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7 îêò 2024
VOODOO CIRCLE Releases New Single “On The Edge”
 November 15, 2024 will see German hard- and classic rock overlords Voodoo Circle release their seventh studio album, entitled "Hail To The King", via AFM Records.
Following a lyric video for the band's latest single "Let It Rock", today, Voodoo Circle are releasing their brand new song "On The Edge".
Every album has its own history, and this one not only tells of Voodoo Circle and its musicians, but also – indirectly, of course – of Whitesnake, Deep Purple, Rainbow and Led Zeppelin. Without trying to disguise their influences, Voodoo Circle consciously follow in the footsteps of these iconic acts and their great international status. Their upcoming album Hail To The King doesn’t even try to hide the obvious source of inspiration that spawned the twelve tracks on the recording, but presents with pride, bravura and impressive stylistic confidence the brand of timeless hard rock coined by those groups. Beyrodt states: “Our aim is to continue in the great tradition of this music and translate it into a contemporary context.”
The history of Hail To The King includes an interesting anecdote: Two of the twelve new album tracks were penned by former Rainbow keyboardist Tony Carey. Beyrodt remembers, looking back almost 25 years: “At the beginning of the 1990s, we were in Tony’s studio to record material for a Sinner album, including the two Carey compositions, ‘All For One’ and ‘Billy’s Song’, which were only released in Japan at the time. I still remember how, in my mid-twenties, I couldn’t believe that I was standing in a recording studio with a legend such as Carey, watching him play the Hammond organ for us, headbanging away. Both songs have been at the back of my mind ever since, just waiting for the right moment to record them again. And since I also wanted to listen to the Rainbow side of me for ‘Hail To The King’, that perfect moment seemed to have arrived.”
At the same time, the new Voodoo Circle album contains not only the usual Whitesnake reminiscences but also a powerful dose from the Led Zeppelin direction. As always, Beyrodt proves to be an outstandingly versatile guitarist, adding: “Ultimately, each song decides which guitar I play. The days when musicians stood for one specific type of guitar are long gone. Nowadays, it’s all about doing justice to the song and its story.”
The first-rate mix courtesy of Achim Köhler, which – like the impressive cover artwork – captures the spirit of this powerful rock disc perfectly, also underlines this claim. Finally, let’s not forget to mention that Voodoo Circle will be going on tour in November 2024, because one thing is obvious: These songs belong on a stage, where hard rock à la Voodoo Circleis truly at home.  | 0 |  |
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7 îêò 2024
MIKE PORTNOY: 'PANTERA Was The Band That Kept Metal Alive In The '90s'
 In a new interview with Consequence, DREAM THEATER's Mike Portnoy named PANTERA's 1992 album "Vulgar Display Of Power" as one of the 10 LPs which influenced his drumming. He said about the effort: "'Vulgar Display Of Power' came out around the same time as [DREAM THEATER's] 'Images And Words' back in 1992. We were actually labelmates at the time. So, we were working on the same label with the same people. And I remember hearing this when it came out, it just floored me. I was already a fan from 'Cowboys From Hell' that came out a year or two earlier, but this took their new sound and style and elevated it to a whole new level. To me, PANTERA was the band that kept metal alive in the '90s.
"By the time I was coming up with DREAM THEATER in the early '90s, thrash was starting to go away, grunge was killing all of us," he continued. "We were all fighting grunge, whether you were metal or prog or whatever, so PANTERA, to me, was the band that carried the flag. When METALLICA was going through their changes and ANTHRAX were going through their changes, PANTERA was carrying the metal flag throughout the '90s. And I have to give credit to maybe MACHINE HEAD and SEPULTURA as well.
"PANTERA, they took the heaviness of the thrash and speed metal world, but they really gave it a groove," Portnoy added. "I always appreciated that. They had a Texas swing and they had that swagger and they had the riffs and the heaviness of all these heavy thrash and speed metal bands, but they had the swagger of MÖTLEY CRÜE or GUNS N' ROSES, as weird as it is to say. And that's maybe why they toured with SKID ROW when this album came out.
"Vinnie Paul [Abbott, PANTERA drummer] played with a swing and a groove that a lot of thrash and speed metal drummers maybe didn't have. And I say that with all due respect, because a lot of those drummers blow my mind and are incredibly influential on me, but Vinnie, like a Mikkey Dee [KING DIAMOND, MOTÖRHEAD], had that swagger and that groove and really made these riffs that Dimebag [Darrell Abbott, PANTERA guitarist] was playing just really swing and groove."
Last year, Portnoy weighed in on the fact that PANTERA's surviving members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass) have united with guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX) for a world tour under the PANTERA banner. Anselmo and Brown, along with Wylde and Benante, headlined a number of major festivals across South America, Asia, North America and Europe and staged some of their own headline concerts. They also supported METALLICA on a massive North American stadium tour in 2023 and 2024.
According to Billboard, the new PANTERA lineup has been given a green light by the estates of the band's founders, drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott and guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, as well as Brown, who in 2021 said Wylde wouldn't tour with PANTERA if a reunion were to happen. It's unclear what changed his mind.
Portnoy discussed the controversy surrounding PANTERA's comeback in an interview with "THAT Rocks!", the weekly YouTube series hosted by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson. Asked if he has had a chance to catch a concert from the new PANTERA yet, the now-57-year-old drummer said: "I caught the show in Reading, Pennsylvania. It was fricking phenomenal. I loved it. Absolutely loved it… Charlie and Zakk are absolutely killing it, really. I couldn't be happier for them. I think all the naysayers that came in this skeptical at the beginning are now kind of eating their words and realizing how badass this is and how important it is, to keep that legacy alive."
He continued: "I know it was a tough pill for a lot of people to swallow, but I think the reality is if Dimebag hadn't been killed, I think they surely would've reunited at some point by now. And I understand Vinnie, once Dimebag was killed, I understand Vinnie never wanting to do it without him; it's his brother, so I get that. But now that Vinnie isn't with us either — it's Phil and Rex's band as well, and I think wanting to carry on the legacy for a whole new generation is a great, great thing. They're an important band and important to metal, and why shouldn't they be out there doing it, you know? And actually, they're doing it so tastefully and with so much honor and respect to Dime and Vinnie. They're there each and every show right there on Charlie's bass drum heads. So I think they're doing it right."
Back in July 2018, less than a month after Vinnie Paul's passing, Portnoy told Metal Wani: "Vinnie was a friend of mine for a long time. We became friends right around when [PANTERA] put out 'Cowboys From Hell' and [DREAM THEATER] put out 'Images And Words'. We were both signed to Atco at the same time, so we were dealing with a lot of the same people. And I became good friends with not only Vinnie, but all four of the guys in the band, and, to this day, remain good friends with all of 'em.
"When Vinnie came on the scene, in terms of his drumming, I think [PANTERA] were the perfect band that was needed in the metal world around '91, '92, because pretty much the 'Big Four' were kind of knocked out of style by grunge," he continued. "SLAYER, MEGADETH, ANTHRAX, METALLICA and then also TESTAMENT and EXODUS and OVERKILL, all those bands around the early '90s got killed by grunge. So PANTERA was the only band to really carry metal through the '90s. I'd say PANTERA, MACHINE HEAD and SEPULTURA — to me, those were the three that were carrying it through. But PANTERA were the top of those.
"And getting back to Vinnie specifically, when I heard 'Cowboys From Hell' and 'Vulgar Display [Of Power]', it was, like, 'Okay, this is fuckin' great metal drumming,'" Portnoy added. "I already was listening to Charlie Benante ], Dave Lombardo [SLAYER] and Lars Ulrich [METALLICA], but by the early '90s, Vinnie was kind of the next guy in line to carry the torch for the thrash or groove metal movement."
During an appearance on Eddie Trunk's SiriusXM show, Portnoy said that "Vinnie was a big part of the production" of the early PANTERA albums. "Him and Dime [PANTERA guitarist 'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott] co-produced with Terry [Date]. So he was very into that stuff — they were done at his studios. And he was very into that — it was another thing that he was really good at that you forget about. You just think about the drumming and the partying, but he was also really behind the PANTERA production."
Up until his passing, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for Dimebag's death.
Vinnie Paul and Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, they formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.
Vinnie passed away on June 22, 2018 at his other home in Las Vegas at the age of 54. He died of dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, as well as severe coronary artery disease. His death was the result of chronic weakening of the heart muscle — basically meaning his heart couldn't pump blood as well as a healthy heart.
Mike Portnoy photo credit: Travis Shinn
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6 îêò 2024
IAN HILL Says It Was Important For JUDAS PRIEST To Retain Its 'Signature Sound' When Hiring New Guitarists
 In a new interview with Charlie Kendall's Metalshop, JUDAS PRIEST bassist Ian Hill spoke about the additions of guitarists Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap to the band's touring and recording lineup and how they have affected PRIEST's overall sound. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're a band with a long history, so we have to sort of remain audibly very similar. There's no point in going out there and playing a song 30 years old that sounds completely different. It's gotta sound pretty much how the fans expect it to sound. So it was filling the roles, I think, initially at least.
"Richie's been with the band now for — what? — 12, 13 years," he continued. "And, of course a lot of that time he was playing alongside of Glenn [Tipton, who has retired from touring]. So a guitarist being a guitarist, they'd talk and Glenn gave tips and hints to Richie the way Ken [former PRIEST guitarist Kenneth 'K.K.' Downing] might have done something, at least on the first tour. And then, of course, when we started to do new records with Richie, he could go and do his own thing. He could be himself rather than trying to fill somebody else's boots. And pretty much the same with Andy, fast forward about 10 years. And so Richie has been assimilated, if you like — he's now part of the clan, of the family. And the same happened with Andy. I mean, Andy was a great choice. He'd just [produced] the new record — he produced 'Firepower' — so he was familiar with all the new material. I think we might have done four or five songs from 'Firepower' on that particular tour. So, when you're learning a song, half of it is knowing and getting it between your ears. You're halfway there, and then the playing part — there's nothing worse than playing something, getting it right, and you're thinking, 'What comes next?' So, he was a perfect choice, really, to fit the bill. He's also a fan of the band, and he was familiar, and still is, with all the older stuff as well. So, he was a pretty perfect fit. And of course, over the tours — I think he's on his fourth tour now or something like that — he's grown in stature as well and he's performing really, really well on stage as well… So we have that signature sound, and I think that's very, very important."
JUDAS PRIEST recently kicked off leg two of its "Invincible Shield" tour with special guest SABATON. The all-time greats are taking over new markets in North America this fall with an additional 23 performances. Produced by Live Nation, the tour launched on September 13 at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec and makes stops in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Omaha, Nebraska; Spokane, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Los Angeles, California; Phoenix, Arizona and more before wrapping up with three shows in Texas on October 22, 24 and 26.
JUDAS PRIEST kicked off the spring 2024 U.S. leg of the "Invincible Shield" world tour on April 18 at Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut.
"Invincible Shield" entered the U.K. chart at No. 2, just behind Ariana Grande's "Eternal Sunshine".
Prior to "Invincible Shield"'s arrival, PRIEST's highest U.K. chart achievement was with 1980's "British Steel", which reached No. 4.
PRIEST's 2018 album "Firepower" entered the chart at No. 5.
"Invincible Shield" was JUDAS PRIEST's fifth Top 10 album, after the aforementioned "British Steel" and "Firepower", as well as 2014's "Redeemer Of Souls" (No. 6) and the 1979 live album "Unleashed In The East" (No. 10).
"Invincible Shield" landed at No. 1 in Germany, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as No. 5 in France, No. 8 in Italy and No. 16 in Australia.
This past March, Hill was asked by Spain's Rock FM if he and his bandmates have thought about a possible retirement yet. The 72-year-old bassist responded: "No, we have no plan to retire yet. We're still able to perform. The time to think about retiring is when your performances start to dip and you're not doing too well. You have to think about it then. We're not stupid; we know that we're not getting any younger and that there will be a time when we have to retire, but there's no plans to do so just yet."
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6 îêò 2024
WIND ROSE Release New Single "The Great Feast Underground; Music Video
 Dwarven power metal warriors, Wind Rose, celebrate their fast-approaching album release and tour kickoff with mugs full of beer, delivering the epic party anthem, "The Great Feast Underground". Their new album, Trollslayer, will be released on October 4, the day they begin their biggest tour to date with label colleagues and genre giants Powerwolf, as well as HammerFall.
After releasing the catchy Deep Rock Galactic hymn “Rock And Stone” and the sing-a-long anthem “To Be A Dwarf”, Wind Rose celebrate the dwarven party of the year, which can be experienced in yet another outstanding official music video. Dive deep into the world under the mountains with “The Great Feast Underground”.
Wind Rose on “The Great Feast Underground”: “Our 2019 party anthem “Drunken Dwarves” needed a heir to the throne, and that's how “The Great Feast Underground” was born. Prepare to raise your mugs, sing along with us and embrace the spirit of the party! We are looking forward to playing this banger live and to see some massive circle pits to it.”
Watch the video for “The Great Feast Underground”:
Trollslayer follows the success of Warfront (2022), which debuted in the Top 10 on the US Current Hard Music Albums chart. Arriving right before their biggest European tour ever alongside Powerwolf and HammerFall, this album promises to be the perfect blend of signature party anthems alongside select deeper, more serious tracks. Exploding onto the scene with viral appearances on TikTok and amassing almost half a million followers on the platform, as well as almost a million monthly listeners, Wind Rose have solidified their reputation as a powerhouse in the modern power metal scene.
Wind Rose on the new album Trollslayer: “We spent more than 2 years working on Trollslayer, a new Dwarf Metal opera that will entertain you with fast riffs, beer and fun. With Trollslayer we didn’t only keep all the key elements of Dwarf metal, we also brought back the fast paced rhythms typical of our previous albums. Both Wintersaga and Warfront have had a great impact on our fans, even if they have many differences in style. With Trollslayer we unified all the best features of both albums and we are delivering what we believe is the best Dwarf Metal experience so far. We can’t wait to play some of these new songs live for you, are you ready?!”
Trollslayer starts-off with the epic instrumental “Of Ice and Blood”, setting the stage for the fiery energy to come. Next up is the electrifying “Dance of the Axes”, a potent mix of catchy refrains and guttural growls. It is directly followed by two party anthems, “The Great Feast Underground” – which overtakes the listener with crazy dwarven drinking rhythms – as well as throwing the gauntlet with the anthem “Rock and Stone”, a party track inspired by space dwarf first-person shooter video game Deep Rock Galactic. The album continues with three deep and catchy anthems – the fast “Home of the Twilight”, the upbeat “To Be a Dwarf”, and the Warhammer-inspired title track “Trollslayer”. The album concludes with the gripping “No More Sorrow”, showcasing Wind Rose's ability to weave moments of emotional depth into their music. This track proves that even the mightiest dwarven warriors carry the weight of loss and hardship!
Trollslayer brings the listener into an unforgettable journey through the caves of metal, capturing the epic, medieval spirit of the dwarves!
Trollslayer will be available in the following formats:
- 1CD Digipack & Tankard – Napalm Records Mailorder exclusive – strictly limited to 300
- 1LP Gatefold Vinyl Gold, Slipmat, Vinyl Booklet – strictly limited to 200
- 1LP Gatefold Vinyl Black / White Marbled – strictly limited to 200
- 1CD Digipack & Shirt Bundle
- 1LP Gatefold Vinyl Black
- 1CD Digipack
- 1LP Gatefold Vinyl Silver –North America Indies Exclusive – strictly limited to 500
- Digital Album
- 1CD Digipak w/ signed autograph card – (limited North American Newbury Comics exclusive)
- 1LP Gatefold Vinyl Black w/ signed autograph card – (limited North American Newbury Comics exclusive)
- 1LP Gatefold Vinyl Trans Clear Red marbled – Wind Rose store exclusive – strictly limited to 500
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6 îêò 2024
TESTAMENT And Modist Brewing Co. Launch West Coast IPA "Apocalyptic City"
 Modist Brewing Company is thrilled to announce their latest beer release, Apocalyptic City, a West Coast IPA brewed in collaboration with thrash metal icons, Testament. This limited-edition brew celebrates the iconic sounds and energy of Testament while delivering a crushable 6% ABV IPA with bursts of bold flavors and intense aroma.
Apocalyptic City is a smooth, medium-bodied IPA that will lay your taste buds to waste with a balanced hop bitterness and bright tropical flavors. Crafted with pale ale malt and Goldpils Vienna malt, and dry-hopped with hand-selected Simcoe, Citra, and Sultana hops, this IPA glows with a pale golden-orange hue. On the palate, drinkers can expect notes of pineapple-orange marmalade, passion fruit, and citrus pine, creating a true thrash-inspired experience.
This collaboration brings together Testament's "Apocalyptic City", a song that captures the chaos and power of the band's music, and Modist's commitment to pushing boundaries in brewing. In addition to the beer’s unique profile, the label features artwork by the talented Mats Engsten and Vic Moya, reflecting Testament's iconic thrash metal aesthetic.
“We’re beyond stoked to team up with one of thrash metal's greatest bands,” said Keigan Knee, Co-Owner and Director of Product Development at Modist. “This beer is a tribute to the raw energy and influence of Testament, and we can’t wait for their fans—and our beer fans—to get a taste of Apocalyptic City.”
Beer Availability:
- Pre-sale: Apocalyptic City is available for pre-sale now exclusively through Halftime Beverage. With shipping to most US states and all countries worldwide, consumers can order 12- or 24-packs of this exclusive release. Shipping begins in early October, but quantities are limited.
- Retail & Taproom Release: Apocalyptic City in cans is available for retail now at the Modist Brewing Taproom, with distribution within the Metro area to select liquor stores starting now.
Stay tuned for more information on upcoming events and special releases connected to Apocalyptic City via Modist Brewing’s social media platforms.
Join Testament on Monday, October 14 at 7 PM for a Meet & Greet / Signing at Park Ave CDs - 2916 Corrine Dr. in Orlando, Florida.
Featuring a Special Q&A with the band and a Testament judged pumpkin carving contest. Bring your killer creations to the shop for a chance to win a prize-pack from Concept Cafes Coffee + Park Ave CDs.
Testament will be signing records along with their latest release Brazen, the official Testament coffee. This coffee is in collaboration with local roasters Concept Cafes & Coterie Coffee Co. and they’ll be on site selling the collectible / limited edition Brazen coffee tin!
Artwork designed by Marina Tsareva/ Head Artist & Design @ Concept Cafes
Are you "Brazen" enough to slurp the sacrifice and be illuminated in the enlightenment?! Testament’s Brazen Coffee explores the true origins of coffee from ancient temple rituals to the fabled lore of venomous miracle elixirs. Brazen is a divine dark roast, sinisterly smooth and brazenly-bodied, the purest form of specialty coffee, tediously roasted to perfection. Brazen makes a diabolical drip, an evil espresso and callous cold brew.
Testament’s Brazen Coffee was roasted especially fresh right before the kick- off of the Klash of the Titans North American 2024 Tour to maximize the most Brazen coffee experience ever!
Testament has released remastered versions of their seminal albums The Legacy and The New Order both digitally and on vinyl via Nuclear Blast Records. Both releases + other classic Tes
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6 îêò 2024
CRASH MIDNIGHT Premieres “Toxic Propaganda” Lyric Video
 Crash Midnight are back with another new single, this time aiming their sights at corporate media with “Toxic Propaganda”. The single follows their previous release, “Dead Aces”, issued this past May. A lyric video for "Toxic Propaganda" is available below. Stream the single on Spotify.
Vocalist Shaun Soho caught up with BraveWords’ Nick Balazs to talk about the inspiration behind the song and what’s coming up in the band’s future.
BraveWords: “Toxic Propaganda” – please explain the meaning behind the title and song.
Shaun Soho: I've had the idea for the song title for quite a while now, but the lyrical content really came together over the last several years as we've seen that veneer of impartiality of all these legacy media outlets really getting ripped off. We're trying to draw attention to, or really expose, the captured corporate media as the shills they are. "News with an agenda" is a real problem. So much of the news that people consume is hopelessly sensationalized and it seems like everybody always thinks "yeah, but not my side" and we're like "yes, your fucking side too jackass."
BraveWords: Crash Midnight usually doesn’t touch these type of subjects, what drove the inspiration behind writing this type of song?
Shaun Soho: As a band, we focus our stuff mostly on social commentary - whether it's something that's directly affected us or a situation we've been in as a result of what's going on around us. "Toxic Propaganda" isn't really a political song per se because frankly we're not really what you'd call "joiners," especially of either of those teams, but seeing the legacy media so willing to spin for corporate interests, big pharma, and the war machine - at some point, that all comes home, you know?
You see things reported and go 'that's horrible, I can't believe they did that,' but then you actually look up what really happened (because it just seems so unbelievable) and find out these outlets have completely manipulated and twisted reality to serve some greater agenda. I don't fucking like being lied to and I don't like watching rigged games. It's not a left or right thing because both sides are being wildly lied to and sensationalized. Until we, as a country, can agree on reality, we're going to keep spiraling out of control, but I'm hopeful that this all may come to a head soon and maybe the more we get the message out there to question whatever propaganda you're guzzling from your preferred side, the better chance we all make it out of this alive and come back together.
BraveWords: The lyric video drives home the message of the media’s divisive tactics, talk about the theme and idea behind the video.
Shaun Soho: This is the first lyric video we've ever done. We really thought it was fitting to focus the video for a song like this on the actual lyrical content rather than anything else. We cover the Rolling Stones song "Gimme Shelter" often as an encore song and "Toxic Propaganda" is, in some part, a take-off on that. It's like a "Rome is Burning" commentary on what's happening all around us here. There's actually a cool lyric video for "Gimme Shelter" and we gave a little nod to that with the general black, white, and red color scheme we used.
BraveWords: What do you hope listeners take out of the song?
Shaun Soho: I hope it makes people think more about what they've been watching - what echo chamber they've siloed themselves into - and start questioning whether they've been propagandized by these media outlets. It's a sort of thing that once you see it, you can't unsee it and too many people just unquestioningly believe whatever media they religiously consume. But so many of these stations are straight up lying to you. They misreport things, intentionally take stuff way out of context to twist their audience’s opinions, or flat out refuse to report on something to keep their viewers in the dark and keep them in line with the agenda. Anyone that needs to manipulate you that much doesn't have your best interests in mind and certainly is not on your side. The credibility of legacy media is crumbling by the day and hopefully something like this can help blow it apart for good.
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6 îêò 2024
BULLETS AND OCTANE Release New “Party On The Roof” Video
 Southern California's Bullets And Octane has unleashed their latest video “Party On the Roof”.
A fan favorite from their album Demos & B-Sides, “Party On The Roof” was written “to celebrate the end of summer with a bang (party on the roof); it’s a more fun/tongue-in-cheek type of song and music video encouraging fans to let loose. It was filmed at the legendary Doll Hut in Anaheim, California and celebrates the wild things in life like a motorcyle/car show and party… just nothing but a good time to end this summer and bring us into fall,” states vocalist Gene Louis.
The new video follows the success of their recent single/video “No One Gets Out Alive” featuring guitarist Steve Stevens (Billy Idol, Kings Of Chaos).
Formed in 1998, Bullets And Octane has been a powerhouse in the rock music scene, sharing stages with iconic bands such as Avenged Sevenfold, Stone Sour, Social Distortion, and Eagles Of Death Metal. With a career spanning over two decades, the band has solidified their position as one of the most dynamic and engaging acts in the industry.
Their journey to stardom began in 2003 with the release of their debut EP, One Night Stand Rock N Roll Band, followed by the explosive debut album, The Revelry. Since then, Bullets And Octane have continued to captivate audiences with their high-energy performances and infectious melodies.
In addition to their musical prowess, Bullets And Octane have garnered critical acclaim for their relentless work ethic and unwavering passion for their craft. As Gene Louis, the band's leader, singer, and chief songwrite | 0 | |
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6 îêò 2024
ODDLAND Release "Eternal Erode" Single And Video
 Finnish progressive metal band, Oddland, are thrilled to unveil their new single and video, “Eternal Erode”, available today via Frontiers Music Srl. Watch the official video below.
The band express their excitement for this release, by saying: “Our first single release off the upcoming album raises the question whether this planet we live on might be better off without our species, if we might be better off being eaten by worms. This most intelligent species is doing a wonderful job slowly harvesting its home into decay. Or in other words, casting this most beautiful place to 'Eternal (ly) Erode'."
"The video was fully directed and edited by our multi-talented drummer Ville Viitanen and perfectly accompanies the moods set by the music. We feel this is our best music video so far!”, they add.
Founded in 2003 in Turku, Finland, Oddland’s forward-thinking delivery melds aggressive tones, spacious textures, and glorious melodies into a seamless and cohesive entity. Following a string of successful demos, the band was signed to Century Media for the 2012 debut album, The Treachery Of Senses.
Mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö, the record was greeted with a barrage of critical acclaim, including praise from top-tier publications, and praised as the best prog-metal record ever recorded in Finland.
Oddland recorded the magnificent follow-up album Origin at Fantom Studios (Insomnium, Korpiklaani, Oranssi Pazuzu) after which it was mixed and mastered by Daniel Bergstrand (Meshuggah, In Flames, Dimmu Borgir) and release worldwide through Sensory Records in 2016.
Containing a bit more than forty-five minutes of music, the album bears a theme which ties deeply into the lyrics and extensive artwork, with a separate piece of art being created for each of the nine songs, by Egyptian artist Mohammed Essam.
Oddland have performed at several festivals including FME, Tuska, Headway, Næstved metalfest and Progpower Europe, been touring Europe three times, both as support act for Persefone, for Manticora and as split headliner, in addition to many shows alongside the likes of established acts including Soen, Leprous, Swallow the Su | 0 | |
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6 îêò 2024
MASTODON Has 'A Lot Of Loose Demos' For Next Studio Album
 In a new interview with Kyle Meredith, MASTODON singer/bassist Troy Sanders spoke about the band's plans for the follow-up to the "Hushed And Grim" album, which came out in 2021. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Thankfully, we don't really sit down. Nothing is really preconceived as far as musically. Whatever riffs are happening with people in the band, those come to the forefront. And if we like it, then we dig in on it and we try to get it to a spot where it can become hopefully a good song. The storyline, if we decide to have one on the next album, that will come if someone brings in an idea, like, 'Hey, guys, I've been thinking about this thing. What do you think of ta-da-da?' And if it sounds interesting, compelling, then we'll dig in and give it a go maybe. But at this moment, we just wrapped up three years of touring on 'Hushed And Grim', so we're excited to dig into some new music. That's for damn sure. But nothing is written in blood or set in stone. But also nothing is off limits. If someone comes and says, 'What do you think of this, guys? Just hear me out.' And if it sounds interesting and unique and potentially fun to pursue, then we're in. We never really think, like, 'Hey, the last record was long. It was good. It was long and dark and the subject matter was really sad. So we need to do something different.' Well, we're gonna do something different anyway. But we're not gonna do anything just to try to please our fanbase. We're not gonna do anything to purposely try to appeal to a new fanbase or anything like that. We've always just felt confident in whatever we do, people will see through it as authentic, and whether they like it or not, it's not in our hands anyway."
Sanders went on to say that he is "excited to dig into new stuff" with his MASTODON bandmates. "We've got a lot of loose demos that we've been collecting over the years of touring," he explained. "So now that we're home, I'm excited to call the guys here in a few days after everyone reacclimates to home after a seven-week tour and be, like, 'Hey, what's happening? How you feeling? You want to dig in? You ready? You guys ready?'"
Asked if he thinks performing MASTODON's entire "Leviathan" album on the recent "Ashes Of Leviathan" co-headlining tour with LAMB OF GOD will have any effect on the musical direction of MASTODON's next LP, Troy said: "Good question. We were proud to play that record every night for the past month and a half. It didn't feel like simply nostalgia. It felt like, 'Hey, this is a cool record.' We know what it did for us. A lot of people love it. There's tons of people out there enjoying it as we're playing it live. So it was awesome. It's very possible that some of that ferocity and some of those quick riffs will be, like, 'Hey…' This is fun to play. It's very fun to play. So I wouldn't be surprised if some 'Leviathan' creeps in. But it's still in the early stages."
"Leviathan", released on Relapse Records, was MASTODON's first concept album, loosely based on the 1851 novel "Moby-Dick" by Herman Melville. Three magazines named the LP "Album Of The Year" in 2004: Revolver, Kerrang! and Terrorizer. In 2009 and 2015, MetalSucks named "Leviathan" the best metal album of the 21st century. "Leviathan" was also released with an audio DVD in a limited-edition set with a black-and-gold slipcase.
MASTODON's latest album, the aforementioned "Hushed And Grim", was a double LP recorded at the band's Atlanta studio, West End Sound. The effort was produced by David Bottrill (TOOL, RUSH, MUSE, PETER GABRIEL) and was MASTODON's most expansive song cycle to date, featuring 15 distinct tracks. It achieved the band's third consecutive No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart and earned MASTODON a Grammy Award nomination for the track "Pushing The Tides". Additionally, the album's single "Teardrinker" secured a top 10 position on the rock radio charts, a further testament to the band's widespread acclaim.
Last month, MASTODON and LAMB OF GOD shared a collaborative new single called "Floods Of Triton". The track, which was recorded prior to the launch of the "Ashes Of Leviathan" tour, was made available via Loma Vista Recordings.
"Floods Of Triton" was recorded at MASTODON's own West End Sound in Atlanta and was produced by MASTODON and Tyler Bates, highly regarded in his own right for his scores for "Guardians Of The Galaxy", "John Wick", "MaXXXine" and more.
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6 îêò 2024
See EXTREME Perform Cover Of VAN HALEN Classic 'Mean Street' In Montreal
 Fan-filmed video of EXTREME performing a cover version of VAN HALEN's "Mean Street" on September 28 at MTelus in Montreal, Quebec, Canada can be seen below.
In a new interview with Tom Power, host of "Q" on Canada's CBC Radio One, EXTREME guitarist Nuno Bettencourt spoke about how he felt when he first heard Eddie Van Halen's classic instrumental "Eruption". He said: "That's the shot heard around the world, man. That's the real shot heard around the world. When Edward Van Halen, when we dropped that needle on 'Van Halen 1', and we didn't know what spaceship had landed, what happened, what alien that was, and he just changed guitar playing forever, period. In a good way."
Asked why Van Halen was the guy that changed his life, as opposed to someone like Jeff Beck or Eric Clapton, Nuno said: "Well, because a lot of the guys you just spoke about, which were incredible and still are incredible at their generation, let's say, possibly a generation before me, were doing things, as guitar players, as creatives, almost in what they played and stylistically. Edward did the same thing, but he did one thing a little bit different. He changed the sound of a guitar player. He changed it in an innovative way, so innovative on the types of things we were hearing that we were confused about. It wasn't just like a blues scale that Clapton or [Jimi] Hendrix might have played that had been around for a minute from Chuck Berry and everybody else, but they were just taking that to a different place. When we heard Edward, and I'm sure as quiet as they were, the Claptons and the and the Jimmy Pages of the world, I'm sure they were doing the same thing we were doing — putting it on and going, 'Okay. What is this? What is he doing? What is going on?' Even though the guys before them, they were incredible and they were game changers and they were influential, we could still visualize and we could still intellectualize where the fingers were and what was going on. When we heard 'Eruption', we were just, like, 'Wait a second. Wait a second.' Go back. Listen to it again. Listen to it again. It was just a different level of technicality, but also creativity, and it was just so innovative. And you know what? For me, that stuff, 'Eruption', was one thing. I'm talking more about the rhythm playing. Edward was doing something where all the guys before him, while they were playing their rhythm tracks, if a change to a section happened, it was always the drummer who did a fill, who did something to make a change. Edward was now — we were hearing a guitar player and going, 'Wait a second. We can also have fun with rhythm playing?' He's doing fills, almost like drum fills, going into sections, having fun and putting a smile on your face and really being creative and playing little vignettes of solos for — I don't know — a bar or two in between sections. That was something really fresh and new. It made you go, 'I can be creative with rhythm playing.' That was wild."
Back in September 2023, Nuno once again dismissed suggestions that his is Eddie Van Halen's heir in the realm of rock guitar playing. Discussing the late guitar legend's legacy in an interview with Tony González of Made In Metal, the EXTREME guitarist was asked to share his thoughts on being referred to as Van Halen's successor, to which he replied: "I think when somebody like Edward changes guitar that much, I don't think there will ever be anybody — not me, not anybody else — that is gonna take that throne. But for guys like me who were influenced by him, the best thing we can do is keep that torch alive, keep the guitar playing alive and hopefully keep passing it on to other generations as well. We definitely don't want guitar to go away in that way, and we want people to keep inspiring younger generations to play. So I'm hoping at the very least that's something I can do — on behalf of Eddie Van Halen."
Nuno went on to say that Eddie has been a huge influence on his playing. "I wouldn't be playing the same way, the way I play, if it wasn't for Edward Van Halen," he said. "I wouldn't be playing the way I'd be playing if it wasn't for Brian May or Jimmy Page or Randy Rhoads or Neal Schon or Elliot Easton from THE CARS. There's so many guitar players that make up a part of who you are. Steve Lukather, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen — all these guys are influences."
Bettencourt previously addressed comparisons between him and Van Halen in June 2023 in an interview with Metal Edge. "I mean, I never asked for that," he said about being referred to as Van Halen's successor, "but listen, when [EXTREME's] 'Rise' [single and video] came out, I was getting some great responses on the solo and everything in general, and that felt really good. A lot of my peers and heroes, like Steve Lukather, Steve Vai and Brian May, sent me personal texts and e-mails after sharing the song, which was amazing. And then, I was starting to read everywhere that I was, like, 'the heir to the throne' that Edward left."
He continued: "I have to say that while that is gratifying, there is no heir to the throne of Eddie Van Halen. Nobody sits on that throne. Nobody takes that throne. Here's why it's different with Eddie: when a great guitar player passes, you just move on to another, right? But in this case, Eddie wasn't just a 'guitar player.' We're talking about a guy who changed culture and how we play guitar. He was like an alien coming in and fucking everything up so much that even the legends beforehand are like, 'Okay… what is happening here? What sorcery is this?'
"All I can say is that after seeing [Eddie] while I was working on 'Rise' and then hearing the news of his passing, I did feel a little bit of a responsibility," Nuno added. "It's not about me being 'the guy' or some great guitar player because there are lots of them, right? But I definitely felt that within my genre and my generation, I felt like that after Edward passed, I had at least a little bit of responsibility to set an example."
EXTREME's Gary Cherone became the third VAN HALEN frontman when he took over after Sammy Hagar left the group (or was fired, depending on whom you ask) in 1996. Asked in a 2016 interview with The Washington Times how it happened that he ended up lead singer of VAN HALEN, Cherone said: "I don't know if it was the stars aligned or I was at the right place at the right time. Our manager was also managing VAN HALEN. I got a tryout. I flew to L.A. thinking to myself, 'I'm gonna spend the weekend singing VAN HALEN songs with the band. Then coming back home to Boston with a great VAN HALEN story to tell.' That's how I approached it. I remember on the flight, Nuno saying, 'Why not you? Go for it.' I didn't have any expectations. By the second day, me and Eddie [Van Halen] hit it off and wrote 'Without You', the first track on the record ('Van Halen 3'). I was then asked to join the band."
Cherone also offered his theory as to why his collaboration with VAN HALEN didn't work. He said: "Looking back, if I was to do it all over again, I would have liked to tour with the band before I made the record. I think the record had some good songs on it but fell a little short production-wise. But they treated me great. It ran its course. The record didn't live up to expectations. We were starting to write the second record and things got a little dysfunctional."
Back in 2012, Cherone told Rolling Stone that it was "surreal" to walk onstage with VAN HALEN for the first time. He said: "We were in New Zealand and they were going to broadcast one of the first shows live. I got into a fight with the manager. I said, 'You're going to put this on video and I've only done three shows with this band? Let's do a video at the end of the tour so I can feel comfortable.' I remember being stressed out, but I felt comfortable. For me, all during the making of the record I couldn't wait to go on tour because that was my comfort zone. I was dying to get out there and play some new songs, play some old songs. Of course you're going to get the die-hard fans who are never going to like you no matter what you do. But most of the time, 90 precent of the audience was thrilled that I was singing the old shit. Two thirds of the set, if not more, were songs VAN HALEN fans hadn't heard in a very long time."
Eddie Van Halen told Billboard in 2015 that he definitely didn't bond with Cherone over clothing choices. "We were getting ready to go on tour, and all of a sudden I see this John Travolta outfit — these big lapels and a crazy jacket," Eddie said. "He's like, 'This is my stage outfit.' That's when I realized it wasn't going to work."
EXTREME's latest album, "Six", came out in June 2023 via earMUSIC. "Six" landed at position No. 10 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart with first-week sales of 12,500 copies. The set marked the band's first studio album since 2008. The act was last in the Top 10 with "III Sides To Every Story", which debuted and peaked at No. 10 back in October 1992. | +1 | |
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6 îêò 2024
TONY MACALPINE To Debut Art Collection Built From His Riffs; Video Trailer
 Guitar legend Tony MacAlpine will unveil "The Illusionist", a mesmerizing release of artwork made from a performance on the fretboard. Designed to showcase another dimension of time, space, and musicianship.
“The Illusionist" release will be unveiled on October 30. For more information join the interest page to get exclusive information on the release and access to see the collection before the public.
A quick look at the creation session is available below.
SceneFour is primarily known as the team responsible for the "rhythm-on-canvas" medium, having released art collections over the last several years with a highly select group of drumming legends, including Bill Ward (Black Sabbath), Rick Allen (Def Leppard) and Dave Lombardo (Slayer).
SceneFour, a Los Angeles design and branding firm, uses LED technology to transfer the musicians' unique style onto a canvas. The art reportedly provides a "musical fingerprint" that is as unique as an artist's autograph.
"Each guy's artwork looks drastically different because their styles and techniques are different," Cory Danziger, who co-founded SceneFour in 2004 with Ravi Dosaj, a grap | 0 | |
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6 îêò 2024
ERIC MARTIN On MR. BIG's Touring Days: 'It's Over'
 In a new interview with George Dionne of KNAC.COM, MR. BIG frontman Eric Martin once again admitted that he was second guessing the group's decision to stop touring after the completion of "The BIG Finish" farewell tour. Asked what "The BIG Finish" means to him, he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, I'm not pulling the wool over anybody's eyes. It means the touring is over. Which kind of bums me out, because I was there in the meeting a year and change ago going, 'Yep. I agree. It's time that we call it quits.'
"I didn't wanna quit for the longest time," he admitted. "I mean, this was brought up, like, five years ago. 'Should we do a farewell tour?' We've got other projects going, and it's kind of hard to keep the MR. BIG thing alive. And I was, like, 'No,' cheerleading, 'Please, no. We've gotta keep it going.' But yeah, a year and a few months ago, I was totally in agreement with everybody going, 'Yeah, this is it.' I even thought of the name 'BIG Finish'. So I put the nail in the coffin. But now I'm, like, oh, I wish I had a nice big hammer to unclog that nail. 'Cause the band's so good and so tight. The crowd's coming out. New album came out. The momentum is there. And the band just sounds so tight on stage.
Circling back to what "The BIG Finish" means as far as the possibility of future MR. BIG live shows, Eric said: "What I mean by 'The BIG Finish' is there's no touring anymore. I would hope that we still leave the door open. I mean, I brought this up many times online. Even Nick D'Virgilio, our drummer, he goes, 'Man, we should do a residency in Indonesia or Japan or just anywhere,' like do a residency. And I go, 'Man, I just hope we can play in a few years, play four or five shows here and there, maybe play a festival with bands in our ilk.' It'd be great to keep that door open. And no response. I think also, a whole year and almost a half of touring, everybody just kind of wants to take a break. But I'm, like, 'Let's ride this wave, brother. Let's do this.' But yeah, no more touring. No more multiple dates. It's over. The big lady has sung."
This past August, Eric told Roppongi Rocks's Stefan Nilsson that there is no chance of him and his MR. BIG bandmates going back on their word that they would not tour ever again. "We're not the kind of band — when we say that we're gonna quit and it's over and we're not touring anymore… We may do a one-off here and there every couple of years or whatever, but we're not going to be like the MÖTLEY CRÜEs and the KISSes," he explained." And no offense to them, because the crowds keep coming to see 'em, but we're not gonna do it. We just maybe have too much pride in it."
Asked if there is a chance of MR. BIG making more studio albums in the future, Eric said: "I did an interview the other day with Billy [Sheehan, MR. BIG bassist], and… I'm not my brother's keeper. I don't know what he thinks. I know what I think, that I'd like to do albums. If we're not gonna tour anymore for different reasons — I mean, I just don't wanna tour lengthy…. This has been a year. I just can't do it. I'm too old to… Everybody goes, 'Oh, what about THE ROLLING STONES?' Yeah. What about THE ROLLING STONES? Flying in, playing one show and two weeks later playing another show. Yeah, this is back-to-back touring. Hardly any hotels. I mean, the bus will suffice, but it's like a big camping trip for older men. So, I would like to do other albums. But the interview went like this. The guy goes, 'You gonna do another album?' And I'm, like, 'I'd like to.' And Billy goes, 'No, that's it.' I'm, like, 'All right.' But he's the guy that always says, 'Never say never.'"
MR. BIG played the last show of its "The BIG Finish" farewell tour on August 23 at the Way Too Far Rock Festival 2024 in Bistrița, Romania.
After the concert, Sheehan took to his social media to share a picture from the gig and he included the following message: "Romania!!! Crowd was a little bit light, but they made up for it in enthusiasm! The last MR. BIG show (not MY last show, goddammit!!).
"What a great run we've had since 1988. We made Great memories and millions (literally) of friends all around the world. My unlimited love and respect to all who listened, watched, purchased records, tickets and T -shirts. — without you we would have been nothing. Fact. Moving on now to other adventures, but never forgetting this amazing experience."
Guitarist Paul Gilbert added: "What an adventure! MR. BIG wraps up over a year of touring! Many thanks to ALL! I'll get home just in time for my son's 10th birthday. I hope he remembers who I am!"
D'Virgilio, who joined MR. BIG in 2023 as the replacement for the late Pat Torpey, commented: "It has been an amazing run with @billysheehanonbass @paulgilbert_official and @iamericmartin I've been able to rock n roll all over the world with the guys and I will be forever thankful. Big Love for MR. BIG!"
MR. BIG's tenth studio album, "Ten", was released on July 12 via Frontiers Music Srl. The LP features 11 new original tracks written by Martin and Gilbert, along with André Pessis and Tony Fanucchi. "Ten" was produced by Jay Ruston and MR. BIG.
D'Virgilio missed most of the final European leg of MR. BIG's "The BIG Finish" tour due to his commitments with his band BIG BIG TRAIN. He was temporarily replaced on the trek by Edu Cominato, an experienced drummer from São Paulo, Brazil who has previously played with Sheehan and Martin, Jeff Scott Soto and Geoff Tate (QUEENSRŸCHE),among others.
When MR. BIG announced "The BIG Finish" tour last year, the bandmembers said that it was "time to mark the end of this chapter of their legacy" after drummer Pat Torpey lost his battle with Parkinson's disease in 2018. The first leg kicked off in Japan and Southeast Asia in July and August 2023, where the band performed for hundreds of thousands of loyal fans at 11 sold-out shows including Budokan in Tokyo, Japan.
MR. BIG's last-ever live album release was "The BIG Finish Live", which came out on September 6 via the Evolution Music Group.
"The BIG Finish Live" is a brand-new live album and concert film of MR. BIG's "The BIG Finish" farewell tour, where the band played their million-selling "Lean Into It" album in its entirety, plus additional MR. BIG classics. | 0 | |
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6 îêò 2024
SYSTEM OF A DOWN's SHAVO ODADJIAN: 'People Think We're Broken Up Because We Haven't Made Music'
 In a new interview with Australia's Wall Of Sound, Shavo Odadjian spoke SYSTEM OF A DOWN's inability to make the follow-up to its "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize" LPs, which came out in 2005. The Serj Tankian-fronted outfit has toured intermittently since ending its hiatus in 2011 but has yet to record any new music. The 50-year-old Armenian-American Shavo, born Shavarsh Odadjian, said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We had one show in '23. We had two shows in '24. I'm hoping to have four to seven shows in '25. So we'll gradually come and do more shows. But at least it's happening. So I'll take what I can get from that."
He continued: "I love [the other guys in the band] and I love the music and I love doing it. I would do it every day, but it takes four people to do what we do. And I respect everyone's wishes and everyone's feelings, and if someone's not ready, they're not ready. I can't force them, man. And no one should. And it's never because I hate or someone hates or there's a problem. There's nothing like that. It's just not the moment. When it's there, it's there."
Shavo added: "We're not broken up. People think we're broken up because we haven't made music. Yeah, there's creative differences, and that happens. But it doesn't mean that we can't be on stage together and we can't rehearse together. And I hang out with John [Dolmayan, SYSTEM OF A DOWN drummer] daily — John and I are like brothers. And I love the other two. I don't see them as much, but when I do see them, it's like we never stopped hanging out. It's like that type of friendship. We're always gonna be friends no matter what."
Last month, Shavo told Chuck Armstrong of Loudwire Nights about the possibility of SYSTEM OF A DOWN one day making a follow-up to its "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize" LPs: "Listen, bro, my door is always open with that. I have a hundred riffs waiting, if they need anything for me. The way it would work was Daron [Malakian, SYSTEM OF A DOWN guitarist] would come in and he'd have complete songs, which I fucking respect, man. The dude's a fucking sick-ass songwriter. And then Serj would have songs he'd bring in complete. It would just be Serj's were a little different than what the mold of SYSTEM became. So we would use some of it, but not all of it. And I feel like that's where the disconnect happened. It wasn't like someone fucking cursed anybody. It wasn't like someone banged anyone's girl or cussed out… Nothing happened that you can't be cool with. We're still cool with each other. We walk on stage. We love each other. So there's always gonna be that. I wanna always play shows with them. And you never know, bro. I'm always gonna leave that door open. It shouldn't be shut."
Shavo went on to say that "it's a fucking shame that" new music from SYSTEM OF A DOWN is "not happening, because we can do so much. Look, we went in, we did two songs four years ago. How they sound, man. I mean, that could be an album of that shit. And we can even write crazier songs. That was quick. Daron brought a few of those in — boom, boom, boom — and the song was done; it was, like, two days. Imagine if it was going in and writing actual music and caring about the album. 'Cause we compose albums. We're not, like, songwriters. We're songwriters that make albums. It's all about the composition of the album."
This past June, Tankian, who has been promoting his recently released memoir "Down With The System", was asked in an interview with The Jesea Lee Show what it would take for him and his SYSTEM OF A DOWN bandmates to release a new studio album,. He responded: "Egalitarian approach to everything within the band. [In other words] kind of more equality in terms of sourcing of the music, in terms of splitting everything, including publishing, in terms of ideas, in terms of sharing the vision — that kind of stuff."
He continued: "It's in the book. We call it a manifesto jokingly because I wrote points down that, years ago when I had some new songs that I thought would be amazing with SYSTEM, and so I played it for the guys. And I said, 'Guys, I've got an idea of a vision, a different way forward that I think would be very beneficial for the band.' And I presented it — we call it a manifesto in the book almost half jokingly, but bringing a manifesto to rock musicians is… [Laughs] I guess it doesn't work — it doesn't work. But I was trying to instill the same type of egalitarian principles as I love as an activist within whatever I do. And at that time, it didn't work, but maybe it will one day. We'll see."
"Down With The System" was released on May 14 via Hachette Books. In the memoir, Serj revealed that his SYSTEM OF A DOWN bandmates had auditioned a new vocalist after he had asked out of the group in 2017. Serj said that his disdain for touring led to his decision to tell his bandmates to carry on without him so they could continue living their dream. Tankian later learned that the band had begun looking at new singers, and he also shared that in "more recent years", he had pitched a close friend as a potential replacement but he didn't think the band ever seriously considered the offer.
In May, Tankian explained to Patrick Ritter of the WSOU 89.5 FM radio station why he felt, from SYSTEM OF A DOWN's early days, that the complex dynamics within the band and the resulting clash of egos and creative tensions would ultimately led to the group's demise. The singer said in part: "John [Dolmayan], my drummer who's also my brother-in-law, recently — he's got an incredible memory. My memory is not as good, but he basically said, 'Yeah, ever since '99, you were looking and going, 'This can't continue this way.'' And I think it had a lot to do with the discrepancy between our attitude and Daron's attitude toward the band and toward everything that was happening. I think for Daron, he had grown up with this becoming his everything. In John's case, for example, even though he's played drums since he was eight years old — I think it was eight — he's done many, many things in life. He's had a comic book company. Shavo's done other things as well, even though music's been a big part of his life. But for Daron, it was the only thing. And I had done many things in life — worked in different industries, got a college degree and went into music almost late, later than all the other guys, definitely. So I think there was a lack of appreciation of stuff happening or whatever it was. I can't remember the exact circumstance, but I felt like there was something wrong with this puzzle that I don't think we could solve from a very early time. And music had become my everything at that time. I had screamed at the gods saying that I wanna do music. And I knew that was my vision. I knew I'd be doing music for the rest of my life, no matter what, with or without SYSTEM OF A DOWN, 'cause that was my calling. But early on, I could see that schism, that schism developing."
Tankian previously addressed how his relationship with Malakian has evolved over the years, particularly as it relates to their collaborative partnership, earlier last month in an interview with Tom Power, host of "Q" on Canada's CBC Radio One. He said: "Well, changing the dynamic is basically years of time and the progression of the band, the success of the band, everything that happened in between the day that we met and now, basically, so 25, 30 years. A lot changes in that time. And so I think that's a part of it.
"Daron's been a lifer and he's incredibly serious about his music and he's incredibly protective of his music and vulnerable due to his music," Serj explained. "All of those things kind of go together. So it's those things, I think, that created some of the creative differences that we started finding. And it's also our progression. Listen, when Daron and I started working together, I didn't really write a lot of instrumental music — I mostly wrote lyrics; I was the lyricist; I was the singer. And he didn't write any lyrics; he just wrote music. But as time progressed and I played more musical instruments and I started becoming a songwriter/composer and he started writing more lyrics, we started kind of covering each other's territory. And I was okay with that. If he wrote lyrics, I was trying to encourage him to write more, because I believe in artistic growth. I believe in progression. I don't believe in things staying the same way, for music's sake. Otherwise the music becomes the same thing over and over again. That progression is necessary in every artist's life or in every group's life. So I was very encouraging of that. And I just wish that I got some of that back. And so that wasn't the case, and it was disappointing. And it became a creative difference over the band's path, and whatnot, over time."
Asked why he wanted to write about this in his book, Serj said: "A lot of it has been publicized in a very sensationalist format by media, music media mostly, and I kind of wanted to put it in a proper perspective and grounding perspective, but with love and with balance and understanding that these things happen. This is normal. You have a relationship and you have differences in opinion as [to] how you wanna go forward, whether it's a band or a marriage or whatever it is. And these things happen. And so I wanted to take that aspect out, I wanted to take the sensationalist aspect out of the whole thing and be, like, this is not only what happened, but this is how I see things."
Tankian also addressed the fact that SYSTEM OF A DOWN has toured intermittently since ending its hiatus in 2011, but has only managed to record two songs in the last 19 years, "Protect The Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz". Released in November 2020, the tracks were motivated by the conflict between Artsakh and Azerbaijan, with all proceeds supporting humanitarian efforts in SYSTEM OF A DOWN's ancestral homeland of Armenia. Along with other donations from fans on their social pages, they raised over $600,000.
"We haven't been making new music," Serj said. "We only put out two songs when the invasion of Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh happened in 2020 by Azerbaijan, because we felt like the Azeri trolls, the government-sponsored trolls were taking over social media and the news networks, and the victims of these attacks weren't getting the word out. So we became kind of obsessed with getting the word out, because we were seeing our people suffer. So we put out those two songs because of that and we donated a lot of the proceeds for that to the cause as well."
Asked how he balances the love and obligation he might feel toward his fans, those who love SYSTEM OF A DOWN, and the internal struggles within the band, Tankian said: "That's an incredibly smart question. It's really hard catering — when you're an artist, it's really hard catering. If you're an entertainer, catering is [what you do], but if you're an artist, then you're just creating what comes to you. You're almost unaware of what people want. Yes, if it's something heavier, you know people are gonna like it more. But if you're a good songwriter, you could do both. I do orchestral music, I do film music, I do rock music — I do it all. So I enjoy 'em all, but I know that if I do rock, more people are going to listen to it than a piano, instrumental orchestral piece of music, soundtrack kind of music. But it doesn't mean that you don't do both, as an artist. So it's hard to really cater to people's feelings. What I love is, and I know that I can speak for the rest of the guys in the band, that no matter what's going on with our creative difference or the band not making new music or not touring fully or whatever, everyone's incredibly appreciative of what we have in terms of the love that we get from our fans and the way that people react to our music and the way that we get all these e-mails about how it's changed people's lives and all of that stuff, and that is mind-blowing. It's the biggest honor. And when I meet people on the street, I'm still incredibly honored that someone would pick me out and look at me in a positive light, not knowing who I am personally, but knowing me through my music, through our music, let's say. And I think that's a great fucking honor. I feel blessed for it. But it doesn't mean that that thing should continue forever either."
Shavo's new band SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET will release its self-titled debut album on October 11 via the Sumerian Records imprint 1336 Records. Shavo is joined in the group by vocalist Taylor Barber (LEFT TO SUFFER),WINDS OF PLAGUE guitarist Michael Montoya (a.k.a. Morgoth Beatz, a producer and songwriter who has previously collaborated with Travis Barker, JuiceWrld, Lil Xan, Jonathan Davis, ISSUES and many more),guitarist/backing vocalist Alejandro Aranda (a.k.a. Scarypoolparty, "American Idol") and drummer Josh Johnson (WINDS OF PLAGUE).
SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET will make its live debut at this year's Mayhem festival, set to take place on October 12 at the Glen Helen Amphitheatre in San Bernardino.
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6 îêò 2024
Watch: DUFF MCKAGAN Kicks Off 'Lighthouse Tour '24' In Dublin
 GUNS N' ROSES bassist Duff McKagan kicked off his solo tour Monday night (September 30) at the Academy in Dublin, Ireland. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.
According to Setlist.fm, Duff's 21-song set included one GN'R track, "You're Crazy", alongside select cuts from his "Lighthouse" (2023) and "Tenderness" (2019) solo albums. There were also covers of THE STOOGES' "I Wanna Be Your Dog", "I Fought The Law", a song written by SONNY CURTIS OF THE CRICKETS and popularized by a cover by the BOBBY FULLER FOUR, and Johnny Thunders's "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory".
U.S. dates for "Lighthouse Tour '24" begin November 4 at Boston, Massachusetts's Paradise Rock Club.
Late last month, Duff released two new songs, "Heroes", a distinctive cover of David Bowie's timeless classic, and "True To The Death Rock N Roll Ballad", both available now at all DSPs and streaming services.
"We thought it was good idea to put out a couple of fresh songs right here on the eve of the 'Lighthouse' tour," McKagan said at the time. "Choosing David Bowie's 'Heroes' seemed to be a natural subject matter for me (I am, of course, a massive history nerd)…star-crossed lovers in the shadow of the mid-'70s Cold War-era Berlin Wall. To try and compliment this era, I chose a sort of '70s glam-rock song that I wrote some time last year, 'True To The Death Rock N Roll Ballad', another lyric where love and lust and time are the central figures. We hope you dig this 'single' and thank you all for just being you!"
"Lighthouse Tour '24" will see Duff McKagan and his band traveling Europe and the United Kingdom, making stops in Scotland, England, the Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, France, and Sweden through late October. Support on all European dates comes from Cardiff, Wales's JAMES AND THE COLD GUN. U.S. dates will follow, including intimate shows at New York City's Le Poisson Rouge (November 6),Chicago, Illinois's Outset (November 8),and Denver, Colorado's Bluebird Theater (November 10),all of which will have special guests Lee Ving's RANGE WAR, marking the first live performances from the famed FEAR founder's groundbreaking country punk outfit in over three decades. "Lighthouse Tour '24" then hits Los Angeles, California's historic El Rey Theatre (November 13) with support from acclaimed singer-songwriter Grace McKagan, before wrapping up at Portland, Oregon's Aladdin Theater (November 18) and Seattle, Washington's The Showbox (November 20) joined by extremely rare solo acoustic performances by legendary D.O.A. co-founder Joey "Sh*thead" Keithley. Tickets and VIP packages for all announced dates are on sale now.
McKagan has also announced a Black Friday Record Store Day (November 29, 2024) exclusive RSD vinyl LP release of his searing performance at Easy Street Records in Seattle, Washington on December 8, 2023. The set contains tracks from McKagan's critically acclaimed recent album "Lighthouse" and "This is The Song" EP.
McKagan's first solo headline run in half a decade, "Lighthouse Tour '24" celebrates last year's release of his critically acclaimed third solo album, "Lighthouse", available everywhere now. Hailed by Paste as "an emotional, personal and spiritual reckoning... [McKagan's] most important rock project yet," the album sees Duff McKagan baring more of his artistic spirit than ever before, fusing acoustic elements with hard-edged rock 'n' roll to land at the sweet spot between soul-searching reflection and pure energy. "Lighthouse" was met by critical applause from such international outlets as Rolling Stone, Kerrang!, Revolver and American Songwriter for such singles as "Lighthouse", "I Saw God On 10th Street" and "Longfeather", the latter hailed by Revolver as "folky, elegiac" and joined by an official music video streaming now at YouTube. McKagan later performed "Longfeather" with an exclusive appearance on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" | 0 | |
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6 îêò 2024
OZZY OSBOURNE's ROCK HALL Induction To Include Performances By MAYNARD JAMES KEENAN, BILLY IDOL And JELLY ROLL
 According to Rolling Stone, Billy Idol, TOOL's Maynard James Keenan and country artist Jelly Roll will sing Ozzy Osbourne songs at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony in Cleveland on October 19. Backing them up will be a band consisting of Zakk Wylde, Andrew Watt, Steve Stevens and Wolfgang Van Halen on guitar, with a rhythm section featuring METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS drummer Chad Smith. Actor Jack Black will make the speech inducting Osbourne.
Osbourne has earned a solo Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction for his nearly six-decade career in music. BLACK SABBATH was inducted in 2006. This honor makes Ozzy one of a handful of artists with multiple inductions into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
Regarding Black's involvement in the event, Osbourne told Rolling Stone: "Jack invited my family to the 'School Of Rock' movie premiere in 2002. I've always been a big fan of his. Jack is one of the few great actors that is also a genuine rock & roller and not acting the part."
As for the musicians taking part in the performance, Ozzy said: "Billy Idol is a rock icon. His music is timeless. Billy Idol should be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Maynard has been a true family friend since 1997. He is such a creative force. There are few artists who can keep three successful bands going for multiple decades," referring to TOOL, A PERFECT CIRCLE and PUSCIFER.
"Who doesn't love Jelly Roll?" Osbourne added. "His voice is soulful, pure, and dirty. I'm so honored that someone would do this for me who I've never had the pleasure of meeting."
As for Trujillo and Smith, Ozzy said: "The rhythm section is the anchor of the band, and you honestly couldn't get a better rhythm section than Robert Trujillo and Chad Smith."
The 2024 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction will be seen live on Saturday, October 19 at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. The 2024 ceremony will once again stream live on Disney+ with a special airing on ABC at a later date and available on Hulu the next day.
Speaking to Billboard, the 75-year-old Osbourne said getting a second induction "feels big. I'm more than honored."
He went on to reflect on his solo career, saying: "With every new music venture there's always a certain amount of surprise that comes when you see the fans embrace it, because no one wants to make a record and have it flop. I feel like I was invited to a party in 1980, and it hasn't stopped. Not bad for a guy who was fired from his last band."
Ozzy's wife and manager Sharon Osbourne discussed his absence from the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a solo artist during an appearance earlier this year on "The Adam Carolla Show". Asked by host Adam Carolla how the nomination process works and whether she has to lobby to get Ozzy in as a solo artist, Sharon said: "There are people on the board, and the people on the board have to go in, and it has to be on their list, and it has to be on more than, I think, half of the votes. More than half."
Sharon went on to say that she doesn't like to "beg" anyone for anything. "I will never beg, and I will never ask for favors," she explained. "I've never asked anyone for a favor. So, my thing is fuck you if you don't realize that somebody really deserves to be here. And you don't recognize that? Then, see ya."
When Adam pressed Sharon about whether she has done "any lobbying" to get Ozzy into the Rock Hall, she said: "We went to a dinner last year for the people who had been inducted in last year. They invited us to the dinner and we went. And people were saying to Ozzy, 'Oh, you've been inducted in,' and we were, like, 'No, actually. We were just invited for the food, so we're here.' That's as near as we've got, but no."
Sharon added: "They know that Ozzy deserves to be there. They know he's been a solo artist. You've gotta be doing it for 25 years. He's been 43 years as a solo artist. He sold nearly a hundred million albums as a solo artist. So where is he? Induct him."
Artists are eligible to be inducted into the Rock Hall after at least 25 years have passed since their first record was released.
In 1999, Ozzy attempted to take BLACK SABBATH's name off the Hall Of Fame's nomination list that year, deeming the institution's nod "meaningless."
In an October 1999 letter to the Hall Of Fame, Osbourne said: "Just take our name off the list. Save the ink. Forget about us. The nomination is meaningless, because it's not voted on by the fans. It's voted on by the supposed elite for the industry and the media, who've never bought an album or concert ticket in their lives, so their vote is irrelevant to me." He added, "Let's face it, BLACK SABBATH has never been media darlings. We're a people's band and that suits us just fine."
Back in 2005, BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi told Launch he was not happy that SABBATH had not yet been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. "I'm pissed off about that," he said. "I think that's... you know, I don't normally go round blowing our own trumpet saying we are this and we are that. I'm not that kind of person but I really think we deserve... you know, to be in that. Because without us that kind of music wouldn't have existed. 'Cause a lot of bands that have sparked off from us wouldn't be around and there probably wouldn't be this king of music."
When BLACK SABBATH finally earned its induction in 2006, the band went in with LYNYRD SKYNYRD, Mike Davis and BLONDIE.
Legendary Ozzy guitarist Randy Rhoads was posthumously inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame during the 2021 ceremony. Rhoads, who played in Ozzy's band more than four decades ago, received the Musical Excellence Award at the October 2021 event.
Taking the stage to celebrate the storied career of The Prince of Darkness, @OzzyOsbourne, is a true all-star cast of incredible musicians including @BillyIdol, @JellyRoll615, @RHCPchad, @WolfVanHalen, @ZakkWyldeBLS, @mjkeenan, @RobertTrujillo, @stevestevens, & @thisiswatt. pic.twitter.com/bR8eJ3mMkH
— Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (@rockhall) October 3, 2024
+ Ozzy super-fan @jackblack is set to stop by. It’s not a Shot In the Dark to say that this tribute is about to be legendary. Don't miss music’s highest honor, the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductions, LIVE on 10.19 on @disneyplus! #RockHall2024
— Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (@rockhall) October 3, 2024
Photo credit: Ross Halfin | +1 | |
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6 îêò 2024
THE WHO's 60th Anniversary Celebrated With ROYAL MAIL Set Of Stamps
 A special set of stamps is being issued to mark the 60th anniversary of THE WHO.
Royal Mail revealed details of 12 stamps which feature images of some of THE WHO's most popular album covers and group shots from some of their live performances.
The album covers are "My Generation" from 1965 designed by David Wedgbury; "Tommy" from 1969 designed by Michael McInnerney; "Who's Next" from 1971 designed by Ethan Russell and Kosh; "Quadrophenia" from 1973 designed by Graham Hughes; "Who Are You" from 1978 designed by Terry O'Neill and Bill Smith; "Face Dances" from 1981 designed by Sir Peter Blake; "Endless Wire" from 2006 designed by Richard Evans; and "Who" from 2019 designed by Sir Peter Blake.
A miniatures sheet features two group publicity shots and two images of the band's live performances at the Marquee Club in London in 1967 and the Kings Hall in Belle Vue, Manchester, in 1973.
Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon formed THE WHO in 1964. (Before that they were THE DETOURS and, for a short period, the HIGH NUMBERS). Within five years, they went from performing club shows to headlining the Woodstock festival in the U.S. and becoming the biggest box-office draw in the world.
Daltrey said: "The artwork on the album sleeves was almost as important to the success of the record as the music. It's great to be reminded of them."
Townshend added: "Stamp! Stamp! Stamp! It's what I've done on stage all my life, sometimes in the air. At last my stamping, and that of my buddy Roger, has been honoured properly, and will help letters, parcels and birthday cards travel through time and space, just as we have."
David Gold, Royal Mail's director of external affairs and policy, said: "With their truly original sound and effortless ability to mix musical styles, THE WHO are rock royalty. These stamps celebrate one of the U.K.'s much-loved and revered musical bands who have achieved global popularity for six decades."
The new Royal Mail special edition stamps celebrating 60 years of the who will be available to purchase on October 17 from the Royal Mail web site. But you can pre-order your set from today, October 3.
Celebrate 60 Years of The Who with our latest Stamps & Collectibles 🎸📮 Available worldwide, pre-order today!...
Posted by Royal Mail on Thursday, October 3, 2024
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6 îêò 2024
DEFTONES And CYPRESS HILL Side Project SOL INVICTO Announces Debut EP 'Loosely Aware'
 SOL INVICTO, the dynamic project formed by producer/guitarist Richie Londres, Stephen Carpenter (DEFTONES) and Eric Bobo (CYPRESS HILL),has announced the release of their long-awaited debut EP, "Loosely Aware", dropping November 8, 2024. Accompanying the announcement is the release of their first official single, "The Obvious Play", alongside an official visualizer.
Speaking on the EP, the band shares: "It's been quite the journey to get this to the people, just a taste of what's to come."
After years of experimentation and anticipation, SOL INVICTO is finally ready to reveal the first taste of what's to come with single "The Obvious Play", featuring guest vocals from Sean Plague of PLAGUE TO PYRES (who are signed to Londres and Carter's independent label Omyac Records). The EP marks the project's first official release following their extremely rare, private double album "Initium" in 2017, a collection of demos and experimental tracks gathered over the years which was available only to members of their private club, Sol Invicto Comiti.
"Loosely Aware" showcases the band's unique blend of furious riffs, razor-sharp lead guitar lines, industrial and electronic elements all infused with the percussive genius of Eric Bobo, drawing from the talents of Dan Foord (SIKTH) on drums. The EP signals a bold new chapter for the band as they prepare to record a full-length metal album later this year. More on that coming soon.
Fusing heavy riffs, industrial beats and Latin-infused percussion, SOL INVICTO has carved out its own unique space in the world of experimental metal.
The group initially blended lo-fi industrial drum and bass with Carpenter's crushing guitar work and Bobo's dynamic percussion. As the sound evolved, Londres brought in Foord to take over on drums, pushing the band toward a more live, raw energy.
To date, SOL INVICTO has released a single, exclusive double album titled "Initium", a collection of demos and experimental tracks gathered over the years. Released in 2017 on limited edition signed vinyls, "Initium" remains a rare gem for members of the Sol Invicto Comiti and currently unavailable to the public.
After starting work on new music in 2018, the group's plans were delayed, but 2024 will finally see the first official release from SOL INVICTO — the three-track EP titled "Loosely Aware", featuring vocals from Plague.
"Loosely Aware" was mixed by Adam "Nolly" Getgood (PERIPHERY, ANIMALS AS LEADERS) and mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano (GHOST, PARADISE LOST). The artwork was created by Kwonny.
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6 îêò 2024
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS Celebrate 30 Years Of 'Purple' With RSD Black Friday Exclusive: 'Purple Rarities'
 When STONE TEMPLE PILOTS returned to the studio in 1994 to record the band's second album, the quartet was facing the high expectations set by its debut "Core" (1992),which sold more than eight million copies and earned a Grammy Award. The release of "Purple" on June 7, 1994, would cement their place as one of the definitive bands of their generation as the album debuted at No.1 on the Billboard album chart on its way to selling more than six million copies.
Today, Rhino announces the upcoming release "Purple Rarities", a 1LP purple vinyl with studio and live recordings broken out from the 2019 Super Deluxe Edition. Available exclusively for RSD Black Friday on November 29 at participating indie record stores.
For more information, visit www.recordstoreday.com.
"Purple Rarities" explores the making of the album with a mix of unreleased tracks that includes demos ("Unglued" and "Army Ants") and early versions of album tracks ("Meat Plow" and "Interstate Love Song"),plus acoustic recordings ("Big Empty").
Scott Weiland, Dean DeLeo, Robert DeLeo and Eric Kretz recorded most of "Purple" in Atlanta with producer Brendan O'Brien. The album features some of the group's most iconic tracks, including "Interstate Love Song" and "Vasoline" — which both topped the Mainstream Rock chart in 1994.
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS wrapped their cross-country tour and will continue playing select shows throughout 2024 into 2025.
"Purple Rarities" track listing:
Side A
01. Meat Plow (Early Version)
02. Interstate Love Song (Early Version)
03. Big Empty (Acoustic Version)
04. Army Ants (Demo)
Side B
01. Unglued (Demo)
02. Kitchenware & Candybars (Demo)
03. Dancing Days
04. She Knows Me Too Well (Demo)
05. Interstate Love Song (Acoustic Version) | +2 | |
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6 îêò 2024
LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES Shares Visualizer For New Standalone Track 'Soul Exchange'
 U.S. metalcore act LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES released their new album, "The Cycles Of Trying To Cope", on May 10 via UNFD. Today, the band has shared the visualizer for the new standalone track "Soul Exchange". It's a moody, dark rager that was written during the sessions for the last album.
"'Soul Exchange' is a weird one," states singer Chris Roetter. "It kind of feels like the one that got away. When we were putting together the record, it was hard to find a place for it. The song is an encapsulation of my experience and relationship with my career. The struggles of writing and feeling like it hits no one. The feeling of falling on deaf ears, being unheard."
LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES is touring the U.S. with THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA and more this fall. They will tour with SILENT PLANET in Europe next year as well.
"When it breaks, what piece am I left with?," ponders frontman Chris Roetter over the rousing, palms-to-the-sky outro of "Kintsugi", an emotional thunderclap of a song that forms somewhat of a centerpiece to LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES' career re-defining sixth album, "The Cycles Of Trying To Cope". While the anthemic track's title pays homage to the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, for Roetter and his bandmates (guitarists Zach Pishney and Cody Cavanaugh, and drummer Roman Garcia),the notion of "Kintsugi" comes loaded with the profound human experience of seeking to find light in the dark, to birth good from bad — indeed, the cycles of trying to cope.
"The record encapsulates the varying emotions we go through when trying to grow through life," says Roetter. "Over the last few years, I've really tried to harness my emotions as a catalyst to get through whatever I was facing at the time. I think we all have our own unique ways to cope — these are mine. Just being able to write about this stuff and put it out into the world makes it feel like I'm not so alone."
Segmented into four chapters, dubbed Limbo, Fracture, Dissociate and Melancholia, "The Cycles Of Trying To Cope" album plays as an intense exploration of the LIKE MOTHS musical arsenal, straddling the ugly and the beautiful in equal measure, whilst Roetter's raw introspection pierces the heart of every vicious breakdown or soaring chorus with cathartic power. Though not originally designed to be a concept album, Roetter's reflections on these diverse, complimentary, and contrasting facets of the band's latest opus revealed common threads which led the singer even deeper into his internal landscape; exploring the ways in which differing stages and aspects of the record were connected evoked in Roetter thoughts of the terraces in Dante's "Purgatory" and the "cycles" were given shape.
"A big focal point for MOTHS has always been writing about things I'm actively going through," Roetter details. "But when I realized that each song on the new album covers a unique approach I've had to a specific emotion, it felt like we needed something that could escort listeners through the record. It definitely helps it all feel cohesive and complete; Sometimes an album can just feel like a collection of songs, but I think this is more an experience to the band — I hope that people are able to find some solace in knowing someone else out there is dealing with these things too." | 0 | |
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6 îêò 2024
MERCYFUL FATE Bassist BECKY BALDWIN Performs "Satan's Fall" In New Playthrough Video
 Birmingham, England's Becky Baldwin, who is now Mercyful Fate's new bassist, replacing Joey Vera (Armored Saint) in the band lineup, has released a bass playthrough video for "Satan's Fall", originally featured on the band's 1983 debut studio album, Melissa.
Says Becky: "The epic closer of the Mercyful Fate live set... And as 11.5 minutes of prog metal greatness, I thought it should be the final playthrough from the set that I film, too. A wild structure of intense riffs, fun harmony lines and the occasional melodic interlude.
"I have now recorded playthroughs of the full Mercyful Fate live set that I have performed with them, except for the unreleased 'Jackal Of Salzburg' - which I'll film for you all after the single comes out!
"Next, I'll be selecting songs from a wider range of bands to record bass covers for. If you have any suggestions for songs - more Mercyful Fate or anything else you'd like to hear - let me know!"
Approaching the 10 year anniversary of Fury’s debut album, The Lightning Dream, the band have demonstrated their evolution with a new recording of a live favourite, "Prince Of Darkness".
Since 2017, the lineup of Fury has been slowly morphing into something new - now with bassist Becky Baldwin (Mercyful Fate), drummer Tom Fenn and lead guitarist Tom Atkinson replacing previous members. But the most impactful shift to the band’s new sound is the addition of vocalist Nyah Ifill.
Founding member Julian Jenkins explains: “There's something very cool about celebrating the tenth anniversary of our debut album, and with this "cover" we're simultaneously embracing our past and the journey that has led us to where we are today, whilst also looking forward to the future of the band. Obviously Fury has evolved and changed a lot over the past few years, and it's great to have a glimpse of how the band may have sounded if this line up had recorded the first album. As we prepare to release our next studio album in 2025, the first with Nyah as a full time member and co-lead vocalist, and the first with Aki on guitar. This really feels like one era is ending, a brand new one beginning, and this release is a fantastic homage to what I'm sure will be an important part of our history.”
Fury are currently working on their fifth studio album, with the release anticipated for spring 2025. Nyah Ifill comments on her move from guest session musician to a permanent position: “As a newer band member, I’ve felt so welcomed by the fans and I’m excited to share some lead vocals! While I haven’t been a part of Fury during the Lightning dream era, I’ve admired the driving force of the songs and massively enjoy playing them live. It isn’t often that bands re-visit older material, and I hope that it’s a treat for the long-time fans!
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6 îêò 2024
BABYLON A.D.'s DEREK DAVIS Looks Back On The 35th Anniversary Of The Release Of Their Debut Album
 35 years ago today, Babylon A.D. released their self-titled debut album. Lead singer Derek Davis looks back on getting signed and their showcase performance for Arista Records Clive Davis...
"Getting a record deal and releasing our first record was one of the greatest highlights of my life. I had dreamed about getting “The Deal” and being in a recording artist since I was 8 years old. It just proved to me dreams can come true.
"I remember it like it was yesterday, The band had just moved to Hollywood in a one bedroom apartment at the infamous “Saint James” off Hollywood Blvd. There was 6 of us living there for less than a week when our manager called and said that Clive Davis the President of Arista Records wanted to see the band on that Saturday and they had arranged a showcase for us at SIR studios on Sunset Blvd. We had not practiced in a while do to the move from the Bay Area but we were ready! I mean this is “Clive Fukin Davis” The Music Mogul” the man who signed “Janis Joplin”, “Aerosmith”, Simon and Garfunkel”, “The Grateful Dead”, “Santana”,“Whitney Houston” and many more world renown artists and he wanted to see - US!!! WTF??????????
"That Saturday morning we practiced a 7 song set and Clive showed up around noon with two New York A&R guys and Randy Gerston the head of the West Coast A&R department. Our manager Jay Malla was there also and that was it! Five guys wearing suites, sitting on a big long couch right in front of the band. We were on stage and we blew through our set and nailed it, and the second we finished the last song “The Kid Goes Wild”, 'Clive Davis’ jumps up off the couch and opens his arms real wide and says, "Welcome To The Family Boys"! I will never forget the rush of that moment, We had been working for a moment like this our whole career. We signed a 10 album deal and the dream began with our first album the self titled "Babylon A.D.” which was released 35 years ago on October 3rd 1989!
"What a fantastic ride it has been and we plan to keep on going. There is no stoping us, “Babylon A.D.” is creating new music and we still get that rush every time we play together on stage and in the recording studio. The music and the fans keep us alive and let us live the dream we still have! We are truly grateful and blessed to be able to still do what we love!
"Stay tuned because we are just warming up!!!"
To celebrate their brand new album, Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day, Babylon A.D. and BraveWords are giving away an autographed guitar. Entering is easy, just head here and enter your email address. Good luck!
Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day is available now via Perris Records. Order/purchase the album here.
Tracklisting:
"Wrecking Machine"
"Pain"
"Sometimes Love Is Hell"
"Rome Wasn't Built In A Day"
"Looking For A Heartbeat"
"I Will Never Break Again"
"White Hot Bullet"
"Crashed Into The Sun"
"Face Of GOD"
"Shut Up"
"Super Beast"
"Sometimes Love Is Hell" video:
"Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day" video:
"Wrecking Machine":
Album details:
Produced, Mixed, Engineered by Derek Davis @ The BADMOFO’s Recording Studio, Pleasanton, CA.
Drums recorded by Gabriel Shepard @ 25th Studios Oakland CA.
Mastered By David Donnelly, DNA Mastering Los Angeles CA.
Photos - Angela Probst - Studio A
Vintage Artwork Concept Design - Derek Davis
Band Members:
Derek Davis - Vocals, Keyboard, Guitar
Ron Freschi - Lead Guitar, Background vocals
John Mattews - Lead Guitar
Craig Pepe - Bass, Background vocals
Dylan Soto - Drums / Background vocals
Background vocals on "I Will Never Break Again" - Lane Borchard
Tour dates:
October
26 - Vinnie's Bar & Grill - Concord, CA (107.7 Bone Night Out)
September 2025
5-8 - Hard Rock Hell Sleaze Festival at O2 Academy - Leicester, England
About Babylon A.D.:
Formed in 1987, Babylon A.D. hail from the San Francisco Bay Area, CA. Original members, Derek Davis vocalist/songwriter, guitarist's and music writers John Mathews and Ron Freschi drummer James Pacheco and bassist Rob Reid met in high school before they began playing together as "The Persuaders" making a name for themselves with their powerful live performances and catchy songwriting skills becoming one of the top drawing original Hard Rock bands in the Northern CA.
In 1989 the band changed their name to "Babylon A.D." and caught the attention of Arista Records President and industry music mogul “Clive Davis”, who signed them at a live showcase in Los Angeles thanks to their impressive three song demo and a home made video. John Mattews departed the band and was replaced by another high school friend Dan De La Rosa just before their self-titled album Babylon A.D. was released in 1990. The album included their hard rock classic hits "Bang Go The Bells”, “Hammer Swings Down” and “The Kid Goes Wild”, which featured Screaming "Sam Kinison" and was the trailer song and promotional video for Orion Pictures (Robo Cop 2). The band scored three #1 songs at Metal Radio and reached Gold status on their first release, which spent 38 weeks on the Billboard top 200, peaking at # 46. Their sophomore effort (Nothing Sacred) was produced by the legendary "Tom Werman" and released in 1992, it produced two more top-ten metal rockers. “Bad Blood” and “So Savage the Heart”. Constant touring throughout the early 1990s and several MTV videos made them one of hard rock fans favorite bands.
In 1999 the band and released Live In Your Face on Apocalypse Records, a compilation of live tracks recorded at various cities’ across America. Their next release Amer | 0 | |
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6 îêò 2024
Watch METALLICA Perform "Ride The Lightning" In Mexico City; Official Live Video Released
 Metallica have released the official live video for "Ride The Lightning", filmed at their show at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City, Mexico, on September 22. Watch below:
Watch "Seek & Destroy" and "King Nothing" from the Mexico City show on September 20:
Metallica have launched the pre-order for the recordings from their September 27 and 29 concerts in Mexico City. It was their second round of shows following the September 20 / 22 No Repeat Weekend.
Says Metallica: "Relive the September 27 & 29 concerts from Estadio GNP Seguros with the ultimate souvenir... an official live audio recording on CD. Both shows are available now for pre-order in the Met Store individually and as a bundle. And in case you missed it, both shows from the previous weekend are available for pre-order, too!
Thanks again for four amazing shows across two incredible weekends in Mexico City. We hope to see you all again soon!"
Live CDs and bundles are available via the official Metallica online shop here.
Expected availability date is November 29.
"We’re kicking off year three of M72 with 21 North American shows across April, May, and June of next year," begins a recent M72 2025 update from Metallica. "This leg will stop in 14 cities with 18 shows in the round, plus two festival stops, seven No Repeat Weekends, and seven one-night-only stops.
"We’re continuing the M72 tradition of unique support acts - a mix of Pantera, Limp Bizkit, Suicidal Tendencies, and Ice Nine Kills - and setlists for each No Repeat Weekend show. The Snake Pit will remain in the center of the stage for all in the round (non-festival) stops. And we’ll be sure to have plenty of extracurricular events planned for the Metallica Family to stay busy around the shows.
"Enhanced Experiences ranging from access to a meet and greet, production and stage tour, food and beverage in the “Black Box” lounge to early entry into the venue and the aforementioned Snake Pit will be available. The I Disappear Ticket is back for the fan who wants to run away with us for all the shows. And new to M72, travel packages, including hotel, ticket, and shuttle options, will be available for most locations.
"North America is not our only stop in 2025, as this year, we will return to Australia and New Zealand after far too long away!!! Stay tuned for the full announcement coming VERY soon."
Tour dates:
April
12 - Las Vegas, NV - Sick New World Festival
19 - Syracuse, NY - JMA Wireless Dome *
24 - Toronto, ON - Rogers Centre *
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6 îêò 2024
RUSH - Official 1981 Performance Videos Unearthed
 The official Rush YouTube channel has been updated to include two videos filmed at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec on March 27, 1981. Featured on the concert film, Exit… Stage Left, you can watch "Intro/The Camera Eye" and "Limelight" below:
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6 îêò 2024
AT THE GATES – Terminal Spirit Disease 30th Anniversary Edition Vinyl Available For Preorder
 eorder">
Sweden’s At The Gates formed in 1990 and the Gothenburg based group released 4 highly successful and influential studio albums before the band broke up in 1996. They later reformed in 2007 and have been embarking upon successful and high profile live shows across the globe since, as well as a string of studio releases.
At the Gates developed a unique and pioneering sound in the early ‘90s of intense yet complex & melodic death metal cementing their reputation as one of the forerunners of the European scene - mixing a ferocious blend of distinct melody and brutal riffs into a sound that was extr | +2 | |
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6 îêò 2024
KITTIE's MORGAN LANDER Picks METALLICA's 'Ride The Lightning' Over 'Master Of Puppets', Explains Why
 In a new interview with Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire", KITTIE guitarist/vocalist Morgan Lander was asked which METALLICA album she thinks is better, "Ride The Lightning" or "Master Of Puppets". She responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think 'Ride The Lightning' is actually my favorite over 'Master Of Puppets'. I mean, all of '80s METALLICA is pretty incredible, but 'Ride The Lightning', for me, I think is an album that I'm a bit more into. Mercedes [Lander, KITTIE drummer and Morgan's sister] and I definitely listened to that album a lot, driving around town in her Cadillac at full blast. She had an '80s Cadillac and the stereo rumbling."
When MikeZ noted that the production on "Ride The Lightning" could have been better, Morgan said: "I know. But there is also a little bit of charm to it and charm to sometimes when the production isn't quite… I certainly wouldn't want to hear those songs re-recorded. They're amazing songs and if they were, I'm sure that they would sound incredible, but there's just something about that time capsule of the sound and what was available to them in the studio and everything like that and just their abilities at that time. It all sort of shines through. But I think there's something magical about capturing in that moment."
KITTIE's first album in over 13 years, "Fire", was made available on June 21 via Sumerian Records.
Last November, it was revealed that KITTIE was working on a new studio LP with producer Nick Raskulinecz at Nashville's Sienna Studios.
Raskulinecz, who moved to Nashville from Los Angeles around 16 years ago, had previously worked with such acts as RUSH, ALICE IN CHAINS, KORN, RISE AGAINST, HALESTORM, EVANESCENCE, SKID ROW and the DEFTONES.
In April, KITTIE announced an exclusive run of North American headline dates. The long-awaited shows saw the band perform in five cities across the U.S. and Canada this July and August, giving fans a very special and rare chance to see the band play a full headline set that will include their recently released singles "We Are Shadows" and "Eyes Wide Open" as well as classic hits and some deep cuts not played live since the band's early days.
KITTIE played its first concert in five years in September 2022 at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival at the Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia.
Joining Morgan and Mercedes in KITTIE's current lineup are guitarist Tara McLeod and bassist Ivana "Ivy" Vujic.
Prior to Blue Ridge, KITTIE had not performed since its reunion show at London Music Hall in the band's native London, Ontario in 2017, celebrating the group's documentary "Kittie: Origins/Evolutions".
Vujic joined KITTIE in 2008 and appeared on the band's fifth studio CD, 2009's "In The Black". She also wrote and recorded bass for KITTIE's sixth album, 2011's "I've Failed You".
After KITTIE completed the touring cycle for "I've Failed You" album, the band entered a long period of inactivity during which Morgan focused on a marketing job for a chain of fitness clubs while Mercedes worked in real estate and more recently at a software company. The group also began work on a career-spanning documentary, "Origins/Evolutions", which finally saw the light of day in 2018 via Lightyear Entertainment in North America.
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5 îêò 2024
MAX CAVALERA Says He 'Wouldn't Dare' Re-Record SEPULTURA's 'Chaos A.D.' And 'Roots' With His Brother IGOR
 In 2023, Max and Igor Cavalera revisited their earliest SEPULTURA releases, "Morbid Visions" and "Bestial Devastation", and re-recorded them with bone-breaking intensity. Earlier this year, they entered the final chapter of their early-days trilogy by releasing a re-recorded version of SEPULTURA's "Schizophrenia". Asked by Overdrive.ie's Oran O'Beirne if any of the other SEPULTURA albums will also get the re-recording treatment, Max said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Fans have asked us that, and there's both sides of the argument. Some people say we should do the other ones, but I think it's okay. I think those three are the ones that really needed it, because they were done in Brazil. Once [producer] Scott Burns got involved — I don't have a problem with the 'Beneath The Remains' sound. I think it sounds great. It has that Scott Burns sound that is a stamp of the death metal sound of the era. And I wouldn't dare touch 'Chaos A.D.' and 'Roots'."
Max added: "We kind of know our barriers and we know our limitations, which is good. Some bands don't — some people don't; they just keep going. I think we're gonna play a live it, though. I would love to see a 'Chaos A.D.' tour [with Max and Igor's CAVALERA project]… That's totally on the table. That's on the table."
SEPULTURA fell apart in 1996 with the exit of Max after the rest of the Brazilian four-piece split with the vocalist/guitarist's wife Gloria as their manager. Max's brother, drummer Igor stuck around with the group for another ten years before leaving SEPULTURA and re-teaming with Max in CAVALERA CONSPIRACY.
For the new versions of "Morbid Visions", "Bestial Devastation" and "Schizophrenia", the Cavalera brothers enlisted Travis Stone (PIG DESTROYER) on lead guitars. The full lineup would consist of more Cavalera alumni, as Igor Amadeus Cavalera (GO AHEAD AND DIE, HEALING MAGIC) once more brought his talents on bass to the fold.
CAVALERA's version of "Schizophrenia" was recorded from April 15, 2023 to June 5, 2023 at Focusrite Room in Mesa Arizona. Mixing and mastering was handled by Arthur Rizk (SOULFLY, GO AHEAD AND DIE, TURNSTILE). The original "Schizophrenia" cover artwork was restored in hand-painted watercolors by Eliran Kantor.
Although SEPULTURA has maintained a diehard fanbase in all parts of the world throughout the band's nearly four-decade history, Max-era albums "Roots" and "Chaos A.D." were by far SEPULTURA's most commercially successful, having both been certified gold in the U.S. for sales in excess of five hundred thousand copies.
In December 2023, SEPULTURA announced that it would celebrate its 40th anniversary this year by embarking on a "farewell tour" which will cover the entire globe.
SEPULTURA's current lineup comprises guitarist Andreas Kisser, vocalist Derrick Green, bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. and touring drummer Greyson Nekrutman, who officially replaced SEPULTURA's longtime drummer Eloy Casagrande in February.
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Voodoo Circle
