California heavy rockers HIGH ON FIRE have released their new music video for the song "The Black Plot". Directed by visionary art freak Skinner (MASTODON) and visual effects team Hey Beautiful Jerk (RUN THE JEWELS, NINE INCH NAILS), the clip is an animated tour de force and a wild psychedelic fantasy epic.

"I wanted to make an animated short film with Hey Beautiful Jerk, I just didn't know how completely crazy it would get," says Skinner. "At first I thought we should do a real simple story with action fights to wear down the timing a little bit. But then I thought, fuck it, here's a super complicated story with a million characters and it's off-the-wall crazy and shit. Wanna do it?"

"This has definitely been the most challenging and the most rewarding project in the history of Hey Beautiful Jerk," adds the team of Mark Szumski and Gina Niespodziani. "Creatively, we did not make many concessions and we really pushed ourselves to see how far we could take this thing. It worked."

"The Black Plot" is taken from HIGH ON FIRE's latest album, "Luminiferous", which was released in June 2015 via eOne Music. The CD was recorded at Salem, Massachusetts' GodCity Studios with producer Kurt Ballou.

HIGH ON FIRE's celebrated albums "Snakes For The Divine", "De Vermis Mysteriis" and the aforementioned "Luminiferous", have just been issued on cassette for the very first time via eOne. The cassettes were released as a limited-edition bundle pack.

HIGH ON FIRE will tour North America this fall as direct support to Sweden's MESHUGGAH. The trek will kick off on October 11 in Atlanta, Georgia and run through November 6 in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Universally recognized as one of the most potent acts in music today, HIGH ON FIRE creates molten heavy metal that merges primal fury and aggression, blackened bombast and hall of fame heaviness. The group's seventh studio album, "Luminiferous" is a supersonic exercise in conquest by volume, delivering calculated catharsis as a volcano of revolving riffs and hailstorm of thundering drums combine to beam a blazing spotlight towards the future of modern metal music.

"We're doing our part to expose The Elite and the fingers they have in religion, media, governments and financial world downfall and their relationship to all of our extraterrestrial connections in the race to control this world," comments HIGH ON FIRE vocalist/guitarist Matt Pike. "Wake up, it's happening. All while we stare at a socially engineered lie we think of as normalcy. Unless we wake from the dream, there will come true doom."

Three years after the release of 2013's "Common Courtesy", A DAY TO REMEMBER have returned in grand style, entering The Billboard 200 at No. 2 with new album "Bad Vibrations". Per Billboard, it's also the best-selling album of the week and debuts at No. 1 on their Top Album Sales Chart and No. 1 on Billboard's Top Independent Album Chart, Top Rock Albums Chart and Hard Rock Albums Chart. As if that weren't impressive enough, "Bad Vibrations" also hit No. 1 on iTunes Top Album Chart and No. 1 in Australia and top 10 in the U.K. and Germany. As KROQ.com wrote in a recent feature: "A DAY TO REMEMBER is on a rocket ride and holding on with a death grip.” "Bad Vibrations"' chart success preserves an incredible streak for the band: over the course of the past several years, each of A DAY TO REMEMBER's releases have hit No. 1 on Billboard's Rock, Indie and/or Alternative Charts. The album, released on the band's own ADTR Records and distributed by Epitaph, got off to quick start with lead single "Paranoia", a track that shot straight to the top 10 at rock radio while amassing over 9.4 million Spotify streams with a companion video that's racked up over 6.2 million YouTube views. The quintet (vocalist Jeremy McKinnon, guitarists Kevin Skaff and Neil Westfall, bassist Joshua Woodard and drummer Alex Shelnutt) maintained momentum with a steady stream of preview tracks and videos, the most recent being "Naivety" and "Bullfight", and a summer-long tour where they've garnered critical acclaim playing to packed arenas and sheds alongside BLINK-182. "Thank you so much to everyone who picked up a copy of our new record 'Bad Vibrations'," said Jeremy McKinnon. "We went into this with no expectations and have been completely blown away with the support so far. We can't wait to play more of the material live. Big thanks to The Blasting Room, Andy Wallace, Andrew Wade, Epitaph, and Fly South Music Group for putting up with our shit, and helping us solidify our biggest release of all time. Having a team that works together is everything. Thank you all." In December, A DAY TO REMEMBER will head to Australia for a string of shows with support from OF MICE & MEN, followed by a performance at Knotfest Japan with DEFTONES, then a headlining run that'll take them to the U.K. (where they'll top the bill at London's Wembley Arena), Germany, Italy, France and more. "Bad Vibrations" was produced by Bill Stevenson (DESCENDENTS, BLACK FLAG) and Jason Livermore (RISE AGAINST, NOFX) and mixed by Grammy winner Andy Wallace (FOO FIGHTERS, SLAYER). A DAY TO REMEMBER has sold more than 1.5 million units, racked up over 400 million Spotify streams and 500 million YouTube views, racked up two gold-selling albums, three gold-selling singles (and one silver album in the U.K.) and sold out entire continental tours, amassing a global fanbase whose members number in the millions. All of which explains why Rolling Stone called them "An Artist You Need To Know." A DAY TO REMEMBER is managed by Mark Mercado and John Youngman at Fly South Music Group.

So-Cal rock trio Kyng is set to release their new studio album, Breathe In The Water, on October 7th via Razor & Tie. Produced by Machine (Lamb of God, Clutch) the album was recorded at The Machine Shop Recording Studio in Austin, TX and is the follow up to 2014's Burn the Serum.

Breathe In The Water is frontloaded with the type of impassioned vocals that erupt from the depths of the gut, unforgettable blues-soaked riffs, and pulverizing rhythmic clap. Driven by frontman/guitarist Eddie Veliz, the three-piece band also features drummer Pepe Clarke Magana and bassist Tony Castaneda. They take a no-nonsense approach to music: free of pretense, studio trickery and gimmicks. The result is a collection of songs that is real and raw, addressing themes of anger, loss and desperation. Original cover artwork by Conor Nolan reflects topics running throughout the album. Brian Blickle (Baroness) and Zach Blair (Rise Against) are guest collaborators.

"We were finally able to create a record that had zero stigmas to appease the industry. Every song on this record came from the depth of what Kyng truly is as a band. This album is far beyond anything that we have done in the past. Some of my best work resides in Breathe In The Water,” states Veliz.

Breathe In The Water tracklisting

"Pristine Warning”
“Breathe In the Water”
“Closer to the End”
“Follow Blindly”
“Show Me Your Love”
“Reckoning Part 1”
“The Dead”
“Bipolar Schemes”
“Hide From You”
“Song For A Broken Masque”
“The Beginning of What Was”
“The Battle of the Saint / Lines”
“Not Enough”
“What I’m Made Of / Reckoning Part 2”

“Pristine Warning”:

Kyng is set to hit the road this fall:
 
September
12 - Black Sheep - Colorado Springs, CO                          
14 - Limelight - Peoria, IL                                              
16 - Saint Vitus - Brooklyn, NY                       
17 - Revolution Rock Festival - New London, CT                  
18 - Monster Energy Rock Allegiance - Chester, PA                                           
20 - The International - Knoxville, TN#      
21 - The End - Nashville, TN                        
24 - Texas Mutiny - Dallas, TX                             
25 - Houston Open Air Festival - Houston, TX                                         
28 - The Town Ballroom - Buffalo, NY*                                        
30 - First Energy Park - Lakewood, NJ         *             

October
1 - Stage AE - West Pittsburg, PA*                             
2 - Champions Park - Louisville, KY                       
4 - House Of Blues - Lake Buena Vista, FL*                         
5 - The Buckhead Theatre - Atlanta, GA*                         
7 - Lincoln Theatre Street - Stage Raleigh, NC*                           
8 - Express Live - Columbus, OH*                    
10 - Metroplex - Little Rock, AR*                   
11 - Diamond Ballroom - Oklahoma City, OK*                            
12 - Sunshine Theater - Albuquerque, NM*               
14 - The Novo - Los Angeles, CA*
15 - Brooklyn Bowl - Las Vegas, NV*                   
16 - The Regency Ballroom - San Francisco, CA*                              
18 - Boulder Theater - Boulder, CO*                        
20 - Uptown Theater - Kansas City, MO*                 
22 - Anthem at Hard Rock Hotel - Sioux City, IA*                     
24 - The Blue Note - Columbia, MO                      
25 - House of Blues - Chicago, IL*          
27 - Orpheum Theater - Madison, WI*                       
28 - The Fillmore Detroit - Detroit, MI*                          
29 - Upstate Concert Hall - Clifton Park, NY*                 
30 - The Palladium - Worcester, MA*                   

November
1 - Old Rock House - St Louis, MO                        
2 - Downtown Lounge - Tulsa, OK                              
3 - Jakes Backroom - Lubbock, TX                         
4 - Lowbrow Palace - El Paso, TX

^ - with Anthrax
# - with Pop Evil
* - with Clutch and Zakk Sabbath

Arizona black'n'roll outfit Take Over And Destroy have released a track video for “Leave The Door”, featured on their upcoming self-titled album, due out on October 7th via Prosthetic Records. The new clip is streaming below:

With a penchant for horror and classic rock, Take Over And Destroy have propelled the boundaries with the ten tracks featured on their debut self-titled release. Merging their eerie post-punk atmospherics with a blackened rock'n'roll twist, the band's signature sound is completed by heavy deathrock, classic rock, doom and black metal influences scattered throughout each track.

Take Over And Destroy commented, "Our idea behind this album is that each song is crafted as a single and curated into a collection. From early Beatles singles collections, to Misfits & Black Flag collections. Each song is its own entity, but is part of a unified design. To accompany the album we wanted the visual elements to portray the same concept. A collage of individual images converge together to form a whole". The band continue to reveal, "The album includes a double sided cover, with collages on both sides of the packaging. Another dimension presents itself by turning the covers upside down; a new image emerges."

Tracklisting:

“By Knife”
“Leave The Door”
“Let Me Grieve”
“Separate From The Shadows”
“Out Of Frame”
“Red Ink”
“Job Coffins”
“Love Among The Ruins”
“Bring Me The Rope”
“Night Work Begins”

Studio Documentary Episode 1:

Album trailer:

“By Knife” video:

Produced by Bob Hoag (The Bled, Hour Of The Wolf) at Flying Blanket Studios, Take Over And Destroy will be offered in limited quantities on vinyl (black and purple/green swirl variants) and on CD. Pre-orders are currently available for US/CAN, and UK/EU.

Take Over And Destroy is:

Andrew Leemont- Vocals
Alex Bank Rollins - Guitar / Vocals
Pete Porter - Bass
Jason Tomaszewski - Drums

Trilogy, Brain Salad Surgery and Welcome Back, My Friends, To The Show That Never Ends are the next three classic Emerson, Lake & Palmer albums released by BMG on September 30th. This important event is part of an on-going comprehensive re-issue campaign that spotlights ELP’s nine studio albums as well as their live recordings and compilations. All ELP albums have been re-mastered and are available in a variety of formats including high quality CD, freshly cut vinyl LP and HD digital download. At the special request of Greg Lake, the LPs are presented on 140g vinyl to endure a superior, high quality sound.

The CD booklets contain extensive liner notes with new band interviews by legendary rock journalist Chris Welch and the audio has been re-mastered by world-renowned rock studio engineer Andy Pearce.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer was one of the most successful and innovative British groups of the 1970s. Blending different styles from rock to classical and jazz they were pioneers of a Progressive Rock genre currently enjoying a major resurgence in popularity.

The founding members were Keith Emerson, their superb keyboard virtuoso and composer, Greg Lake, lead singer, guitarist, bass player, composer and producer and Carl Palmer, percussionist and showman drummer. The group was formed in 1970 and made its debut at the Isle of Wight Festival, when their explosive stage act and dynamic music stole the show.

The trio went onto conquer the rock world as they embarked on massive stadium tours, sold over 40 million albums and enjoyed hit singles with “Lucky Man” and “Fanfare For The Common Man”. They delighted fans with spectacular shows that featured lyrical songs and epic arrangements like the 21-minute composition “Tarkus” now hailed as a Prog Rock milestone.

All of ELP’s first seven albums were UK Album Chart Top 10 hits, US Top 20 hits, and are Certified Gold by the RIAA. The first three - Emerson, Lake & Palmer, (1970), Tarkus (1971) and Pictures At An Exhibition (1971) - were re-issued by BMG on July 29th. The latest batch, to be released on September 30th, comprises Trilogy (1972), Brain Salad Surgery (1973) and Welcome Back, My Friends, To The Show That Never Ends – Ladies And Gentlemen - Emerson, Lake & Palmer (1974).

Trilogy - Trilogy was the group’s third studio album that shot to Number 2 in the UK and Number 5 on the US album charts in 1972. It has eight classical-rock numbers, including a joyful version of Aaron Copland’s “Hoedown” that would become the band’s signature tune, as well as Greg Lake’s US Top 40 hit single ballad “From The Beginning”.

One of the group’s own favourite albums, it is packed with exciting, challenging music, and is full of stunning musicianship, with Keith Emerson playing grand piano, organ and synthesizer with commanding expertise. “The Sheriff” shows his versatility when where he plays authentic ragtime piano.

Trilogy will be presented in a 2CD format. Disc 1 has the original 9 track 1972 album, as remastered in 2015. Disc 2 is an 11-track Alternate Album utilizing Jakko M. Jakszyk’s 2015 stereo mixes, with an alternate version of “From The Beginning” and a ‘live’ “Hoedown” from 1972. The LP version is cut from 2014 remastered files with the original sleeve and distinctive artwork faithfully reproduced, together with a foreword by Greg Lake.

Brain Salad Surgery - ELP’s boldest and most popular album. A massive best seller it represented the group at its best in terms of playing, production and creativity. The first release on their own label Manticore Records it dominated the charts and airwaves, reaching Number 2 in the UK and Number 11 on the US album charts.

Disc 1 of the 2CD set has the original 8 track 1973 album, presented in its 2014 re-mastered version. Among the highlights is Greg Lake’s superb vocal rendition of the much loved hymn “Jerusalem” and the ballad “Still…You Turn Me On” while Keith Emerson’s keyboard brilliance shines through the aggressive “Toccata” and extended concept piece “Karn Evil 9”.

Disc 2 is The Alternate Album with Jakko M. Jakszyks’ 2014 Stereo Mixes of 13 tracks including B-Side single versions of the tongue in cheek “When The Apple Blossoms Bloom In The Windmills Of Your Mind I’ll Be Your Valentine” and “Brain Salad Surgery”. Together with alternate versions of the “Karn Evil 9” tracks and an extract from a rare NME Flexi Disc, this will be of special interest to die-hard ELP fans and collectors.

The vinyl LP is cut for the first time from 2014 remastered files and the elaborate original sleeve is reproduced with a die-cut gatefold sleeve and fold out poster and a foreword from Greg Lake about the 140 gsm LP format.

Welcome Back, My Friends, To The Show That Never Ends – Ladies And Gentlemen - Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Originally released in 1974 as the first ever triple vinyl ‘live’ rock album, ‘Welcome Back My Friends…’ would reach Number 4 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart, the group’s highest ever placing in America. It was an artistic triumph, with superb in-concert performances of many of ELP’s finest compositions and arrangements capturing the adrenalin fuelled the atmosphere created during the band’s marathon 1973/74 Get Me A Ladder world tour.

Among the nine tracks are dynamic renditions of “Hoedown”, “Jerusalem”, “Toccata”, “Tarkus”, “Take A Pebble” and “Karn Evil 9” played with the zest of a band responding to ecstatic audience reactions.

The 2 CD set features a new 24/96 2016 remaster of the original 1974 release taken from the master tapes. As with all the CDs there is a booklet with liner notes by Chris Welch, including revealing new band member interviews. The vinyl LP version is a 2016 remaster of the original album and the original LP artwork is faithfully reproduced, with a die-cut triple gatefold sleeve and embossed logo. The CD and vinyl formats are accompanied by the first release of MFiT and HD digital versions of the original album.

Keith Emerson: “Emerson, Lake & Palmer are very proud to have brought this great music to a new generation of musicians and fans.

All of the Emerson, Lake & Palmer albums reissued by BMG are dedicated to the memory of Keith Emerson, born November 2, 1944 who died on March 10, 2016.

Pe-order links below:

Trilogy
- CD
- LP

Brain Salad Surgery
- CD
- LP

Welcome Back My Friends, To The Show That Never Ends – Ladies and Gentlemen – Emerson, Lake, & Palmer
- CD
- LP

Brujeria will release their fourth full length album, entitled Pocho Aztlan, on Mexican Independence Day (September 16th) via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. Today, the band has debuted a very NSFW video for the track "Plata O Plomo".

The term "Plata O Plomo" was popularized by Mexican and South American drug cartel leaders such as Pablo Escobar and translates into "silver or lead?". Meaning, "take the money (bribe) or take a bullet".

Pocho Aztlan is now available for pre-order in various formats and bundles from the Nuclear Blast web shop. Fans can also pre-order the album digitally via iTunes, Amazon and Google Play and receive the song "No Aceptan Imitaciones" instantly.

Pocho Aztlan tracklisting:

"Pocho Aztlan"
"No Aceptan Imitaciones"
"Profecia Del Anticristo"
"Angel De La Frontera"
"Plato O Plomo"
"Satongo"
"Isla De La Fantasia"
"Bruja-"
"Mexico Campeon"
"Codigos"
"Debilador"
"California Über Aztlan" (Dead Kennedys cover)

"Bruja-“:

"No Aceptan Imitaciones" lyric video:

Pocho Aztlan is the band's first release since Brujerizmo was released in 2000 via Roadrunner. It was recorded over the course of many years and at several studios around the globe. The end result was mixed by Russ Russell (Napalm Death, The Expolited).

Aside from headlining their own tour along Cattle Decapitation this October, Brujeria were recently added to the Ozzfest Meets Knotfest bill on September 24th at San Manuel Amphitheater and Festival Grounds in San Bernardino, CA. Find Brujeria’s complete live schedule at this location.

Brujeria is:

Juan Brujo - Vocals
Fantasma - Vocals, Bass
Hongo - Guitar, Drum Programming
El Cynico - Bass, Guitar, Vocals
Hongo Jr. - Drums
Pinche Peach - Vocals, Samples
Pititis - Female Vocals
A Kuerno - Guitar
Sangron - Backup Vocals
Guero III - Backup Vocals

Publicist UK have released a music video for “Telegraphing”, a track from the band's debut album, Forgive Yourself, out now via Relapse Records.

Originally conceived as a long-distance experiment, Publicist UK quickly and effortlessly became a fully functioning band. Featuring Dave Witte (Municipal Waste, ex-Burnt by the Sun, Discordance Axis, Melt-Banana), Zachary Lipez (ex-Freshkills), Brett Bamberger (Revocation, ex-East of the Wall), and David Obuchowski (Goes Cube, Distant Correspondent), many expected speedy, aggressive metal. Instead, the band defied expectations with Forgive Yourself by creating nine rousing songs that are as moody and melodic as they are heavy and driving. After writing and rough-recording songs from the band members’ respective homes in Virginia, New York, New Jersey and Colorado during its early days, Publicist UK released two demos. Shortly thereafter, the band signed to Relapse Records and recorded its full-length in New Hampshire at The Wild Arctic Studio with producer Dean Baltulonis.  

Obuchowski commented "We went into the studio full of inspiration and energy, intent on getting straight to work---no experimenting, no messing around,” said guitarist David Obuchowski. “Dean had the same mindset, and the album was recorded at a breakneck pace and completed in a matter of days. We feel like Dean captured not only the atmosphere and mood but that urgency too."

Tracklisting:

“Cowards”
“Slow Dancing To This Bitter Earth”
“Levitate The Pentagon”
“Blood Relative”
“I Wish You’d Never Gone To School”
“Canary”
“Telegraphing”
“You Are The Stars”
“Away”

“Cowards” video:

“Away” video:

“Levitate The Pentagon”:

German symphonic metal outfit Aeternitas have released a lyric video for “Madeline”, a track from their upcoming album, House Of Usher, to be released on October 21st via Massacre Records.

House Of Usher is a concept album based on the famous short story, The Fall Of The House Of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe. It was produced, recorded and mixed by Alexander Hunzinger at Serpina Studio, and mastered by Götz Kretschmann at Wonderlandstudio. Henning Basse produced the vocals at Vocalbase. The artwork was created by Kurt Wörsdorfer (aka Headcrime Artwork).

Tracklisting:

“Le Coeur”
“House Of Usher”
“The Prophecy”
“Roderick”
“Madeline”
“Fear”
“Forbidden Love”
“The Haunted Palace”
“Tears”
“Buried Alive”
“Can You Hear The Demons”
“The Fall”
“Falling Star”
“Open Your Eyes”
“Ethelred”

“Madeline” lyric video:

You can look forward to modern symphonic metal with complex orchestral arrangements and groovy rock parts, all held together by the strong and catchy voices of Alma Mathar and Oliver Bandmann.

British hard rock band, Doomsday Outlaw, have inked a multi-album deal with Frontiers.

Doomsday Outlaw is a ten-legged armageddon machine rolling out of the heart of the United Kingdom, coupling huge riffs and a killer groove with soaring blues vocals and tales of heartbreak and redemption. This hard rock five-piece came together piece by piece over the last two years, with everything clicking into place with the discovery of vocalist Phil Poole in the summer of 2015.

John, the band's drummer, says of Phil: "He's our ace in the hole. Everything else was in place with the songwriting and performance, but Phil has just taken the band to the next level.”

He joined the well-oiled unit of Steve Broughton and Gavin Mills (guitars), John 'Ironfoot' Willis (drums), and Indy (bass) and from there the band set out to bring their blend of heavy blues to the world at large.

The band initially released an independent debut album, Black River, in 2015, but knew that they wanted to showcase their new sound even more, so wasted no time in recording a couple of new tunes that summer. Those two tracks, "All That I Have" and "Wait Until Tomorrow", created a real buzz and the band knew that they wanted to start work on a full album as soon as possible. They spent the autumn gigging and writing before heading into the studio in the winter. The resulting album, Suffer More, was released in May 2016. The album featured fifteen tracks showcasing huge steps in songwriting and quickly gained rave reviews from around the world.

The band are currently hitting the road in support of Suffer More, as well as beginning work on the next set of tunes to unleash on the world.

"We have the luxury of having our own space, being based in a shack in the Derbyshire countryside. It's a bit like The Hills Have Eyes, but we spend our time working on tunes rather than trapping and eating unsuspecting tourists - which is probably for the best,” says Indy, the band's bassist. “Steve is insatiable...bringing in new riffs or complete songs every time we get together, and it's great to have the space we have to get as loud as possible and bash them into more monster tunes."

Suffer More saw the band compared favourably to heavyweight rock icons from Led Zeppelin to the Allman Brothers Band, Pantera to Alter Bridge, Black Stone Cherry to Iron Maiden - and Steve is unfazed by that. "We all listen to whatever we want and every listen is a learning experience. You're constantly learning about dynamics, creating moods, lyrics, production - seeing things you'd want to emulate and things you want to avoid. The comparisons have been great - hugely flattering, and we never see the same band twice, which is good. That says to us that we're not copying any band that's gone before. We are the sum of our musical influences, and also our life experiences."

Indy agrees: "We're always willing to try new things musically, and give them the Doomsday Outlaw stamp and make them new again. I love the bands we've been compared to, and love the challenge of beating that standard on the next album."

The next Doomsday Outlaw album will be released in 2017.

Doomsday Outlaw are:

Phil Poole - lead vocals
Stephen Broughton - guitar
Gavin Mills - guitar
Indy - bass and backing vocals
John Ironfoot Willis - drums

Spanish power metal outfit, Raven’s Gate, have revealed details for their new album, Blackstar Machinery, out in Spain on November 4th, and worldwide on November 25th.

The album was recorded, mixed and mastered at Novo Estudios and produced by Raven’s Gate. The cover artwork was created by Joe A. Arca and represents the development of the band’s music along with toothed wheels which represent the first album.

In words of the band: “It represents an unfolding at every level, both musical and visual, maximizing the hallmarks of the band. This supposes an evolution of the band, which is reflected and represented in the new show of Raven’s Gate”.

Blackstar Machinery tracklisting:

“Enter The Blackstar”
“The New Wave”
“Kill The Enders”
“Powerlife”
“Whirlwind”
“Nilybrium Fields”
“The Hollow”
“In Love With A Shadow”
“Dance Of The Scarecrow”
“Niagara”

The Art Gates Records team announce Trallery as the latest artist to become part of its increasing roster of talents.

Trallery - pronounced as Tragedy (/ˈtrædʒɪdi/)- is a metal band from Mallorca, Spain formed in 2009 with a wide range of influences in their sound ranging from thrash, death, groove metal to rock. The music of the band combines fast tempos, elaborated instrumentals, aggressive musicianship and powerful vocals.

It is in 2012 when the band enters Psychosomatic Recording Studio to record their first studio album, Catalepsy, which was recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by Miquel Àngel Riutort (Mega), known for his works with bands like Metalium, Cryptopsy, The Agonist, Threat Signal and Hirax, among many others.

During the launching process, Trallery participates in the national competition Wacken Open Air Metal Battle. After managing to beat the rest of bands in the preliminaries of the contest, Trallery won the national final in Barcelona and represented Spain in the international final in Germany at Wacken Open Air.

The band has been touring and playing shows since 2013 sharing stages with bands like Sodom, Lost Society, Crisix and Avulsed and performing in the biggest Spanish festivals.

The upcoming album, Spiritless, has been recorded at Psychosomatic Recording Studio, mixed and produced by M.À. Riutort (Mega) during December (2015), January and February (2016) and mastered by Hay Zeelen at Hay Zeelen Mastering Studio Mallorca, and will be released through Art Gates Records worldwide in November.

More info coming soon.

UK progressive act TesseracT have released a new music video for their track titled "Hexes”. Directed by George Laycock (Blacktide Phonic/Visual) and conceptualized by vocalist Daniel Tompkins and bassist Amos Williams, this is the second music video the band has released from their most recent LP, Polaris, which came out last year.

"Hexes represents a vivid dream and distant memory," says Tompkins. "One of holding onto the secrets between two people; a history shrouded in secrecy. To maintain the intimate and personal nature of the concept, we knew that we needed a video director that didn't simply understand the lyrics but someone who could connect to the intensity of the music, and was willing to work closely together in creating the right visuals.

"On first contact with Blacktide we knew that we had found the right team. The video was shot over four different locations scattered across the UK including Leicester’s National Space Centre, where we filmed some striking footage from inside a replica of the Columbus module from the International Space Station; shot in the early hours while the centre was closed to the public. Without a doubt Hexes is the most cohesive and impactful video we have made to date and we're extremely proud of the end result."

To coincide with TesseracT touring the US with Gojira this month, Kscope will be releasing a 2-disc tour edition of their studio album Polaris on September 16th.

The new 2016 edition of Polaris will be released with a bonus second disc Errai which features four re-worked tracks from Polaris – “Survival”, “Cages”, “Tourniquet” and “Seven Names”. The tracks have been re-imagined by the band’s long time live producer and sound engineer Aidan O’Brien. Along with the new song interpretations the cover art of new edition of Polaris has been given a 2016 make-over by artist Dan Mumford. “Survival” (Re-imagined) is streaming below.

He says on being asked to work on the project, "I've been lucky enough to contribute to various bits of TesseracT material since the Perspective EP back in 2012, but it was a thrill and an honour to be asked to have a much more involved role in working on reimagining four of the tracks from Polaris. Being given the chance to offer my interpretations of the songs at the core of these wonderfully nuanced and complex arrangements, as well as the chance to work closely with such talented musicians, was hugely exciting and I'm extremely proud of the results. It's still unmistakably TesseracT, but from an angle I think a lot of people won't have heard before."

TessaracT vocalist Dan Tompkins comments, “It's been fantastic to re-visit & re-work the vocals to some of the Polaris tracks from a different angle and with the benefit of time and space. The normal process of writing TesseracT songs starts with the creation of the music followed by the lyrical content; this time Acle and Aidan have stripped away the music and re-created the songs based around the vocals. As a result this has allowed much more breathing space between both and also highlighted much more detail in the performance.”

Tracklisting:

Disc 1
“Dystopia”
“Hexes”
“Survival”
“Tourniquet”
“Utopia”
“Phoenix ”
“Messenger”
“Cages”
“Seven Names”

Disc 2 – Errai EP
“Survival” (Re-imagined)
“Cages” (Re-imagined)
“Tourniquet” (Re-imagined)
“Seven Names” (Re-imagined)

“Survival” (Re-imagined):

The Polaris Tour Edition will be released as a 2 CD set, with Errai being released as a stand-alone 180g heavyweight clear vinyl with enclosed download code.

TesseracT dates with Gojira:

September
21 - Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore Silver Spring
22 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
24 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
25 - Atlanta, GA - The Tabernacle
26 - Orlando, FL - Plaza Live
27 - Tampa, FL - Ritz Ybor
29 - Austin, TX - Emo’s
30 - Houston, TX - House of Blues

October
1 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey Live!
3 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theatre
4 - Phoenix, AZ - Marquee Theatre
6 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
7 - San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
9 - Vancouver, BC - Vogue Theatre
10 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
11 - Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo
13 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
14 - Denver, CO - Gothic Theatre
16 - Minneapolis, MN - Myth Live
17 - Milwaukee, WI - Turner Ballroom
19 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit
20 - Toronto, ON - Sound Academy
21 - Montreal, QC - Metropolis
22 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
23 - New York, NY - Terminal 5

"All The Reasons You Live", the new video from the influential and iconic heavy metal band DIAMOND HEAD, can be seen below. The song is taken from the band's first album of new material in eight years, which was released on April 22. Titled "Diamond Head", the disc features an exciting new talent in singer Rasmus Bom Andersen.

In 2014, DIAMOND HEAD invited London-based, Danish-born Ras to join the band. Together they completed a European tour, which included appearances at Hard Rock Hell and Headbangers Open Air in Germany. The spark of creativity led the band to start working on the new album in January 2015.

Brian Tatler, founder of DIAMOND HEAD, said: "When we began talking with Ras about making a new record, he said we should write the songs as a band just like DIAMOND HEAD did at the beginning of our career. There's no substitute for writing together in the same room. We spark each other off and create something far bigger than we could have done individually."

Brian continued: "Ras has certainly renewed the energy within the band. I had no interest in doing another record, but after working with Ras on the European tour, that all suddenly changed. I wanted to make a record with him. He's a confident singer and he's not trying to fill anyone's shoes."

Speaking about the new DIAMOND HEAD album's musical direction, Brian said: "This new album has an echo of the early albums, but I always try to push our music forward somewhere new if possible."

Rasmus added: "All in all, this album was made with the band’s first fans foremost in mind, from start to finish. We wanted to write songs that would have ties to the best parts of the all the previous albums. We feel we have achieved what we set out to do and we hope everyone will hear and feel the DIAMOND HEAD spirit through this new eponymous record."

In general, the album lyrics focus on political and environmental themes, specifically warning that our world is in many ways leaning towards self-destruction. The opening and closing songs encapsulate these themes, while the body of the album explores subtopics in more depth, along with songs dealing with lighter subjects that aren't so heavy on the heart.

In a recent interview with EonMusic, Andersen recalled his "ruthless" approach to songwriting for "Diamond Head". He said: "I came in with some fresh ears, and almost like a producer, picked out the best bits. So when Brian said, 'Here's a lot of riffs, what do you think?' I was, like, 'That's fantastic, that's DIAMOND HEAD', or, 'That doesn't tie to DIAMOND HEAD, so let's run with these ones and see what else we can do.'

"I was quite ruthless. Brian came back to me after that conversation and said, 'That took a lot of balls for you to tell me that.' We ended up with this checklist to write this album according to."

Andersen added: "It really helped us to nail down what's going to make it to the album, and what's not going to make it to the album. It just made the politics of writing together as a band a really easy experience."

"Diamond Head" track listing:

01. Bones02. Shout At The Devil03. Set My Soul On Fire04. See You Rise05. All The Reasons You Live06. Wizards Sleeve07. Our Time Is Now08. Speed09. Blood On My Hands10. Diamonds11. Silence

Finnish folk metallers KORPIKLAANI have released a new digital single. The song "FC Lahti" is a very special track written in support of the 20th-anniversary of the band's local football team, FC Lahti, which plays in Finland's premier football division Veikkausliiga.

KORPIKLAANI's Jonne Järvelä states: "When I was asked if KORPIKLAANI would want to support the local football team playing at the top level in Finland, my answer was definitely yes.

"My first idea on how to take this forward was the thing that is important to us as a band, to write a song, a new official anthem for FC Lahti, and here it is now.

"Lyrics are not just about football, but also about love for your hometown without forgetting its history.

"I wish the fans of FC Lahti and everyone else too will like the song.”

Tomi Honkanen, the managing director (president) of FC Lahti, adds: "FC Lahti and KORPIKLAANI are two strong brands that generate strong emotions in Lahti and internationally.

"At FC Lahti, we highly value that KORPIKLAANI wears our colors and brings our great FC Lahti to the world. Lahti rocks!"

Order the song "FC Lahti" here.

KORPIKLAANI's latest album, "Noita", was released in May 2015 in North America via Nuclear Blast. Recorded at Petrax Studio with Aksu Hanttu producing, recording and mixing again, it is the band's first CD to feature new accordion player Sami Perttula, who played a very active role in the folk arrangements along with fiddler Tuomas Rounakari.

Italian hard rockers Soul Seller return with their second album, Matter Of Faith, out via Tanzan Music on September 19th. Check out an EPK (Electronic Press Kit) video, 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; the album release will be anticipated by the video for the first single, "Tide Is Down".

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”

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)

Munich, Germany-based power metallers, StormHammer, are streaming their new album, Echoes Of A Lost Paradise, in it’s entirety. The album was released on June 12th via Massacre Records.

The album was mixed by Mario Lochert and mastered by Jan Vacik at Munich's Dreamsound Studio. Jan Yrlund has created the cover artwork.

Echoes Of A Lost Paradise tracklisting:

“Remembrance”
“Glory Halls Of Valhalla”
“Fast Life”
“Echoes Of A Lost Paradise”
“Leaving”
“Bloody Tears”
“Holy War”
“Black Clouds”
“Into Darkest Void”
“Promises”
“Stormrider”
“The Ocean”

Album stream:

“Bloody Tears”:

(Photo - StormHammer Facebook)

Demon Music Group recently announced their second Saxon release, The Vinyl Hoard, out on October 28th. This vinyl box set is made up of four 2LP sets in gatefold sleeves. The outer slipcase box features a specially-commissioned, beautiful brand new cover painting by Saxon’s artist-in-residence, the legendary Paul Gregory.

This is the first release on vinyl for all of these live recordings, previously only released on CD or DVD, now presented on 180g gold vinyl, all in specially designed gatefold sleeves.

The Amazon exclusive edition, available for pre-order here, will contain a framable print of the front cover painting, signed by Biff Byford himself and is limited to just 500 copies.

Check out a new video trailer below:

The box contains:

- The Dogs Of War Tour, 1995 (Recorded on tour in Germany) [Previously issued on CD as The Eagle Has Landed Part II]
- The Lionheart Tour, 2004 (Recorded on tour in France, England and Germany) [Previously issued on "The Eagle Has Landed Part III]
- A Night Out With The Boys, 2005: The 25TH Anniversary Of The NWOBHM (Recorded on tour in Germany and Sweden) [Previously issued on The Eagle Has Landed Part III]
- Rock Sound Festival, 2006 (Recorded in Switzerland) [Previously issued on To Hell And Back Again]

Tracklisting:

Disc 1:
“Intro/Warlord”
“Dogs Of War”
“Forever Free”
“Requiem”
“Crusader”
“Lights In The Sky”
“Iron Wheels”
“Ain’t Gonna Take It”/Nibb’s Bavarian Bass
“Crash Dive”
“Refugee”

Disc 2:
“Solid Ball Of Rock”
“The Great White Buffalo”
“The Eagle Has Landed”/Paul Quinn guitar feature
“Princess Of The Night”
“Can’t Stop Rockin”
“Denim And Leather”/Doug Scarratt guitar feature

Disc 3:
“The Return”
“Lionheart”
“Man And Machine”
“Beyond The Grave”
“Searching For Atlantis”
“To Live By The Sword Part 1”
“Unleash The Beast”
“To Live By The Sword Part 2”
“Flying On The Edge”

Disc 4:
“Jack Tars”
“English Man O’ War”
“Court Of The Crimson King”
“Broken Heroes”
“Dragon’s Lair”
“Rock Is Our Life”
“Are We Travellers In Time”
“Solid Ball Of Rock”

Disc 5:
“This Town Rocks”
“Backs To The Wall”
“Redline”
“Stand Up And Be Counted”
“Never Surrender”
“Frozen Rainbow”
“Suzie Hold On”
“Play It Loud”

Disc 6:
“This Town Rocks”
“Backs To The Wall”
“Redline”
“Stand Up And Be Counted”
“Never Surrender”
“Frozen Rainbow”
“Suzie Hold On”
“Play It Loud”

Disc 7:
“Heavy Metal Thunder”
“Dogs Of War”
“Strong Arm Of The Law”
“Witchfinder General”
“Backs To The Wall”
“Solid Ball Of Rock”

Disc 8:
“Motorcycle Man”
“Dragon’s Lair”
“To Hell And Back Again”
“Princess Of The Night”
“Wheels Of Steel”
“Crusader”

Saxon will unleash Let Me Feel Your Power, their 10th live album, on September 23rd via UDR Music (out on October 7th for North America). The 16 track album was recorded in Munich during November 2015 and Brighton in January 2016, with bonus material from Chicago in September 2015. BraveWords is revving up “Wheels Of Steel” from the UK titans so hop on board and watch Saxon pump the engines of the title track from their heralded 1980 album.
 

Let Me Feel Your Power will be available in several formats, including DVD/2CDs, Blu-Ray/2CDs, digital download and a deluxe vinyl version which will also include the Blu-ray, DCD and CD (limited to 1500 copies). Preorders can be seen via the Amazon widgets below.

Tracklisting:

“Battering Ram”*
“Motorcycle Man”*
“Sacrifice”*
“Destroyer”*
“Power And The Glory”*
“20000FT”*
“The Devil’s Footprints”*
“Heavy Metal Thunder”*
“Queen Of Hearts”*
“Princess Of The Night”*
“Wheels Of Steel”*
“Denim And Leather”*
“Crusader”*
“Eye Of The Storm”#
“Battalions Of Steel”#
“Requiem”#

*live in Munich
#live in Brighton

Bonus Material (Live In Chicago):

“Motorcycle Man”
“Battering Ram”*
“This Town Rocks”
“Sacrifice”
“Power And The Glory”
“Solid Ball Of Rock”
“Dallas 1 PM”
“Heavy Metal Thunder”
“Rock The Nations”
“The Eagle Has Landed”
“Wheels Of Steel”
“Backs To The Wall”
“Just Let Me Rock”
“Strong Arm Of The Law”
“747 (Strangers In The Night)”
“Princess Of The Night”
“Crusader”*
“Denim And Leather”

*only available as video content; not available on CD or digital

German hard rock veterans SCORPIONS have announced the addition of former MOTÖRHEAD member Mikkey Dee as a permanent replacement for SCORPIONS' longtime drummer James Kottak. Dee had spent the last few months filling in for Kottak, who was said to be on break while he sought medical attention.

Said SCORPIONS in a statement: "We would like to thank James for so many years of lasting participation in the band and personal friendship. We understand and respect his need for time as he makes his way through the final stages of his healing process.

"After our incredibly successful shows in the U.S., Europe and Asia, we are sure to have found a fantastic drummer with Mikkey Dee. He brings a fresh energy to the band and we look forward to the exciting time together that lies ahead."

Said Dee: I feel truly honored and fortunate to be able to carry on playing drums on this level.

"I grew up listening to SCORPIONS and have always loved the band.

"We have been friends for a long time so traveling and performing this year with Klaus, Rudolf, Matthias and Pawel has been loads of fun and the crew is very professional.

"The SCORPIONS fans have been most welcoming and it's been great to meet all the crazy wonderful MOTÖRHEAD bangers along the way.

"I had some close to 25 amazing years with my friends and brothers Lemmy and Phil in MOTÖRHEAD and that will always be the backbone in my future drumming.

"Lemmy always had great respect for SCORPIONS for being a real rock band and I am sure he is proud up there that I moved on and for playing with this class act.

"Here's to many more years of rock and roll."

Regarding how playing with SCORPIONS is different from performing with MOTÖRHEAD, Mikkey said: "I played so long with MOTÖRHEAD, we were a three-piece, and that's a tremendous difference. For instance, when Phil [Campbell, MOTÖRHEAD guitarist] was doing his solo, I might have to be a little busier on the kick drum. Here [in the SCORPIONS], I've gotta think the opposite — I've gotta be easier on certain things and step into some other stuff. But it's a great challenge."

Kottak rejoined the SCORPIONS on the road in November 2014, eight months after he spent a month in a Dubai, United Arab Emirates jail in April for insulting Islam.

Kottak, who had been receiving treatment for alcohol abuse, released a statement in June 2014 in which he said "this entire incident caused me to realize that it is time to stop drinking once and for all so that I can become the father, musician, and friend that I know I can be."

For some of SCORPIONS' 2014 concerts, Swedish drummer Johan Franzon filled in for Kottak.

Dee was originally scheduled to play drums for THIN LIZZY on the latter band's anniversary shows planned for 2016 and 2017 but was forced to bow out of the dates after he was offered the SCORPIONS gig. He has since been replaced in that group's touring lineup by JUDAS PRIEST's Scott Travis.

Norwegian-based symphonic gothic metal veterans SIRENIA have announced the addition of singer Emmanuelle Zoldan to the group's ranks.

Commented the band: "Our cooperation goes back 13 years to the recordings of our second album 'An Elixir For Existence'. She has been a part of the choir on all our albums since then. She also did some lead vocals for the band on our EP 'Sirenian Shores', on our cover version of Leonard Cohen's song 'First We Take Manhattan'. And from now on she will also take the role as full time lead singer for SIRENIA.

"Emmanuelle is musically educated at Aix en Provence and Marseille Conservatories (4 years) and specialized at C.N.I.P.A.L Professional school of opera (2 years) She also made a career singing at various operas in France for many years and have collaborated with several bands and projects.

"Emmanuelle can handle lots of different musical styles and various techniques in addition to classical and opera, and this has had a big influence on our new album.

"The album was finished recently and we can't wait to share the music and our new sound with you.

"This is without doubt the most diverse SIRENIA album to date, and this album marks a new beginning and new direction for the band in many ways."

SIRENIA's new album, "Dim Days Of Dolor", will be released on November 11 via Napalm. Iit consists of eleven brand new songs plus one bonus track. The artwork was once again created by Gyula Havancsák from Hjules Illustration And Design. The CD was mixed at Hansen Studios in Denmark.

"Dim Days Of Dolor" track listing: 01. Goddess Of The Sea02. Dim Days Of Dolor03. The 12th Hour04. Treasure n' Treason05. Cloud Nine06. Veil Of Winter07. Ashes To Ashes08. Elusive Sun09. Playing With Fire10. Fifth Column11. Aeon's Embrace12. [bonus track]

Check out audio samples using the SoundCloud widget below.

SIRENIA parted ways with their Spanish singer Ailyn Giménez García in July for "personal reasons."

The band was forced to cancel a recent concert in the Czech Republic after Ailyn's mother died, "a tragic event that had an impact on [the singer's] health as well," the group explained. Another show in Kherson, Ukraine went ahead with the help of Zoldan. Fan-filmed video footage of that performance can be seen below.

Finnish death/doom overlords Krypts are set to return with their second full-length, Remnants Of Expansion. Dark Descent Records will release the album October 28th on CD, vinyl, cassette and digital formats. Preorders begin on September 22nd.

Three years may have passed since Unending Degradation, but Krypts have lost none of their excruciating power that made their debut album such a special one, erecting a bridge in between their homeland glorious and down-tuned early ‘90s glory and something even more sinister and doom-laden. 

Just like its predecessor, Remnants Of Expansion reeks of that ancient feeling but dives even deeper into the abyss. Clocking altogether at 33 minutes, there's something very majestic and solemn about its five songs.

“Entrailed To The Breaking Wheel”:

Remnants of Expansion by Krypts

Due to overwhelming demand, FM’s Indiscreet 30 album will see a formal commercial release on November 4th.

Thirty years after the release of their now classic debut album, FM decided to record a modern-day version of Indiscreet. FM were asked many times to consider re-recording the tracks on the album using today's modern technology and recording techniques to give the songs the "FM sound" of today.

Over the years, Indiscreet has deservedly won the reputation of being an iconic album for the band. FM always steered clear of the idea of re-recording it, but while in the studio recording the follow-up to their most recent release, Heroes & Villains, FM decided to put down a backing track to the song "That Girl" to see how it would feel with the huge sounds they were getting at the time. It gave the song a new dynamic and power that was not possible to achieve with '80s recording technology.

“We played it back the following morning and decided it would be great to hear all these classic songs with this new lease of life,” says bassist Merv Goldsworthy. “We are not trying to recreate the original, but this is our interpretation played by FM as we are today with the sound of FM 2016.”

In addition to the re-recording of the original album, Indiscreet 30 also features seven bonus tracks, including brand new song "Running On Empty" and a new recording of "Let Love Be The Leader".

Indiscreet 30 was produced by FM, recorded at Tremolo Studios and Coal House Studios, Staffordshire and mixed by Jeff Knowler.

Tracklisting:

“That Girl
“Other Side Of Midnight”
“Love Lies Dying”
“I Belong To The Night”
“American Girls”
“Hotwired”
“Face To Face”
“Frozen Heart”
“Heart Of The Matter”

Bonus Tracks:

“Let Love Be The Leader”
“Running On Empty”
“Rainbow's End”
“Shot In The Dark”
“Bad That's Good In You”
“Love & Hate”
“That Girl” (Acoustic Version)

The band will be honoring pre-orders received to date for delivery on October 28th as originally announced. The album will also be on sale during the band’s tour dates commencing October 28th at Wakefield Warehouse 23. For the Warrington Parr Hall show on Saturday October 1st, pre-orders will be taken at the merchandise stand.

Tour dates:

October
1 - Parr Hall - Warrington, United Kingdom
28 - Warehouse 23 - Wakefield, United Kingdom
29 - Rescue Rooms - Nottingham, United Kingdom
30 - River Rooms - Stourbridge, United Kingdom

November
11 - Razzmatazz 3 - Barcelona, Spain
12 - Sala Chango - Madrid, Spain
13 - RCA Club - Lisbon, Portugal
18 - Cardiff University Students' Union - Y Plas - Cardiff, United Kingdom
19 - Islington Assembly Hall - London, United Kingdom
 -  WinterStorm - Troon, United Kingdom

March
10 - HRH AOR - Pwllheli, United Kingdom

FM lineup:

Steve Overland - lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Merv Goldsworthy - bass, backing vocals
Pete Jupp - drums, backing vocals
Jem Davis – keyboards
Jim Kirkpatrick - lead guitar, backing vocals

"A Wannabe", the brand new Owe Lingvall-directed video from PAIN, the Swedish metal band led by multi-instrumentalist and producer Peter Tägtgren, can be seen below. The song is taken from the band's new album, "Coming Home", which was released on September 9 through Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2011's "You Only Live Twice" features cover artwork by Stefan Heilemann.

Since the beginning of his career in the early '90s, the Swedish allrounder has enjoyed diving into the extreme and has grown to be an untameable force. But this is exactly what makes him so fascinating. Taboos, creative stagnation, or genre boundaries have never existed in the world of the forty-six-year-old mastermind. And, of course, Peter Tägtgren wandered the same unexplored paths when the time came to forge "Coming Home", the eighth studio release of the industrial institution PAIN. However, the path was long and winding and therefore, the writing process for the follow-up of "You Only Live Twice" wasn't all fun and games, but Peter Tägtgren is well prepared for the fight:

"Sometimes you pull your hair out and lay sleepless all night long, because you can't figure out this one chorus or don't know how to finish a certain song," admits the singer and guitarist."That's just me: When I dive into it, there's no ending in sight. It's a self-destructive mechanism. But I want perfection — or I don't want it at all."

Therefore, it is no wonder, that PAIN delivers a revolutionary mix of styles on this new release — bizarre alternative metal meets electronic melodies — and, in addition, the band weave some spectacular orchestral arrangements into the tracks on "Coming Home", without risking any cheesy moments or overloading the songs. The result is ten highly addictive hymns with massive depth and experimentation. With the orchestrated portions, PAIN entered a new era and seeked assistance from CARACH ANGREN's Clemens "Ardek" Wijers, who added some magical final touches to Tägtgren's bombastic songwriting. But the album also has time to breathe with beautiful acoustic guitar intros appearing hand in hand with stormy moments, showing the band at the zenith of their creativity.

"Coming Home" includes drummer Sebastian Tägtgren, Peter's seventeen-year-old son who delivers an impressive guest appearance on the title track as well as SABATON's Joakim Brodén who joins the team for some typically raw warrior vocals on "Call Me".

But a PAIN release wouldn't be a typical masterpiece without some thought-provoking topics and tales: On the callboy-singalong "Call Me" and "Final Crusade", the band crawls through the deepest corners of society and the human mind, while "Absinthe-Phoenix Rising" is based upon an incident in Leipzig during PAIN's tour with NIGHTWISH, where the band was attacked and beat up after leaving an Absinthe bar. And of course, lovers of mystery and conspiracy theories also get their money's worth with "Black Knight Satellite". "Nikola Tesla, who invented the lightbulb, electricity, and other stuff, thought that he heard beeping sounds from space," Tägtgren elaborates of the track's inspiration, "It was around the year 1899 and it seemed like a message to him, a hidden code. He was the first one to discover it, but in the 1950s, when humans started to go into space, they heard the same noises and found out: There is some signal from a satellite out there… but it isn't ours. And as they started their research, they found out, that people had been talking about this phenomenon for around thirteen-thousand years. The story of this so-called 'Black Knight Satellite' is very fascinating to me. Whether it's true or not, I don't know. But it definitely inspired me to write these lyrics."

PAIN will hit the road for a full European headline tour this autumn. The band will join forces with the German gothic metal outfit THE VISION BLEAK.

SIXX:A.M. — the band featuring MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx alongside guitarist DJ Ashba and vocalist James Michael — will release "Vol. 2, Prayers For The Blessed" on November 18 via Eleven Seven Music. The album will be available for pre-order beginning October 14. Written and recorded at the same time as "Vol. 1, Prayers For The Damned", released earlier this year, the album acts as a companion piece to the first chapter while simultaneously elevating the band's sound in every area. From the outsider anthem "We Will Not Go Quietly" to the operatic show stopper "Maybe It's Time" and groove-driven, radio-ready rocker "That's Gonna Leave A Scar", "Prayers For The Blessed" displays the many sides of SIXX:A.M.'s sound, something that the band was able to develop by ramping up the amount of time they spent out on the road.

"We really found ourselves onstage and it's influencing the way we write," says Sixx. "We started focusing on our music not only as songwriters and lyricists but also stayed conscious of what would transfer over live to the audience."

Regarding the decision to split the "Prayers" project into two separate albums, James told The Aquarian Weekly: "When we set out to make two records, it was very intentional. We didn't want this to fall into that category that a lot of albums do, where it actually sounds like you went into the studio to one record, you have a few extra songs, you figured you'd polish them up and then you have a double album. We've all fallen victims to those albums before. This was a very different beast. It was very intentional. We thought of this as one big record, but then in a lot ways, we knew that we were going to be releasing them separately, so we did treat them separately, so they would stand alone. But we put so much effort and thought and care into every single note of both records and we wrote them both at the same time, and then figured out where each song made sense, so I think 'Vol. 2' is absolutely as strong, if not stronger than 'Vol. 1'. There are some songs on there that are really career songs. So, in a way, while we're so excited about 'Vol. 1' and the response that we're getting, we're also chomping at the bit for people to sink their teeth into 'Vol. 2' as well."

In a separate interview with Lehigh Valley Music, James stated about the decision to release "Vol. 2" so soon after "Vol. 1": "We didn't want to wait too long in between because they’re definitely connected. Both volumes certainly stand alone and are very satisfying bodies of work, but when they are experienced together, another layer of SIXX:A.M. and another of the messaging will be revealed. So it was important that we didn’t release them too far apart because they are connected, but we didn't want to release them at the same time 'cause that's an awful lot of music to absorb. And as you know, SIXX:A.M. music is — it's pretty heavy and it's pretty complex and deals with very, sometimes, difficult subject matter. So we wanted people to have time to absorb the messaging and absorb the songs before we then dropped a whole other album on them. But the reason we decided to do two records is we wanted to provide a lot of new music for people. We also kind of felt like we were playing catch-up in a way. 'Cause for the last ten years, we haven't been able to tour very much at all, and so we felt like, in a way, we were making up for lost time." Touring three continents this year, SIXX:A.M. are excited to bring their music in front of audiences globally and perform the songs from "Prayers For The Blessed". Taking their shows beyond the performance, the band made the announcement of "Prayers For The Blessed" during the first stop of their Canadian tour in Abbotsford, British Columbia and will be shooting the video for "We Will Not Go Quietly" off the new album with iconic director Wayne Isham during their show in Edmonton, Alberta on Saturday, September 17. That same day, fans will also get a chance to meet the band during an in-store album signing at the West Edmonton Mall. Hosted by HMV Canada, the event will be limited to fans with an official event wristband, obtained by purchasing, or displaying HMV proof of purchase of "Prayers For The Damned" or album by another one of the bands on the tour (FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, PAPA ROACH, FROM ASHES TO NEW).

SIXX:A.M. will continue to tour across Canada through September 18 with one dollar from each ticket sold on the tour going to the Canadian Red Cross to support their relief efforts. The trio will head back out on the road in October for their highly anticipated U.S. arena tour with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, SHINEDOWN and AS LIONS. The tour commences October 18 at Verizon Arena in Little Rock, Arkansas and includes stops Denver, Las Vegas, Anaheim and Philadelphia.

"Vol. 2, Prayers For The Blessed" track listing:

01. Barbarians (Prayers For The Blessed)02. We Will Not Go Quietly03. Wolf At Your Door04. Maybe It's Time05. The Devil's Coming06. Catacombs07. That's Gonna Leave a Scar08. Without You09. Suffocate10. Riot In My Head11. Helicopters

Ready for new Sixx:A.M.? #PrayersForTheBlessed coming soon... pic.twitter.com/Yib0wCZlIg

— Sixx:A.M. (@SixxAM) September 8, 2016

"Nihil Sine Causa", the new video from French modern metallers ETHS, can be seen below. The song is taken from the band's new album, which was released on April 22 via Season Of Mist.

Commented ETHS guitarist Stéphane "Staif" Bihl: "We are really glad to present you the first clip from our new album 'Ankaa' for one of our favorite tracks, which is called 'Nihil Sine Causa' — nothing without a reason.

"We deeply thank former ARKAN singer and celebrated actress Sarah Layssac and Jon Howard of THREAT SIGNAL for their contributions and investment. Heartfelt thanks go of course also out to Robin Levet and the entire EZDA Films team, Stephanie Capellini, Yann and Marseille's best rock bar La Maison Hantée for all the work accomplished — without forgetting Olivia, the dancers, and all the extras who really gave everything! I sincerely hope you will appreciate this clip as much as we took pleasure in the making of it."

"Ankaa" manages to keep the essence of ETHS, guided by Bihl, who also produced the album. Yet with new frontwoman Rachel Aspe and other changes in the lineup, there are new elements in the sound of the French act. The new album sounds more diverse and generally a touch darker. Electronic patterns find as easily a fitting place as a beautiful Arabic chant by guest vocalist Sarah Layssac (ARKAN). For this recording, former SOILWORK and current MEGADETH drummer extraordinaire Dirk Verbeuren stepped in and delivered a massive-yet-intricate pounding.

"Ankaa" track listing:

01. Nefas02. Nihil Sine Causa03. Amaterasu04. Seditio05. Nixi Dii06. Vae Victis07. HAR108. Sekhet Aaru09. Kumari Kandam10. Alnitak11. Alnilam12. Mintaka

ETHS in 2014 released an EP, "Ex Umbra In Solem", with Rachel Aspe. The EP's title track was a new song recorded, produced and mixed by ETHS guitarist Staif Bihl. It was backed by three classic ETHS tracks, recorded live on October 24, 2013 at the Divan du Monde in Paris, mixed by Nikhertz at Studio Phantom. Last but not least, the EP included three songs from the "III" album, re-recorded with Rachel's vocals.

ETHS in 2012 recruited Virginie Goncalves (KELLS) and Nelly Wood-Hasselhoff to handle lead vocals at the group's shows following the departure of Candice Clot.

Aspe made headlines in France in November 2012 when she performed the SYBREED song "Emma-0" on an episode of "La France À Un Incroyable Talent", the French reality television series which is part of the global British "Got Talent" franchise. Her death metal vocal styling stunned the judges and crowd before going viral and being seen by millions of people.

"It has always been my goal to be part of a band," Aspe told Rock Overdose. "One of the reasons I went to this TV show was to find one. [The show] was [taped] three months before I met ETHS, and [it originally aired shortly] after Candice left the band. So things came very fast for me. I had a job and it was hard to work on my vocals so quickly. I didn’t expect this success for the video; many bands contacted me, I did some [guest appearances] since that. People are continuing to share and comment on it."

Clot played her final show as a member of ETHS on October 13, 2012 at L'Arcade in Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon, France.

ETHS is:

Staif Bihl: guitarRachel Aspe: vocalsDamien Rivoal: bassR.U.L.: drums (live)Dirk Verbeuren: drums (album)

"Square Hammer", a brand new song from Swedish occult rockers GHOST, was premiered this morning on SiriusXM and can now be streamed at SiriusXM.com. The track, which can also be heard using the audio player below, will appear on the band's new EP, "Popestar", to be released this Friday, September 16. The effort, which consists primarily of covers, was helmed by English producer Tom Dalgety, who has previously worked with ROYAL BLOOD and KILLING JOKE, among others.

GHOST will perform "Square Hammer" on its upcoming North American tour. One of the Nameless Ghouls told SiriusXM: "We're very proud of it. We're obviously thrilled to be able to play something new. This is a short, to-the-point little gem right at the jugular."

"Popestar" track listing:

01. Square Hammer02. Nocturnal Me03. I Believe04. Missionary Man05. Bible

The EP cover artwork can be seen below.

A Nameless Ghoul told myROCK about GHOST's upcoming EP: "The EP will sort of connect with 'Meliora', so it's not [going to feature] a new Papa [Editor's note: In a parody of the Catholic Church's tradition of papal succession, GHOST singer Papa Emeritus is purportedly replaced by a new Papa for each GHOST album.], it's not a new album; it's gonna be like an extension of 'Meliora'. That is gonna prolong the tour. So we're gonna do an American tour in the fall, and then we're gonna come back to Europe in the beginning of next year and do a bigger, sort of final 'Meliora' show. And in between now and then, we will work on the new album, and after the European tour in the beginning of [2017], we're gonna go into the studio and record a new album."

GHOST won the Grammy for "Best Metal Performance" during the pre-telecast ceremony at the 58th annual Grammy Awards. GHOST was nominated for the song "Cirice" from "Meliora".

"Cirice" recently reached the Top 10 at rock radio, the first song from the band to get significant airplay in the U.S.

Listen to "Square Hammer" (audio):

The official music video for "A Thousand Years", a song from British heavy metal vocalist Blaze Bayley (IRON MAIDEN, WOLFSBANE), can be seen below. The track is taken from Blaze's eighth solo album, "Infinite Entanglement", which was released on March 1.

In an interview with Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon from Canada's The Metal Voice, Blaze stated about his new album: "I had this idea to write my own book. I had a story that… kind of coming from the character from 'Tenth Dimension' [Blaze's 2002 album] that I really wanted to do. And we started work on it, and we had too many songs for one album. And I thought, you know what? When I did 'Tenth Dimension', I had to keep that down to a certain amount of time because I was working with a record company; I had deadlines to meet. I thought this time… I think this is a really big story. And so, I started thinking about it like 'Dune' and 'The Lord Of The Rings' and something like that. I thought if I was gonna do exactly what I wanted to do, then I would do it in three albums. Well, I am my record company, so I can do what I want to do. So I'm doing it in three albums. And this is my first studio album — full metal studio album — for four years, and it's part one of a trilogy. And the story is told across the three albums. And so far, it's turned out really, really well. And the first few people now have got their pre-orders delivered, and they're really enjoying it. The feedback I've had is great."

Blaze also spoke in more detail about the story that is covered on the trilogy. He said: "It's about a man who does not know if he is human. It's his personal journey, and he is on a mission to discover one of the new Kepler planets. You know, Kepler discovered all these new planets. It's set a hundred years in the future, and he's on a spaceship and it's how he deals with the fact that he will be one of the first people ever to live for a thousand years because of advances in technology, and how he deals with that. And the question is: is he human or not? And that's it in a nutshell. And the story expands from there. And we discover a lot of different things — first, his emotions and how he feels, but also why he's there and how he is reacting to the circumstances. And everything is not what it seems. He's been chosen for the mission, and we find out why. And that's part of the overall story. So it's a kind of mystery horror, in a way, set in space, and this is part one of it. So I'm hoping that you'll like the rest as well."

According to Blaze, he intentionally made "Infinite Entanglement" so that fans of his music can listen to the album and enjoy it without having to be familiar with the entire story. He said: "That is how I started with the whole idea. I had to do something that I would enjoy. So I really wanted to do something more in the 'War Of The Worlds' style and in the 'Operation: Mindcrime'. I wanted it so, as a listener, you can enjoy each song without knowing the story. But if you want to look at the sleeve notes, if you want to get deeper in it, then you'll see the connections. You don't have to listen to all the songs to know the connections. And the order of the songs isn't in a way that you have to play it from start to finish either. And you won't really know where all of the songs fit until that third album comes out and it explains to you the whole story and all of the details."

Asked if he already has a timetable in mind for the release of the second and third albums in the trilogy, Blaze said: "We have half of album two, we have half of the songs ready for that, and we have some of the music and one of the songs for album three. So we kind of have the ending and a bit of the middle. So, as we're going along on tour, and I'm writing the rest of the story, then we'll come up with the rest of the songs."

He continued: "What I've enjoyed with this one is having the liberation of not having to connect everything to reality or directly to me, to be able to use somebody else's emotions and somebody else's thoughts, and have more than one set of eyes to look at the world through. That's been really liberating, and I've enjoyed it very much."

The 53-year-old Bayley, who was born in Birmingham, was the original frontman in WOLFSBANE, but left in 1994 to join MAIDEN, with whom he recorded two studio albums — 1995's "The X Factor" 1998's and "Virtual XI" — before Bruce Dickinson returned to the group.

Bayley released a career-spanning double-disc collection, "Soundtracks Of My Life", on October 31, 2013.

Fan-filmed video footage of Lita Ford's August 14 performance at the Alcatraz Festival in Kortrijk, Belgium can be seen below.

Lita Ford released a new album, "Time Capsule", on April 15 via SPV/Steamhammer. The very special and unusual recording turns back the clock to a time when honest, down-to-earth rock music was still handmade and recorded without digital tricks and contraptions.

"Time Capsule" is a "throwback" record that boasts identifiable voices and brilliant players jamming without any planning or pressure. Some of the album's highlights: Billy Sheehan (bass), Rodger Carter (drums), Dave Navarro (mandolin), Jeff Scott Soto (vocals), Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander (backing vocals) and Gene Simmons (bass).

Speaking to Guitar World magazine, Lita stated about how the idea for "Time Capsule" came about: "There were 15 analog tapes I had in the Caribbean house [where Lita lived while she was married to former NITRO singer Jim Gillette] that I had to go back and get during my divorce. I drug them though the Caribbean dirt and on to a boat and took them back to L.A. I remember we had to bake them because they were so old and had been in that air for so long. I was afraid to put them on the reel because I thought they would flake and fall apart. So we baked them and transferred them over to digital — and it worked!"

Asked what made "Time Capsule" so special, Lita said: "It has such a magical vibe to it. We didn't change one note on anything on this album. All we did was remix. It was so fun and when we originally recorded it, all of the musicians were in their prime: Billy Sheehan; Gene Simmons and Bruce Kulick; Robin Zander and Rick Nielsen of CHEAP TRICK; Dave Navarro is on mandolin; Rodger Carter's on drums. Even Jeff Scott Soto and I sing a duet together that's just awesome. The album is also a gift to the fans, because I know they miss the eighties. There are people who are too young and didn't get to live through the eighties, and then there are other people who really miss it. So there's a little piece of the eighties in this time capsule, and I'm bringing it back!"

"Time Capsule" contains ten songs plus an intro and is available as a digipak as well as an LP version and download. It's Ford's gift to fans who love the '80s, when thrilling vocal performances, raunchy riffs, and loud, growling guitars were as essential as oxygen. "Lita Ford - Living Like A Runaway: A Memoir" came out on February 23 via Dey Street Books (formerly It Books), an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. In this 272-page hardcover book, which was originally expected in 2014, the former lead guitarist of THE RUNAWAYS opens up about the '70s and '80s music scene, and her extraordinary life and career.

Leonard Haze, original drummer for legendary Bay Area rock band Y&T, passed away Sunday evening, September 11 at his home in Hayward, California. He was 61 years old.

Haze had been battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for several years, making breathing difficult. Even so, he had fought to keep playing drums, performing regularly with his band, HAZEXPERIENCE, and joining Y&T on stage at the Fillmore in San Francisco in both 2015 and 2016. HAZEXPERIENCE was scheduled to open for Y&T at the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma November 18 and November 19, and had been in the midst of recording an EP of new material.

Said Y&T frontman Dave Meniketti: "It is with shock and sadness that I type this. Leonard Haze, the legendary drummer, and a guy I spent decades with creating great music together, has passed away at 61. This, just a few days after his birthday. I just woke up to this news, as I'm in Germany, and immediately called his wife, Kelly. She confirmed that Leonard had passed away in his sleep, a few hours ago, sometime between noon and 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 11.

"Leonard has been struggling with COPD for years, but Kelly said that although his health had recently declined, they felt he had a few years left, so this is unexpected.

"My deepest condolences to Leonard's family and friends. His impact on the rock scene was well documented.

"Rest in peace, my friend."

Added HAZEXPERIENCE guitarist Jim Bradley: "Leonard was not only a bandmate but a close friend, sharing not just a passion for music but also our appreciation for fast cars and cool RC planes. Leonard was taken from us way too soon."

"Leonard was a good friend, a great drummer, and a true ambassador for the world of rock 'n' roll," said Jeffrey Winslow, lead singer for HAZEXPERIENCE. "I'm shocked that he's gone, but thankful I got to know him while he was here."

Haze was a founding member and one of the principal songwriters for the Bay Area hard rock band YESTERDAY & TODAY, later known as Y&T. He co-wrote some of their biggest hits, including "Hurricane", "Black Tiger", "Mean Streak", "Rescue Me", "Dirty Girl", "Forever" and MTV staple "Summertime Girls".

It was Haze's bass drum prowess that made his powerful drumming style legendary and, thanks to it, Y&T quickly developed the reputation as a must-see live band and musical powerhouse, headlining shows with opening acts such as VAN HALEN, MÖTLEY CRÜE, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and many others. Y&T's hard-driving style helped them land worldwide tours alongside such acts as AC/DC, AEROSMITH, Ozzy Osbourne, and RUSH, which resulted in the development of a strong following throughout Europe.

In the early '90s, Haze played drums on DEEP PURPLE vocalist Ian Gillan's solo album "Toolbox". Gillan subsequently asked him to join the band, and Haze was part of one of the first rock bands ever to not only perform, but tour, behind the "Iron Curtain," traversing the Soviet Union during the cold war. After that tour, Haze became a permanent member of the Ian Gillan band, continuing with a two-year world tour and performing in 71 countries.

In 2002, Haze reunited with Y&T and went back on tour with them throughout the United States until they parted ways in 2006.

Haze's final performance took place August 20 with HAZEXPERIENCE at the Quarter Note in Sunnyvale.

The year is 2024... for several billion years the universe has been governed by forces of equal strength and gravity, and equal parts good and evil. But times are about to change with the discovery of a previously unknown massive black hole in our solar system that threatens to devour everything that ever was and ever will be.

As the spiral of dark matter and darkness continues to rotate and close in on the fate of existence; hope is not lost with the unveiling of The Ashen Bridge; a gateway to salvation created in the dreams of the young; the innocent children of the world that know no selfishness, only love.

When they cry out for help at the brink of destruction; somebody actually listens; her name is Anuviel.

Saecred Spirit is a musical adventure from one of Sweden’s best kept secrets. It is an exciting journey that tells the story of Anuviel - a female emissary of light from a parallel world very close to ours that has been made aware that humanity is on the verge of destruction. The truth is even more disturbing; she soon finds out. The world has been dying for a very long time, burdened by the cacophony of tormented souls and the dissonance of species longing for a home of love and warmth.

Anuviel is a harbinger of life; a guardian of the very essence of time and space, and as such, a being that is eternal; keeper of the secret key made of sound that opens the gates that lead from The Ashen Bridge to any place in the universe. With such power, comes great responsibility and great danger; so she has to hide her inner light - veil her eyes, from forces that want nothing else than darkness to reign.

Faster than any light or thought, Anuviel - is a messenger of hope and strength. Her own sacred steed is a unicorn with the ability to sing and enlighten the world that unity of spirit brings the gift of music. It is time to listen and build strength for what is about to come…

Saecred Spirit is:
Anuviel -  vocals, keyboards
Lars Chriss - guitars, drums (Lion’s Share, Seven)
Andy Loos - bass (Glory, Lion’s Share, Seven)
Jeff Paris - backing vocals (Mr. Big, Vixen, Y&T)

Photo by Tallee Savage
Video filmed and edited by Mats Vassfjord
Album, single artwork and graphics by C.A. Beckston (Blekkmark Design Studio)

 

New Jersey bashers Attacker have checked in with the following update:

"Attacker have just announced the addition of new guitarist Jon Hasselbrink. Hasselbrink takes over from Pat Marinelli, who informed the band at the start of recording for the upcoming album that he would be leaving due to personal reasons. 

Drummer Mike Sabatini comments: "Pat has been with us from the very beginning, we've had some great experiences and fun times together, we all wish him the best in his future endeavors. Jon has stepped in and stepped up handling everything thrown at him, he's doing a fantastic job and we are glad to have him aboard."

Hasselbrink was brought to the band's attention by vocalist Bobby Lucas, who had previously played with Jon in Morbid Sin.

Attacker will be releasing their new album entitled Sins Of The World this coming fall through Metal On Metal Records. The band are also lining up dates for 2017 which include the Pounding Metal Fest on May 5th and 6th in Madrid, Spain.

Attacker recently released a video sampler for Sins Of The World album. Check it out below.

Back in May, Attacker hit Nuthouse Recording in Hoboken, NJ with producer engineer Tom Beaujour to begin the next chapter in Attacker music.

Sabatini comments: "To say we are all excited is an understatement since it's been just over three years since Giants Of Canaan was released. We had already worked with Tom at Nuthouse when we laid down the tracks for the Riot song 'Fire Down Under' that was featured on the Harder Than Steel CD, paying tribute to the bands that have graced the Keep It True Festival stage and the Thunder And Steel Down Under Riot Tribute album, both released on Skol Records. It's about time we get the fire lit, get the album out and get back to the live stage with some new material for the fans of the band."

Sins Of The World will be the first to feature new bassist Brian Smith.

Watch the official Attacker Facebook page here for updates.