BABYMETAL and ELECTRIC CALLBOY, two of the most acclaimed bands right now, have collaborated on a new song that will make you dance and sing: "Ratatata". This song masterfully fuses the signature styles of both bands, seamlessly blending their worlds and pushing the music to exhilarating new limits.
The video, produced and directed by Schillobros., will debut at 11 a.m. EDT / 8 a.m. PDT today.
BABYMETAL comments on the new collaboration: "Unbeatable! Let's 'Fu Fu' together with 'Ratatata'."
ELECTRIC CALLBOY adds: "Working with BABYMETAL was so much fun. We joined our creative forces and, in the end, we brought together the best of both worlds. We love 'Ratatata'!"
Riding the success of last year's concept album "The Other One", Japanese dance metal sensation BABYMETAL is hosting the first edition of its very own festival, "Fox_Fest", this weekend, featuring exclusive appearances by ELECTRIC CALLBOY and POLYPHIA.
Always pushing boundaries and testing the limits of metal music, BABYMETAL are no strangers to collaborations, with recent partnerships including BRING ME THE HORIZON, Tom Morello and Lil Uzi Vert.
While basking in the success of their latest album "Tekkno", ELECTRIC CALLBOY is also making waves on the live circuit. The band just wrapped a successful run of dates in North America, and now they're poised to appear at some of the biggest festivals around the world this summer — starting off with Japan's "Fox_Fest" this weekend.
In April 2023, BABYMETAL announced the addition of a new third member, Momoko Okazaki, who goes by the name of Momometal.
Okazaki had been a member of BABYMETAL's trio of backup dancers (along with Kano Fujihira and Riho Sayashi),known as "Avengers", since 2019, following the departure of one of BABYMETAL's original members, Yuimetal, in October 2018.
Momoko's addition to BABYMETAL was announced during the band's show at the Pia Arena MM in Okazaki, Japan.
Momoko was once a member of SAKURA GAKUIN and participated in South Korean reality TV show "Girls Planet 999" as a contestant. However, the singer left the series after the show's first elimination round.
In 2018, BABYMETAL announced the departure of Yuimetal, who was formerly one of the members of the Japanese group's core trio. She exited the band, explaining in a statement that she would go on to pursue a solo career as Mizuno Yu.
BABYMETAL was formed in 2010. Their mission was to unify the world through heavy metal by creating a fusion of heavy metal and the Japanese pop genre. Their music contains a stunning mix of electronic pop, a pinch of alternative and industrial rock, and is leveled up by fast-driven heavy metal. Their live shows are ground-breaking and epic visual as well as sound performances. BABYMETAL continued to travel the path of metal with the international release of their three albums, telling the story of the mighty Fox God and his brave metal warriors.
A book about the first ten years of BABYMETAL, "Bessatsu Kadokawa Souryoku Tokushuu", was released in Japan in October 2020. It contains a long interview with Su-metal and Moametal as well as never-before-heard stories from band producer Kobametal from BABYMETAL's decade-long history, photos taken from live shows, a discussion between Demon Kakka and Kobametal, and much more.
BABYMETAL's latest concept album "The Other One", was released in March 2023.
Last summer/fall, BABYMETAL embarked on a co-headline tour with DETHKLOK, the on-screen heavy metal band and stars of Adult Swim's "Metalocalypse".
The Wacken TV YouTube channel has uploaded professionally filmed video of BIOHAZARD's August 5, 2023 performance at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany.
Featured songs:
00:00 Tales From The Hard Side
05:57 Wrong Side Of The Tracks
10:32 Punishment
In a recent interview with El Planeta Del Rock, Evan Seinfeld was asked if there are any plans for the reunited classic lineup of BIOHAZARD to release new music in the not-too-distant future. The bassist/vocalist responded: "We just begin writing. We're working on our process on a couple of really cool songs, and when something is special enough and we are excited about it, I imagine we'll release a single before release an album, but there's a full-length album in the works. That's the mission… We wanna go into the studio and really lock ourselves down, like we used to do in the '90s, and spend some time really [making a strong album]. For us, it's not about one song, one song. Making an album is still something that we care about."
He continued: "I know it's not the popular [way of doing things]. How many people buy new albums by artists and listen to the whole album from beginning to end? Young people don't really ingest music like that so much. But BIOHAZARD is about authenticity. We do what we do, and we're gonna make the best album we can make in 2024, and hopefully get it out by the end of the year."
This past March, Evan explained to Battleline Podcast how the classic lineup of BIOHAZARD managed to come back together last year for a series of festival appearances and headlining shows. He said: "I left the band in 2012, and the other guys toured around [with a replacement bassist/vocalist] for like about two years, three years after that, but that was 10 years ago. They hadn't played together in 10 years, and nobody was really talking to anybody. And it wasn't something that I was even thinking about. I was going through the airport and my drummer, Danny [Schuler], who I've known since I'm 12 years old, his brother, Richie Schuler, from East 94th Street in Canarsie [Brooklyn], who was also a drummer, who also I used to play with, I hear his voice, 'Yo, Evan.' I turn around. It's Richie Schuler, Danny's brother. I'm in the airport changing planes somewhere, coming back from Los Angeles to Tulum, to Mexico. And I love Richie. We started talking."
He continued: "It's one of those things like… I was so living in my ego that I was attached to a bunch of resentment about a bunch of things that were a bunch of stories that I made up in my head about thinking how other people should react to things…. I didn't even remember anymore what the real reason was the band wasn't together anymore. But I ran into Richie, and he said, 'My brother would love to hear from you.' And I thought to myself, 'We were like best of friends, all of us at one time, and my life's a lot different now.' And I picked up the phone and called Danny, and we just started talking. It wasn't about putting the band back together. I wanted to reconnect with my brothers.
"If I hadn't been working on myself and learning that resentment only hurts you, only hurts me… If I got a beef with you, you don't necessarily know it. I'm carrying it around like a boulder in my backpack, weighing me down.
"A band is hard — it's a bunch of egomaniacs with low self-esteem. It's a bunch of guys who are fighting to get to the top together and fighting with each other for every inch of creativity, input of stardom, of fame, of contribution, of acknowledgement. People wanna be seen, people wanna be acknowledged, and when you're doing it in a group setting, not everybody gets the same out of it. Everybody might put in the same. And it's complicated, but right about the time I ran into Billy [Graziadei, guitar/vocals] and I got on the phone with Bobby [Hambel, guitar]. I actually talked to Bobby first during the pandemic. He called me out of the blue and we had a really cool conversation, but there was no intention behind it. And somebody started a rumor that we were putting the band back together because people had seen us talking. And next thing I know, I run into Andy Gould and Paul Gargano, the band's managers… Andy used to manage Rob Zombie for 25, 27 years, and he used to manage LINKIN PARK — big bands. PANTERA he worked on. And Andy said, 'There's this incredible opportunity right now for an iconic metal band with all its original members, that everybody's really good shape and got their chops up. You guys can really make some impact on the scene.'"
Seinfeld added: "We got together in a room, we broke some bread, we had a rehearsal. It sounded incredible. It was revitalized. It needed to go away for 10 years for everyone to get rejuvenated and excited about it. The fans are hungry. We just did a huge European tour, and if you look at my Instagram, there's a shot from this festival in Poland with 600,000 people. To stand on a stage in front of that many people and have them like chanting or jumping, it's another level of experience. I don't know that I ever appreciated it… I now have a huge amount of appreciation for everything I do. I have gratitude and a positive mindset. It doesn't matter if I'm sitting in my house or if I'm on a big stage, I tend to appreciate everything more, and that's a gift, man."
The first reunion gig from Graziadei, Hambel, drummer Schuler and Seinfeld took place on May 26, 2023 at the Milwaukee Metal Fest at The Rave/Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Last August, BIOHAZARD confirmed that it was working on material for a new studio album.
"The inspiration's coming from these shows," Bobby told Le Coin Metal in an interview. "Being back together, celebrating and doing all these shows, it's great. We're having a good time, but now we're getting the vibe from the crowd and we're feeling it, and it's getting in our bones. We're getting that hunger and the ideas are starting to come out off of these shows."
Added Billy: "For me, it's kind of cool because the other reason I did [my solo project] BILLYBIO is because there was no BIOHAZARD, and the songs that I would've been showing these guys just [ended up] BILLYBIO songs. So being back with these guys is, like… It's cool to have another outlet for my music."
In 2022, Graziadei said in an interview that there had been "talk" about putting BIOHAZARD back together.
The group, which is acknowledged as one of the earliest outfits to fuse hardcore punk and heavy metal with elements of hip-hop, had been out of the public eye since Scott Roberts left the band eight years ago.
Roberts, who played guitar on BIOHAZARD's 2005 album "Means To An End", rejoined the group in June 2011 as the replacement for Seinfeld. Scott fronted BIOHAZARD for nearly five years before exiting the band in February 2016.
In an August 2020 interview with the "Aftershocks" podcast, Roberts said that he left BIOHAZARD because he "wasn't happy" anymore. "There was one guy that I wasn't getting along with very well, and it made touring not fun anymore for me," he said. "My reason to stick around was to make a new record that was great and I'd be proud of and all that stuff, and then it became kind of clear that wasn't gonna happen, so I was, like, 'What am I doing it for?' So I quit."
Seinfeld made his last recorded appearance with BIOHAZARD on 2012's "Reborn In Defiance" album, which marked the first LP featuring the band's original lineup in 18 years.
Graziadei is currently a member of POWERFLO, which also features Christian Olde Wolbers (FEAR FACTORY),Sen Dog (CYPRESS HILL) and Rogelio Lozano (DOWNSET).
Billy's solo project, BILLYBIO, released a new album, "Leaders And Liars", in March 2022 via AFM Records.
Houston, Texas based brutal death metal beasts, Stabbing, have signed a worldwide contract with Century Media Records and, to celebrate this news, they have now unleashed new versions of "Vortex Of The Severed Dead" and "Pulled Apart", complete with Devourment's Ruben Rosas and PeelingFlesh's Damonteal "D" Harris on guest vocals - plus a new mix and master from Cryptopsy's Christian Donaldson (Suffocation, Ingested).
The tracks, which originally appeared on last year's aptly titled Demo 2023, can now be streamed with newfound clarity - and brutality - here. A visualizer video for "Vortex Of The Severed Dead" can be viewed below:
Stabbing vocalist Bridget Lynch - whose inhuman gutturals have earned acclaim from peers and fans alike both in the band's brief but brutal discography and via scene-viral videos of her filling in for Suffocation's Ricky Myers for a few shows - speaks on the signing: "After basically caring about nothing but brutal death metal for around 11 years now, I am stoked to be a part of something that brings this style of music to a wider audience through CM. I never expected this but am very grateful for the opportunity to share my love for this more niche style, which I consider to be death metal in its truest form, and to help push this part of the extreme underground in some way via Stabbing."
Mike Gitter, Century Media Vice President of A&R, commented as follows: "Stabbing live up to their name. They set new standards in extreme metal that Century Media has always pushed to be at the forefront of. This is the sound of brutality you're not soon to forget and we're excited to be working together."
The band is currently on a tour based around Milwaukee Metal Fest, at which guitarist Marvin Ruiz played a second set with other band Devourment; they are also set to play Maryland Death Fest later this week. Shows with brutal death mainstays Internal Suffering are peppered throughout. Routing shows to-and-from an NYC barnburner with Kittie (yes, that Kittie) were announced yesterday, with New Standard Elite brutes Nuclear Remains along for the ride. See below for all dates; tickets can be purchased here.
Live dates:
May
21 - Cleveland, OH - No Class *
22 - Clifton, NJ - Dingbatz
23 - Baltimore, MD - Maryland Deathfest (Soundstage) *
27 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 *
28 - Atlanta, GA - Boggs Social & Supply
29 - New Orleans, LA - Siberia *
July
16 - Huntsville, AL - Mad Malts ~
17 - Chattanooga, TN - Dark Road ~
18 - Richmond, VA - Cobra Cabana ~
19 - New York City, NY - Palladium Times Square ^
20 - Pittsburgh, PA - Preserving ~
21 - Cincinnati, OH - Legends ~
23 - Memphis, TN - Hi Tone ~
September
4-7 - Cave-In-Rock, IL - Full Terror Assault Open Air
* w/ Internal Suffering
~ w/ Nuclear Remains
^ w/ Kittie, Unearth, Within the Ruins
Stabbing lineup (from left-to-right in photo above):
Marvin Ruiz - Guitars
Bridget Lynch - Vocals
Matt Day - Bass
Nat Conner - Drums
Speed / thrash metal aficionados, get ready for a sonic onslaught! Rezet is set to unleash their sixth studio album, simply titled Rezet, on August 30th, 2024, via Violent Creek Records. Pre-save your copy now at this location.
Rezet's new self-titled album promises to deliver an adrenaline-fueled, riff-heavy experience. Hailing from Schleswig in Northern Germany, Rezet has become synonymous with uncompromising thrash metal, blending the ferocity of the genre's classics with a modern twist.
With 11 blistering tracks and even a piano intro, Rezet showcases the band's evolution and maturity. The album seamlessly weaves between the golden era of thrash metal and contemporary influences, giving fans a devastating new experience.
This album marks a new chapter for Rezet, with the addition of string sorcerer Nikolay Atanasov (Agent Steel) and bassist Lorenz Kandolf (Traitor) to the lineup, joining the band's founder, singer, guitarist, and main composer Ricky Wagner, along with drummer Bastian "attt" Santen. The result is a lineup that sounds stronger and more energized than ever before.
Produced, mixed, and mastered by the one and only Eike Freese ( Helloween, Deep Purple, Heaven Shall Burn), Rezet was partly recorded at the band's own Rad Toad Studios in Schleswig-Holstein. The album's dystopian artwork, created by Pär Oloffsson ( Exodus, Aborted, Pathology) depicts a mechanical landscape being reclaimed by new life, echoing the album's themes of renewal and aggression.
"This album represents a second spring for Rezet," says the band. "It's honest, direct and bursting with aggressiveness. We've never sounded fresher."
Tracklisting:
"Opus 1984.2"
"Time To Die"
"Unholy Grail"
"Duck & Cover"
"Burning Prophets"
"Together Apart"
"Prisoner Of Fate"
"Killing Spree"
"Atmosfear"
"True As Lies" (Feat. Lips from Anvil)
"World War Z"
"Into The Abyss"
Fresh off of their recent European tour with Skálmöld and Seven Spires, Vancouver-based blackened symphonic metal outfit Atavistia will release their new EP, Inane Ducam (translates to 'I Will Lead Into Nothingness'), on July 19, 2024. Featuring new guitarist Elia Baghbaniyan and bassist/vocalist Spencer Budworth, Inane Ducam seeks to explore different genres and styles while still maintaining the core Atavistia sound.
Band founder Mattias Sippola comments "Inane Ducam was an experimental writing process - lower tuning, the debut of Spencer’s fierce low growls, and tempos reaching close to 300BPM. During the Winter months of 2023, Vancouver experienced extremely dark, cold, and gloomy days which is an antidote to creating music like this."
Listen to the first single "Timeless Despair" here, and check out the video below.
Inane Ducam artwork and tracklisting:
"Inane Ducam"
"Timeless Despair"
"Dark Isolation"
"Unattained Creation"
"The Void"
Coming off two acclaimed studio albums ("Black Dawn", "Tightrope"),and an energized historic live album, "Birth Of Cactus", founding member and world-renowned drummer Carmine Appice returns with the ultimate tribute to his legendary rock band. "Temple of Blues - Influences And Friends" merges the members of CACTUS with a super ensemble of guest artists, all of whom have called the group among their biggest influences.
Once heralded by critics as America's answer to LED ZEPPELIN, CACTUS recorded four hard-rockin' albums for Atco Records before Appice and bassist Tim Bogert left to form their own supergroup: BECK, BOGERT & APPICE.
"The music of CACTUS has always been steeped in blues tradition," says Appice, who wanted the group to revisit its best songs within a modern rock approach to traditional blues. "We kept hearing from so many of our music celebrity friends how much CACTUS influenced them and how they would love to be a guest on a CACTUS album. Even our label president, Brian Perera from Cleopatra Records, suggested to us that this album happens. So, 'Temple Of Blues' was the logical next step."
"Temple of Blues - Influences And Friends" is set for release on June 7 2024 as a CD and also as double vinyl album. Featured along with the current CACTUS band is a who's who of blues and rock icons: guitarists Joe Bonamassa, Ted Nugent, Pat Travers, Warren Haynes, Vernon Reid, Steve Stevens, Johnny A (THE YARDBIRDS),Ty Tabor (KING'S X) and bassists Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG),Doug "Dug" Pinnick (KING'S X),Tony Franklin (THE FIRM, BLUE MURDER),Phil Soussan (OZZY OSBOURNE, BILLY IDOL),Rudy Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE),Kenny Aaronson (ex-Joan Jet and THE YARDBIRDS),as well as members of GOV'T MULE, VIXEN, RAINBOW, ZEBRA and WHITESNAKE. Vocalist Dee Snider of TWISTED SISTER appears on the band's remake of the Howlin' Wolf classic "Evil", and Appice's bandmate in VANILLA FUDGE, Mark Stein, turns in a powerful vocal on Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally". A second version of "Guiltless Glider" appears as a bonus track with former JUDAS PRIEST vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens. Another of Appice's musical partners, Fernando Perdomo, also appears on the new record.
In addition to Appice on drums on all tracks, original CACTUS guitarist Jim McCarty also appears on "Temple Of Blues". Current bandmembers, vocalist/guitarist and harmonica player Jim Stapley and bassist Jim Caputo, also appear on many of the tracks. Appice announced today a new member to the band's lineup: guitarist Artie Dillon will handle guitar duties for live tours and plays on one track for the new album. Founding member Jim McCarty currently contributes as a writing and recording member of CACTUS on occasion but no longer does live tours.
The current line-up of CACTUS came together in 2021. Lead vocalist Jim Stapley comes from England and had worked with ex-FACES/WHO drummer Kenny Jones in the JONES GANG and HUMBLE PIE.
"Nearly five decades after I formed this band, the time had come to re-invent CACTUS once again," says Appice, who also still drums for VANILLA FUDGE, the Appice Brothers "Drum Wars", and a hybrid tribute to former band leader Rod Stewart. Appice adds: "The music remains the same and CACTUS is still a 'hot and sweaty' band. The level, quality and consistence of the band's musicianship is as strong as ever."''
CACTUS has had a long and turbulent history. Formed in 1970 from the ashes of VANILLA FUDGE by Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert, the initial lineup also featured McCarty (from Mitch Ryder and THE BUDDY MILES EXPRESS) and AMBOY DUKES vocalist Rusty Day. While CACTUS saw success from the start and soon built a loyal fan base, by early 1973 the band had collapsed mainly due to lack of real support from its label and the fact that Jeff Beck was now ready play with Carmine and Tim in BECK, BOGERT & APPICE.
The band reformed in 2006, three decades after the tragic death of Rusty Day with Randy Pratt on harp (who also appears on this album) and Jimmy Kunes vocals. When the late Tim Bogert was forced into retirement due to complications after a serious motorcycle accident, Pete Bremy joined on bass before Caputo replaced him in 2020.
Now, with a powerful new lineup, CACTUS and an album the marries the band with some of the biggest names in rock and blues, embarks on a new and exciting musical journey to the "Temple Of Blues". This time around, the music is just as powerful as before — and bound to be just as successful "one way or another."
Dee Snider said: "Bass player Mark 'The Animal' Mendoza of TWISTED SISTER, turned me on to CACTUS. They were the hardest, heaviest, fastest (check out their version of 'Parchman Farm' live at the Isle Of Wight festival, if you want proof) band of their time, setting the standard for hard rock/heavy metal bands to come! I was hooked! (Thanks, Mark!)
"Cut to the early '90s and during rehearsals for our new project WIDOWMAKER, drummer Joe Franco and I play 'Evil' for the 'young guns' in our band and their minds are completely blown. The next rehearsal I walked into my them jamming 'Evil' like they'd discovered a new form of rock! I joined in on vocals, our producer heard us laying into it and said we had to put the song on our album ('Blood And Bullets'). 'Evil' became a staple of every live show we played over the next couple of years.
"To get a call from Carmine Appice asking me to sing this song on a CACTUS album is one of the highlights of my career. He told me I sounded more like the late great Rusty Day than anyone else he ever heard. Of course I do! You don't fuck with perfection!
"Thank you Rusty, Timmy, Carmine and Jim for showing me the way and allowing me (Carmine and Jim) the chance to do this. I am honored to rock with such greatness."
Doug Pinnick said: "It was 1971, LED ZEPPELIN, ZZ TOP, DEEP PURPLE and YES were my go-to bands, and one day I went to visit a musician friend who played me 'Long Tall Sally' by CACTUS. From the beginning [of] Jim's guitar intro, I was hooked. The riff was so heavy, and when Rusty sang the first verse, my mind was blown. A Little Richard cover!!!! The reason I play rock music was because of Little Richard. So I listened to the whole album. Great songwriting, Carmine's brutal drumming, Tim's bass and Jim's guitar playing, so inspirational they were. Rusty had a special knack for writing amazing, down-to-earth lyrics! I loved his voice. I learned to sing and play every song and I never looked back. These albums still stand the test of time. CACTUS is one of my all-time favorite bands. This is why I said 'yes' to playing on this record."
Track listing:
01. Parchman Farm [feat. Joe Bonamassa & Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG / DAVID LEE ROTH)]
02. Bro. Bill [feat. Randy Jackson (ZEBRA),Randy Pratt (CACTUS) & Bob Daisley (OZZY OSBOURNE)]
03. Guiltless Glider [feat. Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (GUNS N' ROSES) & Phil Soussan (OZZY OSBOURNE)]
04. Evil [feat. Dee Snider (TWISTED SISTER) & Doug Pinnick (KING'S X)]
05. One Way...Or Another [feat. Doug Pinnick (KING'S X) & Ted Nugent]
06. Alaska [feat. Johnny A. & Tony Franklin (THE FIRM)]
07. No Need To Worry [feat. Warren Haynes (GOV'T MULE) & Jorgen Carlsson (GOV'T MULE)]
08. Oleo [feat. Steve Stevens (Billy Idol) & Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG / DAVID LEE ROTH)]
09. Big Mama Boogie [feat. Pat Travers & James Caputo (CACTUS)]
10. You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover
11. Rock N' Roll Children [feat. Britt Lightning (VIXEN),Vernon Reid (LIVING COLOUR) & Rudy Sarzo (QUIET RIOT)]
12. Let Me Swim [feat. Doug Aldrich (WHITESNAKE) & Marco Mendoza (BLUE MURDER)]
13. Restrictions [feat. Ty Tabor (KING'S X) & Phil Soussan (OZZY OSBOURNE)]
14. Long Tall Sally [feat. Mark Stein (VANILLA FUDGE) & Fernando Perdomo]
Bonus track
15. Guiltless Glider [feat. Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST)]
Vampires Everywhere! are back for blood with "White Wedding" single release just in time for National Goth Day 2024.
Michael Vampire of Vampires Everywhere! says "When I was a young boy my mother used to play Billy Idol for me nonstop! His music is in my blood (no pun intended) and I'm beyond excited to share with the world my rendition of one of his most iconic songs 'White Wedding'. I remember seeing the OG version on MTV and being blown away! I wanted to make sure I did the song justice and pulled no stops setting up a music video that even Billy Idol would be proud of. I absolutely feel this is my best music video to date and I couldn't be more thankful to everyone that was involved.
“Alex from Black Wolf Imaging did a fantastic job bringing my vision to life and understanding the importance of storytelling in music videos. I wanted to pay homage to the classic movies that defined my childhood. Movies like "Carrie" and "Queen Of The Damned" helped inspire me to create something memorable. I've always been the underdog in the music industry and treated like Todd from "Wedding Crashers" haha! So I wanted the video to have the separation between the popular crowd and the so-called freaks. It was actually mind blowing to see the cast get so involved in the video and even genuinely clapping when the groom and bride get together in the end. It's amazing how powerful music can be and I'm proud to show the world my version of 'White Wedding'."
Vampires Everywhere! has toured with the likes of Motionless In White, Aiden, Alesana, Orgy, Filter, Falling In Reverse, Escape The Fate, and countless others. The band played festivals including Inkcarceration Fest, Dark Force Fest, South By SoWhat, HTP Fest, and many more!
The 2021 rebirth of the band has generated major attention and spawned a whole new generation of VE fans! Vampires Everywhere!'s cover of "Cry Little Sister" , the theme song from the 1987 cult classic film "The Lost Boys" earned a Top 40 spot on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart and Mediabase Rock Radio Charts. The song was also featured on the Paramount+ Hit TV Show "Burning Girls" in the UK. The band has just released their latest single; a cover of Billy Idol's "White Wedding".
Vicky Psarakis, former vocalist for The Agonist and currently fronting SickSense, has checked in with the following update:
"Hello friends! I'm alive and have some really cool stuff I'm working on behind the scenes.
Really happy to be sharing with you this feature I did on Nino Helfrich's upcoming collaboration album, Shadow Empress, which is due to be released August 23rd, 2024. The song tickles a lot of my roots with melodic death metal / early metalcore vibes, so writing the lyrics and vocal patterns for it came pretty naturally. Also, Nino killed it on the instrumental and mix. Go give him some love and support and blast "Our Remedy" on all distro platforms.
I have a lot more music I've been working on behind the scenes and can't wait to share with you all!"
Hard-hitting and melodic; pissed off and groovy; energetic and catchy: upon first listen, it is clear that Sicksense is all of these things. The band - comprised of vocalists Killer V (Vicky Psarakis) and Rob The Ripper (Robby J. Fonts), guitarist Breakdown Bran (Bran Panic), drummer The True Cody Taylor (Cody Taylor) and bassist Spot-On Sam/SOS (Samuel Bedard) – have released their new EP, Fools Tomorrow. It is now available here.
Fools Tomorrow tracklisting:
"Feed Them To The Wolves"
"Fools Tomorrow" (ft. Billy Grey)
"Invitation"
"Run And Hide"
"Erase, Rewind"
"Feed Them To The Wolves"
"Fools Tomorow"
Having both performed a range of styles in numerous heavy bands, Killer V and Rob The Ripper (who are married) wanted to return to a genre that’s close to their hearts, but also make music that is specifically written for two vocalists. Written with dual vocal interplay from a male / female perspective, their performance reflects a personal and fun side of them as people, but also tackles social and societal issues in the world today. Backed by guitarist Breakdown Bran (Bran Panic), drummer The Trve Cody Taylor (Cody Taylor) and bassist Spot-On Sam/SOS (Samuel Bedard), Sicksense would be born out of the band’s desire to share their upbeat and fun message with the world. Sicksense chooses musical inspiration from various bands and those influences shine through in their debut EP, Kings Today.
Sicksense is:
Killer V – Vocals/Keys
Rob The Ripper – Vocals
Breakdown Bran – Guitars
Spot-On Sam/SOS – Bass
The Trve Cody Taylor – Drums
AS I LAY DYING has released a new single, "Burden", via Napalm Records. Premiering with a high-energy music video, the song boasts gripping energy, charging in with the band's trademark breakneck intensity, soaring choruses and ingenious guitar soloing.
This track is just a taste of what's to come from AS I LAY DYING's next official release, and further bolsters the proven line-up of vocalist Tim Lambesis and guitarist Phil Sgrosso alongside drummer Nick Pierce (ex-UNEARTH),bassist vocalist Ryan Neff (MISS MAY I) and guitarist Ken Susi (ex-UNEARTH). "Burden" was co-produced by Phil Sgrosso and Hiram Hernandez, mixed by Aaron Chaparian and mastered by Ted Jensen.
The "Burden" release coincides with today's announcement of AS I LAY DYING's 2024 European headline tour, beginning this fall. The "Through Storms Ahead" trek kicks off on November 15, 2024 in Würzburg, Germany and will trek through several more countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden and Norway, coming to an end on December 15 in Oberhausen, Germany. The tour will feature support from CALIBAN, DECAPITATED and LEFT TO SUFFER. Tickets for this unrelenting lineup go on sale this Friday, May 24 at 11:00 a.m. CET.
Sgrosso says about the track and video: "It's a pretty special moment for us to finally share some new music! 'Burden' was originally inspired by a guitar melody I wrote years ago on an old demo, thinking that it was lost for good in the demo abyss. It wasn't until Tim dug it up and was inspired to shape a new song idea for it. The collaboration process with our co-producer Hiram Hernandez and new members brought new life to not only the song but the band as a whole, as we faced this new creative chapter together. Musically, we feel that 'Burden' represents a familiar part of our melodic history combined with a modern sense of energy and aggression. We really pushed ourselves to expand our musical capabilities in every department. We look forward to the addition of 'Burden' into our live show as well as introducing more music we've been working hard on over the past few years. Stay tuned.
"It was a phenomenal experience working with Tom Flynn on the video for 'Burden'. We were fans of his creative approach to modern music videos and could sense his high level of enthusiasm to deliver a video that would match the intensity of the song. He completely knocked it out of the park capturing the band performance and shaping a captivating concept which we will expand further into the release of our second single release..."
Sgrosso adds about the European tour: "Europe has become a second home to us so we always look forward to returning for a 'go big and go hard' headline tour. Traveling alongside us will be Germany's very own CALIBAN, Poland's finest death metal legends DECAPITATED, and the pummeling LEFT TO SUFFER. Each show will be a night to celebrate heavy music with the fans, let's make it a memorable one together."
AS I LAY DYING's "Through Storms Ahead" 2024 European tour with CALIBAN, DECAPITATED, LEFT TO SUFFER:
Before heading out on their European tour, AS I LAY DYING will lay waste to the USA with a stacked summer headline tour, featuring support from CHELSEA GRIN and ENTHEOS.
During an appearance on the Loaded Radio podcast, Lambesis was asked about the status of AS I LAY DYING's recently recorded new studio album. He said: "We've had this back and forth mixing the record, where the record has been done for quite a while and we're just trying to find the right representation of the sound. With modern music, there's so many… 'Cause classically, as an example, there used to be five or six guys that were great at mixing metal and now you have so many different approaches to it. And we're just really trying to find that sound where it marries together the nostalgic sound AS I LAY DYING is known for with a little bit of a modern twist to it. And for whatever reason, that part's been delaying the process, but the record's actually done. [It] just needs to finish the mix."
As if an album title has already been decided upon, Tim said: "Shoot. I wish I could actually give you the title. Unfortunately, Phil, our guitar player, and I have a slight disagreement over what the album title should be. We both love the same concept and we're just sort of toying with the words a little bit."
Regarding the sound of the upcoming AS I LAY DYING album, Tim said: "I wrote one of the heavy-leaning songs in the record. I feel like it's one of the heaviest songs that's ever been in the AS I LAY DYING catalog, and then Phil wrote a lot of melodic songs that are sort of… Both of us worked on some songs that are sort of in the middle, I guess you could say. And then he worked on a couple, I think, that stretch in a new sense of melody for us. It's not necessarily anything groundbreaking — it's not gonna shatter people's minds, like, 'Oh, my gosh. It barely sounds like AS I LAY DYING.' But just kind of stretch our sound a little bit in each direction."
Asked if working with this new lineup for AS I LAY DYING is "a breath of fresh air" for him, Tim said: "Yeah, a breath of fresh air is really the best way to describe it because you have this situation where Phil and I have been writing songs together for 20 years, or a little more than 20 years at this point, or, actually, about 20 exactly right now. And we have our method down, and that's been the same regardless of who's been in the band in terms of… When it comes to writing an album, the two of us feel a lot of pressures on our shoulders. And then sometimes you get guys in the band that, over time, and it's not a complaint, this just happens, this is natural, it's just, over time, they're not in the primary songwriting role and so they feel a little bit uninterested or fatigued or lose their passion over time because they're not part of the core songwriting. And I think what happens when these new guys have come in, not only are they able to kind of contribute to the way that they put their stamp on each song, but for Phil and I, we're thinking… Knowing how Nick Pierce plays drums, as an example, we can write songs around his ability as a drummer. And it kind of gives Phil and I this excitement for writing again. And then thinking about Ryan's voice, being a voice that's never been on an AS I LAY DYING record before as a second vocalist, and I start to think, like, 'Wow, I can really experiment and try all these different things.' And he's just down to do everything to try… Not all my ideas are good, but he's down to try a hundred different things. And he has just an incredible work ethic. So those are a couple of examples of why it feels refreshed and very exciting for Phil and I, even though the process is sort of the same in a lot of ways as well."
Asked if he still sometimes wishes that the classic lineup of AS I LAY DYING had stuck together and managed to move forward, Tim said: "Well, I will always owe a lot to the years of hard work we spent in a van in some of the earlier days and then, of course, in a bus touring together for so many years. And so for that reason, I do appreciate and have a great sense of gratitude for, I guess, what people call the classic lineup. In a behind-the-scenes kind of situation, I do feel like I don't really miss some of the behind-the-scenes stuff, and not because I have anything more to say, but I think over time people just, they can't keep the same sense of excitement about something when they're not putting their stamp on the sound creatively. And it's not that we were ever like closing the door for Nick [Hipa, former AS I LAY DYING guitarist] or Jordan [Mancino, former AS I LAY DYING drummer] to be able to write songs, as an example, but in reality, that just never happened. They weren't really a big part of the creative contribution. I think it just connects people differently. And so Phil and I end up more passionately connected because every song that comes out, there's a huge part of our creative output that's in that song. And I think it just makes us connected more uniquely. And with those guys, I think they lost the connection to the band over time. And then it just became more about like interpersonal issues that every band has. And that's not fun to focus on. So I enjoy this new era where everybody just shows up to the studio shows up to a live show and is just excited to be there. And, it makes me feel like I'm in my twenties again."
Pressed about whether he still communicates with Jordan or Nick at all, Tim said: "We actually all live in the same city — well, the greater San Diego area. And surprisingly, we don't run into each other much. My door is open. I'm probably an overcommunicator [laughs], so if they ever wanted to talk. I'd probably be willing to talk, or listen or whatever — just in terms of just general communication. I'm just interested… 'Cause I think that if you haven't talked to somebody in a year, as an example — I haven't talked to either of those guys in a year, as an example — and so much happens in life. People can have drastic life events and things that have affected them personally. And even if we feel like we've gotten to the bottom of everything, we have no reason to really keep rehashing or talking about old issues, I think there's always something new and exciting to talk about. So my door's open. But we haven't talked in quite a while."
Last June, Tim told Graspop Metal Meeting about AS I LAY DYING's upcoming LP: "We partly self-produced [it], and then we also worked with another producer. So we spent about a year working on the album by ourselves before we gave it to the producer."
Regarding how the addition of new members Pierce, Neff and Susi has affected AS I LAY DYING's sound, Tim said: "Well, [Nick, Ryan and Ken are] new for us, but, obviously, the guys have been around playing music for 20 years themselves. We're familiar, just having spent so much time with UNEARTH, and then MISS MAY I having a pretty similar sound.
"The songwriting within AS I LAY DYING has historically been mostlyPhil and I," he continued. "Josh [Gilbert], our previous bass player, helped. But the core of the songwriting is the same. So this additional layer that we get from these new guys is almost like breathing fresh new air… a breath of fresh air."
In September 2022, Lambesis addressed AS I LAY DYING's lineup changes in an interview with Metalshop TV. He said: "I think for our fans, they think that the changes happened all in a very short period of time, but they actually happened over [a period of] two years. The first change was on guitar we invited Ken Susi to fill in for us. And that was [around 2020] that we invited him. But then, of course, the pandemic happened and so we had a lot of breaks until we had a tour again. So Ken's been rehearsing with us, or talking about rehearsing with us, for [a] couple of years. And on drums we have Nick Pierce, who joined us. Nick Pierce was previously in UNEARTH; Ken is from UNEARTH as well. And Nick stopped playing with UNEARTH and coincidentally at the same time we needed a drummer, because our previous drummer hadn't been communicating with us; he went very isolated once the pandemic hit. And so there wasn't an argument or anything like that; it was just a situation where when the pandemic hit, he decided to take a new direction in life and kind of cut himself off from the rest of us. And we decided we wanted to keep going forward. Phil and I had been the ones writing the songs all these years, so when Nick Pierce left UNEARTH, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to have him perform with us. And then Ryan came from MISS MAY I. He was the last guy to come in. And he didn't come in until a couple of months ago. Our bass player, Josh, previously left, and he's with SPIRITBOX now. And when he decided to go perform with SPIRITBOX, we called up Ryan, who was with MISS MAY I. And Ryan Neff was on tour at the time. And then we asked him, 'Can you start touring with us as soon as this tour is over?' And he said, 'Well, I'm only gonna have three days off to rehearse in between tours.' He said, 'If you guys want me to do it, I'll make sure I come prepared.' And he had a lot to learn in three days, but he pulled it together. He's a very, very hard-working guy."
AS I LAY DYING's new album will be the follow-up to "Shaped By Fire", which came out in September 2019 via Nuclear Blast.
In June 2022, Mancino announced that he would sit out AS I LAY DYING's tour due to "a number of ongoing internal issues" that "have not yet been resolved."
Mancino's announcement came less than a month after Josh revealed that he was leaving the band. In a statement, the remaining members of AS I LAY DYING said that Gilbert "decided to exit" the group "to pursue other musical opportunities."
Josh was the second AS I LAY DYING member to leave the band in less than a year. In August 2021, Hipa confirmed his exit from AS I LAY DYING, explaining that he could no longer justify being part of "a superficial pursuit" of the "story and meaning" that the band's 2018 reunion was built upon.
Lambesis was famously convicted in 2014 for his role in a murder-for-hire plot against his estranged wife.
In May 2014, Lambesis was sentenced to six years in jail after pleading guilty to paying a San Diego police officer posing as a hitman $1,000 to kill his wife. Approximately two and a half years later — on December 17, 2016 — he was discharged from a California detention facility and was transferred to the Division of Adult Parole Operations.
In June 2018, AS I LAY DYING played its first show with Lambesis in five years and released a new single. Lambesis also owned up to his crimes in a long apology on the band's Facebook page after his release.
The return of AS I LAY DYING raised some questions, particularly since Hipa categorically denounced the band's disgraced frontman as a "sociopathic narcissist in definite need of rehabilitation" in a social-media post back in 2014.
In September 2021, AS I LAY DYING released a new song called "Roots Below" which was originally a B-side leftover from when the sessions for "Shaped By Fire".
Former Sabaton guitarist / Majestica frontman Tommy Johansson has shared his weekly cover, this time putting a metal twist on the ABBA classic, "Money Money Money", released in 1976.
Last week, Johansson shared his metal cover of the Ace Of Base hit, "All That She Wants", from 1992. Check out the video below.
Ayreon performed at 013 in Tilburg, Holland on September 15, 16 and 17, 2023, bringing the album 01011001 to the stage. A live Blu-Ray and CD from the show was released on May 17. Order here, and watch a video for "Fate Of Man", below.
Mastermind Arjen Lucassen comments:
"And here's the final preview video from the last Ayreon Live beneath The Waves DVD/BluRay: 'Fate of Man'. Maybe it's weird to not pick a song from the 01011001 album, but this song really stood out for me... such energy on stage! The band is just amazing as we all know, I'll never know how they manage to play this complicated song with such unflappable ease. And what about these breath-taking vocals from Brittney Slayes? She's unbelievable, right? Let me know if you agree... thanks and enjoy!"
01011001 - Live Beneath The Waves formats:
- Artbook (Webshop only) - 2CD+2DVD + Bluray incl. Behind The Scenes (BTS)
- 3LP - Green vinyl
- 2CD+DVD: Full show on 2CD and DVD
- Blu-ray: Full show + BTS
"The Sixth Extinction" video:
01011001 - Live Beneath The Waves features the following performers:
Original 01011001 cast:
Hansi Kürsch
Tom Englund
Daniel Gildenlow
Jonas Renkse
Anneke van Giersbergen
Simone Simons
Wudstik
Marjan Welman
Liselotte Hegt
Maggy Luyten
Phideaux Xavier
Arjen Lucassen (yeah, sorry for that)
Special guests:
Damian Wilson
Brittney Slayes
Michael Mills
John Jaycee Cuijpers
Backing vocals:
Marcela Bovio
Irene Jansen
Jan Willem Ketelaers
Band:
Marcel Coenen - guitar
Timo Somers - guitar
Johan van Stratum - bass
Joost van den Broek - keys
Ed Warby - drums
Richmond, Virginia metal-punk trio Bat welcomes the release of their second full-length album Under The Crooked Claw via Nuclear Blast Records. The brainchild of Municipal Waste guitarists Ryan Waste & Nick Poulos, Bat ascended from the underground a decade ago on a dark, leather-winged trajectory. The band delivers their own blood-spattered horror leaning heavily on the dirtier side of speed metal.
To celebrate the release, Bat offers fans the single, “Revenge Of The Wolf”. The band once again returned to horror director Norman Cabrera to create the perfect visuals. The video included cinematography completed by Rob Lucas, editing handled by Mike Mendez, and Maya Kay was responsible for the production.
Ryan Waste states, "The wait is finally over as our creation takes flight, sinking its claws into the airwaves. It was a true test of our will, caging this beast for what felt like an eternity. I’d especially like to thank my bandmates, Nick and Chris for their hard work and patience through the entire process. We wrote these songs during grim times and their ferocity is certainly emulated by that. Unleashing these tales of terror gives me a sense of fulfillment that is completely unmatched.”
Chris Marshall states, “I still bear the scars from The Claw.”
Nick Poulos comments, “From note to note, speed on speed, to say I’m proud of Under The Crooked Claw is an absolute understatement. We poured our hearts, minds, and souls into this record and I’m so proud of what we accomplished. My favorite Bat offering to date!”
Order/stream Under The Crooked Claw at this location.
The power trio, completed by drummer Chris Marshall, decamped to Philadelphia in June 2021 where Arthur Rizk recorded the basic tracks for Under The Crooked Claw. Yavé Rust tracked lead guitars and vocals later when the band was back in Richmond, ultimately to be mixed by Rizk and mastered by Joel Grind. The artwork for the album was inked by Brandon Holt and colored by Margaret Rolicki.
Jam-packed with tight, concise songs loaded with punchy choruses and lightning-laced leads, each of the 13 tracks offers a new horror short story mixing the perfect blend of heavy metal, punk, and rock ‘n’ roll or as Waste coins it "primitive heavy speed".
Tracklisting:
“Una torcia illumina il cielo”
“Vampyre Lore”
“Rite For Exorcism”
“Streetbanger”
“Just Buried”
“Warshock”
“Horror Vision”
“Battered”
“Revenge Of The Wolf”
“Marauders Of Doom”
“Electric Warning”
“Bastardized Force”
“Final Strike”
“Streetbanger” video:
“Rite For Exorcism” video:
Headlining dates:
May
30 – St. Louis, MO – The Sinkhole
31 – Omaha, NE – Reverb Lounge
June
2 – Denver, CO – The Crypt
3 – Salt Lake City, UT – Aces High Saloon
June (supporting Necrot)
5 – Berkeley, CA – The Cornerstone
6 – Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room
7 – Los Angeles, CA – First St. Billiards
8 – San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick
9 – Phoenix, AZ – Nile Underground
10 – Albuquerque, NM – The Launchpad
12 – Austin, TX – Parish
13 – Dallas, TX – Three Links
14 – San Antonio, TX – Vibes Underground
18 – Tampa, FL – Orpheum
19 – Orlando, FL – Will’s Pub
20 – Atlanta, GA – Boggs Special
21 – Columbia, SC – New Brookland Tavern
22 – Raleigh, NC – Chapel Of Bones
23 – Pittsburgh, PA – Cattivo
24 – Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery
25 – Bensalem, PA – Broken Goblet
26 – Brooklyn, NY – The Meadows
27 – Boston, MA – Sonia
The story of Loverboy is akin to a Hollywood movie. Overcoming rejection to eventually become one of Canada's most successful rock bands of all time and selling millions of albums in the process is a feel-good story for the ages.
For more than 40 years, Loverboy have been "Working For The Weekend" (and on the weekend), delighting audiences around the world since forming in 1979.
The year 1982 represented a triumphant 12 months for the rock band with extremely successful arena shows in the course of their second studio album, the multi-platinum awarded US Top 10 record Get Lucky (featuring various hit singles such as the aforementioned "Working For The Weekend," "When It's Over," "Lucky Ones," and "Take Me To The Top"), and winning no less than six Canadian JUNO Awards — a record that still stands today.
Today's release of their 1982 live performance "Working For The Weekend" is another exciting foretaste of the incredible live show Live In '82 becoming available for the very first time in high definition on June 7.
June 7 sees the release of Live In '82 on limited CD+Blu-ray, limited LP+DVD as well as digital streaming and download. Pre-order the live album here
Tracklisting:
"Intro" (LP Side A)
"Jump"
"Lucky Ones"
"Lady Of The 80'’s"
"Take Me To The Top"
"It’s Your Life"
"Gangs In The Street" (LP Side B)
"Turn Me Loose"
"The Kid Is Hot Tonight"
"When It's Over"
"Working For The Weekend"
Loverboy will embark on a Live Nation promoted North American tour supporting Sammy Hagar, starting in July. Tour dates can be found here.
Foreigner recently announced the next leg of their farewell tour this fall, with special guests Loverboy and Lita Ford on select dates. Tickets at Ticketmaster.com or Foreigneronline.com.
"It’s not very often you get a chance to play on the same stage as one of your all-time favorite bands...and how many hit songs can you play on the same stage every night of a tour?... it’s going to be amazing... I can’t wait," said Mike Reno of Loverboy.
Check out the tour at any of the stops listed below.
September
23 - Charleston, WV - Charleston Civic Center (Special Guest Loverboy)
25 - Peoria, IL - Peoria Civic Center Arena (Special Guest Loverboy)
27 - Duluth, MN - Amsoil Arena (Special Guest Lita Ford)
28 - Mankato, MN - Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center (Special Guest Lita Ford)
October
1 - Casper, WY - Ford Wyoming Center (Special Guest Loverboy)
2 - Colorado Springs, CO - Sunset Amphitheater (Special Guest Loverboy)
4 - Camdenton, MO - Ozarks Amphitheater (Special Guest Loverboy)
5 - Bonner Springs, KS - Azura Amphitheater (Special Guest Loverboy)
8 - Rio Rancho, NM - Rio Rancho Event Center (Special Guest Loverboy)
9 - Las Cruces, NM – Pan American Center (Special Guest Loverboy)
Legendary hard rockers AC/DC kicked off their "Power Up" European tour last Friday night (May 17) in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Fan-filmed video of the entire concert can now be seen below.
The debut show of the band's first full tour since 2016 took place at the 62,000-capacity Veltins-Arena and saw AC/DC deliver a 24-song set that began with "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" and closed with "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)".
The Gelsenkirchen show marked AC/DC's first with the band's new touring lineup consisting of singer Brian Johnson, guitarists Angus and Stevie Young, drummer Matt Laug and the latest addition to the group's touring lineup, bassist Chris Chaney.
Featured songs in video below:
01. Intro + If You Want Blood (You've Got It) 0:00 - 6:18
02. Back In Black 6:19 - 10:03
03. Demon Fire 10:04 - 13:40
04. Shot Down In Flames 13:41 - 16:57
05. Thunderstruck 16:58 - 22:10
06. Have A Drink On Me 22:11 - 26:44
07. Hells Bells 26:45 - 31:37
08. Shot In The Dark 31:38 - 34:42
09. Stiff Upper Lip 34:43 - 38:20
10. You Shook Me All Night Long 38:21 - 42:09
11. Rock 'N' Roll Train 42:10 - 46:19
12. Shoot To Thrill 46:20 - 51:43
13. Sin City 51:44 - 56:35
14. Givin The Dog A Bone 56:36 - 1:00:20
15. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap 1:00:21 - 1:04:50
16. Dog Eat Dog 1:04:51 - 1:09:14
17. High Voltage 1:09:15 - 1:14:45
18. Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be 1:14:46 - 1:18:56
19. Riff Raff 1:18:57 - 1:24:29
20. Highway To Hell 1:24:30 - 1:28:25
21. Whole Lotta Rosie 1:28:26 - 1:34:14
22. Let There Be Rock (with Angus guitar solo) 1:34:15 - 1:51:16
23. Encore: T.N.T. 1:51:17 - 1:55:03
24. Encore: For Those About To Rock (We Salute You) + Outro 1:55:04 - 2:02:42
The 24-date "Power Up" European tour will run through August. The trek will hit Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Switzerland before landing at London's Wembley Stadium for a pair of shows on July 3 and 7, then moving on to Germany, Slovakia and Paris and winding down at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. The European tour is the first run of gigs since AC/DC's return to the stage at last year's rock Power Trip festival in Indio, California.
AC/DC's last tour took place in 2015 and 2016 and had a $180 million gross, with 2,310,061 sold tickets reported to the Pollstar box office.
Laug is an American drummer who has played with many bands/artists such as Alanis Morissette, Alice Cooper, SLASH'S SNAKEPIT and Vasco Rossi. Matt moved to Los Angeles after graduating from South Florence High School in 1986 and after attending college in L.A., Matt became a sought-after studio drummer.
In 2001, Laug supported AC/DC as part of SLASH'S SNAKEPIT on the North American and European legs of the "Stiff Upper Lip" tour.
In its announcement about Laug's addition to the band's Power Trip lineup, AC/DC offered no explanation for the absence of the band's longtime drummer Phil Rudd, who rejoined AC/DC for the recording of the group's comeback album, "Power Up", which came out in November 2020.
Rudd was ousted from AC/DC when he was sentenced to eight months of home detention by a New Zealand court in 2015 after pleading guilty to charges of threatening to kill and drug possession. He was replaced on the band's "Rock Or Bust" tour by Chris Slade, who had previously served as AC/DC's drummer between 1989 and 1994, playing on the album "The Razor's Edge".
Rudd, who appeared on all but three of AC/DC's 18 previous studio albums, toured in support of his 2014 solo debut, "Head Job". It was the release of that album that led indirectly to Rudd's arrest, with the drummer allegedly so angry at a personal assistant over the way the record was promoted that he threatened to have the man and his daughter killed.
AC/DC postponed the last 10 dates of its spring 2016 North American trek after Johnson was advised to stop playing live or "risk total hearing loss." The band went on to complete the European and North American legs of its "Rock Or Bust" tour with GUNS N' ROSES frontman Axl Rose as a "guest vocalist." At the time, Johnson had been AC/DC's singer for 36 years, ever since replacing the late Bon Scott in 1980 and making his debut on the classic "Back In Black" album.
To enable him to perform live with AC/DC again, the now-76-year-old Johnson worked with audio expert Stephen Ambrose, who said he could help resolve the singer's hearing problems.
Ambrose, who invented the wireless in-ear monitors that are widely used by touring artists today, claimed to have invented a new type of ear-bud that would allow Johnson to perform without causing further damage to his eardrums. After three years of experimenting and "miniaturizing" the equipment, Johnson previously said the technology could allow him to tour again.
Chaney is best known as the bassist of JANE'S ADDICTION and as a member of Alanis Morissette's touring and recording band. Chaney was also a member of TAYLOR HAWKINS AND THE COATTAIL RIDERS and CAMP FREDDY, as well as being a prolific and versatile session musician, having played with artists including Joe Cocker, Shakira, Slash and Avril Lavigne to Sara Bareilles, Gavin Degraw, Cher, SHINEDOWN and Celine Dion. Chaney is also a founding member and partner in the all-star supergroup ROYAL MACHINES along with Dave Navarro (JANE'S ADDICTION),Mark McGrath (SUGAR RAY),Josh Freese (FOO FIGHTERS) and Billy Morrison (BILLY IDOL).
Bassist Cliff Williams announced his retirement at the end of AC/DC's 2015-2016 "Rock Or Bust" tour, which also saw Johnson leaving. However, Williams — and Johnson — took part in the recording sessions that resulted in "Power Up". Both of them were also part of the AC/DC lineup that performed at Power Trip.
During an October 2020 interview with Dean Delray's "Let There Be Talk" podcast, Cliff was asked if Johnson's departure from the road was what led to his desire to stop touring. Cliff responded: "It was before then. I spoke to Angus about it initially. I was at a point — and this is at the beginning of the 'Rock Or Bust' tour — that I just felt, for me, it was time to hang it up. I knew that I didn't wanna keep doing these two-year tours, and I didn't wanna hold them back, so I made them aware of the fact that this was gonna be my last go-round. It was a tough tour to finish. God bless Axl for coming in and helping us out, finish it up. He did a great job. And at the end of that, I was definitely — that was it for me. Done — just done. That compounded the whole thing."
According to Williams, he wanted to take part in the recording sessions for "Power Up" as a tribute to Angus's late brother, founding AC/DC rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, who died in 2017 from effects of dementia at age 64. Malcolm is credited as a writer on all 12 tracks on "Power Up".
"If 'Back In Black' has [late AC/DC singer] Bon Scott all over it, for me, 'Power Up' has got Malcolm Young," Cliff said. "This is for him. And it's the band that we played together with for 40-plus years. And I wanted to do that — I wanted to come back and do that.
"We did some rehearsals earlier [in 2020] before this darn COVID thing popped up, and we had great rehearsals," he continued. "The band was playing really well. So [they asked me], 'Do you wanna do a few shows? 'Sure'. A few shows. We were planning on doing that. Everyone goes home to their respective homes, and bang, we've been here ever since [because of the coronavirus-related shutdown]."
Cliff went on to confirm that his commitment to AC/DC was only for "a few" dates in support of "Power Up".
"For both [my mental and physical] health," he said. "I definitely have some physical issues, which I won't bore you with the details of. But, yeah, it's tough. I'm very grateful for everything. It's been fantastic. But I just don't wanna do that anymore."
Williams previously revealed that a "terrible" bout with vertigo contributed to his 2016 retirement. He also admitted the return of both Johnson and drummer Phil Rudd convinced him to rejoin the group. "It was like the old band back together," he told Rolling Stone. "It was not like starting over again, but as close to the band that's been together for 40-plus years as we can possibly make it. I didn't want to miss that."
The follow-up to 2014's "Rock Or Bust", "Power Up" was recorded over a six-week period in August and September 2018 at Warehouse Studios in Vancouver with producer Brendan O'Brien, who also worked 2008's "Black Ice" and "Rock Or Bust".
Japanese metal band Bridear have announced their new album Born Again out June 28 via Psychomanteum Records. The album will be released on CD and all streaming platforms, with a vinyl release later in the year. A CD and merchandise bundle is available to preorder now at psychoshop.net.
Marking the announcement the band have released a video for the powerful lead track ‘Still Burning’. With pounding drums, incendiary guitars and ferocious growls, all alongside an infectious anthemic chorus, Bridear delivers a scorching first taste of the upcoming record.
The quintet from Fukuoka, Japan jetted out to Gothenburg, Sweden to record their sixth studio album with the legendary metal producer Fredrik Nordström (In Flames, At the Gates, HammerFall, Bring me the Horizon) at Studio Fredman.
The video for ‘Still Burning’ was also filmed in Gothenburg and gives a taste of their epic live performances, captured by Patric Ullaeus (Amaranthe, Dimmu Borgir, Arch Enemy).
Lead singer Kimi comments, “We are very honoured to work with Fredrik Nordström on ‘Born Again’. He has worked with the top names in metal and we are proud he wanted to produce the album! Working with Patric Ullaeus on the video was also a great privilege. I think it shows us moving up to the next level. It captures the energy of this album and presents us in such a powerful way!”
Fredrik Nordström adds, “I really enjoyed working with Bridear. ‘Born Again’ is for sure in my Top 5 albums of my career! They are an amazing band and this is a world-class album.”
Bridear deliver a mission statement of raw and unapologetic heavy metal on Born Again. It is the ultimate showcase of their unique blend of captivating melodies and intense atmosphere alongside unforgiving no-holds-barred walls of mighty riffs, epic solos and bone crushing drums. The album also features the band’s first ever guest with Dream Evil’s Nick Night providing his high-flying vocals on “Die Like This” which closes the record.
Born Again is sure to see the band continue their trajectory into the upper echelons of metal worldwide.
Tracklisting:
“Still Burning”
“Braver Worlds”
“Born Again”
“Cult”
“Empty Mind”
“Scar Of Reunion”
“Real Is Real”
“Fight It Down”
“No Angels”
“Die Like This”
Technical death metal quintet, Cognitive, has unleashed their new video for “Insidious.” The rampaging new track comes by way of the band’s Abhorrence full-length, released May 17 on Metal Blade Records.
Abhorrence finds the New Jersey powerhouse at their brutal best. Abhorrence carries on band tradition with its a maniacal fusion of relentless riffs and thoughtful, devastating lyrics making for a raging, draining, and ultimately fulfilling experience.
An exercise in aural turbulence, each track on Abhorrence takes its listener on a magnificently traumatic journey. “Our lyrics for this record are all over the place,” notes guitarist Rob Wharton. “There’s some stuff about video games and addiction and mental health. To me, that’s the kind of subject matter that hits home because everyone’s got stuff going on in their lives. It’s relatable.”
Comments Wharton on “Insidious,” “A finger-fancy opening soon leads to slam-heavy grooves and well-articulated vocals, with lyrics about addiction, and a chorus/breakdown that always comes back for more.”
Abhorrence will be released on CD and digital formats as well as vinyl in the following color variants:
- Crimson Void (US retail)
- Gilded Abyss (EU + US Metal Blade Webstore - Ltd. 400)
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