Japanese metal band Bridear have announced their new album Born Again out June 28 via Psychomanteum Records. The album will be released on CD and all streaming platforms, with a vinyl release later in the year. A CD and merchandise bundle is available to preorder now at psychoshop.net.


Marking the announcement the band have released a video for the powerful lead track ‘Still Burning’. With pounding drums, incendiary guitars and ferocious growls, all alongside an infectious anthemic chorus, Bridear delivers a scorching first taste of the upcoming record.


The quintet from Fukuoka, Japan jetted out to Gothenburg, Sweden to record their sixth studio album with the legendary metal producer Fredrik Nordström (In Flames, At the Gates, HammerFall, Bring me the Horizon) at Studio Fredman.




The video for ‘Still Burning’ was also filmed in Gothenburg and gives a taste of their epic live performances, captured by Patric Ullaeus (Amaranthe, Dimmu Borgir, Arch Enemy).


Lead singer Kimi comments, “We are very honoured to work with Fredrik Nordström on ‘Born Again’. He has worked with the top names in metal and we are proud he wanted to produce the album! Working with Patric Ullaeus on the video was also a great privilege. I think it shows us moving up to the next level. It captures the energy of this album and presents us in such a powerful way!”


Fredrik Nordström adds, “I really enjoyed working with Bridear. ‘Born Again’ is for sure in my Top 5 albums of my career! They are an amazing band and this is a world-class album.”


Bridear deliver a mission statement of raw and unapologetic heavy metal on Born Again. It is the ultimate showcase of their unique blend of captivating melodies and intense atmosphere alongside unforgiving no-holds-barred walls of mighty riffs, epic solos and bone crushing drums. The album also features the band’s first ever guest with Dream Evil’s Nick Night providing his high-flying vocals on “Die Like This” which closes the record.


Born Again is sure to see the band continue their trajectory into the upper echelons of metal worldwide.





Tracklisting:


“Still Burning”
“Braver Worlds”
“Born Again”
“Cult”
“Empty Mind”
“Scar Of Reunion”
“Real Is Real”
“Fight It Down”
“No Angels”
“Die Like This”


“Still Burning” video:

Technical death metal quintet, Cognitive, has unleashed their new video for “Insidious.” The rampaging new track comes by way of the band’s Abhorrence full-length, released May 17 on Metal Blade Records.





Abhorrence finds the New Jersey powerhouse at their brutal best. Abhorrence carries on band tradition with its a maniacal fusion of relentless riffs and thoughtful, devastating lyrics making for a raging, draining, and ultimately fulfilling experience.




An exercise in aural turbulence, each track on Abhorrence takes its listener on a magnificently traumatic journey. “Our lyrics for this record are all over the place,” notes guitarist Rob Wharton. “There’s some stuff about video games and addiction and mental health. To me, that’s the kind of subject matter that hits home because everyone’s got stuff going on in their lives. It’s relatable.”


Comments Wharton on “Insidious,” “A finger-fancy opening soon leads to slam-heavy grooves and well-articulated vocals, with lyrics about addiction, and a chorus/breakdown that always comes back for more.”





Abhorrence will be released on CD and digital formats as well as vinyl in the following color variants:


- Crimson Void (US retail)
- Gilded Abyss (EU + US Metal Blade Webstore - Ltd. 400)


Order here.





Abhorrence tracklisting:


"Abhorrence"
"Insidious"
"A Pact Unholy"
"Ivory Tower"
"As The Light Fades"
"Savor The Suffering"
"Containment Breach"
"Rorschach"
"Lunar Psychopathy"
"Cold Dead Hands"


"A Pact Unholy" video:





"Abhorrence" video:





Cognitive is:


Rob Wharton - guitars
Harry Lannon - guitars
Shane Jost - vocals
Tyler Capone-Vitale - bass
AJ Viana - drums


(Photo - Chris Hosey)

Logical Terror, the avant-garde force in the realm of progressive metal, announces the release of their latest single, "Here Comes The Rain Again," a daring cover of the iconic Eurythmics hit. This groundbreaking fusion of new wave nostalgia and metalcore mayhem promises to captivate audiences worldwide.


In a bold collision of genres, Logical Terror masterfully melds the haunting melodies of the 1980s with the unyielding power of modern metalcore, creating a sonic tempest unlike any other. "Here Comes The Rain Again" surges forth as a torrential downpour of innovation, offering listeners an electrifying journey through the annals of musical evolution.


Guided by the relentless spirit of innovation, Logical Terror invites fans to immerse themselves in the eye of this musical storm, where past and present converge in a symphony of sound. Whether you're a die-hard metalhead craving fresh sonic landscapes or a connoisseur of classics seeking a new perspective, Logical Terror's cover promises an exhilarating auditory experience.







Logical Terror's "Here Comes The Rain Again" stands as a testament to their endless creativity and unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of metal music.





 

Symphonic metal veterans NIGHTWISH will release their new album, "Yesterwynde", on September 20, 2024 via Nuclear Blast. It marks the band's tenth studio LP, following on from the release of "Human. :II: Nature." in 2020. The official music video for the album's first single, "Perfume Of The Timeless", can now be seen below.

NIGHTWISH keyboardist and main songwriter Tuomas Holopainen told Kerrang! magazine about "Perfume Of The Timeless": "When we had the first meeting with Nuclear Blast, talking about the new album and singles, I told them the first single will be a song called 'Perfume Of The Timeless' and it's eight and a half minutes long and the chorus comes in at 3:30. And they were, like, 'Perfect!' I think that has to do with the fact that we have a long legacy. You know, we can do whatever we want, and I do, but it says something that we can do that, when I heard that for Spotify it's good to have the vocals start after 15 seconds, or people skip it; they don't have the attention span anymore."

Asked if he had to adjust his writing style because "Yesterwynde" marks NIGHTWISH's first album since 2002's "Century Child" without bassist/vocalist Marko Hietala, Tuomas said: "No, it doesn't really change anything, except that now we had two voices instead of three, only Floor [Jansen, lead singer] and Troy [Donockley, multi-instrumentalist]. But that's it — it really didn't change much at all. And Jukka [Koskinen], the new bass player, is such a grounding personality that it's so easy to work with him. And his bass playing skills are tremendous, quite different from how Marko played the bass, which also brought a new spice into the music. So nothing but positive things to say about it all.

"There are many bands in the world that don't have a single original member anymore," he continued. "And I think it comes down to the fact that if the music is good, then that’s all that matters, in the end. Maybe for some people, certain bands are so holy that they can stand if they don't have certain members in it, even though the music would be good, but I don't really think like that. I just listen to the music, not the personnel behind it. That's all that matters to me."

Holopainen also addressed the fact that NIGHTWISH has no plans yet to tour in support of "Yesterwynde". The band previously explained that the reasons for the touring break were "personal" but unrelated to Jansen's then-pregnancy. (Jansen gave birth to her second child in October 2023.) Asked if it feels weird to be talking about an album that, for the first time, he won't be supporting on the road, Tuomas said: "No, it doesn't feel weird. It just feels right. But people shouldn't get worried. It's not the end of the band. We just signed a multi-record deal with Nuclear Blast, so there will be more music coming, definitely. But as far as shows, we're just gonna have a long breather now and see what happens. That's all I can say at the moment. We got our fair share in 2022 and 2023 when we did a lot of shows. So that helped."

"Yesterwynde" track listing:

01. Yesterwynde
02. An Ocean Of Strange Islands
03. The Antikythera Mechanism
04. The Day Of...
05. Perfume Of The Timeless
06. Sway
07. The Children Of 'Ata
08. Something Whispered Follow Me
09. Spider Silk
10. Hiraeth
11. The Weave
12. Lanternlight

In a press release, Holopainen stated about "Perfume Of The Timeless": "You are the result of an unbroken chain of millions of ancestors and their loves. 'Perfume Of The Timeless' reminds us all of this amazing fact. And if you're not amazed, listen to it again, because it's important."

In January, NIGHTWISH drummer Kai Hahto spoke about the band's upcoming follow-up to 2020's "Human. :II: Nature." album in an interview with Laureline Tilkin of Tuonela Magazine. He said: "At least it's not gonna be the same as 'Human. :II: Nature.', so… Probably, let's say that we go back to more heavy, heavier things on the new album, but also there's a lot of, again, new winds to blow, so to speak. So, different new elements. But, of course, it's still NIGHTWISH, but, of course, we brought back the big symphony orchestra again to the new upcoming tenth album. Yeah, it's gonna be exciting. And quite challenging music to play as well."

Earlier in January, Hahto told Chaoszine that "it look[ed] like" NIGHTWISH wouldn't play any shows in the next two or three years.

In December 2022, Holopainen said NIGHTWISH's upcoming follow-up to "Human. :II: Nature." would be the third part of a trilogy that began with 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" album. He told Metal Hammer: "I immediately knew after getting that album ['Endless Forms Most Beautiful'] done that, 'Okay, we have to do more songs about this, because there's so much more to explore and tell the world. We're not done with this.' And the same thing happened after 'Human. :II: Nature.'; we're still not done. So let's do one more. At least one more.

"In a way, [the next album] is the third part of a trilogy, which started with 'Endless Forms…' and then 'Human. :II: Nature.' There are some major surprises there again, but it feels like a natural continuation to 'Human. :II: Nature.'"

In September 2022, Tuomas was asked if NIGHTWISH's upcoming LP will once again be an exploration of evolutionary science, as was the case with the previous two releases. Tuomas said: "Yes and no. It sails on the same waters, but there's some new surprises there as well."

In August 2022, Tuomas told Rock Sverige that he spent "about a year" working on the music and lyrics for the next NIGHTWISH album.

Asked if he got any kind of inspiration from the pandemic, Tuomas said: "Yeah, lyrically there's a couple of things that reflects the pandemic, but not in the way you would expect."

"Human. :II: Nature." was released in April 2020. The follow-up to 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" was a double album containing nine tracks on the main CD and one long track, divided into eight chapters, on CD 2.

In August 2022, NIGHTWISH announced the addition of Jukka Koskinen (WINTERSUN) as an official member of the band. Koskinen, who made his live debut with NIGHTWISH in May 2021 at the band's two interactive experiences, had spent the previous year touring with NIGHTWISH as a session musician.

In November 2022, Jansen revealed that she was "cancer free" after undergoing surgery to have a tumor removed following a breast cancer diagnosis.

Photo credit: Tim Tronckoe (courtesy of Nuclear Blast)

In the clip below, courtesy of the Ken Tamplin Music Academy, vocalist Gabbi Gun takes on the Heart classic, "Alone".


Ken Tamplin: "This song is known as a #1 by the band Heart in 1987. What many people do not know is that Heart's version of this song was a cover song. 'Alone' had been released in 1983 by a group using the name I-Ten, and then released again in 1984 on the soundtrack of a CBS sitcom, Dreams, by Valerie Stevenson and John Stamos. But it was Heart's 1987 album, Bad Animals, that included the Ann Wilson vocals that shot this cover song to the top of the charts.


Ann's treatment of this song left no doubt in anyone's mind that she owned this song and that she was indeed a rock star of the highest caliber.  




At KTVA, we like to take the most challenging songs of all time and prove that with hard work and the right vocal techniques, we can accomplish incredible levels of vocal expertise. We think that Gabbi did just that, once again, this time on 'Alone'.  


Yes, Ann Wilson set the bar, and there is only ONE Ann Wilson but give this a listen and see what you think..."





On Saturday, April 20th, Heart embarked upon their Royal Flush World Tour at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. On May 13th they performed at the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, Maryland; fan-filmed video of the entire show courtesy of Jim Powers can be viewed below.


The setlist was as follows:


"Bebe Le Strange"
"Never"
"Love Alive"
"Little Queen"
"This Is Now" (Ann Wilson & Tripsitter song)
"Straight On"
"Let's Dance" (David Bowie cover)
"These Dreams"
"Dog & Butterfly" 
"Dreamboat Annie" 
"Going To California" (Led Zeppelin cover) 
"4 Edward" (Nancy Wilson song) 
- drum solo -
"Mistral Wind"
"Alone"
"What About Love"
"Magic Man"
"The Ocean" (Led Zeppelin cover)
"Barracuda"

Blacklist Union has unveiled their new single and video "Horns & Halos", from their forthcoming album Slay The Dragon, slated for release at the end of 2024. The album will be available on all digital platforms, in addition to CD and Vinyl formats.


"The single is about the battle of good and evil," says the band's frontman Tony West.







On the live front, Blacklist Union has announced new tour dates in support of their single. The trek kicks off on May 23rd in San Diego, CA at Brick By Brick, and wraps up on July 27th in Los Angeles, CA at The Whisky. 





(Photo by Krystie Lee Shirley)


 

On a recent episode of the "Talk Louder" podcast, hosted by veteran music journalist "Metal Dave" Glessner and lifelong hard rock/metal vocalist Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS),Phil Demmel spoke about his working relationship with Kerry King in the SLAYER guitarist's recently unveiled solo project. The 57-year-old San Francisco Bay Area-based musician, who has previously played with MACHINE HEAD and VIO-LENCE, said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "If there's one thing that I know with [Kerry] is exactly where he stands and exactly what he's feeling. He has his agenda, of course, but there's no meandering around with the point he's gonna try to get to, and there's no steps being set up to…"

He continued: "[Kerry] gets this stigma of being a fucking asshole or a fucking dick. And he's not. He's a nice dude. And he's an empathetic dude. He's a caring guy about stuff. It's not like he's this hardened dick and blah, blah, blah. There's just not a filter there where [he just says], 'No, I don't like that, or 'I can't do this because' blah, blah, blah. And it's just straight-forward, man. And I wish people would kind of understand that about other people. It's not him being a fucking… well, maybe it could be considered a dick, but that's not his intent. He's just, like, 'I'm not fucking around. I'm not gonna bullshit you.'"

King's debut solo album, "From Hell I Rise", will be released on May 17 via Reigning Phoenix Music. All material for the LP was written by the 59-year-old musician, who was accompanied during the recording sessions by guitarist Demmel, drummer Paul Bostaph (SLAYER),bassist Kyle Sanders (HELLYEAH) and vocalist Mark Osegueda (DEATH ANGEL). 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.

Nearly three months ago, Demmel shared an Instagram Live video in which he spoke about how he ended up being approached to join Kerry's new band. He said: "The way that this came about on my end was SLAYER was on its way through the [San Francisco] Bay Area [during the band's farewell tour] and they played San Jose. I think it was with maybe — NAPALM DEATH opened that one and LAMB OF GOD, and maybe even TESTAMENT played. I think it was maybe the last day of [that leg of] the tour. And this was maybe the summer of [20]18. And I knew that I was on my way out of MACHINE HEAD, and I had approached Kerry kind of, like, 'Hey, what are you doing after SLAYER ends? What do you got going?' And he was kind of, like, 'Ah, I'm sure I'm gonna keep playing with Paul. I'm probably gonna ask [then-SLAYER guitarist] Gary [Holt to play with me in my new band as well].' And that was about it. And so fast forward to my announcing that I was quitting MACHINE HEAD [in September 2018], and the same day Kerry shoots me a text, like, 'That's why you were asking me what I was doing next.' So it was no secret to Kerry that that's what I was interested in doing after. And when the call came to fill in for Gary [at several SLAYER shows in Europe in December 2018] and the way that I came through in that spot really showed those guys a lot. So, Kerry [and me], I remember we at a Raiders game against Denver, which was probably 2019, that he had said, 'Hey, this is what I'm thinking,' and where he committed to me being in the band. So it was pretty fucking awesome."

Phil continued: "So I've been waiting since August of 2019 to be able to announce [that I was in Kerry's new band]. A couple of people knew. [Kerry] wanted it to be a secret, so we didn't kind of share. So that was four and a half years of holding on to the secret. Some would say that it was the best worst-kept secret or the worst best-kept secret. But we're all pretty stoked to get this started."

Regarding how "From Hell I Rise" came together and his contributions to the album, Phil said: "Kerry wrote all the music. He wrote all the lyrics. They had pretty much all of it done for a while. Him and Paul worked on everything. He sent me parts. It was the slowest of the slowest rolls that I've ever been involved with, just due to the quarantine and the singer search. So it took a bit, and it's taken a bit for all of the reasons. I mean, there was a reason for all of it. So it got to a point to where all of us, the guys in the band, were, like, 'Have you heard anything?' 'No, I haven't heard anything.' It was almost like the swimming instructor when you're learning how to swim, and then the instructor keeps backing up. 'Come on, you can make it.' And you're swimming and you're swimming and you're swimming, and they keep backing up. And [it was] all worth it. They recorded the record. I was structuring solos at home. I have a home studio, and I was constructing my leads. And I had 'em done for a bit. And he'd give me a couple of more: 'Hey, why don't you see if you can come up with something over here?' And I wrote a couple of little harmony bits that you don't hear a lot in SLAYER. So I think that that's what sets this band apart, other than Mark's vocals, of course, is the melody in some of my solos. I wrote a few things and I sent 'em to him, and the solo you hear in 'Idle Hands' is the first one that I wrote. And so I had to ask him, I said, 'Are you gonna be okay with my style?' It's kind of different than from what [late SLAYER guitarist] Jeff [Hanneman] and Gary had done, and he was digging it. So I was glad that that was [the case], 'cause it's kind of what I am and what I can bring."

In a February 2024 interview with Rolling Stone, Kerry stated about how Phil came to his new project: "Demmel came out with SLAYER at the end of 2018 to fill in for Gary for four shows. What he did for us, I don't think I could do for any band on the planet. He had basically two days to watch [SLAYER] play so he could know where the pyro was and the tempo of our set. I couldn't do that for JUDAS PRIEST, and I'm a giant PRIEST guy. With this, Bostaph said, 'Hey, what about Demmel [for the new band]?' I texted him. He's like, 'Yeah, I just got done with MACHINE HEAD the day before yesterday.' I went, 'Well, that's kind of perfect.'"

Asked how he and Phil play off each other, Kerry said: "He's more technical than I thought he was. He comes from California thrash like I do. He'd be, like, 'Do you think this solo is too melodic?' I'm, like, 'It's your lead. Unless it's offensively lame, I'm not going to squash it.' I like what he brought to the record, even though it wasn't much, since I didn't let him play rhythm guitar."

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. KERRY KING will make the band's 2024 concert debut in early May.

Photo credit: Jim Louvau

In a new interview with Canada's The Metal Voice, STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet spoke about the musical direction of the band's recently completed follow-up to 2022's "The Final Battle" album, tentatively due in September. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think what it's always been in the past 10 years, 12 years. It's kind of similar to the last album and the album prior to that. But this album has some different twists and turns to it. And you have to hear it to understand that. When I was writing the songs, I wanted to make sure the choruses kind of went from — the verses might be in a minor chord, a little more on the darker side, and the choruses go to a major chord, a little bit more on the lighter side. Not lighter, but happier side— more major, melodic, more of an anthem, sing-along kind of thing. Then when it comes back to the verse, boom, it darkens up a little bit. You hear more of that kind of stuff."

Regarding the lyrical content on the upcoming STRYPER LP, Sweet, who is responsible for almost all of the songwriting in the band, said: "[There are] a couple of twists and turns. There's a song called 'Betrayed By Love'. It's a dark song, musically and lyrically. It's not a happy, typical STRYPER song that people might expect, like 'Honestly'. It's a song about being betrayed by someone you loved or love. And I think people will hear that and think, 'Oh, wow. This is different.' It's a great song. It's really cool. But there's little twists and turns here with the lyrics. The lyrics are a little different. And really cool. I can't wait for people to hear it."

This past March, Sweet wrote in an online post that he was "a little nervous" about his voice prior to the recording sessions for the new STRYPER album, "but in all sincerity, it seems fine to me," he said. "I didn't have any trouble tracking vocals and if anything, it seemed a little easier this time around.

"I have to say that this album has a very special signature," he added. "It has a heaviness yet at the same time, a very melodic approach and a bit more of a 'sing-along' style when it comes to the choruses. I'm really pleased with the results and I truly believe it will be at the top of everyone's 'best of' list. There are some stand out tracks to my ears already but I won't go into details quite yet. Bottom line, a KILLER new STRYPER album is coming!"

Last September, Michael said that he wanted "to branch out a bit" on the next STRYPER album "and try some new things and I also want to get back to some 'pop metal' on a few tracks as well."

In December, Sweet underwent partial thyroidectomy, the surgery to remove part of his thyroid gland. It is the most common surgery for thyroid cancer.

The follow-up to 2020's "Even The Devil Believes", "The Final Battle" was produced by Sweet and was once again recorded at SpiritHouse Recording Studios in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Formed 41 years ago, STRYPER's name comes from Isaiah 53:5, which states: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

STRYPER's albums include "To Hell With The Devil", "Second Coming", "No More Hell To Pay", "Fallen", "God Damn Evil" and the aforementioned "Even The Devil Believes" and "The Final Battle".

Michael is joined in STRYPER by his brother Robert Sweet (drums),Oz Fox (guitar) and Perry Richardson (bass).

STRYPER's "To Hell With The Amps: The Unplugged Tour" will kick off in late May. For the first time ever, the Christian rockers will stage a full tour where they will perform their hits and fan favorites acoustically.

Seattle rockers CANDLEBOX will release "A Little Longer Goodbye (Tour Edition)", the digital deluxe version of the album "The Long Goodbye", on all DSPs on Friday, July 12 via Round Hill Records. The digital release will feature the 12 tracks on the record plus two bonus live songs, "Elegante" and "Cellphone Jesus" (recorded at Club Amanda in Santiago, Chile on October 27, 2023),as well as the official launch of the single "Washed Up".

"The response to 'The Long Goodbye' has been so great that we decided to stick around a little longer; add some bonus live material. We are so happy to be able to kick out the jams a little bit longer," said CANDLEBOX frontman Kevin Martin. "Thank you to everyone for your amazing response to the record, it's been so heartwarming and positive and we're stoked!"

The digital release is being unveiled in conjunction with their much-anticipated appearance as special guests, along with Jerry Cantrell, on BUSH's "Loaded: The Greatest Hits Tour". During the rotrekuting, which kicks off July 26 in Bend, Oregon at the Hayden Homes Amphitheater and culminates August 26 in Charlotte, North Carolina at Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre, CANDLEBOX will perform songs from "A Little Longer Goodbye (Tour Edition)" as well as the hits that defined their career, including "Far Behind", "You" and "Cover Me", which propelled their self-titled debut album to sell more than four million copies worldwide.
"A Little Longer Goodbye (Tour Edition)" follows CANDLEBOX's eighth studio album, which was quite a swan song for the veteran band. "The Long Goodbye" was praised by critics for its hard-hitting, groove-infested beats and mature, soul-searching themes of love, loss, redemption, and the journey in between.

The track listing for "A Little Longer Goodbye (Tour Edition)" is as follows:

01. What Do You Need (featuring Mona)
02. Who You Are
03. Punks
04. Elegante
05. Hourglass
06. Maze
07. Ugly
08. Foxy
09. Running With The Stars
10. Nails On A Chalkboard
11. Cellphone Jesus
12. I Should Be Happy
13. Elegante (live)
14. Cellphone Jesus (live)
15. Washed Up

CANDLEBOX is:

Kevin Martin (vocals)
Adam Kury (bass)
Brian Quinn (guitar)
Island Styles (guitar)
BJ Kerwin (drums)

Martin discussed his decision to retire last July during an appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". He said at the time: "During COVID, I had a great awakening, being home with my wife and my son and realizing that maybe I had put far too much emphasis on the wrong syllable," he said, referencing a classic line from the 2003 Mike Myers/Gwyneth Paltrow movie "View From The Top". "My music career had become so encompassing of my time and my emotion and my energy and all this stuff that I realized that I had not given my family what they actually needed from me, which was me. And being home and being a dad and a teacher and a husband, and learning how to bake bread and realizing, 'God, man, I've missed a lot of things in my life that I enjoy,' I said, 'I need to figure out when I can wrap this up.'"

He continued: "I love music and it is a part of my life and I love playing live and I love performing and I love the fans. And that is something that I never take for granted. But I knew that I didn't love it the way I did when I started. And so I said to my wife, I said, 'I think I wanna make one last record and I wanna do it in 2023 when the 30th anniversary of the debut comes out, and then I wanna just put a nice little bow on this thing and wrap it up at the end of the year. And how do you feel about that?' And she said, 'I would love that, but only if you're ready.' And it took me from 2020 to 2022 to realize that I was."

Kevin added: "I don't ever wanna be a performer that phones it in on stage. I've been to those shows, I've seen those shows. I don't wanna do that. And I would hate to become that person. If this is my top, where I'm at, and I'm going out on it, and I'm in the best shape ever and my voice is in the best shape ever, and the music that I'm making, the shows that we're playing are fantastic, and we're having an absolute blast, then what better way to go?"

Photo credit: Graham Fielder

Gypsy Wytch, featuring Slik Toxik drummer Neal Busby, have just released a video for their new single, "Would You Really Wanna Lose My Love", which can be seen below.





Behold the origins of Gypsy Wytch: Twirl, an electro alternative rock duo from Toronto, Ontario, was formed by Huguette Arsenault & Neal Busby in the early 2000s. Being a highly prolific songwriting team, eventually they found that writing in different styles of rock happened naturally and decided that some of the material was outside the box of the established Twirl style. This resulted first in Toxyk Chyld and now with the latest project Gypsy Wytch. 




With a shared love for all rock from the '70s and '80s, Neal decided that Huguette needed an outlet for her singing roots, firmly based in endless hours of listening to Heart and Pat Benatar when she was growing up, and got to work on what would become "Would You Really Wanna Lose My Love". Of course with creating authentic '80s rock one needs a true six-string shredder of epic skills, and who else fits the bill but Toxyk Chyld's Todd Lefever.


Collaborating between Todd, Neal & Huguette, the song was finished to perfection and ready to be shot as a music video. Rounding out the Gypsy Wytch lineup is Toxyk Chyld alumni singer and frontman extraordinaire Robb Rocket. Robb, being a skilled multi-instrumentalist, slid into playing bass like a pro. Caitie "The Secret Weapon" Hase completes the five-piece on synths and keys. 


 

COHEED AND CAMBRIA has shared a rare standalone track, "The Joke". The new song comes from the "Vaxis II" LP sessions, and the band is happy for it to finally see the light of day. It comes paired with the B-side "Deranged", a remixed and remastered version of the track which was previously released in 2011 as part of the "Batman: Arkham City" soundtrack. "The Joke" is available everywhere digitally via Evil Ink / Virgin Music, and COHEED AND CAMBRIA is offering two different colored seven-inch vinyl versions via www.coheedandcambria.com. In addition, Revolver and Brooklyn Vegan will be offering their own exclusive versions of the seven-inch, as will singer Claudio Sanchez's label www.evilink.com.

"The meaning behind 'The Joke' is, basically, if you need a punching bag, I'll be that guy," shares Sanchez. The song is coupled with a video where we find one of COHEED's "The Amory Wars" universe's fan favorite characters "Al The Killer" being bullied by a nefarious prankster. "Deranged" focuses on the co-dependent relationship between Batman and The Joker. The song has been remixed and remastered for its return to DSPs after being unavailable for the past few years. Both tracks were mixed by Zakk Cervini.

Speaking of "The Amory Wars", the first new issue of Sanchez's revered sci-fi comic series, "The Amory Wars: No World For Tomorrow", is in stores today via Boom! Studios. You can find the issue at your local comic book shop or get it online via www.boom-studios.com.

The new music comes in advance of COHEED AND CAMBRIA's extensive summer 2024 tour plans. The band is set to co-headline shows in July and August with PRIMUS before supporting INCUBUS in the late summer and early fall. This October will see COHEED AND CAMBRIA headline Furnace Fest as well as appear as a featured act at the When We Were Young festival, where they will be performing their 2005 album "Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness" in full.

In the summer of 2022, COHEED AND CAMBRIA released their widely celebrated new album and the latest chapter of "The Amory Wars" saga with "Vaxis II: A Window Of The Waking Mind". The 13-song collection landed at No. 1 on Billboard's "Top Hard Rock Albums" chart marking the band's fourth No. 1 on the tally.

Produced by the band's own Claudio Sanchez and Zakk Cervini, "Vaxis II: A Window Of The Waking Mind" features the singles "A Dissapearing Act", "Comatose", "Rise, Naianasha (Cut The Cord)", "The Liars Club" and "Shoulders", which broke into the Top 10 on the Active Rock radio charts.

For the last 20-plus years, COHEED AND CAMBRIA have continuously broken the mold of what a rock band can be, forging their own path and building a universe around their music unlike any other. Whether it is in the way their genre-spanning approach to songwriting has allowed them to bridge worlds without being contained to one, or the multifaceted story arc of their albums and comic book series which mark the longest running concept story in music, COHEED AND CAMBRIA have consistently shaped new standards, never conformed. Comprised of Claudio Sanchez (vocals / guitar),Travis Stever (guitar),Josh Eppard (drums) and Zach Cooper (bass) the band has gripped listeners and press around the globe with their visionary compositions and conceptual mastery.

Photo credit: Earnie Falconer

Legendary LED ZEPPELIN guitarist Jimmy Page has paid tribute to producer Steve Albini. Steve served as recording engineer and mixer for Page's 1998 collaborative album with Jimmy's ZEPPELIN bandmate Robert Plant, "Walking Into Clarksdale".

Earlier today (Friday, May 10),Page took to his social media to write: "I was very sad to hear of Steve Albini's passing this week. Robert and I worked with him in 1997 on our album 'Walking Into Clarksdale' — a record I'm still really proud of.

"I had a strong connection with Steve, we all did on that album, and he came with such pedigree and experience as one of the world's leading mixers and audio engineers. He loved working with analogue tape, in fact his own band was called SHELLAC. He was so passionate and knowledgeable, really dedicated to the cause during our recording sessions at RAK and EMI Number Two Studio at Abbey Road.

"Steve had worked with NIRVANA on their third album and also with the likes of PIXIES and BUSH. He had an impressive CV and leaves a real legacy. RIP, Steve."

In a 2020 interview, Albini reflected on his work on "Walking Into Clarksdale", saying: "It [was] enormously intimidating to be around people with that kind of pedigree and experience. And it was gratifying to be asked and to realize that I was satisfying them."

He continued: "My admiration for them as musicians and as people grew during that session. Jimmy Page is known as a guitar player and as a producer and as the guy who put LED ZEPPELIN together. But what impressed me the most about him was his ability to listen with incredible detail. He could hear a playback of something and pick out little details that he liked or didn't like with incredible acuity. You could hear two passages that, to you and me, would sound identical. To him, he could hear that there was a missed emphasis on the third note of the second tuplet of the triplet section or whatever. Him being able to listen to the music in precise detail … I described it as him being able to see every bird in the flock."

Albini died earlier this week of a heart attack. He was 61 years old.

In addition to fronting underground rock acts SHELLAC and BIG BLACK, Albini produced albums by PJ Harvey and NEUROSIS, among others. He was an aggressive critic of musicians and others who he felt were in it for the money or popularity rather than the music and he famously refused to take royalties from the recordings he produced for other artists.

In 2004, Albini estimated that he had engineered the recording of around 1,500 albums. According to Mix With The Masters, he continued to work almost entirely in the analog domain, being known for recording "live in the studio" as much as possible. He also placed particular emphasis on the selection and use of microphones in achieving a desired sound, and to best capture the ambience.

SHELLAC's first album in a decade, "To All Trains", is scheduled for release next week.

I was very sad to hear of Steve Albini’s passing this week. Robert and I worked with him in 1997 on our album 'Walking...

Posted by Jimmy Page on Friday, May 10, 2024

Invocation is the title of the new 11-track album from slide guitar virtuoso Troy Redfern. The album, released by RED7 Records on May 17, 2024 is available in limited edition coloured vinyl, black vinyl, plus two different CD cover artwork designs. Pre-order the album from TroyRedfern.com.


The fifth single taken from the new album is “Van Helsing”. Watch the official music video below.


“This is one of my favourite tracks from the new album Invocation,” says Troy. “It’s dark and heavy from the outset, musically reflecting themes of these times of uncertainty. The dystopian verse narrative is juxtaposed by an uplifting chorus that comments on the fact that we're all looking for our own ray of light in this life to get us through. No matter how bad things can seem, there’s always something worth fighting or living for.”







Troy is prolific. He’s released albums at an unprecedented pace, but judging by the strength of “Van Helsing” and the four previous singles “Getaway”, “The Fever”, “The Strange”, and “The Calling”, Invocation, promises to be his most compelling album to date.


Over the course of his last two albums - The Fire Cosmic (2021) and The Wings Of Salvation (2022) - Troy found his true voice stylistically in terms of writing and playing, but with Invocation he created a collection of outstanding new songs that carves out his own identity as to who he is an artist.


Troy headed to the west Wales coast with his trusty 1929 National Triolian resonator guitar for a week of solitude in a remote Sheppard’s hut to sketch the initial song ideas for the new album. “It was important for me to clear my mind of all distractions so I could really focus on what I wanted to write on this album and the direction I wanted to take it in,” says Troy. “I tried some unorthodox approaches to song writing that included meditation where I would imagine hearing a song in my mind, as complete as possible including visualising the performance live. Next, I would pick up the guitar and capture the idea on my phone. I wasn’t led by what I would usually do when I pick up the guitar. It was a very freeing, powerful experience, and a discipline that I’ll use again to write more songs in the future.”


With Invocation, Troy explores fresh musical territory, from the heavy, bone crushing slide riffs and big sing along choruses on “Van Helsing” and “Getaway” to the evocative, wind-swept western landscapes of “The Native” and “Blind Me”. After three albums in three years, Troy continues to expand his musical horizons and keep his creative fire burning.





Tracklisting:


"The Strange" 
"Getaway" 
"Van Helsing" 
"The Calling" 
"Native" 
"The Fever" 
"All Night Long" 
"Blind Me" 
"Voodoo Priestess" 
"Take Me High" 
"The Last Stand" 





"The Strange":





"Getaway": 





"The Calling":





"The Fever":





(Photo by Jason Bridges)


 

Hailing from Vancouver, Canada, the four-piece Thirteen Goats has, with their upcoming album Capricorn Rising, crafted a death metal rock opera that follows the journey of their mascot, Shepherd: a goat-skull wearing Antichrist leading an army of 12 demon goats to liberate the earth from humanity’s wars and greed. The start off to introducing this album to the world with the first single “A Wolf In Shepherd’s Clothing” – exclusively premiered through BraveWords – out now in music video format. 


The band comments:


“‘A Wolf In Shepherd’s Clothing’ wasn’t originally going to be a single, but as we were finishing it in the studio, we changed our minds. It felt like we were able to take a lot of the more aggressive elements of our sound and put them together in a surprisingly accessible way—it has these angry riffs and big, heavy grooves, but they’re anchored by a catchy chorus with a dynamic vocal hook.”







In the story that is being told on the record, this song is Shepherd’s recruitment anthem—he’s trying to convince the animals of Earth to join his army and finally stand up to humanity so he can get his revenge. But taken in a broader context, it’s also a song about how making someone feel like an outcast is the easiest way to strip away their humanity and radicalize them.


Capricorn Rising is not just an album—it's a journey through madness, destruction, and the perils of letting anger consume you. Is it thrash? Death? Groove? Thirteen Goats don’t care, and neither should you. This Vancouver four-piece tramples all over subgenre conventions to create an alchemical style of infernal riffs, huge hooks, and uniquely theatrical songwriting. They are recommended for fans of System of a Down, Megadeth and Cannibal Corpse.


Due out on July 12, 2024, Capricorn Rising is available from Exitus Stratagem Records for album preorder at exsrmusic.com.





Tracklisting:


“Sign Of The Goat”
“Murder Lives In The Heart”
“A Wolf In Shepherd’s Clothing”
“Global Fuckup”
“Beheading Zoo”
“Permission To Die”
“Beating The Disease”
“Goats Of War”
“Animal Kingdom”

Mastodon drummer Brann Dailor was recently live in the Drumeo studio for the first time ever. During his session, he broke down the band's iconic song, "Steambreather".





In the clip below, Dailor discusses his musical influences, his approach to learning drums, songwriting, singing and drumming. He also performs Mastodon's "Capillarian Crest", "The Wolf Is Loose", "The Last Baron", "The Motherload" and "Pushing The Tides".







Lamb of God and Mastodon recently announced the Ashes Of Leviathan North American tour, celebrating 20 years of Ashes Of The Wake and Leviathan. Both albums will be played in full, with special guests Kerry King, Malevolence and Unearth (on select dates).  


Pre-sale tickets and VIP packages go on-sale today. Use code LOG20 to access pre-sale. General on-sale this Friday at 10 AM local time. Pre-sale tickets here.





Dates:


July
19 - Grand Prairie, TX - Texas Trust CU Theatre
20 - Austin, TX - Germania Insurance Amphitheater
21 - Houston, TX - 713 Music Hall
23 - Jacksonville, FL - Daily’s Place Wed
24 - Orlando, FL - Orlando Amphitheater
25 - Alpharetta, GA - Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
27 - Raleigh, NC - Red Hat Amphitheater
28 - Richmond, VA - Virginia Credit Union LIVE!
30 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
31 - London, ON - Budweiser Gardens


August
1 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
3 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
4 - Manchester, NH - SNHU Arena
6 - Bangor, ME - Maine Savings Amphitheatre
8 - Reading, PA - Santander Arena**
9 - Cleveland, OH - Jacobs Pavilion**
10 - Sterling Heights, MI - Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre @ Freedom Hill**
13 - Moorhead, MN - Bluestem Center For The Arts Amphitheater
15 - Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome
16 - Penticton, BC - South Okanagan Events Centre
17 - Kent, WA - accesso ShoWare Center
18 - Portland, OR - Theater of the Clouds
21 - Los Angeles, CA - The Kia Forum
23 - Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Financial Theatre
24 - Rio Rancho, NM - Rio Rancho Events Center
25 - El Paso, TX - El Paso County Coliseum
27 - Magna, UT - The Great Saltair
29 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
31 - Omaha, NE - The Astro Amphitheater


** No Malevolence, Support from Kerry King & Unearth

AEROSMITH's Steven Tyler joined THE BLACK CROWES on stage earlier tonight (Wednesday, May 15) at Eventim Apollo in London, United Kingdom to perform a version of AEROSMITH's 1973 classic "Mama Kin".

Tyler's appearance came at the end of THE BLACK CROWES' concert at the 3500-capacity venue, which was part of the band's ongoing U.K. tour.

Fan-filmed video of the "Mama Kin" performance can be seen below (courtesy of Tales From The PowerAge LIVE).

Last month, AEROSMITH announced the rescheduled dates for the band's "Peace Out" farewell tour. The trek will kick off on September 20 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the legendary Massachusetts rockers played at the start of last year's original run, and will include a return appearance at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 41-date tour will conclude on February 26, 2025 at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. Support on the trek will once again come from THE BLACK CROWES , who recently released their new album, "Happiness Bastards".

AEROSMITH postponed the original "Peace Out" farewell tour dates after Tyler suffered vocal cord damage in September 2023. The news came two weeks after AEROSMITH postponed six shows on the trek in order to allow Tyler time to recover from his injury.

Prior to the launch of "Peace Out", AEROSMITH wrapped its critically acclaimed Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM. Ahead of the residency, AEROSMITH returned to its hometown in Boston to perform a record-breaking one-off show at Fenway Park as part of the legendary band's 50th anniversary celebrations. With over 38,700 people in attendance, it was the most tickets sold to date for a show at the iconic venue.

In May 2022, AEROSMITH announced that Tyler had entered a treatment program following a relapse, prompting the band to put their Las Vegas residency on a temporary hold.

Tyler had been struggling with drug and alcohol addiction since the mid-1980s. Over the course of the last four decades, he had relapsed several times, including in the early 2000s and 2009.

In a new interview with Italy's Poisoned Rock webzine, guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari spoke about his addition to MEGADETH. The 37-year-old Finnish musician stepped in last September for MEGADETH's longtime axeman Kiko Loureiro, who announced earlier that month that he would sit out the next leg of MEGADETH's "Crush The World" tour in order to stay home with his children back in Finland. It was later revealed that Mäntysaari would continue to play guitar for MEGADETH for the foreseeable future, with Loureiro seemingly having no plans to return.

"I definitely was aware of MEGADETH for a very long time," Teemu said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "They were one of the first bands that I got into when I discovered metal. I think, for most people, at least my generation or our generation, when they get into metal, it's usually the biggest bands, and MEGADETH, of course, being one of them."

Regarding his first show with MEGADETH, which took place on September 6, 2023 at Revel in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Mäntysaari said: "That was a very nice venue. We had a day there before, before the show, for production rehearsals, to rehearse on stage, and then on the next day we had the show. So that was nice and relaxed. I think we played through the whole setlist once before the show, the day before, and then played the show. And yeah, it felt very good from the beginning. And I felt like I was prepared. I was confident with my skills and confident with everything. The guys were so helpful and welcoming and, yeah, everything felt to kind of click and fall in the right place. So, it was really nice."

During the interview, which was conducted before MEGADETH's recently completed South American tour, Mäntysaari spoke about the band's plans for the coming months, including the possibility of new music. He said: "Right now we have been working on getting some new songs to the setlist, like old songs that the band hasn't played in a long time, or even some that they never played before. So that's been really exciting. I'm having some daily calls now lately with [MEGADETH leader] Dave Mustaine, going through the songs together. So that's really nice. And then once we get together on the tour, I think then we're gonna start talking about some riff ideas and putting some ideas together. So let's see what happens."

Earlier this year, Teemu told Guitar World magazine about his addition to MEGADETH: "I never thought something like this would happen to me. But at the same time, I've always felt like being prepared was important in case a big band like this did call me."

Mäntysaari 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.

"I have a specific skillset where I can learn fast, jump into new situations, and be comfortable," Mäntysaari told Guitar World. "I've always liked doing that. I love teaching, and I've been on many cover projects, so being detail-oriented is part of my skillset."

Regarding his preparation for the way he approached playing the MEGADETH material, Teemu said: "[We'd] look at the small details of how they groove, the moods, and the technical side. We talked a lot about what Dave [Mustaine] wants to project, picking directions, being very aware of down-picking, alternate picking, and, in many of the songs, being aware of both. We also talked about things like dampening, the flow of songs, creating contrast, hand positions, and trying to get things right fingering-wise, all of which I enjoy doing. There's a bit of detective work involved, and to get that information from the source in Dave was amazing."

This past February, Mustaine told Brazil's A Rádio Rock about how Teemu ended up landing the MEGADETH gig: "Kiko had recommended Teemu, and Teemu is an exceptional guitar player. Kiko was at the top of his game when this happened, so we were obviously disappointed, but it is what it is. If Kiko would have said, 'I don't know anybody, and you're on your own,' that would have been a lot harder. But Teemu is the right guy for MEGADETH. And Kiko knows that Teemu is the right guy for me. So, he actually did us a really big favor, and I love him and I wish him the best with everything that he does."

Mustaine went on to say that "Teemu is gonna make a lot of people happy" on MEGADETH's upcoming tour "because we're gonna be playing some songs that we haven't played for a long time. When he came in, I figured instead of just saying, 'Well, you've gotta learn these 30 songs here,' I asked him to learn a couple more. I mean, what's the difference when you're learning 30 songs? What's 33, right? Well, if he learned three and I said he's gotta learn 30, that's different. But I asked him to do some other songs that Dirk [Verbeuren, MEGADETH drummer] and James [Lomenzo, MEGADETH bassist] have been asking me to play for a very long time, and we're adding them now, which is great."

Kiko announced his decision to step back from MEGADETH in a social media post in November. He wrote in part: "Dear MEGADETH fans, I want to share with you a decision that hasn't been easy for me. In September, I had to step away from the U.S. leg of the tour for family reasons. Looking ahead, during 2024, we anticipate an even heavier touring schedule for MEGADETH. After thorough reflection and discussions with Dave Mustaine and MEGADETH's management, we have collectively agreed that it is the right move to extend my absence. I don't want to hinder any of the band's plans or the hard work of all the incredible people involved in the tour."

In early October, Mustaine told Shaggy of the 94.9 and 104.5 The Pick radio station in Idaho Falls, Idaho about Teemu's addition to MEGADETH: "People are losing their minds over how things are going right now 'cause we have a really good chemistry together."

According to Mustaine, MEGADETH has been able to change up its setlist a bit as a result of the guitarist switch. "We've got a bunch of songs from our catalog that we're playing, a bunch of new songs too," he said. "We've been able to add a bunch of songs to the set because Teemu was a metal fan. Kiko did not grow up baptized in metal… Like the show we did a couple of nights ago, we opened with 'Hangar [18]' and then we followed it up with 'Mechanix'. We've never done that before, so it's a pretty heavy beginning. And we've added a second track off of the new album with 'Soldier On!', and we're getting ready to add a third."

In September, Mustaine was equally full of praise for Mäntysaari, telling Wes Styles in a separate interview: "He's really great. And I'm super excited with what Teemu has brought. And it's uncanny because he plays a lot like [former MEGADETH guitarist] Marty [Friedman]. And it's really exciting. At certain times I just close my eyes during the set and I just hear these songs played, whether like Kiko in the past or Teemu now, it just sounds really magic because these guys have learned these songs and they're not just going out there and just banging their guitar around; they actually learned the solos from some of the virtuosos that I've played with over my career."

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

In a new interview with RichardMetalFan, bassist Richard Cabeza of Swedish death metal pioneers DISMEMBER was asked if there is any possibility of fans getting some new music from the band soon. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "For sure, man. It's happening. When, I can't tell you right now. But we have talked about writing new music. We are writing new music individually, but we haven't started to write music together as a band. We have been so busy with playing shows the past couple of years and doing all this other stuff. But I think we're getting closer and closer. Let's see what happens next year in 2025. Maybe we'll actually start putting some songs together. But a hundred percent, a new DISMEMBER album will happen. No doubt, no doubt. But we have very high expectations on ourselves as a band to release a new album."

Last August, DISMEMBER drummer and founding member Fred Estby was asked by Arto Lehtinen of Metal Rules if it is harder to write new songs because DISMEMBER has a huge legacy. Fred responded: "It's not hard at all. So the thing is, we have a license deal with Nuclear Blast. We have an option to do one or two more albums. Great. We can do whenever we want, which is even more perfect for us. So we can take our time and we're going to take our time because we're not going to release something that is half-assed. We're going to be very critical about [it], especially since it's been such a long time since the last album. And I love the DISMEMBER album that I'm not even on that was released in 2008. It's a great album. If you're going to release an album now as a reunited band in two thousand and fucking twenty-three, twenty-four, you're going to have to try to match like ever before. You cannot be shy of that. We're going to be very critical about it and that's going to take some time because we don't live in the same cities like we hang out every day."

In July 2022, it was announced that DISMEMBER had once again partnered with Nuclear Blast Records, the label that released the band's 1990 demo, "Reborn In Blasphemy", their 1991 debut album, "Like An Everflowing Stream", as well as the four records that would follow. In celebration of this announcement, a fully remastered version of "Like An Everflowing Stream" was made available on streaming services worldwide after it had been absent for quite some time.

"Like An Everflowing Stream" — hailed by many as one of the best death metal albums of all time — was the first entry in a reissue campaign of the entire DISMEMBER back catalog, which was recently remastered from the original albums.

Between 1988 and 2011, DISMEMBER earned a notorious reputation as the "MOTÖRHEAD of death metal", through eight classic albums and furious live shows around the globe. The band was formed by Robert Sennebäck, David Blomqvist and Fred Estby in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1988 and has long since been regarded as one of the originators of the trademark Swedish death metal sound, next to other pioneering bands such as ENTOMBED, GRAVE and UNLEASHED. DISMEMBER recorded a couple of independently released demos before their 1990 demo cassette, "Reborn In Blasphemy", with Matti Kärki on vocals and ENTOMBED's Nicke Andersson taking over most lead guitar parts, got picked up for a wider release by Nuclear Blast Records. In 1991, "Like An Everflowing Stream" saw the light of day, which was recorded by Tomas Skogsberg at the now-legendary Sunlight Studios, and featured Richard Cabeza (UNANIMATED) on bass. DISMEMBER released its acclaimed sophomore album, "Indecent & Obscene", in 1993, which to this day remains their most successful output. Three more albums would follow on Nuclear Blast, "Massive Kiling Capacity" (1995),"Death Metal" (1997) and "Hate Campaign" (2000),until the band decided to switch labels. They released two more albums, "Where Ironcrosses Grow" (2004, Karmageddon Records) and "The God That Never Was" (2005, Regain) before Estby announced his departure for family reasons in 2007. Their last album, "Dismember", followed in 2008 and the band officially broke up in 2011. After an eight-year hiatus, the band's original lineup reunited for a 30th-anniversary gig at Scandinavia Death Fest in October 2019, performing together for the first time in over 20 years.

DISMEMBER is:

Fred Estby (Drums)
David Blomqvist (Guitars)
Robert Sennebäck (Guitars)
Matti Karki (Vocals)
Richard Cabeza (Bass)

Photo credit: Nathaniel Shannon

HALESTORM's Lzzy Hale played her second show as the vocalist of SKID ROW Saturday night (May 18) at the Riverside Casino & Golf Resort in Riverside, Iowa. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

According to Setlist.fm, the setlist was as follows:

01. Slave To The Grind
02. The Threat
03. Big Guns
04. 18 And Life
05. Resurrected
06. Piece Of Me
07. Livin' On A Chain Gang
08. Makin' A Mess
09. Psycho Therapy (RAMONES cover)
10. Quicksand Jesus
11. Time Bomb
12. I Remember You
13. Monkey Business
14. Riot Act
15. The Gang's All Here
16. Youth Gone Wild (with Joe Hottinger)

Lzzy made her live debut with SKID ROW Friday night (May 17) at Walker's Bluff Casino Resort in Carterville, Illinois.

The 40-year-old singer, who has fronted her band HALESTORM for more than two and a half decades, is handling the vocal duties for SKID ROW for four shows only after the group's fourth frontman since Sebastian Bach's departure — "Swedish Idol" contestant Erik Grönwall — quit the band to focus on his health.

SKID ROW bassist Rachel Bolan spoke about the band's pairing with Hale during a recent interview with Fox 26 reporter Ruben Dominguez and Margot Hogan. Regarding how Lzzy was approached about doing the gig, Bolan said: "When we knew Erik made the decision that he made to prioritize his health and leave the band, I said to the [other] guys [in the band], I go, 'You know what? She's like a sister to me, and I'm just gonna ask Lzzy. I know they have a really busy schedule, and they just have a lot going on. We have these four shows. I'm just gonna ask her. And if she says no, no harm, no foul.' And Nick Raskulinecz, who produced our last record, produced a couple of HALESTORM records, and it was his birthday party. I happened to be in Nashville because painters were painting the inside of the house that I'm putting up for sale. So I was just there, and he's, like, 'Hey, dude, it's my birthday. We're having Lzzy, Joe [Hottinger, HALESTORM guitarist] are coming… Everyone's coming. You've gotta come by.' And I was, like, 'Okay, cool.' So I got the painters out of the house a little early, and I went there, and that's when I asked Lzzy. I just said, 'Hey, would you wanna fill in on vocals or you wanna come sing with SKID ROW?' And she thought I meant like at the Mercy Lounge [in Nashville] or something like that. It's, like, 'Yeah, we've jammed a million times. Sure. The guys gonna be in town,' type of thing. And it's, like, 'No, no. We have four shows on the books. And Erik can't do them. So would you come in?' She's, like, 'Hell yeah.' She's, like, 'Let me just double check with my team.' And I hit her up a couple of days later, I go, 'Hey, were you serious about that?' She's, like, 'I was dead serious. And I am good to go for that.'"

Rachel went on to say that he and his SKID ROW bandmates are "really excited" about performing with Lzzy, "because she is a powerhouse, without a doubt. And above all of it, above the band's name and everything involved, she's my friend," he explained. "And it means a lot to me. So far above anything cool someone could do for a friend, she's doing for us. And it means it really means a lot to me that she's doing it. And the reaction has been unreal. Unreal. It's great."

Elaborating on why Hale is the right singer to play with SKID ROW at these four shows, Bolan said: "Lzzy, she is her own person. We asked her not for any other reason than how good she is and how powerful she is and how much she means to people. And I've gotta be completely honest. I knew this was gonna get attention, but I didn't know people were gonna be snapping out. And it's making me, like, 'Wow, my mind is completely blown.' It's a matter of a friend coming in to help friends. And even though we came out before and may have influenced her with stuff, she's helping us a lot, a lot in a situation we're in, and it is becoming something bigger than both of us. And I'm using her words. She's, like, this has become really bigger than the both of us. And so everyone is really excited — her team is excited, SKID ROW team is excited. The fans are just losing their minds. And I can't wait. I just wanna get into rehearsal, man. I just cannot wait to hear her sing these songs. And I think what we're gonna put forth together is something really, really special that people are gonna dig."

A little over a month ago, Lzzy was asked in an interview with Terrie Carr of the Morristown, New Jersey radio station 105.5 WDHA how her pairing with SKID ROW came about. Lzzy said: "Well, first I'll give a statement for the beginning, because it just goes so much deeper for me than just helping out some friends.

"I'm from PA [Pennsylvania]. I know all about you Jersey boys. And I know we talk a lot about lifting up women and that's been very important in my life. But I can't forget about the men who raised me. And them being the SKID ROW boys, inadvertently, by my friends from Jersey who were listening to SKID ROW.

"I was always kind of an in-betweener in my interest in music," she explained. "So in the '90s, and like '96, it was BOYZ II MEN and Mariah Carey, BACKSTREET BOYS, Britney [Spears] was about to come out, that whole thing. I wasn't interested in that. I was interested in '80s, big hair, rock and metal. I loved Alice Cooper, BLACK SABBATH, CINDERELLA, JOURNEY, SKID ROW. And as that transition happened in the '90s, where all of a sudden I started getting into heavier music, a lot of the bands, except for a very small group of bands, helped me with that transition. And SKID ROW was one of them, because they were not so in their '80s bubble and in the time that came before that they couldn't see what was happening in the world and they couldn't see what the dark-seated underbelly that we were all feeling in the '90s. So they really helped bridge that gap for me.

"I can honestly tell you right now that I would not be the rocker that I am today without SKID ROW and those albums, because not only did they have those beautiful melodies and the vocal prowess and the riffs and the loud noise that I loved, but then the subject matter they were talking about was always very real and it hit me at the right time in the right place," Lzzy added. "And so this is just a beautiful example of that age doesn't matter. Time doesn't matter. Whenever you discover music, it doesn't matter. It's when it hits you. And so again, those men that raised me, the men from Jersey, the men from PA that all put these records in my hands. Then years later, I'm living in Nashville for the first time and I meet [SKID ROW bassist] Rachel Bolan and I meet [SKID ROW guitarist] Snake [Dave Sabo], and they're, like, 'Oh, man, there's more to Nashville than country. Let me introduce you to this guy.' Then I got to meet Tom Keifer from CINDERELLA and all those boys, and now I'm up playing AEROSMITH songs with all these weird guys that I grew up listening to. Then fast forward to a couple months ago when my good buddy Rachel — we were just at a birthday party, and Rachel's, like, 'Hey, would you ever consider singing with us?' And I'm, like, 'Oh, yeah, you mean like we do all the time down at Mercy Lounge?' He's, like, 'No, like actually be like our front person for some shows. There's some stuff going on.' And so I said, 'Well, yeah, sure. Just let me know when.' And then, you know, a couple of months later he goes, 'Hey, were you serious about that? Because this is going down now, and we've gotta know.' And so I cleared my schedule and I told everybody that that is on my team, 'Let me put up all these dates because I really wanna do this for these guys,' And so I'm helping my buddies out and they're helping me out and it's all full circle. But then we announced it, and I'm hearing from people I haven't heard from in 15 years saying, 'Oh my God, this is gonna save my life.' And we're bringing these two worlds together. It's giving everybody reason to smile and an event for someone to look forward to. And like generational gaps be damned. And it's just all gonna be great. And it's just wonderful.

"For me, I joked with the boys. I said, 'Oh, so my audition tape from '96 finally made it in the mail. Thanks for finally opening it up. My revised audition is in the mail.' So now I have all their songs on a playlist in the order of how they're doing their set. And I'm on the stationary bike trying to make sure I can hit the high notes. And I'm turning it like it's an Olympic sport. It's gonna be great."

Regarding the possibility of more SKID ROW shows with her on lead vocals, Lzzy said: "You never know. I will say something that most likely will happen is that these will not be the only four dates you ever hear. I will say that. As far as me being the permanent member of SKID ROW, we're gonna all have to find a plateau [laughs] in our schedules to do that. But you never know. Sounds like a pretty good gig for me, if I ever get to that point."

She added: "But, yeah, I'm just so grateful for the guys. And then think about it coming full circle. And it all comes from the right place. I mean, Erik, what an amazing voice and what a perfect fit for them and brought them into a whole new game changer. There's everything going on with his health, and how wonderful is it that amicably both parties can be, like, 'Hey, we're looking out for each other.' 'Hey, I can't give you what you need.' And also, 'Hey, us as a band, we can't give you what you need to look after yourself. So, hey, let's do that.' And 'Hey, let's bring in our buddy Lzzy.' I'm helping out my buddies. Everybody's doing it for the right reasons. And so it's a beautiful thing."

Remaining SKID ROW shows with Lzzy Hale on vocals:

May 31 - Nugget Casino Resort – Sparks, NV
June 01 - Hard Rock Live Sacramento – Wheatland, CA

HALESTORM covered SKID ROW's "Slave To The Grind" for the 2011 EP "ReAniMate: The CoVeRs eP". The band has also performed the track live.

Grönwall, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021, is immunocompromised, which made touring difficult.

"I'm getting stronger and healthier every day but after consulting my doctor I need to allow myself more time to recover, which I can't do as the lead singer of SKID ROW," he said in a statement. "That's why I have reached the tough decision to move on."

The SKID ROW members said in a statement that they are "proud of what they have created and accomplished with Erik over the past two years" and "wish nothing but the best to him and his health. To celebrate the last two years, the band will be releasing a live album that perfectly captures this moment of time in the band's 35-plus-year history, to be announced soon."

In September 2021, just four months before he joined SKID ROW, Grönwall released his new cover version of "18 And Life" via all streaming platforms.

In late March 2022, SKID ROW released its first single with Grönwall, "The Gang's All Here". The song is the title track of the band's latest album, which arrived in October 2022 via earMUSIC.

SKID ROW played its first show with Grönwall on March 26, 2022 at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada as the support act on the rescheduled dates for SCORPIONS' "Sin City Nights" residency.

In a new interview with the 97.7 QLZ radio station, ADEMA guitarist/vocalist Tim Fluckey confirmed that he and his bandmates are working on their first studio album since 2007's "Kill The Headlights". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It hasn't been officially announced yet, and we'll tell the people what label it is [soon], but we got a record deal. And so after this tour, we're gonna do a new record and have it out beginning of next year. That's another thing we've been trying to do for a couple of years. We released a few new songs, but not an album. So we're gonna do an entire album, do that. So we're excited about that."

Regarding the musical direction of the new ADEMA material, Tim said: "I don't know if everybody knows, but everybody in the band is original members. So we really want it to be just an all-in ADEMA record where everybody goes, 'That's ADEMA.' We've strayed a little bit over the years, 'cause we had different members, but I think now that we're back together, it's gonna be back to those days of the real ADEMA sound."

Asked if he will be handling lead vocals on the upcoming ADEMA album, Fluckey said: "On the new one, I will be, yeah. We're done picking singers. We're terrible at it."

This past February, ADEMA "abruptly" parted ways with its previous singer, Ryan Shuck, who joined the group in 2019. A short time later, the remaining members of ADEMA — Fluckey, Dave DeRoo (bass),Kris Kohls (drums) and Mike Ransom (rhythm guitar) — posted a message on social media in which they said: "ADEMA has made the decision to move forward without Ryan Shuck. Our plan is to continue on indefinitely as a four-piece, and we sincerely wish Ryan all the best in the future."

In June 2022, ADEMA released a new song, "Violent Principles". It was the follow-up to ADEMA's first single in nearly a decade, "Ready To Die", which came out in August 2021. Both tracks were planned for inclusion on ADEMA's upcoming album, which was tentatively titled "360 Degrees Of Separation".

Original ADEMA frontman Marky Chavez first
left ADEMA in 2004 due to "creative differences" after two successful albums, "Adema" and "Unstable". The singer — who is the half brother of KORN frontman Jonathan Davis — quit ADEMA again in January 2011 in order to pursue his "solo project." He rejoined the group again six years later and played his first comeback show with ADEMA in May 2017 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

After Chavez's original exit from ADEMA, the other members of the band found their way with new lead singers Luke Caraccioli and later Bobby Reeves, while Mark founded MIDNIGHT PANIC with his cousin Peter Shubert. He also produced fellow artists.

ADEMA's last official release was 2013's "Topple The Giants" EP. The group's first CD since 2007's "Kill The Headlights" contained brand new tracks plus re-worked versions of ADEMA's chart-topping hits "Giving In" and "Unstable". A three-song EP, "The Cerberus", was sold exclusively on ADEMA's 2023 "Nu Metal Madness 2" tour.

Image credit: Arin Sarris

Former KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Howard Jones has revealed that "mixing has begun" on his collaborative new project with KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz. In addition, he and Adam are in the process of "finding the right [record] label to call home."

Regarding how the project came together, Adam told Ore Bihovsky of TotalRock's "Louder" radio show: "[Howard] just hit me up. He was, like, 'Why don't you write some music for me?' And I was, like, 'Sure.' So yeah, we're working on a record right now."

As for when fans can expect to hear the first music from this new project, Adam said: "I've got so much on my plate right now. It's really hard to schedule anything particularly, like 'it's gonna come out at this point,' 'it's gonna come out at this point,' but we're just almost at a situation where we can maybe release a single. But I think the entire record's gonna take a little bit longer than expected. Because now I have to do double duty and record [the next] KILLSWITCH [album] at the same time. So I'll be doing that."

In August 2023, Jones took to his Instagram to write that "13 demos" were created for the as-yet-unnamed new group, which hoped to put the finishing touches on the record "as soon as possible."

Jones left KILLSWITCH ENGAGE in 2012 and battled manic depression and bipolar disorder before forming a new project, DEVIL YOU KNOW, with guitarist Francesco Artusato (ALL SHALL PERISH) and drummer John Sankey (DEVOLVED). Along with bassist Ryan Wombacher (BLEEDING THROUGH),they recorded and toured behind two well-received albums, 2014's "The Beauty Of Destruction" and 2015's "They Bleed Red". In 2017, the band changed its name to LIGHT THE TORCH.

Jones makes an appearance on KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's latest album, 2019's "Atonement", contributing guest vocals to the song "The Signal Fire".

Jones discussed his previous mental health issues in a 2016 interview with Metal Hammer. He said: "For a lot of the time during the whole manic depression thing, I didn't realize how bad I was. I thought the high levels of anxiety I was experiencing was just my lot in life, I didn't realize that there was help on hand for me to be able to deal with that. I thought that I was just meant to feel really nervous around large crowds. Now it's like being a kid again, because I can deal with it, so I've got my passion back and it's great."

Asked what made him get back into music after leaving KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, Howard told Heavy New York: "Honestly, I think it was because I was just kind of tired of doing nothing and I don't do much else other than music. I felt like I needed to venture out because I was basically agoraphobic for three years. It's kind of well known. I went off the grid. I didn't have a cell phone for three years — I was gone. It felt, like, 'Okay, maybe I should dip my toe in. I don't have to do it full time. I don't have to do what I don't want to do.' That's all I was thinking. I started moving, I started doing things. It was definitely a struggle, especially for the first few years. I was, like, 'What am I doing?' There's been few things in my life that has been consistent other than music. I just did it. It just took some time, then all of the sudden, the spark showed up. I fell back in love with what I was doing. I really can't explain it. It just sort of happened."

Current KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Jesse Leach appeared on the band's self-titled debut and sophomore album, "Alive Or Just Breathing", before exiting the group. Jones took over on vocals for "The End Of Heartache", "As Daylight Dies" and the 2009 self-titled set before being dismissed from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE 12 years ago and being replaced by a returning Leach.

In 2012, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE bassist Mike D'Antonio told Boston Globe that the band's split with Jones was necessitated by the singer's struggle with personal issues, including diabetes that had gone untreated for several years. "It became very apparent we had to move on without him," D'Antonio said. "Howard didn't quit."

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