During their July 3rd show in Phoenix, AZ at the Ak-Chin Pavilion, Slayer performed three songs from their new album, Repentless: the title track, "When The Stillness Comes" and "Implode". Check out the fan-filmed video from the night below:

Slayer guitarist Kerry King recently spoke with the Phoenix New Times about the making of their new album, Repentless. An excerpt from the interview is available below:

Q: While writing, what emotions were running highest in you?

King: "Well, if I hadn’t started picking up music until he passed, it would’ve been really difficult. But when Jeff got hurt, I took it upon myself to start writing a shitload of stuff, because I didn’t know if he was gonna come back and have six songs, half a song, no songs — I had to assume that he was gonna have no songs. I didn’t know. So I just went forward and over the period of four years I made a bunch of material. We had a lot of stuff left over that was already recorded as well from other albums. So we were far along the way towards a new record if we needed to go that route."

Q: For you though, when you are writing, are you channeling those emotions from your current life, or is it more of a technical process about what sounds super heavy to you?

King: "It’s kind of business as usual, you know, as far as making music. I mean, of course I sit down to make up a music that’s a challenge, not necessarily to make up songs. I’m just looking to get some ideas and they may turn into a song that week, or it may turn into a song 20 years later. The funny thing about some of the riffs on this record — the intro to 'When The Stillness Comes' is 20 years old. Every time I tell people that, they’re like 'Really?' And the intro to 'Vices' is probably 20 years old. At the time, I just didn’t have the things to marry them to become a song. I like that though. Figuring those things out — it kinda gives the record a sound of what Slayer wrote 20 years ago, as well as what Slayer wrote in the past five years."

Click here for the complete interview.

The Repentless artwork was created by Brazilian artist Marcelo Vasco in collaboration with the band's Tom Araya and Kerry King.

Repentless tracklisting:

“Delusions Of Saviour”
“Repentless”
“Take Control”
“Vices”
“Cast The First Stone”
“When The Stillness Comes”
“Chasing Death”
“Implode”
“Piano Wire”
“Atrocity Vendor”
“You Against You”
“Pride In Prejudice”

The album's title and first official track is available digitally virtually everywhere around the globe now. Check out an official visualizer video below:

"“Repentless” is my Jeff tribute," said Slayer's Kerry King. "I call it the 'HannemAnthem’.  It's my perspective of Jeff's perspective, it's what I think... if Jeff wrote a song for himself, “Repentless” would be it."

Arrogance, violence, world in disarray
Dealing with insanity every fuckin' day
I hate the life, hate the fame, hate the fuckin' scene
Pissing match of egos, fuck their vanity

For the song's full lyrics, click here.

Slayer will tour extensively to support the new album, headlining this summer's Mayhem Festival as well as playing other major outdoor festivals and several "An Evening With..." Slayer-only concerts. The band are also guests on the second annual Motörhead's Motörboat.

Fan-filmed video of Canadian bashers Kobra And The Lotus performing in Manchester, UK on June 26th has been posted online. Check out "I Am I Am", "Warhorse" and "50 Shades Of Evil" below:

Known for supporting legendary bands KISS and Def Leppard on KISS' massive 40 Anniversary North American tour last summer, Kobra And The Lotus will soon release a brand new EP. Due out August 28th, the Words Of The Prophets EP (Titan Music) was produced by the Grammy-nominated Johnny K (Megadeth, Disturbed, Three Doors Down) and will feature cover songs by great Canadian artists.

The band’s new video for their cover of the Alannah Myles classic “Black Velvet” can be seen below:

Of the new release, frontwoman Kobra Paige commented, ""Kobra and the Lotus is a riff-loving, vocal whaling, storm bringing band. We couldn't do what we do without paying homage to the true roots that were layed down before us. Words Of The Prophets is a tribute to those great Canadian classic rock influences that have set the foundation for music magic since we first heard these songs playing on the radio as little kids. They carry a ton of nostalgia, inspire ambitious journeys, and we hope to rub some of that off on you!"

Words Of The Prophets tracklisting:

“Lay It On The Line” (Triumph)
“Sign Of The Gypsy Queen” (April Wine)
“Black Velvet” (Alannah Myles)
“Let It Ride”  (BTO)
“Spirit Of Radio” (Rush)

Norwegian progrock/avantgarde legends, Green Carnation, have signed an exclusive worldwide deal for 2016 with acclaimed Dutch booking agency, Loud Noise.

Having been around for almost 20 years, and having worked with bands like Sepultura, Volbeat, Marty Friedman, Riverside and Candlemass, booking agent Tjerk Maas is looking forward to assist in 2016 becoming a memorable year for Green Carnation and their fans: “I am very excited to be working with Green Carnation to help them bring their anniversary show to venues and festivals all over the world. Next year will see them Norwegians all over the place!”

The deal signals an ambition to take their Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness 15th anniversary show to many more places than the already confirmed Blastfest in Bergen, Norway in February 2016. Stay tuned for updates.

 

Maverick UK death metallers Scythian have premiered their new track "Beyond The Dust"; listen via the audio player below. "Beyond The Dust" is the opening salvo from Hubris In Excelsis, the band's forthcoming second album, set for international release on August 21st via Hells Headbangers.

Hubris in Excelsis by SCYTHIAN

Heavily inspired by apocalyptic science fiction, morbid poetry, and the unlikely mix of Sodom, Bathory, and Angelcorpse - or perhaps more specifically, INRI-era Sarcofago, '90s Zemial, and Desaster's Tyrants Of The Netherworld - here on Hubris In Excelsis, Scythian better the bold sound and vision triumphantly displayed across their celebrated debut album, 2009's To Those Who Stand Against Us, whilst retaining the unique, charismatic core that won them favor 'n' fervor in the international metal underground. From slow-burning beginning to bloody, battle-torn end, Scythian fire off nine, total-experience epics that are as engaging and invigorating as the last: almost narrative despite the hellfire and fury with which Scythian play, yet winding through a wide range of dynamic contours and subtly dusted with tasteful nuance.

Scythian are both obedient to and defiant of metal tradition, for in their world, there are "no gods / no masters" - only the power of the will, and the iron-fisted hand that wields it. They've harnessed such a power with the aid of Esoteric's Greg Chandler, who recorded and engineered Hubris In Excelsis at his Priory Studios, with mastering by Mithras' Leon Macey at Dreaming Studios. Altogether, it's a recording rich with confidence and color, vigor and violence, sweat and celestial space. Completing the totality of Hubris In Excelsis is the cover (and interior) art painted by esteemed underground artist Blanka Dvorak, which is rich with imagery influenced by morbid, dystopian sci-fi and resonates with the album's latent lyrical themes.

Hubris In Excelsis cover and tracklisting are as follows:

"Beyond The Dust"
"Hubris In Excelsis"
"Apocalyptic Visions"
"As Tyrants Feast"
"Penultimate Truth: Ultimate Deceit"
"The Laws"
"Three Stigmata"
"War Graves (Dulce et Decorum Est)"
"Dystopia"

 

 

 

Finland's To/Die/For has uploaded an audio stream of the song "Unknown III" from their new album, Cult, which was released in June by Massacre Records."Unknown III" is in loving memory of the band's former drummer and cover artist Tonmi Lillman, who played with To/Die/For from 1999 – 2003, and again from 2009 – 2010. Lillman passed away in 2012.

Cult tracklisting:

"In Black"
"Screaming Birds"
"Unknown III"
"Mere Dream"
"You"
"Straight Up"
"Let It Bleed"
"End Of Tears"

"Dying Embers" - Demo 2001 (Only on Massacre Records digipack)

The video for "Screaming Birds" can be seen below.

 

 

 

 

Washington-based hybrid extreme metallers, Mercy Brown, have unveiled a head-spinning new video for “News Complaint”, a track off their self-titled début album. The video was primarily performed on GoPros, as the band rock out to a punkier side of their extreme metal blend.

You can check out the video below:

 
Mercy Brown are a fascinating band. Blending a bewildering array of influences, from the cavernous doom of Inter Arma to a blackened death metal roar, their sound is honestly only succinctly summed up as metal. Forming in February 2010, they first made ears prick up with their self-titled EP in March 2012, which was quickly put in radio rotation and picked up the band some high-profile gigs; the band have played shows with Machine Head, Mushroomhead, 3 Inches Of Blood, Castle, Hanzel und Gretyl, Lord Dying, Witch Mountain, and The Atlas Moth.

Their début self-titled album (to follow the self-titled EP) was released just recently, and has already received some strong praise from across both sides of the pond.

Mercy Brown are:

Josh Schultz - Bass
Lunden Herndon - Drums
Chris Tanaka Canwell - Guitars
Sera Hatchett - Vocals

(Photo: Chad Ramsey)

Nightbreaker Productions has announced the signing of Italian thrash/black metal band, Extirpation, for the release of their second album, Wings Of Decadence.

Starting out as a covers band, the group began to write original songs, recording their first self-titled demo in the summer of 2010. During 2012 the band entered the studio to record the single "Door Of Madness”, which had good success in the underground local scene, leading them to play many live dates in the north of Italy.

In February 2013 the first full length, Reverse The Reality, was released on CD via Grom Records, and in tape format via Total Desaster Prod. (the LP edition is expected in January 2016). This allowed the band to play live as support act for many worldwide leading underground bands on different occasions. In September 2013, Magikk - a long-standing friend and Eros's former bandmate in Terrorsaw - joined the band as second guitarist.

A 7' split with the Brazilian band Whipstriker, entitled "Start The Warcollapse” / “Oath Of The Death" was released in May 2014 via Greek label Hell's Fire Records and Metalthrone Prod. After this release the band began to play live outside of the Italian territory (Switzerland, France, Belgium, Romania etc.) and in January 2015 Extirpation entered the studio to record their new album, Wings Of Decadence.

Further details will be revealed soon.

​Steamhammer Records has announced the signing of Eindhoven, Netherlands-based rockers, Black-Bone.

This young 3-piece, all in their early 20s, have already played more than 220 live shows. Everything from small clubs to big festivals can be found in their gig history as well as opening slots for some of the big names of the business such as Saxon, Slash, Status Quo, Deep Purple, Mustasch and Chickenfoot.

They recently finished the recordings of their second album, Blessing In Disguise, which was produced by Peter van Elderen - better known as guitarslinger and frontman of Peter Pan Speedrock. The new album will be released September 18th via Steamhammer/SPV. More news to come shortly.

Georg "Schorse" Schröder (A+R Steamhammer) on the signing: "Peter van Elderen  was so kind to sent me some rough cuts of the new Black-Bone album during the recording sessions and i was instantly excited about the material. Even more if i was aware of the fact that these three guys from Eindhoven, Netherlands are such a young band! The band definitely has the potential to become one of the well known names in hard rocking music! We are very proud to have them added to our roster now."

Steef van de Bogaard (guitar, vocals at Black-Bone) ads: "We’re very happy and excited to be a part of the Steamhammer/SPV family! Also because of the fact that we like bands such as Peter Pan Speedrock, The Supersuckers and many more who are on the same label. We’re a young hard working band, so it’s great to have a good professional record company behind us!"

Pictured above, ​left to right: Jules Eck (drums Black-Bone) - Justin Buffinga (SOZ Concerts) - Steef van den Bogaard (guitar, vox Black-Bone) - Georg Schröder (Steamhammer) - Sven Hompes (bass Black-Bone) - Bert van Aefst (SOZ Concerts and Management)

(Photo - Josje Leidelmeyer)

HELL OR HIGHWATER, the rock band featuring ATREYU drummer/vocalist Brandon Saller on lead vocals, is back with a brand new single and web site. The band just launched the video for "I'll Be Waiting", which you can watch below. The song is also available for free download. "I'll Be Waiting" was recorded by the band at its own The Spot Studio in Vista, California. "'I'll Be Waiting', in essence, is a love song," Saller said, offering insight into the track. "But further, it's a celebration of the feeling one has when you find someone that you truly can't live without. It's a feeling unmatched by anything in this world."

He continued: "Everyone has a 'Jean Marie.' If you haven't found yours yet, you will know when you do. Here's to finding your 'Jean Marie' this summer." Since its inception, HELL OR HIGHWATER has earned comparisons to acts like FOO FIGHTERS and MUSE, thanks to the band's knack for crafting unforgettable and uplifting rock songs. They earned a spot on the annual Uproar tour in 2013 and also toured the world with the likes of AVENGED SEVENFOLD, whose frontman M. Shadows contributed vocals on the song "Go Alone", as well as STONE SOUR and THE USED. They've survived van wrecks and lineup changes. But they've emerged as strong as ever, armed with a killer new track in the form of "I'll Be Waiting".

Legendary pioneers of industrial-tinged extreme metal FEAR FACTORY have announced they will be touring Europe in celebration of the 20th anniversary of their highly revered second studio album, "Demanufacture". The trek will be a very rare event for fans, with FEAR FACTORY playing "Demanufacture" in its entirety. They will also showcase songs from their new album, "Genexus", due out August 7 via Nuclear Blast. Commented FEAR FACTORY's Burton C. Bell and Dino Cazares: "If you had told us in 1995 that we would be touring 'Demanufacture' for its 20th anniversary in 2015, we would have said, 'Ya right! Get fucked!'

"The years have flown by in colorful and adventurous memory. 2015 has arrived, and FEAR FACTORY will be performing 'Demanufacture' in its entirety for the very first time for the U.K. and Ireland fans in December. We are very excited to perform this seminal album for the audience that made 'Demanufacture' a legendary success." "Demanufacture" was a landmark release for FEAR FACTORY and for the metal genre. It is generally considered to be the band's defining work and a heavy metal classic, with its refined production, industrial textures, precise musicianship and greater dimension of sound. It succeeded in giving the band a more futuristic feel than previous works. The concept is based around one man's struggles against a machine-controlled government — with each song marking a chapter in his life, taking huge inspiration from the "Terminator" film series. The group's working relationship with "Demanufacture" producer Rhys Fulber continues to this day.

Asked about how it feels to be celebrating the 20th anniversary of FEAR FACTORY's classic "Demanufacture" album in 2015 with only two members of the band's classic lineup remaining in the group, Dino said: "The two main members are in the band right now. The soul of the machine is still intact, and that's me and Burton. And I don't think anything has changed, really."

He continued: "Every album we do always has to have something a little different. From the beginning, from the first album, 'Soul Of A New Machine', it was very death metal inspired, [with] a little bit of industrial. The second album, 'Demanufacture', the classic album… Every record changes. 'Obsolete' was a big difference, you know what I mean?! But my right hand is still there, the passion is still there, Burt's killer melodic vocals are still there. So I think that's all that matters."

"The 20th Anniversary Of Demanufacture" tour dates:

Nov. 07 - FIN - Helsinki - Unioni FestivalNov. 09 - RU - St. Petersburg - Zal OzhidanijaNov. 10 - RU - Ekateringburg - Tele ClubNov. 11 - RU - Moscow - VoltaNov. 13 - ISR - Tel-Aviv - Reading 3Nov. 15 - P - Lisbon - Paradise GarageNov. 16 - ES - Madrid - ArenaNov. 17 - ES - Barcelona - Razzamatazz 2Nov. 19 - FR - Nimes - PalomaNov. 20 - FR - Nilvange - Le GueulardNov. 21 - FR - Paris - La TrabendoNov. 22 - NL - Eindhoven - Epic FestNov. 24 - DE - Aschaffenburg - Colos-SalNov. 25 - DE - München - Backstage HalleNov. 26 - CH - Aarau - KiffNov. 27 - IT - Milan - Magazzini GeneraliNov. 29 - AT - Vienna - ArenaNov. 30 - CZ - Prague - Meet FactoryDec. 01 - DE - Berlin - C-ClubDec. 02 - DE - Hamburg - MarkthalleDec. 04 - DE - Köln - EssigfabrikDec. 05 - FR - Strasbourg - La LaiterieDec. 06 - BE - Ghent - VooruitDec. 07 - UK - Bristol - MotionDec. 09 - UK - Manchester - RitzDec. 10 - IRE - Dublin - AcademyDec. 11 - NIRE - Belfast - LimelightDec. 12 - UK - Glasgow - The GarageDec. 13 - UK - London - The Forum

The follow-up to 2012's "The Industrialist", "Genexus" was mixed by Andy Sneap (ARCH ENEMY, TESTAMENT, EXODUS, MACHINE HEAD). Artwork was once again handled by Anthony Clarkson. Drums on "Genexus" were performed by Mike Heller (MALIGNANCY).

FEAR FACTORY recently parted ways with bassist Matt DeVries (previously of CHIMAIRA, where he played guitar, and SIX FEET UNDER and replaced him with Tony Campos (ex-SOULFLY, STATIC-X, PRONG, MINISTRY).

FEAR FACTORY will hit the road later this month with COAL CHAMBER.

During a brand new question-and-answer session with asQme, guitarist Greg Mackintosh of British gothic metal pioneers PARADISE LOST was asked how he sees the music industry evolving in the next ten years. He responded: "Well, it's obviously gonna progress with the online downloading thing now that Apple have adopted a Spotify type of [streaming] scenario."

He continued: "Personally, I'd prefer people downloaded our records for nothing than actually got them from Spotify, because Spotify only really benefits the few people that run it, and I can probably see the Apple thing going pretty much the same way. On the plus side, it seems that there's been a real resurgence in the vinyl market, with the reintroduction of vinyl chart coming back as well. And I know my son, for instance, is really into physical product, and he's, like, just turned 18, so that's quite… it gives you some confidence for the future."

He added: "So it's probably gonna go in two directions at first, and then there'll be some kind of… I don't know… other format that maybe comes along that decimates them both. But I guess we'll just wait and see. I'm not really a very good soothsayer when it comes to that."

Mackintosh last year spoke in more detail about how the Internet and digital music revolution has affected the music industry. He told Metal Road "It's kind of killed it a little bit, because there is no money for the industry. I don't mean for the bands — I mean, just in the industry, there's no money — so there's not as much for tour support, things like that, or promotion, so everyone kind of has to do extra things which you wouldn't normally want to do. Even just like the packaging of an album, you have to do 20 different formats just to try to sell it to people. It leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. We started in the music scene when it was more honest, shall we say?! But, I mean, there's plus points to the way it is now. People get to hear things faster, people get to promote things instantly. We don't have to rehearse as much, 'cause we just send each other things over the Internet."

PARADISE LOST's latest album, "The Plague Within", was released on June 2 (one day earlier internationally) via Century Media.

DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen says that music streaming service Spotify is an exploitative enterprise which is just as bad as Napster, the pioneering file-sharing service which unleashed piracy on the record business and began the cataclysm that caused worldwide revenues to decline from a peak of twenty-seven billion dollars in 1999 to fifteen billion in 2013.

Speaking to CTNow, Collen was asked about the fact that much of the DEF LEPPARD catalogue is not available on Spotify or other streaming services. He responded: "I love what Taylor Swift has done [i.e. keeping her music off Spotify]. I have a friend who is a songwriter, and he had a song that got over a million plays on Spotify, and he received 12 pounds, about $18-$19. That really sums it up. It's [as] bad [as], if not worse, than the whole Napster thing and downloading when it started. Again, a CEO from [Spotify] would make an amazing profit, whereas the artist is taken advantage of. I'm not a fan of that."

He continued: "I don't know where we stand in the future, but perhaps it would be good to do something else. When they show their true colors, you go, 'Well, it's the same old story again,' like some old blues guy getting $50 and actually owing his whole catalogue for life to someone who's ripped him off. It's a little like that. It happens all the time with artists, Michelangelo or whomever, back in the day. William Blake died penniless doing brass etchings, living on someone's floor. A businessman will probably think an artist is just content with the art. It's a bummer getting ripped off."

DEF LEPPARD in 2012 joined the long list of rockers who have re-recorded their biggest hits in note-perfect renditions. The band's frontman, Joe Elliott, told Classic Rock magazine: "We're trying to wrestle back our career and ownership of these songs. [DEF LEPPARD's former label Universal] own the originals; we're at loggerheads with them over the digital rights. And as long as they're playing silly buggers, we'll just keep recording them again."

The singer continued: "Until we can come to some kind of humane conclusion to this ridiculous stand-off, we're going to say, 'Fuck you!' We were offered a great deal two years ago and shook hands on it. And then some other twat at the label put a stop to it. It's our life and our music and we're not going to let them exploit us to the extent that they're trying to."

Elliott told The Hollywood Reporter that DEF LEPPARD is in a unique position because they are one of few bands to have veto power. He said, "[Universal] can't release our back catalog, we're not going to let them put a song on a compilation unless we want it there, and they'll never be able to license. They won't be able to do anything without our permission because that's in our contract."

Asked to explain the crux of the band's argument, Elliott said, "We want to get the same rate for digital as we do when we sell CDs, and they're trying to give us a rate that doesn't even come close. They illegally put up our songs for a while, paying us the rate they chose without even negotiating with us, so we had our lawyer take them down."

He added, "When you do your own recordings, you're making about 85 percent and 15 percent goes to iTunes or whichever particular digital domain you put them up. Something along those lines would be fair. But they were offering us the opposite — a quarter of what we get paid on our CDs. So we thought if we can't get them to pay us a decent rate on the digital, then we're going to go in, re-record them and pay ourselves decently. Because we're not fighting against our own back catalog. If we put rerecords up against the originals, nobody would buy the re-records. So what we're trying to create is what they know by making as close as we can, forgeries of what we did in '83, '81, '87…"

RED DRAGON CARTEL, the band led by former OZZY OSBOURNE and BADLANDS guitarist Jake E. Lee, has recruited former JONES STREET singer Shawn Crosby (pictured) to front the group for its upcoming shows. Rounding out RED DRAGON CARTEL's current touring lineup are bassist Anthony Esposito (LYNCH MOB, ACE FREHLEY) and drummer Jonas Fairley.

Said Crosby: "I will be out on tour singing for Jake E. Lee's RED DRAGON CARTEL for the month of July and, hopefully, for many months and years after. That is, if we can all play nice in the sandbox together! I'm sure we will. I couldn't be playing with a cooler bunch of guys."

Crosby will make his live debut with RED DRAGON CARTEL on July 9 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Video footage of Crosby performing the AC/DC classic "Highway To Hell" with STEEL PANTHER in 2012 can be seen below.

RED DRAGON CARTEL most recently played several shows with Canadian singer Paul D'Eath (CITIZENS UNITE, MUSHROOM TRAIL). Prior to that, the band was fronted by Chas West (Jason Bonham, LYNCH MOB, 3 LEGGED DOGG), Michael Beck and Darren James Smith, the latter of whom handled lead vocals on RED DRAGON CARTEL's self-titled debut album.

Beck made headlines in April when he sang the lyrics to Osbourne's "Now You See It (Now You Don't)" while the rest of RED DRAGON CARTEL played "The Ultimate Sin" at their first show together in Miami, Florida. Beck later blamed the mixup on the fact that he "had no monitors at all" and he "couldn't hear anything."

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

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

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

Quality fan-filmed video footage of KING DIAMOND's July 3 performance at Ak-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix, Arizona as part of this year's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival can be seen below.

In a recent interview with Full Metal Jackie, King Diamond stated about his plans for the band's next studio album: "I was supposed to be in the middle of writing right now, when suddenly we were… We were planning our own tour for this autumn, and suddenly we got the offer of doing [the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival]. And it kind of put a stop to the… 'Cause [my] home studio is ready now to go, but this [tour] is very important to do. So we don't wanna be rushed with writing a new album anyway. So we are gonna take our time, and it's gonna be the best you've ever heard from us — there's no doubt in my mind — 'cause we have all the tools at our fingertips this time. But it has put, you can say, the brakes on starting that process, so we'll pick it up when Mayhem is done. But it's always great to come off a tour and then start writing, 'cause you are very, very inspired. I am, certainly."

"Dreams Of Horror", a 2xCD collection of KING DIAMOND songs, newly enhanced into ultimate editions by King Diamond and Andy La Rocque themselves, sold around 1,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release.

Released last November, "Dreams Of Horror" is the only "best-of" album covering the band's entire career. King Diamond and Andy La Rocque meticulously mastered and enhanced these 23 songs into the ultimate editions, chosen by the band from both the Roadrunner and Metal Blade catalogs.

Swedish bassist Pontus Egberg (THE POODLES, LION'S SHARE, ZAN CLAN) recently joined KING DIAMOND following the departure of Hal Patino.

King, 59, whose real name is Kim Bendix Petersen, underwent open-heart triple-bypass surgery in November 2010. He has since completed his cardiac rehabilitation program and has stopped smoking entirely, changed his diet and is getting regular exercise.

Progressive metal band Between The Buried And Me are streaming their new album, Coma Ecliptic, in it’s entirety ahead of release day.

The upcoming album is also now available for pre-order with special bundles and packages offered, including: CD, LP, two pre-order exclusive t-shirts, an exclusive hour long behind the scenes making-of DVD, and a Coma Ecliptic limited edition 27"x40" movie poster. Coma Ecliptic will be officially released worldwide on July 10th. Grandiose, dynamic, heavy, melodic, technically challenging and more, this album delivers.

 

 

Coma Ecliptic boasts a series of emotive peaks and valleys that drive the narrative along with the lyrics. Singer Tommy Rogers shares: "Coma Ecliptic is a new life for BTBAM. Throughout the process we worked harder than we ever have and really pushed the BTBAM sound to a new identity. In a world of repetition, I'm very proud to be a part of something that is extremely rewarding, as well as frightening. When you don't push yourself you will never know what the outcome is. The outcome is Coma Ecliptic."

 

 

Coma Ecliptic was recorded in January and February of 2015 with longtime Between the Buried and Me producer Jamie King at Basement Recordings in North Carolina. Drums and piano were recorded with King and Kris Hilbert at the Fidelitorium. Final mixing and mastering was placed in the capable hands of Jens Bogren (Opeth, Katatonia, Amon Amarth, Devin Townsend) at Fascination Street Studios in Sweden.

"The Coma Machine" video:

On release day, the band will continue their headline run with the release of Coma Ecliptic and kick off a tour with support from Animals As Leaders and The Contortionist on July 7th in Athens, GA at Georgia Theatre.

VIP packages are on sale now that include an exclusive Q&A; with both Between The Buried And Me and Animals As Leaders, photo ops with each band, an 18x24 poster signed by both bands, and a souvenir laminate with early entrance to the show! VIP packages can be purchased at this location. General tickets can be purchased here.

 

 

Tour dates:

July (with Animals As Leaders, The Contortionist)
7 - Athens, GA - Georgia Theatre
8 - Tallahassee, FL - Sidebar Theater
9 - Orlando, FL - Venue 578
10 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Revolution
11 - Jacksonville, FL - Freebird Live
13 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
14 - Little Rock, AR - Juanita’s
15 - Oklahoma, OK - Diamond Ballroom
17 - Grand Junction, CO - Mesa Theater and Club
18 - Las Vegas, NV - Brooklyn Bowl
19 - Tucson, AZ - Club X’s
21 - Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory
22 - San Diego, CA - Observatory North Park
23 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Catalyst
24 - Sacramento, CA - Ace Of Spades
25 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory Concert House
27 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
29 - Des Moines, IA - Wooly’s
30 - Joliet, IL - Mojoes
31 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall

August
1 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Intersection
2 - Bloomington, IL - The Castle Theatre
4 - London, ON - London Music Hall
6 - Buffalo, NY - The Town Ballroom
7 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
8 - Norfolk, VA - The NorVa
9 - Wilmington, NC - Ziggys By The Sea
11 - Clifton, NY - Upstate Concert Hall
12 - Providence, RI - Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel
13 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
14 - Winston-Salem, NC - Ziggys
15 - Nashville, TN - Marathon Music Works

 

 

BTBAM have confirmed a full European headline tour for the fall. The tour will kick off in Southampton in the UK on the 22nd of September and will bring the band to ten countries in total. Support comes from Haken.

Comments BTBAM singer Tommy Rogers: "We are pleased to announce that we are heading back to the UK and Europe later this year with Haken! We are very excited to play new material off of Coma Ecliptic for all you, and to surround ourselves in your culture that we love so much. See you soon and let the coma begin!"

 

 

Dates include:

September
16 - Southampton, UK - Talking Heads
17 - London, UK - Electric Ballroom
18 - Manchester, UK - Gorilla
19 - Glasgow, UK - The Garage
20 - Leeds, UK - The Key Club
22 - Nottingham, UK - Rescue Rooms
23 - Brighton, UK - The Haunt
25 - Paris, France - La Maroquinerie
26 - Brussels, Belgium - Magasin 4
27 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
28 - Hamburg, Germany - Logo
29 - Berlin, Germany - Magnet
30 - München, Germany - Backstage Club

October
1 - Köln, Germany - Euroblast Festival
3 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega Small Hall *
4 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Sticky Fingers *
5 - Oslo, Norway - John Dee *
6 - Stockholm, Sweden - Klubben/Fryshuset *
8 - Helsinki, Finland - Tavastia *

* BTBAM only

 

"Born Work Die", the new video from former W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes's MEAN MAN project, can be seen below. The track appears on Holmes' new album, "Shitting Bricks", to be made available later in the year via M & O Music.

MEAN MAN celebrated the release of "Shitting Bricks" with a special show on May 2 at at Le Ferrailleur in Nantes, France.

MEAN MAN is:

Chris Holmes: Lead Guitar, VocalsThomas Cesario: GuitarPascal Bei: BassGabriel Candela: Drums

In a recent interview with Noisey, Holmes was asked he was surprised by the attention he got with the video for his song "Let It Roar". "No," he responded. "I think it's just because people are talking trash about me. You know, once it gets on Blabbermouth, they start talking about how crappy it is. They're always gonna compare everything I do to W.A.S.P., no matter what. So they start bad-mouthing it. That's probably why it's gotten so viral. But you know, [the video] is just what I do in [my new hometown of] Cannes [France]. It’s a beautiful city. You see me fishing and stuff. I think one part of the video shows a wave hit the rocks and almost knock me off. [Laughs] It's a neat town. You can't do the same things in L.A."

Holmes also talked about his decision to move to France last year. He said: "My wife is from France. But since I left W.A.S.P. I dangled around in L.A., trying to find musicians to play with, but it just didn't work out. The change of culture in the last ten years… My kind of music isn't played that much — not like it was in the '80s."

He continued: "About two years ago, I pulled into a 7-11, and this kid got out of his car. He wasn't listening to rock. When I was his age, that's all I listened to. That made me realize the kind of music I do here anymore… [He was listening to] hip-hop. And I just don't play that kind of music."

Holmes added: "I was talking to one of my friend's kids — he's in high school — and I asked him, 'Why don't you listen to rock, like DEEP PURPLE or something?' And he said, 'Man, that's pussy music.' This is a white kid. So I thought, if people don't listen to this kind of music anymore, why should I even be here? I'm in my 50s, but I want to still keep on going, kind of. So I talked to my wife and we decided to move. They listen to rock more over here. There's lots more concerts and stuff."

Holmes joined W.A.S.P. in 1982 and remained with the group until 1990. In 1996, Holmes rejoined W.A.S.P. and stayed with the band until 2001. Holmes has not played with W.A.S.P. since.

Holmes in 2013 released a solo album called "Nothing To Lose". Chris composed, performed, and produced the music and vocals, and teamed up with former MOTÖRHEAD drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor to perform on and engineer the effort.

Canadian death metal outfit, Accursed Spawn, have posted pro-shot footage of the band performing “Clotheshanger Abortion” during their their recent performance at the Montreal edition of Parkinson Metal. The track is from the band's second EP Putrid.

The video was filmed and edited by Dr. Lights Productions, and can be streamed below:

Accursed Spawn recently released their music video for the track “Burned Into Sterility”, filmed at the band's jam spot by Nick Richer (Norilsk) and Greg Toope from Hvy One Productions (Ottawa). The track is from the band's second EP Putrid, which can be purchased from the group's Big Cartel and Bandcamp pages.

"We have a lot more out of town bookings now so we wanted to give people an idea of what we look and feel like as a live band. Nick and Greg (Hvy One Productions) did a great job putting the video together, so we couldn't be happier to put this out! In terms of the song choice, it was a no-brainer. “Burned Into Sterility” has become a staple in our set, and is a ton of fun to play”, comments drummer Jay Cross.

Putrid EP tracklisting:

“Putrid” (Intro)
“Sedate to Mutilate”
“Clotheshanger Abortion”
“My Fist”
“Burned into Sterility”

Ahead of it’s July 10th release, Ireland’s Shardborne offer a full stream of their debut album, Living Bridges.

Living Bridges is Shardborne’s debut album having only previously released an EP back in 2011. The EP, entitled Aeonian Sequence, served as a great introduction to Shardborne’s progressive instrumental style, amassing acclaim across the prog metal sphere. No mean feat for a four-track release.

The band talks about the EP and how they’ve progressed to Living Bridges, “We didn't set out to create something different but we wouldn't consider Living Bridges to be a direct continuation of Aeonian Sequence musically. The song writing process has pretty much stayed the same but since there have been a few years since the EP's release, our musical tastes, styles and interests have changed. We felt we had much more to work with when we began the song writing process for Living Bridges.”

With four years having lapsed since the release of the EP, anticipation is running high with the Living Bridges release only around the corner. Fans have heard snippets of the album during the band’s live shows, which has whetted their appetites even more for the forthcoming release.

The band offers up more information on what they can expect, “Living Bridges is a culmination of musical styles, concepts and several years of writing the album. Spending a lot of time writing the album gave us time to continuously shape songs and bounce ideas off each other. The main point of focus throughout the writing of the album was on honing our song writing and the creation of strong sounds and concepts throughout the album. We aimed to create something we would be proud to release and believe we have done so.”

Living Bridges features artwork by artist Duncan Storr (Scale the Summit, Skyclad) and was recorded by the band’s Ciaran Culhane and Ben Wanders before being mixed and mastered by Jamie King (Between The Buried and Me).

Album stream:

“Not That, Axis” playthrough video:

“Room Within A Room” video:

SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor was interviewed on a recent edition of "The Mike Calta Show" on 102.5 The Bone WHPT in the Tampa Bay area, Florida. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons's recent comment that "rock is dead":

"I'm so tired of hearing that, man. [With] all due respect to Mr. Simmons, I think when he talks about rock being dead, I think he talks about the old-school way of album-tour-album-tour-album-tour. That's just not the way you do it anymore. There's so many other things and ways to continue the history of this industry, and to continue to be on top. I mean, I'm looking out at headlining Download [festival] in the U.K. [Sarcastically] Yeah, rock is dead. That's why there's 85,000 people here at 11:30 at night in a downopour, and nobody left. Yeah, rock's dead. Yeah."

On how the continued decline in music industry revenues has affected SLIPKNOT's bottom line:

"The only thing that's really been affected is albums sales. Because there's still just as many rock fans out there as there were, and there's a whole new generation coming up. I mean, the contracts that you signed back then — even today — you'd have to sell five, six million at a pop to be able to turn a profit. So, for people like me, it wasn't about making money off the album sales. I mean, it's be nice, but it wasn't the essential. I've always said, nobody's more surprised by our success than we are. Because, I mean, when we started, we were the band that was, like, 'Okay, hopefully we can get to a level where we can sell, maybe, two hundred thousand [copies of an album] and just tour… just tour for a year and a half and really build that foundation. And then, when everything blew up for us, we were, like, 'Uhhhhh…. What?!' It blew us away. We've never been worried about making money off that. For me, the album is the calling card. You hope people are hearing the music, but it's not essential to sell the music, and that's the thing you kind of have to balance today. 'Cause people are still buying CDs, but they're also buying music on iTunes, they're paying for accounts on Spotify. So it's not like they're not hearing the music. So when they come and see the show, and you play a song that is brand new and you get that huge pop, that's what it's all about. It's all about that live show… I mean, we just started playing 'Killpop' on this last tour, and we had put the video out probably a week before. And with every show after that, the pop got bigger and bigger and bigger, to the point where people were losing their minds. And that's a brand new song, for all intents and purposes. So, for me, the album is just the way to get the people to come in; that's how you further it. And, later on down the line, if you [do] a little touring, and eventually you sell enough albums, then so be it. But, for the most part, you can't worry about that. Because, at the end of the day, it's about people knowing the music, not owning it."

On whether there was ever a point where SLIPKNOT considered calling it quits:

"You know, there was a brief period where we were, kind of, questioning it. I mean, even while we were doing the subsequent tours after we lost Paul [Gray, late SLIPKNOT bassist]. It was hard. I mean, every show was hard. But it got a little easier… really just because of the fans. The fans needed us, and we needed them just as much as they needed us. So it was really rediscovering the fan base again and helping each other get back up on our feet. After everything that went down, it was encouraging to know that the fans were still there, and they weren't gonna let us fall. And as long as we kept doing things the way that we have always done, they were always gonna be there. So when this album [2014's '.5: The Gray Chapter'] came out, by the time we got into the studio, we were recommitted. It's, like, 'You know what?! We're gonna tell the story of Paul, but we also want to do this.' 'Cause people can smell a lie like a fart in a car. So when you do something that is disingenuous, when you are essentially faking it, people can tell and they'll rip you down as quickly as they put you back up. So, for us, leading with our hearts has always done us right. Once we went out, and especially that first show at Knotfest, it was, like, 'Okay, let's see what happens.' And it was fantastic. So… I mean, we're very fortunate right now."

SLIPKNOT recently announced the lineup for the 2015 edition of Knotfest, which will take place on October 23-25 at San Manuel Amphitheater in Devore, California.

The full lineup includes SLIPKNOT, KORN, JUDAS PRIEST, MASTODON, TRIVIUM, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, BRING ME THE HORIZON, ALL THAT REMAINS, DEVOUR THE DAY, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and many others.

SLIPKNOT's "Summer's Last Stand" tour kicks off on July 24 in West Palm Beach, Florida, wrapping up six weeks later on September 5 in Dallas.

Interview (audio):

FAITH NO MORE bassist Billy Gould has responded to KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons' recent comment that "rock is dead."

Simmons told Esquire magazine in September — in an interview conducted by his son Nick — that "rock did not die of old age. It was murdered. Some brilliance, somewhere, was going to be expressed and now it won't because it's that much harder to earn a living playing and writing songs. No one will pay you to do it."

Simmons went on to elaborate that as a result of file-sharing and other issues, record label support for rock music was not available like it was when KISS was coming up, concluding, "It's finally dead. Rock is finally dead."

Asked to weigh in on Gene's comments, Gould told Kaaos TV (see video below): "I thought rock was dead in [trying to remember exact year] nineteen… eighty… one. [Laughs] When I heard the first PUBLIC IMAGE record, I thought rock was dead then. Because, I thought, they said they killed it, and good, it's about time humanity moved on."

He continued: "I kind of felt like we got into this era when GUNS N' ROSES came in and everything went retro, and I feel like we're still coming out of this retro thing. I mean, it has nothing to do with music sales, or the music business, whatever Gene Simmons is talking about. It more has to do with… culture working in a forward direction. I kind of feel like we went backwards for about twenty years. I'd like to see us go forward again."

Asked if he thinks there will be new stadium-sized rock bands after groups like METALLICA and IRON MAIDEN have retired, Gould responded: "It's hard to say. It's such a complicated thing, because there's so many aspects to that… To get to that big size, you need so much organization and logistics and corporate sponsorship and stuff. It's really an economic question whether that's gonna happen. I don't think it's a cultural question. I think there's always people that are gonna have good ideas that will make people wanna get together and do things, 'cause, as humans, I think that's just how we're built."

"Sol Invictus", FAITH NO MORE's long-awaited follow-up to 1997's "Album Of The Year", sold around 31,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 14 on The Billboard 200 chart (which includes stream activity). The CD, which was released on May 19 via the band's newly formed imprint Reclamation Recordings, which is distributed by Ipecac Recordings, also landed at No. 2 in Australia, No. 4 in Germany and No. 6 in the U.K.

Producer Flemming Rasmussen is best known in metal circles as the producer for Metallica's classic Ride The Lightning ('84), Master Of Puppets ('86) and ... And Justice For All ('88) albums. He recently spoke with Ultimate-Guitar.com about working with Metallica and addressed the controvery surrounding the "missing" bass tracks on ...And Justice For All. An excerpt is available below.

Rasmussen: "I never understood why the bass was never louder on the album. But you'll have to talk to Lars (Ulrich) and James (Hetfield) about that. Jason (Newsted) was technically a better bass player than Cliff (Burton). He was much tighter and faster and all this. 

Musically I don't know. Did he ever co-write any of the songs? He probably did on the later albums but they never really gave the poor guy a chance. Did they?

I'm one of the few persons who heard the bass tracks on ...And Justice for All and as far as I'm concerned they're absolutely killer. He did a really good job on that.

I'd love to remix that album. I'm pretty sure the guys who did it (Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero), I know they would love to mix it again. Because they set it up and made it sound good and then Lars and James came in and fucked it all up, hahaha."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Dave Grohl settled the question of how he would perform on the FOO FIGHTERS' North American tour on Saturday night (July 4) at the kick-off show in Washington D.C., playing the entire epic set from a massive, light-up throne surrounded by guitars. Grohl even showed off footage of himself after his surgery for the broken leg that he sustained in a fall from a stage in Sweden last month.

The FOO FIGHTERS' 21-song show, which also marked the 20th anniversary of the release of the band's debut album, followed sets from Buddy Guy, Gary Clark Jr., HEART, Joan Jett, LL Cool J and Trombone Shorty. In honor of the anniversary, the FOO FIGHTERS played a number of songs from the first album and even welcomed Grohl's mother to the stage.

Speculation over whether the FOO FIGHTERS would postpone the start of the North American tour continued for weeks after Grohl's fall. His injury required six screws in his leg and forced the band to cancel the last seven dates of its European run, including two stadium headlining gigs.

But Grohl told the Washington crowd, "I'm not missing this show for the world," explaining that he was "high as a kite" on painkillers when he came up with drew the design for his onstage seat, which he envisioned having "guitar arms" and "lasers and shit shooting from the top."

The FOO FIGHTERS opened their hits-packed set with "Everlong", blazing through crowdpleasers like "Big Me", "Walk", "Learn To Fly", "The Pretender", acoustic versions of "My Hero" and "Times Like These" and a cover of the QUEEN / David Bowie classic "Under Pressure".

VAN HALEN kicked off its 2015 summer tour Sunday night (July 5) in Seattle and pulled out some rarely played deep cuts from its catalog. The band started the show with "Light Up The Sky" from its 1979 sophomore album, a track that hasn't been played live in 35 years, and performed "Drop Dead Legs" and "Dirty Movies" live for the first time. Also included in the setlist was the rarely performed "In A Simple Rhyme" from 1980's "Women And Children First".

The setlist was as follows:

01. Light Up The Sky (last performed live in 1980)02. Runnin' With The Devil03. Romeo Delight04. Everybody Wants Some!!05. Drop Dead Legs (live debut)06. Feel Your Love Tonight (last performed live in 1998)07. Somebody Get Me A Doctor08. She's The Woman09. China Town10. I'll Wait11. Drum Solo12. Little Guitars13. Dance The Night Away14. Beautiful Girls15. Women In Love16. Hot For Teacher17. In A Simple Rhyme / Growth (last performed live in 1978)18. Dirty Movies (live debut)19. Ice Cream Man20. Unchained21. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love22. Guitar Solo23. You Really Got Me24. Panama25. Jump

VAN HALEN is touring in support of "Tokyo Dome: Live In Concert", the band's first live release with David Lee Roth on vocals.

VAN HALEN bassist Wolfgang Van Halen told The Pulse Of Radio that his dad Eddie handed down some key tricks of the trade when playing live. "He definitely has some quirky lines he gives me that definitely help me out, like, in terms of playing music, 'If you ever make a mistake, do it twice so the audience thinks you meant to do it.' [Laughs]."

Eddie Van Halen admitted to The Pulse Of Radio a while back that he can't pick a favorite out of the band's many albums. "Well, I tell ya — to me, they're all special," he said. "They're all a bit different, but I love 'em all. Y'know, they're all a piece of me, so they're all very special."

Eddie has been saying in recent interviews that the band is likely to record a new studio album after completing the trek, but he told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that he's never been one to to just churn out songs. "I'm not like a jingle writer who can just crank out the hits, so to speak," he said. "I need to sit down and really almost get to a state of mind where things just come. That's what kinda makes it exciting — it's like, 'Wow, I wonder what lurks in the plumbing today?' [Laughs]"

Just prior to last month's season finale of HBO's Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning series "Game Of Thrones", Scott Ian of ANTHRAX sat down with Music Choice and gave his pick of what house he would want to be a part of if he was on the show. He said (see video below): "If I could be in any of the noble houses on the TV show 'Game Of Thrones', I wouldn't — I wouldn't be in any of those stinking houses filled with assholes and horrible people. I would be one of the Free Folk. I would live up north of the wall, and I'd have a little cave, and I'd hunt rabbits. I'd kind of live my life on my own terms and just try and watch out for the White Walkers and wights and other creatures that live up north. But, yeah, I'd just kind of keep to myself."

ANTHRAX recently contributed a new song, "Soror Irrumator (Lords Of The Rock)", to the the second installment of "Catch The Throne: The Mixtape", for "Game Of Thrones".

Building on the success of Volume I — with over 2.5 million streams to date — that attracted hip-hop and reggaeton fans alike, "Volume II" of "Catch The Throne: The Mixtape" also features MASTODON, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, MUSHROOMHEAD, Method Man, Snoop Dogg and Yandel.

Produced by Launch Point Records, the 15-song mixtape features diverse artists representing "Game Of Thrones" families, leveraging themes and highlights from season 4. Showcasing the importance of music in "Game Of Thrones", each song on the mixtape samples music from the show's season 4 soundtrack. This year's mixtape also weaves in the overarching theme of fire and ice, providing listeners with an exciting lineup of heavy metal and hip-hop artists.

Ian told Finland's Kaaos TV: "[Our contribution to the mixtape] was a song we had already written [for our next studio album]. We didn't have time to start writing something brand new from scratch. We listened to all the material we had and made the decision. That one just… We all thought the same thing. Everybody listened to the demos and we all had the same idea that this one demo just sounded like that should be the song for 'Game Of Thrones', so it was a pretty easy decision. The lyrics weren't written yet, though — we only had the music — so then [the show producers] said you have to pick something about the show to write about. And I got to write about exactly what I wanted to write about [the Lannister family], so I was very happy about that."

He continued: "It was a really fun thing for me to do, because I'm such a massive fan of the show. So are Charlie [Benante, drums] and Frankie [Bello, bass] — they're really big fans. So it was just something really exciting that we got the call to do that. And we were, like, 'Yeah!' A lot of times you get calls for things, and it's kind of, like, 'Naaahhh. Just say no.' But this we were very excited about."

Video footage of '80s hard rock queen Lita Ford performing her hit song "Close My Eyes Forever" with MR. BIG singer Eric Martin as part of SCRAP METAL's June 6 concert in Walker, Minnesota can be seen below.

SCRAP METAL was created by Gunnar Nelson, who, with twin brother Matthew Nelson, was half of the hit '90s group NELSON, and Mark Slaughter of '80s rock group SLAUGHTER.

Lita in 2012 revealed that "Close My Eyes Forever" came about by accident during a night of drinking and getting stoned when she was being managed by Ozzy Osbourne's wife, Sharon. She recalled to Metal Underground: "'Close My Eyes Forever' was a mistake. It was just me and Ozzy and Sharon hanging about in the recording studio. They showed up one day and had a housewarming present for me: a life-size duplicate of Koko, the gorilla from the San Diego Zoo. It was freaking huge — I had to strap it in the front seat of my jeep to get it home. Ozzy stayed, Sharon got bored and left, and me and Ozzy had a couple of drinks and we were jamming. We started singing, messing about and we wrote 'Close My Eyes Forever'. Next thing I knew the sun was coming up. I looked at him and went, 'Uh-oh, we're in trouble.' Sharon had been waiting all night. We were a long way from where Ozzy had to go. He said, 'Can you drive me home?' I said, 'No, I can't.' We were stoned out of our minds. He got into a cab and I strapped Koko into my jeep and drove home — just barely made it. And then we had this hit song."

Dey Street Books (formerly It Books), an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, has set a February 23, 2016 release date for "Lita Ford - Living Like A Runaway: A Memoir". In this 272-page hardcover book, which was originally expected last year, the former lead guitarist of THE RUNAWAYS opens up about the '70s and '80s music scene, and her extraordinary life and career.

In a January 2014 interview with PureGrainAudio.com, Ford stated about her upcoming book: "It's an autobiography about, well, my life, the paths I've taken, all the different musical eras. It's got all my favorite stories in it and we're just working on getting that together. It covers everything really from me growing up to THE RUNAWAYS to Lita and all the things I've been through and experiences I've had."

She added: "The hardest thing was how things kept popping out and I'm going crazy thinking, 'Hell, I've got to include that... oh no... that needs to go in as well and... hey, do you remember that time...' — every time I think I've got everything, one of us remembers something else and we're back where we started. It's never-ending."

Fan-filmed video footage of CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's July 4 performance at the Roskilde Festival in Roskilde, Denmark can be seen below.

Speaking about the fact that CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's current European tour marks the first time he has performed full shows with the band for the first time since 2006, guitarist/vocalist Pepper Keenan told FreqsTV: "It's a weird thing to be in that world; it's like going in a time warp. It's like we didn't miss a beat, but it's been almost a decade."

He continued: "You don't have time to waste energy on negative things or whatnot. And there's not really many negative things at all. We just all kind of went separate ways. But the thing that got [the reunion] going was the fans and people wanting us to play these damn songs. So I give kudos to the fans for making us get off our asses and do this."

Added CORROSION OF CONFORMITY guitarist Woody Weatherman: "To me, it feels awesome to be able to play these songs again that we haven't been playing. It's a challenge to jump back in and make it as real as it was, and maintain that vibe."

Continued Pepper: "But the songs have stood the test of time. And playing 'em, it's just such a pleasure to go… We had to learn, like, 22 songs.

"I'm sure all of us would agree we're not really the kind of guys to go backwards, but it's been fun to do, and it's kind of enlightenened me in a bunch of different ways of guitar playing, singing and whatnot. But it still just boils down to plugging in and playing — keeping your head in the right spot where you're not losing focus, and dropping the hammer as good as you can."

Keenan added: "To be honest with you, I can't complain. I wasn't sure quite what to expect, but people are showing up, it's fucking packed, and I think it's a good catalyst for us to go from here, if we want to, to see if we can still do it. It's not a novelty act, we're not going totally backwards, but the songs still stand this day as good as they did then, if not better. I think we're actually playing 'em better than we did back then. I mean, they've only had twenty years to figure the words out, so they're singing louder than they did back in the day."

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's first European trek with Keenan back in the fold since 2006 marks the first time the "Deliverance" lineup of the band has played together since 2001.

Keenan, who has been focusing on DOWN in recent years, is still considered to be a member of CORROSION OF CONFORMITY but was not involved in the reunion of C.O.C.'s "Animosity" lineup, which was resurrected in 2010 and has been recording and touring ever since.

Keenan joined CORROSION OF CONFORMITY in 1990, but he did not become the band's lead singer until the recording of "Deliverance", which came out in 1994.

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's most recent studio album with Keenan, "In The Arms Of God", came out in 2005 on Sanctuary Records.

C.O.C.'s reunited "Animosity" lineup released its latest album, "IX", on July 1, 2014 via Candlelight Records.

John Corabi, former lead singer of MÖTLEY CRÜE, THE SCREAM and UNION, is still celebrating the 20th anniversary of the MÖTLEY CRÜE album that he appeared on by performing most of the songs from the LP with his backing band.

Video highlights of Corabi's July 4 concert at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California can be seen below (courtesy of California Rock News).

Corabi originally joined CRÜE in 1992 as the replacement for the group's original singer, Vince Neil, who was fired due to personal differences. With Corabi on vocals, MÖTLEY CRÜE released one critically acclaimed full-length CD, which ended up being a commercial failure in the wake of grunge despite a Top-Ten placing on the album chart. When Neil returned to the fold in 1997, Corabi was left on his own and formed the band UNION with ex-KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.

"A lot of fans said, 'No way I was buying that record when it came out,'" Corabi told CantonRep.com about the "Mötley Crüe" record. "I think we had kind of a die-hard fan base when it came out, but a lot of the people were angry with MÖTLEY for getting rid of Vince, or Vince leaving or whatever happened. But a lot of fans, once Vince came back, saw it, picked it up and ended up really enjoying it. It's still trudging along and selling and doing its thing. The best thing to me is that it still sounds as relevant now as it did when it came out."

According to Corabi, the idea to revisit his time with MÖTLEY CRÜE came from a brainstorm session with his manager.

"A lot of people assumed I faded off into the sunset," Corabi told CantonRep.com. "So my manager and I had the plan to do the acoustic record and build a little from there. I was gonna do a new electric record, but he said, 'MÖTLEY's doing their farewell, and they're not playing any of that material you were on. Learn that whole record and tour it.' There's a lot of interest in the fact we're out playing that record."

In a 2012 interview, MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars stated about the band's 1994 self-titled album: "I thought that was probably… To me, and I can only speak for me, I think that was probably the best album we've done. Musical-wise, the songs, I felt, were strong. And just musically, to me, it was, I guess, my BEATLES 'White Album'; that's kind of how I feel about that one. I'm not saying that any of my other albums are crummy or anything like that — I love every album that we did — but that one just has a special thing for me."

MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee echoed Mick's sentiments, telling Australia's Beat about the CD: "It's huge. Honestly, dude, it's one of my favorite CRÜE records. Sonically, the songs and the playing on that record is gnarly. We worked our arses off on that record. We had so much to prove: Vince was gone, we had a new singer who also plays guitar and writes and he brought a whole new element to this. But once fans are used to a certain thing, they just didn't want to know about any other version of MÖTLEY CRÜE. That's understandable, but when you break it down, that record still sounds rad today."

Former DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW guitar legend Ritchie Blackmore says that he is contemplating a return to his rock roots for several shows next year.

Blackmore, 70, quit rock and roll in 1997 to form a medieval folk band called BLACKMORE'S NIGHT with then-girlfriend and now-wife Candice Night. Since then, BLACKMORE'S NIGHT has released nine studio albums, with a new CD, "All Our Yesterdays", due in September.

Over the past few months, RAINBOW has been the frequent subject of reunion rumors, with singer Joe Lynn Turner — who fronted RAINBOW from 1980 until 1984 and was a member of PURPLE from 1989 until 1992 — repeatedly claiming that Ritchie was "intching" to play rock music and insisting that he was in talks with the guitarist about a renewed collaboration.

Speaking to the French newspaper Le Parisien for an article that was published on July 4, Blackmore was asked whether there was any truth to Turner's claims that Ritchie will reform RAINBOW and play some shows next year. The guitarist responded: "There's some truth, but also a bit of confusion and uncertainty. I'm thinking about playing rock again, just for a few days, next June, DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW songs. But for now, I'm not decided on the persons I want to work with. I've got a good idea about the ideal candidates, but it wouldn't be fair to say anything now. I will know exactly in one month who I want to have in this band to play DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW songs. We will probably play three or four shows in June; that's all."

Blackmore confirmed that a festival show in France will likely be part of the small run of dates he will play during his brief return to rock, but added: "I think that Joe [Lynn Turner] will not be part of the adventure, and he doesn't know it yet. He does his thing, I like him, and I made good albums and good songs with him, like 'Street Of Dreams'. But I'm thinking about doing a mixture in the band, with famous people and not so famous ones. That's my state of mind at the moment, and you're the first person I talk to about it."

After the Le Parisien journalist thanked Blackmore for giving him the "scoop," Ritchie said: "Yes, there should be about three or four people who might be interested."

After Blackmore's final departure from DEEP PURPLE in 1993, he resurrected RAINBOW before focusing exclusively on BLACKMORE'S NIGHT.

Finland's Grönholm has released the official video for the song “Strangers”, which can be found on their upcoming Power Prog release, Relativity Code For Love, due out worldwide on September 18 on CD, download card, as digital download and as stream.

According to a press release, the upcoming third album Relativity Code For Love is an appreciation, study and musical journey about love, all told in the language of melodic rock. With British exceptional singer Lee Small, rock fans worldwide best known as the voice of Shy, Tom Galley's Phenomena, Skyscaper and many other, one of the most appropriate artists was taken on board to give this mission the right refinement. The result is a concise and entertaining piece of hard rock/melodic rock/AOR with fine progressive influences and resounding catchy melodies which will grab the audience with a unique style  and higher musical claims. The fresh dynamic mixing and mastering of Janne Tolsa (Nightwish, Tarot, Eternal Tears Of Sorrow) has completed the whole release to one of the forthcoming rock highlights this year.

Front cover art by Tomasz Alen Kopera:

Relativity Code For Love tracklisting:

“Reasons”
“Home In Our Hearts”
“Like An Angel”
“Mystery”
“Strangers”
“Once”
“Serenity”
“Gravity”

Single “Home In Our Hearts”: