Cult Japanese black metal legends, Sigh, recently announced details of their new album, Shiki, to be released on August 26 on Peaceville. Today, the band premiers the music video for the song, "Satsui", which can be viewed below:
Shiki, an opus of dark & eclectic blackened heavy metal, shrouded in traditional eastern influences, marks the latest chapter in the Sigh legacy and includes some of the band’s heaviest and darkest material for some years; a fine hybrid of at times primitive black metal akin to early influences such as Celtic Frost amid more epic melodic heavy metal riffing and solos. It will take you on a journey through the strange and the psychedelic, incorporating a whole eclectic mix of genre styles & experimentation throughout their career. Highlighting that Sigh has remained a vital creative force in the avantgarde field whilst maintaining their old school roots.
The word "Shiki" itself has various meanings in Japanese such as four seasons, time to die, conducting an orchestra, ceremony, motivation, colour. The two primary themes for the album are "four seasons" and "time to die". The concept and artwork is based around a traditional Japanese poem, and on Shiki Mirai explores how at this stage of life he himself is going through autumn, with winter coming soon, and so empathizes with the contrasting sentimental feelings from watching cherry blossoms (a symbol of spring) in full bloom.
Joining Mirai and Dr Mikannibal for this release are Frédéric Leclercq of Kreator, plus US drummer extraordinaire, Mike Heller of Fear Factory and Raven, along with an appearance by longtime member Satoshi Fujinami on bass. Shiki was recorded across multiple studios, and mixed and mastered by Lasse Lammert at LSD studios in Germany. The album utilises a whole host of instruments to give further texture and dynamics to the compositions and eerie atmosphere, incorporating traditional oriental instruments such as the Shakuhachi & Sinobue flutes.
Sigh, featuring mainman Mirai Kawashima, Satoshi Fujinami & Kazuki Ozeki formed in 1989/90 and following their initial demos, Shinichi Ishikawa was brought in, and Sigh set about recording the masterpiece debut Scorn Defeat for Euronymous’ Deathlike Silence Productions, going on to become one of the country’s greatest and most revered metal exports.
Shiki will be released on August 26 on CD / black vinyl LP / limited edition green vinyl LP and digital. Pre-order here.
Tracklisting:
“Kuroi Inori”
“Kuroi Kage”
“Shoujahitsumetsu”
“Shikabane”
“Satsui – Geshi No Ato”
“Fuyu Ga Kuru”
“Shouku”
“Kuroi Kagami”
“Mayonaka No Kaii”
“Touji No Asa”
The New Roses are back with their fifth studio album, Sweet Poison, to be released on October 21 via Napalm Records. After their previous record, Nothing But Wild, hit the Top 10 on the German album charts, the quartet went on to share stages with rock legends like the Scorpions, Saxon and Accept. This summer, they even had the chance to tour with genre giants KISS and were the first German band invited to KISS Kruise. Sweet Poison bottles this potent energy on record, convincing with authentic hard rock and enormous hit density. The New Roses are on the way to the top of rock.
Get a taste of Sweet Poison with the first single, “The Usual Suspects”, straight off the new album. Let the catchy chorus take you on an unforgettable ride on the highway of rock, while frontman Timmy Rough’s voice catapults you to new spheres. The amazing live performance shown in the official music video is just a glimpse of their latest touring experience - convince yourself and dive into the world of The New Roses.
The New Roses on the new single: “’The Usual Suspects’ was one of the first songs we recorded for Sweet Poison and kind of paved the way for all the songs that came after that. We all realized that we don’t wanna write about the disappointments and struggles we had to deal with during all these lockdowns and being banned from the stage. No, ‘The Usual Suspects’ made us look ahead, It helped not to forget what and who we are: A damn Rock'n'Roll band. The title says it all: We’re the usual suspects and our fans are the usual suspects. We haven’t changed, we’re not bitter. We’ll be back on the road and we keep on rocking right where we had to stop…“
Watch the video for “The Usual Suspects” below.
Their latest effort, Sweet Poison, opens with the guitar-driven anthem "My Kinda Crazy," which kicks off the album in a worthy manner. In addition to rousing anthems, Sweet Poison features authentically rocking Americana tracks like "Playing With Fire" and "Sweet Gloria." "Warpaint" is undoubtedly a massive track in which the band unleashes its intangible energy with hard guitar riffs and powerful drums, while "The Usual Suspects" and "1st Time For Everything" impress with their catchy choruses. Tracks like "Dead Of Night" build on a distinct melody and develop into strong stadium rock anthems. With songs like "All I Ever Needed", The New Roses also show their softer side. The strong mid-tempo rock ballad revives the atmosphere of Guns N' Roses' moving ballads, while front man Timmy Rough passionately presents the full range of his voice, which can also be heard impressively on the touching acoustic track "True Love".
Sweet Poison is an outstanding rock album with an impressive hit density, seeing the band outdo themselves again and again, reviving true 80s rock. Hold on tight, because The New Roses shift up a gear and take you on a journey to the horizon of American rock grandeur.
Timmy Rough on the new album: “When we recorded Sweet Poison, we took all the bad vibes, all our struggle and disappointments of the last two years and turned them into this incredibly positive, high energy Rock n' Roll album. We don’t bitch at all, we wanna move forward and take our audience along with us. We stayed on our musical path, in fact I’d say we even went back closer to our roots and added some more of our Blues and Southern spirit while still keeping the catchy melodies of our last records. But hey, talk is cheap, so turn it up and have some fun.“
Sweet Poison is available to pre-order in the following formats:
- 1 LP Gatefold Black Vinyl
- 1 LP Gatefold Marbled Red Black (limited to 300 copies)
- CD Digipak + Wristband
- CD Digipak
- Digital Album
"My Kinda Crazy"
"Playing With Fire"
"All I Ever Needed"
"The Usual Suspects"
"Warpaint"
"Dead Of Night"
"True Love"
"1st Time For Everything"
"Sweet Gloria"
"The Lion In You"
"Veins Of This Town"
Texas death unit, I Am, will release their Eternal Steel full-length September 9 via MNRK Heavy. The band have released a video for the track, “Surrender To The Blade”, which can be found below.
Brandishing a unique blend of furious thrash and death metal like a weapon of mass destruction, I Am is purely no-nonsense in their patented “Texas Death” assault.
Across three full-length slabs of bludgeoning intensity and snarling rage, I Am puts a Southern stamp and revitalized swagger into deathcore, a subgenre rarely as raw, energized, and diverse as this band. In the spirit of fellow Southern icons Pantera and newer Texan heroes Power Trip, I AM channels discontent and anger into empowering anthems, as likely to inspire a grueling workout as to incite the pit. Reminiscent of the combination of death metal heaviness and thrash metal speed found in the early catalog of Sepultura, I Am mines the heaviness of Morbid Angel and the dexterity of the Big 4 to create something groundbreaking of their own. Vocalist Andrew Hileman -- who started the band in 2011 -- guitarists Tom Reyes and Chris Burgess, bassist Erik Rodriguez, and drummer Ian Scott deliver their Texas Death in clubs, theaters, and festivals, with bands like The Acacia Strain and Kublai Khan.
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Randy Leboeuf (Kublai Khan, Sentinels, The Acacia Strain), Eternal Steel, the quintet’s debut for MNRK Heavy, combines the onslaught of the band’s well-received Hard 2 Kill (2018) with the primal bite of Life Through Torment (2017) into a singular statement of intent.
“We took what we did well on Hard 2 Kill to new extremes on Eternal Steel,” notes Reyes. “It’s faster than the last album, it’s heavier than the last album, and it expands on every other aspect of our sound. ‘Heavy’ doesn’t always have to mean ‘slow.’ Frequently for us, the faster parts are equally as heavy.”
Eternal Steel will be released on CD, LP, cassette, and digitally. Preorder at iam-eternalsteel.com.
Tracklisting:
“The Primal Wave”
“Surrender To The Blade”
“The Iron Gate”
“Eternal Steel”
“Vicious Instinct”
“Infernal Panther”
“Queen Incarnate”
“Heaven On Earth”
“Price Of Pain”
“Eye Candy”
“Manic Cure”
Professionally filmed video of HEART singer Ann Wilson performing the band's classic song "Barracuda" earlier today (Saturday, August 6) at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany can be seen below.
In a recent interview with Grammy.com, Ann was asked if she and her sister and HEART bandmate Nancy have any plans for the band to celebrate its 50th anniversary next year. She responded: "Yes, we do. I'm not at liberty to say exactly what they are yet because it's such early days, but sure. It will be next year. And we're doing a thing. Definitely. We're still formulating it now."
Ann's latest comments came three months after she denied rumors of a rift with Nancy. In an interview in the 300th issue of Classic Rock, Ann said that she is "not" feuding with her younger sister. "It's a myth," she insisted. "Nancy and I are okay with each other. We just have different ideas for what HEART should be, and we haven’t figured out a compromise yet.
"Fifty years on, I still want it to break barriers and rules, and she's more satisfied to ride the L.A. imaging thing and just do legacy stuff," Ann explained. "So that's a real split between us. Things like this will happen, though, but then they'll get better, and we'll love each other more."
Relations between the two sisters were considered to be at an all-time low after a much-publicized incident when Ann's husband was arrested during a HEART tour in 2016. But in a recent interview with Rock Candy magazine to coincide with the release of her new solo album, "Fierce Bliss", Ann said: "Things happen in families. And that was a really good example of something that happened within a family, and we worked it out. But the part that made it hard was that it happened in the public eye. If it had happened privately, we'd have got the family in a room and sat down and worked it out between us. Instead, the police were called, and this myth was born that Nancy and I were feuding, and we were at each other's throats all the time. And it's really not like that at all."
A proposed HEART tour fell through last year after the two sisters failed to agree on which backing band to use. Ann wanted her guys, Nancy didn't. But Ann now says that another HEART album, which would be the band's first since 2016's "Beautiful Broken", is a definite possibility, especially considering the fact that 2023 marks HEART's 50th anniversary.
"It depends on the songs," she said in her Rock Candy interview. "The songs lead everything. And I'm writing songs again now. I don't know if they'll be for my solo thing or for HEART. But yes, I would like to make another HEART album."
Ann previously said that HEART will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2023 "because next year's the 50-year [anniversary] of when we actually got together and got going," she told Liz Barnes of Planet Rock's "My Planet Rocks". "Nancy didn't join until '75, but the band got going in '73. So, yeah, we have a bunch of stuff planned for next year. So I can definitely see HEART doing something."
Six months ago, Nancy spoke to Joe Rock of Long Island, New York's 102.3 WBAB radio station about why HEART has been inactive for most of the past three years.
"HEART had a big offer on the table last year for a bigger tour, but Ann wasn't interested in going out with my lineup of guys that we were out with before," she said. "She has a new lineup of guys that she wanted me to join up with. And I sort of [thought] I don't really know them and don't have loyalty yet for anybody like that."
HEART toured North America in the summer of 2019 after the aforementioned nasty split that kept the Wilson sisters estranged for three years.
Ann and Nancy had a falling out during HEART's 2016 tour, when Ann's husband Dean Welter was arrested for assaulting Nancy's then-16-year-old twin sons in a backstage altercation at a gig near their hometown of Seattle. He pleaded guilty to two lesser assault charges to avoid jail time.
After completing HEART's 2016 tour, Nancy formed a new band called ROADCASE ROYALE and released an album, "First Things First". ROADCASE ROYALE featured three members of HEART along with Liv Warfield from Prince's NEW POWER GENERATION band and her guitarist Ryan Wilson.
In Nancy's new band NANCY WILSON'S HEART, she is joined in the group by her longtime collaborators, guitarist Ryan Waters, drummer Ben Smith, bassist Andy Stoller and keyboardist Dan Walker, along with powerhouse singer Kimberly Nichole.
Nancy's debut solo album, "You And Me", was released in May 2021 via Carry On Music. The LP was recorded primarily in her California home studio, working with bandmembers and special guests remotely.
STAIND frontman Aaron Lewis played a new song called "I Ain't Made In China" during his August 4 solo concert at the Psycho Silo Saloon in Langley, Illinois. Fan-filmed video of the performance is available below.
"I Ain't Made In China" apparently features such lyrics as "I ain't made in China / From all the cheapest clothes / And I ain't one for driving an imported foreign car / I'm more like an American muscle from 1966 / I ain't made in China / I'm American as it gets".
The 50-year-old Lewis, an outspoken conservative rocker who reinvented himself as a solo country artist in the last decade, released his latest solo album, "Frayed At Both Ends", in January.
Aaron first dipped his toes into country music with his 2011 EP, "Town Line". His second full-length album, "Sinner", arrived in the fall of 2016 and was followed by a stand-alone single, "Folded Flag".
Lewis released his third full-length country album, "State I'm In", in April 2019 via Big Machine imprint Valory Music.
STAIND has released seven albums since 1995, the latest being 2011's self-titled effort. The band has had a number of hit songs during its first two decades, including the Top 10 smash "It's Been Awhile" from the No. 1 album "Break The Cycle". Follow-up LPs "14 Shades Of Grey" and "Chapter V" also topped the Billboard chart.
STAIND released its first album in nine years, "Live: It's Been Awhile", in May 2021 via Yap'em/Alchemy Recordings. The "Live: It's Been Awhile" album was accompanied by "The Return Of Staind", a two-part global streaming series in partnership with Danny Wimmer Presents.
STAIND played its first full live show in five years in September 2019 at the Louder Than Life music festival in Louisville, Kentucky.
Last summer, STAIND completed a U.S. tour as the support act for KORN.
Last November, Lewis claimed that he beat COVID-19 by taking ivermectin, a drug with no evidence of being a safe or effective treatment for the novel coronavirus. He said he also used Z-Pak, an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections by inhibiting the growth of bacteria in the body.
Lewis made headlines last September when he urged his fans to chant "Fuck Joe Biden" during a STAIND concert in Pennsylvania.
This past March, Lewis told the Los Angeles Times that he doesn't blindly listen to information that is delivered by the mainstream media.
"I'm not uneducated; I'm actually really smart, and I look for myself. I seek other options of information," he said. "I refuse to believe that a huge, gigantic corporation has our best interest in mind."
Asked where he gets his news, Lewis said: "I have news feeds and people that I follow on Telegram. Dan Ball. Andrew Wilkow. Mark Levin. If I'm gonna watch any sort of news source on television, it's Tucker Carlson."
Pressed about whether Fox News is an exception to his mistrust of corporations, Aaron said: "I think that if Tucker didn't have the following he has, he'd be gone. He's pretty much anchoring the network at this point."
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Professionally filmed video of OVERKILL performing the song "Ironbound" on August 4 at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany can be seen below.
This past May, OVERKILL canceled its previously announced shows in U.K., Ireland and Germany "due to unforeseen circumstances.'
The four-date run of dates was scheduled to kick off on May 27 in Northampton, U.K. and conclude on June 1 in Essen, Germany.
Guitarist Dave Linsk sat out OVERKILL's most recent U.S. tour due to "personal reasons" and was temporarily replaced by former MACHINE HEAD and current VIO-LENCE guitarist Phil Demmel.
This past March, OVERKILL bassist D.D. Verni spoke to Hardrock Haven about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's 20th studio album. He said: "All the drums are done. All the guitars are done. I still have to do the bass. Blitz [Bobby Ellsworth, OVERKILL singer] has gotta get to his vocals. But I had almost all of it written when we went out on the tour before COVID, 'cause that's where we were in our cycle. So I had to have my part — the music for the record — pretty much done. I had two songs left that I had to do when I got back home. 'Cause that's where we needed to be, 'cause the record was supposed to come out in the fall of that year or whenever. But then we were, like, 'We've got a little extra time.' And then we had more extra time."
He continued: "It was funny, because usually I'll kind of demo up everything at home, all the songs, and I'll send it out to the guys, and then they'll learn the stuff from the demo and then we'll get together and play. [And then we'll decide] 'Maybe it should be faster or slower' — we kind of noodle around till it feels good in the room. But we weren't able to do that 'cause of COVID. But now that it's taken so long, we could have done that. So, I don't know exactly… This one's still gonna be a bit of an odd record 'cause it was kind of done all remotely — everything. We're gonna put out a record of songs that we've not one single time stood in a room and played together."
As for the musical direction of the new OVERKILL material, Verni said: "Compared to the other ones… It's hard to say. It's maybe got a little bit more SABBATH-y kind of parts in it, a little bit more doomy.
"I know Colin Richardson's gonna mix it," he added. "Poor Colin. We thought we were gonna do it, and then we pushed him off, and then we pushed him off again, and then we pushed him off again. An we said, 'You know what? We'll call you when we're ready.' So whenever that's gonna be, we'll call him again. But we're psyched about that 'cause he's just great. He's a great mixer and a great producer. So if nothing else, it'll sound great."
Richardson previously worked with OVERKILL on 1997's "From The Underground And Below", 2000's "Bloodletting" and 2003's "Killbox 13".
PRIMUS has unveiled a music video for "Follow The Fool", the final single off its new "Conspiranoid" EP. Their first new music in more than five years, the EP features several commentaries on what frontman Les Claypool described as "the mental state of the contemporary world," with "Follow The Fool" asking the pointed question — "who's the bigger fool? Is it the fool, or is the fool who follows the fool." A special vinyl release of the "Conspiranoid" EP is out now via ATO Records.
PRIMUS announced the "Conspiranoid" EP in April with the release of its epic, 11-minute opening track, "Conspiranoia". "I'd been itching to record an opus — basically a long, winding, bastard of a song, reminiscent of some of the compositions I cut my teeth (or ears) on, in my music-hungry adolescence," Claypool said. "'Conspiranoia' was sprouted from a seed I had planted in my notebook a year or so ago — a few lines commenting on the mental state of the contemporary world."
Claypool elaborated on the genesis for the single and its accompanying B-sides in an interview with Consequence. He said: "With our new studio in the works and some impending touring, we decided the world needed to be subjected to some new PRIMUS material. Not wanting, or even having the time for recording an entire album, the notion of a 'single' was tossed around. I'd been itching to record an opus — basically a long, winding, bastard of a song, reminiscent of some of the compositions I cut my teeth (or ears) on, in my music-hungry adolescence. I said to the fellas, 'Let's record a 20-minute song.' The end result was an 11-and-a-half minute, progressive hunk of sound called 'Conspiranoia'.
"'Conspiranoia' was sprouted from a seed I had planted in my notebook a year or so ago — a few lines commenting on the mental state of the contemporary world," he explained. "I watched the distrust and divide grow between friends, colleagues, relatives, and the general population because of the consumption and digesting of disinformation, misinformation, warped information, and flat-out fairy tales being perpetuated by anyone with a slight hint of web design aptitude. I was compelled to shed light on the ridiculousness of many of these perspectives and the lack of rational thought that was being applied in the interpretation of many such entities and theories.
"Because the single 'Conspiranoia' is of such length, I realized that for a B-side of the vinyl, we would need at least two tunes to fill out the real estate of the actual 12-inch disc," Les added. "I had the song 'Follow The Fool' in the chamber and we fleshed it out. [Guitarist] Larry Lalonde had the riff for the song that became 'Erin On The Side Of Caution', which I supplied the lyrics for by again pulling from my notebook of notions. Because all three songs were bred in an odd time of divide, confusion, angst, frustration, and social senility, the title 'Conspiranoid' seemed like an appropriate moniker for the EP."
The release of the "Follow The Fool" video comes just before the final U.S. shows of PRIMUS's wildly popular "A Tribute To Kings" tour in Vail, Colorado on August 12 and August 13, which will find them performing RUSH's 1977 album "A Farewell To Kings" in its entirety, following a set of their own music. As Claypool told Rolling Stone, the "A Tribute To Kings" tour was about paying tribute to a band that has given him so much inspiration over the years. The band will also be performing a two-night run of "A Tribute To Kings" in November in Chile.
"'Hemispheres' was my first concert," Claypool said, referring to RUSH's 1978 album and tour. "Originally we'd always kind of joked around about doing 'Hemispheres'… but we settled on 'Kings', because A) it was the first RUSH record I ever heard and B) it contains 'Cygnus X-1', which has always been my favorite RUSH tune. It seems to be a good one for us to tackle; '2112' seemed a little obvious."
After the release of two new singles following a decade-long hiatus, THE MARS VOLTA has unveiled details surrounding its seventh full-length album, "The Mars Volta", due on September 16. The new album bravely challenges everything you thought you knew about them, delivering their most exciting, most accessible, and most sophisticated music yet.
Today, the band also releases a third single and music video for "Vigil", with Cedric Bixler-Zavala noting: "And the obits wait for a perfect name."
In addition, "The Mars Volta" is now available for digital and physical pre-order. Digitally the album will be available in Dolby Atmos and spatial audio, and physically on CD and vinyl with Clouds Hill holding an exclusive, kinetic version of the vinyl. A special, gold-foiled outer sleeve with embossed art will be available on LP, CD and cassette.
The new album shakes loose some of THE MARS VOLTA's long-standing shibboleths, with only two tracks lasting longer than four minutes, and the dizzying, abrasive prog stylings of earlier albums absent. "The Mars Volta" pulses with subtle brilliance, Caribbean rhythms underpinning sophisticated, turbulent song craft. This is guitarist/composer Omar Rodríguez-López and singer/lyricist Cedric Bixler-Zavala at their most mature, most concise, most focused. Their sound and fury channeled to greatest effect.
"The Mars Volta" track listing:
01. Blacklight Shine
02. Graveyard Love
03. Shore Story
04. Blank Condolences
05. Vigil
06. Qué Dios Te Maldiga Mí Corazón
07. Cerulea
08. Flash Burns From Flashbacks
09. Palm Full Of Crux
10. No Case Gain
11. Tourmaline
12. Equus 3
13. Collapsible Shoulders
14. The Requisition
"Vigil" follows the release of the singles and short films for "Blacklight Shine" and "Graveyard Love". The short films, directed by Rodríguez-López depict the beauty of life in Puerto Rico and rail against U.S. colonial rule.
THE MARS VOLTA has announced its first live shows in ten years. Dates have been added to select cities due to overwhelming demand with many of the shows now sold out.
THE MARS VOLTA tour dates:
Sep. 22 - The Factory in Deep Ellum - Dallas, TX
Sep. 23 - The Factory in Deep Ellum - Dallas, TX
Sep. 25 - Tabernacle - Atlanta, GA
Sep. 27 – The Metropolitan Opera House - Philadelphia, PA
Sep. 29 - Terminal 5 - New York, NY
Sep. 30 – Terminal 5 – New York, NY
Oct. 01 - MGM Music Hall at Fenway - Boston, MA
Oct. 03 – The Anthem - Washington, DC
Oct. 05 - Massey Hall - Toronto, ON
Oct. 06 - Royal Oak Music Theatre - Detroit, MI
Oct. 08 - Aragon Ballroom - Chicago, IL
Oct. 09 – The Eagles Ballroom – Milwaukee, WI
Oct. 11 - The Mission Ballroom - Denver, CO
Oct. 14 - Moore Theatre - Seattle, WA
Oct. 15 - Moore Theatre - Seattle, WA
Oct. 18 - The Warfield - San Francisco, CA
Oct. 19 - The Warfield - San Francisco, CA
Oct. 21 - Hollywood Palladium - Los Angeles, CA
Oct. 22 – Hollywood Palladium – Los Angeles, CA
Oct. 23 – Hollywood Palladium – Los Angeles, CA
Formed by guitarist/composer Omar Rodríguez-López and singer/lyricist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, THE MARS VOLTA rose from the ashes of El Paso punk-rock firebrands AT THE DRIVE-IN in 2001. On a mission to "honor our roots and honor our dead", THE MARS VOLTA made music that fused the Latin sounds Rodríguez-López was raised on with the punk and underground noise he and Bixler-Zavala had immersed themselves in for years, and the futuristic visions they were tapping into. The albums that followed were one-of-a-kind masterpieces, their songs of breath-taking complexity also possessing powerful emotional immediacy. After the group fell silent, a legion of devotees (including Kanye West) kept up an insistent drum beat for their return. Now — a year after "La Realidad De Los Sueños", a luxurious 18-LP box-set compiling their back catalog, sold out its 5,000 print run in under 24 hours — THE MARS VOLTA is back.
MACHINE HEAD's Robb Flynn and Jared MacEachern held the latest "Electric Happy Hour" on Friday, August 5 during which they performed the band's debut album, 1994's "Burn My Eyes", in its entirety to mark the LP's 28th birthday. They were joined for the celebration by original "Burn My Eyes" drummer Chris Kontos. In addition to all of the beer drinking, banter and merriment, they also performed a healthy selection of their favorite cover songs like SLAYER's "Black Magic", METALLICA's "Motorbreath", SEPULTURA's "Territory" and EXODUS's "A Lesson in Violence".
Released worldwide on August 9, 1994, "Burn My Eyes" was and still is considered to be one of the most important albums of its genre, garnering the band an unprecedented level of recognition and spawning a myriad of imitators — all from just MACHINE HEAD's first record.
In 2019, Flynn, Kontos and "Burn My Eyes" guitarist Logan Mader reunited — along with MacEachern — to celebrate the LP's 25th anniversary on tours in Europe and the U.S.
Asked by Metal Hammer if it bothers him that some fans still regard "Burn My Eyes" as MACHINE HEAD's best album, Flynn said: "No. The clincher for me, and this rarely happens, is when someone says, 'You should write 'Burn My Eyes' again,' but it'd be so phony! I'm not 24, fuckin' running around on the streets. It was real and that's why it came out the way it did. If I tried to do it now, it wouldn't be real. Those times made me who I am and affected me forever and I'm fearless because of them, but I'd like to think that I've aged gracefully and I hope to continue to do that. How dumb would it be for some [50]-something dude to be acting like some teenage gangster? It'd be ridiculous."
Kontos left MACHINE HEAD before the release of the band's second album, 1997's "The More Things Change", and was replaced by Dave McClain.
McClain and guitarist Phil Demmel exited MACHINE HEAD in the fall of 2018.
Adam Duce, who played bass on "Burn My Eyes", was fired from MACHINE HEAD in February 2013. He was replaced four months later by MacEachern. Adam later sued MACHINE HEAD, claiming that the other bandmembers "simply kicked him out of the band and presumed he would forget about over two decades of hard work, dedication, and effort" he put into the group. Duce also said his likeness was used on the band's web site and in promotions without his authorization. The lawsuit was settled out of court in July 2014.
MACHINE HEAD will release its tenth studio album, "Of Kingdom And Crown", on August 26 via Nuclear Blast/Imperium Recordings.
The band's current lineup is rounded out by Polish guitarist Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (DECAPITATED) and British drummer Matt Alston (DEVILMENT, EASTERN FRONT).
The official music video for the song "My Parasite" from FACE WITHOUT FEAR, the new industrial rock band featuring ex-STATIC-X and DOPE guitarist Tripp Eisen, can be seen below. The clip was created by South Town Productions from Lubbock, Texas.
Eisen is joined in the group by Reg S. on bass, Kenny "Mantis" Hoyt (CRUSHPILE) on vocals, T.J. Cooke (METHODICAL) on drums and Dante on guitar.
The first visit that Eisen made back to California after STATIC-X frontman Wayne Static's passing in 2014 was an emotional time for the guitarist. The mourning process involved spending some time with long-time STATIC-X friends and associates like Tony Campos. He had also re-connected with Ken Jay and they shared in the shock and sadness of the estranged singer's death. This trip inspired Eisen to pen two songs that he wrote as soon he returned, "Road To Hell" and "Love Kills".
"Road To Hell" was ultimately retitled "My Destruction" and appears on the 2020 STATIC-X album "Project Regeneration Vol. 1", but some unused parts of the song evolved into "My Parasite", which is a highlight of the FACE WITHOUT FEAR setlist.
FACE WITHOUT FEAR had been playing an early version of "Road To Hell", but with Eisen's collaborations with Campos and vocalist Xer0, the song was given up for what Eisen coined "Project-X", or what became "Project Regeneration". "Road To Hell" was also the opening song on STATIC-X's first teaser in 2018 and Tripp music introduced the world to the return of STATIC-X and the announcement of the upcoming album and tour, after the band's nine-year hiatus.
The two sister songs "My Destruction" and "My Parasite" therefore have a unique history with both STATIC-X and FACE WITHOUT FEAR.
"My Parasite" is a collaboration between Eisen and vocalist Mantis, and features programming by veteran sound-artist Spydah, who has done several tracks for the band.
Eisen says: "The song is about the type of person that clings to another person and sucks the life, energy and finances from you. But it is also symbolic of the parasites on society that feed off of the rich, the poor or anyone that can act as a host. It's not a deep concept, but it's universal."
Formed in 2017 by Eisen, FACE WITHOUT FEAR draws you in with gritty-yet-polished guitar work, electronic sampling, and metal vocals infused with surprisingly refined melodic phrasing.
In their lyrics, the concepts of individualism, liberty and freedom, as well as the universal experience with human relationships encompass their lyrics.
The band also takes inspiration from the conceptual and futuristic world of Ayn Rand, and is where the band's name is drawn from ("Atlas Shrugged: Part II", Chapter 9: "A face that bore no mark of pain or fear... It was a face that had nothing to hide or to escape, a face with no fear…")
After a slight hiatus due to the pandemic, FACE WITHOUT FEAR is planning several upcoming live shows which will feature an album's worth of original material, plus a few treats for fans of Tripp's previous projects as well as a few dynamic updated covers by such artists at THE BEATLES, RAMONES and MISFITS.
Eisen has not given up on an eventual reconciliation with STATIC-X even after some adversarial jabs in 2020 with his old band and executive producer Edsel Dope — who is rumored to be Xer0 — regarding the details of his involvement with the entire STATIC-X reunion. Eisen will launch a podcast in the coming weeks to chronicle his experiences in STATIC-X and his other bands.
Tripp joined STATIC-X in 1999 and recorded three albums with the platinum-selling band.
A decade and a half ago, Eisen — whose real name is Tod Rex Salvador — served time for meeting and sexually assaulting two underage females in January and February 2005.
Five years ago, Eisen told "Totally Driven Radio" that his arrest and prison sentence was "a difficult time of my life" and insisted that he has "learned from it" and "grown. What happened to me was really bad judgment, terrible mistakes that I made, and I paid a price for 'em," he said.
The wait is finally over. Delain, the brainchild of keyboardist, founder and main songwriter Martijn Westerholt, returns with full power, presenting themselves with a new lineup featuring the terrific Diana Leah as their next singer. Her powerful, heart-wrenching voice fits perfectly with the band's style and adds a new strength to their sound.
Rejoining the fold and bolstering the band’s continuity are original guitarist Ronald Landa and original drummer Sander Zoer, while new members Diana and bassist Ludovico Cioffi continue the evolution of the band’s sound.
The multi-million streaming leading symphonic metal outfit sets off into their next era, creating the perfect symbiosis of tested strengths and new influences.
The band's new single, “The Quest And The Curse”, implements this in an impressive manner. Trademark bombastic riffs, lush orchestrations, elements from film music, metal, pop, electronic, and much more mark an amalgamation of the old and new, and build the next chapter of the band's history.
As Martijn Westerholt states: "The future of Dealin looks bright!"
Watch the video for “The Quest and the Curse” below:
Delain is:
Martijn Westerholt - keyboards
Diana Leah - vocals
Ronald Landa - guitars and backing vocals
Ludovico Cioffi – bass and backing vocals
Sander Zoer - drums
BLACK SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne and guitarist Tony Iommi reunited earlier today (Monday, August 8) in their original hometown of Birmingham, England to perform the band's classic song "Paranoid" — preceded by a truncated version of "Iron Man" — at the closing of the city's Commonwealth Games. They were joined by two musicians from the band's final tour, Adam Wakeman, who played bass and keyboards, and drummer Tommy Clufetos.
A few years ago, Osbourne said that he was open to the possibility of a SABBATH reunion at the Commonwealth Games, telling ITV that it "would be fantastic" to play at the the opening ceremony for the 2022 Games. "With BLACK SABBATH or on my own," he said at the time.
Late last month, Iommi took part in the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. Iommi and acclaimed saxophonist Soweto Kinch led a "dream sequence" piece, titled "Hear My Voice", based on the lead track from the 2020 film "Trial Of The Chicago Seven" at the event on July 28. After Tony and Soweto played an extended instrumental lead-in, they were joined by the City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and a 700-strong community choir.
The ceremony took place at Alexander Stadium in front of an audience of more than 30,000, with the event also being broadcast live on BBC One and iPlayer to an estimated global television audience of one billion.
Headlining the ceremony was the new wave group DURAN DURAN, with additional appearances by some of the city's most celebrated artists under the musical direction of rapper, artist and educator Joshua "RTKal" Holness.
After the ceremony, Ozzy tweeted: "@TonyIommi , I was really proud to see you tonight at the opening of the Commonwealth Games in our home town of Birmingham".
Earlier that week, Iommi talked to BirminghamWorld about the pressure of performance for such a large audience.
"A billion people tuning in is a huge figure," he said. "It's going to be seen not just across the Commonwealth but throughout the world. We really have to do Birmingham proud.
"Representing Brum is a great honor and I'm bursting with pride to be doing it. I've flown the flag for Birmingham all of my life because it's my city and it's given me wonderful opportunities.
"I like to think that BLACK SABBATH helped to put Birmingham on the map musically, and it's great now that the Games ceremony will feature so many talented people from the city. It means a hell of a lot to me. But I have to admit, there'll be a bit of stage fright on the night. I haven't played onstage at a big show for five years since the final SABBATH show in February 2017."
The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games saw around 4,500 athletes from 72 nations and territories compete in 19 sports and eight para-sports across 15 competition venues from July 28 July until August 8.
Last year, Iommi was asked by The Mercury News about the possibility of another BLACK SABBATH tour at some point in the not-too-distant future. He laughed and replied: "I wouldn't think so. But it's a strange thing with SABBATH — how many times we thought we were with Ozzy, then we had [Ronnie James] Dio, then back to Ozzy, then Dio again, and then Ian Gillan and Tony Martin and Dio and back to Tony Martin. It's gone backwards and forwards at different stages. So, you just never know.
"I think it's highly unlikely that we'd get back onstage again," he said. "It certainly wouldn't be touring. We'd only do so many shows, if anything.
"I would like to play with the guys again. But I can't see that happening.
"The reason we stopped touring in the first place was basically my fault, because I had to be careful of my health," Iommi explained. "When you book a tour — and it's always an 18-month tour — it doesn't sound a lot when you talk about it at first. But when you get out there, and you are touring, it's bloody hard work. And it wasn't particularly good for my health, because of the blood cancer. So, I said, 'Look, you know, this should the last tour, I think.' But I really do miss it. I really miss playing onstage. I miss seeing the audience."
Iommi revealed his cancer diagnosis in early 2012, shortly after SABBATH announced a reunion tour and album. He underwent treatment throughout the recording of the disc, titled "13", and the subsequent tour to promote it.
On August 4th, former Accept frontman Udo Dirkschneider hit the stage at Wacken Open Air 2022 for a full set of Accept classics. Check out pro-shot video of "Princess Of The Dawn" below.
Udo Dirkschneider released his new album, My Way, on April 22nd via Atomic Fire Records. According to the label, Dirkschneider made the sensational jump to #4 in the official German album charts. For the 70-year-old metal icon, this is the highest chart entry of his career, outshining Accept's 1986 classic Russian Roulette (#5) and the U.D.O. 2018 album, Steelfactory (#7).
He is THE constant among the German metal scene - Udo Dirkschneider. Originally becoming world-famous as a founding member of Accept, he continues to steadily expand upon his international successes with his U.D.O. and Dirkschneider outfits. Remaining true to himself over the years in a way few musicians could, Dirkschneider consistently bucks music industry trends in favor of following his heart. Yet his most personal and extraordinary album to date will be released on April 22: My Way.
This new release contains 17 cover versions of the very songs that have influenced the musician and singer the most. All kinds of classics from music history are among them - including those that you might not expect from Udo. Not only does a very personal story lie behind each of the tracks, but also a sometimes surprising arrangement that, despite the very individual implementation, lives and breathes Udo’s manuscript throughout. “Now when I hear the song, I remember the time when, as a very young Udo, I’d go out to light up the town and lived all the stories that can only be experienced late at night in the clubs."
Here, Alex Harvey’s "Faith Healer" allows the artist to feel those days of an era long past. The fact that "Nutbush City Limits: is also on the album reveals a secret rarely told until now: “What hardly anyone knows so far: I was a huge fan of Ike and Tina Turner, and especially Tina’s voice, once. We always covered this song during Accept rehearsals in the early days. It was one of the mainstays of our Accept rehearsal repertoire for years. Regrettably, there is no recording of it.”
With Wolfsheim's "Kein Zurück", Udo sang in German for the first time in his career: “I immediately felt like the words understood me. It seemed to me that the lyrics were telling the story of my career, of my highs and lows and all the good and bad experiences that life has. There simply is ‘no going back’ for those who choose to live as a musician.”
The cover album also makes one thing clear: Just how many in the music industry have come and gone over the years. Yet, Udo Dirkschneider is still here.
Tracklisting:
"Faith Healer" (Alex Harvey)
"Fire" (Crazy World Of Arthur Brown)
"Sympathy" (Uriah Heep)
"They Call It Nutbush" (Tina Turner)
"Man On The Silver Mountain" (Rainbow)
"Hell Raiser" (The Sweet)
"No Class" (Motörhead)
"Rock And Roll" (Led Zeppelin)
"The Stroke" (Billy Squier)
"Paint It Black" (Rolling Stones)
"He's A Woman, She's A Man" (Scorpions)
"T.N.T." (AC/DC)
"Jealousy" (Frankie Miller)
"Hell Bent For Leather" (Judas Priest)
"We Will Rock You" (Queen)
"Kein Zurück" (Wolfsheim)
"My Way" (Frank Sinatra)
Loudness frontman Minoru Niihara recently performed with Japanese drum prodigy Yoyoka Soma. Video of Niihara belting out the Loudness hit "Crazy Doctor" can be viewed below.
The clip was shot at Takutaku in Kyoto, Japan on July 18th. It features:
The pioneers of Japanese heavy metal, Loudness, have released their new album, Sunburst, via earMUSIC. Available in 2CD digipak with an extensive booklet (including Japanese/English lyric translations) and digital, you can order the album here.
Even with a career that has been going strong for over 40 years, Loudness are not getting too tired to rock around the world and unleash their full power.
With the staccato, riff-driven "OEOEO", which is sung in their native language of Japanese, Loudness give praise and appreciation to their origin and roots, supported with pictures of some of Japan's most famous landmarks, such as Mount Fuji, Osaka Castle, or the Expo '70 Commemorative Park, which is where the 1970s world fair took place.
In particular, fans of guitar wizard Akira Takasaki will not be disappointed, as he shows his incomparable craft on the six-string with a performance that is second-to-none.
Back in 1981 rose the star of the Japanese hard ’n heavy scene, when Munetaka Higuchi (drums), Akira Takasaki (guitar), Minoru Niihara (vocals) and Masayoshi Yamashita (bass) were set to found a legend to this day, who is still second to none from their native Japan: Loudness was born!
During a career spanning over 40-years, Loudness built a rich musical foundation with many studio albums, EPs and live albums. With Sunburst, they’ve added another milestone to the great catalogue, their 29th studio album to be precise.
Sunburst is the band’s first official double studio album in their impressive career, making it particularly special as it can be considered a celebration of their rich musical history. The 16 songs represent the classic Loudness sound and style, highly acclaimed by fans and critics alike. Written mostly by original member and guitarist Akira Takasaki, the majority of songs are sung in Japanese, representing their appreciation of their origin and roots.
Tracklisting:
Disc 1:
"Rising Sun"
"OEOEO"
"Yamato Damashii"
"Kaso Genjitsu (Virtual Reality)"
"Crazy World"
"Stand Or Fall"
"The Sanzu River"
"Nihon No Kokoro (The Heart Of Japan)"
Disc 2:
"Kagayakeru 80's (Shining 80's)"
"Emerald No Umi (Emerald Ocean)"
"Tengoku No Tobira (Heaven's Door)"
"All Will Be Fine With You"
"Fire In The Sky"
"Hunger For More"
"The Nakigara"
"Wonderland"
Avantasia guitarist Oliver Hartmann will release his new Hartmann album, Get Over It, on September 16th. It is now available for pre-order here.
Check out the official video for the new single, "The Gun", below.
The tracklist is as follows:
"Remedy"
"One Step Behind"
"In Another Life"
"What You Give Is What You Get"
"The Movie's End"
"Just Drive"
"The Gun"
"Can't Keep Away From You"
"Get Over It"
"Stay True To Me"
"When We Were Young"
Japanese drum prodigy Yoyoka Soma, who has become a YouTube sensation and attracted the attention of KISS icon Gene Simmons, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice, recently teamed up with Loudness frontman Minoru Niihara for a performance of the Deep Purple classic, "Burn". Check it out below.
The clip was shot at Takutaku in Kyoto, Japan on July 18th. It features:
The pioneers of Japanese heavy metal, Loudness, have released their new album, Sunburst, via earMUSIC. Available in 2CD digipak with an extensive booklet (including Japanese/English lyric translations) and digital, you can order the album here.
Even with a career that has been going strong for over 40 years, Loudness are not getting too tired to rock around the world and unleash their full power.
With the staccato, riff-driven "OEOEO", which is sung in their native language of Japanese, Loudness give praise and appreciation to their origin and roots, supported with pictures of some of Japan's most famous landmarks, such as Mount Fuji, Osaka Castle, or the Expo '70 Commemorative Park, which is where the 1970s world fair took place.
In particular, fans of guitar wizard Akira Takasaki will not be disappointed, as he shows his incomparable craft on the six-string with a performance that is second-to-none.
Back in 1981 rose the star of the Japanese hard ’n heavy scene, when Munetaka Higuchi (drums), Akira Takasaki (guitar), Minoru Niihara (vocals) and Masayoshi Yamashita (bass) were set to found a legend to this day, who is still second to none from their native Japan: Loudness was born!
During a career spanning over 40-years, Loudness built a rich musical foundation with many studio albums, EPs and live albums. With Sunburst, they’ve added another milestone to the great catalogue, their 29th studio album to be precise.
Sunburst is the band’s first official double studio album in their impressive career, making it particularly special as it can be considered a celebration of their rich musical history. The 16 songs represent the classic Loudness sound and style, highly acclaimed by fans and critics alike. Written mostly by original member and guitarist Akira Takasaki, the majority of songs are sung in Japanese, representing their appreciation of their origin and roots.
Tracklisting:
Disc 1:
"Rising Sun"
"OEOEO"
"Yamato Damashii"
"Kaso Genjitsu (Virtual Reality)"
"Crazy World"
"Stand Or Fall"
"The Sanzu River"
"Nihon No Kokoro (The Heart Of Japan)"
Disc 2:
"Kagayakeru 80's (Shining 80's)"
"Emerald No Umi (Emerald Ocean)"
"Tengoku No Tobira (Heaven's Door)"
"All Will Be Fine With You"
"Fire In The Sky"
"Hunger For More"
"The Nakigara"
"Wonderland"
Sabaton guitarist / Majestica frontman Tommy Johansson has shared his solo performance of Elton John's 1983 hit "I'm Still Standing". Check it out below.
Johansson: "This power metal version of his epic tune is a mix between the movie version (Rocket Man) the original, and a new arranged power metal version."
Johansson recently shared his solo performance of the Queen classic, "Show Must Go On". The song is taken from Queen's 1991 album, Innuendo.
Scarlett O’Hara has released their latest active rock hit “Witching Hour.” The high-powered track, produced by Andrew Baylis (whose accolades include Jelly Roll and Sleeping With Sirens), stays true to the band’s signature sound, combining melodic vocals and electronic details to complement the unyielding angst of their heavy metal influences.
Their bold instrumentals come to life as they intertwine with a spine-chilling fictional storyline inspired by real-life commentary about mental health and inner demons:
“The instrumentals for ‘Witching Hour’ have a gothic rock vibe and so when I was writing the lyrics, I thought to myself - what if I made this about a ghost that I can see, but nobody else is willing to believe me about it? The line ‘I drown out the noises by swallowing poison’ made me think about a common saying of ‘they probably forgot to take their meds today’ as a way of calling somebody insane. Some people find comfort in drugs or other toxic outlets to make themselves feel sane or mentally exit their suffering. I wrote this song about a metaphorical ghost haunting someone and they are going through feelings of numbness, craziness, and loneliness since no one believes their story.” - Moses Lopez, Vocalist of Scarlett O’Hara
They say everything is bigger in the Lone Star State, and this is undoubtedly the case for South Texas Active Rock outlaws, Scarlett O'Hara. The band is turning heads with their heavy fusion of electronics, powerful riffs, and polished vocals, which has solidified regular placement on the Billboard charts for three consecutive releases, rotation on Sirius XM Octane, and a lineup spot at Welcome To Rockville 2021 alongside Metallica and Disturbed. They’ve teamed up with Grammy-nominated producers and spared no expense to conjure up an unrelenting discography for metalheads to relish in.
Alongside the band’s notable musical achievements, they are all Spanish-speaking Mexican Americans native to McAllen, TX - the epicenter of immigration challenges in the United States. Additionally, vocalist Moses Lopez is a proud gay frontman representing the LGBTQ+ community in the heavy rock scene. The band is showcasing the diversity and acceptance that has become synonymous with rock music - a genre built upon creating community amongst differences.
Scarlett O’Hara is pushing the active rock genre to new heights musically and ideologically - their only hope is that you’ll join them at the Brodeo. With more shows and new releases in 2022, this is only the beginning of the band’s new chapter in rock history.
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