Brazil's Wikimetal podcast recently conducted an interview with guitarist Nuno Bettencourt of Massachusetts hard rockers EXTREME. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.

Asked what he thought of Jimmy Fallon and TENACIOUS D frontman Jack Black teaming up for an impressively accurate shot-for-shot recreation of EXTREME's "More Than Words" music video for an episode of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon", Nuno said: "It was pretty funny. It was actually a surprise, because we didnt know. Nobody told us that Jimmy… Nobody called us and said, 'Hey, we're doing this video.' So I was on the West Coast and, obviously, it came out on the East Coast first, and I had a few friends calling me saying, 'Hey, are you watching?' I didn't know what they were talking about. So they were sending me little clips, taking pictures of the TV and recording it off the TV and sending it. It was kind of confusing. It was crazy, 'cause I had no idea. But it was pretty funny."

He continued: "It was done in good taste. They weren't making fun of it. I think they were being very respectful. Listen, when a guy puts on a wig and paints his nails and acts like you and everything, it's very flattering."

During an appearance on the May 11 edition of Eddie Trunk's SiriusXM satellite radio show, "Eddie Trunk Live", EXTREME vocalist Gary Cherone spoke about the band's plans to write and record the follow-up to 2008's "Saudades de Rock". He said: "Right now, we're all feeling the pressure of putting out something new. [Celebrating the 25th anniversary of EXTREME's 1990 album] 'Pornograffitti' is great. We're enjoying it. We're playing to new audiences the past couple of years. We're hitting Russia for the first time and China. We're going to South America in June for the first time in 23 years. So all that's great. But for me, and Nuno and the guys, we're writing, we're doing demos… Now it's like… Now we've gotta get… Let's get busy. Let's get some new music out."

He continued: "We're writing and demoing now, and, obviously, this summer, you take advantage of the touring season with the festivals… It's about all of us getting in a room together to record, and that's the fall. We'll find time to do it. But we'll be ready; the songs will be there."

EXTREME's first studio album in thirteen years, "Saudades de Rock" (pronounced "sow-dodge") was released in the U.S. on August 12, 2008 on Open E Records and distributed by Fontana. The European version of the CD, which came out on August 1, 2008, included a bonus track, the "Americocaine" demo from 1985, the very first studio recording of EXTREME.

EXTREME's "Take Us Alive" live CD and DVD came out on May 4, 2010 in the U.S. via Frontiers Records. This performance was recorded on the last night of their tour at the House of Blues on August 8, 2009 in EXTREME's hometown of Boston.

Interview (audio):

In a recent interview with Metalgossip, former NIGHTWISH singer Anette Olzon spoke about the reaction to her debut solo album, "Shine", which was released in March 2014 via earMUSIC.

"This album was originally meant to be released while I was still the singer in NIGHTWISH and therefore I didn't make a metal album, 'cause I didn't want to compete with my own band," she said. "Then, when I was gonna release this later, the songs I did back then were too good to exchange with other more rockier songs, and therefore the album is softer."

She continued: "I haven't seen any sales figures yet, but, of course, it's the first album and I am going a new direction, so I don't believe in super numbers. I've read a lot of super-nice reviews in many countries, and it is a good album, so I am happy people that make reviews have heard that."

Asked if she has already started working on songs for the follow-up to "Shine", Olzon said: "Not so many new songs yet, since me and the label are discussing when and how the album will be released. I have some new songs that I've performed live, like 'Strong' and 'Hiding From The Past', and then some songs that I've done but haven't recorded yet. I am studying, so the time for music is a bit smaller nowadays. I write songs in any mood, but I do prefer to be a bit sad or angry when writing songs since they are a vent for me to my inner feelings."

Olzon also talked about her deeply personal lyrics and whether she is afraid to share so much of herself with the public through her music. "No, not at all," she said. "I am a very open person when it comes to that. I am like any other person, with all those ups and downs life throws at you. I don't walk this earth to pretend to be a musical person that only writes cryptic lyrics. I prefer to listen to music myself where I can understand and feel the lyrics without a thousand metaphors."

"Shine" received mostly positive reviews, despite its lack of metal overtones and its reliance on pop hooks and grandiose arrangements.

During a late 2014 question-and-answer session on her Facebook page, Olzon revealed that she had "decided to part ways with my record label and go on my own. [In the future, I] probably will release most stuff only in the Internet and iTunes and so on, since album sales are so bad nowadays."

Olzon did, however, make it clear that those fans who are expecting to see her pursue a more metal-based direction on her next album will likely be disappointed.

"I come from another musical background, and when I write music, it doesn't come out as metal," she said. "But, of course, some songs might be a bit harder, but metal is not my music style."

Olzon was fired from NIGHTWISH in September 2012 in the middle of the band's North American tour. She has since been replaced by former AFTER FOREVER and current REVAMP singer Floor Jansen.

In an interview with Metal Blast, Olzon stated about how she has been portrayed since her departure from NIGHTWISH: "It was really hard for me. You can always say 'no comment' and say nothing about what happened, or you can open your mouth, as I have done. It was really hard for me to decide if I should say something or if I should keep quiet. But I felt that in order for me to move on, I needed to tell my story. I also knew that there would be a lot of hate and negativity directed toward me; I can feel that many people do hate me because I have told people my truth. At first people were a bit more negative, but since then it has been less and less of that. I know there's some negative PR, but people who know me would say it's a big laugh, me being called a diva."

SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor was interviewed on the Swiss TV show "Living Room" on Joiz TV prior to the band's June 11 performance at the Greenfield festival in Interlaken, Switzerland. You can now watch the chat below.

Recalling one particularly bad onstage accident, Taylor said: "A long time ago, I walked… basically, I walked from the speakers that were in front of the stage onto the stage. And the speakers were a little taller than the stage [was], right?! And just at that moment, they were changing lights, they were changing the scene, and I couldn't see because of my mask — my old mask — and I took a header so hard, it wasn't even funny. I turned my ankle, nailed my head… It was stupid… I just kind of got up, laughed and we started the next song. I mean, that's really all you can do, because there's no gettin' out of it. You can't convince people to unsee what they just saw. So you just roll with it: 'Yeah, I'm a dipshit. There it is.'"

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. Joining SLIPKNOT on the road trip will be LAMB OF GOD, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and MOTIONLESS IN WHITE. The summer jaunt follows a brief spring run that SLIPKNOT launched on April 25 at the Fort Rock festival in Fort Myers, Florida, ending on May 16 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

TBFM conducted an interview with Igor Cavalera (CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, SEPULTURA) at the 2015 edition of the U.K.'s Download festival, which was held last weekend in Donington Park. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked what the fan reaction at concerts has been like to the songs on CAVALERA CONSPIRACY's third album, last year's "Pandemonium", Igor said: "It's great. It's very cool, now, to tour with the record. The album's been out for almost a year; it's time enough for kids to get used to the new songs. So it's better. Sometimes, like, when it's too early, you almost feel like they don't know enough about the record. So now it's a good time to do a run."

Igor also talked about the CAVALERA CONSPIRACY touring life and how it affects his relationship with his brother Max, who plays guitar and sings for the band. "At the end, I think it's just an excuse for me and Max to hang out," he said. "We have our family here — like, our kids and stuff — and then we play music eventually. But the most important thing is just to be together here hanging out. For me, that's what the formula of success [is]: doing what you love with people that you love. That's it. All the other stuff doesn't really matter."

"Pandemonium" sold around 2,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 177 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was produced by John Gray, who previously worked with SOULFLY.

In a brand new interview with The Village Voice, SLAYER guitarist Kerry King said that he doesn't feel the the spirit of his longtime friend and band co-founder Jeff Hanneman is guiding the group two years after Jeff's untimely death.

"Jeff is worm food," King said. "When you die, you go in the dirt. There is no doubt. Doubt's called agnostic. I'm not agnostic."

Due on September 11, SLAYER's new album, "Repentless", includes "Piano Wire", an unfinished song from the "World Painted Blood" sessions written by Hanneman.

"I didn't know this until Tom [Araya, singer/bassist] told me recently," King said of the track. "I didn't talk to Jeff about that song, because I didn't really have to police Jeff. If he wrote it, I was pretty sure it was all right. It was about sometime in World War II, because he was a big World War II history buff. I don't know the exact instance, but apparently the Germans would hang people from buildings by piano wire as a warning to people not to go against them. That’s a very general description."

King refers to the "Repentless" title track as "the Hannemanthem." He told The Village Voice: "I went with it based on SLAYER. SLAYER is repentless; SLAYER's always been repentless. I said, 'You know what, I should write something about how I think Jeff looked at the world, because he looked at the world exactly how SLAYER looked at the world.' Plus little 'Jeff-isms.' It was both easy and difficult. The difficult part was doing it justice; I didn' want to just throw it together. I wanted it to be solid, as deep as it could be without getting personal."

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

In the August 2013 issue of Guitar World magazine, King spoke about the personal relationship he had with Hanneman. He said: "[Any time we would finish a tour, Jeff] would just go home and detach. He might have lived only 45 minutes away, but unless you were part of his inner circle, it was hard to stay in touch with him. And it took me a few years to understand that. For a while I was just like, 'Why isn't this guy calling me back?' But as I got older, I just realized that that was who Jeff was."

"I don't think Jeff and I were ever best friends," continued King. "I think we were probably the closest in the band, but never best friends. To put it in a way that everyone could understand, Jeff and I were like business partners. Was he my friend? Of course he was my friend. But we didn't really act like that. The last time I was at Jeff's house was January 2003. We went to his place to watch the Raiders in the playoffs. And it sounds horrible, but it wasn't horrible. That was just how it was."

Greek guitar virtuoso Gus G., well known in rock and metal circles for his work as Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist and as leader of his own band FIREWIND, will release his second solo album, "Brand New Revolution", in Europe on July 24 via Century Media. The CD will be made available through Century Media in Australia and South America, Dismanic/eOne in North America and King Records in Japan. The cover artwork was once again created by Gustavo Sazes, who previously worked with Gus on the guitarist's debut album, "I Am The Fire", and also took care of artwork duties by such bands as ARCH ENEMY, KAMELOT and FIREWIND.

The official lyric video for the song "Burn", taken from "Brand New Revolution", can be seen below.

"Brand New Revolution" features guest vocal appearances by Jeff Scott Soto (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JOURNEY, TALISMAN), Elize Ryd (AMARANTHE), Jacob Bunton (ADLER, LYNAM) and Mats Levén (CANDLEMASS, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, TREAT).

"Brand New Revolution" track listing:

01. The Quest02. Brand New Revolution (feat. Jacob Bunton)03. Burn (feat. Jacob Bunton)04. We Are One (feat. Jacob Bunton)05. What Lies Below (feat. Elize Ryd)06. Behind Those Eyes (feat. Jacob Bunton)07. Gone To Stay (feat. Jeff Scott Soto)08. One More Try (feat. Jacob Bunton)09. Come Hell Or High Water (feat. Mats Levén)10. If It Ends Today (feat. Mats Levén)11. Generation G (feat. Jeff Scott Soto)12. The Demon Inside (feat. Mats Levén)

Says Gus: "'The Quest' is the only instrumental of the album and it's a heavy, high-energy, technical track. The rest of the album once again features collaborations with some awesome singers/songwriters such as the legendary Jeff Scott Soto, Mats Levén, Jacob Bunton and the awesome Elize Ryd of AMARANTHE.

"I feel the album as a whole has many influences, from classic hard rock/metal to more modern and current sounds."

"Brand New Revolution" was recorded with Jay Ruston (STONE SOUR, ANTHRAX, STEEL PANTHER) and mixed by Mike Fraser (METALLICA, AC/DC, VAN HALEN, AEROSMITH). Just as on "I Am The Fire", the core of Gus's recording group consisted of Jo Nunez (FIREWIND) on drums and Marty O'Brien (LITA FORD) on bass.

In a brand new interview with Rock.About.com, GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal was asked if it's true that he was not treated well when he first joined the Axl Rose-fronted group in 2006 and that he had to "get a little violent" to gain other members' respect.

"You know what?! I don't want to get into dirt and all that negative crap," he responded. "There were so many good things that happened with GUNS. People just wanna put all the bad stuff on Wikipedia. They don't wanna talk about any of the good stuff. They don't wanna talk about visiting a children's hospital in Dallas.'

He continued: "Well, ultimately, when I joined the band, in the first month, it's true and I'm not revealing anything that I haven't already put out there. So it wasn't the warmest welcome. I kind of had to earn it… I think it was just more of a situation like a new family member was brought home without the other siblings' consent [laughs], or to their surprise. It was, like, 'Who the fuck is this guy?' [laughs< ] So it took a good minute for us to get to know each other. I don't know if we ever did. I don't know if we ever got to really know each other, to be honest. I feel like the environment I was in never gave me a chance to just comfortably be myself and not feel guarded. But that's just me, and that's just the way the pieces fell, you know."

Thal recently revealed that he was focusing on his solo career after spending eight years playing in the Axl Rose-fronted band. Thal, however, stopped short of saying that he was no longer a member of GUNS N' ROSES, which has caused some fans to criticize him for not coming clean about where he stands with the group.

Thal responded to one fan via Facebook about the lack of clarity surrounding his position in GUNS N' ROSES. He wrote: "I can't erase a decade of history and I can't stop the media from asking what they want to ask and making up their own titles on their interviews and posts. No matter how much I ask them not to do it."

He added: "I've been honoring a request to not make any public statements about anything related to it, which continues to put me in a very awkward position that I don't want to be in. Not how I do things, repeatedly taking the bullet on this one."

Bumblefoot joined GUNS N' ROSES in early 2006 as the replacement for Buckethead. He made his live debut with the band at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on May 12, 2006.

Bumblefoot released a new solo album, "Little Brother Is Watching", on February 24. The disc was composed, produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Bumblefoot at his studio in New Jersey, and also features drummer Dennis Leeflang.

All-female metal sextet CONQUER DIVIDE will release its self-titled debut on July 24 via Artery Recordings. The CD was produced by Joey Sturgis (ASKING ALEXANDRIA, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, WE CAME AS ROMANS) and will feature the song " Sink Your Teeth Into This ", featuring a guest appearance by new ASKING ALEXANDRIA singer Denis Shaforostov. Check out the track in the YouTube clip below.

"This record is the culmination of many years of hard work. It's a representation of where we've been and where we are headed musically. It's something we are all proud of," said CONQUER DIVIDE guitarist Kristen.

"Conquer Divide" track listing:

01. Sink Your Teeth Into This02. Self Destruct03. Eyes Wide Shut04. Nightmares05. Lost06. What's Left Inside 07. At War 08. Despicable You 09. Heavy Lies The Crown10. Broken

Since its formation in late 2012, CONQUER DIVIDE has managed to create a unique, modern and ever-apparent dichotomy of beautiful elegance and intense aggression that intertwines seamlessly with one another. The music certainly doesn't spare any dynamics, with the album taking the listener on a roller coaster ride of divergent stylistic qualities representing each of their musical tastes.

It's not exactly a secret that the group is comprised of all girls, but you wouldn't know simply by listening to one of their songs. However, don't let their image fool you. "We are all girls, and you cant hide that, but we want people to focus more on the quality of the music," drummer Tamara reveals.

"It wasn't an easy thing finding girls who not only were passionate about this type of music, but could play it well." So after years of looking in the States, they were forced to look all over the world, auditioning over 200 girls. They are subsequently based in two countries, the United States and England, but this hasn't slowed them down any.

"Well, these girls have been spending time, you know, a year, maybe two years writing some of these songs, and when you have that much time invested into a project, it's definitely passionate," says Sturgis. "So I knew I had to be involved in some way, because I really like to work with passionate musicians who really care about what they're doing

"Joey has really helped bring our songs to life," says vocalist Kiarely. "He has pushed us to the limit and made us think outside the box. He is an amazing producer and we are lucky to have the opportunity to work with him. He definitely brought out the best in all of us."

"I'm heavily influenced by bands such as PARKWAY DRIVE and AUGUST BURNS RED," Izzy says, "so melodies and heaviness were essential when I was looking to join a band."

"We wanted to stay true to our roots," explains guitarist Kristen. "Everything we've written comes from a real life experience. Music, like any art medium, has always been a form of catharsis for us, it's all about trying to take something negative that happened in your life and turn it into something positive. And we've had a lot of pent up anger to get out on this record. But we did our best to move past those issues and turn them into something for the greater good, because, I think, the whole idea is, if I can't heal from my art, how can you heal from it?" "Yeah, we've poured our hearts into this record and we really hope people can connect with it on some level," Sarah adds.

Continues Kristen: "We really wanted to take our time on our first album, and because of that, we've grown tremendously as songwriters. So this album really reflects where we've been, where we are and where we are headed."

Las Vegas-based metallers FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH have just released their brand new song "Jekyll And Hyde". It is the first single from their highly anticipated sixth full-length album, "Got Your Six", which is due on August 28 through Prospect Park in North America and Eleven Seven Music in the rest of the world.

The "Got Your Six" pre-order, as well as several exclusive album pre-order merchandise packages, are live and ready for order now at www.fivefingerdeathpunch.com.. Upon purchasing any "Got Your Six" pre-order offer, buyers will be able to instantly download "Jekyll And Hyde".

"Got Your Six" is available in various formats to accommodate fans digitally, as well as those who prefer a physical item CD or vinyl alike:

* Standard album, digital (11 tracks)
* Deluxe album, digital (11 tracks + 3 bonus tracks)
* Standard physical CD (11 tracks)
* Deluxe physical CD (11 tracks + 3 bonus tracks + redeemable code for an exclusive t-shirt)
* Vinyl (11 tracks + 3 bonus tracks + digital download card for the deluxe version of the album)

There will also be an exclusive Best Buy edition of the album available (deluxe album and an exclusive, limited-edition FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH merchandise item).

"If someone asked me to sum up who and what FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH is, I would tell them everything they need to know is on this new record," said FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH frontman Ivan Moody. "Hands down, 'Got Your Six' is our best one yet… As for the first single, everybody is Jekyll and Hyde. There are multiple personalities to every human being, and no matter how civilized and sophisticated you think you are, if you dare to look at yourself very, very closely, you’ll see… somewhere deep down… there is a demon inside. Your circumstances may not have provoked it yet but trust me, it's there."

Added FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Zoltan Bathory: "The verses are actual unaltered voicemails from Ivan. We have an ever-growing collection of these 4:00 a.m. messages Ivan usually bombards us with, and Jason [Hook, guitar] had this idea to copy them to a hard drive, then literally wrote the song around them… What you hear is the actual voicemail."

"Got Your Six" track listing:

01. Got Your Six
02. Jekyll And Hyde
03. Wash It All Away
04. Ain't My Last Dance
05. My Nemesis
06. No Sudden Movement
07. Question Everything
08. Hell To Pay
09. Digging My Own Grave
10. Meet My Maker
11. Boots And Blood

Deluxe-edition bonus tracks:

12. You're Not My Kind
13. This Is My War
14. I Apologize

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH released its last effort, "The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell", in two parts, with the first arriving in July 2013 and the second following in November 2013.

The band will head out on a co-headlining fall tour with PAPA ROACH. The trek kicks off on September 4 in Lexington, Kentucky, winding down on October 9 in Glen Falls, New York. Also along will be IN THIS MOMENT and FROM ASHES TO NEW.

The two headliners actively involved their fans in the routing of the tour by giving them the opportunity to request the tour come to their city via a "demand campaign." Some 1.5 million people responded and made their choices known.

Michelle Livings of TotalRock conducted an interview with vocalist Andrea Ferro of Italian heavy rockers LACUNA COIL at the 2015 edition of the U.K.'s Download festival, which was held last weekend in Donington Park. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about LACUNA COIL's plans to write and record the follow-up to last year's "Broken Crown Halo", Ferro said: "Last year, we've been mostly touring, especially in North America, Canada, South America, Russia, Europe… And this year, we're taking a little easier, just doing the festivals and some summer shows in our homeland, in Italy, and we're working already on new songs, actually. 'Cause by the time we're gonna record it and promote it and put it out, it's gonna be two years from the previous one. So we have a lot of music right now, and we're just starting with the vocals. So we're gonna keep going, probably have it… maybe recording at the end of the year and release it next year. That's the plan."

Asked if there will be a change in LACUNA COIL's musical direction because of the recent departures of guitarist Cristiano "Pizza" Migliore and drummer Cristiano 'CriZ' Mozzati, the band's singer, Cristina Scabbia, told MetalPR.com: "There will [still] be melody, for sure, because that's part of our Italian heritage. And I like melody in songs. I like the heaviness of the songs, but I also like when you hear a song and you can remember parts of the song itself. Not just, like, straight violence in your face, but also, 'Oh, that's a good chorus. That's a good melody.' That's the way I like it, at least. So I believe that the next record might be heavier, because we have a new drummer, so he will probably be experimenting more on his side. It's the first time that we will write with Ryan [Blake Folden]. But the main composers, the main songwriters are still in the band, so I don't think it's gonna be something that worries us. I mean, we feel pretty confident that we will come up with a great record."

LACUNA COIL's latest album, "Broken Crown Halo", sold around 13,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 27 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on April 1, 2014 via Century Media.

"Broken Crown Halo" was recorded Italy by producer Jay Baumgardner (P.O.D., SEVENDUST, EVANESCENCE, PAPA ROACH) and engineer Kyle Hoffmann (P.O.D., BUSH, ZEBRAHEAD). The effort was mastered by Howie Weinberg, whose credits include RAMMSTEIN, SOUNDGARDEN, NIRVANA, DEFTONES and SHERYL CROW.

The cover artwork for SLAYER's eleventh studio album, "Repentless", can be seen below. The CD will be released on September 11 via Nuclear Blast.

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

"We had a number of submitted ideas for the cover artwork," said Araya, "and we felt Marcelo's was the best. We made some suggestions and the result is an awesome album cover."

The "Repentless" title track will be available digitally virtually everywhere around the globe this Friday, June 19.

"'Repentless' is my Jeff [Hanneman] tribute," said 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."

The full lyrics for the "Repentless" title track can be found below.

The Metal Eagle Edition of "Repentless", is made of aluminum alloy, measuring 15" x 17" x 3" and weighing in at a hefty 7.8 pounds (yes, the final version is heavier than previously announced), the Metal Eagle Edition will house a deluxe digipak of the "Repentless" CD plus bonus material detailed below. The limited (only 3,000 copies worldwide) and numbered Metal Eagle Edition will be a direct-to-consumer item and available exclusively via the Nuclear Blast mailorder online store. The Metal Eagle will include the following exclusive items: * Deluxe digipak (folds out into "inverted cross")* Bonus Blu-Ray and DVD including "Slayer Live At Wacken 2014" and "Making Of Repentless Documentary"* Bonus live CD "Slayer Live At Wacken 2014"* Fold-out poster* Album sticker* Numbered certificate The highly anticipated "Repentless" is SLAYER's eleventh studio album, the first since 2009's critically acclaimed, Grammy-nominated "World Painted Blood" and the first with producer Terry Date (PANTERA, SLIPKNOT, SOUNDGARDEN). The band — Tom Araya (bass, vocals), Kerry King (guitar), Paul Bostaph (drums), and Gary Holt (guitar), who recorded lead guitar parts for about a half-dozen of the album's new tracks — started recording "Repentless" in March 2014, and made the track "Implode" available as a free download in April of that year. The band and Date continued to record between September 2014 and mid-January 2015 at Henson Studios in Los Angeles. For the album, "Implode" was completely re-recorded from the ground up, and "When The Stillness Comes", used as an instrumental track in a Scion commercial, got a revamped intro and all new vocals.

"Repentless" also includes "Piano Wire", an unfinished song from the "World Painted Blood" sessions written by Hanneman. About the track, Rolling Stone wrote that it "begins with an eerie guitar line before evolving into a full-on-doom (and classic SLAYER) riff onslaught." King put it this way: "When I hear it, I think 'Jeff.' It sounds like a Jeff Hanneman song."

The 12-track "Repentless" is, according to those who have heard it, a sonic assault of brutal, ominous, lightening-fast and heavy-as-hell music with lyrics that unmask what SLAYER knows best — the terror, the corruption and the societal turmoil that dominates our world.

"The new album sounds like SLAYER," said Araya. "In the past, our fans have always known what to expect, this time they don't. But we really like it, and I don't think the fans are going to be disappointed."

As is expected from SLAYER, the band will support the release of "Repentless" with extensive touring across the globe, beginning this summer when the band headlines the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. That tour kicks off June 26 at Sleep Train Amphitheater in San Diego, California.

The most successful export from continental Europe with more than 100 million records sold, Scorpions are celebrating 50 years of rock with the release of their 19th studio album, Return To Forever (Sony Music/Legacy Recordings), on September 11th in North America. The album was released in Europe back in February.

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, full tracklisting below.

The first single, "We Built This House" releases digitally on July 3rd, and will be available to fans as an instant-grat for the album preorder, available at Amazon and iTunes. Scorpions embark on a 16-city North America tour this fall (dates follow), more information on the dates and new release can be found at the-scorpions.com.
 
"We have been overwhelmed with the amazing response to our new album across the globe and can't wait to finally release Return To Forever in North America" said Klaus Meine. "We have always had such a special connection with our incredible fans and are so excited to get them the new album and return to play live this fall."

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 14th. Visit this location for more details.

Return To Forever celebrates a spectacular global return for Scorpions as the album is already available in many parts of the world breaking and remaining in the Top 10 in multiple markets including Finland, France, Germany, Greece (#1), Hungary, Japan and Switzerland, with continued chart activity in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Holland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

When Klaus Meine (vocals), Rudolf Schenker (rhythm guitar) and Matthias Jabs (lead guitar) conceived this record, the idea was to revisit their past, recording updated outtakes and unfinished song ideas from their most famous 80's sessions. Mathias Jabs explains, "There had been quite a few unused songs over the years that were really good, but in the end didn't make the cut back then due to the limited space on vinyl. We focused on eight songs, which were partly finished which we then recorded from scratch. During the work, new song ideas were added. We were having so much fun we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of the songwriting process once again. And in the end, it turned out to be a brand-new Scorpions album after all."

Return To Forever includes first single, "We Built This House," - capturing all the elements that make for the signature Scorpions sound, luring verses with an anthemic chorus - purists will be thrilled! Additional selections include the sweeping "House Of Cards," "Eye Of The Storm" - a track, that transports a notion of the unbelievable dynamic and joy of playing, characterizing Scorpions' stage performances, and "We Built This House" where the band reflects the past fifty years - their philosophy and the lessons their unusual life taught them.

"In the end, it tells our story" said Klaus Meine. "We've built this house called Scorpions brick by brick and often quite arduously. From the first days in Hannover, the first concerts abroad, until this very day. We've weathered severe storms, but the house withstood everything, turned out to be weatherproof and stable. However, building the house was never just cumbersome, but joyful as well. The joy of music, the joy of having experienced and still experiencing it all, the joy of - and the thankfulness for - the fan's affection."

Tracklisting:

“Going Out With A Bang”
“We Built This House”
“Rock My Car”
“House Of Cards”
“All For One”
“Rock 'N' Roll Band”
“Catch Your Luck And Play”
“Rollin' Home”
“Hard Rockin' The Place”
“Eye Of The Storm”
“The Scratch”
“Gypsy Life”
“The World We Used to Know”
“Dancing With The Moonlight”
“When The Truth Is A Lie”
“Who We Are”
“Crazy Ride” (exclusive)
“One And One Is Three” (exclusive)
“Delirious” (exclusive)

The fact that the 50th band anniversary was coming up, hit Rudolf Schenker rather accidentally: "Not long ago I found an old cash account book of my mom's, in which she meticulously recorded the earnings and expenses of the band from fifty years ago. My parents had lent me the money for the first equipment back then, so they kept a of record of my earnings so I could pay them back in installments. Fifty years is a long time for a working band. Apart from us, only the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys and The Who have managed to do it. So the timing for the new album is perfect; We're celebrating half a century of Scorpions with the record and the upcoming tour."

Scorpions remain a band able to attract masses of new fans at any given time. A fact that surprises even the musicians themselves, as they gladly admit. "It's really remarkable", says Rudolf Schenker, for example, "how well and mostly unharmed we've survived those years, in which our kind of music seemed to have gotten out of style completely. When the grunge wave hit the shore, we simply went to Asia to tap new markets and gain new fans. We were able to continue playing and keep on winning new friends for our music."

Founded in Hannover, West Germany in 1965, Scorpions were part of the first wave of metal in the 1970's with their debut album, Lonesome Crow, released in 1972. The band rose to arena status with seminal releases Lovedrive, Virgin Killer and Animal Magnetism. In the 80s, Scorpions amassed a string of Billboard chart toppers from Love at First Sting and Blackout, including multiple Top 10 singles "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and "No One Like You," as well a string of successful singles such as "Send Me an Angel," "Still Loving You" and "Winds of Change." The band was also ranked #46 on VH1's Greatest Artists of Hard Rock and their hit "Rock You Like a Hurricane" also landed as #18 on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs. Celebrated across the globe, the iconic rock act have sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, and have received multiple honors including World Music Award winners, a postage stamp in Brazil, their Star on Hollywood Rock Walk, Echo honors, most recently they were honored with the Lower Saxon State Award.

Scorpions Return to Forever 50th Anniversary Tour, featuring longtime members Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs, alongside James Kottak (drums) and Paweł Mąciwoda (bass), kicked off in May 2015 with dates in four continents. For these milestone shows, Scorpions have built a career-spanning setlist of Scorpion's hits, anthems, ballads and vintage classics. North American dates also feature special guests Queensryche.

September
10 - Blue Hills Bank Pavilion - Boston, MA     
12 - Barclays Center - Brooklyn, NY     
13 - Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion - Gilford, NH     
16 - Moncton Coliseum - Moncton, NB     
18 - Molson Canadian Amphitheatre - Toronto, ON     
19 - Bell Centre - Montreal, QC     
22 - Lifestyle Communities Pavilion - Columbus, OH     
23 - Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica - Cleveland, OH     
25 - Caesar's Windsor - Windsor, ON     
26 - Allstate Arena - Rosemont, IL     
29 - Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre - Greenwood Village, CO     

October
1 - SAP Center - San Jose, CA     
3 - The Forum - Inglewood, CA         
6 - Santa Barbara Bowl - Santa Barbara, CA     
7 - The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino - Las Vegas, NV     
9 - ShoWare Center - Kent, WA

 

IWRESTLEDABEARONCE's fourth full-length album and first for Artery Recordings, "Hail Mary", can be streamed in its entirety below. The CD is being released today (Tuesday, June 16).

When it came time to record "Hail Mary", the members of IWRESTLEDABEARONCE all agreed on one thing.

So, what was the great unifier in this case for musicians Steven Bradley (guitar), Courtney LaPlante (vocals), Mike Stringer (guitar), Mikey Montgomery (drums) and Mike "Rickshaw" Martin (bass)?

"We wanted to write some straight-up heavy, crazy, gnarly music this time," declares Steven. "We basically decided to just shit on everything people might be expecting and do something 'weird' for us; [in other words] take things in a darker direction and write some music that explores even more heavy/technical genres than in the past."

"On this album, we all had a clear goal to push ourselves both creatively and technically," LaPlante agrees. "My lyrics and performance had to mirror the music. I had to push passed my self-created boundaries, and as Steven so eloquently put it, 'Get gnarly.' The only pressure I felt was from myself. Since I joined the band, I've grown as a vocalist and lyricist, and now is my time to prove it."

With that mindset, the quintet retreated to Steven's studio in suburban Los Angeles to cut the 14 tracks comprising "Hail Mary". 2013's "Late For Nothing" introduced Courtney behind the mic, boasted a guest spot from guitar god Steve Vai on "Carnage Asada", and scored acclaim from the likes of Ultimate Guitar, MetalSucks, Kerrang! and Revolver. However, this new collective goal encouraged the members to truly gel on album number four.

"The last time we were writing, I had just joined the band, and I was a bit isolated at home for the beginning of the process," recalls Courtney. "I didn't hit my stride creatively until I got down to Los Angeles with the guys. This time, I was there for every single moment. I was engrossed in it. Together, we watched little ideas bloom into what 'Hail Mary' is now."

Album opener "Gift Of Death" begins with a dissonant hum before slipping into a bludgeoning polyrhythmic guitar-and-drum death march punctuated by Courtney's distinct growls. "The goal was to piece together a bunch of crazy tech metal ideas, but to not lose sight of keeping it memorable and somewhat organized," says Steven. "Also it's pretty damn evil, and it really sets the tone for the album."

Courtney goes deeper, explaining, "'Gift Of Death' is told by a person who has been so sure their entire life that they are going to go to heaven — only to end up in hell. They realize that they have been cast aside. The gift is supposed to be a blessing, but this person realizes that they've been cheated."

Then, there's the eradicating and entrancing "Erase It All", which boasts a scorching cameo from SUICIDE SILENCE singer Eddie Hermida and also appropriately received its debut on Easter Sunday 2015. "It's emblematic of what we're doing on this record and having both Courtney and Eddie together at the end of the song is just inarguably br00talz."

"It's time to reject the notion that if you play by the rules, then you will be rewarded," sighs Courtney. "Erase that false mindset and move on to better things. It's about standing up for yourself and not drinking a drop of the poison disguised as medicine people shove in your face."

Elsewhere on the grossly epic "Doomed To Fail Pt. 1" and "Doomed To Fail Pt. 2", the group employs traditional guitar solos, another evolution in the spirit of assembling their "most metal album," as Courtney calls it. Steven explains, "This album has the craziest guitar work of any of our albums so far, and it's due in part to Young Michel [Stringer] joining the band and being an absolute beast on guitar. 'Doomed To Fail Pt. 1' has legitimate guitar solos, which is totally different for us. Normally, we'd eschew that, but we're embracing it and even adding another dimension to the music. Then 'Pt. 2' kicks in and, as the only song on the album that doesn't feature predominately screaming, gives the album a breath of fresh air while dancing around the same melodies as the extremely heavy/technical 'Pt. 1'."

IWRESTLEDABEARONCE's multi-dimensional sound has transfixed listeners since the release of their 2009 debut, "It's All Happening". Over the course of 2011's "Ruining It For Everybody" and "Late For Nothing", the band amassed nearly 100 million cumulative YouTube views, while obliterating stages in 40-plus countries and with bands from every genre imaginable. Everything laid the groundwork for "Hail Mary" as their most corrosive, catchy, and chaotic statement to date though.

Their duality ultimately shines through the title. "It's twofold," concludes Steven. "Courtney's lyrics contain a lot of religious themes this time around. We feel that blindly following religion or anyone else's doctrines and embracing close-mindedness is the culprit behind many of the world's worst tragedies, and we want to encourage people to question anything/everything that's force-fed to them. We purposefully took a step away from the bright neon themes of our past to do something darker with this album. There's also the football reference and us just saying, 'Fuck it! We've been quiet for a little while now, but let's just throw this straight out there and see what happens.' We aim to destroy everything this time around, and I hope everyone's on board with that."

"Hail Mary" track listing:

01. Gift Of Death02. Remain Clam03. Green Eyes04. Erase It All05. Curse The Spot06. Doomed To Fail Pt. 107. Doomed To Fail Pt. 208. Killed To Death09. Trips10. Man Of Virtue11. Carbon Copy12. Wade In The Water13. We All Float Down Here14. Your God Is Too Small

Swedish symphonic metal band, The Murder Of My Sweet, return with the worldwide release of a new concept album entitled Beth Out Of Hell, on August 21st. 

“Beth Out Of Hell is an apocalyptic love story where Lucifer’s Daughter falls in love with the Archangel Michael”, says charming singer Angelica Rylin. “The story in the new album basically takes off right where we left you with the last three songs of Bye Bye Lullabye.”

“It took us three years to record this album and the reason for that is that we wanted to give the fans an album they truly deserve,” continues drummer and producer Daniel Flores. “We made a conscious effort to keep all the songs very interesting and diverse, much like in a film or a musical.”

The Murder Of My Sweet released their debut album, Divanity, in 2009 and received swift, genuine praise from media around the world. Much of the praise was directed at the heavy orchestrations and Angelica Rylin’s strong, soaring vocals. Their first single, “Bleed Me Dry”, reached a peak position of #14 on the Swedish international singles chart. In the summer of both 2010 and 2011, the band toured in Sweden, France and Germany and played at festivals like Sweden Rock, Rock Weekend, Baltic Festival, Raismes Fest and Wacken Open Air. The darker Nordic months were spent in the studio where Flores and Rylin worked on the follow up album Bye, Bye Lullaby, which was released in 2012.

Now The Murder Of My Sweet are back with their most ambitious and exciting album and will leave a definite mark in the current symphonic metal scene, with their unique and multi layered sound. The new album is definitely darker and heavier compared to their previous two records, but still features the trademark over-the-top symphonic arrangements, cinematic elements and riffs the band is known for. This release also marks the debut of the band’s new bass player, Patrik Janson (Platitude).

Beth Out Of Hell tracklisting:

“Hell On Earth”
“The Awakening”
“World In Ashes”
“Always The Fugitive”
“Bitter Love”
“Still”
“Humble Servant”
“Requiem For A Ghost”
“Euthanasia”
“Tide After Tide”
“Poets By Default”
“Heaven Succumb”
“Means To An End”

EPK:

Villainy II: Dim’ is avant-garde metallers Villainy’s second full-length album, scheduled for an October/November release.

The album was recorded by Jos Kessels and mixed and mastered by Toneshed Studio. The artwork was made by Manuel Tinnemans. Dim is a concept album containing three chapters. These three chapters each ask different questions about the perceptible and the imperceptible.

Villainy II: Dim tracklisting:

Res Cogitans
“A Familiair Wind”
“Nebulous Chasm”
“The View From My Ivory Tower” (Extended Version)

Verlet
“Dwaalspoor”
“Jewel”
“Only I Have The Light Of Lights”
“Valley”

Being
“The Soul Is Untouched”
“Inside Her Hide And Fire”
“Spinsel & Nest”
“And The Gold Of Rebirth”
“Herschapen”

Villainy have been confirmed to play the UK's annual Bloodstock Open Air Festival on August 9th in Derbyshire, UK.

Australian melodic metallers, Lord, unveil their new What Tomorrow Brings EP, featuring a title track which clocks in at over 25 minutes in length.

Stated Lord mainman L.T.: "This is something we're really proud of, and something really different for Lord, although you can most definitely hear elements from all of the styles we like to dabble in all throughout the song. The difference is more so the presentation of those styles; in this case it's a twenty five minute plus long concept piece that retraces the life of a man who has lost everything that had meaning to him, and now has a terrible choice to make that could mean the difference between life or death. What led him to this point and what does he ultimately choose? It was really cool to be able to do something so expansive with actors and orchestration that went through a great number or styles to tell the story. It's most definitely a niche release that we couldn't ordinarily do on a regular album, but we hope people find it as special as we do."

Continued L.T.: "Like all Lord releases, we thought about what we could do to add value to the package, even though the title track is already longer than most EP releases usually are. We decided to add two songs that we never released publicly from the last album recording sessions, plus a bunch of cover songs that people were asking to be included on a CD one day. This bonus stuff actually cost us money to do because of licensing fees, but it was most definitely worth it if we could give more back to the people who part with their hard earned money to support us."

What Tomorrow Brings tracklisting:

“What Tomorrow Brings”
“Haunted”
“Message In A Bottle” (The Police cover)
“The Sun Always Shines On TV” (A-Ha cover)
“Playing To Win” (Little River Band cover)
“Someone's Crying” (Helloween cover)

This EP features "Graphic Novel" style cover art by Zacchary Smith-Cameron, guest drumming from Germ mastermind Tim Yatras, and the first 500 copies released are in a DVD style package to accentuate the "cinematic" style of the title track.

Lord is essentially a continuation of Dungeon, one of Australia’s longest running and highest profile heavy metal bands, which began playing under the Lord banner in 2006. Lord has released four full length albums, two EPs, a digital-only release live album, and most recently issued The Dungeon Era box set, which featured re-recording of all four of the official Dungeon albums, plus four remastered original Dungeon performance albums.

Seattle, WA thrashers, Fallen Angels, return in 2015 with their third studio release, World In Decay, produced by Grammy award winning metal producer/engineer Michael Rosen (Forbidden, Testament, Death Angel, Flotsam And Jetsam). The album is set to be released on August 4th 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.

Check out the new track “Nightmare” below:

 

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”

Guitarist/vocalist Chris Caffery (Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra) has completed his new solo album, Your Heaven Is Real, due for release later this year. The cover art can be viewed below.

Caffery recently checked in with the following studio update:

"Two years of writing. Six months of demos. Four months of recording after I received drums. Done! Time to master!!!

Really thankful for Mr Tichy to be able to come in and play the drums on this record. Such an amazing musician! He really made me push everything I did to another level. Also thankful to Mr Lonnie Park for his additional keys and vocal work. Lonnie and I will master this at the end of the week!

Also very thankful for the support and inspiration from my best friend. We are currently deciding just where we are gonna go first! Time off finally this weekend 'till June!

Thanks to all of you for your continued friendship and support! As soon as I get details on the release dates I'll let you know. I still have to get the artwork and photos together. But I'm looking at a release sometime around my birthday!"

The tracklisting for Your Heaven Is Real is as follows:

"Your Heaven Is Real"
"Arm And A Leg"
"Just Fine"
"Why"
"Damned If You Do, Dead If You Don't"
"Hot Wheelz" (instrumental)
"I Never Knew"
"Sick And Tired"
"Death By Design"
"2-26-15" (instrumental)
"Too Soon To Be Too Late"
"Over And Over"
"Come Home"

Released last week to popular and critical acclaim, and available now for free download Bandcamp.com, "Beware The Crone" follows my  Ruin vocalist Tairrie on a dark and witchy journey back to her hip hops roots with an old-school West Coast influence.
 
And now comes the stunning official video, beautifully shot in black and white with bewitching, esoteric visuals. Says Tairrie of her vision for the video: "It's been a while since I recorded a hip hop album, let alone a video with me rapping. Like the songs themselves, I didn't want to mimic what so many other women in music seem to be doing at the moment. I'm not a fan of bright colourful imagery or over-the-top sexuality. I wanted there to be a strong and empowering, yet darkly visceral and magical sensibility to the visuals."

Directed by Tairrie B herself, the mystic maven explains of the filming process: "I shot many of the scenes myself and others were filmed by my good friends Jill and Gary Bandfield of TourBusLive.com - talented husband and wife photographers. They understood where I wanted to go visually so I asked them to collaborate with me in bringing a few songs from my new album, Vintage Curses, to life."

"We shot all the nature scenes in the back woods of Griffith Park which is one of my favourite places to hike in Los Angeles and somewhere I have loved since I was a child. The rest of the video was filmed in Hollywood, in our studio and our home."

"Beware The Crone", is now available for free download via Bandcamp. Check it out via the player below.

Vintage Curses will be released on August 14th. For additional information and updates check out Tairrie's new Facebook page here.

Beware The Crone by TAIRRIE B

The progressive heavy rock trio Godsticks will release their third full-length studio album, Emergence, on August 10th  Never a band to play things safe, Emergence signifies a milestone in the progression of the band from complex crossover progressive music to a more focused heavier style.

In April 2014, shortly after their European tour supporting The Aristocrats, Godsticks set to work writing what would become their third full-length studio album. Following in the footsteps of 2012’s The Envisage Conundrum, the band continue to explore the heavier side of their musical style and have created a work that includes more concise songwriting filled with addictive grooves and memorable choruses.  Fans need not worry though, there is plenty of signature Godsticks style throughout the new album. 

A great deal of research was spent in achieving the sound they had in mind for this album. In November 2014 drums were tracked at Monnow Valley Studio, whose incredible and acclaimed live room provided the perfect foundation for the heavy guitar tracks that were to follow. Producer James Loughrey, known for his work with rock acts such as Skindred, Manic Street Preachers, Def Leppard was also brought on board.

Godsticks frontman Darran Charles comment:
 
“A conscious effort was made only to select songs for the album that maintained a stylistically consistent theme throughout. The original premise of Godsticks, to ensure that a song remains interesting from start to finish, was still intact but our live shows seemed to have an overarching influence on every new song written - the more we play live, the heavier our sound seems to get. Guitar pretty much shared duties with keyboards on the early Godsticks releases but lately it has become the driving force, and this is epitomized in Emergence.  So in essence: we’re the same, but different. I can’t wait for people to hear it!”
 
From the thundering anthem “Below The Belt” through to the heavy rock crescendos of “One Percent” and “Much Sinister”, to the scorching guitar riffs of album’s title track, “Emergence” is a high energy album representative of a band that continues to push forward and explore new territory.

For the album artwork the band wanted to capture the darker tone of the new material, and the work of Eric Lacombe immediately caught their attention. The ‘emergence’ of the mummified figure from the wall was an obvious influence for the album title but also illustrates the emergence of a mature and focused writing style.

A behind-the-scenes video for the album’s third track, “Much Sinister”, filmed at various recording studio locations by Chris Vinnicombe, can be viewed below:

The Emergence tracklisting is as follows:

"Below The Belt"
"Ruin"
"Much Sinister"
"Exit Stage Right"
"All That Remains"
"Hopeless Situation"
"One Percent"
"Emergence"
"Leave Or Be Left"
"Lack Of Scrutiny"

Pre-sale copies of the CD are available now through the band’s online store at www.godsticks.co.uk/shop.  All pre-sales will be signed by the band and will be accompanied by a free digital version of the album and remixes of two tracks by Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief), available for download on the release date.

For more information on Godsticks go to their official website and check out their Facebook page.

Old school Swedish death metal band Wombbath will release Downfall Rising, its first album in 22 years, jointly in North America via Dark Descent and Pulverised Records on August 21st. Pulverised will release the album in all other territories on August 7th. Downfall Rising is the follow-up to 1993's Internal Caustic Torments.

Downfall Rising was mixed by Jeramie Kling and mastered by James Murphy (Disincarnate, Death, Testament, Obituary).  The revamped Wombbath lineup is anchored by sole remaining member/guitarist Håkan Stuvemark (Skineater) , and also includes vocalist/bassist Jonny Petterson (Ashcloud, Syn:drom), guitarist Al Riglin, and drummer Henrik Åberg. Drumming on the album itself was performed by Infernaeon / The Absence member Jeramie Kling. Taylor Nordbert (Infernaeon) guested on guitar as well.

Enjoy the new Wombbath song "Underneath The Rotten Soil" courtesy of YouTube:

 

 

Century Media Records and SWALLOW THE SUN have announced a worldwide deal to release the band's upcoming albums.

Jens Prüter, head of A&R at Century Media Records in Europe, comments: "It's probably no news that we love the dark side of Finland. But we are very proud to finally work with one of the darkest Finnish bands that have spread their gospel of doom for the last 15 years.

"I first took notice of SWALLOW THE SUN when my Century Media colleague Philipp Schulte released their debut album on vinyl on his own label Imperium Productions. Since then, I've met them at several shows with bands like MOONSORROW, INSOMNIUM and PARADISE LOST, and became a fan of their unique mix of doom, death and despair.

"It's an honor to start our direct relationship with a very special release later this year.

"Kippis, cheers and prost on the the next 15 years!"

Adds SWALLOW THE SUN vocalist Mikko Kotamäki: "We are really excited to be a part of the Century Media family, of a label which has done great work for years with many bands. This is also good news for all our fans because from now on our coming albums are more easily found all over the world.

"We are currently working on new songs in the studio for a release coming out later this year. More good news coming soon!"

SWALLOW THE SUN's as-yet-untitled sixth studio album will be unleashed in the winter.

SWALLOW THE SUN is:

Juha Raivio - guitarMarkus Jämsen - guitarMikko Kotamäki - vocalsMatti Honkonen -bassAleksi Munter - keysJuuso Raatikainen - drums

Phil Collen, lead guitarist of DEF LEPPARD, recently announced the release of his new blues-based music project DELTA DEEP. Collen recorded the mix of original and hand-picked cover tracks with fellow DELTA DEEP bandmates Debbi Blackwell-Cook (back-up vocalist for such artists as Michael Buble and Luther Vandross), Forrest Robinson (drummer for India.Arie, Joe Sample & The Crusaders, TLC), and Robert DeLeo (bassist for STONE TEMPLE PILOTS). Their self-titled debut album will be released on June 23 on Mailboat Records and also features special guest appearances by DEF LEPPARD vocalists Joe Elliott, WHITESNAKE's David Coverdale, SEX PISTOLS/MANRAZE drummer Paul Cook, and GIRL/MANRAZE bassist Simon Laffy.

The DELTA DEEP song "Private Number", which features guest vocals by Coverdale, can be streamed using the SoundCloud widget below.

Collen initially started DELTA DEEP in 2012 after jamming at home over the course of a year with friend and relative Debbi Blackwell-Cook (Blackwell-Cook is the godmother of Collen's wife, Helen). What started as a casual pairing singing Motown and classic blues staples while Debbi frequently visited Collen's home quickly turned into much more. Collen, Helen, and Debbi began writing original music which Collen and Debbi recorded in Collen's home studio. Later that year, a chance meeting re-acquainted Collen with Memphis native and enigmatic heavy metal, jazz, and R&B drummer Forrest Robinson. A friend suggested giving STP bassist Robert DeLeo a call. Sharing a loving affinity for soul, funk and the blues, DeLeo was the perfect fit. According to Collen: "We really wanted Robert in this band. He had the added firepower of being the premiere pioneer and most 'badass bass player' to come out of the alternative rock explosion."

The best description of DELTA DEEP, a multi-racial band, has been "Aretha and Tina in their prime singing over early ZEPPELIN." Original song and lead-off single "Bang The Lid" introduces the musical synchronicity of Collen, Blackwell-Cook, DeLeo and Robinson. Blackwell-Cook also duets with Collen on the album tracks as well as with featured vocalists Joe Elliott ("Mistreated") and WHITESNAKE's David Coverdale ("Private Number"). Legendary SEX PISTOLS drummer Paul Cook and Collen's former bandmate from GIRL, bass player Simon Laffy, guest on the classic cover "Black Coffee". Guesting on the DELTA DEEP original song "Burnt Sally" is keyboardist CJ Vanston (Tina Turner, TOTO, Joe Cocker, Carol King) adding to the soulful tune on the Hammond 3 Organ. Collen is widely known to millions of rock 'n' roll fans for his iconic albums with DEF LEPPARD. When asked what made him decide to do a blues project, Collen responded, "Blues was created out of something completely different from what we hear today.

"I grew up listening to rock music but then I found out it was all based on blues. Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Ritchie Blackmore, Jimi Hendrix, all of those guys….they got it from the blues.

"When I hear Debbi sing, I can hear the pain.

"She's an incredibly beautiful 62-year-old black woman who has been through things and she can sing through her pain. Not everyone can do that and not everyone sounds like Debbi."

While many artists aim to make their mark by creating new genres or introducing their own new versions of music, Collen and DELTA DEEP melded their blues inspirations with who they are as artists and are unleashing that expression onto the world.

METAL ALLEGIANCE — the all-star metal band consisting of a rotating cast of musicians, including members of MEGADETH, TESTAMENT — which debuted on MOTÖRHEAD's Motörboat cruise last year, and performed at this year's NAMM show and on the ShipRocked cruise, will release its self-titled debut album on September 18 via Nuclear Blast Entertainment.

Brought together by METAL ALLEGIANCE principal partner Mark Menghi, the project's original material came together from the creative minds of David Ellefson of MEGADETH, Mike Portnoy of THE WINERY DOGS, and Alex Skolnick from TESTAMENT, alongside Menghi. The four writers then reached out through their metal rolodexes to a diverse lineup of performers, each adding their own personal musical stamp to the collection of nine original songs.

"Metal Allegiance" contains appearances by:

* Philip H. Anselmo (PANTERA, DOWN)* Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX)* Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT)* D. Randall Blythe (LAMB OF GOD)* Rex Brown (PANTERA, DOWN, KILL DEVIL HILL)* Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (GUNS N' ROSES)* Phil Demmel (MACHINE HEAD)* Alissa White-Gluz (ARCH ENEMY)V* Matthew K. Heafy (TRIVIUM)* Gary Holt (EXODUS)* Jamey Jasta (HATEBREED)* Chris Jericho (FOZZY)* Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA)* Misha Mansoor (PERIPHERY)* Mark Osegueda (DEATH ANGEL)* Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH)* Doug Pinnick (KING'S X, KXM)* Troy Sanders (MASTODON)* Cristina Scabbia (LACUNA COIL)* Steve "Zetro" Souza (EXODUS)* Ben Weinman (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN)

"It's always my pleasure to jam with such esteemed musicians and brothers, and my contribution to this project is further proof of that fact. Hail to all heavy metallers the world over!" states Philip H. Anselmo.

Mike Portnoy adds: "I could not be any more excited or proud of the METAL ALLEGIANCE album... It's everything I've always dreamed of and hoped for and a hundred times more!"

From the blistering opening of album starter "Gift Of Pain" to the final notes of closer "Pledge Of Allegiance", it is clear this collective have created something special. The diversity of the individual tracks is apparent through each musical collaboration.

The standard edition CD of "Metal Allegiance" will feature the nine original songs. A digipak edition will be available that features an all-star tribute to Ronnie James Dio with a cover of his classic song "We Rock" as well as a 45-minute behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of the album. A double vinyl version will also be available that will feature all 10 songs as well.

D. Randall Blythe adds: "When LAMB OF GOD asked Alex Skolnick to rip a guest solo on 'Ashes Of The Wake', it was a big deal to us to have one of the legends of our scene play on our record. Much to my amazement, years later he returned the request, and it's an even bigger deal to me to be asked on a peer level to contribute to a project with so many stellar players. I was honored to be chosen. 'Gift Of Pain' rips! Play it LOUD!"

"Metal Allegiance" track listing:

01. Gift Of Pain

Vocals: D. Randall BlytheLead & Rhythm Guitars: Alex SkolnickBass: David Ellefson Drums: Mike PortnoyAdditional Lead Guitar: Gary Holt

02. Let Darkness Fall

Vocals: Troy SandersLead, Rhythm & Acoustic Guitars: Alex SkolnickBass: David EllefsonDrums & Percussion: Mike PortnoyAdditional Bass: Mark Menghi & Rex BrownAdditional Screams: D. Randall Blythe

03. Can't Kill The Devil

Vocals: Chuck BillyLead & Rhythm Guitars: Alex SkolnickBass: David Ellefson Drums: Mike PortnoyAdditional Lead Guitar: Phil Demmel & Andreas Kisser

04. Dying Song

Vocals: Philip H. AnselmoLead & Rhythm Guitars: Alex SkolnickBass: Mark Menghi Drums: Mike Portnoy

05. Scars Vocals: Mark Osegueda & Cristina ScabbiaLead & Rhythm Guitars: Alex Skolnick Bass: David EllefsonDrums: Mike Portnoy

06. Destination: Nowhere

Vocals: Matthew K. HeafyLead & Rhythm Guitars: Alex SkolnickBass: David Ellefson Drums: Mike PortnoyAdditional Lead Guitar: Matthew K. Heafy

07. Wait Until Tomorrow

Vocals: Doug Pinnick & Jamey JastaLead & Rhythm Guitars: Alex SkolnickBass: David EllefsonDrums, Percussion & Additional Vocals: Mike Portnoy

8. Triangulum I. Creation II. Evolution III. Destruction

Lead & Rhythm Guitars: Alex SkolnickBass: David EllefsonDrums: Mike PortnoyAdditional Lead Guitar: Misha Mansoor, Ben Weinman, Charlie Benante, Phil Demmel, Matthew K. Heafy & Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal

09. Pledge Of Allegiance

Vocals: Mark OseguedaLead & Rhythm Guitars: Alex SkolnickBass: David Ellefson Drums: Mike PortnoyAdditional Lead Guitar: Charlie Benante, Gary Holt & Andreas Kisser

10. We Rock (DIO cover) (deluxe edition only)

Vocals: Mark Osegueda, Chris Jericho, Tim "Ripper" Owens, Alissa White-Gluz, Chuck Billy & Steve "Zetro" SouzaLead & Rhythm Guitars: Alex SkolnickBass: David Ellefson Drums: Mike PortnoyAdditional Lead Guitar: Andreas Kisser, Phil Demmel & Gary Holt Nuclear Blast Entertainment president Monte Conner offered up his label as the home for METAL ALLEGIANCE after several meetings. Upon hearing the demos and seeing the list of performers, he felt it was something he wanted to be a part of.

"I am incredibly fortunate to be able to work with legendary musicians and personal heroes like David Ellefson, Alex Skolnick and Mike Portnoy, as well as METAL ALLEGIANCE founder Mark Menghi," he said. "These guys wrote an amazing and diverse record that is 100 percent pure metal, and lined up some killer guest vocalists and lead guitarists to bring it home in an epic, shredding fashion — just the leads on this record alone will blow people away!" he said. "Perhaps the coolest part of all is that unlike similar projects in the past that existed as studio-only creations, METAL ALLEGIANCE were a touring entity first and have now organically evolved into a studio band that makes albums. I am very grateful to these guys for choosing me and the Nuclear Blast team as the vehicle to bring their music to the metal masses."

Stemming from an initial idea in 2011, METAL ALLEGIANCE was born as a way to unite a collection of hard rock and heavy metal's most notable musicians in a setting born under one ideal, a love of music and performing. In 2015, that ideal still holds true and has become the foundation for everything METAL ALLEGIANCE; furthered with the release of the upcoming debut album. While the lineup may change, the passion, the energy and the emotion all remain the same. METAL ALLEGIANCE is more than just a record or a concert, it’s an experience and a lifestyle.

Previous participants in METAL ALLEGIANCE live events have included Philip Anselmo and Rex Brown (PANTERA); Joey Belladonna, Frank Bello, Charlie Benante and Scott Ian (ANTHRAX); Gary Holt, Kerry King and Dave Lombardo (SLAYER), Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT); Troy Sanders (MASTODON); and Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA). These unforgettable events have also spawned surprise appearances by the likes of Geezer Butler (BLACK SABBATH), Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee (MOTÖHEAD), Steve Vai and Billy Sheehan (THE WINERY DOGS).

Portnoy recently told Loudwire about METAL ALLEGIANCE: "There's this misconception that it's my metal project, which it's not. This is something that I am working in equal collaboration with [Ellefson] and [Skolnick]. It's our project."

He added: "It's a great, great metal album that the three of us have written and recorded together, and we're gonna have lots of various other friends and special guests joining us on it. And more info to come, but, for me, it's a great, great metal outlet, because… Since I left DREAM THEATER, I've had prog bands and classic rock bands and alternative things, but I haven't had a true, true thrash metal-oriented outlet — other than the METAL ALLEGIANCE shows that I've done, but that's live. So, yeah, it's exciting for me."

Portnoy previously told MikePortnoyWarriors.com about METAL ALLEGIANCE: "For me, I'm getting to do the full-blown, double-bass shredding drumming that I've only been able to hint at with DREAM THEATER or with AVENGED or with ADRENALINE MOB. So now it's a full-blown album. And the whole album is not thrash. I mean, this album is really kind of the history of metal; there's moments that are early metal, like very [BLACK] SABBATH-esque, and then there's moments that are full-on mid-'80s thrash — EXODUS, SLAYER, early METALLICA, 'Kill 'Em All' METALLICA — so there's a good chunk that's very, very much like that. And then there's moments that get more into '90s type of ALICE IN CHAINS sort of stuff. So it's almost a good history-of-metal sort of album. But I definitely have gotten my metal chops in. It's been fun. It's been really, really cool. I can't wait for people to hear this album."

Regarding how he fits alongside other METAL ALLEGIANCE members, Portnoy said: "To me, METAL ALLEGIANCE is… it's the ultimate hang. And, for me, it's awesome, because I'm really the only guy on the roster that's not normally in a thrash or metal band; I come from a kind of different world. So, on the outside, it may look weird that I do this, but I've always been the biggest metal fan through and through. I grew up listening to the same stuff as all these guys — we all grew up listening to [BLACK] SABBATH and [JUDAS] PRIEST and [IRON] MAIDEN and KISS and AC/DC and MOTÖRHEAD — so I have the same musical background as these guys. And once all the guys in METAL ALLEGIANCE were coming up — in MEGADETH and SLAYER and PANTERA and ANTHRAX — I was coming up around the same time as well, just in a different genre. But these guys were always my friends; I was always hanging out with the ANTHRAX guys and the PANTERA guys… whatever. I felt a close kinship to all the guys in this thrash world, and they became my friends. So, with METAL ALLEGIANCE, for me, it's a natural thing to be involved with these guys. All these guys are great guys, great friends. We love jamming together, and the whole METAL ALLEGIANCE thing is just… You know, we're fans. When we're up on stage playing this stuff, we're as much fans as the people on the other side, in the audience. We're on the side of the stage headbanging and cheering everybody on and having a good time. So that's what it's about: it's just metal by metal guys who are still metal fans."

Former WHITE LION singer Mike Tramp will release a new solo album, "Nomad", on August 28 via Target Records. The follow-up to last year's critically acclaimed "Museum" is Mike's fourth release for Target.

A song from "Nomad" called "High Like A Mountain" can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

According to a press release, "Nomad" sees Tramp "complet[ing] what he calls his trilogy on his journey to show who he is and where he stands. With 'Nomad', Tramp reaches the final step on the ladder he started climbing (with 'Cobblestone Street'), with a full band album, from first to last song."

Says Tramp: "Without the no-compromise [approach] on 'Cobblestone Street' and 'Museum', I would never have found my way home to 'Nomad'. Each previous album gave me the freedom to follow the songs wherever they wanted to go, and with 'Nomad', my vision was clear as a bell. Once again, I just had to be who I am."

Tramp, accompanied by special guests LUCER, will embark on a massive European tour in late summer, consisting of dates in Denmark, Germany, Sweden, England, Netherlands, Belgium, Northen Ireland, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, France and Switzerland.

Mike in February once again squashed any rumors of a WHITE LION reunion, claiming guitarist Vito Bratta had no desire to play music.

"A WHITE LION reunion is impossible," Mike told the Jakarta Globe. "Bratta has shown a negative response [to the idea]. He stopped playing guitar, stopped recording; he is just not interested in music anymore."

Tramp's last attempt to revive WHITE LION resulted in the 2008 album "Return Of The Pride" with new members Jamie Law on guitar, bassist Claus Langeskov, drummer Troy Patrick Farrell and Henning Wanner on keyboards.

"I really love the album but it's just not the sound of WHITE LION," Tramp told Hot Metal back in 2012. "I never really wanted to record under the name of WHITE LION again because so much of the sound and the songwriting came between Vito and I.

"Writing a new album is not sitting there and baking bread. The idea has to come to you. That works well when it's Mike Tramp writing new songs. But WHITE LION has restrictions. It's known for an image, for a sound and so on. You're limited already and that's tough when you go in to do that. I don't want to be that as a songwriter. Then it becomes a pre-fabricated product, then you get KISS. That's not what I want to do in this case."

"There's a big difference between going up and playing classic WHITE LION songs and presenting new WHITE LION songs. WHITE LION isn't there. The sound of WHITE LION when it came to songwriting was Vito Bratta and Mike Tramp. That can't be changed and that will never happen again."

For the first time in the history of the Metal Hammer Golden Gods, an award recipient was named upfront of the night. The Golden God Award (sponsored by Orange Amplification) was presented to MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine Monday night (June 15) at IndigO2 in London. England.

Mustaine accepted the award from the event's host, ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian, who said: "I could tell you a lot of things abour Dave Mustaine, like I think the fact that he pretty much invented thrash metal is pretty much all I have to say. He's a fellow card-carrying member of the 'Big Four,' and he's been my friend since nineteen-eighty-fucking-two, or something like that."

In his acceptance speech, Mustaine said: "I made myself some notes today. I was talking with my management, and I have a knack for getting myself in trouble. So I made some notes of what I wasn't gonna say. I'm not gonna slag anybody. So the list is: Don't slag METALLICA; don't slag the 'Rust In Peace' lineup; don't slag the two quitters; don't slag Obama. So there's not really a lot to say. But I do wanna thank… I wanna thank Universal; I wanna thank 5B, my management; I wanna thank Alex Milas and Chris Ingham from Metal Hammer. And I especially wanna thank all of you, because… People calling me golden. You guys are golden. Thank you very much. God bless you all."

MEGADETH is currently recording its new album for a tentative late 2015 or early 2016 release. The CD will be the band's first to feature LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler and Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro, best known for his work with ANGRA.

Drummer Shawn Drover quit MEGADETH on November 25, 2014 "to pursue [his] own musical interests." Guitarist Chris Broderick announced his departure from the band a few hours later, saying that he was exiting the group "due to artistic and musical differences."