Thomas S. Orwat Jr. of Rock Music Star recently conducted an interview with outspoken conservative rocker Ted Nugent. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Rock Music Star: I feel that you maybe one of the most misunderstood people in America, but people hear what they want to hear. How frustrating is it for you, when the press and left-ringers twist your words and try to turn you into a villain? Especially, when it comes to being racist. You certainly have a great respect for many of the influential African-Americans that have help shape rock music.

Nugent: Clearly I stand and connect with smart, honest people and drive dishonest weirdos crazy. So be it. In this divisive culture war, I could not be more proud of that distinction. I am unable to back off critical issues and play braindead politically correct games so that fools can continue their embarrassing denial of historical and current truth and evidence. My original inspirations were the original masters like Bo, Chuck, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, James Brown, all the fiery black artists that raised maximum hell with their over-the-top, intense live shows and amazing music. Given the fact that I am a natural born predator, you combine the fury of those black heroes with my primal hunting lifestyle and you have the ultimate, defiant, rugged individualism spewing from every song, every guitar lick, every performance to this very day. Wimps and lying haters are blind to this self-evident truth and simply hate for hate’s sake. Poor, pathetic punks, all of them.

Rock Music Star: How do you feel about the likely occurrence that Donald Trump will be our next president, and what else do you suggest he needs to do to "Make America Great Again"?

Nugent: I believe Donald Trump to be the leader America desperately needs right now in this bizzarro culture war of good against evil, earners against bloodsuckers, legal against illegal. If enough Americans fail to heed the call in 2016 to vote Trump, the self-inflicted engineered deathwish tailspin of the embarrassing Obama/Clinton/Sanders America will spiral ever downward, crashing the last best hope in a fiery ball of flames. I will fight with all my might to not let this happen to America.

Rock Music Star: Although he has since apologized for coming off "insensitive," how do you feel about Gene Simmons's comments about the death of Prince, calling his death "pathetic," due to the fact that it is speculated that his death was caused from an overdose of prescription pain killers?

Nugent: I'm afraid I would have to agree with Gene's original statement for it is indeed rather pathetic in this day and age that anyone could be so foolish to indulge in such widespread proven suicidal procedures. The definition of insanity is the repeating of certain conduct and expecting different results. We lost another very gifted artist due to insane choices.

Read the entire interview at Rock Music Star.

Steve Hackett’s The Total Experience Live In Liverpool will be released on 2CD+2DVD Digipak, Blu-Ray, and Digital album (audio only) via InsideOut Music on June 24th. A video for “The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway” from the upcoming release can be seen below:

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of his first solo album, Voyage Of The Acolyte, and following his latest Wolflight, the Acolyte To Wolflight With Genesis Revisited 2015 tour was Steve’s effort to represent the many chapters of his career. Featuring two sets - one highlighting his solo work, the second paying tribute to Genesis - the two hour performance was greeted with enthusiasm by both fans and critics.

This release captures the whole show. Two versions will be available; a 2DVD/2CD set and also a stand-alone Blu-ray edition. All copies pre-ordered via HackettSongs will be signed by Steve.

Trailer:

On March 10th, 2016, Emerson, Lake & Palmer keyboardist Keith Emerson passed away at the age of 71.

The "Official" Keith Emerson Tribute Concert was held on Saturday, May 28th, at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, California. It was a retrospective of Keith's entire career from the Nice, to ELP, to the Keith Emerson Band and Three Fates Project. Many of the artists who were close friends and have worked with Keith performed some of his most famous works. Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess has posted some video from the show, which can be found below.

Performers included:

Eddie Jobson (U.K./ Roxy Music)
Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater)
Steve Porcaro (Toto)
Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (Steely Dan / Doobie Bros.)
Vinnie Colaiuta (Jeff Beck, Frank Zappa)
Cj Vanston (Spinal Tap)
Steve Lukather (Toto)
Brian Auger (Oblivion Express)
Rachel Flowers
Philippe Saisse (Al Dimeola)
Gregg Bissonette (Ringo Starr)
Keith Emerson Band
Marc Bonilla (Keith Emerson Band / Toy Matinee)
Troy Luccketta (Tesla, Three Fates Project)
Joe Travers (Zappa's Universe)
Travis Davis (Keith Emerson Band)
Mick Mahan (Pat Benatar)
Mike Wallace (Boys Club / Dragonchoir)
Jonathan Sindelman (Alan White Band)
Maestro Terje Mikkelsen (Three Fates Project)
Rick Livingstone (The Best)
Kae Matsumoto (Kae M Black)

German metal band, Rage, will release their new album, The Devil Strikes Again, on June 10th via Nuclear Blast Records. An official live video for the album track “My Way” can be found below:

The Devil Strikes Again will be released in various formats: CD / Digibook (2CD)/ Deluxe Digibook (3CD) / 2LP. Pre-order the new album at this location.

Tracklisting:

CD/LP:
“The Devil Strikes Again”
“My Way”
“Back On Track”
“The Final Curtain”
“War”
“Ocean Full Of Tears”
“Deaf, Dumb And Blind”
“Spirits Of The Night”
“Times Of Darkness”
“The Dark Side Of The Sun”

Bonus (Digibook/ Deluxe / LP)
“Bring Me Down”
“Requiem”
“Into The Fire”
“Bravado” (Rush Cover)
“Slave To The Grind” (Skid Row Cover)
“Open Fire” (Y&T Cover)

CD Live 2016 (Deluxe only)
“Black In Mind” (live)
“Sent By The Devil” (live)
“End Of All Days” (live)
“Back In Time” (live)
“Down” (live)
“My Way” (live)
“Until I Die” (live)
“Don't Fear The Winter” (live)
“Higher Than The Sky” (live)

“Spirits Of The Night” lyric video:

“My Way” video:

Official trailers:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Studio trailers:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Former THE HAUNTED frontman Peter Dolving has joined forces with ex-FORBIDDEN guitarist Craig Locicero in a new project called DRESS THE DEAD. The group, whose lineup is rounded out by Mark Hernandez on drums, James Walker on bass and Dan Delay on guitar, has revealed its mission statement: "We intend on making heads bang, bodies move and bones shake."

DRESS THE DEAD is:

* Peter Dolving (IAMFIRE, THE HAUNTED, MARY BEATS JANE) - Vocals* Craig Locicero (FORBIDDEN, SPIRALARMS, MANMADE GOD) - Guitar* Mark Hernandez (FORBIDDEN, VIO-LENCE, RE:IGNITION) - Drums* James Walker (MANMADE GOD, ORION) - Bass* Dan Delay (DRAWING HEAVEN) - Guitar

Previously a vocalist for MARY BEATS JANE, Dolving joined THE HAUNTED in 1997 and sang in their debut self-titled album. In 1998, he left the group to concentrate on a band called ZEN-MONKEY but returned in 2003 following the departure of Marco Aro (the vocalist which took over Dolving's spot after Peter's 1998 exit). He has since appeared on the studio albums "Revolver" (2004), "The Dead Eye" (2006), "Versus" (2008) and "Unseen" (2011).

Dolving left THE HAUNTED again in February 2012, explaining in a statement that he "had fucking had it with dysfunctional bullshit." He has since been replaced by a returning Marco Aro.

FORBIDDEN's last album, "Omega Wave", was released in October 2010 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD landed at position No. 27 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

Locicero spent the last few years focusing all his attention on SPIRALARMS, the San Francisco Bay Area-based heavy rock band also featuring Tim Narducci (ex-SYSTEMATIC) on vocals, Chris "Cornbread" Lombardo on bass, Brad Barth on keyboards, Anthony Traslavina on rhythm guitar and Ron Redeen (THE ESSENESS PROJECT) on drums.

Swedish forward thinking metallers Diabolical are back with the brand new Umbra EP. After having caused quite a stir in the metal scene with the concept album Neogenesis in 2013, the band has started a new trailblazing chapter of their history.

With Umbra, Diabolical continues to craft inventive music, moving seamlessly between crushingly heavy and dark to delicate and ethereal.

The recordings are produced and mixed by Sverker Widgren at Wing Studios (Stockholm), and the artwork is created by Carl Stjärnlöv. The Umbra EP will be released worldwide as a digipak CD, and on all digital platforms on July 8th via ViciSolum Productions.

Umbra EP tracklisting:

“Requiem”
“Diaspora”
“Tremor”
“Decline”

“Decline” lyric video:

Norwegian vocalist Doedsadmiral seems to have a magic touch when it comes to attracting some of the top black and extreme metal musicians and forming them into new bands. With his bands Nordjevel (which includes current and former members of Marduk, Ragnarok, Fatal Impact, Tvangeste and Byrdi), and Svartelder (with current and former members of Carpathian Forest, In The Woods, Den Saakaldte, Pantheon I and Old Forest) being snapped up instantly by labels, and with debut albums that have taken the black metal sector by storm, the somewhat mysterious frontman has done it again with the formation of Doedsvangr.

Joining him in Doedsvangr's lineup is Shatraug (Horna, Sargeist, Behexen and Nightbringer) on guitars, and Anti-Christian (Tsjuder, Beaten To Death) on drums, and the band has already finished writing their debut album and is now ready to enter the Klang Studios in Oslo with producer Bjarne Stensli, who will record, mix and master it. According to Doedsvangr, the album, which will be titled Satan Ov Suns, is a "very dark work, very evil and with extreme variations, but with a lot of groove".

Doedsvangr, who are currently looking for a label, have posted a rough demo track to give fans an idea of what to expect from the band, and it can be heard below:

Deadlock have released a first trailer for The Longest Road, the DVD included with their upcoming Hybris album. The trailer can be found below.

Sabine Scherer has decided to leave Deadlock to have more time for her family and her two children. Margie Gerlitz has been confirmed as new permanent female singer in the band. Sabine has released a special farewell video for her fans and supporters, including the first audio sample with Margie! Check it out below:

Deadlock have risen from the ashes, scarred, but with their heads held high, fully fueled with new strength and their well-known passion for releasing their upcoming album, entitled Hybris.

Hybris is set to be released on July 8th via Napalm Records and turns out to be a multi-faceted monster in terms of both shape and content. At the same time it painfully digs through the latest events in the Deadlock camp. Despite the tragic death of founder and drummer Tobias Graf (immortalized with a moment of silence on the album) and the departure of singer Sabine Scherer (now replaced by Margie Gerlitz), the megalomaniac creative urge could not be suppressed.

Sebastian Reichl on Hybris: “Hybris is both powerlessness and hope, melancholia and confidence united, accounting for the past in the truest sense. The effort to meet your demons, to forgive and to find salvation with your own history. The release of dammed aggressions and wash away all fears. Put all wrath and anger in music and lyrics to fill with new passion. This is all what Hybris symbolizes and you can feel it every second on the album. It was our longest trip. Giving up was never an option.”

Hybris tracklisting:

“Epitaph”
“Carbonman”
“Berserk”
“Blood Ghost”
“Hybris”
“Wrath / Salvation”
“Backstory Wound”
“Ein Deutsches Requiem”
“Vergebung”
“Welcome Deathrow”
“Uncivil Hands” (Bonus Track)
“Fight Song” (Bonus Track)

“Berserk” video:

Hybris finds its inseparable counterpart in a 90 min. DVD documentary, The Longest Road, that translates the album concept to visuals. The DVD tracklisting reads as follows:

Intro
Winter - Restart
Spring - Songwriting
Summer - Demo
Fall - Pre-Production
Winter - Recordings
Spring - Hybris
Credits

The Longest Road trailer #1:

Deadlock have always been about extremes – and always will be! Fans love these Germans for every emotional force run through the raging depths of death metal, technical prowess, borderline pop-laden melodies, nods to classic metal, and casual flirtation with trance and beats. A gripping and blunt rollercoaster ride that sees light in the blackest night – and that is something only Deadlock can achieve!

See Deadlock live at these upcoming summer festivals:

July
3 - Basinfirefest - Spálené Porící, Czech Republic
7 - Rockharz - Ballenstedt, Germany
8 - Out & Loud - Geiselwind, Germany

August
19 - Summerbreeze - Dinkelsbühl, Germany
20 - Rockin' Rümmerschen - Wenden, Germany
26 - Metalacker Festival - Tennenbronn, Germany

Deadlock lineup:

Margie Gerlitz - Vocals
John Gahlert - Vocals
Werner Riedl - Drums
Ferdinand Rewicki - Guitar
Sebastian Reichel - Guitar
Christian Simmerl - Bass

After band leader Liviu Gugui decided to disband Blacksheep on January 15th, the Romanian death'n'roll band reunited with a new lineup on May 4th by adding the drummer Herman Heidel to their ranks.

Current band lineup:

Liviu Gugui (L.G. "The Marshal" Shepherd) - lead vocals, guitar
Andrei Costan "The Stallion" - guitar
Silviu Ruta "The Kid" - bass
Herman Heidel "The Gunslinger" - drums

Herman Heidel it is one of the most well known and versatile Romanian drummers. Along the years he has played on and released albums with such
bands as Breathelast (post-hardcore/metalcore), Monarchy (heavy metal), Cadavrul (death metal) and Magica (melodic/heavy power metal).

Following the reunion, the band have released “Gunsmoke”, their first new single. Listen to the track below:

“Gunsmoke” was recorded at Big Fat Sound studio in Bucharest, Romania with Cristian Dunarintu, the guitarist from Shesdead, as a sound engineer, while
the mix and master was made by guitarist Andrei Costan "The Stallion".

Polish heavy metallers Exlibris have released a lyric video for their brand new single, “Harmony Of The Spheres”. It is the first taste of band’s upcoming album and the first track to feature Finnish singer Riku Turunen on lead vocals. The new lyric video is streaming below.

Drummer Misiek Ślusarski comments: “Some people were quick to name Krzysiek’s departure as the end of the band but we always knew it was just another obstacle in our way. Since the formation of Exlibris the vast majority of music was written by original members Daniel Lechmański and Piotr Sikora so we never worried about the quality of new material. We did however expect finding a new singer to be some kind of a problem. It turned out in the end, that the best one lives over a thousand kilometers away.”

Piotr Sikora, keyboardist adds: “In addition to Riku being an experienced and very professional singer, we simply hit it off on a personal level. That and not being driven away by our sense of humor is what makes him the person we were looking for for almost a year. The physical distance surely is a challenge but it also opens new exciting possibilities. At the moment we’re preparing to hit the stage for the very first time but right after that we will begin the pre-production of our new album. The new single is just a small taste of what we have in store so it’s definitely something to be excited about!”

On June 25th, Exlibris will headline the second stage at Rock Hard, Ride Free Festival in Goleniów Poland. More dates will be announced soon. Band’s touring schedule for this year includes shows in Poland, Germany and Finland.

Riku Turunen comments joining the band: “I have been super excited to get on stage with Exlibris guys since I first heard their music. The original plan for me was to do only couple of gigs to patch up missing lead singer position for those shows... but then one thing led to another... I have been working on new a single with Exlibris for the past few weeks and when I was asked to join the group, I didn't have to think twice! I hope... no, I am sure the fans of Exlibris will like how the new group sounds. It is definitely different with my Mickey Mouse vocals on top of killer music material, but just give a listen to the new single and make up your own mind!”

Exlibris lineup:

Riku Turunen - vocals
Daniel Lechmański - guitars, vocals
Piotr Sikora - keys, orchestration, programming, vocals
Piotr Torbicz - bass
Misiek Ślusarski - drums

Metal Blade Records has announced the worldwide, multi-album signing of Norwegian death metallers, Execration/

Execration comments: "We're really excited to pen this deal with Metal Blade. Metal Blade is a legendary label, with legendary bands and releases from all the way back to the beginning, and joining the ranks is a true privilege. After an eventful year with touring and receiving a Norwegian Grammy Award for our latest album, we are now ready to embark on the next chapter for Execration, and we're confident that Metal Blade is the perfect partner in doing so."

Execration formed in 2004 and unleashed a few demos and an EP before releasing their debut full-length, Syndicate Of Lethargy, in 2008. It wasn't until 2011 and the release of their sophomore effort, Odes Of The Occult, that the band gained more recognition in the scene, which resulted in acclaimed reviews and high-profile festival performances, including Inferno Festival, Beyond the Gates, Killtown Deathfest - plus a tour of southern Europe. On this album, Execration incorporated a wider set of influences: namely black metal, but also more obscure sounds, such as open strung riffs and a general focus on atmosphere over brutality.

Before the next release, Execration replaced the B-tuned guitars with regular E-tuning, which offered new opportunities in terms of sound and what kinds of riffs would work well. This sparked the creative period that created 2014's Morbid Dimensions - the band's third album - which received even better reviews and landed Execration a Spellemannspris (Norwegian Grammy) in January 2015. Following this release, they played gigs over most of Norway - including the country's biggest festivals (Inferno, Blastfest) - plus, completed a brief tour with Cannibal Corpse, in addition to festival appearances in Germany (Chaos Descends) and the UK (Live Evil).

Execration is now in the final stages of the song-writing process for their fourth album, but unlike the previous two releases, their upcoming effort will not mark a dramatic stylistic shift. It will be the most compact Execration album to-date - shorter, and with tighter compositions. Fans can expect an array of catchy, complex, prog-infused, intense tracks that will surely garner accolades once again. Stay tuned for more information coming soon.

Execration lineup:

Jorgen Maristuen - guitars/vocals
Chris Johansen - guitars/vocals
Jonas Helgemo - bass
Cato Syversrud - drums

 

The Vivaldi Metal Project’s The Four Seasons will be released on July 22nd via Pride & Joy Music (worldwide, excluding Japan). An official video trailer can be found below.

The project is a symphonic-metal opera based on Antonio Vivaldi’s Baroque masterwork The Four Seasons, featuring more than 130 amazing metal and classical artists, orchestra, a string quartet and three choirs from all over the world. The album features 14 tracks - all the movements from Antonio Vivaldi's original score plus two original new songs written by Mistheria. The impressive roster of artists probably makes this titanic album the biggest all-star project ever!

Back in 2013, Mistheria started thinking about making a metal version of The Four Seasons, a masterpiece that he loved and kept listening to since his childhood. Mistheria started to play and record all the movements on the piano but then felt that a parallel symphonic-metal version would have been the perfect continuation. Therefore, he recorded and uploaded a short trailer on the web to start engaging musicians. A few days later, Italian bassist and composer Alberto Rigoni (solo artist, TwinSpirits, Kim Bingham, The Italians, Badass), who had already collaborated with Mistheria by recording bass on his previous solo album Dragon Fire, learned about the project and contacted Mistheria offering his support to work on the project as co-producer. Also, Mistheria made the “innovative” choice - never done so far - to add lyrics and singers to The Four Seasons which, as composed by Vivaldi, is an instrumental work. For this important task, he invited Douglas R. Dockerwho perfectly translated the producer's concept into brilliant lyrics. Additional lyrics were written by Mistheria, Rob Rock and Lance King.

A cast of 10 awesome arrangers joined Mistheria creating epic and memorable music, combining a standard metal band lineup with strings, orchestra and choir: Douglas R. Docker, Francesco Dall’O’, Frank Caruso, Gabriels, Keiko Kumagai, Nicolas Waldo, Pawel Penksa, Tomas Varnagiris, Yannis Androulakakis and Zhivko Koev.

The cast furthermore includes performances by Mark Boals (Malmsteen, Royal Hunt), Fabio Lione (Rhapsody of Fire, Angra), Edu Falaschi (Almah), Rob Rock (Impellitteri), Mike Lepond (SymhonyX), Dani Löble (Helloween), Ruud Jolie (Within Temptation), Mark Cross (Firewind, Scorpions), Steve Di Giorgio (Testament), Rolf Pilve (Stratovarius), Victor Smolski (Rage, Almanac), Ruben Israel (Delain), John Macaluso (ARK), Marco Sfogli (James Labrie), Chris Caffery (Savatage), Mark Wood (Trans Siberian Orchestra), Dirk Verbeuren (Soilwork), Atma Anur (Tony MacAlpine), Vitalij Kuprij, Anna Portalupi (Tarja Turunen), Sean Tibbetts (Kamelot), Martijn Peters (Stream Of Passion) and many more.

It took more than two years of intensive non-stop hard work to get the album done. Mixed and mastered by Ivan Moni Bidin at Artesonika recording studio in Italy and assisted by Fabio D'Amore, the album is a full 74 minutes of intense, passionate, fascinating, powerful and majestic experience!

Production, ideation, concept and artistic direction by Mistheria. Co-produced by Alberto Rigoni.

The pre-sale for the CD digi-pack will start this week. The download on iTunes and the first instant grat for the track “The Age Of Dreams” already is available.

A double vinyl release of The Four Seasons will be scheduled for a release in September.

Trailer:

During a brand new interview with Loudwire, former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach was once again asked if he would be open to a reunion of the band's classic lineup. He said (see video below): "I don't have any reason why not to do that. I mean, I have a manager named Rick Sales, and he guides my career, and something like that is way beyond me. I don't know how to answer that. But if they wanna get together and jam…

"I'm just so fucking busy that I don't… I know the fans think about that all the time. I'm doing twelve cities in thirteen days right now; it's hard to describe to people what that is, how much work goes into it. So my brain is focused on what I'm doing. I'm releasing a book [and] there is a lot that I have to do."

Sebastian continued: "I have no animosity towards anybody in SKID ROW, and the fact that we're all, five of us, still alive in this world is a pretty amazing feat. So I would someday definitely like to hear the five guys who made those records play live together again. Yes, I would. 'Cause I'm a fan too."

Asked if there has been any contact between him and his former bandmates in SKID ROW about a possible reunion, Bach paused for a long time before answering: "Rick Sales is my manager. He handles everything to do with the SKID ROW reunion. And if there is a reunion, it's a very complicated business thing, and I really… I just don't even know what to say. I don't know what to say."

After being pressed again about whether he would want to reunite with his former band, Sebastian said: "I'm up for it, if they are."

Back in January, Bach addressed the possibility of a reunion with SKID ROW. He wrote on his Twitter account: "Only way a SKID ROW reunion could happen is if we somehow tried [to] bury a 20-year hatchet between us. Would love the chance to do so #SitDown" He added in another tweet: "To be honest, I have said some super shitty things [to] them [and] about them. I would like to apologize for shooting my mouth off."

SKID ROW guitarist Dave "Snake" Sabo told The Aquarian Weekly about the possibility of the band reuniting with Bach: "Happiness, to me, is my spirit and my soul is more important to me than having dollars in my wallet. People may [not] believe that and that's okay. Anybody who knows me knows that to be true. I don't think you can place a price on happiness. We've been hit repeatedly over the years with, 'Why don't you do a reunion tour?' And you know what? I understand the question and I get it. I really do, and if I were on the outside, I'd be asking the same question, but no one feels comfortable with that idea."

Bach told 100PercentRock.com last year that he hasn't grown tired of people asking him about a SKID ROW reunion. He explained: "When people say, 'Are SKID ROW going to get back together?' I understand that question. [But] I haven’t been in the same room as [SKID ROW bassist] Rachel Bolan since '96. It's coming up on 20 years. If we ever were to reunite on a stage — that's almost 20 years of getting over whatever the hell it is he's mad about, because I'm not mad at all. The fact that the five guys in GUNS N' ROSES are still alive, and the five guys in SKID ROW, we're all still alive, that's a miracle. It's almost, like, if you have the chance to do something that epic, and you don't do it, it's kind of, like, selfish to me, really."

Bach didn't rule out one day returning to the band that made him famous, but made it clear the reunion isn't up to him.

"It's very easy for me to walk on the stage and sing the same songs that I already sing every night," he said. "It's not hard, so I don't understand what the holdup is. You'd have to ask them."

In a 2010 interview, Bolan stated about SKID ROW's split with Sebastian: "There was so much tension and so much infighting that it was hard to write songs. Snake and I formed the band, we wrote the songs, and then other people played and sang it. People wanted to break away from what had been working, and that impeded the songwriting."

Regarding the decision to reform SKID ROW in 1999 without Bach, Bolan said: "The blood was so bad after [1995's] 'Subhuman Race' and there was just so much stuff in the press, we knew it wasn't going to work [with Sebastian]. We decided we'd rather go on being happy with what we were doing than get right back into all the tension and dissension. We loved the music, we loved playing, and we knew we could do this and have fun again. So we decided right there to continue without him."

Singer Tony Harnell announced his departure from SKID ROW last December, eight months after he joined the band as the replacement for Johnny Solinger, who was the group's frontman for fifteen years.

SKID ROW has played several shows in recent months with the South African-born, British-based singer ZP Theart (DRAGONFORCE, TANK, I AM I), but he has not been officially named as the permanent replacement for Harnell.

AC/DC’s Rock Or Bust tour, with guest vocalist Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses, hit Prague, Czech Republic on May 22nd, and Berne, Switzerland on May 29th. The band have posted this extended video recap from Prague, with another recap from Switzerland below:

Axl Rose wants to continue as the frontman of AC/DC after the end of their current tour, reports TorontoSun.com.

Axl, 54, was drafted in earlier this year as a replacement for the band’s usual lead singer Brian Johnson, who was forced to bow out of their Rock Or Bust World Tour due to hearing problems.

His hiring in place of Brian has proved controversial with AC/DC fans, and he has been forced to perform from a specially designed throne after breaking his foot while playing with his reunited band Guns N’ Roses last month.

Despite Axl’s injury troubles and future commitments with his old band, AC/DC guitarist Angus Young says the singer is keen to continue as the group’s frontman after their current tour ends in June.

“I know he’s very excited,” Angus tells Germany’s NDR radio station. “He keeps saying can he do more? But we don’t really know at the end how we will (proceed). But we wanna get (through) this tour, which we were committed to doing. We wanna (sic) finish it.”

Read more at TorontoSun.com.

AC/DC European Tour Dates (with Axl Rose):

June
1 - Leipzig, Germany - Red Bull Arena
4 - London, England - The Stadium, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
9 - Manchester, England - Etihad Stadium
12 - Aarhus, Denmark - Ceres Park

METALLICA frontman James Hetfield joined CORROSION OF CONFORMITY on stage last night (Sunday, May 29) at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California to perform the song "Seven Days", which appeared on C.O.C.'s 1994 album "Deliverance". Video footage and photos of his appearance can be seen below.

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY has a long history with METALLICA, having opened for the Hetfield-fronted band in the late 1990s. Hetfield sang backing vocals on the song "Man Or Ash", from C.O.C.'s 1996 album "Wiseblood", and CORROSION OF CONFORMITY frontman Pepper Keenan guested on METALLICA's cover of LYNYRD SKYNYRD's "Tuesday’s Gone", which appeared on METALLICA's 1998 "Garage Inc." EP.

Hetfield last year said that Keenan returning to CORROSION OF CONFORMITY was one of his "Top Ten Things Of 2015."

Bullet For My Valentine have posted this live video for the track “Raising Hell”, featured on the band’s 2015 album, Venom. Check it out:

The band previously posted another live video, for the track “Your Betrayal”, featured on the band’s 2010 album, Fever. Watch below:

Bullet For My Valentine - the hard rock/metal heavyweights whose spectacular global success, live and on record, has seen them fly the British flag from dizzying and wondrous heights - have signed a worldwide deal with Search And Destroy/Spinefarm Records (UMG).

With five studio albums under their belt - The Poison (2005), Scream Aim Fire (2008), Fever' (2010), Temper Temper (2013) and Venom (2015) - and more than 5 million record sales worldwide to their name, this award-winning quartet (formed in Wales in 1998) have been proudly riffin' their way around the globe since their teenage years. Inspired by heavy metal music's great and glorious (Metallica, Slayer, Iron Maiden), BFMV are universally revered as a colossal force to be reckoned with - stadium fillers, festival headliners... a new wave of rock royalty.

Led into action by Matt Tuck (vocalist / rhythm guitar), the lineup is completed by Michael Paget (lead guitar), Michael 'Moose' Thomas (drums) and latest recruit, Jamie Mathias (bass).

Most recent full-length studio offering, Venom, saw the band reuniting with producer Colin Richardson to create what is widely acknowledged - with fans and critics alike - as the most potent Bullet For My Valentine statement of intent thus far...

Since the release of The Poison (now certified gold), Bullet For My Valentine have notched up an impressive array of international facts 'n' stats: along with chart-topping success, these include Top 10 chart entries, #1 Rock Chart positions, arena tours, key spots at the biggest festivals around the world plus a plethora of awards.

Now, with Venom taking things to new heights plus a year of high-profile international touring ahead, Bullet For My Valentine have joined forces with Search and Destroy/Spinefarm Records in a new global deal.

Bullet for My Valentine frontman, Matt Tuck, commented: “We're very proud and excited to announce our signing to Search And Destroy / Spinefarm Records. It feels great to be part of a family that truly believes in the band and is ready to take us to the next level. It's been an incredible journey so far - but with the Search And Destroy / Spinefarm team behind us, it feels like we've just begun. Here's to the future."

Leader Schmier of legendary German thrashers Destruction shares his thoughts on current world issues in Part 1 of Schmier - On The Attack! Watch below:

Destruction recently released their new studio album, Under Attack. The album has entered the charts worldwide in the following positions:
 
US - Heatseekers #17
US - Hard Music #27
Canada - Hard Music #96
Germany - #68
Switzerland - #90
UK Rock Top40 - #39
Belgium - Wallonie #85
Belgium - Vlaanderen #145
Japan - #126

Frontman Schmier states: "I think this is the BEST reactions we ever had for a new album since Infernal Overkill, not even our best selling album The Antichrist had such an impact on the billboards of the world! We are talking underground music here, so it`s an amazing statement for thrash and the fans! A big CHEERS to all those rebels who don t accept the norm and support the sound of the pit!"

BraveWords’ Under Attack review can be found here. Check out our new Destruction feature at this location.

The Under Attack artwork was created by acclaimed artist Gyula from Hungary, who has also created artwork for Annihlator, Grave Digger, Stratovarius, Tankard and many more.

Tracklisting:

“Under Attack”
“Generation Nevermore”
“Dethroned”
“Getting Used To The Evil”
“Pathogenic”
“Elegant Pigs”
“Second To None”
“Stand Up For What You Deliver”
“Conductor Of The Void”
“Stigmatized”

Bonus tracks:
“Black Metal” (feat. Alex [Krisiun])
“Thrash Attack”

"Under Attack" video:

“Second To None” lyric video:

Trailers:

A video for “Rime Of The Ancient Mariner” from Nylon Maiden’s upcoming double CD, Preserved In Time, can be seen below. Nylon Maiden is headed up by Dutch classical guitarist Thomas Zwijsen - known for his acoustic renditions of some of metal’s greatest songs and arrangements of Iron Maiden tracks.

Nylon Maiden’s Preserved In Time is due for release in June. Thomas has gained almost 10 million views on YouTube with his arrangements of Iron Maiden songs for classical guitar, making this his most anticipated album to date.

Preserved In Time promises to be 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 track listing 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!”

People who pre-order the album get some cool extras:

- Their names printed in the booklet of the album, preserved in time!
- The album signed by Thomas
- A free specially designed stainless steel Nylon Maiden dog tag.

“When The Wild Wind Blows” video:

“Powerslave” video:

"Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" preview video:

“If Eternity Should Fail”:

"Afraid To Shoot Strangers”:

“Tears Of The Dragon”:

“Ghost Of The Navigator”:

“Powerslave” bass solo preview:

Powerwolf's history of success truly is a metal fairytale: Thanks to lifeblood, passion and talent the band has gathered an enormous amount of followers with until now six albums and uncountable captivating live gigs. Two albums in the Top 3 of the German album charts, sold-out headliner shows, frenetically celebrated festival gigs all over Europe – there is just one thing missing… a DVD / Blu-Ray which brings the glorious metal mass on your TV. Now the band unveil the first details and announce the release of their first DVD / Blu-Ray titled The Metal Mass Live, coming out July 29th via Napalm Records. A first video teaser can be found below.

Powerwolf do it again in style and have assembled a truly opulent package for their loyal fans. The Metal Mass Live contains three complete live shows with which you can enjoy the irresistible hook lines and great metal hymns of Powerwolf with live recordings from the Masters Of Rock, the Summer Breeze and the Oberhausen gig from the Wolfsnächte tour.

Apart from that all the previous videoclips and two documentaries are included – fans will surely appreciate to witness the hilariously maverick sense of humour of the band members.

The Metal Mass Live will be presented in a beautiful valuable packaging that will make collectors' hearts beat faster: With about 7 hours material, the first DVD / Blu-Ray release of one of the most successful German metal bands will be coming out on Mediabook with 2-DVD / Blu-ray + Live-CD, Earbook with 2-DVD and 2 Live-CDs, a live CD and as Gatefold-Double-Vinyl.

It's about time to finally enjoy the inimitable live feeling of a Powerwolf gig on your couch. Pre-order The Metal Mass Live here.

Teaser #1:

Turbo of the Rock 100.5 The KATT radio station conducted an interview with MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine at this year's Rocklahoma festival, which was held May 27-29 at Catch The Fever Festival Grounds in Pryor, Oklahoma, just outside Tulsa. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about the upcoming U.S. presidential election, Mustaine said: "If you wanna know how things are gonna look, it's gonna be real simple to boil it down. If you wanna know what being with Bernie Sanders [as president] would look like, look at Venezuela. If you wanna know what being with Hillary Clinton [as president] would look like, it'll be more of the same. If you don't want either one of those things, the other choice is gonna be Donald Trump. Now, I think that because of the fact that Hillary may be going… [she] may be unable to run for office because of her criminal proceedings that look like they're gonna take place, it looks like the Democratic party is getting some people ready, like, in the back. You hear rumblings [of] Jennifer Warren [sic] and Joe Biden still kind of hovering around and stuff like that. And the same thing is, like, why did Mitt Romney all of a sudden start talking up again. I mean, he's more outgoing right now against Donald Trump than he was against Barack Obama."

He added: "I believe we're right on the cusp where something super fantastic is gonna happen in our nation right now. I think that this election is gonna have explosive repercussions one way or the other, and if it doesn't go the right way, America is gonna be in a lot of trouble. But everybody needs to remember this number: it's article 25." [Apparently referring to The Twenty-fifth Amendment (Amendment XXV) to the United States Constitution, which deals with succession to the Presidency and establishes procedures both for filling a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, as well as responding to Presidential disabilities.]

Mustaine made headlines in early 2012 when he voiced his support for ultraconservative Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum. He explained at the time that the Pennsylvania politician looked "like he could be a really cool president… kind of like a JFK kind of guy." That same year, he drew ire on social media when he suggested onstage at a concert in Singapore that President Obama was behind the mass shootings in Aurora and at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.

Mustaine later blamed media outlets for taking his statements out of context, explaining that never said he officially "endorsed" Santorum. As for the Singapore concert, he claimed to have been repeating the theories of Larry Pratt, a pro-gun activist who runs the organization Gun Owners Of America.

Also in 2012, Mustaine revealed his "birther" opinions on a talk show, saying he doubted President Obama was born in the United States. He told radio host Alex Jones: "With all of the proof about his birth certificate being fake… And you see the signs in Kenya that say 'the birthplace of Barack Obama.' Hello?! C'mon, guys. How stupid are we right now?"

Mustaine has consistently denied that he is a Republican, telling Artisan News in a 2012 interview: "I'm an independent, not a Republican — I've never been a Republican. I've always said that. I don't belong to any party — I'm non-partisan. And for me, the sad thing is, instead of voting for the best man, I have to vote for the lesser of two evils."

The new KISS by Monster Mini Golf, located inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada officially opens today, 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/.

Jeff Worley, guitarist and founding member of the multi-platinum selling rock band Jackyl, has put in over 25 years on the road as a professional musician. Along with selling millions of albums, he and his band also hold two Guinness World Records and have been featured on two television shows, TruTV's The Full Throttle Saloon and Adult Swim's Squidbillies. With No Filter... Stories Better Left Untold: Part 1, Jeff makes his first foray into the world of writing, chronicling some of his craziest endeavors and experiences. Pull up a chair and get ready for some unsavory laughs.

No Filter... Stories Better Left Untold: Part 1 is now available as a digital book for Kindle via Amazon.com; hard copy coming soon. Jackyl bassist Roman Glick (formerly of Brother Cane) comments, "What an adventure! Could not put it down. Thanks Jeff for sharing these hilarious stories of the real history of Jackyl, and the people involved with them for all of these years."

Jackyl will release their brand new album, Rowyco, on August 5th via Mighty Loud Records. The cover art, tracklisting, and an Amazon pre-order widget can be found below.

"Disasterpiece"
"Rally"
"All Night Rodeo"
"Ahead of My Time"
"Just Because I'm Drunk"
"Everyone's A Winner"
"Crazy"
"Hammer To The Head"
"Limpdick"
"Blast Off"

Catch Jackyl live at the following shows:

June
2 - Sandusky, OH - Bike Week at The Downtown Block Party
3 - Chesterfield, MI - Diesel Concert Lounge
4 - Akron, NY - Braun's Concert Cove
5 - Syracuse, NY - The Westcott Theater
8 - Sharon, PA - Quaker Steak & Lube
10 - Rothbury, MI - Sandy Corley Memorial Run at Double JJ Resort
11 - Fond Du Lac, WI - Walleye Weekend at Lakeside Park
17 - Stroudsburg, PA - Sherman Theater
18 - Loudon, NH - New Hampshire Motor Speedway
25 - Johnstown, PA - Thunder In The Valley at Peoples Natural Gas Park
26 - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage

July
1 - Simpsonville, SC - Independence Slam at Charter Spectrum Am
13 - Erie, PA - Roar On The Shore
15 - Mineral Wells, WV - Interstate Fair
16 - Marion, IN - Brandt's I-69 Harley Davidson
22 - Pompano Beach, FL - Pompano Beach Ampitheatre
29 - Van Wert, OH - Wetzelland 30th Anniversary Motorcycle Rally

August
19 - Milford, IA - Boji Bay Fun Pavillion

September
6 - Minot, ND - The O'Riginal Bar & Nightclub
9 - Hinckley, MN - Grand Casino Hinckley Amphitheatre

November
25 - Indianapolis, IN - 8 Second Saloon

 

SIXX:A.M. members Nikki Sixx and James Michael joined DISTURBED on stage on May 27 at this year's Rocklahoma festival in Pryor, Oklahoma to perform cover versions of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and THE WHO's "Baba O'Riley". Video footage of their renditions can be seen below.

DISTURBED has been a playing a few covers in its current set, including its take on SIMON & GARFUNKEL's "The Sound Of Silence", its hit 2006 version of GENESIS's "Land Of Confusion" and a late-set medley that includes NINE INCH NAILS' "Closer", "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", "Baba O'Riley" and RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's "Killing In The Name". "I just thought it would be kind of fun to take a few big songs, classic songs, and get up there and have a moment that would take a fun little turn and pay a little tribute to a few bands in there that we're fans of," DISTURBED guitarist Dan Donegan told Billboard. "We always like messing around with a few little covers and just have fun with it. Because we're playing such a long set now it's just a nice little twist to get everyone singing and have them feel part of the show."

DISTURBED's sixth studio album, "Immortalized", was released last August.

The album debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart, making it DISTURBED's fifth effort in a row to enter the chart at Number One, a feat shared only with METALLICA and DAVE MATTHEWS BAND.

DISTURBED kicked off a North American tour — its first in more than four years — on February 10 in Fargo.

Fan-filmed video footage of Swedish metallers THE HAUNTED performing at the Maryland Deathfest in Baltimore, Maryland on May 27 can be seen below.

THE HAUNTED frontman Marco Aro told The Age Of Metal about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's follow-up to 2014's "Exit Wounds" album, Marco said: "We are, at the moment, writing. We've been writing for, on and off, about a year now. But this is when we start taking the writing serious. So we're actually being serious about the writing now. So afer this [most recent U.S.] tour, we're going home and we're gonna do some festivals and stuff and write in between and start scheduling for a recording date."

THE HAUNTED recently completed a short run of North American dates as the support act for AT THE GATES.

"Exit Wounds" was recorded with the group's longtime producer Tue Madsen at Denmark's Antfarm Studio (DARK TRANQUILLITY, HEAVEN SHALL BURN, SICK OF IT ALL) and features THE HAUNTED's revamped lineup: founding members Jonas Björler (bass) and Patrik Jensen (guitar) along with with returning members Adrian Erlandsson (drums) and Marco Aro (vocals), and the band's latest addition, guitarist Ola Englund.

"Exit Wounds" features two special guests appearing on the song "Trend Killer": Jed Simon (SCAR THE MARTYR, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD) on lead guitar and Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT) on vocals.

Fan-filmed video footage of Spanish melodic progressive metal masters LORDS OF BLACK — who feature in their ranks new RAINBOW singer Ronnie Romero — performing on May 13 in Bilbao, Spain can be seen below.

LORDS OF BLACK's second album, "II", was released on March 18 via Frontiers Music Srl.

LORDS OF BLACK is the band formed by Romero, renowned guitarist Tony Hernando and monster drummer Andy C. Their vision was to form a metal band with a modern approach blended with catchy, melodic and progressive elements.

After months of intense and hard work on the songs, LORDS OF BLACK independently released its acclaimed self-titled debut which was co-produced by Roland Grapow (MASTERPLAN, ex-HELLOWEEN). Metal Hammer Spain deemed it "the best metal album released in Spain this year."

LORDS OF BLACK supported the release with a series of very successful live shows, some of them as "very special guest" for high-profile international acts. Then the news of Ronnie Romero joining the new incarnation of RAINBOW broke out. This brought the band to the attention of the international media, with RAINBOW legend Ritchie Blackmore describing Romero's voice as "a cross between Ronnie James Dio and Freddie Mercury."

However, now LORDS OF BLACK are ready to conquer the world with "II", an album which will blow the minds of fans of modern melodic metal. Once again co-produced, mixed and mastered by Roland Grapow, the disc is not only the follow-up to LORDS OF BLACK's outstanding and acclaimed debut album, but is an album with superbly crafted songs that will instantly become absolute metal classics.

"The new album, being the follow-up to a first record that was so greatly received, had to get to a higher place," says Tony Hernando. "After an intense year of writing and producing, along with the live performances, we came up with songs that are still deep and complicated in some arrangements, but have been written with the live performance in mind… The quest was to come up with something that artistically was meaningful for us as musicians and at the same time could catch the attention of the listeners. We really hope you enjoy this new album and come with us for a great ride!"

Tracks like "Merciless", "Everything You're Not", "Insane", "New World's Coming" and "Shadows Of War" showcase the heavy and complex yet very melodic style of the band. The song "The Art of Illusions Part III: The Wasteland" is the conclusion to the trilogy that commenced on the debut album, while the song "Cry No More" is inspired and dedicated to the late, great, Phil Lynott.

Regarding how he landed the RAINBOW gig, the Chilean-born Romero told Rafabasa.com: "I don't know from how long they had me on their list, but they contacted me some months ago, at the beginning of summer, to tell me about a chance to an audition . I deeply remember that 'day one' and that first 'hi,' been doing your daily activities and receive an email from Ritchie Blackmore himself is quite hard to assimilate, after a few days days, even weeks."

Romero also talked about Ritchie's recent description of his vocal style as "a cross between Ronnie James Dio and Freddie Mercury." He said: "I just think about how lucky I feel, not just to get the gig, but how the hell they found me. Having so many good singers worldwide. From the first contact, I just tried to give my best to get it. I always believed in myself, and with the support of my family and close friends, even more. About his words, I just can be thankful, he put the bar quite high with his description. [Laughs] But I'm also glad with his confidence on me to this huge task."


Studio version:

Former SLAYER and current DEAD CROSS drummer Dave Lombardo was interviewed on a recent installment of HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta's official podcast, "The Jasta Show". You can now listen to the chat using the SoundCloud widget below.

Speaking about how the recent spate of rock star deaths have affected the way he continues to process the passing of his onetime SLAYER bandmate Jeff Hanneman, Dave said: "[The death of David] Bowie was the one that fucked with me bad. Because he left… He knew… Now, being an artist, it's, like, you know you're gonna die. What would you do? Record, record, record, record, record, put a package together. Okay, put this out at this time. Okay, put this out… He planned it out, and that's amazing.

"It's inspiring when you see somebody do it that way, but then it's very heartbreaking when you see someone like Jeff leave us at that age, and know the reason why, and doing everything you can in your power to help him get out of it, but it didn't work."

He continued: "That's what I think sucks about [how] sometimes these bands that they… they break up and then they don't work together again. And it's, like, when the person dies, it's over; you can't jam with that guy again. And that's the thing that gets me is that when these musicians pass away — whatever it is; natural death or disease or alcohol or whatever… drugs — you can't jam with those guys [again], you can't feel that connection. What you feel with your bandmates, if something happens with one of your bandmates, it's over. I think that, for me, is the most heartbreaking part when you lose a fellow musician is that you lose that musical connection, that magic that happens when only you guys play together. You could bring anybody else on there, but it's not gonna be the same; the energy is just different."

Lombardo added: "Being able to process what happened to Jeff… It was rough when I first heard about it, and still, the person, the human being, I still think about him on occasion; he comes to my mind."

Hanneman died in May 2013 from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver. He is credited for writing many of SLAYER's classic songs, including "Angel Of Death" and "South Of Heaven".

Lombardo was effectively fired from SLAYER after sitting out the band's Australian tour in February/March 2013 due to a contract dispute with the other members of the group. He has since been replaced by Paul Bostaph, who was previously SLAYER's drummer from 1992 until 2001.

In addition to Lombardo, DEAD CROSS features members of THE LOCUST and RETOX. The band's first studio recording, a song called "We'll Sleep When They're Dead", was recently made available.

"The Wave Northwest" podcast conducted an interview with former MEGADETH drummer Nick Menza on May 8 — less than two weeks before he passed away while performing with the band OHM: at The Baked Potato in Studio City, California. You can now listen to the entire hour-long chat below.

Speaking about MEGADETH's heavy touring schedule while he was in the band, Nick said: "We would do three hundred shows a year, and I wouldn't unpack my suitcase. I'd come home for, like, a week or five days, and I'd leave my suitcase at the front door with the lid open and just take what I need out of it and put stuff back into it, 'cause I knew I was gonna close it up in four or five days. That was the suckiest part about touring — every time you'd get home, the clock is ticking and you've got, like, five days [before it's time to leave again]."

He continued: "I didn't live in my house for the first five years. I bought the house in, like, 1995, and we toured pretty extensively, man. We'd come home for Christmas and, like, maybe two days at Thanksgiving, whatever. Three hundred shows a year… I mean, you do the math."

Menza also talked about the difficulties he had adjusting to "regular" life after completing a long tour. He said: "[It was like] post-traumatic stress syndrome. You come home out of the shock… It's like going to war and then coming back in the society again. Everybody's kind of standing still from your normal routine where you're moving every day to a different place, different city, different people. And I tell you, it's really good for the immune system. If you take care of yourself on the road and you're not drunk all the time or high all the time."

Menza added: "You've gotta totally take care of yourself and be ready to undergo all the germs and different environments and just people. I'd always do meet-and-greets and shake people's hands, and they're, like, 'Dude, how come you're wearing gloves?' And I'm, like, 'It's not to protect me from you; it's to protect you from me.' If that makes any sense to you at all. People are standing in line picking their noses and biting their nails, and you're in a meet-and-greet with a hundred kids every night. It's tough, man. It's like a total undoing process that goes on."

According to Nick, his favorite part about touring was "playing on stage; that's all I cared about. What time do we go on and how long do we get to play for? You've got 24 hours in each day and you get, like, an hour and 45 minutes of joy time."

He went on to say: "It's fun. I miss it. I miss the playing part of it, very much so, in front of the big crowds and just rocking people and having people come up afterwards. That's the only part of it I miss."

Nick collapsed during the third song of OHM:'s set on May 21. Early reports indicated he suffered a massive heart attack and was pronounced dead upon arrival at hospital. No other details were released.

One person who was present at The Baked Potato Saturday night told BLABBERMOUTH.NET: "It appeared to be a seizure but [Nick] stopped breathing. Two patrons took over and began CPR until EMS arrived. EMS worked on him for 25-plus minutes, including adrenaline shots, three shocks and non-stop compressions."

Menza joined MEGADETH for the 1989 recording "Rust In Peace" and for the next nine years became associated with the band's "classic" and most profitable era.

In addition to Menza, OHM: featured another ex-MEGADETH member, guitarist Chris Poland.

Menza joined OHM: last year after the passing of the band's previous drummer, David Eagle, who suffered a heart attack and had open-heart surgery in May 2015.

Last week, it was announced that Nick would unveil an art collection crafted from the new medium of "rhythm-on-canvas" on June 16. That unveiling has now been postponed to an as-yet-undetermined date.

Menza had been working with art team and publisher SceneFour on the collection titled "Rhythm Hits The Wall".

DEATH ANGEL guitarist Rob Cavestany has revealed to The National Student that he was in talks with Neck Menza about forming a new project together prior to the former MEGADETH drummer's death.

Rob said: "This is actually the first time I'm going to tell this story in public whatsoever: while we were about to go into the studio to record [DEATH ANGEL's brand new album] 'The Evil Divide' — somewhere around September/October — Nick Menza contacted me personally. And I'd never known him personally before.

"He contacted me about doing a project: he and [ex-MEGADETH guitarist] Chris Poland wanted to do a project with me and they wanted to write with me. I was just blown away, I was shocked, I was, like, 'Holy shit!'

"I was having these conversations with Nick, but the thing is that we were right about to go into the studio to do the album and I was like ��Man, this just isn't good timing, I need all my focus on DEATH ANGEL. I cannot compromise a moment of it.'

"And they wanted to wait for me. He was sending me demos of music that they were writing and they wanted me to contribute to it and I had to say, 'I just can't right now.'

"He was persistent to the point where it was, like, 'Well, just come down to L.A. so we can jam together!' I was insanely honored and flattered that he wanted to work with me, but I couldn't do it at that time. I was in pre-production, I couldn't come off that course.

"And that was it. It just never happened."

He continued: ""We're not going on tour 'till September, so I planned to see what was going on with those guys. So when I heard that news, on multiple levels, it was heartbreaking for me. Thinking about the conversations with Nick and what we were gonna do, it's such a confusing and emotional thing for me. It's very sad.

"And no one knew! I barely even told the guys in my band because I didn't want them to trip out and start thinking that I was getting side-tracked. I've hardly told anyone about that because it was just between us: me and Nick and Chris Poland.

"It was quite intimidating, because those guys are insane musicians and Chris Poland's guitar playing is just insanity! So I'm, like, 'Me?! I'm not even in your caliber of musicianship!' But they seemed to think so and they wanted me in there, contributing to the writing. It was just a huge honor and I'll always treasure that. I'm just devastated I never had the chance to see what was up with that."

Nick collapsed after suffering a heart attack after the third song of OHM:'s set on May 21 at The Baked Potato in Studio City, California and was pronounced dead upon arrival at hospital. He was 51 years old.

The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said Menza died of natural causes. The cause of Menza's death was listed as hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Menza had reportedly dabbled with drugs in the earlier part of his career but had been completely sober for eight years.

Menza joined MEGADETH for the 1989 recording "Rust In Peace" and for the next nine years became associated with the band's "classic" and most profitable era.

Metal Wani editor in chief Owais "Vitek" Nabi recently conducted an interview with guitarist Lars Johansson of Swedish doom metal legends CANDLEMASS. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On whether there is a chance that CANDLEMASS will record a new full-length album to follow this year's "Death Thy Lover" EP, even though they claimed 2012's "Psalms For The Dead" would be the band's final LP:

"Actually, if there, in the future, will be a full-length CANDLEMASS album, it all depends on how Leif [Edling, CANDLEMASS bassist and main songwriter] turns out to be in his sickness [Editor's note: Leif is suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome]. It's because you have to be inspired, you have to have fun. And for him, it's, like, he's really putting his soul into the music when he's writing it, and he writes the lyrics as well, and he has to have the right feel for it. And since he's not been well for a while, you don't want to push it. Because I know that he's sitting in his chamber at home, making songs for all kinds of different [projects] he's doing, so he's probably putting a song aside here and there for different things. And when it turns out to be matured, he will tell us that, 'Okay, guys, this is how it is.' Or he feels like, 'I'm not well enough to go through this whole development, from writing to producing to all that,' because there's a big expectation. If you wanna put out a full-length album with CANDLEMASS after this EP, then it has to be perfect in all aspects. So therefore we're just taking it cool year by year. If it works out, it works out. Hopefully he'll get well enough to start playing live with us soon. That is what we all long for."

On whether new CANDLEMASS singer Mats Levén felt any pressure laying down vocals on "Death Thy Lover" after replacing American vocalist Robert Lowe in 2012:

"Actually, that has been always the thing. I mean, for example, in the early days, when Thomas [Vikström] was [stepping] in for Messiah [Marcolin] the first time, it was a big pressure for him. But he did his thing, and the songs were a little different on 'Chapter VI' [1992], for example, and then time flew away, and made the 'white' [self-titled] album with Messiah [in 2005], and that one was a great album; I think he sings like a god on that album. But things didn't work out well, so we made 'King Of The Grey Islands' [2007], which actually was supposed to be Messiah on that one, but he had other ideas in the middle of recording. So, actually, we made a competition. We played four songs in the studio and had, like, sixty vocalists that wanted to come [and audition]. And then, all of a sudden, there was this American guy from Texas, Rob Lowe from SOLITUDE AETURNUS. 'I know that guy! We've been playing with [his band] in the '80s.' Okay, we checked it out. And there he was. And he did a great job in the studio. Unfortunately, not so much live."

"Death Thy Lover" will be released on June 3 via Napalm. The four-track effort was recorded during September/October and will be made available as a four-page digipack, one-LP gatefold edition and one-LP gatefold webstore edition and old-school "skull-and-cross" slipmat. The cover artwork for the EP was created by Erik Rovanperä.

The official lyric video for the "Death Thy Lover" title track can be seen below.

"Death Thy Lover" track listing:

01. Death Thy Lover02. Sleeping Giant03. Sinister N Sweet04. The Goose

According to Birmingham Updates, Ozzy Osbourne visited Birmingham Children's Hospital in Birmingham, England on Thursday (May 26) in support of the bid to raise £3.65 million for the hospital’s Star Appeal, which will help build a pioneering Rare Disease Centre.

Ozzy said: "My son Louis was in Birmingham Children's Hospital for quite a while as a child and the staff took such good care of him, something which I will always remember.

"They do amazing work for kids and I'm really pleased to drop in and once again show my support for the Star Appeal. It'll be a national center that will help families not only in my hometown, but also across the country."

Yvonne Millard, Head of Nursing at Birmingham Children's Hospital, added: "It was such an honor to welcome the legend that is Ozzy Osbourne to our hospital.

"We are very proud that our new Rare Diseases Centre will improve the lives of thousands of families from across the U.K. and to have such a big star as Ozzy supporting it is just fantastic and a real boost for the appeal.

"It was a brilliant afternoon that helped put smiles on a lot of faces."

Ozzy last fall recorded a heartfelt video message to support the Big Hoot auction, which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Ozzy also contributed to the project with Ozzy's Owl, one of the 89 owl sculptures displayed around Birmingham for ten weeks. Graham Frank Wright painted the Owl for Ozzy, following the rocker's exacting instructions.

Ozzy's Owl raised £12,500. A total of £508,035.01 was raised from the auction of owls.

Video footage courtesy of Birmingham Children's Hospital