Finland power proggers, Ultimatium, are sharing their new music video "(Don’t) Fear The Silence" in support of their epic theme album Virtuality, released this past November via Rockshots Records.
The band comments on the track: "'(Don't) Fear the Silence' is the most beautiful and saddest song on the album. Heroes have lost one of their own and they must say goodbyes in order to prepare for the final battle against the villain... This song is the first acoustic ballad from Ultimatium, with the ending chorus bringing in all the instruments. Listeners beware: the song features a sudden, hidden bass solo!"
Ultimatium was birthed out the deep forests of Suomussalmi, Finland. Their fourth studio full-length Virtuality follows their independently released Vis Vires Infinitus (2015), New Dawn (2004, Mastervox Records), and Hwainoo (2008, Mastervox Records).
The premise behind Virtuality is an introduction of a storyline of four gamers getting stuck in a virtual reality game in a near-future setting. Packed with five amazing lead vocalists, Peter James Goodman (Conquest, ex-Virtuocity), Jukka Nummi (ex-Myon), Emily Leone, Tomi Viiltola (ex-Dreamtale, Perpetual Rage, Viilto) and Matti Auerkallio (Katra, Manzana, SoulFallen), "Virtuality" is a unique storyline about the virtual world, and the dangers of sharing everything in social media, along with up-tempo power metal songs combined with darker elements.
The story album is backed up with lots of background vocals, sound effects and a "narrator"/system voice synthesized with Amazon's Alexa.
The album introduces the best parts of power and progressive metal combined, including easier up-tempo songs, but also long, progressive mid-tempo tracks. The songs take influence from such bands as Stratovarius, Dream Theater, Symphony X and Rainbow. Especially on tracks "Digital Tower" and "Ghost of Yesterday" where influences from Ronnie James Dio and Ritchie Blackmore are easily heard.
Tracklisting:
"Vengeance"
"Run Like The Wind"
"Hall of Heroes" (instrumental)
"Mindcaptives"
"The Seer"
"Dark Cold Day"
"Remorse"
"(Don’t) Fear The Silence"
"Digital Tower"
"Ghost of Yesterday"
"Scream"
"Together"
Austrian metal duo, CueStack, has announced plans for the “We Won’t Let Music Die” campaign, beginning with their latest single, “Stronger,” available now. Watch the official music video below.
CueStack will donate all profits from the single, radio royalties and upcoming debut album, Diagnosis Human, to the German fundraiser #AlarmstufeRot, which helps music industry professionals in need.
“Everybody is missing live shows, festivals and tours,” the band says. “But industry professionals have especially suffered from the current situation. Over three million people are out of work and over €265 million was lost last year in Germany alone.”
When CueStack’s Martin Kames and Bernth Brodträger saw the amazing work #AlarmstufeRot was doing last year, the pair made the decision to use Diagnosis Human as a means to contribute to the group’s mission to help those professionals in dire need.
Through the purchase of a “Live Music Relief Kit” containing the album, an exclusive crew backstage pass, poster and personal thank you card signed by CueStack, fans can directly help those who have lost work due to the global pandemic. Supporters of the campaign will also receive an exclusive bonus crew shirt. “Live Music Relief Kit” pre-orders are available here, and will begin shipping at the campaign’s end on August 31.
“It’s in our hands to bring live music back,” Kames and Brodträger say. “Let’s do our part to help!”
"Stronger" is available via Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify and Deezer.
Saudi Arabia’s Wasted Land has a new single out entitled “Fade Away”, this is following their self-titled 2013 album. Since that full-length, the band suggests that they have evolved over time from being melody and folk focused into something heavier, but still having a strong melodic base.
“Fade Away” has been in the works since 2017, and is the first music video from the band, which can be viewed below.
Lyrically, the single talks about someone having severe depression and comparing his journey in life to that of a candle, getting shorter and shorter until it eventually burns out. Then he finds his soul’s salvation after his death. Musically, it starts with heavy doses of melody which are complimented by heavy riffs and even more melodies. To contribute to the theme of depression and life’s waning, it carries a somber and melancholic tune near the end.
The band comments on the track: “It’ll be a new mixture from our old folkish style with more heavy catchy riffs and chorus. We hope we can catch the attention from the old fans and attract new ones.”
For Wasted Land, they compose the music first and then create lyrics that fit. For this song in particular guitarist Ayman composed the lyrics a long time ago for his previous band Banj. Writing for the band is a joint endeavour between guitarists Ayman and Ahmed whenever they jam together. Vocalist Emad adds his flavours in the lyrics and of course the vocal lines.
Wasted Land originally formed in 2005 to participate in Metal II gig in Dammam. Ahmed and Ayman were jamming together and felt there was chemistry between them while composing folky melodic death metal. From there they decided to add more members to create a full band. They were one of the first Saudi metal bands to get massive media exposure from outlets like CNN, BBC radio and other local and international newspapers.
“Fade Away” is available for stream and download via Saudi Arabian based label Wall of Sound Records. Get it at Bandcamp and Spotify.
Band lineup:
Ahmed Khojah - Guitar
Emad Mujalid - Vocals
Ayman Al Ghamdi - Guitar
SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor performed at The Signal in Chattanooga, Tennessee Sunday night (May 30) as part of his solo tour, "CMFTour 2021". Taylor and his band ran through anthems from his critically acclaimed solo debut "CMFT", choice cuts from his SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR catalogs, and various covers and surprises. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.
Support on all "CMFTour 2021" dates comes from girl gang dance squad CHERRY BOMBS, led by Taylor's wife Alicia Taylor.
Taylor decided to launch this tour for a few significant and personal reasons. As always, he endeavors to deliver an unforgettable show for fans, but just as importantly, he recognizes the massive impact that the ongoing global pandemic has had on live music venues and touring crews alike. It upholds his staunch commitment to supporting live music and the industry surrounding it as illustrated last year through his popular eBay guitar auction, which raised $150,000 for COVID-19 relief, and his COVID-19 safe secret L.A. show benefiting Sweet Relief Musicians Fund — a 501(c)(3) non-profit healing musicians and music industry workers in need.
"It's the full shebang," Taylor told Rolling Stone about the tour. "The CHERRY BOMBS are gonna do their show, with fire and aerial and rock and all the good stuff, then me and the boys will get up and play for, like, two hours."
Regarding how the idea for the tour came about, Taylor said: "We'd been looking for opportunities to play here and there constantly, but it wasn't until a promoter friend of ours asked us how we would approach a tour with the kinds of safeguards we were interested in that we realized we could put a tour together. We'll be taking as many precautions as we can: the usual social distancing, pod seating (sectioned off area with an allotted number of people who came together allowed inside), temperature checks, waivers signed at the door, masks in place everywhere but your pod, etc. We're encouraging everyone to get vaccinated as well before the tour."
Taylor recently made history as he reached No. 1 at Active Rock Radio with his powerful single "Black Eyes Blue". The achievement put Taylor in a class all his own, making him the first artist in the history of the format to reach No. 1 with three separate projects, following chart-topping efforts from SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR.
"CMFT" made impressive debuts on charts around the world in October, entering at No. 1 on Billboard's Current Hard Rock Albums chart, while claiming No. 2 on Current Rock Albums, No. 6 on Vinyl Albums, and No. 9 on the Top Albums charts. Furthermore, "CMFT" landed Top 10 on the official album charts in Australia, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, with Top 20 debuts in the United Kingdom, Finland and Japan (international chart).
Featured in Rolling Stone's "Fall Album Preview 2020," "CMFT" has been garnering widespread critical applause, with Forbes affirming, "Corey Taylor's singing is undeniably the best it's ever been. From SLIPKNOT's last album to his new solo material, Taylor is easily among the best sounding rock singers alive." Kerrang! raved, "Corey Taylor certainly couldn't have predicted how important a sense of uninhibited joy would be on his debut solo effort, it's just what 2020 needs — and, even more importantly, exactly what he delivers." The Daily Beast attested, "'CMFT' finds the singer broadening his horizons and showing off his considerable versatility," while Stereogum noted, "Corey Taylor's lived several lives in the span that it takes most of us to push through just one, and it's clear that he cherishes every experience he's had so far." New York magazine added that "CMFT" "bridges his vast tastes and influences, dabbling in punk rock, metal, reflective acoustic tunes, plaintive piano ballads, and hip-hop, with Taylor's power-house vocals and introspective lyrics acting as a guide."
"CMFT" is highlighted by the singles "Culture Head", "HWY 666", "CMFT Must Be Stopped" (featuring Tech N9ne and Kid Bookie), and the Active Rock radio hit "Black Eyes Blue". Taylor also hit No. 1 on Billboard's Hard Rock Songwriters chart following the unprecedented debut of "Black Eyes Blue" and "CMFT Must Be Stopped", the latter of which has racked up more than four million YouTube views for its star-studded music video. Furthermore, Taylor debuted the pummeling "Culture Head" during WWE's NXT broadcast on the USA network, illuminating yet another facet of "CMFT" and showcasing the broad spectrum of this fiery and fearless rock 'n' roll opus, as Taylor touches on lifelong influences ranging from hard rock to classic rock, punk rock to hip-hop. 14-time world champion and EVP of global talent strategy and development at WWE, Triple H, also shared a WWE exclusive performance of Taylor and his band tearing through the MOTÖRHEAD classic "Ace Of Spades".
"CMFT" has been a long time coming for Taylor, with newly written tracks alongside some dating back to his teens. Recorded at The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas with producer Jay Ruston and his band — Christian Martucci (guitar), Zach Throne (guitar), Jason Christopher (bass), and Dustin Schoenhofer (drums) — the album traces a wild and exhilarating roadmap through Taylor's musical psyche.
Punk rock band RISE AGAINST has released the official music video for another track from its upcoming album "Nowhere Generation". The Brian Roettinger-directed clip for "Talking To Ourselves" can be seen below.
"Nowhere Generation", RISE AGAINST's first new studio effort in four years, is due on June 4 via Loma Vista Recordings. On the upcoming release, the outspoken band points a finger at big business and politics for stacking the social and economical deck against Millennials', Gen Y's and Gen Z's pursuit of The American Dream. Musically, the album is blazing, aggressive punk rock; lyrically, the eleven songs were inspired in part by input from band members' young children and RISE AGAINST's community of fans.
Said frontman Tim McIlrath: "Today there is the promise of the American Dream, and then there is the reality of the American Dream. America's 'historical norm' that the next generation will be better off than the one that came before has been diminished by an era of mass social, economic, and political instability and a sell-out of the Middle Class. The brass ring that was promised by hard work and dedication no longer exists for everyone. When the privileged climb the ladder of success and then burn it from the top, disruption becomes the only answer."
For the "Nowhere Generation" project, the band worked with the Grammy-nominated creative director Brian Roettinger (Jay-Z, FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE, NO AGE) to craft an impressive and truly inspired capsule of album offerings. Those include:
* CD in a soft pack jacket with a multi-page lyric booklet
* 12-inch, limited edition vinyl picture disc (exclusive to the band's webstore)
* Deluxe album edition with a distinctive spinning wheel gatefold jacket with die-cut front cover; a 12-page album art booklet insert, and a bonus 7" featuring two "Nowhere Session" versions of album standouts "Nowhere Generation" + "Broken Dreams, Inc."; special vinyl color variants for retail worldwide as well as the band's webstore.
* Standard vinyl format that includes a single sleeve, dorado paper-wrapped jacket, with lyric insert featuring metallic ink; multiple special vinyl color variants for select retailers as well as the band's webstore.
* Exclusive versions of the album, on vinyl and CD available at Target. A jacket with exclusive interchangeable inserts and special colored vinyl for the LP and a bonus "Nowhere Session" song on the CD.
RISE AGAINST — McIlrath, Joe Principe (bass), Brandon Barnes (drums) and Zach Blair (lead guitar) — recorded "Nowhere Generation" at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado, under the tutelage of Jason Livermore, Andrew Berlin, Chris Beeble and longtime producer/engineer Bill Stevenson (BLACK FLAG, THE DESCENDENTS). Stevenson has worked with the band on nearly all of their acclaimed releases since their sophomore effort, 2003's "Revolutions Per Minute", and is often described as RISE AGAINST's fifth member. "Bill is our not-so-secret weapon," Principe explained. "He really has helped shape the band; he gets what we want to do and will go with us when we think outside the box. He's the perfect producer for the style of music we play because he has an insane pop sensibility and the hardcore side to him as well."
In addition to the communal call to arms embedded in "Nowhere Generation"'s dynamic title track, there's the fast and furious anti-establishment manifesto "Broken Dreams, Inc.", the moody ballad "Forfeit", "Sudden Urge", a true nod to the band's rock'n'roll side with an overall punk-vibe, the simplicity of "The Numbers" with a melody that will stick in your head, and the surprise pop candor in "Talking To Ourselves", a standout song about wanting to be heard and wondering if anyone is listening. "It describes a lot of what RISE AGAINST does," says McIlrath, "to speak and scream when we feel there are things that are happening that aren't being addressed."
"When I was growing up," said Principe, "I listened to bands like 7 SECONDS, BAD BRAINS, MINOR THREAT and BAD RELIGION. All of those bands' music had a sense of hope with the world, a truly positive global view of what life can be. From the beginning, we've wanted RISE AGAINST to have that same positivity, to have our music be an inspiration for people to bring about change in their own lives, they just have to put forth the effort and speak up."
Last month, RISE AGAINST announced the "Nowhere Generation Tour", 17 live-and-in-person concerts taking place coast to coast, primarily in open-air amphitheaters.
Produced by Live Nation, the tour kicks off on Friday, June 30 in New York at Rooftop at Pier 17, making stops in Atlanta, Dallas, Philadelphia, Southern California, and more, before wrapping on Tuesday, August 24 in Salt Lake City at The Complex Outdoor.
Video footage of Scorpions performing "Big City Nights", live in Brooklyn, New York in September 2015 as part of their Return To Forever tour, can be seen below:
Scorpions recently announced that their Sin City Nights Vegas Residency dates, scheduled for May 8 - 30, 2021 at Zappos Theater, have been rescheduled to March 26 - April 16, 2022 with special guests Queensrÿche.
"We can’t wait to be reunited with all of you then," says the band.
Fans who have purchased tickets to an affected performance will have their tickets automatically transferred to a new date with the exact same seats, including VIP packages where applicable. If you are unable to attend that date, please visit your original point of purchase for a refund. Those interested in purchasing tickets for the new dates can do so at ticketmaster.com/scorpionsvegas.
Portland-based dark power metal group, Silver Talon, has unveiled the music video for “Divine Fury”, a standout track from their full-length debut album, Decadence And Decay. The song is the latest showcase of the guitar wizardry of Bryce VanHoosen (ex-Spellcaster) and Wyatt Howell's soaring vocals.
Says VanHoosen, “The silver beast returns! 'Divine Fury' is the most outwardly Gnostic of all the tracks from Decadence and Decay, pitting our spiritual savior against a blind cybernetic god. We filmed the video over two days in an old industrial building in Portland, and directors Austin Livingston & Matthew Patterson went the distance in filming and editing. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!”
Decadence And Decay is out now. Order digital, CD, cassette and limited-edition haze and smoke vinyl copies of the album here.
Decadence And Decay – the follow-up to the band’s 2018 debut EP, Becoming A Demon – builds upon the thrilling combination of heavy metal hooks and guitar-driven virtuosity displayed by the band on their earlier effort. Highlights include “Resistance 2029” – which features a guest appearance by guitarist Andy La Rocque (King Diamond, Death) – and the blistering leadoff track, “Deceiver, I Am”.
"Deceiver, I Am"
"Resistance 2029" (feat. Andy La Rocque)
"As The World Burns"
"Next To The Sun"
"Divine Fury"
"Kill All Kings"
"What Will Be"
"Touch The Void"
California rock legends and global philanthropists STEEL PANTHER have released a performance video of the song "The Burden Of Being Wonderful" from their "Fans Come First" livestream. Broadcasting live on May 22, the performance marked the band's first livestream since the cancelation of "Gobblefest" last December.
"Fans Come First" differed from any other livestream the band had previously done, since the setlist was curated directly from the Fanthers. Fans were encouraged to visit www.steelpantherrocks.com to submit suggestions for the setlist and upload videos of themselves talking about how they discovered STEEL PANTHER or their favorite song, etc. The videos were shared throughout the "Fans Come First" event.
The stream will be available until June 6, and ticket buyers will have access to the Rockbuster Video Archive to watch past streams as well from the time they purchase the ticket until that date.
For more information and to purchase tickets, head to this location.
Last month, STEEL PANTHER confirmed that it has commenced the recording process for its sixth studio album. The follow-up to 2019's "Heavy Metal Rules" will tentatively arrive before the end of the year.
Last December, STEEL PANTHER released a re-worked version of its song "Fuck Everybody" from "Heavy Metal Rules", now re-titled "Fuck 2020". The newly recorded version included updated verses that reflect the insanity of last year.
"Heavy Metal Rules" was released in September 2019. The disc, which is described in a press release as a "heavy metal version of a self-help manual and ultimate party album combined," was once again produced by Jay Ruston, who collaborated with the band on all of its previous recordings, including 2017's "Lower The Bar".
STEEL PANTHER specializes in imitating and exaggerating the less flattering aspects of 1980s hair metal, with unrepentantly crude, non-PC sexual content as a favorite lyrical theme.
The group's music has been described as "VAN HALEN meets MÖTLEY CRÜE meets RATT meets 'Wayne's World', complete with operatic shrieks, misogyny, shredding guitar solos and libidinal overdrive."
Thirteen years ago, STEEL PANTHER changed its name from METAL SKOOL to its current moniker and shifted the focus of its act from '80s metal covers to originals.
Following the recent 50th episode mark of Joe Bonamassa's hit interview series "Live From Nerdville", this week Joe caught up with the ultimate rock star Alice Cooper. See the whole conversation below. The convo takes an exciting round of twists and turns as the two artists talk about getting back on the road… finally!
To start off, Alice talks about his recent event for Solid Rock where they performed with the likes of ASIA, Lou Gramm, his son's band, and KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer. Similarly, Joe talks about his recent five shows and how excited he was performing again and seeing humans in the audience even it was only a few.
Speaking about the last shows he played before the pandemic, Alice said: "Well, we cancelled 180 cities last March 7th and we were in Germany doing 'Rock Meets Classic' when we got the news that from the officials saying that we had 24 hours to get out of Germany before the borders closed. Needless to say, that was the last stage Alice saw for a while. It was like a house of cards; it just all collapsed in one day. We also did a benefit show with QUEEN in Sydney Australia. It was a benefit for the fire disaster that happened over there. 95,000 people attended and that was the last show we did as a band. At least it's a good way to go out."
Asked what got him into music, Alice divulged: "I was 15 and I heard these songs and I thought what is going on with the radio? It was Beatlemania." This motivated Alice and two of his friends to each buy an instrument and start a band. "We started out playing music along the lines of THE YARDBIRDS. We wanted to the American YARDBIRDS. Why? Because they were the coolest bands at the time. We also liked THE KINKS and THE WHO. Later we got into Paul Butterfield as well, but it was always hard rock." Joe shared his own inspirations: "For me, I got into Jeff Beck, and it was the 'Truth' album that really took me over the top. To me, he was the first guitarist to weaponize a guitar."
"It was a magical time in music in England," Alice agreed, "and I think the competition helped things. Because you had Clapton, THE YARDBIRDS, John Mayall, THE WHO, and then [Jimi] Hendrix shows up in London and completely changes the game."
They continue on to discuss the fact that you can no longer test new songs you wrote while on tour because with smartphones you test a song one day and then the next day it's all over social media, which, for them, kills the excitement of creating and presenting a new album. "After the first couple tour stops, the next tour stop already knows your setlist," says Joe. Alice then praises Joe for being one of the faces of the blues and that younger generations are more familiar with because of the way he plays.
Other conversations include playing and recording with tracks, and dissecting the playing live of McCartney where it's all perfection, in contrast to when you see THE ROLLING STONES live and it's "gloriously sloppy," according to Alice.
As they go on discussing touring, Alice shares his affinity for the Detroit scene, remembering a major festival he played there. "You saw MC5, THE STOOGES," he said. "I saw Iggy Pop and realized that I may have competition…We ended up moving there for a while. It was also cool because Motown players and artists would support rock bands and vice versa."
Then they talk the hits. "We went national with 'I'm Eighteen'," Alice said. "CKLW radio in Detroit played the track. We were up against Sinatra, SUPREMES, Simon Garfunkel, then us. That song took us out of Detroit." Joe asked Alice if he thought it would be a hit, and Cooper said: "No. In fact, our management wanted us to dumb it down some. And we kept telling management that we want to be like THE YARDBIRDS. But as it turns out, the simplicity was very powerful." The only song Alice thought would be a hit was "School's Out". He said: "It's a timeless anthem."
Joe asked Alice when he knew he was famous. He responded: "When people were reaching out to me as Alice. I took on the name and we had a coming out party at the Ambassador Hotel in L.A. We had drag queens, cigarette girls it was a total night of insanity."
They talk about GRETA VAN FLEET, Alice's latest album, and Joe even asks, "Who the most interesting person you ever played golf with?" Alice's response? "Groucho Marx. He knew Bob Hope, Dean Martin and Jerry Wilson. Can you imagine the banter?"
Former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick has released a video tribute to his brother Bob who died exactly a year ago at the age of 70.
In a note accompanying the video's YouTube release, Bruce wrote: "A year ago today my brother Bob Kulick passed away. For his one year anniversary, I've created a loving video tribute. At the end I share his final resting place. Bob Kulick's life and career was 'Forever Larger than Life.'"
Bob passed away on May 28, 2020 at his home in Las Vegas. He died from natural causes due to heart disease.
Last October, Bruce said that he was unaware that his brother had complained to his doctor about chest pains and heart palpitations. "I recently discovered this by looking at his medical papers, and I believe he was due to be treated, but the pandemic might [have] prevented it," Bruce wrote in a social media post. "For me this was a shock, as it was so sudden.
Throughout his 40-plus-year music career, Bob Kulick worked with an astonishing array of artists: from Meat Loaf to MOTÖRHEAD; from KISS to Michael Bolton; W.A.S.P. to Diana Ross; as well as legends such as Roger Daltrey, Alice Cooper, Lou Reed and Paul Stanley's first solo LP and tour.
Bob began his musical profession at 16 — when most high schoolers are still trying to figure out where they're going in life — appearing on the 1966 album "Winchester Cathedral" from the RANDOM BLUES BAND, the "baby band" that Bob played in that played The Café Wha in New York's Greenwich Village alongside Jimmy James and the BLUE FLAMES (later rechristened Jimi Hendrix).
1973 saw Kulick make the connection that he has been associated the most with throughout his career. He auditioned for — and got passed over by — KISS. Instead of being dejected, the six-stringer aligned himself with the band over the years, playing on the studio material on "Kiss Alive II", providing solos on the "Killers" album, co-writing "Naked City" from "Unmasked" and guesting on Paul Stanley's 1979 solo album and tour a decade later. He even suggested his brother to the band.
In April 2020, Bruce admitted in an interview that his relationship with Bob was "not healthy." Bruce spoke about his estranged older brother five months after Bob made a public post on his personal Facebook page as as well as on his Instagram accusing Bruce of contributory "copyright infringement" over the sale of "Kulick Brothers" merchandise items, including a signed photo. According to Bob, the items were being made available via Kiss Army Merchandise with permission from Bruce only. Bob went on to say that Bruce had "a restraining order" against him, but didn't offer any more details about the circumstances that led to the order being issued.
During 2017's "Kiss Kruise VII", the Kulick brothers played a 13-song set that featured 10 rarely performed KISS songs such as "Turn On The Night" and "All American Man", as well as three classics from Paul Stanley's 1978 solo album (on which Bob performed). That same year, Bob released a solo album, "Skeletons In The Closet".
Finland's Rocking Corpses is a putrid mix of rock, death metal, zombies, other horror themes and some really black humour. The band is set to release their second studio album Death Blues on July 2nd via Inverse Records. Their latest single from the album, "Drinking With The Dead", is released today. Check out the official lyric video below.
The band comments: "'Drinking With The Dead' was born out of post depression after losing some drinking competitions to the dead. It is not good for anyone to dring yourself into a shamanistic state with hard liquor. But sometimes it might inspire a song if you have dead friends or new acquaintances join the party. Originally composed for an acoustic guitar, the song came mesmerizingly alive in the studio with improvised percussions such as straw basket, tape measure and a triangle hit closing the ceremony for the dead."
Tracklist:
"There Will Be Death" (intro)
"Body"
"Buried"
"As High As You Can Get"
"Rocking Corpses Part II"
"Derailed"
"Drinking With The Dead"
"Another Day In Casket"
"Losing Day"
"Necrophilove"
"Death Is Something To Die For"
"War For Doom"
"Buried"
"Another Day In Casket"
Line-Up:
Leper Laze - Vocals
Tony Decay - guitar, dirty vocals
Pestilence Pete - guitar
Maggot Mike - bass
Tom Bones - drums
Japanese avant-garde metallers Dir En Grey released their new single, 'Oboro', on April 28th. An official video for the track is available below.
On the new single's deluxe edition:
"Cover artwork, along with the title of the CD live track and the contents of the bonus live footage to be included in the Limited Deluxe Version / First Press Limited Version have been unveiled. The artwork for this single was created in collaboration with the “paper doll” artist Maki Hino. The artist, who aims to make 'works shaped as human beings,' was inspired by 'Oboro' for these dolls, resulting in a very unique and memorable artwork. The live track to be featured in all the version of the singles will be 'Keigaku no Yoku' from the Concert Film Screening (Meguro Rock-May-Kan Gig).
As for the live footage to be included in the Limited Deluxe Version, it will bring you the latest live clips by the band: 13 songs from Concert Film Screening (Meguro Rock-May-Kan Gig) in an exclusive re-edited version along with a unreleased clip for 'Rasetsukoku' for a total of 14 songs. You can also enjoy a documentary bringing you to the filming set of Meguro Rock-May-Kan and to the recordings of 'Oboro', along with interviews with the Dir En Grey members. The First Press Limited Version will include three of the live clips included in the Limited Deluxe Version, and a digest footage of the documentary."
Disc 1 - CD
"Oboro"
"T.D.F.F."
"Keigaku no Yoku" (live)
Disc 2 - Blu-Ray / DVD: Meguro Rock-May-Kan
"Dead Tree"
"Keigaku no Yoku"
"Ningen wo Kaburu"
"Devote My Life"
"Rubbish Heap"
"Clever Sleazoid"
"Rinraku"
"The World of Mercy"
"Values of Madness"
"Ochita Koto no Aru Sora"
"Karma"
"Utafumi"
"Child Prey"
"Rasetsukoku"
Behind The Scenes of 'Oboro'
One of the most iconic characters ever created in song — the smarmy, nefarious record executive dreamt up by Roger Waters for PINK FLOYD's 1975 single "Have A Cigar", who infamously asked "Which one's Pink?" — is being brought to life in a whole new way, courtesy of the legendary voice of prog metal superstars DREAM THEATER, James LaBrie, and a spectacular new concept video from award-winning director Vicente Cordero of Industrialism Films. LaBrie's superb rendition of the song, taken from the just released album "Still Wish You Were Here - A Tribute To Pink Floyd", gives the lyrics a far more sinister edge than the original recording, as does the razor-sharp guitar work from Steve Stevens, which contrasts nicely with the laid-back rhythm section composed of THE DAMNED's Rat Scabies and PUBLIC IMAGE LTD.'s Jah Wobble and some supremely tasteful keyboard work from THE MOODY BLUES' Patrick Moraz. This fantastic new version of the song inspired the first-ever dramatic portrayal of this character, performed by seasoned character actor Noel Jason Scott for Cordero's video, as a stylish Mephistopheles who casually tempts a young, naive musician into a malevolent Faustian bargain that grants him all the riches and rewards of rock superstardom before exacting a treacherous toll.
LaBrie's performance is a major highlight of "Still Wish You Were Here", but there is plenty more where that came from. The album also features awe-inspiring performances from a whole host of rock, metal and pop music legends such as keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman, DEEP PURPLE drummer Ian Paice, recent Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Todd Rundgren, ex-QUEENSRŸCHE vocalist Geoff Tate, guitar god Joe Satriani, ZOMBIES/ARGENT vocalist Rod Argent, spacebass super genius Bootsy Collins, and lots more. "Still Wish You Were Here" is available on both CD in a beautiful six-panel deluxe digipak and a stunningly gorgeous gatefold vinyl in a variety of colors.
Frontiers Music Srl announces the forthcoming release of Circus Of Rock's debut album, Come One, Come All, on August 6. Circus Of Rock is a new band, or rather a massive musical project, masterminded by drummer Mirka Rantanen (King Company). The debut single, "Desperate Cry: featuring Johnny Gioeli (Hardline, Axel Rudi Pell) on lead vocals is out today. See the video below, and pre/order save Come One, Come All here.
"My musical influences in making Come One, Come All come from a mix of artists I've been exposed to over the years. My own bands which I've been involved in and, of course, my own musical idols. In music, I love more than anything classic melodic hard rock and that shows on this album. I wanted to make the kind of music I could stand behind completely. The intention was just to have fun with musicians I admire and have everybody perform great songs," says Circus Of Rock mastermind Mirka Rantanen.
"As for the recording of the album, last summer we had all the songs and demos ready. I recorded the drums in early autumn and then everyone else did their part in different studios or at home during autumn and end of the year. Since the album has almost 40 musicians, it was a bit of a challenge to keep everything in order when it comes to sessions. Dozens of tracks could arrive to me on the same day. I worked closely with mixer Kimmo Ahola so that we both kept up to date with what was coming in, what had been transferred, etc. It was quite a job and I still have to tip my hat to Kimmo for putting this puzzle together," continues Rantanen.
Come One, Come All has a killer line-up of singers and musicians, a full list of which you can see below. The amazing talents involved come from the likes of Amaranthe, Tyketto, Hardline, Nightwish, Leverage, and more, plus musicians from bands such as Stratovarius, Brother Firetribe, Masterplan, and others.
Hardline and Axel Rudi Pell frontman Johnny Gioeli handles lead vocals on first single "Desperate Cry". Rantanen explains, "'Desperate Cry' was called 'Why' at first, but when Johnny got it, he wanted to change the lyric a little bit and it became 'Desperate Cry'. This was the first song that came together for the album. It is written by songwriter/guitarist Ade Manninen and as soon as I heard the demo of it, I was absolutely sure it would go to Johnny. It fits his voice perfectly. Unfortunately, Ade died of cancer May 9th and will not be able to see the release of the song or the entire album. The guy in the video is a "stunt guitarist" because Ade was no longer able to participate in the video shootings due to his health. But he's in our memories now here and a few other songs he plays on. The song is about a relationship ending between two people and the pain involved with that, but after Ade's death, the story took on a whole new meaning, at least for me."
“A few years ago I started to think about recording a solo album; however, I didn’t want to do just a traditional solo album. That’s because people often think a solo album is mainly to allow the musicians to show off their fantastic skills and magnificent instruments, but I wanted to focus more on the great songs that don’t happen to have extra drum solos. I also wanted to include many fantastic colleagues with whom I have played over the years on this album, and in addition a couple of great guest singers. My intention is to get the album released in 2021, when I turn 50. And now this will happen thanks to the Frontiers label. The album will be a kind of milestone in my professional career, my long-term 'dream that is finally coming true' type of thing," says Rantanen.
Confirmed singers and musicians appearing on the album include:
- Jarkko Ahola
- Rick Altzi (Masterplan)
- Kimmo Blom (Leverage)
- Johnny Gioeli (Hardline)
- Marco Hietala (ex-Nightwish)
- Erik Kraemer (Simulacrum)
- Mark Quee
- Antti Railio
- Pasi Rantanen (Thunderstone)
- Elize Ryd (Amaranthe)
- Tommi “Tuple” Salmela
- Riku Turunen
- Danny Vaughn (Tyketto)
Mirka Rantanen has a long career in the Finnish hard rock scene. He has played on 40+ albums during his 30 year career, including releases by King Company, Raskasta Joulua, Kotipelto, Warmen, Northern Kings, Revolution Renaissance, and more. In addition, ten years ago he created the very popular heavy rock band for kids called Hevisaurus, for which he was awarded the Emma Award in 2011 (the Finnish equivalent of a Grammy).
Tracklisting:
"The Beat" (Feat. Riku Turunen)
"Desperate Cry" (Feat. Johnny Gioeli)
"Sheriff Of Ghost Town" (Feat. Marco Hietala)
"Never" (Feat. Kimmo Blom)
"In Times Of Despair" (Feat. Elize Ryd)
"Crossroads" (Feat. Pasi Rantanen)
"Caught In The Middle" (Feat. Danny Vaughn)
"Plywood Covered Windows And Crappy Shoes" (Antti Railio)
"Edge Of Love" (Feat. Rick Altzi)
"Set Me Free" (Feat. Jarkko Ahola
"Everafter" (Feat. Tommi “Tuple” Salmela)
"No Reason" (Feat. Marc Quee)
"Tears Of The Clown" (Feat. Erik Kraemer)
"Burning" (Bonus Track Digital)
Frontiers Music Srl will release of the debut album, Kings In The North, from Crowne, a new Swedish melodic hard rock supergroup, on June 18. The band is comprised of vocalist Alexander Strandell (Art Nation), guitarist/keyboardist/producer Jona Tee (H.E.A.T.), bassist John Levén (Europe) and drummer Christian Lundqvist (The Poodles).
Watch a lyric video for the song "Unbreakable" below, and pre-order the CD and Limited Edition Color LP versions of the album and pre-save the digital version here.
Crowne is hands-down the most exciting, thrilling supergroup ever created out of the Swedish melodic hard rock scene. This stellar cast of some of the most outstanding musicians from the scene have been gathered together to create this absolute beast of a debut album, the title of which will be revealed in the coming weeks. Crowne's music is the result of these amazing talents coming together and realizing a musical vision under the passionate and watchful guidance of Serafino Perugino, President of Frontiers Records. This is a melodic hard rock barnburner with enormous melodies, delivering rock 'n' roll like there is no tomorrow. Quite simply, this is going to blow you away, so prepare yourself for what's to come.
Tracklisting:
"Kings In The North"
"Perceval"
"Sharoline"
"Unbreakable"
"Mad World"
"One In A Million"
"Sum Of All Fears"
"Set Me Free"
"Make A Stand"
"Cross To Bear"
"Save Me From Myself"
"Unbreakable" lyric video:
"Perceval" video:
"Sharoline" video:
"Mad World":
Lineup:
Alexander Strandell – Lead Vocals
Jona Tee – Guitar/Keyboards/Backing Vocals
John Levén - Bass
Christian “Kicken” Lundqvist – Drums
Los Angeles-based Motive Black is the modern metal brainchild of vocalist Elana Justin, a project that has been a long time coming. Graduating from the bar band circuit in New York, Elana seized the opportunity to move to Los Angeles in 2018 to work on new music. A stranger in a strange land, she found herself immersed in the local scene and performing on open mic nights at the iconic Viper Room. The LA music community welcomed her, connections and friends were made, which eventually led to a collaboration with Grammy winning guitarist / producer Nick Rowe (Bloodsimple, Vampire Weekend). The duo reworked a song from Elana's former New York band, taking the music in a heavier direction, and Motive Black was born.
Today the band released their first videoclip and single, "Broken", through AFM – presenting a mixture of grooving alternative rock and crushing modern metal that countersinks its way into your ear canal. When listening closer after rocking out, Elana's both powerful and fragile charismatic voice gets deep.
Furthermore the following people have been involved in the production:
- Mixed by Josh Wilbur (Lamb of God, Korn, Papa Roach)
- Featuring Ray Luzier (Korn) on drums
- Featuring Marcos Curiel (P.O.D.) on guitars
"'Broken' is a song that came together when we were taking a break from writing the song we were actually working on," says Elana. "I get to go on a little journey singing it, which is always fun. The idea behind the song is about breaking down walls. It's a song based on truth. It's about being afraid to take risks because you work so hard to protect yourself. I think a lot of people can relate to that."
The video for "Broken" can be seen below:
For the future, Elana's goal is to turn Motive Black into a full band, both in the interest of touring and future work on new music as they move forward. In the meantime, she is set to unleash no less than four singles from Motive Black between May 2021 and January 2022, all of them with rock solid staying power.
"It's interesting to be signed," says Elana says of joining the AFM Records family. "I don't have a following because Motive Black is a brand new project, so the music must have spoken to someone at the label. Hopefully that sort of interest will pull me through."
King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his singer wife Toyah Willcox - joined by the mysterious stranger Sidney Jake - are back with another episode in their "Toyah & Robert’s Sunday Lunch" series. This time they take on the Black Sabbath classic, "Paranoid".
"The kitchen trio take it to the extreme again, and we can confirm no actual feathers were harmed in the making of this video!"
Watch below:
A selection of Robert & Toyah's previous Sunday Lunch videos can be seen below:
SUM 41 has dropped a reimagined version of its previously released track "Catching Fire" featuring the TikTok creator/musician nothing,nowhere. SUM 41's Deryck Whibley wrote this ballad for his wife, Ari Whibley, after her suicide attempt and they are talking about it for the first time ever in hopes to raise awareness during Mental Health Awareness Month.
SUM 41 fans from all over the world collectively submitted their stories of loss seen in the beautifully shot black-and-white video for "Catching Fire". The vision behind the powerful video-turned-memorial is to shine light on suicide prevention and help tackle the stigma behind mental health head on. The video was directed by John Asher, who previously directed SUM 41's music video for "Never There".
Whibley states about the new single: "Writing this song was cathartic for me in dealing with my emotions for the first time about almost losing my wife to suicide. When I first played it for her, it was the beginning of us having an open conversation about what she went through. In sharing her story, we are hoping to let others know they are not alone and that if you need help, there is no shame in saying so."
nothing,nowhere says: "As someone who has had to deal with mental illness throughout my life, it was a no-brainer when Deryck approached me to get on this song.
"I think it's important to let those close to you know that you love them and that you are there for them unconditionally.
"I'm a lifelong SUM 41 fan and I'm honored to be a part of something like this."
Fans can stream "Catching Fire" now and check out the music video below.
SUM 41's latest album, "Order In Decline", came out in July 2019 via Hopeless Records. Armed with the most honest and intimate songs of his career, Whibley poured everything he had into the LP. Producing, engineering, and mixing the album in his home studio, he painstakingly crafted and fine-tuned each song, highlighted by fast and full riffs, guitar solos from lead guitarist/backing vocalist Dave Brownsound, harmonious chords from guitarist Tom Thacker and the heavy, heart-thumping rhythm section of bassist/backing vocalist Cone McCaslin and drummer Frank Zummo.
After over 15 million records sold worldwide, a Grammy Award nomination, two Juno Awards (seven nominations), a Kerrang! Award in 2002, as well as multiple Alternative Press Music Awards, SUM 41 has no intention of slowing down.
Hailing from El Paso, TX, Scattered Storm is gearing up to release their debut EP Oblivion this summer. Their sound is both primal and futuristic, with clean groovy tones coming from 7 and 8 string guitars and catchy, heavy vocals. The first single from this release is “Kingslayer” being presented with a music video.
“Kingslayer”, is the heaviest track and came about by guitarist Kevin Armstrong watching too much Godzilla, plus it features a “Stanley Kubrick inspired space like ending.” They explain the track further in their own words:
“We felt this song really encompasses the overall sound of the band, because it has pretty much everything we wanted to throw in there. Big vocals, big guitars, pummeling bass, but most importantly that heavy ass steady groove, which will get some of these headbanging necks a run for their money. Lyrically touches on a couple of religious subjects plus the philosophical, but mostly focusing on letting go of all of that and being free of the mind and spirit.”
This new album isn’t a concept album, but each song meshes with the others and there is a distinct flow from one track to the next. Overall, it is captivating, showing off a band that is still experimenting with elements, but comes across as refined without sacrificing tightness.
The men behind Scattered Storm are not new entrants to the metal game. Jay Arriaga played in Random Allusion, and Years of Cold; Andre Acosta also belonged to Pissing Razors and Years Of Cold; Kevin Armstrong is currently with Mondoshawan and toured extensively with Section 6. Ed Razor is the founder of Pissing Razors and he also played drums with Overkill and bass with Ministry.
Those looking for music with a lot of ambience akin to Gojira, Tesseract, Fear Factory and Meshuggah will be interested in the futuristic sound of Scattered Storm.
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