PHIL CAMPBELL AND THE BASTARD SONS (formerly PHIL CAMPBELL'S ALL STARR BAND), the band featuring MOTÖRHEAD guitarist Phil Campbell alongside his sons Todd, Dane and Tyla, plus vocalist Neil Starr, has released a video for its new single, "Welcome To Hell". The song is taken from PHIL CAMPBELL AND THE BASTARD SONS' debut album, "The Age Of Absurdity", which will be released on January 26 via Nuclear Blast.

"The Age Of Absurdity" was recorded at Rockfield Studios and Longwave Studios in Wales and produced, engineered, and mixed by Romesh Dodangoda. The record was then passed over to the acclaimed Abbey Road Studios in London for mastering.

Commented Phil Campbell: "I am really excited for the fans to hear our debut record. Every part of the process was done in Wales, from the writing, to the recording and even the artwork!

"The album title, 'The Age Of Absurdity', was inspired by the crazy world we live in today. The world to me seems to be a bit of a theater show, so the album artwork idea just seemed to fit so well with the whole concept and album title."

Added Starr: "Writing and recording this album was a lot of fun. We got to record at Rockfield Studios where so many great artists had been over the years — it really was inspirational. Hearing the blistering riffs that the Campbell family seem to churn out effortlessly made me ensure I pushed myself to the limits when writing the melodies and lyrics. It's an album that I, and the rest of the band, are very proud of and can't wait to share it with the world!"

"The Age Of Absurdity" track listing:

01. Ringleader
02. Freak Show
03. Skin And Bones
04. Gypsy Kiss
05. Welcome To Hell
06. Dark Days
07. Dropping The Needle
08. Step Into The Fire
09. Get On Your Knees
10. High Rule
11. Into The Dark
12. Silver Machine (HAWKWIND cover feat. Dave Brock of HAWKWIND)*

* only to be included in the first pressing of the CD version of the album

The cover art was created by Matt Riste and can be seen below.

PHIL CAMPBELL AND THE BASTARD SONS' last release was a digital-only live EP, "Live At Solothurn", which came out in June 2017.

"Vibrational - Mysteries, Not Answers", the new video from the Los Angeles progressive rock group PERFECT BEINGS, can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's new album, "Vier", which will be released on January 19 via InsideOut Music. The band's current lineup includes Ryan Hurtgen (vocals, piano), Johannes Luley (guitar, bass, production) and Jesse Nason (keyboards) alongside new drummer Sean Reinert (ex-CYNIC, DEATH).

"This is a song of hope from the darkest, emptiest place," says Hurtgen. Nason adds: "The video is a portrait of a character who follows his imagination to wherever it may lead."

"Vier" track listing:

Guedra - 18:23

01. A New Pyramid
02. The Blue Lake Of Understanding
03. Patience
04. Enter The Center

The Golden Arc - 16:47

05. The Persimmon Tree
06. Turn The World Off
07. America
08. For A Pound Of Flesh

Vibrational - 18:17

09. The System And Beyond
10. Mysteries, Not Answers
11. Altars Of The Gods
12. Everywhere At Once
13. Insomnia

Anunnaki - 18:42

14. Lord Wind
15. Patterns Of Light
16. A Compromise
17. Hissing The Wave Of The Dragon
18. Everything's Falling Apart

Hurtgen originally met Luley as a client in Luley's Los Angeles-based recording studio My Sonic Temple. Luley, who was instantly impressed with his personality, song-crafting skills, and voice, asked Hurtgen to join him on a new project. This new group was going to continue the path Luley's former band MOTH VELLUM had set out on. The two became fast friends and soon put together a full band which would also include founding member Jesse Nason on keyboards. After releasing "Perfect Beings" (2014) and "II" (2015) to critical acclaim, a few personnel changes occurred that left the band without a rhythm section. The guys decided they wouldn’t be deterred, even by such a major setback. Instead, they hired Minneapolis transplant Ben Levin to play the drums on their next album, with Luley taking over the bass spot in addition to playing guitars. The result is the exhilarating double album, "Vier". As the group got closer to completing the record, they approached InsideOut, whose label chief Thomas Waber had shown interest a couple of years earlier. The parties agreed to join forces and release the record in early 2018. Levin dropped out and progressive rock drumming phenom Sean Reinert joined the band to add even more life force to an already powerful and highly skilled group.

PERFECT BEINGS is:

Ryan Hurtgen - vocals, piano
Johannes Luley - guitars, bass
Jesse Nason - keyboards
Sean Reinert - drums, percussion

THE HEARD, the new Swedish rock band featuring former CRUCIFIED BARBARA guitarist Klara "Force" Rönnqvist Fors, bassist Ida "Evileye" Stenbacka and drummer Nikki Wicked (a.k.a. Jannicke Lindström) alongside DEATHSTARS bassist Jonas "Skinny Disco" Kangur (on lead guitar) and burlesque performer, model and singer Pepper Potemkin, has released the official lyric video for its first single, "White Lightning". The song is available on iTunes, Spotify and other digital platforms.

THE HEARD will make its live debut at the Where's The Music festival in Norrköping, Sweden on February 10.

THE HEARD's Facebook page describes the group as being about "heavy riffs, misty songs, dark waters and a death supreme."

THE HEARD is:

* Klara Force (CRUCIFIED BARBARA) - Guitar
* Ida Evileye (CRUCIFIED BARBARA) - Bass
* Nikki Wicked (CRUCIFIED BARBARA) - Drums
* Jonas "Skinny Disco" Kangur (DEATHSTARS) - Lead Guitar
* Pepper Potemkin - Vocals

CRUCIFIED BARBARA announced its breakup in June 2016, two years after the release of the band's fourth album, "In The Red". The group explained at the time that "our lives have parted and we need to move on. The last years have taken its toll on all of us and the joy of playing together got lost somewhere along the way."

Maryland rockers CLUTCH entered Sputnik Sound studio in Nashville, Tennessee with producer and engineer Vance Powell (THE WHITE STRIPES, RED FANG) on January 3 to begin recording their new album.

Guitarist Tim Sult recently told The Advocate that he was excited about finally working on the follow-up to 2015's "Psychic Warfare" .

"They're my favorite songs," he said of the new material. "At this point, we probably have more songs than we've ever had before going into the studio. The material is a little heavier. It has a more doomed-out vibe and feel. We're going to record more live.

"It's our first time recording in Nashville," he added. "Who knows? We might end up with something that sounds like a Garth Brooks album."

Sult told Chimera about the CLUTCH songwriting process: "Everyone in the band has ideas for songs. Everyone in the band comes in with ideas for songs. We also just get together and jam out ideas as well — you know, squash out new ideas together. That's also another big part of why we've been able to go so long — because we're all equally artistically invested in the band. It's not like it's just one person's project that a couple other guys are going along with for a couple years and then are going to leave and go do something else."

According to Tim, he and his bandmates are "pretty much all on the same page" when it comes to deciding which ideas to flesh out into full songs. "If there's an idea that we can tell is really not the best idea for a song ever, it's just not really happening, we dump it immediately," he said.

"Since the beginning of [2017], we've been getting together and working on songs for the new album. I would guess that we probably only used like 10 to 20 percent of the ideas that we actually laid down at this point. It's great, because we have a great rehearsal stage. We have time to get together and jam. That's really what keeps us going — [the desire to] just continue to write new music."

"Psychic Warfare" debuted at No. 11 on The Billboard 200 chart after shifting 26,000 equivalent album units in the week ending October 8, 2015. The disc was released via CLUTCH's own label, Weathermaker Music.

This is happening. pic.twitter.com/Cl2IS3m8te

— Clutch (@clutchofficial) January 4, 2018

The official lyric video for the song "We Do Not Resist" from Israeli progressive folk metal masters ORPHANED LAND can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's new studio album, "Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs", which will be released on January 26 via Century Media. Jens Bogren once again took over mixing and mastering duties of what turned out to be the band's best and biggest production so far.

"Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs" features a guest appearance of guitar virtuoso Steve Hackett as well as guest vocal appearances by no other than Hansi Kürsch (BLIND GUARDIAN) and Tomas Lindberg (AT THE GATES). The great album artwork was created by Valnoir.

ORPHANED LAND singer Kobi Farhi says: "After our first single, 'Like Orpheus', it is time to present you the angry side of our new album. Growls, straight forward protest text against the fact that we do not resist. I won't say too much — listen to it, read the lyrics. It's a kick into your face."

"We Do Not Resist" is available as a digital single on all download and streaming platforms and also as instant-grat track on iTunes and Amazon. All physical formats of the new album "Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs" are also available for preorder now.

Farhi told The Offering webzine about "Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs": "This is a protest album, a very angry album that is based on the 'Allegory Of The Cave', which is something that was written by the Greek ancient philosopher Plato. He wrote this allegory as a story about the human behavior because the ancient Greeks, they killed the philosopher Socrates and Plato couldn't understand how they could kill such a guy who was a gift to humanity, how could they kill someone with the knowledge and wisdom. Then he figured out something about humanity's behavior, that they are living in a cave and they see shadows in the cave and these shadows are the only truths that they know and they don't want to leave the cave and anyone who will try to take them out of the cave, they will kill him. We took this an allegory of today's life. Every time that you see a revolutionary guy that came to humanity and tried to release them from the darkness, humanity has chosen to kill him. It could be Mahatma Gandhi for Indian people, or Martin Luther King [Jr. ] for Afro-Americans, or Che Guevara for South Americans and there are many, many more examples of revolutionary people being killed. We thought Plato is an ancient prophet in a way. He wrote this thing two-thousand five hundred years ago; this is like a prophecy. Those people who are revolutionaries, leaders, they are always ending up dead. They are like the dead messiahs in a way. This is a mirror to humanity to show them that we always blame religion or politicians, but it's the people who do not change. It's the people who prefer to stay in the darkness. This is a concept album and a very big protest that we have about it."

"Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs" track listing:

01. The Cave
02. We Do Not Resist
03. In Propaganda
04. All Knowing Eye
05. Yedidi
06. Chains Fall To Gravity
07. Like Orpheus
08. Poets Of Prophetic Messianism
09. Left Behind
10. My Brother's Keeper
11. Take My Hand
12. Only The Dead Have Seen The End Of War
13. The Manifest - Epilogue

The release of "Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs" will be followed by an extensive European tour in early 2018 with IN VAIN, SUBTERRANEAN MASQUERADE and AEVUM.

ORPHANED LAND is:

Kobi Farhi - Vocals
Chen Balbus - Guitar
Idan Amsalem - Guitar
Zelcha - Bass
Matan Shmuely - Drums

"Hypnotic Terror", a brand new song from reactivated Dutch death metal veterans PESTILENCE, can be streamed using the SoundCloud widget below. The track was recorded during the sessions for the new PESTILENCE LP, "Hadeon", which is slated for a March release via Hammerheart, but this exclusive new single track will not appear on the album. The song is being made available via Decibel magazine's Decibel Flexi Series.

The new "Hadeon" cover artwork was created by Michal "Xaay" Loranc (BEHEMOTH, NILE, EVOCATION, VADER, NECROPHAGIST), a very talented Polish graphic designer who perfectly turned PESTILENCE mainman Patrick Mameli's visions and concept into art.

The previously released artwork for "Hadeon" was ditched in October amid accusations of plagiarism.

The first single from "Hadeon", a song called "Multi Dimensional", can be streamed below.

Due to personal circumstances, guitarist extraordinaire Santiago Dobles (AGHORA, CYNIC, DOBLES ENSEMBLE) will not participate in future live performances with PESTILENCE.

Santiago contributed some excellent solos to "Hadeon". For now, this ends Santiago's involvement in PESTILENCE, but don't be surprised to see him guest on a future recording.

Replacing Dobles in PESTILENCE's current lineup is Calin Paraschiv. Calin hails from Romania and also plays in another project (NECROVILE) with current PESTILENCE drummer Septimiu Hărşan.

Mameli stated: "Calin is the right man for the job, a skilled and professional guitarist ready to tour across the world.

"Rehearsing together with Septimiu is a big plus, so the choice was an easy one to make."

PESTILENCE will kick off 2018 at the end of January with a month-long tour under the "Fight The Plague" banner.

"Hadeon" is described in a press release as "an all-out death metal attack, featuring thirteen tracks that combine PESTILENCE's old-school roots, its progressive trademark and a killer production, which will appeal to both old and new fans."

In July 2014, Mameli announced that PESTILENCE was "on a permanent hold" while he concentrated fully on his new NEUROMORPH project, which he said would be "more brutal, more crazy, more tech, more futuristic and more death" than his longtime outfit. Two years later, he revived PESTILENCE, initially claiming that the band would only play live shows and not record any new material.

PESTILENCE is:

Patrick Mameli - Lead guitar/Vocals
Calin Paraschiv - Lead guitar
Tilen Hudrap - Bass
Septimiu Hărşan - Drums

The first taste of the material that SOULFLY is planning to record for the follow-up to 2015's "Archangel" album, tentatively due this summer via Nuclear Blast, is available in the clip below.

In a recent interview with Metal Wani, Max Cavalera stated about SOULFLY's next disc: "I'm writing right now. When I was home before [the 'Max & Iggor Cavalera Return To Roots' European tour], I was writing a lot of riffs. So I'm just collecting riffs right now. This is the stage where… It's very similar to [what] I do on every record — I normally just stack riffs, and those riffs will eventually turn into songs."

According to Max, the "cool" thing about the next SOULFLY album will be that it will "a bit like a return to some of the tribal sounds" of the bands's early material. "Some of the songs are more kind of like 'Prophecy', like [the first SOULFLY album] kind of vibe, which I think is really cool, and a lot of people, I think, are gonna be happy with that," he said. "So we're gonna have that heavy sound with percussion on top of it. It's gonna be great. And the other part of it is a continuation of the heavy stuff that I love, even some elements of different extreme music I listen to, like black metal and death metal and thrash metal and stuff like that that I always love and I have fun doing."

Max said that he was "very inspired" by the song "Judas Pariah" on the latest CAVALERA CONSPIRACY album, "Psychosis". CAVALERA CONSPIRACY features Max and his brother, former SEPULTURA drummer Igor Cavalera. "I think it was one of my favorite songs [on the latest CAVALERA disc] — and I wanna make more songs like this, so I'm probably gonna go have a couple of songs on the SOULFLY [album] that will be kind of like that, kind of black metal style together with the tribal," Max said. "I think it's cool. I think it's gonna be an unpredictable kind of record."

Asked why he felt now was the right time to go back to the more tribal-sounding direction of the early SOULFLY albums, Max said: "I think we can expand that feeling more, because I don't think it's been fully explored yet — I think we can do more with it. It's kind of like similar to what we did on 'Psychosis', [where we took] this death metal/thrash metal formula and we went in and picked it up and did it again with the sound of right now. And I think it's cool to look at music… I like thinking of music like that — as something that you can approach older stuff and bring it to the now and make something cool out of it. And everything else is whatever happens in the studio. I have great musicians like Marc Rizzo. My son Zyon is gonna be great on this record. He's become an amazing drummer; on [SOULFLY's] NAILBOMB tour, he did amazing. It's so fun to watch him play live — so much energy. And we have Mike Leon playing bass — he's a great bass player. So it's a very good SOULFLY lineup."

SOULFLY's new album will be recorded later this month with producer Josh Wilbur, who has previously worked with LAMB OF GOD, GOJIRA and ALL THAT REMAINS, among others.

Max recently told the "No Limits Music Show" that SOULFLY's upcoming disc will be "deeply tribal, very spiritual. There's a concept. I cannot tell you much about it, 'cause it's kind of a surprise," he said. "But there is a concept behind the record, and I have not done a record with a concept like this since [SEPULTURA's] 'Roots'. So this one has got the same kind of feeling that 'Roots' has."

Max and Igor have spent the last year and a half celebrating the twentieth anniversary of "Roots" by performing the LP in its entirety all over the world.

"Psychosis" came out on November 17 via Napalm Records.





It’s all for the Tribe! The very first droplet of new music...

Posted by Soulfly on Saturday, December 30, 2017

Long-running Los Angeles hardcore powerhouse TERROR has inked a deal with Nuclear Blast for Europe and Pure Noise in the rest of the world. The band is currently working on its eighth studio album, tentatively due this summer.

Commented TERROR vocalist and mainman Scott Vogel: "We are super excited to start a new chapter of TERROR in Europe with Nuclear Blast. This is the label we wanted to work with for the future because of their strong presence and awesome roster. Can't wait to put out a new album in the middle of 2018 with the label and work together on this next project."

TERROR will hit the road in Europe next week, alongside labelmates HATEBREED and MADBALL, as part of the renowned "EMP Persistence Tour". The trek launches on January 18 in Berlin, Germany and finishes up in London on January 28.

A PERFECT CIRCLE has released a brand new song called "Disillusioned", the second track to be heard from the band's upcoming album.

Back in October, A PERFECT CIRCLE released another song called "The Doomed". The official music video for the track was directed by Jeremy Danger and Travis Shinn.

"Disillusioned" stands in stark contrast to "The Doomed", which felt "apocalyptic" (Rolling Stone) and the track's video was "eerie" and "intense" (Revolver). "Disillusioned" strikes a more optimistic tone, urging listeners to connect with each other once again.

"'The Doomed' was a rude wake-up call… apologies if you were sleeping peacefully," said guitarist Billy Howerdel of the tone of the bombastic song. "'Disillusioned' comes from a place of overcoming the slide into the numb. It speaks to reconnection and a fresh start to a new year."

Addressing the musicality of the song, which echoes the sentiment of unity, singer Maynard James Keenan said: "Attempting new approaches to composing can be intimidating. Especially with an established project with such a recognizable sound. But sometimes you just gotta take the first swing. Only way to grow."

You can now pre-order a limited-edition dual-groove 10-inch vinyl with the new songs "The Doomed" and "Disillusioned". Included is an instant digital download of both songs. The 10-inch vinyl will be released on March 9. The estimated delivery date is March 9 for U.S. orders. International delivery times will vary (will not arrive on release date). If you order multiple items, your order will remain on hold until everything is in stock.

A PERFECT CIRCLE recently announced it had signed a worldwide recording deal with BMG and is in the studio working with producer Dave Sardy on the follow-up to "eMOTIVe".

Back in April 2016, A PERFECT CIRCLE debuted a different new song, "Hourglass", at a concert in St. Louis.

Howerdel told Razor 94.7 about A PERFECT CIRCLE's songwriting process: "Typically, I'll start an idea at home, kind of in isolation, and just kind of work on it until I don't hate it anymore. And then send it over to Maynard, see if he finds anything compelling about it. He'll kind of say 'yay' or 'nay' and find something he latches on to. And he'll throw down a scat vocal — syllables and a vocal melody idea, and it helps me move the song forward from there. And then if it's enough, then he starts working on lyrics, so he does all the lyrics and melodies and orchestrates the backups and all that. And then I concentrate on making the music. So that's kind of the back-and-forth conversation that we have musically."

Howerdel, who helmed all of A PERFECT CIRCLE's previous albums, explained his decision to enlist an outside producer for the new disc. "I wanted to bring a producer on in this record, just to take the musician's role more than the engineer-slash-producer-slash, you know, looking at budgets and the whole thing," he said. "And it let me, I think, hone in and see a twenty-thousand-foot view of these songs in a way that I've not been able to do in the past."

Howerdel is excited for fans to hear A PERFECT CIRCLE's next disc, telling Razor 94.7: "I've said this before, so I'm being a little redundant: I can talk you out of anything, really, and I can talk you out of listening to our music or anything I've ever done, but I would say this record is some of the best songs we've ever done, and certainly some of the favorite things I've ever heard Maynard sing."

The band's lineup remains unchanged from 2013. Joining Keenan and Howerdel once again are James Iha on rhythm guitar, Matt McJunkins on bass and Jeff Friedl on drums.

During the time that A PERFECT CIRCLE has been mostly on hiatus, Howerdel launched an act called ASHES DIVIDE, while Keenan toured and recorded with TOOL and PUSCIFER while also running a winery.

A PERFECT CIRCLE's three previous albums are 2000's "Mer De Noms", 2003's "Thirteenth Step" and the aforementioned 2004 covers collection, "eMOTIVe".

Greek masters of symphonic death metal SEPTICFLESH have released the official music video for the song "Martyr", directed by longtime collaborator Jon Simvonis. The track is taken from the band's tenth full-length album, "Codex Omega", which was released on September 1 via Prosthetic Records. The disc was produced by Jens Bogren, who has previously worked with OPETH, DIMMU BORGIR, KREATOR and SEPULTURA, among others.

SEPTICFLESH comments: "We are welcoming the new year by releasing a second video from our latest album, 'Codex Omega' — this time for the song 'Martyr'. Once again, the clip is directed by Jon Simvonis, blending the music of SEPTICFLESH with Kendo, which literally means 'the way of the sword.' It is a battle of sword and spirit. The ultimate goal of the fighter is to become superior to his own previous self."

Simvonis adds: "We really had an awesome time filming SEPTICFLESH while they were delivering an explosive performance for the 'Martyr' video! No wonder why this band nails it on every stage that they set foot on."

SEPTICFLESH bassist/vocalist Spiros "Seth" Antoniou (a.k.a. Seth Siro Anton) recently told WSOU 89.5 FM about "Codex Omega": "This time, every time that we are thinking [about] and we are writing and start pre-recording then composing a new [album] with SEPTICFLESH, it's a great challenge. I mean, after 'Communion', [2008] we wanted to create something different from the previous albums that we made in the past. Regarding 'Codex Omega', I think this album is much different than 'Titan' [2014] or even 'The Great Mass' [2011] or even 'Communion'. The basis is the same; for sure we have a formula that we really like and we'll still use it, but on 'Codex Omega', we have some new elements, some new elements that I could say we found the 'great spot' to combine the extreme sound with the orchestra and the guitars."

Regarding how the band's sound has evolved over the years, Spiros said: "SEPTICFLESH, it's a team production. It's a production of a team. It's not the music of one person only. So that means, the main composers of the band, which is me, Chris and Sotiris [Vayenas, guitar], we have our own home studios, so before a new album, we are composing our own tracks in our studio and later, we exchange ideas and we start to combine all the elements together. I would say me and Sotiris, we are most responsible for the 'metal' part of SEPTICFLESH, about the guitar riffs, about the extreme sound. Chris is exclusively working with the orchestra. Even sometimes with his tracks, he composes them with a piano or with some instruments of samples of the orchestra before going to the real orchestra. As you understand, SEPTICFLESH is working as a whole team and this is something that gives to the band, a multi-color of sound. I'm really happy about this cooperation."

On the topic of the lyrical direction behind "Codex Omega", Spiros said: "Sotiris is actually the guy behind the lyrics. He's the brain of SEPTICFLESH, but I made the artwork and the whole visual style of SEPTICFLESH, we work together a lot. This time, we wanted to create and to move in a different approach than our previous albums. Most of the lyrical concepts of SEPTICFLESH, we are always talking about ancient traditions of many cultures and many countries, from Sumerians, Egypt, even from Incas. Every tradition that has something really interesting. This time, it was an idea from Sotiris. He said, 'Why don't we write a new concept about a third testament? About a new book that talks about humans?'"

According to The Pulse Of Radio, Vicky Cornell, the widow of late SOUNDGARDEN frontman Chris Cornell, was sent a letter by the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles where her husband is interred stating that fans aren't allowed to film video of their visits to the singer's grave. Chris's management team tweeted a short time later: "We understand that some of Chris's fans wish to video their visits at Hollywood Forever, but we've had confirmation that it's against their policy. We'd like to thank everyone for their understanding."

The cemetery's letter underscored that the policy is in place to protect the privacy of other families whose loved ones are buried there, and that anyone who is stopped for filming "will be treated kindly."

The letter also notes that Chris's fans are "always respectful of his space and leave sweet gifts and notes," adding, "It is an honor to have your husband with us. We love that so many of his fans visit and spend the day here. Every time I pass his area, there is someone there visiting Chris. It is beautiful to see and reminds me how special and adored your husband is."

Vicky Cornell shared a poignant home video on December 22 of her husband and their son Christopher talking about their family's Christmas traditions, writing: "While the holidays will never be the same again without Chris, we will always remember his boundless love. Happy Holidays & thank you all for your much needed love and support."

Chris Cornell committed suicide on May 18, 2017 at the age of 52, shortly after a concert with SOUNDGARDEN in Detroit.

SODOM bassist/vocalist and sole remaining original member Thomas "Angelripper" Such has parted ways with guitarist Bernd "Bernemann" Kost and drummer Markus "Makka" Freiwald.

Says Such: "After much thought and reflection, I have decided on this difficult step to pave the way for new challenges.

"SODOM have always lived off the commitment and passion of everybody involved. Makka was part of the band for almost eight years, Bernemann even for more than twenty. To obviate a possible routine setting in which would make it impossible to continue our creative work optimally, I would like to start all over again with fresh and hungry musicians. At the same time, I would like to say thank you to Bernemann and Makka for many successful years in which we performed fantastic shows and released a number of real metal manifestos."

Irrespective of this lineup change, all scheduled SODOM shows will take place from April 2018 as announced. Tom is set to introduce his new comrades-in-arms at the Full Metal Mountain festival. Whether SODOM will continue to operate as a trio or perhaps become a quartet in future remains unclear. Tom says: "I haven't really made up my mind in this respect; I'm open to all options. I will now install the band's new foundation pillars and look around for new musicians. One thing is already clear: SODOM will become even stronger!"

Along with his new bandmates, Tom will begin work on the upcoming SODOM album — to be released on Steamhammer/SPV — as soon as possible. Tom says: "SPV also look forward to our future collaboration and can expect a totally motivated band."

SODOM tour dates:

Apr. 7 - AT - Kärnten - Full Metal Mountain
Jun. 21-23 - FI - Kauhajoki - Nummirock
Jun. 23 - DK - Copenhagen - Copenhell
Jul. 4-7 - DE - Ballenstedt - Rock Harz Open Air
Jul. 14 - SE - Gävle - Gefle Metal
Aug. 18 - AT - Graz - Metal On The Hill
Aug. 25 - DE - Cham - Mosh Club Open Air
Aug. 31 - DE - Hamburg - Weltturbojugendtage
Oct. 6 - DE - Lichtenfels - Way Of Darkness

SODOM's latest album, "Decision Day", was released in August 2016 via SPV/Steamhammer.

The official video for "Lightning Strike", a brand new song from JUDAS PRIEST can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's new album, "Firepower", which will be released on March 9 via Epic.

Singer Rob Halford stated about "Lightning Strike": "To me, the overall concept of this song is to use the element of a lightning strike to pull away and tear apart at an individual, at a body of people, maybe an organization, maybe an administration, that is kind of leading you, or leading us, into potentially a destructive place. You're kind of spinning that effect round, and you have the right to react and to do something about it. So that, in essence, is what this song is all about."

"You're sowing the seeds of a nightmare from hell, your friends and your demons are tolling the bell," Halford sings on the track. "Walking through fire, fate's in my hands, waiting for lightning to strike.

The British heavy metal legends spent much of 2017 in the studio recording the follow-up to 2014's "Redeemer Of Souls" with the band's longtime collaborator Tom Allom, acclaimed British knob-twiddler Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, EXODUS, TESTAMENT, ACCEPT) and engineer Mike Exeter (BLACK SABBATH).

The cover artwork for "Firepower" was created by the Chilean/Italian digital artist and photographer Claudio Bergamin.

"Firepower" track listing:

01. Firepower
02. Lightning Strike
03. Evil Never Dies
04. Never The Heroes
05. Necromancer
06. Children of the Sun
07. Guardians
08. Rising From Ruins
09. Flame Thrower
10. Spectre
11. Traitors Gate
12. No Surrender
13. Lone Wolf
14. Sea Of Red

Halford told VintageRock.com about the making of "Firepower": "We came off the 'Redeemer Of Souls' tour, had a little bit of a break, like we've always done, and then we dove straight back into the second record with Richie [Faulkner, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist]. And it's Richie's moment, really, because when we did 'Redeemer Of Souls' with Richie, obviously it was his first time with PRIEST as a writer, so I think it was great how Richie coming into the band at that point, and then going through the writing experience and the world tour together really put Richie in a better place for when we went in to do 'Firepower' — just because you learn so much in a band."

Halford added: "Richie's playing is fucking unbelievable on this album. And just the contribution, I think, as the writing team of Richie and Glenn [Tipton, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist] and myself. This is some of our best work — without a doubt."

Rob told "Trunk Nation" that collaborating again with Allom, who produced every PRIEST release from "Unleashed In The East" (1979) through "Ram It Down" (1988), along with several live records since then, has been "brilliant" and "absolutely fantastic." "Tom has a rich history with PRIEST, particularly those great moments with 'Screaming For Vengeance', 'Defenders Of The Faith' [and] 'British Steel'," he said. "My God — he's the man in that respect. So I thought it was really great for Andy Sneap and Mike Exeter to accept that this was gonna be like a three-man job, with Andy mostly holding the reins, but with Tom by his side and Mike there [as well]."

Sneap, who plays guitar in the reactivated British occult metal act HELL, told Serbia's Hardwired magazine that PRIEST's new album will contain "a really good energy and some real classic moments." He said "Rob did great" during the album's final recording sessions. "I'll tell you what: for someone who's got that much experience, there's no ego there at all," he said. "We'd do, like, six or seven passes, and I'd ask him to try something a bit [different] on this part, and he was, like, 'No problem.' And he'd give me another four takes with a slightly different vibe. And then me and Tom Allom would sit there and we'd comp it, and we pretty much agreed on everything."

The North American leg of the "Firepower" tour will kick off on March 13 in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania and will wrap on May 1 in San Antonio, Texas. Support on the trek will come from SAXON and BLACK STAR RIDERS.

Faulkner joined PRIEST in 2011 as the replacement for founding guitarist K.K. Downing.

Prior to hooking up with PRIEST, Faulkner was the guitarist in the backing band for Lauren Harris, daughter of IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris.

Alexiel Divine of The Offering webzine recently conducted an interview with frontman Kobi Farhi of Israeli progressive folk metal masters ORPHANED LAND. You can listen to the entire chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the concept behind ORPHANED LAND's forthcoming "Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs" studio album:

Kobi: "This is a protest album, a very angry album that is based on the 'Allegory Of The Cave', which is something that was written by the Greek ancient philosopher Plato. He wrote this allegory as a story about the human behavior because the ancient Greeks, they killed the philosopher Socrates and Plato couldn't understand how they could kill such a guy who was a gift to humanity, how could they kill someone with the knowledge and wisdom. Then he figured out something about humanity's behavior, that they are living in a cave and they see shadows in the cave and these shadows are the only truths that they know and they don't want to leave the cave and anyone who will try to take them out of the cave, they will kill him. We took this an allegory of today's life. Every time that you see a revolutionary guy that came to humanity and tried to release them from the darkness, humanity has chosen to kill him. It could be Mahatma Gandhi for Indian people, or Martin Luther King [Jr. ] for Afro-Americans, or Che Guevara for South Americans and there are many, many more examples of revolutionary people being killed. We thought Plato is an ancient prophet in a way. He wrote this thing two-thousand five hundred years ago; this is like a prophecy. Those people who are revolutionaries, leaders, they are always ending up dead. They are like the dead messiahs in a way. This is a mirror to humanity to show them that we always blame religion or politicians, but it's the people who do not change. It's the people who prefer to stay in the darkness. This is a concept album and a very big protest that we have about it."

On the importance of delivering their message through music:

Kobi: "It's very important because I think that music is a great weapon to use to transform your messages. Music has the ability to touch people and make people think and we always use the music as a weapon, as a positive weapon to make people think, to give them hope. I think music is one of the greatest gifts to humanity."

On whether ORPHANED LAND approached the songwriting to "Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs" differently than 2013's "All Is One":

Kobi: "Not really. I think this album is like a combination of our three last albums. If you take [2004's] 'Mabool [The Story Of The Three Sons Of Seven]' and if you take [2010's] '[The Never Ending Way Of] ORwarriOR', these albums, they were concept albums. In the last album, 'All Is One', we did a more straightforward album. I think that the new album is a combination of these three because we are back doing a concept album, but we took the sound and production and orchestration and epicness from the last albums. In some kind of a way, it's a combination of the last three albums from ORPHANED LAND and I think it created a very strong result."

On the evolution of ORPHANED LAND's musical style:

Kobi: "We are always evolving and we are always becoming better. I'm a better singer. With every album, my singing is better and better. With every album, we keep on evolving. This is a great feeling because we have been doing music for 26 years and to feel that you are doing your best, this is a great feeling, so we are evolving all the time and we are finding deeper concepts and my singing is higher today and everything is really evolving all the time. It's very good that it's still happening. If we would not evolve, I would feel that we would need to finish the band."

On how ORPHANED LAND came up with the idea to have former GENESIS guitarist Steve Hackett, AT THE GATES vocalist Tomas Lindberg and BLIND GUARDIAN vocalist Hansi Kürsch guest on "Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs":

Kobi: "With Hansi Kürsch from BLIND GUARDIAN, we became very good friends when we played together on a tour. I asked him to sing on our album in the song 'Like Orpheus', because Orpheus, in Greek mythology, he was a great singer. I thought that Hansi's a modern Orpheus. I'm happy that he agreed to do it and he did an amazing job. With Tomas Lindberg from AT THE GATES, we needed someone to be very crazy. In the last song, when they killed the hero, we needed someone with a crazy voice, like a lunatic, like insane. And Tomas Lindberg is one of the best growling singers in the metal scene. I am a big fan of AT THE GATES and also BLIND GUARDIAN, so I'm very happy to have these two diverse singers on our album. Also with Steve Hackett from GENESIS, he played a solo on the album. It was because he was asking me to sing on his album. Of course, I agreed. I'm a big fan of GENESIS and Steve. Then he asked me if I preferred to get paid or if I wanted him to play a solo on our album, so, of course, I said I wanted a guitar solo."

"Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs" will be released on January 26, 2018 via Century Media. The album was mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren. The release of "Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs" will be followed by an extensive European tour in early 2018 with IN VAIN, SUBTERRANEAN MASQUERADE and AEVUM.

Central Mo News recently conducted an interview with BUTCHER BABIES frontwomen Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey. You can now listen to the chat using the SoundCloud widget below.

Asked if the music industry has become more accepting of female musicians in the years since the band first started out, Carla said: "I think they're more accepting because they have to be, 'cause there's so many powerful women in the industry right now." Heidi added: "Yeah, when we started, there weren't very many. And so they were, like, 'Oh, come on. You can't have two girls in a metal band. That's just bogus. And then, over the course of eight years, there have been several hundreds of bands come out with females in them — one, two, three, four, 10… it doesn't matter. And I think that it's definitely a lot more widely accepted. And within the industry too, I think that a lot of people recognize hard work and determination, and the fact that we weren't a flash in the pan, and we still aren't a flash in the pan, that, okay, we're here to stay. I think it's easy to dismiss something right away, but as you see the longevity behind it, it's making its way."

When questioned about the negative user comments that were posted below a previous BLABBERMOUTH.NET article in which Shepherd said she felt people still "oversexualized" her group, Heidi said: "The thing is, why would you even read that? Because, in all honesty, that site exists for people to go in and show how nasty they are. We are oversexualized — that's never gonna change. That's just how people are. I could go out wearing a fucking potato sack. I wear more onstage than most people wear to church. There are other women in this industry who wear way less than us, but for some reason, we're still the ones who are oversexualized. It's not gonna change. I don't care."

When the interviewer pointed out that some of the comments stem from the fact that BUTCHER BABIES used to perform topless with tape over their nipples, Wendy O. Williams (PLASMATICS)-style, Heidi said: "Well, yeah, I understand that. But [we only did that for] six months in 2011."

BUTCHER BABIES' third album, "Lilith", was released on October 27 via Century Media. The follow-up to 2015's "Take It Like A Man" was produced by Steve Evetts (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, SEPULTURA, SUICIDE SILENCE) and marks the band's recording debut with new drummer, Chase Brickenden, who replaced Chris Warner last year.

German thrash metal veterans SODOM were rejoined by former guitarists Josef "Grave Violator" Dominik (who was in the band 1984-1985), Frank "Blackfire" Gosdzik (1986-1989) and Andy Brings (1991-1995) during their 35th-anniversary show on December 26 at Zeche in Bochum, Germany.

Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. In Retribution
02. In War And Pieces
03. An Eye For An Eye
04. Surfin' Bird / The Saw Is The Law
05. Belligerence
06. Among The Weirdcong
07. The Vice Of Killing
08. Sodomy And Lust
09. Masquerade In Blood
10. Proselytism Real
11. Witching Metal
12. Rolling Thunder
13. Napalm In The Morning
14. City Of God
15. Tired And Red
16. Caligula
17. Blasphemer (with Grave Violator)
18. Burst Command 'Til War (with Grave Violator)
19. Outbreak Of Evil (with Grave Violator)
20. Christ Passion (with Frank Blackfire)
21. Nuclear Winter (with Frank Blackfire)
22. Agent Orange (with Frank Blackfire)
23. Wachturm (with Andy Brings)
24. Sodomized (with Andy Brings)
25. Die Stumme Ursel (with Andy Brings)
26. Ausgebombt
27. Bombenhagel

SODOM's current lineup includes bassist/vocalist and sole remaining original member Thomas "Angelripper" Such, along with guitarist Bernd "Bernemann" Kost and drummer Markus "Makka" Freiwald.

SODOM's latest album, "Decision Day", was released in August 2016 via SPV/Steamhammer. The disc was produced by Cornelius "Corny" Rambadt, sound engineer and drummer with Angelripper's side project ONKEL TOM. The effort featured artwork courtesy of Joe Petagno. As well as having worked for PINK FLOYD and LED ZEPPELIN, Petagno is MOTÖRHEAD's favored graphic designer and has created legendary album covers such as "Overkill", "Orgasmatron" and "Another Perfect Day".

In a 2016 interview with Distorted Sound, Such stated about the making of "Decision Day": "When we start writing new songs, we never think about what we've got to do or we never have any direction in doing an old-school album.

"SODOM is a band who will never change, really, even if you look back to the '90s when a lot of bands tried to get more commercial and change the music, but we never [did].

"I think back in the '90s as SODOM we had some of the heaviest albums of our career, and when we're writing songs now, we don't think about what we've got to do. We just rehearse. It's very old school — we have a rehearsal room and we do it one time a week and we just start it with a jam session, of course, drinking a beer and start a guitar riff or a drum fills.

"I know other bands who are going to write songs on MP3 trading — one guy is living in America, one guy is living in England, the other one in Germany — and that is not a band. SODOM is a band.

"We never look back because there are some people who say it sounds like 'Agent Orange' or 'Persecution Mania'. There was one guy who told me it sounds like 'Obsessed By Cruelty'. I never mind, but we just don't think about that — we just want to write good songs and a good album, but always try to keep the spirit of SODOM. We never want to try and change anything. We're gonna do thrash metal. There is no label or record company who will dictate to us off doing that.

"I want to be free, I want to do this kind of music, but we love this kind of music.

"All of the inspiration, for me, is the older bands like VENOM, MOTӦRHEAD, the old MOTӦRHEAD, but when we start writing songs we don't think about writing a song like MOTӦRHEAD or whatever, we just keep it a SODOM song.

"The difference between the new one and the older releases like 'Epitome Of Torture' and 'In War And Pieces', the way we produced this album, we never had a release date with our label; we just recorded the songs and we had a lot of time. We recorded in six months and it was very relaxed working and the studio was near my hometown so I could go there doing some vocal work, some bass lines and going back home and relaxing. We got a chance to do a pre-production and change things we weren’t satisfied with and had a lot of time to make it perfect."

Ex-DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy has posted a photo of him apparently hanging out with his former bandmate, DREAM THEATER guitarist John Petrucci.

Portnoy wrote in an accompanying caption: "Happy New Year from MP & JP #givepeaceachance #carpediem Here's to a great 2018!"

Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more than 30 years ago, abruptly quit the band in September 2010 while on tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD. He has since been replaced by Mike Mangini (ANNIHILATOR, EXTREME, JAMES LABRIE, STEVE VAI).

Mike told Loud that he left DREAM THEATER because he wanted to expand his musical horizons. "[I didn't] want to go to my grave and just be the drummer from DREAM THEATER," he said. "I knew there was way more to what I had to offer."

Asked if there was anything he wished DREAM THEATER had done differently in the way they went about finding a replacement for Portnoy, Petrucci told "The Classic Metal Show": "There's not many situations in life where you can say you wouldn't have done anything differently, but this is one of 'em. I think, looking back, I wouldn't have done anything differently."

He continued: "Mike Mangini really helped us to get through a major bandmember change, and in a way, that was probably as smooth as any bandmember change could have gone. The way that he came in, his personality, his skills as a drummer, his background, his history… it clicked to the point where it was, like, if we would have met Mike [Mangini] twenty years ago, we would have been playing with this guy. If I would have grown up with him, I would have been friends with him jamming. And that's rare. It's rare to do that one time around."

Petrucci added: "You know so many musicians in bands that are having trouble finding people to play with, and who click, and so the fact that this happened with Mike [Mangini], it's really just amazing to us. And since he's been in the band, we've done [three] albums, [several] world tours and, thankfully, have had a lot of success with it, and a lot of support from our fans through all of it. And, again, I wouldn't have done anything differently. It's really amazing."

Portnoy has just completed a tour with his SHATTERED FORTRESS project, with which he performed DREAM THEATER's "12 Step Suite" in its entirety for the first time ever. The music documents the drummer's battle with alcoholism, and is an ensemble of five songs recorded by DREAM THEATER from 2002 to 2009, with titles that reflect his struggles: "The Glass Prison", "This Dying Soul", "The Root Of All Evil", "Repentance" and "The Shattered Fortress".





Happy New Year from MP & JP!
#givepeaceachance #carpediem
Here's to a great 2018!

Posted by Mike Portnoy on Sunday, December 31, 2017

Greek doom/death classic outfit On Thorns I Lay have just unveiled the first lyric video from their upcoming album Aegean Sorrow, out March 12th on CD via Alone Records, and limited vinyl version through The Vinyl Division.

The album was produced by Fotis Benardo, recorded at Devasoundz Studios (Rotting Christ, Septic Flesh), and mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö at Unisound AB studio.

"Aegean Sorrow" is the track opening the album, showing in almost nine minutes the band still have much to offer to the metal scene. The video concept was created and edited by Manthos Stergiou for Manster Design.

LEAVES' EYES new album, "Sign Of The Dragonhead", will be released on January 12 via AFM Records. Produced by Alexander Krull at Mastersound Studio, the disc features cover artwork by Stefan Heilemann (LINDEMANN, EPICA, KAMELOT).

The official video for the song "Across The Sea", taken from "Sign Of The Dragonhead", can be seen below.

"Sign Of The Dragonhead" will be the first full LEAVES' EYES album featuring singer Elina Siirala, who joined the band in early 2016 following an acrimonious split with the group's original frontwoman, Liv Kristine. Liv was previously married to LEAVES' EYES' co-vocalist Alexander Krull.

On "Sign Of The Dragonhead", the chronicles of the Vikings is continued and reveals that the band have honed their strengths even further. At the same time, musical surprises have raised their sound to a new level. The title track is a raw number featuring martial choirs and forges a sonic arch to "King Of Kings", continuing the adventurous journey of King Harald I. Frontman Alexander Krull and virtuoso guitarist Thorsten Bauer prove to be ingenious masters when it comes to composing haunting metal hits. Every track has the musicians upping the creative ante, revealing an impressive amount of diversity without neglecting their trademark sound elements. "Across The Sea" evolves into a metal shanty with an irresistible rhythm, bound to be a definite neckbreaker. "Like A Mountain" sets to music a tragic Icelandic love saga and surprises as a bass-heavy goth rock track. An emotional song with plenty of tough elements which allows Elina to reveal the full range of her vocal skills. Confident and autonomous, her classically trained voice takes possession of the songs — gentle at times, powerful at others — lending a highly individual note to her interaction with Alex's growls.

LEAVES' EYES has succeeded in creating compositionally complex yet tangible tracks. Perfectly coordinated instrumentation — never top-heavy, always unconventional. Medieval nyckelharpas, fiddles, uilleann pipes and whistles blend naturally with the metal guise, creating catchy songs such as "Shadows In The Night" and "Völva", which whisks its listeners away to the mythical world of the seeresses and sorceresses of the Northern countries. Nobody expected a song like "Riders On The Wind", which has classic heavy metal and Celtic folk clash to create an acoustic Viking party. These musicians' deep affinity with the Viking era is revealed on "Jomsborg" about the legendary fortress and its Baltic Viking army, where in fact Alex's ancestors hail from.

"Sign Of The Dragonhead" track listing:

01. Sign Of The Dragonhead
02. Across The Sea
03. Like A Mountain
04. Jomsborg
05. Völva
06. Riders On The Wind
07. Fairer Than The Sun
08. Shadows In The Night
09. Rulers Of Wind And Waves
10. Fires In The North
11. Waves Of Euphoria

LEAVES' EYES and Kristine have offered different accounts of the circumstances behind their breakup, with LEAVES' EYES claiming the decision to part ways was amicably made in January 2016 and Liv saying she was dismissed from the group in April 2016.

LEAVES' EYES is:

Elina Siirala - vocals
Alexander Krull - vocals
Thorsten Bauer - guitar
Pete Streit - guitar
Joris Nijenhuis - drums

A number of Swedish heavy metal musicians — including members of IN FLAMES, HARDCORE SUPERSTAR, AVATAR, HORISONT HYPNOS, ENGEL, HONEYMOON DISEASE, RAM, CITY SAINTS, SIPHON FUEL, TRANSPORT LEAGUE and SAFFIRE — paid tribute to Lemmy Kilmister by performing MOTÖRHEAD covers at a special concert on December 28 at Sticky Fingers in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Fan-filmed video footage of the "Killed By Death" and "The Chase Is Better Than The Catch" performances can be seen below.

Both songs feature the following lineup:

Vocals - Oscar Carlquist (RAM)
Guitar - Björn Gelotte (IN FLAMES)
Bass - Niclas Engelin (IN FLAMES)
Drums - Magnus "Adde" Andreasson (HARDCORE SUPERSTAR)

Lemmy, who celebrated his 70th birthday on December 24, 2015, learned two days later that he was afflicted with an aggressive form of cancer. He died two days later, on December 28, 2015, at his home in Los Angeles.

The MOTÖRHEAD frontman had dealt with several health issues over the past few years, including heart trouble, forcing him to cut back on his famous smoking and Jack Daniels habits.

The band canceled a number of shows two years ago, although they did manage to complete one final European tour on December 11, 2015.

MOTÖRHEAD released a covers compilation album, "Under Cöver" — a collection of some of the band's best covers — on September 1.

US heavy rockers, Soldiers Of Solace, will release their debut album We Are Immortal on January 26th via German label Rock’N’Growl Records, a division of Rock’N’Growl Promotion. The album includes 10 tracks and was produced by Soldiers Of Solace, recorded at Dexters Lab Recording LLC by Nick Bellmore and Zeuss. All tracks were mixed and mastered by Zeuss. The official We Are Immortal album video teaser can be viewed below.

The cover artwork was made by Andy Pilkington of Very Metal Art (Soil, Flotsam And Jetsam, Fury, Kissin’ Dynamite, Bloodstock Festival).

Tracklisting:

"Rude Awakening"
"We Are Immortal"
"Cold As A Stone"
"Naked Truth"
"Walk Tall"
"Circus Clown"
"Washed In Flames"
"Dear John"
"Freedom’s Children"
"Hannah"

Teaser:

Soldiers Of Solace is an all original, hard hitting, American heavy rock band, comprised of five members: Jason Longo on vocals, Ron Therrien on bass guitar, Luis Cubille on rhythm guitar, Jeff Fahy on lead guitar and all the way from Italy, Francesco Daniele on drums.

Soldiers Of Solace has shared the mainstage with national acts such as Nonpoint, Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed and Scott Stapp of Cree”. With poignant lyrical content, driving riffs, thundering beats, and powerful live performances, Soldiers Of Solace is making their mark on the international music scene and gaining fans and supporters worldwide.

Soldiers Of Solace was played in regular rotation, alongside legendary and iconic rock and metal bands like Five Finger Death Punch, Shinedown and Metallica, and gained the respect of rock and metal fans and DJ’s across the world.

Fan-filmed video footage of the classic-era lineup of the horror punk outfit MISFITS — Glenn Danzig, Jerry Only and Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein — performing on December 30 at the Forum in Inglewood, California can be seen below.

MISFITS enforced a strict no-cellphone policy at its reunion shows in Los Angeles and in Las Vegas (which happened on December 28).

Glenn Danzig reportedly has a notoriously strict no-photo policy for his concerts, and he has been known to personally enforce it over the years. In 2012, Danzig chased a photographer off stage during his set in Bonnaroo, and in 2015, he put a fan in a headlock after the fan took a picture.

MISFITS played two historic reunion concerts in 2016 at Riot Fest in Denver and Chicago that drew rabid fans in droves from all over the world and shattered attendance records at the festivals.

Jerry Only said: "The MISFITS were so far ahead of their time when we began back in 1977, that it took the world forty years to catch up. That time has come, and that time is NOW... We intend to take you on a ride back in time, and into the future to experience 100% authentic punk rock at its essence, and the origin of thrash in its purist form. History will be made — again. Prepare to be devastated…"

After years of bad blood, Glenn reunited with Only and Wolfgang Von Frankenstein for last year's concerts at both incarnations of Riot Fest in Denver and Chicago. Prior to those gigs, the trio last performed together on October 29, 1983.

Speaking to Rolling Stone about how the Riot Fest shows went, Danzig said: "I'd done it with Doyle before, but it was ... interesting. [Laughs] I couldn't hear myself, so it was exactly like the old days. So it is what it is. But everyone seemed to have a great time. I think it exceeded expectations, which is always good, and the write-ups were just insane."

Joining Glenn, Jerry and Doyle at all the reunion shows so far were drummer Dave Lombardo (SLAYER, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES) and second guitarist Acey Slade.

Only told Rolling Stone in September 2016 that he wanted the MISFITS reunion to continue. "I know Doyle wants it to continue. I know Glenn wants it to continue," he said. "We just have to be big enough people to make it continue. And that's where we're at. Whatever it takes. We're going into our fortieth anniversary, so the timing couldn't be more perfect."

The original MISFITS band broke up in 1983, and Only brought forth a new version of the MISFITS in 1995. Various members have come and gone, but Only, along with BLACK FLAG's Dez Cadena, has kept some form of the MISFITS in the recording studio and on the road for most of the last two decades.

GUNS N' ROSES and METALLICA have made Pollstar's top 20 worldwide tours of 2017.

GNR's "Not In This Lifetime" trek finished at No. 2 with 2.68 million tickets sold, behind U2's "Joshua Tree" tour, which topped the list with 2.71 million tickets sold.

METALLICA's "WorldWired" trek was the fifth-highest grossing tour, with 1.5 million tickets sold.

GUNS N' ROSES' most recent North American run of arena dates started in October and included three nights at Madison Square Garden Arena, two at Toronto's Air Canada Centre and two shows at the Forum in Inglewood, California.

For all of the Americas in 2017, which included a leg in North American stadiums earlier this year as well as a few big outdoor plays in South America with THE WHO in support, GN'R sold 993,765 tickets and grossed a total of more than $109 million, as submitted to Pollstar.

GUNS N' ROSES will return next June for a seven-week European jaunt, but the band's plans until then, and beyond that, remain unknown for now. The three original members have not given a single interview together.

The reunited trio, along with four backing musicians from latter lineups, have been on the road almost continuously since the tour was launched with a surprise show at the Troubadour nightclub in Los Angeles on April 1, 2016.

Although some fans have grumbled that two members of the original lineup — guitarist Izzy Stradlin and drummer Steven Adler, the latter of whom did appear at a handful of stops on the tour — remain on the sidelines, the trek has been wildly successful, reportedly grossing more than $400 million since its launch a year and a half ago.

The European leg of METALLICA's "WorldWired" tour kicked off in Copenhagen, Denmark on September 2 and ran through November 3. After a break, the trek will pick up again on February 1, 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, and continue through May, finishing up in Helsinki, Finland.

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame band is touring in support of its tenth studio album, "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct", which came out in November 2016.

Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash has a new home in the San Fernando Valley community of Encino, reports Yolanda’s Little Black Book.

"Encino, y’all see, is a generally quiet bedroom community that has become an increasingly popular choice for moneyed and family-oriented celebrities. Our Mr. Slash - birth name Saul Hudson - has splashed the cash on a $6,250,000 new spec-mansion compound with a total of 9,400-square-feet of living space. Not much of a downgrade from his old 11,000-square-foot 90210 mansion, is it?

"The house sits on a .72-acre corner lot in a prime south-of-Ventura Boulevard area of Encino. Naturally, the entire property perimeter is completely walled, gated, and camera-armed for the utmost security and protection. Two driveway gates silently glide open to reveal the wraparound motorcourt and front-facing three car garage.

"Main living areas in the structure - let’s call it a Traditional with a trendy contemporary twist - are set off by brushed white oak flooring. Up front is a high-ceilinged living room with a fireplace, around this or that corner is a cozier family room (also with a fireplace) that features one of those chic walls of glass."

Read more and see photos at Yolanda’s Little Black Book.

The official lyric video for "We Are The Legion", the latest single from Swedish sleaze rockers CRASHDÏET, can be seen below. The song marks the band's return with new frontman Gabriel Keyes.

The group made its comeback official in the December edition of Sweden Rock Magazine, revealing the band's collaboration Keyes, a Stockholm-based singer who is CRASHDÏET's fourth vocalist. CRASHDÏET was previously fronted by Dave Lepard (2000-2006), H. Olliver Twisted (2007-2008) and Simon Cruz (2009-2015).

"We Are The Legion" was written in November and was recorded earlier this month. It is being made available through CRASHDÏET's own label imprint, Diet Records.

"We like to be a bit impulsive and spontaneous at the moment," CRASHDÏET said in a statement. "Now that we can release the song under our own record label, it's just a matter of going with the flow. It's an interesting time and we're learning a lot about the new music business."

"We Are The Legion" was produced by Eric Bazilian, who can also be heard playing the acoustic guitar in the mesmerizing intro of the track. The song was mixed by Chris Laney, who also worked on CRASHDÏET's debut album, "Rest In Sleaze". The drums were recorded by Björn Samuelsson at Samuelsson Music And Sound Studio. It was mastered by Classe Persson. The artwork was created by Christel Mentges and can be seen below.

"We Are The Legion" will be made available on streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music on January 8, 2018.

CRASHDÏET stated about the song: "It's a fight song, relevant to anyone who's going through challenges and setbacks in a world that is judgmental and superficial. We can only stay together and be strong in the battlefield of life."

Upcoming CRASHDÏET shows:

Mar. 30 - Kägelbanan - Stockholm, Sweden
Jul. 07 - Helgeåfestivalen - Knisslinge, Sweden
Jul. 14 - Bang Your Head!!! - Balingen, Germany
Oct. 26 - Rock N Skull - Peoria, IL, USA

CRASHDÏET's most recent release was the "Live In Sleaze" album, which was recorded in 2005 and features Lepard on vocals.

Cruz, who was previously a member of the Stockholm act JAILBAIT, joined CRASHDÏET in 2009 as the replacement for H. Olliver Twisted (now in RECKLESS LOVE).

Former CRASHDIET singer David Hellman (a.k.a. Dave Lepard) was found dead on January 20, 2006 at his apartment in the Swedish city of Uppsala, north of Stockholm. It was reported in several places that he hanged himself, although this was never officially confirmed.

CRASHDIET's latest album, "The Savage Playground", entered the official chart in Sweden at position No. 2. The CD was released in January 2013 via Frontiers.

Fan-filmed video footage of QUEENSRŸCHE's December 29 performance at Snoqualmie Casino in Snoqualmie, Washington can be seen below.

KAMELOT's Casey Grillo made his live debut with with QUEENSRŸCHE on April 1 at Sycuan Casino in El Cajon, California. He is filling in for regular QUEENSRŸCHE drummer Scott Rockenfield, who is taking time off from the band's touring activities to spend time with his newborn son, appropriately named Rockson.

QUEENSRŸCHE is expected to enter the studio in January to begin recording its new album for a tentative mid-2018 release via Century Media. Helming the disc once again will be Chris "Zeuss" Harris, who previously worked on 2015's "Condition Hüman".

QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Michael Wilton recently dimissed talk of a reunion with the band's original singer, Geoff Tate.

Todd La Torre joined QUEENSRŸCHE as the replacement for Tate after the latter was fired in 2012.

QUEENSRŸCHE has released two albums thus far with the former CRIMSON GLORY frontman on vocals: 2013's "Queensrÿche" and the aforementioned "Condition Hüman".

Asked by Atlantic City Weekly how fans have responded to La Torre, Wilton said: "Everybody has taken Todd La Torre into the fold and we are doing great with him. All of the hardcore QUEENSRŸCHE fans are saying that he is the new voice of QUEENSRŸCHE, so we are very, very happy, because we have been working for the last five years to build this."

Pressed about whether he thinks there will ever be a reunion with Tate, Wilton said: "Not at this point. We've rebuilt our career with Todd and it's going amazingly and we wouldn't want to change that."

Fan-filmed video footage of former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal's December 23 performance at The Rock Box in San Antonio, Texas can be seen below.

Thal recently said that he agonized over his decision to leave GUNS N' ROSES three years ago, explaining that he "wanted it to be something that [he] knew it wasn't ever gonna be."

The guitarist never officially announced his departure from the GN'R, but a source confirmed to Detroit music writer Gary Graff back in 2015 that Ron had been out since the end of the band's second Las Vegas residency in 2014.

Thal later revealed that he was focusing on his solo career and other projects after spending eight years playing in GUNS.

Ron joined GUNS N' ROSES in 2006 and played on 2008's "Chinese Democracy", an album which contained music that had been written before he came into the group. He has also released a number of solo CDs.

Thal is currently involved with ART OF ANARCHY alongside CREED singer Scott Stapp and DISTURBED bassist John Moyer. He is also playing in SONS OF APOLLO, in which he is joined by former DREAM THEATER members Mike Portnoy and Derek Sherinian alongside Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (ex-GUNS N' ROSES), Billy Sheehan (THE WINERY DOGS, MR. BIG, DAVID LEE ROTH) and Jeff Scott Soto (ex-JOURNEY, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN'S RISING FORCE).

California rockers TESLA have uploaded a 2017 recap video. The six-and-a-half-minute clip, which was shot by Oliver Halfin and edited by Rob Neilson, can be seen below.

TESLA is continuing to work on a new studio album, tentatively due in 2018. The disc is being produced by DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen, who encouraged the Sacramento-based band to adopt a slightly different recording approach.

"With Phil, we'd come in on a given day, work on maybe the bridge on a particular song, work on the chorus on this song, and then work on a verse — all in one day, all on different songs," TESLA singer Jeff Keith explained to The Salt Lake Tribune earlier in the year. "That was really fun and exciting, 'cause you could put the ideas down, take 'em home, chew on 'em for a couple days… It was really fun doing it in that way, and it's the first time we've ever really done it like that."

TESLA's most recent release, "Mechanical Resonance, Live!", was made available last year via Tesla Electric Company Recordings/Mailboat. The effort celebrated the 30th birthday of the original multi-platinum album and featured classic hits as well as a new single, "Save That Goodness", written by Collen.

TESLA's current lineup includes four of the five original members: Keith, Frank Hannon (guitar), Brian Wheat (bass) and Troy Luccketta (drums). Dave Rude (guitar) joined in 2006 as the replacement for Tommy Skeoch.

As part of this year's edition of Museum of Pop Culture's Founders Award celebration honoring THE DOORS, ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist Jerry Cantrell joined the iconic rock band's surviving guitarist Robby Krieger for a performance of "Love Her Madly". The December 7 event also saw NIRVANA bassist Krist Novoselic bring out his accordion to perform "Light My Fire" with Robby and drummer John Densmore.

The Founders Award celebration is the signature event for MoPOP, formerly Experience Music Project. It honors the life's work of living legends while raising money for the institution's education programs.

THE DOORS recently released a 50th-anniversary edition of their second album, "Strange Days". Like the 50th-anniversary reissue of the band's debut album that came out earlier this year, the "Strange Days" re-release contains both the original mono and stereo mixes of the set on two CDs, while the original mono mix was made available on vinyl. There are no bonus tracks or unreleased material, but the package includes new liner notes and additional photos.

Lions Pride Music has set March 30th as the release date for Don't Miss The Sunset, the new album from melodic hard rock project Odyssey Desperado. An album sampler can be found below.

Odyssey Desperado is the project started by Odysseas Karapolitis in 2014 in Athens, Greece. His dream was to share the music, the melodies and the ideas he had in his mind with other people. For achieving this goal he worked with the multi-talented producer Bob Katsionis (Outloud, Firewind) at Sound Symmetry Studio, also recruited one of the best Greek voices in the genre, Manos Fatsis, on lead vocals, and the legendary Paul Laine (ex-Danger Danger) on backing vocals.

Tracklisting:

"Rush Of The Wave"
"You And Me Against The World"
"Cruisin'"
"Dreams Die Hard"
"Can't Live Without You"
"Oasis (In The Desert Of Your Soul)"
"Holding On To A Dream"
"Fragile"
"Tomorrow You'll Be Gone"
"Wings Of Silk"

Sampler:

Odyssey Desperado are:

Odyssey Desperado - Lead & Rhythm Guitars
Bob Katsionis - Bass Guitar, Keyboards & Programming
Manos Fatsis - Lead Vocals
Paul Laine - Background Vocals

Mixed & Produced: Bob Katsionis
Mastered by: Nassos Nomikos at Vu Productions Mastering Studio
Recorded at: Sound Symmetry Studio, Athens, Greece