DEVIL YOU KNOW — the creative union of Howard Jones (ex-KILLSWITCH ENGAGE), Francesco Artusato (ALL SHALL PERISH) and John Sankey (DEVOLVED) — will release its sophomore album, "They Bleed Red", on November 6 via Nuclear Blast.

A song from the CD, "Stay Of Execution", can be streamed below.

Artusato (guitar) states: "This one was definitely a song that happened unexpectedly. The point was to make a 'heavy' song (of course, haha) that would have a lot of hooks and cool parts, but not fallowing a typical structure so we had fun trying different things. We have the black metal part, the groovy part, an epic chorus, cool bridge section, gang vocals at the end, etc. It's literally a bit of everything.

"I wrote the main riff while walking in a mall somewhere while on tour. I was humming it into my phone so I would remember it for later. It was a weird day, haha.

"I'm just so excited for this new record. It's a beast! I can't wait to start playing the new material and the next tour with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH and PAPA ROACH in Europe this November is going to be massive!"

Sankey (drums) says: "The track 'Stay Of Execution' was the last song that was written for our new album. I wanted us to have a track that was fast, brutal and really slamming with an unconventional song structure. Francesco and I had some demos that we hadn't used yet, so I tore a few of those unfinished tracks apart and pieced together the coolest sections to create this song. It is definitely one of my favorite tunes from the album because, for me personally, this feels more like the death metal style that I'm used to playing. There's blast beats, lots of double bass and some really cool busy drum fills. It's a fun song to jam, that's for sure! Fran wrote an awesome riff for the first verse that sounds like a straight-up black metal part to me. It rules! The 'one choice, one life, I'm running out of time' chant that Hojo wrote for the end of the song is a monster anthem. It's a killer hook that will have all the kids singing along and puts the icing on this 'metal cake'! Even though this is a blazing track and easily one of the heaviest we have written, it still has the groove and melodic elements of DEVIL YOU KNOW, so crank it up and enjoy."

Produced by Josh Wilbur (AVENGED SEVENFOLD, LAMB OF GOD, KILLER BE KILLED), "They Bleed Red" is a breakneck paced trip through DEVIL YOU KNOW's broken psyche, struggles with anxiety, and ultimate triumph against adversity, all laid upon a foundation of high-level artistic achievement and vitriolic full throttle heavy metal fury.

"They Bleed Red" track listing:

01. Consume The Damned02. The Way We Die03. Your Last Breath04. Stay of Execution05. Break The Ties06. Shattered Silence07. Let The Pain Take Hold08. Master of None09. Searching For The Sun10. How The End Shall Be11. Broken By The Cold

Bonus tracks

12. Eye of The Tiger (cover)13. I Am Alive14. We Live

DEVIL YOU KNOW's debut album, "The Beauty Of Destruction", sold around 6,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 45 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was produced by Logan Mader (FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, GOJIRA, DEVILDRIVER, SOULFLY) and mixed by Chris "Zeuss" Harris (HATEBREED, SOULFLY). Artwork for the album was created by noted painter and illustrator Travis Smith (OPETH, DEVIN TOWNSEND).

DEVIL YOU KNOW's lineup is completed by BLEEDING THROUGH bassist Ryan Wombacher.

San Francisco Bay Area thrashers HATCHET will release their third studio album, "Fear Beyond Lunacy", on October 30 via The End Records. The follow-up to 2013's "Dawn Of The End" marks the recording debut of the new HATCHET lineup behind founding member, vocalist and lead guitarist Julz Ramos: Clayton Cagle on guitar, Kody Barba on bass, and Ben Smith on drums. The new members have injected the band with a surge of raw energy, and fans of HATCHET will be satisfied with this revived enthusiasm laid into the recordings. Ramos said: "The faster, thrashier tracks hit harder than ever before, while the melodic stuff is catchier and we've even experimented with some heavier, slower tempos."

The official lyric video for the "Fear Beyond Lunacy" song "Living In Extinction" can be seen below.

Regarding the "Fear Beyond Lunacy" cover, Ramos said: "The artwork was done by Andrej Bartulovic from All Things Rotten, who also did our previous album cover for 'Dawn Of The End'. The artwork depicts what I see us becoming as a modern society. A society of fear-engrossed, media-addicted slaves. We are constantly hooked on what our media and TVs are feeding us to believe to be true and what we should be afraid of today, tomorrow, next month/year etc. I feel this is particularly true with Americans. There is always some big conspiracy happening or natural disaster predicted by someone hundreds of years ago that everyone in some form or another seems to live their lives in fear of. It's getting out of hand, and that's what this picture represents; someone who is ultimately driven insane by this and where we can all be heading if we are not careful."

"Fear Beyond Lunacy" track listing:

01. Where Time Cannot Exist02. Living In Extinction03. Lethal Injustice04. In Fear We Trust05. Killing Indulgence06. Dead And Gone07. Tearing Into Hell08. Prophet Of Delusion09. The World Beyond10. Frozen Hell (bonus track)11. Awaiting Evil (bonus track) **

** Available only with purchase of vinyl edition

"Fear Beyond Lunacy" can be pre-ordered at www.theomegaorder.com/hatchet.

After releasing two demos, HATCHET's debut album, "Awaiting Evil", was made available in mid-2008 via Metal Blade Records. The CD was well received by thrash enthusiasts around the globe and proved a great beginning for the band. Since the release of the debut, HATCHET has completed three full DIY U.S. tours and has shared the stage with SOILWORK, JEFF LOOMIS, THREAT SIGNAL, BLACK TIDE, CELLADOR, EXMORTUS and FLOTSAM AND JETSAM.

Florida-based metallers BLACK TIDE will release their third full-length album, titled "Chasing Shadows", on October 16 through Pavement Entertainment. The follow-up to 2011's "Post Mortem" has the classic BLACK TIDE vibe that critics and fans alike have hailed as "old-school metal with a new-school sound."

A teaser for "Chasing Shadows" can be found below.

"Chasing Shadows" is currently available as a special pre-order bundle pack that includes an autographed CD, limited edition album cover shirt, and a VIP meet-and-greet laminate for the show of the purchaser's choosing for the upcoming touring cycle. The bundle will be available for a limited time. "Chasing Shadows" track listing: 01. Intro02. Guidelines03. Angel In The Dark04. Predator (Animal)05. Burn06. Chasing Shadows07. Before We Form08. Sex Is Angry09. Welcome To Misery10. Heaven11. Promised Land

The first single, "Angel In The Dark", will be unleashed in September, along with a heavy touring cycle to be announced.

Nev Pearce of Australia's "Rabid Noise" podcast recently conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Adam "Nergal" Darski of Polish extreme metallers BEHEMOTH. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On BEHEMOTH's latest album, 2014's "The Satanist":

"I think we definitely came out of the box with this one. We left our comfort zone, trying to… I mean, don't get me wrong — [2009's] 'Evangelion' was a great record, but if we followed that direction and tried to sound even more perfect… To me, 'Evangelion' sounds super proper — it's very modern production, and it's a well-played, well-crafted record. And I'd say, most of the bands would just try to perfect that and go even further, and sound maybe heavier or try to sound faster and this and that. And we just took a completely different alley, we just took a different direction [with 'The Satanist']. It was pretty unexpected, I guess, and it was kind of risky for us, and it was very challenging. Right after the record was done, I was immediately in love with record, and I still am — I'm very happy with the album — but I was honest with everyone I talked to. I [said], 'I honestly don't know what the people's reaction is going to be to this record,' because it's pretty different. It's mostly midtempo, the production is maybe not what people expected. And I really had doubts. But one thing that I was a hundred percent sure was that this a hundred percent me, and I still stood behind the record all the way. And then, all of a sudden, people — both media and fans; pretty much everyone — [who] listened to the album, they loved it right away. I mean, it's unheard of… artistic-wise, people consider this the best BEHEMOTH album and yet the record was successful commercially as well, and the media loved it. So I have no reason to complain whatsoever."

On BEHEMOTH's plans for the follow-up to "The Satanist":

"Well, I don't really think about following it up yet. I have to change my way of thinking. I focus on the present moment — on here and now — and just make we squeeze the fuck out of this album, all the juices, and make sure all the touring [is completed successfully]. We have this attitude that we want people to have this impression that it's the last time we play on stage. When you see us live, it's now or never, if you know what I mean. So I'm not like… I used to be like that… I'd go into the studio and spit out the record, and the record… Name any record, it's been every time I did that. And I was already thinking of the next one, because I knew that I'm gonna top myself, and I really attempted that every time. But I was never satisfied. And this time, it's quite the opposite. So this is it — this is the ultimate BEHEMOTH album — and there's no plans to record the next one yet. So what we focus on, we focus on the quality of the touring for 'The Satanist', and let's see what the future brings after that."

"The Satanist" sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 34 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The definitive BEHEMOTH biography, "Behemoth: Devil's Conquistadors" by Lukasz Dunaj, was released in February via Metal Blade. The 490-page, hardcover tome includes quotes and anecdotes from current and former members that provide context and details in addition to the author's narrative, plus interviews with Tomas Krajewski, Rob Darken, Graal, Havok, and more. The artistically presented pages are splattered with old photos of the band, flyers, lyric sheets, etc.

Dee Snider has responded to Paul Stanley's rant against the TWISTED SISTER frontman, saying that he would "bury" the KISS leader in a hypothetical "rock" battle.

During a recent appearance on Eddie Trunk's show, Snider criticized Stanley and KISS bassist Gene Simmons for having current KISS members Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer dress up as Peter Criss's and Ace Frehley's respective "Spaceman" and "Catman" personas. Dee told Trunk: "I don't see how people could accept this. Tommy Thayer? I'm sorry. It's insulting. Not only did he play in a tribute band of KISS, he's imitating Ace in his entire act!" Snider went on to bash Thayer for allegedly copying Ace's stage moves. He said: "Oh my God — that's disgraceful. When KISS replaced Ace and Peter, and they brought in guys [Eric Carr and Vinnie Vincent] who had their own makeup and their own thing, that was acceptable. That was awesome. They were their own characters."

Stanley got an opportunity to respond to Snider during an interview for Chris Jericho's "Talk Is Jericho" podcast. He said: "Well, let me put it in the simplest terms. In this case, this guy is a wannabe, has always been a wannabe and desperately wants attention and to be taken seriously, and that will never happen because he's obviously clueless that he and his whole band are a bunch of buffoons."

Earlier today, Snider released the following "open letter" in response to Stanley's comments:

"Dear Paul,

"First off, thanks for giving me the attention I — as you noted — so desperately wanted.Now, I've always had nothing but respect for your band, and you as a performer, but it really comes as no surprise that the feeling isn't mutual. For some reason, you are oddly threatened by me. This said, your recent comments about my band and I on Chris Jericho's podcast was a typical diversionary tactic used in an attempt to change the subject, rather than answer the actual accusation or question. It's the oldest interviewing trick in the book.

"As far as my 'whole band being a bunch of buffoons' goes, that's a pretty ironic statement coming from you. The argument could easily be made that KISS is the 'king of the buffoons,' so in an odd way you've paid TWISTED SISTER quite a compliment. It takes one to know one.

"Lastly, on the subject of me being a 'wannabe'? Do you really think so? Well then…any time, any stage. But let's do this old school — no costumes, no pyro, no bullshit — let's just get up there and rock. I will bury you, son.

"Sincerely, the attention getting, wannabe, lead buffoon of TWISTED SISTER, Dee Snider

"P.S.: Did I mention that I'm clean, sober, razor sharp and fully capable of defending myself from any kind of lame attack? Just ask Al Gore."

Legendary progressive rock innovators CYNIC — consisting of guitarist/vocalist Paul Masvidal, drummer Sean Reinert and bassist Sean Malone — have once again called it quits.

Reinert has posted the following message on the band's official Facebook page:

"It is with a heavy heart that I post today's CYNIC news.

"CYNIC is no longer an active band. Due to artistic and personal differences, the second chapter in the 'book of CYNIC' has come to an end.

"I will say the last shows we played in Japan have left me with a positive charge, even though they were the last live performances with Paul, Sean Malone and I on the same stage.

"My longstanding creative partnership with Paul, which started when we were very young kids in south Florida, has simply endured so much friction that there is no way, from my perspective, that CYNIC can be salvaged, repaired or kept afloat by any means.

"I profusely apologize to the fans who were not only expecting us in China and Taiwan (that was not our fault), but to the fans who were planning to see us in Europe next month.

"These things happen, unfortunately, to bands. There can be differing levels of conflicts and/or differences in opinions, musical directions, or perspectives. Sometimes these things are insurmountable, and no amount of time or effort can resolve them. This is the case with CYNIC."

CYNIC's latest album, "Kindly Bent To Free Us", was released in February 2015 via Season Of Mist. The CD was produced by CYNIC at L.A.'s Perfect Sound Studios. The effort was engineered by Jason Donaghy (BAND OF HORSES, FEIST, ROB ZOMBIE, RYAN ADAMS), mixed by R. Walt Vincent (PETE YORN, LIZ PHAIR, TOMMY KEENE) and mastered by Maor Appelbaum (FATES WARNING, SEPULTURA, CATHEDRAL, INQUISITION, HALFORD).

Alex Stojanovic of Metal Master Kingdom conducted an interview with guitarist Andreas Kisser of Brazilian/American metallers SEPULTURA on May 28 at The Opera House in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On plans to release a follow-up to his 2009 solo debut, "Hubris I & II":

Andreas: "I hope so, man. I wish the second… the other dimension will be possible, because I could do it in the other dimension. [Laughs] I mean, there's so much stuff to do… fortunately. I have DE LA TIERRA, which is another group, that I sing in Spanish, you know, metal. I have another group with my son, the KISSER CLAN, and we only play covers and stuff. I do some guitar clinics in Brazil as well, so it's hard, really, to find that perfect time, really, to stop and really do that. But I have a demo… I mean, since the album came out in 2009, so I have many little demos that I write stuff all the time. So I have pretty much a new solo album ready to go. But I just don't have, really, the time now to stop and really produce that. But hopefully in the next year or two. I'm not in a hurry, really. I think 'Hubris' was a very special project that I put everything there: acoustic, instrumental, Portuguese, English… I called many friends to be a part of it. But this one I wanna do, I think, more like a… Because 'Hubris' took, like, four years to make; it was a double album [that was recorded in] many diferent studios and stuff. This one I wanna just focus — stop [for] a month or two and really do it."

On MEGADETH's recent addition of Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro, best known for his work with ANGRA:

Andreas: "Finally they found out! [Laughs] The Brazilian source of… you know… But that's great for the country, man. We have [drummer] Aquiles Priester as well, playing with PRIMAL FEAR and so many different bands. And it's great to see the Brazilian musicians having this opportunity, because, you know, it is a very musical country. We have our own kind of groove and melodies and stuff that can help. You know, it helped a lot SEPULTURA to help achieve our own original sound. And it'll be great to… I think it's great for MEGADETH and for Kiko as well… for both. I mean, for Kiko, it's insane. A professional, amazing musician… I'm happy to see it's paying off, all the hard work that he put [in] and the study an deverything. He's a great guy and he deserves that. And for MEGADETH as well. It's great to see that Kiko's gonna join and gonna put some of the Brazilian elements there naturally, because he is from Brazil. So I'm very curious to listen to this album and I'm very happy for both of them. I'm very good friends of Dave Ellefson [MEGADETH bassist], especially, and I'm very happy for all of them."

SEPULTURA recently recorded a new song called "DarkSide" for the Brazilian publisher DarkSide Books. The track was "inspired by the darker side of literature."

This is not the first time a member of SEPULTURA has collaborated with DarkSide Books. Back in 2013, Kisser wrote the foreword to the BLACK SABBATH biography "Destruição Desencadeada".

SEPULTURA's latest album, "The Mediator Between Head And Hands Must Be The Heart", came out on October 29, 2013 via Nuclear Blast.

In a new interview with Guitar Player Yes guitarist Steve Howe recalled playing on the Queen song “Innuendo”.

“I was in Montreux, and Queen were recording at Mountain Studios—the same studio where we made Going For The One. I go in, and they played me the whole album, but they saved ‘Innuendo’ until last. I was incredibly blown away. They said, ‘We want you to play on that. Why don’t you race around like Paco de Lucía?’ Brian May had three Gibson Chet Atkins, which are Spanish guitars. I found one I liked, we started doing takes, we tried different approaches, and then we went to dinner. After dinner, we went back to the studio, listened through, and comped together what you hear today. It was just a lovely experience with a lovely bunch of guys.”

Read the rest of the story at Guitar Player.

 

Legendary Yes bassist Chris Squire died on June 27, 2015 in Phoenix, AZ at the age of 67. Squire, who co-founded the band in 1968 with singer Jon Anderson, was diagnosed with Acute Erythroid Leukemia, an uncommon form of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), earlier this year. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The release date of the Artizan album The Furthest Reaches on vinyl is October 16 via Pure Steel Records.

Artizan is set for their third release The Furthest Reaches. The epic sci-fi concept album tells the story of an alien race returning to Earth after a distress signal is sent into space.  Guest appearances from Matt Barlow (ex-Iced Earth, Ashes Of Ares) and Sabrina Cruz (Seven Kingdoms) are featured on the metal opera. All of the elements that Artizan are known for are showcased throughout this melodic masterpiece. The Furthest Reaches is their heaviest, most progressive material to date. Once again, legendary producer Jim Morris (Iced Earth, Crimson Glory, Jag Panzer) applies his wizardry, ensuring a sonic experience of the highest quality.

After the CD release in April the album The Furthest Reaches is now released as limited edition of 200 black/orange splatter vinyl with printed insert.

Tracklisting:

Side A
“Coming Of Age”
“Summon The Gods”
“Hopeful Eyes”
“The Furthest Reaches”
“The Cleansing”

Side B
“Wardens Of The New World”
“Heed The Warning”
“Supernova”
“Starchild”
“Into The Sun”
“Come Sail Away”

Album sampler:

Australia's AMNplify recently conducted an interview with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Jason Hook. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

AMNplify: [The upcoming FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH] album ["Got Your Six"] comes across more brutal than previous efforts. Was there something built up as a band that needed to be released? I've also found that the songs are slightly shorter in length, which help to deliver a burst of energy.

Hook: I find it interesting that you noticed that, 'cause I think that what you noticed was intentional. We don't want to make the same record over and over again, even though it still sounds like us and it's sonically familiar. I think that we wanted the songs to be concise, punchy, high energy — all the things that you heard were discussed and intentional. My only desire is that when we make records is that the songs are good. I know that's the objective always, but, to me, I don't want any ploppers, I don't want anyone skipping over any tracks.

AMNplify: You teamed up again with producer Kevin Churko, who you've worked with since 2009. Is there a reason you stick with him? What's the chemistry like there?

Hook: Well, to start with new people, would be a new learning curve — trying to get all the personal dynamics re-established to get to the creative stuff. With Kevin, we all know what to expect of each other, [and] we all know how we are as people and our personalities. So when we start a record, we know exactly what to ask for, we know what he can do and vice versa, and we can get right to work, which is what we like. We like to get stuff done and get it done efficiently.

AMNplify: You just toured with JUDAS PRIEST recently? Did anything interesting happen on the road?

Hook: We ending up having such a great time with those guys. They're so nice and they're so cool; it really made it pleasant. We had dinner with them one night, which was pretty cool. We closed this restaurant in Italy. I could only just imagine if someone who had walked in and seen it, and if you were a music fan, it would have looked like "The Last Supper Of Heavy Metal." Rob Halford [JUDAS PRIEST singer] has become a great friend of the band. Rob watched our show every day! I was walking off from our set one night and I caught up with him, and I asked him, "Rob, what's the deal with wanting to watching this loud, obnoxious noisy show every night?" and he just looks at me and goes, [speaking with soft English accent] 'I love the band.' So yeah, there's my best Rob Halford impression for you. And I go, 'All right. Rob Halford loves the band!" Funny thing is, though, even if it was my favorite band playing or not, there's only so many nights I could take of dealing with the loud and watching the same thing over and over, but I was so impressed with him. He has such an absolute genuine love of music. It's cool.

Read the entire interview at AMNplify.

Naples, Italy-based power/thrash band, Savior From Anger, has signed a worldwide deal with Pure Steel Records. The new album, Temple Of Judgment, will be released next year and the first single from the upcoming album, "In The Shadows", has been released.

Says the band: “This is Savior From Anger’s fourth album. So we are proud to sign with Pure Steel Records from Germany. It is an awesome label and we are sure that will do a great work with our album."

Temple Of Judgment tracklisting:

“In The Shadows”
“Bright Darkness”
“The Eye”
“Thunderheads”
“Chosen Ones”
“The Calling”
“Starlight”
“The Eye Opens”
“Repentance”
“Temple Of Judgment”

"In The Shadows":

This will be the band’s first album to feature singer Bob Mitchell (Attacker, Old School). More details to follow.

Scale The Summit have debuted the music video for the group's new song, "Blue Sun”, taken from their new album V. You can watch the video below.

Says bassist Mark Michell, "People have always wanted STS to go crazy with shredding, and we finally catered to that demand on this song. I consider this the album's 'epic' song. It has some of my favourite parts of the whole record. We're really tapping into 'prog-metal goodness' on this one!"

V, due out on September 18th via Prosthetic Records, expertly showcases the instrumental progressive rock band's definitive sound as it ebbs and flows across an array of beguiling soundscapes. The album was mixed by Jamie King (BTBAM, The Contortionist) who previously worked with the band on their smashing 2013 release The Migration.

The cover art for V was completed by the UK-based artist Duncan Storr, with whom the band previously worked on their 2013 effort The Migration. The artwork is a composite of images that each correlate to a specific track title, and over the past two weeks, the band has led up to its reveal with teaser snippets of each song along with its associated visuals via social media platforms. You can hear samples of each of the 10 tracks on the new album here.

V tracklisting:

“The Winged Bull”
“Soria Moria”
“Pontus Euxinus”
“Trapped In Ice”
“Stolas”
“The Isle Of Mull”
“Kestral”
“Oort Cloud”
“Blue Sun”
“The Golden Bird”

“Kestrel”:

“Stolas” video:

Mixed and mastered by Jamie King (BTBAM, The Contortionist), V is now available for pre-order on CD and LP (including black, white and clear vinyl options) at this location. Digital pre-orders, which include an instant download of “Blue Sun”, “Kestral” and ”Stolas," are also available via iTunes, Bandcamp and Amazon.

 

Death metallers Ragestorm has signed with Sliptrick Records.

Born in summer 2004 as a joke, the band went through major lineup changes and shredded the first stage in 2005.

In the early 2006 they recorded the first demo called Storm Inside and did a mini-tour around Northern Italy supported by a quickly growing following and media hype.

Following the early demo, a new recording titled Someone Hears? got released and entered straight the charts as Demo Of The Month on Metal Hammer Italy, Metalitalia.com and Metal Storm Magazine (USA), also getting air time on Metal Head Radio.

In May 2010 , Ragestorm released their fourth EP called The Meatgrinder Manifesto which is the most extreme and complete production thy ever recorded, soon to be followed by The Thin Line Between Hope And Ruin (Sliptrick Records 2016).

“Acid Tears”:

Two scraps of paper which Jimi Hendrix used to write the lyrics for a song are expected to sell for up to £35,000, reports Mirror.co.uk.

The guitar legend used the crumpled notepaper to pen a draft version of “Crosstown Traffic”, which featured on his iconic Electric Ladyland album. The track was recorded in London in 1967 and reached number #37 in the UK charts when it was released as a single the following year.

Hendrix wrote the first verse and chorus and an unused second verse - complete with scribbles and deletions - on 26 lines of the paper. The lyrics are being sold by an unnamed collector in an online auction.

Auctioneer Ted Owen said yesterday: “Hendrix wrote “Crosstown Traffic” in New York where it is an expression for traffic flow. He often wrote an outline for a song based on flashbacks of things he had seen or experienced.

Read more at Mirror.co.uk.

 

Back in 1999, Draugnim, a Finnish entity, decided to sacrifice its blood to the Earth and four demos and two albums later, Debemur Morti Productions has added them to their roster.

Musically, Draugnim can be described as pagan metal with majestic atmosphere and melodies. Drawing inspiration from the harsh nature and northern folklore, the Finnish trio deals with such themes as decay, corruption, despair and death.

About this promising collaboration, the band comments: "We are extremely pleased to have united forces with Debemur Morti Productions. A label with truly dedicated people behind it was exactly what we’re looking for. It's been five years since the last album, and while there was speculation about us quitting during this time, we never even considered such possibility. All this time we have been working on the third album and now the time to release it is very close."

Indeed, after releasing two major and magnificent albums, Northwind's Ire (2008) and Horizons Low (2010), the band is currently putting the final touch to their much awaited third opus on which they give us a few details: "Great effort has been given to develop the sound even further to express what is the essence of Draugnim. The futile struggle against all curses of mortality as famine, pestilence and madness bring nations and gods to ruin. Songs range from raw shamanistic pagan rites to more atmospheric pieces of grief unsung. So leads on our crooked path…"

On the eve of the release of their sophomore full-length album Livlaus, Norwegian black metallers Orkan have debuted a second track from the album.  The track "Uforgjengeleg" features Taake frontman and founder Hoest on guest vocals and is streaming below.

Livlaus, which is out on Dark Essence Records on September 11th, is a concept album that takes as its subject the efforts of a lost soul to find peace in the Kingdom of the Dead, and was inspired by the forests and Sulphur mines that surround Stord, the hometown of drummer Rune Nesse.  With a much darker and uncompromising feel than its predecessor Crimson Canvas, Livlaus was recorded live in the studio, with vocals added later, to create an album filled with atmospheric melodies, haunting vocals and intense blast beats.

The seven-track album was mixed by Iver Sandoy at the Solslottet Studio and mixed by Enslaved's Herbrand Larsen at the Conclave and Earshot Studios in Bergen.  Aside from Hoest, Livlaus also features a guest appearance on vocals from Taake bassist V'gandr (Helheim).

Artwork for the album is by Tom Korsvold:

Livlaus tracklisting:

“Fanden På Veggen”
“Brende Bruer, Svart Metall”
“Livlaus Del 1: Evig”
“Livlaus Del 2: Dødens Dal”
“Livlaus Del 3: Tusen Sjeler”
“Uforgjengeleg”
“Skodde”

"Uforgjengeleg":

“Livlaus Del 2: Dødens Dal”:

Orkan was originally founded in 2008 by Taake's live guitarist Gjermund Fredheim and ex- Byfrost drummer Rune Nesse, and the lineup was completed with the addition of former Grimnorth  bassist Sindre Hillesdal and frontman Einar Fjelldal (ex-Gravemachine).  It is this lineup that will join the upcoming Taake European tour along with Dark Essence Records label-mates Krakow and the 3rd Attemp, as well as Dominanz.  Routing can be found on the poster below:

 

 

Folk metal superstars Eluveitie, the most internationally successful Swiss band, are working on their second, yet untitled acoustic album. In addition to this, the band has also announced their first Swiss acoustic tour of 2016. Throughout these shows, Eluveitie will deliver exclusive tasters of what fans can expect from the new record in the form of some brand new material.

This special tour will take place in Das Zelt - Chapiteau PostFinance and will bring Eluveitie to the following cities:

January
22 - Das Zelt - Chapiteau PostFinance, Lenk, Switzerland - Wildstrubel-Arena

March
4 - Das Zelt - Chapiteau PostFinance, Olten, Switzerland - Schützenmatte

September
23 - Das Zelt - Chapiteau PostFinance, Brig, Switzerland - Rhonesandterrain

December
23 - Das Zelt - Chapiteau PostFinance, Bern, Switzerland - Allmend

More dates to be announced soon. Tickets and more info here.

Eluveitie are on tour in North America with The Agonist and Epica. Tour dates can be found below.

 

 

September
9 - Bronson Centre - Ottawa, ON (Eluveitie only)
11 - Corona Theatre - Montreal, QC
12 - Imperial Theatre - Quebec City, QC
13 - Phoenix Concert Theatre - Toronto, ON
15 - House Of Blues - Chicago, IL
16 - Mill City Nights - Minneapolis, MN
18 - O'Brians Event Centre - Saskatoon, SK
19 - Union Hall - Edmonton, AB
20 - MacEwan Ballroom - Calgary, AB
22 - Vogue Theatre - Vancouver, BC
23 - Neumos - Seattle, WA
25 - The Regency Ballroom - San Francisco, CA
26 - Fonda Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
28 - Gothic Theatre - Denver, CO
29 - Sokol Auditorium - Omaha, NE

October
1 - Mercury Ballroom - Louisville, KY
2 - Agora Ballroom - Cleveland, OH
3 - Irving Plaza - New York, NY

 

Swedish heavy metal defenders (of the faith) Ram are ready to unleash their latest batch of heavy metal anthems to the masses. Entitled Svbversvm, this fourth studio longplayer will be released on October 30th as a limited CD & DVD Digipak as well as on jewelcase-CD and on vinyl.

Comments Ram on Svbversvm: "This album is the rebirth of Ram, a natural step to take after Death. For this album we went back and rediscovered the mass of notes, lyrical ideas and sketches that were created at the very birth of Ram, from around 99-01. We saw that these ideas were more valid than ever and still very inspiring. We are very pleased with the album that is the product of 4 months of being locked up in the studio and offering our very last drop of sweat and blood for it to become the most massive Ram production ever. This is our latest assault upon the rotting world, may it be a dagger in the heart of the powers that may be! SVBVERSVM is at hand!"

Svbversvm tracklisting:

“Return Of The Iron Tyrant”
“Eyes Of The Night”
“The Usurper”
“Enslaver”
“Holy Death”
“Terminus”
“The Omega Device”
“Forbidden Zone”
“Temples Of Void”
“Svbversvm”

“Eyes Of The Night”:

The limited first edition of Svbversvm will be released as a Digipak with a bonus-DVD. The bonus-DVD is entitled X Anniversary, A Decade Of Heavy Metal Tyranny Concert and was filmed on Friday, September 13th, 2013 at a hometown show in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Bonus DVD tracklisting:

“Sudden Impact”
“Judgement And Punishment”
“Blessed To Be Cursed”
“Under The Scythe”
“Defiant”
“Awakening The Chimaera”
“Machine Invaders”
“Ghost Pilot”
“Death”
“Forced Entry”
“Flame Of The Tyrants”
“Infuriator”

Pre-order at this location.

Iowa-based powerhouse, For Today, have released the first official video trailer for their upcoming album, Wake.

For Today recently released the album’s first single, “Broken Lens”. Watch the video for the track below:

Wake will be released worldwide on October 2nd,  and will be available on CD (also as an exclusive CD/t-shirt bundle) as well as on vinyl (black, red) and as digital download. Pre-order from this location..

Tracklisting:

“No Truth, No Sacrifice”
“Broken Lens”
“Forced into Fire”
“Deserter”
“Bitter Roots”
“Wasteland”
“Hopeless Ambition”
“Determination”
“Flooded Earth”
“Time and Tide”
“Two Brothers” (Bonus Track)
“Without You” (Bonus Track)

Check out an album teaser below:

 
For Today will also hit the road on October 1st for an album release tour. They will be traversing the country on a headline run with Fit For A King, Gideon, Phinehas, and Silent Planet in tow. The tour kicks off in Tulsa and winds through the country for the entire month of October before wrapping in Albuquerque on November 2nd.
 

November 6th is the confirmed release date for Billy Sherwood's latest, a concept album called Citizen. Sherwood created this concept album based on a lost soul that is reincarnated into various periods of history.

"I was inspired by the notion that General Patton believed he was reincarnated on various battlefields through time; I wanted to take that concept even further." As the songwriter/producer, Billy placed the citizen character into significant moments of history. 

The lead off track is called “The Citizen" which sets the stage for what's to come on the recording. “The Citizen” features Billy's longtime friends and members of the legendary progressive rock band YES: bassist Chris Squire and former YES keyboardist Tony Kaye.

Each song places the Citizen into a unique set of circumstances where decisions are made that have serious personal and global consequences. In the song “No Man's Land" (featuring Deep Purple/Dixie Dregs/Kansas guitarist Steve Morse) the Citizen appears as a World War I trench runner who passes the message along to the troops that it's time to attack; the Citizen remains behind and is, ultimately, the only survivor. “Empire" (with lead vocals by Alan Parsons and violin from Jerry Goodman of the Flock, Dixie Dregs, Mahavishnu Orchestra) finds the Citizen as a conscript legionnaire in the final days of the Roman Empire. “Just Galileo And Me" (sung by Colin Moulding singer/bassist of XTC) shows the Citizen as a protective friend to Galileo, trying to tell the astronomer that he should not tell people that the earth is not flat or he will be labeled as a heretic. 

Known as a multi-instrumentalist, Billy performs drums, bass, guitar, keys and sings several of the songs, including “A Theory Of Its Own” in which the Citizen appears as companion to Charles Darwin on the evolutionist’s maiden voyage. He sings of Native Americans affected by the Indian Removal Act of 1830 in the song, “Trail Of Tears,” which features Patrick Moraz on keyboards. Former Genesis guitar player Steve Hackett adds his chops to “Man And The Machine,” which is about an assembly line worker and activist in the late 1890s. "Age Of The Atom” is about the creation of the Atomic Bomb and the questions of morality as a result of it; this features Geoff Downes on keyboards. Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess appears on “Escape Velocity,” a song that speaks to the political implications of the space race in the 1960s.

In “The Great Depression,” Billy's songwriter’s pen draws pain from the heart of a distraught Wall Street investor, who has lost everything in the stock market, and steps out to make a final step off the ledge. Rick Wakeman plays grand piano and other keyboards on this one. Finally, in Citizen’s 11th song, “Written In The Centuries,” performed by current YES singer Jon Davison, Nostradamus is the Citizen busily composing his many predictions.

Billy Sherwood was recently handpicked by Chris Squire to fill in for him on bass and vocals in YES, before he left for cancer treatment and ultimately, his untimely death. Billy started his career in the band Lodgic and then as a member of World Trade, who have two critically-acclaimed albums. He has produced and engineered for many artists including John Wetton, Motorhead, Queensryche, Paul Rodgers, and YES.

He joined YES first as touring member on the Talk tour in 1994, and was a full time member from 1997 to 1999. He recorded two albums with Chris Squire as the Conspiracy project and released six albums with Circa, the band he formed with Tony Kaye.  

Citizen is Billy’s eighth album of new material, though he sees this as a group effort, "While I've created a lot of this record myself I couldn't have done it without the amazing talents brought to bear by all the great artists who participated. So I feel it's much more of a collective effort than a solo album. It's my desire to take this production onto the stage and some of these amazing artists can help bring this concept to life.”

Citizen tracklisting:

“The Citizen”
“Man And The Machine”
“Just Galileo And Me”
“No Man’s Land”
“The Great Depression”
“Empire”
“Age Of The Atom”
“Trail Of Tears”
“Escape Velocity”
“A Theory All It's Own”
“Written In The Centuries”

EPK:

Vantaa, Finland-based rockers, Shiraz Lane, have inked a deal with Frontiers Music Srl, and will release their debut album in spring 2016.

Even though the current lineup has only been together for a little more than a year, Shiraz Lane has already won several big competitions and – what is the most important thing – fans hearts. The guys are in their early 20’s, but are already live machines, hard workers, and ready to play live wherever and whenever possible. They’ve already been spreading their rock hurricane around their homeland of Finland as well as Canada, Tokyo and this year in Germany at Wacken Open Air.

Shiraz Lane will be touring all across their homeland this fall and are getting prepared to record their debut studio full-length album later this year, with a plan to release it in the spring of 2016.

The band says: "We are thrilled to join the ranks of a record company which is authentic, committed and has absolute faith in our band. In addition, we are truly humbled and honoured to be set side by side with numerous of our idols – including Whitesnake/David Coverdale, Toto, Journey, and Sebastian Bach! No doubt this is a start of a fruitful, reliable and most importantly hard rocking musical symbiosis!"

Videos taken from the band’s debut EP, Be The Slave Or Be The Change, can be seen below:

"Money Talks”:

"Out There Somewhere”:

"Mental Slavery”:

“Story To Tell”:

Shiraz Lane is:

Hannes Kett – vocals
Jani Laine – solo guitar
Miki Kalske – rhythm guitar
Joel Alex – bass
Ana Willman – drums

 

The Hollywood Monsters are recording a new album, called Evilution.

Artists featured on Evilution include Vinny Appice (Dio, Black Sabbath), Steph Honde (Paul Di'Anno), Neil Murray (Whitesnake, Gary Moore, Black Sabbath), Tracy G (Dio), Janita Jenny Haan (Babe Ruth), Darren Crisp (Age Of Liberty), Pascal Mulot (Satan Jokers), Alessandro Bertoni (KeyStone) and the one and only Tim Bogert (Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, BBA).

Check out a teaser video below and stay tuned for updates.

 

Kingdom Venom I, the first full length by American symphonic black metal band Xaemora is now available through London-based Merdumgiriz Records.

A press release states: “Six songs of symphonic assault divide the 25 minute beast. The mellow keyboards tell the moaning of the mountains of rocky guitars and blasting drums. The screaming lungs of vocals bridge the narrative between that mellowness and the destructivity of the instruments. The totally symphonic black metal melodies together with guitar solos and leads that bleed madness create castles while staying raw and intense to create something altogether perverse, strong and original. With an unrelenting intensity both in atmosphere, performance, composition and production this album is one of the heaviest pieces of madness yet in the psychopathic monolith of Merdumgiriz releases.”

Xaemora is a melodic black metal band formed in November of 2012, in the St. Louis area by vocalist/guitarist Dreathus and drummer Von Eckhardt, soon joined by guitarist Hartvaig. Xaemora presents itself as an interesting take on black metal, melodic but extreme. With intense live shows filled with blazing guitars, shrieking and harsh vocals, atmospheric keyboards, dynamic bass lines, and intensive drums. Since debuting live in 2013, Xaemora has played all over the St. Louis area and has shared the stage with metal acts such as Morbid Angel, Absu, Goatwhore, Abigail Williams, Havok, Black Anvil, Black Fast, and Tyranny Enthroned to name a few and will be broadening to other regions of the United States in the following future.

Tracklisting:

“Gadara”
“Absolute Severance”
“Descension”
“Violent Rebirth”
“Desolation Solitude”
“No Longer”

Metal Wani's William Richards recently conducted an interview with former MEGADETH and current ACT OF DEFIANCE drummer Shawn Drover. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On his recent statement that he would rather create "Killing Is My Business Part 2" than MEGADETH's last record, 2013's "Super Collider":

"Again, as usual, things get twisted in the press. Of the thirty minutes that I did that interview, of course, the question comes up: 'What do you think about ['Super Collider']?' I like that record; I have no problem with that record. Having said that, what I said was I would rather make something heavy like 'Killing Is My Business'. In other words, I like writing heavy. I like writing the heavier music. Case in point: my new record. I mean, you listen to the ACT OF DEFIANCE record, it's complete uncompromising heavy metal. That was my point. It [wasn't meant as a slag] whatsoever to the 'Super Collider' record. I like a lot of that stuff on the record. The question was: was that the heaviest record the band ever made? Of course it wasn't. But that band has always done different things in its career — really heavy stuff, more commercial stuff, more stuff that was kind of a little bit left field. And certainly that record is a little… it was not the heaviest record. And that, of course, was my point that gets twisted in the press, as usual. It had nothing to do with I would rather make a record that sounds identical… having that band record another record that's identical to 'Killing Is My Business'. It had no reference to that at all. What I meant was I like playing very heavy music. That was the point of that… [But] certain web sites like to twist it and try to find a negative headline, which… I don't pay attention to that horseshit anyway."

On whether he thinks "Super Collider" would have been received better had it been released a couple of decades earlier:

"I think the album sales would be more because, at the time, records were selling ten times what they're selling now, so I think the answer to that would be yes — absolutely, it would have sold more records then. Because people were buying records then. That's not a subjective conversation; that's fact. The bottom line is everybody… Back in the day, there was no Internet, so you couldn't steal music. If you liked music, you bought the record. And the numbers reflect that. Go pull up the sales for 1985, 1986 for heavy metal bands. I guarantee you it's ten times what it is now. That doesn't mean there's ten times less fans — in fact, I think there's more heavy metal fans now than possibly there ever was. But the bottom line is the numbers show that metal bands are not selling what they did back in the day, and that's because of Internet piracy. I don't wanna get on that subject, because it always turns into a depressing, negative subject, but it is a fact. So the answer to the question, 'Would that record sell more in 1985?' I would say the answer would be yes."

On whether he thinks there will ever be a solution to the illegal music downloading issue that will help bring back the music industry to where it once was:

"Unless a solution is provided, it'll stay the way it is; in fact, it will probably get even worse. But the problem is, no one's come up with a solution. Now you can come up with a completely new format that you can put out music… Say the record industry said, 'Okay, from now on, we're not putting downloads on the Internet where you can get 'em on iTunes. You have to buy this physical product. You've gotta some kind of…' Like when CDs came out in the early '80s, if you remember. We had cassettes and records and 8-tracks at that point, and CD became the new way to listen to music, to where everybody had to buy CD players. And I remember people bitching, 'I'm not gonna buy a CD player. That's bullshit. Blah blah blah.' And, of course, over time, everybody bought a CD player. But at some point, someone figured out, 'Shit, I can put this CD into my computer, and I can put music on my computer and share it with my friends.' Thus the pitfall and the downfall of the music industry, because sales have declined rapidly. Now, if somebody comes up with a new format, a new product where you physically have to buy it again and you have to buy a machine to play it on, to where you cannot put it in your computer, that will combat the problem. But who's going to do that? Is anybody gonna actually do that? That's the question."

On how illegal music downloading has affected new heavy metal artists:

"Ultimately, that's what metal bands need — is support. In order to survive and to thrive to where it was, where everybody was supporting the scene… Look, it dominated MTV for several years. That was a beautiful thing. Anybody can say whatever they… If they wanna say something negative about that, they're idiots, because it was an amazing thing. Dude, they were playing metal all the time on MTV, and it was being exposed to millions of people. That's an amazing thing. I was there; I know. So it would be great if we could get back to that to where it was… It would rival the country music artists. Those guys are the rock stars of today, in terms of real musicians. They are the ones… They are the rock stars. Just like the metal guys were in the '80s, country music has dominated that now for many years now. They have their own… Look, they have their own country music… They have CMT, a country music station. We don't have a heavy metal station that plays metal 24 hours a day. It's a drag, man. It's a shame that we all don't get together and fight for what we believe in, and that's supporting this scene like we used to. But it is what it is.

"Internet piracy has affected every genre, but it really has affected ours."

ACT OF DEFIANCE, which also includes former MEGADETH guitarist Chris Broderick, ex-SCAR THE MARTYR singer Henry Derek Bonner and SHADOWS FALL's Matt Bachand (bass), released its debut album, "Birth And The Burial", on August 21 via Metal Blade Records.

Glenn Danzig's long-awaited covers record, "Skeletons", will be released in Europe this fall via Evilive Music/AFM Records. The CD, which was recorded with PRONG guitarist/vocalist Tommy Victor and former TYPE O NEGATIVE drummer Johnny Kelly, will include the ex-MISFITS frontman's take on songs by BLACK SABBATH ("N.I.B."), ZZ TOP ("Rough Boy"), THE TROGGS ("A Girl Like You"), THE EVERLY BROTHERS ("Crying In The Rain") and others.

The first single from "Skeletons" is "Devil's Angels", which was originaly the theme song for the late '60s biker film of the same title. The track was released on September 4 on seven-inch vinyl, strictly limited to 500 units. The B-side of the single is a vocal-and-keyboard version of "Satan", from the 1969 biker flick "Satan's Sadists".

German digital music retailer Musicload is hosting audio samples of "Devil's Angels" and "Satan" at Musicload.de.

The cover artwork for the European edition of "Devil's Angels" was created by Simon Bisley, the British comic book artist best known for his 1990s work on ABC Warriors, Lobo and Sláine. The cover artwork for the U.S. version will be different.

Commented DANZIG singer and namesake Glenn Danzig: "I've wanted to record ['Devil's Angels'] since 1979 and this is exactly the same arrangement I had for it back then, so it pretty much sounds like that late '70s style of mine. I'm really happy with the way it turned out; it actually came out much better than I had hoped it would."

"Devil's Angels" was originally made available via Glenn's official web site in 2012 and was performed live that same year.

Asked how he decided which songs to cover on "Skeletons", Glenn told LasVegasMagazine.com: "I just start thinking of what songs I want to record, especially for the covers record. What do I want to cover? Can I bring a new element to it? Can't just be songs I like. It's got to be songs I like and that I think I can give a new direction to, and bring a new dimension to."

He continued: "That's my attitude with covers. Unless you're going to do something different with it and give it a new life, or give it a new dimension, leave it alone. It's going to be judged against the original anyway. If you just try to record it exactly like the original, everyone's just going to like the original better because they've heard it a million times. Also, why cover it if all you're going to do is just cover it? At least that's my opinion, and that's why if I'm going to cover a song, I'm going to give it a new life, new dimension, new feeling. Do something different with it."

Danzig also spoke about some of the other tracks that were recorded for "Skeletons". "[There is an] Elvis cover, of course. It wouldn't be a DANZIG covers record unless there was an Elvis and a SABBATH track. The Elvis cover I did was 'Let Yourself Go'. There's two biker movie theme songs from the old A.I.P. (1950s-1970s low-budget, independent film company American International Pictures) movies that I covered, 'Devil's Angels' and 'Satan's Sadists'. Then there's a RASCALS cover on there, an AEROSMITH cover. A lot of people have been like, 'Wow, this is all over the place,' but it gives insight into some stuff that I listen to."

According to Glenn, the full skull makeup which he wore for the first time since his MISFITS days nearly 40 years ago for the "Skeletons" photo shoot was inspired by legendary singer-songwriter David Bowie.

"One of my favorite covers records is David Bowie's 'Pinups' and I wanted to do a take on that and the record is called 'Skeletons' so I decided I'd do the skull face," he told OC Weekly.

Photo credit: Corey Soria

RED DRAGON CARTEL, the band led by former OZZY OSBOURNE and BADLANDS guitarist Jake E. Lee, was recently rejoined by singer Darren James Smith. Darren's first show back with the group took place this past Sunday, September 6 at Rainbow Bar & Grill's Backyard Bash in West Hollywood, California. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

RED DRAGON CARTEL will take the rest of 2015 off from touring to hit the studio and start recording. The second album from RED DRAGON CARTEL will be ready for release in the first few months of 2016.

In an interview with Sleaze Roxx, Darren was asked what led him to come back to RED DRAGON CARTEL and how long it had been in the works. He responded: "I would say a month. I got a call from Jonas [Fairley, drums] saying maybe I would reconsider coming back and to think about it. And then I never heard anything from him. And then Diana [Lane, RED DRAGON CARTEL manager, of Lane Six Entertainment] called, and then Jake. I don't know the reasons why, but I like to think it's because I'm the guy for the gig, I guess. [Laughs]"

Asked about the reasons he left RED DRAGON CARTEL earlier in the year and whether those various issues have been resolved, Darren said: "Yes! I don't want to get into it because I don't want to dredge up the dirt. I am not one to hold grudges. I am not one to hold anything like that. Well, the right people are involved and I really love the songs, man, you know? And I really love Jake and Jonas and Greg [Chaisson, former RED DRAGON CARTEL bassist], and I am sure that I will love Anthony [Esposito, current RED DRAGON CARTEL bassist]. I met Anthony, and he is a great guy, so we will see what happens."

Darren also talked about the difficulties RED DRAGON CARTEL has seemingly had replacing him — having recently played shows with former JONES STREET singer Shawn Crosby, Canadian singer Paul D'Eath (CITIZENS UNITE, MUSHROOM TRAIL), Chas West (Jason Bonham, LYNCH MOB, 3 LEGGED DOGG) and Michael Beck. He said: "Hmmm. I knew a couple of them. I am friends with a couple of them. We're still friends. Hmmm. I don't really have a take, and I am just fortunate that it worked to my advantage. And I am fortunate to be asked back. I am not going to speculate, and I am not going to say something that I think, because it probably isn't true. So I would rather not answer that. [Laughs] That's my answer, right. [Laughs]"

RED DRAGON CARTEL in March announced the departure of bassist Greg Chaisson, who exited the group because he could "no longer take any more time away from [his] regular job."

RED DRAGON CARTEL's debut CD sold around 5,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 69 on The Billboard 200 chart.

RED DRAGON CARTEL's setlist includes new material like the singles "Feeder" and "Deceived", as well as major hits from Jake E. Lee's glorious past: "Bark At The Moon", "The Ultimate Sin" and "Rock 'N' Roll Rebel" (all originally recorded by OZZY OSBOURNE), as well as "Shine On" and "High Wire" (BADLANDS).

FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares has slammed his former DIVINE HERESY bandmates for allegedly "ripping off" one of his songs with their new group, saying that "it was kind of dumb and hilarious at the same time."

DIVINE HERESY, which initially featured Cazares alongside vocalist Tommy "Vext" Cummings and drummer Tim Yeung, released two albums — "Bleed The Fifth" (2007) and "Bringer Of Plagues" (2009) — before Dino returned to FEAR FACTORY and put DIVINE HERESY on hold. Vext and Yeung have since rejoined forces in a new project called WESTFIELD MASSACRE, which also features the contributions of guitarists Bill Hudson and Rick Di Marco.

Asked about the musical similarities between WESTFIELD MASSACRE's first single, "Darkness Divides", and the DIVINE HERESY song "Failed Creation", Dino told Shredload.com (hear audio below): "Yeah, why they decided to rip off something that I already did was… I have no idea. I thought that was kind of dumb on their part, and hilarious at the same time."

He continued: "I don't know what's going on with that band [WESTFIELD MASSACRE]. I'm not even sure if that even still exists. I know that Tim didn't even mention it in his… I know he doesn't even mention it, or it's not even on his YouTube page or his Facebook page. It's, like, I don't even know if he even considers that to be his band."

Cazares was also asked about the current status of DIVINE HERESY, whose second CD, "Bringer Of Plagues", featured vocalist Travis Neal (THE BLOODLINE) in the place of Vext. He said: "The current status of DIVINE HERESY is, actually, nothing at the moment. I do have songs written, but they're kind of in the backburner. At the moment, it's mainly just about FEAR FACTORY and [the new FEAR FACTORY album] 'Genexus'."

Regarding whether Yeung is still a member of DIVINE HERESY, Dino said: "No, Tim Yeung left for financial differences — I think the same reason why he left MORBID ANGEL." He added: "I wish him luck. I hope he is successful [in] whatever he does and whatever band he decides to jam with — as with all those musicians. At the moment, I'm just doing FEAR FACTORY and 'Genexus', and that's pretty much what I'm concentrating on."

FEAR FACTORY's new album, "Genexus", was released on August 7 via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The follow-up to 2012's "The Industrialist" was co-produced by longtime collaborator Rhys Fulber, along with guitarist Dino Cazares and vocalist Burton C. Bell and mixed by Andy Sneap (ARCH ENEMY, TESTAMENT, EXODUS, MACHINE HEAD). Artwork was once again handled by Anthony Clarkson. Drums on "Genexus" were performed by Mike Heller (MALIGNANCY).