METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich is featured in Amoeba Music's "What's In My Bag?" segment in which he talks about some of the records, books and movies he is into. In the clip below, he can be seen shopping at Amoeba in Hollywood, where he talks about Bruce Springsteen's "Born To Run" book as well as various records from RADIOHEAD and DEEP PURPLE, among others.

METALLICA's latest album, "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct", came out in November. The effort consists of two discs, containing a dozen songs and nearly 80 minutes of music.

METALLICA has shows booked in Denmark, Mexico and South America over the next three months, but has yet to unveil its full 2017 tour plans, including its first North American tour in eight years.

The band's sole North American date so far is May 21 at the Rock On The Range festival in Columbus, Ohio.

Luxury sock company Stance has released a new line of footwear from its "Legends Of Metal" range, featuring designs that were approved by SLAYER, MOTÖRHEAD and IRON MAIDEN.

Available to purchase for $18 a pair, the socks feature designs taken from classic albums by MOTÖRHEAD, IRON MAIDEN (both of which display the artwork from their respective self-titled albums) and SLAYER's "Show No Mercy".

Stance's "Legends Of Metal" description: "Our 'Legends Of Metal' collection pays tribute to the first albums of the worlds most idolized bands SLAYER, IRON MAIDEN and MOTÖRHEAD during a time when their unpredictable and unfiltered behaviour was about to lead them to heavy metal immortality. SLAYER features the original artwork from their debut album which continues to reign in metal glory."

According to the Los Angeles Times, Stance features socks with wild patterns and colors that can cost as much as $50 a pair. The company signed a multiyear licensing agreement with the NBA to include team logos.

Stance in November 2015 opened its first retail store in New York's SoHo district. It ended the year with an estimated $180 million in revenue.

Stance's co-founder and president, John Wilson, is the former president of Reef and has been an executive at Oakley.

HIM, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, MAYHEM, APOCALYPTICA, DIRKSCHNEIDER and SONATA ARCTICA are among the confirmed bands for the 20th-anniversary edition of the Tuska festival, set to take place June 30 - July 2 in Helsinki, Finland.

The festival billing is shaping up as follows:

Friday, June 30:

More bands will be announced soon.

The 2016 edition of the Tuska festival saw 28,000 fans gathered at Suvilahti, formerly an energy production area, a present-day venue for festivals, flea markets and graffiti, located in Helsinki's Sörnäinen district.

The festival offers a variety of ticket options: from 255 euros for the three-day Tuska Turbo VIP package to 129 euros for a normal three-day ticket and 105 and 75 euros for a two- or one-day ticket, respectively. Tickets can be exchanged for wristbands at the festival site.

In a 2016 interview with Festicket, Tuska organizer and promoter Eeka Mäkynen stated about Finland's mainstream acceptance of the heavy metal genre: "It has been [big for] a really long time. This is our nineteenth year so I think it was about nineteen years ago that there were some really underground things going on in the true metal scene; when the guys started up the Tuska festival. That was about 1998 when we started to see that something was happening, something was 'vibrating.'"

He continued: "The first Tuska was held at a club in Helsinki with a capacity of 750, and they had two stages over two days. The guy who owned the club and ran the festival realized that it was growing and so already by the second festival it was arranged outdoors for a couple of thousand people per day. It started to blast off really quickly from then."

Asked if he thinks Tuska fans want to see a lot of Finnish music, or if they prefer to see a representation of the whole worldwide scene, Mäkynen said: "That's a really good question. It's always been sort of 50/50. Foreign people who come to the festival want to see local bands; if you come to Finland, you want to see Finnish bands, the big names like STAM1NA, MOKOMA, LORDI, CHILDREN OF BODOM. But if you're wondering how most Finnish people see Tuska, they're probably thinking about the big-name foreign bands. In Finland, it's known as an international festival. And we want to grow it bigger for the international fans and expand the whole feeling that you can come to festival, spend a weekend here, explore Helsinki and have a good trip to Finland. So that's something we've been growing in the last couple of years, and I think we're doing a good job so far."

For more information, visit Tuska.fi.

"Whitesnake In Full Flight" is a fully independent publication in collaboration with bassist Neil Murray. It is a combination of behind-the-scenes shots and dynamic gig photos from the early years of David Coverdale's band, beautifully presented in a 128-page, full-color hardback book.

Limited to only 300, each book is individually numbered and sits neatly encased in foam within its own metal flight case — a beautiful addition to any WHITESNAKE collection.

The book contains over 130 U.K. concert photos from 1978-1981, including the third-ever gig in Wolverhampton on the first "back to the roots" tour and from Birmingham and Liverpool during the band's first full scale U.K. tour promoting the debut album "Trouble", by which time Coverdale's former DEEP PURPLE bandmate Jon Lord had joined.

The DEEP PURPLE connection continued when drummer Ian Paice joined in 1979 in time for the band's first appearance at the Reading festival in 1979 which is also captured here. There are also shots from their appearance at the 1981 Monsters Of Rock festival.

But "Whitesnake In Full Flight" also contains a superb range of photos from the personal collection of Murray, who is collaborating on this publication. Armed with his trusty Pentax, Neil was always on hand to catch the band in many different situations and locations. His collection includes photos from several recording sessions — the "Lovehunter" album at Clearwell Castle, "Come An' Get It" at Startling Studios and the sessions for the "Saints & Sinners" album in the autumn of 1981. Neil's collection also includes many backstage, offstage and soundcheck shots from the first Japanese tour in 1980, U.K. and German tours from the same year as well as the U.S. tour where they supported JETHRO TULL.

Neil kept diaries during his years in the band, and aside from contributing a foreword, these diaries have helped Neil to add his memories and recollections to go alongside many of the photos.

If that wasn't enough, this unique publication also includes a set of 7 A4 photos printed on high quality 400gsm premium board and perfect for framing. One full band shot and one each of Coverdale, Lord, Paice, Micky Moody, Bernie Marsden and a signed photo of Murray.

"Whitesnake In Full Flight" will be released on April 7.

Pre-order the book at this location.

California Rock News has uploaded video footage and photos of original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley's January 29 performance at The Canyon in Agoura Hills, California. Check out the clips below.

Rumors about Frehley's return to KISS gained strength lasty year after he teamed up with KISS lead singer Paul Stanley on a cover of FREE's "Fire And Water", marking their first collaboration since 1998's "Psycho Circus".

Asked if there is a chance that he will re-team with KISS, Frehley told "Talking Metal" at last month's Revolver Music Awards in New York City: "I haven't heard anything from Paul and Gene [Simmons, KISS bassist/vocalist] — although I did get a text from Gene the other day. He wanted to come see me perform this January. So, you know, maybe he'll pop the big question. Who knows? [Laughs]

He added: "Whatever happens, we're all good. It's all good."

Ace's latest comments echo those he made in November when he told Eddie Trunk of the "Trunk Nation" radio show: "I haven't been contacted [about a reunion]. I'm not ruling it out. It's a possibility, I guess. But the ball's in Paul and Gene's court. If that's something that they would like to do to end off the career of KISS, I think it could be… if it was handled correctly, it could be great. But those guys pretty much run the show these days. And I'm doing my thing, and they're doing their thing. And if it happens, it'd be great, and if it doesn't, I'll be fine and they'll be fine."

Ace told "Trunk Nation" that his relationship with his former bandmates was never bad as it was portrayed by the media. "However the press colors the fact that we don't get along, in reality we do," he said. "You know, we have disagreements and things are said sometimes, taken out of context. But I've always been friends with those guys and they've been friends with me. We may not have agreed about certain things over the years and maybe there were times we didn't talk. I mean, we created something amazing that withstood the test of time."

Frehley's version of "Fire And Water" appears on his covers collection "Origins, Vol 1", which received great reviews and landed in the Top 25 on the Billboard album chart.

Century Media Records has set February 24 as the release date of "Inception", the official prequel to 1988's classic debut "Refuge Denied" from the legendary U.S. metal act SANCTUARY. "Inception" contains presumed lost 1986 studio recordings, which guitarist Lenny Rutledge discovered recently and which were magically restored, remixed and remastered by Chris "Zeuss" Harris (QUEENSRŸCHE, HATEBREED).

The lyric video for the song "Dream Of The Incubus", taken from "Inception", can be seen below.

Rutledge comments: "'Dream Of The Incubus' was one of those forgotten SANCTUARY songs. It's awesome to see it finally get released.

"I believe we only played 'Incubus' live one time.

"This video footage was from our first Seattle show in the late '80s at a venue called The Oz.

"The introduction at the beginning is Jeff Gilbert from the radio show 'Brain Pain'. Jeff was a huge help to SANCTUARY and many other Seattle bands from that time frame."

Recorded in March of 1986 ("Soldiers Of Steel", "Battle Angels") at Triad Studios in Redmond, Washington and Studio One in White Center between April and July 1986, "Inception" offers such previously unreleased highlights as "Dream of The Incubus" and "I Am Insane" as well as several classic "Refuge Denied" songs that are burning with fervor and intensity. Apart from being expanded by art courtesy of Ed Repka, "Inception" is filled to the brim with tons of rare photos, flyers, early art designs, sketches plus detailed liner notes allowing you to delve deep into SANCTUARY's history.

"Inception" will be released as gatefold LP on 180-gram black and limited colored vinyl, including an extensive LP-size booklet, poster, and the album on CD as additional extra. Apart from that, it will be available as a special-edition CD digipak and digital album.

Rutledge comments: "I found the masters in my barn. The second floor of the barn is on top of our current recording studio and is very rough and open to the elements. The ground level is where we recorded the bulk of 'The Year The Sun Died'. We found the masters in an unknown box in the barn, full of water and just wasting away." Zeuss explains further how the "Inception" album was realized: "I got a call one day and Lenny said that he had discovered these tapes and had them transferred to digital. I was in the area and stopped over to check it out. The recordings were still in decent shape.

"We agreed that we wanted it to sound as good as possible without taking away from the original vibe and vision of what the band had back then.

"After a year of mixing on and off, we were able to resurrect these original demos.

"I hope everyone enjoys these recordings as much as I did working on them, especially being a huge fan myself." Lenny concludes: "For me personally, I just wanted fans to be able to hear proper versions of the demos. They had a certain energy that was captured during the early days, maybe even more so than 'Refuge Denied'.

"It's no secret that you can find these on the Internet, but the quality is horrible.

"I think most people are under the impression that these are remastered or re-recorded versions of 'Refuge…', but this is all a prequel!" "Inception" track listing:

01. Dream Of The Incubus02. Die For My Sins03. Soldiers Of Steel04. Death Rider / Third War05. White Rabbit (JEFFERSON AIRPLANE cover)06. Ascension To Destiny07. Battle Angels08. I Am Insane09. Veil Of Disguise

German thrash titans KREATOR have released the official music video for the song "Fallen Brother" from their latest album, "Gods Of Violence". The track features Swiss singer/songwriter Dagobert and pays respect to fallen music icons such as Lemmy, Jeff Hanneman, Cliff Burton, Peter Steele, Prince, David Bowie and Bon Scott, among others.

KREATOR frontman Mille Petrozza recently told Ghost Cult about the group's insistence on making music videos: "I love videos. I always have, and I always will. I think that it's a great way to support the music, and visually make it come to life. I know there aren't any outlets on television anymore, but YouTube is huge, and people still watch them, and it gets them talking. Some people love them, some don't. Either way, it brings up discussion, which is a good thing. We will continue to release videos for as long as we can. It's an important thing in KREATOR, and the two we've released so far [for the new album] came out spectacular."

The cover artwork for "Gods Of Violence" was created by renowned artist Jan Meininghaus, who also made the limited-edition artwork for KREATOR's last album, 2012's "Phantom Antichrist", and has lent his talents to bands like BOLT THROWER, ACCEPT and OVERKILL in the past.

The exclusive North American cover was created by renowned artist Marcelo Vasco, who has previously worked with SLAYER, MACHINE HEAD, SOULFLY and HATEBREED.

KREATOR will tour Europe in support of the new CD beginning in early February. Petrozza and his crew will be accompanied by a varied as well as iconic billing. Brazilian-American extreme metal pioneers SEPULTURA are direct support to the headliners, followed by visionary Swedish melodic death metallers SOILWORK and Belgium's finest death/grind outfit ABORTED.

KREATOR will headline this year's edition of the annual Decibel Magazine Tour. Support on the trek will come from Florida death metal legends OBITUARY, old-school Ohio brutalizers MIDNIGHT and celebrated progressive death prodigies HORRENDOUS.

Danish heavy metal legends MERCYFUL FATE were honored with the "Pioneer Prize" (Pionerprisen) at this year's Steppeulven, an annual award ceremony established by the Foreningen Af Danske Musikkritikere (Association Of Danish Music Critics), on January 28 at Bremen Teater in Copenhagen, Denmark. Accepting the award at the event were original MERCYFUL FATE members Hank Shermann, Michael Denner, Kim Ruzz and Timi Hansen, along with the band's longtime manager Ole Bang.

Video footage of the award presentation and acceptance speeches can be seen below.

MERCYFUL FATE's last studio album, "9", was released in 1999.

MERCYFUL FATE will be remembered for its unquestionable mark on the history of metal with its innovative sound, complex arrangements, memorable melody, and its influence on bands that later took the genre to new heights.

In 1998, METALLICA paid tribute to MERCYFUL FATE by recording a medley of classic MERCYFUL FATE songs on the album "Garage Inc." Titled "Mercyful Fate", the medley included parts from "Satan's Fall", "Curse of the Pharaohs", "A Corpse Without Soul", "Into the Coven" and "Evil".

Lars Ulrich of METALLICA (a fellow Dane) played drums on a new version of MERCYFUL FATE's "Return of the Vampire" on the "In the Shadows" album, which came out in 1993.

The official video for "Heavy Fire", the title track of the third studio album from BLACK STAR RIDERS, can be seen below. The disc will be released on February 3 via Nuclear Blast.

BLACK STAR RIDERS frontman Ricky Warwick comments on the track: "Only fools would believe that rock 'n' roll can rejuvenate a world in the throes of a collapsing civilization that's coming under heavy fire from all asunder. But what if the would-be fools are right?"

BLACK STAR RIDERS' previous album, "The Killer Instinct", was released in 2015 to widespread critical acclaim and went on to score multiple radio playlists. A solid year of worldwide touring culminated in December 2015 in an U.K. arena tour alongside DEF LEPPARD and WHITESNAKE. 2016 saw BLACK STAR RIDERS — Ricky Warwick, Scott Gorham, Damon Johnson, Robert Crane and Jimmy DeGrasso — return to the studio with "The Killer Instinct" producer Nick Raskulinecz (RUSH, FOO FIGHTERS, KORN), at his studio just outside Nashville. The resultant album is BLACK STAR RIDERS' most accomplished work to date. From the immediate riffs of album opener "Heavy Fire" to the instant hooks of first single "When The Night Comes In", from the dirty bass groove of "Thinking About You Could Get Me Killed" to the familiar and trademark dual guitars of Gorham and Johnson on "Testify Or Say Goodbye", this is an album that will further cement BLACK STAR RIDERS' reputation as one of the world premiere rock acts. "Angst, passion, power, glory, love, truth, lies, loyalty, questions that begged to be answered. There's a guitar army coming…and it's bringing the 'Heavy Fire'!" said Warwick. "Not many new bands get to record three albums these days," added Gorham. "Without doubt, this is BSR's best album so far. We had a great time recording it and can't wait to play the new songs live on tour in March." Following on from their critically acclaimed albums "All Hell Breaks Loose" and "The Killer Instinct", which have paved the way for BLACK STAR RIDERS to be recognized as a power force in the modern day of rock and roll, "Heavy Fire" will be once again released by Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The band have also brought in PledgeMusic, one of the most innovative and successful platforms of the modern music world, to give fans extra special product and experiences to go along with the album's release. CD

01. Heavy Fire02. When The Night Comes In03. Dancing With The Wrong Girl04. Who Rides The Tiger05. Cold War Love06. Testify Or Say Goodbye07. Thinking About You Could Get Me Killed08. True Blue Kid09. Ticket To Rise10. Letting Go Of Me The limited-edition digibook CD will have above track listing plus the bonus track "Fade" Limited-edition gatefold vinyl and limited-edition picture disc

Side One

01. Heavy Fire02. When The Night Comes In03. Dancing With The Wrong Girl04. Who Rides The Tiger05. Cold War Love

Side Two

01. Testify Or Say Goodbye02. Thinking About You Could Get Me Killed03. True Blue Kid04. Ticket To Rise05. Letting Go Of Me After a full year off the road, BLACK STAR RIDERS are back with a 16-date U.K. and Ireland run, joined on the first five dates by Scottish rockers GUN and THE AMORETTES and then Sweden's own BACKYARD BABIES with GUN on the remaining 11 shows.

Photo credit: Robert John

Photograve Management has checked in with the following Immortal update:

"Horgh has completed the recordings of the drums for the upcoming Immortal album. Drums were recorded at Abyss Studios in Sweden, together with Peter Tägtgren, who already worked with IMMORTAL several times before. More news coming soon..."

Norwegian black metal legends, Immortal, started recording their ninth album in January. After the announced split with vocalist/guitarist Abbath in 2015 guitarist Demonaz will now handle vocal duties while Horgh will continue to play the drums.

Demonaz and Horgh state: "The songs have been ready for some time, but we wanted to record it at the right place and time. We will once again work with Peter Tägtgren at Abyss Studios. who produced our last four albums. The band will enter the studio during wintertime to have the right atmosphere. We look forward to recording and presenting the new album to the Immortal hordes sometime in 2017."

Tracks to appear on the new album include:

“Northern Chaos Gods”
“Into Battle Ride”
“Gates To Blashyrkh”
“Blacker Of Worlds”
“Where Mountains Rise”
“Grim And Dark”
“Called To Ice”
“Ravendark”

Stay tuned for more details.

Novembers Doom will release their 10th studio album, Hamartia, on April 14th via The End Records. The album track “Plague Bird” is available for streaming below. The new album was recorded with Chris Djuricic (Jungle Rot, Malevolence) at Belle City Sound in Racine, WI, then sent to metal legend Dan Swano (Opeth, Dissection, Katatonia) for mixing.

Tracklisting:

“Devils Light”
“Plague Bird”
“Ghost”
“Ever After”
“Hamartia”
“Apostasy”
“Miasma”
“Zephyr”
“Waves In The Red Cloth”
“Borderline”

“Plague Bird”:

Double Crush Syndrome, fronted by former Sodom guitarist Andy Brings, will release their first official full length album, Die For Rock N' Roll, on March 17th. It is now abailable for pre-order via iTunes and Amazon Germany.

 

Tracklist:

 

"Gimme Everything"
"Die for Rock N' Roll"
"Unfriend Me Now"
"She's a Pistol"
"On Top of Mount Whateverest"
"Yeah! Pain!"
"I Wanna Be Your Monkey"
"Slow Suicide"
"Can't You Be Like Everyone Else"
"Blood On My Shirt"
"Revolution"

Bonus Tracks:
"And They Say We Are the Freaks"
"Fuck You Is My Answer"
"Right Now"

Double Crush Syndrome have announced a string of Germany tour dates for 2017 and released an official video for "On Top Of Mt. Whateverest", taken from their forthcoming album Die For Rock N' Roll. Check out the video below, tour dates are as follows:

March
17 - Frankfurt, Germany - 11er
18 - Hamburg - We Rock The North Party 
22 - Köln - Kleine Essigfabrik
23 - München - Garage Deluxe
24 - Wachenroth – Toxicity
25 - Hameln - Mad Music
31 - Berlin - Wild At Heart

April
1 - Dresden - Puschkin
2 - Düsseldorf - The Tube
5 - Münster - Sputnik Café
6 - Hannover - Lux
8 - Stuttgart – Zwölfzehn
9 - Saarbrücken - Garage Club

The band recently issued the following update:

"Finally we can announce it: Double Crush Syndrome signed a worldwide deal with Arising Empire / Nuclear Blast Records, and we couldn´t be happier about it! We got some amazing stuff planned, and the craziness will just get crazier! Booking is now in the hands of Contra Promotion, which is just as cool!"

DCS has released an official video for their song "We Die For Rock N' Roll". Check it out below.

Dark Funeral has won P3 Guld, the biggest music award in Sweden, for best Rock/Metal 2016 for their latest album, Where Shadows Forever Reign.

Watch a clip below where Lord Ahriman and Chaq Mol receiving the award live on SVT1, Swedish National TV on Jan 21st below:

The band comment: “Thanks to P3 Guld, the jury and all of you who gave us your support and voted, you're the best!”

In other news, today it is exactly 21 years since we released the legendary The Secrets of The Black Arts album. Original release date, January 28th, 1996 through No Fashion Records.

(Photo above of Chaq Mol and Lord Ahriman by Lisa Sihlberg)

Dutch rockers have released a new single and video for “Once We Were Dead”.

The band's raw and challenging style is a blend of the classic heavy rock from the giants of the past and their own unique and powerful expression. Strong vocals, heavy riffs, catchy choruses, twin guitar soloing and a mission to keep the guitar led rock alive, combine into making the band a huge adrenaline boost into the Danish music scene.

"Some songs take months to perfect, but ‘Once We Were Dead’ took 30 minutes. Once the riff started rolling the rest came naturally. This is the result. Enjoy!" - Anders Brink, SEA.
 
Soon the band will be back with their second album. It was recorded in Vibe Factory Studios in Copenhagen with producer Jakob Winther who is primarily known for his work with artists like Justin Hawkins (The Darkness) and Lukas Graham.
 
Even though the sound is heavy and energetic, the forth coming record titled The Grip Of Time (out May 12th) explores more mellow, melancholy and melodic elements.

Swedish dark occult blackened death metal act Hetroertzen have released a lyric video for “Zealous Procreation”.

The track is taken from their forthcoming release, Uprising Of The Fallen, which will bring you back to the deepest roots of the genre with eight black, extreme, emotional and creepy new tracks.

Due out February 24th via Listenable Records, Uprising Of The Fallen will see release on digipack CD, digital, limited edition 180g vinyl formats (Including a 16 page A4 booklet with lyrics and artwork.) and a Ltd box.

This limited edition box of 100 copies worldwide contains: exclusive cassette version only available in this box along with exclusive flag, The Path Bearer pendant and digipack CD. Preorders can be placed at the Listenable Records shop.

Trackisting:

“Uprising”
“Zealous Procreation”
“The Fallen Star”
“Path Bearer”
“The Trial”
“Upon The Thresholds”
“Perception Of The Unseen”
“Lost And Betrayed”

“Zealous Procreation” lyric video:

Junius have released a video for “The Queen’s Constellation” (see below), a track from their new full-length album, Eternal Rituals For The Accretion Of Light (ERAL), due out March 3rd via Prosthetic Records.

The album marks the completion of their conceptual trilogy which began in 2009 with their evoking LP The Martyrdom Of A Catastrophist, followed by 2011's Reports From The Thresholds Of Death. Next in line was Junius' latest release, the 2014 EP Days Of the Fallen Sun.

Recorded, mixed and mastered with longtime friend and producer Will Benoit (Caspian, Rosetta, Ellie Goulding), Eternal Rituals For The Accretion Of Light takes inspiration from Elisabeth Haich's autobiography Initiation, whilst touching on topics including karma, reincarnation and spiritual development across it's ten melodically divine tracks. Following the departure of former member Mike Repasch-Nieves (guitars), the album was entirely wrote and performed by vocalist / guitarist Joseph E. Martinez, excluding drums / percussion which were completed by Dana Filloon. The album also features guest appearances from Drew Speziale (Circle Takes The Square) and Gian Minardi (General Public).

 

 

Tracklisting:

"March Of The Samsara"
"Beyond The Pale Society"
"A Mass For Metaphysicians"
"Clean The Beast"
"All That Is, Is Of The One"
"The Queen's Constellation"
"Telepaths & Pyramids"
"Masquerade In Veils"
"Heresy Of The Free Spirit"
"Black Sarcophagus"

"The Queen's Constellation" video:

Junius will embark on a headlining jaunt across the East Coast following the albums release in mid-April with support to be announced shortly. Dates can be found listed in the below tour admat. For tickets and further information, please visit this location.

 

Rochester, NY-based rockers, Unwill, are streaming the new song “Back Again”, featured on the upcoming Past Life album, out on February 10th via Entertainment One Music / Lifeblood Inc. Listen to the new track below. Fans can pre-order album bundles at the band's merch store here.

The Past Life album will be the follow up to the band’s 2015 debut single and video for “Calm”, directed by Josiah Moore (Ice Nine Kills, Sirens and Sailors, It Lives, It Breathes). That year the band expanded its touring across the Northeast, exposing its unforgiving live performance alongside such acts as Letlive, He Is Legend and Norma Jean. Musically, Unwill has been compared to the likes of Linkin Park, Deftones, Chevelle and Underoath. But the band doesn’t shy from putting its own spin on alternative rock.

Past Life features eleven songs that are unrelenting in their grim honesty. The album deals with themes of identity, faith, self-doubt, solipsism, regret, and the truest parts of our natures. Beneath the dark exterior of these songs, however, are shreds of light.

Within the eleven-song journey of Past Life, listeners will come across the many sides of Rocco Sylvio’s voice, smooth on one end and coarse on the other. They will also hear cleaner guitars mixed in with the dirtier tones, and soaring melodies alongside unapologetic heavy riffs.

Wherever listeners come to face Unwill, whether it be through live performance or studio recording, they can be sure to always be met with relentless force.

Past Life tracklisting:

“Doubt”
“Bitter Truth”
“The Way”
“Tomb”
“Back Again”
“You Wanted Out”
“Drifting”
“On My Own”
“Soul”
“Past Life”
“Go”

“Back Again”:

“Tomb”:

“Soul”:

(Photo - Josiah Moore)

HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale joined THE EAST SIDE GAMBLERS on stage last night (Friday, January 27) at The Mercy Lounge in Nashville, Tennessee to perform covers of classic songs from AC/DC, AEROSMITH, HEART and PAT BENATAR, among others. Check out fan-filmed video footage of her appearance below.

HALESTORM's third covers EP, "ReAniMate 3.0: The CoVeRs eP", was r eleased on January 6 via Atlantic. The effort was produced by Nick Raskulinecz (FOO FIGHTERS, ALICE IN CHAINS, KORN).

"ReAniMate 3.0: The CoVeRs eP" follows HALESTORM's previous covers EPs, 2011's "ReAniMate" and 2013's "ReAniMate 2.0".

Hale recently told Swedish outlet RockSverige that HALESTORM is continuing to write material for its next album, tentatively later this year. Hale revealed: "You have no idea the weird songs I've been writing, subject matter and musically. Musically, it's kinda been a long journey to the beginning, so we're kinda going back to our total roots. We're gonna do a rock record this time. It's like total balls to the wall, but lyrically, it's been a little weird and that's my fault."

The new record will follow up 2015's "Into The Wild Life", which was criticized by some fans for veering too far into pop music territory.

On February 3rd, London-based progressive metal band Haken will release their first two albums, Aquarius and Visions, as new remastered 2CD editions as well as on vinyl for the very first time. They now reveal a stream of the remastered version of “Streams”, taken from Aquarius:

The first in a series of interviews with the band looking back on their first two albums and 10 years as a band has also now been launched. Watch guitarists Rich Henshall and Charlie Griffiths talk about Aqaurius below:

Vocalist Ross Jennings commented on the releases: "As advocates of the physical format and fellow record collectors, it seems almost criminal that our first two albums have never had a vinyl release until now, so we are thrilled to finally give these albums a fresh presentation on the format they deserve. We have taken this opportunity to polish the sound of our beloved concept albums without going back over every little detail and rewriting history. In essence we wanted to give these albums a chance to stand shoulder to shoulder in sonic quality with The Mountain and Affinity. In addition to this and due to popular demand, both releases will also be available again on CD with instrumental, or "Karaoke" versions of every track. This release marks 10 years since we formed the band and started putting together our first demos so it's a perfect time to reflect on these releases and appreciate what we've achieved so far.

“The Aquarius concept was drawn from conversations about our favourite albums and the way in which the songs flow that make those particular records work. This lead to ideas about having our album be about the flow or journey of water from mountain spring to oceans and evaporation, which in turn lead on to a deeper concept about human life and reincarnation. The themes of water helped us to create aqueous soundscapes and as the music and lyrics started coming together a narrative was formed in the shape of Mermaids & natural disasters. Aquarius will always have a special place in our hearts. It's where our journey really began.

“When writing for Visions came around, we set about the process with the same formula, although we hadn't set out to write another concept album at the time. As themes found themselves recurring in the music it only felt right to go in the narrative direction, although this time around we drew from our science fiction influences such as Minority Report and 12 Monkeys and was inspired by real recurring dreams I had been having around the time. It's always a joy to revisit these tracks in our live sets, so much so that we will be performing it in its entirety later this year at ProgPower USA, Atlanta!"

Newly remastered by the renowned Jens Bogren (Devin Townsend Project, Between the Buried & Me) both are available as 2CD Digipaks, digital album including the entire albums as instrumentals, and on vinyl, arriving as Gatefold heavyweight 2LP editions with the full album on CD included.

Buy limited colored vinyl and the 2CD digipak here.

Make sure to catch Haken live on the band's 10th anniversary tour kicking off in March, with support from The Algorithm and Next To None (except Israel).

Tour dates:

March
22 - Rescue Rooms - Nottingham, United Kingdom
23 - O2 ABC 2 - Glasgow, United Kingdom
24 - Manchester Academy 3 - Manchester, United Kingdom
25 - O2 Academy 2 Birmingham - Birmingham, United Kingdom
26 - Islington Assembly Hall - London, United Kingdom
28 - Le Splendid - Lille, France
29 - La Maroquinerie - Paris, France
30 - La Laiterie - Strasbourg, France
31 - Kiff - Aarau, Switzerland

April
1 - Keller Klub - Stuttgart, Germany
3 - Zona Roveri - Bologna, Italy
4 - Szene - Vienna, Austria
5 - Durer-Kert - Budapest, Hungary
6 - Futurum - Prague, Czech Republic
7 - Beatpol - Dresden, Germany
9 - Chez Heinz - Hannover, Germany
10 - Kesselhaus - Wiesbaden, Germany
11 - Turock - Essen, Germany
12 - Rockhal - Esch Sur Alzette, Luxembourg    
13 - Melkweg OZ - Amsterdam, Netherlands
15 - Bascula Club - Tel Aviv, Israel (Haken only)

The band will also be heading out on Cruise To The Edge from February 7th, and will be performing Visions in its entirety at Prog Power USA on September 6th.

Fan-filmed video footage of MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil performing with his solo band on January 28 at at the Wolf Den in Uncasville, Connecticut can be seen below.

In a recent interview with TheArnoldFans.com, Vince stated about the conclusion of CRÜE's "The Final Tour" and his plans for this year: "We finished up New Year's Eve, just about a year ago. Within ten days, I was on the first show of my solo tour.

"I'm someone who likes to be on tour constantly. [I am] taking a little bit of a break with the holidays right now, and actually next week, I start up again.

"I have over a hundred shows booked for [2017], so [there will be] a lot of touring."

Neil explained to GreeleyTribune.com why he continues to play MÖTLEY CRÜE's hit songs during his solo live performances.

"I could play a lot of my solo stuff, and I'd get a lot of people in the crowd saying, 'What is he doing that for?' Neil said. "They'd be saying, 'Play [swear word] 'Dr. Feelgood', you [swear word].

"But I don't want to be that guy," he continued. "I want to be someone who shows appreciation for all our fans. Those people have all the love for the CRÜE stuff, and I was the guy singing those songs. That gave me a great life for 30 years."

Neil was also full of praise for his solo band, which continues to include Dana Strum and Jeff Blando from SLAUGHTER and drummer Zoltan Chaney.

"They're really energetic, and we're friends," Neil said. "There's none of the [bad] blood and the crazy ups and downs with MÖTLEY. We all get along really good."

MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx told RiffYou.com last year that his new band, SIXX:A.M., "[doesn't] play MÖTLEY CRÜE music" and will "never play MÖTLEY CRÜE music, explaining that he wanted to make a clean break from touring with CRÜE out of the deep respect he had for all he had accomplished with his bandmates.

Ariel Araya, the 20-year-old daughter of SLAYER frontman Tom Araya, has defended her father against accusations of homophobia, saying that Tom was merely repeating what "many other people have been saying online."

A controversy arose when a photoshopped picture of Donald Trump and the members of SLAYER appeared on their Instagram account. Tom Araya posted the image and later criticized fans who objected to the photo, saying that he "thought it was funny" and that anyone who disagrees should keep quiet. "I never would have guessed that there where so many snowflakes commenting their distaste for the new president," he wrote. "Like him or not he is the president."

The same image first appeared on the official SLAYER Instagram account on inauguration day, but was mysteriously removed before being reposted on Tuesday.

Tom later appeared to make a homophobic joke while replying to fans in the post's comments section. "Mike Pence turning fruits into vegetables," he wrote with laughing emojis. He added: "Thanks ... to everybody that has commented thanks for insight... this is how fake news gets started, not once did I say that I supported Trump... and assuming I speak for the band you are mistaking [sic] .. the picture did exactly what I thought it would do... piss some of you off."

A SLAYER band representative told Rolling Stone that Tom took it upon himself to post the photo and stressed that the image was "not something the band would have posted if asked," insisting that such a picture "does not belong on a SLAYER social page." The representative added: "We all have our personal opinions, some of which we have voiced in the past, but SLAYER has never endorsed any political party or any candidate, and the band intends to keep it that way." SLAYER guitarist Kerry King also chimed in via his wife's Instagram account, saying that "my opinion is that our war of words should be with people who don't believe what SLAYER is about. NOT with our own fan base."

Earlier today, Ariel addressed the controversy by explaining that her father never said he supported Trump and insisting that Tom's "snowflake" comment "was directed at whoever removed" the original photo when it was first posted.

She wrote on the BLABBERMOUTH.NET Facebook page: "I'm gonna make this post public, in hopes y'all would share this and MAYBE get the hardheaded people to FINALLY listen to all the nonsense surrounding my Dad.

"To be frank, I've been defending my dad from the media in an effort to try and reach the hard-headed people that chose to ignorantly read a title and not actually try to understand my Dad's caption to the photo.

"He never supported anybody. He simply wants people to stop crying and complaining about something that can't be changed.

"[Trump's] president whether people like him or not.

"[My Dad] thought the picture was funny and posted it, and someone removed it. So the snowflake comment was directed at WHOEVER removed it. But people took offense anyways. And the gay 'joke' wasn't, because he's homophobic. He isn't homophobic, but simply put what MANY OTHER PEOPLE have been saying online. He doesn't like bullying. He doesn't like idiots. He's just a man that was taken out of context. But people live to destroy others in an effort to validate their opinions.

"If you want to bash my Dad for apparently 'supporting' Trump (which he wasn't), then don't forget that Kerry endorsed Hillary [Clinton] in a Rolling Stone interview, and Gary [Holt, SLAYER guitarist] endorsed [Bernie] Sanders in a Blabbermouth interview as well.

"Think what you will, because most people just blindly follow what the media says anyways. But it's cool. Go ahead and lose your shit over it. We're just doing our own thing."





Posted by Ariel Araya on Monday, December 19, 2016

SLAYER guitarist Kerry King has issued a personal statement in response to the controversy that arose when a photoshopped picture of Donald Trump and the members of the band appeared on their Instagram account. SLAYER frontman Tom Araya posted the image and later criticized fans who objected to the photo, saying that he "thought it was funny" and that anyone who disagrees should keep quiet. "I never would have guessed that there where so many snowflakes commenting their distaste for the new president," he wrote. "Like him or not he is the president."

A SLAYER band representative told Rolling Stone that Tom took it upon himself to post the photo and stressed that the image was "not something the band would have posted if asked," insisting that such a picture "does not belong on a SLAYER social page." The representative added: "We all have our personal opinions, some of which we have voiced in the past, but SLAYER has never endorsed any political party or any candidate, and the band intends to keep it that way."

The same image first appeared on the official SLAYER Instagram account on inauguration day, but was mysteriously removed before being reposted on Tuesday.

"Believe it or not, this picture was posted by me Tom Araya on 1/20 'cause I thought it was funny," the SLAYER frontman wrote. "I was amazed at the comments about the picture some positive some negative more amazing was in two hours there was 10,000 likes ... But I never would have guessed that there [were] so many snowflakes commenting their distaste for the new president. Like him or not he is the president ... Woke up the next morning and found someone had deleted the post ... Can someone please explain why...?"

In response to the ongoing controversy, King decided to release a statement of his own via his wife's Instagram account. He wrote Thursday night: "Ahhh, the election... This one has definitely been the most divisive and polarizing event I have ever experienced.

"My thoughts on the last few days are simple. To me, social media has more benefits than detriments. There is a gigantic upside to band social media, but band social media is just that. Not for everyone's personal tastes. And by that, I mean that I'd rather talk face-to-face with you so that there is no misunderstanding about what either of us are saying. That's why I don't post on personal OR band social media. With social media, there's too much room for misinterpretation, and we all just had a giant taste of that.

"Joke or not, my opinion is that our war of words should be with people who don't believe what SLAYER is about. NOT with our own fan base.

"Make no mistake; this is NOT a Kerry vs. Tom thing. Tom is my bro — PERIOD. Difference of opinion about the photo? Absolutely. End of the world? Not hardly. I LOVE the relationship that SLAYER has with our fan base. Best in the world by far! Let's just concentrate on Slaying our COLLECTIVE enemies."

King last year told Rolling Stone that Hillary Clinton was "the safe, correct choice" for president of the United States. He explained at the time: "Trump is just a sideshow. I'm not even going to apologize to all the Trump followers. I think the reason he's so popular is because he's like the politics version of WWE. He's sensational like wrestling and that's why middle America loves him. He's the biggest liar I've ever seen in politics. I mean, most of them are liars, but he just outright in-your-face lies."

King's words were echoed by his SLAYER bandmate Gary Holt who described Donald Trump as a "serial liar" who refused to disavow former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke. He said: "People might think some of the things he says, but you can't have a president calling Rosie O'Donnell a 'fat bitch.' [Laughs] It's, like, dude, do you even hear yourself? He won't even condemn David Duke's support. He pretended he doesn't know who he is. I'm a fucking headbanger who's done more drugs before getting sober than most people have ever seen on TV, and I've been drinking since I was 17, although in recent years much less, and I know who the fuck he is. Donald Trump is running for president and he [doesn't] know who the former grandmaster of the KKK is. That was your moment, Donald Trump, to say… you know, to condemn the man, basically, but you pretended you were just ignorant of who he was, 'cause you don't wanna fuck with that vote. There are some fucking hillbillies out there who you want voting for you."

Holt went on to say that he is "in many ways a Republican" but that he hasn't been able to find "a candidate up there who wasn't walked around on a leash by the Christian evangelicals, because they're the death of the conservative movement anyway. And if they just stay out of women's wombs and just actually concentrate on running a country and not being beholden to those people, I would vote Republican in a second."

SLAYER will hit the road in South America and Europe this spring before returning for more dates in the U.S. this summer.

During last week's appearance on "Trunk Nation", Eddie Trunk's show on SiriusXM channel Volume (106), POISON singer Bret Michaels spoke about the band's upcoming North American tour with DEF LEPPARD and TESLA. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On why now was the right time to reconnect with the other guys from POISON:

Bret: "It's two things. One, it will be awesome — honestly — it will be awesome to see Bobby [Dall, bass] and C.C. [DeVille, guitar] and Rikki [Rockett, drums] again. We always have fun. I know there's notorious stories of… You know, the great thing about us, if we have any problems, we don't bother to air it out backstage, we just wait until we're onstage to beat the hell out of each other. So I've always laughed and told you, it's great music, there's always a great energy, and occasionally you get a lot of pyro and a good prizefight once in a while. But, honestly, to me, we're mixing up with the solo dates and with POISON/DEF LEPPARD… We had such a great time out with DEF LEPPPARD last time, and obviously with TESLA out there, it's just a great early summer… I call it early summer, but it's starting off… kicks off first week of April, I believe in New Hampshire, and I'm really looking forward to it — playing all the greatest hits and just being out there and having fun."

On how much contact he's had with the other members of POISON in the years that the band has been inactive:

Bret: "We go and do some of the private [gigs as POISON], and it's really great. And every time we do it, we get together [and] we rehearse, everyone's having fun, it's great to catch up, but not on a daily… You know, I don't see them on a daily basis. It's like I said, we're four guys that if you asked us for direction to any place, we would give you four completely different directions to get to the same location. It's just our personalities. But also that energy — the fact that none of us are 'yes' men to the other person, we all have our own individual identity, but when we get out there on that stage and it's working, there's a certain energy in the air and a certain party and feeling that everyone's on their feet, hands in the air. And it's truly a great time. And probably of all of 'em, Bobby's the one I'm in the most contact with. You know, we're all friends, but Bobby's probably the one I speak to the most about… not just about POISON; just about life in general."

On how he felt when Rikki, Bobby and C.C. went out and performed POISON songs without him at several shows under the name THE SPECIAL GUESTS (with Brandon Gibbs handling lead vocals):

Bret: "I think it's an amazing idea, and here's why. I even told 'em, I said, 'Look, neither of us are using the POISON name. Keep that to the four of us being out there.' They went out under THE SPECIAL GUESTS. Brandon has actually, before then and since then, been on shows with me as a solo artist. And then when Pete [Evick, guitar] had to step out for a few shows for personal reasons, [Brandon] came in after he played with POISON, or the guys from POISON — with C.C. and Rikki and Bobby — he came in and was my guitarist in the solo band. So there's no funk. I love and feel blessed that we grew up together. We all grew up in areas that were probably very little chance of us making it, and we all stuck it out together, and they're still my… In a weird way, although our lives go separate ways, we're still best buddies and I have an immense amount of respect for for all of them. And without them, I wouldn't be here talking to you on the phone."

On where he sees POISON going after the DEF LEPPARD tour:

Bret: "We would all have to go do this and have a great time together and say, 'Look, next year I think we're gonna go out, just headline, pick out twenty or thirty dates, and go play.' But I think we have to go through this… I think you just simply go through this. This isn't gonna be one of those scenes where — God forbid — we're ever inducted into the [Rock And Roll] Hall Of Fame and no one will show up or this; there's none of that. It is truly as real as it gets. Those moments that we're having a great time are real, and when it goes ugly, it's real; it's not a pre-thought-out thing. And I think we just go through this, have the best time in April, May and June. We've added more dates through Canada and a bunch of stuff, and just see where it goes. I would literally, when it's done, say, 'Hey, guys, I think it would be killer next year to go out, pick out some great headlining dates and have an amazing time again.'"

On whether he has any interest in making new POISON music:

Bret: "Very simple. You know with me that I still live and breathe for the creativity and making new music. A lot of the reason, for me, to be able to go out with Pete Evick and all the guys in the solo band… We get on that bus and we truly get up there, and even before and after shows, we're up there at soundcheck writing new music, playing new music. And, of course, one day it would be awesome. I don't look at the business of it. It would be great if we could sit down as POISON and say, 'Look, let's just make a really fun, upbeat new 'Nothin' But A Good Time' or 'Talk Dirty To Me'…' I'm not saying the same song, but something that just feels like what we do, obviously with modern production, and have a great time making a new song. But in the meantime, I'm gonna keep creating with what I do, with the solo band."

POISON's tour with DEF LEPPARD will kick off on April 8 in Manchester, New Hampshire and will wrap on June 25 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

POISON and DEF LEPPARD first hit the road together back in 2009, and then again three years later.

POISON appeared at the 2013 Indy 500 Miller Lite Carb Day, but has otherwise been mostly playing private shows, including one in January 2015.

The band hasn't done any major touring since taking part in the 2012 "Rock Of Ages" trek with DEF LEPPARD and LITA FORD.

Rockett was recently declared cancer free after undergoing an experimental treatment. He was diagnosed with oral cancer back in 2015.

A hologram of the late Ronnie James Dio will make its U.S. debut at the 28th annual Pollstar Awards on February 2 at the The Novo (formerly Club Nokia) in Los Angeles, California. Created by Eyellusion, the appearance of the heavy metal icon will take place during a performance by DIO DISCIPLES, which pays tribute to Ronnie and is fully supported by his widow/manager, Wendy.

Pollstar Awards honors the best of the worldwide concert industry as the concluding event of Pollstar Live!, which will be held January 31 to February 2 at the J.W. Marriott hotel.

DIO DISCIPLES features former DIO members Simon Wright (drums), Craig Goldy (guitar) and Scott Warren (keyboards) alongside vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) and bassist Bjorn Englen (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN). They are joined by singers Oni Logan (LYNCH MOB) and Joe Retta (SWEET, HEAVEN & EARTH).

Wendy and Eyellusion's Jeff Pezzuti will discuss the Dio hologram earlier that day at a Pollstar Live! panel, "The Hologram Experience", where they will be joined by APA's Troy Blakely and TKO's Andrew Goodfriend, among others.

The Dio hologram was first introduced at last year's Wacken Open Air festival in Germany.

Pezzuti recently revealed plans for a 2017 tour featuring the hologram, which will showcase various eras of the legendary metal singer's career.

"For the tour, he's going to have different looks," Pezzuti told the "Talking Metal" podcast. At Wacken, the hologram was built around Dio's image from "somewhere around '88, the 'Dream Evil' era. For this next tour, we're going to be somewhere later than that for certain songs and maybe earlier than that for other songs."

Pezzuti went on to promise "an over-the-top, mind-blowing experience. We are going to have both live singers with Ripper Owens and Oni Logan as part of the show, as well as Ronnie appearing throughout the show at different parts, some duets. It's going to be mind blowing from the fans' perspective. We are going to bring album covers to life. We are going to bring things that are known to Ronnie to life onstage."

The concerts will include several classic tracks from Ronnie, Pezzuti revealed. "Ronnie will be involved in each show from probably six to seven songs a night that he will be singing on," Jeff said. "Some of the ones we can expect are 'We Rock', 'Holy Diver' and 'Rainbow In The Dark'."

Wendy, who manages DIO DISCIPLES and is affiliated with the Eyellusion team, said last year that she was blown away by the initial public appearance of the Ronnie James Dio hologram. "When I first experienced the full production of Ronnie performing with his band as a hologram, I couldn't believe my eyes and ears," she said. "We have been able to get Ronnie back up on stage where he belongs, ensuring that his music and memory live on."

Goldy defended DIO DISCIPLES' decision to perform with the Dio hologram, saying: "We know how much the fans miss Ronnie and the special and unequaled element that he brought to his live performances. Being able to recreate that same kind of magic for his fans at Wacken was incredible. For so many years, Ronnie always invested big in his live shows as his way to give back to the fans, and that is exactly what we aimed to do with this latest performance. We can't wait to bring this experience to even more of his fans and perhaps even a newer generation when we bring this incredible live experience on the road."

Former BLACK SABBATH keyboardist Geoff Nicholls died this morning after a long battle with lung cancer. He was 68 years old.

Nicholls's passing was confirmed by SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi, who wrote about his former bandmate: "I'm so saddened to hear the loss of one of my dearest and closest friends Geoff Nicholls. He's been suffering for a while now with lung cancer and he lost his battle this morning. Geoff and I have always been very close and he has been a real true friend to me and supported me all the way for nearly 40 years. I will miss him dearly and he will live in my heart until we meet again. Rest in peace, my dear friend."

Added SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler: "Very sad to hear of old friend and SABBATH keyboard player Geoff Nicholls passing. RIP Geoff."

Said SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne: "Geoff Nicholls was a great friend of mine for a long time. He will be greatly missed. I'm very saddened at the news."

Nicholls, who played keyboards on all of SABBATH's albums between 1980 and 1995 and toured with them, was reportedly in remission from cancer at the time of his death but succumbed to the side effects of chemotherapy. Nicholls's first appearance on a SABBATH album was on 1980's "Heaven And Hell". Although his main role with SABBATH was on the keyboard, Nicholls also played some rhythm guitar at concerts. In addition to not always being credited as a full member of the band, Nicholls rarely appeared on stage during SABBATH shows and would instead play on the side of the stage or backstage.

Nicholls's involvement with the band ended when Adam Wakeman (a member of Ozzy Osbourne's solo band) was chosen to play keyboards during SABBATH's 2004 and 2005 tours as part of Ozzfest.

Nicholls also played keyboards with former BLACK SABBATH singer Tony Martin in his band TONY MARTIN'S HEADLESS CROSS and performed on both of Martin's solo albums.

Martin said: "Saddened to hear of the passing of Geoff Nicholls... keyboard player and friend from SABBATH. Safe journey, mate."

Before joining BLACK SABBATH, Nicholls was member of the NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) band QUARTZ, whose 1977 debut album was produced by Iommi. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Geoff played lead guitar for the Birmingham band JOHNNY NEAL AND THE STARLINERS.




I'm so saddened to hear the loss of one of my dearest and closest friends Geoff Nicholls. He's been suffering for a...

Posted by Tony Iommi on Saturday, January 28, 2017

In a brand new interview with The Metal Gods Meltdown, SEPULTURA frontman Derrick Green was asked if he gets bothered by the fact that some people still seem to favor the Max Cavalera era of the band over the albums that he has made with the group. "I definitely have learned to let it go over my head," he responded (hear audio below). "I mean, people have a right to have their choice of what they feel is the best or what they enjoy or what they relate to. This is something I completely understand. The people that grew up with listening to that time period when he was in the band [feel a strong connection to that music], so I can understand that."

He continued: "I was a fan before I got in the band. I have total respect for the past of what was done in the past with SEPULTURA, and I'm grateful for that. At the same time, I feel there's a lot of new fans that we've been able to capture, and even some old fans. And I think it's a wonderful thing that we've been building and working on, and it's gotten to the point where there's a really good mix of people that just wanna hear the songs played well and with passion and with heart. And so I believe we've been able to do that and maintain that, with respecting ourselves and loving what we do, and I think people see that live."

Green added: "It doesn't really bother me, because I respect everyone's opinion. I truly love what I do, so I can't be that down about it. I feel there's a huge level of accomplishment that we've been working on with SEPULTURA."

Max recently slammed the current lineup of SEPULTURA, implying in an interview that the band hasn't written any high-quality material since his exit from the group more than two decades ago. "Tell me one great song they have written since I left," he told Metal Rules. "Name one great album they have put out after that. I haven't seen anything. I don't know one name of one song as popular as 'Roots Bloody Roots'. So, it just tells me like whatever they are doing, I don't know how they keep on going. I don't think it's working at all. But somehow they keep on going, somehow. It's crazy to me."

In 1996, Max left SEPULTURA after the rest of the band fired his wife Gloria as their manager.

The current SEPULTURA lineup — featuring Green, guitarist Andreas Kisser and bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. alongside Eloy Casagrande on drums — released its new studio album, "Machine Messiah", on January 13 via Nuclear Blast.

Vintage Rock 's Junkman conducted an interview with drummer Nicko McBrain of British heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN on January 22 at the 2017 NAMM show in Anaheim, California. You can now watch the chat below (captured and edited by Mike Thoman).

Speaking about MAIDEN's plans for 2017, Nicko said: "The big year was last year, really. 2016 was the year around the world with [MAIDEN's new-and-improved branded private tour plane Boeing] 747. It kicked off in February last year and went through to August. We decided after we did the six months — mostly everywhere; we played a new territory, went to China and El Salvador, places like that, [for the] first time, which was immense — but we decided that we really didn't do a British tour. 'Cause we haven't done a full British tour in years. So the idea was, well, okay, let's go back to Germany, do a few shows over there, kind of get us back into playing before we hit the British tour. So I think we're doing five or six shows in Germany. Antwerp [Belgium] is the first gig [on] the 22nd of April. Off we go through Europe, back to England, do twelve or thirteen dates… I'm not sure exactly how many shows we're doing… probably twelve or thirteen. And after that, we come over here [to the U.S.] and we kick off."

He continued: "The reason we're doing [a U.S. tour this summer] is because the first part of 'The Book Of Souls' tour, I think we did seven or eight shows in America… My memory may be wrong… You can go, 'No, you did ten…' We didn't really do an American tour. We did four shows up in Canada, and I think we did ten total before we went across the water. So it was decided, 'Let's come back,' so we've got a six-week tour of the States. It starts June the 3rd and it finishes the 22nd of July. So that's a nice little jaunt across the U.S. for us. And that's it — that's it for MAIDEN for this year."

Support on MAIDEN's U.S. tour will come from GHOST. There will also be some further bands added to the show at San Bernardino.

"The Book Of Souls" is MAIDEN's first ever double studio album and their most successful chart-wise to date, debuting at the No. 1 spot in over 40 countries around the world and No. 4 in the U.S.A.

Fan-filmed video footage of QUIET RIOT's January 28 performance at The City Center in Champaign, Illinois can be seen below.

Last October, QUIET RIOT announced Seann Nicols (a.k.a. Sheldon Tarsha; formerly of ADLER'S APPETITE) as its new vocalist. The band recently spent time in the studio with Seann recording a full-length album of all-new material, to be released later this year on Frontiers Music Srl.

Vocalist Jizzy Pearl (LOVE/HATE, L.A. GUNS, ADLER'S APPETITE, RATT) left QUIET RIOT at the end of 2016 to concentrate full time on his solo career.

Drummer Frankie Banali revived QUIET RIOT in 2010, three years after singer Kevin DuBrow's death, along with veteran bassist Chuck Wright, who played on several of the tracks on the classic QUIET RIOT album "Metal Health", and guitarist Alex Grossi. The group went through two vocalists — Mark Huff and Scott Vokoun — before settling on Pearl in 2013.

During an appearance on "Trunk Nation", Eddie Trunk's new show on SiriusXM channel Volume (106), Banali stated about Pearl's departure from QUIET RIOT: "I don't want people to think that all of a sudden this just happened and there was some breakup. Everything happens for a reason."

He continued: "Jizzy gave notice several months ago. It was decided that it was beneficial to both sides of the equation to continue out the year — financially, [with] consideration for Jizzy, and for me, being able to do the dates that were contracted. So I think it worked out for everyone."

Banali added: "I was actually going to go public [with Jizzy's exit] a week before [QUIET RIOT's appearance on] the [Monsters Of Rock] cruise, and then all of a sudden I came to the realization that if I go public before the cruise, I'm gonna be sequestered on a ship for four days, and the only people that are there are fans and press. And so I didn't want those dates, those two QUIET RIOT shows, to revolve around who's leaving and why; I wanted people to concentrate on the music. But as soon as we docked, 'Boom!' But it was already in place. I mean, I was gonna do it a week before."

Banali also talked about QUIET RIOT's latest addition. He said: "His name is Seann Nicols, and he was with ADLER'S APPETITE a number of years ago. But he was off my radar because for the last, I think, two or three years, he had gone back to the university to get a degree in business, so he had been off the grid. And Alex Grossi [QUIET RIOT guitarist] told me that I should check him out, so I checked him out. And I sent him a non-disclosure agreement to sign, and we went ahead about seeing if it could work, if he could sing the catalog."

He continued: "I think one of the reasons we've had such a turnover of singers is because Kevin [DuBrow, late QUIET RIOT singer] was the complete package in every sense of the word. But Seann is really, really good. And I ended up signing a deal with Frontiers Records to release a new album in 2017. And come to find out that Seann writes some great lyrics and great melodies."

Even though Seann didn't make his live debut with QUIET RIOT until this month, Banali was confident that the singer would be more than up to the task. "I don't do anything by chance," the drummer said. "If the QUIET RIOT movie [the 'Quiet Riot: Well Now You're Here There's No Way Back' documentary] should tell you anything about me, it's that I don't leave anything to chance."

The Pearl-fronted QUIET RIOT recorded six new songs for an album called "10", which was released digitally on iTunes and Amazon.com in June 2014, but Banali pulled the songs from both download stores shortly after putting the effort on sale and hasn't made them available again. He later explained that his decision to remove "10" from iTunes and Amazon.com was motivated in part by the fact that he couldn't find a record label that would properly promote the album. In addition, he said that the system that brought us classic rock music has been forever altered by the times and the promotional and marketing engine that is broken, no longer effectively exposing music from the labels through radio and to the masses.

When it comes to crossing genre lines from hard rock and heavy metal to rap and hip-hop, plenty of bands have made successful crossover hits from Jay Z and LINKIN PARK to PUBLIC ENEMY and ANTHRAX. But in recent years as some of these iconic collaborations have fallen to the wayside, a new era of fresh rhyming, hard-hitting, headbanging power has risen from those ashes… coming from young stars who have already seen their share of fame: rapper Sky Katz and metal band UNLOCKING THE TRUTH. And their new single "Rockstar" is sure to leave fans of genre-bending with a whole new level of appreciation!

With the teen years being most closely associated with growing, learning, and coming into one's own while breaking through boundaries, Sky and UNLOCKING THE TRUTH have certainly already accomplished these feats in leaps and bounds not only in their personal lives but in their incredible journeys as young musicians. Adding to these enormous feats is their effort to merge two genres often seen as opposing, and bring an incredible amount of diversity both musically and culturally. "Rockstar" encapsulates the hard-hitting, in-your-face elements of metal and hip-hop that have made both genres incredibly popular and successful since their origins began with attitude, speed, and a fierce message. In it, over heavy riffs and an intense rhythm section, Katz raps, "Which one of y'all done called my name, fresh on the scene with the ball and chain // A hundred MCs and they all the same, so Sky turned Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame," with a tough grit not usually reserved for her 12-year-old stature, continuing, "I might roll through the city in a big ol' truck, four big wheels and a grill up front // Pull up to the show all you see is us, if we ever had beef man I wish ya luck." The song heightens with Sky and UNLOCKING THE TRUTH's Malcolm Brickhouse belting refrain, "I got rock and roll it's all in my soul with the real hip hop that's 'bout to explode, if you hear them shots cops on patrol that's me, turning to a rockstar!" in a fervid mix of volition that could easily be seen as a theme for extreme sports or the toughest cage-match brawl.

Hailing from Long Island, New York, hip-hop pioneer and BMI recording artist Sky Katz has been hitting the ground running in the music industry since discovering her talent and passion for rapping at the age of 5. Sky has kept the momentum up ever since with her dynamic, witty, and energetic style with an old-school chemistry. Fueled by her insatiable thirst to bring back old-school hip-hop and make a mark in the industry with influences from hip-hop greats like Nicki Minaj, Drake, Nas, Rakim, and many more in the game, Sky Katz has honed her craft with a very appealing presence and has garnered a very good buzz and following that continues to expand through anyone who discovers her. With her recent appearance on "America's Got Talent", she wowed the panel judges (and audience) with her single "Fresh". Her single "Haters" (a revamp of Biz Markie's "Just A Friend") came shortly after, which received critical acclaim and positive reception worldwide. Following the performances, she obtained thousands of followers from across the globe on her Instagram and YouTube pages, and is currently focused on driving her career forward.

UNLOCKING THE TRUTH is Malcolm Brickhouse (vocals/guitar) Alec Atkins (bass), and Jarad Dawkins (drums). Founding members Brickhouse and Dawkins met each other at a birthday party in 2005. Sharing similar tastes in music, they decided to create a band. As the metal duo's street performances started gaining attention, Brickhouse and Dawkins felt they needed a bassist but none of their friends were musicians, so they taught their pre-school friend, Alec Atkins, how to play the bass guitar from scratch. These street performances in Times Square and around New York City led to people recording and uploading videos of them to YouTube, which garnered a lot of attention through social media. The trio have since appeared on national television, including NBC's "The Tonight Show", ABC's "The View", CNN, Fuse, BET, Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" and more. In 2014, they were the youngest group to perform at Coachella. They've performed at the Afropunk Fest, SXSW and were the youngest band to play at the 2014 Vans Warped Tour. They have also performed at the high-profile music festivals Heavy Montreal and Bonnaroo. The trio have supported music legends such as GUNS N' ROSES, MOTÖRHEAD, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, LIVING COLOUR, MARILYN MANSON and more while also earning spots in commercials for Airheads, AT&T, Beats by Dr. Dre, Maybelline and Verizon. In 2014 the band signed a contract for five albums with Sony Music Entertainment, but in 2015, they successfully negotiated their release from the contract. Their full-length debut album, "Chaos", was released on June 17, 2016 via TuneCore, and a feature-length documentary film about the band, titled "Breaking A Monster", came out in 2016.

With "Rockstar", Sky Katz and UNLOCKING THE TRUTH bring a whole new element to the hip-hop/metal crossover with not only a youthful exuberance but a new breath of life that is sure to bring a younger generation who may be accustomed either genre to look more deeply and discover something new.

Coming off a very successful U.S. tour and the release of its first studioalbum in ten years, "Black Dawn", the time has come for founding member and world-renowned drummer Carmine Appice to re-energize and rebuild CACTUS, the band once heralded by critics as America's answer to LED ZEPPELIN. Appice has announced two new members to the legendary band's lineup: bassist Jim Caputo and guitarist Paul Warren. Caputo replaces bassist Pete Bremy, who has left CACTUS to pursue other projects. Warren, best known as lead guitarist for Rod Stewart, Tina Turner and Joe Cocker, will be the band's new guitarist for touring, taking over for founding member Jim McCarty. McCarty, who remains a writing and recording member of CACTUS, is unable to tour with the band due to health reasons. Lead vocalist extraordinare Jimmy Kunes and harmonica wizard Randy Pratt, both of whom joined when the band re-grouped in 2006, remain in the lineup. "Nearly five decades after I formed this band, the time has come to reinvent CACTUS once again," says Appice, who also still drums for VANILLA FUDGE, THE APPICE BROTHERS and THE PLATINUM ROCK ALL STARS. Adds Appice: "The music remains the same; CACTUS is still 'hot and sweaty,' and the quality of the band's musicianship is as strong as ever." "I saw the original CACTUS live a few times, and they absolutely killed it," says Warren. "That was one of the great bands of the era, and they are still a great band, today. I am excited, and honored, to playwith such a historic band!”

Warren, who has his own successful solo band, is a native of Detroit who considers Jim McCarty one of his biggest musical influences. "Filling in for Jim McCarty will be a challenge. Not only is he a founding member, he is a brilliant guitarist — one of the best to ever come out of Detroit. Jimmy could never be replaced. I plan to honor, and pay homage to his work with CACTUS while still bringing some of my own 'Detroit attitude' to the legendary music of this band." Caputo has worked in a myriad of national touring acts, including the Appice brothers' "Drum Wars" show, which includes both Carmine and his brother, Vinny.

After a few years of complete inactivity, CACTUS returned in 2016 with "Black Dawn", a new studio album and its first in almost seven years. Featuring the blistering riff-rock that the band built its reputation on, "Black Dawn" is classic CACTUS with a fresh new energy that the band has not had since its heyday in the early 1970s.

CACTUS has had a long and turbulent history. Formed in 1970 from the ashes of VANILLA FUDGE by Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert, the initial lineup also featured McCarty and vocalist Rusty Day. (Appice and Bogert had originally planned a new band with Jeff Beck which was put off until 1973, because of Beck's near-fatal car crash in 1969.) Jim McCarty had come from MITCH RYDER & THE DETROIT WHEELS and was playing with THE BUDDY MILES EXPRESS. Tim and Carmine also found vocalist Day in THE AMBOY DUKES with Ted Nugent. Together, the four musicians formed CACTUS, named after the peyote cactus, which provided a key ingredient in mind-altering drugs.

While CACTUS saw success from the start and soon built a loyal fan base, by early 1973, the band had collapsed mainly due to lack of real support from its label, and the fact that Beck was now ready play with Carmine and Tim. It would not be until 2006, three decades after the tragic death of Rusty Day, that the group reformed with Pratt and Kunes. When Tim Bogert was forced into retirement after a serious motorcycle accident, Pete Bremy jumped in both in CACTUS and VANILLA FUDGE.

Photo courtesy of CACTUS Facebook page