The new Place Vendome album, Close To The Sun, will be released on February 24th. The album track “Light Before The Dark” is available for streaming below.

One of the most popular projects put together over the years by Frontiers' President Serafino Perugino, Place Vendome was an idea sparked during a phone conversation between Serafino and Helloween singer Michael Kiske, where they discussed their common passion for several melodic rock giants of the 80’s. The Hamburg singer agreed to be part of a studio project where he would sign songs written especially for him by various writers with an AOR/melodic rock flavor.

The amazing reception of the first Place Vendome album released in 2005 planted the seeds for a second recording, Streets Of Fire, which was recorded during 2008 and for a third album, Thunder In The Distance, which was released in 2013. Being a project so close to Kiske’s heart, it was agreed during 2016 that work on a new album would start with his Unisonic  bandmate Dennis Ward at the production helm, as usual.

Of the album, Ward said, "Upon receiving the demos for the new songs intended for the new Place Vendome record I was a bit concerned because a few vocal styles seemed to go against what Michael Kiske is known for vocally. After talking together we agreed to just let the melodies come out naturally, without trying to imitate or “reproduce” the demos. Michael really stood up to this on the new album. He did “his” thing, with no compromises. He managed to make the songs his own and brought all the songs to another level. I have a lot of respect for him because of this and now the album is much more than just another AOR album. That being said I have to pay high respects to the other musicians on the album: Dirk Bruineberg proved again that he is a multi-talented drummer that can literally pull of any groove, any style of any era with the highest of expectations. Günter Werno is also a gem amongst a pile of stones. He really shines on this album and holds all the songs together, true to the Place Vendome sound. Uwe Reitenauer is also a master of his instrument taking over duties that were critical and complicated to say the least. He has the perfect AOR tone and can implement it no matter what type of song you throw at him. The rest of the “guests" that helped out made this album into a truly interesting compilation and also making this a milestone for Place Vendome. That being said, it’s the first Place Vendome album where I feel that we have achieved our trademark sound. This is how we want to be heard and this is how we imagine ourselves to sound."

Speaking of other album guests, once again, Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear) was one of the first to answer the call to participate and offered the awesome song, “Falling Star” to the project. Jani Liimatainen (Cain's Offering, ex-Sonata Arctica) was the next contributor with the epic “Welcome To The Edge”, the album’s tour de force. Following Labyrinth’s reunion, guitarist Olaf Thorsen sat with Eternal Idol, Angra and Rhapsody singer Fabio Lione and offered “Helen” and “Riding The Ghost”. Frontiers’ President Serafino Perugino then proposed that his favourite DGM song, “Hereafter” be included. This brought DGM’s main composer, Simone Mularoni into the picture and he wrote the album’s title track and “Across The Times”. Alessandro Del Vecchio also offered two new songs, “Strong” and “Yesterday Is Gone”, while Secret Sphere’s guitarist Aldo LoNobile wrote “Distant Skies” and “Breathing”. The full picture was finally completed with a new song written by Swedish melodic rock artist Michael Palace (Palace, Skylander), “Light Before The Dark”.

Kiske and Ward wanted to make the album a little bit special, so besides the “usual suspects” (including drummer Dirk Bruinenberg, Vanden Plas’ ivory tinkler Gunter Werno and Pink Cream 69’s Uwe Reineauer on guitars), some guitar heavyweights appear on the recordings. The list includes Alfred Koffler and (of course) Uwe Reineauer of Pink Cream 69, Magnus Karlsson, Michael Klein, Gus G (Ozzy Osbourne, Firewind), Simone Mularoni, and Unisonic guitarists Kai Hansen and Mandy Meyer among the others.

Kiske comments: “The production with my buddy Dennis was great, as always, but what I especially like about this album - beside the new microphone I used that Dennis has built me - is the various styles of the songs. It is all a still very AOR-produced album, but we also have progressive or ''wilder'' elements here and there. It was (again) interesting to see how much the songs change until you finally reach the mixing stage.”

In a year that will see Michael Kiske rejoin with his old Helloween bandmates for a unique world tour, Place Vendome’s new album is the icing on the cake of a special and very rewarding period for the German singer.

All in all, Close To The Sun is probably the most hard rocking release ever from Place Vendome and an absolute monster of an album!

Close To The Sun tracklisting:

“Close To The Sun”
“Welcome To The Edge”
“Hereafter”
“Strong”
“Across The Times”
“Riding The Ghost”
“Light Before The Dark”
“Falling Star”
“Breathing”
“Yesterday Is Gone”
“Helen”
“Distant Skies”

“Light Before The Dark”:

“Welcome To The Edge” lyric video:

Produced by Dennis Ward.

- Lead Vocals - Michael Kiske
- Backing vocals - Dennis Ward, Michael Kiske // Additional Choirs on “Strong” by Alessandro Del Vecchio
- Bass - Dennis Ward
- Keyboards - Günter Werno
- Drums – Dirk Bruinenberg

- All Rhythm Guitars by Dennis Ward, except: "Welcome To The Edge", "Across The Times", "Close To The Sun", "Hearafter" – Rhythm Guitars by Uwe Reitenauer
- Guitar solo by Michael Klein on "Yesterday Is Gone", "Distant Skies", "Strong", "Breathing".
- Guitar solo by Uwe Reitenauer on "Close To the Sun"
- Guitar solo by Alfred Koffler on "Welcome To The Edge"
- Guitar solo by Magnus Karlsson on "Falling Star"
- Guitar solo by Gus G on "Light Beyond The Dark"
- Guitar solo by Simone Mularoni on "Hearafter"
- Guitar solo by Mandy Meyer on "Helen"
- Guitar solo by Kai Hansen on "Riding The Ghost" and "Across The Times"

Dave Stabley of Big Bad Dog Productions has uploaded multi-camera, professionally filmed video footage of three members of RATT's classic lineup — singer Stephen Pearcy, bassist Juan Croucier and guitarist Warren DeMartini — performing the RATT song "Wanted Man" as the "surprise band" on October 1, 2016 on the Monsters Of Rock Cruise West, also known as Monsterwood. Check out the clip below. Joining Pearcy, Croucier and DeMartini on stage at the event were former QUIET RIOT guitarist Carlos Cavazo, who played on RATT's last studio album, 2010's "Infestation", and drummer Jimmy DeGrasso, who previously played with Y&T, WHITE LION and MEGADETH, among others.

As previously reported, the newly reunited RATT — featuring Pearcy, Croucier, DeMartini and Cavazo — has been confirmed to perform at this year's edition of the M3 Rock Festival, set to take place on Friday, April 28, 2017 and Saturday, April 29, 2017 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.

Pearcy, Croucier and DeMartini took control of the RATT name after a judge ruled against drummer Bobby Blotzer with respect to whether Croucier had committed trademark infringement by using the RATT name and logo to advertise his band RATT'S JUAN CROUCIER back in the fall 2015. The judge furthermore decided that the corporation WBS, Inc., of which Blotzer and DeMartini were thought to be the sole shareholders, and which Blotzer has claimed owns the RATT name and brand, did not have ownership interest in the RATT marks and that the name and brand was still owned by the members who were part of the original RATT partnership agreement: Pearcy, Croucier, DeMartini and Blotzer.

In addition to claiming to have expelled Blotzer from the partnership following the latest court ruling, Pearcy, DeMartini and Croucier said that Blotzer could now only refer to himself as a "former member of RATT," as per the partnership agreement.

Blotzer's attorney, Drew Sherman, fired back last month, saying, "It's a long time before this is done. We're not even at the appeals part yet."

MUTINY WITHIN will release its third full-length album, titled "Origins", on February 10, 2017.

The song "Silent Weapons", taken from "Origins", can be streamed below.

Commented MUTINY WITHIN bassist Andrew Jacobs: "At the end of last year, we found some old demos we thought had been lost, which led to a discussion about putting together an EP.

"We planned on releasing the demos along with a couple of new songs but once we got started, we had more and more ideas for new songs and the plan quickly evolved into making an EP of brand new tracks.

"Our fans have stuck by us through so much, and as we kept working, we felt we were selling them short with just an EP, so we pushed on and turned it into a full album.

"We've now been in the studio for almost a year and have put together what we think are our best songs to date. It's MUTINY WITHIN but evolved, more extreme, longer songs, but still with everything that made people excited about us. My favorite part; it's all real. The drums, the vocals, the shred, and most of all, the passion we've always had for our music... We tried to capture the energy as if we were on stage and we've done that.

"We're so excited about the results and have no plans on stopping now.

"We owe our fans everything and we hope they continue to enjoy listening to us for a long time to come."

Pre-orders are available at www.mutiny-within.com.

MUTINY WITHIN made waves in the metal community early in its career by joining the Roadrunner Records roster and touring endlessly on the heels of its self-titled debut album. Having half the lineup live across the great Atlantic pond and experiencing serious financial difficulties due to the rampant piracy in the music industry, MUTINY WITHIN was forced to go on hiatus in 2011. That was the end of the touring band, but not the end of their music. A second album in the form of the independently produced "Synchronicity" followed in 2013.

An official trailer for the forthcoming "The Homecoming Tour" documentary from BLACK VEIL BRIDES singer Andy Biersack's solo project, ANDY BLACK, is available below.

ANDY BLACK's debut album, "The Shadow Side", was released last May via Lava/Republic. The disc was produced by John Feldmann and included collaborations with FALL OUT BOY's Patrick Stump, Gerard Way, 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER's Ashton Irwin and ALL TIME LOW's Rian Dawson.

Asked what ANDY BLACK sounds like, Biersack told U.K.'s Kerrang! magazine: "I think my intention for this was to go as far in the other direction as possible. Sonically, the goal was to really play with music and a lot of different stuff, to have a lot of odd instrumentation and to have a lot of programmed stuff, keyboards and more classic, almost pop-rock guitar. It's more U2 than MEGADETH. There are no guitar solos on the record. There's a lot of drumming styles; there's some weird sleigh bells. It was about playing with music and seeing what happened. We came up with something in the vein of stuff I love — U2, Adam Ant… It's somewere between Springsteen, new romantic and modern goth-pop music."

Biersack previously described ANDY BLACK as a "fun and artistic way for me to try something that musically I wouldn't want to force into BLACK VEIL BRIDES."

BLACK VEIL BRIDES recently completed work on its fifth album for an early 2017 release. A track from the effort, "The Outsider", was made available last month.

2016 was another record-breaking year for TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA (TSO), the project founded by producer/composer/lyricist Paul O'Neill. Proving that the critically-acclaimed, multi-platinum, progressive rock group is more popular on the road than ever before, TSO's winter tour 2016 sold the most tickets per show in the group's history, with a total in excess of 927,000. The tour also set a record gross for TSO with a total of more than $56.9 million.

20 years since the band's first album, and since its historic touring debut, TSO has played in excess of 1,800 shows for more than 14 million fans, with tour grosses of over $625 million, and sold in excess of 12 million albums and DVDs. In 2009, Billboard magazine placed TSO at #25 on its "Top Touring Artists Of The Decade."

TSO's 2016 winter tour kicked off on November 17 and concluded, after 105 shows, with special New Year's Eve performances in Seattle and Cleveland. Based on the group's perennial TV special "The Ghosts Of Christmas Eve", the 2016 winter tour played in 61 cities in a 45-day span. 2016's tour was ranked #11 on the Worldwide Ticket Sales "Top 100 Tours" chart, #16 on the "Top 200 North American Tours" chart, and #25 on the "Top 100 Worldwide Tours" chart by concert industry trade Pollstar magazine. As in years past, TSO gave at least $1 from every ticket sold to charity — approximately $14 million has been donated in total.

Prior to the winter tour, Atlantic Records/Rhino Entertainment released "The Ghosts Of Christmas Eve" on CD, vinyl and as a digital audio album. The album debuted at #2 on Billboard Top Rock Albums chart and #6 on The Billboard 200. Additionally, "The Ghosts Of Christmas Eve" hit #2 on Billboard's Holiday Albums chart, its seventh album to chart there.

Previously, TSO has enjoyed a string of successful album and DVD releases throughout its illustrious career. "Night Castle" debuted at #5 on The Billboard 200 chart and is now certified platinum. "Christmas Eve And Other Stories" (1996) boasted the smash hit "Christmas Eve Sarajevo 12/24" and is certified triple platinum with over 3.5 million albums sold. "The Christmas Attic" (1998) earned certified double platinum status with 2 million albums sold. "The Lost Christmas Eve" (2004), featuring hit single "Wizards In Winter", was certified double platinum with 2.5 million albums sold. "Beethoven's Last Night" (2000), TSO's first non-holiday rock opera, was certified gold with more than 650,000 album sales. 2015's "Letters From The Labyrinth" was TSO's third Top 10 album debut in a row, and it spent six weeks at #1 on Billboard's Rock Chart.

TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA is split into separate touring units to cover more of the country in a limited time. Having two troupes, each of which features a full band and multiple lead singers, allows TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA to play 100 shows in 60 cities over a six-week period.

Asked if he feels pressure to top himself year after year and show after show, O'Neill told The Morning Call: "Yes. Every year we always say the same thing: 'How the heck are we going to beat this?' Actually, a couple of our crew members used to work for PINK FLOYD and one of them said, 'Paul, there is a reason why PINK FLOYD toured like once every five years.' I'm discovering why. It's a good problem to be having and it's also one of the reasons why at the end of every tour we take quite a bit of the production and pretty much cut it up which forces us to have to come up with something new, something different."

He continued: "One year we had Greg Lake as a special guest. I love Greg Lake because Greg Lake is the guy who invented prog rock. … He said, 'Paul,' he goes, 'you really get prog rock.' I'm like, 'I'm afraid I have no idea what that means.' He said, 'Prog rock is the ultimate form of music. If you're in a blues band and you play jazz songs, it's no longer a blues band. If you're in a jazz band and you play reggae band it's no longer a jazz band. If you're reggae band and play Strauss waltz, it's no longer reggae. But a progressive rock band you can do anything. It's built into the name — progressive — you're always pushing the envelope, which is why bands like RUSH on the radio can go from rock to reggae and back to rock and nobody says boo."

O'Neill added: "Also, with progressive rock bands like EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER, PINK FLOYD, GENESIS, progressive rock bands are not just expected to come up with great songs. Progressive rock is always expected to be pushing the live stage show. When I was kid growing up in New York City, basically there was four guys in spotlights and you were on a roll. I'll never forget the first time I saw GENESIS when they invented the Vari-Lite which changed colors, moods. Everyone was like, 'What the heck is that?' They didn't just rent them they were involved in the design and financing it. It was GENESIS I think that sparked the arms race of special effects on the stage. It basically helped take it to a different dimension. Just make sure that everybody in that arena gets to go to someplace where they normally couldn't go."

Horror icon Bill Moseley — most notable as Chop Top in "Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2", and Otis in Rob Zombie's "House Of 1000 Corpses" and "Devil's Rejects" — recently joined forces with extreme music legend Philp H. Anselmo (DOWN, PANTERA, SUPERJOINT, SCOUR, PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS, ARSON ANTHEM) for a very special collaborative release titled "Songs Of Darkness And Despair".

Due on January 20 via Anselmo's own Housecore Records, the five-track offering was produced and performed by Anselmo and Stephen "The Big Fella" Berrigan (DOWN, SYK, PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS, EYEHATEGOD, HAARP, CLASSHOLE), and mastered by Scott Hull of Visceral Sound.

"Songs Of Darkness And Despair" includes guest appearances by Kevin Bond (SUPERJOINT) on guitar, Squizzy Squires (KING PARROT) on bass and guitar, and José "Blue" Gonzalez (SUPERJOINT, WARBEAST, PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS) on percussion.

The song "Bad Donut", taken from "Songs Of Darkness And Despair", can now be streamed below. From preppie journalist to Satanic serial killer, Bill Moseley's taken a long and unusual road to cult stardom, firmly cementing his place in the annals of horror history along the way. Having released his "Spider Mountain" record, and collaborated with Buckethead on their CORNBUGS project, Moseley expands his musical endeavors by teaming up with Anselmo. BILL & PHIL's "Songs Of Darkness And Despair" is a brilliant trip that will give everyone a thrill. Comments Anselmo: "Working with Mr. Moseley was an awesome experience! Bill brought the lyrics and Stephen [Berrigan] and I just improvised directly on the spot, and squeezed out six tunes in three days. All the songs have a different vibe because I wanted the music to represent Bill's lyrical vision(s), and we needed to, because Bill does indeed have a unique, visual element within his choice of words and phrasing. I love Bill Moseley, and can't wait to work on the next one! Be cool and enjoy this one!" BILL & PHIL's "Songs Of Darkness And Despair" preorder bundles (including limited-edition air fresheners and face masks) are available at the Housecore store.

Additionally, you can check out a hilarious interview with Moseley and Anselmo courtesy of Little Punk People below. "Songs Of Darkness And Despair" track listing:

01. Dirty Eye02. Corpus Crispy03. Catastrophic04. Widder Woman05. Tonight's The Night We Die06. Bad Donut

In a brand new interview with the "WTF With Marc Maron" podcast, METALLICA frontman James Hetfield spoke about the importance of reconnecting with MEGADETH, ANTHRAX and SLAYER — the other members of the so-called "Big Four" of 1980s thrash metal — for a run of dates in 2010 and 2011.

"It really started [when METALLICA was inducted into] the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame [in 2009]," Hetfield said (hear audio below). Getting nostalgic and thinking, 'My God, look at all the people that have helped us along the way, and look who are still around. Let's say 'thank you' to them.' And so the 'Big Four' was kind of that thing. We're all still playing after thirty… whatever it was… thirty-two years. Let's go do a gig together. I mean, why shouldn't we? Let's celebrate the fact that we're still alive and playing music that we love. And I think the other thing was, the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. That's all I ever hear about. NWOBHM. Blah blah blah. What about the 'Big Four'? No one knows the 'Big Four'. Come on, let's make it known. Let's make some history here, and let people know, and put a mark there that, hey, the 'Big Four' was, and is, a force to be reckoned with."

Hetfield also talked about his relationship with MEGADETH frontman Dave Mustaine, who was a member of METALLICA for less than two years, from 1982 to 1983, before being dismissed and replaced by Kirk Hammett.

"There's no reason [for things] to not be good [between us]," Hetfield said. "At this point, we've all freakin' fell off the wagon, we've all gone into the ditch, we've all gotten back on track, we've all learned from our stuff. And at the end of the day, it's just journeys — everyone is doing a different journey — and why would you hold a grudge with someone or vice versa?"

James credited his emotional maturity for being able to focus on making amends and repairing relationships with current and former bandmates — something he never would have been able to do in the early part of METALLICA's career.

"I've seen some kind of light around that," he explained. "Because I think [inducting BLACK SABBATH into the] Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame [in 2006] was a part of that realization that… You know, when we were up there and seeing… Ozzy [Osbourne] is sitting at one table, and the rest of BLACK SABBATH at the other table, and they don't wanna jam together, and they're being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. So we go up and we play a song — we played BLACK SABBATH songs for them— and that was beautiful for us, but it was sad to see that."

He continued: "I'd rather see you guys play. Whatever it is, put it away, please. I get it — I get it's hard to get past stuff — but there's stuff in my life that I thought I could never get over. Just see past that shit, go 'big picture,' whatever it is you need to do, [and] you can get past the most unbelievable places that you think you can never get out of."

METALLICA's latest album, "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct", debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 album chart, selling 291,000 copies in its first week of release.

METALLICA will head out on a major world tour in support of the set later this year, with North American dates rumored to begin in late spring.

Interview (audio)

According to The Times, DEEP PURPLE has filed a lawsuit against its longtime accountant, accusing him of siphoning off up to £4 million (approximately $4.93 million) in band royalties.

Vocalist Ian Gillan, drummer Ian Paice and bassist Roger Glover have sued Dipak Shanker Rao, who has been working for DEEP PURPLE for more than twenty years, for allegedly misappropriating funds from their financial companies, HEC Enterprises and Deep Purple (Overseas) Ltd.

High Court this week froze the assets of Rao, who has admitted "borrowing" or "lending" at least £2.27 million of the company's money. Only £477,000 has been recovered thus far, with both HEC Enterprises and Deep Purple (Overseas) Ltd. having gone into administration a year ago.

Former DEEP PURPLE guitarist Ritchie Blackmore last year sued the companies, alleging that was owed £750,000 in unpaid royalties.

In a 2009 interview with The Telegraph, Gillan admitted he has not been particularly involved in overseeing DEEP PURPLE's financial affairs.

"I'm completely irresponsible," he said at the time. "I'm ignorant about money as a commodity — I have never really understood it. Years ago I decided to delegate running everything to my management because I'm only home three months every year and the rest of the time on tour."

DEEP PURPLE will release its new album, "InFinite", on April 7 via earMUSIC.

The band — 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. DEEP PURPLE's first three lineups were inducted, including Paice, Blackmore, late keyboardist Jon Lord, and various singers and bassists — Rod Evans; Ian Gillan and Roger Glover; and David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes.

In a brand new interview with Newsweek, legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore was asked if he was disapppointed that he wasn't able to invite original RAINBOW singer Ronnie James Dio, who died in 2010, to take part in the band's reunion shows last year. He responded: "I hate to say it, but no, I wasn't. I'd finished with Ronnie a long time ago, and we kept in touch now and again, but I went on to other things, and he was in other things. We kept it very convivial and that, but I think neither one of us really wanted to get back together. He's a strong alpha male, and so am I; he wanted to go one way, I wanted to go the other."

In a 2009 interview with Greece's Rock Overdose, Ronnie was asked if he would be open to making a RAINBOW reunion album with Ritchie. Dio responded: "No, I will never do another RAINBOW album. I'll never ever do that again. I want no part in doing it; I want no part in doing anything with Ritchie at all. I respect him. He's a genius. He was a great part of my life, but I don't need to go through that hell. Especially when you get to be this age, do I need to suffer more? I think life should be easier as you get older and not more difficult. And Ritchie is too difficult a person for me to deal with, because I like to have control of my own life.

"When I'm not in [HEAVEN & HELL], I'm in the DIO band. We think the same. So, there is no problem with not liking each other or demanding that I have to do something that I don't want to do. So, it's not a place I want to go to.

"I'm happy for Ritchie that he's happy doing what he's doing. I wish he were not doing it and I wish he was still making rock 'n' roll music. But maybe he's too old… He's pretty close [to my age] too."

He added: "I'm not trying to make Ritchie out as a bad person, because he's not a bad person — he's a good person — and, as I said before, he's a genius, but he's making life difficult for people. He's not a kind man at times, and I don't wanna be around cruel people. I had enough of that from him…

"I had no problem with Ritchie. Ritchie and I never argued. We never had a problem. I think I was always able to write the things that he wanted — until he decided he wanted to be a pop star. And then he started doing pop music. And once he did that, that was the end for me. I didn't want to do that.

"I was lucky enough to be able to get into [BLACK] SABBATH and write things that were… perfect for me. I wanted to be heavier than what he allowed me to be… or allowed his band to be."

Blackmore performed RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE material at three shows last June. He was joined at the gigs by LORDS OF BLACK singer Ronnie Romero, STRATOVARIUS keyboardist Jens Johansson, BLACKMORE'S NIGHT drummer David Keith and bassist Bob Nouveau (a.k.a. Robert "Bob" Curiano, ex-BLACKMORE'S NIGHT).

Ronnie James Dio died on May 16, 2010 from gastric cancer at the age of 67.

Norwegian symphonic black metallers DIMMU BORGIR will release their highly anticipated double DVD, "Forces Of The Northern Night", on April 14 via Nuclear Blast. The set will contain 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. Both concerts present a spectacular sound scenario of raging black metal in front of an epic orchestral landscape plus the band's unique visuals.

DIMMU BORGIR's remarkable and atramentous stage show has long seemed like a natural evolution for fans, but much time, arrangements and commitment were necessary to put this gigantic production into reality and fill the stage with 90 minutes of mindblowing aural delight per night. The shows guide the fans through classics from the band's discography — from the majestic finisher "Mourning Palace" to the stomping manifesto "Puritania" and the haunting "Gateways". "For us, this is the pinnacle of our career so far," says DIMMU BORGIR frontman Stian Thoresen (a.k.a. Shagrath). "As a band, we've always used a lot of symphonic elements in our music. But we haven't been able to use a real orchestra. We've had to use samples, synthesizers and so on, so this was a huge, awesome experience for us." In addition to the two concerts, "Forces Of The Northern Night" will include a bonus documentary feature.

DIMMU BORGIR's May 28, 2011 concert at the Oslo Spektrum in Norway, which is included on "Forces Of The Northern Night", featured a special setlist with 53 members of KORK (the Norwegian Radio Orchestra) and 30 members of the Schola Cantorum choir, who were musical guests on the band's ninth studio album, 2010's "Abrahadabra". The show was professionally filmed and was broadcast as part of a one-hour documentary in June 2011 on NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation), the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company and the largest media organization in Norway.

In an interview with Scuzz TV, DIMMU BORGIR guitarist Sven Atle Kopperud (a.k.a. Silenoz) stated about the experience of performing with an orchestra: "It was, of course, really special, especially since it was in Oslo, and a lot of people traveled in for the show from all over the world. And everything went great on stage for once. When you have a hundred people on stage, the percentage of something going wrong is definitely there, but it was really, really good."

He added: "You think your band is professional, then you play with an orchestra, and then you know, 'Oh, we're not so professional after all.'"

DIMMU BORGIR last year extended its partnership with Nuclear Blast.

The band's tenth album is tentatively due before the end of 2017.

DIMMU BORGIR's most recent touring lineup included Geir Bratland (APOPTYGMA BERZERK, THE KOVENANT) on keyboards and Terje Andersen (a.k.a. Cyrus; SUSPERIA) on bass.

"Beyond The Matrix", the new video from Dutch symphonic metallers EPICA, can be seen below. The clip was produced by Jens De Vos and his team at Panda Productions.

"Beyond The Matrix" is taken from EPICA's latest album, "The Holographic Principle", which was released on September 30 via Nuclear Blast.

Commented EPICA frontwoman Simone Simons: "The energy that lives within 'Beyond the Matrix' is extremely contagious. It will sweep you off your feet when the melodies enter your mind.

"The video embodies the spirit and liveliness of EPICA.

"Transcend together with us and shine past the sky" EPICA guitarist Mark Jansen added: "'Beyond The Matrix' is one of my favorite tracks to play live from our new album, as it makes the crowd go wild, so I'm happy we are releasing a video of it.

"We have managed to catch the energy of the song and translate it into images (and words).

"The song is dealing about us humans, being caught in a matrix (an illusion) because of our excessive thinking. We have lost control over our lives and accept the illusion as 'the one reality.' But if we manage to free ourselves from those shackles and become masters of our thoughts again, we can make a huge step forward in collective consciousness and will be able to look beyond the borders of our matrix.

"Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride!!!"

Simons recently told Metal-Rules.com about the lyrical themes covered on "The Holographic Principle": "It isn't a concept CD as the story is not in a chronological order of events from beginning to the end. Some songs deviate from the idea.

"'The Holographic Principle' is, basically, that we are living in a hologram. With the new technology and virtual reality glasses we realize reality is generated so perfectly that you can no longer tell the difference, so can reality also be a hologram?"

Simone also talked about the production on "The Holographic Principle" and how important it is get the right sound when it comes to symphonic metal. She said: "I think the sonics would be equally important to any band, not just a symphonic metal band like us. Every band wants to songs to sound the best they possibly can on the CD. That is why you have to record parts a million times in order for them to come as perfect as possible.

"When it came time for recording my vocals, our producer said that he doesn't want to overdo it as we don't want to lose the emotion in my vocals. That is something you cannot fix in editing.

"Overall, production-wise, we went bigger, because we recorded with more instruments as we had a good budget to finance it. We were in the studio for about five months recording. The writing took about a year; we had 27 songs to choose from when we were done. Then we had to narrow it down to 18 songs, which we recorded and mixed. Twelve went to the CD and the remaining six are in the corner waiting patiently to be released." After finishing a successful North American tour last month, EPICA will kick off a massive European tour with POWERWOLF and BEYOND THE BLACK this week.

Florida death metal veterans OBITUARY will release their self-titled, tenth studio album on March 17 via Relapse.

Picking up where 2014's "Inked In Blood" left off, OBITUARY show no signs of slowing down as they continue to reign as kings of death metal. Recorded at the band's home studio in Tampa, "Obituary" is a ten-track tour de force of bone-pulverizing death metal that is as heavy, uncompromising and infectious as anything they've released in the group's historic, nearly 30-year career.

"Obituary" track listing:

01. Brave02. Sentence Day03. Lesson In Vengeance04. End It Now05. Kneel Before Me06. It Lives07. Betrayed08. Turned To Stone09. Straight To Hell10. Ten Thousand Ways To Die

The cover art was created by Andreas Marschall and can be seen below.

Commented OBITUARY vocalist John Tardy: "When writing records the song titles and album titles are always the last things on our minds. We know that the songs themselves are the most important thing, so with this our tenth studio album and nearly three decades as a band, we thought it was the perfect time for a self-titled release. It always helps to have a killer album cover so we worked with Andreas Marschall, gave him our ideas and thoughts and asked him to break out the big guns to create an epic logo and he delivered like he always has for OBITUARY." Added the band in a collective statement: "We could not be any more excited about this new album. We had a blast writing and recording it and having Ken [Andrews, guitar] and Terry [Butler, bass] as part of the writing process was a very cool experience for all of us.

"We really took our time with the writing process of these new songs, recording riffs and ideas as we went along and recording them as rough mixes then listening back and making necessary changes to help mold them into the songs that we are extremely proud of. "It's always a challenge in the studio to get the song ideas out of your head onto the recording the way you want but we made sure we were comfortable with the songs and the sounds we were getting before we even hit the record button and it made it a great experience.

"It's hard to believe it's been two and a half years since the release of 'Inked In Blood' and we are so excited to get this new album into the hands of our fans.

"Can't wait for everyone to hear it. Hang on to your ass!!!!"

OBITUARY will hit the road this spring as part of the 2017 Decibel Magazine Tour with KREATOR, HORRENDOUS and MIDNIGHT. The tour kicks off on March 17 in Charlotte, North Carolina and runs through April 15 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

On January 8, rock journalist Mitch Lafon of the "One On One With Mitch Lafon" podcast (Facebook page) conducted an interview with former ACCEPT and current U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER frontman Udo Dirkschneider backstage in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about the decision to extend the DIRKSCHNEIDER "Back To The Roots - Farewell To Accept" tour, during which he is playing classic ACCEPT songs for the last time, Udo said: "Now we're on tour until the beginning of February, and then we make a short break and then we start working on the new U.D.O. album. But, over the summer — I mean, it takes a while before the album is coming out — so we had a lot of… people wanna have us back on festivals in the summer in Europe, so we said, okay, why not? So [instead of sitting at] home, let's do it. And that's the plan, at the moment, for 2017. And you never know what's coming up. [Laughs]"

Asked if it's possible that the "Back To The Roots" tour will continue through the end of 2017, Udo said: "I don't know. We will see. I mean, never say never. I mean, as long as people are really interested in this, [for us] to do this, why not? It's not a problem. We can come up every minute with U.D.O.; it's not a problem for us. So if there is interest, and it looks like there's a big interest in the DIRKSCHNEIDER thing… If we do it, yeah, [and] if not [shrugs his shoulders]."

Udo told Lafon in a previous interview that his decision to perform classic songs from ACCEPT for the last time under the DIRKSCHNEIDER banner was the result of his desire to focus on the U.D.O. material on future tours. He explained: "A lot of people ask me, 'Why do you do this?' And I said… Always people are asking, 'Oh, can you play this ACCEPT song and this ACCEPT song and this ACCEPT song?' I mean, I have fifteen U.D.O. albums out, and, for me now, U.D.O. is U.D.O. Of course, I know that the people like to hear ACCEPT songs with my voice, but I wanna close something — I wanna close, like a book, and say, 'Okay, that's it. I read it.' Sometimes you have to come to an end with something. I wanna close up everything with ACCEPT. And this will be the last time. And I said, okay, I'll do one more tour. It will be a world tour. And yeah, that will be the last time that you… When we are on tour with U.D.O., we'll never play any ACCEPT songs again."

DIRKSCHNEIDER released a live album called "Live - Back To The Roots" on October 28, 2016 via AFM Records. The effort, which was recorded on April 2, 2016 at Kaminwerk in Memmingen, Germany, was made available as two-CD digipak and gatefold three-vinyl in four different colors (black, gold, silver and clear).

DIRKSCHNEIDER touring lineup:

Udo Dirkschneider - VocalsSven Dirkschneider - DrumsFitty Wienhold - BassAndrey Smirnov - GuitarKasperi Heikkinen - Guitar

My Kingdom Music, in collaboration with Sad Sun Music, will release the vinyl version of the new Crest Of Darkness album, Welcome The Dead, on January 13th. The album will see the co-production of Metal Age Productions, Kristallblut Records and Supreme Music Creations. This masterpiece of horror black metal will include a bonus track, "Drink My Blood”, and will be released in a gatefold double LP format, limited to 600 copies.

Crest Of Darkness have released a video for "My Black Bride" a special song that Ingar Amlien wanted to dedicate to his wife Laila. It is a particularly unusual choice for the band, not only because it is an instrumental, something the band has only recorded on two occasions over the years, but it is also a melodic, deeply atmospheric piece, totally different from the band's usual black/death metal sound. The reasons for creating such an "out of character" piece are quite fascinating, and are explained on My Kingdom Music site at this location..

The video itself can be seen below.

Tracklisting:

“Welcome The Dead”
“Chosen By The Devil”
“Scourged And Crucified”
“My Black Bride”
“Borrowed Life”
“The Almighty”
“Memento Mori”
“The Noble Art”
“Katharsis”

“My Black Bride” video:

“Welcome The Dead” video:

Crowleyian black metallers HaXXan premiere the new track "Babalon". The track hails from the band's debut album, Loch Ness Rising, set for international release on February 17th via Hells Headbangers. 

Although "new" in name, HaXXan features underground legend Killjoy DeSade (Necrophagia, The Ravenous, Wurdulak) on vocals and synth. Formed in 2011 by Killjoy and guitarist Shawn Slusarek, the duo decided to write material that had an old-school black metal vibe, citing such influences as Beherit, Archgoat, and Blasphemy with hints of Candlemass and Mercyful Fate. The duo then added bassist Jake Arnette and drummer Serge Streltsov, and soon recorded their debut album, Loch Ness Rising.

Spread over ten tracks, HaXXan's Loch Ness Rising is conceptually based on Aleister Crowley, as Killjoy has been a life-long Crowley enthusiast. As a full-band unit, HaXXan soon celebrate the life, works, and magick of Crowley through patiently unfolding vistas of doom and dread, eerieness and unease. Recorded at Thelema Studios and mixed/mastered by Grzegorz Kulawiak at Sin Mix Studios, Loch Ness Rising richly resonates with a pure (and purely eerie/uneasy) tone that lends these songs a unique character: undoubtedly heavy in a manner not unlike To Mega Therion-era Celtic Frost, there's likewise a ghostly aspect to its conversely crushing stomp. As expected, Killjoy delivers a peerless performance, stretching all extremes of his twisted 'n' tortured throat, almost narrating the slowly enveloping fog of unearthly horror. Taken together, Loch Ness Rising is an experience both atmospheric and caustic, bleeding black blood and drinking it from a ceremonial cup - just as Crowley would've wanted it.

Tracklisting:

“Loch Ness Rising”
“93”
“A∴A∴ (Arcanum Arcanorum)”
“Babalon”
“Aiwass”
“Disciples Of The Silent”
“Chemical Perversions”
“The Blackest Chasm”
“Chemical Perversions”
“The Blackest Chasm”
“Beyond The Grace Of God”
“The Aethyr”

“Babalon”:

Loch Ness Rising by HAXXAN

Texas death metal outfit Desecrate The Faith have premiered "Angel Eater," a track from forthcoming Comatose Music release Unholy Infestation.

Desecrate The Faith will release sophomore album Unholy Infestation March 3rd on Comatose Music.

Tracklisting:

“Daemones Nos Ave Satanas”
“Predatory Impalement”
“Malignant Divinity”
“Shrine Of Enmity”
“Unholy Infestation”
“Magna Daemonia”
“Ceremonial Invocation”
“Sacrilege Reborn”
“Angel Eater”
“Septic Womb”
“Ascension Of Belial”
“Let Us Burn (The Father, The Son, And The Holy Spirit)”

“Angel Eater”:

“Shrine Of Enmity” video:

Inspired by the legendary progenitors of punk metal mayhem, Motörhead, comes this UK power trio poised to pick up the torch of supercharged musical assault lit by Lemmy & Co. and carry it to a whole new generation! Formed in 2011, Segrëgates self-released a 7”. 

The band even earned itself a spot opening up for longtime Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell. Burston, Segrëgates debut full-length album, is the perfect remedy for the Lemmy-less, Motörhead missing blues. Available on both CD and digitally starting January 27th.

Tracklisting:

“Segrëgates”
“Rock ‘N’ Roll”
“Living Nightmare”
“Miss ‘B’ Havin’”
“Let Battle Commence”
“Traitor Collaborator”
“Sweet Vengeance”
“Step Aside”
“No Regrets”
“Turn It Loose”
“Riding With The Driver”

   

Washington State quintet The Drip has shared a full stream of The Haunting Fear Of Inevitability debut full-length prior to release date through Relapse Records this Friday.

Fusing together the rawest elements of crust, powerviolence, d-beat, and grind, The Drip rips and ravages through thirteen frenzied tracks, full of slaughterhouse riffage, lightning fast blastbeats, and pulverizing breakdowns. Produced by Joel Grind of Toxic Holocaust and mastered by Brad Boatright (Skeletonwitch, Gatecreeper, Weekend Nachos), The Haunting Fear Of Inevitability is a new declaration of intensity that is sure to set the underground ablaze.

The band commented on the impending release, "The Haunting Fear Of Inevitability represents our progression, and continues to blur genre lines, and define our sound. Laying down the ground work for our future material to come."

January 13th, will see the worldwide release of The Haunting Fear Of Inevitability via Relapse Records on CD/LP/Digital formats. Physical and digital pre-orders and bundles are available via Relapse.com here and digital also via iTunes, Amazon (widget below), Google Play, and others.

The Haunting Fear Of Inevitability tracklisting:

“Blackest Evocation”
“Anathema”
“Gruesome Poetics”
“Dead Inside”
“Covered In Red”
“Terror War Industry”
“Painted Ram”
“Wretches”
“In Atrophy”
“The Answer”
“Exile”
“Consigned To Fate”
“Bone Chapel”

Album stream:

“Blackest Evocation” video:

“Dead Inside”:

"Anathema":

“Painted Ram”:

The Drip has scheduled a record release show for The Haunting Fear Of Inevitability, to take place in Spokane, WA at The Observatory on the same day the record hits stores, Friday, January 13th. Additional tour dates are to be expected in support of the album.
 
The Drip lineup:

Shane Brown - drums
Brandon Caldwell - vocals
Bobby Mansfield - guitar
Talon Yager - bass
Blake Wolf - guitar

(Photo - Orion Landau)
 

 

Wrath From Above, the Russian-themed brutal black and death metal band from Nantes, France will release their debut album Beyond Ruthless Cold on February 3rd.

Inspired by cult black metal acts talking about cold and panzers, with massive death metal parts betraying the origins of the members, their debut album Beyond Ruthless Cold is a discharge of spontaneous hatred, with overpowered blasts, and ferocious compositions.

Preorder at Apathia Records.

Tracklisting:

“Beyond Ruthless Cold (intro)”
“Prevail”
“Permafrost”
“They Came At Night”
“Storm The Sky”
“Empire”
“Scorched Ground (interlude)”
“Besieged”
“Concealed Weapons”
“World’s Burning”
“Everlast”

“Empire”:

Classic rock legends, Kansas, have released a new live video for "Rhythm In The Spirit”. The song is taken from the band's new studio album The Prelude Implicit, which was released on September 23rd, 2016. Watch the video below.

In a joint statement, the band says, "It's been a long time since we've made a one song concert video and we had a great time doing it! “Rhythm In The Spirit” was our unanimous first choice and we are very happy with how it turned out."

The band recently announced that they will be bringing their highly successful Leftoverture tour to more parts of the United States in the spring! For the first time in its 43-year history, the band is performing the hit album in its entirety. The tour showcases two hours of classic Kansas music including hit songs, deep cuts, and new songs from their new album, The Prelude Implicit.

Due to very popular demand, dates have been confirmed across cities such as Los Angeles, Portland, Denver, Seattle, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and more. Tickets for the tour dates can be purchased now. More information is available at kansasband.com.

In 1976, Kansas released the album Leftoverture. Containing the smash hit and million-selling single "Carry On Wayward Son”, along with fan favorites such as "The Wall”, “Miracles Out Of Nowhere" and "What's On My Mind”, Leftoverture became the band's breakthrough album. The album peaked at #5 on Billboard's Album charts and reached sextuple-platinum status with more than six million copies sold. They are performing the album in its entirety on this tour.

The Prelude Implicit, the band's most recent album, which was released on September 23rd, marked Kansas’ biggest selling week in the Soundscan era, and the highest charting release since Power (1986). The album reached #14 on the Top 200 album chart, #41 on the Billboard 200, #5 for Rock Albums, #6 for Physical Albums, #17 on the Vinyl Albums chart and more. The Prelude Implicitis now available for purchase in stores and online at Best Buy, Amazon, Apple Music, FYE, Barnes & Noble, Wal-Mart, Spotify and Independent Record Shops.

Tour dates:

March
24 - Salina, KS - The Stiefel Theatre
25 - Tulsa, OK - The Brady Theater
31 - Des Moines, IA - Shoyt Herman Place

April
1 - Peoria, IL - Peoria Civic Center Theater
7 - Louisville, KY - Louisville Palace
9 - Charleston, WV - The Clay Center
18 - Denver, CO - The Paramount
20 - Salt Lake City, UT - Delta Hall at Eccles Theatre
22 - Las Vegas, NV - The Smith Center - Reynolds Hall
23 - Chandler, AZ - Chandler Center for the Arts
26 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
28 - Portland, OR - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
29 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theater

Sensory Records welcomes Australian melodic progressive power metal outfit, Damnations Day, to the label's roster, signing the act for the early spring release of their incoming sophomore record, A World Awakens.

Recorded and mixed by Dean Wells at Wells Productions and mastered by Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Kamelot, Wolverine), A World Awakens maintains the raw energy, power, and integrity of Invisible The Dead, while showcasing the bands growth in maturity, honesty and depth of both their musicianship and songwriting. Showcasing top-tier performances by vocalist/guitarist Mark Kennedy, brother and drummer Dean Kennedy, and lead guitarist Jon King, with additional strings and bass by Dean Wells, while not leaning to just one genre or direction, A World Awakens is an album that will have your undivided attention on first listen, only to pull you in further and further more on repeat.

Offers Mark Kennedy on the band's new alliance with the Sensory Records branch of American progressive powerhouse, Laser's Edge, "We are very privileged to team up with Sensory Records, for the release of, A World Awakens. This being our second release promises a more refined and mature sound, this beginning a new exciting chapter for Damnations Day."

A World Awakens will be the first 2017 title for Sensory Records, the album now set for release on March 24th. The cover artwork, track listing, and more have been issued, with audio samples, pre-orders, and more to be made available in the weeks ahead, with touring plans coming together for later in the year.

A World Awakens tracklisting:

“The Witness”
“Dissecting The Soul”
“Colours Of Darkness”
“I Pray”
“Into Black”
“To Begin Again”
“The Idol Counterfeit”
“A World Awakens”
“Diagnose”

Damnations Day was founded by brothers Mark Dean Kennedy, who have been playing music together since 2005, the siblings accompanied by Jon King who joined in 2012. The band released their debut album, Invisible, The Dead, through Nightmare Records in 2013 to amazing reviews. Since the record's release, the band has been working hard, supporting such bands as Nightwish, Sybreed, Psycroptic, Black Majesty, Widow, Teramaze, Pegazus, Vanishing Point, King Parrot, Soilwork, Battle Beast, Salamandra, Circle II Circle, and Helloween, as well as headlining shows and appearing in Australian Metal festivals such as Steel Assassins NSW and Stormrider Festival WA. In September of 2014 they joined Accept on the European leg of their Blind Rage Tour. This amazing opportunity allowed Damnations Day to expose themselves to nearly thirty sold-out shows in front of an average of two-thousand people a night, playing in legendary venues across Europe.

Damnations Day learned a lot from their live shows and tours, and continually grow more determined to greater define their sound. Although showing versatility over different styles, playing on the bigger stage has refined the direction of their music combining the maturity and knowledge gained through the experiences of touring and time. Remaining determined as ever to bring mature, professional, and honest music that is not directly covered by just one genre as well as bringing an energetic and powerful atmosphere to their live performance, the band spent 2015 writing, and then spent all of 2016 recording, what has now become the second Damnations Day album, A World Awakens.

Damnations Day lineup:

Mark Kennedy - Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Jon King - Lead Guitar
Dean Kennedy - Drums

2017 will once again be a loud year for the Swedish metal institution, In Flames. They kick off the year with a UK arena tour as special guests of Avenged Sevenfold today, followed by a European Headline tour in select cities (see below) this spring.

In addition to their busy touring schedule ahead, their recent album Battles has now been nominated for the Swedish Grammis as “Hard Rock/Metal Album Of The Year”, marking the group’s eigth nomination to date. The awards will take place in Stockholm on February 28th. Other bands nominated in this category include Dark Tranquillity and Ghost.

The band states: "We are very honored to have received our 8th Swedish Grammis nomination for our newest album, Battles. We can’t thank our fans enough, who, throughout their years of support and dedication to our music have kept In Flames alive and inspired. Jesterheads, this one's for you!"

In March, the band will kick off their European tour named In Our Room - An Evening With In Flames. They will perform in spectacular, intimate locations such as churches and theaters. Most of the shows are already sold out, so make sure to grab some of the last tickets available now at InFlames.com.

Dates:

March
18 - Oslo, Norway - Kulturkirken (Sold Out)
19 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Pustervik (Sold Out)
20 - Stockholm, Sweden - Berns (Sold Out)
22 - Berlin, Germany - Admiralspalast
23 - Bochum, Germany - Christuskirche (Sold Out)
24 - Offenbach, Germany - Capitol (Sold Out)
26 - Munich, Germany - Freiheiz (Sold Out)
27 - Milan, Italy - Teatro Dal Verme
28 - Strasbourg, France - La Laiterie
29 - Paris, France - Alhambra
31 - Zurich, Switzerland - Theatre 11

Eversin have finished composition of their new album. The band will start the recordings of its eight songs very soon with the drums session.

The new full-length, as it was for the lucky Trinity: The Annihilation, will signal a new technical and composite evolution in the band's discography.

Ignazio Nicastro, bass player of the band says: "We are absolutely satisfied of what we have created for the new album. We succeeded to give to our music a new dimension loosing nothing of the violence and evilness that characterised Trinity. It's like Meshuggah and Candlemass have a jam session with Slayer".

The album, at the moment untitled, will see the light in early 2018.

Little, Brown has acquired the memoir of the late Greg Lake, the former frontman of progressive rock group EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER. The memoir, called "Lucky Man", is written in Lake's own words and was completed just before the rock star died from cancer last month, according to Andreas Campomar, publishing director at Constable. Campomar bought U.K. and Commonwealth rights to the title from Matthew Hamilton at Aitken Alexander Associates. Publishing this spring with Little, Brown imprint Constable, it will chart both the highs and lows of a career in rock music. Lake first won acclaim as lead vocalist, bass guitarist and producer when he formed KING CRIMSON together with Robert Fripp. Their debut album, "In The Court Of The Crimson King", co-produced by Greg, featured the track "21st Century Schizoid Man". In 1970 Lake met Keith Emerson during a North American tour, with whom he would go on to co-found the first progressive "supergroup", EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER, with drummer Carl Palmer. To date ELP has sold over 50 million records, and the group dominated the charts and the field of progressive rock right up until 1977 when a U.S. tour with a full 100-piece orchestra nearly bankrupted the band. The band split in 1979 but reunited in the 1990s until a final performance headlining 2010's High Voltage festival in London. In the decade in between, Lake worked with musicians including Sheila E, Ringo Starr, Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey and Ian Anderson. Campomar said: "Greg finished writing his poignant memoir, 'Lucky Man', just before he died last month, and I'm very sorry he won't be here to see it published. Probably the voice of his generation, Greg fronted the greatest rock supergroup of the 1970s but never held with the 'progressive' tag that attached itself to both the music and the excess. The memoir not only charts the highs and lows of a career in rock music but also reflects on the death of Keith Emerson last year and living with terminal cancer and the end of life. I think Greg can best be summed up by his now-famous line: 'Material wealth is a very fleeting pleasure … when you can buy anything you want and do anything you want, you soon discover that you actually don't want any of it.'" Stewart Young, Lake's manager, said: "I have been Greg's manager and close friend since 1972. In 2014 Greg was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He told me he was going to write his autobiography and it had to be in his own words. He had no regrets. In his wildest dreams he could never imagine having such a wonderful life; how extraordinary to have such a career in music — to do what you want, simply to expand, experiment! To love a woman, be married to her for 43 years, have a daughter he would be so proud of and then to cap it all a grandson who is now four years old and became the centre of his life. He then said, with a twinkle in his eye, I truly am a Lucky Man."

Legendary heavy metal band SLAYER has teamed up with "Metalocalypse" writer Jon Schnepp and "Twilight Zone" artist Guiu Vilanova for a three-issue Dark Horse Comics series, "Slayer: Repentless", with covers by Eisner Award-winning British comics artist Glenn Fabry. The first issue, with a variant cover by Eric Powell ("The Goon", "Hillbilly"), is scheduled for release on January 25.

You can now check out six pages from the issue at RollingStone.com.

"Slayer: Repentless #1" (of 3) is available for preorder on the Dark Horse web site.

With its story of a raging road trip down a bloodstained highway, a tale of the doomed and the damned, the "Slayer: Repentless" series is an expansion of SLAYER's "Repentless" videos, written and directed by BJ McDonnell ("Hatchet III"). "It's been my honor to chronicle the bloody road trip that is the SLAYER comic series from Dark Horse/Nuclear Blast," said Schnepp. "Using the band's music and lyrics from their three decades of albums, while crossing over and through the 'Repentless' music videos by BJ McDonnell, I have woven a tale of betrayal, hate, perspective, loyalty, family, and murder that will need to be experienced through the comic books' pages." The band made an appearance at San Diego Comic-Con 2016, with a subsequent sold-out performance at the House of Blues, in support of the Dark Horse Comics series.

Asked how he got involved with Slayer: Repentless, Schnepp told

Singer Lou Gramm has confirmed that he and the other founding members of FOREIGNER will join the group's current lineup "for a song or two" at a concert on the band's upcoming tour.

Although he initially insisted that he hadn't been invited to reunite with FOREIGNER on the trek, he tweeted on Monday (January 9): "After 24 hours of some crossed wires and miscommunication, I can confirm that I and the rest of the original band have been invited to join FOREIGNER for a song or two at any show during this 40th anniversary year. [Drummer] Dennis Elliot and [bassist] Rick Wills will be in St. Augustine, FL on 2/24. [Multi-instrumentalist] Ian McDonald, [keyboardist] Al Greenwood and I will perform on a date yet to be determined."

Gramm and guitarist Mick Jones's June 2013 performance of "I Want To Know What Love Is" and "Juke Box Hero" at the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in New York City marked the first time the pair has performed together in a decade after Gramm left FOREIGNER for a second time. Kelly Hansen has fronted the group since 2005. Jones is the sole remaining founding member in FOREIGNER's current lineup.

Jones told The Pulse Of Radio that upon forming FOREIGNER in 1976, he knew that Gramm would prove to be invaluable with a signature voice — with the songwriting chops to match. "I knew he had written, he was a writer too, and always felt that, y'know, it was important that the singer in any band had something to do with, [laughs] obviously, creating the songs, 'cause they're gonna sing them," he said. "Lou came up with some great titles; I think 'Head Games', I think 'Hot Blooded', too. And he developed into a really good writer."

FOREIGNER's 40th-anniversary tour — with support from CHEAP TRICK and JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE — kicks off July 11 in Syracuse and runs through through September 9 in Auburn, Washington.

Tickets for the tour go on sale January 13 via Live Nation.

pic.twitter.com/wL457FgUBe

— Lou Gramm (@GrammLou) January 10, 2017

Greg Graffin, frontman of the iconic Los Angeles punk band BAD RELIGION as well as a renowned author, will release a brand new solo album titled "Millport" on March 10 via Anti-.

"Millport" delivers a stirring though perhaps unexpected reinterpretation of the classic Laurel Canyon country-rock sound alongside Graffin's insightful lyricism, all propelled by some esteemed colleagues from the L.A. punk scene, including SOCIAL DISTORTION members Jonny "Two Bags" Wickersham, Brent Harding and David Hidalgo Jr., with BAD RELIGION co-founder Brett Gurewitz producing. The resulting record is less a reinvention then a creative liberation — a group of Los Angeles musicians at the peak of their game, playing a brand of music they genuinely love.

You can preview the song "Making Time", a melodic and energetic folk rocker about "living in the moment" that features a soaring chorus and some truly tasteful guitar licks from Wickersham.

As Graffin explains: "This feels as exciting to me as when we made the BAD RELIGION record 'Suffer'. Like everything had been leading up to the songs and they just happened totally organically in this short intense burst. I'm really just doing what I did back then, which is write songs that mean something to me and deliver them in a way that is completely honest."

Gurewitz adds: "It's the two songwriters from BAD RELIGION and the rhythm section of SOCIAL DISTORTION, two influential L.A. punk bands, getting together to do an authentic country rock album, a genre most would think is the absolute antithesis of punk rock. But I think it sounds great. Both are iconic Southern California genres. It's like the Laurel Canyon sound played by the kids who were smashing up the clubs a few years later."

Greg Graffin will perform at the 2017 SXSW festival in March. Stay tuned for dates and locations.

"Millport" track listing:

01. Backroads Of My Mind02. Too Many Virtues03. Lincoln's Funeral Train04. Millport05. Time Of Need06. Making Time07. Shotgun08. Echo On The Hill09. Sawmill10. Waxwings

"Millport" is available for pre-order from Amazon, iTunes and Google. You will receive the tracks "Making Time" and "Lincoln's Funeral Train" instantly upon ordering.

Photo credit: Svenski - St. James

You don't need to be a die-hard '80s metal fan to know that the fruits of an artistic alliance between DANGER DANGER singer Ted Poley and guitarist/producer Steve Brown of TRIXTER is going to make melodic rock fans rejoice! The two musicians from New Jersey recently created TOKYO MOTOR FIST and the new band is ready to unleash on the world their self-titled debut album on February 24 via Frontiers Music Srl.

The song "Shameless", taken from "Tokyo Motor Fist", can be streamed below. Indeed, TOKYO MOTOR FIST is exactly what you would expect: catchy and uplifting hard rock, the way is should be! You want big — we mean, BIG — hooks? You got 'em. What about major guitar riffs? Of course there's plenty of those. Killer rhythm section? Well, with Greg Smith (TED NUGENT, RAINBOW, ALICE COOPER) and Chuck Burgi (RAINBOW, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, JOE LYNN TURNER), you simply can't go wrong! Ted and Steve have been friends for a long time. They were playing the same club circuit with their respective bands, DANGER DANGER and TRIXTER, when both bands were starting their careers. Over the years, they've had a great personal relationship and the idea of doing a record together has been in the cards for many years. Now, thanks to Frontiers, this concept has become a reality. "To say that I'm excited for the world to hear TOKYO MOTOR FIST would be an understatement," says Steve Brown. "Working on this project with my rock and roll brothers Ted Poley, Greg Smith and Chuck Burgi was a total blast… We had fun and it shows in the performances and in the music! As a songwriter, I couldn't be happier with the way the songs came together. Fans of TRIXTER, DANGER DANGER, DEF LEPPARD, BON JOVI and CHEAP TRICK will get the best of all those worlds." Poley adds: "Working with guys of this caliber was amazing. I was excited to collaborate with my longtime friend Steve Brown, who is not only a really great songwriter and guitarist but also an insanely cool producer! The band sounds great and very high energy. The vocals of Steve and I along with his SHREDDING guitar, combined with the world-class rhythm powerhouse section of Greg Smith and Chuck Burgi is amazing. What a cool band — the sound is HUGE. But it's the songs that drew me into making this album in the beginning and the record is full of catchy songs with massive choruses and great melodies and sounds BIG BIG BIG! I am beyond THRILLED with the final result and I hope you will be too." "Tokyo Motor Fist" track listing: 01. Pickin' Up The Pieces02. Love Me Insane03. Shameless04. Love05. Black And Blue06. You're My Revolution07. Don't Let Me Go08. Put Me To Shame09. Done To Me10. Get You Off My Mind11. Fallin' Apart TOKYO MOTOR FIST is:

Ted Poley - VocalsSteve Brown - Guitar, Vocals Greg Smith - BassChuck Burgi - Drums

Danny Worsnop, the newly returned frontman for U.K. metalcore pioneers ASKING ALEXANDRIA, will release his debut solo album, "The Long Road Home", on February 17 via the U.K.-based independent label Earache Records. The effort marks a slight musical departure from his previous work with ASKING ALEXANDRIA, now forging a deeper and often darker path through the British-born, Nashville-based musician's mind and displaying a truly stunning singing voice only hinted at in his previous work.

The track Anyone But Me", taken from "The Long Road Home", can be streamed below.

Says Worsnop: "The song is a very introspective look at my past failed relationships, where I ask myself if it was something I was capable of trying again. It is definitely one of those songs that makes you look at yourself very closely in hopes of answers and growth, and it definitely did its job."

Longtime fans will see a much more personal and reflective side of Danny's, with brutally honest lyrical themes ranging from loss and heartache to Danny's past (and often public) struggles with drugs and alcohol. Backed by authentic, blues-soaked outlaw country, the album is also interspersed with a few more upbeat tracks, showing that Danny's ability to craft catchy melodies which will have listeners singing along in no time is still very much alive and well.

Worsnop comments: "It has been an emotional roller-coaster creating these songs, but the end result has left me humbled, proud, and more excited about a project than I ever have been in my life.

"Writing as deep and personal as I have on this record brought up a lot inside me from my years, allowing me to grow and move on from demons I didn't even acknowledge having.

"I've done everything in my power to keep this album honest and pure, and it gives me chills every time I hear it. I'm beyond proud of what I've made and cannot wait to share it with the world. These songs are a reflection of my soul, and I hope you all enjoy them. See you on the other side!"

"The Long Road Home" is available to pre-order now on limited-edition signed CD and colored vinyl, along with a range of merch bundles.

"The Long Road Home" track listing:

01. Prozac02. Mexico03. I Feel Like Shit04. Anyone But Me05. High06. I Got Bones07. Quite A While08. Don't Overdrink It09. I'll Hold On10. Midnight Woman11. Same Old Ending12. The Man