Metalcore heavy hitters EMMURE will release their new album, titled "Look At Yourself", in early 2017. The follow-up to the 2014's "Eternal Enemies" marks EMMURE's first release with SharpTone Records.

To give listeners a taste of what they can expect from "Look At Yourself", EMMURE has released another new song off the album, "Russian Hotel Aftermath", which can be streamed below.

"Look At Yourself" represents a coming of age for EMMURE, a new chapter in an aggressive autobiography that stretches back to the band's very first album, released when vocalist Frankie Palmeri was barely out of his teens. It's infused with a brutal self-examination and observation, balancing hate, bile and perseverance, with the tempered experience of a life spent in pursuit of self-reliance and respect, from within and without. It's expressed in a crushing cacophony of riffs that never fail to super-serve the forward-motion groove of EMMURE.

The new lineup of EMMURE made its live debut on April 22 in Oberhausen, Germany. Joining Palmeri in the band's latest incarnation are guitarist Josh Travis (GLASS CLOUD, ex-THE TONY DANZA TAPDANCE EXTRAVAGANZA), bassist Phil Lockett (ex-THE TONY DANZA TAPDANCE EXTRAVAGANZA) and drummer Josh Miller (ex-GLASS CLOUD).

EMMURE pulled out of a series of U.S. shows in October 2015 "to focus on other things," which was then followed by bassist Mark Davis, lead guitarist Jesse Ketive, rhythm guitarist Mike Mulholland and drummer Adam Pierce leaving the band. Davis later told AltPress.com about his departure from the group: "There is no time or room for negativity in life. If someone is bringing you down or holding you back from your full potential, it's time to cut them out, no matter how much you may love them."

Palmeri released a statement earlier in the year in which he said he regretted saying "a lot of stupid shit" in the past. He said: "Over the years, specifically the last decade, I have done a pretty good job at painting myself as an egotistical, psychotic, moronic douche. I did and said a lot of stupid shit, a good portion of which I look back [on] with embarrassment and regret. I have grown so much as person and I like to think there is still chance for people to understand that everyone grows differently and at their own pace. I am still growing, but I am not the person people have made me out to be. I look forward to reconnecting with all the fans who have stuck with EMMURE through the years and just over all excited about the future."

EMMURE's last full-length album, "Eternal Enemies", was released in April 2014 via Victory Records.

Greek melodic power metal masters FIREWIND, the group led by guitar wizard and OZZY OSBOURNE band member Gus G., will release their eighth studio album, "Immortals", on January 20, 2017 via the band's longtime label partner Century Media Records in Europe.

The official video for the song "Ode To Leonidas", taken from "Immortals", can be seen below. The clip was recently shot with the iCode team (KAMELOT, DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT, MOONSORROW) in Serbia.

Gus stated about the song and the video: "As many of you have found out by now, our new album 'Immortals' is a concept and focusing on the battles of Thermopylae and Salamis. The song 'Ode To Leonidas' is obviously about the legendary warrior King of Sparta and his heroic battle with his 300 brave men against the massive Persian army invaders. "For the production of the clip, we traveled to Belgrade, Serbia and filmed with iCode team (same team that directed my solo video 'The Quest' and so many other great bands) and we're really amazed by the end result. It's truly epic! We hope you will enjoy too. Heavy metal fans — unite!"

"Immortals" marks the first time FIREWIND used an outside co-producer, having worked with Dennis Ward (UNISONIC, PINK CREAM 69), who not only engineered, mixed and mastered the album, but also co-wrote it together with Gus G.

Gus G. said: "'Immortals' [is] the first concept album FIREWIND has ever made.

"Since we're from Greece, we thought it would be a cool idea to make a concept of Greek history and heritage. So on this album we focused on the legendary battles of Thermopylae and Salamis during the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 B.C.

"The artwork was once again created by our longtime collaborator, Gustavo Sazes, and we feel it reflects the vibe we tried to capture on this album — epic, powerful, glorious, everlasting."

"Immortals" track listing:

01. Hands Of Time02. We Defy03. Ode To Leonidas04. Back On The Throne05. Live And Die By The Sword06. Wars Of Ages07. Lady Of 1000 Sorrows08. Immortals09. Warriors And Saints10. Rise From The Ashes

In addition to the standard jewel case CD and digital download formats, "Immortals" will be released as LP on 180-gram vinyl with a poster as well as the entire album on CD as bonus. Additionally, there will also be a limited-edition mediabook CD with expanded booklet, a bonus track and three stickers.

In order to support the release of "Immortals", FIREWIND is set to hit the road across Europe.

"Immortals" marks FIREWIND's first release with singer Henning Basse (METALIUM, SONS OF SEASONS), who previously toured with the band on various continents in 2007 and was most recently the singer in Gus's solo touring group.

Said FIREWIND in a statement: "Since [2014], [Henning] started playing some shows with Gus G.'s solo band and he delivered amazing performances, stunning the crowds all over Europe! Henning is an amazing frontman and a personality that totally fits with what FIREWIND is all about."

FIREWIND celebrated its 10th anniversary by releasing a live album in June 2013 via Century Media Records in Europe. Titled "Apotheosis - Live 2012", the CD contained 17 songs recorded at special anniversary shows in Greece as well as all over Europe during the band's "Few Against Many" tour in 2012. It marked FIREWIND's final release with singer Apollo Papathanasio, who decided to leave the group at the end of 2012.

FIREWIND toured in 2013 in support of "Apotheosis - Live 2012", with Kelly Sundown Carpenter (ADAGIO, BEYOND TWILIGHT) handling lead vocals on the trek.

On January 20th, Pink Floyd Records will complete the reintroduction of the Pink Floyd studio albums on vinyl with The Final Cut and A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, remastered and reissued. These albums have not been available on vinyl for well over two decades.

Over the past year, Pink Floyd Records has released the entire studio collection as stereo remastered versions on heavyweight 180g vinyl. All are mastered from the original analogue studio tapes with album artwork faithfully reproduced.

Released originally in 1983, The Final Cut was another global chart-topper for Pink Floyd. During the Falklands War and the era of Thatcherism, this anti-war concept album explored the themes of fallen servicemen, the loss of loved ones and political betrayal.

A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, Pink Floyd’s thirteenth studio album, was released in 1987 and demonstrated a significant change in style for the band with more experimental use of drum machines and samples. The album also saw the return of graphic artist Storm Thorgerson who designed this now iconic cover.

More info at this location.

Rock legends Deep Purple will release their new album, inFinite, the highly anticipated follow-up to their worldwide chart topping album NOW What?!, on April 7th via earMUSIC. Shortly after the cover artwork for the record was unveiled, however, some music fans cried foul, pointing out amore than a passing resemblance to the Devin Townsend Project's official logo, which they have used for several years. 

Townsend responded directly to the dust-up with the following entry on Twitter:

Re- deep purple logo: not a big deal to me. Not sure it should be...plus it's Steve morse and he can do whatever he wants :)
— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) 14 December 2016

“Time For Bedlam”, an up-tempo classic Deep Purple song, has just been made available via a lyric video (watch below).

“Time For Bedlam” will be available as instant grat as part of the digital album pre-order, as well as on all streaming platforms starting from Thursday, December 15th, midnight worldwide with the physical pre-order of the album to start at the same time.

A limited edition EP for “Time For Bedlam”, with non-album songs and unreleased recordings will hit the shops on February 3rd.

“Time For Bedlam” lyric video:

A documentary movie, witnessing the songwriting process and the recording of the album with producer Bob Ezrin, has been produced, allowing for the first time for the fans to be part of the private band member interactions in the studio. The movie will be included in some editions of the album and it will be presented before release in various fan events worldwide.

Deep Purple recently announced their Long Goodbye Tour, which will bring the legendary live show once again all over the world. The band have not yet answered, in fact, the many questions received by fans from all over the world who are speculating about the meaning of the title inFinite and "Long Goodbye".

Singer Ian Gillan has in fact declared: “If you take it literally you may, quite reasonably, think the ‘Finite’ part of the word describes the life of Deep Purple, with a clear beginning and a nebulous end; but what of the ‘in’ bit? The word infinite is a three-dimensional double edged sword. It describes something that goes on forever in all directions; not unlike its temporal equivalent ‘Eternal’ What’s that all about?

“Stephen Hawking declared (in A brief History Of Time) that, before the Big Bang there was nothing. That would put the kybosh on the idea of our universe being Infinite, as he provides a starting point, which is not acceptable to the concept. So, Hawking’s universe in ‘Finite’; by definition; whether he agrees or not.

“Ironically, he is quite wrong (scientists always are eventually), therefore the Universe is infinite, which means it will never end, and also means that it never started, and the corollary to that of course is that we don’t exist.

“There is a metaphysical solution to all this, but it will have to wait until the tour is over because (thanks heavens) there are only 24 hours in a day (for the time being) or 10 hours in a metric day. More on that later…”

inFinite trailer clips:

Tour dates:

May
17 - Wien, Austria - Stadthalle Halle D
19 - München, Germany - Olympiahalle
23 - Lodz, Poland - Atlas Arena
24 - Katowice, Poland - Spodek
30 - Hamburg, Germany - Barclaycard-Arena

June
1 - Lille, France - Zenith Arena
2 - Amsterdam, Holland - Ziggodome
3 - Paris, France - Accorhotels Arena
6 - Köln, Germany - Lanxess Arena
7 - Dortmund, Germany - Westfalenhalle
9 - Leipzig, Germany - Arena Leipzig
10 - Frankfurt/Main, Germany - Festhalle
13 - Berlin, Germany - Mercedes-Benz-Arena
14 - Stuttgart, Germany - Schleyer-Halle
16-18 - Clisson, France - HellFest (exact date TBC)

July
1 - Barcelona, Spain - Rock Fest

November (with Europe)
17 - Birmingham, England - Birmingham Arena
18 - Manchester, England - Manchester Arena
20 - Cardiff, Wales - Cardiff Arena
22 - Glasgow, Scotland - SSE Hydro
23 - London, England - 02 Arena

Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick has experienced a true holiday miracle, in the form of having his stolen guitars recovered, courtesy of the staff at Sam Ash in New York City; an unexpected turn of events which he is beyond grateful for.

Frankie Deleon Jr. has chronicled this for the Sam Ash Spotlight; an excerpt follows:

Late November 2016 - flagship Sam Ash NYC location on 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan. A customer came in looking to sell a number of vintage guitars. Unfortunately for the customer, our associate Jeremy conducted a meticulous inspection of the instruments and asked all the important questions. When something didn’t sound right, Jeremy took a deeper look at the instruments. The customer was trying to sell a rare Heritage Signature Guitar. After some deliberation Jeremy, a big Alex Skolnick fan, realized he had seen these guitars before. He then went to Alex Skolnick’s website, and sure enough there was the exact guitar Jeremy was looking at.

With the customer gone, Jeremy got Sam Ash manager Ian Goldrich involved. Ian decided to contact the management for Alex Skolnick. Next thing he knew, a reply was waiting in his inbox from Skolnick himself.

“I recently changed storage units – these and more than a dozen other instruments were moved from one location to another. Indeed I might not have noticed for another year or so, as I’m on tour often and there are long gaps between my going through all the instruments I’m not using. Since there are several other cases that match these two, it’s an easy target.” Skolnick wrote.

It turns out that Alex had been present when a third party company was helping to transport his possessions to the new storage unit, and he thought something just was off during the experience. Once a police report was filed, the guilty seller was promptly arrested on site when he came back to sell even more stolen guitars. In the end, Alex got back four of his prized guitars.

To read more, and view photos, visit this location.

 

 

"The rock ’n’ roll machine rolls on and on! And we’re having the greatest time here in Europe," says The Dead Daisies. "Loads of the shows are sold-out, and you guys are coming out to the signings in force! Wanna join the fun? Brace yourself and watch the video, covering Vosselaar, Pratteln, Milan, Munich, Planet Rockstock and Hamburg."

The Dead Daisies’ Make Some Noise lands at #18 on BraveWords’ BravePicks 2016. Check out the feature at this location.

Catch The Dead Daisies live on tour:

December
16 - New Age - Treviso, Italy
17 - Container - Grottammare, Italy
19 - Szene - Wien, Austria
20 - Bluesiana - Velden, Austria

Hells Headbangers has announced the signing of Skelethal for the band's debut album, whose title will soon be revealed.

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

Skelethal are now about to reveal their first full-length, set for release in 2017 via Hells Headbangers. The duo's aim is plainly stated - absolute death worship - and once again, they will wield the metal of death like a scythe, an axe, and blunt hammer simultaneously, all in obeisance to occult forces beyond the mien of man. Being diehard death metal addicts themselves, Hells Headbangers couldn't be more pleased to have Skelethal among its roster, and are anxiously anticipating the next manifestation of the band's rumbling, roiling tank-tread of a sound. 

A statement from the band reads: "It’s with substantial pleasure that Skelethal announces the signing with Hells Headbangers for the release of ourfirst full-length album. A blast of nine morbid songs written and played with devotion to cosmic horrors and inspired by pioneers death metal acts - expect raw and filthy tunes ordered from beyond and hammered without mercy. More info to come in early 2017."

 

8-bit video game-inspired Swedish metal group, Machinae Supremacy, will release their brand new album, Into The Night World, tomorrow (December 16th) via their own Hubnester Records and BD Pop. A full album stream can be found below.

Vocalist Robert Stjärnström states about the album: “Into The Night World is in some ways more simplistic than our last album, but somehow it manages to be both more playful and more sophisticated. There is still a story, but all of that is encapsulated in pure, straight-forward songs, each with its own separate, parallel meaning and purpose.”

Pre-orders for Into The Night World are now available via iTunes.

Tracklisting:

“My Dragons Will Decimate”
“Into The Night World”
“Twe27ySeven”
“Remember Me”
“Space Boat”
“Stars Had To Die So That You Could Live”
“Beast Engine”
“Dream Sequence”
“Sid Metal Legacy”
“The Last March Of The Undead”

Album stream:

“My Dragons Will Decimate” guitar playthrough video:

Following the release of their album, Machinae Supremacy will embark on their very first US tour. Beginning at MAGFest in Washington, DC on January 7th, the band will be joined by Urizen and Danimal Cannon for several dates hitting eastern and central portions of the country through January 21st. Psychostick and Knight Of The Round will join select dates.

Confirmed dates:

January
7 - Washington, DC - MAGFest*
9 - Brooklyn, NY - Saint Vitus Bar*
10 - Pittsburgh, PA - Cattivo*
11 - Warren, MI - The Ritz*
12 - Crest Hill, IL - Bada Brew* (with Psychostick)
13 - Valparaiso, IN - Big Shots* (with Psychostick)
14 - Dayton, OH - Rockstar Pro Arena*
16 - Clarksville, TN - The Warehouse
17 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
18 - Jefferson, LA - Southport Hall
19 - Houston, TX - BFE Rock Club
20 - Austin, TX - Grizzly Hall
21 - Dallas, TX - Trees

* with Knight Of The Round

For more on Machinae Supremacy, follow them on Facebook, or check them out on YouTube.

Brooklyn's Candiria have released their new video for "Wandering Light", a track off their new record, While They Were Sleeping, a concept album conceived by the band's lead vocalist Carley Coma that tells the tale of a failed musician who rises up against a monarchy in New York City.

John LaMacchia (guitar) comments: "'Wandering Light' is one of my favourite songs off of the new album so I am very happy it was included in the live, Spaceman Sound Studio sessions. This version of the song includes an additional musical section that I feel adds another layer of excitement to the performance."

Fresh off a successful North America headline tour in support of the album, Candiria will head back out on the road again this upcoming January/February.

"Candiria is extremely excited to get back on the road for the upcoming regional dates that we have scheduled," asserts John LaMacchia . "The band has been getting acquainted with both new and old material that we are looking forward to incorporating in our live set."

Tour dates:

January
19 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
20 - Trenton, NJ - Backstage at Championship
21 - Amityville, NY - Amityville Music Hall
22 - Boston, MA - Great Scott

February
2 - Santa Cruz, CA - Catylyst Atrium
3 - Sacramento, CA - Blue Lamp
4 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom Of The Hill
5 - Los Angeles, CA - Complex
16 - Pittsburgh, PA - Smalls (supporting ZAO)

Buenos Aires, Argentina-based heavy metal band, Feanor, are streaming their new album, We Are Heavy Metal, in full. The album is out now via Massacre Records. We Are Heavy Metal is the first record in the band's history that's sung entirely in English. Listen below.

Tracklisting:

“We Are Heavy Metal”
“Ëol The Dark”
“Ëarendil The Sailor”
“The Discipline Of Steel”
“Water Gardens”
“Dagor Nuin Giliath”
“White And Blue”
“Crying Games”
“The Visitors”
“In The Darkness”
“The Scribe”
“The Epic Of Gilgamesh Pt.1 (The Quest For Glory)”

Album stream:

“We Are Heavy Metal” video:

Band lineup:
 
Sven D'Anna - Vocals
Walter "The Scorpion" Hernández - Electric/Spanish Guitars
Gustavo Feanor Acosta - Bass, Piano, Keyboard, Percussion & Harp
Frank Gilchriest - Drums & Percussion

Faithsedge have released a video for the track “Jennifer”, featured on their new album, Restoration. The new clip can be found below.

Fronted by mastermind singer/songwriter Giancarlo Floridia, the band returns with a stellar lineup featuring Stryper bass player Tim Gaines, Ace Frehley / Mr. Big drummer Matt Starr and former Dokken guitarist Alex De Rosso. Both keys and production were handled by Alessandro Del Vecchio (Hardline, Revolution Saints).

Says Giancarlo: “I’m happy with Restoration being our most well received album and I’m glad it still keeps pushing forward months after it’s release. “Jennifer” is an important song to me and I’m glad that it’s getting to see the light of day as another single/video for the album. I hope you all enjoy it too!”

Faithsedge will also be joining the Blastzone Entertainment roster for a special vinyl record pressing of Restoration to be released next year. Pre-orders are now being taken at this location.

Tracklisting:

“Never A Day”
“Jennifer”
“You Cannot Give Up”
“Faith And Chris”
“Her Way Back”
“Regret At All”
“This War”
“Taking Our Lives”
“Let You Breathe”
“This Is Everything”

“Jennifer” video:

“Faith And Chris” video:

“Never A Day” lyric video:

If you are one of the many music enthusiasts looking forward to a huge wave of politically-charged, post-election punk, hardcore and metal, All Hail The Yeti just met your needs. The band leads the charge with their official call for change with the new track "Feed The Pigs" - a self-described "wake up call" for our generation to take action in society. Along with the track, the band reveals a new music video. Check out the video below, and read a brief Q&A with vocalist Connor Garritty at Huffington Post.

"Writing "Feed The Pigs" came very naturally for us; one of the least stressful, yet one of the most important songs we have ever written," Garritty details to Huffington Post. "We have always been very conscious of the world around us, especially the environment. With everything that is going on around us right now, I felt that this song needed to be heard... so inspiration wouldn't be the word - it is more of a wake-up call! Our society needs to clue in to what is going on! Change has to start right now!"

All Hail The Yeti are constantly writing and creating new material. Stay tuned for more coming from the band soon.

Italy’s Hour Of Penance will release their seventh full length album, Cast The First Stone, via Prosthetic Records on January 27th. The new single, “The Chains Of Misdeed”, is streaming below.

The follow-up to 2014's Regicide, Cast The First Stone was recorded at Kick Recording Studio by bassist, Marco Mastrobuono. Artwork for the album, as seen below, was completed by Gyula Havancsak.

Giulio Moschini, lead guitarist and songwriter goes into more detail on the album, "Sonically speaking, this is the best sounding album we've ever recorded. We really worked hard on this, listening to the album countless times before finally delivering the masters to Prosthetic Records. It was definitely worth the wait and we're 100% satisfied by the great work Marco has done behind the mixing desk. We've literally spent weeks trying different mic techniques, hardware and preamps;  all trying to avoid plug-in technologies as much as we could. We wanted our album to sound more dynamic and I think that we've achieved that 100%."

Regarding the concept of the album, vocalist Paolo Pieri says it revolves around the idea that the injustices suffered during the Crusades and Colonialism do not justify the chain of hate that propagandizes the destruction of the West. Pieri expands on this, “I believe that the political situation in recent years has brought to light again a millennial conflict between West and East. Events like the terrorist attack at the Bataclan, where we only played a few months before the massacre, have influenced the lyrics on this record very much. It does not matter who has thrown the first stone, but who first evolved his ideology to seek peace and coexistence instead of war to the bitter end."

Cast The First Stone tracklisting:

“XXI Century Imperial Crusade”
“Cast The First Stone”
“Burning Bright”
“Iron Fist”
“The Chains Of Misdeed”
“Horn Of Flies”
“Shroud Of Ashes”
“Wall Of Cohorts”
“Damnatio Memoriae”

“The Chains Of Misdeed”:

“XXI Century Imperial Crusade”:

Hour Of Penance is:

Giulio Moschini - Guitars
Paolo Pieri - Vocals / Guitars
Marco Mastrobuono - Bass
Davide Billia – Drums

(Photo - Carina Martins | Photography)

DARKEST HOUR, the Washington, D.C. metalcore pioneers, will release their ninth full-length album, "Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora", on March 10 via Southern Lord Recordings. The 12-song effort was part of a crowdfunding campaign that the band launched earlier this year, with the ultimate tally netting the band well over 100% of the initial goal and allowing them to also create an album beyond their initial expectations. The band chose producer Kurt Ballou (HIGH ON FIRE, NAILS, CONVERGE) for "his obvious genius" (as guitar player Mike Schleibaum said) and recorded the release at Ballou's Godcity Studio. Artist Shaun Beaudry was commissioned to create a custom painting, giving the album a unique visual identity.

"Working at Godcity was the perfect vibe for this record and Kurt was everything we could have asked for in a producer," said Schleibaum. "The passion and experience he brought to the whole album really shows."

DARKEST HOUR has since partnered with Southern Lord Recordings, which Schleibaum discussed, saying: "The band has a long history of working with Greg and Southern Lord, who originally released the vinyl version of 'The Mark Of Judas'. While working with Kurt, we became reacquainted with Greg. We've always respected Greg's work ethic, creative prowess and steadfast dedication to quality."

"Southern Lord is beyond stoked to be working with longtime favorites DARKEST HOUR on their upcoming album! Their tasteful, seamless fusion of hardcore and metal as well as never ending dedication to underground music is both admirable and praiseworthy," said Southern Lord founder Greg Anderson.

"Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora" track listing:

01. Knife In The Safe Room02. This Is The Truth03. Timeless Numbers04. None Of This Is The Truth05. The Flesh & The Flowers Of Death06. Those Who Survived07. Another Headless Ruler Of The Used08. Widowed09. Enter Oblivion10. The Last Of The Monuments11. In The Name Of Us All12. Beneath It Sleeps

DARKEST HOUR is John Henry (vocals), Mike Schleibaum (guitar), Mike Carrigan (guitar), Travis Orbin (drums) and Aaron Deal (bass).

Corners Of Sanctuary has followed the recent release of their new holiday single, "That Feeling We Know”, with a music video. The clip was filmed entirely on location at Tuned Up Brewing Company's public taproom in Spring City, Pennsylvania.

Corners of Sanctuary guitarist Mick Michaels states: “It originally started out as a promo shoot for our holiday craft beer but turned into a full blown production. It's a fun, festive video and we had a great time filming it.”

Tuned Up Brewing Company is releasing a signature line of Corners of Sanctuary craft beer flavors and has kicked off the line with a seasonal brew called "Merry Metal Holiday Cheer", which can be seen throughout the video. The video also features brief cameos by two of the company's owners and master brewers, Jeremy Burke and Clint Tichnell.

"It's an awesome video," said Tichnell.

"I think people will love knowing a music video was filmed here on the premises," said Burke. "We've already had new customers to the taproom because they heard about COS filming here," he continued.

"You can't beat that kind of promotion," Tichnell added.

"That Feeling We Know" is also available as a free download until January 1st, exclusively at the band's website.

Following the Holidays, Corners Of Sanctuary will return to the studio to continue work on their new album, The Galloping Hordes, which is slated for release in 2017.

Las Vegas’ premiere metal band Sicocis have been making a name for themselves in their scene from winning the title of best local metal band from Vegas Rocks magazine and Battle Of The Bands to sharing the stage with the likes of Dark Tranquillity, Kamelot, Devin Townsend, Amaranthe, Tesseract, Kataklysm, Dragonforce, Unearth and many more. Recently the band has been gigging out regionally and recording a brand new full-length album, which will see release early next year.

Sicocis blends influences from the melodic death metal, epic power metal and dark, progressive scenes creating their own unique and modern sound. The group have partnered with label M-Theory Audio, also based in Las Vegas, to release Requiem Of The World. M-Theory Audio is the imprint of Marco Barbieri, former President of Century Media and Nuclear Blast Records, and current manager for bands like Flotsam And Jetsam, Warbringer and Exmortus.

"We are absolutely thrilled to announce our partnership with M-Theory Audio. We have known Marco for many years, and are very happy to be working with him as we share common goals and aspirations,” states singer/guitarist Ernie Rodrigues. “We are extremely excited to continue our path, and have M-Theory by our side. Sicocis is very proud to represent the finest!"

“A couple years back I was immediately struck by Sicocis as from the get-go they did everything right as they aggressively promoted their shows, performed very professionally for a local band, are super nice guys and most of all kicked-ass,” explains Marco Barbieri. “I’ve kept my eye on them and their development and was just floored when they played me their new album that I knew I had to bring my experience and connections so more people could be exposed to this band.”

 “We want to achieve an overall sound and feel for Sicocis that is a limitless source of emotions within the music. We want listeners to escape their realities and lose themselves in the stories and tone of each song,” explains guitarist Rafael Ortega. “The music is dark and heavy and bit progressive, but also incorporates that dynamic, almost cinematic, sound that can be fast-paced and extreme.”

Look for more details soon about Sicocis and the release date for Requiem Of The World. Go to the band's official Facebook page here.

Check out the video for Sicocis "We Shall Rise" below.

Finland’s Shiraz Lane have released a lyric video for “M.L.N.W. - Kill Me (With Your Love)”, the bonus track included on the digital version of the band’s debut album, For Crying Out Loud, released back in April. Watch the new clip below.

For Crying Out Loud tracklisting:

“Wake Up”
“Momma's Boy”
“House Of Cards”
“Begging For Mercy”
“Same Ol' Blues”
“Mental Slavery”
“Behind The 8-Ball”
“For Crying Out Loud”
“Bleeding”
“M.L.N.W. - Kill Me (With Your Love)” (Bonus track digital version)

“M.L.N.W. - Kill Me (With Your Love)” lyric video:

“Momma's Boy” video:

“For Crying Out Loud” video:

“House Of Cards”:

“Same Ol’ Blues”:

“Wake Up” video:

"Mental Slavery” video:

EPK (Electronic Press Kit):

Shiraz Lane is:

Hannes Kett - vocals
Jani Laine - solo guitar
Miki Kalske - rhythm guitar
Joel Alex - bass
Ana Willman - drums

Italy’s Lionville will release their third album, A World Of Fools on February 24th. A video for the album’s lead track, “I Will Wait”, can be found below.

Born as a project dedicated to pure AOR with a touch of Westcoast and melodic rock, Lionville draw musical inspiration from acts like Toto, Richard Marx, Giant, Bad English, Survivor Band, and Boulevard. The band was started by Stefano Lionetti, a songwriter, singer, and guitarist based in Genova, Italy and his brother Alessandro. After years of playing the local club circuit of Genova, Stefano formed Lionville with the encouragement and help of Pierpaolo “Zorro” Monti (Shining Line) and Alessandro Del Vecchio (Hardline, Revolution Saints, Ted Poley, etc.). With the involvement of singer Lars Säfsund (Work of Art), Lionville quickly took shape and became something very near and dear to everyone involved.

With two critically acclaimed releases - which came out in 2011 and 2012 - Lionville managed to find their place in the European melodic rock scene while also appearing at Firefest in Nottingham in 2012. With their combination of rockin’ AOR tunes and classic Westcoast AOR sounds, Lionville piqued the interest of Frontiers, who signed the band in early 2016.

“It’s a very important record for Lionville, since we are coming back after four years of silence,” says Stefano Lionetti. “I really wanted to make happy all the fans who waited so long for it. As a producer and songwriter I have done my best to create a high class record, but with the right variety. You will find classic melodic rock songs, a couple of ballads, songs in the style of the previous record and of course a lot of attention on the arrangements. I also wanted to have more of a band feel with this record and I am very proud of the final result.”

“These songs have been fun to sing and they’re really good,” adds Lars Safsund.

Recorded by a gifted cast of experienced studio cats and upcoming talents and produced by Stefano Lionetti, the new album, A World Of Fools finds a winning combination of very strong songwriting (courtesy also of Robert Sall, Alessandro Del Vecchio, Bruce Gaitsch, Soren Kronkvist, Gianluca Firmo, Thomas Vikstrom, and Ida West) and stellar musical performances, crowned by impressive lead vocals and an album mix that gives space to all the significant little details.

The Lionville team has high hopes that people will embrace their vision of a reinvigorated musical genre and everyone is looking forward to continuing the Lionville story with another awesome contribution to melodic rock music.

Tracklisting:

“I Will Wait”
“Show Me The Love”
“Bring Me Back Our Love”
“Heaven Is Right Here”
“A World Of Fools”
“One More Night”
“All I Want”
“Living On The Edge”
“Our Good Goodbye”
“Paradise”
“Image Of Your Soul”

“I Will Wait” video:

EPK:

Lionville:

Stefano Lionetti: Guitars, Vocals, Keyboards
Lars Säfsund: Lead & Backing vocals
Michele Cusato: Guitars
Giulio Dagnino: Bass
Martino Malacrida: Drums

Japanese pop-metal sensation BABYMETAL joined RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS on stage Wednesday night (December 14) at the Arena in Manchester, England for a performance of "Nobody Weird Like Me" from the former band's 1989 album "Mother's Milk". Check out fan-filmed video footage of the performance below.

BABYMETAL just completed a seven-date U.K. tour as the support act for RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS. The J-pop teen metallers have taken the world by storm since their formation in 2010. Their latest album, "Metal Resistance", peaked at number fifteen on the U.K. album chart, the highest position reached by a Japanese band.

BABYMETAL released a new 13-track live album, "Live At Wembley", on December 9 via earMUSIC/Edel. A digital version will be made available on December 30. With a carefully selected track listing, the CD captures the spectacular performance recorded at BABYMETAL's first-ever U.K. arena show, "Babymetal World Tour 2016 Kicks Off At The SSE Arena, Wembley", which took place in London on April 2. The show saw BABYMETAL become the first Japanese artist in history to perform a headline show at The SSE Arena, Wembley. This concert garnered an attendance of 12,000 people, where BABYMETAL also broke the merchandise sales record of the venue, creating history once again.

The breakout all-girl-fronted Japanese heavy metal/teen-pop hybrid group features 18-year-old Su-Metal and 17-year-olds Yuimetal and Moametal, backed by a four-piece band, BABYMETAL made its U.S. late-night TV debut on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" in April, performing "Gimme Chocolate" off their debut album.

Rock 'n' Roll fans looking to turn up the holiday cheer this season, look no further. Today the internationally renowned glam rock band STEEL PANTHER debuted their sing-a-long music video for "Anything Goes", the latest single off their upcoming album, "Lower The Bar". In "Anything Goes", fanthers can sing along in a spectacular psychedelic fashion with on screen lyrics about Charlie Sheen, unicorns and hand grenades. It's the music video all your friends will be talking about at this year's holiday party. As an extra holiday bonus, fans who preorder "Lower The Bar" on iTunes will instantly get access to download "Anything Goes" and "She's Tight", the first single from "Lower The Bar". "Anything Goes" is now streaming on Spotify and Apple Music. An Australian limited-edition album is to be released featuring two extra tracks and can be pre-order at JB Hi-Fi Online. Fanthers can also preorder special packages of "Lower The Bar" at PledgeMusic or SteelPantherRocks.com.

In less impressive news, fanthers will now need to wait another month to get their hands on "Lower The Bar", as the band announced today that drummer Stix Zadinia recently checked out of rehab after battling alcohol addiction. "After months of touring the world, my taste for whiskey and chipotle finally got the better of me and my stomach," said Stix. "I'd like to apologize to my friends, family, and especially Satchel, whose bottom bunk on the tour bus was on the receiving end of my many blacked out bouts of explosive diarrhea. Now that I've had time to clear my mind, and my intestines, I can get back to doing lines with all of you on the upcoming 2017 Girls In A Row Tour," he proclaimed. Now set for release on March 24, 2017, "Lower The Bar" is STEEL PANTHER's fourth studio album and is the follow-up to their 2014 chart topper "All You Can Eat", which debuted at #1 on Billboard's Top Current Comedy chart and #24 on The Billboard 200 chart. Earlier this year, STEEL PANTHER premiered "Live From Lexxi's Mom's Garage", the band's first full-length film/DVD featuring a live ten-song acoustic concert interspersed with comedic vignettes. STEEL PANTHER recently completed a European headlining run, with dates in Austria, Italy, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands and the U.K. (Wembley Arena) and is now on a U.S. national tour.

Guitar virtuoso and rock legend, Steve Hackett (formerly of Genesis), releases his latest album, The Night Siren, on Friday, March 24th via InsideOut Music (Sony). As implied in the title, The Night Siren is a wake-up call… the warning of a siren sounding in this era of strife and division.

The Night Siren showcases Steve’s incredible guitar as strongly as ever, along with musicians from several different countries, who Steve invited to join him in celebrating multicultural diversity and unity. This includes singers from Israel and Palestine, who both actively campaign to bring Jewish and Arabic people together. There are also instrumentals from the USA and Iraq, and a multiplicity of sounds, including the exotic strains of Indian sitar and Middle Eastern tar and oud, the ethnic beauty of the Peruvian charango, and the haunting Celtic Uilleann pipes.

Steve is widely travelled, making friends everywhere he goes, and has always embraced multicultural diversity. In these times of unrest, he has been inspired to express his belief that the world needs more empathy and unity. His wish to involve a range of musical sounds, instruments, musicians and singers from different parts of the world is both a development of his eclectic approach to music and shows how people can be brought together, even from war-torn regions.

Talking about his latest work, Steve says, “This latest waxing represents a bird’s eye view of the world of a musical migrant ignoring borders and celebrating our common ancestry with a unity of spirit, featuring musicians, singers and instruments from all over the world. From territorial frontiers to walled-up gateways, boundaries often hold back the tide. But while the night siren wails, music breaches all defences. To quote Plato, ‘When the music changes, the walls of the city shake’.”

The musical journey takes us from ‘Behind the Smoke’, focusing on the plight of refugees throughout the ages, to the penultimate track ‘West to East’ which reflects on the damage of war and the hope for a better world. From personal to universal, the themes celebrate the life force, breaking free from chains of repression.

Tracklisting:

“Behind The Smoke”
“Martian Sea”
“Fifty Miles From The North Pole”
“El Niño”
“Other Side Of The Wall”
“Anything But Love”
“Inca Terra”
“In Another Life”
“In The Skeleton Gallery”
“West To East”
“The Gift”

In addition to singers Kobi and Mira (Israeli and Palestinian), also featured on the album are Nick D'Virgilio (drums) from the USA, Malik Mansurov (Tar) from Azerbaijan & Gulli Breim (drums and percussion) from Iceland, along with regular Hackett collaborators: Roger King, Nad Sylvan, Gary O'Toole, Rob Townsend and Amanda Lehmann. Additional musicians who add to the rich flavour of the album are Christine Townsend (violin and viola), Dick Driver (double bass) and Troy Donockley (Celtic Uilleann).

The Night Siren will be released through Inside Out Music on Friday, March 24th in the following formats:

* Special Edition CD/Blu-Ray Digipak featuring 5.1 surround sound mix & "Making of...” feature
* Standard Jewel case CD
* Digital Download

Steve Hackett is returning with an exciting new show, Genesis Revisited with Classic Hackett, for a 13-date North American tour in February and March 2017.
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the classic Genesis album, Wind And Wuthering, Steve and his band will be performing several tracks from the album as well as fan favourites such as “The Musical Box” and other Genesis numbers never performed before by Steve's band including “Inside & Out”, “One For The Vine” and “Anyway” as well as material from The Night Siren.

Confirmed tour dates are as follows:

February
14 - City Winery - Nashville, TN
15 - City Winery - Nashville, TN
17 - Victoria Theater - Newark, NJ
18 - State Theatre - Ithaca, NY
22 - Ridgefield Playhouse - Ridgefield, CT
23 - NYCB - Westbury, NY
24 - Santander PAC - Reading, PA,
25 - Playstation Theater - New York, NY
26 - Wilbur Theatre - Boston, MA
28 - 20 Monroe Live - Grand Rapids, MI

March
1 - Royal Oak Music Theatre - Royal Oak, MI
2 - The Oakville Centre - Oakville, ON
3 - Kleinhans Music Hall - Buffalo, NY

(Photo - Tina Korhonen)

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based classic heavy metal band, Aftershok, have released a lyric video for “The World United”, a track from their third full-length studio album, Detonate, out now via Auburn Records. The new clip can be found below.

The album was recorded by Jim Dofka at JK Musicians Workshop in Washington, PA. Mastering was handled by veteran mastering engineer Maor Appelbaum, who has worked with artists such as Halford, Sepultura, Anvil, Dokken, Faith No More and Armored Saint, to name a few. Cover art and layout design was done by Alex Yarborough. Detonate is distributed in North America by Hells Headbangers, Big Cartel, Amazon, CD Baby and iTunes.

For this release, guitarist George Mihalovich and drummer George Borden joined forces with new vocalist Gord Sheffroth from New Brunswick, Canada to create 13 tracks of modern classic metal. Sheffroth replaces vocalist Vic Hix (Shok Paris) who appeared on the band's first two albums, Unfinished Business (2002) and Burning Chrome (2005).

Detonate tracklisting:

"Prelude To Fear"
"Enter The Dark"
"Hang ‘Em High"
"The World United"
"Forever In Metal"
"When The Shadows Fall"
"Friend Or Foe"
"In The Eye Of The Storm"
"The Hunger"
"Ready To Rock"
"Under The Gun"
"Rise"
"Cities On Fire"

"The World United" lyric video:

"Friend Or Foe”:

"Hang 'Em High”:

Aftershok is:

George Mihalovich - Guitar
Gord Sheffroth - Vocals
George Borden - Drums

Former PANTERA frontman Philip Anselmo has blasted MACHINE HEAD's Robb Flynn and ANTHRAX's Scott Ian for suggesting he was racist after a video surfaced of him earlier in the year giving the right-arm salute and yelling a white-supremacist slogan at a California concert.

Anselmo performed the PANTERA classic "Walk" at the January 22 "Dimebash" event at the Lucky Strike Live in Hollywood in honor of late PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. As he left the stage, he made a Nazi-style salute. He appeared to say "white power" as he made the gesture, but later claimed he was joking about drinking white wine backstage and was reacting to the audience members up front who he says were taunting him.

During an appearance earlier today (Thursday, December 15) on Eddie Trunk's SiriusXM show "Trunk Nation", Anselmo said about what transpired that night (see video below): "As far as I understood, this was a gig for my murdered guitar player, and from the second I stepped out on the stage 'till the very end, and you can watch the YouTube footage for yourself, me growing more and more — drunkenly I may, but that's neither here nor there — aggravated by these… just two or three hecklers."

He continued: "When people start screaming 'racist' over and over and over and over again at me, what I did was show them exactly what the ugliest possible thing I could think of at the time was. [They were yelling at me] constantly through the entire [event]. They were looking for what they got, and sadly enough, I gave it to 'em. But the thing is, I've always engaged my audience — always — and that was part of the charm of every band I've ever been in and the type of frontman that I am. And there's one point in that video that I invited them to come up on the stage and I dared them to call me that to my face and I'd break their jaws. So at the end of the show, when I knew everybody was getting cleared out and whatnot, I lost my shit, so to speak, I did what I did, and, of course, I could have just walked away, and professionally walked away."

Anselmo then called out Flynn and Ian for their criticism of his actions at "Dimebash", accusing the MACHINE HEAD frontman of wanting to "ride the coattails" and the ANTHRAX guitarist of blatant hypocrisy.

Flynn — who played PANTERA songs with Anselmo at "Dimebash" — released an eleven-minute response video in which he denounced Anselmo as a "big bully" and a racist. He concluded by saying that he would never play another PANTERA song again. Ian, who is Jewish, released a statement on his official web site saying, "Philip's actions were vile" and invited Anselmo to make a donation to the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

Anselmo told Trunk earlier today: "These so-called peers — those are your words — who gave me backlash need to take a good, cold stare in the mirror themselves. And anyone else who throws that word 'racism' or 'racist' around so freely, they need to understand the implications of said word. That's a heavy-duty implication when you don't know jack shit about me except for what you've seen on what? In live performances, music videos, interviews… whatever. And taken out of this whole thing is my dark sense of humor, which at the time, I was half angry, half joking, because, funny enough, just before the gig started, Doug Pinnick from KING'S X, a gay, black man, came to say hello to me. I kissed him on the lips because I'm comfortable as hell with my sexuality, and I don't care what people think about me sexually. And then he said, 'Man, you taste good,' and it was the white wine. I said, 'It must be that white power, hahaha.' Yes, so that was a joke there. And then some of my musical peers — your words — took that, and, by the way, the main culprit [Editor's note: referring to Flynn] wasn't even privy to the room [in the backstage area] that I was in."

He continued: "Everybody in my camp and everybody around us, anybody who's ever watched Robert [Flynn] over the years knows that he watches me, and watches me, and watches me, and sits in the corner, and watches me, and then when we get on stage together… You know what? It all comes down to, and straight up, he wants to ride the coattails, Jack — he wants to ride the coattails. He started off a song, and I told him to stop. I hadn't even announced the song, so he took that as a slight. He started a song without me announcing the goddamn song, and I said something like, 'You don't know me,' which is, once again, my sense of humor, and I know it hurt his little… his ego or whatever, which, you know, sorry for you, brother, but I'm not sorry. So he made an eleven-minute video, and some dude who knows nothing about me except PANTERA and this and that. I'm a believer in freedom of speech whether you're joking around or not — whatever."

Anselmo added: "This whole I'm-a-racist thing is infuriating, because it's false — absolutely false. And I'd like to turn around and say, hey, what have you done to better your community, Robert? If you're gonna call me out on this supposed heinous act, what have you done? What have you done? I know what I've done. I know what I've done for the inner-city kids in Detroit when the Kronk boxing gym was getting closed down, I forked over thousands of dollars that I most certainly did not have to make sure those kids got fed, clothed and had a place to sleep, because it was run by the last father figure I had in my goddamn life, a black man named Emanuel Steward, rest in peace, who used to call me before every fight that he would call on HBO, and say, 'Whatcha think, Phil?' And he would ask me my opinion of what I thought the outcome would be."

As for Ian, Anselmo said: "The day after it happened, [Scott] goes, 'Phil…' He wrote me some e-mail, 'What I saw was ugly,' and this, that and the other. So says the guy who writes a record [in 1985] called 'Speak English Or Die' [as a member of STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH]. And if that record would have come out this year, last year, fucking forget it. You think he'd get pounced on? You're damn right he would, and he knows it. 'And if you're really sorry, donate to this Nazi hunter Jewish cause' or whatever,' I did it in an hour. Did you ever hear about that story? Of course you didn't. You know why? It doesn't make good headlines. I donated that hour, if not that goddamn second."

This was not the first time Anselmo made comments from the stage that were perceived as racist. At a March 1995 PANTERA concert at Montreal's Verdun Auditorium, Anselmo babbled forth in a stream-of-consciousness rant, uttering statements that included "rap music advocates the killing of white people." The Montreal Gazette reported on the incident, causing an international flurry and resulting in Anselmo releasing an open apology.

"People say I have a history [of racism]," Anselmo told Trunk. "Okay, you go back in the day when I was in my 20s, and there was a shirt circulating around that said 'Stop Black-On-Black Crime,' I took offense to it — a twenty-something-year-old Philip Anselmo took offense to it, because it was this exclusive thing in my brain. And, to me, it felt like, 'Stop black-on-black crime? Why not just have a shirt that says, 'Stop crime'?' Now, here I am, almost fifty years old, and I can agree with that shirt wholeheartedly, and now I see where it's coming from; I get it. Did I misspeak at the time? Coming from the upbringing that I had, I'm not so sure. I don't know. But I most certainly did not mean to be racist. Calling out bullshit on crime is not racist."

He continued: "It's the motherfuckers out there, straight up, that view through that lens… If they're looking for something racist in anything, chances are if you're looking through that particular broken lens, you're gonna find it."

Asked if he thought the the controversy surrounding the "Dimebash" incident has subsided now that he has given several interviews where the subject has come up, Anselmo said: "I don't pay attention so much to the music press. I think the best part of me hopes and knows in my heart that most people are logical thinkers. From what I've seen, and especially from going out and doing horror conventions all around the country, I've gotten nothing but love, nothing but love. And it's from all kinds of people, not just one type of person, not just one color of person. Love from all sides of the spectrum — male, female, whatever, gay, straight, bi, black, brown, yellow, etcetera — nothing but love. So, to me, that shows me that, well, yes, there's logical thinkers out there. Let's just hope this think called logic can possibly spread as quickly as the germ of negativity, and that lens of preconceived bias that people want so much — they want it so badly… Why they want it? I don't know. You know why? Because I know human nature. It's so much easier to hate than to put the fucking effort into love."



Eddie Trunk interviews Phil Anselmo
Eddie Trunk sits down with lead singer of Pantera and Superjoint, Phil Anselmo

Posted by SiriusXM VOLUME on Thursday, December 15, 2016

Gitarre & Bass conducted an interview with SLAYER guitarist Kerry King when the band played at the Rock Im Revier festival in Dortmund, Germany earlier in the year. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked if it's "tougher" for a band like SLAYER to play for a festival audience that is composed of some non-metal fans, Kerry said: "I don't think so, especially in Europe. I mean, we've played on shows with bands I don't even know of, and I mention it to my wife, and she's, like, 'Oh my God! You're playing with that band!' And I have no idea who they are. But that's really traditional in Europe. I mean, of course, there's metal festivals, like [With] Full Force, Wacken [Open Air] and Bloodstock, Hellfest , that are just metal, but a lot of the festivals over here, it's a big mixture."

Regarding whether SLAYER changes its setlist based on the type of festival it plays, King said: "Probably. I would say no, but this is our first show, so I'm not really in the swing of what we're gonna do this summer. But it's got a lot to do with a lot of things on a festival. Because, like here, my crew didn't even get a line check today — they showed up, plugged the rig in, it worked, that was it. So today I didn't have any clean-guitar songs in the set — I took them all out — just because we may not have time to test things properly. And I'd hate to be up there in the middle of a song and the clean [guitar] just doesn't work. So, yeah, I think about that stuff, so I took all that stuff out today. Today we're playing an hour, so we're playing, like, thirteen songs."

He continued: "You know, we're on a new record, and you try to get the new material in, but we've got a thirty-five-year career, so we've gotta get some other stuff in there. It gets more hard every time we do a record, obviously, because there's things you wanna play and there's things you just don't have time to."

SLAYER's seven-week North American tour with ANTHRAX and DEATH ANGEL kicked off in Cleveland on September 9.

SLAYER's latest album, "Repentless", was released on September 11, 2015 via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2009's critically acclaimed, Grammy-nominated "World Painted Blood" was produced by Terry Date, who has previously worked with PANTERA, DEFTONES and SOUNDGARDEN. The artwork was created by Brazilian artist Marcelo Vasco in collaboration with Tom Araya and Kerry King.

"Repentless" debuted at No. 4 on The Billboard 200, having shifted 50,000 equivalent album units in the week ending September 17, 2015.

SLAYER's seven-week North American tour with ANTHRAX and DEATH ANGEL kicked off in Cleveland on September 9 and hit both major and secondary markets across the continent.

Dimitri Scheblanov of Herring & Herring, one of the creative directors and photographers of METALLICA's "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct" album, has denied drawing influence from the cover of CROWBAR's 1998 classic "Odd Fellows Rest" for the design of METALLICA's disc.

While both covers feature four band dudes with their images superimposed into one hydra-like face, with the band dude on the left sticking out his tongue, Scheblanov said the similarity was "definitely not an intentional one." He told Decibel magazine: "I think while the look might be somewhat similar, I think the intention behind it was probably pretty different for us and also for Turner Duckworth, the design agency [who worked on the cover]. I guess I like the CROWBAR cover [laughs]; there's nothing wrong with it or anything. But, yeah, it was pretty shocking that there was such a similar-looking thing. But I had never heard of the band or the music so it was also interesting that it was another metal act."

He continued: "I'll tell you the funny thing: on Tuesday the record [cover] came out, then I guess that Friday or Saturday we went out to Minneapolis to see METALLICA play because they were projecting the photos up on the screen [at the concert]. So afterwards when we were at the afterparty with the band, we were talking with management and with some of the guys from the band and talking about all the different comments we'd gotten since the album art came out. Somebody brought up the CROWBAR thing. The funniest bit of it was everyone was like, 'Who the fuck is CROWBAR?' That made it feel a little bit better, because we were kind of shocked, but because other people within the community didn't really know about them either we felt it wasn't such a huge deal, that it wasn't a well-known enough thing to where most people would think that there was some kind of copycatting. So at first we were really shocked by it but then hearing that they were kind of a smaller act we definitely felt better about it since it'd be pretty bad if people felt we were trying to rip somebody off."

Asked what the chances were of both covers featuring the face on the left with its tongue sticking out, Scheblanov said: "That's the thing; it's pretty crazy. When we started working on the project and were making these covers in August-ish, there were actually about nine different combinations, there's the vinyl cover and the deluxe vinyl cover, there's a bunch of them. Originally there were nine, and the band just picked one out of those nine to be the actual cover, and that was the one. It's weird. It's definitely like, whoa. But it's one of these things where it's some kind of strange coincidence, or I don't know what to call it. I don't know how exactly it came to be that, like… yeah, I think the tongue thing is pretty interesting. But we gave 400 images in the end to Turner Duckworth and they were probably just going for the more interesting silhouettes."

CROWBAR's Kirk Windstein was one of the first ones to point out the similarities between the "Odd Fellows Rest" and "Hardwired…To Self-Destruct" covers, writing on his Facebook page: "In all fairness, after touring with the mighty METALLICA while in DOWN, I know the fellas know who CROWBAR is. However, I seriously doubt that any member of METALLICA stole this idea from us. Maybe the artist? Anyway you slice it... it's a cool cover idea!!! Now James and Lars, go listen to 'Odd Fellows Rest'!!! LOL"

The "Odd Fellows Rest" art direction was handled by John Buttino.

"Hardwired...To Self-Destruct" was released on November 18 via METALLICA's own Blackened Recordings.

EYEHATEGOD frontman Mike Williams has undergone successful liver-transplant surgery, less than a month after a crowdfunding effort raised nearly $70,000 for the operation.

Mike's wife, Michelle Maher-Williams, shared the good news via Facebook, saying that a donor match for her husband was found on Wednesday, with the actual surgery taking place just hours later.

She wrote late last night: "Everything went well. New liver is functioning and making bile. They're taking him to ICU now and I can see him in about an hour."

Mike was first told that his liver was failing in December 2014 while he was on tour with his CORRECTIONS HOUSE project. His health improved in the following twelve months, but he suffered setbacks in 2015 and earlier this year.

Williams's tales of drug abuse, excess and struggles with the authorities have been well publicized over the years. The longtime New Orleans resident was arrested after Hurricane Katrina for drug possession, detoxed from heroin in prison and lived for a short time on former PANTERA frontman Philip Anselmo's property. Williams, who worked as an associate editor for Metal Maniacs in the 1990s and has written for numerous underground music magazines, published his first book, "Cancer As A Social Activity: Affirmations Of World's End", in 2005.

Williams was forced to miss more than a dozen EYEHATEGOD shows this past summer and fall due to his health issues. He was temporarily replaced by Anselmo for two dates in August and LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe for eleven gigs in October.




This morning we got the call we'd been waiting for.....They found a donor match for Michael!!! After waiting all day to...

Posted by Michelle Maher-Williams on Wednesday, December 14, 2016



Surgeon just came out to talk to me - it's over! Everything went well. New liver is functioning and making bile. They're taking him to ICU now and I can see him in about an hour. ❤🙏🏻😘

Posted by Michelle Maher-Williams on Thursday, December 15, 2016

It's long been known that Christina Applegate went to the MTV Movie Awards with Brad Pitt in 1989 but left mid-date, ditching him for another man. And though she never officially revealed who it was, former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach says that he was, in fact, the dude in question.

During an appearance on "Elliot In The Morning" to promote his newly released autobiography, "18 And Life On Skid Row", Bach recalled the episode, telling host Elliot Segal: "Well, [what happened between me and Christina] was a brief fling, but we did go out a couple of times.

"She was interviewed recently on, like, 'Entertainment Tonight', or something, and they [asked], 'What was the dumbest thing you ever did?' And she goes, 'One night I ditched Brad Pitt for this other dude.' And that dude would be me. [Laughs] So there was a time on this earth when Sebastian Bach was, like, a hotter lay than Brad Pitt. Of course that's going in the book. [Laughs] I've gotta tell somebody that, Jesus! [Laughs]"

During a hilariously awkward appearance last year on "Watch What Happens Live", Applegate was forced to recall the decision to dump Pitt. She confirmed that the man she ditched Pitt for wasn't an actor, though he was well-known to the public. Applegate and the mystery man never ended up dating, and though she did see Pitt again, they never went on another date.

"18 And Life On Skid Row" came out on December 6 via Dey Street Books (formerly It Books), an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. In the book, Bach is brutally frank in his description of life on the road and exploits with METALLICA, Ozzy Osbourne and GUNS N' ROSES, among others.