Before an intimate charity show at Toronto's Opera House this week, METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo revealed to Exclaim! TV 's Aggressive Tendencies that he had written the opening instrumental section of the band's new song "ManUNkind" in memory of METALLICA's legendary bass player Cliff Burton. In the beginning of the song, Trujillo deftly fingerpicks a melodic bassline alongside James Hetfield's clean guitar, reminiscent of Burton's own solo bass sections.

"When I had written that, I was definitely thinking about Cliff," Trujillo said. "In a way, that to me is a tip of the hat to Cliff Burton and the spirit of Cliff. If you hear that little thing before 'ManUNkind', for me personally, that was with Cliff in mind."

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich recently spoke to Seattle's KISW 99.9 radio station about the 30th anniversary of the tragic loss of Cliff Burton when METALLICA's tour bus skidded on ice while the group was on tour in Scandinavia and Cliff was thrown out the window and crushed. Lars said: "We were so shocked and stunned that we didn't know what hit us. And, like most, I guess, kids in their early 20s who get ambushed with that type of thing, we jumped into a bottle of, in this case, vodka, for me, and stayed in there for quite some time. We weren't mature enough or seasoned in life enough to know how to deal with this other than just to sort of, basically, almost hide behind the alcohol and compartmentalized it. So the next few months were very difficult, and it was crazy, but we just put the blinders on and started auditioning bass players. And we knew in our hearts that Cliff would be the first one to kick us in the ass and tell us to keep going, if he could see us mope. And so there was no moping; we just kept going the best we knew how to."

METALLICA frontman James Hetfield was asked in an interview with TeamRock what he thinks Burton might have thought about the drastic changes in its look and sound that METALLICA made through the 1990s and early 2000s with albums like "Load", "Reload" and "St. Anger". Hetfield replied: "Well, I certainly would have thought there would have been some resistance, for sure. I think the 'Black Album' was a great album and I appreciate the fact that we did have the balls to do that… I would certainly think that the 'Load' and 'Reload' [era], I would have had an ally that was very against it all — the reinvention or the U2 version of METALLICA."

Asked if Hetfield was personally comfortable with the more "alternative" image and music METALLICA made on those albums, the singer/guitarist replied: "No, no, not at all. There’s some great, great songs on there but my opinion is that all of the imagery and stuff like that was not necessary. And the amount of songs that were written was… it diluted the potency of the poison of METALLICA. And I think Cliff would have agreed with that."

Following the "Load"/"Reload" albums and tour, METALLICA went into a tailspin that resulted in the exit of bassist Jason Newsted, Hetfield spending the better part of a year in rehab and the band nearly splitting up.

METALLICA returned to a heavier style more reminiscent of its early albums on 2008's "Death Magnetic", while its new disc, "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct", arrived last month.

Multi-faceted musician/performer Jason Charles Miller has inked a deal with Century Media Records.

A veteran artist with more than two decades of work to his credit, Miller is commonly known in the music world as the frontman and founding member of the industrial rock outfit GODHEAD, but has established himself in recent years as a solo artist and sought-after songwriter and producer.

Miller commented: "I couldn't be happier to have a home at the Century family! Participating as a songwriter with several acts on the label for the past few years has given me a unique look into the company and how they do business. The staff at Century dedicates themselves to their acts with passion, conviction, devotion and sweat! I can't wait to work with everyone there and get some great things done!"

In addition to his forthcoming southern rock-inspired debut with Century Media, Miller recently co-produced the new Billy Ray Cyrus album, "Thin Line". He is also a much-sought-after voice acting talent that has been featured in over a hundred video games and animated productions, including World Of Warcraft, The Legend Of Korra and Mafia III.

Miller will begin 2017 with appearances at NAMM (ESP/Takamine Guitars Stage) on January 20 and the Anime Los Angeles convention January 27-29. His first scheduled shows of the new year will take place January 26 at The Federal in North Hollywood, and at Bar Sinister in Hollywood on March 18.

On November 30, METALLICA frontman James Hetfield sat down for a one-on-one interview with Josie Dye from the 102.1 The Edge radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On how watching the Amy Winehouse documentary "Amy" was one of the inspirations for "Moth Into Flame", the second single off METALLICA's new album, "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct":

Hetfield: "Well, just watching that movie was extremely saddening, and how her life went from just such a lively, joyous person to someone who was just trying to escape the reality of where she was. It really hit me in the one part of the movie where she was lost in her mind, it seemed, and she was just leaving her flat in England to go somewhere and the press were just hanging out in front of her place all the time, just snapping these pictures of her, 'Hey, Amy, how's it going? How's this?, talking to her like they know her and they just don't notice how… I mean, they wouldn't say, 'Gosh, you look skinny. You look unhealthy.' There was a total misconnection there with reality. And just noticing the fame part and how that can really be a drug for some people and it certainly has been for us in our career. But just growing up with it, and how do you deal with fame? What do you do with that? How does it affect you? And at what point do you realize that this might not be as healthy as I think it is for me?"

On how he stays grounded:

Hetfield: "Well, I've got a wife that kicks my ass, first of all. Kids that tell it like it is. That, to me, is love right there, when your kids [say to you], 'Dad, you're being a jerk.' You know? I love that; that's what helps me a lot. Family certainly does that. I think the guys in the band too; we all keep each other in check. Like, 'Dude, is that limo a little too long? C'mon!' Just goofy things like that. We try and keep each other real. I think not surrounding ourselves with 'yes' men too, which can really just totally distort your reality."

On whether he is able to go into his local store without being bothered:

Hetfield: "Oh, yeah, well, when I don't have my butler doing that, sure. Oh, gosh. Where we live, no one cares. [Editor's note: Hetfield and his family recently relocated to Colorado.] It's like, 'Oh, it's that dude again.' Or some people just don't even know, [and] I love that. I don't know… I think… It just really depends on where you are. If you are on tour somewhere and people are expecting you to be there and there's a different feel, but living at home, I think they get over it. They get over the, 'Ooh, you're the guy,' and then they realize, oh, you're just another dork. [Laughs]"

On the success of "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct":

Hetfield: "It's a huge surprise — it really is — 'cause, for us, this is just the next record. And, for some reason, the timing is right. People are needing or wanting this. And, I guess, song-wise, people are identifying with its older-school feel — more guitar harmoinies, things like that, and some of the stuff that I knew was missing from our music. So it's still a big surprise. When your record people send you an e-mail saying, 'Hey, you're No. 1 in all these countries?' And you're, like, 'What?' Does that mean we're gonna go play Uganda? What? The tour's gonna get longer.' [Laughs]"

TOOL bassist Justin Chancellor spoke to Bass Player about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's long-awaited follow-up to 2006's "10,000 Days" album. He said: "We're pretty deep into the writing process now, and we've narrowed things down to big groups of ideas.

"For the past few months, we've been working on one of the newer songs fairly exclusively. We get the gist of it and find the main themes that make up the skeleton between verses and choruses. Then we explore different ways we can depart from that and come back to it and flip it upside down, and take the time to see what else is there.

"Everyone knows we take our time. We're really trying to be responsible with ourselves in trying to discover ideas that haven't been discovered before. It's kind of an alchemy, how we experiment."

Asked what causes such large gaps of time between TOOL albums, Justin said: "Writing is a grueling process for us, and once we finish an album, we go on tour for a couple of years. Plus, we're always very involved in our own business, so we need a break when we come back. We've also been through a lot of difficult lawsuits, which we deal with ourselves, and they're a bit of a bummer and not inspiring creatively. But we've fought to be in this position, and it's almost a responsibility now to take the time to explore special concepts while we're on this planet."

He continued: "We're our own worst critics; we're doing our best to find something that blows us all away, and we want each other to be completely happy with what we produce. I'm excited that there's going to be another album and the material will be very inspiring. So why rush it now?"

Justin added that it's "understandable" TOOL fans are constantly asking the band when the new album is going to be done. "It's a compliment that people are excited to hear it," he said. "But it's difficult to hear that and not feel some kind of guilt. All I can say is that we'll go back Monday and do our best to finish it for you, although that's not really how it works. But we know the listeners will be happy with it when it's finished."

Chancellor also spoke about the TOOL songwriting process, explaining: "Adam [Jones, guitar] and I usually have the source material we've come up with together here. We're playing pretty much nonstop right now, so a lot of ideas are coming out. Often, Danny [Carey, drums] and I will be playing something and Adam will rush into the room and tell us to record it, and then we'll spend the rest of the day working on it to see if it's worthwhile. And of course we have a whole treasure chest of ideas on our phones that we record on our own. Basically, Adam and I have riffs and Danny has rhythms or different time-signature beats, and we try to keep them basic before bringing them in to see what the other members will do with them. We establish a riff so we and the listener can identify it, and then we say, Okay, now how far away from it can we go on this journey?"

TOOL frontman Maynard James Keenan recently pushed back against accusations that he's been "lazy" about working on the band's new disc, telling The Wall Street Journal: "I really love LED ZEPPELIN, and it's a shame they're not making more records, more records. But I got up this morning without any problem. We're working on it… Do I appear to you to be a lazy person who doesn't want to get that done?"

Keenan said that his approach to making music is the same as his approach to other aspects of his life, remarking: "If the fruit's not ready, I can't pick it. If it's not ready I move on to something else."

Jones reportedly told fans during a meet-and-greet session in October that he, Carey and Chancellor have been working on new music three days a week.

While he said that they have two albums' worth of material prepared, he added that only five of those songs meet the "TOOL standard" and that Keenan has yet to write or sing lyrics for anything.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, The Recording Academy has weighed in on the controversy over both DISTURBED and Beyoncé being nominated in the "Best Rock Performance" category for the upcoming 59th annual Grammy Awards. Academy senior vice president Bill Freimuth told Metal Injection: "The rock category is one of our biggest umbrellas. Not quite as broad as pop, but maybe the next up in terms of what constitutes rock — it can be blues rock, folk rock, ballads… I think what we found this year is that so many artists that were in rock or adjacent to rock were really taking more sonic risks this year than ever before, and it made for a really exciting dynamic landscape in that field."

Freimuth added with regards to Beyoncé's track: "That [Beyoncé] recording has Jack White in it and it has LED ZEPPELIN samples in it and I think it's Beyoncé really stretching. It's an artist at the height of her musical powers, really reaching in many different directions and we are all the better for it."

Beyoncé is nominated for her song "Don't Hurt Yourself", while DISTURBED is up for its performance of SIMON & GARFUNKEL's "The Sound Of Silence". The other nominees in the category include TWENTY ONE PILOTS for "Heathens", the late David Bowie for the title track from his "Blackstar" album and ALABAMA SHAKES for a live rendition of their song "Joe".

DISTURBED singer David Draiman gave The Pulse Of Radio his perspective on the situation. "It's definitely a unique situation to be in," he said. "We have the utmost respect for everybody in this category, and that maybe is what makes it most intimidating, that we're up against literally the giants of the industry. We're just hoping for the best. I think we all could agree, all of us in this category would be able to live with and sleep well at night with having David Bowie take this one."

Draiman said in an interview with Billboard last week that it was "strange" to be competing against Beyoncé in the "Best Rock Performance" category, commenting: "When you can have, with all due respect, a Beyoncé and a DISTURBED in the same category, something has gone wrong. Not taking anything away from her whatsoever, we’re just very different from each other."

"The Sound Of Silence", a cover of the SIMON & GARFUNKEL classic, appears on DISTURBED's 2015 album "Immortalized" — although their Grammy nomination is for the band's performance of the song on "Conan".

DISTURBED's last Grammy nomination was in 2009, when it was up in the now-retired "Best Hard Rock Performance" category for "Inside The Fire".

Dann of the "Mike James Rock Show" conducted an interview with guitarist Michael "Padge" Paget of Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE during the band's current U.K. headlining tour. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked if BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's decision to perform its 2005 debut album, "The Poison", in its entirety for the first time during this tour will have an influence on the musical direction of the band's next album, Paget said: "It might do, but as a band, we're always trying to evolve. I don't think you can ever stay in the same place. But, you know, I always kind of look back towards the early days when I'm writing stuff, because that was the record that really defined us as a band. Obviously, you can't write 'The Poison 2', but, yeah, it's definitely a massive influence on our writing. But who knows? After [the latest single] 'Don't Need You' [which came out in November] now and [last year's] 'Venom' [album]… I don't know… I just wanna finish this tour and stop thinking about music for a bit, and then let the creative juices start flowing once again and see what comes out."

According to Paget, the songwriting process for BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's follow-up to "Venom" won't begin in earnest until sometime in the spring. "Especially finishing for Christmas, I think we all need a month or two off, at least, before we start writing any riffs or even thinking about making any songs," he said. "But it'll come. I'm sure once the New Year comes in, I'll back slowly going back up to the studio and getting some ideas down."

The guitarist also spoke in more detail about how the BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE albums take shape. He said: "I've got a studio in my garage, so I just go over on my own time. That's how 'Venom' was done — we did pre-production and all the demos at my garage. Me, Moose [Michael Thomas, drums] and Matt [Tuck, guitar/vocals] spent about two or three months up there, just went through songs and going through things and just making it as best as we can. And once we hit the studio, it was just bang-bang for eight weeks and we were done recording. Hopefully that process might happen this time, but, again, we'll see. But, yeah, definitely, I'll have a bunch of ideas before we even start writing."

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE last month released a video for "Don't Need You". The clip was filmed in a church by director Ville Juurikkala, who has previously worked with NIGHTWISH, AMORPHIS, HIM, APOCALYPTICA and MICHAEL MONROE, among others.

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE earlier in the year signed a worldwide deal with Search And Destroy/Spinefarm Records.

"Venom" was released in August 2015 via RCA. The CD marked BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE 's first release since the departure of longtime bassist Jason James and addition of Mathias (formerly of REVOKER).

Thomas took a temporary leave of absence from the band earlier this year to spend time with his wife, as they awaited the birth of his first child. He has since been replaced on the road by Jason Bowld (PITCHSHIFTER, AXEWOUND).

Revolver editor Sammi Chichester conducted an interview with BUTCHER BABIES frontwomen Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey at the two-day Ozzfest Meets Knotfest event, which took place September 24-25 at San Manuel Amphitheater And Festival Grounds in San Bernardino, California. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about the BUTCHER BABIES sound, Heidi said: "I think what's great about BUTCHER BABIES is we don't really stick to one sort of genre — we actually combine a lot of BLACK SABBATH and SLIPKNOT into our music, and so you can kind of hear the influence of both. We write together constantly, and so writing together, that's the beauty of it — bringing in the influence from so different genres and so many different eras of metal."

Added Carla: "It's cool to have a friend that we can say to [each other], 'I don't know what you like at all, and maybe you don't like what I like, but let's put those sounds together and make something that's very new and unique and very 'us.''"

BUTCHER BABIES are currently working on their third album for an early 2017 release via Century Media.

The band's second LP, last year's "Take It Like A Man", was produced by Logan Mader, who has previously worked with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, DEVILDRIVER, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY and GOJIRA.

Frontiers Music Srl will release the brand new PLACE VENDOME album, "Close To The Sun" on February 24, 2017.

The official lyric video for the song "Welcome To The Edge" can be seen below. One of the most popular projects put together over the years by Frontiers president Serafino Perugino, PLACE VENDOME was an idea sparked during a phone conversation between Serafino and former HELLOWEEN singer Michael Kiske, where they discussed their common passion for several melodic rock giants of the '80s. The Hamburg singer agreed to be part of a studio project where he would sing songs written especially for him by various writers with an AOR/melodic rock flavor. The amazing reception of the first PLACE VENDOME album released in 2005 planted the seeds for a second recording, "Streets Of Fire", which was recorded during 2008 and for a third album, "Thunder In The Distance", which was released in 2013. Being a project so close to Kiske's heart, it was agreed during 2016 that work on a new album would start with his UNISONIC bandmate Dennis Ward at the production helm, as usual. Of the album, Ward said: "Upon receiving the demos for the new songs intended for the new PLACE VENDOME record, I was a bit concerned because a few vocal styles seemed to go against what Michael Kiske is known for vocally. After talking together, we agreed to just let the melodies come out naturally, without trying to imitate or 'reproduce' the demos. Michael really stood up to this on the new album. He did 'his' thing, with no compromises. He managed to make the songs his own and brought all the songs to another level. I have a lot of respect for him because of this and now the album is much more than just another AOR album. That being said, I have to pay high respects to the other musicians on the album: Dirk Bruineberg proved again that he is a multi-talented drummer that can literally pull of any groove, any style of any era with the highest of expectations. Günter Werno is also a gem amongst a pile of stones. He really shines on this album and holds all the songs together, true to the PLACE VENDOME sound. Uwe Reitenauer is also a master of his instrument taking over duties that were critical and complicated to say the least. He has the perfect AOR tone and can implement it no matter what type of song you throw at him. The rest of the 'guests' that helped out made this album into a truly interesting compilation and also making this a milestone for PLACE VENDOME. That being said, it's the first PLACE VENDOME album where I feel that we have achieved our trademark sound. This is how we want to be heard and this is how we imagine ourselves to sound." Speaking of other album guests, once again Magnus Karlsson (PRIMAL FEAR) was one of the first to answer the call to participate and offered the awesome song "Falling Star" to the project. Jani Liimatainen (CAIN'S OFFERING, ex-SONATA ARCTICA) was the next contributor with the epic "Welcome To The Edge", the album's tour de force. Following LABYRINTH's reunion, guitarist Olaf Thorsen sat with ETERNAL IDOL, ANGRA and RHAPSODY singer Fabio Lione and offered "Helen" and "Riding The Ghost". Perugino then proposed that his favourite DGM song, "Hereafter", be included. This brought DGM's main composer, Simone Mularoni, into the picture, and he wrote the album's title track and "Across The Times". Alessandro Del Vecchio also offered two new songs, "Strong" and "Yesterday Is Gone", while SECRET SPHERE's guitarist Aldo LoNobile wrote "Distant Skies" and "Breathing". The full picture was finally completed with a new song written by Swedish melodic rock artist Michael Palace (PALACE, SKYLANDER), "Light Before The Dark". Kiske and Ward wanted to make the album a little bit special, so besides the "usual suspects" (including drummer Dirk Bruinenberg, VANDEN PLAS's ivory tinkler Gunter Werno and PINK CREAM 69's Uwe Reineauer on guitars), some guitar heavyweights appear on the recordings. The list includes Alfred Koffler and (of course) Uwe Reineauer of PINK CREAM 69, Magnus Karlsson, Michael Klein, Gus G. (OZZY OSBOURNE, FIREWIND), Simone Mularoni, and UNISONIC guitarists Kai Hansen and Mandy Meyer, among others. Kiske comments: "The production with my buddy Dennis was great, as always, but what I especially like about this album — beside the new microphone I used that Dennis has built me — is the various styles of the songs. It is all a still very AOR-produced album, but we also have progressive or 'wilder' elements here and there. It was (again) interesting to see how much the songs change until you finally reach the mixing stage." In a year that will see Michael Kiske rejoin with his old HELLOWEEN bandmates for a unique world tour, PLACE VENDOME's new album is the icing on the cake of a special and very rewarding period for the German singer. All in all, "Close To The Sun" is probably the most hard-rocking release ever from PLACE VENDOME and an absolute monster of an album! "Close To The Sun" track listing:

01. Close To The Sun02. Welcome To The Edge03. Hereafter04. Strong05. Across The Times06. Riding The Ghost07. Light Before The Dark08. Falling Star09. Breathing10. Yesterday Is Gone11. Helen12. Distant Skies Produced by Dennis Ward * Lead Vocals - Michael Kiske* Backing vocals - Dennis Ward, Michael Kiske // Additional Choirs on "Strong" by Alessandro Del Vecchio* Bass - Dennis Ward* Keyboards - Günter Werno* Drums - Dirk Bruinenberg* All Rhythm Guitars by Dennis Ward, except: "Welcome To The Edge", "Across The Times", "Close To The Sun", "Hearafter" - Rhythm Guitars by Uwe Reitenauer* Guitar solo by Michael Klein on "Yesterday Is Gone", "Distant Skies", "Strong", "Breathing".* Guitar solo by Uwe Reitenauer on "Close To the Sun"* Guitar solo by Alfred Koffler on "Welcome To The Edge"* Guitar solo by Magnus Karlsson on "Falling Star"* Guitar solo by Gus G. on "Light Beyond The Dark"* Guitar solo by Simone Mularoni on "Hearafter"* Guitar solo by Mandy Meyer on "Helen"* Guitar solo by Kai Hansen on "Riding The Ghost" and "Across The Times"

The official lyric video for the song "Call For War" from German power metallers GRAVE DIGGER can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's new album, "Healed By Metal", which will be released on January 13, 2017 via Napalm Records.

Asked if GRAVE DIGGER has ever been "healed by metal," vocalist Chris Boltendahl told Spark TV: "Yeah, I've [been] healed by metal a lot of times in my life. Mostly in bad times. When I listen to metal music, it builds me up again. I think it's a good title for GRAVE DIGGER. There's so many people outside who have problems. I think this record can help some people.

Regarding why the band named the album "Healed By Metal", Chris said: "Two years ago, we played a big open-air festival in Moscow. There was a hospital beside the festival [site]. There were people inside who had to listen to metal all day. I said while I was with our sound engineer, 'Oh, the poor people. They have to listen to GRAVE DIGGER all day.' He said, 'Look at me. Yes, all the people are healed by metal.'"

Chris also talked about GRAVE DIGGER's goal with the new album. He said: "First, to satisfy ourselves, then to satisfy the people outside. We want to always deliver a piece of quality. This time, it's much better quality, not than the previous albums, but in our own mind. Yeah, I think it's a piece of metal."

"Healed By Metal" track listing:

01. Healed By Metal02. When Night Falls03. Lawbreaker04. Forever Free05. Call For War06. Ten Commandments Of Metal07. The Hangman’s Eye08. Kill Ritual09. Hallelujah10. Laughing With The Dead

Digipack bonus:

11. Kingdom Of The Night12. Bucket List

GRAVE DIGGER's last collection of all-new material, "Return Of The Reaper", was released in July 2014 via Napalm Records. The CD was recorded at Principal Studios (KREATOR, IN EXTREMO, GRAVE DIGGER) in Senden, Germany.

DEAD CROSS, the Southern California outfit featuring Dave Lombardo (ex-SLAYER, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, MISFITS), Justin Pearson (THE LOCUST, RETOX, HEAD WOUND CITY) and Michael Crain (RETOX, FESTIVAL OF DEAD DEER), has added Mike Patton (FAITH NO MORE) as the band's singer.

DEAD CROSS is currently working on its debut album for a 2017 release via Ipecac Recordings.

The band earlier in the year parted ways with singer Gabe Serbian.

DEAD CROSS's debut album is being helmed by producer Ross Robinson, who has previously worked with KORN, DEFTONES, SEPULTURA and LIMP BIZKIT, among others.

Lombardo recently told Madcap Music Review about the source of the searing anger and rage that is fueling the aggression of his new band. He said: "Ever since the tragedy in Paris [that took place in November 2015]; that's why I'm fucking pissed. Because everything hit really close to home. I could have been on that stage [at the Bataclan venue in Paris where EAGLES OF DEATH METAL performed]. I could have been at a festival and some fucking son of a bitch comes in with a shotgun or whatever and starts [blowing] people's heads off. So I'm just… I'm angry. I'm over it, but, you know, with the new releasing some aggressive music, [we're able to] get all the feelings out, get all the shit that we wanna say out in this music. It's not gonna come out playing alternative music, it's not gonna come out playing soft. And my name and my drumming is synonymous with thrash and hardcore music, so I'm really excited about this."

"Phobophobia", the new video from the Dutch all-female death/black metal band SISTERS OF SUFFOCATION, can be seen below. The clip was filmed at the Wederkomst Church by Kesslr Motion.

Founded in 2014 in Eidhoven, SISTERS OF SUFFOCATION managed very quickly to establish an amazing live reputation and got lots of invitations from venues and smaller festivals. This was noticed by Eindhoven Metal Meeting, who gave them a chance to present themselves for a bigger audience.

It has always been a dream of vocalist Els Prins to start an all-female death metal band, but she didn't seem to be able find the right group of girls to make this dream reality — that is, until she met guitarist Simone van Straten. Sharing a love for extreme music, they recruited drummer Amber de Buijzer and bass player Marjolein van den Nieuwenhuizen and started rehearsing. They released their first single, "Boundaries", in July 2014 and played their first show one month later. In May 2015, Marjolein exited the band and was replaced by Puck Wildschut.

Earlier this year, SISTERS OF SUFFOCATION finally went into the studio in Antwerp to record "Brutal Queen", and the first pressing quickly sold out. Hammerheart Records reissued this EP on digi-CD (September) and on LP (November), with slightly different artwork. SISTERS OF SUFFOCATION are working on their debut album, which is scheduled for release in the second half of 2017.

SISTERS OF SUFFOCATION are:

Vocals - Els PrinsGuitar - Simone van StratenDrums - Amber de BuijzerBass - Puck Wildschut

"Personal Hell", the new video from THE MURDER OF MY SWEET, can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's fourth studio album, "Echoes Of The Aftermath", which will be released on January 27, 2017 via Frontiers Music Srl. 2015 saw THE MURDER OF MY SWEET reunite with their original label home, Frontiers, for the release of their concept album "Beth Out of Hell", a magnificent album that was described as "almost Wagnerian in style" (Sonic Cathedral) and favorably compared to such masterpieces as QUEENSRŸCHE's "Operation: Mindcrime" by the U.K.'s Powerplay.

"Echoes Of The Aftermath" musically follows on the heels of the previous record, with a more straight-ahead songwriting approach, but still offering the symphonic and cinematic elements the band is now well-known for. "Echoes Of The Aftermath" showcases a Nordic sound that the members of the band grew up listening to and lyrically takes on issues in tune with our modern day life. Drummer/producer Daniel Flores says: "During the process of writing 'Beth Out Of Hell' with Angelica, I came up with lots of riffs, melodies and music that didn't necessarily fit the concept of the album. The inspiration and creative buzz from those songwriting sessions stayed with us and helped us come up with a new album very quickly. And, of course, the warm reception from fans and media had a helping hand too. I'm personally also really proud of the sonic impact of this record, I've learnt so much during these past years working with Frontiers and I'm so glad I can showcase this in full force on this album. The guys in the band are feeling very creative these days and thanks to the fans we are able to give you our 'Echoes Of The Aftermath'! Singer Angelica Rylin adds: "For me, the writing process for this album became a way to reconnect with my Nordic roots. I've always been a fan of John Bauer (Swedish painter and illustrator) and his portraits of Swedish folklore and fairy tales was a big inspiration for me. And it was a nice break from 'Beth', who had become such a big part of my life for a very long time." "Echoes Of The Aftermath" track listing:

01. Sleeping Giant02. Personal Hell03. Racing Heart04. Cry Wolf05. Echoes Of The Aftermath06. Flatline07. Loud As A Whisper08. Shining After Dark09. Ode To Everyone10. Go On11. In Risk Of Rain12. Inside Outside THE MURDER OF MY SWEET is:

Angelica Rylin - VocalsChristopher Vetter - GuitarPatrik Janson - BassDaniel Flores - Drums, Keyboards

Century Media Records has set February 24, 2017 as the release date of "Inception", the official prequel to 1988's classic debut "Refuge Denied" from the legendary U.S. metal act SANCTUARY. "Inception" contains presumed lost 1986 studio recordings, which guitarist Lenny Rutledge discovered recently and which were magically restored, remixed and remastered by Chris "Zeuss" Harris (QUEENSRŸCHE, HATEBREED).

Watch a first trailer for this release below.

Guitarist Lenny Rutledge comments: "I found the masters in my barn. The second floor of the barn is on top of our current recording studio and is very rough and open to the elements. The ground level is where we recorded the bulk of 'The Year The Sun Died'. We found the masters in an unknown box in the barn, full of water and just wasting away." Zeuss explains further how the "Inception" album was realized: "I got a call one day and Lenny said that he had discovered these tapes and had them transferred to digital. I was in the area and stopped over to check it out. The recordings were still in decent shape.

"We agreed that we wanted it to sound as good as possible without taking away from the original vibe and vision of what the band had back then.

"After a year of mixing on and off, we were able to resurrect these original demos.

"I hope everyone enjoys these recordings as much as I did working on them, especially being a huge fan myself." Recorded in March of 1986 ("Soldiers Of Steel", "Battle Angels") at Triad Studios in Redmond, Washington and Studio One in White Center between April and July 1986, "Inception" offers such previously unreleased highlights as "Dream of The Incubus" and "I Am Insane" as well as several classic "Refuge Denied" songs that are burning with fervor and intensity. Apart from being expanded by art courtesy of Ed Repka, "Inception" is filled to the brim with tons of rare photos, flyers, early art designs, sketches plus detailed liner notes allowing you to delve deep into SANCTUARY's history.

"Inception" will be released as gatefold LP on 180-gram black and limited colored vinyl, including an extensive LP-size booklet, poster, and the album on CD as additional extra. Apart from that, it will be available as a special-edition CD digipak and digital album. Lenny concludes: "For me personally, I just wanted fans to be able to hear proper versions of the demos. They had a certain energy that was captured during the early days, maybe even more so than 'Refuge Denied'.

"It's no secret that you can find these on the Internet, but the quality is horrible.

"I think most people are under the impression that these are remastered or re-recorded versions of 'Refuge…', but this is all a prequel!" With several festivals already booked for next year, a new album in the works, "Inception" being released, 2017 shall be the year when past and future of SANCTUARY unite. Look forward to the next assault of the soldiers of steel! "Inception" track listing:

01. Dream Of The Incubus02. Die For My Sins03. Soldiers Of Steel04. Death Rider / Third War05. White Rabbit (JEFFERSON AIRPLANE cover)06. Ascension To Destiny07. Battle Angels08. I Am Insane09. Veil Of Disguise

Finnish metallers CHILDREN OF BODOM will perform most of their debut album, "Something Wild", on a European tour early next year to celebrate the record's twentieth anniversary.

The month-long trek, dubbed "20 Years Down & Dirty", will consist of the following dates:

Mar. 08 - D - Hanover - CapitolMar. 09 - D - Stuttgart - LKA LonghornMar. 10 - LUX - Luxembourg - Den AtelierMar. 11 - UK - Manchester - Academy 2Mar. 12 - UK - London - o2 Shepherd’s Bush EmpireMar. 14 - F - Caen - Le CargoMar. 15 - F - Vannes - L'EchonovaMar. 16 - F - Angouleme - La NefMar. 17 - F - Magny Le Hongre - Disney Le File 7Mar. 18 - F - Oignie - Le MetaphoneMar. 20 - CH - Zurich - KomplexMar. 21 - D - Munich - TheaterfabrikMar. 22 - I - Milan - Live ClubMar. 23 - HR - Zagreb - TvornicaMar. 25 - A - Vienna - ArenaMar. 26 - D - Dresden - Strasse EMar. 27 - D - Berlin - AstraMar. 30 - S - Gothenburg - PustervikApr. 01 - DK - Copenhagen - PumpehusetApr. 02 - S - Malmö - KBApr. 03 - N - Oslo - RockefellerApr. 04 - S - Stockholm - Debaser Strand

CHILDREN OF BODOM guitarist/vocalist Alexi Laiho told OC Weekly about the upcoming tour: "I don't know yet if we're going to play the whole album or probably just a lot of rare songs from it we never play live. We might do a mix of our first two albums. It will be weird, it will be a trip, but fans will dig it. I am thinking instead of playing a whole album, we will play the most obscure tracks."

Asked how CHILDREN OF BODOM's sound has evolved since the release of "Something Wild", Laiho told Performer in a 2014 interview: "We have definitely progressed and naturally improved as musicians and songwriters. And, obviously, non-stop touring has taught us a pretty fucking lot. It's been a lot of hard work, but it's made us improve a lot at what we do now, more than what we were doing back in the 'Wild' days. I feel very proud that we never compromised our sound or wanted to go into a 'lighter' direction. We still have the same objective we had when we were kids — we wanted to just be as heavy, dark and extreme as possible and we still have that teenage rage kind of thing going on. And that's something I'm really proud of."

Laiho echoed those sentiments when he spoke to Metal Blast earlier this year. He said: "When the first album came out, we were just kids, 17 and 18 years old. With every song and solo, I felt I had to show everything that I had, it was a lot more about showing off. I felt I needed to go out of my way to prove I'm a kickass guitar player. [Laughs] Those early songs still definitely had a lot of feeling in them, a lot of soul. At that age, and at that phase of the band, we weren't as worried about song structure. It's just cool riffs, one after another, but most of the songs were kind of broken, structure-wise, as opposed to [the latest CHILDREN OF BODOM album] 'I Worship Chaos', where there's verse-bridge-verse-chorus, you know, an actual structure. It's now something you can actually remember from the first time you listen to it, unlike on 'Something Wild', where you're, like, 'Whoa, what just happened?' There's still some good energy on that album, though. Just a lot of fucking teenage rage, and that's what it's all about, really."

CHILDREN OF BODOM last month embarked on a 21-date North American tour with special guests iconic black metal artist ABBATH, California-based metal act EXMORTUS, and Canada's progressive metallers ONI. The trek commenced in Quebec on November 23 and will conclude in Brooklyn on December 19.

A year ago, CHILDREN OF BODOM announced the addition of guitarist Daniel Freyberg (NAILDOWN, NORTHER) to the group's ranks.

KORN members Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu (bass) and Ray Luzier (drums) joined a British tribute band on stage over the weekend.

Arvizu and Luzier attended a concert on Saturday by the Liverpool-based outfit KORN AGAIN, which describes itself as "Europe's premier live tribute to KORN, capturing the look, the raw, aggressive sound and energetic stage performance of the original band."

After watching some of KORN AGAIN's set at Manchester's Ruby Lounge, they went up on stage for performances of "Here To Stay" and "Freak On A Leash". Watch a video clip below.

KORN AGAIN wrote on Facebook after the gig: "We'll never get over this shit. Ray and Fieldy, you made our dreams come true. Thank you so much. It was truly an honour. Next time let's smash 'Blind'."

The U.K. leg of KORN's European tour with LIMP BIZKIT is scheduled to kick off tonight (Monday, December 12) in Manchester.

KORN's latest album, "The Serenity Of Suffering", was released on October 21. The follow-up to 2013's "The Paradigm Shift" marks the band's return to Roadrunner, which previously released 2010's "Korn III - Remember Who You Are" and 2011's "The Path Of Totality".

Guitarist Rick Rozz DeLillo and vocalist Kam Lee have rejoined forces in a revamped version of their classic late 1980s/early 1990s death metal band MASSACRE. The main objective of the group — which also features Rozz's THE END bandmates Michael Grim (bass/vocals) and Mike Mazzonetto (drums) — is to rekindle the original sound, style, aggression, and passion that originally elevated MASSACRE to cult status in the death metal scene two and a half decades ago.

The new MASSACRE is managed and represented by World Entertainment's Gunter Ford and Alexander Ford. Booking in Europe is being handled by Paul Ryan at UTI, while booking in the USA and Canada is being taken care of by Mark Hyman and Andrea Roberts at ATI.

MASSACRE is working on tours for the U.S.A, Europe, Latin America, and other areas worldwide. The plan is to play the "From Beyond" album, along with a few old classics from DEATH and the pre-DEATH outfit MANTAS.

Lee joined THE END on stage this past Friday, December 9 in Melbourne, Florida to play four MASSACRE songs. Video footage of the "Dawn Of Eternity" performance from that concert can be seen below.

MASSACRE's last incarnation included Rozz and Mazzonetto alongside bassist Terry Butler and vocalist Ed Webb. That lineup lasted for four years and released a critically acclaimed album, 2014's "Back From Beyond", via Century Media Records.

Rufus Stone Limited Editions has announced the publication of the first-ever official AC/DC photo book.

Currently in production, the "Rock Or Bust" tour book will cover the full extent of AC/DC's groundbreaking 2015 world tour supporting the multi-million-selling "Rock Or Bust" album, released in 2014.

Starting at California's Coachella festival, the "Rock Or Bust" tour played to millions of fans around the world, setting records for attendance and sellout times.

Renowned music photographer Ralph Larmann has captured AC/DC throughout this incredible tour, creating an amazing photographic documentary of the band and fans in action.

Rufus Stone is assembling these pictures plus some amazing facts, figures and tour memorabilia to celebrate one of the most successful rock tours of the last decade. The finished book will be more than 200 pages long and will be the same physical dimensions as a vinyl album.

Several different editions of the book will be published, including a unique "Leather And Metal" collector's version with "light up" AC/DC slipcase. All editions will be unique, case bound coffee table books, perfect for fans and collectors.

Mark Smith at Rufus Stone says: "Creating this type of book with a band with the legacy of AC/DC is the dream project for Rufus. We are delighted to be able to produce an official book on behalf of the band and we've got a few surprises along the way to help make this a unique and special publishing event."

The book will be released in the first half of 2017 and a sign-up page has been created at www.acdcrockorbustbook.com. The book will go pre-sale in spring 2017 at a special discounted price for fans who have signed up to the project.

Norwegian metallers Tomorrow's Outlook have covered Bruce Dickinson's "Darkside Of Aquarius" for their new concept album, A Voice Unheard, in collaboration with two of the leading members of Russia's biggest and most famous heavy metal band, Aria. Check out a sneak peek from the "Darkside Of Aquarius" studio session featuring Tomorrow's Outlook singer Tony Johannessen, and Vitaly Dubinin and Maxim Udalov from Aria.

A Voice Unheard was produced by Roy Z (Bruce Dickinson/Halford/Judas Priest) and is scheduled for a 2017 release. "Darkside Of Aquarius" is taken from Bruce Dickinson's fourth solo album, Accident Of Birth, from 1997, which featured Roy Z as guitarist and producer.

A Voice Unheard tracklist:

"Within The World Of Dreams" (vocals: Ralf Scheepers)
"Descent" (vocals: Tony Johannessen)
"Through Shuttered Eyes" (vocals: Tony Johannessen)
"A Voice Unheard" (vocals: Ralf Scheepers)
"Outlaw" (vocals: Scott Oliva)
"Times Of War" (vocals: Tony Johannessen)
"One Final Prayer" (vocals: Ralf Scheepers)
"The Enemy" (vocals: Ralf Scheepers)
"Fly Away" (vocals: Ralf Scheepers)
"Nothing Shall Remain" (vocals: Ralf Scheepers)
"Darkside Of Aquarius" (vocals: Tony Johannessen - Bruce Dickinson cover)
"Slave to the Evil Force" (vocals: Tony Johannessen - Aria cover)

Soundgarden is celebrating the 25th anniversary release of their classic 1991 album Badmotorfinger, releasing four special editions on last month via UMe/A&M Records. Check out two new videos below: an animating clip and another featuring bassist Ben Shepherd.

 

 

The limited edition 7-disc Super Deluxe Edition consists of 4 CDs, 2 DVDs, and 1 Blu-ray Audio disc with 109 tracks total: 79 tracks, videos and mixes are previously unreleased. The CD audio content includes the original album newly remastered; 15 previously unreleased studio outtakes newly mixed from the original analog multi-tracks plus the track "New Damage" featuring Brian May from Queen; and Live at the Paramount: Soundgarden's first-ever complete concert album newly mixed from the original analog multi-tracks and recorded at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle on March 6,1992. The band's first complete concert video features Live at the Paramount on DVD, newly edited from the original camera masters and newly mixed in 5.1 surround sound and stereo from the original analog multi-tracks. The second DVD is Motorvision +  More: Soundgarden's 1992 Motorvision home video, released on DVD for the first time ever, showcases live selections from the two nights shot at the Paramount Theatre in March 1992 along with interviews from the band and friends. Bonus videos include 11 unreleased archival live performances from various shows and festivals in 1992 and the three official music videos from the album. The Blu-ray Audio disc contains the original Badmotorfinger album, three B-sides, and the three official music videos, newly mixed from original analog multi-tracks in audiophile 96kHz 24-bit 5.1 surround sound. The original album and three B-sides feature newly designed visuals directed by Josh Graham.

 

 

The Super Deluxe version also includes a revolving Badmotorfinger icon ultimate collector's box (batteries included) that features a 52-page book with a 25th anniversary silver foil Badmotorfinger icon cover, newly designed art, unreleased photos, and commemorative testimonials from fellow musicians and peers. The package also contains a 12"x12" 3D Badmotorfinger silver foil icon lenticular, four 8"x10" photo cards featuring each band member, a 5" Badmotorfinger silver foil icon sticker, a 4" triangular spark plug silver foil sticker, and a 5" newly designed 25th anniversary Badmotorfinger icon iron-on patch. The first 1,000 fans who pre-order the Super Deluxe Edition at Soundgardenworld.com, us.udiscovermusic.com, or udiscovermusic.com will receive a bonus, first-ever commercially released 7-inch of the album's first single "Jesus Christ Pose" (b/w "Stray Cat Blues") and a custom Badmotorfinger icon 7-inch large hole adapter.

The anniversary celebration continues with a 28 track 2-CD Deluxe Edition, featuring the remastered original album on Disc 1; eight studio outtakes, "New Damage (with Brian May)," and seven tracks from Live at the Paramount on Disc 2. Also available, is a 1CD remastered edition with enhanced art converting the original plastic jewel case into a gatefold softpak with the original six-panel folder design included. Rounding out the special editions is a 2-LP, 180-gram audiophile black vinyl edition of the remastered original album expanded to a gatefold jacket with a removable, limited edition 3D lenticular silver foil litho cover when removed reveals a gold foil jacket cover, 25th anniversary vinyl etching on side four and a download card for a digital edition of the album in 320kbps MP4 AAC files. As a special option, the 2-LP vinyl will also be available in metallic silver color vinyl for 1,000 lucky fans exclusively at Soundgardenworld.com, us.udiscovermusic.com, and udiscovermusic.com - first come, first served.

A full list of the tracklisting of each configuration can be found below.

Released on October 8th, 1991, Badmotorfinger spawned three singles, "Jesus Christ Pose”, "Outshined" and "Rusty Cage" and became Soundgarden's highest-charting album on the Billboard Album chart at the time. It has been certified 2x-platinum by the RIAA in the US.

Super Deluxe Edition:
 
CD 1- Original Album Remastered

“Rusty Cage”
“Outshined”
“Slaves & Bulldozers”
“Jesus Christ Pose”
“Face Pollution”
“Somewhere”
“Searching With My Good Eye Closed”
“Room A Thousand Years Wide”
“Mind Riot”
“Drawing Flies”
“Holy Water”
“New Damage”

CD 2- Studio Outtakes - *Previously Unreleased

“Rusty Cage” (Studio Outtake)*
“Outshined” (Studio Outtake)*
“Slaves & Bulldozers” (Studio Outtake)*
“Jesus Christ Pose” (Studio Outtake)*
“Face Pollution” (Studio Outtake) *
“Somewhere” (Studio Outtake)*
“Searching With My Good Eye Closed” (Studio Outtake)*
“Room A Thousand Years Wide” (Studio Outtake)*
“Drawing Flies” (Studio Outtake)*
“Holy Water” (Studio Outtake)*
“Cold Bitch” (Studio Outtake)*
“She's A Politician” (Studio Outtake)*
“Black Rain” (Studio Outtake)*
“Birth Ritual” (Studio Outtake)*
“Blind Dogs” (Studio Outtake)*
“New Damage” (with Brian May)

CD 3- Live At The Paramount (Part 1) - Previously Unreleased

“Searching With My Good Eye Closed”
“Hands All Over”
“Drawing Flies”
“Room A Thousand Years Wide”
“Gun”
“Flower”
“Little Joe”
“Big Dumb Sex”
“Face Pollution”
“Incessant Mace”
“Rusty Cage”

CD 4- Live At The Paramount (Part 2) - Previously Unreleased

“Outshined”
“Mind Riot”
“Beyond The Wheel”
“Into The Void (Sealth)”
“Jesus Christ Pose”
“Hunted Down”
“Somewhere”
“Slaves & Bulldozers”

Disc 5- Live At The Paramount DVD - Previously Unreleased

“Searching With My Good Eye Closed”
“Hands All Over”
“Drawing Flies”
“Room A Thousand Years Wide”
“Gun”
“Flower”
“Little Joe”
“Big Dumb Sex”
“Face Pollution”
“Incessant Mace”
“Rusty Cage”
“Outshined”
“Mind Riot”
“Beyond The Wheel”
“Into The Void (Sealth)”
“Jesus Christ Pose”
“Hunted Down”
“Somewhere”
“Slaves & Bulldozers”

Disc 6- Motorvision + More DVD

“Searching With My Good Eye Closed”
“Rusty Cage”
“Outshined”
“Little Joe”
“Mind Riot”
“Room A Thousand Years Wide”
“Jesus Christ Pose”
“Slaves & Bulldozers”

Bonus Videos - *Previously Unreleased:

“Outshined” (Live in Dallas 4.29.92)*
“Jesus Christ Pose” (Live in Dallas 4.29.92)*
“Rusty Cage” (Live at Roseland Ballroom 5.09.92)*
“Jesus Christ Pose” (Live at Pinkpop Festival 7.08.92)*
“Slaves & Bulldozers” (Live at Pinkpop Festival 7.08.92)*
“Slaves & Bulldozers” (Live in Seattle 7.12.92)*
“Face Pollution” (Live in Seattle 7.12.92)*
“Searching With My Good Eye Closed” (Live in Seattle 7.22.92)*
“Drawing Flies” (Live in Miami 8.22.92)*
“Cop Killer” (Live in Miami 8.22.92)*
“Room A Thousand Years Wide” (Live in Miami 8.22.92)*
“Jesus Christ Pose” (Music Video)
“Outshined” (Music Video)
“Rusty Cage” (Music Video)

Disc 7- Blu-Ray Audio 5.1 Surround Sound & Remastered Stereo - *Previously Released

“Rusty Cage”*
“Outshined”*
“Slaves & Bulldozers”*
“Jesus Christ Pose”*
“Face Pollution”*
“Somewhere”*
“Searching With My Good Eye Closed”*
“Room A Thousand Years Wide”*
“Mind Riot”*
“Drawing Flies”*
“Holy Water”*
“New Damage”*

B-Sides

“Cold Bitch”*
“She's A Politician”*
“Birth Ritual”*

Bonus Videos

“Jesus Christ Pose” (Music Video)
“Outshined” (Music Video)
“Rusty Cage” (Music Video)
 
2CD Deluxe Edition:
 
CD 1- Original Album Remastered

“Rusty Cage”
“Outshined”
“Slaves & Bulldozers”
“Jesus Christ Pose”
“Face Pollution”
“Somewhere”
“Searching With My Good Eye Closed”
“Room A Thousand Years Wide”
“Mind Riot”
“Drawing Flies”
“Holy Water”
“New Damage”

CD 2- Studio Outtakes & Live - *Previously Unreleased

“Rusty Cage” (Studio Outtake)*
“Outshined” (Studio Outtake)*
“Slaves & Bulldozers” (Studio Outtake)*
“Jesus Christ Pose” (Studio Outtake)*
“Face Pollution” (Studio Outtake)*
“Somewhere” (Studio Outtake)*
“Room A Thousand Years Wide” (Studio Outtake)*
“Holy Water” (Studio Outtake)*
“New Damage” (With Brian May)
“Searching With My Good Eye Closed” (Live At The Paramount)*
“Drawing Flies” (Live At The Paramount)*
“Face Pollution” (Live At The Paramount)*
“Rusty Cage” (Live At The Paramount)*
“Outshined” (Live At The Paramount)*
“Mind Riot” (Live At The Paramount)*
“Jesus Christ Pose” (Live At The Paramount)*

2LP Vinyl:
 
Original Album Remastered
     
Side One
“Rusty Cage”
“Outshined”
“Slaves & Bulldozers”
“Jesus Christ Pose”

Side Two
“Face Pollution”
“Somewhere”
“Searching With My Good Eye Closed”
“Room A Thousand Years Wide”

Side Three
“Mind Riot”
“Drawing Flies”
“Holy Water”
“New Damage”

Side Four
25th Anniversary Vinyl Etching
 
1CD Remaster:

CD1- Original Album Remastered

“Rusty Cage”
“Outshined”
“Slaves & Bulldozers”
“Jesus Christ Pose”
“Face Pollution”
“Somewhere”
“Searching With My Good Eye Closed”
“Room A Thousand Years Wide
“Mind Riot””
“Drawing Flies”
“Holy Water”
“New Damage”

Pre-order links:

Super Deluxe
2CD Deluxe
2LP
1CD

wars have revealed their first official music video since signing to Spinefarm Records. It's for the song "The Art Of Not Knowing" from their forthcoming debut album, We Are Islands, After All, due out January 27th via Spinefarm Records.

"The music video for 'The Art Of Not Knowing' came from a really personal place," says Rob Vicars, wars' frontperson. "There's this empty, unstable feeling you get when you start to question how well you really know yourself- it's the kind of train of thought that can take you to some unnervingly dark places pretty abruptly. This song talks about confronting that issue, the ambivalence, and learning to live beyond it."
 
He continued, "The shoot itself felt like a real coming together of brilliant people. It's amazing to have a cameo from This Is England's George Newton in there, and our leading girl absolutely nailed every scene. We're unbelievably proud and excited to put this video out."

Pre-orders for We Are Islands, After All, alongside various merch bundle options, are now available here .

Fan-filmed video footage of former EUROPE guitarist Kee Marcello performing on December 9 at Hard Rock Cafe in Oslo, Norway can be seen below.

Marcello's new studio album, "Scaling Up", was released on October 14 via Frontiers Music Srl. Conceived and recorded in the winter and spring of 2016, the disc encompasses all the influences and genres in which the Swedish musician has been involved in since the start of his career. Besides the obvious resemblances to EUROPE's classic sound, Kee also gives a nod to his past in EASY ACTION. Speaking of EUROPE (particularly the "Prisoners In Paradise" era), Kee took two officially unreleased songs, "Wild Child" and "Don't Know How To Love No More", and rearranged and re-recorded them from scratch. Beyond those two tracks, you can hear a touch of sleaze and more classic hard rock on songs like "Fix Me", "Blow By Blow" and "Soldier Down".

Marcello said: "The whole idea of 'Scaling Up' is to, very respectfully, use the music of my past as a canvas to paint a picture of where I stand today and what I aim for in the future as a guitarist/singer/writer. I think we've got the balance of now and then just right, and it's performed by the best group of musicians I've ever had the honor of playing with!"

Kee Marcello is one of the most renowned guitarists from Scandinavia and has an amazing history to his name. He's best known as the guitarist — from 1986 to 1992 — of one Sweden's biggest musical exports, EUROPE. In the late '80s and early '90s, EUROPE were one of the biggest rock bands in the world. They sold over 30 million albums, landed at No. 1 on sales charts in 26 countries and shared the biggest stages with acts like METALLICA, DEF LEPPARD and BON JOVI. Kee is now also enjoying a new wave of success as a TV persona in Sweden, as well as being involved in other musical projects.

Athens-based metallers DangerAngel has released another video from their third album All The King’s Horses, out now via MelodicRockRecords. Check out "Devil's Waltz" below:

The “To Kill A Saint” video below is inspired by the classic TV show of the ‘60s, The Saint starring Sir Roger Moore and this song pays tribute to the classic episode of the same title, aired on February 24th, 1967. The story describes how a French villain seeks to hire an assassin to kill Simon Templar and when that assassin fails to complete his mission, Simon Templar himself poses as the hired assassin and finds out who wants him dead and why.

“Who You Are” video:

“Dia De Los Muertos” lyric video:

“Will You Follow” video:

German/American metallers ACCEPT are continuing work on their new album with British producer Andy Sneap for a tentative summer 2017 release via Nuclear Blast. Guitarist Wolf Hoffmann told Metal Shock Finland's Alison Booth about the progress of the disc's recording sessions: "This is the fourth time in a row with the same producer. It's a world record for ACCEPT, for sure. We have no reason to even think about [using] anybody else, because every time [Andy and we] work together, it turns out fantastic. We love what the final result is and we have a great working relationship, so why change it if it works, right?"

Asked about the musical direction of the new ACCEPT material, Wolf said: "There's not a whole lot to say quite yet, because we're in the middle of it. The only thing I can tell you is that it feels as ACCEPT as ever. It feels maybe a slightly bit heavier for now, but, you know, these things are always hard to say while you're in the middle of it. You never really know until after the album's been released and a little time went by; then you can have an objective idea about the album."

He continued: "Man, it's gonna sound like ACCEPT as always. There's not gonna be any weird surprises — we're not gonna go soft, we're not gonna go jazz, there's no left or right [turns musically]. We're really just trying to get better at what we already do."

Hoffmann also talked about a possible release date for the new ACCEPT effort. "We're trying our best to get it done in time for next year, July or August release," he said. "The idea is we're gonna finish this three-month run with SABATON [in Europe] and then jump right back into the studio, finish the stuff. We've got a bunch of basic tracks done, a lot of vocals are done, so we're looking pretty good at this point."

ACCEPT vocalist Mark Tornillo echoed Hoffmann's comments while discussing the band's songwriting approach in a 2014 interview. He said: "We're not searching for a direction at this point. We're writing to please ourselves and to please our fans… We're not changing horses in the middle of a stream. I mean, if something works for us, we're gonna stick with it. We're certainly not gonna change direction, but I think we're not afraid to step out a little bit. We're also not afraid to go back and be what the band was in the '80s, which is what we've really strived for."

Asked why it's so important for ACCEPT to still make new music after all this time, Wolf told Canadian rock journalist Mitch Lafon: "For us, it was very important, especially since we got [singer] Mark [Tornillo], and when we had our reunion with Mark, the new singer, we really wanted to show to the fans and to us that we still can write relevant new songs, and so that's why we really did three albums in five or six years — really banged them out, one after the other. And those three albums are, in a lot of fans' views, as strong as most of the stuff we've done in the eighties, if not stronger. So I think it's very important for us to come up with new songs, 'cause, you know, once you stop trying, or you're just living on the past, I think that's no good. We're trying to stay relevant, and the fans really appreciate that."

ACCEPT will release a new live set titled "Restless And Live" on January 13, 2017 via Nuclear Blast. This package will include the entire show ACCEPT played at 2015's Bang Your Head!!! festival in Balingen, Germany on Blu-ray/DVD plus two CDs.

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".

The band has released the first single from the album with “Die Like Kings”. Preorder Rebels at this location or via the Amazon widget below and receive “Die Like Kings” as an instant grat track.

Majesty vocalist Tarek states:

"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:

   

Wolfheart has released a new video for “Boneyard”. The single paves the way for Tyhjyys, the band’s third full-length, out March 3rd via Spinefarm Records.

Tracklisting:

“Shores Of The Lake Simpele”
“Boneyard”
“World On Fire”
“The Flood”
“The Rift”
“Call Of The Winter”
“Dead White”
“Tyhjyys”

“Boneyard” video:

Swiss rockers Dreamshade have premiered a music video for “Where My Heart Belongs” (streaming below), a track from their new album, Vibrant, out today (December 9th) via Artery Recordings. Order via iTunes and Google Play.

Tracklisting:

“Autumn Leaves”
“Where My Heart Belongs”
“It's Over”
“Don't Wanna Go”
“Dreamers Don't Sleep”
“The World in My Hands”
“Up All Night”
“Losing Touch”
“Another Me, Another You”
“Oceantides”
“Sleep Alone”
“Father”

“Where My Heart Belongs” video:

“Dreamers Don't Sleep” video:

Vibrant documentary:

Tangled In Dream, the 2000 released album by Australian melodic progressive metal band, Vanishing Point, will be reissued as 2CD Special Edition on January 27th. After being out of print since years and also not available digitally, this new edition finally allows to (re)discover one of the early 2000's most impressive releases of the genre.

Disc 1 holds the regular album while CD 2 includes 10 bonus tracks (nine of these available on CD format (outside of Japan) for the first time ever).

Guitarist Chris Porcianko comments: "This album has a special place in the hearts of many Vanishing Point fans, we didn’t know until the last few years the impact it made on old and new VP fans so with the good folk at AFM we decided to get this old chestnut out again. It wasn't available regularly for years, so we are very happy to not only re-release it, but also to add a bonus CD with 10 rare and unreleased tracks. Among these is "Samsara II", a brand new recording, which is a remake of "Samsara", with an updated arrangement and a more symphonic kind of touch to it which is reflective on how VP sounds these days . The reissue of Tangled In Dream only marks the beginning of an exciting year 2017 for Vanishing Point, as we have completed the writing for our upcoming new studio album which will see the light of day in the second half of 2017. We are really looking forward to getting the new music out to you all in 2017, more motivated than ever, excited to have Tangled In Dream re-released and we hope that this finally paves a way for some potential touring opportunities in the near future.”

Tracklisting:

CD1:
“Surreal”
“Samsara”
“Closer Apart”
“Bring On The Rain”
“Never Walk Away”
“The Real You”
“Two Minds And One Soul”
“I Will Awake”
“Dancing With The Devil”
“Father (7 Years)”
“Tangled In Dream”

CD2:
“Samsara II” (newly recorded 2016 version)
“Separate Ways” (Journey cover; first time ever on CD)
“On The Turning Away” (Pink Floyd cover)
“The Endless Road” (Japan bonus Distant Is The Sun)
“Veil Of Deceit” (Japan bonus The Fourth Season)

Live and Unplugged on PBS FM (2003):
“The Real You”
“Dancing With The Devil”
“Inner Peace”
“Hollow”
“Vanishing Point”

(Photo - Heath Morrison)

Swedish hard rockers, Horisont, have released a static video for “The Hive”, the new single from their upcoming album, About Time, out on February 3rd via Century Media Records. Find the new clip below.

The band comments on the cover artwork, “The fabulous artwork for our fifth album About Time is once again crafted by the wizard of art himself – Henrik Jacobson, who also did the Odyssey artwork. Henrik has managed to capture the concept of the album and title in a brilliant Horisont way. We couldn’t be happier with the result and we hope you’ll enjoy it!”

About Time will be available as Special Edition Digipak (Europe only), Jewel Case CD (North America only), Gatefold LP and as digital album.

The LP will be available in the following vinyl colours:

* Black vinyl – unlimited
* Lilac vinyl – limited to 200 copies / exclusively available at Bengans
* Clear vinyl – limited to 100 copies / exclusively available at CMDistro
* Silver vinyl – limited to 200 copies / exclusively available at Green Hell
* Transparent Green vinyl – limited to 200 copies / exclusively available at Nuclear Blast
* Yellow vinyl – limited to 300 copies / North America only

About Time tracklisting:

“The Hive”      
“Electrical”          
“Without Warning”          
“Letare”          
“Night Line”          
“Point Of Return”          
“Boston Gold”         
“Hungry Love”          
“Dark Sides”          
“About Time”   

“The Hive”:

       

“Electrical” video:

Grammy Award-winning band, Bon Jovi, have released a new music video for “The Devil’s In The Temple”, a track from their new studio album, This House Is Not For Sale. Watch below:

On the heels of Bon Jovi’s worldwide #1 album debut, a live version entitled This House Is Not For Sale - Live From The London Palladium is set for global release on Friday, December 16th. Recorded at the London Palladium last October, the album is available for pre-order at Walmart (physical CD), and iTunes.

The album is a triumphant statement of integrity from one of rock’s biggest bands. Around the world, critics have applauded the album that has something to say and nothing to prove. Led by the hit title track, “This House Is Not For Sale”, the band’s 14th studio album became their sixth career release to debut at #1 in the US, Australia, and Japan and in the Top 5 in 54 other countries while iTunes charts place the release at #1 in 25 countries.

This House Is Not For Sale - Live from The London Palladium tracklisting:

“This House Is Not For Sale”
“Living With The Ghost”
“Knockout”
“Labor Of Love”
“Born Again Tomorrow”
“Rollercoaster”
“New Years Day”
“Devil’s In The Temple”
“Scars On This Guitar”
“God Bless This Mess”
“Reunion”
“Real Love”
“All Hail The King”
“We Don’t Run”
“Come On Up To Our House”

“Scars On This Guitar” video:

Bon Jovi have announced new dates for their This House Is Not for Sale Tour, presented by Live Nation. Fans in Chicago, IL; St. Paul, MN; Detroit, MI;  Philadelphia, PA; Uncasville, CT; Pittsburgh, PA;  New York, NY; and Toronto, ON will now have the opportunity to witness the chart-topping rock band live. Beginning February 2017, arena crowds will rock out to the band’s anthems, fan-favorites, and new hits from their newly released 14th studio album, This House Is Not for Sale (Island/UMG), which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Tour dates from February 8th through March 22nd, 2017 are on sale now at LiveNation.com. For the newly added dates, public tickets will be available for purchase on Saturday, December 10th at 10 AM, local time at LiveNation.com and through participating venue Box Offices.

This House Is Not for Sale tour dates:

February
8 - Greenville, SC - Bon Secours Wellness Arena
10 - Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena
12 - Sunrise, FL - BB&T Center
14 - Tampa, FL - Amalie Arena
16 - Birmingham, AL - BJCC
18 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
19 - St. Louis, MO - Scottrade Center
21 - Oklahoma City, OK - Chesapeake Energy Center
23 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
25 - Las Vegas, NV - T-Mobile Arena
28 - Sacramento, CA - Golden 1 Center

March
1 - San Jose, CA - SAP Center
4 - Phoenix, AZ - Talking Stick Resort Arena
5 - San Diego, CA - Viejas Arena
8 - Los Angeles, CA - The Forum
14 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
16 - Memphis, TN - FedExForum
18 - Columbus, OH - Nationwide Arena
19 - Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
22 - Indianapolis, IN - Bankers Life Fieldhouse
26 - Chicago, IL - United Center
27 - St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
29 - Detroit, MI - Joe Louis Arena
31 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center

April
1 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
5 - Pittsburgh, PA - PPG Paints Arena
7 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
8 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
10 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre

** Dates, cities and venues subject to change.

Visit bonjovi.com for updated tour and ticketing information.