California rock veterans BUCKCHERRY will release their eleventh album, "Roar Like Thunder", on June 13. The official music video for the LP's title track was filmed in Los Angeles by director Tom Flynn and can be seen below.
As with 2023's "Vol. 10" and 2021's "Hellbound", "Roar Like Thunder" was recorded in Nashville at Sienna Studios and helmed by producer and songwriter-for-hire Marti Frederiksen, who has previously collaborated with AEROSMITH, DEF LEPPARD, Jonny Lang and Sheryl Crow, among many others. All 10 tracks were written by BUCKCHERRY vocalist Josh Todd, BUCKCHERRY guitarist Stevie Dacanay (a.k.a. Stevie D.) and Frederiksen.
"Roar Like Thunder" will be released in North America by Round Hill Records, in Japan by Sony Japan and in the remainder of the world by Earache Records.
"Roar Like Thunder" track listing:
01. Roar Like Thunder
02. When The Sun Goes Down
03. Come On
04. Talking Bout Sex
05. Blackout
06. I Go Boom
07. Set It Free
08. Hello Goodbye
09. Machine Gun
10. Let It Burn
In a recent interview with Stefs Rock Show, Dacanay stated about the making of "Roar Like Thunder": "Josh and I usually start a year before the recording process. We start demoing here [at my home studio in Los Angeles]. And we'll do it on the road. I have a road rig that I bring with [me], and we just start documenting ideas. And then what we do, we set aside a few weeks somewhere along the way and we get with our producer, Marti Frederiksen. He's become like the sixth member of the band… And when we write with Marti, he's in Nashville, so we fly out there in between tours. And what we do is we take all these ideas and we kind of flesh them out more. So from, let's say, 20 ideas, we'll kind of whittle those down to eight, nine, and we'll have songwriting sessions and come up with 10 songs for an album."
In January, Josh told TalkShopLive about "Roar Like Thunder": "It's really great. It's a rocking record from beginning to end. You guys are gonna really love it. We labored over the songwriting for a long time, and it's a lot of fun from beginning to end."
In December, Todd told Indie Power TV about BUCKCHERRY's working relationship with Frederiksen: "Yeah, our relationship with Marti goes way back. We co-wrote 'Sorry' with Marti way back on [the] '15' [album], and then 'Black Butterfly' and 'Confessions'. Marti was all part of all that. It's just unfortunate that we didn't get to continue with him because of the politics in B.C. at the time. So, long story short, it's been great to be back with him. I don't ever wanna do a record without him, and he knows that. He understands this band for what's special about BUCKCHERRY, bringing out those elements in us. I think we bring out elements in him that he likes, and we work as a team. We do what's best for the song. We leave the egos at the door and we get to it and we always make great stuff. So it's been a lot of fun making records."
He added: "And [Marti's] got a mini-me. His son is Evan Frederiksen, and he's on this record too. And he was on the last record, and he's really so Marti-ish. And he's gonna be a big player down the line too. He's great. He's very talented. And just like Marti — Marti started on drums; that was his instrument. And then [Marti] eventually got into songwriting, and he can play guitar and he sings and he does it all. He's always writing with somebody at all times, so he's just a wealth of information. And I always learn so much doing records with him."
In November, Dacanay told Shawn Ratches of Laughingmonkeymusic about BUCKCHERRY's working relationship with Marti: "We've known him for a very long time. About 20 years ago, he co-wrote [the song] 'Sorry' and then produced the 'Black Butterfly' album after that. So we've known him since then, but we got together with him for [2021's] 'Hellbound' album. We reconnected and, in my opinion, we've done some stuff, sonically and musically, that's been really great. And I love the process. I love coming here [to his studio in Nashville] and working with him. It's such an inspiring kind of environment. And there's a lot of history here at the studio and the vibe here just is real conducive to creating. But yeah, working with Marti, and his son now is an integral part of this camp, a lot gets done pretty quickly. And, yeah, I can't say enough good stuff about this place."
Dacanay went on to speak in more detail about the BUCKCHERRY songwriting process, saying: "There's a considerable amount of preparation before we actually get in here to track the album. So we'll spend the year writing and demoing songs, and then we'll pick out the songs we wanna focus on. And then I'll make a demo of the 10 songs and give 'em to the rest of the guys — Kelly [LeMieux, bass], Francis [Ruiz, drums] and Billy [Rowe, guitar]. They'll learn the songs in kind of what they wanna do their parts. And then we'll all fly in… What happened this time is we all flew in pretty early in the morning and just started cranking it out. And these guys are — they're crackerjacks. So they can get in and do their respective parts in a day, 10 songs, and then their second day would be about just touch-ups or revisions or something like that. But each guy knocks his parts out in a couple days. So they were in and out of here in four or five days, I believe. We had two studios going. There's four studios here. So at one point we'll have two rooms going — one with, let's say Billy's in one room and Kelly's in another tracking or Francis. Francis, at one point, was the only one… When he starts it off, there's nothing else to start recording, so Francis goes first and knocks out the majority of it, and then everyone else just starts jumping in."
"Vol. 10" came out in June 2023. The 11-song LP featured 10 new BUCKCHERRY originals and, as a bonus track, a cover of the Bryan Adams classic "Summer Of 69".
In November 2023, BUCKCHERRY released a new holiday song called "Tell 'Em It's Christmas".
BUCKCHERRY previously released another holiday song, "Christmas Is Here", back in 2010.
In the summer of 2020, BUCKCHERRY recruited JETBOY's Rowe as its new guitarist. He joined the group as the replacement for Kevin Roentgen, who left BUCKCHERRY in July of that year.
In 2019, BUCKCHERRY enlisted Ruiz as its new drummer. He joined the group as the replacement for Sean Winchester, who exited BUCKCHERRY after laying down the drum tracks on "Warpaint".
The 20th-anniversary deluxe edition of the double-platinum BUCKCHERRY album "15" on physical and digital formats arrived on January 17 via Endurance Music Group. Originally released in 2005, the album featured the four-times-platinum single "Crazy Bitch" and the two-times-platinum single "Sorry". The deluxe edition was issued in North America on a two-vinyl-LP format featuring the album's 11 original songs as well as four bonus tracks recorded in 2005 and three newly recorded acoustic tracks by Todd and Dacanay.
BUCKCHERRY will perform the "15" album in its entirety on all 2025 tour dates which begin in March.
ENVY OF NONE, the band featuring Alex Lifeson (RUSH),Andy Curran (CONEY HATCH),Alfio Annibalini and singer Maiah Wynne, has released the official music video for the song " The Story". The track is taken from ENVY OF NONE's second album, "Stygian Wavz", which is being available today (Friday, March 14) via Kscope.
Wynne states: "I wrote about wanting to be better, to grow, and the sense of desperation that comes with that desire. To me, the song is about the struggle of not being able to break bad cycles. I had been stuck for a very long time and was trying to be better. I think it's a theme a lot of people can connect with in some way. Whether it's habits, addiction, self-sabotage or just unhealthy patterns, we all are trapped by something we are trying to break away from. If I had the power to write my own story, I'd want to be the hero, but so often I am my own villain."
Though they'd never describe themselves as such, ENVY OF NONE are the living, breathing definition of a supergroup. No other band on earth could rightly claim to have Lifeson — one of rock's most influential visionaries — heading up guitar duties, with Curran of CONEY HATCH and SOHO 69 overseeing bass/programming as well as producer extraordinaire Alfio Annibalini on keyboards. However, the star in this band could very well be its youngest member — American singer-songwriter Maiah Wynne — whose wonderfully emotive vocals are able to spin the music in new exciting directions that thrill to the core.
On their self-titled debut of 2022, the group were able to prove that they were a lot more than the sum of their parts, with an abundance of panache and finesse poured into a contemporary alt rock sound that was hard to predict and even harder to categorize. This year's sophomore release, "Stygian Wavz", is the sound of a band basking in the radiant glow of creative confidence and coming into their own, staggering the listener with every twist and turn encased within their heady mix of genre-splicing brilliance.
"Stygian Wavz" track listing:
01. Not Dead Yet [03:29]
02. The Story [04:41]
03. Under The Stars [04:32]
04. Thrill Of The Chase [03:40]
05. Handle With Care [04:14]
06. That Was Then [03:46]
07. Raindrops [03:33]
08. New Trip [03:55]
09. Clouds [04:02]
10. The End [03:58]
11. Stygian Waves [03:37]
"Stygian Wavz" was released on a selection of formats, including colored vinyl, standard black vinyl, CD, Blu-ray, digitally and as a special deluxe edition boxset.
Nuclear Blast Records is proud to welcome Missouri’s burgeoning extreme metal wrecking crew, Disembodied Tyrant, to the label’s thriving roster. With one of the most distinct new sounds in heavy music, the volatile four-piece have already amassed a global cult following with their intense amalgam of blackened deathcore and progressive symphonic metal.
In the span of only a few short years, Disembodied Tyrant has released a handful of singles and an EP that have garnered millions of streams, while performing a mind-blowing set at New England Metal & Hardcore Festival and North American tour with Fleshgod Apocalypse and Shadow Of Intent that have sparked a firestorm of anticipation for what’s next for the band.
Commenting on the signing to Nuclear Blast, founding songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Blake Mullens says: “It’s an honor to be joining the Nuclear Blast roster, alongside some of my all time favorite bands/artists. Disembodied Tyrant has only ever been supported by myself internally, and to now have an entire team behind us is a dream come true, I’m very eager for what the future holds!”
Nuclear Blast America’s label manager and head of A&R, Tommy Jones adds: “I’ve never signed an artist that never played a show live, until Disembodied Tyrant. I just felt so solid on their music and their team, that I rolled the dice. I saw the band’s 8th show ever at New England Metal and Hardcore Fest while they were supporting Fleshgod Apocalypse. After the performance, I hugged Blake and said in his ear ‘thank you for confirming my decision’. The world is not ready for the insanity of Disembodied Tyrant, but you don’t have a choice. It’s about to get disgusting.”
Along with the signing announcement, comes the brand new single “8.6 Blackout”; an unrelenting track of raging chaos.
Mullens says of the song: “This song was one of those rarities where the vision stayed consistent throughout the entire process, it became exactly what I imaged it would from day one. This is a huge pivot thematically from the previous material, coupled with the video I think it’s quite the statement.”
Over the last year, the Tom Petty Estate has been opening their vault and sharing previously unreleased music and never-before-seen, newly remastered film from Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers’ prolific 1982 to ’83 era.
Today, the Petty Legacy archives have released their latest unearthed musical treasure, a newly restored video of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers performing a rollicking cover of The Troggs’ classic “Wild Thing” at the Los Angeles-based studio The Record Plant in 1982.
Directed by Justin Kreutzmann, the video, which boasts newly remastered audio, features footage of the band’s performance at The Record Plant, filmed for the French TV program, “Houba Houba,” alongside never-before-seen bonus footage originally captured by Cameron Crowe for his 1983 film, Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party. The film has been restored and released for the first time in more than 40 years and is now streaming on Paramount+. The new clip follows The Record Plant videos of “Keeping Me Alive,” “Finding Out” and “Stories We Could Tell.”
Since unleashing the single hot on the heels of the presidential inauguration, RISE AGAINST's "Nod" has become "the anthem we need right now" (Vice). As the band's first new song in three years, "Nod" arrived right in time, quickly uniting millions in its urgent call for community and compassion, encouraging listeners to not sit idly by as world events, societal changes and technology shape our ways of life. In recent weeks, RISE AGAINST debuted the rallying cry live on a rousing run of shows throughout Europe and South America. Now, they prepare to bring it to arenas and amphitheaters across the U.S., where the message of "Nod" is more imperative than ever.
Before kicking off the "Rise Of The Roach" tour — beginning at Houston's Toyota Center on March 20 and continuing on to Los Angeles's Kia Forum and dozens of other stops this spring, summer and fall — RISE AGAINST have released a new video that showcases "Nod" around the world, on-stage and in the pit.
Produced by Catherine Marks (BOYGENIUS, FOALS, MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA, ST. VINCENT) and mixed by Alan Moulder (NINE INCH NAILS, PARAMORE, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, THE KILLERS),"Nod" serves as a searing statement of intent, arriving at the outset of RISE AGAINST's next chapter. Just as the stakes could not be higher, the Chicago punk rock band is back bigger, louder and more progressive than ever, imploring listeners to replace reactions with action. "It's something a lot of people could stand to hear right now," says Consequence.
Like the body of multi-gold and platinum hits that have come before it, "Nod" further amplifies the type of invigorating music, outspoken messages and bulletproof melodies that have earned billions of streams, filled arenas, topped charts, broken records, and, above all, joined fans in an embrace of vital issues. "'Nod' is about the solace we find in community," says RISE AGAINST's lead vocalist and lyricist Tim McIlrath. "It's about the comfort in knowing that we are not alone. This comfort can temper our anger and our frustration, at least temporarily."
In a recent interview with Oran O'Beirne of Overdrive, McIlrath spoke about "Nod", which will appear on RISE AGAINST's upcoming follow-up to 2021's "Nowhere Generation" album, tentatively due later in the year. Regarding when the ideas for the new material came together, Tim said: "Let's see if I can remember. It came after the tour. We were really focused on 'Nowhere Generation' when we were touring. And then we wrapped that up. We took a break, which is pretty standard for us. The touring, it's intense and it takes a lot out of you. And that's kind of our moment where everyone can kind of go reconnect with home and then kind of recharge your batteries. And so we started writing probably a few months after we got off the road from 'Nowhere Gen'. We weren't really rushing or pressuring ourselves.
"This is our tenth record — we've been doing this for a long time — and so it's very organic in terms of timing," he explained. "We write when we feel that urgency to write. We record when we feel like it's ready. We don't do anything that's too rushed. And so that was this record, was when ideas started percolating and we started sharing them. We were, like, 'Okay, I think we have some songs here. Let's start putting them together.' And then we just took our time putting those songs together."
Asked if he and his bandmates still get nervous when they are about to release new music in terms of how it will be received by the RISE AGAINST fans, Tim said: "By the time we release it, by the time you hear it, it had to get through so many checks and balances just for the four of us — every single note, part, lyric, sound — and I'm really confident in the song at that point; we're all really confident. So it's, like, this is the best version of RISE AGAINST in 2025. And so, aside from that, there's nothing I can do about how people accept it. And that goes back to when you were first a band, and you took that leap of, like, 'I'm just gonna make music and put it out there.' And it was a surprise to see that anybody connected to it. And so, in that sense, I'm I'm always appreciative, because I don't expect people to love our band, I don't expect them to love our songs. I'm always consistently appreciative. There's a lot of gratitude when someone goes, 'Oh, I love this song.' Especially when you put out a song this late in our career, people are, like, 'Yo, this is a great song. That's awesome.' That's what you want. And if people don't like it, that's kind of okay too. We're not out here trying to shove anything down anybody's throat. But if you're hearing a new RISE AGAINST song, you're hearing what we think is the best version of ourselves right now."
As for whether "Nod" is a good representation of what fans can expect to hear on RISE AGAINST's upcoming album, Tim said: "Yeah, if I had to piece it in a group of songs that we've put together, 'Nod' is probably among the more traditional RISE AGAINST. I think that you hear it and you hear RISE AGAINST, you hear sort of what we've done and what we have been doing, but in a little bit of a new way. So I think it falls in the category of pretty like traditional RISE, which is a sound that we will always embrace. And there's stuff on the record, I think, that will be less traditional, for sure."
Symphonic metal frontrunners EPICA return with a spellbinding third single off their upcoming album, "Aspiral", which will see the light of day on April 11 via Nuclear Blast. "T.I.M.E." is a track that takes listeners on a journey through self-discovery, as the title stands for "Transformation, Integration, Metamorphosis and Evolution" and delves into the art of dying — more specifically, the death of the ego, and the necessary steps one must take to achieve personal and spiritual growth. Bringing this vision to life is the new music video created by Dave Letelier, which captures the song’s haunting aesthetic.
In a recent interview with Paltrocast host Darren Paltrowitz, EPICA vocalist Simone Simons was asked if it was a "difficult" process making "Aspiral". She responded: "It didn't feel difficult. It was definitely more intense because we had scheduled more writing camps where we would get together to spin off each other's brains or spawn ideas back and forth, also together with our producer. And I think compared to how we did it back in the day, let's say before [2021's] 'Omega', we were often writing, recording while still being on the road. And that, I think, is more difficult. And we learned from that mistake by making more time, clearing our schedule to really focus on the writing and recording of the album, to stay in the flow and to keep a better balance. We toured a lot in our whole career, but for us it's also important that we get to put the right amount of energy and focus into creating new music because that definitely has the priority. Without music, we cannot tour. Of course, we have a lot of albums now, but still it's a new way how we roll nowadays."
To celebrate the "Aspiral" release, EPICA will play three exclusive shows in the United States in early May: in New York City, Atlanta, and Los Angeles.
The "Aspiral" LP title is derived from the eponymous bronze sculpture made by Polish sculptor and painter Stanisław Szukalski back in 1965 and stands for renewal and inspiration — key words that define EPICA in 2025. In Szukalski's work every detail is a piece of art in its own right, and there's always more to the story than you initially think. The band saw this as the perfect analogy for the creation of this ninth album: each song stands on its own with a distinctive vibe and meaning, while together they enforce each other into a monumental effort.
The album, featuring stunning cover artwork by Hedi Xandt (RAMMSTEIN, GHOST, PARKWAY DRIVE),is now available for pre-order. The special editions even include the Blu-ray and audio recordings of the full monumental "Symphonic Synergy" performance in Amsterdam that the band recorded in 2024 with an orchestra and choir.
Recorded once again at Sandlane Studios and expertly mixed and produced by Joost Van Den Broek, "Aspiral" boasts 11 new tracks:
01. Cross The Divide
02. Arcana
03. Darkness Dies In Light - A New Age Dawns Part VII
04. Obsidian Heart
05. Fight to Survive - The Overview Effect
06. Metanoia - A New Age Dawns Part VIII
07. T.I.M.E.
08. Apparition
09. Eye Of The Storm
10. The Grand Saga Of Existence - A New Age Dawns Part IX
11. Aspiral
The band's music video for the uptempo anthem "Cross The Divide", directed by Kunststoff, can be seen below.
In a recent interview with Mexico's Euphonico, Simons stated about the inspiration for the LP's first single, "Arcana", she said: "Well, it was kind of a lot of things coming together. Rob [Van Der Loo, EPICA bassist] and I are, besides colleagues, we're also really good friends. And he had a deck of tarot cards with him. And I thought, 'Just for the fun of it, let's do a session. Let me draw some cards and then you explain to me what they mean.' And it was a very enlightening experience, I guess. The song, the music was also written by Rob. And then I came up with the idea, like, 'What if I write a song that's kind of inspired by the meaning of the tarot cards and the session that I had with him and what I think it meant for me at that time in my life and where I am now?' So, yeah, it's a very — how do you say? — soul-searching kind of topic, and that's something EPICA has been writing about for quite a while, but so far we haven't touched on the tarot subject. So I thought this could be a cool topic to integrate in the new album, which is all about reinventing yourself, like a rebirth, renewing yourself. So it kind of a cool thing to draw inspiration from."
Elaborating on the writing and recording process for EPICA's upcoming album, Simone said: "I think 'Arcana' was one of the songs that came together quite quickly. We had many writing camp sessions in Holland. We rented a house where we were meeting a couple times for, like, a week in a row, and we were all just sitting together. And Rob had also kind of a clear view of what he wanted vocal-wise, and then he just let me do my thing. And it went very naturally to write the lyrics.
"The vocal recordings [for the new EPICA album] took place in the summertime, which is a good time to do so because autumn [and] winter is a time when everybody gets sick," she explained. "So, for me, it's great if I'm in the summer in the studio, so I'm in a good shape or not running a risk of getting a cold and that it affects the voice, because I did have to record albums back in the day where I did get sick. And luckily you can't hear it. I know which songs are the ones. But it was a very smooth process. We worked together with the same producer, Joost Van Den Broek, who became a little bit like the seventh EPICA bandmember. And it's great working with him. Yeah, we were diving into all the little details and we were really concentrated on making the songs as a band together.
"I think people that don't know EPICA, they don't know that we don't live in the same village," Simone added. "We live, actually, in four different countries. So for us to get together and really work on the songs is tricky. And we started doing that already for 'Omega', and we really liked that, to clear our touring schedule, because we tour a lot and to really be there together and not everybody at home in their home studios. You get a total different result if everybody's there in the same room; you feed off each other's creativity, and that's very beneficiary for the songs."
Asked if there is a main songwriter in EPICA or if everybody contributes to the songwriting process, Simone said: "Everybody gets to write songs. And some songs, I think the guys did write demo songs on their own, because we all have our home studios, and when we were together in the writing camp, then we were sparring off ideas and sending each other the files, and then everybody was working on a random song at the same time. There was a funny moment where, I think, Coen [Janssen, EPICA keyboardist], Ariën [Van Weesenbeek, EPICA drummer], Rob and I were sitting in the living room area, but kind of far apart from each other, and Coen was working on a song and he thought he had his headphones plugged in, but it was running out of the speakers. And then we said, 'Oh, cool. That sounds great. Which song are you working on?' And he was, like, 'Oh shit, you guys could hear what I was working on.' So it was everybody in different rooms. Isaac [Delahaye, EPICA guitarist] was in the attic playing the guitar, and I had to wait until very late before I could go sleep 'cause he went on writing music, recording guitars until almost one o'clock in the morning. But it was a really lovely experience. And everybody gets to write songs and everybody gets to work on those songs. So, we all put our little own salsa on the songs. [Laughs]"
"Arcana" marked EPICA's first new release since "Omega" and the collaboration EP "The Alchemy Project".
The single is now available on all streaming platforms. It also includes "The Ghost In Me (Danse Macabre)", EPICA's recently released collaboration with Europe's second-most visited theme park, Netherlands's magical De Efteling, and their much-anticipated new attraction, Danse Macabre.
The previously released music video for "Arcana", directed by Remko Tielemans, can be seen below.
In a recent interview with Spain's Mariskal Rock, Simone stated about EPICA's upcoming album: "I'm so happy with the songs, I'm so proud how everything turned out and it's gonna be another amazing EPICA album. We added a couple of new elements, but also went back to the roots, the old EPICA. And yeah, I just can't wait for people to hear this.
"I loved 'Omega' and we toured so much with 'Omega' and had wonderful experiences, but then when you reach the end of a touring cycle, you start to get itchy and feel, 'Okay, now it's time to do the new album. Can we do it as good or maybe even better than the last album?' That's always the thing we strive for, ways to renew ourselves a little bit. And we feel a very strong spiritual connection also that it's our ninth album. So there's gonna be themes around the symbolic meaning of nine, the number nine."
Elaborating on the musical direction of EPICA's next album, Simone said: "The songs are heavy. There's a beautiful ballad, a very cinematic song, very uptempo, very doomy, melancholic and amazing, amazing power riffs. It's the most epic EPICA, I think, so far. Yeah, I think so. I mean, I'm feeling it. I'm very happy with it. I'm proud of it."
Following CRADLE OF FILTH's acclaimed recent single "To Live Deliciously" and its exquisitely twisted music video, the Grammy Award-nominated extreme metal institution is back to give fans more of the sinful sounds they crave with "White Hellebore", another bewitching new single and music video.
Featured on CRADLE OF FILTH's upcoming 14th studio album, "The Screaming Of The Valkyries", which is due on March 21, 2025 via Napalm Records, "White Hellebore" is devilishly direct, juxtaposing traditional heavy metal with blasts of thrashing fury, then spinning back to operatic goth while remaining cohesive. The track's must-see new music video was directed by Shaun Hodson.
CRADLE OF FILTH mastermind Dani Filth says about the song and video: "The wintertime flower of the title reminds us scintillatingly of our own mortality, flourishing in seasons of dying light and cold, frozen earth. Blossoming in the shadows, this Hellebore's flowers draw us deeply into the stygian darkness with her. In context of this song, the White Hellebore of the title is an alluring woman not too distant in danger from the predatory black widow, fostering both hope and despair; a poison and an elixir, she is stunning to behold but ever deadly to taste.
"This video — reeking of Lovecraftian gothic horror — presents the White Hellebore as a movie starlet who survives the grave through her dalliances with dark occult forces, a necromantic mystic tryst that an overzealous morgue attendant encounters with terrifying results, complementing the song's unholy matrimony of melody and mayhem."
CRADLE OF FILTH reigns supreme as one of the most revered, formative and notorious names in music — from the depths of the extreme metal underground to the peaks of mainstream pop culture itself — and is responsible for breaking ground for many of today's top metal artists with their trademark mixture of blackened heaviness, macabre theatricality and scintillating gothic style.
On "The Screaming Of The Valkyries", Dani's recognizable scream and equally identifiable growl stand mightily alongside twin guitar attacks, symphonic flourishes and explosive rhythm section, implemented by drummer Martin "Marthus" Skaroupka, bassist Daniel Firth, guitarists Marek "Ashok" Smerda and Donny Burbage and keyboardist/vocalist Zoe Federoff.
After album opener "To Live Deliciously" hits immediately, second track "Demagoguery" blends dark beauty, blast beats and slaytanic groove as only CRADLE can combine. Across the album’s blunt and unforgiving yet inviting expanse, CRADLE summons the succulent flavors of classic albums like "Dusk… And Her Embrace" and "Cruelty And The Beast" with the galloping (but no less fierce) thunder of recent entries "Hammer Of The Witches" and "Existence Is Futile". Flashes of early metal influences coalesce with carnivorous glee into unapologetic death 'n' roll. "White Hellebore" is CRADLE OF FILTH at its most devilishly straightforward, juxtaposing traditional heavy metal with blasts of thrashing fury, spinning back to operatic goth without sounding disjointed. Anchored by arguably the most mournful melody in their catalog, "Non Omnis Moriar" ("I shall not wholly die") could be a cousin to PARADISE LOST or ANATHEMA, inverted through CRADLE's thorny prism. "You Are My Nautilus" is the darkest song IRON MAIDEN never wrote, spinning an epic tale with dueling guitars, while "Ex Sanguine Draculae" conjures "Dusk"-era atmosphere with imaginative new colors.
Produced, recorded, mixed, and mastered by Scott Atkins at Grindstone Studios in Suffolk, England, "The Screaming Of The Valkyries" beckons the brave into a new era of CRADLE OF FILTH misadventure, celebrating massive melancholic melody, blackened thrash, and apocalyptic existential dread with a grinning smattering of unbridled revelry. "The Screaming Of The Valkyries" is a bloody dark love letter to the longtime legion of CRADLE OF FILTH faithful and a stunning entryway for fresh lambs to the sonic slaughter.
"The Screaming Of The Valkyries" track listing:
01. To Live Deliciously
02. Demagoguery
03. The Trinity Of Shadows
04. Non Omnis Moriar
05. White Hellebore
06. You Are My Nautilus
07. Malignant Perfection
08. Ex Sanguine Draculae
09. When Misery Was A Stranger
In a recent interview with U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine, Dani stated about "The Screaming Of The Valkyries": "It's got elements of everything we've done, really. It has a few head nods to works like 'Midian' and 'Dusk[... And Her Embrace]', especially in the atmosphere and the subject matter. It's also got a very brilliant production, courtesy of Scott Atkins."
Asked if there is any overarching theme to it, Dani said: "No, I wouldn't say so. They're tricky things, concept records. You have to have tunnel vision and you can't veer from that path. So this is just an album. It's not an album with filly bits attached, like intros and outros. No guest appearances. Just nine songs. It's still quite a lengthy running time, obviously. We can't write a short song to save our fucking lives."
Dani went on to say that CRADLE OF FILTH's collaboration with pop superstar Ed Sheeran won't be on "The Screaming Of The Valkyries" "because we don't want it to overshadow the record. But we are going to bring it out. Originally, everybody wanted us to bring it out to glorious fanfare but Ed's management weren't keen on that. We're not absolutely sure how it will emerge, but it's been done, mixed and it's sitting on the shelf somewhere… you know, virtually. And it's fucking fantastic. But only a handful of people have actually heard it. My mum hasn't even heard it."
Last November, Dani was asked by Portugal's Look Mag, CRADLE OF FILTH frontman Dani Filth why it was taking more than three years for him and his bandmates to release the follow-up to "Existence Is Futile" album. He responded: "[We've done] loads of tours. We were in the studio beginning the drums last May. But then we went and did all summer festivals. Then we had holidays — one holiday a year, which we allow us to rejuvenate. Then I was recording with my friend in America. Then we went to South America and Mexico. Then we went, did a co-headline tour with DEVILDRIVER. Then we went back to the studio. Then our producer had a baby. Then it was Christmas, and we did more in the studio. Then we went on tour in Europe. Yeah, that's what happened. We've just been very, very busy.
"It was finished — it's been ready since July [2024], I think," Dani revealed. "We're having two more videos and singles before the album drops. Yeah, maybe even four; I'm not sure. It depends how well it goes. But yeah, there's a plan to a gameplan to everything."
Asked about the musical direction of the new CRADLE OF FILTH material, Dani said: "It's very hard to talk about it. I don't really wanna talk about it because I can't do it justice. Every album has a lot of things going on. It's just a very, very great record. It's the next stage of our evolutionary step as CRADLE OF FILTH, moving on from the [two new songs] we debuted on [the 2023 live album] 'Trouble And Their Double Lives'. It has elements of old-school CRADLE, elements of new-school CRADLE. It's catchy, it's fast, it's slow, it's romantic, it's heavy, it's theatrical."
In October, CRADLE OF FILTH released a new single, "Malignant Perfection", along with a music video directed by Vicente Cordero, who has previously worked with FILTER, DEVILDRIVER, IN FLAMES and BLACK VEIL BRIDES, among others.
In 2023, CRADLE OF FILTH released its first live album in over 20 years, the aforementioned "Trouble And Their Double Lives", via Napalm Records. The LP was recorded between 2014 and 2019 at different performances in the USA, Europe, Australia and beyond during the band's "Cryptoriana" world tour and dates following. Produced, mixed and mastered by Scott Atkins at Grindstone Studios, with recording captured by Danny B, the effort not only featured a slew of fan favorites encompassing the band's discography but also two bonus tracks and two entirely brand new songs, "She Is A Fire" and "Demon Prince Regent".
CRADLE OF FILTH will co-headline the 2025 edition of the North American "Chaos & Carnage" tour, featuring fellow co-headliners DYING FETUS, as well as FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, NE OBLIVISCARIS, UNDEATH, VOMIT FORTH and CORPSE PILE.
CRADLE OF FILTH is:
Dani Filth - Vocals
Marek "Ashok" Smerda - Guitars
Martin "Marthus" Skaroupka - Drums
Daniel Firth - Bass
Donny Burbage - Guitars
Zoe Federoff - Vocals, Keys
L.A. GUNS' new album, "Leopard Skin", will be released on April 4, 2025. It will mark the first fruit of L.A. GUNS' reunion with Cleopatra Records, a label known for its diverse roster and innovative approach to music production. The official music video for the LP's second single, "Lucky Motherfucker", which was directed by Jason Wisch, can be seen below.
"The songtitle 'Lucky Motherfucker' kinda says it all," L.A. GUNS' founding guitarist Tracii Guns says. "Because I don't know how many other bands that have been around almost 40 years are still out there not just touring consistently, but putting out records consistently, and the thing just keeps getting bigger and bigger from year to year."
He continues: "So the work ethic is yielding what it's supposed to, you know what I mean? The fans stay excited, we stay excited, and we keep making records. And as long as we have that opportunity and there's a place for this music in the world, there's no reason to ever stop."
Guns previously stated about the "Leopard Skin" album title: "There's the saying, 'a leopard never changes its spots.' But even so, they have a million different spots. And they're all unique. It's the same with L.A. GUNS. We can't shed our leopard skin, but there's a lot of different spots in this band."
Those spots run the gamut from early anthems like "Electric Gypsy", "Rip And Tear" and "Over The Edge" to indelible ballads like "It's Over Now" and "The Ballad Of Jayne" to more recent classics like "Speed", "Cannonball" and now, the ten tracks that comprise the new album.
Not only is "Leopard Skin" hot on the heels of 2023's "Black Diamonds" album, but is also L.A. GUNS' fifth studio effort in seven years, since the core team of guitarist and band founder Tracii Guns and singer Phil Lewis reunited in 2017. "Leopard Skin", like the last few L.A. GUNS records, reconvenes the tight-knit lineup of Guns, Lewis, bassist Johnny Martin, guitarist Ace Von Johnson and studio drummer Adam Hamilton, but beyond that it is its own unique beast. True to form, it's a hard-and-heavy, tough-as-nails L.A. GUNS set. But the music also presents the band at their funkiest, rowdiest, most classic-rock-worshipping best. And it's clear they're having a helluva lot of fun playing it.
Explains Tracii: "When we started doing records again in 2017, I wanted to be really aggressive. We hadn't put out anything new in a lot of years, and we needed to be focused to have an impact. This one was a different approach. Musically, it was more about James Brown and soul music, with some '70s sensibilities — things like Joe Walsh and THE ROLLING STONES and the NEW YORK DOLLS. And the process was more organic. It was, 'Here's a riff, go for it. Let's see how many riffs we can build after this riff, and then going into the next riff.'"
The results speak for themselves. You want a four-on-the-floor AC/DC-style stomper? Cue up anthemic opener "Taste It". Slippery funk-rock? Try out "Lucky Motherfucker" or "Don't Gimme Away". Rollicking '70s-style glam? Drop the needle on "If You Wanna". Swampy, slide guitar-laced grooves? Crank up the ZEP-tastic "The Grinder".
Where does that position L.A. GUNS in 2025? Tracii returns to "Leopard Skin". "The song title 'Lucky Motherfucker' kinda says it all," he says. "Because I don't know how many other bands that have been around almost 40 years are still out there not just touring consistently, but putting out records consistently, and the thing just keeps getting bigger and bigger from year to year."
He continues: "So the work ethic is yielding what it's supposed to, you know what I mean? The fans stay excited, we stay excited, and we keep making records. And as long as we have that opportunity and there's a place for this music in the world, there's no reason to ever stop."
"Leopard Skin" track listing:
01. Taste It
02. Lucky Motherfucker
03. The Grinder
04. Hit And Run
05. Don't Gimme Away
06. I'm Your Candy Man
07. Runaway Train
08. Following the Money
09. The Masquerade
10. If You Wanna
Last July, Tracii told On The Road To Rock podcast with Clint Switzer about the sound of L.A. GUNS' new LP: "It's different than the other records. That's the thing about L.A. GUNS, is I never know what's gonna come out. I don't know what mood I'm gonna be in or whatever, but I'm really proud of what I was able to record. And all the management and Phil and the guys, they're freaking out, like, 'Where'd this shit come from?' So, yeah, I'm always most excited about L.A. GUNS. It's the complete playground for me. I love it."
L.A. GUNS' latest studio album, "Black Diamonds", came out in April 2023. It was the fourth studio album since the much-welcome reunion of the band's core foundation of Lewis and Guns. It followed the well-received studio albums "The Missing Peace", "The Devil You Know" and "Checkered Past", plus the live release "Made In Milan", and a covers EP "Another Xmas In Hell".
In April 2021, a settlement was reached between drummer Steve Riley and Guns and Lewis over the rights to the L.A. GUNS name. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Guns and Lewis continue to operate under the L.A. GUNS trademark, while Riley and his bandmates from the other version of L.A. GUNS were allowed to perform and record under the new name RILEY'S L.A. GUNS. Riley died in October 2023 at the age of 67.
L.A. GUNS was formed in 1983 and have sold over six million records, including 1988's "L.A. Guns" and 1990's "Cocked And Loaded", both of which were certified gold. "Cocked And Loaded" contained the hit single "The Ballad Of Jayne" that went to No. 33 on Billboard's Hot 100 and No. 25 on the Mainstream Rock charts. From the mid-'90s to the mid 2000s, L.A. GUNS continued to tour and release new music. Following their successful performance at SiriusXM's Hair Nation festival in September 2016, L.A. GUNS went into the studio to record the critically acclaimed "The Missing Peace", which was the highest-selling release for Frontiers Music Srl in 2017. Their 12th album, "The Devil You Know", was released in 2019 to the same critical acclaim. Since reuniting, Tracii and Phil continue to tour around the world with L.A. GUNS.
Condar Records has announced a brand new release from the original kings of splatter rock THE ACCÜSED.
The new single and music video "Garden Of Fools" from THE ACCÜSED was made available on all digital platforms this past Friday, March 7.
THE ACCÜSED is back with a lineup featuring original frontman/vocalist John Dahlin, founding member Tommy Niemeyer on guitar, drummer Josh Sinder from the "Grinning Like An Undertaker" album and Brookelle Sinder on bass.
"Garden Of Fools" was released via THE ACCÜSED's own imprint label Condar Records. It was mixed at Kansas House Studios and mastered by the legendary Jack Endino.
THE ACCÜSED has been hard at work in Martha's Splatter Laboratory cooking up new material and sharpening the blade for upcoming live shows in 2025.
"We have been working our fingers to the bone for the last few years to get this band properly back in shape to deliver the razor-sharp, face-blistering attack that this band is known for," says Niemeyer. "John has been amazing to work with as a vocalist and brings a fresh, healthy dose of 'Splat' to the new material and now this band does major justice to the old classics that will be in the live set like 'Slow Death' and 'Halo Of Flies'."
Niemeyer adds: "Josh's drumming is 'powerhouse unlimited' and together with his daughter Brookelle on bass, it's a brutal rhythm section, proving the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree."
"Garden Of Fools" is the first of several planned new music releases this year from THE ACCÜSED.
Ôðàíöèÿ
Ashen![=]](/img/news-bord-shr.gif){kind=small}
ÑØÀ
Ìåêñèêà
Ïîëüøà
Êàíàäà
Ãåðìàíèÿ
Ôèíëÿíäèÿ
Ãðåöèÿ
Àâñòðàëèÿ
Øâåöèÿ
Íèäåðëàíäû
Âåëèêîáðèòàíèÿ
