Chicago powerviolence quartet Weekend Nachos have just shared a new song from their final LP, Apology, out May 20th via Relapse. A third new song from the album, "Dust," which features guest vocals from Full of Hell's Dylan Walker, can be heard below.

After having been active for over a decade, Weekend Nachos have decided to call it quits and have honoured their name in the best way possible. Recorded by the band's own Andy Nelson at Bricktop Studios (Lord Mantis, Like Rats, Harms Way), Weekend Nachos' final album Apology is a veritable tornado of grindcore/powerviolence/hardcore savagery. The album thirteen tracks of utter punishment that sees Weekend Nachos sounding more dangerous and urgent than ever before and also features guest vocals from Dylan Walker of Full Of Hell.

Apology is set for release on May 20th via Relapse Records on CD/Digital worldwide. Physical pre-orders are available at Relapse.com here, and digital copies can be pre-ordered via the band's Bandcamp page here. Apology will see an LP release via Deep Six Records - more info will be revealed soon.

Apology tracklisting:

“2015”
“Dust”
“Fake Political Song”
“All”
“Judged”
“Dog Shit Slave”
“Writhe”
“N.A.R.C.”
“POW MIA”
“World Genocide”
“Eulogy”
“Night Plans”
“Apology”

“Dust”:

“Eulogy”:

“Writhe”:

 

Lamb Of God singer Randy Blythe joined Westfield Massacre - featuring Tommy Vext (ex-Divine Heresy, Snot) on vocals, and new lead guitarist Ira Black (ex-Lizzy Borden, Metal Church) - in the studio for their collaboration on “Underneath The Skin”, a track from the band’s self-titled debut album, out now via Urban Yeti Records.

Westfield Massacre's debut album debuted at #3 on the iTunes Metal chart this past weekend. Westfield Massacre is an all out brazen assault of unrelenting metallic fury, all backed with some of the most catchy and infectious choruses you will ever hear. If you took Five Finger Death Punch and put them in a blender with classic Pantera and Lamb Of God, then you would have Westfield Massacre.

 

 

The video below for the track “Build Your Thrones” was directed by the renowned Stephen Steelman of Brigantine Films and perfectly captures the band’s live performance ferocity mixed with an eye-popping storyline that will quickly suck you in.

Paradise Lost, the genre-defining British doom metal band, are reissuing their seminal 1992 album Shades Of God on 12" picture disc through Music For Nations on July 22nd.

Frontman Nick Holmes comments, "We recorded Shades Of God in a remote farmhouse near Kettering. It was our first album with Music For Nations and producer Simon Efemy and probably the most memorable recording session we have ever done. For the first three weeks, we had no TV to watch, the Internet of course didn't exist so we had to entertain ourselves with Ouija boards, ghost stories and playing tricks on each other for amusement.

"Musically, I think it's one of our heaviest albums and very different to Gothic, heading in a more doomy direction, really riff orientated with a vocal style that would eventually lead to Icon."

The album, a follow up to 1990's Gothic album, is seen as the moment where Paradise Lost moved towards a more doom-centric sound, while still encompassing a wide range of other musical genres, showing off the band's creativity and inventiveness in forging their own distinct take on doom metal, a style that would be continued on 1993's Icon.

The album also saw the band's initial transition away from using traditional death metal growls by blending them in with clean vocals, and quieter passages at times throughout the record.

Alongside the likes of Katatonia and My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost were one of a number of bands in the 1990s who took their initial doom/death-metal style and gradually moved towards a more melodic, goth-metal sound, with Shades Of God being one of the most important steps in this evolution for the band.

Since their formation in 1988, Paradise Lost have been consistent pioneers in the doom metal genre. Maintaining a key lineup of founding members Nick Holmes (vocals), Greg Mackintosh (lead guitar, keyboards), Aaron Aedy (rhythm guitar) and Steve Edmonson (bass guitar), the band released its fourteenth and most recent album The Plague Within last year.

Pre-order here.

Music For Nations is gearing up to release the critically acclaimed live album, Lamentations, from Swedish progressive rock titans Opeth. Originally released as a DVD, the album will be available for the first time ever on triple heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. The release is out July 22nd, with new album art by longtime visual collaborator Travis Smith. The edition of Lamentations will make a great addition to any Opeth fan's collection.

Label manager Joel De'ath commented, "Those who were at this Opeth show saw the band emerging from their chrysalis to become the force we know today. It'' a pivotal moment in their career and it's been a pleasure to immortalize the recordings onto vinyl."

Lamentations features a live performance of Opeth's Damnation album in full, interspersed with songs from the band's masterpieces Blackwater Park and Deliverance. Conceived and recorded alongside Deliverence, Damnation marked a radical shift in style and tone. The band took the opportunity to move away from their earlier death metal sound and towards a style reminiscent of 1970s progressive rock, taking inspiration from their Blackwater Park collaborator and producer Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree).

Lamentations was recorded live at the prestigious Shepherd's Bush Empire venue, shortly after both albums were released.

Having celebrated their 25th anniversary as a band last year, alonside re-issuing Deliverance and Damnation, Opeth are returning to the live circuit in 2016. The band will be making appearances at an extensive series of European festivals, as well as returning for a headline performance at Wembley Arena on November 19.

Pre-orders are now live via the widget below.

 

 

International progressive metallers Universal Mind Project have released a video for the track “Truth”, featured on The Jaguar Priest, the band’s debut album, out now via Inner Wound Recordings. "Truth" features a guest appearance by Mark Jansen (Epica, Mayan).

The album also includes vocal performances by Nils K Rue (Pagan’s Mind), Charlie Dominici (ex-Dream Theater) and Diego Valdez (Helker) - forming an incredibly powerful team of vocalists, each of whom add their own distinctive style to the songs. The guest musicians that appear on the album are Alessandro Bissa (Vision Divine), Mike LePond (Symphony X), Emanuele Casali (DGM) and Johan Reinholz (Andromeda).

In a mix of perfectly executed modern progressive/power metal combined with the unique diversity of male and female vocals that stylistically spread from lyrical and fragile to soothing and powerful, as well as the use of growl vocals at parts of the record, the debut album The Jaguar Priest encloses a most impressive league of artistic creation.

The artwork for The Jaguar Priest was created by Jan Yrlund (Apocalyptica, Korpiklaaini, Leah). The album was mixed and mastered by Simone Mularoni (Ancient Bards, DGM, Vision Divine).

The Jaguar Priest tracklisting:

“Anthem For Freedom”
“Truth”
“The Bargain Of Lost Souls”
“Dreamstate”
“Awakened By The Light (Universal Mind)”
“A World That Burns”
“Seven”
“The Jaguar Priest”
“The Force Of Our Creation”
“Xibalba”

“The Force Of Our Creation” lyric video:

Universal Mind Project is:

Elina Laivera - Vocals
Henrik Båth (Darkwater) - Vocals
Michael Alexander - Guitars, Growls
Alex Landenburg (Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody) - Drums

Former Manowar guitarist Ross The Boss was the "secret act" at the Keep It True Festival 2016 in Lauda-Königshofen, Germany this past weekend, performing a special Manowar set on April 29th. Fan-filmed video is available below.

Back in September 2015, Ross The Boss was featured in an interview with MyGlobalMind.com. In the following excerpt he discusses his time in Manowar.

Q: Talk about you time in Manowar in the early days and the connection with Joey DeMaio.

Ross: “Can I pass on that question, thanks.”

Q: Warp to 1988 around your departure from Manowar, did you have any resentments at that time about how things played out?

Ross: “Right before we released Kings Of Metal I was asked to leave. I didn’t want to, but Joey and the guys were sure that Manowar would be better without me.”

Q: Manowar established this “cult” following in the States, and it has remained to this day. What made the band such an enigmatic name? And what lessons that you learned while in this band have you carried over to Death Dealer?

Ross: “Manowar is an iconic band mainly from those six albums in six years which still hasn’t been topped. What lessons have I learnt? Well, when I see an infection growing I deal with it promptly and wont let it fester.”

Read the complete interview at this location.

“There's No Sanctuary”, the new video from Hortus Animae, can be seen below. The clip is for the title track of their upcoming EP, and features very special guest Liv Kristine.

The EP will be released by Azermedoth Records, in collaboration with BlackHeavens Music, this month in North America, and in Europe in June. The release will come in a digipack CD.

Tracklisting:

“There’s No Sanctuary” (with Liv Kristine)
“Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark)”
“Dunkelheit”
“Inno a Satana”
“Pure Fucking Armageddon”
“There’s No Sanctuary” (Martyr Sway mix)
“There’s No Sanctuary” (with Liv Kristine / video edit)

“There’s No Sanctuary” video:

Teaser:

Bay Area thrash legends Death Angel will release their new album, The Evil Divide, on May 27th via Nuclear Blast Records. A fourth promo video for the upcoming release is now available. Check out four parts below:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Death Angel recently released a music video for the track "Hatred United / United Hate". The clip was directed and edited by Tommy Jones for Videohammer Studios during the band's recording sessions for The Evil Divide and features renowned tattoo artist Bob Tyrrell. The song also includes a special guest guitar solo from Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA).

Receive the tracks “Hatred United / United Hate”, “Cause For Alarm" and "The Moth" instantly when you pre-order The Evil Divide digitally via iTunes, Amazon and Google. Pre-order various packages for The Evil Divide at this location.

The CD was once again recorded at AudioHammer studios in Sanford, Florida with producer Jason Suecof (Trivium, Deicide), who previously worked on 2010's Relentless Retribution and 2013's The Dream Calls For Blood. Mastering duties were handled by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in New York City.

Three decades into their celebrated career, Death Angel remain as hungry as ever. As a result, uncompromising urgency and unpredictability define the Bay Area thrash quintet’s eighth full-length album, The Evil Divide. The group - Mark Osegueda [vocals], Rob Cavestany [lead guitar], Ted Aguilar [guitar], Will Carroll [drums], and Damien Sisson [bass] - satiate the appetite for buzzsaw speed riffs, double bass mayhem, and scorching vocals over the course of ten new anthems.

The album artwork was created by tattoo artist Bob Tyrrell.

"Both Mark and I had been tattooed by Bob, and when the subject of album artwork came up," comments guitarist Rob Cavestaney. "We approached him to create the design. We wanted an image that would represent the idea of The Evil Divide; something beautiful, yet simultaneously wicked, hence the death moth. Bob realized our vision with mere pencil and paper, and now we proudly present to you the cover art for our 8th studio album, The Evil Divide."

Tracklisting:

“The Moth”
“Cause For Alarm”
“Lost”
“Father Of Lies”
“Hell To Pay”
“It Can’t Be This”
“Hatred United / United Hate”
“Breakaway”
“The Electric Cell”
“Let The Pieces Fall”

Bonus:
“Wasteland”

+ “Making Of” DVD

"Cause For Alarm”:

“The Moth”:

Trailers:

Combining elements of technical extreme metal, industrial, and the avant-garde into a whirlwind of bombastic audio atrocities, Skin Drone are set to release debut album, Evocation, on June 14th via Bluntface Records.

The web-based duo of vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Erik Martin and multi-instrumentalist/producer Otto Kinzel have created nine songs of genre-defying metal with stories plagued by insanity and darkness on Evocation. Check out the band's brand new video for album track "Death Sentence" below. The tracks "God Complex" and "Witching Hour" are also available for streaming.

Tracklisting:

“Scarlet Road”
“God Complex”
“Death Sentence”
“Shepherd Of The Damned”
“Ghost Reflection”
“City Lights”
“Witching Hour”
“Darkness Within”
“Salvation”

"Death Sentence" video:

"God Complex" / "Witching Hour”:

Evocation by Skin Drone

Pre-order Evocation at this location.

French avant-garde black metallers Glorior Belli will release their new album Sundown (The Flock That Welcomes), on May 6th via Agonia Records. A full album stream can be found below.

"The production is by far one of the best that Glorior Belli ever had”, comments the band. "Drums and bass are absolutely devilish and placed under the spotlight. Everything was recorded, mixed and mastered in our own studios, having an absolute control as usual over the sound. The guitar work overall will bring you back to the origins of Glorior Belli.”

"Conceptually wise, Sundown (The Flock That Welcomes) will smother you with darkness and light, both stuffed down your throat with the same rage that could be heard on Glorior Belli's ealier records. When the Night is coming down on you, will you find a way through the dark? A record for the very few of us who truly embrace the desire to break from the cosmic prison.”

Tracklisting:

“Lies-Strangled Skies”
“World So Spurious”
“Rebels In Disguise”
“Thrall Of Illusions”
“Sundown (The Flock That Welcomes)”
“Satanists Out of Cosmic Jail”
“Upheaval In Chaos Waters”
“We Whose Glory Was Despised”

Album stream:

“Sundown (The Flock That Welcomes)” lyric video:

Formats:
- Jewelcase CD
- Regular black gatefold LP (limited to 200 handnumbered copies)
- Gold gatefold LP (limited to 100 handnumbered copies)
- T-shirt in two different designs
- Digital

Sundown (The Flock That Welcomes) is available for pre-orders here.

Steadily climbing the ladder of artistic development, the French band Glorior Belli has developed a very unique sound and image in the often stiff frames found within the black metal genre. While the band's last album Gators Rumble, Chaos Unfurls (2013) was a combination of southern stylistics and crushing heaviness, its upcoming successor Sundown (The Flock That Welcomes) will reveal a new chapter in this unusual relationship of genres, only this time, the emphasis is on the black metal side.

The band is led by Infestvvs (aka Billy Bayou), since its inception in Paris in 2002, who currently takes care of all instruments. He is endorsed by Randall Amplifiers and will be accompanied on stage by fellow Luciferian silhouettes known as "The Innominati".

Austin, Texas based traditional heavy metal band Ignitor, featuring vocalist Jason McMaster, will be releasing a new limited edition EP at the 2016 Ragnarokkr festival, to be held in Chicago, Illinois on May 6th - 7th.

Vocalist Jason McMaster has checked in with the following comment: "Ignitor cannot wait to introduce the new line up and play with legendary true metal bands. We are excited about the new material and are giving a peek into our current recordings with a special edition EP exclusive to the festival attendees.

Tracklisting:

“Haunted
“Throw Them From The Cliff”
“No Sanctuary”
“Hung, Drawn & Quartered” (Raven cover)

Upcoming Ignitor shows:

May
6 - Reggie's Rock Club - Ragnarokkr Fest - Chicago, IL
21 - South Austin Brewery - Austin. Texas
31 - Grizzly Hall - Austin, Texas

Dubai-based death/thrash metallers Nervecell have finished writing their new album, stating: "We have 11 songs written for the new Nervecell album. Looking forward to finally record this beast in June. Stay tuned folks, you will not be disappointed!"

In addition, Nervecell have confirmed dates for a tour of Brazil this May and two festival shows in Germany. Their schedule is as follows:

May
6 - Riotous Rhino Mosh Fest - Metzingen, Germany
7 - Bavarian Battle Open Air 2016 - Pfaffing, Germany
12 - Jandira, Brazil - Caveira Velha Rock Bar
13 - Pomerode, Brazil - Vox Club
14 - São Paulo, Brazil - tbc
15 - Uberlandia, Brazil - Valvulado Fest
17 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - tbc
19 - Macapa, Brazil - Green Hall
20 - Parauapebas, Brazil - CDC
21 - Marabá, Brazil - Disel 
22 - Bragança, Brazil - Tentáculos Festival

In a brand new interview with SF Weekly, SLAYER guitarist Gary Holt was asked about the band's motive for covering a lot of violent, dark topics in its lyrics, like murder, necrophilia, Satanism, Nazism, and terrorism. He said: "People in bands such as SLAYER and my other band EXODUS get asked that all the time. But it's like no one really questions when you see these same topics in movies and are bombarded by them on a day to day basis on the news. Maybe it's because they feel music glorifies and everyone else reports. But I think in our own musical way that's all any of us are doing as well: just reporting. And obviously there's flights of fantasy mixed in with all the stuff. But it's music. If you took the SLAYER classic 'Angel Of Death' and removed the lyrics and changed it to 'angel of life,' it just wouldn't work. It wouldn't have quite the same impact. Like our songs about Josef Mengele. If you made it about Mother Teresa, it wouldn't quite work."

Holt also talked the accusations of white supremacy and Nazism that have been leveled against SLAYER. He said: "I think that's one of the most ridiculous things when people say that. [Late SLAYER guitarist] Jeff [Hanneman] was a big World War II historian and Jeff wrote all those songs. I'm old enough to remember when the History channel showed nothing but shows on history and then it was basically Adolf Hitler all day long. But if someone writes a song about it, it's like all of a sudden, whoever wrote it is obviously a Nazi sympathizer, which is so untrue. It's a history lesson. You're covering dark subject matter and you're looking for something that you find twisted enough to go with the riffs you're writing for the song. You know, you can make a movie about it and it'll win an Oscar, but a band writes it and all the sudden they're Nazi sympathizers. I always found that to be completely ridiculous."

Holt, who is still a member of San Francisco Bay Area thrash icons EXODUS, has been the touring guitarist for SLAYER since January 2011 when Jeff Hanneman contracted necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease, from a spider bite in his backyard. The infection ravaged the flesh and tissues of Hanneman's arm, leading to numerous surgeries, skin grafts and intense periods of rehab that forced him into semi-retirement and left him near death at several points.

Holt did not contribute to the songwriting process on SLAYER's latest album, "Repentless", although he did lay down guitar solos on most of the album's twelve tracks.

Hanneman eventually 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".

Kazagastão conducted an interview with ANTHRAX singer Joey Belladonna during the band's recent tour of South America with IRON MAIDEN. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about his exit from ANTHRAX in 1992 before officially rejoining the band in 2010, Joey said: "It's sucky that I was gone for that long, you know what I mean? I never understand that. It does bother me [that I was fired], even today, 'cause… We didn't miss a beat and I think we would have done… I can't imagine what we could have done along the way. No offense to anything else, but I just didn't see any reason for it."

Asked if he has heard any material ANTHRAX recorded with singer John Bush during the time Belladonna was away from the band, Joey said: "I don't listen to it. I have no interest in it. I don't know… Something about it. It doesn't really appeal to me, for some reason. I mean, I enjoy that they play the way they do and everything, I just never… I never was interested in it. It wasn't anything against [Bush] at all."

Although Joey did perform the John Bush-era song "Only" live with ANTHRAX on a couple of occasions, the track has since been dropped from the band's set. "We've got enough songs [that were originally recorded with me on vocals]," Joey explained. "We don't even do [all the songs] we should… We've got all these other songs we could play. But now we've got new stuff, so now we've gotta try to fit in four or five brand new songs."

He continued: "I always like to look at it like… I remember when [Sammy] Hagar came in [after joining VAN HALEN], he had to do the old stuff. But when [David Lee] Roth came back, he wasn't gonna touch anything, even though he probably would have a hard time doing it. So we've got enough material; I don't need to go back. I'd just as soon leave that alone. I mean, once in a while I get people complaining, and then after a while, it got really old too. I hate that whole thing, 'cause we're not even the same… We happened to be in the same band, but it's a completely different thing. And who's judging? What's the deal with that? To think that what he was doing, that he could have done what I did in the beginning, I don't believe that."

Joey went on to say that he dislikes being compared to any other other ANTHRAX singers. "That's what I hate about the whole thing," he said. "I hate that there was even anybody else in there that I have to… But now I just don't care about it — I really don't — 'cause I can't. To me, it's just a bunch of hype. It sucked in the beginning; it really did."

Belladonna, whose most recent return to ANTHRAX was officially announced in May 2010, was originally the lead singer of ANTHRAX from 1984 to 1992, and was considered part of the band's classic lineup (alongside Dan Spitz, Scott Ian, Frank Bello and Charlie Benante), which reunited and toured during 2005 and 2006. His voice was featured on over 10 albums, which reportedly sold eight million copies worldwide.

ANTHRAX's latest album, "For All Kings", came out on February 26 via Megaforce in North America and Nuclear Blast in Europe.

David Ellefson spoke to Greensboro.com about the attempted reunion of MEGADETH's classic "Rust In Peace" lineup prior to he making of the band's latest album, "Dystopia". Ellefson and MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine tried to re-team with drummer Nick Menza and guitarist Marty Friedman for a new album and tour, but instead ended up recording the LP with MEGADETH's latest additions, Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro, best known for his work with ANGRA, and LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler.

"There was always this calling from our fans to revisit the 'Rust In Peace' lineup, which we had all moved on from, including those former members," Ellefson said. "So, we all had a meeting. Had a discussion. We even did a little bit of playing together. And we realized that it would be better to remain friends and leave that legacy sit as the heroic memory that it is in the minds of so many of our fans. It was clear — the past is the past. We're going to let that truly rest in peace, if you will. No pun intended."

He added: "What's really cool about 'Dystopia' is that fans used to always clamor for things of the past. Those days seem to be over. I think we finally transitioned past that. MEGADETH has been reborn."

Ellefson also praised Adler, who came into MEGADETH as a lifelong fan.

"He got to have his fan boy moment, saying, 'Man, I listened to the ['So Far, So Good ... So What!') cassette so much, I wore it out!'" Ellefson said. "And I think a lot of fans are thinking Chris might come in and bring his LAMB OF GOD sensibilities into MEGADETH ... and that's not easy, because artists always bring with them their own signature sound. And I think what you hear on 'Dystopia' is you hear Chris Adler being a phenomenal MEGADETH drummer."

Mustaine had previously said that the planned reunion of the "Rust In Peace" lineup failed to materialize for a number of reasons, including a difference in vision for the group's new music. He said: "Marty had sent some e-mails saying, 'Oh, man, you know, the fans have this self-inflated importance of 'Rust In Peace' beyond what it really is. And I was, like, 'Huh?' So I didn't know if that was a backhand to the face of the fans or not, but he had basically said that if we were gonna do anything, it had to be better than 'Rust In Peace'. And he sent me over some links to some songs that he thought should be the direction that we were going in, and one of it was this J-Pop band with some Japanese girl singing, and I was, like, 'Uh-uh. This ain't gonna work.' More power to [Marty for being into that stuff]. Do what you want, Marty. He's a great guitar player. But I'm not gonna sing like a Japanese girl."

Menza claimed in a 2015 interview that "Rust In Peace" lineup reunion fell apart because Mustaine "didn't wanna show me any love at all."

The drummer said that he was approached by Mustaine and Ellefson to replace Shawn Drover at the end of 2014, and that he had started working out new tracks with the band. But the plan collapsed after he was offered a contract he described as "very unfair."

Speaking to Canadian journalist Mitch Lafon, Nick said: "I tried to make it happen by all my means and efforts, I tried to make it go down, but they just didn't wanna show me any love at all, is really what it boils down. You know, I don't need to do this. I wanted to."

He went on to say: "We should have done an album this time. I was ready. I was out there recording with Dave, new songs, and we played a bunch of old songs for a weekend in San Diego, and then no agreement was put on the table for me — nothing in writing. I'm, like, 'Dude, I'm not coming back until you give me a contract and some kind of agreement here.' And they wouldn't produce that. So… If you don't wanna split the profits with me on the tour, forget it. I've got other stuff I can do that's more exciting to me."

American progressive power metal legends FATES WARNING celebrated the 30th anniversary of their "Awaken The Guardian" album with an exclusive headlining live appearance at the 2016 edition of the Keep It True festival on April 30 in Lauda-Konigshofen, Germany. The band — in its original "Awaken The Guardian" lineup, featuring John Arch (vocals), Jim Matheos (guitar), Frank Aresti (guitar), Joe DiBiase (bass) and Steve Zimmerman (drums) — played the complete LP, as well as other songs from the Arch era of FATES WARNING. This was an exclusive European show and the first time FATES WARNING performed an old-school set with Arch on vocals.

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

Metal Blade Records in 2005 released an expanded edition of the "Awaken the Guardian" album. The three-disc set — consisting of two CDs and one DVD — included remastered versions of the album's original eight tracks, a complete CD of live and demo tracks, and a DVD featuring live footage from 1986.

In a 1995 interview, Arch stated about the songwriting process for "Awaken The Guardian": "The music came first and we'd work on that music until it really got flowing. Sometimes Jim would write parts that were designed for a lead and I would listen to it and say, 'Y'know, Jim, I think I could write something vocally really nice over that.' He would give me that part and then he would write a lead part, so we had spare parts filed, who knows what, where we would put the songs together and they started to flow, and then the lyrics came in and then the song would sort of inspire me. I'd lay back, y'know, 12:30, 1 o'clock in the morning with the headphones on, over and over again, I'd just close my eyes and use my imagination, and, before you know it, I had kind of a theme or a topic to write around. And I'd have one line... the first line, of course, was always the hardest, and once you get past... and I always wanted to have something from beginning to end, a complete message and a complete thought, and I'd do my damndest to fit it all in! That's why it seems so busy; there was so much crammed into one song just because of the way we wrote. That's why it would be hard for me today to write anything where I would just sit down and just write lyrics and then write music around it. That would be ass-backwards compared to what it used to be like."

The "Awaken The Guardian" lineup of FATES WARNING will also perform at the sold-out ProgPower USA festival in early September.

"Out Without You", the new solo video from former ASKING ALEXANDRIA and current WE ARE HARLOT frontman Danny Worsnop, can be seen below. The clip was directed by Worsnop and Sam Link.

"Out Without You"is taken from Danny's forthcoming debut solo album, "The Prozac Sessions", due later in the year.

The singer, who recently spent time in Nashville seeking a suitable label to release the record, told Alternative Press last year about the musical direction of his solo material: "[The solo album has] still got some of that typical snotty flair going. I'm still, for the most part, singing the blues. But I went into it with country in mind. I've always loved country. In England, I grew up as a country boy. I was in a small village of two hundred people. The lifestyle goes hand in hand with the music all over the world. [But writing] it just never crossed my mind. Obviously, of late, I've made a lot of life changes, where I'm exploring new things. So it seemed like an appropriate time. I had some time off, I was jamming on the guitar and I had some ideas, and I was, like, 'Fuck it, let's take this and run."

The songs on "The Prozac Sessions" were completed with songwriters like John Paul White (THE CIVIL WARS), while producer Jim Kaufman sat behind the boards.

"We're definitely going to push to radio a lot, do videos," Danny told Alternative Press. "[The solo project] is definitely something I'd like to make a lot of money doing and get to do more of. If it's not a success, I doubt I'll have much opportunity to do it again. [But] there's no plans to tour, per se. Maybe just shows here and there. So it's nothing that's... I know I've said this before, and it ended with me leaving the band. [Laughs]"

Danny said in an online post that every piece of artwork for his upcoming solo album "was so perfect" that he "decided to use them all, which means there will be four versions of the album, all with different visuals." He added: "I am thinking of writing a couple more songs so that each version will have a different bonus track."

More information, including audio samples, can be found at TheSnop.com.

Worsnop exited ASKING ALEXANDRIA in January 2015, explaining in a statement: "Over the last eight years together, we've done some amazing things and created something truly special. I now, same as then, want what's best for the band and at this point in time, that isn't me."

Danny has since been replaced by Ukrainian singer Denis Shaforostov, who gained notoriety posting ASKING ALEXANDRIA covers on YouTube and consequentially inked a deal with Sumerian in his band DOWN & DIRTY.

CINDERELLA frontman Tom Keifer paid tribute to Prince with a performance of the legendary singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer's classic song "Purple Rain" on April 30 at the M3 Rock Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

Prince's body was discovered on April 21 in the elevator of his Minnesota estate Paisley Park. The sheriff's office later released a statement saying they were "continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death," but had no further details. Foul play and suicide are not suspected.

Prince has won seven Grammy Awards, and he won an Oscar for the original song score to the classic film "Purple Rain", in which he also starred.

He recorded some 39 studio albums, recording and touring prolifically even after a very public battle to get out of his major label contract threatened to derail his career.

Keifer and his bandmates (Tony Higbee on guitars and vocals, Billy Mercer on bass and vocals, Paul Simmons on drums and vocals, Paul Taylor on keyboards and vocals, Savannah Keifer on vocals, percussion and piano, and Kendra Chantelle on vocals and percussion) recently entered a Nashville studio to record with four-time Grammy Award-winning producer/engineer Vance Powell (ELLE KING, CHRIS STAPLETON, JACK WHITE). The new tracks will be featured as bonus material on an expanded, deluxe edition of Tom's solo debut, "The Way Life Goes", set for release later this year. The package will also include the original album that was remastered by Richard Dodd (KINGS OF LEON, JASON ALDEAN, LADY ANTEBELLUM), a bonus DVD with video extras, a documentary about the creation of the bonus tracks, and exclusive interviews with the band filmed during the new recording sessions. "The Way Life Goes" sold 5,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 78 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released on in April 2013 via Merovee Records (through Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group).

Video footage of Juan Croucier (RATT) and his new band performing the classic RATT song "Nobody Rides For Free" on April 29 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California can be seen below (clip filmed by Jake Perry).

A U.S. District Court recently denied RATT drummer Bobby Blotzer's latest application for a temporary restraining order against Croucier, explaining that he wasn't convinced either party owned the group's trademark.

Blotzer and RATT guitarist Warren DeMartini are the only remaining shareholders in WBS, Inc., the company which manages the business and operations related to RATT. In its request for a TRO, WBS — with Blotzer acting as both chairman of the board and president — claimed that Croucier formed his own band in early 2015 called "Juan Croucier's RATT's" and began using the RATT logo "on all advertisements, web sites, merchandise, marquees, fliers, and record jackets… Croucier also began referring to himself as 'The Other Voice of RATT,' even though… he was never the lead singer of RATT."

Blotzer alleged in his latest application, which was filed on April 4, that "WBS attempted, in good faith, three different times (August, September, and October of 2015) to get Croucier to end his infringing use of the Marks. WBS even gave him the option to refer to himself as 'formerly of' or 'former member of" RATT. However, Croucier ignored these requests and continued his infringing ways."

In his opposition to Blotzer's application for a temporary restraining order, Croucier's attorney wrote: "This action is part of an attempt by RATT's drummer Robert Blotzer to perpetrate a fraud in order to unilaterally take and use the trademark 'RATT' despite his being at most a partial owner of that mark.

"Juan Croucier is a founding member of RATT who co-wrote and performed on some of the band's biggest hits, sang lead vocal parts on RATT songs, (e.g., 'You Think You're Tough' and 'Lack Of Communication') and was the only member of the band that could sing many of the demanding harmony parts sung in the studio and all of the dominant high harmony parts during live shows. As such, he has been known as 'the Other Voice of RATT' and has been using that phrase on the cover page of juancroucier.com since 2007 or 2008. Mr. Croucier is a member the RATT Music Partnership with other band members that owns the publishing rights in the songs. Notably, Blotzer is not a member of the RATT Music partnership, as he was not involved in writing the band's hit songs — he just played drums."

Juan's attorney added: "Croucier is entitled to say that he is RATT's Juan Croucier because he is. Not only is he a founding member of the band, a co-author of many of its hit songs, and a member of the RATT Music Partnership, but he played with the band during both its success through the 1980s and through its final 2012- 2014 tour. Mr. Croucier is thus still part of the band, is entitled to say that he is 'RATT's Juan Croucier,' and is entitled to tour as such.

"Croucier's use stands in stark contrast to the use of the Mark by Blotzer, who is improperly holding his new cover-band out as 'RATT.' While Mr. Blotzer may not like the competition from his former band-mate, that does not give him (let alone WBS) the right to stop Croucier from performing RATT songs that he wrote and has every right to perform under a band that he is in no way holding out as RATT."

Pregerson denied Blotzer's request on April 7, finding "given the uncertainty regarding ownership of the marks, Plaintiff has not demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits."

The judge previously denied Blotzer's application for a TRO in the case in October 2015 and ordered the parties to mediation.

DeMartini filed a lawsuit in September 2015 against Blotzer, claiming that the drummer is falsely advertising his "tribute band" as the real thing. That dispute is still pending in California state court.

Fan-filmed video footage of Bobby Blotzer's new RATT performing on April 8 at Ace Of Spades in Sacramento, California can be seen below.

Blotzer's RATT recently parted ways with bassist Scotty Griffin (ex-L.A. GUNS) and has replaced him with Robbie Crane.

Crane previously played bass for RATT from 1996 to 2012 and appeared on the band's 1999 self-titled album and 2010's "Infestation".

Said Blotzer in a statement: "Adding Robbie Crane back is naturally just like slipping into an old missed pair of spandex."

Blotzer announced last September that he was taking control of the RATT name and hitting the road with a new version of the group, which played shows earlier that year under the name BOBBY BLOTZER'S RATT EXPERIENCE.

RATT guitarist Warren DeMartini later filed a lawsuit against Blotzer, claiming that the drummer was falsely advertising his "tribute band" as the real thing.

Blotzer's revamped RATT is rounded out by vocalist Josh Alan (ex-SIN CITY SINNERS) and guitarists Doc Ellis (Jizzy Pearl's LOVE/HATE) and Nicholas "Blaze" Baum.

WBS, Inc., the company which manages the business and operations related to RATT, was originally formed by Blotzer, DeMartini and singer Stephen Pearcy. Pearcy lost his share of the name in court after splitting with the group in 2000. He returned to the band in 2006 but exited again in 2014. Blotzer has since expressed his desire to keep RATT alive with a new singer, but explained that DeMartini did not want to tour as RATT without Pearcy.

"We All Fall Down", the new video from Swedish sleaze rockers TOXICROSE, can be seen below. The song is taken from the band's debut album, "Total Tranquility", which will be released on May 16 via City Of Lights/Rock It Up. The cover artwork for the CD was created by Juanjo Castellano and can be seen below.

"Total Tranquility" track listing:

01. World Of Confusion02. Silent End Of Me03. Killing The Romance04. Sinner05. We Own The Night06. Reckless Society07. Clarity08. Because Of You09. We All Fall Down10. Total Tranquility

Formed in 2010 in Stockholm, Sweden, TOXICROSE consists of Tom Wouda (GEMINI FIVE), Andy and Michael Sweet (both ex-LIPSTIXX 'N' BULLETZ) and Goran Imperator (ex-SEXYDEATH). The band's debut five-track EP was released in late 2012. The CD was co-produced by Michael's brother, Martin Sweet of CRASHDÏËT.

Says a press release: "There is no compromising or limits in the world of TOXICROSE. Powerful vocals combined with aggressive guitars , grand melodic synthesizers and dark, emotional lyrics. With their catchy, melodic, epic metal anthems and shocking look, they are unstoppable!"

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich recently spoke to BBC Radio 6 Music about the band's love of records and record stores. You can now listen to the chat using the widget below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On how he first got introduced to record stores:

Lars: "I was born into a family in Denmark. My dad, basically, lived and breathed music and had an intense record collection and actually was a part-time music critic for Danish newspapers and so on. So I remember, when I was a little kid, going to record stores with him, and particularly to the main one in the heart of Copenhagen. When I was about ten, eleven years old, I started going to record stores myself and buying records, buying a lot of singles and 45s from the U.K. and started kind of buying albums and that whole thing — '73, '74, when I was about, like I said, around eleven or twelve years old. It was like the most exciting thing in the world to make the trip into central Copenhagen, go to the record store, look at records, listen to records in the store, engage in conversation with the people that worked in record stores. The record store was your portal, like your gateway to everything music."

On why record stores mean so much to METALLICA:

Lars: "Record stores have always had a very significant place in my life, and METALLICA has always championed, obviously, independence, and championed autonomy and championed being edgy and kind of… I guess, to a degree, without getting too poetic about it, challenging the status quo and being the small fish in the big pond or whatever. So helping the independent record stores and all that out there, and shouting their worth from every rooftop is something that we're quite happy to do."

On whether he thinks it's important for all artists to see record stores survive:

Lars: "I think it's… Not just as an artist, but I think it's important for everybody that record stores survive. I have three boys, and one of my kids just started getting into vinyl over the last year or two and going to Amoeba [Music] and going to Rasputin [Music], and so on, in Northern California, which are two of our local [stores], it's a huge thing. And so, as an artist, it's important, and I think as a fan of a music, as just a connoisseur of that particular kind of culture, it's important — the human connection."

On the first album he bought:

Lars: "The first full-length album that I bought was DEEP PURPLE's 'Fireball'. I bought that in February of 1973, the day after my dad took me to see them play in Copenhagen. And at that time, most of the stuff I was buying was the stuff that was coming out of England at the time: SLADE, STATUS QUO… even things like ALVIN STARDUST or things like MUD, or stuff like that. That was sort of the first stuff that I got into."

On the ritual of buying an album and listening to it from beginning to end:

Lars: "I believe that people have shorter attention spans than they [used to]. But you have a tendency to hold on to how you were reared or how you grew up or the experiences that were part of your formative years. So, obviously, turning records over and sitting and listening to fifteen minutes' worth of music or twenty minutes' worth of music on a side is just sort of like how I was reared, so you will always treasure those types of experiences."

2016 Record Store Day Ambassadors METALLICA performed at Berkeley, California's legendary record store Rasputin Music on April 16 in celebration of Record Store Day.

Throughout the nine years that Record Store Day has been in existence, METALLICA has participated with events and special releases.

The band did a meet-and-greet with fans at Rasputin Records in Mountain View, California back in 2008 to help kick off the very first Record Store Day.

Last year the group issued a cassette version of its original 1982 demo, "No Life 'Til Leather", which ended up being Record Store Day 2015's biggest seller.

Following the tragic terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015, METALLICA's release for this year's Record Store Day was "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, Metallica! - Live At Le Bataclan. Paris, France - June 11th, 2003", a CD featuring a live recording of METALLICA performing at the same venue that was the site of the deadliest of the November attacks.

Proceeds from sales of the CD benefit Fondation de France's Give For France charity.

METALLICA also released deluxe reissues of its first two albums, 1983's "Kill 'Em All" and 1984's "Ride The Lightning", on Record Store Day.

TheCourier.co.uk recently reported that a heavy metal statue of AC/DC singer Bon Scott was revealed in the rocker’s Scottish home town. The 450 kg bronze is the first in Scotland of the star, who was born in Kirriemuir, Angus, but moved to Australia with his family when he was six.

Scott, who died in 1980 aged 33, is now celebrated every year with a three-day BonFest music festival in the town. This year’s highlight was the official unveiling of the eight-foot tall statue on Saturday, April 30th in front of an expected 2500 AC/DC lovers.

The Courier has followed up with a report on the official unveiling of the statue, including photos,  here. An excerpt is available below:

The main Bonfest is a sell-out 1,000 ticket event, but John Crawford of organisers DD8 Music said he reckoned some 3,000 fans had flocked to the town from across the globe for the weekend celebration.

Sculptor John McKenna watched proudly as the covers were lifted to reveal the magnificent larger than life-sized artwork of Bon – microphone in one outstretched arm and a set of bagpipes tucked under the other.

The crowd also included Bonfest special guests Mark Evans,Tony Currenti and Bob Richards who all played with the band. and Melbourne fashion designer Mary Renshaw, whose new book Live Wire charts her friendship with the singer who was her soulmate.

Mary told The Courier it was an emotional first-time visit to Scotland.

“It is a fabulous thing to be here for, I have made so many friends,” she said.

“It has been a wonderful experience – and I thank Bon for that.”

Funded by fans from 32 countries around the world, the £45,000 statue will be the centrepiece of a memorial garden dedicated to Scott. It depicts the long-haired rocker in a sleeveless denim jacket and tight jeans, with one arm aloft and the other clutching bagpipes.

It is surrounded by a mosaic featuring Scott’s words: “And the music was good and the music was loud, and the singer turned to the crowd and said ‘Let there be rock’.”

Read more at TheCourier.co.uk.

The latest video in a monthly series of releases from Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 pays homage to the legendary sci-fi characters of Planet of the Apes with his new single "Here's To The Crazy Ones".  The single is available to buy now wherever digital music is sold. The track will be included on John 5’s new album, Guitars, T!ts And Monsters, out later in 2016.

John 5 And The Creatures recently completed the Behind The Nut Love Tour. Below is footage of the entire concert filmed at 12th and Porter in Nashville, TN where the band performed March 8th. The hour-long concert features musical styles ranging from heavy metal to bluegrass, ending with a montage of iconic guitar riffs. The band consists of: John 5 on guitar, Ian Ross on bass, and Rodger Carter on drums.

Leaves' Eyes vocalist Liv Kristine - who launched the band in 2003 - was recently replaced by Finnish singer Elina Siirala (Angel Nation), who made her live debut with the band on April 17th at the Hammersonic Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia. The band kicked off a European tour on April 28th in Lübeck, Germany at Rider's Café; fan-filmed video is available below.

The setlist on the night was as follows:

"Halvdan The Black"
"Sacred Vow"
"Take the Devil in Me"
"Farewell Proud Men"
"The Waking Eye"
"Spirits' Masquerade"
"Melusine"
"Edge of Steel"
"Into Your Light"
"Galswintha"
"My Destiny"
"Swords in Rock"
"Hell to the Heavens"

Encore:
"To France" (Mike Oldfield cover)
"Blazing Waters"

For Leaves' Eyes tour dates go to this location. Click here for a play-by-play of the unfortunate conflict between Leaves' Eyes and Liv Kristine.

Video footage of MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil performing with his solo band on April 29 at the M3 Rock Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland can be seen below.

Neil said in a recent interview that he had seventy solo shows scheduled between April 29 and the end of the year. The singer also hinted that his solo band was working on new material, with the possibility of road testing some of those songs on his current tour.

"I'll say that we're recording some stuff for a new record this year," Neil told The Michigan City News-Dispatch. "You often hear some surprises at our shows. I don't want to give away some of those surprises, but let's just say you might have struck a nerve that could ring true…"

He continued: "I think there's always room for this type of music. Some of the things we are working on will be in that same vein. The music is exciting. It's good, fun, nasty, raw energy and good songs. That's what is so important — good, fun songs. I mean, who wouldn't want to go out and not have a good time? Not me. So I'm thankful to be playing everywhere I am."

Neil's first solo album, "Exposed", came out in 1993, reaching No. 13 on The Billboard 200 chart. His follow-up effort, "Carved In Stone", arrived two years later. Neil's third and latest solo album, "Tattoos & Tequila", was released in 2010 and included two originals along with covers of classics songs from AEROSMITH, SCORPIONS and SWEET.

"Look, I'm going to always be the guy who was in MÖTLEY CRÜE, but my first solo record, with [the song] 'You're Invited (But Your Friend Can't Come)', was over a million seller, so a lot of people enjoyed it and 'Sister Of Pain' and many of those songs," Neil told The Michigan City News-Dispatch. "I'm looking forward to recording more stuff, but I'm really a road singer. I love giving cool, fun performances with a big look."

"Tattoos & Tequila" sold 7,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 57 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Neil recorded "Tattoos & Tequila" in the winter of 2009 with his solo live backing band, which continues to consist of bassist Dana Strum and Jeff Blando (both of SLAUGHTER) and drummer Zoltan Chaney.

CINDERELLA bassist Eric Brittingham has joined POISON singer Bret Michaels's solo band.

Brittingham made his live debut with Michaels last night (Saturday, April 30) at Harrah's Laughlin Casino & Hotel in Laughlin, Nevada. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

This is not the first time Eric and Bret have played together. Brittingham temporarily filled in for POISON bassist Bobby Dall on that band's summer 2009 tour with DEF LEPPARD when Dall became sick.

Although CINDERELLA hasn't released a new studio album since 1994's "Still Climbing", the band started playing sporadic shows again in 2010 but appears to be on hold while frontman Tom Keifer focuses on his solo career. Earlier this year, Brittingham told the "Talk Toomey" podcast that he didn't think Keifer was coming back to CINDERELLA.

Brittingham played with POISON drummer Rikki Rockett in a band called DEVIL CITY ANGELS, which also features guitarist Tracii Guns (L.A GUNS) and vocalist Brandon Gibbs. He left that group in June 2015 and was subsequently replaced by Rudy Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE).