Seeker have released a video for “Submit”, a track from their new album, Loss, out now via Victory Records. The new clip can be found below.

Clocking in at 25 minutes, Loss was recorded by Zach Ohren, known for his work with Chelsea Grin and Fallujah, and the artwork comes in the form of a hand drawn, custom piece by Farron Loathing (Nails, Huntress).

Loss tracklisting:

“Without”     
“Throat”     
“Void”     
“Rot”     
“Swallowed”     
“Welcome Death”     
“Empty Vessel”     
“Submit”     
“Self Harm”     
“Loss”

“Submit” video:

“Loss” video:

“Void” video:

Album stream:

Loss packages are available at VictoryMerch.com.

Australian metal destroyers, Aversions Crown, will release their sophomore release, Xenocide, on January 20th via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. Today, the band has released  the first in a series of trailers, in which vocalist Mark Poida and drummer Jayden Mason give fans a first insight into the album's lyrics and title.

Mark Poida comments: "The lyrics for Aversions Crown will always be [about] aliens... It's going to be a concept album and there's going to be a story being told about aliens. I can't really let you know what it's about at the moment because I'd like to leave the surprises for when the album is released."

"We want people to read through and actually try and figure it out. It's pretty sick!" Adds Jayden.

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

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

Xenocide tracklisting:

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

“Ophiophagy” lyric video:

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

 

 

 

 

Video footage of Long Beach, California's Rival Sons performing an acoustic version of their song “Where I’ve Been”, live at Google HQ, is streaming below:

Rival Sons have announced dates for a European headline tour, which is due to kick off in January.

After spending much of this year supporting the legendary Black Sabbath on The End tour, Rival Sons will once again be joining the retiring rockers across Europe and the UK as they play their final ever shows. Rival Sons will also be playing a few headlining gigs in between their shows with Black Sabbath, before kicking their headlining tour into full swing in February.

Watch a video message from Rival Sons drummer Michael Miley announcing the tour:

Tour dates:

January
17 - Cologne, Germany - Lanxess Arena *
18 - Lille, France - Splendide
20 - Dublin, Ireland - 3Arena *
21 - Belfast, UK - Limelight
22 - Manchester, UK - Manchester Arena *
24 - Glasgow, UK - SSE Hyrdo *
25 - Liverpool, UK - O2 Academy
26 - Leeds, UK - First Direct Arena *
28 - Sheffield, UK - The Leadmill
29 - London, UK - The O2 *
31 - London, UK - The O2 *

February
1 - Cambridge, UK - Junction
2 - Birmingham, UK - Genting Arena *
4 - Birmingham, UK - Genting Arena *
6 - Paris, France - Elysee Montmartre
8 - Bordeaux, France - Le Rocher de Palmer
9 - Gijon, Spain - Sala Albeniz
10 - Madrid, Spain - But
12 - Lyon, France - Transbordeur
14 - Milan, Italy - Alcatraz
16 - Munich, Germany - Muffathalle
17 - Vienna, Austria - Ottakringer Brauerei
18 - Warsaw, Poland - Progresja Music Zone
20 - Berlin, Germany - Astra
21 - Cologne, Germany - Live Music Hall
22 - Frankfurt, Germany - Batschkapp
24 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
25 - Antwerp, Belgium - Trix Club
26 - Hamburg, Germany - Grosse Freiheit
28 - Oslo, Norway - Sentrum Scene

March
1 - Denmark, Copenhagen - Vega
2 - Stockholm, Sweden - The Annex
4 - Helsinki, Finland - House of Culture

* supporting Black Sabbath

Tickets for the headlining shows are on sale now. Order yours at this location.

Bay Area rock outfit, Black Map, have debuted a video for their new single, “Run Rabbit Run”, from their new album, coming out next year.

"We filmed this video in the SF Armory which is one of the coolest, weirdest, and most interesting structures in the entire city," says frontman Ben Flannagan. "Every room you walk into tells a different story and there is literally a creek running through building."

Directed by Anthony Garay, this is the first visual interpretation of a song we've seen from the band since their video for "I'm Just The Driver" from their last LP.  

"Aside from filming in an iconic location, we knew it was time for a video that really showcased the energy of the song and our live performances. We are very happy with how it came out."

The new track is available on all major streaming services and will be offered as an iTunes instant gratification track. Fans who pre-order the album today will get "Run Rabbit Run" immediately as a download.

Black Map will release In Droves on March 10th via Entertainment One (eOne) in North America and SPV overseas. The band only wrapped up production on the effort last month with Aaron Hellam at Oakland’s Hellam Sound (The Trophy Fire) and created an ambitious but no less intense sophomore set, a boundary smashing, down-tuned heavy rock slab.

Tracklisting:

“Transit I”
“Run Rabbit Run”
“Foxglove”
“Ruin”
“Heavy Waves”
“Dead Ringer”
“Octavia”
“Transit II”
“No Color”
“Indoor Kid”
“White Fence”
“Just My Luck”
“Cash For The Fears”
“Transit III”
“Coma Phase”

After a successful run with Chevelle this year, the band will be heading back out on the road at the top of 2017 for another round. A full list of dates hitting much of the western half of the US can be seen here.

Black Map creates music driven by the pulse of their early genesis as a trio who packed itself into a rehearsal room with pure intentions, a 12-pack and a boundary-smashing lack of prohibitions or rules. Their commitment is to each other, to what feels right; to meditation on big riffs that lurch and churn, dripping with atmosphere, powering bold and evocative statements.

The band is the union of three established Northern California rock musicians, driven by a shared dedication to big riffs, big drums and powerful, straight-ahead, all enveloping rock n’ roll. Black Map consists of the versatile voice and walloping bass groove of Ben Flanagan (Trophy Fire), the wall-of-sound big riff histrionics of guitarist Mark Engles (dredg) and the unstoppable driving force and tasteful skill of drummer Chris Robyn (Far).

A few songs became a few shows and an EP which begat a debut album, …And We Explode (2014), which featured the buzzy single, “I’m Just The Driver”. The metaphorical “black map” of the band’s steadily building catalog and dedicated following led them to secure live performance spots alongside the mighty Chevelle, multi platinum rockers Bush, Circa Survive, and Highly Suspect in addition to multiple club shows as a headlining act.

Songs like “Run Rabbit Run”, “Foxglove”, “No Color” and “White Fence” are united in a lyrical exhortation toward staunch individuality in the face of soul-crushing conformity. These are songs that challenge listeners to focus on what makes them unique as people, to shake off the gloomy dystopian results of mass groupthink, to actualize and harness one’s own humanity.

As they continue forward, ever united in that original pureness of intentionality, Black Map covers bigger ground. Bursts of ambience and mellow contemplation compliment the broadly shaped melodic noise. Unafraid experimentation gives way to a strong dichotomy, to new elements, all within that original structure of Black Map’s monster riffing.

Sonic treasure hunters who study Black Map will find themselves transported to the spirit of the early 90s rock resurgence, when bands jettisoned the superficial fluff of the previous decade without wandering too far into dense pretension and delivered authentic and heavy music. Black Map combine flourishes of beauty alongside the bombast and a modern sensibility that nevertheless will not sacrifice its raw realness.

(Photo - Jen Cash/Calibree Photography)

METAL CHURCH's video for the song "Needle And Suture" can be seen below. The clip was directed by Jamie Brown of Smokin' Gun Video Productions.

"Needle And Suture" is taken from METAL CHURCH's latest album, "XI", which debuted at No. 57 on The Billboard 200, having shifted 11,000 equivalent album units in the week ending March 31.

"XI", was released on March 25 via Rat Pak Records. Produced by Kurdt Vanderhoof and co-produced by Chris "The Wizard" Collier, the band's eleventh studio release also marks the return of legendary vocalist and frontman Mike Howe.

The reunion between Mike and METAL CHURCH was put in motion in July of 2014 when Mike started working with Kurdt Vanderhoof on a side project he was forming with Nigel Glockler from SAXON. Through these initial conversations, Kurdt convinced Mike to ultimately return to METAL CHURCH. The idea was to see if they could recapture some of the magic from the three albums METAL CHURCH released in the late '80s: "The Human Factor", "Blessing In Disguise" and "Hanging In The Balance". Out of those sessions, "XI" was born and captures the sound that made the band fan-favorites in the '80's and mixes it with a new, invigorated sound for 2016. Said Mike: "Kurdt Vanderhoof got ahold of me in August of 2014, and he proposed [me] coming back to the band. He said Ronny [Munroe] left the band and he didn't really wanna carry on with METAL CHURCH unless maybe I would consider coming back. So I said, 'Well, I don't know. I'm open to it. But let's see what kind of music we can come up with.' So Kurdt went back to the studio and started writing songs in the vein of 'Hanging In The Balance', where we left off twenty years ago, and he sent them to me over the Internet. And I was, like, 'Damn! The guy still has it and he's doing great work.' So he sent me another batch, and that batch was just as good [as], if not better than, the other. So, from there, I said, ‘Well, I can’t say no to this. And let's just see how it goes.' And we started writing lyrics and getting together, and it's morphed into being back in Aberdeen in the studio making the new METAL CHURCH record."

Dave Mustaine, who was the original lead guitarist of METALLICA, was asked by TeamRock to review the band's new album, "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct". He said: "I've always been able to appreciate the talent in METALLICA. Every band has its strengths and its weaknesses. Personally, from everything I've heard so far, I think the new album is a good one.

"I hear that a lot of people have been making comments about Kirk Hammett and Rob Trujillo not writing anything on it. But sometimes that's just unavoidable. I guess I would've loved more writing from both those guys, because I loved [Rob Trujillo's former bands] INFECTIOUS GROOVES and SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and I always loved the lines Kirk wrote with EXODUS, but that's the way the cookie crumbles when you're in the studio. The best songs make the cut. Everyone wants to pick the best things.

"When it comes down to critiquing production stuff, it's kind of a personal thing. One man's trash is another man's treasure. For example, I know a lot of people really dig Rick Rubin and the way that he produces stuff. While I respect Rick tremendously, I do think that what he does with bands like THE CULT really works and then when he does stuff with metal bands, it doesn't necessarily translate in the same way. 'Hardwired' is definitely a different sounding record than, for example, 'St. Anger', and it sounds pretty good to me. I know it took 'em eight years to make this record, so I'm glad for them that people are digging it. It's a small community, you know?"

Mustaine, who was a member of METALLICA for less than two years, from 1981 to 1983, was not inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the band during the April 2009 ceremony at Cleveland, Ohio's Public Auditorium.

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich later explained to The Plain Dealer that the MEGADETH leader was not included because "you've got to kind of cap it somewhere. Dave Mustaine never played on any METALLICA records. No disrespect to him. But there [were] half a dozen other people that were in the lineup in the early days. We thought . . . the fair thing to do would be to include anybody that played on a METALLICA record." He added: "Dave Mustaine was in the band for 11 months, predominantly in 1982... I'm not trying to play it down. I have nothing but respect and admiration for his accomplishments since."

Veteran radio personality Jenn Marino, who in 2014 joined MÖTLEY CRÜE and SIXX:A.M. bassist Nikki Sixx as co-host of "Sixx Sense With Nikki Sixx" and "The Side Show Countdown With Nikki Sixx", recently conducted an interview with KORN frontman Jonathan Davis. You can now listen to the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the meaning behind "The Serenity Of Suffering" album title:

Jonathan: "It comes back to my experiences throughout my life dealing with depression and the bad things that happen in life. It seems like that place is very familiar with me. I'm more comfortable in that space than when I'm happy. Let's say I'm happy all the time, but when I'm dealing with my art and my music, I deal with the bad things; I'm just like everybody else. We have good things and bad things. When I'm writing, I concentrate on the bad things. It just seemed to fit. I was going through some stuff when writing this record, and the title popped in my head. Usually Munky [James Shaffer, guitar] takes care of all that. Munky comes up with amazing titles, but this time, I came up with this and it just fit. This is what it means. People who deal with depression can understand what I'm talking about."

On the writing process in KORN:

Jonathan: "I need to have a song completely done. I guess I'm a little diva when it comes to that stuff. [Laughs] It dictates what I'm going to be feeling, emotions, everything. I need that. I need to have that landscape to inspire me to do what I do. Once the music is all done, I know exactly where to place my vocals and fill the holes and do all of that to make it work. I guess it's backwards.

"I am the last one always on the record to be done. They give me a window of two weeks because we have to go on tour or something. Also, being a father over the years, I take care of the boys all the time. When I get home, I give my wife a break and take the kids. I've learned to be really quick and efficient in the studio. I come in, the song is done, I listen to it, and usually I just sing the melody lines. I go into the studio and I spend two days doing all of the melody lines to all of the songs, then I come back, write the lyrics, then sing them. I do about a song a day."

On working with producer Nick Raskulinecz:

Jonathan: "I love Nick. He's an amazing human being. He tried to push me. [Laughs] He tried to get me in there, but, to be honest, I've always worn my feelings on my sleeve. Everybody knows I did not feel this record to begin with. I got the songs and I was like, 'I don't get it. I'm not feeling it. I know it's heavy. I know it's good.' But it took me a while. I do a melody line, I'm done, I sing the song and it's done. It wasn't like this on this record. I had to work really hard and I was like, 'I got to trust my brothers.' These guys busted their ass making this record. They love these songs, they believe in these songs, so I'm not going to be this bitch that's going to ruin it all. I just went in and I can say when I'm wrong and I was definitely wrong at that time. I was like, 'I don't think these songs are good.' So, Nick was there [going], 'C'mon, bro. C'mon!' He's a cheerleader, 'C'mon, bro, you can do this.' It took me a while, and then finally a switch flipped and all of a sudden things started flowing out of my brain. It took some time and took longer than they usually take, but it was good. Once it was said and done, and it still didn't hit me until the album came out and I listened to it… I went and bought the CD because I'm old-school. I threw the CD in my CD player and I listened to it. I'm old-school; I like vinyl, I like the old ritual of taking it out and holding something, putting it on a player; we're old. We're not new kids; we're way old farts. I went and bought it, sat down and listened to it, and went, 'Oh, this is an amazing record. What the hell was I thinking?'"

On Nikki Sixx joining KORN onstage for a rendition of "Blind" in Switzerland this past June:

Jonathan: "It was surreal. When I was 16 years old, I had a MÖTLEY CRÜE birthday cake for my 16th-birthday party. I told him and Tommy [Lee] and the other [MÖTLEY CRÜE] members, but I'm really close with Tommy and Nikki, but that was the beginning of me starting to like heavy music. Unfortunately, my family turned born-again and they took all of my MÖTLEY CRÜE tapes and burned them. I was in seventh grade, I think, that was the band that turned me on… I like that dark[ness]. Then it got taken away from me, and I switched to something totally else. My dad had no clue. I got into dark industrial gothic music like CHRISTIAN DEATH and old-school MINISTRY and stuff like that. That was the band and I had that birthday cake and it was surreal to be onstage and look over and see Nikki Sixx playing bass with KORN. He was rocking out and coming up and doing his thing... It was an old dream come true. Like, 'I can't believe this. I'm playing with one of my heroes.'"

On the lack of "beef" between current rock and metal bands these days:

Jonathan: "That's because a lot of the bands that are at our caliber of musicianship are dying. There's not that many of us left. [Laughs] I'm just saying the way things are done now just isn't there. So all of us have this camaraderie going on. We're the last guard. We've gotta stick together. [Laughs]"

On KORN helping their fans deal with personal issues:

Jonathan: "That's the biggest thing why we keep doing this — to see the positive impact that it has on people's lives. There's a lot of people out there hurting and music is something that heals. It's universal. It's one thing in this world we can agree upon, is that we all love music. It feels good to see people happy. When we were young kids just destroying ourselves, just like MÖTLEY CRÜE in the early days, we didn't care, we just wanted to get hammered and forget everything and live this crazy lifestyle, but as we got older it turned into something, like, 'We're helping people, we're helping kids get through stuff.' We get to play and do what we enjoy doing and we get to help people in return. That's better than any money or anything else that comes along with this. It doesn't matter; what matters is seeing people happy and people coming to the shows and people we've seen for years, and then their kids having kids now too, like a new generation of KORN fans. Like, what's going on? Wow."

"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".

According to The Pulse Of Radio, METALLICA frontman James Hetfield was asked in a new interview with Canada's Jam! Music how touring has changed for him in the 14 years since he got sober in 2002. Hetfield, a father of three teenagers who has been married for almost 20 years, responded: "It's not a tour of bars and strip clubs anymore. It's actually, 'Hey, there's a great restaurant or here's a really cool, whatever, there's a car show in town.' Getting out and doing stuff. I love just walking too. Just kind of get lost in the city. So yeah, priorities have certainly changed."

Hetfield told The Pulse Of Radio a while back how much he appreciated playing shows after he won his sobriety. "Now I can really feel what great energy is created by it, I really understand the whole family feeling around it, how everyone contributes to that," he said. "Everyone, the crew, puts into it. They're dedicated. They fly the flag and they're really into what we do. They believe in us. And when I go out there and represent all of those people, it's a great feeling." just loves everything and she knows every song on every station. It blows my mind."

Asked how long the band can keep going after 35 years together, Hetfield mused: "We don't know. We're pioneering this ourselves. And we're making it up as we go along. It will reveal itself, however it does. If one show somebody can't get up and perform then we kind of know."

METALLICA's first album in eight years, "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct", came out last month and went to No. 1 in 57 countries, including the U.S.

Veteran rockers STRYPER will continue making albums and touring despite the band's recent announcement that they will "take a hiatus" in early 2017.

Asked by Nick of the WSOU radio station if STRYPER was still planning to go on a break following the completion of the recent tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of their multi-platinum album "To Hell With The Devil", frontman Michael Sweet said (hear audio below): "Well, some choices were made that affected the band and made us have to step back — kind of forced us to step back — and re-evaluate who we are and how we're gonna continue. Without going into all the gory details… That being said, we have no plans of stopping. I mean, we had considered it and thought, well, maybe we should, but then we realized, well, that's just fair to us, that's not fair to the fans. So we're gonna continue on for sure, we just don't know how and when exactly."

Sweet also talked about whether it's likely that STRYPER will carry on without bassist Tim Gaines, whose "personal matters" were previously revealed to be the reason for the band's hiatus plans.

"Well, I mean, that remains to be seen, but it's very possible, and I'd probably go as far as to say even probable," Michael said. 'But we don't really know quite yet. It's something that very well could happen, absolutely."

The fact that STRYPER appears to be considering a future without Gaines flies in the face of Sweet's recent public proclamations that "it's important that the four of us stay together, or it's not STRYPER." Asked how he reconciles his previous comments about original lineups remaining intact and STRYPER's possible plan to move forward without Tim, Sweet said: "I still feel that way. It is important [for original members to stay together]. But, sadly, sometimes things happen that keep that from happening. People make decisions and choices, and, unfortunately, it does affect other people many times, and then you have to re-evaluate things. But that is the ideal situation, for it to be the original lineup. But, you know, sometimes things get in the way of that, and that's sad. But, again, thinking about it more and sleeping on it more, I think about how, you know, if we were to disband or dissolve or stop, it really wouldn't be fair to the fans, it wouldn't be fair to the other guys, and it's important to keep that in mind as well."

Sweet reiterated the fact that STRYPER will "keep going" and added that "We're gonna do another album; we just don't have it on the books yet. But we've already got a deal in place with a label, and that's going to happen. And there's gonna be more touring at some point. I'm just looking at it because of what's taking place, it's a good opportunity for me to go out and do some solo touring, and we're gonna do another SWEET & LYNCH album [Sweet's collaboration with DOKKEN and LYNCH MOB guitarist George Lynch] and do some SWEET & LYNCH touring as well."

STRYPER's latest album, "Fallen", entered The Billboard 200 chart at position No. 43 with first-week sales of just over 10,000 units — nearly all from pure album sales. The set followed the No. 35-peaking "No More Hell To Pay", which was released in 2013.

Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach promoted his long-awaited autobiography, "18 And Life On Skid Row", with an appearance earlier today (Monday, December 5) on the Q104.3 radio station in New York City, where he was interviewed by Jonathan Clarke. You can now watch video footage of the question-and-answer session below.

Speaking about his reaction to this year's partial reunion of GUNS N' ROSES' classic lineup, Sebastian said: "I spent a lot of years in the late 2000s opening for GUNS N' ROSES without Slash — we played Madison Square Garden and the Meadowlands, and lots of tours all around the world — and me and Axl [Rose] would hang out at night and drink and party and talk. And he would always have stuff to say that he was disgruntled about about GUNS N' ROSES, but at the end of the night, as I was always leaving, there would always be, like, a 'Never say never.' [Laughs] And I'd go, 'Right on!' So he never cut it off. So I was very surprised when they reunited, but part of me, in a little bit of a way, was expecting it some day, but I wasn't expecting it this quick. But, again, the public demands it. That's the number one tour; I mean, that is the biggest tour."

The 448-page "18 And Life On Skid Row" book is due on December 6 via Dey Street Books (formerly It Books), an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Regarding why the release of "18 And Life On Skid Row" was pushed back by several months, Bach told the Rock 100.5 The KATT radio station earlier in the year: "It [was] delayed because it's a very big project — six hundred pages with lots of pictures. They asked me for thirty pictures; I gave them a hundred and sixteen. And I'm, like, 'It's my book, dude.' [Laughs] It's got a lot of stories of crazy shit that I did. But there is a beginning and an end to it, like a story arc, because my life was very weird."

Bach also revealed that he "wrote the whole thing" himself without the help of a co-writer and mentioned recent books by Keith Richards (THE ROLLING STONES), Paul Stanley (KISS) and Duff McKagan (GUNS N' ROSES) as ones that he found particularly interesting. He said: "I love [punk rock icon] Henry Rollins's writing. If my book had any kind of the power of that, I would be honored. 'Cause the way he writes is very impactful. Every paragraph, you wanna read it over and over."

Asked what was different about branching into the literary world compared to being in the music business for so long, Bach said: "You still have to fight for what you believe in and stick up for what you think is cool. Dave Grohl [NIRVANA, FOO FIGHTERS], he said one of the biggest things in rock and roll is you have to learn how to say 'no,' because there's always people trying to get you to do shit that's not cool."




Sebastian Bach LIVE in Studio

Posted by Q104.3 FM on Monday, December 5, 2016

Norwegian black metal icons MAYHEM are celebrating the release of their 1994 landmark "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" full-length with tours across the globe. This coming January, the band will march their way across North America performing the record in its monumental entirety.

In conjunction with their many live appearances, MAYHEM will also release "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas Alive" on December 15. The album was captured live in Norrköping, Sweden last year during the band's headlining set at the Black Christmass Festival. The show marked MAYHEM's first time ever playing "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" in full.

A press release states about the first single, "From The Dark Past": "'From The Dark Past' has not been played many times live before, yet is in many ways an archetypical song from the band, containing key elements that are scattered throughout the rest of the album — blizzard blast beats and eerie atmospherics, all, of course, adorned by vocalist Attila Csihar's unique voice within the genre. 'De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas' is widely considered one of the most influential black metal albums of all time, and this is the first time in history this classic album from 1994 is performed live in its entirety."

Sample "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas Alive" footage of "From The Dark Past", as well as "Life Eternal", below.

"De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas Alive" was recorded, mixed and mastered by Tore Stjerna and NBS Audio and produced by Csihar and guitarist Teloch with light production by Anne Weckstrom, stage design and production by Jonas Svensson, video recording by Thornfields Production and video editing by Tamàs Tarczi. The celebratory release will come available on CD, LP, and DVD (the first 1000 copies are numbered) as well as digitally on December 15.

"De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas Alive" track listing:

01. Funeral Fog02. Freezing Moon03. Cursed In Eternity04. Pagan Fears05. Life Eternal06. From The Dark Past07. Buried By Time And Dust08. De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas MAYHEM will return to North America on January 20 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada for a headlining tour that will pillage its way through two dozen cities, the trek coming to a close on February 19 in New York. Support will be provided by BLACK ANVIL and INQUISITION.

Southern California's veteran hardcore slayers TERROR have signed with Pure Noise Records. A new EP will be released in the spring. "After a great run of releasing records with Century Media and Victory for the last ten years, it's exciting to find a fresh, new home for TERROR," says vocalist Scott Vogel. "We are humbled to still be a band with a lot of love and support around the world, and Pure Noise Records is exactly who we wanted to work with for our future. We look forward to the next chapter in this wild ride and couldn't be happier to be doing it together with Jake (founder of Pure Noise Records)." Since forming in 2002, TERROR has become one of the hardcore genre's most notorious and successful acts. Over the years, the band has released six classic albums, their latest being "The 25th Hour", which was issued by Victory in 2015. Their signature sound, a punishing blend of hardcore, punk and thrash, has attracted a legion of diehard fans around the world and anyone who's witnessed the sheer power of TERROR live and lived to tell about it can attest to the band's authenticity and intensity.

Legendary guitarist Joe Satriani has released a five-song remix EP as a gift to all his fans who made his "Shockwave Supernova" album such a great success around the world.

Satriani says: "I called my most talented buddies near and far to get a new spin on five fan favorites from my latest release.

"John Cuniberti and Eric Caudieux team up for both 'Goodbye Supernova' and 'Stars Race Across The Sky' and turn in two breathtaking and modern remixes.

"Guitarist, engineer and producer Keith More from London, England, pumps up and mashes out two rockers, 'In My Pocket' and 'Cataclysmic'.

"John Cuniberti revisits 'Lost In A Memory' and turns up the modern textures and drama to make a very spiritual and powerful remix.

"And, as a little taste of what's to come in 2017, I asked ZZ to put together a short trailer for his full length experimental tour documentary about our 'Shockwave Tour 2016'. He followed us across Europe for almost two months and captured the sound and the fury, and all the crazy stuff no one else sees from the audience. Filmed and edited in ZZ's unique style, we hope to release the full documentary in the first half of 2017."

Guitar World magazine held its annual "Readers Poll" last year for which fans chose Satriani as "Best Shredder" as well as presenting "Shockwave Supernova" with the "Best Shred Album Of The Year". Released in August 2015, "Shockwave Supernova" scored Satriani his highest chart debut at No. 19 on Billboard's Top 200 Current Albums chart. In addition, the album also debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Rock Chart and ranks as the highest charting all-instrumental rock album on The Billboard 200 in the SoundScan era. For two decades, the guitar virtuoso has traveled the world, playing to sold-out crowds as both a headliner and as founder of the all-star "G3" guitar extravaganza. Satriani's studio and live recordings have sold more than ten million copies worldwide to date and of his many solo albums, two have gone platinum and four others went gold, with 15 Grammy nominations between them. His side project, CHICKENFOOT, featuring former VAN HALEN frontman Sammy Hagar, bassist Michael Anthony, and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS drummer Chad Smith, achieved certified gold status with their debut album and their second studio album debuted at No. 9. Satriani's touring band remains Marco Minnemann on drums, Bryan Beller on bass and Mike Keneally on keyboards and guitar.

Austin Dickinson, the son of IRON MAIDEN vocalist Bruce Dickinson and frontman of AS LIONS, joined FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Jason Hook on stage on December 3 in Huntington, West Virginia to perform a medley of the FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH songs "Wrong Side Of Heaven" and "Remember Everything". Check out fan-filmed video footage below.

Austin was filling in for regular FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH singer Ivan Moody who "has fallen ill" and is currently receiving treatment. The rest of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's set in Huntington featured ALL THAT REMAINS frontman Phil Labonte on lead vocals.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has four shows to go on its current U.S. co-headlining arena tour with SHINEDOWN. Also appearing on the trek are SIXX:A.M. and AS LIONS.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Zoltan Bathory explained the band's decision to finish out the trek with a replacement singer: "Ivan is our brother and we fully and wholeheartedly support him taking care of himself so he can get well as soon as possible. We discussed possibly canceling the remaining shows but the responses from the other bands on the tour were so overwhelmingly supportive that we decided to move forward and deliver the great night to the fans that they expect."

Labonte, a former Marine and close friend of Moody, once before saved the day for KILLSWITCH ENGAGE in 2010 when their singer at the time, Howard Jones, left the band mid-tour. Phil said: "I got their six and stepped up right away. I'm honored to be able to help FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH to finish their tour and give Ivan a chance to take care of himself. I did the same for KILLSWITCH ENGAGE years ago. I was humbled to get the call and get a chance to play in front of such a great audience."

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH was forced to cut a show in Worcester, Massachusetts on November 28 short because Moody was unable to perform. Although it was reported that Moody was overcome with grief over the illness and possible death of someone close to him — not his mother as initially reported — a number of audience members reported that he appeared to be intoxicated and disoriented.

Moody previously had an onstage meltdown during a May 2015 show in Memphis. The incident was blamed on his abuse of alcohol and drugs. He entered rehab after that.

Rudy Sarzo (OZZY OSBOURNE, QUIET RIOT), Phil Demmel (MACHINE HEAD), Roy Z (HALFORD), Chas West (BONHAM), Brent Woods (SEBASTIAN BACH), Matt Starr (ACE FREHLEY, MR. BIG), Monte Pittman (PRONG, MADONNA) and Derek Sherinian (BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION) are among the musicians who took part in a jam to celebrate would have been iconic OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist Randy Rhoads's 60th birthday on December 3 at the D'Argenzio Wine Room in Burbank, California. Check out video footage of the event below. Photos are available at this location.

The next day, Demmel wrote about the experience on his Facebook page. He said: "Last night was pretty rad. I got an invite by the Rhoads family to come down to Burbank and celebrate Randy's 60th birthday at their wine room and play a song. Me and my bud Donny Speer bombed down the 5 and met other buds David Culberhouse and David Foster for some food then hung out at Brent Woods's awesome pad to run through 'Goodbye To Romance' on acoustics before heading to the event. They had a bunch of his stuff on display including the guitar he wrote 'Dee' on and some of his handwritten lessons, plus of pictures and polka/bow-tie decorations everywhere. Had a great time hanging with my guys as we all Randy nerds together back in HS and I appreciate them taking the time to share this with me.

"Brent and I were joined by Chas West on vocals and I got some goosebumps singing the chorus with Kathy (Randy's sister) and her husband along with all that were there. We proceeded to butcher 'Steal Away The Night', but it had awesome, positive energy and was really fun jamming with hose dudes.

"Such a highlight to be a part of a great event. Honored is an understatement."

A lover of classical music, Rhoads had taken initial steps into rock 'n' roll as a 16-year-old when he formed a band, that soon became QUIET RIOT. Rhoads was vaulted to the limelight in 1979 when Ozzy Osbourne chose the relatively unknown guitarist to help shape a new future for him via his band, BLIZZARD OF OZZ. The result saw Rhoads co-script two of the most famous albums in hard rock history, "Blizzard Of Ozz" and "Diary Of A Madman", and rapidly ascended the stairway of fame and recognition for his virtuoso playing and writing. Famed for the way he fused classical flavors with technically excellent hard rock, Rhoads became one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock. When he tragically passed away on March 19, 1982 in a plane accident, Rhoads was only 25 years old, but thankfully, the legend of his work, ethos and their continuing influence on a whole new generation of guitarists, has never dimmed.

Metal Jacket Magazine recently conducted an interview with bassist Ted Lundström of Swedish death metallers AMON AMARTH. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

Speaking about AMON AMARTH's latest addition, drummer Jocke Wallgren, Ted said: "It's worked great. Jocke is a fantatic drummer, he's a super-solid drummer, so it's very easy to play with him. He's so professional, so he just stepped in and it felt like we'd been playing for a long time already. So, yeah, it's been an easy switch."

AMON AMARTH's tenth studio album, "Jomsviking", debuted at No. 19 on The Billboard 200, having shifted 21,000 equivalent album units in the week ending March 31.

Jocke didn't play on the disc, but has been sitting behind the kit for all shows on the group's current world tour.

As previously announced, AMON AMARTH will embark on a spring 2017 European headlining tour with support from DARK TRANQUILLITY and OMNIUM GATHERUM.

"Jomsviking" was released on March 25 via Metal Blade in North America and Sony Music internationally. The first concept record in AMON AMARTH's storied career tells a tragic tale of love and revenge, backed by the Swedes' trademark melodic, anthemic metal, which was produced and mixed once again by Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, TESTAMENT, ACCEPT). The epic original story is set in the world of the Jomsvikings, the legendary order of mercenary Vikings.

THE PRETTY RECKLESS took part in an interview and acoustic performance on the December 5 edition of SEX PISTOLS guitarist Steve Jones's radio show, "Jonesy's Jukebox". You can now watch video footage of their appearance below.

THE PRETTY RECKLESS recently broke a record set by 3 DOORS DOWN and has seen its first four mainstream singles hit No. 1 on Billboard's rock chart. The band's new song, "Take Me Down", topped the chart, following in the footsteps of "Heaven Knows", "Messed Up World" and "Follow Me Down" from 2014's "Going To Hell" album. That broke the group's tie with 3 DOORS DOWN and put them in a position to tie or break the next record, five No. 1 singles, which is owned for now by Canada's THREE DAYS GRACE.

THE PRETTY RECKLESS also now have the most No. 1 singles by a female-fronted rock act.

"Take Me Down" is from the band's third studio set, "Who You Selling For", which arrived on October 21.

THE PRETTY RECKLESS singer Taylor Momsen told The Daily Utah Chronicle about the band's songwriting process: "There is no process to writing, which is what makes it so torturous. The only constant thing when you go to write a record is to try to keep your mind as open as possible; you never know where inspiration will come from. You just have to wait for something to just spark and hopefully that will lead to a good song."

She added: "The more experiences you have, the more you have to say, the more you can write about. I think it's just kind of a natural progression; a natural evolution. We all really push each other to be better constantly. I think that is necessary and helps a lot."

After their debut attack titled "Send Them All To Hell" in 2014, it became a little too quiet around the heavy metal super group PÄNZER. But the soldiers led by DESTRUCTION frontman Schmier never sleep, and now they have announced that they are working on new songs again — with a new lineup! After the departure of Herman Frank (ACCEPT), PÄNZER recruited Pontus Norgren of HAMMERFALL to help out with their mission, as well as V.O. Pulver (G.U.R.D., POLTERGEIST) on guitar, who had already helped out on the latest live shows, and has now became a full-time member of PÄNZER. "After producing the debut with PÄNZER, the guys asked me to help them out live to help provide the double axe-attack on stage," recalls Pulver. "Of course I took the opportunity to rock out with my buddies. And when the chance came up to join them permanently, I didn't hesitate to accept and now I can't wait to play the sound of my youth!"

Norgren was just as excited to join the heavy metal war machine. "It was not a hard decision when I got asked to join the PÄNZER project; it was a straight-up YES!" he said. "To be able to create music with good friends is the most important thing in my world and in this band, having fun when making music, is number one. I'm looking forward to all of the craziness that the future is going to bring with these guys. So let's kick some serious...!" Fans of the band can expect a loud comeback in 2017, since Schmier has already revealed some great news about the band's future plans.

"PÄNZER was always about some friends jamming their favorite music, without any pressure of the business and exaggerated expectations," he said.

"We have decided to release this brand new song, 'Satan's Hollow', for the fans as a statement, because people ask me all the time, 'Will PÄNZER go on?' This track simply shows that we are creative and working on a new record for 2017!

"'Satan's Hollow' stands for all of our trademarks; straight-in-your-face melting metal with an old school melodic vibe — pure energy and shredding lead guitars! We pay tribute to the music we grew up with. I hope our fans enjoy this new song as much as we do — expect the new album before summer 2017!!"

"The next album will continue our tribute to our roots with pure fuckin' METAL!

"Oh and one more little thing — as we have a Swedish and Swiss member now, just simply call us PÄNZER!"

METALLICA, DISTURBED, BARONESS, GOJIRA, KORN, MEGADETH and PERIPHERY are among the nominees for the 59th annual Grammy Awards, which will be held on February 12, 2017 at Staples Center in Los Angeles and broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET.

The nominees in the "Best Metal Performance" category are as follows:

BARONESS - "Shock Me"GOJIRA - "Slivera"KORN - "Rotting in Vain"MEGADETH - "Dystopia"PERIPHERY - "The Price Is Wrong"

METALLICA's "Hardwired" is also nominated in the "Best Rock Song" category, while GOJIRA is nominated in the "Best Rock Album" category for "Magma". The French metal band will compete for the trophy with BLINK-182 ("California"), CAGE THE ELEPHANT ("Tell Me I'm Pretty"), PANIC! AT THE DISCO ("Death Of A Bachelor"), and WEEZER ("Weezer").

DISTURBED is nominated in the "Best Rock Performance" category for "The Sound Of Silence" (live on "Conan"), up against ALABAMA SHAKES ("'Joe" Live From Austin City Limits), Beyonce featuring Jack White ("Don't Hurt Yourself"), David Bowie ("Backstar"), and TWENTY ONE PILOTS ("Heathens").

Elsewhere, Joe Bonamassa gets a nod for "Live At The Greek Theatre", nominated in the "Best Traditional Blues Album" category.

The Grammys are voted on by approximately 13,000 Recording Academy members, who are comprised of artists, songwriters, producers and engineers. More than 21,700 recordings were submitted for Grammys consideration this year. For 2017 awards, music must have been released between October 1, 2015, and September 30, 2016, in order to be eligible.

Finnish metallers CHILDREN OF BODOM are contemplating performing most of their debut album, "Something Wild", on a European tour next year to celebrate the record's twentieth anniversary. Guitarist/vocalist Alexi Laiho told OC Weekly: "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.

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

The official EPK (Electronic Press Kit) for "Immortals" can be seen below. Also available is the song "Hands Of Time".

Gus G. checked with the following comment about "Hands Of Time": "We know it's been long overdue, but finally we can present a new song! 'Hands Of Time' is the opening track off our new album, 'Immortals', and I'd say it's a return to a sound that many of our fans have longed for. Fast, melodic with a big chorus, big production, guitar / keyboard solos and, of course, great performance by our new singer, Henning Basse. Enjoy!"

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

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

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

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

"Immortals" track listing:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Following the triumphant sold-out show at the Birmingham Genting Arena earlier this year, Kennedy Street and Kilimanjaro have announced Ritchie Blackmore's RAINBOW will be returning to tour the U.K. in June 2017. The very special opening night will see them headlining the second annual Stone Free Festival at The O2, London, which will be Blackmore's first London show since 1995 with further shows in Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham.

Ritchie Blackmore's RAINBOW live in the UK:

June 17 - London, UK - The O2 (Stone Free Festival)June 22 - Manchester, UK - Manchester ArenaJune 25 - Glasgow, Scotland - The SSE HydroJune 28 - Birmingham, UK - Genting Arena Playing classics from both RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE's anthemic catalogue, the legendary guitarist needs no introduction and is universally acknowledged as a singular and visionary talent, one who has helped shape and define the landscape of rock music and the evolution of the guitar at its core. With a background immersed in classical and R&B, he was a founding member and driving force of DEEP PURPLE, going on to form RAINBOW in 1973, who sold in excess of 28 million albums. The RAINBOW tour promises to be an unmissable event, not only for DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW fans, but also those who want to soak up the electrifying genius of the legendary guitarist live and to revel in the unforgettable songs he crafted with two of music's most celebrated bands. Blackmore will also be joined by former stalwart Meister Bob on bass, BLACKMORE NIGHTS' drummer David Keith, STRATOVARIUS's keyboardist Jens Johansson and singer, Ronnie Romero from Santiago, Chile whom Blackmore describes as "a cross between Ronnie James Dio meets Freddie Mercury." Starting the U.K. tour at The O2 in London, Ritchie Blackmore's RAINBOW will be the headline act for the 2017 Stone Free Festival. Following the hugely successful and highly acclaimed inaugural Stone Free Festival in June this year — which featured electrifying performances from the likes of Alice Cooper, Rick Wakeman, THE DARKNESS, MARILLION and many more — the festival returns with even more stages next year, utilizing the full array of facilities at The O2 including the Brooklyn Bowl. It will again feature a full line-up of artists and events such as the Speakeasy Lounge and the vinyl fair, alongside special acoustic performances, cinema screenings and exclusive after parties. Further details regarding the lineup of Stone Free Festival 2017 will be revealed in due course.

Arduini / Balich has released a promo video showcasing their forthcoming debut album, Dawn Of Ages, scheduled for release on February 24th, 2017.

While only a mere fraction of the nearly 80-minute long record, the teaser video serves as a taste of what's to come when Cruz Del Sur Music releases this "doom-laden progressive wall of metal" next year.

Arduini / Balich is the result of two very powerful figures in their own right of the metal scene. Victor Arduini needs no introduction being one of the founding members of Fates Warning, same can be said  for Brian "Butch" Balich, the mighty voice of Argus.

Dawn Of Ages is one of the most ambitious records ever released on Cruz Del Sur Music. A monumental piece of music on the level of While Heaven Wept or Atlantean Kodex's releases (to name two Cruz Del Sur recording artists). A rollercoaster of emotions, an album that captures the collisions of two worlds, progressive and doom. The final result is a really amazing journey inside human soul. Through six original compositions that last for more than an hour, the audience will be captured and hypnotized by the eclectically familiar Victor's guitar melodies empowered by Butch's passionate interpretation. Indeed Dawn of Ages is an album that could have been easily recorded in the mid / late '70s for the total dedication that transpires through each and every note of it. It is not an album that wants to please any old or new trend in metal, rather an intimate expression  of two musicians who have always put their passion for heavy music before anything else.

Dawn Of Ages will be released in a deluxe six-panel digipack embellished by a wonderful, original Michael Cowell's (Alunah) artwork. The vinyl version will be released in a gatefold colored vinyl double LP with three incredible cover songs as a bonus. Uriah Heep's "Sunrise", Beau Brummels' "Wolf Of Velvet Fortune" and Black Sabbath's "After All (The Dead)."

 

 

Italy’s Aborym are streaming audio snippets for all tracks on their upcoming album, Shifting.negative. The band's seventh studio album is set to be released on January 25th via Agonia Records. Check out the teaser video below:

The band recently revealed an impressive list of names behind Shifting.negative, including Sin Quirin of Ministry and Guido Elmi of Vasco Rossi fame. The band also unveiled the full trackilsting and cover, made by French artist David Cragne (Asymetric Entity).

The new album has been engineered by Emiliano Natali (Fear No One Studios), Teo Pizzolante (Braingasm Lab) and Luciano Lamanna (Subsound Studios). In the nearest future it will be mixed and mastered by Grammy-award winning Marc Urselli at Eastside Sound Studios (Lou Reed, John Zorn, Mike Patton) in New York.

Guido Elmi (Vasco Rossi's legendary producer & manager) has been revealed as the post-production sound supervisor behind Shifting.negative.

Fabban commented: "We are working with a real professional, a true legend, probably our biggest fan and a great friend. Please join us in welcoming mr. Guido Elmi. No need to say Guido is Vasco Rossi’s producer & manager over the past 30 years and he has worked as producer with dozens of artists including Stadio, Skiantos, Gaznevada, Steve Rogers Band, Clara & Black Cars and many others. Today he's also a singer and songwriter".

Shifting.negative was recorded in the following line-up: founder Fabban on programming, modulars, synth and vocals, multi-instrumentalist Dan V on guitars and bass, Davide Tiso (Niō, Gospel of the Witches, ex-Ephel Duath) on guitars and Stefano Angiulli behind synths and keyboards. Aborym’s ranks also include a long time associate RG Narchost, who's a live musician for the band.

There's also a long list of guest musicians involved in the album, most noticeably featuring Sin Quirin of Ministry fame on guitars. Other contributors include: Ricktor (The Electric Hellfire Club), Pier Marzano (Koza Noztra), drummer Andrea Mazzucca, vocalists Victor Love (Dope Stars Inc., Victor Love), Cain Cressall (The Amenta) and Nicola Favaretto N-ikonoclast.

Further there's Greg Watkins (Static of Masses, Order Sixty Six) and Luciano Lamanna on modular synths, Kelly Bogues (Zogthorgven) delivering additional ambient noise, Joel Gilardini (The Land Of The Snow, Mulo Muto, Black Machineries) on additional treated guitars, electronics & (D)ronin, Ben Hall (Silent Eretic) on power-electronics and Tor Helge Skei (Manes) on ambient-electronics.

There's also Tokyo based artist Youko Heidy responsible for experimental noise and FX and Leja Siv Harju who wrote the lyrics to "Going New Places".

Tracklisting:

“Unpleasantness”
“Precarious”
“Decadence In A Nutshell”
“10050 Cielo Drive”
“Slipping Throught The Cracks”
“You Can’t Handle The Truth”
“For A Better Past”
“Tragedies For Sales”
“Going New Places”
“Big H”

Album teaser:

"Precarious" video:

Instrumental trio Der Elefant, featuring Alex Scholpp - guitars (Tarja, Farmer Boys, Tieflader), Kevin Chown - bass (Tarja, Chad Smith´s Bombastic Meatbats, Paul Gilbert) and Timm Schreiner - drums (Tarja, Good Men Gone Bad), will release their debut three song EP this week. The cover artwork and tracklist are available below.

Tracklist: 

"Caterpillar"
"Elefante"
"Freedom"

“The elephant in the room……” is a mysterious metaphor.

It's the acknowledgment that you do see an obvious truth, yet the choice is made: ignore it. “Don’t mind the elephant in the room”. Humanity is unique in its ability to live in denial, after all. This long known human weakness is the inspiration for Der Elefant, a new German-American instrumental trio.

Der Elefant is on a mission to make a statement with music with no words…it’s up to the listener to decide and find meaning. Together with a powerful video that simply acknowledges truth far too many would rather ignore, presented together, in the viewers face, it’s instrumental music rooted in the dilemmas of our age.

Born from the roots of the aggressive metal, powerful dynamic grooves or tastefully placed soul refined solo guitars, it's a unique and fresh instrumental band with a dangerous edge. They offer to the listener and viewer, a visually-stimulating soundtrack to a dark conversation. We are our own worst enemy. That is the elephant which has inspired Der Elefant. In their video debut for their song “Elefante”, Der Elefant uses the power of their music, together with powerful video images, to offer a truthful observation of the world.

The band is made of Alex Scholpp (guitars), Timm Schreiner (drums), both from Germany, with Kevin Chown (bass) from the USA. Each of them, well-known musicians with long careers, each with many successful bands around the world, each having long-standing careers as musicians in the trenches of Rock, touring beside some of the biggest names in music, it was time to find a new way to state truth to power. When there are no words to be spoken, only music to be performed, the listener writes their own lyrics, in their minds, as to what it all means.

Der Elefant is dangerous, edgy, instrumental, metal rooted anger. A collective commentary on the absurdity of it all and how it is time to stand up and shout truth into the faces of those unwilling to see the truth for themselves.

Watch for the debut album on December 9th.

For more information go to this location.

Florida's Trivium have released the third video in the Ember To Inferno Origins series, in support of the upcoming reissue of their debut album, Ember To Inferno. In the three clips below, learn about early demos, first shows in Europe, influences, Latin, and preserving the originals.

Trivium have spent the past decade-plus building their reputation and steadily rising to prominence, becoming one of the main torchbearers of heavy metal in the modern era. With millions of albums sold globally and numerous world tours (from Ozzfest, Mayhem, and Download to opening for Metallica, Black Sabbath, and Iron Maiden to extensive headline treks), Trivium began their journey in 2003 with their debut album, Ember To Inferno.

The record quickly captured the attention of the band's earliest fans as well as the ears of A&R reps at Roadrunner Records, who rapidly signed the band and went on to release their watershed album Ascendancy in 2005. Ember To Inferno was the catalyst for what was to come and it has been out of print for several years… until now.

The band and 5B Artist Management have partnered with Cooking Vinyl to re-release the album, along with a deluxe edition that includes 13 additional tracks that have never been previously available yet have earned evasive legend status among the diehards, on December 2nd. It's a true treasure trove of material that will delight the staunchest Trivium fans and beyond.

"The purpose of this release is to show the very early beginnings of Trivium - perhaps an era unbeknownst to most listeners of the band," said Trivium vocalist and guitarist Matt Heafy. "To look back at Ember as the starting point of Trivium becoming recognized worldwide is a staggering thought for me, considering I was 16/17 years old during the writing and recording of the record.

"As a kid, I always said the 'goal' was to be in a massive metal band. I don't think I actually knew what it would mean to have fans in different parts of the world, and I still can't believe people care so much that they actually want to hear the music that pre-dates our Roadrunner years. To this day, I am still completely blown away that people are singing words to songs I wrote when I was 16 years old. It's an amazing feeling."

Ember To Inferno will be released in four configurations, with the deluxe editions containing the band's early demos "Ruber" (aka the Red Demo), "Caeruleus" (aka the Blue Demo) and "Flavus" (aka the Yellow Demo). Fans can pre-order all formats online here.

The formats available are:

- Ember To Inferno — Standard CD.
- Ember To Inferno — Standard Vinyl LP, which is the original album in a 2LP Gatefold on orange/black marble vinyl.
- Ember To Inferno: Ab Initio - Deluxe CD, which is the original album with new artwork, plus 13 bonus tracks and expanded booklet in a digipak. The 13 bonus tracks are the band's early demos - "Ruber" (aka the Red Demo), "Caeruleus" (aka the Blue Demo) and "Flavus" (aka the Yellow Demo).
- Ember To Inferno: Ab Initio - Deluxe 5LP Box, which is five coloured LPs in a special box including the original album in a 2LP Gatefold on orange/black marble vinyl, the expanded booklet, a poster, a stencil, and 13 bonus tracks over three LPs. The 13 bonus tracks are the band's early demos - "Ruber" (aka the Red Demo) on transparent red vinyl, "Caeruleus" (aka the Blue Demo) on transparent blue vinyl, and "Flavus" (aka the Yellow Demo) on transparent yellow vinyl.

Ember To Inferno Standard Edition tracklisting:

“Inception: The Bleeding Skies”
“Pillars Of Serpents”
“If I Could Collapse The Masses”
“Fugue (A Revelation)”
“Requiem”
“Ember To Inferno”
“Ashes”
“To Burn The Eye”
“Falling To Grey”
“My Hatred”
“When All Light Dies”
“A View Of Burning Empires”

Ember To Inferno: Ab Initio Deluxe Only Bonus Tracks

Ruber (On Transparent Red Vinyl for Box Set)
“Pain”
“Thrust”
“Lake Of Fire”

Caeruleus (On Transparent Blue Vinyl for Box Set)
“To Burn The Eye”
“Requiem”
“Fugue”
“My Hatred”
“The Storm”
“Sworn”
“Demon”

Flavus (On Transparent Yellow Vinyl for Box Set)
“Like Light To The Flies”
“Blinding Tears Will Break The Skies”
“The Deceived”

“The Storm”:

Trivium returns to Europe for headline dates February-March 2017. For a full list of dates, please visit this location.

Australia’s Boris The Blade will release their second album, Warpath, via Siege Music on January 27th. The album track, “Misery”, featuring former Thy Art Is Murder frontman CJ McMahon is available for streaming below. The album also boasts a guest spots from Tim Goergen of Within The Ruins and Scott Lewis of Carnifex.

Named after an arms dealing gangster, Melbourne’s Boris The Blade have earned a worldwide reputation of Australia’s most heavy act.

The release of their debut EP Tides of Damnation in 2011 on RTD Records / Siege Of Amida marked the beginning of the band's rapid ascent to the top tier of the Australian brutal music scene. The EP debuted at #1 on the iTunes metal chart followed by a series of national tours including Parkway Drive, all within the band’s first six months of existence.

The success of the EP was followed up with further extensive touring with Obey The Brave, All Shall Perish, Thy Art Is Murder and Bleeding Through on their final Australian tour.

2014 saw Boris The Blade sign with Siege of Amida / Century Media for the worldwide release of their debut LP The Human Hive. This was followed by 2016 EP Tides of Damnation released via Century Media.

Warpath tracklisting:

“Warpath”
“Backstabber”
“Misery” (feat CJ McMahon)
“Nihilist”
“Omens” (feat Scott Lewis)
“Paralysed”
“Thorns”
“Devastator”
“Elixir” (feat Tim Goergen)
“Solace”

“Misery”:

“Warpath” video:

German technical/progressive death metal luminaries, Obscura, have just shared a new playthrough video, which features fretless bass virtuoso Linus Klausenitzer shredding his way through the title-track of the band's latest release, Akroasis. Watch below.

"When I thought to record another playthrough video, I decided for the title track of our new album Akroasis," said Linus Klausenitzer. "As it is a very atmospheric song, the bass lines are probably the easiest one to play on the whole album. This way I hope to motivate people to try playing the song themselves and to pay more attention to phrasing on bass. In this video I play my fretless Ibanez BZB7 that people ask me about very often. I recorded 90% of the album with this bass."

Produced by the band and V. Santura (Triptykon, Pestilence), Akróasis (released this past February via Relapse) is eight songs diverse enough to serve as a near-comprehensive introduction to all of extreme metal. Packed to the gills with virtuosic musicianship, compelling themes, and airtight songwriting, Akróasis has breathed new life into death metal, progressive metal and beyond. Akróasis is out now worldwide via Relapse Records on CD, 2xLP and Digital.

The Akroasis bass and guitar tab books are available via the band’s official website here. Watch the recently released guitar playthrough video for "Ten Sepiroth”: