A 30-second preview of a new IRON MAIDEN song from the band's forthcoming album, "The Book Of Souls", is available in the YouTube clip below.

In a recent interview with U.K.'s Kerrang! magazine, IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris was asked if singer Bruce Dickinson's cancer diagnosis at the end of 2014 affected the recording of "The Book Of Souls".

"Well, it didn't at all, because Bruce didn't know and none of us knew anything about… There was no inkling of any of it," Steve said. "He'd finished all his vocal bits completely anyway, and then there were some other bits and pieces we were doing. Really, we didn't know anything — he didn't show any signs at all. I mean, his singing, when you hear it… He's singing better than ever."

He continued: "It didn't cause any problems in that department at all. He wasn't showing any signs of being ill. I didn't even know until a few weeks afterwards, when he got his results back. It was such a shock to him and everybody else, because it just wasn't expected at all."

Bruce Dickinson told the BBC about what he has had to deal with in the past six months: "Well, I've just been through what, actually, a load of people go through every day. I mean, 'cause it's thousands of people in the U.K. and around the world who have treatment for this kind of thing. So, in that respect, the only thing that's special about it is that I'm a quite well-known person, so… But I've been fortunate. I had a really good bounceback. And everybody says, 'Hey, it's gone.' So I'm just getting better now, really — healing up."

Asked how big the tumor was, Dickinson said: "I had two, actually. One was three and a half centimeters — the size of a golf ball. And the other one was two and a half centimeters, and getting a bit bigger. And that was the only symptom — I had a lump in my neck, and that was the second one. So I went to the doc, and they went, 'Oh, that's a bit weird.' [They] took a scan of it, had a look, had a poke around, and went, 'You have head and neck cancer.' So I went, 'That's a bit of a blow' But you get on with it. You crack on and you get on with it. So… that was it."

He continued: "Funnily enough, since I was treated for it, I've met half a dozen people my age who all had exactly the same type of tumor, the same location, all had similar treatments, and they varied in age from 40 to late 60s."

Asked how the treatment has affected his voice, Dickinson said: "Well, I mean, speaking voice-wise, everything is fine. I mean, the whole thing is still healing up, so, you can imagine, to get rid of that with radiation has given it… The inside of my head has been cooked, pretty effectively. So, you know, that will all take a while to heal up and it's coming back. But, I mean, I've got… I can sing, I can talk… I haven't gone out and done the equivalent of trying to run a hundred meters in the same way that I used to sing before. 'Cause let it all calm down. I only finished coming out of treatment two months ago, for God's sake, and the doctor said, 'It'll take a year for you to be better.' Well, we've beaten that by about six months so far, but I'm not gonna try and push things to prove a point. We've got loads of time."

Harris declined to discuss how the rest of MAIDEN coped with Dickinson's diagnosis, telling the magazine: "It's such a personal matter for Bruce and the band that I don't think now is the time to talk about it. It's Bruce's story to tell when he feels the time is right. The one thing I can say is that Bruce is a trooper and more than ready for the next chapter of IRON MAIDEN. What matters now is that we've got an album coming out that I think our fans are going to love and we're all excited to share with them."

Due globally on September 4 through Parlophone Records (Sanctuary Copyrights/BMG in the U.S.), "The Book Of Souls" was recorded in Paris, France with producer Kevin "Caveman" Shirley in late 2014, with the finishing touches added earlier this year. However, the band decided to delay its release so that Dickinson, who was recently given the all-clear from the tumor, would have time to recuperate sufficiently to join in the preparations for the album's launch.

The stunning 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 Bruce Dickinson, one of which is the longest song MAIDEN has ever recorded! And also two Dickinson/Smith collaborations.

Steve commented: "We approached this album in a different way to how we've recorded previously. A lot of the songs were actually written while we were there in the studio and we rehearsed and recorded them straight away while they were still fresh, and I think that immediacy really shows in the songs, they have almost a live feel to them, I think. I'm very proud of 'The Book Of Souls', we all are, and we can't wait for our fans to hear it, and especially to take it out on the road next year!"

Bruce continued: "We're really excited about 'The Book Of Souls' and had a fantastic time creating it. We started working on the album in late summer 2014 and recorded it at Guillame Tell Studios in Paris, where we'd done the 'Brave New World' album back in 2000 so the studio holds special memories for all of us. We were delighted to discover the same magical vibe is still alive and very much kicking there! So we immediately felt at home and the ideas just started flowing. By the time we'd finished we all agreed that each track was such an integral part of the whole body of work that if it needed to be a double album, then double its going to be!"

The full track listing is:

Disc 1

01. If Eternity Should Fail (Dickinson) 8:2802. Speed Of Light (Smith/ Dickinson) 5:0103. The Great Unknown (Smith/ Harris) 6:3704. The Red And The Black (Harris) 13:3305. When The River Runs Deep (Smith/ Harris) 5:5206. The Book Of Souls (Gers/ Harris) 10:27

Disc 2

07. Death Or Glory (Smith/ Dickinson) 5:1308. Shadows Of The Valley (Gers/ Harris) 7:3209. Tears Of A Clown (Smith/ Harris) 4:5910. The Man Of Sorrows (Murray/ Harris) 6:2811. Empire Of The Clouds (Dickinson) 18:01

Formats:

* 2CD deluxe hardbound book limited edition* 2CD standard edition* Triple heavyweight black vinyl* High res audio (24-bit Mastered for ITunes and non-Mastered for iTunes)* Standard res audio (16 bit/ 44.1 kHz)

Looking ahead to the touring cycle in support of "The Book Of Souls", Harris told Kerrang!: "Whenever we do a new album, we always go out with a new stage show; that's exciting in itself. We always feel like every show is sacred these days anyway, and I suppose even more so now after the scare with what's happened with Bruce. It makes everything more important to us."

He continued: "'The Book Of Souls' is a really powerful album, we're really proud of it, and we can't wait to come out and play new songs on the tour. We're really looking forward to it."

Trivium are back with the new video for “Silence In The Snow”, the title track of the band’s new album, out on October 2nd via Roadrunner. The video was directed by JonPaul Douglass, and can be seen below.

Says Trivium guitarist/vocalist Matt Heafy: “For those of you wondering - this song was written for Shogun, and is basically almost the same as it was, so Shogun fans rejoice; didn't like Shogun? You may not dig this. But know that since I was 12 I wanted to be a great singer, I screamed because I couldn't sing. I am proud and excited to finally be able to do what I love the way I love. Don't love it? Our old stuff still exists. Love it? Awesome. I love both sides of you all regardless.”

The 2015 HardDrive Live Tour is set to hit the road this coming September. Tremonti and Trivium are confirmed as co-headliners for the upcoming 33-city run (more dates to be added in the near future).

The tour is scheduled to kick off in Fort Lauderdale on September 9th and will run through October 20th where it will wrap up in Denver, CO. The 2015 HardDrive Live Tour will also be making stops in Atlanta, GA; Cleveland, OH; Chicago, IL; and Seattle, WA to name a few. Tickets are available via ticketmaster.com.
 
“We are really happy to be partnering up once again with HardDrive for our upcoming US tour,” states Tremonti frontman and founder Mark Tremonti. “We are equally as excited to tour with an awesome band as co-headliner. Our friends in Trivium!”
 
“We in Trivium are incredibly excited to be going on tour with Tremonti,” commented Trivium vocalist and guitarist, Matt Heafy. “It’s awesome to see two fellow metal and rock bands that are grown from metal, grown from the same bands, grown from the same hometown, to be able to go out and show the world our own brand of metal and show the world what we love to do and how we love to do it. We can’t wait to see everyone out there; we know it’s going to be a great time!”

Tour dates:

September
9 - Culture Room - Ft. Lauderdale, FL        
11 - House of Blues - Orlando, FL        
12 - The Ritz Ybor - Tampa, FL        
13 - The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA        
15 - Ziggy's - Winston-Salem, NC        
16 - Ziggy's By The Sea - Wilmington, NC        
18 - The Webster - Hartford, CT        
19 - Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom - Hampton Beach, NH        
20 - The Emporium - Patchogue, NY        
22 - Phoenix Concert Theatre - Toronto, ON        
23 - Starland Ballroom - Sayreville, NJ        
25 - Baltimore Sound Stage - Baltimore, MD        
26 - Agora Theatre - Cleveland, OH        
28 - Mr. Smalls Theatre - Millvale, PA        
29 - Concord Music Hall - Chicago, IL        
30 - Mill City Nights - Minneapolis, MN        

October
2 - The Sandlot Entertainment Complex - Green Bay, WI        
3 - Louder Than Life Festival - Louisville, KY        
10 - Club Red - Mesa, AZ        
17 - Studio Seven - Seattle, WA        
20 - The Summit Music Hall - Denver, CO

Ruins is the convulsing new long player from death metal trio, Unbreakable Hatred. Set for release next month via Unique Leader Records, the eight-track bruiser from the Quebec City-based tech terrorists was captured by Chris Donaldson at The Grid Studios (Cryptopsy, Despised Icon, Neuraxis) and is violent, precise and unapologetically rabid. The band is streaming a new video for the track “Dysfunctional System”.

Pummeling ears since 2008, the band has already earned the respect and adulation from some of extreme metal's most esteemed figureheads. Suffocation's Terrance Hobbs calls Unbreakable Hatred, "one of Canada's premier death metal acts," adding, "this trio of power lays waste to the listeners ear drums on every level and then some!" "Unbreakable Hatred blew us away each night with their energy and ripping songs," championed Misery Index's Jason Netherton, "it was a total pleasure to have them on our tour... Ferocious!" Cryptopsy's Flo Mounier concurs, "Unbreakable Hatred are definitely one of the new bands out there to be recognized! Once again proving that Quebec musicians are on top of their game!"

The band spews forth the first official helping of the record in the form of its title track, which can be streamed below.

Ruins tracklisting:

“Addiction”
“Dysfunctional System”
“Natural Disaster”
“Ruins”
“Unpredictable Brutality”
“The Beginning Of The End”
“Luxurious Sickness”
“Primitive Thoughts”

Video "Dysfunctional System":

“Ruins”:

The first official video from Locrian's Infinite Dissolution LP, created for the album's opening track, "Arc Of Extinction", is now streaming.

Leading off the harrowing coalescing of dark ambiance, drone, black metal, post-rock, and power electronics that is Infinite Dissolution, "Arc Of Extinction" builds into shape gradually, slowly morphing from through dissonance to an eventually explosive, monolithic crescendo. Seamlessly melds organic flow into a heavily mechanized delivery, Locrian selected Raymond Salvatore Harmon to create the appropriate video for the track, having enlisted his services on videos for prior albums.

"Raymond Salvatore Harmon has made videos before for us," issues Locrian. "When we did the album The Crystal World he made a 3D video for 'At Night's End' and it really was a strong piece in the series we did for that whole album. Here the use of optics is glitched and interwoven marring the natural scenes and generating hypnotic visions that decay and show us less of our world and more of our internal state which sits perfectly with the themes not only of the track 'Arc Of Extinction' but of the whole album Infinite Dissolution." Adds Harmon, "I met Locrian just before moving to London and ended up doing a 3D red/blue video for their 2010 album, The Crystal World. When Andre and Terence reached out to do a video and I heard the record I knew instantly what I wanted to do visually. The video was made through compositing layers of glitched interactive 3D objects with shot footage in the wild."

As the band hits its tenth anniversary this year, Infinite Dissolution marks the newest in the nearly two-dozen recordings Locrian has released since their inception, and delivers the trio's most conceptual and environmentalist visions to date. Produced by Greg Norman (Pelican, Russian Circles) at Steve Albini-owned/operated Electrical Audio in Chicago, mastered by Brad Boatright (Yob, Author & Punisher, Sleep) at Audiosiege in Portland, and bearing artwork based on an immense physical sculpture installation by David Altmejd, the band's second album for Relapse Records brings to light some of the most detrimental tribulations mankind has visited upon our planet, unleashing nearly fifty minutes of tortured yet stunning experimental blackened/noise-soaked industrial originality.

Infinite Dissolution tracklisting:

“Arc Of Extinction”
“Dark Shales”
“KXL I”
“The Future Of Death”
“An Index Of Air”
i. Divinations”
ii. Air Structures”
iii. Watcher Of The Clouds”
“KXL II”
“The Great Dying”
“Heavy Water”
“KXL II”

In addition to Locrian's Midwestern shows in Detroit and Chicago on July 17th and 18th, the band has just confirmed a leg of West Coast US tour dates in August in support of Infinite Dissolution. From August 13th through the 21st the band will flood the western half of the country with their demoralizing auditory fabrications. Special tenth anniversary performance plans are coming together for this Fall, which will be followed by a European tour in early 2016.

Locrian live dates:

August

13 - High Water Mark - Portland, OR
14 - The Shakedown - Bellingham, WA  
15 - Highline - Seattle, WA
16 - Crazy Horse - Boise, ID
17 - Urban Lounge - Salt Lake City, UT
19 - Complex - Los Angeles, CA
20 - Elbo Room - San Francisco, CA
21 - Starlite Lounge - Sacramento, CA

 

 

 

 

 

 

American neo-classic riff masters, Black Fast, will release their all new LP, Terms Of Surrender, on August 7th via eOne Music. Check out the new track, “The Coming Swarm”, streaming below.

Ripping pages from Death's technical death metal guidebook, the St. Louis foursome conjures the spirit of the late, great Chuck Schuldiner while channeling the viciousness of Megadeth's young-and-hungry Dave Mustaine and blistering aggression of Kreator’s Mille Petrozza. The band tapped veteran producer Erik Rutan for the effort on their debut LP for eOne Music. Known for his work with Hate Eternal, Six Feet Under, Goatwhore and Cannibal Corpse, Rutan was an easy choice.

Terms of Surrender will be the band's follow-up to their self-released Starving Out The Light. Black Fast has a short but concentrated history. Started in 2010 by fellow music students Aaron Akin, Trevor Johanson, Ryan Thompson and Ross Burnett, the band has bulldozed on an upward trajectory ever since. Their soundtrack to society’s collapse is relentless. Possessed by unbridled energy and a palpable desperation, the band has a fierce vitality that will not go unnoticed.

Creating a modern twist on the energetic riffs of metal’s glory days, Black Fast harness the spirit of their metal forefathers, whether exploring hand-cramp-inducing riffs or blazing through straightforward thrash. Black Fast songs have a hungry ferocity reminiscent of the Bay Area thrash scene, the likes of which haven’t been this raw or hyper-charged in decades.

Tracklisting:

“The Keep”
“To Propagate The Void”
“The Coming Swarm”
“Tongues Of Silver”
“I Conspire”
“Haunted Vigil”
“The Fall”
“Vacuous Idol”
“Until Dust”

“The Coming Swarm”:

“I Conspire”:

“To Propagate The Void”:

Behind-the-scenes studio video:

Black Fast will support Revocation this fall in support of their all new LP.

"This gang that I'm in, Black Fast, is so grateful to Revocation for this opportunity," says vocalist Aaron Akin. "I think of them as the premier band at what they do. They work so hard and shred their asses completely off and their fans recognize this and are rabid with passion.  We can't wait to go out there every night and give it everything we have. Thanks to everyone who made this possible. We look forward to meeting all you maniacs on the road!"

Tour dates:

September
4 - New York, NY - Studio - Webster
5 - Lancaster, PA - Chameleon Club
6 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
8 - Cleveland, OH - Now That's Class
9 - Chicago, IL - Reggie's
10 - Columbus, OH - Ace Of Cups
11 - Cave In Rock, IL - Full Terror Assault Fest (no Archspire)
12 - Fort Worth, TX - Rail Club
13 - Houston, TX - Walter's On Washington
14 - Austin, TX - Dirty Dog
16 - Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad
17 - Phoenix, AZ - Club Red
18 - Los Angeles, CA - Mystery Box
19 - Oakland, CA - Oakland Metro
20 - Portland, OR - Analog Cafe
21 - Seattle, WA - Studio Seven
22 - Vancouver, BC - Red Room
24 - Edmonton, AB - Pawn Shop
25 - Regina, SK - Riddell Center
26 - Winnipeg, MB - Windsor Hotel
27 - Minneapolis, MN - Skyway Theater Studio B
29 - Detroit, MI - Shelter
30 - Toronto, ON - Hard Luck (no Cannabis Corpse)

October
1 - Ottawa, ON - Maverick's (no Cannabis Corpse)
2 - Quebec City, QC - La Source (no Cannabis Corpse)
3 - Boston, MA - Great Scott (no Cannabis Corpse)

 

Toronto-based post-hardcore band Sparrows have announced that their latest EP Dragging Hell will be released on August 28 through New Damage Records in Canada. Produced by Moneen’s Kenny Bridges, the EP features four killer tracks, including the band’s latest single “References To The Dead”. Dragging Hell will be available to pre-order on Friday July 31.
 
“Dragging Hell has been a long time coming for us,” says vocalist/guitarist Dan Thomson. “And it's almost a relief to have these songs coming out, in the best way possible. The time that surrounded the writing of these songs was one of the darkest times in my life, and it definitely comes out in the songs, both lyrically and musically."  
 
In support of their latest EP, Sparrows is hitting the road this summer for a North American run. The tour kicks off in London, ON on August 6 and wraps up with a special CD release show in Toronto on August 22 at Smiling Buddha. 

Sparrows is comprised of Thomson, Jon Busby, Justin Sears and Matthew Sears. The band’s striking amalgam of intense, post-hardcore and ambient post-rock, combined with a refined ability to craft memorable songs that increasingly push the boundaries of their sound, has helped them stand out amongst their colleagues. Having performed on countless stages over the years, including SXSW, NXNE, CMW and Ottawa Bluesfest, Sparrows has emerged as seasoned vets who become more intriguing with each release.

Dragging Hell tracklisting:

“References To The Dead”
“Our Father, The Failure”
“Hit The Kill Switch And Silence The Storm”
“It’s Always Sunny In Bramalea”

“References To The Dead”:

 

 

Tour dates:

August
7 – Indianapolis, IN – The Hoosier Dome
8 – Bloomington, IN – Meat Lodge
9 – Louisville, KY – Spinelli’s
10 – Knoxville, TN – Longbranch Saloon
11 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
12 – Columbia, SC – Conundrum Music Hall
13 – Apex, NC – Masonic Lodge
14 – Beckley, WV – Wildfire Saloon
15 – Baltimore, MD – CCAS
16 – Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie
17 – New York City, NY – Kings County Saloon
19 – Burlington, VT – 242 Main
20 – Ottawa, ON – Mavericks 
21 – Kingston, ON – TBA
22 – Toronto, ON – Smiling Buddha (Record release party)

(Photo: Kieran Meyn)

French black/death metal veterans, Temple Of Baal, have set Mysterium as the title of their next full-length album, due on October 2 via Agonia Records, and "Divine Scythe" as the first single to be released. The song, which features guest vocals by Georges Balafas (Drowning, Eibon, Decline Of The I) can be found below.

As the album's title suggests, Mysterium dwells on the topics of spirituality and religiosity. "From the opener, ‘Lord Of Knowledge  And Death’, to the closing number, ‘All In Your Name’, every inch of this record drips with it" - comments the band. "Mysterium can be seen a collection of meditations and prayers over the mysteries of Faith, directed towards the gods of the left hand path."

Musically, Temple Of Baal's black metal roots are back in full force, allowing the atmospheres to develop through songs of epic proportions, mostly clocking around 8 or 9 minutes each. Mysterium covers a wide musical specter, from slower ritualistic parts, to furious blasts and thrashy riffs or the surprisingly melodic choirs of "Magna Gloria Tua" and "Hosanna", each song taking the listener into a spiritual journey, evolving through various climates, keeping the listener's mind awake. "I never got that much into monotonous, uniform albums" - says band's leader Amduscias. "I like music to take my mind from one point to another. Even if I have a strict view of what Temple Of Baal should be, stagnation is not something I'm very fond of."

The recording of Mysterium took place in Hybreed Studios with long-time sound engineer, Andrew Guillotin (Glorior Belli, Mourning Dawn), who managed to capture the band's trademark massive sounding, magnifying it through a warm and organic production. Cover artwork and layout have been prepared by David Fitt (Aosoth, Secrets of the Moon, Svart Crown) and Maria Yakhnenko.

Paying tribute to their old school roots, Temple Of Baal covers Bathory for the second time, with the song "The Golden Walls Of Heaven" closing the vinyl edition as a bonus track.

Mysterium will be available in:
- 6 panel digipack CD witt 16 pages booklet
- Regular gatefold double black vinyl 
- Limited to 150 hand-numbered copies double gatefold vinyl (including one picture disc and one black vinyl)
- T-shirt

Mysterium tracklisting:

“Lord Of Knowledge And Death”
“Magna Gloria Tua”
“Divine Scythe”
“Hosanna”
“Dictum Ignis”
“Black Redeeming Flame”
“Holy Art Thou”
“All In Your Name”
“The Golden Walls Of Heaven” (Bathory cover, vinyl bonus track)

“Divine Scythe”:

Preorders are available at Agonia Records.

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.

For twenty-two 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”

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

No Temple, the new full length by Turkish Satanic black metal band  Blliigghhtted is now available through London-based Merdumgiriz Records.

The 53-minute album is divided by 11 songs of purist black metal in its most innovative and spiritual form. Emir's signature bassy vocals reign over a technical chaos of razor blade guitars and his fast and explosive drumming. The music takes many forms including slow sludgy breaks to doom metal lead parts stitched together by fast and relentless black metal and psychotic guitar solos. The 14- minute ambient ending is also worth mentioning for its use of obscure synthesizers to close off the chaos with a somber maze.

This album, along with its philosophical lyrics of chaos myth that include lots of subtexts from the history of theology stitched together to explore a universal and timeless evil embedded into humanity in a multicosmic level and raw but powerful as fuck production will be released through Merdumgiriz where Emir hand makes all the tapes, all this brings to mind the best of underground times in the 90s. The innovation is embedded in tradition just as light is embedded into blight, this album is an epitome of devotion, hΩpe(lessness) and practice.

Formed by Ruahanathanas, known for her work in Viraneser, Blliigghhtted is a psychodrama for exploring the history and philosophy of dark spirituality through correlations and juxtapositions of tradition and degeneration in essence and form. Current members include filmmaker-musician Emir Togrul of Yayla and the idiosyncratic drummer Merdümgiriz.

As with his work on Yayla, Emir Toğrul's grand vision, each No Temple CD, tape, t-shirt and patch is handmade; Emir sprays the discs, cuts and inserts the prints for the jewel case, jacket and tape making all non-machined parts from scratch. All current and upcoming merch comes to fans direct from the hand of the creator himself; there is no limit to the number of No Temple merch, as long as the man is alive. Toğrul is also co-owner of Merdumgiriz.

Tracklisting:

“Antipattern”
“Chaos Serpents' Order”
“The Lie”
“Lucifer Eyes”
“Nothing Is A Reason”
“Slithering Thoughts”
“Eschatophilia”
“Anrita”
“Constant Cancer Voyage”
“Doubt”

No Temple by Blliigghhtted

 

One of the most eagerly awaited releases of 2015 by the AndersonPonty Band, featuring music icons Jon Anderson and Jean Luc Ponty, is scheduled to hit the streets early Fall 2015. Better Late Than Never is the new album taken from a live performance, and enhanced with innovative production. The package includes a bonus DVD featuring outstanding performances by the band captured in September 2014 at the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen, Colorado.

The AndersonPonty Band has created some breathtaking new musical compositions. Better Late Than Never also showcases rearrangements of classic YES hits like “Owner Of A Lonely Heart”, “Roundabout” and “Wonderous Stories”, as well as some of Jean Luc Ponty's beloved compositions, with Jon's lyrical vocals and melodies enhancing the music and creating a very special and unique sound such as “Infinite Mirage” a new song incorporating Jean Luc's classic tune “Mirage”.

YES's original singer/songwriter for 35 years, Jon Anderson has had a successful solo career, which includes working with such notable music artists as Vangelis, Kitaro, and Milton Nascimento. International violin superstar Jean Luc Ponty is a pioneer and undisputed master of his instrument in the arena of jazz and rock. He is widely regarded as an innovator who has applied his unique visionary spin that has expanded the vocabulary of modern music. Together these two music legends have formed a musical synergy that is unparalleled!

“A breakthrough feeling came as I sang with Jean Luc's music, to be in a band again is very exciting on many levels, we will play and sing our way around the world and have fun, for music is pleasure, music is all that is.” - Jon Anderson

“Collaborating with Jon who is such a creative singer/songwriter is unlike any project I have done before. I knew that we had plenty of musical affinities to make it work, but the result is way beyond my expectations. It is also a lot of fun to reunite with these excellent musicians who played with me in the past, they really put their heart in this project and with Jon's creative input we are not just rehashing the past but giving a new life to the music we started developing decades ago.” - Jean Luc Ponty

The AndersonPonty Band also includes Jamie Glaser on guitars - well known guitarist who has worked with Jean Luc Ponty, Chick Corea, Bryan Adams and Lenny White; Wally Minko on keyboards - virtuoso player and composer who has performed and recorded with many worldwide stars including Pink, Toni Braxton, Jean Luc Ponty, Tom Jones, Gregg Rolie and Barry Manilow; Baron Browne on bass who has played with Steve Smith, Billy Cobham and Jean Luc Ponty; and Rayford Griffin on drums and percussion, who has played with Stanley Clarke Band, George Duke, Jean Luc Ponty and Michael Jackson. The band visit the music created by Jon Anderson and Jean Luc Ponty over the years with new arrangements, virtuosic performances and new energy.

Jean Luc Ponty was originally approached by Jon Anderson with the idea of working together as far back as the 1980's. Now 30 years later the dream has finally come to fruition! In support of the new release, a world tour is currently in the works. Also, a videography documenting the making of the Better Late Than Never album will be released along with videos and performances.

AndersonPonty Band tour dates:

October
27 - Philadelphia, PA - Keswick Theater
29 - Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie
30 - Ridgefield, CT - Ridgefield Playhouse

November
1 - Pittsurgh, PA - Carnegie Theater
3 - Chicago, IL - Arcada Theater
4 - Milwaukee, WI - Milwaukee PAC
6 - Detroit, MI - Detroit Music Hall
7 - Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall
10 - Washington, DC - Howard Theater
11 - Long Island, NY - Paramount Theater
13 - NYC, NY - Ethical Culture
14 - Boston, MA - Berklee Performance Center
17 - San Francisco, CA - Regency
18 - Sacramento, CA - Crest Theater
20 - Los Angeles, CA - Saban Theater
21 - Scottsdale, CA - Talking Stick

(Photo - Cathy Miller)

"Lost And Confused", a brand new song from Savannah rockers KYLESA, can be streamed below. The track is taken from the band's forthcoming album, "Exhausting Fire", which will be released on October 2 via Season Of Mist. The cover art for the CD was designed by KYLESA's longtime artist Shaun Beaudry.

"Exhausting Fire" track listing:

01. Crusher02. Inward Debate03. Moving Day04. Lost and Confused05. Shaping The Southern Sky06. Falling07. Night Drive08. Blood Moon09. Growing Roots10. Out Of My Mind11. Paranoid (bonus track)

According to a press release, "Exhausting Fire" provides a crowning example of the positive output that comes at the hands of KYLESA's incendiary and powerful yet nuanced and colorful framework. Following on the heels of the challenging "Ultraviolet" (2013) and keeping this band's tradition of artistic broad jumps that they have exhibited since forming in 2001, "Exhausting Fire" hurls even more rulebook pages out the tour van window. KYLESA further explore and incorporate psychedelic rock, new wave, space-age twangy Americana, '80s goth and death rock into their pitch-thick DIY punk/metal roots. "Exhausting Fire" easily representing the most diverse, dynamic and fully-realized work of their discography.

In writing "Exhausting Fire", the members of KYLESA found themselves culling inspirations before getting together in various permutations at various times to wade through the amassed collections of riffs and ideas stockpiled before, during and after the punishing "Ultraviolet" tour schedule. "Exhausting Fire" strikes the listener with the infinitely comfortable and confident sounding manner by which the co-vocalists emerge working as more integrative unit.

Captured at the familiar confines of the Jam Room in Columbia, South Carolina, "Exhausting Fire" witnesses the trio immersing themselves deeper into themselves and their own process by refusing to hire an outside producer to assume guitarist/vocalist Philip Cope's position. In fact, he reports having additional engineering duties dropped into his production seat, and spending more hours than ever working behind the board. In that sense, it is not difficult to take KYLESA at their word when Philip describes "Exhausting Fire" as "an album we really put our hearts on our sleeves for. We've always done that, but emotionally, it's probably the most honest and raw album we've ever done."

"No band sounds like us and we don't sound like any other band," concludes guitarist/vocalist Laura Pleasants. "After all these years of experimenting with different styles and sounds, we've really developed our own thing and I can faithfully say that we sound like us. With this album, we've successfully made a record that incorporates all the elements we've always played with into a record that works on its own."

Unrated Magazine conducted an interview with SLAYER guitarist Kerry King at the July 12 stop of this year's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival in Tinley Park, Illinois. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On what it was like writing SLAYER's new album, "Repentless", without the contributions of the band's late guitarist Jeff Hanneman:

Kerry: "I worked on for the better part of four years, and I think that made it better, because I had a lot of time, you know, to go out on however long a tour [would be] — be it a week, be it six weeks — and come back and live with it, which is a luxury we don't usually have. So I think that probably made the end result that much better. [We just did several days of press in Europe] and people were frothing at the mouth for it, so I think we did something good."

On SLAYER winning a couple of Grammy Awards:

Kerry: "To be honest? I think it's one of the most retarded things ever, because no one involved with the Grammys has any idea, anything about metal, let alone hard rock. I mean, the first time a Grammy was awarded to a metal band was JETHRO TULL. Are you serious? Last year? TENACIOUS D. They're a fucking joke band. That's what I've gotta say, first and foremost. When we won ours, I think it was probably cool for my parents, you know, 'cause they understand what a Grammy is. They don't understand the bullshit involved with it, but to be able to come home with that big-ass heavy award and show it to my parents, that was important to me."

On how metal has changed in the more than thirty years since SLAYER's inception:

Kerry: "For us, not at all. I think we're the same band we were that put out 'Show No Mercy' in '83. Older and wiser, and hopefully my lyrics are more intellectually sound than they were when I was nineteen. But, you know, it had a big wave up until the early '90s, and then pretty much grunge came and killed every kind of music on the planet. And you just had to wait around for the next surge of people wanting metal, which, for me, started happening around 2000, 2001. 'God Hates Us All' came out, and SLAYER was re-energized, and it just seemed like it took off again. But, I mean, for us, it was the same all the way through. I refer to it as that weird phase of the '90s; we had to get over that."

On this year's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, which SLAYER is headlining:

Kerry: "California was big, of course. I know here in Chicago it's gonna be big. Detroit was big. But, I mean, it's not a typical Mayhem when it's just jam-packed with people, because they tried to keep the festival going. And Gary Holt [SLAYER guitarist] said it best. He said, 'We don't have a second or third stage. We have a fourth stage that's acting as the number two stage.' And the quality of what they put out just isn't there. We did a show at the Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee last year — it was us, SUICIDAL [TENDENCIES] and EXODUS — and it was sold out. We had Mayhem there four days ago, and it wasn't sold out. That tells you something."

On the relatively low cost of the tickets for this year's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival:

Kerry: "Nah [tickets are not that expensive], but they're expensive on this tour for bang for your buck. Because a bang for your buck… other than one band I know of on the second stage and a handful of main-stagers, you know, it's… This is usually where people would come out and just party all day, and they're passing on the party 'cause the bill's so shitty."

On what the perfect mix of bands would be for a Mayhem Festival:

Kerry: "We've been on great ones. In '09, it was SLAYER and [MARILYN] MANSON; that's a good thing. SLAYER and SLIPKNOT in 2012. Us and KING DIAMOND, it's great and everything, but I'm not sure KING's a headliner to where, like… What was it a couple of years ago? AVENGED SEVENFOLD and KORN. Those are two legitimate headliners. That's people coming out and saying, 'I get it.' And their second stage had a legitimate headliner, like ANTHRAX or MACHINE HEAD — somebody awesome. And now, like Gary said, our second stage is what used to be a fourth stage, and I think the kids are protesting by not buying tickets for it."

"Repentless" will be released on September 11 via Nuclear Blast.

ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante spoke to Metal Onslaught Magazine about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's long-awaited follow-up to 2011's "Worship Music" album. He said: "I think its going to be released the beginning of next year. I would like to have this 'Spreading The Disease' 30th-anniversary [reissue] out at the end of [2015]. I think this album is going to take a little bit longer to finish and complete, because there is about 20 songs. The problem with having 20 songs is that you have 20 songs. It's not the problem that you have the twenty songs, it's just the problem that you have to complete the 20 songs. The bigger problem is that we do not know which ones we are going to choose. It's been taking a lot to really consider which ones are the best and which ones are [just] okay. So it's a hard decision to come up with. We are giving each song 100 percent, so that's why its taking a little longer to complete." Regarding the musical direction of the new ANTHRAX material, Charlie said: "It's metal! It's definitely metal. I don't think we are really experimenting. We are not doing any dub step, we are not doing any waltzes or anything like that. It's strictly hard rock and heavy metal. Like the songs on the last record, if they were fast, these will be faster. [Laughs] So it's going to be that type of evolution. It's definitely something that has progressed really well." Speaking about the lyrical themes covered on the new ANTHRAX album, Charlie said: "The way these songs are created, usually I will come in with the basic framework for the tune. And Scott [Ian, guitar] will take the songs and really put his lyric hat on. Sometimes we will discuss certain topics, like this aspect or that aspect, and it kind of comes like that. So some of these titles have deeper meanings, but they probably have more meaning to Scott. I always wondered about that, especially with RUSH, because Neil [Peart] is the lyricist of the band and how does Geddy [Lee, RUSH bassist/vocalist] then take it and sell it?"

ANTHRAX's new album, which is once again being produced by Jay Ruston (STONE SOUR, STEEL PANTHER), will include such songtitles as "The Battle Chose Us", "You Gotta Believe" and "The Evil Twin".

ANTHRAX recently completed a six-week North American tour with VOLBEAT. The band's setlist included the new song "Soror Irrumator (Lords Of The Rock)", ANTHRAX's contribution to the the second installment of "Catch The Throne: The Mixtape", for HBO's Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning series "Game Of Thrones".

Former MEGADETH guitarist Chris Broderick spoke to Guitar World magazine about his decision to leave the band last fall, explaining that he "was constantly weighing the positives against the negatives" during his tenure with the Dave Mustaine-led group.

Only hours after drummer Shawn Drover announced his exit from MEGADETH on November 25, 2014 to "to pursue [his] own musical interests," Broderick revealed he also quit the legendary metal band, saying that he was leaving the group "due to artistic and musical differences."

Asked if there was a dress code in MEGADETH, Broderick told Guitar World: "There definitely was a dress code that he wanted to maintain for a MEGADETH look. For me, with everything in this camp, I saw very early on that Dave [Mustaine] is the owner of the company and he is the one that has the right to say how the company is presented and how it should look. The only time we had any issues was when I didn't know a specific thing about how he wanted my appearance to be, and then I would find out as we went along. I saw it very early on as a job requirement and I felt that if the job is worth it to me then I would make those changes."

Regarding whether he had considered leaving the band in the past, Broderick said: "I was constantly weighing the positives against the negatives. I likened it to a lawyer that's working for a firm and finally wants to break out and start his own firm or a chef that wants to open up his own restaurant. You have to deal with the corporate mannerisms from the company you're working for. And once it gets to a point where you feel like you would be happier on your own, that's when you finally to cut the cord. I had been thinking about what to do for a long time, but up until I decided to leave, I always felt the positives outweighed the negatives."

Asked when that balance tipped, Broderick responded: "Not until the last quarter of 2014. I was dwelling on my lack of musical creativity in the band. Dave was getting ready to go in and do another CD and my heart just wasn't in it because I knew I wasn't going to have any artistic say in the definition of the album and the music. He was calling, saying, 'Hey, I want to get you guys down there.' The last thing I wanted to do was go down there and work on a partial CD and then say, 'Hey, this isn't for me.' It was just the right time to leave."

ACT OF DEFIANCE, the band featuring Broderick and Drover, alongside ex-SCAR THE MARTYR singer Henry Derek Bonner, and SHADOWS FALL's Matt Bachand (bass), will release its debut album, "Birth And The Burial", on August 21 via Metal Blade Records.

JOURNEY guitarist Neal Schon has not ruled out a reunion with Steve Perry, saying that the band would happily share the stage with its former lead singer.

"The door has always been open, like I've said a zillion times," Schon told ABC News Radio. "People ask me every day, 'Are you reuniting?' Steve says, 'No,' and I say, 'You never know.'"

Even if JOURNEY does end up working with Perry again, Schon says that the collaboration would not affect the band's current singer, Arnel Pineda. "[We] are always like, 'You ever want to come on and just sing a portion of one song, sing a part of a song with Arnel or sing the whole set, you're welcome anytime you want to come,'" Schon said. "[Arnel is] not threatened. Nobody's on any ego trip. We don't have any bad feelings."

Schon did admit, however, that he doesn't have much communication with Perry anymore. "I mean, he won't allow me to speak to him directly on the phone, and I write to him all the time and just say, 'Hey, what's up? I hope you're doing well,' and that's it, you know?" he said. "And sometimes he writes back and sometimes he doesn't."

The guitarist told ABC News Radio that he looks back fondly on what JOURNEY accomplished while Perry was in the band. "All's we did was create timeless music," he said. "And so for that I'm very grateful. And I'm sure he is too. He said that he is. But, you know, we're grown men and so it's time to take the chips off the shoulder and to grow up and let the kids be kids."

Schon added that he was surprised to see Perry make a series of appearances on stage with alternative rockers EELS last year and expressed hope that Perry would play more shows in the future.

"I was just happy to see him get out there," he laughed. "I thought it was quite ironic the places that he chose to do it. But, you know, I was glad to see him sing and hope that he would do more, actually."

DEFTONES kicked off a co-headlining tour with INCUBUS last week, but don't expect to hear any new songs on the trek. Although the band has nearly completed work on its eighth studio release, singer Chino Moreno told The Pulse Of Radio why fans will have to wait a little longer to hear the new material live."We contemplated it a little bit, we talked about it," he said. "But with, you know, YouTube and things like that, it's like, by the time people hear the real recorded version, a live version recorded on someone's camera phone will be people's first idea of what our new record sounds like. I really don't think we wanted to take that step yet. But yeah, it is sort of hard 'cause we're sitting on all this material that we're really excited about and really want to play."

According to Moreno, sixteen songs were written for DEFTONES' new CD, which was once again produced by Matt Hyde (SLAYER, CHILDREN OF BODOM, MONSTER MAGNET, WINDS OF PLAGUE). The effort, which is is tentatively due on September 25, will feature a guest appearance by Jerry Cantrell (ALICE IN CHAINS).

Chino told RollingStone.com about the new DEFTONES material: "The songs are amazing, and we wrote them in a really cool way. We had all of us in a room together with one person expressing an idea and another person jumping on it. The songs are really built as a collective. We have five guys who have almost completely different takes on music, so when it works, it works great."

"I think it's a little more of a heady record," Moreno said when asked how the DEFTONES' new material compares to that on "Koi No Yokan". "I feel like we've gone into the songs and really dissected them. If something sounded a little straight, we took a left turn and made things a little screwy. We just tried something completely opposite, not to sabotage it, but to challenge ourselves and try new things that we haven't done in the past.

"It definitely feels like we've taken a step from our last record," he continued. "But it's definitely a DEFTONES record, and it has all the elements that make us who we are. We're not going out there to change anything, other than just thinking outside the box."

Finnish gothic metallers THE 69 EYES have entered the studio with producer Johnny Lee Michaels to begin recording their new album for an early 201 release.

Says THE 69 EYES vocalist Jyrki 69: "Dear Helsinki vampires loyalists, how's your summer been? I've been thinking of you a lot lately. Especially in the nights... in the studio. You see, we are currently in the studio recording our new album here in Helsinki. It's coming out really good; [it] feels like a record I've always wanted us to do. A bit hard to explain, but you will hear it soon! If you happened to like those albums we've made earlier with Johnny, you will love this new one, too. The first single will come out later on this year and the album in early 2016. August moon — where are you...?"

THE 69 EYES released a compilation album, "The Best Of Helsinki Vampires", on November 1, 2013 . The collection included a brand new song, "Lost Without Love", written by Jyrki69 and dealing with situations he and the band's drummer, Jussi69, have both gone through.

THE 69 EYES released a digital EP, "Love Runs Away", via iTunes on February 1, 2013. The effort included two previously unreleased bonus songs, "Rosary Blue" and "Dracula's Castle".

"Love Runs Away" was the third single and opening track of THE 69 EYES' latest album, "X", which came out in September 2012.

In a brand new interview with Overdrive, FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares was asked about Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival co-founder Kevin Lyman's recent comment that metal has gotten "gray, bald and fat," and that it had no worthy future headlining acts to take over from the classic bands like BLACK SABBATH, IRON MAIDEN and METALLICA.

"I think he has a point," Dino said. "I mean, who else is as big as MAIDEN? In the last 20 years, in that genre, who else is that big? The closest might be SLIPKNOT or RAMMSTEIN. It's not because those guys have got what artists like JUDAS PRIEST, MAIDEN, and all those guys have, but maybe those guys have gotten old and bald, but those guys are still doing it. Those guys are still playing massive arenas. But as far as new and up-and-coming bands not being as big as those old bands, I think he used the wrong metaphor. If you say there's not enough younger bands becoming as big as these big metal icons, he's right. There's not a lot of them. But that also has to do a lot with our generation — where music has been cheapened by everyone getting it for free."

JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford recently said that he believed that the rock scene was "thriving" but admitted that the changes in the music industry have made it difficult for new artists to launch their careers.

Asked if he thought any of the newer hard rock artists have a shot at becoming arena-sized acts once the current crop of dinosaur bands are no longer around, Halford told 1290 KOIL: "Well, there's incredible talent out there right now, with AVENGED SEVENFOLD, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, IN THIS MOMENT, ROYAL BLOOD… There's a ton of bands… RIVAL SONS… I can keep going and going."

He continued: "I'll tell you what's changed, and you're probably aware of this as well, guys. Since the invention of this thing called the Internet, everything has shifted… The way we absorb music now, the way we go to shows and everything, the way we connect… I just actually started Instagram for the first time, because I've been told that it's a really important social tool, @robhalfordlegacy. You can see what I get up to on the road, taking pictures of my friends and so on and so forth. So it's a different world.

"We were pondering about this the other day in the van driving back from a gig [during our South American tour]. You know, will there be another great, big rock-star giant like Ozzy Osbourne? Will there be another great, big rock-star giant like Axl Rose, for example. Does that really matter? I don't know. But it's shifted, it's changed. The good news is there's an extraordinary display of talent coming from all different quarters in all different genres of rock and roll. So the future looks bright."

Halford added: "My mate Gene Simmons [KISS] said 'rock and roll is dead' [a few months] ago, which caused a bit of a ruckus. I don't believe it's dead. I think it's thriving, I think it's great, and I think the future's bright. Not only the bands that are coming up now, but the bands that are starting where we started forty years ago, making noise in the garage or whatever. It's great."

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told BBC World Service's "The Inquiry" that the quality of modern music was a factor in why newer artists have not connected with audiences the way bands like METALLICA have been able to.

"I think one of the main reasons I connect less with new music in my life now is because there's less great new music to connect with," he said. "I mean, a lot of the stuff that's been played is just regurgitated… There's not people on the leading edge, like THE BEATLES or the Miles Davises or the Jimi Hendrixes taking us all by the hand into these completely unknown, uncharted musical territories."

Lars also lamented the fact that diminishing record sales have resulted in record companies investing less funds into breaking newer artists, making it more difficult for up-and-coming bands to survive.

"It's all cause and effect," he explained. "When there's less people buying music, there's less money generated back and record companies take less chances. Instead of promoting five hundred records a year, they promote fifty records a year, and there's less and less and less and less money being put into younger artists. And there's a danger of younger artists coming close to extinction."

Los Angeles stoner/doom metal band Behold! The Monolith will release new album Architects of the Void September 29 on CD, digital, and vinyl. Pre-order the album at Bandcamp. The track “The Mithriditist” can be heard streaming below.

Legendary producer Billy Anderson has expertly harnessed the band's smoke-belching locomotive style, while the songwriting is the most captivating of the quartet's career.

Guitarist Matt Price had this to say about the results: "It's a relatively dark album, which is probably fitting. A few of the riffs and ideas had pretty much coagulated right before Kevin's accident, and most of the others were colored by it, so yeah it feels kinda heavy and dark to me. I hope I don't sound like a high falootin' artisté, but it felt personal for me and Chase, so it wound up being more than just stringing riffs together, ya know? That being said Cas and Jordan came in and kicked ass and brought their own stamp to the sound. So it's a bit different, but I think it captures the essence what Behold! The Monolith is all about!"

Architects of the Void follows 2012 release Defender, Redeemist marks the debut of vocalist Jordan Nalley who took the reins following the tragic 2013 death of Kevin McDade in a car accident. The album will also be the first for new bassist Jason "Cas" Casanova (Sasquatch). The album artwork was created by Dusty Peterson (Bloodbath, Six Feet Under, Oceano).

Architects Of The Void tracklisting:

“Umbral Vale”
“Philosopher’s Blade”
“The Mithridist”
“Lord Of Bones”
“Black Days Of…”
“Between Oder And The Vistula”
“Architects Of The Void”

“The Mithriditist”:

 

Essex, UK-based rock quartet, InMe, have revealed a brand new video for “Rapture: Land Of The Secret Rose”, the latest track taken from their new album Trilogy: Dawn, which is out now.
 
Directed by Dan Eden and featuring footage taken from their recent headline tour dates and summer festival appearances, front man Dave McPherson comments on the inspiration behind the track; ““Rapture: Land Of The Secret Rose” is a musical love letter to the South West of England. Trilogy: Dawn is all about the early chapters of life and I hold dear some of my fondest memories from family holidays in my childhood down in Dorset, Lynmouth, Cornwall and more. I still visit annually and I wanted to have an upbeat, rocking, fun song as an ode to my love for the place I'd call my second home. This was a super fun song to play on our last tour and we brought our friend Dan Eden along to capture the live spirit. I'm not a fan of seeing myself in music videos but live feels a lot more natural to me!"

InMe recently announced a short run of UK headline dates for September 2015 dubbed The Overgrown Butterflies Tour, celebrating the respective 10 and 12 year anniversaries of their first two hit records White Butterfly and Overgrown Eden, playing them both in full at each show. Taking in Manchester, Glasgow, Nottingham, Birmingham and London, the shows are set to be a celebration of their roots and a very special treat for long-term fans as well as new recruits who may never have had the chance to see older material live.
 
Says the band: "A decade ago we released our sophomore opus White Butterfly to wide acclaim, two years after our debut album Overgrown Eden. These records were the catalyst that established an incredible loyal warm audience that we're still eternally grateful to have involved with our music. If you can make a show we strongly suggest you make the effort as this is going to be magic!

Tour dates:

September
14 - Manchester, England - Sound Control
15 - Glasgow, Scotland - Classic Grand   
16 - Nottingham, England - Rescue Rooms
17 - Birmingham, England - Warehouse      
18 - London, England - Islington Academy