The Agonist vocalist Vicky Psarakis has checked in with the following:
"If I had to choose a favorite song of all time, this would be it. I first heard Jeff Buckley's version of 'Hallelujah' and I was immediately pulled in by the darkness and beauty within the lyrics and the melody. I've been singing it for over 10 years now and I knew that one day I would cover it.
Big thanks to Adōn Fanion for the piano arrangement, and Christian Donaldson for the vocal mix. This is the result and I couldn't be happier.
Today's the day I turn 32 and I wanted to share this special moment with you in this way.
I appreciate you. I thank you. And I love you."
September 2019 saw The Agonist release their sixth studio album, Orphans, via Rodeostar Records. With Orphans the band delivered their most extreme, melodic, and larger-than-life sounding record to date.
The band recently unveiled the video for the title track of Orphans. Filmed in haunting black and white, the video dances between striking, dramatic and abstract images of frontwoman Vicky Psarakis as she delivers the eerie message of the track: “The story behind 'Orphans' was inspired by the novel, We Have Always Lived In The Castle, by Shirley Jackson. It emphasizes the feeling of "not belonging" and the social and physical isolation that comes as a result of that. Even though we've all felt like outcasts at some point in our lives, it's important to remember that we're never truly alone and that there's always someone there for you. We're all "orphans", but we're in this life together.”
Carthagods have released an official music video for “Whispers From The Wicked”, the first track from the album The Monster In Me, to be released on July 17 via Metalville Records. The video was shot during the album release party in Tunis as the legendary Mike Stanne (Dark Tranquillity) joined the band on stage.
The Monster In Me tracklisting:
"Whispers From The Wicked"
"The Monster In Me"
"The Devil’s Doll"
"The Rebirth"
"A Last Sigh"
"Cry Out For The Land"
"Memories Of Never Ending"
"The Rebirth II"
After the successful release of their self-titled comeback album in February, which resulted in a Top 10 chart entry in Germany (#8), Neaera is now launching a brand new video (directed by Ben Liepelt for Port Royal Films) for the album track, "Deathless". The live footage in the video was filmed during the band's release show for Neaera in Münster, Germany on February 29.
Comments singer Benjamin Hilleke: "One of the songs on our current album is called 'Deathless', which deals with the topic of sexualised violence. According to UNIFEM it is estimated that 35 per cent of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or sexual violence by a non-partner (not including sexual harassment) at some point in their lives. For anyone affected, we would like to hint at the following organizations:
- Unwomen.org - the help line of the Federal Office for Family Affairs
- Zartbitter .e.V. with whom we have already been able to work together in the past thanks to your helpfulness."
"(Un)drowned"
"Catalyst"
"False Shepherds"
"Resurrection Of Wrath"
"Carriers"
"Rid The Earth Of The Human Virus"
"Sunset Of Mankind"
"Lifeless"
"Eruption In Reverse"
"Torchbearer"
"Deathless"
"Catalyst" video:
"Torchbearer" video:
Neaera lineup:
Benjamin Hilleke - vocals
Sebastian Heldt - drums
Benjamin Donath - bass
Stefan Keller - guitars
Tobias Buck - guitars
Guitarist John 5 (Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, David Lee Roth) and All Guitar Network are back with another Live From Home performance. This time, John 5 plays "Six Hundred And Sixty Six Pickers In Hell" from his 2015 album, Careful With That Axe.
Previous instalments of John 5 Live From Home can be seen below.
Inspired by Magic The Gathering card game, Planeswalker is the new power metal band founded by Helion Prime guitarist Jason Ashcraft and former vocalist Sozos Michael.
Today the band is debuting the music video for their first single entitled "The Forever Serpent", which is based on the MTG bad boy Nicol Bolas.
Jason Ashcraft explains the creation of the project:
"For those who follow Helion Prime understand that parting ways with Sozos was due to unfortunate struggles with visa issues as he lives in Cyprus, but I knew someday we'd work together again I just wasn't sure how. I then got the idea to start a band based completely on Magic The Gathering lore because between Helion Prime and Dire Peril I think I'm good on sci-fi based material and why wouldn't I need ANOTHER project. When I first heard the song Sozos had written for us I immediately knew it had to be about Nicol Bolas."
Sozos Michael adds:
"I am beyond excited for the release of 'The Forever Serpent', our first creative output with Jason since our collaboration in Helion Prime. As you will surely notice listening to the song (and/or watching the music video), we channeled our most primal nerdiness to this endeavor, and we have no plans to slow down! We have just begun exploring the rich and deep lore of MTG, and we are excited to see where this journey will lead us."
Planeswalker currently has no immediate plans for a full-length album but Ashcraft would like to see something in 2021.
Planeswalker is:
Sozos Michael - vocals
Jason Ashcraft - guitar
Guest musicians on "The Forever Serpent":
Chelsea McMasters - bass
Alex Bosson - drums
Alex Nasla - keys
Mixed and Mastered by Alex Nasla at Gear Gods Studio.
Sophisticated, progressive, and refined, Los Angeles based progressive metallers Lufeh (a band of both Brazilian and American musicians) creates an enjoyable experience, meandering through jazz styles, heavy metal foundations, and rhythmic Brazilian influences. The mind expanded sonic journey is something new and interesting to listen to.
Released in April of 2020, Luggage Falling Down was a trying, yet successful first recording for these recently banded musicians who lived together for two weeks throughout the process. Having lost the original singer a month before recording began, the intrepid bunch found hope with Dennis Atlas who fell in step with the rest of the band immediately. This bond between the members can be seen in their videos along with their high energy and knack for performing.
Luggage Falling Down is a unique melodic story that continues to be demonstrated with their next video for the track “The Unknown”. Drummer Lufeh Batera shares his thoughts on the track: “'The Unknown' started as a keyboard-driven song and became perhaps the most technical and heaviest song on the album. It features every instrument, including guitar and bass shredding, a tremendously dramatic vocal melody, and great counterpoint.”
For fans of Dream Theater, Incubus, and Hakan, Lufeh is smooth and rhythmic progressive metal; heavy chords followed by light melodies and the occasional crazy guitar solo.
Lufefh's new album Luggage Falling Down is available for stream and download on Bandcamp, Spotify, and Apple Music.
Tracklisting:
"Find My Way"
"The Unknown"
"Doors"
"Trial Of Escapade"
"My World"
"End Of The Road"
"Escape"
"The Edge"
Relatively new to the Seattle metal scene, Draemora is comprised of seasoned musicians who, despite COVID-19 slowing their debut, are ready to show the nation and the world their EP Awakening on June 26 via Ultra Nast Records.
The EP, lyrically, is about battling with drugs and alcohol, and the long journey out of that hell. Heavy, prodigious and heartfelt, vocalist / guitarist Terry Jenkins notes his personal attachments to the lyrics he writes:
“The lyrics come right out of the pages of my life, the things I went through, and how I got through them. Music is a huge outlet for me to dump the good times, bad times, and everything else in between. The majority of the lyrics are a culmination of direct excerpts from letters, poems, and life experiences from the period between May 2018 and August 2019. It was a very intense time in my life.”
The band has shared their second guitar playthrough for the last song on the EP “Legion Of Scum”. The track is the heaviest on the release. It starts off with heavy riffs and just keeps beating you over the head till the end. This is a banger of a track and one of the band's favorites to play.
Guitarist Terry Jenkins adds:
"If you love Mesa/Boogie Rectifiers, Fender Strats, and metal with huge epic riffs you are going to really enjoy this playthrough! This song is so damn fun to play and I hope you enjoy the playthrough!!! If you have additional comments feel free to ask in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them!! Word!!!"
The artwork for the Awakening EP was created by Sarah Estrella.
Tracklisting:
"Home"
"Dead Inside"
"Guilt"
"Reckoning"
"Legion Of Scum"
Canadian all-star modern metal band Imonolith's Quarantine Sessions continue with the BraveWords premiere of “Hollow”!
“When my band agreed to do the quarantine video series together, I was really excited. I’ve always wanted to make play through videos for every single song on an entire album. With Imonolith, we are making that shit happen! You get to see each member of the band performing each song on the entire album, all smashed into a cool home video. Pretty damn cool…
“The song ‘Hollow’ is up next as our weekly quarantine video release, and I decided to have some fun with this one. ‘Hollow’ was our very first music video released back in January 2019, and I wanted to play around with some of the vibe we captured on that set. Since these are quarantine videos, we shoot ourselves jamming the tunes at home, but on this session I went out to my garage to capture a different vibe! Just like the Hollow music video, I hung that same mic from the rafters and swung it around. Brought back some memories and was really fun to shoot again in a similar creepy setting.
“This is the 8th quarantine home video we’ve released so far!!! Hope you enjoy and please check out the rest of our videos. CRANK IT UP!!” - Jon Howard
Imonolith, featuring drummer Ryan Van Poederooyen (Devin Townsend Project), guitarist Brian ‘Beav’ Wadell (Devin Townsend Project), Jon Howard (Threat Signal), guitarist Kai Huppunen (Methods of Mayhem, Noise Therapy) and Scott Whalen (Econoline Crush), recently launched a new series via social media called Inside The Album, offering a look behind-the-scenes of their debut record, State Of Being. In the clip below they get into "The Reign":
State Of Being album details below.
Tracklisting:
"State Of Being" (intro)
"Becoming The Enemy" (feat. Johannes Eckerstrom)
"Instinct"
"Dig"
"The Mourning"
"Forgone"
"Breathe"
"The Reign" (feat. Jens Kidman)
"We Never Forget"
"Hollow"
"Persevere"
METALLICA has posted another video as part of its new concert series, "#MetallicaMondays", where the band is streaming a complete live show for fans on the group's YouTube channel and on Facebook every week. The latest concert to be shared was recorded on May 31, 2008 at Auditorio John Lennon in Getafe, Spain. The footage is taken from a pair of videotapes in the METALLICA vault that archived the screen feeds from this show.
The band said in a statement, "While we're all doing our part and staying home, we find ourselves missing live music, so how about we dive back into a few of our favorite shows at a socially responsible distance?"
METALLICA has been largely out of the public eye since last fall when the band canceled an Australian tour and announced that frontman James Hetfield was returning to rehab for the first time since 2002 to battle his addictions.
Hetfield made his first major public appearance since entering rehab on January 30, when an exhibit featuring 10 of his classic custom cars opened at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
In March, METALLICA announced that its South American tour, which was originally planned for April, has been postponed until December. In addition, the band's appearances at four Danny Wimmer Presents-produced festivals in May and September have been canceled: Epicenter in Charlotte, Welcome To Rockville in Daytona, Sonic Temple in Columbus and Louder Than Life in Louisville.
Guitarist Kirk Hammett told The Pulse Of Radio not long ago that METALLICA has to be in better than average shape to play its music live. "There's a physicality to our music that we cannot ignore, so we just kind of have to keep ourselves in a certain sort of physical sort of state where that we can't let ourselves get to a point where we can't play these songs," he said. "That's just not allowed. When we write this music, we have to make sure that we can play it and play it when we need to play it."
In light of current events, BODY COUNT, the metal band fronted by hip-hop legend, actor and director Ice-T, has announced the release of its 2017 single "No Lives Matter" to radio.
The track's message is more relevant than ever, as Ice-T states in the music video intro: "It's unfortunate that we have to say 'black lives matter.' If you go through history nobody ever gave a fuck. I mean, you can kill black people in the street. Nobody goes to jail; nobody goes to prison.
"When I say 'black lives matter' and you say 'all lives matter,' that's like if I was to say 'gay lives matter' and you say 'all lives matter.' If I said, 'women's lives matter' and you say 'all lives matter,' you're diluting what I'm saying, you're diluting the issue.
"The issue isn't about everybody. It's about black lives at the moment."
Century Media Records director Philipp Schulte adds: "As a company, we felt it was necessary to release this single as a way to actively participate in the change that is needed to combat police brutality and racism. It is a first step in doing our part to inspire unity and transformation."
BODY COUNT's seventh studio album, "Carnivore", was released in March via Century Media.
Earlier this month, Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo guested on Drinks With Johnny. During the chat he revealed how he and bandmate Kirk Hammett came up with their onstage Doodles, which have become an expected part of the Metallica live show. The Doodles are a mid-show interlude where Trujillo and Hammett perform a famous song from the country they are in on that night.
Trujillo: "We were in Europe - this wasn't the last European tour, but the tour before that. There was a duet moment, we (Trujillo and Hammett) were supposed to play a Metallica song that's maybe like a deep cut, and we started noticing that we weren't getting the result we wanted. It was, like, we'd go up there and we start playing like 'Eye of the Beholder' or something, and then the crowd's expecting James to come out and sing, and it's like, 'Man, this ain't working.' They were feeling like this was a prelude moment, and I started thinking, 'You got to do something different.'
So Kirk came out this one night and it was actually in the US, and he started playing that song, and it totally caught me off guard, and I'm like, 'Oh, damn, OK, I see where he's going.' But he's walking out to the front of the snake-pit playing this funk jam, and then he got me the first night because I didn't exactly know the bass line so I improvised. And then the second night, I got it. And then it kind of started there for a split second, we were still doing the Metallica deep cuts. And then we got to Europe, and we were in Amsterdam, and one of our management team members suggested, 'Why don't you play Golden Earring (from Holland), 'Radar Love?' Check that out.' We were like, 'Really?' So I still played the 'dum, dum, dum,' started playing the bass line, and then the crowd started singing, and it was like, 'Hold on a minute, there's something here.'"
So then we started to kind of formulate some local bands from each city. Like, one of the highlight moments was in Prague [Czech Republic — we played a country song called 'Jožin Z Bažin' [by Ivan Mládek], which was huge. And then we played, in Barcelona, a gypsy kind of flamenco acoustic song, by an artist called Peret — it's called 'El Muerto Vivo', And I'm singing in Spanish, I'm doing my best, and the people went nuts. And we go, 'Hold on. We've got something here.' So what we ended up doing… We came out of that tour — we scraped through it; it wasn't perfect, but we scraped through it. And then when we got home, we did some U.S. dates, we did all that, but we knew we were going back to Europe where it really worked. I said, 'I'm going deep.' So I did a bunch of research, and I researched every single city, even Estonia, and I found out what cool either punk, alternative, country — it didn't matter the style — and I learned the fucking language, and I did the phonetic with the lyric, and we went out and did full arrangements. I'm talking about if there was an accordion solo, Kirk was playing it. So we did our homework, and we really, really went into it. I was going to [Kirk's house in] Hawaii to work with him on the arrangements. I spent, like, five days there strictly on the [songs]. We weren't even surfing, we were just 'boom.' So we put a lot of hard work in it. I mean, we were surfing a little bit, but that wasn't the priority. We were actually really spending time on this.
"So I would say on that last tour run, 'cause we were in these massive stadiums, sold-out shows… And every night was great, but there was a handful of grand slams where people were crying and it was this heavy… Like, you're paying tribute to somebody in, like, Moscow, who is like the David Bowie of Moscow, and people are just, like, 'Oh my god.' They don't know what they're gonna get. All of a sudden, we surprise them, and they get what they didn't expect. [Playing a song by] Johnny Hallyday in Paris, at Stade De France, [in front of] 85,000 people. So to be up there and to feel that energy and emotionally connect with the crowd on that level was special. But it was such hard work. I don't know how we [pulled it off].
"I was meeting with people, like, I would even sometimes do it by phone, and I'd be there for two hours getting the language pronunciation right. So it was a lot of work… And sometimes you'll take some beatings," he admitted. "I remember a couple of the shows when we first started doing it, man — beatings, bro; beatings… I remember, there was a couple of 'em, but there was one… It was in Pennsylvania. It was like college — it was over where Penn State is. And holy cow, man. I thought we would play like the fight song for Penn State. Man, we got, like, 10 seconds into that thing, and nobody cared. It was, like, 'Oh my god.' And I stopped playing — I literally stopped playing. I was so embarrassed. And Kirk kept playing. And then, luckily, we kind of went into a METALLICA… Like, in the U.S., we would parlay it with a local song — these are U.S songs — and then we would always kind of justify it by going into a METALLICA [track], like 'Dyers Eve' or something. Just like, 'Okay, we screwed that up, but we got this.' So it was kind of our savior in the States."
Following last week's release of their new self-titled album, Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD are connecting with fans through daily online activities today through Thursday, beginning with a "live quarantine video" on YouTube. The clip features three songs — "Checkmate", "New Colossal Hate" and "Laid To Rest" — recorded by the band live from quarantine.
Later today, guitarist Willie Adler will join Zia Records for a Facebook Live question-and-answer session. Visit this location at 7 p.m. EDT/4 p.m. PDT to watch.
An Instagram Live and Reddit AMA with vocalist Randy Blythe are planned for later in the week.
LAMB OF GOD's self-titled album was released on June 19 via Epic Records in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast Records in Europe.
The follow-up to 2015's "VII: Sturm Und Drang", "Lamb Of God" marks the band's first recordings with Art Cruz, who joined LOG last year as the replacement for the group's founding drummer, Chris Adler.
"Lamb Of God" was recorded with longtime producer Josh Wilbur (KORN, MEGADETH, GOJIRA, TRIVIUM) and includes special guest appearances by Jamey Jasta (HATEBREED) and Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT).
As previously reported, the first leg of LAMB OF GOD's North American tour with MEGADETH, TRIVIUM and IN FLAMES is being rescheduled for 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the globe. The 55-date trek was slated to be split into two legs. The first leg of the tour was supposed to kick off June 12 at Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, Virginia, and wrap August 1 at the Concord Pavilion in Concord, California. The second run was due to launch October 2 at iTHINK Financial Amphitheater in West Palm Beach, Florida, and conclude on November 13 at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada.
Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX) and his longtime girlfriend, Carla Harvey (BUTCHER BABIES), have uploaded their cover version of MASSIVE ATTACK's "Teardrop" song, filmed they were in quarantine. Playing bass on the track is Roberto "Ra" Diaz (SUICIDAL TENDENCIES).
Benante uploaded a video of the performance to his YouTube channel, writing in an accompanying message: "I was on tour in the UK/Europe when I got Mezzanine by @massiveattackofficial . I think it was 97/98 and I remember laying in my Bunk and being absorbed by the Music I was hearing. This was different than The Protection Record; It was Darker and the layered instruments created a dense listening experience...this album comes eerily close to giving me an out of body experience
'There aren't a lot of albums that can put me into a deep trance and keep me there for a long time, but this album does that amazingly well. The tracks really take their time to develop, and that mostly results in stunning instrumentals. Teardrop was one of those songs that I wish I'd Wrote, to this day it still gives me goosebumps. I always wanted to do a 'remix' or 'my version'. I had the chance during this Quarantine/Stay at home Situation to make that happen. I asked @ra_diaz and @carlaharvey to Help make it happen.
"The video is not like the normal Quarantine Videos, I wanted it to be Dark and Artsy Farsty ( like an MTV vid).
"Carla Knocks it out of the park, she brought that vibe to the song and showed a different level I knew she had. Ra is On Point with the Rumble and groove, He always makes it look so easy.
"Once again Thanks to @andylagis for the Mix, I know there was a lot to deal with but you Placed it all in the right spots
"@dlevanchuk made a great video, not like a standard 'quarantine Video'. He took his imagination and went somewhere with it.
"#massiveattack @paistecymbals @officialgretsch @monstermusic this is pushing me to do a solo record"
Benante has been using his coronavirus downtime to connect virtually with other metal musicians and share videos of them covering various pop, rock and metal tracks, including those by RUSH, IRON MAIDEN, Billie Eilish and Tom Petty.
ANTHRAX has spent most of the last four years touring in support of its latest album, "For All Kings", which was released in February 2016. A follow-up effort is expected in 2021.
Video of Bret Michaels and his solo band performing an acoustic version of the POISON song "Fallen Angel" can be seen below. The track, from POISON's 1988 album "Open Up and Say...Ahh!", reached No. 12 on the Hot 100 that year and MTV put the video into heavy rotation.
Michaels rose to fame in the 1980s as the singer of POISON, which still tours periodically. He later became a reality TV personality in such shows as dating contest "Rock Of Love" and on "The Celebrity Apprentice". Most recently, Michaels was one of the contestants on Fox's smash hit "The Masked Singer".
Michaels has just released his first book, titled "Bret Michaels: Auto-Scrap-Ography". The book, which is available in both e-book and hardcover formats, is handwritten by the artist, detailing his journey even up to and including his battle with diabetes and the coronavirus.
Earlier in the month, POISON, MÖTLEY CRÜE, DEF LEPPARD and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS announced that "The Stadium Tour" has been postponed until the summer 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"The Stadium Tour" was scheduled to kick off on June 18 at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida and run through September 5 in Los Angeles. The bands reportedly also booked time at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville to rehearse for the tour.
Composer Tyler Bates will produce and write music for the DC Comics' "Dark Nights: Death Metal" soundtrack, an inventive new project featuring songs inspired by the forthcoming seven-part comic book series written by Scott Snyder and illustrated by Greg Capullo. Due out this year via Loma Vista Records, the soundtrack album will also contain animatic score sequences related to each issue of the series that will feature guest musical artists and voice talent.
An animated/motion comic music video promoting "Dark Nights: Death Metal" — wrapped up in the 2015 MARILYN MANSON song "Warship My Wreck" — is available below.
"Get ready for the earth-shattering encore! The legendary team behind 'Dark Nights: Metal' and 'Batman: Last Knight On Earth' take center stage and reunite for one last tour," reads DC's announcement of the trailer.
"When the Earth is enveloped by the Dark Multiverse, the Justice League is at the mercy of the Batman Who Laughs. Humanity struggles to survive in a hellish landscape twisted beyond recognition, while Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman have all been separated and fight to survive. Unleash the beast and let the head banging begin!"
Bates co-wrote and produced MANSON's 2015 epic "The Pale Emperor". As the band's lead guitarist, he dedicated over a year to touring in support of the album on the headline "Hell Not Hallelujah" tour. In 2017, he once again joined forces in the studio with MANSON on the follow-up album "Heaven Upside Down" and returned to the road for a string of high-profile touring.
Bates regularly transitions from scoring some of the world's biggest film and television franchises, such as "Guardians Of The Galaxy" and "John Wick", to rocking massive audiences with MANSON, and back to the studio again writing and producing. In 2004, he made waves by creating the menacing audio backdrop for the popular Zack Snyder reboot of "Dawn Of The Dead", followed by his soundtrack for the filmmaker's "300". His oeuvre expanded to include films like "Watchmen", "Sucker Punch", "The Devil's Rejects" and "Halloween I" and "Halloween II", and TV shows like "Californication", "Kingdom", "Salem", "The Purge" and more. More recently, Bates scored the blockbuster "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw", "Deadpool 2", "Atomic Blonde", "The Spy Who Dumped Me", Genndy Tartakovsky's acclaimed animated series "Primal" on Adult Swim, "Stumptown" on ABC and the second season of "The Purge" on USA network.
Southern California rock quartet JOYOUS WOLF, described by the Los Angeles Times as a "mix of rugged grunge and blues," has premiered the animated video for the brand-new song "Odyssey".
Watch a mariner and his son navigate the waters of life — quite literally — below.
"I was inspired by Homer's 'The Odyssey' since that story has always been profoundly impactful on my life," explains singer Nick Reese exclusively to American Songwriter. "I knew that I wanted to write a song about it, but I wanted to modernize it, I wanted to focus on the emotional and deep familial aspects of the story."
As for the video, the singer says: "I think the above all theme is positive feelings, the song is about hope through the turbulence, and I believe the video illustrates that hope. No matter the obstacle, the loss, or barrier, keep moving forward."
JOYOUS WOLF is an American rock band formed in Orange County, California, in 2014. With humble beginnings, playing any venue that would have them, Nick Reese (vocals), Blake Allard (guitar), Greg Braccio (bass) and Robert Sodaro (drums) have created their own hybrid of hard driving rock and roll, soul, blues, and alternative music. Heavily influenced by artists spanning not only various genres, but literally decades of music, their electric live performances would take them from the clubs of the Sunset Strip to international tours, earning them a recording deal with Roadrunner Records in 2018. The quartet has shown to be a force both on and off stage, having released their critically acclaimed debut EP "Place In Time" on Roadrunner in 2019, which led to subsequent tours supporting rock icons such as Slash and DEEP PURPLE.
British pop singer Rick Astley, best known for his 1987 song "Never Gonna Give You Up", has recorded a cover version of FOO FIGHTERS' "Everlong".
"Sometimes you just have to find the song that's gonna lift your spirits and put you in another place, and I've been doing that a lot recently with music," Astley says in the video, before playing his take on the song. "One of the bands I always go to, believe it or not, is FOO FIGHTERS,"
Astley has shared the stage with the FOO FIGHTERS on several occasions, performing "Never Gonna Give You Up" with the Dave Grohl-fronted outfit at shows in Tokyo and London in 2017. Prior to Astley taking the stage in London, Grohl introduced the singer as "the most badass motherfucker."
Astley has released eight pop and adult contemporary albums since '87. He issued a greatest-hits compilation, titled "The Best Of Me", in 2019.
The iconic "Never Gonna Give You Up" video is used as a go-to meme online for people to bait others into clicking a link, only to be taken to the clip, a practice known as "Rick-Rolling."
The "Never Gonna Give You Up" video has been viewed more than 700 million times on YouTube since it was first uploaded in 2009.
The official music video for the song "Anybody Out There" from reactivated Norwegian progressive metallers CONCEPTION, who feature in their ranks former KAMELOT singer Roy Khan, can be seen below. The track is taken from CONCEPTION's latest album, "State Of Deception", which was released on April 3. The band's first full-length offering in over two decades follows on from 2018's successful EP "My Dark Symphony", and was once again released via CONCEPTION's own Conception Sound Factory label.
"State Of Deception" follows a 20-year interval during which bandmembers Khan, Tore Østby, Ingar Amlien and Arve Heimdal remained friends throughout, and the album release marks a full-circle evolution of the band.
Khan says: "The reception we've had from fans made recording a new album almost inevitable; they'd have rioted if we didn't get this out. But we're mightily proud of what we have put together here; I actually think it's the best thing I've ever been involved in."
Reflecting CONCEPTION's desire for an entirely direct relationship with its fans, the album is wholly fan-funded. Moreover, "State Of Deception" was wholly produced by the bandmembers themselves, with mixing duties handled by Stefan Glaumann (RAMMSTEIN, WITHIN TEMPTATION, EUROPE). The nine-song effort perfectly captures the band's trademark breadth of progressive sound, from symphonic melodrama to rock riff utopia, and features a guest appearance by AMARANTHE vocalist Elize Ryd.
Guitarist Tore Østby explains: "Producing this new album has been an emotional and exciting process, digging deeper into the heart and soul of the band than ever before. The result is dynamic and intense, it really feels like we managed to capture the state of CONCEPTION 2020.
"We've always said that we have a need to do what we feel is right for our music. We couldn't limit the musical scope of CONCEPTION even if we wanted to.'
"If we didn't think we were capable of surpassing our previous work, we wouldn't be here. We're super proud of every single track on this album."
"State Of Deception" track listing:
01. In Deception
02. Of Raven And Pigs
03. Waywardly Broken
04. No Rewind
05. The Mansion (featuring Elize Ryd)
06. By The Blues
07. Anybody Out There
08. She Dragoon
09. Feather Moves (remastered)
Regarding the decision to release the new album through CONCEPTION's own label, Khan says: "We've worked with record companies in the past, and by definition, the artist sits at arms length from their fanbase. We felt that was an unacceptable compromise."
"For an artist to see the reaction from a fan the first time they hear a new song is an extraordinarily powerful experience," offers Østby. "Whatever happens, these are shared encounters that will never leave us, band member or fan alike."
"State Of Deception" is both a definitive album release statement, as it is also a career milestone, recognizing a lyrical depth that acknowledges the current social climate.
Says Khan: "The lyrics of the album revolve around human error and betrayal, hence the album title, but also touch upon everything from people's facade to climate change, religion and politics."
SLIPKNOT drummer Jay Weinberg recorded a cover version of the Bruce Springsteen classic "Candy's Room" as a Father's Day gift for his dad, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND drummer Max Weinberg. He has also created a quarantine-style video for the track featuring Mlny Parsonz (ROYAL THUNDER), Jeff Matz (HIGH ON FIRE), Stephen Brodsky (MUTOID MAN, CAVE IN, OLD MAN GLOOM), Emily Lee (SHEARWATER, LOMA, SNAKE OIL, DRONEFLOWER) and Jordan Olds (a.k.a. Gwarsenio Hall). Check it out below.
Jay Weinberg discovered SLIPKNOT when he was a pre-teen, through his father. He was hooked immediately and was a huge fan of SLIPKNOT by the time he was invited to Los Angeles to try out as replacement for Joey Jordison in 2013.
Asked what his father's initial reaction was when he told him that he was joining SLIPKNOT, the now-29-year-old drummer told the official SLIPKNOT fan club Outside The 9: "I don't know if he believed me, to be honest. No — when we had conversations about that's what had happened, I actually couldn't even tell him what band I had auditioned for, truthfully, for a while, till I asked the band if I could tell my dad. But once I did, he was very happy considering this is a band that he introduced to my life. I'm sure I would have crossed the path of SLIPKNOT's music at some point, but he really made that initial connection between myself and the members of the band. So, for him to have done that for me and did me that solid of introducing me to these guys at nine or 10 years old, and then 13, 14 years later, I joined the band, he was overwhelmed and overjoyed, I'm sure. It's something we still talk about to this day when certain benchmarks are met, or certain interesting things are happening, like playing on late-night TV, where I grew up watching him work and stuff like that, and now we're on a late-night TV program. It's very interesting. So, yeah, when I first told him I was joining SLIPKNOT, I think he flipped his shit."
For the first few months after the release of 2014's ".5: The Gray Chapter", the members of SLIPKNOT had declined to name the musicians who were playing drums and bass on their tour, despite the fact that their identities were revealed as Weinberg and bassist Alessandro "Vman" Venturella by a disgruntled former drumtech for SLIPKNOT who posted a picture of a backstage call sheet on Instagram.
SLIPKNOT announced its split with Jordison in December 2013 but did not disclose the reasons for his exit. The drummer subsequently issued a statement saying that he did not quit the group.
Êàíàäà
The Agonist![=]](/img/news-bord-shr.gif){kind=small}
Òóíèñ
Ãåðìàíèÿ
ÑØÀ
Áðàçèëèÿ
Íîðâåãèÿ
