"Racing Heart", a brand new song from THE MURDER OF MY SWEET, can be streamed below. The track is taken from the band's fourth studio album, "Echoes Of The Aftermath", which will be released on January 27, 2017 via Frontiers Music Srl. 2015 saw THE MURDER OF MY SWEET reunite with their original label home, Frontiers, for the release of their concept album "Beth Out of Hell", a magnificent album that was described as "almost Wagnerian in style" (Sonic Cathedral) and favorably compared to such masterpieces as QUEENSRŸCHE's "Operation: Mindcrime" by the U.K.'s Powerplay.

"Echoes Of The Aftermath" musically follows on the heels of the previous record, with a more straight-ahead songwriting approach, but still offering the symphonic and cinematic elements the band is now well-known for. "Echoes Of The Aftermath" showcases a Nordic sound that the members of the band grew up listening to and lyrically takes on issues in tune with our modern day life. Drummer/producer Daniel Flores says: "During the process of writing 'Beth Out Of Hell' with Angelica, I came up with lots of riffs, melodies and music that didn't necessarily fit the concept of the album. The inspiration and creative buzz from those songwriting sessions stayed with us and helped us come up with a new album very quickly. And, of course, the warm reception from fans and media had a helping hand too. I'm personally also really proud of the sonic impact of this record, I've learnt so much during these past years working with Frontiers and I'm so glad I can showcase this in full force on this album. The guys in the band are feeling very creative these days and thanks to the fans we are able to give you our 'Echoes Of The Aftermath'! Singer Angelica Rylin adds: "For me, the writing process for this album became a way to reconnect with my Nordic roots. I've always been a fan of John Bauer (Swedish painter and illustrator) and his portraits of Swedish folklore and fairy tales was a big inspiration for me. And it was a nice break from 'Beth', who had become such a big part of my life for a very long time." "Echoes Of The Aftermath" track listing:

01. Sleeping Giant02. Personal Hell03. Racing Heart04. Cry Wolf05. Echoes Of The Aftermath06. Flatline07. Loud As A Whisper08. Shining After Dark09. Ode To Everyone10. Go On11. In Risk Of Rain12. Inside Outside THE MURDER OF MY SWEET is:

Angelica Rylin - VocalsChristopher Vetter - GuitarPatrik Janson - BassDaniel Flores - Drums, Keyboards

Fan-filmed video footage of ASKING ALEXANDRIA's November 27 perormance at Concrete Street Amphitheater in Corpus Christi, Texas can be seen below.

ASKING ALEXANDRIA drummer James Cassells recently said that the band is planning on entering the studio next year with singer Danny Worsnop to begin work on new material as a follow-up to "The Black" album.

The reunion between Danny and ASKING ALEXANDRIA was confirmed last month following weeks of rumors and speculation regarding the status of Worsnop's replacement, Denis Shaforostov, who joined the band in 2015.

ASKING ALEXANDRIA's October 25 concert in Seattle kicked off the "10 Years In The Black" tour, celebrating the tenth anniversary of the band's label Sumerian Records.

ASKING ALEXANDRIA's set on the current tour does not feature any tunes off the band's sole album with Shaforostov, "The Black", but does reach back into the group's catalog with Worsnop to play songs that had not been performed live in four or five years.

Speaking to Wes Nessman of the KFMX radio station in Lubbock, Texas, Cassells denied that the renewed collaboration between Danny and ASKING ALEXANDRIA puts damper on the band's promotional efforts for "The Black", which has only been out for eight months.

"Don't get me wrong: we all love 'The Black', we had a great time recording it, and we toured it for a year and a half around the world," he explained. "We've had a great time on it, but I think that whole chapter of our lives is now… It's time to go to the next step. 'The Black' was the album we needed to release at the time, but now I feel like we're gonna go back to doing what we were doing with Danny, and we're gonna be moving forward with new music."

He continued: "We toured literally the globe on that album — everywhere from Australia to South America to Europe and North America… everywhere, man — we did some extensive touring on this, so I think a lot of fans that do like it got to see it, and it's cool, but now it's time to look for the next chapter, the next step."

According to Cassells, that "next step" means returning to the studio to work on a new album, the band's first to feature Danny since 2013's "From Death To Destiny".

"Before this tour, I'd only spoken to Danny once very briefly, [and] some of the [other] guys [in the band] hadn't spoken to him at all," the drummer admitted. "We needed to make sure that we would still enjoy touring together. That was a question that we were all asking ourselves, and it's not like we don't know if we can fucking handle it, but when you've been away from playing music on stage with someone for so long, that question does arise. But we've just hit the halfway mark on the tour, and it's been amazing — it's probably been one of my favorite tours, I think, I've ever [done] in my career, and we're having a great time. So now [that we know] we can obviously perform together better than ever, the shows are doing great, now it's, like, 'Let's get some music written.'"

He continued: "I think in the coming year, we're really gonna get ourselves in the studio and start working on new material. We already have — Ben [Bruce, guitar] and me and the guys, we are constantly writing music; that's a constant thing — but we are actually gonna go get in the studio with Danny, go lock ourselves away for a bit and really work on some great new material for people… We are gonna lock ourselves away. It might take a minute, which I think that's good. Danny's a busy guy — he's got a lot of projects on at the moment. We've been touring pretty much constantly for a while now. Having a little bit of time to lock ourselves away, get creative, get back in that flow. So, yeah, the next year, though, is gonna be a busy year for us — not so much in the forefront, like playing shows etc., but for us as musicians, we're gonna be in the studio, we're gonna be in the practice space, we're gonna working. There's gonna be a lot of work going on, man."

Bruce said in a video message last month that Shaforostov had "just stopped talking to us." But the singer later tweeted, "I left AA because I can't be in a touring band at this point in my life. There's no drama and I don't want to be a part of it."

For his part, Worsnop said about the reunion, "I'm now in a place mentally where this is something I can embrace again, with the men I started this crazy journey with."

Worsnop's debut solo album, "The Long Road Home", will be released in February. The effort sees a slight musical departure from Danny's previous work with ASKING ALEXANDRIA, with the singer saying about the disc's direction: "I'm still, for the most part, singing the blues. But I went into it with country in mind."

NYC rockers The Compulsions have revealed the artwork for their new album Fascination Street. The album will feature former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Bumblefoot in the lineup. Rounding out the band is frontman Rob Carlyle, bassist Ken Rich, and current GN’R drummer Frank Ferrer.

 

Fascination Street will be released exclusively through iTunes on Friday, December 30th. Preorder starts this Thursday, December 1st.

The Compulsions worked on two covers earlier this year with a rendition of The Beatles’ “Revolution” and KISS’ “Shock Me”. Both were released through iTunes.

Comatose Music has struck a deal with Texas-spawned Kill Everything. New single "Thermal Liquidation," from the band's forthcoming self-titled Comatose debut album, is streaming below.

Kill Everything was formed in 2016 and features founding and former members of Devourment (Brian Wynn, Kevin Clark and Mike Majewski), as well as veterans Shane Newbrough and Brett Wilson. This raging beast is dwelling in the shadows and prepared to attack with merciless aggression. Kill Everything has only one intent, and that is to violently murder you with their music! They released their first single, "Carnivorous Lunar Activities" earlier this year. Their new single was produced by Jean Francios Dagenais (Kataklysm). This monstrous line-up is now poised to create the most savage and hate filled death metal possible. Kill Everything is on a path of relentless destruction in anticipation of their full-length release coming in 2017.

The original lineup of The Age Of Electric - comprised of vocalist / guitarist Todd Kerns (Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators), drummer Kurt Dahle, guitarist Ryan Dahle, and bassist John Kerns - played Toronto, Ontario for the first time in 18 years on November 25th at Adelaide Hall.

Fan-filmed video of the band performing their hits "Ugly" and "Remote Control" can be seen below.

In other news, The Age Of Electric has issued a lyric video for the song "Keys", which will appear on their new four-song EP, scheduled for release on February 17th, 2017 via We Are Busy Bodies.

And, The Age Of Electric is "reissuing Make A Pest A Pet on vinyl to celebrate its 20th anniversary. It will be out on February 17th, 2017 as a double LP. The double LP will feature four unreleased songs recorded during the same sessions as the album. We will also be releasing a brand new digital EP (sold separately) on the same date as the reissue. Expect the first single to drop in November. Pre-order the LP here, the new EP pre-order link will be shared in the coming weeks. There are only 1,000 copies of the double LP available and they come in two colour options. There will be more tour dates in 2017 to support both the reissue and new EP."

Irish metal band Conjuring Fate are just about to unleash their debut full-length album having already released the House On Haunted Hill EP in June 2014. The band have spent these last few years playing alongside the likes of Diamond Head, Acid Reign, Rage Of Angels, Blaze Bayley, Mordred, Dragonforce, and others.

The new album titled Valley Of Shadows will be released worldwide on December 12th. It features guest appearances by guitarist Neil Fraser (Stage, Rage Of Angels, ex-Ten) and vocalist Scott Holderby of American funk/thrash titans Mordred.

The album launch will be held on Saturday, December 10th at The Limelight in Northern Ireland. Also on the bill are A Little Bitter & Selene.

“Dr. Frankenstein” video:

“The elephant in the room……” is a mysterious metaphor.

It's the acknowledgment that you do see an obvious truth, yet the choice is made: ignore it. “Don’t mind the elephant in the room”. Humanity is unique in its ability to live in denial, after all. This long known human weakness is the inspiration for Der Elefant, a new German-American instrumental trio.

Der Elefant is on a mission to make a statement with music with no words…it’s up to the listener to decide and find meaning. Together with a powerful video that simply acknowledges truth far too many would rather ignore, presented together, in the viewers face, it’s instrumental music rooted in the dilemmas of our age.

Born from the roots of the aggressive metal, powerful dynamic grooves or tastefully placed soul refined solo guitars, it's a unique and fresh instrumental band with a dangerous edge. They offer to the listener and viewer, a visually-stimulating soundtrack to a dark conversation. We are our own worst enemy. That is the elephant which has inspired Der Elefant. In their video debut for their song “Elefante”, Der Elefant uses the power of their music, together with powerful video images, to offer a truthful observation of the world.

The band is made of Alex Scholpp (guitars), Timm Schreiner (drums), both from Germany, with Kevin Chown (bass) from the USA. Each of them, well-known musicians with long careers, each with many successful bands around the world, each having long-standing careers as musicians in the trenches of Rock, touring beside some of the biggest names in music, it was time to find a new way to state truth to power. When there are no words to be spoken, only music to be performed, the listener writes their own lyrics, in their minds, as to what it all means.

Der Elefant is dangerous, edgy, instrumental, metal rooted anger. A collective commentary on the absurdity of it all and how it is time to stand up and shout truth into the faces of those unwilling to see the truth for themselves.

Watch for the debut album on December 9th. Stay tuned for details.

Der Elefant is:

Alex Scholpp - guitars (Tarja, Farmer Boys, Tieflader)
Kevin Chown - bass (Tarja, Chad Smith´s Bombastic Meatbats, Paul Gilbert)
Timm Schreiner - drums (Tarja, Good Men Gone Bad)

For more information go to this location.

For aficionados of technical thrash metal the comeback of Switzerland’s Poltergeist might be one of the most sensational reunions.

With albums such as Depression (1989) and Nothing Lasts Forever (1993) the guys around mainman V.O. Pulver (guitar) and André Grieder (vocals) presented evergreen albums of the genre, which still count as references for many. 22 years after the split they return with their fourth studio album, which is released through Pure Steel Records. Technical thrash metal with melodic vocals, sophisticated songwriting and a good, powerful production are the main strengths of 12 new tracks.

After the Back To Haunt CD release in October follows the album in a limited edition of 300 black copies with gatefold on vinyl released through Pure Steel Records.

Tracklisting:

Side A
“Back To Haunt”
“Gone And Forgotten”
“Patterns In The Sky”

Side B
“And So It Has Begun”
“When The Ships Arrive”
“The Pillars Of Creation”

Side C
“Faith Is Gone”
“Flee From Today”
“Shell Beach”

Side D
“Beyond The Realms Of Time”
“A Distant Knowledge” (bonus track)
“Hexagon” (bonus track)

“Back To Haunt”:

Canadian gothic rockers Van Halst are asking the “Questions” with their new music video. The video emphasizes to viewers a strong message to take action against domestic violence and rape culture among many other issues that vocalist Kami Van Halst writes in her socially conscious lyrics.

Kami Van Halst comments:

"‘Questions’ is a very important song for us. There is so much victim blaming in our society and we wanted to draw attention to this issue. My sister (Brittney Grabill) and I wrote this song in response to a series of sexual assaults that were happening in our home town. We were appalled by the lack of focus on the perpetrator and the questions being asked of the victims such as ‘Well what were they doing there in the first place?’ We need to stop putting the blame on the victims and shift our focus to preventing these altercations in the first place. People need to understand that violence and abuse towards another person, any person, is not ok."

Please be advised this video shows scenes of violence towards women. This is intended to raise awareness about victim blaming.

Van Halst released their debut album World Of Make Believe on March 4th which is now available on iTunes and Bandcamp.

(Photo - Renee Robyn)

Vulgar Devils will release their debut album Temptress Of The Dark on December 2nd via Pure Rock Records. The title track is streaming below.

Vulgar Devils is the latest signing of Pure Rock Records, but the members of the band are not unknown. The trio was founded by singer and guitarist Dave Overkill, known to be the head of the Cleveland power/thrash legend Destructor. As Vulgar Dave Overkill he has also been able to win an old bandmate, Matt Flammable, for the position of the drummer. The bass position finally is filled with Erin Lung (Venomin James).

Together they worship to the spirit of old times and open the gate to the early ‘80s, when the music and the musicians were still young. And so they play early ‘80s metal, that has been touched by ‘70s hard rock, and a lot of groove in a rough and rolling way. Mixed and mastered by Michael Kusch from the QuSound Studio Hagen Germany.

Tracklisting:

“Devil Love”
“Come And Get It”
“For The Kill”
“Forget About Tomorrow”
“Worlds End”
“Slump Buster”
“Temptress Of The Dark”
“Vulgar Devils”

"Temptress Of The Dark":

"Devil Love":

Metal On Metal Records has released the third full-length album from German traditional heavy metal band, Sacred Gage, entitled Countdown To Armageddon.

The album features new singer, Ron Slaets from Holland, whom they found at the end of last year. The band matured further, developing their style even more, and while the Iron Maiden influences are not so prominent anymore, they decided to revisit one old tune originally written by Made Of Iron, a group which started out as a Maiden tribute band and laid the foundations for Sacred Gates’s formation.

The cover art was created by the French artist J.P. Fournier (Nightmare, Seven Witches, Edguy).

Tracklisting:

“The End Begins”
“Angel Of Darkness”
“Legions Of The North”
“The Flames Of War”
“Hell Riders”
“Under The Normandy Sky”
“Sacred Gate”
“Mankind's Fall”
“The Oath Of The Damned”
“Countdown To Armageddon”
“Made Of Iron” (bonus track)

SACRED GATE "Countdown to Armageddon" by Metal On Metal Records

Order physical copies of the album here, or digital copies here.

The third album from Berlin, Germany-based metallers, Metal Law, entitled Hellrider, is released via Metal On Metal Records. As one can tell from the titles and the cover, these Germans didn't change their style. The only thing that has changed is the recording and production quality - the new album definitely sounds better than the previous two albums from the band.

A short promo clip for Hellrider, featuring a fragment of the song "Hellride Of Steel", and showing the band on stage as well as in the recording studio, can be found below. The cover art was painted by Jowita Kaminska-Peruzzi (Exodus, Manilla Road, Attacker).

Tracklisting:

“Prelude”
“Masquerade”
“Hellrider”
“Thundergod”
“This Dream”
“Lord Of Evil”
“Hellride of Steel”
“The Liar”
“In Metal We Trust”
“Power And Glory”
“Invader”
“Crusaders Of Light” (bonus track)

Order the album at this location.

(Photo - Lars Pritschow)

Italy’s Hour Of Penance will release their seventh full length album, Cast The First Stone, via Prosthetic Records on January 27th. The track “XXI Century Imperial Crusade” is streaming below.

The follow-up to 2014's Regicide, Cast The First Stone was recorded at Kick Recording Studio by bassist, Marco Mastrobuono. Artwork for the album, as seen below, was completed by Gyula Havancsak.

Giulio Moschini, lead guitarist and songwriter goes into more detail on the album, "Sonically speaking, this is the best sounding album we've ever recorded. We really worked hard on this, listening to the album countless times before finally delivering the masters to Prosthetic Records. It was definitely worth the wait and we're 100% satisfied by the great work Marco has done behind the mixing desk. We've literally spent weeks trying different mic techniques, hardware and preamps;  all trying to avoid plug-in technologies as much as we could. We wanted our album to sound more dynamic and I think that we've achieved that 100%."

Regarding the concept of the album, vocalist Paolo Pieri says it revolves around the idea that the injustices suffered during the Crusades and Colonialism do not justify the chain of hate that propagandizes the destruction of the West. Pieri expands on this, “I believe that the political situation in recent years has brought to light again a millennial conflict between West and East. Events like the terrorist attack at the Bataclan, where we only played a few months before the massacre, have influenced the lyrics on this record very much. It does not matter who has thrown the first stone, but who first evolved his ideology to seek peace and coexistence instead of war to the bitter end."

Cast The First Stone tracklisting:

“XXI Century Imperial Crusade”
“Cast The First Stone”
“Burning Bright”
“Iron Fist”
“The Chains Of Misdeed”
“Horn Of Flies”
“Shroud Of Ashes”
“Wall Of Cohorts”
“Damnatio Memoriae”

“XXI Century Imperial Crusade”:

Hour Of Penance is:

Giulio Moschini - Guitars
Paolo Pieri - Vocals / Guitars
Marco Mastrobuono - Bass
Davide Billia – Drums

(Photo - Carina Martins | Photography)

NoiseArt Records has announced the signing of the German melodic black metal newcomers, Mallevs Maleficarvm. Founded back in 2011, mastermind Marius Berendsen entrenched himself over the course of the last years to give this beast of an album the final polishing.

The release of the debut album is planned for April 2017. A first video trailer can be seen below.

Mastermind Marius states: "I am really looking forward to work together with NoiseArt Records on a professional level. In my opinion they are the most suitable partner for Mallevs Malleficarvm's future."

Stay tuned for more information.

(Photo - Mallevs Maleficarvm Facebook)

Turkish metallers Pitch Black Process recently signed with David Ellefson's EMP Underground/EMP Label Group. The band’s new album, Derin, is to be released digitally on December 3rd via EMP Underground in Turkey on Atlantis Yapım/EMP Label Group and on Ellefson Music Productions/SPV in Europe.

A lyric video for the album track, “Toy Soldier / Oyuncak Asker”, can be found below.

David Ellefson: "We signed this Turkish metal band after playing with Megadeth in Istanbul this summer. We are thrilled to be able to sign another gifted international artist and do our part to support the GLOBAL metal community!"

The album was recorded at Dugout Studios Uppsala, Sweden, produced by Daniel Bergstrand (In Flames, Meshuggah, Soilwork, Dimmu Borgir, Behemoth) and Pitch Black Process. Mixed by Daniel Bergstrand and mastered by George Nerantzis (Abbath, Dark Funeral, Nightrage) at Dugout Studios.

Tracklisting:

“Borrowed Lives And Borrowed World”
“Into The Void / Derinlere”
“A Soundtrack For The Lonely”
“Dark Desires”
“Halil Ibrahim Sofrasi”
“Final Riddle / Son Bilmece”
“Debris”
“Toy Soldier / Oyuncak Asker”
“Beautiful Delusion”
“Eskiya Dünyaya Hükümdar Olmaz”

“Toy Soldier / Oyuncak Asker” lyric video:

“Halil Ibrahim Sofrasi” video:

Pitch Black Process is:

Emrah Demirel - Guitars/Vocals
Kerem Inci - Guitars
Fikri Yargici - Drums
Emre Demirel - Bass

(Photo - Ertuğ Azak)

Norwegian prog/black metal band, Khonsu, are streaming the new song “Death Of The Timekeeper”, featured on their new album, The Xun Protectorate, released on November 18th. Listen to the track below.

The Xun Protectorate tracklisting:

“Desolation City” (Prologue)
“A Jhator Ascension”
“The Observatory”
“Liberator”
“Death Of The Timekeeper”
“The Tragedy Of The Awakened One”
“Visions Of Nehaya”
“A Dream Of Earth”
“Toward The Devouring Light”
“The Unremembered” (Epilogue)

“Death Of The Timekeeper”:

“The Observatory”:

“Visions Of Nehaya” video:

“Making Of” footage:

In regards to the new album, the band states: “Hundreds of hours of work, resulting in 10 new experimental, progressive, and industrial tracks. And it sounds incredible!”

Sound Storm have released a video for the song “Metamorphosis”, featured on the upcoming new album, Vertigo, out December 2nd via Rockshots Records.

Vertigo can be considered both a metal album and a multiple episodes TV series created by Sound Storm and realized by Grey Ladder/DImago productions under the direction of Taiyo Yamanouchi.

The new album was engineered by Joost Van Den Broek (Epica, After Forever) at Sandlane Recording Facilities. The artwork was created by renowned artist Gustavo Sazes.

Tracklisting:

“Vertigo”
“The Dragonfly”
“Metamorphosis”
“Forsaken”
“Original Sin”
“The Ocean”
“Spiral”
“Gemini”
“Alice”
“The Last Breath”

“Metamorphosis” video:

Teaser:

Florida's Trivium are streaming “Lake Of Fire”, a bonus track from the deluxe edition of the upcoming Ember To Inferno reissue, out in December. Listen below:

The band recently released the second video in the Ember To Inferno Origins series, in support of the upcoming reissue of their debut album, Ember To Inferno. In the two clips below, learn about early demos, first shows in Europe, as well as influences - then and now.

Trivium have spent the past decade-plus building their reputation and steadily rising to prominence, becoming one of the main torchbearers of heavy metal in the modern era. With millions of albums sold globally and numerous world tours (from Ozzfest, Mayhem, and Download to opening for Metallica, Black Sabbath, and Iron Maiden to extensive headline treks), Trivium began their journey in 2003 with their debut album, Ember To Inferno.

The record quickly captured the attention of the band's earliest fans as well as the ears of A&R reps at Roadrunner Records, who rapidly signed the band and went on to release their watershed album Ascendancy in 2005. Ember To Inferno was the catalyst for what was to come and it has been out of print for several years… until now.

The band and 5B Artist Management have partnered with Cooking Vinyl to re-release the album, along with a deluxe edition that includes 13 additional tracks that have never been previously available yet have earned evasive legend status among the diehards, on December 2nd. It's a true treasure trove of material that will delight the staunchest Trivium fans and beyond.

"The purpose of this release is to show the very early beginnings of Trivium - perhaps an era unbeknownst to most listeners of the band," said Trivium vocalist and guitarist Matt Heafy. "To look back at Ember as the starting point of Trivium becoming recognized worldwide is a staggering thought for me, considering I was 16/17 years old during the writing and recording of the record.

"As a kid, I always said the 'goal' was to be in a massive metal band. I don't think I actually knew what it would mean to have fans in different parts of the world, and I still can't believe people care so much that they actually want to hear the music that pre-dates our Roadrunner years. To this day, I am still completely blown away that people are singing words to songs I wrote when I was 16 years old. It's an amazing feeling."

Ember To Inferno will be released in four configurations, with the deluxe editions containing the band's early demos "Ruber" (aka the Red Demo), "Caeruleus" (aka the Blue Demo) and "Flavus" (aka the Yellow Demo). Fans can pre-order all formats online here.

The formats available are:

- Ember To Inferno — Standard CD.
- Ember To Inferno — Standard Vinyl LP, which is the original album in a 2LP Gatefold on orange/black marble vinyl.
- Ember To Inferno: Ab Initio - Deluxe CD, which is the original album with new artwork, plus 13 bonus tracks and expanded booklet in a digipak. The 13 bonus tracks are the band's early demos - "Ruber" (aka the Red Demo), "Caeruleus" (aka the Blue Demo) and "Flavus" (aka the Yellow Demo).
- Ember To Inferno: Ab Initio - Deluxe 5LP Box, which is five coloured LPs in a special box including the original album in a 2LP Gatefold on orange/black marble vinyl, the expanded booklet, a poster, a stencil, and 13 bonus tracks over three LPs. The 13 bonus tracks are the band's early demos - "Ruber" (aka the Red Demo) on transparent red vinyl, "Caeruleus" (aka the Blue Demo) on transparent blue vinyl, and "Flavus" (aka the Yellow Demo) on transparent yellow vinyl.

Ember To Inferno Standard Edition tracklisting:

“Inception: The Bleeding Skies”
“Pillars Of Serpents”
“If I Could Collapse The Masses”
“Fugue (A Revelation)”
“Requiem”
“Ember To Inferno”
“Ashes”
“To Burn The Eye”
“Falling To Grey”
“My Hatred”
“When All Light Dies”
“A View Of Burning Empires”

Ember To Inferno: Ab Initio Deluxe Only Bonus Tracks

Ruber (On Transparent Red Vinyl for Box Set)
“Pain”
“Thrust”
“Lake Of Fire”

Caeruleus (On Transparent Blue Vinyl for Box Set)
“To Burn The Eye”
“Requiem”
“Fugue”
“My Hatred”
“The Storm”
“Sworn”
“Demon”

Flavus (On Transparent Yellow Vinyl for Box Set)
“Like Light To The Flies”
“Blinding Tears Will Break The Skies”
“The Deceived”

“The Storm”:

Trivium will return to Europe for headline dates in February / March 2017. Check out a new video trailer below, and for a full list of dates, visit this location.

Brazilian black metallers, Patria, have sealed a deal with Soulseller Records.

The band’s new album, Magna Adversia, will be released in early-2017 and offers ten tracks under the tenuous line between black metal and experimental avant-garde music, mixing the South American metal madness with the classic and dark Scandinavian vein.

It was co-produced, mixed and mastered by Øystein G. Brun (Borknagar), features Asgeir Mickelson (Ihsahn, Sarke, Borknagar, Spiral Architect) on drums and Fabiano Penna (Rebaelliun) as special guest on the orchestrations.

The cover art was made by Patria guitarist Mantus, known in the graphic art world as Marcelo Vasco, who already worked for major bands like Slayer, Kreator, Machine Head, Soulfly, Dark Funeral, Hatebreed to name a few. A teaser for "Magna Adversia" can be found below.

The band comments: “We’re so excited for having signed with Soulseller Records. They have been a very prolific and prominent label in the metal scene and I can’t wait to see what we’ll be able to do together through this new and great cooperation. Onwards! The album Magna Adversia definitely marks a new stage in our music and Patria history. We have been worked with full force along this entire year on this record, in a way we never did before, doing experiments on rehearsals, pre-productions and trying to synthesize in a very cool and dynamic way all our musical energy during these 8 years since our formation. This album carries our sweat, blood and soul, for real! It’s really special!”

Tracklisting:

“Infidels”
“Axis”
“Heartless”
“A Two-Way Path”
“Communion”
“Now I Bleed”
“Arsonist”
“The Oath”
“Porcelain Idols”
“Magna Adversia”

Teaser:

(Photo - Janaina Perotti Fotografia)

Heaven And Hell Records continue to bring you reissues of US metal cult classics, this time New Pennsylvania three piece wrecking crew Destroyer’s debut, Optimum D.S.I, from 1988. A classic US metal release of a true “do it yourself” effort on their own terms of breaking rules and other things. A promising band up against increasing odds, but they would never compromise.

The six song EP will also see its first release ever on CD and will include four additional bonus tracks from the 1989 demo, as well as a cover of British band The Hollies 1972 hit, “Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)”.

The remastering work will be done by Jamie King and newly updated cover art and layout by Chris Ferguson. Packaged in an 8-page booklet with full lyrics, never before seen photos, and band history essay. Limited to 500 copies. Look for release in February/early spring.

Tracklisting:
 
“Love Burns”
“Four on the Floor”
“Can We Try”
“Shout It Out”
“Grindstone”
“Mron”
“Long Cool Woman”
“Devil in Disguise”
“Lonely Number”
“Love’s A Crime”
“When Morning Comes”

METALLICA frontman James Hetfield visited the offices of the German newspaper Bild in Berlin on November 17 and was asked to comment on various items associated with the band's early years, including the first "Metal Massacre" compilation, METALLICA first concert flyer and a picture of late METALLICA bassist Cliff Burton. Check out the clip below.

Hetfield recently said that the reaction to METALLICA's new album, "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct", has been so positive, it has inspired him and his bandmates to release the next record sooner.

"Hardwired", the quartet's first album in eight years, came out on November 18, and the early response has been mostly positive, with music industry web site Hits Daily Double predicting that the effort will sell between 305,000 and 315,000 copies in the U.S. in its first full week of release.

Speaking to Italy's Linea Rock about METALLICA's plans for the foreseeable future, Hetfield said: "I think we plan… At least for now, we've booked out two years [of touring]… at least. So I can't predict the future, but we start there and hopefully there's more than that. And I would like to make some new music sooner than eight years, for sure. [You get] such a pleasure and a joy of hearing your new music and having other people hear it. So we don't wanna wait that long."

"Hardwired… To Self-Destruct" consists of two discs, containing a dozen songs and nearly 80 minutes of music.

METALLICA revealed last weekend that "Hardwired" is No. 1 in 57 countries, with the album going Top 3 in 75 nations and Top 5 in 105 countries.

Fan-filmed video footage of QUEENSRŸCHE performing on November 26 at Trees in Dallas, Texas can be seen below.

QUEENSRŸCHE is in the middle of a month-long headlining tour of the United States. Support on the trek is ocming from ARMORED SAINT and MIDNIGHT ETERNAL.

QUEENSRŸCHE's latest album, "Condition Hüman", debuted at No. 27 on The Billboard 200 chart, having shifted 14,000 equivalent album units in the week ending October 8, 2015.

The band, which now features former CRIMSON GLORY singer Todd La Torre as its frontman, will enter the studio in January 2017 to begin work on the follow-up effort, to be released via Century Media.

Regarding QUEENSRŸCHE's heavy touring schedule, Todd told Metal Wani: "We're constantly touring throughout the entire year. People always say, 'When do you get off tour?' And it's like, well, never. There's little pockets of time when you're home and then you go out for a couple of weeks and then you're out again for a month, and it's just a never-ending thing. The industry has changed so much that bands have to tour to earn, really, a living. And so you have everyone out there touring, and it's kind of a saturated thing. But, thankfully for QUEENSRŸCHE, it's a band that's more than established, and right now it's a matter of rebuilding the band and the brand and proving to people one show at a time that the band is just as good with the new lineup, and in my opinion, the band is better than the band's been in the last decade. The music is better, and the original songs we're playing true to form — we're not downtuning. I don't have trouble singing the songs, so it's not like the guys have to downtune to accommodate for my voice or anything. So everything is kind of right where we want it to be."

"Trinity", the tour featuring three of heavy metal's finest vocalists — Geoff Tate (QUEENSRŸCHE, OPERATION: MINDCRIME), Blaze Bayley (IRON MAIDEN, WOLFSBANE) and Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, BEYOND FEAR, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) — hit Rams Head Onstage in Annapolis, Maryland on November 26. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

Backed by Tate's OPERATION: MINDCRIME bandmates, the trio is performing the following songs:

01. Empire (QUEENSRŸCHE) (Tate on vocals)02. I Don't Believe In Love (QUEENSRŸCHE) (Tate on vocals)03. Run To The Hills (IRON MAIDEN) (Bayley on vocals)04. The Trooper (IRON MAIDEN) (Bayley on vocals)05. The Ripper (JUDAS PRIEST) (Owens on vocals)06. Scream Machine (BEYOND FEAR) (Owens on vocals)07. Jet City Woman (QUEENSRŸCHE) (Tate on vocals)08. The Needle Lies (QUEENSRŸCHE) (Tate on vocals)09. The Stranger (OPERATION: MINDCRIME) (Tate on vocals)10. The Number Of The Beast (IRON MAIDEN) (Bayley on vocals)11. Fear Of The Dark (IRON MAIDEN) (Bayley on vocals)12. Man On The Edge (IRON MAIDEN) (Bayley on vocals)13. Burn In Hell (JUDAS PRIEST) (Owens on vocals)14. When The Eagle Cries (ICED EARTH) (Owens on vocals)15. Breaking The Law (JUDAS PRIEST) (Owens on vocals)16. Wrathchild (Bayley and Owens on vocals)17. Eyes Of A Stranger (QUEENSRŸCHE) (Tate on vocals)

Encore:

18. Living After Midnight (JUDAS PRIEST) (Tate, Bayley and Owens on vocals; Owens also on guitar)

Regarding how the "Trinity" tour came together, Tate told Rockin' Metal Revival: "I have this new project called OPERATION: MINDCRIME. We wrote and produced and put together a trilogy of albums, and 'Resurrection' is the one [that just came out]. There's a track called 'Taking On The World' that I thought would sound great with some different voices on it. I called up Ripper and Blaze who were both coming through town. We hooked up and had just a great time singing on this particular song. As we were working on it, we started talking about, 'Wouldn't it be fun to maybe tour together at some point?' We loved the idea until we started to put together our schedules, which are crazy. We're all going at different places, different times, so the only time we could get all three of us in the same country was around Thanksgiving in the northeastern part of America. That's when the first dates of the tour will take place. I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be three incredible singers getting together for an incredible, memorable night of metal."

Asked what fans can expect from the shows, Geoff said: "We're each going to be doing a set of music from the band's that we were in. I'm doing QUEENSRŸCHE, and Tim's doing JUDAS PRIEST, and Blaze is performing IRON MAIDEN, then we're going to be joining each other onstage and harmonizing with each other and singing together on some songs. It's really kind of fun; we played around with it in the studio when we were recording. That's what led up to this. We had a great time. It's just three people who get along famously and have a lot of laughs.

"We're going to share the same band. It's going to be, I think, incredibly memorable because we're all very accomplished in our own ways and have very unique voices. But the three of us together are incredibly cool. It's a really different kind of sound. I think probably the coolest thing about it is that we have a lot of fun doing it."

Tate told The Metal Voice that he hoped to take the "Trinity" tour to more cities and countries after the current run. He said: "Well, the biggest challenge that we have of doing a tour together, we found, is all three have very extensive touring schedules, so getting us all lined up to be in the same place, it's really quite an undertaking. So we managed to get, I think, ten dates, to start with, in the Northeast in the end of November. And we're gonna try to book some more in other parts of the world. It's kind of a challenge to do that at the moment, but we're all kind of working towards doing that, 'cause we enjoy the project so much. So we're gonna see if we can extend it and add it to some different places in the world."

Metal Wani's editor in chief Owais "Vitek" Nabi recently conducted an interview with NIGHTWISH singer Floor Jansen. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

Asked if there are plans for NIGHTWISH to return in 2018 with a new record after the band's previously announced year-long break in 2017, Floor said: "Well, we'll be back in 2018. We haven't said anything about a record or what we're gonna do. We have been keeping it a secret on purpose, 'cause it's something special, something that I really think NIGHTWISH fans will really like. But indeed, for now, we're taking a break from the whole thing — not because it wasn't good, but maybe because it was good. It's good to reflect on life and take a step back and sit and relax and do something else. And we'll be back with a vengeance in 2018."

Jansen, who officially joined NIGHTWISH in 2013, recently shot down speculation that NIGHTWISH's upcoming break has something to do with tension between members of the group. She told AXS: "Even though we will have this year off, it doesn't have anything to do with how things are in the band. I've seen some people starting to gossip online of why we [would] take a year off. We'll take a year off because we can and because we want to. That's all there is to it. It has nothing to do with how things are in the band. And it also doesn't mean that we haven't been thinking about what's coming next; we have a lot of cool stuff coming up. So we hope that, after this break, people will still be equally excited to come out and see whatever we've got cooking up in our kitchen for them."

Jansen also dismissed rumors that she will leave the band after welcoming her first child in early 2017. She told Mariskal Rock TV: "No, I won't [quit NIGHTWISH]. I love this way too much; don't worry. You don't even have negative speculations one way or another. Things are great, and let's keep on doing this forever."

Jansen revealed in September that she was four months pregnant. The singer's partner is SABATON drummer Hannes Van Dahl.

NIGHTWISH has just completed the world tour in support of its latest studio album, 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful".

NIGHTWISH released "Vehicle Of Spirit" on November 4. The DVD features the band's performance from the Wembley Arena in London, England, along with their show at Tampere, Finland's Ratina Stadion.

Dukascopy TV recently conducted an interview with ARCH ENEMY frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the success of ARCH ENEMY's "War Eternal" album (2014):

Alissa: "I think there's a few factors that made 'War Eternal' as successful as it is. One of them would be that we had just great musical chemistry, all of us in the band together. Another thing would be that, for Michael [Amott, guitar] as the main songwriter, he just lost a very important element of his band [previous singer Angela Gossow], so the pressure was on to make great music. And for me, I had just been kicked out of my previous band [THE AGONIST] that I had invested twelve years of my life into, so the pressure was on for me to be able to make music that I was happy with and that would allow me to continue performing. So both of us had really, sort of, stressful life situations going on that we really felt motivated us to really, really put a lot of passion and effort into our songwriting. And so I think that translated in the album. And I think that there's a certain part of every… just in human nature that likes to see someone kind of fail, and I think that curiosity made people really interested in, like, 'Okay, well, let's see what they whipped up.' But then… I mean, most people were pleasantly surprised."

On what fans can expect from ARCH ENEMY's next album:

Alissa: "Now we actually have even a newer addition to the band, which is Jeff Loomis [ex-NEVERMORE] on guitar, so fans can look forward to hearing his soloing style on the album. I'm really excited to hear his contributions to the album as well. I think he really inspires Michael and vice versa. Even in just the backstage, they're always jamming together and writing stuff together. We also have Sharlee [D'Angelo, bass] and Daniel [Erlandsson, drums], who also both play guitar, so they also write riffs and help to arrange songs and stuff like that. And, you know, with every year that passes, as human beings, we experience new things and new thoughts, and I always put those down in poems, so I have a collection of poems that I can turn into lyrics for the upcoming album as well. We all have new things that we learn as we get older, and always try to bring that in, all while maintaining the sound that is ARCH ENEMY, that ARCH ENEMY fans know and love, because that's what we know and love too. We don't wanna change the sound completely, but we're obviously open to incorporating new sounds."

On feeling the pressure of following up "War Eternal":

Alissa: "I really wanna make really good-quality music. That's the thing for me — I don't wanna just [have the attitude], 'Oh, I'm sure they'll like it,' and release whatever. For me, it has to be stuff that I totally love, because if I don't totally love it, I'm a really bad liar [laughs], and I know that the fans are gonna see that. So I just wanna make sure that on my solo album and on the next ARCH ENEMY album, only the best, highest-quality music will be released."

ARCH ENEMY will release a new live DVD, "As The Stages Burn!", on March 31, 2017 via Century Media. The set contains video footage of the band's largest stage production to date from their performance last summer at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany.

Backstage Axxess recently conducted an interview with THE PRETTY RECKLESS frontwoman Taylor Momsen. You can listen to the full chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the lyrical themes on the band's new album, "Who You Selling For":

Taylor: "This record is very personal, but there's no message or theme. It's just a collection of songs that were written around the same period of time, so it very much captures a moment in our lives."

On the songwriting process for "Who You Selling For":

Taylor: "We write separately and then sometimes together, but for both of us, as far as isolation to write, I go away and have a house in New England. I have a tiny little creepy Stephen King-esque house. I read, paint, and I sculpt, and try to keep my mind open to any ideas and see where my mind takes you and go down the rabbit hole of writing, which isn't the most pleasant, but it is what it is. Ben [Phillips, guitar] does the same thing, then we'll bring the ideas together. There's no real process. It's different every time. Sometimes I come in with the whole thing and he'll go 'If you change, this and this, or this will be better' or vice-versa. There's no real process. It's hard to explain. Whatever it is, it works."

On if she's a fan of blues musicians like Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson:

Taylor: "Of course. Rock and roll started with the blues. Without the blues, there would be no rock and roll. I love the blues. I love the story of Robert Johnson going down to the crossroads and selling his soul for rock and roll.

On bringing in outside musicians to help record the album:

Taylor: "We had the songs and for the first time, we wanted to make a very organic, honest record. Nowadays, with computers, everything can be fixed or manipulated, overdubbed and made to be perfect. What I think is missing in music now is that human element of really hearing the players behind it and not having be everything perfectly lined up. The mistake is what gives it its power and what gives it feel. So we wanted to very much have that vibe in the studio. We had songs that were going to require outside musicians, so either that meant we did it ourselves and then overdubbed a piano or overdubbed a keyboard and did that type of layering, or we bring in outside players and set up like a band and jam. So we chose the latter, obviously."

On how the band's current tour is going:

Taylor: "It's been great so far. It's been really fun. It's great to be back out playing new material. We're slowly adding more and more of the new record to the set. I wanted to let the record sit out there for a little bit for people to hear it. I wanted people to hear it before they heard the stripped-down, ruckus rock and roll version of it. You can expect a loud, ruckus rock and roll show."

On what is the hardest part about touring with her male bandmates:

Taylor: "Nothing. We all have the same struggles, like getting enough sleep and staying healthy. The basic human elements like trying to find a shower that is clean enough to shower in. It's no different for me than it is for them."

On if it's easier fronting a rock band versus being a model/actress:

Taylor: "It's freeing. I never really liked that side of things; it was never my choice. I got put into it at a very young age. When I was old enough to make my own decisions, I quit and I haven't looked back since. We're literally talking about a child. I can consider myself a writer first. Getting to write songs, then record them, then play them live, there's no greater job, at least in my mind."

THE PRETTY RECKLESS recently broke a record set by 3 DOORS DOWN and has seen its first four mainstream singles hit No. 1 on Billboard's rock chart. The band's new song, "Take Me Down", topped the chart, following in the footsteps of "Heaven Knows", "Messed Up World" and "Follow Me Down" from 2014's "Going To Hell" album. That broke the group's tie with 3 DOORS DOWN and put them in a position to tie or break the next record, five No. 1 singles, which is owned for now by Canada's THREE DAYS GRACE.

THE PRETTY RECKLESS also now have the most No. 1 singles by a female-fronted rock act.

"Take Me Down" is from the band's third studio set, "Who You Selling For", which arrived on October 21.

Fan-filmed video footage of Norwegian symphonic metallers SIRENIA performing on November 14 at B90 in Gdańsk, Poland can be seen below.

SIRENIA's new album, "Dim Days Of Dolor", was released on November 11 via Napalm Records. The cover artwork was once again created by Gyula Havancsák from Hjules Illustration And Design. The CD was mixed at Hansen Studios in Denmark.

SIRENIA recently parted ways with their Spanish singer Ailyn Giménez García for "personal reasons." She has since been replaced by the French vocalist Emmanuelle Zoldan. SIRENIA guitarist Morten Veland told Heavy Music Headquarters about the band's latest lineup change: "Sadly, Ailyn was not able to do a good job for the band anymore, so we had no other choice than to end the cooperation. Our other option was to end the band, but we thought it was a bit too early for that still. "

He continued: "We experienced a lot of problems the last three years and we could all see this situation with Ailyn coming from miles away. Actually, we were expecting her to leave at some point, rather than slowing the band down and causing lots of problems. That would be the honorable thing to do. She has health issues that makes it impossible for her to do a good job for the band, especially touring had become a huge problem over the last few years. She does not want to talk about these problems and I totally respect that, so I won't go into any details about it. I just find it really disappointing that she publicly stated that we fired her, but at the same time she did not say the reason why. That just makes all the bandmembers look like a bunch of assholes that fired her without any reason whatsoever. The fact is that we had all the reasons in the world to end this cooperation. In fact, most bands probably would have done so three years ago. We wish her all the best though, and we are grateful for the good years we had together as a band."

Morten adeded: "When we searched for a new singer, the choice fell on Emmanuelle right away, because she is such a diverse singer. She can handle all kinds of techniques and styles. We have worked with her for more than a decade, but mostly with her being a part of the choir. I have always been a fan of her voice. I always loved her voice and felt sure that she would do a great job and fit well into the band. And, as expected, the recordings turned out fantastic. It was also a great learning experience for both of us. So I feel sure that we will even improve our cooperation even more in the years to come. She added a lot of diversity to the album. She is making great variation with her singing, which is a huge step forward for us. I am already excited about writing new material for Emmanuelle's voice, now that I have learned even more about her strengths as a singer."

Regarding how SIRENIA's sound has evolved on "Dim Days Of Dolor", Morten said: "We have done some remarkable changes with this new album. The most obvious difference is, of course, the change of singer. Emmanuelle has added a new sound and touch to SIRENIA's music. The diversity is bigger than before, and I also think that the performance level has been raised a lot. Furthermore, we have changed mixing and mastering engineer for this album. We worked with Danish producer Jacob Hansen for the first time. I think that he has really perfected our sound and taken the band to new heights as well. I also think that the song material is really strong and diverse, and there is some cool new elements on the album that have not been done in the past. I feel quite sure that the SIRENIA fans will really appreciate this album."

Ailyn was best known as a former contestant on the Spanish version of "The X Factor", the biggest television talent competition in Europe.

She appeared on four studio albums with SIRENIA: 2009's "The 13th Floor", 2011's "The Enigma Of Life", 2013's "Perils Of The Deep Blue" and 2015's "The Seventh Life Path".

Fan-filmed video footage of IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris's solo/side project BRITISH LION performing on November 25 at Hellraiser in Leipzig, Germany can be seen below.

BRITISH LION previously debuted two new songs, "Spitfire" and "Bible Black", during its summer 2015 tour.

Asked if BRITISH LION has been road-testing new material on its recent tours for the band's upcoming second album, Harris told Kerrang! magazine: "To be honest with you, we just didn't have enough material [on 2012's self-titled debut to fill a headlining set]. We had to do that stuff. In an ideal world, we probably wouldn't have done. It's weird, though, really, because years ago I had an idea that you couldn't really do now because of the Internet and that. Back in the day, I thought maybe you could have released a MAIDEN album with all-new live material. That would have been possible, maybe. But now you couldn't because obviously no matter where you go in a band, you can't get away with anything, because people film it on their cameras on their phones. It is what it is; it's a different thing now."

He continued: "I know some people have probably checked out YouTube footage of the new songs. I still don't think it's going to be as good a version as what we put on the proper album. Hopefully people will still want it. Of course, there'll be other songs as well. It's nice, like you said, road-testing them — I think it makes them better. The way we're playing the songs now is a lot better than the first album was."

Harris also talked about the evolution of the BRITISH LION sound. He said: "The band's been evolving anyway and the songs have been evolving with it, or vice versa. We're finding our feet as a band, finding more of a sense of what we are. Without analyzing it too much, I think the [new] songs are really probably going, if anything, maybe in a heavier direction perhaps. I mean, 'Spitfire', to me, sounds like really heavy THIN LIZZY. But others might think something different about it. But they're really good songs, really powerful songs, and they certainly stand up against any of the other songs, really. And some of the ones we have got up our sleeves are just as good."

BRITISH LION is recording shows on its current European tour for an upcoming live album, tentatively due next year. "We've been talking about a live album for a while," Harris told Kerrang! "We recorded the last couple of tours, and obviously we'll record stuff from this tour and get as much stuff as we can to get a good cross-section of stuff and then we'll definitely put a live album out, because I think it's important."

BRITISH LION's debut album sold around 3,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 3 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"British Lion" was released in the U.S. on September 25, 2012 via Universal Music Enterprises (UMe). Mixed by Kevin Shirley — whose credits include IRON MAIDEN as well as Led ZEPPELIN, JOURNEY and RUSH, among many others — the CD features Harris alongside singer Richard Taylor, guitarists Graham Leslie and David Hawkins and drummer Simon Dawson.