Consisting of current and formers members of The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Faceless, John Zorn and many other renowned projects, John Frum will release the new album, A Stirring In The Noos, on May 12th via Relapse Records.

The band has released a video for “Wasting Subtle Body”, directed by Mitch Massie (Cattle Decapitation, The Locust). It’s is a mind-bending depiction of a terrifying ritual with haunting visuals.

“One thing I was really excited about with this project was to shoot nature in a way that depicts the character's inward journey. I didn't want to use the weird sex and death stuff I tend to do. This project was to be the beauty of nature herself! I went way out there with my camera and tried to get my inner hippie excited about tickling chakras, absorbing energy from stones, bathing in nature's blushing design... but all I found in mother nature was death and fucking (in macro)." - Mitch Massie

The patron saints of altered states known as John Frum began its chronicle of disturbances on 11.11.11 in Philadelphia, and have been fermenting their bedeviled broth in the clandestine corners of their collective consciousness ever since.

John Frum borrows its name from a relatively isolated group of natives in the South Pacific islands, known as a Cargo Cult, who first used the alias John Frum as a means to reject European ways, escape oppressive missionaries, and return to their old traditions. The narrative changed, during the war in the 1940s, to reflect their encounters with thousands of American soldiers who spectacularly descended on that region by sea and air with crates of wartime materials dropped from the sky, known as “Cargo.” These events drastically changed the beliefs and lifestyle of the islanders as they took the soldiers and their offerings to be god-like, as they descended from the heavens.

Alt-religious narratives induced by these encounters were incongruent with islanders’ long-held beliefs, yet the natives could not deny the call of the cargo. Attempting to reconcile their existing beliefs with the new understanding of the outside world led to some strange interpretations which evolved into a bizarre narrative about a dark-skinned soldier-deity who resides inside a nearby volcano, and who many believe will one day return, showering them in riches and technology.

Like a planchette moved by the presence of subtle energies, John Frum functions as a medium for malefic musings. Existing at the intersections of perception, superstition, intoxication, ritual, rhetoric, metaphysics and mystical experience, John Frum welcome in the golden age of musical enlightenment with their first manifesto, A Stirring In The Noos. Nearly six years in the making, John Frum’s unorthodox debut maneuvers through 40-minutes of darkly psychedelic and meticulously crafted death metal, the backdrop of a bad trip. A Stirring In The Noos is a dismal distillation of oneiric transmissions, an aural reliquary of mis-shapen manifestations, and a totem to modern primitivism in heavy music.

Tracklisting:

“Presage Of Emptiness”
“Pining Light”
“Memory Palace”
“Through Sand And Spirit”
“Lacustrine Divination”
“He Come”
“Assumption Of Form”
“Wasting Subtle Body”

“Pining Light” live video:

“Memory Palace” video:

“Presage Of Emptiness” video:

Album teaser:

Pre-order options are available at this location.

John Frum Is:

Matt Hollenberg (John Zorn, Cleric) - guitar
Eli Litwin (Intensus/Deveykus/Knife The Glitter) - drums
Derek Rydquist (Ex-The Faceless) - vocals
Liam Wilson (The Dillinger Escape Plan, Starkweather) - bass

(Photo - Kristie Krause)

Guitarist Thomas Zwijsen has uploaded the video below, featuring a live acoustic performance of Iron Maiden’s “Lord Of The Flies” with former Maiden singer Blaze Bailey and violinist Anne Bakker.

Says Zwijsen: “Found this video in my archives, I believe it's the very first acoustic performance we ever did! “Lord Of The Flies” live in Deinze, Belgium, with ex-Iron Maiden singer Blaze Bayley. Blaze performed in the same venue with Iron Maiden during the X Factour.”

In the video below, Thomas Zwijsen performs an acoustic/classical guitar arrangement of Metallica's "The Unforgiven II”. Guitar lessons can be found at this location.

“Ortega Guitars invited me to do a series of videos on a selection of their guitars,” says Thomas. “In this video (below) I'm performing “The Trooper” by Iron Maiden on the Eclipse Suite CE model.”

Original Voivod bassist Blacky (Jean-Yves Thériault) has teamed up with bassist Monica Emond and launched Cœur Atomique, a project formed in 2014. Their music, written for two basses and electronics, is accompanied with film projections during live performances. Art, they say, is meant to act and to resist!

“Watch out weird monkeys! Yes, it’s you we are talking to. You won’t get away so easily reshaping the whole wide world around.”

They will release their first album called Landscape Of Emergency I on June 5th, 2017, both available on vinyl and in digital format through their website. This album is the first part of the Landscape of Emergency serie of releases which address the impacts of the silencing machine of ignorance and indifference.

The Landscape Of Emergency I tracklist is as follows:

"Fail Safe"
"Calutron"
"Castle Bravo"
"The Waste"
"Berghof"
"Green Run"

Belgium thrashers, Evil Invaders, have posted an update on Facebook detailing their recent trip to the US for a debut show on American soil. As fans are aware, that never happened. The update appears below in its entirety.

"As some of you might know we were scheduled for our very first USA festival ever in Milwaukee on April 22nd. The deal was simple: the festival purchases our flights and covers all our costs to make the show happen, but no money for our own pockets. We were definitely up for that and we were stoked to head for the US of A to tear down the house for our 1st ever US live performance. Did we manage to enter the country? Yes, Sir! Did we kick ass and leave the country to ashes after our devastating show? Well, not exactly… Here’s how it goes...

On April 20th we took our flight from Brussels to Chicago. The flight was OK as we already flew multiple times to Japan or South America. We were all good! When we arrived at Chicago airport everything went smooth and we were ready to kick ass. We took our bags, stood in line at customs and went out of the airport as always. Standard procedure, no big deal. Except for… Joeri and Max.

While chatting with the festival driver who would pick us up, we got a text message from Joeri saying that cops were looking for us and that we needed to get back to customs asap. Also Joeri passed customs, but he was waiting for Max to get through as well. But that never happened… Obviously all of us got back and when we arrived back at customs cops immediately took our fingerprints while explaining that we would be sent back to Europe as we didn’t have a valid work permit and thus could not enter the USA. Yes, exactly. Two of us had already passed through customs and were having a cool chat with our driver outside of the airport. I guess they changed their minds for some reason and decided that we could not stay in the US after all. But in the end it’s their country and they can do whatever they want, so that’s cool…

At customs everyone was really nice and they told us that it was not our fault that we couldn’t stay in the country. We’re being kicked out of the country… but it was not our fault. What a relief! Eventually cops googled Max and found out through Metal Archives that Max was playing in Evil Invaders and that the band was playing at a US festival where people were paying entrance tickets. So even though we weren’t being paid to perform (which made it kinda silly to apply and spend quite some money on work permits), the fact that festival tickets were being sold was enough to hold us from staying in the US and performing.

Anyway, all our personal belongings were taken from us before being escorted -again, cops were actually very friendly!- to prison. God forbid we would hang ourselves with our own belts or strangle each other with our shoelaces! Ironically, while waiting at the entrance hall there was a television on with US president señor Trump giving some speech. Maybe he was telling that he had caught some evil invaders at the airport, we couldn’t exactly hear what he was saying. After that, cops brought us to our cell where we got nice American water and free food: all you can eat. Joe kinda liked it, so good for him.

Our cell was quite nice as it had a toilet in there and some blood and other human leftovers against the walls. We weren’t too excited about the cameras, though. Especially the one pointed to the toilet. Don’t know if this is common there, but we Europeans tend to keep that area a bit private. Another cool thing was that every once a while cops added another dude to our cell, so eventually we were 7 dudes chillin’ in one prison cell. Eventually we stayed there for 22hrs, lights on constantly probably to keep an eye on us when going to the toilet. They gave us some sort of towels to sleep on, so we didn’t really get why they kept the lights on 24/7. Another cool feature of the cell was that, through our door window, we could see a screen in the control room with the video footage from our cell and keep an eye on that dirty captured scum they had captured.

But unfortunately there comes an end to every beautiful story, so after our 22 hr marathon of 100% pure metal mayhem BOREDOM, cops escorted us back to the airport where people started taking pictures of us like mad as we could just see their excitement! It was there at the airport on that very moment at customs when we realized: we fucking nailed it! We are Metallica! The cops played the game along and told the people that we were VIPs. True story!

Eventually we got back on the plane back to Europe. Surprisingly we had the same stewardesses as on the previous day. They recognized us and were again surprised that we were flying back so soon. We told them what happened and they wished us luck on our future travels to the USA: “Well, better luck next time.”

Raging Dead is an Italian horror punk metal band that came together at the beginning of 2014 from an idea of vocalist Cloud Shade and lead guitarist Matt Void. The line-up was then rounded out with drummer Tracii Decadence and bassist Simon Nightmare.

Raging Dead had an intense first year of activity, in which it gained recognition in Italy playing with well-known Italian Horror bands and glam/sleaze bands. The quartet also had the chance to share the stage with many international bands, which built them a massive following in Italy.
Their debut EP Born In Rage gained national attention in Italy and the body of Europe. The band toured heavily in support of the EP across Europe and gained quite a sizable fan base as a result.

In June 2016, the band entered the BI-OS Music Production Studio with producer Francesco Altare to record their first full-length album, When The Night Falls. While sticking true to their Horror Rock roots, the new album led to a progression in musicianship with more aggressive melodies and production than their previous efforts.

This new creation gained the attention of Pavement Entertainment and led to the group signing a partnership deal to release When The Night Falls worldwide. The album will be available on May 26th through all digital and streaming platforms. Preorder the album on iTunes.

Tracklisting:

“Streets Of Rage”
“When The Night Falls”
“Within Shadow”
“Army Of The Restless”
“Nightstalker”
“Bloodlust”
“Crimson Garden”
‘Scratch Me”
“Doomsday”
“Ballad Of The Storm”

“Crimson Garden” video:

NY/NJ based metal band Dark Sky Choir has announced the release of their self-titled debut album on May 16th.  The record release party will take place on June 23rd at The Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ, and will be hosted by Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine of That Metal Show.  The show is being sponsored by WRAT and WDHA radio stations.  

Artwork for the project was created by legendary cover artist Ioannis (Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Dream Theater, Dokken, Fates Warning, Skid Row, Sepultura, Yngwie Malmsteen).  The album will also feature guest appearances by Chris Caffery of Savatage, and Michael Pinnella of Symphony X.

Tracklisting:

“Death Of A Nation”
“Like It Or Not”
“Walking By Myself”
“Die Young (Maybe He Wanted To)”
“The End”
“Sails Of Charon”
“Cry For The Legions”
“Show No Mercy”
“Bedouin Caravan”

Norwegian black metallers SATYRICON have signed a worldwide deal with Napalm Records for the release of the band's next studio album, due on September 22.

Thomas Caser, CEO of Napalm Records, comments: "We are proud to announce the signing of one of the most influential extreme metal acts and pioneers of a whole genre. This upcoming album will surely set another mile stone in heavy music and we are honored to release it this fall!"

SATYRICON has already announced a European tour for September/October to coincide with the release of the upcoming studio album.

SATYRICON has always excelled live, its powerful, evocative performances, spearheaded by charismatic frontman and visionary Sigurd "Satyr" Wongraven, are shows that stick in the memory. Their gigs are increasingly becoming special events, as the frequency is dialled back to accommodate the Oslo band's "modus operandi."

Speaking about the band's new album and return to the live fray, Satyr commented: "The vast majority of our shows have been sold out in recent years and it makes me very thankful and proud.

"Our fans know that we are done a long time ago with relentless touring, so that makes every opportunity special to us now.

"I know our new album is one that our fans will love and we know how much people appreciate SATYRICON as a live band. We are going to make every show unforgettable".

Satyr, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2015, told Metal Hammer 's "In Residence" show on Spotify that SATYRICON's follow-up to 2013's self-titled album would see the band moving away from the "violent, aggressive" vibe of its earlier efforts.

He said: "When we started getting back in to the rhythm after I was hospitalized, the music changed. I wasn't so much into what we did earlier — it wasn't that I didn't like it, but I didn't feel it in the same way anymore.

"A lot of what we did in the beginning is relentless, violent and aggressive. It's not like it's sobbing or really sad now, but it's more percussive, varied and soulful. There's less emphasis on the aggressive violent part of it."

Satyr also revealed that SATYRICON's next album is being recorded on a farm outside Oslo, Norway.

"We've been jamming in a barn for a long time," he said. "Every time we go there, the atmosphere is really nice — we really enjoy being there.

"I just said, 'We play so well when we're here — the spirit and the soul, and what we do comes across as unique. What if we brought recording equipment and engineers here, instead of bringing SATYRICON to a studio?' So we're doing that."

SATYRICON drummer Kjetil-Vidar "Frost" Haraldstad told VirtualFestivals.com last summer that the material for the band's next album "feels more creative than anything we have done before. I think that we managed to open quite a few doors, creatively, than with previous albums at least. This dynamic element was important. What I have been feeling is all those doors lead somewhere, and we have been exploring them and the result is what you will hear on that next album. It will go much further than previous albums, and I think it will be a very loaded album. Intense, very very diverse. An album impossible to sum up in a few words, which is a good thing."

SATYRICON celebrated the 20th anniversary of its seminal album "Nemesis Divina" with a series of exclusive European shows which saw the Norwegian trailblazers performing the LP in its entirety for the first and last time. The album was also re-released in spring 2016, newly remastered by Satyr himself and boasting upgraded and revamped packaging.

Red Hot Chili Peppers have released a new music video for their song "Goodbye Angels", from the band's most recent album The Getaway, which was released by Warner Bros. Records on June 17th, 2016. The "Goodbye Angels" music video was shot in Atlanta and directed by Thoranna "Tota" Sigurdardottir.

Red Hot Chili Peppers have spent the year playing sold out shows in Europe and  North America in support of The Getaway and will headline Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, and The Meadows Festival. See below for a complete list of dates.

The Getaway debuted at #1 on the Billboard Album Sales Chart and at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 upon its release in June. The Getaway marks the Grammy Award-winning band's seventh top 10 album and third #2 on the Top 200 Chart. The album debuted at #1 in Australia, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, and New Zealand and at #2 in the United Kingdom and Germany. The Getaway was produced by Danger Mouse and mixed by Nigel Godrich.

Tour dates:

May
11 - Pittsburgh, PA - PPG Paints Arena
13 - Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans
14 - Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center-
16 - Louisville, KY - KFC Yum! Center
18 - Indianapolis, IN - Bankers Life Fieldhouse
19 - Cincinnati, OH - US Bank Arena
21 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center
23 - Des Moines, IA - Wells Fargo Arena
26 - Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre
28 - Edmonton, AB - Rogers Place
29 - Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome

June
10 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo
20 - Montreal , QC - Bell Centre
22 - Hamilton, ON - FirstOntario Centre
23 - Ottawa, ON - Canadian Tire Centre
25 - Grand Rapids, MI - Van Andel Arena
30 - Chicago, IL - United Center

July
1 - Chicago, IL - United Center

October
13 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits
16 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
18 - Glendale, AZ - Gila River Arena

On April 22nd, Enslaved Roadburn Live - a split release between By Norse Music and Burning World Records - was released as limited Record Store Day Color Editions and a Gold Edition, sold via the Enslaved web store and at Roadburn Festival 2017. Color and Gold 2LP Editions include the original A3 Roadburn Festival poster and color stickers. Stream "Isa" below, the song originally appeared on the 2004 album of the same name.

Grutle Kjellson from Enslaved comments: "This, ladies and gentlemen is the very FIRST Enslaved live album ever! It was recorded in our favorite festival, Roadburn, which makes it even more special to us. Although a live album cannot preserve the essence of being present at a concert, we hope you will still find some pleasure in this Roadburn Live album, both in the music and in the magnificent artwork. Besides, we hope to see all of you on our forthcoming tour, summer festivals in 2017 and in the years to come. Hail and salute dear friends!"

Watch the unpacking video of the exclusive Record Store Day clear edition (Europe only) below:

Walter Hoeijmakers / Roadburn's Artistic Director comments on the release: "It’s no secret that there’s a strong friendship between Roadburn and Enslaved. One of the most hard-hitting and progressive bands to come out of Norway, Enslaved has played a significant part in the festival's history - both musically and artiscally. Not only has Enslaved been our artist in residence, bringing side-projects such as The Armageddon Concerto (the Enslaved / Shining collaboration), Dream of an Opium Eater and Trinacria to Roadburn, Ivar Bjørnson has also been our 2015 co-curator, along with Wardruna’s Einar Kvitrafn Selvik, and resulting in Skuggsjá's first ever performance outside of Norway. Enslaved’s 2015 performances were the pinnacle of this enduring and artistic friendship, and showcased the massive influence the band has had on both Roadburn, and the (underground) metal scene for the past two decades. To have these shows captured on vinyl is a dream come true for me, and I truly hope it’s the same for anyone who was in attendance, or those who want to indulge themselves in the Northern magic of Enslaved."  

Roadburn Live is available as limited and exclusive Record Store Day (April 22nd) color editions and as Roadburn/Enslaved-Webshop Gold edition including the original A3 Roadburn poster and color stickers.

To celebrate the release, what better way than to hold a playback session with the members of Enslaved at the Roadburn Festival 2017! Becky Laverty / Roadburn Festival comments:

“Enslaved and Roadburn share a history that is entwined and their 2015 performance on the main stage was such a fantastic milestone for both parties, that it makes perfect sense for the show to be released as a live album. As the album will be released during Roadburn 2017, it seemed fitting to invite attendees and the band alike to join us for a playback session at the festival as part of our popular side program.”

Roadburn Live also features a brilliant layout created by highly respected artist and Roadburn’s regular graphic designer Costin Chioreanu. The album was mixed by Iver Sandøy at Solslottet Studio, mastered by Jens Bogren (Kreator, Opeth, Sepultura) in Fascination Studios. It is also the last official release with Herbrand Larsen on keys and vocals.

After celebrating 25 years in 2016 showcasing a majority of older material, Roadburn Live displays songs mainly from the "newer" and more progressive era of Enslaved’s career, with songs from In Times, Riitiir, Isa, Below The Lights and Monumension. Featuring guest appearances of Einar Selvik (Wardruna), Aðalbjörn Tryggvason (Sólstafir), Per Wiberg (Opeth, Candlemass); and Menno Gootjes (Focus) on "Immigrant Song", this is the first cover song by Enslaved to appear on any record ever.

Grutle Kjellson comments on the album: "I'm generally not a huge fan of live albums, I like to be present at a show, to grasp the energy of the band and to witness the, sometimes, magical symbiosis that occurs between the band and the audience. I am, however, a huge fan of the Roadburn Festival! I consider this to be my all-time favorite, both as a musician and as a guest. Therefore; if ever Enslaved were to release a live album, it had to be from a Roadburn show! I hope you will enjoy listening to this piece of wax as much as we did recording it!"

Tracklisting:

“Building With Fire”
“Death In The Eyes Of Dawn”
“In Times”
“Daylight”
“Convoys To Nothingness”
“As Fire Swept Clean The Earth”
“Isa”
“Immigrant Song” (Led Zeppelin cover)

“Death In The Eyes Of Dawn”:

Progressive black/death metal collective Cormorant are readying to release their fourth LP Diaspora this August.

Recorded and mixed by Greg Wilkinson (Vastum, Graves At Sea, Noothgrush, Brainoil) at Earhammer Studios in Oakland, California in late 2016, Diaspora serves as the follow-up to 2014's critically-lauded Earth Diver full-length and sees Cormorant take their unique style of progressive metal in an expansive, and adventurous direction. With four songs that total 61 minutes, the album features the band's longest, most detail-oriented compositions to date -- the collective result of two years of collaborative writing. Musically, Diaspora features familiar elements of black, death, prog, and folk metal, but pronounced psychedelic and funeral doom influences can be heard throughout as well, particularly on the twenty-six-minute closing epic, "Migration."
 
Diaspora also features dynamic performances from renowned cellist Jackie Perez Gratz (Grayceon, Giant Squid, ex-Amber Asylum) while Utah-based visionary artist Jeff Christensen created the album's vivid, four-panel artwork. Mastered by Brad Boatright (Sleep, YOB, Gatecreeper) at Audiosiege, the album is a crushing statement from one of the Bay Area's most consistent extreme metal bands.
 
Diaspora will be available on 2LP, CD, and digital formats on August 11th with US and European distribution through War Crime Recordings.
 
Artwork and preorder details will be unveiled in the coming weeks. In the meantime, check out the album trailer below.

Tracklisting:

“Preserved In Ash”
“Sentinel”
“The Devourer”
“Migration”

Album trailer:

Bakersfield, CA-based rockers, Adema, have announced that the band’s original lineup of Kris Kohls (drums), Mike Ransom (guitar), Dave DeRoo (bass), Tim Fluckey (vocals, guitar), and Mark Chavez (vocals) have reunited.

Says the band: “You can catch us live at the world famous Whiskey A Go Go (West Hollywood, California) on Wednesday, May 24th! Writing and recording a new record soon! The magic is back!”

Also on the bill for the Whiskey A Go Go show are LA Story, Desire The Fire, Blakk Mantra and Ampage. An event page can be found at this location.

(Photo - Adema Facebook)

Melodic death/thrash quartet Dead Asylum will release sophomore album Death Always Wins on June 2nd. On the follow-up to 2013 debut General Carnage, the Vancouver, Canada band has sharpened the songwriting to a fine point and bolstered its established muscular attack with a harder rhythmic punch and an even deadlier arsenal of riffs. The title track is the embodiment of that sound and has just been released as the album's first single. The song is available for download with preorders on Bandcamp.

With an unexpected combination of thrash and melodeath elements reminiscent of the Gothenburg Sound (At The Gates, Arch Enemy), Dead Asylum's Death Always Wins is one killer listen. The songs on Death Always Wins range from thrashy headbangers, to technical compositions, and chantable, heavy metal anthems. While it might seem like their sound covers the spectrum of metal, everything is tied together by brutal dual vocals and melodic leads. Lyrical themes include revolution and political uprising, the apocalypse, and-as the band name alludes-twisted facets of the human psyche. The band's famously intense live shows are about to get fiercer when the new material is left beaten and bloodied on the stage.

Death Always Wins was tracked at Jam Factory Studios in Port Coquitlam, BC; recorded and edited by Roger Mowat; and mix/mastered by Chris Holmes.  Pierre-Alain (3mmi Design) was responsible for the album art.

Drummer Samantha Landa in many ways defines Dead Asylum's unbridled energy and inability to ever just stand still. Landa performed with Brazilian thrashers and Napalm Records artist Nervosa for three months throughout North America and Europe in 2016, including on a tour package that also featured Destruction, Flotsam & Jetsam, and Enforcer. And all the while ran her online business from the road.  

Previously, Landa even served as a Pool Girl on the annual 70000 Tons of Metal cruise.

Dead Asylum will hit the road this summer for an August/September U.S. tour. Stay tuned for details.

Tracklisting:

“Defiance”
“Death Always Wins”
“Between Me And The Grave”
“Bury The Living”
“Forgotten Sacrifice”
“Bred To Die”
“Welcome”
“Inmate 666”

“Death Always Wins” lyric video:

“Forgotten Sacrifice” video:

ormer METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted joined the TANGIERS BLUES BAND on stage on May 4 at the McKittrick Hotel in New York City to perform a set of songs on acoustic guitar and vocals. Fan-filmed video footage of the show can be seen below.

During an appearance on the SiriusXM satellite radio show "Eddie Trunk Live", Newsted explained how his mother's illness and eventual passing in March of 2016 inspired his current acoustic-based projects. He said: "What transpired was I had to keep playing, and she knows I had to keep playing. So I picked up the acoustic and started doing what I was able to do when I was just hanging around her, and started learning my cowboy chords and started collecting my songs. This was about the beginning of summer of 2014. So I would play certain songs for her, kind of choking through 'em — a bass player playing heavy handed on the acoustic guitar and just banging these cowboy chords out and learning Johnny Cash and Neil Young and George Jones and some more popular things like that. And by now, a couple of years later, I've dug in a lot deeper than that, but it was originally inspired by that thing, where I'd play mom songs. And she wouldn't necessarily remember, the next day or the next couple of days, which ones I'd played for her, and so she would react to certain songs the same way each time she heard them as if she was hearing them the first time. And so that kind of showed me which ones to chase, that showed me which ones had the groove, which ones my voice fit with, and all that. That's how I started collecting my songs. I had to keep playing music, of course, but the way and the form that it had to take was me with an acoustic, one voice, working through those songs as I had to put everything else on hold."

Jason in February 2014 canceled an appearance at Australia's Soundwave festival with his band NEWSTED, citing "private and personal circumstances." The cancelation followed more than a year of intense touring and promotional activity surrounding the release of NEWSTED's "Metal" EP and follow-up album, "Heavy Metal Music", both of which were positively received by the critics and fans alike.

After staying mostly out of the public eye for a couple of years, Newsted rejoined Canadian metal innovators VOIVOD on stage during June 2016 concert at Slim's in San Francisco, California. He has since formed a couple of new acoustic projects, one of which completed a short West Coast tour last September.

Jason left METALLICA back in 2001 but was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, along with guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett, and the man who replaced him, bassist Robert Trujillo, in 2009.

Steven Wilson has announced details of his upcoming fifth album, To The Bone. He will embark on a major 2018 UK tour, including a return to one of the country's most iconic venues - the Royal Albert Hall. US tour plans will be announced soon. To herald the release, Wilson has shared the new song "Pariah”, available for streaming below.

To The Bone is a gloriously dynamic modernist pop record as imagined by the UK's biggest underground artist. The album releases on August 18th. Pre-orders are live at this location.

Fusing driving futurist rock and spectral electronics to elegiac hyper-space ambience and dizzying, squalling guitars, To The Bone is Steven Wilson's hat-tip to the hugely ambitious progressive pop records of his youth (think Peter Gabriel's So, Talk Talk's Colour Of Spring, Tears For Fears' Seeds Of Love).

Lyrically, the album's 11 tracks veer from the paranoid chaos of the post-truth era and the creeping self-loathing of the technology age to steely fly-on-the-wall observations of the everyday lives of religious fundamentalists with a welcome shot or two of wide-eyed escapism. Sonically and melodically stunning, To The Bone is a high definition snapshot of the disconcerting times we live in.

The follow up to 2015’s Hand. Cannot. Erase., To The Bone is Steven Wilson’s first album since signing with Caroline International (Iggy Pop, Underworld, Thurston Moore, Glass Animals).

Formerly the founder and mainstay of outsider rock band Porcupine Tree, Steven released his first record under his own name, Insurgentes, in 2008. He has been resolutely independent throughout a three-decade career that’s made him the most successful British artist you've never heard of.

Tracklisting:

“To The Bone”
“Nowhere Now”
“Pariah”
“The Same Asylum As Before”
“Refuge”
“Permanating”
“Blank Tapes”
“People Who Eat Darkness”
“Song Of I”
“Detonation”
“Song Of Unborn”

“Pariah”:

Radiation Romeos will release their self-titled debut album on June 2nd. The album track “Like An Arrow” is available for streaming below.

Radiation Romeos is a new band formed by the singer Parramore “Perry” McCarty, best known for being the frontman of legendary US metal act Warrior and famed Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens' solo project, Atomic Playboys (in fact, the inspiration for the name Radiation Romeos came from a line in the song “Atomic Playboys").

Musically, the band moves in a melodic hard rock direction with solid, metallic edges thanks to the production of Michael Voss (Phantom 5, Casanova, Michael Schenker), who also contributed to the songwriting. In the studio, Parramore sang all vocals with Dag Heyne handling guitars, Jogi Spittka on bass, and Gereon Homann laying down the drum work with gusto.

Perry says: “Radiation Romeos started when producer Michael Voss contacted me in San Diego through Facebook. A few days later we had the record agreement with Frontiers, so the Radiation Romeos album was soon under way. Our goal was to write great melodic rock songs. The album “spans the globe” from the title track, power rockin’ Radiation Romeos to some songs with a bit more grit like Castaways. All the way to a beautiful ballad, “Like An Arrow”. Something for everyone, if you will… The recording was so much fun and exciting for me. I couldn’t wait to get up the following day to work on the next song! Michael is a wonderfully professional person with endless talent and the musicians super cool guys and top players!”

Parramore McCarty's career in music started when Robbin Crosby of Ratt gave him his start singing in cover bands. His first major label album was Fighting For the Earth on Virgin Records in 1985 for the legendary heavy metal band Warrior. Steve Stevens' Atomic Playboys followed in 1989 on Warner Bros. Records. Then he returned to Warrior and also started gigging in the LA area with Metal Freqs and Monster Traxx.

Radiation Romeos tracklisting:

“Radiation Romeos”
“Ocean Drive”
“Bad Bad Company”
“Mystic Mountain”
“Like An Arrow”
“Promised Land”
“Castaways”
“Ghost Town”
“Til The End Of Time”
“On The Tight Rope”
“Monstertraxx”

“Like An Arrow”:

“Ocean Drive” video:

Band lineup:

Parramore McCarty - vocals
Dag Heyne - guitars
Jogi Spittka - bass
Gereon Homann - drums

French black metal cultists, Merrimack, are streaming the new track “Cesspool Coronation”, to be featured on their new album, Omegaphilia, out on June 9th via Season Of Mist. Listen to the new song below.

Merrimack were founded by guitarist Perversifier in 1994 with a clear vision to keep the black metal flame burning as an act of aesthetic terrorism – adamantly based in the underground as opposed to any attempts to co-opt or commercialize.

With a number of demo recordings under their belt in the mid '90s, the French gained recognition and respect in the scene for being true to their words. Following the release of three well-received full-lengths, the Parisians remained dedicated to their roots firmly lodged in dirty, grime, and fanatical passion. The band's daft combination of harsh soundscapes with epic songwriting appealed to critics and fans alike, allowing the band to embark on their celebrated first US-tour with Marduk and Nachtmystium in 2009.

Tracklisting:

“Cauterizing Cosmos”
“The Falsified Son”
“Apophatic Weaponry”
“Gutters of Pain”
“Sights in the Abysmal Lure”
“Cesspool Coronation”
“At the Vanguard of Deception”

“Cesspool Coronation”:

“The Falsified Son”:

“Apophatic Weaponry”

Pre-order the new album at this location.

(Photo - Alizée Adamek)

Mighty Music welcome NWOBHM legends Trespass to their roster, with a new studio album out in late 2017.

Trespass was formed in Sudbury, Suffolk, England in April 1979 by brothers Mark (guitar, vocals) and Paul Sutcliffe (drums) Dave Crawte (guitar) Richard Penny (bass). Around this time they started gigging around East Anglia, playing a mix of rock covers and original songs including early versions of "One Of These Days" and “Lightsmith”.

Despite their fairly short lived time on the metal scene Trespass made a lasting impact. Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield of Metallica remained fans since the very beginning and "One Of These Days" was featured on NWOBHM compilation '79 revisited put together by Ulrich and Geoff Barton in 1990.

Trespass have recently played festivals in the UK and Europe in 2015/16 and will be touring in 2018 supporting the album.

Lineup:

Mark Sutcliffe - Guitars and Lead Vocals
Jason Roberts - Drums
Danny B - Bass
Joe Fawcett - Guitar

The creativity and productivity of German heavy metal trio Rage seems to have no limits. Only 14 months after the successful The Devil Strikes Again neckbreaker, Rage deliver their new, 23rd studio album, entitled Seasons Of The Black, out  on July 28th via Nuclear Blast. An second official studio trailer can be found below.

"Our fans are getting Rage metal of the very first grade. We've been able to bring the band's typical trademarks into eleven new songs, and we're sticking to the course that we forged on the last album! This means hard and very catchy compositions that also sound thrash, aggressive and epic", says band leader Peavy.

Since the reorientation of 2015, the three band members have now fully adapted to each other and the lost harmony has been fully restored. "We are even better matched with each other," says Peavy. "We offer new ideas to each other like we’ve never done something else before! It also happened that we created a whole new song within just two hours from start to finish, from scratch! Regarding the production we were also able to prevent some complications, which had been an element of the last album due to a lack of experience. This time, everything worked perfectly."

Guitarist Marcos Rodriguez and drummer Vassilios "Lucky" Maniatopoulos have been long-time Rage fans from the very beginning. Their input also leaves its mark on their second album. "Marcos and Lucky well know the "classic" style-creating spirit of Rage so to speak, and on a personal level we all really like each other as well. This contributed to the possibility of continuing to develop and expanding the band’s spirit," the vocalist adds.

The stylistic connection between The Devil Strikes Again and Seasons Of The Black is also visually reflected in the artwork, once again created by graphic artist Karim König.

"We developed the idea together," says Peavy. “In this way we want to show that both albums belong together in their own way. I modelled the sonically inspired sculpture that dominates the cover on my own. As a basis, I used a very rare skull from my collection, which I poured myself and then re-modelled. Karim created the gloomy landscape with the Golgotha Hill."

The title song “Seasons Of The Black” will be the opener of the 11 track-album. “The song is very personal, it is about a failed life-long dream. Imagine being stamped to the ground and looking at the broken pieces of your existence. This sadly is a destiny that many people have to share. Most of the songs on the album include a very gloomy view of the world, so we thought “Seasons Of The Black” would be suitable for the entire album,” the vocalist, who founded Rage over three decades ago, sums up.

Seasons Of The Black was recorded in February / March 2017 at Megafon Studios (Burscheid, Germany) and at Soundchaser Studios (Zandhoven, Belgium). Its production was handled by Rage, whilst the renowned Dan Swanö (Marduk, Opeth, Katatonia) took care of the mix and mastering at Unisound Studios (Grefrath, Germany).

Studio trailer #1:

Studio trailer #2:

Rage live dates:

May
12 - Borgo Priolo (Pavia), Italy - Rockland Festival

June
3 - Eichstätt, Germany - Open Air am Berg
10 - Starnberg, Germany - Food Rock Festival, Schlossberghalle
17 - Duisburg, Germany - Rage Against Racism (RAGE meets REFUGE)
29 - Gardelegen, Germany - Metal Frenzy

July
2 - Barcelona, Spain - Rock Fest
6 - Ballenstedt, Germany - Rock Harz Open Air
16 - Vizovice, Czech Republic - Masters of Rock
21 - Ternopil, Ukraine - Faine Misto Festival

August
3-5 - Wacken, Germany - Wacken Open Air
10 - Villena, Spain - Leyendas Del Rock
12 - Kortrijk, Belgium - Alcatraz Festival
13 - Königs Wusterhausen, Germany - Zombie Rock Festival

September
2 - Zons, Germany - Zons Rockt (RAGE meets REFUGE)

December
23 - Burglengenfeld, Germany - VAZ, X-Mas Dynamite Night

Rage lineup:

Peter "Peavy" Wagner - lead vocals, bass
Marcos Rodriguez - guitars, vocals
Vassilios "Lucky" Maniatopoulos - drums, vocals

Long-running Swedish death metal giants, Paganizer, will release their 10th full-length album, Land Of Weeping Souls, on August 5th via Transcending Obscurity Records. The album track “Dehumanized” is available for streaming below.

Having been around for nearly two decades, Paganizer’s music has only gotten faster and heavier. Land Of Weeping Souls is undeniably their fiercest and tightest yet. Fresh from the success of their recent EP on the same Indian label, this new album is a huge leap ahead. Each of the songs retain the classic Swedish riffing appeal and is enhanced by accelerated drumming, heaving hooks and even a rabid thrash metal influence.

In the words of Rogga Johansson himself, “The new album is the best Paganizer album, death fucking metal the way it is supposed to be done.”

The album artwork was created by Daniel "Devilish" Johnsson (Just Before Dawn, Entrails, Sorcery, etc.).

Tracklisting:

“Your Suffering Will Be Legendary”
“Dehumanized”
“Forlorn Dreams”
“Land of Weeping Souls”
“The Insanity Never Stops”
“Selfdestructor”
“Death Addicts Posthumous”
“The Buried Undead”
“Soulless Feeding Machine”
“Prey To Death”

“Dehumanized”:

Land of Weeping Souls (Death Metal) by Paganizer (Sweden)

It has been determined by multiple doctors that Yoshiki of X Japan will undergo an emergency cervical artificial disc replacement surgery on Tuesday, May 16th in Los Angeles.

As a result of Yoshiki's intense drumming style and the impact it has had on his physical health, he was diagnosed with cervical foraminal stenosis in July 2009, and then underwent a cervical laminectomy and a cervical foraminotomy.

After suffering from a herniated disc that has worsened over the past six months, Yoshiki has experienced symptoms including numbness and severe paralysis of the left hand and arm, which have since been affecting his musical performances. Upon receiving a complete examination by his doctors in both Japan and the U.S., Yoshiki was diagnosed with cervical foraminal stenosis (radiculopathy of the left arm and herniation of intervertebral disc C5-C6). After thorough consultation, Yoshiki has no choice but to undergo surgery at this time.

Yoshiki has been informed by a neurosurgeon in Japan that his neck has experienced severe damage that would force a professional rugby player to retire. It has been medically determined that he is approaching his limit, both physically and mentally. The intensive schedule has taken its toll on his already damaged nervous system. With performances at Visual Japan Summit Festival, Yoshiki Classical Special in Japan, Hong Kong, Carnegie Hall in New York and Wembley Arena in London, he has continued to play around the world with X Japan and solo. In addition to adopting an intensive travel schedule to over 20 film festivals globally to promote the documentary We Are X, contributed to his health condition. 

"I had the pleasure of seeing Yoshiki, who has a C5-6 disc herniation with left arm radiculopathy. He has been recommended to have a cervical artificial disc replacement," explains Neel Anand, M.D., Yoshiki's Orthopedic Spine surgeon in the US.

Dr. Tommy Tomizawa, M.D., adds "It was decided upon consultation that he will undergo emergency surgery as the condition of his neck at present will interfere not only with his career as an artist, but also with everyday life. From viewing the results of the MRI and CT scans, the damage is so severe that it is apparent that he has experienced considerable pain while performing. As this would be his second such procedure, we eliminated the option of a cervical foraminotomy, an operation in which a portion of bone is removed. Yoshiki's symptoms reappeared at the Visual Japan Summit festival, which was held last October in Japan. By the time he performed in January of this year at New York's Carnegie Hall, he had already lost the sensation in his left hand. The symptoms worsened this March following the U.K. Wembley performance, but he continued recording. Even in his condition at that state, Yoshiki stated that he wanted to see things through to the end. However, due to the worsening of his symptoms, doctors, determined that if the situation continued he would have gone beyond the point of surgery and recovery."

The operation is to be performed on May 16th at a Los Angeles hospital. Unfortunately, the cancellation of all scheduled activity in May could not be avoided. X Japan's World Tour of Japan We Are X 2017 dates in July, the Yoshiki Premium Dinner Show dates in August and September, as well as yet-to-be-announced dates for the summer world tour that was to start in Los Angeles, are now undergoing rescheduling with his US agency William Morris Endeavor.

Following Yoshiki's operation, a discussion whether to cancel, postpone or move forward as scheduled will be held amongst the agent, promoter and management.

“We deeply apologize for the inconvenience this will cause to fans and everyone involved.” - Management

New York death metal pioneers Suffocation will release their new album, ...Of The Dark Light, on June 9th via Nuclear Blast Records. In the first video trailer, Suffocation discuss the addition of Charlie Errigo (guitars) and Eric Morotti (drums). Watch below:

...Of The Dark Light was produced by Suffocation and tracked at Full Force Studios with longtime engineer Joe Cincotta (Obituary). Mixing and mastering was handled by world renowned producer/engineer Zeuss (Hatebreed, Arsis, Suicide Silence). Cover artwork was created by Colin Marks (Origin, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Kataklysm).

Comments founding guitarist Terrance Hobbs: "The moment we have been waiting for is here, our new album ...Of The Dark Light will finally be released through Nuclear Blast on June 9th, 2017! Over the last 4 year period Suffocation has taken its time to write this record and we couldn't be prouder. It is our most brutal record yet!

"Suffocation worked through the end of 2016 to hash out and lay down the tracks at Full Force Studios with Joe Cincotta and once again enlisted Zeuss to bring this creation to life! Myself, Frank Mullen, Charles Errigo, Eric Morotti and Derek Boyer have all pushed the limit of what Suffocation is and we hope you enjoy it!

"We also had the honor of having Colin Marks handling our artwork which is a new frontier for us and a different avenue and style to the traditional Suffocation records. We also included some backup vocals from Kevin Muller (The Merciless Concept) which for us makes this album very unique!  This will be our 10th studio release and we really hope you like ...Of The Dark Light! Keep the grind alive and hope to see you on the road!"

Pre-order ...Of The Dark Light in various bundles and formats, here. Receive the song "Your Last Breaths" instantly, when you pre-order the album digitally through iTunes or Amazon..

Tracklisting:

“Clarity Through Deprivation”
“The Warmth Within The Dark”
“Your Last Breaths”
“Return To The Abyss”
“The Violation”
“Of The Dark Light”
“Some Things Should Be Left Alone”
“Caught Between Two Worlds”
“Epitaph Of The Credulous”

“Your Last Breaths”:

Suffocation will be on tour with Morbid Angel and Revocation, beginning this month. Find the band’s live itinerary here.