Australia’s premiere incendiary musical export, Thy Art Is Murder, have released a first official trailer for their upcoming Dear Desolation album, out on August 18th via Nuclear Blast Entertainment.

Dear Desolation was produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Will Putney at Graphic Nature Audio in Belleville, NJ. Artwork was created by Eliran Kantor (Testament, Iced Earth).

Comments vocalist C.J. McMahon: "I feel the strongest I've ever felt going into a record. Coming back to the fold of our band has reinvigorated me. I missed my brothers, touring, and of course all our dedicated fans around the world who have always given us their all.

"This new record is going to shape our future; we gave it everything we could and then some. In the past, I was the weakest link and now that I have re-built myself, we are stronger than ever and nothing can stand in our way."

Adds guitarist Andy Marsh: "Hate, War, Desolation; the trilogy series of the path mankind has laid out before himself. We are prouder than ever of our efforts on this record. A lot of time, planning, creativity and teamwork has culminated in what we think is our most completed vision yet: Dear Desolation."

Pre-order Dear Desolation in various formats and bundles from around the world here. Pre-order the album digitally now from iTunes and Amazon and receive the song "Slaves Beyond Death" instantly.

Tracklisting:

“Slaves Beyond Death”
“The Son Of Misery”
“Puppet Master”
“Dear Desolation”
“Death Dealer”
“Man Is The Enemy”
“The Skin Of The Serpent”
“Fire In The Sky”
“Into Chaos We Climb”
“The Final Curtain”

“Dear Desolation” video trailer:

“Slaves Beyond Death” video:

Thy Art Is Murder and Polish metal extremists Decapitated, will co-headline a North American tour together this August/September. Joining them are progressive death metal masters Fallujah and depressive black metal sensations Ghost Bath.

Tour dates:

August
20 - Pittsburgh, PA - Rex Theater
21 - Richmond, VA - Canal Club
22 - Greensboro, NC - Blind Tiger
23 - Atlanta, GA - The New Masquerade
25 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar
26 - Austin, TX - Come and Take It Live
27 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey Bar 'N Grill
29 - Denver, CO - The Summit Music Hall
30 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
31 - Spokane, WA - The Pin

September
1 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theater
2 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theater
3 - Seattle, WA - Studio Seven
5 - Reno, NV - Jub Jub’s
6 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge
7 - West Hollywood, CA - The Roxy Theatre
8 - Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory
9 - Mesa, AZ - Club Red
10 - El Paso, TX - Tricky Falls
11 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater
13 - Lawrence, KS - Granada Theater
14 - Joliet, IL - The Forge
15 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Intersection
16 - Toronto, ON - The Opera House
17 - Montreal, QC - Corona Theatre
18 - Ottawa, ON - Brass Monkey
19 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
20 - Syracuse, NY - The Lost Horizon
21 - New York, NY - Gramercy Theatre
22 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
23 - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage
24 - Columbus, OH - Park Street

Meltdown of the WRIF radio station conducted an interview with METALLICA frontman James Hetfield before the band's July 12 concert at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked if he would ever consider doing a side or solo project, Hetfield said: "METALLICA's pretty much my side project. I get to do whatever I want in METALLICA. [Laughs] There's not really a need for it. I write things that make me feel good, and if they end up in METALLICA, then that's even better. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes they're like a 'Nothing Else Matters' kind of thing, and they're trying to be hidden: 'Don't listen to that.' But, no, there's really no need for that. Or time — there's no time for that either. [Laughs]"

Hetfield's comments echo those he made during a 2015 interview with METALLICA's fan-club magazine So What!. He said at the time: "I think METALLICA, for Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] and myself— I'll speak mainly for me, but I know he feels the same way — METALLICA is our side project too. It's our main project, it's our side project, it's our 24-7 project. It doesn't mean that I don't want to try other things, like voiceover work, a book, photography, art, cars… you name it. I want it to add to me, not subtract from METALLICA."

He continued: "Before, I might have come to the table with a negative attitude around side projects: 'You're doing that, which means you're not into this band as much as I am or Lars is.' I'm tired of that feeling and I'm tired of that resentment.

"At the end of the day, I know Lars and I are the guides of this. We steer METALLICA most of the time, and the other two guys are very happy that that is the way it is. And we're all equal. We're all contributing in our way. But I think Lars and I are very comfortable being the spearheads of it. And we are in a great spot right now, because everyone knows the band is prioritized above everything, but everyone also feels free to to explore other things."

Former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted said in a 2014 interview that he left the band sixteen years ago over the way his then-side band, ECHOBRAIN, was handled. Newsted explained: "The management of METALLICA was very, very excited about ECHOBRAIN, wanted to take it out for me, wanted me to do ECHOBRAIN also, with METALLICA. They felt ECHOBRAIN was that good, the singer was that good, and it didn't affect METALLICA because it was a totally different kind of thing, and I was in METALLICA; that would give it its pedigree already."

Newsted continued: "They had told me, pretty convincingly, 'This is a great record, we've been playing it around the office, that's all I’ve been hearing, it's fantastic, this kid has a great voice. Let's do something with this.' That's what they told me, and then James heard about it and was not happy. He was, I think, pretty much out to put the kibosh on the whole thing because it would somehow affect METALLICA in his eyes, because now the managers were interested in something I was doing that had nothing to do with him."

METALLICA is touring in support of its tenth studio album, "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct", which came out last November.

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

The next stop on the tour is Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 16.

Italy's Linea Rock recently conducted an interview with guitarist Wolf Hoffmann of German/American metallers ACCEPT. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about the new ACCEPT album title, "The Rise Of Chaos", Wolf said: "It was really inspired by what we see in the world today. I mean, we had these words, 'the rise of chaos', and we thought they really fit into the times that we live in, so we chose it as an album title — or a songtitle first, and then it became the album title. It just felt right — there's chaos in the air, or the rise of chaos in the air right now, so we felt it was a great title to use. But other than that, we're not trying to have a hidden message or anything; it's not a concept album. It's just one of the strongest songs, or one of the strongest titles that we had, and we felt it was very fitting into the times. And every month goes by and it feels more current."

Regarding what ACCEPT fans should accept from the music on "The Rise Of Chaos", Wolf said: "I think it sounds exactly like fans want it to sound and fans expect it to sound, and I think we're delivering. We're not really trying to change anything at this point in our career; we're just trying to go forward on a very narrow, straight path without going sideways, left or right, stylistically. So we're trying to get better without ever really becoming any different. Because after all these many albums, we know exactly who we are and who we are not."

"The Rise Of Chaos" will be released on August 4 via Nuclear Blast.

The cover artwork for the new disc was created by the Hungarian artist Gyula Havancsák and can be seen below.

The follow-up to 2014's "Blind Rage" is the first ACCEPT album to feature the band's latest additions, guitarist Uwe Lulis (GRAVE DIGGER, REBELLION) and drummer Christopher Williams.

ACCEPT parted ways with guitarist Herman Frank and drummer Stefan Schwarzmann in December 2014.

Former DIO and current DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell says that is "saddened" that he and Ronnie James Dio "never had a chance to make it up" after their bitter split three decades ago.

Campbell and Ronnie James Dio worked together on the first three DIO albums 1983's "Holy Diver", 1984's "The Last In Line" and 1985's "Sacred Heart" — before Irishman Campbell left to join WHITESNAKE in 1987.

Vivian, along with drummer Vinny Appice and bassist Jimmy Bain, was part of the original DIO lineup, which reunited in 2012 alongside singer Andrew Freeman to form LAST IN LINE.

When LAST IN LINE formed, the intent was to celebrate Ronnie James Dio's early work by reuniting the members of the original DIO lineup. After playing shows that featured a setlist composed exclusively of material from the first three DIO albums, the band decided to move forward and create new music in a similar vein.

During an appearance on the "Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon" podcast, Vivian spoke about his relationship with the legendary heavy metal singer who passed away in 2010 after a six-month battle with stomach cancer.

"In many ways, I'm kind of saddened that Ronnie and I never had a chance to make it up," Vivian said. "Because I know that there was a part of Ronnie that was really dark and really angry, but I know that there was another part of him that was really sweet and forthcoming. And I think that under the right circumstances, Ronnie and I would have sat down and had a beer and made our peace and we could have even worked together again, and it would have been great. But, you know, there's a lot of gatekeepers in this industry, and one of the things that they do very, very well is keep people apart. So it wouldn't have happened as long as those gatekeepers were there. That's my point."

Campbell also talked about the progress of the songwriting sessions for LAST IN LINE's follow-up to 2016's "Heavy Crown" debut. He said: "We're about fifty percent into the LAST IN LINE album; we've got about fifty percent of it written. We begin in the next couple of weeks to do some more shows and we'll do some more writing. We actually have a start date. We'll go back in the studio, again with Jeff Pilson [FOREIGNER, DOKKEN] to produce, we start on September 11, I believe — [that's] our first tracking day. But given Jeff's schedule and our schedule, it probably won't be delivered until December, so it would be early 2018 before it gets out. But it is coming. And the new songs are really interesting. I can really hear the growth of the band and the growth of the style and the songwriting. Some of the arrangements are a bit more complex than they were on the first album, and it's been a real joy."

Ronnie James Dio made headlines in 2007 when a clip of him surfaced calling Campbell "a fucking asshole" and "a piece of shit." Although Vivian has since expressed regret over referring to Dio as "one of the vilest people in the industry," the guitarist has consistently maintained that he was wronged by the now-deceased vocalist.

In a May 2011 interview with Brazil's Roadie Crew magazine, Dio's widow and manager Wendy stated about the controversy surrounding Ronnie's relationship with Campbell: "[Vivian] always said that he hated all the albums that he played on with Ronnie, and that was very hurtful to Ronnie. Very hurtful. Would you like someone who said something like that about your albums? He said a lot of things in the press that I don't wanna get into, because it really wasn't Ronnie's feud at all. Ronnie didn't fire him. I fired [Vivian]. He wanted as much money as Ronnie wanted. He thought he was as important as Ronnie was, and that was just wrong. But I don't wanna get into that. It's water under the bridge. It doesn't matter."

Soon after DEF LEPPARD's Phil Collen was invited to join the annual G4 Experience, led by guitar great Joe Satriani, he was moved to write an instrumental in homage to the guitar master.

"I was honored when Joe invited me to join the G4 Experience and I decided to write and record an instrumental track called 'Yo 2 Joe' as a tribute to him. I was further honored when he played on the track with me because he is such an amazing artist. I wanted the track to reflect the vibe of his influential 'Surfing With The Alien' album. Thirty years later, he continues to wow generations of guitar players and music fans alike."

The track will be released as a single on July 21 and will be given free to those attending the camp. Pre-orders for the track begin today. Also joining Satriani and Collen at this year's "G4 Experience: Surfing With The Alien 30th Anniversary" are Warren DeMartini (RATT) and Paul Gilbert (MR. BIG). The event takes place on July 24-28 at Asilomar Center in Carmel, California.

For its fourth installment, the G4 Experience enjoys a game-changing and historic first. The camp will celebrate the writing, recording, and performance of Satriani's seminal Grammy Award-nominated, platinum-selling 1987 epic "Surfing With The Alien" — one of the most successful instrumental guitar albums ever made. Recognizing the record's thirtieth anniversary, campers will enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pull back the curtain on the album with the visionaries behind the music.

Satriani will be joined by his original live band during the record's tour cycle. Stu Hamm and Jonathan Mover will return for the first time since 1995 for the evenings' performances.

For more information on G4, visit g4experience.com.

Straus Project conducted an interview with MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson on Friday, July 14 at the Chicago Open Air festival at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about MEGADETH's latest album, 2016's "Dystopia", Ellefson said: "Well, it was a record that we… We probably worked on it for almost a year before we recorded it. And it took another six months or so, probably, to cut the record. It went through a lot of transitional things to get it to just kind of boil it down to the essence of what it really is. And I think what fans are happy about is they like to hear us being this MEGADETH that they grew up with."

He continued: "We've done a lot of different things in our career. We're a band that can write really intricate riffs, we're a band who can write great choruses and hooks. I think the trick with 'Dystopia' was sort of finetuning it and bringing all those elements together, because you can't be the band you were on your debut record, and you're not even gonna be the band you were on your last record, because life moves forward and developmens happen. And [LAMB OF GOD drummer] Chris Adler [who played on 'Dystopia'] was a big part of helping 'Dystopia' get focused. And Kiko [Loureiro, MEGADETH guitarist] coming in brought that… MEGADETH's always had two… Dave [Mustaine, MEGADETH leader] and then this other juxtaposed guitar player, and I think Kiko really complemented that well… And live, Kiko's an incredible performer as well."

MEGADETH has just completed a North American tour with MESHUGGAH and will play arenas later in the year as the support act for German hard rock veterans SCORPIONS.

MEGADETH is planning on returning to the studio at the end of the year to begin work on the follow-up to "Dystopia".

The band's upcoming effort will mark MEGADETH's first release to feature new drummer Dirk Verbeuren, who officially joined the group a year ago.

Warrel Dane says that the upcoming SANCTUARY album will be "much faster and much thrashier" than the band's comeback effort, 2014's "The Year The Sun Died".

When "The Year The Sun Died" was first released, many people compared the disc to the most recent output from Dane's long-running-but-currently-inactive outfit NEVERMORE, a connection that the singer has steadfastly rejected.

"The music of SANCTUARY and the music of NEVERMORE I don't think sound anything alike," Warrel said during a July 8 appearance on Israel's "Met Al Metal" (hear audio below). "However, I will tell you that the new SANCTUARY songs that I've heard, that are being worked on, are much faster and much thrashier."

He continued: "I've heard a lot of people say ['The Year The Sun Died'] does sound a bit like NEVERMORE, but I put that on the fact that I'm singing in my lower register a lot of the time, and people associate that with NEVERMORE."

Dane also spoke about MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine, who helped get SANCTUARY signed to CBS/Epic Records, produced their first album (1988's "Refuge Denied"), and took them on the road with MEGADETH.

"I have to tell you: I have a mad amount of respect for Dave Mustaine," Warrel said. "He gets a really bad reputation in the press because of some of the stuff he says. I might not be on point with him as far as ideology and beliefs, but I have to give him respect, because he's pretty much the reason that I'm talking to you right now. He gave me a start in the music business, and it's not easy to get your foot in the door. And for that, I will always admire him."

Asked if he still keeps in touch with Mustaine, Dane said: "Kind of. I mean, I see him at festivals occasionally. NEVERMORE did the very first Gigantour in the U.S., and, yeah, I hung out with him a lot, and I see him at festivals, and, yeah, we're still friends. I mean, we're not best buddies or anything, but he's still approachable."

SANCTUARY's last release was "Inception", the official prequel to 1988's classic debut "Refuge Denied". "Inception" contains presumed lost 1986 studio recordings, which guitarist Lenny Rutledge discovered recently and which were magically restored, remixed and remastered by Chris "Zeuss" Harris (QUEENSRŸCHE, HATEBREED).

SANCTUARY recently recruited Attila Vörös (NEVERMORE) as its new second guitar player.

Ritchie Blackmore says that he would be willing to reunite with DEEP PURPLE for one final concert.

Blackmore is a co-founder of DEEP PURPLE and wrote many of their most memorable riffs, including "Smoke On The Water", but he has not played with the group since his 1993 departure.

In a brand new interview with Germany's Rock N Roll Reporter, Ritchie stated about the prospect of sharing the stage with PURPLE again: "I think if they would be interested, and our schedules aligned, I would be available for one show — for nostalgic reasons. But I don't think DEEP PURPLE have any interest in that. They have their niche and are not into doing things like that. We are friends and I've doing my music for twenty years, and they're doing their stuff for twenty years. It's probably not likely [to happen]. Also, their management wouldn't like it, even if it was for just one show. Their management wouldn't allow it, I'm sure."

DEEP PURPLE drummer Ian Paice recently told "The Rock Brigade" podcast that there was "no point" for the band to consider a reunion with Blackmore, explaining that "we have a wonderful feeling within the band, everybody's very friendly, and all we have to do is go on stage and make the music; there's no other considerations to worry about. I think Ritchie's life doesn't work like that. I think it's a little more complex. And at this stage of my life, I don't need cloudy areas. I like it to be clear and crystal and know that it's gonna be fun. I love Ritchie to death, but I can't guarantee every day with him is gonna be fun."

Blackmore was absent from DEEP PURPLE's induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame last year. He later posted a statement on his Facebook page in which he said: "I have my reason for not attending the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony, although I appreciate the award."

Despite Blackmore being a no-show at last year's Rock Hall, he was given several shoutouts during the induction speeches of the DEEP PURPLE members in attendance. In addition, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich, who inducted DEEP PURPLE into the institution, praised "Ritchie fucking Blackmore" for one of the most memorable guitar riffs of all time on "Smoke On The Water".

In This Moment will remain incredibly busy upon releasing their new album Ritual, out July 21st. The band is currently in the middle of a headline tour in support of the album and will stay on the road through the rest of 2017.

In This Moment has announced that they will continue their Half God, Half Devil headline tour this fall, which will also see them making appearances at major fall festivals. Joining In This Moment on this leg will be Of Mice & Men, who will serve as direct support. Avatar will open the shows.

The tour kicks of on September 22nd in Salt Lake City and runs through November. Fans can also plan to catch "can't miss" sets at festivals: Rock Allegiance (Philadelphia), Louder Than Life (Louisville), Open Air (Houston), and Aftershock (Sacramento).

Tour dates:

September
22 - The Complex - Salt Lake City, UT
23 - High Elevation Rock Festival - Greenwood Village, CO @
25 - House of Blues - Chicago, IL
26 - House of Blues - Chicago, IL
27 - Wings Stadium - Kalamazoo, MI
29 - Shrine Mosque - Springfield, MO
30 - Tulsa State Fair - Tulsa, OK @

October
1 - Louder Than Life - Louisville, KY @
3 - Stanley Theatre - Utica, NY
4 - PlayStation Theater - New York, NY
6 - Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel - Providence, RI
7 - Rock Allegiance - Camden, NJ @
8 - The Fillmore Silver Spring - Silver Spring, MD
10 - The National - Richmond, VA
12 - Tabernacle - Atlanta, GA
13 - The Orpheum Theater - New Orleans, LA
14 - Houston Open Air - The Woodlands, TX @
18 - The Wiltern - Los Angeles, CA
21 - Brooklyn Bowl - Las Vegas, NV
22 - Aftershock - Sacramento, CA @
25 - Riverside Municipal Auditorium - Riverside, CA
27 - Revolution Center - Garden City, ID
28 - Knitting Factory – Spokane - Spokane, WA
29 - Roseland Theater - Portland, OR
31 - The Moore - Seattle, WA

November
1 - The Toyota Ice Arena - Kennewick, WA
8 - The District - Sioux Falls, SD
10 - Eagles Ballroom - Milwaukee, WI

January
21 - Shiprocked - Orlando, FL @
 
@ - festival date

In This Moment have released a lyric video for the band’s cover of the Phil Collins classic, “In The Air Tonight”, available for streaming below.

Ritual will be released by Atlantic Records in partnership with Roadrunner Records and is available for pre-order now. Exclusive pre-order bundles, which include custom In This Moment branded rosary beads, are available now at the band's webstore.

Produced by longtime collaborator - and multiple Grammy Award nominee - Kevin Churko (Five Finger Death Punch, Ozzy Osbourne), Ritual sees In This Moment pushing their inimitably dark sound forward with a provocative sense of pervading doom and metallic blues power.

Highlights include a dramatic reimagination of Phil Collins' classic "In The Air Tonight" as well as "Black Wedding," a walk down the aisle of musical madness that sees lead singer Maria Brink sharing the mic with legendary Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford.

"It's like we're going into the next realm," says Brink. "I had a conviction of feeling empowered in my life and with myself. I always write from a personal place, and I needed to share that sense of strength. I've never been afraid to hold back. Sometimes, I can be very suggestive. However, I wanted to show our fans that this is the most powerful side of myself and it's without overt sexuality. It's that deeper serious fire inside of my heart."

"When fans hear this, I want them to feel the music, whether they take away sadness, anger, or happiness," adds lead guitarist Chris Howorth. "As a kid, I remember listening to records and putting them on repeat over and over again. I'd love for the world to listen and absorb this as a piece of work."

Ritual tracklisting:

“Salvation”
“Oh Lord”
“Black Wedding” (feat. Rob Halford)
“In The Air Tonight”
“Joan Of Arc”
“River Of Fire”
“Witching Hour”
“Twin Flames”
“Half God Half Devil”
“No Me Importa”
“Roots”
“Lay Your Gun Down”

“In The Air Tonight” lyric video:

“Roots” lyric video:

“Oh Lord” video:

"Oh Lord” live video:

Trailer:

Summer tour dates:

July
19 - Little Rock, AR - Metroplex
21 - Corpus Christi, TX - Concrete Street Amphitheatre
22 - Dallas, TX - South Side Ballroom
23 - Midland, TX - La Hacienda Center
25 - Wichita, KS - The Cotillion
26 - Des Moines, IA - 7 Flags Event Center
28 - Madison, WI - Orpheum Theater
29 - Rochester, MN - Mayo Civic Auditorium
30 - Fargo, ND - Fargo Civic Auditorium

August
1 - Bismarck, ND - Bismarck Event Center
3 - Billings, MT - Shrine Auditorium
4 - Sturgis, SD - Ironhorse Saloon
5  - Lincoln, NE  - Centennial Mall & M Street

With their Swan Songs-series Lord Of The Lost showcase their ability to create fascinatingly heavy classical music. This is the second time the Hamburg-based dark rockers have conjured their music with an ensemble album in such grandiose style. Their upcoming masterpiece, titled Swan Songs II, will be released October 6th via Napalm Records and will feature some of the finest dark rock-sinfonia coated by dramatic arrangements with a chamber orchestra. Now the band fronted by charismatic mastermind Chris Harms has unveiled first details about Swan Songs II, including the cover artwork, tracklisting and an initial album teaser.

"You could say Swan Songs is some kind of a side-project for us, but Swan Songs II is predominated with 10 brand new songs so we would like to emphasize its independence as a main album," vocalist Chris Harms explains. "After our show at Gothic Meets Classic and when we started to re-arrange our songs with a symphonic orchestra in 2014 for the first Swan Songs release back in early 2015, this album turned out as a huge success. Sold out shows, many emotions and tears behind, on and in front of the stage, it's been a very touching record for us and our fans, so that kept motivating us as well as in our creative freedom to release the next chapter of new songs you won't hear as normal rock versions, and what should become Swan Songs II."

Swan Songs II tracklisting:

“Waiting For You To Die”
“Lighthouse”
“The Broken Ones”
“My Better Me”
“Ribcages”
“Wander In Sable”
“The Devil You Know”
“We Were Divine”
“From The Brink Of The Other World”
“Fall Asleep”

Teaser:

A true opus featuring ten brand-new songs, which showcase tender strings and charming piano play with a heaviness one has come to expect from the band. Once more Lord Of The Lost manage to deliver their songs with a new beauty and gloss, and prove that they cannot be reduced to their brute site only. Swan Songs II is a touching creation with top arrangements.

Swan Songs II will be available as CD Digi Pack, LP Gatefold or Digital Download. Pre-order here.

In support of their upcoming release, Lord Of The Lost will heavily hit the road this year. Find the band’s live itinerary at this location.

Nuclear Blast Entertainment,‎ via a licensing deal with 20 Buck Spin, announce the worldwide (excluding North America) signing of Denver, Colorado based multifarious doomed heavy metal quartet, Khemmis. The band are currently working on new material destined to be their third record, due to be released in 2018 via 20 Buck Spin in North America and via Nuclear Blast Entertainment elsewhere globally.

Khemmis commented on the signing: "We are honoured to join the legendary Nuclear Blast roster for the release of our third album. The new songs we've been working on build upon the melodicism of Hunted while also exploring new, heavier, and more aggressive sonic terrain. We plan to enter the studio in early 2018 with a tentative mid-year release date. Thanks to Monte Conner, everyone at NB, and the listeners and fans who have supported us."

Formed in 2012 in Denver USA, Khemmis have released two albums to date. 2015’s Absolution and 2016’s Hunted paint a unique portrait; encompassing spiralling progressive doom, fuzz-toned stoner riffs, syrupy sludge and churning classic grooves. They transcend traditional doom forming elegant yet dramatic tracks, conveying their unique sense of melancholy edged with a sense of foreboding.

Khemmis are:

Phil Pendergast - guitar, vocals
Ben Hutcherson - guitar, vocals
Daniel Beiers -  bass
Zach Coleman  - drums

(Photos - Alvino Salcedo)

San Francisco-based true metal troubadours, Slough Feg, have rejoined Italy's Cruz Del Sur Music, the label behind the band's Atavism (2005), Hardworlder (2007) and Ape Uprising! (2009) albums.

Comments vocalist/guitarist Mike Scalzi: "We are happy to announce that we are back with Cruz Del Sur Music and will begin recording a new album in July! We believe that a smaller 'boutique' label such as Cruz Del Sur is appropriate for our sound, fanbase and work ethic, and look forward to working with Enrico [Leccese] and company again."

"I am extremely excited to have Slough Feg back on Cruz Del Sur!" says Leccese. "It is always nice when bands you like track you down. It's even more special when it's someone you've worked with for about ten years and established a friendly relationship. It's a recognition that we were doing something right in the past. I can't wait to hear the new album and share it with the metal world."

Continues Scalzi: "The new album will be called The New Organon, and the songs are somewhat of a return to the heavier side of our sound: more rustic, heavy, churning, medieval/Celtic and proggy sounding riffs, as opposed to the more '70s rock sounds of more recent albums. But don't worry: there will be a couple of rockers as well! We will also have some newer, experimental songwriting styles, mixing heavy rock and metal with the melodic sounds of '50s and '60s pop. Imagine Del Shannon singing for Blue Cheer! After all, it wouldn't be a Slough Feg album without some bizarre surprises! So, journey we more into the vaults of the Voi-vaudevillian...the Epic-cure for all Epicurean Angst and Ennui. The Celtic cacophony continues!"

One of the most inventive and unique bands to emerge from the American metal scene, Slough Feg was originally formed in 1990 in Central Pennsylvania under the name The Lord Weird Slough Feg. Later that year, the band relocated to San Francisco, which has remained their home base ever since. After releasing a series of demos and their debut self-titled album in 1996, the band signed to Dragonheart Records for the release of 1999's Celtic music-infused Twilight Of The Idols. The sprawling Down Among the Deadmen would follow in 2000, setting the stage for their monumental sci-fi epic Traveller, which was released in 2003.

In 2005, the band shortened their name to simply Slough Feg and signed to Cruz Del Sur Music. That year's Atavism brought Slough Feg into international prominence, with the metal scene hailing Scalzi's innate brand of storytelling and the band's penchant for NWOBHM-like dynamics, as found on songs such as "I Will Kill You / You Will Die", "Hiberno-Latin Invasion" and "Man Out Of Time".

2007's Hardworlder would follow up Atavism in grand fashion, with the band effortlessly blending compact, twin guitar-driven motifs on "The Return of Dr. Universe" and the title track, while showcasing Scalzi's gruff, one-of-a-kind vocal delivery on the folk-oriented "The Sea Wolf". The heavier and more straightforward Ape Uprising! would see the light of day in 2009, with the band embracing its pure metal and progressive rock music roots on the doomy "The Hunchback of Notre Doom" and vibrant "Simian Manifesto".

Slough Feg's 2010's The Animal Spirits saw a joint release by Canada's Profound Lore Music in North America and Cruz Del Sur in Europe, before moving on to Metal Blade Records for the box-set reissue of the Twilight Of The Idols, Down Among The Deadmen and Traveller albums in early 2013. Metal Blade then released Slough Feg's ninth studio album, Digital Resistance, in February 2014.

Sweden’s The Quill will release their new album, Born From Fire, on August 25th via Metalville.

The classic lineup who created the albums Silver Haze, Voodoo Caravan and Hooray! It's A Deathtrip has reunited. Lead singer Magnus Ekwall (Ayreon) is back behind the mic, together with the dynamic power of drummer Jolle Atlagic (Hanoi Rocks, Electric Boys, Firebird), guitarist Christian Carlsson and bassist Roger Nilsson (Spiritual Beggars, Firebird).

The legendary lineup has secretly recorded a smashing new album, Born From Fire. The new masterpiece will be released on digital, CD and double vinyl in gatefold sleeve. The first single with accompanying video will be released on August 11th. Stay tuned for updates.

Tracklisting:

“Stone Believer”
“Snake Charmer Woman”
“Ghosthorse”
“Keep It Together”
“The Spirit And The Spark”
“Skull & Bones”
“Set Free Black Crow”
“Electrical Sons”
“Hollow Of Your Hand”
“Unchain Yourself”
“Revelation”
“Metamorphosis”

Canadian rock icon Lee Aaron capped off a short summer tour of Germany this past weekend with a show at the Bang Your Head Festival in Balingen. Fan-filmed video is available below.

Lee Aaron performed a couple new songs and some covers which are due to appear on her new album, due out in the fall. Check out "Diamond Baby" and a cover of Deep Purple's "Mistreated" below.

Lee aaron's guitarist Sean Kelly recently checked in with the following update:

"Here is a behind the scenes look at the new Lee Aaron album, coming later this year! Tons of big guitar, one of the best rhythm sections in the biz, and Lee Aaron singing with a power and range that needs to be heard to be believed...this record is HEAVY!"

Currently on tour in Europe and the UK, Canadian rock icon Lee Aaron has been performing a couple new songs and some covers which are due to appear on her new album, due out in the fall. Check out "Diamond Baby" and a cover of Deep Purple's "Mistreated" below.

 

Lee aaron's guitarist Sean Kelly recently checked in with the following update:

"Here is a behind the scenes look at the new Lee Aaron album, coming later this year! Tons of big guitar, one of the best rhythm sections in the biz, and Lee Aaron singing with a power and range that needs to be heard to be believed...this record is HEAVY!"

Photo by Rockingham Festival

Wayward Sons’ debut album, Ghosts Of Yet To Come, will be released on September 15th. A video for the acoustic version of the new single “Alive” can be seen below.

Wayward Sons is a UK guitar act made up of Toby Jepson (vocals, guitar), Sam Wood (guitar), Nic Wastell (bass), Dave Kemp (keys) and Phil Martini (drums). They have an impressive resume of groups they have previously worked with - Little Angels, Gun, Spear Of Destiny, Treason Kings and Chrome Molly to name a few - which is reassuring in terms of the band as players, but doesn’t really hint at their sound. Wayward Sons sound nothing like the sum of their parts. The music is hard rock but mixed with a vitality and energy - both musically and lyrically.

Ghosts Of Yet To Come is a hugely accomplished debut album - as might be expected. From the staccato riffing of “Give It Away” to the melodic intro of first single “Until The End”, from the hard rock of “Ghosts” to 4/4 rock of “Don’t Wanna Go”, the album sounds familiar yet of its own. Toby Jepson had the basis of songs written when the band formed. Together they then took these rough song ideas and forged their own sound. Lyrically the album sees Jepson treading a far more personal line than some of his previous output.

“I feel I have unfinished business, stories still left to tell, points to make, noise to create, all of the above... besides, it wasn't a choice, more of a need. My intention is very simple. I want to write about what makes me tick; about what I believe in. Hopefully you will believe in it too. It will be warts and all,” says Jepson.

The album was produced by Wayward Sons (Toby Jepson’s previous credits as a songwriter and producer include the likes of Katie Melua, The Virgin Marys, The Answer and Toseland) and Chris D’Adda (Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds).

Tracklisting:

“Alive”
“Until The End”
“Ghost”
“Don't Wanna Go”
“Give It Away”
“Killing Time”
“Crush”
“Be Still”
“Small Talk”
“Something Wrong”

“Alive” video:

“Until The End” video:

“Until The End” alternate studio video:

Wayward Sons have a series of dates through 2017, with more to follow.

July
26 - Bristol, UK - Louisiana
28 - Derbyshire, UK - Rock And Blues Custom Show Festival
29 - Kent, UK - Ramblin’ Man Fair Festival
30 - Ebbw Vale, UK - Steelhouse Festival

Travelin Jack, one of the hottest new rock acts from Germany, have released a new digital single and video for the song "Keep On Running". The track is taken from their forthcoming album, Commencing Countdown. The video was produced by renowned film producer and cover designer Andreas Marschall.

The band comments on the song as follows: "This song is for all the dancing fools out there. Forget about this crazy world for a while and don't let your life be dictated by fear! You've got the power....so keep on running!"

Founded in summer 2013, Travelin Jack have developed into one of Germany’s most unusual rock acts over the past four years, establishing their inimitable style, which is tailored to the vocals of Alia Spaceface, with two successful tours and shows at important festivals beyond the German borders. The general flair of their new album Commencing Countdown may bring to mind great rock groups from the seventies, such as Thin Lizzy, Rush, Scorpions and Deep Purple, but the Berlin band’s compositions and the warm, analogue production of their new album are both contemporary and modern.

Tracklisting:

“Land Of The River”
“Metropolis”
“Keep On Running”
“Cold Blood”
“Galactic Blue”
“Time”
“Miracles”
“What Have I Done”
“Fire”
“Journey To The Moon”

Live dates:

August
11 - Plattenburg, Germany - Aquamaria Festival
18 - Bad Kötzting, Germany - Void Fest
19 - Luckenwalde, Germany - Sky Way Jam

September
7 - Bochum, Germany - Zeche (with  Wucan)
8 - Münster, Germany - Rare Guitar
9 - Berlin, Germany - Cassiopeia
21 - Hannover, Germany - Mephisto (with Wucan)
22 - Erfurt, Germany - Tiko
23 - Dresden, Germany - Scheune (with Wucan)

October
5 - Vienna, Austria - Das Bach (with Wucan)

On June 16th, Dutch symphonic metallers Epica performed at the Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel, Belgium. Pro-shot video is available below. The setlist on the day was as follows: 

"Edge Of The Blade"
"A Phantasmic Parade"
"The Essence Of Silence"
"Ascension - Dream State Armageddon"
"Unchain Utopia"
"Cry For The Moon"
"Sancta Terra"
"Beyond The Matrix"
"Consign To Oblivion"

With their latest masterpiece, Epica set new standards. 2016’s The Holographic Principle is the most epochal, multi-layered, courageous and successful record of the band, reaching top 10 chart position entries in the German, Dutch and Swiss album charts.

Accordingly, all the tracks written for the album process are high-quality, but not all songs have been put on the album. "This is only based on the fact that the record should not exceed 76 minutes," explains Mark Jansen.

Since the band didn’t like the idea of a double CD, they finally decided to release an EP with six brand-new numbers, which were created during the creative phase of The Holographic Principle. The Solace System EP will be released on September 1st via Nuclear Blast.

Mark Jansen about the songs: "The listeners can expect a high-quality EP - with songs that are far too good to use them only as bonus tracks. We wanted to publish these songs together in a context. It is always hard to decide at the end of a recording process which songs will be on the album, because this means that you have to miss some songs with best quality, just because they do not fit quite well into the overall flow of the record or because there are other songs that are more suited to the lyrics.”

So much the better then that Epica have chosen to publish those songs in an EP. Due to this EP, no one has to miss these damn strong songs that, just like the album, consist from a contrasting versatility, equally opulent, bombastic moments, as well as filigree emotionality.

This is proven in the new music video to the title track “The Solace System” produced by anime-master Davide Cilloni, which you can see below.

The Solace System was recorded, mixed and mastered by team Joost van den Broek and Jacob Hansen. The splendid artwork is once again by the hand of Stefan Heilemann.

Simone Simons (vocalist) comments on the EP: "During the early writing process of The Holographic Principle we found out that we were blessed with a huge amount of songs. The songs that didn't fit on our album are now available for you on this special EP! I hope you guys will enjoy these songs as much as we do!"

And if that wasn't enough, you'll be also able to purchase the new EP, The Solace System, together with the CD of their recent studio album The Holographic Principle as a box set! It will be called The Holographic Principle - The Ultimate Edition.

The box set, The Holographic Principle - The Ultimate Edition as well as the The Solace System EP are now available for pre-order here for physical or here for digital.

Tracklisting:

“The Solace System”
“Fight Your Demons”
“Architect Of Light”
“Wheel Of Destiny”
“Immortal Melancholy”
“Decoded Poetry”

“The Solace System” video:

Progressive alternative metal band Auditory Armory have released a cover of Type O Negative's classic track "Love You To Death". "Love You To Death" is featured on the band's forthcoming album Dark Matter which will be released on July 21st.

Auditory Armory is not your average female-fronted band. The influences of the band range from alternative to metal to progressive to jazz and beyond. The lyrical scope of Auditory Armory’s songs skims past the superficial love song or pop hit. Auditory Armory is doing what so little in the music industry are actually doing -- writing honestly. Auditory Armory expertly uses the symbiosis of heavy rock and melody to introspectively explore dark emotions about self-worth and one’s role in the universe.

Westfield Massacre (lead guitar Ira Black (I Am Morbid, Metal Church), Erik Tisinger (Otep), guitarist Stephen Brewer, drummer Dio Britto, and new singer Seann Nicols (Adlers Appetite, Quiet Riot) recently started their U.S. tour.

Facebook live video footage can be seen below from last night's show at The Rockbar in Scottsdale, AZ. (Video by Jessica Chase).

The band has released their first official photo (seen below) since singer Tommy Vext quit the band. The band recently announced they will be operating under the newly formed, Westfield Massacre LLC.

(Photo by: Jessica Chase)

The band stated: "We are committed to fulfilling all obligations and promises we've made to our fans. We have secured the legal right to perform and do business as Westfield Massacre. Unfortunately, it's not always easy for our fans to understand the internal workings of a band. We appreciate all of our fans support as we move forward and are anxious to deliver our record and get back on the road.”

More on Westfield Massacre at this location.

There's no shortage of bands in this industry content with merely existing, finding satisfaction from a few likes on Facebook and a free round of drinks for showing up. Last Bullet are NOT that band. They want the world, they want it now, and they’re giving it blood, sweat and tears with no fear of failure. Living and dying by the metaphor of a name that has served them well, they play every show as if it were their last, giving the Canadian rock music scene the much needed swagger and attitude it's been missing for far too long.

Influenced by Velvet Revolver, Stone Temple Pilots, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and many more, this award-winning, self-made quintet has been part of Canadian hockey history in addition to the multiple national tours and festivals they've played over the last eight years. Sharing the stage with countless bands such as Aerosmith, Soundgarden, Jane's Addiction, Bryan Adams, Buckcherry, Monster Truck, One Bad Son, Bleeker, The Wild and more, it can be strongly stated that Last Bullet can hold their heads high in any company.

"Like the best one night stand of your life, "80-69-64" is a quick and filthy EP loaded with six rounds of high caliber rock that'll hit you harder than a rusty sledgehammer to the balls." comments vocalist Bryan Fontez

The new EP was produced and mixed by Brian Moncarz (The Trews, Our Lady Peace, Bleeker, Circa Survive) mastered by Brian Lucey (The Black Keys, Marilyn Manson, Liam Gallagher, Royal Blood) to follow their two previous EPs Love.Lust.Illusion (2012) and self-titled (2010).

Tracklisting:

“Sin”
“Gimme Time”
“Bright Lights”
“Southern Lips”
“Smoke & Ashes”
“Little Miss Filthy”

“Sin” video:

According to The Pulse Of Radio, GREEN DAY singer/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong has teamed up with RANCID frontman Tim Armstrong — no relation — to launch a new punk supergroup called ARMSTRONGS. Billie Joe's son Joey Armstrong, who played in the punk band SWMRS, and Tim's nephew Rey Armstrong round out the quartet, which has released its first song, called "If There Was Ever A Time".

ARMSTRONGS recorded the track for the documentary "Turn It Around: The Story Of East Bay Punk", which the members of GREEN DAY helped produce.

The film focuses on Berkeley, California's legendary all-ages, non-profit punk venue 924 Gilman, where acts like GREEN DAY and RANCID got their start.

"If There Was Ever A Time" will be released on flexi-disc through Pirates Press, limited to 1,000 copies, with all proceeds from the sale of the single benefiting 924 Gilman. The song will also available on streaming services and digital music stores.

"Anything that has to do with working with Gilman and Tim and Joey Armstrong, consider me in," says Billie Joe. "This is about our home and family. Viva Armstrong!"

"It was exciting to work on this song with Billie and crew for the film," says Tim. "Stoked to share the tune with everyone out there and to be donating all the proceeds to Gilman, which is a place so near, dear, and important to us."

GREEN DAY just wrapped up a European tour in support of its latest album, "Revolution Radio", and will begin a North American trek on August 1 in Auburn, Washington.

"Replaceable", the new video from the American rock act CKY, can be seen below. The ong is taken from the band's latest LP, "The Phoenix", which was released on June 16 via eOne Music. The all-new LP is the first release since CKY put out "Carver City" in 2009. The disc was engineered and mixed at Rancho De La Luna, the highly regarded recording studio in Joshua Tree, California.

The "Replaceable" clip was produced and directed by JOFFco. The band states: "The video for 'Replaceable' captures just how ridiculous the whole process of making a music video is. And how bands have so many bad ideas pitched to them so we figured we put a bunch of them into one video. It's a comical look about our hunt to find an average director to shoot a decent music video and the struggle that ensued. Enjoy!"

The cover art for "The Phoenix" can be seen below. The band commissioned chandelier maker and artist Adam Wallacavage to create a one-of-a-kind piece for the cover.

Chad I Ginsburg steps into the frontman role with charisma, charm, and bravado, confidently delivering a diverse performance as he claims a position that was clearly rightfully his to own. He's joined in enduring partnership and musical and personal chemistry by fellow CKY co-founder, Jess Margera, the drummer whose extracurricular work in projects like THE COMPANY BAND (with guys from CLUTCH and FIREBALL MINISTRY) expanded CKY's horizons as much as Ginsburg's solo work has as well. The duo returned to their primary project refreshed and reenergized, with bassist Matt Deis (ex-ALL THAT REMAINS), who first joined CKY in 2005.

GUNS N' ROSES, METALLICA and DEFTONES have all personally invited CKY on tour, cementing a legacy as a hard-charging live act. CKY built a worldwide fanbase of dedicated acolytes, friends, and supporters, lovingly dubbed the CKY Alliance, with a broader group of musicians, athletes, and other creative types in the CKY family, both literally and figuratively.

"We're grown adults now with an eagle-eye perspective on who we are, what we do, and how to do it right," Ginsburg declares, with matter-of-fact certainty. "None of us are out there in the clouds. We're pretty well-grounded people that have an honest perspective on where we're at."

"The Phoenix" track listing:

01. Replaceable02. Days of Self Destruction03. Unknown Enemy04. Head For a Breakdown05. The Other Ones06. Wiping Off The Dead07. Lies From You08. Better Than Get Even

STEELHEART — the brainchild of Miljenko Matijevic, whose powerful voice and multi-octave range is the heart and soul of the band — will release its new album, "Through Worlds Of Stardust", on September 15 via Frontiers Music Srl. The first single from the disc, "Got Me Runnin'", can be streamed below.

Says Miljenko: "I cannot express how excited I am for you all to hear this new album. Our focus was to bring back the magic in the music with songs that have been lived, loved, laughed and struggled. I best describe this album as 'deep, sexy, loving, twisted, romantic, and hungry rock 'n' roll.' The record was recorded throughout parts of the world, including a live string section recorded in Stockholm, Sweden. I truly hope you enjoy this album as it was created from the heart and no corners were cut. Love you all; we look forward to seeing you on the road." Although they were lumped in with the glut of long-haired hard rock bands emerging in the early '90s, STEELHEART was always more forward thinking than their peers and the 2017 version of the band has a contemporary and edgy feel, while still retaining the patented powerful vocals of Miljenko. On "Through Worlds Of Stardust", Miljenko has fused his past, present, and future together, creating an undeniable piece of hard rock music. Certainly fans of the band's first three classic albums will be happy to hear those powerful pipes back in action, but fans of modern hard rock acts like HALESTORM, SHINEDOWN, ALTER BRIDGE and other melodic-minded rock heavyweights will find much here to love. STEELHEART released their self-titled debut album in 1990 and, based on the buzz around the hit single "I'll Never Let You Go", was a smashing success (for example, 33,000 albums were sold in one day in Japan) and quickly reached platinum sales. STEELHEART's sophomore album, "Tangled In Reins", was released in 1992 to critical acclaim and rave reviews, but moderate success in terms of sales in the U.S. (by early '90s standards) due to the well documented rise of grunge music; however, East Asia was a different story, where the band was widely embraced yet again. In the midst of promotion of the album, a serious accident happened on Halloween night in 1992, when an improperly secured lighting truss hit Matijevic on the back of the head, breaking his nose, cheekbone, jaw, and twisting his spine. Almost impossibly, Matijevic managed to walk off the stage of his own strength before being rushed to a hospital. STEELHEART, as it was known, ended that night. Four years later, Matijevic formed a new version of STEELHEART with Kenny Kanowski (guitars), Vincent Mele (bass), and Alex Makarovich (drums) to record and release his third album, "Wait". The album was very different musically from the previous two albums, but featured the song "We All Die Young" (millions of streams and counting on Spotify) which was later included as a re-recorded version in the movie "Rock Star", which saw Matijevic providing the singing voice for Mark Wahlberg's character. The movie soundtrack was performed by Matijevic (and Jeff Scott Soto) on vocals along with Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne's then-guitarist and frontman of BLACK LABEL SOCIETY), Jeff Pilson (DOKKEN, FOREIGNER), and Jason Bonham. "Through Worlds Of Stardust" track listing:

01. Stream Line Savings02. My Dirty Girl03. Come Inside04. My Word05. You Got Me Twisted06. Lips Of Rain07. With Love We Live Again08. Got Me Runnin'09. My Freedom10. I'm So In Love With You Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Guitars, Ebow Guitars: Miljenko Matijevic Musicians on the album:

Guitars: Uros RaskovskiBass: James "Rev" Jones, Sigve Sjursen, Jesse SternDrums: Mike Humbert, Randy CookePiano: Daniel Fouché, Ed RothGuest guitar solo and part rhythm on "My Dirty Girl" by Kennet KanowskiStrings composed and conducted by Glen GabrielOrchestrated by Anthony WeedenPerformed by Stockholm Strings

FOREIGNER performed at Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania on July 15 as part of its fortieth-anniversary tour. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below. The band — Mick Jones (lead guitar), Kelly Hansen (lead vocals), Jeff Pilson (bass, vocals), Tom Gimbel (rhythm guitar, sax, vocals), Michael Bluestein (keyboards), Bruce Watson (guitar) and Chris Frazier (drums) — is promoting a new career-spanning compilation titled "40" that features forty hits from forty years. Rhino released "40" on May 26 as a double-CD set that includes forty songs recorded between 1977 and 2017. A double-vinyl version that features twenty-three songs was made available on June 2. "40" brings together the best songs from Foreigner's nine studio albums, including all sixteen of its Top 30 hits: "Feels Like The First Time", "Urgent", "Waiting For A Girl Like You" and more. The collection features "Too Late" from the group's 2008 retrospective "No End In Sight" and "The Flame Still Burns", the title track from a vinyl EP released just last year, making its debut on CD in this collection. All prior recordings have been remastered and the album features two new tracks recorded especially for this release, "Give My Life For Love" and a new version of "I Don't Want To Live Without You".

Singer Lou Gramm recently confirmed that he and the other founding members of FOREIGNER will join the group's current lineup to perform "half a dozen songs" at several concerts on the band's current tour.

The summer trek will see Jones reuniting with original members Gramm, Ian McDonald and Al Greenwood at a few as-yet-undisclosed dates.

Gramm and Jones's June 2013 performance of "I Want To Know What Love Is" and "Juke Box Hero" at the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in New York City marked the first time the pair has performed together in a decade after Gramm left FOREIGNER for a second time. Kelly Hansen has fronted the group since 2005. Jones is the sole remaining founding member in FOREIGNER's current lineup.

FOREIGNER's fortieth-anniversary tour — with support from CHEAP TRICK and JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE — runs through through September 9 in Auburn, Washington.

JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE is celebrating the 30th anniversary of GREAT WHITE's hit album "Once Bitten" with a tour and new acoustic album, "Once Acoustically Bitten". The acoustic LP was supposed to be released on July 14, but the band "ran into some production issues," causing the record to be delayed.

As a taste of what fans can expect from the upcoming effort, you can now listen to an acoustic version of the song "Lady Red Light", taken from "Once Acoustically Bitten". Check it out in the YouTube clip below.

JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE kicked off its U.S. tour on July 6. They will stay on the road through summer and into fall playing songs off their new acoustic release, the multi-platinum "Once Bitten" album and, on some shows, the entire "Once Bitten" LP from start to finish. "The 'Once Bitten' album for me was the album that finally put us in the musical space that I felt the band should be in," says lead singer Jack Russell. He goes on: "We had been searching prior to that... our first album was kind of similar to JUDAS PRIEST and our second album was very keyboard heavy. The 'Once Bitten' album hit and we all just knew this was our area, this was where we should be.

"This new acoustic record is an homage to thirty years of making music and thirty years since our first, big platinum album. Three decades later and we're still able to go out there and sing and play for our fans. It's a blessing." JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE's debut album, "He Saw it Comin'", was released on January 27 via Frontiers Music Srl. The disc features Jack Russell alongside former GREAT WHITE bassist-turned-guitarist Tony Montana (as a guitar player and keyboardist), Dan McNay (MONTROSE) on bass, Robby Lochner (FIGHT) on guitar and Dicki Fliszar (BRUCE DICKINSON) on drums.

JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE is not to be confused with the current touring and recording version of GREAT WHITE, which features Mark Kendall (guitar), Scott Snyder (bass), Audie Desbrow (drums), Michael Lardie (guitar, keyboards) and Terry Ilous (lead vocals).

Professionally filmed video footage of METALLICA performing the song "Hardwired" on Jul 14 at the Festival D'été De Québec (also known as by its acronym FEQ, or Quebec City Summer Festival in English), in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada can be seen below.

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame band is touring in support of its tenth studio album, "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct", which features the single "Now That We're Dead".

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

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told Rolling Stone that the band was genuinely surprised to learn they could still play stadiums, saying, "It was like, 'Holy fuck, people really still care about this band in ways that you stopped taking for granted literally decades ago. It was very inspiring and kind of eye-opening."

He added: "Full stadium runs can sometimes be a little intimidating. There's all these things to worry about like, 'You should really try to play maybe only on the weekend,' and, 'Where do you play on Tuesday?' and some of those practicalities can get a little bewildering. We just threw caution to the wind. Doing a stadium run seemed like the perfect thing on the back of how well this record has been received and all the good will that's out there in METALLICA's world right now."

The next stop on the tour is Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 16.

Support on the quartet's first North American trek since 2009 is coming mainly from AVENGED SEVENFOLD and VOLBEAT, with GOJIRA taking over for the latter group for the last six shows.

"Amaranthine", the second song from HUNDRED SUNS, the trio featuring Cory Brandan (NORMA JEAN), Ryan Leger (EVERY TIME I DIE) and Chris LeMasters (DEAD & DIVINE), can be streamed below. The track, like the previously released cut "Last Apology", is taken from the band's debut album, "The Prestaliis", which is due on August 11 via New Damage Records. Fans can catch HUNDRED SUNS performing "Last Apology" and more from the new album on their upcoming North American tour, which kicks off August 5 in Dallas, Texas. HUNDRED SUNS drown themselves in doomy groove, bass-driven power, loud guitars, and surreal sonic tribalism, with reverent worship of classic darkly romantic alt-rock bands, the scorching intensity of underground music, and the melodic clarity of the more uncompromising radio trailblazers of decades past. But HUNDRED SUNS boast disparate elements from post-grunge to the mind-expanding meditative epics churned out by critical darling progressive rock in equal measure, fused into something freshly unique. In short, the band sounds both familiar and groundbreaking. The trio responsible for HUNDRED SUNS are known for celebrating the heavier extremes of the art form with angst-fueled anthems heard around the world, in their respective projects, both past and present. But vocalist and lyricist Cory Brandan, powerhouse drummer Ryan Leger and principal songwriter/guitarist Chris LeMasters unlock grand mysteries with emotional resonance as HUNDRED SUNS, as evidenced all over their immersive and diverse debut album, "The Prestaliis". LeMasters assembled a massive stockpile of songs with Brandan's voice and sensibilities in mind after the duo got to know each other sharing a bus together while touring across Europe. As soon as the singer heard what would become "Fractional", he raced to his home recording setup to lay down ideas. Those early inspirations tracked as preproduction demos survived to the finished versions of many songs. Early adopters quickly embraced both "Fractional" and "Bedburner" (both released last year). The band recorded the album with producer/engineer Sam Guaiana (LIKE PACIFIC), vocal engineer/producer Jeremy SH Griffith (NORMA JEAN, UNDEROATH), and producer/mixer (and SAOSIN guitarist) Beau Burchell (BLAQK AUDIO, THE BRONX). Brandan said: "It was a long four-year road to get here and the album is everything I hoped it would be and more. We set out to make something unique and meaningful. I know it's at least one of those things. To me, it's both."

STEVE GRIMMETT'S GRIM REAPER, the revamped version of the cult '80s British metal act GRIM REAPER, played its first concert since the band's lead singer, Steve Grimmett, had his right leg partially amputated.

Fan-filmed video footage of the July 14 gig — which saw Grimmett walking with a prosthetic limb and using a wheelchair — at the Bang Your Head!!! festival in Balingen, Germany can be seen below.

Steve had the operation in January after an infected wound on his foot spread to the bones in his leg part way through the group's five-week tour of South America.

The life-saving surgery was carried out in Ecuador and the 57-year-old singer was in hospital for just over a month while fans raised $14,000 to bring him home after his insurance company refused to pay because of the type of work he was doing.

"It was tough but throughout it all I have kept a positive attitude," Steve told the Swindon Advertiser.

"Throughout the two operations, for which I was given epidurals, I was thinking of the soldiers who come back from war far worse than me.

"I am a big war bird buff and I thought of Sir Douglas Bader and what he achieved without either of his legs.

"While I was in hospital, I felt a bit down because I missed [my wife] Millie and my family, but not because I had lost a leg.

"At times, it could be amusing: fans were coming in to see me and I could tell when the medical workers were using the Internet to check me out because I'd hear them playing my songs."

Grimmett told the Swindon Advertiser that he was "determined" to perform at Bang Your Head!!!, because it is "one of the most important festivals in Germany and even Europe".

He added: "What's happened has been very humbling, especially when I consider the number of people who have helped me. I now look on life a bit differently. What's happened has taught me not to be impatient and to make the most out of life."





Great photos from Bang Your Head, Germany, on 15th July 2017

Posted by Steve Grimmett's Grim Reaper on Sunday, July 16, 2017

Fan-filmed video footage of DOKKEN's July 15 performance at the Bang Your Head!!! festival in Balingen, Germany can be seen below.

DOKKEN is planning to begin writing a new studio album this fall for a tentative 2018 release.

The disc will mark the band's first collection of all-new material since 2012's "Broken Bones" effort.

Speaking with AllThatShreds.com, DOKKEN guitarist Jon Levin laid out the band's schedule for the remainder of 2017. He said: "We're on the road all of July; we come back to do some U.S. dates, then were back to Europe. As November and December come and things slow down, we're going to start writing for a new DOKKEN record."

When asked if the upcoming album was going to have the classic DOKKEN sound or if it would see the group going in a new direction, Levin said: "It's definitely going to have the classic DOKKEN sound. We should have it released in May of 2018, I'm thinking."

After "Broken Bones" failed to meet his expectations commercially, DOKKEN singer Don Dokken publicly questioned whether the band should or would make another record. He was also ruthlessly criticized by fans after radiation treatments from a bout with stomach cancer and eventual vocal-cord surgery hurt his performances.

He told the Bradenton Herald that he took a year or so off after "Broken Bones" to regroup and reassess the band's place in the rock marketplace.

"I was getting so bad I had to say, 'Guys, I'm just destroying our brand. I suck,'" Dokken said. "I put on forty pounds. I couldn't sing. I just didn't look good; I didn't feel good. I just had to get the radiation over with and rehab and come back."

"Broken Bones" sold around 2,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 173 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Don Dokken, guitarist George Lynch, bassist Jeff Pilson and drummer "Wild" Mick Brown completed a short Japanese tour last October, marking the first time in twenty-one years the band's classic lineup had hit the road.

A new DOKKEN concert DVD focusing on the band's reunion tour is tentatively due before the end of the year. The set will feature footage from two of the Japanese shows — including Tokyo — as well as the band's very first comeback gig, which was held on September 30, 2016 at Badlands Pawn Guns Gold And Rock 'N' Roll in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Don told "The Classic Metal Show" that the main reason he doesn't want to continue with the classic DOKKEN lineup is that "loves" the band he has now — which features Brown, alongside Levin and bassist Chris McCarvil.