QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT kicked off the open-air Platinum Jubilee concert outside Buckingham Palace in London on Saturday (June 4),performing a medley of classic songs, including "We Will Rock You", "Don't Stop Me Now" and "We Are The Champions". Diana Ross, Sir Rod Stewart and DURAN DURAN were among the other big names at the event.
The Platinum Party at the Palace is part of the Platinum Jubilee weekend, which celebrates the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ascension to the throne. The national bank holiday began on Thursday and will conclude on Sunday.
Lambert, along with QUEEN legends Brian May and Roger Taylor, were interviewed by Express just before last night's spectacular show. Brian, who previously performed atop Buckingham Palace 20 years ago during a concert marking the Queen's Golden Jubilee, said: "It’s wonderful to be back. We have some new presentation ideas, so it's going to be very interesting… And we have some songs which everyone knows and they have a special relevance tonight because it's about the Queen and how amazing she has been and how we all want her to carry on."
Adam talked about playing for such a special occasion and his role in the band.
"It's wild," he said. "We're on tour right now so we're ready to go, we're very warm and it always feels great to be a guest of Brian and Roger on the stages around the world. And now to be a guest of the United Kingdom for the Jubilee, it's a huge honor.
"What I've learned about the Queen [is] what an impressive lady, what a graceful and powerful presence in this country. I'm thrilled...
"As I was on stage [rehearsing earlier], I turned around I realized I was in the gate of the palace and thought this is definitely the most surreal thing I have done in a while."
Closing the two-and-half-hour show was legend Ross with her first U.K. live performance in fifteen years.
Hosts Kirsty Young and Roman Kemp led live coverage of the Platinum Party at the Palace which was broadcast live across the BBC. 22,000 people attended the event, including 10,000 tickets allocated in a public ballot and over 7,500 tickets for key workers, members of the Armed Forces, volunteers, and charities.
The unique Platinum Party stage design consisted of three stages, linked by walkways, which created a 360-degree experience in front of Buckingham Palace and The Queen Victoria Memorial. Linking the stages together into one overall design were 70 columns representing Her Majesty's 70-year reign that can be illuminated to provide a full formation of lights and beams. For the first time, two of the three stages sat immediately in front of Buckingham Palace, framing the iconic home of the Queen.
METALLICA headlined the BottleRock Napa Valley music festival on May 27 at the Napa Valley Expo in Northern California. Fan-filmed video of the band's performance of the song Hardwired can be seen below.
The setlist was as follows:
01. Hardwired
02. The Memory Remains
03. Wherever I May Roam
04. Seek & Destroy
05. Fuel
06. One
07. Sad But True
08. Whiskey In The Jar
09. The Unforgiven
10. For Whom The Bell Tolls
11. Creeping Death
12. Fade To Black
13. Master Of Puppets
Encore:
14. Battery
15. Nothing Else Matters
16. Enter Sandman
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.
Formed in 1981 by drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield, METALLICA has become one of the most influential and successful rock bands in history, having sold nearly 120 million albums worldwide and generating more than 15 billion streams while playing to millions of fans on all seven continents. The band's several multi-platinum albums include "Kill 'Em All", "Ride The Lightning", "Master Of Puppets", "… And Justice For All", "Metallica" (commonly referred to as The Black Album),"Load", "Reload", "St. Anger", "Death Magnetic" and "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct", released in November 2016 and charting at No. 1 in 32 countries.
METALLICA's awards and accolades include nine Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, multiple MTV Video Music Awards, and its 2009 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. In June of 2018, the band was awarded one of the most prestigious musical honors in the world: Sweden's Polar Music Prize.
METALLICA has a number of European dates scheduled for June and July.
BRITISH LION, the side project of IRON MAIDEN bassist and founder Steve Harris, performed yesterday (June 3) at the Rockfest in Hyvinkää, Finland. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.
The three-day Rockfest festival is being headlined by NIGHTWISH (Thursday, June 2),SCORPIONS (June 3) and IRON MAIDEN (Saturday, June 4).
Last fall, BRITISH LION completed a U.K. headlining tour with support from AIRFORCE.
In October, BRITISH LION withdrew from a U.K. tour with THE DARKNESS, citing "completely unacceptable" tour "protocols."
BRITISH LION's second album, "The Burning", came out in January 2020 in digipack CD, double gatefold vinyl and digital download formats via Explorer1 Music (E1). The LP was recorded, engineered and mixed at Barnyard Studios by Tony Newton and produced by Steve Harris.
BRITISH LION's first U.S. tour took place in January and February 2020.
BRITISH LION comprises singer Richard Taylor, guitarists David Hawkins and Grahame Leslie, Harris on bass and keyboards, and drummer Simon Dawson.
Asked by the Tampa Bay Times what the itch is that BRITISH LION scratches that he doesn't get in his job with MAIDEN, Harris said: "I suppose playing small clubs and being close and personal with the audience. I love playing big places as well. I enjoy them all, and I'm very lucky that I can do them all. But also, it's clubs that I never played with MAIDEN, even in Europe. There's a famous club called the Milky Way in Amsterdam, which I managed to play with BRITISH LION, but I never did that with MAIDEN. There's places now that I'm going to be playing on this [U.S.] tour that I've never played before. So it's all new ground. It's a challenge. It's nice. I like a challenge."
The Lucid, featuring vocalist Vinnie Dombroski (Sponge), bassist David Ellefson (ex Megadeth), guitarist Drew Fortier, and drummer Mike Heller, have released a music video for "Maskronaut", a track from their debut self-titled album, released back in October via SpoilerHead Records. The video was directed by Michael Sarna.
In conjunction with the video release, the band are also aiming to help raise awareness for testicular cancer after their guitarist, Drew Fortier, had been diagnosed with the disease last month. He is currently recovering from surgery and waiting to hear results back from pathology as well as next steps.
The Lucid along with Brynn Arens (Flipp) have set up a Gofundme page to help Fortier with medical costs during this time. Please donate here.
Fortier states, "You truly never know with these things. I wanted to make this public to help raise awareness with this type of cancer because it literally came on out of nowhere. I'm thankful for all the support and I want to give a big thank you to Dr. Masterson and his team at Indiana University for being true rock stars in their field."
Ellefson adds, "We always felt 'Maskronaut' was a special song, even more so with the video. In light of recent circumstances with Drew's health, we agreed this was the right time to release something uplifting and positive heading into the summer."
"Maskronaut" was produced by Michael Sarna & David Ellefson, and apart from the band, stars Kyle & Ashleigh Abbott along with Alyson Montez.
The album, produced by Mike Heller and mixed and mastered by Lasse Lammert, is out now streaming on all platforms. Physical copies can be purchased here. Signed vinyl copies will be shipped out next month due to a shipping error with the signed inserts.
Tracklisting:
"Maggot Wind"
"Deaths Of Despair"
"Spoiler Head"
"Hair"
"Maskronaut"
"Damned"
"Breech Boy"
"Pigs And Sons"
"Parade Of Spit"
Influential Danish metallers MERCYFUL FATE played their first concert in 23 years earlier tonight (Thursday, June 2) at the Expo Plaza in Hannover, Germany as the support act for VOLBEAT. The band's seven-song set included a brand new track, "The Jackal Of Salzburg", which is expected to appear on MERCYFUL FATE's upcoming studio album, tentatively due in 2023 via Metal Blade.
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.
The setlist was as follows:
01. The Oath
02. The Jackal Of Salzburg (new song; live debut)
03. A Corpse Without Soul
04. Curse Of The Pharaohs
05. Evil
06. A Dangerous Meeting
Encore:
07. 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 ago 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. "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," he added, possibly referring to the Salzburg Witch Trials.
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.
Deraps have released the official video for "Veins Of My Heart", the third single from their self-titled debut album, which will be released on June 17th via Metalville Records. The video for the track, which will also be released as a digital single this Friday, June 3rd, can be seen below.
"This song came from a true story which Josh (Gallagher - drummer) wrote a big poem about," reveals vocalist / guitarist Jacob Deraps. "He sent me the poem so I could use it for lyrics and it turned out, as I was reading it with my guitar in my hands, all the guitar and vocal ideas came pouring out of me, I came up with the intro / chorus, the verses, then the bridge, etc... It all fell into place so quickly and naturally, it was like lightning in a bottle. With the type of song that this was gonna be, it had to have maximum production and sound like something that came out of the '80s. It has everything that I love about the '80s, big guitar riffs, big vocals, a catchy chorus with huge harmonies and a massive instrumental solo section. It was all just meant to be like this."
Deraps cover art and tracklisting:
"Invasion"
"Sex, Drugs & Rock N' Roll"
"My Side Of Town"
"Live Fast Die Slow"
"Veins Of My Heart"
"Élizabeth"
"Make Ya Groove"
"Wild To The Woman"
"On My Mind"
"F*ck Off"
"Ballroom Blitz"
Just released... Kansas legend Robby Steinhardt’s video for “Not in Kansas Anymore”, from the album of the same name. Produced by Michael Franklin, the album was released on Solar Music just after the unexpected passing of Steinhardt.
You know him as the legendary violinist, vocalist and frontman for the band Kansas, recording nine albums which reached gold, platinum and double platinum status, and is now making another mark on the world with his first and only solo album.
The new album, Not In Kansas Anymore is a powerful, well thought-out offering of prog rock magic. Timely songs with incredible arrangements and virtuoso performances. Robby’s vocals and signature electric violin come through on this continuous work labeled a “Prog Opera”.
In his only interview for the project, he spoke with Bill Shafer of PBS. Steinhardt was asked what the meaning behind the title Not In Kansas Anymore was. Steinhardt responded, “It’s no slight against the band, no never! My time with Kansas defined a big part of my life, of which I am very proud of. Ever since The Wizard of OZ, those words have become an American axiom for moving forward, you can never go back etc.” Robby laughed, “I guess it has a special meaning when it is fixed to me.”
The album, produced by Michael Thomas Franklin, is his latest production since the highly acclaimed Jon Anderson 1000 Hands Chapter One. Franklin used a similar approach using a large cast of renown musicians to lend their talents. Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, Steve Morse of Deep Purple/Dixie Dregs, Billy Cobham of Mahavishnu Orchestra, Bobby Kimball of Toto, Chuck Leavell of The Rolling Stones, Liberty Devitto (Drummer on Billy Joel’s hits), Jim Gentry, Pat Travers, Billy Ashbaugh (Moody Blues/Pat Benatar), Lisa Fischer (longtime vocalist for The Rolling Stones), 1000 Hands members Michael Franklin, Tommy Calton, Tim Franklin, Jocelyn Hsu, Rayford Griffin and Benoit Lajeunesse and many others including Orchestra and Choir.
The songs provide powerful lyrics, hard to forget choruses, combined with crafty playing. All this combined with Franklin’s lavish and complicated arrangements makes listening to Not In Kansas Anymore a wonderful hour well spent. The stunning album artwork created by Tom Lupo of Magnificent Pictures and subliminal song quotes from the Wizard of OZ, are another added feature to this complex Prog Opera. Currently four videos are in the works.
Steinhardt was in a reborn state of mind in the months prior to finishing the record. He and wife Cindy were looking forward to a new chapter in their lives. He had started rehearsals and was preparing to hit the road in August when he became ill in May. Robby’s musical vision, voice and violin lives on with his first and only solo album, Not In Kansas Anymore! Release was delayed due to Steinhardt’s passing July 17, 2021.
Order Not In Kansas Anymore on digital download, CD and LP with free digital download can be ordered here, and/or here.
Courtesy of ARTE Concert, the clip below features Norwegian black metal legends Emperor playing at Alcatraz Festival 2021, which took place in Kortrijk, Belgium in August.
The setlist was as follows:
"In the Wordless Chamber"
"Thus Spake the Nightspirit"
"The Loss and Curse of Reverence"
"The Acclamation of Bonds"
"With Strength I Burn"
"Curse You All Men!"
"The Majesty of the Nightsky"
"I Am the Black Wizards"
"Inno a Satana"
"Ye Entrancemperium"
Black City Records, in collaboration with Norwegian black metal legends Emperor and Candlelight Records, are the very first store worldwide to offer the latest 140g Abbey Road half-speed masters on coloured vinyl of the following titles:
• Emperor EP
• In The Nightside Eclipse
• Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk
• IX Equilibrium
• Prometheus - Discipline Of Fire & Demise
All versions are in limited quantity and available both instore and online. Buy them here now.
DEMON HUNTER will release a new studio album, "Exile", on September 9. The official Darren Craig-directed music video for the LP's first single, "Freedom Is Dead", can be seen below.
"Exile" is the first-ever concept album by the 20-year metal veterans. Set in the aftermath of civilized society's collapse, the 12 songs examine modern life through the lens of a nonconformist, contemplating a life untethered.
A four-issue comic book series, written by singer Ryan Clark, dramatizes the album's themes. "Exile" is an immersive interrogation of cultural norms and a call to true rebellion.
Guitarist Jeremiah Scott produced and mixed "Exile", which boasts guest appearances from Max Cavalera (SOULFLY),Tom S. Englund (EVERGREY) and Richie Faulkner (JUDAS PRIEST).
Colored vinyl variants, deluxe edition CDs, VIP ticket bundles, cassettes, comic books, and new merch are available for preorder at DemonHunter.net.
"Exile" track list:
01. Defense Mechanism (ft. Max Cavalera)
02. Master
03. Silence The World (ft. Tom S. Englund)
04. Heaven Don't Cry
05. Another Place
06. Freedom Is Dead
07. Praise The Void
08. Revolutions
09. Chemicals
10. Godless (ft. Richie Faulkner)
11. Devotion
12. Along The Way
The deluxe edition CD contains two bonus songs, "Sleepwalker" and "Exile", as well as several sonic interludes composed with Randy Torres, whose film work includes sound design on "Interstellar" and "Dunkirk", among other works.
DEMON HUNTER's "Twenty Years In Exile" tour will kicks off in the United States on street date, September 9, and include stops at Blue Ridge Rock Fest, Uprise Fest, and Furnace Fest, in addition to the headlining shows.
"Twenty Years In Exile" tour dates with special guests OPPONENT:
Sep. 09 - Joliet, IL @ The Forge
Sep. 10 - Lexington, KY @ Manchester Music Hall
Sep. 11 - Alton, VA @ Blue Ridge Rock Fest
Sep. 12 - Columbus, OH @ The King Of Clubs
Sep. 13 - Warrendale, PA @ Jergels
Sep. 14 - Bloomington, IL @ Castle Theatre
Sep. 15 - Sauget, IL @ Pop's
Sep. 16 - Fort Wayne, IN @ Pierre's
Sep. 17 - Shippensburg, PA @ Uprise Fest
Sep. 18 - Ashville, NC @ Orange Peel
Sep. 20 - Dallas, TX @ Amplified Live
Sep. 21 - Austin, TX @ Come And Take It
Sep. 22 - Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
Sep. 23 - Pensacola, FL @ Vinyl Music Hall
Sep. 24 - Birmingham, AL @ Furnace Fest
DEMON HUNTER combines transcendent melody with metallic might. The group's extended family around the world cherish the band's songs as personal anthems and instruments of empowerment. They use songs like "I Am A Stone", "On My Side", "The Last One Alive", "I Will Fail You", "Collapsing" and "Dead Flowers" to mark chapters in their lives: in celebration, in mourning, from weddings to funerals.
Unwavering commitment and stark recognition of the reality of an often-cold world, tempered with defiant hope, define the band's now-20-year-long career. Since 2002, DEMON HUNTER's dedicated supporters wear the group's symbols, lyrics, and album imagery on their shirts, vests, backpacks, uniforms, and in many cases, on their skin.
"Exile" is the first release from DEMON HUNTER's newly formed Weapons MFG.
DEMON HUNTER's most recent release was "Songs Of Death And Resurrection", a mostly acoustic and stripped-down effort which came out in March 2021 via Solid State Records. Scott produced and mixed the LP in Atlanta, Georgia, and Nashville. He also produced the band's "War" (2019),"Peace" (2019),"Outlive" (2017) and "Extremist" (2014) records.
Former SEPULTURA members Max Cavalera and Igor "Iggor" Cavalera performed at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City on Tuesday, May 31. The show was part of their 2022 "Return Beneath Arise" tour, which kicked off on May 22 at the Sunshine Theater in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Video of the Gramercy gig — courtesy of Ignacio Orellana of Army Of One TV — can be seen below.
"Return Beneath Arise" sees Max and Igor performing select tracks from SEPULTURA's seminal "Beneath The Remains" and "Arise" albums. Joining Max and Igor on the trek are Mike Leon of SOULFLY and Daniel Gonzalez of POSSESSED.
When Leon and Gonzalez's addition to the touring lineup was first announced, Max said in a statement: "'Beneath The Remains'/'Arise' tour is coming! Introducing on bass guitar, thrashing and blasting bass beast Mike Leon (SOULFLY) and on lead guitar, state-of-the-art death/thrash expert Daniel Gonzalez (POSSESSED/GRUESOME). We're gonna take these songs to the metal world in the most brutal way ever! Under a pale gray sky, we shall arise."
Added Igor: "We can only count with the illest players to step on stage with me and Max to play 'Beneath'/'Arise'. So getting Dan Gonzalez from POSSESSED/GRUESOME and Mike Leon from SOULFLY was an amazing choice!... Can't wait to hit the road!"
Said Leon: "I am super excited to be a part of the revival of these classic albums with the brothers that created them. It is a great honor! These shows are gonna CRUSH, and I'm sure that we are gonna deliver these songs better than they have ever been played before to everyone who joins us! See you on the road!"
Stated Gonzalez: "It would be an understatement to say that I am incredibly stoked and honored to be able to play with Max and Iggor, and the fact that we'll be playing material from 'Beneath The Remains' and 'Arise' is beyond surreal to me since I grew up worshiping those albums. Max and Iggor helped change the standards of extreme metal and those albums are still living proof of that. It's insane to me as a fan and as a musician to be able to play these songs live, and I can't wait to do them justice!!!"
Max and Igor kicked off a tour celebrating "Beneath The Remains" and "Arise" back in 2018. In early 2020, Max revealed plans to bring the trek to the U.S., but no dates had been announced prior to the pandemic.
In a 2018 interview with Wall Of Sound, Max stated about revisiting the "Beneath The Remains" and "Arise" material on the most recent run of shows: "I had to learn those riffs again for the tour, and I had to rediscover the albums again. It was a really fun process, learning the lyrics again. I kind of fell in love with the albums again. I don't have a favorite — I like both together, and I think they're meant to be together. For some reason, they just feel right when you play them together. I was very young when I made them, so it made me very aware of my state of mind at the time. I feel like I'm pretty much the same guy. I'm [52] now, but I'm still a metalhead in the heart. I still have the teenage spirit. I'm a huge metal fan, [a] huge supporter of metal. That's just how it was when those albums were done. It's a blessing that I get to do that with my brother, especially after all we went through together and we didn't speak for 10 years. Now, it's good — we are in a good place, and our brotherhood is really good, and we're just having fun with this music... There's an energy and a real anger and real passion in those songs that translates into people losing their minds when they hear it. I don't even have to tell them, 'Circle pit' — they will do it themselves. It's just the power of music."
In 1996, Max exited SEPULTURA after the rest of the band split with Max's wife Gloria as their manager.
Igor left SEPULTURA in June 2006 due to "artistic differences." His departure from the band came five months after he announced that he was taking a break from SEPULTURA's touring activities to spend time with his second wife and their son (who was born in January 2006).
The current SEPULTURA lineup — featuring guitarist Andreas Kisser and bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. alongside Derrick Green on vocals and Eloy Casagrande on drums — released its latest studio album, "Quadra", in February 2020 via Nuclear Blast.
EUROPE's music video for the group's 1986 mega-hit "The Final Countdown" has surpassed one billion views on YouTube. The Nick Morris-directed clip, which was uploaded to YouTube in October 2009, contains footage from two concerts EUROPE played at Solnahallen in Solna, Sweden on May 26 and May 27, 1986, as well as some extra footage filmed at the soundchecks for those gigs.
EUROPE announced the YouTube milestone in a social media post on Tuesday (May 31). The band wrote: "Unbelievable! One Billion Views! Thanks so much to everyone out there who has enjoyed 'The Final Countdown' song and video! We're sure we have annoyed a few people along the way as well with this song. : ) In any case we are super thrilled and will celebrate tonight in Gothenburg with all our fans on this tour with WHITESNAKE!"
"The Final Countdown" was the first single released from EUROPE's third studio album, "The Final Countdown", in 1986. The band's most recognizable and popular song, it reached No. 1 in 25 countries, including the United Kingdom. In the United States the song peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 18 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The single was certified gold in the United Kingdom in 1986.
Four years ago, EUROPE vocalist Joey Tempest was asked by Australia's Wall Of Sound if he knew "The Final Countdown" would be a smash when he was writing it and recording it. He responded: "It is a good question. I did the demo at home with this song and we had the ideas for it for so long. It was a one-minute demo since high school for me. On the third album, we decided to record the song and we were talking about writing around this main keyboard riff. Initially, it was really a soundtrack-type song and not a hit single, and I guess this was good for it. I remember playing the demo for the guys and they really saw the song so strong and it built from there. [But] no, we never knew that this was going to be such a big hit. We opened the album and the tour with this song, but we really thought this was not the one to be the initial single."
According to Tempest, "The Final Countdown" still stands as "one of our strongest albums and it was one of the albums that stands out; it opened up a lot of doors for the band. You know, 'Wings Of Tomorrow' was a little more naïve and stronger in that regard. But personally, I think we have done better albums, especially in the last [few] years. The three last albums are our strongest, but obviously it was something that belonged in that era and something so important to our career and history."
EUROPE's latest album, "Walk The Earth", was released in October 2017 via the band's own Hell & Back label through Silver Lining Music.
Unbelievable!
One Billion Views! Thanks so much to everyone out there who has enjoyed The Final Countdown song and...
British heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN played the fourth show of the 2022 leg of their "Legacy Of The Beast" world tour on May 31 at Žalgiris Arena in Kaunas, Lithuania. It marked the band's fourth live appearance in 31 months.
As was the case with the May 22 concert at the Arena Zagreb in Zagreb, Croatia, the May 24 show in Belgrade, Serbia and the May 26 gig at Romexpo in Bucharest, Romania, MAIDEN opened the set with "Senjutsu", the title track of its latest studio album, and followed it up with two more songs from the same LP, "Stratego" and "The Writing On The Wall".
Other tracks aired during MAIDEN's performance included "Revelations", "Blood Brothers", "Sign Of The Cross", "Flight Of Icarus", "Fear Of The Dark", "Hallowed Be Thy Name", "The Number Of The Beast" and "Iron Maiden".
MAIDEN also played two encores, consisting of "The Trooper", "The Clansman", "Run To The Hills" and the closing track of the night, "Aces High".
The full setlist was as follows:
01. Senjutsu
02. Stratego
03. The Writing On The Wall
04. Revelations
05. Blood Brothers
06. Sign Of The Cross
07. Flight Of Icarus
08. Fear Of The Dark
09. Hallowed Be Thy Name
10. The Number Of The Beast
11. Iron Maiden
Encore:
12. The Trooper
13. The Clansman
14. Run To The Hills
Encore 2:
15. Aces High
Prior to the Zagreb concert, IRON MAIDEN hadn't performed live in two and a half years — since the completion of its South American tour in October 2019.
Earlier this year, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson confirmed that the band is planning to stage a tour where it will perform its new album, "Senjutsu", in its entirety. The 63-year-old singer told the "Talk Is Jericho" podcast: "The plan we've got — it's not really a secret; I think everybody else has chatted about it — we will, I hope, we've talked about doing the entire ['Senjutsu'] album start to finish, but not this time around. And we all appreciate that that is something that really diehard fans will probably love and other people will go, 'Hmmm, I'm not gonna go see that.' So the answer is you play smaller venues so that they sell out with just your diehard fans. 'Cause it's a musical thing to do — it's a musical thing."
Dickinson went on to clarify that the 2022 leg of MAIDEN's "Legacy Of The Beast" tour, which is scheduled to hit North America in September and October, will once again focus primarily on a decades-spanning setlist of fan favorites.
"The 'Legacy Of The Beast' tour, people have all paid their money to see the 'Legacy Of The Beast' show, with Spitfires and flamethrowers and Icarus and everything that goes with," he said. "So they're gonna get all that. But the first three tracks are probably gonna be the first three tracks on the ['Senjutsu'] album. 'The Writing On The Wall' they already know, so everybody should know the first three tracks. And I just think [the] 'Senjutsu' [title track] is just such a great opening song — so dramatic. And then once you've done that — and we'll have a stage set to go with it — once you've done that, you're back to the kind of 'Legacy' world at that point. But I think 'The Writing On The Wall' is gonna be a great song — I mean, a crowd singalong song. You can imagine that. It'll be fantastic."
Addressing the fact that MAIDEN infuriated some fans by forcing them to sit through the band's then-new, 75-minute "A Matter Of Life And Death" album on tour in 2006, denying the crowd the greatest hits they'd come for, Bruce said: "Nobody has to buy a ticket. If you don't wanna go [see us play an entire new album live], you don't buy a ticket. It's gonna be plain as the nose on your face. This is gonna be what they're gonna do. So given that, don't complain that they did what they said they were gonna do."
Clocking in at a hefty 82 minutes, "Senjutsu" came out in September. It marks MAIDEN's second consecutive double album behind 2015's "The Book Of Souls" which is the longest MAIDEN album, with a running time of 92 minutes.
IRON MAIDEN's first album in six years, "Senjutsu" was recorded in 2019 in Paris with longstanding producer Kevin Shirley and co-produced by bassist Steve Harris. It features three tracks whose running time exceeds 10 minutes each.
For "Senjutsu" — loosely translated as "tactics and strategy" — the band once again enlisted the services of Mark Wilkinson to create the spectacular Samurai-themed cover artwork, based on an idea by Harris.
"Senjutsu" bowed at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, charting higher than even the band's early classics like "Powerslave" and "The Number Of The Beast". Nearly 90 percent of the LP's 64,000 equivalent album units earned came from pure album sales. The critically acclaimed double album debuted one place higher than 2015's "The Book Of Souls" and 2010's "The Final Frontier", which both peaked at No. 4.
"Senjutsu" was MAIDEN's 13th album to top in the Top 40 in the U.S.
According to Billboard, "Senjutsu" logged the second-largest week of 2021 for a hard rock album in both equivalent album units earned and in traditional album sales.
"Senjutsu" topped the charts in several European countries upon its release, including in Belgium, Finland, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland.
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss launched their 2022 Raise The Roof tour last night (Wednesday, June 1) at the Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center in Canandaigua, NY. Fan-filmed footage of their performance of the Led Zeppelin classic, "Rock And Roll", can be viewed below:
Plant and Krauss recently announced a new string of US dates in support of Raise The Roof. The new leg launches on August 15 in San Diego, CA, and concludes on September 4 in Austin, TX. Dates below.
August
15 - San Diego, CA - The Rady Shell @ Jacobs Park
17 - Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl
18 - Los Angeles, CA - The Greek Theatre
20 - Stateline, NV - Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harvey’s
21 - Berkeley, CA - The Greek Theatre
23 - Napa, CA - Oxbow Riverstage
25 - Bend, OR - Hayden Homes Amphitheater
27 - Troutdale, OR - Edgefield Amphitheater
28 - Redmond, WA - Marymoor Park
30 - Salt Lake City, UT - Sandy Amp
September
1 - Denver, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
3 - Grand Prairie, TX - Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie
4 - Austin, TX - Moody Amphitheater
Helloween have released the new video below, recapping their United Forces tour launch in the UK.
Says the band: "The pumpgang has landed! We kicked off the United Forces tour 2022 in England - and had a blast! It felt so good to be back on stage, thanks to you crazy pumpkinheads out there! Check out the recap of our London show. And there's A LOT more to come! Check for tour dates across Europe and Latin America and get your tickets now!
Find Helloween's tour itinerary and ticket links here.
Helloween recently released a special vinyl single, “Best Time”, via Atomic Fire. The single features a 2022 remix of its title track on side A as well as an exclusive alternative vocal remix of the song on side B. Order at this location.
The video for "Best Time", directed by Martin Häusler ("Skyfall"), is an extreme cool 3D-roadmovie and sees the cameo of the Arch Enemy frontwoman, Alissa White-Gluz. Watch below:
Texas rock band Blacktop Mojo have debuted the official music video for “Darlin I Won’t Tell”. The song is a conclusion to a three part concept featured on their last album, that starts with “Jealousy” and “Make Believe”. and concludes with “Darlin I Won’t Tell”. If you watched the first part, you know that this story of romance and murder probably won’t end well.
“From our fourth record, ‘Jealousy/Make Believe’ and ‘Darlin I Won’t Tell’ are sort of a concept album within the album. The three songs flow together as a singular narrative and we wanted to create a striking visual to convey the story. We decided to do something cool that we’ve never done before and make a three-song animated video to tell this story of heartbreak, murder, and deception.” - Blacktop Mojo
“Jealousy / Make Believe” video:
Catch Blacktop Mojo live at the following shows:
July
2 - Lindale, TX - Texas Music City Grill & Smokehouse
15 - Kyle, TX - The Railhouse Bar
16 - McAlester, OK - Downtown 312
17 - Abilene, TX - The Zone Bar
19 - El Paso, TX - Rockhouse Dive Bar Kitchen Venue
20 - Tucson, AZ - Encoretucson
22 - Glendale, AZ - The 44 Sports Grill and Nightlife
23 - Los Angeles, CA - Whisky A Go-Go
24 - Fresno, CA - Strummer's
26 - Sacramento, CA - Goldfield Trading Post
28 - Portland, OR - Dante's
29 - Zillah, WA - Perham Hall at The Old Warehouse
30 - Lewiston, ID - Snake River Rock Festival
August
1 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
2 - Denver, CO - Lost Lake
Shaman’s Harvest and Mascot Records / Mascot Label Group have released an official music video for the song “Under Your Skin”
Guitarist Josh Hamler shares, “’Under Your Skin’ opens the Rebelator album with a dynamic guitar driven intro that quickly turns into a drum and bass groove that just draws you in. The hook in the chorus and the guitar solo in the bridge brings it all home. This song has all that’s Rock ‘n Roll.”
Guitarist Derrick Shipp adds, “The song is one of the more aggressive tracks musically in my opinion. The opening riff is a unique blend of major and minor keys and the bass taking over on the verses is great. It created a lot of space for vocals to shine.”
This week, the band will begin a tour with Crobot and Any Given Sin. Confirmed appearances for the bill featuring the three Mascot Records recording artists follows below.
Tour dates:
June
3 - Hampton Beach, NH - Wally’s
4 - Rochester, NY - Montage Music Hall
6 - Nashville, TN - The Basement East
7 - Columbus, OH - Skully’s
9 - Ft. Wayne, IN - Rockstar Lounge
10 - Flint, MI - The Machine Shop
11 - Battle Creek, MI - Music Factory
14 - Kansasville, WI - 1175
15 - Joliet, IL - The Forge
17 - Moline, IL - The Rust Belt Theater
18 - Madison, WI - The Majestic
21 - Colorado Springs, CO - Black Sheep
After the arrival of their feature track "I'll Get Through It", Finnish cello rockers APOCALYPTICA have announced the first of three classical instrumental tracks to be released throughout this summer. "Bolero" is APOCALYPTICA's own version of Maurice Ravel's classic ballet piece and it therefore marks the band's first reinterpretation of a classical song since "Hall Of The Mountain King" in 2000. Watch the music video below.
APOCALYPTICA will tour the U.S. extensively in 2022 and play multiple summer festivals, among other dates, before hitting Europe with the aptly named "Epic Apocalypse Tour" alongside EPICA and WHEEL.
Two months ago, APOCALYPTICA's Eicca Toppinen spoke to Mexico's Summa Inferno about his band's plans for a follow-up to 2020's "Cell-0" LP. He said: "We have started to talk about the next possible album. But in the meanwhile, we've been recording individual songs so we could release something constantly. So now we have already [planned out the] three next releases after [the recent single] 'I'll Get Through It'. We're gonna have something for the later [part] of the year as well; we're gonna have something for the winter. So we are working on different fields — on the instrumental field, on some special fields and then also on the vocal field.
"I would guess we'll start to write for the new album," he continued. "We've been starting to talk about what it could be, what would be exciting to do for us, but [those discussions have] not [gone] very far yet. Because the mindset is now we're doing the 'Cell-0' tour. And it's not that easy at the same time to get very high inspiration and motivation to write a new album, because writing a new album and recording it is a huge process; it takes a lot of time [and] a lot of energy. So, now we have so much touring that it's not possible to do it now. But I think we [will be] starting on it [soon]."
Released in March, "I'll Get Through It" was written for APOCALYPTICA by American award-winning songwriter Diane Warren. It features Franky Perez — guest vocalist in APOCALYPTICA's 2015 record "Shadowmaker" — as well as Geezer Butler of BLACK SABBATH on bass guitar.
The song was born out of a visit Geezer and Franky paid to their friend Diane, who had already written the track "Not Strong Enough" for APOCALYPTICA, included in their 2010 record "7th Symphony".
"Franky and I were visiting my friend, Diane Warren, at her studio," commented Geezer. "She played us this song, saying that she thought it would work well with Franky's voice. He gave it a try on the spot. We loved it. Franky then suggested sending it to APOCALYPTICA. They loved it, and the rest is history."
Perez shared the same feeling of enthusiasm upon hearing the track for the first time. "I knew this song was special from the moment Diane Warren played it for Geezer and me," he said. "So much so, that I framed the lyrics from the session the very next day. They have been hanging on my wall ever since. This song speaks to me lyrically which made for an honest performance. Musically, there is no better collaboration than Geezer and APOCALYPTICA to do the song the justice it deserves. I feel very fortunate to be a part of it."
"I'll Get Through It" marked the first collaboration between APOCALYPTICA and Perez since he sang on "Shadowmaker", which adds to the excitement for the members of APOCALYPTICA, according to Perttu Kivilaakso. "We are more than thrilled working with our great and talented friend Franky Perez again!" he said. "It's been a while since our previous collaborations in 'Shadowmaker' album and tour."
Perttu also added about the song: "'I'll Get Through It' is a meaningful and beautiful song by an incredible songwriter Diane Warren, with whom we've also had the pleasure of working with before. We can't wait for you to hear the final result… falling in love again with Franky's sensual performance, Geezer's earthshakingly powerful bass, and our wistfully haunting cellos, among the inevitable presence of all the rhythms and groove!"
2015's "Shadowmaker" was APOCALYPTICA's first album to feature just one singer — Perez — instead of guest collaborators. The disc was recorded with Grammy Award-winning producer Nick Raskulinecz (FOO FIGHTERS, DEFTONES, MASTODON).
Prior to enlisting Perez, who accompanied APOCALYPTICA on the band's 2022 North American tour, the group released eight albums that melded the classically trained cello mastery of the three core bandmembers with the harder elements of the rock world, including drums and guest vocalists, such as Gavin Rossdale from BUSH, and Corey Taylor of SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR fame.
APOCALYPTICA's "The Cell-0 Tour" of North America was set to begin in May 2020 before being moved back to early 2021 and to late summer 2021 and then finally to April/May 2022.
In April 2021, APOCALYPTICA released the official music video for its collaboration with PAPA ROACH singer Jacoby Shaddix on a cover version of the CREAM classic "White Room". The track was produced by Howard Benson at West Valley Recording Studios in Woodland Hills, California and mixed by Chris Lorde-Alge.
"White Room" was the first release from APOCALYPTICA since "Talk To Me", which arrived in August 2020. That song was a collaboration with HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale.
"Cell-0" came out in January 2020. The effort was the band's first fully instrumental record in 17 years.
Back in 2018, Toppinen stated about APOCALYPTICA's decision to make an all-instrumental album at this point in the group's career: "On the previous ones, we always combined the instrumental songs with the vocal songs, and it was great to have the featuring artists, it was great to work with Frank Perez for the 'Shadowmaker' album. But then, on the other hand, it became a bigger interest for us, like, okay, it would be interesting to make a full instrumental album, so there's no compromise with anything."
Black River, the Polish blackened rock ‘n’ roll band featuring Tomasz 'Orion' Wróblewski (Behemoth) and Dariusz 'Daray' Brzozowski (Dimmu Borgir) have announced their new album, Generation aXe, coming out on June 24th via Crusader Records / Golden Robot Records, on CD and digital. Vinyl release will follow in early 2023.
In addition, the band has unveiled a new single and official music video for "Civil Army'".
They have issued the following statement: "Generation aXe focuses on the band’s anger at what they see happening in the world. They decided to express it in their music and 'vomit all this venom.' The result is a collection of songs written without calculation but in full anger - closing out with a furious version of The Doors’ classic, 'Break on Through'."
Watch the official music video for "Civil Army" below. Pre order / pre-save the new album here.
Whitesnake continues to revisit its multi-platinum career as it remixes some of its biggest hits for a new collection that spotlights updated versions of classic tracks like “Still Of The Night,” “Here I Go Again,” and “Is This Love.”
Whitesnake's Greatest Hits is available now on digital and streaming services and fans are invited to order the collection by going here.
The band have released this remastered video for "Give Me All Your Love":
In another clip, David Coverdale looks back on "Give Me All Your Love":
Whitesnake founder and lead singer David Coverdale had 16 tracks remixed and remastered for this collection. He explains: “We’ve definitely expanded on the original Greatest Hits, took them all out of the sonic time capsule of the ’80s and ’90s, and brought them up to date, sound-wise … as always, we have the original albums for those who consider them holy relics.”
Keyboardist Derek Sherinian, who also appeared on Whitesnake’s recent Red, White and Blues trilogy, adds Hammond organ to more than half the songs on the collection. His scorching contributions can be heard on the #1 smash “Here I Go Again,” “Fool For Your Loving,” “You’re Gonna Break My Heart Again,” and more. New performances by former Whitesnake guitarist Adrian Vandenberg can also be heard on “The Deeper The Love” and “Judgement Day” from the 1989 album, Slip Of The Tongue.
Along with those new additions, Coverdale also went back to the vault to unearth vintage performances by guitarist John Sykes that didn’t appear on the original recordings, including a solo on “Slide It In” and rhythm guitar on “Give Me All Your Love.”
Whitesnake Greatest Hits focuses extensively on three blockbuster albums the band released during the 1980s: 1984’s Slide It In (2x platinum), 1987’s Whitesnake (8x platinum), and 1989’s Slip Of The Tongue (platinum). But the collection goes deeper with songs like “Sweet Lady Luck,” a b-side on the 12” single for “The Deeper The Love,” and “Forevermore,” the title track from the band’s 2011 album.
Whitesnake have embarked upon a farewell tour with special guest, Europe. Coverdale said: “I pray every day we can all make this happen & once again, share unforgettable evenings together & celebrate the amazing journey we have been on for almost 50 years!!!”
- Digital now available worldwide
- CD out now in Europe
- 2LP out now in Europe
- CD/Blu-ray out June 3 in Europe and July 15 in North America
- CD & 2LP out on June 17 in North America
CD/Blu-ray tracklisting:
“Still Of The Night”
“Here I Go Again”
“Is This Love”
“Give Me All Your Love”
“Love Ain’t No Stranger”
“Slide It In”
“Slow An’ Easy”
“Guilty Of Love”
“Fool For Your Loving”
“Judgment Day”
“The Deeper The Love”
“Now You’re Gone”
“You’re Gonna Break My Heart Again”
“Sweet Lady Luck”
“Crying In The Rain”
“Forevermore”
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