BEHEMOTH bassist Tomasz Wróblewski (stage name Orion) has slammed concert venues that have begun charging exorbitant percentages to allow a band to sell its merchandise at shows.

Hall fees are fees charged by a venue for selling artists' merchandise there. These fees are usually a percentage cut of the merchandise take and are paid to the hall by the merchandise company.

Speaking to FreqsTV, Orion said (see video below): "Record sales nowadays, it's not really a source of income for musicians. So the most money that we earn is from touring.

"It's super important for us to bring our merchandise to the people. And they know that they can buy some unique stuff at the shows, which is much appreciated, 'cause this goes directly to us. And that's great it's happening."

He continued: "Some venues, they start charging bands for selling their merchandise, which causes bands rising prices of the merchandise.

"I was, three nights ago, counting everything that we need to leave in the venue; it was 42 percent altogether. So this is becoming a bad trend between the venue and us and everything. It's becoming like a Mafia. People should be able to get whatever they want for the prices that are fair."

BEHEMOTH has announced its return to North America this spring with a special tour, featuring MYRKUR as support. BEHEMOTH will play its latest album, "The Satanist", in its entirety. In addition to the concert, fans will also have the chance to view "The Congregation" exhibition at each venue. Dubbed "a symbiosis of BEHEMOTH and Toxic Vision," the display showcases the collaboration between the two parties.

Following the release of their album "Great Western Valkyrie" in 2014, a year which saw the band appear on "Later… With Jools Holland" in the U.K., "Late Show With David Letterman" in the U.S., appear at the Glastonbury and Isle Of Wight festivals, plus consistently sell out their worldwide headline tours, RIVAL SONS have announced that their fifth album, titled "Hollow Bones", will be available later this year. Vocalist Jay Buchanan said: "Each record we've made has been part of a distillation toward revealing the band's essence. This record finally is the release of the unapologetic, wild beast that has long lived within the ribs of RIVAL SONS howling to be freed." Recorded in Nashville's LCS studios, "Hollow Bones" saw recent two-time Grammy winner Dave Cobb on producer duties yet again. Cobb commented: "RIVAL SONS are the best rock 'n' roll band on the planet!" Always a band who feel artwork is as much a part of the album experience as the music, their first outing was a collaboration with legendary artist Storm Thorgerson, known for many iconic album covers from the likes of PINK FLOYD and LED ZEPPELIN. This time they have teamed up with artist Martin Wittfooth, whose intensely allegorical paintings all suggest the future of the human condition — without showing a single person — on a piece called "Rainsong". Guitarist Scott Holiday commented: "I discovered Martin Wittfooth about halfway through making 'Hollow Bones'. I was immediately drawn into his work. I loved his imagery with animals and felt it was calm and unnerving all at the same time. I also loved the touch of whimsy and beautiful psychedelic overtones he used. First time I saw his work, I immediately felt it was right for this album.

"I won't try to overly interpret the album cover or explain in detail why I believe it works perfectly with the album… but I can safely say I think this just might be my favorite cover of ours yet." With their last two albums charting in the Top 20 around the world ("Great Western Valkyrie" reached No. 14 in the UK), a rabid fan base and incendiary live shows, 2016 is set to be their best year yet.

RIVAL SONS are currently the sole support on the current BLACK SABBATH "The End" tour, they are also playing Download festival's main stage on Saturday, June 11.

Dunlop has created new Tortex guitar picks for Slash that the guitarist will presumably use during GUNS N' ROSES' upcoming tour. The new pick, which can be seen below, features GUNS N' ROSES' "bullet" logo, which is synonymous with the band's classic lineup.

GUNS N' ROSES has six shows scheduled so far, all in April: two at the Coachella Music And Arts Festival, two in Las Vegas and two in Mexico City. The exact band lineup has yet to be confirmed.

A new Twitter account purportedly belonging to former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Izzy Stradlin appeared late last month on the social media site. In one of his tweets, Izzy said that he has "no involvement in the upcoming April 2016 GNR shows."

It's been speculated that Stradlin would have some limited involvement — such as a guest appearance — at some of the upcoming GUNS N' ROSES reunion concerts, which currently feature Slash, Axl Rose and Duff McKagan.

The rest of the band's lineup for the shows — and a potential tour later in the year — remains unclear, although keyboardist Dizzy Reed, guitarist Richard Fortus, keyboard player Chris Pitman and drummer Frank Ferrer are all believed to be involved.

Fan speculation around the involvement of original drummer Steven Adler has been heavy, with the bandmembers not sure whether Adler, who has a longer history of drug problems than any of the other members, can hold it together on the road.

Canadian all-female metal band KITTIE has set "Kittie: Origins/Evolutions" as the title of its upcoming career-spanning documentary. Director Rob McCallum states in a new Facebook video update (see below): "This is going to be somewhat of a two-part documentary. The first part will be 'Origins' and it will look at the first ten years of the band's history. And the second part will be 'Evolutions' and it will take a look at the second half of the band's history so far. So you can see the ten-and-ten split really kind of makes sense."

He added: "When we had the first cut done, it was about, I think, four hours long, of the whole thing. And I'm, like, 'There's no way that we can do this justice by squeezing it into a ninety-minute timeline.

"How long is the final each bit going to be for the film? That's still up in the air. We still have some shooting to do. But I would guess that each part on its own would probably be about eighty minutes… maybe seventy-eight to eighty-five… somewhere in there. I don't wanna handcuff myself to a certain time, because we're still really sorting out the dynamics and logistics of it."

The six-minute update also includes a clip from the rough cut of "Kittie: Origins/Evolutions" was in which former KITTIE guitarist Fallon Bowman discusses her introduction to the band, with commentary from the band's founding guitarist/vocalist Morgan Lander and drummer Mercedes Lander.

Morgan Lander told Songfacts about how the idea to do a documentary at this point came up: "The idea for the documentary has been in the works for the last couple of years. I believe we started to discuss it towards the end of 2013 and going into the beginning of 2014. Mercedes was really the one who pushed the idea and thought it was a really great way to celebrate our upcoming 20th anniversary, so we decided to plan and get everything together for that. Initially, we had reached out to a number of different people to try to have them direct. The documentary has actually changed hands over the last little while, but I'm really quite happy with the direction that Rob McCallum has brought it. We're really excited about everything. It's been in the works for a number of years, and only now starting to come to fruition. It's taken a long time, having to reach out to past members and get them on board to discuss things and negotiate and describe what the idea is. But it's all for a good cause. 20 years is a long time to say that you have done something that you love."

Asked if seeing some of the old footage inspired the band to work on new material, Morgan said: "It certainly has rekindled the love that we have had for the band, and reminded us how exciting of a time being in the band was — and still is. It's been a really interesting experience, looking back, and seeing all that footage, and being like, 'Wow! Did we really do all that? Did we really say that? Did we really go all these places?' Memory can only be stretched so far, and it just so happens that it's quite convenient that we did record a lot of stuff, too. So we're certainly jumping back into the KITTIE pool — I know that sounds ridiculous. [Laughs] And sort of getting our toes wet with toying with the idea of doing new music and perhaps a new album."

German speed/power metallers Iron Savior are gearing up for the May 29th release of their new album, Titancraft.Check out the cover artwork and tracklist below.

"Under Siege" (intro)
"Titancraft"
"Way Of The Blade"
"Seize The Day"
"Gunsmoke"
"Beyond The Horizon"
"The Sun Won't Rise In Hell"
"Strike Down The Tyranny"
"Brother In Arms"
"R&R Addiction" (limited edition bonus)
"I Surrender"
"Rebellious"
"Protector 2016 (limited edition bonus)

Iron Savior released their first ever DVD/Live CD Live At The Final Frontier on May 29th, 2015. It includes the recordings of the band's show in their hometown Hamburg (from January 2015) and comes as exclusive DVD/2CD digipak.

JUDAS PRIEST's tour in support of their 17th studio album overall, "Redeemer Of Souls", was one of the most extensive of the group's entire career — consisting of 130 shows in 33 countries, and offering a setlist that touched upon selections from nearly all of their classic albums. And now, fans can relive the live PRIEST experience once more, with the release of the new CD/DVD/Blu-ray, "Battle Cry", on March 25 via Epic Records.

Recorded live on August 1, 2015 at Germany's Wacken Open Air festival in front of an audience of 85,000, "Battle Cry" is available on a 15-track CD, with the entire show on Blu-ray and DVD (running over 94 minutes), as well as digital audio and video formats. The DVD and Blu-ray also contains three bonus tracks shot in Poland on December 10, 2015 at The Ergo Arena, Gdansk, Poland.

What makes the show's track listing so appealing is it balances new classics ("Dragonaut", "Halls of Valhalla", "Redeemer Of Souls") along with headbanging classics ("Metal Gods", "Electric Eye", "You've Got Another Thing Coming"), as well as key album tracks from yesteryear ("Devil's Child", "Beyond The Realms Of Death", "Jawbreaker").

"Battle Cry" CD track listing:

01. (Intro) Battle Cry02. Dragonaut03. Metal Gods04. Devil's Child05. Victim Of Changes06. Halls Of Valhalla07. Redeemer Of Souls08. Beyond The Realms Of Death09. Jawbreaker10. Breaking The Law11. Hell Bent For Leather12. The Hellion13. Electric Eye14. You've Got Another Thing Coming15. Painkiller

"Battle Cry" DVD/Blu-ray track listing:

01. (Intro) Battle Cry02. Dragonaut03. Metal Gods04. Devil's Child05. Victim Of Changes06. Halls Of Valhalla07. Turbo Lover08. Redeemer Of Souls09. Beyond The Realms of Death10. Jawbreaker11. Breaking The Law12. Hell Bent For Leather13. The Hellion14. Electric Eye15. You've Got Another Thing Coming16. Painkiller17. Living After Midnight Recorded live on August 1, 2015 at Wacken Open Air festival, Germany. Bonus tracks:

18. Screaming For Vengeance19. The Rage20. Desert Plains Recorded live on December 10, 2015 at The Ergo Arena, Gdansk, Poland.

The "Metal Gods" performance clip, shot at last year's Wacken Open Air festival, can be seen below.

Former ACCEPT and current U.D.O. singer Udo Dirkschneider last month embarked on a special tour during which he is performing ACCEPT songs one last time before he closes the chapter for good.

The April 2 DIRKSCHNEIDER concert at Kaminwerk in Memmingen, Germany will be professionally filmed and recorded for a DVD and CD release later this year.

Asked about his decision to perform classic songs from ACCEPT for the last time in 2016 under the DIRKSCHNEIDER banner, Udo told rock journalist Mitch Lafon: "A lot of people ask me, 'Why do you do this?' And I said… Always people are asking, 'Oh, can you play this ACCEPT song and this ACCEPT song and this ACCEPT song?' I mean, I have fifteen U.D.O. albums out, and, for me now, U.D.O. is U.D.O. Of course, I know that the people like to hear ACCEPT songs with my voice, but I wanna close something — I wanna close, like a book, and say, 'Okay, that's it. I read it.' Sometimes you have to come to an end with something. I wanna close up everything with ACCEPT. And this will be the last time. And I said, okay, I'll do one more tour. It will be a world tour. Hopefully we can do this also for America, around maybe a couple of shows. And yeah, that will be the last time that you… When we are on tour with U.D.O., we'll never play any ACCEPT songs again."

He continued: "I also wanna stop to be compared with… Now ACCEPT is still on tour, and they have a new singer, and they are doing also 'Balls To The Wall' and they are doing also 'Metal Heart', they do 'Princess Of The Dawn'. And I don't wanna be always compared and have to say, 'What do you think about this and this and this?' This is also another reason. I wanna close the ACCEPT chapter. I mean, it was a great… I mean, in a way, I was creating this band, you know. Sometimes you have to say, 'Okay, that's it.' I have enough U.D.O. songs, so I can play more U.D.O. songs and be U.D.O. I can say without being arrogant, U.D.O. has its own fan base now. Sometimes you have to say, 'Okay, that's it.'"

Udo went on to say: "There is a band called ACCEPT. And please, if you wanna hear these songs, please go then to [see] ACCEPT. [Laughs] So that's the only thing I can say. Now you'll have the chance next year to hear it with the original voice, but Mark [Tornillo, current ACCEPT singer] is doing a — I would say — really good job on it, so please go there and listen then to ACCEPT and U.D.O. is then U.D.O."

Regarding what makes the classic ACCEPT songs so special, Udo said: "I don't know what is special. You never can tell it, really. Like [DEEP PURPLE's] 'Smoke On The Water', in a way, something like this. Sometimes there's a song that, in a way, that stays forever."

Asked about the possibility of the DIRKSCHNEIDER tour being professionally filmed and recorded for an upcoming DVD and CD, Udo said: "Yeah, I think. Normally the record company says, Oh, you put out so [much] stuff. We have to suffer.' But I think definitely I can say there will be a live CD out. Definitely. I mean, you have to do this. It will never happen again like this. And I think you have to put this on a CD. What was very interesting [was that] the record company came up with this. They said, 'We have to do this.' And I said, 'Yes, I know.' [Laughs]"

(Thanks: Metalliluola.fi)

Dark Essence Records has announced the signing of Norwegian alternative metallers MADDER MORTEM. The band's sixth full length album, titled "Red In Tooth And Claw", will be released later this year.

As a taste of what fans can expect, MADDER MORTEM have put together a teaser of some of the songs from "Red In Tooth And Claw". Check it out using the audio player below.

Formed in 1993, originally under the name of MYSTERY TRIBE, MADDER MORTEM's music, with its hauntingly beautiful vocals by Agnete M. Kirkevaag, is atmospheric and melodic, with a very definite progressive leaning, but at the same time the band can show an underlying aggression that gives their sound a harder, more driven edge than one might expect.

Aside from Agnete, MADDER MORTEM's five-member lineup includes BP. M. Kirkevaag on guitar and vocals, Richard Wikstrand on guitars, Tormod L. Moseng on bass and Mads Solås on drums.

Audio samples:

Philadelphia psych-metal band, Ruby The Hatchet, will see its debut album, Ouroboros, issued on deluxe LP April 29th via RUR Records / Outer Battery. Recorded three years prior to the group's celebrated Tee Pee Records debut, Valley Of The Snake, the 2012 digital-only release - now presented for the first time on any physical format - offers insight into Ruby The Hatchet's formative years and blues-based hard rock sound. The limited edition colored vinyl LP is available to pre-order now at this location.

Ouroboros features Ruby The Hatchet founding members Jillian Taylor (vocals), Johnny Scarps (guitar), Owen Stewart (drums) and Mike Parise (bass). The nine song release was recorded at Retro City Studios in Germantown, PA by audio-engineer Joe Boldizar with assistance from Barry Knob and Sean Hur. Now a full-time member, organist Hur makes his RTH debut here on the tracks “The Lean”, “Holy Father” and “Good God Damn”. Released on the heels of the band's self-titled debut EP and written mostly as a three-piece (Taylor, Scarps and Stewart), Ouroboros explores what would be the next realm for the band – playing with harmony, tone and overall style.

“It has been a long time coming and we are beyond excited that after four years our first album is getting a proper vinyl pressing," comments Taylor. "Ouroboros holds a lot of nostalgia for us and is a fan favorite. This album shows our blues and classic rock beginnings and it is also where organ enters the soundscape, shaping our sound from this point on.”

Tracklisting:

“Taking Sides”
“Black Tongue”
“Can't Get Him Away”
“Strange Hold”
“The Lean”
“Holy Father”
“Wicked Ones”
“Nowhere”
“Good God Damn”



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Rising death metal sextet The Convalescence recently announced the upcoming release of their debut album, Poison Words, out April 1st via 3Thirteen Entertainment Group/eOne Music. With an already confirmed SXSW tour set to launch March 13th, the band is revealing additional headline tour dates as part of their Poison Words Tour, and featuring support from So This Is Suffering and Beside The Silence. The dates will kick off on April 1st in the band's hometown of Toledo, OH with an album release show at Realm.

In sync with the tour announcement, The Convalescence is revealing a brand new track, entitled "Reflections", streaming via the lyric video below:

Pre-order your copy of Poison Words here. Poison Words was engineered and produced by John Burke (Vibe Studios) and was mixed and mastered by Chris Donaldson of Cryptopsy.

Find the band’s live itinerary at this location.
 



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Brazilian progressive metal outfit, Daydream XI, has released a drum playthrough video for the track "The Guts Of Hell”, courtesy of Daydream XI drummer Bruno Giordano. Stream the video below.

"The Guts Of Hell" comes from the band's debut album, The Grand Disguise, which released in September 2014 on Power Prog.

Daydream XI is currently at Monostereo Studios recording the follow-up to The Grand Disguise. The new album will solicit the dedication of fans from around the globe, as the band will launch a crowdfunding campaign for the album's release next month.

"The recording process of our second album has gone really well," added Giordano. "This time I brought some new influences to my playing and sought inspiration in different places. Even though the arrangements are harder to play and way more technical than on our first album, the recordings ran easier because I was much more prepared this time. It was a fun process in a very light environment at Monostereo Studios and, despite the difficulty of some sections, I think I was able to take my drumming to another level this time."

Stream the music video for "Keeping the Dream Alive," taken from the Daydream XI debut, The Grand Disguise, below:

Stay tuned for more information on Daydream XI.



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Prosthetic Records recently announced the addition of Arizona-based doom outfit, Sprit Adrift, to its ever-growing roster. Formed in 2015, Sprit Adrift immediately started writing and recording their debut EP Behind - Beyond, which Prosthetic released worldwide on February 26th. Listen to the second song and 15-minute monster from the EP, "Perpetual Passage" below.

Described by the band as "vital excercises in meditation and catharsis born out of necessity, not desire," the 28-minute EP presents listeners with a psychedelic expanse encompassed across two profoundly heavy, dynamically captivating tracks influenced by riff legends including Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy and Neurosis. 

Sprit Adrift are intent upon carving their own path in the realm of heavy music. Special live performances and a full-length album loom on the horizon.

Tracklisting:

“Specter Of Ruin”
“Perpetual Passage”
 
“Perpetual Passage”:

"Specter Of Ruin”:

 



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U.K.-based crust legends DISCHARGE announced their signing to Nuclear Blast late last year. After the release of their "New World Order" EP, the time has come to unleash their new studio album (their Nuclear Blast debut) on an unsuspecting world. It is titled "End Of Days" and will be made available on April 29.

The official lyric video for the song "Hatebomb", taken from "End Of Days", can be seen below. DISCHARGE commented: "So here it is, the 'End Of Days'... Fifteen brand-new tracks.

"The first day we entered the studio we kept hearing all over the media that there was a blood moon that night, and certain religious groups were reporting that it was the 'end of days.' It seemed a natural title for the album given the lyrical content of the songs and the state of the world today, so it stuck with us.

"Regression has been the basis of this album, opposed to 'progression.'‎ We really cut it down to basics on this one, quite a few songs under two minutes long... we're all really pleased with it. Play loud!"

"End Of Days" track listing:

01. New World Order02. Raped And Pillaged03. End Of Days04. The Broken Law05. False Flag Entertainment06. Meet Your Maker07. Hatebomb08. It Can't Happen Here09. Infected10. Killing Yourself To Live11. Looking At Pictures Of Genocide12. Hung Drawn And Quartered13. Population Control14. The Terror Alert15. Accessories By Molotov (Part 2) DISCHARGE is a British hardcore punk band formed in 1977. The group is characterized by a minimalistic approach to music and lyrics — a heavy, distorted and grinding guitar-driven sound and raw, shouted vocals, with lyrics on anarchistic and pacifistic themes. DISCHARGE's 1982 debut album, "Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing", went to No. 2 in the U.K. indie chart and No. 40 in the U.K. album chart. In the early 1980s, numerous DISCHARGE singles and EPs landed in the Top 10 of the U.K. indie charts, including the 1981 EP "Why?" and the 1982 single "State Violence State Control".

"Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing" paved the way for thrash metal, black metal, crust punk, grindcore and various extreme metal subgenres. The musical genre of d-beat is named after DISCHARGE and their distinctive drumbeat. DISCHARGE 2016:

Jeff Janiak (JJ) - VocalsTo‎ny Roberts (Bones) - Lead GuitarTerry Roberts (Tezz) - Rhythm GuitarRoy Wainwright (Rainy) - BassDave Bridgewood - Drums

Spain’s Killus have revealed the tracklisting for their new opus, Ultrazombies. The album will be released on March 7th in Spain, and March 28th worldwide. Pre-orders at this location.

The design of the cover was created by artist Damien Worm (who worked with the band on their Feel The Monster album), and the rest of the artwork is the responsibility of Ingrid Gala. In the artwork we see a new image of the band, inspired by the world of comics combined with the 80's horror movies.

Tracklisting:

“The Dead Walkers Invade The Village”
“Ultrazombies”
“Welcome To My Madness”
“White Lines”
“The Witch's Pact”
“Satanachia”
“Motherfuckingstein”
“Mr. Jack”
“The Last Passenger”
“Crazy Trip On The Road”
“Know Your Enemy”
“3 Seconds”
“The Ghost Under My Bed”

(Photo - Adrián Morote Photography)



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In the past few months, French heavy metallers Lonewolf were busy writing and recording their upcoming album The Heathen Dawn.

They recently finished the recordings with Xavier Sindt at Microclimat Studio, and the album's now being mixed and mastered by Charles Greywolf at Studio Greywolf.

Péter Sallai of Mortpaintgraphics created the album's stunning cover artwork:

The Heathen Dawn is set to be released on May 20th via Massacre Records.



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Highlord, hailing from Turin, Italy play heavy/power metal with progressive and symphonic influences and will release a new album later this year.

The band's around since 1997 and has already released seven albums so far.

Horror movie buffs may have already heard a few Highlord songs featured in The Werewolf Chronicles and Blood Of The Werewolf. Besides writing, recording and performing original songs, the band also contributed songs to Manowar, Helloween and Stratovarius tribute albums.

They've also shared the stage with bands like Freedom Call, Elvenking, Sacred Steel and many more, and appeared on festivals like the Rock Inn Somma.

Highlord went through several line-up changes, but this didn't stop them from doing what they love. Those changes even added new dimensions to their sound.

The band's currently adding finishing touches to their upcoming eight album, which is set to be released in the summer via Massacre Records.



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Spanish thrash squadron Crisis has released a new video for “Strange”, taken from their new album From Blue To Black, set for North American release on April 15th via Listenable Records.

Crisix comment on the video: "'Strange' was the first track that we composed and possibly the song that made From Blue To Black as it is. That's why we chose 'Strange' to be the first contact with the album." The seventh song on From Blue to Black, "Strange" consolidates all of Crisix's characteristics: quality, mosh-friendly thrash metal fusing the modern and the traditional with catchy grooves and a strong message.”

Formed in Barcelona, Spain in 2008, Crisix have gone from fearsome youthful talented thrash metallers winning the Wacken Metal Battle contest in 2009, being voted as best Spanish upcoming band in Rock Zone magazine for their debut album The Menace (2011), to one of the most revered new European powerhouse in the thrash metal genre.

The band’s new album, From Blue To Black, showcases the band's catchiest, most powerful, devastating material. Although not celebrating a multifaceted metal, Crisix inject such crisp ,velocity and entertainment that it results in a departure from a well worn thrash metal format. 

From Blue To Black tracklisting:

“Conspiranoia”
“Journey Through The Fire”
“G.M.M. (The Great Metal Motherfucker)”
“T-Terror Era”
“Psycho Crisix World”
“From Blue To Black”
“Strange”
“Five As One”
“Fallen”

"Strange" lyric video:

Teaser:



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Minneapolis outfit After The Burial have released an official music video for “Collapse”, from their new album, Dig Deep, out now via Sumerian Records.

Dig Deep was recorded at Graphic Nature Audio in New Jersey with producer Will Putney (The Amity Affliction, Upon A Burning Body). The album is the first where the band partnered with a producer.

Tracklisting:

“Collapse”
“Lost In The Static”
“Mire”
“Deluge”
“Laurentian Ghosts”
“Heavy Lies The Ground”
“Catacombs”
“The Endless March”
“Sway Of The Break”

“Collapse” video:

Teaser:

“Lost In The Static”:

After The Burial join label mates Born of Osiris, Veil of Maya, Bad Omens and ERRA for Sumerian Records’ 10 Year Tour:

March
2 - Tampa, FL - The Orpheum
4 - San Antonio, TX - Korova
5 - Houston, TX - Walters Downtown
6 - Austin, TX - Dirty Dog Bar
7 - El Paso, TX - Tricky Falls
8 - Mesa, AZ - Nile Theater
9 - Hollywood, CA - The Roxy Theatre
10 - Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades
11 - Fresno, CA - Strummer’s (with Veil of Maya only)
12 - San Diego, CA - Soma
13 - Pomona, CA - The Glasshouse
14 - Las Vegas, NV - Eagle Aerie Hall (headlining date)
15 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theatre (with Born of Osiris only)
16 - Denver, CO - The Summit Music Hall
17 - Lawrence, KS - Granada Theater
18 - St. Louis, MO - Fubar

 



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"Fight The Good Fight", the new video from Detroit, Michigan's WALLS OF JERICHO, can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's new album, "No One Can Save You From Yourself", which will be released on March 25 via Napalm Records.

WALLS OF JERICHO frontwoman Candace Kucsulain recently told Toxic Online about "No One Can Save You From Yourself": "It's been a long time since we've put out a record, but not that much has changed. We are still pissed, it's still heavy as shit, maybe a bit more than before, and it still rips! We have a unique energy on stage, something we've worked hard on for the past 17 years, and with all the time between records, it helped us realize what was important to us for our live shows. So through that, we focused on a record with our live show in mind and made a record that represents us and the energy we create. Lyrically, a lot of shit has gone down in my life, and this record you can feel the pain, darkness and chaos. It's a soundtrack to all of it."

Regarding the "No One Can Save You From Yourself" album title, Candace said: "We have been doing this for a long time, and you never stop finding a reason to fight. We feel that real change can't happen until you look inside yourself and own up to your part. We are our own worst enemy, and that can apply to life limitlessly. It's about progress not perfect, but once you know the difference, there's nothing left to do but take action."

"No One Can Save You From Yourself" track listing:

01. Intro02. Illusion Of Safety03. No One Can Save You From Yourself04. Forever Militant05. Fight The Good Fight06. Cutbird07. Relentless08. Damage Done09. Reign Supreme10. Wrapped In Violence11. Anthem12. Beyond All Praise13. Probably Will

WALLS OF JERICHO released a demo version of the song "Relentless" in 2014.

FOO FIGHTERS have released a hilarious seven-minute video message in response to the latest rumors that the band was either breaking up or frontman Dave Grohl was launching a solo career. The parody clip, which shows Grohl leaving the band to go on his own and former 98 DEGREES singer Nick Lachey coming in to take his place, ends with the actual announcement: "For the millionth time, we're not breaking up. And nobody's going fucking solo!"

A report from the New York Post's "Page Six" on Monday cited an unnamed source saying that there was "tension" between Grohl and FOO FIGHTERS drummer Taylor Hawkins over Grohl's alleged plans to go solo — which was said to have begun with his performance at the Oscars on Sunday (February 28).

Grohl said that FOO FIGHTERS were going on hiatus for a while following the conclusion late last year of the touring cycle behind its 2014 album "Sonic Highways". Hawkins then told Artisan News in January that the group was taking a breather "not because we don't love each other, or don't want to make music together. We did so much in the last five or six years, we as a band could go into the studio tomorrow and have just as much fun as we ever had. But I think the world needs a break from us for a little while." Hawkins added that he and his bandmates have even come up with a humorous substitute name for the FOO FIGHTERS' hiatus. "We're on ihateus right now," Hawkins said. "We're on an indefinite ihateus."

The "Page Six" source said, "The band is billing it as a ‘break,’ but it's totally Dave going solo and Taylor is pissed about it." Another source, however, said any reports of band tension are "completely untrue."

A rep for FOO FIGHTERS declined to comment on Grohl's plans to Entertainment Weekly, but called reports about the band breaking up "utterly ridiculous."

Corners Of Sanctuary (COS) has officially released a new video for the song “Wrecking Ball”, from their recent album, Metal Machine, now available on Metalizer Records Germany in Europe and independently through the band website for the rest of the world.

Gguitarist Mick Michaels states: “We planned to include a heavier visual support for Metal Machine, more than we had done in the past with previous albums.Expect at least two more videos to follow in the coming months.”

The “Wrecking Ball” video, as with the previous one, was produced and directed by Philadelphia-area Indie artist Zen Say, who stated: "It's been a pleasure working with Corners of Sanctuary and sharing ideas across multiple mediums.”

"Wrecking Ball" incorporates the now public domain scenes from the 1936 British science-fiction film, Things To Come – an adaptation of H.G. Well’s story depicting a world at war. The original film was produced by Alexander Korda and directed by William Cameron Menzies. The music video is also laced with on location shots filmed with the band.

The video's message is centered on the horror and devastation brought on during such conflicts and the effects it has on every walk of life. "Though the clips of the movie are based on a fictional story, the reality of what war holds is all too real to simply dismiss," added Zen Say.

"Wow, holy freakin’ fudge pop intense," exclaimed lead singer Frankie Cross, who again finds himself the focal point of the video's imagery.

"This song captures the horror, patriotism and pride of war while the images convey a seriously, emotional landscape. The metaphor of the song will be clearly felt by some... like a wrecking ball”, stated lead singer Frankie Cross when asked about his take on the video's backdrop of war for the song. ”It's just so beautifully frantic... the true star is the production team," he added.

Corners Of Sanctuary is currently supporting Metal Machine with the Wrecking Ball Tour. A new crowdfunding page has been created to assist in supporting the band’s efforts and is now live, here.

Fans’ financial support is being gifted with several Official COS Metal Machine Merchandise Packages which include autographed photos and CDs, concert shirts, patches and supporters having their names listed on the COS website.

Upcoming 2016 Corners Of Sanctuary shows:

March
5 - Memories - Waldorf, MA
11 - Reverb - Reading, PA

April
1 - 3065 Live - Buzzards Bay, MA
8 – Bar XIII - Wilmington, DE
15-16 - 2016 NEPA Metal Metaldown Fest - Pittson, PA

May
12 - The Wire - Berwyn, IL
13 - The Headquarters - Indianapolis, IN
14 - New Dodge Lounge - Hamtramck, MI
21 - Diane’s Cafe - Pittston, PA
28 - Metal Eternal Fest Tour - Ardmore, PA

“Left Scarred” video:



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German epic melodic metal band, Human Fortress, have released a video for the track “Thieves Of The Night”, the title track of their new album, out on March 18th. The clip can be found below.

Two years after the group had returned to the style of their successful first releases from the early 2000’s with Raided Land – and also introduced new vocalist Gus Monsanto (ex-Timo Tolkki’s Revolution Renaissance, ex-Adagio) - Human Fortress continues right where they left off.

Songs such as the catchy title track, power metal hymns (“Rise Or Fall”, “Vicious Circle”) or the slightly modern - but not less epic “Thrice Blessed” will amaze every fan of the Hannover-based band. But Thieves Of The Night additionally could appeal very well to worshippers of Virgin Steele’s ‘80s/’90s classic releases, Kamelot and Avantasia.

Tracklisting:

“Amberstow”
“Last Prayer To The Lord”
“Rise Or Fall”
“Thieves Of The Night”
“Thrice Blessed”
“Hellrider”
“Just A Graze”
“Vicious Circle”
“Smite On The Anvil”
“Dungeons Of Doom”
“Gift Of Prophecy”
“Alone”

“Thieves Of The Night” video:



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London, UK-based rock quartet Staring Out The Sun have a huge 2016 planned with their debut album, entitled Dawn, scheduled for release on May 13th. Becoming known for their hard hitting electric live shows, the new album see's the band deliver their stadium sized sound throughout the albums 12 sonically charged tracks.

Musically, Staring Out The Sun deliver one hell of a punch through the new album, with enough drive and heavy hitting riffage to keep the listener on the journey from start to finish, yet leaving enough room for souring melodies to draw people in.

Singer John Buckell explains: “As one adventure ends, Dawn signifies the start of one much bigger. There are 12 stories, all told in our signature sound that has developed with us as we have grown as a band. I can’t wait to get it out there and to play it live!”

Dawn tracklisting:

“The Calling”
“Hero”
“Fuzzy Thinking”
“Lonestar”
“Versus”
“Karoshi”
“Waste”
“River”
“Panic Stations”
“Time”
“Always”
“Roots”

The first single from Dawn is currently scheduled for an April release, but fear not Staring Out The Sun are releasing the final video from their 2015 debut EP Break The Silence in the next few weeks. Completing the story arc in their EP mini-movie, Trust No One closes one chapter in Staring Out The Sun's career but opens the next one, and you're all invited.

Check out “Anaesthesia” from Break The Silence below:

Staring Out The Sun are:

John Buckell - Vocals
Tekin Mustafa - Guitar/Vocals
Chris Caller - Bass
Danny Martin - Drums



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Brazilian death metal machine Rebaelliun will release their new album, The Hell’s Decrees, in May via Hammerheart Records. Full of diversity, brutality, technicality, insane speed, and killer solos, each memorable song is a highlight.

As a first teaser, the band presents a lyric video for "Legion".

The album cover, which can be seen below, was created by Brazilian artist Marcelo Vasco, known for working with: Slayer, Dimmu Borgir, Vader, Machine Head and more.

 



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Perris Records will release, It's A Mouthful, the new album from Sweden's Captain Black Beard on March 25th.

The video for "Divided Feelings" from It's A Mouthful, is finally available for your viewing pleasure.



It's A Mouthful artwork and tracklisting:


"Divided Feelings"
"Take Me To The City"
"She's The One"
"Tearin' Me Apart"
"Far Gone"
"All I Need"
"Mouthful Of Love"
"When It's Love"
"Something She Said"
"Coast To Coast"
"South Beach"
"Falling"

Greyhaze Records has announced the April 22nd worldwide release of Black Heart from Brazil's Doomsday Ceremony. Three official videos for tracks from the album are now available for mass consumption below:

"Black Heart":



"Slaves Of Sin":



"I Am":



Doomsday Ceremony has harnessed the feeling of '80s traditional heavy metal with the brutality of black metal, resulting in a unique and refreshing sound. Black Heart is the second full-length album from the band. With a very melodic musical approach and smoking guitar solos, the album will please fans of Immortal and Mercyful Fate.

The recordings for Black Heart started in 2011 and were completed in 2012. The band then signed with Cogumelo Records for the South American release of the album, and in April 2016 the album will be released worldwide on Greyhaze Records.


Tracklisting:

"Vultures Of War"
"I Am"
"Voice Of The Darkness"
"Slaves Of Sin"
"Black Heart"
"Valley Of Shadows"
"Fury"

In a brand new interview with RVAMag, SLAYER guitarist Kerry King addressed the central crisis in hard rock and heavy metal right now, which involves nostalgia and the problem of how a veteran band like SLAYER grows old gracefully in an art form that is about doing absolutely nothing gracefully.

"We definitely thought about not releasing new music anymore," King stated. "Maybe even doing what DOWN did and just release four songs before every tour, but, really, until the time comes that albums are obsolete, you better believe SLAYER's going to be making records."

King did admit, however, that SLAYER is, to some degree, resting on its laurels. "We're living on our history for sure," he said, "but so is everyone else, yet we're the ones trying to push ourselves forward. I would say [IRON] MAIDEN and METALLICA, no offense, are living on past success. METALLICA has toured forever on the 'black' record which a lot of people don't like. I actually like it. It's heavy as can be. Is it 'Master Of Puppets'? Of course not, but it's a great record. IRON MAIDEN, for me, is living off their first three records. Have they made good songs since then? Yeah, but they haven't made great records. I like to think we're still making great records and as much as people come out wanting to hear 'Raining Blood' and 'Angel Of Death', they also want to hear 'Disciple' or even 'Implode'."

Part of the problem, King explained, is that records aren't selling quite at the level they used to, giving bands and labels little incentive to produce new music. "It's true, but it's just a sign of the times because people get their music differently," Kerry said. "It's not all about [Nielsen] SoundScan anymore. That's the last thing I remember, because you remember what you had growing up. There's different technologies and different ways of doing a number of things, but when I grew up, I knew SoundScan and we are way off of SoundScan now. That's because people get music for free. One person downloads it and shares it with five people. It's not the same as it used to be. I can't be bitter about it because that's just how time has changed."

Kerry added that SLAYER's success is measured through concert attendance, not through record sales. "My barometer is the live show where people show up," he said. "That means people are into the music, whether the record is selling or not. They have it, they know it, and we can play it and have them sing it right back to us. That's pretty much how it shows me people are still into, regardless of sales."

King's latest comments echo statements he made in an interview with The Irish Times last September, when he said: " They [METALLICA] are really living on the first five records, I think. I'm not sure a new record makes sense for them. 'Death Magnetic' [2008] was a nice version compared to 'St. Anger' [2003]. Hopefully, they keep going along that line and get some of the riffs back."

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

In terms of pure album sales, "Repentless" opened with 49,000 copies, marking SLAYER's highest-charting album yet.

"Repentless" now also holds the record as the band's career-highest chart debut in Germany (No. 1), Holland (No. 2), Australia (No. 3), New Zealand (No. 8), the U.K. (No. 11) and on the Japanese International Chart (No. 1). It bowed at No. 3 in Finland, No. 4 in Belgium, and No. 5 in both Sweden and Greece. Additionally, the album debuted in the Top 10 in France (No. 7), Italy (No. 8), Hungary (No. 9), and Japan (No. 10).

On February 28, Rustyn Rose of Metalholic.com conducted an interview with guitarist Wolf Hoffmann of German/American metallers ACCEPT. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On U.S presidential race:

Wolf: "Well, it's always been insane. I've never quite understood why, to be quite honest… I mean, I live here [in Nashville], I'm a [U.S.] citizen and all that, but I have both perspectives. And I love it here — don't get me wrong — but the political circus sometimes is so bizarre. I mean, just the whole concept of doing this campaigning for two years. What the hell? In Europe, they go to the elections and it takes — the whole thing, the whole process — takes, like, three or four weeks or whatever. They do a little bit of campaigning, debating, and then they all go to the elections. They don't [have] caucuses and delegates, and there's this and there's that, blah blah blah. Why does it have to take so long? It's way to involved, I think, and the money that's involved is just insane."

On the progress of the songwriting sessions for ACCEPT's follow-up to 2014's "Blind Rage" album:

Wolf: "Yeah, we started in January, and we've done… We've put a few things down already, and it's sounding quite well. It's by no means finished. Peter [Baltes, bass] and I write together for weeks at a time and just see what we can come up. Then we give [our ideas] to Mark [Tornillo, vocals], and he puts the final vocals on it. That's the way we've always been working. Peter and myself, we usually start… We do the first step, we do the rough demos, and Peter does some scratch vocals on a lot of the songs, and then Mark does the final [vocals] in the studio."

On how he looks back on the "Blind Rage" album two years later:

Wolf: "I think it's one of the most mature ones we've done. I mean, of course, I love them all, and I think they're all equally strong, but I would definitely put 'Blind Rage' maybe at the top of the list — at least on par with 2010's 'Blood Of The Nations'. [2012's] 'Stalingrad', every time I hear the album, I feel like I wish we would have had a little more time to round out the songs and to go at it again, but we were under immense time pressure. So, to me, I hear that sometimes in the record. But some fans tell me that's their favorite album, so go figure. At the end of the day, you could probably produce an album, produce it to death and work on it again and again, and it probably wouldn't get better. At a certain point, it is what it is, and you've gotta let it go and live with it, I guess."

On his upcoming solo album:

Wolf: "It's in the can, baby — it's done. It's out of my system. Now it's in the hands of the gods of the label and everybody else. And it will be released sometime in the spring — late spring, maybe — worldwide. We'll have to see what the best release date is; we haven't settled on that yet. But my part is done… It's gonna be in line [with my previous solo album, 1997's 'Classical'] in respect to that I've taken well-known classical melodies and sort of just 'metalled' them up for guitar. The difference is I actually recorded this one with an orchestra, so I used real string players. I flew to Prague and worked with a Czech national symphony orchstra, so it sounds a lot more… bigger production and much more dynamic and grandiose than the first album."

According to The Pulse Of Radio, SOUNDGARDEN singer Chris Cornell told Seattle radio station KISW in a new interview that the band's creative process for making a new album is "more relaxed" than it used to be when the band first achieved success. Cornell explained: "I think one of the things that was a factor in us kind of splitting up in the first place was that everything had a clock on it. It was a time period where, I guess in a good way, the music business was still pretty healthy and you were always in a cycle of recording and promoting and then touring, or writing, recording, and touring. And we were late for everything, always. We'd sit down and have these meetings, and we ended up not having meetings because it was so awful. But, you know, there'd be a counter in front of us, and someone would put a red X on the date that we were going to start the promotional tour for the album that we had not started to write yet. And so now, we just write when there’s no discussion really at all about when it’s going to come out, or what that means; we just write songs . And it doesn't happen any faster or slower; it just seems like it's more relaxed."

SOUNDGARDEN disbanded in 1997 but reunited 13 years later in 2010. The quartet issued a new studio effort, "King Animal", in 2012.

The group has recently gotten together to begin working on material for its seventh studio outing, which could be out before the end of this year.

Cornell also toured last year on his own in support of his fourth solo studio effort, "Higher Truth".

ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante has weighed in on the 2016 presidential election, saying in a brand new interview that "it's a very, very scary time out there" that slamming the Republican party for "never [giving] Obama a bit of a chance to really do things."

Speaking to Metalholic.com, Benante said: "There is a very, very scary vibe going on in our country, and I'm almost afraid to even talk about it because of the division that there is.

"I don't know what's gonna happen," he continued. "I don't know if, let's say, Donald Trump does become president of our country, I don't know what will happen. I don't know how it's going to be perceived globally. It could happen, right?

"You may see an uprising, a very scary uprising in America that… I don't know, man. It's a very scary time. I don't know what's gonna happen. Maybe this whole Donald Trump thing is meant to destroy the Republican party, what it's become. Maybe this is what he's trying… Because he was a Democrat, and he went over to the Republican party. Maybe this is… He's sabotaging them without them even knowing it."

Benante went on to criticize the two political parties for being unwilling to work together, both sides wanting things to go their own way entirely. He said: "Things have been heating up and heating up. I always thought that the Republicans never gave Obama a bit of a chance to really do things. And, of course, even me just saying that, if people read what I just said, they would come down hard on me for saying that, because they hate Obama so much. And, I mean, he has done some things that have been good, but other people would look at it as, 'No. He's the worst.' But I don't think anyone was as [bad] as the way George [W.] Bush fucked this country over. And these Republicans don't even acknowledge that — that he fucked this country up so much. He put us in a war that we didn't have to be in. And I truly think that ISIS and all that is because of that whole situation."

The drummer added that he is concerned about our future generations and what quality of life they will have. He said: "[Our kids] are gonna have to deal with this mess too, when we're all gone and our grandchildren, or whatever, are here to deal with this mess too. I don't know, man. I don't know how it can be saved, because it's so divided and scary."

Benante's sentiments were echoed by ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello, who said in a recent interview: "The way politics are going now, it's just like another reality show, the way I look at it. I just see it as a chuckle, because nobody has a clue about what the hell they're doing — nobody, straight across the board. I'm a parent and I love my country, but with the clowns that are up there going for government, I just laugh. It's true, man. Look, nobody's speaking for me — nobody's speaking for me and a lot of people I know. So I just watch it like a reality show. And you know what? Nobody cares what a musician says anyway. I'm just a proud American. But it is what it is, man. This is what we're handed."

ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian has stated that he found it hard to believe that Donald Trump is running for the highest office in the U.S. Ian told Stay Tuned Interviews: "I look at it this way: if Donald Trump was to become president, then America would actually get what it deserves. It truly would."

He continued: "The only thing I can say positive about that fucking circus is he really is showing what a circus it is. He's really showing how full of shit the whole process really is."

ANTHRAX's long-awaited new album, "For All Kings", was released on February 26 via Megaforce in North America and Nuclear Blast in Europe.