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.

Cherie Currie says a full reunion of iconic seventies rockers THE RUNAWAYS will now probably never happen.

Speaking on the "White Line Fever" podcast, Currie outlined in great detail her relationships with fellow former bandmates Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Jackie Fox and Sandy West and the previous attempts to get the band back together.

"It's funny. A little over 20 years ago, Lita had reached out to us to convince us, me and Joan, to do a RUNAWAYS reunion," Currie, now 57, says.

"And we did, with Kenny Laguna [Jett's manager, co-producer and co-songwriter for the past 35 years] basically at the helm, he secured a tour and Lita, she just basically doesn't get along with Kenny and she just walked away from that. Now she's come back and she … I've always wanted a reunion. I've worked with every single one of the girls since the band dissolved. I've worked with Jackie, Sandy, Lita and Joan … separately, but I've performed with all of them.

"I really did see a RUNAWAYS reunion happening but now I don't believe it will because Lita and Joan just can't seem to figure that out. So I'm now saying that's not going to happen, unfortunately.

"I always thought that we had to have a reunion. It was very, very disappointing for me over a number of years. For 20 years, actually, when we had it in the bag and Lita walked … that was very difficult.

"Five years ago would have been the perfect time, when the movie came out, but I can't control how other people feel. It was very important for me to say 'you know what? This isn't going to happen' and that's really what I've done."

Currie gave her account of why Fox and Ford were not involved in the 2010 film about the fabled all-girl rock band.

"Jackie, unfortunately, when we reached out to her to participate in the film… went to (producers) John and Art Linson and was demanding huge amounts of money," she says.

"And also, she was demanding to be a producer. They tried to reason with her but she was holding fast.

"John and Art LInson, of course, they made films like 'Fight Club' and 'Into The Wild' and countless great movies and they were having none of it.

"They just threw her out of the film entirely, wouldn't even use her name, no matter how much me and Joan tried to change their minds.

"Lita, she was married at the time and her husband at the time told her not to read the contracts so she was basically out of the film.

"That was too bad because it would have been a completely different movie. There was nothing Joan and I could do about that."

Currie's first solo album in 35 years, "Reverie", was released last year. The follow-up to an unreleased album produced by former GUNS N' ROSES/VELVET REVOLVER drummer Matt Sorum includes four songs co-produced by THE RUNAWAYS' controversial late svengali Kim Fowley (who spent the last nine days of his life living in Currie's house in 2015) and covers of two RUNAWAYS songs — "Is It Day or Night" and "American Nights" — featuring vocals by Ford.

In a 2015 interview with the WHMH (Rockin' 101) radio station, Lita stated about the prospect of a RUNAWAYS reunion: "Joan doesn't want anything to do with it, which… I think she's wrong. 'Cause now is the perfect time, and we would all love to see it now. There was a time when they called me and asked me for a RUNAWAYS reunion, but it was early '90s — NIRVANA was just kicking in, and it was really bad timing; it wouldn't have worked. People would have just turned their nose up at it. But now, to do it now, I think now is the perfect time. And I'm all for it, Cherie was all for it. We never spoke to Jackie about it, because we couldn't get Joan's approval. Had we gotten Joan's approval, we would have spoke to Jackie. But we couldn't get a 'yes' or a 'no' out of Joan."

In a brand new interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, legendary guitarist Steve Vai was asked what it was that convinced him to join David Lee Roth and WHITESNAKE when his solo material is so different from the music that those artists churn out. He responded: "I was a teenager in the '70s, so I was really into the rock music of the '70s — LED ZEPPELIN, DEEP PURPLE, QUEEN, KISS, ALICE COOPER. That music just lit me up. And I also was composing at the time. I was listening to fusion, and [Al Di] Meola and [John] McLaughlin, Carlos [Santana] and jazz — I was listening to a lot of different kinds of music. But the energy of rock music has always been at the center of what I do."

He continued: "When the opportunity came up to join, like, Dave Roth's band, it was the perfect gig for me, because I had enough authenticity in my guitar playing — rock authenticity — that it worked. But it was quirky enough that it was still me. And Roth is kind of quirky in a sense — I say that not in a negative way, but he does funny little things sometimes. So we were a perfect match. I thought it was a great gig. And then when WHITESNAKE came along — I mean, I liked the music of WHITESNAKE. That record that they released ['Whitesnake'] — [with] 'Still Of The Night' and all that — that was huge. It sounded great, and David Coverdale's an incredible singer.

"So, maybe a part of me questioned it, you know? 'Should I go and do my solo music now?' But I didn't, because I wanted to be in these rock bands. And I wrote music with Dave, and I was just expressing a particular side. All through it, I knew that it was fleeting. And as far as what other musicians choose to do, I would be very surprised if anybody I know were offered those gigs and turned them down! [Laughs]"

Asked if he has ever considered going back to a situation like that, a la Joe Satriani joining CHICKENFOOT a few years ago, Vai said: "No. I've done it. And I get offers all the time to form supergroups… And I'm not opposed to doing something if I think all the moving parts are in place. But I'm not interested in trying to re-live the glory days of yore. Because that's what a lot of people wanna do. They do one style and they get a taste of rock stardom and it becomes addictive. I wouldn't be opposed to doing something with a supergroup if I thought that everybody was on the same page, with a desire to do something completely different, uncommercial yet very accessible, and just really intense and musical and different somehow. But it's really hard to find guys like that. So I don't look for it. I'm happy building the music that I do now. I went through all that stuff. It's not impossible to assume that I might do a legacy tour or something with one of those bands, just to get a ya-ya out, but we'll have to see."

Vai's "Modern Primitive / Passion And Warfare 25th Anniversary Edition", a celebratory 2CD collection of classic tracks and previously unreleased music, was made available in June via Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment. The set includes the first-ever release of Vai's "Modern Primitive" songs and recordings. Based on song sketches and works-in-progress penned and recorded by Vai following the release of "Flex-Able", his debut album, in January 1984, the music on "Modern Primitive" was completed by Vai for release as a full album disc and the second CD is the bonus remastering of the "Passion And Warfare 25th Anniversary Edition"

James Hetfield says that Kirk Hammett "wasn't involved" in the songwriting process for METALLICA's new album because his "riffs weren't there."

Hammett has penned plenty of great instrumental parts over the years for METALLICA alongside the songwriting team of Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, but that's not the case for "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct".

Hetfield told France's Metal XS: "Kirk was not part of the writing. Kirk obviously came in and did the solos. But Lars and I… You know, Lars and I always have done this, but with contributions from other people on their riffs and things. Kirk's riffs weren't there. I know he talks about him losing his phone and things like that with the riffs, but… No, he wasn't involved in the process. And Robert [Trujillo, bass] was there. The intro to 'ManUNkind' is Robert; that is him, and it's beautiful. But it is Lars and I doing what we always do — put the songs together."

Hetfield also talked in more detail about the "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct" songwriting process, explaining: "[The songs] were all put together over the course of time — I would say maybe a year and a half. But the riffs… I mean, the riffs could have been around for a little longer. But there's no… I mean, it's all new. There's nothing that was left over from other albums or anything, so it's all new. Some are riffs that were on my riff collection, and some were, 'Let's just go out and play,' and some just came about there. So some are super fresh, and some are, obviously, from the last year."

In a recent interview with Metal Hammer magazine, Trujillo said that Ulrich felt it was "really important" to connect with Hetfield on the follow-up to 2008's "Death Magnetic" by involving him more in the creative process.

Trujillo said: "Lars focused more on simplifying the creative journey, and locking into James and really bringing him in for this album. It's Lars's vision, and I'm happy to support whatever we need to do."

Hammett recalled the "devastating" time in 2014 he lost his phone containing hundreds of song ideas for the tenth studio album, which meant he "had to start at zero" again. "By the time I got a few ideas flowing and formed, most of the songs were already written," he said, calling the experience a "very bitter pill to swallow."

He forced himself to look on the bright side. He said: "I had to think, 'Okay, I have stuff — but it looks like it's going to make it on to the next album."

Hammett added: "For me, being in this band, I always want to contribute. I always have a lot of musical concepts and ideas to bring to the table. Obviously, that was not meant to be this time, and I had to accept that fact. So I focused on my solos, just making sure that my playing on the album was at its best — at its full potential. Hopefully I can bring my ideas to the next METALLICA album. I just hope it's not another eight years."

METALLICA will be the featured musical guest on this Wednesday's (December 14) edition of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" As with most of Kimmel's musical guests, the band will perform a mini-concert on the show's outdoor stage on Hollywood Boulevard, with the street likely to be closed for several blocks in either direction to accommodate thousands of fans. A portion of the performance will be aired on that night's show, which starts at 11:35 p.m.

As previously reported, METALLICA will also play a special intimate show this 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.

"Hardwired...To Self-Destruct" debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 album chart last month. An extensive world tour is in the works for 2017.

Anthony Morgan of Metal Forces recently conducted an interview with CRADLE OF FILTH and DEVILMENT frontman Dani Filth. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On changing drummers in DEVILMENT, and the musical style of new DEVILMENT album, "II: The Mephisto Waltzes":

"It was very amicable, the split with Aaron [Boast], because Aaron, our previous drummer, was moving house, and had a new job, and a lot of other commitments. So, he passed over the baton to Matt [Alston]. He actually found Matt for us, and I still play soccer with… Well, not at the present because he's broken his arm… But I still play soccer and go drinking etcetera with Aaron. So, as I said, very amicable. Obviously, we played on our strengths with the writing from the first record, but most of the record… Well, half of the record — 'The Great And Secret Show' [2014] — was already written before Lauren [Francis, keyboards and vocals] and Colin [Parks, guitars] came onboard. With this album, they were there from the beginning, and so I think that's why we see a stronger performance from both people. Yeah, it's just bigger, better, darker, and more gothic. It's more experimental, but not so experimental that it's drifted away from what people expect of DEVILMENT. I mean, it's not chalk and cheese between both albums.

"Like I said, we played on the strengths. There's a lot of the groove and the heaviness and the catchy choruses carried over, but we have obviously… I mean, songs like 'Hitchcock Blonde' and 'Dea Della Morte', 'Shine On Sophie Moone' and 'Full Dark, No Stars' etcetera are very different from one another, henceforth why we released three singles prior to the album. One song doesn't really do the album justice. The material's quite eclectic, do you know what I mean? If we just released 'Under The Thunder', people would be expecting the whole album to be nine or ten songs of that, so I think by releasing 'Hitchcock Blonde' and 'Full Dark, No Stars', it gives you quite a good window into what the album is about."

On the lyrical themes of "II: The Mephisto Waltzes":

"The title is inspired by Franz Liszt, who basically wrote four piano pieces which concern themselves with the story of Faust. Faust is a guy that sold his soul to the Devil, and tried getting it back. 'The Mephisto Waltz' is also an American horror movie (1971), which took its title from the work of Franz Liszt as well, and is also a track by the MISFITS. It works very well with the artwork by Elena [Vizerskaya]. You've got this woman on the front who seems to be doing this sort of strange tarantella, almost this dance of death. It suggests that all of the tracks on the album are linked to devilish endeavours, hence the band being called DEVILMENT. At heart though, it's essentially about dark emotions that are overcome.

"You've got 'JudasStein', which is about justice, and this creature being a magnet for all the sins of the world. Then you've got 'Hitchcock Blonde', which is pretty self-explanatory — about infatuation. You've got retribution, you've got oppression, obsession, fanaticism, death. You've got all of these very dark emotions that underline and underpin the record, but I think the record is very cathartic, as in it's about a process. It's like being in a cocoon, to come out better on the other side. It's about overcoming all of these bad feelings, and then coming out positive on the other side. About overcoming depression, overcoming infatuation, or dealing with it, etcetera, etcetera. The process of writing that was cathartic in itself, because it is about getting all of your demons out — your musical demons out, your lyrical demons out — and cleansing yourself."

On the musical style of CRADLE OF FILTH's next studio album:

"From what I do know, it's a cross between 'Hammer Of The Witches' [2015] and 'Cruelty And The Beast' [1998]. It's very melodic, very fast… Well, it's not all fast. There's some big, heavy tracks on there. Very ornate. There's some great fucking riffs on there, amazing. Yeah, can't really speak much about CRADLE. Obviously, it's not a CRADLE interview. That will come in time."

On CRADLE OF FILTH's next studio album being released in September 2017:

"It's gonna be delivered the second week of May, and the reason for… I mean, it's not being pushed out or anything like that. Whatever we release, it's usually about two years afterwards. I think it's just the fact that I've got another band makes it look like it turns around quite quickly, but it has to be released in September because of new management planning this big world tour which has to start in America on a certain date. So, the album has to be delivered and released… It all has to fall into a certain place. You can't just go 'Oh, we missed our deadline. Sorry,' because otherwise, you miss your slot with releasing and with the record company, and everything they've got planned. So yeah, we're free to do what we want for a certain amount of months, but then it all has to fit into a schedule."

Metal Wani's Fernando Bonenfant conducted an interview with ICED EARTH founder, chief songwriter, and guitarist Jon Schaffer before the band's December 6 concert at Electric Brixton in London, England. You can now watch the chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On ICED EARTH's upcoming studio album, originally titled "The Judas Goat":

Schaffer: "Well, actually, ['The Judas Goat'] was a working title, and we canned that. So the album is gonna be called 'Incorruptible'. It's going to be out in May next year. We haven't spent really a year on the record. I bought a couple of buildings and turned it into the headquarters for the band, so that was a major amount of construction work to do, and build our own studio. So that's the headquarters now. And, really, only for the last four months have we been focusing on the album, on pre-production, the final arrangements and songwriting and everything. And now when we go back in January and we start master tracking, it will only take about five or six weeks to get the album finished. The way I work, the pre-production is where most of the time is spent so that we know exactly what we're gonna do when we get into master tracking and we just go for the best takes we can get at that point. So that's really where the bulk of the time was spent — on building the headquarters, building the studio, and then going in and doing the pre-production. So we're a little bit late, but it's gonna be worth it."

On how "Incorruptible" compares to previous ICED EARTH albums:

Schaffer: "They're all kind of their own thing, but I have a very strong gut feeling about this, and so does everybody in the band, that this is one of the really special ones. So I put it up there with 'The Dark Saga' [1996], 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' [1998], 'Dystopia' [2011] — it's in that league of records — so it's really gonna be something special, man. I know musicians always say that, but there is something going on here, so it's cool. We're all very excited about it."

On the concept for the lyrics on "Incorruptible":

Schaffer: "There is no concept on this record; it's just ten individual tracks not related to each other. Actually, on 'Plagues Of Babylon' [2014], it was only the first six that were related to the 'Something Wicked' story; it was like a zombie apocalypse within the 'Something Wicked' framework. But this album, it's just ten individual songs. We have one with a very cool Native American vibe called 'Trail Of Tears'; we have one called 'Clear The Way', which is about the Irish Brigade at the Battle Of Fredericksburg — very tragic, actually — but that's a big epic, like ten minutes; and then we have one called 'Black Flag', which is a pirate song. It's quite a… I think I pulled it off pretty well with the lyrics, to be able to tell such a big story in a very short amount of time. I think it's gonna be a highlight of the record. And then on this tour, we're opening the show with a new song that will be the opener on the album — it's called 'The Great Heathen Army' — that's got a Viking kind of a vibe to it. So there's a lot of different things, and none of it's really related. There's one called 'Raven Wing'… I can't really think of all of them righ now… 'Seven-Headed Whore' — that's one that's actually pretty brutal; it's like a total kick in the balls. But, you know, there's a lot of varied emotions on this, and it's cool stuff, man."

On singer Stu Block's contribution to "Incorruptible":

Schaffer: "Well, he came at the end of… for about the last month or so of pre-production… maybe a little bit more… five weeks… and we worked on his vocal parts. We do it like Stu and I normally do it. Some of the stuff we write together. I mean, I write the musical arrangements and do all that — he doesn't play any instruments — but he comes in… At the end of the writing process is when we focus on his parts. And the lyrics that we worked on together, on a song called 'Brother', which is about our brotherhood, [between] Stu and I and within the band… We've gone through a lot of shit together and we've had a lot of great times together, but the bond is very strong, and that's clear. So it's just a song, really, for us. And then he wrote the lyrics for 'The Great Heathen Army'. I'm trying to think… I can't think of 'em, man; I have to look at the list [of songs]. But usually, he goes to an area and works, and I go in my area and work. And, like I said, on some songs we collaborate sometimes. On this one, the only we did was 'Brother'… We work in the way we always work. And it's a very cool chemistry."

On how ICED EARTH's lineup changes affect the creative process:

Schaffer: "Jake [Dreyer, guitar] coming in [this past September], he came into this really late, so he doesn't have any songwriting credit on ['Incorruptible'], but he's gonna be playing guitar solos on it. But he's got great ideas. One of the things when I audioned him, I wanted to hear where his head was at with original stuff, and he's got it. But from an energy standpoint, for sure. I mean, Jake's 24 years old, so he's bringing in a very youthful energy, and Luke [Appleton, bass] already does that as well. But I don't think it changes the… I mean, of course, they all bring their talent to it, but as far as the vision and the end result, [it] doesn't really change very much, because I know what I want. That's why ICED EARTH is a brand, that's why we've had a lot of success on every chapter of the band's history. I don't think there's any other bands that have had five lead singer changes that can say that they were successful through all of it, and we have been. So it's all about leading and knowing the vision and staying true to the vision. And that's the reason that I named this record 'Incorruptible' — because ICED EARTH is… That logo represents 32 years of dedication to heavy metal, and it is absolutely incorruptible. This vision can't be corrupted; there's no amount of money on earth. So that's the whole thing of what we're about. This is the real shit, it comes from a real place, and that's why we have some of the most loyal fans in the world, because they know it's real."

ICED EARTH took a break from touring in 2015, primarily due to Schaffer's second cervical fusion surgery.

Longtime ICED EARTH drummer Brent Smedley returned to the band for the current recording and touring cycle. Smedley had to step down due to personal family reasons in 2013 shortly before the recording of "Plagues Of Babylon".

"Plagues Of Babylon" sold around 6,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 49 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Vivian Campbell has confirmed that there are plans for his band LAST IN LINE to record a second album to follow this year's "Heavy Crown".

Cambell, along with drummer Vinny Appice and bassist Jimmy Bain, was part of the original DIO lineup, which reunited in 2012 alongside singer Andrew Freeman to form LAST IN LINE.

When LAST IN LINE formed, the intent was to celebrate Ronnie James Dio's early work by reuniting the members of the original DIO lineup. After playing shows that featured a setlist composed exclusively of material from the first three DIO albums, the band decided to move forward and create new music in a similar vein.

Speaking to EonMusic, Vivian — who is still a member of DEF LEPPARD — stated about LAST IN LINE's future plans: "There will be a second album. I've certainly started writing for it; I've got ideas for it. I think in January we'll probably go in the studio together and we'll start jamming song ideas. I don't know when we're going to record it, but definitely sometime in 2017 we will finish another LAST IN LINE record, because we're really encouraged by the response this record's ['Heavy Crown'] got. I mean, I think we hit the target that we aimed for, which was we wanted to make a record that was reminiscent of that era, and we went about writing and recording it in the spirit that we had approached the original 'Holy Diver' album in, without being contrived. There is an undeniable sound when Vinny Appice plays drums, it raises my game as a guitar player, and when Vinny and I play together, and especially when Jimmy and Vinny and I played together, it was seventy-five percent of the original DIO band, and it was a sound that we naturally had."

According to Campbell, part of the reason "Heavy Crown" sounds so organic is down to the way LAST IN LINE approached the recording. "It is very DIO-esque, and everybody really shines," he said. "Jeff Pilson, who produced the record, I think did an exceptional job as a vocal producer, because he's a great singer himself, and I think he really pulled the best performance possible out of Andy. The guy who mixed the record for us and mastered it is a guy called Chris Collier. We invited Chris to the studio after we had cut the first four tracks, and played the songs for him, and urged him to go home and listen to 'Holy Diver' repeatedly, because we wanted that kind of sound. But the main thing that I kept impressing upon Chris was to not compress the sound along the way. We didn't compress very much at the tracking stage, we didn't compress much in the mixing, we compressed as little as possible in the mastering. Modern records are so heavily, heavily compressed — people want their records to be compressed so they pop out more, so their record is louder than the next guy's. I don't give a shit about that; I want dynamics in a record, and that's what's missing in a lot of modern rock music."

Bain passed away in late January at the age of 68. He was reportedly suffering from lung cancer at the time of his death.

LAST IN LINE recruited Phil Soussan (OZZY OSBOURNE, BEGGARS & THIEVES, Steve Lukather) to play bass for the group for all dates in support of "Heavy Crown". Also joining them at the shows is virtuoso keyboardist Erik Norlander (Lana Lane).

Soussan made his live debut with LAST IN LINE on April 14 at Count's Vamp'd Rock Bar & Grill in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Freeman previously played with Soussan in the acclaimed Las Vegas rock and roll production "Raiding The Rock Vault".

Appice and Soussan had done a number of shows together as members of the all-star jam band BIG NOIZE.

"Heavy Crown" was released on February 19, 2016 via Frontiers Music Srl.

The Metal Authority conducted an interview with QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Michael Wilton before the band's November 30 concert at Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about the progress of the songwriting sessions for QUEENSRŸCHE's follow-up to 2015's "Condition Hüman" album, Wilton said: "Well, we have a bunch of different ideas, and we're putting them all together. We're trying to do this on the road, because we'd like to get in the studio in February and March at some point. So we're busy. We have quite a few ideas already."

Wilton also talked about the QUEENSRŸCHE songwriting process. He said: "When we're out on the road, we're fragmented as far… Sometimes it's really loud and I can't hear what I'm doing. So you have pockets of time. And so maybe some days I'll work on a song and work on the chorus and the verse and the solo section, and then another day I'll work on another song, little bits here and there. And then we'll work with everybody in the band. So I'll get Todd [La Torre, vocals] to come over and start putting some vocal ideas."

He continued: "All the songs are built kind of from the ground up, unless there's a few riffs that we have left over from the last recording or something that we worked on the prior year. Yeah, it's just getting all the parts together, all the songs somewhat cohesive."

Michael added that QUEENSRŸCHE would like to come up with "twenty or so" basic song ideas before refining them for the final product. He explained: "Once you've lived with 'em for so long, you start seeing… you delve into them a little deeper, so that's when the refinements come. Then when you have pre-production — which, we're gonna use Zeuss [producer Chris Harris] again, who did 'Condition Hüman'… We've already been talking to him. We sent him a couple of demos, so he's all about it and he loves it, loves the direction. So once we get 'em all ready, then we just kind of do a pre-production, and then you're off to the races."

QUEENSRŸCHE recently embarked on a month-long headlining tour of the United States. Support on the trek is coming from ARMORED SAINT and MIDNIGHT ETERNAL.

"Condition Hüman" debuted at No. 27 on The Billboard 200 chart, having shifted 14,000 equivalent album units in the week ending October 8, 2015.

You don't need to be a die-hard '80s metal fan to know that the fruits of an artistic alliance between DANGER DANGER singer Ted Poley and guitarist/producer Steve Brown of TRIXTER is going to make melodic rock fans rejoice! The two musicians from New Jersey recently created TOKYO MOTOR FIST and the new band is ready to unleash on the world their self-titled debut album on February 24, 2017 via Frontiers Music Srl.

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

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

Swedish progressive metallers OPETH played a one-off U.K. show at London's SSE Wembley Arena on November 19. Behind-the-scenes footage from the gig can be seen below.

Last year, OPETH celebrated its 25th anniversary with a string of special "An Evening With..." shows that saw the band grace the stage of historic and celebrated venues such as London's Theatre Royal, Los Angeles' Orpheum and New York's Beacon Theater.

When the SSE Wembley Arena concert was first announced earlier this year, OPETH frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt said: "We have played Wembley Arena once before supporting DREAM THEATER but to be back on our own, so to speak, is a daunting-yet-exciting task.

"London has always been kind to us ever since our very early overseas shows, and I have no doubt that this will be yet another overwhelming experience.

"This will be the biggest show we have ever done on our own and we will approach it with our 25 years as a band in our luggage. It will be memorable and fantastic, I have no doubt. I hope you'll be there to celebrate with us. A bunch of bums from Stockholm.

"Can't believe we're doing this. I'm nervous. Excited. Fucking hell! OPETH at Wembley Arena. Who would have thought?!"

As previously reported, OPETH will join forces with France's GOJIRA for a short run of U.S. dates in May.

OPETH's twelfth album, "Sorceress", was released at the end of September.

For the band's first effort for Nuclear Blast via OPETH's imprint label Moderbolaget Records, the group returned to Rockfield Studios in Wales, also home to pivotal releases from QUEEN, RUSH and JUDAS PRIEST, where the Swedes had tracked "Pale Communion" in 2014 with Tom Dalgety

"It's got a little bit of everything," OPETH frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt told Guitar World about the album's musical direction. "There are some progressive moments, some jazz moments, some acoustic things. And even though it's not a death-metal record, it's still got some really heavy moments in there as well."

Wacken TV has uploaded professionally filmed video footage of three songs from ARCH ENEMY's August 6 appearance at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany. Check it out below.

ARCH ENEMY's full performance at this year's Wacken Open Air — billed as the band's largest stage production to date — will be included on their new live DVD, "As The Stages Burn!", due on March 31, 2017 via Century Media. This concert marked the pinnacle of a highly successful album campaign in support of "War Eternal". It all began in March of 2014 when the band announced new vocalist Alissa White-Gluz as well as the video for the album title track, "War Eternal". This debut track went on to become the bands most successful video in their career, surpassing 20 million views on YouTube. The release of the "War Eternal" album also saw ARCH ENEMY reaching their highest U.S. and German chart positions to date while going on to play over 200 shows in over 40 countries around the world. In late 2014, Jeff Loomis (ex-NEVERMORE) joined ARCH ENEMY during the world tour with KREATOR and in 2015 they played arenas as direct support for NIGHTWISH.

ARCH ENEMY guitarist Michael Amott told Spark TV about "As The Stages Burn!": "I think this is the perfect album cycle to document. It's a fresh new ARCH ENEMY, and we just spent two years on the road or more, and, yeah, we just wanna put it out there kind of as a document of this time. And the show at Wacken was really special as well. We put a lot of effort into the production and had our biggest show to date. And that'll be the main part of the DVD, I guess, but there's gonna be a lot of other stuff as well, and it'll be like a live album, DVD, Blu-ray and all that stuff. We have a lot of other cool shows filmed as well, and parts of those might very well be a part of the DVD. But, you know, Wacken was just a great opportunity; it's the biggest heavy metal festival in the world."

ARCH ENEMY will celebrate the release of "As The Stages Burn!" with a number of European shows with special support from LACUNA COIL and THE HAUNTED.

Regarding the progress of the songwriting sessions for ARCH ENEMY's follow-up to "War Eternal", Michael said: "There's plenty of ideas floating around, and there's even some simple demos and stuff like that, but we haven't really seriously gotten into the songwriting process yet. But there's a lot of ideas. But we've been spending so much time on the road, and we're not really the kind of band that writes music on the road. I mean, we might come up with a little riff idea or a melody, or something like that, or a lyrical idea, but it's easier to put it together at home when you take some specific, dedicated time to write and put together music. It's a different kind of focus that you need, I think. You wake up in a different city every day, and it's a different life, and it's a little bit hard to focus on things like that."

Added Jeff Loomis (guitar): "I think the writing process is gonna be awesome between us. It's just like Mike said — we really haven't had a lot of time to sit down together yet, but I think that time is gonna be coming soon."

On the topic of the expectations for ARCH ENEMY's next album, Alissa said: "I think that for all of us, with any new album, or even just with any show, it's always a challenge to do better than the last time. And I think that we all love 'War Eternal' and it's always gonna be super special to us, but we still wanna do better this time. It's just a matter of always keeping very, very high standards and being critical on yourself but in a constructive way, so that you can always produce good music and good performances. I don't think any of us are complacent when it comes to the quality of music that we've put out. I don't think we have any specific ideas in mind for things that we have to achieve within the album, but we have a really strong lineup here that's capable of putting together a really solid album. So we're all pretty excited about it… Let's not forget also that we have Jeff here for the writing process of this album, which we didn't have with 'War Eternal', so right there we have a whole new world to explore. So that's pretty exciting too."

Swedish power metal masters BLOODBOUND have announced the arrival of their new studio album, titled "War Of Dragons" for February 24th. "War Of Dragons" follows the Live DVD/CD "One Night Of Blood" which was released in February (2016).
During the past few years, BLOODBOUND have established themselves as one of the finest metal acts from their traditionally strong home country - having toured Europe with the likes of Sabaton and U.D.O.. All this experience now shows in "War Of Dragons", likely the band's most anthemic, bombastic and fast-paced album ever.

Tracklist:

A New Era Begins
Battle In The Sky
Tears Of A Dragonheart
War Of Dragons
Silver Wings
Stand And Fight
King Of Swords
Fallen Heroes
Guardians At Heaven's Gate
Symphony Satana
Starfall
Dragons Are Forever

"War Of Dragons" will be available as CD, 2-CD Digipak, ltd. Vinyl & ltd. Box Set.

And BLOODBOUND fulfill another big wish of their fans:
the band's first headlining tour is announced! Traditional heavy metal band (and AFM label mates) Crystal Viper as well as Thobbe Englund (ex-Sabaton) will complete the package.

"In the past we have toured a lot as a support act to bands like Sabaton, Hammerfall and U.D.O.. We felt that the time was right to do our own tour now so we can give the fans a full concert, not just a short support set", BLOODBOUND's Fredrik Bergh says. "We wanted to have a great package of bands, so we invited our awesome label mates Crystal Viper to join us as co-headliners and as a very special guest we will bring our friend Thobbe Englund (ex-Sabaton) and his brand new killer band! Thobbe will also join us as 2nd guitarist on this tour since Henrik Olsson is unable to perform."

BLOODBOUND & CRYSTAL VIPER + Thobbe Englund
"Dragons And Witches" Tour

30.03.17 AT Wien - Das Bach
31.03.17 CZ Zlin - Masters Of Rock Cafe
01.04.17 DE Leipzig - Hellraiser
02.04.17 HU Budapest - Barba Negra
03.04.17 DE München - Backstage
04.04.17 FR Paris - Glazart
05.04.17 DE Weinheim - Cafe Central
06.04.17 FR Essen - Turock
07.04.17 CH Pratteln - Z7
08.04.17 BE Vosselaar - Biebob
09.04.17 DE Hamburg - Markthalle

"The Venomous", the new single from Greek/Swedish melodic death metallers NIGHTRAGE, will be released this coming Friday, December 16 via Despotz Records. The song will be made available on all major streaming services.

"The Venomous" is the title track of NIGHTRAGE's seventh album, which will be released in early 2017. The disc was recorded at Zero Gravity Studios in Athens with producer Terry Nikas.

Says the band: "The NIGHTRAGE sound is evolving and we are ready to take it to new exciting and creative heights. We cannot wait to unleash this out into the world!"

NIGHTRAGE recently announced the addition of Magnus Söderman on guitar and Lawrence Dinamarca on drums.

NIGHTRAGE's sixth studio album, "The Puritan", was released in April 2015 via Despotz Records.The CD marked vocalist Ronnie Nyman's recorded debut with NIGHTRAGE after he performed with the band on its Japanese and Russian tours.

NIGHTRAGE was founded in 2000 in Greece by Marios Iliopoulos and his close friend, Gus G., who departed after the band's second album, "Descent Into Chaos". During the band's 16-year career, NIGHTRAGE has released six studio albums and toured across Europe, the U.S., Canada and Asia while employing various musicians from AT THE GATES, EVERGREY, DARK TRANQUILLITY, AMARANTHE and FIREWIND.

NIGHTRAGE is: Marios Iliopoulos - GuitarRonnie Nyman - VocalsAnders Hammer - BassMagnus Söderman - GuitarLawrence Dinamarca - Drums

Photo credit: Soile Siirtola

In January, Hexvessel released their third album When We Are Death. One of the many live gigs in support of the new album was at the Menuo Juodaragis Festival in the national forest of Lithuania. The band was bringing the Finnish filmmaker (and former Sentenced drummer) Vesa Ranta to film this special event for a short concert film. Jaime Gomez Arellano who already worked on the Hexvessel albums as well as producing bands like Solstafir and Paradise Lost took care of the audio live mix.

The band comments: "Our idea was to try to capture a sense of the transcendental nature of one of our live shows, when you set our music to the backdrop of the forest at an event that has great meaning for us spiritually. There are a few events that have enabled this perfect conjuration of what Hexvessel means to happen. Menuo Juodaragis is one of those such magic events. A pagan festival held deep in the wilds of Lithuania on a beautifully lush island surrounded by forests, it is an event which celebrates our culture and heritage and it is utterly unique in Europe. We were so proud to go there and play the main stage and in our own way offer a sacrifice of sound to the great transformation that was taking place within people at the festival. It's a place where you can feel the ancients breath, you can sense a great unity of spirit and mind and it's a very warm and inclusive, familiar atmosphere. We were delighted to feel bound and compelled together with people from all parts of the world who had travelled there to get some sense of an old and almost forgotten religion. When you are there, really brought out of yourself and back into your more primitive awareness, you know that the old religion still exists only waiting to be pulled out again from the earth, the ash and the roots of age-old trees. Here you know the real meaning of what it was to truly know the earth and the universe. It was a beautiful and life-changing event that we are very happy to have this visual and resonant memento of."

Next step? Three enigmatic pioneers of the current and modern psych rock movement in Finland, take to the roads in February 2017! They undertake a spiritual journey to the edges of sound and beyond for an extensive and comprehensive tour of most of the big towns in Finland. Rarely does such an exciting lineup come together. Miss these dates at your own peril.
 
Hexvessel singer and guitarist Mat McNerney comments: "We've been wanting to go on a more thorough tour of Finland for some time now. Having played the bigger cities many times and had many successful shows there, it was time for us to get out and play the other towns and meet our fans and friends in other parts of the country. We put together this tour, with two other bands that we feel represent the best of what's going on in the scene here in Finland right now, so that people would have a really massive dose of entertainment for the evening and get more than they paid for in money for a ticket. We wanted to create an experience for people, and a tour that people would talk about and discuss for years to come. Death Hawks have a wonderfully immersive, tripped out Sun Ra sound with this undercurrent of really uplifting and purifying atmosphere. They are simply one of the best live bands in Finland right now and I think international success is right on the cusp of their horizon. Kairon Irse are an underground treasure that a lot of people have been talking about for some time now. Apparently an astounding live act that we're very eager to see in some of these beautiful venues that we are taking this tour to (Tavastia and Olympia for example). The band is progressive and technical at a King Crimson level, with a lot of feeling and emotion but also with masses of wild and bug-eyed madness included. I wanted people to look at the lineup for this tour and go ‘FUCK! Hexvessel, Death Hawks AND Kairon Irse!!’ and we've been hearing that again and again since we announced this package. It's one of those dream lineups. I can't wait to be a part of it and take this multi-dimensional caravan across this magical land!"

Dates:

February
2 – Oulu – 45 Special
3 – Seinäjoki – Bar 15
4 – Jyväskylä – Tanssisali Lutakko
9 – Helsinki – Tavastia-klubi
10 – Hämeenlinna – Suistoklubi
11 – Tampere – Olympia-kortteli
17 – Lahti – Ravintola Torvi
18 – Turku – Dynamo 
24 – Joensuu – Ravintola Kerubi
25 – Kouvola – Bar Downtown Kouvola

The String Quartets is a new album by Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson and the Carducci Quartet featuring the classic songs of Jethro Tull, arranged and orchestrated by John O’Hara.

Ian plays flute on most of the tracks and even sings a few lines here and there to provide his trademark sounds in the context of classical music traditions. “Living In The Past”, “Aqualung”, “Locomotive Breath” and “Bungle In The Jungle” are amongst the album tracklisting but appear, along with their fellow musical travelers, under more cryptic titles to differentiate them from the original recordings and arrangements.

Recorded in the crypt of Worcester Cathedral, UK and in St Kenelm’s Church, Sapperton, Gloucestershire, UK, Ian says that this album is, “Perfect for lazy, long sunny afternoons, crisp winter nights, weddings and funerals.”

He forgot to add, perfect also after a night of wild, abandoned sex or to celebrate the win of your favourite football team. Essentially, anytime music for sophisticated lovers of classic rock too afraid to wear their Tull T-shirt at the village barbecue.

The album will be released on March 24th via BMG/The End Records. Pre-order now at PledgeMusic.

Listen to the song “Pass The Bottle (A Christmas Song)”, and check out a video interview with Ian Anderson, below:

New Haven-based metal titans, Dead By Wednesday, have released a new video for "Phoenix Rising”. It's another solid heavy groove track off their current guest vocalist album, Darkest Of Angels, which features Dead By Wednesday drummer Opus' former frontman Kris Keyes, from the underground 90's cult sensation Gargantua Soul, currently in Dive Bomber.

Darkest Of Angels also features vocalists Coma of Candiria, Sean Danielsen of Smile Empty Soul, Fates Warning with John Arch, Waylon Reavis of A Killer's Confession, Rob Dukes of Fragile Mortals/formerly Exodus, Antony Hämäläinen of Armageddon, Brian Fair of Shadows Fall, Ceschi Ramos of Fake Four Inc., Paul M Stoddard of Diecast, Eric AK of Flotsam and Jetsam, Marc Rizzo of Soulfly and more.

Upcoming Dead By Wednesday live dates:

December
15 - Sherlocks - Erie PA, PA (with A Killer’s Confession)
16 - Madison Live! - Covington, KY
17 - Cleveland Agora - Cleveland, OH (with A Killer’s Confession)

January
13 - Toad’s Place - New Haven, CT
27 - The Tank American Legion Post 185 - Agawam, MA

February
9 - Piper’s Sports Bar and Grill - Greenacres, FL
10 - Ashley’s SportsPage - Satellite Beach, FL
11 - Haven Lounge - Winter Park, FL
25 - Lucky 13 Saloon p Brooklyn, NY

Based out of Los Angeles, CA, Witherfall is the collective brainchild of guitarist Jake Dreyer (Iced Earth, Kobra And The Lotus, White Wizzard), singer Joseph Michael (White Wizzard) and the late Adam Sagan (Circle II Circle, Into Eternity). With Dreyer and Michael having previously worked together in White Wizzard and Sagan collaborating on with Dreyer on the critically acclaimed debut instrumental EP, In The Shadows Of Madness - which included a featured track for the popular video game franchise, Rockband - the trio combined forces to begin writing for the new project in 2013.
 
Eager to resonate their ideas, Witherfall headed to Phoenix, AZ to self-produce their debut album, Nocturnes And Requiems, with engineer Ralph Patlan (Megadeth, Brian "Head" Welch, MSG) in late 2014. The album was then sent on to New York City for mixing and mastering by Chris "Zeuss" Harris (Rob Zombie, Queensrÿche, Hatebreed) at Planet Z. Resulting in eight masterfully executed tracks featuring the group's dynamic blend of darkened melodic and progressive metal, Nocturnes And Requiems is scheduled for release on February 10th, 2017. Preorders are live at Witherfall’s official website.

Nocturnes And Requiems is dedicated to the life of Adam Sagan who passed on December 7th, 2016 during the final stages of production. The band collectively commented, "This, as we know, is the last piece of work that Adam contributed and played on. Adam’s talent, passion and personality is woven throughout every part of this record as he was easily 1/3 of the creative force. Nocturnes And Requiems was a name that Adam eerily came up with one evening when we were figuring out album titles would not have sounded the way it does now without his immense contribution on and off the drums. Adam, we love you and it's a tragedy that you were not able to see this release. You will always and forever be a member of Witherfall. Rest In Peace man."
 
Witherfall has revealed the album's debut single, "End Of Time", which can be seen/heard in the below lyric music video. Showcasing the melancholic cover artwork painted by Kristian Whalin (Bathory, The Black Dahlia Murder, Wintersun), "End Of Time" presents a unique approach to the idea of a modern metal song with memorable melodic hooks, big choruses and dynamically aggressive vocals combined with virtuosic guitar playing reminiscent of the legends of the neoclassical shred guitar scene and a progressive rhythm section featuring modern extreme drumming techniques and fusion influenced bass lines.

Tracklisting:

“Portrait”
“What We Are Dying For”
“Act II”
“Sacrifice”
“The Great Awakening”
“End Of Time”
“Finale”
“Nobody Sleeps Here Anymore”

“End Of Time” lyric video:

West Virginia-based groove metal outfit, Byzantine, has finished recording their upcoming sixth full-length, and Metal Blade Records debut, entitled The Cicada Tree. Set to be released in spring 2017, The Cicada Tree was recorded at 7over8 Studios in Myrtle Beach, SC with producer and engineer Jay Hannon. To view a video update from the band, regarding this new album, see below:

Chris Ojeda (vocals, rhythm guitar) comments: "The Cicada Tree represents 16 years of a heavy metal band thriving completely underground. Byzantine has been on a slow burn since 2000, constantly crafting our brand of heavy metal and now, with the support of Metal Blade Records, we will finally get a chance to showcase our music on a bigger stage."

Byzantine was formed in 2000 by vocalist/guitarist Chris Ojeda and former guitarist Tony Rohrbough. After releasing three albums via Prosthetic Records, touring with Lamb Of God, playing the main stage of New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, and receiving much praise from fans and media alike, the band abruptly called it quits in early 2008 - but it wasn't long before the metal community demanded their return.

In 2012, a reinvigorated Byzantine reunited with their seminal lineup, and consequently delivered two highly praised albums, which were crowd-funded through Kickstarter and Pledge Music and self-released. Now, after having been an independent artist since 2013, Ojeda and his crew are back with a new record deal, poised to dominate the scene once again with The Cicada Tree.

Stay tuned for more news, coming soon.

Incite have just unleashed their brand new music video for the bludgeoning single, "Stagnant". The video features footage of the band's unrelenting performances on their most recent US tour, as well as behind-the-scenes footage of life on the road. If you've never witnessed Incite live or heard their music, this video and track are a perfect introduction. Watch "Stagnant", directed by Brian Cox of Flarelight Films, below

Vocalist Richie Cavalera states, ""Stagnant" has become the most raging song off this record! One thing that's always been true about this band is that we bring it live. So we really felt that we needed to shoot a live video that could capture that energy and the Incite show experience. We got some killer imagery, and awesome use of drones to give it that "wow factor". We always want to release unique videos and this one is nothing short of kick ass. Stop, listen, you will find "Stagnant”.”

In just two days, on December 14th, Incite will kick off their tour with the South American leg of Max & Iggor Cavalera Return To Roots. The tour will hit seven major South American cities, before coming to a close in Mexico City on December 21st. See below for all tour dates.

December
14 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Imperator
15 - Belo Horizonte, Brazil - Belo Horizonte
16 - São Paulo, Brazil - Tropical Butanta
17 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Teatro Vorerix
18 - Santiago, Chile - Teatro Caupolican
20 - Bogota, Colombia - The Bar Revolution
21 - Mexico City, Mexico - Teatro Volador

Queen have released an official karaoke-style lyric video for their classic hit, “We Will Rock You”, originally released on the 1977 album, News Of The World. Watch below:

In other news, Queen are offering fans a chance to win a copy of the new Queen Extravaganza live album, A Night at The Apollo - Hammersmith Live 2016, signed by Roger Taylor.

More details at this location.

Check out this time-lapse load in footage from The Queen Extravaganza’s headline show at the Hammersmith Apollo in November 2016:

On March 31st, Warbringer will deliver their monumental fifth record, entitled Woe To The Vanquished, via Napalm Records.

Singer John Kevill describes the new album musically: “For the music on this record we re-focused ourselves after a lot of the experiments on Empires Collapse, and decided we wanted to make a record that is start-to-finish more merciless, ruthless, and cruel, but also maintains some of the more melodic and progressive sense. What we ended up with is a record that has a lot of traits of classic thrash but also a lot of extreme metal, and a rather unique version of that blend. It's overall faster and meaner than anything else we've put out, but also has our biggest and most ambitious song, the 11-minute "When The Guns Fell Silent" to close the record.”

Woe To The Vanquished has been carefully crafted over a period of time, and the album was produced and mixed by Mike Plottnikoff (Fear Factory, In Flames), mastered by Howie Weinberg (Slayer, Pantera) with cover art by the esteemed  Andreas Marschall (Sodom, Blind Guardian, Obituary).

Kevill explains the stunning album artwork, “It is directly based on a photograph from the end of the First World War - a grim monument, a pyramid of 12,000 German spiked helmets, right in the middle of New York City. What struck me about the image is firstly how morbid it seems to be celebrating 12,000 dead men and calling it victory."

Kevill, who is studying to be a history professor, comments on the title, Woe To The Vanquished and the story behind it: “The title Woe To The Vanquished comes from early Roman history - before they were the huge empire they became. In 390 BC, a host of Gauls led by a warlord called Brennus attacked Rome, and captured all the city except the Capitoline Hill. From this hill the defeated Romans made a bargain, they would pay 1,000 pounds of gold for the Gallic army to leave the city with no further bloodshed. The Romans bring the gold before Brennus, who uses his own scales to measure it. On the Gaul's scales, the Roman's thousand pounds of gold measured to be less, which led the Romans to complain that the scale was rigged (it probably was). Responding to this, Brennus speaks "Vae Victis" (Woe To The Vanquished) and throws his sword on the counterweight. Because the Romans lost, they have to pay the rigged sum of gold as well as the weight of the sword, to add insult to injury. The irony here is that vowing this type of humiliation would never happen again, Rome went on to become an ancient war machine conquering and subjugating most of the old world. On the record "Woe To The Vanquished" is spoken in an ironic, mocking tone - the defeated are trampled and time marches on, uncaring, and forgets they ever existed.   

“One of the great things about heavy metal as a genre is you can express tougher subject material than "I met a (boy/girl) and it was (happy/sad)". I looked for the most monolithic evil I could find to write about with this destructive, intense music... and I did not have to look any further than reality.  Forget Satan, that's a children's story. Real evil is in the hearts of men.”

The band has released a special extended “making of” video. Watch below:

Pre-orders will be available shortly.

Hot on the heels for their album release, the band will be hitting the road all over Europe in spring and summer, including confirmed festivals like Spain’s Resurrection Fest, Slovenia’s Metal Days and Devilstone in Lithuania, with more to be announced.

As they prepare for the release of their third full-length album, Crossover Ministry, on February 3rd via Relapse, Richmond crossover punks Iron Reagan have unveiled another song from the record. “Grim Business” is streaming below. One of Crossover Ministry’s 18 tracks, “Grim Business” thrashes and grooves in true Iron Reagan form.

Recorded by guitarist Phil “Landphil” Hall and mixed by Kurt Ballou, Crossover Ministry features 30 minutes of relentlessly catchy riffs and irresistibly mosh-ready breakdowns paired with lyrics that run the gamut from satyrical to serious.  In the wake of one of the most controversial presidential elections in American history, Crossover Ministry couldn’t have come at a better time.

Pre-order the new album at this location.

Tracklisting:

“A Dying World”
“You Never Learn”
“Grim Business”
“Dead With My Friends”
“No Sell”
“Condition Evolution”
“Fuck The Neighbors”
“Power Of The Skull”
“Crossover Ministry”
“More War”
“Blatant Violence”
“Parents Of Tomorrow”
“Bleed The Fifth”
“Megachurch”
“Shame Spiral”
“Dogsnotgods”
“Eat Or Be Eaten”
“Twist Your Fate”

“Grim Business”:

"A Dying World":

Infomercial:

Audio samples:

Crossover Ministry by Iron Reagan

Iron Reagan will play two shows with Dag Nasty to close out 2016 and will be announcing 2017 tour dates soon.  

Live dates:

December (with Dag Nasty)
27 - Asbury Park, NJ - Stone Pony
28 - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage

(Photo - Dennis Williford)