Dark Embrace has recruited Snowy Shaw as session drummer and have started mixing the new album. 

Dark Embrace have just finished the recording of their new album titled The Call Of The Wolves together with drummer Snowy Shaw (ex-member from bands such as King Diamond, Sabaton, Dream Evil, Mercyful Fate, Therion and Dimmu Borgir). The recording sessions have taken place through Sweden and Spain at Sound Industry Studios with Arnold Lindberg and Estudios Mafia with Oscar Fernández and Raúl Muradás. The mixing process is being done and the other new members are going to be announced later this month.

This new recording means a new era for the band. That's the reason behind the new logo and symbol made by graphic designer Mario Moreira. The artwork is being created by Gustavo Sazes who also did works for Arch Enemy, Morbid Angel, Amaranthe, Kamelot, Angra, Rage, Sirenia, The Agonist, and more. A video clip will be shot in the first days of September by the video production company Ziwa directed by Santiago Raimundi.

Singer Tarek of German heavy/power metallers Majesty has announced a new Majesty album, which will outshine everything the band has done before. That’s why he uses the term “Majesty 2.0” to describe the upcoming release. The album will be available worldwide at the beginning of 2017 via NoiseArt Records. Check out the video below.

Furthermore, the band also announced a short film for one of the new songs. For this ambitious project the band needs the support from everyone who is into film-making. So if you are ready to support the band on this unique cinematic project, write an e-mail to movie@metalentertainment.de. More info in the YouTube video.

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions have signed putrid Canadian death/grind horror fiends Human Compost and are set to release their debut album entitled From The Grave They Crawl August 26th on CD and Digital formats. Below is the official description:

“Human Compost slash their path to Horror Pain Gore Death Productions with the long awaited debut album From The Grave They Crawl. Hailing from the crypts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Human Compost exit their tomb after a 3 year gestation period, releasing countless cult EP's and demos of Death Grinding Madness! From The Grave They Crawl displays a distinct rotten brand of buzzsaw groove, exhuming old school metal and horror... caked with plenty of cemetery soil. Human Compost destroy the listener with crushing concepts and rotten sounds of death and decay!”

Tracklisting:

“Urethral Maggot Infestation”
“Rancid Orgy Of Rotted Cadavers”
“The Horror Is Legion”
“Stalk, Rape, Mutilate”
“Maniac”
“Towers Of Silence”
“Post-Mortal Perversions”
“Seven Doors Of Death (The Beyond)”
“From The Grave They Crawl”
“Bound In Human Flesh”

“Rancid Orgy Of Rotted Cadavers”:

CD preorders are available at Horror Pain Gore Death while digital preorders can be found on Facebook.

Melbourne-based rock n’ roll nomads Palace Of The King released their second full-length album, Valles Marineris, on July 15th. A full album stream can now be found below.

BraveWords recently premiered the new video for "Beyond The Valley”, with the band commenting on the clip: “We decided we really wanted to do something different and push the boundaries when making our first official film clip from Valles Marineris. Something that didn't necessarily feature the band members but represented the music. I was a fan of Sergio the clip creator so I suggested to the guys that we send him the song to see what he might do. He loved the song and we love what he did visually to capture the feeling behind it.”

 
Valles Marineris deepens Palace Of The King’s footprint on the international rock music scene by expanding on the qualities of their debut through an all-new ten track collection of blues and psych-infused hard rock.

Lead by the bruising gospel-tinged riffathon of “Let The Blood Run Free”, Valles Marineris is both eclectic and unrelenting right through to the final eerie piano fadeout of album closer “Into The Black”.
 
Vocalist Tim Henwood comments “I feel like we’re really honing in on our own distinctive sound now. I love our early recordings but after traveling around the world and playing over 300 shows in our first three years as a band, we’re growing and evolving. It’s real, it’s from the heart and we can’t wait to let this one out of the box.”
 
Having always placed equal importance on the visual component of each release, the band once again enlisted award-winning tattoo artist Kristian Kimonides for the album artwork, whose original painting was inspired by the music and lyrics of Valles Marineris.
 
With extensive tour dates already scheduled in Australia, US and Europe, 2016 is set to be Palace Of The King’s best and most prolific year yet.

Tracklisting:

“Let The Blood Run Free”
“Beyond The Valley”
“Black Cloud”
“The Bridge Of The Gods”
“We Are The Vampires”
“Empire Of The Sun”
“Sick As A Dog”
“River Of Fire”
“Throw Me To The Wolves”
“Into The Black”

Album stream:

"We Are The Vampires" lyric video:

Lacrimas Profundere will release their first concept album, Hope Is Here, on August 12th via Oblivion/SPV. A second video trailer for the upcoming released is now available. See both trailers below.

The new album was produced by guitarist / founding member Oliver Nikolas Schmid and vocalist Roberto Vitacca, and mixed and mastered by Kristian 'Kohle' Kohlmannslehner at the Kohlekeller Studio (Powerwolf, Eskimo Callboy, Aborted). The cover artwork was designed by Brazilian artist Elton Fernandes, who also created the Antiadore sleeve. Schmid states: “Elton has captured the atmosphere of our songs perfectly, almost as if he’d been there when we were writing the material.”

 

 

Tracklisting:

“The Worship Of Counting Down”
“My Halo Ground”
“Hope Is Here”
“Aramis”
“A Million Miles”
“No Man's Land”
“Pageant”
“You, My North”
“Awake”
“The Path Of Broken Homes”
“Timbre”
“Black Moon”

Trailer #1:

Trailer #2:

On August 26th, Eagle Rock Entertainment will unleash KISS Rocks Vegas on DVD+CD, Blu-ray+CD, DVD+2LP, and Deluxe Edition DVD+Blu-ray+2CD. Check out “Detroit Rock City” from the upcoming release, streaming below:

Captured in the midst of their 40th Anniversary World Tour, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers sonically shook Vegas during their residency at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in November 2014. This Sin City set sizzles with KISS classics from across their 44 album legacy: “Rock And Roll All Night,” “Detroit Rock City,” “Shout It Out Loud,” “Love Gun,” and more. As a bonus feature, KISS Rocks Vegas includes a seven-song acoustic set. Punctuated with pyrotechnics galore, the film presents the fire, electricity, and one-of-a-kind rock experience that earned KISS over 100 million sales globally.

The Deluxe Edition of KISS Rocks Vegas is presented as a hardcover package with a 12X12 book, boasting photos from the show and an exclusive CD.

“We rocked and Vegas rolled! This was epic in your face KISS! We got Up close and personal, I think rock and roll fans will really enjoy this spectacle that only KISS can deliver.” - Paul Stanley

“KaBOOM! We blew up the Joint at The Hard Rock in Vegas like never before. We are very proud of this and know that you will be blown away as well.” - Gene Simmons

Tracklisting:

“Detroit Rock City”
“Creatures Of The Night”
“Psycho Circus”
“Parasite”
“War Machine”
“Tears Are Falling”
“Deuce”
“Lick It Up”
“I Love It Loud”
“Hell Or Halleluja” + Tommy Solo
“God Of Thunder”
“Do You Love Me”
“Love Gun”
“Black Diamond”
“Shout It Out Loud”
“Rock And Roll All Night”

Acoustic Set:
“Coming Home”
“Plaster Caster”
“Hard Luck Woman”
“Christine Sixteen”
“Goin' Blind”
“Love Her All I Can”
“Beth”

 

 

 

 

The self-titled debut album from Swedish AOR band, Cruzh, will be released on August 26th. The album cut “Hard To Get” is streaming below:

Cruzh was put together after the demise of Swedish glam rockers TrashQueen, in which both Anton Joensson and Dennis Butabi Borg played. They shared a love for melodic rock and AOR and joined forces with Tony Andersson, who previously worked as a studio musician on the never released TrashQueen record.

It all started in March 2013 when Cruzh was announced online. The only things shown to the public were an image of the silhouette of the three band members, the debut song "In A Blink Of An Eye”, information that the band was Swedish, and the text "Get ready for the Cruzh". The song quickly spread on the internet and both Swedish and international websites and radio stations played it and speculated about the identities of the band members. In May came the sequel "Stay", which continued in the same melodic rock spirit. Meanwhile, the band spread various clues on social media regarding their whereabouts. In the fall of 2013 Cruzh had reached a point where they chose to “unmask” and take it all to the next level and reach out to the masses together with the release of the Hard To Get EP, the first of two very successful self-produced demos. Hard To Get and its successor, the darker Aim For The Head got great reviews worldwide.

By late spring of 2015, just when Cruzh was about to release a new EP, they were approached by Frontiers Music Srl who wanted to sign the band, so Cruzh started the recording process by the end of summer 2015. The result is truly an awesome debut, in the spirit of Def Leppard, Danger Danger, H.E.A.T, Winger, Firehouse and Bryan Adams.

“We all share the love for Melodic Rock,” says bassist Dennis Butabi Borg, “but in the meantime we all have very different musical background and inspirations. This shows in our songs”. “When we started out, almost immediately I felt this synergy in the band,” adds Tony Andersson, “and despite our musical backgrounds and differences, we all head in the same direction.” “When a piece of music is coming to me and I am developing someone else’s work, I am filled with some sort of emotion that I want to convey,” concludes guitarist Anton Joensson, “it’s easy to do this in a natural way with Cruzh because I could not feel more at home with our band and the music we create. This is also true with Tony and Dennis. This is who we are!”

Tracklisting:

“In N' Out Of Love”
“First Cruzh”
“Aim For The Head”
“Anything For You”
“Survive”
“Stay”
“Hard To Get”
“You”
“Set Me Free”
“Before I Walk Alone”
“Straight From My Heart”

“Aim For The Head”:

“First Cruzh” video:

EPK:

Cruzh lineup:

Dennis Butabi Borg – bass
Anton Joensson – rhythm, lead and acoustic guitars on all tracks, backing vocals
Tony Andersson – lead vocals on all tracks, keyboards

With:

Erik Wiss – piano on “Anything For You”, intro on “In N’ Out Of Love”
Louisian Boltner – drums on all tracks
Mattias Silfver – backing vocals on all tracks
Martin Johansson – backing vocals on “Anything For You”
Patrik Norén – backing vocals on “Aim For The Head”

In the new video below, Dutch classical guitarist Thomas Zwijsen performs the KISS classic “Detroit Rock City”, featured on their 1976 album, Destroyer. Acoustic/Classical/Flamenco fingerstyle guitar arrangement by Thomas Zwijsen.

Zwijsen performs the original song “Estuary” in the clip below. “Estuary" is composed by Zwijsen for classical/acoustic/Spanish/Flamenco/fingerstyle solo guitar.

In the official music video below, Blaze Bayley, Thomas Zwijsen and Anne Bakker perform “What Will Come”, a track from Bayley’s Infinite Entanglement album.

Blaze Bayley, Thomas Zwijsen and Anne Bakker recently released a video performing an acoustic version of Iron Maiden’s X Factor album track, “Judgement Of Heaven”. In the interview below, Blaze and Thomas talk about how the video was made.

Watch the “Judgement Of Heaven” video below:

This version of “Judgement Of Heaven” is on the new Nylon Maiden double CD, available at ThomasZwijsen.com and iTunes.

Nylon Maiden’s Preserved In Time is Zwijsen’s ultimate Iron Maiden tribute album. It makes the classical guitar world a bit more metal by adding 16 Iron Maiden songs (and two Bruce Dickinson songs) to its repertoire.

Zwijsen’s long-time collaborator Blaze Bayley is one of the returning guest musicians on this album, performing two tracks from his Iron Maiden days, as well as a unique version of “Blood Brothers” off the Brave New World album! This is the first time Blaze performs an Iron Maiden song from the post-Blaze era. It gives Iron Maiden fans an idea of what it would have sounded like if Blaze had stayed with the band.

Tracklisting:

Disc 1
“If Eternity Should Fail”
“Stranger In A Strange Land”
“Judgement Of Heaven” (with Blaze Bayley & Anne Bakker)
“Ghost Of The Navigator”
“Powerslave” (Thomas & band)
“Burning Ambition”
“Tears Of The Dragon” (Bruce Dickinson song)
“Blood Brothers” (with Blaze Bayley)
“When The Wild Wind Blows” (Thomas & band)

Disc 2
“Afraid To Shoot Strangers”
“Como Estais Amigos” (with Blaze Bayley & Anne Bakker)
“Wrathchild”
“Tears Of A Clown”
“Jerusalem” (Bruce Dickinson song)
“For The Greater Good Of God”
“Reach Out”
“Fear Of The Dark”
“Rime Of The Ancient Mariner” (Thomas & band)

Zwijsen comments: “In our attempt to choose the best tracklisting for the most fulfilling, surprising and complete Iron Maiden tribute album, we simply couldn't fit all the songs on a single CD, so we decided to make it a double CD this time. Many of the songs were requests from people on YouTube. If this were to be the setlist at an Iron Maiden concert, I’d be very happy!”

“Rime Of The Ancient Mariner”:

“When The Wild Wind Blows”:

“Powerslave”:

“If Eternity Should Fail”:

"Afraid To Shoot Strangers”:

“Tears Of The Dragon”:

“Ghost Of The Navigator”:

Sirius XM is reportinging that, hours before Ozzy Osbourne announced that he’s entered “intense therapy” for sex addiction, his son Jack got candid about his parents’ marital troubles.

“They’re working on it,” Jack said Wednesday on Sway in the Morning of Ozzy and Sharon. “You know, they’re trying to rein it in. They’ve been together for so long and this isn’t their first rodeo. They don’t have this picture-perfect marriage, and they’ve never claimed to, so they’re just trying to figure it out, I guess.”

TMZ is reporting that Ozzy Osbourne's former mistress, Michelle Pugh, is suing Ozzy’s daughter Kelly, over several tweets that Kelly fired off after Ozzy's secret affair went public.

Says TMZ: “If you recall, Kelly blasted Pugh - a hairstylist - saying, "Anyone looking for cheap chunky LOW-lights a blow out and a b***job call [phone number]." She also accused Pugh of manipulating Ozzy - saying, "My father is almost 70 ever heard of elder abuse?" Pugh says she was "slut-shamed, bullied and harassed."

In her suit, filed in L.A. County Superior Court, Pugh claims the relationship was no fling - that Ozzy made advances and turned their friendship into a romantic situation in 2013. She claims they secretly dated until May 2016. Pugh says Osbourne's accusation that she committed elder abuse is not only wrong - but defamatory - and caused her all sorts of problems. Pugh says she's been emotionally damaged and lost business as a celebrity stylist.

Read more at TMZ.com.

In a new interview with People,  Michelle Pugh talks about her relationship with the Prince Of Darkness.

"When I say he gave me the greatest love of my life, I mean it," she claims after Ozzy first pursued her one year after she first colored his hair in late 2011. "He made me feel like the most beautiful and worshipped woman in the world."

"What attracted me to him? Chemistry," says Pugh. "We just had it. It's that indescribable thing in life, and you can't deny it. And he didn't."

Ozzy says that his relationship with Pugh was a purely physical one that resulted from his sex addiction. His rep says that he’s “gone into intense therapy and he apologizes to the other women he has been having sexual relationships with.”

"I still love him," continues Pugh. "And I would never exploit the truly personal and private parts of what we had. That's not me. I'm going to stand tall and proud and say, 'This is me. I'm not ashamed.' I fell in love with a man that gave me the love I never knew I could receive."

Ozzy claims that his marriage with Sharon is back on track.

For Michelle Pugh's exclusive interview about her affair with Ozzy Osbourne, pick up the latest issue of People, on newsstands Friday.

According to E! News, Ozzy Osbourne's daughter Kelly has been sued by his former mistress for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and public disclosure of public facts.

Kelly took to Twitter on May 23 to post an angry message directed at the celebrity hairstylist whose alleged affair with Ozzy is rumored to have led to her parents splitting after 33 years of marriage. The 31-year-old Kelly wrote: "Anyone looking for cheap chunky LOW-light and blow out and a blowjob call ..." along with listing a phone number that has since been disconnected.

One Twitter user told Kelly to "hate your father not the woman. HE did this 2 ur family ...again," to which Kelly responded, "Are you in my family? NO YOU ARE NOT YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT SHE DID! So keep ur high-mighty opinions to yourself!"

After another user told Kelly that "it takes 2 to tango — both guilty. She knew he was married," Kelly fired back, "My father is almost 70 ever heard of elder abuse?"

In court documents obtained by E! News, Michelle Pugh claims Kelly "intentionally and maliciously harmed her by publishing private facts and defamatory statements, in addition to inciting a rash of mass cyber-bullying against [Michelle] utilizing the highly popular social media platform, Twitter, wherein Kelly had approximately 4.07 million followers."

Sharon Osbourne commented on Kelly's tweet during a conversation on her show "The Talk", saying, "Kelly has the best sense of humor ever. She loves her mom and loves her dad so much and listen, I'm always proud of my girl. What are you going to do? Be angry with her because she loves her mom and dad and she wants us to be together?"

Sharon reportedly kicked Ozzy out of their home after discovering evidence of the affair — and possibly others — although the singer has since announced that his marriage was "back on track" after hitting a rough patch.

Michelle insisted in an interview with People magazine that she and Ozzy connected on an "emotional level" through their "shared passions," but the rocker claimed otherwise, saying through a rep that he "has been dealing with a sex addiction. He is sorry if Ms. Pugh took their sexual relationship out of context. He would like to apologize to the other women he has been having sexual relationships with. Out of the bad comes good. Since his relationship with Ms. Pugh was exposed, Ozzy has gone into intense therapy. Ozzy is mortified at what his behavior has done to his family. He thanks God that his incredible wife Sharon is at his side to support him."

In her suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Pugh claims Ozzy made advances and turned their friendship into a romantic situation in 2013. According to TMZ, she claims they secretly dated until May 2016.

Sharon Osbourne addressed Ozzy's infidelities on today's episode of "The Talk", stating: "He's [been] going to outpatient for sex addiction for the last three months and after the BLACK SABBATH tour, he goes into inpatient for three months.

"It's hard because it affects the whole family and it’s quite embarrassing to talk about," she added. "Drugs and drinking is more acceptable, but when it's somebody who has a sex addiction, it's more embarrassing.

"I am proud [Ozzy] has come out and admitted it finally. It's very very hard. Every person who comes in the room thinks, 'Oh, don't come in, he's here.' He should call Tiger Woods for some advice."

Michelle is seeking compensatory damages, attorneys' fees, punitive damages and "other relief."

Ozzy Osbourne's former mistress Michelle Pugh has opened up about her four-year relationship with the BLACK SABBATH singer, saying that "he made me feel like the most beautiful and worshipped woman in the world."

Ozzy and his wife Sharon split in May after she discovered that he was having an affair with the celebrity hair colorist.

Sharon reportedly learned of Ozzy's affair by having a private investigator look into his activities. A source told In Touch that Sharon "found out that Ozzy was spending a lot of money. She wanted to know what he was buying and who he was buying it for. The investigator discovered that he was basically living a double life."

In an exclusive interview with People, Pugh spoke for the first time about her relationship with Ozzy. She said: "When I say he gave me the greatest love of my life, I mean it. He made me feel like the most beautiful and worshipped woman in the world."

A rep for Ozzy, who allegedly pursued Pugh one year after she first colored his hair in late 2011, released a statement to People in which he said: "He is sorry if Ms. Pugh took their sexual relationship out of context. He would like to apologize to the other women he has been having sexual relationships with. Since his relationship with Ms. Pugh was exposed, Ozzy has gone into intense therapy."

Ozzy told "Good Morning America" last month that he and Sharon were "back on track" after experiencing "bump in the road." "Some days are good. Some days are terrible," he said. "Some days you just drift apart for a while, but you get back on the horse."

Ozzy resumed a year-long farewell tour with BLACK SABBATH in June, which will include SABBATH and SLIPKNOT headlining a combined festival, Ozzfest Meets Knotfest, this September in San Bernardino, California. He has also reportedly been working on a new solo effort.

In a new interview with music writer Joel Gausten, Norwegian hard rock/metal singer Jorn Lande discusses a variety of topics including his new album Heavy Rock Radio and stepping in for the late Ronnie James Dio to front Heaven & Hell at their last-ever show in 2010 at the High Voltage Festival. Excerpts from the chat appear below:
 
On working with Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler:
 
Lande: “These guys are obviously one-of-a-kind musicians. Tony doesn’t only take care of the playing; he really takes care of his sound. He spends a lot of time developing his guitar sound. Maybe the diehard fans do, but I don’t think most other people who like Rock and Metal in general are aware of how great the sound he has is, and how powerful it comes out when he actually plays it. The combination of his talent and that sound that he has developed… I never heard anything like it before. I never stood in a rehearsal room with anything near that kind of sound and power; that was really massive. The same goes for Geezer; the bass playing is so good. It’s like an extension of the heart when they play. They just know exactly how to do it…These guys really have something special, and it’s really inspiring. Also, there’s no compromise musically [with them]. I think most other people today are compromising a lot with everything they do – what the record company wants, what’s a smart move for the market, what’s modern in the Metal and Rock scene. I think some of these old school guys do it in a more nature way.”
 
On his love of '70s Rock:
 
Lande: “It was a golden era for quality music that came from the heart and was really performed with feeling. If you didn't have the ‘Elvis Presley’ factor, you wouldn’t succeed back then; you wouldn’t get a record deal. That resulted in so many great performances and great bands. I think people were more honest towards themselves back then when they wrote music. They weren’t as focused on the market and not as calculating. It’s not right to say that everything that happened back in the ‘70s was the only way to do it. That’s wrong too, but at the same time it’s very hard when you grew up with that quality to actually put new bands and artists on the same level as some of these people you really look up to. They just give you something personal in a way and do something really natural, and it just hits you like an arrow.”
 
The complete interview can be read at this location. 

Romania's Rock FM recently conducted an interview with IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On performing so many songs off IRON MAIDEN's latest album, "The Book Of Souls", in the current setlist:

Nicko: "We've always made great records, and I always say, 'Oh, this is the best thing we've ever done.' [And people complain about it] 'Oh, you said that about [2010's] 'The Final Frontier'.'Well, yeah, it's one of the best records I've made with the band — until the new one, the next one. Now if it's not, then there's a problem. But I don't say that because it's something to say.

"My feeling is that when you make a masterpiece like 'The Book Of Souls', I said to Steve [Harris, IRON MAIDEN bassist], 'We should do the lot. We should play every song off that record.' And, obviously, that would have been a bit of a push, 'cause it's ninety-two minutes long. That's your show gone, just your record; you can't [play] anything [else] like 'Iron Maiden', 'Hallowed', 'Number Of The Beast'… maybe 'Run To The Hills' or whatever. But it was a silly suggestion that was blown out. But the point being, it's such a great album, and, yeah, why not do six songs off it?

"The beautiful thing is, you've got longevity. The band's been around over thirty-five, thirty-six years plus… right? Forty years in 2019, so that's a long, long span with a lot of songs that have been written, and a lot of favorites that people have. And, unfortunately, we physically can't play a three- or four-hour se, which still wouldn't cover everything that everybody would wanna hear. So we have to be a little bit selfish in our motivation what we wanna play live, what makes us tick, what makes us feel happy when we go on stage and do these older songs.

"[People complain], 'You always do that one. You always do that.' 'Cause we like it. We love playing 'Number Of The Beast'. We love playing… Oh, well, 'Iron Maiden' will always, always close the set, no matter what.

"So, yeah, it's a great problem to have, if you wanna call it a problem."

On making a double album in an era when most music fans never listen to complete albums:

Nicko: "We do it our way. And we do what we feel we want to do. We don't pander… and we never did, even when albums… to do a platinum album, you had to sell a million records in those days. And gold is five hundred thousand in the U.S. But we decided, when we were recording it, and 'The Red And The Black' came in, and that was thirteen minutes long plus, and we were halfway through, two or three weeks in the studio, and [producer Kevin Shirley] is going, 'Do you know how long you've got on the record so far?' And I don't know… He said it was, like, seventy minutes, and we still had a couple of songs to go. And Bruce [Dickinson, vocals] just turned around and looked at us and went, 'I suppose it's a double album then.' And we went, 'Okay.' And that was the motivation for that album. It was, 'Well, we don't wanna stop,' because we had these other songs to record. And we were fortunate enough in our career and the stage we were at to be able to say to our manager, 'Go and do a deal with Universal and whoever is doing the record now.' So we weren't really trying to make any other point than the fact that we were doing it our way and the way we always have."

On whether there are any plans for IRON MAIDEN to perform with an orchestra:

Nicko: "Not that I'm aware of, but there has been, you know, certainly things that have cropped up where we [thought], 'That'd sound really good with a 120-piece orchestra behind it.' But my feeling is… I know DEEP PURPLE did it, Jon Lord did it, I'm sure other bands… I think METALLICA did one, and [SCORPIONS] have done it. But, for me, a lot of songs that Steve writes are very orchestral. I'd love to just sit down and go out and a full orchestra behind it. Of course, the great thing about it is the conductor will be following my time. So, boys and girls, don't worry about it. I'm not gonna be slapped on the wrist for getting too quick on certain things, 'cause they have to follow me. I could give them a bollocking if they can't keep up, you see. [Laughs]"

IRON MAIDEN's world tour, in support of "The Book Of Souls", kicked off on February 24 in Sunrise, Florida (a suburb of Fort Lauderdale).

"The Book Of Souls" was released worldwide on September 4, 2015 through Parlophone Records (BMG in the U.S.A). The CD was recorded in Paris, France with producer Kevin "Caveman" Shirley in late 2014, with the finishing touches added last year.

THE RAVEN AGE, the U.K.-based band led by IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris's son George Harris, will release its debut album, "Darkness Will Rise", in December. The effort can be pre-ordered with an exclusive free track, "Trapped Within The Shadows", at this location.

Comments THE RAVEN AGE: "Everything we have done in the last three years has built up to this announcement… We're incredibly proud and weve been overwhelmed by the reactions weve received on this tour and cant wait to deliver this album to our fans around the world."

"Darkness Will Rise" track listing:

01. Darkness Will Rise02. Promised Land03. Age Of The Raven04. The Death March05. Salem's Fate06. The Merciful One07. Eye Among The Blind08. Winds Of Change09. Trapped Within The Shadows10. My Revenge11. The Dying Embers Of Life12. Angel In Disgrace13. Behind The Mask

Having hit 36 countries over the past six months, THE RAVEN AGE will play the final show of their tour at Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany, on August 4.

THE RAVEN AGE's self-titled EP has had over one million streams and the band has had over one million combined hits on Youtube. Upon release back in 2014, it climbed to No. 1 on Amazon's hot new release chart and No. 16 on the top 100 Amazon Rock And Metal chart. "Angel In Disgrace" reached No. 3 in the iTunes metal chart in Australia.

THE RAVEN AGE is a melodic metal band from London, United Kingdom consisting of five individuals who very quickly became friends through sharing a love for heavy music and a passion for songwriting.

In 2009, guitarists Dan Wright and George Harris began establishing their vision of a band that combines contemporary heavy music with powerful melodic vocals to create an epic and unique sound.

After writing their first album, they began searching for likeminded musicians to join the band and make their vision a reality.

Taking on bass player Matt Cox in 2012, with vocalist Michael Burrough and drummer Jai Patel joining in early 2013, the lineup was complete and ready to take their music to the stage.

THE RAVEN AGE is:

Michael Burrough - VocalsMatt Cox - BassDan Wright - GuitarGeorge Harris - GuitarJai Patel - Drums

Death metal legends MORBID ANGEL have signed with UDR Music for all territories exclusively outside Japan. Featuring founding member and venerated guitar legend Trey Azagthoth, plus returning longtime member, bassist/vocalist Steve Tucker, MORBID ANGEL is delighted to be back working with people who know metal music and will ensure the band reaffirms their status as the world's greatest death metal band. "We are extremely excited to be in this partnership with UDR," says Steve Tucker. "We are looking forward to making a great album and destroying the stage at many shows. UDR is a great label that supports the bands that they believe in, and we are proud to be one of those bands! Looking forward to a successful partnership!" While there are no specific details at this moment, Azagthoth and Tucker both look forward to writing and recording MORBID ANGEL's ninth studio album, to be released sometime in 2017, and to taking the band back out on tour. Tucker recently spoke to Metal Wani about what he thinks went wrong with MORBID ANGEL's controversial 2011 album, "Illud Divinum Insanus", which incorporated industrial and electronic elements into the band's traditional death metal sound. He said: "I really wouldn't know what to say about that. I mean, honestly, I think that they did an album, and I think when you're doing an album, the people that are involved in the album have their input and their say in things, and I think maybe that album is what some people involved actually really wanted. It is who it is. I mean, it's the people that wrote the album together, and that's what the final product was, and, like I said, I don't think that everyone involved with that album was disappointed with the album at all. Maybe some of the fans were, but that's fans, and they have that right — they have that right to like or dislike; that's completely their choice. I mean, if they didn't like it, I wouldn't say they're wrong, I wouldn't say they're right. It's their choice."

"Illud Divinum Insanus" marked the group's first CD to feature bassist/vocalist David Vincent since 1995's "Domination" album.

Vincent confirmed a year ago that he was no longer working with Trey Azagthoth. His announcement followed the exit of drummer Tim Yeung and Norwegian guitarist Destructhor (a.k.a. Thor Anders Myhren).

MORBID ANGEL has yet to announce replacements for Yeung and Destructhor.

The band is confirmed for next year's edition of Maryland Deathfest, set to take place May 25-28, 2017 in Baltimore.

Estranged BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward has shot down reports that he will perform with the band on the U.K. leg of their farewell tour.

Ward has posted the following message on his Facebook page: "We have seen it reported in the news that Bill will be playing with BLACK SABBATH on 'The End' tour in the U.K. This is incorrect, and we wanted to make sure you heard it from us directly: Bill is not playing with BLACK SABBATH in the U.K. or on any other dates of 'The End' tour. As always, we thank you for all your support and understanding."

Ward was on board for the SABBATH reunion when it was first announced in November 2011, but backed out soon after. He later claimed that he sat out the recording and touring sessions because of unfair contractual terms, although the members of SABBATH have hinted in other interviews that he wasn't physically up to the task.

SABBATH has used singer Ozzy Osbourne's regular touring drummer Tommy Clufetos since then for live work. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Brad Wilk laid down the drum tracks on the band's comeback album, "13", which came out in June 2013.

It was rumored that SABBATH wanted to bring a second drummer on the road to share duties with Ward, which he allegedly balked at.

Asked in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine if he would be in shape right now to rejoin BLACK SABBATH, Ward responded: "Absolutely, yeah. I have no doubt in my mind. I know that they've suggested that I played half the gig, and I don't want to play half the gig. I'm quite capable of playing a complete fucking BLACK SABBATH set. So this health thing has been bandied around, and it's true that I have heart disease, and it's true that I did get sick a couple of years after the fact. But when the health card is being thrown around, the bottom line is that I really tried to take care of myself. Every day, I always look at the day and say, 'Could I have played a gig today no matter what's going on with me?' And the answer is always, 'Yes.' I'm much harder on me than those guys could ever be."

Ward in 2015 released his first solo album in 18 years. Titled "Accountable Beasts", the record can be purchased on iTunes.

More recently, Ward launched a new new three-piece band called DAY OF ERRORS. The group, which was formed by Ward "in the desire to have my drumming spirit continue to live," also features Joe Amodea on guitar/vocals and Nick Diltz on bass/lead vocals.

Australia's Sticks For Stones recently conducted an interview with vocalist Andrea Ferro of Italian heavy rockers LACUNA COIL. You can now listen to chat in the YouTube clip below.

Speaking about how LACUNA COIL's live show has evolved over the years, Ferro said: "I would say, obviously, we're more experienced, but also we do have a new lineup, because we've been changing a few bandmembers; they've been retiring from the band. And so we now have Ryan Folden as a drummer, [who] has also recorded [his] first record with us, the last one, 'Delirium'. And then we have a new guitar player called Diego [Cavallotti], [who] is from Italy, whom we're trying on this album cycle. He recorded a couple of lead guitars on the record, and now he's doing this debut live. I mean, he's been touring with us since a few months now; he's done Asia and North America, and now he's playing with us in Europe. So, basically, we're gonna try him for the whole cycle of the record before we decide if it's gonna be a permanent member. But so far so good, and it's a very good candidate, and we like him. And if everything works as right now, he will be our permanent guitar player."

Cavallotti joined LACUNA COIL as a fill-in guitarist following the recent departure of Marco "Maus" Biazzi.

Biazzi left LACUNA COIL in January, explaining in a statement: "I felt I couldn't add more in this project any longer so I decided to leave my second family, LACUNA COIL, to take a different path for a new challenge in my life.

"Delirium" entered The Billboard 200 chart at position No. 33 with first-week sales of just over 13,000 units — nearly all from pure album sales. The set follows the No. 27-peaking "Broken Crown Halo", which also opened with around 13,000 copies back in 2014.

"Delirium" was released on May 27 through Century Media. The CD was recorded at BRX Studio in Milan between December 2015 and February 2016. The effort was produced by LACUNA COIL bassist and main songwriter Marco "Maki" Coti-Zelati, with engineering by Marco Barusso and additional assistance from Dario Valentini. Coti-Zelati also created the artwork for "Delirium", which is based on an atmospheric session captured by Italian photographer Alessandro Olgiati.

Germany's EMP Rock Invasion recently conducted an interview with SLAYER guitarist Kerry King. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked about SLAYER frontman Tom Araya's recent hints that he may be ready to retire in the not-too-distant future, King said: "He's very unclear. That's just how he is. I don't know if he likes holding his cards in his pocket or what."

He continued: "I mean, I don't have an answer. I'm holding off a lot of things I wanna do at home, just 'cause I don't know if I'm gonna be working in two years. I'm gonna be working, hopefully in SLAYER. Yeah, dude. What else am I gonna do? I came out of high school and fucking went on tour. [Laughs]"

Pressed about whether there is any end in sight for SLAYER, King said: "Not for me. Not for me, man — especially on such a good record [last year's 'Repentless']."

When the interviewer said that he is looking forward to another 35 years of SLAYER, Kerry said: "Well, I don't know about that. I'll take another record or two."

Araya talked about his possible retirement in an interview with Loudwire earlier in the year. He said: "At 35 years, it's time to collect my pension. [Laughs] This is a career move."

He continued: "I'm grateful that we've been around for 35 years; that's a really long time. So, yeah, to me, it is. Because when we started off, everything was great, because you're young and invincible. And then there came a time where I became a family man, and I had a tough time flying back and forth. And now, at this stage, at the level we're at now, I can do that; I can fly home when I want to, on days off, and spend some time with my family, which is something I wasn't able to do when [my kids] were growing up. Now they're both older and mature. So now I take advantage of that."

Araya added: "Yeah, it just gets harder and harder to come back out on the road. 35 years is a long time."

Tom also revealed another reason for his diminished enjoyment of the touring life. He said: "There's things that have gone on in my life that have made me change how I play as a bass player. I had neck surgery, so I can't headbang anymore. And that was a big part of what I enjoyed doing what I do — singing and headbanging. I liked knowing that I was one of the fucking badass headbangers. That played a big part. Now I just groove with the music, which is cool, because I'm grooving with the music and the feel of the songs, so that's changed a little for me."

Tom went on to say that he doesn't know if there will be a follow-up album to "Repentless", explaining that it was "too early to tell."

"Repentless" debuted at No. 4 on The Billboard 200, having shifted 50,000 equivalent album units in the week ending September 17, 2015.

As previously reported, SLAYER will join forces with special guests ANTHRAX and DEATH ANGEL this fall for a seven-week North American tour. The dates start in Cleveland on September 9 and will hit both major and secondary markets across the continent.

Streaming below is “Let The Good Times Roll” from Joe Bonamassa's new live album, Live At The Greek Theatre, which was recorded live on August 29th, 2015 and will be released on CD, Blu-ray and DVD on September 23rd.

Pre-order Live At The Greek Theater here, and get a free poster.

The Grammy Foundation and Grammy Museum are partnering on September 1st to celebrate the life and legacy of B.B. King, 15-time Grammy-winning rhythm & blues singer.

Titled Icon: The Life And Legacy Of B.B. King, the live tribute will include performances by multi-Grammy winners Keb' Mo', Derek Trucks, and Jimmie Vaughan; Grammy winners Slash and Susan Tedeschi; Grammy nominees Joe Bonamassa and Kenny Wayne Shepherd; and artist Joe Lewis Walker. The show will be musically directed by the Conan show's own musical director and house band Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band.

In addition to a live tribute performance and storytelling by artists influenced by King's work, there will be a pre-event VIP reception, for VIP ticket buyers. A handful of auction items signed by participating artists will be available exclusively to attendees for silent bidding.

More details at this location.

Italian heavy metallers Myriad Lights have revealed the tracklisting of their second album titled Kingdom Of Sand. The new effort will be released on August 27th by Punishment 18 Records. Myriad Lights features members and former members of band such as Highlord, Bastard Saints and Furor Gallico.

Tracklisting:

“Desert Nights”
“Kingdom Of Sand”
“Abyssal March”
“The Deep”
“The Grave Chant”
“039 Lights”
“Mirror”
“The Waves”
“Deathbringer”
“Ascension” 

“Abyssal March” video:

Finland's ominous progressive metal outfit Oddland has released a new art video for the track "Thanatos", the song culled from the band's second album, Origin, which is nearing release in September via Sensory Records.

Oddland stylistically incorporates a broad spectrum of tones and methods into their forward-thinking delivery, melding aggressive tones, spacious textures, and glorious melodies into a seamless and cohesive entity. The band's new Origin was partly recorded by Oddland, the rest captured at Fantom Studio (Insomnium, Korpiklaani, Oranssi Pazuzu) after which it was mixed and mastered by Daniel Bergstrand (Meshuggah, In Flames, Dimmu Borgir). Containing over 45 minutes of music, the album bears a theme which ties deeply into the lyrics and extensive artwork, with a separate piece of art created by Egyptian artist Mohammed Essam for each of the nine songs.

Tracklisting:

“Esotericism”
“Thanatos”
“Penumbra”
“Untrue”
“Hidden”
“Skylines”
“Unknown”
“Faraway”
“Will”

"Thanatos" art video:

"Hidden" animated video:

Trailer:

(Photo by: Jarno Terho)

Frontiers Music Srl will release Kee Marcello's new studio album, "Scaling Up", on October 14.

With "Scaling Up", the former EUROPE guitarist is using his past as a springboard to take a giant leap into the future. With the new music firmly grounded in the songwriting tradition that made him a multi-platinum rock star in the first place, Kee explores the boundaries of melodic hard rock with a contemporary performance that nods to his past and employs sizzling production. This is an album all his fans will have to pick their jaws up off the floor after hearing!

Kee Marcello is a unique artist in the hard rock genre. He has never stopped evolving and growing as both a writer and a guitarist and the new album illustrates how much he has managed to raise the bar yet again with both his guitar playing, singing and writing.

Conceived and recorded in the winter and spring of 2016, "Scaling Up" encompasses all the influences and genres in which the Swedish musician has been involved in since the start of his career. Besides the obvious resemblances to EUROPE's classic sound, Kee also gives a nod to his past in EASY ACTION. Speaking of EUROPE (particularly the "Prisoners In Paradise" era), Kee took two officially unreleased songs, "Wild Child" and "Don't Know How To Love No More", and rearranged and re-recorded them from scratch. Beyond those two tracks, you can hear a touch of sleaze and more classic hard rock on songs like "Fix Me", "Blow By Blow" and "Soldier Down".

Marcello says: "The whole idea of 'Scaling Up' is to, very respectfully, use the music of my past as a canvas to paint a picture of where I stand today and what I aim for in the future as a guitarist/singer/writer. I think we've got the balance of now and then just right, and it's performed by the best group of musicians I've ever had the honor of playing with!"

Kee Marcello is one of the most renowned guitarists from Scandinavia and has an amazing history to his name. He's best known as the guitarist — from 1986 to 1992 — of one Sweden's biggest musical exports, EUROPE. In the late '80s and early '90s, EUROPE were one of the biggest rock bands in the world. They sold over 30 million albums, landed at No. 1 on sales charts in 26 countries and shared the biggest stages with acts like METALLICA, DEF LEPPARD and BON JOVI. Kee is now also enjoying a new wave of success as a TV persona in Sweden, as well as being involved in other musical projects.

"Scaling Up" track listing:

01. Black Hole Star02. On The Radio03. Don't Miss You Much04. Fix Me05. Wild Child06. Finger On The Trigger07. Soldier Down08. Scandinavia09. Good Men Gone Bad10. Scaling Up11. Don't Know How To Love No More12. Blow By Blow

Recording lineup:

Kee Marcello: Guitars/Vocals/KeysKen Sandin: BassDarby Todd: Drums

Special guests:

Mattias Eklundh – guitar solo on "Good Men Gone Bad"Michele Luppi – keyboards on "Wild Child"

Produced and arranged by Kee MarcelloMixed by Tobias Lindell

Drafthouse Films has announced today that they will release Stephen Kijak's We Are X in New York and Los Angeles on October 21st, followed by nationwide expansion. Since its premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival--where it was awarded the Special Jury Prize for editing--the film has continued to garner critical acclaim due to its remarkably candid portrayal of its enigmatic subject, Yoshiki, leader of the Japanese band X Japan.
 
Since then, We Are X  has played to sold-out audiences on the festival circuit, including at the 2016 SXSW Film Festival and was the most tweeted about topic during the week of SXSW only after the festival's keynote speaker, President Barack Obama. Audiences at both the Sundance and SXSW screenings were treated to exclusive performances by Yoshiki, and similar eventized concert presentations of the film are planned for its theatrical release.

"You will not believe the trials and tribulations that the arena-filling, mega-band X Japan have faced in their 30 year career," says Drafthouse Films founder Tim League. "This documentary will leave you equally breathless and uplifted.  It is the best music doc of the year, and we are honored to bring it to American audiences."

 
"After spending two years making this film, we are really delighted that the uniquely experienced Tim League, Tom Quinn and Drafthouse Films will be masterminding its theatrical life in the U.S.," says John Battsek of Passion Pictures. "Their passion and commitment to the film mirror ours and we are excited to work with them through the film's release."

From the production team behind the Oscar-winning Searching for Sugar Man comes We Are X, a transcendent rock & roll story about X Japan, the world's biggest and most successful band you've never heard of...yet.
 
Under the enigmatic direction of drummer, pianist, composer and producer Yoshiki, X Japan has sold over 30 million singles and albums combined--captivating such a wide range of admirers as Sir George Martin, KISS, Stan Lee, and even the Japanese Emperor--and pioneered a spectacle-driven style of visual rock, creating a one-of-a-kind cultural phenomenon.
 
Chronicling the band's exhilarating, tumultuous and unimaginable history over the past three decades--persevering through personal, physical and spiritual heartache--the film culminates with preparations for their breathtaking reunion concert at New York's legendary Madison Square Garden. Directed by acclaimed documentarian Stephen Kijak (Stones in Exile, Scott Walker: 30 Century Man), We Are X is an astonishingly intimate portrait of a deeply haunted--but truly unstoppable--virtuoso and the music that has enthralled legions of the world's most devoted fans.

The film was produced by John Battsek of Passion Pictures, producer of two Academy Award winning documentaries (Searching For Sugar Man, One Day in September).

 

Toronto, Canada-Progressive Metal artists Ascendia have released the video for their next single “Remember Me”.

“Remember Me” was directed by Garret Henry of GGH Motion Pictures and marks the fourth single off Ascedia's debut album The Lion And The Jester.

Ascendia will also be playing a series of exclusive shows in North America supporting Norwegian Progressive Metal artists Circus Maximus. Ascendia will be playing shows in Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, and New York leading up to their appearance at the Power Prog USA Festival in Atlanta, GA.

Tour dates:

September
2 – Chicago, IL – Reggies
3 – Toronto, ON – Hard Luck Bar
4 – Montreal, QC – Café Campus
5 – New York, NY – Studio at Webster Hall
9 – Atlanta, GA – ProgPower USA

Nekrokraft have signed a record deal with The Sign Records. The Linköping based Swedish act have made its mark on the local scene and have during the last couple of years evolved into one of the most fearsome extream metal bands to come out of the Linköping region the last couple of years. The band’s debut album Will o' Wisp will be out November 4th.

Nekrokraft is melodic, blackened thrash metal with moments of explosive brutality and speed. Keeping and old-school approach without being retro, Nekrokraft offers both classic metal influences and extreme metal influences such as melodies, harmonies and blast-beats. Erupting like a lava pillar from the Ostrogothia soil that have provided the world with countless of breathtaking metal and rock acts during the last decade. The intrusive chill of Nekrokraft will raise hairs on the backs of both man and beasts.

Perris Records has released six reissued and sometimes very hard to find Helix albums including 2001’s Live! In Buffalo and 1990’s Back For Another Taste, the latter which contains many Helix concert staples to this day including “Running Wild In The 21st Century”, “Heavy Metal Cowboys” and “Good To The Last Drop.”
 
The following message as posted on Helix‘s founder and long-time frontman Brian Vollmer‘s Facebook page:

“More great news Helix fans. Perris Records has just told me that all the reissues are now up for sale. A lot of these discs haven’t been available for a long time so get em’ while they last-there were only 500 units of each pressed this time.”

Albums reissued:

Half-Alive:

It’s A Business Doing Pleasure:

Live! In Buffalo:

When Pigs Fly (Vollmer solo CD):

Rockin’ In My Outer Space:

Back For Another Taste:

Head to Perris Records to purchase the albums.

After years of intense speculation and recent rumors, it can now be confirmed that DOKKEN will indeed reform its classic lineup for a fall run of dates. Singer Don Dokken, guitarist George Lynch, bassist Jeff Pilson and drummer "Wild" Mick Brown will return to the stage together in Japan — for the first time in 21 years — for a six-show run dubbed "Unleashed In The East".

Don Dokken states: "I am very excited to come back to Japan and play with the members of DOKKEN that I spent so much time with. Being that its only six shows, we are going to make it as spectacular as possible."

DOKKEN will launch the tour on October 5 in Osaka, Japan, before heading to Fukuoka, Tokyo for an appearance at the Loud Park festival and continuing on to Hiroshima, Aichi and finally, back to Tokyo for the final show on October 12.

Tickets for this once-in-a-lifetime event, as well as VIP-package experiences, will be on sale beginning August 27. This will be the one and only opportunity for fans to see the classic lineup play its iconic hits.

"Unleashed In The East" tour dates:

Oct. 05 - Osaka, Japan - Namba HatchOct. 06 - Fukuoka, Japan - Fukuoaka Civic HallOct. 08 - Tokyo, Japan - Loud ParkOct. 10 - Hiroshima, Japan - Blue LiveOct. 11 - Aichi, Japan - Zepp NagoyaOct. 12 - Tokyo, Japan - Zepp Divercity

Don Dokken recently spoke to "The Classic Metal Show" about how the long-rumored DOKKEN reunion finally came to fruition. He said: "Years and years ago, I made a comment offhandedly, like, 'You wanna do a reunion tour? I'll do it for this amount of money. "It was like a one and a lot of zeros. And that was my price, and everybody said, 'You're crazy.' And I said, 'Well, that's my price, and I'm not gonna do it [for anything less].' And now, fifteen years later, somebody came up with that price. So I approached George and Jeff, and I said, 'You guys wanna make a shitload of money for about one week of work?' And I told them the price, and I told them how much I wanted and how much they'd make, and, basically, they could make more money in one week than they'd probably make in several years. And so everybody said, 'Okay.' So I said, 'Well, I'll do it on the condition that I don't wanna do it in America or Europe or anywhere else. Just six shows in Japan.' 'Cause we were very big in Japan, and it's just a… It's a reunion tour. So they agreed."

Despite the fact that there is plenty of interest from promoters in other parts of the world to book the DOKKEN reunion, Don claims that the Japanese dates are the only shows the group is committed to doing.

"Of course, everybody came out of the woodwork, and they want us to do Sweden Rock, Wacken festivals, M3… People are throwing money at us to do a DOKKEN reunion in the States and Europe, and my answer to everybody is, 'No. It's not gonna happen,'" he said.

"I feel bad for my agents, 'cause they're getting bombarded from these offers for us to play these big festivals all over the world as a reunion, but I'm just not interested; I'm sorry, I'm just not," he continued. "Jeff's busy. He plays like crazy in FOREIGNER. He's on the road. George is out, you know, playing the bars with LYNCH MOB, so everybody's busy. So I don't see any reason… I can't say, 'We can make all this tons of money…' And we're doing this tour for a lot of money, but I'm doing it to put an exclamation point on a very temporary reunion."

According to Don, part of the reason there are no plans for the reunited DOKKEN to play any other shows after the Japanese run is the fact that the current lineup of DOKKEN — which includes fellow member of the band's classic lineup, drummer Mick Brown, alongside longtime guitarist Jon Levin and bassist Chris McCarvil — is still very much an active entity, with a steady schedule of live shows throughout the year.

"I'm so happy with Jon Levin and Chris," he explained. "I mean, we get along so, so good. We're happy. We get on a plane, we fly to a venue, we hang out together and we go to dinner and we do the show and we hang out in the dressing room. It's very easy; you know, there's no drama. And at my age now, the last thing I need in my life is drama. So I am hopeful everything goes smoothly in Japan [with the reunion shows], but I am ready [laughs] for something to… There was always drama in DOKKEN, so I don't expect anything to change. I'm just gonna kind of keep myself removed from it all. All I'm gonna do is go up there and sing my butt off and play two or three songs on guitar and just make it a fun thing for [the fans]."

Don also admonished the other members of DOKKEN's classic lineup for leaking details of the band's reunion before it was made official. "Mick said we were doing it a month ago, George has been saying it, and Jeff was saying it," he said. "Which I have to laugh, because I said, 'Please don't anybody talk about it until the contracts are signed,' and I hadn't signed the contracts until a couple of days ago."

He continued: "Doing a tour like this is not easy; there's a lot of logistics, money, accountants, taxes, overhead, equipment, video. It's a lot of logistics to put together, and it's taken a long, long time to put this Japanese tour together. But we did it, and we're gonna do six shows.

"Everybody was talking like it was a done deal, which is a very bad thing to do. You should never announce a tour before it's announced, because then the promoters think we're gonna do it no matter what, and it kind of hurts my negotiating skills. If we say we're gonna do this, and we're kind of bartering about how much money, and they feel we're gonna do it no matter what — if it's a half a million or million dollars — I said, 'Please don't say we're doing it, because it hurts my negotiating position. So I've said nothing until tonight."

For DOKKEN fans in other parts of the world who are hoping to catch a glimpse of the reunited band, Don says that there is a small silver lining in all of this. "I'm hoping that, in rehearsals" — which will take place at the Badlands Pawn in Sioux Falls, South Dakota — "we feel that we're tight enough on the final day that we actually do a show and we're gonna film the whole thing," he said. "And hopefully it comes out good and we'll edit it and put out a live DVD."

Serious discussions about a reunion of DOKKEN's classic lineup have been held, on and off, for at least the past half decade. Back in may 2010, Dokken and Lynch appeared on VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show" together in hopes that a reunion would follow. Despite their efforts, it never happened and Don went forward with DOKKEN's current lineup.

All the members of DOKKEN's classic 1980s lineup reunited on stage for the first time in more than a decade on November 29, 2009 during an encore at a DOKKEN show at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California.

Indianapolis based doom metal trio, Wretch, will release their self-titled debut album, Wretch, on August 26th via Bad Omen Records. Featuring vocalist / guitarist Karl Simon, formerly of critically acclaimed underground legends The Gates Of Slumber, alongside drummer Chris Gordon and bassist Bryce Clarke, Wretch rises from the ashes of the musician's past project, which ended tragically with the passing of Gates' bassist Jason McCash in 2014. With Wretch, Simon carries on valiantly with the musical mission he began some 18 years ago.

The creation of Wretch's self-titled debut marked both a renaissance and a crucial tonic for Simon himself. In the wake of the death of his close friend, he was forced to make sense of a profound loss, and the creation of this album formed a crucial part of this process. Lest we forget, doom metal stands for much more than merely a collection of Sabbathian riffs, funereal tempos and enormous amp-stacks. It’s a form of music that issues forth from the heart, the soul, and the gut. It can be an alchemical force that functions as a process of catharsis in times of need.

“Making this record has been the hardest thing I've ever done,” says Simon. “Jason and I met just out of school and instantly became best friends. All of my memories as an adult feature him.  All of the songs on this record are about him, about me, about our life and his death. I'm not yet close to getting over the grief. In a lot of ways I've lost my mind. I hope that people are touched by the record. I am often on the verge of tears while playing. It's tough reliving those moments”

In Wretch, the trio has laid down a fearsome salvo of cast-iron riffage and heartfelt traditional metal heraldry, shot through with a steely conviction instilled by the experiences of recent days. Heavy in sincerity and emotion, these gritty yet grandiose songs follow in the lineage and spirit of classic crusaders like Saint Vitus, The Obsessed and Cirith Ungol with songs like the thundering “Running Out Of Days” and the downcast yet groove-laden “Icebound”. Meanwhile, a heroic essaying of Judas Priest's early classic “Winter” sees Wretch connect with heavy metal's most gnarled and vital roots. Defiant against all adversity, this debut stands proud as a fiery testimony to an indomitable spirit, one finding its way with grace and honesty through the trials and travails of the everyday.

“The days of swords and sorcery are pretty much over for me” notes Karl.  “No more giant spiders or Ice Worms. There are real horrors that occupy my mind these days.”

Tracklisting:

“Running Out Of Days”
“Rest In Peace”
“Bloodfinger”
“Winter” (Judas Priest cover)
“Icebound”
“Grey Cast Mourning”
“Drown”

“Rest In Peace”:

Preorders are available at Bad Omen Records.

Helsinki, Finland-based melodic hard rock band, King Company, will released their debut album, One For The Road, on August 26th. The album track “Cast Away” is streaming below.

Formed in the spring of 2014 under the name No Man’s Land, King Company is a band featuring cream of the crop Finnish hard rock scene members. Drummer Mirka "Leka" Rantanen (Raskasta Joulua, Warmen, Thunderstone, Kotipelto) had been thinking about forming a new hard rock/melodic metal band for a long time. He wanted to play with people with whom he had worked before and who he knew both as good musicians and as friends. First, he contacted guitarist Antti Wirman (Warmen) who immediately joined the band. Singer Pasi Rantanen was in Mirka's mind from the beginning, as they had played together in a couple of bands before (Thunderstone, Warmen). After keyboardist Jari Pailamo (Kiuas, Ponies To Kill) and bassist Time Schleifer (Enfarce) joined the band, this super group of sorts was finally ready to start working.

King Company’s debut album, One For The Road, is a trip back in time to the melodic hard rock world of the golden 80’s and 90’s. The band’s biggest influences come from legendary bands such as Deep Purple, Rainbow and Whitesnake, but also from other great acts like Europe, Mr Big, Lynch Mob, and Dokken. All this, but with a contemporary twist! Singer Pasi Rantanen has taken his biggest influences from the great David Coverdale and you can definitely hear it. King Company salutes all these great bands and fans of this genre with their debut album and they are hoping to reach people who are new to this kind of music too.

The album’s title track, ”One For The Road” says it all. “Some of us got in this ride back in the 80’s and we are still on that same road,” tells Mirka Rantanen. “It was 1985 we were young and wild and free, We dreamed of playing rock'n roll, and sitting in a black limousine...we still believe!”

Mirka continues: “Our debut album One For The Road should have been done years ago, but there was’t simply time to form King Company. We all had our own projects and we were too busy in our personal lives. Many of us have played in power metal and extreme metal bands, but something has always been missing. We wanted to write an album full of songs that we have always wanted to play. And we did. Most of the songs have been written together around Antti Wirman’s guitar riffs, but there are some older song from Pasi Rantanen that we re-arranged to a more modern form. The greatest ballad on the album is called “Cast Away” and it’s written by the keyboardist Jari Pailamo. Most of the lyrics are written by Mirka and Pasi.”

One For The Road tracklisting:

“One For The Road”
“Shining”
“In Wheels Of No Return”
“Coming Back To Life”
“No Man's Land”
“Farewell”
“Wings Of Love”
“Cast Away”
“Desire”
“Holding On”
“One Heart”

“Cast Away”:

“Shining” video:

EPK:

“In Wheels Of No Return” video:

King Company lineup:

Pasi Rantanen - vocals
Antti Wirman - guitars
Jari Pailamo - keyboards
Time Schleifer - bass
Mirka Rantanen - drums