Whitey Glan, best known for his work as a session drummer with Lou Reed and Alice Cooper, passed away on November 7 at the age of 71. Whitey was diagnosed with lung cancer in September after follow-up tests from treatment for pneumonia in August.

Cooper commented on Whitey's passing in a Facebook post earlier today (Thursday, November 9). He wrote: "I picked Whitey Glan as the drummer for my 'Welcome To My Nightmare' tour because he was simply the best drummer around, not knowing he could drink me under a table. He was just a great guy, everybody who's worked with him considered him one of their best friends. He was one of rock's premier drummers, but in my opinion, he was very underrated and underpublicized — he was certainly a drummer's drummer! Canada is less one world class musician... rest in peace, Whitey."

According to Toronto Moon, Whitey had been anchoring a weekly Saturday afternoon series in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada with a band known as WHITEY & THE ROULETTES since August of last year. In recent years, he also appeared with a number of local R&B veterans, including the DANNY B BAND, Mike McKenna and former MANDALA bandmate George Olliver.

OF MICE & MEN will release is new album, "Defy", on January 19, 2018 via Rise Records. The disc will mark OF MICE & MEN's first full-length release without vocalist Austin Carlile, who left the group due to his ongoing battle with Marfan syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that afflicts the connective tissue holding the body's cells, organs and tissue together. Handling lead vocals in the band now is bassist Aaron Pauley.

The official video for the disc's new single, "Warzone", can be seen below. The clip lives up to the song's explosive combination of metallic insurgency and irresistible hooks.

"We’re excited to be debuting the music video for 'Warzone' today, a song from our new album, 'Defy'," said Pauley. "For us, this new album encapsulates and showcases our desire to return to an aggressive, live-oriented sound, and 'Warzone' is of the heaviest tracks on the album. Because we love releasing new music as often as we can, it only seemed fitting to release it right before our massive EU/UK tour with IN FLAMES and FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH this fall/winter. So turn it up, and bang your head."

Earlier this year, OF MICE & MEN teased the forthcoming album with the one-two punch of the singles "Unbreakable" and "Back To Me". Those songs have clocked over seven million Spotify streams and five million YouTube/VEVO views in six months. Both tracks were recorded with Grammy-nominated producer Howard Benson (IN FLAMES, ALL THAT REMAINS), mixed by Grammy winner Chris Lord-Alge (DEFTONES, MUSE) and mastered by Chris Athens (DRAKE, OZZY OSBOURNE).

"Defy" track listing:

01. Defy02. Instincts03. Back To Me04. Sunflower05. Unbreakable06. Vertigo07. Money08. How Will You Live09. On The Inside10. Warzone11. Forever YDG'n12. If We Were Ghosts

Carlile originally left OF MICE & MEN in 2010 after his doctor forbade him from touring to undergo heart surgery tied to complications with Marfan Syndrome. He returned in 2011, but his ailments didn't cease, forcing him to exit the band for the second, and presumably final, time at the end of last year.

An OF MICE & MEN documentary called "Unbreakable" was released on October 13. The short film, which was directed by Johann Ramos, follows the band across multiple continents on their tour earlier this year.

Long acknowledged as one of the greatest live bands of their generation, rock legends METALLICA have set new attendance records at each of the shows they played on their recent U.K. tour. "WorldWired" — presented by Live Nation — played five sold-out U.K. arena shows in October to ecstatic reviews. Metro called them "exciting and innovative" while The Times noted that they were "powerful enough to get over 20,000 fans punching the air in unison" and Kerrang! thought they were "jaw-droppingly awesome." The band's groundbreaking in-the-round production not only gave fans a totally immersive live experience but also allowed for an increased venue capacity. On the opening night at London's O2, METALLICA pulled in a crowd of 22,134, the following night they broke their own record for the best attended single concert performance by one headliner with a crowd of 22,211. It was the same story on the rest of the tour, a crowd of 13,111 packed into Glasgow's Hydro to set a new attendance record and in Birmingham METALLICA drew in a record-breaking crowd of 15,604. Commenting on the achievement, Live Nation's executive president of U.K. touring Andy Copping said: "This has been an incredible achievement by METALLICA. The band and everyone around them have been a pleasure to work with and they staged one of the greatest indoor shows I have ever seen." The European leg of METALLICA's "WorldWired" tour kicked off in Copenhagen, Denmark on September 2 and ran through November 3. After a break, the trek will pick up again on February 1, 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, and continue through May, finishing up in Helsinki, Finland.

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

The first ten of the shows of the North American "WorldWired" tour during May and June grossed $49.5 million in ticket sales.

Photo credit: Ross Halfin

A video wrap-up of this year's Knotfest, which was held on November 5 in Devore, California, can be seen below.

This was the second year Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzfest has merged with SLIPKNOT's Knotfest for a two-day heavy metal juggernaut dubbed Ozzfest Meets Knotfest. In 2016, the two festivals combined, with SLIPKNOT headlining one night and BLACK SABBATH closing out the other.

Sunday's event was headlined by ROB ZOMBIE, with support from MARILYN MANSON, STONE SOUR, EIGHTEEN VISIONS, TESTAMENT, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, GOATWHORE, DEATH ANGEL and others across three stages.

For the first time since bringing the festival to Southern California three years ago, SLIPKNOT did not perform.

"Knotfest was never supposed to be exclusively about SLIPKNOT. It was always about the things that fueled the spirit of SLIPKNOT: music, art, passion, insanity, and the tribes that give it power. So it would make sense for Knotfest to carry on these ideas, even without SLIPKNOT," singer Corey Taylor said in a press release about the festival.

Knotfest made its Southern California debut in 2014 as a two-day festival, with SLIPKNOT headlining both nights.

Drummer Brian Tichy will rejoin FOREIGNER for the next five shows, beginning with this Saturday's (November 11) concert in Hammond, Indiana. He will be filling in for FOREIGNER's regular drummer Chris Frazier, who is "ill" and "has been advised to rest it up a bit," according to Brian. "He'll jump back in sooner if he can!" Tichy wrote on his Facebook page.

Brian added: "It's always great to join back up with [FOREIGNER] and play one of the best setlists in rock!"

FOREIGNER tour dates with Brian Tichy on drums:

Nov. 11 - The Venue at Horseshoe Casino - Hammond, INNov. 13 - Tribute Communities Centre - Oshawa, ONNov. 14 - Budweiser Gardens - London, ONNov. 17 - IP Casino Resort and Spa - Biloxi, MSNov. 18 - Horseshoe Casino's Bluesville - Robinsonville, MS

Tichy joined FOREIGNER in 1998 and remained until 2000. He rejoined briefly in 2007, stepping in for Jason Bonham. He then returned from 2008 until 2010, recording the album "Can't Slow Down". He returned for one show in summer 2011, filling in for Mark Schulman, who had recently lost his father. Tichy rejoined FOREIGNER for the month of August 2012 for live performances, replacing the departed Schulman once again.

Asked what he thinks the most important thing is that a drummer can do for a band, Tichy told Glide Magazine in a 2014 interview: "There really is only one most important thing and it's keeping good solid time, and solid doesn't mean you have to hit everything and smash it as hard as you can and all that. It just means no matter what you're doing up there, whatever it takes to make that band sound right and groove right and drive the band correctly, the way the band should be, you know, meaning like I don't want to hear like Neil Peart from RUSH playing in AC/DC and I don't want to hear Phil Rudd from AC/DC playing in RUSH. And I don't want a drummer to change it up too much. But the main thing is the groove and the timing."




Urgent news!(Well, it’s not really “urgent”, it’s a song that ties into this post...😜)Just as I’m getting into...

Posted by Brian Tichy on Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Swedish black metal masters DARK FUNERAL have parted ways with drummer Nils "Dominator" Fjellström.

Lord Ahriman comments: "We must sadly inform you that we have agreed to let Nils 'Dominator' Fjellström take a much needed timeout from the band to handle personal matters. We, of course, wish him the best!

"Yet the world keeps turning and so DARK FUNERAL will stride on. We have hired an extremely talented drummer that will fill in Nils's position until further notice. 'Jalomaah' will make his live debut with us today, Friday 10 November, at Aalborg Metal Festival in Denmark.

"All scheduled shows and tours will take place as planned! Stay tuned for further announcements!

"2018 will be an epic year as we have two celebrations to make: our classic album 'Vobiscum Satanas' turns 20 years old and DARK FUNERAL celebrate 25 years as a band. More news to follow — stay tuned!"

DARK FUNERAL's latest album, "Where Shadows Forever Reign", was released in June 2016 via Century Media. The effort was recorded at the Dugout Studios in Uppsala, Sweden and was produced by guitarist Lord Ahriman and Daniel Bergstrand (IN FLAMES, DIMMU BORGIR, BEHEMOTH). The stunning artwork was created by Necrolord (DISSECTION, NECROPHOBIC, EMPEROR).

DARK FUNERAL in 2014 announced the addition of frontman Heljarmadr and bassist Natt to the group's ranks.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's new single, "Trouble", has reached No. 1 on iTunes Rock and Metal charts around the globe and has garnered over 1 million streams worldwide in less than a week. The single has also hit No. 13 on Spotify's Global Viral 50 chart and No. 31 United States Viral 50 chart, as well as had over 646,800 views on VEVO and 540,000 views on YouTube of the official song and lyric videos, respectively. The release has broken records for the band and is their biggest streaming debut for a lead single in the U.S. with over 470,000 streams.

The increasing success of "Trouble" furthers the band's path of exponential achievement, as they have amassed over 2.3 billion streams, over 8.8 million song downloads and over 4 million album sales in the US (close to 8 million records globally) to date. Their previous six albums have all certified gold, while the 2009 critically acclaimed album "War Is The Answer" has been certified platinum, along with the single "Bad Company" from the collection. FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH is also one of the most popular rock bands streamed on Spotify today — they are currently No. 14 on Spotify's Top 21 Rock Acts in the U.S. surpassing major groups such as QUEEN, LED ZEPPELIN, AC/DC, PINK FLOYD, ARCTIC MONKEYS, MUMFORD & SONS and THREE DAYS GRACE.

"Trouble" is the first piece of new music the band has released in over two years, and serves as the lead single from FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's upcoming compilation album, "A Decade Of Destruction", which is due out December 1.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH will kick off its biggest European arena rock tour of fall 2017 today in Moscow, Russia. They will be joined by co-headliners IN FLAMES and special guests OF MICE & MEN starting November 14 in Helsinki, Finland.

A new FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH full-length studio album — which has been completed for almost a year — will arrive in early 2018.

EUROPE drummer Ian Haugland has announced the "sudden" and "tragic" death of his 28-year-old son Simon.

Ian wrote in a post on his Facebook page: "It's impossible for me to understand and to grasp the cold fact that I'll never again see [Simon's] glowing warm eyes, never hear his cheerful chuckles, like when I told him one of my bad jokes that only him and me were deranged enough to find amusing. But hardest of all is to realize that I will never again hear him say, 'I love you, dad!'

"Right now I feel like I'm drifting in a boat on an endless cold black ocean, just holding on not to get draged down into the deep. Still, I feel lucky to have friends and family to share my grief with. But, most of all, I'm truly blessed to have my wonderful wife Marie Haugland that understand me and lifts me up through this emotional roller coaster. She is the lighthouse that I'm navigering by on this vast sea of sadness… and also Simon's words that echo from far beyond the horizon: 'It will all be okay, because you know I'll always love you, dad!'

"Until we meet again, rest in peace, Simon, my son."

EUROPE's latest album, "Walk The Earth", was released on October 20 via the band's own Hell & Back label through Silver Lining Music. The follow-up to 2015's "War Of Kings" was laid down at London, England's legendary Abbey Road studios and was produced by Dave Cobb, who also helmed the band's last disc.

Season Of Mist has announced the signing of crossover thrash metal band Insanity Alert. The group will release their third full length via the label worldwide next year.

Regarding their signing Insanity Alert comment: "We are extremely happy to announce that we are now part of the Season Of Mist family. It is an honour to work with a label that has produced so many great records. First up will be the re-release of our self-titled debut album from 2014, which will be soon followed by a new full-length in 2018. Tout détruire!"

Insanity Alert were founded in the Austrian city of Innsbruck in 2011. Their declared intent: to deliver crushing crossover thrash. The band have performed across Europe in support of their previous two full lengths, and has been invited to play prestigious festivals such as Hellfest, Summer Breeze, Motocultor and more, sharing stages with genre stalwarts Suicidal Tendencies, Municipal Waste, D.R.I., Sodom, Toxic Holocaust, and more.

Insanity Alert are currently touring across Europe. In January, Insanity Alert will embark on the Persistence Tour alongside Hatebreed, Madball, Terror, Power Trip and Born From Pain. A full list of tour dates can be found in the posters below.

 

UK rockers Toseland have signed with Frontiers Music Srl.

"Myself and the band are so excited and proud to have been recognized by one of the world's leading rock labels. We know having a label as respected as Frontiers behind us makes a massive difference in our continued development. We are looking forward to working with Frontiers on our 3rd studio album, which we hope will be released in the autumn of 2018. I want to thank everyone that has supported us from the start in 2013 until now. Your loyal support has helped us get recognition from such an established label. We will do our very best to keep producing music that we and our fans are proud of and with this support it looks like we can do this for many years to come!" - James Toseland

It has been a quite exciting few years for Toseland. Formed five years ago by James Toseland, they have steadily and convincingly grown into one of the leaders of the new breed of classic rock acts that are taking the UK by storm.

An enthusiastic fan base combined with strong support from Planet Rock Radio, brought the band's debut album Renegade (produced by Wayward Sons and Little Angels frontman Toby Jepson) crashing onto the UK album charts in 2013. The band set out on what would be the first of many UK tours and hasn't looked back since.

Second album, Cradle The Rage, followed in 2016 with a more fully developed sound. While the live following grew and grew in the UK, the band also set their sights on European audiences. Appearing as special guests on tours with respected international tour acts like Black Stone Cherry, Deep Purple, The Winery Dogs, and Michael Monroe brought the band a whole slew of new believers. Regular festival appearances at the likes of Download, Ramblin' Man Fair, Steelhouse, Planet Rockstock, Hard Rock Hell, Isle Of Wight, Graspop, Winter Storm, and a headline slot at Planet Rock Radio's inaugural Winter's End have also further elevated the band's status as an incredible live act.

2017 saw a new version of the song "We'll Stop At Nothing", featuring a community choir, adopted as the anthem for the Special Olympics National Games, culminating in a wonderful performance at Sheffield United's Bramall Lane stadium.

November 2017 sees the band embarking on a short UK tour, incorporating the Hard Rock Hell festival and a London show as special guests to the Von Hertzen Brothers alongside four headline shows of their own. They then head to the studio to work on album #3, stopping only to play a sold out show in London with Australian legend Jimmy Barnes on December 13th. In March 2018, the band will play a full UK tour as special guests to Skid Row.

Expect new music in fall 2018. The Toseland story continues to grow apace.

Hi there!
I know you all have been waiting for the announcement we were going to make, and here it is.
For many years we’ve been touring and everytime we came home I used to start writing songs almost immediately and was happy to do so. After the last tour I tried to do the same but it wasn’t the same. Eventually I found myself in a crisis which was bigger than just not being able to write songs. The years of touring and working under a certain pressure took its toll and besides that there were things in my personal life I had to deal with.

I really took time off, but when I started writing again it was something totally different than WT, but this was what I needed and I embraced it. One song led to another and it turned into a whole album. I gave it a name and it’s called ‘My Indigo’. My Indigo is about my journey these last few years and I would like to share it with you. Besides all of this I’m happy to tell you that my journey has led me back to Within Temptation. There will be a new album and a tour but more about that in the near future.

Today my first single will be released and this song is the core of my album and has the same name: My Indigo. My Indigo is not at all like Within Temptation and it wasn’t meant to be that at all. I wrote it first of all for myself, but nevertheless I hope you’ll enjoy it as well!

Thanks & take care!

An unboxing video for KISS icon Gene Simmons’ forthcoming box set, Gene Simmons: The Vault Experience, can be seen below:

Celebrating 50 years in rock (1966-2016) Gene Simmons, multi-hyphenate entrepreneur, co-founder and front man of KISS, America’s number one gold record award-winning group of all time in all categories (RIAA), and one of the most recognized performers in the world, recently announced the unprecedented release of Gene Simmons: The Vault Experience in partnership with Rhino Entertainment.

Gene Simmons: The Vault Experience commemorates and celebrates Simmons’ notorious five-decade journey as a rock icon, offering fans around the world a limited-edition collectible ‘Vault’ with contents that offer a unique look into The Demon’s colourful life, including never-before-released songs, photos, stories and collectible items. Additionally, every Vault will be personally delivered to each fan by Simmons himself.

Gene Simmons: The Vault Experience begins with a personal delivery, by Simmons himself, of a numbered, limited-edition, 17” x 25” 38-pound Vault, during Simmons’ Vault World Tour set to take place January 2018 through December 2018.

Priced at $2,000 - each unique Vault includes:

* 150 never-before-released tracks written and performed by Simmons, and featuring notable rock and roll artists, including members of KISS past and present

* Packaged in a massive 12” x 12” x 6” leather-bound commemorative book containing dozens of never- before-seen images of Simmons throughout his 50-year career

* These unreleased tracks are exclusive to The Vault and will not be available in other physical or digital configurations

* Limited-edition collectibles including a Gene Simmons non-makeup action figure and an “In Gene We Trust” oversized medallion

* A one-of-a-kind, hand-selected original piece of memorabilia from Gene’s personal collection

During the one-on-one meet and greets with the delivery of the Vaults, Simmons will travel around the world, to a designated location to take photos and video with the fan and a guest, and sign autographs. In addition to the private meeting, fans will receive a Vault Pre-Pack* and join a small group of other fans for “Songs and Stories” from The Vault and a Q&A with Simmons. Within a month of purchase, fans will also receive via mail a Vault Pre-Pack featuring a USB including the first track “Are You Ready”, a signed golden ticket, exclusive t- shirt, and a laminate. Ordering by December 5th will ensure delivery of the Vault Pre-Pack by December 23rd, just in time for holiday gift giving.

“Any artist can release a boxed set, and never really thank the fans for their support,” said Simmons. “I want to celebrate my 50th anniversary in rock WITH the fans, and I have had a blast putting something really special together for them. Gene Simmons: The Vault Experience gives fans something truly unique that they can keep forever, and it gives me a chance to personally thank them for all of their support over the years.”

“What Gene and Rhino have put together with The Vault Experience is truly unprecedented. We have taken the idea of a boxed set to a completely different level,” says Mark Pinkus, President of Rhino Entertainment. “As a card-carrying member of the KISS Army from a young age, I’m honored to be working with Gene on such an exciting and innovative project. His fans are going to be absolutely blown away by The Vault Experience.”

For the ultimate fan, two additional Vault Experiences are available:

* The Executive Producers Experience - $25,000

Kicking off in New York on September 15th, the Executive Producer’s Experience will be available in cities around the world until November 2017, and is the quintessential experience for the devoted fan, plus a guest. The Executive Producer’s experience includes an initial Skype call with Simmons; a one-hour private studio preview with Simmons, offering the opportunity to listen to tracks before they are released; a distinguished Executive Producer credit on every Vault; a photo, video and autograph opportunity with Gene; one of the first 500 limited-edition numbered Vaults; and a Vault Pre-Pack.

* The Home Experience** - $50,000

Launching December 2017 in the US and in cities around the world, the Home Experience includes a personal delivery of The Vault to the fan’s home by Simmons himself; one of the first 300 limited- edition numbered Vaults; two hours with Simmons at the fan’s home (or location of their choice) for a special event with up to 25 friends and family; photos, videos and autographs; an intimate “Songs & Stories” playback session and Q&A with Gene; and a Vault Pre-Pack for all guests in attendance.

For a complete schedule of all three Vault Experiences or to pre-order The Vault Experiences please visit GeneSimmonsVault.com or call 1-833-GSVault.

* Vault Pre-Pack includes signed golden ticket, exclusive t-shirt, USB with “Are You Ready” and a laminate. It will be shipped three to four weeks after purchase

** Some scheduling and travel restrictions may apply

Rhino Records has uploaded a medley of sample tracks from The Vault; listen via the audio player below.

Archspire’s new album, Relentless Mutation, is out now via Season Of Mist. A full album stream can be found below.

Relentless Mutation was recorded and engineered by Dave Otero at Flatline Studios (Cattle Decapitation, Cephalic Carnage, Allegaeon) and features artwork from Eliran Kantor (Hatebreed, Soulfly, Hate Eternal). Order Relentless Mutation at this location.

Tracklisting:

"Involuntary Doppelgänger"
"Human Murmuration"
"Remote Tumour Seeker"
"Relentless Mutation"
"The Mimic Well"
"Calamus Will Animate"
"A Dark Horizontal"

Album stream:

“Calamus Will Animate” karaoke video:

"Human Murmuration" playthrough:

Catch Archspire live in concert as part of the Bloodletting Tour, featuring headliners Origin, as well as opening acts Defeated Sanity, Dyscarnate, Visceral Disgorge, and The Kennedy Veil.

Tour dates:

November
9 -  Club Red - Mesa, AZ
10 - Gideon's Hall - Upland, CA
11 - Brick By Brick - San Diego, CA
12 - The Catalyst - Santa Cruz, CA
13 -  Rock hard PDX - Portland, OR
14 - Studio Seven - Seattle, WA
15 -  Rickshaw Theatre - Vancouver, BC
17 -  Metro Music Hall - Salt Lake City, UT
18 -  The Roxy Theatre - Denver, CO

Steve Moore (Zombi) returns with a hypnotizing score for the acclaimed action/horror film Mayhem, starring Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead, Okja). A veritable portrait of shock and dread across seventy-plus minutes of analog synth tension, Steve Moore methodically crafts pulsating rhythms and penetrating arpeggios that constrict the listener into a deep sense of aural anxiety. With four soundtracks under his belt, Steve Moore is quickly becoming one of the most sought out synth composers in the horror realm and Mayhem is the ultimate demonstration of his unquestionable mastery of the style.

The track “Bullets Are For Cowards” is available for streaming below. Mayhem is due out November 24th on CD/2xLP/Digital via Relapse Records. Physical and digital pre-orders are available via Relapse.com here and digital retail outlets here.

Mayhem Tracklisting:

“Welcome To TSC”
“Thank God For Coffee”
“9 O’Clock”
“Drop Of Water”
“Deep Shit”
“File 45A”
“We Are Brave”
“Thumbs Turned”
“The Reaper”
“ID-7”
“Dead Inside”
“The Bull”
“Loophole”
“Two Pepperoni Pizzas”
“Time To Worok”
“Wednesdays”
“Extreme Measures”
“On The Count Of…”
“Nevil Reed”
“Allergies”
“Make Your Move”
“Showdown”
“Can We Talk”
“Negotiations Have Ended”
“No More Bullshit”
“Fuck This Place”
“Up To 11”
“So What Now”
“Irene Smythe”
“Level 3”
“Bullets Are For Cowards”
“You Belong Here”
“Surrender”
“Mine’s Bigger”
“The King Falls”

“Bullets Are For Cowards”:

“ID-7”:

“Welcome To TSC”:

Canadian melodic thrash metal powerhouse, Threat Signal, are streaming their new album, Disconnect, out tomorrow, November 10th, via Agonia Records. Listen to the full album below.

Since their debut offering Under Reprisal (2006), which won the "Canadian Recording Of The Year Award" at the Hamilton Music Awards, Threat Signal became internationally recognized as one of the most interesting modern acts in thrash metal. Their latest two instalments, the intense Vigilance (2009) and reinvented Threat Signal (2011), have both met with unrelenting hype, with each generating growing interest within the metal community. Combining the complexity of thrash metal, with a more contemporary groove sound involving technical rhythms and melodic musical passages, the band finally returns with its fourth studio album, Disconnect.

Founder & vocalist Jon Howard commented: "Well, we made it to album number 4! To say its been a tough ride would be an understatement, but as the shit piles on, we'll keep shovelling that shit off!! So we began writing this album back in 2012, and continued writing over the next 3 years until we were able to hit the studio again. Basically our thought process while writing was to not have an end goal of what the album should sound like. We didn't plan to make a really heavy album, or a melodic album, or take anyone else's input on what we should sound like. We basically just wrote songs with a clear and open mindset until Disconnect grew together. This album ranges from melodic metal, to hard rock, to thrash metal, and even down to a chill acoustic tune, its a roller coaster of a ride while staying true to the Threat Signal sound. You will feel the energy from all of our previous albums plus something new. A big thanks to Agonia Records for believing in us and finally getting this album released. Also a HUGE thanks to the fans for sticking with us over the years. I'd like to dedicate our album Disconnect to my fallen friend and former Threat Signal drummer Norm Killeen. May you be jamming with the best of them in the next life!!! Peace and love".

Disconnect was recorded and produced by vocalist Jon Howard and lead guitarist Travis Montgomery. Mixing and mastering were done by Mark Lewis (DevilDriver, Whitechapel, Battlecross, Coal Chamber). Artwork for the album was created by Ludovic Cordelieres of Rusalkadesign (Kamelot).

Tracklisting:

“Elimination Process”
“Nostalgia”
“Walking Alone”
“Exit The Matrix”
“Falling Apart”
“Aura”
“Betrayal”
“To Thine Own Self Be True”
“Dimensions”
“Terminal Madness”
“Eyes Sewn Shut” *

* Box CD exclusive

Album stream:

"Elimination Process" drum playthrough:

“Elimination Process” 360° VR video:

“Exit The Matrix” lyric video:

"Exit The Matrix" playthrough video:

Album formats:

- Digipack CD
- Limited to 500 copies BOX (inc. CD + bonus track, poster, patch and sticker)
- Regular black LP
- Limited to 150 copies transparent blue/opaque red ("colour in clolour") LP
- Digital
- TS

Pre-order Disconnect via the following links:

- CD/Box/LP/Merch
- iTunes
- Bandcamp

Lineup:

Jon Howard - vocals
Travis Montgomery - guitars
Pat Kavanagh - bass
Matt Perrin - guitars

(Photo - Andrew Minarik)

On Friday, January 26th, Inside Out Music will release Wuthering Nights: Live In Birmingham, the new live release from guitar legend Steve Hackett. Wuthering Nights was filmed at the Birmingham Symphony Hall during Hackett’s recent, critically-acclaimed Genesis Revisited & Classic Hackett tour. Available as 2CD/BluRay Jewel Case and Digital Album, this is a must-have for any prog fan.

This tour marked the 40th anniversary of Wind & Wuthering, Hackett’s last album with Genesis which reached #7 in the UK album chart. To celebrate Steve and his band played five of the best-loved tracks from this iconic album: “Eleventh Earl Of Mar”, “One For The Vine”, “Blood On The Rooftops”, “…In That Quiet Earth” and “Afterglow”.

Other fan favorites from Hackett’s Genesis days were ‘revisited’: “Dance On A Volcano”, “Inside & Out”, “Firth Of Fifth”, “The Musical Box” and the classic “Los Endos”. This mesmerizing show marks the first ever live performance by Hackett and his band of the tracks “One For The Vine” and “Inside & Out”, and also includes many of Hackett’s solo fan-favorites as well as material from his latest studio album, The Night Siren.

Steve recalls the Birmingham performance: “I’m excited about the imminent release of Wuthering Nights. It felt special to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Wind & Wuthering, the Genesis album I had the most songwriting involvement with and a favourite among many fans. Songs like “One For The Vine”, “Eleventh Earl Of Mar” and “Blood On The Rooftops” come across powerfully on this release, which also features other Genesis and solo Hackett favourites along with songs from my latest album The Night Siren... Sit back and enjoy!”

The band are: Roger King (keyboards), Gary O’Toole (drums/percussion), Rob Townsend (saxes/flutes), Nick Beggs (bass, stick & twelve string) and Nad Sylvan on vocals plus special guests John Hackett and Amanda Lehmann.

The DVD / Blu-Ray also includes fascinating behind the scenes footage, most of which was filmed on the day in Birmingham. There are also three videos for tracks from The Night Siren: “Behind The Smoke”, “Fifty Miles From The North Pole” and “West To East”.

Steve Hackett is renowned as an immensely talented and innovative rock musician. He was lead guitarist with Genesis as part of their classic line up with Gabriel, Collins, Banks and Rutherford, who produced several of the band’s most acclaimed albums including Selling England By The Pound (a favourite of John Lennon) and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. With Steve's extraordinary versatility in both his electric guitar playing and his composing, he involves influences from many genres, including jazz, world music and blues. He is equally adept in his classical albums that include renditions of pieces by composers from Bach to Satie, his own acoustic guitar compositions that have gained the admiration of many, including Yehudi Menuhin, and ambitious guitar/orchestra albums such as A Midsummer Night's Dream, recorded with the Royal Philharmonic.

(Photo - Tina Korhonen)

Nestled within the looming embrace of seven mountains, the rugged, rain-swept coastline of Bjoergvin has spawned many extreme bands and musicians over the years, but none quite as iconic as Taake and its formidable founder Hoest, who is now back with a seventh full-length album.

Titled Kong Vinter (King Winter), the album is set for release via Dark Essence Records on November 24th in digipak CD, digital and vinyl formats, with the vinyl available in black, transparent and white versions. All are double, 180 gram LPs in a gatefold cover. Transparent and white are limited to 1000 each. Listen to the track “Inntrenger” below.

Kong Vinter is available for pre-order via the links below:

- Bandcamp
- EU Webshop
- US Webshop

Over the years Hoest has steered his creation with unerring accuracy through the mire of black metal. He has avoided the pitfalls of either stagnation or over-experimentation, and remained true to the spirit of the traditional Black Metal genre, whilst at the same time breathing fresh life into it.

True to form Hoest has spent three years working on Kong Vinter, ensuring that the album is imbued with the unique Taake sound, whilst at the same time taking it even further. It is deceptively familiar to the ear, yet it is unpredictable as it winds its way sinuously through a soundscape that only a mother could love. A soundscape underscored by a nasty groove, that at times can seem devilishly playful.

The result is an album that is both progressive and straight forward, with a touch of the devil's own music - rock’n’roll, making it unmistakably Taake. It is, in fact, an illustration as to why, for over two decades, Hoest has succeeded in remaining relevant and at the forefront of the genre.

Kong Vinter, on which Hoest plays all the instruments himself, was recorded and produced by Bjornar Nilsen (Vulture Industries) at his Conclave and Earshot Studios in Bergen. The album artwork was created by Tom Korsvold of Coverart.

Tracklisting:

“Sverdets Vei”
“Inntrenger”
“Huset i Havet”
“Havet i Huset”
“Jernhaand”
“Maanebrent”
“Fra Bjoergegrend mot Glemselen”
“On Top” (De Press cover, bonus track on the vinyl edition)

“Inntrenger”:

Swedish rockers Europe returned to Germany’s Wacken Open Air festival back in August. Professionally filmed video of the band performing “Sign Of The Times”, “Superstitious”, and “The Final Countdown” can be seen below:

Europe are heading to Australia for the first time ever in May 2018.

Says the band: “The waiting is over - we're going down under. Believe it or not IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN! We are touring Australia for the FIRST TIME! Something we always wanted to do but could just never make the schedules work before. We are really excited to announce these dates and to finally hook up with our friends in Australia!”

Tickets are available from Ticketmaster.com.au, except Sydney at Ticketek.com.au. An announcement video and the tour schedule can be found below.

Dates:

May
16 - Perth Concert Hall, Perth
18 - Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide
19 - Palais Theatre, Melbourne
22 - Enmore Theatre, Sydney
23 - The Tivoli, Brisbane

Europe’s new studio album, Walk The Earth, is out now via the band’s Hell & Back label via Silver Lining Music. The album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London with Grammy winning producer Dave Cobb (Rival Sons, Shooter Jennings, Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton) who also produced the band’s War Of Kings album.

Tracklisting:

“Walk The Earth”
“The Siege”
“Kingdom United”
“Pictures”
“Election Day”
“Wolves”
“GTO”
“Haze”
“Whenever You’re Ready”
“Turn To Dust”

“The Siege”:

“Election Day”:

“Walk The Earth”:

Brazilian female-fronted progressive power metal band VANDROYA has released a music video for "The Path To The Endless Fall", the second single from its new album, "Beyond The Human Mind". The disc is available through Inner Wound Recordings in Europe and North America and through Bickee Music in Japan.

With a more evident progressive influence but without giving up the weight and virtuosity of power metal, the new album brings a more mature band, a more balanced sound and reflects the musicians technical and artistic evolution since the debut album, "One".

The "Beyond The Human Mind" album concept revolves around the journey we all go through in search of fullness and inner peace.

The cover artwork was created by Felipe Machado Franco (BLIND GUARDIAN, RHAPSODY OF FIRE, ICED EARTH).

Led by vocalist Daísa Munhoz, VANDROYA is ready to take the next step and make a mark in the metal scene with "Beyond The Human Mind".

"Beyond The Human Mind" track listing:

01. Columns Of Illusion 02. The Path To The Endless Fall 03. Maya 04. Time After Time 05. Last Breath 06. I'm Alive 07. You'll Know My Name 08. If I Forgive Myself 09. Beyond The Human Mind

Professionally-filmed footage of Metallica performing the Hardwired... To Self-Destruct album track “Dream No More” at Sportpaleis in Antwerp, Belgium on November 3rd can be seen below:

“Join us as we take the stage for a 75-minute set rounding out a night featuring G-Eazy, Rancid, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, Dead & Company, and Raphael Saadiq for the Band Together Bay Area benefit concert this Thursday, November 9th starting at 5:45 PM, PST,” says Metallica. “100% of the ticket price will benefit Northern California fire relief and good seats are still available at Ticketmaster.com!

“We’ll also be live streaming the show which you can catch on Metallica.com, our YouTube channel, or our Facebook page. The show will be available to Twitter's logged-in and logged-out audience in the US via @tippingpoint and at this location as well. And let’s not forget why we’re taking the stage! Contribute to fire relief during the live stream by clicking the “donate” button on the stream or texting “TOGETHER” to 20222.

“We are so proud to be a part of Band Together Bay Area and we hope you can join us this Thursday in assisting our friends and neighbours who have lost so much. All funds from ticket sales will benefit Tipping Point Community, who have set up an Emergency Relief Fund for low-income, vulnerable communities impacted by the crisis, including vineyard workers, immigrants, displaced young people, and students.

“If you cannot attend the show and would still like to contribute, you may donate directly to Tipping Point. You may also donate to the Metallica All Within My Hands Foundation through the Foundation's Facebook page. All Within My Hands will be making a donation to Tipping Point Community, and 100% of your contribution will be included.”

For more information on the event, visit bandtogetherbayarea.org.

EVANESCENCE performed at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland on November 8 in support of its fourth album, "Synthesis". Like the disc, "Synthesis Live" features a reimagining of some of EVANESCENCE's best-loved songs with the spotlight on full orchestra, electronics combined with the band and Amy Lee's virtuoso piano and voice.

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

"Synthesis" is due on November 10. The effort features full orchestration in a completely synthetic world of beats and sounds, with help from arranger and composer David Campbell. "Synthesis" contains two new EVANESCENCE songs in addition to fan favorites re-recorded with a live orchestra and electronica.

The "Synthesis Live" tour launched on October 14 on the West Coast.

"This is a total passion project for me. There are so many layers in our music, underneath the huge drums and guitars," explained Lee. "I've always wanted to shine a light on some of the gorgeous David Campbell arrangements and programming elements in our songs, and that idea snowballed into completely re-doing them with full orchestra, not just strings, elaborate programming and experimentation.

"This will be our first time touring with orchestra and I'm so excited to perform this way — really focus on the vocals, and the emotion and the story we've built over the years. I'm also really excited about the new material on the album. Besides the two new songs, there are some really beautiful instrumental in-between moments. The whole thing flows like a big, dynamic soundtrack."

Lee told Graspop.be about "Synthesis": "It's different in a way that it's still coming from the roots of what EVANESCENCE was conceived to be,. It's really a beautiful project. A lot of our old songs are getting a whole new life in a way where we're getting to experience the focus being this beautiful, full orchestra. It's also a lot of electronic, cool elements — parts that have always been part of our music. It hasn't been full orchestra before — it's just been mainly strings — but just taking it to very beautiful, classical and epic and groovy place. Oh, it feels so good. There's some new stuff on it too, but it's mostly old stuff [reimagined]."

Lee also talked in more detail about the making of "Synthesis", explaining: "As far as the conception, basically, you work in demo land first and just create the arrangements of songs. I went through all the master sessions of, say, 'Bring Me To Life', and [I would] pull out all the stuff and listen to it and then chop it up and decide, 'Oh, maybe this part needs to be longer. Maybe this part at the beginning will be just strings and piano.' Just figure out what you're gonna do and build a map. And working with David Campbell, who has done all the string arrangements for EVANESCENCE for all three albums now doing full orchestra, just going back and forth with him and our producer Will and then each other, just throwing ideas in a Dropbox and basically just playing tennis back and forth for months."

Almost five decades ago, the toll of a bell and rolling thunder marked the conception of an ear splittingly monolithic riff. In that moment, BLACK SABBATH and the sound of heavy metal were forged. The band embarked on what vocalist Ozzy Osbourne describes as the most incredible adventure you could think of, a journey that would go on to define a genre.

"The End" is a celebration of BLACK SABBATH's final hometown concert at Birmingham's Genting Arena on February 4, 2017. This unforgettable farewell show from one of the biggest bands in the world will be released by Eagle Vision on November 17, 2017.

With a hit-packed set list including "Iron Man", "Paranoid", "War Pigs" and many more, the high production values, visual effects, and pyrotechnics wowed fans, as the band delivered the most emotionally charged show in their history.

All visual formats feature special bonus material of the band playing a selection of their favorite songs not played on tour. These intimate live sessions at Angelic Studios were recorded in the days after their final live performance.

"The End" captures a once-in-a-career performance, an essential snapshot of musical history, and a fitting farewell to true innovators and original heavy metal icons, BLACK SABBATH.

A performance clip of the song "N.I.B.", taken from "The End", can be seen below.

Track listing:

Live at Birmingham's Genting Arena on February 4, 2017

01. Black Sabbath02. Fairies Wear Boots03. Under The Sun / Every Day Comes And Goes04. After Forever05. Into The Void06. Snowblind07. Band Intros08. War Pigs09. Behind The Wall Of Sleep10. Bassically / N.I.B.11. Hand Of Doom12. Supernaut / Sabbath Bloody Sabbath / Megalomania13. Rat Salad / Drum Solo14. Iron Man15. Dirty Women16. Children Of The Grave17. Paranoid

The Angelic Sessions

01. The Wizard02. Wicked World03. Sweet Leaf04. Tomorrow's Dream05. Changes

Pre-orders are available now via PledgeMusic, where exclusive bundles, such as the deluxe box set, can be found.

Ozzy told The Pulse Of Radio not long ago that he's glad that SABBATH has come full circle. "BLACK SABBATH has been through the mill over the years, but to come back and be friends with my buddies who I started off with all those years ago, it's a closure for me, a chapter of my life which I can say, 'Well, we came, we saw, we had a good time and now it's over,'" he said. "I'm glad we ended up happy. Whatever axes we had to grind between us over the years, we got rid of all that and we're friends again."

Guitarist Tony Iommi said that he wouldn't rule out the possibility of doing one-off shows or even more recording, saying, "I wouldn't write that off, if one day that came about. That's possible. Or even doing an album, 'cause then, again, you're in one place."

The band decided to make this tour its last because Iommi, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2012 and is currently in remission, can no longer travel for extended amounts of time.

The original lineup of SABBATH came together in 1969 with Osbourne, Iommi, Geezer Butler on bass and Bill Ward on drums. That lineup recorded and toured through 1978, and periodically reformed through the '90s and 2000s for live work.

They regrouped again in late 2011 for a new album and tour, although Ward dropped out after a few months over financial issues. SABBATH has used Ozzy's regular touring drummer Tommy Clufetos since then for live work. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Brad Wilk laid down the drum tracks on the album "13", which came out in June 2013.

Iommi and Butler haven't announced any specific post-SABBATH plans yet, but Osbourne will embark on a two-year "farewell" tour in 2018, after already playing a few solo shows this summer.

Dutch symphonic metal giants EPICA have released a new performance video for the song "Consign To Oblivion". The footage was captured during EPICA's sold-out show at the Zénith in Paris last February where the band closed its most successful European tour to date together with an excited legion of five thousand fans. This video, which was captured and edited by Panda Productions, perfectly mirrors the band's craving for non-stop innovation and for continuously improving its live performance.

This Thursday, EPICA will embark on a headline tour across Europe with support from VUUR and MYRATH.

EPICA lead guitarist Isaac Delahaye comments on the clip: "Hey legion! Here's a live video we still had on the shelf. Glad we can take you into the world of 'Consign To Oblivion', the song that usually marks the end of an EPICA show. It's bombastic and builds towards an epic climax, and it's always fun to play. Enjoy watching, and see you soon during our European tour with VUUR and MYRATH!"

EPICA recently completed "The Ultimate Principle" North American tour with LACUNA COIL as co-headliners. INSOMNIUM and ELANTRIS provided direct support.

EPICA is continuing to tour in support of its latest EP, "The Solace System", which was released on September 1 via Nuclear Blast. The effort contains six brand-new songs which were created during the sessions for the band's latest album, 2016's "The Holographic Principle".

"The Solace System" was recorded, mixed and mastered by Joost van den Broek and Jacob Hansen.

Veteran female rockers VIXEN have recorded recorded a new single as well as an acoustic version of one of the band's classic hits. Guitarist Brittany Denaro (a.k.a. Britt Lightning) told Guitar World: "[The acoustic version] has a bit of a different vibe than the original, but it came together pretty spontaneously as we were jamming on it in the studio."

The new VIXEN recordings are expected to be included as "bonus surprises" on the band's upcoming live album, which was recorded on August 12 at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois. The disc is being mixed by Michael Wagener (METALLICA, MEGADETH, ALICE COOPER, DOKKEN, SKID ROW) at his WireWorld studio outside of Nashville, Tennessee.

Brittany joined VIXEN as the replacement for Gina Stile, who left the band earlier in the year.

Denaro and new keyboardist Tyson Leslie made their live debut with VIXEN on March 25 at the Rock The Arena II festival at Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio.

Stile originally played with VIXEN in 1997-1998 and returned to the band in 2013 as the replacement for the group's deceased founding guitarist Jan Kuehnemund.

Brittany previously played guitar for LA BANDA DE ALEJANDRO SANZ, CHIX 6 – THE MUSICAL and Rachel Platten.

Asked how she landed the gig with VIXEN, Denaro told Guitar World: "I was playing with an all-female GUNS N' ROSES tribute band at a pre-party for the Monsters Of Rock cruise. Coincidentally, the person who put it on also happened to be VIXEN's manager. He had known that there was some tension in the band and that they were looking for another guitar player. After the show, he spoke to the girls and told them he thought I'd be a perfect fit. Ironically, around the same time Janet [Gardner, vocals/guitar], Share [Ross, bass] and Roxy [Petrucci, drums] had been asking around and my name kept popping up, so they followed up. It was that simple."

Denaro also talked about the first time she played with VIXEN. "I was a bit nervous," she said. "Growing up, I had been in all-girl bands but there weren't many of them to really look up to. I remember the first time I got together with them was without Janet. It was just the music and that took a little bit of the pressure off. Because everyone lived all over the country, the first time I actually met Janet was the night before we did a show together."

Gardner released her debut solo album in August via Pavement Entertainment.

Inner Wound Recordings has announced reissues of the first three releases from the classic U.S. heavy metal band OBSESSION. The "Marshall Law" EP, "Scarred For Life" and "Methods Of Madness" will all be re-released on CD and digital on December 1.

The CD editions come with a 12-page booklet that includes lyrics as well as liner notes from singer Michael Vescera.

Formed in 1982, OBSESSION is famous for launching Vescera's career. The band first came on to the scene via the "Metal Massacre 2" compilation from Metal Blade Records and then the classic EP "Marshall Law" was released 1984 on the same label. After that, OBSESSION released the albums "Scarred For Life" and "Methods of Madness" under the Enigma label before breaking up in 1989. The band reformed in 2004 and released the new albums "Carnival Of Lies" in 2006 and "Order Of Chaos" in 2012.

"Marshall Law" reissue track listing:

01. Only The Strong Will Survive02. Hatred Unto Death03. The Execution04. Marshall Law 05. Marshall Law (Demo Version)

"Scarred For Life" reissue track listing

01. Intro / Scarred For Life 02. Winner Takes All 03. Losing My Mind 04. In The End 05. Bang Em' Till They Bleed 06. Take No Prisoners 07. Taking Your Chances 08. Run Into The Night 09. Tomorrow Hides No Lies 10. Shadows Of Steel (Bonus Track) 11. Evil In Her Eyes (Bonus Track)

"Methods Of Madness" reissue track listing:

01. Four Play / Hard To The Core 02. High Treason 03. For The Love Of Money 04. Killer Elite 05. Desperate To Survive 06. Methods Of Madness 07. Too Wild To Tame 08. Always On The Run 09. Panic In The Streets 10. Missing You (Bonus Track) 11. Waiting For Your Call (Bonus Track)

In an interview, Vescera — who has also spent time in ANIMETAL USA, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN and LOUDNESS — described OBSESSION's latest album, "Order of Chaos", as "a cross between 'Carnival Of Lies' [2006] and the early OBSESSION stuff." He added, "I think it's geared more towards the older sound, the straight-tforward metal like the 'Marshall Law' album [1984], but you can hear some of the 'Carnival' sound in there, too."

"Carnival of Lies" was re-released through Mausoleum Records on February 12, 2008. This reissue featured new artwork and the bonus tracks "Panic In The Streets" (previously only available on the Avalon release in Japan) and "Judas". The album's title track featured Swedish guitar sensation Robert Marcello (DANGER DANGER, IRONHORSE) and Boston based neo-classical shred-god Joe Stump (REIGN OF TERROR).

OBSESSION's original lineup featured Michael and Jay Mezias (drums) along with Bruce Vitale, Art Maco (guitar) and Matt Karagus (bass).

Professionally filmed video footage of POSSESSED's performance at this year's Bloodstock Open Air festival, which was held August 11-13 at Catton Hall, Walton-On-Trent, West Midlands, United Kingdom, can be seen below.

POSSESSED frontman Jeff Becerra told Antihero Magazine that the band's upcoming studio album, which will be their first full-length effort since 1986's "Beyond The Gates", will contain "some really fucking good death metal. I'm really happy with a lot of the tracks," he said. "I'm still writing in the process; I'm writing a lot of music, writing all of the lyrics, of course. I'm also collaborating with [new POSSESSED members] Daniel [Gonzalez, guitar] and Claudeous [Creamer, guitar]. We're working together hard to create something that we really like. We're hoping that translates well to other people and beyond. We're hoping people like it. If they don't, then fuck them."

Regarding the musical direction of POSSESSED's new material, Jeff said: "Well, it's me. I'm still me. I would say…it's very POSSESSED-y, but it's not so dated. I think as much as I love the first three albums, they're a little dated, so we're trying to bring it back into this century. We're not going to over-produce it or do anything but straight death metal. It's just what I want to play and what the band wants to play. We're really enjoying ourselves. So far, the demos went over really well."

POSSESSED recently inked a worldwide deal with Nuclear Blast. Fans can expect POSSESSED's first full-length release in over three decades sometime in 2018.

Becerra remains the only member from POSSESSED's classic lineup, which dissolved entirely in 1987 after the "Eyes Of Horror" EP.

SOULFLY mainman Max Cavalera recently spoke to "Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon" about the band's upcoming follow-up to 2015's "Archangel" album, tentatively due next year via Nuclear Blast.

Max, who is currently taking part in the "Point Blank With Soulfly" tour, where SOULFLY is performing NAILBOMB's lone studio album, 1994's "Point Blank", in full, said: "Next year is a big year for us, because it's the anniversary of the first [SOULFLY] record that came out in '98. And also our new record will come out on Nuclear Blast. They're very behind the record; they're really excited for the new SOULFLY record.

"I'm gonna start working on it when I'm done with the NAILBOMB tour," he continued. "But I already kind of know what I wanna do with the record, which is kind of return a little bit more to some of the tribal sounds that I explored in an earlier phase of SOULFLY; I wanna maybe return to some of those. Some of [it] will be a continuation of what I did on 'Archangel', which a lot of people really like 'Archangel' a lot, so I'm gonna continue some of that kind of stuff. But it will be a really exciting year, because we'll have a new album in a year that commemorates twentieth year of our first record. So all that together should be really cool. So it's gonna be a year of new music and touring, so it should be a lot of fun and I should be pretty busy throughout the whole year."

Cavalera, who exited SEPULTURA in 1996 after the rest of the band fired his wife, Gloria, as the group's manager, went on to say that the "really cool" thing about SOULFLY "is the tribe that we created, because it's the fans, and I see that everywhere. The SOULFLY tattoos, the amount of tattoos that I see is overwhelming — there are so many of them. And there are huge, huge SOULFLY fans that really love SOULFLY a lot, which is great. I didn't really expect that. I always thought I was gonna be connected with SEPULTURA, connected to the past, but that wasn't really the case. They love what I did with SEPULTURA, but they love SOULFLY — they're really a part of this tribe and they are proud of it. So many times during the '[Return To] Roots' tour, a lot of people showed up in SOULFLY t-shirts, just to support SOULFLY."

According to Max, SOULFLY's message has evolved over the years to where it now "deals with tribal things, political things and spiritual things, and a lot of things dealing with tragedies and stuff. So when I hear that my music has helped people through hard times, to me it's the coolest thing that I could have probably done with my music — to actually help somebody else going through a hard time," he said. "And you can't put a price on that. I think that's the coolest thing you can do with the music — give that much power to other people through your music. Sometimes we're not even there — we just make the records and put it out, and we don't really see what happens after the record comes out. But it goes into people's life and it becomes something real big in their life, and I think that's really cool and that's something I'm very proud of."

Max and his brother, former SEPULTURA drummer Igor Cavalera, have spent the last year celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the band's "Roots" album by performing the LP in its entirety all over the world.

Long-running German metallers ATROCITY will release a new album, "Masters Of Darkness", on December 8 via Massacre Records. The EP is the perfect harbinger of the upcoming album "Okkult II", which will be released in 2018 via Massacre. Fans of harder ATROCITY material like the first "Okkult" album and the death metal classics "Hallucinations", "Todessehnsucht", "Blut" and "Atlantis" will surely be delighted with the new EP.

"Masters Of Darkness" will be available as a limited four-track digipak EP as well as a limited two-track seven-inch vinyl single with a different colored artwork. The EP and seven-inch single are already available for pre-order.

"Masters Of Darkness" was produced by Alexander Krull at Mastersound Studio. The artwork was created by Stefan Heilemann of Heilemania (LINDEMANN, EPICA, KAMELOT).

"Masters Of Darkness" track listing:

01. Masters Of Darkness02. Menschenschlachthaus03. Gates To Oblivion04. Devil's Covenant

Part one of what was said to be ATROCITY's album trilogy, "Okkult", was released in May 2013 via Napalm Records.

Germany's leading gothic metal band Crematory are currently working on the new studio album titled Oblivion, which will be released on April 13th, 2018 via SPV / Steamhammer worldwide. According to the motto "Never change a winning team" Crematory have chosen Kristian Bonifer as producer once again and the Kohlekellerstudio for the new album. 

SPV: "Through collaboration with new idea donors and arrangers such as Stefan Glass, Dirk Riegner and Walter Stobbe, as well as the intensive cooperation of the two new guitarists, Rolf and Tosse, and the new bassist Jason, not only massive guitars were given to the new Crematory songs but also interesting influences and elements that makes the band doing a step forward even after 25 years of band history. The hit factory Crematory is in full swing working in three shifts, which makes the new studio album Oblivion an absolute masterpiece."

Crematory recently released a new live video for the song “Everything“, taken from their new live CD+DVD, Live Insurrection. You can watch the video below.

For over 25 years now, Crematory have enthralled their countless fans at home and abroad. Since the band was founded in 1991, they have released twelve studio albums, in addition to a number of live recordings, singles, EPs and compilations. The music is based on brute guitar riffs and hard-as-nails drum grooves, replete with sinister keyboard hooks and that mix of growls and clear vocals - some in English, some in German - that is so typical of this band.

Crematory released Live Insurrection on September 8th. It's the whole show from the prestigious german Bang Your Head Festival 2016 in Germany, also including four videoclips on the DVD from their latest album, Monument.

Tracklisting:

CD
Intro
“Misunderstood”
“Fly”
“Greed”
“Tick Tack”
Instrumental
“Haus mit Garten”
“Ravens Calling”
“Pray”
“Everything”
Instrumental
“Shadowmaker”
“The Fallen”
“Höllenbrand”
“Die So Soon”
“Kommt näher”
“Tears Of Time”

DVD

Live:
Intro
“Misunderstood”
“Fly”
“Greed”
“Tick Tack”
Instrumental
“Haus mit Garten”
“Ravens Calling”
“Pray”
“Everything”
Instrumental
“Shadowmaker”
“The Fallen”
“Höllenbrand”
“Die So Soon”
“Kommt näher”
“Tears Of Time”

Monument videoclips:
“Misunderstood”
“Ravens Calling”
“Haus mit Garten”
“Everything”

“Everything” live video: