MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil says that there aren't enough bands investing in flashier special effects at their concerts, including explosions, lasers and pyrotechnics.

"When we started getting bigger and were headlining arenas and all the other bands in the eighties were coming out and 'arena rock' was kinda being born, we really took pride in putting shows together," he tells Maxim. "We put a lot into the entertainment value of fans coming out to watch a show. And that was really only a handful of bands, like us, who went out of their way to give fans a great show. And there's only a handful left."

As to which bands he thinks still bother to go the extra mile when putting their shows together, Vince says: "It's like us, OZZY [OSBOURNE], ALICE COOPER and KISS. That's it. When we're all gone, I don't see anyone else carrying the torch of wanting to put together a great show with pyro and lights and fire, along with the songs. It's just kinda sad that that's all kinda disappeared. Hopefully there's someone out there right now in their garage rehearsing, lighting themselves on fire."

Back in 2012, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons stated that too many musicians in today's rock bands look like "garbage collectors." He said: "There are a lot of bands that have something. What's missing is stardom. The ability to get up on stage and rule, bigger than life. There are no stars. There's no Elvis, there's no... even Prince. Stage presence — none of the bands have it, they look like garbage collectors. They look worse than the audience that comes to see them."

Simmons's KISS bandmate Paul Stanley agreed. "Musicians who look like the delivery boy... don't realize that there's more," he said. "When big bands go on stage, they deliver their goods. That's why we've been around 40 years, because people know when they come to see us, they're going to get their money's worth and they're going to be entertained. We are proud to be entertainers and a hell of a rock band."

MÖTLEY CRÜE's "The Final Tour" kicked off last year and will end New Year's Eve at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

MÖTLEY CRÜE first announced plans for their two-year "Final Tour" by signing a Cessation Of Touring Agreement at a press conference in Los Angeles in January 2014, solidifying the end of their touring career with their last show ever on New Year's Eve at Staples Center in their hometown of Los Angeles. Since the announcement the band has been touring tirelessly to say goodbye to fans around the world. The 2014 leg of "The Final Tour" was one of last year's top-grossing tours, selling close to a million tickets across 72 cities and grossing more than $45 million.

Jointly announced at the recent Marijuana Business Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, Silver State Trading (SST), Nevada's premier cultivator, manufacturer and distributor of medical-grade cannabis and associated products, signed an agreement partnering with Purple Haze Properties and California Finest. The purpose is to launch Jimi's Cannabis Collection, specifically a line of premium hand-rolled marijuana cigarettes, across California's legal dispensary channel within the coming weeks. In turn, SST will manufacture and then distribute the California Finest brand across dispensaries inside Nevada.

"We license to best-in-class operators who have the legal rights to produce, cultivate and distribute cannabis in medical or recreational states nationwide," Purple Haze Properties CEO and President Andrew Pitsicalis stated. "We are extremely excited to collaborate with California Finest and Silver State Trading to bring Jimi's Genetix to California. California Finest's well-established distribution channel and deep music industry connections make this a great fit."

"Jimi's Cannabis Collection of strains, concentrates & accessories offer legal businesses a well-known music icon, his loyal and growing fan base, and eye-catching graphics. California Finest is a highly respected and broadly-distributed brand inside California, a HempCon winner with a loyal following. Pulling these three teams together is a force-multiplier inside California and downstream in Nevada too," offered Silver State Trading co-President and co-CEO John Sutton.

California Finest CEO Scott McPhail said, "We here at California Finest are very excited to be bringing Jimi's official marijuana cigarette packs to the California market! Of note, Nevada offers CA Patients the right to purchase medicine inside Nevada. A large percentage of CA-based tourists will recognize our brand!"  



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Asq.me recently ran a video AMA with former Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe, in which he gave answers to Japanese fans' questions. Some new video clips from the Q&A are streaming below:

On style and his real opinion of hair metal:

Michael gives the lowdown on The Voice of Finland and Season 5:

On the stories behind his new song “Old King's Road”:

On his sessions with Slash, Alice Cooper and wanting to play with the Rolling Stones:

Michael's attitude towards life, and growing older:

On the hidden message behind the Blackout States album cover:

Michael's songwriting tips:

On the buzz of a live show and feeling rock:

Episode #289 of the Iron City Rocks Podcast features an interview with Monroe. During the chat, he talks about his new solo album, Blackout States, and how it came together, as well as his touring plans for the foreseeable future, bands that influenced his style, and his relationship with Guns N' Roses over the years.

Commenting on GN'R, Monroe stated,  "Guns N' Roses had that punk thing that was missing from those hair bands... the chemistry in that band wasn't the same after Steven Adler left."

Tune in at this location.

Tracklisting:

“This Ain‘t No Love Song”
“Old King‘s Road”
“Goin’ Down With The Ship”
“Keep Your Eye On You”
“The Bastard’s Bash”
“Good Old Bad Days”
“R.L.F.”
“Blackout States”
“Under The Northern Lights”
“Permanent Youth”
“Dead Hearts On Denmark Street”
“Six Feet In The Ground”
“Walk Away”
“Break The Noose” (vinyl LP bonus track)

“Old King’s Road” video:

 

 



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Legendary hard rock guitar pioneer Ritchie Blackmore (RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE) and his wife and partner in BLACKMORE'S NIGHT, Candice Night, were interviewed for the latest edition of "Rich Davenport's Rock Show". You can now listen to the chat using the Mixcloud widget below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the difference between his playing styles in BLACKMORE'S NIGHT and when he's playing heavy rock:

"When I play rock all the time, I play with a plectrum, and now that I play this style, I've adopted a different finger style way of playing; I have to grow my fingernails so long, and it becomes very awkward if I'm playing electric. That's quite a challenge in itself."

On whether having the freedom of styles in BLACKMORE'S NIGHT given him the inspiration to progress as a guitar player:

"Definitely. It's a much wider horizon. Because in rock, I was just kind of churning out heavy metal riffs and it was becoming stale and kind of redundant what I was doing. I got kind of bored with the whole thing. Now I'm always sitting with a guitar and playing finger style when I'm trying to come up with new ideas and progressions, and it's a very natural process. Whereas I felt that in rock, it was becoming contrived. We'd need to rehearse and it would have to be a hard rock, riffy number, and [I felt like] I was starting to just repeat myself in a way."

On whether he feels like he has come home musically over the last twenty years of playing with BLACKMORE'S NIGHT:

"I feel at home playing both styles — whether it's finger style or electric. I just like the difference. It's almost more of a challenge to go on stage and play with an acoustic guitar very quietly. For me, that's a lot harder than the rock style, 'cause [when you play heavy rock], you rely on the amplifier to kind of excite people and turn up the energy. When you're playing acoustic, you've gotta try and excite and move an audience with just technique, and I find that a lot harder. But it's very rewarding. When it works, it's great."

On whether he sees BLACKMORE'S NIGHT carrying on indefinitely:

"I'd like to think so. It should be a natural thing. I think the biggest enemy is things like arthritis, which is creeping up on me in my hands, so I have to combat that. And, of course, when you get to my age, you start thinking that we can kind of play anything."

On resurrecting RAINBOW in 2016 for several festival appearances:

"BLACKMORE'S NIGHT will go on, and this is just a brief intermission of playing some good old rock, but with some good friends and some good musicians. And hopefully everybody's there for the same reason, which is it's good music and it's nostalgia, and hopefully everything goes well. And if it works, we'll do, obviously, more dates. We're only doing three this first time. But, like I said, if it works, we'll do more later on."

Blackmore will be joined in the new RAINBOW lineup by LORDS OF BLACK singer Ronnie Romero, STRATOVARIUS keyboardist Jens Johansson, BLACKMORE'S NIGHT drummer David Keith and bassist Bob Nouveau (a.k.a. Robert "Bob" Curiano, ex-BLACKMORE'S NIGHT).

The U.K. concert will take place on Saturday, June 25 at the Genting Arena in Birmingham. The performance will be Blackmore's first U.K. rock show in over 20 years. The two concerts in Germany will take place at the Monsters Of Rock festival on Friday, June 17, 2016 at Freilichtbühne in Loreley and on Saturday, June 18, 2016 at Festplatz am Viadukt in Bietigheim-Bissingen.

Blackmore plans to film and record the performances for future release.

Blackmore quit rock and roll in 1997 to form a medieval folk band called BLACKMORE'S NIGHT with then-girlfriend and now-wife Candice Night. Since then, BLACKMORE'S NIGHT has released nine studio albums, with a new CD, "All Our Yesterdays", having arrived on September 18.

Drummer Jaska Raatikainen of Finnish metallers CHILDREN OF BODOM has commented on the events of November 13 in Paris, France, when more than 129 people were killed in seven coordinated terrorist attacks.

The greatest number of deaths took place at the Bataclan, a French music venue where EAGLES OF DEATH METAL were performing when terrorists began a siege that ended with 89 people in the club either shot to death or killed in explosions.

A number of artists halted their European treks in the wake of the Paris attacks, including LAMB OF GOD, FOO FIGHTERS, DEFTONES and others.

Speaking to Music Interview Corner, Raatikainen was asked about CHILDREN OF BODOM's decision to continue their European tour after their tourmates LAMB OF GOD decided to go home. He said (see video below): "We didn't think [it was] that big of a problem to continue to tour, so we decided immediately to continue after what happened in Tilburg with LAMB OF GOD. There are many bands playing their shows as normal. A couple of bands, they canceled their shows in France, but we already played there before that terrible happenings. Because we were there, and we were there to play shows.

"After LAMB OF GOD went home, image-wise, it was special for us. I mean, of course, people thought that it's so great that we kept on going and not going home. And, yeah, some people, they told us that 'it's good that you guys are playing the shows,' and people were respecting that a lot."

The attacks in Paris led to a military response by France against the radical Islamic organization ISIS, as French jets bombed a series of targets in Syria.

The murders have stepped up worldwide concern over ISIS, as well as a debate in the U.S. over whether to accept Syrian refugees.

METALLICA frontman James Hetfield has revealed his "Top Ten Things Of 2015" via a handwritten list posted at the band's official web site. Among the items that made the cut are pop superstar Justin Bieber wearing a METALLICA shirt; "getting best guitar sound yet" while recording the new METALLICA album; meeting Robert Plant; and Pepper Keenan returining to CORROSION OF CONFORMITY.

Bieber was slammed in June by heavy metal fans for wearing a METALLICA t-shirt.

The 21-year-old singer posted a photo of himself donning a wide-brimmed black hat along with an oversized black METALLICA top. This led to a torrent of abuse being hurled in his direction, with one Instagram user writing: "Take that shirt off you don't deserve it," while another added: "U r a disgrace to metallica." Someone else stated: "I love Metallica and I hate Justin Bieber."

The members of METALLICA were asked in a 2013 issue of Q magazine if they were "Beliebers" — a.k.a. fans of Justin Bieber — after Bieber claimed that the METALLICA songs "One" and "Fade To Black" were his "jams." Frontman James Hetfield replied, "Are we Beliebers? Yes." while drummer Lars Ulrich offered: "Is it possible to have respect for him without being a Belieber? I think the kid's really talented and obviously to go through what he's going through at that early age must be a mindfuck. So the fact that he still goes out there and does it, I admire that and I think he's super talented, so I guess I am kind of a Belieber. If he likes 'One', and Liam Gallagher likes him, OK, there you go."

Bassist Robert Trujillo added: "As long as he stays out of trouble, I'll be a Belieber."

Back in 2013, a backstage video surfaced of Justin Bieber performing an impromptu cover of METALLICA's "Fade To Black". The 15-second clip showed Bieber playing air guitar while he tried to recreate the guitar solo from the classic 1984 METALLICA track with his voice. Bieber was accompanied by his musical director Dan Kanter on guitar.

FAITH NO MORE's music video for the song "Separation Anxiety" can be seen below. The clip contains footage from the 1955 film "Dementia", also known as "Daughter Of Horror".

"Sol Invictus" (Reclamation Recordings/Ipecac Recordings), FAITH NO MORE's first new album since 1997's "Album Of The Year", arrived in May, debuting at No. 6 on The Billboard 200 chart and landing at similar spots worldwide (including No. 2 in Australia, No. 4 in Germany and No. 6 in the U.K.). The months surrounding release found the band headlining a number of festivals, including Sonisphere, Download, Riot Fest, Bumbershoot and Rock In Rio. Returning to late night television for the first time since the mid-'90s, FAITH NO MORE took the stage on "The Tonight Show", "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and "Last Call With Carson Daly".

Regarding FAITH NO MORE's musical approach on "Sol Invictus", bassist Billy Gould said: "What I can say is that I think through our experience as musicians over the years, I think what we're doing reflects where we've gone since we made our last record as FAITH NO MORE. I think this kicks things up a notch. And I think there's parts that are very powerful and there's parts that have a lot of 'space.' Everything we do, with our chemistry, the way we play; it's always going to sound like us. It's just what we do, that makes us feel good."

Gould added: "When we split up, we explored what we could do on our own. During that time, we each developed what was a natural part of ourselves. Now, coming back, we have a wider perspective so we can do things we didn't even think of back in the day. If we were to decide to do country-western music, it would still sound like a FAITH NO MORE album. Together we have a strong collective identity, and when we work together it makes its own animal."

Asked if FAITH NO MORE wanted to retain creative control by deciding not to align itself with a major label for the release of the band's comeback album, "Sol Invictus", Gould said: "Well, yes, kind of. We were free. We didn't have to go to a major, and we could kind of call our own shots and do it how we wanted to. And I think it just took all the edge off these other things and these details that we had to do that, when you add other people into the mix, you're getting pressured, you're getting asked to do things you don't wanna do. Also, one of the things it took us so long to think about making a new record is because it's not just making a record; it means you're gonna have to tour, it means you're gonna have to start doing press, it means you've gotta start doing all this. There's a lot of shit that comes with that. And when you do it with a major, there's nobody that you can talk to about accountability as far as... I don't know… something simple, like, 'You want us to do a video? Who wants us to do a video?' 'Well, the guy down in that office down there.' I never met him before. In this kind of situation we have here, we know everybody, we can talk to everybody. And it's, like, 'We need this video. We need it for this.' 'Okay. Let's make it happen.' And we know that the content that comes out of is our content, how we want it, and not some guy in an office who thinks they know who we are who's giving this in front of all these people and embarrassing us, for example. Which happened a lot, actually. Even though we had a great label back in the day, but it's an office of people who are not in our band, who [don't] know us as well as we know ourselves."

Fan-filmed video footage of STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet performing an acoustic version of the BON JOVI classic "Livin' On A Prayer" on December 12 at Spire Center for the Performing Arts in Plymouth, Massachusetts can be seen below. While introducing the track, Sweet called it "the greatest song ever written about prayer."

Sweet's next solo album is tentatively due in April/May 2016 via Rat Pak Records. The CD, which Michael promises will be his "best to date," will feature Will Hunt (EVANESCENCE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) on drums.

Sweet's latest solo album, "I'm Not Your Suicide", sold around 2,900 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 154 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Sweet has endured heartbreaking tribulations throughout his life and career, including the 2009 passing of his wife of more than 22 years, Kyle. In 2010, Sweet remarried to Lisa Champagne-Sweet, a woman he describes as "a Godsend and the one who fits perfectly by my side."

Sweet continues to record and tour with STRYPER, as well as touring and recording as a solo artist.

Earlier this year, Devin Townsend Project played an incredible sold-out show at London’s legendary Royal Albert Hall, bringing the story of Ziltoid to life on stage, as well as playing tracks from across his back catalogue. This larger-than-life evening was captured on film and was released on November 13th in Europe via Inside Out Music. Check out the 28+ minute clip of Townsend and the band performing three Ocean Machine classics at the show in the same order from the Biomech album; "Funeral", "Bastard" and "The Death Of Music".

Townsend posted the following message on Facebook to coincide with the European release of the DVD:

“Finally, after a ton of work from all involved, we see the release of the Ziltoid at the Royal Albert Hall show! It was a milestone for me, and an experience none of us will soon forget. I hope you can in some way join the experience with us vicariously by watching it...enjoy, and as always: thank you for the opportunity to do this.”

Shot on 15 high-definition cameras, it was directed by Paul M Green (Devin Townsend, Opeth, BB King, Steve Hackett) and features special guests such as Dominique Lenore Persi (Stolen Babies), Chris Jericho (Fozzy) and Jean Savoie, with video narration by Bill Courage, as well as 12 singers and actors as cast and choir.

Townsend states: “The show at The Royal Albert Hall was a great experience. To be able to make artistic expression rooted in creativity and then to be able to articulate it in these sorts of ways - at this sort of venue- was pretty awesome. The whole thing was quite a challenge, but ultimately it worked and we were all very satisfied with it. I completely appreciate the support that has allowed this to happen from the audience, and I thank my team and Inside Out Records for busting ass to make this DVD a reality. I think if you enjoy what I do, you'll really dig it. Thank you so much for the opportunity!”

"March Of The Poozers" :





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"Sermon Of The Seven Suns" , a brand new song from progressive metal masters OBSCURA, can be streamed below. The track is taken from the band's new album, "Akróasis" (Greek for "hearing" or "listening"), which will be released February 5, 2016 via Relapse Records. The album will be available in CD, 2xLP and as a digital download.

"With 'Akróasis', we produced our grand opus featuring eight songs of fluent arrangements, odd time signatures never heard before in metal, and the most high-end production in the history of the band," says OBSCURA founder and frontman Steffen Kummerer. "Without question, 'Akróasis' is the heaviest, most complex record we have made to date. We cannot wait to perform live again and bring this excellent music to stages around the globe." Produced by the band and V. Santura (TRIPTYKON, PESTILENCE), "Akróasis" is eight songs diverse enough to serve as a near-comprehensive introduction to all of extreme metal. Packed to the gills with virtuosic musicianship, compelling themes, and airtight songwriting, "Akróasis" will undoubtedly breathe new life into death metal, progressive metal and beyond. Founded in 2002 by Kummerer, OBSCURA caused a stir when it toured as support for the legendary SUFFOCATION on the band's European tour in 2006 and independently released its debut album, "Retribution", that same year. From its very beginnings, the band (named after GORGUTS' inimitable 1993 full-length) demonstrated an uncanny ability for blending different forms of technical, cerebral metal into a coherent synthesis of death, thrash and black metal merged with progressive elements. "Akróasis" track listing:

01. Sermon Of The Seven Suns 02. The Monist 03. Akróasis 04. Ten Sepiroth 05. Ode To The Sun 06. Fractal Dimension 07. Perpetual Infinity 08. Weltseele 09. Melos (deluxe vinyl bonus track)10. The Origin Of Primal Expression (CD bonus track)

OBSCURA is:

Steffen Kummerer - Vocals, GuitarRafael Trujillo - GuitarLinus Klausenitzer - BassSebastian Lanser - Drums

Swedish death metal act Throne Of Heresy has announced their sophomore album Antioch, a blackened piece of death metal art and a stylistic triumph for the band. The album was written over a period of two years, each song painstakingly arranged to deliver the full impact expected from the Swedish death metal canon. Antioch was recorded and produced by none other than Magnus “Devo” Andersson (Marduk, Pain) in Endarker Studios. 

Featuring members of Abscession, King Of Asgard and Ceremonial Execution, Throne Of Heresy are no strangers to the world of extreme metal. 

Antioch will be released by The Sign Records on CD and vinyl on February 12, 2016. Following the release, Throne Of Heresy plan to tour extensively throughout Scandinavia and Europe (live dates to be released soon).

“The God Delusion” lyric video:

Line-up:
Thomas Clifford - vocals
Tomas Göransson - guitars
Michael Edström - guitars
Björn Ahlqvist - bass
Mathias Westman - drums



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Brazil-based black metallers, Profane Creation, will soon release their first full-length album since their split release with Inquisition 20 years ago. The new CD, entitled Portal do Inferno, will be released later this year via Hammer Of Damnation Records.

A raw video for the song "Portal do Inferno”, as well as a preview sampler for the Portal do Inferno album, can be found below. Complete details are forthcoming.



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After recently releasing two singles on Religious Genocide Records, Ohio ambient technical deathcore outfit, Ascent Of Apophis, have officially announced their signing with North Carolina based Imminence Records. The band is currently in the writing stage for their forthcoming Apotheosis EP, that is currently set for a spring 2016 release.

“We appreciate the opportunity to sign with Imminence Records and can't wait to release amazing music along with the rest of the great bands we will be sharing the label with.” - Caelan Stokkermans (vocals/electronics)

Ascent Of Apophis is a four piece ambient technical deathcore outfit in the vein of Aversions Crown, Born Of Osiris, and Veil Of Maya. The band started back in 2012 as a solo project for Caelan Stokkermans with the band name as a description of the Egyptian god of chaos which resides in the underworld. If he ever arises and swallows the sun, the whole world will be plunged into darkness and chaos.

The project quickly transformed from a solo project to an online band that released two singles on Religious Genocide Records. These two singles quickly caught the attention of Imminence Records who would announce the signing of the band on December 14th, 2015. The band’s Apotheosis EP is currently set to be released on Imminence Records during the spring of 2016.

 



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Chicago's progressive metal masterminds, Dissona, are streaming another new track from their upcoming Paleopneumatic album. Listen to “Another Sky” below.

Dissona meld a dynamic range of musical styles, developing an incredibly moving, diverse sound. The band consistently captivates their fans with their mesmerizing songs, powerful live performances and poignant lyrical themes, including sentience, emotion, sexuality, and much more. Their most ambitious release yet, Paleopneumatic epitomizes Dissona's endeavors to date and brings the listener on an existential, cohesive journey with gripping melodies, expertly-crafted arrangements, and impassioned vocals.

Paleopneumatic will be released January 15th and is now available for pre-order here.

The band commented on their new album: "We are incredibly proud of Paleopneumatic. It is the culmination of years of agonizing, hard work and consequently our most fully realized production to date. We hope Paleopneumatic can mean as much to you as it does to us."

 
Paleopneumatic tracklisting:

“Another Sky”
“Fire-Bellied”
“Outside The Skin”
“Breach”
“Totality”
“Odium”
“Anastomosis”
“Lysis”
“The Last Resistance”
“Sunderance”

“Another Sky”:

“Odium”:

Preview:

Dissona formed from the ashes of a previous band involving Matt Motto, David Dubenic, and Craig Hamburger. David and Craig come from a mostly classical and extreme metal background while Drew and Matt bring in additional elements of jazz experience and other more eclectic music. Since Dissona's inception, they have approached writing music to always be experienced as an album, a package of disparate influences and moods meant to achieve a unified whole. This melting pot of influences has gradually coalesced since the writing of their earliest material, through the defining Dissona album, and now into its most complete form with Paleopneumatic. Seven years in and a multitude of mostly memorable gigs later Dissona have found what they initially set out to achieve.
 
Dissona lineup:

David Dubenic - Vocals
Matt Motto - Guitars
Craig Hamburger - Bass
Drew Goddard - Drums/Percussion

 



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Frontiers Music Srl will release the second album from the melodic progressive metal masters LORDS OF BLACK on March 18, 2016.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"II" track listing:

01. Malevolently Beautiful (Intro)02. Merciless03. Only One Life Away04. Everything You're Not05. New World's Comin'06. Cry No More07. Tears I Will Be08. Insane09. Live By The Lie10. Die By The Truth11. Ghost Of You12. The Art Of Illusions Part III: The Wasteland13. Shadows Of War14. Lady Of The Lake (RAINBOW cover, bonus track cd edition)15. Innuendo (QUEEN cover, bonus track digital edition)

Check out a trailer for the album below.

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

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

Colorado-based death metal band, Allegaeon, just completed over a month's worth of touring with label mates Act Of Defiance, which featured Riley McShane on the microphone for his first full tour with the band. Upon returning home, Allegaeon announces McShane as their new permanent vocalist. Riley has become a permanent member just in time for the band to begin work on their new album.

Guitarist Greg Burgess comments: "We are extremely excited to officially announce Riley McShane as the permanent vocalist of Allegaeon. For those who have come to see us on the last two tours, I'm sure this will come as no surprise; his past work with Son Of Aurelius, Inanimate Existence, and Continuum speaks loudly as to who the man is as a musician and what kind of weapons he brings to the band. As a long time friend, and being a huge fan of his vocal abilities, this is very exciting for us. New blood is always a great catalyst for creativity, and to bring in a musician of his caliber has been nothing short of awesome. Not only has he been a perfect fit for the group personality-wise, but has also provided us with an array of new vocal techniques to use at our disposal. So, Riley, welcome! All Hail Science!"

Updates on new material from Allegaeon will be available later this winter. Elements Of The Infinite, the band's most recent effort, cracked the Billboard Charts and debuted at #25 on the Hard Music Chart.

 



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Greek melodic metallers, InnerWish, will release their new album, entitled InnerWish. on March 18th in Europe and North America via Ulterium Records. The artwork for the album was created by Felipe Machado Franco (Blind Guardian, Rhapsody Of Fire, Xandria) and the design was done by Jan Yrlund (Korpiklaani, Apocalyptica, Manowar).

The band comments on the new album: "This is the first album with our new lineup, and we hope this lineup will be unchanged for many years since we now feel stronger, more confident and sure about ourselves than ever before. For those reasons we chose InnerWish as the title of our new album, because it represents us in the most exact way. We are very proud of this album. It might sound very common, but it's the truth for us: this is the best InnerWish album so far! Heavy, aggressive, modern, melodic and diverse at the same time, with all the classical InnerWish elements, combined with some new ones. It might have been 6 years since the release of 'No turning back' but all the difficult times we've been through made us stronger and the result is this new, fifth album of InnerWish. We are back for good!"

More details about the album will be announced early next year.

 



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Impericon.com recently met up with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH drummer Jeremy Spencer and asked him "25 important either-or questions." Check out his responses below.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has released a live performance music video for the band's new single, "Wash It All Away", which reached the Top 10 at rock radio. The track is taken from the band's new album, "Got Your Six", and the clip was shot by legendary video director Wayne Isham, who has been behind the camera for videos from METALLICA, GODSMACK, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, PANTERA and many other top-shelf heavy rock acts.

"Got Your Six" entered the Billboard 200 album chart at No. 2, selling 119,000 copies in its first week of release. This was the band's third straight No. 2 debut, following both volumes of "The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell" in 2013. "Got Your Six", however, did rack up the band's best single sales week ever, surpassing the 112,000 copies sold of "The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell, Volume 1", in its first week.

Each of FIVE FINGER's previous albums has been certified gold in the U.S. for sales of 500,000 copies or more.

Casting a shadow over the idyllic Fenlands landscape, black metal quintet The Infernal Sea announce their signing to the relaunched extreme metal label, Cacophonous Records.

Rooting their sound in traditional black metal, The Infernal Sea are by no means afraid to experiment, with forthcoming sophomore album, The Great Mortality, bringing in an eclectic mix of influences on February 19th.

Vocalist Dean Lettice states: “We are honoured to sign to a label with such rich history and feel this new alliance will add to the great legacy of Cacophonous. They helped forge the careers of influential artists we grew up listening to such as Cradle Of Filth, Primordial, Bal-Sagoth and Dimmu Borgir, so The Infernal Sea hopes to continue their legacy, paving the way for UK black metal just as those did before us. The Great Mortality is a visceral and relentless soundtrack that captures the essence of our intense live rituals. It’s harsh and experimental, pushing the boundaries of the 'traditional' black metal sound to create something unique and terrifying.”

The Great Mortality focuses on the dark and macabre history of the Black Death which swept across the UK and Europe from 1348. Each track focuses on the sadistic nature of mankind in times of fear and despair, with historical insight into the horrors and atrocities committed to their fellow man. Treading into dystopian territory, this is The Infernal Sea at their most brutal and cadaverous.

“Entombed In Darkness” video:



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Dutch poly-rhythmic metal maniacs Textures will release the first of their upcoming two albums, Phenotype, on February 5th via Nuclear Blast. The second record of the musical diptych, Genotype, will be released one year later.

Today, the band have released a playthrough video of the first single from Phenotype, entitled “New Horizons”. The sextet offer modern metal at its finest and have done so for over a decade now. No fashionable compromises, no 'fast food music'. “New Horizons” stands for the last five years the band has faced and above all the future of Textures. It’s an honest, catchy and boisterous metal track longing to be played at steaming festival grounds.

Check out the video below:

Check out the lyric video for ”New Horizons" below:

The new virtuosos Uri Dijk (synth) and Joe Tal (guitar) deliver a new, harmonic vibe to the mature Textures sound. Genotype, which will be released a year later - is a 45-minute long conceptual track. The root material, Phenotype consists of, is presented in this song, but in a totally different context. Textures go out-of-the-box. More proggy, more atmosphere and lots of extra layers to fill the last gaps left in this extensive, double rollercoaster ride.

In support of Phenotype, Textures will hit the European stages in February 2016.



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Savannah, GA's Black Tusk have established themselves as one of the hardest working bands in rock since their formation over 10 years ago. After four full-lengths, numerous splits and EP's and thousands of shows under their belts, the punk/metal power trio was faced with an immense and unexpected tragedy in late 2014 when founding bassist/vocalist Jonathan Athon passed away after a motorcycle accident in his hometown.

Now, as a testament to his profound and lasting legacy on the heavy music scene, the band are releasing Pillars Of Ash, their final recordings with Athon, on January 29th via Relapse Records. Recorded with Toxic Holocaust's Joel Grind behind the boards and featuring gorgeous artwork by Jeremy Hush (Skeletonwitch, Rwake), Pillars Of Ash is the culmination of three brothers-in-arms' blood, sweat and tears, and is Black Tusk's finest accomplishment to date.
 
In 2014, Black Tusk hit the studio with their old friend and accomplished audio engineer, Joel Grind, to work on Pillars Of Ash. Before they could get their new record into stores and jump back up in their big white tour van, though, the band suffered a setback beyond what most could even imagine. In November, mere weeks before the band was due to kick off their biggest tour yet, Athon was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. Several days later, on November 9th, 2014, he passed away at the age of 31, leaving behind hundreds of friends, family members, and his beloved dog Cutter as well as his brothers in Black Tusk. Support poured in from fans, friends, and fellow musicians from around the world; stunned, Andrew and James laid down their instruments and tried to process the loss. For a few weeks, the band’s future was uncertain, but ultimately, the remaining duo made the difficult decision to soldier on and carry on in Athon’s memory. Athon himself could have chosen no better successor than Corey Barhorst, a longtime friend and veteran musician who heads up his own project, Niche, and previously held down the low end for Kylesa. Barhorst initially joined the band as a live member in time for their European tour with Black Label Society, but after that, was welcomed into the fold as a full­blooded member of Black Tusk.
 

Pillars Of Ash tracklisting:

“God's On Vacation”
“Desolation Of Endless Times”
“Bleed On Your Knees”
“Born Of Strife”
“Damned In The Ground”
“Beyond The Divide”
“Black Tide”
“Still Not Well”
“Walk Among The Sky”
“Punk Out”
“Leveling”

“Born Of Strife”:

>

“God’s On Vacation”:

In anticipation of the release of their forthcoming Pillars Of Ash LP, Black Tusk will kick off a US tour with Royal Thunder and special guest Bask. The first leg of the tour will take the bands throughout the southern portion of the United States, with stops in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Georgia for two weeks in January and February.

Dates:

January
22 - Wilmington, NC - Reggie’s
23 - Raleigh, NC - Kings
24 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
25 - Johnson City, TN - The Hideaway
26 - Memphis, TN - Hi Tone
27 - Little Rock, AR - Vino’s
28 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey
29 - San Antonio, TX - Korova
30 - Austin, TX - Empire
31 - Houston, TX - Rudyard’s

February
1 - New Orleans, LA - Siberia
2 - Panama City, FL - Mosey’s
3 - Orlando, FL - Will’s Pub
4 - Tampa, FL - New World
5 - Jacksonville, FL - Burro Bar
6 - Savannah, GA - Jinx

(Photo - Angela Boatwright)



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According to Collide, Norwegian session guitarist Per Valla has left ABBATH, the band led by ex-IMMORTAL frontman Olve Eikemo (a.k.a. Abbath).

Valla explained in a statement: "After having played as session guitarist with ABBATH since May this year, I have recently decided that it is time for me to leave the band for personal reasons. I thank the guys for bringing me along on such an awesome ride, and for all the new friends I made in the process. I wish the guys the best of luck in the future." Valla will continue to play with VREDEHAMMER, which is scheduled to release a new album, "Violator", on February 5, 2016.

French drummer Kevin "Creature" Foley announced his departure from ABBATH last week. Foley attributed the split to "personal reasons."

Playing drums for ABBATH on the band's upcoming "Decibel Magazine Tour" will be Gabe Seeber of THE KENNEDY VEIL.

ABBATH's self-titled debut album will be released on January 22, 2016 via Season Of Mist.

ABBATH has just released a seven-inch single, "Count The Dead". The A-side features the title track while the B-side consists of a cover version of the JUDAS PRIEST classic "Riding On The Wind".

Mighty Music has announced the release of the fourth album from Denmark metallers, Vanir. Since the release of their debut album, Særimners Kød, in 2010, the band has evolved from authentic folk/viking metal into a more brutal and 'true' viking death metal band.

There is no doubt that Alder Rök is Vanir’s best album so far - and fans of Immortal, Satyricon, Ensiferum and Amon Amarth should definitely check this masterpiece out.

Alder Rök will be released on February 26th, and the new track, “Wrath Of Sutra”, is now streaming below.

Tracklisting:

“Black Legion”
“Pretorian”
“Unrepentant”
“Broken Throne”
“Wrath of Sutr”
“The Serpent”
“Drukvisen”

“Wrath Of Sutra”:



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German extreme metallers, Todtgelichter, have revealed the tracklisting and cover artwork for their upcoming album, Rooms, as well as a collaboration with renowned Norwegian artist Truls Espedal, best known to the metal world for his outstanding work with Enslaved.

Says the band: “Since the first contact it was very clear that Truls has been the missing puzzle piece in terms of inspiration, interpretation and execution of the visualization of the album. The cover speaks for itself and continues an old tradition: Simple but deep in meaning. A remarkable artist and great person to work with.”

Rooms tracklisting:

“Ghost”
“Schrein”
“Lost”
“Shinigami”
“Necromant”
“Zuflucht”
“4JK”
“Origin”
“Pacific”

More details, as well as a video trailer, will be released in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.



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Canuck genius Devin Townsend has spoken with Alternativenation.net about upcoming projects and the status of Strapping Young Lad.

As for new material: “There are always tons of future ideas! Kind of like how I let Casualties evolve the way it did, I let my future solo work evolve in whatever way it wants to. Next thing I’m doing is a Devin Townsend Project record which will be different than anything I’ve done in the past, but along the same lines of that epic heavy metal vibe. I plan on doing a symphony by the end of the year and I have a bunch of a little side projects I’m working on but I’ll let the ones that feel most important to me take a pole position and that would be the Devin Townsend Project.”

On a Strapping Young Lad reunion: “I hate to disappoint you, but the short answer is no. Other then Jed, I don’t really talk to those guys anymore. A lot of fans are upset that there won’t be a reunion and that I’m not doing Strapping anymore, but I can’t spend anymore energy apologizing. I feel I have progressed as an artist and have moved on from that stage in my career.”

Read more at Alternativenation.net.

Earlier this year, Devin Townsend Project played an incredible sold-out show at London’s legendary Royal Albert Hall, bringing the story of Ziltoid to life on stage, as well as playing tracks from across his back catalogue. This larger-than-life evening was captured on film and was released last month via Inside Out Music.

Shot on 15 high-definition cameras, it was directed by Paul M Green (Devin Townsend, Opeth, BB King, Steve Hackett) and features special guests such as Dominique Lenore Persi (Stolen Babies), Chris Jericho (Fozzy) and Jean Savoie, with video narration by Bill Courage, as well as 12 singers and actors as cast and choir.

Townsend states: “The show at The Royal Albert Hall was a great experience. To be able to make artistic expression rooted in creativity and then to be able to articulate it in these sorts of ways - at this sort of venue- was pretty awesome. The whole thing was quite a challenge, but ultimately it worked and we were all very satisfied with it. I completely appreciate the support that has allowed this to happen from the audience, and I thank my team and Inside Out Records for busting ass to make this DVD a reality. I think if you enjoy what I do, you'll really dig it. Thank you so much for the opportunity!”

The release is available on several formats including an artbook of 44 pages including the entire concert as well as extensive behind-the-scenes bonus footage and a full documentary, pressed on 3 CDs, 2 DVDs and a Blu Ray Disc, as Special Edition Digipak with 3 CDs and a DVD and as BluRay including the entire show and bonus material.



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Italian experimental metallers, Overunit Machine, who recently signed with Sliptrick Records for the release of the new album Aldaraja, have released a video for “Unholy Messiah”, directed and produced by Andrea Guarascio and the 4Frame crew, and starring world class artist Saturno Butto. Watch below:

The Aldaraja album was mixed and mastered by Logan Mader (Machine Head founder, Roadrunner United, Fear Factory, Cavalera Conspiracy) and produced by Eddy Cavazza and Giuseppe “Dualized” Bassi at Dysfunction Production.

More details are forthcoming.

 



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Canadian metal cult band Eidolon featuring brothers and former Megadeth members Glen Drover (guitars) and Shawn Drover (drums) have recorded a new song, "Leave This World Behind", also featuring bassist Adrian Robichaud and Pagan's Mind vocalist Nils K. Rue. It is the band's first recording in almost 10 years. 

Glen Drover recently spoke with Bravewords scribe Carl Begai about dusting off Eidolon for this one-off reappearance. An excerpt from the interview, coming soon, is available below. Drover comments on the band's decision to call it quits after only one album with Rue, considered by many fans to be the best singer Eidolon had in their 10 year career.

Drover: "To be honest, we never called it quits, we basically just decided to put the band on the shelf. I mean, at that point yes, Shawn and I were now half of Megadeth, and way too busy to consider anything else regardless of the fact that we had finally found an all around amazing and professional singer who couldn't be matched. We had a lot of negative feedback in the past about some of  our previous singers. All of those people were silenced when we brought Nils in."

Eidolon released seven albums in total:

Zero Hour (1996)
Seven Spirits (1997)
Nightmare World (2000)
Hallowed Apparition (2001)
Coma Nation (2002)
Apostles of Defiance (2003)
The Parallel Otherworld (2006)

Watch for the feature story coming to BraveWords later this week. Check out "Leave This World Behind" below.



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Fan-filmed video footage of AUDIOTOPSY, the new band featuring guitarist Greg Tribbett (MUDVAYNE, HELLYEAH), drummer Matt McDonough (MUDVAYNE), vocalist Billy Keeton (SKRAPE) and bassist Perry Stern, performing on November 30 at Aggie Theatre in Fort Collins, Colorado can be seen below.

AUDIOTOPSY's debut album, "Natural Causes", was released on October 2 via Napalm. The CD was produced by the AUDIOTOPSY bandmembers at The Porch Studio in Orlando, Florida with engineer Tim Laud.

"Natural Causes" track listing:

01. Headshot02. All We Know03. LYLAB04. The Calling05. H2O (Interlude)06. Swim07. Disguise Your Devils08. Burn the Sky09. Distorted10. Darken the Rainbow11. Frozen Scars12. Natural Causes (Outro)

Said Greg: "The focus was to write solid, hooky, big riff songs. We didn't want to sound or look like every other band. It's not supposed to be regular. We're all building this vision together." Merging intricate instrumentation with a seamless knack for melody, they conjured up a style as heavy as it is hypnotic. "We got a vibe going", added Greg. You could call it 'progressive hard rock.'"

Regarding the CD's opening track, "Headshot", Billy said: "It's from the point of view or the eyes of, not necessarily a soldier, but anybody who's in battle and in the trenches. Metaphorically speaking, it's life through the eyes of somebody fighting a battle."

Tribbett, who was also a member of HELLYEAH until early 2014, said about his project: "I'm extremely excited about AUDIOTOPSY. The music has everything you want in a record… heavy, melodic, atmospheric, big, hooky riffs/singalongs as well. The guys in the band are great and we all feel as if this was meant to happen."

Tribbett and bassist Bob "Zilla" Kakaha were dismissed from HELLYEAH in 2013. HELLYEAH guitarist Tom Maxwell explained: "They just pretty much had a lot of other stuff going on in their life that just took the focus of the band away, and for us to continue, we had to part ways with them."

HELLYEAH and MUDVAYNE singer Chad Gray told The Pulse Of Radio that the split with his longtime bandmate and friend Tribbett was painful. "It was really, really tough, I mean, kind of watching Greg go through the things he was going through, you know, as his brother, as somebody that's worked with him for 18 years," he said. "I was watching this decline in him, you know, and it was really, really difficult."

Meanwhile, it's been six years since MUDVAYNE released its self-titled fifth album, which was barely promoted and sold weakly upon release.

The band has been silent since then, although a message was posted at its Facebook page last year saying that the group had not broken up.

ALTER BRIDGE guitarist Mark Tremonti says that he is spending all his free time on the road writing material for the band's upcoming fifth album, tentatively due next summer.

Tremonti, who is on tour with his solo group, tells Italy's Linea Rock "[I'm] working every day [on the music for the next ALTER BRIDGE CD]. [I'm] working non-stop. I've been just sending Myles [Kennedy, ALTER BRIDGE singer, who is also a member of SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS] ideas through the phone. And we hit the studio in January… We'll get together to write in January and then probably start recording in February. We haven't gotten together in person yet, but we're starting to throw ideas back and forth."

Regarding what fans can expect from the next ALTER BRIDGE album, Tremonti told TeamRock Radio: "It could go in any direction. I've got a ton of ideas in all different styles. Last time, it was just one heavy idea after another and hopefully this time we can branch out and bring something new to the table."

"Fortress" was released in 2013 and featured the Active Rock Top 15 single "Addicted To Pain".

Mark also commented on some bands' decision to cancel their tours of Europe following the events of November 13 in Paris, France where seven coordinated terrorist attacks killed 130 people.

"I think everybody's entitled to their own… If they feel uncomfortable with doing it, nobody could fault them for that at all," he said. "I see some bands take heat for it. But people have different situations. Everybody has children at home, and you have to think… And you have your fans that are gonna be at the show that are gonna be at risk. We [TREMONTI] just made sure that we have all the proper security in place before a show happens, that everybody is protected — from our crew to our fans to the band itself to the venue staff. We make sure that everything is nice and … that security is gonna be ahead of the game."