In a brand new interview with RockRevolt Magazine, ex-FLYLEAF frontwoman Lacey Sturm was asked if there is chance that she could reunite with her former bandmates now that they have parted ways with their singer of the past four years, Kristen May. She responded (hear audio below): "Well, you know, I feel like I'm the kind of person that I think so much happened that I never in a million years thought would happen, so I've learned to quit saying 'never.' But at the same time, I'm a really present person."

She continued: "I don't have any plans for that, but then again, you never know. I don't know… [Laughs] They haven't called me. And I don't have any plans [to go back]."

Two years ago, Sturm opened up about some of the reasons why she quit FLYLEAF in the fall of 2012, shortly before the release of its third album, "New Horizons". She said that several events, including getting married, having a baby and enduring the death of the band's sound engineer Rich Caldwell changed her priorities.

Sturm explained: "The one that hit the hardest was the death of our sound engineer. We did one last show with FLYLEAF as a benefit for his wife Katy and their son Kirby. And it was really hard to do a show without him, and it was really hard to think it could be our last show. So I remember looking at my son after Rich had passed and just wondering to myself, if this was the last year I had with my son, how would I spend it?"

Sturm added: "It was really amazing to recognize this season changing in my life and the freedom that I was gonna be able to focus on my family. And I'm so thankful for that time. And although it was really hard, I'm thankful. And that's the reason I stepped down from FLYLEAF."

FLYLEAF recruited May as Sturm's replacement and released its fourth album, "Between The Stars", in September 2014.

Sturm's debut solo album, "Life Screams", was released on February 12 via Followspot Records with The Fuel Music distribution.

AC/DC bassist Cliff Williams has confirmed that he will retire from recording and touring after finishing out the band's current world trek. Williams's decision follows a string of personnel changes for the group that started with co-founding guitarist Malcolm Young's departure in 2014 after he was diagnosed with dementia. Last year, drummer Phil Rudd was sentenced to house arrest after he was found guilty on a drug charge, while earlier this year singer Brian Johnson was forced to step down or face the loss of his hearing.

Williams said in a new video message (see below): "It's time for me to step out, and that's all. Not because we've lost Mal, Phil or Brian. I mean, everything changes when something happens like that. When Bon [Scott, vocals] died, it changed then. You know, everything changes, so it's not that. It's just… I'm just ready to get off the road, really, and do what I do…

"In between tours, we take a few years off, so I know how to do that, I know what I'm gonna do. Again, it's just my time. I'm happy. I just need to… Family time now… just chill out and not do this.

"I mean, I couldn't have asked for anything more, being with the people I'm with and have been, and being in this situation with this band, playing this music."

Williams previously told Gulfshore Life about his decision to leave AC/DC: "It's been what I've known for the past forty years, but after this tour I'm backing off of touring and recording. Losing Malcolm, the thing with Phil and now with Brian, it's a changed animal. I feel in my gut it's the right thing."

The 66-year-old Williams is the longest-serving member of the group after co-founder and sole original member Angus Young. He joined the band in mid-1977 and made his debut on its fifth album, 1978's "Powerage", appearing on every record and tour since.

Williams said about his long stint with the group: "When you start out, you kind of hope for success. That's what you are working for. But you never really know. It's been surreal, really."

Assuming neither Rudd nor Johnson return, Williams's exit means that only Angus Young remains from the lineups that recorded classic albums like 1979's "Highway To Hell", 1980's "Back In Black" and 1981's "For Those About To Rock...We Salute You".

The rescheduled dates of AC/DC's North American tour — which are the band's first concerts here with Axl Rose on lead vocals — kicked off in Greensboro, North Carolina on August 27.

Angus Young has not indicated yet what the group's plans are following the completion of the touring cycle for the band's latest album, "Rock Or Bust".

AC/DC played what is believed to be its last-ever concert with bassist Cliff Williams Tuesday night, September 20 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Rock Or Bust02. Shoot To Thrill03. Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be04. Back In Black05. Got Some Rock & Roll Thunder06. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap07. Rock 'N' Roll Damnation08. Thunderstruck09. High Voltage10. Rock 'N' Roll Train11. Hells Bells12. Given The Dog A Bone13. If You Want Blood (You've Got It)14. Live Wire15. Sin City16. You Shook Me All Night Long17. Shot Down In Flames18. Have A Drink On Me19. T.N.T.20. Whole Lotta Rosie21. Let There Be Rock

Encore:

22. Highway To Hell23. Riff Raff24. Problem Child25. For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)

Check out fan-filmed video footage below.

Williams has confirmed that he will retire from recording and touring with AC/DC once it has ended the current touring cycle for the "Rock Or Bust" album. In a new video message posted online, Williams explained: "It's time for me to step out, and that's all. Not because we've lost Mal, Phil or Brian. I mean, everything changes when something happens like that. When Bon died, it changed then. You know, everything changes, so it's not that. It's just… I'm just ready to get off the road, really, and do what I do."

Williams added: "In between tours, we take a few years off, so I know how to do that, I know what I'm gonna do. Again, it's just my time. I'm happy. I just need to . . . Family time now . . . just chill out and not do this. I mean, I couldn't have asked for anything more, being with the people I'm with and have been, and being in this situation with this band, playing this music."

Williams's decision follows a string of personnel changes for the group that started with co-founding guitarist Malcolm Young's departure in 2014 after he was diagnosed with dementia. Last year, drummer Phil Rudd was sentenced to house arrest after he was found guilty on a drug charge, while earlier this year singer Brian Johnson was forced to step down or face the loss of his hearing.

The 66-year-old Williams is the longest-serving member of the group after co-founder and sole original member Angus Young. He joined the band in mid-1977 and made his debut on its fifth album, 1978's "Powerage", appearing on every record and tour since.

Assuming neither Rudd nor Johnson return, Williams's exit means that only Angus remains from the lineups that recorded classic albums like 1979's "Highway To Hell" — the last album recorded with late lead singer Bon Scott — 1980's "Back In Black" and 1981's "For Those About To Rock...We Salute You".

The Philadelphia concert was the last of ten North American dates that were rescheduled after Brian Johnson had to leave the tour. As with the band's European shows earlier in the summer, the vocals were handled by GUNS N' ROSES lead singer Axl Rose.

The band does not have any more shows on its itinerary at the moment and Angus Young has not indicated for certain whether the band will continue on.

In a brand new interview with Miami New Times, SLAYER guitarist Kerry King was asked if he thought, back when he co-founded the band in 1981, he would still be doing this 35 years later. He responded: "No, because back when we started in '81, '82, 'old' had a different meaning me to back then. Old was 55, and I'm past that and I don't feel old. Things hurt worse than when I was 25, but the SLAYER shows are still epic. So back then, absolutely not. If Jeff [Hanneman, late SLAYER guitarist] was alive, he'd say, we used to do it for chicks and beer, and I didn't drink beer, so we did it for chicks. [Laughs]"

Asked if he ever thinks about the final chapter for SLAYER, King said: "I don't have an endgame in mind. That being said, I don't want to die onstage either. The good news is we've got seven to eight songs from the last recording. The lyrics don't make those songs change. They're done, recorded, with the 'Repentless' sound. We've got plenty of stuff — it's just finding time to get in the studio again. [The record label] Nuclear Blast is already bugging me about that, but I don't see that happening until at least late next year or early the following year... It's a wonderful place to be. We've never been this far ahead."

SLAYER frontman Tom Araya recently told Billboard that there are no plans yet for the group to begin work on the follow-up to last year's "Repentless" album. That effort marked the band's first release since the death of Hanneman.

SLAYER's seven-week North American tour with ANTHRAX and DEATH ANGEL kicked off on September 9 in Cleveland.

"Repentless" debuted at No. 4 on The Billboard 200, having shifted 50,000 equivalent album units in the week ending September 17, 2015.

CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED, the brainchild of former DEATH/ICED EARTH drummer Richard Christy, will release its third full-length album, "Creatures Watching Over The Dead", on September 23 via Metal Blade Records.

The entire CD can now be streamed using the SoundCloud widget below. Ask Christy what he wanted to achieve with "Creatures Watching Over The Dead", and his answer is as succinct as it gets: "To bring the metal! I want people to listen to this album, bang their head, and have fun." It's actually hard to imagine anyone with even the slightest hankering for the hard stuff not having this exact reaction when exposed to the nine tracks comprising the record — for this is heavy, catchy, anthemic and downright killer music to wreck your neck to. At the same time, it stands as one of the most uplifting contributions to the metal canon of 2016, which is both timely and welcome. With five years having elapsed since the quartet dropped "Cold Winds On Timeless Days", it's understandable that fans have been yearning for more, but they have not exactly been sitting around, kicking their heels. Christy, who has previously played with ICED EARTH, DEATH, CONTROL DENIED, BURNING INSIDE and LEASH LAW, played drums on Monte Pittman's "Inverted Grasp Of Balance", wrote music for New York State's "The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze" event, and co-wrote a heavy metal comedy Viking rock opera with guitarist Jason Suecof and Titmouse Animation, titled "Majestic Loincloth". Suecof is, of course, one of the most in-demand producers in contemporary metal. Then there's legendary bassist Steve DiGiorgio, who made a name for himself in the ranks of DEATH, TESTAMENT, VINTERSORG, DRAGONLORD and a myriad of other great metal bands; in recent years, he has laid down his inimitable style on records from EPHEL DUATH, SOEN, MEMORAIN and others. Which just leaves vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens, who for a time fronted a little-known British band named JUDAS PRIEST — before lending his formidable pipes to ICED EARTH and Yngwie Malmsteen's mighty compositions, touring relentlessly under his own name, starting new band PROJECT ROCK. When it was time to lay the songs down, the members convened at Suecof's Audiohammer Studio, outside Orlando, Florida, and the subsequent sessions might well have been the smoothest in the history of the metalverse. With everyone more than prepared, after nailing a drum tone that sounds "so natural and crushing," Christy laid down all the drum parts in a single day, and DiGiorgio "crushed it as usual" over the space of two days, delivering an incredible performance which really shines through on every song. Suecof infused Christy's riffs with character, dynamics and sheer power as he tracked them, and then it was down to Owens, who delivered one of his finest performances - made all the more impressive by how quickly he worked. It's understandable that the four guys are seriously proud of the finished product. Once released, Christy has a simple ambition for the record, wanting "people to crank it up while they're drinking their favorite craft beer and cleaning their guinea pig's cage — which I do once a week — or mowing the lawn!" "Creatures Watching Over The Dead" track listing:

01. My Eyes02. The Soulless03. Afterlife04. As I Catch My Breath05. Lies06. Reach into the Light07. Tear Me Down08. Living in the Shadow of Yesterday09. Time Has Passed CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED is:

Richard Christy - DrumsJason Suecof - Guitar, ProducerTim "Ripper" Owens - VocalsSteve Digiorgio - Bass

Instrumental modern progressive pioneers Animals As Leadres have announced that their fourth album The Madness Of Many will be released on November 11th via Sumerian Records. 

Following the stunning The Joy Of Motion, which cemented the band as one of the most innovative musical forces of this generation, The Madness Of Many sees the band raise their creative and technical game even further.

Following a largely sold out European summer tour with support from Plini and Intervals, the band return to Europe for the following dates:

September
30 – Euroblast Festival

October
1 – Wroclaw, Poland – Klub Alibi
2 – Warsaw, Poland – Progresja Music Zone
3 – Kiev, Ukraine – Sentry
4 – Minsk, Belarus – Re:Public
8 – Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel – Havana Club

Young British progressive rockers Maschine have announced the release of their second studio album Naturalis for November 18th on InsideOutMusic. The follow-up to the band's debut Rubidium is the first to feature drummer James Stewart (Vader) and keyboardist/vocalist Marie-Eve de Gaultier. 
 
Lead guitarist and vocalist Luke Machin had this to say: "I'm very proud of what we've done in the studio this time, we were very aware that the songs had to be the best we could do. After all, it does represent us at this point in time, and we were determined that everything about it should be the best that could be done."

The six tracks that make up the main album fit into a loose concept. Machin continues: "This is basically about natural events. It's something I've been thinking about and working on for some time. My interest really began with the Japanese tsunami in 2011. It had such a far reaching effect on so many people. Once I had the idea for the album fixed in my head, the whole thing just snowballed. But what I didn't want this to be was a record about natural disasters. That can be such a dark subject. What I wanted to emphasize was that there is light at the end of the tunnel. There is hope for mankind. And that's the vibe I wanted to come through."
 
The album will be released as a special edition Digipak CD and digital download, both featuring two bonus tracks recorded live in 2015 at Veruno Prog Festival in Italy.

Tracklisting:

“Resistance”
“Night And Day”
“Make Believe”
“Hidden In Plain Sight”
“A New Reality”
“Megacyma”

Bonus tracks
“Eyes Pt.2” (Live In Veruno)
“Rubidium” (Live In Veruno)

Finnish melodic death/thrash metallers Re-Armed have released a new music video for "Evolve Cycle,” a song taken from forthcoming album The Era Of Precarity.

The band has also launched on their Facebook page a contest to win a copy of the CD and a T-Shirt. Entrants just need to "Like" the page and share the new video on their timeline; visit this location to enter. The band will choose one lucky fan and inform him/her personally. The contest runs until the end of the month. 

Re-Armed will release The Era Of Precarity internationally on September 30th via Finland's Saarni Records. The physical core of the album is packed into a stylish digipak, which is made from ecological materials. The band has pledged to donate 50 cents from the sale of every copy to Karma Ry (organization), which supports elder people and young adults in band's hometown area with their activities to prevent disenfranchisement.

Tracklisting:

“Novus Ordo Seclorum”
“Lullaby Of Obedience”
“Through The Barricades”
“Riot Act”
“Ivory Towers”
“Years Of Decay”
“Three Headed Beast”
“Evolve Cycle”
“The Aftermath”
“Cursed Beyond Belief”
“Purification”
“The Hunt Is On!”

"Evolve Cycle" video:

Teaser:

Re-Armed has also announced the following dates for its October tour of Spain with Dust Bolt.

Dates:

October
6 – Barcelona – Sala Rocksound
8 – Zaragoza – C.C. Valdefierro
9 – Valencia – Sala Matisse
11 – Badajoz – Sala Metalarium
12 – Madrid – Sala Silikona

Fort Lauderdale, FL blackened heavy metal band Faethom have released a lyric video for “Slaves To The Dawn”, a song off their second full-length concept album, Fury Of The Scorned Witch.The album is available at Faetheom’s official website and CDBaby.

Fury Of The Scorned Witch is a horror concept album about a fictional Bolivian mining town where the miners toil and suffer relentlessly under the watchful eye of "El Tio" (the demonic entity that guards the mines). With an infernal cast of characters - a scorned, vengeful cholita, a violent, murderous miner, a powerful, diabolical witch, a pious, holier-than-thou gossip, and a sinful, cowardly priest - the album is a hellish metal tale of terror that will satisfy the old-school horror-worshiping metalhead. 

With this album, Faethom delivers a powerful blend of old-school heavy metal mixed with extreme metal and elements of ‘70s prog rock, interludes and intros heavily influenced by ‘80s horror movie soundtracks, and an overall ambiance inspired by Bolivian folk music. 

 

 

Product Of Hate are crushing American metallers that hail from Kenosha, WI. Hammer Fight are a bunch of whiskey-drinkin', beer guzzlin' bros who spawned from New Jersey. The two are teaming up for the Hammer Out The Hate Tour featuring two of Napalm Records’ up-and-coming bands.

To get fans ready for this hard-hitting tour Product Of Hate have just released a new video for "...As Your Kingdom Falls".  This special "Tour Edition" video was shot and edited by Josh Apple and filmed during Product Of Hate’s spring tour with Mushroomhead, Madame Mayhem and Sumo Cyco.  The video features members from all of the bands, support crew and fans on stage.

About the video, front man Adam Gilley comments: "We decided to put together a live video using footage shot during our spring tour with Mushroomhead. Set to a fan-favorite track from our debut album, this video gives viewers an idea of the energy that we bring to the stage each and every night, especially for those who have never seen us live. Product of Hate is a band that is all about the live concert performance. It's very important to us to make sure that we are giving the fans what they deserve - a killer show, whether we're playing in front of 50 people or 5,000."

Singaporean grindcore trio Wormrot are streaming the new track "Fake Moral Machine".

The track is taken from Voices, which is due to be released worldwide on October 14th and features 20 raging new songs of pure grindcore insanity.

After a 5 year hiatus, Wormrot are finally back, and will be touring in support of their new album, Voices. The Voices EU/UK tour kicks off on February 22nd in Antwerp, Belgium, marking the band's long-awaited return to the continent.

Wormrot guitarist Rasyid comments: "We're excited for our first tour in years and it feels like returning to where it all started.  We'll be playing most of Voices and some old ones, and we hope to see the same crazy crowd as before."

Tour dates:

February
22 - Antwerp, Belgium - Het Bos
23 - London, UK - The Underworld
24 - Manchester, UK - Rebellion
25 - Leeds, UK - Temple of Boom
27 - Hamburg, Germany - Hafenklang
28 - Berlin, Germany - Cassiopeia

March
1 - Vienna, Austria - Viper Room
3 - Tilburg, Netherlands - Netherlands Death Fest

The new album is the first to feature Wormrot’s new drummer, Vijesh, who brings a fresh and fitting sound to one of the most original bands in the grindcore scene. Combined with Rasyid's godlike grind riffage and Arif's distinct vocals switching effortlessly between deep guttural growls and rasping screams, the band's third full-length goes far beyond expectations from a band that already can seemingly do no wrong.

Tracklisting:

“Blockhead Fuck Off”
“Hollow Roots”
“Exit Fear”
“God’s In His Heaven”
“Oblivious Mess”
“Descending Into The Unknown”
“Dead Wrong”
“Fallen Into Disuse”
“The 1st Syndrome”
“Shallow Standards”
“Fake Moral Machine”
“Forced Siege”
“Take Aim”
“Still Irrelevant”
“Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Grind”
“Compassion Is Dead”
“Buried The Sun”
“Defaced”
“The Face Of Disgrace”
“Outworn”

"Fake Moral Machine":

"Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Grind":

“Fallen Into Disuse” video:

Studio video:

NYC death metal outfit Crator have announced the official release of debut album The Ones Who Create: The Ones Who Destroy. The album is now streaming on Bandcamp.

Featuring drummer John Longstreth (Origin), vocalist Jason Keyser (Origin), guitarist Jeff Leifer (Tentacles), and session bassist/engineer Colin Marston (Krallice), Crator plays a belligerent anti-form of technical death metal. Those seeking a truly fresh, mind-bending, and utterly destructive brand of tech-death are strongly encouraged to give this band a listen. Ready yourself for the sounds of subterranean howls, clashing machinery, putrefied harmonies; in other words, the sounds of an accursed death force sharpening its blades for 2016.

The Ones Who Create : The Ones Who Destroy was recorded at The The Thousand Caves in Queens, NY. Colin Marston also handled all engineering and mastering duties, as well as contributing session bass to the effort. The brand new beast of an album was produced by Leifer.

Tracklisting:

“The Ouroboros Is Broken”
“The Judge On War”
“The Ones Who Create, The Ones Who Destroy”
“The Great Stagnation”
“The Sixth Genocide”
“The Noble Lie”
“The Collective”
“The Echo That Conquers Voice”
“The Unquiet Sky”

“The Judge On War”:

San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal band, Death Angel, recently performed live on the EMGtv stage. Off their recent album, The Evil Divide, watch the band play "Father Of Lies" below:

Check out another performance, of "Let The Pieces Fall":

Death Angel recently uploaded this new video in support of their fan club, The Pack.

“If you've made it this far you probably know who we are... and maybe we know who you are. A while back we asked our fans what they wanted from a Death Angel fan club. We listened! Then we went beyond that. We're taking the best about a traditional fan club and the best of today's social technology and smashing them together to explore new and better ways to keep the Death Angel story going, and we invite you to become part of our story. This is only the beginning. New features and surprises will be released here as we go along.

“This is The Pack. This is about unity. We can make this place what we all want it to be.”

Check out the video below, and join The Pack at this location.

Death Angel have kicked off an epic run of live dates supporting Slayer and Anthrax. The tour is set to run through October 30th, and will ravage over three dozen cities and includes a glut of headlining shows scattered throughout the trek.

Comments vocalist Mark Osegueda, "I can honestly say this is the most excited, anxious, and yet focused Death Angel has ever been about any tour in the band's entire history. Slayer, Anthrax, and Death Angel! What an amazing bill for metal fans! We also have the extreme pleasure of doing shows supporting Anthrax on this run as well. But what will bring us the most excitement is the bond we have with all the hardcore Death Angel fans out there and we look forward to solidifying that bond with all the headlining shows we have on this run. We have new songs! We are focused, well-rehearsed, and anxious to deliver a lethal performance every night we step on that stage. Thank you once again for giving us the opportunity to do so."

Find Death Angel’s complete live itinerary at this location.

Dario Mollo’s Crossbones will release their new album, Rock The Cradle, on December 2nd.

Best known for his partnerships in the The Cage with Tony Martin (ex-Black Sabbath) and Voodoo Hill with Glenn Hughes (Black Country Communion, Deep Purple, California Breed), Italian guitarist Dario Mollo began his career in 1981 with the band Crossbones. With them, he released his first studio album in 1989, which was produced by Kit Woolven (Thin Lizzy Official, Magnum and UFO, among others) before getting involved in the production side of things himself.

For this new Crossbones album, the Italian axeman brought back original drummer, Ezio Secomandi with the lineup completed by his regular collaborator Dario Patti on bass and keyboards. The choice for the singer was Carl Sentance (Nazareth, Don Airey Band, Persian Risk, Krokus), who came at the suggestion of Don Airey of Deep Purple, during a recent visit to Dario’s home.

“I think this record has a strong identity and character,” says Dario. “It is a mature production and the songs range on many styles of hard rock and classic heavy metal, but every song has a catchy chorus. I also think this album shows how much I liked working with Carl. He is easily one of the best singers I have ever worked with. I am certain our cooperation will not end with this CD!”

Rock The Cradle tracklisting:

“Red”
“Take Me High”
“Navigation”
“Rock The Cradle”
“Gates Of Time”
“I Got This Feeling”
“In My Blood”
“Running From The Shadow”
“Speed”
“Fright”

German melodic death metallers, Nothgard, will release their third album, The Sinner‘s Sake, on September 23rd via NoiseArt Records. A music video for the album’s title track can be seen below.

Says the band: “Finally it’s done! The last video is unleashed. What a heavy spring and summer… But it was worth it. This video is the visual fulfillment of our title track “The Sinner’s Sake”. I am more than happy because this is no common performance video. This is real art and again it was done by Motion Bakery. Thanks again for your great job! We love it and I am sure our fans will love it, too. Nothing more to say, except the fact that I am more than happy, that our new album will be released in just two days – on September 23rd and it’s gonna be killer! Make sure to check it out.”

Founded in 2008 by singer and lead guitarist Dom R. Crey (from Equilibrium), Nothgard drag along the winning ways since their debut album Warhorns Of Midgard from 2011. The high technical quality of their guitar work and the epic orchestration of their melodic death metal elates fans and critics alike. In 2014, the band released another epic milestone of deadly metal, memorable melodies and influences from both neo-classical and folk music called Age Of Pandora. In the meantime, Nothgard became members of the NoiseArt Records family, who will escort their new masterpiece The Sinner‘s Sake on the band‘s way to the top of the melodic death metal throne.

Starting with an imposing blockbuster intro, The Sinner‘s Sake bestirs itself as a fantastic giant. Deadly rifs meet playful, catchy lead guitars, while the epic orchestration arranges for a cinematic atmosphere that will bring goosebumps to your skin. Completed by Dom R. Crey‘s raw vocals, Nothgard‘s sound is both stormy-spectacular and full of a sublime atmosphere. The top-class guest list on The Sinner‘s Sake adds another special mark to the album. None other than guitar virtuoso Jef Loomis (guest solo on “Iron Sights”), Jen Majura (guest vocals in “Sin Eater” and “Draining Veins”) and Robert “Robse” Dahn (additional growls in “Death Unites”) show up to leave their marks on the respective songs.

With The Sinner‘s Sake, Nothgard set of into the most spectacular chapter in the band‘s history so far. The songs that are spiced with cinematic elements will show Nothgard‘s intoxicating vibe on an entirely diferent level both in the stereo system and live on stage.

Special guests on the new album include Jeff Loomis from Arch Enemy, Jen Majura from Evanescence and Robse from Equilibrium.

Tracklisting:

“Glittering Shades” (Intro)
“From Lambs To Lions”
“The Sinner‘S Sake”
“Iron Sights”
“Death Unites”
“Shadow Play”
“Descendants Of The Sun”
“Last Child Standing”
“Draining Veins”
“When Gods Cry”
“Sin Eater”

Preview Part 1:

Preview Part 2:

“Draining Veins” video:

In support of the upcoming release, the band will tour Europe this fall with German epic metal pioneers Equilibrium, Dutch folk metallers Heidevolk and German Black Forest metallers Finsterforst.

Tour dates:

September
22 - Nürnberg, Germany - Hirsch
24 - Leipzig, Germany - Hellraiser
25 - Prague, Czech Republic - Nova Chmelnice
26 - Wien, Austria - Szene
30 - Berlin, Germany - Bi Nuu

October
1 - Bochum, Germany - Matrix
2 - Eindhoven, Netherlands - Dynamo
11 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
12 - Vosselaar, Belgium - Biebob
13 - Colmar, France - Grillen
14 - Karlsruhe, Germany - Substage
15 - München, Germany - Backstage
16 - Dornbirn, Austria - Conrad Sohm

According to MylesKennedy.fr, ALTER BRIDGE frontman Myles Kennedy played an acoustic set at Hard Rock Café in Paris, France on September 8. He was in Europe doing promotion for ALTER BRIDGE's new album, "The Last Hero", and a free gig was planned to finish the day in Paris. ALTER BRIDGE guitarist Mark Tremonti was supposed to be there too, but he couldn't make it because of the hurricane in his home state of Florida.

The setlist was as follows:

01. Before Tomorrow Comes 02. Rise Today 03. Show Me A Leader 04. Watch Over You 05. Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen cover)

Check out video footage below.

"The Last Hero" is due on October 7 by Caroline Records in the United States/Canada and Napalm Records throughout the rest of the globe.

"The Last Hero" is now available for pre-order via iTunes, Amazon and Google Play. Fans who order the album will receive an instant download of "Show Me A Leader". The album is also available in various fan bundles at www.Alterbridge.com/store.

"The Last Hero" was produced by longtime friend and collaborator Michael "Elvis" Baskette (SLASH, TREMONTI, TRIVIUM) and mastered by Grammy Award winner Ted Jensen. ALTER BRIDGE is heading out on select U.S. headline dates in support of "The Last Hero" and select ticket purchases will come with a digital album. The headline run kicks off September 22 in Destin, Florida. The band will also perform at a few festival dates this fall, including the inaugural Houston Open Air, Sonic Boom, Louder Than Life and the Tulsa State Fair. ALTER BRIDGE is Myles Kennedy on vocals/guitars, Mark Tremonti on guitars/vocals, Brian Marshall on bass and Scott Phillips on drums.

Fan-filmed video footage of ANTHRAX's September 18 performance at the Rock Allegiance festival in Chester, Pennsylvania can be seen below.

ANTHRAX has sold in excess of ten million units, received multiple gold and platinum certifications, six Grammy nominations and a host of other accolades from the media, industry and fans. In 1991, their music helped break down race and genre barriers when they collaborated with PUBLIC ENEMY on "Bring The Noise". And, of course, along with METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH, ANTHRAX helped pioneer the thrash/metal genre as a member of the "Big Four".

ANTHRAX's latest album, "For All Kings" sold 34,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 9 on The Billboard 200 chart.

ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante told The Aquarian Weekly that he was motivated to conjure a vintage ANTHRAX vibe during the early stages of writing "For All Kings".

"The first three or four songs I had for this record were flat-out thrash, a throwback to the old days, and they needed to be written," he explained. "I became possessed by my guitar. It was like my guitar was making me write these songs."

After penning the first few speed-laden tunes, the band chose to get adventurous.

"We wanted to explore different types of songs, and have this musical landscape that takes you somewhere from start to finish," Benante said.

ANTHRAX has joined forces with SLAYER and DEATH ANGEL for a seven-week North American tour. The trek kicked off in Cleveland on September 9.

Hevidence will release their debut album, Nobody’s Fault, on December 2nd. Hevidence is the brainchild of Italian guitar player Diego Reali, founding member of prog metal masters DGM. After he left the band in 2006, he started dabbling in some different musical styles, but his heart called for him to get back to metal. Thus Hevidence were born and Diego joined up with DGM bass player Andrea Arcangeli, singer Corrado Quoiani and drummer Emiliano Bonini.

"This band is highly inspired by the classic hard and heavy sounds from the '70s and '80s, that's why we worked hard to make this album sound the most vintage that was possible,” says Diego. “We are convinced that a huge dose of improvisation during the recording sessions is needed for the success of an original product. Everyone of us has many different musical influences and they came out in a very spontaneous way within the song writing process, we just believe in the word "ROCK"!”

Hevidence offer a mature and personal vision of hard rock and metal with a style reminiscent of the classic Official Yngwie Malmsteen albums mixed with power metal and melodic hard rock influences (think early Europe). An EPK where you can learn more about the band and hear song samples is streaming below.

The band will be launching the album with a special Release Party show in Roma at the Jailbreak LiveClub on December 1st. More info here.

Nobody’s Fault tracklisting:

“Dig In The Night”
“Nobody' Fault”
“Miracle”
“So Unkind”
“Ave Maria”
“Overdrive”
“I Want More”
“Out Of This Time”
“Pack Your Bags”
“All I Ever Needed”
“Note”

EPK:

Hevidence is:

Corrado Quoiani - Vocals
Diego Reali - Guitars
Andrea Arcangeli - Bass
Emiliano Bonini - Drums

Italian hard rockers Soul Seller return with their second album, Matter Of Faith, out now via Tanzan Music. Audio samples for all tracks on the album are streaming below.

This new record produced by Alessandro Del Vecchio (Hardline, Revolution Saints), is powerful, it's pure hard rock with great melodies. Matter Of Faith features 12 tracks and a brand new lineup.

Tracklisting:

“Neverending”
“Given To Live”
“Tide is Down”
“Memories”
“Get Stronger”
“Echoes From A Distant Future”
“Get Away From The Light”
“Alchemy”
“Wipe Your Tears Away”
“Matter Of Faith”
“Strangers Apart”
“Made Of Stone”

Song snippets:

EPK:

Trailer:

Soul Seller lineup:

Eric Concas - Lead & Backing vocals
Cris Audisio - Lead, Rhythm & Acoustic Guitars, Backing vocals
Dave Zublena - Rhythm & Acoustic Guitars, Backing vocals
Mike Zublena – Bass
Simone Morandotti – Keyboards & Programming
Italo Graziana – Drums & Backing vocals

(Photo - Soul Seller Facebook)

ENTOMBED and PledgeMusic today invite fans to be part of the band's special dual performance at Malmö Live in Malmö, Sweden on November 12. The event reunites original ENTOMBED members Alex Hellid (guitar), Uffe Cederlund (guitar) and Nicke Andersson (drums) for a full rendition of their groundbreaking 1991 album "Clandestine". A number of unique and rare items are available in addition to exclusive apparel and a stunning full HD 5.1 sound CD/DVD digibook of the historic performance. The show will follow the band's headline appearance at the now-sold-out Close-Up Båten cruise, leaving Stockholm on board M/S Silija Galaxy on October 27. Hellid comments: "The support that we got from fans around the globe for our first campaign a few years ago still amazes me. Without that support, our idea to make special editions of several of our albums would not have been possible.

"Fans having a deep-rooted connection to ENTOMBED is similar to the way we feel about bands we grew up with. It's a great driving force and motivator for us; it truly means a lot and really makes us happy.” Sitting in first with conductor Josef Rhedin and the 100-plus member Malmö Symphony Orchestra for Thomas Von Wachenfeldt's arrangement of "Clandestine", the band will then perform the treasured album in its entirety for the very first time. Hellid notes: "'Clandestine' is a complex beast. Revisiting it 25 years later is definitely something special."

Decibel magazine will induct the album into its Hall Of Fame series in their December issue. Editor Albert Mudrian says "Clandestine" is "one of the greatest death metal records — Swedish or otherwise — of all time." BLABBERMOUTH.NET first announced the trio's assemblage earlier this year. Since then, fans have questioned the possibility of new material from the death metal pioneers. Cederlund asserts: "We're not going to do big world tours. Right now we have these two shows booked and we're taking it from there. We have been re-recording old stuff to see how we sound today — and we like it. Time is flying faster as I get older and I would love to be part of a new ENTOMBED album. I'm open for it." Andersson notes: "We realized it's been 25 years since 'Clandestine' first came out and we never properly performed it live. It's about damn time! I wanted to be part of the earlier orchestra shows but schedules clashed. This time the stars aligned such that we can do both the eerie cinematic Christopher Young-style ('Hellraiser') set, where we sit in with the orchestra, and then the full-on original performance as a band. It's an awesome way to celebrate." "Just getting into a room with Nicke and Uffe is exciting," notes Hellid. "Getting back on stage will be amazing. We find profound joy in looking for, creating, and shaping ENTOMBED. It is an immense rush making all the bumps along the way well worth it. Fans can view the PledgeMusic campaign here. Additional items are planned to be added as the campaign progresses; fans are urged to revisit regularly as new items are revealed.

The ENTOMBED band that will perform on the Close-Up Båten cruise and in Malmö is not to be confused with ENTOMBED A.D., which features ENTOMBED vocalist Lars Göran Petrov alongside Olle Dahlstedt (drums), Nico Elgstrand (guitar) and Victor Brandt (bass).

Hellid and Petrov have been embroiled in a legal battle over the ENTOMBED name for several years. In 2014, Petrov was awarded the right to use the band name in connection with future recording and touring activities, a decision which Hellid appealed without success. The guitarist then went on to register a trademark for beverage production under the "Entombed" name. This move did not sit well with Hellid's former bandmate, who filed a letter of protest against Alex's registration of the name, claiming that it could be confused with band activities. He also said that Hellid acted in "bad faith" when he registered name and that there was a desire to "deceive the public." Petrov's protest, however, found no favor with the Swedish Patent And Registration Office, which rejected his claims on the issue in a March 8 ruling.

ENTOMBED A.D.'s second album, "Dead Dawn", was released on February 26 via Century Media.

Camerons Brewery has teamed up with legendary rock band MOTÖRHEAD and Global Merchandising Services to create an exciting new collaboration beer. The North East brewer has been working alongside the band to develop the beer over the last few months and are looking to launch later this year.

The beer will be called Road Crew — chosen from the MOTÖRHEAD fan favorite "(We Are) The Road Crew", which appears on 1980's "Ace Of Spades" album and was penned as a tribute to the band's dedicated team of roadies. With lines like "Another beer is what I need," the name fits perfectly for a beer everyone can enjoy.

Road Crew, which will be available in keg, cask and bottle, is based on an American-style session pale ale and will have an ABV of 4.5% (5% in bottle).

Band members Mikkey Dee and Phil Campbell have played a key part in the development of the beer.

"I'm proud to have been able to develop this beer with Camerons. The trials we have tasted have been great. We wanted this to be an exciting and refreshing brew which is for you, our Road Crew," Mikkey said.

"It has been great fun working with the guys from Camerons on this beer. This is going to be an excellent beer for all MOTÖRHEAD and rock fans around the world to enjoy," added Phil.

Chris Soley, chief executive at Camerons, said: "We are delighted to work with the guys from MOTÖRHEAD to create a collaboration beer from scratch. We've spent a lot of time working together to brew something innovative and sampled a wide range of different styles to ensure we did justice to the MOTÖRHEAD name. Our primary objective was to create a fantastic tasting beer underpinned by the MOTÖRHEAD branding. Although still in the trial phases of the Road Crew beer, we're confident that what we've started so far will achieve this."

"It's a fantastic partnership for Camerons Brewery and complements our growing Head of Steam pub brand, which we're looking to expand to further cities across the U.K.," Chris added.

Camerons will be celebrating the launch of the beer in a North East and also a London location later this year.

Former ACCEPT guitarist Herman Frank will release a new solo album, "The Devil Rides Out", on November 18 via AFM. It will be made available as a CD, limited digipak (including a bonus track), limited silver vinyl and limited box set. The CD was produced by Frank and mixed by Charlie Bauerfeind (BLIND GUARDIAN, HAMMERFALL, HELLOWEEN). It combines Frank's masterful guitar work with the raspy vocals of Swedish powerhouse Rick Altzi (MASTERPLAN, AT VANCE), the powerful drumming of Andre Hilgers (ex-RAGE) and the talent of Michael Müller (JADED HEART) on bass.

Without any doubt, Frank is one of the most prestigious German metal guitarists of the past 30 years. His dynamic compositions with their raging riffs, hooks and intelligent virtuoso solos have graced not only the works of the German cult band VICTORY, which he founded in the mid-Eighties, and MOON'DOC, but also as a member of the legendary ACCEPT in the early Eighties, appearing on a number of important songs on their classic "Balls To the Wall" album before returning to the band in 2005 and staying for another nine years.

Shortly before his exit from ACCEPT was made official in December 2014, Herman gave an interview to Metalholic in which he spoke about his frustrations at being unable to contribute to the band with his songwriting. He said: "[I've been writing] songs [for] 30 years, since I began my music career [in] a school band. And it's a shame that I can't show my talent [by] writing a couple of ACCEPT songs. I really would like to write some songs [for ACCEPT], but Peter [Baltes, ACCEPT bassist] and Wolf [Hoffmann, ACCEPT guitarist] decided, 'We are ACCEPT and we wanna do it [on] our own.' So why should I stop, 'cause I'm playing in ACCEPT, to write songs? I wrote songs for VICTORY, for HAZZARD, for MOON'DOC, for my two solo albums… for so many bands, you know. It's normal that I don't stop [writing songs]. PANZER and all these other bands give me a chance to just put out my music, which is in my head, you know?!"

The official lyric video for "The Wilde Flowers", a brand new song from Swedish progressive metallers OPETH, can be seen below. The track is featured on the band's highly anticipated twelfth studio album, "Sorceress", which is scheduled for release on September 30 via the band's imprint label Moderbolaget Records with Nuclear Blast.

Speaking with Metal Hammer, OPETH vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt said about "The Wilde Flowers": "This was the first song I wrote for this album. It's kind of an OPETH standard, in a way, like from the last two albums. It's very dynamic. It has a chorus, I guess. Then there's a big QUEEN-sounding bit in the middle just before this massive solo… oh, and harps! They're hidden in the mix but they're there. The title comes from the band CARAVAN – they were originally called WILDE FLOWERS. I always liked those weird spellings."

For "Sorceress", OPETH returned to Rockfield Studios in Wales, also home to pivotal releases from QUEEN, RUSH and JUDAS PRIEST, where the Swedes had tracked "Pale Communion" in 2014 with Tom Dalgety. The band spent twelve days recording at the countryside venue among its serene and inspiring surroundings. The result is nothing short of a powerful and intriguing record that will add yet another layer to the band's celebrated career.

"The new album 'Sorceress' is our twelfth studio album since our beginnings in 1990," said Åkerfeldt. "I find it difficult to understand that we've been going on for twenty-six years, let alone that we've made twelve records now, all of which I am very proud of. 'Sorceress' is no exception.

"I love this album, as does the whole band. I wrote the music during five-six months and we spent only twelve days recording it at Rockfield studios in Wales.

"I find that once again we've taken a step forward. Or sideways, Or backwards. Somewhere!? It's different! It's extremely diverse. And if I may say so myself, extremely good. I feel the right to say that since I like to think I know this band better than anyone on the planet. Also, I always manage to detach myself from the record and listen as a fan.

"It's a fine little record. My favorite in our discography right now. Of course. That's how it should be, right? It's both fresh and old, both progressive and rehashed. Heavy and calm. Just the way we like it. Hopefully there'll be others around the globe sharing this opinion. It was a joy to make it. A fucking joy to record it, and a sheer joy listening to it. So there you have it!" "Sorceress" track listing:

01. Persephone02. Sorceress03. The Wilde Flowers04. Will O The Wisp05. Chrysalis06. Sorceress 207. The Seventh Sojourn08. Strange Brew09. A Fleeting Glance10. Era11. Persephone (Slight Return)

OPETH has announced a North American headline tour, set to kick off with a performance at Ozzfest Meets Knotfest on September 24 in San Bernardino, California. The tour, with THE SWORD as support, will continue through the following month before wrapping up on October 26 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Band photo credit: Stuart Wood

GAMMA RAY drummer Michael Ehré (pictured) will replace Kosta Zafiriou at UNISONIC's last show this year, on September 23 at Bulgaria's Lovech Rock Fest.

Says UNISONIC bassist Dennis Ward: "After Kosta announced his departure from the band and retirement from professional metal drumming early September, we thought Michael is the perfect choice for now: He's a great drummer, a very nice person and Kai's [Hansen] bandmate in GAMMA RAY. We toured together in the past and he is familiar with UNISONIC's live set. During the first rehearsals he already did an exceptional job and we look forward to play the show with him! After this last festival we'll take a longer break and will consider all options for UNISONIC's future."

Kosta announced on September 7 that he would "no longer be performing as a professional drummer anymore." He will continue to be involved with UNISONIC through his Bottom Row management and booking agency, which he runs with two partners.

In addition to Ward and Hansen, UNISONIC features former HELLOWEEN vocalist Michael Kiske and guitarist Mandy Meyer (ASIA, GOTTHARD and KROKUS).

UNISONIC's second album, "Light Of Dawn", was released in August 2014 via earMUSIC.

San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal veterans TESTAMENT have released the official browser game for the band's upcoming twelfth album, "Brotherhood Of The Snake".

Play up to 666 points to prove you're a worthy prospect for the brotherhood and keep on playing to get inducted and claim your spot in the global high score!

Go to this location to play.

"Brotherhood Of The Snake" will be released on October 28 via Nuclear Blast.

The cover was once again created by renowned artist Eliran Kantor, who also handled the art for the TESTAMENT's last album, 2012's "Dark Roots Of Earth", and also worked with bands like HATEBREED, SOULFLY and KATAKLYSM in the past.

"Brotherhood Of The Snake" was recorded under the watchful eyes of producer Juan Urteaga (EXODUS, HEATHEN, MACHINE HEAD), guitarist Eric Peterson and singer Chuck Billy and was mixed and mastered by British metal producer Andy Sneap (ACCEPT, ARCH ENEMY, CRADLE OF FILTH, KREATOR, MACHINE HEAD, MEGADETH).

Regarding the lyrical themes covered on "Brotherhood Of The Snake", Chuck told Metal Wani: "Well, it's kind of like a concept record. I know, going into it, the past records, I was writing songs that were more personal and there were topics that were kind of real — losing a family member or anything that's real; that's what we were kind of writing. And Eric really wanted to kind of get back to, 'Let's write some cool stories and cool words and cool lyrics.' And so I was, like, 'Okay, that's cool.' And then, I kind of, at the time, was watching a TV series; it was a show called 'Ancient Aliens' that was on once a week. And it showed a lot of the connection between aliens and religion. And it kind of got my attention, because there was different religions all around the world, different spots in the world, where there was always the same alien being with big heads and strange bodies and flying objects in the sky. And it kind of made me realize, wow, how, that many thousands of years ago, did they communicate and see these same things unless it was real, unless there's something about it. So it really made me think, maybe there is something to these aliens and our existence and religion and everything. And then I stumbled on to the 'brotherhood of the snake' and the story of that. And that was about a secret society over six thousand years ago that were out on a crusade just to dig down religions. And there was an alien king, Anu, who basically created mankind as a slave for them to mine the minerals and gold from our planet earth. So it was kind of, like, 'Wow!' From an 'Ancient Aliens' show to this… There's something there that we can kind of run on and get the lyrics going and tell the storyline about. So that kind of got the ball rolling."

TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider performed a special stripped-down version of the band's classic song "We're Not Gonna Take It" on the "Mancow Morning Show" on Chicago's classic rock station 97.9 The Loop. You can now watch video footage of his appearance below.

Snider's re-recorded acoustic version of "We're Not Gonna Take It" will appear on his new solo album, "We Are The Ones", which will be released on October 28 via Red River Records (distributed by BFD/RED). Produced by Grammy-, Emmy- and Oscar-winning songwriter Damon Ranger, the record is described by Dee as "an album that is think part FOO FIGHTERS, part IMAGINE DRAGONS, part THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS." He added: "Forget anything from the past. Most of my heavy metal fans are gonna hate it; I've abandoned my past to move forward."

Asked if there was one song that shaped the sound of this record, Dee told Billboard: "The first song [Damon] brought me was a song called 'We Are The Ones', which is the title track from the album. Thematically, Damon says it's the message of Dee Snider fighting back and rebellion... it's believing in yourself. The 'We're Not Gonna Take It' message is eternal and that should continue on."

Snider also talked about the album's first single, "Rule The World", which he said was "sort of a 'We Are The Champions'; it's a very big studio anthem. When you hear it, it's the kind of thing you can totally see Super Bowl time, the whole stadium lit up and it's an uplifting song about, 'With hands held high, we can rule the world,'" he said. "It's basically about everybody just joining together with love and peace, real positive."

"We're Not Gonna Take It" has been tapped as the official anthem for The Recording Academy's advocacy efforts, including the "Fair Play Fair Pay" act.

Dee is unapologetically energized about where he's going as an artist. "Music inspires that genuine enthusiasm," he said. " I'm not anti the past — I'm just not one of those guys sitting there singing about the glory days. To me, these are the glory days, and the days to come are the glory days. And this new record is the part of my next glory days."

SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser performed at the closing ceremony of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games Sunday evening (September 18) at Maracana Stadium.

The cultural program of the closing ceremony was structured as a concert, headlined by Ivete Sangalo and Gaby Amarantos, joined by Vanessa da Mata, Céu, Saulo Fernandes, Saulo Laucas, Kisser, Armandinho, Jonathan Bastos, the groups NAÇÃO ZUMBI and DREAM TEAM DO PASSINHO, and the funk singer Nego do Borel.

The opening segments featured blind drummers guided by a "visual metronome," a performance by Kisser set to a sequence featuring acrobats in wheelchairs, and a performance by Bastos — who was born without arms, and plays guitar with his feet.

Following the official handover ceremony, a cultural presentation was held to showcase Tokyo, host city of the 2020 Summer Paralympics.