Since forming in 2010, Denver metal outfit Arise In Chaos have become a force to be reckoned with in the West Coast metal scene. Since releasing their 2012 debut Civilization Decay, co-produced by ex-Machine Head/Ill Nino axeman Ahrue Luster, AIC have become one of the go-to metal acts in Denver, sharing stages with the likes of All That Remains, 3 Inches Of Blood, Soulfly, Motionless In White, Cavalera Conspiracy, Death Angel, and many more.

Arise In Chaos - vocalist Dustin Leigh, guitarists Adam Landreth and Nick Allen, Drummer Jer Matheson and bassist Drew “Keeb” Gillett - have released their new video, “Violent Colors” (see below), directed by Wacy Jahn, and are currently working on their upcoming sophomore LP Terminal Cognition.

The band entered The Platinum Underground studio in Mesa, AZ this week to track vocals with Producer and Megadeth bassist David Ellefson, who is co-producing several tracks on Terminal Cognition, along with Icon guitarist John Aquilino.

Said guitarist Adam Landreth, “We’re all huge Megadeth fans, and David is such a great guy. We’re so excited about being able to work with him on our record. He is an extremely talented producer, one of our favorite players, and a bona fide Metal legend, so we’re so thankful for such an amazing opportunity.”

Vocalist Leigh adds, “We are tracking some killer stuff with David. And to be in a Metal band, and be able to work with, literally, one of the Godfathers of Metal. We couldn’t be more excited.”

Introduced to Ellefson via their management, THC Music’s Thom Hazaert, the pairing almost immediately spawned a working relationship, and the adoration seems to be mutual.  

"Arise In Chaos have some killer new tracks in the works.” says Ellefson. “I always dig bands who continue to push the threshold of metal music, and these guys have that!"

 

Canadian progressive heavies Neck Of The Woods have released a guitar play-through video for "Torch," a track from the band's self-titled debut album. Check out the video below:

The EP can be streamed and purchased at Bandcamp.

 

 

Tracklisting:

“Disavow”
“Left Behind”
“Trap Door”
“I Know Where I’ll Bury You”
“Torch”
“Two Smokes”

Power Prog announces the signing of the international and highly occupied prog rock/pop-rock lineup, Moonbound. The first common goal is the worldwide release of their upcoming third album Uncomfortable News From The Moon from September 18th as CD, download card, digital download and as stream.
 
Moonbound is the brainchild of vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and producer Fabio Trentini (well known for fans and the trade press in Europe for his work with acts like Subway To Sally, H-Blockx, Guano Apes, Sasha, Le Orme, Milan Polak, All Ends). Offering up an eclectic blend of hooky, 80s-influenced pop with progressive rock sensibilities, Moonbound captured the attention of audiences with their 2009’s album "Confession And Release" and its 2011 follow-up, Peak Of Eternal Light. Both albums featured the notable contributions of prog rock luminaries Markus Reuter (Stick Men) and Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson, Mr. Mister).

For Moonbound’s newest album, Trentini reunited with Reuter and Mastelotto, adding an all-star cast of musicians including Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel, King Crimson), Steve Farris and Steve George (both of Mr. Mister), Tim Pierce (session guitarist for Phil Collins, Roger Waters, and Carlos Santana), Milan Polak and many more. Loaded with infectious hooks, spiced with catchy melodies and laced with dark progressive themes, Uncomfortable News From The Moon exhibits Moonbound at its absolute musical and lyrical peak. And once again Trentini proves his skills as an extremely capable singer with a distinctive and empathetic voice that puts the crown on this masterpiece. An album not only for fans of the genre, mass compatibility is more than guaranteed and could make Uncomfortable News From The Moon a trendsetter in terms of modern prog rock & pop music.

Touring in support of the new album will take place throughout Europe during 2015 and 2016. In the style of such legendary trios as Rush and The Police, Trentini has formed a three-man live lineup comprised of himself (bass and vocals), Milan Polak (guitar, backing vocals), and Luca Casagranda (drums, backing vocals).

Uncomfortable News From The Moon tracklisting:

“As Long As The Dream Is Real”
“Hero & Zero”
“Union”
“The Sacred Flame”
“Cheetah Conquers The Moon · Part 1”
“The Real Loneliness”
“Get Along”
“Guidance”
“Beautiful World”
“Almighty Game”

“Cheetah Conquers The Moon” video:

Pre-order the album on CD here. Pre-order the album as high quality digital download in MP3, FLAC, ALAC and more here.

Moonbound is:

Fabio Trentini (Lead and backing vocals, bass, guitars, keys, programmings)
Pat Mastelotto (Drums and percussion)
Markus Reuter (Touch guitar)

Guests:

Steve Farris (Guitar)
Steve George (Piano, soprano saxophone)
Tim Pierce (Guitar)
Tony Levin (Bass)
Lisa Fletcher (Vocals)
Tim Motzer (Guitar)
Milan Polak (Guitar)
Simon Michael Schmitt (Drums)
Luca Casagranda (Drums)
William Dotto (Guitar)

 

Former QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate spoke to SeattleSoundLive about his decision to name his new band after QUEENSRŸCHE's epic concept album from 1988, "Operation: Mindcrime". He said: "Well, I chose that name for two reasons. The first and foremost reason is that I needed a name that will be recognizable to my fans and a name that they were familiar with."

He continued: "You know, I spent 35 years finding everything that I did and created, spoke about and thought about under the name of QUEENSRŸCHE. So, not having that name anymore left me kind of adrift in the 21st century where it is very difficult to let people know who you are, where you are at, if there is a new album out or appearing in their city. It is not like it used to be where there was one magazine or one newspaper that covered entertainment. You know? Now, our news is so selective and we program our own news and we select our own channels of information and topics etc. In a way we are cut off, in a sense, we have all these possibilities but, we customize our playlist and our information playlist, you know? So, I needed a name that people recognized and reason number two, I wanted to continue making conceptual music, conceptual albums, story albums and the words OPERATION: MINDCRIME say that. It lets people know that this is going to be a project like the album of 'Operation: Mindcrime'."

Tate also talked about OPERATION: MINDCRIME's rotating lineup, which has included John Moyer (DISTURBED), drummers Simon Wright (AC/DC, DIO) and Brian Tichy (WHITESNAKE, OZZY OSBOURNE), keyboardist Randy Gane (MYTH), and guitarists Kelly Gray (QUEENSRYCHE 1998 - 2001, 2012 - 2014) and Scott Moughton. He said: "I wanted to create an environment where the musicians felt like they weren’t tied to the project so to speak, where they could go and do other projects, tour with other bands and write on other peoples records and they weren’t locked down to my project, and I wanted to have the same feeling too. It's kind of like the approach the jazz musicians took in the '30s and '40s, where you had all these great players that would get together and do different things and go off and do other things, you know? It is a really nice environment, because the type of players that I want to play with are of the same mind — they want to do other projects and be involved with other things and play with as many people they can play with. It's a wonderful thing to be able to launch yourself into a different group of musicians and to graph what it is that they are doing and to adapt to that. You know? It's a wonderful, wonderful thing to do that, I never had the chance being in a band for so many years being tied to the same people. So this way it works for everyone involved and we are all free to go do other things and come together when we can and want to… It keeps it interesting, definitely. I will give you a great example; Brian Tichy, one of my drummers that has been playing with me, he will go do a tour with somebody and come back doing drum tracks with me and say, 'Check this out.' I learned this with so and so, and he brings in this new information that maybe I have never been exposed to before and I find it inspiring to take the music in different directions. Which is what I am all about: variety."

OPERATION: MINDCRIME will release its debut album, "The Key", on September 18 via Frontiers Music Srl.

"The Key" will be the first part of OPERATION: MINDCRIME's trilogy project which Tate began recording in 2014.

Ace Frehley (KISS), Sebastian Bach (SKID ROW), Gilby Clarke (GUNS N' ROSES), Evan Seinfeld (BIOHAZARD), Michael Starr (STEEL PANTHER), Nuno Bettencourt (EXTREME) and Phil Lewis (L.A. GUNS) are among the musicians who took part in an all-star jam at last night's (Saturday, August 15) Cathouse Live At Irvine Meadows festival at Irvine Meadows Amphitheater (recently known as Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre) in Irvine, California. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

Riki Rachtman created the original rock dance club that dominated the Hollywood scene from 1986 until 1993. Now, along with Live Nation and Synergy Global Entertainment (SGE), he brought Cathouse Live to a much larger audience with this decadent music and lifestyle festival.

Said Rachtman: "I recently started a Cathouse Hollywood Facebook page and everyone was asking, 'Why don't you do another Cathouse?' I loved the idea and mentioned it on Twitter. So many bands told me that they wanted to be a part of it that I knew that I had to bring it back on a much larger scale. It was too big for a club, so we decided to do a festival."

The original Hollywood Cathouse was known for its edgy, underground, dirty rock 'n' roll vibe that was rooted in punk. It reeked of raunch and pure decadence. Patrons would freely indulge. The DJ played rock 'n' roll between unannounced performances from bands like GUNS N' ROSES (Cathouse regulars who performed live at the club in 1986 just before their debut record was released), Sebastian Bach, Stephen Pearcy, L.A. GUNS, FASTER PUSSYCAT, JUNKYARD, JETBOY, BANG TANGO, SAIGON KICK, BLACK 'N BLUE, LITTLE CAESAR, and many more. GUNS N' ROSES' video for "It's So Easy" was shot at the Cathouse, and Alice Cooper played the club one Halloween.

When Ice-T was banned from every Los Angeles club, Riki invited the rapper's band BODY COUNT to play Cathouse.

"It wouldn't be uncommon to see GUNS N' ROSES one week and ALICE IN CHAINS the next — so many bands played before they were huge," said Rachtman. "It was also the kind of place where you'd find Robert Downey Jr. rubbing elbows with AEROSMITH's Steven Tyler."

Antimatter are back with a new album. The Judas Table comes in four different versions including vinyl, 2CD digibook and box. Click here for pre-order.  

"Anybody who has ever suffered from betrayal can relate to this album," Antimatter-mainman Mick Moss states self-consciously about his most recent work, The Judas Table. "I'm singing about my experiences, but I'm a firm believer that they are everybody else's experiences as well."

Throughout his life, Moss has repeatedly experienced disappointment on a personal level along with the self-doubt that goes with it. The deficiencies of human behaviour and social life have always been the proverbial red thread through his lyrics, but prior to The Judas Table, a critical limit was exceeded for Moss.

On Antimatter's sixth album, he accounts for different personal conflicts with an unusual, almost scientific poignancy and is harder on people from his immediate surroundings than ever, yet also on himself: "For The Judas Table I gather together the various personalities of the people who's callous and disrespectful, backstabbing actions caused me countless wasted years of depression", he resumes. "For years I thought the problem was with me. I was always open and tried my best, but was nevertheless used and betrayed many times. This led me to believe I was worthless and must have deserved it. Now I realise the problem was with the clinically psychologically soulless people who treated me that way due to their nature, not mine."

The liberating and empowering conceptual approach is also reflected in the music. The Judas Table just like Leaving Eden and Fear Of A Unique Identity is essentially appealing due to its intense blend of melancholic art rock, dark Gothic and introspective acoustic pieces, but as a whole seems less nervous and restless than earlier records. The new Antimatter record appears to be calm and attests to a so far unfamiliar inner peace, an equilibrium found - a hint at the fact that Moss might have overcome his torturing demons?

The album will be released on October 9th in Europe, October 16th in North America.

Available editions:

- CD
- 2CD digibook incl. bonus CD with album commentary by Mick Moss
- Gatefold 2LP (180g vinyl) incl. poster and PVC protection sleeve (500 copies available)
- Box set including the 2CD digibook, 2 post cards (one signed and numbered by Mick Moss) and a sticker; exclusive to the Prophecy online shop and only 250 copies available

Tracklisting:

“Black Eyed Man”
“Killer”
“Comrades”
“Stillborn Empires”
“Little Piggy”
“Hole”
“Can Of Worms”
“Integrity”
“The Judas Table”
“Goodbye”

Catch Antimatter live in October when they will be on The Judas Tour 2015. Dates on the poster below:

Raven’s John Gallagher has recorded lead vocals on A Sound Of Thunder's covers of "Space Truckin'" (Deep Purple) and "Icaurs - Borne On Wings Of Steel" (Kansas). Both tracks are exclusively available via A Sound Of Thunder's current Kickstarter campaign, which runs through August 17th.  Previews of both tracks are streaming below.

Gallagher commented on the guest spots: "It was my pleasure to be invited to be a part of the A Sound Of Thunder project. I chose to do one I'd actually never heard by Kansas (an amazing band that I'm catching up on), and an old fave by Deep Purple. Hope you like 'em!!!!!"

A Sound Of Thunder recently released a cover version of the classic Manowar song "Pleasure Slave". The song can be streamed below. The band is offering a high-quality digital download of the track as a free bonus with its current Kickstarter campaign.

As if Manowar weren't controversial enough among metal heads, the song "Pleasure Slave", a bonus track from Manowar's sixth album Kings Of Metal, is infamous for its lyrical content.

"Joey DeMaio wrote one of the most hilariously sexist songs of all time," stated A Sound Of Thunedr vocalist Nina Osegueda.  "And that's cool, but turnabout is fair play.  This one's for you, Joey!"

"There is no greater joy than taking a hilariously misogynistic piece of music and turning it upside-down," Osegueda continued. "The composition itself is great, but I always wanted it to be a little faster. The vocals were a challenge, but I had fun using my low register more than usual. As for the background vocals, we had a great time recording a bunch of our male fans making horrible orgasm noises. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life!"

A Sound of Thunder guitarist Josh Schwartz also commented on the track: "Ironically, this song has probably given me more pleasure over the years than any other.  The lyrics are so ridiculously over the top, and Eric Adams delivers them with such conviction, that I can't help but crack up when I hear it...we are talking laughing so hard I'd be in tears sometimes!  So full disclosure: we actually love Manowar and embrace their cheese, and just thought it would be fun to turn this one on its head.  Our fans paid for the production of this song so we're releasing it for free to the whole world to hopefully spread some smiles and laughter.  Hail, kill, and enjoy!"

The band recently released a video for “Tower Of Souls”.

"Tower of Souls" is the soundtrack to the first major battle between Shadowman, the hero, and Master Darque, the villain. Master Darque is trapped in a hell-like domain known as the Deadside, but is nearing the culmination of his plan to escape and wage war on the Earth. Only Shadowman has the power to stop Darque's scheme, so Darque recruits Baron Samedi, the voodoo lord of the dead, to keep Shadowman occupied. But Samedi's loyalties are not what they seem: he betrays Darque and clears a path for the final confrontation between Darque and Shadowman.

“When we wrote the song we wanted to capture the sinister nature of Darque's plot and the huge consequences involved, so we used a lot of sinister and dissonant notes and chord changes. An unrelenting triplet beat drives the song forward and gives it an almost militaristic feel. Hopefully the listener feels that he's right in the middle of an epic battle on the Deadside!”

The lyric video features panels straight out of Valiant Entertainment's Shadowman comic book series on which the song and album are based.

A Sound Of Thunder recently announced its new album Tales From The Deadside with a Kickstarter campaign that reached full funding in under 24 hours.  The full-length concept album is based on Valiant Entertainment's Shadowman comic book series.  The album was recorded at Assembly Line Studios with RIAA-platinum awarded producer Kevin '131' Gutierrez (Shinedown, While Heaven Wept, Raven).

Tales From he Deadside is set for release on September 25th. The Kickstarter campaign runs through August 17th and features many exclusive items including colored vinyl, picture discs, t-shirts, and digital bonus tracks featuring additional guest musicians yet to be announced.

Tony Carey (Rainbow, Planet P Project) has recorded keyboards on A Sound Of Thunder's cover of the Rainbow classic "Death Alley Driver". The track is exclusively available via A Sound Of Thunder's current Kickstarter campaign.  A preview of the track is streaming below:

Despite an imposing catalog as a solo artist and with his own Planet P Project, among metalheads Tony Carey is best known as part of the definitive lineup of Rainbow. Along with Ritchie Blackmore, Ronnie James Dio, Cozy Powell, and Jimmy Bain, Carey performed on the seminal Rising and On Stage albums. Carey's hair-raising synthesizer notes on "Tarot Woman" and haunting Mellotron chords on "Stargazer" are just some of his highlights on Rising, an archetypal cornerstone album of melodic and power metal.

"This is a very cool cover of a very cool song, by a very cool band. So that's all cool..." said Carey.  "As far as my part goes, I threw down some old-school Hammond and played a much-too-fast solo bit on a Minimoog (remember those?) and woke up on the Sunset Strip in pre-Apocalypse 1976... lots of fun, and not something I do very often. Hollywood Swingin'! Thanks for having me."

A Sound Of Thunder guitarist Josh Schwartz added: "Tony is an immensely accomplished musician and producer and I can't overstate how honoured I am to have him on our recording. His work with Rainbow only scratches the surface of his many talents. Fans will know that Tony didn't play on the original version of “Death Alley”. By adding wall-to-wall Hammond organ and his own personal style, Tony has warmed up the song and given it a kick in the pants and a very cool '70s vibe not present on the original."

The band recently announced the first exclusive KickStarter-only bonus track in their campaign - a cover of Dio’s "Last in Line" featuring Benedictum’s Veronica Freeman. Details on how to get the track can be found here. A sample of the song can be found below:

"The story of Shadowman, his alter-ego Jack Boniface, and the many characters in his world inspired us to create what we believe is our best album to date," said A Sound Of Thunder guitarist Josh Schwartz. "We let the story lead us to places our music has never been before, combining all the elements of supernatural horror, drama, action and adventure found in the comics. Of course everything has gone through our own unique Thunderous filter, and all the familiar ASOT elements will be there, Shadowman's harrowing journey demanded no less!"

A Sound Of Thunder was formed in Washington, DC in 2009. Their most recent album The Lesser Key of Solomon was released on September 9th, 2014 via Mad Neptune Records and debuted at #43 on the Billboard Heatseeker’s Albums chart.

A Sound Of Thunder:

Nina Osegueda- vocals
Josh Schwartz- guitars/ keyboards
Jesse Keen- guitars/ keyboards
Chris Haren- drums/ percussion

 

Germany’s Gloomball have released a new music video, for the track “Blood Red World”, featured on their sophomore album, The Quiet Monster, out now via Steamhammer/SPV.

Says the band: ”2015, the western civilization dwells in luxury, meanwhile another enormous part of the world is drowning in blood. War, famine, oppression and misinterpretations of religion leading to murder are sadly on the daily agenda. “Blood Red World” doesn’t sugar-coat any of that, instead it’s reflecting reality for which all of us are responsible. The song should be seen as food for thought, to confront those problems. We know that thought is shared by many people around the globe, and together we can change things. There is still hope for a change to create a better world, we just have to stand and react together, step by step."

Stylistically, The Quiet Monster picks up seamlessly where its strong predecessor, The Distance, left off, going one step further in terms of composition and lyrics. The twelve new tracks have turned out even more diverse and dynamic and frontman Alen Ljubic’s words are mature reflections of his emotional and intellectual world.

 

 

Tracklisting:

“The Quiet...”
“Monster”
“Straight To Hell”
“All Beauty Dies”
“Towards The Sun”
“Sirens (Die Alone)”
“One More Day”
“Sullen Eyes”
“(Don't) Surrender”
“Unbreakable”
“Blood Red World”
“Blue Is Turning Into Gray”

“Unbreakable” video:

“Straight To Hell” lyric video:

 

Gemini Syndrome returns with the single "Eternity", their first new music since 2013’s Lux. The track will be available for purchase on August 21st but is available for pre-order now via iTunes.

"Aaron, AP, and myself have poured our hearts into the new music and we wanted to give a taste before we head into the studio. We're streamlined and stronger than ever. We're not going anywhere - we're here for all Eternity." - Brian Steele Medina

The band is preparing for their upcoming tour alongside Avatar, Huntress, & First Decree kicking off on August 21st in Midland, Texas and working its way throughout the the US wrapping up on September 22nd in Fredricksburg, Virginia.

Tour dates:

August
21 - Blue Max - Midland, Texas
23 - Scout Bar - Houston, Texas
25 - Juanita's - Little Rock, Arkansas
26 - The Warehouse - Clarksville, Tennessee
27 - Cheers Pub - South Bend, Indiana

August (with Avatar, Huntress, First Decree)
28 - Flint, MI - The Machine Shop
29 - St. Louis, MO - The Ready Room
30 - Merriam, KS - Aftershock
31 - CO Springs, CO - Black Sheep

September (with Avatar, Huntress, First Decree)
1 - Denver, CO - Marquis Theater
2 - Omaha, NE - Sokol Underground
3 - Des Moines, IA - 7 Flags Event Ctr
4 - Ringle, WI - Q and Z Expo Center
5 - Madison, WI - Taste of Madison
6 - Joliet, IL - The Tree
8 - Bloomington, IL - The Castle Theater
9 - Louisville, KY - Expo Five
10 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogarts
11 - Cleveland, OH - Odeon
12 - Indianapolis, IN - Vogue
13 - Grand Rapids, MI - Intersection
17 - Amityville, NY - Revolution
18 - Poughkeepsie, NY - Loft/Chance
19 - Lancaster, PA - Chameleon Club
20 - Hagerstown, MD - Hard Times Cafe
22 - Fredericksburg, VA - Hard Times   

 

British pagan metal band, The Wolves Of Avalon, will release a new 7” single, “Die Hard”, on September 25th via Eternal Death Records.

Imagine a recording of one of heavy metal's greatest underground masterpieces interpreted by one of extreme metal's most iconoclastic figures. Now imagine that same scenario in collaboration with four of the most legendary and influential musicians in the history of extreme music, from crust to the avant-garde.

Eternal Death Records announce The Wolves Of Avalon's 7" “Die Hard” (Venom) - a pagan metal project by The Meads Of Asphodel's Metatron, featuring guest appearances from Mantas (Venom), Rob Miller (Amebix), Mirai (Sigh) and Alan Averill (Primordial).

Side B is a rearranged, re-recorded version of a Wolves Of Avalon original from their first full-length, titled “Carrion Crows Reprise”.

Limited edition 7" and T-shirt bundle pre-orders available soon.

An embodiment of ancient British spirit and pride, The Wolves of Avalon is not to be confused with any modern interpretation of things long since buried by time and dust. By drafting in J. Marinos to create the music and traditional instrumentation, Metatron's vision of pagan metal has finally come to life.

With their new full length Of Corpse Grey set to be released in late 2015, the Wolves Of Avalon claim their rightful place among the vanguard of modern pagan black metal.

MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil recently spoke to Oakland Press about the band's "The Final Tour", which kicked off last year and will end New Year's Eve at the Staples Center in Los Angeles after one more round of North American gigs.

"This is it," he said. "This is gonna be a big year, ending it with three days at the Staples Center, and saying goodbye on New Year's. That'll be it. We wanted to go out on top, and we're doing that."

"It's not really gonna hit anybody really hard until that last week, when we're really saying goodbye in Los Angeles," he added.

"Saying goodbye in Tokyo after a couple nights there, it was like, 'Wow, I'm never gonna be back on this stage doing this with MÖTLEY again,'" Neil recalled. "There's a finality there. Or Madison Square Garden; I got a little choked up because I know I'm not gonna play Madison Square Garden with MÖTLEY CRÜE again."

Neil, however, clarified that MÖTLEY CRÜE isn't calling it quits completely and will continue to exist as a band and as a business. The group might even record new music for possible inclusion in commercials or movies.

"We've never said we were breaking up; we just said we're not touring anymore," he said. "We're gonna be definitely making more music together for different projects and stuff. But right now we're really just focused on doing these shows this year and finishing with a bang."

While announcing the first details of "The Final Tour" at a Los Angeles press conference in January 2014, the four members of MÖTLEY CRÜE revealed that they took the unusual step of having their lawyer draw up a formal "cessation of touring" agreement that goes into effect at the end of 2015 and prohibits the members of the group from going on the road again under the MÖTLEY CRÜE banner. The 2014 leg of "The Final Tour" was one of last year's top-grossing tours, selling close to a million tickets across 72 cities and grossing more than $45 million.

Alexi Laiho of Finnish metallers CHILDREN OF BODOM turned the Senate Square in Helsinki, Finland into an amazing metal arena this past Friday, August 14. Alexi composed a commissioned song for the Helsinki Festival, and he invited 100 electric guitarists to join him in performing it on the big stage.

Alexi's core backing band for the performance consisted of the following musicians:

* Kie Von Hertzen (VON HERTZEN BROTHERS, DON HUONOT) - Guitar* Archie Cruz (SANTA CRUZ) - Guitar* Samy Elbanna (LOST SOCIETY) - Guitar* Timo Kämäräinen (TOOT TOOT) - Guitar* Tommy Armstrong-Leavitt - Guitar* Jyri Helko (FOR THE IMPERIUM) - Bass* Janne Wirman (CHILDREN OF BODOM) - Keyboards* Jaska Raatikainen (CHILDREN OF BODOM) – Drums

Check out video footage of the performance below.

For more information, visit www.100guitarsfromhel.fi.

CHILDREN OF BODOM's ninth studio album, "I Worship Chaos", will be released on October 2 via Nuclear Blast. The artwork for the CD was created by Finnish artist Tuomas Korpi.

"I Worship Chaos" was once again recorded at Helsinki, Finland's Danger Johnny Studios and was produced by CHILDREN OF BODOM and Mikko Karmila, who worked with the band on their earlier albums "Halo Of Blood", "Hatebreeder", "Follow The Reaper" and "Hate Crew Deathroll". The CD was mixed and mastered at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, Finland.

On August 9 at Ibirapuera Park in Sao Paulo, Brazil, approximately 156 drummers, among them women, children, seniors and people of all ages, brought their own drum kits to play along to AC/DC and MEGADETH songs as part of Bateras 100% Brasil, a project conceived by drummer Dino Verdade, owner of the biggest drum school franchise in Brazil, Bateras Beat.

The project's goal is to gather as many drummers as possible to play together their own music and big hits, with the principle of sharing a killer groove.

On the stage to play MEGADETH's "Symphony Of Destruction" were Amilcar Christófaro (TORTURE SQUAD), Jean Dolabella (ex-SEPULTURA), Bart (WHALE MUTANT), Edu Garcia (JOHN WAYNE) and Nana (ALMA DJEM), with Dino Verdade (BROTHERIA) conducting the band and all the drummers.

The project attempted to set a new Guinness World Record as the band with the largest number of drummers playing along.

For more information, go to this location.

Fan-filmed video footage of Sebastian Bach's July 12 performance at The Concert Pub North in Houston, Texas can be seen below.

Bach is continuing to tour in support of his latest solo album, "Give 'Em Hell", which was released on April 22, 2014 via Frontiers Records.

Dey Street Books (formerly It Books), an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, has set a January 19, 2016 release date for Bach's much-anticipated autobiography, "18 And Life On Skid Row".

Asked if he has commenced the songwriting process for the follow-up to his latest solo album, 2014's "Give 'Em Hell", Bach told Metal Wani: "Honestly, I have two songs that I would sing to right now. One was written by [GUNS N' ROSES and SIXX: A.M. guitarist] D.J. Ashba, and it's an incredible tune, and the other song is one by Devin [Bronson, guitarist for Bach's solo band]. But I am not thinking about making a record right now. I've put out 'Angel Down' [2007], 'Kicking & Screaming' [2011], 'Give 'Em Hell'… not to mention [the] 'ABachalypse Now' [CD/DVD package from 2013]. I've put out so much stuff that I feel like I've made a lot of solo records, and people have gotta catch up with me a little bit. I've made a lot of solo records, and my fans love 'em, but I don't think they realize how much time and effort and money and attention to detail and everything is on those records; my whole heart and soul is on there. And it takes so much of your essence and spirit. And to make that happen… Like, to make a record is… People don't get it. You don't just walk in there and make records. It's like this whole crazy process that takes years; 'Give 'Em Hell' took two years [to make]. So people say, 'Are you doing a new record?' I mean, I will… I definitely will some day — a hundred percent. It's just… I don't think people really get how much it takes to make a record that's good. They don't understand."

He continued: "To be honest, I've gotta recharge my batteries a little bit. I have given everything I have. I am so exhausted — not from [performing] tonight — [but] from thirty years of this. I'm gonna admit to you: I need to recharge my shit in order to make a record that is as good as that record. But I will do a record some day."

Bach went on to say: "I'm telling you, fans: go buy the [albums] I already did. Not that I'm complaining or anything, [but] I'm saying, it's gonna be a while before you get a new record from me. I'm not gonna rush it."

Pop Evil are streaming the new track “Ghost Of Muskegon”, from their upcoming album, UP. Listen to the track below:

Pop Evil will release UP on Friday, August 21st via eOne Music. UP is a bold reintroduction and step forward, with guitarists Nick Fuelling and Davey Grahs, bassist Matt Dirito, drummer Chachi Riot and Kakaty at the top of their game. It’s always a bit cliché, not to mention questionable, when a band says their new album is the best one yet. But in the case of Pop Evil, it’s an absolute fact.

Pop Evil smashes through the odds like a battering ram, weathering the trials and tribulations of paying dues with a steadfast resilience owing much to their blue collar and middle class backgrounds, and building a worldwide audience one fan at a time. As the moniker promises when emblazoned on a CD or radio dial, Pop Evil conjures aggressive riffs and hard charging sing-a-longs with emotional heft and melodic power in equal measure. It’s music by the people, for the people.

Tracklisting:

“Footsteps”
“Core”
“In Disarray”
“Take It All”
“Ghost Of Muskegon”
“If Only For Now”
“...”
“Ways to Get High”
“Lux”
“Vendetta”
“Dead In The Water”
“Seattle Rain”
“Til Kingdom Come”

"Footsteps” video:

“Dead In The Water” lyric video:

"In Disarray”:

“Footsteps” lyric video:

 

Freaky, funky, psychedelic metal experimenters, The Oxford Coma, are streaming their just released second LP, Paris Is Mine, in it’s entirety.

Paris Is Mine tracklisting:

“Canadian Questionmark”
“Ritaling”
“Daisies”
“The Pulls”
“Ados Watts Jam”
“When The Levee Breaks” (Led Zeppelin cover)

Album stream:

From the scorching Southwestern US underground music scene comes the indefinable works of The Oxford Coma, an outfit which rides the fine line between rock and metal, experimental and straightforward, and even being a trio or quartet, and which has steadily pumped out a hearty discography of independent releases since their 2011 inception. Powered and endorsed by Orange amps, and drawing from a wide array of influences from across the spectrum of forward-thinking rock artists, bridging the early days and modern times, comparisons to the improvisational prog rock circles of the 1960s and '70s to premier extreme acts of the 1990s through today, the collective recorded output of this morphing act has drawn similarities to everything from early Tool to Primus, Radiohead to The Dillinger Escape Plan, Nirvana to Neurosis, King Crimson to Kyuss, and so on.

 

“Eulogy”, a new track from Conveyer’s upcoming album When Given Time To Grow is streaming below. The album will be released on September 4th.

“’Eulogy’ is my expression of every reason I don't fear death and a broad explanation of what defines my foundation of faith in who Christ is,” states vocalist Danny Adams.

Another track from the album, “Haven”, can be heard below:

 

Pre-order packages for When Given Time To Grow are available now at this location. All packages include instant downloads of the tracks “Haven” and “Eulogy”, and various packages are available with CD, choice of t-shirt, poster, sticker, hoodie, and beanie.

Belgian death metal horde, Serial Butcher - which features current and formers members of Aborted, Emeth, Moker, Ectopia and more - will spew forth their first full-length offering in five years this Fall via Unique Leader Records. Titled Brute Force Lobotomy, the follow-up to 2010's lauded A Crash Course In Cranium Crushing offering was recorded and mixed by Lander Cluyse (Hessian, Oathbreaker, Amenra etc.) at Hearse Studio, mastered by Serial Butcher guitarist Kenneth Keysers at Badass Audio Mastering and boasts ten brilliantly-formulated and expertly-executed death metal mantras.

Listen to the album track “Sadistic Spare Parts Surgery”, streaming below.

For 42 venomous minutes, Serial Butcher punches you in the throat rapidly and repeatedly with a brutal assortment of blistering leads, bestial hooks, blasts, grooves and guttural grotesqueries, its raw, crisp production only heightening its devious aural annihilation. If you consider yourself a sincere fan of boundless brutal death metal, you owe it to yourself to investigate this ingenious monstrosity.

Comments the band in a collective statement, "Sometimes there's need for careful thought... for tranquil conversation... for peaceful mediation. And sometimes... you just want to stab someone in the eye with a blunt, rusty knife. Until (s)he's dead. And then you stab some more... Just to be sure.... It's the very definition of the latest Serial Butcher recording, Brute Force Lobotomy."

Brute Force Lobotomy tracklisting:

“Hypovolemic Shock”
“Sadistic Spare Parts Surgery”
“Brute Force Lobotomy”
“Born On A Chopping Block”
“Bowel Soup”
“Fresh Frozen Females”
“Flayed Human Skin”
“Facialized By A Flamethrower”
“Rusty Lawnmowing Massacre”
“Worm Buffet”

“Sadistic Spare Parts Surgery”:

Serial Butcher was forged in 1995 by drummer Nico Veroeven (Emeth, ex-Apocryph, ex-Leptotrichia) and guitarist Hendrik Dobbelaere who were later joined by bassist Bob D'Hondt and vocalist Steven De Craeker (Putrid Inbred). A self-titled demo tape was unleashed upon an unsuspecting underground two years later. Likened to a more brutal version of Cannibal Corpse, the band performed regularly throughout the country, opening for international acts such as Loudblast, Natron, Suffocation and Aborted.

Two more demos would surface by 2001 and - limited to just a few hundred copies - sold out quickly. D'Hondt and Dobbelaere eventually fled the band and the remaining members were joined by guitarist Nicolas Malfeyt (Leng Tche), leaving them bass-less for a time. Serial Butcher joined the Deepsend Records roster for the release of their Kris Belaen (Aborted, In-Quest etc.)-recorded Genocide Landscape EP (2003) before undergoing another bout of lineup shifts which saw the addition of bassist Koen Van Goethem (ex-Bloodfart), second vocalist Kurt Termonia (ex-Ectopia) and guitarist Gijs Cielen (ex-Apocryph) replacing Malfeyt who'd also left the group. Both De Craeker and Cielen would exit the lineup in 2007 paving the way for guitarist Kenneth Keysers (ex-Acephalous, Moker, Steengruis) who would eventually join the ranks, marking their first stable lineup in years.

By 2008, Serial Butcher proved more punishing sonically than ever before as evinced by their A Crash Course In Cranium Crushing full-length. Tracked at the famed Berno Studio in Sweden with producer Henrik Larsson (The Haunted, Amon Amarth, Vomitory etc.), the record's terminally crushing assaults earned the interest of Unique Leader Records, who released the record in 2010. The band continued to slay stages opening for the likes of such extreme metal powerhouses as Malevolent Creation, Obituary, Vader, Exhumed, Brutal Truth, Leng Tche, Ulcerate and more.

In 2013, Serial Butcher was selected to take part of a worldwide art project called A Box-Sized Die created by Portuguese artist, Joao Onofre. The band was asked to perform in a fully sound and oxygen proof box measuring 5 feet and 10.87 inches at all sides and managed to do so for nearly twenty-five minutes. The audience could not see or hear the band but only capture vibrations coming of the cube. The event took place at the Center For Contemporary Art in Aalst, Belgium, was broadcast on regional TV and reaped the band commercial airplay on Studio Brussel with a live interview.

Enter Brute Force Lobotomy. The band's epitome of pure sonic sickness. The record comes bedecked in the twisted renderings of renowned artist, Tony Koehl and sees the addition of Koen Verstraete (ex-Leptotrichia, ex-Aborted), replacing longtime bassist Van Goethem, who departed the band just before the record's completion.

Brute Force Lobotomy will be released on CD and digital formats on September 18th via Unique Leader Records. Teaser tracks and pre-order info to be announced in the days to come.

Serial Butcher lineup:

Kurt Termonia - vocals
Nico Veroeven - drums
Kenneth Keysers - guitar
Koen Verstraete - bass

Spain-based thrash metal band, Raze, is now part of the Suspiria Records roster.

Says the label: “After astonishing the most demanding fans with their EP Man vs. Machine and leaving everyone speechless with its impressive clip "Crime Scene, Do Not Cross”, Raze are ready to present Mankind'sheritage, their long expected full-length album, to be released through Suspiria Records.

The combo mixes both European and Bay Area thrash, although they are headed towards punctual progressive hints and the evolution of the style, introducing new sounds Raze are already underway to thundering our ears and damaging our necks.”

Suspiria Records announces its new signing, the progressive metal band Slammin Thru. A band with 13 years of existence that has already opened for people like Glenn Hughes.

With an EP released in 2013, Disguised Queen, the band is taking a giant step with its next piece of work  which is going to be released through Suspiria Records and it will be mastered in the Audio Clintworks studio in Germany.

The band's sound and style is close to progressive rock and metal bands, and combines the influences of all members, ranging from classic rock to metal passing through 80s-90s rock. Slammin Thru lands in Suspiria to show their impressive talent and are going to leave any good music lover with its mouth open.

Updates to follow.

Vocalist Joakim Brodén of Swedish metallers SABATON was interviewed at Hungary's Fezen festival on July 30. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On how SABATON chooses which topics to write about in its songs:

"It's different every time. The most important thing is that it's as historically correct as we can make it. But also, we find it's quite important that it's interesting to us. Because if it's not interesting to us, then, I think, in the end, the lyrics will be worse. If we don't feel any kind of connection to the subject… We tried before, and it's not the same. I mean, there are first albums when we sang about anything… On [2007's] 'Metalizer', which is not about military history only, I ended up with a feeling that writing the lyrics was not so much fun; it was a necessary evil. While, as soon as we twisted into history and you feel a connection to a story and you wanna tell it, and you wanna tell it really good. And you get that to connect with the music, man, I think that's an extra feeling. And there is enough bands singing about drinking beer, having sex and killing dragons."

On whether any SABATON songs were written about topics that were requested by the band's fans:

"Not by request, but I would say on at least [2010's] 'Coat Of Arms' and [2014's] 'Heroes', about fifty percent of the material — I'd say between forty and fifty percent — was, actually, stuff we heard about through our fans; somebody gave us a book or sent us an e-mail. Obviously, you can't just send an e-mail and request a song and we make it, but we were very grateful that so many people have sent us links and ideas, because, man, fifty percent or even more of the ideas we get, we never heard about. So, by all means, if you have an idea and you think we haven't heard about it, please let us know. And please don't come with stupid suggestions. Don't tell us to do it about 'Star Wars', don't tell us to do it about the D-Day landing in Normandy beach; we already did that with [2005's] 'Primo Victoria'. Anything else is good."

SABATON released a special, three-disc limited-edition deluxe version of its 2014 album, "Heroes", in the U.S. and Canada on April 7 via Nuclear Blast. Limited to 5,000 copies, this deluxe edition includes two discs of live audio recorded on the 2014 Sabaton Cruise in addition to the original ten "Heroes" album tracks. Released on May 16, 2014 via Nuclear Blast Records, the "Heroes" cover artwork was created by Péter Sallai. A number of bonus tracks were made available, including cover versions of songs originally written and recorded by METALLICA, BATTLE BEAST and RAUBTIER.

"Heroes" was tracked at The Abyss, the recording studio in Pärlby outside Ludvika, Sweden owned and operated by record producer and musician Peter Tägtgren (HYPOCRISY, PAIN).

Joel Hoekstra will release "Dying To Live", the new melodic hard rock studio album from his electrifying new side project JOEL HOEKSTRA'S 13, on October 16 via Frontiers Srl. The currrent guitarist for WHITESNAKE, Hoekstra is best known for his work with NIGHT RANGER, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA and the show "Rock Of Ages".

The official llyric video for the song "Anymore", taken from "Dying To Live", can be streamed below. The track features a guest appearance by SYMPHONY X and ADRENALINE MOB singer Russell Allen. "Dying To Live" features an all-star cast of rockers, including Russell Allen (vocals), Jeff Scott Soto (vocals), Tony Franklin (bass), Vinny Appice (drums), and Derek Sherinian (keyboards). Hoekstra took charge of the creative process by handling the production, songwriting and arranging (music and lyrics). The end result could best be described as hard, melodic, classic rock that is DIO-ish at its heaviest and FOREIGNER-ish at its lightest. "Years ago, I released three solo albums that were mainly instrumental guitar music. I wanted to put something out that showcased my production, writing and playing in the genre that I'm known for, which is melodic, hard rock," explains Hoekstra. "That's when I decided to start what I consider to be my rock side project, JOEL HOEKSTRA'S 13."

"Dying To Live" focuses on struggles, potential pitfalls and the art of overcoming obstacles in life to finally arrive where we are meant to be. The CD was conceived before Hoekstra joined WHITESNAKE, whose lead singer, David Coverdale, gave the album his full blessing.

"David wants his players to spread their wings and fly, and, of course, be ready to rock when WHITESNAKE needs them, which obviously won't be an issue," says Hoekstra. Excited how the new album turned out, Hoekstra is looking forward to the overall reaction from fans and media. "I hope everyone will give it a listen," he says. "I feel it showcases my production, writing and playing in essentially the same genre. The lineup of musicians is stellar! I want to thank everyone for any support in advance. Life is good!" "Dying To Live" track listing: 01. Say Goodbye To The Sun02. Anymore03. Until I Left You04. Long For The Days05. Scream06. Never Say Never07. Changes08. The Only Way To Go09. Dying To Live10. Start Again11. What We Believe12. Kill or Be Killed (bonus track digital download)

An EPK (Electronic Press Kit) for the album is available below. The musicians:

* Joel Hoekstra (WHITESNAKE) - Guitar, Backing Vocals* Jeff Scott Soto (JOURNEY, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) - Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals* Russell Allen (ADRENALINE MOB, SYMPHONY X) - Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals* Vinny Appice (Black SABBATH, DIO) - Drums* Tony Franklin (THE FIRM, BLUE MURDER) - Bass Special Guest Musicians:

* Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION) - Keyboards* Chloe Lowery (TRANS SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA) - Vocals* Toby Hitchcock (PRIDE OF LIONS) - Additional Backing Vocals* Charlie Zeleny (JOE LYNN TURNER) - Percussion* Dave Eggar (AMY LEE, COLDPLAY) – Cello

"Devil's Party", the new video from Japanese rockers CROSSFAITH, can be seen below. The song is taken from the band's new studio album, "Xeno", which will be released on September 18 in North America via Razor & Tie.

Says CROSSFAITH frontman Kenta "Ken" Koie: "This is the first music video from our new album, 'Xeno', and we put a lot of effort into it. I'm certain that you can feel our vision/concept of the album through this music video. Learn the words and sing with me at the show!" "Devil's Party", along with "Ghost In The Mirror" — featuring a guest appearance by Caleb Shomo from BEARTOOTH — and the title track, "Xeno", are instant downloads when pre-ordering the CD. "Xeno" has a story of hope, failure, love, betrayal and death woven into its fabric so skillfully it's impossible to tell where truth ends and fiction begins. It's both an escape from and examination of reality that reveals more and more truths the further it delves. Produced by Josh Wilbur (AVENGED SEVENFOLD, LAMB OF GOD, HATEBREED) and mastered by Ted Jensen, "Xeno" takes the groundwork laid by 2013's "Apocalyze" and 2012's "Zion" EP as well as the band's vast touring history and catapults them into a whole new league.

"Xeno" is an artistic endeavour like few others, with roots in manga, anime and the furthest reaches of its creators' minds. Frontman Kenta "Ken" Koie, guitarist Kazuki Takemura, bassist Hiroki "Hiro" Ikegawa, keyboardist Terufumi "Teru" Tamano and drummer Tatsuya Amano are, quite simply, operating on a different level. Ken explained: "This record is dedicated to everyone because we believe it will make a new phase in this music culture. We had a bad time after we released the last album, 'Apocalyze'. Our original guitarist Kazuki had to leave during a tour due to a cerebral hemorrhage. It was the worst thing to happen to us in our entire music career. Fortunately or unfortunately, it just affected his left hand. He is still alive, he never gave up as a musician and he wrote a couple songs for this record as well. It has bound us together as one."

He continued: "The experience of working with Josh Wilbur means a lot to us. He brought us fresh feelings and has helped us to create our best record to date. We put everything we've got into 'Xeno' and it is the most important and precious thing to us. We can't wait to share the experience of 'Xeno'. It is beating, it is alive! We are dedicating this record to everyone!"

Xeno is a character, two to be exact. This is an intricate story of artificial intelligence meets human desperation. The two combine to see the human Xeno, so distraught with the state of the world that he endeavours to bring creation through devastation.

"Everyone has a dark side," said Ken. "Everybody is so hypocritical. And everything — our world – is being completely fucked up by so many people, especially the government. It's easy to see what they do. So Xeno, the person, decides to do something big so he can hit reset and start again."

"Xeno" track listing:

01. System X02. Xeno03. Raise Your Voice04. Devil's Party05. Ghost In The Mirror (feat. Caleb Shomo from BEARTOOTH)06. Dystopia07. Wildfire (feat. Benji Webbe from SKINDRED)08. Tears Fall09. Paint It Black10. Vanguard11. Calm The Storm12. Astral Heaven

Brazilian metallers ANGRA will eventually have to "find a substitute" for their guitarist Kiko Loureiro (pictured), who was recently named the new axeman in MEGADETH.

Asked by Revolver magazine how ANGRA is dealing with Kiko's new gig and whether Loureiro will remain a permanent member of ANGRA, the band's guitarist and co-founder Rafael Bittencourt said: "As a brother-in-life and friend, we're proud of/for [Kiko]. I think he's worked his way into something bigger from the beginning. He deserves it. He earned it with his hard work."

He continued: "At this moment, [Kiko] is managing to finish the 'Secret Garden' world tour with us, coupled with the first touring with MEGADETH. Soon, that won't be possible, so he will be taking MEGADETH as a priority, most probably as his exclusive band. So, since we won't be able to count on having him with us very soon, the solution will be to find a substitute for him."

In a recent interview with Jump Metal, Loureiro was asked what it has been like joining MEGADETH as the replacement for Chris Broderick. He responded: "Yeah, it has been great to work with [Dave] Mustaine [MEGADETH mainman], [David] Ellefson [MEGADETH bassist] and Chris Adler [LAMB OF GOD drummer, who played on the upcoming MEGADETH CD and is playing select shows with the group]. I recorded the [new MEGADETH] album and now I'm learning the new songs… Sorry… I'm learning new songs for me, but the old [MEGADETH] songs for the show we're gonna have in ten days [on July 18] in Quebec at the summer festival [at the Festival D'été De Québec, also known as by its acronym FEQ, or Quebec City Summer Festival in English], and then we're gonna have some touring this year. So I'm learning the old stuff, the previous material as well."

He continued: "It's quite challenging… [doing the] double shift, double work with ANGRA and [MEGADETH]… I just came from a tour with ANGRA and I have to go straight to learn the [MEGADETH] songs. During the [ANGRA] tour, I was already listening and trying to learn the old material from MEGADETH."

Kiko added: "It's amazing [to be part of MEGADETH]. It's a great opportunity, it's a great band, great guys, great music. I'm very honored to be in MEGADETH and that the guys have chosen me to be the guitar player. It's a band that always had a great spot for guitar players. They always had great guitar players since the beginning: Chris Poland, Marty Friedman, Chris Broderick... some great guitar players. So I'm honored to be part of this legacy."

Mustaine told Revolver about Loureiro: "Finding Kiko was really a mind-blower. It was the first time since Marty Friedman joined the band that I was really intimidated as a player. He's such an amazing talent, and he's been coming in with all of these fresh ideas." Mustaine has also called Loureiro the "best guitarist we've ever had," adding that he was a good fit personality wise. "Chris [Broderick] and I had a good chemistry, but we weren't really as close as I would have wanted us to be," Mustaine explained. "Kiko, I feel like I've known him for years."

ANGRA's latest album, "Secret Garden", was released on January 16 via earMUSIC. The CD, which was pre-produced by Roy Z (JUDAS PRIEST, BRUCE DICKINSON, HALFORD) and recorded and produced in Sweden by Jens Bogren (KREATOR, ARCH ENEMY, OPETH, DRAGONFORCE), was the band's first to feature Italian vocalist Fabio Lione following the 2012 departure of Eduardo "Edu" Falaschi.

Mark Taylor of Metal Talk recently conducted an interview with ANNIHILATOR leader Jeff Waters. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about the departure of Dave Padden, ANNIHILATOR's vocalist from 2003 to 2014, and Waters' return to lead-vocal duties on the band's forthcoming album, "Suicide Society", Jeff said: "When Dave left… He was my partner with ANNIHILATOR, and he was the guitar player live, singing live… A partner in ANNHILATOR, meaning the singer, originally. And, basically, it was a shock when he left. Looking back now, he had said he… In December of 2014, he said he was just getting tired of the whole process. And I was kind of in shock, 'cause this is my life, my career, and I never saw it coming. And he's been my guy; we never got in arguments. I said, 'Is it money? Do you want some more money? Do you want some guitars? I've got a few hundred? Do you want some? What is it that you need, and I can try to do it? Is it me? Or is it the music? What's going on?' And he said it had nothing to do with any of that; it wasn't money, it wasn't me. It was simply he was getting sick of the traveling."

He continued: "ANNIHILATOR's last three records have been going up slowly. We hit a real low point from '96 to 2007, where it was enough to sell records, enough to tour, but not in the U.K. and not in Scandinavia, and just survive — barely survive at it. I had to do other jobs to keep everything going; my studio stuff. So the last three ANNIHILATOR records have been going up and up in sales, so I was just blown away. Why would you leave now when it's doing the opposite of what most bands are doing with declining CD sales? This is a great time. We're having fun, [and playing] more festivals. And that was the thing: we were doing more festivals, more touring, more appearances, more endorsement stuff, longer recording on the record. You get lots of [so-called] one-offs: 'Let's go to Mexico and do a festival. Let's go here and there.' So, even though ANNIHILATOR would officially only have maybe two tours and two summer festival runs, two different summers, you throw in all the South American dates and all the one-offs, and you're busy all year round — recording, writing, blah blah blah. So he just got sick of it. [It was] just too much. Some people can't do two weeks of that kind lifestyle. In hindsight, I was lucky to have him for eleven years, because he helped save my butt for quite a few years when, without a singer, I would have tanked. But also, he helped advise me; he was a sounding board. I could ask him questions. But, in hindsight, the last couple of ANNIHILATOR CDs, I didn't wanna see it, but I saw it: he was not into it. And if you're not it as a singer, and you're not writing the lyrics, which he had the opportunity to do, it's very hard… You have to have that. If you don't have that, at least that drive, there's no way you're gonna be able to pull it off, when you didn't even write the lyrics. So I saw that, but I didn't even, for once, think about talking to him about it, 'cause I didn't wanna lose the guy."

Waters added: "Now, after the initial panic for a few weeks and looking for another singer and [thinking], 'Oh my God! My career is gone. What am I gonna do?' After I got over that shock of Dave leaving and 'what the hell do I do?', I knew right away: I had to start looking for singers right away. It was either old-school guys [in the vein of] Halford, Dio [and] Dickinson, which is perfect — those are my favorite singers — but that's not what I'm looking for. Or it was the younger crowd… It was either the KORN, MARILYN MANSON graduates, or it was MACHINE HEAD, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, where you've got the screaming going on in the verses and then chorus, or pre-chorus, is two beautiful, clean, harmony-sung things, and then back to the heavy screaming on the verses. So it became, 'Why can't I have all that?' 'Cause I like all that stuff. So I couldn't find it; the standards were way too high… Which is ironic, 'cause I ended up singing. But that's what happened. I said, 'I sang on three records before. I can do this.' But the record was all recorded and finished — lyrics done, melody lines. I sang on a CD for Dave to [hear] the singing; I usually do that on all our albums. And I could have made the most incredible mistake of my life and walked right into the studio and attempted to do the record, as a singer, and it would have killed me. It would have killed the whole deal, and it would have been a disgrace. I stopped and I shut down the whole project. I took vocal lessons for six weeks — intense, for six weeks — and then I said, 'That's the first step.' The second step is, 'Sure, you sang on records before…' I had one record called 'King Of The Kill' that was popular, but if you listen to the record, it's popular because, I think, of the music and the songs, not 'cause of the amazing vocals. So there was things in my voice I didn't like. After the lessons, I would sit here and say, 'This is what I don't like, and this is the couple of things I like.' Therefore, the last step was, you've gotta have a certain guide here, 'cause you're not 20, and you haven't had 30 years of singing under your belt and knowing your style. I thought, 'What do I sing in the shower, or when I'm cooking dinner, or sitting in the laundry room, walking around the house?' I don't sing Halford, Dickinson [or] Dio, 'cause I can't, and they're the kings and one in a million. But what I can do, almost — almost — is sing ALICE IN CHAINS, OZZY [OSBOURNE], MEGADETH and METALLICA. So those are the four bands that I wrote down that I sing all the time. And I basically had it on paper, I'm not gonna clone these guys, because I can't, and it would be too obvious. But that is exactly what I do — these two things that Waters likes about his voice and these guys. And that's what I do. I did the record like that, with no stress. I wouldn't refer back to these singers; I just knew that's where it was gonna go. And I just literally… and I know it sounds dumb… but I pretended I was singing in the bloody shower, and it worked. I think the actual album… If you listen to what I did on 'King Of The Kill', which was a big record for us, if you listened to it now, you wouldn't think it was the same dude [doing the singing]."

"Suicide Society" will be released on September 18 via UDR Music. As he has in the past, Waters handled all songwriting duties, played all guitar and bass, engineered, produced, mixed and mastered "Suicide Society".

The official video for the "Suicide Society" title track can be seen below. Waters states about the clip, which was shot in East Germany: "Lyrically, the opening line says it all: 'Welcome to the dark side of the human race.' Originally, the song was just another subject to write about ... but when I sat down and really got into it, I actually be me pretty disgusted with what we, as the human race, have done/are doing to each other, the planet and all life on it. Musically, there is a groove and riff style that I haven't heard before in my writing; I guess that's why this one stands out to me! We hope you like it, fellow metal fans."

"Suicide Society" track listing:

01. Suicide Society02. My Revenge03. Snap04. Creepin' Again05. Narcotic Avenue06. The One You Serve07. Break, Enter08. Death Scent09. Every Minute

Check out audio samples in the YouTube clip below.

ANNIHILATOR's touring lineup will include drum monster Mike Harshaw, who continues on for his fourth year with the band; and new guitarist Aaron Homma.

IRON MAIDEN guitarists Dave Murray and Adrian Smith spoke to U.K.'s Total Guitar magazine about the making of the band's new album, "The Book Of Souls", which is due globally on September 4 through Parlophone Records (Sanctuary Copyrights/BMG in the U.S.).

"On previous albums we've usually gone into a rehearsal room for maybe a couple of weeks and maybe have four or five songs under our belts," Murray said. "Then we'd go into the studio and start recording, and the rest of the material would be written while we were there. But this time we went in there with a blank page and a bunch of ideas.

"It was a really fun experience because it keeps you on your toes," added Dave. "You have to be really sharp. We're scribbling guitar chords down, melodies and harmonies, changes… Basically, we were flying by the seat of our pants because we never knew what was coming next. But it was wonderful how things kept flowing."

"The Book Of Souls" will include "Empire Of The Clouds", an 18-minute track penned by singer Bruce Dickinson. The CD was recorded in Paris, France with producer Kevin "Caveman" Shirley in late 2014, with the finishing touches added earlier this year.

"[Bruce] was working on ['Empire Of The Clouds'] for about a month on his own," Smith explained. "Every single day we'd be in the studio blasting out stuff and he'd be in the soundproof glass booth playing piano. Like Beethoven with his ear to the piano, concocting this masterpiece. I think he wrote every single note in it.

"We interpreted it and we did it in sections," Adrian continued. "Kevin and Bruce would be in the control room and say, 'That's too bluesy, can you make it a bit more classical sounding?' He recorded all the piano from start to finish and then we played along to that. Then I think they put on all the orchestration afterwards. It's a bit of a story on its own that one."

"The Book Of Souls" cover art was created by Mark Wilkinson, who has worked with the band previously, and because this 11-track album has a total running time of 92 minutes, it is IRON MAIDEN's first-ever double studio album. There's a broader split on the songwriting compared to previous MAIDEN records, with bassist and founder member Steve Harris contributing to seven of the tracks; six of them with MAIDEN's guitarists and one sole composition. This is also the first time since 1984's "Powerslave" that an IRON MAIDEN studio album also features two tracks written solely by Dickinson. And also two Dickinson/Smith collaborations.

In a brand new interview with U.K.'s The Guardian, MOTÖRHEAD frontman Lemmy Kilmister was asked about the group's June 26 performance at the Glastonbury Festival in Glastonbury, England where he and his bandmates followed "Ace Of Spades" with "Overkill", but Lemmy continued to sing "Ace Of Spades" (see video below). "It was a mental block," he said. "I've sung those songs so many times. First time I've ever sung 'Ace Of Spades' to it, though. We did it the night before and it was fucking terrible, and I swore I'd never do it again. But we did. Obviously."

In 2013, Lemmy underwent an operation to implant a cardioverter-defibrillator into his chest, a device that helps prevent an irregular heartbeat turning into no heartbeat. Then, shortly afterwards, he suffered a hematoma. Earlier this year, MOTÖRHEAD was forced to cancel shows after he suffered a gastric illness.

Lemmy has cut back on booze and cigarettes — he's down to a pack a week, and has swapped from Jack and Coke to vodka and orange, apparently to help with his diabetes.

He told The Guardian: "I like orange juice better. So Coca-Cola can fuck off."

The singer and bassist said that he has to walk with a stick because his legs "are fucked," but he added: "Apparently I am still indestructible."

And he insisted the only way MOTÖRHEAD will stop performing is if he dies. "As long as I can walk the few yards from the back to the front of the stage without a stick," he said. "Or even if I do have to use a stick."

MOTÖRHEAD's 22nd studio album, "Bad Magic", will be released on August 28. The CD was recorded at NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood with longtime producer Cameron Webb.

IRON MAIDEN guitarists Adrian Smith and Janick Gers spoke to The Quietus about the band's forthcoming double album, "The Book Of Souls", which will be released globally on September 4 through Parlophone Records (Sanctuary Copyrights/BMG in the U.S.A.).

Regarding the songwriting process for the new CD, Smith said: "We didn't actually rehearse anything at all — which is a very different way of working for MAIDEN. We just brought our ideas to the studio. I think Bruce [Dickinson, vocals] and I had one session which produced 'Speed Of Light' and 'Death Or Glory'. Steve [Harris, bass] and I got together in the studio and I played him a load of stuff I had and got busy writing lyrics for that. I actually did a lot of writing on my own. We hadn't actually played together as a band before we went into the studio in Paris. I did a lot of writing on my own and everyone just brought ideas in."

Added Gers: "I'm really proud of it; I think it's a fantastic album. Bands have to grow, travel different avenues, push the boundaries and we always do. People say, 'Oh, MAIDEN always sound the same', but we don't; we travel different pathways and this one is no exception. I've got to say that the writing process was really different this time. Normally, we go into rehearsal and spend three or four weeks rehearsing. We'll go off writing with different people in the band and get all the ideas up to speed — almost so that we can play them all live as a set — but this was different. We went into the studio with only outlines and finished writing the songs in the studio — so we were actually learning them, rehearsing them, and putting them down all at once. It gives it an immediacy because we were learning them as we went; it all has a very live feel. We all brought different things, a really broad spectrum of musical ideas. I don't want us to become a parody of what we were; you get bands that come out and only do one song off the new album — and I know people love that and some people want that — but that's not what we do at all."

Smith and Gers also spoke about the production on "The Book Of Souls", which was once again helmed by Kevin Shirley, the producer for all of MAIDEN's studio albums since 2000's "Brave New World".

"Some of the albums we’ve done in the past were a little bit underpolished for me, to be honest," Smith admitted. "I like power and heaviness, but I also like a little bit of delay on the vocals, stuff like that. But I don't get involved in mixing them. Kevin and Steve like to do that on their own, but I have to say I was really happy with the way that this one sounds."

He continued: "I actually have trouble getting Kevin to put any effects on my guitar! He doesn't like that. He likes everything very straight up. I have to twist his arm and sometimes we bump heads a little bit, but I'm really happy with the way that this album sounds. It's the right blend of the rawness of the performance, but with a bit of polish… and that was probably because I was bending his ear about it every five minutes. [Laughs]"

Added Gers: "A lot of this album was done live. We did this album in the same studio as 'Brave New World'. [Kevin] gets where we're coming from; he manages to get the live sound down, absolutely. A real sound — not a compressed American guitar sound. I want a brash guitar sound, no distortion pedals, just straight into the amp. He gets the sound that I like. He's very much like Martin Birch in that he captures the sound of how we are in the studio. That might sound simple. You'd think, 'You put a band in the studio; you put a tape in; and it sounds like them.' Well, nine times out of ten, it doesn't. [Laughs] You need someone very special to get that sound down. Martin Birch did it — he did it with WISHBONE ASH, he did it with DEEP PURPLE, he did it with FLEETWOOD MAC in the early days. But then you have other producers like 'Mutt' Lange — a fantastic producer — but they create the sound; they make the 'Mutt Lange sound.' And that would never work for us. Kevin is the polar opposite of that approach."

Read the entire interview at The Quietus.

A listening party for "The Book Of Souls" will be held on September 3 at Rock N Roll Ribs, the barbecue restaurant owned by MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain and close friend Mitch Tanne, in Coral Springs, Florida.

"The Book Of Souls" will include "Empire Of The Clouds", an 18-minute track penned by Dickinson. The CD was recorded in Paris, France with producer Kevin "Caveman" Shirley in late 2014, with the finishing touches added earlier this year.

Just as many fans had suspected, Pink Floyd is officially over. David Gilmour confirmed that the band would not reunite in the coming years, and that last year’s The Endless River, their first record since 1994’s The Division Bell, would be their last.

“I’m done with it. I’ve had 48 years in Pink Floyd – quite a few of those years at the beginning, with Roger (Waters),” he said in a cover story interview with Classic Rock magazine. “And those years in what is now considered to be our heyday were 95 percent musically fulfilling and joyous and full of fun and laughter. And I certainly don’t want to let the other five percent color my view of what was a long and fantastic time together. But it has run its course, we are done – and it would be fakery to go back and do it again.”

Gilmour’s most recent statements echo similar ones he made last year. “This is the last thing that’ll be out from us,” he told the BBC after the release of The Endless River.

Now in Classic Rock he added that playing without Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright, who died in 2008, “would just be wrong.” (Founding frontman Syd Barrett, who left the band in 1968, died in 2006.)

“I absolutely don’t want to go back. I don’t want to go and play stadiums… under the [Pink Floyd] banner,” Gilmour added. “I’m free to do exactly what I want to do and how I want to do it. Obviously I accept there are people who want to go and see and hear this legend that was Pink Floyd, but I’m afraid that’s not my responsibility.”