As Lions, featuring Austin Dickinson (son of Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson), released their debut full-length album, Selfish Age, on January 20th via Better Noise Records. A lyric video for the album track “World On Fire” can be seen below:

The band recently performed “World On Fire at YouTube Space London, and video of the performance, directed by Ryan Chang, can be seen below.

Selfish Age is the follow-up to As Lions’ debut EP Aftermath. Produced by award-winning producer David Bendeth (Of Mice & Men, Paramore, Bring Me The Horizon) and Kane Churko (Five Finger Death Punch, Disturbed, In This Moment), Selfish Age is an illustration of the band’s mission to create “the biggest, baddest hard rock we could, and on an almost cinematic scale.”

The album’s 11 dynamic tracks are a study in contrasts, with the epic and evocative “Aftermath”, the crushing “Deathless” which targets the internet culture’s obsession with image, “Bury My Dead”, a hard-hitting personal statement complemented by stately piano tinklings, and the electro-tinged title track, “Selfish Age”.

Comprised of Austin Dickinson on vocals, guitarist and keyboardist Conor O’Keefe, guitarist Will Homer, bassist Stefan Whiting and drummer Dave Fee, As Lions showcase an evolution in British rock.

Selfish Age tracklisting:

“Aftermath”
“The Suffering”
“Bury My Dead”
“Deathless”
“Selfish Age”
“White Flags”
“Pieces”
“World On Fire”
“One By One”
“The Fall”
“The Great Escape”

“One By One” video:

“Selfish Age” lyric video:

"Bury My Dead" lyric video:

“Aftermath” video:

Tour dates:

June
17 - Graspop Metal Meeting - Dessel, Belgium
29 - Fat Lip Festival - Bristol, UK

Drummer Adam Lindmark of Swedish hard rockers Dead Lord checks in with news on the band’s upcoming studio album:

"We've been entrenched in Cuervo Recording Service's studio in Madrid, Spain for the last week to put down what will become Dead Lord's third album. And here's a spoiler for you: It sounds dynamite! We once again teamed up with Ola Ersfjord to record and co-produce, whom we've worked with on every Dead Lord release to this day, and by now he's a big part of how we want to sound.

“We're cruising all over the spectrum with this album, having recorded some of our hardest songs, which will make you clench your fist and bang your head instantly, as well as some really sensitive tunes that will make your eyes water and reminisce about better days. We can't wait to have this great piece of music out, and get on the roads with the new material!"

What Adam forgot to mention: The title of the new album is In Ignorance We Trust, and it is set to be released on August 25th via Century Media Records. The photo above shows Dead Lord in Madrid with producer Ola Ersfjord (second from right).

Dead Lord live dates are listed below:

June
24 - Zürich, Switzerland - Wasteland Fest                              
29 - Madrid, Spain - Wurlitzer Ballroom
30 - Oviedo, Spain - Stone Fest

July
1 - Porto, Portugal - Cave 45
2 - Lisbon, Portugal - Stairway Club
14 - Balingen, Germany - Bang Your Head Festival
15 - Liedolsheim, Germany - Sunny Side Festival
16 - Lichtenvoorde, Netherlands - Zwarte Cross Festival   
26 - München, Germany - Free & Easy Festival
29 - Essen, Germany - Nord Open Air [early show!]
29 - Rengsdorf, Germany - Rock The Forest Festival

August
11 - Hinterschmiding, Germany - Fast Open Air
12 - Königs Wusterhausen, Germany - Bergfunk Open Air [early show!]
12 - Plattenburg, Germany - Aqua Maria Summer Festival

September
9 - Raismes, France - Raismes Fest

More live dates and further album details coming soon.

Greensboro, North Carolina metal outfit, The Devil's Bastards, have just released the first single, “To The Lost”, from the band’s upcoming self-titled debut album, which is set for release this summer. Check out the lyric video for “To The Lost” below.

The lineup includes former Darkest Hour guitarist Kris Norris, dual vocalists Justin Reich and Benjamin Earl, bassist John Ryan Flaherty, drummer Brian Lewis, and recent addition - guitarist Alex Bois. While the former Periphery guitarist joined the band after the completion of their debut album, the rest of the band is looking forward to having Alex in the fold for the writing and recording process of the group’s second album that will take place over the upcoming summer.

The Devil's Bastards debut album was produced by Kile Odell and Kris Norris with select songs co-produced by Drew Fulk (Motionless In White, Miss May I) and Jamie King (Between The Buried And Me). The band created an album sampler to give listeners a taste of the upcoming summer release, also available for streaming below.

“To The Lost” lyric video:

Album sampler:

“To The Lost”, is available for streaming on Spotify, and for download via iTunes.

Italian folk/power metal band, Wind Rose, released their new album, Stonehymn, on May 26th in Europe and North America via Inner Wound Recordings. The album track, “Dance Of Fire”, is available for streaming below.

Stonehymn was mixed and mastered by Simone Mularoni (DGM, Ancient Bards, Secret Sphere) and the artwork was created by Jan Yrlund (Apocalyptica, Korpiklaani, Tyr).

Stonehymn tracklisting:

“Distant Battlefields”
“Dance Of Fire”
“Under The Stone”
“To Erebor”
“The Returning Race”
“The Animist”
“The Wolves’ Call”
“Fallen Timbers”
“The Eyes Of The Mountain”

“Dance Of Fire”:

“To Erebor” video:

“The Wolves’ Call” lyric video:

Wind Rose live dates:

June
17 - Kinzica Fantasy Festival - Pisa, Italy

July
14 - Masters of Rock - Vizovice, Czech Republic

August
10 - Bloodstock Open Air - Walton on Trent, UK

Norwegian prog metallers, Circus Maximus, will release a new live album, Havoc In Oslo, on August 4th. It will be available on 2CD/DVD and 2CD/BluRay.

On February 6th, 2016, Circus Maximus celebrated the release of their fourth studio album, Havoc, with a sold out show at the Rockefeller in Oslo, with a stunning live production that involved pyro, sparks (literally), and a massive light rig. The band wanted to make this show one of the most memorable performances in Circus Maximus history and then to share this night with the world. So, it was decided to capture the entire night with multiple high definition cameras for a release on both Blu-Ray and DVD as well as an audio component.

Ever since the band released Live In Japan via YouTube, they have been eager to make a proper live release in a physical format. Havoc Live in Oslo is a powerful statement from a band at the top of their game.

Tracklisting:

CD1:

“Forging”
“Namaste”
“The One”
“The Weight”
“Highest Bitter”
“Architect Of Fortune”
“Arrival Of Love”
“Loved Ones”
“Sin”

CD2:

“Havoc”
“Pages”
“Abyss”
“I Am”
“Chivalry”
“Game Of Life”

DVD/Blu-Ray:

“Forging”
“Namaste”
“The One”
“The Weight”
“Highest Bitter”
“Architect Of Fortune”
“Arrival Of Love”
“Loved Ones”
“Sin”
“Havoc”
“Pages”
“Abyss”
“I Am”
“Chivalry”
“Game Of Life”

 

Cult Of Luna have released a video for “Echoes”, from their new CD/DVD package of live recordings, entitled Years In A Day (out now).

Years In A Day contains:

• A 2-hour DVD captured in Paris last year at La Gaîté Lyrique
• 2 live CD set from Roadburn Festival 2013 and 2016
• A 20-page booklet
• Download-code for HD video of the entire Paris show + audio files
• All combined in a stunning 10-inch vinyl sized trifold package
• Strictly limited to 7,000 copies only

Order at cultofluna.com.

Tracklisting:

DVD: Live at La Gaîté Lyrique, Paris
“The Sweep”
“Light Chaser”
“Owlwood”
“Echoes”
“I: The Weapon”
“Waiting For You”
“Marching To The Heartbeats”
“Finland”
“Back To Chapel Town”
“And With Her Came The Birds”
“Thirtyfour”
“Dim”
“Dark City Dead Man”

CD: Live At Roatburn 2013
“The One”
“I: The Weapon”
“Ghost Trail”
“Finland”
“Vicarious Redemption”
“Owlwood”
“In Awe Of”

CD: Somewhere Along The Highway Live At Roadburn 2016
“Marching To The Heartbeats”
“Finland”
“Back To Chapel Town”
“And With Her Came The Birds”
“Thirtyfour”
“Dim”
“Dark City Dead Man”

“Owlwood”:

“The Sweep” / “Light Chaser”:

Trailer:

Teaser:

Headstones, one of Canada’s most enduring and hardest rocking bands, announced earlier this year that they were heading to the studio to record their forthcoming album Little Army. It will be unleashed to the world on June 2nd via Cadence Music. The band has posted a new preview of Little Army via Facebook. It can be viewed below along with the first live online preview from a couple weeks ago.

Headstones have released the official video for the first single, "Devil's On Fire". Check it out below.

In celebration of the release of Little Army, the Headstones are excited to announce that they will be performing two intimate shows in one night, in a small Toronto venue – the Velvet Underground.

These limited capacity performances will be on June 2nd, with sets at 9:00pm (doors at 8pm) and 12:00am (doors at 11:00pm). The band will be performing songs from the new album, including the single ‘Devil’s On Fire’, as well as fan favourite hits. Ticket proceeds will benefit CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health). Tickets are on sale now.

- early show
- late show

Purchased tickets are only valid for showtime indicated. Both shows are 19+.

Please note that current PledgeMusic Fan For Life pass holders will be honoured. If you hold a FFL pass, please submit your attendance by May 26th 2017, to [email protected] FFL passes can no longer be purchased.

Headstones frontman Hugh Dillon couldn’t be more excited to share this with the world, saying “We set out to write the best rock album of our career, and I think that’s what we’ve done.”

Shock rockers Salems Lott have released Part 1 of their new album, Mask Of Morality. It is now available here. The track "You Can't Hide From The Beast Inside" is streaming below. Mask Of Morality Part 2  will be released later in the summer.

“The themes of Mask Of Morality convey unbridled resentment, trans valuation, and greatness, as well as struggle/suffering and collectivism vs. individualism among other themes” says, lead guitarist Jett Black. “We live in a society replete with a system of values that are generalized and have become a norm which needs to be followed by one and all without questioning it, which is basically immoral.”

“The values of empathy, altruism, compassion, equality and pity, unanimously viewed as "good" today, when left unchecked can become just as easily corrupt, dangerous and authoritative,” asserts Black.

The first single “When Heaven Comes Down” can be heard via the dark animated lyric video below:

This past Saturday, May 27th, Todd “Dammit” Kerns, Brent Muscat, Michael “Doc” Ellis, and Rob “Boom Boom” Cournoyer - formerly known as Sin City Sinners, now going by the name Original Sin - played a surprise show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The quartet opened for Vince Neil as part of a free, outdoor concert at the Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino. Crowd-shot footage of "It's Not You, It's Me" and "Viva Las Vegas" can be enjoyed below.

Original Sin frontman Todd Kerns recently spoke with BraveWords scribe Aaron Small, about the band's reformation, name change, and future plans. To read the complete interview, visit this location.

For those anywhere near Vegas, be sure to catch Original Sin at their one and only upcoming show - June 16th at Count’s Vamp’d.

 

Rhino released the deluxe editions of the Bad Company albums, Run With The Pack and Burnin’ Sky, on May 26th. Check the new lyric video to the title track from the Burnin' Sky album below:

Both feature the remastered original album along with rare and unreleased recordings like this previously unissued version of "Young Blood" (Alternate Version 2) recorded in Grasse, France and engineered by Ron Nevison (Led Zeppelin, UFO, Hear) and "Morning Sun" (Take 3, Early Version) recorded by Chris Kimsey at Le Chateau Studios, Herouville, France, in the summer of 1976.

Order here.

Order here.

Capitol Chaos TV has uploaded a new interview and performance footage of Jungle Rot from Oakland, CA at the Oakland Metro Operahouse on May 22nd.

Regarding new music, vocalist Dave Matrise remarked: “We’ve been working away hard, we got seven songs written, Jimmy’s got to finish some lyrics yet, truthfully I don’t think we are going to see the day of light until probably next year in the spring, I mean we got some touring coming up, we don’t want to rush it, we want to make it special, it’s the tenth album, Its going good though man, if you know Jungle Rot, we’re not trying to reinvent nothing, it’s what we do and we do it good and people love it and some hate it, but we’re gonna stay.”

Bassist James Genenz added, “For the most part now it’s been just a lot of me and Dave just sitting down and riffing it out, we write everything with a drum machine now.”

Matrise concluded by saying, “We’ve always done that (writing with a drum machine), the last four albums, seems like the science of the band is here, Jeff and I do the writing, Geoff (Bub, guitarist) does the lyrics and it seems that’s the chemistry that works very well for us.”

Full set:

Interview:

Over the last decade influential hardcore band Misery Signals has undergone overwhelming changes involving the departure of their founding singer and infighting that nearly left the band in complete shambles.  In a new documentary, directed by Matthew Mixon, titled “Yesterday Was Everything,” the band takes viewers on an intimate journey of reconciliation as they find healing in the present by confronting the demons of their past. The documentary will be available on June 30th at iTunes, Google Play and Amazon. The band will be doing an in-theater screening of the documentary in Edmonton, AB on June 20th (7:00pm at Metro Cinema at the Garneau, 8712 109th Street, Edmonton AB) with partial proceeds being donated to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Filmed during Misery Signals 2014 tour in celebration of the 10th anniversary of their coveted album, Of Malice and the Magnum Heart, “Yesterday Was Everything” follows the band as they reunite with their former vocalist for the first time since his unceremonious ousting a decade prior.  The film explores the fatal tragedy that brought the band together and follows their journey from Vancouver to Toronto as they face old ghosts and attempt to reconcile the past.
 
"Yesterday Was Everything provides a glimpse into a very tumultuous period in our development as young men, friends and musicians. Without the ups and downs of those formative years it's hard to say where we'd all be today. I believe this film offers fans of the band intimate information to questions that have otherwise gone unanswered. It allows insight into the story of Compromise; a tragedy that forever changed the trajectory of our lives." - Stuart Ross (Guitar)

 
"Matthew Mixon does a fantastic job of portraying the intensity that lies within the story. The good alongside the bad, the uncomfortable moments, the love shared between the five of us that extends to all the friends and fans we have made over the last decade, and the ability to come out of it still being able to call each other friends. I can't wait for the world to experience it." - Kyle Johnson (Bass)
 
"Mixon's film plays like a love letter to the independent music experience. You get a seat right there in the tour van as we grapple with the challenges of the road and attempt to create authentic music together. For those outside of the band's audience “YWE” allows an inside look at a scene they might be unaware of. It strikes me that my bandmates and the others in the film bear little resemblance to the "metalhead" archetype.  And you do get an intimate look at us, as scary as that is, you get 3 dimensions that include our failings and flaws. But that's what I think sets the film apart from other music documentaries I've seen. There's a vulnerability that anyone can relate to, and I think everyone walks away with a better understanding. Especially us." - Ryan Morgan (guitar)
 
Misery Signals got their start in 2002 and quickly gained notoriety after the release of 2004’s critically acclaimed record Of Malice and the Magnum Heart; an album which breathed fresh life into the the genre with the band’s signature style of aggressive riffs, melodic bridges and atmospheric elements and went on to be one of the most influential metalcore albums of the last decade.  Following the departure of vocalist Jesse Zaraska, the band went on to release three more albums, Mirrors (2006), Controller (2008) and Absent Light (2013) with Karl Schubach helming vocal duties, which were all praised by fans within the metal/hardcore scenes.

Zaraska reunited with the band in 2014 for an Of Malice and the Magnum Heart 10th anniversary tour and has since performed a handful of shows with the original lineup.

This past March, Peterborough's hard-rockin' assault Mokomokai announced the release of their debut album Poison Whiptail (digitally), produced by Ian Blurton (Attack In Black, The Weakerthans, Cursed, Tricky Woo). On June 16th, Poison Whiptail will be released physically worldwide via Toronto based label Boonsdale Records.

Poison Whiptail draws from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and it’s golden era of the late ‘70s-early ‘80s. The latest video (directed by Rob Viscardis) is streaming below. 

"Heavy Metal Sky" video:

(Photo by: Bryan Reid)

After recently announcing that their sophomore album Accept Loss Forever will be released by M-Theory Audio on July 7th, the Northern California-based death metalcore quartet Apothesary have now unveiled the album's cover art and track listing, in addition to premiering a lyric video created by Tsunami Films for the new song “Tempest (Even Tide).” The track features a guest guitar solo by Bill Hudson (U.D.O., I Am Morbid, Trans-Siberian Orchestra).

Described by the band as an “ode to suffering,” the emotionally charged “Accept Loss Forever” is a chronicle of the various challenges and difficulties the group has overcome. According to guitarist Clayton Cagle, “Accept Loss Forever was written for anyone who’s been depressed, who’s wished for their own death, who’s struggled with drug abuse to numb the pain, or who’s ever been broken by the loss of a loved one. Everyone in the band who put pen to paper to write this album lived through some, if not all, of the above. I don’t know where I would be without the support and catharsis that Apothesary has given me, and if just one person is helped by this record in the same way that I was, it will all be worth it.”

Tracklisting:

“Sensory Overload”
“Two-Minute Hate”
“1976”
“Elizabeth”
“Accept Loss Forever”
“Making Up For Lost Time”
“You’ve Met With A Terrible Fate, Haven’t You”
“Knight”
“Woodland Critter Christmas”
“Tempest (Even Tide)”
“Expressionless Me”

“Tempest (Even Tide)” lyric video:

Fan-filmed video footage of RAMMSTEIN's May 28 concert at Eden Aréna in Prague, Czech Republic can be seen below.

"Paris", the new concert DVD and Blu-ray from RAMMSTEIN, was released on May 19. The set was recorded in March 2012 at the then-named Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris (now AccorHotels Arena) during RAMMSTEIN's "Made In Germany" tour, and was helmed by the band's longtime collaborator, Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund. Åkerlund has also worked with METALLICA, SATYRICON, MADONNA and THE PRODIGY, among others.

"Rammstein: Paris" is available on DVD, Blu-ray, CD, LP and as a digital download.

21 years down the line, with the original lineup, the six East Berliners stand at the very apex of the rock world, achieving album and DVD sales in the millions, headlining festivals and major venues around the world and selling out shows in record time (the band's bill-topping appearance at New York's Madison Square Garden saw the 20,000 seats snapped up in just 20 minutes!).

RAMMSTEIN hasn't made a new CD since 2009's "Liebe Ist Für Alle Da".

The band's frontman Till Lindemann in 2015 released a debut album with his side project LINDEMANN.

RAMMSTEIN guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe's EMIGRATE project issued its sophomore album, "Silent So Long", in November 2014 via Spinefarm.

Fans of rock icon Alice Cooper know there are some aspects to his live shows that they can expect, including a hard-rocking performance of horror theatrics; however, following Alice Cooper's customary execution via guillotine at his Nashville concert on May 14, fans were treated to something rarely seen since 1975. The stage went dark, and the original band, including bassist Dennis Dunaway, guitarist Michael Bruce and drummer Neal Smith reunited to perform five classic songs with Alice. This followed the recent announcement that his forthcoming album — "Paranormal", out July 28th on earMUSIC — will include two new recordings featuring the original lineup. Joined by current band member Ryan Roxie filling in for the late Glen Buxton on guitar, the band ripped through "I'm 18", "No More Mr. Nice Guy", "Muscle Of Love", "Billion Dollar Babies" and then closed with "School's Out", bringing back current band members drummer Glen Sobel, bassist Chuck Garric, and guitarists Nita Strauss and Tommy Henriksen for a grande finale. The following day, the original band was honored by The Music Business Association at their annual convention, with an award for their historic achievements. The award was presented to them by Bob Ezrin, who produced their iconic albums "Love It To Death", "Killer", "School's Out" and "Billion Dollar Babies" as well as many subsequent solo Alice Cooper albums, including the forthcoming "Paranormal". "Paranormal" features two songs written and recorded with original members — Alice, Dennis, Neal and Michael — as well as guest appearances by ZZ TOP guitarist Billy Gibbons, U2 drummer Larry Mullen, and DEEP PURPLE bassist Roger Glover. The first single, "Paranoic Personality", will be released Friday, June 9.

Alice Cooper is on tour throughout the 2017.

Left to right: Music Business Association president Jim Donio, Neal Smith, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, Alice Cooper and Baker & Taylor VP/GM Steve Harkins. Photo courtesy of The Music Business Association

The revamped version of RAINBOW has released its first new music in more than two decades. Two tracks have been made available on iTunes: an instrumental song called "Land Of Hope And Glory", which is is a reworking of the 1902 British patriotic song of the same name from Edward Elgar's "Pomp And Circumstance March No. 1", and a re-recording of the RAINBOW classic "I Surrender", which was written by Russ Ballard and was first released by RAINBOW in 1981. The latter song features vocals recorded by current RAINBOW singer Ronnie Romero.

Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore stepped away from his Renaissance-inspired brand of music with BLACKMORE'S NIGHT last year to perform a handful of shows with a brand-new lineup of the band he had formed after quitting DEEP PURPLE.

Although Ritchie initially said that he had no plans to make a new RAINBOW album — explaining in early 2016 that he wanted to "just get back to playing the old songs one more time" — he revealed to Japan's Burrn! magazine that he changed his mind.

The current incarnation of RAINBOW includes Romero, originally from Chile but now settled in Madrid, Spain, as well as STRATOVARIUS keyboardist Jens Johansson, BLACKMORE'S NIGHT drummer David Keith, bassist Bob Nouveau (a.k.a. Robert "Bob" Curiano, ex-BLACKMORE'S NIGHT), and backing singers Candice Night and Lady Lynn.

Blackmore was full of praise for Romero, who spends some of his time fronting the Spanish metal band LORDS OF BLACK and is a member of a new project called THE FERRYMEN. "When I heard him, he seemed like the right guy to sing the [Ronnie James] Dio-era songs of RAINBOW," Ritchie told Burrn!. "He is versatile, he can sing like Freddie Mercury or Ronnie James Dio or Graham Bonnet.

"The reason I did not ask [former RAINBOW singer] Joe Lynn Turner [to get involved in the RAINBOW comeback] is because I thought European fans wanted to hear the Dio lineup of RAINBOW.

"I was very surprised that tickets [to the first RAINBOW comeback shows] sold out in 15 minutes. It was nice to know so many people wanted to hear RAINBOW at this time."

Joe Lynn Turner last year slammed Blackmore for the guitarist's decision to go out and perform classic DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW material with a new group musicians instead of reforming RAINBOW with a more "authentic" lineup.

Less critical of the new RAINBOW lineup was former DEEP PURPLE bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes, who admitted to Metal Express Radio earlier this year that he had watched some YouTube clips of the new RAINBOW lineup performing in 2016. "Singing Ronnie's [James Dio] songs needs a special kind of singer and I think the young chap did a reasonably good job and I think Ritchie may well have found the guy for him," Hughes said of Romero. "He was certainly a good fit for RAINBOW."

The two shows RAINBOW played in Germany last June were caught on camera to produce "Memories In Rock - Live In Germany", which was released in November via Eagle Rock Entertainment on DVD+2CD, Blu-ray+2CD, and digital formats.

After Ritchie left DEEP PURPLE for the final time in 1993, he reformed RAINBOW for one album (1995's "Stranger In Us All") and one tour, ending things in Denmark in 1997.

RAINBOW will embark on its first U.K. tour in twenty-two years next month.

In a recent interview with the Impact metal channel, Swedish producer and singer/songwriter Peter Tägtgren spoke about the status of his long-running extreme metal project HYPOCRISY. He stated about the band's future plans: "We haven't really decided anything. I mean, of course there will be some shows or a new album, but I don't know when. Maybe we do a tour first and then do an album. I don't know. It's really hard to say now, because I haven't really been focused on that. I wanna focus on the latest PAIN release now and try to play everywhere. And we take it from there. I mean, usually it's really going fast… When I start something, it goes really fast. So we're not talking twenty years from now or anything."

HYPOCRISY's latest album, "End Of Disclosure", was released in March 2013 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was produced by Tägtgren at his Abyss Studio in Sweden. The artwork was created by Wes Benscoter (SLAYER, KREATOR, NILE, VADER).

HYPOCRISY's "Hell Over Sofia - 20 Years Of Chaos And Confusion" DVD/CD was released in October 2011 via Nuclear Blast. The disc contains footage of the band's February 27, 2010 concert at the Blue Box club in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Kristyn Clark of Pop Culture Madness conducted an interview with guitarist Björn Gelotte of Swedish metallers IN FLAMES at this year's Rock On The Range festival in Columbus, Ohio. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about IN FLAMES' experimental approach to songwriting and making albums, Björn said: "We get a bit of flak for that, not doing the same album over and over, but it's never been our thing. It's not what we wanna do. We wanna create music that we think is sort of missing out there or that feels challenging, fun, interesting and that we wanna hear ourselves. And it doesn't please everyone, but that's not why we're here. I can't please everyone; I can't make sure everybody in this audience likes what I'm doing. What I can make sure is that the five of us are happy with it. And when we are, it's gonna be an IN FLAMES tune."

IN FLAMES has recruited Bryce Paul — a member of the Southern California pop-rock outfit IVES — to play bass for the band on their current U.S. tour, which includes a number of headlining shows and festival appearances.

Longtime IN FLAMES bassist Peter Iwers quit the band in November saying that he was leaving IN FLAMES "to pursue other endeavors." His replacement for some of the recent European shows was Håkan Skoger, who had previously played with PASSENGER and GARDENIAN.

"Battles", IN FLAMES' twelfth studio album, was released in November via Nuclear Blast in all territories excluding North America and Scandinavia and Eleven Seven Music Group in the U.S.

"It will come out on the first of March next year," says Blaze Bayley, talking about his forthcoming, as yet untitled solo album. News of the final instalment of Bayley's musical trilogy, which began with Infinite Entanglement, and was followed by Endure And Survive, was revealed during a recent interview with Konstantinos Sotirelis of Rock Overdose. 

"It’s three albums and it’s one story," continues Bayley. "The three albums are connected by one story of a man who does not know if he is human – and this connects everything. It’s the start of a very long journey. He starts on Earth and he travels to the other side of the galaxy, to a planet discovered by Kepler’s space telescope. It’s the story of what happens to him and what happens when he gets there."

Bayley was also asked if he had any plans for Wolfsbane - the band he fronted prior to joining Iron Maiden in 1994. The vocalist replied, "Yes, we’re planning a Wolfsbane reunion. It will happen in The UK. I think the first date is December 14th, in Winchester… we’re going to tour The UK in December, between the 14th and the 25th. So, I’m very excited about that. It’s the original lineup and, while we’re together, we’ll be trying to write some new songs to put out an album next year."

To read the complete interview, visit this location.

It was announced back in February that former Iron Maiden frontman Blaze Bayley will play some shows in Canada this August. He has updated his schedule, which has expanded to a full North American tour. Bayley's itinerary is as follows:

August
9  - Sellersville, PA - Sellersville Theater
10 - Brooklyn, NY - Saint Vitus
11 - Poughkeepsie, NY - The Chance    full meal
13 - Baltimore, MD - Fish Head Cantina
15 - Syracuse, NY - Sharkey’s
16 - Montreal, QC - Piranha Bar
17 - Ottawa, ON - Brass Monkey
18 - Quebec, QC - L’Anti
19 - Toronto, ON - Rockpile
20 - London, ON - East Side Bar and Grill
21 - Detroit, MI - Token Lounge
24 - Columbus, OH - Al Rosa Villa
25 - Janesville, WI - Backbar
26 - Bolingbrook, IL - Tailgators
27 - St. Louis, MO - Fubar
30 - Ft. Worth, TX - Rail Club
31 - Austin, TX - Come and Get it Live

September
2 - San Antonio, TX - Rockbox
4 - Hollywood, CA - Whisky A Go Go
6 - Petaluma, CA - Mystic Theater
8 - Portland, OR - Bossanova Ballroom
9 - Seattle, WA - TBC

Bayley recently released a video for “Escape Velocity”, a track from his new album, Endure And Survive (Infinite Entanglement Part II), the sequel to his 2016 release, Infinite Entanglement. Watch the clip below.

Endure And Survive is out now via Blaze Bayley Recording. The album artwork was created by Andreas Sandberg, with additional images from Christopher Steenstrup, who is also working on a Blaze Bayley video game.

The album was recorded between October and December 2016 at Robannas Studios, Birmingham, produced by Blaze Bayley and Chris Appleton, mixed and engineered by Miguel Seco, mastered by Ade Emsley (Iron Maiden, Tank, Phil Campbell). As with the previous record the song-writing has been a collaboration between Blaze, Chris Appleton and Michelle Sciarrotta.

Endure And Survive tracklisting:

“Endure And Survive”
“Escape Velocity”
“Blood”
“Eating Lies
“Destroyer”
“Dawn Of The Dead Son”
“Remember”
“Fight Back”
“The World Is Turning The Wrong Way”
“Together We Can Move The Sun”

“Escape Velocity” video:

“Endure And Survive” video:

Late last year, Todd Kerns and Brent Fitz - who both play in Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, and are both Canadian - teamed up with fellow Canucks Shane Gaalaas and Cory Churko; collectively they're known as Toque.

When Toque convene, they only jam on classic Canadian music, including songs by: Streetheart, Queen City Kids, Kim Mitchell, Loverboy, Saga, Platinum Blonde, Harlequin and Aldo Nova. In December 2016, Toque's debut album, Give'R, was released solely on digital platforms. This luxurious collection of Canadian cover songs is now available on CD; get yours by clicking here.

"Fantasy"
"Dance"
"Working For The Weekend"
"Thinking Of You"
"My Girl"
"Go For Soda"
"Crying Over You"
"On The Loose"
"Roller"
"Lonely At Night"
"New Girl Now"
"Raise A Little Hell"
"Action"

Catch Toque live in concert:

July
1 - Dauphin Country Fest - Dauphin, MB

August
4 - Nashville's - Winnipeg, MB
6 - Harbourfest - Kenora, ON
 

Late afternoon on Monday May 29th, hours before I Am Morbid's first European show at Rudeboy Club in Bielsko-Biala, Poland, guitarist Ira Black (Metal Church, Westfield Massacre, Lizzy Borden) was pulled into a Polish police paddy wagon where four paramilitary police officers interrogated him. He was on his way to a nail salon to repair a torn nail just blocks from venue Rudeboy Club. 

While in the wagon, Black sent a screen shot from his phone to I Am Morbid bandmate Bill Hudson (T.S.O., Dirkschneider) of his location. Bill called Ira as the police wagon was driving away to an undisclosed location and was able to explain to the officers who they were and about their show that night at Rudeboy.

The officers released Black to the venue in time for their showtime. I Am Morbid has 15 European show dates starting today.

May
29 - Bielsko-Biala, Poland - Rudeboy Club
30 - Kosice, Slovakia - Collosseum
31 - Budapest, Hungary - Durer Kert

June 
1 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Orto Bar
2 - Venice, Italy - Revolver
3 - Lyss, Switzerland - Kulturfabrik
4 - Hamburg, Germany - Logo
5 - Morlenbach-Weiher - Live Music Hall
6 - Munich, Germany - Feierwerk
7 - Erfurt, Germany - From Hell
8 - Flensburg, Germany - Roxy
9 - Den Haag, Netherlands - Paard Van Troje
10 - Tilburg, Netherlands - 013
11 - Leipzig, Germany - Hellraiser
12 - Oberhausen, Germany

Gregg Allman, who passed away Saturday (May 27th) due to complications from liver cancer, was a co-founder of the legendary Allman Brothers Band and a peerless pioneer of Southern rock - and by extension the entire jam-band movement, reports Variety.

Yet when he joined forces with his longtime manager Michael Lehman in 2004, his contributions and legacy were under-recognized and his business affairs were not in optimal shape. Lehman got to work on changing that, and over the past dozen-odd years Allman not only toured regularly, he released four solo albums - including 2011’s Grammy-nominated Low Country Blues and the forthcoming Southern Blood, due in September - established the Laid Back music festival in partnership with Live Nation, held the All My Friends career-retrospective concert in 2015, and established music scholarships at both the University of Georgia and through Syracuse University’s Bandier Program. In the process the two became not just close business partners but also close friends, and on Sunday Lehman shared memories from those years with Variety.

Variety: What were the last few months with Gregg like?

Michael Lehman: “I last saw him a couple of weeks ago, and we’d spent a lot of time together over the past couple of years at his place in North Florida as well as his home in Savannah [Georgia]. We talked about music, friendship, the arts, his relationship with his kids [Allman had five children, all but one of whom are musicians]. If his kids weren’t there we’d Facetime with them. And as things started to slow down and we knew that his life was coming to a close, we started talking about preserving his legacy, and especially the new record, “Southern Blood” — that made him light up. It was my goal to make sure it would be a big, special album, even though that it became clear that Gregg wasn’t necessarily going to be able to promote it, even if he was here, and that was something we were going to be prepared for.”

Read the full interview at Variety.com.

TOOL frontman Maynard James Keenan had some choice, if unusual, words for the crowd at the Boston Calling festival on Sunday night (May 28), when the band headlined the final night of the event. According to The Pulse Of Radio, Keenan said: "As artists, we interpret and report, that's our job. We are merchants of emotion. We have the privilege to do that because of active and former law enforcement and military defending our right to do so."

He continued: "Those of you who are law enforcement and military, your job is to defend our right to act like whining, entitled snowflake assholes. Myself being one. Snowflakes, your job is to respect that I'm fucking doing that for you. Divided we fall. Don't believe the hype dumb-dumbs, we're all in this together."

Keenan did not elaborate further on his comments.

The Boston Calling show was the fourth of TOOL's current tour and marked the band's first show in the Boston area in more than a decade. The tour will also bring the act to New York City next weekend for the Governor's Ball and its first show in that city since 2006.

TOOL's tour continues in Rochester, New York on Tuesday (May 30). The trek will wrap up with a large show in San Bernardino, California on June 24 which will also feature MELVINS, PRIMUS, THE CRYSTAL METHOD and more.

Although there have been more hints than usual lately that we might be closer to the first new TOOL album since 2006, there has been no concrete evidence of a release date yet.

SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR singer Corey Taylor was interviewed by Rock 100.5 The KATT's Jay Ramone at this year's edition of the Rocklahoma festival, which was held May 26-28 at "Catch the Fever" Festival Grounds in Pryor, Oklahoma, just outside Tulsa. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about the recording process for STONE SOUR's upcoming album, "Hydrograd", Taylor said: "Dude, it was the most fun I've ever had making an album. It was the easiest album I've ever made, and yet it is so strong, it's so badass. It is tight, it's fast, it's rocking, it's crushing, it's melodic, there's songs for the ladies. I mean, it's got everything you could ever want in a rock and roll album, man. And it's probably one of the things I'm most proud of in my life."

"Hydrograd" will be released on June 30 via Roadrunner Records. The disc was recorded at Sphere Studios in North Hollywood, California with producer Jay Ruston, who has previously worked with ANTHRAX and STEEL PANTHER.

The band tracked the album live in the studio, cutting a total of 18 songs from which 15 will make the CD.

STONE SOUR has had eight Top 10 songs on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs, dating back to "Bother" in 2002. The band has landed three top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 and has sold 2.1 million albums in the United States to date, according to Nielsen Music.

Steve Tucker of MORBID ANGEL and WARFATHER took part in the latest installment of "20 Questions With Scooter". You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about what it has been like being back in MORBID ANGEL for the past two years, Tucker — who is on his third spell with the group — said: "MORBID is what it is, man. It's legendary. For me, MORBID's fun, man, because I come in and I do my part — I have my part. And MORBID is its own machine, man; MORBID ANGEL just exists and keeps going and is this entity that, really, is a part of Trey [Azagthoth, MORBID ANGEL guitarist], man. And I just enjoy being a part of it, and I've always really enjoyed and loved the things that Trey and I created together. I think it's nothing like what Trey and David [Vincent, former MORBID ANGEL frontman], the other singer from MORBID, created; it's something different. I bring something different out in Trey and he bring something out in me. But it's good stuff to me. It's always been good stuff and stuff I've always been very proud of. So with MORBID, man, I'm really just… I'm stoked to be a part of it and get to go out and see people I haven't seen in years and play songs I haven't played in years. I mean, we talk about these songs sometimes, how long it's been since this album came out, and it's way longer than I even wanna think about. But to get play 'em again, man, it's great — it's very enjoyable."

Tucker also talked about MORBID ANGEL's latest additions, drummer Scott Fuller (ANNIHILATED, ex-ABYSMAL DAWN) and guitarist Dan Vadim Von (guitarist/frontman of the American death metal band VADIMVON). He said: "Scotty is young, man. It's kind of funnt. Scotty is, I think… Man, I don't even know how much younger he is than me, man… like fifteen years or something. And it's really weird, man, but he's a phenomenal drummer. And it's funny. I took influences from bands like AC/DC and SLAYER and METALLICA and all the other thrash bands out there, [like] KREATOR and SODOM, all these bands, I took 'em in and I turned 'em into something that they probably think is obnoxious. Well, Scotty did it too. Scotty was influenced by these bands, and he was influenced by MORBID. What he's doing, his generation, man, his drumming is just… to me, it's completely next level. And Daniel, man… Daniel, he's a really interesting guy, man. He was born in Russia, in the USSR, under communist rule. Just hanging out with this guy, some of the stories this guy tells you are just absolutely mind-blowing. He literally, man, started off in a different world. You know, communist USSR and the United States in the '80s were about as far from each other as you could possibly get on this planet, as far as opinion and as far as location. So he's from another world, man. But it's the funny thing about music — we get in a room and we all come to the same page and lock in together, man."

He continued: "So it's interesting, man. It's really interesting to be involved with MORBID ANGEL with two people that I'm really… coming into it, was not familiar with. There's other elements that kept it glued together. Like, I mean, we were working with [producer and former MORBID ANGEL guitarist] Erik Rutan. I couldn't be more familiar with Erik. So there was that comfort kind of leveling off this newness. So somehow it all gelled together, man, and it's all working and I'm really happy with what we've got going on."

Tentatively due before the end of the year via UDR Music, MORBID ANGEL's new disc was recorded at Mana Recording in St. Petersburg, Florida with Rutan. The LP will mark the band's first release with Fuller, who joined MORBID ANGEL last year following the departure of Tim Yeung. It will also be MORBID ANGEL's first album to feature Tucker since 2003's "Heretic".

Dan Vadim Von joined MORBID ANGEL in January as the replacement for Norwegian guitarist Destructhor (a.k.a. Thor Anders Myhren), who left the band two years ago.

MORBID ANGEL's first U.S. tour of 2017, which kicked off on May 23 in Orlando, Florida, features support from SUFFOCATION, REVOCATION and WITHERED.

Former MORBID ANGEL frontman David Vincent recently joined forces with several other musicians — including Yeung (drums) — to perform classic MORBID ANGEL songs under the I AM MORBID banner.

MORBID ANGEL's controversial 2011 album, "Illud Divinum Insanus", marked the group's first CD to feature Vincent since "Domination".

Video footage of RIVERDOGS, the band featuring DEF LEPPARD and LAST IN LINE guitarist Vivian Campbell, performing an acoustic version of its new song "Welcome To The New Disaster", can be seen below. The track is taken from RIVERDOGS' comeback album, "California", which will be released on July 7 via Frontiers Music Srl.

Featuring original members Campbell, Rob Lamothe (vocals, guitars) and Nick Brophy (bass, vocals), along with drummer Marc Danzeisen, the band's fifth album is RIVERDOGS' first new music since the eight-song mini album, "World Gone Mad", came out in October 2011.

Mixing the soulful vocals of Lamothe with the edgy guitarwork of Campbell and solid rhythmic lines from Brophy and Danzeisen, the album marks a definitive return to the sound of their critically acclaimed 1990 self-titled debut album. On the making of the album, Campbell says: "When my friends at Frontiers suggested a RIVERDOGS album in the spirit of the original debut record, I jumped at the chance to make it. In my opinion, 'Riverdogs' was a highlight of my career with some of my best guitar playing and definitely a record that flew under the radar. Having a clear direction of exactly what kind of record to make really helped the four of us create the music and there was an intense collective focus throughout the entire process that never wavered. I really think that we hit the target in creating a record that has all the hallmarks, the integrity and the emotional strength of the original debut. The fact that we've all remained such close friends throughout all the years only added to the joyous experience that was the making of this record."

Adds Lamothe: "Going into this project, my goal was to enjoy the opportunity of making music with some of my best friends, to share this incredible experience with my family... and to create something that RIVERDOGS fans will probably think is pretty bloody awesome. Big guitars! Beautiful melodies! Words about crazy, complicated, real stuff! I feel like Nick, Viv, Marc and I all brought our 'A' games to the writing and recording sessions. That's way more important than money and awards and fame to me" Brophy sums up the writing process for the album: "In summer of 2016, I found myself in Los Angeles, reunited with three of my closest friends, about to begin a new RIVERDOGS album. Marc had arranged a rehearsal environment at a friend's house, which was to provide the creative atmosphere for writing new material. I stood there with bass in hand thinking, 'Okay, now what?' Little did I know that a few days later we would have six new RIVERDOGS songs and the album 'California' was born. The remaining six songs came, surprisingly, just as easily, a testament to the amazing talents of Vivian, Rob, Marc and the effortless way in which we work as a group. Our clear goal for this album was to remain true to the original RIVERDOGS sound and provide fans with a new set of songs which carry on the legacy of a truly remarkable band." RIVERDOGS formed in Los Angeles at the end of the '80s when flashy, glitzy hard rock ruled the day, but they were determined to avoid clichés and adopted an original sounding blues-rock style. Campbell of SWEET SAVAGE, DIO and WHITESNAKE fame at the time (soon to join and become a long-standing member of DEF LEPPARD and later, founding member of LAST IN LINE as well) was initially brought on board to produce the band's first demo, but was so impressed with the band that he actually became a member and played on the debut album. Soon after the release, Marc Danzeisen joined Rob, Nick and Vivian to complete the lineup. Though fans and critics gave the album a warm reception and high regard, the unfortunate and age old story of change of personnel at their record label came about and eventually led the band members to go their own ways, with Campbell settling into the DEF LEPPARD lineup and Nick Brophy becoming a respected engineer and producer. RIVERDOGS, with a revamped lineup, released two more records in 1993, "Bone" and "Absolutely Live", before going on an extended hiatus. They reconvened, with the original lineup, in 2003 to record new material and play a few reunion shows. Those new songs were recorded as demos, but only completed in the studio in 2011 when their last album, "World Gone Mad", was released.

Now, six years after their last studio album, RIVERDOGS have crafted "California", a record that truly recreates the magical sounds of their early days and that will surely be welcomed with open arms by fans both old and new. "California" track listing:

01. American Dream02. The Revolution Starts Tonight03. Something Inside04. Golden Glow05. You're Too Rock And Roll06. The Heart Is A Mindless Bird07. Searching For A Signal08. Welcome To The New Disaster09. Ten Thousand Reasons10. Catalina11. I Don't Know Anything

METAL CHURCH's video for the song "Reset" can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's latest album, "XI", which debuted at No. 57 on The Billboard 200, having shifted 11,000 equivalent album units in the week ending March 31, 2016.

"XI" was released on March 25, 2016 via Rat Pak Records. Produced by guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof and co-produced by Chris "The Wizard" Collier, the band's eleventh studio release marked the return of singer Mike Howe.

METAL CHURCH released "Classic Live" via Rat Pak Records on April 28. Produced by Vanderhoof, this special edition release features nine classic METAL CHURCH songs recorded live on the band's 2016 tour and also includes a special bonus track, a powerful new studio version of "Fake Healer" that features a duet with QUEENSRŸCHE vocalist Todd La Torre.

METAL CHURCH has recruited Stet Howland (ex-W.A.S.P.) to play drums for the band on all its summer shows. He joins the group as the replacement for Jeff Plate, who announced his departure from METAL CHURCH in March.

Vanderhoof recently confirmed that METAL CHURCH has commenced the songwriting sessions for the follow-up to "XI", tentatively due in early 2018. "I actually have a big pile of new songs — demos — ready to go, and Mike [Howe, vocals] and I are gonna start putting it together and we're gonna try to start putting a new record," the guitarist told the "KDUX Morning Show".

Kurdt also spoke in more detail about the METAL CHURCH songwriting process, saying that it comes about organically. "The only way I approach writing a METAL CHURCH record is, does it sound like a METAL CHURCH record?" he explained. "I've never been one to try to take chances and break new ground with things; that's never been my kind of thing. I just wanna definitely keep it old school and heavy and powerful, but it's gotta be melodic; there has to be vocal melodies and notes and things like that. Things that some bands and people don't really do anymore, which is, I guess, fine, but that's not really something that I wanna listen to. So it's still gotta be musical. So I just kind of approach it that way — it's gotta be musical, it's gotta be melodic, and it still has to maintain power and be metal. But it's definitely old school — just kind of like 'XI' was."