gerlioz are still part of the team, and Gaute Storaas helped with the choral arrangements for the majestic voices of the Schola Cantrum Choir.

The cover artwork was designed in fascinating detail by Zbigniew M. Bielak (GHOST, BEHEMOTH, MAYHEM).

"Eonian" will contain 10 new tracks, produced by the band itself and engineered by Jens Bogren. Emerging from the dark minds of the three songwriters, "Eonian" follows a philosophical concept, dealing with the illusion of time:

"Time, when not approaching it from the construct we're used to can't be defined and thus it is illusory," explains guitarist Silenoz. "There's only an 'eternal now,' which the album title is already hinting at. When we travel between the worlds seen and unseen, the perception of time ceases to exist, it has no function. Our energy is our torch and our compass when we make rifts and pierce through the veil — when we go beyond."

Vocalist Shagrath adds: "'Eonian' represents the illusion of time, everything that is and always has been. For us, it also marks the 25th anniversary of DIMMU BORGIR and the album itself is a tribute to our own history and the Norwegian black metal history."

On February 23, DIMMU BORGIR will unveil the album's first single, "Interdimensional Summit", which will be released as a seven-inch vinyl EP, providing a first taste of the upcoming album.

Silenoz told Metal Shock Finland about DIMMU BORGIR's long-awaited follow-up to 2010's "Abrahadabra": "We feel that we're sitting on the best album that we could possibly do at this time, and personally, I think it's definitely our best album to date. Obviously, that's something that everybody says, but if I didn't believe that we would do our best album, there wouldn't really be any point doing a new one. So, yeah, I'm really excited about it, and I know that quite a few fans will probably be positively surprised. And, yeah, we can't wait to get this stuff off the ground and get going."

Silenoz told Rock 'N' Roll Journalist last summer that all the writing on the new DIMMU BORGIR album was done by the core trio of Silenoz, vocalist Shagrath and guitarist Galder. "We had a little bit of assistance from the keyboard player, but it was less on this album than it was on the previous one," Silenoz said. "That seems to be working best and it means there's less cooks in the kitchen. [Laughs]"

As for the musical direction of DIMMU BORGIR's next effort, Silenoz, said: "I think it's safe to say that [the parts that are] more epic and majestic are more epic and majestic, and the same goes for the brutal sound of DIMMU and also the primitive and more black metal sound of DIMMU is more black metal this time around. So you will have the more extremes of each part that we are known for."

DIMMU BORGIR's latest release was the "Forces Of The Northern Night" DVD, which was made available in April 2017 via Nuclear Blast. The set contains two of the band's live performances: their legendary show in Oslo, presenting DIMMU BORGIR on stage with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and a bombastic choir, as well as their entire performance at Wacken Open Air festival in 2012 in Wacken, Germany with almost a hundred musicians on stage.

THREE DAYS GRACE, the internationally acclaimed and multi-platinum certified Canadian band with over a billion streams on Spotify, will release its new album, "Outsider", on March 9 via RCA. "Outsider" is the sixth full-length album from the band, and is the group's first since 2015's "Human".

"To me, 'Outsider' represents the journey to find your place," says bass player Brad Walst. "The world feels crazy at times. We try to get away from that every once in a while. We do our own thing, and we're comfortable doing it. We have always looked forward — and not backwards. That's an ongoing theme."

This morning, THREE DAYS GRACE debuts the music video for "The Mountain". Taped at a UFC octagon, the music video for "Outsider"'s first single was directed by Sean Cartwright, and features a cameo by UFC fighter Misha Cirkunov.

Forging a new path forward is exactly what the musicians did in the fall of 2016. Instead of congregating in a downtown Toronto rehearsal space, the band which consists of Matt Walst (lead vocals), Barry Stock (lead guitar), Brad Walst (bass) and Neil Sanderson (drums, percussion, keyboards, programming), initially wrote in a converted garage behind Brad's house located two hours from the city.

"This is all about taking a step back from life's madness without destroying yourself, cutting everyone off, or going crazy," says Neil. "You get a break and find the space to create." Eventually, the band retreated to Neil's 90-acre farm to further hone ideas, and often sat around bonfires with acoustic guitars, tapping into the wild spirit surrounding them. As the songs took shape, the band headed to the Ontario's remote Jukasa Studios, and called upon longtime friends and collaborators including producers Gavin Brown and Howard Benso, engineer Mike Plotnikoff and Chris Lord-Alge on mixing duties, for an album that speaks directly to their army of fans from around the globe. "That production team hasn't happened since 'One-X'," adds Neil. "We were lucky to get this group together. It made sense because we were in a similar headspace."

As much as it upholds tradition, "Outsider" represents progression for THREE DAYS GRACE. Marking his second offering as part of the band, Matt showed "a new level of confidence and brought a ton of ideas," according to his brother Brad. Meanwhile, Neil expanded the signature electronic palette, integrating analog synths and standout programming with the help of Rhys Fulber (FEAR FACTORY, FRONTLINE ASSEMBLY). He casually nodded to electronic influences as diverse as NINE INCH NAILS, WHITE ZOMBIE, BRING ME THE HORIZON, Lana Del Rey, and a surprising cult classic, the movie "Lost Boys". First single "The Mountain" evinces that evolution. Those cinematic sonic flourishes augment arena-ready riffs before summiting towards a seismic refrain, "I'm still surviving, keep climbing, keep climbing the mountain."

Given this undeniable unpredictability, "Outsider" feels right at home alongside a catalog of fan favorites from THREE DAYS GRACE. Since 2003, the band has staked a spot amongst the hard rock vanguard, breaking records, toppling charts, moving millions of units worldwide, and making history by holding the all-time record for "most #1 singles at Active Rock Radio ever" with 13. In 2015, "Human" marked the group's second straight #1 slot on the Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums chart as well as their fourth consecutive debut in Top 20 of the Top 200. It spawned two #1 singles "Painkiller" and "I Am Machine", signaling the band's 13th overall and fifth consecutive number ones on the Active Rock Radio chart. Moreover, the four-piece consistently averaged a staggering 3.9 million monthly listeners on Spotify — remaining one of the most listened to rock bands in the world.

KAMELOT will release its new album, "The Shadow Theory", on April 6 via Napalm Records. The follow-up to 2015's "Haven" features all the signature elements of KAMELOT and also sees the band step out to add new and industrial elements along while combining amazing emotions that harken to the band's earlier days. The group's epic new music is chock full of symbolism relating to how the band feels about the world and the current state of civilization.

KAMELOT founder and guitarist Thomas Youngblood states: "'The Shadow Theory' album is a psychological journey through the complexity of the human mind. We are subjected to stimuli constantly through media, technology, social experiments and AI. Can we still be social creatures in the near future? 'The Shadow Theory' is an album that is mixing many worlds, giving the listener an ecape within our own realities. This album was written and recorded over the entire year and we are really proud of the song elements and diversity on 'The Shadow Theory'."

The first teaser for "The Shadow Theory" is available below.

"The Shadow Theory" was helmed by acclaimed music producer Sascha Paeth and mastered by Jacob Hansen. Guests on the album include Lauren Hart (ONCE HUMAN), Jennifer Haben (BEYOND THE BLACK) and Sascha Paeth. The amazing cover and artwork was created by Stefan Heilemann.

"The Shadow Theory" track listing:

01. The Mission
02. Phantom Divine (Shadow Empire)
03. RavenLight
04. Amnesiac
05. Burns To Embrace
06. In Twilight Hours
07. Kevlar Skin
08. Static
09. MindFall Remedy
10. Stories Unheard
11. Vespertine (My Crimson Bride)
12. The Proud and The Broken
13. Ministrium (Shadow Key)

A 2-CD edition is available with the digipak version and the following additional tracks:

01. Phantom Divine (Shadow Empire) (Instrumental version)
02. RavenLight (Instrumental version)
03. Amnesiac (Instrumental version)
04. Burns To Embrace (Instrumental version)
05. Kevlar Skin (Instrumental version)
06. The Proud And The Broken (Instrumental version)
07. The Last Day Of Sunlight (bonus)

Youngblood told Rock Overdose that the band's new material was harkening "back to the 'Ghost Opera' days a bit with 'Haven' elements."

Following the release of "The Shadow Theory", KAMELOT will embark on a massive world tour, starting in North America during April/May 2018, followed by European shows in the summer. The band will return to Europe in September/October 2018 for its biggest headlining tour to date.

The very first show of KAMELOT's fall 2018 European tour will take place on September 14 at 013 in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Say the band: "Tilburg! KAMELOT returns to the Poppodium 013 to support their new album and to commemorate their very special relationship with the Dutch fans! There have been 10+ sold-out KAMELOT concerts there over the past few years. To thank you for your support, we are very pleased to announce we will be shooting this show as part of the band's long-awaited DVD! Don't miss this very special event!!"

"Haven" sold around 7,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD was made available in May 2015 via Napalm Records as part of an exclusive licensing deal through the band's Kamelot Music LLC.

LINKIN PARK singer Mike Shinoda has released three new solo tracks as a digital EP. Titled "Post Traumatic", the trio of songs does not include "Looking For An Answer", which he wrote shortly after the death of his LINKIN PARK bandmate Chester Bennington this past July and performed live at the Bennington tribute concert held last October at the Hollywood Bowl.

Shinoda says: "The past six months have been a roller coaster. Amidst the chaos, I've started to feel an intense gratitude — for your tributes and messages of support, for the career you have allowed me to have, and for the simple opportunity to create.

"Today, I'm sharing three songs I wrote and produced, with visuals that I filmed, painted, and edited myself. At its core, grief is a personal, intimate experience. As such, this is not LINKIN PARK, nor is it FORT MINOR — it's just me.

"Art has always been the place I go when I need to sort through the complexity and confusion of the road ahead. I don't know where this path goes, but I'm grateful I get to share it with you."

"Post Traumatic" EP track listing:

01. Place To Start
02. Over Again
03. Watching As I Fall

The official videos for all three songs can be seen below.

This marks the first new music made by one of the five surviving members of LINKIN PARK since Bennington took his own life at his Los Angeles-area home last July 20.

Since the all-star tribute concert last fall, at which the band performed with a number of guest stars, LINKIN PARK has not announced whether the group intends to continuing recording and touring together.

The band released a new concert album in December, "One More Light Live", recorded on its last tour with Bennington.

KORN frontman Jonathan Davis has released the official video for his new single, titled "What It Is". The song will be included on the soundtrack to a new film called "American Satan", out January 26, and head to radio four days later, on January 30. Davis has also been preparing a new solo album that is expected out this spring, although it's not clear whether "What It Is" will be on that LP as well.

Davis composed the score for "American Satan" with Nicholas O'Toole. He listed some of his favorite scores for The Pulse Of Radio a while back. "I'm really into Vangelis, what he did with 'Blade Runner'," he said. "I just like trippy scores, like what Wendy Carlos did for 'A Clockwork Orange' and just cool stuff. I really am a big fan of the movie 'Dune', I love — TOTO did that score. That was a cool score. And then there's the, you know, normal ones, the orchestral scores that are all good. Yeah, those are a few of my favorites."

In addition to releasing a new solo album in 2018, Davis also revealed that he will also tour in support of the LP. He's already scheduled to appear at several European festivals, with more shows in both Europe and North America expected.

Davis has recorded and toured on his own intermittently over the years. He has composed music for soundtracks, most notably "Queen Of The Damned", and has toured and DJed frequently over the years as his alter ego JDevil.

KORN's last album, "The Serenity Of Suffering", came out in 2016.

This August marks the 20th anniversary of KORN's 1998 breakthrough album "Follow The Leader". Guitarist Brian "Head" Welch indicated in a recent interview that the band is mulling over plans to celebrate that milestone.

CHAOSTAR, the band led by SEPTICFLESH guitarist Christos Antoniou, has released "Stones And Dust", the first single from its forthcoming album, "The Undivided Light". The disc is due on March 23 via Season Of Mist.

As "The Undivided Light" is a varied album, this song that comes with a small hint of DEAD CAN DANCE gives just one direction among many. More tracks and more musical revelations will follow.

CHAOSTAR vocalist Androniki comments: "Every blessed virtue in this world multiplies and growths when being shared and not constrained. Like wisdom, knowledge, and patience, the flame of light itself can brighten a room, but when being divided and shared can illuminate the entire world's human intellect. This has been the motivational thinking that flared up the creation of the new CHAOSTAR album. Our existence consists of dust formed into concrete shapes of hard stones, awaiting to degrade back into the light-weight form of dust and finally to the liberated state of time, light, and space."

"The Undivided Light" track listing:

01. Tazama Jua (3:48)
02. Blutbad (4:25)
03. Stones And Dust (4:59)
04. The Undivided Light (5:11)
05. Mέμνησο (6:15)
06. Silent Yard (10:51)
07. Ying & Yang (7:09)

"The Undivided Light" comes as an invitation to a fascinating musical journey around the globe, which is equally true for space as well as time.

CHAOSTAR was conceived out of Christos's longing to create music that reflects more on his aspect as an academy trained composer and go beyond the possibilities that his orchestral arrangements for SEPTICFLESH offer. After all, the guitarist finished his studies of classical composition in London with honors and distinction.

When SEPTICFLESH released its single "The Eldest Cosmonaut" in 1998, the Greek band took a step towards classical music, which in turn inspired Christos to create CHAOSTAR to pursue this course even further.

Out of a timeless confrontation of different sounds and styles rose an avant-garde concept for emotional music to which vocalist Natalie Rassoulis added a feminine voice. After a first statement of intent via a demo titled "The Underworld" in 2000, CHAOSTAR released the albums "Chaostar" (2000), "Threnody" (2001) and "The Scarlet Queen" (2004), as well as the "Underworld" compilation in 2007.

After a self-imposed hiatus of both CHAOSTAR and SEPTICFLESH, Christos decided to revive his project as well when the latter reunited. The former returned with their fourth full-length, which was based on a Greek word roughly translating as "sin". "Anomima" featured the celestial vocals of new singer Androniki Skoula, who also contributed most of the lyrics.

"Anomima" brilliantly combined rich, classical orchestration with lush soundscapes and modern textures, and even some elements of extreme music. CHAOSTAR easily adopted a global musical language that induced the listener into a dreamlike trance with geographically unchained sounds.

With the "The Undivided Light", CHAOSTAR takes its experimentation another step further. Classic orchestration, traditional instruments, electronica, rock, and more are deconstructed by Christos only to be reassembled into something fresh and exciting. "The Undivided Light" gives new meaning to the term world music.

CHAOSTAR is:

Christos Antoniou: trigger, synth, orchestration
Androniki Skoula: vocals, lyrics
Charalampos Paritsis: electric violin
Nikolaos Velentzas: drums, percussion

Guest musicians:

Kiara Konstantinou: cello
Vahan Galstyan: duduk
Stella Valasi: santur
George Emmanuel and Greg Eleutheriou: guitars on "Ying And Yang"
Nikolaos Velentzas: guitars on "Blutbad"
Margarita Stadler: girl's voice on "Blutbad"

BREAKING BENJAMIN will release its sixth studio album, "Ember", on April 13 via Hollywood Records.

Speaking about the disc, BREAKING BENJAMIN founder/frontman Ben Burnley noted: "People have always really liked the heavier side of the band. I think that's what they sort of gravitate towards. But we also make sure to explore our melodic and softer side too." On "Ember", he explained, "we just tried to make it more extreme — the softer side on this album is really soft, and the heavy side is really heavy. We decided to give everybody what they want to the furthest degree."

Produced by BREAKING BENJAMIN, "Ember" is the follow-up to the band's 2015 release "Dark Before Dawn", which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard 200 chart and spun off three No. 1 rock radio tracks, "Failure" (2015's most played Active Rock track), "Angels Fall" and "Never Again". The first single from "Ember", "Red Cold River", was released on January 5 and already has 2.5 million streams and after two weeks is charting Top 15 at rock radio. The accompanying video has over 600,000 views.

"Ember" track listing:

01. Lyra
02. Feed The Wolf
03. Red Cold River
04. Tourniquet
05. Psycho
06. The Dark Of You
07. Down
08. Torn In Two
09. Blood
10. Save Yourself
11. Close Your Eyes
12. Vega

The song "Feed The Wolf" can now be streamed below.

BREAKING BENJAMIN is currently on a nationwide arena tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD and BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, which kicked off on January 12 and will wrap up in mid-February.

Photo credit: Chris Yankton

According to The Des Moines Register, the wife and daughter of late SLIPKNOT bassist Paul Gray have obtained a settlement from health care providers who were blamed for his drug-overdose death.

Gray was found dead on May 24, 2010 after overdosing on drugs in a hotel room in a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa, where he and SLIPKNOT were based. His family blamed the death on a Des Moines pain doctor, Daniel Baldi, who had treated Gray for years, and sued the doctor and his former employers. The lawsuit was scheduled to go to trial on Monday, but it was settled over the weekend.

Baldi was accused of causing the deaths of Gray and eight others with his careless prescription habits.

The doctor was acquitted in May 2014 of seven criminal counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Paul's wife, Brenna Gray, testified during Baldi's trial that Paul's final weeks were a "blur of extreme drug abuse," which neither his doctor nor his bandmates would help his wife confront. She said that Baldi continued to prescribe Xanax for Paul despite knowing that the musician was a drug addict, saying, "I just wasn't really sure why he was on it, why he needed it along with the medication he was taking for addiction."

Baldi's lawyer cross-examined Brenna, asking her if she was aware that her husband overdosed on the painkillers fentanyl and morphine, neither of which Baldi ever prescribed to him.

Brenna also testified that she tried reaching out to some of Paul's bandmates in SLIPKNOT just days prior to the bassist's death but that none of them wanted to get involved. She revealed, "One was playing golf two minutes away from our house but couldn't come. Nobody else cared, nobody was involved. They told me it was my problem."

Brenna revealed in a 2011 interview with Revolver that her husband had agreed to get help for his drug problem just one day before he died.

After a lengthy hiatus, SLIPKNOT resumed touring in 2011, with Donnie Steele playing bass live. The band in 2014 secured the services of British musician Alessandro "Vman" Venturella to play bass on tour.

Paul was 38 years old at the time of his death.

Tengger Cavalry's sixth record and Napalm Records' debut, Cian Bi, will be released on February 23rd. An instrumental playthrough of the album's title track can be seen below:

Pre-order the new album here, and watch a video for the track "Cian Bi (Fight Your Darkness)" below.

'Cian Bi' stands for the name of an ancient nomadic tribe that immigrated into Northern China to merge cultural differences. The band's nomadic fighting spirit helps to fuse unworldly cultures in harmony - and that's the spirit! With their music as a deputy: Distorted guitars and double bass-blast beats hit this very own singing style out of Central Asia. With the Mongolian horsehead fiddle aka Morin khuur these extremes got stick together to a thrilling sound you have never heard before. This is innovation surpreme!

Nature G, mastermind and creative spirit behind Tengger Cavalry, comments: "In this album, we used the concept of the Cian Bi tribe, to express the idea of multi-culture development, acceptance of diversity and individual freedom. We believe that through individual choice and identity freedom, each of us can decide who we want to become and embrace every culture around the world as one nomadic tribe - human tribe."

Cian Bi tracklisting:

"And Darkness Continues"
"Cian-Bi (Fight Your Darkness)"
"Our Ancestors"
"Strength"
"Chasing My Horse"
"Electric Shaman"
"Ride Into Grave And Glory (War Horse II)"
"Redefine"
"A Drop Of The Blood, A Leap Of The Faith"
"The Old War"
"One Tribe, Beyond Any Nation"
"Just Forgive"
"One-Track Mind"
"You and I, Under The Same Sky"
"Sitting In Circle"

"Cian-Bi (Fight Your Darkness)" video:

"Ritual And Redemption" lyric video:

Only six months after the Ayreon Universe took to the stage, Mascot Label Group / Music Theories Recordings will release the entire show on a variety of formats on March 30th. Ayreon Universe is the best of Ayreon Live - a unique performance featuring 16 singers, 28 songs, 2+ hour performance, 9000+ fans and a special appearance by Arjen Lucassen. All of this captured by 30 cameras!

Arjen talks about the upcoming release in the video below:

It’s proof that you should never say ‘never’. After creating rock operas in the studio for more than 20 years, prog mastermind Arjen Lucassen, aka Ayreon, finally took his Universe to the stage in September 2017. Three shows sold out within hours after announcing. 9000+ fans from all corners of the world flocked to the 013 venue in Tilburg, Netherlands to see this long-awaited show live.

This unique performance features 16 singers, 28 songs, an 8 piece band and a special appearance by Arjen. The duration of the show was more than 2 hours. It was filmed with 30 cameras and will be released on DVD and Blu-ray with 5.1 surround audio, with an extensive list of extras, including a behind-the-scenes documentary with interviews with every singer and musician, and a compilation of the try-out show performed a few weeks earlier.

Two years in the making, Ayreon Universe is a full on rock extravaganza, featuring songs from all Ayreon albums, including 2017’s The Source, plus a few fan favorites from Star One. An amazing array of singers appeared on stage to bring the Ayreon Universe to life: Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Damian Wilson (Headspace), Hansi Kursch (Blind Guardian), Tommy Karevik (Kamelot), Anneke van Giersbergen (The Gentle Storm), Marco Hietala (Nightwish), Jonas Renkse (Katatonia), Mike Mills (Toehider), Marcela Bovio (Stream of Passion), Irene Jansen, Robert Soeterboek (Star One), John Jaycee Cuijpers (Praying Mantis), Edward Reekers (ex-Kayak), Jay van Feggelen, Maggy Luyten (Nightmare) and Lisette van den Berg (Scarlet Stories).

This is the show every Ayreon fan wants to see and hear! Without further ado, the album cover.

Ayreon Universe will be released on the following formats:

- 5-Disc Earbook with 2CD, 2DVD and Blu-ray
- Blu-ray
- 2DVD
- 2CD
- 3LP (Black vinyl)
- 3LP (Gold vinyl - Ayreon webstore exclusive - limited to 500 copies)
- Digital download / streaming

Full specs will be announced in the coming weeks.

You can also get bundles with limited edition t-shirts that were previously only available at the shows. Your final chance to get exclusive Ayreon Universe apparel. Pre-orders will start on January 30th at 4 PM, CET. Set your clocks.

Black Label Society guitarist Zakk Wylde recently took part in a live in session for Planet Rock at the Hendrix Flat, 23 Brook Street, London. Watch him perform the new song “The Day That Heaven Had Gone Away” below:

Wylde also performed the new song "Room Of Nightmares":

Black Label Society released their tenth full length, Grimmest Hits, on January 19th via Entertainment One (eOne). The new effort is the follow-up to Billboard Top 5 charting titles Catacombs Of The Black Vatican (2014) and Order Of The Black (2010). In-between then and now, Zakk Wylde released Book of Shadows II, the follow-up to his 1996 solo debut of the same name, which debuted at #18 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart.

Tracklisting:

“Trampled Down Below”
“Seasons Of Falter”
“The Betrayal”
“All That Once Shined”
“The Only Words”
“Room Of Nightmares”
“A Love Unreal”
“Disbelief”
“The Day That Heaven Had Gone Away”
“Illusions Of Peace”
“Bury Your Sorrow”
“Nothing Left To Say”

"All That Once Shined" lyric video:

“Room Of Nightmares” video:

Order Grimmest Hits via the links below:

- Physical
- Digital

Black Label Society are touring with support from Corrosion Of Conformity. Select dates will see support from Eyehategod and Red Fang. A full list of tour dates can be seen below.

January
26 - St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Live
27 - Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues
28 - Raleigh, NC - The Ritz
29 - Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore Silver Spring
31 - New York, NY - PlayStation Theater

February
1 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
2 - Portland, ME - Aura
3 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
5 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom
6 - Akron, OH - The Goodyear Theater at East End
7 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
8 - Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Ballroom Club Stage
9 - St. Paul, MN - Myth Live
11 - Saskatoon, SK - O’Brians Event Centre
12 - Edmonton, AB - The Ranch Roadhouse
14 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom
16 - Grande Prairie, AB - Bowes Event Center at Revolution Place
17 - Calgary, AB - MacEwan Hall
19 - Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo
20 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
21 - Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades
23 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues
24 - Tempe, AZ - The Marquee
25 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater
27 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre

* Red Fang - January 26 - February 9
* Eyehategod - February 11 - 27

Black Label Society is:

Zakk Wylde - Vocals/Guitar
John DeServio - Bass
Dario Lorina - Guitar
Jeff Fabb - Drums

(Photo - Justin Reich)

Gearing up for the release of their new album, The Shadow Theory, Kamelot have checked in with the following update:

Kamelot are set to release a brand new masterpiece, The Shadow Theory, in 2018.

The Shadow Theory is coming this spring via Napalm Records. The new album features all the signature elements of Kamelot and also sees the band step out to add new and industrial elements along while combining amazing emotions that harken to the band's earlier days. Kamelot's epic music is chock full of symbolism relating to how the band feels about the world and the current state of civilization. More news and details regarding The Shadow Theory - including album artwork - will be made available soon.

Following the release of The Shadow Theory, Kamelot will embark on a massive World Tour, starting in North America during April/May 2018 followed by European shows in summer 2018 in support of The Shadow Theory. The band will return to Europe in September/October 2018 for their biggest headliner tour to date.

The very first show of the upcoming The Shadow Tour has been announced for September 14th at 013 in Tilburg, Netherlands. Grab your tickets now, as pre-sales are up and running.

For their very special Tilburg show Kamelot unveils some exciting details: "TILBURG! Kamelot returns to the Poppodium 013 to support their new album and to commemorate their very special relationship with the Dutch fans! There have been 10+ SOLD OUT Kamelot concerts there over the past few years. To thank you for your support we are very pleased to announce we will be shooting this show as part of the band's long awaited DVD! Don't miss this very special event!!"

As mentioned above, Kamelot will be also touring North America with label-mates Delain and Battlebeast in April and May. All tour dates can be found listed below:

April
16 - Louisville, KY - Mercury Ballroom
17 - Charlotte, NC - Filmore Underground
18 - Silver Springs, MD - The Filmore
20 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza
22 - Montreal, QC - Metropolis
23 - Toronto, ON - The Opera House
25 - Albany, NY - Upstate Concert Hall
26 - Pittsburgh, PA - Carnegie Music Hall
27 - Chicago, IL - Concord Music Hall
28 - Minneapolis, MN - The Cabooze
29 - Des Moines, IA - Wooly's

May
1 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theater
2 - Salt Lake City, UT - Complex
4 - San Jose, CA - City National Civic
5 - Anaheim, CA - Grove Anaheim
6 - Phoenix, AZ - Marquee Theater
8 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues
9 - Houston, TX - House of Blues
11 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
12 - Orlando, FL - House of Blues
13 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Revolution

Festivals:

July
12 - Vizovice, Czech Republic - Masters of Rock

August
8 - Villena, Spain - Leyendas del Rock Festival
10 - Derbyshire, UK - Bloodstock Open Air Festival

The Shadow Tour:

September
14 - Tilburg, Nethelands - 013
22 - Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller

More dates to be announced. Tickets and info here.

Black Veil Brides fans (known as the BVB Army) have a right to celebrate as the band’s new album Vale has debuted at #1 on the Rock Albums Chart via Lava/Republic Records.

Almost four years since the band released their chart-topping self-titled fourth album, they return without missing a step on record number five. Not only has Vale captured the #1 spot on the Billboard Top Rock Albums Chart, it reached #3 on the Top Albums Chart and achieved the highest album debut in the band’s history.  

As soon as Vale went live at all online outlets, the record scored the #1 spot on iTunes Top Rock Albums Chart and staked out a place in the Top 5 of the Overall Top Albums Chart, going on to debut in the top of the Overall Top Albums Chart in nearly 25 countries.

While some have suffered in the ever changing music climate, Black Veil Brides continue to dominate, getting bigger with each subsequent release and asserting themselves as a powerful voice in modern rock music.

In less than ten days, the music video for “Wake Up” has generated 3 million YouTube/Vevo views. Additionally, the song graced Spotify’s coveted New Music Friday Playlist. Check it out:

Stacked with rafter-reaching, arena-size hits, Vale has quickly shaped up as a fan favorite. The single “My Vow” has already cracked 1.3 million Spotify streams with “When They Call My Name” and “The Last One” not far behind. 

"When They Call My Name”:

The band’s entire UK tour is now nearly sold out as they currently crisscross the country on a co-headliner with Asking Alexandria. Check out the full itinerary below and purchase tickets here.

January
23 - Academy - Birmingham, UK
24 - Academy - Manchester, UK
25 - Academy - Glasgow, UK
27 - Brixton - London, UK
29 - Palladium - Köln, Germany
30 - O13 - Tilburg, Netherlands

February
2 - Palladium - Worcester, MA
3 - State Theatre - Portland, ME
4 - M Telus - Montreal, QC
5 - Rebel - Toronto, ON
7 - Norva - Norfolk, VA
8 - Terminal 5 - New York, NY
9 - Rams Head Live - Baltimore, MD
10 - Electric Factory - Philadelphia, PA
12 - Tabernacle - Atlanta, GA
13 - Marathon Music Works - Nashville, TN
14 - Egyptian Room at Old National Centre - Indianapolis, IN
16 - Gas Monkey Live - Dallas, TX
17 - House Of Blues - Houston, TX
19 - El Rey Theater - Albuquerque, NM
20 - Marquee Theater - Tempe, AZ
22 - Knitting Factory Concert House - Boise, ID
23 - Roseland Theater - Portland, OR
24 - Showbox SoDo - Seattle, WA
25 - Vogue - Vancouver, BC
27 - Knitting Factory Concert House - Spokane, WA

March
1 - The Warfield Theatre - San Francisco, CA
2 - House Of Blues - Las Vegas, NV

(Photo by Jonathan Weiner)

 

Next up in the series of METALLICA reissues is "The $5.98 EP - Garage Days Re-Revisited", available for pre-order now and in stores on April 13 in time to celebrate Record Store Day. The long-out-of-print EP included five songs that were later released as a part of the "Garage, Inc." double album, but METALLICA thought it would be fun to bring them back now in the original format straight from 1987.

Keeping with the '80s theme, the remastered EP will not only be released as a CD and download, but also as several vinyl versions including a picture disc, as a cassette, and in a longbox (you youngsters can search the web for that term!). All Metallica.com pre-orders will receive an instant-grat single of the remastered version of "The Wait", which can be heard below.

"The $5.98 EP - Garage Days Re-Revisited" track listing:

01. Helpless (originally recorded by DIAMOND HEAD)
02. The Small Hours (originally recorded by HOLOCAUST)
03. The Wait (originally recorded by KILLING JOKE)
04. Crash Course In Brain Surgery (originally recorded by BUDGIE)
05. Last Caress / Green Hell (originally recorded by MISFITS)

"The $5.98 EP - Garage Days Re-Revisited" was remastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood, California.

It will be available in the following formats:

* CD
* Limited Edition CD with a Lenticular Longbox
* LP (180-gram black vinyl)
* Limited-Edition Colored LP (180g red-orange vinyl — only available at Metallica.com and at Indie Retail)
* Limited-Edition LP Picture Disc (Metallica.com Exclusive)
* Limited-Edition Cassette (with the entire EP on both sides, just like the original)
* Streaming & Download

An official preview of the upcoming RAINBOW release, "Memories in Rock II" is available below. The set will include a double CD of the June 2017 U.K. RAINBOW concerts as well as a brand-new RAINBOW studio song and backstage footage of the band and crew.

Back in Novermber, Ritchie Blackmore's wife called new RAINBOW frontman Ronnie Romero "an amazing find" who "checked all the boxes" when it came to his live performance and singing ability.

Romero, originally from Chile but now settled in Madrid, Spain, made his live debut with RAINBOW in June 2016 after he was selected by Ritchie to front the latest version of the band Blackmore had formed after quitting DEEP PURPLE.

Candice Night, who has been married to Ritchie for nine years but has been together with the legendary guitarist for nearly 30, told "Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon" that she came across a video of Romero while having a late-night discussion with Ritchie about a possible RAINBOW comeback.

"It was a 2-o'clock-in-the-morning YouTube search where Ritchie and I were talking about… He had been mentioning maybe reforming RAINBOW and the pros and cons of using people that had names or didn't have names or what to do, and he wasn't really sure — it was kind of back and forth," Candice recalled. "So, honestly, I just looked up some bands that did cover work of [Ronnie James] Dio-era RITCHIE BLACKMORE'S RAINBOW [songs], and I discovered… There were three guys — I narrowed it down to that — that I thought were amazing, and I showed all three of them to Ritchie, and Ronnie was definitely the forerunner — I mean, far and away the forerunner."

After they settled on Romero as their choice, they set about contacting the singer via social media. "And the cool thing is, I went on his Facebook page and [Ronnie] was so, like, normal — it was just a picture of him and his wife having dinner," Candice said. "There was no expletives, it wasn't like him drinking and getting crazy and stupid; it was him as a solid and normal person, which is awesome — and very rare in this industry. And, actually, there was another thing too — there was an a cappella version of him singing in the studio, and Ritchie was, like, 'Wow! That's amazing,' 'cause it's not masked by any of the music. He was amazing."

Romero's audition consisted of a face-to-face get-together in Germany between the vocalist, Ritchie and Candice. "He flew in and met us at a castle," she revealed. "Ritchie brought out the acoustic guitar and we sat in the back room and gave some songs to have Ronnie sing along to. And he was pitch-perfect. He can turn that rasp on or off whenever he wants to. His range… he can handle everything from 'Child In Time' to any of the Dio stuff to the Joe Lynn Turner stuff to the Graham Bonnet stuff, which is… that's pretty tricky. That's four completely different styles of singing, and yet he still manages to make it his own, but has enough grit to it where it's just edgy, it's rock… And it's amazing. And even watching him onstage, he's just solidly confident, and he checks all the boxes. So we said, 'Let's go ahead with it and see how it goes.' And he's a really nice guy; we love working with him. This is his priority, even though he does, obviously, a lot of other bands at this point. And it's just great. He's an amazing find. We're so happy about it."

In May 2017, the revamped version of RAINBOW released its first new music in more than two decades. Two tracks were made available on iTunes: an instrumental song called "Land Of Hope And Glory", which is is a reworking of the 1902 British patriotic song of the same name from Edward Elgar's "Pomp And Circumstance March No. 1", and a re-recording of the RAINBOW classic "I Surrender", which was written by Russ Ballard and was first released by RAINBOW in 1981. The latter song features vocals recorded by Romero.

According to Night, Blackmore and Romero have already "written a couple of songs" for future release. "I know that Ritchie had released 'I Surrender' with [Ronnie] singing, so it's like a 2017 version of that. So that's out there. But he did actually write another song with him," she said. "I think he's planning on writing some more songs with him for some studio stuff in the future. There's definitely one out there that's already in the can that hasn't been released yet, but I know it's gonna be released; we're just waiting for that to happen. It's called 'Waiting For A Sign'. Yeah, so that should be definitely happening in the future."

Candice, who has been recording and touring with Ritchie as part of the internationally heralded Renaissance rock band BLACKMORE'S NIGHT for the past two decades, said that she was thrilled with the prospect of her husband revisiting his hard rock roots. "I thought it was great — even if he didn't have me in any capacity in the band," she said. I wasn't sure if he wanted background singers or if he was gonna choose other background singers, or whatever he wanted, but I've always been the biggest supporter of Ritchie, so whatever he decides to do, that's what I'm gonna support — that is his decision — and I've been like that since day one.

"He's got a lot of situations where he's either surrounded by 'yes' people or people who just put up a wall in front of him before they even hear what the idea is," she explained. "He and I just have long, communicative discussions and decision-making things. And it's, like, 'Look, what is your heart telling you? What do you wanna do?' And he was excited to do it. He hadn't done these songs in a long time, so it was a bit of a challenge for him. And Ritchie is a completely improvisational player, so he'd forgotten how to play a lot of these songs and the arrangements, and he's not big on studying them either — he doesn't want to sit there and listen to how he played 20 years ago, 'cause he's right in the now, always. So it's kind of a challenge for him to do the homework on what these songs were and what they sound like. But he puts his new spin on them while retaining the spirit of the original songs. And he goes out there and he has a great time doing it."

According to Candice, Ritchie has "always told me his heart is with BLACKMORE'S NIGHT, and that's his main project. But as far as nostalgia is concerned and doing these for the fans, because a lot of the fans had wanted to hear the rock songs from way back when, he's, like, this is sort of his special gift for them."

The current incarnation of RAINBOW includes Romero as well as STRATOVARIUS keyboardist Jens Johansson, BLACKMORE'S NIGHT drummer David Keith, bassist Bob Nouveau (a.k.a. Robert "Bob" Curiano, ex-BLACKMORE'S NIGHT), and backing singers Candice Night and Lady Lynn.

The two shows RAINBOW played in Germany in June 2016 were caught on camera to produce "Memories In Rock - Live In Germany", which was released in November 2016 via Eagle Rock Entertainment on DVD+2CD, Blu-ray+2CD, and digital formats.

Greek extreme metal vetearns ROTTING CHRIST will release "Their Greatest Spells" on March 23 via Season Of Mist. This double-CD compilation features a best-of selection approved by frontman Sakis Tolis as well as the new track "I Will Not Serve".

"Their Greatest Spells" track listing:

CD 1

01. The Sign of Prime Creation (3:21)
02. Athanati Este (5:39)
03. Non Serviam (5:11)
04. King Of A Stellar War (6:14)
05. Nemecic (4:15)
06. Grandis Spiritus Diavolos (5:51)
07. Art Of Sin (5:17)
08. Dying (4:49)
09. Archon (4:09)
10. Serve In Heaven (3:52)
11. Astral Embodiment (5:29)
12. After Dark I Feel (4:32)
13. Sorrowfull Farewell (4:51)
14. In Yumen-Xibalba (6:24)
15. Elthe Kyrie (4:49)
16. Cold Colours (3:36)

CD 2

01. The Sign Of Evil Existence (1:59)
02. Fgmenth Thy Gift (4:28)
03. Ze Nigmar (4:42)
04. Phobo's Synagogue (4:30)
05. Demonon Vrosis (4:54)
06. ...Pir Threontai (4:47)
07. Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy (4:53)
08. Among Two Storms (4:09)
09. Semigod (4:39)
10. Welcome To Hel (4:26)
11. A Dynasty From The Ice (4:28)
12. Shadows Follow (4:33)
13. Forest of N'gai (5:49)
14. Feast of the Grand Whore (3:16)
15. Exiled Archangels (5:06)
16. Saturn Unlock Avey's Son (6:21)
17. I Will Not Serve (3:55)

ROTTING CHRIST has reached another peak in its long career that now spans over more than three decades. With a steady core lineup and a well-honed live delivery, ROTTING CHRIST is filling concert halls and reaping enthusiastic crowd reactions wherever it goes. This demonstration of love from their followers is not just driven by nostalgia as the band has managed to evolve and grow, while staying relevant beyond the classics with their highly acclaimed latest albums such as "Aealo" (2010), "Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy" (2013) and "Rituals" (2016).

With more than 30 years, 12 studio albums, a dozen EPs, singles and split releases, as well as more than 1,250 shows under their belt, it is about high time to take a retrospective look at this band's fascinating musical development by picking a select choice of key tracks covering the many facets of ROTTING CHRIST that have sparkled over the years. With such a massive catalogue such an undertaking will always lead to controversy about certain additions as well as omissions from the final list, but the involvement of frontman Sakis Tolis in this extremely difficult task ensures that the result is at least relevant.

ROTTING CHRIST was founded by Sakis Tolis and his brother Themis in the year 1987. Starting out on a basis of death and grind, the Greeks had already embarked on a darker musical journey by the time their debut full-length "Thy Mighty Contract" (1993) was revealed. On the following seven albums covering a ten-year period from "Non Serviam" (1994) to "Sanctus Diavolos" (2004), ROTTING CHRIST steadily defined its own distinct style by experimenting with elements from death, heavy, and gothic metal without betraying their black roots. At the same time, the band went from underground heroes to headliner status. With the highly acclaimed ninth album, "Theogonia" (2007), the Greek stalwarts added an unmistakable native element to their sound, which has remained with them as a signature trademark ever since. Exploring the mythical legacy of cultures around the globe let to ROTTING CHRIST's massively successful latest release, "Rituals". With "Their Greatest Spells", the Greek metal icons musically revisit their exciting legacy and even contribute a brand new track titled "I Will Not Serve" to connect their past with the present.

Legendary, epic Greek black metallers, Varathron, will return with their sixth studio album titled Patriarchs Of Evil on April 27th via Agonia Records. A teaser video is streaming below. Preorders can be found at Agonia Records.

Co-founded in 1988 by Stefan Necroabyssious, the band's vocalist and sole original member, Varathron has been on a steady release schedule since 2004's Crowreign. The latter album introduced Haris (drums) and Achilleas C. (guitars) to the band, who were later joined by Sotiris (guitars) and Stratos (bass), and who together established a new, well-bonded line-up of an already established Hellenic black metal act, considered as one of the forefathers of the genre, next to Rotting Christ and Necromantia.  

Having previously described Patriarchs Of Evil as "heavy, dark and full of melodies that will revive past memories", Varathron elaborates on the successor to Untrodden Corridors Of Hades (2014), now that the recordings have come to an end: 

"The time has come to deliver our new opus Patriarchs of Evil. A sinful sip of this unholy communion will lure you into an astral journey of absurd dimensions - with an awakening smell of the old era. This album is one of the finest pieces Varathron has ever unleashed. We promise a true heavy, blasphemous and unique masterpiece with Necroabyssious delivering his best performance ever. With glorious riffs, profound melodies and a solid rhythm section, this dark testament is to delve into. The time of the rejuvenation has come!! WE ARE FOREVER IMMORTAL!!

"Varathron are proudly spreading the Mediterranean plague since 1988! 30 years have passed and we continue to worship darkness and preach the unholy word! Patriarchs of Evil is not just a new album, it is a celebration and one of our greatest creations. Behold the 8 hymns!".

Patriarchs Of Evil was recorded, mixed and mastered over the course of 2017 by Achilleas Kalantzis  (aka Achilleas C.) at Crown Audio Conspiracies, except for drums which were recorded at Infinite Loop Music Studio. Both studios are based in Varathron's hometown of Ioannina, Greece. The album's artwork and layout were designed by Juanjo Castellano. New band photos were taken by Evi Savva.

Album formats:
- Digipack CD with slipcase and 16 pages booklet.
- Black gatefold LP.
- Picture disc gatefold LP (with insert, patch and poster) limited to 200 hand-numbered copies.
- Yellow with black splatter gatefold LP (with insert, patch and poster) limited to 125 handnumbered copies.
- "30 years" zipper hoodie.
- T-shirt.

Tracklisting:

“Tenebrous”
“Into The Absurd”
“Luciferian Mystical Awakening”
“Saturnian Sect”
“Remnants Of The Dark Testament”
“Hellwitch (Witches Gathering)”
“Orgasmic Nightmares Of The Arch Desecrator”
“Ourobors Dweller (The Dweller Of Barathrum)”

Trailer:

Atlanta’s finest, Whores., have released a new music video for their track "Mental Illness As A Mating Ritual" today from their latest LP, Gold. Directed by Shane Harrington, this is the second music video we've seen from the trio.

The band is also announcing a new batch of dates in April co-headlining with Helms Alee with Bummer supporting. "We are so excited to announce our upcoming spring West Coast Tour with our friends in Helms Alee and Bummer!," says Whores. frontman Christian Lembach. "We played a few of the Harkonnen reunion shows back when our band was just starting out, and we immediately hit it off with Ben (Verellen, of Helms Alee). We've been waiting for the right opportunity to get out on the road together ever since. Our baby bros in Bummer will be bookending our shows on our way out west and on our way back to our beloved ATL. On fire to get back out on the road!"

Whores. will also be headlining the first night of the Portland-based sludge and prog festival Stumpfest in 2018. Stumpfest will be held from April 19th through 21st at Mississippi Studios in Portland, OR.

As if this wasn't keeping the band busy enough, Whores. will be supporting Darkest Hour this February which includes a headline show at Saint Vitus in Brooklyn, NY. Whores. released Gold. on October 28th, 2016 via Entertainment One (eOne), the first for their new label home. Gold. is available overseas via SPV.  The debut LP was recorded at Parhelion Studios with producer Ryan Boesch (Helmet, Fu Manchu, Melvins).

Gold. is the follow up to the highly buzzed about EP Clean (2013), which was widely cheered by critics. Also recorded by Boesch, the record sold out within a month, prompting the band to quickly release the second pressing. Clean is now on its sixth pressing.

Melodic metal act, All But One, have released a video for “Fire Sale”, a track featured on the band’s debut album, Square One, out now via Lifeforce Records. Watch the clip below, and order the album at this location.

Tracklisting:

“Square One”
“Persistence”
“For The Waiting Good”
“Coloured in Vivid”
“Hope Fuel”
“Little White Lies”
“The Reaper, The Sower”
“Fire Sale”
“Serenity”

“Fire Sale” video:

“Persistence” video:

“Coloured In Vivid” lyric video:

“Little White Lies” video:

With members of Alestorm, Heaven Shall Burn and Lifeforce Records' very own When Our Time Comes, All But One have a brand new message to deliver. Their powerhouse debut album tastefully fuses the worlds of pop and metal music, combining accomplished melody with masterful guitar and fearsome breakdowns.

All But One was born as a passion project of Alestorm guitarist Máté Bodor. After catching the attention of an elite group of likeminded musicians, what began as a side project evolved into what will undoubtably become a formidable force in the rock music industry.

All But One are a product of professionalism, uncompromising passion and an unstoppable hunger to succeed.

(Photo - Kornél Györgyei)

Greek power metallers, Secret Illusion, will release their new album, Awake Before The Dawn, on February 1st via Lion Music. A lyric video for the track "Hope Is Lost" is available for streaming below.

Tracklisting:

"Curtain Falls"
"Neverland"
"Fall Of Human Kind"
"Sailing The Open Sea"
"Hope Is Lost"
"Kings And Pawns (Napoleon)"
"Winds Of Tomorrow"
"Falling"
"Eerie"
"Awake Before The Dawn"

"Hope Is Lost" lyric video:

"Neverland":

"Fall Of Human Kind" lyric video:

Richie Kotzen has released the official music video for a new song called "The Damned". The clip, which was shot at Paramount Ranch by director Vicente Cordero, can be seen below.

"Now that I'm off the road, I've been writing and recording quite a bit," Kotzen told Guitar Player. "This time around, the main difference is that I'm using my live band [bassist Dylan Wilson and drummer Mike Bennett] in the studio. We have been a live band for about seven years now, but we really have not done much studio recording together. Rather than wait until all the music is recorded and release an album, I decided to release a series of singles. Maybe it will lead to a full album, maybe not."

Kotzen's latest solo album, "Salting Earth", was released in April 2017 via his own custom label, Headroom-Inc.

Last year, Richie told "The Classic Metal Show" that THE WINERY DOGS, his power trio with drummer Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ADRENALINE MOB) and legendary bassist Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, TALAS, DAVID LEE ROTH) was still a going concern. "By no means is it dead — none of us ever said that," he explained. "I know what I said was that the DOGS are sleeping right now. I'm working on my thing, which I've always done — I'm back to doing what I've done my whole life and I'll continue to do that. But at some point, I can easily see us reconnecting and making another record.

"I don't really know where the notion came, 'Oh, the band's over' and all that sort of thing," he continued. "But, like I said, I keep all doors open. I know that Billy [recorded] another MR. BIG record and Mike's always doing something cool and interesting. So once I get done with my album cycle and those guys get done doing what they're doing, I'm sure we'll meet up again and talk about the future of the band."

HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale joined Tennessee metallers DARK HOUND on stage on January 19 at The Basement in Nashville to perform a cover version of the MEGADETH classic "Trust". Fan-filmed video footage of her appearance can be seen below.

DARK HOUND's new album, "Dawning", was released on January 19. Stream and/or purchase it at this location.

HALESTORM last year entered the Dark Horse Recording studios just outside Nashville to begin recording its fourth album for a 2018 release. Helming the sessions is Nick Raskulinecz, an acclaimed producer who has previously worked with RUSH, KORN, ALICE IN CHAINS and DEFTONES, in addition to having produced HALESTORM's third covers EP, "ReAniMate 3.0: The CoVeRs eP", which came out in January 2017.

Hale said in a 2011 interview that it is "fun" for HALESTORM to cover other artists' songs. "You have no idea how much you learn as a musician and as a singer and songwriter by learning somebody else's material and having to own it and make it your own; it's really like homework," she said. "You come out on the other side better for some reason, as a better musician."

Babylon A.D. have released a video for "Saturday Night", a track from their new album, Revelation Highway, released last November. The clip can be found below.

Tracklisting:

“Crash And Burn”
“Fool On Fire”
“One Million Miles”
“Tears”
“She Likes To Give It”
“Rags To Riches”
“Last Time For Love”
“I'm No Good For You”
“Saturday Night”
“Don't Tell Me Tonight”

“Saturday Night” video:

“One Million Miles” video:

“I’m No Good For You” video:

“Rags To Riches”:

“Crash And Burn” video:

Babylon A.D. lineup:

Derek Davis - Lead Vocals, Keyboards, Acoustic Guitar
Ron Freschi - Guitars & Vocals
John Mathews - Guitars & Keyboards
Robb Reid - Bass & Vocals
James Pacheco - Drums & Percussion

Los Angeles-based trio Athanasia blend classic thrash, power and black metal influences with modern heavy metal fury to create a sound that is equal parts commanding, aggressive, and melodic. The band is set to release their new full-length album, The Order Of The Silver Compass, later this year.

In the meantime, Athanasia is gracing fans with the unforgettable new track "Cyclops Lord (My Will Is Done)". A lyric video for the song can be found below.

Frontman Caleb Bingham says,"'Cyclops Lord' is our take on the root of all evil... the almighty dollar! The song's strong lyrical content made this video beg for hidden subliminal visuals, not unlike those present on the dollar itself..."

Beginning as an extreme metal passion project of singer/guitarist Caleb Bingham (then called Ascension), Athanasia was originally put on hold for several years due to Bingham being invited to perform in notable groups such as the then-newly formed Five Finger Death Punch, and Sweden-based melodic death metal group Zonaria between 2005 and 2014. After sustaining a leg injury, Bingham ceased performing with Zonaria and began putting his time back into the original project he worked so hard to create. Joined by bassist Brandon Miller and veteran drummer Jason West (Murderdolls, Wednesday 13, Sebastian Bach), Athanasia is finally ready for its time under the spotlight.

The Order Of The Silver Compass was produced/engineered by Caleb Bingham at Nightmare Sound, mixed by Chris Collier at CMC 21 Productions (Korn, Lynch Mob) and mastered by Joe Bozzi (Mastodon, LA Guns) at Bernie Grundman Mastering.

The Order Of The Sliver Compass tracklisting:

“Read Between The Lines”
“Spoils Of War”
“The Order Of The Silver Compass”
“Cyclops Lord (My Will Is Done)”
“The Bohemian”
“Mechanized Assault”
“Nightmare Sound”
“White Horse”

"White Horse" video:

“The Order Of The Silver Compass” video:

“Spoils Of War” video:

Athanasia is:

Caleb Bingham - Guitars/Vocals
Brandon Miller - Bass/Background Vocals
Jason West - Drums