Legendary bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION) was interviewed by uDiscover Music at this year's Ramblin' Man Fair, which was held July 29-30 at Mote Park in Maidstone, Kent, United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about DEEP PURPLE's musical evolution after he and singer David Coverdale joined the band, Hughes said: "Ritchie Blackmore [guitar] wanted a different environment, a more bluesy approach. David had a lower baritone voice and I had the higher upper register. If you listen to it, we had the same vibratos — we [knew] how to use the vibratos, which was an interesting thing in 1973. I think no one else was kind of doing that, and we didn't really want to duplicate what was going with Mark II [of DEEP PURPLE] — you couldn't really copy it. So I thought it was a very bold move for Ritchie, Jon [Lord, keyboards] and Ian Paice [drums] to invite David and I to do something extremely different. And 'Burn' was a success. It was a really marvelous thing. For David and I, it was great. It was a really glorious moment, and I wanna thank the fans for accepting that — most of them did, anyway."

Hughes, who was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame last year along with fellow DEEP PURPLE members Blackmore, Coverdale, Lord, Rod Evans, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover and Paice, released a new solo album called "Resonate" in November.

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, in which Hughes is joined by drummer Jason Bonham (LED ZEPPELIN, FOREIGNER), Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER, ALICE COOPER, BILLY IDOL) and blues-rock guitarist/vocalist Joe Bonamassa, will release its fourth album, "BCCIV", on September 22 via Mascot Records.

Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach says that he is "starting to feel normal again" after recently undergoing a hernia operation. He says: "The surgery on my guts is healing up and I can't wait to start [performing live] again!"

According to Bach, his hernia operation was needed "because [he] literally screamed [his] guts out."

Sebastian's next performance is scheduled for August 27 at the Hull City Hall in Kingston upon Hull, England. He will be appearing with ROCK N HULL ALLSTARS, also featuring George Lynch (DOKKEN, LYNCH MOB) on guitar and Vinny Appice (BLACK SABBATH, DIO, HEAVEN & HELL) on drums.

Bach spoke in a 2014 interview with Glide Magazine about how he takes care of his voice. He said: "I don't drink anymore, so I don't know what that means, but I have a scale called Bel Canto. You know, I'm still singing higher than ever. Even my speaking voice is quite high. I'm six-foot-four and my arms are super long, my legs are super long, my fingers are super long and I've always thought that maybe my vocal cords are super long. [Laughs] Because, like, when I listen to 'Push Away' on the new record, I'm singing higher than I've ever sang in my life. And that's insane to think about. But maybe I have tall vocal cords like the rest of me. [Laughs] Maybe I have a bigger depth of scales that matches my range of my voice. That would make sense, you know."

Asked if it surprises him that he is still hitting the high notes at his age, Bach said: "Yeah, it a hundred percent does. In the mid-nineties, when I didn't really try so hard 'cause I didn't think people wanted to hear that, I maybe would sometimes try and I wouldn't be able to do it, because I didn't have those muscles revved up and going. But once I get them going, I know how to keep them. It's just a way of singing. I save all my power for those super-high notes and I get it going like that and I try to sing as clean as possible and save the dirty part of my voice to use as little as possible. It's kind of like a trick. [Laughs]"

Sebastian recently confirmed that he was preparing to make the follow-up to his 2014 album "Give 'Em Hell".

The singer's autobiography, "18 And Life On Skid Row", came out last December via Dey Street Books (formerly It Books), an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna said in a new interview that the band will "open a new chapter" in its career by adopting "a new sound, a new stage and a new look" in time for the release its next studio album.

GODSMACK is currently at work on its seventh studio disc, which the band intends to release in 2018 to coincide with the group's twentieth anniversary.

Speaking to WFMZ-TV earlier today (Wednesday, August 9) prior to he group's appearance at Musikfest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Erna and GODSMACK drummer Shannon Larkin were asked if there was a specific theme running through the band's upcoming follow-up to 2014's "1000hp". "Not so much a theme, but we have made a conscious decision to kind of change the game a bit," Erna responded. "This show we're kind of marking as the last of the nostalgic GODSMACK shows, and from this point forward, we're gonna kind of open a new chapter in our career and go for a new sound, a new stage and a new look for the band. We're gonna change things up enough, maintain the integrity of what we are and what we do. But it feels so far that the writing is going a little bit more down into a commercial, mainstream kind of feel. But, again, without losing the power and the stuff that we built our heritage on."

Larkin went on to say that GODSMACK will celebrate its twentieth anniversary "by touring out butts off." Erna concurred, saying: "Yeah, there's gonna be a lot of roadwork to do. There's a lot of countries to hit. It's a big world out there, and I think we're gonna try to do at least two laps around the globe before we end this album cycle."

Erna's latest comments echo those he made last month in an interview with "Whiplash", the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie. Speaking about his songwriting is evolving, Erna remarked: "I'm not that young, angry kid that I used to be once. I'm a lot older now, I have a daughter of my own, I'm in a good place in my life. I don't have a whole lot to really be stressed out about or mad. And so the music has to evolve with that."

He continued: "So now where things are a little bit brighter and a little bit better, we're not gonna write about flowers and ice cream, but I certainly think that it's gonna have a little bit more positive of a message and I definitely think it's even gonna have a little bit more of a commercial edge to it. Because we're older now, and we wanna kind of continue to write and play music that we also enjoy and not always have to be in 'screamo' mode and chugging away."

Erna said that he wants to focus on composing "really well-written songs," adding, "I listen to a lot of great songwriters — Elton John, Michael Jackson, whoever it is that has been legendary and iconic. And I try once again to absorb and learn from them so we can put out the best record we can due to the year and the day and age that we're in."

The singer said that the hardest part of writing music is "just the challenge of getting up every day and putting in your time… As artists, it's no wonder that we become manic-depressive, alcohol addicts. We're always trying to beat our last thing, we're always wondering if our best days are behind us and if we've already done our best work."

GODSMACK's last release was a song called "Inside Yourself", which was made available in October 2015 as a free download at the band's official web site.

The new GODSMACK CD will be its first effort for BMG, following a split with the band's label home since 1998, Republic/Universal.

The attorneys for ADRENALINE MOB's tour manager, Jane Train (pictured), say that she suffered "catastrophic injuries" in last month's crash that killed the band's bassist.

The 48-year-old Train, whose real name is Janet Rains, is still in a burn unit in Gainesville, Florida, four weeks after ADRENALINE MOB's RV was struck by a tractor-trailer near Micanopy, Florida. The accident occurred when the tractor-trailer — dispatched by Largo, Florida company Twiss Transport Inc., veered off Interstate 75, crossed at least one full traffic lane before leaving the road, splitting the RV in half and causing it to become engulfed in flames.

According to Times Leader, attorneys Ed Ciarimboli and Greg Fellerman held a press conference on August 3 to offer an update on the conditions of those hurt and fill in some details about the ongoing investigation by Florida Highway Patrol and the litigation that could follow.

"[Janet] has catastrophic injuries," Ciarimboli said. "She's had a number of surgeries. We do anticipate that she will be in the burn unit for a considerable amount of time into the future."

It was previously reported that a total of nine people were in the vehicles. One died, six were taken to area hospitals, and the other two declined medical treatment. The majority of those injured were taken to UF Health Shands Hospital and North Florida Regional Medical Center.

ADRENALINE MOB bassist David "Z" Zablidowsky was killed in the crash.

Robert Dressler, 45, of Plains, who was the band's soundman on the tour; and Jason McCole, 41, of Wilkes-Barre, who was driving the RV, were also injured.

"Each one of the bandmembers was injured significantly in this crash, and they all continue to treat and recover from the injuries they sustained," Ciarimboli said. "A number of individuals have brain injuries. There's broken bones. There's been a number of surgeries. No one — and obviously the unfortunate death of David — escaped this horrific crash without a devastating physical or psychological injury."

According to The Citizens' Voice, Twiss Transport has a "satisfactory" rating from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, despite the fact that the company received 87 violations during the past 24 months. Of that total, 26 violations were for unsafe driving, 31 for hours-of-service compliance, 28 for vehicle maintenance and two for controlled substances and alcohol.

The company was also involved in 14 crashes, not including the ADRENALINE MOB crash, including one which caused a fatality, and seven that caused injury.

"Typically, what we can tell you is that when tractor-trailer drivers and tractor-trailer companies are following the rules, tractor-trailers don't just leave the roadway and strike vehicles that are well off the roadway and not moving," Ciarimboli said.

"In this case specifically, I would say that we have two fatalities, 87 violations, that's in the last 24 months," Fellerman said. "I really couldn't care less what their rating is. In this case, this guy was reckless, and he killed somebody. He injured six, seven people. His conduct was just woefully inadequate as a professional truck driver. Those ratings don't justify the true safety of the company. We'll find out what their true safety records is as we get to serve interrogatories, requests for production of documents, all the true tools of litigation to really take a good hard look at a company and how safe they actually are."

Fellerman said a team of lawyers is "ready to go" to take on the trucking company in connection with the incident. "We're going to take these guys to task," he said. "When we get into the courtroom, these guys are going to be held accountable from the civil side a hundred percent."

ADRENALINE MOB singer Russell Allen posted a message on his Facebook page in which he revealed that he helped pull Train and McCole from the wreckage before the RV became engulfed in flames. Allen sent special thanks to passer-by and Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick Dumon for his "bravery in assisting me."

Train is best known as lead singer of '80s cover band M80.

ADRENALINE MOB was touring in support of its third studio album, "We The People", which was released in June via Century Media. The follow-up to 2014's "Men Of Honor" was the first ADRENALINE MOB release to feature Zablidowsky and drummer Jordan Cannata.

KORN guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer says that it has been "really hard" for him and his bandmates to deal with the recent passing of Chester Bennington.

The LINKIN PARK singer died on July 20 after committing suicide at the age of 41. He had been open with the press and public about his struggles with drugs and alcohol, which landed him in rehab twice around 2006.

Asked what his reaction was to the news of Bennington's death, Munky told Loaded Radio (hear audio below): "Shock. Everybody was walking around in this cloud. Just frustration and shock and sadness, and there was all this mixed emotions for… still. It's still the residual effects of a roller coaster of emotions going around. Because we've known him for a long time — all those guys, all the guys in [LINKIN PARK].

"I can't imagine what his family and his band must be going through, and my heart sincerely goes out to him and his family," he continued. "And their families — the whole band's families. There are so many lives that are affected by this."

Munky added that he was "really" blindsided by Chester's suicide. "I think there's a statistic on Health.com where it shows musicians are number five in line for the most serious depression and they turn to drugs and alcohol to kind of make that go away, but it only worsens," he said. "Drugs and alcohol always win; the person always fails."

The guitarist, who had his own struggles with depression, works hard on keeping the dark cloud from pulling him back. "I have to make sure that I'm healthy, that I'm exercising, that I'm eating right, make sure to give myself enough time in the day to clear my head or meditate or get enough sleep," he explained. "Those things can get off balance and you can into this downward spiral that can just be brutal and just keep hitting you over the head. A lot of it's just anxiety and listening to your own thoughts. You've gotta step out of yourself and realize that's not the real you. And hearing the news about that really had me… I could feel the gravitation of the depressive sort of… I could feel it pulling me in."

Munky said that is has been "sad to lose Chris Cornell and Chester all within such a short period. It should have never happened, but it did… It's been really hard. It's been hard for the guys in [KORN] to hear [about Chester's death] and process [it]. And I can't imagine — I can't imagine what it's [like] for him and his family and his band. So, yeah, my deepest, sincere condolences to him and his family and his band."

KORN guitarist Brian "Head" Welch recently apologized for implying that Bennington was a "coward" just hours after the LINKIN PARK frontman was found dead in his Southern California home. In a Facebook message posted shortly after the news of Bennington's suicide broke, Welch wrote that "giving up on your kids, fans, and life is the cowardly way out." Reactions were swift, with one commenter calling Welch's remarks "incredibly tactless and distasteful" while another blasted them as "ignorant."

In an interview with Detroit radio station WRIF, Welch claimed that he "meant no disrespect," saying, "It was unfortunate. I spoke from a broken heart, a shattered heart, devastation and grief. And I would have worded it different... We wake up and we all see [the news] all over TMZ. I'm, like, 'This has gotta be a hoax. It's gotta be a hoax. It just can't be real.' Then I find out that it's actually true. And we were all devastated; you should have seen our faces. Just like the whole world, I bet, that knew of this guy. We were in shock."

Welch added that he was also hit hard by the death of Cornell two months earlier, saying: "When in the history of rock music, or even the music business, have we ever seen anything like that? [Both guys with] monster voices, such inspirations to so many. Chris Cornell ended his life [and I was] heartbroken."

Welch said his comments about Bennington's suicide being "cowardly" were the result of him processing his grief online, adding, "I was heartbroken and so sorry for my good friends that have been so close to him."

Former ACCEPT and current DIRKSCHNEIDER and U.D.O. frontman Udo Dirkschneider was interviewed at the tenth edition of the Alcatraz Hard Rock & Metal Festival, which was held August 11-13 in Kortrijk, Belgium. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about ongoing tour under the DIRKSCHNEIDER banner, with which he is performing classic ACCEPT songs for the last time, Udo said: "Let's say it in this way: it was not planned to do the second part of [the] DIRKSCHNEIDER [tour] — what we are doing now until 2018; unbelievable. And, yeah, we had so many requests about it."

Udo explained his decision to stop performing ACCEPT material, saying: "I think ACCEPT is still existing. If I'm done with [performing songs from ACCEPT], then when people wanna hear some ACCEPT songs, they can go to [see] ACCEPT, and then I continue with U.D.O."

According to Udo, being on the road for the past year and half with DIRKSCHNEIDER has influenced the songwriting process for the next U.D.O. album, which is tentatively due in September 2018.

"It was very interesting when we were sitting together at the studio and the guys [in the band] came up with some riffs and stuff," he said. "Of course, if you play that long only ACCEPT songs, then in a way you get used to this style. And it will be a very interesting album. I'm really looking forward to this."

U.D.O.'s latest album, "Decadent", was released in Europe in January 2015 via AFM. The disc was recorded in Udo's home, Spanish island Ibiza, and also at Redhead Audio Productions in Wilhelmshaven.

The current U.D.O. lineup includes Udo's 23-year-old son Sven Dirkschneider, who joined the group as the replacement for drummer Francesco Jovino.

Finnish guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen recently left U.D.O. for personal reasons. He has been replaced by Bill Hudson.

Jackie Donovan of Classic Hits Q101.7 recently conducted an interview with SCORPIONS guitarist Matthias Jabs. You can listen to the full chat in three parts below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):

On SCORPIONS' longevity and continued relevance:

Matthias: "I think internally speaking, a band needs to be a band in the sense of, here are five friends, or four friends, whatever the band's configuration is. You need to like each other; otherwise, you couldn't spend so much time with each other in the same hotel, same bus, same plane, same rehearsal room, same studio. We spend a lot of time with each other creating the music and performing it on tour. That's part one. The other part is you have to have the same musical ideas — not exactly identical, [as] it's good to have a few tensions there, but you need to have a certain vision about what you want to do. Third, you need to be able to refresh your style, and I think the SCORPIONS have done that over the last couple of years, that we don't sound like an old band — like an oldies band — but we sound fresh from today, even though some of our songs are, like, 35 years old."

On the importance of having a signature style:

Matthias: "Once you've found your signature sound, it's something you should not experiment with too much. We did — lots of bands did — in the '90s, when grunge and alternative killed classic rock for a few years. Everybody was like, '[Yuck], this is old-fashioned now, '80s, forget about them' — but 10 years later, the '80s were great again. [Laughs] I noticed that when bands change their formula, their style, their sound, the fans didn't want to follow those changes — they wanted the band to sound the way they liked it. We realized that too. No point in changing your personal favorite sound; just keep doing it, and write new songs and the fans love your sound."

On how touring changes as a band ages:

Matthias: "When you're starting out, everything is new. Everything is exciting, and everything — you see it for the first time, or the second time, maybe. But we have so much experience now. We treat this all with more like a selective kind of view — I don't need to go to all the clubs in town to check it all out; we've been there, done that. We have different priorities.”

On the band's 1988 "Monsters Of Rock" tour with VAN HALEN and METALLICA:

Matthias: "The 'Monsters Of Rock' tour was something that was really exceptional. The lineup was fantastic, with VAN HALEN and SCORPIONS and METALLICA. It was a festival on tour, which I think the first time this has ever been done. To tour the more regular way, like we are doing it now again with MEGADETH this time, is something that's obviously easier to handle, and you get the fans that come specially for your music, but 'Monsters Of Rock', I will always remember as one of the greatest tours we've done.”

On why the band's upcoming tour is called "Crazy World":

Matthias: "If you look at what's going on in the world today, we couldn't think of a better title than the 'Crazy World' tour."

SCORPIONS' North American tour with MEGADETH will kick off on September 14 in Reading, Pennsylvania and conclude on October 15 in Tampa, Florida. The 16-date trek celebrates SCORPIONS' 1990 LP "Crazy World", which was the band's last album to feature bassist Francis Buchholz and was the most recent effort to feature the group's classic lineup.

Fan-filmed video footage of GUNS N' ROSES' August 13 concert at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania can be seen below.

The 2017 North American leg of GUNS N' ROSES' "Not In This Lifetime" tour kicked off July 27 in St. Louis, Missouri and includes eleven newly announced dates in cities across the U.S., including Newark, D.C., Hartford, Louisville, Milwaukee, Nashville, Sacramento, and San Diego. They have also added a second stop in Toronto, and third dates in both New York and Los Angeles.

GUNS N' ROSES recently made Forbes magazine's "Celebrity 100" list of the world's top-earning entertainers for the first time. The band landed at No. 12 with earnings of $84 million in the past twelve months, before taxes and fees for managers.

Last summer's North American leg, which featured 25 stadium shows in 21 cities, grossed a whopping $116.8 million with over one million tickets sold.

The "Not In This Lifetime" tour features classic GUNS members Slash on guitar, Duff McKagan on bass and Axl Rose on vocals, backed by drummer Frank Ferrer, guitarist Richard Fortus, keyboardist Dizzy Reed and second keyboardist Melissa Reese.

GUNS kicked off its long-rumored and long-awaited reunion trek in April 2016 with a club show in Hollywood and appearances in Las Vegas and at California's Coachella festival.

Veteran U.K. thrashers XENTRIX made their live debut with new guitarist/vocalist Jay Walsh (BULL-RIFF STAMPEDE) on August 12 at the Bloodstock Open Air festival at Catton Hall, Walton-On-Trent, West Midlands, United Kingdom. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

Walsh joined XENTRIX as the replacement for Chris Astley, who left the band at the end of 2015.

XENTRIX 2017 is:

Kristian Havard - GuitarChris Shires - BassJay Walsh - Vocals/GuitarDennis Gasser - Drums

Originally thrust into the public eye in the late '80s after their demo received a five-K review in Kerrang!, which in turn caught the attention Roadrunner Records, XENTRIX soon found themselves in the studio making "Shattered Existence". Of course, their now-infamous cover of "Ghostbusters" remains a firm favorite with fans old and new as does the band's phenomenal second album, "For Whose Advantage?", which is regarded as a bonafide thrash classic. The band went onto enjoy a short-but-successful career that saw them share stages with SLAYER, TESTAMENT, SEPULTURA, ANNIHILATOR, SABBAT, TANKARD and SKYCLAD before calling it a day in 1996, having become disillusioned with the U.K. metal scene.

XENTRIX released four albums on Roadrunner Records: "Shattered Existence" (1989), "For Whose Advantage" (1990), "Dilute to Taste" (1991) and "Kin" (1992). They also issued "Scourge" (1996) on Heavy Metal Records with Simon Gordon on vocals and Andy Rudd on guitar.

XENTRIX — with Chris Astley on guitar and vocals — played its first show in almost seven years in April 2013 at the Moses Gate in Bolton, England.

Prior to that, XENTRIX had reunited with its original lineup in 2006 for two gigs in the band's home country.

Waldemar Sorychta — former GRIP INC. guitarist who has produced a number of acclaimed albums from SODOM, MOONSPELL and TIAMAT, among others — joined New Jersey thrashers OVERKILL on stage last night (Sunday, August 13) at Zeche in Bochum, Germany to perform the OVERKILL classic "In Union We Stand". Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

Waldemar played guitar for OVERKILL for three shows on the band's fall 2016 European headlining tour after regular OVERKILL guitarist Dave Linsk was unable to make the dates.

OVERKILL's latest album, "The Grinding Wheel", was released on February 10 via Nuclear Blast. The disc was produced by OVERKILL and mixed by Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, EXODUS, ACCEPT). The artwork was created again by Travis Smith (NEVERMORE, OPETH, SOILWORK, DEATH).

OVERKILL recently announced the addition of drummer Jason Bittner (SHADOWS FALL, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM) to the group's ranks.

Even though Ron Lipnicki had been part of OVERKILL's lineup for more than a decade, the drummer was absent from the band's last few tours, with OVERKILL's longtime drum tech, Eddy Garcia, stepping in to take his place.

Metallica’s WorldWired tour in support of their new album, Hardwired… To Self-Destruct, landed in San Francisco, CA on August 12th. The band have released this short recap video thanking their fans.

Remaining dates on Metallica's 2017 WorldWired Tour are as listed:

August
14 - Vancouver, BC - BC Place
16 - Edmonton, AB - Commonwealth Stadium

September
2 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Royal Arena - SOLD OUT
4 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Ziggo Dome - SOLD OUT
6 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Ziggo Dome - SOLD OUT
8 - Paris, France - AccorHotels Arena - SOLD OUT
10 - Paris, France - AccorHotels Arena - SOLD OUT 
12 - Lyon, France - Halle Tony Garnier - SOLD OUT
14 - Cologne, Germany - Lanxess Arena - SOLD OUT
16 - Cologne, Germany - Lanxess Arena - SOLD OUT

October
22 - London, England - The O2 Arena - SOLD OUT 
24 - London, England - The O2 Arena - SOLD OUT
26 - Glasgow, Scotland - The SSE Hydro - SOLD OUT
28 - Manchester, England - Manchester Arena - SOLD OUT
30 - Birmingham, England - Genting Arena - SOLD OUT

November
1 - Antwerp, Belgium - Sportpaleis - SOLD OUT 
3 - Antwerp, Belgium - Sportpaleis - SOLD OUT

Following two years of touring behind their debut album, Baptized In The Rio Grande, Sons Of Texas returned to the studio earlier this year with producer Josh Wilbur to record their follow up. The result is the 11 song CD, Forged By Fortitude, set for a September 22nd release with Razor & Tie. The album will be available in Europe through Spinefarm Records and with Sony in Japan.

The album is currently available for pre-order on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and at Merch Now. The Merch Now pre-order features multiple bundles including exclusive t-shirt and hoodie designs, a flask, a dog tag bottle opener, and a knit cap. All bundle orders will have the option at checkout to buy a limited edition seven-inch vinyl single featuring the album track "Beneath The Riverbed" and a B-side of the Social Distortion song "Ball And Chain".

"Beneath The Riverbed" can be heard now via the YouTube clip below.

Tracklisting:

"Buy In To Sell Out"    
"Feed The Need"    
"Down In the Trenches"   
"Cast In Stone"   
"Beneath The Riverbed"    
"Expedition To Perdition"    
"Turnin’ The Page"   
"Jaded Eyes"   
"Wasp Woman"   
"Forged By Fortitude"    
"Slam With The Lights On" 

Check out the lyric video of the album track “Feed The Need”. Those pre-ordering the album will receive the song as an instant grat track.

Sons Of Texas are planning an extensive worldwide tour lasting throughout 2018.  

(Band photo by Lindsey Byrnes)

 

Former The 3rd And The Mortal vocalist Kari Rueslåtten, who is also one-third of The Sirens also featuring Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-The Gathering) and Liv Kristine (ex-Leaves' Eyes), has checked in with the following update:

"Here is the brand new video for 'Spellbound'! It is taken from my upcoming album, Silence Is The Only Sound, out August 25th! Pre-order of CD/LP here.

Kari issued the following update in 2016:

"In 1995 I had just left The 3rd and the Mortal. I was sad about leaving them, but I was also eager to start making songs on my own. I bought a 4-track Portastudio and started to record new music onto the cassette. I decided to send the songs to record companies, but also release the songs on my own on a CD. Soon the CD was sold out, and I had a record deal with Sony Music Norway. I have had a little dream to put the songs on vinyl one day – and now this has become a reality! My very good friend Arild Juul has made a fresh version of the front cover, and I have found two previously un-released songs from another 1995-session and added them as bonus tracks."

Demo Recordings 1995 track-listing:

Side A: 
"The Homecoming Song "
"Våkenatt" 
"The Gathering" 
"Rapunsel"
"Forsaken"

Side B: 
"The Shadowchant" 
"In Here"
"Dead" 
"In a Day"

Bonus tracks (previously unreleased 1995 demo recordings): 
"Wither 
"Living Dead"

Musicians:
Jon Jenssen – sampling and programming
Vegard Segtnan – acoustic guitar
Helene Gisvold – piano
Geir Digernes – contrabass

Bonus material session:
Rolf Hoff Baltzersen – contrabass, acoustic guitar

Cover photo: Aage Asphaug
Layout and design: Arild Juul

Australia’s Caligula's Horse will release their fourth studio album, In Contact, on September 15th via Inside Out Music. The first track to be taken from the album, a riff-heavy, progressive metal tour-de-force titled “Will's Song (Let The Colours Run)”, is available for streaming below.

Digital pre-orders of In Contact through iTunes and Amazon receive “Will's Song (Let The Colours Run)” immediately, and the track is available on streaming services now. The album is also available to pre-order on CD and 2LP+CD (including exclusive colored versions) here.

Tracklisting:

“Dream The Dead”
“Will's Song (Let The Colours Run)”
“The Hands Are The Hardest”
“Love Conquers All”
“Songs For No One”
“Capulet”
“Fill My Heart”
“Inertia And The Weapon Of The Wall”
“The Cannon's Mouth”
“Graves
 
“Will's Song (Let the Colours Run)”:

Album teaser:

Extreme metal act, Expulsion, featuring members of Repulsion, Exhumed, Phobia, Intronaut, Gruesome, and numerous others, have released an official guitar playthrough video for “Nightmare Future”, the title track of the band's debut album, out now on Relapse Records. Watch the clip below.

Nightmare Future was produced by Matt Olivo, mixed by Toxic Holocaust's Joel Grind and mastered by Maor Appelbaum (Mayhem, Faith No More, Halford). Physical orders and bundles are available at Relapse.com here and digital downloads can be ordered via Bandcamp here.

Spawned from the cerebral mind of grind legend Matt Olivo (Repulsion), Expulsion combines grind, punk, and crust into a caustic musical vomit guaranteed to stack the corpses high. Olivo's partner-in-grind, Matt Harvey (Exhumed, Gruesome) was recruited over beers in a sweaty Los Angeles apartment to bring his classic brand of oratory assault. The additions of veterans - drummer Danny Walker (Intronaut, Exhumed, Phobia) and bassist Menno Verbaten (Lightning Swords Of Death) - complete the fit-to-burn outfit. Expect nothing but the best of throat-shredding vocals, relentless blast beats, buzzsaw riffs, and raw bass tones. Expulsion will leave you horrified with their vile brand of classic, 80's sickness.

Nightmare Future tracklisting:

“Total Human Genocide”
“Altar Of Slaughter”
“Mask Of Fear”
“Nightmare Future”
“Funeral Bells”
“Compulsions”
“Comatose”

“Nightmare Future” guitar playthrough video:

“Total Human Genocide” guitar playthrough video:

“Altar Of Slaughter” guitar playthrough video:

Album stream:

Expulsion lineup:

Matt Harvey - Vocals
Matt Olivo - Guitar
Danny Walker - Drums
Menno Verbaten - Bass

(Photo - Jay Valena)

Hailing from Poland, epic black/death metallers Devilish Impressions will release their new album, The I, on September 22nd via Lifeforce Records. The album will be available as CD digipak, limited vinyl LP and digital download. Check out a third teaser video, available for streaming below.

Recorded at various studios, including Dobra12 (drums) and Icaros Studio (guitars) the disc was mixed and mastered at Impressive Art Studio by Przemyslaw Nowak who also handled vocals recording sessions and guitars’ re-amping. The album’s artwork, design and layout were created by Infected Minds.

The album features special guest appearances by Mercyful Fate/King Diamond guitarist Mike Wead and by vocalist / guitarist Ares of Norway’s dark metal masters Aeternus. Other artists who also contributed to the record are shamanic ritual meditative experimental act Bon and Impressive Art Studio’s owner Przemyslaw Nowak, who came up with interludes, additional background tunes and effects.

“It’s been a really long way to be finally able to wrap it all up, countless nights spent on writing the music and lyrics first, then working on the album’s pre-production, followed by what seemed to be never-ending, proper recording sessions, and tones of work that had to be done for the band afterwards. We really wanted this new album to become something really special and therefore, to avoid any haphazard decisions, we let them come out of us smoothly, without putting ourselves under any external tension and stuff. Did it pay off? Well, we’ll see… We surely worked our asses off, pushed things back and forth to get the best out of it. As a result we’ve got something we are damn proud of, something that we believe surpasses on all possible levels everything we’ve done in the past. I simply believe we’d outdone ourselves and recorded something that will cause your hearts beat faster…,” comments Quazarre, the band’s composer, vocalist and guitarist.

The title chosen, The I, for the record is not only a phonetic acronym of the band’s name, but above all it reflects the manifesto they stand for since the Horde’s inception in the year 2000 - the notion of freedom of choice and will. A supremacy of an individual over any external factors being imposed on us by others, with special emphasis on religion and its convictions, dogmas and paradigms. The I is a rebellious manifesto targeted against all those who stand opposed to anything that drives us towards individual perfection.

CD digipak tracklisting:

“The I”
“The Dove And The Serpent”
“Eosphoros”
“Blood Imprinted Stigma”
“Ipse philosophvs, daemon, Devs et omnia”
“Czern i Biel”
“The Fatal Messiah”
 
Vinyl tracklisting:

“The I”
“The Dove And The Serpent”
“Blood Imprinted Stigma”
“Eosphoros”
“Ipse philosophvs, daemon, Devs et omnia”
“The Fatal Messiah”

Teaser #1:

Teaser #2:

Teaser #3:

Black metal originators, Venom Inc., have unleashed their new full-length opus, Avé, via Nuclear Blast. Check out a new video trailer below, and order your copy of Avé here.

Regardless of your take on black metal forefathers Venom, they are the undisputed originators of extreme metal as we know it. Almost 40 years after their inception, the revitalized 1989-1992 lineup of guitarist Jeff "Mantas" Dunn, vocalist/bassist Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan and drummer Anthony "Abaddon" Bray have returned with a monster of an album.

Going into writing Avé, Venom Inc. realized their live performance was the key to creating an album that would be a metal classic. It was clear that any songs the trio came up with had to have the intensity, the honesty and the aggression that was happening for Venom Inc. in a live situation. Simply put, they needed to translate what they do on stage onto a record. Not once did they look back on the Venom catalogue and think, "We have to write another Black Metal or another Schizo..." The focus is on Venom Inc. and everything the rejuvenated three-piece do in the here and now.

Avé tracklisting:

“Ave Satanas”
“Forged In Hell”
“Metal We Bleed”
“Dein Fleisch”
“Blood Stained”
“Time To Die”
“The Evil Dead”
“Preacher Man”
“War”
“I Kneel To No God”
“Black N Roll”

"Avé Satanas" lyric video:

“Dein Fleisch”:

Venom Inc., have released a video trailer for their upcoming Blood Stained Earth Tour with Goatwhore, Toxic Holocaust and The Convalescence.

Venom Inc. will kick off the Blood Stained Earth headline tour on September 1st. Tickets for each date of the Blood Stained Earth tour, in addition to exclusive, limited Venom Inc. meet & greet packages, are available now at this location.

Blood Stained Earth Tour with Goatwhore, Toxic Holocaust and The Convalescence:

September
1 - Philadelphia, PA - Voltage
2 - New York, NY - Gramercy Theater
3 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
4 - Montreal, QC - Les Foufounes Electriques
5 - Toronto, ON - Mod Club
6 - Detroit, MI - Harpos
7 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Ballroom
8 - Chicago, IL - Reggies
9 - Cave In Rock, IL - Full Terror Metal Fest
10 - Kansas City, MO - Riot Room
11 - Denver, CO - Marquis Theater
13 - Spokane, WA - The Pin
14 - Seattle, WA - Studio 7
15 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theater
16 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theater
18 - San Francisco, CA - Slims
19 - Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy Theatre
20 - San Diego, CA - Brick By Brick
21 - Phoenix, AZ - Club Red
22 - El Paso, TX - Tricky Falls
23 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey
24 - Austin, TX - Grizzly Hall
25 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall
26 - New Orleans, LA - Parish at HOB
28 - Miami, FL - Churchill's
29 - Tampa, FL - Orpheum
30 - Orlando, FL - The Haven

October
1 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
2 - Baltimore, MD - Soundstage

Fall festival dates:

October
27 - Helsinki, Finland - Heavy Metal Cauldron

Venom Inc. is:

Jeff "Mantas" Dunn - guitars
Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan - bass, vocals
Anthony "Abaddon" Bray - drums

(Photo - Stephanie Cabral)

Professionally filmed video footage of METALLICA performing the song "Enter Sandman" on August 6 at Petco Park in San Diego, California can be seen below.

The North American leg of METALLICA's "WorldWired" trek will hit stadiums in three more cities before ending in mid-August.

The next stop on the tour is San Francisco, California on August 12.

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

METALLICA's current show is the band's largest production ever. Using 48 trucks, the stage takes three days to set up, equipped with lasers, balloons, more than 350,000 total watts of audio and a circular catwalk with a mini stage that the band plays "Seek And Destroy" on, aiming to recreate the garage atmosphere where it was written. According to Rolling Stone, the whole stage features 83 laser fixtures, which took 640 hours to program, and nearly 40,000 speakers for each production. Each night, they generate 2.5 megawatts of power — enough to power 1,800 homes for a month.

METALLICA frontman James Hetfield told the Nerdist podcast that the band would cap its live schedule starting in 2017 at around fifty shows a year. He explained: "My body has told me to tell these guys that fifty shows a year is kind of what we can do, so make the best of those. And I think we all kind of agree in that. But fifty shows a year, that's pretty good. My body can handle that. Body, mind and spirit all need to kind of revitalize themselves at home, and days off for voices — things like that — so fifty shows a year, it goes pretty quick, I'm sure."

Former Eclipse Eternal frontman Voldamares recently announced the formation of his new band, Hexenklad. They have issued the following update, posted on July 28th, the official release for their debut album, Spirit Of The Stone

"Take the depth of feeling of Falkenbach with the stylings of Hypocrisy, the folk melodies of Moonsorrow with the twin guitar blast of Dissection, the depth of emotion of Primordial with the overwhelming nature of Insomnium. This describes the sound of Hexenklad's debut album Spirit Of The Stone. 

CDs are available from Craig Newman at CDNRecords.com and digital copies are available at Hexenklad's Bandcamp page. We are extremely proud of this album. Let us know what you think of it. Horns up!!! Spread the word..."

Hexenklad's new song  "Returned" is streaming below.

Tracklisting:

"In This Life or the Next"
"To Whom Veer Sinistral"
"At the Ends of Existence"
"Returned"
"At Dusk"
"In Waking Tymes"
"Path to Ruin"
"An Offering"

Hexenklad is:

Timothy Johnston (Voldamares) - vocals
Michael Grund - guitars
John Chalmers (The Ancient One) - guitars

Go to this location for information and updates on Hexenklad.

The Dystopian Project's newest EP Paradigm is now available on Bandcamp.

Paradigm further explores their progressive roots. Traditional keyboard sounds have been augmented by the addition of sound design to the song structure, while maintaining the strong vocal harmonies that make The Dystopian Project stand out among their peers. Always challenging the perceived norms of how things should be done, The Dystopian Project continue to grow and develop, cementing their burgeoning status as a powerful and exciting creative unit.

As the band explains; "Take the Gazillion bands and narrow those down to bands that use twin guitars. Now take that lot and narrow it down to bands with the twin guitars and keys. Narrow that down to bands who use sound design. Narrow those down to the bands who add acoustic elements and extra percussion. Narrow those down to bands with philosophical lyrics that paint pictures, tell stories, and make you think.  Narrow that down to bands with a multi-talented female lead. Take those bands and narrow them down to those with three lead vocalists. Now take what's left and narrow it down to the bands who might fuse together rock, metal, and prog and combine these with three-part vocal harmonies and addictive melodies. That consist of a repertoire which includes song lengths from just under 4 minutes to just under 20 minutes. Once you have narrowed down the gazillion bands to those who include all of the criteria listed, you may find there's not so many bands out there who do what we do, in the manner in which we do it. And probably none that sound like us, act like us, look like us, write like us, or come from where we come from!"

Tracklisting:

“Ashes Of Time”
“BGN”
“Death Leaves An Echo”
“The Utopian Suite (Ascension, Acceptance, Decline)”

Released in 2007, Alcest's debut album, Souvenirs d'un autre monde, marks the starting point of the French band's extraordinary career. In celebration of the 10th anniversary of this groundbreaking record, Prophecy Productions has unveiled plans to reissue Souvenirs d'un autre monde in two very special limited edition formats on September 22nd. Preorders are available at this location.

With the release of Souvenirs d'un autre monde (English: "Memories From Another World"), Alcest mastermind Neige forged a luminous new sound that floats on the fringes of metal, yet incorporates emotions of euphoria, bliss and nostalgia. The album has become known as one of the fundamental releases of the blackgaze / post-black metal genre, and a record that continually influences countless other bands in its wake. The singer and multi-instrumentalist dedicated the album to his childhood memories of experiences in a spiritual otherworld; personal themes that would become conceptual cornerstones of subsequent Alcest albums.

Limited editions of Souvenirs d'un autre monde include:
 
Anniversary book (CD edition, 18x18 cm, 48 pages):
- Alternate cover artwork by longtime Alcest photographer Andy Julia, originally used for the first LP pressing of the album!
- In-depth essay written by Neige. Chapters include: Back in 2007 | Genesis & concept | Recording | Musical influences | Retrospective
- Additional exclusive essays by Andy Julia (Soror Dolorosa) and Aaron Weaver(Wolves in the Throne Room)
- Lyrics with English translation
- Many rare and unpublished photos of Neige from the Souvenirs d'un autre monde era!
 
Anniversary LP edition
- 180g vinyl (black)
- Gatefold cover featuring original LP cover artwork (Not used since the first pressings!)
- Din A2 poster with original LP cover artwork
- PVC protection sleeve

Tracklisting:

“Printemps Émeraude” ("Emerald Spring")   
“Souvenirs d'un autre monde” ("Memories From Another World")    
“Les Iris” ("The Iris")    
“Ciel Errant” ("Wandering Sky")  
“Sur l'autre rive je t'attendrai” ("On The Other Shore I Will Wait For You")   
“Tir nan Og” (Irish: "Land Of The Young")

The official video for the song "Hero" from U.S. power metal act JACK STARR'S BURNING STARR can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's long-awaited new studio album, "Stand Your Ground", which will be released on August 25 via High Roller Records. The effort, which is almost 80 minutes long, was produced by Bart Gabriel (with whom the band already worked on the previous album, "Land Of The Dead"), recorded and mixed by Kevin Burnes (DOKKEN, RAVEN), and mastered by Patrick W. Engel at Temple Of Disharmony Studio. The release will be available as CD, double LP, and digital download. Like in case of previous two BURNING STARR albums, its cover artwork was painted by Ken — legendary artist known from his iconic works for bands such as RAINBOW, KISS and MANOWAR.

"It's an old-school-type metal album with modern production and great songs," Starr says about "Stand Your Ground". "In my opinion, it is one of the best metal albums in the last twenty years. I think that if we could go back in a time machine and put out this album in 1988, it would sell millions of copies, but even though it is 2017, I think it will still do very well."

Regarding how "Stand Your Ground" compares to its predecessor, 2011's "Land Of The Dead", Starr says: "I think the new one is more diverse and has many more influences and also it is much longer. I think I am playing better guitar solos, Todd Micheal Hall is singing better, Ned Meloni on bass is playing the best of his career and the comparison that comes to my mind is Steve Harris. Ned is playing with passion and speed like Steve Harris and also getting a great sound like Steve Harris. And as far as Rhino, there is nothing to say because he always plays great and this album is a continuation of this incredible drumming style that he as perfected.

"My favorite song on the album is 'Stand Your Ground', the title cut, I have played this one for a few people and the reaction has always been the same. It seems that the listener is very surprised that even though the song is eleven minutes long, it passes very quickly and is not repetitious. 'Stand Your Ground' has so many twists and turns and changes within the same song, it is like a mini symphony!"

"Stand Your Ground" track listing:

01. Secrets We Hide02. The Enemy03. Stand Your Ground04. Hero05. Destiny06. The Sky Is Falling07. Worlds Apart08. Escape From The Night09. We Are One10. Stronger Than Steel11. False Gods12. To The Ends

JACK STARR'S BURNING STARR was formed in 1985 by and founding member of VIRGIN STEELE, Jack Starr. After releasing four albums in the '80s — "Rock The American Way" (1985), "No Turning Back!" (1986), "Blaze Of Glory" (1987) and the self-titled one (so-called "orange album" from 1989) — the band returned with a new lineup featuring Starr, Ned Meloni (bass; JOE LYNN TURNER, DEVIL CHILDE, PHANTOM LORD), Kenny "Rhino" Earl (drums, MANOWAR, ROSS THE BOSS) and Todd Michael Hall (vocals; RIOT V), and released the well-received comeback album titled "Defiance" in 2009. Two years later, the band released their next studio album, titled "Land Of The Dead", which was met with great reviews by critics and fans alike.

Vancouver metal act Spell has released a new video for “River Of Sleep”. The song is taken from the band's current album, For None and All, out now on Bad Omen.

For None And All was recorded entirely on analogue tape. No digital editing or computer trickery took place, just many hours of hard live playing.

Spell, a power-trio comprising Cam Mesmer (lead vocals/bass) Graham McVie (guitars/backing vocals) and Lester Spectre (drums/backing vocals) started out life as Stryker (not to be confused with Striker, the other Canadian metal band who released records on Napalm Records), playing ‘80s-inspired and thrash-damaged metal, before they made the decision to change their moniker to better reflect the more oracular style that was evolving in splendid isolation in British Columbia.  “I like the mysterious sort of mood that the name 'Spell' sets” explains Cam. “So much of this world is focused on elucidating, deciphering, explaining the world around us. That's too analytical and pedantic for me. I believe there is just as much value in mystifying, shrouding, cyphering. The only real truth is one you arrive at yourself, so it won't help if I tell you what to think. Take what you want from it. I'd like Spell to be a force in that direction.”

Philadelphia's Dark Waters End are streaming the new single, “Up The Dose”, featured on their new album, Submersion. The album will see the light of day on October 7th. The track is available for streaming below.

Dark Waters End takes progressive death metal to a level that makes you think twice about nodding your head in standard timing. This eclectic group of musicians teeter on the boundary of what many in the Philadelphia area describe as technical metal, but without the need for a scientific calculator. Their music consists of an all-embracing range of metal, from a variety of influences to create a very dynamic and progressive sound.

Dark Waters End has a sound that can range from beautifully-haunting to terrifying in a matter of minutes. Influences from bands such as Converge, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and The Faceless inspire the band to approach metal from all angles and can be aggressive, peaceful, and brutal all within a single song. Additionally, influences from bands such as The Contortionist and Between the Buried and Me have paved the way for the band to incorporate atypical melodies and provide a robust blend of progressive metal.

Tracklisting:

“Immortal Consciousness”
“Empty Skies”
“Mass Grave”
“Congenital Vice”
“Unquenchable”
“The Great Dirge”
“Rat King”
“Hell Can't Be Worse”
“Velocirapture”
“Bucket Of Flesh”
“Up The Dose”

“Up The Dose”:

“Congenital Vice” lyric video:

Album Credits:

Recording & Mixing: John Boyce & Sylar Sound Studio
More Recording & Editing: AJ Viana, Jay Esbensen
Mastering: Mark Lewis of West West Side
Artwork: Georgi Georgiev of Moon ring Design
Management: Rob Wharton of Cognitive
Band Photos: Al Rende
Practice Home: Surreal Sound Studio in Philadelphia

Management: Rob Wharton of Fresh2Deaf Management

Band lineup:

John William - Vocals
Elijah Masiko - Guitar
Ian Wright - Guitar
Chris Williams - Bass
Ian McGarry - Drums

Prosthetic Records welcomes Chicago-based four-piece instrumental group, Zaius, to their ever-expanding roster. Formed in 2010, the band explores a lighter, more melodic side of the members' musical tastes without abandoning the metal tendencies that come natural to them.

Guitarist Dann Dolce comments on the signing: "We are insanely proud of these eight songs and can't wait to share our first full length with the world. A proper release is what this album deserves, and Prosthetic Records really has our backs on this. The four of us couldn't be happier."

Of Adoration, the band's debut LP, will be released via Prosthetic Records on October 6th. The opus was tracked at the start of 2017 with Jeff Edwards before being sent off to be mixed and mastered by Chris Common (Pelican, Mouth Of The Architect, Minus the Bear). The record features eight tracks that peaks and valleys its way through over 40 minutes of music.

"We try not to conform to any specific sub-genre and pull influence from as many places as possible," reflects Dolce. "Our goal is to keep our songs moving and dynamic, heavy yet engaging, not letting parts drag on longer than they have to."

Illustrations for the album were created by Marald Van Haasteren (Baroness, Kylesa) whose style is as colorful and alive as these tracks were meant to be.

Of Adoration tracklisting:

“Phaneron”
“Echelon”
“Reformer”
“Sheepdog”
“Magnolia”
“Seirenes”
“Anicca”
“Colin”

Zaius is:

Jeremy Bellen - Bass
Dann Dolce - Guitar
Mike Imbordino - Drums
Ian McConnell - Guitar

(Photo - Andy Delgado)

Los Angeles rock band MÖTLEY CRÜE will celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of its fourth studio and four-times-platinum album, "Girls, Girls, Girls", with special album reissue bundles that will be available on August 25 via Pledge Music. Various bundles include colored vinyl, cassette tape, commemorative poster/lithograph, vintage t-shirt, vinyl test pressings, a limited-edition, numbered drum head, a flexi single of "Wild Side", "Girls, Girls, Girls" patch, and more.

MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx told Billboard about the decision to reissue the album: "You know, it's interesting. You build up a body of work and it's like, 'Well, I want to get people who may not be album buyers turned onto the band.' And then they might go and discover the albums the way the fans of the band do. And so you release greatest hits, you do remasters, you create new packaging, you see if you can find any extra tracks that maybe weren't on the record, you bring out demo versions, you try to come up with ways to make it unique and special. And that's what we did here. I think it's a cool thing for fans. I'm a rock fan myself and I love that. And thirty years is a significant amount of time, and 'Girls, Girls, Girls' was an important album for us in a lot of ways. It was also a frustrating album for us in a lot of ways."

"Girls, Girls, Girls" reached No. 2 on Billboard 200 in its third week — MÖTLEY CRÜE's highest charting album at the time. But it was held out of the top spot by Whitney Houston's "Whitney", which debuted at No. 1.

"Well, back then, you know, there was no SoundScan," Nikki explained. "Retail would report in with their top-selling bands, and then Billboard would accumulate the results from all these different chains — Licorice Pizza, Tower Records, all these places. And I remember I was on a conference call with [then-MÖTLEY CRÜE managers] Doc McGhee and Doug Thaler, and they said, 'Hey man, you guys are outselling everybody two to one. You're gonna have a No. 1 record.' And I said, 'That's great.' I don't really think that having a No. 1 record mattered to us that much, but we were like, 'That's fucking cool!' But then Whitney Houston came out and she was No 1. And I remember that lit a fucking flame to the fucking bomb man. That lit the fuse. Because we were like 'What the fuck happened?'"

"Girls, Girls, Girls" included three smash hits, "Wild Side", "You're All I Need" and the title track, which became a global success, despite the original uncensored video being banned from MTV at the time.

MÖTLEY CRÜE's last studio album was 2008's "Saints Of Los Angeles", which was followed by a 2009 "Greatest Hits" compilation.

A tour film about MÖTLEY CRÜE's final shows, "The End", came out last fall, and a film adaptation of the band's 2001 autobiography "The Dirt" is still said to be in the works.

BUTCHER BABIES will release their third album in the fall. The follow-up to 2015's "Take It Like A Man" was produced by Steve Evetts (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, SEPULTURA, SUICIDE SILENCE) and marks the band's recording debut with new drummer, Chase Brickenden, who replaced Chris Warner last year.

Carla Harvey, one of the BUTCHER BABIES' two dynamic frontwomen, told Meltdown Of Detroit's WRIF radio station that the music on the group's upcoming disc "runs the gamut" from "great thrash metal" to "a little bit of '90s influence." She said: "We're singing, we're screaming and it's just a great, great album. I couldn't be prouder of it. I think there's four songs where we do predominantly singing on it. And normally that would scare even me, 'cause I'm, like, 'I'm a metal girl! I don't wanna be singing.' But it's so beautiful — it really is. So it's kind of ballady, but not too ballady. It's very dark, sensual — the lyrics are very sensual on this album."

She continued: "I think we're bringing a little bit of the sexy back on this album that we kind of steered away from for a while. When we were building up our career, we wanted to be taken so seriously as metal chicks, so I think we kind of let those hindrances go a little bit and said, 'Let's just be us in all aspects of us' — from the metal to the sexy to everything else."

Although there is a lot of variety on BUTCHER BABIES' upcoming effort, Carla is quick to point out that "I couldn't do an album with no thrash on it, 'cause that's my passion. I think my favorite song on the album is a completely ridiculous thrash metal song that you'll hear," she said. "It's just amazing. In fact, one line in the song is about my Corvette that is always broken down. I have a '75 Corvette, 'cause I'm a real Detroit girl with a real American car. The song has completely ridiculous lyrics, but it's so cool — total thrash."

Carla said that BUTCHER BABIES next album will contain eleven songs, with an extra track for Japan. The disc's first single will arrive in a "few weeks," and it's "got a super-sexy rhythm to it," according to Harvey. "But everything is still… When you hear the album, you say, 'That's definitely BUTCHER BABIES.'"

Regarding BUTCHER BABIES' collaboration with Evetts, Carla said: "He doesn't do any Auto-Tuning or any pitching or anything like that, so every note on this album is a hundred percent authentic. And it's really cool to be able to say that about an album nowadays, I think, because people are so used to hearing everything Auto-Tuned and touched up and fixed up. This album is exactly what we've always wanted to do — it's something passionate and raw — and we're all just over the moon for it."

She added: "That's the one thing that we've always wanted to capture, because I think that we're a great live band, and when you're a good live band, you wanna capture that energy, and we finally found a producer that can help harness that live energy, actually, into the album."

According to Carla, Chase's addition to BUTCHER BABIES contributed to the upcoming album being "just on another level." She explained: "He's just a great, great, great drummer with all kinds of new ideas, and we blend really well together. And we actually toured with Chase on our very first tour with OTEP years and years ago, so we're all old friends already and he just fit in seamlessly."

"Take It Like A Man" was produced by Logan Mader, who has previously worked with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, DEVILDRIVER, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY and GOJIRA.

BUTCHER BABIES will support HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD on a U.S. tour which will kick off on October 1 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Los Angeles rockers BLACK VEIL BRIDES are planning to release their fifth album in early 2018 to coincide with the launch of a major tour. The follow-up to BLACK VEIL BRIDES' 2014 self-titled effort, which was originally expected to arrive in September, was produced by John Feldmann at his Southern California studio.

During a brand new interview with the Rock Sound Podcast, BLACK VEIL BRIDES frontman Andy Biersack explained the delay in getting the new disc released. He said (hear audio below): "First of all, we took fifteen months to make the record, and so in that way, we really wanted everything to be as perfect as possible. And the original deadline that we gave ourselves while the record was completed and the mixing was completed, we weren't able to get the artwork and assets and all the stuff together exactly how we wanted it. And while listening to it, there were also elements and stuff I wanted to change.

"People don't necessarily understand that when you're on a major label that they determine when stuff is released," he continued. "And so they gave us the initial deadline that they would have preferred we released the record on the first time, and they were just unable to get the assets together, and also on our end, we just weren't quite done at the original time. So we had a discussion with the label and they were in agreement with us that it seemed like we should try to line it up with something big tour-wise. And we've put together something for the winter that we'll also come to England with. It's gonna be a really big tour and I think something that people have been wanting to see for a very long time."

Biersack delved deeper into BLACK VEIL BRIDES' reasons for wanting to take a bit longer to make an album they were all really happy with, explaining: "We've been doing this for a very long time, and it seemed like if we were gonna take time to make a record, it seemed like the right time to really try to sink our teeth into doing something that we really spent time cultivating. Before, it's not to say that we didn't spend time with it, but we were on deadlines and we were also a very young band that people were saying, 'We've gotta get this record out. We've gotta get you on tour.' And we've never really been afforded the opportunity to take our time with something.

"We wound up doing it in three different locations with Feldmann, because he wound up moving studios in the middle of the record," he added. "So it was kind of fun record in the sense that I sang the vocals for it in so many different places and I saw so many different rooms and the writing process took place in so many different places while I was on tour, and we were at Jake's [Pitts, guitar] personal home studio for a while. And it was a really fun and interesting way of doing the album over the course of over a year."

Asked about the overall sound of the new BLACK VEIL BRIDES album, Andy said: "We made 'Wretched And Divine [The Story Of The Wild Ones]' with John in 2013, and that was, at least commercially, our most successful record to date. A song like 'In The End' is probably our most successful song. And so a lot of times, people point to that record as the sound of the band. But what I think is interesting is that we have evolved significantly, I think, from record to record — from the first record to the fifth record. The previous record that we made with [producer] Bob Rock was a much more straight-ahead, hard rock, heavy metal record. I think that this album — and everybody says this, of course, because you want it to be true — but at least for me, I believe that it's a nice combination of many different eras of the band. I think that it represents all the different places that we've been while retaining that Feldmann thing, that thing about Feldy that I don't think anybody else can even touch or come close to; he just knows how to make things huge. And writing with Feldy is one of my favorite things, so to be able to come back into the world of doing heavy, darker rock music after doing a pop record together [with ANDY BLACK].

"We've been in a band together — Jake and Jinxx [guitar] and Ashley [Purdy, bass] and C.C. [Christian Coma, drums] and I — have been a band together for a decade, we know each other pretty well and the writing process is pretty simple in that way. So I think, all in all, it's a record that's very representative of where we are as a band at this point in our career. I'm not gonna tell you, 'Well, it's our heaviest and most melodic,' or, 'This is the best…' I think that it's just a record that we're really, really proud of and I think it's a great album and I think the fans are gonna like it, and it's a long time coming. At this point, it'll be four years since the last BLACK VEIL record, by the time it's out. So I think it's a long time coming, and I think people are gonna really enjoy it."

Biersack also promised something very special for the upcoming tour in support of BLACK VEIL BRIDES' new album. "I can't tell you too much more," he explained. "If I could, I would say more to you. But I will say this: it's a tour that, in terms of what the fans have wanted for a very long time, it's something that we have been hearing for years and something that people have been asking for us to do, and we were finally able to get it together, and I think it's gonna be really something special. And that's all I can tell you. I think that people in the world that like what we do musically, and kind of exist in the scene that we exist in, I think people are gonna be excited to come out to these shows. At least I hope so, 'cause I think it's gonna be… It's the kind of tour that I think you'd wanna see."

A new BLACK VEIL BRIDES song called "The Outsider" was released last December and can be streamed below.

BLACK VEIL BRIDES released its first-ever concert DVD and Blu-ray, "Alive And Burning", in July 2015.

Vertigo-inducing death metal overlords Incantation have released their 10th full-length album, Profane Nexus, via Relapse Records. A full album stream can be found below.

Additionally, guitarist Sonny Lombardozzi is the featured shredder on the latest installment of Gear Gods: Rigged. In this episode, watch Sonny as he sh(r)eds light on the gear he uses to conjure the sorcery and magic of the suffocating and crushing Incantation guitar sound.

Incantation have just revealed all the juicy, liquid-y details of their collaboration with Brimming Horn Meadery to bring the official Incantation edition Mead, entitled Goat’s Blood.

Brimming with excitement, the guys had this to say: “Our friends at Brimming Horn Meadery and us in Incantation are proud to announce the unveiling of this limited contribution to you devoted fiends. A first-ever mead and metal collaboration! It's a libation of grapes, honey and cherries whose dark crimson color inspired it's name. Goat's Blood! A testament to the near 30yrs of the bands existence and to the amazing talents of those award winning folks at Brimming Horn. In rare hand numbered bottles you too can join us in raising a mighty hail to metal and the brotherhood that we share with all of you!"

Head here for more information, which includes order details.

Recorded at the band's own Incantation Studios in Johnstown, PA and mixed/mastered by Dan Swanö (Bloodbath, Asphyx, Dark Funeral), Profane Nexus can be ordered on CD/LP/Digital via Relapse Records at this location.

Cover art, titled Draping The Tar Monster, by Eliran Kantor.

Tracklisting:

“Muse”
“Rites Of The Locust”
“Visceral Hexahedron”
“The Horns Of Gefrin”
“Incorporeal Despair”
“Xipe Totec”
“Lus Sepulcri”
“Stormgate Convulsions From The Thunderous Shores Of Infernal Realms Beyond The Grace Of God”
“Messiah Nostrum”
“Omens To The Altar Of Onyx”
“Ancients Arise”

Album stream:

"Lus Sepulcri" lyric video:

“Rites Of The Locust” guitar playthrough video:

“Rites Of The Locust” video:

The scheduling for Incantation’s upcoming tour with Swedish black metallers Marduk has been announced. See the full listing of dates and venues below.

Tour dates:

August
18 - Los Angeles, CA - Union
20 - San Diego, CA - Brick by Brick
22 - SanAntonio, TX - Korova
23 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey
24 - Kansas City, MO - The Riot Room
25 - Joliet, IL - The Forge
26 - Detroit, MI - Harpo's
27 - Reading, PA - Reverb
28 - Frederick, MD - Café 611
29 - New York, NY - Gramercy Theatre
30 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
31 - Quebec City, QC - Salle Multi

September
1 - Ottawa, ON - Maverick's
2 - Toronto, ON - The Garrison
3 - Rouyn-Noranda, QC - Petit Théätre

(Band photo - Scott Kinkade)