Electronic beats merge into stoic rhythms, danceable melodies sing about the hidden aspects inside, and metal riffs quicken the pulse: Schattenmann mixes the brute force of Neue Deutsche Härte with rock and electro elements of different styles - just to create a new genre, already set as the mark of the young band from Germany: NDH 2.0. A unique feature that made Schattenmann capturing the Gothic culture easily. Their new album, Epidemie, will be released via AFM Records on July 5th. A video for the title track is streaming below.
Epidemie is an emotional roller coaster ride in which Schattenmann reveal a more personal side. The band has created an album that easily overcomes the boundaries between Metal and NDH.
On Epidemie you can find riff-oriented songs as well as catchy tunes for the dancefloor. The album was mastered at Separate Sound Studios (J.B.O., Tarja Turunen, Hämatom and many more).
Tracklisting:
“Schattenland”
“F.U.C.K.Y.O.U.”
“Schlag für Schlag”
“Epidemie”
“Wahreit oder Pflicht”
“Ruf der Engel”
“Kopf durch die Wand”
“Schawarz = Religion”
“Gewissen”
“Darkroom”
“Nadel und Faden”
“Phantom”
The official music video for "Torment Remains", a brand new song from Swedish metallers ENTOMBED A.D., can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's upcoming album, "Bowels Of Earth", which will be released on August 30 via Century Media.
Comments guitarist Nico Elgstrand: "For you here to enjoy, this new track of our forthcoming album 'Bowels Of Earth'! We sincerely hope and believe that it will melt your brain into mush."
"Bowels Of Earth" track listing:
01. Torment Remains
02. Elimination
03. Hell Is My Home
04. Bowels Of Earth
05. Bourbon Nightmare
06. Fit For A King
07. Worlds Apart
08. Through The Eyes Of The Gods
09. I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive (Hank Williams cover)
10. To Eternal Night
According to a press release, the follow-up to 2016's "Dead Dawn" "represents a huge leap forward for these gnarly veterans. Faster, tighter and more viscerally crushing than anything they have produced before."
Singer Lars-Göran Petrov said: "We have our Brazilian friend, Guilherme, coming into the band on guitar and we've been getting energy from that.
"This recording was a lot more focused and straightforward. We kept things simple, but still with thought behind everything. And there was absolutely no stress."
Last summer, ENTOMBED A.D. released a new single, "Fit For A King".
ENTOMBED A.D. was formed in 2014 when Petrov and other members of ENTOMBED decided to change the band's name in order to avoid a legal battle with ENTOMBED guitarist Alex Hellid who didn't want his former bandmates to use the ENTOMBED moniker.
"[ENTOMBED and ENTOMBED A.D. are] the same thing — just some minor complications on the way," Petrov told Finland's Rauta. "But we are here and playing music and headbanging, and that's the most important. But it's the same. It's the same."
Petrov added that he and his bandmates "don't think about" the slight alteration in the group's name. "We just let it roll. As long as we are out, nobody can stop us."
Asked what inspires him to make music and write lyrics these days, Petrov said: "It's boring to sit at home. [Laughs] No, you can always be productive and be out on tour and have no sleep. But that all doesn't matter when you come to the show and you see your brothers in metal. Then it's all worth it."
On the topic of ENTOMBED's musical evolution over the years, Petrov said: "As you go on in life, you experience new things, you wanna try out other things, and ENTOMBED has always tried to do that. Maybe more than for our own good sometimes, but now we're just going straightforward and we just do it again — over and over again. And as long as you don't get tired of it, you just continue. If you get tired of it, you should quit. You don't do it because… If you don't like it, step aside and let it roll."
Lordi will release Recordead Live - Sextourcism In Z7 on DVD, vinyl and digipak on July 26 via AFM Records. Pre-order here, and watch a video for "The Riff" below.
Besides the live cut of the show in Pratteln, Switzerland during their Sextourcism tour, the DVD provides a lot of bonus material, including some real rarities.
The live show itself has a playing time of two hours. "We just cut a little bit of my stupid announcements on stage“, said Mr. Lordi about the impressive duration. "Apart from that, everything that happened this evening ended up on this DVD."
The choice of the Z7 is a matter of duration as well: There is no club that hosted Lordi as often as this one located next to the German border and for that reason, the club became something like a second home to the Finns over the years.
Though there are some live records of Lordi, Recordead Live - Sextourcism In Z7 is the first official live DVD of the band, checked by the musicians, and was a plan that Lordi had been pursuing for years and finally put into practice during the Sextourcism tour. Mr. Lordi states: "I am very happy that we waited until the Sextourcism tour, because we look amazing, the stage looks amazing and everything was perfect to create a stunning DVD."
The bonus material is stunning as well: Alongside a tour diary with Lordi, the DVD provides all of the official video clips the band ever made. Among them a real rarity, the very first official music video for "Inferno", which was made 1994 and was Mr. Lordi's final dissertation at the film academy.
Besides production, location and the camera settings, Mr. Lordi was also responsible for writing, directing and editing the video and for costumes and the masks. "That was the historical moment that the masks and costumes became an essential part of the band“, he remembers. "Since it was my final dissertation, everyone was dressed up except me. When I saw the clip for the first time, I was like Fuck, everybody looks way cooler than I do - it was supposed to be the other way around. That was the moment, I decided, to create the most elaborate costume for myself.“
In the video to "Inferno", Mr. Lordi does not wear a mask. But since a real monster never loses face, the clip was censored afterwards. A retrospective edited mask had Mr. Lordi staying Mr. Lordi.
Since their stunning victory at Euro Vision song contest in 2006, the Finnish monster rocker Lordi are omni present. With charm, exciting melodies and elaborate and crazy monster costumes the unconventional formation rocked over all Europe. With their new studio album Sexorcism, released in spring 2018 and one of the most successful in the band's history, Lordi returned with new costumes and a wonderful live show that now is caught in moving pictures, released in July.
Fan-filmed video footage of DEADLAND RITUAL's performance earlier tonight (Thursday, June 13) at the O2 Academy Islington in London, England can be seen below.
DEADLAND RITUAL is the new band featuring bassist Geezer Butler (BLACK SABBATH), guitarist Steve Stevens (BILLY IDOL, VINCE NEIL), drummer Matt Sorum (GUNS N' ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER) and singer Franky Perez (APOCALYPTICA).
DEADLAND RITUAL's setlist consists of several original tracks alongside classic songs from the members' previous bands, including BLACK SABBATH's "Symptom Of The Universe", "Neon Knights" and "Sweet Leaf", VELVET REVOLVER's "Slither" and BILLY IDOL's "Rebel Yell".
In a recent interview with Billboard, Butler spoke about which songs might make it into DEADLAND RITUAL's live set, saying: "We're thinking about doing seven original songs, which we've done up to now. Probably three or four SABBATH songs. 'N.I.B.', because that's what I'm associated with particularly; the bass intro and all that kind of stuff. And some stuff that SABBATH didn't do, like 'Symptom Of the Universe'. Steve loves that one. And Franky likes 'Heaven And Hell' and we might do one or two others; see which ones work out best in rehearsals. But more obscure SABBATH songs, rather than 'Iron Man' or 'Paranoid', that's been done a million times. A couple VELVET REVOLVER. 'Slither' definitely, I'm not sure bout the second one, and I think we're going to do 'Rebel Yell' [by] Billy Idol."
Butler went on to say that there is no long-term plan for DEADLAND RITUAL at the moment. "We're just going to see how it goes," he said. "We've written seven songs up to now, so we have to get those recorded. We've got quite a few record companies interested. But at first, it was 'have a jam, and let's do some festivals.' But it seems to have gone beyond that, people are taking it more seriously now. So if things work out with the gigs that we do we'll carry on. I'm excited about it. I really like the music we're doing, not restricted to any kind of formula. And as I say, each track stands on its own, different in its own way. I'm really looking forward looking to it."
DEADLAND RITUAL recently released its first two songs, "Down In Flames" and "Broken And Bruised". Both tracks, which were produced by Greg Fidelman (METALLICA, SLIPKNOT), were made available via Sonik Riot Records/AWAL powered by Kobalt.
DEADLAND RITUAL made its live debut on May 28 at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, California.
BADFLOWER has released the official music video for the song "Promise Me", taken from the band's critically acclaimed debut album, "OK, I'M SICK". The track's expressive lyrics and smooth guitar riffs punctuate its message about holding on to love and the hope of youth.
BADFLOWER frontman Josh Katz stated about "Promise Me": "The concept of growing old scares the hell out of me. The thought that I won't have my youth forever, that things like love and heartbreak might not be as powerful as they once were... This video is very important to me because it confronts those fears. I hope to have the spirit of the characters we've created in this video. I hope to stay young at heart no matter what happens throughout the course of my life."
Released in February via Big Machine/John Varvatos Records, "OK, I'M SICK" debuted at No. 6 on the Hard Rock Albums chart with 7,000 equivalent album units earned. The disc was written and recorded in Los Angeles.
Through their deeply personal music, the album navigates subjects including anxiety, abuse, depression, social media and politics. The group produced a body of work that perfectly encapsulated the issues of its time.
Katz told Billboard about "OK, I'M SICK": "There's a lot of heavy lyrical content — honest, no filter, very emotive. We're a rock band, so it's a lot of guitar-driven stuff, but also there's a lot of down-tempo stuff — I guess ballad would be the word to use, but I don't really like that word. We really weren't trying to impress people on a musical level; we were just trying to be genuine and make something that sounded right and felt right."
"Promise Me" is the third single from "OK, I'M SICK". BADFLOWER previously topped Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs chart with "Heroin", marking the four-piece's first leader on a Billboard airplay tally.
In addition to its own headlining dates, BADFLOWER recently toured with NOTHING MORE and will join SHINEDOWN for the summer leg of the 2019 "Attention Attention" world tour, beginning on June 21 and ending on July 27.
Danish/American hard rock group VOLBEAT has released the official music video for its new song "Last Day Under The Sun". The clip was directed by Jakob Printzlau, who has previously directed VOLBEAT's videos for "The Devil's Bleeding Crown", "Lonesome Rider", "16 Dollars" and "Cape Of Our Hero".
VOLBEAT frontman Michael Poulsen has revealed that the lyrics for the song were inspired by a book about Johnny Cash. "When I read his book, he went through tough times with alcohol and drugs," Michael said. "He walked into a cave to lay down to die. But he wakes up and feels like he has been given a second chance."
"Last Day Under The Sun" is taken from VOLBEAT's seventh album, "Rewind, Replay, Rebound", which will be released on August 2 via Republic Records. For the album, VOLBEAT — Michael Poulsen (guitars/vocals), Rob Caggiano (guitars), Kaspar Boye Larsen (bass), and Jon Larsen (drums) — builds upon its distinct, psychobilly, punk-tinged rock 'n' roll sound it is known for, while reaching for new creative summits.
"The whole point for us going into the studio, is because you still have something to prove — not just for the fans, but mostly for yourself," said Poulsen. "We would not be able to do this record if it wasn't for the work we have done in the past. No matter how old the band gets or how many records we do, there is always going to be that signature sound."
"Rewind, Replay, Rebound" is available for pre-order on all formats, including a 2 CD deluxe edition, a special deluxe edition box set, and transparent and blue colored vinyl, numbered and limited to 1,000 copies each.
At this point in their already storied career, VOLBEAT has opened for METALLICA, MOTÖRHEAD and SLIPKNOT, garnered the 2014 "Best Metal Performance" Grammy nomination for "Room 24" and won multiple Danish Music Awards. For this album, they mine their own personal histories and that of their genre: the song "When We Were Kids" finds VOLBEAT ruminating on immortality and innocence we all naively experience in our youth, while "Rewind The Exit" and "Die To Live" both explore how the pursuit of perfection can be a hollow goal.
"Rewind, Replay, Rebound" was produced by longtime collaborator Jacob Hansen and co-produced by Rob Caggiano and Michael Poulsen. This marks the first studio album with Kaspar Boye Larsen on bass. To achieve the album's sound, the band also drew upon a myriad of guests. In addition to again working with backing vocalist Mia Maja on several tracks, they also reunited with the Harlem Gospel Choir. CLUTCH vocalist Neil Fallon is featured on "Die To Live", the result of touring together and a love for the singer's gruff and powerful style. Raynier Jacob Jacildo (piano) and Doug Corocran (saxophone) of JD McPherson's band also lend their talents to the song. "Cheapside Sloggers" features a ripping guitar solo by EXODUS and SLAYER guitarist Gary Holt. Ultimately, VOLBEAT have not lost their passion to create and progress. It's that which keeps them hungry — and musically honest on the new album.
VOLBEAT recently announced the first leg of the "Rewind, Replay, Rebound" world tour, with support from BARONESS and DANKO JONES.
The official JayLaced Productions-produced music video for the song "I Came For Blood" from San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal veterans DEATH ANGEL can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's ninth full-length album, "Humanicide", which is being released today (Friday, May 31) via Nuclear Blast Records.
With "Humanicide", DEATH ANGEL has maintained its throne in the universe of thrash while still managing to remain progressive in their style. They apply a wide variety of different elements to their music, always pushing to add newness to their sound. This time around they've included everything from acoustic bits to guest musicians to even (for the first time) the notes of a piano. All 10 songs flow seamlessly yet each leaves its own distinct impression.
For the fourth album cycle in a row, DEATH ANGEL returned to producer and friend Jason Suecof (DEICIDE, TRIVIUM) of Audiohammer studios for the recording and mixing, along with the mastering of the legendary Ted Jensen (SLIPKNOT, PANTERA) of Sterling Sound, who added the final touches and brought it all to life, with artist Brent Elliott White (LAMB OF GOD, MEGADETH) providing the ominous cover artwork.
Guitarist Rob Cavestany told United Rock Nations about the inspiration for the album's title: "'Humanicide' is basically the self-extinction of the human race. It is very dark, in a kind of a dark time [with] the way that things are going around the world these days. It's no secret — all you have to do is turn on the news, go on social media, talk to somebody on the streets. You'll see that there's a bit of a problem going on between relations of humanity. It's hard to get away from it; it's ever-present. It's not like it's a brand new situation — of course, it's been going on, but the thing is, you see it more and more now because of social media... Everyone knows the same feeling. There's just a lot of tension happening, especially between the relations of humans. Our band has experienced this since we first started in the '80s, being that for one thing, we were all young and these Filipino cousins that didn't fit the normal look of the heavy metal band. We experienced harsh people all over the place for no apparent reason but because they weren't able to accept other people, or something other than what they think is how it's supposed to be, and that seems to be the problem persisting today. People are just thinking that whatever the way they do things or the way their particular scene is, that's how it's supposed to be everywhere else. They're not accepting of others, and it's getting really blown up in a bad way these days. The powers that be are not helping these situations — a lot of them aren't. This gives great inspiration for the kind of aggressive style of a concept that belongs in heavy music like this. You need to focus on some heavy topic one way or the other — it's not like singing about lying in the park in a bed of flowers having your Valentine date with you. This kind of movie that is presented in this genre is more of an intense, dark horror film. That's kind of where we're coming from."
Regarding DEATH ANGEL's decision to work with Suecof again, Rob said: "I just love the clarity and the power of the final product of the production that we get working together out of his studio. I think his records come out sounding very clear and strong and bright, and you can hear everything. I just love the clarity and the separation of the instruments. He's like retaining an old-school feel, but combining it with a modern production feel. That's what we're shooting for. The working relationship that we have together, we've become really close friends. We've been working together now for four records over practically a decade, so we know each other really well, and we kind of know what we're thinking, we know what we're trying to get out of each other and we know how to work together."
Jorn's new live album and video, Live On Death Road, is out tomorrow (Friday, June 14) via Frontiers Music Srl. Pre-order here, and watch a live video for "Ride Like The Wind", originally a hit for American singer-songwriter Christopher Cross in 1980, below.
2018 was a significant year for Jorn Lande. He celebrated his 50th birthday with the release of a comprehensive 12-album box set and played a few selected shows in the spring and summer which presented the most diverse and exciting setlists ever of his storied career. Picking forgotten gems from early albums, selected covers and choice cuts from collaborative releases, all in all those shows presented the true and ultimate legacy of Jorn as an artist and Jorn as a band.
Jorn’s headlining set at Frontiers Rock Festival in Milan, in late April 2018 was recorded in it’s full glory and will now be released on 2CD+DVD and Blu-Ray formats. For fans who weren’t able to attend, you can now enjoy the epic concert performance, Live On Death Road. Jorn shines in every way possible in this monumental set.
One of the most prolific metal vocalists of the modern metal era, Jorn’s immense vocal talent has earned him a status as one the last pioneers of true classic hard rock and heavy metal. Jorn's voice is one of the finest and most powerful you will find in metal. Besides focusing on his main band Jorn, Lande has fronted various bands, among them Ark, Beyond Twilight and Masterplan. Jorn has also participated on several projects, such as the Nostradamus and Dracula Rock Operas, the Allen/Lande albums with Symphony X vocalist Russell Allen, the Ayreon and Avantasia projects.
Tracklisting:
CD1
"My Road"
"Bring Heavy Rock To The Land"
"Life On Death Road"
"Blacksong"
"World Gone Mad"
"Stormcrow"
"Sunset Station"
"Ride Like The Wind"
"Out To Every Nation"
CD2
"Shot In The Dark"
"Walking On Water"
"Traveller"
"Rock And Roll Angel"
"The Mob Rules"
"Rainbow In The Dark"
"Lonely Are The Brave"
DVD:
"My Road
"Bring Heavy Rock To The Land"
"Life On Death Road"
"Blacksong"
"World Gone Mad"
"Stormcrow"
"Sunset Station"
"Ride Like The Wind"
"Out To Every Nation"
"Walking On Water"
"Traveller"
"Rock And Roll Angel"
"Man Of The 80’s"
"The Mob Rules"
"Rainbow In The Dark"
"Lonely Are The Brave"
"Ride Like The Wind" video:
"Stormcrow" video:
"The Mob Rules" video:
Lineup:
Jorn Lande: lead vocals
Tore Moren: guitar
Alessandro Del Vecchio: Keyboards
Sid Ringsby: Bass
Beata Polak: Drums
Francesco Jovino: Drums
Swedish sleaze rockers CRASHDÏET will release their fifth studio album, "Rust", on September 13 via Diet Records in Scandinavia and Frontiers Music Srl in the rest of the world. The record marks the group's first full-length effort with vocalist Gabriel Keyes, who joined the band in December 2017. That same month, the group self-released a new song called "We Are The Legion", which is one of 11 tracks included on "Rust". Also included on the album is "Reptile", another new single featuring Keyes that was originally released in January.
The official music video for "Rust"'s new single, "Idiots", can be seen below. The clip is a tribute to the best movies ever made, according to the band's cinematic opinion, as they turn back time a few decades, revisiting the good old days. The video was shot by Jimmy Johansson (Super Lino Puro), who also produced the band's two previous videos, "We Are The Legion" and "Reptile".
"Rust" is the first CRASHDÏET studio album in six years and is the follow-up to 2013's "The Savage Playground". The disc was produced by Martin Sweet (apart from two tracks produced by Eric Bazilian and Chris Laney) and mixed by Chris Laney, who previously worked with CRASHDÏET on the band's 2005 critically acclaimed debut "Rest In Sleaze".
"Rust" track listing:
01. Rust
02. Into The Wild
03. Idiots
04. In The Maze
05. We Are The Legion
06. Crazy
07. Parasite
08. Waiting For Your Love
09. Reptile
10. Stop Weirding Me Out
11. Filth & Flowers
The Christel Mentges-designed cover art appears below.
In October, CRASHDÏET will join forces with THE CRUEL INTENTIONS and HIGHRIDE for the "Idiots On Tour 2019" European trek.
CRASHDÏET was originally founded in 2000 by late vocalist Dave Lepard and guitarist Mary Goore, better known as GHOST's Tobias Forge. The group's 2005 debut album, "Rest In Sleaze", debuted at No. 12 in the band's home country, but eight months after its release, the 25-year-old Lepard committed suicide. CRASHDÏET then recruited Finnish vocalist H. Olliver Twisted (RECKLESS LOVE) for its 2007 sophomore album, "The Unattractive Revolution", but after touring in support of the LP, Twisted exited the group. The band then welcomed Simon Cruz, who appeared on 2010's "Generation Wild" (which reached No. 3 in Sweden) and 2013's "The Savage Playground" (which reached No. 2) before leaving the band in the midst of a Japanese tour in 2015.
German thrash metal veterans DESTRUCTION will release their 17th studio album, "Born To Perish", on August 9 via Nuclear Blast. The disc was recorded in January and February 2019 with V.O. Pulver (PRO-PAIN, BURNING WITCHES, NERVOSA) at Little Creek Studios in Switzerland and is the first DESTRUCTION album to feature Randy Black on drums and second guitarist Damir Eskic.
Today, the band has unleashed the visualizer video for the first single and vicious title track, "Born To Perish".
Frontman Schmier states: "The title track was the first song we wrote for the new record and it definitely shows the strength that DESTRUCTION has in 2019. It immediately set the bar high for the rest of the album. It features everything that we stand for: speed, picking, variety and punch. Randy came up with some very cool drum patterns and Damir offered up a really crunchy solo part, so both new members are heavily involved here!"
Guitar player Mike adds: "We started the song with some drum patterns that Randy gave us and adjusted some riff ideas we had. It was a nice challenge to write some tight right hand picking for a 212 beats per minute song. As a guitar player this is close to my speed limit, especially on the triplets — great fun to play though!"
The cover artwork for "Born To Perish" was created by acclaimed artist Gyula from Hungary, who has also worked with ANNIHLATOR, GRAVE DIGGER, STRATOVARIUS, TANKARD and many more.
Gyula stated: "Schmier wanted to get a simple and different image than my previous DESTRUCTION covers. When we discussed the new concept, I was happy with this approach because I had the chance to use a different tool, no painting but ink-drawing style.
"When the band mentioned the album title, I got the idea of a crest composition without the typical brave lion or eagle but vultures with two heads and we filled the image with several symbols.
"I love this DESTRUCTION cover — maybe my fave I did for them so far!"
Schmier added: "We wanted something basic this time. I had something like an emblem in mind, a stamp, a DESTRUCTION coat of arms.
"We had so many great colorful graphical covers in the past; this dark album title needed something different.
"This record marks the debut of the four-piece DESTRUCTION again. I am very happy with the result and that the great Gyula understood right away what direction we wanna go — the album is vicious, dark and hard-hitting. The cover art is the perfect prelude for that."
Schmier recently told France's Duke TV about the making of DESTRUCTION's upcoming album: "It's a process that took us three months — writing, recording and mixing. The new influence of the guys is there, because there's more shredding leads. Randy is a very solid, very tight player — very groovy also. You can hear that. We tried to make songs this time that are hitting on the target faster — the songs hit you right away. It's brutal, but it's very catchy. So you hear the songs the first time, right away you will remember [them]. You don't write an album like this every time. Sometimes you write songs, and after a while, you're, like, 'It's maybe too complicated,' because you wanna be an artist, you wanna express yourself. I think this time we managed to write an album that's very punchy."
"Born To Perish" track listing:
01. Born To Perish
02. Inspired By Death
03. Betraya
04. Rotten
05. Filthy Wealth
06. Butchered For Life
07. Tyrants Of The Netherworld
08. We Breed Evil
09. Fatal Flight 17
10. Ratcatcher
11. Hellbound (bonus track)
Damir is a Swiss guitar player of Bosnian decent who works as a guitar teacher, himself being a former pupil of Tommy Vetterli (CORONER). He also plays in a heavy metal band called GOMORRA and previously contributed three solos to DESTRUCTION's 2016 album "Under Attack".
DESTRUCTION previously played with two guitarists in the late 1980s (with the addition of Harry Wilkens) and then again throughout much of the 1990s (Michael "Ano" Piranio).
On March 16, 2017, the Graham Bonnet Band played a very special show in Tokyo, Japan. The set included songs from the band’s repertoire alongside a number of Rainbow, MSG, Impellitteri, and Bonnet solo classics. It was a unique setlist and show, a chance for fans in attendance to experience a number of hidden classics from Graham Bonnet’s repertoire that covers his 40+ year career in the rock ‘n roll business.
Live In Tokyo 2017 can be considered an accompanying piece to last year’s Parole Denied - Tokyo 2017 release from Alcatrazz. To refresh your memory, founding Alcatrazz members, Graham Bonnet (vocals), Jimmy Waldo (keyboards) and Gary Shea (bass), reunited after 33 years for a unique series of shows in Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo, Japan in March 2017, during Graham Bonnet Band's tour of Japan. Frontiers released footage from these shows last December.
Frontiers now have both performances from these two bands, both fronted by the iconic Graham Bonnet, available to fans for their listening and viewing pleasure.
Says Graham Bonnet: "In March 2017, the Graham Bonnet Band went to Japan for our first headline dates as GBB. We also did a full Alcatrazz set that same night featuring Gary Shea, which was released last year by Frontiers, titled Parole Denied and included a bonus album of some Alcatrazz rarities. For the GBB part of the show, we put together a great setlist covering the main eras of my career. It was a great night and this live album and video look fantastic... I’d say it’s the definitive Graham Bonnet Band live/video release. Great light show, visuals and sound. This was and is intended to be the companion piece to the Alcatrazz Parole Denied live release taken from the same night. As a bonus, we have included a revised studio version of the GBB song 'The Crying Chair'."
Live in Tokyo 2017 will be released on July 12. Pre-order the CD/DVD or Digipak (audio only) here. Watch "Samurai" from the upcoming release below.
Tracklisting:
"Eyes Of The World"
"California Air"
"S.O.S."
"Night Games"
"Stand In Line"
"Into The Night"
"Love's No Friend"
"Dancer"
"Samurai"
"Desert Song"
"Rider"
"Since You've Been Gone"
"Assault Attack"
"All Night Long"
"Lost In Hollywood"
"The Crying Chair" (Alternate Lyric Version)
"Samurai" video:
Lineup:
Graham Bonnet - Vocals
Conrado Pesinato - Guitar
Beth-Ami Heavenstone - Bass
Jimmy Waldo - Keyboards
Mark Benquchea - Drums
The official music video for "Lords Of The Flies", the debut single from ALPHAMEGA, the new band featuring former BUTCHER BABIES drummer Chris Warner alongside VALOR & VENGEANCE members Adam Ryan (vocals) and Mike Muenzer (guitar), can be seen below.
Ryan states about the track: "It's about humanity. That's what the fly represents. We exist on this planet doing our daily routines trying not to get squashed before the next day starts all over again. Some of us do enough to make it out of the shit, some of us live in it, and some of us don't make it. We're born, we consume, we reproduce, we die. Our goal as artists is to find the beauty in what we all take for granted in our everyday lives. Whether it comes from the shadows or the light, we want to give it new life and perspective."
ALPHAMEGA is continuing to work on music for its debut EP, due later this year.
The release of ALPHAMEGA's debut video comes three years after Warner exited BUTCHER BABIES. Singer Carla Harvey later told Metal Heads Forever that Chris "got engaged and he couldn't spend much time with the band, and we thought it's best for him to leave the band as family and commitments comes first and we didn't stop him from what he wanted."
Dee Snider's video for the song "Tomorrow's No Concern" can be seen below. The track is taken from the TWISTED SISTER frontman's latest solo album, "For The Love Of Metal", which was released last July via Napalm Records. The disc, which was produced by HATEBREED vocalist Jamey Jasta, features contributions from Howard Jones (ex-KILLSWITCH ENGAGE), Mark Morton (LAMB OF GOD), Alissa White-Gluz (ARCH ENEMY), Joel Grind and Nick Bellmore (TOXIC HOLOCAUST), and Charlie Bellmore (KINGDOM OF SORROW).
Snider comments: "It is almost a year to the day that the lyric video for 'Tomorrow's No Concern' was released. The song immediately connected with the metal community and since then, my album 'For The Love Of Metal', produced by Jamey Jasta on Napalm Records, has become a bonafide hit. Now my live shows are filled, not just for my 'twisted' past, but also for my very metal now. That is why I wanted to release this live concert video performance of 'Tomorrow's No Concern'. Filmed in Sao Paulo, Brazil by acclaimed director Leo Libertine, it is the perfect bookend to my year in metal and beautifully shows the growing enthusiasm for my new music from my legion of heavy metal 'Dee-sciples'! We are all fucking metal!"
Snider told Decibel magazine about the musical direction of "For The Love Of Metal": "I love contemporary metal and I think that's why it sounds so genuine. I go to shows. My kids are all metalheads, especially my daughter, she's hardcore. Over the years, because she was so young, I had to escort her to these shows, so I was exposed to all these hardcore bands. I love the passion, and I love the 'I've got nothing to lose' attitude that these bands have. That's what you lose when you're successful. You lose that fearlessness. I'd much rather listen to bands that have that heart and that passion than listen to people who have lost it. I've always been in tune with that and have loved it. Jamey, in writing, we sat and talked endlessly about what matters to me now and about what I wanted to say now and where was I at emotionally now."
In a separate interview with Distorted Sound, Snider said that he has found his place in the contemporary music scene with "For The Love Of Metal". "I'm so happy to be doing this," he said. "This record defines me as a person who wants to feel vital what I'm doing now matters and counts. I'm so happy I thought there wasn't that place in music for me. I've been doing Broadway, radio, TV, movies, I've been finding my place now with other things that I've been doing, but my first love is metal and music, and to do a record that I feel is a place now… My wife said she hasn't seen me this happy in a long time, and I'm always happy. She said I have an odd, childlike glee. It's crazy. I know, I'm [64] and not that I feel it. I'm healthy, people see me rock and their minds are blowing. I didn't think at this point in my life, this would be happening."
TWISTED SISTER called it quits in 2016 after completing a farewell 40th-anniversary tour.
If there is one hard rock band you need to see live, H.E.A.T should make the top of your list. Singer Erik Grönwall’s striking charisma paired with the powerful energy created by the band makes every H.E.A.T concert an extraordinary experience.
This was also true for the performance at Sweden Rock festival on June 7, 2018 which followed their studio album Into The Great Unknown (2017). Live At Sweden Rock Festival will be released on July 26 via earMUSIC as CD+BD Digipak and Digital. Pre-order here.
The track "Living On The Run" is also available as download and stream, here. Watch the official "Living On The Run" live video below.
Their second ever live recording - and for the first time on video - includes all of the band’s remarkable hymns such as “Living On The Run”, “A Shot At Redemption” or “Bastard Of Society”. Every song from this setlist is as lively and intoxicating as the next, making this a memorable show that every rock music fan will enjoy.
Or as H.E.A.T themselves put it: ”We heard the call and answered. Fire and hard rock in the night. For our entire career people have been going on about us making a DVD/Blu-ray and we can finally reveal that we will be releasing Live At Sweden Rock Festival. For those of you who have yet to see us live, this is as close as it gets. So go out and roll around in the garden, get an uneven tan, have 1-20 beers and kick back in your couch for the ultimate festival experience. Happy watching!”
Tracklisting:
CD/BD:
"Bastard Of Society"
"Late Night Lady"
"Mannequin Show"
"Redefined"
"Heartbreaker"
"Shit City"
"Beg Beg Beg"
"Tearing Down The Walls"
"Eye Of The Storm"
"Emergency"
"Inferno"
"Living On The Run"
"A Shot At Redemption"
Official Music Videos - BD Only:
"It's All About Tonight"
"Tearing Down The Walls"
"Point Of No Return"
"Living On The Run"
"Eye Of The Storm"
"A Shot Of Redemption"
"Best Of The Broken"
"Drink Alone"
The official music video for the song "How Many More Goodbyes" from STARBREAKER can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's third album, "Dysphoria", which was released on January 25 via Frontiers Music Srl.
Tony Harnell, the critically acclaimed singer/songwriter and former vocalist of hard rock band TNT, and Magnus Karlsson, current PRIMAL FEAR guitarist extraordinaire, have rejoined forces for the release of "Dysphoria". The disc showcases everything the project has become known for: metal sensibilities, melodic songs with killer hooks, thought provoking lyrics, inventive, intricate guitar playing, occasional prog twists, and a crisp production. Along with explosive performances from Harnell and Karlsson, these are the trademarks which the listener will find in "Dysphoria" and that make this album so very unique and special.
Of calling the album "Dysphoria", Tony states that the "title is simply a reflection of a state of mind and I thought it fit the lyrical theme of the songs. If I tried to summarize the lyrical theme of the album I would say it's beautifully sad, but infinitely hopeful. Life is always my biggest inspiration. It was an easy album to write lyrically for that reason. There was no writer's block and the themes are probably pretty obvious. I don't like to paint too clear a picture for the listener, it's best to let the words speak to them without guidance". On the first song released from the album, he says: "'Pure Evil' is the heaviest the album gets and not indicative of the album as a whole, although there are some metal overtones throughout."
Of the music direction on the album, Magnus states: "Tony's voice gives me inspiration to write my riffs and melodies. I imagine his voice, so in my head, I visualize the finished songs with great production. The two first albums didn't take much more than a year from finish to start. This release was made over a much longer period because of our other bands and productions. It's the first time I worked on an album with breaks in the production. In the end, it came out much better. I'm really happy with the sound on a STARBREAKER album. Thanks to Simone Mularoni (DGM) who did a great job with the mix. And Jonni Lightfoot and Anders Köllerfors who really made the songs shine! Tony's voice sounds better than ever, just amazing! You can have the best songs, best production or fastest guitar solos, but if the vocals aren't top notch, you have nothing!"
STARBREAKER started as Harnell's side project while he was still fronting TNT. He was initially working on a solo record, with Karlsson, former TNT drummer John Macaluso, and bassist Fabrizio Grossi, but they morphed into STARBREAKER, releasing their first self-titled studio album in 2005. In late 2007, Harnell flew to Sweden to write the bulk of the songs for the new album with Karlsson, and started recording the new songs at the end of that year. The group's second album, "Love's Dying Wish", was released in August 2008. It featured new bassist Jonni Lightfoot, who replaced Grossi, and was produced by Harnell and Karlsson, with Tommy Hansen (TNT, PRETTY MAIDS, HELLOWEEN) serving as the mixer.
The songwriting for the new STARBREAKER album started back before Harnell rejoined TNT in 2016, but it was after his ultimate split from that band, in October 2017, that he and Karlsson put the pedal to the metal and quickly completed "Dysphoria".
"Dysphoria" track listing:
01. Pure Evil
02. Wild Butterflies
03. Last December
04. How Many More Goodbyes
05. Beautiful One
06. Dysphoria
07. My Heart Belongs To You
08. Fire Away
09. Bright Star Blind Me
10. Starbreaker
STARBREAKER 2019 is:
Tony Harnell - vocals
Magnus Karlsson - guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
Frontiers Music Srl recently announced the June 14 release of Jorn's brand new live album and video, Live On Death Road. Pre-order here, and watch a live video for "Stormcrow" below.
2018 was a significant year for Jorn Lande. He celebrated his 50th birthday with the release of a comprehensive 12-album box set and played a few selected shows in the spring and summer which presented the most diverse and exciting setlists ever of his storied career. Picking forgotten gems from early albums, selected covers and choice cuts from collaborative releases, all in all those shows presented the true and ultimate legacy of Jorn as an artist and Jorn as a band.
Jorn’s headlining set at Frontiers Rock Festival in Milan, in late April 2018 was recorded in it’s full glory and will now be released on 2CD+DVD and Blu-Ray formats. For fans who weren’t able to attend, you can now enjoy the epic concert performance, Live On Death Road. Jorn shines in every way possible in this monumental set.
One of the most prolific metal vocalists of the modern metal era, Jorn’s immense vocal talent has earned him a status as one the last pioneers of true classic hard rock and heavy metal. Jorn's voice is one of the finest and most powerful you will find in metal. Besides focusing on his main band Jorn, Lande has fronted various bands, among them Ark, Beyond Twilight and Masterplan. Jorn has also participated on several projects, such as the Nostradamus and Dracula Rock Operas, the Allen/Lande albums with Symphony X vocalist Russell Allen, the Ayreon and Avantasia projects.
Tracklisting:
CD1
"My Road"
"Bring Heavy Rock To The Land"
"Life On Death Road"
"Blacksong"
"World Gone Mad"
"Stormcrow"
"Sunset Station"
"Ride Like The Wind"
"Out To Every Nation"
CD2
"Shot In The Dark"
"Walking On Water"
"Traveller"
"Rock And Roll Angel"
"The Mob Rules"
"Rainbow In The Dark"
"Lonely Are The Brave"
DVD:
"My Road
"Bring Heavy Rock To The Land"
"Life On Death Road"
"Blacksong"
"World Gone Mad"
"Stormcrow"
"Sunset Station"
"Ride Like The Wind"
"Out To Every Nation"
"Walking On Water"
"Traveller"
"Rock And Roll Angel"
"Man Of The 80’s"
"The Mob Rules"
"Rainbow In The Dark"
"Lonely Are The Brave"
"Stormcrow" video:
"The Mob Rules" video:
Lineup:
Jorn Lande: lead vocals
Tore Moren: guitar
Alessandro Del Vecchio: Keyboards
Sid Ringsby: Bass
Beata Polak: Drums
Francesco Jovino: Drums
Stockholm-based hardcore crust-punk veterans Victims make their Relapse Records debut with their new album, The Horse And Sparrow Theory, coming June 28th. Watch a video for the track "The Sea And Poison" below.
Recorded by producer Karl Daniel Lidén (Bloodbath, Katatonia, Craft), The Horse And Sparrow Theory clocks in at twenty-eight minutes of relentless insurrection. Victims' uncompromising take on d-beat and hardcore is a definitive statement of intent, as the band is set to deconstruct the current socio-political climate, mass class division, industrialization, and the self-absorbed pursuit of greed and corruption. The track "We Fail" features a sample from speaker Brigadier General Stephen Cheney from the Swedish Institute of Internal Affairs, UI Podcast, episode "The Climate Change and Security - Nexus."
Issues the band: "We're really happy to release our new record through Relapse, a label we have great respect for. It feels like the perfect partnership for us, especially with this new record, which we feel is our most expansive yet in terms of sound and concept. We're very much looking forward to releasing this latest chapter in the band's history.”
The Horse And Sparrow Theory will see release June 28th on CD, LP, and digital formats. Pre-orders are available at Relapse.com.
Tracklisting:
“The Horse And Sparrow Theory”
“The Birth Of Tragedy”
“There’s Blood On The Streets”
“We Fail”
“Fire Below”
“The Sea And Poison”
“Hell Is Full Of Good Intentions”
“Revenge Of Our Fathers”
SLIPKNOT has set "We Are Not Your Kind" as the title of its new album, due on August 9 via Roadrunner. Today the band has shared the album's first single "Unsainted", which is available at all DSPs along with an official music video. Directed by the band's own M. Shawn Crahan, the "Unsainted" video, and the track itself, offer a glimpse at the future of one of rock's most popular, and deeply enigmatic bands.
Guitarist Jim Root noted: "This is most time we've had to write a record, and work stuff out together. One of my inspirations this time around was those artists that recorded full length albums — not just songs. While the industry is moving toward singles, SLIPKNOT wanted to make an album experience, front to back."
"We Are Not Your Kind" is available for pre-order today with exclusive bundles available at Slipknot1.com. The disc was once again recorded at a Los Angeles studio with producer Greg Fidelman, who engineered and mixed SLIPKNOT's 2004 album "Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)" and helmed 2014's ".5: The Gray Chapter".
"These days the art we are making comes with the highest reward, because it's taken the most time," added Crahan. "Almost four years to create this emotion and temperature, and the reward now is nothing short of salvation."
"We Are Not Your Kind" track listing:
01. Insert Coin
02. Unsainted
03. Birth Of The Cruel
04. Death Because Of Death
05. Nero Forte
06. Critical Darling
07. Liar's Funeral
08. Red Flag
09. What's Next
10. Spiders
11. Orphan
12. My Pain
13. Not Long For This World
14. Solway Firth
SLIPKNOT's sixth album does not include the song "All Out Life", which was released last October. The track's accompanying video was also directed by Crahan.
Singer Corey Taylor recently said that "All Out Life" is not representative of the type of music fans can expect to hear on SLIPKNOT's long-awaited new LP. "It's a great tune, it's a heavy tune, but it's not a good representation of the darkness that is involved with the music," he told 95.5 KLOS's Full Metal Jackie. "We are taking some really cool risks musically. We're dipping into some evil we haven't played with in a long time, let's put it that way. It's got little hints of everything we've ever done, but it's got some of the heaviest stuff we've ever done as well."
Asked what it was like for him to go back to some of those darker lyrical themes, Taylor said: "It's been very cathartic. I've got a lot I've gotta say and a lot I wanna say, and this feels like the right time to do it."
Some of SLIPKNOT's new album also deals with Taylor's depression that led to a divorce and forced him to "figure out who I was" without relapsing into substance abuse.
"All I was doing was giving and I found myself absolutely, completely tapped," he told the Des Moines Register. "You could see it in my skin. You could see it in my eyes. That's basically the journey I'm going to take people on this album … show them what happens to depression when you have no chemicals to fall back on."
".5: The Gray Chapter" was released following a six-year hiatus during which founding SLIPKNOT bassist Paul Gray died and drummer Joey Jordison was dismissed.
SLIPKNOT's "Knotfest Roadshow" headline tour will take place in North America this summer. VOLBEAT, GOJIRA and BEHEMOTH will join as special guests on all dates.
Produced by Live Nation, the 29-city outing will kick off July 26 in Mountain View, California at Shoreline Amphitheater and continue through September 8 where it will conclude with a performance at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, Texas.
"Isäni Ääni", the new video from NIGHTWISH bassist/vocalist Marco Hietala (a.k.a. Marko Hietala), can be seen below. The song is taken from his solo album, "Mustan Sydämen Rovio", which will be released on May 24 via Savonian Rooster.
Asked by Kaaos TV when he started to think about releasing a solo album, Marco said (see video below): "It's a lot of stuff, lyrical, musical stuff and some of them started somewhere like 10, 15 years back, little tidbits of ideas that I hadn't used. I had been waiting and it's really a load of years. Some are from the couple of years behind some ideas when we started working on this album with the guys. Like I said, even back 15 years some ideas that developed into songs or got parts in songs. It's all kinds of stuff. Of course, I've been writing a lot for TAROT and quite a few pieces of music and some lyrical stuff with NIGHTWISH, too, but these things were kind of more personal. Like I said, this album — people think of heavy metal immediately when they see me, but I figured the right term for this album would be 'hard prog.' There's some very metallic elements, but there's also a lot of acoustic and atmospheric stuff that I've been writing a lot of. It's a wide variety of items, musically."
Regarding whether he enjoyed being able to do what he wanted with his solo album versus writing for TAROT or even NIGHTWISH, Marco said: "In a way, you don't have to justify your songs to a band who already has its own line and vision and all that. Then again, also being responsible for everything that is written, is also a heavy thing. I'm really happy the guys, Tuomas [Wäinölä, guitar] and Vili [Ollila, keyboards] really got into the music that much themselves. They really worked on doing the arranging. For instance, all the string quartet arrangements, they wrote them down on paper and gave them to the players when we were recording that. I don't know…in this case, the pressure and the responsibility have been greater because you're in the line yourself even though you have friends helping you. But the responsibility is heavier, therefore the pressure, also. In NIGHTWISH or TAROT, NIGHTWISH, especially since Tuomas [Holopainen] writes almost everything, it's kind of easier not to carry that much responsibility."
On the topic of when he decided now was a good time to release a solo album, Marco said: "It was when we had the sabbatical with NIGHTWISH that I figured it's time to ask the guys if they want to start working with me. We started, but then, of course, we originally planned for the release for the year and it didn't happen. Just way too much with everyone. So, then it took this much time to kind of finish, then I already did last year in between and recording some stuff here and there, some demo things and obscure German backstages with some vocals being sent over to Finland: 'What do you guys think of this?'"
Asked if it was important for "Mustan Sydämen Rovio" to reflect him properly as a solo artist, Marco said: "As a matter of fact, it doesn't have that kind of ego-based thinking at all. Of course, it might present me and I'm writing the whole thing in Finnish and in English. It's not something many people have done. I just had an ambitious plan for it and I started to realize it. Of course, if it gets me some respect and liking, I don't mind it, but I've been in the business for quite a while to know not to be dependent on what the world thinks of me."
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