Two Minutes To Late Night is back with a parody of Elton John's 1973 stand-alone single, "Step Into Christmas".
A message states: "The most ambitious crossover event in metal since KISS was on Scooby Doo! Gwar and Gwarsenio Hall together at last with a full blessing from their lawyer, Subpoenis Maximus, plus Mutoid Man, too!
"This is our 35th bedroom cover made with the support of Patreon. With so many musicians stuck at home with no outlets, we're going to keep producing these style videos and use the Patreon to give some money to everyone who has a part in them. Please support our friends by donating to our newly redone Patreon at honorableswords.com."
This cover features: GWAR's Blöthar the Berserker, Balsac (The Jaws Of Death), and Pustulus Maximus, Stephen Brodsky (Mutoid Man, Cave In, Old Man Gloom, New Idea Society), Ben Koller (Mutoid Man, Converge, All Pigs Must Die, Killer Be Killed), Kyle Kinane as Subpoenis Maximus, plus a special cameo from PUP.
Sinner’s Blood have released the new video below, featuring an acoustic performance of "Remember Me", the track from their debut album, out now via Frontiers Music Srl.
Sinner's Blood is a powerful new melodic metal band from Chile featuring a soon to be household name in James Robledo on lead vocals and producer and multi-instrumentalist Nasson (Chaos Magic) crafting the songs and playing guitar. Their debut album, The Mirror Star, is a must hear for fans of epic, powerful, heavy metal.
The songs on The Mirror Star are a mixture of all of the band’s hard rock favorites with a touch of modern vertigo. Every song Nasson wrote for this album is a different beast and with James’s voice, they are truly brought to life. With lyrics that are honest and emotional and superb production, Nasson has presented some of his most powerful songs via Sinner’s Blood.
James Robledo is a Chilean vocalist who has performed with several bands including Renegade (Chile) and Thabu (Argentina). Always bringing a powerful and emotional performance rooted in the vein of heavy metal singers like Ronnie James Dio, Jorn Lande, and Russell Allen, he now joins Sinner’s Blood, where he showcases the full potential of his voice.
Nasson is a Chilean producer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. With more than 15 years of work in the metal scene collaborating with several world renowned artists, he is one of the most prolific names in the Chilean scene. His most recent collaborations with Caterina Nix on the last two Chaos Magic releases received international acclaim and showcased the breadth of his talents.
Rounding out the line up, is bassist Nicolás Fischer, who has been performing for years as a singer and guitarist for a variety of progressive music acts and Guillermo Pereira, a world-class drummer known in the Chilean scene for his work with extreme metal bands such as Recrucide and VPS and as a session player for various different projects.
Tracklisting:
"The Mirror"
"Phoenix Rise"
"Never Again"
"Remember Me"
"The Path Of Fear"
"Forever"
"Kill Or Die"
"Never Resting Soul"
"Who I Am"
"The Hunting"
"Awakening"
"Remember Me" video:
"The Mirror" video:
"Kill Or Die" video:
Lineup:
James Robledo - Vocals
Nasson - Guitar, vocals, keys
Nicolas Fischer - Bass, vocals
Guillermo Pereira - Drums
Heavy Metal heroes Sabaton have just reached the amazing amount of 1 million subscribers on their YouTube channel. To celebrate this, as part of their Advent Calendar, they have surprise-released an animated video-clip for their hymn "No Bullets Fly", taken from their Heroes album from 2014.
The video tells the story of Franz Stigler and Charlie Brown, two (enemy!) pilots in the second world war. While Charlie's plane was severely damaged and the pilot hurt, Franz decided instead of shooting him down, to risk his own life and escort him into safety. Both survived and over 50 years later they met each other again and became very close friends. A lovely story that did not became public before 1990.
Horror themed, metalcore pioneers Ice Nine Kills, are celebrating the 24th anniversary of one of modern horror's most iconic movies, slasher classic Scream, with a mini-documentary written and presented by INK frontman, Spencer Charnas about the "Scream Comes Home" convention, offering fans an inside look at iconic locations from the original movie and screen-used items from the Scream franchise.
Speaking on the mini-documentary, Spencer shares: “Getting to be a part of the 'Scream Comes Home' event and tour the locations of my favorite movie of all time was a scream come true for this slasher fanatic!”
According to Wikipedia, Scream is a 1996 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. The film stars David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich, and Drew Barrymore. It follows the character of Sidney Prescott (Campbell), a high school student in the fictional town of Woodsboro, California, who becomes the target of a mysterious killer in a Halloween costume known as Ghostface.
Inspired by the real-life case of the Gainesville Ripper, Scream was influenced by Williamson's passion for horror films, especially Halloween (1978). The film received positive reviews and was a financial success, earning $173 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing slasher film until the release of Halloween (2018).
Scream marked a change in the genre as it cast already-established and successful actors, which was considered to have helped it find a wider audience, including a significant female viewership. Scream was credited with revitalizing the horror genre in the 1990s, which was considered to be almost dead following an influx of direct-to-video titles and numerous sequels to established horror franchises of the 1970s and 1980s.
In the four-minute video below, TESTAMENT guitarist Eric Peterson walks us step by step through one of his favorite holiday dishes, brussel sprouts gratin.
TESTAMENT's latest album, "Titans Of Creation", came out in April via Nuclear Blast. The disc was produced by Peterson and singer Chuck Billy, while Juan Urteaga of Trident Studios handled co-producing, recording and engineering. Andy Sneap was responsible for the mixing and mastering of the album. Eliran Kantor stepped up once again to create new artwork for the cover of this release.
Earlier in the year, TESTAMENT completed "The Bay Strikes Back 2020" European tour with EXODUS and DEATH ANGEL.
This past summer, Eric told Guitar World that the "darkest" period of TESTAMENT's career probably took place around the time of the 1992 album "The Ritual".
"I remember Atlantic Records telling us that we had only sold around 250,000 records that year — which would be amazing now [laughs] — and we were down about that," he said.
"We lost our management around that time, Alex [Skolnick, guitar] told us that this was going to be his last tour with TESTAMENT, and Lou [drummer Louie Clemente] left — so everything was kind of falling apart around then, but we were still hopeful.
"So we changed some things around, changed how we did business and formed our own record company and things like that — and just when it seemed that we had gotten a hold of things again, that was when Chuck got sick. [In 2001, Billy was diagnosed with a cancerous condition known as germ cell seminoma.]
"But even after all that, we kept it going, and we got heavy again, and I think that was the start of the new TESTAMENT. We developed a more modern sound and had more of a black and death metal influence, even though we were still very much a thrash band. We just weren't trying to be politically correct with our lyrics and all that — I mean, come on, we put out a record called 'Demonic'. [Laughs]
"By that point, we had gone through a couple of different guitar players, a lot of drummers, we were having problems with our original bass player [Greg Christian] — and we weren't really sure what we were going to do. So we ended up doing a record called 'First Strike Still Deadly' [2001], which contained re-recorded versions of some of our older songs.
"When I go back and listen to 'The Legacy' [1987] or 'The New Order' [1988], I'm not blown away by the production, but the songs sound modern when we play them today — they sound great, and that was what we were going for with 'First Strike Still Deadly'."
In late 2019, original Prestige drummer Tero Karppinen made a decision to step aside from drumming. With his approval, the band decided to continue. They had a few new songs ready and started searching for a new drummer. This is when they found Matti "Matson" Johansson. Not only did Matson own all the old Prestige releases and knew the music, but now he had time too as he had just parted ways with his band Korpiklaani. Obviously, Matson needs no introduction as a musician, being part of Korpiklaani for over 17 years, having toured all over the world, and having played at the biggest metal festivals.
Matson comments: "I am really taken by the invitation to play with Prestige. I've been a big fan ever since I was a teenager and still am! And I also want to say that I have always respected the work of Tero with Prestige and wish all the best to him!"
Prestige recently signed with Massacre Records, and are working on a new studio album. The band has just released a video for their new single, "Exit", which can be seen below. Stream or download "Exit" now at this location.
Check out the official Prestige Facebook page here.
Shinedown vocalist Brent Smith and bassist Eric Bass are here to help you get in the holiday spirit! Check out their rendition of “Christmas Time Is Here” for 98 Rock Baltimore.
Shinedown is currently in the midst of working on their seventh studio album. The as yet untitled follow-up to Attention Attention, issued in 2018, is tentatively scheduled for release in June 2021.
Original KISS drummer Peter Criss turned 75 on Sunday, December 20. In celebration of this momentous occasion, Peter's wife Gigi put together a one-hour video containing interview and performance footage spanning his entire career, as well as birthday messages from a number of other hard rock and metal luminaries, including Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper, Joe Perry (AEROSMITH), Charlie Benante, Tom Morello (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE), Carmine Appice and Dee Snider (TWISTED SISTER).
In an accompanying message, Gigi wrote: "Happy Birthday, My Husband!!! I put together a video for you with some of your friends. I hope you like it and understand just how amazing you are, how you have touched so many peoples lives, and even changed their course of life in the most positive way. It's like your favorite movie, 'It's A Wonderful Life'. Your life has made other lives better. What a blessing!!! Amen for your talent, hard work, and believing in yourself. I love you with all of my heart and I am so blessed to share the journey of life with you. Love You Forever, Gigi".
Criss first left KISS in 1980. Since then he's worked with other bands and released solo albums. He teamed up with KISS again for a reunion tour in the 1990s and most recently in 2004. He was replaced by Eric Singer.
In addition to playing drums in KISS, Peter also provided lead vocals for a number the band's most popular and memorable songs, including "Beth", "Black Diamond" and "Hard Luck Woman".
Criss, along with the other three original members of KISS, was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April 2014 by Morello.
KISS did not perform — the Hall Of Fame wanted the original quartet only to play, while Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley insisted on the current lineup — which also includes guitarist Tommy Thayer — performing as well. In the end nobody won that battle.
Criss, who was known as "Catman," released his last solo CD, titled "One For All", in 2007. Peter produced the album himself for the first time, and was joined by guest musicians that included keyboardist Paul Shaffer and bassist Will Lee of "Late Night With David Letterman". The album featured a range of styles, from rock and jazz to blues and Broadway, and included covers of "What A Difference A Day Makes" and "Send In The Clowns".
Criss played what was being billed as his final U.S. concert in June 2017 at the Cutting Room in New York City.
Peter recently came out of retirement to lay down his drums on "The Catman & The Emperor", the new single from his former bandmate Richie Scarlet. The track, which also features former FREHLEY'S COMET bassist John Regan, was released on Friday, December 18.
Los Angeles alternative metal band GEMINI SYNDROME has released the music video for its new single "Reintegration" today via Another Century. The clip, directed by Brian Cox (BRING ME THE HORIZON, THE USED, STARSET), can be seen below. The track, which is the first release off the band's forthcoming full-length album, is also available to purchase and stream.
"Our video for 'Reintegration' tells the story of an initiate's journey as he travels through the various stages of initiation," states GEMINI SYNDROME vocalist Aaron Nordstrom. "We follow him as he walks away from his past in an effort to find himself by facing and overcoming various trials and tribulations, until he ultimately ascends to the highest version of himself."
Brian Steele Medina, GEMINI SYNDROME's drummer, adds: "We worked with director Brian Cox again, who is a good friend and a visionary artist, who also happens to be stuck in U.K. due to quarantine restrictions. These unique times forced us to get creative. Between shooting the live band shots in the U.S., animations done in Portugal, rendered in Russia, and edited in UK, this ended up being a worldwide collaboration."
"The video for 'Reintegration' allowed me to re-connect with my inner layers, distortions and glitches, reestablishing my continued search of artistic clarity," states Cox. 2020 has been a force to allow us to think outside of the box. Directed all the way from my studio in England, band performance shot on location in the U.S., animations created in Portugal... this video truly is a worldwide collaboration."
GEMINI SYNDROME spent the better part of 2018-2019 writing the final installment of its long-planned three-album trilogy. They retreated to Medina's Las Vegas home studio, where they meticulously crafted song after song, relentlessly reworking and rearranging the musical arrangements until they were fully satisfied. After an exhaustive writing process, GEMINI SYNDROME relocated to Good Sounds Studio in Tempe, Arizona, where producer Matt Good would help realize the collection of songs. Medina recalls: "We absolutely loved working with Matt, and he completely understood where we wanted to take this album creatively and what it was going to take to bring the third chapter of this trilogy to light. Our actual collective blood, sweat and tears went into its creation."
"Reintegration" is the band's first new music since the release of their sophomore album "Memento Mori" (2016), which hit No. 1 on Billboard Heatseakers chart and spawned five singles: "Eternity", "Anonymous", "Alive Inside", "Sorry Not Sorry" and "Remember We Die".
GEMINI SYNDROME is Aaron Nordstrom (vocals, keyboards), Brian Steele Medina (drums, programming), Alessandro "AP" Paveri (bass), Miguel "Meegs" Rascón (guitar) and Nicholas Paul Arnold (touring guitar).
Video of MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn's latest "Acoustic Happy Hour", which was originally livestreamed on Facebook Live this past Friday, December 18, can be seen below. The session includes covers of THE EAGLES' "Hotel California", PEARL JAM's "Black" and ALICE IN CHAINS' "Bleed The Freak" as well as acoustic renditions of MACHINE HEAD tunes "Is There Anybody Out There?" and "Descend The Shades Of Night".
Flynn told Kerrang! magazine about "Acoustic Happy Hour": "It's just basically a free show on Facebook. I try to learn two new songs every Friday. I take requests, and I try to play MACHINE HEAD songs that have never been played live acoustic. Last week I covered MUSE, TOOL and LYNYRD SKYNYRD. It's been fucking awesome. The first three or four were horrible — I knew they were — but I knew that if I kept sucking for six weeks I would get past it.
"For the first 20 years of my career, I never took singing lessons," he continued. "Then I did some about 10 years ago. With these acoustic shows, I've been back in contact with my old singing teacher to try and figure out why I can do a three-and-a-half hour MACHINE HEAD show, but this clean singing is kicking my ass. It's been an opportunity to un-learn all the wrong shit and get an opportunity to do things right."
Last month, MACHINE HEAD released a new single, "My Hands Are Empty", via Nuclear Blast. The song marked the first musical collaboration between Flynn and original "Burn My Eyes" guitarist Logan Mader in 24 years.
"My Hands Are Empty" was the latest in a line of singles to be released by MACHINE HEAD, which issued "Do Or Die" in October 2019, "Circle The Drain" in February, and the two-song digital single "Civil Unrest", consisting of "Stop The Bleeding" and "Bulletproof", in June. "Stop The Bleeding" featured guest vocals from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE frontman Jesse Leach, and was written and recorded just days after the murders of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery.
In July, MACHINE HEAD canceled its previously announced rescheduled 2020 tour dates for Europe and Australia due to the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the globe.
Each show on MACHINE HEAD's "Burn My Eyes" 25th-anniversary tour consisted of two parts: part one saw Flynn and MacEachern performing alongside new recruits, guitarist Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (DECAPITATED) and British drummer Matt Alston (DEVILMENT, EASTERN FRONT); while part two featured "Burn My Eyes" played in its entirety for the first time ever, with original "Burn My Eyes"-era drummer Chris Kontos and Mader joining in.
NIGHTWISH bassist/vocalist Marco Hietala (a.k.a. Marko Hietala) has been crowned the winner of the fall 2020 season of "Masked Singer Suomi" — the Finnish edition of the popular masked singing contest. He was disguised as Tohtori — the Doctor.
Based on an international hit, "The Masked Singer" features celebrities facing off against one another with one major twist: each singer is shrouded from head to toe in an elaborate costume, complete with full face mask to conceal his or her identity.
Marco's solo album, "Pyre Of The Black Heart", came out in January via Nuclear Blast. The style of the effort, which was issued in Finland last May 2019 under the title "Mustan Sydämen Rovio", has been described by Hietala as "hard prog."
Earlier this year, Marco told Subculture Media about his influences: "Oh, man, I listen to so much music. Since my youth, I have been a metal guy, but I also listen to a lot of other stuff. Ever since I was a kid, I've listened to jazz, Irish folk songs, classic, Elvis [Presley], THE BEATLES… whatever. My father had a very big vinyl collection; he was an enthusiast. He also played guitar and sang so that is where a lot of the versatility comes from."
Regarding how he came to join NIGHTWISH nearly two decades ago, Marco told Ultimate Guitar: "I knew about the band, because I had been playing in different groups before that. When the guys were starting out, they actually opened for one that I was playing with. I think that was in 1998; it's a kind of band that I'm still with, it's called TAROT. Then I was also playing bass in the band called SINERGY, and we did five weeks of touring with NIGHTWISH in central Europe; we were warming up for NIGHTWISH at that time, and that was actually in 2000, which is where I kind of really became aware that this thing is big and they got their sound together and everything. And, in a way, I was familiar already, got to know the guys and talking with Tuomas [Holopainen, NIGHTWISH keyboardist] was pretty much easy, because, well, we kind of find out that we like the same books and movies and stuff. But the guys called me in 2001 and [asked me if I] would be interested to play the bass for the band. I was, like, 'Hey, all right. I'll come over and let's talk about this thing and see what happens.' And we just kind of agreed that, 'Okay, let's give it like two weeks for thinking time,' but I was pretty sure by the same thing that, 'Okay, I'm gonna do it.' And by the time we got into rehearsals, I was living in Helsinki at the time, and I went to the train station and guys were there to pick me up from the train station. And we just immediately got to the gas station and bought loads of beer and went to the rehearsal room and started drinking and playing, and it clicked."
FOZZY singer Chris Jericho joined STEEL PANTHER on stage this past Friday (December 18) at Jannus Live in St Petersburg, Florida to perform the JUDAS PRIEST classic "You've Got Another Thing Comin'". Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below.
Jannus Live was the second of three shows STEEL PANTHER is scheduled to play in Florida this weekend, with support from BLACK STONE CHERRY.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis has consistently downplayed the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and has continued to ban cities and counties from enforcing mask mandates or setting stricter capacity limits on businesses and restaurants.
According to CNN, more than 1.1 million Floridians have tested positive for COVID-19 so far, about 5% of the state's population. Florida is the 26th highest state by per capita confirmed cases.
Earlier in the month, STEEL PANTHER guitarist Satchel (a.k.a. Russ Parrish) lamented the devastating impact the pandemic has had on the music industry, with canceled concerts, tours and music festivals, all leaving hundreds of thousands of crew members out of work.
"It sucks when the government shuts everything down completely and you're at the whim of politicians," the guitarist told Metal Matt in an interview. "'Cause, basically, our industry, the music industry, is done until people deem it okay to do that again, which sucks for musicians. It sucks for fans, but it really sucks more for the musicians, 'cause a lot of people make their living in the music business. And all these major venues are gone.
"Don't get me wrong — I don't feel bad for [concert giant] Live Nation," he continued. "The dude who's a billionaire who owns Live Nation, he's gonna get by. But the roadies and the people that work at the venues and pretty much all musicians at this point… Unless you're Dave Matthews and people like that who are out there going, 'Stay in your house' — those guys are all millionaires 'cause they made a lot of money during a time when you could sell records. But everybody who's a musician now who's a relatively new artist — in the last 20 years, I mean — most of them, besides Britney Spears and Justin Bieber, are touring musicians, and they go out and make money by rocking. When the venues are closed, and they're gonna be closed indefinitely, that means that you have to do something else. And most people don't know how to do anything else, 'cause we're musicians — we're not very smart."
Just a few days earlier, STEEL PANTHER was forced to amend its virtual concert plans due to a rise in COVID-19 cases throughout the United States. The band also released a re-worked version of its song "Fuck Everybody", from STEEL PANTHER's latest album "Heavy Metal Rules", now re-titled "Fuck 2020". The newly recorded version includes updated verses that reflect the insanity of this 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."
Twelve 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.
While you're hiding in your basement we are living life. Good luck from sunny Florida.???
@Steel_Panther can’t believe you guys played a show. IN FLORIDA.... DURING A PANDEMIC!! So Fucking disturbing, gross, selfish, stupid, reckless, ignorant and disrespectful. Terrible music aside... this is a pure SCUMBAG move.
Look, if I’m going to risk getting Covid, it’s not going to be for Steel Panther. Not sure how they got away with having such a large event regardless of it being outdoors. You might wanna hold off on travel to Florida for a while.
I have seen Steel Panther multiple times. I love them. They’re outstanding. I live in Orlando. I didn’t go. Not all people in Florida are idiots. Just saying. There are dipshits EVERYWHERE.
THE PRETTY RECKLESS's music video for the band's latest single, "25", can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's upcoming album, "Death By Rock And Roll", which will be released on February 12, 2021 via Fearless Records in the U.S. and Century Media Records in the rest of the world.
THE PRETTY RECKLESS singer Taylor Momsen told Paper about the track: "'25' is one of the first songs we recorded, I think it was the first song we recorded for the album. I wrote that song when I was 25, [and] we recorded it right after I turned 25. It's very autobiographical, in a lot of ways. I thought it would be an interesting idea to figure out a way to go through all the years of my life and somehow calculate that and have it end with 25. But the inspiration was really drawn from me just reflecting on my life up until that point, writing this autobiographical song from a place of despair. When I finished writing '25', it was a moment where I noticed the shift in my writing. I took a bit of a turn, and I think that I got better.
"On the record, it's kind of the first musical shift. If you listen to the album from front to back, it starts very heavy and very dark and bleak, and about halfway through the album, it takes a musical shift. There is hope and there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that's all very intentional with the track listing. '25' is kind of the first indication that there is hope. It was certainly a growing point for me as a songwriter, where I took a step forward."
"Death By Rock And Roll" is THE PRETTY RECKLESS's first album to be made without longtime producer Kato Khandwala, who died in April 2018 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident.
A few months ago, Momsen confirmed that RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello guests on "Death By Rock And Roll". Morello appears on a track called "And So It Went".
Morello joins previously announced guests Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron from SOUNDGARDEN. The song with Cameron and Thayil, called "Only Love Can Save Me Now", was recorded at Seattle's legendary London Bridge Studios, where seminal LPs like PEARL JAM's "Ten" and SOUNDGARDEN's "Louder Than Love" were laid down.
Momsen told Forbes about "Death By Rock And Roll": "We worked really hard on this album and we went through a lot of loss, a lot of tragedy, and we really poured our hearts and souls into it and in a way I can't express verbally. It's all there in the music, so that's why I say it feels like a rebirth. It almost feels like the first record in a sense, because we really had to go back to the beginning after losing Kato, our producer. I'm just really excited for people to hear it because, in my opinion, it's the best album we've ever made so it's hard to sit on this music.
"We talked about holding the song 'Death By Rock And Roll' for longer too, and I was, like, 'I can't do this. I can't just sit on this album forever.' The world needs music and music has such a healing thing to it, and it saved my life, time and time again. If we put out a song and if it can put a smile on some people's faces, great, we'll take it from there. That's kind of what we're doing — we're riding the wave. This is just such an unprecedented time so we're trying to take it step by step, and see where things go. Everything is still up in the air, but we are planning on releasing more singles before the full album is out. There's going to be more music to come."
Track listing
01. Death By Rock And Roll
02. Only Love Can Save Me Now (feat. Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron)
What would happen if you took "…And Justice For All", the iconic 1988 album from thrash metal pioneers METALLICA, and reimagined it for a classical orchestra? Add to that four emerging jazz and soul vocalists. You're left with one of the most intriguing interpretations of rock material ever recorded. Brought to you by LITTLE KRUTA, featuring a band comprised entirely of women, "Justice" will forever change the way you perceive METALLICA, classical music, and what an audiophile recording can be.
On "Justice", LITTLE KRUTA — consisting of Kristine Kruta (musical director and cello), Maria Im (concert mistress and violin), Katie Jacoby (violin and soloist), Chiara Fasi (violin), Molly Fletcher (violin), Laura Sacks (viola), Tia Allen (viola), Adi Meyerson (upright bass), and Rosie Slater (percussion) — are joined with sensational vocalists Alita Moses, Camille Trust, Lauren Desberg, and Jenn Mundia — each joining for two songs.
Recorded in a single day in a decomissioned Brooklyn church, the Pierre Piscitelli arrangements of the beloved thrash melodies are completely transformed into moving pieces that will speak to fans of all genres. "Justice" features a fascinating blend of musical styles, influences, and personalities.
LITTLE KRUTA's music video for "The Shortest Straw", featuring Lauren Desberg on lead vocals, can be seen below.
LITTLE KRUTA has appeared on "The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon" (Aminé, Metro Boomin and Gunna), "Late Night With Seth Meyers" (K.Flay), "Saturday Night Live!" (Shawn Mendes), at Brooklyn's Barclay's Center (Ruff Ryders), and more. LITTLE KRUTA has joined artists including Kaki King, The Wonder Years, and Vérité both on stage and in studio. Comprised of master musicians who are just as comfortable in the booth as they are on stage, the foundation of this orchestra is built on a true love of playing, and led by cellist Kristine Kruta.
The album was recorded in stunning high-definition fashion using our new recording methodology which pairs a stereo ribbon microphone capturing crystal clear vocal performance and the immaculate acoustics of the church in which the album was recorded. This new recording style will leave you feeling like the band is right in front of you while still creating a timeless presence that will have you coming back for years to come.
"Justice" recording credits:
Kristine Kruta (cello)
Maria Im (violin)
Katie Jacoby (violin)
Chiara Fasi (violin)
Molly Fletcher (violin)
Laura Sacks (viola)
Tia Allen (viola)
Adi Meyerson (upright bass)
Rosie Slater (percussion)
Camille Trust (vocals)
Alita Moses (vocals)
Jenn Mundia (vocals)
Lauren Desberg (vocals)
Pierre Piscitelli (arranger)
Produced by: David Chesky
Executive Producer: Norman Chesky
Recorded, edited, and mastered by Nicholas Prout
Second Engineer: Sean Kelly
Assistant Engineer: Ashley Marrero
General Assistant: Danazah Provet, Annie Klein
A&R: Jeff Lanier
Recorded June 19, 2019 at The Hirsch Center, Brooklyn, New York
*NSYNC singer Joey Fatone joined STEEL PANTHER on stage this past Thursday (December 17) at Ace Café in Orlando, Florida to perform the song "Girl From Oklahoma". Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below.
Ace Café was the first of three shows STEEL PANTHER is scheduled to play in Florida this weekend, with support from BLACK STONE CHERRY.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis has consistently downplayed the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and has continued to ban cities and counties from enforcing mask mandates or setting stricter capacity limits on businesses and restaurants.
According to CNN, more than 1.1 million Floridians have tested positive for COVID-19 so far, about 5% of the state's population. Florida is the 26th highest state by per capita confirmed cases.
Earlier in the month, STEEL PANTHER guitarist Satchel (a.k.a. Russ Parrish) lamented the devastating impact the pandemic has had on the music industry, with canceled concerts, tours and music festivals, all leaving hundreds of thousands of crew members out of work.
"It sucks when the government shuts everything down completely and you're at the whim of politicians," the guitarist told Metal Matt in an interview. "'Cause, basically, our industry, the music industry, is done until people deem it okay to do that again, which sucks for musicians. It sucks for fans, but it really sucks more for the musicians, 'cause a lot of people make their living in the music business. And all these major venues are gone.
"Don't get me wrong — I don't feel bad for [concert giant] Live Nation," he continued. "The dude who's a billionaire who owns Live Nation, he's gonna get by. But the roadies and the people that work at the venues and pretty much all musicians at this point… Unless you're Dave Matthews and people like that who are out there going, 'Stay in your house' — those guys are all millionaires 'cause they made a lot of money during a time when you could sell records. But everybody who's a musician now who's a relatively new artist — in the last 20 years, I mean — most of them, besides Britney Spears and Justin Bieber, are touring musicians, and they go out and make money by rocking. When the venues are closed, and they're gonna be closed indefinitely, that means that you have to do something else. And most people don't know how to do anything else, 'cause we're musicians — we're not very smart."
Just a few days earlier, STEEL PANTHER was forced to amend its virtual concert plans due to a rise in COVID-19 cases throughout the United States. The band also released a re-worked version of its song "Fuck Everybody", from STEEL PANTHER's latest album "Heavy Metal Rules", now re-titled "Fuck 2020". The newly recorded version includes updated verses that reflect the insanity of this 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."
Twelve 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.
Wow. Did you guys know the pandemic is over in Florida?! What the fuck is this?? Sad.
MERCURY CIRCLE, the new band featuring former CHILDREN OF BODOM drummer Jaska Raatikainen and SWALLOW THE SUN's Jaani Peuhu, has released a music video for "Our Funeral (Like Xmas)", a song exclusively featured on "Noble Demonic Metal - Chapter 1", a brand new label sampler by Noble Demon, celebrating its first anniversary.
Labeled as "a band you need to watch out for in 2021" by Metal Hammer U.K., MERCURY CIRCLE is creating a diverse offering of atmospheric and dark music where the songs differ wildly in expression and sonic aesthetics, establishing their very own kind of "new doom". While the band is working on their upcoming full-length record right now (to be released in early 2021), they felt the need to take a break from the album sessions and to release something different, as Peuhu explains.
"Although I'm not a fan of Xmas songs, I found myself with the perfect opportunity to write one in the midst of everything going on in the world today," he says. "In parts, 2020 felt almost apocalyptic. Sadly, Christmas is the busiest day of the year for police, ambulances and paramedics in Finland and I'm afraid that this year might break all the records of domestic violence and suicide cases because of the pandemic. But since 2020 has already turned so much on its head, there's hoping this year's outlook on the holidays could prove me positively wrong. Compared to the heavy and dark sound of upcoming debut album, 'Our Funeral (Like Xmas)' is the most uplifting song we have ever created. We wanted to take a groovier and happier approach to the music while the lyrics stayed on the gloomier side. We hope you enjoy it!"
MERCURY CIRCLE's debut EP, "The Dawn Of Vitriol", was released in August via Noble Demon and The Vinyl Division.
Having spent 26 years recording and touring the world with CHILDREN OF BODOM, it was hard for Jaska to make any concrete plans regarding his future since quitting the band in 2019, but all of this changed when he heard the demos by Peuhu.
"After hearing the demo tracks from the upcoming debut album, I thought it would be stupid not to join this band," Jaska said. "The music was something I hadn't heard for a long time. Dark, emotional, epic elements and big choruses.
"I am truly excited for the opportunity to be part of this. I know it is a long way to the top, but with these guys I feel honored and ready to do it again."
MERCURY CIRCLE is:
* Jaani Peuhu (ICONCRASH, SWALLOW THE SUN, HALLATAR) - Vocals, Guitars, Synths
* Jussi Hämäläinen (Hanging Garden, The Chant) - Guitars, Synths, Backing vocals
* Juppe Sutela (TO/DIE/FOR) - Guitars
* Ande Kiiski (SLEEP OF MONSTERS, RYTMIHÄIRIÖ) - Bass
Guitarists David T. Chastain, Vinnie Moore, Mitch Perry, Michael Angelo, Kurt James, and Joey Tafolla participated in the legendary first Guitar Heroes Tour in Japan in the late '80s. Each guitarist played a set and had an onstage interview. Then all the guitarists joined up on stage for a late night jam session. The video below features David T. Chastain's performance of the track "Spontaneous Combustion" and following onstage interview.
Leviathan Records - the label owned by Chastain - recently uploaded a new video clip along with the following message:
"Chastain - Leather Leone on vocals, David T. Chastain on guitar, Mike Skimmerhorn on bass, Les Sharp on drums, and special guest Pat O'Brien on guitar - toured the United States in support of their The 7th of Never album. The last night of the tour they played Harpo's in Detroit. Unbeknownst to the band someone was shooting an unsanctioned video of the band. That tape was traded and sold in the metal underground for years. We decided to take that tape, remaster it and put it in HD so it could be officially available for viewing."
Setlist
"Intro / We Must Carry On"
"Ruler Of The Wasteland"
"Paradise"
"The Wicked Are Restless"
"827"
"I Fear No Evil"
"The King Has The Power"
"Living In A Dreamworld"
- Les Sharp drum solo -
"I Can See Tomorrow"
"Forevermore"
"Fighting To Stay Alive"
"There Will Be Justice"
- David T. Chastain guitar solo -
"The Black Knight"
"When The Battle's Over"
"The 7th of Never"
Finnish cello metallers Apocalyptica continue to dig through their archives. This week they have posted pro-shot video of their "Grace" performance at the Pol'and'Rock Festival 2016.
It is with great regret, but obvious and necessary compliance, that Apocalyptica has had to postpone their upcoming North American tour a second time to August/September 2021 due to the ongoing restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Please note that all tickets bought will remain valid for the rescheduled dates and tickets remain on sale.
Apocalyptica's performances will be comprised of new songs from most recent full-length Cell-0 as well as from the band's rich catalog. Lacuna Coil, who was scheduled to support on all North American dates, remain confirmed for the California, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Illinois, and Canadian shows. Support on the remainder of the tour is yet to be announced.
To keep the band's fans and everyone else involved with the tour safe at this time, the shows have been postponed to the following dates. Additionally, the Toronto show will now take place at Rebel.
Dates:
August
16 - Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
17 - Plaza - Orlando, FL
19 - House Of Blues - Houston, TX
21 - Emos - Austin, TX
23 - Sunshine - Albuquerque, NM
24 - Van Buren - Phoenix, AZ
25 - Mayan - Los Angeles, CA (with Lacuna Coil)
26 - The Regency - San Francisco, CA (with Lacuna Coil)
27 - Crystal - Portland, OR (with Lacuna Coil)
28 - Showbox Sodo - Seattle, WA (with Lacuna Coil)
29 - Commodore - Vancouver, BC (with Lacuna Coil)
30 - Commodore - Vancouver, BC (with Lacuna Coil)
September
1 - Midway - Edmonton, AB (with Lacuna Coil)
2 - The Palace - Calgary, AB (with Lacuna Coil)
4 - First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN (with Lacuna Coil)
5 - House Of Blues - Chicago, IL (with Lacuna Coil)
6 - Rebel - Toronto, ON (with Lacuna Coil)
7 - Mtelus - Montreal, QC (with Lacuna Coil)
8 - Big Night Live - Boston, MA
9 - Webster Theatre - Hartford, CT
11 - Webster Hall - New York, NY
The video below features Scorpions performing "Always Somewhere" live on the German TV show, Rockpop In Concert, in December 1983. Footage licensed from ZDF Enterprises.
Previously released footage of the band performing "Blackout" and "Coming Home" at the same show is available below.
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