Japanese pop-metal band BABYMETAL has released "Divine Attack", the first single from its upcoming concept album, "The Other One", due on March 23. The song is accompanied by an official visualizer, available to watch below.
Last year BABYMETAL was "sealed" from the world after a successful 10-year journey. In April 2022, "The Other One" restoration project began to recover the BABYMETAL we never knew existed within a virtual world called the Metalverse. A total of 10 songs have been discovered within "The Other One" restoration project, with each song representing a unique theme based on 10 separate parallel worlds that they have discovered.
One of the discovered 10 parallel worlds is "Cavalry", and "Divine Attack" centers around this theme. As if this song is a hint into the future, alluding to a cavalry preparing for their next battle, we can feel a new sense of power from not only the sound but also the lyrics that have been written by Su-Metal for the first time. In addition, the official visualizer includes never-before-seen cuts of the members from "The Other One" — Black Box — and conveys the power and dynamism of the song. Five pre-release digital singles will be available worldwide for download and streaming, each respectively scheduled to release in October, November, January, February, and March.
After BABYMETAL makes its official return on January 28 and January 29 of next year at Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall, they will also be joining Swedish metal band SABATON on their Europe tour in April 2023.
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 third studio album, "Metal Galaxy", came out in October 2019 via earMUSIC/Edel. The follow-up to 2016's "Metal Resistance" was based on the concept of "The Odyssey Of Metal Galaxy".
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.
MEGADETH has released the official music video for the song "Life In Hell", taken from the band's latest studio album, "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" Titled "Life In Hell: Chapter IV", the video is the fourth and latest instalment of the band's epic multi-part short film revealing the origins of the band's iconic mascot Vic Rattlehead.
The rapid-fire onslaught of MEGADETH's "Life In Hell" is one of the heavy-hitting thrash songs on "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" This quintessential MEGADETH track showcases the band's tight musical precision and songwriting prowess — co-written by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine and drummer Dirk Verbeuren, and enhanced with Kiko Loureiro's stylistic six-string flourishes, "Life In Hell" features seamless tempo and time signature shifts as MEGADETH continues to set the bar for modern and classic metal alike.
Mustaine told Kerrang! magazine about "Life In Hell": "'Life In Hell' is about someone who believes he's this James Bond-like motherfucker who can live this life of espionage. He's ultra-cool. No matter what, he thinks that he's going to get out of it. He's someone with a nihilistic — maybe fatalistic is a better word — outlook towards things. It's about that self-obsessed, self-absorbed person, and how they eventually get caught.
"I like to have a moral, or a payoff, to my lyrics. I think the middle-eight here really does that: 'Only a fool would do what you've done / You lie, you steal and you cheat everyone / When you're caught in your most despicable deed / You plead the court for diplomatic immunity…' That could have been any of those people over the last four or five years who [were called out for] their terrible, predatory behavior in Hollywood. 'Life In Hell' is ultimately about that person who's so into himself that nothing else matters to him, except him."
"The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" sold 48,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marked MEGADETH's eighth top 10-charting album. Of "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!"'s 48,000 units earned for the week, album sales comprised 45,000, SEA units comprise 3,000 and TEA units comprised a negligible sum.
MEGADETH's previous top 10 entries on the Billboard 200 were "Countdown to Extinction" (No. 2, 1992),"Youthanasia" (No. 4, 1994),"Cryptic Writings" (No. 10, 1997),"United Abominations" (No. 8, 2007),"Endgame" (No. 9, 2009),"Super Collider" (No. 6, 2013) and "Dystopia" (No. 3, 2016).
"The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" consolidates a furious return to form that began with the Grammy-winning "Dystopia", while pushing forward musically and marking Mustaine's recent triumph over throat cancer. Reuniting Dave with co-producer Chris Rakestraw (DANZIG, PARKWAY DRIVE),who together helmed 2016's "Dystopia", the album was recorded at Mustaine's home studio in Nashville, Tennessee, with Loureiro and Verbeuren. Bassist Steve DiGiorgio temporarily stepped in to record the album. With the kick-off of MEGADETH's recent tour, MEGADETH alumnus James LoMenzo rejoined the MEGADETH family as permanent bass player.
Emerging blackened death metal quartet, Black Lava, will release their debut full-length album, Soul Furnace, on November 25 via Season Of Mist. The band is now sharing a blistering performance video for the brand new single, "Northern Dawn". The video, which was filmed and edited by Colin Jeffs and produced by Black Lava and Ten of Swords, can be found below.
Drummer Dan Presland comments: "After shooting up in the mountains for two days for the 'Eye Of The Moon' video, we drove straight down to our next location the next morning - to take one extreme, the freezing fucking cold, to the other, hot as fuck! We present to you our final single for our debut record 'Soul Furnace' - we hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it!"
Pre-orders for Soul Furnace are now live here, and can be saved on all digital streaming services at this location.
The cover artwork for Soul Furnace was painted by Paolo Girardi, and can be found below along, with the tracklisting.
"Origins"
"Aurora"
"Black Blizzard"
"Baptised In Ice"
"Eye Of The Moon"
"Northern Dawn"
"Necrocatacomb"
"Nightshade"
"Soul Furnace"
Canadian sci-fi metal innovators VOIVOD have released a music video for "Quest For Nothing", a song off their latest album, "Synchro Anarchy". One of the first clips created with AI technology, the video was produced by Luc Leclerc of Above The Void.
VOIVOD drummer Michel "Away" Langevin comments: "When AI art started appearing online a few months ago, my jaw dropped to the floor. When Luc Leclerc, webmaster for VOIVOD, showed me what he could do with AI animation, my jaw dropped to the basement! His video perfectly captures the dystopian side of the music and lyrics for 'Quest For Nothing'. Hold on tight to your seat and enjoy!"
VOIVOD will release a new EP, "Ultraman", on November 4 via Century Media Records. The effort features a highly original tribute to the "Ultraman" TV series theme as well as previously unreleased bonus live cuts, available both as a 12-inch vinyl EP or as a digital EP.
The "Ultraman" EP will be released in perfect timing for VOIVOD's return to European stages as special guests for Swedish progressive metal/rock group OPETH on their "Evolution XXX" tour in November.
VOIVOD's 15th studio album, "Synchro Anarchy" was released in February via Century Media Records. The follow-up to 2018's "The Wake" was produced by Francis Perron at RadicArt Studio and features cover artwork created by Langevin.
Regarding the release of "Synchro Anarchy", VOIVOD vocalist and lyricist Denis "Snake" Bélanger said: "It is one of a kind, a very unique and distinctive album. It was made with all the passion we have for music under particular conditions. Driven by a nuclear brainstorm between the four of us in a state of emergency. Written, recorded, and delivered, and not necessarily in that order, we managed to do it all in a few months."
Langevin previously stated about "Synchro Anarchy": "The new album represents countless hours of writing, demoing, recording, mixing and so on. The band and Francis Perron at RadicArt Studio gave their very best to make it happen under unusual circumstances, which led us to call it 'Synchro Anarchy'. We feel that the sound and music are 100% VOIVOD, and we hope everyone will enjoy it as much as we had fun making it."
VOIVOD released a new live album, "Lost Machine - Live", in November 2020 via Century Media Records. The disc was recorded in Québec City during the worldwide touring cycle for "The Wake".
In the summer of 2020, VOIVOD released a new three-track 12-inch vinyl and digital EP titled "The End Of Dormancy" via Century Media Records. The EP is centered around a special "Metal Section" version of the title track (off VOIVOD's latest album, "The Wake") with added trumpets, saxophone and trombones. The complementary songs on this release are exclusive live versions of "The End Of Dormancy (Metal Section)" and the group's classic "The Unknown Knows", recorded at Montreal Jazz Fest 2019.
Heavy rock act, Islander, have released a video for "We Scream", featuring Spencer Chamberlain of Underoath. "We Scream" is the opening track of the band's latest album, It’s Not Easy Being Human, available via Better Noise Music. Watch the clip below.
It’s Not Easy Being Human tracklisting:
"We Scream" (feat. Spencer Chamberlain of Underoath)
"Evil"
"It’s Not Easy Being Human" (feat. Lacey Sturm)
"Lookin’ For Love"
"Lights, Camera, Action" (feat. Sonny Sandoval of P.O.D.)
"Skin Crawl" (feat. Brian “Head” Welch of Korn, Dan Weyandt of Zao, Bruce Fitzhugh of Living Sacrifice)
"Black Scorpion"
"Skateboard Flowers" (feat. HR of Bad Brains)
"What Do You Gotta Lose?"
"Mayday"
"Crazy Crazy World"
"Y’all" (feat. Hyro The Hero)
"My Friends" (feat. Eric Vanlerberghe of I Prevail)
"Tear It Down"
"Freedom" (feat. AJ Channer of Fire From The Gods)
"No Sleep"
"The Outsider"
Volbeat have released the Official Bootleg video for “Wait A Minute My Girl”, live from San Diego. Watch below.
Capturing one of the band’s first shows back on the road in fall 2021, this intimate performance at San Diego’s historic venue The Observatory North Park was filmed shortly before the release of Servant Of The Mind. The setlist included some of the very first live performances of the hit singles “Shotgun Blues” and “Wait A Minute My Girl”. Filmed and edited by the team at Ghost Atomic Pictures (“Shotgun Blues,” “Die To Live (feat. Neil Fallon),” “Leviathan,” Let’s Boogie: Live from Telia Parken), you can feel the excitement of both the band and the crowd as they both return to live music after such an extended period away.
Watch "Shotgun Blues" from the same show:
Volbeat’s Servant Of The Road Tour kicks off tonight, October 17, in Hamburg, Germany at Barclays Arena. Tickets & VIP packages available here.
Kings Of Mercia, the new group formed by acclaimed rock/metal guitarist Jim Matheos (Fates Warning, Arch/Matheos) and powerhouse rock vocalist Steve Overland (FM) have released a guitar playthrough video for "Set The World On Fire", from their self-titled debut album, out now via Metal Blade Records. Watch below:
Accompanying the duo on debut release are Matheos' Fates Warning bandmate Joey Vera on bass, and legendary drummer Simon Philips.
The album is available on CD, LP, and digital formats. Order here, and find a full audio stream below.
Tracklisting:
"Wrecking Ball"
"Humankind"
"Sweet Revenge"
"Set The World On Fire"
"Too Far Gone"
"Liberate Me"
"Nowhere Man"
"Everyday Angels"
"Is It Right?"
"Your Life"
Album stream:
"Humankind" video:
"Liberate Me" video:
"Wrecking Ball" visualizer:
Best known as the founding guitarist for Fates Warning, but with countless other projects under his belt - including Arch / Matheos and most recently Tuesday The Sky - Jim Matheos is incapable of stifling his creativity. In early 2021, he started working on the songs that would become Kings Of Mercia's self-titled debut album, bringing his distinct style yet doing something a little different. "I started writing without any real idea of what direction I wanted to go in or what I was going to do with the material. The first few songs came together quickly and were a bit more straightforward than I'm used to, and I really liked that idea, kind of going back to my early heavy/hard rock roots." Not having any pre-conceived ideas of what the record should or would end up sounding like, at least early on, certainly helped, "as did the fact that it's our first record, so there was nothing to measure it against or expectations to live up to, even if only in my own head."
Churning out songs, Matheos' next concern was to find the musicians who would help him realize the material, and his first priority was a vocalist. It was his friend Jeff Wagner who suggested FM's Steve Overland, and another friend, rock journalist Dave Ling, who put them in touch with each other. "Jim had asked Dave for my contact details, we talked about his idea for mixing the two styles, his heavier background, with my melodic/bluesier direction," says Overland. "We decided to try a collaboration on one song and see how it worked, we came up with the track "Humankind", and we both loved it." Having already settled on this hard rock direction, it was only once Matheos got the first couple of songs back from Overland that it became all the way clear of the shape the record would take, with the vocalist sending over his parts every few weeks, everything gradually coming together.
Behind the kit for the record is the legendary Simon Phillips (ex-Toto, Derek Sherinian), one of Matheos' favorite drummers. "I decided to contact him on a whim, not really expecting that he'd be available or interested in this project. But, to my surprise, he liked the music and was able to fit some recording into his schedule. It's an honor to share a credit with him and I couldn't be happier with what he added to the record." Rounding out the group is bassist Joey Vera - Matheos' Fates Warning bandmate - who brings his trademark style and professionalism to the table. "My old friend and co-worker Joey Vera was a natural choice for bass. Not only did I know he would deliver performance-wise, but it was nice to have a familiar face among the new personalities." With these players involved it was an easy, stress-free process throughout, making music for the love of it, and coming up with something that sounds familiar yet new, expanding the repertoire of all involved. This means songs like the half-acoustic ballad, half-swaggering "Too Far Gone" or the beautiful "Everyday Angels", and the soaring "Wrecking Ball", which opens the record on a high note, all brought to life in dynamic style.
Lineup:
Jim Matheos - Guitars
Steve Overland - Vocals
Joey Vera - Bass
Simon Phillips - Drums
Look up to the sky to see the "Burning Horizon", the next music video for the third single from Italian progressive avant-garde metal MindAheaD in support of their sophomore story album 6119 Part 1 being released via Rockshots Records on October 28.
The band adds about the track:
"'Burning Horizon' is direct and catchy both melodically and structurally; it focuses on the voices that intersect and duet, sometimes harmoniously, sometimes aggressively opposing each other. The instrumental part is articulate, but always keeping an eye on melody and easy assimilation. The orchestrations also play an important role, providing a backdrop to the burned horizon that will turn into a desert very soon."
6119 Part 1 follows their 2017 debut Reflections released on Roman label Revalve Records. Just like its predecessor, the band's new offering is once again a concept album with a complex, personal and unusual sound to test the limits of their songwriting. "6119 Part 1" is a continuation of the previous work on Reflections, which will tell us the story of 6119, the main character, through a surreal, oneiric journey, always poised between physical space and the realm of the mind. Trapped in this dreamlike kaleidoscope, he proceeds heedless of the consequences, hoping to find at the end of the journey (the "Part II," currently in production) the reason why all this is happening to him.
Merging different aspects, sometimes opposite, of human feeling, bringing them together in a colorful and personal musical proposal, which has its roots in influences ranging from prog ‘70s to death metal, the band explains the new album in further detail:
"This album is a concept realized with the aim of telling a story that straddles the line between dystopian science fiction and the psychological investigation of the human mind, so the music and lyrics were created in order to reach these goals. We would like the listening experience to be completely immersive. We would like the listener to be able to take a break from the real world and step into another dimension, one that is distant but at the same time well known, not alien, but almost familiar. The listener should passionately follow the events of 6119 in its inner and outer search for reality, in a story that began in the previous album Reflections and will end in the band's next release, so as to complete a narrative trilogy."
Having shared the stage with bands such as Jinjer, Vision Divine, Deathless Legacy, Domine, Pino Scotto, MindAhead is recommended for fans of Opeth, Ayreon, Haken, Katatonia and Pink Floyd. 6119 Part 1 is due out October 28, 2022 via Rockshots Records.
“Prologue”
“Burning Horizon”
“Dancing In The Desert”
“What You Are”
“The Last Tide”
“Beautiful Mistake”
“Innocence”
“At The Gates Of Night Part I (The Old Poet) & II (At The Gates)”
“At The Gates Of Night Part III (Lost In The Loop)”
Former GREAT WHITE singers Jack Russell and Terry Iloushave teamed up to record a semi-acoustic version of "I Won't Back Down", one of the most iconic classic rock songs by TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS. A Tim Sheridan-directed music video for the track can be seen below.
"I Won't Back Down" recording credits:
Terry Ilous - Vocals
Jack Russell - Vocals
Greg D'Angelo - Drums
Sean McNabb - Bass / Backing Vocals
Mark Murtha - Guitar / Backing Vocals
Lisa Murtha - Backing Vocals
Barb Ely - Backing Vocals
Adriana Ely - Backing Vocals
Russell and Ilous will come together for one night, on one stage, for an acoustic storytelling show on Saturday, October 29 at Rockefellas bar in Corona, California. Russell and Ilous will share stories about their long rock and roll careers. Fans will get a chance to hear about the inspiration behind some of GREAT WHITE's biggest hits and learn how the songs came to be.
All proceeds from this show will benefit the Warrior Built Foundation which works to honor the service and sacrifice of combat veterans and wounded service members through vocational and recreational opportunities. The Foundation provides new motivation, camaraderie and sparks veterans' imaginations while most importantly offering a release to cope with similar difficulties in a positive and therapeutic way. Warrior Built does this in a safe, fun, and supportive environment all while providing much-needed different forms of therapy.
Tickets are $16.95 in advance and $25.00 day of show. This is a general admission show with limited table seating on a first-come-first-served basis.
Back in July 2018, Russell slammed his former bandmates in GREAT WHITE for the "deceitful" way Ilous was kicked out of the group.
Ilous, formerly of '80s L.A. hard rockers XYZ, joined GREAT WHITE in 2010 after replacing touring vocalist Jani Lane (WARRANT).
The Ilous-led GREAT WHITE released two albums, 2012's "Elation" and 2017's "Full Circle", before Terry was shown the door and replaced with Mitch Malloy.
Ilous later released a statement in which he claimed he was blindsided by his dismissal from GREAT WHITE, saying that he "proudly invested" all of his energy and focus "into the GREAT WHITE brand."
Russell, who was himself fired from GREAT WHITE in December 2011 (after being on hiatus from the group since 2009),took to his Facebook page to offer his thoughts on Terry's departure from the band, writing: "I just wanted to express my condolences to Terry Ilous for the deceitful way my X band members dealt with the situation of his termination kind of reminds me of something else. Huh? In the last few months Terry and I have gotten to know each other through Linkedin have become what I would say friends. As far as I'm concerned, he's a great guy and he had an opportunity and he took it. The fact is it was my fault that it all happened to begin with. I was unreliable, unhealthy and my addiction ruled my world. I wouldn't have wanted to play with me either if I were them. The only thing I was very upset about was the way they went about it. But at least Terry got an e-mail where I received nothing not even a phone call or a return message. But this is not about me this is about Terry. I'm sure he will find his way to a better place as he is a great singer and has a lot of talent and I have a lot of respect for him. I wish him well and I hope you will all support him in his future efforts."
Russell sued his onetime bandmates in 2012 over their continued use of the GREAT WHITE name after the singer had taken a leave of absence from the band for medical reasons. A short time later, Russell was countersued by guitarist Mark Kendall, keyboardist/guitarist Michael Lardie and drummer Audie Desbrow, claiming the vocalist's self-destructive behavior was damaging the GREAT WHITE name (they also alleged he was charging promoters less for his own touring version of GREAT WHITE). The parties settled in July 2013 without going to trial, with Russell now performing with a new lineup as JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE while the others are continuing as GREAT WHITE.
Back in June 2020, Russell teamed up with Ilous, along with guitarists Robby Lochner and Phil Woodward, for a special acoustic concert on the Monsters Of Rock Cruise Facebook page. The set included acoustic renditions of songs from GREAT WHITE, XYZ and LED ZEPPELIN.
Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach joined Canadian rockers KILLER DWARFS on stage last night (Friday, October 14) at the Rockstar Bar in Las Vegas, Nevada to perform the song "Heavy Mental Breakdown". Video of his appearance can be seen below (courtesy of Izzy Presley).
KILLER DWARFS formed in 1981 and quickly gained international success, first in Canada with the band's self-titled debut album in 1983. The breakthrough in the United States came when San Antonio-based radio personality Joe Anthony started spinning their album on a regular basis, much to the delight of hard-rocking Texans. This planted the seeds for what would result in KILLER DWARFS receiving a lot of attention south of Canada's border. A worldwide recording contract with Epic Records eventually landed them an opening spot for IRON MAIDEN's sold-out tour of Great Britain and sharing stages with such acts as DIO and MICHAEL SCHENKER across North America. The band soon received a nomination for Canada's prestigious Juno Award as "Heavy Metal Album Of The Year".
KILLER DWARFS came to an end in 1995, save for a reunion tour in 2001. In 2002, the KILLER DWARFS released a live album called "Reunion Of Scribes: Live 2001" before disbanding once again. The band reformed one more time in 2013 for the release of the "Start @ One" album featuring the lineup of Russell Dwarf, Darrell Dwarf, Gerry Dwarf and new bassist Johnny "Dwarf" Fenton.
In 2018 KILLER DWARFS signed a record deal with David Ellefson's EMP Label Group. A live record, "Live No Guff!", was released in April of that year.
Fan-filmed video footage of Geoff Tate's October 14 performance at Gagarin 205 club in Athens, Greece can be seen below. The show saw Tate playing many of QUEENSRŸCHE's biggest songs, including early classic "Queen Of The Reich", which originally appeared on the band's debut EP.
Tate had previously expressed his reluctance to perform "Queen Of The Reich" at his live concerts, telling Rock Show Critique in a 2012 interview: "It's funny, actually — a lot of people don't know about that song. A lot of people don't care about that song. It's an early song that was written and it shows. It's funny the reaction you get, because it's a lot of blank stares. In fact, it's the same stare you get when you play a new song that nobody's heard before. People just aren't that familiar with it. Given there are a few hardcore fans that might know that song, or like that song, and know what it is, but the majority of the people there don't. So it's not really a song that I enjoy singing, strictly because, lyrically, it's pretty adolescent. It was the first song written thirty-some-odd years ago and obviously I cannot relate to it anymore. I think, for performance, it's always best for the performer to really believe in the material they're singing or playing. If you don't believe in it, it's really difficult to get behind a song, do it well and do it at a level that comes across with any kind of believability. For me, I honestly can't relate to the whole dungeons-and-dragons lyrical content of that song; it's really cartoonish and juvenile to me."
Tate's current tour is celebrating the 30th anniversary of QUEENSRŸCHE's "Empire" and "Rage For Order" albums.
1986's "Rage For Order" introduced a much more polished look and sound for QUEENSRŸCHE. The album featured keyboards as prominently as guitars, and the group adopted an image more closely associated with glam rock or glam metal than with heavy metal (of which glam metal was a subgenre). A video was filmed for the song "Gonna Get Close to You", originally recorded in 1984 by DALBELLO.
Released in 1990, "Empire" included the hit ballad "Silent Lucidity", which reached No. 9 on the Billboard singles chart, helped propel "Empire" to No. 7 on the album chart and earned two Grammy Award nominations.
Prior to the launch of the trek in early 2020, Tate told MisplacedStraws.com that he would take the "Empire 30th Anniversary Tour" to "as many countries as I can and playing the album in its entirety, which I've never done before. So that'll be real fun. In fact, I think there's some songs on that album that I've never, ever played live before, so it'll be a treat — for me, as well, I think, for the audience too," the former QUEENSRŸCHE singer said. "I'm really looking forward to that."
Tate told Eonmusic that one song from "Empire" that was rarely performed live is "Anybody Listening?" "When QUEENSRŸCHE was together, we never really put that song in our set," he said. "We just had a hard time playing it, for some reason; it just never jelled or felt right. And I'd really like to play that song again, and play it right."
In April 2014, Tate and QUEENSRŸCHE announced that a settlement had been reached after a nearly two-year legal battle where the singer sued over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name after being fired in 2012. Original QUEENSRŸCHE members Michael Wilton (guitar),Scott Rockenfield (drums) and Eddie Jackson (bass) responded with a countersuit. The settlement included an agreement that Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson would continue as QUEENSRŸCHE, while Tate would have the sole right to perform the albums "Operation: Mindcrime" and "Operation: Mindcrime II" in their entirety live.
Tate was replaced in QUEENSRŸCHE by former CRIMSON GLORY singer Todd La Torre.
Geoff previously celebrated the 30th anniversary of "Operation: Mindcrime" on European and U.S. tours.
I will remember, you will remember, the star that came last night.
Fan-filmed video of HELLOWEEN's October 13 concert at Arena Armeec Sofia in Sofia, Bulgaria can be seen below (courtesy of Bernd J. Schuster's YouTube channel).
As previously reported, HELLOWEEN will embark on the "United Forces" tour of North America in May 2023. Support on the 13-date trek will come from Swedish metallers HAMMERFALL.
June 2021 saw the release of HELLOWEEN's self-titled studio album. Adored by fans and critics alike, the record catapulted straight to the charts, earning the No. 1 position in Germany and Spain, the Top 5 of seven countries, and the Top 15 multiple times worldwide.
The cover artwork for "Helloween" was painted by artist Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with HATEBREED, SOULFLY, TESTAMENT, ICED EARTH and SODOM, among others.
The "Pumpkins United" lineup features returning singer Michael Kiske and guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen alongside frontman Andi Deris, guitarists Michael Weikath and Sascha Gerstner, bassist Markus Grosskopf and drummer Daniel Löble.
Produced by Charlie Bauerfeind and Dennis Ward, the new HELLOWEEN LP was recorded in part at the H.O.M.E. Studios in Hamburg (where everything started in 1984). The same recording console used for such HELLOWEEN albums as "Master Of The Rings", "Time Of The Oath" and "Better Than Raw" was utilized to record the band's new material. The effort was mixed at the Valhalla Studios of Ronald Prent (IRON MAIDEN, DEF LEPPARD, RAMMSTEIN).
HELLOWEEN's new album saw the legendary German power metallers going "back to the roots," with the band recording fully analogue and Löble playing the drum kit previously used by HELLOWEEN's original drummer, the late Ingo Schwichtenberg, on the legendary "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" recordings.
The "Pumpkins United" tour marked the first time Kiske had played live with HELLOWEEN since 1993. Hansen, who departed HELLOWEEN in 1988, had been joining the band onstage on various tours and festival appearances throughout the years. The set featured several duets with Kiske and his replacement, Deris, along with many rarely played songs, including "Kids Of The Century", "Rise And Fall" and "Livin' Ain't No Crime". Hansen — who fronted HELLOWEEN until late 1986 — sang a medley of several early HELLOWEEN classics, including "Ride The Sky", "Judas", "Starlight" and "Heavy Metal (Is The Law)".
California sludge veterans, -(16)-, return with their heaviest and most devastating record to date, Into Dust. The new album, a collection of cautionary tales of survival and redemption, is set to an amalgamation of sludge, punk, metal, hardcore, and stoner riffs that could only be built through thirty years of commitment to their dark sonic craft, which -(16)- continues to improve upon.
Today, -(16)- share the official video for “Scrape The Rocks” off Into Dust. Watch below.
Guitarist/vocalist Bobby Ferry comments: "'Scrape The Rocks' is our ‘doom metal’ attempt to convey the all too familiar sense of foreboding and impending catastrophe when your ship has run aground."
Into Dust is out November 18 on CD, LP, and digital formats. Find physical pre-orders via Relapse.com here, and digital downloads/streaming services here.
Into Dust trackisting:
"Misfortune Teller"
"Dead Eyes"
"Ash In The Hourglass"
"The Deep"
"Scrape The Rocks"
"Null And Eternal Void"
"The Floor Wins"
"Lane Splitter"
"Never Paid Back"
"Dirt In Your Mouth"
"Dressed Up To Get Messed Up"
"Born On A Barstool"
"Misfortune Teller" video:
In conjunction with the release of Into Dust, -(16)- has announced a US headlining tour this November. Main support will be provided by Doc Hammer.
-(16)- lineup:
Bobby Ferry - guitar, vocals
Alex Shuster - lead guitar
Barney Firks - bass
Dion Thurman – drums
Lamb Of God have released a studio session video for "Vanishing", featured on the band's new album, Omens, out now via Nuclear Blast Records, and available for download and streaming as well as on CD, Vinyl and Cassette, here. Watch the new clip below:
Produced by long-time collaborator Josh Wilbur (Korn, Megadeth), Omens is a vicious new testament for the Richmond, Virginia-based band, a furious entry in their beloved catalogue. "The world is crazy and keeps changing. Omens is a reaction to the state of the world,” Blythe explains. "It’s a very pissed-off record.” He pauses for emphasis. “It is extremely pissed-off.”
The New Wave Of American Heavy Metal architects tracked Omens at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California, a location that birthed classics from The Doors, The Ramones, and Soundgarden, among others. "The inner workings of the band have never been better,” explains guitarist Mark Morton. “You can hear it in Omens. You can see it in our performances, and if you're around us for five minutes, you can feel it."
The Making Of: Omens, a short film documenting the recording of Lamb Of God's forthcoming album, is available to watch on-demand throughout the month of October, here.
Fan-filmed video of LYNCH MOB's October 15 concert at the Buffalo Thunder Resort in Santa Fe, New Mexico as the support act for DOKKEN can be seen below. Joining legendary DOKKEN axeman George Lynch at the gig were his longtime drummer Jimmy D'Anda (BULLETBOYS) along with TANTRIC bassist Jaron Gulino, and singer Gabriel Colon.
Over the weekend, Lynch shared a short video of the Santa Fe performance, and he included the following message: "super fun and intense show tonight in santa fe nm @lynchmob @dokken @buffaloruncasino @jimmydanda".
The news of LYNCH MOB's return was first reported by the Metal Sludge web site on October 1.
For much of the last year and a half, George had played dates around the U.S. under the name ELECTRIC FREEDOM, which he previously said was the new name of his "touring entity" after deciding to retire the LYNCH MOB band name in 2020.
In August 2021, Lynch announced that he was ending LYNCH MOB due to the racial insensitivity of the moniker, saying he would no longer record or perform under that name.
A few months later, Lynch offered a lengthy explanation for why he was ending LYNCH MOB during an interview with George Dionne of Metal Express Radio. Addressing questions about why it took him three decades to call it quits with LYNCH MOB, George said: "When we first formed the band in '89, the name had sort of already been around. While I was in DOKKEN, it's what I called our little group of guitar fans — I had picks made; it was kind of a little subculture within DOKKEN. When we started working on developing and building the band after DOKKEN broke up, that was just the name that we always thought we'd use, 'cause it was a perfect fit — it's my name, and it describes it pretty well. And, of course, the negative connotations were always there, and I was aware of 'em, but not as aware as I probably should have been. [Laughs]
"I had made numerous attempts over the decades to kind of let that name go and had walked that back for multiple reasons — usually because of business considerations," he continued. "For instance, if you try to go out on a tour and not use the name, promoters aren't gonna be happy with you changing it. People aren't gonna know who you are. They're not gonna show up, because what's THE GEORGE LYNCH EXPERIENCE, or whatever you call it. Or record labels are not interested, because it's a brand that they can count on and sell a certain many albums or whatever.
"For instance, the LYNCH MOB record 'Smoke This' that came out, I think, in '99 or 2000, that was not supposed to be a LYNCH MOB record; that really wasn't anything to do with LYNCH MOB. At the end of the day, after the record was done and we were delivering it to the label, they insisted on using that name as insurance. And if I hadn't agreed to that, we wouldn't have had a record. That's the kind of pressure I'm talking about.
"But then, with the onset of everything that's happened in the last year, I didn't have that kind of pressure anymore," George added. "I could take it or leave it at this point. And I didn't really feel comfortable with it; I didn't feel comfortable with the name. 'Cause I'm a very progressive person politically, and it just so flies in the face of everything I believe in, and it makes it hard. It makes it hard to have relationships with people and explain yourself, and I got tired of rationalizing it. I think the music is bigger than that, and it's had a great run.
"Another reason, too, is the band fell apart again. The band has fallen apart so many times, I can't even count. And it was just, like, 'No more Oni [Logan, vocals], no more Brian Tichy [drums], no more this guy, no more that guy. Oh, great. Now what do I do?' It's, like, 'Okay, build another band from scratch, call it LYNCH MOB?' No. How about just build something new? It gives me a lot more freedom to basically play anything I want live… I can go out and play everything from my catalog — new, old, covers, jams, you name it, and go deep and have fun and change it up every night."
Oni first hooked up with LYNCH MOB in 1990, but exited the group after the release of its first album, only to rejoin the outfit in the late 2000s.
Logan is featured on five of LYNCH MOB's eight albums, including 1990's "Wicked Sensation", as well as 2009's "Smoke And Mirrors", 2014's "Sun Red Sun", 2015's "Rebel" and 2017's "The Brotherhood".
In August 2021, LYNCH MOB celebrated the 30th anniversary of "Wicked Sensation" with a special limited print/deluxe edition of the album. "Wicked Sensation Reimagined" features re-worked and re-recorded versions of the LP's classic songs, and was made available via Rat Pak Records.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by George Lynch (@georgelynchofficial)
🌵TONIGHT!! Rocking Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino in Santa Fe, NM with the Lynch Mob & Dokken. We hit at 8pm, see ya there!!
•
#lynchmob
#dokken
#buffalothunderresort
Swedish death metallers, Defleshed, have set October 28 as the release date for their new full-length, Grind Over Matter. The band have released a guitar playthrough video for the single, "Grind Over Matter". Check it out below:
Grind Over Matter was tracked at Rorysound Studios, Uppsala, Sweden, with Lawrence Mackrory, with two weeks devoted to drums, another two for guitar and bass and two three-day sessions for vocals. "It was pretty straightforward, the hardest part was to not get carried away by impulsive ideas too much, but stay put to the original plan," says Jorde.
Grind Over Matter can be pre-ordered here in the following formats:
- jewelcase-CD
- 180g black vinyl
- ochre brown marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 300 copies)
- gold black splatter vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 300 copies)
- gold silver splatter vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 300 copies)
- blood splatter vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 300 copies)
- clear red brown w/black swirls vinyl (Sound Pollution Sweden exclusive - limited to 300 copies)
- smoky grey w/black swirls vinyl (US exclusive - limited to 700 copies)
Tracklisting:
"Bent Out Of Shape"
"Grind Over Matter"
"One Grave To Fit Them All"
"Heavy Haul"
"Dear Devil"
"Staring Blind"
"Blood Well Spent"
"Unburdened By Genius"
"Behind Dead Eyes"
"Blast Beast"
"Last Nail In The Coffin"
"Bent Out Of Shape" lyric video:
"Grind Over Matter" video:
Defleshed lineup:
Gustaf Jorde - vocals/bass
Lars Löfven - guitars
Matte Modin - drums
Spirit In The Room has unveiled a video for the track “Venting.” The hymn comes by way of the band’s Flamingo EP, recently released by Housecore Records.
If you ever wondered what goes on in the head of a film noir hitman, horror novel asylum inmate, or a golden age silver screen villain, it might sound something like Spirit In The Room. The vision of Louisiana-born and Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Dennis R. Sanders unfurls through cigarette smoke, cheap booze, and distortion like an anachronistic fever dream soundtracked by a collision of gothic vocal hues, immersive alternative architecture, and jarring metallic catharsis. It’s scary at times. It’s sad at other times. However, it’s always unpredictable— especially on Spirit In The Room’s 2022 debut EP for Housecore Records, Flamingo.
“Flamingo is a character,” notes Sanders. “It could be anybody who lives a chaotic-slash-exotic lifestyle. There has been a bird presence in my family for the longest time. You’ve seen flamingos; they’re beautiful and strange. Flamingo could be a stripper or an errand boy for some really scandalous entity. To me, Flamingo is just very after hours.”
Describes Sanders of “Venting” in part, “Escaping from the back of an old pickup truck on a lost highway through the desert, ‘Venting’ hits the ground running. It’s a sci-fi cowboy western surfing extravaganza: Volatile, paranoid and vengeful. Pushing back, pushing forward. Fine line tightrope walking over a sea of dirty needles. Run, Motherfucker. Run!”
Flamingo is available on CD, LP, and digitally. Order at the Housecore Records webshop.
Quebec City's melodic death metal act Born Divided comes from the remains of Blinded By Faith when bassist Tommy Demers decided to pick up the bass instead of staying solely on vocal duties. He brought in guitarist Michael Beaudoin, also from Blinded By Faith; guitarist Fred Bedard; drummer Lucas Biron; and Maxim Levesque on vocals. Together they are bringing forth a debut album “Impending Doom”. The single “Human Masquerade” is their first single and music video that will let the world hear and see what Born Divided is all about. The song represents them well with its aggressiveness, the rhythmical intro, the harmonies, its epic side, and the incredible vocal melodies that bomb into brutal screams. They explain the albums:
“We are very proud to show our first album Impending Doom. A lot of work went into this. We really wanted to incorporate our musical influences into this. We wanted every riff and beat to have its own colour. We like to go from prog to death, brutal to melodic. We like to surprise the listener with some radical changes in terms of sub-genre while keeping the listening experience as entertaining as possible.”
With Impending Doom, Born Divided intends to deliver the kind of experience that will feel new and unique. An experience that doesn’t feel like something you’ve heard before. They kind of just came to be, Demers had written some of these songs around 2015 and brought those forward for the album. Fans can expect a second album coming at a much quicker pace as they have already started the writing process of the next one.
Within Impending Doom, listeners can expect some clean singing along with some deadly growls, riffs that rip, and amazing and tasteful drumming that breathes music. It is recommended for fans of Dimmu Borgir, Symphony X, and Opeth.
Impending Doom is out on October 14, 2022, and available on all digital platforms at distrokid.com.
Tracklisting:
“Impending Doom”
“The Scars That Unite Us”
“Old Remorse”
“Censorshit”
“Human Masquerade”
“We’ll Exist”
“We’ve Seen You”
The Night Flight Orchestra, featuring Soilwork vocalist Björn "Speed" Strid, performed at Bloodstock Open Air 2022 on August 14. The festival has shared pro-shot video of the band performing their song "Black Stars". Check it out below:
Previously posted footage of the band performing "Divinyls" at the fest can be viewed below:
Guitarist David Andersson, of Soilwork and The Night Flight Orchestra, passed away on September 14 at 47 years of age. Strid paid tribute to Andersson with the following mesage:
"Good night dear Dr Andersson. Really hope you can rest now. Together we created magic until that dark hole couldn’t be filled anymore. The alcohol and your mental illness took you away from us. It hurt so much to witness it. So glad I got to see you one last time at the hospital and have one last hour of classics and listen to some old hits from the past, before you fell asleep. I kissed your forehead and said 'See you on the river side' like my grandmother used to say. My grandmother, whom you invited on New Year's Eve probably 10 years ago, when you flamed beets in Gammeldansk. Will do my utmost to carry on our common musical legacy. Thank you for everything you taught me and the unforgettable travels we made together. Taxi trip to Palm Springs. A staircase in St Petersburg. A bridge in New Jersey. We tuned all that and much, much more. Thank you."
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