Omer Cordell, the mastermind behind Canadian metal project Trailight featuring vocalist Dave Padden (ex-Annihilator) and drummer Ryan van Poederooyen (Devin Townsend Project), has checked in with the following update:

"Progress on the Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds cover 'The Weeping Song'; I got Burton's (Bell / Fear Factory) vocal tracks and we're going to be finalizing the mix very soon! I am hoping to have it all mixed and mastered within the next few weeks. Here's sample #2..."

The previously released first sample is also available below.

Trailight recently released an official video for the song "Open Doors" from the debut, The Primitive Mountain:

Cordell recently spoke with BraveWords scribe Carl Begai about Trailight. Following is an excerpt from the interview.

“When I was first starting to think about doing this project, considering the vibe and riffs I was coming up with – ‘A Thousand Years’ was the first song I wrote – I knew who I wanted to play drums on it. Ryan has known me as a photographer for years, so when I called him up it was like ‘This may come as a surprise, but I’m making music now…’ (laughs). I asked if he’d be interested in playing on it and he wanted to hear the demos, but he had a bunch of touring to finish with Devin and then record the DVP double album. After that he had time to do my stuff.”

“Ryan came back from Devin’s album recording, learned my songs in about a week or 10 days, we had one day of pre-production where I had a chance to hear what he would be doing in the studio. Three days later we were in the studio and 10 hours later he was done recording. When we were finished I knew why I’d gotten Ryan to do it. He not only fits stylistically, he was also such an immense help with the whole process. I was basically flying blind. I’d been to the studios lots of times back when Strapping was around to take photos, but I’d never actually recorded in one before, so Ryan was helpful in guiding me.”

Cordell also took on outside help to produce The Primitive Mountain, a long and drawn out process that slowly deteriorated as the songs were being mixed. He eventually opted to take on the task of mixing and mastering himself; a daunting task on one hand, but the only option left if the album was going to live up to his expectations. Rather than a play-by-play of events, Cordell channels Metallica to sum up the situation.

“As far as the mix of the album, the first batch of songs that I sent you sound like St. Anger, and the final mixes sound like the Black album.”

Go to this location for the complete story.

The complete tracklist for The Primitive Mountain is as follows:

"Open Doors"
"Sentient Beings Pt. 1 - The Dim Future Of Our Distant Past"
"Sentient Beings Pt. 2 - All That We Are" 
"We Are The Ocean"
"Frail Human Form"
"The Primitive Mountain"
"Passer By"
"A Thousand Years"
"Navarino"
"Beyond The Rubicon"

Cordell released a 30 minute behind-the-scenes look at the production earlier this year, which can be viewed below. For information on Trailight go to this location.

Photo by Greg Rakozy



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Lux Studio and Roxx Records have joined forces to premiere the "Dreams" lyric video from classic Christian metal band Recon. 

As part of the recently announced 25th anniversary reissue of the band's monumental debut album Behind Enemy Lines, fans can enjoy this exclusive lyric video of the brand new completely remastered track entitled "Dreams".

2016 marks Recon's 25th anniversary, and they will celebrate with a completely remastered and expanded CD edition of Behind Enemy Lines, and for the first time in North America a limited edition vinyl pressing.

Recon burst on to the metal scene in 1988 with a 4-track cassette-only demo, which was the norm back when file sharing was mix tapes sent through the mail to and from tape traders. The band soon followed this up with two classic tracks that were released on the Regency Records compilation, California Metal 2. Then, in 1990, Intense/Frontline Records released the band’s full-length debut, Behind Enemy Lines.

Recon was originally launched by Deliverance axe master, George Ochoa, who also produced the melodic power metal album. The album was originally released on CD and cassette tape, both of which are extremely rare and hard to find today. There was even a one-time CD reissue from M8 records, which is equally as rare to find. Collectors might have been lucky enough to get their hands on a copy of a small run of a European-only release on vinyl. Traders in rare Christian metal will tell you that this vinyl release is “next to impossible to find” today. All that changes with this Limited Edition re-release on Roxx Records.

This special one-time Limited Edition vinyl reissue of this classic metal album features all the original tracks completely remastered for vinyl on both coloured and black vinyl. The album is set to feature the original album art, completely restored and enhanced for this special pressing. This one-time pressing features 100 copies on orange vinyl and 200 on black vinyl, for a total pressing of only 300 pieces.

There will also be a very special Limited Edition CD pressing of only 300 copies, which is set to feature all of the original tracks from the album completely restored and remastered. The CD will also include 4 additional bonus tracks. These tracks will be both tracks from the original California Metal 2 compilation and 2 of the original 4 demo tracks that helped launch Recon.

These bonus tracks also get a special re-release treatment. George Ochoa located the original master reels of these demos and had the tapes baked, digitized and completely restored and re-mastered for this special release. These recently found and restored demos sound crisper and better than ever before. No one has ever heard these demos like this before.

Recon Behind Enemy Lines is scheduled to be released on March 18th. This coming year is set to be an excellent year for Christian metal fans and Roxx Records are just getting started. “We have much more in store for you as this year goes on,” promises Bill Bafford, “so stay tuned!”

 



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Spinefarm Records welcomes Finland's Ember Falls, whose music is a futuristic sonic revolution, to its roster.

The band will re-release their first single "Shut Down With Me" in early May. The song was independently released in August 2015 and has racked up a play count well into the six figures on various platforms.

Formerly known as Mekanism, the sextet combines a unique brand of charisma and sublime musicianship with an exceptional songwriting sense.

"Shut Down With Me" unearths a fresh ground of metal, both sonically and thematically, combining elements of melodic death metal, electro, and flashy melodic hooks with a dual vocal interplay of brutality and massive chorus lines to drive the point home.

The song takes a bold peek into the digital dimension of the not-too-far future where humanity is all but diminished to just its virtual existence.

But there are six rebels who won't succumb. The Resistance is here, and they rise from Ember Falls.

 



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Brooklyn’s Magrudergrind has teamed up with Relapse Records for the release of their new album, II, on February 12th. Again the album was recorded with engineer Kurt Ballou at GodCity Studios and mastered by Brad Boatright (Obituary, Nails). The album is streaming in full below:

II is a savage manifesto of scathing political and personal revolution and unquestionably Magrudergrind's most crushing and accomplished material to date. II is can be preordered in digital formats here and physical formats here.

Tracklisting:

“Imperium In Imperio”
“Divine Dictation”
“The Opportunist”
“Relentless Hatred”
“Sacrificial Hire”
“War For Resources”
“Black Banner”
“Hara-Kiri”
“Stale Affairs”
“Regressive Agenda”
“Incarceration State”
“Unit 731”
“Icaro”
“Husayni / Handschar”
“Pharmacide”

“Regressive Agenda”:

“Sacrificial Hire” video:

 
Magrudergrind will head out on a European tour with Primitive Man beginning February 26th in Tillburg, NL and running through March 27th in Antwerpen, BE. A complete list of dates can be found below. North American dates will be announced soon.

February
26 - Tilburg, Netherlands - Netherlands Deathfest
27 - Winterthur, Switzerland - Gasweck
28 - Lausanne, Switzerland - Le Romanadie
29 - Nevers, France - Cafe Charbon

March
1 - Toulouse, France - Pavillion Sauvages
2 - Barcelona, Spain - Rocksound
3 - Madrid, Spain - Baracudas
4 - Donsoti, Spain - Mogamos
5 - Montpellier, France - Secret Place
6 - Milano, Italy - Lo Fi
7 - Bologna, Italy - Freakout Club
8 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Gromka
12 - Budapest, Hungary - Durer Kert
14 - Munchen, Germany - Feierwerk
15 - Wurzburg, Germany - Cairo
17 - Aalborg, Denmark - 1000 Fryd
18 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Truckstop Alaska
19 - Stockholm, Sweden - Bergsunds Strand 43
20 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Pumpehuset
21 - Hamburg, Germany - Hafenklang
22 - Leipzig, Germany - Westwerk
23 - Prague, Czech Republic - Modra Vopice
24 - Berlin, Germany - Casiopeia
25 - Utrecht, Netherlands - DB's
26 - Saarbrucken, Germany - Garage
27 - Antwerpen, Belgium - Het Bos

 



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Historical Italian psycho-thrash metal band Schizo is working on their new album Rotten Spiral, set to be released by Punishment 18 Records.

The band recorded at New Sound Studio under the attentive guide of Tommy Vetterli (Coroner), who will also guest on the album.

Artwork by Daniele Cascone:

Tracklisting:

“Leaders Of Deception”
“Skeptic Flesh”
“Neurotic Propaganda”
“Rotten Spiral” (feat. Tommy Vetterli)
“Deathwire”
“Freikorps”
“Hysterical God”
“Final Warning”

Release date is set for March. Further details to come.

The Rotten Spiral release party will take place at Circolo Colony in Brescia, Italy on April 23rd. Many surprises are planned for the night.



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New Haven-based progressive ensemble, Earthside, has launched a drum playthrough video of the song "Mob Mentality", taken from the band's debut album, A Dream In Static. Stream the drum playthrough, featuring cinematic elements of the "Mob Mentality" music video which recently won the Outstanding Video by an Unsigned Artist award from the North American Independent Rock Music Association below:

Commented drummer, Ben Shanbrom: "I almost had a nervous breakdown learning 'Mob Mentality.' Earthside songs most often come together in a democratic and organic fashion - we start with our individual ideas and build around each other, allowing each member to make his mark and play to his individual strengths. That is not at all how this song worked out!

"Jamie (our guitarist) wrote almost every section of this track - from the orchestration, down to the cymbal accents. Everything had to lock and flow in a very specific way to allow all of the elements to work together in harmony (or intended dissonance). Most crushing of all was the fact that Jamie programmed most of the demo drum parts in Logic without my consultation, resulting in more than a few sections that both delighted my ears and crippled me with despair!

"A LOT of practice was necessary before I felt comfortable playing this track, but it's truly a rush now to play it live, and I am certain that learning it made me a better drummer in every way. This play-through was a really neat chance to finally let loose and experiment with different fills and beat variations that Master Jamie wouldn't necessarily let me get away with otherwise!"

Earthside's debut album A Dream In Static released last October. An epic undertaking of cross-continental collaborations, A Dream In Static was recorded in Stockholm, Sweden under the watch of renowned producer and mix engineer, David Castillo (Opeth, Katatonia, Bloodbath), and additional mix and mastering engineer, Jens Bogren (Opeth, Soilwork, The Ocean, Devin Townsend). The instrumental collective recruited several acclaimed guest vocalists including Lajon Witherspoon (Sevendust), Daniel Tompkins (TesseracT, ex-Skyharbor), Björn Strid (Soilwork) and Eric Zirlinger (Face the King, ex-Seer) to provide their prowess across four of the eight cinematic tracks, as well as the Moscow Studio Symphony Orchestra (MSSO) for live orchestral compositions.



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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. 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

Swedish chainsaw-cadavers Interment once again unravel the hellish mausoleum with the group's latest scorcher Scent Of The Buried. The band's sophomore album will be released April 1st on Dark Descent Records.

Six years and a few line-up changes later, Interment came back more savage than ever at the peak of the current Swedish death metal scene, with hints of the band showing maturity and dynamism but without ever losing their integrity as a no-holds-barred primal beast. 

Recorded and mixed by the legendary Tomas Skogsberg at Sunlight Studio, Stockholm (Nihilist, Entombed, Dismember, Grave, Desultory) and mastering duties handled by Demonical frontman Sverker 'Widda' Widgren at Wing Studios (Diabolical, Demonical, Centinex, Nidsang, Setherial). Featuring the extremely frightful artwork of Juanjo Castellano (Portrait, Revel In Flesh, Avulsed).

Tracklisting:

“Death And Decay”
“Sinister Incantation”
“Chalice Of Death”
“Repugnant Funeral”
“Scent Of The Buried”
“Rise Of The Dead”
“Unholy Upheaval”
“Dawn Of Blasphemy”
“Skullcrushing Carnage”
“Nailed To The Grave”



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German death metal veterans Obscenity have unveiled the cover artwork and tracklisting of their 9th full-length album, Retaliation, scheduled for a late spring release via Kolony Records. The cover was painted by renewed artist Paolo Girardi (Inquisition, Manilla Road).

Tracklisting:

“Claustrophobic Hell”
“Embracing The Plague”
“Whore Of Secret”
“Abandon All Hope”
“Ghastly Presence Haunting”
“The Day Of Wrath”
“Deracination”
“Innate Depravity”
“Soul Eater”
“Ominous Determination”

Obscenity was formed as a five-piece in 1989 with the intention of playing brutal death metal, and the band's debut album, Suffocated Truth, was released in 1992. It was only in 1996, with the release of the band's third album, The 3rd Chapter, that Obscenity developed their current well known style, offering direct bludgeoning death metal riffs, with a Floridian approach to their aural carnage.

The band has taken part in several European metal festivals during the years, such as Fuck The Commerce Festival, No Mercy Festival, With Full Force Open Air and Wacken Open Air, to name a few, and supported Six Feet Under on their summer tour in 2003.

After splitting up in 2009, the band was reformed with a new lineup by guitarist Hendrik Bruns the following year, and came out with their its eighth full-length, Atrophied In Anguish, in 2012. A few years later, Tobias Müller joined the band as the new vocalist and ten new tracks were composed for Retaliation.

Obscenity lineup:

Tobias Müller - vocals
Hendrik Bruns - guitars
Christoph Weerts - guitars
Jörg Pirch - bass
Sascha Knust - drums



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With just over a week to go before they hit the stage at Blastfest, Norwegian Viking metallers Mistur have debuted a track from their upcoming sophomore album, which will be released via Dark Essence Records this year.

The track, "Downfall”, is streaming below:

Downfall by Mistur

No other details of the album, which will be titled In Memoriam, are available yet, but, as Dark Essence explained: “Mistur will shortly be appearing at two big Norwegian festivals - Blastfest and Inferno, and everyone thought it would be the perfect time to give fans a little sneak preview of what they can expect from the new album.”

Aside from their appearance at Blastfest in Bergen on February 17th, Mistur will join Dark Essence Records labelmates The 3rd Attempt, Lucifer’s Child and Orkan for the label night at Inferno Festival in Oslo on March 23rd.

 



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The dawn of a new era of progressive tech-metal from UK shores is about to explode worldwide. Aliases return with their sophomore album, Derangeable, 11 tracks of colossal tech riffery and soaring vocals that paint the listener a ferociously beautiful and rewardingly complex soundscape over the course of 47 minutes. Poised with the determination, intelligence and non-conformist style to drag the modern metal genre forward, Aliases will release Derangeable via Basick Records on April 15th.

Guitarist Leah Woodward recently showcased some of the new album material at NAMM in California on the Strandberg Guitarworks stand. Watch the video footage here.

Discussing moving their sound on to the next level, guitarist Leah Woodward explains: “We'd like to give a huge shout out to our incredible and patient fans, a thank you to everyone who has pledged to make Derangeable more than just a dream. It’s never easy to explain how you feel about finally unleashing a new album upon the world. Having worked with the best people imaginable to create something we're so proud to showcase, there aren’t many words capable of doing it justice. To anyone about to listen to these new tracks, I hope you brought spare pants. Aliases will not be held responsible for any adverse consequences pre or post listening. We can only hope you love these new tracks as much as we do. If you do then we’re your new favourite band. We love you too!”

Derangeable tracklisting:

“Find Where You Hide”
“Everything Is Upon Us”
“Back To The Start”
“Smile All You Like”
“Deep Sea Avenue”
“Uncontrollable Desires”
“Callous”
“Face For Lust”
“Seen It All”
“Untangled Mind”
“Above The Sky”



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Oulu, Finland-based extreme metallers, Wrathage, have released a music video for “Distortion”, a track from their 2015 release Discipline (Maa Productions). The new clip can be found below.

 

 

Tracklisting:

“Dark Matter”
“Born Girt For War”
“Of The Great Chief”
“Walking To Death”
“Unslaved”
“Distortion”
“Reptilian”
“Sadicum”
“The Crawlspace”



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Last June, the premier, annual metal festival in France , Hellfest, boasted three day's worth of shows from some of the best acts in the scene. For the first time, Metal Blade TV was present at the fest, ready to capture live performances from the label's artists, as well as exclusive interviews with host Don Jamieson.

Watch the video below from Hellfest 2015, featuring multi-camera footage of Cannibal Corpse, Armored Saint, Ensiferum, and Twitching Tongues.

For the 2016 installment of Hellfest, Metal Blade artists Amon Amarth, King Diamond, Sacred Reich, Primordial, Cattle Decapitation, Entrails, and DragonForce are set to appear over the course of June 17th - 19th in Clisson, France. Stay tuned for live footage and interviews with these bands coming soon.

 



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Pro wrestling legend and current World Heavyweight Champion Triple H has spoken to Merlin Alderslade of Metal Hammer about the recent passing of Ian 'Lemmy' Kilmister from Motörhead; an excerpt follows.

What was it like speaking at Lemmy's funeral? You were standing up in front of some of your own rock and metal heroes.

"When they asked me to do it, I asked them, 'Are you asking me because you want me to do this, or are you asking me because you think I want to do this? Because if it's because you think, 'Oh, H would probably want to speak,' then I won't do it'. They said it was because they wanted me to do it, and so yeah, I was sat with Gene Simmons in the front row, and Ozzy's just behind me, and then I'm up there in front of the Metallica guys and Dave Grohl and Dee Snider from Twisted Sister. These people are peers and friends of his, so I was definitely out of my comfort zone. I was honoured to be amongst those people, and I made a point of saying that at the start."

Have you always been a big Motörhead fan?

“I got into them as a kid. I was really into the more metal, or heavy rock, side of things, especially the British bands. It was when the Iron Maidens were coming through, a really great time for music, but I remember I heard Motörhead, and it was just totally different to anything I'd ever heard before. It was so heavy, so raw and powerful, and Lemmy's voice was just so different to everything else out there. Metal at that time, there was a lot of high-pitched vocals, but Lemmy's was this low, guttural rumble. It was just totally different, and I was blown away by it."

To read the interview in its entirety, click here. View Triple H's speech at Lemmy's funeral (January 9th) below.

 

 



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METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett spoke to Rolling Stone about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's long-awaited follow-up to 2008's "Death Magnetic". He said that the group is "moving at a pace that allows us to live our lives and not have our lifestyles change too much." He added that METALLICA has come up with ideas for "a bunch of songs, more than enough songs" but none are finished. "We're slogging away," he said. "But, you know, it's metal. It's heavy."

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told Rolling Stone last year that the band has written close to 20 new songs for its long-awaited tenth studio album, although he declined to offer a possible release date for the new CD. Ulrich said: "In our world, there's been a distinct difference between the creative phase and the recording phase. With this project, we're trying to bridge the two a little more organically and not have there be such a great divide between the processes. We want to see if we can bring some of the creative curiosity, the impulsive stuff that happens when you're first playing a song into the studio."

Ulrich added that the band doesn't want to record in a way that feels "labored over and overthought."

Bassist Robert Trujillo told The Pulse Of Radio that there's always a surplus of new song ideas coming out of guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield. "James usually comes up with a lot of stuff," he said. "He's the kind of guy where he plugs in his guitar, turns a volume knob or a, you know, a tone knob, and he comes up with, you know, the greatest riff that you can imagine. So in that case, there's no shortage of riffs and ideas."

Aside from touring, METALLICA has spent much of the eight years since the release of "Death Magnetic" on several other projects, including launching a music festival, collaborating on an album with the late Lou Reed and making a feature film.

Ulrich told The Pulse Of Radio not long ago that spending all its time making an album is no longer a priority for METALLICA. "If we had to sit there and, 'Okay, boys, now you write for the rest of the year and then you spend the next year after that recording' — I would pull what seven hairs I have left, I'd pull those out and rather just stab myself in the eye with nails or whatever," he said. "I just, I couldn't do it. I mean, we love the position that we're in to be able to come and go between all these different projects. That's what keeps us alive."

In a brand new interview with GigsAndFestivals.com, ex-DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy was asked if the recent passing of British art-rock icon David Bowie has made him think that perhaps he would like to one day play with his former bandmates again.

"Look, I'm a very sentimental guy, I'm a very nostalgic guy," he responded. "I was the guy in DREAM THEATER that opened up the door to [former keyboard player] Derek Sherinian and [original vocalist] Charlie Dominici to come back and join us on stage [at a concert in Los Angeles in 2004]. I also extended that invite to [keyboardist] Kevin Moore, so I've always been that type of person. I look at my past with a fond memory, and I probably shouldn't even say this — I'm not trying to publicly state this — but around Christmas time I sent all the guys in DREAM THEATER a nice e-mail, just reaching out to say how much I love and miss them, because that's just the way I am."

He continued: "Jordan [Rudess, keyboards] and John Petrucci [guitar], we've stayed in touch, so in answer to your question, I've never closed the door on doing something with them. It's not like I'm waiting for it; it's not like I'm planning it, it's not like it's in my career plan, but certainly if the invitation, or if the opportunity arose, I would surely welcome it. It's just because, you know, I don't hold grudges, and I like to have an open heart and always cherish the people in my life and in my past. That was twenty-five years of my life."

Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more than thirty years ago, abruptly quit the band in September 2010 while on tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD. He has since been replaced by Mike Mangini (ANNIHILATOR, EXTREME, JAMES LABRIE, STEVE VAI). Portnoy later revealed that he tried to rejoin DREAM THEATER, only to be rebuffed.

Asked in a 2015 interview with Loudwire if it's true that he quit DREAM THEATER due to the fact that he wanted a five-year break from the band but the other guys in the group disagreed, Portnoy said: "Well, I mean, obviously, the fact that I left the band is a fact. But the five-year break thing is fiction. That's a… What is it called? Not a rumor… a myth… urban legend. The five-year thing is an urban legend. I never said five years. I just wanted to have a hiatus. Just 'cause we had been going 25 years — boom! boom! boom! — with no break. Write-record-tour, write-record-tour, and it was burning me out. It didn't mean I wanted to stop making music. One of the biggest misconceptions was, after I left DREAM THEATER, I went off and did, like, five different bands and side projects. Everyone was, like, 'We thought you wanted a break.' And it was, like, well, I didn't want a break from making music; I just needed a break from the DREAM THEATER camp. It was 25 years without a break in that camp, and I was just fried. I needed other people and other musical outlets in my life. But the five-year hiatus, I think… I had suggested hiatus of any length, it somehow got misinterpreted as a five-year… which, coincidentally, would have been now. So it would have been up by now, actually — if it was a five-year hiatus."

Portnoy was also asked whether it's true that he offered to return to DREAM THEATER shortly after quitting the band, but that his offer was rebuffed via DREAM THEATER's lawyer. He responded: "I'll just say that there was… Once I left, there was a tremendous amount of legalities and technicalities, so I'll just say that I was doing whatever it would take to keep peace and keep things going smooth. And at that point, they were just only speaking through their lawyer. But it's a 25-year relationship coming to an end, so, obviously, it goes very, very deep, not only personally and emotionally, but also legally, and all the red tape that's involved with something like that. So it was a tough time, a tough period, and, luckily, we all got through it. But, yeah, I don't wish that kind of stuff on anybody in a band. It's tough."

Fan-filmed video footage of LAMB OF GOD's entire February 6 performance at Concrete Street Amphitheater in Corpus Christi, Texas can be seen below.

LAMB OF GOD's U.S. tour with ANTHRAX will come to a close in Los Angeles, California on February 12.

LAMB OF GOD's latest album, "VII: Sturm Und Drang", was released in July 2015 via Epic in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast Entertainment in all territories outside of North America. The CD was once again produced and mixed by Josh Wilbur with engineering by Wilbur, Nick Rowe and Kyle McAulay, and was recorded at NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood, California and Suburban Soul Studios in Torrance, California.

Regarding the "VII: Sturm Und Drang" album title, LAMB OF GOD guitarist Mark Morton told the Swiss TV show "Living Room": "When Randy [Blythe, vocals] and I were putting the lyrics together for this album, we were discussing what the themes were. And we were trying to find a phrase that best encompassed the common threads that ran through the lyrics of all the songs. And it just happened to be that 'Sturm Und Drang' represented that inner conflict and the pressure and the turmoil and the chaos and how one responds to those things. If it had been a French phrase, we would have probably named it that. But it just happened to be German."

SKELETONWITCH recently completed recording a new EP, the Ohio quintet's first new material since 2013's critically acclaimed "Serpents Unleashed". The as-yet-untitled release — tentatively due out this summer — was recorded last month with Kevin Bernsten at Baltimore's Developing Nations (NOISEM, MAGRUDERGRIND, MUTILATION RITES) and will feature the group's new vocalist, whose identity will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Next month, SKELETONWITCH will return to the road as part of the annual Decibel Magazine Tour alongside ABBATH, HIGH ON FIRE and TRIBULATION. SKELETONWITCH guitarist Scott Hedrick stated about the trek: "All three artists are in my personal top tier of heavy music. Definitely going to have some embarrassing 'fan moments' on this one. Just ask Matt Pike — as an overly excited teenager, I punished him with a game of 20 Questions when I saw them on their first U.S. tour. He still regrets giving me his phone number! New tunes, new singer, new tour, new chapter for SKELETONWITCH. Looking forward to seeing you all out on the road."

Formed in Ohio over a decade ago, SKELETONWITCH has received considerable acclaim for its trademark 'blackened metal," which Metal Hammer calls "a potent brew of everything that makes metal so brilliant, vital and special." Their most recent release, "Serpents Unleashed", debuted on The Billboard 200 chart at No. 62, the highest chart position of their career. Recorded with Kurt Ballou (CONVERGE, HIGH ON FIRE), "Serpents Unleashed" was lauded as a "punchy, potent slices of blackened thrash, death metal and plain ol' heavy metal" by Decibel magazine, which included the album in their 2013 Top 40 list.

"31", written and directed by Rob Zombie, made its world premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on January 23 in Park City, Utah.

Video footage of Rob's introductory remarks and the complete question-and-answer session which was held after the showing can be seen below.

Rob Zombie told a fan on his Facebook page that an unrated cut of "31" will be issued on DVD. Zombie presented the film three times to the MPAA ratings board, which slapped it with an NC-17 twice and finally gave it an R after he made some trims to the film's violent content. Asked by a fan if we'll "ever see Zombie cuts of the movie you have had to cut down to get an R rating," Zombie simply repled, "Yes, on DVD."

Zombie himself had stated that he thought it was likely that that edits would need to be made to try and fit the MPAA's strict guidelines.

The synopsis for "31" reads, "Five friends are kidnapped on the day before Halloween and are held hostage in a terrifying place named Murder World. While trapped, they must play a violent game called 31, in which the mission is to survive 12 hours against a gang of evil clowns."

Rob Zombie's new album, "The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser", will be released on April 29 via UMe/T-Boy Records. The CD was produced by Chris "Zeuss" Harris and features Zombie alongside guitarist John 5, bassist Piggy D and drummer Ginger Fish.

Fan-filmed video footage of ANTHRAX's entire February 6 performance at Concrete Street Amphitheater in Corpus Christi, Texas can be seen below.

ANTHRAX's U.S. tour with LAMB OF GOD will come to a close in Los Angeles, California on February 12.

ANTHRAX's long-awaited new album, "For All Kings", will be released on February 26 via Nuclear Blast in Europe and Megaforce in the U.S.

Pre-order "For All Kings" here.

Beginning in the fall of 2014, ANTHRAX — Charlie Benante (drums), Scott Ian (rhythm guitar), Frank Bello (bass), Joey Belladonna (vocals), and lead guitarist Jon Donais — took their time in the studio recording the follow up to their Grammy-nominated, critically acclaimed 2011 album, "Worship Music". The band recorded some 20 original songs, almost twice as many as they had ever brought into the studio in the past.

The lyrics to the CD's first single, "Evil Twin", were inspired by the terror attacks on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, France.

"I don't understand how a human being is capable of that, and that's the evil twin of humanity to me," Ian told CBS Philly. "These people are criminally insane. It has nothing to do with God, or religion, or any of that. It's just criminally insane people preying on the innocent on this planet and it’s obviously something I have a lot of anger about. As I should."

"Everybody has the same anger," added Bello. "I love singing that every night. You're no martyr."

"You know what my gut reaction is?" said Ian. "I want to put on Dr. Doom's metal glove, and punch him in the face until he's dead. That's what I would personally like to do. And I would like to say that I'm above the law too because God told me that I should punch that dude in the face until he's dead, but I can't do that. I'm not allowed to do that, and I'm not criminally insane so I'm not going to do that. But I don't know how you fight this warfare — it's insidious, it's everywhere, and it's only gonna get worse."

Megadeth guitarist Kiko Loureiro revealed 19 songs that influenced him as a player growing up as part of Apple Music's Mixing series. An excerpt from the list is available below:

Rainbow - "Stargazer" (1976)

Stevie Ray Vaughan - "Pride And Joy" (1983)

Steve Morse - "Tumeni Notes" (1989)

Megadeth - "Tornado Of Souls" (1990)

Steve Vai - "Bad Horsie" (1995)

Check out the complete rundown here.

Megadeth's new album Dystopia (Universal Music Enterprises /Tradecraft / T-Boy Records) is available on CD, LP, and digitally. Additionally, a special edition featuring a groundbreaking Virtual Reality experience in which fans will be able to purchase the new album, a CEEK Virtual Reality headset with instructions, and a download code to access and unlock exclusive content to begin their VR Experience. All configurations can be purchased through physical and online partners now.

With musical architect and band visionary Dave Mustaine at the helm, Dystopia was recorded in Nashville, TN, and mixed by Josh Wilbur (Lamb Of God, Gojira, Avenged Sevenfold). The rest of the Megadeth lineup is comprised of new member Kiko Loureiro (formerly of Angra), David Ellefson on bass, and drummer Chris Adler, who took time away from Lamb Of God to record Dystopia. The result marks a true return to form, adding new blood and injecting a new burst of creative energy into the new album.

Dystopia tracklisting:

“Death From Within”
“Fatal Illusion”
“Conquer... Or Die!”
“Lying In State”
“Me Hate You”
“The Emperor's New Clothes”
“Dystopia”
“Bullet To The Brain”
“Last Dying Wish”
“Post American World”
“Look Who's Talking”
“The Threat Is Real”
“Poisonous Shadows”
“Melt The Ice Away” (Budgie cover)
“Foreign Policy” (Fear cover)

“Dystopia” video:

“The Threat Is Real” video:

“Fatal Illusion”:



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The judge presiding over a lawsuit challenging the authenticity of Led Zeppelin's signature song "Stairway To Heaven" has rejected a bid to delay the case, setting the stage for a May trial - if it doesn't get settled or dismissed before then, reports Vernon Silver of Bloomberg.com.

The case stems from what, to some ears, is a similarity between "Stairway To Heaven" and "Taurus", an instrumental piece released on Spirit’s debut album in 1968. The musicians deny the infringement allegations and say Robert Plant and Jimmy Page alone wrote the song. Spirit guitarist Randy California, who composed "Taurus", died in 1997. The trustee who handles his royalties sued in May 2014, claiming "falsification of rock 'n' roll history."

The dispute may soon come to a head. The court has scheduled a settlement conference next month for the opposing parties to try to resolve the dispute. But Led Zeppelin also says they plan to file a motion for summary judgment to end the case. Learn more at this location.

 



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Austin, Texas based traditional heavy metal band Ignitor has premiered their new music video, "No Sanctuary", which can be seen below.

The first track released from the band's currently untitled upcoming album, "No Sanctuary" was filmed at Emphatic Audio Studios and was directed by Ignitor guitarist and founding member Stuart Laurence (Agony Column). 

Vocalist Jason McMaster (Dangerous Toys) has checked in with the following comment: "We have been writing and recording some new songs, of which a few of them we are looking forward to playing at these upcoming shows that have been long overdue. These confirmed dates will also be used to showcase our new band lineup that features Robert Williams (Witches Mark) on guitar and Billy "Chainsaw" Dansfiell (Agony Column) on bass.

Upcoming Ignitor shows:

March
5 - The Sidewinder - Austin, TX
16 - Heart Of Texas Rockfest - Austin, TX
18 - The Acadia - Houston, TX

April
16 - Rockbox - San Antonio, TX

May
6 - Reggie's Rock Club - Ragnarokkr Fest - Chicago, IL

 



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Hungary-based power metal heroes, Wisdom, have released the title track from their upcoming new album, Rise Of The Wise. The song, featuring Joakim Brodén from Sabaton, is streaming below.

The band states: "Now it's a tradition in Wisdom to invite our idols to do guest vocals in the title tracks of our albums. We proudly announce that Joakim Brodén from Sabaton accepted our request and did a great job on “Rise Of The Wise”! It was amazing to do the recordings together in the studio, something what we will never forget!"

Joakim Brodén adds: "On our first tour together in 2012 these guys impressed me so much  with their professionalism and great songs that I still to this day find  myself singing along to their song ”Live Forevermore”. A bunch of amazing guys making amazing music, so when they asked me to  sing on a track on their new album it was an obvious choice!"

Rise Of The Wise will be released on February 26th via NoiseArt Records. The artwork was created by Gyula Havancsak (Hjules) who designed all of earlier Wisdom covers.

Rise Of The Wise tracklisting:

“Over The Wall”
“Ravens‘ Night”
“My Heart Is Alive”
“Hunting The Night”
“Hero”
“Through The Fire”
“Nightmare Of The Seas”
“Believe In Me”
“Secret Life”
“Welcome To My Story”
“Rise Of The Wise”

Aptly entitled Rise Of The Wise, the quintet‘s fourth studio album fully lives up to its name in each and every one of the eleven brand new songs: Thematically growing around various topics such as the multifarious facets of human existence as well as around the band mascot “Wiseman“ in a couple of songs, Wisdom rise to new heights of enthralling catchiness in the course of swift, solo-laden, double bass driven high speed gems, stomping mid-tempo majesty and magical folky ballads, all bursting with grandeur and bombastic melodies.

Guitar player Gabor Kovács himself took over production and mastering matters at Blacksmith Studios, Budapest, and SuperSize Recording StudiosTörökbálint.

 



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Progressive death metallers FALLUJAH will release their third full-length album, titled "Dreamless", on April 29 via Nuclear Blast Entertainment.

"Dreamless" was recorded at Sharkbite Studios with producer Zack Ohren (ANIMOSITY, SUFFOCATION, ALL SHALL PERISH, DECREPIT BIRTH), and was mixed and mastered by Mark Lewis (DEVILDRIVER, CANNIBAL CORPSE, WHITECHAPEL, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, CARNIFEX) at Audiohammer in Sanford, Florida. Cover art was created by Peter Mohrbacher.

Commented the band: "'Dreamless' is the culmination of nearly a year's worth of hard work; bringing you an album that is not simply a follow-up, but a massive leap forward from what we have achieved so far with FALLUJAH. These are, without a doubt, the most powerful, emotional and dynamic songs we have every produced as a band.

"Now, we finally have a team of professionals at Nuclear Blast Records to help make this record as impactful and imposing as our records have ever been. The album is nearly an hour long and our fans will have more content than ever to experience, with songs ranging from crushingly epic to delicately subtle.

"We can't think of a better time to put this record out than on tour with our old friends in THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, so stay tuned for new songs, new tours and some fantastic pre-order packages we have in store for you!"

"Dreamless" track listing:

01. Face Of Death02. Adrenaline03. The Void Alone04. Abandon05. Scar Queen06. Dreamless07. The Prodigal Son08. Amber Gaze09. Fidelio10. Wind For Wings11. Les Silences12. Lacuna

"Dreamless" features guest vocal appearances by Tori Letzler, Mike Semesky and Katie Thompson; and a guest solo appearance by Tymon Kruidenier (ex-CYNIC, EXIVIOUS).

FALLUJAH caused quite a stir in the music world with the release of its previous album, "The Flesh Prevails". It topped several “best of 2014” lists in not only the metal world, but in the progressive music community as well and won over scores of new fans with their fresh, emotive, and technically challenging music. As a result, FALLUJAH has paved the way for a new melodic and atmospheric perspective on death metal!

FALLUJAH is:

Alex Hofmann - vocalsRob Morey - bassAndrew Baird - drumsScott Carstairs - guitarBrian James - guitar

CANDLEMASS bassist and songwriter Leif Edling has launched a new solo project called THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM. He says in a video message introducing the new project: "As you perhaps know, I won't be playing live with CANDLEMASS this year. I'm still burnt out. But hopefully I can do it next year. And in the meantime, I would like to introduce some solo stuff I've been working on for some time now, and I call it THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM. And it's a low-key thing I'm doing without any label involved. And it's metal the way it's supposed to be, and it's for all of you that love this kind of music as much as I do. And I hope you will enjoy it. Every week, I will put up a new film so I properly can present THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM to everybody interested and play a few snippets from it."

CANDLEMASS recently completed work on a brand new EP. Four studio tracks featuring Mats Levén on vocals were recorded during September/October for a special anniversary release, to be released later this year on Napalm Records. The cover artwork for the EP was created by Erik Rovanperä.

CANDLEMASS has also announced that Levén, who's a longtime friend of the band, is now the permanent singer for the Swedish doom metal squad. Also, Per Wiberg is today an essential part of CANDLEMASS's touring lineup on keyboards and filling in for Edling until he's back in shape again.

Edling's AVATARIUM project released its second album, "The Girl With The Raven Mask", in October 2015 via Nuclear Blast. The CD was released in North America as part of a joint licensing venture between Nuclear Blast and Metalville.

Fan-filmed video footage of HALESTORM's February 9 concert at Ancienne Belgique in Brussels, Belgium can be seen below.

HALESTORM has announced details of a major North American headline tour. The dates begin April 1 at Reading, Pennsylvania's Reading Eagle Theatre in the Santander Arena and extend through late May. Support throughout the trek comes from special guests DOROTHY and the legendary Lita Ford. In addition, the tour will include stops at a number of festivals and summer radio concerts as well as a pair of much-anticipated dates alongside the one and only ROB ZOMBIE, slated for May 18 at Bloomington, Illinois' Cellular Coliseum and May 19 at Saginaw, Michigan's First Merit Bank Event Park. HALESTORM is among the many top artists who have recorded cover versions of EAGLES OF DEATH METAL's "I Love You All The Time" as part of the Sweet Stuff Foundation's "Play It Forward" campaign to aid victims of last November's terrorist attacks in Paris. The track is available now on the iTunes Store, Amazon, and Spotify, as well as the official "Play It Forward Store."

HALESTORM's third album, "Into The Wild Life", debuted at No. 5 on The Billboard 200 album chart, selling 56,000 copies in its first week of release — more than double the first week haul of the band's previous effort, 2012's Grammy-winning "The Strange Case Of…"

Italian heavy rockers LACUNA COIL have recruited Los Angeles-based musician Daniel Sahagún (BLACK LODGE) to play guitar for the band following the recent departure of Marco "Maus" Biazzi.

Sahagún previously played bass for LACUNA COIL in 2014 when the band's bassist and main songwriter Marco "Maki" Coti-Zelati was sick and unable to tour with the group.

Daniel made his live debut as LACUNA COIL's guitarist during this past weekend's 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

Biazzi left LACUNA COIL in January, explaining in a statement: "I felt I couldn't add more in this project any longer so I decided to leave my second family, LACUNA COIL, to take a different path for a new challenge in my life.

LACUNA COIL will tentatively release its new album, "Delirium", in May via Century Media. The CD was recorded at BRX Studio in Milan with producer Marco "Maki" Coti-Zelati, with engineering by Marco Barusso and additional assistance from Dario Valentini.

"Delirium" is LACUNA COIL's first album to featuring American drummer Ryan Blake Folden, who has been touring with the band since 2012.

LACUNA COIL in February 2014 parted ways with guitarist Cris "Pizza" Migliore and drummer Cristiano "Criz" Mozzati.

Grammy-winning rock band WOLFMOTHER has released the official lyric video for the song "Pretty Peggy". The track is taken from the band's upcoming album, "Victorious", which is set for a February 19 release through Universal Music Enterprises.

Over the course of the past few weeks, the band has been giving fans a sneak preview of the album, starting with the Zane Lowe/Beats 1 radio show debut of "Victorious" and "City Lights", which was followed by the Vice/Live Nation premiere of "Gypsy Caravan".

Fans can get all three songs as instant downloads by pre-ordering "Victorious" on iTunes. The CD is also available for pre-order through Amazon and pre-orders and exclusive merch bundles are also available at WOLFMOTHER's webshop. WOLFMOTHER recently teamed with popular enhanced coloring book app Recolor to give fans the opportunity to create their own colorized version of the "Victorious" album art. Recolor was created by premium photo app developer Sumoing. WOLFMOTHER will be including songs from "Victorious" on its much-anticipated headline tour of North America, set to kick off February 24 at First Avenue in Minneapolis. The follow-up to 2009's "Cosmic Egg" and 2014's "New Crown", the much-anticipated "Victorious" is an electrifying testament to the range and depth of songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Andrew Stockdale's artistry. Recorded at Henson Studios in Los Angeles with two-time-Grammy-winning producer Brendan O'Brien (PEARL JAM, AC/DC, CHRIS CORNELL, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN), the songs are edgy, inventive and uncompromising and rank among the band's best ever. In addition to vocals, Stockdale played guitar and bass and brought in Josh Freese (NINE INCH NAILS, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, A PERFECT CIRCLE) and Joey Waronker (AIR, BECK, REM) to split drum duties.

Legendary rocker Alice Cooper has weighed in on the partial reunion of the classic lineup of GUNS N' ROSES, telling Rolling Stone magazine that the Axl Rose-fronted group "is always unpredictable, which makes them exciting."

GUNS N' ROSES — featuring Axl alongside guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan — will play on April 8 and April 9 at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas before headlining California's Coachella Music And Arts Festival on April 16 and April 23.

Cooper, who took GUNS N' ROSES out on the road with him in 1987, shortly after the release of "Appetite For Destruction", told Rolling Stone: "I had a feeling [the GUNS N' ROSES reunion] was going to happen. GUNS N' ROSES is always unpredictable, which makes them exciting. I think those gigs will go through."

He added: "I'm just wondering why isn't Izzy [Stradlin, guitar] in there?" he says. "I don't know about drums, but certainly Izzy is viable. You'd think if Slash and Axl are working together — and Duff is one of those guys that gets along with everybody — then at least Izzy would be one of the guys who would be a shoo-in.

"And maybe he is, I don't know," Cooper continued. "I don't what their setup is with him. But it's like not having Brian Jones with THE ROLLING STONES, if he were available."

GUNS N' ROSES is reportedly negotiating with promoters to play as many as 25 stadiums in North America this summer. For the tour, GN'R is said to be asking as much as $3 million per show, with tickets topping out in the $250 to $275 range.

There is still no word on whether original Izzy, drummer Steven Adler will appear, along with any other past or current members of the group. Reports have suggested that current drummer Frank Ferrer, guitarist Richard Fortus, multi-instrumentalist Chris Pitman and keyboardist Dizzy Reed and will round out the lineup.