The official lyric video for the song "Ways Of Barbarism" from Brazilian death metal veterans KRISIUN can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's new album, "Forged In Fury", which was released on August 7 via Century Media. Featuring cover artwork by renowned artist Joe Petagno (MARDUK, VADER), the CD was produced by Erik Rutan.

"Forged In Fury" track listing:

01. Scars Of The Hatred02. Ways Of Barbarism03. Dogma Of Submission04. Strength Forged In Fury05. Soulless Impaler06. Burning Of The Heretic07. The Isolated Truth08. Oracle Of The Ungod09. Timeless Starvation10. Milonga De La Muerte

As the brain and heart of death metal masters HATE ETERNAL and former guitarist of MORBID ANGEL, Rutan has worked as a producer for his own band as well as for CANNIBAL CORPSE, SIX FEET UNDER, MALEVOLENT CREATION, MADBALL, AGNOSTIC FRONT, to name just a few. In addition, he co-produced KRISIUN's "Conquerors Of Armageddon" album back in 1999.

Said KRISIUN in a statement: "'Forged In Fury' marks our return to the studio after three years of constantly touring all over the globe.

"Things were working well, as we were always satisfied with the results of the previous records, but we thought that it was time for a change. Erik Rutan was the chosen one to be the producer, at Mana Recording Studios in Florida.

"This album could be described as a 'more natural'-sounding album; the songs came out with more ambience and more low end, making it sound even more brutal and straightforward. It took us a lot of hard work and dedication. No fashions or tendencies were followed.

"This is a true relentless metal album to the bone, with a huge, natural sound.

"The songwriting captures all the experience and feelings we gathered through all the years of touring and recording. It has more variation and dynamics, but is still 100% KRISIUN.

"Erik has a huge participation within the whole process, especially with regards to the band's performance. He was able to get the best out of each one of us, as we have been friends for a long time, so it was a pleasure working with him.

"This album was made with a lot of heart and passion for metal music. Hopefully you metal maniacs enjoy it as much as we did working it out. See you on the road."

KRISIUN is confirmed for various European shows and festivals this summer, followed by a North American co-headlining tour with ORIGIN in September/October.

The official 2015 live video for the song "Ozena" from former PANTERA and current DOWN frontman Philip Anselmo's SUPERJOINT RITUAL project — now known simply as SUPERJOINT for legal reasons — can be seen below. The clip was filmed on July 26 at the House of Blues in New Orleans, Louisiana and was shot by the Cement Level Crew.

Asked by Full Metal Jackie what made him start thinking about resurrecting SUPERJOINT for an appearance at last year's Housecore Horror Film & Music Festival, Anselmo said: "Well, I didn't think at all about it, you know. It was more peer pressure, so to speak, you know. I always considered SUPERJOINT pretty much finished until, really, Corey Mitchell [true-crime author and Housecore Horror Film Festival co-founder] — rest in peace; the hardest-working man for the Housecore Horror And Film Festival, who passed away untimely last year — it was really his idea, and he kept begging and kept begging and kept begging. And I was, like, 'No, no, no, no, no, no, no.' And then Jimmy Bower [SUPERJOINT and EYEHATEGOD guitarist] got into it, and he was, like, 'Why not, man? Let's do it.' Then — oh, God — we ended up in the practice room, and next thing you know, we were having fun, and then we played Housecore Horror Fest part 2, and that was fun, and then the offers started coming in. And, you know, I guess at this point, it's, like, why not? You know, let's go out and have a blast."

Anselmo also talked about SUPERJOINT's new lineup, which includes guitarists Kevin Bond (CHRIST INVERSION, ARTIMUS PYLEDRIVER) and Jimmy Bower (DOWN, EYEHATEGOD), drummer José Manuel Gonzalez (WARBEAST, PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS) and bassist Stephen Taylor (PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS, WOVEN HAND, 16 HORSE POWER). He said: "We already knew that we were gonna go with a different drummer. And one thing that people don't really recognize is that SUPERJOINT's gone through three bass players over time. And, you know, obviously, Hank [Williams] III himself was probably the most heralded and popular and beloved. And we still feel this way too. It's just a matter of, you know… Truth, Hank has been working his brains out to get to where he is at as a solo artist and… Either way, he's a hard-working man. And, you know, he basically doesn't have time to do it, but it's understood, and he gives us his blessing and all that stuff. And he's always welcome to come up and jam with us whenever he has free time, which is basically never. But he's always… The door's always open for Hank and all that stuff to come up and jam. But, more importantly, we got Steve Taylor and Blue from THE ILLEGALS and WARBEAST, respectively, to play drums and bass [sic] for SUPERJOINT. I'm very familiar with those cats. And Jimmy and Kevin, you know, love those guys. So practice has been smooth; everything's been real smooth. And it is fun — I've gotta admit it — in this room full of crazy people."

Asked if getting together a tour could lead to a new SUPERJOINT album, Anselmo said: "Well, I will let you know that, I think, right now, we have five new pieces that are pretty good. I think it's a decent start. But I think that Jimmy's been out with EYEHATEGOD for quite a while now. But we all need to get back in the jam room and reassess what we have. And I think that there is a good chance we could put out a record. Like I say, there is material that we've been working on. But would I say it's close [to] finished? No, I would not. I would say it needs some tender loving care, and, I guess, once we feel like we are at a certain point with the songs, then we'll decide if we're gonna move forward or just have extra stuff to put out there for kicks."

According to Anselmo, the direction of SUPERJOINT's new material will be very similar to that one the band's first two albums, 2002's "Use Once And Destroy" and 2003's "A Lethal Dose Of American Hatred". "It won't sound any different, because myself, Jimmy and Kevin have always been the main writers in SUPERJOINT anyway, so, really — for the most part, really, me and Jimmy. So it shouldn't sound much different at all," he said.

Video footage of Swedish experimental extreme metallers MESHUGGAH performing on August 7 at the Heavy Montreal festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada can be seen below (clip filmed and uploaded by Peter McCabe of Montreal Gazette).

In a recent interview with RockSverige.se, MESHUGGAH guitarist Mårten Hagström stated about when fans can expect to hear the follow-up to the band's 2012 album "Koloss": "In twenty years. No… I would say sometime next year, but not early. We were supposed to be writing all summer, but stuff happened, and now we're doing this [playing at European festivals]. So, when we finish that off, we're gonna be writing… The last show for this summer is late August in Gothenburg, so when we finish off there, we're gonna go full writing mode again. And then hopefully we'll write through the end of the year and then start recording early-ish next year."

Mårten also revealed that he hasn't been checking out any new music for inspiration. He said: "Since we're in writing mode now, I don't listen to music, basically, at all. Not because 'I'm not gonna listen to music,' but it's just that… When you've got a lot of stuff to do… You know, I pick up the kid, go home, feed him, put him to bed, and then it's time for me to work, and I sit and play guitar for… whatever… many hours and try to make some new music, it's not like I'm gonna kick back and put on an album, regardless of style. But I listen to a lot of stuff; we all do. We don't listen to the same stuff, but we spread a lot. So we listen to metal, we listen to… anything, basically."

In 2014, MESHUGGAH was awarded an exclusive scholarship for its services to the Swedish and international music scene. The musicians were presented with the scholarship and diploma by SKAP president Alfons Karabuda at an intimate event in the south side of Stockholm in December.

Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the recording of its first EP, MESHUGGAH released a concert DVD / 2CD set and Blu-ray, "The Ophidian Trek", on September 30, 2014 via Nuclear Blast. With visual footage shot in the U.S. and Europe during "The Ophidian Trek" tour and festival footage from Wacken Open Air 2013 in Germany, the live audio was processed and edited by MESHUGGAH guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, mixed by Daniel Begstrand (DIMMU BORGIR, BEHEMOTH) and mastered by Mats "Limpan" Lindfors (ROXETTE, OPETH, MANDO DIAO).

"The Ophidian Trek" was MESHUGGAH's second live DVD, the first being 2010's "Alive", which debuted at position No. 8 on the Billboard Music DVD chart.

Fan-filmed video footage of FOZZY's August 9 performance at the Heavy Montreal festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada can be seen below.

FOZZY's latest album, "Do You Wanna Start A War", sold around 5,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 54 on the Billboard 200 chart.

"Do You Wanna Start A War" was released on July 22, 2014 via Century Media. Produced by Rich Ward, the album features 12 tracks, including the debut single, "Lights Go Out", the title track and the return of the Theremin in "Bad Tattoo".

In an interview with Examiner.com, FOZZY singer and WWE wrestling superstar Chris Jericho stated about the band's musical approach "Do You Wanna Start A War": "With this record, we wanted to focus on just writing great songs and not worry about if they're too heavy or too poppy or too dancy or too ballady, or whatever it may be. Let's just focus on great songwriting. Because I think now in this day and age a lot of bands kind of put themselves into a box: We're a heavy metal band, so we must play heavy metal, or we're a pop band so we must play pop."

He continued: "When you think of some of the greatest bands of all time — whether it be THE BEATLES or QUEEN or whatever — they always have records with a lot of diversity. There'd be a rock song, a heavier song, a ballad, a prog song, a ska song, circus music, or whatever. And it'd still sound like THE BEATLES and QUEEN. And I think what we decided between the last record and this one was, let's just focus on writing some great songs. Maybe some songs that are a little different from the norm, or different from what we've done in the past. Because they're all gonna sound like FOZZY songs. It'll be FOZZY either way. And I think that opened up a lot of diversity for us, and I think it's why this is the most popular record we've done: review-wise, sales-wise, and everything in between. So it's exciting for us!"

Jericho also talked about the songwriting process in FOZZY. He said: "Rich [Ward, guitar] does basically all the music and most of the melodies, and I'll do the lyrics. So we do kind of exchange ideas back and forth. A lot of our songs are written lyrics first. With the song 'Do You Wanna Start A War', I came up with those lyrics a while back and said to Rich, 'This is an anthem kind of song. I want you to write a song where I can see everybody in the crowd jumping up and down and singing along.' So I kind of give him some direction sometimes about the lyrics. Or sometimes he'll send me a song and say, 'I need some lyrics for this.' So it goes both ways. Again, we just write songs the way they feel right to us, and there are a lot of different ways to do that."

Fan-filmed video footage of reactivated California thrash metal pioneers DARK ANGEL performing at this year's Bloodstock Open Air festival, which was held August 6-9 at Catton Park, Derbyshire, United Kingdom, can be seen below.

DARK ANGEL is continuing to write material for its long-awaited comeback album. The band's first CD since 1991's "Time Does Not Heal" will feature the lineup that has performed sporadic live shows since reuniting in 2013: Gene Hoglan (drums), Eric Meyer (guitar), Jim Durkin (guitar), Ron Rinehart (vocals) and Michael Gonzalez (bass).

In a recent interview with Metal Wani, Hoglan stated about the progress of the songwriting sessions for DARK ANGEL's new album: "My main thing, I guess, is trying to free up the time to get the writing done. Jim and myself were the primary writers back in the day. Eric would throw in some ideas when he had 'em, and I'm sure he's got ideas now. We aren't quite to that level to where we're, like, 'Hey, everybody, toss us your ideas.' 'Cause Jim and I are still working on stuff. And one thing I do realize about DARK ANGEL and the writing process of DARK ANGEL is, even though we now have all this modern technology of, you know, you can Skype with somebody, and play guitar over Skype with somebody, and send files of, 'Hey, I've got a demo. I've got some drum tracks on the demo and some guitar tracks. Learn this,' even though all that technology exists, at least myself, and the way I feel with Jim, I think we still work best when we are both sitting in the same room together and just firing out ideas at each other, and that's where it's been a challenge over the last seven or eight months, 'cause I've spent most of these seven or eight months on the road. I just right now got off four months straight with DEATH and TESTAMENT, so now that we've got a little bit of time home… We got back this week, earlier this week, and I got sick immediately, so now I'm just getting over it. So I would imagine in this coming time period that we have off, Jim and I are gonna be getting together and firing some ideas off each other, and it's on again, so that's pretty cool."

Regarding the musical direction of DARK ANGEL's new material, Hoglan said: "I guess the thing that I, personally, myself, am trying to do is not necessarily recreate any of DARK ANGEL's previous sounds, but try to recreate the feelings that we had, the energy that we had. Like the energy that we had when we were writing 'Darkness Descends', try to capture that energy, just that feeling, rather than, like, 'Oh, let's just write another song that sounds like 'The Burning Of Sodom', or, 'another song that sounds like 'Black Prophecies' or something like that.' Let's not worry about repeating ourselves, but it's okay if we recapture the enthusiasm and the energy that we had when we were really young. There were no rules, there wasn't anybody looking over our shoulders, [saying], 'Hey, you'd better write songs like this.' That's the way we feel now: nobody is looking over our shoulders. We do have people saying, 'Hey, can we get the process moving?' And, yes, we're trying that, but nobody is telling us, 'You have to write like this,' or, 'You have to write like that.' All I wanna do is write like DARK ANGEL. And I'm sure DARK ANGEL 2015 might have some different elements that DARK ANGEL 1986 had, but the aggression is still gonna be there. And I personally wanna write the most ball-crushing record we can. I've been talking about that in the press, and people come up [and ask me], 'Well, what does ball-crushing mean?' [I wanna make] an album that, if you've waited for… What's it been? It'll be 25 years since the last DARK ANGEL record, essentially. If you've been waiting that long, you will be absolutely pleased with the wait; you won't be disappointed. This is not some limp return record — I won't let it be. My quality control, Jim'a quality control, Eric, Ron, Gonz' [Mike Gonzalez]… all of our quality control is we just want it to be the coolest record we can do. I'm obviously an old vet at this, and I know what's cool, so if I think it's cool, I have a feeling other people are gonna think it's cool too."

Asked if DARK ANGEL has particular release date in mind for the next album or if there is a target date for the band to enter the studio, Hoglan said: "[There are] no plans whatsoever. We are just still writing. [Jim is] just writing; that's what Jim is doing. He's, like, 'I'm writing everything right now.' And, I've gotta admit, a lot of it is super, like, 'God, this is what I'm talking about, Jim.' And other stuff is, like… He'll preface the e-mail with the attachment, saying, 'I know this isn't quite what we're probably looking for, but, hey, here's something I just wrote anyway.' And it's always cool — Jim writes great riffs — and so much of it is directly what DARK ANGEL is. Jim Durkin created DARK ANGEL, and I've always said that, hey, he was the guiding force. Even after Jim left, he was the guiding force through me, because I'm not gonna let DARK ANGEL slack in anything, just because we don't have the founding member, the creative member of the team. So now that Jim and I are back, it's awesome. We have a great relationship, a great writing relationship, so I'm really stoked. And all I wanna do is write an album that just buries fucking everybody."

DARK ANGEL released two albums with Don Doty on vocals — 1984's "We Have Arrived" and 1986's "Darkness Descends" — before he exited the group and was replaced by Ron Rinehart (after a brief stint with Jim Drabos in 1987). The band issued two more studio LPs — 1989's "Leave Scars" and 1991's "Time Does Not Heal" — before calling it quits in 1992. Rinehart, Hoglan and Meyer reassembled DARK ANGEL more than a decade ago but were forced to abandon their reunion plans after health issues reportedly put Rinehart's singing career on hold.

Fan-filmed video footage of COAL CHAMBER, the reformed '90s alt-metal band fronted by current DEVILDRIVER singer Dez Fafara, performing on August 9 at the Heavy Montreal festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada can be seen below.

COAL CHAMBER's comeback album, "Rivals, sold around 7,100 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 80 on The Billboard 200 chart (which includes stream activity). The band's first CD in over thirteen years, which released on May 19 North America via Napalm, was recorded in part at Audiohammer studio in Sanford, Florida with producer Mark Lewis (DEVILDRIVER, CANNIBAL CORPSE).

Asked who the "rivals" are that he is talking about in the title of COAL CHAMBER's new album, Dez said: "It's really more about the artwork and how [the word] 'rivals' is scratched out."

He continued: "Rivals can be your inner demons, your inner self; [or] exterior factors that are negative influences on your life. But either way, they've gotta go. And that's kind of what this whole thing is about. If you go inside the record and you listen to the lyrics, it's about expelling demons and getting rid of negative influences in and around your life."

Speaking to The Age Of Metal, Fafara stated about the writing process for "Rivals": "We locked ourselves in a room and just waited until it was very tight. Then [the other guys in the band] would throw me songs and I would throw them back lyrics, and that's how it came together. It's a very democratic process when it comes to COAL CHAMBER and the writing. And I think they did a great job. It was extremely freeing to do this record, 'cause I could use anything I want — I could use high screams, low screams, clean vocals, whisper tracks… all sorts of stuff — which was very freeing as an artist to do. It was a great time to record. And I think you can feel that within the record. We didn't record with a click track, so [there are] ebbs and flows. Nothing was copied an pasted; everything was sung. I hit most of the stuff the first time I did the vocals, and the music itself is really raw and has a really great feel to it. I think it has a fresh feel to it. Don't expect a throwback record. It's not gonna sound like a throwback record. It's us moving forward."

WJCU disc jockey and former WEA employee Bill Peters announced on his long running Metal On Metal program (August 7th) that after their Wacken Open Air appearance, Savatage plan to continue. 

Peters: "I'm friends with their manager. He used to work together at Atlantic. They were very happy with how the show went. They were using it as a test. Based on how it went, they're excited and want to do some more shows and possibly record a new album." 

Stay tuned for an update from the Savatage camp, coming soon.

At the 2015 installment of the Wacken Open Air (W:O:A) festival in northern Germany, Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) and Savatage wowed 80,000-plus attendees with a never-before-attempted music festival performance. Following a 40-minute Savatage set and a 40-minute TSO set, TSO and Savatage band members, across two of the festival’s main stages, performed a perfectly coordinated set of fan-favorites. This ambitious feat, both musically and logistically, was helmed by Paul O'Neill. Al Pitrelli led TSO on the “True Metal Stage” and Jon Oliva headed Savatage on the “Black Stage.” Beyond the unprecedented act of two bands hitting the stage at the same time, this show was also memorable as it marked progressive metal originators Savatage’s first show in over a decade, TSO’s first European festival show, as well as the only live appearances of both bands in Europe in 2015.

Check out pro-shot footage of the dual-stage performance of "Fortuna - Carmina Burana" courtesy of Germany's 3Sat network:

At 9:45 PM, Savatage, including members Oliva, Pitrelli, Johnny Lee Middleton, Chris Caffery, Jeff Plate, Zak Stevens, Bill Hudson, plus several backing musicians (including TSO's Vitalij Kuprij), ripped through such Savatage songs as “Gutter Ballet,” “Hall of the Mountain King,” “Edge of Thorns,” "Jesus Saves" and more.

As the Savatage set came to a close, guitarist Pitrelli raced to the other stage to join TSO for a fierce performance including songs from their upcoming release Letters From The Labyrinth – “Prometheus,” “Toccata/Carpimus Noctem” from the platinum-certified Night Castle and more. For TSO’s first set, the band consisted of John O.Reilly and Jeff Plate (drums), David Z and Middleton (bass), Angus Clark and Caffery (guitars), Mee Eun Kim and Derek Wieland (keyboards), Asha Melvana and Roddy Chong (strings). Vocal duties were handled by Jeff Scott Soto, Kayla Reeves and Andrew Ross, with the group bolstered at times with dancers, background vocalists and more.

At 11 PM came the portion of the performance that left the crowd astonished: all band members took to their respective stages and began an hour-long simultaneous performance playing the same songs concurrently. They stormed through the set containing such songs as Savatage’s “Turns To Me,” a rousing version of “Believe” with a duet featuring Oliva and Robin Borneman along with TSO favorites including “A Last Illusion,” “Requiem,” "Beethoven," and “King Rurick” from TSO’s forthcoming release. A united Trans-Siberian Orchestra featured four guitarists, four keyboard players, two drummers, two bassists, a string section, and multiple vocalists (including the addition of TSO's Russell Allen and Savatage’s Stevens to the above). It was a sight to behold, with several generations on stage: from teenagers taking their first steps on an international rock stage to seasoned veterans who have toured the world.

Throughout the two-plus hours, along with an unprecedented sonic storm, fans were treated to an incredible pyrotechnic display estimated to have cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. As anyone on site could attest, it was an unparalleled auditory and visual experience.

Check out some fan-filmed footage below:

Check out the animated video below, where the Minions perform KISS classic “Rock And Roll All Nite”:

KISS Night In Las Vegas has just launched on Pledge Music.

Organizers explain: “We are launching this campaign to bring the Kiss Night in Las Vegas The Album Vol I to life. For the past 3 years Kiss Night in Las Vegas has raised money for the Imagine Foundation, a charity that provides musical instruments to kids in Clark County schools. Now we’re taking it to an entirely new level by releasing our first album.

By joining our campaign not only are you pre-ordering your copy of the album, you also gain exclusive access to behind the scenes video of the making of this album. Watch Scot Coogan (Ace Frehley band) cut his drum tracks. See Jeff Duncan of Armored Saint lay down some blistering guitar solos. A peek at the star of the hit TV show Counting Cars, Danny (The Count) Koker singing his guts out! You’ll get to see Bob Kulick re-imagine his solo from All American Man (KISS Alive II) You’ll gain access to all of this, plus so much more.

Please rally the KISS Army by sharing this PledgeMusic Campaign through your social media sites and be a part of this release!!! Once we reach our goal to release the album, 85% of pledges will go to the Imagine Foundation. Kids who want to play music should never be denied an instrument to express themselves. Let’s secure the next generation of music makers. Thank you!!”

 

Toronto's Diemonds will unleash their third album, Never Wanna Die, across Canada on August 14th; the US release date is September 4th. In anticipation, Napalm Records has put together an audio preview of the ten-track monster:

A PledgeMusic campaign for Never Wanna Die is still up and running. The tracklisting is as follows:

“Never Wanna Die”
“Hell Is Full”
“Over It”
“Ain’t That Kinda Girl”
“Secret”
“Better Off Dead”
“Forever Untamed”
“Wild At Heart”
“Meet Your Maker”
“Save Your Life”

In live news, Diemonds will open for Lita Ford on August 9th in Toronto, ON at The Phoenix Concert Theatre. If you say those three little words "Never Wanna Die" at the door, you can expect a $30 entry, saving you $10.

 

 

 

American true heavy metal band Vanlade has signed to German label Metalizer Records for the European release of their brand new second album, Rage Of The Gods, on both CD and vinyl formats.

Vanlade vocalist Brett Blackout has checked in with the following comment: "We are excited to announce that we have joined forces with Metalizer Records for the release of Rage Of The Gods. We've put a lot of hard work into making sure this album is a real killer, so it's good to know that it's in excellent hands in Europe with those guys. The official North American release will still be handled independently by the band, so we will be working in unison with Metalizer Records to make this the best album release we can. Remember to grab a copy this September, and as always - stay heavy or die!"

Metalizer Records has issued the following statement: "Metalizer Records is very proud to announce the European release of the fantastic new album from Vanlade, Rage Of The Gods, in CD format on September 18th, and limited edition vinyl before the end of the year. This US band catches perfectly the spirit of the new metal movement in the vein of bands such as Air Raid, Enforcer and Skull Fist. Vanlade's new album is full of unleashed power guitars with a high pitched siren voice that will make your ears bleed! Check out two of their brand new songs 'Frozen For All Time' and 'Hail The Protector' via the You Tube clips below, they´ll blow you away!"

Vänlade - Rage Of The Gods features ten brand new tracks of epic speed metal from Kansas City's own Defenders of the Faith. The album was mastered by guitarist / producer Stu "The Hammer" Marshall (Death Dealer, Blasted To Static, Empires Of Eden) at his Frontier Studio in Sydney, Australia.

Rage Of The Gods tracklisting:

Act I: Virtue
"Rage Of The Gods"
"Frozen For All Time"
"Jaws Of Life"
"Hail The Protector"
"Hellrazor"
Act II:
"Moonbound"
"Aeons Of Madness"
"Acid Reign"
"Carnicidal"
"As Above, So Below"

 

 

Numerous reports are circulating indicating that Ozzy Osbourne has filmed a cameo appearance for the new Ghostbusters movie, which is scheduled for release on July 15, 2016.

According to Dean Van Nguyen of NME, Ozzy performed during the filming of a heavy metal concert scene shot at Boston's Citi Wang Theatre last week. There were also allegedly posters put up around the venue – which was renamed Stonebrook Theatre for the shoot – advertising the 'Rock Revenge Fest Featuring Ozzy Osbourne' that promised a '12-hour marathon of metal'. Further details can be found here.

Ozzy has not yet confirmed - or denied - his participation in the new Ghostbusters movie.

 

The IES Rock Honors ceremony, part of the four-day IES – INDIE Entertainment Summit in Los Angeles, was a spectacular evening of inductions for the 40th anniversaries of the RAMONES, MOTÖRHEAD, THE RUNAWAYS and a special induction of Slash. A packed hall witnessed the 40th-anniversary celebration to the day (August 5, 1975) that THE RUNAWAYS were formed. The all-girl group, led by the late Kim Fowley, including Joan Jett, Cherie Currie, Lita Ford, Jackie Fox and the late Sandy West, debuted with the song "Cherry Bomb" (which has become a classic over the years, appearing in numerous movies and TV series, including last year's blockbuster "Guardians Of The Galaxy"). Currie accepted for the group, and statements were sent in by Jett and Ford. Joan said: "I can't believe it's been 40 years since that day in Sandy West's basement that we called up Kim Fowley and said, 'We are THE RUNAWAYS.' Thanks so much to IES Rock Honors!" Ford said: "Thanks for remembering us and keeping the music and legacy alive. [It's] hard to believe it's 40 years later since we met right there in North Hollywood and our lives forever changed from that day on. This is truly a great honor and thanks IES Rock Honors for inducting THE RUNAWAYS!" Currie led an all-star band through an amazing version of "Cherry Bomb" with a punk and metal edge to it.

Slash was inducted by GUNS N' ROSES co-founder Steven Adler and childhood friend Marc Canter (author of the GN'R book "Reckless Road"). Slash accepted via video, while inducting his friend Lemmy and MOTÖRHEAD on their 40th anniversary as a band. Adler led an all-star band in blistering versions of GUNS N' ROSES classics from "Appetite For Destruction", including "Welcome To The Jungle" and "Rocket Queen".

THE RAMONES, also celebrating their 40th anniversary, is one of the most influential bands of the last four decades and highly responsible for the global punk rock revolution. Top-selling bands like GREEN DAY, BLINK-182, THE OFFSPRING and countless others cite the band as a huge influence on their pop punk sounds. Accepted by iconic drummer Richie Ramone (the only RAMONES drummer to sing lead vocals and solely write songs for the group), with testimonials from many, including Currie, he proceeded to drum and sing lead vocals on an explosive set that included "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker", "Blitzkrieg Bop", "I Wanna Be Sedated", "Cretin Hop" and "Teenage Lobotomy". The evening also included interactive Skype presentations by former SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo, video from Robert Trujillo of METALLICA and more.

IES and the IES Rock Honors are in their fourth year and have previously inducted Jimi Hendrix, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, MEGADETH, JANE'S ADDICTION, THE PLASMATICS, DEEP PURPLE, SKID ROW, Randy Rhoads, EMERSON LAKE & PALMER and THE WHO, among others.

"IES Rock Honors is growing every year," states IES founder and 40-year industry veteran Jay Warsinske, "and it's so rewarding to pay tribute to the true trailblazers with that indie spirit!"

Photos courtesy of IES

"Playing God", a brand new song from U.K. metal titans BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, can be streamed below. The track is one of the bonus cuts from the deluxe edition of the band's fifth studio album, "Venom", which will be released on August 14 via RCA. The CD marks the band's first release since the departure of longtime bassist Jason James and addition of Jamie Mathias. Jamie, who has been playing and touring in bands for the last ten years, fronted the band REVOKER, which released an album, "Revenge For The Ruthless", in 2011 on the Roadrunner label.

Speaking to Kerrang! magazine, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE guitarist/vocalist Matt Tuck stated about Mathias: "He's a Welsh lad. He sent in an audition tape and his was really good. We held auditions for a few guys, and when he came, he just smashed it. He fitted in instantly, especially with the Welsh connection. He plays like a beast and he sings like an angel."

Produced by Carl Bown and Colin Richardson (SLIPKNOT, MACHINE HEAD, TRIVIUM) at Metropolis Studio in London, "Venom" is described in a press release as "an unrelenting, fierce step forward for BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE" and the band's "heaviest record to date."

"We've got massive hopes for this album," Tuck told Kerrang! "We truly believe it's going to be the biggest metal record of the year. We've had these feelings in the past and we've always been spot on, but this one feels way more special than anything else we've ever done, so, fingers crossed, it's going to do what we want it to do."

Previously released tracks "Army Of Noise", "No Way Out" and "You Want A Battle? (Here's A War)" are available for instant download now with all pre-orders at BulletForMyValentine.com. A limited-edition "Venom" package is available exclusively through BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's webstore. This bundle includes CD, vinyl and cassette versions of "Venom", as well as custom t-shirt, bracelet and necklace. All purchases will include a pre-sale code for early access to tickets for their 2016 headlining tour. BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE has joined up with SLIPKNOT and LAMB OF GOD for this summer's North American tour.

EVANESCENCE has parted ways with guitarist Terry Balsamo and has replaced him with Germany's Jen Majura (pictured; EQUIBLIBRIUM, KNORKATOR)

Comments EVANESCENCE singer Amy Lee: "After two albums, countless adventures around the world and on the stage, Terry's time with EVANESCENCE has come to an end. As difficult as that is, we stand unified knowing it's the right thing for all of us. We will ALWAYS love you, Terry, and wish you all the happiness, health, and love in the world!

"Now for the exciting part of this announcement: Ladies and gentlemen, meet Jen Majura.

"After scouring the globe, I found EVANESCENCE's missing piece in South Germany. She plays like a supervillan, sings like an angel, and laughs like a great friend. We spent a few days together last week in New York sharing eerily familiar life stories, sushi, artistic inspiration, other people's shoes, and SO many laughs! (Yeah, okay, and maybe there were a couple of stiff drinks mixed in there) wink emoticon

"We are all so excited to play together this fall and bring the show to a whole new level. CAN'T WAIT! I know you will show her all the love and respect a strong, talented woman deserves. I couldn't be happier to welcome our new sister to the band."

EVANESCENCE will re-emerge after a three-year hiatus with select, intimate shows scheduled this fall in Nashville, Dallas and Los Angeles. The influential, Grammy-winning band last performed live in November of 2012. The dates are as follows:

Nov. 13 - Nashville, TN - Marathon Music WorksNov. 15 - Dallas, TX - South Side BallroomNov. 17 - Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern

EVANESCENCE has also been confirmed for Ozzfest Japan, the first major international music festival to ever travel to Japan, which will return to Makuhari Messe Arena (just outside of Tokyo) Saturday, November 21 and Sunday, November 22. The two-day event, which will feature more than 22 performers, will be headlined by two Ozzfest veterans: festival namesake OZZY OSBOURNE (who will perform as Ozzy & Friends) and KORN.

Lee, who became a mother for the first time in July 2014, told Rolling Stone last year that she had no plans to hit the studio or the stage with EVANESCENCE, prompting many fans to fear that the band was finished.

In an attempt to assure fans that EVANESCENCE wasn't over, Lee posted a message on her Facebook page in September, explaining that "EVANESCENCE is a part of me — it just isn't a complete picture of everything I'm capable of."

Speaking to "Sixx Sense With Nikki Sixx" co-host Jenn Marino, Lee voiced pretty much the same sentiments, saying: "It's kind of frustrating sometimes if you read the Internet, ever, about anything. So, literally, I get a little frustrated when I'll literally say, 'No, the band is not over. We're just not doing it now.' And then every response is, 'No. EVANESCENCE is dead.' It's like, 'Man, that's so not what I said. Why do you have to make drama?' I said we're not doing it now. I'm totally open-minded. And, I don't know… I would just get bored doing the same thing forever. There's more to me than that."

Lee released a new album in August 2014 called "Amy Lee With Dave Eggar: Aftermath", consisting of music she wrote with Dave Eggar for an independent film called "War Story". The movie premiered last year at the Sundance Film Festival.

The last EVANESCENCE album, a self-titled effort, came out in 2011.

A demo version of JUDAS PRIEST's cover version of the song "You Are Everything" by THE STYLISTICS, recorded in 1987 as a collaboration with S/A/W, the English songwriting and record producing trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman, well known for their U.K. pop hits with BANANARAMA, Rick Astley and Kylie Minogue, has surfaced on YouTube and can be streamed below.

At the start of 1988, JUDAS PRIEST and S/A/W spent four days in a studio in Paris, France and recorded three tracks, "You Are Everything" and two songs penned by S/A/W ("Runaround" and "I Will Return").

Regarding PRIEST's cover of "You Are Everything", the band's guitarist Glenn Tipton told Guitar magazine in a 1989 interview: "I don't know whether it will ever be released. I can tell you I'm pretty sure it will never be on a JUDAS PRIEST album."

Fellow PRIEST axeman K.K. Downing told Guitar about the group's collaboration with S/A/W: "Stock, Aitken and Waterman are very popular producers in England, producing quite a lot of hit songs by people like Rick Astley and BANANARAMA. We did a little work with them for experimental reasons. It was great to work with them because they are very professional and very good producers.'

He continued: "Everybody is very naive and think that just because they produce these pop hit artists that's all they can do. In actual fact, they can do a lot more that than."

Downing went on to say: "We had a bit of spare time and cash and we got together and had many long hours of table tennis. And we did a couple of songs. We [also] did 'Johnny B Goode'. We were asked to possibly do 'Reckless' for the original 'Top Gun', which we missed out on because we didn't want to take anything off the 'Turbo' album. We thought this would be a good opportunity to go in and do some stuff for future movies. It was purely experimental and fun."

Tipton told Super Channel 88 in 1988: "We went in [with Stock, Aitken and Waterman], we did four days in Paris, we got four days in between Christmas and going back into the studio. It was a mutual thing, an experiment to just see what would come of it. We weren't chasing hit singles; we'd actually finished our album anyway and we had only got mixes left to do."

He continued: "I think what a lot of people don't realize about them is there's far more to them than 'hit' producers. I mean, Mike Stock's a great guitar player and we work really well together.

"The tracks we came up with were very interesting. I don't suppose they'll ever be on a JUDAS PRIEST album, but we've been approached a lot recently to do film soundtracks and things, so maybe they'll be used for that. Who knows? But were really pleased with them. We've never been scared to experiment, so..."

Tipton added: "What I think people thought, you know, it was bizarre because we were surprised at the sudden, almost like a backlash. People thought it was going to be like 'JUDAS BANANARAMA PRIEST' or something, God forbid we should ever do that — we wouldn't compromise the band in anything of that nature. But as it's turned out, we've got a fantastic heavy ballad and we've got two real good rock tracks; but we've got too much material for 'Ram It Down'..."

JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford said about the S/A/W collaboration: "See, what it was, it was more an experiment more than anything else; we never had anything definitely planned. Again, under the guise of what PRIEST is about with our music, we try so many different things — we're not scared to take chances and to stretch the limits and see what we can do, so we went down to Paris at the start of this year and spent about four days with the [S/A/W] guys in the studio there and put together three songs, which turned out certainly no where near as heavy as the stuff on 'Ram It Down', for example… There's a great ballad on there ('I Will Return') which possibly might, in the future, be used at some point. But the other stuff was a bit too light, so whether they'll surface at any given time, I really don't know...but you can rest assured that there's none of that stuff on the new record!"

Halford added in a separate 1988 interview with Tele 5 Hard 'N' Heavy: "[The tracks are] mixed and they're hidden away in a vault in our office in London, and some day, at some point, people will hear them — it's just getting the timing right. We didn't put them on 'Ram It Down', because we had all the material already written anyway, so there wasn't any real need to include them, but I think a lot of people were worried you know. They think, 'Oh god, JUDAS PRIEST is going to sound like Rick Astley or BANANARAMA!' and we go, 'No! No! No! It's not going to be like that!'

"We would never jeopardize our career. We know what JUDAS PRIEST means to ourselves and we know what JUDAS PRIEST means to the fans around the world, so we'd never compromise ourselves — we'd never do anything less than what people expect from us. So they're three very powerful songs, you know, so maybe you'll hear them in 1990 or the year 2000, I don't know. We would like people to hear them, because I think people are very curious about what's happening and we had a fantastic time with them..."

Fan-filmed video footage of ABBATH, the new band led by IMMORTAL frontman Olve Eikemo (a.k.a. Abbath), performing on August 8 at the Heavy Montreal festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada can be seen below.

ABBATH made its live debut in June at the Tuska open-air metal festival in Helsinki, Finland.

Abbath announced that he was moving forward under his own name earlier this year. The IMMORTAL frontman and songwriter has entered the studio this summer to record ABBATH's debut album, which will be released in early 2016 via Season Of Mist.

Abbath last year claimed that he rightfully attempted to secure exclusive rights to the IMMORTAL name and logo after lyricist/guitarist Demonaz (real name Harald Nævdal) and drummer Horgh (real name Reidar Horghagen) effectively quit the legendary Norwegian black metal group.

"I didn't want to go solo in the first place," Abbath told U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine. "I wanted the best for IMMORTAL. I didn't want it to end this way. First of all, I just wanted my music out. I wanted to record the [next] album [because] it's been so many years since 'All Shall Fall'. And both Demonaz and Horgh, they have kids and families now, and it just hit that point where I couldn't work the way they wanted to work any more. I wanted things on my terms and they wanted things on their terms, and it was very difficult."

He continued: "I wanted to rehearse at least three times a week, but often it was only once a week and things went so slow. I sat there with all this material, I kept the rehearsal space and recorded the stuff on click track, but it was a very strained atmosphere and the Last time we worked together was in early June last year."

Asked if the decision to part ways and seek out new band members was inevitable, Abbath said: "I was forced to do it this way. I wanted IMMORTAL to continue, but not the way it was. The dialogue has not been there and it's also my mistake. I should have brought up this shit a long time ago, but IMMORTAL, after Demonaz's problems with his arms, it never became a band after that."

He continued: "IMMORTAL is a very special situation. [Demonaz] hasn't been in the band, but then I always wanted to do the best for everybody, to have the band spirit, and that's why when we decided to start IMMORTAL again, we tried to get the spirit back, and bring him on tour, and just share our thing and be a band and have a kick-ass time. But it never worked out. The chemistry wasn't there with the IMMORTAL guys and hadn't been for a while."

Abbath added: "I believe in my music and I believe in my expression, but time flies and we grow apart. Maybe in the future we can go back again, I don't know, but right now I just want to do my thing and just be ABBATH and have people around me who support that."

Bass duties for ABBATH are being handled by a man familiar to metal fans across the world — Tom Cato Visnes, more widely known as King Ov Hell and main composer for several GORGOROTH albums as well as his own bands OV HELL, with singer Shagrath from DIMMU BORGIR, and GOD SEED, with exceptional black metal vocalist Gaahl. His fellow GOD SEED member and BORKNAGAR percussionist, Baard Kolstad, has also joined ABBATH on drums.

At Tuska, ABBATH premiered a brand new song titled "Fenrir Hunts" alongside classic IMMORTAL material, including "One By One". A handful of songs from Abbath and King's 2006 project I were performed live for the first time.

IMMORTAL's core trio consisting of Abbath, Demonaz and Horgh had been together since 1996 and has been responsible for crafting the band's last five albums: "Blizzard Beasts" (1997), "At The Heart Of Winter" (1999), "Damned In Black" (2000), "Sons Of Northern Darkness" (2002) and the 2009 reunion album "All Shall Fall".

Fan-filmed video footage of FAITH NO MORE's August 8 performance at the Heavy Montreal festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada can be seen below.

"Sol Invictus", FAITH NO MORE's long-awaited follow-up to 1997's "Album Of The Year", sold around 31,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 14 on The Billboard 200 chart (which includes stream activity). The CD was released on May 19 via the band's newly formed imprint Reclamation Recordings, which is distributed by Ipecac Recordings.

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

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

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

MEGADETH recently finished recording its fifteenth album in a Nashville studio for a tentative late 2015 or early 2016 release. The production duties on the follow-up to 2013's "Super Collider" were handled by MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine and Toby Wright (ALICE IN CHAINS, KORN). The CD is currently being mixed by Josh Wilbur, who has previously worked with LAMB OF GOD, ALL THAT REMAINS and GOJIRA.

The new MEGADETH album will be the band's first to feature LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler and Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro, best known for his work with ANGRA. They were recruited earlier this year following the departures of drummer Shawn Drover and Chris Broderick, who have since launched a new project called ACT OF DEFIANCE.

Speaking to The Leader about MEGADETH's most recent lineup changes and the upcoming CD, Mustaine said: "Bands are living organisms, and sometimes when you have four people and they don't all have the same vision, you've got to ask yourself what's good for the band rather than the individual, and we made some changes. The two guys we have playing for us now have been great."

He continued: "My godfather is Alice Cooper. How many guys has he had in his band? SLAYER has had tons of people and METALLICA has had changes, too. We all go through these unfortunate changes.

"You be the judge when you hear the record."

Mustaine added: "Our publishing company just said this is the best thing we've done in 15 years. I was a little bit offended, but excited at the same time. It's like when someone says, 'Wow, I didn't know you knew how to cook this good.'"

Mustaine told Revolver magazine about MEGADETH's forthcoming CD: "There's a lot of riffing going on in there, that's for damn sure. There's a lot of solos, a lot of pounding drums and bass. I knew from the start that I wanted to go back to my roots, and I wanted to make a thrash record."

Regarding his mindset during the making of MEGADETH's new album, Mustaine told Rolling Stone: "Over the years we've always said, 'We're going back to our roots.' But the naysayers, they just want 'Rust In Peace' 20 times, which is never gonna happen. Because I've never written the same song twice. Unlike a lot of other rock and metal bands that, you know, they rely on a set formula, I try and make the songs all different. The funny thing, though, was that when [MEGADETH bassist David] Ellefson was doing the bass tracks, I was telling him, 'This is the 'Tornado' ['Tornado Of Souls'] part,' 'This is the 'Bad Omen' part,' 'This is the 'Black Friday' part,' 'This is the 'Holy Wars' part.' Because a lot of the things were in that kind of vein. Now, is it going back in time? Hell, I don't know. But I like what I'm hearing."

Fan-filmed video footage of Lita Ford's August 8 performance at the Heavy Montreal festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada can be seen below.

Ford's long-awaited autobiography, "Lita Ford - Living Like A Runaway: A Memoir", is now set to arrive in March 2016 via Dey Street Books (formerly It Books), an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Lita told "Talking Metal" about the book: "It was a bit of a struggle at first [to write it], because I felt like people weren't understanding what I was trying to say. You know, it's a man-dominated world, and here's some girl trying to explain to them, 'This is what I did when I was 16,' and 'This is what I did when I was 21.' They just didn't seem to wrap their head around it, and it didn't work. So I went on further and looked for someone else to help me write the book. Strike number two. Writer number two didn't work out, and I finally figured, 'You know what? I'm just gonna do this myself, 'cause there's no way I'm gonna let it fall [under someone else's control].' So it's done — thank God. It's a pretty cool book. It's got a lot of ups and downs: a lot of sadness, a lot of happiness, a lot of humor… definitely a lot of sex, drugs and rock and roll. And I think people will like it."

At least a good portion of "Living Like A Runaway: A Memoir" will focus on Lita's years with the all-teenage-girl rock band THE RUNAWAYS, whose members also included fellow future rock star Joan Jett.

"Coming from a teenage girl, [being in a touring rock band] takes on a whole different demeanor," Ford said. "Growing up with girls, and being with girls you don't really know… It's not like being put into a classroom where you don't really know the girls, but you're in a classroom with them. And you get to know them. You may not like them, but you're in a classroom with them, and you're stuck with them for the semester. But THE RUNAWAYS, we were just teenage girls with raging hormones."

Ford's latest studio album, "Living Like A Runaway", was released in June 2012 in North America. The effort was made available in four configurations: a double LP, limited-edition CD, standard CD and digital download. The artwork for the album was created by famed rock photographer Mark Weiss.

Jägermeister conducted an interview with guitarist Ruud Jolie of Dutch symphonic rockers WITHIN TEMPTATION at this year's Bloodstock Open Air, which is being held August 6-9 at Catton Park, Derbyshire, United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.

On where WITHIN TEMPTATION will go, musically, on the follow-up to last year's "Hydra":

"That is always a very interesting question. In the past, we always had some idea where we would go, but with the last two albums, it was just, you know: 'Let all the ideas come and see wherever it would take us.' And I guess that's something that we're gonna… the same approach we're gonna do now with the next album. So I don't know yet. I think it's… That's what I heard… that the ideas were gonna be a little more orchestral again. But you never know."

On whether WITHIN TEMPTATION is even thinking about a new album already:

"Yeah, yeah. Yes. We're definitely thinking about it. [But] we're gonna start [writing] after these summer festivals."

On whether WITHIN TEMPTATION tries to keep the fans happy with each album while also staying true to the band's sound:

"I think that the most important thing is that we keep being true to ourselves. Because if you compare the very first album, [1997's] 'Enter' album, the album on which I didn't even play back then, and this latest album, 'Hydra', it's completely different — it's completely different. So I'm sure that we lost a lot of fans from that era, but we gained a lot of new fans with this album. And, for us, it's really important to keep evolving. We're not the type of band that has found one formula and keeps on expanding that formula, like AC/DC or whatever. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but we're not that type of band. And I think it's inevitable that you lose some people here and there."

WITHIN TEMPTATION released a new live DVD/Blu-ray/2CD, "Let Us Burn - Elements & Hydra Live In Concert", on November 14, 2014. The set features two of WITHIN TEMPTATION's most-talked-about arena shows ever. The two dates are 2012's resplendent 15th birthday "Elements" concert and the final night of the "Hydra" European arena tour at Amsterdam's Heineken Music Hall in May 2014.

"Let Us Burn - Elements & Hydra Live In Concert" was released in four formats — DVD + 2CD, Blu-ray + 2CD, 2CD, and digital album. The DVD and Blu-ray contain 34 live audio visual tracks in HD, mixed in 5.1 Dolby Surround. The 2CD and digital album comprise 32 live audio tracks. The two shows have a running time total of approximately 170 minutes.

TESTAMENT bassist Steve DiGiorgio and drummer Gene Hoglan were forced to miss the band's appearance at the Heavy Montreal festival at Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal, Quebec, Canada earlier today (Saturday, August 8) due to their touring commitments in Europe with DEATH TO ALL (DTA). Replacing them at the show were Tilen Hudrap from VICIOUS RUMOURS on bass and Alex Bent from BATTLECROSS on drums.

Check out video fan-filmed footage and a couple of photos below.

A new TESTAMENT studio album is currently being written for a tentative early 2016 release.

Speaking about the progress of the songwriting sessions for TESTAMENT's follow-up to 2012's "Dark Roots Of Earth", guitarist Eric Peterson told "Robb's Metalworks": "I would say, musically, [we have] probably, like, a little bit over half [the record written] — maybe a little bit more. Chuck's catching up [on writing vocal lines and lyrics]. And the first batch of songs are just, like, all thrash. And I usually only write a couple of thrash ones, and then I focus on midtempo or just real heavy. But, for some reason, they just all came out super fast. And they're all different, too, so I think, actually, they'll all be keepers."

On the topic of when TESTAMENT plans to begin recording the new album, Peterson said: "My main goal is to get home [from tour] in June, finish it up and get in the studio by September." As for the CD's possible release date, he said: "Well, you know, it's tough to have it out later in the year, because if you put it out past October, people will say, 'Oh, that's last year's record, and it's only been out for a couple of months. So I would lean more towards early '16. And that's right around the corner. We will serve no wine before its time. So it's gotta be right."

Fan-filmed video footage of ARCH ENEMY's August 7 performance at the Heavy Montreal festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada can be seen below.

ARCH ENEMY is headlining the 2015 installment of "Summer Slaughter". This tour marks the band's second North American run on this album cycle — but the first stateside trek to feature new guitarist Jeff Loomis.

Fans who attend the tour will have the chance to purchase several "Summer Slaughter" exclusive items, including a special edition of ARCH ENEMY's "War Eternal" LP (black-and-blue splatter on white vinyl; limited to 500!). Every CD or LP purchase also comes with a free wristband (while supplies last).

ARCH ENEMY's latest album, "War Eternal", sold around 8,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to enter The Billboard 200 chart at position No. 44. The CD was released on June 10, 2014 in North America via Century Media Records. The cover artwork was created by Costin Chioreanu. ARCH ENEMY in November 2014 parted ways with guitarist Nick Cordle and replaced him with Loomis. Loomis made his live debut with ARCH ENEMY on the band's fall 2014 European tour.

ARCH ENEMY played its first show with singer Alissa White-Gluz in May 2014 in Bucharest, Romania. Angela Gossow, who joined ARCH ENEMY in 2000 and made her debut on the now-classic "Wages Of Sin" (2001), stepped down as frontwoman and is focusing on management, while Alissa is taking her place.

Fan-filmed video footage of WHITESNAKE's August 3 performance at Hard Rock Live in Orlando, Florida can be seen below.

WHITESNAKE's new touring lineup — David Coverdale (vocals), Joel Hoekstra (guitar), Reb Beach (guitar), Michael Devin (bass), Tommy Aldridge (drums) and Michele Luppi (keyboards) — made its live debut on May 28 at Northern Quest Casino in Airway Heights, Washington.

Singer David Coverdale is celebrating his past in the present with the release of WHITESNAKE's 12th studio album, "The Purple Album". The new set is billed as "a re-imagination of classic songs from David Coverdale's time as the lead singer for DEEP PURPLE's Mark III and Mark IV studio albums." PURPLE classics revamped for the new set include "Stormbringer", "Lady Double Dealer", "Soldier Of Fortune" and "Sail Away". Coverdale was DEEP PURPLE's frontman from late 1973 to early 1976 and sang on the albums "Burn", "Stormbringer" and "Come Taste The Band". Coverdale explained that shortly before DEEP PURPLE co-founder Jon Lord's 2012 death, he was eyeing a DEEP PURPLE gig featuring all the band members throughout the lineups. The Pulse Of Radio asked Coverdale what if any relationship he has with the frontman he replaced — the great Ian Gillan. "Ian was one of the nicest blokes I met," he said. "I'd flown over to [England to] do a charity show for Roger Glover at the [Royal] Albert Hall — a thing called 'Butterfly Ball' [in 1975] — and Ian was there and we ended up carousing for, like, four days and nights. I ended up sleeping from the moment the plane took off from Heathrow back to Los Angeles. Woke up as we landed. The perfect journey! [Laughs] But, yeah, I have absolutely no problem sharing a microphone with Ian. None. Y'know? To me, it would be the ultimate expression of gratitude to breathtaking loyalty from PURPLE fans. It's amazing. It truly is."

The deluxe edition of "The Purple Album" features two bonus tracks, four music videos and a "Behind The Scenes" featurette on the recording of the album.

JUDAS PRIEST bassist Ian Hill was interviewed at Hungary's Fezen festival on July 29. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked if the the advent of the Internet and social media has made the marketing of music more complicated for a band like JUDAS PRIEST, Hill said: "It definitely makes it more complicated. Of course, yeah, I mean, there's all different factions to take account now. The Internet, with YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, all these different facets, you have to cater to all of them, really. So that makes it a little bit more complicated."

He continued: "The Internet is good and evil in equal measures. As soon as you have a product to offer, it's instantly available to anybody with a computer — it's just that simple. It's also instantly available to anybody who wants to steal it off one of the pirate sites. So, like I say, it's good and bad."

Hill added: "When we first started out, you had a record player, and that was it. And you anticipated your favorite band's album coming out; you waited for weeks for it. And you went to a record store, grabbed it, rushed home with it and put it on your little mono record player, and away it went. These days, obviously, the media is endless and the business has changed to that same degree as well."

Asked what he thinks PRIEST's greatest contribution to heavy metal has been, Hill said: "Probably [the fact that] we've kept at it. I mean, in the '70s, in the mid-'70s, or the late '70s, a lot of the established bands sort of pulled up there; they stopped. [LED] ZEPPELIN stopped, [BLACK] SABBATH stopped touring, DEEP PURPLE stopped touring, and there was only really us that carried the flag there for about five years. And after that, the new wave of metal came along — you know, [IRON] MAIDEN, [DEF] LEPPARD, AC/DC, if you like, although they'd probably been going as long as we have — and it got a bit of momentum. And that was a time of punk rock as well, and everybody was sort of afraid that punk rock was gonna take over and kill metal dead. But we carried on, and that was probably one of our greatest [contributions] — we kept on when everybody else… I mean, they didn't stop for any other reason; they probably wanted a rest. They'd been going for a long time then. So, yeah, that's probably it."

JUDAS PRIEST is continuing to tour in support of its latest album, "Redeemer Of Souls", which was released in July 2014. The follow-up to 2008's double-disc concept album "Nostradamus" was billed as a return to JUDAS PRIEST's heavy-metal roots.

"Redeemer Of Souls" sold around 32,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 6 on The Billboard 200 chart.

STONE SOUR's next covers EP, "Straight Outta Burbank", is currently being mixed for a tentative late summer release. The effort will include cover versions of songs by BAD BRAINS, THE ROLLING STONES, SLAYER, MÖTLEY CRÜE and IRON MAIDEN. Making a guest appearance on STONE SOUR's rendition of THE ROLLING STONES classic "Gimme Shelter" will be HALESTORM singer Lzzy Hale.

In a recent interview, STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor said that the band's third covers EP — titled "No Sleep 'Till Burbank" — will also feature five songs, and will include new versions of tracks from the following artists: VAN HALEN, VIOLENT FEMMES, BUZZCOCKS, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and AC/DC.

Released this past April as a Record Store Day exclusive , STONE SOUR's first covers EP, "Meanwhile In Burbank…", contained songs originally done by BLACK SABBATH, JUDAS PRIEST, METALLICA, KISS and ALICE IN CHAINS.

Asked why STONE SOUR decided to release three separate EPs of covers, Taylor said: "This is something we've been talking about for years. And we decided, instead of putting it all on one, and trying to make that work, we were, like, 'Let's have fun with it.' It was kind of the same spirit of why we wanted to do 'em in the first place — is 'cause we wanted to have fun, just to kind of take the edge off, take the pressure off and just go in and have fun and kind of show the world what got us into making music in the first place. So we broke it up into three. That way, we could kind of play with the artwork, make it fun for the fans, and just have a good time with it. 'Cause we're making our nut on covers. But at the same time, when you do something like that, you wanna represent to the best of your ability. And by spacing it out and letting the fans get into five at a time, nothing gets lost in the shuffle. It just felt like by doing it that way, people would have time to digest each five before the next one comes on."

Regarding the "Burbank" tie-in in the titles of the three EPs, Taylor explained: "[Burbank, California is] where [STONE SOUR drummer] Roy [Mayorga] lives, and we did all the music in his home studio. So I was just, like, 'Dude, the title's gotta be, 'Meanwhile In Burbank…' And then it just became, like, 'How can we play on that?' 'No Sleep 'Till Burbank'… 'Straight Outta Burbank'… It was just hilarious. At one point, I wanted us to dress like a black metal band in his front yard and play volleyball. Because there's this giant palm tree in the front, and there's always sun and people walking their kids, or whatever, and we're dressed like MAYHEM. And we didn't have time, 'cause [STONE SOUR bassist Johny] Chow is out with CAVALERA [CONSPIRACY], and Roy's been doing some stuff. So we just didn't have that time where we were all in the same state. But I was, like, 'We've gotta remember that one, 'cause that could be rad.'"

Taylor told The Pulse Of Radio why he enjoys covering other artists' songs. "The thing I love about playing covers is that it's a chance to walk in the footsteps of your heroes," he said. "It's a chance to have fun. There's a certain amount of relaxation that comes when you don't have to worry about your song. This is someone else's song, you know. This is where you can relax and just remember why you're a music fan in the first place."

On its last North American tour, STONE SOUR played a different cover every night, including songs that made the EP such as METALLICA's "Creeping Death", KISS's "Love Gun" and JUDAS PRIEST's "Heading Out To The Highway".

Taylor is currently on tour with his other band, SLIPKNOT, and did not indicate when the next two covers EPs will see the light of day.

Guitarist Christian Martucci joined STONE SOUR in late 2013 as the replacement for Jim Root, who was fired from the group after deciding he wanted to sit out the band's last tour in order to start work on the next album from SLIPKNOT, of which he is also a member.

FOREIGNER — Mick Jones (lead guitar), Kelly Hansen (lead vocals), Jeff Pilson (bass, vocals), Michael Bluestein (keyboards), Tom Gimbel (rhythm guitar, sax, vocals), Bruce Watson (guitar) and Chris Frazier (drums) — is universally hailed as one of the world's most popular rock acts with a formidable arsenal of hit songs that continue to propel sold-out tours and album chart action. Now they will perform and record their forthcoming album, "The Hits Unplugged And Live", at a private event benefitting JDRF (formally known as Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) on August 24 at The Ford Motor Company Conference and Event Center in Dearborn, Michigan.

Limited tickets to this event are available by contacting [email protected]
/* */ or 313-248-1655. FOREIGNER is donating their performance that evening, and their royalties from the record to JDRF, a charity close to the band's heart. This new collection of never-before heard live acoustic recordings will be available on Sony in early 2016.

The evening's one-hour set will feature some of rock's best-known hits, including "Feels Like The First Time", "Cold As Ice", "Hot Blooded", "Juke Box Hero", "Waiting For A Girl Like You", and FOREIGNER's iconic ballad, "I Want To Know What Love Is". The show will be opened by an acapella performance by beloved Detroit student choir Mosaic, who will also join FOREIGNER on stage for "I Want To Know What Love Is". Guests will enjoy a strolling dinner that will feature select menu items curated by FOREIGNER frontman and celebrated foodie Kelly Hansen prior to the performance. Also taking place that night will be a charity event featuring significant FOREIGNER memorabilia.

JDRF is the leading global organization focused on type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. JDRF's goal is to progressively remove the impact of T1D from people's lives until they achieve a world without T1D. JDRF collaborates with a wide spectrum of partners and is the only organization with the scientific resources, policy influence and a working plan to bring life-changing therapies from the lab to the community. As the largest charitable supporter of T1D research, JDRF has invested nearly $2B in research over the past 45 years and is sponsoring scientific research in 17 countries worldwide.

"We are so pleased to be collaborating with JDRF for such a meaningful program," says FOREIGNER founder/lead guitarist, Mick Jones, Songwriters Hall Of Fame member who either wrote or co-wrote every FOREIGNER song. "Type 1 diabetes is a cause close to our heart, as our longtime tour manager's daughter was diagnosed with T1D in 2003 when she was 4 years old. There is tremendous anticipation around our first ever live acoustic album, and we're glad we could donate our performance fees and royalties to benefit such an important cause."

"We are thrilled to have Ford Motor Company as a partner who brings opportunities like the iconic band FOREIGNER to help raise awareness for type 1 diabetes," said Margo K. Lucero, JDRF's senior vice president, corporate and international development. "JDRF's mission is to accelerate life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat T1D and its complications, and we are so grateful to Ford and FOREIGNER for the support in helping us move closer to our goal to create a world without T1D."

This is just one of the Mick Jones's philanthropic efforts, which also include a longtime partnership with The Grammy Foundation's effort to support music in schools. FOREIGNER invites a local high school to join them on stage at each concert they play, providing these choir's the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform #1 hit "I Want To Know What Love Is" live with the band. FOREIGNER makes a direct donation to each school's high school music program, as well as donating a portion of the evening's CD sales to The Grammy Foundation. Over the years, FOREIGNER has raised well into the six-figures through this program, inviting more than 220 high school choirs to join the band on stage, allowing more than 6,000 students, teachers and parents to enjoy this life changing experience.

With ten multi-platinum albums and sixteen Top 30 hits, FOREIGNER has defied all odds of a heritage band with continued Billboard chart action and album sales, now exceeding 75 million. FOREIGNER has experienced a true renaissance in recent years, thanks in part to their legendary songs being featured in films like "Anchorman 2", "Magic Mike" and "Orange Is The New Black".