Teethgrinder from the Netherlands have always looked in disbelief at what mankind is doing to itself and the planet it lives on. Disgust, revulsion, suffering and despair - it's emotions like these that serve as the creative driving force behind the songwriting of the band from Zwolle.
The quartet packs all its rage and aggression into songs that reflect exactly that. The aptly titled Dystopia - the band's third album through Lifeforce Records - develops uncomfortably, radically and musically destructive. And it does so in a different yet agile, always threatening way. In view of song titles like "Birthed Into Suffering", "Disgrace", "Blood Ritual", "Our Failing Species" or "Worthless", it can't be any other way.
As on the two predecessors Misanthropy (2015) and Nihilism (2016), Teethgrinder rely on a sound base between grindcore and death metal. Elements from crust, hardcore and black metal round out the stylistic spectrum of the Dutchmen.
Check out the new single "Our Failing Species" below. It is available on all digital platforms here.
Professionally filmed video of METALLICA performing the song "Moth Into Flame" on June 19 at the Firenze Rocks festival in Florence, Italy can be seen below.
The band's setlist was as follows:
01. Whiplash
02. Creeping Death
03. Enter Sandman
04. Harvester Of Sorrow
05. Trapped Under Ice
06. No Leaf Clover
07. Sad But True
08. Dirty Window
09. Nothing Else Matters
10. For Whom The Bell Tolls
11. Moth Into Flame
12. Fade To Black
13. Seek And Destroy
Encore:
14. Damage, Inc.
15. One
16. Master Of Puppets
Last week, METALLICA was forced to cancel its headlining appearance at the Frauenfeld Rocks festival in Switzerland after a member of the band's "family" tested positive for COVID-19.
It is not clear whether one of the METALLICA members tested positive for COVID-19 or if it was someone associated with the band's road crew.
METALLICA recently completed a six-date South American tour, which kicked off on April 27 in Santiago, Chile.
METALLICA played its first concert of 2022 on February 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show, which was reportedly attended by 60,000 fans, featured support from GRETA VAN FLEET and ICE NINE KILLS.
The Las Vegas show took place more than two months after METALLICA's two 40th-anniversary concerts at Chase Center in San Francisco, California which featured different setlists. They were part of METALLICA's "San Francisco Takeover", a four-day citywide celebration of the band's 40th anniversary that also included a film festival, photo exhibit and curated lineup of smaller venue shows featuring other acts.
In February, METALLICA announced it will perform only two summer stadium shows in 2022: Highmark Stadium in Buffalo, New York on August 11, and PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 14. Both shows will feature special guests GRETA VAN FLEET and ICE NINE KILLS.
METALLICA previously played at Highmark Stadium on July 25, 1992, and Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium on July 26, 1992.
METALLICA has a number of other European dates scheduled for July.
HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD will release its eighth studio album, "Hotel Kalifornia", on August 12 via Dove & Grenade Media/BMG. According to a press release, the LP represents "a juxtaposition between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots', highlighting the ongoing homelessness and cost of living crisis that is affecting the band's home state of California." The record features recent singles "Wild In These Streets" and "CHAOS", as well as "City Of The Dead", the official music video for which can be seen below.
The clip, directed by frequent collaborator Brian Cox (BRING ME THE HORIZON, THE USED),is set in the band's interpretation of the "City Of The Dead", in which the five bandmates mind their days in a "Beetlejuice"-inspired, twisted world where all things dead have another life.
The song, which has amassed two million streams across platforms and enjoyed priority placements on genre playlists such as Spotify's Rock Hard, Hard Rock and Rock rotation as well as Apple Music's Breaking Hard Rock and New In Rock, is also currently in the Top 40 and rising at U.S. rock and active rock radio. No doubt that the band will be performing this song on this summer's "Rockzilla" tour with PAPA ROACH, FALLING IN REVERSE and BAD WOLVES.
Due to overwhelming support for the new song, the band has also announced that they will be releasing a additional track, "Trap God", this Friday, July 8. The thunderous track takes listeners back to the band's precarious beginnings — recounting financial struggles and doing what was necessary to survive.
Johnny 3 Tears shares: "'Trap God' details the band's early days pre-record label fighting financial set-backs while growing weed in a dirty North Hollywood garage just to make ends meet."
Not long after the turn of the century, a collective of friends congregated around a common vision bred in the gutters and back alleys of Hollywood, California. Under the influence of everything from gritty Nineties hip-hop to industrial metal (not to mention cheap booze),they climbed out of similar experiences in poverty and hardship and vaulted to the forefront of 21st century rock music on their own terms.
To this day, HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD hinges on the bond of five individuals who relay such raw experiences into relatable anthems. However, the platinum-certified quintet — Johnny 3 Tears, J-Dog, Funny Man, Charlie Scene and Danny — tell their story like never before on "Hotel Kalifornia".
"We were in a world of shit," states Johnny 3 Tears. "The opportunities for failure were far more prevalent than the opportunities for success. We were hanging out with gangbangers and drug dealers. The chances of overcoming were very slim. We made something special together because of the heartbreak and heartache that came from all our experiences."
"'Hotel Kalifornia' brings me back to a time when all that mattered was music," adds J-Dog. "The only thing I gave a shit about was going to shows. That was it."
Throughout 2021, the boys recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles with producers Erik Ron (PANIC! AT THE DISCO, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE),Andrew Migliore (SUECO, PAPA ROACH) and Drew Fulk (Lil Wayne, Lil Peep). Working face to face, HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD rekindled the unbridled intensity of their formative material, yet with refinement only possible through years of grinding on the road.
"When you listen to 'Hotel Kalifornia', I hope you see how far we've come," Johnny 3 Tears leaves off. "J-Dog and Charlie Scene are completely different songwriters than they were 15 years ago. I'm so impressed by everyone in the band. The only thing we give a fuck about is the audience and trying to get better on each record."
"After all of these years, people on the outside really have a hard time believing we're still best friends," J-Dog adds. "We've stayed this close even with all of the shit we've been through. Usually bands break up friendships, but we're best friends — and we always will be."
"Hotel Kalifornia" track listing:
01. CHAOS
02. World War Me
03. Ruin My Life
04. Hourglass
05. Go To War
06. Alone At The Top
07. Wild In These Streets
08. Dangerous
09. Lion Eyes
10. Trap God
11. Happy When I Die
12. Reclaim
13. City Of The Dead
14. Alright
New England extreme metal unit Escuela Grind will release its new LP, Memory Theater, on September 30. Produced by Kurt Ballou, the album -- the band's first for MNRK Heavy (High On Fire, Crowbar) -- features nine tracks of sharp, scorching underground music that rages and rips in equal measure. Escuela Grind's Memory Theater is available for pre-order now at this location.
Get a sneak peek at what the new Escuela Grind album promises right now as the band releases a video for its rampaging new track, "Cliffhanger", which adroitly showcases the kinetic energy of the group's much talked about live performances.
“'Cliffhanger' is us branching out and including all of our influences into a heavy, danceable song. It’s a perfect representation of all the new things to expect from Escuela Grind," says vocalist Katerina Economou. "The lyrics are about the people that try to play both sides of the fence, play devil's advocate and drag you down with them. It’s about fighting crab mentality. This is just a taste of all the killer stuff coming on Memory Theater!”
Tracklisting:
"Endowed With Windows"
"My Heart, My Hands"
"Cliffhanger"
"Strange Creature"
"Faulty Blueprints"
"All Is Forgiven"
"Forced Collective Introspection"
"The Feed"
"Memory Theater"
The music might be terrifying, but the overwhelming spirit behind Escuela Grind is a message of empowerment. As it destroys musical boundaries, the quartet attacks the idea of “gatekeeping” with equal ferocity. Anytime Katerina Economou (vocals), Jesse Fuentes (drums), Kris Morash (guitar), and Tom Sifuentes (bass) convene, an aural apocalypse will ensue. Escuela Grind stitches together a new metallic hardcore monster from the rotten corpses of grind and power violence with gleefully unhinged blasts of percussive bombast and chaos.
Memory Theater, Escuela Grind's sophomore album, is seven minutes shorter than Slayer’s Reign In Blood, but with a few songs running past the three-minute mark, it’s downright epic by grindcore norms.
The album title references a specific historical concept, constructing a “space” from one’s internal ideas, knowledge, and perception. An architect by trade, Economou explores philosophy, politics, and experiential experimentation, building a kind of structure amidst the band's musical cacophony.
Watch drummer Nick Menza play Megadeth's "Tornado Of Souls" two years before his death, featuring David Ellefson's original 1990 isolated bass track, which originally appeared on the band's classic fourth album, Rust In Peace. Released in September 1990 via Capitol Records, it was Megadeth's first LP with guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza following the departures of Jeff Young and Chuck Behler.
The HD video, shot in a two-camera-angle mix, was filmed in March 2014 at Uberbeatz Studios in Seattle, Washington. The audio was mixed by Richard Easterling / KRM Studios and is believed to be some of the final studio drum recordings of Menza before he passed away two years later.
The footage was supposed to be used for the late drummer's first-ever instructional DVD, Intense Mega Drumming, with tons of tips and tricks from Menza's arsenal to help teach anybody out there how to become a better player. The DVD, which was produced and directed by Kari Pearson and edited by Menza's manager, Robert Bolger, has since been shelved.
The previously unreleased video footage from the session will be a featured highlight in the recently announced official Menza documentary film, This Was My Life - The Story Of Nick Menza. It is described in a press release as "an unflinching exploration into the life of one of the most successful thrash-metal drummers of all time, authorized by the Menza family."
David Ellefson has signed on as a co-producer of the film, and also will provide narration to guide the viewer through the exploration of the late Megadeth drummer's life. Ellefson added: "The making of the Nick Menza documentary has been such a joy for all of us, like a sort of Mega family reunion where we share stories, laughs and even a few tears around Nick and what he meant to so many of us. I think this film and Soundtrack will touch the hearts of the fans and viewers in the same way, as we remember his larger-than-life character behind the drum kit, but also his lovable charm and warmth that made him the beloved one of a treasured musical legacy."
The Menza family said: "We are excited for the fans to see the life Nick lived before, during, and after Megadeth, it was quite the journey. Stay tuned for an epic documentary. As Nick would say, 'It's gonna be RAD.'"
Menza's longtime personal manager Robert Bolger said: "Nick loved his fans and always said without the fans none this would be possible. I really think Nick's fans will enjoy this journey through his life. Thank you everyone for the continued support in keeping Nick's legacy alive."
This Was My Life will be the first-ever film to memorialize Menza's legacy and celebrate his life exactly how it was. It is described in a press release as "an unflinching exploration into the life of one of the most successful thrash-metal drummers of all time, authorized by the Menza family. From his childhood all the way through to the end of his life Including a true blow-by-blow account of the repeated failed attempts of the classic Rust In Peace lineup.
This Was My Life will feature rare and never-before-seen photos and video footage from Nick's archived VHS tape collection, personally filmed by Menza himself from 1988 through 1991. Included will be exclusive content showcasing Nick working at the studio, personal home movies, casual time and party time with his fellow bandmembers, as well as other well-known artists of the era that Nick toured with.
The soundtrack will feature a very diverse posthumous album worth of heavy music that will consist of 8-9 tracks from Nick's un-earthed / un-released drum riffs late drummer recorded for a project he started working on between 2013 / 2015. David Ellefson will play bass on a few of the tracks and will also helm the position as executive producer.
The cover photo for the film was shot by Los Angeles music photographer Alex Solca and designed by Brazilian artwork designer Alcides Burn of Burn Artworks.
Late in the evening on May 21, 2016, Nick collapsed after suffering a heart attack during a concert with Chris Poland and Robertino "Pag" Pagliari in their band OHM: at the Baked Potato in Studio City, California and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said Menza died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Nick rightfully earned his place as one of heavy metal's fiercest drummers during Megadeth's 10-year commercial peak. The highlight of his career, Nick said, was playing Rock In Rio in 1991 before more than 100,000 people.
British rockers BRING ME THE HORIZON have resumed the next chapter of their hugely successful journey with the release of a new single titled "Strangers", out today via Columbia. The track is the latest single to be released from their critically acclaimed "Post Human" series.
BRING ME THE HORIZON frontman Oli Sykes explains: "The song came out of a long writing trip in L.A., and as soon as the lyric 'we're just a room full of strangers' came, it took on such a deeper double meaning. How it would feel to be performing it live as that's what it is — all strangers connecting on this mad level, and that it was like rehab.
"Coming out of lockdown and the pandemic, everyone is recovering from something and I'm so aware that so many people struggle daily with differing traumas, and just wanted to stress that they're not in this alone… and we're a community here to help each other."
BRING ME THE HORIZON wanted to share these very personal mental health journeys to help and inspire others and asked fans if they would like to anonymously contribute and play a part in this very special process. The response was overwhelming and these stories formed the narrative behind the official video and some very unique short form clips, which have been revealed across the band’s socials this past week. These shorts formed the haunting and cinematic mini film that accompanies "Strangers", which gives a surreal glimpse into this very personal world.
This fall, BRING ME THE HORIZON will return to North America for a headlining tour, produced by Live Nation, with shows kicking off late September through October, including arena shows at Brooklyn's Barclays Center (September 24) and Los Angeles’s Kia Forum (October 6). Support for the dates includes KNOCKED LOOSE, GRANDSON and SIIICKBRAIN. The band will also make appearances at Louisville's Louder Than Life festival, Emo Nite New Orleans Vacation, Sacramento's Aftershock festival and Las Vegas's When We Were Young festival.
BRING ME THE HORIZON has had an exhilarating few years — selling over five million albums globally to date, playing sold-out shows in over 50 countries, including two sold-out nights at London's O2, a night at The Forum in Los Angeles, wowing a traditionally non-rock crowd at Glastonbury Festival in 2016 and 2018 and a headline slot at 2022's Reading and Leeds festivals. They kicked off their "Post Human" era in 2020 with the release of the first of four EPs aptly titled "Post Human: Survival Horror". The critically acclaimed release debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. Album chart. 2022 saw them appear at the BRIT Awards where they joined Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran for an electrifying performance of "Bad Habits". The group released its gold-certified sixth studio album, "Amo", in 2019, which debuted at No. 1 in 17 markets and was named "one of the most anticipated albums of 2019" by Billboard, it also garnered the band their second Grammy nomination for "Best Rock Album", after the LP's first single "Mantra" earned them a nod for "Best Rock Song" in 2018. The Sheffield five-piece also received its first BRIT Award nomination for "Best Group" in 2021. They have now also amassed over one billion video views on YouTube and are in the top 500 most streamed artists globally on Spotify.
BRING ME THE HORIZON is Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Mat Nicholls, and keyboardist Jordan Fish.
Video of MERCYFUL FATE's July 1 performance at the Barcelona Rock Fest at the Parc de Can Zam in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, just twenty minutes from the center of Barcelona, Spain, can be seen below. The influential Danish metallers' 11-song set included a brand new track, "The Jackl Of Salzburg", which is expected to appear on MERCYFUL FATE's upcoming studio album, tentatively due in 2023 via Metal Blade. Lyrically, the song is inspired by one of the last major witch hunts, the Zaubererjackl trials in Salzburg, Austria (1675-90). 139 people were executed as the followers of Wizard Jackl or Magician Jackl or Jäckel, who was himself never found.
Joining frontman King Diamond in MERCYFUL FATE's current lineup are Hank Shermann on guitar, Bjarne T. Holm on drums, Mike Wead on guitar and Joey Vera on bass.
Setlist for MERCYFUL FATE's concert at the Barcelona Rock Fest:
01. The Oath
02. The Jackl Of Salzburg
03. A Corpse Without Soul
04. Black Funeral
05. A Dangerous Meeting
06. Melissa
07. Doomed By The Living Dead
08. Curse Of The Pharaohs
09. Evil
10. Come To The Sabbath
Encore:
11. Satan's Fall
In 2019, it was announced that Vera would be replacing original MERCYFUL FATE bassist Timi Hansen for the band's summer 2020 European festival appearances due to Hansen's cancer diagnosis. Hansen passed away in November 2019 and MERCYFUL FATE's 2020 summer festival appearances were initially rescheduled for 2021 before being moved back to 2022.
In a Twitch livestream from a few days before the June 2 kick-off concert in Hannover, Germany from the MERCYFUL FATE rehearsals, which took place in Glostrup, Denmark, King revealed that he and his bandmates were planning to debut a brand new song at the 2022 shows. "We're trying," he said at the time. "We're still working on a song. I wrote the final lyrics the day of our departure [for rehearsals], I would say, and that's a couple of days ago. So the others have not heard me sing the song at all. We played a few riffs from it yesterday. I didn't sing to it at that time. But it's coming [along] here. The next couple of days we're gonna see where it leads us."
Regarding the musical and lyrical content of the new MERCYFUL FATE song, King said: "It's quite a monster, I would say. It's almost nine minutes long. So it's not just a quick little [tune]. We hope we can play it. We're gonna do everything in our power to play it. It's not recorded yet. So whatever version we might play for you could change before it actually is fully recorded. Some drums have been recorded — that's what I can say. But we will do our damnedest to play it. We put it early in the set even. But that's something to look forward to, definitely. And now we've gotta make it sound correct, 'cause the early demo versions have lots of stuff on that create a certain mood in the whole thing, which we can't do [when we perform it]. The live version will be different. I can't do the backing vocals, naturally, that is intended for the song. But that's also a challenge, to do a version that works live, of course, [with the] vocal lines. It's gonna be fun. It's gonna be heavy. The subject is very heavy too. We are back in 1675 till 1690. That's a piece of history that we are describing — a nasty piece of history."
Back in October 2020, Vera told Dead Rhetoric about how he landed the MERCYFUL FATE gig: "I've been friends with King for some time. ARMORED SAINT did a tour with King back in 1988-89; we have been friends and labelmates forever. And so, he came to see me when I was on tour with FATES WARNING supporting QUEENSRŸCHE in Dallas where he lives. He came to see the show. [Metal Blade Records owner] Brian Slagel was in town. King pulled me aside backstage and told me the story of Timi going through chemotherapy and had a summer tour booked and wasn't sure he was going to be well enough to do it. If he wasn't, would I consider stepping in and helping out. Of course, I was flabbergasted and honored, yeah. I didn't have anything else going on — it was supposed to happen this summer. To honor Timi and help them out, thank you for asking me. In the back of my mind, I was thinking Timi would pull through, he would get enough energy to make it. I was sadly mistaken and it was devastating."
Two years ago, Shermann confirmed that he was working on the first new music from MERCYFUL FATE in more than two decades. At the time, he said about the writing process: "First of all, King is living in Texas, in the States. I'm living here north of Copenhagen, in Denmark. The drummer [Bjarne T. Holm] is also here, so I work with him in the rehearsal room shaping the new songs. The other guitar player [Mike Wead] is in Stockholm, Sweden, and our new bass player [Joey Vera] is in Los Angeles. So everything is [being done via] Dropbox or e-mails."
He continued: "I think there's about six or seven [tracks that are] about to be ready. The first song has been sent to King after it's been mixed and all the guys played on the song. So I sent the files to Joey in Los Angeles; he did the bass. And then I sent the same files to Mike in Stockholm; he did his solos. And now King has the first song, evaluating for the vocals to be added. And then we will rearrange certain parts to be twice as long and stuff like that."
MERCYFUL FATE's last studio album, "9", was released in 1999.
MERCYFUL FATE will be remembered for its unquestionable mark on the history of metal with its innovative sound, complex arrangements, memorable melody, and its influence on bands that later took the genre to new heights.
In 1998, METALLICA paid tribute to MERCYFUL FATE by recording a medley of classic MERCYFUL FATE songs on the album "Garage Inc." Titled "Mercyful Fate", the medley included parts from "Satan's Fall", "Curse of the Pharaohs", "A Corpse Without Soul", "Into the Coven" and "Evil".
Lars Ulrich of METALLICA (a fellow Dane) played drums on a new version of MERCYFUL FATE's "Return of the Vampire" on the "In the Shadows" album, which came out in 1993.
The Costin Chioreanu-created animated music video for the SOULFLY song "Filth Upon Filth" can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's twelfth album, "Totem", which will be released on August 5 via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2018's "Ritual" was recorded at Platinum Underground in Mesa, Arizona by John Aquilino and Arthur Rizk with assistance from John Powers. Produced by mainman Max Cavalera alongside Arthur Rizk (KREATOR, MUNICIPAL WASTE, CODE ORANGE),the LP boasts guest appearances from John Powers (ETERNAL CHAMPION),Chris Ulsh (POWER TRIP),and John Tardy (OBITUARY). Rizk was also responsible for playing lead guitar on the record. The artwork for the album was created by James Bousema.
Max comments: "'Filth Upon Filth' was the first track unleashed to the Tribe last year. Costin has created an amazing, savage rendition of the song! This is a song made by a headbanger for headbangers!"
"Filth Upon Filth" is the follow-up to SOULFLY's previous single, "Scouring The Vile", which was made available last month. Max told The Bogcast about that track: "We lost so many good people [to] cancer. I remember when I was writing the record, L.G. [Petrov] from ENTOMBED passed away, and Chuck [Schuldiner] from DEATH [died 20 years ago], and also family members that succumbed to cancer. And so I was, like, 'I wanna write a song against cancer' — a 'fuck you, cancer'-type letter, like a letter to cancer: 'Fuck you. You're not gonna bring all of us down. We're gonna fight you.' That's one of the heaviest songs on the record."
Regarding the other lyrical themes covered on "Totem", Max said: "The [first single] 'Superstition' was inspired by Superstition Mountains. I ended up doing a lot of reading about it and the whole Lost Dutchman. A lot of people died there. It's a really mysterious, mystic place, so I kind of made the lyrics kind of connected to that, which was pretty cool. In the actual chorus, it says, 'Superstition is harder than stone.' I'm referring to the mountain itself. That's a hard mountain. It's been there forever and probably will be there till the end of times.
"The whole record is inspired by nature," he continued. "That's why it's called 'Totem'. I don't know if you guys saw the cover, but we've got this totem pole with a bunch of different animals in it. Supposedly it's kind of like our spirit animals a little bit and our signs. There's almost like a lion mixed with a warthog and there's a goat with the horns. And there's an owl, eagle on top of it. And it's in the forest.
"So, yeah, the record was inspired by nature — the spirits in nature," Cavalera added. "I find that fascinating. I love that. I think the desert is very spiritual and very mysterious. And also the forest. We tour a lot, so we go to Iceland and Norway, and we all see those beautiful forests and stuff.
"So a lot of the record was inspired by, I guess you'd call it the worshipping of nature, almost as a god. A lot of natives have that belief — that nature is like a god that you worship. So I think that became the kind of focus point for the record. There's definitely songs that deal with different topics on it. Also there's one that's kind of a little bit about society in general, and it's called 'Filth Upon Filth'. It's very, very 'Reign In Blood' influenced; I was listening to a lot of 'Reign In Blood' when I wrote that song. The tempo of it is a very killer SLAYER kind of groove. There is one song called 'The Damage Done'. It's about all the deforestation. I was reading a lot about the Amazon, how they're just raping and pillaging and destroying and that's like the lungs of the world. It's kind of up to us at least to talk about some of these topics, so I think it was kind of cool to give it a shot."
According to Max, "Totem" closes with a 10-minute track called "Spirit Animal". "It's a bit like an epic kind of song," he said. "It's really inspired by old heavy metal tracks, like closers of BLACK SABBATH albums that were really long, like eight [or] nine minutes long, like 'Heaven And Hell'-type shit. I wanted to write something like that. So it's got a lot of parts — tons of riffs. It's a riff fest. [Laughs] And it's great, 'cause it's also got… Richie from INCITE sings on it, my [step]son. And we've got Chris from POWER TRIP doing the solos on it. He's also in MAMMOTH GRINDER. He's a great musician. So he did the solos on 'Spirit Animal', and it came out sick."
"Totem" track listing:
01. Superstition
02. Scouring The Vile
03. Filth Upon Filth
04. Rot In Pain
05. The Damage Done
06. Totem
07. Ancestors
08. Ecstasy Of Gold
09. Soulfly XII
10. Spirit Animal
In a recent interview with the "Rez Metal" podcast, Max stated about "Totem": "It was created a little bit different. The majority was just me and my son Zyon playing together, so we kind of wrote the bulk of the material. And then I had a great producer friend, Arthur Rizk; he worked with POWER TRIP and CODE ORANGE. Arthur is great, man. And I was curious how Arthur would make a SOULFLY record sound if he was in charge [of] it. And we created something that, to me, feels kind of like… It's almost like a biography of Max music. We cover everything from the early days all the way… So there's some black metal things, there's some death and thrash, there's some groove metal — there's everything. So the record really goes deep into all different areas of metal. So because of that, the album feels very diverse. At the end of the day, I just wanted to make a solid, full-on attitude record that just says, 'We're here to fuck shit up.' This is what we do. This is why I love playing metal, because of the energy it gives me.
"I don't wanna describe the record too much — I'd rather have people hear it and see what they think — but to me, it feels like this is just a really, really energetic SOULFLY record," Cavalera added. "It's kind of cool to have that kind of… After so many records, if you can still put an energetic record out, it says something about your career; you're not slowing down — you're going, actually, the opposite way. So I'm more in the trenches than ever with this one. It feels like [I've been] rejuvenated; I feel like a young kid again playing metal. Those are great elements to have. Especially when you're getting older, a lot of people go more mild and slow down. I'm not one of those people. I wanna just get even more wild, get heavier. But always with the SOULFLY groove, 'cause I think that's a key element of SOULFLY; it's always been the groove. So we pay really close attention to the… We actually added a lot of percussion to it, so it kind of goes back to records like 'Primitive'; some of the grooves go back to songs like 'Primitive' and 'Boom', but some of the other stuff is super aggressive and it's like a lot of the current extreme metal that I listen to right now from a lot of other bands."
SOULFLY performed "Superstition" and "Filth Upon Filth" on its recent U.S. tour.
In April 2021, Max told Chris Enriquez of Saint Vitus Presents: Age Of Quarantine that Rizk took the new SOULFLY project "super seriously. He said, 'Hey, Max, I don't wanna do just another SOULFLY record. I wanna do the bestSOULFLY record,'" he recalled. 'I was, like, 'All right. I take the challenge. Let's do it, man.'"
In December 2020, Max told the "Sappenin' Podcast With Sean Smith" about the songwriting process for the new SOULFLY album: "The cool thing about Zyon, the way he plays drums, is he's a bit like a wild animal — he has no restraint, man, and he just unleashes on the drum kit. Pure, pure brutality power drumming, and I love that. So that takes me back to a lot of the early records that I like — a lot of the old ENTOMBED stuff and CARCASS and NAPALM DEATH; out-of-control shit. So I think we have that kind of spirit going on on a lot of the new tracks."
In August 2021, SOULFLY parted ways with longtime guitarist Marc Rizzo due to personal differences. A permanent replacement guitarist has yet to be announced. FEAR FACTORY's Dino Cazares played guitar for SOULFLY on the summer 2021 U.S. tour and once again handled second-guitar duties on the band's most recent run of shows.
In June 2020, SOULFLY released a new digital EP, "Live Ritual NYC MMXIX". The effort was recorded at The Gramercy in New York City on February 11, 2019 while SOULFLY was on tour in support of its most recent full-length album, "Ritual". The audio for the EP was mixed and mastered by Charles Elliott (ABYSMAL DAWN) from Tastemaker Audio. Cover artwork was comprised of live photos taken by Rodrigo Fredes.
"Ritual" was released in October 2018 via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2015's "Archangel" was produced, recorded and mixed by Josh Wilbur (KILLER BE KILLED, LAMB OF GOD, GOJIRA).
On June 28, 2022, Guns N' Roses performed at Marlay Park in Dublin, Ireland. The band has just shared professionally filmed video of "Sweet Child O' Mine" from that show:
GN'R's setlist in Dublin consisted of 26 songs:
"It's So Easy"
"Mr. Brownstone"
"Welcome To The Jungle"
"Better"
"Back In Black" (AC/DC cover)
"Slither" (Velvet Revolver cover)
"Chinese Democracy"
"Double Talkin' Jive"
"Estranged"
"Live And Let Die" (Wings cover)
"Reckless Life"
"Rocket Queen"
"You Could Be Mine"
"I Wanna Be Your Dog" (The Stooges cover - Duff on lead vocals)
"Absurd"
"Hard Skool"
"Civil War"
Slash Guitar Solo
"Sweet Child O' Mine"
"November Rain"
"Wichita Lineman" (Jimmy Webb cover)
"Knockin' On Heaven's Door" (Bob Dylan cover)
"Nightrain"
"Coma"
"Patience"
"You're Crazy"
"Paradise City"
The next Guns N' Roses show is Friday, July 8 at Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany. Find the band's tour itinerary here.
THE MARS VOLTA has released a new single and short film for "Graveyard Love" out now. The song follows the announcement of the band's return after a decade-long hiatus and the release of "Blacklight Shine".
"They will seek your ruin, and burn your lands, because if they can't have you, no one can," explains Cedric Bixler-Zavala on the lyrics of the new song. "Graveyard Love", much like "Blacklight Shine", invites the listener to hear the bigger picture. Swarming synths envelope the song like vines, diving deeper into the story THE MARS VOLTA continues to tell.
THE MARS VOLTA recently announced an online version of "L'ytome Hodorxí Telesterion", an online version of the #Voltacube that mysteriously appeared in Los Angeles's Grand Park. Inside of "L'ytome Hodorxí Telesterion" visitors were taken on a full, immersive journey to outer space, and where "Blacklight Shine" was heard for the first time by the public. The experience inside was intended to provoke self-reflection, with the single guiding fans on a journey through endless galaxies and back down to earth, to oneself. The experience, which includes a virtual scavenger hunt for hidden treasures in your city, can be found at this link.
Last month, THE MARS VOLTA announced its first live shows in ten years. Dates have been added to select cities due to overwhelming demand. Today, the band has added a new date on October 9 at The Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Tickets for that date will go on sale today at noon local time.
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.
Mongolian rock act THE HU will release its sophomore album, "Rumble Of Thunder", on September 2 via Better Noise Music. The official music video for the LP's latest single, "Black Thunder", can be seen below. The song incorporates Mongolian values, telling a powerful story of battle, faith, and death lyrically and visually.
"Rumble Of Thunder" is a 12-track effort that includes "This Is Mongol", THE HU's eco-conscious single released in May, that now boasts over a million streams in less than two months.
THE HU has been teasing new music from its sophomore album on its headlining "Black Thunder" tour, at Coachella, and soon on tour with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH and MEGADETH. The music was recorded in their homeland of Mongolia, after their debut album "The Gereg" landed at No. 1 on the World Album and Top New Artist charts in its first week of release.
Vocalist Gala shared: "'Black Thunder' is the crown jewel of our second album.
"The music video is split into two parts and conveys the core values of men through visuals.
"Our producer Dashka chose a unique location in Mongolia to shoot the video, where we had a great time riding the horses in the vast grassland of our countryside.
"We hope that our pride in our culture shines through, as we aimed to bring viewers joy and a piece of our culture through this video."
Speaking on their next studio album, he continued: "Our second album will include 'Black Thunder', along with many new songs. We can't wait for you to listen and enjoy it as much as we enjoyed recording it."
THE HU's music video for "This Is Mongol" was set in the Mojave Desert and highlighted the band's unique core values of natural preservation and spiritual connection with the earth. The video for "Black Thunder" also features an epic backdrop, this time in Mongolia. Directed by Erdenebileg Ganbold and producer Dashka, the video is action packed, taking the viewers through battle and a funeral procession ritual.
This summer, THE HU will hit stages across North America as they head out on tour with MEGADETH, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH and FIRE FROM THE GODS, promising concert-goers an intense multi-faceted night of heavy rock music. They will then bring their brand-new "Black Thunder" tour to Europe later this year, starting in Oslo, Norway on October 26 and finishing in London with a huge show at the Roundhouse on December 9.
"Rumble Of Thunder" track listing:
01. This Is Mongol
02. YUT Hövende
03. Triangle
04. Teach Me
05. Upright Destined Mongol
06. Sell The World
07. Black Thunder
08. Mother Nature
09. Bii Biyelgee
10. Segee
11. Shihi Hutu
12. TATAR Warrior
THE CULT will release its new album, "Under The Midnight Sun", on October 7 via Black Hill Records. The LP was produced by Tom Dalgety (PIXIES, GHOST, ROYAL BLOOD) and is preceded by the Juan Azulay-directed music video for the first single, "Give Me Mercy", which can be seen below.
"Give Me Mercy" makes clear that THE CULT's co-founding members, Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy, have spent the six years since their last LP pushing further into their esoteric strength. Flanked by Duffy's dynamic guitar riff, Astbury reaches new heights of sinewy vulnerability.
Astbury comments: "I was absolutely enamored with this piece of music Billy had written, and it perfectly fit these thoughts I'd been having about our culture's need to move past assumptions of duality. We need new language because words can't express where we're going."
Duffy says: "'Give Me Mercy' has all the hallmarks of the new classic CULT to my ears … fresh yet familiar."
When the sun just wouldn't leave the sky one evening in Finland, Astbury took notice. Walking the grounds of the Provinssirock festival, Astbury found himself revelling in the surreal, almost occult moment that comes with the "midnight sun," the summer stretch where the sun doesn't go down north of the Arctic Circle.
"It's three in the morning, the sun's up, and there's all these beautiful people in this halcyon moment," Astbury remembers. "People are laying on the grass, making out, drinking, smoking. There were rows of flowers at the front of the stage from the performances earlier that evening. It was an incredible moment." While reviewing archival footage of the performance, Astbury found new mysticism in that moment and imbued it into the forthcoming "Under The Midnight Sun".
Leading to 2020, THE CULT had been on a rolling cycle of releasing albums, touring, and recording. As the world shut down, everyone was forced to reprioritize the way they approached life and work.
"When the world stopped, I had this moment to write in real time, to calculate," says Astbury. When lockdown lifted and the group could meet to record, they teamed up with Dalgety. "I was compelled by this vision, this anomaly, this memory, of being under the midnight sun. Tom helped us bring a new musical shape and frequency to our process."
Lyrically, "Under The Midnight Sun" bolsters that new musical dexterity by building out from the idyllic and surreal vision at its title. Throughout, Astbury pulls in influences from Brian Jones, Brion Gysin, William Burroughs, Buddhism, the Beats, and the Age of Aquarius, all shaded with the lingering threat of the present and the timeless CULT color palette.
As THE CULT is now returning to performing live and sharing "Under The Midnight Sun", Astbury hopes that the record connects to something deep within and subconscious in their listeners — something Astbury found within himself when given the moment to look for it.
"At the core of it all, music contains the vibrational frequency of how we once communicated before we could even speak," he says. "Bird songs, animal calls, string theory, quantum physics, psychedelics. The record ultimately is about finding and uniting beauty in those strangely natural moments."
Following its co-headline U.K. arena tour alongside Alice Cooper in May 2022, THE CULT returns to life on the road as they embark on a July tour of North America. The dates kick off in St. Paul, Minnesota and conclude July 30 in Orillia, Ontario, Canada. The tour includes stops in Chicago, New York City, and Detroit.
After being the timekeeper of Portugal’s most important metal band, Moonspell, for nearly thirty years, Mike Gaspar has finally settled on a new outlet with which to celebrate his love for heavy metal, his cultural heritage, and his passion for untamed, feral music with roots reaching deep into the fabric of our world. Now, barely a year after announcing their inception, Seventh Storm will unleash their debut album, Maledictus, on August 12, via Atomic Fire Records.
The band have released a video for the song, "Haunted Sea", which can be found below.
Recorded at Dynamix Studios in Lisbon in May and October 2021, with mixing duties handled by icon Tue Madsen, Seventh Storm completed their debut within a year after Gaspar’s departure from Moonspell – a demonstration of sheer willpower. He remembers, "On the 25th of April, 2021 I announced my new band – the day the Portuguese dictatorship ended back in 1974. We felt it would be a strong message to announce the band on that date."
For Gaspar and his band of buccaneers alike, Maledictus is a new beginning. "It’s our grand stand," he says. "This is us showing that not all is lost. That our past was not in vain. We are here to stay!"
Maledictus is now available for pre-order and available as digipak, clear and blue-white-marbled vinyl, stream/download and exclusive merch bundles.
Digipak tracklisting:
"Pirate's Curse"
"Saudade" (English Version)
"Sarpanit"
"Gods Of Babylon"
"The Reckoning"
"Inferno Rising"
"Seventh"
"My Redemption"
"Haunted Sea"
"Saudade" (Acoustic English Version)
"Saudade" (Acoustic Portuguese Version)
"Saudade" (Portuguese Version)
"Haunted Sea" video:
"Saudade" (English Version) video:
"Saudade" (Portuguese Version) video:
Seventh Storm:
Mike Gaspar - drums
Rez - vocals
Ben Stockwell - lead guitar
Josh Riot - guitar
Butch Cid - bass guitar
San Francisco-based atmospheric technical death metal giants, Fallujah, will release their new studio album, Empyrean, on September 9 via Nuclear Blast. The band have have revealed the next single, "Embrace Oblivion", featuring Katie Thompson. Watch the visualizer below.
Commenting on the single, vocalist Kyle Schaefer says: "'Embrace Oblivion' is about accepting change on a personal level, and trusting in your ability to adapt and grow from events that may seem destructive in the short-term. Sometimes we need to break down our own established structures in order to build something better in their place."
“The Bitter Taste Of Clarity”
“Radiant Ascension”
“Embrace Oblivion”
“Into The Eventide”
“Eden’s Lament”
“Soulbreaker”
“Duality Of Intent”
“Mindless Omnipotent Master”
“Celestial Resonance”
“Artifacts”
“Radiant Ascension” video:
Fallujah will return to the road this coming fall for The Divine Ascension Tour with Australian tech-death co-headliners, Psycroptic, Additional support will be provided by Interloper and Cognitive. Tickets are available now.
Commenting on the tour, founding guitarist and songwriter Scott Carstairs states: "This fall, Fallujah will return to unleash an atmospheric onslaught upon the masses. To say that we are excited to headline with Psycroptic would be an understatement. We have never been more ready to tear up North America…not only to bring you one of the most extreme tech death lineups of the year but also to perform for you NEW music from our record Empyrean!! Let's rage!"
Tour dates:
September
11 - West Hollywood, CA - Whisky-A-Go-Go
12 - Mesa, AZ - Nile Underground
13 - El Paso, TX - Rockhouse Bar & Grill
14 - Denver, CO - Marquis Theater
15 - Lawrence, KS - The Bottleneck
16 - Austin, TX - Come And Take It Live
17 - Dallas, TX - Amplified Live
18 - Houston, TX - Acadia
20 - Orlando, FL - The Haven
21 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade (Purgatory)
22 - Spartanburg, SC - Ground Zero
23 - Baltimore, MD - Metro Gallery
24 - Clifton, NJ - Dingbatz
26 - Providence, RI - Alchemy
27 - Quebec City, QC - Source de la Martiniere
28 - Montreal, QC - Foufounes Electriques
29 - Ottawa, ON - Brass Monkey
30 - Albany, NY - Empire Underground
October
1 - Pittsburgh, PA - Preserving Underground
2 - Cleveland, OH - Cleveland Masonic (Asylum)
3 - Chicago, IL - Reggies
4 - Minneapolis, MN - The Cabooze
5 - Winnipeg, MB - Park Theater
6 - Regina, SK - The Exchange
7 - Calgary, AB - Dickens
8 - Edmonton, AB - Starlite Room
10 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theater
11 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
12 - Portland, OR - Bossanova Ballroom
13 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Catalyst
14 - Fresno, CA - Full Circle Brewery District
15 - Santa Ana, CA - Stages
Swedish heavy metallers, Trial (Swe), have set September 2 as the release date for their new full-length, Feed The Fire. For a first preview of the album, a new video (directed by Christoffer Tönnäng) for the single "Sulphery", can be viewed below.
Twin guitars, romping rhythms, towering vocals and distinctive melodies - heavy metal is alive and well in the hands of Trial (Swe). Returning five years after 2017's 'Motherless' with new vocalist Arthur W. Andersson on board, the quintet is hungry, and it shows in the tracks that comprise the mighty Feed The Fire, perhaps the most urgent record in their repertoire.
"Hearing Arthur's voice made me want to write more up-tempo songs," explains lead guitarist Alexander Ellström. "That desire didn't occur to me prior to him joining. We owe him a lot in shaping the new record after his voice. The result is a fast-paced, ferocious yet melodic album, and is about giving everything for something you hold dear, and letting it ruin you. This is visualized through a canticle of a goddess. For me, the goddess is very specific, I know who the goddess is, and what she means for me. Are you willing to find your equivalent and let it engulf you? I will happily feed the fire knowing what I get in return."
Recorded at Welfare Sounds in Gothenburg, with Per Stålberg, Kalle Lilja and Olle Björk as engineers and producers, the band were in the studio every day for almost two weeks, and they approached recording differently than before. "On this album we focused more on playing with feel rather than perfection. In the past, we could spend too much time on parts that ultimately didn't end up better than the first takes we did. This time around we all felt much more relaxed about the situation, knowing what was needed of us to perform." The band also recruited none other than Tomas "Tompa" Lindberg from At The Gates to do some vocals on the song "Snare Of The Fowler".
Feed The Fire will be available in the following formats:
- digipak-CD w/ 2 bonus tracks
- 180g black vinyl (limited to 500 copies)
- transparent violet vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 400 copies)
- transparent orange/red splatter vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 250 copies)
- wood brown marbled vinyl (Kingsroad & US exclusive - limited to 250 copies)
Following on from the outstanding singles and videos “Aberrant Leaves” and “Mortal Coil”, North Carolina melodic death metal masters Blackwater Drowning introduce their latest single “Snake Juice”.
The new single and video will be released just prior to the band’s debut album Sonder // Satori which is unleashed on July 8, a raging long player of scarifying riffs, soaring vocal melodies and blackened rasps.
Commenting on the new single, vocalist Morgan Riley offers: "This song is about addiction, the temporary lift it gives, and the devastation it leaves in its wake. It acknowledges the ways it starts as well as the excruciating difficulty of getting out of its clutches"
The video for “Snake Juice” was produced by the bands long-time friend and collaborator Maq Brown, with the clip offering an introduction that creates a sense of mystery on the location and intention of the shoot.
Sonder // Satori will be released through Blood Blast Distribution, the behemoth digital platform set up by Nuclear Blast Records and Believe. Artwork for the album was created by Dixon Jong at Intuitive Designs (The Faceless, Beyond Creation) with the album produced by Garrett Barefoot and John Berrier at Blackplate Studio.
Commenting on Sonder//Satori, vocalist Morgan Riley shares: “We are so excited to finally release our debut full-length album! This is a culmination of all our collective years writing music separately and as a group, and we couldn’t be more proud. Sonder//Satori is a collection of songs about a wide range of subjects, ranging from addiction, betrayal, abuse of power, astrophysics, the corporate rat race, and personal growth. Sonder means realizing every stranger you meet has a life as vivid and fully realized as your own, and Satori is the inner experience of enlightenment, indescribable and unintelligible to reason and logic. Together, we felt it really spoke to the overall theme of wonder, growth, and great personal revelations, both good and bad. We are so thrilled to be partnering with Blood Blast for this release and can’t wait to see where we go together!”
Sonder//Satori tracklisting:
"The Fifth Element"
"Abyssal" (Feat. Brian Kingsland)
"Mortal Coil"
"Snake Juice"
"Saint"
"The Caged"
"Aberrant Leaves"
"Voyager"
"Mortal Coil" video
"Aberrant Leaves" video:
Lineup:
Morgan Riley - Vocals
Aria Novi - Bass & Vocals
Jeremy Bennett - Guitar
Ron Dalton - Guitar
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