QUEEN guitarist Brian May joined forces with THE OFFSPRING for a one-night-only performance at the Starmus VII festival in Bratislava, Slovakia.

The unique collaboration was held on Day 3 (May 15) of Starmus VII at the Tipos Arena as part of the "Sonic Universe" concert following the Stephen Hawking Medal Ceremony.

Confirming itself once again as the world's most ambitious science and music festival, Starmus, in partnership with ESET, brought the most inspiring debate on the future of the planet to Bratislava turning the Slovak capital into the world's science capital for a whole week.

The multi-day event brought a spectacular opening concert, four days of exclusive lectures; its exclusive musical program with the Starmus signature night events "Sonic Universe" concert and the popular Star Party; the open campus Starmus Camp, with which science took to the streets of the city, and its prestigious award, the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication.

The prestigious Starmus festival kicked off with a spectacular performance, followed by a four-day program of the unique Starmus exclusive talks with more than 50 world-class speakers and world-renowned artists in the popular Ice Hockey Stadium, Ondrej Nepela Arena.

This was the first edition of Starmus which focused on Planet Earth, as the most amazing planet in the universe. As in previous editions, the festival brought together a large cast of Nobel Prize winners and world icons such as Dr Jane Goodall DBE and the music legend Brian May, also co-founder of the festival. The festival also brought an unprecedented musical program with exclusive performances by the popular Californian punk-rock band THE OFFSPRING, Tony Hadley — the former lead singer of the British pop icon from the 1980s SPANDAU BALLET — and more one-off live performances.

As if this were not enough, the festival brought to Bratislava its signature prestigious Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication which awards excellence across four categories: Music & Arts, Science Writing, Films & Entertainment, and Lifetime Achievement. The winners are selected by the Starmus Advisory Board made up of a prestigious cast of eminent figures such as Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Peter Gabriel, David Eicher, Emmanuelle Charpentier, Richard Dawkins, Tony Fadell, Jill Tarter and Starmus co-founders Brian May and Garik Israelian.

In addition, the Starmus organization signed agreements with the main Slovak universities and academic institutions, like the Comenius University in Bratislava and the Academy Of Fine Arts & Design, the Slovak Academy of Sciences, the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, the Alexander Dubcek University of Trencin and the Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia. Through these academic collaborations, Starmus carried out its "City Program" with exclusive activities between the speakers and the Slovak academic environment as well as several volunteer programs to be part of the festival.

Since the very first homo sapiens looked up at a star-filled sky, we have been awestruck by the vastness of the cosmos. Even today, we remain humbled by the sheer immensity of space, especially as progress in physics and astronomy has made us aware of the tremendous distances involved — even to our closest neighboring stars.

Created by Garik Israelian PhD, astrophysicist at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC) and Sir Brian May PhD, astrophysicist and the lead guitarist of the iconic rock band QUEEN, Starmus is a festival of science, art and music that has featured presentations from astronauts, cosmonauts, Nobel Prize winners and prominent figures from various scientific disciplines and musical backgrounds. Starmus brings Nobel laureates, eminent researchers, astronauts, thinkers and artists together to share their knowledge and experiences, as we search for answers to the great questions.

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We’re so thrilled to have Legendary Queen guitarist Sir Brian May joining us tonight for a one-night-only performance at...

Posted by The Offspring on Tuesday, May 14, 2024

BRIAN MAY to Perform with THE OFFSPRING !
Another hot SURPRISE from Starmus

A one-night-only performance at the Starmus...

Posted by Brian May on Monday, May 13, 2024

In a new interview with Chaoszine, BATTLE BEAST singer Noora Louhimo spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's follow-up to 2022's "Circus Of Doom" album. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Yes, we've been doing some songwriting. I had the first vocal demo sessions last week. And yeah, we will keep on doing some songs during this — we have, like, seven weeks of touring here. So we're gonna have songwriting sessions on the road."

Noora went on to say that writing on tour is "normal for us. Before pandemic time, we always used to make our songs kind of on the road, touring and making songs and then going to the recording booth and making the album and constant movement. It's like organized chaos. [Laughs]

"The only way nowadays to make money for the band is to make shows and tour," she explained. "So the making of the album is always just — [spending] money, and you have to make the money. So it would be nice if there would be like that we could maybe sometimes have one year just making an album and then another year for touring. But maybe in the future. We'll see."

Asked if she and her bandmates have a timetable for the release of the next BATTLE BEAST album already, Noora said: "Yes, we have, but I can't reveal it. [Laughs] [And] yes, we will release singles, but I can't tell you anything else about the schedule yet. You just have to hold on for a while."

Louhimo revealed in November that she had been diagnosed with a ruptured left carotid artery, causing the postponement the band's tour. The 35-year-old Finnish musician has since revealed in an interview that she has "definitely started doing more warm-up before any singing and warming down and taking care of my overall health even more than before." She added: "I really appreciate life more now. I'm thankful for each and every day and every moment that I get to live, I get to love, I get to see. I get to see people. I get to be with my loved ones and with my animals here at home. And now I get to tour in the places that I've always dreamed of. And it's not something that you should take [for] granted."

When Louhimo first revealed her diagnosis six months ago, she wrote on her social media: "I went to be examined because of a weird pain in the left side of my neck, throat, ear and chin. At ultrasound examination the doctor found the rupture that had already started healing, and he saved my life. I was hospitalized for more exams and finally got confirmation of the situation. I was ordered to have a break on everything that might stress or increase my blood pressure for the next month. Otherwise, I could have a stroke. As you know how passionate I am as a singer and performer, the blood pressure getting high is a guarantee. So, I did not want to take the risk to die with my boots on, not quite yet".

Louhimo joined BATTLE BEAST in 2012 with no previous experience as a metal vocalist but quickly acclimated herself as the replacement for Nitte Valo (a.k.a. Nitte Vänskä).

Less than two years ago, Noora, who in 2021 released her debut solo album, "Eternal Wheel Of Time And Space", under the NOORA LOUHIMO EXPERIENCE banner, admitted publicly that she had been struggling with eating disorders and her weight since she was "a little child" and said that she was "still trying to find a balance." She added that she had "been depressed and anxious sometimes 'without a reason'."

In an interview with Metal Divas, Noora explained how she ended up fronting BATTLE BEAST: "[In] September [2012], I got a call from [then-BATTLE BEAST guitarist] Anton [Kabanen] that they want me to join BATTLE BEAST. I had heard their music and loved the sound and the vocals, so the next day I called Anton and said I'm in.

"Anton found me by accident on YouTube when he was searching for the new vocalist," she continued. "He had been looking for a vocalist — male or female; [it did not] matter. The only thing that mattered was can that [he or she could] sing his songs without compromises.

"I've been singing since I was four years old," Noora added. "While being a huge fan of heavy metal of '80s and a teenager, I had some classical singing lessons when I was 16 years old. Then at the age of 19, I started studying music in pop/jazz line. At the same time, I started doing some jam sessions at bars. There I found my first band (ADMIRAL OCTOPUS) in the blues bar. We used to play rock and blues music from '60s-'70s and Janis Joplin was the reason I got the rasp in my voice. After ADMIRAL OCTOPUS, in 2011, I took part in a singing competition ('Wanna Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star') at Henry's Pub of Tampere and won it with Janis Joplin's 'Piece Of My Heart'. That's how my single 'Relax' was born."

Slash has said that GUNS N' ROSES is currently "trying" to make a new album, and that he is "working" with his bandmates "in that capacity".

The legendary hard rock outfit has not released a full-length effort since 2008's "Chinese Democracy", which included only singer Axl Rose from the band's classic lineup. Slash and bassist Duff McKagan reunited with Axl in 2016 and have since released several standalone singles — "Absurd" (stylized as "ABSUЯD"),"Hard Skool", "Perhaps" and "The General" — but have not made any announcements about another LP.

In a new interview with the Daily Star, Slash, who is promoting "Orgy Of The Damned", a record of mostly blues tracks featuring a string of guest vocalists, was asked why Axl and Slash's THE CONSPIRATORS collaborator Myles Kennedy aren't featured on his new album. The 58-year-old guitarist replied: "It was my own side thing, so I wasn't dragging my own guys in.

"GUNS N' ROSES are trying to make their own record and I'm working with them in that capacity but this didn't involve anyone else," he explained.

GUNS N' ROSES released a four-song EP, "Hard Skool", in February 2022. The effort, which was exclusive to the GUNS N' ROSES' official store, contained the two new songs the band released in 2021 — the title track and "Absurd" — as well as live versions of "Don't Cry" and "You're Crazy".

According to Slash, several other older GUNS N' ROSES tracks have also been reworked during the pandemic. "There's a handful of those songs that we actually fixed up and did when we were in lockdown," he explained to "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". "So those have yet to be released. So those are gonna come out. They're really good, too. So I'm excited for those. We're just gonna put out like one or two songs, and another one or two songs. And I think that's gonna be pretty much all of 'em. I'm not sure exactly how many we did in total."

When host Eddie Trunk noted that "Hard Skool" in particular was a strong cut, Slash said: "These other ones, they don't have the same kind of amount of history, 'cause I know 'Hard Skool' seriously has… [it] goes way back. But there's a couple of epic ones coming out, so I'm excited about that."

If and when it happens, the new GUNS N' ROSES studio album will be the first under the GUNS banner since "Chinese Democracy" and the first to feature Slash, Rose and bassist Duff McKagan since 1993.

Slash previously spoke about "Hard Skool", one of the first two songs he recorded with GUNS N' ROSES in more than 25 years, in February 2023 in an interview with Rolling Stone. At the time he said: "'Hard Skool', in essence, was a completed song when I was first introduced to it. And Duff and I went in and redid the bass and the guitars. It's a simple song, so it didn't take a hell of a lot of thought and analysis. I think it was a lot of fun just because it was part and parcel of a bunch of stuff that we were working on that was all sort of new — at least to Duff and I — so we had a good time."

In October 2021, Slash told Audacy Check In host Remy Maxwell that GUNS N' ROSES had yet to begin writing new material after releasing the two reworked songs from the "Chinese Democracy"-era sessions.

"As far as new GUNS is concerned, we haven't even gotten to that point of really in earnest sitting down and writing," Slash said. "We've been doing a lot of material that's been sort of sitting around for a while. So that will be a whole focused endeavor unto itself."

As for how "Hard Skool" and "Absurd" came about, Slash said: "They both have a lot of history. What happened was Axl has all these songs that he recorded at some point along the way. And so Duff and I went in and re-did them, basically… Like, I wrote my own kind of parts to what else is going on, and [we] just sort of took the drums and re-did everything else."

Written by Rose and co-produced by Rose and Caram Costanzo, "Hard Skool", which had the working title "Jackie Chan", was originally recorded during GN'R's "Chinese Democracy" era but was eventually omitted from that album. Short clips of the song were later posted online and a full version was leaked in August 2019.

"Absurd" came out on August 6, 2021, three days after GUNS N' ROSES performed the tune live for the first time during its concert at Boston's Fenway Park.

GUNS N' ROSES last performed "Silkworms", which was also reportedly written during the "Chinese Democracy" sessions, in 2001.

"The General" was the B-side of GUNS N' ROSES' limited-edition seven-inch vinyl single titled "Perhaps", which was made available for pre-order in August 2023.

Like "Perhaps", "Hard Skool" and "Absurd", "The General" was written during the sessions for the "Chinese Democracy" album. It was previously talked about by ex-GN'R drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia, who reportedly wrote some of the song's music and gave it its title, and former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach.

Photo courtesy of The Oriel Company

In a new interview with Ronni Hunter and Lewis of the 99.7 The Blitz radio station, SEETHER frontman Shaun Morgan explained why he and his bandmates aren't ready yet to perform any of the material from their recently completed follow-up to the "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" album, which came out in 2020. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET: "We live in such a horribly overconnected world that even the smallest things that make life slightly more exciting, even for us, I think it's cool. So, if we played [the first single] live, it would be all over the Internet by the next day, and then it kind of blows the surprise. And maybe we should, so we don't talk it up too much. And [people will be], like, 'Oh, this is what it was about.' But I think anticipation is a good thing.

"We finished this in January, we mastered it in the beginning of February, so we've been sitting with us for a long time too," he explained. "So we're also excited to get out and play it. But, again, I think anticipation is not to be underestimated as far as just how much it can mean when you finally get to the day… You used to wait for album releases, like, 'Oh, my God. Finally we can go to the store and we can buy the album. We can go home. We can read the lyrics,' all those kinds of things. Those don't exist anymore. More often than not, albums just kind of arrive and [you'll] be, like, 'Oh, they have a new album? I had no idea.' And that's kind of a sad world. We used to all line up around the block to go get a new album when it came out, so any bit of anticipation we can [build is what we intend to do]."

Asked if there is an increased amount of pressure every time he and his SEETHER bandmates go into writing a new album, Shaun said: "The idea is not to put any pressure on yourself with a deadline. And when it's ready, it'll be ready and you'll know. So if you had a deadline, you'd panic and you'd write stuff for the sake of writing it. But I think, at the end of the day, as long as you understand that once it's finished, it'll present itself as finished, and then you can go, 'Okay, it's finished,' and you can move on. But, having said that, then you get into recording, and you're done recording, and you're, like, 'Ah, I should've changed that,' and now it's too late. You can't change those words anymore. So it's always evolving, and it's always a process. But I think, as far as from, 'All right, we're done with that tour. Let's take a couple months off, and then we'll start again.' It's always a thing of, like, 'All right, well, let's see what happens.' And the first three months might be garbage, but at least it's starting to get the gears moving again. And then eventually there's a stride that you find yourself in. And then, again, it'll complete itself and you'll know when it's done. And then it's, like, 'Hey guys, label guys, we've got this album for you.' And, thankfully, they're not a very intrusive A&R company; they pretty much leave us to our own devices. And that's great too, 'cause you don't have some guy breathing down your neck and trying to put his thumb on the scale to make you sound a certain way or do a certain thing."

Earlier this month, Morgan told The Mistress Carrie Podcast that the new SEETHER album is "done. Currently, I think it's an 11-track album with two bonus tracks," he said. "The [first] single's already been picked out. It's the opening track to the album. The single is, I think, coming to radio in, like, July. And then the album is, I think, slated for September 20th. But the single will be called 'Judas Mind'."

He continued: "We can't play it live yet, 'cause I don't really wanna spoil the surprise, but, yeah, I think it's a great album. I'm hoping each one's better than the last one. It's been four years, so it's a little bit long, but it's also been really weird times worldwide. It feels like everything's kind of getting back to normal now. So I don't know that the next album will take four years, but I'm excited about this one."

In July 2022, SEETHER issued the deluxe edition of "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum", containing 22 tracks in all, five of which were previously unreleased. It includes all 21 songs recorded during the "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" sessions, along with the alternate version of "Wasteland" that was originally featured on the 2020 "The Purgatory" EP.

Produced by Morgan and engineered and mixed by Matt Hyde (DEFTONES, AFI),the acclaimed "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" ("If you want peace, Prepare for war") was released in August 2020, spawned three No. 1 singles on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and at Active Rock radio and garnered some of the best reviews of the band's storied career.

Since forming in Pretoria, South Africa in 1999, SEETHER (Morgan, Dale Stewart, John Humphrey and Corey Lowery) has amassed a global, devoted fan base with an unbroken sense of purpose and commitment. Their impressive sales and chart history includes three platinum and two gold albums, 18 No. 1 singles, 21 Top 5 multi-format hits, single sales topping 17 million and over two billion streams worldwide across all platforms. SEETHER is Billboard's No. 8 all-time mainstream rock artist, which covers the over 40-year history of the chart's existence.

SEETHER recently completed "The Tailgate Tour" with longtime friends STAIND. Also appearing on the bill are SAINT ASONIA and Tim Montana. Produced by Live Nation, "The Tailgate Tour", which reunites STAIND and SEETHER for the first time in years, launched on April 22 in Brandon, Mississippi, with dates across the U.S., including Franklin, Tennessee; Portland, Maine and Grand Rapids, Michigan before wrapping up in Pelham, Alabama on May 15.

Montreal metallers Blackguard have announced a new lineup, including the return of keyboardist Jonathan Lefrançois-Leduc.


The band says in a statement:


“On keyboard, we are overjoyed to welcome back Jonathan Lefrançois-Leduc! Jonathan is an original member of Blackguard, from our inception until 2010 when he stepped away from touring. He has always been an integral part of our family and continued to work with us behind the scenes as our recording engineer and co-producer. 




“On bass we welcome Vincent Harnois ! Some of you might recognize Vince as the guitarist for Karkaos.  He has been a long-time friend of the band and we can’t wait to hit the stage with him. 


“On Lead Guitar we welcome David Gagné! David has been our live lead guitarist for years now (when we actually get around to playing). It is a pleasure to share the stage with him again! 


“...and of course
Paul Zinay - Vocals 
Justine Ethier - Drums 
Terry Deschenes - Rhythm Guitar 


“Our first 3 shows are coming up fast!! Get your tickets for Rouyn Noranda / Montreal / Quebec”


Find tickets here .


(Photo – Sebastian Rioux)

In a new interview with Germany's Moshpit Passion, SLAYER guitarist Kerry King spoke about the increased prevalence of lyrics about religion and occult themes in heavy metal today compared to how it was when the band first started out more than 40 years ago. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, I think people got desensitized over the decades, 'cause when we came out, it was far more taboo than it is now. And I think what I do is more like just putting opinions on the table."

He continued: "I think a lot of people are just born into their beliefs — they come down from their parents, their friends, whatever. And I don't believe in God or the devil — I don't believe in anything; I'm an atheist — but I like to put options on the table for those people that may never question what they believe or why they believe it. I don't care if you believe in God — good on you; have fun with that; that's a good story — but I just like to throw things on the table and say, 'Hey, have you ever thought of a different perspective? Have you ever thought of all the preachers that get arrested for fondling little boys?' This world isn't perfect. So I just put things out on the table and hopefully get people thinking about their own life and figure things out for themselves."

He later added: "That's why, first and foremost, I always say I am an atheist. I don't believe any of it. But I don't mind writing about it. [Laughs] I like to think of my songs as mini screenplays that give you visuals in your mind. And it just makes you think of things, makes you think like you're watching a movie in your head. Maybe someday somebody will make up a movie based on a short story by Kerry King, and that story is my song."

King's debut solo album, "From Hell I Rise", was released on May 17 via Reigning Phoenix Music.

Joining Kerry in his new band are Mark Osegueda (vocals; DEATH ANGEL),Phil Demmel (guitar; MACHINE HEAD, VIO-LENCE),Kyle Sanders (bass; HELLYEAH) and drummer Paul Bostaph (SLAYER, TESTAMENT, EXODUS).

Earlier this month, the KERRY KING band performed its first live show, totally sold out, at Reggies in Chicago. The concert was described as "dark, packed, and exceptionally loud," everything you could ask for at such a landmark show as this one… a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience." In the days following, the band went from playing an intimate venue to performing at the huge U.S. festivals Welcome To Rockville (Florida) and Sonic Temple (Ohio),treating the audience to an incredible experience of pure metal firepower.

Now the KERRY KING band is ready to embark on a European tour that will start on June 3 — on King's 60th birthday. The trek will combine headline shows in the U.K., The Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Spain but also festival appearances such as Rock Am Ring, Hellfest, Tuska, Download, Sweden Rock Festival and many more.

All material for "From Hell I Rise" was written by the 59-year-old SLAYER guitarist. Helming the sessions at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles last year was producer Josh Wilbur, who has previously worked with KORN, LAMB OF GOD, AVENGED SEVENFOLD and BAD RELIGION, among others.

KERRY KING will be special guest on the upcoming LAMB OF GOD/MASTODON North American "Ashes Of Leviathan" co-headline tour. The six-week run will launch on July 19 in Grand Prairie, Texas and will wrap on August 31 in Omaha, Nebraska.

Murashita, masterminded by renowned guitarist, producer and engineer Masaki Murashita, have released the visualizer for new song, “I'm Not Done Yet”. 





“I'm Not Done Yet” is the new single from acclaimed metal musician Masaki Murashita and is now available on iTunes, Amazon MP3, Bandcamp, Spotify and most major digital outlets and streaming platforms.  This epic, blistering single is offering a complex approach to melodic harmonies while still retaining an aggressive stance and showcasing a virtuosic performance.




Murashita exploded onto the scene to showcase his ability to provide scorching riffs, powerful songwriting, and aggressive vocal style through his modern thrash band Hemoptysis in 2007.  Their debut full length, Misanthropic Slaughter was met with major critical praise from a variety of critics. After their demise, he formed a self-titled solo project, releasing the debut EP Inescapable Damnation in 2015.


“I'm Not Done Yet”, ensures the wait for new music has been worth it by including two big names in the scene:  Kevin Talley (Suffocation, Six Feet Under, Chimaira) on drums and Rodney Mcglothlin (Voice Of Dissent) on bass. Blackened death elements edged with layered melodies add to a dynamic composition that continues to push Murashita’s sound further.  

In a new interview with "The Mistress Carrie Podcast", SHINEDOWN drummer Barry Kerch was asked about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the band's follow-up to 2022's "Planet Zero" album. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Actually, last week I was in Charleston [South Carolina] with [bassist and producer] Eric [Bass] at his studio where we recorded the last record, and [we] recorded, I think, six songs of drums for the new stuff. So we're actually further along than I thought we'd be this early in the year. So I think new SHINEDOWN music will probably be by the end of the year, early next year. So, it's kind of exciting."

Regarding the possibility of a collaboration with country hip-hop artist Jelly Roll, with whom SHINEDOWN has toured in the past, Barry said: "Those collabs might happen. I know we've talked about it. It hasn't happened yet. But I'm not definitely not saying that's not gonna happen. That would be a blast.

"When we took Jelly Roll out with us, right before he blew up and became even bigger than he was then, we just became fast friends," Barry explained. "We had a lot in common and he's just a joy to be around. So it'd be fun to write some music with him."

In a separate interview with WMMR's Brent Porche, Kerch spoke about the musical direction of the new SHINEDOWN material. He said: "It's gonna be what SHINEDOWN does, which every record is completely different than the last one. It still sounds like SHINEDOWN. You're never going to change [singer] Brent Smith's voice, but I can't make 'Leave A Whisper' again. I can't make 'Planet Zero' again. I can't make 'Sound Of Madness' again. That was then, that was that snapshot of time… We definitely try to grow and evolve and do something different because at the same time, we're artists, we're musicians. We want to create what we hear in our heads, and that's what we do. So it's coming soon, and it's going to be cool."

Kerch also noted that Bass, who helmed SHINEDOWN's last two albums, is on board to produce the next LP.

This past February, Smith told James Steele of the FM 101.9 radio station that he and his SHINEDOWN bandmates had "been working on new material for a while."

SHINEDOWN's "A Symptom Of Being Human" single, taken from "Planet Zero", recently landed at No. 1 at Active Rock. This marked SHINEDOWN's record-breaking 21st No. 1 song on the Mediabase Active Rock chart and extended the band's record for the most No. 1s in the history of Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart with 19 total.

The "Planet Zero" album also featured the pop-rock anthem and No. 1 rock hit "Daylight", which People called one of "the most powerful of pop-rock songs created to remind us that we are truly all in this together."

SHINEDOWN, who recently appeared at this year’s iHeartRadio Music Awards where they were nominated for multiple awards including "Rock Artist Of The Year" and presented/introduced their good friend Jelly Roll on the live broadcast, will play select tour dates this spring and summer. The mix of headlining shows and festival appearances includes Boston's KISS Concert alongside Doja Cat and Jason Derulo, headlining sets at Inkcarceration festival and Tailgates N' Tallboys, and more.

Photo credit: Sanjay Parikh

NONPOINT has unveiled a new single, "Underdog", along with an accompanying official music video. According to a press release, the song embodies the spirit of perseverance, urging listeners to embrace their underdog status and defy expectations.

NONPOINT frontman Elias Soriano states: "Being the underdog doesn't mean you're defeated; it means you have more room to surprise everyone with your resilience and determination."

The music video, directed by Drew Johnston, complements the song's empowering message and can be seen below.

In a recent interview with DJ Force X, Elias confirmed that he and his NONPOINT bandmates were working on a full-length studio album after focusing on a series of EPs over the last couple of years. He said: "It's been three years since we put out a full-length; we'll be tapping on four years here shortly. So, for us, it's just time. It's time for us. We normally put — year after year, there was constantly music coming out, and I feel like with the EPs, we got a chance to fool around with some styles and play with some themes and entertain our fans outside of the normal NONPOINT brand. And I think now it's time to kind of pull it in and put a body of work together that people ask for from our group.

"We're creators, and we're constantly creating, so we're sitting on a ton of music," he explained. "It's just about which ones kind of work together and kind of fit together and we wanna finally put together into a body of work."

Soriano also discussed NONPOINT's decision to launch its independent record label 361 Degrees Records LLC after working with other record labels for most of the band's two-and-a-half-decade-plus career. He said: "Yeah, it's a workload. It's definitely a workload. You got the creative side and the administrative side and juggling it both is about putting people that you trust and putting at least some sort of plan and even a small team behind things that need to be recirculated back into the brand and checked on and nurtured, like our socials or like our merch store and things like that. So, we definitely try to get some sort of administrative plan and team behind those certain things so that way they're kind of running on autopilot. So that way, when we wanna do grand things within the label plan, it's easy for us to do and take on those projects within the label."

After DJ Force X applauded the "DIY" nature of running an independent record label with no external pressure, Elias clarified: "There's definitely really no outside influence, but I wouldn't call it just DIY, because I have to give credit where credit's due. We have people that we've brought on that we work together. We see the value in the NONPOINT brand. And where we see that we can grow and we wanna scale, we lean on professionals and get advice and get plans and get things calendared so that way we have a finish line that we try to aim at. And I think that, being smart with your team, being smart with your plan is paramount to surviving, especially today."

Last December, Soriano told "Cutter's Rockcast" about the decision to work on a full-length album next: "I think we've kind of felt out the crowd, felt out the fans in our independence right now and have just a clear mind of what we feel like we wanna do that is not only gonna connect with us, but we feel like will translate to the fans. Just fooling around with some different styles, some riskier things that we've really held back, when we were either with the label or just concentrating on writing a certain type of song versus just writing a song."

Last July, NONPOINT released a new single, "A Million Watts", via 361 Degrees Records. The track, which was produced by Chris Collier, who has previously worked with KORN and WHITESNAKE, among other bands, was the third single from NONPOINT's latest "Heartless" EP, which came out in November. The EP was made available digitally and as a limited-edition cassette along with a NONPOINT-branded cassette player.

Three years ago, NONPOINT launched 361 Degrees Records and filmed the process, along with documenting the making of new music, in a docu-series titled "A Path To Independence" that can be seen on the band's YouTube and official web site.

In December 2021, NONPOINT released its previous EP, "Ruthless". This followed their independent label plan of delivering music to their fans through more frequent releases and videos from the band.

NONPOINT's songs "Bullet With A Name", "Alive And Kicking", "In The Air Tonight", "Circles", "Your Signs", "Everybody Down" and many others have been featured in trailers, hit movies, television, iconic video games, as well as broadcasts from NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WWF.

NONPOINT has toured with major acts like DISTURBED, PAPA ROACH, MUDVAYNE and SEVENDUST, to name a few. They have also been featured on the main stages and support stages of iconic festivals like Soundwave, Rock Am Park, Rock Am Ring, Ozzfest, Rock On The Range, Welcome To Rockville and many more.

BABYMETAL and ELECTRIC CALLBOY, two of the most acclaimed bands right now, have collaborated on a new song that will make you dance and sing: "Ratatata". This song masterfully fuses the signature styles of both bands, seamlessly blending their worlds and pushing the music to exhilarating new limits.

The video, produced and directed by Schillobros., will debut at 11 a.m. EDT / 8 a.m. PDT today.

BABYMETAL comments on the new collaboration: "Unbeatable! Let's 'Fu Fu' together with 'Ratatata'."

ELECTRIC CALLBOY adds: "Working with BABYMETAL was so much fun. We joined our creative forces and, in the end, we brought together the best of both worlds. We love 'Ratatata'!"

Riding the success of last year's concept album "The Other One", Japanese dance metal sensation BABYMETAL is hosting the first edition of its very own festival, "Fox_Fest", this weekend, featuring exclusive appearances by ELECTRIC CALLBOY and POLYPHIA.

Always pushing boundaries and testing the limits of metal music, BABYMETAL are no strangers to collaborations, with recent partnerships including BRING ME THE HORIZON, Tom Morello and Lil Uzi Vert.

While basking in the success of their latest album "Tekkno", ELECTRIC CALLBOY is also making waves on the live circuit. The band just wrapped a successful run of dates in North America, and now they're poised to appear at some of the biggest festivals around the world this summer — starting off with Japan's "Fox_Fest" this weekend.

In April 2023, BABYMETAL announced the addition of a new third member, Momoko Okazaki, who goes by the name of Momometal.

Okazaki had been a member of BABYMETAL's trio of backup dancers (along with Kano Fujihira and Riho Sayashi),known as "Avengers", since 2019, following the departure of one of BABYMETAL's original members, Yuimetal, in October 2018.

Momoko's addition to BABYMETAL was announced during the band's show at the Pia Arena MM in Okazaki, Japan.

Momoko was once a member of SAKURA GAKUIN and participated in South Korean reality TV show "Girls Planet 999" as a contestant. However, the singer left the series after the show's first elimination round.

In 2018, BABYMETAL announced the departure of Yuimetal, who was formerly one of the members of the Japanese group's core trio. She exited the band, explaining in a statement that she would go on to pursue a solo career as Mizuno Yu.

BABYMETAL was formed in 2010. Their mission was to unify the world through heavy metal by creating a fusion of heavy metal and the Japanese pop genre. Their music contains a stunning mix of electronic pop, a pinch of alternative and industrial rock, and is leveled up by fast-driven heavy metal. Their live shows are ground-breaking and epic visual as well as sound performances. BABYMETAL continued to travel the path of metal with the international release of their three albums, telling the story of the mighty Fox God and his brave metal warriors.

A book about the first ten years of BABYMETAL, "Bessatsu Kadokawa Souryoku Tokushuu", was released in Japan in October 2020. It contains a long interview with Su-metal and Moametal as well as never-before-heard stories from band producer Kobametal from BABYMETAL's decade-long history, photos taken from live shows, a discussion between Demon Kakka and Kobametal, and much more.

BABYMETAL's latest concept album "The Other One", was released in March 2023.

Last summer/fall, BABYMETAL embarked on a co-headline tour with DETHKLOK, the on-screen heavy metal band and stars of Adult Swim's "Metalocalypse".

Photo by Christian Ripkens

MR. BIG will release its tenth studio album, "Ten", on Friday, July 12 via Frontiers Music Srl. The LP features 11 new original tracks written by singer Eric Martin and guitarist Paul Gilbert, along with André Pessis and Tony Fanucchi. In a tribute to their late drummer Pat Torpey, Martin, Gilbert and bassist Billy Sheehan have enlisted the exceptional talents of Nick D'Virgilio on drums for "Ten", which was produced by Jay Ruston and MR. BIG.

In the midst of their final tour — "The BIG Finish" — MR. BIG, inspired by the legions of fans that shared in their goodbye over the past year, wanted to say a final farewell with the undertaking of a brand-new studio album. Culminating over three decades of musical partnership, Martin, Gilbert and Sheehan, with the help of D'Virgilio, ignite their spark once more and take a new form with "Ten". The first single and accompanying video, "Good Luck Trying", is a loud, raw, 1970s blues rocker that pulls influence from MR. BIG's earliest musical inspirations.

Martin comments on "Ten": "This new album doesn't copy anything from the nine previous studio records. It's all new stuff from scratch. This is raw, unadulterated riff rock and blues with all the MR. BIG trimmings."

Gilbert explains the meaning behind the "Good Luck Trying" lyrics: "Overall, it’s about being overwhelmed with life and realizing that you won't win many of the battles, but still fighting to the end. And keeping a sense of humor about it by saying to anyone nearby, 'Wish me good luck trying!'"

"Ten" track listing:

01. Good Luck Trying
02. I Am You
03. Right Outta Here
04. Sunday Morning Kinda Girl
05. Who We Are
06. As Good As It Gets
07. What Were You Thinking
08. Courageous
09. Up On You
10. The Frame
11. See No Okapi (instrumental - Japan bonus track)

MR. BIG recently completed the European leg of "The BIG Finish", which sees the veteran band performing MR. BIG's 1991 album, "Lean Into It", in full, along with other cuts from the group's history.

Regarding how the farewell tour has been going so far, Martin told Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire": "It's been a bro love fest… Everybody loves each other. We're going out on top.

"I don't wanna tour like we're touring now," he explained. "I'm okay with it 'cause I've had a couple of weeks break to just chill out, rest the larynx, have a couple of beers and just hang out with my family. And I'm raring to go. We're going to South America, doing the West Coast USA, and I'm looking forward to it. But, man, this is a long-ass tour. It started last year in Asia. Then I did some solo things where I went to Japan, and then I came home and sang the 10 songs or 11 songs that are on the new studio album. But I don't wanna tour like this."

"He added: "We're touring all the way up to August 23rd, I think. And then right after that, I got other projects, but no more MR. BIG. No more MR. BIG touring-wise."

Regarding the possibility of MR. BIG still making new music after the completion of the farewell tour, Eric said: "Everybody was saying, 'Hey, we could still continue to make records.' I'm, like, 'Yeah, that would be fun.' Well, the record was hard to put together because of everybody's scheduling, but it came together pretty quickly. The thing that took the longest was the album cover. Nobody could agree on it. It was ridiculous. I mean, our creative juices were poured out long time ago for any kind of artwork. And Paul Gilbert is kind of a cartoon artist, and I asked him, I go, 'Just draw pictures of us in cartoon form and we'll give it a name.' We couldn't even think of a name. Anyway, that took the longest. So hopefully we'll do another record, but I don't know. The album cover thing was painful."

When MR. BIG announced "The BIG Finish" tour last year, the bandmembers said that it was "time to mark the end of this chapter of their legacy" after Torpey lost his battle with Parkinson's disease in 2018. The first leg kicked off in Japan and Southeast Asia in July and August 2023, where the band performed for hundreds of thousands of loyal fans at 11 sold-out shows including Budokan in Tokyo, Japan.

As a session musician and touring artist, Nick has worked with many different kinds of artists and bands, from TEARS FOR FEARS, Sheryl Crow and Kevin Gilbert to Peter Gabriel and Eric Burdon and the ANIMALS. In 1996, Nick took Phil Collins's place in GENESIS and played on their "Calling All Stations" album. He has also carved out a major presence in the progressive rock world with his bands, SPOCK'S BEARD and BIG BIG TRAIN.

Before joining the Sweetwater team, Nick spent almost five years touring with Cirque Du Soleil's "Totem" as drummer, vocalist, and assistant bandleader.

Photo credit: Joel Barrios / Photography That Rocks

The Wacken TV YouTube channel has uploaded professionally filmed video of BIOHAZARD's August 5, 2023 performance at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany.

Featured songs:

00:00 Tales From The Hard Side
05:57 Wrong Side Of The Tracks
10:32 Punishment

In a recent interview with El Planeta Del Rock, Evan Seinfeld was asked if there are any plans for the reunited classic lineup of BIOHAZARD to release new music in the not-too-distant future. The bassist/vocalist responded: "We just begin writing. We're working on our process on a couple of really cool songs, and when something is special enough and we are excited about it, I imagine we'll release a single before release an album, but there's a full-length album in the works. That's the mission… We wanna go into the studio and really lock ourselves down, like we used to do in the '90s, and spend some time really [making a strong album]. For us, it's not about one song, one song. Making an album is still something that we care about."

He continued: "I know it's not the popular [way of doing things]. How many people buy new albums by artists and listen to the whole album from beginning to end? Young people don't really ingest music like that so much. But BIOHAZARD is about authenticity. We do what we do, and we're gonna make the best album we can make in 2024, and hopefully get it out by the end of the year."

This past March, Evan explained to Battleline Podcast how the classic lineup of BIOHAZARD managed to come back together last year for a series of festival appearances and headlining shows. He said: "I left the band in 2012, and the other guys toured around [with a replacement bassist/vocalist] for like about two years, three years after that, but that was 10 years ago. They hadn't played together in 10 years, and nobody was really talking to anybody. And it wasn't something that I was even thinking about. I was going through the airport and my drummer, Danny [Schuler], who I've known since I'm 12 years old, his brother, Richie Schuler, from East 94th Street in Canarsie [Brooklyn], who was also a drummer, who also I used to play with, I hear his voice, 'Yo, Evan.' I turn around. It's Richie Schuler, Danny's brother. I'm in the airport changing planes somewhere, coming back from Los Angeles to Tulum, to Mexico. And I love Richie. We started talking."

He continued: "It's one of those things like… I was so living in my ego that I was attached to a bunch of resentment about a bunch of things that were a bunch of stories that I made up in my head about thinking how other people should react to things…. I didn't even remember anymore what the real reason was the band wasn't together anymore. But I ran into Richie, and he said, 'My brother would love to hear from you.' And I thought to myself, 'We were like best of friends, all of us at one time, and my life's a lot different now.' And I picked up the phone and called Danny, and we just started talking. It wasn't about putting the band back together. I wanted to reconnect with my brothers.

"If I hadn't been working on myself and learning that resentment only hurts you, only hurts me… If I got a beef with you, you don't necessarily know it. I'm carrying it around like a boulder in my backpack, weighing me down.

"A band is hard — it's a bunch of egomaniacs with low self-esteem. It's a bunch of guys who are fighting to get to the top together and fighting with each other for every inch of creativity, input of stardom, of fame, of contribution, of acknowledgement. People wanna be seen, people wanna be acknowledged, and when you're doing it in a group setting, not everybody gets the same out of it. Everybody might put in the same. And it's complicated, but right about the time I ran into Billy [Graziadei, guitar/vocals] and I got on the phone with Bobby [Hambel, guitar]. I actually talked to Bobby first during the pandemic. He called me out of the blue and we had a really cool conversation, but there was no intention behind it. And somebody started a rumor that we were putting the band back together because people had seen us talking. And next thing I know, I run into Andy Gould and Paul Gargano, the band's managers… Andy used to manage Rob Zombie for 25, 27 years, and he used to manage LINKIN PARK — big bands. PANTERA he worked on. And Andy said, 'There's this incredible opportunity right now for an iconic metal band with all its original members, that everybody's really good shape and got their chops up. You guys can really make some impact on the scene.'"

Seinfeld added: "We got together in a room, we broke some bread, we had a rehearsal. It sounded incredible. It was revitalized. It needed to go away for 10 years for everyone to get rejuvenated and excited about it. The fans are hungry. We just did a huge European tour, and if you look at my Instagram, there's a shot from this festival in Poland with 600,000 people. To stand on a stage in front of that many people and have them like chanting or jumping, it's another level of experience. I don't know that I ever appreciated it… I now have a huge amount of appreciation for everything I do. I have gratitude and a positive mindset. It doesn't matter if I'm sitting in my house or if I'm on a big stage, I tend to appreciate everything more, and that's a gift, man."

The first reunion gig from Graziadei, Hambel, drummer Schuler and Seinfeld took place on May 26, 2023 at the Milwaukee Metal Fest at The Rave/Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Last August, BIOHAZARD confirmed that it was working on material for a new studio album.

"The inspiration's coming from these shows," Bobby told Le Coin Metal in an interview. "Being back together, celebrating and doing all these shows, it's great. We're having a good time, but now we're getting the vibe from the crowd and we're feeling it, and it's getting in our bones. We're getting that hunger and the ideas are starting to come out off of these shows."

Added Billy: "For me, it's kind of cool because the other reason I did [my solo project] BILLYBIO is because there was no BIOHAZARD, and the songs that I would've been showing these guys just [ended up] BILLYBIO songs. So being back with these guys is, like… It's cool to have another outlet for my music."

In 2022, Graziadei said in an interview that there had been "talk" about putting BIOHAZARD back together.

The group, which is acknowledged as one of the earliest outfits to fuse hardcore punk and heavy metal with elements of hip-hop, had been out of the public eye since Scott Roberts left the band eight years ago.

Roberts, who played guitar on BIOHAZARD's 2005 album "Means To An End", rejoined the group in June 2011 as the replacement for Seinfeld. Scott fronted BIOHAZARD for nearly five years before exiting the band in February 2016.

In an August 2020 interview with the "Aftershocks" podcast, Roberts said that he left BIOHAZARD because he "wasn't happy" anymore. "There was one guy that I wasn't getting along with very well, and it made touring not fun anymore for me," he said. "My reason to stick around was to make a new record that was great and I'd be proud of and all that stuff, and then it became kind of clear that wasn't gonna happen, so I was, like, 'What am I doing it for?' So I quit."

Seinfeld made his last recorded appearance with BIOHAZARD on 2012's "Reborn In Defiance" album, which marked the first LP featuring the band's original lineup in 18 years.

Graziadei is currently a member of POWERFLO, which also features Christian Olde Wolbers (FEAR FACTORY),Sen Dog (CYPRESS HILL) and Rogelio Lozano (DOWNSET).

Billy's solo project, BILLYBIO, released a new album, "Leaders And Liars", in March 2022 via AFM Records.

Carmine Appice says that he couldn't believe it when Nikki Sixx called him "a washed-up drummer" in response to comments he made about Mick Mars's exit from MÖTLEY CRÜE.

When Mars, a co-founding member of MÖTLEY CRÜE, announced his retirement from touring with the group in October 2022 as a result of worsening health issues, he maintained that he would remain a member of the band, with John 5 taking his place on the road. However, he has since filed a lawsuit against MÖTLEY CRÜE, claiming that, after his announcement, the rest of CRÜE tried to remove him as a significant stakeholder in the group's corporation and business holdings via a shareholders' meeting. In his lawsuit, Mars also alleged that he was the only bandmember to play 100 percent live on their 2022 stadium tour, insisting Sixx "did not play a single note on bass during the entire U.S. tour."

Mick's lawsuit came less than a month after Carmine told Ultimate Guitar that he had been talking to the guitarist about his exit from MÖTLEY CRÜE: "Mick told me, 'When I was on 'The Stadium Tour', I was not happy,'" Carmine said. "Basically, everything was on tape; it was all planned out and ultimately a lot of crap. And Mick is a pretty good player, and so to now let him loose and play the way he wants, that was never going to work for him. The truth is that everything has been weird for a while with MÖTLEY CRÜE, and Mick didn't like that everything was on tape. Mick told me that people that came to see it could tell that it was all pre-recorded and that everything was on tape.

"When you play in a stadium like that, you can hear a lot of things come to the monitors or what doesn't. And with Vince's [Neil] vocals, bass, drums, guitars, and all the other stuff, it was obvious that it was all on tape. And Mick was pissed off and said, 'I can play these things. I want to play them. I don't want to make believe I'm playing them.' So, I think that's one of the reasons why he said, 'I'm done.' Sure, the disease that he has doesn't help, and it doesn't make life easy on tour, but Mick can play all the licks, and he was allowed to."

When Ultimate Guitar asked Appice to clarify that "Mick wasn't getting along with the rest of" MÖTLEY CRÜE, Carmine said: No, he wasn't. He had his own means of travel and would travel alone on a bus while the other guys flew everywhere. He said, 'Man, these guys are pissing their money away, flying to every gig.' They were all busy still trying to be rock stars, and Mick just wanted to play the music. Mick wasn't interested in wasting time and money flying everywhere, so he traveled by bus. Their lifestyles are different than his, and so there were a lot of disagreements. I think he was just done. They were supposed to have done their last tour, and then they came back. Then they did 'The Stadium Tour', and that was apparently supposed to be the last. So, when they came back again, he said, 'You can do it. I'm not going out with you for this.'"

On March 15, 2023, Sixx, who had not given any interviews about Mars's departure from CRÜE, apparently responded directly to Appice's comments, writing in a tweet: "Love how people talk FOR us without talking TO us. This is why the media has lost credibility. Obviously by printing BS they make money off of advertising and we're not into that clickbait game. When the truth comes out it will be FROM üs."

He added later that same day: "A washed up drummer trying to speak for us? And bottom feeder media running with it to make money off of lies? Welcome to the sad new world of LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME."

On March 17, 2023, Sixx took part in a Twitter question-and-answer session and was asked by one fan: "Is what Carmine Appice said true?" the CRÜE bassist replied: "A washed up drummer speaking for our band without any of the facts is as ridiculous as bottom feeder media running with stories without fact checking. When you hear the truth it will be from us." This prompted Appice to respond by challenging Nikki to a "jam-off to see who the better musician on their respective instrument is."

Now, during a brand new interview with The Logan Show, Carmine was asked if Nikki ever reached out to him about his "jam-off" challenge. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "No. And that whole thing was so messed up, because I didn't mean to do anything. When I was doing an interview about the BBA [BECK, BOGERT & APPICE] record that was coming out, the guy said, 'What do you think about this? And why do you you think Mick left?' So I just told him what Mick told me. Mick didn't say, 'Don't say anything.' I just told him what started that whole war that's still going on. It was unbelievable. I was reaching markets I never was in before, and I was seeing myself in this one that one."

He continued: "I knew Nikki for a long time. They opened up for Ozzy when I was with Ozzy, and Nikki lived around the corner from me. We used to go out for breakfast, and I got his phone number and his real name in my phone. And I haven't talked to him in a while, but ever since they got big, they got a little stuffy. Now that'll come out now: 'Carmine says Nikki Sixx is stuffy.' But that's the truth.

"So when he started that stuff, and he called me a has-been drummer, I said, 'You fuck. What did you start? Give me something that you started in this industry. I can tell you a bunch of stuff I started that's still going on. What did you start?' That's why I challenged him. I never heard anything back. Because I was a has-been drummer, he said."

Carmine previously addressed his war of words with Nikki during a May 2023 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Carmine was asked if he had anything to add to everything that had been said between all the parties. He responded: "Everything that I said, Mick pretty much backed it up with his lawsuit. I was just doing an interview, like we're talking. And when I do interviews, I'm pretty candid. Mick told me that stuff, and I didn't mean it to go out of proportion like that.

"The thing for me is I knew Nikki since they opened up for Ozzy," he continued. "And when they opened up for Ozzy, I'm like the kind of guy, when I'm on a headlining tour, I befriend the opening act. Like LED ZEPPELIN with VANILLA FUDGE, I befriended John Bonham and all the guys. Same thing here. I was friends with these guys. Nikki used to live around the corner from me in L.A. We used to go out for breakfast at this '50s café, and we were friends. Even their title 'Raise Your Hands To Rock' on that [third] album ['Theatre Of Pain'], that was my title. I told him we were working on a song, 'Raise Your Hands To Rock', with KING KOBRA. And he said, 'Oh, man. I love that title. Do you mind if I steal it?' I go, 'Oh, come on, dude.' So he gave me credit: 'Thank you' for the initials, 'Raise Your Hands To Rock'. And we were friends. So to hear him talk about me like that, it kind of pissed me off. But it is what it is. And I read all these things about other musicians talking about him. I said, 'Wow, I didn't realize everyone had hatred for this guy.' I haven't seen him or talked to him in years. Same with Tommy [Lee, MÖTLEY CRÜE]. Tommy and I used to hang out when he married to Heather [Locklear] and Pam [Anderson]… And I haven't seen him for ages."

Carmine went on to say that he "got a cease-and-desist letter" from the MÖTLEY CRÜE camp after he initially publicly revealed some of the things Mick had told him. "That's why I stopped talking about it," he said. "But then when Mick said all that stuff, it kind of vindicated me, because he said everything that I said. Because that's what he told me."

In response to Mars's lawsuit, CRÜE's manager of 30 years, Allen Kovac, told Variety that Mars is coming out with a list of allegations "to gain leverage in a smear campaign on MÖTLEY. He's attacked the band, and he's done it in a slanderous way, with false accusations and misrepresenting the facts to the fans. Mick is not the victim. The victims are MÖTLEY CRÜE and the brand, which Mick is so prideful of." But, he added, "What's upsetting to me is not Mick, but his representatives, who have guided Mick to say and do harmful things to the brand he cares about so much, MÖTLEY CRÜE. He has a degenerative disease and people are taking advantage of him. It's called elder abuse."

Kovac continued: "Mick's representatives have no idea what they've created, but I've stopped the band from speaking about this, so they're not gonna turn the fans against Mick. But I am going to make sure that people understand that Mick hasn't been treated badly. In fact, he was treated better than anyone else in the band, and they carried him and they saved his life."

Mars suffers from Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS),a chronic and inflammatory form of arthritis that mainly affects the spine and pelvis. After years of performing through the pain, he informed the other members of MÖTLEY CRÜE in the summer of 2022 that he could no longer tour with them but would still be open to recording new music or performing at residencies that did not require much travel.

Regarding Mick's claim that he was the only CRÜE member to play 100 percent live on their most recent tour, Kovac told Variety: "Everything is live with Nikki's bass playing and Tommy's drum playing. When they've used loops, they're still playing. There are augmented vocals, which were (recorded) in the studio and are backgrounds behind the two ladies who are singing and (other background vocals by) John 5 and Nikki Sixx, and before that Mick and Nikki." He described the pre-recorded vocal layering as where "you multi-track and you do gang vocals with, like, 20 people, just like all the other bands do with background vocals. They've got background vocals in the mix. That's the truth.

"But Nikki played his bass and always has," Kovac continued. "Vince was singing better than he was before (on the latest tour). That was in reviews. Now, John 5 is playing like who John 5 is. I've heard John 5 perform and I heard Mick perform. Both are great guitar players. Unfortunately, Mick is not the same. He hasn't been the same for a long time. Which was in reviews! You see that the professionals knew. DEF LEPPARD (which alternated headlining spots on tour) knew. And (Mars) caused a train wreck up there, because he would play the wrong songs and the wrong parts, even with the guide tracks. When he played the wrong song, it wasn't Nikki Sixx that had a tape; it was the soundman bringing it into the mix so the audience could hear a song, even though the guitar player was playing a different song." He says audiences "would hear it at first, but (sound engineers) would fix it so that we could keep the song going. I heard it. I'd go to the sound board."

Houston, Texas based brutal death metal beasts, Stabbing, have signed a worldwide contract with Century Media Records and, to celebrate this news, they have now unleashed new versions of "Vortex Of The Severed Dead" and "Pulled Apart", complete with Devourment's Ruben Rosas and PeelingFlesh's Damonteal "D" Harris on guest vocals - plus a new mix and master from Cryptopsy's Christian Donaldson (Suffocation, Ingested).


The tracks, which originally appeared on last year's aptly titled Demo 2023, can now be streamed with newfound clarity - and brutality - here. A visualizer video for "Vortex Of The Severed Dead" can be viewed below:







Stabbing vocalist Bridget Lynch - whose inhuman gutturals have earned acclaim from peers and fans alike both in the band's brief but brutal discography and via scene-viral videos of her filling in for Suffocation's Ricky Myers for a few shows - speaks on the signing: "After basically caring about nothing but brutal death metal for around 11 years now, I am stoked to be a part of something that brings this style of music to a wider audience through CM. I never expected this but am very grateful for the opportunity to share my love for this more niche style, which I consider to be death metal in its truest form, and to help push this part of the extreme underground in some way via Stabbing."


Mike Gitter, Century Media Vice President of A&R, commented as follows: "Stabbing live up to their name. They set new standards in extreme metal that Century Media has always pushed to be at the forefront of. This is the sound of brutality you're not soon to forget and we're excited to be working together."


The band is currently on a tour based around Milwaukee Metal Fest, at which guitarist Marvin Ruiz played a second set with other band Devourment; they are also set to play Maryland Death Fest later this week. Shows with brutal death mainstays Internal Suffering are peppered throughout. Routing shows to-and-from an NYC barnburner with Kittie (yes, that Kittie) were announced yesterday, with New Standard Elite brutes Nuclear Remains along for the ride. See below for all dates; tickets can be purchased here.


Live dates:


May
21 - Cleveland, OH - No Class *
22 - Clifton, NJ - Dingbatz
23 - Baltimore, MD - Maryland Deathfest (Soundstage) *
27 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 *
28 - Atlanta, GA - Boggs Social & Supply
29 - New Orleans, LA - Siberia *


July
16 - Huntsville, AL - Mad Malts ~
17 - Chattanooga, TN - Dark Road ~
18 - Richmond, VA - Cobra Cabana ~
19 - New York City, NY - Palladium Times Square ^
20 - Pittsburgh, PA - Preserving ~
21 - Cincinnati, OH - Legends ~
23 - Memphis, TN - Hi Tone ~


September
4-7 - Cave-In-Rock, IL - Full Terror Assault Open Air


* w/ Internal Suffering
~ w/ Nuclear Remains
^ w/ Kittie, Unearth, Within the Ruins


Stabbing lineup (from left-to-right in photo above):


Marvin Ruiz - Guitars
Bridget Lynch - Vocals
Matt Day - Bass
Nat Conner - Drums


(Photo - Israel Mendoza)

As I Lay Dying have released a recap video for their recent tour dates in Asia. Check it out below:





As I Lay Dying will launch their US summer tour on July 9 with major market performances in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles before concluding at a hometown show on August 10 at The Observatory Northpark. Joining the band are Chelsea Grin and Entheos.




Visit asilaydying.com for all show + ticket info.





Tour dates:


July
9 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Catalyst
10 - Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades
12 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
13 - Tacoma, WA - Temple Theatre
14 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
15 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
16 - Denver, CO - Summit
17 - Kansas City, MO - The Truman
19 - Grand Rapids, MI - Upheaval Festival
20 - Mansfield, OH - INKcarceration
21 - Chicago, IL - House Of Blues
23 - Albany, NY - Empire Live
24 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza
25 - Philadelphia, PA - Theater of The Living Arts
26 - Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore
27 - Norfolk, VA - The NorVa
29 - Charlotte, NC - The Fillmore
30 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
31 - St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Landing


August
2 - Houston, TX - House Of Blues
3 - Dallas, TX - The Factory in Deep Ellum
4 - San Antonio, TX - Vibes Event Center
6 - Albuquerque, NM - El Rey Theater
7 - Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren
8 - Los Angeles, CA - The Belasco
10 - San Diego, CA - The Observatory Northpark


As I Lay Dying is:


Tim Lambesis - Vocals
Phil Sgrosso - Guitar
Ryan Neff - Bass|Vocals
Ken Susi - Guitar
Nick Pierce - Drums

Former Overkill drummer Sid Falck, has released a new song, "Bulletproof", a cover of the 2009 La Roux song, under the Falck name.





Says Sid Falck: “Long story short; I was intrigued by the sound track of a commercial of all things. Obviously, the music was turned way down, so it was hard to make out exactly what was playing, except that it seemed to be fairly upbeat. What really drove me crazy, was that I couldn’t make out what the female “Actor” was singing … so I tried to lip-read, and I came up with “Wolle Woo” haha. I was fairly certain that wasn’t correct, so down the rabbit hole I went, to find out what the song was, and what the lyric was. It turned out that It was a Synth/Vocal song by La Roux, from 2009, named 'Bulletproof'. For some reason I couldn’t stop wondering what it would have sounded like if Rammstein, whom I’m a huge fan of, would have done a version of it during their first 2 album cycles. Could I adhere to their principle of “Uncomplicated and hard = good?” So I put the 3 original songs currently in the works on hold, and went to work on this. To me it seemed quite clear that whomever wrote it, had definitely been listening to a lot of old school punk, so trying to keep everything simple, off I went, everything dictated only by how much fun I was having, and how big the grin on me mug was. ”




"Bulletproof" can be downloaded here, where you can also find the whole Falck catalog. "Bulletproof" is also available on all streaming and digital platforms where you normally listen to and/or buy your music.


Watch a video for the song below:

Speed / thrash metal aficionados, get ready for a sonic onslaught! Rezet is set to unleash their sixth studio album, simply titled Rezet, on August 30th, 2024, via Violent Creek Records. Pre-save your copy now at this location. 


Rezet's new self-titled album promises to deliver an adrenaline-fueled, riff-heavy experience. Hailing from Schleswig in Northern Germany, Rezet has become synonymous with uncompromising thrash metal, blending the ferocity of the genre's classics with a modern twist.


With 11 blistering tracks and even a piano intro, Rezet showcases the band's evolution and maturity. The album seamlessly weaves between the golden era of thrash metal and contemporary influences, giving fans a devastating new experience.




This album marks a new chapter for Rezet, with the addition of string sorcerer Nikolay Atanasov (Agent Steel) and bassist Lorenz Kandolf (Traitor) to the lineup, joining the band's founder, singer, guitarist, and main composer Ricky Wagner, along with drummer Bastian "attt" Santen. The result is a lineup that sounds stronger and more energized than ever before.


Produced, mixed, and mastered by the one and only Eike Freese ( Helloween, Deep Purple, Heaven Shall Burn), Rezet was partly recorded at the band's own Rad Toad Studios in Schleswig-Holstein. The album's dystopian artwork, created by Pär Oloffsson ( Exodus, Aborted, Pathology) depicts a mechanical landscape being reclaimed by new life, echoing the album's themes of renewal and aggression.


"This album represents a second spring for Rezet," says the band. "It's honest, direct and bursting with aggressiveness. We've never sounded fresher."





Tracklisting:


"Opus 1984.2"
"Time To Die"
"Unholy Grail"
"Duck & Cover"
"Burning Prophets"
"Together Apart"
"Prisoner Of Fate"
"Killing Spree"
"Atmosfear"
"True As Lies" (Feat. Lips from Anvil)
"World War Z"
"Into The Abyss"


"Unholy Grail" video:





 

In a new interview with "THAT Rocks!", the YouTube series hosted by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson, former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman spoke about his desire to focus completely on his solo career once he left the band nearly two and a half decades ago. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Of course, once I left MEGADETH, the tag 'ex-MEGADETH' was stuck to my name, and I understood that for about a year or two. And then I really, really wanted to cut that out because I was no longer in MEGADETH and I was doing my own thing doing other things not related to MEGADETH at all. So from about 2002 or [200]3, I just made it a strict rule that any kind of media when they published whatever they were doing, no 'ex-MEGADETH' next to my name. Just don't put it in the headline. Don't put my name with MEGADETH — 'former MEGADETH', all of that stuff was like a very, very strict rule. Of course, as you all know, in the media they tend to ignore those rules about 90 percent of the time. They ignored that a lot, but then, as time went on, it started to get less and less, and I started to feel better about it. And then in the mid-2010s, a lot of places stopped completely putting that next to my name, because there was nothing I was doing even remotely related to MEGADETH, so why put it in there? Of course, sometimes they even still do it now, and it just really, really bugs the shit out of me, because it's not doing MEGADETH any favors either. It's not doing me any favors. It's 25 years ago. They have their own band, and I'm the biggest fan of their band, and my thing is completely different from theirs. But sometimes you can't control what the media does. But that still doesn't mean that I don't have a lot of love and respect for the band. Of course I do. We're both doing separate things."

Friedman, who is best known for his stint as MEGADETH lead guitarist from 1990 to 2000, was also asked what it was like to rejoin his former band twice on stage in six months last year — first in February 2023 at Tokyo, Japan's famed Budokan and then in early August 2023 at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany. He responded: "When the opportunity to play with MEGADETH again at Budokan, that was just a wonderful, wonderful bit of closure for me and Dave [Mustaine, MEGADETH leader]. Because we have been always on good terms, even since I was out of the band, since I left the band in 2000, we'd been on good terms. There is absolutely no bad blood between us. But I think the one bit of unfinished business that we had was when I was in the band, we had an opportunity to play Budokan. It never happened. And that was the one tiny thing that was left between myself and Dave. We're both big rock fans. We grew up with rock, and live at Budokan is a dream. When you play music and you're in a band like all of the bands that we're fans of, playing at Budokan — CHEAP TRICK at Budokan, all the big albums from Budokan. KISS at Budokan on 'Rock And Roll Over' tour and all that stuff. So Dave and I really had that seed in our hearts, ever since we were kids, and since we couldn't make it happen when we first had been booked for Budokan, that little thing was always left. And so when Dave asked me to play it with him in 2023, I felt it was a very nice gesture on his part, and I jumped at the chance to do it. I loved it. Playing together was as comfortable as it was back then, and, to be honest I think the band sounded better than it did when I was originally in the band. I don't know if it was because there was three guitars on stage instead of two, but it just sounded wonderful. And it was kind of also a love letter to the Japanese fans who wanted to see this moment as much as the two of us did. So, it was a wonderful thing all around. And, like I said, there was never any bad blood between me and MEGADETH. It's just I'm me and they're them. And I'm the biggest fan of theirs, and I'll always support them. It was a fantastic part of my career."

Asked if his guest appearance with MEGADETH at Budokan was the first time he saw Mustaine since he left the band, Friedman said: "We actually got together once in — I think it was 2014 or '15 when we talked… We had a meeting in L.A. where we talked about possibly reuniting the 'Rust In Peace' lineup. And that didn't happen. And all of the details of that will definitely be in my book. But it was still wonderful to see him then and see the entire band then. It just didn't materialize for several reasons. But, yeah, we've been in touch sometimes by e-mail, talking about certain things. But in person, I hadn't seen him in many years, and we hadn't played together since the last time I played with him in MEGADETH. So it was wonderful to share the stage together. And he came on this little YouTube thing I do in Japan, and we had a really nice chat, and it was just nice to kind of be back in the band for like several hours. It's like being with an ex-girlfriend, you know what I mean?"

Earlier this month, an interviewer from Finland's Chaoszine pointed out to Friedman that former MEGADETH guitarist Kiko Loureiro suggested in an interview that he would have liked Marty to rejoin MEGADETH after Kiko exited the group last fall. Asked if he was actually approached about coming back to MEGADETH when Kiko decided to leave the band, Marty said: "No, and I don't think that's realistic. I don't know anything about it. I don't think Dave would think that I would be a candidate to join the band, or rejoin the band, and it's certainly not something that I thought of. I think they're absolutely doing just fine the way they are."

On the topic of MEGADETH's current guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari, who officially joined the band in November, Friedman said: "I met him for a moment at Wacken. [He] seemed like a very cool guy, and I wish him nothing but the best. He's gonna have a good time with those guys."

When the interviewer asked for more details about Friedman's meeting with Mäntysaari, pointing out that Marty is one of Teemu's "biggest influences", Marty said: "I really didn't have too much time to chat with him very much, because at the time Kiko was still in the band and he was there just kind of watching everything and just kind of being a fly on the wall and watching how the band does its business. He was a very polite, cool guy. And, unfortunately, I didn't get to see him play there. Yeah, I didn't really know what was going on in the band, but I just was there to do my show and hooked up with them for a show and he was there. And next thing you know, he's in the band. So all the best to him."

He continued: "I'm glad to hear he's a fan of mine because that's gonna help in MEGADETH. One of the things I remember about being in the band was it was really difficult for me to play the other guitar players' guitar work. Luckily, when I was in the band, they only had like three albums out before I joined the band. But it was very, very difficult for me to even try to play Chris Poland's stuff, and I was not suited for that at all. So, if the new guy is familiar with my stuff, it's gonna make his life a lot easier, and hopefully he'll put his own stamp on things and he'll make a whole lot of new fans too."

Mäntysaari was welcomed into MEGADETH after first temporarily filling in for Loureiro.

Earlier this year, Kiko told Guitar World magazine about whom he wanted as his replacement in MEGADETH: "Actually, I even mentioned to management and Dave that I thought bringing Marty Friedman back would be amazing. I have no idea if they're talking about it or talking to him, but I did say that. But again, I have no idea beyond that, and I don't want to make anything more complicated."

Loureiro went on to say that he was warmly embraced by MEGADETH fans during his nine-year stint with the group.

"The fans never said anything bad about me or complained, which was amazing," he said. "But I'm a fan, and I always understood that Marty was a part of those iconic albums like 'Rust In Peace' and 'Countdown To Extinction'. I understood that Marty was the guy who helped create that sound and style, you know? From the moment I joined MEGADETH, I knew the fans could show me love, but I would never win their hearts over Marty."

The 37-year-old Mäntysaari, who was scouted and selected by Loureiro for MEGADETH, was born in Tampere, Finland and began playing guitar at the age of 12. In 2004, he joined the band WINTERSUN. He has also been a member of SMACKBOUND since 2015.

Loureiro officially joined MEGADETH in April 2015, about five months after Chris Broderick's exit from the group.

At last year's Wacken Open Air, Marty performed four songs with MEGADETH: "Trust", "Tornado Of Souls", "Symphony Of Destruction" and "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due".

At Budokan, Friedman came up on stage for three songs toward the end of MEGADETH's main set: "Countdown To Extinction", "Tornado Of Souls" and "Symphony Of Destruction".

Four years ago, Friedman admitted that money was a major motivator for him when he was approached about taking part in a reunion of MEGADETH's "Rust In Peace" lineup.

Friedman had met with Mustaine and then-bassist David Ellefson at the 2015 NAMM show in Anaheim, California to discuss the reunion, which would have seen him and drummer Nick Menza back in the mix.

Friedman opened up about his reasons for turning down the MEGADETH reunion in Mustaine's latest book, "Rust In Peace: The Inside Story Of The Megadeth Masterpiece", which details the making of the iconic record "Rust In Peace".

"My main thing was I'd be happy to do it, but I'm not going to take less money than I'm already making to do it," Marty said in part.

"I'd been in Japan for more than ten years cultivating a career with solid rewards. I was making money not only for myself but also for my management and staff. My manager has been with me fifteen years.

"Everything was sound and solid professionally, and when the offer came up to all of a sudden join MEGADETH again, as long as I would not be making less money, I was ready to go," he said. "But I was certainly not going to take a loss to join a band that, frankly, at that point, didn't seem like they had too much to offer musically. A couple of members of the band had recently quit, and musically I hadn't heard anything that they've done in a long time. I didn't know about how relevant they continued to be in the music business. It wasn't like MEGADETH was on the tip of people's tongues, at least not in Japan. I had reached the point where people stopped immediately connecting me to MEGADETH and were talking about the things that I had done in Japan."

According to Friedman, part of the reason he turned down the MEGADETH reunion is the fact that the group is largely seen as Mustaine's solo project, with members coming and going every couple of albums.

"Had it been more of a band situation and not such a one-man, Dave Mustaine-main-man party, I might have considered doing it for a little less," Marty said. "But, at the end of the day, MEGADETH is so much Mustaine because that's the way he engineered it. I didn't feel that kind of camaraderie, the four-man diamond, THE BEATLES, KISS, METALLICA. I felt like I would be going out there and tour and it was going to be Mustaine's big success. If I'm going to do that, I'm certainly not going to lose money to do that; I was doing great on my own in Japan."

Mustaine told Loudwire that he was put off by Friedman's financial demands when the topic of a "Rust In Peace" reunion was broached.

"Marty has a really successful career in Japan where he makes quite a lot of money," Dave said. "And this is the part where I thought it was a little weird, where he said he said that he has to pay all his team while he's gone instead of just himself. 'Cause I thought we'll pay you what you're making so that's switching horses in the middle of the river — it's no big deal unless you fall off. And then when we found out that he wanted to sell his merch, his this, his that, his this, his that, then he wanted this crazy amount of money and he wanted to fly first class everywhere. I said to our management, 'I can't deal with this.'"

In a 2016 interview with the "Eddie Trunk Podcast", Mustaine confirmed that MEGADETH didn't hold any rehearsals with Friedman while attempting a reunion of the "Rust In Peace" lineup.

"Marty had sent some e-mails saying, 'Oh, man, you know, the fans have this self-inflated importance of 'Rust In Peace' beyond what it really is. And I was, like, 'Huh?'" Dave said. 'So I didn't know if that was a backhand to the face of the fans or not, but he had basically said that if we were gonna do anything, it had to be better than 'Rust In Peace'. And he sent me over some links to some songs that he thought should be the direction that we were going in, and one of it was this J-Pop band with some Japanese girl singing, and I was, like, 'Uh-uh. This ain't gonna work.' More power to [Marty for being into that stuff]. Do what you want, Marty. He's a great guitar player. But I'm not gonna sing like a Japanese girl."

Speaking with Classic Rock in a new interview, rock legend Glenn Hughes revealed his six favourite Deep Purple songs. He was a member of the band from 1973 - 1976.


Following is an excerpt from the chat.


"Burn" (Burn - 1974)




Hughes: “We were at Clearwell Castle when Ritchie said: 'We should write song called Burn.' He had the idea of the title already. The five of us wrote that song together in the Castle’s crypt in the key of 'G'; Jon’s Bach instrumental, inserting the riff… it felt magical. Burn is such a great, dramatic rock track. It stops, starts, turns around, and there’s the Bach influence and vocal harmonies. It was completely different to anything that Deep Purple had ever done before. It ticked all the boxes of those that questioned whether the new line-up could work."





Gettin’ Tighter (Come Taste The Band - 1975)


Hughes: "Come Taste The Band was written at my home. Tommy (Bolin) was living with me at the time. We took it to the rest of the guys and they loved it. I still play it as a homage to Tommy. In fact it’s the only one of my legacy songs with Purple that I have played at every concert since December 4, 1976 (the date on which Tommy Bolin died of a heroin overdose at just 25 years old).”





Read more here.


Glenn Hughes has announced an August / September U.S. tour performing classic Deep Purple.


Hughes says, “Touring in the USA 🇺🇸 is a priority for me, & happy to announce the show's upcoming in August & September.


“This will be the last tour stateside, with this setlist of Purple Classics.


“I will return in 2025 with a retrospective show and new songs to be performed live. Music is the Healer 🧡”


Find ticket information here.





Dates:


August
30 – San Juan Capistrano, CA – Coach House Concert Hall


September
1 – San Diego, CA – House Of Blues
4 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live Midtown
6 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
7 – San Antonio, TX – Rolling Oaks Event Center
11 – Vineland, NJ – The Landis Theater
13 – Dunellen, NJ – Dunellen Theater
14 – Hudson Falls, NY – The Strand Theatre Hudson Falls
16 – Lakewood, OH – The Winchester 
17 – McHenry, IL – The Vixen
19 – Edwardsville, IL – The Wildey Theatre
20 – Edwardsville, IL – The Wildey Theatre
22 – Sedalia, MS – Mozark Fest
24 – Denver, CO – The Oriental Theater
27 – Montclair, CA – The Canyon
28 – Agoura Hills, CA – The Canyon Club & Special Events Center

Fresh off of their recent European tour with Skálmöld and Seven Spires, Vancouver-based blackened symphonic metal outfit Atavistia will release their new EP, Inane Ducam (translates to 'I Will Lead Into Nothingness'), on July 19, 2024. Featuring new guitarist Elia Baghbaniyan and bassist/vocalist Spencer Budworth, Inane Ducam  seeks to explore different genres and styles while still maintaining the core Atavistia sound.


Band founder Mattias Sippola comments "Inane Ducam was an experimental writing process - lower tuning, the debut of Spencer’s fierce low growls, and tempos reaching close to 300BPM. During the Winter months of 2023, Vancouver experienced extremely dark, cold, and gloomy days which is an antidote to creating music like this."


Listen to the first single "Timeless Despair" here, and check out the video below.







Inane Ducam artwork and tracklisting:





"Inane Ducam" 
"Timeless Despair" 
"Dark Isolation" 
"Unattained Creation" 
"The Void" 


For further details, visit Atavistia on Facebook.


 

Los Angeles-based atmospheric doomsayers, Qaalm, will release their new EP, First Light Of The Last Dawn, on June 21st via Hypaethral Records.


The follow-up to the band’s debut, Resilience & Despair, ushers in a new era of Qaalm, introducing influence from black metal and progressive rock and ultimately pushing their new material beyond the boundaries set by their earlier work. Even the production, graced by the skillful engineering of Paul Fig and expert mixing and mastering of Zeuss, two powerhouses who have collectively worked with the likes of Slipknot, Hatebreed, and Municipal Waste, displays evolution, elevation, and growth.


Comparisons to the likes of Agalloch and the “Peaceville Three” only scratch the surface of Qaalm's sonic tapestry. As bands like Paradise Lost, Neurosis, and Mastodon have continued to reinvent themselves between albums, so too has Qaalm, maintaining the spirit of their earlier work while composing new material that is even more dynamic and engaging.




Elaborates vocalist/guitarist Henry Derek Elis, “There are elements in First Light Of The Last Dawn that reflect my personal views of death, the afterworld, religion, and reincarnation. It has made me think about my own journey – all the losses and who I would be without having to endure such difficult experiences. My belief is that one must embrace such suffering, in hopes of having some real quality of life. May it remind us that we are not enslaved by our past.”


In advance of the EP’s release, the band unveils the title track. Elis further comments, “‘First Light Of The Last Dawn’ is a song that I wrote at the tail end of the writing sessions for the forthcoming second full-length album. As a band, we felt that this one was truly special and that it could potentially stand alone. It’s an honest and heartfelt composition that comes from a place of pain and hope. It deals with suicidal ideation, survivor’s guilt, grief and redemption far beyond a spiritual nature.”





Qaalm’s First Light Of The Last Dawn EP will be released digitally as well as on CD and cassette (limited to 100 copies each). Pre-orders can be placed now via Hypaethral Records or Bandcamp.





Tracklisting:


"First Light Of The Last Dawn"
"Ward 81"
"Heaven And Hell" (Black Sabbath cover – physical releases only)


Catch Qaalm live with Dead Memory:


June
1 - The Naked Lounge - Chico, CA
2 - Overkill Bar - Tacoma, WA
3 - High Water Mark - Portland, OR
4 - Erebus - Kelso, WA
5 - TBA - Sacramento, CA
6 - Stay Gold Deli - Oakland, CA
7 - TBA - San Jose, CA
8 - Humdinger Brewing - San Luis Obispo, CA
9 - Jerry's Pizza & Pub - Bakersfield, CA
10 - Redwood Bar & Grill - Los Angeles, CA


(Photo by Samantha Wallschlaeger)


 

Swedish metal band Darkane has made an announcement regarding their new singer. It reads:


"Darkane would like to welcome our new vocalist Tobiasz Bennedal to the band! We are very excited to start a new chapter together with Tobiasz as he is a very talented singer who can do the old Darkane songs very well, while also contributing with his own style that will fit Darkane in an excellent way. He can be heard in bands such as Cronic, Halfpace and Crawl Back To Zero."


"Tobiasz will do his first live apprearence with Darkane on July 27th 2024 at Tullakroksfestivalen in Ängelholm, Sweden. He states that he is very eager to take on the roll as the new Darkane singer and while knowing it’s a bit of a challenge he will do his best to do it right."




It was a mere four days ago, on May 16th, that previous Darkane vocalist Lawrence Mackrory announced his departure from the band via the following statement: 


"The time has come to announce my departure from Darkane. I’ve struggled to find the passion and dedication these last few years and that’s why I have decided that the best thing to do is to hand in my resignation. If I can’t do it 100% why do it at all? That’s always been my motto and continues to be."


"It’s been so much fun making music, touring, and hanging out with some of my best friends since I rejoined the band in 2011. And they are the ones I will miss the most. But meeting all the dedicated Darkane fans has been the highlight. There are so many of you out there who are passionate about the band and to you I give a big heartfelt THANK YOU!”


The remaining members of Darkane commented:


"Lawrence handled the vocal duties for Darkane on the debut album Rusted Angel (1999), The Sinister Supremacy (2013), and Inhuman Spirits (2022). He’s been a huge part of the Darkane history and the rest of the members would like to say a huge thank you! We wish him all the best with everything. He is a very talented vocalist, song writer, producer, engineer, mastering wizard and a very good friend. Much love from Peter, Christofer, Jörgen and Klas."


 

Wicked Love's latest single, "Body Fire," is now available on all major platforms.


Shane Dwyer, the band's bass player, shares his excitement, saying, "This song is pure fire. I'm curious about the meaning behind 'different kind of lovin'."


Lead guitarist Austin Livingston chimes in, " 'Body Fire' was our inaugural creation after getting the band back together. We aimed for a track with an irresistible hook for the ladies to groove to, while still packing enough punch for the guitar aficionados in the crowd with killer riffs."




Straight out of Charleston, SC, Wicked Love brings a fresh, hard-hitting sound with a classic twist. Their music is a dynamic fusion of pop, metal, and rock’n’roll, sure to captivate audiences. Having shared stages with the likes of Five Finger Death Punch, Seether, and Hellyeah, Wicked Love is a force to be reckoned with in the rock scene.