Denmark's Royal Hunt has released a lyric video for the track "Riches To Rags", from their new album Devil's Dozen, available now.

With keyboardist and songwriter André Andersen still at the helm, Royal Hunt have once again created an album that combines the basic sound and core values of classic rock with progressive rock and more current musical elements. After selling approximately 1.7 million albums globally and touring the world numerous times, the band’s still going strong with the August release of their 13th studio album, The Devil's Dozen.

André Andersen says: “We're very pleased to be able to present our new, thirteenth studio album. While staying on course with all traditional Royal Hunt's  musical values this one contains quite a bit of variety – from an up-tempo, double kick driven “May You Never (Walk Alone)” to the bluesy “Heart On A Platter” and probably our best ballad to date – “Until The Day”. Counting in Royal Hunt's usual attention to details – playing wise as well as production wise – I'm sure that any fan of symphonic/melodic yet hard rocking music will be pleased with our latest offering.”
 
The new recording stays true to the original, larger-than-life Royal Hunt sound, with imaginative instrumentation, intricate arrangements, soaring vocals and catchy, massive choruses. Yet, the addition of classical musicians/instruments and contemporary, modern day production elements move to twist the outcome into a unique sonic palette. The album is chock full of carefully crafted songs, recorded and mixed by a team who combined crystal clear sonics with a weighty punch.

Featuring once again the talents of the awesome US singer DC Cooper – who, after numerous requests from fans and promoters worldwide decided to reunite with the band in 2011 – Royal Hunt features – besides André Andersen on keyboards - long time member Andreas Passmark on bass, Jonas Larsen on guitar and new drummer Andreas Habo Johansson (ex Narnia).

Devil’s Dozen tracklisting:

“So Right So Wrong”
“May You Never (Walk Alone)”
“Heart On A Platter”
“A Tear In The Rain”
“Until The Day”
“Riches To Rags”
“Way Too Late”
“How Do You Know” (bonus track)

The band are streaming their "best ballad to date," namely “Until The Day”:

Royal Hunt lineup:

DC Cooper: vocals
Andre Andersen: keyboards
Andreas Passmark: bass
Jonas Larsen: guitars
Andreas Habo Johansson: drums

“So Right So Wrong” stream:

 

 

 

 

 



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Ever-evolving Toronto prog/metal band Intervals have premiered the first song, “I’m Awake” from the forthcoming album, The Shape Of Colour, which is set for worldwide release on December 4th.

With composer and guitarist Aaron Marshall at the helm, the new all-instrumental album features bassist Cameron McLellan (Protest The Hero), drummer Travis Orbin and several guest appearances, including by Leland Whitty (BadBadNotGood). "I'm Awake" was the first song Marshall wrote for the album.

Marshall explains: "This tune means a lot to me for many reasons," Marshall says. "This year actually began with a pretty heavy surgery for me, and when I came to, this riff was rolling around in my head. I tend to instinctually vibe off of stuff like that, so I knew I had to go with it."

"On a different level," Marshall continues, "when I began writing this album, I wanted to be very open and honest with myself, musically. I find inspiration in a lot of different music and the goal was to write a piece that functions as a welcoming entry into the sound of the record that has energy, and strong melody, without being too aggressive or dense. All in all, the combination of realizing the direction I wanted to take this record in, coupled with the undeniable fact that the theme of this song was somehow already in my head when I gained consciousness after surgery gave way to the title: “I’m Awake”."

The Shape Of Colour tracklisting:

“I'm Awake”
“Sure Shot”
“Fable”
“Sweet Tooth”
“Black Box”
“Slight Of Hand”
“Meridian”
“Libra”

“I’m Awake”:



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Legendary NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) act Mythra will release the Warriors Of Time: The Anthology compilation via Skol Records. The limited edition album will include all classic Mythra tracks from 1979 through to the early '80s, plus five brand new songs written and recorded in 2015.

All the classic tracks have been restored and got old school dynamic mastering by Bart Gabriel (Satan's Host, Crystal Viper, Sacred Steel). The album will feature the original song titles for the first time ever, as the famous Death And Destiny LP bootleg CD, released back in 1998, had incorrect titles on several of the songs.

The remastered version of the early Mythra classic, "At Least I Tried" (originally available on the '81 demo) can be streamed below:

One of the mentioned new recordings, the brand new song titled "You", can be heard below:

Warriors Of Time: The Anthology will hit the streets on November 30th. The booklet accompanying the album will include lyrics to all songs, as well as tons of previously unseen photographs from the '70s and early '80s. The album's artwork was painted by Italian artist Roberto Toderico, who has worked previously with other NWOBHM acts including Tygers Of Pan Tang and Quartz.

In other news, after taking Brofest UK by storm earlier this year, recently reformed Mythra have been confirmed for the legendary Keep It True festival, which will take place in Germany on April 29th and 30th, 2016. The band will share the stage with other legendary acts including Fates Warning, Razor, Rock Goddess, Heir Apparent, Praying Mantis, as well as Skol Records label mates Savage Master.

 



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Fan-filmed video footage of KING DIAMOND's November 5 performance at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, California can be seen below.

As previously reported, Philadelphia (November 25 at The Fillmore) and Detroit (November 28 at The Fillmore) have been selected as the cities on the "Abigail In Concert 2015" tour at which KING DIAMOND will film the live shows for the band's forthcoming DVD. The massive, multi-camera shoot will be directed by Denise Korycki (CANNIBAL CORPSE, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE), and will also include additional footage from multiple shows throughout the trek.

KING DIAMOND is performing its classic second album, 1987's concept effort "Abigail", in its entirety on the band's current U.S. tour. Support on the trek, which began on October 29 and will run through December 5, is coming from legendary San Francisco Bay Area thrash metallers EXODUS.

KING DIAMOND guitarist Andy La Rocque told Artisan News about the making of the "Abigail" album: "I've actually got some great memories [from the recording sessions for the LP]. I remember the whole studio thing pretty well, actually. Back in… I think we started back in December 1986 to record it, after we got back from some touring and stuff, and some writing too, and rehearsing, of course. [It was a] very cold winter back in Copenhagen, you know. We spent about two months, I think, with the recording and the mixing. And the whole recording process, I thought, was very, very creative, and I think we just captured an amazing atmosphere on the whole album, which still, when you listen to it today, is, like, 'Wow!' You get back to the feel you had for it while you recorded it. So it's still a very cool and special album to me."

KING DIAMOND in 2002 released an album called "Abigail II: The Revenge", which was said to feature a storyline that was the sequel to the original "Abigail" LP.

La Rocque in July said that KING DIAMOND hasn't officially started working on material for the follow-up to the band's 2007 album "Give Me Your Soul...Please", but he talked about a possible direction for the next CD. He said: "Hopefully the sound of the album is gonna be better. I don't really know about the story or… I've got some riffs and such that I wrote a few years back, actually, but I have to go back and check that to see if that still can be used. I don't know about that, because we get new ideas all the time. So we'll see about that. But I'm sure we're gonna have some fresh, good ideas for the next album, that's for sure. And when that's gonna happen, we don't really know."

Fan-filmed video footage of GHOST's November 11 performance at Lisebergshallen in Gothenburg, Sweden can be seen below.

GHOST's third album, "Meliora", entered The Billboard 200 chart at position No. 8 with first-week sales of just over 29,000 units — nearly all from pure album sales. The set follows the No. 28-peaking "Infestissumam", which was released in 2013 and has sold almost 70,000 copes in the U.S. to date.

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

"Meliora" was released on August 21 via Loma Vista Recordings. The CD was helmed by Klas Åhlund, a prolific songwriter, producer and guitarist who is also a member of the Swedish rock band TEDDYBEARS, and was mixed by Andy Wallace (SLAYER, NIRVANA, SEPULTURA, LINKIN PARK, GUNS N' ROSES).

In a brand new interview with Rolling Stone India, former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash was asked if there are any young rock and roll bands that he really likes. He responded: "We've played with [U.K. rock trio] RAVENEYE in the past and they're really good."

He continued: "When we pick an opening band for a tour, usually I listen to everything first and see who it is that we want to take. So I am very aware of what everybody is doing. There are some bands that I like a lot, and there are some band that are developing and just need to keep working at it. There's couple of out there."

Slash went on to say: "On a commercial level, rock and roll is all safe, but underneath all that, there is a great hardcore young movement that is doing rock and roll in earnest. It's just that the way the business is right now, it's so corporate that none of these bands will get a shot to do what I got to do, you know? Be discovered in a club and have an A&R person develop the band and get them ready to go into the studio and make a record. And then make a second, third record 'till they really come into their own. Now it's all about commercial one-hit wonders, and it's a whole different industry now. But there's a lot of great rock and roll bands out there that have to go the way it should be done; for the passion and not for the money. It's not for the glamor of it but because you love it. A lot of people are doing it because they have an agenda."

Asked if he thinks that there are a lot of talented artists out there today who have the potential but won't get the kind of opportunities that he did back in the day, Slash responded: "This is a complicated question. I mean, somewhere along the way, people just played music for the love of playing music and somebody else recognizes that you can make money from it, and it's been a developing thing to the point where, in the '90s, music business was making so much money that it was bigger than the movie industry, bigger than any of the entertainment industries. There's the business and there's the music. I was raised in the business and I remember seeing how there were clashes between people — this is the way to make money and da da da… there was so much money involved. And then the Internet came along and just fucked the whole thing up. So now the industry is struggling to figure out how to make money off of it and artists have actually gone to the point of conforming to the industry — how they can make money — so they're all working together. I think there's still this whole creative side that hasn't changed which doesn't really want to fit into that category, but it's hard to make a living. So a lot of people do that by playing clubs. But it's just harder, the opportunities are different from when I started."

Slash's third solo album, "World On Fire", sold around 29,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 10 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on September 16, 2014 via Slash's own label Dik Hayd International distributed through Roadrunner Records (Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America).

"World On Fire" is the second album to feature Slash's regular backing band, MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS, and follows up 2012's "Apocalyptic Love", which sold around 38,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 4 on The Billboard 200 chart.

On Slash self-titled solo effort he employed a different vocalist on each track, before settling on ALTER BRIDGE member Kennedy for both touring and eventually recording.

Jorge Fretes of Spain's GoetiaMedia.com recently conducted an interview with Greek guitar virtuoso Gus G., well known in rock and metal circles for his work as Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist and as leader of his own band FIREWIND,. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On his decision to have more control of his releases by making them available through his own record label imprint:

"Well, the thing is, it comes down to, nobody's gonna do it better than you; I believe in that. Especially people in record labels these days… There's no money in the industry anymore. So you go to these record labels and they have all these people that are underpaid, or there's some young kids that, they don't know what the fuck they're doing. And I can't have that. I'm not twenty years old anymore. I'm very serious when it comes to how you're gonna release, how you're gonna promote and brand an album. This is my career we're talking about. So I am having some issues with… And I mean, I've been with Century Media and a lot of labels for many, many years, so I don't tolerate stupidity as much as I used to when I was younger."

On how FIREWIND has been affected by his decision to launch a solo career:

"The thing is, my name always helped FIREWIND, because I always had a name in the scene from other bands as well, so it did help build up FIREWIND. I think for a lot of fans, probably, it makes sense, it doesn't surprise them. Maybe some people even expected that I would do that at some point. So, you know, it's good that I'm doing this now. It's something different from what I do with FIREWIND. And, of course, Ozzy is another platform; it's another level of exposure. So that's the kind of thing where it gives you that platform to be able to do a solo record and do all these things, you know."

Gus G.'s second solo album, "Brand New Revolution", was released in Europe on July 24 via Century Media. The CD was made available through Century Media in Australia and South America, Dismanic/eOne in North America and King Records in Japan. The cover artwork was once again created by Gustavo Sazes, who previously worked with Gus on the guitarist's debut album, "I Am The Fire", and also took care of artwork duties by such bands as ARCH ENEMY, KAMELOT and FIREWIND.

"Brand New Revolution" features guest vocal appearances by Jeff Scott Soto (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JOURNEY, TALISMAN), Elize Ryd (AMARANTHE), Jacob Bunton (ADLER, LYNAM) and Mats Levén (CANDLEMASS, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, TREAT).

"Brand New Revolution" was recorded with Jay Ruston (STONE SOUR, ANTHRAX, STEEL PANTHER) and mixed by Mike Fraser (METALLICA, AC/DC, VAN HALEN, AEROSMITH). Just as on "I Am The Fire", the core of Gus's recording group consisted of Jo Nunez (FIREWIND) on drums and Marty O'Brien (LITA FORD) on bass.

On October 25, Jay Nanda of San Antonio Metal Music Examiner and AXS.com conducted an interview with FATES WARNING singer Ray Alder and Bobby Jarzombek in San Antonio, Texas. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about his gradual move away from high-pitched heavy metal screaming, Alder said: "I did an interview before and I said a stupid thing: 'High vocals are silly.' It's not silly. I mean, that's the headline they put on Blabbermouth. And I didn't mean it that way. I'm not disrespecting anyone that sings that way. Chris Cornell [SOUNDGARDEN] sings in a high voice, and he sounds great; it's fine. But that was what was going on at the time [when I first joined FATES WARNING]. That was what I wanted to do. In fact, I was a huge fan of [former FATES WARNING singer] John Arch and Geoff Tate [QUEENSRŸCHE]. And Rob Halford [JUDAS PRIEST] was one of my biggest influences… Steve Perry [JOURNEY]. That's what everybody did. And as I grew older, I started changing my voice; I started going lower and I wanted more of a soul to my voice; not just screaming. It doesn't make any sense. And the weirdest thing [was that] my voice just started changing that way; like it didn't want to do that anymore…. When you get old, you can't do the same thing forever; you can't. But I really do like where I am. I love how my voice is. It's not what it used to be, but I'm totally fine with it — as long as everybody else is fine with it."

Regarding the fact that the "Awaken The Guardian" lineup of FATES WARNING will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the album with a couple of festival appearances next year, Alder said: "As far as I know, we release [the new FATES WARNING] album in June, and we wanna hit the road as soon as possible — probably in June. Whether that be America or Europe, I'm not sure. But we wanna hit the road… When 'Darkness In A Different Light' came out [in 2013], it was out for one day when we went on tour in Europe, so we wanna kind of do the same thing — get the ball rolling and promote it. So I'm sure they'll take a break for that thing and do whatever."

Added Jarzombek: "Actually, they're doing two shows for that under the 'Awaken The Guardian' lineup, and that's some rehearsals and shows, but it's not gonna take away from anything we're doing as FATES WARNING. Just because we're doing the longer touring, plus we're working on a new record — that whole thing. But, you know, that particular lineup is the 'Awaken The Guardian' lineup for that. And it's cool. You know, Ray has REDEMPTION, I'm playing with Sebastian Bach. Joey [Vera] does the ARMORED SAINT thing, which he has been doing for a while. So if people understand that that's the 'Awaken The Guardian' lineup and people get excited about it, 'cause it's a one-, two-time thing, whatever. But this lineup of FATES WARNING is a working lineup. We are touring, [putting out albums], doing the whole thing, and we hang out together and stuff, and we have a goal that's more than just the nostalgic thing. And I think that that's the more important thing to me."

Continued Alder: "As far as any rumors of the band breaking up or whatever, it couldn't be further from the truth. I mean, I've had people ask me before: 'What do you think about this, man? They're going behind your back or something?' I'm, like, 'No.' Look, we're all working musicians. We all need to make money: Bobby, Joey, Jim [Matheos]… Everybody needs to make money. We don't have normal jobs; you know, this is what we do. So if they're gonna do that, [that's] absolutely fine. They'll make a lot of money. But we all know that this lineup is FATES WARNING and this is our band and this is what we do to support our families, to support ourselves. There's no going anywhere else in the future."

Added Jarzombek: "I think the only thing that's a little confusing about it is the fact that the band has stayed with the name FATES WARNING [for the 'Awaken The Guardian' lineup performances]. So if people don't understand, read the rest of the print and see exactly what that is."

On November 7, Kaaos TV conducted a video interview with FEAR FACTORY singer Burton C. Bell and guitarist Dino Cazares at The Circus in Helsinki, Finland. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked about his recent statement that streaming music services like Spotify and Pandora are "getting away with murder" by not paying songwriters a fair royalty rate because of the consent decrees that govern how the vast majority of American songwriters are compensated for their work, Bell said: "They pay 0.0001 cent of royalties, and they can get away with it, because we don't have any say in what our royalty rate can be. And so, because of the copyright law that was written seventy years ago, they can do that. And I'm doing my part with ASCAP to try and promote and try and change that. There's a representative of Pennsylvania, Tom Marino, [who] is actually on the board to change that copyright law, and I've spoken with him, with a bunch of other ASCAP people. We were just, like, 'This has to change. We need a living wage as well. They can't just get away with this anymore.' And it's just not me. It's all other artists too. Spotify just announced they made billions in profits last year — billions!"

He continued: "It's the state of the industry and the state of the artist. And artists need to be aware of what's happening with our music and how they are losing the ability to survive."

Bell added: "Apple actually turned around… Apple started a new streaming service, and they're actually paying artists properly. So is Google. They're paying a proper royalty rate. So it's Pandora and Spotify and iHeart Radio that haven't gone on board yet. But they are the biggest ones."

Burton also talked about how diminishing record sales have affected FEAR FACTORY's ability to survive as a band. He said: "It's harder to… How we work is we've gotta create and album, and the label supports us by loaning us money to make this album. And the slower the record sales, the longer it takes to pay back that money. And so, if you have a huge budget, it's gonna take forever to pay it back."

Under a "consent decree" issued by the Justice Department in 1941, the moment someone requests a license from ASCAP and the other main publishing royalty organization, BMI, which together control about 90% of all commercially available recorded music, ASCAP or BMI must say yes — before they can negotiate price. When a fee can't be agreed, a rate-setting court decides the percentage amount of royalties these license holders pay in exchange.

ASCAP and BMI, as well as individual songwriters and publishing companies, have long lobbied for changes to the consent decrees, arguing that the current system fails to take into account innovations that have significantly changed the field, such as digital music played on streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora, and claiming that the system under-compensates their members for these rights.

On November 9, Ireland's Overdrive conducted an interview with MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine prior to the band's concert in Dublin. An excerpt from the chat follows below.

Overdrive: Firstly, let's talk about [the new MEGADETH album] "Dystopia". It's almost like you went though a sort of cleansing on this album, with lineup changes etc. The end result is outstanding and reminiscent of a more classic-sounding MEGADETH, but with a fresh edge. What was the approach to "Dystopia" in terms of sound, composition and concept?

Dave: Well, to be honest, there was a lot of upheaval in our camp over the last couple of years, with management changes, bad touring decisions made by our management, and the loss of my mother-in-law and the whole "Rust In Peace" reunion [attempt]. David Ellefson [MEGADETH bassist] was a total gentleman and stood up [in a recent interview] and said, "Look, this wasn't [Mustaine's] idea to do this reunion. It was my idea." Because my take on it was that I really didn't want anything to do with it. As far as I was concerned, it's done and let's just leave it where it's at. Dave really wanted to do the "Rust In Peace" thing and I love Dave, he's my partner, so I figured, "We'll see what happens." When it didn't happen, of course, everybody blamed me and I was just politely saying, "Go fuck yourself." When Kiko [Loureiro, guitar] and Chris [Adler, drums] came into the picture, it was a breath of fresh air, because they are, without a doubt, two of the most talented musicians that I have ever played with. To have musicians of that caliber playing at the same time is a formidable force. Any of the previous lineups always had at least one member that was not up to standard. For example, say the guitarist is great and the drummer is okay, or the drummer is great and the guitarist is okay, but to have totally changed and to have both positions filled with excellent musicians really helped to raise not only the morale of the band but also the professionalism and the ability for us all as musicians. To be honest, I think that my guitar playing has improved because of Kiko pushing me.

Overdrive: "Dystopia" is a major step up in terms of sound and musical arrangement and is on another level in terms of technicality. There are moments on "Dystopia" that are just mindblowing when you consider some of the breakdowns and solos. Was this a conscious decision when you all began recording together?

Dave: Well, check this out. All four of us had never played together in the same room until we started rehearsing for this tour. Those songs were being written [and] recorded with some of us being in different locations at different times. When Chris was done, Kiko then recorded his parts, while Dave [Ellefson] was actually the first one to record. We were working with Chris, but Dave was the one who had the keeper tracks from those sessions. I was telling someone this the other day of just how excited I am about getting out there and playing the live shows, because we have only played one show in Canada, four shows in Australia and India and two in Russia. That's less than a dozen shows with this lineup. So think about this: take away that they were shows and think about rehearsing like other bands do. We never got to play and rehearse together before those shows. A band that has only jammed a few times together and on the first show with all of us together was in front of eighty thousand people in Quebec! Talk about a baptism of fire.

Overdrive: Were you not shitting yourself with anxiety during those shows?

Dave: Yeah, I was a little concerned for the boys, but I knew that I was going to have a good time and was ready to carry a heavy load if need be, because that's my job as a frontman. The other thing is, they are so professional and great at their jobs and most importantly, they have charisma. Also, being in this particular music genre, let alone being in this band, you have to be able to carry it.

Read the entire interview at Overdrive.

Turbid North has released new music with “Red Giant / “The Burning Sky”. “Red Giant” / “The Burning Sky” are actually two songs taken from the group’s forthcoming album Eyes Alive but compose a single story-suite within the album.

An epic work, Eyes Alive balances head-banging heavy thrash with down tuned stoner metal and a strong sense of melody throughout. It’s also a concept album taking place in an environmentally destroyed future where the sun is a red giant and most people are forced to live underground. It follows one man’s life in this society from when he first discovers what’s been hidden from him, up to his final days and the hard journey he had to take in-between.

Eyes Alive will drop via the band’s own label (The Pyramid) on November 20.

Tracklisting:

“Eyes Alive”
“The Pyramid Drones”
“Destroyer Of Worlds”
“Red Giant”
“The Burning sky”
“Black Sun Rising”
“Bring Home The Motherlode”
“The Great Dying”
“Eternal Sleep”

“Red Giant” / “The Burning Sky”:

“The Pyramid Drones” video:



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Ten years after the last edition of the Netherlands’ legendary Dynamo Open Air, Dynamo Concerts opens the archives and will release a majority of concerts on CD, vinyl as well as some selected ones on DVD over the next years. Performances by Kreator and Soulfly from 1998 are set for a December 4th release in Europe and early next year in North America. The Dynamo Open Air ran every year between 1986 and 2005. In 2008 it was renamed the Dynamo Outdoor and ran for just two years.

When Kreator took the stage at the festival they could already look back on a 16 year career and found themselves in a musically very interesting phase of their work. Throughout the strong set, the band plays some tracks from their latest album Outcast, as well as classics like “Extreme Aggression” and “Pleasure To Kill”. Preorders are available at this location.

Tracklisting:

“Dr. Wagner, Part”
“Terror Zone”
“Lost”
“Leave This World Behind”
“Phobia”
“Black Sunrise”
“Choir Of The Damned”
“Pleasure To Kill”
“Whatever It May Take”
“Extreme Aggression”
“Renewal”

In 1998, Soulfly was at the beginning of their career and had their self-titled debut album fresh in their luggage when they performed at the Dynamo Festival; one of their first appearances. The band played tracks from the debut, but also Sepultura classics like “Beneath The Remains” and “Roots Bloody Roots”. Special guests included in the set is Chino Moreno (Deftones) on a track and Benji Webbe (Skindred, Dub War) on two tracks. Preorders are available here.

Tracklisting:

“Eye For Eye”
“No Hope = No Fear”
“Spit”
“Bleed”
“Beneath The Remains / Dead Embryonic Cells”
“Tribe”
“Bomb”
“Quilombo”
“Prejudice”
“Roots Bloody Roots”
“Attitude”
“The Song Remains Insane”
“First Commandment” 

Check out some of the classic footage below:



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Bulgarian black metallers, Matubes, are working on a new release. The band released their debut EP The Return Of Black Metal in September 2015.

The band comments: "Walking empty fields… Matubes embarks on a Journey to what will be known as the next work to be unleashed to this world. For they, who consider the messenger more important than the message, shall meet their maker sooner. Right after, with the coming Waxing Crescent on Friday the 13th, we shut the gates to the house of truth again as only the resounding echoes should be felt.”

Stay tuned for updates.

The Return Of Black Metal EP:

 



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Epic Celtic death metal outfit Steignyr strike back with hot news about their upcoming new album, which will receive the title of "he Prophecy of the Highlands.

The cover artwork was created by the artist Ingrid Gala and it represents the death of Mother Earth at the hands of mankind and the extermination of human liberties.

Tracklisting:

“The Valley Of Dragons”
“Sons Of Earth”
“Wild Land”
“The Last Era”
“Wolf’s Lair”
“Hammer Of Agony”
“The Prophecy Of The Highlands”
“Immortal Whisper”
“The Warrior’s Path”
“The Awakening Of Revenge”
“Spirit Of Victory”
“The Grave Of Heroes”

Album teaser:

The album was recorded at Olimpo Sound Studio produced by Jön Thörgrimr and mastered by Bestplugins.



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Rick Wakeman will be joined by Alice Cooper next year to perform his 1975 LP, The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table, reports SundayWorld.com.

The third studio album from the keyboard player - based on the legend of England's medieval monarch King Arthur - will be recreated live and in full with the help of the Poison rocker, when the pair headline the first ever Stone Free Festival at The O2 in London in June 2016.

And the 66-year-old musician is delighted he's getting the opportunity to perform the concept album again.

He said: "After the success of the Journey To The Centre Of The Earth shows last year, I'm over the moon to have the opportunity to perform King Arthur for the first time since 1975 with an orchestra and choir. It's going to be wonderful."

Read more at SundayWorld.com.



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Finnish gothic metallers Dark The Suns return from a 4 year break to celebrate their 10 years existing with a brand new compilation album Life Eternal. The album which is available only through digital download stores and stream services include ten best tracks from their career.

The band have been also slowly written new songs so be expected to hear new material in the future.

Tracklisting:

“The Sleeping Beauty”
“Sleepless Angels”
“All Ends In Silence”
“The Dead End”
“Alone”
“Walking With An Angel”
“Unbroken Silence”
“Reflections”
“Don’t Fear The Sleep”
“Rimed With Frost”



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In a rare break from his day job as the bass player with Status Quo, John 'Rhino' Edwards released his second solo album, Rhino’s Revenge II, on October 23rd. The first video has been launched today, along with news of a UK tour in February (check out dates here). The single for "Black Widows" is due out December 18th and is described as a socio-political tale about Chechen suicide bombers and contains the prophetic line "what's over there is coming over here.” 

Rhino’s Revenge lI was recorded in ’11 days of pure magic’ at The Chapel studios near Louth in Lincolnshire - "We went flat out, so we didn’t have time to get precious about anything," - with his sons Max on drums and Freddie on guitar, and multi-instrumentalist Matthew Starritt. Rhino's daughter, Mae, also contributed backing vocals to the album, produced by Mike Paxman Judie Tzuke, Uriah Heep, Asia, Status Quo).

"I play Rhino Rock, Thug Rock, Animal Rock, heavy rock, pop rock, but with the main focus on the lyrics and the songs. It’s rabble-rousing rock ‘n roll.”

Rhino’s Revenge II is an aural treat, with no calculated image or reliance on nostalgia: instead Rhino and the band have created an atmosphere based around strong material and succeed in immersing listeners into the ambiance they have made. The album is the perfect manifestation of John ‘Rhino’ Edwards’ immutable wit, sadness, quiet anger and charm.

The cathartic “Tomorrow Is Today”, which opens Rhino’s Revenge II, was written about giving up drugs. A brace of keenly observed songs about the vacuous aspects of modern life follow - “Famous” is a damning indictment “about people who think that that’s all there really is to life”, while “New New New” lambasts our obsession with consumerism.
 
Rhino's articulate and wickedly humorous lyrics permeate throughout the album on the ironic “All The Girls Love A Bastard”, along with powerful rockers like “Secretary” and “Cougar” and the whimsical ode to man’s best friend Stan. While “One Note Blues” creates a “new dance craze.”

This quintessentially English album closes with the powerful pairing of “Black Widows” and “Take ‘Em Down”. The socio-political “Black Widows” about Chechen suicide bombers contains the prophetic line "what's over there is coming over here” and the bass driven “Take ‘Em Down”, is a very serious song with B-movie overtones.

There’s something indefinable but very special about Rhino’s Revenge II that makes it irresistible. Rhino Edwards, a confessed musicoholic, has created a truly honest album which ‘kicks like a mule’, a rare commodity in today’s world.

Tracklisting:

“Tomorrow Is Today”
“Famous”
“New New New”
“All the Girls Love A Bastard”
“Powerplay”
“Secretary”
“Cougar”
“My Name Is Stan”
“Busy Doing Nothin’”
“One Note Blues”
“Black Widows”
“Take ‘Em Down”

Rhino's Revenge will be playing their own shows around the release of the album and also supporting Hayseed Dixie on five of their tour dates this October. A headline UK and European Tour, with support from Eddie & The Hot Rods, among others, will follow in February, 2016.
 
Rhino’s Revenge is:

John 'Rhino' Edwards: Vocals, Bass
Freddie Edwards: Lead Guitar
Max Edwards: Drums
Matthew Starritt: Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Harp

 



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Bass Frontiers magazine caught up with bassist Duff McKagan (ex-Guns N’ Roses) and he talked about GN’R’s early days. The chat can be watched in three parts below.

"I'd seen (Axl Rose, singer) in L.A. Guns. But it was at The Troubadour. I got there late and saw a couple of songs. And it was just like a bull loose in the ring. It was, like, 'What the hell?' And he was different. He wasn't metal, and he wasn't punk; he was like his own thing. And I identified with that. But (we got together) at this rehearsal place and he got on a mic to sort of check the P.A. and he had two voices coming out. It was kind of a low undertone and this really high, strong voice. And he was serious. He moved from Indiana, Izzy (Stradlin, guitarist) moved from Indiana, I moved from Seattle. We weren't here to jam. We weren't here to be in a high school band. We wanted to start something and mean it. And when those five guys — Steven (Adler, drummer) and Slash (guitarist), Izzy, Axl and myself — got in a room the first time, it was so apparent. We'd all been in other bands where there was always one weak link. There was always that one weak link up until that point. And when you've been playing since you were 13, by the time you're 20, you feel that you're a real seasoned veteran. 

“You've toured, you've played gigs and you're not fucking around. And so I took learning to play bass and being… We all took it really seriously. Steven and I would play together. We just lived for it. And Steven and I would play to Cameo, for Steven to get that groove. And that influenced the back groove on Appetite For Destruction. That's all from playing to Cameo, Sly And The Family Stone. Just kind of playing along to probably some cassette. And then we played ourselves, and we developed grooves. And he really became probably the best small-kit groove drummer there ever was. No rack toms. (Just) a floor tom and a snare. A floor tom and a snare and a kick drum, hi-hat… cowbell. But all you got at that point is groove. Your groove's gotta be deep, or go home. And he had a great groove."



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East Anglia’s monolithic metallers, The King Is Blind, have been summoned to carry the torch for a new generation of extreme music. Emerging from the deepest black as the first signing in over a decade from the resurrected, genre-defining coven that is Cacophonous Records, today sees the band announce their monstrously ambitious debut full-length album, Our Father, for release on January 29th.

Our Father tracklisting:

“Genesis Refracted”
“Fragility Becomes Wrath”
“Mors Somnis”
“Bloodlet Ascension”
“Mourning Light”
“Amen”
“…For All The Daemons Are Here”
“Venin”
“Devoured”
“Mesmeric Furnace”

Trailer:

A dark and involved concept album, Our Father follows 2014’s The Deficiencies Of Man EP. The record houses the familiar story of Satan, with a narrative focus going beyond what has previously been covered in literature and music to date. Working with interpretations of the Bible, and John Milton’s 17th Century epics Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, the album depicts Satan as the first son and creation of God – with a focus on their close relationship over millennia. Satan conceives the idea of ‘Man’ (Adam) as a gift to God out of praise and love. God is immediately enraptured, loving Man unconditionally and going so far as to create a companion (Eve) for him. God becomes so transfixed by Man that he creates a further being, Christ, to be his representative on Earth. All this time, Satan remains overlooked, replaced by his gift to God, and his jealously and rage causes Sin to be born. And so the story of Our Father begins…

“We agreed early on that not only would anything we worked on have to be of the highest quality musically, it would also need to have depth. Our Father isn’t simply about Satan vs God, or taking sides – it had to translate to give meaning to people. Highlighting inherent hypocrisies; how God is forgiveness but is also the deadly sin “Wrath”, going so far as wiping out mankind twice in the Bible. Satan is also wracked with inconsistencies in his thoughts and choices. This concept transcends to be applicable to society, modern global and national politics, religion in general – not just Catholicism; oppressive states, bullying; it covers it all, all the way through to daily life.

“Let’s be clear. It is not anti-Christian. It is not anti-religion. It is definitely not anti-faith. Our Father is against how people use religion as a banner and a mask to commit atrocities. We are pro-equality and pro-diversity, we stand against oppression and division. This album is a release of frustration towards the things that are too big for us, individually, to change.” – Stephen John Tovey, Vocals

The King Is Blind boast an impressive heritage, with members drawing from a wealth of experience in Cradle Of Filth, New Model Army, Extreme Noise Terror, and Entwined. Fresh from a bludgeoning performance at last weekend’s Damnation Festival, and their recent UK run with Winterfylleth, the band hold an impressive set of notches on the touring post, including Temples, HammerFest and Bloodstock festivals, alongside support to Fen. The band are pencilling in further dates for early 2016 which will be announced soon.

Armed with a relentlessly brutal masterpiece, Our Fathe ris set to mark The King Is Blind as the obelisk for the UK on the extreme music map.

Band lineup:

Stephen John Tovey – Vocals
Lee James Appleton – Guitars
Paul Alan Ryan-Reader – Guitars
Ceri Monger – Bass
Barnaby Joseph Monger – Drums



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North Carolina-based death thrashers, Suppressive Fire, will release debut album, Bedlam, on January 14th. The album was mixed and mastered by Joel Grind (Toxic Holocaust) and features art by Par Olofsson (Exodus, Abysmal Dawn).

Suppressive Fire channels the old school fury of bands like Kreator, Exodus, Death, and Sodom in creating its own brand of scorched-earth devastation. The new single "The Hellwraith" is streaming below.

Tracklisting:

“Ceasefire”
“The Hellwraith”
“Coup d'état”
“Thy Flesh Consumed”
“Bayonet Penetration”
“Nazi Face Melter”
“Pyrophoric Blood”
“Ironsights”
“Crucify the Kings”
“Holy Masochism”
“Bedlam”

“The Hellwraith”:

Suppressive Fire hail from Raleigh, NC, along with greats such as Corrosion Of Conformity and Between The Buried And Me. The trio has shared the stage with Toxic Holocaust, Wretched, Genocide Pact, The Hookers, and a slew of other bands and have no plans on slowing down.

Suppressive Fire began their all-out attack on the Southeastern metal scene in 2013 and have refused to restrain the assault. Independently releasing Hellwraith (EP) in August 2014 and Covered In Conflict (Split) in 2015, the stage is now set for the unrepentant annihilation that is Bedlam.



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"Alien", the new video from THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, can be seen below. The clip sees the band reuniting with director Casey Pierce, who crafted the group's abstract "Planet A" video this past summer.

"Alien" is the second music video from THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA's latest EP, "Space". Visually, "Alien" features a chilling and rapid-fire cinematic barrage of alien sightings, evidence, contact and abduction, played out in front of PRADA's fast, pummeling and hard-hitting soundtrack. The aliens, on the hunt for their human specimen, zero in on a young woman who is abducted and suffers terrifying treatment onboard their craft.

"When we first started talking about what would become the 'Space' EP," explained singer Mike Hranica, "we knew that the one song that had to be on it was 'Alien', a gnarly song that was about an alien attack."

"Space", released August 21 via Rise Records, is a six-track collection of thematic songs that each explores a different point of view of space and those things that exist outside the Earth's province — the sun, the moon, aliens, asteroids, and the interstellar space explorer.

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA is currently co-headlining the "Apollo X" U.S. tour with MOTIONLESS IN WHITE and performing the "Space" EP in its entirety.

Ex-MOTÖRHEAD drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor died on Wednesday, November 11 at the age of 61.

Taylor's former MOTÖRHEAD bandmate "Fast" Eddie Clarke posted the following tribute to his colleague: "My dear friend and brother passed away last night. He had been ill for sometime but that does not make it any easier when the time finally comes.

"I have known Phil since he was 21 and he was one hell of a character. Fortunately, we made some fantastic music together and I have many many fond memories of our time together.

"Rest in peace, Phil!"

Taylor played in MOTÖRHEAD from 1975 to 1984 and again from 1987 to 1992. He appeared on the band's debut album, "On Parole", and played on a further ten albums, including 1979's "Bomber", 1980's "Ace Of Spades", and 1982's "Iron Fist".

Taylor contributed to MOTÖRHEAD's 1992 album "March Or Die" but departed the band during the recording process. The album was completed by drummers Tommy Aldridge and current sticksman Mikkey Dee.

In a 1983 interview with Artist magazine, Taylor stated about his drumming approach in MOTÖRHEAD: "Well, once [MOTÖRHEAD bassist/vocalist] Lemmy starts playing, he's sort of out there on his own, in a way. It's something that came naturally; but when Robbo [Brian Robertson, guitar] joined the band, we started working it out a bit more. When Eddie was with the band, I played more with the guitar than I did with Lemmy, because he's not really a bass player. Lemmy always plays so fast that it's always been down to the guitarist and me to keep the rhythm and melody going. Lemmy is just non-stop playing all the time, so for the highs and lows of the numbers, the ups and downs, light and shade — whatever you want to call it — it's basically down to Robbo and myself. I'd never played much before, so it's probably a lot more difficult for Robbo than for me. He'd always played in bands that had a proper bass player, so to speak."

Clarke and Taylor rejoined their former bandmate Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister on stage on November 6, 2014 at National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England before Clarke, Lemmy and current MOTÖRHEAD drummer Mikkey Dee ripped through a blazing rendition of the MOTÖRHEAD classic "Ace Of Spades".

Asked in a 2011 interview with Guitar International if he had any plans to ever reunite with Taylor and Clarke, Lemmy said: "No, because these two guys with me now have been with me longer than the original two. They played 'Ace Of Spades' more often than those two. They played 'Overkill' more often than those two. Why should I put Phil [Campbell] and Mikkey on hold to go off with guys who probably can't play them as well? They've been out of practice. It's ridiculous to think of it. Then I would be a nostalgia act. I'm all for the now and the future."

Regarding whether he still talks with Phil and Fast Eddie, Lemmy told Guitar International: "Now and then. I like Phil, he was my best mate. Eddie was kind of a friend except he was always complaining about something. It got kinda tedious. Last time he left, we laid low. Before, one of us would go off and bring him back. It was a shame he shouldn't have done that, we had a lot going for us back then. He should have stuck though it. It was the Wendy O. Williams thing and I couldn't understand that (reference: recording 'Stand By Your Man', a cover version of the Tammy Wynette with Wendy O. Williams). He just gave up on it because Wendy wasn't immediately perfect on it, she just needed to go through it a few times and he left the band over it. I couldn't fucking believe it. I think he was expecting to be talked back in. Phil came in the room and said, 'Eddie's left again.' I said, 'Whose turn is it to go talk to him?' [Laughing]. I said, 'Fuck it, I'm not doing it.' That's the way it went. Wrong decision on his part."

"Annihilator's Moscow & St. Petersburg show cancelled due to "Lufthansa Cabin Workers" Strike.
Three of us (Mike, Jeff, Aaron) are stuck at the Hamburg airport. 3 band and soundman's flights were cancelled due to the massive strike here in Germany.
Midnight last night was the final deadline for a solution for all of us to get there but we and the tour agent could not come up with a way to do this in time.
Of course we all apologize but Lufthansa really picked a bad time to go on strike!
We would like to come back and make up for these two shows in 2016 and hope to see you all then!
ANNIHILATOR"

Italian melodic power/folk metal act Elvenking have announced their first ever live CD/DVD The Night Of Night, out December 4 in Europe and January 22, 2016 in North America via AFM Records.

Recordings for The Night Of Nights took place in their hometown of Pordenone, Italy. The set will be released as a DVD/2CD digipak, including the full show (over 2 hours of music), and the DVD will contain six official video clips.

The cover art was made by artist Samuel Araya:

Tracklisting:

CD1
“The Manifesto”
“Trows Kind”
“The Wanderer”
“Runereader”
“Pagan Revolution”
“She Lives At Dawn”
“Jigsaw Puzzle”
“Elvenlegions”
“The Cabal”
“A Prayer To Cernunnos”
“Moonbeam Stone Circle”
“Symohn’s Bash”
“From Blood To Stone”
“Skywards”
“Disillusion’s Reel”

CD2
“Elven Aftermath”
“Seasonspeech”
“Through Wolf’s Eyes”
“The Divided Heart”
“Neverending Nights”
“The Winter Wake”
“Era Theme”
“The Loser”
“The Oak Woods Bestowed”
“Pagan Purity”



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In the video below, Nights With Alice Cooper presents The Winery Dogs exclusive acoustic version of “Captain Love” from their new album Hot Streak.

 

The Winery Dogs drummer Mike Portnoy recently spoke with Hard Rock Daddy about the band’s new album, Hot Streak, the multitude of bands that he works with, and sitting behind the kit for Twisted Sister. An excerpt from the interview is available below:

Q: You guys have cultivated a sound that transcends genres.  There is no real natural radio format fit, and yet everybody loves the band.  How do you explain peoples’ reaction to The Winery Dogs?

Portnoy: “I think that’s a sign of a great band.  You can say the same thing about Van Halen.  I mean, what is Van Halen?  Are they metal?  Are they rock? You know, we’re just one of those bands that somehow speaks to, and connects with, everybody…metal fans, prog fans, rock fans.  Even people that aren’t necessarily rock fans seem to just embrace this band, which is awesome.”

Q: Having seen The Winery Dogs in a live setting, I have to say that you have an incredible chemistry that is unlike any other band that I’ve ever seen…

Portnoy: “I think that we’re like a three-headed beast on stage, and no matter who you’re watching, you’re going to be entertained.”

“It’s kind of strange in a way.  In most bands, the rhythm section would be the anchor, and then you’d have the singer and the guitar player going around them.  In our case, it’s the opposite.  Richie is actually the anchor, and Billy (Sheehan) and I are running circles around him.  You have Richie – who is such a soulful entity – holding down the song as the singer and the guitar player.  He does his thing, and then Billy and I are like the rhythm section from hell.  We love playing off of each other and being very spontaneous.  I don’t think that either one of us has ever played the same fills two nights in a row.  We’re also both animated and entertaining on stage, and are the sort of players that enjoy being up there.  So, it’s definitely like a three-ring circus when you see us.”

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Gear Gods met up with Mike Portnoy to talk about the kit he’s using on The Winery Dogs’ world tour. Watch the segment below:

The Winery Dogs, featuring Richie Kotzen, Billy Sheehan and Mike Portnoy, are set to play a string of UK shows in early 2016 in support of their second album, Hot Streak, which was released in the UK via earMUSIC in partnership with Loud & Proud Records last month.

Mike Portnoy comments: "Yay!! We're so excited to bring the three-ring circus that is The Winery Dogs to Europe and the UK! We did our best to hit as many places as we could in the available window... but fret not, if we're not hitting your country just yet, as we hope to come back in the summer as well to play as many places as we can! C'mon and join the fun!!"

Singer/guitarist, Richie Kotzen echoes the sentiment, saying: "We are super psyched to have the opportunity to return to the UK and Europe for a string of live shows supporting our new album, Hot Streak. Thank you all for making this release a success and we will see you from the stage real soon!"

UK dates:

January
31 - London, England - O2 Shepherds Bush Empire

February

2 - Bristol, England - O2 Academy
4 - Manchester, England - O2 Ritz
5 - Birmingham, England - O2 Institute

Currently on the road in the US, The Winery Dogs stopped by the New York's Q104.3 studios. In the clip below the guys talk about camping with fans, performing on cruise ships, and the writing process behind, "Oblivion," the single off the new album, Hot Streak. They also perform an acoustic version of the song, "Fire”.



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