BEARTOOTH has released the official music video for the song "Devastation". The track is taken from the band's fourth studio album, "Below", which will arrive on June 25 via Red Bull Records.
BEARTOOTH frontman Caleb Shomo commented: "'Below' is by far my favorite album I've made to date. It covers the dark side of dealing with mental strain during the last year. I gave it all I had — musically and lyrically. Is it too dark? Possibly, but it was as honest as I could be about how I felt. I hope everyone is ready to strap in for a wild ride of headbanging and rocking."
"Below" track listing:
01. Below
02. Devastation
03. The Past Is Dead
04. Fed Up
05. Dominate
06. No Return
07. Phantom Pain
08. Skin
09. Hell Of It
10. I Wont Give It Up
11. The Answer
12. The Last Riff
Last July, Shomo told "Mosh Talks With Beez" about the writing and recording sessions for "Below": "I worked on a lot of this album on the road — a whole lot of this record. We honestly could not have been luckier with the way our record cycle laid out.
"The 'Disease' tour in Europe was our last tour of the cycle, and that finished on March 6th, I believe. And then the next week, everything got shut down. So we already planned to kind of take most of this year off. We planned on not taking it all off, like we're probably gonna have to.
"I'd already worked on a ton of the record, just writing out on the road; I brought a studio rig out there. And that was great.
"When it first started, the whole lockdown thing, I just kind of emotionally shut down for a month," he continued. "But then I just kind of caught a second wind, and I've just been ripping through songs. It's pretty cool."
Asked if the BEARTOOTH songwriting "formula" is still present in the band's new material, Caleb said: "I think that something about the BEARTOOTH sound is sort of that formula. BEARTOOTH has a song structure — it's the classic pop structure of intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, out. But with this one, I've just been trying to amp up everything. 'Cause with the last record, I really wanted to go for that super-raw, live-rock-and-roll-in-the-old-school-studio and old-school-console sound, and it was rad, and I loved doing it. And it was proving to myself that I can make a real record without computers — well, [without] heavily relying on computers. But I don't know… I just kind of realized, like, you know what? That's what I learned as a producer. I came up in the era of mixing in the box and recording in the box, which means using plug-ins and emulations and things like that. I've just been kind of using that to try and push it a little further. The formula is still there, but I don't think it's in a bad way. I think it's the formula people want from a BEARTOOTH record.
"This one is just jacked," he explained. "Everything is amped up to 11. I am so, so pumped. Obviously, this is what you wanna think when you're making a record, but damn, this is the best one yet. Not even close. This is the heaviest record. This is my best work — the most proud I've been of these songs. It's wild. It's some heavy-duty shit."
Speaking about the musical direction of the new BEARTOOTH songs, Shomo said: "The easiest way I've been trying to explain this record to people without giving too much away is if 'Disease' was AC/DC, this record is BLACK SABBATH. It's a lot more influenced in dark stoner rock, heavy power groove. Obviously, there's still a lot of fast [stuff] and some punk rock and all that, but I've really been exploring with the stoner metal side of guitars and guitar tones and doing different tunings and lots of fuzz and chaos and layering the fuck out of my guitar tracks.
"The whole point, for me, of this mix and the sonics of this record is as big and loud and fucking sonically devastating as I can possibly get it," he said. "So on a breakdown, for example, where on 'Disease' it would just be left guitar, right guitar, bass down the middle, this is literally… That little clip I posted [on Instagram ] is I think eight guitars, three bass tracks. Just experimenting — just doing dumb stoner shit and just trying my fucking best. Yeah, that's the goal — is just sonic devastation, for sure."
BEARTOOTH's latest release was the folk- and country music-inspired "The Blackbird Session" EP, which came out in September 2019.
The band's third album, "Disease", was released in September 2018 via Red Bull Records. The disc was recorded at BlackBird studio in Franklin, Tennessee with producer Nick Raskulinecz (DEFTONES, KORN, FOO FIGHTERS).
Former ACCEPT guitarist Herman Frank has released an official lyric video for the song "Venom". The clip, which was created by Kai Swillus, can be viewed below.
"Venom" is taken from Frank's fifth solo album, "Two For A Lie", which is due on May 21 via AFM Records. The disc was once again mixed by Arne Neurand at Horus Sound Studio in Hannover, Germany, while mastering duties were handled by Robin Schmidt at 24-96 Mastering in Karlsruhe, Germany.
"Two For A Lie" track listing:
01. Teutonic Order
02. Venom
03. Hate
04. Eye Of The Storm
05. Liar
06. Hail The New Kings
07. Just A Second To Lose
08. Danger
09. Stand Up And Fight
10. Open Your Mind
Frank's band lineup is as follows:
Rick Altzi (MASTERPLAN, AT VANCE) - Vocals
Herman Frank (ex-ACCEPT, VICTORY) - Guitar
Mike Pesin (MAGISTARIUM, VICTORY) - Guitar
Michael Müller (JADED HEART) - Bass
Kevin Kott (AT VANCE, MASTERPLAN, HEAVEN'S TRAIL) - Drums
Herman joined ACCEPT in 1982 shortly before the release of the band's "Restless And Wild" album and exited the group for the first time after the arrival of 1983's "Balls To The Wall" LP.
When ACCEPT reunited for festival appearances in 2005, Herman handled second-guitar duties alongside founding axeman Wolf Hoffmann, with Stefan Schwarzmann sitting behind the kit.
Frank and Schwarzmann were involved in ACCEPT's comeback with Tornillo and appeared on the reunited group's first three studio albums: 2010's "Blood of the Nations", 2012's "Stalingrad" and 2014's "Blind Rage".
Frank's fourth solo album, "Fight The Fear", was released in February 2019 via AFM.
Two years ago, Herman told All That Shreds about his decision to exit ACCEPT in December 2014: "It was just time to leave the band. Let's put it this way: I wanted to do music the way I started to. I wanted to have my own band. I wanted my own music and just wanted to just play my own leads. Not to follow somebody's guitar. I was getting too old for it. It's fine to be a backup, but after a couple of years, it's time for a different thing."
Asked how it was different playing with current ACCEPT singer Mark Tornillo after performing with Udo Dirkschneider during the band's early years, Herman said: "Mark is a really nice guy and really promising. It's kind of a different voice and Mark really doubles Udo in his personal way. I prefer the style of Udo's singing. He is original ACCEPT. There is this voice sticking in your head. On the new songs, which Mark sings for the first time in ACCEPT, it's a different character, but it's very good. You can't compare them, really. They are a match for certain things, but they are quite different people. I do like them both. I couldn't have the decision which one I would prefer. It would have been great if they would put a couple of albums with Udo and Mark together. That would be awesome."
Armed with a blistering, aggressive new single "Nowhere Generation", the multi-platinum, politically imbued punk rockers RISE AGAINST celebrate the track's catapulting into the Top 25 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart and Top 30 on Billboard's Alternative charts in only its third week of release. The song is a David-and-Goliath call-to-arms directed primarily at Millennials, Gen Ys, and Gen Zs to preserve and defend the fact that people, not politicians, hold the real power and that our younger generations need to reclaim that power to ensure the future of American Democracy. In its debut week, "Nowhere Generation" was the No. 1 Most Added track at both Rock and Alternative radio, an accomplishment that only FOO FIGHTERS' No. 1 smash "Shame, Shame" also achieved in the past year. Additionally, in the short time since its debut, "Nowhere Generation" has contributed 2.3 million streams to the band's global total of nearly 4 billion.
A new performance music video of "Nowhere Generation" can be seen below.
"Nowhere Generation" is the title track from what may be the most consequential album of RISE AGAINST's 20-year career, due out June 4 on Loma Vista Recordings. The eleven songs on "Nowhere Generation" call out today's social, economic, and political factors that are undermining and redefining one of the core tenants of being an American: that despite your race, place of birth, or societal class, if you apply yourself and work hard, you can achieve your vision of a fuller, richer and better life, The American Dream. What is tantamount to a sell-out of the Middle Class is the thread that runs through the album. Said vocalist/lyricist/rhythm guitarist Tim McIlrath: "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."
DISTURBED bassist John Moyer received his COVID-19 vaccine this past February in his home state of Texas.
The 47-year-old musician, who has been a member of DISTURBED since 2004, discussed his inoculation during an appearance on the STITCHED UP HEART YouTube livestream on Tuesday (April 6).
He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm in Austin, Texas, and [about] a month ago, we had our snow apocalypse. It froze the state, and so a lot of places lost power — when you need it most to heat your home. And we were one of those places. So we lost power for a good day and a half or so. And during that time, the Walgreens [pharmacy store chain] in my neighborhood also lost power. So they put out an announcement that they had a bunch of COVID shots, and they said, 'It's gonna go back. So first come, first served, come stand in line.' So, we slipped our way down to the Walgreens and stood in line in the cold and got it. But it was a weird story — if it wasn't for that power going out, I'd probably still be waiting to get it."
Last summer, Moyer's DISTURBED bandmate David Draiman told "That Jamieson Show" that he and his wife have friends who "lost their entire family in a week" due to COVID-19 — "seven people; all died. And if you go ahead and you buy in to the whole 'it has something to do with genetics and blood type,' well, then it makes a whole lot of sense," he said. "This poor girl lost all seven members of her family in a week — they all dropped dead from the virus. Not complications from the virus — from the virus. So it's a very real thing."
In March, DISTURBED's "The Sickness 20th Anniversary Tour" was officially canceled. The amphitheater tour, with very special guest STAIND and BAD WOLVES, was originally slated to take place last summer but was rescheduled to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was eventually scrapped altogether.
"The Sickness 20th Anniversary Tour" was supposed to celebrate the 20th anniversary of DISTURBED's seminal album "The Sickness". On this tour, the band was expected to perform songs off the album, as well as tracks from its most recent studio release, "Evolution", and its extensive catalog.
Frontiers Music Srl will release the debut solo album from Perfect Plan vocalist Kent Hilli, entitled The Rumble, on June 18. Today, Kent has released the first single and music video, "Don't Say It's Forever". Watch the clip below, and pre-order/save the album here.
Kent Hilli’s debut solo album “The Rumble” is the culmination of the musical path that the Swedish singer started journeying down since he debuted with Swedish melodic rock upstarts Perfect Plan. To craft the album, Kent joined forces with Mike Palace, who produced the album. This musical partnership has turned out to be a “match made in heaven”. Mike is an amazing talent and together with Kent they have developed an incredible chemistry that really caught the sound Kent was envisioning for the album.
"My goal with this album, musically, was to find a classic yet modern feel and sound and to differ a bit from what I'm known for with Perfect Plan. I also wanted to make a diverse album containing everything from rockers to ballads. I am a huge fan of Giant, Foreigner, Survivor, Starship, Whitesnake, etc. and I wanted these influences to shine through as well as bringing my own sound and identity to the songs. Mike Palace had the exact same vision for the music and we have the exact same influences, so it was an immediate match made in heaven. Mike is a real genius and just a dream to work with. I also co-wrote with the great Alessandro Del Vecchio and Pete Alpenborg on two songs, with Mike on one song, and with my talented sister Tina on one song, which was really great fun. I am so very thankful and blessed to have had the chance to work with these talents," says Hilli.
As mentioned above, Kent wrote all the songs on the album himself, except for four songs which were co-written. One with Palace, two with Alessandro Del Vecchio and Pete Alpenborg, and one with Kent's sister Tina.
A diverse album with both rockers and ballads, The Rumble is going to be a true delight for melodic rock fans. It is also a very “relationship oriented” album, with lyrics that are coming from a place of personal experience
"The first single is about the joy, the expectations, the promises, the disappointments, and struggles in a relationship where one party is giving it a 100% and the other party is not. It is also about living in the here and now and enjoying life 'cause it will not last forever. Taking care of one another and enjoying and being thankful for what you have. Musically, it came together when I was jamming one day and found this great hook on the chorus and I immediately got the theme of the song. Mike Palace did a wonderful arrangement to the song after I had sent him the acoustic version of the song," Hilli says of first single "Don't Says It's Forever".
The album resounds with the inspiration and influences from Kent's idols like Giant, Foreigner, Survivor, Whitesnake, and Europe, to name a few. That musical style is built in Kent's DNA by now. The legendary voices of Lou Gramm, Jimi Jamison, Dann Huff, David Coverdale, Joe Lynn Turner, and Joey Tempest are Kent's true inspirations and have influenced his vocal style. But anyone following along knows that Kent is very much his own singer and one of the finest to emerge in the melodic rock scene in quite some time.
Needless to say, if you love any of the classic bands mentioned above and certainly if you are a fan of Kent's work in Perfect Plan, then this record is for you!
Tracklisting:
"The Rumble (Never Say Die)"
"Cold"
"All For Love"
"I Can’t Wait"
"Don’t Say It’s Forever"
"Miss Up To No Good"
"Heaven Can Wait"
"Does It Feel Like Love"
"Love Can Last Forever"
"Never Be Mine"
"Still In Love"
"Don't Say It's Forever" video:
Lineup:
Kent Hilli - Lead vocals and backing vocals
Michael Palace - All instrumentation and backing vocals
Back in January, Slipknot / Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor released the music video for his solo single, “Samantha’s Gone”. This time around, he invited his friends to join him on-screen, including Tom Sandoval of Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules, actor Dean Cameron (Summer School, Ski School, Straight Outta Compton), Steel Panther, plus actor Greg Grunberg, Ace Von Johnson, Travis Miguel and Jonah Nimoy.
About the visual, Taylor told Bravo’s The Daily Dish, "The video for ‘Samantha’s Gone’ served two purposes: making fun of so-called ‘indie rock’ bands and getting all my friends together to hang out and have a good time. We all went back and forth between having fun and social distancing. Watching the first ‘band’ was great, then being fired from our OWN song in favor of Steel Panther was the icing on the cake - can’t wait for everyone to see it!"
Taylor has posted a behind-the-scenes outtake clip, which can be viewed below.
"Samantha's Gone" is the sixth video from Taylor's solo album, CMFT. It was preceded by "CMFT Must Be Stopped", "Black Eyes Blue", "Hwy 666", "Culture Head", and "Everybody Dies On My Birthday".
Black Veil Brides are gearing up for the release of their new concept album The Phantom Tomorrow - the band’s sixth full-length record - which is due out on June 4th via Sumerian Records. They have unveiled the cover artwork and the tracklist, as well as the video for "Fields Of Bone" which can be found below.
The album tells the story of the antihero character “The Blackbird” and a group of societal outcasts known as simply as “The Phantom Tomorrow.” The first single “Scarlet Cross” – produced by Erik Ron (Godsmack, Dance Gavin Dance, Bush) and guitarist Jake Pitts – was released in November 2020 and is available via all digital platforms.
Tracklist:
"The Phantom Tomorrow" (Introduction)
"Scarlet Cross"
"Born Again"
"Blackbird"
"Spectres" (Interlude)
"Torch"
"The Wicked One"
"Shadows Rise"
"Fields Of Bone"
"Crimson Skies"
"Kill The Hero"
"Fall Eternal"
"Fields Of Bone"
"Scarlet Cross"
Like their band name suggests, Black Veil Brides evoke transcendent visions of an impenetrable hereafter, intermingling with a steely focus on the dark passions and elusive mysteries of the here and now. A romantic fantasy first summoned in a small town by founder Andy Biersack – a creative who was fascinated with death rock, theatricality, and monsters (both real and imagined). It wasn’t until moving to Los Angeles that the unstoppable force the band is currently was finalized.
The band (and its members Andy Biersack, Jake Pitts, Jinxx, Lonny Eagleton, Christian Coma) Instagram and Twitter accounts command close to 10 million followers between them. Vale, the group’s most recent full-length album, went to No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Hard Rock Albums chart. In the hearts and minds of their fans, Black Veil Brides represents an unwillingness to compromise and a resistance to critics (personal and professional), fueled by the same fire as the group’s own heroes, the iconoclasts whose creative output, once dismissed, is now canonized.
German power metallers, Primal Fear, want to show us something new, a different side of the band - after releasing a string of heavy and hard-hitting singles from Metal Commando, mastermind Mat Sinner and vocal force Ralf Scheepers have something extraordinary up their sleeves; a 5-track single, built around an exclusive new rendition of their achingly beautiful ballad "I Will Be Gone", re-recorded with none other than Finnish metal diva extraordinaire, Tarja Turunen. It is available as of today (April 9th). The official video is available below.
“There were three famous vocalists on our final wish list,” Mat Sinner comments. “That it was Tarja who got involved in this song is a matter of pure joy for all of us. Working together on the song and video was totally relaxed and professional – a great experience also because Tarja’s and Ralf’s voices go together incredibly well. Now, we can expand the Metal Commando saga with a unique chapter. We’re all really proud of this single.”
The Finnish icon can only agree: “I was very happy to receive the invitation to take part in Primal Fear’s beautiful song ‘I Will Be Gone’. We started our careers nearly at the same time many years ago, and finally got a chance to work together. I love the song and personally it helped me to stay connected and rock again, even if at the studio this time. I really hope that people will like this collaboration and that it will bring them joy especially during these difficult times we are living through at the moment.”
The song, fragile and touching, gets an altogether new and deeply melancholic vibe with Tarja’s unbelievably emotional performance, showcasing a different facet of Primal Fear. Yet, it’s not the only gift they deliver on this 5-track sensation - just take "Vote Of No Confidence" for example, an all-new, previously unreleased beast of a song. Clocking in at over six minutes, this storming, furious anthem gives a brilliant glimpse of things to come. Previously only available as bonus tracks on the limited Metal Commando digipack, three more tracks complete this release; enchanting guitar instrumental "Rising Fear", massive mid-tempo smasher "Leave Me Alone", and heavy metal monument "Second To None", making "I Will Be Gone" so much more than just another off shoot of a successful album.
Tracklisting:
"I Will Be Gone" (feat. Tarja Turunen)
"Vote For No Confidence"
"Rising Fear"
"Leave Me Alone"
"Second to None"
Co-founder, guitarist and Rock And Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Nancy Wilson of Heart, is set to release her first ever solo album, You And Me on May 7 via her new label, Carry On Music. She has released an official video for album's title track, "You And Me", stating: "This song means so much to me. To celebrate, pre-orders for the full album are now available, out 5/7!"
Check out the video below.
Listen/buy “You And Me” here (and below). Pre-order the new album here.
The new album was recorded primarily in Wilson’s California home studio, working with band members and special guests remotely.
“Being off the road last year from touring with Heart, and at home with my good guitars and amps out,” Wilson says, “I felt like I was once again able to reconnect with my pre-Heart self, my college-girl self, creating poetic, intimate and romantic songs, which pretty much is what I first brought in to Heart.”
Most of the tracks are originals, but Wilson decided to include a handful of covers by a few of her favorites, including a female perspective of Pearl Jam’s “Daughter,” a stirring turn of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Boxer” featuring Sammy Hagar, and an ethereal cover of the Cranberries “Dreams,” featuring Liv Warfield (Prince) from Nancy’s previous band Roadcase Royale. The first single from the album was Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising,” which dropped last fall.
“During this horrific time in the world, with all this enduring loss, it seemed like the right time for an aspirational song about hope and perseverance,” Wilson says.
The other eight tracks are originals, mostly acoustic ballads, but there are also some rousing rockers like “Party At The Angel Ballroom” which features a superstar backing band, including Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses and Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters. The album ends with a song that captures the full spectrum of loss, love and redemption in one instrumental coda. Titled “4 Edward,” it is Nancy’s tribute to Eddie Van Halen, whose 2020 loss still looms large over music. Nancy came to know Eddie when Heart toured with Van Halen, and she once asked him why he didn’t play acoustic. “I don’t have one,” he told her, which she immediately rectified. Eddie took the guitar she gave him and wrote a song on it that stole Nancy’s heart. After his death last year, Nancy knew she had to return the favor.
The title track “You And Me,” as with several of the songs on the album, reunites Wilson with longtime collaborator Sue Ennis, who co-wrote many of Heart’s classics with Nancy, and sister Ann. “I’ve known Sue since I was 12,” Nancy says. “Back then she was a high school friend of Ann’s. We’ve always worked well together.” The single will be released digitally on March 8, 2021 with an album pre-order set to launch the same day. Fans can pre-save the track, here.
With her band Heart, Nancy Wilson has recorded 16 albums, sold over 35 million albums worldwide and has four Grammy nominations. She had previously released one other album with just her name on it, Live at McCabe’s Guitar Shop, which captured her playing a set of covers and new songs in 1999. But considers this her first true solo album, a positive creative move amid a surreal year of loss; life during lock down.
“I don’t know why it took me so long to do this,” she laughs. “Maybe I was stuck in traffic, maybe I was stuck in the Heart vortex of it all.” But in a year with “no traffic,” Wilson finally found a place for the music she’s been writing in her head for decades.
You And Me tracklisting:
"You And Me"
"The Rising"
"I’ll Find You"
"Daughter"
"Party At The Angel Ballroom" (with Duff McKagan & Taylor Hawkins)
"The Boxer" (with Sammy Hagar)
"Walk Away"
"The Inbetween"
"Dreams" (with Liv Warfield)
"The Dragon"
"We Meet Again"
"4 Edward"
"The Rising" video:
(Top photo - Jeremy Danger / Creative Director: Julia Rose / Hair & Makeup: Thomas Bonetati)
Six years after their debut album, Tarot's Legacy, Witchbound step out of the shadows of their musical past and present a melodic metal album that will delight both previous fans and win many new ones. Check out the official video for new single, "Interstellar Odyssey", below.
End Of Paradise is available for pre-save on digital platforms found here via El Puerto Records. The album is also available as a strictly limited collector's box (only 111 copies worldwide). Pre-order here.
End Of Paradise will be released on April 30th.
Tracklist:
"Prelude"
"Battle of Kadesh"
"Interstellar Odyssey"
"End of Paradise"
"Carved in Stone"
"Flags of Freedom"
"Torquemada"
"Nevermore"
"Last Divide"
"Sea of Sorrow"
"Foreign Shores"
"Dance of the Dead"
"These Tears"
"As Long As We Can Rock"
"Our Hope"
"I was honored to be asked to supply a drum solo soundtrack for the Pearl Drums 75th Anniversary Time Line Video," says Styx drummer Todd Sucherman.
"They had an initial outline cut idea using the drum solo I did at Drumeo in ’17. I used that rudimental theme but in 3/4 time and took the ideas elsewhere, but still dancing in and out of the main theme in 3/4 and 4/4. This was an honor and I hope you enjoy the seven minute improvisation."
"Thanks to Eric Dorris for filming, and to everyone at PMI and Pearl world wide. Happy anniversary! (I'm using Masterworks Studio Recipe with Maple/Gum shells and Black Limba in Black Burst finish with gold hardware. The snare is a Masterworks hybrid: Brass shell, Reference Pure Lugs, triple flanged hoops, Masterworks badge, all rose gold plated. Sabian Cymbals, Remo Drumheads, Promark Drumsticks, Audix microphones.)
American guitarist / songwriter Jeff Kollman (Cosmosquad, Alan Parsons Live Project, Glenn Hughes) has launched a promotional video for "Superstring Theory", the advance single off his forthcoming solo album, East Of Heaven, out May 21.
East Of Heaven is Kollman's sixth instrumental studio album as a solo artist and his 22nd overall on the Marmaduke label. The "Superstring Theory" clip can be viewed below. The song is available for purchase on Kollman’s Bandcamp site, and will go to Apple Music and other digital outlets shortly.
The infectious, hard driving "Superstring Theory" sees Kollman get back to basics and revel in unleashing the power of simplicity. "There’s certainly an underlying early AC/DC influence in there", he readily admits. "Between my solo work and Cosmosquad, it’s easy to get complex and self-indulgent. This one is straight to the point embracing the 4/4 rock! For the video I hit, up my brother from another mother, Shane Gaalaas (Toque), on drums, and our good buds, Jeff Marshall, and Corey McCormick (Chris Cornell, Neil Young) to join us on guitar and bass, respectively. We had so much fun during the shoot - it was great to actually be with everyone in the flesh again. COVID certainly has done a number on us.... Shane and I in particular have been in each other's musical lives so much over the last 25 years, writing, recording, and playing live - it's strange to not have had that close proximity for a whole year now."
Borne out of the COVID-19 induced lockdown that hit the music industry and touring musicians especially hard, Kollman began to collect and shape musical ideas for what became East Of Heaven last March. "2020 was gonna be a busy year on the road for me. I was scheduled to go on a world tour with Alan Parsons as well as go out with Asia Fjp, Lou Gramm, and the 'Rock Pack' all-star thing. Of course, all that went out the window once the pandemic hit. So all of a sudden I had a lot more down time than anticipated. Luckily, I've always been able to make records without having to rely on outside engineers and studios so I hunkered down and got a few of my closest friends involved to play on various tracks."
East Of Heaven features Kollman on guitars and bass, aided by long-time collaborators Shane Gaalaas (Cosmosquad, MSG, Yngwie Malmsteen) and Jono Brown on drums, Cirque du Soleil music director, Paul Shihadeh, on bass, and Guy Allison (Doobie Brothers, Unruly Child, World Trade) on keyboards. Allison is also repsonsible for the East Of Heaven cover artwork.
Tracklisting:
"Loss"
"The Mass Exodus"
"Homage To King Edward"
"Superstring Theory"
"Ghostly"
"Insomnia"
"67 XR-7"
"Montecatini Waltz"
"Isolation 2020"
"East Of Heaven"
"So Long Ago"
"Hidden Dimensions"
"The Darkness Resides"
"See You On The Other Side"
Jeff Kollman first made his international mark with a trifecta of instrumental solo albums and his popular Midwest based metal band, Edwin Dare, who released three studio albums in the 1990s. He co-founded long running prog metal fusioneers Cosmosquad in 1996, and after a move to Los Angeles, CA co-wrote and recorded with singer John West ("Permanent Mark"), UFO offshoot Mogg/Way ("Chocolate Box:), and Phil Mogg's Sign Of 4 ("Dancing With St. Peter") before starting a continuing on-and-off working relationship with Deep Purple Hall of Famer, Glenn Hughes, in 2003. Together with Hughes alumni, Ed Roth and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Chickenfoot), Kollman formed '70s funk rock/fusion quartet Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatmats in 2007 before being recruited by Asia feat. John Payne. More recently, Kollman has toured with Japanese superstar Eikichi Yazawa and former Skid Row vocalist Sebastian Bach. He joined the Alan Parsons Live Project in 2017 and is featured as guitarist and co-writer on Parsons' 2019 release, The Secret.
Well, with the annual day of ‘unbridled love’ long out of the way, Canadian rockers Dali Van Gogh are soldiering on with a brand new video and release for their favourite “anti-love song”; “Past Crimes” is available now!
The freshly pressed video depicts two lovers at the onset of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic; it serves as an allusion to the stress and turmoil of the last year, and the toll it’s taken on even the closest relationships. It was originally envisioned as a live action story but, after numerous delays due to related restrictions, the band converted the concept into an animated lyric video.
Highlighted with a Tchaikovsky-inspired keyboard line, the song churns through a near-despondent ‘lost love’ narrative and the haunting consequences of old mistakes. The groove-centric duet features bandmates John Scotto and Rachelle Moreau trading lead vox as they’re supported by the rest of the Halifax-based five-piece: drummer Johnny Moore, bassist Lance Hicks, and guitarist Isaac Kent.
Inspired by real-life experiences, it was Kent who first tabled the song’s concept. “Without getting into too much detail, the first draft of the song was written about the breakdown of a close relationship in my personal life,” he shares. “It wasn’t originally going to be a duet but, once it clicked to me that this could be taken as a love story of sorts, the lyrics came together.”
Dali Van Gogh have received international radio play and charting status, over half a million streams across their various platforms, were named semi-finalists in the SOCAN Canadian Songwriting Competition, and have released five records — Verbal Warning (2010), Mask Identity (2012), Wild Blue City (2012), From Ashes (2017), and Under Her Spell (2019) — the latter two of which were recorded at Kent’s newly minted HouseFire Studio One after the fire.
Produced by Juno-nominated songwriter Rob Laidlaw (Platinum Blonde, Honeymoon Suite), “Past Crimes” is Dali Van Gogh’s second 2021 offering, and the fourth tying into the band’s ongoing concept release; The Testimony. The song follows last year’s singles: “Heavy Living” and “Boneyard” — the latter also produced by Laidlaw — and this year’s “Stand Up, Wake Up,” a re-imagining of a track off of 2017’s From Ashes.
First formed in 2008, Dali Van Gogh returned to the stage in 2015 following a fire that destroyed Kent’s home and recording studio: every instrument, computer, and master disk, not to mention countless mementos from his personal life, were lost. “Almost nothing was recovered,” he recalls. “Needless to say, it was a major roadblock, but also the driving force behind everything I’ve done, everything I’ve fought for since. That includes Dali Van Gogh.”
“It’s been quite a journey getting this far”, Kent continues, expanding on putting material together for the release. “The pandemic has wreaked havoc every step of the way, not the least of which on the music video, which we had to change dramatically last minute.”
“On the bright side, animation allows us to tell any story we want, and in some ways made it much easier to tie the concept into The Testimony,” Kent — who created the animation himself — adds.
The Testimony, a story the band has been delivering through both music and a digitally-issued tie-in novel, is a high-concept journal of sorts, that takes place in the near future. With multiple viewpoint characters, and conflicting accounts, Dali Van Gogh have used The Testimony to tell the story of those who have come into contact with its main character, ‘The Preacher’ — an enigmatic figure whose very presence alters the world around him.
By using an animated video, “we can keep things more mysterious with our ‘Preacher’ character,” Kent adds. “When we show less of him, it lets the audience make up their own minds on what he’s doing, and what his goals are.”
Pages to The Testimony are released regularly on their website.
Mindsnap Music presents the return of Puerto Rico’s Latin metal pioneers Puya (all original members) with very special guests Dead By Wednesday. The two bands will be invading Florida for three dates this upcoming June.
Puya have begun tracking some new material. The band has reunited with frontman Sergio Curbelo and has added percussion from Oscar Santiago (Ill Niño). The new songs will be engineered by Jarrett Pritchard (1349, Goatwhore) while Zeuss (Rob Zombie, Hatebreed) will mix and master with Miguel "Mick Blazzing" Blasini as executive producer.
The video for Puya's new single "Potencial" can be seen below.
“Hey, this is Puya coming straight to ya Florida! We are super excited about invading Florida this summer! We came to Jarrett Pritchard in Orlando to record our new record on two-inch tape and the one and only producer Zeuss will be mixing it! Enjoy this new single that was recorded during the pandemic called 'Potencial' and our new video to support it! We will see you with our great friends DBW on this Summer Invasion coming straight to FL!” says Eduardo Paniagua, Puya drummer.
“I grew up listening to these guys since they were on Atlantic Records and playing Ozzfest so not only is it an honor to be opening up for them on their debut return in the states with my band DBW, but I’m happy to also say that I’ll be working with them on many different levels as well in the future. Great bunch of guys and a very talented band! We will be working on taking over the world once again with their unique style and original sound!” adds Opus, Dead By Wednesday and Ellefson drummer.
Puya is widely known as the most prominent Latin metal band historically to come out of the Caribbean. For over two decades they have built a loyal fan base all over the world with their unique blend of metal, which has earned them the respect and admiration from the music industry as well as their faithful followers world wide.
Since the early '90s Puya has set themselves apart with their unique brand of Latin metal by blending aggressive power riffs with traditional Latin rhythms, which has given Puya their own identity. The band was founded in 1990 by guitarist Ramon Ortiz and bassist Harold Hopkins. Soon after drummer Eduardo Paniagua joined the group and singer Sergio Curbelo joined the band two years later, completing the original line up. Since 1995, Puya has been releasing original music. From their self titled indie release under Noiz Boiz Records to major releases like Fundamental (1998), produced by Gustavo Santaolaya (Molotov, Juanes), which won the band Billboard and ASCAP awards and Union (2001), produced by Garth Richardson (Rage Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers) under MCA Universal. The band quickly became a powerful national act and a staple in the Latin rock world. Puya formed part of major tours such as Ozzfest '99, Snocore 2000, Red Hot Chili Peppers (Californication tour) and Iron Maiden (Ed Hunter tour) among many others.
Puya returned to the stage by headlining festivals in the late 2000s and busting out independent releases such as their EP Areyto, the live DVD Pa Ti En Vivo and their live album Vital. In February 2020 their new single "Viento" was released on all digital platforms. The band is looking forward to hit the stage again with their original recipe, Sergio Curbelo - vocals, Ramon Ortiz - guitar, Harold Hopkins - bass, Ed Paniagua - drums, and Oscar Santiago - percussion.
D.B.W. (Dead By Wednesday) is a international American four-piece heavy metal group from New Haven, CT. Established in 2006 by drummer Opus, (ex-Gargantua Soul, current U.S. touring drummer for David Ellefson of Megadeth, and Altitudes & Attitude featuring Frank Bello of Anthrax). Out the box, they quickly caught the attention of Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed) who went on to release their debut through his label, Stillborn Records. They’ve released one EP, four full length recordings including their unique guest vocalist album Darkest Of Angels (EMP Label Group). Their newest self-titled release is also on David Ellefson of Megadeth’s newly revamped Combat Records, a division of EMP. DBW gained a fierce loyal following through relentless years of touring supporting such artists as Shadows Fall, Flotsam & Jetsam, ICP, Raven, P.O.D., Jasta/Hatebreed, to name a few. They’ve played both the Warped Tour and the Mayhem Festival, and are in rotation on Sirius Liquid Metal radio.
Stone Whiskey is an American hard rock band, based out of Raleigh, NC. Building on the classic, time tested five-piece formula of hard hitting, rebellious rock 'n roll, the group's lineup consists of vocalist Alan Rueda, guitarists Bill Spears and Chris Clark, drummer Mike Ropelewski, and bassist Jim Hunter.
On May 7th, Stone Whiskey will release their debut full length album, Rebels Of The Sun. CD pre-orders can be placed now at this location.
Rebels Of The Sun was recorded at Vintage Noise Studio in Raleigh, NC, and produced, mixed, and mastered by Anthony Focx (The Dead Daisies, Buckcherry, Steven Tyler, Vince Neil) in Nashville, TN.
Tracklisting:
"Into The Moonlight"
"Empty Eyes"
"Rebels Of The Sun"
"Out On The City"
"Troublemaker"
"Mirror"
"Feels Like Yesterday"
"Talkin' Dirty"
"Livin' Wild"
"Rebels Of The Sun":
"Into The Moonlight":
For further details, follow Stone Whiskey on Facebook.
International heavy metal group, Beast In Black, have released a bass playthrough video for "Blind And Frozen". Check out how Mate Molnar plays his bassline in their first hit song, from their debut album, Berserker.
Watch Mate Molnar chugging through the title track from the band's sophomore album, below:
Having released two sensational records through Nuclear Blast Records, Beast In Black have played numerous thrilling shows, including mostly sold out international headline tours in Europe, Russia and Japan, supporting Gloryhammer in the UK and festival appearances around the world (Sweden Rock, Graspop, Summer Breeze, Heavy Montréal etc.)
Now, the five-piece Helsinki based band announce their upcoming European Tour for November / December 2021, which will take them through 13 countries, ready to spew its unrivaled heavy metal fury all over them!
Beast In Black have issued the following statement: "Not easy to say any wise words in these dark times so just let us smoothly announce our upcoming European Tour for November / December 2021! Although it's still far away we hope that everybody who reads these lines now will be able to attend the shows in his / her best health! That's our wish for 2021."
Slovenian heavy metal prodigy, SkyEye, just announced the release of their second studio album, Soldiers Of Light, on June 25 via Reaper Entertainment.
Unique and powerful vocals combined with raw and melodic guitar riffs give the band its signature heavy metal sound, reminiscent of other major representatives of the genre, like Iron Maiden, Saxon or Judas Priest.
The album was produced in summer 2020 by producer Grega Smola Crnkovič and was mastered by Boban Milunović who is known in the hard & heavy scene for his work with Graveworm, Belphegor, Jack Frost and many more.
The guys also reveal the cover artwork of the new album. It was done by Aleksandar Živanov.
The band states: "We are happy to announce that two years of hard work is finally packed into 57 heavy metal minutes. Our second album titled Soldiers Of Light is finished! The old saying goes "never change the winning horse". That's why we once again collaborated with our producer and mix engineer Grega Smola Crnkovič, who also produced our debut album the Digital God. We wanted our album to sound huge and modern without losing the soul, the rock 'n roll side of metal by not being overcompressed and overproduced. Album sounds fantastic thanks to Grega and our mastering engineer Boban Milunović, which did phenomenal work. There are eight songs on the album and two instrumental tracks. Each song tells its own story. We covered many different themes. From asteroid approaching the Earth (Detonate) to a story about child molestation by a pedophile priest (Son of God) to an epic 15 minutes long song about the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl. The artwork was based upon the title song Soldiers Of Light and was done by Aleksandar Živanov who is also known for his fabulous work with Metaldays festival. We just gave him the lyrics with some basic instructions and we immediately fell in love with the artwork. Very powerful and symbolic, in your face kind of a positive burst of energy. Sadly we can see nowadays, that the truth is dying, the world is falling apart and we the people are more divided than ever. That's why we need to let the light back into our lives. SkyEye's torch is glowing in the dark to cast out the shadows from people's lives with music. Because music is the healer and "we are the Soldiers Of Light with no weapons to fight, just shinning, just shining. Knowledge is God, God in us all. Wisdom is heaven on Earth. We are proud of our new album and can not wait for you to hear it!"
The band has already released the first harbinger of the album, in the form of the single "Constellation". Check out the official music video for the song below:
Northern California’s up and coming rock artists J.T. Loux and his band are releasing their debut music video for the single “Waited So Long” as a preview of their full-length album due out this spring.
The band features the powerhouse rhythm section of Zach Cook (Age 20) on drums, and Ethan Pecha (Age 22) on bass guitar. The album titled Taken By Moonlight is produced by Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon and is a culmination of songs developed over the past year written by guitarist J.T. Loux, a young 21 year old musician who’s unique style caught the ears of the veteran musician.
“I heard J.T.s guitar playing years ago when he was a teenager and knew he had great feel, but it was his vocals and lyrics that really surprised both of us as he started to explore those things during this Covid lockdown period. Now we have produced a concept video which showcases the band and J.T.s skills as a front man performer” States Hannon.
BraveWords is premiering the new video, filmed by Brandon Gullion, and features the band in contemplation scenes thinking about the long awaited return to live music, then ending up together performing the choruses as a unit.
“Waited So Long” is a song about riding through heartbreaks and recovering through the healing hands of time. The bands new website JTLoux.com will launch on Friday and will have many interactive features.
Don’t miss J.T. Loux and his band backing up Tesla’s Frank Hannon on May 1 and 2 performing live at the Dallas International Guitar Festival. Head to GuitarShow.com for more details. Eddie Trunk will be hosting these events. They say good things come to those who wait, and J.T. Loux has been waiting a long time to release his new music and perform live. The shows coming up in Dallas, TX on May 1 and 2 are a welcomed return to “live” music after being postponed several times. Now J.T. Loux and Frank Hannon are confirmed as headliners of the show Saturday night.
Brazilian/Dutch death metal band CRYPTA will release its debut album, "Echoes Of The Soul", on June 11 via Napalm Records.
Formed in June 2019, the four-piece consists of vocalist and bassist Fernanda Lira and Luana Dametto on drums (both former members of Brazilian thrash metallers NERVOSA), plus supremely talented guitarists Sonia Anubis (COBRA SPELL, ex-BURNING WITCHES) and Tainá Bergamaschi (ex-HAGBARD). They enforce a heightened level of potency and experience from their successful past and current projects, enhancing influences from both classic and modern death metal genres, plus significant extreme and black metal elements, to create a sound of their own.
Positioned right at the burning gates of death metal salvation, their first single and music video, "From The Ashes", already showcases the demonic, captivating power of the hard-hitting combo.
Lira says about the first single: "The song is basically about the well-known tale of the phoenix, but in a more philosophical sense. It talks about the ever-changing cycles of life, about the many endings and beginnings we have to go through, about how many old versions of ourselves need to figuratively die in order for us to keep growing and evolving as human beings, and finally, about building resilience to endure all these rebirths."
The first audiovisual work immediately takes the viewer into the funeral spectra of CRYPTA's universe and also reveals full commitment on a cinematographic level. The track itself is an infernal omen of the album's sinister stories and already presents a first spark of their impressive interplay: Lira's forceful vocals, Anubis and Bergamaschi's bold axe attacks and Dametto's prominent sophisticated drumming summon the phoenix to rise from the ashes — with the last crackle of this debut full-length conjuring screams for more.
André Gustavo, movie director at O2 Filmes, states: "I believe the song perfectly matches the current moment we're living, during which all humanity needs to reinvent itself and be reborn 'From The Ashes'. The videoclip preparation itself can also be translated through it: building up such a big production during this terrible moment we're living was a big challenge to all of us. I believe, for all of that, from the creative and cinematographic perspective, we had a great final outcome for the video".
"Echoes Of The Soul" was recorded in January 2021 at the Family Mob Studio (Brazil), mixed by Arthur Rizk (CODE ORANGE, POWER TRIP) and mastered by Jens Bogren (OPETH, DIMMU BORGIR, SEPULTURA). The cover artwork was created by Wes Benscoter, who is internationally famous for his stunning covers for bands such as SLAYER, KREATOR, BLACK SABBATH and many more.
Atmospherically dark and threatening, the 55-second intro "Awakening" prepares the listener for the oncoming ferocity of "Echoes Of The Soul", dispensing murky, fiery fuel into the death metal machine. Their significant sonic texture derived from various death metal subgenres and traces of classic thrash becomes instantly evident as the album begins, reflective of the entirely vicious, infernal aura the 10-track debut is about to unleash. CRYPTA unbridle high-powered sonic demons and nourish cumulative, explosive energy with raging guitar riffs, Lira's unmistakable vocal color and Damettos's menacing drums. Tracks like "Starvation", "Kali" and "Blood Stained Heritage" incite an uncontrollable storm of pure rage and belligerence, while offerings like "Under The Black Wings" and "Dark Night Of The Soul" deliver a message of pure hardness in perilous atmosphere. "Death Arcana" provides its listener further insight into CRYPTA's sonic mastery and captivates with sprawling solos reminiscent of earlier times, yet spiced with a modern twist.
Frozen Crown vocalist Giada "Jade" Etro is a featured guest on the new Volturian single "In A Heartbeat". The official video for the song is available below.
"In A Heartbeat" is taken from Volturian's debut album Crimson, out now via Scarlet Records.The band line-up includes Frozen Crown guitarist Federico Mondelli, who also co-directed the video.
Italian metallers Frozen Crown, who recently underwent a major personnel shuffle, are gearing up to release their new album, Winterbane. They have issued the following update:
"We're happy beyond words about the INCREDIBLE feedback and love you showed towards our new single and, most importantly, towards the new band members! It's been extremely difficult for us to put all this up in such a short amount of time and during such dark days, and this made your support even more important! Thanks for being with us and for making the new guys feel already part of the family! Each of us has given and is giving his/her absolute best to make the new Frozen Crown course to be the strongest ever."
Winterbane is available for pre-order ins CD, vinyl LP, and limited edition coloured vinyl LP formats here.
Frozen Crown recently released the first single featuring the band's new line-up. Check out the official video for "Far Beyond" below.
Tracklist:
"Embrace The Night"
"Towards The Sun"
"Far Beyond"
"The Lone Stranger"
"Crown Eternal"
"The Water Dancer"
"Angels In Disguise" (feat Federica Lanna)
"Night Crawler" (Judas Priest cover)
"Tales Of The Forest"
"Blood On The Snow"
Winterbane will be released on April 23 on Scarlet Records and Marquee/Avalon (Japan).
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