Dark Sails Entertainment announces the release of "Chronophobia", the title track from Violence System's new EP, set to drop on July 5, 2024.





Formed in 2015, Violence System has rapidly become a dominant force in the melodic death metal scene, captivating fans with their unique blend of beauty and brutality. Their latest single, "Chronophobia", exemplifies their signature sound and sets the stage for the upcoming EP. Fans of Thy Art Is Murder, Decapitated, and Dimmu Borgir will find much to appreciate in this powerful track.




Chronophobia was recorded at True Fiction Audio & Sawyer Sound Studio and mixed and mastered by Aaron Pace at AP Audio. The EP's striking artwork, crafted by Armaada Art, perfectly encapsulates the band's intense aesthetic.





For further details, visit Violence System on Facebook.


 

In a new interview with Portugal's Look Mag, MEGADETH drummer Dirk Verbeuren was asked how he feels about Dave Mustaine's recent revelation that he has already commenced work on material for the follow-up to "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm happy about it. I'm very excited to do that again. It was a lot of fun creating 'The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!' And whenever he's ready, I will be there. I'm happy to start working with Teemu [Mäntysaari, new MEGADETH guitarist], who's now joined the band. I think he will contribute a lot of cool stuff. And, of course, James [LoMenzo, MEGADETH bassist] also, who is an amazing bass player with a lot of history. He's already been on a couple of MEGADETH albums before, so he also knows what MEGADETH sounds like. And so, yeah, it's gonnabe really cool to be with those two guys. And, of course, with Dave, just get together and see what we can come up with."

Dirk also talked about the songwriting process for "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!", explaining that Mustaine was open to outside input from the start. "Dave invited us from the beginning to bring ideas, whether it's a guitar riff, a drum beat, a lyric — anything," he explained. "Any ideas we had, he said, 'Just put it in this…' We have some folders, some Dropbox folders. 'Just put it in there.' Then, as we were working together in 2019, we were all together in this house. And he would just listen to some of the stuff. And if something came up that he was, like, 'Oh, this is cool,' then we would work on it together. And that's how Kiko [Loureiro, then-MEGADETH guitarist], of course, ended up writing quite a good portion of the album — some songs that he brought and then also some ideas that ended up in songs together with Dave's riffs. And the same for me. I have one riff in the song 'Night Stalkers'. And then the song 'Life In Hell', which is the second song on the album, is based on a demo that I also put there. And Dave just liked it. He thought, 'Oh, there's a cool idea there.' So he started learning it and kind of improving the guitar riffs and eventually it turned into the song you know. So he was very open, and he still is — he's always very inviting for us to work as a band. He doesn't want it to be, 'Oh, I'm Dave. I'm gonna tell you what to do.' Of course, in the end, we do everything together with him, so he makes the final decision, because this is only normal. But it's very much a band process."

Asked if it's true that Dave has a box with riffs from the 1980s that he sometimes revisits while working on new music, Dirk responded: "Yes, he has. There's a folder that he has that has everything he's ever recorded. He's sitting in 1984, maybe, on his couch in his apartment and, like, 'Oh, this is a cool riff. I'm gonna record it.' It's there. So he has a massive collection of stuff, and we actually went through a bunch of those while we were writing and used some of them. Like some of the riffs in 'We'll Be Back', which is the first single from 'The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!', they go way back to the '80s. So, yeah, it's pretty crazy."

As for whether he feels he left his mark on "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" with his own sound, Dirk said: "I mean, I like to think so. It was my goal to respect also and honor the MEGADETH sound, because all these years of music, I know as a fan myself of the band, I wanna hear that. I don't wanna hear somebody completely ignoring what Nick Menza did with the band or what Gar Samuelson did with the band or any of the drummers that have been there. They have all contributed to the sound and it's all been part of the vision that Dave had from the beginning for the band. So I did adapt the way I would usually play based on what I learned in my years touring with the band and really getting very intimate knowledge about all the classic songs, the ones we play live, and learning all the parts. But at the same time, of course, I've injected some of my own flavor and my own style and my ideas. So hopefully I found a good middle ground."

"The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" sold 48,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marked MEGADETH's eighth top 10-charting album. Of "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!"'s 48,000 units earned for the week, album sales comprised 45,000, SEA units comprised 3,000 and TEA units comprised a negligible sum.

MEGADETH's previous top 10 entries on the Billboard 200 were "Countdown to Extinction" (No. 2, 1992),"Youthanasia" (No. 4, 1994),"Cryptic Writings" (No. 10, 1997),"United Abominations" (No. 8, 2007),"Endgame" (No. 9, 2009),"Super Collider" (No. 6, 2013) and "Dystopia" (No. 3, 2016).

MEGADETH recently announced a North American tour "Destroy All Enemies", produced by Live Nation. Support on the 33-city trek, which includes stops in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Boston and St. Louis, will come from MUDVAYNE and ALL THAT REMAINS. The tour begins in Rogers, Arkansas on August 2 and runs throughout the month before wrapping in Nashville, Tennessee on September 28.

Mäntysaari joined MEGADETH last September after Loureiro, announced earlier that month that he would sit out the next leg of MEGADETH's "Crush The World" tour in order to stay home with his children back in Finland. It was later revealed that Mäntysaari would continue to play guitar for MEGADETH for the foreseeable future, with Loureiro seemingly having no plans to return.

The 37-year-old Mäntysaari was born in Tampere, Finland and began playing guitar at the age of 12. In 2004, he joined the band WINTERSUN. He has also been a member of SMACKBOUND since 2015.

MEGADETH played its first concert with Mäntysaari on September 6, 2023 at Revel in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Loureiro officially joined MEGADETH in April 2015, about five months after Chris Broderick's exit from the group.

Since its inception in 1983, MEGADETH has ascended from its raw thrash metal roots to become an unstoppable force in the heavy metal world. With founder Dave Mustaine at the helm, MEGADETH's journey has been marked by a penchant for pushing the boundaries of speed, technicality, and complexity in their music. Their groundbreaking album "Rust In Peace", released in 1990, is frequently cited as a seminal work in the thrash metal genre. Along with the critically acclaimed "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?", it cemented MEGADETH's place in the annals of metal history.

Over four decades, the band's discography has earned numerous certifications, including platinum and multi-platinum awards, with albums like "Countdown To Extinction" and "Youthanasia" achieving widespread critical acclaim. 2016's "Dystopia" not only marked a high point with their first Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance" after twelve nominations but also set the stage for their latest triumph, "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" in 2022. MEGADETH's status as part of the "Big Four" of thrash metal underscores their trailblazing role in the genre, laying the groundwork for countless bands and musicians who have followed in their wake.

During a press conference at Hellfest in Clisson, France, legendary Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen was asked if it is difficult for him to co-produce his albums with other people and whether he prefers to produce his albums entirely on his own. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I have a funny story to tell you guys. When I was a very young man, I came to America. I lived in America most of my life, and I spoke very, very good English coming to America, but there were some terms I didn't understand; I didn't get 'em, really. So I'm in the studio, and there was a producer there. And I'm doing a solo, and he goes, 'Oh, wow. That was really good, man. Yeah. Can we do one more? A little slower. Remember: less is more.' And I looked at him, like, 'Oh, you mean more is more, right?' And that was an honest reaction because I didn't know that stupid way of saying things, because less is not more; more is more.

"Basically, what a lot of people might not know is that I started playing when I was five years old — seven, really. I got my first guitar was five, but I started playing when I was seven," he continued. "And I was so extreme that I was having bands put together where I wrote the songs, I was the singer and a guitar player. I was a little kid, like fucking Michael Jackson or something, and I had a 20-year-old bass player and a 20-year-old drummer or whatever. From day one I did that. I was always a solo artist — always. And I never had a question about what I wanted. I never had a question about what I wanted to go with things, how I wanted to sound. I knew what it was. I knew what I wanted to play. I know what I wanna write. I know what kind of sound I want.

"I'm not knocking producers. I think they've done a lot of good things for a lot of bands. Mutt Lange is amazing. He made great music with the group — great direction, all this stuff. Martin Birch — a lot of people like that. The difference is that I already have this in [my head]. It's already there. So when I have someone else coming in, it doesn't add — it dilutes. Same thing with songwriting. And some people might think that, oh, I'm an egotist, whatever. No. The music is done. It's finished. All I do is to play it and record it. That's all I do.

"So I've been trying to explain this to so many people because in rock and roll, that doesn't happen," Yngwie added. "In rock and roll, even if you're a solo artist, like Ozzy Osbourne or whoever, they have songs written for them, they have producers and stuff like this. I don't do that. I do everything. I actually do everything. And it's not because I'm an egotistic person that I don't want anybody else to take the credit. No. It's because instead of what you would say a traditional rock and roll [songwriting partnership], Lennon-McCartney, Keith Richards-Mick Jagger — I love all them guys; I think they're fucking great. Instead of what they did, I work more like an author, like let's say Stephen King or Johann Sebastian Bach. Johann Sebastian Bach, 'Brandenburg Concertos', he would give the sheet music to all the musicians, and the cellist in the first row goes, Hey, can I play C sharp instead of C?' No, he didn't say that. He played the note that he was told, because that was what is written by him. So, basically I'm like a painter or an author like this. Like a painter, I paint half the big painting and I call my friend and I say, 'Hey, can you come and finish my half of my painting?' No, I don't do that. And that's why I don't have producers. That's why I don't have co-writers and so on. Because when I did have that, every single time I came out unhappy and I wasn't pleased with the result. And I only live once. So what I wanna leave behind, what I wanna create, what I wanna put out on records, what I wanna perform on stage is something that is purely my expression. Because I have so much inside. I want pure expression of myself. Not diluted by having Elvis Presley in the band. Most singers think they're Elvis Presley. They're not. They're just another instrument in my orchestra."

Yngwie will embark on a 40th-anniversary tour this fall. Support on the trek, which will kick off on September 26 in Fort Myers, Florida and conclude on November 18 in New York City, will come from singer-songwriter Kurt Deimer.

For more information, visit www.yngwiemalmsteen.com/tour.

Yngwie's latest album, "Parabellum", was released in July 2021 via Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group. Only four of the songs on the LP feature vocals. The album title is Latin, translating as "Prepare For War".

After working with some of the top hard singers of the past four decades, Yngwie now handles much of the lead vocals himself in his own band, backed by a lineup that includes keyboardist Nick Marino, bassist Emilio Martinez and drummer Kevin Klingenschmid.

In 2017, Malmsteen gave an interview to Metal Wani in which the iconic axeman said that he had no interest in collaborating with vocalists like Jeff Scott Soto, Joe Lynn Turner and Tim "Ripper" Owens ever again. "I'm very comfortable singing myself, first of all," Yngwie said. "Secondly, there's a certain disconnect when you write the song and you have someone else sing it for you. And it's kind of like a fakeness about it. I always wrote everything — I wrote all the lyrics, I wrote all the melodies, everything; it's just somebody else sung it. And to me, the singer is nothing else than a different… like a bass player or a keyboard player — they're not more important than any other musician. And they, unfortunately, seem to think that they are. And I've kind of had it with their sort of… self-absorbed sort of way, and I'm very much against it. No. I don't like that. I don't like any of those people, and I don't like to do anything with them ever again."

In the days after Yngwie's original interview with Metal Wani was published on BLABBERMOUTH.NET, several of the guitarist's former singers — including Soto, Turner and Owens — responded on social media, with Turner describing Malmsteen's statements as "the rantings of a megalomaniac desperately trying to justify his own insecurity." This was followed by a retort from a member of Yngwie's management team, who wrote on Malmsteen's Facebook page that the three vocalists "came out enraged, spitting insults and profanities" at the guitarist because "Yngwie said something that they didn't like." The management representative added: "It's very unfortunate that these past hired vocalists must resort to mudslinging and insults to elicit any kind of media attention towards them. Such classless, puerile words are ungentlemanly at best and absolutely disgraceful at worst."

Video courtesy of Loud TV

Following the success of their last two singles "Portable Door" and "Pictures Of You", legendary British hard rockers DEEP PURPLE have released "Lazy Sod" today, the third song from their upcoming album "=1".

"Lazy Sod" is now available for streaming and as instant gratification track with all digital download pre-orders for "=1". Alongside the single release, the official music video for "Lazy Sod" can now be seen below.

Asked about the song's inspiration, DEEP PURPLE frontman Ian Gillan explained in an interview with Rocks magazine: "Recently a young journalist asked me how many songs I had written in my life. I replied that the last time my assistant counted, twenty years ago, it was over 500. I felt quite accomplished until she pointed out Dolly Parton's 5,000 songs, calling me a lazy sod. I couldn't help but agree and wrote down the exchange in my notebook."

"=1" is due on July 19 via earMUSIC. The LP marks DEEP PURPLE's first material with new guitarist Simon McBride, who stepped in two years ago following Steve Morse's departure.

McBride said: "The new album will reflect what the five of us create in the rehearsal room. Many of the songs, like 'Portable Door', were written in the first sessions and literally came together in 5 or 10 minutes. It all was so easy and natural."

Gillan added: "Throughout DEEP PURPLE's history, our best songs have always been those that were written in no time at all. We've played what felt good and developed songs as we have always done."

DEEP PURPLE continues its charge of recent years, releasing hit albums and filling arenas around the world, adding yet more layers to its 100-million-album-selling legacy. The band is credited as one of the key originators of heavy rock and has constantly progressed its boundaries of music. They are fronted by Gillan, whose vocals have defined generations, accompanied by the masterful bassist Roger Glover, the powerhouse drummer Ian Paice, and the maestro on keyboards Don Airey.

"=1" is the band's first album with McBride, who seamlessly slotted in when longtime member Morse left due to personal circumstances. Since 2022, Simon has already played to DEEP PURPLE audiences totaling more than half a million people.

But DEEP PURPLE is more than just their members and "=1" embodies the essence and attitude of their 1970s incarnation possibly more than any other album in recent memory. With the legendary Bob Ezrin once again producing, the record evokes the pioneering band's classic sound, without relying on nostalgia.

The enigmatic title "=1" symbolizes the idea that in a world growing ever more complex, everything eventually simplifies down to a single, unified essence. Everything equals one. Its full meaning will be revealed in the coming weeks, with the artwork also playing its part. Fans have already been speculating after mysterious equations and depictions of multiverses appeared in London, Paris and Berlin in recent days.

With three consecutive No. 1 albums in their back pocket and a resurgent new energy powering them forward, this is DEEP PURPLE at their pinnacle. "Now WHAT?!" (2013),"inFinite" (2017) and "Whoosh!" (2020) have sold over one million copies worldwide, making DEEP PURPLE one of the most successful rock bands currently active. The latest studio album, "Whoosh!", reached No. 1 on the album charts in seven countries and charted in the top 10 in another 12.

"=1" will be released as a limited CD+DVD (digipak),CD (jewel case),2LP gatefold (black, 180g),limited purple 2LP gatefold (180g),limited crystal clear 2LP (180g) and limited box set (CD+DVD digipak, 2lp black gatefold, 3x exclusive 10" vinyl editions feat. live recordings from DEEP PURPLE's 2022 tour, exclusive collector's T-shirt, 2x exclusive guitar picks, 1x exclusive art print, 1x exclusive lanyard, and the chance to win a Golden Ticket giving access to all shows on the DEEP PURPLE "=1 More Time" tour). All LPs include a rich 12-page vinyl sized booklet. The bonus DVD features the approximately 60-minute documentary "Access All Areas" joining DEEP PURPLE backstage on tour and providing an exclusive look behind the scenes.

"=1" track listing:

01. Show Me
02. A Bit On The Side
03. Sharp Shooter
04. Portable Door
05. Old-Fangled Thing
06. If I Were You
07. Pictures Of You
08. I'm Saying Nothin'
09. Lazy Sod
10. Now You're Talkin'
11. No Money To Burn
12. I'll Catch You
13. Bleeding Obvious

There simply aren't enough superlatives to properly acknowledge the contribution DEEP PURPLE has made to rock music. Having sold more than 100 million albums and filled global arenas for decades, there's little wonder that the respected British radio station Planet Rock named the group the "Fifth Most Influential Band Ever". The band were also presented the Legend Award at the 2008 World Music Awards and were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2016. DEEP PURPLE truly are "rock royalty".

With a body of work spanning seven decades, DEEP PURPLE has helped pioneer and define the hard rock genre while progressively moving into new areas, both keeping their sound fresh and attracting new fans to the legions who have remained loyal since the band's inception. The celebrated MKII line up of Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore were responsible for creating many of the defining rock albums of the early 1970s, including "Made In Japan", universally accepted as one of the most important and influential live albums of all time.

Known as one of the hardest working bands ever, DEEP PURPLE has continued to release No. 1 albums and tour globally since forming in 1968, with little rest. In 2007 (almost 40 years after being formed),the band performed 40 dates in France to an award-winning audience, and they continue to spend much of their year on the road selling out arenas across the globe.

DEEP PURPLE has stayed true to its musical roots taking from an eclectic mix of styles to create a distinctive sound that defines the band today, but which in turn, has created a legacy that very few bands could ever hope to replicate. The band has written and produced so many "classic", well-known songs, that its audience range widely in age and background — something the band has readily embraced.

DEEP PURPLE's recent studio album "Whoosh!" (2020) followed their worldwide chart-topping albums "inFinite" (2017) and "Now WHAT?!" (2013). 2024 sees the release of their brand-new album "=1". On all albums, DEEP PURPLE joined forces with producer Bob Ezrin, who has worked with the likes of KISS, PINK FLOYD, Lou Reed and Alice Cooper.

Furthering their collaboration with Ezrin, in 2021 and during the pandemic the band recorded a collection of cover songs from their own homes (normal for most bands nowadays, revolutionary for a band that records everything together in the studio),creating an eclectic and celebratory history of their roots in music, in the shape of "Turning To Crime".

In 2022 came the sad news of Steve Morse's departure due to personal circumstances, but DEEP PURPLE, never a band to let a set back throw them off course, sought out the masterful skills of guitarist Simon McBride and played the year out in style, exciting crowds with a new energy and excitement.

Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Don Airey and Simon McBride continue with renewed vitality, pushing the boundaries of hard rock to audiences around the globe, proving that DEEP PURPLE are very much here to stay.

Photo credit: Jim Rakete (courtesy of The Outside Organisation

Rot Coven have announced the release of their debut album Nightmares Devour The Waking World, due out August 15, 2024 via Aesthetic Death.


Rot Coven is a 2-piece, noise-drenched industrial death metal/sludge band.


MZ sings and plays bass and drums while DD focuses more on guitar, then both members slather everything in layers of noise boxes, scrap metal, ritual drums and processed field recordings. This duo has been creating music together in various bands for around twenty years.




Born of a lifelong love of cosmic horror, heavy riffs, and creeped-out industrial noise, the band that would become Rot Coven first saw the light of day during the COVID-19 lockdowns of spring 2020.


The initial idea was to fuse ominous dark ambient synth textures with pounding "doom" style drums, but bass, guitars, vocals, and scrap metal percussion were quickly added to the mix resulting in a room-shaking cacophony equal parts Autopsy, Chu Ishikawa and the slow crawling No-Wave dirges of early Swans.


Rot Coven's first physical release Nightmares Devour The Waking World pairs two full-length albums: Phase I (initally self-released through the duo's Bandcamp) and the unreleased follow-up Phase II. Phase I builds colossal sludge riffs out of lurking death industrial dronescapes with the final track erupting into a supernova of scorching psychedelic leads and almost "doomgaze" melodicism, while Phase II descends deeper into the abyss, adding elements of unrelentingly ugly death metal to their apocalyptic scum-dirge.


Both albums explore a planet ravaged by cataclysms - storms of poison ash, churning acidic seas, and deserts that spread like a sentient organism. Colony collapse disorder on a galactic scale. A world where nature is so thoroughly gutted that reality itself starts to corrode, letting something seep in from "outside." A hostile consciousness so massive and utterly alien that the last remaining humans begin to worship it as a god:


Hideous rituals of blood and fire.
Cathedrals sculpted from scrap metal and the shattered bones of the dead.
The soul slowly, inexorably, replaced by void.





Tracklisting:


Phase I
“Blood Pours Out Of The Sun”
“Feast Of The Rotted Mother”
“Antimatter Halo”
“Queen Of The Void”
“Those Who Worship The Fallen”


Phase II
“Inverted Chasm”
“Psychological Contamination Zone”
“Accretion Disk Necropolis”


“Antimatter Halo”:

In a new interview with Joe Rock of Long Island's rock station 102.3 WBAB, '80s hard rock queen Lita Ford spoke about her long-awaited new studio album. Ford's upcoming follow-up to 2012's "Living Like A Runaway" was once again helmed by guitarist/producer Gary Hoey, who contributes some guitar playing to the disc. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The studio, for me, has always been trying to teach everybody what I wanna hear. And a lot of that is because they basically don't know themselves as a producer or an engineer. I've had some of the greatest engineers and I've had some of the greatest producers, and this album — we're finished with it now — [was produced by] Gary Hoey. Gary Hoey is a great musician, great guitar player. And Gary and I — I can throw any idea at Gary, and he would try and make it happen. And the thing about being in the studio is you try and make things happen, and if they don't happen, then they don't happen. You can only try. And so we got real creative with guitars and we played — there's a lot of great guitars on this new record. I'm really excited about it."

Asked if she has a target release date for her new album, Lita said: "No, not yet, because I went round and round with some record labels. I just wanted to find the record a really good home, as I think it deserves after decades of rock and roll. It's a really great record and it just deserves a good home. And I know some of the labels are — they are not enough for me. And so I had to sort of hold off and try to negotiate with the biggest and the best labels I could possibly find. So, nothing's signed yet, but we're working on it. So that's a step in the right direction, and we're on the right path."

Lita went on to say that the creation of her new album was completely in her control. "There were no songwriters that I had to work with because somebody else wanted me to work with them," she explained. "This is strictly Lita and what Lita wanted to do. And it's a concept record. There's a big story behind it. And so it's gonna open a lot of doors for a lot of things. And a lot of people are gonna be able to relate to this record. And it has some great musicians. Bobby Rock played drums on it. Jean Beauvoir wrote one of the songs with me. And it's just a great record. And Gary Hoey, of course, produced it. Max Norman, who mixed it — Max Norman did a lot of stuff for Ozzy [Osbourne] and MEGADETH, and he's just a metal guy. So it's all in the right hands. I've got all the badass people behind me. Got a new manager, and it's all good."

In May 2022, bassist Marten Andersson (STEELHEART, LIZZY BORDEN, LYNCH MOB) officially joined Lita's touring band. Andersson replaced Marty O'Brien who became the touring bassist for DAUGHTRY.

In a 2023 interview with "THAT Rocks!", the YouTube series hosted by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson, Lita stated about her next LP: "The problem is we've had so many things happen over the last few years. Our manager died; George Marshall died [in] '22. And then my songwriting partner died. And it's just been devastation. But we take all that pain and everything and we just put it right back into the album. And then we recorded the drum tracks in Minneapolis during Black Lives Matter and COVID. Everything was locked down and the place was boarded up and the guys had shotguns and Rottweilers. And then we went in and did drum tracks. And it was awesome. Just memories of just pure badassery."

Regarding what her plans are for live shows in support of her upcoming LP, Lita said: "Well, what I would like to do is put together a theatrical show, sort of like a rock guitar opera kind of thing. It's been done before and different bands have done it before, but I think in this case, it might be a little different and just to bring the whole show not to life just for audio, but for visual reasons also."

In January 2021, Lita told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that her new album contains "some of the best guitar playing" she has heard "in decades." She added: "And I'm not blowing smoke up my own ass, but Gary and I just nailed it with the guitar playing on this record.

"I'm a huge fan of people like Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter from Alice Cooper's 'Welcome To My Nightmare'. I mean, there's some really great duo guitar players — [JUDAS PRIEST's] Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing… Those guitar players don't exist anymore — they just don't exist. If you wanna hear them, you have to go back in time a little bit and dig them up into your favorite library, favorite music catalog. But I think Gary and I really nailed it on this next record. It's, like, oh my God. I'm crying — I'm just, like, crying listening to this stuff. It's so badass."

Ford's last release was 2016's "Time Capsule", a collection of songs that were recorded by Lita in the past, but never before made available.

Eight years ago, Lita released an autobiography, "Living Like A Runaway: A Memoir", via Dey Street Books (formerly It Books),an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Against The Grave is an aggression soaked, vigorously infectious, groove metal band from Los Angeles, California, expanding the metal genre in a direction very few go. 


"Living The End" is the latest single from the group. Against The Grave has, for the third time, teamed up with the director of their "Killing Us Slowly" and "Anthem Embattled" videos, Nathan Karma Cox. The band and director were able to take their collective vision to an even more visually powerful height with the dark, mysterious nightmare-scape metal music video for their aggressive, viscous track “Living The End”, which premiered at BraveWords on June 21st.


Now comes the playthrough by ATG guitarists Andrea Martis and George Arguello.




"The main riff is so powerful, one of those songs that is so fun to play because you get to headbang the whole time. Simple, punchy, catchy.... pure, and simple." - Andrea Martis


"It's like playing a violent car crash on guitar, the riffs are sick." - George Arguello





Guitarist Andrea Martis says, “We started out using 'Living The End' as an intro for our shows, a punch in the face to kick things off, but after that, we soon knew we had to expand it into a full song.” For the video, Martis explains, "We brought back the monsters again! This time we went for a very dark, evil vibe to match the darkness of the song."


Vocalist Jordan Gaw shares, "Dark curiosity, massive aggression, and this evil mystery thing with our monsters gave us visuals that feel like a haunted metal nightmare." Regarding the latest single 'Living The End," Gaw adds “This is one of those tunes that wrote itself, it persisted to be recognized, lyrically a metaphor for the times we’re currently in with a stylistic direction of industrial metal." 





“Bleeding You", their second single, is another glimpse at the horsepower and pure hook resonating from the depths of a grimy downtown Los Angeles rehearsal studio. 


“That drum fill leading to the gallop with the groovy riff is so sick, and such a great hook, this song is one the first things that drew me to the band." - Michael Morrone





Against The Grave premiered a video for the track "Anthem Embattled” in November 2023, showcasing ATG’s signature style... blood pumping and adrenaline inducing riffage with pummeling rhythms and beats.


“After tearing up stages around Hollywood with this track, we’re finally ready to unleash 'Anthem Embattled’. Psyched to not only be releasing a sonically kick ass recording but also an insanely wild video. It’s just simply furious, a groove metal track with a truck load of energy and immersive visuals of the desert just north of us! Blessed to have had Nate bring that energy to our eyes and Nicky & Ulrich to have cranked it for our ears. Check it out!" – Jordan Gaw





 

Lithuanian-born Swedish artist Michael Palace shares the new single and accompanying video “Girl Is An Angel”, taken from his upcoming new record Reckless Heart, set for release on July 12, 2024.


Preorder Reckless Heart here.


The unofficial soundtrack music video for "Girl Is An Angel" was made with clips from the cult classic 1996 movie "Barb Wire" featuring Pamela Anderson. Set in a dystopian future, "Barb Wire" stars Anderson as a nightclub owner and bounty hunter in Steel Harbor. Directed by David Hogan, the film blends noir and cyberpunk elements and is known for its gritty aesthetic and action-packed sequences. Despite mixed initial reviews, it has gained a cult following for its ‘90s charm and iconic style.




Describing the track, Michael commented: "‘Girl Is An Angel’ is a driving AOR rocker powered by a pumping synth bass and a scorching guitar solo! This is my personal favorite from the new album, so I wanted to make something special and made an edit of the movie ‘Barb Wire’ to accompany the song and give you the full soundtrack experience!”


This explosive musical journey of Reckless Heart resurrects the essence of the 1980s, each track pulsating with the potential to score a classic action blockbuster or drive the adrenaline of a training montage.


“It was time to go back to the roots, as they say, and finally make that true '80s AOR album that I’ve dreamt of creating since I started Palace. It's the missing link between 1985 and 2024,” said Michael.


Inspired by genre-defining icons such as Aviator, FM and Dare alongside contemporaries Chez Kane and Crazy Lixx, Michael Palace meticulously rebuilt the Palace sound from the ground up, returning to the true origins and inspiration of the project. Reckless Heart is an essential cornerstone in any AOR and melodic rock aficionado's collection.


Michael Palace embarked on his journey with Frontiers as a songwriter and guitarist for various projects such as First Signal, Cry Of Dawn, Toby Hitchcock and Kryptonite. These successful collaborations paved the way for a deal with Frontiers, enabling Michael to deliver songs aligned with his vision under the name Palace. Reckless Heart marks the fifth release, maintaining a bi-annual album release schedule since 2016. Recently, Michael has produced albums for Kent Hilli and Nevena and done work across diverse genres while taking on various roles such as a songwriter, musician, producer, and engineer.


Embracing a hands-on approach, Michael has written all of the songs, played all instruments, produced, mixed and mastered the new album. Reckless Heart stands as a testament to his ongoing musical evolution, inviting fans of Master Of The Universe, Binary Music, Rock and Roll Radio, and One 4 The Road to plunge into the captivating world of AOR and the iconic soundscape of the 1980s.





Tracklisting:


"Reckless Heart"
"The Widow’s Web"
"Back In Your Arms"
"Girl Is An Angel"
"You Give Me A Reason To Live"
"Back To ‘85"
"For The Love"
"Turn This Car Around"
"Weightless"
"Move Me"
"Stronger By The Day"


"Girl Is An Angel" video:





"Reckless Heart" visualizer:





"The Widow’s Web" video:

HEART has postponed its "Royal Flush" tour so that singer Ann Wilson can undergo cancer treatment.

The 74-year-old musician said in a statement Tuesday (July 2) that she recently underwent an operation to remove "something that, as it turns out, was cancerous."

"The operation was successful & I'm feeling great but my doctors are now advising me to undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy & I've decided to do it," she added. "And so my doctors are instructing me to take the rest of the year away from the stage in order to fully recover."

Wilson said she "absolutely" plans to return to the stage in 2025 and will share details with fans "as soon as we can."

"Thank you for all the support. This is merely a pause. I've much more to sing," Ann concluded.

HEART announced on social media that it was postponing the remainder of the tour "due to medical reasons." The band said tickets will be honored for the rescheduled dates, with more information to be announced in the coming weeks.

The current members of HEART feature Nancy Wilson (rhythm, lead and acoustic guitar, backing and lead vocals),Ann Wilson (lead vocals and flute),Ryan Wariner (lead and rhythm guitar),Ryan Waters (guitars),Paul Moak (guitars, keyboards and backing vocals),Tony Lucido (bass and backing vocals) and Sean Lane (drums and bike).

Last December, HEART played its first three concerts in more than four years — in Highland, California, at Greater Palm Springs in Palm Desert, California, and in Seattle, Washington.

Prior to HEART's December 27, 2023 show in Highland, the band's last performance took place in October 2019 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

"Royal Flush" featured CHEAP TRICK as support on most of the North American leg. HEART was also scheduled to join DEF LEPPARD and JOURNEY for summer stadium shows in Cleveland, Toronto and Boston.

Since HEART's formation in the early 1970s, the band has sold 35 million albums, including seven that made the Top 10, and notched 20 Top 40 singles. The band was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2013.

Posted by Ann Wilson on Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Posted by Heart on Tuesday, July 2, 2024

CATEGORY 7, the new band featuring former MACHINE HEAD and current KERRY KING guitarist Phil Demmel, ex-ADRENALINE MOB guitarist Mike Orlando, ARMORED SAINT/ex-ANTHRAX singer John Bush, OVERKILL/SHADOWS FALL drummer Jason Bittner and EXODUS bassist Jack Gibson, will release its self-titled debut album on July 26 via Metal Blade Records. The official music video for the LP's third single, "Mousetrap", can be seen below.

Comments Bush: "The music for this one felt like a mysterious caper to me. I drew inspiration from 'The Three Musketeers' where a police tactic was used to apprehend someone who went to the residence of a person who was previously arrested. The whole thing feels like a black-and-white movie with scenes of entrapment, interrogation, and a corrupt warden. Even though it feels like something old, it also feels like it could be applied to what is happening in our modern justice system. Round and round we go."

With veteran musicians from so many legendary bands, it's hard not to think of CATEGORY 7 as a supergroup.

"I think we're pretty super," jokes Demmel, who has also earned mega-metal cred over the decades as a member of VIO-LENCE and has played as a fill-in road guitarist for SLAYER, LAMB OF GOD, OVERKILL and others. "Really, I feel like this is a band, not a side project. And I feel like we have written this incredible piece of music, and we're not done. I'm so proud of the way this came together and the people who were involved. And I think we all feel super positive about this and what else we can do with it going forward."

The songs on the band's self-titled debut speak for themselves. As crushing and confrontational as an armed rebellion, as rhythmically thunderous as a storm of golf ball-sized hail, and as fiercely melodic as infectious riffs and aggressive vocals can be, CATEGORY 7 is a new breed of metal that lives up to the storied histories of its members. They're as heavy as a battleship, yet the songs are meticulously structured, skillfully balancing thrash beats, New Wave Of British Heavy Metal rhythms, punk metal attitude, blistering and ferocious dual guitar work, and scar-inflicting vocals.

"It's all about big verses and big songs, and it has a lot of the elements we've explored in our other bands," explains guitarist and main songwriter Mike Orlando (ADRENALINE MOB, SONIC UNIVERSE, NOTURNALL).

Take the upbeat album opener "In Stitches", which starts with piledriving double-bass drums, a feral thrash passage, and a fiery lead before toning down just enough for the distinctive vocals to stand out.

"It gets heavy, it's thrashy at times, but it opens up in the verses, and then the double-bass drums come in and knock you off your chair, but in a great way," Orlando says.

Bush further elaborates, "I read an article on an unhoused pregnant woman named Stitches who resided in Los Angeles obviously living a very difficult life that was compounded by mental illness and drug abuse. The encampment situation in my beloved city drives me bats. I balance between serious empathy and complete anger. The combination of imagining her life as well as my own internal turmoil led me to an almost humorous insanity state while writing this scathing album opener."

"Land I Used To Love" is slightly slower and more melodic, with guitar chords that complement the harmonized vocals and a searing guitar fill over the chorus that ups the temperature on the molten riffage. Then there's the propulsive, piledriver "Exhausted", which features blazing guitar licks, a punchy riff, and hammering thrash beats that climax with another unforgettable chorus.

The album closes with the explosive eight-minute instrumental, "Etter Stormen", in which Orlando and Demmel engage in a contest of dueling guitar leads over volleys of battering beats and riffs that see-saw between pounding metal and whiplash-inducing thrash.

CATEGORY 7, named after the numerical designation for the most powerful wind storms, came together from a batch of musicians who strived to play music they loved and weren't hearing elsewhere, and wanted to do so with bandmates they enjoyed being with. Orlando and Demmel became friends after taking part in a batch of tributes to the late OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist Randy Rhoads. The seeds of CATEGORY 7 were then cemented one night a couple years later when Orlando went to hang out at the Clifton, New Jersey metal club Dingbatz as Demmel was filling in on lead guitar for OVERKILL, which also featured SHADOWS FALL drummer Jason Bittner.

"We were hanging out and tearing it up, and between beers we were like, 'Hey, we need to do something,'" recalls Demmel. "We need to write some new music. We've got three-fifths of a band here. Let's get together and do some songs."

Since OVERKILL was practicing in New Jersey for a couple days before launching a tour, Demmel and Bittner were hanging out in the area. So, the day after the Dingbatz conversation, the guitarist got back in touch with Orlando, and the two decided to get together after the show and jam to see if their playing styles meshed.

"We just started throwing around some riffs, and it was pretty incredible, but different," Orlando says. "We immediately clicked together as writers. And to me, it was such a joy because the bands I have been in have always been just one guitar player. I never had a partner. So, to have a dude I liked, who plays really well, to bounce ideas around with was freaking awesome."

"Mike had this idea of doing stuff that was a little more mainstream than the heavier stuff that I've done. But we didn't want anything to sound contrived," adds Demmel. "So, the first thing we did had all these different parts and crazy tempos and it kind of sounded like RACER X-meets-PANTERA. But we liked it and had fun doing it, so it was a great start."

Adds Bittner: "The funniest part about that was me and Phil were rehearsing for OVERKILL in New Jersey, and I had no idea I was two rooms over from you writing this song. So, after we practiced for five hours you guys worked on a song for another two hours. I couldn't believe that. And I went, 'Okay, next time you guys do something, count me in.'"

As a staple of the Bay Area thrash scene, EXODUS bassist Jack Gibson was the natural choice to expand CATEGORY 7, and he was intrigued by the idea of stepping into a new pair of shoes. "When I first heard the song they did, I really liked that it was heavy and melodic, which is very different than the stuff I play with EXODUS, which is very rhythmic and chromatic."

By far, the greatest challenge for CATEGORY 7 was finding the right singer. Not that the members couldn't agree on who they wanted. They all wanted ARMORED SAINT and ex-ANTHRAX vocalist John Bush; there wasn't even a second option. But getting him to agree to join the band was an exercise in patience and persuasion. When he was invited to join CATEGORY 7, Bush wanted to hear the band's music. But the only song they had recorded was the RACER X-meets-PANTERA-style instrumental, which they feared wasn't going to vibe with Bush's interest or ability. So, they put a couple more demos together, which were far more melodic, and they sent them to Bush, then waited on tenterhooks for him to get back to them.

"I listened to the music they sent me, and I was like, "Wow, this is pretty scathing stuff,'" Bush recalls. "It's awesome, but the question was, what could I do with it vocally that would fit? As Jason said, 'These guys are riff maniacs.' So, I wasn't totally sure right away that I was the right guy for it. But I started tinkering around with it and writing, and, to my satisfaction, everything came out relatively easy."

With Bush onboard, CATEGORY 7 went into overdrive. Now that they had a vocalist locked in, they were able to structure the songs to work with his melodic vocal style. Orlando worked separately and then together, assembling dynamic riffs and rhythms that peaked in complexity and heaviness during the intros, midsections and outros, and settled into a sparser, more melodic pocket for the verses and choruses.

"There was a cognizant effort to give the verses some space and to let John create his vocal melodies for them and the choruses," Demmel says. "Because he's the 'Bush hooks man.'"

CATEGORY 7 quickly realized the best way for Orlando and Demmel to combine their considerable talents as songwriters was for Orlando to write the skeletons for the tunes and have Demmel contribute fills, middle eight sections and leads. For Orlando, writing for the band became far easier once he had a vocalist in mind for his songs.

"When John Bush entered the picture, I knew who I was writing for and that helped me immensely," he says. "I wasn't just writing for the sake of writing; I was writing parts specifically for John Bush to sing. That was great for me not only because gave me a goal to strive for, but because, as a fan of John Bush's vocals for decades in ARMORED SAINT and ANTHRAX, it was exciting to know he was gonna be on these songs."

Even though CATEGORY 7 purposely wrote songs that gave Bush the room he needed to make the material shine, they stopped short of writing together anything that sounded like the bands Bush was best known for. That left Bush filtering through the complex rhythms and sometimes unconventional melodies to find the right spots in which to sing and the tone for those passages. While the work was sometimes challenging, it was equally rewarding and imbued songs like "Land I Used to Love", "Exhausted" and "Through Pink Eyes", with urgency and immediacy.

"Working on these songs opened up a big part of my brain to just be real creative," Bush says. "It all came out sounding very fresh and new. And it was really liberating for me because I was able to open up a whole new door for myself. Because working with these guys was just different than what I've done before because they're different people and the way they write, the way they create, and the way they play is new for me. And that compelled me to gravitate to what they were doing, which created this fresh sound that's unlike anything I've done or heard."

Bush also entered new territory with his lyrics. While he has addressed current events and the downfall of society in the past, with CATEGORY 7 he wrote about the desperation that pervades society and the destructive divide that has evolved and separated people for decades but is now worse than ever. As much as anything, Bush wanted songs like "White Flags & Bayonets", "In Stitches" and "Land I Used To Love" to inspire thought while being open to interpretation.

"I just say it's social commentary, man," Bush says "There's a slew of information there to choose from and it's all in there. Obviously, every single day you could wake up and check out the news and have conversations with people and friends and feel a lot of the way I did when I was writing these songs. So, I just ran with that. But there's a certain ambiguity to some of the lyrics because I don't want to spell out exactly what these songs are about because they could be about a lot of things. And I want people to use their imagination. I want to touch on all these particular topics and scenarios that feel very current without telling people what they need to think."

CATEGORY 7 started working together on March 2023. During the months that followed, Orlando and Demmel wrote on a regular basis, and during the pre-production stage, Bittner recorded drums to the tracks at his home studio. When he sent them back to the guitarists, they would send him the next batch of songs to work on. Not only did Bittner bring on the kind of technical drum skills he has exhibited in SHADOWS FALL and OVERKILL, he went above and beyond, injecting a tumbling, barreling feel into the variegated songs.

"Jason is not only technically incredible, his parts are musical, and his feel is musical," Orlando says. "He's the ideal drummer for this band because he exudes this fire and passion which I love because that's the only way I play guitar."

Bush started recording his vocals after Orlando, Bittner and Gibson laid down all their tracks at Orlando's recording facility, Sonic Stomp Studios, where he produced, engineered, mixed and mastered the album. With the songs in their final form, it was just a matter of fine-tuning a mix here or overdubbing a part there. And Orlando had almost as much fun finishing the album as he did writing it.

"One thing I love to do is to be able to take the guitar player hat off and become the producer and studio guy," he says. "And it was easy with these guys because we all had the same vision, and we were so prepared. But it took a little bit of tinkering because I wanted this album to sound big - not in the sense of overly produced but big in a way that it knocks you out of your shoes and off your feet. And we all wanted the same thing, so there was no conflict whatsoever."

In the end, CATEGORY 7 have created an album that is fresh and familiar. The mixture of NWOBHM, thrash, punk-metal and traditional metal is cohesive and sonically rewarding, establishing an eclectic musical backdrop for Bush's instantly identifiable vocals. At the same time, the diversity of styles creates its own template that's ideal for headbanging, moshing, and voluble sing-alongs.

"I think the sound of this band really comes down to the odd connection that all of us have," Bittner says. "We've known each other for years as friends and peers. And we've all looked up to each other and know that one day we'd have to work together. It's taken almost two decades for that to happen, but lo-and-behold, once it did there was no stopping us."

"Category 7" features art and layout by Carlos Fides at Artside Studio (ANGRA, EVERGREY, KAMELOT). The record will be available on CD and digital formats as well as several vinyl color variants.

"Category 7" track listing:

01. In Stitches
02. Land I Used To Love
03. Apple Of Discord
04. Exhausted
05. Runaway Truck
06. White Flags & Bayonets
07. Mousetrap
08. Waver At The Breaking Point
09. Through Pink Eyes
10. Etter Stormen

Demmel spoke about CATEGORY 7 in an August 2023 interview with former EXHORDER and PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS guitarist Marzi Montazeri. Regarding how the musicians first came together, Demmel said: "I [was] doing a one-off [show], [filling in as the guitar player for] OVERKILL, and this is just right after things are opening up. It's in Jersey, so we go up to Dingbatz, or what's… there's the bar and then there's the venue. So whatever the bar is, we go to the bar. And Orlando comes and meets us, and it's Corey Pierce from GOD FORBID. And so we're there all getting loaded. And at a certain point, it was just, like, 'Man, we got the band right here, man. Why don't we do something? Why don't we write music together?' And we're all, 'Yeah, let's do.' And then the next day, we're kind of hung over, going, 'Hey, man, did we mean it? Did we mean that? Yeah, let's see can happen.' And I came back [to the East Coast]. I forget what I was doing when I came back. And me and Orlando got together and we just got in the room and started throwing riffs at each other and came up with, like, a dozen or so riffs that he took back. And you know Mikey O — he's got his own studio, and he gets behind something. And he's got such a great ear. He's a phenomenal guitar player. And he's got a great ear for music and melody. So he starts putting the shit together. And we're, like, Damn, this is fucking cool.' … And then so we're thinking, it's, like, all right, well, bass player and vocalists. Vocalists, who would you guys want? Let's make our list. Start at the top.' And then bang, bang, bang. All at the top was 'John Bush', 'John Bush', 'John Bush'. We're, like, 'Hmm.' I said I know him from [playing together in] METAL ALLEGIANCE. We broed down a little bit — we talked sports and stuff — so I said, I know him enough to call him up and ask him. So I did. And he was super… We were in the friend zone for a while — you know, non-committal. And it's been bit by bit by bit."

Phil went on to describe the new band's musical direction as "heavier than the early VAN HALEN and the early PANTERA stuff that's on the — you know, the shuffle beat. It's on the upbeat; a lot of it's on the upbeat, not on the down. So it's the head-bobbing type of type of BPMs, you know? So it's different. Nobody's really doing that now."

Orlando was the guitarist/founding member of the hard rock group ADRENALINE MOB. As owner of his own recording studio, Sonic Stomp Studios, he handles everything from engineering, producing, mixing and mastering.

Demmel left MACHINE HEAD at the end of the band's fall 2018 North American tour. He was in MACHINE HEAD for nearly 16 years, during which time he played on five of the group's studio albums: "Through The Ashes Of Empires" (2003),"The Blackening" (2007),"Unto The Locust" (2011),"Bloodstone & Diamonds" (2014) and "Catharsis" (2018).

Widely known as the drummer from American metal band SHADOWS FALL, Bittner has won numerous awards, including Modern Drummer magazine's No. 1 Metal Drummer in 2005 and 2006, No. 1 Up-And-Coming Drummer in 2004 and 2005, and No. 2 Clinician for DRUM! magazine in 2011. In 2014, Bittner hooked up with the thrash metal band FLOTSAM AND JETSAM and has since joined OVERKILL.

Bush continues to record and tour with ARMORED SAINT, which he co-founded in 1982.

John fronted ANTHRAX between 1992 and 2005 but was sidelined when the group reunited with Joey Belladonna for a 20th-anniversary tour. When that collapsed, and relationships disintegrated with next frontman Dan Nelson, Bush returned for a time before Belladonna took the job back in 2010.

In 1996, eight albums into EXODUS's career, Gibson joined the band and has remained with the group ever since. In addition to his work EXODUS, he has fathered a bluegrass brainchild, COFFIN HUNTER, a band that combines Gibson's love for Nashville music and for playing banjo, giving off a vibe of true Americana like a mix of C.W. McCall, Jerry Reed and Sergio Leone.

Photo by Rob Shotwell

Feed The Wolves, the electrifying hard rock quintet hailing from Jacksonville, Florida, has officially launched onto the music scene with their debut single, "Breakaway" that was released through TLG / Virgin Music Group.


Feed The Wolves was formed in 2022 by Wally Wood, Joey Rodriguez, Jarrett Conant, Kyle Cogburn, and Chad Corder. The band recorded an EP in 2023 titled Vessel that is comprised of 5 absolute rock hits! Wally Wood and Joey Rodriguez are former members of the band Allele which had hits such as "Closer To Habit" that reached Top 10 at Active Rock Radio, as well as songs that made their rounds on video games SmackDown vs. Raw, TV spots such as Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes, ABC's Dancing with the Stars, Netflix hit show Kobra Kai, Showtime's Nurse Jackie and more.







Chad Corer and Kyle Cogburn are former members of the Orlando, Florida based band Shut Up and Dance, as well as the band Broadway (Uprising Records).


Feed The Wolves will be releasing singles throughout 2024 through TLG / Virgin Music Group.

In a new interview with Nikki Blakk of the San Francisco, California radio station 107.7 The Bone, TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy spoke about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's follow-up to 2020's "Titans Of Creation" album. Chuck said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We've been here [in the recording studio] for — I don't know — a couple months now, and we're getting ready to leave for Europe in July. So we've gotta get everything done in June. So it's our goal to finish everything this month.

Asked how many songs will appear on the new TESTAMENT LP, Billy said: "There'll probably be 11 tracks, and then we have some covers that we've done. And we actually did a couple of re-recordings, a song off [TESTAMENT's debut album] 'The Legacy' and a song off [TESTAMENT's second album] 'The New Order', just to have a newer version. And we re-recorded them… Just one song off of each album. Our thought is, 'Okay, we're pushing the remasters. Why not pick a song off each, and then let's mix them, make them sound current, and just maybe put that out there to maybe push those products. I don't know… These will just be total separate just for fun, marketing.'

Elaborating on the timetable for the completion of the new TESTAMENT album, Chuck said: "We've took off from November last year to write the record. It took a while. We just got in the studio in May and June. So we're finishing up. And right now, once we leave [for tour] in July, we won't really have time until December, which is a good thing. We'll be busy, but we'll have like a week or two between tours to do any extra overdubs or anything. We're gonna live with the record, which is really the first time we get to do this, because usually we'll record it and it's written in stone where now we know… Usually we have Andy Sneap mix it and he's not available. So we kind of have some time to select somebody else. But in that time, we're gonna live with the songs and come between tours to make any adjustments or changes, if we have to… We go to Europe and we come home in August and we start the U.S. tour. So we have 10 days or 11 days there before we start. And then after that, we have about 10 days before we start a European tour with KREATOR and ANTHRAX, and that'll go through December 16th. And then we're home for the holidays. And then we'll start thinking about mixing and finishing, getting it out there next year."

Regarding when TESTAMENT fans can expect to hear the first taste of the new material, Chuck said: "We hope to have a single maybe, just towards the end of the year. Give whoever we select [to mix the album] one song, 'Let's see how you do, see if we're happy,' before we do the whole record maybe. It's a pain in the butt, but it's still a little more convenient for us this time."

As for the musical direction of the new TESTAMENT material, Chuck said: "The record is very aggressive. With this one, we have a new drummer, Chris Dovas, who's really putting a fire under Eric [Peterson, TESTAMENT guitarist and main songwriter] and really, really got some really heavy, fast — I don't know if it's the word 'modern', maybe. I don't know, but… 'Current', how about that? Current-sounding. So, Chris is adding to that.

"I never know what the record is gonna be until we mix it," he explained. "'Cause they're all just individual songs, and I go, 'Okay, they're great.' But until we mix it and listen to it as an album, that's when we realize, 'Wow, this came out better than I thought. Wow, this is really good.' But this one, I'm excited going in before the mix, because I just know each song is one step up from the last record, as far as aggression, maybe."

On the topic of the songwriting process for the new TESTAMENT record, Chuck said: "Chris has been coming out since probably December, maybe a little before that, and going to Eric's house; he's got an electric drum set there. So they've been working, writing, putting all this stuff together. And at the beginning of May, once Eric started tracking, we decided that, let's bring Alex [Skolnick, TESTAMENT lead guitarist] and everybody in' except for Steve [DiGiorgio, TESTAMENT bassist], 'cause he's on tour, let's bring Alex and everybody here to the studio and let's just go through all the music, all the songs and make sure we're all happy with the arrangements. And every song got changed as well. Once Alex got here, we all started putting our heads together till we were all happy with the arrangements. And then he left and we said, 'Okay, Chris, now here's the new stuff. Let's do it and track it.' And he knocked it out last month, and now it's the rest of us that [are tracking our parts]. So we've been a little more thoughtful on this record. We have the time to do it. So I think it's gonna be a killer record."

Speaking about Dovas's involvement in the songwriting process with Eric, Chuck said: "A lot of it is Eric's riffs, but they're put in the proper places or cut out if we don't need it. And it's good for me because I didn't really get to sit with Eric. I just let them guys jam and just come up with as much as you can and we'll sort it out later, which that's what they did. But once Chris came out, then we knew, okay, it has to change or we're gonna just have the same record, and maybe we wouldn't be happy when it was all done. And also Eric's actually been going to New York — he actually went to work with Alex out there, which he hasn't done that in the past. And I think having Chris be available because like Gene [Hoglan, former TESTAMENT drummer] or whoever we worked with didn't have the time to come up as much as Chris has. Chris has spent a lot of time here, which has been good and really pushing Eric to make music. And we're at a point now to where Eric's, like, 'You know what? This has been fun. I think I'm just going to keep bringing Chris out. Let's just keep writing songs. Even after this record's done, let's just keep making songs,' which I think is great because that means we can get a jump on the next record. 'Cause not spring chickens. It's, like, let's get it done now while we can."

As for the lyrical themes covered in the new TESTAMENT songs, Chuck said: "[It's] not as focused [on], like, the aliens, creating mankind and that kind of stuff, but there is some of that. There's a lot. Each song definitely has its own identity lyrically. And again, we're writing stuff that is real, that happens with the environment; we're singing about that again. A.I., we're singing stuff about that. That's a big thing. So, there's always an inspiration for songs. I think it's a little easier. There's so much going on in our world to write about now. It's a crazy world today, so there's a lot of stuff to talk about. And I like singing about what's real and what's going on instead of some fantasy lyrics, because, for me, I think when I sing 'em, I have more conviction, I believe in 'em a little more. And maybe it's easier for me to remember the lyrics live. [Laughs]"

Naming specific tracks, Chuck said: "There's a song, 'Havana Syndrome', which is about the Havana Syndrome. People, look that up. There's 'Infanticide A.I.', which is another song going A.I. direction. And there's actually a slower song. We haven't done a slower song. I'm not gonna say 'ballad', but I'm gonna say a slower song that has a lot of groove and soul, called 'Meant To Be'. And it's like a classic TESTAMENT-type ballad, I guess, if you wanna use that word. But we've got a little bit of everything, but, again, I think it's really sticking to TESTAMENT, having to have some melodic stuff, even though there's some really brutal lyrics and real brutal, more of a death voice. I still put the hook in with more of a melodic hook or something. It's still classic TESTAMENT. If you listen to it, you'll go, 'That's TESTAMENT, but a little more octane to it.'"

Last month, Chuck told Canada's The Metal Voice that he writes most of TESTAMENT's lyrics with Del James. "Del, he works with GUNS N' ROSES," Chuck said. "He's been working with them and wrote with them a long time ago. I think he had big hits like 'November Rain' with them. And we've been working [together] for over 20 years. So I always go down and work with him because I come up with a lot of the ideas and concepts, but he really interprets and gets the right words, how to say what I'm thinking. And we work fast. When we get together, we'll knock out like two songs in a day. So we don't mess around. We get there, say hello to each other, we sit down and we go right to work. It's about what we do."

Chuck also talked about how TESTAMENT's songwriting approach has evolved in the last couple of decades. He said:  "I honestly have to say after I beat cancer [more than two decades ago] and we had the original lineup back together, everything kind of changed because… We've always been in a friendly competition with other artists, watching what's going on and who's doing what. And I think around that point, once we got together and I felt like… I didn't think I was gonna play music anymore, first of all, and once I had the chance to get back with the original band, I felt very blessed, like, 'Wow, I'm getting an opportunity to do what I love to do again, but also with the guys I started with. It's kind of odd that we're gonna go back at this now, maybe try to finish something that we all started together.' And once we did that, it was enjoying our company. We never fight. We never argue. It was just, like, relaxing. And the critics, we didn't care what the press thought or a lot of people. I mean, we wrote for ourselves. So a lot of those records were just making us happy. The songs we were writing, we weren't thinking about, 'Okay, this has to be, for this,' and 'where's our radio song?' and 'What's the fans gonna think if we went and did a ballad?' All that went out the door. And I think over the time, it's really just about making good music, having fun at this point. And every record is a challenge 'cause you always wanna do better and make the next record sound better, have better songs. And I think where we're at today, once again, especially having Chris, the new drummer, we are progressing. Me and Eric actually said, like, I don't know, about three weeks ago, we were hanging out and like I said, the music's pretty aggressive and we're doing some heavy stuff, and he said, 'Did you ever think, in our sixties, we're gonna be playing thrash metal music, writing songs like this?' And I'm, like, 'Actually, no,' but that's a good thing that we still feel young at heart and young in our minds and still we're not struggling to do it."

In January, Skolnick told Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire", about the progress of the songwriting sessions for TESTAMENT's new LP: "Well, we got delayed a little bit by the fact that 2020 basically didn't exist [due to the coronavirus pandemic]. It's a year that went away. And then there was so much touring to make up for. And for about a year of that, we had Dave Lombardo [ex-SLAYER] on drums, which was fantastic. And he's become a great friend and a great musician, but he's also spread very thin in many different bands. And now we have Chris Dovas [playing drums with us]. And he's a guy old enough to be any of our sons. But he is just unbelievable. He really brings the right energy. I mean, he brings the energy that the music had in the early days."

Last August, Dovas was asked by Pod Scum if it was "unnerving" to step into a group whose list of previous drummers includes such heavyweights as Lombardo and Gene Hoglan. He responded: "It was, especially at first because I knew that a lot of eyes were on me, and also I looked up to the band since I was a kid. Especially Lombardo and Gene — those are two of my favorite drummers right there. So to be put in that situation of taking over for them, I felt like I had a lot of responsibility and a lot of… I felt like I had something to prove a little bit, and I'm still practicing a lot and I just wanna do the best that I can do. Right now I'm not really nervous anymore because I've done two full tours with them now and we're working on the [new TESTAMENT] album and the friendship has been developing now and we all get along super well. They've welcomed me with open arms and it's been great and the fans have been great. I've been putting hours and hours of practice into it to make sure that I can do the best that I could do. And I look up to Dave and I look up to Gene as well, so, yeah, I just wanna play the songs well live and keep making the band sound good."

Asked what his role has been so far in the creative process for TESTAMENT's next album, Chris said: "I don't know exactly what I'm allowed and what I'm not allowed to share yet, but what you've seen publicly, though, right now is that Eric and I have been working on a lot of stuff together. And so it's been really cool to get into their brains, in a way, and how they write stuff. I'm used to people sending me tracks with scratch MIDI drums or programmed drums or something, and I've gotta put my drums to them and then hop on a Zoom call and we can edit things and move stuff around. But with them, Eric and I, he set a timer at one point for, like, 20 minutes and we would just jam random ideas. And then sometimes we'd make mistakes and stuff and that would be cool, and we could take that… It's very organic, though, and it's very involved, I guess. It's a different way of writing and I'm super excited to be a part of that method of writing. And I could see why they're so successful for all these years, now finally being a part of this current writing cycle, I guess."

Prior to joining TESTAMENT as a full-time member, Dovas previously filled in for Lombardo on the first six dates of TESTAMENT's summer/fall 2022 leg of "The Bay Strikes Back Tour".

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral

In a new interview with Chris Akin Presents, METALLICA's former producer Fleming Rasmussen discussed the sound of the band's "...And Justice For All" album. While "...And Justice For All" is considered one of METALLICA's classics, it has been criticized almost since the day it was released in 1988 for the lack of any bass guitar on the record. Jason Newsted's playing is virtually buried in the mix — and many fans feel that drummer Lars Ulrich, who had very specific ideas for how he wanted his drums to sound, is to blame.

Rasmussen, who produced "Justice", as well as "Ride The Lightning" (1984) and "Master Of Puppets" (1986),was asked if he was mad when he first heard the "...And Justice For All" mix. He said: "Yeah, I was. Lars came and played it to me, and I looked at him and I said, 'What's that?' He said, 'It's the mix.' I said, 'No, it's not.' And he was, like, 'Yes, it is.' I said, 'What? There's no bass.' He said, 'Yeah, there it is. You can hear it. It's in the bottom of the guitars.' I was, like, 'No.'"

Flemming continued: "You're gonna have to ask Lars and James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman] why they took the bass down, 'cause I didn't mix it. Because I came in so late, they had already hired Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero to do the mixing. And I mean, just go online, [and] you can get the story from the horse's mouth what happened. There's no reason for me to retell that. It was Lars and James. And why they did that, I'm not even sure they know themselves."

In a separate interview with Daniel Sarkissian, Rasmussen offered a different theory as to what happened in the studio, saying: "I think — but this is purely speculation — I think that they did it to get some kind of reaction from Jason. Because what they hated the most about Jason was that he was a fan. He was never disagreeing or anything, or stating his own opinion. I think they were waiting for him to kind of state his place in the band… I think they probably did it to get a reaction, and when it didn't come, that was the way the album turned out."

Five years ago, Hetfield defended the sound of "...And Justice For All", saying that he and his bandmates simply "wanted the best-sounding record" they could make. "It was not all about, 'Fuck [Jason]. Let's turn him down.' That's for sure," he said. "We wanted the best-sounding record we could make. That was our goal. We were burnt. We were frigging fried. Going back and forth [between touring and mixing the album]. Playing a gig. No earplugs, no nothing. You go back into the studio, your hearing is shot. If your ears can't hear any high end anymore, you're gonna turn it up. So we're turning the high end up more and more and more and all of a sudden, low end's gone. So I know that played a bigger part than any hazing or any ill feelings towards Jason, for sure. We were fried. We were burnt."

Hetfield also addressed some of the criticism leveled at METALLICA by one of the "...And Justice For All" album mixers, Steve Thompson. In a 2015 interview with Ultimate Guitar, Thompson suggested that Ulrich was the culprit for the lack of any bass guitar on the record, claiming that Lars wanted his drums to sound a certain way — even if it meant cutting out the bass.

"We wanted it tight," James explained. "We wanted it fucking tight. That's what we wanted. We wanted the snare, we wanted the guitar, we wanted everything up front and in your face and really tight. And we thought we got it. And, you know, we kinda know what we want to sound like. Can we sit behind a desk and make it happen? No. We ask people to do it, and they do it. So [Thompson] did his job. He's got nothing to apologize for or point fingers at. No one's to blame for 'something.' It is a piece of art. It happened and it ended up the way it is for a reason. And for reasons we were just talking about. We were burnt. We're traveling, we're playing a gig, our ears were fried. We were not sleeping. He doesn't need to defend himself. He was a part of an awesome album in history, so I think he should be maybe be a little easier on himself."

James also once again dismissed calls for METALLICA to remix "…And Justice For All" so that Newsted's contributions are more audible.

"All this [bass discussion] is after the fact, and it's, like, who gives a shit, man, really?" Hetfield said. "And why would you change that? Why would you change history? Why would you all of a sudden put bass on it? There is bass on it, but why would you remix an album? You can remaster it, yes, but why would you remix something and make it different? It'd be like… I don't know. Not that I'm comparing us to the Mona Lisa, but it's, like, 'Uh, can we make her smile a little better?!' You know?! Why?"

In a 2008 interview with Decibel magazine, METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett attempted to explain the lack of bass on "…And Justice For All", saying that "the reason you can't hear the bass so well is because the bass frequencies in Jason's tone kinda interfered with the tone that James was trying to shoot for with his rhythm guitar sound, and every time the two blended together, it just wasn't happening. So the only thing left to do was turn the bass down in the mix. It was unfortunate, but for some reason or another, that album is known for the low end being there without the bass being very high up in the mix. It was an experiment, too — we were totally going for a dry, in-your-face sound, and some people really like that sound. A lot of the newer-generation bands, especially, think that album sounds great. But at the end of the day, it was an experiment. I'm not really sure it was 100 percent successful, but it is a unique sound that that album has."

In the Ultimate Guitar interview, Thompson said that he spoke out because he was tired of being blamed for the lack of bass. He remarked: "They flew us out [to METALLICA's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction in 2009] and I'm sitting with Lars. He goes, 'Hey, what happened to the bass in 'Justice'?' He actually asked me that. I wanted to cold cock him right there. It was a shame because I'm the one getting the shit for the lack of bass."

Ulrich told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that fans were extremely vocal about the sound of the album at the time of its release. "I mean, it was unbelievable, you know, '...And Justice For All', " he said. "People were saying, 'That's the worst-sounding record, where's the bass, and it sounds like it was recorded in a garage, and...' But, you know, listen, you do the best you can in the moment and then you move on."

During a press conference at this past weekend's Hellfest in Clisson, France, Tom Morello, the guitarist, songwriter and political activist who's known for his work with RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, AUDIOSLAVE and for his solo act, spoke about why he has spent his career not only making music but also making a difference in the lives of others. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Across 21 records, there's really one message that is a thread through all of my music, and that is that the world is not going to change itself. That is up to you. And by you, I literally mean you — the people watching on your thing and your thing; that's how the world changes. And sometimes it seems like this sort of monolithic problem that we'll never be able to get past and the world cannot be changed or the worst people are the ones in charge, and they often are. But you are not witnesses to history; you are agents of history. History is not something that happened; it's something you make. Whenever there has been a progressive radical, even revolutionary positive change for the better, it's come from people who are no different than anyone in this room or any of the audiences that you're writing for or that your videos are for. Once you have that realization that you do have your hands on the wheel of history and of this planet, and if you wanna make it a more peaceful, a more just, a more equitable, a more anti-racist, a more environmentally sound place, there's no one to blame if it doesn't happen but you for not standing up."

Morello, who has repeatedly said that social change has always been his main motivation for making music, also talked about where he finds the inspiration for his songwriting in a world that is increasingly divided.

"At any given historical moment, you stand in the place where you live and you stand in the place where you were," he explained. "That's it. So some people are, like, 'You guys made RAGE records 30 years ago, and now look at the horrible state of the world.' Imagine what it would be like if we didn't make RAGE records 30 years ago. At every moment, you do what you can, when you can, where you can. That's the way that I look at it. And the arc of history is a long one, and there are very, very challenging times now certainly in my country, and I know here as well. And in part, literally the fate of the planet is at stake over the course of the next few decades. So it's time for metalheads to get their shit together."

Asked if he sometimes feels overwhelmed by everything that is going on in the world, Tom said: "It is overwhelming. And from the climate stuff to Gaza, there's a lot. But what I look at is, like, today I'm gonna do everything I can to do several things. One is to be to play the best guitar I can, to sing the best I can, to have my band, the FREEDOM FIGHTER ORCHESTRA, deliver the goods in a way that is gonna be a compelling and artistically meaningful moment. And if I do that right, the message that rides on that is gonna touch somebody. Now there's 70,000 people out there [at this year's Hellfest]. I don't know if it touches seven of them, or 7,000 of them, or whatever, but I know that over the course of 30 years, doing that, the thing I just described to you, has had repercussions far beyond what I ever imagined it could."

When one reporter suggested that there is no hope for humanity amid a barrage of global crises, with war, famine and disease threatening global peace, Tom said: "Well, first of all, I disagree with you there's no hope. I would say, though, to not be so… the one option that I might suggest is to not be so wrapped up in being pure that it stops you from acting. If you drink a Pepsi, you're not going to hell because you've supported some corporation. What is important to do, change comes from below — real meaningful change comes from below. It always has. People organize, and the world changes. These are really difficult times that we're in. The planet has been in difficult times before — sometimes as dire as, or more dire than this. And when it has come out on the right side of history, it's because people just like you, even in times when they could despair, didn't despair. That's how the world changes. This is a dire historical moment, but it is not a unique historical moment. And the way I look at it, I'm stuck being a guitar player. I'm cursed. It's my calling. I didn't choose it; it chose me. So now I've gotta find some way to win to bend this weird hobby that I picked up as a teenager and try to change the fucking world with it. And it's not easy, but wherever you are and whatever your job is, whatever your life is, whether it's standing up to illegitimate authority in your home, your place of work, your school, your country, or whatever, like I said before, history is not something that happens. It's something that we make. So I would encourage you and your listeners, or whatever, to not despair — to act."

Last week, Tom released his new solo single, "Soldier In The Army Of Love". The song, which was co-written with his "guitar wizard son" Roman Morello, was described by Tom as "a generational rock anthem from the Morellos." "Soldier In The Army Of Love" is the lead single from Tom's first-ever full-length solo rock album, due later in the year.

Tom was the sole member of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE who attended the band's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony last November at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Rock Hall induction came after the band appeared on six ballots.

In October 2022, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE canceled its North American tour, three months after singer Zack De La Rocha severed his left Achilles tendon, leaving a mere eight inches of the tendon intact.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's comeback tour, which was first announced in 2019 and then delayed several times due to the pandemic, marked the first time the reunited rap-metal quartet had hit the road together since 2011.

Reissue specialist label Madfish have shared details of 8314 Boxed, a limited-edition deluxe box set tribute to Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson’s treasured solo works. 


The package, set for release for August 23, will include:
-Exclusive first-time vinyl releases of Divinities: Twelve Dances With God, The Secret Language Of Birds (2LP), and Rupi’s Dance (2LP)
-Walk Into Light, Divinities: Twelve Dances With God and Homo Erraticus remastered at half speed by Air Studio
-Roaming In The Gloaming LP offers previously unreleased live recordings from 1995-2007
-Beautiful side D etchings on 3 of the 10 records
-96-page book with foreword by Ian Anderson, extensive liner notes by Paul Sexton and exclusive pictures







Preorder here.


Ian Anderson’s solo albums explore different sonic landscapes and instrumental line-ups, each record in this box set standing as a testament to his versatility. From the electronic experimentation in Walk Into Light and the profound narratives of Homo Erraticus, to the acoustic serenity of The Secret Language Of Birds, these albums are a reflection of Anderson's unending creativity and his ability to seamlessly blend diverse musical styles into cohesive, captivating works.





8314 Boxed 10LP breakdown:
Walk Into Light (1983) – half-speed remaster
Divinities: Twelve Dances With God (1995) – first time on vinyl, half-speed remaster
The Secret Language Of Birds (2LP) (2000), etching on side D – first time on vinyl
Rupi’s Dance (2LP) (2003), etching on side D – first time on vinyl
Thick As A Brick 2 (2LP) (2012), etching on side D
Homo Erraticus (2014) – half-speed remaster
Roaming In The Gloaming (previously unreleased live shows from 1995-2007)


“Hey, but someone has to try oddball things, don’t they? Might as well be me...” - Ian Anderson


Ian Anderson’s mind as a listener, which would mature into a lifetime of format-blurring creative ingenuity, was opened when he was a mere six-year-old. By then, already relocated with his family from his birthplace in Dunfermline to Edinburgh, he heard an old family 78 rpm disc of Glenn Miller and his Orchestra's irresistible gem of 1939, In The Mood. 


“My father had a few treasured wartime records, mostly big-band stuff,” he told Prog magazine. “I remember having an epiphany, because ‘In The Mood’ introduces you to the elements of blues, effectively. That was my first moment of thinking: ‘Hmm, this music is something special.’”


A word from Ian Anderson on 8314 Boxed:


“Since 1983, I have made a few solo albums, not as dissatisfaction with fellow musicians or the group identity but usually just to try something a bit different, whether sonically, stylistically or in terms of instrumental line-up. These records all stand out for me as being quite different from each other and in some ways demonstrate a broader depth of my songwriting. The flute instrumental Divinities record is one of my favourites to this day.”

In a new interview with Australia's Metal Roos, STEEL PANTHER drummer Stix Zadinia spoke about the band's songwriting process. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[STEEL PANTHER guitarist] Satchel is our main songwriter. When you've got a guy like Satchel in your band who plays the guitar the way he does, and he's like genetically engineered to write '80s-style heavy metal riffs and he's incredibly talented and gifted…. When we're on the road, everybody's throwing ideas out as far as, like, someone says something funny, and we start writing stuff down. And then generally what will happen is he'll sketch out a verse and a chorus, or sometimes he'll have half a song or a whole song, and then he'll generally bring it to me next, because he and I are kind of simpatico in the music department. And if it's something that I go, 'Oh, dude, yeah, let's roll,' he'll get fired up. Once we decide what we wanna do on a record, then we go into a pre-production situation where we work out the little details so we don't spend the time and money in the studio. We'll go do pre-production at rehearsal studios, but we play so much on the road that we don't rehearse and we don't get in a band room because there's no time and it's not necessary. With e-mail, we can do ideas at home, just flip something over to the other guy and go, 'Hey, dude.' Or he'll throw me an idea and he'll go, 'Hey, what are you hearing on drums for this?' And that's kind of how it goes generally. I mean, obviously there's variations, but that's the general vibe."

He continued: "When I was young, you lived near the guys you played with. And as we get older, we moved different places. Satchel lives out in Vegas. I live out in L.A. And so to get together, it's, like, okay, well, somebody's gotta hop a flight or make a four-hour drive. So we just throw ideas back and forth."

Stix also talked about the importance of knowing the ins and outs of music business and learning how to generate profit and endure longevity.

"Fortunately, we are our own record company," he explained. "We're like the biggest DIY band ever. We're the merch company. We do it all. Yeah, we do. So we manage our band. But I have guys who are specialists. I have a merch guy who works with us. And then I have a touring guy who does all the logistics. But we oversee it all. We don't have a management company. We don't have a merch company. We do it all, man."

He continued: "I cannot express how much value there is in knowing your business and doing it yourself. Look, when we got rid of management in 2017 and I decided to take it on, I was, like, 'Hey, I know that I don't know everything, but I know specialists who know things about this lane and that lane and this plane.' So as long as you know that you don't know everything, you can find the answers. And it's done wonders for our business, our bottom line."

Stix added that "you have to have somebody in the band who's interested and halfway able to focus" in order to be a self-managed act.

"It's cool, man," he said. "We really are DIY. It's awesome."

The California glam metal jokesters recently announced the final batch of headline dates in the U.S. as part of their "On The Prowl" world tour 2024. The band will return to the road in the United States on August 23 in Buffalo, New York and continue through September 14, where it will wrap up in Jacksonville, North Carolina. The 15-date trek will make stops in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire (August 24-25); Portland, Maine (August 30); Baton Rouge, Louisiana (September 8) and Augusta, Georgia (September 14),to name a few. Additional information on all ticket and VIP packages, including meet-and-greets, exclusive merch items, early entry and more for all tour dates can be found at steelpantherrocks.com.

STEEL PANTHER recently had another career first as they have moved their brand into the world of skateboarding. The band has spent the past year designing an official skateboard deck complete with band illustration on the bottom, custom grip tape and fluorescent green wheels. The "Build A Board" bundle sells for $124.99 (trucks and bearings are not included) for the STEEL PANTHER skateboarder in your life and there is a "Wall Hanger" bundle for $74.99 for the non-skateboarder that loves bitchin' artwork.

Formed in 2000, STEEL PANTHER specializes in imitating and exaggerating the less flattering aspects of 1980s hair metal, with unrepentantly crude, non-PC sexual content as a favorite lyrical theme.

The group's music has been described as "VAN HALEN meets MÖTLEY CRÜE meets RATT meets 'Wayne's World', complete with operatic shrieks, misogyny, shredding guitar solos and libidinal overdrive."

Sixteen years ago, STEEL PANTHER changed its name from METAL SKOOL to its current moniker and shifted the focus of its act from '80s metal covers to originals.

STEEL PANTHER's sixth studio album, "On The Prowl", was released in February 2023.

In September 2022, STEEL PANTHER announced the addition of Spyder as the band's new bassist.

In a recent interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, W.A.S.P. frontman Blackie Lawless was asked about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's long-awaited follow-up to 2015's "Golgotha" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We still are [working on it]. What happened was when we came back from the European tour, I had to have surgery and stuff, about a year prior to that, we had been working on a lot of new stuff. And when I came back, I've had a long time to go through those early demos, of what we have been working on. Listening to it with fresh ears, some of it's really good, but there's not enough of it yet where I would be comfortable in saying, 'Okay, this is finished, and let's go with it.' I'd like to go back and visit the drawing board, so to speak, and see what else is there. Because even from a two-year period of when we started working on that before to where we are right now, you're gonna gain so much, you're gonna grow so much."

Blackie continued: "I've learned you don't make records or I don't make records anymore that are spread out over a two- or three-year period, because the guy you are when you first start making it is not the guy you are when you finish making it. Get in, six months top to bottom, get that thing cranked out, because, like I said, if you don't, you end up running the risk of it kind of being a schizophrenic type of record where you've got one type of one thing and then the other half is something else and it has no real cohesiveness."

Asked what kind of stuff inspires him now in 2024, Blackie said: "Well, when we got ready to start this record a couple years ago, my mindset was I wanted to do a heavy, nasty, stinky rock and roll record. And that's where my heart was at. But when I started to write, that's not what was coming out. And so when you first start the process, you think, 'Okay. We'll go along with whatever comes out to begin with, but I wanna try to start steering this ship in a different direction as time goes by.' And that's just not what was happening. It was stuff that was more in-depth. And I thought, we did call 'Golgotha', that's one of those thinking man's records, and I thought, I don't wanna do that this time. I wanna do something that's a little lighter, like I said, a little nastier, stinkier old-time rock and roll, but as hard as I was trying to force it in that direction, that's not what was happening. Now, when we get done with this tour and the European tour next year, then it'll be time to start looking at that again in earnest. So who knows where we'll come out of it again? To give you an honest answer, I'd need a crystal ball right now to tell you that, 'cause I don't know."

Last November, Blackie addressed the high musical standard of W.A.S.P. most recent albums, telling Canada's The Metal Voice: "Nobody makes money making records anymore. So if you're going to make records now, you're doing it because of your legacy. And if you're going to do that, then you really have to make sure that it's as strong as it can be, because it's always gonna be measured against what you did to begin with."

He continued: "All bands, they make their bones the first five years they're together, the first five or six records they make; their whole legacy is cemented there. It doesn't mean you can't make good records later on down the line, but everything is gonna be constantly compared to that… In other words, think of whatever new record you do now as your opening act. It's always gonna be compared to that early stuff. And so for it to get an honest review or a fair shake, so to speak, that new record has to maybe be even better than the original stuff was, because people have had so many years to romance those older songs in their heads. And when you go up against people that have been doing that for a long time, it's hard to erase those memories, and you don't wanna do that anyway. But you just want the new stuff to have a chance to compete. And the only way that new stuff can do that is they have to be solid records."

2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of W.A.S.P.'s first album. To celebrate this classic metal album, W.A.S.P. will, for the first time in 40 years, play the entire album from top to bottom, start to finish, on a fall 2024 North American tour, dubbed "Album ONE Alive", this fall. Support on the trek will come from DEATH ANGEL and UNTO OTHERS.

Along with bassist Mike Duda and lead guitarist Doug Blair, whose tenures in the band are 29 and 26 years respectively, W.A.S.P. is joined by longtime drummer extraordinaire Aquiles Priester.

The 39-city run kicks off on Saturday, October 26 in San Luis Obispo, California, making stops across North America in Vancouver, British Columbia; Toronto, Ontario; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Dallas, Texas; New York City; Orlando, Florida; and more before wrapping up on Saturday, December 14 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California.

W.A.S.P. will again offer fans VIP tickets that give fans a chance to meet Blackie Lawless, get a personal photo with Blackie, autographs and take part in a very personal question-and-answer session with Blackie. VIP tickets can be purchased at waspnation.myshopify.com.

Because of the extensive back injuries Lawless suffered during the European leg of W.A.S.P.'s 40th-anniversary tour, the band's previously announced 2023 U.S. tour was canceled.

W.A.S.P.'s massive European leg of the 40th-anniversary world tour wrapped on May 18, 2023 in Sofia, Bulgaria at Universidada Sports Hall.

W.A.S.P. wrapped up its first U.S. tour in 10 years with a sold-out show on December 11, 2022 at The Wiltern in Los Angeles. This marked the 18th sold-out shows for the U.S. tour, which kicked off in late October 2022. W.A.S.P.'s performances included the return of the band's classic song "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)", which hadn't been played live in over 15 years.

W.A.S.P.'s latest release was "ReIdolized (The Soundtrack To The Crimson Idol)", which came out in February 2018. It was a new version of the band's classic 1992 album "The Crimson Idol", which was re-recorded to accompany the movie of the same name to mark the 25th anniversary of the original LP's release. The re-recorded version also features four songs missing from the original album.

On August 2 internationally, Personal Records will release Mourners Lament's second album, A Grey Farewell, on CD format.


Formed in 2004, Mourners Lament are a doom-death metal band hailing from Viña del Mar, Chile. During their first years, they released a demo in 2004 and then an EP, Unbroken Solemnity, in 2008. Those two recordings launched the quintet onto numerous gigs within the Chilean doom scene, some of them with classic bands like Poema Arcanus and Mar de Grises. 


Lineup changes followed during the next handful of years, as Mourners Lament underwent a minor period of silence while preparing what would be their debut album. Titled We All Be Given, the band's first full-length would first be released in 2016 by esteemed national label Canometal Records, and then later the next year internationally through Hammerheart Records. Between the two editions, Mourners Lament established themselves as a considerable new(er) name in the wider doom-death scene.




After the debut album's initial release, Mourners Lament continued playing live shows in their native Chile, climbing to a higher position in the national doom scene. Later on, two new members took over drums and vocal duties, and a new lineup was established in 2019, which continues to this day. This new-look Mourners Lament brought fresh sounds and spirit to the band, resulting in the new EP Grieving at a Distance in 2022 and their first adventure in European territory that same year. 


After the Euro tour, which included an appearance at the renowned Dutch Doom Days festival, the band started the process of a new album. At last here, A Grey Farewell easily eclipses its not-inconsiderable full-length predecessor. Here, Mourners Lament erect a towering monument to misery: six songs in nearly 65 minutes, the album is an emotional and dark journey across a majestic & melancholic landscape. Undoubtedly, it's pure doom-death by definition - riffs crush and then reverberate, rhythms lumber before nearly disappearing into darkness, guttural vocals either meld with both or play counterpart, and icy, almost-sensual synths flow with subtlety and a quiet power - but Mourners Lament prove to be masterful songwriters, patiently building arcs that unfold dark drama and bittersweet emotion, and then seamlessly threading the whole experience together as one unified work that's equally spacious and suffocating. That there's a bit more polish here only makes A Grey Farewell that much better, particularly given the band's penchant for dynamic quietude.


The raw-yet-rich emotion of the earliest days of the Peaceville Three - Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, and Anathema, altogether THE eternal template for doom-death metal - can still be a fertile field for inspiration. It would not be hyperbole to suggest that A Grey Farewell is perhaps one of the best modern examples of pure doom-death that imparts its own personality.


Preorder at the Personal Records webshop.





Tracklisting:


“Towards Abandonment”
“Changes”
“Ocaso”
“The Clear Distance”
“In A White Room”
“Mass Eulogy”


“Towards Abandonment”:

In a new interview with Brazilian music journalist Igor Miranda, Zakk Wylde was asked about Charlie Benante's recent comment that there has been talk of the current lineup of PANTERA releasing a live album. Joining the BLACK LABEL SOCIETY frontman and the ANTHRAX drummer in PANTERA's reformed lineup are surviving members Rex Brown (bass) and Philip Anselmo (vocals). Zakk said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, whatever the fellas wanna do, we knock it out. Let's be real — it's a live album every night. People with their phones and everything are recording it anyway, so it doesn't [matter] to me. You go up there and you play to win every night."

As for the possibility of new songs from the current PANTERA lineup, Zakk said: "No, we haven't sat and talked about, like, 'Oh, guys, let's get together and write songs,' or whatnot; there hasn't been anything like that. I mean, the only discussions we'll have is just what other new songs we wanna put in the setlist. Like when we put 'Floods' in and then we got together at rehearsals, got together over at Phil's house, we just rehearsed everything. But no, nothing like… We haven't been sitting around writing riffs and things like that."

Miranda also asked Wylde about whether he views the current PANTERA lineup as a tribute or something else. Zakk responded: "Yeah, that's what I feel it is. It's not even a tribute. It's more just a PANTERA celebration. Like whenever we go out and do the 'Experience Hendrix' [tours], which I always have a blast when I do that, it's all of us going out and celebrating Jimi's greatness. To me, this is [a] PANTERA celebration. We're celebrating all the mountains that PANTERA conquered. So that's what this is."

Wylde also addressed the fact that he doesn't exactly reproduce the parts originally written and recorded by late PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. He said: "Oh, yeah, even if Dime was up there playing the solo to 'No More Tears' or 'Mama I'm Coming Home', it's gonna sound like Dime playing the solo to 'No More Tears'. 'Cause he has his touch and his feels. Like when Randy Rhoads was playing BLACK SABBATH songs, it sounds like Randy Rhoads playing BLACK SABBATH songs. You listen to the 'Tribute' album [from Ozzy Osbourne], when Saint Rhoads was playing 'Iron Man' and he was playing 'Paranoid' and 'Children Of The Grave', it sounds like Randy playing BLACK SABBATH songs. It's Randy's guitar tone and Randy's touch and Randy's playing. But that's what makes it cool. Yeah, to me, it's just common sense. Dime just sounds like Dime no matter what he's playing."

The reformed PANTERA is headlining a number of major festivals across North America, South America and Europe and staging some of its own headline concerts. They are also supporting METALLICA on a massive stadium tour in 2024.

It was first reported in July 2022 that Anselmo and Brown would unite with Wylde and Benante for a world tour under the PANTERA banner.

Three months ago, Zakk spoke to Ultimate Guitar about the decision to tour with a reformed version of PANTERA. The lineup has reportedly been given a green light by the estates of PANTERA's founders, drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott and guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott: "I feel [Dimebag] all the time. Even when we were getting ready to do the [PANTERA tour in 2022], [the early] rehearsals, and they were just figuring out how we were gonna do this, there'd be signs all over the place, whether [it was] a license plate that would be, like, '333' [three being Dimebag's favorite number], or I'd run into like a Dimebag license plate in the middle of nowhere. It was just, like, him just pushing this thing along, willing it to happen. So he's just always around. When we were in New York, just like signs, when we just did [a headlining show at] the [Madison Square] Garden [in February 2024], my wife Barbaranne was, like, Check this out.' Something came up and it just reminded us of Dime, and I was like, 'Wow, that's crazy.' Or we would look on our phone and it would be '333'. It's just these signs everywhere. And I could see Dime just doing it, going, 'I hope these idiots realize it's me sending these signs.' [Laughs]"

In a recent interview with Sweetwater, Brown stated about touring with PANTERA again: "The last show, man, I had a creepy, like a cold — something came by me. It felt like there was a cold feeling. And I've gotten this a couple of times before. When we were down recording with Charlie — me and Charlie just went down [in late 2022], put up eighty to a hundred hours of tape before Zakk [started rehearsing with us]. Zakk was still on the road. So we wanted to get the bass and the drum real tight, and we had this scratch guitar player. I felt that same chill. And, to me, they're angels. And I think you know who they are. Those guys, I think they're looking down, or they're looking around us, with us, and I think they're digging what they're seeing, man. I really do. And that's the only kind of way I can look at it, and get as close as we can with Charlie and Zakk. And God, it's getting really, really good. And there's so much more potential to get even tighter."

Speaking about the opportunity to perform PANTERA's music to new generations of fans who never saw the band before, Rex said: "There's a lot of memories in this band that are hard to put down. And losing the brothers, I just never in a million years thought that something like that would happen. Here we are 22 years later, and to see these new fans' faces. You've got one kid sitting there, or man, woman or child crying, and you have this other guy just going, 'You did it right.' It's just amazing."

In April, Rex told Rolling Stone Australia about performing with PANTERA in 2024: "Two of our beloved brothers that just aren't here anymore man, that's life, you know? They're just not with us man. That's just fate; it's the way the ball rolls, dude."

He added: "This is no tribute band — Philip and I get to play these songs of ours that we haven't played in 23 years. And to be able to do that and connect with the enormity of what's happened is just extraordinarily fucking insane, you know?"

Regarding PANTERA's latest additions, Rex said: "We knew who would fit and who wouldn't. We knew what the obstacles were in front of us, and we knew after… I'll put it this way — Charlie and I came down in September [2022] before we played that [first] show in December [2022], and we have probably one hundred hours of tape of us playing every fucking PANTERA song that I could remember. And so, you know, me and Charlie lockin' in like that… the drummer and the bass player, that's your foundation. So when Zakk came in, there were certain things we had to go over and over and over, to get tight. And today, this band is about as tight and about as badass as I fucking want. You know what I mean, and that's all I'm gonna say on that."

"But, man, this band is on fuckin' fire, and I couldn't be happier, man," he added. "I just can't explain that as much as I need to, I could not be happier."

Rex previously told AndrewHaug.com that he was "absolutely" open to writing new music with the reformed version of PANTERA. "Yeah, I could tell you more but I'm not going to," he teased.

Earlier in the chat, Brown talked about what is has been like to go out and perform as PANTERA to a whole new generation of fans.

"You can't see it on the YouTube. You can't feel that vibe until you actually come to the show," he explained. "And we haven't been doing interviews just for the fact we want people just to come to the show. It's not about anything prior past or present that I wanna talk about today — just the show tonight.

"We're pinching ourselves over these new fans that have never seen this before, and it's a whole another generation that we either didn't know a) that were out there, b) that were still listening to us, and the turnout has just been unbelievable," Rex continued. "Of course, at first you had the naysayers and all that stuff, and as we played gig by gig, it's made us tighter. And I've been trying to rehearse this band as much as I can within schedules, and we'll just go down for no fucking reason and just jam. That's what makes a band tight."

Asked how it feels playing those "timeless" songs again, Rex told AndrewHaug.com: "You just said it — they're timeless. So getting to play them again is a… These were a big part of Philip and I's songs too. Of course, respect to the brothers. I think that looking down on us and giving us a big — and they're with us. It's just uncanny. That's the glue. Those guys are hanging around with us.

"Look, I'm not some crazy old man, man. I know that we're here for reasons," Rex added. "And this time he gave us a heavy load, and we have come through in spades. And I'm very proud of Charlie and Zakk and Phillip for stepping up… All of us [were very close back in the day]. We were intertwined. There was a close-knit family of friends — Jerry Cantrell and all those guys, ALICE IN CHAINS. We were all brothers and we all had each other's backs — even as fucked up as we got. We're fine now, I'll put it that way. But it's just such a different time and we're older men and can appreciate this more. And I feel 25 years younger, man. It's just insane."

Addressing complaints from some fans that Brown and Anselmo are going out and touring under the PANTERA name even though Dimebag and Vinnie Paul are not involved, Rex said: "I don't call it anything. I call it PANTERA. The show itself is a celebration of the lives of all four of us. Two are sadly not with us, and we cannot bring them back. God, do I want them back. But that's just not possible. So we're doing the best thing that we can to keep our music alive. And I think they're smiling down and saying, 'You guys are doing all right, man.' And they're with us. And I'm not shittin' you."

Asked what his initial thoughts were when he was first approached about relaunching PANTERA as a touring act, Rex said: "Philip and I talked for several months before. He got on the phone and said, 'Hey, man, you wanna do it? I didn't have — maybe a six-second… not a hesitation, but just to wrap my head around the full gravity of the enormity of it. I went, 'Okay, I've got a couple of questions.' And, man, ever since that call we've worked really, really hard to get this thing going. And we've jumped over a lot of mountains."

Up until his passing in June 2018, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for Dimebag's death.

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.

Vinnie, who was Dimebag's brother, and Anselmo had not spoken since PANTERA split in 2003. But the relationship got even more acrimonious when Vinnie suggested that some remarks the vocalist had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag's killer.

12 years following WINTERSUN's "Time I", the Finnish heavy metal quartet led by Jari Mäenpää has announced its new album, "Time II". "Time II" will be released on August 30 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Mäenpää comments: "'Time II' is an epic journey from light to darkness and back to light, exploring the universe and energy, contrasting dark stormy landscapes to calm and beautiful cherry blossom tree gardens with misty, snowy mountains that will leave you breathless. It has songs with furious speed of drums, guitars, and bass and beautiful melodic slower songs with a magical exotic influence. It has massive orchestrations and choirs spiced with ancient world instruments and glimmering synths. It has Jari's soaring, clean singing contrasted with his aggressive style. It is a highly detailed and complex album where you will find new things with every listen."

Our patience will finally be rewarded when "Time II" is revealed to the world next month. "It has been quite a journey," admits Mäenpää, who has been working on his expansive "Time" project since early 2004.

"Time II" includes six epic tracks with individual stories. Yet the subjects are all linked and this red line gives it a conceptual feeling. Entering WINTERSUN's universe, we are brought into the right mood with the eastern-influenced, atmospheric intro "Fields Of Snow". The first real WINTERSUN track is the metallic brilliance of "The Way Of The Fire", with fire representing the energy of stars as a source of life, which is also connected to time. In "One With The Shadows", we experience the magic of an opulence of vocal harmonies, while orchestral arrangements loom up as ornamental move. Jari has a remarkable vision on the lyrics, "Now I think it is about regret. You are living in the shadows as long as you don't turn regret into something positive to continue your life." In "Ominous Clouds", clouds are gathering as the interlude journeys towards the next exploring adventure "Storm".

"This is the heaviest and darkest track on the album," explains Jari. "It even has influences from classical music, more precisely from Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons', furious guitars and heavy drums prevail, while the tone remains chaotic."

The last track, "Silver Leaves", with an array of harmonious sounds, partly performed with traditional Chinese instruments like the "erhu" (similar to the violin or fiddle). Ending on a positive note the song tells the story of finding a calm place and state of mind after the storm, being satisfied with your life and enjoying nature around you, as reflected by the cherry tree garden on the cover. The artwork was created by Cameron Gray, while the booklet was designed by Hungarian artist Gyula Havancsák (lyrics, credits and thanks pages) and Onni Wiljami Kinnunen (band photos pages).

WINTERSUN's current lineup includes MEGADETH guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari and NIGHTWISH drummer Kai Hahto.

"Time II" track listing:

01. Fields Of Snow
02. The Way Of The Fire
03. One With The Shadows
04. Ominous Clouds
05. Storm
06. Silver Leaves

WINTERSUN is:

Jari Mäenpää - vocals, guitar, computer, programming
Teemu Mäntysaari - guitar
Jukka Koskinen - bass
Kai Hahto - drums

Photo credit: Onni Wiljami Kinnunen

Formed out of the love for classic death metal, ‘80s shred worship, and creating gory lyrics about B-horror movies, Chicago's Necronomicon Ex Mortis unleashed two EPs in 2023, (Self-Titled - March 2023) and (Silver Bullet - August 2023) and now return in 2024 with their third entitled You And Your Friends Are Dead: Game Over, released on June 28. 


To coincide with the release, the horror fiends shared a video for the record's closing track, "Jason Lives". The song is a “death/doom” retelling of the story of “Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives". Check it out below.







"This EP shows Necronomicon Ex Mortis at our most versatile; proving we have multiple ways to rip your face off! We think the fans will love the variety on this release! We want to have the listener have their expectations constantly challenged on this record!" - Guitarist - Michael Nystrom Bala - Necronomicon Ex Mortis


The tracks on You And Your Friends Are Dead: Game Over were chosen specifically by the band to all be incredibly different from one another. These recordings are a love letter to death metal, but also sometimes lean on the melodic side; sometimes brutal, sometimes technical. The band hops in and out of subgenres like various seasonings over baked chicken. Lyrically, the record touches on horror murder and blood.


All the tracks on the EP tell an extreme metal interpretation of the movies they are titled after. From its opener, "My Bloody Valentine", a thrash and technical death metal collision, to "Leprechaun", a melodic metal track that’s short and sweet, just like an actual Leprechaun. "In the Mouth of Madness" is low, slow, and filled with symmetrical scales. This one takes a more mid-paced approach to death metal. This song retells the story of John Carpenter's legendary movie of the same title. "The Dead Zone", is a song based more on the ‘90s progressive death metal sound with lots of symmetrical scales, extreme dissonance, and a cool guitar moment from Manuel Barbara. And EP closer "Jason Lives", screams “guitarist, songwriter/lyricist Mike Bala has been listening to too much Autopsy." and witnesses the band down the path of death/doom section right in the middle. This song retells the story of “Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives.”


Preorder on Bandcamp.





Tracklisting:


“My Bloody Valentine”
“Leprechaun”
“In The Mouth Of Madness”
“The Dead Zone”
“Jason Lives”


“My Bloody Valentine”:





“Leprechaun”:





“In The Mouth Of Madness”: