"Stranded", a brand new song from French progressive metallers GOJIRA, will make its online debut on Friday, April 22. The track is taken from the band's brand new studio album, "Magma", which will be released on June 17 via Roadrunner Records. The as follow-up to 2012's "L'Enfant Sauvage" was recorded at GOJIRA frontman Joseph Duplantier's Silver Cord Studio in Queens, New York.

A teaser for "Stranded" is available below.

Joseph told RollingStone.com in a new interview that GOJIRA worked on twelve songs for the album before ultimately deciding on ten. "We want a short album," he said. "Something less epic than what we usually do. People's attentions are shorter now. So a lot of the songs are four minutes."

Joseph and his brother, GOJIRA drummer Mario Duplantier, who make up the band's songwriting core, were forced to put the sessions for the new album on hold when their mother got sick and eventually died last summer.

"I felt physically, mentally exhausted," Joseph told RollingStone.com. "At the same time, though, the way it happened was beautiful. We were all around her. We had to cancel a few shows when she died, but it was very enriching at the same time. We learned a lot about death."

"When you read Joe's lyrics, for me, I cry right away," Mario said. "They're very deep and to the point. No bullshit. We recycle our sadness and depression in the music."

"Mario was recording drums, and I was playing guitar with him, just trying to help him know where he's at in the song, and both of us would start crying at the same time," Joseph added.

"The songs were half-written while she was sick," he said. "After she died, I still had to finish them. So one song was like, 'You're going to make it,' but the second verse is 'You didn't make it.'"

GOJIRA's fifth album, "L'Enfant Sauvage", sold almost 11,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 34 on The Billboard 200 chart.

In March 2015, GOJIRA released "Les Enfants Sauvages", a limited edition 5" x 7", 60-page hardcover photo book chronicling the band's journey around the world over the first two years since the release of "L'Enfant Sauvage". The images were taken around the globe, spanning over 150 shows on three continents, and were hand-selected by Joseph and Mario. The package also included a live CD and DVD capturing the band's performance at the legendary Brixton Academy in London, England.

Swedish glam rock legends EASY ACTION will release their new single and the video for the track "Drop The Bomb" on May 27 via Monty Music.

This spring marks the tenth anniversary of EASY ACTION's comeback show at the Sweden Rock Festival in 2006. The Swedish glam pioneers Zinny Zan (SHOTGUN MESSIAH, ZAN CLAN) and Kee Marcello (EUROPE, K2) had not played together for over twenty years, and the show was meant to be a one-time thing. "But with the new members Simon Roxx (AMMOTRACK, VOLUME UNIT), Björn 'Grizzly' Höglund (THE SUMMIT, MARTINA EDOFF) and Michael Grimm (SUPERGROUPIES), we had so much fun, and sounded so good … that we decided to have a go at it," says Zan.

In the years that followed, EASY ACTION played several club dates and festivals, and supported TWISTED SISTER for a handful of Scandinavian dates. In 2008, the band released a new version of "We Go Rocking" and the new song "Jack's Back". By 2009, the band had written enough material for a new album, and the basic tracks were laid down in September 2009. However, as of 2011, the new album, titled "Looking Up Your Old Address", had still not been completed.

Says Höglund: "That's when we lost Michael due to complications with his diabetes, and... well that's where we left it. The album is still on the shelves."

In January 2016, EASY ACTION retrieved a hard drive consisting of multi-angle pro-shot video footage of the 2006 show at the Sweden Rock Festival.

Says Höglund: "I started going through the footage and the energy of that show just hit me! We had something special in that lineup. Seeing Michael on that stage playing with his childhood favorite band, and all the fun we had, was moving, to say the least. But there was almost no audio recorded at the Sweden Rock show, so we decided do go back to the album we never finished. The song 'Drop The Bomb' was close enough to completion so we decided to use that."

Ironically that song was written back in 1984 and intended for EASY ACTION's sophomore album.

Says Zan: "We wanted to close the book by at least releasing something from the would-be album — if not for all the people who asked about the band,. then for Michael. Though I am sure that many of the songs we wrote will surface some way or another pretty soon."

90.7 WCLH recently conducted an interview with former QUEENSRŸCHE and current OPERATION: MINDCRIME singer Geoff Tate. You can now listen to the chat below.

Asked if he is most creative while traveling, Tate responded: "I'm more creative when I clear my head of responsibilities or day-to-day things that you have to do.

"There's an interesting book, 'Chop Wood, Carry Water', that came out several years ago that [talks about] simplifying your life, and that makes a lot of sense to me: trying to simplify your life, streamline it, so that you're not so encumbered with all these tasks and things that you have to do every day that take up so much of your brain space," he continued. "'Cause I think you need time to meditate, you need time to sort of go inside yourself in order to be creative and to take advantage of it. You've gotta let your mind wander a bit. And, at least from my experience, when I let my mind wander, it wanders into some new idea that I can make a record around."

Tate added: "As of late, the inspiration for [OPERATION: MINDCRIME's debut album] 'The Key' came from a long hike that my wife and I did across Northern Spain. We'd had a real tumultuous couple of years and we decided, 'Let's just take some time for ourselves, and we'll go on this hike across Spain we've always wanted to do, and we'll really clear our heads.' And when I did that, I just came up with idea after idea after idea, and by the time I got home a month and a half later, I had a new album in the works."

Joining Tate in OPERATION: MINDCRIME's current touring lineup are guitarists Kelly Gray (QUEENSRŸCHE) and Scott Moughton, drummer Scott Mercado (CANDLEBOX), bassist Tim Fernley (THE VOODOOS) and keyboardist Randy Gane (MYTH).

"The Key", the first album of an ambitious trilogy from OPERATION: MINDCRIME, sold around 2,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD was made available last September via Frontiers Music Srl.

OPERATION: MINDCRIME's next album, which has already been completed, will arrive in September 2016.

Brazil's Imprensa Do Rock recently conducted an interview with SANCTUARY and NEVERMORE singer Warrel Dane. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

A how he takes care of his voice:

Warrel: "The most important thing for a singer is you have to get a lot of rest, a lot of sleep. You have to drink a lot of water. You have to hydrate yourself. And you… I know I have a bad reputation about alcohol, but you kind of have to stay away. So I'm a little better now these days than I was. I know I have a bad reputation for drinking too much, but I don't so much anymore. And you just… you just have to realize your instrument and know your limitations and know your strengths. I used to, when I was younger, sing in the stratosphere — very high. As you get older, and I will completely admit this, I can't sing that high anymore. So now I focus on my strengths. And it's no secret that I'm a fan of goth music, so I love singing low."

On SANCTUARY's plans to write and record the follow-up to 2014's "The Year The Sun Died" album:

Warrel: "I have three new SANCTUARY songs that I'm working on now. So another one's coming, and it's going to heavier and faster. This is what I told the guys in the band: 'Faster, faster, faster, faster!'"

On the musical direction of the songs that he has written for his next solo album, the follow-up to 2008's "Praises To The War Machine":

Warrel: "They are not like my first solo record. My first solo record, I wanted to do something more rock and roll, but still metal. This one, fuck it! It's fucking full-on brutal metal."

SANCTUARY last year parted ways with guitarist Brad Hull and replaced him with Nick Cordle (ex-ARCH ENEMY, ARSIS).

"The Year The Sun Died" was released in October 2014 via Century Media. The CD was recorded in Seattle at Soundhouse Studios with producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris (SOULFLY, SHADOWS FALL, HATEBREED, MUNICIPAL WASTE).

Leaves' Eyes vocalist Liv Kristine - who launched the band in 2003 - was recently replaced by Finnish singer Elina Siirala, who made her live debut with the band on April 17th at the Hammersonic Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia. The band has been raked over the coals since the news broke, and fans have been getting two sides to the story from Leaves' Eyes and Liv Kristine respectively.

Leaves' Eyes have now posted the following message on social media:

"Since we are fed up with the lies on social media, and as we promised yesterday, here is the proof that we tell you the truth about what is going on. Here you can read the signed protocol documents (English and German) - certified by lawyer Frank Dehn - which proves that the news about the protocol from the mediator of our crucial band meeting is accurate and correct in every way. Furthermore the protocol shows that the decisions were made together! Since January this year Liv’s exit from the band was already pending. We hope, we have finally cleared up the situation for every one now. Like posted before we wish Liv all the best for her future."

The original statement released by Leaves' Eyes regarding Liv's departure is available below, followed by Liv's much different take on the situation.

Leaves' Eyes:

"We are just back from a great weekend in Indonesia. Our first show with Elina went awesome! Despite a heavy tropical storm before the gig, 21,000 people showed up in front of the stage!

We understand that many fans and friends are surprised and shocked about the change in our band. We all know Liv had an important role for the band in the past, and we understand people are sad as it was not an easy decision for every one involved. But since a lot of hateful and disrespectful comments are in the social media, we would like to take the opportunity to make some points very clear: Leaves' Eyes has always been a band, and not a project, nor a Liv Kristine solo project at all. We always worked as a team in Leaves' Eyes. In the last decade Tosso (guitarist Thorsten Bauer) and Alex (Krull, Leaves' Eyes co-vocalist and Liv's husband) wrote the music for Leaves' Eyes and Liv took care of the lyrics.

Liv's solo project is called Liv Kristine. We supported Liv also in her solo career, writing music, recording and producing albums and doing management in the past.

The decision to part ways with Liv was taken by all Leaves' Eyes members, including Liv. A mediator — a friend of Liv and Alex — was at the band meeting who can witness that the decision of parting ways was agreed by all members. Liv was happy to have the opportunity to plan changes in her future life and she does not have to go on tour so much anymore. The idea to go separated ways came up already in January. Elina was not part of this decision or process. It was also agreed to help Liv for her solo project, Liv Kristine, and record her new demo songs and her further projects at the studio just like in the past.

Please respect the privacy of Liv and Alex. Disrespectful postings and bashing is harming their family situation and their son Leon. Liv and Alex don't want to split fans — don't give false rumors, haters and bashers a chance! At the moment, we can't tell you more details as legal actions are in process.

To our worldwide fans who are there for the music and not the gossip: Let the music talk!

We are looking forward to present new material with Elina soon! Stay tuned for news of our upcoming video clip, music and tour updates."

Liv Kristine:

"Dear fans and friends, without you I wouldn't have the strength to continue with music. What you all have done for me with all your endless support and passion keeps me going on in these difficult times. Thank you for warning me concerning new postings by someone in Leaves' Eyes, done to harm me and make my situation even worse.

I have nothing to hide, nothing to fear. I was told a bit longer than a week ago that I am not preferred as the band's singer for further tours and recordings anymore. I asked for the situation concerning Indonesia and the soon-to-happen up-coming shows. The answer was 'no.' I asked if there's a replacement and I got no clear answer.

I can't believe this process happened behind my back, parallel to a huge disappointment in my private life.

A few days later, there certainly was a replacement. I must say — that was 'quick'!

I still see Leaves' Eyes as 'my baby' and I will miss playing these gigs, feeling the good vibes, sensing the real Norwegian Viking power with the audiences. Inside my heart I will always treasure Leaves' Eyes for all the good music, tunes, themes, concept and true Viking power. The melodies I used to sing will always stay alive in my ears.

I can't wait to unveil good news for you soon. There will be good news coming from Norway!"

On April 19th, 2016 the YouTube channel for VanHalenStore.com posted complete footage of the band playing live in Montreal, Quebec at the Forum on April 19th, 1984. Check out the vintage footage below.

The setlist on the night was as follows (click the link above to skip tracks):

"Unchained"
"Hot For Teacher"
"On Fire"
"Runnin' With the Devil"
"Little Guitars"
"Cathedral"
"House of Pain"
- bass solo - 
"Jamie's Cryin'"
"I'll Wait"
"Everybody Wants Some"
"Girl Gone Bad"
"Jump"
- guitar solo - 
"Pretty Woman"
"Panama"
"You Really Got Me"
"Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love"

Van Halen’s 5150 turned 30 years old on March 24th and was the first album to feature lead singer Sammy Hagar, who replaced David Lee Roth. Previously unreleased rough demos of the album have been uploaded by the Van Halen News Desk and these tracks contain many alternate vocals and even some alternate music.

5150 hit #1 on the Billboard Album Charts upon its release and has sold over 6 million albums in the US and 300,000 in Canada, earning Platinum certifications in both countries. 

Hagar recently spoke to Rolling Stone about the album’s 30th anniversary and when asked about he felt about the anniversary, he said “What a trip, man. Unbelievable. I just got out of bed, and what a thing to wake up to. I need some coffee for that one. Wow.”

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of his landmark album, Passion And Warfare, guitar legend Steve Vai has announced he will be embarking on a very special world tour celebrating the groundbreaking recording.  

Passion And Warfare is highly regarded as one of the greatest instrumental rock guitar recordings of all time. For the first time Vai will be performing the entire Passion And Warfare record from top to bottom, with some very special surprises in store. 

Vai will be launching his PAW Euro tour hot off the Generation Axe tour and will be performing at the World Guitar Festival in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, on May 28th. This will mark the first date of the Passion And Warfare 25th Anniversary Tour. Following that festival play and an extensive run in Europe that will include stops in Scotland, England, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Poland, France, Switzerland and many other countries, the tour will arrive in the United States in October. Additional concerts in America and abroad will be announced at a later date.

"Performing this record from top to bottom (with some very special surprises in the works) is something I’ve always dreamed of doing,” Vai said.  “There are songs here I’ve never performed before, and I’m delighted that 25 years after its release, I feel as though my guitar chops are as much up to the task as ever before."

The tour will feature a unique premium package:  the Passion and Warfare EVO Experience, where among other things fans will have an opportunity to sit with Steve in an intimate Q&A session.  A limited number of EVO Experience tickets will be available for each show.

Steve Vai's Passion And Warfare 25th Anniversary World Tour dates are as follows:

May 
28 - Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec - World Guitar Festival

June 
1 - Glasgow, Scotland - O2 ABC Glasgow
2 - London, England - London Palladium
3 - Newcastle Upon Tyne, England - O2 Academy Newcastle
5 - Manchester, England - O2 Ritz Manchester
6 - Brighton, England - The Dome
7 - Bristol, England - Academy
9 - Helsinki, Finland - The House of Culture 
11 - Solvesborg, Sweden - Sweden Rock Festival
12 - Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller Music Hall
13 - Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser Medis, Ballroom
14 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Amager Bio
15 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Pusterviksbaren
17 - Leuven, Belgium - Het Depot
18 - Gutenstetten, Germany - Ibanez Guitar Festival
19 - Berlin, Germany - Columbia Theatre
20 - Warsaw, Poland - Progresja
21 - Prague, Czech Republic - Lucerna Music Bar
23 - Vienna, Austria - Simm City
24 - Dornbirn, Austria - Conrad Sohm
26 - Paris, France - Le Trianon
27 - Solothurn, Switzerland - Kofmehl
28 - Schaffhausen, Switzerland - Kammgarn
29 - Luxembourg, Luxembourg - den Atelier
30 - Lausanne, Switzerland - Les Docks

July 
2 - Rome, Italy - Rock In Roma (G3 with Joe Satriani & The Aristocrats)
3 - Sogliano Al Rubicone, Italy (G3 with Joe Satriani & The Aristocrats)
4 - Ascoli Piceno, Itlay - Piazza del Popolo (G3 with Joe Satriani & The Aristocrats)
5 - Grugliasco, Italy - Gru Village (G3 with Joe Satriani & The Aristocrats)
6 - Gardone Riviera, Italy - Teatro del Vittoriale 
7 - Udine, Italy - Castello di Udine
10 - Weert, Netherlands - Bospop Festival
11 - Munich, Germany - Circus Krone (G3 with Joe Satriani & The Aristocrats)
12 - Offenbach A. Main, Germany - Stadthalle (G3 with Joe Satriani & The Aristocrats)
13 - Bonn, Germany - Kunst!rasen (G3 with Joe Satriani & The Aristocrats)
16 - Cordoba, Spain - Anfiteatro Axerquia
17 - San Javier, Spain - Auditrio Parque Almansa
18 - Madrid, Spain - Jardines de la Complutense
19 - Valencia, Spain - Jardines de los Viveros
20 - Palma, Spain - Teatro Trui
21 - Barcelona, Spain - BARTS Club Paral.lel 62
23 - Lisbon, Portugal - Cultural Centre of Belem
24 - Vila, Portugal - Hard Club
28 - Budapest, Hungary - Park Budapest
30 - Tbilisi, Georgia - Tbilisi Open Air

Swedish death metallers AMON AMARTH are inviting fans around the globe to be a part of their forthcoming video for the song "Raise Your Horns". The clip will include footage of the band performing in multiple countries, plus the fans raising their horns to AMON AMARTH!

Do you have a wall plastered with AMON AMARTH and other metal posters? Did you just attend a live show or are going to one soon? Send the band clips of you and your friends raising your horns to the band for a chance to be included in the video.

Clips should be e-mailed to [email protected]/* */ YouTube links should include #RaiseYourHorns in the title.

Submissions are requested to be sent in by May 27. The video is tentatively scheduled for a June release.

"Raise Your Horns" is taken from AMON AMARTH's tenth studio album, "Jomsviking", which debuted at No. 19 on The Billboard 200, having shifted 21,000 equivalent album units in the week ending March 31.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

In terms of pure album sales, "Jomsviking" opened with 20,000 copies.

"Jomsviking" was released on March 25 via Metal Blade in North America and Sony Music internationally. The first concept record in AMON AMARTH's storied career tells a tragic tale of love and revenge, backed by the Swedes' trademark melodic, anthemic metal, which was produced and mixed once again by Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, TESTAMENT, ACCEPT) and also features special guest session drummer Tobias Gustafsson (VOMITORY). The epic original story is set in the world of the Jomsvikings, the legendary order of mercenary Vikings.

AMON AMARTH's North American tour features support from fellow Swedes ENTOMBED A.D. and young USA metal upstarts EXMORTUS.

Metal Wani's Fernando Bonenfant conducted an interview with vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth of New Jersey thrashers OVERKILL on April 13 at O2 Academy Islington in London, England. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about the progress of the songwriting sessions for OVERKILL's follow-up to 2014's "White Devil Armory" album, Blitz said: "Well, so far, there's eleven songs demoed musically. I'm working on those eleven. Five are fully completed. I have stuff for three others. So we're in the process of looking at scheduling drums for May. So it's moving along as we normally do."

He continued: "I think that we have a real blue-collar-type work ethic; when we say we're gonna complete something, we do that. And this has been not just for this record, but through our history. So when it starts, it goes right to the finish. So we're right one month from starting drums right now."

Regarding how OVERKILL approaches the songwriting process nowadays, Blitz said: "What we do is we couple where came from and where we are. Where we came from is the days of rolling two-inch tape, being in a room together, feeling the music, feeling the walls, sweating… That's the old-school way of doing. So that's the way it's gotta start. But then as it starts developing, we start using more technology. We start using Pro Tools. We go to different studios and we'll work simultaneously. Dave [Linsk, guitar] will be in Florida doing some guitar leads. I might be in Jersey doing some vocals. D.D. [Verni, bass] might be dropping some bass down at his home studio. So it becomes this really cool process of being able to upload those files at the end of the day, have the other guy pull them down and go, 'Oh, I see what he's doing now.' So we use both. We're in the room together, and then later on it develops into a wonderful world of Pro Tools and file sharing over Dropbox."

Blitz also talked about the general musical direction of OVERKILL's new material and how it compares to some of the band's previous efforts. He said: "I never can really tell until it's done. I mean, that's always the surprise for me. I know even before we start the record it's gonna be an OVERKILL record. But when it's taking shape, I can't say it feels like this or it feels like that. It's more the more current OVERKILL. And what I mean by that is that it's got that 'Ironbound', 'The Electric Age', 'White Devil Armory' feel to it, with the way especially the drums have been written. And I think that's probably the only characteristic that is solid right now in this opinion, because everything else has changed around, which is kind of cool at this point."

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

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

Garcia previously played with OVERKILL for their appearance on the 2012 edition of the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise.

AEROSMITH's Tom Hamilton will play bass for THIN LIZZY on the latter band's forthcoming anniversary shows planned for 2016 and 2017.

Tom joins THIN LIZZY guitarists Scott Gorham and Damon Johnson, together with lead vocalist Ricky Warwick and keyboard player Darren Wharton, on the following shows:

Jun. 17 - Loreley, Germany - Freilichtbuhne (with Rainbow)Jun. 18 - Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany - Festplatz (with Rainbow)Jul. 17 - Barcelona, Spain - Rock FestJul. 23 - Maidstone Kent, UK - Ramblin’ Man Fair FestivalAug. 06 - Rejmeyre, Sweden - Skogsrojet FestivalJan. 19-23 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Rock Legends V Cruise

Said Hamilton: "I'm really psyched to be playing these shows with THIN LIZZY during my downtime with AEROSMITH this summer. It'll be great to rock out to their classic songs onstage."

In addition to Tom's appointment on bass, MOTÖRHEAD drummer Mikkey Dee has been replaced in THIN LIZZY's touring lineup by JUDAS PRIEST drummer Scott Travis on all shows except August 6 in Sweden, where EUROPE drummer Ian Haugland will be on the drum stool.

Says Dee: "Unfortunately, due to circumstances that will be announced very soon, I cannot play the six shows with THIN LIZZY in 2016 and 2017. As a lifelong fan of the band, I truly wish I could have been a part of this, but the reason will be revealed as soon as possible. I wish my great friends Scott Travis and Ian Haugland all the best with these shows and I know they will kick ass!"

On his appointment, Travis says: "First of all, let me offer a sincere thank you to Brian Downey and THIN LIZZY for allowing me to sit in with the band! THIN LIZZY are undisputed legends and to be a small part of their lineage is a humble honor for me. I hope to do the position good. It's gonna' be a blast!"

All shows are currently on sale at ThinLizzyBand.com.

Montreal based deathcore pioneers, Despised Icon, will release their Nuclear Blast debut, Beast, on July 22nd. The album was produced and engineered by former guitarist Yannick St-Amand (Beneath The Massacre, Neuraxis) and mixed/mastered by Andy Sneap (Megadeth, Opeth, Nevermore). Artwork was created by Alexandre Goulet. Check out the album teaser for Beast below.

"It's been 7 years since our last record and our batteries are fully recharged," comments the band. "The O.G. lineup is back and the new shit hits hard. You'll hear sounds of our older slammin' death metal days blended with the speed and technicality of our latest records. Cheers to everyone that has stood by us after all these years. Can't wait to unleash the Beast."

Beast tracklisting:

“The Aftermath”
“Inner Demons”
“Drapeau Noir”
“Bad Vibes”
“Dedicated To Extinction”
“Grind Forever”
“Time Bomb”
“One Last Martini”
“Doomed”
“Beast”

Teaser:

For many extreme music fans, it may be hard to remember a time before Despised Icon, given the massive influence they’ve subsequently had on the genre. But when the group formed back in 2002 and released Consumed By Your Poison the same year, there was little intersection between the sounds of classic death metal and the brute force of hardcore. But Despised Icon were among the first to fully embrace the signatures of the traditional death metal formula combined with a relentless embrace of breakdowns, part of an emerging new sound.

Now Despised Icon have returned with their upcoming album entitled, Beast. The genre-defining band is fully reawakened, poised to recapture the crown with the monstrous and merciless might of their potent expression. Featuring the men responsible for most of the band’s now classic death metal catalog, Beast is a vicious commentary on the state of the world and the state of music itself.

Despised Icon’s live itinerary can be found here.

(Photo - Charlie Baron)

On May 6th, Century Media Records will release Infestdead’s anthology, Satanic Serenades, as gatefold 2LP, 2CD in O-Card, digital album uniting all recordings by the Swedish unholy death metal duo consisting of Dan Swanö (Witherscape, ex-Edge Of Sanity, ex-Bloodbath) and Dread (Tormented, ex-Marduk, ex-Edge Of Sanity).

Remastered and mastered for vinyl by Dan Swanö, accompanied with liner notes, loads of blasphemous lyrics, and brand-new artwork by Gyula Havancsák (Destruction, Annihilator), Satanic Serenades is an official 40+ tracks collection offering classic US inspired death metal in the Deicide, Morbid Angel vein.

Dan Swanö comments: “It's awesome to finally be able to present the evilution (sic) of Infestdead with the sound and imagery I always hoped for!”

The European pre-sale for Satanic Serenades has started, so grab your format of choice:

- Gatefold red 2LP, 180 gram vinyl + 2 lyric inserts – limited to 100 copies / CM Distro EU exclusive
- Gatefold black 2LP, 180 gram vinyl + 2 lyric inserts – first press: 800 copies
- 2CD Jewelcase in O-card

Pre-order your copy here.

The pre-sale for the North American exclusive vinyl edition will be announced soon.

- Gold Gatefold 2LP, 180 gram vinyl + 2 lyrics inserts – limited to 100 copies / CM Distro US exclusive
 
Pre-order the digital album here.

The legendary vocalist/multi-instrumentalist/producer is perhaps best known for his work with Edge Of Sanity, Nightingale, Bloodbath, and recently Witherscape. Active since the early '90s, his career runs much deeper than this revered quartet, having produced countless bands (Opeth, Dissection, Katatonia, Asphyx etc.) as well as launching or taking part in side projects including Moontower, Odyssey, Pan.Thy.Monium and Infestdead. The latter formed in 1993 and released two albums – Hellfuck (1997) and JesuSatan (1999) – plus EP/split releases. Even if it’s just plain and violent death metal, Mr Swanö turns everything he touches into amazing music, be it prog or unholy brutality.

Satanic Serenades tracklisting:

Disc 1
“Re-Resurrection”
“Christinsanity”
“Born To Burn”
“JesuSatan”
“Undead Screaming Sins”
“The Burning Of The Son”
“Sinister”
“Evil²”
“Antichristian Song #37”
“Black Night” (Deep Purple cover)
“Burn Me (Without The Grace Of God)”
“Dead Earth”

Tracks 1 - 10: JesuSatan album (1999)
Tracks 11 - 12: Demo 1993
 
Disc 2
“Rebirth”
“The Desecration Of Christ”
“Infest The Dead”
“The New Empire”
“Mercenary, Merciless”
“Born. Nailed.”
“The Plot To Kill Jesus”
“Blaspheme The Abbess”
“Polterchrist”
“Sacrifice The Saviour”
“Hellfuck”
“Darkness Complete”
“Haunting The Holy”
“Heaven Denied”
“Salvation Incomplete”
“Bewitch The Virgin”
“Angeldemon”
“World Inverted”
“Son Of The Darkside”
“Hellborn”
“Satanic”
“Amen”
“Bestial Genocide”
“The Rising”
“I'll Be Black”
“In The Spell Of Satan”
“Save Me From The Hands Of Christ”
“Fucked By Satan”
“Burn Me (Without The Grace Of God)” 1994 remix

Tracks 1 - 23: Hellfuck album (1997)
Tracks 24 - 29: Killing Christ MCD (1996)

“Re-Resurrection” (from JesuSatan):

“Angeldemon” (from Hellfuck):

Brooklyn-based act So Hideous will release an orchestral version of their sophomore album, Laurestine, in correlation with their upcoming first-ever appearances on the West Coast this May alongside Bosse-de-Nage.

Laurestine (Orchestral) will be released via Prosthetic Records on May 6th across all digital platforms (iTunes, Amazon MP3 and Bandcamp). The band will kick off their West Coast tour the prior day (May 5th) in Tempe, AZ and will head northwest along the coast before finalizing their trek in San Francisco, CA on May 15th.

Laurestine (Orchestral) was recorded by the 30-member The First Light Orchestra at Little Field Performance and Art Space in Brooklyn with Chris Montgomery (Mumford and Sons, Lily Allen) while being engineered at Portsmouth, NH's Wild Arctic Recording Studios by Dean Baltulonis (Lucero, Sick of it All, Modern Life is War). A concept album about a man’s interior journey in the minutes after death, Laurestine begins with “Yesteryear” and continues through seven tracks, connected seamlessly as one long song. “Cinematic” to the utmost, the album paints vivid pictures – explosive, majestic, cathartic.

Tracklisting:

“Yesteryear”
“Hereafter”
“Relinquish”
“The Keepsake”
“Falling Cedars”
“The True Pierce”
“A Faint Whisper”

Tour dates:

May (with Bosse-de-Nage)
5 - Tempe, AZ - Yucca Tap Room
6 - Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
7 - San Diego, CA - The Merrow
8 - Los Angeles, CA - The Lexington
9 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Catalyst Atrium
10 - Sacramento, CA - Starlite Lounge
11 - Portland, OR - Panic Room
12 - Seattle, WA - Funhouse
13 - Vancouver, BC - Funky Winkerbeans
14 - Eugene, OR - Black Forest
15 - San Francisco, CA - Elbo Room

Finnish modern metallers, Volymian, released their debut album, Maze Of Madness, worldwide April 15th via Canadian label Maple Metal Records. A lyric video for "Under A Million Stars" is streaming below.

Volymian was founded in 2008, and the band went through various member changes before settling down with the sextet that recorded Maze Of Madness. Most recently, vocalist Markku Kuikka (Status Minor, The Ragged Saints, Kenziner) joined the band in 2015 for the new album. Previously the band had recorded three EPs with a different vocalist. Maze Of Madness was recorded at Artlab Studio, Helsinki, and produced by Volymian. The album was mastered by Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Primal Fear, Epica, Amaranthe) in Denmark.

Jacob Hansen shares his comments on the album: "Volymian is great! I’m very impressed with the performances and song writing. Excellent stuff they’ve got going."

The album cover artwork was designed by Satu Velasco.

Tracklisting:

“Breathe”
“Line Of Fire”
“Inside Out”
“Under A Million Stars”
“Maze Of Madness”
“Empty Room”
“Damnation Of Love”
“Ring”
“Indifferent”
“Wasted Years”

"Under A Million Stars" lyric video:

“Breathe”:

“Line Of Fire” video:

Teaser:

 
Volymian is:

Markku Kuikka - vocals
Timo Mikkonen - guitar
Juha Raisanen - guitar
Ville Velasco - drums
Petri Hampinen - bass
Robert Leksis - keyboards

Hamburg-based sludge metal / stoner / power doom band High Fighter, who already gained high praise in the scene for their self-released demo EP The Goat Ritual back in the end of 2014, have just unveiled some new details about their upcoming, first full length album. After the band formed in the summer of 2014 and in one band year only, High Fighter heavily toured across Europe including UK dates, shared the stages with bands such as Ahab, Mammoth Storm, The Midnight Ghost Train, Corrosion of Conformity or Greenleaf, and played festivals in 2015 such as Stoned from the Underground, Sonic Blast in Portugal, Red Smoke Poland, Hamburg Metaldayz and an exclusive press showcase live at Wacken Open Air 2015. 
 
High Fighter have finished the work on their debut studio record, and have unveiled the first details about Scars & Crosses, set to be released June 10th on Svart Records on CD digipak, digital, and LP gatefold.

Scars & Crosses has been recorded live at RAMA Studio in Mannheim, Germany ( Ahab, The Hirsch Effekt, Fjørt and many more ) by Jens Siefert, and is mixed and mastered by Toshi Kasai (Melvins, Big Business) in Los Angeles. Again the band worked with artist Dominic Sohor from the UK, who has already been responsible for the stunning artwork of The Goat Ritual back in 2014, on the band's upcoming album:

Tracklisting:

“A Silver Heart”
“Darkest Days”
“The Gatekeeper”
“Blinders”
“Portrait Mind”
“Gods”
“Down To The Sky”
“Scars & Crosses”

(Photo by: Peter Kupfer)

There are some bands that create music, and the there are others that create beautifully expressive worlds within their music. This collision of art and music is a unique and wholly difficult thing to pull off successfully. The latest to do so is Canadian blackened death outfit, Unbowed. Not only have the members created an EP of songs that rivals big boys such as Behemoth and Carach Angren, they have done so with an entirely DIY attitude. Said EP, Dogma, released late last year, was recorded and mixed entirely by the band. Adding to this DIY attitude, the guys have also created and crafted their first-ever performance video; again a venture taken on by the members themselves. The video perfectly expresses the band's penchant for oneness within the universe - a stunningly epic trip that captures the ritualistic nature of their art.

Unbowed began as two-man studio project in spring of 2011. From 2011 through 2015, Unbowed independently released a self-titled EP, a full-length album, and assembled a live lineup which played shows throughout Ontario, Canada including opening for major international acts such as Battlecross, Einherjer, The Contortionist, and Erimha. Currently, Unbowed is gearing up for the release of their latest and most matured offering Dogma. Dogma is a 4 song EP consisting of the band's most visceral and expansive material to date.

   

Dogma, the follow-up to Unbowed's 2014 debut full-length, Collapse The World, certainly reflects the deeper meaning of the band's monicker. The songs contained within are eloquent, forceful, and wholly unyielding.