PROPHETS OF RAGE, the new supergroup combining members of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, CYPRESS HILL and PUBLIC ENEMY, played its second-ever concert this past Friday (June 3) at the Palladium in Hollywood, California. As was the case at the band's show at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood three days earlier, the outfit performed 20-plus songs from all three of those acts, including RAGE's "Testify", "Sleep Now In The Fire" and "Bulls On Parade", PUBLIC ENEMY's "Prophets Of Rage", "Welcome To The Terrordome" and "Bring The Noise", and CYPRESS HILL's "Rock Superstar" and "Insane In The Brain". Fan-filmed video footage can be seen below.

The act also played two new songs, one of which was called "The Party's Over". The track was reportedly dedicated to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Guitarist Tom Morello told Radio.com on Tuesday (May 31) about the group, "Dangerous times do demand dangerous songs. This historical moment is really unprecedented. Both the country and the world are on the brink of the abyss. And we thought it was wholly irresponsible of us to be sitting on the sidelines . . . This is not just music, this is a movement."

Morello told Rolling Stone that the new outfit was "not a supergroup," adding, "We're an elite task force of revolutionary musicians determined to confront this mountain of election-year bullshit, and confront it head-on with Marshall stacks blazing."

There is no word yet on whether PROPHETS OF RAGE are working on a full album.

Pennsylvania based industrial band Pagan are currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on their new album Dead Girls which will be released later this year via The Genepool/INgrooves/Universal. Dead Girls is the first proper studio full length to come from Pagan since 2011's A Season In Hell, and the first to feature Psychotica's Christian Menses as a full member after appearing on two Season... tracks.

"Christian is a good friend and an incredible musician. I knew going into this project that I wanted him to have a bigger role and when things lined up with his schedule I jumped at the chance to have him join the band," explained founding member Michael Bilinski. "Most people know him as a bass player from his work with Psychotica, but it is his guitar work here that will really impress everyone."

Menses and Bilinski wrote and performed nearly all of the music on Dead Girls. "On previous albums there were a number of guest musicians such as Richard Fortus (Guns N Roses) and Angel Bartolotta (Dope), but things just came together so quickly and naturally there wasn't much room left to fill." 

In addition to long time vocalist Jennifer Renee Price, Dead Girls features appearances by Vex X (Starkstream), frequent collaborator Shy One (The Periwinkle Massacre) and rapper Carl Kavorkian.

Each song on Dead Girls is a standalone story with a thread that connects them all. "Each story we tell, good or bad, involves a woman in some way. It is basically the most personal moments of the past five years of my life told with a horror twist."

Dead Girls will be supported by Pagan's largest scale tour to date with Michael and Vex taking part in the third annual Snarkstock event June 11th and 12th in Baltimore, MD, Christian joining Psychotica for a US run beginning late July followed by Pagan dates in the Fall and Winter that will see the band play across the US with dates in Canada and Europe.

Metal Wani's Anne Catherine Swallow recently conducted an interview with former SLAYER and current SUICIDAL TENDENCIES drummer Dave Lombardo. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the upcoming SUICIDAL TENDENCIES album, for which he recently laid down the drum tracks:

Lombardo: "I think it's very typical and very traditional SUICIDAL TENDENCIES. It's that style. It's Mike Muir and he was a very special style in which he writes his music and his lyrics and his structures. And I love it; I love it. It takes me back to how it all started, which was that punk attitude. I'm very happy to be a part of his organization. I feel very welcomed. I feel very much appreciated, and there's a lot of respect amongst the musicians, and camaraderie. We have a really good time together. We hang out as a band, which is important; I feel it's very important."

On whether he remembers the first time he discovered SUICIDAL TENDENCIES' music:

Lombardo: "Yeah. 1982. I remember going to one of their shows in Orange County, which is a city in California, and seeing them play. And then we played together some shows — SLAYER and SUICIDAL. We played San Francisco. We day Day In The Dirt together. There's pictures online; you can see pictures of SLAYER and SUICIDAL together. Rocky George was the original guitar player for SUICIDAL, [and he] was [late SLAYER guitarist] Jeff Hanneman's best friend for a long time. Jeff was very much inspired by SUICIDAL… SUICIDAL, as well as punk music. So there's a lot of history there. We've known each other a long time."

On his reaction when he first heard of Nick Menza's (MEGADETH) death:

Lombardo: "I had just seen him in November, I believe. I saw him back in November. We played a show together — his band OHM: and my band PHILM. And it saddens me. It's terrible. We have to take care of ourselves. Go see a doctor. Get yourself checked. A lot of guys don't do that. A lot of people, they don't eat right, or they abuse their bodies with drugs and pills or alcohol, or whatever. We're not immortal."

On whether he would want to die onstage or retire from playing music at some point:

Lombardo: "Retirement is not an option. I believe a true artist… a true musician does not contemplate retirement. How can you do that when it's something that lives in you? I cannot myself ever retiring. I see myself playing drums when I'm 80. No. I feel music is a constant evolution, and I feel like art is as well — it's constantly evolving — and I don't feel my life and my career slowing down in any way anytime soon."

On whether he believes that thrash metal music in 2016 doesn't have the same energy as it did back in the early days of the genre:

Lombardo: "Yeah, it doesn't. The musicians are more… As they get older, they are more tired. They're having too much to drink the night before, and when they're writing music, they're not writing as aggressive — as they get older. And I feel you need to fight that; you need to go against the effects of the age. So what I do is I try to go to the gym. I still listen to aggressive music. I like soft music — I listen to jazz; I'm into jazz, I'm into classical, I'm into avant garde and all styles of music — but I believe that listening to hardcore, that keeps you young, aggressive and alive."

Australia's Metal Ignition recently conducted an interview with FEAR FACTORY vocalist Burton C. Bell. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

Speaking about the songwriting process for FEAR FACTORY's latest album, 2015's "Genexus", Bell said: "All the writing was done after the last 'The Industrialist' tour, and pretty much all of 2014… most of 2014 and into 2015 was about writing the album and recording it. It was a long process. We really wanted to do it right, take our time. We would write, record, and then we'd listen to it and then we'd start rearranging, because we would record directly into Pro Tools, so we would be able to rearrange it. And we were able to [go], 'Okay, let's see how it sounds better,' then record it that way. So we just kept making them better and better until they were, like, 'Yeah, that sounds like a FEAR FACTORY song.'"

FEAR FACTORY recently completed a U.S. headlining tour on which it performed its classic second album, "Demanufacture", in its entirety.

"Genexus" was released on August 7, 2015 via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The follow-up to 2012's "The Industrialist" was co-produced by longtime collaborator Rhys Fulber, along with guitarist Dino Cazares and vocalist Burton C. Bell and mixed by Andy Sneap (ARCH ENEMY, TESTAMENT, EXODUS, MACHINE HEAD). Artwork was once again handled by Anthony Clarkson. Drums on "Genexus" were performed by Mike Heller (MALIGNANCY).

Nikki Sixx has accused the music press of focusing on the "drama" behind MÖTLEY CRÜE's final tour and not celebrating the "beauty" of the band's last-ever performance, as captured in the group's new concert movie.

Sixx made headlines this past week when he echoed Tommy Lee's recent comments about not seeing his MÖTLEY CRÜE bandmates since their farewell tour ended in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve.

In "The End", the movie documenting that night, Nikki said: "We don't hang out now. We go on stage like madmen. But we don't hang out. We don't go to dinner, we don't go to each other's houses for Christmas. We're not enemies, but we're not friends. I'll probably never see them, except in passing."

And Vince Neil added: "The hardest part about being in MÖTLEY CRÜE is being in MÖTLEY CRÜE. I don't know if other bands of our stature go through some of the crap that we go through. That's just the tough part. Being onstage and doing that stuff, that's just the easy part."

Now, in a new statement posted on his Facebook page, Sixx took the press to task for trying to stir up controversy with its coverage of the film's release, explaining that "there is a whole story here to be told through music and lyrics."

Said Sixx: "MÖTLEY CRÜE has always been about passion. We did things our way and ended it honestly 'our way.'

"The press has obviously seen a screener of our last show, 'The End', and is only using the parts of interviews that push drama for them and aren't concerned with the millions of fans and the beauty of our last show together. You can't wrap up a 35-year career with a couple soundbites to get attention for your websites and programming.

"'The End' is a combination of everybody's hard from production people, crews, managers, agents and the band but the most important aspect is the fans. There is a whole story here to be told through music and lyrics. Can't wait for it to come out so we can get back to the music and show."

"The End" will be screened in selected theaters on June 14, with a DVD release expected later. The 140-minute film includes footage from the CRÜE's farewell show on December 31, 2015 at the Staples Center along with "exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes footage of the last week of the tour."

France's TV Rock Live recently conducted an interview with singer Cristina Scabbia of Italian heavy rockers LACUNA COIL. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked about the fact so many people feel that LACUNA COIL's new album, "Delirium", has a strong musical connection to some of the band's early efforts, Cristina said: "It's not that it's our [connected to our] past; it's our present as well, because we wrote the old songs, so whatever you do, and whatever you did, it's part of you regardless. So I'm pretty happy that these old elements are coming back to life, even though they were there from Day One. It's just that we worked differently. But we always liked the growl vocals, we always liked the heaviness, and this time we just realized that we wanted this album to even heavier than in the past, so probably that's why a lot of people [are] finding a lot of connections. We've been told that this record has a lot of reminiscences of 'Comalies' [2002] and 'Karmacode' [2006], and I agree, because I believe that the spirit is pretty much the same as it was back then. It's sort of a new book of LACUNA COIL; not even a new chapter. It's something fresh from scratch."

"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.

LACUNA COIL has recruited Diego Cavallotti as a fill-in guitarist for the band 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.

The here have released the Artist Proof of Hugh Syme's original Caress Of Steel drawing in a Limited Edition print. This is the first piece of art Hugh created for Rush, and it became the centerpiece of the album cover. This is printed on high quality heavy art paper, and framed meticulously by our friends at Frameworth. Each piece is hand signed and numbered by Hugh Syme, in a limited edition quantity of 40. Each piece also comes with a Certificate of Authenticity affixed to the back of the piece. The litho size is 12" x 12" and the finished framed size is approximately 17" x 17".

Order your copy here.

Caress Of Steel was Rush’s third album released in 1975 and featured the classics “Bastille Day, “Lakeside Park” and the band's first two epic pieces, "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth”. It peaked at #148 on the Billboard Album Charts and has since to sell in excess of 500,000 copies in the US (RIAA Gold) and 50,000 units in Canada (CRIA Gold).

(Geddy Lee photo by Jennifer Bartram-Schmitt)

 

Instrumental four-piece Tides From Nebula have finished work on their video for the song "The Lifter”, the second single from the brand new album Safehaven which has been released on May 6th via Long Branch Records.

 
"Safehaven is our 4th release and we are extremely happy to share it with our fans", states the band. "In the past we have worked with acclaimed producers who taught us so much that this time we felt we were ready to take that task upon ourselves. The creative process was smooth and spontaneous similarly to when we were writing our debut album 'Aura'. We are sure that you will be able to hear it all: honesty, darkness, experience and energy."

Fan-filmed video footage of HELLYEAH's May 29 performance at the River City Rockfest in San Antonio, Texas can be seen below.

HELLYEAH's "We're All In This Together" tour with ESCAPE THE FATE, NEW YEARS DAY and FROM ASHES TO NEW ends on June 5 in Las Vegas. HELLYEAH will then venture out on the "Hell Pop Tour" with IN THIS MOMENT, beginning on June 18 in Des Moines, Iowa.

HELLYEAH's fifth album, "Unden!able", was released on June 3. The disc marks the first time that HELLYEAH's current lineup — which includes Vinnie, Maxwell, Gray, guitarist Christian Brady and bassist Kyle Sanders — has recorded together as a unit.

HELLYEAH recorded "Unden!able" at The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, where it was produced by Kevin Churko, who co-wrote all the songs.

As previously reported, "Unden!able" features a cover version of the song "I Don't Care Anymore", which was written, performed, and produced by English singer-songwriter Phil Collins for his second solo LP, 1982's "Hello, I Must Be Going!" HELLYEAH's version of the song contains a guitar track from HELLYEAH drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott's brother, late PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, which the siblings first recorded 14 years ago. Vinnie told Rolling Stone about the track: "When Kevin got [Dimebag's original] tracks isolated, he synched them up, and when we listened to them, it totally gave me goosebumps."

Vinnie added: "We've always felt like [Dimebag's] been a part of this band since day one. We felt like his energy and his spirit was always with us. And for people to be able to hear him again in 2016 puts a big smile on my face."

HELLYEAH singer Chad Gray chimed in: "It was like Dime was in an iso-booth tracking in the next room while I was singing my parts. Tracking that song was one of the most magical moments I've felt in my entire career."

It is one of the latest signings by AFM Records which calls for attention: The new ASENBLUT record “Berserker” will be out on August 19th, 2016.
The five-piece from Göttingen/Germany took their time to prepare for the release of their greatest album yet. “Berserker” includes 12 highly energetic songs (+ an English bonus track!) which leave no questions what these melodic death vikings are about.
With influences ranging from early Iron Maiden to modern Black / Death Metal heroes like Behemoth or Amon Amarth, the CD is packed with the best colors of the dark spectrum.
The record was mixed and recorded at the famous Greenman Studio by Seeb Levermann of ORDEN OGAN.

Cover artwork by Peter Sallai (Sabaton, WASP, Kreator, Satyricon, Kataklysm, Annihilator, Mayhem, Powerwolf).

ASENBLUT are poised to start their victorious march on August 19th, when "Berserker" will be out world wide as CD Digipak and limited Boxset.

Tracklist "Berserker"

01. Berserkerzorn
02. Titanenerbe
03. Offenbarung 23
04. Helden Des Ewigen Sturms
05. Auf den Feldern Von Flandern
06. Drachenborn
07. Des Alchemisten Elixier
08. Bittere Wacht
09. Berserkers Ruhmeserinnerungen
10. Schatten Über Arkham
11. Horizonte
12. Auf Grauen Schwingen
13. BONUS TRACK: Berserker Rage (english version)

On June 2, Barbara Caserta of Linea Rock conducted an interview with MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine at the Gods Of Metal festival in Monza, Italy. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On how his writing and playing has changed the most over the years:

Mustaine: "I think probably I've become more open-minded to other people contributing to my songwriting, which is probably the biggest thing. Because, you know, thinking about your songs and thinking from beginning to end, 'This is a piece,' versus, 'I wonder what that person's contribution will be to this song.' All of a sudden, it changes, because you're doing a collaboration, and a lot of times… It's like with a car: do you have the engine in the front, or do you have the engine in the back? Me personally, I like the engine in the front, because if I'm going really fast and I hit something, the engine in the back will crush me. So if I think about my musical approach and other people's musical approaches, I don't wanna tell 'em they're wrong."

On his favorite memory of late MEGADETH drummer Nick Menza and what he thinks Menza's best performance was on a MEGADETH song:

Mustaine: "That's a hard question to answer. What my favorite memory of Nick was… There's a lot of 'em. We had a lot of good times in the past. I was really happy for him when he became a dad. And best performance he's done? Hmm… I don't know… I think it would probably have to be something off the 'Rust In Peace' record, because after that record, he kind of went slower and slower, so… I think that that probably was his best record."

On whether there was ever a real possibility of the classic MEGADETH "Rust In Peace" lineup reuniting:

Mustaine: "See, the confusion is… We tried that several times. Most people think that there was a failed attempt this last time. There was four times I tried to get him back in the band, and there was a lot of problems that were going on. And out of respect to the dead, I'm not gonna talk bad about him. I just wanna say he was a great addition to MEGADETH, and I've always loved him for his contribution."

MEGADETH played its first show with drummer Dirk Verbeuren (SOILWORK) on May 20 at the Rock On The Range festival in Columbus, Ohio.

He was recruited to play drums for the band while Chris Adler is busy touring with LAMB OF GOD.

Nita Strauss, the Los Angeles-based guitar shredder for the ALICE COOPER band, was interviewed for a recent episode of the "Music Mania" podcast. You can now listen to the chat below.

Speaking about the negative comments that are posted about her on various social media sites and sites like BLABBERMOUTH.NET, Nita said: "People are crazy. People say some very crazy stuff. I'm really grateful to have a support team on my side to help me deal with the craziness of everything."

She continued: "It's interesting the access that people have to musicians now. When I was a guitar player growing up, and I had the chance to say something to Steve Vai, let's say, if I had a chance to say something to a guitar player I liked, it would never occur to me to say, 'You suck. How did you get this gig?' or something so rude or different sexual stuff or whatever. It would never occur to me to say something like that to a guitar player that I looked up to. So the way that people talk to other people… It just blows my mind how people to other people on the Internet."

Strauss added: "I'm on a strict no-comment diet, which means I can't look at any comments on YouTube or Blabbermouth. I'm banned from looking at comments on anything. The only thing I look at comments on is my own posts. So that saves my sanity a lot. Because it's hard… I don't pull the 'girl card' out a lot, but as a female in heavy metal, it's hard to be incessantly picked on. So staying away from it has been really healthy for me. I know that there's a lot of articles about me on web sites like Blabbermouth and Lambgoat, and Classic Rock will post stuff, and I know that there's always gonna be [negative] comments, and the same thing on YouTube videos. And I just think it's counterproductive [for me to read the negative comments]. Me knowing that some guy from Nebraska thinks I suck is not gonna help my day. And it's certainly gonna me any better of a guitar player."

Strauss is a longtime Ibanez signature series endorsee who made her name with THE IRON MAIDENS, FEMME FATALE and LA Kiss.

Nita joined Cooper's band in 2014 as the replacement for Orianthi.

HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale was interviewed by Terrie Carr for the latest edition of "Box Of Rock" on WDHA-FM 105.5 FM, the rock music station licensed to Dover and Morristown, New Jersey. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked about how HALESTORM's success might have contributed to the recent surge in the number of females fronting their own groups, Lzzy said: "Just to be a part of it is so cool. It's really neat to see that kind of flood happening right now. And it's really starting to… I mean, I wanna say it evened out, but I think it's tipping the scales, 'cause we've been doing a lot of festivals lately, and it's just so many girls.

"We used to go — especially back in 2005, and even 2009 — when we would go out on tour, usually it was just me [as the only girl] on the bill. It was, like, 'Hey, guys… Hey everybody!' [Laughs]"

She continued: "It's something that [recent tourmate] Lita [Ford] and I have been talking a lot about, because she kind of kicked the door open for both myself and [fellow tourmate] Dorothy, all of us, to kind of waltz right in. And it's a huge testament to just the strength… And you have to kind of have blinders on to everything. Don't worry about what people think. Don't quit. Don't worry about opinions, especially [on the] Internet; don't worry about that.

"I wonder what would have happened if [Lita] was, like, after all the stuff that she went through [in the early years], if she just said, 'You know what? I'm done.' What would have happened? There might have not been [a HALESTORM]."

HALESTORM's first two albums, 2009's "Halestorm" and 2012's "The Strange Case Of…" were both officially certified gold in March by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for sales of more than 500,000 copies. The certifications came after RIAA started including on-demand audio and video streams and a track sale equivalent in gold and platinum album award.

The band's third album, "Into The Wild Life", debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling 56,000 copies in its first week of release — more than double the first-week haul of their second CD — but has not reached gold yet.

Mark Ashby of Uber Rock recently conducted an interview with vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth of New Jersey thrash metal veterans OVERKILL in Belfast. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about OVERKILL's work ethic, Blitz said: "We're blue collar; there's no two ways about it. But you've gotta work to earn it. We're Jersey boys; we understand business. [Laughs] But it's a hundred percent true. This was never about rock and roll and lifestyle; this was about doing what we wanted to do. To do what we wanna do, we have to keep visible, we have to keep a good cashflow coming in."

He continued: "Usually, you don't hear this kind of shit in interviews, but that's just the bottom line. I don't finish these things [tours] and go vacation on desert islands with supermodels. I go home, I cut my grass and I figure out what I'm gonna do next for OVERKILL. And that's really the way it should be, in my opinion. Because this is what life is. That is not necessarily life. It's about playing, it's about producing records, writing records, touring, making merchandise, getting out there, reinventing yourself and having the opportunity to travel the world."

Blitz added: "I'm not sitting here complaining. I don't want anyone to misinterpret this as a complaint. Really, what I'm talking about is just maybe a little of the ins and outs [which] are necessary to understand to be able to continue to do it. And in our case, we were lucky that when it was the darker days of metal, when metal was not really… it was more of a dirty word than it was a catchphrase as it is today, we continued on, but we also managed ourselves. So we got to understand the ins and outs of it. So we still manage ourselves to this day, so it's kind of cool to know that my pride lies in the fact that I'm fifty percent of the approval of everything you see from OVERKILL — not Nuclear Blast, not anyone alse. It's me and D.D. Verni [OVERKILL bassist] who approve those OVERKILL products that you see. So there's a great amount of pride that comes with that too."

OVERKILL will embark on a European headlining tour in November. Support on the trek will come from U.S. sludge metal kings CROWBAR, Israel-based metallers SHREDHEAD and Aussie thrashers DESECRATOR.

OVERKILL entered the studio in May to begin recording the drums for the follow-up to 2014's "White Devil Armory", tentatively due in October via Nuclear Blast.

The band played a special anniversary show on April 16 at Turbinenhalle 2 in Oberhausen, Germany. The evening saw the group perform their classic records "Horrorscope" (which is celebrating its 25th anniversary) and "Feel The Fire" (30th anniversary) in their entirety. And if that wasn't enough, the show was professionally filmed and recorded for an upcoming DVD and CD.

OVERKILL utilized a stand-in drummer — their soundman Eddy Garcia, who is also a member of the El Paso, Texas band PISSING RAZORS — for their recent European tour because the band's regular drummer, Ron Lipnicki, was forced to stay home due to undisclosed family issues.

KISS’ Gene Simmons made an appearance at the press preview for the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood’s new display, DC Universe: The Exhibit and Comic Book Resources caught up with The Demon to talk about his lifelong love of comic books.

“Clearly everybody wants to be a superhero, but people don't really understand the Greek mythological nature, the depth that superheroes conceptually are. Even though they're fictional and sci-fi and all that stuff, there's a great humanism that runs rampant throughout it.

“So even though they're superheroes, if you look at the competition with Marvel and all of that, everybody's got their Achilles heel. In a lot of ways, that really connects with all of us because we all dress nice, we've got a nice haircut and all that kind of stuff, but inside of us, there's that secret, your Achilles heel that we all have to carry on our backs. I used to teach sixth grade, could you tell? It's Shakespearean in a lot of ways,” says Simmons.

The new KISS by Monster Mini Golf, located inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada officially opened on May 27th.

The 13,000 square-foot “KISS themed” attraction showcases an indoor glow-in-the-dark custom-designed, rockin’ 18-hole miniature golf course filled with state-of-the-art video and animatronics, as well as never-seen-before KISS props.

“Being in a hip indoor casino environment is going to provide KISS by Monster Mini Golf an expanded space to not only provide the coolest indoor KISS-themed mini golf experience, but it will allow us the space and security to showcase an amazing collection of KISS Museum memorabilia,” said Christina Vitagliano, CEO/Founder of Monster Mini Golf. “We are excited to join the Rio with an affordable attraction that rocks.”

Monster Mini Golf is located in the Masquerade Village with convenient self-parking in the Masquerade Parking Garage.

The environment will be filled with arcade games, a special event room, a colossal sized KISS and rock ‘n roll gift shop, and a rock ‘n roll wedding chapel with themed wedding packages. In addition, a live DJ will rock the house, throughout the days and many Crazy, Crazy Nights with continuous KISS music, trivia, contests and prizes creating a place embraced by locals, tourists, and rockers of all ages.

A highlight of this KISS themed attraction will be the museum-quality memorabilia located throughout the attraction. Hundreds of pieces will be on display including: Drummer, Eric Carr's Porsche that was gifted to him by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons upon signing on with KISS; original KISS drummer Peter Criss’ Spirit of '76 Tour stage used drum stool; every KISS album since inception signed by all band members; original '70s KISS Pinball Machine, new Stern KISS pinball machine, actual band member instruments and personal belongings and much more.

For more information visit kissminigolf.com/.

AC/DC singer Brian Johnson met last month with Stephen Ambrose, an expert in the field of audio technology who offered publicly to help Johnson return to the stage despite his hearing loss. Ambrose, who invented the in-ear monitors that are widely used on stage nowadays by musicians around the world, expressed hope that Johnson would consider using his newest in-ear creation, the breakthrough ADEL hearing technology, which he says safely delivers louder and better sound while minimizing the risk of hearing damage.

After meeting with Ambrose, Johnson released the following statement regarding his experience: "It WORKS. It just totally works and you can't argue with that. I was really moved and amazed to be able to hear music again like I haven't heard for several years now. I can't wait for it to be miniaturized so I can use it in every situation from normal communication, going out to noisy restaurants, to performing live music on stage."

AC/DC postponed the last ten dates of its North American tour after doctors told Johnson he faced a total loss of hearing if he did not stop touring immediately. AC/DC has since resumed its tour with GUNS N' ROSES singer Axl Rose as a "guest vocalist," with Johnson apparently not returning to the group.

Johnson said in an open letter to fans that he intends to solve his hearing problem and continue recording and touring, although he pointedly did not say whether he would be rejoining AC/DC.

The vocalist wrote, "My entire focus is to continue medical treatment to improve my hearing. I am hoping that in time my hearing will improve and allow me to return to live concert performances. While the outcome is uncertain, my attitude is optimistic."

Johnson had been AC/DC's frontman for 36 years, ever since replacing the late Bon Scott in 1980 and making his debut on the classic "Back In Black" album.

AC/DC is currently in the midst of a European run with Axl Rose on the mic. Rose will also join them for the ten North American shows that need to be made up starting in late August.

Faith No More’s landmark debut, We Care A Lot, which was initially released in 1985 and has been out of print for 20 years, sees an August 19th reissue via Bill Gould’s Koolarrow Records.

“This was an album that started as a demo, before any label had any interest in us,” explained Faith No More bass player Bill Gould. “There were a couple of reasons we decided to release this now: first of all, it’s been 20 years since it has been commercially available. Secondly, when cleaning out my basement, I discovered the original master reels, and we all thought that resurrecting this from the original tapes would be a great way to reintroduce We Care A Lot into the world. Lastly, this has been a band effort; we are releasing this in the same way as we recorded it, deciding everything amongst ourselves and getting our hands deep into the nuts and bolts… just like we used to.”

The original 10-song album, remastered by Maor Appelbaum via the original reels Gould eluded to, is enhanced with nine bonus tracks including demo versions (taken from the original 8-track tapes) of “Greed”, “Mark Bowen”, “Arabian Disco” and “Intro” live versions of “The Jungle” and “New Beginnings” and new mixes, via Matt Wallace, of “We Care A Lot”, “Pills For Breakfast” and “As The Worm Turns”. Liner notes from keyboard player Roddy Bottum and behind-the-scenes photos will be included with the physical release.

We Care A Lot arrived in November 1985 via Maximum RocknRoll editor Ruth Schwartz’s Mordam Records. The seminal album, boasting the timeless title track, which can still be heard daily on radio stations worldwide, confounded music fans and critics alike.

“When strangers ask what Faith No More is I’ve always said, ‘well, it’s kind of an art band…’ I say that mostly to distance us from the hard rock world that we’re often times lumped into. I mean, hard rock, sure, that was part of it, but our roots most definitely and pointedly stem from a specific freakout art time and place in San Francisco, a time that no longer exists. In 1982, the hippies mingled with the punks, the artists hung out with the musicians, the dance people and the punks were one and the Satanists and the sexual pioneers… all part of the same scene,” Bottum explains, colorfully setting the scene for the original inspiration for the band and We Care A Lot. “That weird SF window provided a platform from which we were free to express and cultivate a really uniquely odd sound experience. In Los Angeles, no one really cared much, but SF was always super supportive, encouraging us, directly and not, to get our collective freak on.”

“We felt like it was time to take the next step,” adds drummer Mike Bordin. “We raised as much money as we were able and booked time at Prairie Sun Studios just north of San Francisco. I can’t remember how long it took us to record the album, but not a lot, maybe a few days. The songs were sharp from having played most of them at various shows.  Very stripped down, basic as could be.  The place was on a farm in chicken country (Petaluma). Hard work, but a ton of fun too.”

"We Care A Lot (Deluxe Band Edition)" track listing:

01. We Care A Lot
02. The Jungle
03. Mark Bowen
04. Jim
05. Why Do You Bother
06. Greed
07. Pills for Breakfast
08. As The Worm Turns
09. Arabian Disco
10. New Beginnings
11. We Care A Lot – 2016 Mix
12. Pills for Breakfast – 2016 Mix
13. As The Worm Turns – 2016 Mix
14. Greed – Original Demo
15. Mark Bowen – Original Demo
16. Arabian Disco – Original Demo
17. Intro – Original Demo
18. The Jungle – I-Beam, SF, 1986
19. New Beginnings – I-Beam, SF, 1986

“With We Care A Lot, I always felt like I was part of something new and different than anything else out there at the time. It made me feel privileged to be a part of it. The other guys were so cool, and there was so much camaraderie. And that came across in the music; Bordin’s drums battling it out with Billy’s bass in antagonistic harmony, Roddy’s melodic atmosphere, swallowed up by Jim’s crunchy metal riffs. I found my place somewhere between them all, and when the album was finished, it didn’t sound like anything else.” - Chuck Mosley

We Care A Lot (Deluxe Band Edition) is available now for pre-order on CD, Digital, and Vinyl.

Melodic metallers Temperance have signed a new deal with Scarlet Records for the release of their much anticipated third album, which will be available starting from September. The band recently completed a European tour with Rhapsody and opened for Within Temptation, Slipknot and Nightwish among others.

Drummer Giulio Capone comments: "We are really happy to have renewed our deal with Scarlet, the same label that released our debut album back in 2014 and supported us step by step through our second album Limitless and beyond. With our new release we pushed our boundaries more than ever, experimenting in total freedom with the desire to completely step out of our comfort zone. And I can say we reached our goal!"

Guitarist Marco Pastorino adds: "We are very proud of this new album, our sound is more complex and mature than ever, songs are longer in duration and stylistically challenging, with a wide range of influences that have never found space in our previous albums and that now fit perfectly into our scheme also thanks to the amazing production of the one and only Simone Mularoni. We can't wait to share our new music with everybody out there!"

More album details, including the release date, full cover artwork and tracklist will be revealed soon.

For information on Temperance go to this location.

Photo by Nat Enemede Photography

More than forty people were injured when after lightning struck the Rock Am Ring festival in western Germany for the second straight year.

The incident happened sometime after 8:00 p.m. Friday (June 3) on the festival grounds in the state of Rheinland-Pfalz.

"A severe thunderstorm with lightning strikes has caused multiple injuries at the festival grounds in Mending," organizers said in a statement on early Saturday morning. "Police, firefighters and the Red Cross responded and were able to reach those affected quickly."

The organizers confirmed that at least 42 festivalgoers were injured by the lightning and were transported to area hospitals, including eight people who sustained serious injuries. One person was successfully resuscitated at the scene, according to the German Red Cross.

After the weather calmed down, performances resumed at about 9:45 p.m.

A spokeswoman for the organizers dismissed speculation that the three-day festival could be completely canceled due to possible further thunderstorms. The organizers had previously said lives were more important than rock 'n' roll.

Around 45,000 fans were in attendance for this year's event, where some eighty bands were expected to participate.

Headlining this year's Rock Am Ring and its sister event, Rock Im Park, in Nuremberg are BLACK SABBATH, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS and VOLBEAT.

Last year, at least 33 people were injured when lightning struck the Rock Am Ring festival twice.

Unwetter: Verletzte nach Blitzeinschlag bei Rock am Ring: Mehrere Menschen sind bei einem starken Gewitter a... https://t.co/cJh8bpd6TD

— NBN (@NeuesteBerliner) June 3, 2016

Rock am Ring läuft ��� pic.twitter.com/V3xuYkqwmU

— Kim (@sexylegoman) June 3, 2016

Die mit den Gummistiefeln tanzen #rockamring (haa) pic.twitter.com/zxT4TpdbbC

— dpa (@dpa) June 3, 2016

According to The Sun Chronicle, officials have turned down GUNS N' ROSES' request to perform after the curfew in Foxboro, Massachusetts next month.

Selectmen approved an application for the July 19 and July 20 concerts by the Axl Rose-fronted band at Gillette Stadium, but refused to allow the group to play after the 11:15 p.m. town curfew.

The band had asked for an 11:40 p.m. end time for the concerts, a full 25 minutes past the curfew, but Selectwoman Ginny Coppola objected, saying: "This is on a Tuesday and a Wednesday. If this was a weekend, I wouldn't have a problem with it. But it's a work night."

"This isn't going to be an acoustic evening. It's going to be loud."

Taylor Swift was granted an 11:40 p.m. end time for her concerts at Gillette Stadium last year, but those shows were held on weekend nights.

Asked how the members of GUNS N' ROSES dealt with Axl's stage tardiness while he was in the band, former GN'R guitarist Gilby Clarke said: "Well, you know, back then [in the early 1990s], we drank a lot, and we got drunk a lot. I mean, that's the thing — we didn't know whether it was gonna be five minutes late or three hours late. It's just one of those things that… it came with the territory. We've all got our pluses and minuses with our jobs. The waiting was a minus."

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine recently brought up Rose's well-established reputation for being late to gigs, saying in an interview: "I love GUNS N' ROSES. I think Axl's a great frontman. I just hope that this thing that happened on 'Jimmy Kimmel' [in January when Axl canceled his appearance on the show] isn't an indication of anything that is going to happen with the [upcoming GN'R] tour. I don't know that there's people nowadays that are gonna be hanging out for three, four hours waiting for somebody to show up."

He added: "If I'm having a good time, I wouldn't mind hanging out for an extra amount of time, if there was something going on. Or, like, say, homie's plane is stuck in traffic and it's hard for them to land the plane right now, so he's gonna be a couple of hours late to the concert versus the guy just doesn't wanna come out right now."

GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Richard Fortus last year defended Axl's tardiness, stating that the singer "goes through a lot to walk out onstage." Richard said: "The last few years, it's been very… It's not like a lot of bands, where it's like clockwork. It's different, and it's never gonna be that, because that's not who [Axl] is. But, man, you know, he's the real deal. He is the real deal. And he lives it, and all he cares about is the music."

He continued: "For the longest time, when I first started with the band even, I thought it was by design. I thought, 'He has this worked out.' 'Cause, you know, it's two hours after we're supposed to start, three hours… and people are… stadiums full of people just booing. And the second he'd walk out on stage, all that energy, all that… on the verge of chaos, of just imploding and everyone just rioting, right at that moment he walks out on stage, and all of that negative energy just goes totally up right into the palm of his hand. I mean, it's phenomenal to watch. And I thought it was by design; I thought that he had figured out some type of way to judge the moment, but it's not. [Laughs] It's not. It's just… That's just what he is. He's not gonna walk out on stage until he is… It's not like he's sitting back watching TV and eating potato chips. Man, he goes through a lot to walk out on stage. Just everything… with being himself… to get into the right place within himself."

Legendary drummer Vinny Appice (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL, LAST IN LINE) was interviewed on a recent installment of the "Music Mania" podcast. You can now listen the chat in the YouTube clip below.

Asked if he was ever contacted about getting involved in playing drums for BLACK SABBATH on the band's "The End" tour, Vinny said: "I didn't get asked to do anything. You know, it was, like, 'Okay…'

"After [SABBATH offshoot band] HEAVEN & HELL [ended following singer Ronnie James Dio's death], [BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler] got back together with [singer] Ozzy [Osbourne], and they got a different producer, Rick Rubin. And, you know, there's different people around them. So it wasn't, like, 'Well, we wanna get Vinny.' I don't know who recommended whoever played drums on the album [RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Brad Wilk]; I think that might have came from Rick Rubin. So that's the way things happen in this business. Different people around a band influence what decisions are made."

He added: "They never asked me. I don't know why. And I don't ask, because all the times I've been in the band, they've always called. They know my number; they know how to get hold of me. And that's fine. I'm still friends with Tony. I still keep in touch with Tony and Geezer, and I love them, and they're still family. But they didn't call me for the tour. That's cool with me. But I'm just glad they're still out there playing."

Vinny also talked about the fact that original SABBATH drummer Bill Ward was involved with the band's reunion when it was first announced in late 2011, only to drop out a couple of months later over what Bill called contractual issues.

"It's a shame Bill's not there, but it didn't work out," Vinny said. "I don't know what went down between Bill and the management, but it never got ironed out, or sorted out, and therefore Bill's not involved. Being that this is their last tour, probably a lot of people would like to see the original band with Bill, even if it was for a couple of songs. And they're all still alive. A lot of bands are not… complete anymore. People are getting older or dying. They're one of the bands that are still all breathing. And it would have cool to see them together. But, you know, those decisions are made between the management and the band, and that's the way it works."

Appice joined BLACK SABBATH in 1980 during the "Heaven And Hell" tour and appeared on the albums "Live Evil" (1982) and "Mob Rules" (1981) . In late 1982 he left BLACK SABBATH with vocalist Ronnie James Dio and formed the band DIO. They recorded "Holy Diver" (1983), "The Last in Line" (1984), "Sacred Heart" (1985), "Intermission" (1986), and "Dream Evil" (1987). In December 1989, Appice left DIO. In 1992, he returned to BLACK SABBATH for the "Dehumanizer" album and tour. He then rejoined DIO and they recorded "Strange Highways" (1994) and "Angry Machines" (1996).

Appice rejoined his BLACK SABBATH bandmates Ronnie James Dio, Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi in 2006 as HEAVEN & HELL, touring and releasing one studio album, "The Devil You Know", before Dio's death in 2010.

MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx says that he will probably never see his bandmates again now that they are no longer a touring entity.

In the group's farewell concert film, "The End", which hits U.S. cinemas later this month, Sixx states: "We don't hang out now… We go on stage… like motherfuckers. But we don't hang out. We don't go to dinner, we don't go to each other's houses for Christmas. We're not enemies, but we're not friends… I'll probably never see them, except in passing."

MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil says: "The hardest part about being in MÖTLEY CRÜE is being in MÖTLEY CRÜE. I don't know if other bands of our stature go through some of the crap that we go through. That's just the tough part. Being onstage and doing that stuff, that's just the easy part."

MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee recently told Rolling Stone that after the band's final show in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve, "we had a big party backstage that night, and I never saw the other guys. We never even said 'goodbye.' Strange as hell, dude. I mean, what the hell?"

And he hasn't heard from them since. "I haven't spoken to Vince Neil or Nikki Sixx," he said. "I speak to [guitarist] Mick Mars a lot. He's actually working on some new stuff, and I'm really happy for him. I think Nikki unfollowed me on Twitter, like, the next day. I was like, 'Wow. Okay dude.'"

"The End" will be screened in selected theaters on June 14, with a DVD release expected later. The 140-minute film includes footage from the CRÜE's farewell show on December 31, 2015 at the Staples Center along with "exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes footage of the last week of the tour."

Evan K. has released a lyric video for "Edge Of The Sky”, featuring vocalist Fabio Lione (Rhapsody Of Fire, Angra, Vision Divine), and keyboards by Bob Katsionis (Firewind, Serious Black, Outloud). The video can be viewed below. The track is taken from Evan K.'s debut album, Blue Lightning, to be released on July 15th via FC Metal Recordings.

Evan is a 21-year old Greek/German guitarist and composer whose very melodic and memorable playing is fully displayed on Blue Lightning's nine tracks, including "Skies Of Shred," "Into The Light," "Orchestra Of Withered Clouds," and a cover of the classic Black song, "Everything Is Coming Up Roses."

Evan is influenced by Gus G, Jeff Loomis, Andy James, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Petrucci, Uli Jon Roth, Michael Romeo, Gary Moore, Michael Schenker, and Ritchie Blackmore.  

All music and lyrics on Blue Lightning were written by Evan. The album was produced and recorded by Evan at Epsilon Studio in Mannheim, Germany, and mixed and mastered by R.D. Liapakis (Mystic Prophecy, Devil’s Train) and Christian Schmid at The Prophecy and Music Factory Studios (Mystic Prophecy, Suicidal Angels, Devil’s Train, Steel Prophet, Eldritch, etc.) in Kempten, Germany.

In addition, Evan plays guitar for the German melodic death metal band Cypecore. He is currently working on Cypecore’s upcoming album, and is hitting the stage with them at various festivals and headliner shows in Germany. Evan is endorsed by ESP Guitars, ENGL Amplification and HESU Cables.

Blue Lightning tracklisting:

“Rising”
“Into The Light”
“Skies Of Shred”
“Picking The Stars”
“Orchestra Of Withered Clouds”
“Blue Lightning”
“Edge Of The Sky”
“One Last Time”
“Everything Is Coming Up Roses” (Black Cover)

“Edge Of The Sky” lyric video:

(Photo - SH Livepics)

Swedish melodic metal band Narnia is finally back for the metal attack. Celebrating 20 years as a band, they are back with a brand new studio album, scheduled for worldwide release on September 16th.

Today, the first single “Reaching For The Top”, taken from the upcoming seventh studio album. entitled Narnia, hits the market, together with a promo video produced by Mats Vassfjord (Grand Design & 220 Volt). Watch below:

On the new self-titled album, Narnia revisits their melodic roots but with an updated sound, creating a perfect blend; a powerful production by CJ Grimmark, mixed and mastered by Thomas “Plec” Johansson.

During the years Narnia has been established as one of the leading forces in melodic, neoclassical metal, with a strong reputation of being a great live act that always delivers. And so it continues.. The fans are asking for more and the band is hungrier than ever.

Narnia tour dates:

August
19 - Hope Night Festival - Sävsjö, Sweden

September
23 - Scenen Sofiehof Underjord - Jönköping, Sweden
24 - Nalen Klubb (Alcazar) - Stockholm, Sweden
25 - iNTiMAN - Västerås, Sweden

November
5 - Blast Of Eternity - Neckarsulm, Germany
11 - Brainstorm Festival - Apeldoorn, Netherlands

Narnia lineup:

Christian Liljegren – Vocals
CJ Grimmark – Guitars, keyboards & backing vocals
Andreas “Habo” Johansson – Drums
Martin Härenstam – Keyboards
Andreas Passmark – Bass

The official Moonsorrow documentary, Home Of The Wind, is nearing completion on its Crowdfunding Campaign (available until June 11th). Offering a unique chance to be a part of metal history, and a chance to personally enter the chronicles of the pagan metal giants, you can visit the campaign here.

View the first teaser for the documentary below:

Home Of The Wind is an entirely independent project (produced by Jörmungandr Media, including writer Grilo do Demo, author of the Unofficial Moonsorrow Biography). Supported by the band and record label, the documentary will centre on the unique life and history of the band, and will consist entirely of interviews with the band members and their environments.

As founding member Henri Sorvali says: "We guarantee it will be worth the wait. We’re fully supporting it and are thankful of all the support you can give.” Guitarist Mitja Harvilahti adds: “There’s a lot of music you haven’t heard, there’s a lot of places we can show you.”

"It's been more than a year working day by day and I can't believe how close we are to make this real," says director Leo Aragón. The documentary won’t be commercialized after the Crowdfunding Campaign, this being the only chance to obtain a physical copy, as well as the remaining (and previously unseen) Moonsorrow memorabilia.

Massachusetts metallers ALL THAT REMAINS have entered a California studio to begin recording the follow-up to their 2015 album, "The Order Of Things".

A video clip of ALL THAT REMAINS vocalist Phil Labonte making his way to the studio earlier today can be seen below.

Labonte told the Q103 radio station that ALL THAT REMAINS's next record will arrive in February 2017.

ALL THAT REMAINS last year parted ways with bassist Jeanne Sagan and replaced her with Aaron Patrick (BURY YOUR DEAD, DEVILDRIVER).

"The Order Of Things" marked the first time that Labonte collaborated on his lyrics, in this case with producer Josh Wilbur. Labonte told The Pulse Of Radio how that worked out. "He's the first guy that I collaborated lyrically with," he said. "It's always been a situation where we'll come up with vocal ideas, maybe cadences, and I'll come up with the ideas and words that go into it. So this record has really been vocally the most collaboration I've ever had from a producer/writer, working with, you know, the songs we came up with."