Former DIO and current DIO DISCIPLES guitarist Craig Goldy has fired back at Vivian Campbell for saying that DIO DISCIPLES have "zero credibility" as a Ronnie James Dio tribute project despite the fact that the band is fully supported by Ronnie's widow/manager, Wendy.

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

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

Asked in a recent interview with BigMusicGeek.com what separates LAST IN LINE from DIO DISCIPLES — which is made up of former members of DIO, along with a rotating lineup of singers, including former JUDAS PRIEST frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens — Vivian said: "I don't think we're even in the same league as the DIO DISCIPLES. None of those guys were original members of the band DIO. We're the original band. We're the guys who formed the band with Ronnie. Not only were in the band, but we wrote all the songs with Ronnie. If you look at the writing credits on the first three records, it was very, very much a collaborative creative venture. That's what made the early DIO records so strong. The guys in the DIO DISCIPLES... As far as I'm concerned, there is zero credibility with the DIO DISCIPLES."

According to Vivian, he didn't know about DIO DISCIPLES' existence until 2012, almost two years after the band first started playing shows as a tribute to Ronnie. "It was around the time that [LAST IN LINE] got together to jam that I had first heard of the DIO DISCIPLES," the guitarist said. "I wasn't even aware of them. It was actually Vinny who told me. I couldn't believe that these guys were going out and playing songs that we actually wrote with Ronnie. I thought, 'Well, if they're doing it, then why shouldn't we do it?' With us, there is a legitimacy to what were doing, ya know? I doubt that there is a real legitimacy in the DIO DISCIPLES."

In a brand new interview with Sleaze Roxx, Goldy responded to Campbell's latest comments, saying: "It's just unfortunate that Vivian has continued to say vile things about Ronnie and us. I mean, I was in DIO with Vinny and I'm in another band with him [RESURRECTION KINGS]. Just like with any family, there's always one that holds onto a grudge forever. He's [Vivian] nice to my face. I don't know if he says bad things behind my back. I don't recall him saying anything vile about me."

He added: "I wish he'd just say 'I'm sorry.' Maybe something happened behind closed doors that Vivian finds unforgivable. I just find that just so hard to believe. I don't know what happened between the two of them [Ronnie and Vivian], but maybe [Vivian] stepped over some boundaries and felt the heat. He got called on it and was let go."

LAST IN LINE takes its name from the second DIO album released in 1984. Appice, Bain and Campbell were Ronnie James Dio's co-conspirators and co-writers on the "Holy Diver", "The Last In Line" and "Sacred Heart" albums — the records that defined the classic early DIO sound and have gone on to become part of rock history.

In addition to Goldy, Owens, Oni Logan (LYNCH MOB) and Joe Retta (SWEET, HEAVEN & EARTH) on vocals, DIO DISCIPLES features former DIO members Simon Wright on drums and Scott Warren on keyboards. They are joined by Bjorn Englen (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) on bass.

DIO DISCIPLES is billed as a "celebration of the music and legacy of the greatest singer in the world, Ronnie James Dio." The band also notes that "we could NEVER replace Ronnie and that is NOT our intention. There will only ever be one Ronnie James Dio!"

During an April 2011 appearance on the "All Hail Hair" show on Fightin' Words Radio, Vinny Appice was asked what he thought of DIO DISCIPLES going out on the road and paying tribute to Ronnie James Dio. "I think it's disgusting," he said. "I mean, why are they even doing it? Plus, [Ronnie has] not even been passed away for a year. And, you know… It's kind of… I don't know. It's kind of weird, man. It's weird."

Vinny later had a change of heart and ended up playing a number of shows with DIO DISCIPLES, including in March of this year in Glendale, California.

In an interview with BackstageAxxess.com, Vinny stated about his involvement with DIO DISCIPLES: "Just because I said it was disgusting at one point, now it's all over Blabbermouth. 'To Vinny Appice, it's not disgusting anymore.' The problem was they did it a couple of months after Ronnie passed, and then I thought it was awful; it wasn't the right time. Now they can do whatever they want; it's cool. It was just that, at the moment, it didn't seem like the best time to do it."

Asked by "Totally Driven Radio" what Wendy Dio's reaction has been to LAST IN LINE, Vinny responded: "Well, she's not involved in this in any way, shape or form. I don't know… I haven't really talked to her and asked what she thought. So she's not involved in this. I don't really know what she thinks about it. She probably hates it. I don't know. But you know? We're out there pushing everything — pushing the old songs, then keeping everything alive too. So you can't knock that."

Campbell told Billboard that Wendy has nothing to do with, and no love for, LAST IN LINE. "Vinny still has occasional contact with her," Campbell said, "and when we first started doing this project, she said something along the lines of, 'Ronnie would be spinning in his grave.' So there you go."

DIO DISCIPLES performing DIO's "Holy Diver":


LAST IN LINE performing DIO's "Holy Diver":


DIO DISCIPLES:

GUNS N' ROSES members Axl Rose and Duff McKagan were interviewed on tonight's (Sunday, September 4) edition of "Fantástico", the Brazilian weekly news magazine which airs on Globo TV. You can now watch the chat at Globo.com. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On what the driving force was in bringing Axl, Duff and Slash back together after so many years apart:

Axl: "Actually, it had a lot to do with Paul Tollett of [the] Coachella [festival]. He started talking about [booking a reunion of the classic GUNS N' ROSES lineup for his festival]. It seemed real. So at that point, I just told my people that they could go ahead and start talking to people and see what's going on. And then as it became more real, I texted Fernando [Lebeis, who is part of the GUNS N' ROSES management team] and asked for Slash's number. And then Fernando texted his mom [Beta Lebeis, who is also part of the GUNS N' ROSES management team], and he was, like, 'If this is a joke, I'm gonna kill you.'"

On whether they initially thought Coachella was going to be just a one-off reunion gig:

Axl: "No. It started with talking about Coachella, but at the same time that those talks were starting, there were people involved with Coachella — agencies and things — so they were having these conversations about what they could possibly do or not. So it was all being considered."

On whether they thought from the very beginning that this could turn into a more long-term reunion:

Axl: "We started talking, like, in the spring. Everybody's people were finding out about possibilities and things like that, and then we started talking together in the spring."

Duff: "Getting into rehearsals, it was really just kind of one day at a time. I don't know that I thought too much about how far ahead. It was just really cool to play some of the music with the guys that I was playing it with."

On Axl's first meeting with Slash to discuss a GUNS N' ROSES reunion:

Axl: "Like I said, I had asked for [Slash's] number. And then I had called him and he was on tour or something, and then we set up when we were gonna see each other, and I think something happened to both of our plans and that didn't happen. And then eventually in October, we got together and we had a dinner at my house. And then Duff and I went and hung out right after that — like a week or so after. And then it was just kind of talking and planning. We initially were gonna do some kind of promos and stuff, and then other things came up that got in the way of that. And then it was rehearsals. And I went down to rehearsal, and everything just sounded right. And we just went to work. It was time to sing, see what the sound sounded like and stuff and get ready for the show, and it was all working."

On whether each one of the three of them — Axl, Duff and Slash — had to change a bit for the reunion to be happening right now:

Duff: "I really got to discover, in the best of ways, the album 'Chinese Democracy' that [Axl] made [without the other members of the classic GN'R lineup], and it was these songs he had worked on. And I had listened to the record, but when you start to play the songs as a player, you really discover all the layers in the songs. But really kind of how you hear it and how I'm hearing the songs are maybe a little bit different. And when we went into rehearsals, we wanted to really own… like this is gonna be what we're doing."

Axl: "I didn't have anything, really, to do with that. They stepped to songs on 'Chinese'. They asked, 'Which ones are you interested in us doing?' and stuff, and they stepped to that on their own. They started working with Frank [Ferrer, drums], 'cause they had their own way of working with the drummer, and working with the rhythms, and kind of picked up the tempo on some of the old songs a bit, and things like that, and got their communication working. So they spent a good while with that on their own."

On whether there is any chance classic-era GUNS N' ROSES members Steven Adler and Izzy Stradlin will join the reunion at a later date:

Axl: "Steven did join us [on a couple of dates]. At the same time, I have no idea. When this started, Steven had just had back surgery and stuff, so I don't have any idea about that. And with Izzy, that's just something that… I can't really describe to say… I don't really know what to say about Izzy. It's, like, you could have a conversation and think it's one way and the next day it's another way. And I'm not trying to take any shots at Izzy. It's just his thing is kind of his thing, whatever that is."

On whether Axl is planning to continue singing for AC/DC beyond the North American shows that are currently taking place:

Axl: "I'll do that as long as Angus [Young, AC/DC guitarist] wants to do it and as long as… and we can make it work. GUNS is really supportive about it. I love that it's my job. I love that Angus is my boss. And singing the early Brian [Johnson] songs — the first couple of albums with Brian — those are something else to sing, so it's physically a different animal and another kind of work. And I take pride in doing it. And it's a hard thing in its own way. So after this [GUNS N' ROSES' North American tour], there's a few days [off], and then I'll do another ten shows with AC/DC. And after that, it's kind of, whatever Angus wants to do."

Justin Scott and Spiegel of the Baltimore radio station 98 Rock recently conducted an interview with THE PRETTY RECKLESS. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.

Asked if the forthcoming THE PRETTY RECKLESS's studio album, "Who You Selling For", is autobiographical, singer Taylor Momsen said: "Well, I think all of our records, in one sense, are autobiographical. I mean, I write them, so I'm writing about my experiences and my life and what I have observed and what I know. So I think this coming record is the next evolution of the band, so we're really excited for everyone to hear it. It's very diverse and eclectic, I guess is a good word to describe it. But, of course, it's personal. I mean, I write it."

Regarding whether there are any topics that are "off limits" during the songwriting process, Taylor said: "No. If you limit yourself, you immediately are stunting yourself. You can't limit yourself when it comes to writing. There's nothing that you don't explore."

"Who You Selling For" was produced by THE PRETTY RECKLESS's longtime collaborator Kato Khandwala. The songs were written by Momsen and guitarist Ben Phillips.

Momsen recently told Kerrang! magazine that THE PRETTY RECKLESS's new single, "Take Me Down": "It's a classic rock 'n' roll tune, which was inspired by the Robert Johnson story of going to the crossroads and selling his soul for rock 'n' roll — which I kind of did in one way. [Laughs] I gave my life to the music; I gave everything else up for it. And it's a simple story about giving your life to something you love so much and you need it so bad that you're willing to sell your soul for it."

THE PRETTY RECKLESS hits the road this fall in support of the album, hitting major markets in the U.S. and wrapping on December 6 in Los Angeles.

Interview (audio):

German gothic metal act, Crematory, have released a new lyrics video for “Die So Soon”, a track from their latest recording, Monument, available via Steamhammer/SPV as Digi/2LP/download.

Tracklisting:

“Misunderstood”
“Haus mit Garten”
“Die So Soon”
“Ravens Calling”
“Eiskalt”
“Nothing”
“Before I Die”
“Falsche Tränen”
“Everything”
“My Love Within”
“Die letzte Schlacht”
“Save Me”

“Haus mit Garten” video:

“Ravens Calling” video:

“Misunderstood” video:

Tour dates:

September

30 - Erfurt, Germany - From Hell

October
1 - Glauchau, Germany - Alte Spinnerei
2 - Berlin, Germany - K 17

Cacophonous has delayed the release of Dimmu Borgir’s legenday second album Stormblåst and a release date will be announced soon. The rremastered audio is courtesy of Danny B of HVR Studios.

Stormblåst is the 1996 second studio album from Dimmu Borgir. This was the last album with lyrics in their native Norwegian, and the first where keyboards were heavily used and introduced as part of their trademark sound. 2016’s reissue contains additional new photos of the band alongside extended lyrics.

Neil Harding, Cacophonous label founder: “Stormblåst is heralded as one of the classics of Norwegian black metal. As we only had the DAT recording of the album we were limited in what we could do to enhance the original recording, but I think it's improved enough that fans will welcome the remastered version. I'd been told about Dimmu Borgir by Samoth in mid '94 when Emperor visited the label offices. Aldrahn of Dødheimsgard put me in touch with them, as he'd just recorded vocals for a song on their debut album For All Tid. I asked Dimmu Borgir if they wanted to work with Cacophonous on their follow-up album they should contact me in the future. I didn't hear from them for a while, until after the recording of Stormblåst, they wrote and said that the label who were going to release the second album couldn't pay for the studio costs and as they only had a verbal agreement, if we paid for the recordings the band would let us release the one album. It seemed a good idea, if only for a single release, and so we secured the rights and put out the record.”

Stormblåst tracklisting:
“Alt lys er svunnet hen”
“Broderskapets ring”
“Vinder fra en ensom grav”
“Da den kristne satte livet til”
“Antikrist”
“Stormblåst”
“Når sjelen hentes til helvete”
“Dødsferd”
“Guds fortapelse - åpenbaring av dommedag”

The Devin Townsend Project have released an Unboxing video for their new album, Transcendence, which is due to for release on September 9th via InsideOut (New Damage Records in Canada).

Devin recently commented: “Transcendence, like every record I've done prior, is an extension of what’s been going on in my world, represented in a new batch of songs. I'm 44 years old now, and this is where I have been over the past two years since Z2.”

The album features an updated version of the song "Truth", which originally appeared on Devin Townsend's Infinity album from 1998.

Tracklisting:

"Truth"
"Stormbending"
"Failure"
"Secret Sciences"
"Higher"
"Stars"
"Transcendence"
"Offer Your Light"
"From The Heart"
"Transdermal Celebration"

“Failure”:

The follow-up to 2014’s Z2 double-album (half of which was made up of the DTP full-length Sky Blue), sees the award-winning Townsend exploring a relatively new way of working, collaborating with the entire DTP band during the writing stages of the record.  “The result of this process is a record that I truly think the intention of is special” he says of the album. “I 'found' gas to put into the tank and am glad I did. I think the intention, the theme, and the participation of everyone involved allows this album to act like a fulcrum between the past few years and what I intend to do next with the symphony. I am very proud of it and everyone involved.”

The artwork was once again created by Anthony Clarkson, who Devin has been working with for several years now. Townsend comments of the cover (above): “He presented me the main image of the girl as a painted version, and I was intrigued and asked him to redo it with a girl he knew with photos. I liked the idea that it seemed like a mash up of religious and spiritual imagery, in a sense, representing the idea (to me) that these types of connections to the infinite are often more like identities we can cling to rather than what lies behind. In a sense, the character on the front almost seems like the ideologies she's representing are more 'brand names' than anything else.”

The Devin Townsend Project have kicked off a North American tour in support of their new album, Transcendence, which is due to for release on September 9th. They have posted three clips from their ongoing tour video documentary.

Devin Townsend Project's North American tour schedule, which sees them co-headlining with progressive metallers Between The Buried & Me, is as follows:

September
6 - Winnipeg, MA - Pyramid Cabaret
7 - Minneapolis, MN - Mill City Nights
9 - Nashville, TN - Marathon Music Works
10 - Charleston, SC - Music Farm
11 - Orlando, FL - The Plaza
12 - Charlotte, NC - Amos' Southend
13 - Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore Silver Springs
15 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre Of Living Arts
16 - New York, NY - Playstation Theater
17 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium (+Sabaton)
21 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
22 - Detroit, MI - St. Andrews Hall
23 - Chicago, IL - House of Blues
24 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Intersection
25 - Louisville, KY - Mercury Ballroom
27 - New Orleans, LA - The Joy Theater
29 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey Live

October
5 - San Francisco, CA - The Regency Ballroom
6 - Los Angeles, CA - The Novo
7 - Tempe, AZ - The Marquee
9 - Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades
12 - Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory
13 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
14 - Seattle, WA - Studio Seven

Serious Black have released a Special Edition Unboxing video for their new album, Mirrorworld, out on September 9th in several formats, all of which can be pre-ordered here.

Tracklisting:

"Breaking The Surface"
"As Long As I’m Alive"
"Castor Skies"
"Heartbroken Soul"
"Dying Hearts"
"You’re Not Alone"
"Mirrorworld"
"Emotional Blackmail" (Digipack Bonus)
"The Life That You Want" (Digipack Bonus)
"State of My Despair"
"The Unborn Never Die"
"This Machine Is Broken" (Digipack Bonus)
"Hello Moon" (Digipack Bonus)
"Goodbye My Angel" (Digipack Bonus)
"I Show You My Heart" - acoustic version (Digipack Bonus)
"Sealing My Fate" - acoustic version (Digipack Bonus)

"Castor Skies" video:

Teaser:

"As Long As I’m Alive" lyric video:

For information and updates on Serious Black go to this location.

German hard rock veterans SCORPIONS paid tribute to late MOTÖRHEAD frontman Lemmy Kilmister by performing a cover version of the MOTÖRHEAD classic "Overkill" Saturday night (September 3) at Citibank Hall in São Paulo, Brazil.

SCORPIONS' current touring lineup includes MOTÖRHEAD drummer Mikkey Dee. Dee is filling in for James Kottak, who is currently on break while he seeks medical attention.

"It's been great," Mikkey said about playing with the SCORPIONS. "These are great guys and we've known them for many years, and I love their music."

Regarding how playing with SCORPIONS is different from performing with MOTÖRHEAD, Mikkey said: "I played so long with MOTÖRHEAD, we were a three-piece, and that's a tremendous difference. For instance, when Phil [Campbell, MOTÖRHEAD guitarist] was doing his solo, I might have to be a little busier on the kick drum. Here [in the SCORPIONS], I've gotta think the opposite — I've gotta be easier on certain things and step into some other stuff. But it's a great challenge. I mean, these guys are so nice, and we've known each other for many, many years. And it's a great honor to carry the SCORPIONS flag here."

Kottak rejoined the SCORPIONS on the road in November 2014, eight months after he spent a month in a Dubai, United Arab Emirates jail in April for insulting Islam.

Kottak, who had been receiving treatment for alcohol abuse, released a statement in June 2014 in which he said "this entire incident caused me to realize that it is time to stop drinking once and for all so that I can become the father, musician, and friend that I know I can be."

For some of SCORPIONS' 2014 concerts, Swedish drummer Johan Franzon filled in for Kottak.

Dee was originally scheduled to play drums for THIN LIZZY on the latter band's anniversary shows planned for 2016 and 2017 but was forced to bow out of the dates after he was offered the SCORPIONS gig. He has since been replaced in that group's touring lineup by JUDAS PRIEST's Scott Travis.

Professionally filmed video footage of CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's entire performance at this year's edition of the Bloodstock Open Air festival, which was held August 11-14 at Catton Hall, Walton-On-Trent, West Midlands, United Kingdom, can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Bottom Feeder (El Que Come Abajo)02. Broken Man03. Seven Days04. Señor Limpio05. Vote With A Bullet06. Who's Got The Fire07. Albatross08. Clean My Wounds

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY drummer Reed Mullin was forced to miss the band's Bloodstock appearance after injuring his knee earlier in the month.

C.O.C. bassist Mike Dean told TeamRock: "We were at the airport to come to the U.K. when we got a call from Reed saying he blew out his knee. We nearly had to cancel the show, but we decided to push ahead."

The concert eventually went ahead, with the band's drum tech, John Green, filling in after getting no rehearsal under his belt. "John sits alongside Reed so much that he knows the material," Dean told TeamRock prior to the show. "He's got heart' he's not fucking scared."

Reed, who briefly took a break from touring with CORROSION OF CONFORMITY in June after suffering an alcohol-related seizure, was back behind the kit for the band's August 20 appearance at the Ride For Dime event in Dallas, Texas.

As for Mullin's battle to stay away from alcohol, Dean told TeamRock it's "an ongoing process. We seem to have got his attention and we hope he keeps responding well. It can be hard being on the road for a long time."

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY is currently working on material for its upcoming studio album, tentatively due in 2017 via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The effort will mark the band's studio reunion with guitarist/vocalist Pepper Keenan and the Pepper-fronted version of C.O.C.'s first full-length record since 2005.

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's new album is being helmed by longtime producer John Custer, who has recorded such C.O.C. classics as "Deliverance", "Wiseblood", "America's Volume Dealer" and "In The Arms Of God".

Dean told TeamRock: "We're currently writing it and we have a whole lot of material that we are just trying to narrow down. We're trying to get 25 rough ideas down to between 12 and 15 songs that we'll record and release next year. Four or five of them are pretty much whole formed songs."

Part of the reason for the delay in the new album's completion has been the fact that CORROSION OF CONFORMITY has been deluged with tour offers since Pepper's return to the band in 2014.

"We keep saying yes to tours!" Dean said. "We've always been in demand, but with Pepper back, it's even more so. We've just agreed to do a tour with TORCHE and RED FANG. It's hard to say no to that."

NIVA's sixth album, "Atmospherical", will be released on October 28 via Niva Music Group/AOR Heaven.

In the realms of melodic metal, Sweden's LION'S SHARE has been synonymous with class and quality for over two decades — not least thanks to a succession of great vocalists: Andy Engberg (220 VOLT, SORCERER, SECTION A), Nils Patrik Johansson (ASTRAL DOORS, WUTHERING HEIGHTS, CIVIL WAR)... and who else? Oh yes — Tony Niva, the vocal powerhouse from LION'S SHARE's seminal fourth album "Entrance" (2001). What's his story? Niva started singing as a young boy in the mid-'80s, inspired by the likes of Ronnie James Dio, Joe Lynn Turner and Geoff Tate. After cutting his teeth in classic acts like SWEDISH EROTICA and AXIA, Tony formed his own outfit NIVA whose debut album, "No Capitulation", arrived in 1994 (featuring Ian Haugland of EUROPE fame behind the kit). Despite the quality of this melodic affair, NIVA folded shortly afterwards. After graduating from the university, Tony joined LION'S SHARE long enough to record the aforementioned "Entrance" — and left the music scene again shortly afterwards. However, in 2011 Tony tried out for the Swedish Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Janitor Of Love", with limited success, on paper. Creatively, the result was so satisfying that Tony extended his collaboration with his new songwriting team. NIVA's comeback album, "Gold From the Future", was released in Japan in the fall of 2011. (On the European and American market, the album was released under the moniker OXYGEN and titled "Final Warning".)

"I've been focusing on my career in the IT business, so I didn't make much music between 1994 and 2011," says Tony. "But after that second NIVA album, I made two more: 'Magnitude' in 2013 and 'Incremental IV' in 2014. And after that, I thought I might as well release what I recorded in 1995 as the intended follow-up to 'No Capitulation': 'Relievin' Rain' (2015). Now, however, I'm back with a whole new incarnation of NIVA. On this new album, I wanted to broaden my horizons. Different production, a heavier sound. So I've been working with Lars Chriss, my old pal from the LION'S SHARE days." Lars Chriss, now a highly renowned producer/mixer with the likes of OVERLAND, CHRIS OUSEY, RADIOACTIVE "F4our", SEVEN and LUGNET on his resumé, has lent his producing, song-writing and guitar-playing skills to "Atmospherical".

Don't let the title fool you — NIVA has definitely moved away from the AOR-ish, comparative softness on previous works. "This is more of a melodic metal sound," Tony agrees. "It rocks harder, it's more riff-based and the keyboards are less prominent." Besides Lars and Tony, former LION'S SHARE luminaries Kay Backlund (keyboards) and monster bassist Andy Loos (also of GLORY, SEVEN, COVERED CALL fame) have also lent their considerable skills to the creation of "Atmospherical". The album even includes a stellar remake of LION'S SHARE 1988 debut single B-side, "I'm On A Roll". So the LION'S SHARE reminiscence is very much intentional. And quite welcome.

"Atmospherical" track listing:

01. Dressed To Kill02. Déjà Vu03. Spirit Of The Night04. Forbidden Lover05. I'm On A Roll06. Evil Rose07. Raise Your Voice08. The Mountain09. Play Our Songs10. Wall Of Bricks11. Long Road To Hell & Back (bonus track for Marquee/Avalon in Japan))

"Atmospherical" recording lineup:

Tony Niva: VocalsLars Chriss: Guitar, DrumsAndy Loos: BassKay Backlund: Keyboard on tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10 & 11Fredrik Bergh: Keyboard on tracks 4, 8 & 9Nigel Bailey: Backing vocalsMick Devine: Additional backing vocals on tracks 6 & 10George Bailey: Additional backing vocals on track 1

"Dressed To Kill" audio sample:


"Déjà Vu" audio sample:


"Forbidden Lover" audio sample:

Fan-filmed video footage of KORN performing two new songs — "Insane" and "Rotting In Vain" — on September 2 at the BB&T Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey during the "Return Of The Dreads" tour with ROB ZOMBIE can be seen below.

"Insane" and "Rotting In Vain" are taken from KORN's new album, "The Serenity Of Suffering", which will be released on October 21. The follow-up to 2013's "The Paradigm Shift" was helmed by Grammy Award-winning producer Nick Raskulinecz, who has previously worked with FOO FIGHTERS, DEFTONES, MASTODON and RUSH, among others. The CD features a guest appearance by SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor on the song "A Different World".

"The Serenity Of Suffering" marks the band's return to Roadrunner, which previously released 2010's "Korn III - Remember Who You Are" and 2011's "The Path Of Totality".

The cover art for "The Serenity Of Suffering" was created by acclaimed artist Ron English. It depicts a teenage KORN fan at a dystopian acid-nightmare funfair who is clutching a disembowelled and skeletal version of the doll who adorned 1999's "Issues". "The Serenity Of Suffering" marks the second KORN album since the return of guitarist Brian "Head" Welch, who said, "This is a record to me that the intensity of KORN is back, and the live energy. Raw energy is there."

"Return Of The Dreads" kicked off on July 19 in Englewood, Colorado and winds down on September 3 in Bristow, Virginia.

KORN will also hit the road this fall with co-headliners BREAKING BENJAMIN for the "Nocturnal Underground Tour", which will kick off on September 24 in Fargo, North Dakota and run through late October.

Fan-filmed video footage of IN THIS MOMENT's September 2 performance at the BB&T Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey during the "Return Of The Dreads" tour with KORN and ROB ZOMBIE can be seen below.

IN THIS MOMENT recently recruited drummer Kent Diimmel (3 BY DESIGN) to sit behind the kit for the band's current tour following the departure of Tom Hane.

Hane announced his exit from IN THIS MOMENT in March, explaining in a statement that he had "struggled to be truly happy creatively."

IN THIS MOMENT guitarist Chris Howorth revealed in June that he was diagnosed with acute arthritis in his neck and shoulders, but vowed to "continue writing and performing" with the band. Howorth's diagnosis came less than two months after IN THIS MOMENT was forced to cancel its European tour due to what was described at the time as an injury to Howorth's neck.

Howorth co-founded IN THIS MOMENT with singer Maria Brink over a decade ago. The pair remain the band's only original members.

Brink recently ruled out the possibility of IN THIS MOMENT touring with a replacement guitarist, calling Howorth "my partner, brother and one of my closest friends. I can't bring myself to do this tour without him. It simply would not be IN THIS MOMENT."

Fan-filmed video footage of SLIPKNOT's August 27 performance at the Austin360 Amphitheater at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas can be seen below.

SLIPKNOT will perform its 2001 album "Iowa" in its entirety at Ozzfest Meets Knotfest on Sunday, September 25 at San Manuel Amphitheater in San Bernardino, California.

"Iowa" came out in August 2001 and followed up SLIPKNOT's double-platinum 1999 major label debut.

Still considered their heaviest and darkest effort to date, the disc was made during a difficult period in the band's career. Percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan told The Pulse Of Radio that the chaos surrounding "Iowa" is what made it so intense. "The whole thing, from the beginning — it wasn't a disaster, it was exactly what we wanted to do," he said. "It's where we all wanted to be. We all made a conscious decision to dive headfirst into this thought process known as 'Iowa', and it was a very painful, disgusting, evil, angry, hateful, self-indulgent monster."

"Iowa" has sold more than one million copies and featured the songs "Left Behind", "The Heretic Anthem", "My Plague", "Disasterpiece" and others.

Singer Corey Taylor told Metal Hammer about the album: "Our whole goal was to go in and make this dense, destructive album. We had no idea how destructive it was going to be. You can hear the bile in it, you can hear the frenetic passion for what we were trying to do."

SLIPKNOT was forced to postpone its North American trek with MARILYN MANSON by three weeks after Taylor underwent what he described as "an unplanned spinal surgery."

The summer trek is likely to be SLIPKNOT's last U.S. tour in support of its latest album, ".5: The Gray Chapter", which was released in October 2014.

The classic-era lineup of the horror punk outfit MISFITS — Glenn Danzig, Jerry Only and Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein — reunited for first time since 1983 Sunday night (September 4) to headline this year's Riot Fest.

The reunion, billed as "The Original Misfits," took place at at Denver's Riot Fest And Rodeo. Joining Glenn, Jerry and Doyle at the show was drummer Dave Lombardo (SLAYER, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES).

Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

Another MISFITS reunion show will happen at Riot Fest And Carnival on September 18 in Chicago.

According to Only, the reunion came about after a meeting he had with Danzig in January. The pair had gotten together with the MISFITS management in order to discuss the rights to the band's name and merchandising with a view towards avoiding any further litigation between the parties.

Glenn didn't rule out more dates after the Riot Fest shows, saying: "We'll see how it goes. It may lead to some other work, but who knows how it's going to turn out? I mean, I don't think it's going to be a disaster; I think it's going to be incredible."

Regarding what fans can expect to see at the upcoming MISFITS concerts, Danzig said: "I'm just going to do what I normally do, which is to go out there and try and have a great time myself and make sure everybody has a fantastic fucking time. I want them to be so blown away they don't know what the fuck just hit them."

The original MISFITS band broke up in 1983, and bassist Jerry Only brought forth a new version of the MISFITS in 1995. Various members have come and gone, but Only, along with BLACK FLAG's Dez Cadena, has kept some form of the MISFITS in the recording studio and on the road for most of the last two decades.

After the original MISFITS disbanded, vocalist Glenn Danzig went on to form SAMHAIN and then the eponymous DANZIG. Several albums of reissued and previously unreleased material were issued after the group's dissolution, and their music became influential to punk rock, heavy metal, and alternative rock music of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Swedish/British modern metallers SONIC SYNDICATE have just released the lyric video for "Start A War", the debut single from their fifth full length studio album — and first for Despotz — "Confessions".

Produced by Kristoffer Folin at Purple Skull Music, "Start A War" is the band's public introduction to the new direction they have taken on the "Confessions" album. About the track, vocalist Nathan J. Briggs says: "The song is about daring to dream, I guess. In this life, you can do anything or be anything. It's a cliché, but it's true. But you've got to want it, and sometimes you really have to fight, to start a war to get there. This is a reminder for everyone, but also to myself with this new album."

"Confessions" will be released on October 14. The CD was recorded at Purple Skull Music with producer Kritoffer Folin and is said to be "the band's most diverse and unique work to date."

SONIC SYNDICATE will support AMARANTHE on a European tour in October/November.

Asked how the new CD compares to SONIC SYNDICATE's previous releases, Biggs recently said: "I think we always make a conscious effort to not repeat ourselves, definitely."

Added Robin Sjunnesson: "And we say it all the time, but that's how it is: we never repeat ourselves. Every album is like a new experiment for us. But this one is definitely a completely new sound."

Continued Nathan: "This one's unique in the fact that we literally haven't decided anything or limited ourselves to anything. We have literally just gone from whatever the hell we wanna write, whatever feeling it is."

Said Robin: "We wrote almost a completely full album, and we were kind of pretending, 'Yeah, this is good. This is good.' But you could feel it: 'Nah, it's not there. It's not where we wanna take this.' So we basically just trashed it."

Nathan: "We got our own studio and we did pre-production, and we had at least ten finished songs. We liked some of them, and some of them were really heavy and really rocking, but we were just like, 'It's not quite there. It's not good enough. Is this what we wanna do?' And we scrapped the whole record. And then we literally just wrote from the heart, with no limitations on genre or anything."

Robin: "Exactly. We kind of agreed: 'Let's just write whatever comes now.' Like, 'What's on the fingertips? What do we wanna do right now?' And I guess that's also why the new album is… We all love it."

Nathan: "I've never enoyed recording an album this much before — just pure fun from our side."

Robin: "We're trying out new stuff that we haven't tried before, and that's fun."

SONIC SYNDICATE last year parted ways with longtime bassist Karin Axelsson and replaced her with Michel "Miche" Bärzén (DEGRADEAD).

DJ Mama of the WSOU 89.5 radio station recently conducted an interview with Max Cavalera (SEPULTURA, SOULFLY, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, KILLER BE KILLED). You can now listen to the chat using the SoundCloud widget below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the upcoming "Return To Roots" North American tour with his brother Igor Cavalera (drums) during which they will celebrate the twentieth anniversary of SEPULTURA's classic album "Roots" by performing the LP in its entirety:

Max: "This tour is amazing, because it was such an iconic record. It's even more powerful now than it was when it came out, I think. Now that it's twenty years down the road, the songs have become super classics and it's gonna be a lot of fun playing them live with Igor. And we have some really designs for t-shirts and a really cool backdrop. We're excited; I think it's gonna be awesome. It's a fun album to play too. There's a lot of really, really high-energy songs like 'Spit', 'Straighthate', 'Ratamahatta'. It's a fun record to play, so I'm excited for it. I think it's gonna be great."

On what fans can expect from the "Return To Roots" tour:

Max: "Well, hopefully we'll get to go a lot of places with it, and people get to experience a bit how this album was, because it was a special record, and there's some magic about this album that's really quite powerful when you play the songs live, and people will have a chance to experience a little bit of that on the 'Return To Roots' tour. I'm excited to play with Igor after twenty years of making this record, and I'm excited to play some songs we've never, ever played live, like 'Breed Apart', 'Ambush' and 'Endangered Species'; we've never played those live, so it's gonna be great to get to play that stuff live."

On his current relationship with Igor:

Max: "We don't see each other all the time, because I live in Arizona and he lives in England; he lives in London. And he's busy all the time; he's got a DJ project with his wife called MIXHELL, and he does a lot of that, so he's busy all the time with that. And I'm busy with SOULFLY a lot of the time. But when we get together to do stuff like CAVALERA CONSPIRACY or now this 'Roots' tour, it's always fun to hang out with him. We like a lot of the same music — we have similar tastes in music — and we like a lot of the same stuff; we like soccer and drawing and artwork. So, yes, we have a lot of the same friends in the music business. So hopefully we'll get to see a lot of those guys on tour too. Hopefully they'll come a show."

On whether they will perform the "Roots" songs the way they were originally recorded:

Max: "We're gonna try to play as close to the original as can possibly be, even with the tempo. I was trying to tell Igor, 'Don't play so fast,' 'cause live he has a tendency of playing faster than the records. And I was trying to explain to him: 'It would be cool if we get to play the album really close to the original version of the album.' And we're gonna try to play everything — even the songs that were recorded in a tribe; we're gonna try to play all of that. So it's gonna be a big challenge. But I think we can pull it off. I think it's gonna be fantastic; it's gonna be an amazing show."

On the possibility of performing other SEPULTURA albums in full in the future:

Max: "I'm hoping this idea goes good, so we can do other records, like we can do 'Arise' and 'Chaos A.D.' and even 'Morbid Visions'. I think 'Morbid Visions' would be a good one to do with the original [SEPULTURA] guitar player, Jairo [Guedz], 'cause he lives in [SEPULTURA's original hometown of] Belo [Horizonte, Brazil]. And he'd be great to do that with us. So let's see how this goes. Hopefully it'll open doors to do more stuff like this."

"Roots", along with 1993's "Chaos A.D.", is considered SEPULTURA's most commercially successful release, having been certified gold in 2005 by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for U.S. shipments in excess of 500,000 copies.

In 1996, Max exited SEPULTURA after the rest of the band fired Max's wife Gloria as their manager.

Igor left SEPULTURA in June 2006 due to "artistic differences." His departure from the band came five months after he announced that he was taking a break from SEPULTURA's touring activities to spend time with his second wife and their new son (who was born in January 2006).

Swedish producer and multi-instrumentalist Peter Tägtgren (HYPOCRISY, PAIN) and vocalist Till Lindemann of German industrial metallers RAMMSTEIN are planning on revisiting their LINDEMANN project during RAMMSTEIN's next break from touring and recording activities.

LINDEMANN's debut album, "Skills In Pills", was released in June 2015 to mostly positive reviews, with Till describing the project's sound as "a baby between RAMMSTEIN and PAIN — at least, it's a mix of RAMMSTEIN vocals and PAIN music."

In a new interview with Metal Wani, Peter said that there are still plans for LINDEMANN to play live shows in support of "Skills In Pills". "We think so," he said (hear audio below). "We just need to respect when RAMMSTEIN is back working now, and we have to wait for the next break, I think, if we can do something. We have ideas for a lot of songs laying around."

Asked if there will be more music coming from LINDEMANN in the future, Peter said: "Yes. For sure."

Tägtgren told Kaaos TV about the response to "Skills In Pills": "It's been really good. I mean, some people are, 'Ah, the lyrics are so immature.' [But] I think it's funny lyrics. me and Till are immature people. So, you know, we're just having fun with… He's discovering the English words; he's always been writing in German [with RAMMSTEIN]. And now, his crazy ideas and all the English stuff, it's like plucking the tree, he always tells me, from fruit, because the German tree is already empty for him, he said. So it's really refreshing for him to do all these things in English. Some [reviews] are more, like, 'Yeah, immature guys going crazy.' But, hey, it's a party album. It's like, you know, Billy Idol in 2015 on… I don't know… speed. It's a party album. We want people to get a good feeling when we do it. It's great party music, I think. It's an album that you can get in a mood before you go to a festival, or before you go out to the bar or something, to get a good feeling."

PAIN's new album, "Coming Home", will be released on September 9 through Nuclear Blast.

The official lyric video for "Will O The Wisp", a brand new song from Swedish progressive metallers OPETH, can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's twelfth album, "Sorceress", which will be released on September 30. The band's first effort for Nuclear Blast via OPETH's imprint label Moderbolaget Records is proof chief architect Mikael Åkerfeldt has a near-endless well of greatness inside. From the album's opener "Persephone" to "The Wilde Flowers" and "Strange Brew" to the album's counterpart title tracks "Sorceress" and "Sorceress 2", OPETH's new full-length is an unparalleled adventure, where visions cleverly and secretly change, colors mute as if weathered by time, and sounds challenge profoundly.

For "Sorceress", OPETH returned to Rockfield Studios in Wales, also home to pivotal releases from QUEEN, RUSH and JUDAS PRIEST, where the Swedes had tracked "Pale Communion" in 2014 with Tom Dalgety. The band spent twelve days recording at the countryside venue among its serene and inspiring surroundings. The result is nothing short of a powerful and intriguing record that will add yet another layer to the band's celebrated career.

"The new album 'Sorceress' is our twelfth studio album since our beginnings in 1990," says Åkerfeldt. "I find it difficult to understand that we've been going on for twenty-six years, let alone that we've made twelve records now, all of which I am very proud of. 'Sorceress' is no exception.

"I love this album, as does the whole band. I wrote the music during five-six months and we spent only twelve days recording it at Rockfield studios in Wales.

"I find that once again we've taken a step forward. Or sideways, Or backwards. Somewhere!? It's different! It's extremely diverse. And if I may say so myself, extremely good. I feel the right to say that since I like to think I know this band better than anyone on the planet. Also, I always manage to detach myself from the record and listen as a fan.

"It's a fine little record. My favorite in our discography right now. Of course. That's how it should be, right? It's both fresh and old, both progressive and rehashed. Heavy and calm. Just the way we like it. Hopefully there'll be others around the globe sharing this opinion. It was a joy to make it. A fucking joy to record it, and a sheer joy listening to it. So there you have it!"

"Sorceress" track listing:

01. Persephone
02. Sorceress
03. The Wilde Flowers
04. Will O The Wisp
05. Chrysalis
06. Sorceress 2
07. The Seventh Sojourn
08. Strange Brew
09. A Fleeting Glance
10. Era
11. Persephone (Slight Return)

OPETH has announced a North American headline tour, set to kick off with a performance at Ozzfest Meets Knotfest on September 24 in San Bernardino, California. The tour, with THE SWORD as support, will continue through the following month before wrapping up on October 26 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Glenn Hughes was rejoined by his former HUGHES/THRALL bandmate Pat Thrall on stage on Friday, September 2 at Count's Vamp'd in Las Vegas, Nevada to perform two HUGHES/THRALL songs: "Muscle And Blood" and "First Step Of Love". Fan-filmed video footage of Thrall's appearance can be seen below.

Although work on the much-anticipated sophomore album from HUGHES/THRALL began nearly two decades ago, the disc has yet to see the light of day, and according to Hughes, the blame lies primarily on the shoulders of Thrall.

"The long story is that Pat and I started to record in 2000 a follow-up," Hughes told HardrockHaven.net. "We never finished it. We never got to finish it and we have never tried to finish it. It's just that I've been very busy and I want to finish it, but it's just, like, I don't know if it ever will be. You never know. You just never know."

In a 2006 interview with Rockdetector.com, Hughes was asked why it has taken so long for a follow-up HUGHES/THRALL effort to appear. "In truth, we were both [Hughes and Thrall] fucked up," Glenn replied. "Let's not try to hide that fact. We made an awesome funk rock record but we just could not follow it up. It's always been there though — people still keep talking about it — so obviously, at some point, it would come up again. I finally got around to meeting up with Pat again in New York during 2000 and we started writing for a new HUGHES/THRALL album. When the 9/11 disaster happened though in 2001, I just couldn't go to New York after that. Finally Pat relocated to Las Vegas and since then [we wrote] again. We've got 13 incredible, late-night, funky, organic jazz rock songs ready. It's very diverse, very intense."

"Hughes Thrall", acknowledged as one of the finest albums of Hughes' career, was released on Boulevard Records in 1982, toppping the U.S. import charts before being issued in the U.K. on Epic in January 1983. A remastered edition of the album came out in November 2006.

LEAVES' EYES will release a new EP, "Fires In The North", in Europe on October 7 and in the U.S. on November 4 via AFM Records. The band says: "The brand new song 'Fires In The North' is an epic rocker! We can't wait for you to hear it!"

The cover artwork of "Fires In The North" was created by Stefan Heilemann and can be seen below.

"Fires In The North" track listing:

01. Fires In The North02. Fires In The North (Acoustic Version)03. Edge Of Steel (2016 Version)04. Sacred Vow (2016 Version)05. Swords In Rock (2016 Version)

LEAVES' EYES made its live debut with new singer Elina Siirala on April 17 at the Hammersonic festival in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The remaining members of LEAVES' EYES and their former singer, Liv Kristine, have offered different accounts of the circumstances behind their split, with LEAVES' EYES claiming the decision to part ways was amicably made in January and Liv saying she was dismissed from the group on April 6.

LEAVES' EYES guitarist Thorsten "Tosso" Bauer told Russia's Rock Cor: "When Liv and Alex [Krull, LEAVES' EYES' co-vocalist and Liv's husband] split up personally early January, Liv wanted to leave the band right away. But Alex convinced her to stay with the band and they both made a very good agreement with each other for their private life and business. So the band situation seemed to be solved at that point of time. But since February her new fiancé/therapist tried to interfere in a lot of band matters. He talked very bad about LEAVES' EYES and that shows, tours and interviews shouldn't happen without him anymore. Her fiancé/therapist even told Liv to step aside from the band. In March, things went far beyond after Liv moved to her engaged therapist and it became very clear to everybody in the band that we will go separate ways in the future. Liv also wanted to be involved in picking the new singer for LEAVES' EYES. We told her that we want to decide ourselves who will be our new singer in the band. So there has nothing been happening behind anybody's back.

"Beginning of April, we had a band meeting to talk about how things go on. In the meeting, we decided together to go separate ways immediately. Liv told us she is not able to fulfill her touring commitments with the band anymore for personal reasons. Moreover, Liv's lawyer wrote in a letter to Alex that a further cooperation including the live shows with the band is not possible for Liv anymore. So Liv was relieved not having to play any future shows with LEAVES' EYES. As a result of the meeting, we also set up a press statement together with Liv, to inform the fans and media. To the surprise of everybody, this first press statement we set up together was attacked soon after by several additional posts and statements from Liv. Suddenly other people and 'trolls' started to spread nasty rumors and lies on the Internet. That was the reason for the confusion and anger in April.

"For myself I can clearly say, if anyone in the band would have treated Liv in the way some trolls in the internet tell, I wouldn't be part of this band anymore. Also, I can say that Alex is a single father at the moment, and since Liv and Alex separated from each other, their son lives at his place."

An earbook tour edition of LEAVES' EYES' latest album, "King Of Kings", was released in June, including a new version and video for the song "Edge Of Steel", featuring Elina.

LEAVES' EYES is:

Elina Siirala - VocalsAlexander Krull - VocalsThorsten Bauer - Guitar, BassPete Streit - GuitarJoris Nijenhuis - Drums

Neil Daniels’ book, Iron Maiden – The Ultimate Illustrated History Of The Beast Updated is getting an update on October 1st by Voyageur Press.

The 240 hardcover is described as follows:

Formed in 1975 by a young, East London bass player named Steve Harris, Iron Maiden went on to become one of the most successful heavy metal acts in history. With an estimated 85 million albums sold worldwide, the band remains hugely popular.

Iron Maiden is the updated edition of the first-ever complete, illustrated retrospective of the band. Music journalist Neil Daniels relates the band's entire history and provides a complete, up-to-date discography, while respected heavy metal journalists and Iron Maiden experts, including Ian Christie, Martin Popoff, and Mick Wall, analyze the recordings. The stories behind the band's formation, roster changes, recordings through 2015's The Book Of Souls, and tours through 2016 are complemented with nearly 500 images, including live performance and candid off-stage photographs, and memorabilia, including handbills, gig posters, backstage passes, buttons, ticket stubs, and, of course, Eddie, Iron Maiden's iconic Derek Riggs-created mascot.

This new edition of Iron Maiden is required reading for any heavy metal fan. The book covers the compilation From Here To Eternity (2011); the CD/LP/DVD/Blu-ray release of En Vivo! (2012); the Maiden World Tour (2012-2014) to North America, Europe, and South America; The Book Of Souls album (2015); and the 2016 tour.

In a new interview with the LA Times, KISS legend Gene Simmons commented on his well documented disdain for drugs and alcohol, and his claims that he's never been high or drunk.

Simmons: "I literally never drink. Privately or publicly. I simply don't like the taste or the smell of anything with alcohol in it. I have never been drunk in my life and have never taken more than a sip of anything, and hated it every time. I will toast just to be social, but that's it. I’m not here to convince anyone of my lifestyle. This is what I want for me.”

Instead of intoxicants, Simmons said his drug of choice is accomplishment. 

Read the complete article here.

Simmons recently spoke with FM99 WNOR Rock Girl Misa (listen to the audio below). During their chat, Gene reasserted that he stands by the comments he made about Prince's death back in May when he told Newsweek that drugs killed the "Purple Rain" singer, adding "What do you think, he died from, a cold?"

An excerpt from the FM99 interview has been transcribed with Gene commenting, "This generation and the previous ones believe that drugs are a part of life, and I reject that. You play with fire, you're gonna get burnt. I knew Prince. I knew Bowie and all that. Bowie died from disease. Prince died because of drugs. And any other way to do it is… any other way to describe it… so did Michael Jackson. Drugs killed them. But it was a choice. And so it's sad — it's sad that they went that way, because you have every reason to live. You hurt your fans, you hurt everybody. And drugs are a selfish thing. People use it because they… who knows why? But I stated it for a fact. I said he died because of drug use. People got very upset, but that's why he died."

Prince passed away on April 21st in his Minnesota estate from an accidental fentanyl overdose.

Former Nightwish vocalist Tarja Turunen performed at Hellfest 2016 in Clisson, France back in June, and during her set she unleashed a medley of old Nightwish songs. Pro-shot footage is available below.

The medley features the following songs:

"Tutankhamen" 
"Ever Dream"
"The Riddler" 
"Slaying The Dreamer"

Tarja released her new album, The Shadow Self, on August 5th via earMusic. Prior to the release, Tarja issued the album's prequel, entitled The Brightest Void, also via earMusic. In this new video below from EMP Rockinvasion, Tarja discusses both albums and more.

The Shadow Self tracklisting:

“Innocence”
“Demons In You” (with Alissa White-Gluz)
“No Bitter End”
“Love To Hate”
“Supremacy”
“The Living End”
“Diva”
“Eagle Eye”
“Undertaker”
“Calling From The Wild”
“Too Many”

"Innocence” video:

The Brightest Void tracklisting:

"No Bitter End"
"Your Heaven And Your Hell" (with Michael Monroe)
"Eagle Eye (with Chad Smith)
"An Empty Dream"
"Witch Hunt"
"Shameless"
"House of Wax"
"Goldfinger"
"Paradise (What About Us)" (new mix of the Within Temptation and Tarja collaboration)

“No Bitter End” video:

Tarja joined Within Temptation on stage at M'Era Luna festival at Flugplatz Hildesheim-Drispenstedt in Hildesheim, Germany on August 14th to perform "Paradise (What About Us?)”, the track they teamed up for on Within Temptation’s Hydra album. Check out pro-shot video for the performance below:

Long-running German cult thrashers Necronomicon have inked a deal with The LimeLight Records and Soulfood distribution. Dating back to 1984, the band are working on their ninth CD with producer Achim Köhler (Scorpions, Avantasia, Edguy). The album will be released next spring.

Necronomicon is:
Freddy - vocals, guitar
Mike - guitar, backing vocals
Chris - drums
Marco - bass, backing vocals

 

With seven Billboard Top 10 albums to their name, multiple Platinum album certifications all over the world and a place in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, the legendary ZZ Top are officially the world’s longest running rock band with its original lineup intact. Now after over 45 years together, the Texan trio are finally set to release their first official live album, Live - Greatest Hits From Around The World, out in North America on September 9th.

Live - Greatest Hits From Around The World picks the greatest moments from ZZ Top’s illustrious back catalogue captured with the phenomenal energy of their renowned live performances. It covers the breakthrough hit “La Grange” plus three snappy blues-rock classics from the 1973 album Tres Hombres, through to their huge crossover hits – “Gimme All Your Lovin’”, “Sharp Dressed Man”, “Legs” – and then to the present day with their recent collaboration with Jeff Beck on the Tennessee Ernie Ford / Merle Travis “Sixteen Tons” (streaming below).

Tracklisting:

“Got Me Under Pressure” (Live from New York)
“Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers” (Live from Las Vegas)
“Cheap Sunglasses” (Live from Paris)
“Waitin For The Bus” (Live from Nashville)
“Jesus Just Left Chicago” (Live from Nashville)
“Legs” (Live from Sao Paolo)
“Sharp Dressed Man” (Live from Los Angeles)
“Rough Boy” (feat. Jeff Beck) [Live from London]
“Pincushion” (Live from Berlin)
“La Grange” (Live from Dallas)
“I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide” (Live from Vancouver)
“Tube Snake Boogie” (Live from Rome)
“Gimme All Your Lovin” (Live from Houston)
“Tush” (Live from Chicago)
“Sixteen Tons” (feat. Jeff Beck) [Live from London]

"Tush"

“Sixteen Tons”:

After numerous tours as part of Avantasia, Rock Meets Classic and as mastermind of the successful Pink Floyd Tribute Echoes, singer and guitarist Oliver Hartmann now presents his fifth studio album, Shadows & Silhouettes, with Hartmann after nearly four years break since the latest release, Balance. The new album will be released on September 30th on the artist owned label Sonic11 in cooperation with Pride & Joy Music.

Hartmann has released a video for the new song "When Your Mama Was A Hippie" along with a Making Of clip. Check them out below.

Supported by guest musicians including session keyboardist Jimmy Kresic (Rock Meets Classic, The Roots, Soundtopia), Miro Rodenberg (Avantasia) and also the Prague cellist Irena Morisáková and violinist Adéla Pecková, the album contains 12 songs combining modern melodic rock with many acoustic and partly very intimate moments pointing up the broadness and complexity of Hartmann.

Shadows & Silhouettes”was co-produced again by Sascha Paeth (Avantasia, Edguy, Kamelot, Beyond The Black, etc.) and mixed/mastered at Gate Studios in Wolfsburg, Germany. The iTunes version will include the bonus track “Soul Asylum”.

In addition to the new studio album, Hartmann also will re-release the Handmade 2008 DVD release as Deluxe digi-pack with DVD and CD included on September 30th via Sonic11 in co-operation with Pride & Joy Music.

Shadows & Silhouettes tracklisting:

“Irresistible”
“High On You”
“Glow”
“When Your Mama Was A Hippie”
“Jaded Heart”
“Amazing”
“Still The Same”
“I Would Murder For You”
“The Letting Go”
“Too Good To Be True”
“Shadow In My Eyes”
“Last Goodbye”
“Soul Asylum” (iTunes Bonus Track)

Twisted Sister performed on the FOX News Channel program FOX & Friends on September 2nd as part of the ongoing All American Summer Concert Series. Pro-shot footage of their set is available below.

The setlist was as follows:

"I Wanna Rock"
"The Kids Are Back"
"Burn in Hell"
"The Price"
"We're Not Gonna Take It"

Twisted Sister performed their final UK date on August 12th at Bloodstock Open Air 216, which took place at Catton Hall in Walton-On-Trent, West Midlands. Pro-shot video footage of the full performance can be seen below.

Twisted Sister’s Bloodstock Open Air setlist included:

“What You Don't Know (Sure Can Hurt You)”
“The Kids Are Back”
“Burn In Hell”
“Destroyer”
“Like A Knife In The Back”
“You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll”
“The Fire Still Burns”
“I Am (I'm Me)”
“I Wanna Rock”
“The Price”
“I Believe In Rock 'N' Roll”
“Under The Blade”
“We're Not Gonna Take It”
“It's Only Rock 'N' Roll (But I Like It)”

Encore:
“Come Out And Play”
“Shoot 'Em Down”
“S.M.F.”

According to Billboard.com, METALLICA's new single, "Hardwired", has landed at position No. 9 on Hot Rock Songs chart, which blends radio airplay, digital sales and streaming data. The song, which is taken from the band's upcoming tenth studio album, "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct", has also entered the Hard Rock Digital Songs chart at No. 1 and the Rock Digital Songs chart at No. 6, with 20,000 downloads sold, according to Nielsen Music.

"Hardwired" has replaced DISTURBED's "The Sound Of Silence" at the top of the Hard Rock Digital Songs chart, ending "Silence"'s 30-week reign on the chart. "Hardwired" also moved 14-3 on the Mainstream Rock Songs and 21-13 on the Rock Airplay (4.5 million in audience) charts.

"Hardwired...To Self-Destruct" will be released on November 18 via Blackened Recordings. The long-awaited follow-up to 2008's "Death Magnetic" consists of two discs, containing a dozen songs and nearly 80 minutes of music.

"Hardwired...To Self-Destruct" was produced by Greg Fidelman with frontman James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich. The band recorded the disc at its own studio in San Rafael, California.

Ulrich talked to Rolling Stone about the creation of "Hardwired". He said: "That's actually the last song we wrote for the record. We started this album by throwing different ideas around. The shape of it, as a collection of songs, didn't come into focus until we were deep into it. At that point, the songs were getting tighter, shorter and leaner."

He continued: "A couple of months ago, we were sitting there taking stock of the record and thought maybe we should write one more fast, little crazy song, and that became 'Hardwired'. It just kind of happened. I think James and I wrote and recorded it in less than a week, which, for us, is basically a nanosecond."

"Hardwired...To Self-Destruct" will be issued on double CD, vinyl and digital download. A deluxe version will feature a bonus disc containing the riffs that formed the origins of the album along with "The Lords Of Summer", which the band debuted on tour a couple of years ago.

Swedish metallers IN FLAMES will release their new concert DVD, "Sounds From The Heart Of Gothenburg", on September 23 via Nuclear Blast.

The third trailer for the DVD can be seen below.

Nostalgia or a return to their roots has never been an option for the progressive IN FLAMES, but the setlist of this bombastic DVD tears through the band's entire history. With 20 tracks, the show that was recorded on November 7, 2014 at Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden reaches a length of one and a half hours, and achieves in capturing the band at their very best, celebrating current hits such as "Through Oblivion", "With Eyes Wide Open" and "Rusted Nail" to a packed arena. But, of course, old-school classics like "Trigger", "Cloud Connected" and the hypnotic closer "Take This Life" are not left out. Prepare for an intense and visually explosive performance in front of ten thousand fans, featuring pyros, circle pits, flying crowdsurfers and IN FLAMES' incomparable riffs. "This DVD is for everyone who was been following our career; we have songs from the early years, the middle years and the new era," states IN FLAMES guitarist Björn Gelotte. "It has to be fun for us to play but also fun for the audience to watch and we try to get a good flow with nice dynamics and different songs."

IN FLAMES will release its twelfth studio album, "Battles", on November 11 via Nuclear Blast in all territories excluding North America and Scandinavia and Eleven Seven Music Group in the U.S. The CD was recorded in Los Angeles with Grammy-nominated producer Howard Benson, who has previously worked with MOTÖRHEAD, BODY COUNT and SEPULTURA, among others.

Formed in 1990, the band is considered one of the forefathers of melodic death metal and the purveyors of the "Gothenburg sound." With eleven studio albums released, countless successful tours around the globe, millions of records sold and a massive fanbase worldwide, IN FLAMES has proven to be an unstoppable force in heavy music. From their 1994 debut, "Lunar Strain", to the most recent CD, "Siren Charms" (2014), the band's intricate twin-guitar attack, melodic vocals and superb arrangements have given them a signature sound that has evolved throughout the years.

IN FLAMES last year inked a new management deal with Tenth Street Entertainment, which also looks after MÖTLEY CRÜE and FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, among others.

"Siren Charms" sold around 9,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 26 on The Billboard 200 chart.

IN FLAMES drummer Daniel Svensson announced last fall that he was leaving the band to focus on his family life. He said in a statement: "It's hard to leave what have become my second family, but now it's time for me to take care and spend more time with the most important people in my life — my wife and my three daughters."

IN FLAMES has not yet named a replacement for Svensson.

IN FLAMES is:

Anders Fridén - VocalsBjörn Gelotte - GuitarPeter Iwers - BassNiclas Engelin - Guitar