Italian symphonic-death metal masters, Fleshgod Apocalypse, will tentatively release their new album, King, in early 2016 via Nuclear Blast Records. Tracking will start this summer at Kick Recording and 16th Cellar studios in Rome.

Mixing and mastering will be handled by the world-renowned Jens Bogren (At The Gates, Arch Enemy) at Fascination Street studio in Sweden later this year. In addition, acclaimed contemporary artist Eliran Kantor (Testament, Iced Earth) will handle all the artwork and iconography for the album.

Francesco Paoli drummer/songwriter comments: "The new album is called King. It's a concept album. It took longer this time but I believe it's a sign of more maturity and determination within the band. We can't release something mediocre just because it's enough to keep things rolling. I believe the music world requires people to work harder on their material and that is what Fleshgod Apocalypse is set to do in this ‘new middle age’ era. At the end of the day, quality is the final goal, right? That's why our expectations in our music and writing become higher every time we approach the stage of creating a new album. We always follow our feelings and try to express our state of mind through our music, and what we have in our hands now is the darkest FLESHGOD album ever. As for the concept behind the album, all I can say right now is that I think we need a good psychiatrist!"

Stay tuned for more details.

Austin, Texas metal luminaries THE SWORD will release their new album, "High Country", on August 21 via Razor & Tie. Recorded in Austin, the CD was produced by Adrian Quesada and mixed by J. Robbins.

"High Country" features 15 new compositions and will be released simultaneously in CD and double vinyl formats. It will be available today for preorder through Razor & Tie as well as the band's merch site. Access to both preorders is at www.theswordofficial.com. The Razor & Tie preorder includes multiple bundles featuring double colored vinyl, cassettes, three t-shirt designs, a hoodie, as well as a lithograph of the album art. The CD and double vinyl can also be preordered as standalone pieces. The band's preorder features one bundle which includes the CD, an exclusive double colored vinyl with earth and sky printing, a custom engraved and numbered stash box with album art featured on the inside the of the lid, a custom shredder card, a custom packet of rolling papers, and a custom engraved dugout.

"High Country" track listing:

01. Unicorn Farm02. Empty Temples03. High Country04. Tears Like Diamonds05. Mist And Shadow06. Agartha07. Seriously Mysterious08. Suffer No Fools09. Early Snow10. The Dreamthieves11. Buzzards12. Silver Petals13. Ghost Eye14. Turned To Dust15. The Bees Of Spring

The song "Empty Temples" can be streamed below. Also available is the "High Country" title track.

In conjunction with the release of "High Country", THE SWORD will embark on a 25-show European tour. The trek begins on release day, August 21, at the Pstereo Festival in Trondheim, Norway and ends in Bristol, U.K. on September 19. The band will be touring throughout the remainder of 2015 and 2016. Asked by Radio Cannon in a 2014 interview how he feels the metal scene has evolved since THE SWORD started, the band's guitarist, Kyle Shutt, said: "It's funny, because I think when we started people reacted differently to us because the metal scene was dominated by these macho, wrestler-looking types, screaming at you, etc… And bands like that are dying out. It's becoming a lot more rock 'n' roll. And I also notice that heavy metal journalism in the last ten years is so much more positive compared to when we started. It was so negative back then. And you gotta have haters, you know what I'm saying? It's just that there used to besome serious debates about us on message boards where people would try to figure out what we did and have these crazy theories that we were like, this pre-packaged band. It was so hateful for no reason, and nowadays people are so much more accepting. I think music just got so terrible for a while and so many shitty bands got shoved down people's throats by record labels throwing money at record stations and I think people just started looking past the bullshit and are much more open-minded now, with awesome bands like GRAVEYARD and BOMBUS. Or AMERICAN SHARKS, from Austin. Just cool heavy bands getting exposure."

US heavy metallers Darkology have released the "cult" concept video piece for the song "Kill Me If You Can", the visual accompaniment for the crushing opener of their latest  album, Fated To Burn. The video's concept parts were directed by UCLA grad, Tassos Kapsanis and edited by Methodd/EM and it stars a fair number of local talent from the burgeoning Athenian music scene.

Darkology features in it's ranks the amazing Harris brothers, Michael (Thought Chamber, Arch Rival, Leather, Chastain) on guitars and Brian (Firewind, Solstice (US), My Own Victim) on drums respectively. On vocals Kelly Sundown Carpenter (Beyond Twilight , Outworld, Epysode and former touring vocalist for Firewind), returns with some out of this world performances. Last but not least the extremely talented bassist Mike Neal (Medieval Steel, Salems Lot) lays down some solid grooves and has even co-written about half of the songs on this album, as well as most of the lyrics, making this a great, highly collaborative, team effort.

 

 

Tracklisting:

“Kill Me If You Can”
“Beyond The Grave”
“On Morrows Break”
“The Eyes Of The Machine”
“Quantum Genocide”
“The Shadows Of Oth”
“Fated To Burn”
“21st Century Frankensteins (Nobot2)”
“Festival Of Fear”
“Holy”
“Nightmare King”
i. Shadows Of The Abyss
ii. The Summoning
iii. The Construct
iv. Eternus Nocturne: The Dark Domain
“Your Hollow Soul” (instrumental mix, bonus track)

“On Morrow's Break” lyric video:

Chris Tsangarides, the famous Anglo-Cypriot, Grammy nominated producer did handle mixing duties and mastering took place at AthensMastering.

An enthusiastic Chris exclaims: “As I was mixing the album and as the songs were coming alive, I was thinking wow this is good, that is also good, this is VERY good. This happened about a dozen times. It’s rather rare at this day and age, that you get an album that’s all killer and no filler and I am not using that expression lightly. ‘Fated To Burn‘ is a must have album. It’s an aural assault of all senses with plenty of melody and bombast for the most discerning metal-heads.”

 

 

Darkology are:

Kelly Sundown Carpenter - Vocals (Beyond Twilight , Outworld, Epysode and former touring vocalist for Firewind)
Michael Harris - Guitars (Thought Chamber, Arch Rival, Leather, Chastain)
Mike Neal - Bass (Medieval Steel, Salem's Lot)
Brian Harris - Drums (Firewind, Solstice (US), My Own Victim)

Former PANTERA and current HELLYEAH drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott says that the controversy over the Confederate flag is merely a "knee-jerk reaction to something that happened" and it encroaches on people's freedom-of-expression rights.

The Confederate flag's symbolism is the subject of an emotional debate in the South in the aftermath of the massacre of nine blacks by a white gunman in a Charleston, South Carolina church last month.

White supremacist and suspected killer Dylann Roof had been pictured holding the Confederate flag before he allegedly carried out the murders.

While some people see the flag as a divisive symbol of the South's proslavery legacy, supporters insist the flag is a honorable symbol of regional pride, a mark of respect for Southern soldiers who died in the American Civil War.

During an interview with Sticks For Stones, Vinnie Paul weighed in on the Confederate flag issue. He said: "All I'm going to say is it's a big knee-jerk reaction to something that happened. It's unfortunate that people are like that — they want to point a finger at something, you know."

He continued: "Honestly, this country was built on freedom of speech and freedom of expression, and when you can no longer do that, then it is no longer based on that, you know. It's a touchy thing, you know, and that's really all I'm going to say about it. I just think that it doesn't follow what the country was built on [and] what it was based on. To me, that blows, but that's how it, is man."

As of a few days ago, PANTERA was still selling the "Hesher Dream T-Shirt," which combines flag imagery with a nude blonde woman and a potleaf.

Former PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo recently said that he is thinking twice about his past associations with the rebel flag.

"It'd be like, Would we be flying the Nazi flag?" he told HardrockHaven.net. "I don't think so, because flags are looked at whether it be nationalism or symbols of something. Truthfully, it's like...I wish fucking everyone would get along."

He went on to explain that the reason he and his former bandmates might have used the Confederate flag in the first place was "our love of bands like LYNYRD SKYNYRD." But he also admitted that "there was never a time when it was okay to promote hate." He added: "It was never this blatant thing unless I was completely out of my mind, which I was at points in time."

"These days, I wouldn't want anything to fucking do with it because truthfully...I wouldn't," he said. "The way I feel and the group of people I've had to work with my whole life, you see a Confederate flag out there that says 'Heritage, not hate.' I'm not so sure I'm buying into that."

Turku, Finland-based progressive metal act, Simulacrum, will release their new concept album, Sky Divided, through Inverse Records on August 28th. A new video trailer can be found below.

 

 

An album seeking out the boundaries of the melodic and progressive universe, with new and refreshing ideas to the genre. Huge choruses and heavy riffing, underlined by big-laden atmospheric keys, finally topped with a strong and powerful voice.

The artwork is created by Jan Yrlund, who has worked with artists such as Manowar, Stratovarius and Sirenia, and the cover portrays the post-apocalyptic mood of the album's title track.

The album is a hefty 62-minutes long and the tracklisting is as follows:

“Timelapse”
“Behind The Belt Of Orion”
“Broken”
“Embrace The Animal Within”
“Deep In The Trenches”
“The Abomination”
“Sky Divided”
“Enter Hyperion”
“A New Beginning”

Trailer:

The "Deep In The Trenches" video was directed by Esa Jussila and the main character is played by P3 Boxing Team's professional boxer and six time Finnish champion Eemeli Katajisto.

 

MR. BIG and THE WINERY DOGS bassist Billy Sheehan and STEEL PANTHER singer Michael Starr (real name Ralph Saenz; ex-L.A. GUNS) performed cover versions of the VAN HALEN classic "Atomic Punk" and TALAS's "Shy Boy" last night (Wednesday, July 15) at Lucky Strike in Hollywood, California. The duo was accompanied during the performance — which was part of the weekly "Jam Night" at the venue — by guitarist Stephen Chesney and drummer Matt Starr (ACE FREHLEY, MR. BIG). Check out video footage below.

STEEL PANTHER's third album, "All You Can Eat", sold around 13,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 24 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on April 1, 2014 via Open E/KLS.

Billy Sheehan rose to cult hero status in the '80s with his Buffalo-based band TALAS, and he was recruited by David Lee Roth to record two platinum-selling albums, "Eat 'Em & Smile" and "Skyscraper". He then launched the band MR. BIG in 1989 with guitarist Paul Gilbert and singer Eric Martin.

A new one-minute clip in which Swedish occult rockers GHOST introduce their "new" singer, Papa Emeritus III, can be seen below.

GHOST's June 3 warm-up show at at Doom in Linköping served as the group's live debut with Papa Emeritus III, the three-month-younger brother of GHOST's previous frontman, Papa Emeritus II.

Asked if there is any kind of special audition process for picking a new Papa Emeritus, a nameless ghoul from GHOST told Music Radar: "Fortunately for us, we don't have to do auditions where you put people through the paces. We just expect somebody to be on time, in tune and somewhat glad. Usually we don't see much of our Papas — 'cause they're hanging out with the mamas. [Laughs] They tend to appear as we go on stage and disappear just as quickly. We don't socialize or fraternize that much, which is cool. I don't know him very well, really. He's very new to me."

Regarding whether the fact that the various Papas are "emeritus'" means that they never really go away, the nameless ghoul said: "Well, that's the ironic thing. 'Emeritus' in the tradition of popes means that you're dead — you never get that title until after you've died. Benedictus was the first pope in something like 400 years who was named 'emeritus' while he's still alive. He got to retire with that title. So our Papa Emerituses get to retire, but they're still here."

GHOST's third album, "Meliora", will be released on August 21 via Loma Vista Recordings. The follow-up to 2013's "Infestissumam" was helmed by Klas Åhlund, a prolific songwriter, producer and guitarist who is also a member of the Swedish rock band TEDDYBEARS, and was mixed by Andy Wallace (SLAYER, NIRVANA, SEPULTURA, LINKIN PARK, GUNS N' ROSES).

"Meliora" track listing:

01. Spirit02. From The Pinnacle To The Pit03. Cirice04. Spöksonat05. He Is06. Mummy Dust07. Majesty08. Devil Church09. Absolution10. Deus In Absentia

The cover artwork for the CD can be seen below.

GHOST will embark on the "Black To The Future" North American headlining tour in the fall. The procession will begin at The Fillmore in Washington, D.C. on September 22.

Polish prog masters Riverside continue promo activities for their upcoming studio album with a new video trailer (see below). The band have also added more dates to their tour itinerary.

Entitled Love, Fear And The Time Machine, the band's sixth studio album will be released via InsideOut Music on September 4th. It features cover artwork by longtime design-partner Travis Smith / Seempieces (Katatonia, Opeth) and contains the following tracklisting.

Love, Fear And The Time Machine tracklisting:

“Lost (Why Should I Be Frightened By A Hat?)”
“Under The Pillow”
“#Addicted”
“Caterpillar And The Barbed Wire”
“Saturate Me”
“Afloat”
“Discard Your Fear”
“Towards The Blue Horizon”
“Time Travellers”
“Found (The Unexpected Flaw Of Searching)”

Trailer:

“Discard Your Fear” lyric video:

Riverside’s Mariusz Duda checked in about "Discard Your Fear" as follows: "On the new album I wanted to combine the 70's and the 80's. The 80's were a decade of musical growing up for me. I remember being enchanted by music deep with bass, chorus and all kinds of reverb. 'Discard Your Fear' is a good example of this flow. The lyrics are about the most popular kind of fear that touches most of us - the fear of the unknown."

Duda previously checked in with the following comment about Love, Fear And The Time Machine: "On the new album I wanted to combine the 70s and the 80s. The 80s were a decade of musical growing up for me. On the new album we don't sound as retro and 70s as before, we moved forward, we sort of demolished the previous foundations and build new ones. Despite the huge dose of melancholy and nostalgia, there is a new space, the songs are arranged with more flow and at the same time they have never been so concise and to the point before. The lyrics on Love, Fear And The Time Machine talk about a transformation. About making an important, perhaps life changing, decision everyone has to make at some point in their lives. What happens to us when we have to make it? On the one hand we're excited by the change, we feel free, liberated, and on the other we fear the unknown, we are afraid of what might happen to us. We go back in time and we go forward in time in our heads. And all that happens when we have to decide something important. The first of the songs on the album is called 'Lost', the last one, 'Found'. If we sometimes get lost in life, it is to go through something and be found again on the other side, to be reborn as someone better and more valuable. I would like this album to be one of those that one day simply becomes your best friend."

Riverside are currently playing a string of European dates and next up they will be performing at Germany's Night Of The Prog festival in St. Goarshausen on July 18th.

Riverside tour dates with special guests The Sixxis:
 
September
12 - Atlanta, GA - ProgPower USA Center stage
13 - Richmond, VA - The Canal Club
15 - Philadelphia, PA - Bull Shooters Saloon
16 - New Brunswick, NJ - NJ Proghouse at The Crossroads Theatre
17 - Pittsburgh, PA - Hard Rock Cafe
19 - Montreal, QC - Theatre La Tulipe
20 - Quebec City, QC - L'Imperial
22 - Toronto, ON - Mod Club
23 - Detroit, MI - Token Lounge
24 - Chicago, IL - Reggies
25 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Ballroom
27 - Whittier, CA - The Center Theater

Spain’s Killus strike again with the release of their new video, "Fuck ’N’ Roll", extracted from their album Feel The Monster.

The video was recorded and edited by Adrián Morote, who previously worked with the band doing a photo report of their last European tour. The video consists of a compilation of live images taken from the band’s last tour, supporting Avatar and The Defiled in Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, France and United Kingdom.

The band’s previous video, ”The Darkness Of The Crypt”, was directed by Premutoxx (bass player of the band) and can be seen below:

 

David's new album Rattle That Lock will be released worldwide on Friday, September 18, 2015 on Columbia Records. The first single, also titled 'Rattle That Lock', will be released digitally tomorrow, Friday, July 17th, 2015.

Additionally, David's 2016 North American dates have been confirmed for March and April, with stops in Los Angeles, Toronto, Chicago and New York. Ticket buyers will be among the first to receive the new album, as every ticket purchased online will include a Rattle That Lock CD*.

Tickets for the North American concert dates, David's first since the On An Island tour in 2006, go on sale tomorrow, Friday, July 17th, with individual venue times listed below.

March 24, 2016 – Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles – on sale 12pm (PST).
Click here when onsale begins.

March 31, 2016 – Air Canada Centre, Toronto – on sale 10am (EST).
Click here when onsale begins.

April 8, 2016 – United Center, Chicago – on sale 12pm (CST).
Click here when onsale begins.

April 11, 2016 – Madison Square Garden, New York – on sale 10am (EST).
Click here when onsale begins.

Tickets will also be available at Ticketmaster.com, at all Ticketmaster outlets, or by phone. See the Live Dates page for all details.

Rattle That Lock follows the 2006 #1 platinum album On An Island, and once again features novelist Polly Samson as primary lyricist, as well as Phil Manzanera, who co-produced the album with David. The striking cover was art directed by Dave Stansbie from The Creative Corporation under the creative directorship of Aubrey Powell from Hipgnosis.

The tracklisting is:
1. 5 A.M. (Gilmour)
2. Rattle That Lock (Gilmour/Samson/Boumendil)
3. Faces Of Stone (Gilmour)
4. A Boat Lies Waiting (Gilmour/Samson)
5. Dancing Right In Front Of Me (Gilmour)
6. In Any Tongue (Gilmour/Samson)
7. Beauty (Gilmour)
8. The Girl In The Yellow Dress (Gilmour/Samson)
9. Today (Gilmour/Samson)
10. And Then... (Gilmour)

The title track, 'Rattle That Lock', will be heard for the first time in the UK on BBC Radio 2's Chris Evans Show, hosted by Sara Cox, on Friday, July 17th and will be available immediately to download and stream worldwide. The song begins with the four notes, created by Michaël Boumendil, which precede announcements at French SNCF railway stations which David recorded on his phone at Aix-en-Provence station. Polly's lyrics were inspired by Book II of John Milton's Paradise Lost, which is also featured in her recent acclaimed novel, The Kindness. The single also features The Liberty Choir, as well as singers Mica Paris and Louise Marshall.

The Rattle That Lock album will be available in a CD edition with clothbound, foil-blocked cover, including a 22-page booklet, but also on heavyweight vinyl, digital download and a deluxe box edition, which includes 4 Barn Jam films, 4 non-album audio tracks, 4 documentaries, and 2 promo clips. Available in CD+DVD or CD+Blu-ray versions, the deluxe edition also includes 2 hardback books, a double-sided poster, a postcard in a dedicated envelope and a David Gilmour plectrum.

Pre-ordering for all editions will be available around the world at various times tomorrow, July 17th.

In celebration of Trooper premium British beer smashing through the 10 million pint barrier in just over 2 years, a special limited edition bottled brew, Trooper 666, will be made available to Trooper and IRON MAIDEN fans in many countries around the world from October 1.

At the request of fans, and following the huge success of Trooper, Robinsons will make an even stronger ABV limited edition of the original brew. Again created by IRON MAIDEN vocalist Bruce Dickinson in collaboration with Robinsons Brewery of Cheshire, this supercharged 6.6% version of the 4.7% bottled version will be available this autumn for a limited period only.

Beer aficionado Dickinson explained: "Our fans have been asking for a stronger brew and it seemed only right to do this at 6.6% ABV! Despite the links with our song 'The Number Of The Beast', the name Trooper 666 has actually come about as a result of some detailed research by historian Terry Brighton, who has shown that there were in fact 666 soldiers that rode in The Charge of the Light Brigade during the Battle of Balaclava in 1854, and not just the 600 of Tennyson's famous poem."

Brighton, author of "Hell Riders: The Truth About The Charge Of The Light Brigade", asserts: "A nominal roll was made at the time listing the cavalrymen present at Balaclava — I then used other contemporary records, of those killed and wounded, taken prisoner, assigned to other duties and so on, to prove who did and did not charge, and amazingly it added up to 666! Remarkably one of the extras was the hungover Regimental butcher, who charged wearing his butcher's overall in place of his uniform, and wielding a butcher's axe instead of a sabre."

"Trooper 666 is the same award-winning trooper recipe but brewed to a higher gravity," explains Trooper Brand Manager John Robinson. "The result is another wonderfully authentic beer that is packed with malt but slightly sweeter than the original. It has a dry finish and is remarkably moreish." Bruce Dickinson adds: "I think it tastes tremendous and I personally prefer this straight from the fridge."

Robinsons started taking global trade pre-orders at the start of July, to try and ensure that the limited edition bottles of Trooper 666 will be available simultaneously in local outlets in many countries around the world by autumn so that fans can sample this highly sought-after ale!

To be sure that fans will be able to buy Trooper 666 as soon as it is available, Robinsons Brewery are making arrangements for advance orders to be taken directly via www.IronMaidenBeer.com and dispatched from the U.K. from October 1 onwards. Fans will be able to find stockists and ordering information on the Trooper web site later in the year.

Launched in May 2013, the original Trooper has proved to be a global success story. The premium British beer is now being exported to 42 countries and has already been awarded a gold medal by the British Bottler's Institute. Trooper has proved unusually resilient overseas for a new beer, maintaining its stunning initial export success with repeated high volume orders across some of the world's leading importers.

Guitarist Rudolf Schenker of German hard rock veterans SCORPIONS was interviewed at this year's edition of the Graspop Metal Meeting, which was held last month in Dessel, Belgium. You can now watch the chat below.

SCORPIONS are celebrating 50 years of rock with the release of their 19th studio album, "Return To Forever" (Sony Music/Legacy Recordings), on September 11. Produced by their two favorite Swedes, Mikael Nord Andersson and Martin Hansen ("Sting In The Tail", "MTV Unplugged"), the 19-song collection will be available in various formats including digital, deluxe CD, and vinyl. The North American configuration boasts three exclusive tracks alongside four bonus tracks previously available only in specific territories. The first single, "We Built This House", will be released digitally on July 3, and will be available to fans as an instant-grat for the album preorder, available at Amazon.

SCORPIONS have also launched an official D2C store with exciting offerings for fans featuring brand new t-shirt and sweatshirt designs coupled with the CD and vinyl versions of "Return To Forever". Also included in each bundle is an exclusive "fanified" poster that will feature every fan's name on it who pre-orders "Return To Forever" through the D2C site by August 14.

SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR singer Corey Taylor released his third book, "You're Making Me Hate You: A Cantankerous Look At The Common Misconception That Humans Have Any Common Sense Left", on July 7 via Da Capo Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group. The book acts as a commentary on society and pop culture and has been described as "Taylor's take on Peter Griffin's 'You Know What Really Grinds My Gears'."

Taylor is promoting the book with a combination of bookstore events and a solo tour which are one-of-a-kind shows featuring readings from the book, acoustic performance, and audience discussion.

Fan-filmed video footage of Taylor's July 12 appearance at Turf Club in St. Paul, Minnesota can be seen below.

During an appearance on the Nerdist podcast, Taylor stated about "You're Making Me Hate You": "It's fucking brutal. It's just me basically trashing everyone."

Taylor said that his original title — which the publisher refused to allow him to use — was "You're Making Me Hate You (Or How Justin Bieber Sucked A Million Dicks To Make His Money)".

Taylor's last book, "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Heaven", was published in the summer of 2013 and landed at No. 23 on the New York Times "Hardcover Non-Fiction" best sellers list.

His first book, 2011's "Seven Deadly Sins: Settling The Argument Between Born Bad And Damaged Good", also made the list at No. 26.

Recently, Australian melodic thrash metallers Envenomed signed a record deal with Italian label Punishment 18 Records. Their first album, titled Evil Unseen, was released independently by the band in 2014 and now will be re-released and world distributed in this year. The official video clip for the song “Within Me” is streaming below:

Envenomed lineup:

Anthony Mavrikis - Guitars & Vocals
Brendan Farrugia - Guitars
Liam Wagener - Bass
Chris Sheppard - Drums

Seattle, WA thrashers Fallen Angels have released a new track in “Forsaken Existence”, which is off the band's upcoming third studio release World In Decay produced by Grammy award winning metal producer/engineer Michael Rosen (Forbidden, Testament, Death Angel, Flotsam and Jetsam, Tesla, Vicious Rumors).

The album is set to be released on August 4 via their indie label Cyberdyne Records. The band also plans to tour extensively this summer, bringing their explosive live show full of thrash and shred, which they are known for as a local favourite in the Pacific Northwest.

“We want to thank everyone who has supported us, and we hope you're as excited as we are about the release of our upcoming album World In Decay. We know you've been waiting a long time for this third release and we can't wait for you to hear it. We hope this album will quench your thirst for new Fallen Angels music. See you on the road thrash fans!”, comments drummer Steve Spitzbart.

World In Decay tracklisting:

“The Hammer's Blow”
“Nightmare”
“Forsaken Existence”
“Leading The Blind”
“Fire At Eden's Gate”
“Into The Abyss”
“The Hour Of The Time”
“Mortis Ex Machina”

"Forsaken Existence":

“Nightmare” lyric video:

SLAYER's eleventh studio album, "Repentless", will be released on September 11 via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2009's critically acclaimed, Grammy-nominated "World Painted Blood" is the band's first CD to be produced by Terry Date, who has previously worked with PANTERA and SOUNDGARDEN, among others. It is also SLAYER's first album to be recorded after the passing of the band's co-founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman in 2013.

Asked what has been his biggest frustration throughout the process of making "Repentless", SLAYER guitarist Kerry King told the Phoenix New Times: "Probably the time it took to get a record deal done. And once that was done, the time it took to get into the studio. When you're ready, you're ready, and not being in is, is, basically wasting time to me. And I don't like to waste time, and I don't like people wasting my time. But the end result, I get it. Terry Date, you know, helped SLAYER, and SLAYER helped Terry Date. It seemed to me like he hadn't had a, a big record recently. He's had a ton of amazing records in the past, but it seemed to me like he needed a big record right now, just like we did."

He continued: "I knew [Terry's] name. I'm not a producer geek, I don't freak out on who produces albums and stuff, but I knew Terry's name because of the PANTERA boys. And I didn't know him back then. Once we started working and stuff he told me he did 'Louder Than Love' [1989] by SOUNDGARDEN, which is one of my favorite albums. And I'm, like, 'Jesus!' I had no idea. That just added more to his credibility in my book."

Asked if Jeff's death influenced the lyrics of songs like "Chasing Death", with its themes of alcoholism, King responded: "A lot of people don't know that a year before Jeff died, I lost my longtime guitar tech. He passed away too. More unexpected than Jeff was. Um, that was difficult for me. Facing death... Part of — I'm getting to that age where you deal with more deaths than you do weddings. 20, 30 years ago, it was more weddings than deaths. So feeling like you're dealing with death and always cheating it… At the end of the day, I was having conversations with Jeff about his spider bite and everything, and I told him that he has just been chasing death. I said that he needed to focus on getting better and get rolling again. So part of that song is about addiction… and part of it is about the finality of dealing with death. I don't know. I had to write it. I don't usually have to write songs, but I had to write that one."

Gary Holt of San Francisco Bay Area thrash icons EXODUS has been the touring guitarist for SLAYER since January 2011 when Hanneman contracted necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease, from a spider bite in his backyard.

Hanneman eventually died in May 2013 from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver. He is credited for writing many of SLAYER's classic songs, including "Angel Of Death" and "South Of Heaven".

ARCH ENEMY guitarist Michael Amott was interviewed at this year's edition of the Graspop Metal Meeting, which was held last month in Dessel, Belgium. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the departure of singer Angela Gossow and addition of Alissa White-Gluz prior to the recording of 2014's "War Eternal" album:

"It all happened very quickly, actually. The initial feeling was also that this is gonna be very difficult — to replace an iconic front figure in a band, who is well established, and so forth. But Alissa came into the picture very quickly. I mean, at the end of the day, I had two choices: to stop the band and say, 'That was a great run,' and just finish it; or try something… I'd already written some new songs… try something with the new lineup. And we just did that, and it's worked out very, very well for us, so we're very happy."

On whether ARCH ENEMY was concerned about fans possibly not embracing the band's new lineup:

"I believe that it's in nature of being a fan that you want… you fall in love with a band, or an artist, at one point in your life and you want them to stay exactly the same for the rest of… Never change the sound, how they look, or anything. And, obviously, this was a big change, but I think it was a successful one. There are a lot of examples when it hasn't worked out so well for bands when they changed their singer, but this is one of those rare cases where, actually, the band has kind of gone up instead of staying the same or going down."

On ARCH ENEMY's plans for the immediate future:

"We're touring up to the end of the year. We have a big tour; we're going to America [this summer]. And then we're already booking stuff in 2016 as well. But, you know, at some point next year, we're gonna start thinking about writing new music properly. We already have a few ideas floating around, but nothing really concrete. It's hard to focus on that when you're just going around the world like we're doing now."

"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.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, SHINEDOWN frontman Brent Smith has revealed that he developed vocal problems which contributed to a delay in recording the band's fifth studio album. Smith explained that his throat was ailing after 21 months of touring for 2012's "Amaryllis", telling "Loudwire Nights" host Full Metal Jackie: "When we got off tour, I had three nodules on my left vocal cord. I had to heal them. I was lucky enough to do so naturally — I didn't have surgery, but it took two and a half months to get them where they needed to be."

On top of the nodules, Smith developed another illness, explaining: "I got this thing called thrush, which is normally what babies will get. We have fungus in our bodies that's dormant and sometimes it'll unleash, and it unleashed on me. It went all the way down to my esophagus, so that was another two months to heal from that. Four months in all after we got off the road, then we started writing the record."

Smith told The Pulse Of Radio that the extra time gave him a chance to really work on his lyrics. "You know, the band has said that lyrically, this is their favorite record," he said. "This is as they put it, they're like, 'The Brent that's on this record, we're just completely — not afraid of him, but we're just like, we're hanging on every single word that you're saying.'"

SHINEDOWN released the first single from the new record, "Cut The Cord", last week.

The new disc will come out sometime this summer, probably in September, but the band has yet to reveal the title or exact release date. Smith recently described the album as "a beautiful record, but it's ferocious."

SHINEDOWN will embark on its first major tour in more than two years this summer, visiting theaters and other intimate venues across the country. The trek begins on Thursday (July 9) in St. Petersburg, Florida.

JUDAS PRIEST bassist Ian Hill has told Gannett Wisconsin Media in a new interview that the band has no plans of stopping anytime soon.

"I think what keeps us going is the love of the game. We all love what we do," Hill said. "It's something, when I look back, there's a sense of pride that I've been able to do it all of these years."

He continued: "We're going to do it as much while we can. You might think, 'Okay, I might retire, I've had enough of this.' In fact, you feel like that after every tour and then after a couple of months, you're ready to get back at it again. You get those itchy fingers again.

"Three of us now are a certain age and the time we can't do it anymore is not that far away. It will be a huge blow to any of us, so we just want to keep doing it while we can."

Part of the reason for PRIEST's renewed energy is the addition of guitarist Richie Faulkner, who replaced co-founding PRIEST axeman K.K. Downing in 2011.

"Yeah, it was a big hit [when Downing retired]," Hill said. "It sort of came out of the blue there, but he must have been thinking about it for a long time about retiring. Richie stepped into those great big shoes and filled them. It's been a bit of blessing in disguise. He's a younger player and brings a lot of enthusiasm, lots of incentive and he's rubbed off on the rest of us as well."

JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford recently told the "Sixx Sense With Nikki Sixx" radio show that the band "can't afford to wait three years, or five years now, to make" the follow-up to last year's "Redeemer Of Souls" album. He explained: "The clock is ticking, you know. And especially while the band is buzzing and the energy's there creatively. We had so much stuff happening in the studio, we had to put the blocks on because we were on a time schedule with the label. So we do have some stuff kind of left over from 'Redeemer Of Souls'. We'll be heading out for the rest of this tour 'till Christmas time, take a break, and then more than likely in the studio early of 2016 and see how quickly we can turn this around. It won't be a rush job, because we treasure everything that we do. But I think that the mindset is there to make this record efficiently and hopefully have it out there for our PRIEST family as soon as we can."

"Redeemer Of Souls" 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.

PitCam.tv recently conducted an interview with a Nameless Ghoul of Swedish occult rockers GHOST at Berlin, Germany's Michelberger Hotel. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On GHOST's third album, "Meliora", which is a Latin word for "better," and whether it was GHOST's intention to make a "better" album this time around:

"Of course we go into the studio with the intention of making the best record possible. And I think that any band that doesn't have that intention could probably refrain from going into the studio to record a new record. But, yeah, obviously, we intended to make the best possible album that we could ever muster."

On why all of GHOST's albums have Latin titles:

"It sort of comes with the thematics of our thing, I guess. It was never really a rule that all the titles should be in Latin. But we want the records to…. Obviously, Latin is very cliché when it comes to certain black metal aesthetics and occult rock. But we want our titles to be, obviously, not easily said; otherwise, we wouldn't have named our previous record 'Infestissumam', 'cause we're basically the only people in the world that can actually say it. The intention was never to be simple like that. We want simple names for the records — like, short, at least. Where 'Meliora' was probably little bit more in line with that wish, I guess."

"Meliora" will be released on August 21 via Loma Vista Recordings. The follow-up to 2013's "Infestissumam" was helmed by Klas Åhlund, a prolific songwriter, producer and guitarist who is also a member of the Swedish rock band TEDDYBEARS, and was mixed by Andy Wallace (SLAYER, NIRVANA, SEPULTURA, LINKIN PARK, GUNS N' ROSES).

GHOST's June 3 show at at Doom in Linköping, Sweden served as the group's live debut with "new" singer Papa Emeritus III, the three-month-younger brother of GHOST's previous frontman, Papa Emeritus II.

GHOST will embark on the "Black To The Future" North American headlining tour in the fall. The procession will begin at The Fillmore in Washington, D.C. on September 22.

No true Relapse celebration would be complete without a contribution from Pig Destroyer, the VA-based grindcore monarchs that have been hailed as revolutionaries by publications the world over.

The band’s landmark 2001 Relapse debut Prowler In The Yard will get the super-deluxe reissue treatment this September as another portion of Relapse’s 25th anniversary festivities.

Fully remixed and remastered by guitarist/engineer Scott Hull, the reissue will be available as a 2CD set, LP and digital download. All of the editions will include a never-before-heard bonus track from the original Prowler sessions, expanded artwork, exclusive photos and new liner notes.

The 2 CD set is strictly limited to 2000 copies and includes the original version of the album as well. A remixed/remastered version of "Scatology Homework" can be streamed below:

Trailer:

Pre-order here.

Legendary British crossover/thrash/punk pioneers Cerebral Fix will be entering Framework Studios in Birmingham on August 1st to record the band's fifth studio album to date, the first one in 23 years after their album Death Erotica in 1992.

Penned for an October/November 2015 release through Xtreem Music with a working title of Disaster Of Reality, the new album will feature new singer Al Osta (Ravens Creed) and the return of Steve Watson on bass, also from Ravens Creed, who already played in Cerebral Fix from '87-'89, together with Andy Baker (ex-Sacrilege, Varukers, Warwound) on drums along with original members Tony Warburton and Gregg Fellows on guitars. This means the old lineup that recorded their classic debut album Life Sucks... ('88) except former vocalist Simon Forrest who left the band in late 2014.

The album release will coincide with the band's appearance at Birmingham's FeatFest show in October 2015. As soon as recordings are finished and artwork is ready, we'll reveal both as well as settle a release date for the album, so stay tuned.

 

Slaves not only to the sword, but the road as well, the Los Angeles-based metal act Exmortus refuses to rest, as they've just announced a fall tour in support of Marty Friedman on the legendary guitarist's first North American tour in 12 years. The 21-date tour will kick off in Baltimore on September 9th.

Says guitarist David Rivera, "This tour is going to be insane! Touring with one of my idols is unreal!"

But that's not all, folks: Soon after stunning a capacity crowd at Prosthetic's West Coast Metal Meeting on Saturday, Exmortus headed east to Denver, where tonight the group kicks off a short summer tour with fellow Angelenos Kyng. The band will continue to shred faces and guitars alike as they sample new material from their upcoming album - which they recently completed recording at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, CA with Zack Ohren (Suffocation, Immolation) - on unsuspecting crowds.

Exmortus' forthcoming album will mark the band's sophomore release for Prosthetic Records, and the follow-up to their 2014 release Slave To The Sword. It sees the addition of bassist Michael Cosio (ex-Abysmal Dawn) to the group's existing line-up of Conan (vocals/guitars), Mario Moreno (drums) and Rivera.

Moreno commented on the new album,"Writing and recording this record was no easy task, but we got through it and are extremely happy with the end result. It's a 'metal buffet' with a little something for everyone to enjoy. Getting the chance to record with Zack again was great, especially to be tracking in a bigger studio than the last album. A tedious process but fulfilling none the less. Hard to believe we spent half a month tracking for this album. I'm confident in saying that this is the best Exmortus album to date. You can groove, headbang and air guitar to it, what's not to love!?"

Added Conan, "It was great to work with Zack again. He understands our vision and gets the best out of each of us. Our work is incomplete without his encouragement and sonic wizardry. Wrought in fires hotter than Hell itself, we are very proud of this new steel. This record is everything you love about Exmortus and then some. Revel in our battle cries, screaming guitars, crushing bass and thunderous drums! The storm is coming! We ride forth!"

Find the band’s live itinerary at this location.

The Anthropocene Extinction is the forthcoming new full-length from San Diego deathgrind icons, Cattle Decapitation. Set for world wide release August 7th via Metal Blade Records, the follow-up to 2012's Monolith Of Inhumanity was again captured by producer Dave Otero (Allegaeon, Cephalic Carnage) at Flatline Audio in Denver, Colorado, and includes guest appearances from the legendary Philip H. Anselmo, Tristan Shone/Author & Punisher and Bethlehem's Mr. Jurgen Bartsch.  

Check out a new “making of” documentary below:

Thematically, with The Anthropocene Extinction we are transported forward to man's last gasps, reminiscent of what is currently going on with the Laysan Albatrosses on the island of Midway Atoll. The birds and aquatic wildlife of the Pacific Ocean are mistaking the vast amounts of man-made plastic items for food, ingesting it and are dying in large numbers, rotting where they fall and exposing to the world what is happening to the ecosystems of the earth's oceans - the most unknown and unexplored part of our planet. The breakdown of the earth's ecosystems has begun long ago due to human interaction as well as the domino effect that will surely seal the fate for our species: The Anthropocene Extinction.

As a precursor to its release the band is offering up seventh track and second single “Mammals In Babylon”.

Offers guitarist Josh Elmore, "'Mammals In Babylon' was one of the earliest songs written for the new album. At that time we had completed several other tunes that fell more on the epic side of our writing style. As a foil to that strategy, 'Mammals' came about based upon a desire to concoct a no-BS, straight-forward ripper. Blending a brutal death metal assault with groovier passages that leads into a bleak, yet triumphant chorus, 'Mammals' has a pounding quality that gives way to a buzz-sawing completion. All the while [vocalist] Travis' [Ryan] lyrics frame humanity's infancy in paradise and our evolution to 'maturity' which now finds us dwelling in a wasteland of our own creation. We invite you to take a listen to the next track from The Anthropocene Extinction."  

The Anthropocene Extinction tracklisting:

“Manufactured Extinct”
“The Prophets Of Loss”
“Plagueborne”
“Clandestine Ways (Krokodil Rot)”
“Circo Inhumanitas”
“The Burden Of Seven Billion”
“Mammals In Babylon”
“Mutual Assured Destruction”
“Not Suitable For Life”
“Apex Blasphemy”
“Ave Exitium”
“Pacific Grim”

"Mammals In Babylon":

“Manufactured Extinct”:

The Anthropocene Extinction will be released August 7th. For pre-order bundles visit this location.

Cattle Decapitation:

Travis Ryan - vocals
Josh Elmore - guitar
Derek Engemann - bass
Dave McGraw - drums

 

Century Media Records recently started a collaboration with Anders Fridén (In Flames) and his label, Razzia Notes Records. Black Temple from Helsingborg, Sweden, will be the first release Razzia Notes licensed to Century Media for all territories outside of Scandinavia and North America.

Black Temple’s album debut, It All Ends, is an intense story with impressive dynamics. With Magnus Lindberg (Cult Of Luna) in the producer's seat the band, that has been called the country's most violent live act, explores new territory in their musical landscapes: A primitive primordial drive fights it out with immediate melodies, performed with an ever present sense that each note can be the last. The end may be near, but It All Ends is just the beginning.

Anders Fridén comments: ”First time I heard Black Temple I freaked and I said to myself, I gotta work with these guys somehow. The whole expression of their music is a perfect introduction to Razzia notes and our new collaboration with Century media. Do yourself a favor and get a copy of It All Ends, it’s a monster of an album.”

Jonas, singer and bass player comments: "To become label mates with three of my favourite bands at the same time is a bit like a wet dream... I mean, c'mon - Dark Funeral, Marduk and Watain... And this is just the top layer, in my opinion, of what this behemoth of a label has released thru the years. Simply - such a great honour!"

More details about It All Ends will be released soon!

Black Temple will also be supporting In Flames on their European tour this fall and will soon kick off their Scandinavian tour with The Sword. See below for the exact dates.

August (with The Sword)
22 - Parkteatret - Oslo, Norway                    
23 - Sticky Fingers - Göteborg, Sweden                                
25 - Tavastia - Helsinki, Finland                     
27 - Debaser Strand - Stockholm, Sweden    
28 - KB - Malmö, Sweden                 
29 - Lille Vega - Copenhagen, Denmark                     

October (with In Flames)
13 - Pakkahoune - Tampere, Finland  
14 - Logo - Turku, Finland
15 - Lutakko - Jyväskylä, Finland       
16 - Rytmikorjaamo - Seinäjoki, Finland         
17 - Jäähalli - Oulo, Finland       
19 - Flygeln - Norrköping, Sweden    
20 - Garden - Linköping, Sweden      
21 - Appollon Folkets Hus - Trollhättan, Sweden       
22 - KB - Malmö, Sweden
23 - KB - Malmö, Sweden     
24 - Conventum Congress - Örebro, Sweden
25 - Katalin - Uppsala, Sweden         
27 - Luleå Enegri Arena - Luleå, Sweden        
28 - Idun Teatern - Umeå, Sweden     
30 - Nöjesfabriken - Karlstad, Sweden          
31 - Scandic Hallen - Hammar, Norway         

November
1 - Konserthus Ztlitz - Stavanger, Norway   
3 - Maritim Hall - Haugesund, Norway         
4 - USF Verftet - Bergen, Norway   
5 - Studentersamfundet - Trondheim, Norway         
6 - Gasklockorna - Gävle, Sweden  
7 - Folkets Park / Teaterladan - Huskvarna, Sweden
8 - Train - Aarhus, Sweden  
10 - Effenaar - Eindhoven, Netherlands   
11 - Zeche - Bochum, Germany          
12 - Le Splendid - Lille, France        
13 - Le 106 - Rouen, France
14 - L' Autre Canal - Nancy, France  
15 - Z7 - Pratteln, Switzerland     
17 - L'Usine - Geneva, Switzerland
18 - Posthof - Linz, Austria  
19 - Batschkapp - Frankfurt, Germany
20 - Hellraiser - Leipzig, Germany       

Black Temple is:

Witold - guitars
Jesper - drums and electronics
Jonas - bass and vocals

(Photo: Kristoffer Granath)

West Coast psychedelic thrash collective, Vhöl, which features vocalist Mike Scheidt (YOB), guitarist John Cobbett (Hammers Of Misfortune, ex-Ludicra), bassist Sigrid Sheie (Hammers Of Misfortune, ex-Amber Asylum) and drummer Aesop Dekker (Agalloch, Worm Ouroboros, ex-Ludicra) - will unleash its sophomore full-length this fall via Profound Lore.

Titled Deeper Than Sky, the follow up to 2013's self-titled debut was recorded at Light Rail Studios in San Francisco and mastered at Trakworx Studio (also in San Francisco).

Issues the band of the forthcoming release, "Vhöl continues to explore unbridled, high energy metal with very little digital processing, and lots of sounds, riffs and ideas flying around. This music is all about the ascending side of the manic curve."

Vhöl's Deeper Than Sky will be released via Profound Lore on October 23rd, with artwork, tracklisting and teasers to be revealed in the coming weeks.

(Photo - Sarah Brady)

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich says that streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music are good for music but accepts that streaming platforms benefit established artists more than they do the aspiring ones who have yet to break through.

METALLICA famously sued the Napster file-sharing service in 2000 after the band discovered that a leaked demo version of its song "I Disappear" was circulating on the service before it was released. At the time fifteen years ago, Ulrich told The Pulse Of Radio that the Napster battle was not about getting money for the band's music, but about having control over how it was shared. "All we want as an artist is a choice," he said. "There's nothing to argue about that. Nobody has the right to do with our music whatever they want. We do. We're saying as much as the next band want to work with Napster, we have the right not to."

His views on the subject today have not changed, with the drummer telling BBC World Service's "The Inquiry": "I believe streaming is good for music, yeah. The one thing I read a lot is… People sit there and go, 'I'm not getting paid very much for streaming.' But there's one major thing that gets overlooked in that argument and in the whole thing, [and that] is that streaming is a choice on all fronts. It's a choice for the fan to be part of. It's a choice for the artists who are involved in making their music available on streaming services. It's a choice by the record companies that represent the artists. Fifteen years ago, those choices didn't exist."

He added: "[Having music available on a streaming service like Spotify] a choice. I'm presented with a choice. Somebody sends us an e-mail and says, 'Hi. We have a streaming service. Would you like to be on it?' I mean, of course, as an artist, you want you music to be heard."

However, Ulrich does acknowledge that streaming helps popular artists more than independent musicians. He admitted: "Streaming probably does benefit artists with higher profiles, yes. And if you listen to playlists that are being made available for people in the streaming services, they feature more higher-profile artists. That just seems to be the way it's, sort of, playing out right now."

Ulrich sees the quality of modern music as one of the main reasons 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."

In December 2012, METALLICA made all nine of its studio albums, as well as various live material, singles, remixes and collaborations, available on Spotify.

METALLICA is now able to make these deals directly since, as of 2012, the band has complete control over the master tapes of all its audio and video recordings. The band has also launched its own label, Blackened Recordings.