RIVAL SONS singer Jay Buchanan spoke to Markus Goldman of the Philadelphia radio station 93.3 WMMR about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's next studio album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're just taking our time with this record. I think that this year has taught us it's okay to slow down — it's okay to slow down and take your time.

"I feel like pretty much with this record, it's kind of like we're right in the middle of it," he continued. "It's definitely a different type of record. We're a different type of band now than we were when we released the 'Feral Roots' album back in 2019.

"'Feral Roots' was a huge left turn compared to our previous efforts, just as the previous record, [2016's] 'Hollow Bones', was a sharp left turn. And so with each one, it's like going further out and denying what we had done before kind of gives us that freedom. If there is any hope of us carving our own path artistically, that's really been the only way that we can do it."

Asked if he is happy with the direction the music for the new RIVAL SONS album has gone so far, Jay said: "Yeah, on the good days. And then it's just like making any other record. You look at it and you go, 'That's terrible. Burn it. Burn the whole studio down. Everyone lose my number.' You're gonna have days like that, because sometimes you're working through true inspiration, and then when the true, real inspiration isn't there, then you have to rely on perspiration, and sometimes you get the inspiration from that. But I think that we're taking our time because we know that there's a very special record being made right now. We're taking our time to make sure that the collection gets the attention that it deserves, that it's the statement that truly reflects where we are as a band."

Earlier this month, RIVAL SONS announced a two-night livestream event, "Pair Of Aces", live from Catalina Casino on Santa Catalina Island, which will air worldwide on June 19 and June 26 at 2:00 p.m. PT / 5:00 p.m. ET / 11:00 p.m. CET. "Pair Of Aces" will mark the band's very first livestream performances, which are set to broadcast from Santa Catalina Island — just off the coast of Long Beach, California where RIVAL SONS initially came to life in 2009. Performing the albums that started it all for them, on Saturday June 19 they will play their full-length debut LP, "Before The Fire" (2009), in its entirety for the first time at Catalina Casino, a 92-year-old venue overlooking Avalon Bay. A week later, on Saturday, June 26, they will return to Catalina to perform the self-titled EP, "Rival Sons" (2010), from top to bottom.

Presented by Live Nation and Veeps, tickets for "Pair Of Aces" are on sale now.

Earlier this year, RIVAL SONS announced the launch of its very own label, Sacred Tongue Recordings, with distribution through Thirty Tigers. The band recently regained the master rights to several of its early releases and reintroduced them to the world by first remastering "Before The Fire" and the self-titled EP on all DSPS, CD and vinyl for the first time.

"Feral Roots" not only garnered 2020 Grammy Award nomination in the category of "Best Rock Album," but also yielded a Grammy nomination for "Best Rock Performance" for the top 10 rock track "Too Bad", as well as the No. 1 rock radio single "Do Your Worst". Produced by multi-Grammy Award winner Dave Cobb at Nashville's famed RCA Studio A, and the equally legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, "Feral Roots" is available now on all streaming platforms.

Since their emergence in 2009, RIVAL SONS have quietly reignited and recharged rock 'n' roll with towering vocals, uncompromising riffs, and thunderous grooves. Following the independent release of their full-length debut "Before The Fire", they were handpicked to perform alongside everyone from AC/DC to BLACK SABBATH. Working with longtime producer Dave Cobb, the band delivered a series of critically acclaimed albums — "Pressure & Time" (2011), "Head Down" (2012), "Great Western Valkyrie" (2014) and "Hollow Bones" — as they headlined sold-out shows on multiple continents. "Feral Roots" broke new ground for the band. "Do Your Worst" shot to No. 1 on rock radio as their first chart-topper at the format. It also scored 40 million-plus streams and counting. They delivered an electrifying performance on "The Late Late Show With James Corden" and earned acclaim from Billboard, Rolling Stone, and many more.

Photo credit: Steve Thrasher

BMG has paid tribute to BLACK SABBATH with the release of a collection that includes a newly remastered version of the band's sixth studio album, "Sabotage", along with a complete live show recorded during the band's 1975 tour.

"Sabotage: Super Deluxe Edition" is available as a four-CD set and a four-LP set that includes the same music on 180-gram vinyl plus a bonus seven-inch with the single edit for "Am I Going Insane (Radio)" and "Hole In The Sky" on the flipside, with artwork replicating the very rare Japanese release of the single.

To commemorate this release, BMG has partnered with Bewilder Box Ltd., creators of award-winning physical and digital escape room adventures and specialists in IP based puzzle gaming, to create an interactive online environment every SABBATH fan will love, the Sabotage Deluxe Edition: Escape Room.

Enter the mysterious mirror world of BLACK SABBATH's "Sabotage" in this this mini online escape room game where your mission is to recover a copy of the coveted "Sabotage: Super Deluxe Edition". Travel back in time to the 1970s and make your way through 15 minutes of mind-boggling SABBATH-themed puzzles, where only those with sharpest of wits and heaviest riffs will succeed. Plug in your Gibson SG, turn your brain up to 11 and see if you've got what it takes to be The Prince of Smartness in the Sabotage Deluxe Edition: Escape Room.

Details to note :

* It's a single-player browser game

* Takes approximately 15 minutes to play

* Filled with SABBATH-themed challenges

* Fans can preview album tracks and find secrets in the artwork

* Mobile/tablet compatible but full computer/laptop recommended for best experience

* Share your time on social channels using #SabbotageEscapeRoom

Play for free at this location.

Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward recorded "Sabotage" in London and Brussels and co-produced the album with Mike Butcher. The eight songs were released first in the U.S. in July 1975, and then in the U.K. that September. Certified gold in America and silver in the U.K., "Sabotage" earned positive reviews for hard-hitting tracks like "Hole In The Sky" and "Symptom Of The Universe", as well as more experimental music like "Supertzar", which featured harp, mellotron, and the English chamber choir.

"Sabotage: Super Deluxe Edition" introduces 16 live tracks (13 of which are previously unreleased) that were recorded in 1975 during the quartet's U.S. tour for the album. The performances include songs that span the group's career, from the title track to its 1970 debut "Black Sabbath" to "Spiral Architect" and "Sabbra Cadabra" from its previous album, "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" (1973). "Sabotage" is represented as well with live takes of "Hole In The Sky" and "Megalomania".

The music is accompanied by in-depth liner notes that tell the story of the album through quotes from band members and the music media along with rare photos and press clippings from the era. Also included in the package is a 1975 Madison Square Garden replica concert book and "Sabotage" 1975 tour color pos

Swedish avant-garde metallers Diablo Swing Orchestra recorded their forthcoming album, Swagger & Stroll Down The Rabbit Hole, through 2020 but fell silent in January due to "some Covid 19 related setbacks" and therefore weren't able to meet up and complete the record. D:S:O continues to roll out release details, slowly but surely, and have revealed the album will be released this November. Single releases are planned for August and October.

They recently checked in with a new update, offering up some details of what fans can expect from the album:

"Swagger & Stroll Down the Rabbit Hole is exactly 60 minutes & 50 sec long.

- It contains 13 tracks, no interludes
- Johannes & Martin sing lead vocals on one track each. The rest is shared equally between Kristin & Daniel
- We aim to release 4 singles 
- Inspirations are from all over the place. Some familiar to old listeners and some new ones.
- The list of guest musicians is the longest one yet. 
- The recording, mixing and mastering took 13 months. If you include pre-production it took 19 months. 
- We’re exhausted and extreamly proud of this album

We can’t wait to share it with you guys."

Dedicated metalheads that we are here at BraveWords, we have gone to the painstaking trouble of puzzling out the tracklist as posted by the band, found below. You're welcome.

"Sightseeing In The Apocalypse"
"War Painted Valentine"
"Celebremos Lo Inevitable"
"Speed Dating An Arsonist"
"Jig Of The Century"
"The Sound Of An Unconditional Surrender"
"Malign Monologues"
"Out Came The Hummingbirds"
"Snake Oil Baptism"
"Les Invulnéables"
"Saluting The Reckoning"
"The Prima Donna Gauntlet"
"Overture To A Ceasefire"




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New Finnish death metal band Noutaja will release their debut EP this fall via Inverse Records. The official video for their first single, "Born Unto Hawthorns", is available below.

Bassist Pekka Johansson comments: "All I had to do was throw out the idea that we should probably play some death metal. The band was immediately there and working from day one! It really felt like we were like 15 year old dudes making music that is larger than life. The vibes were packed with energy and I feel we captured that on the record.
 
'Born Unto Hawthorns' was a logical choice as the first single because it was also the first song we ever wrote together. No holds barred from the first riff on, which incidentally was the first Noutaja riff ever played! You don’t have to be a super genius to hear some of the influences being channeled from our hands to your home speakers!
 
This is the real thing. Out of love towards the game." 
 

Following is some background information on the band:

"Collectively we are Noutaja (Finnish for The Grim Reaper.) We are not young, so everyone in the band has already done cool and succesful stuff. Many of those things together in some formation on another in the last 15 years. We are not old either. But we are hungry to make music. We love '90s Death Metal and we want to make music that we feel passionate about. 

What would you imagine we would sound like? We sound like every band you thought was good back in the day. Only better. Also we know that in life you get zero points for nostalgia. So now is good. Scars and all. We are Noutaja."
 
Line-up:

Masi Hukari - Vocals and Guitar
Pekka Johansson - Bass
Juhana Karlsson - Drums
Jonne Lindqvist - Guitar




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Doom legends Hour Of 13 have revealed the brand-new track "His Majesty Of The Wood." The track is the first to be revealed from the band's long-awaited fourth album, Black Magick Rites, set for international release on August 27 via Shadow Kingdom Records.

Hour Of 13's first full-length offering in over eight years, Black Magick Rites was available digitally on November 1, 2020 for only 24 hours. Just as uniquely, Black Magick Rites also marks the first Hour Of 13 album where he handles not only all instruments, but also all vocals. 

Indeed, Davis' vocals evoke an ancient nostalgia, of doom metal before it was "doom metal" - of the days when bands like Black Sabbath, Pagan Altar, and Witchfinder General simply followed their respective muses wherever it took them. And for Davis, Black Magick Rites sees him taking his Hour Of 13 muse toward a rougher, more rock 'n' roll expression and yet tinged with an emotive melancholy that resonates deeply within the soul. No, no flavor-of-the-week "occult rock" clichés here, for Davis still prizes blue-collared authenticity in his doom, but he likewise never lets it hamper his immediately recognizable songwriting, which here ever so subtly inches closer to classic deathrock territory (think the likes of early Christian Death and Voodoo Church). 

Naturally, with a title like Black Magick Rites, an indulgence in occultism is expected, and you can literally feel the fingers of the black beyond reaching out to you across every electric minute of this 44-minute monolith.

Despite those isolated breakups, Hour Of 13 continue to get better with age. Perfectly titled as any record in their enviable discography, Black Magick Rites is the sweet sound of salvation...through damnation.

Tracklisting:

“His Majesty Of The Wood”
“Return From The Grave”
“House Of Death”
“Black Magick Rites”
“Within The Pentagram”
“Harvest Night”
“The Mystical Hall Of Dreams”

“His Majesty Of The Wood”:

Black Magick Rites by HOUR OF 13




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David Ellefson's longtime business partner Thom Hazaert has announced his retirement from the music business.

Hazaert broke the news of his decision to walk away from the music industry in a Facebook post on Sunday (June 13). He wrote: "For the last 30 years, I have toiled away in the music business (and life) being a person who did everything for everyone else, at the expense of myself — my finances, my happiness, my self-respect. I scraped, I barely made money, I suffered. I put everything I had into something to get nothing. Started over from scratch COUNTLESS times, only to be fucked again by someone or something else, right as the hard work started paying off (while they ran off to tell everyone how I fucked them.) I pushed myself to the point where I LITERALLY died. And maybe it’s just the nature of the thankless job, but most of the stories of that experience end with being betrayed by the very people I put everything into helping, while they ran off with everything I created, or destroyed it. And somehow, I always end up the bad guy. That goes for personal, and business relationships (which in this business are essentially one and the same).

"I know hundreds, if not thousands of people who could or maybe would say that I have done something huge for them, something that put them closer to their dreams. For every 100 of those, there's a few who would rather skew the perspective of everything I did for them, and twist distortions, or flat out lies or delusions, to say the opposite, and make me out to be some kind of monster.

"Nope, I'm not perfect. But in the immortal words of Tony Montana, 'I ain't never fucked nobody that didn't have it coming.' I am honest to a fucking FAULT, and know my weaknesses, and have always avoided them. I am kind, sane, reasonable, professional, and level-headed. I would give anyone the shirt off my back, and go out of my way to try and help EVERYONE, and put as much good into the World as I can. But as the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished.

"Now I'm at a point I can barely move or function half the time, have crippling anxiety, and no motivation to do anything, frankly not only because of my health, and the mountain of medications I am on to stay alive, but because any ounce of motivation or excitement, hope or joy has been sucked out of my life, and this business, which, at its worst, is a constant exercise in deflecting and/or maintaining relationships with (and placating) crazy, entitled, toxic, and/or delusional people.

"We live in a nearly apocalyptic world where anyone can say anything and post it on the internet, and it's true. A World that thrives on drama, and manipulation, where everyone wants to be a victim, and anyone will hear anything, with no context or actual knowledge of the situation, and it's true. (If they want it to be.) That's this world, and even moreso, this business. And this has been proven to be true of even some of my closest 'friends'. Trust me, If I wanted to spill dirt, or be a victim, or air people's dirty laundry, I have so much I could start a fucking dry cleaners. I believe in trust, and honor, even when those people go out of their way to try and fuck and destroy YOU.

"So, consider this my official retirement. Fuck music. I hate it now anyway. Fuck the music business. There really isn't one, and I hate it even more. (Of course there are a lot of amazing people in this business that I LOVE, and always will.) Fuck social media (and public life). I'm done with that too.

"To my friends, and those who have supported me, thank you. Liars, shit-talkers, behind the back whisperers, betrayers, and people who pretended to be my friends, or used me. Have at it.

"I'm gonna find something to do that I like. I'm going to collect and sell toys, and hang out with my kids and my dog, and try and be happy I'm alive. I might be broke, but I was always fucking broke. Welcome to the fucking music business.

"Say goodnight to the bad guy."

Last month, sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving Ellefson were posted on Twitter. The longtime MEGADETH member later released a statement on Instagram denying all social media chatter that he "groomed" an underage fan. He also filed a report with the police department in Scottsdale, Arizona alleging unlawful distribution of sexually explicit images of Ellefson by unknown offenders. In the report, Ellefson admitted that he had been exchanging sexual text messages with a Dutch teenager, who captured a video of several of their virtual "masturbating encounters" without his consent and shared them with friends. (According to Ellefson, the woman was 19 at the time of their first virtual sexual encounter.) The 56-year-old Ellefson, who lives in Scottsdale, first became aware of the video on May 9, when the claim "David Ellefson of MEGADETH is a pedophile" appeared on Instagram. Ellefson told police he was notified on May 14 by MEGADETH that the band would be parting ways with him. Three days later, he was fired.

Two days after the videos and screenshots were initially leaked, Hazaert took to his Instagram to share a photo of him with his middle finger extended, and he included the following message: "This one goes out to the chatty fuckers trying to whisper that I had something to do with what happened to David. David Ellefson is a grown fucking man and fully and solely responsible for his own decisions and judgment. But know... #ISeeYouMotherfucker".

When one person commented under Thom's photo that David should be commended "for getting out in front of it like a real man should" and "own[ing] up to his behavior", Hazaert responded: "absolutely.. which for the record.. I actually helped him do."

Ellefson, who has lived in Scottsdale since 1994, is also an author and entrepreneur, with Hazaert, holding the reins of EMP Label Group, Combat Records, Ellefson Coffee Co., and more, in addition to a diverse portfolio of brands and signature products. Ellefson was also inducted into the 2018 class of the Iowa Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame, just over the border from Jackson in Spirit Lake, Iowa.

David, who became a Lutheran pastor nearly a decade ago, and his wife Julie Ellefson have been married for 27 years. They have two child

In a new interview with Greece's Rockpages.gr, former MANOWAR guitarist Ross "The Boss" Friedman was asked to name the biggest mistake of his career. He responded: "The biggest mistake in my career… Hmm… Well, I've made a couple, boy, let me tell you that. When I produced ANTHRAX — I produced [the] ANTHRAX [demo] and got them signed to Megaforce, with Jon Z… And Jon Z just told me that: 'It was because of you I signed ANTHRAX.' And, of course, METALLICA was in the picture. And METALLICA was gonna ask me to produce them too, and I think that something happened — I don't know; I never wound up doing it. Looking back on it, I should have pushed that. I would have been on METALLICA like ants on honey, bees on honey. Man, why was I just not aware of that?"

Friedman previously discussed his ANTHRAX production work in a 2020 interview with Eonmusic. Speaking about how the collaboration came about, Ross said: "When MANOWAR first started playing in New York, ANTHRAX were the opening band. They were very nice guys, and it got around that I was a good producer, that I worked very well with people, and Scott Ian [ANTHRAX guitarist] talked to Jonny Z and kept bugging him for a record contract. Jonny Z goes, 'Well, why don't you ask Ross to produce some stuff for you, and get back to me?' So Scott came up to me and said, 'Ross, would you like to produce ANTHRAX?' And I went, 'Okay, sure.' And we went into the studio and we cut 'Howling Furies' and then we cut 'Soldiers Of Metal'. This was their first time in the studio, and 'Soldiers Of Metal' in particular came out very well. So they gave it to Jonny Z, and Jonny Z signed them."

Asked what the ANTHRAX recording session was like, Ross said: "They were young, and Scott was hungry. I lent them my Marshalls. It was very productive. They had Danny Lilker and Neil Turbin, and it was Charlie's [Benante] first time in a studio."

As for what he thought of ANTHRAX's music, Ross said: I thought they were pretty good. I thought that what they were doing, this new sound, this thrash sound, I thought it was really pretty good. And I knew how dedicated they were, and I knew they were going to be okay. Once we started them out there, I had a feeling that it was going to be good. And it was a great time, because there was MANOWAR, and there was METALLICA, and there was ANTHRAX, MEGADETH — everything was happening, everything was starting. I think they were in the right spot at the right time."

Asked if he would have liked to have produced ANTHRAX's debut album, "Fistful Of Metal", Ross said: "I would have done it, but you know how things happen — probably I got busy doing another record or communication didn't happen. But I'm glad I did what I did."

Ross was one of the pioneers of both punk rock and heavy metal. First crashing on the scene with THE DICTATORS and with such classic albums as 1975's "Go Girl Crazy!", 1977's "Manifest Destiny" and 1978's "Bloodbrothers", Ross helped trailblaze punk rock (just to put it all in perspective, "Go Girl Crazy!" arrived a full year before the RAMONES' debut, and two years before THE CLASH's and SEX PISTOLS' debuts). After exiting the band, Ross then co-formed one of heavy metal's all-time great bands, MANOWAR, which showcased exceptional six-string work on such classic albums as 1982's "Battle Hymns", 1983's "Into Glory Ride" and 1984's "Hail To England", among countless other titles.

By the end of the '80s, Ross had reconnected with his DICTATORS bandmates in MANITOBA'S WILD KINGDOM, which served as a bridge between his love of punk and metal, as heard on the group's popular 1990 debut, "…And You?" Throughout the remainder of the decade, Ross also played with such groups as THE HELLACOPTERS and THE SPINATRAS, before THE DICTATORS reunited, which resulted in several new releases starting from the late '90s all the way through the early 21st century. Also around this time, Ross joined forces with former of BLUE ÖYSTER CULT drummer Albert Bouchard in the band BRAIN SURGEONS.

With Ross's main focus turning to metal music at this time, two additional projects were launched — DEATH DEALER and his solo outfit, ROSS THE BOSS.

Legendary rocker Ted Nugent once again discussed his lifelong anti-drugs and -drink stance during a YouTube livestream earlier today (Thursday, June 17). Speaking about why so many legendary rock musicians abuse drugs, Ted said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "A lot of my musical heroes, some of the greatest, most talented, gifted people on the planet, they would get higher and higher because initially they couldn't manage the intensity of artistry. And the more you get high, the dumber you get, and the dumber the decisions you make, and then they gag on their own vomit and they're dead.

"Jimi Hendrix offered me dope," he continued. "I said, 'No, thanks. No way.' Let me also mention Bon Scott — what a gifted monster, huh? Bon Scott of AC/DC offered me all his Jack Daniel's. We were at the recording studio in Miami, at Criteria Sound. I was recording 'Weekend Warriors' — it must have been '79 — and they were recording 'Highway To Hell'. We used to do gigs together all the time. And he was always drunk. He [would always go], 'Nugent, here. Have some of this. It'll loosen you up.' Like I need to be looser. [Laughs] He can't imagine how loose a human being can be because the whisky has fogged his sensibilities. I am the loose guy; you're the drooling guy. Drooling isn't loose. Stumbling isn't loose. Puking isn't loose. And dying isn't loose."

This past February, Nugent revealed during a Facebook Live stream that his "mom and dad were alcoholics. I didn't know they were alcoholics. I thought they just had a Tom Collins [cocktail] every night — whatever the hell that is — or a martini with olives," he said. "So my mom and dad were smoking, drinking alcoholics. And I was surrounded, in the rock and roll world, by smoking, drinking, drugged idiots.

"So what's the difference between a person that falls for that versus a person who defies that? I haven't the faintest idea," he admitted. "Because I think God gave all of us everything we need.

"Some people look for an easy way out, and some people don't. I didn't. I think it was just shit luck. 'Cause my brothers and sisters smoked and drank, and they didn't even surround themselves with goofball rock and roll dirtbags. I did."

Ted went on to say that most of his influences "got high — right in front of me. And I admired the living shit out of 'em," he said. "The MC5, they were all stumbling, puking, stupid drunk and stoned, and I admired them beyond description. But then it caught up with them, and I said, 'Oh.' Thank God I didn't go, 'Hey, they're smoking a lot of hashish, and they're just kicking out the jams. Maybe I'll try the hashish.' And luckily, I didn't. Luckily, I watched them blow up. I watched the drugs and alcohol destroy the energy that I admired, destroy the groove that I admired. And to this day, Wayne Kramer is a dear friend of mine. Wayne, I love you, buddy. And he knows I love him. And we have great conversations. And he's probably polar opposite of my ideologies. But not really, because he has a work ethic, and he's a family guy, he's a loving guy, he's a productive guy, he's a conscientious guy, he's a caring guy. But I think to this day, he thinks that dope is essential… I don't wanna presume — I had a conversation with him not that long ago where we disagreed on the use of marijuana and other intoxicants, or whatever category you wanna put 'em in.

"The point is that lucky me, I could differentiate between the delivery of the things I admired versus the occasional and, more often than not, conduct of those that I admired," Ted added.

"Jimi Hendrix offered me his drugs, and I said no. John Belushi offered me his drugs; I said no. Keith Moon offered me his drugs and alcohol, and I said no. Bon Scott offered me his drugs and alcohol, and I said no. I said no to everybody."

Back in 2018, Nugent said that Canada was "absolutely crazy" for its decision to legalize marijuana, explaining that he has "never seen one moment of positive outcome from someone getting high." He said: "I'm all for medical marijuana, I'm all for medical anything, as long as it's really beneficial to people suffering from health issues, but to legalize recreational comfortably numb is a guaranteed script for ruined lives."

Nugent has served on the boards of more than two dozen political and charitable associations, including the National Rifle Association (NRA), Mothers Against Drunk Driving (M.A.D.D.), and Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) law enforcement program.

Mick Fleetwood spoke to Goldmine about how METALLICA's Kirk Hammett came to be involved with a very special February 2020 concert at the legendary Palladium in London celebrating the songs of Peter Green and the original incarnation of FLEETWOOD MAC.

"Kirk Hammett actually went out to see Peter twice during the rehearsal," Fleetwood, who curated the list of artists performing, said. "METALLICA connected with Peter's work ages ago. They would do 'Green Manalishi' in their live sets.

Asked how he first met Kirk, Mick said: "We were doing a charity gig [in Hawaii], and they came up to my house. And I'm shitting myself. What am I gonna do? You know, I play what I play. But any METALLICA song is like a machine, and if one thing is out of place, it doesn't work. So I said, 'I'll do my best.' I'd met Kirk before that in a funny little shop here on Maui. But I had never met James Hetfield, and he said to me, 'This is one of the greatest moments in my life. Do you know how much your band means to me?' It was so humbling. And so that night, Kirk was actually onstage playing on Peter's guitar. It was weird, but not weird. All these connective stories that are almost unbelievable, but that was why they were all on that stage."

Other participants at the concert included Neil Finn, Noel Gallagher, Billy Gibbons, David Gilmour, John Mayall, Christine McVie, Jeremy Spencer, Zak Starkey, Pete Townshend, Steven Tyler and Bill Wyman. Legendary producer Glyn Johns joined as the executive sound producer and the house band featured Fleetwood himself along with Dave Bronze, Jonny Lang, Andy Fairweather Low, Ricky Peterson and Rick Vito.

The incredible one-off celebration was made available to watch on-demand in March then came out as a live album on April 30 via BMG.

In January 2020, Hammett posted a couple of photographs with Green, including one image where Peter could be seen holding a vinyl copy of METALLICA's "Master Of Puppets" album and another where they were both holding Green's legendary 1959 Les Paul guitar — known as "Greeny" — which Hammett now owns.

In a blog post on his FearFestevil.com web site, Hammett stated about his participation in the concert: "When I acquired Greeny, I bought her because she sounded great. She's a very unique-sounding guitar. I had no idea it would lead to all these different opportunities, all these different experiences, and meeting all these different people.

"It was coming up on 50 years since Peter Green left FLEETWOOD MAC, this tribute was happening, but no one called me until [photographer] Ross Halfin called Mick Fleetwood's manager and kind of informed him about my owning the guitar and suggested I should be part of it. So Mick Fleetwood got a hold of me at the beginning of the 'Hardwired…' tour and asked if I was interested in doing this tribute to Peter Green. At the time, I had to tell him I had no idea what my schedule was gonna be like with METALLICA because we were literally on the eve of our first shows for 'Hardwired…' But then three years passed and the tribute show started to develop more. Ross had kept me abreast on how it was taking shape, so I contacted Mick Fleetwood, and he was gracious enough to say I could still be part of it."

Green died last July at the age of 73.

Legendary RUSH guitarist Alex Lifeson and Epiphone present the new Alex Lifeson Epiphone Les Paul Standard Axcess electric guitar. Created by Lifeson and the luthiers at Epiphone in Nashville, Tennessee, the Alex Lifeson Epiphone Les Paul Standard Axcess is now available worldwide at Epiphone.com.

Through an extensive collaboration between Alex and Gibson, Epiphone pushed the boundaries of the classic Les Paul to create the exclusive Alex Lifeson Les Paul Standard Axcess. The guitar includes a pair of powerful Epiphone pickups — the Pro Bucker 3 bridge pickup and the Ceramic Pro neck pickup. It also includes coil-splitting options via the push-pull volume controls and a Graph Tech Ghost Floyd Rose system. Together these features give the player access to both traditional magnetic humbucker tones as well as the Ghost's realistic acoustic tones. For added flexibility, you can blend acoustic and magnetic voices to create a rich layered sound and then route them through either a traditional mono jack or use two cables to access the individual magnetic and piezo outputs.

"The introduction of the Epiphone Alex Lifeson Axcess model based on my Gibson Les Paul Axcess model has all the same attributes and characteristics that I desired so much when we originally designed it," says Lifeson. "The look, the sound, the playability and the utility — it's all there for the player at any level. I'm very proud of this guitar."

To mark the occasion of his collaboration with Epiphone and the release of the new Alex Lifeson Epiphone Les Paul Standard Axcess guitar, Lifeson is proud to debut two brand new songs titled "Kabul Blues" and "Spy House". Fans can get a first listen to "Kabul Blues" and "Spy House" in the video below, and listen to the songs in their entirety exclusively at AlexLifeson.com. These two instrumental songs mark the first new music from Alex Lifeson in close to a decade.

In a new interview with Ireland's Overdrive, former WHITE ZOMBIE bassist Sean Yseult was asked if working on "It Came From N.Y.C.", the 2016 box set collection of the band's early output, brought up a lot of old buried memories for her and whether she got any kind of closure from working on that project. She replied: "Yes and no... and yes and no. As you mentioned, it was mostly [guitarist] J. [Yuenger] and I and past members. Rob [Zombie] edited a lot of it out, and we let him out of respect. Some of it I understood, some I did not. In the end, I think there was enough new information and imagery in there for it to be something exciting for our fans."

WHITE ZOMBIE broke up in 1997 and Rob Zombie went on to launch a successful solo career in 1998. Asked if she feels that the band's split was the right thing to do or if she ever wonders, "What if we had just worked through it and kept going," Sean said: "No. We were burnt out and for various reasons, and with other people involved besides bandmembers, one in particular, Rob was in no way going to do WHITE ZOMBIE any further. J. and I had both agreed to do one more."

Pressed about whether she would be open to performing with Rob, J. and drummer John Tempesta again for a special occasion, like a hypothetical Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction, Sean told Overdrive: "I would."

Renowned music journalist Grayson Haver Currin, who wrote the liner notes to "It Came From N.Y.C.", told Observer in a 2016 interview that Rob waited until the very last minute to actually sit down and get interviewed for the project.

"Rob had initially agreed to it, and over the course of several months he did not fulfill his obligation," Currin explained. "And it looked like I was going to write the liner notes without Rob. But he got in touch at the 11th hour, and we had two talks. They were good. He was a little non-committal. The other members were very open about those days, but he wanted to play it a little cooler, because he's Rob Zombie."

According to Currin, Zombie pushed the project beyond its deadline, particularly when it came to fact-checking of the liner notes.

"So I finally put together the liner notes, and he had a fair deal of changes,” Currin explained. "It was mainly in reference to things that made him look bad, which was pretty much everything everyone else had to say about him. In fact, I have no idea how the final version of the liner notes read, because I gave up control at one point. It was clear Rob Zombie was not going to compromise on his points. The liner notes were totally approved and in production and he pulled them back, basically."

Rob Zombie told England's RockAAA in a 2011 interview that WHITE ZOMBIE will never reunite. He explained, "I don't see the point. I think as with most things people have a memory of something like, 'I saw them when I was 14 years old and it was the greatest thing ever,' but if they saw us now they'd probably go, 'I wish I hadn't seen that reunion; it was awful.' The singer added, "It is better to leave it alone. And I haven't talked to anyone from the band exceptJohn Tempesta [since the late 1990s]."

Rob later told The Pulse Of Radio that nowadays a lot of his audience isn't even familiar with the old WHITE ZOMBIE songs. "The crowds are really, really young and I've been noticing that with the set list too, because, you know, as the time has gone on, we've really worked the WHITE ZOMBIE material more out of the set, because we've been finding that it's not working like it used to," he said. "It seems like that those songs just seem now old to people and it's very strange."

The history of WHITE ZOMBIE came up when Rob Zombie was asked to comment on the publication of "I'm In The Band", a memoir from Yseult, who is also Rob's former girlfriend. In the book, Yseult claimed that the departure of drummer Ivan DePrume led to the eventual disintegration of the group.

Zombie said, "I have not seen it [the book] so I can't comment. I can barely remember those days, so I'm glad somebody can."

He added, "Everybody likes to make up stories which aren't true. I don't think that's fair. Ivan left the band, John Tempesta came in and the band sounded better than ever, we kept playing and made bigger records and did more tours so I don't see how that had anything to do with it."

In a 2015 Artisan News interview, Sean confirmed that Rob "hasn't spoken to any of [the other former members of WHITE ZOMBIE] since the band broke up."

Yuenger admitted to Crawdaddy! back in 2010 that he still harbored some resentment over WHITE ZOMBIE's demise. He said: "I would have liked to make another record, but it wasn't in the cards. On Rob's solo albums, you can see what he wanted to do, where he wanted to go. I always wanted to be in a rock 'n' roll band, where the primary instruments are guitar, bass, and drums, you know? We were living in New York City for all those years, hearing all the rap and techno coming out — my favorite bands back then were SLAYER and PUBLIC ENEMY. I was really all about sampling, and we put out 'La Sexorcisto' with all those samples, and it blew people away. We were like, the first rock band to do that. And it was great, I loved it. But as time went on, the sampling and techno stuff started to dominate everything, and I really hated it. Now you can hear how little humanity is in Rob's stuff."

Photo credit: Chris Cuffaro (1995 Geffen Records promotional ph

Italian power metallers Frozen Crown recently released their new album, Winterbane, via Scarlet Records. The clip below is a playthrough video for "Far Beyond", taken from the record, featuring Federico Mondelli (guitar, vocals), Fabiola "Sheena" Bellomo (guitar) and Francesco Zof (bass).

The band recently issued the following update:

"Dear friends, we made it! And we made it together! Our new album is out now!

It's not easy to be a band in 2021. If you're an Italian band playing metal, it's even worse. If, in addition, you had to face a line-up change right before entering the studio for your third album during a pandemic, it's nightmare difficulty on Doom II played blindfold with both hands tied behind your back. But we made it, together with your INCREDIBLE support, and with these awesome new guys who fiercely conquered their place, fighting tooth and nail against time and odds proving they were meant to be a part of this.

Together with that genius called Andrea Fusini and his masterful work behind the machines, as well as our brother Luca Morselli and his unreal filming talent (who also holds the credits for this pic), and our label team, which is simply the best ever. Winterbane is a new beginning, like someone said, but also a confirmation. A message of perseverance and strength, a way to tell the world we are here to stay.

Thanks to the ones who have been with us since Day 1, thanks to the brand new fans, and also thanks to the ones amongst you who left, as they gave us the chance to prove to ourselves we don't need anyone to go forward.

Now enjoy this album as much as we enjoyed making it, let us know about your favorite songs, and be ready for A LOT of stuff, including a new official video clip as well as the usual weekly content on our YouTube channel."

Tracklist:

"Embrace The Night"
"Towards The Sun"
"Far Beyond"
"The Lone Stranger"
"Crown Eternal"
"The Water Dancer"
"Angels In Disguise" (feat Federica Lanna)
"Night Crawler" (Judas Priest cover)
"Tales Of The Forest"
"Blood On The Snow"

Winterbane was released on April 23rd on Scarlet Records and Marquee/Avalon (Japan).

Frozen Crown is:

Giada "Jade" Etro - Lead Vocals
Fabiola "Sheena" Bellomo - Lead Guitar
Federico Mondelli - Vocals and Lead Guitar
Francesco Zof - Bass
Niso Tomasini - Drums




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Brazilian rockers, Electric Mob, have released a video for "Your Ghost", a track from their debut album, Discharge, available via Frontiers Music Srl. Watch the video, as well as a message from guitarist Ben Hur Auwarter, below:

Order the album here.

Tracklisting:

"Awaken"
"Devil You Know"
"King’s Ale"
"Got Me Runnin’"
"Far Off"
"Your Ghost"
"Gypsy Touch"
"123 Burn"
"Upside Down"
"Higher Than Your Heels"
"Brand New Rope"
"We Are Wrong"

"Higher Than Your Heels" video:

"Far Off" video:

"King’s Ale":

"Devil You Know" video:

Lineup:

Renan Zonta - Vocals
Ben Hur Auwarter - Guitar
Yuri Elero - Bass
André Leister - Drums




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Death Dealer has released a video for the powerful ballad "22 Gone", off of their album Conquered Lands, which was released in November 2020 via Steel Cartel Records. This song deals with the soldier suicide epidemic in the United States and the shocking statistic that on average, 22 service men commit suicide every day.  

Singer Sean Peck who penned the lyrics talks about it: “When I was researching the song, I was blown away by this shocking number of tragic losses that happen each day. This video brings attention to it in a very powerful way. Even though it was a ballad, this song was a surprise hit with the critics and our fans so we decided to give it the video treatment. We put it out via YouTube, since we only release a limited amount of content to the streaming services. We are focusing on exclusive music content to our supporters that buy the physical product and only those that bought the record have heard this track.”

Ross The Boss commented on the track calling it, “Without a doubt, the most depressing song in heavy metal history!”  

Stu Marshall said, “I feel passionately about our combat agencies and respect the fact these people put their lives on the line every day for our liberties and freedoms. Australian and American troops have stood shoulder to shoulder for decades and this song resonates the sadness of soldier suicide and why we need to support our troops in every way we can. '22 Gone' represents some of Sean's best lyric writing in my opinion.”

Check out the official video:

The all-star heavy metal roster of Death Dealer features Ross The Boss (ex-Manowar), vocalist Sean Peck (Cage, The Three Tremors, Denner/Shermann), guitarist Stu Marshall (Dungeon, Night Legion), drummer Steve Bolognese: (Ross The Boss Band, Into Eternity), and bassist Mike Lepond (Symphony-X, Ross The Boss Band).

Order Conquered Lands here.

Tracklisting:

"Sorcerer Supreme"
"Every Nation"
"Beauty And The Blood"
"Running With The Wolves"
"The Heretic Has Returned"
"Conquered Lands"
"Hail To The King"
"Slay Or Be Slain"
"Faith Under Fire"
"22 Gone"
"Born To Bear The Crown"

"The Heretic Has Returned":

"Every Nation" lyric video:

“Running With The Wolves” video:

"Sorcerer Supreme" lyric video:




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In a June 14 interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Wolfgang Van Halen discussed his plans to eventually organize a tribute show in honor of his father, Eddie Van Halen, who died last October. "I definitely think that would be a great thing to do," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "It's not in the immediate plans, 'cause that's a lot of moving parts that you've gotta corral to get that to happen. But I definitely think it should happen. Absolutely."

Asked how he envisions the tribute concert taking place in terms of which musicians should be involved, Wolfgang said: "I have no idea. All I know is that the focus should a hundred percent be on Pop. While it could be a celebration of VAN HALEN and the band's history, I think more than anything, it should be focused on him… It's a tall ask and a big thing to figure out. But I do think it should happen at some point."

Last November, Wolfgang told Entertainment Tonight that proceeds from any tribute show in honor of his father will go toward Eddie's favorite charity, Mr. Holland's Opus, which helps underprivileged students access musical instruments. Proceeds from the debut solo single from Wolfgang's solo band MAMMOTH WVH, "Distance", are also benefiting Mr. Holland's Opus.

This past February, former VAN HALEN frontman Sammy Hagar told Kyle Meredith that he will make every effort to take part in the Eddie Van Halen tribute concert.

"I have nothing to do with the [Eddie Van Halen] legacy," he said. "That's their business — that's Wolfie, Alex Van Halen [Eddie's brother]; they're family members. Whoever wants to call me up and say, 'Here's the date,' I will be there. I don't care where I am. I'll cancel a [solo] show [if I need to]. [Laughs] [That's] something VAN HALEN would never do. I always make that joke — canceling a show was [out of the question with] VAN HALEN. I went out sick without being able to sing, Eddie went out with a crutch, Alex went out with a fucking neck brace — we wouldn't cancel shows. But I will cancel my show for a tribute to Eddie any day."

Wolfgang joined his father in VAN HALEN for the band's 2007 reunion tour with singer David Lee Roth, replacing Michael Anthony.

MAMMOTH WVH's self-titled debut album was released on June 11 via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records.

MAMMOTH WVH will support GUNS N' ROSES a U.S. tour, beginning on July 31 at Hersheypark Stadium and concluding in early October with a two-night run at the Hard Rock Live Arena in Hollywood, Flor

THE OFFSPRING guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman has revealed that his second eye surgery was successful and his "future looks brighter already."

Earlier this month, the 58-year-old musician had opened up about his first laser eye surgery to correct his vision and had hinted at getting a surgery in the other eye.

On Tuesday (June 15), Noodles took to his Twitter to write: "I had my 2nd eye surgery (left eye, my dominant eye) yesterday and all went very well. It was a bit more painful than last week, but not too terrible. My doctor told me that my eyes were in his top 5 extreme vision corrections, out of 1000s of patients.

"During my follow up exam his morning the Dr said that the 2nd surgery often causes the immune system to react more strongly than the 1st, and that's why I'm feeling more discomfort this week," he continued. "But my my right eye is almost all healed, & my left eye looks good.

"It will take about 3 weeks for my eyes to fully settle and to be able to know what sort of prescription I will need in my new glasses. Until then I got a bunch of empty frames to wear.

"This morning was the 1st morning in forever that I didn't have to immediately grope around for a pair of spectacles," Noodles added. "Even though my eyes are still healing, it's pretty remarkable how well & differently I see things now. My future looks brighter already."

In a 2019 radio interview, Noodles spoke about where he gets his iconic glasses. He said: "Lately, I've been getting just frames from Black Flys. And I took 'em my prescription, and they said, 'Yeah, bring us your prescription, and we'll make you glasses.' I'm going, 'Oh, that'll be great. It'll save me some money. I like their frames; they're working for me.' I take 'em my prescription, and they go, 'Oh, this is way too strong. We can't help you here.' [Laughs] Their guy couldn't do it, so I had to go back… I just took the frames and went back to my guy. For some reason, it's been harder and harder to do my prescription; it's really hit-or-miss lately. It's not as much fun."

THE OFFSPRING's latest album, "Let The Bad Times Roll", arrived in April via Concord Records. The follow-up to 2012's "Days Go By" was once again produced by Bob Rock, who also worked on the band's previous two LPs.




I had my 2nd eye surgery (left eye, my dominant eye) yesterday and all went very well. It was a bit more painful than last week, but not too terrible. My doctor told me that my eyes were in his top 5 extreme vision corrections, out of 1000s of patients.

— Noodles believes in Democracy! (@TheGnudz) June 15, 2021





<


During my follow up exam his morning the Dr said that the 2nd surgery often causes the immune system to react more strongly than the 1st, and that’s why I’m feeling more discomfort this week. But my my right eye is almost all healed, & my left eye looks good.

— Noodles believes in Democracy! (@TheGnudz) June 15, 2021





<


It will take about 3 weeks for my eyes to fully settle and to be able to know what sort of prescription I will need in my new glasses. Until then I got a bunch of empty frames to wear. ? Also my Noodles Fly sunglasses from @blackflysusa

— Noodles believes in Democracy! (@TheGnudz) June 15, 2021





<


This morning was the 1st morning in forever that I didn’t have to immediately grope around for a pair of spectacles. Even though my eyes are still healing, it’s pretty remarkable how well & differently I see things now. My future looks brighter already. ?

— Noodles believes in Democracy! (@TheGnudz) June 15, 2021

El Paso, TX’s Scattered Storm have a debut EP Oblivion coming out this summer, and in advance are releasing the second single “Aeon Flux”. Scattered Storm’s music can be described as both primal and futuristic, a juxtaposition that can only be pulled off by seasoned musicians.

“Aeon Flux” was the first song written by Kevin Armstrong (guitars) who sent it off to Jay Arriaga (drums/keyboards/samples) and kickstarted what would become a state supergroup along with Andre Acosta and Ed Razor (Pissing Razors). The song lyrically focuses on a lot of fake friendships and backstabbing. The band continues to explain:

“The song musically is very percussive and has a very tribal feel all throughout. Its pulse is steady like the beating heart while there is all this chaos and aggression behind it. Andre took that aggression very well and kept it by growling continuously and not singing clean vocals. Again the primal aspects continue up until the end where it is obvious with the tribal chants that the ending breakdown is about to destroy. This was done intentionally to kick ass live.”

Full of catchy hooks and memorable vocals, Oblivion is a debut EP that will be eaten up by listeners. It was mixed by Jay Arriaga (drums/keyboards/samples) who then sent it to their good friend Alan Wallace from Eminence in Brazil to master.

Formed three years ago, Scattered Storm is a group of seasoned musicians that write very dark, futuristic heavy music with a lot of ambience. They are recommended listening for fans of Fear Factory, Gojira and Devin Townsend.

Digitally pre-save the EP here.

Tracklisting:

“Aeon Flux”
“Under The Fire”
“Kingslayer”
“Empty”
“Necronomicon”
“Scattered Storm”

"Aeon Flux" lyric video:

“Kingslayer” video:




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Last Temptation have signed a new record deal with Golden Robot Records/Crusader and are ready to present several new singles between June 2021 and January 2022, followed by their brand-new album Ashes ’N’ Fire in February 2022. The first single “I Don`t Wanna Be Your God” (supported by a video clip) is out now; check out the video below.

“You can feel that we’ve made a major step forward, both as a live band and as songwriters, all thanks to the shows we’ve played so far.” - Peter Scheithauer

Talking of the new line-up: In bassist Julien Rimaire (Los Dissidentes Del Sucio Motel) and drummer Vince Brisach (Mitch Ryder), along with Scheithauer and Vukovic, the band have a whole new rhythm section supporting them on Ashes ’N’ Fire. While Last Temptation’s self-titled debut still boasted a number of international guests, such as Bob Daisley, Vinny Appice, Stet Howland, James Lomenzo, Don Airey, Steve Unger and Rudy Sarzo, the band now consists exclusively of European musicians. “This step was necessary to make Last Temptation more flexible when it comes to the organizational side,” explains Scheithauer. “The new line-up makes it so much easier to rehearse spontaneously, play gigs at short notice and prepare album productions.”

No doubt about it: Last Temptation have grown into an even tighter unit, musically as well as logistically, and are positively bursting with enthusiasm. The songwriting team consisting of Scheithauer and Vukovic, together coming up with 16 tracks for Ashes ’N’ Fire, eleven of which have made it onto the album. They range from up-tempo numbers such as “Stronger Than Fate” and “Free Strong And Loud” to the Black Sabbath-esque “Going Crazy” and the ballad “In The Mirror”.




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Simon & Schuster will release "Motörhead: The Rise Of The Loudest Band In The World: The Authorized Graphic Novel", by David Calcano and Mark Irwin, in hardcover edition on September 7.

Dive into the world of MOTÖRHEAD's wild 40-year career with this officially authorized, fully illustrated graphic novel crafted by award-winning animation studio Fantoons.

Spanning 144 pages packed with stunning illustrations, "Motörhead: The Rise Of The Loudest Band In The World" tells the legendary story of MOTÖRHEAD's frontman Lemmy Kilmister and the band's meteoric rise to becoming one of the most influential rock bands of all time.

From Lemmy's early days working at a riding school in the English countryside to the recording of the band's iconic album and first major international success, "Ace Of Spades", this MOTÖRHEAD graphic novel chronicles the extraordinary story of the famous frontman's incredible journey as the leader of the "loudest band in the world."

With this essential piece of MOTÖRHEAD history and lore, fans will learn more about the band that heavily influenced well-known groups like METALLICA and FOO FIGHTERS, and discover the fascinating tale of the legend himself, Lemmy Kilmister.

New Jersey based brutal death metal act, Cognitive, have released a video for "To Feed The Worms", from their fourth album, Malevolent Thoughts Of  Hastened Extinction, out July 16 via Unique Leader. Watch the clip below, and pre-save Malevolent Thoughts Of A Hastened Extinction here.

Tracklisting:

"Eniac"
"The Maw"
"Arterial Red"
"From The Depths"
"Oroborous"
"To Feed The Worms"
"Malevolent Thoughts"
"Tearing Tendon From Bone"
"Destitute"
"Of A Hastened Extinction"

"To Feed The Worms" video:

"Eniac" video:




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Infernalizer, a horror-filled creature conceived and brought to life by the creative mind of Claudio Ravinale, best known as the vocalist of Italian death metal veterans Disarmonia Mundi, shares his latest music video “Leave A Scar” from the debut album The Ugly Truth, released this past February via Rockshots Records.

Heavily influenced by '80s metal acts such as Iron Maiden, Alice Cooper, and Danzig, Ravinale's new project Infernalizer relies on the use of gloomy keys and eerie samples, paying homage to more somber gothic rock acts like Type O Negative and The Sisters Of Mercy. Vocally closer to contemporary acts like Rob Zombie and Wednesday 13, the range of influences also include evocative cinematographic soundscapes that provide Infernalizer's songs with a more solemn and nocturnal atmosphere.

The album, The Ugly Truth, is ten tracks to take fans on a roller coaster ride into band founder Claudio Ravinale’s own horror-themed amusement park. Providing a modern take on the concept of heavy metal, the full-length features crooning vocals alternated with more harsh yet still melodic tones along with added layers of evocative keys and samples for a solid foundation deeply rooted in an '80s metal sound.

“I’m a child of the '80s that loves horror movies. So as soon as I started to think about how this band was going to sound, I really tried to focus on my main influences, the music I’ve grown up with and tried to filter all these influences giving them a more actual approach. To me, this record is like A Nightmare On Elm Street movie made music: there’s the horror part but without forgetting the lighthearted approach,” adds Ravinale.

The album was produced by NeroArgento at AExeron Studio (Turin, Italy) and mastered at Sterling Sound Studio (Nashville, TN) by legendary Grammy Award-winning mastering engineer Ted Jensen (Guns N’ Roses, Korn, Pantera, Alice In Chains).

Tracklisting:

"Night Shift"
"The Outsider"
"Leaving So Soon?"
"In Retrospect"
"Cruel Intentions"
"The Ugly Truth"
"In This World Or The Next"
"Leave A Scar"
"I Don’t Wanna Be Me"
"Autumn Of Terror"

"Leaving So Soon?" video:

"The Ugly Truth" lyric video:

 




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Guitar guru Tony MacAlpine (Planet X, Steve Vai) has checked in with the following update:

"Hello all, official release date for my latest work Equilibrium is August 29, 2021. Also hope to see you at Paul Gilbert's Great Guitar Escape: Shrapnel and Beyond. July 5 - 9, 2021. And... due to extreme popular demand, lessons have been extended further! A busy schedule is upon us with many upcoming rehearsals, events, and other commitments. Take advantage of this offer while you can!"

"Lessons are hosted on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays between 9AM - 5PM (PST) via Zoom and are being taught at the special price of $100 USD."

"Lessons will need to be booked 48 hours in advance of the date you wish to reserve in order to accommodate the number of inquiries we receive and to fairly honor our first come first serve policy. Any cancellations will need to be made 24 hours in advance."

"Simply email Simone Adrene, the primary event coordinator for M.R Inc., at tmaclessons@gmail.com with the date and time which is most convenient for you and we will do our best to make that or the closest available time happen. Once your inquiry is received, a Paypal link will be sent to you, which will be used to confirm and reserve your lesson."

Check out the artwork for Equilibrium:

(Photo courtesy of Tony MacAlpine's official Facebook page)

 




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Two competing versions of ROUGH CUTT are now in existence, with each accusing the other of acting unscrupulously.

This past March, an incarnation of ROUGH CUTT featuring guitarist Chris Hager and drummer Dave Alford released a new single and video, "Black Rose". Hager and Alford are joined in the group by lead vocalist Steven St. James, guitarist Darren Householder and bassist Jeff Buehner. Less than three months later, a completely different version of ROUGH CUTT, featuring founding singer Paul Shortino along with classic lineup members Matt Thorne on bass and Amir Derakh on guitar, surprise-issued a new album titled "Rough Cutt 3" via the DDR Music Group label. That LP includes the song "Bed Of Black Roses", which appears to be musically and lyrically similar to the aforementioned "Black Rose", prompting speculation that the two tracks were conceived from ideas that originated with members of both versions of the group.

Hager and Alford addressed the confusion during an interview with "Hard, Heavy & Hair With Pariah Burke" this past Thursday (June 10). Speaking about "Black Rose", Hager said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I wrote the music to that song. Matt wrote the chorus, lyrics and melodies — part of 'em. And the version that they did, he also wrote part of the verse melodies. Now, our version, which we released, obviously, before they did, Steven, our singer, changed the verse lyrics. I don't know if you've listened to both of 'em, but you will hear a marked difference in the verse vocals, melodies and phrasing.

"The thing about that is that we went… I just went and listened to a sample of all the stuff they did [on the 'Rough Cutt 3' album], and they didn't even bother to redo it [from the original way we wrote it]," Chris continued. "That was done over here [at my studio]; those are my guitars; and they added some stuff to it — they embellished it. And they did that on a couple of other songs as well that we had written collectively before we broke up."

Alford went on to say that "it was a slap in the face" to see the other version of ROUGH CUTT release its album so soon after the arrival of "Black Rose". But he added: "We have no ill feelings towards those guys. I will say we dropped our single months before they did this. And we're going out and playing, and we have a record coming out."

Hager was more blunt, calling the other ROUGH CUTT's decision to move forward with a new album "a cheap shot. We made every effort to make ROUGH CUTT work, the original members, and they just weren't having it," he explained. 'It's, like, one person didn't wanna go out and play shows… And then the ROUGH RIOT thing came along" — referring to the short-lived project featuring former members of QUIET RIOT and ROUGH CUTT — "and then that didn't work out. So we put a lot into making that work, especially me, man — I mean, I worked my ass off on that. And it just didn't happen. And so Dave and I, we don't wanna sit around. And that's why I went and called Steven and said, 'Hey, Steven, you wanna come over and write some songs?' And then I said, 'Hey, Dave, come on over and listen to these.' Of course, Dave knew Steven from before as well. And so that's how we got started."

According to Alford, "over half of the music that's on" "Rough Cutt 3" is "old stuff that's me playing drums [and Chris] playing guitar." In addition, Hager claims that Shortino, Thorne and Derakh "screwed us over on the royalties as well. When I registered 'Black Rose', I was very generous," he said. "So that's what tells us that it's out of spite. They think that we should have asked them, or told them, that we were gonna [go ahead with a new lineup]."

As for why things fell apart between the original ROUGH CUTT members, Alford said: "Them guys didn't want anything to do with us." Hager concurred, saying: "I couldn't get Matt to return my call. They basically weren't interested until our single came out. So I don't care."

He continued: "I'll say it straight out — I think it's a cheap shot [for them to release this album and move forward with another version of ROUGH CUTT]. I can't stop 'em from doing it. And also we'll see when it comes to the trademark and all that — that could turn into a legal thing."

Despite the potential for a lawsuit over the rights to the ROUGH CUTT name, Alford says that "it's not gonna stop us. The music that we're creating right now, our fans are just dying to hear it. Once they heard 'Black Rose' and saw the video, it's on now — it's totally on. And we've got some real talent in the new lineup."

Hager was equally enthusiastic about his new version of ROUGH CUTT, saying: "Fans, they can take their pick. A lot of people will say, 'Well, without Paul Shortino, it can't be ROUGH CUTT. And we say bullshit." Alford chimed in: "I haven't gotten any negative feedback about our [new] singer, much less talking about Paul." Hager continued: "It was really amazing. We expected more pushback from fans, and it never really came."

In a press release announcing the arrival of "Rough Cutt 3", DDR Music Group said that "to release anything under the moniker of ROUGH CUTT without Paul, Amir and Matt is nothing short of unprofessional and disrespectful to the members and especially to the fans. Simply put, no Paul, no ROUGH CUTT!" The label also said that "many false accusations and lies have been made public about arguably the three most important members of ROUGH CUTT and all of them are completely fabricated nonsense."

The same day that Hager and Alford's interview with with "Hard, Heavy & Hair With Pariah Burke" was posted online, Shortino took to his social media to share a letter that he, Thorne and Derakh wrote to Chris and Dave in October 2019 in which they called the idea of Hager and Alford touring as ROUGH CUTT "deceptive" and predicting that it would "undoubtedly mislead fans into thinking they were seeing the entire original lineup." In the letter, Shortino, Thorne and Derakh went on to ask Hager and Alford to advertise their performances as Dave Alford's & Chris Hager's ROUGH CUTT and announced their plan to oppose Hager and Alford's trademark application for the exclusive right to use the ROUGH CUTT name on clothing and merchandise.

Originally based in Los Angeles, ROUGH CUTT was mentored by Ronnie James Dio, managed by his wife Wendy and signed to Warner Brothers. The band released two albums three and a half decades ago, 1985's self-titled effort and 1986's "Wants You!", before Shortino left to join QUIET RIOT. QUIET RIOT's fourth album, 1988's "QR", was the band's only LP to feature Paul on vocals.




This is to clear up anything about #RoughCutt .Matt sent a Certified letter to #DaveAlford & #ChrisHager. Read for Yourself.@amirderakh #MattThorn pic.twitter.com/d48yWJGS4p

— Paul Shortino ?? (@PaulShortino) June 10, 2021

Dave Mustaine says that David Ellefson's long-completed bass tracks on the upcoming MEGADETH album will be removed and re-recorded by another bassist prior to the record's release.

Ellefson laid down his bass tracks on MEGADETH's sixteenth LP in May 2020 at a studio in Nashville, Tennessee. A short time later, he raved about his performance on the record, telling the 96.7 KCAL-FM radio program "Wired In The Empire" that his musical chemistry with MEGADETH drummer Dirk Verbeuren was comparable to the interplay between Geddy Lee and Neil Peart on classic RUSH albums. "I feel like on the new MEGADETH record, me and Dirk have those same moments," he said. "It's MEGADETH — it's not RUSH, obviously — but in the field of what we do, there were these moments that I was just going, 'Oh, my God.' This is me as a kid going, 'This is my Geddy/Neil moment right here.'"

Earlier today (Thursday, June 17), Mustaine announced during an episode of his Gimme Radio program "The Dave Mustaine Show" that Ellefson's bass tracks will not be used on the new MEGADETH LP.

"I just wanna thank you for all the kinds words and support as we get ready for this next tour and continue to hunt for a new bass player," the MEGADETH leader said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "We are making progress. The record's being completed, and we're gonna have someone coming in in a couple of weeks to replace the bass tracks that we had. Which should be relatively quick because the person we're talking to is a stellar bass player. And hopefully this will be an ongoing thing after the recording. Or we will find someone prior to the recording that will be our permanent guy going forward."

Ellefson was dismissed from MEGADETH late last month, just days after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter. The longtime MEGADETH member later released a statement on Instagram denying all social media chatter that he "groomed" an underage fan. He also filed a report with the police department in Scottsdale, Arizona alleging unlawful distribution of sexually explicit images of Ellefson by unknown offenders. In the report, Ellefson admitted that he had been exchanging sexual text messages with a Dutch teenager, who captured a video of several of their virtual "masturbating encounters" without his consent and shared them with friends. (According to Ellefson, the woman was 19 at the time of their first virtual sexual encounter.) The 56-year-old Ellefson, who lives in Scottsdale, first became aware of the video on May 9, when the claim "David Ellefson of MEGADETH is a pedophile" appeared on Instagram. Ellefson told police he was notified on May 14 by MEGADETH that the band would be parting ways with him. Three days later, he was fired.

On May 24, Mustaine — who formed MEGADETH with Ellefson in 1983 — announced the bassist's departure from the band, saying, "We do not take this decision lightly. While we do not know every detail of what occurred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed now is enough to make working together impossible moving forward," Mustaine wrote. Two days later, Ellefson released a follow-up statement in which he vowed to file a "defamation lawsuit" against the person who "illegally posted a very private video" of the bassist and made "false allegations" against him. He also said he was working with the police in Scottsdale "in their investigation into charges regarding revenge pornography to be filed against the person who posted the video. This person will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Ellefson wrote. He went on to say that he was "taking this time to be with my family" and wished his "bandmates" the best with their upcoming tour.

MEGADETH is currently scheduled to take part in "The Metal Tour Of The Year" with LAMB OF GOD, beginning on August 20 in Austin. MEGADETH is also slated to appear at the SLIPKNOT-curated Knotfest in September in Iowa.

Ellefson was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest departure.

David, who studied for a year at Concordia Lutheran Seminary in St. Louis nearly a decade ago, and his wife Julie Ellefson have been married for 27 years. They have two children.

METALLICA, GUNS N' ROSES, SCORPIONS, DEFTONES, FAITH NO MORE, AVENGED SEVENFOLD and NINE INCH NAILS will headline next year's edition of Hellfest, set to take place over two weekends, June 17-19, 2022 and June 23-26, 2022, in Clisson, France. No less than 350 artists will perform on six stages, with additional appearances by such acts as JUDAS PRIEST, VOLBEAT, DEEP PURPLE, ALICE COOPER, NIGHTWISH, SABATON, SUICIDAL TENDENICES and BAD RELIGION.

The Hellfest 2022 lineup was announced earlier today by festival founder Ben Barbaud and the rest of his crew. They wrote in part: "It's been more than 16 months since our work rhythm was turned upside down by the arrival of this virus, since the live music industry was extinguished. Despite this, our confidence has never been affected and we have kept working with a positive mindset.

"The frustration of two years without a festival has led us to dream even bigger about our reunion! In 2022, we are offering a new and unique format spread over 10 days! Never done before, this formula will, without a doubt, remain in the history of so-called 'extreme' music! Twice as historic, because this formula is meant to exist only in 2022 and will not happen again in the years to come.

"After a first weekend from 17 to 19th June 2022, we double the fun with an additional weekend from 23rd to 26th June! A real marathon that will see no less than 350 artists on 6 stages!

"As usual, the festival does not deviate from its principles: you will see artists capable of performing in stadiums, with artists who are usually playing in smaller venues, and for some even in pub caves. Punk, heavy, black, hardcore, death, stoner, pagan, power, we have done our best to put together what we believe to be the 'edition of the century.

"This exceptional edition is also an opportunity for us to thank the pass holders who have been waiting for more than 2 years. Your loyalty and trust have kept us going and we do not have enough words to thank you. It seemed fair to us that you should access the ticket sale 24 hours before the public sale in order for you to obtain your ticket for sure."

Hellfest, which drew 180,000 people in 2019, generally features a lineup which is 90 percent made up of international acts and 20 percent of spectators coming from abroad.

Friday, June 17:

Mainstage 01:

DEFTONES

DROPKICK MURPHYS

THE OFFSPRING

FRANK CARTER & THE RATTLESNAKES

THE DISTILLERS

THE INSPECTOR CLUZO

THE WILDHEARTS

FROG LEAP

Mainstage 02:

VOLBEAT

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH

OPETH

MASTODON

SHINEDOWN

LEPROUS

SOEN

EGO KILL TALENT

LAURA COX

Warzone:

SUICIDAL TENDENCIES

POWERFLO

YOUTH OF TODAY

CRO-MAGS

DOG EAT DOG

RUDEBOY (plays Urban Dance Squad)

SLAPSHOT

HIGHER POWER

IN OTHER CLIMES

Valley:

ELECTRIC WIZARD

BARONESS

HIGH ON FIRE

WITCHCRAFT

BLACK MOUNTAIN

ELDER

ASG

GREENLEAF

ABRAHMA

Altar:

OBITUARY

DEATH TO ALL

AT THE GATES

GRAVE

GATECREEPER

CADAVER

ENFORCED

NECROWRETCH

TREMPLIN VOICE OF HELL

Temple:

MAYHEM

ABBATH

ROTTING CHRIST

PRIMORDIAL

THE GREAT OLD ONES

SETH

MEPHORASH

NUMEN

TREMPLIN VOICE OF HELL

Saturday, June 18:

Mainstage 01:

FAITH NO MORE

MEGADETH

RIVAL SONS

HEAVEN SHALL BURN

KNOCKED LOOSE

CRYSTAL LAKE

FIRE FROM THE GODS

Mainstage 02:

DEEP PURPLE

AIRBOURNE

STEEL PANTHER

ALESTORM

THE DARKNESS

L7

THE DEAD DAISES

GALACTIC EMPIRE

JOYOUS WOLF

Warzone:

SOCIAL DISTORTION

ANTI-FLAG

AGNOSTIC FRONT

REVEREND HORTON HEAT

THE TOY DOLLS

FRUSTRATION

GUERILLA POUBELLE

LION'S LAW

GRADE 2

Valley:

ENVY

MONO AND THE JO QUAIL QUARTET

OM

PELICAN

3TEETH

THE PICTUREBOOKS

ME AND THAT MAN

DUEL

POINT MORT

Altar:

SEPULTURA

SACRED REICH

FLOTSAM AND JETSAM

EXCITER

LOUDBLAST

XENTRIX

RECTAL SMEGMA

BRUTAL SPHINCTER

KARRAS

Temple:

VREID ("1184" show)

SKALD

ENSIFERUM

TAAKE

KAMPFAR

EINHERJER

HELHEIM

AKTARUM

ARTUS

Sunday, June 19:

Mainstage 01:

AVENGED SEVENFOLD

KORN

MAXIMUM THE HORMONE

CODE ORANGE

JINJER

LACUNA COIL

KONTRUST

DEADLY APPLES

Mainstage 02:

JUDAS PRIEST

RUNNING WILD

DOWN

MICHAEL SCHENKER

DORO

BATTLE BEAST

SORTILÈGE

TEMPT

Warzone:

WALLS OF JERICHO

WHILE SHE SLEEPS

DEEZ NUTS

COUNTERPARTS

JESUS PIECE

MOSCOW DEATH BRIGADE

LANDMVRKS

GLASSBONE

Valley:

KILLING JOKE

PERTURBATOR

LIFE OF AGONY

RED FANG

TWIN TEMPLE

INTER ARMA

LYSISTRATA

VILE CREATURE

ECSTATIC VISION

Altar:

DEVIN TOWNSEND (by request set)

CORONER

DYING FETUS

MISERY INDEX

MONUMENTS

INGESTED

DYSCARNATE

EXOCRINE

Temple:

WATAIN

ALCEST

BELZEBUBS

BORKNAGAR

GAAHLS WYRD

REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER

NUMENOREAN

PENITENCE ONRIQUE

DELIVERANCE

Thursday, June 23:

Mainstage 01:

SCORPIONS

WHITESNAKE

UFO

THUNDER

PHIL CAMPBELL AND THE BASTARD SONS

Mainstage 02:

WARDRUNA

HELLOWEEN

DANKO JONES

TYLER BRYANT & THE SHAKEDOWN

Warzone:

RISE AGAINST

TURNSTILE

OF MICE & MEN

DRAGGED UNDER

WORST DOUBT

Valley:

HANGMAN'S CHAIR

LOWRIDER

IV AND THE STRANGE BAND

LOS DISIDENTES DEL SUCIO MOTEL

Altar:

THERION

SEPTICFLESH

INSOMNIUM

TRIBULATION

CROWN

Temple:

HEILUNG

ZEAL & ARDOR

Friday, June 24:

Mainstage 01:

NINE INCH NAILS

MINISTRY

SKINNY PUPPY

KILLING JOKE

HEALTH

YOUTH CODE

Mainstage 02:

ALICE COOPER

MEGADETH

KREATOR

DRAGONFORCE

BLUES PILLS

CRISIX

DISCONNECTED

Warzone:

BAD RELIGION

GOLDFINGER

MILLENCOLIN

OPIUM DU PEUPLE

POGO CAR CRASH CONTROL

JUSTIN(E)

DIRTY FONZY

THE BABOON SHOW

SONS OF FLAHERTY

Valley:

ATARI TEENAGE RIOT

NEW MODEL ARMY

EARTH

GODFLESH

AA. WILLIAMS

HUMAN IMPACT

STÖNER

OKKULTOKRATI

AS A NEW REVOLT

Altar:

DECAPITATED

DEEDS OF FLESH

LEGIONS OF THE DAMNED

GAMA BOMB

BENIGHTED

DROPDEAD

TEETHGRINDER

YAROTZ

Temple:

ENSLAVED

MARDUK

MOONSPELL

IHSAHN

HJELVIK

DIRTY SHIRT & THE TRANSYLVANIAN FOLKCORE ORCHESTRA

GAEREA

NEIGE MORTE

Saturday, June 25:

Mainstage 01:

GUNS N' ROSES

AIRBOURNE

MYLES KENNEDY

GARY CLARK JR

AYRON JONES

MICHAEL MONROE

DIRTY HONEY

Mainstage 02:

NIGHTWISH

EPICA

BLIND GUARDIAN

ELUVEITIE

SYMPHONY X

GLORYHAMMER

DIAMANTE

EXISTANCE

Warzone:

THE EXPLOITED

DISCHARGE

TOUCHÉ AMORÉ

THE RUMJACKS

XIBALBA

STEREOTYPICAL WORKING CLASS

MARTYRDÖD

HAWSER

Valley:

CONVERGE: BLOODMOON

KADAVAR

VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY

HÄLLAS

MY OWN PRIVATE ALASKA

MOLASSES

SLIFT

UNTITLED WITH DRUMS

Altar:

KATATONIA

MY DYING BRIDE

DRACONIAN

FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE

SORCERER

BETRAYING THE MARTYRS

HUMANITY'S LAST BREATH

NERO DI MARTE

DROPDEAD CHAOS

Temple:

IN EXTREMO

MOONSORROW

MYRKUR

FOLKESANGE

IGORRR

ARCTURUS

CONJURER

FEJD

AUTARKH

LES CHANTS DE NIHIL

Sunday, June 26:

Mainstage 01:

METALLICA

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY

AVATAR

UGLY KID JOE

ALIEN WEAPONRY

BOKASSA

SPIRITBOX

Mainstage 02:

SABATON

BRING ME THE HORIZON

TAGADA JONES

ILL NIÑO

NOVELISTS

Warzone:

HATEBREED

SUICIDE SILENCE

MADBALL

LIONHEART

TERROR

CROWBAR

JUDICIARY

YEAR OF THE KNIFE

CLOWNS

Valley:

MONSTER MAGNET

THE OBSESSED

EYEHATEGOD

THOU

UFOMMAMUT

REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER VS. HANGMAN'S CHAIR

YEAR OF NO LIGHT

THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX

20 SECONDS FALLING MAN

Altar:

CARCASS

NAPALM DEATH

DESTRUCTION

VLTIMAS

BLOOD INCANTATION

DEMILICH

CARNATION

HIGH COMMAND

Temple:

MERCYFUL FATE

TRIPTYKON

MGLA

ARCHGOAT

CULT OF FIRE

MIDNIGHT

SVART CROWN

NYTT LAND

SORDIDE

British extreme metal veterans CARCASS will release their long-awaited seventh studio album, "Torn Arteries", on September 17 via Nuclear Blast Records. Along with the announcement, the band has debuted a new song titled "Kelly's Meat Emporium" that is available now on all stream services.

Ferocious and uncompromising in their execution, CARCASS's ability to intricately dissect the innards of death metal and display them for us to sonically understand has been their point of excellence for over three decades. In 2019, the band released its first single in over five years, "Under The Scalpel Blade", followed by a four-song EP titled "Despicable" (October 2020), setting a potent precedent for "Torn Arteries". With the album title itself referencing an old demo created by original drummer Ken Owen back in the 1980s, "Torn Arteries" sits as a bookend on the modern side of the CARCASS discography, connecting directly back to where everything began over 30 years ago.

The "Torn Arteries" album artwork also rings reminiscent of the grotesque photography that appears on classic CARCASS album covers like "Reek Of Putrefaction" and "Symphonies Of Sickness". Artist Zbigniew Bielak traveled outside his normal wheelhouse to bring forth a time-lapsed set of photos showing vegetables shaped like a heart, rotting over time upon a white plate. This form of artwork was influenced by Japanese Kusôzu, meaning "painting of the nine stages of a decaying corpse."

"It's very clean, white, which we've never done before," explains vocalist and bassist Jeff Walker. "It doesn't look evil, or typically death metal, but I like how clean it is; almost like a coffee table book." This new album presents images, lyrics, and sounds that so distinctly scream CARCASS, but ferry us into a new era of production, songwriting, and art all together.

"I think as our seventh album, it does stand out from the others both sonically and stylistically," says Walker. "You can definitely tell that it's CARCASS; when you drop that needle on the vinyl, when you hear that guitar tone, you can tell it's Bill Steer, but each album is always a product of its time."

With "Torn Arteries", each track stands unique from the rest in its approach to guitar, bass, vocals and drumming, along with all the finer details. Filthy and dominating guitar work creates thick layers of tone and melody, piling on top of each other like the weight of dead flesh in tracks like "Kelly's Meat Emporium".

"The working title for 'Kelly's' was originally 'Stock Carcass'," laughs Walker. "We knew that one was a real meat-and-potatoes track for the album." Meanwhile, the elevated speed and catchy beat in "Dance Of Ixtab" tell a robust and airier story, one that is certain to get a reaction from live crowds. "We built this song around the beat. We had an approach to each song that was a definite idea," Walker says. "It's all about 'what haven't we done before?'"

Recording and production for "Torn Arteries" wasn't as simple as sitting down for a few weeks and knocking it all out, but rather spread out over the course of approximately one year bouncing back and forth between England and Sweden. Initially, drummer Daniel Wilding did session work in Sweden at Studio Gröndahl with David Castillo while guitars were recorded at The Stationhouse with James Atkinson in Leeds, England. Eventually needing some form of residential location to finalize vocals, bass, and other guitarwork, the band headed back to Studio Gröndahl in Sweden to continue work in a very relaxed atmosphere with Castillo. "There was no real big plan to do it this way, the process just organically grew on its own," says Walker.

Most will find that the only real struggle when indulging in "Torn Arteries" is fighting the desire to start it over the second it finishes. It covers substantial new ground for a band with such a reputation, while still retaining that addictive, time honored CARCASS sound that has come to represent the face of true death metal.

"Torn Arteries" track listing:

01. Torn Arteries

02. Dance of Ixtab (Psychopomp & Circumstances March No. 1)

03. Eleanor Rigor Mortis

04. Under The Scalpel Blade

05. The Devil Rides Out

06. Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment Limited

07. Kelly's Meat Emporium

08. In God We Trust

09. Wake Up And Smell The Carcass / Caveat Emptor

10. The Scythe's Remorseless Swing

"Torn Arteries" is available for pre-order in a variety of bundles and formats, including CD, box set and limited-edition vinyl pressings.

Photo credit: Hannah Verbeuren

Swedish melodic death metal pioneers AT THE GATES have released the third single off their upcoming album, "The Nightmare Of Being", which will arrive on July 2 via Century Media Records. The music video for the track "The Fall Into Time", directed by longtime AT THE GATES collaborator Costin Chioreanu of Twilight13Media (ARCH ENEMY, GRAVE, BORKNAGAR), can be seen below.

AT THE GATES vocalist Tomas Lindberg commented: "Hello everybody! As you might have already guessed, this album is our most ambitious effort yet, including a lot of different orchestrations and new takes on arrangements, etc.

"This track, 'The Fall Into Time' is one of the centerpieces of the album. It is big, demanding and epic.

"We have always found it intriguing to compose songs like these — think 'Neverwhere', 'Primal Breath', 'The Night Eternal' and 'Daggers Of Black Haze'. It is heavy, mean and dark as well as almost cinematic in its thematic approach.

"I have always said that the AT THE GATES listener wants to be challenged and that you hopefully all are as curious as we are when it comes to exploring new musical territory. This song is one of those moments… Enjoy!

"For the video for this more adventurous track we chose to work again with our dear friend and co-conspirator Costin Chioreanu, as we thought that it required a more arty and avantgarde approach. I was, as always, very intrigued to see what he would come up with, as he has a deep understanding of what AT THE GATES is about. He did not disappoint, and this video is a perfect complement to a song like this. Costin went all the way with this one. Truly inspiring!"

While main parts for "The Nightmare Of Being" were recorded in several different Swedish studios — drums at Studio Gröndal with Jens Bogren, guitars and bass with Andy La Rocque at Sonic Train Studio and vocals at Welfare Sounds with Per Stålberg — the LP was mixed and mastered at Fascination Street Studios (AMON AMARTH, OPETH, KREATOR) by Jens Bogren, who has previously worked with AT THE GATES on the "At War With Reality" comeback album in 2014. The album's visual concept was developed by artist Eva Nahon.

Lindberg previously stated about the album's concept: "The overall theme deals with the topic of pessimism, and I have been diving deep down in pessimistic philosophers. Trying to understand this way of looking at the world. It is not a negative album, more a gateway into new ideas for me personally, trying out different perspectives. You could call the album an introduction to pessimism as a concept, I guess. It is a very dark album, but not negative…"

And musically, while "The Nightmare Of Being" unveils a newly liberated and adventurous AT THE GATES via some of the bravest and most mesmerizing material they have ever written, Lindberg added: "It still sounds like AT THE GATES, 100 percent. It is just more of everything…"

"The Nightmare Of Being" track listing:

01. Spectre Of Extinction

02. The Paradox

03. The Nightmare Of Being

04. Garden Of Cyrus

05. Touched By The White Hands Of Death

06. The Fall Into Time

07. Cult of Salvation

08. The Abstract Enthroned

09. Cosmic Pessimism

10. Eternal Winter Of Reason

Speaking to MessedUp Magazine, Lindberg stated about "The Nightmare Of Being": "We were very excited about [2014's] 'At War With Reality' already before it was released, because it represented our comeback. No one was as excited about it as us, but some time later, I thought it was too slick, too well-produced. 'To Drink From the Night Itself' was a response to that and we wanted it to be dirty and gritty and have loads of classic death metal sounds on it, like a lot of reverb on the vocals and that stuff. It was a record for old-school fans. The upcoming album is somewhere in between, something that continues on the concept we started on the two previous albums where we incorporated much more of our proggy, krauty and avant-gardist influences. Just to give you the picture of how it sounds; one song goes by the nickname 'the Goblin song,' another we call 'the Neu song.' But I promise you we don't take it too far — people wouldn't listen to it if we did. [Laughs] When we were in the studio, we told Jens Bogren [producer] to keep the gritty sound and the attack from the last record and put the overall sound in between the comeback records. And it sounds awesome.

"When we did the Roadburn festival two years ago we did a special set with guest vocalists and string instruments and that stuff on stage and played songs we never played live before. All that was very inspiring because we realized we can do it today, the things we thought we could do as teenagers when we wanted to be the KING CRIMSON of death metal [laughs], but we weren't good enough. After the Roadburn gig, we talked about incorporating more of those elements on record.

"Let's say we're super excited about how people will receive the record because there's stuff on the album never heard on an AT THE GATES record before — a lot of weird things. [Laughs] For old fans, there's at least five or six classic AT THE GATES songs on it, but it's a quite diverse album.

"AT THE GATES have been around for such a long time by now that we don't need to release records to please someone else — we want to do things we like ourselves. It's still death metal, but it has evolved. We just want it to sell enough to get money to record the next album. [Laughs] "

AT THE GATES guitarist Jonas Stålhammar recently told Italy's Poisoned Rock about the music he and his bandmates have written for the upcoming effort: "It's kind of progressing even more from the last album. It's gonna be different than that one too, but still you know it's AT THE GATES. It's evolving even more. All of us are kind of on the same page with why should we do the same record over and over again."

"To Drink From The Night Itself" was produced with Russ Russell (NAPALM DEATH, THE HAUNTED, DIMMU BORGIR) at Parlour Studios in the U.K. The follow-up 2014's "At War With Reality" featured conceptual artwork created by Costin Chioreanu of Twilight13Media, who also worked with AT THE GATES on the band's previous disc.

"To Drink From The Night Itself" was the first AT THE GATES album written and recorded without lead guitarist/primary songwriter Anders Björler, who departed in 2017. He has since been replaced by Stålhammar.

AT THE GATES is:

Adrian Erlandsson - Drums

Jonas Björler - Bass

Tomas Lindberg - Vocals

Jonas Stålhammar - Guitar

Martin Larsson - Guitar

Photo by Ester Segarra

"Revolution", the second music video from HEAVY WATER, the new project featuring SAXON's Biff Byford and son Seb Byford of NAKED SIX, can be seen below. The song is taken from HEAVY WATER's debut album, "Red Brick City", which will be released on July 23 via Silver Lining Music.

Soaked in gritty, riff-baked blues yet rich with the sound and meter of classic hard rock, "Red Brick City"'s ten songs refuse to let you go. From the taut, elastic swing of the "Solution" riff to the rich, layered balladic strains of "Tree In The Wind", the LP moves with the class and cadence of a cracking journey uniting vintage rock 'n' roll sensibilities with the crackle and excitement of a fresh, youthful perspective.

With Seb on guitar and Biff on bass duties and both providing their vocal talents, the foundations for HEAVY WATER's sound are set in both that incredible father-and-son chemistry and a lifetime of know-how and experiences. Take the title track — and first single — "Red Brick City", all steam and smolder wrapped around a riff SOUNDGARDEN would've been proud of, and then there's the sun-soaked smile of "Follow This Moment" with harmonies evoking the BEACH BOYS relayed through LED ZEPPELIN, a gorgeous 1970s trip right down to the fadeout.

"We decided to do something together in these dark times and the family came together to help get this album off the ground," explained Seb and Biff.

Seb Byford recorded and engineered "Red Brick City" at the Big Silver Barn in York, U.K., while the drums were recorded by Ben Hammond at Reel Recording Studio in York. Seb produced the album with Biff, and Jacky Lehmann mastered. "Red Brick City" sees Seb take the reins on guitar and vocals, with Biff taking up the bass and vocal mantle. Tom Witts plays the drums, while Dave Kemp rounds out the HEAVY WATER lineup on keyboards and saxophone. To cap off this family affair, the packaging photos were taken by Steph Byford.

"We had great fun doing this album, working together on the songs and recording during lockdown," concluded Biff and Seb. "It's all recorded without samples or profiles... just loud and proud!"

This past March, Biff told Sweden's RockSverige that HEAVY WATER is musically similar to that of Byford's first solo album, "School Of Hard Knocks", which came out in February 2020. "The songs are also, stylistically, very similar to the [SACXON's] 'Inspirations' album," he explained. "There's some laid-back stuff and there's some heavy stuff. I wouldn't say there's any prog rock on there, but there are definitely two or three metal tracks on there. Seb's a great songwriter, and he likes to play heavy guitar riffs, so I'm sure people will be interested."

Asked what it's like working with his son, Biff said: "It's pretty cool. We're both pretty set in our ways, so it's working really well. It's great for me and for him, really. I'm getting off on his excitement and his first time doing things, and he gets off on my that wisdom that I've learned over the years."

"Red Brick City" track listing:

01. Solution

02. Turn to Black

03. Red Brick City

04. Tree in the Wind

05. Revolution

06. Personal Issue No. 1

07. Medicine Man

08. Follow This Moment

09. Now I'm Home

10. Faith

"Inspirations" was released in March via Silver Lining Music. The 11-track effort contains some of the classic rock songs that influenced Biff and the rest of SAXON.

AURI, the project featuring NIGHTWISH mainman/keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen and his wife, popular Finnish singer Johanna Kurkela, will release its second album, "II - Those We Don't Speak Of", on September 3 via Nuclear Blast. The effort will be the follow-up to AURI's self-titled debut LP, which came out in March 2018 via Nuclear Blast.

The "II - Those We Don't Speak Of" cover artwork comes once again from Janne "ToxicAngel" Pitkänen and bestows in its simplicity and depth.

The official lyric video for the disc's first single, "Pearl Diving", can be seen below.

AURI began its life with three people, united through their shared need to hear a kind of a music which can't be described by words alone. The first song born of this mindset, "Aphrodite Rising", appeared in 2011.

Kurkela lent her unique voice, while Holopainen and English composer and multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley (also of NIGHTWISH) cast their spells with various other instruments. Now complemented by the dynamic percussive talents of Kai Hahto (NIGHTWISH), the threesome carves fantastical worlds entirely their own.

Donockley states about "Pearl Diving": "No lifebelts needed. Where is the sea and where is the boat but more importantly, what is 'The Pearl'? How deep do we dive to find it? How was it made and how old is it? Shapeshifters and the whispering seagulls of the 12-note scale will tell us. Aweigh anchor, Away!"

With a total running time of 50 minutes, "II - Those We Don't Speak Of" consists of 10 captivating tracks:

01. Those We Don't Speak Of

02. The Valley

03. The Duty Of Dust

04. Pearl Diving

05. Kiss The Mountain

06. Light And Flood

07. It Takes Me Places

08. The Long Walk

09. Scattered To The Four Winds

10. Fireside Bard

In a 2018 interview with Dead Rhetoric, Donockley stated about AURI's formation: "It was always there for us, since 2010. We decided back then that the three of us wanted to do something together. Tuomas and I are huge fans of Johanna's voice. I had been involved in one of her albums as a guest musician, and Tuomas had written a song for her on a solo album. So the three of us realized pretty early on that we wanted to do something together, musically. It was obvious that it couldn't be like NIGHTWISH. But it was something we felt really strongly about, that we had to release this atmosphere we all felt, and were tuned into. I know that sounds fairly vague, but that's truly what it was. It was a kind of music that we wanted to get out of ourselves. We are close friends and have very similar tastes and attitudes towards life so we made our plans, but NIGHTWISH is a behemoth. We have our commitments there and we did 'Imaginaerum' and 'Endless Forms Most Beautiful' after our decision to work together on some music. As it turned out, fortune smiled on us with a sabbatical year. We decided to dive in and work on it."

Asked how he would compare the spirit/essence of AURI with that of NIGHTWISH, Donockley said: "We don't see it as very different from NIGHTWISH at all. Sonically it is, for sure. We were struggling to find a label for it, as it usually happens, so I just tossed out 'celestial metal.' So this Polish journalist said to me, 'I know what you mean about celestial metal. It's kind of heavenly music. It has the metal attitude, but without all of the electric guitars and bass.' Metal is an attitude. The metal scene — the metal fans are open-minded, as I said before. The Italian [NIGHTWISH] fan club, I did an interview with them, and this was brought up and she told me that she was a fan of DIMMU BORGIR as well as Ed Sheeran. That's it right there! So I think the NIGHTWISH connection is inevitable because of Tuomas and I are in it, so there are those elements. But I think the spirit is the same as NIGHTWISH. It does cover a lot of the same themes, it's just not obviously NIGHTWISH. It's down to the sonic side, honestly."

AURI is:

Johanna Kurkela: Voices, viola

Tuomas Holopainen: Keys, backing voices

Troy Donockley: Acoustic and electric guitars, bouzouki, uilleann pipes, low whistles, aerophone, bodhran, keys, voices

Holopainen and Kurkela have been married since October 2015.

Photo credit: Mikko Linnavuori

SYSTEM OF A DOWN singer Serj Tankian has just released a 24-minute modern classical composition titled "Disarming Time: A Modern Piano Concerto" on his Serjical Strike Records label along with a self-produced video Serj made utilizing a lot of his own pictures and videos as a visual complement to the epic track.

"Disarming Time: A Modern Piano Concerto" arrives on the heels of Serj's critically acclaimed rock EP, "Elasticity", that was released in March of this year via BMG/Alchemy Recordings.

"Disarming Time: A Modern Piano Concerto" is a Dada-esque tapestry of classical to modern mini compositions expertly superimposed together like a BEATLES medley with the dynamics of SYSTEM OF A DOWN utilizing pianos, strings, rock instrumentation, ethnic instruments, choirs, the works.

Tankian comments: "When quarantine hit and all our projects and releases were canceled, I started itching for a musical challenge. One night sitting in bed looking through different voice memos on the iPhone I realized I have this huge trove of short, special, unrealized musical ideas. Right then the thought of creating an epic piece utilizing them all made me smile. So I recorded them all and started arranging the instrumentation to create this incredibly unique musical experience. I mean, who the fuck listens to 24 minutes of music as one piece today? We're about to find out :)".

Over the past decade, Tankian has delved deeply into the world of cinematic composition while creating music for various film, television and video game projects for both major studio productions and independent films. At the same time, he released "Elect The Dead Symphony" in 2009 and "Orca Symphony No. 1" in 2010. This project is an amalgamation of all this and more.

"Disarming Time: A Modern Piano Concerto" will make a redux presence three weeks from now, when it is released as part of the "Cool Gardens Poetry Suite". The release is a rich suite of four elegant cinematic works layered with intimate recital of prose from Tankian himself, taken from the pages of his first published book of poetry, "Cool Gardens". Tankian narrates 87 poems over the nearly 48 minutes of music, weaving his way through a bevy of topics ranging from humorous to sullen.

"Cool Gardens Poetry Suite" will also be accompanied with videos, this time at the hands of visual artist David Bradford, a previous collaborative partner on other Tankian projects. Bradford's visuals quite literally animate pixelated paint onto digital canvas as viewers are caravanned across their screens via Tankian's soundtrack and the gradual unveiling of his visual complement.

"Cool Gardens Poetry Suite" track listing:

01. Cinematic Piano Theme (With Poetry)

02. Les Melodies (With Poetry)

03. Percussion (With Poetry)

04. Disarming Time: A Modern Piano Concerto (With Poetry)

Tankian has slated additional music releases for later this year, as he's queued up an assemblage of 25 cinematic compositions that roam through light and dark soundscapes. The release will be called "Cinematique" and split up into two collections released at the same time in early August. Before the end of year, listeners can also expect two film soundtrack releases from Tankian, for "Truth To Power" and "I Am Not Alone", both being documentaries that the composer produced and scored.

Photo credit: Travis Shinn