METALLICA was the musical guest on last night's (Wednesday, December 14) episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" The band played six songs on the show's outdoor stage in front of a standing-room-only crowd: "Atlas, Rise!", "For Whom The Bell Tolls", "One", "Master Of Puppets", "Creeping Death" and "Enter Sandman". Check out video footage of the two televised tracks below.

In addition to performing on the show, the members of METALLICA took on a superfan in a quiz about the band, discussed their new album, "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct", and how their iconic band logo was created.

As previously reported, METALLICA will play a special intimate show next tonight (Thursday, December 15) at the Fonda Theater in Hollywood, California.

All proceeds from the sale of tickets to this show will be donated to Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. Fans are also encouraged to bring canned foods and non-perishable items to the show for donation as well. METALLICA just played a similar show in Toronto, with proceeds also going to a food bank in that city.

"Hardwired… To Self-Destruct" debuted as expected at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 album chart on November 27, selling 291,000 copies in its first week of release.

"King For A Day", the new video from Finnish heavy metallers BATTLE BEAST, can be seen below. The clip was directed by Markus Nieminen of Oy Routafilmi AB.

"King For A Day" is taken from BATTLE BEAST's fourth album, titled "Bringer Of Pain", which will be released on February 17, 2017 via Nuclear Blast Records. Recorded and produced at JKB Studios by keyboardist Janne Björkroth, the ten-track album was mixed by Björkroth alongside Viktor Gullichsen and Mikko Karmila, while mastering was done by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios. The cover artwork was crafted by Jan Yrlund.

BATTLE BEAST vocalist Noora Louhimo commented on the song: "I think 'King For A Day' represents the new BATTLE BEAST in the best way — more dramatic orchestration, catchy melodies and riffs, more party metal and, most of all, entertaining. You can check it out for yourself on the 'Bringer Of Pain' tour. Welcome to the biggest metal party of BATTLE BEAST!"

"Bringer Of Pain" track listing:

Digi / CD

01. Straight To The Heart02. Bringer Of Pain03. King For A Day04. Beyond The Burning Skies05. Familiar Hell06. Lost In Wars07. Bastard Son Of Odin08. We Will Fight09. Dancing With The Beast10. Far From Heaven

Bonus (digi only)

11. God Of War12. The Eclipse13. Rock Trash

2LP

Side A

01. Straight To The Heart02. Bringer Of Pain03. King For A Day04. Beyond The Burning Skies

Side B

01. Familiar Hell02. Lost In Wars03. Bastard Son Of Odin

Side C

01. We Will Fight02. Dancing With The Beast03. Far From Heaven

Side D (Bonus)

01. God Of War02. The Eclipse03. Rock Trash

"Bringer Of Pain" is BATTLE BEAST's first album to feature guitarist Joona Björkroth, who joined the band last year.

BATTLE BEAST in February 2015 parted ways with lead guitarist and main songwriter Anton Kabanen due to "insurmountable disagreements" with the other members of the band.

BATTLE BEAST's third studio album, "Unholy Savior", entered the Finnish chart at position No. 1. The CD was released in January 2015 via Nuclear Blast.

Louhimo joined BATTLE BEAST in 2012 as the replacement for Nitte Vänskä.

In an interview with RockRevoltMagazine.com, Noora stated about how she has been received by the old BATTLE BEAST fans: "At first, I was crucified, so to speak. On the other hand, some fans thought I was improvement for the band, but some didn't believe in me at all. It's been very growing experience and made me believe more in myself as a singer than ever before. If you can take bad comments as your fuel to practice more and develop yourself into better, then you are on the right path. Of course, you have to know when take the critic seriously and when it is just someone trying to hurt you. But I really want to thank people who've been supporting me since the beginning but also the people who didn't. What doesn't kill makes stronger and better."

Former MORBID ANGEL members David Vincent (vocals, bass) and Tim Yeung (drums) will join forces with guitarists Bill Hudson (CIRCLE II CIRCLE, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA) and Ira Black (METAL CHURCH, LIZZY BORDEN) to perform classic MORBID ANGEL songs under the I AM MORBID banner.

The new band, which will play material from MORBID ANGEL's "Altars Of Madness" (1989), "Blessed Are The Sick" (1991), "Covenant" (1993) and "Domination" (1995) albums, has scheduled two shows in Brazil next spring: March 24 in Belo Horizonte and March 25 in São Paulo. Additional dates will be announced soon.

Vincent issued a statement eighteen months ago confirming that he was no longer working with MORBID ANGEL guitarist Trey Azagthoth. He said: "Trey and I have accomplished amazing things together over the past 30 years and I wish him the best with his future projects. Out of respect for the legacy of these accomplishments, I encourage MORBID ANGEL fans to not take sides, because I am not." He added: "I look forward to sharing my new endeavors with all of you in the near future. Until then, stay Morbid!"

Yeung also confirmed his exit from MORBID ANGEL, explaining in a statement: "There have been some lineup changes with MORBID ANGEL. Unfortunately, due to financial differences, I will not be continuing with [the band]… I wish Trey and MORBID ANGEL all the best. As for myself, I'm always up for the next opportunity life throws my way."

Azagthoth announced on June 15, 2015 that MORBID ANGEL had reunited with vocalist/bassist Steve Tucker and that they were working on material for the band's next record, to be released via UDR Music.

MORBID ANGEL has yet to announce replacements for Yeung and Norwegian guitarist Destructhor (a.k.a. Thor Anders Myhren).

MORBID ANGEL's controversial 2011 album, "Illud Divinum Insanus", marked the group's first CD to feature Vincent since "Domination".

New York death metallers IMMOLATION will release their new album, "Atonement", on February 24 via Nuclear Blast. A 360-degree visualizer video for the first single from the effort, "Destructive Currents", can be seen below.

"Atonement" was recorded at Millbrook Sound Studios in Millbrook, New York with longtime producer Paul Orofino, and mixed and mastered once again by Zack Ohren (ALL SHALL PERISH, DECREPIT BIRTH, SUFFOCATION). Cover art was created by renowned artist Pär Olofsson (IMMORTAL, THE FACELESS, EXODUS, ABYSMAL DAWN), along with additional artwork by the very talented Zbigniew Bielak (GHOST, ENSLAVED, PARADISE LOST, WATAIN).

Comments IMMOLATION vocalist/bassist Ross Dolan: "We are excited that everyone will finally get a preview of what the new record has to offer.

"'Atonement' is a very dark and haunting album, both musically and lyrically, commenting on the darker side of humanity and the world today. Each song on this album is unique in its own way, offering the listener a wide range of dark and sinister passages that I think really hone in on all the elements that make this band what it is.

"The sound of this record is exactly what we were hoping for, and we feel the production really gives these songs that massive sound and dark sinister feel they needed. Zack and Paul really nailed it with this one and made our tenth album our best-sounding record to date. We are all very proud of what we have created here, and we hope everyone else will enjoy these eleven songs as much as we think they will.

"The song 'Atonement' is about that blind fury and destructivnes of religious extremism regardless of where it comes from and under what religious banner it flies. The cover piece was inspired by a passage of lyrics from this song, and Pär managed to create a visual for those four lines that just blew us away. So needless to say, we are very pleased with the overall look and feel of the album, which also includes four amazing pieces of artwork done by the extremely talented Zbigniew Bielak.

"We chose the song 'Destructive Currents' as the first song to leak to the fans because it's a fast and aggressive song that gets right down to business. It's just dark and powerful, and I think it gives everyone a sense of whats in store for them with this release. Lyrically, the song deals with the herd/mob mentality and how it gets fed, manipulated and exploited by outside forces. These are the currents of deception, misinformation and destruction, which are designed to mislead people. So that's really the idea behind the song lyrically."

Pre-order a physical copy of "Atonement" by itself or in various bundles from the Nuclear Blast webshop.

"Destructive Currents" is now available as an instant download when you pre-order "Atonement" from iTunes and Amazon.

"Atonement" track listing:

01. The Distorting Light 02. When The Jackals Come 03. Fostering The Divide 04. Rise The Heretics 05. Thrown To The Fire 06. Destructive Currents 07. Lower08. Atonement09. Above All10. The Power Of Gods 11. Epiphany

Bonus track (CD only):

12. Immolation (re-recorded)

IMMOLATION is:

Ross Dolan - bass/vocalsRobert Vigna - guitarSteve Shalaty - DrumsAlex Bouks - guitar

Le Chant Noir are streaming their first single, “Wormslayer”, taken from the upcoming debut album, Ars Arcanvm Vodvm, to be released in the first semester of 2017. Listen to the track below.

The band features Lord Kaiaphas (ex-Ancient, Thokkian Vortex), Malphas (Mysteriis) and Mantus (Patria, Mysteriis), also known as Marcelo Vasco in the world of graphic arts, who already worked for major bands like Slayer, Hatebreed, Kreator, Machine Head, Soulfly, Dark Funeral, and others.

Le Chant Noir walks under the experimental avantgarde music, mixing the oddest influences of metal, progressive, new wave and classical, allied to a retro ritualistic tone of horror.

Greek melodic metallers, InnerWish, performed their track “Rain Of A Thousand Years” in Athens, Greece on November 5th. Video can be seen below. The track is featured on the band’s new album, InnerWish, available via Ulterium Records.

The new album was mixed by Fredrik Nordström and Henrik Udd at Studio Fredman (In Flames, Dimmu Borgir, Hammerfall) and mastered by Peter In De Betou (Arch Enemy, Opeth, Amon Amarth). The artwork for the album was created by Felipe Machado Franco (Blind Guardian, Rhapsody Of Fire, Xandria) and the design was done by Jan Yrlund (Korpiklaani, Apocalyptica, Manowar).

Tracklisting:

“Roll The Dice”
“Broken”
“Modern Babylon”
“Machines Of Fear”
“Needles In My Mind”
“My World On Fire”
“Rain Of A Thousand Years”
“Serenity”
“Sins Of The Past”
“Through My Eyes”
“Zero Ground”
“Cross The Line”
“Tame The Seven Seas”

“Machines Of Fear” video:

“Modern Babylon” video:

Australian metal destroyers, Aversions Crown, will release their sophomore release, Xenocide, on January 20th via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. Today, the band has released the second trailer, in which vocalist Mark Poida and drummer Jayden Mason discuss the band's progression from previous release Tyrant, and the influences behind the forthcoming release, Xenocide: https://youtu.be/lWVIwBKKUzs

Jaden Mason comments on the band's progression: "It's way more sophisticated because we had a lot more ideas and less people involved. It was just a really tight-knit group of people - me, Mark [Poida] and Chris Cougan working on it... we already had the idea, Mark had the concept and we were like, this is what we like and this is what we're going to run with... let's just do it the way we want it."

The first trailer, in which vocalist Mark and Jayden give fans a first insight into the album's lyrics and title, is streaming below:

Xenocide was tracked by Adam Merker at Studio Anders Debeerz in Brisbane and mixed and mastered by Mark Lewis (Whitechapel, Devildriver) from Audio Hammer.

Fans can now pre-order the album with or without the limited Erebus / Parasites 7" from the Nuclear Blast web shop. Xenocide can also be pre-ordered digitally from iTunes, Amazon (widgets below) and Google Play. Pre-order the album digitally via iTunes or Amazon and receive the songs "Ophiophagy" and "Erebus" instantly.

Xenocide tracklisting:

“Void”
“Prismatic Abyss”
“The Soulless Acolyte”
“Hybridization”
“Erebus”
“Ophiophagy”
“The Oracles Of Existence”
“Cynical Entity”
“Stillborn Existence”
“Cycles Of Haruspex”
“Misery”
“Odium”

“Ophiophagy” lyric video:

The Erebus / Parasites 7" was limited to 1,000 copies and divided into 4 different colors; 250 each of Grey, Blue, Clear and Magenta. Check out the lyric videos for "Erebus" and "Parasites”:

 

 

 

 

"She Moves Me", a brand new song from JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE — which features ex-GREAT WHITE singer Jack Russell alongside former GREAT WHITE bassist-turned-guitarist Tony Montana (as a guitar player and keyboardist), Dan McNay (MONTROSE) on bass, Robby Lochner (FIGHT) on guitar and Dicki Fliszar (BRUCE DICKINSON) on drums — can be streamed below. The track is taken from JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE's debut album, "He Saw it Comin'" (originally titled "The Gauntlet"), which will be released on January 27, 2017 via Frontiers Music Srl.

Rather than look backwards and merely attempt to relive the multi-platinum hard rock entity's storied origins, Jack Russell set his sights on the future. In December 2011, JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE first bared its teeth. Robby Lochner has been with Jack since JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE's inception, and they soon welcomed longtime bassist and friend Tony Montana — this time as a guitar player and keyboardist. They then added drummer Dicki Fliszar, then bassist Dan McNay. This group has a sharp, soaring, eclectic, hook-laden new album ready, boasting the bluesy hard rock stomp that made Russell and Montana icons in the first place.

"It's a powerful band," Russell proclaims. "The music is dynamic and I've gone where I've never gone before. Lochner was a catalyst for moving forward. I wasn't sure how the writing would go at first but soon realized the chemistry is beyond words. He's my co-pilot and one of my best friends."

This past year the musicians hit the studio to cut their official full-length debut. It taps into the bluesy bombast and heavy energy of Russell's celebrated material, but it's a distinctly modern metallic monster.

"We want the new material to blow people's ears back," Russell goes on. "It has the elements of the best of GREAT WHITE, but there's diversity, vibe and an edge to it. It draws from our '60s and '70s roots in a more modern way."

Montana agrees. "It's got the classic sound," he says. "The first element is Jack's voice. No other band sounds like this one, ever did or does now. When I was 17 years old, I remember walking around the UCLA campus listening to the band's first EP. I was a fan before I ever joined the band. We're going to maintain that integrity moving forward."

"He Saw it Comin'" track listing:

01. Sign Of The Times02. She Moves Me03. Crazy04. Love Don't Live Here05. My Addiction06. Anything For You07. He Saw It Comin'08. Don't Let Me Go09. Spy Vs Spy10. Blame It On The Night11. Godspeed

"For me this is so much more than a collection of songs, it is the culmination of a lifetime of living," said Jack. "It is about addictions, love, pain and many facets of the human condition. I tend to write autobiographically and on this album I dealt with topics I've never explored."

Russell recently told disc jockey Eddie Winters about the songwriting process for "He Saw It Coming": "There wasn't any songs that were really a struggle to write. I write the music on some and I had the melody lines and some lyrics, and I showed it to Robby, and I don't play [guitar], so I've kind of gotta [hum the riffs or chord progressions], or whatever, and he's gotta figure out a chord from one note. So he just picked up on that right away, and it was amazing. 'Cause you write with somebody for thirty-some years and all of a sudden you write with somebody else, and you're, like, 'Okay. How's this gonna be? Is he gonna have a bunch of dumb ideas that I don't like? Or is he gonna think my ideas are crappy? Or are we just gonna hit it off. And I was really surprised when it was just… boom! We were thinking along the same lines. But Robby added a flavor to what I was doing guitar-wise and melody-wise. He's one of those music-theory guys, so we have a lot of moving harmonies and stuff we never had before."

About the song "Blame It On The Night", Russell said: "Most of the material I have written in my life has been autobiographical, [but] this song is one of the exceptions. The song was written for and about my wife's childhood. Because of the subject and the feelings I have for my wife, this was a very difficult song to sing. But I believe that the topic is an important one to bring into the light and out of the shadows."

JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE is not to be confused with the current touring and recording version of GREAT WHITE, which features Mark Kendall, Scott Snyder (bass), Audie Desbrow (drums), Michael Lardie (guitar, keyboards) and Terry Ilous (lead vocals).

The newly reunited RATT — featuring singer Stephen Pearcy, bassist Juan Croucier and guitarist Warren DeMartini — has begun "writing and recording song roughs" for a new studio album, according to a post on Pearcy's Facebook page. In addition, the band — which also includes former QUIET RIOT guitarist Carlos Cavazo, who played on RATT's last studio album, 2010's "Infestation" — will embark on the "Back For More" tour in 2017, with the first confirmed date being the previously announced appearance at next year's edition of the M3 Rock Festival, set to take place on Friday, April 28, 2017 and Saturday, April 29, 2017 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.

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

Under a 1985 written Ratt Partnership Agreement, the name/trademarks are the property of the partnership and can only be transferred with the unanimous approval of all partners. Thus, the judge ruled that in 1997 when Blotzer, DeMartini and Pearcy purported to transfer the trademarks to WBS, the transfer was invalid since Croucier, who was still a partner, was never advised of, and therefore did not consent to, the transfer. Therefore, the judge said, the partnership still owned the RATT name.

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

Earlier this month, Blotzer — who has been touring the U.S. for the last year with his own version of RATT, featuring a rotating cast of musicians, including vocalist Josh Alan (ex-SIN CITY SINNERS) — and his attorney Drew Sherman addressed the latest legal developments in the RATT camp during an interview with the "One On One With Mitch Lafon" podcast.

Despite the fact that a judge ruled that the four-way RATT partnership — and not WBS — still owned the band name, Sherman said that no judgment has been entered either against or in favor of Blotzer. "Essentially, WBS owns the name," the attorney said. "They — meaning Stephen, Juan, Warren — whatever they're going out as, they do not have permission to [go out as RATT]. So right now they're infringing the trademarks of RATT owned by WBS.

"The ruling that we have, there are many legal strategies that will be employed in order to change and bring to the court's attention various other pieces of evidence as well as prior rulings," he continued. "So it's a long time before this is done. We're not even at the appeals part yet, because there's no judgment to appeal. So there's a lot of time. Status quo will remain, and WBS owns the marks."

Sherman also addressed the fact that Pearcy, Croucier and DeMartini announced that they will perform — as RATT — at next year's edition of the M3 Rock Festival. He said: "They do not have permission to play the M3 [as RATT], they do not have permission to advertise is as such. And I'll just say this: right now, to throw that out there, to make these announcements, these press releases, without having a [court] judgment, I would say is very ill-advised. And I'll leave it that for now."

In should be noted that DeMartini's September 2015 lawsuit against Blotzer — in which the guitarist claimed that the drummer was falsely advertising his RATT "tribute band" as the real thing — is still pending in California state court.

Hammerheart Records has joined forces with Danish metal legends KONKHRA for catalogue reissues and a new album in 2017.

Through the years, KONKHRA developed from a great old-school death metal band to a frontrunner of the more extreme death 'n' roll scene. Most people will remember KONKHRA for the 1997 release "Weed Out The Weak", which was featured Chris Kontos (MACHINE HEAD) on drums and James Murphy (DEATH, OBITUARY, TESTAMENT) on lead guitar.

The band is contemplating a performance of "Weed Out the Weak" in its entirety on select 2017 dates.

In 2017, Hammerheart will make the following KONKHRA releases available:

* "Weed Out The Weak" LP/Deluxe CD (with "The Freakshow" EP as bonus)* "Sexual Affective Disorder" LP/Deluxe-CD (with the "Stranded" EP as bonus)* New album CD/LP* "Spit Or Swallow" LP/Deluxe-CD (with "The Facelift" EP and "Live Eraser" as bonus)

The vinyl editions will be first-timers. All artwork and audio will be spiced up and remastered.

Legendary New Jersey thrashers OVERKILL will release their new studio album, titled "The Grinding Wheel", on February 10, 2017 via Nuclear Blast. The disc was produced by OVERKILL and mixed by Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, EXODUS, ACCEPT). The artwork was created again by Travis Smith (NEVERMORE, OPETH, SOILWORK, DEATH).

"The Grinding Wheel" track listing:

01. Mean Green Killing Machine02. Goddamn Trouble03. Our Finest Hour04. Shine On05. The Long Road06. Let's All Go To Hades07. Come Heavy08. Red White And Blue09. The Wheel10. The Grinding Wheel

The third trailer for "The Grinding Wheel", in which the members of OVERKILL talk about the album's musical direction, is available below.

OVERKILL frontman Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth recently told the Croatian metal portal NoiseEyes.com about the delay in getting "The Grinding Wheel" released: "It was simplicity. It was a matter of internal mix-ups. We thought we had the entire month of August to mix, when we really had none of the month of August to mix. When Nuclear Blast [OVERKILL's record label] called us, and said, 'Where's the music?' We said, 'Fifteen more days.' We were really close with the mix, but this was our first time working with [producer/mixer] Andy Sneap and he told us, 'Hey, man, it's close, it's 90 percent, but let's do another twelve days when I get back from a business trip. D.D. [Verni, bass], Dave [Linsk, guitars] and I discussed it, and asked: Do you take the great product? Or do you take the money? That's the way we thought about it. We took the dignity over the money with regard to pushing the release back. I always think of every record as your best opportunity to prove yourselves. If you go out pushing that record out, thinking it's 90 percent, then it fucking is 90 percent. It was a real simple mix-up with regard to time. We blame ourselves for 50 percent and Nuclear for the other 50 percent. No, 51 percent for them, 49 percent for us. [Laughs]"

Regarding the musical direction of the new album, Bobby said: "First and foremost, production. Andy has done some great work with different bands in the genre from ACCEPT to ARCH ENEMY. He's really the metal go-to guy. But we wanted to use his abilities, but we wanted to use them with regard to how we saw the record being. One of the things we saw in modern metal is a guitar tone that doesn't have a cohesive relationship with the drums. We wanted more organic drums to start with, and we wanted a guitar tone that came somewhere out of the high technology of the '90s. So it's really kind of a throwback with regard to our thinking, so if you're thinking a drum sounding like a drum and the guitars sounding more in the vein of 'Horrorscope' for us, where it wasn't just top end, but top end and low end with a little bit of mids carved out of them. I think that's the thing I noticed the most about it. "

He continued: "With regard to songwriting, we had done three records, 'Ironbound', 'The Electric Age' and 'White Devil Armory', that were for us, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. [Laughs] Or sisters! There's something about them where there was a formula that we were, I think in our opinion, neglecting some of the other tools that we've accumulated over the years. 'The Grinding Wheel' is much more diverse. There's an epic feel to some of the songs. There's a sludgy, slower feel. There is 'Our Finest Hour', which has been released, which could fit on one of those other three records but everything else doesn't seem like it would fit on these records. I think it's a wider OVERKILL, but press play when you get it. I think that's the best way for people to decide. Everybody has got to be a critic. That's the idea of being a music fan. I'm a music fan, but I'm also a critic. I love or I hate, or it's okay. It'd rather be loved or hated, not 'Ah, it's okay, whatever.'"

OVERKILL and NILE will join forces for a U.S. tour in February/March 2017.

The Epiphone Revolver Music Awards was held last night (Tuesday, December 13) at Webster Hall in New York City. The event was livestreamed by Twitch.TV and hosted by metal legend and MEGADETH frontman Dave Mustaine alongside SiriusXM's Jose Mangin. This year's show featured performances by MEGADETH, ANTHRAX, Zakk Wylde, LACUNA COIL and STITCHED UP HEART. A "Fallen Heroes" all-star jam, featuring Ace Frehley, Bumblefoot, POP EVIL, BUTCHER BABIES and more also took place.

The Epiphone Revolver Music Awards also honored the musicians that make this music and scene so vital and viable. Categories included Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Dimebag Darrell Best Guitarist, Best Vocalist, and more.

This year's winners were:

Lifetime Achievement: Dave Mustaine (MEGADETH)Revolver Innovator Award: ANTHRAXAlbum Of The Year: METALLICA's "Hardwired…To Self-Destruct"Song Of The Year: GHOST's "Square Hammer"Best Vocalist: Austin Carlile (OF MICE & MEN)Dimebag Darrell Best Guitarist: Dave Mustaine and Kiko Loureiro (MEGADETH) Paul Gray Best Bassist: Dick Lövgren (MESHUGGAH)Best Drummer: Chris Adler (for his work on MEGADETH's "Dystopia")Best Live Band: SLIPKNOTMost Dedicated Fans: PIERCE THE VEILBest New Talent: AVATARBest Film/Video: GOJIRA's "Silvera"Most Metal Athlete: Baron Corbin (WWE)

Each year since 2009, with the exception of 2015, during which the event took a brief hiatus, Revolver and Epiphone have thrown the premiere U.S. hard-rock and metal awards show, previously known as the Revolver Golden Gods, in Los Angeles. As the primary print and digital destination for the latest and loudest from established and legendary hard rock and metal acts, as well as the first place fans look to to discover emerging talent, the Revolver name carries incredible weight. Therefore, it made perfect sense for the show to now be rebranded as The Epiphone Revolver Music Awards. The show's move to New York City this year is also a logical relocation, since Manhattan is also where the magazine is headquartered. The city was also selected as it is widely regarded as a hard rock mecca, thanks to its contributions to revolutionizing rock music through the years. New York City is home to legendary artists who helped pave the way for aggressive music, such as the RAMONES, KISS, NEW YORK DOLLS, TWISTED SISTER, WHITE ZOMBIE and ANTHRAX, among countless others. While previous ceremonies have aired on VH1, Palladia, AXS TV and Xbox, this year's show was broadcast via livestreaming video platform Twitch.TV, which is owned by Twitch Interactive, a subsidiary of Amazon.com, and has more than 1.5 million broadcasters and 100 million visitors per month. The festivities also livestreamed simultaneously through SiriusXM's Liquid Metal along with the Guitar World and Revolver web sites, Facebook Live and YouTube channels, allowing metal fans worldwide to participate in the festivities.

Majesty have released a lyric video for their new single, “Die Like Kings”, to be featured on the band’s new album, Rebels, due for release on March 3rd.

More intense, more powerful and more epic - Majesty have reached the next stage of evolution and sound the horn of their new album Rebels to conquer the heavy metal throne. Recorded in the band's own studio and refined by the mixing and mastering of Frederik Nordsträm in the Studio Fredman, Rebels is the fundament for "Majesty 2.0".

Pre-order Rebels at this location or via the Amazon widget below and receive “Die Like Kings” as an instant grat track.

Majesty vocalist Tarek recently stated: "With “Die Like Kings” we proudly present you the first song of our new album Rebels, which will be released on March 3rd, 2017. “Die Like Kings” is a song full of power and passion and I hope you'll have a lot of fun listening to it at full volume! If you have any questions about the song or the album then simply ask us by using the hashtag #Rebels in all our social networks."

Rebels needs to be heard by full volume and thanks to its hymns, it will live up to its status as Majesty 2.0 on stage as well – get blown away!

Studio Diary 1 – Backing Vocals:

Studio Diary 2 – Vocal Recordings:

Studio Diary 3 – Album Title Announcement:

Frontiers Music Srl will release the new studio album from UNRULY CHILD, "Can't Go Home", on February 24, 2017.

The first single from the disc, "The Only One", can be streamed below.

UNRULY CHILD vocalist Marcie Free commented: "This is my favorite song on the record. I was crying my eyes out the first time I heard it. Guy has an uncanny talent of seemingly telling my life's experience. It really hit home for me." Marcie Free (vocals; KING KOBRA, SIGNAL), Bruce Gowdy (guitar; STONE FURY, WORLD TRADE), and Guy Allison (keyboards; LODGIC, WORLD TRADE, DOOBIE BROTHERS), together with the original rhythm section from the first record, drummer Jay Schellen (HURRICANE, WORLD TRADE, current touring member of YES) and bassist Larry Antonino (PABLO CRUISE), are back again with an awesome rock album, which will please old and new fans alike! "Early in 2016, we decided to make time and give it a go once again with all five UNRULY CHILD members," says Allison. "The new album, 'Can't Go Home', has now become my favorite set of UNRULY CHILD band songs and performances ever. True story!" The group has generated an exciting new album reflecting its musical roots in contemporary and classic rock sensibilities. With the return to the original lineup from the debut album, they have discovered that while time may pass, some things never change… "We are so excited with this new album coming out in February," adds Free. "And if you find that you still got the heebie-jeebies after that and are in need of another transfusion of UNRULY — try a shot of our new box set coming out too! It's got practically everything we've ever done in it and that should hold over even the most shakiest UNRULY CHILD junkies for at least as long as it takes before we hit your area for some live shows! So come on get on board baby! The UNRULY CHILD train is about to blast off!!" The band is, in fact. also working on a box set release of their independent albums, which will see the light of day in spring on Frontiers. "We put together all the earlier material that's out of print (the first album non-withstanding - you know, lawyers!) together in one package - one box set - to make available to our fans," concludes Guy. News about the box set release will be coming soon. With so much excitement centered around their new record, it has sparked talk of touring...Will they hit the road? News will also be coming on that front very shortly. "Can't Go Home" track listing:

01. The Only One02. Four Eleven03. Driving Into The Future04. Get On Top05. See If She Floats06. She Can't Go Home07. Point Of View08. Ice Cold Sunshine09. When Love Is Here10. Sunlit Sky11. Someday Somehow UNRULY CHILD is:

Marcie Free - VocalsBruce Gowdy - GuitarGuy Allison - KeyboardsLarry Antonino - BassJay Schellen - Drums

"SOS", the new video from U.S. progressive metal pioneers FATES WARNING, can be seen below. The clip was directed by David Brodsky for MyGoodEye.
FATES WARNING vocalist Ray Alder commented as follows:
"We are very happy to announce the latest video for the song 'SOS' from our new album, 'Theories Of Flight'! The video was recorded at Carriage House Studios in Stamford, Connecticut, where we have recorded a number of albums over the years. It was great to be back there again! So many memories...We hope you enjoy the video, and we look forward to seeing you on tour soon!"

FATES WARNING will embark on a first European tour for "Theories Of Flight" in January/February 2017. They have also been confirmed to appear at two of Germany's most prestigious open-air festival events next year: Wacken Open Air and Rock Hard.

"Theories Of Flight" was released on July 1 via InsideOut Music. The cover artwork for the CD was created by Michigan artist Graceann Warn.

Performed by the FATES WARNING lineup that returned to form with 2013's acclaimed "Darkness In A Different Light" release, "Theories Of Flight" was produced by guitarist Jim Matheos and mixed/mastered by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios (OPETH, SYMPHONY X).

Frank Aresti contributed a couple solos on the new record, but due to his current work commitments, he is not be able to tour with FATES WARNING. He is being temporarily replaced by Mike Abdow, who is described by Aresti as "a great guitarist and a great guy."

AFM Records has announced the signing of Canadian rock act DANKO JONES to a worldwide deal (except Canada).

After having reached their highest chart positions to date in a handful of territories with their previous album, "Fire Music", and having been awarded gold and platinum singles in Sweden, DANKO return with their new masterpiece, "Wild Cat", once again produced by Juno Award-winning producer Eric Ratz.

"Wild Cat" is due for release on March 3 worldwide through eOne in Canada and AFM/Bad Taste in the rest of the world. With "Fire Music" (2015), the predecessor to "Wild Cat", DANKO reached their highest chart positions to date in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Finland and also charted in another handful of key territories. The first single, "Do You Wanna Rock", peaked at No. 5 on the Active Rock radio charts in Canada, making it their highest charting single in Canada in their career. The song also received massive airplay around the globe. DANKO JONES has never felt more vibrant or hungry than they are on "Wild Cat". The 11-track album is a raw representation of the band's collective musical history and influences, and without a doubt their most solid album yet.

Celebrating 20 years in the rock n'roll game in 2016, DANKO JONES have an impressive resume to show for the past two decades. In addition to sold out headline tours across Canada and the European continent they have also toured the US, Brazil, Japan, Australia and South Africa and done extensive collaborations with a vast number of great artists. The Canadian trio has spent months on the road with GUNS N ROSES, MOTÖRHEAD and VOLBEAT and opened up for THE ROLLING STONES and OZZY OSBOURNE. The band's frontman and namesake was recently featured as a guest vocalist on the VOLBEAT track "Black Rose", one of the most streamed songs on their latest album and he also joined Mike McCready (PEARL JAM), Duff McKagan (GUNS N' ROSES), and Barrett Martin (SCREAMING TREES) for a session with THE LEVEE WALKERS where he sang on two tracks. The "Wild Cat" world tour starts off with two shows in Finland in February and a series of shows in Europe in March and April. A Canadian tour and more European dates will be announced shortly, with other territories to follow.

Old-school Finnish thrashers Bloodride have released an official video for the new song, "Planet Alcatraz", the title track of their latest album. Check it out below.

Guitarist Teemu Vähäkangas comments: "We wanted to make a video in a raw do-it-yourself-way. Two low-fi cameras to rehearsals and go! No faking or big video making, just us playing thrash."

Bloodride released Planet Alcatraz, their third album, through Inverse Records on November 25th.

On this album anger and frustration has risen to new level which can be seen on lyrical themes. Stupidity and selfishness of mankind gets loads of verbal hits this time. Musically these assaults are also very hard, brutal but sometimes even catchy.

The album was recorded during at Peter´s Cross Studios December 2015-May 2016 by Petteri Lammassaari and was mixed and mastered by Jarno Hänninen at D-Studio. Artwork is done by Niko Bauer from PoorAndStarving.

Tracklisting:

“S.O.B.”
“Planet Alcatraz”
“War In Me”
“Beyond Repair”
“All We Deserve”
“Baptizing Demons”
“Grave Is Calling”
“Rat Racer”
“Storm Under My Skin”
“Marching Off To War”

KISS joined Sundance Head on the Season 11 finale of "The Voice" on Tuesday night (December 13) to perform a medley of some of the band's biggest hits. They juxtaposed the songs "Rock And Roll All Nite" and "Detroit Rock City" in a very unique performance that marked the iconic rockers' first-ever appearance on the highly rated reality singing competition.

Head raved about the experience in advance of Tuesday night's finale. "It's crazy, man! I don't know how to do it, really," he told Hollywood Life. "We had rehearsal already and I was just blown away because these guys are so nice. You know, they're rock gods and they're trying to tell me when I'm supposed to sing and I'm just sitting there amazing that they're right there on stage with me. It was really surreal, man, to be up there at rehearsal and hear them start 'Detroit Rock City' and I could just feel the risers shaking from the drums."

At the end of last night's broadcast, Head was crowned winner of "The Voice". The 37-year-old celebrated his victory by singing his original single "Darlin' Don't Go".

Head previously competed on Season 6 of "American Idol", placing in the Top 15. He subsequently recorded for Universal Motown.

Sundance was a favorite to win "The Voice" ever since he performed Otis Redding's "I've Been Loving You Too Long" for his "Blind Audition."

California based symphonic black metal band Empyrean Throne have released the official music video for the single “Haereticus Stellarum Part II" from their upcoming debut full length album Chaosborne, which is set for release on January 24th, 2017. The album, which was produced and engineered by Mick Kenney (Anaal Nathrakh) is available for preorder now on Bandcamp.

“With Chaosborne we wanted to push ourselves beyond our limits as musicians and artists and explore the darkness both within and around us. For every second of every song we bled our spirit and injected our venom. We wanted to shake the listener and drown them in our message of chaos ideology and rebirth. Above all we wanted to send a clear message, this IS Empyrean Throne, an order of chaos worshipping maniacs that want to bring to bear every bit of sonic fury we can muster. This record is our war cry of liberation and a clear illuminating of our inner fire. Into Chaos, Towards the Beyond, Ever Vigilant!” - Andrew Knudsen (Vocals)

Tracklisting:

“The Twilight Order”
“Sed Nomini Tuo Da Gloriam”
“Usurping The Obsidian God”
“And None Shall Rise…”
“The Devouring Mark”
“From The Mouth Ov The Black Icons”
“Stormrite Ascension”
“Chaosborne”
“Haereticus Stellarum Part I”
“Haereticus Stellarum Part II”
“Follow The Plaguelord Part II: The Harbinger Ov Pestilence”

“Haereticus Stellarum Part II” video:

Michigan blackened grinders Sunlight's Bane will release debut album The Blackest Volume: Like All The Earth Was Buried on February 17th via Innerstrength Records. Formerly called Traitor, Sunlight's Bane has crafted a sound so inherently dark and repulsive that even the sunlight will withdraw and run from it.
 
The band is streaming new song "Praise The Venom Shield" and had this to say about it: "It's a song not only about the oppression of people, but the worship of oppression and violence from a controlling establishment or force. It is about not only subservience to control, but the attitude of pleasure in it, those individuals who will kiss the boot stomping into their face and apologize for being in its way while convincing themselves this is the way things have always been and will always be."

The Blackest Volume: Like All The Earth Was Buried was recorded by Andy Nelson at Bricktop Recordings (Harm's Way, Weekend Nachos, Exalt, Dead In the Dirt) and mastered by Brad Boatright of Audiosiege (Nails, Full Of Hell, Integrity, Twitching Tongues).

Tracklisting:

“Praise The Venom Shield”
“Begrudging Soul”
“From Heaven Wept”
“Curse Diminished Years”
“I Am The Cold Harsh Whispers In Hell”
“Dance Of Thorns”
“The Blessed Ivory Tongue”
“No Taste More Bitter”
“With Fear This Love Is Given”
“Came No Dawn”
“To Whom I Await”

“Praise The Venom Shield”:

HighVolMusic has announced that its first release of 2017 will be the new effort from Hydrogyn, entitled Redemption. Set for a March 10th release, Redemption features new vocalist Erica Parrott and takes the band in to a new heavier direction with a modern day metal appeal. Hydrogyn continues to evolve and grow as a rock entity.

Hydrogyn signed with the label in November and not only includes Redemption but the entire back catalog for the band.

Founding member Jeff Westlake comments; "Signing with HighVolMusic is just a natural fit for Hydrogyn. Bill Chavis is where it all started with Bombshell in 2006 and so with Erica now on board it just seemed it was time to come home. So to do it right we did the entire catalog just to tighten the family up."

Redemption tracklisting:

“Fixir”
“My Redemption”
“Tail Spin”
“Devil God Devil”
“Suffering”
“Break In Two”
“Down In Flames”
“Hey Ho”
“In The End”
“Jenny”

Audio samples:

Special Redemption package pre-orders will begin on January 13th, and contain merchandise only available during the pre-order time. Visit the HighVolMusic online store for details beginning January 13th.

Buckle up and strap in for one of the heaviest albums you'll hear in 2017 in the shape of UK tech-death metal heavyweights Belial and their new EP Nihil Est, due January 2017 via Siege Music. A video for track “In Extremis” is streaming below.

Having just completed a UK tour with the titans in Black Tongue, Belial's star is rising. Nihil Est is a massive EP, fusing huge soundscapes with groove-laden slabs of metallic fury. Listen for example to lead track “In Extremis”, or the pummeling opening measures of the final track “Parasite”. Preorder the EP at this location.

If that's not enough, the album features instrumental bonus tracks of the entire Nihil Est EP along with the band's original (previously self-released) debut EP.

Tracklisting:

“In Extremis”
“Eon”
“Naught”
“Odium”
“In Origin”
“In Extremis” (instrumental)
“Eon” (instrumental)
“Naught” (instrumental)
“Odium” (instrumental)
“In Origin” (instrumental)
“Heroin Holidays”
“Wraiths”
“Host”
“Wen”
“Parasite”

“In Extremis” video:

Rip out the cables, tear out the cords, destroy your laptops, and smash your smartphones. Cellador returns with a vengeance, exploding onto the world circuits with their new albu, Off The Grid.

Meticulously crafted at the helm of founding member, songwriter, and producer Chris Petersen, the long awaited follow up to Enter Deception is finally here, setting the bar even higher and faster on its trademark brand of steroid injected, high intensity power metal music.

An allegory to the band’s free spirited nature, Off The Grid musically conceptualizes a self-empowered approach to living, including tearing yourself free from the hive-mindedness of an increasingly collective thinking technological society, and paying tribute to the often neglected original personality and identity we retain within ourselves.

Spiked with a unique ferocity and infectious melody, this is an album not for the faint-hearted. Within its audible depths the band continues the high energy power and speed metal of its previous album, while adding more clarity, more focused vision, and a cohesiveness never before achieved in its songwriting until now.

Tracing its roots back to the early 2000’s, Cellador has continuously persisted as a near antithesis to the ever fickle American metal scene. With their brand of high speed power metal, soaring vocals, catchy songwriting and intense live show, the band continues to buckle the changing trends and stick out like a sore thumb. Upon the release of its debut album, Enter Deception, critics quickly hailed the band as the new “Kings of American Power Metal” with universally positive reviews across hundreds of news outlets, and seeing the band tour all over North America and Japan. Quickly the band transcended beyond normal barriers of the power metal genre and enjoys a near cult-like status to this day. The band’s unique ability to draw fans of all types far has led to many touring opportunities, including sharing the stage with the likes of Trivium, Helloween, Sonata Arctica, Queensryche, Gamma Ray, Bullet For My Valentine, Behemoth, Hatchet, Havok, Vale of Pnath, Protest The Hero, Moonspell, Amaranthe, and many others.

Return to present day where after several years of hype and enthusiasm, the next opus is ready to be unleashed worldwide. Signing with Scarlet Records in 2016, Cellador again takes the metal spotlight with its latest release.

Off The Grid was mixed and mastered by Peter Rutcho at Damage Studios (Havok, Revocation, Vomitron, Armory) in Southbridge, MA with artwork created by Colin Marks at Rain Song Design. The album will see the light of the day on March 10th in North America and Europe. Japan will get the new album on February 22nd.

Bay Area-based band, King Woman, are streaming the new song “Utopia”, to be featured on their debut full-length, Created In the Image Of Suffering, out on February 24th via Relapse Records. Listen to “Utopia” below. Pre-order the new album at this location.

Formed in 2009 by Kristina Esfandiari, King Woman began as a solo project then later developed into a full band. Over the course of the last seven years, King Woman have crafted a sound thoroughly their own - a sound that harnesses the elastic textures and temporality of drone and doom metal alongside the strength and evocative power of artists like Mazzy Star, Royal Thunder Grouper, and many more.

The band's debut EP Doubt (released on leading SF avant-garde imprint The Flenser in 2014) paired weighty subject matter such as religious abuse with cathartic, brooding, and hypnotic songwriting with a transcendental feel. With Esfandiari's lush and dramatic vocals, King Woman go far beyond mere stoner metal. The band's compositions call to mind rich, detailed imagery and powerful atmospheres that elevate their music beyond classification. King Woman’s mystical sound resonated strongly enough to catch the attention of Relapse Records, who signed King Woman in 2016.

Tracklisting:

“Citios” (Digital Bonus Track)
“Utopia”
“Deny”
“Shame”
“Hierophant”
“Worn”
“Manna”
“Hem”

“Utopia”:

Tour dates:

February
17 - Oakland, CA - Starline Social Club
24 - Sacramento, CA - Starlite Lounge
26 - Los Angeles, CA - Echo

March
14 - New York, NY - St. Vitus

(Photo - Rob Williamson)

Pride Of Lions will release their fifth studio album, Fearless, on January 27th. The album track, “Silent Music”, is streaming below.

When Frontiers released Pride Of Lions’ groundbreaking first album in 2003, many people asked, “Is this one of those project bands that do one or two albums and then disappear - or a real band with staying power?” Now, in the year 2017 the answer to that question will be very clear as the band release their new studio album, Fearless. Additionally, their best selling Live In Belgium album and video proves to the world that Jim Peterik and Toby Hitchcock and the powerful Pride Of Lions band is not just a studio concoction, but a live force to be reckoned with, headlining shows in America and Europe.

“We are always trying to top ourselves,” states singer/ songwriter/ guitarist Jim Peterik. “This time I went back and listened closely to all the previous albums to hear the strongest assets of each record: what was working and what could be improved. I went into writing the Fearless material keeping that in mind. I feel it sticks closer to the template we set with our first release, yet goes to new places musically as well like using a Kansas- style fiddle- played by Andrew Ohlrich- on the video/single “All I See is You”."

The songs and performances on Fearless are... well... truly fearless. The title track blazes from the speakers gaining steam with every chorus. “Take the highest ground- stand and fight- you gotta be harder- you gotta be tougher- you gotta be- fearless!” This could be the new battle cry for Rocky Balboa or any common man needing to make a difference in the world.

“When I got together with Jim in Chicago to record, things just caught fire,” enthuses Toby. “I sang 12 vocals in two days! That’s how inspired I was with the new material.”

“Toby hit new heights on this one,” raves Jim. “I was sitting behind the recording console with Larry Millas just one big goose bump as Toby glided from hard rockers like “Rising Up”, classic melodic rock like “All I See Is You” to a heartfelt ode to timeless love - “Everlasting Love”.”

Future classics include “The Tell”, where the main character is giving off signals she may not even realize to the mesmerizing magic of “Silent Music” (“I can’t help it if I talk funny- I can’t express the way I feel in spoken words- hold on”) to the mysterious “Freedom Of The Night”. That last one was written with former Jimi Jamison keyboardist Hal Butler and the lyric, chord changes and melody seem to channel what Jimi might now be singing if his life had not been tragically cut short.

“The last track is one of my faves,” states Toby Hitchcock. “I think we all can relate to the often painful process of figuring out just who we are and how we fit on this planet. “Unmasking The Mystery” is not something that happens all at once - it happens over time and on our last day we still won’t have all the answers.”

The album will be supported by live dates in the States and abroad with the first show on January 28th as a part of Jim Peterik’s World Stage at Wentz Hall in Naperville, Illinois.

In early 2017, expect the premiere of the music video for “All I See Is You” directed by Greg Bizzarro. Greg has directed every POL video thus far, as well as the popular “Cold Blooded” video by Peterik / Scherer which starred Leann Marie of “I Can’t Hold Back” video fame.

Fearless tracklisting:

“All I See Is You!”
“The Tell”
“In Caricature”
“Silent Music”
“Fearless”
“Everlasting Love”
“Freedom Of The Night”
“The Light In Your Eyes”
“Rising Up”
“The Silence Says It All”
“Faster Than A Prayer”
“Unmasking The Mystery”

“Silent Music”:

“The Tell”:

Pride Of Lions lineup:

Jim Peterik: Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards
Toby Hitchcock: Vocals
Ed Breckenfeld - drums
Klem Hayes - bass
Mike Aquino - guitar

Copenhagen-based rockers, Forever Still, have released a video for “Awake The Fire”, a track from their Tied Down album, available via Nuclear Blast. Watch the new video below.

Tied Down tracklisting:

“Scars”
“Once Upon A Nightmare”
“Miss Madness”
“Awake The Fire”
“Breathe In”
“Save Me”
“Your Light”
“Alone”
“Break The Glass”
“Tied Down”

“Awake The Fire” video:

Guitar World has released this new video, in which Monte Pittman, guitarist for Madonna, plays along to the song "La Isla Bonita" in a “super shredtastic” way! Watch below:

Pittman recently released a video for “Guilty Pleasures”, a track from his fourth full-length, Inverted Grasp Of Balance, out now. Head here, where the album can be ordered in various formats.

The new video was filmed on location at Beauty & Essex in Las Vegas, NV stars Leanna Decker, model and Playboy's cybergirl of the year 2012.  The video was directed by Vince Edwards.

To assert that Pittman has had a storied career is something of an understatement. His resume includes an ongoing and fruitful collaboration with multi-platinum selling artist Madonna, having recorded and toured with her extensively over a period of more than fifteen years. Then there's his first band, Myra Mains, his stint in the metallic behemoth that is Prong, and collaborations with a broad spectrum of international artists. If his time with Prong did not fully communicate just how much metal flowed through his veins, with 2014's Flemming Rasmussen-produced The Power Of Three - his first release with Metal Blade Records - he compellingly blended killer riffs, blistering leads and gigantic hooks to deliver an album that was equal parts anthemic grandeur and in-your-face attitude, making metalheads around the world sit up and take note.

Now, for his latest offering, Inverted Grasp Of Balance, Pittman teamed up with powerhouse drummer Richard Christy of Charred Walls Of The Damned/Iced Earth/Death fame and virtuoso bassist Billy Sheehan, famous for his work with a plethora of talented artists - including David Lee Roth, Mr. Big and, more recently, Winery Dogs - the skill of all concerned explodes from the speakers. With such passionate professionals and Jay Ruston (Anthrax, Steel Panther) handling production duties, the record came together quickly and smoothly. This really is the proverbial "whole package": an album that has been lovingly crafted in all aspects, that Pittman hopes reaches as many ears as possible.

"I had a true vision for this record from the start, and I couldn't imagine a better team to help me realize it," Pittman comments. "We're going to make some real noise with 'Inverted Grasp Of Balance' - so get ready!"

Inverted Grasp Of Balance tracklisting:

“Panic Attack”
“Arisen In Broad Daylight”
“Guilty Pleasure”
“The Times Are Changing”
“Double Edged Sword”
“Cadabra”
“Pride Comes Before The Fall”
“California”
“Be Very Afraid”
“Obliterated”
“Skeleton Key”
“New Blood Keeps Us Alive”

“Be Very Afraid”:

"Pride Comes Before The Fall”:

During a brand new interview with CBC Radio One's arts and culture program "Q", METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich spoke about the issue of drummers and health, particularly after RUSH admitted that the Canadian rock trio's retirement from the road has happened, in large part, because of drummer Neil Peart's tendonitis and diminishing physical abilities.

"When people ask me to look into the crystal ball into the future: 'What do you think? Are you still gonna be playing…?'" Lars said (see video below). "It's the great, big unanswered question. Mentally, creatively, spiritually, aesthetically, we'll go for another hundred years [and] we're fine. Physically, obviously, it's the big question.

"I was at [the epic classic-rock summit] Desert Trip [in Indio, California with a lineup that included THE ROLLING STONES, Paul McCartney, Roger Waters, Bob Dylan and THE WHO], and there were these six acts on, and they were great, but there was one thing I did spot was the of the… And they're all apparently in their 70s; I didn't fact-check that, but that's what I was told. There was only one of the six acts that had the O.G. drummer. The other five acts had a drummer, like, in the 20s and the 30s, so that should tell you something, right? So only Charlie [Watts of THE ROLLING STONES] was there, and he's fabulous. I've seen THE STONES [something like] fifty times in the last couple of decades; they're great. But like Neil [Peart] was saying [Editor's note: Lars is referring to a recent comment from Peart where the RUSH drummer said his 'style of drumming is largely an athletic undertaking'], what he does is a little bit different. It's a little more in the jazz… A lot of jazz drummers, like Elvin Jones and Max Roach and Tony Williams, all these guys were still playing up in their 70s and 80s."

He continued: "Whether we can do the 'Fight Fire's and the 'Battery's and the 'Master Of Puppets' and all that in our mid-60s and our early 70s remains to be seen. And there's kind of a second part to that, which is that if… I mean, we may be able to still play them — do you know what I mean? — but whether we can bring the weight and whether we can bring the energy and whether we can bring the attitude that those songs deserve in our 60s to 70s, I have no idea. Hopefully we'll have enough clarity to be able to tell if it's not working, to walk away from it graciously and respectfully. But right now we're fine, and we've played some of our best shows in the last couple of years, and I think there's still a bit left in the engine. But whether we can do it in our 70s… hopefully we'll get a chance to find out."

To help Lars and his bandmates prepare for the grueling nature of their live performances, METALLICA employs a staff of physical therapists, trainers and massage specialists on the road. Ulrich runs, stretches and does torso-strengthening exercises as a matter of course.

"Some of the hardest-working people on our team are a couple of guys that travel with us that stretch us out and sort of stitch us back together," Lars said. "Kirk [Hammett, guitar] is the one that does yoga. I get stretched and I get massaged. It's kind of like… Unfortunately, it's kind of like a sports team now. It's actually kind of pathetic. People come backstage [and ask], 'Where's the Jack Daniel's?' There's no Jack Daniel's. It's brown rice and nasty protein shakes and a couple of trainers that are stretching us and stitching us back together again after the show. But at least we're still playing, and at least we're still functioning, and at least it still has some of the weight that it used to. So, so far so good, so we'll see where it takes us."

METALLICA's long-awaited new album, "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct", debuted as expected at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 album chart on November 27, selling 291,000 copies in its first week of release. Both of the band's previous outings, 2008's "Death Magnetic" and 2003's "St. Anger", sold more copies in shortened sales weeks. "Death Magnetic" moved 490,000 copies in a three-day window, while "St. Anger" shifted 418,000 copies in a similar frame.