FOZZY debuted a brand new song, "The Vulture Club", during its concert Wednesday night (July 14) at Wildwood in Iowa City, Iowa. The band also performed its latest single, "Sane", live for the first time. Fan-filmed video footage of both tracks can be seen below.
In May, FOZZY dropped a breathtaking video for its first new song in two years, "Sane", which hit one million views in its first two weeks. This first-of-its-kind video was filmed on the longest wooden roller coaster on the planet today. Get a first-hand view of the madness as the band literally defies gravity, by reaching top speeds of 70 mph and terrifying drops of 154 feet, rocking to the crushing new track every track of the way!! It's an edgy, heart-stopping thrill ride that represents both the power and physicality of FOZZY's music, along with the bombastic nature and "who gives a shit" attitude of their live show.
This past February, FOZZY singer Chris Jericho told Detroit's WRIF radio station that the band's follow-up to 2017's "Judas" album would "continue with the momentum that [the] 'Judas' [title track] started for us three years ago."
Last summer, Chris revealed that FOZZY's next LP will contain 12 songs, including one cover.
In May 2020, Jericho told Australia's Triple M radio station that FOZZY has "so many great songs" written for the new LP that "it's gonna be hard to pick the singles."
Guitarist Rich Ward and producer Johnny Andrews once again did "the lion's share" of the songwriting for the new LP, which was recorded primarily in Atlanta, Georgia.
Released in August 2019, "Nowhere To Run" was FOZZY's third single to hit Top 10 on rock radio, following "Judas" and "Painless".
In addition to producing "Judas", Andrews previously co-wrote FOZZY's "Lights Go Out" track back in 2014. He has also written songs with the likes of ALL THAT REMAINS, THREE DAYS GRACE and HALESTORM.
In November, FOZZY appeared in its first global live streaming event from Madison Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.
FOZZY is Chris Jericho (vocals), Rich Ward (guitars, vocals), Frank Fontsere (drums), Billy Grey (guitars) and P.J. Farley (bass).
NIGHTWISH singer Floor Jansen played her first pandemic-era solo concert this past Thursday, July 15 at Het Zomertheater in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. Fan-filmed video footage of the show can be seen below.
The setlist was as follows:
01. Ever Dream (NIGHTWISH song)
02. Euphoria (Loreen cover)
03. Storm In A Glass (NORTHWARD song)
04. Nemo (NIGHTWISH song)
05. Mama (Samantha Steenwijk cover)
06. Sweet Curse (REVAMP song) (with Henk Poort)
07. Dangerous Game ("Jekyll & Hyde" cover) (with Henk Poort)
08. Face Your Demons (AFTER FOREVER song)
09. Winner (Tim Akkerman cover)
Set 2:
01. Slow, Love, Slow (NIGHTWISH song)
02. Shallow (Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper cover)
03. Strong (AFTER FOREVER song)
04. Élan (NIGHTWISH song)
05. Energize Me (AFTER FOREVER song)
06. Let It Go ("Frozen" cover)
07. Bridle Passion (NORTHWARD song)
08. Our Decades In The Sun (NIGHTWISH song)
09. Wolf And Dog (REVAMP song)
10. The Phantom Of The Opera (Andrew Lloyd Webber cover) (with Henk Poort)
After the concert, Floor tweeted: "Yesterday was amazing! I was able to let the wolf side of me out again and perform live again. @henkpoort kicked ass as per usual as well."
She later added: "My first live show with a crowd since covid-19 is now done. Oh how I missed this!"
Jansen made her live debut as the frontwoman of NIGHTWISH on October 1, 2012 at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington following the abrupt departure of the band's lead singer of five years, Anette Olzon.
Jansen officially joined NIGHTWISH in 2013 and made her recording debut with the group on 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" album.
NIGHTWISH's ninth studio album, "Human. :II: Nature." , was released in April 2020 via Nuclear Blast. The effort is a double album containing nine tracks on the main CD and one long track, divided into eight chapters on CD 2.
Just a couple of hours until I am on stage in front of people for the first time in over a year! ?❤️ See you there! And for the people who can't attend, I have two surprises tomorrow! ? pic.twitter.com/JiN0EA6b2t
ANTHRAX singer Joey Belladonna joined STEEL PANTHER on stage on Thursday, July 15 at the Rock Fest in Cadott, Wisconsin to perform a cover version of the JOURNEY classic "Don't Stop Believin'". Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below (courtesy of YouTube user "Concert Mania").
Two months ago, Belladonna told "The Johnny Dare Morning Show" thar his recently launched JOURNEY tribute band called JOEY BELLADONNA'S BEYOND THE BAND (formerly JOURNEY BEYOND) was "working on some recordings."
JOEY BELLADONNA'S BEYOND THE BAND, which also features keyboardist Doug Carter, bassist Paul Arntz, guitarist Matt Basford and drummer Justin Ward, made its live debut in March 2020 at The Beacon Theatre in Hopewell, Virginia.
Belladonna also touched upon his reasons for launching a JOURNEY tribute band, saying: "People ask why the hell I do it. I just like the songs. I've liked the band forever. And I just wanted to do it because I think it's a cool challenge and it's just fun music. I can't think of many bands that I'd like to do a whole evening of without trying to dress up and do everything they do. We just wanna be a band that plays that music. I don't care about the whole lookalike-type stuff. It's just about music. That's really all it is."
In an April 2020 interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Belladonna stated about his approach to singing material that was originally written and recorded by Steve Perry: "Obviously, when you do [something like this], there's always open ground for [people to say], 'You didn't do that part, 'You didn't do this.' [But] I didn't wanna copy it note for note. Sometimes I just like to do my own thing with it. Represent it and do what you can, but I love to mess around with things. Not so much to try to be too different, but just make it cool and do it your own way versus trying to get every note. I'm sure some guys study every second of it. Even with ANTHRAX, I do songs different a lot of times. It's just fun that way. To do things off the cuff is fun for me versus trying to follow everything… I can study it all day, but I just don't feel like doing that. I wanna have a little fun doing my own thing with it."
When he is not busy touring and recording with ANTHRAX, Belladonna has been spending time playing drums and singing for a classic-rock covers band called CHIEF BIG WAY. The upstate New York-based group, which also features Dave Mickelson on bass, Joe Precourt on guitar and John Goodwin on keyboards, plays versions of songs from JOURNEY, AC/DC, ZZ TOP, BOSTON, CHEAP TRICK, FOREIGNER, PINK FLOYD, VAN HALEN, COLLECTIVE SOUL, THE WHO, THE DOORS, SHINEDOWN and BON JOVI, among others.
In a 2005 interview with MusicDish, Belladonna was asked about the rumor that he came to the table with a JOURNEY tune during his 1985 audition for ANTHRAX. "Actually, what happened was I went into the room and they said, 'Just go on in,' and they hadn't heard me sing," he said. "They'd heard of me and they asked me to come in, but we were going in to start tracking and stuff, to get the mic set up and all that and they said, 'Let's get you in there and get you warmed up.' I hit the mic and belted out some JOURNEY… I think it was [the song] 'Lights'. I didn't know what the hell I was getting into in the first place. I just wanted to lay some vocals or something. Just to kinda give an idea and that's what happened. It wasn't really anything more than that. I just kinda belched it out. I think I did 'Oh Sherrie' [written by Steve Perry], too, or something. I dunno why, but I just did. It was something off the top of my head I could do a cappella and it was kinda challenging. I thought maybe in range or something that would be kind of intriguing. It was definitely one they weren't expecting."
ANTHRAX's 2013 EP "Anthems" EP included the band's cover version of JOURNEY's "Keep On Runnin'" alongside classics by RUSH, THIN LIZZY, AC/DC, CHEAP TRICK and BOSTON.
KORN played its first show with Roberto "Ra" Díaz (SUICIDAL TENDENCIES) last night (Friday, July 16) at the Upheaval festival in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below (courtesy of the "BREWtally Speaking" podcast).
Díaz is filling in for Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu on KORN's current tour. Fieldy announced last month that he would sit out the trek in order to "heal" after "falling back" on some of his "bad habits."
"We appreciate your kind words of support in response to the recent tour update about @Fieldykorn," KORN wrote in a social media post on July 12. "While our brother takes some time to heal, we wanted to let you know that we are bringing our friend @Ra_Diaz from @SuicidalTendencies out with us this summer to fill in on KORN bass duties. We've all been rehearsing to get ready to bring the heat, and we can't wait to see you next month."
On June 21, Fieldy broke the news of his absence from the trek, writing in a social media update: "To all KORN fans worldwide. The past 6 years I've been dealing with some personal issues that at times have caused me to fall back on some of my bad habits and has caused some tension with the people around me. It's been suggested to me to take some time off to heal. I'm going to respect what was asked of me and take that time. Unfortunately you will not see me on stage with my band. I will be working towards getting the bad habits out of my system. In the meantime I will be staying creative to keep my mind & soul in a good place.
"I'm thankful for all of your support, patience & understanding as we all have something that we deal with.
"Jonathan, Munky, Ray and Head, I love you and I don't want to bring any tension or bad vibes to the circle."
A short time later, KORN's official social media shared Fieldy's statement, along with the following message: "We love and support our brother, Fieldy. Health and family always comes first."
In May, KORN announced a U.S. summer tour featuring special guests STAIND on all dates. Produced by Live Nation, the coast-to-coast 28-city outing will kick off August 5 in West Palm Beach, Florida and make stops in Long Island, Detroit, Irvine, Phoenix, Austin and more, before wrapping up with a performance at Dallas' Dos Equis Pavilion on September 21. Furthermore, both bands will perform at Louisville, Kentucky's Louder Than Life festival on September 23.
Back in 2017, METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo's then-12-year-old son Tye Trujillo filled in on bass for KORN's South American tour after Fieldy was unable to make the shows due to "unforeseen circumstances."
Fieldy's 2009 memoir, "Got The Life: My Journey Of Addiction, Faith, Recovery And Korn", detailed his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction during KORN's early years and how he became a born-again Christian to help get his life together and get sober.
Fieldy's STILLWELL side project released its third album, "Supernatural Miracle", last September.
KORN's latest LP, "The Nothing", arrived in September 2019 via Roadrunner/Elektra. The follow-up to 2016's "The Serenity Of Suffering" was once again produced by Nick Raskulinecz.
Fan-filmed video footage of POP EVIL's July 16 performance at the Upheaval festival in Grand Rapids, Michigan can be seen below.
POP EVIL's current touring lineup includes two session musicians: drummer Jason Hartless (TED NUGENT) and bassist Joey "Chicago" Walser of EGYPT CENTRAL and DEVOUR THE DAY.
Last weekend, POP EVIL's longtime bassist Matt DiRito announced his exit from the band, saying in a statement that "the details surrounding my departure are only known by a few people, and respectfully it will remain that way."
"Walking away from something I've helped build is not easy — but it is the best thing for the band, myself and our respective futures," he said. "POP EVIL will continue on and so will I, just not together."
POP EVIL drummer Hayley Cramer is being forced to miss the first couple of weeks of the band's U.S. tour because of COVID-19 travel restrictions.
The U.K.-based musician, who joined the Michigan rockers in 2016, announced her absence from the first shows of the trek in a social media post on July 8.
She wrote: "Hey everyone! As I'm sure some of you have noticed, POP EVIL have started rehearsals yet I'm still here in the UK. So I just want to fill you all in with where we are at with regards to some travel logistics back to America.
"We have been able to secure a meeting with the consulate on the 21st of July to get my P1 visa renewed. The embassy is extremely backed up due to the pandemic, but our immigration team have really delivered. Some people are still waiting to obtain an appointment! This does mean unfortunately I will be missing the first couple of weeks of tour.
"I can't wait to get back to play shows in front of you all again. In the meantime, a fantastic drummer Jason Hartless will be filling in for me and will deliver a kick ass performance for sure!!
"I want to encourage you to continually show your love, encouragement and support to bands, musicians, crews and venues. We need all the help you can give to rebuild our precious yet vulnerable music industry. Live music in particular!
"Big love to you all. See you soon."
POP EVIL's "Versatile" tour kicked off on July 14 with an outdoor show in Lake County, Illinois and will run across the U.S. until September 23 including stops at several of the major rock festivals — Rocklahoma, Aftershock and Inkcarceration — as well as supporting SHINEDOWN. Support on the trek will come from special guests ZERO 9:36, BRKN LOVE and LIKE MACHINES (on select dates).
POP EVIL's latest album, "Versatile", features the No. 1 mainstream rock hit single "Breathe Again" — the band's sixth No. 1 single to date — alongside heavyweight tracks "Set Me Free", "Let The Chaos Reign" and Top 10 single "Work".
HALESTORM played its first concert in almost two years last night (Friday, July 16) at The Basement East in Nashville, Tennessee. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance is available below.
Earlier in the day, HALESTORM singer Lzzy Hale tweeted: "Tonight's the night. Our first show back in almost two years. Emotions are running hot. I can't even believe it's real. See you there!"
The setlist for the gig was as follows:
01. Mayhem
02. Apocalyptic
03. Mz. Hyde
04. Do Not Disturb
05. I Get Off
06. I Am the Fire
07. I Like It Heavy
08. Break In / Dear Daughter
09. Familiar Taste of Poison
10. Drum Solo
11. Freak Like Me
12. Uncomfortable
13. Love Bites (So Do I)
Encore:
14. Here's To Us
15. Amen
16. I Miss The Misery
HALESTORM has spent the last few months recording its new album for a tentative late 2021 release. The LP's first single will arrive in August.
During an appearance on the June 11 edition of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation Virtual Invasion", Lzzy spoke about the progress of the recording sessions for HALESTORM's follow-up to 2018's "Vicious" album. She said: "It's going great. We're actually kind of in the eleventh hour. Everything is starting to really congeal and just reveal itself. So we're at the tail end of it. We already have a first single picked; that just happened. So you're definitely going to be hearing music sooner than later. As far as the release date of the record, I don't have that yet."
Hale went on to reflect on the songwriting process for the new HALESTORM LP, some of which took part after touring was shut down due to coronavirus precautions. She said: "I think a lot of us [artists] were questioning, over the past year and change, about why am I still doing this? Who am I without touring? Who am I without all of the normal things that make my life normal? And we took, or at least I — I can't speak for the guys — but I took writing when there was no real schedules, 'cause we didn't know what was gonna open up, I took to writing to kind of have that be my escape, have that be my stage. So what you're going to hear on this record is a lot of that, a lot of me placing myself in this spot, in this communion of people that I feel most comfortable, and just surrounded by everyone that loves the same music that I do."
Lzzy also talked about once again working with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who first helmed HALESTORM's 2017 effort "ReAniMate 3.0: The CoVeRs eP" and was previously described by Hale as the group's "fifth member."
"He's so passionate and he's just a fan of music," she said. "And I know that sounds surprising — oh, yeah, a music producer that isn't a fan of music. There are a lot of those; there are a lot of those types of producers that are not fans of your music, let alone really listening to your genre. So it's just great to be working with a producer that just loves the same kind of music and knows what we can do.
"We've written so much material for this record, and a lot of it we end up throwing out and then rewriting and whatever," she explained. "What people don't understand is you have to be willing to work so hard just to throw it all away and do it again and make sure it's right, 'cause it has to be right. 'Cause you don't wanna look back and be, like, 'Oh, I should have said something about that.'"
HALESTORM's latest release was last year's "Halestorm Reimagined", a collection of the band's reworked original songs as well as a cover of "I Will Always Love You", the love ballad made famous by Whitney Houston and Dolly Parton.
Lzzy and her brother Arejay formed the band in 1998 while in middle school. Guitarist Joe Hottinger joined the group in 2003, followed by bassist Josh Smith in 2004.
In December 2018, HALESTORM was nominated for a "Best Rock Performance" Grammy Award for its song "Uncomfortable". Six years earlier, the band won its first Grammy in the category of "Best Hard Rock/ Metal Performance" for "Love Bites (So Do I)". According to the Grammy web site, Lzzy became the first woman to earn a Grammy in the category.
Tonight’s the night. Our first show back in almost two years. Emotions are running hot. I can’t even believe it’s real. See you there!
Finnish melodic death metal pioneers INSOMNIUM have released a new single, "The Antagonist". The track, along with previously issued singles "The Conjurer" and "The Reticent", will appear on the band's upcoming EP, "Argent Moon", due on September 17 via Century Media Records.
INSOMNIUM frontman Niilo Sevänen stated about the "Argent Moon" EP: "When the corona outbreak forced us to cancel all the tours and shows, we pretty soon adopted a mindset that we better do something and keep ourselves in motion. We wanted to try how the streaming shows might work. We wanted to see what kind of new music might grow in the darkness and misery of the quarantine. And soon these vibes were channeled into songs that came to be the 'Argent Moon' EP. We wanted to try something a bit different so all the four songs on this release represent the softer side of INSOMNIUM. The ballads and the mellow tunes. Acoustic guitars and clean vocals. The sorrow and agony that creeps into your heart when the nights grow longer. But fear not, we haven't changed our style. Next album will be something different again. We used all the ballad ideas here so maybe it will be pure blast beats. We shall see. 'The Antagonist' video is something new and fresh too, since we worked with director and mastermind Ville Lipiäinen for the first time ever. The result is a bit different kind of INSOMNIUM montage."
After reaching pole position on official Finnish album charts and hitting German Top 10 with the acclaimed album "Heart Like A Grave" in October 2019, INSOMNIUM was once again supposed to entertain the legions of metal addicts all around the world. And that's what these gentlemen did for the time being: there was definitely no absence of severe headbanging... well, until mid-March 2020 when the good old world abruptly closed its curtains.
Drummer Markus Hirvonen previously told Sonic Perspectives about "Heart Like A Grave": "In my opinion, this is easily the strongest INSOMNIUM record we have ever done. There weren't any plans for diversifying or anything. Maybe the recording of the [2016] 'Winter's Gate' [album] kind of opened the gates in a way for us that we could prove to us that, 'Okay, there are no boundaries in a way. We can explore all the directions we want. I'm not saying we went like full-on to some weird directions, but yeah, it kind of opened the treasure box for us in a way that we can expand tempo-wise and the timings of the songs, we can play slower and faster and so. Also, maybe explore with the time signatures a bit more, but still keeping the INSOMNIUM [feeling] behind it. It wasn't like a decision that we were going to diversify our material, but it came up."
STAIND frontman Aaron Lewis performed his controversial new solo single, "Am I The Only One", on The Daily Wire's "Candace" show. You can now watch video of his appearance below.
According to Billboard, "Am I The Only One" bowed at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart after posting blockbuster first-week sales of 59,300. The track, which which Lewis wrote with Ira Dean and Jeffrey Steele, also topped Billboard's airplay-, sales- and streaming-based Hot Country Songs chart (dated July 17). It opened atop Country Digital Song Sales and at No. 2 on the all-genre Digital Song Sales ranking. "Am I The Only One" also drew 4 million U.S. streams in the tracking week.
The outspoken conservative rocker, who reinvented himself as a solo country artist in the last decade, debuted the song in March at a solo concert in Texas — a state which removed all pandemic restrictions that same month.
"Am I The Only One" finds Aaron asking if he is the only one fed up with the state of the country right now, featuring such lyrics as: "Am I the only one, who can't take no more, screaming, 'If you don't like it there's the fucking door.' It's not the freedom we've been fightin' for
It was somethin' more, yeah, it was somethin' more.'
Apparently addressing the removal of Confederate statues, Lewis sings in the song: " I'm not the only one, willin' to fight for my love of the red and white and the blue, burnin' on the ground as a statue's comin' down in a town near you. Watchin' the threads of Old Glory come undone, I'm not the only one. I can't be the only one."
Lewis also criticizes Bruce Springsteen at the end of the track, singing: "Am I the only one who quits singin' along every time they play a Springsteen song."
Springsteen can best be described as Lewis's political polar opposite, having been a vocal opponent to former U.S. president Donald Trump on many occasions. Last August, Bruce went as far as to allow the use of his song "The Rising" in a video that aired during night one of the Democratic National Convention.
Lewis, who is widely considered to be one of the most politically conservative musicians in rock, told the Anchorage Press in a January 2020 interview that he considered the first Trump impeachment by the House Of Representatives as the clearest representation of what's wrong with America these days.
Lewis was a staunch critic of President Barack Obama, telling a crowd at one of his solo concerts in 2016: "Barack Obama should have been impeached a long fucking time ago. Every fucking decision he makes is against the Constitution, it's against what's good for our fucking country, and he is truly the worst fucking president that we have ever had in the history of this fucking country."
That same year, Lewis told Billboard that he would support Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential race, even though he was "disappointed" by the real estate mogul "with the bickering and the name-calling." Lewis added that he voted for Senator Ted Cruz, Trump's closest competitor in the Republican nomination race, in the Massachusetts primary.
Last month, Lewis made headlines when he accused the U.S. Democratic Party of fighting against every major civil rights initiative and of having a long history of discrimination.
The power metal trailblazers Airborn from Turin, Italy, have dropped the “Metal Haters” video from the upcoming live album and DVD, Live Animals. Watch the clip below. The publication, announced a few days ago, was first planned in 2020 on their 25th anniversary, but then postponed due to the global pandemic and finally set this August.
Live Animals is already available for pre-order, exclusively at Airborn’s webstore, here.
Live Animals will be published as a CD + DVD digisleeve and for digital download at arpmusic.bandcamp.com and on the main platforms. The album features three bonus tracks recorded at Airborn’s Born To Fly Festival 2018, the last one for audio CD only. The physical format includes a heartwarming introduction by Turin’s metal poet Walter Olivetti as well as a copy of the setlist handsigned by the band.
Live Animals will be published as a CD + DVD digisleeve and for digital download at arpmusic.bandcamp.com and on the main platforms. It will be available for preorder from July 19 exclusively at Airborn’s web store airborn.bigcartel.com. The album features three bonus tracks recorded at Airborn’s Born To Fly Festival 2018, the last one for audio CD only. The physical format incudes a heartwarming introduction by Turin’s metal poet Walter Olivetti as well as a copy of the setlist handsigned by the band.
Live Animals represents the second effort the band took on a live album, after the successful Dinosaurs they published on their 20th anniversary. A release party and a streaming session on Airborn’s YouTube channel are being defined, details will be revealed further on.
Tracklisting:
“The Hero”
“Heavy Metal Wars”
“Who We Are”
“Lizard Secret”
“King Of Fear”
“Wolf Child”
“Here Comes The Claw”
“Sword Of Justice”
“Reign Of The Human Race”
“Terrifying Manhunt”
“Mess We’re In”
“Metal Haters”
“Against The World”
Bonus (Recorded At Born To Fly Festival 2019)
“Defenders Of Planet Earth”
“Born To Fly”
“Metal Gods” (CD only)
Blind Illusion, featuring ex-Heathen guitarist Doug Piercy, performed on July 17th at Holy Diver in Sacramento, California. The band's line-up now features former Death Angel drummer Andy Galeon. Check out video of the band performing the Blind Illusion classic "Smash The Crystal", courtesy of Capital Chaos TV.
Blind Illusion was formed in 1978 by frontman Mark Biedermann. The band has had several lineup changes, with Biedermann being the only constant member. Blind Illusion is also notable for featuring future Primus members Les Claypool and Larry LaLonde, who performed bass and guitar respectively on their 1988 debut album, The Sane Asylum. After a 20-year hiatus, Biedermann reformed Blind Illusion in 2009. A new EP entitled 2018 was released in February 2019 and includes remakes of some of their older songs. In August 2020, Blind Illusion announced they were in the studio recording their third album, tentatively titled Wrath Of The Gods, which will include Galeon.
Andy Galeon a founding member of Death Angel's, which was formed in 1982. He left the band in May 2009 for personal reasons, stating in a September 2009 interview: "We had a tour booked, and basically, I had personal things I had to deal with. I had a newborn baby, and I just was like, 'Well, I've gotta do stuff at home.' We (the members of Death Angel) weren't communicating well. I wasn't about to ask them to not go (on the road), so I just said, 'I'll just leave then.'" Galeon was replaced by Will Carroll, formerly of Scarecrow, Old Grandad and Vicious Rumors.
GENERATION KILL, the band featuring former EXODUS frontman Rob Dukes, has released the official music video for a new song called "Rat King". The track is taken from the band's upcoming album, "MKUltra", due on September 27 via Blood Blast Distribution.
Dukes commented: "I watched the documentary 'Rats' by filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, and it impacted me so much that I was immediately inspired to write a song about rats, maggots, and roaches taking over the planet Earth. Shortly after finishing the lyrics, our guitarist Jay Velez just so happened to send me the music he had been working on and it ended up matching perfectly with the lyrics. Feedback on the song so far has been overwhelmingly positive and I think our fans are gonna really dig it."
GENERATION KILL was formed by Dukes in New York City in 2008. Rob, on hiatus from touring with EXODUS, wanted to funnel his excess creative energy and aggression into something new. After the inclusion of Jason Trenczer, Lou Lehman and Sam Inzerra, the band began writing and recording its first album, "Red, White, & Blood", featuring several singles, including "Feast For The Wolves" and "Hate" as well as a cover of the NINE INCH NAILS track "Wish" which enjoyed heavy radio rotation.
Due to creative differences with Inzerra and the untimely death of guitarist Lou Lehman, Jay Velez and Jim DeMaria (HEATHEN) joined and began recording GENERATION KILL's sophomore album, "We're All Gonna Die", with renowned producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris (ROB ZOMBIE, HATEBREED). Shortly after its release, the band embarked on a European tour with fellow EXODUS member Lee Altus's band HEATHEN. The album spawned several successful singles, including "Prophets Of War" which went to No. 1 on SiriusXM Liquid Metal's "Dirty Dozen" and remained one of the top requested songs on the channel.
Following the success of "We're All Gonna Die", drummer Rob Youells joined GENERATION KILL and they went into the studio, this time with ex-GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal to record an album with a founding member of RUN-D.M.C., Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels. The project was initially titled DMC GENERATION KILL before becoming its own entity, later renamed FRAGILE MORTALS.
Currently, GENERATION KILL is recording "MK-Ultra", teaming up once again with Zeuss, Youells returning on the drums and with a new member, Max Velez, on bass.
Gold-certified Los Angeles-bred and Nashville-based BADFLOWER siphons stress, sleeplessness, sex, sadness, mania, pain, and truth into revelatory alternative anthems. Lead singer/guitarist Josh Katz's quivering confessions seep into climactic distortion and, like any good rush, you need more. They deliver this rush on their forthcoming second full-length offering, "This Is How The World Ends", which is is slated for a September 24 release via Big Machine/John Varvatos Records. The official music video for the disc's first single, "Family", can be seen below.
Beauty blooms from discomfort. The second we squirm at the utterance of a lyric or the echo of a guitar chord is the moment we learn about our limits and, perhaps, make a change in our lives. BADFLOWER aren't afraid of making anybody uncomfortable. Comprised of Katz, Joey Morrow (lead guitar, backing vocals), Alex Espiritu (bass) and Anthony Sonetti (drums), BADFLOWER continue to commit body, blood, mind, and soul to their art.
"Family" hovers over an ominous drum beat as Katz's voice barely breaks a whisper. Clean guitar glows through the bass line as he confesses, "affection makes me nauseous, believe me, I don't want this," before an exhale of distorted catharsis, "'Cuz I let you down, and I lost my fucking mind…What happened to this family?"
With a poignant video accompanying the track, Katz puts his family dynamics under a microscope for the world to dissect. Directing the video, he lets the viewer in on intimate scenes from a happy childhood that turns lonely.
Expressing his feelings behind the track he penned, Katz explains: "This song is very important to me. I've spent a lot of years of my life trying to understand certain qualities about myself. Why I constantly distance myself from the people I care about the most. Why interacting with my family feels so uncomfortable as an adult. Why the simplest acts of kindness or words of affirmation feel like impossible tasks that I'd rather just avoid. I'm an extremely empathetic person but I only show that side of myself to strangers because actual vulnerability is too… vulnerable. That insecurity is turning me into a selfish, lonely person that I don't want to be. It's a lot easier to play the victim and blame other people, stress, childhood trauma etc. rather than just admit I'm responsible for it. I'm the one that owes the apologies. I let it get this bad. I still don't know exactly how to fix it, all I know how to do is articulate the way it feels through music. For now… Its gonna be impossible for me NOT to confront it now that the song is out for my whole family to hear. Which is terrifying, but it's what needs to happen. I'm fucking 30, I have deal with my shit eventually.
"I hope the song helps someone else with similar issues on either end. As a way to start the conversation or even just inspire people to be a little more mindful of the people we love and who love us. Especially now in these insanely divided times. We could all use a reminder. Families and friendships are SO important."
After forming in Los Angeles during 2014, BADFLOWER dropped two EPs before sending shockwaves throughout rock with its 2019 full-length debut, "OK, I'm Sick". Loudwire hailed it among the "50 Best Rock Albums of 2019," while the singles "The Jester", "Heroin" and "Ghost" vaulted to No. 1 at rock radio. Not to mention, the latter picked up a gold certification from the RIAA and win as iHeartRadio Music Awards "Rock Song Of The Year." Along the way, they garnered further acclaim from Nylon, Alternative Press, Music Connection and Substream magazine and performed on "The Late Late Show With James Corden" as well as "Last Call With Carson Daly". They're the rare act who can ignite a crowd at Kaboo Del Mar or Sonic Temple in addition to sharing bills with the likes of CAGE THE ELEPHANT, GHOST, NOTHING MORE, SHINEDOWN, SOUNDGARDEN, and many more. Thus far, they've also gathered over 280 million streams and counting.
The clip below features new Cradle Of Filth backing vocalist / keyboardist Anabelle covering the Kate Bush classic "Wuthering Heights". The song was Kate Bush's debut single, released in November 1977, and was inspired by the 1847 Emily Brontë novel of the same name. The track appears on her 1978 debut album, The Kick Inside.
Back in May, Cradle Of Filth announced Anabelle Iratni (Devilment, Veile) as their permanent replacement for former keyboardist, Lindsay Schoolcraft.
Anabelle recently checked in with a new video clip along with the following message:
"This week's quickfire Cradle of Filth keys tutorial is for 'Saffron's Curse'. It comes in two parts: one played at normal speed followed by a breakdown of the parts. Using Roland FA-06 keyboard with a custom patch I made by blending a piano and harpsichord sample.
Each week, in one minute (or less), I'll show you how to play iconic Cradle of Filth key parts. I want to make this as accessible as possible for all ability levels!"
"Saffron's Curse" is taken from Cradle Of Filth's fourth album, Midian, released in 2000.
Summoner's Circle’s third full-length album Chaos Vector is being released this year and they have left no detail out. Accompanying the album is a Lovecraft-style cosmic horror short story written by the band where each chapter correlates to a song. This story marks a new chapter in The Lore of The Six and sets a foundation for them conceptually moving forward. The first single off this release is the title track. Preorder here.
The single was intentionally written as a shorter song because they needed an extra short song for their set on the 2019 Hexed Tour with Children of Bodom. It was well-received on tour and they felt the chaotic nature and strong hook made it an obvious choice as the first single for the album. They continue to explain:
“Given the worldly turmoil of 2020, Chaos Vector seemed apropos to choose as the title track of the album. The drums for this song were originally written by Yanic Bercier of Gone in April and Quo Vadis and were performed on this album by our current drummer, Invictus, who still performs the original Bercier beats. Yanic also appears in the music video as the drummer for this song. Chaos Vector tells the story of a man who has been driven mad through his practices in the occult. And while he tries tirelessly to warn others of the impending doom he wrought upon this world; he is only perceived as a madman sounding off.”
This album was conceived over two years ago, but the global turmoil slowed down its creation. Now that it is ready for release, the band couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. They are eager to share with fans their love of storytelling and cosmic horror in a concept album that vocalist Blind has been percolating since their formation in 2015. They say that they have scratched every creative itch with this record, and hope fans get the same satisfaction from it.
Tracklisting:
“The Message”
“Of Black Horizons”
“Vessel”
“The Hierophants”
“Apostasy”
“Chaos Vector”
“Terminus Egress”
“Chrysalis”
“The Beyond”
English extreme metal legends, Carcass, recently debuted their grisly new single "Kelly's Meat Emporium", amplifying fan's blood-thirst for the band's 7th studio album, Torn Arteries, that's out September 17 via Nuclear Blast Records. Today, they reveal drummer Dan Wilding's beastly playthrough video for the song.
Commenting on performing drums on "Kelly's Meat Emporium", Wilding states: “I’m super excited to share this playthrough for 'Kelly’s Meat Emporium,' the first release from our upcoming album Torn Arteries. The playthrough was recorded and mixed by Adam “Nolly” Getgood and filmed and edited by Jo Torres. This is a pretty straight forward blast / thrasher with a couple of little intricate / accented bits here and there and (in typical Carcass fashion) a constantly changing structure haha. It was super fun to write and it’s great fun to play and in a lot of ways it’s very “traditional Carcass” in terms of both music and drumming. The intro drum part was an idea by Bill and Jeff who basically said “Play something like the intro beat to 'Criminally Insane' by Slayer ... but with swing” haha and I guess the rest is history. Enjoy”
Ferocious and uncompromising in their execution, Carcass’s ability to intricately dissect the innards of death metal, and display them for us to sonically understand has been their point of excellence for over three decades. In 2019 the band released their first single in over 5 years “Under The Scalpel Blade,” followed by a 4-song EP entitled Despicable (October 2020), setting a potent precedent for the full length album coming in September: Torn Arteries. With the album title itself referencing an old demo created by original drummer Ken Owen back in the 80’s, Torn Arteries sits as a bookend on the modern side of the Carcass discography, connecting directly back to where everything began over 30 years ago.
The album artwork also rings reminiscent of the grotesque photography that appears on classic Carcass album covers like Reek Of Putrefaction or Symphonies Of Sickness. Artist Zbigniew Bielak traveled outside his normal wheelhouse to bring forth a time lapsed set of photos showing vegetables shaped like a heart, rotting over time upon a white plate. This form of artwork was influenced by Japanese Kusôzu, meaning: ‘painting of the nine stages of a decaying corpse.’
“It’s very clean, white, which we’ve never done before,” explains vocalist and bassist Jeff Walker, “it doesn’t look evil, or typically death metal, but I like how clean it is; almost like a coffee table book.” This new album presents images, lyrics, and sounds that so distinctly scream Carcass, but ferry us into a new era of production, songwriting, and art all together.
“I think as our 7th album, it does stand out from the others both sonically and stylistically,” says Walker. “You can definitely tell that it’s Carcass; when you drop that needle on the vinyl, when you hear that guitar tone, you can tell it’s Bill Steer, but each album is always a product of its time.”
With Torn Arteries, each track stands unique from the rest in its approach to guitar, bass, vocals and drumming, along with all the finer details. Filthy and dominating guitar work creates thick layers of tone and melody, piling on top of each other like the weight of dead flesh in tracks like “Kelly’s Meat Emporium.”
“The working title for Kelly’s was originally ‘Stock Carcass,’” laughs Walker. “We knew that one was a real meat and potatoes track for the album.” Meanwhile the elevated speed and catchy beat in "Dance Of Ixtab" tell a robust and airier story, one that is certain to get a reaction from live crowds. “We built this song around the beat. We had an approach to each song that was a definite idea. It’s all about ‘what haven’t we done before?’”
Recording and production for Torn Arteries wasn’t as simple as sitting down for a few weeks and knocking it all out, but rather spread out over the course of approximately 1 year bouncing back and forth between England and Sweden. Initially, drummer Daniel Wilding did session work in Sweden at Studio Gröndahl with David Castillo while guitars were recorded at The Stationhouse with James Atkinson in Leeds, England. Eventually needing some form of residential location to finalize vocals, bass, and other guitarwork, the band headed back to studio Gröndahl in Sweden to continue work in a very relaxed atmosphere with Castillo. “There was no real big plan to do it this way, the process just organically grew on its own,” says Walker.
Most will find that the only real struggle when indulging in Torn Arteries is fighting the desire to start it over the second it finishes. It covers substantial new ground for a band with such a reputation, while still retaining that addictive, time honored Carcass sound that has come to represent the face of true death metal.
Torn Arteries is available for pre-order in a variety of bundles and formats, including CD, Box Set and limited edition vinyl pressings. Pre-order here.
Tracklisting:
"Torn Arteries"
"Dance Of Ixtab (Psychopomp & Circumstances March No. 1)"
"Eleanor Rigor Mortis"
"Under The Scalpel Blade"
"The Devil Rides Out"
"Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment Limited"
"Kelly's Meat Emporium"
"In God We Trust"
"Wake Up And Smell The Carcass / Caveat Emptor"
"The Scythe's Remorseless Swing"
"Kelly's Meat Emporium" visualizer:
Lineup:
Bill Steer - Guitars
Jeff Walker - Bass/Vocals
Daniel Wilding - Drums
Tom Draper - Guitars
Drott is comprised of Arve Isdal (Enslaved), Ivar Thormodsæter (Ulver) and Matias Monsen and hails from Bergen in the west coast of Norway. With their varied musical background ranging from metal and jazz to classical music, they create the genre which can only be described as Drott. Inspired by forces of nature, superstition and spirituality the trio explores light within darkness through their music.
The group, recently established (2020), released their self-titled EP in March 2021 and received great reviews. It established the Drott’s instrumental progressive rock sound as a breath of fresh air in the genre. Their first full-length, Orcus, takes Drott in a new creative and artistic direction. With 10 tracks they dive deeper into sonic, experimental landscapes.
Drott comment on “The Marauders”: “'The Marauders' are not visible through the layers of mist. You can hear them hanging in ropes and sharpening their tools of mischief before their dire intentions are manifested through slow, dark riffs and slaughtering, heavy beats. They are lost souls roaming the Underworld, vicious murderers and thieves constantly searching for prey.”
The video for "The Marauders", directed by Arve Isdal and filmed by Arve Isdal and Cathrine Wespestad, can be found below.
Orcus will be available as:
- CD Digipack Trifold
- 12” Black vinyl in Gatefold
- 12” Gold vinyl in Gatefold – Limited to 100 copies, By Norse Music online stores exclusive
- 12” Milky Clear w/ Black and Gold Splatter in Gatefold - Limited to 100 copies, By Norse Music online stores exclusive
- Digital
AC/DZ, the long-running San Francisco Bay Area-based AC/DC tribute band featuring EXODUS singer Steve "Zetro" Souza and DEATH ANGEL drummer Will Carroll, performed last night (Saturday, July 17) at Vinnie's Bar And Grill in Concord, California. Fan-filmed video footage of the show is available below.
In addition to Souza and Carroll, AC/DZ's current lineup includes Dave Chapman on lead guitar, Joel Proto on rhythm guitar and Mike Butler on bass.
"I've always had a very close relationship with AC/DC growing up; they influenced me heavily and this will mean a great deal to me," Souza previously told BLABBERMOUTH.NET.
"I love performing, and this is another just another side of me, paying tribute to one of the bands that helped define me as a singer."
Carroll made his live debut with AC/DZ in July 2012 at the Pine Street Bar In Livermore, California.
In an interview with Myglobalmind, Souza stated about AC/DC's singer change following the death of Bon Scott: "You know, it took a while for everybody to get used to Brian Johnson after Bon. I was 16 when Bon Scott died, and I remember, I was, like, 'Oh, my god, what are they going to do?! That voice is that music.' He fitted that guitar, what they were doing; it was like a glove. How do you replace that? And then in time, Brian has become that, and out of everybody, I would have to say him and Bruce Dickinson [IRON MAIDEN] taking over from Paul Di'Anno did an amazing job in the transition."
Courtesy of the Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy vocalists Gabriela Gunčíková and Marc Hudson, (DragonForce) guitarist Michael Gilbert (Flotsam And Jetsam), drummer Ken Mary (Flotsam And Jetsam), and multi-instrumentalist Gary Schutt on bass throw down hard on the Helloween classic "Eagle Fly Free".
Arizona thrash and speed metal icons, Flotsam And Jetsam, recently revealed a new playthrough video for the track “Brace For Impact”, the latest single from the group’s new album, Blood In The Water.
“This is a fun one to play because it’s definitely a challenging picking workout,” says guitarist Michael Gilbert. “Everything from fast alternate picking to slow eerie melodic tones to compliment the rest of the music and vocals. Hope you enjoy it as much as I love playing it.”
Flotsam And Jetsam frontman Eric "AK" Knutson recently spoke with BraveWords about the band's new album, Blood In The Water. Following is an excerpt from the chat, with Knutson commenting on the pressure of following up The End Of Chaos from 2017.
Knutson: "We were really worried about that when we started writing this record. We knew we had to top The End Of Chaos; otherwise, why bother even putting one out? That was in our heads when we started writing so I'm sure that had a lot to do with the intensity on this new one. When we started writing Blood In The Water, we started with leftover from The End Of Chaos that didn't make it to that record, and we didn't end up using any of them (laughs). This is all brand new stuff. But that's always how we usually start; by working on stuff we didn't work on hard enough for the previous record. Sometimes we use a couple of them, sometimes we don't, but this time not only did we not use any of the leftovers, we wrote 10 or 15 more songs that we didn't use. Music was just pouring out of (guitarists) Steve (Conley) and Mike (Gilbert)... it was ridiculous."
Flotsam And Jetsam have seen many of their peers that started at the same time, including Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Venom have their day in the sun. Considered in metal circles as “legendary”, the mighty Flotsam And Jetsam, over their long career, has seemed somewhat plagued by label snafu’s, changes in trends, or other unfortunate events. On album number fourteen, and without a doubt making the best music of their career, Flotsam And Jetsam finally smells blood in the water this time around.
Blood In The Water literally shreds the listener’s ears and pummels Flotsam And Jetsam’s message into the hearts of the most diehard metal fans, the album must be heard to be believed. Featuring twelve brutal and powerful tracks that will rip your head off, the outstanding guitar work of Michael Gilbert and these killer vocals by Eric AK – one of the most gifted metal singers in music history – Flotsam And Jetsam's Blood In The Water will see the band deliver one of their heaviest records to date!
It’s been 35 years since Flotsam And Jetsam, formed in Phoenix, Arizona released their landmark debut, Doomsday For The Deceiver, the only album to ever receive a 6K rating from the influential British magazine Kerrang! Bassist Jason Newsted would jump ship to Metallica while the band released the unstoppable No Place For Disgrace in 1988. Cuatro (1992), Drift (1995), High (1997), and My God (2001) all still rank extremely high in heavy metal circles. But it was the first part of this unofficial trilogy in 2016’s self-titled Flotsam And Jetsam, followed by the the crushing 2019- successor, The End Of Chaos, that a certain rejuvenation and reset was clearly felt. Fast-forward five years to a planet that was forced to its knees: While spending most of the past year in a holding pattern like the rest of the world, Flotsam And Jetsam made the best of a struggling situation and just let those creative juices and angst flow. What emerged was twelve brand new blistering tracks under the moniker Blood In The Water.
“We really had a hell of a time figuring out which songs to actually include in this album, because we don’t feel we had any fillers,” describes Steve Conley about the new songs clocking in at nearly 55 minutes of thrashing glory.
Says singer Eric “AK” Knutson, “We’ve seen our fan base increasing, and we’ve seen the response to the last two albums getting louder and louder. We have some of the most committed and crazy fans in the world. We charted higher on our last album than at any point in our career. Maybe our career path will run similar to Motorhead’s, who although was always considered iconic, didn’t really break through in a big way until later in their career. We feel our time is now...” says AK. “We’re like that dog that’s been kicked...we’re ready to break the door down and take what’s ours.”
And the Flotsam lineup has never been stronger. AK keeps bringing the magic every album and tour, and oddly seems to be getting better and better as time goes on. He’s backed by the incredibly talented, exceptionally brilliant guitar duo of co-founder Michael Gilbert and Steve Conley, the powerful, precise and lightning fast engine of drummer Ken Mary, (whose Hall of Fame resume includes over five million albums sold with artists such as Alice Cooper, House Of Lords, and Accept), and the “fresh blood” and extraordinary technical skills and prowess of bassist Bill Bodily.
No filler, all killer, Blood In The Water was once again mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen (U.D.O., Volbeat, Amaranthe, Powerwolf) and sees Flotsam And Jetsam exploding with creativity, moving forward but nodding to their past.
The band has come a long way from the kids that stepped onto the world stage with their first album in 1986, but the one thing that has never been in question since that day is their dedication to their fans, their incredible talent, and relentless pursuit to produce their best music ever.
“Following up The End Of Chaos was no easy task,” guitarist Michael Gilbert adds. “We weren’t really sure what we had left in the tank, as we put so much work, sweat, and blood into that album. As it turns out, we had plenty left to say. With everything that’s happened in the world, the friends we lost this last year, and not being able to perform or tour… you hear all of that in our music. It’s angry, it’s aggressive, and our emotions pour out all over this album.”
The AFM Records Store has a selection of vinyl and the following box set (shown above) limited to 666 units containing:
- Digipak-CD
- Exclusive Blood In The Water T-Shirt
- Brace For Impact Poster
- Sticker
- Certificate of Authenticity
Tracklist
“Blood In The Water”
“Burn The Sky”
“Brace For Impact”
“A Place To Die”
“The Walls”
“Cry For The Dead”
“The Wicked Hour”
“Too Many Lives”
“Grey Dragon”
“Reaggression”
“Undone”
“Seven Seconds ‘Til The End Of The World”
"Brace For Impact" video:
"Blood In The Water" lyric video:
“Burn The Sky” video:
Album teaser:
Lineup:
Eric "AK" Knutson - Vocals
Steve Conley - Guitar
Michael Gilbert - Guitar
Bill Bodily - Bass
Ken K Mary - Drums
Hard rock band The Lonely Ones have released the official music video for their new single titled "Gettin' High."
"We’ve seen the opioid crisis ravage the world and unfortunately every single person in America has been touched by it in some way. Either with our own struggles or people very close to us. It’s a national emergency and the lyrics describe one of many experiences I’ve had with this drug taking away people I cared very deeply about," says Marty McCoy, the band's vocalist/guitarist.
The Lonely Ones will be on tour for the rest of the year in support of the new single.
Dates:
August
19 - Indianapolis, IN - Hi-Fi
20 - Battle Creek, MI The Music Factory
21 - Keokuk, IA L-Treyns
22 - Mishawaka, IN Smokestack Brew
28 - Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall
29 - Pipestem, WV Metal In The Mountains
31- Louisville, KY Diamond Pub Concert Hall
September
3 - Huntington, WV V Club
4 - Akron, OH Empire Concert Club
7 - Iowa City, IA Gabe's
8 - Des Moines, IA Lefty's
9 - Sioux Falls, SD Bigs Bar
10 - Janesville, WI Back Bar
11 - Chippewa Falls, WI Joel's 4 Corners
12 - Braidwood, IL Top Fuel Saloon
Wormwood's second single and music video for "The Gentle Touch of Humanity", the last grand epos from the upcoming album. Arkivet, has arrived.
Nine (Lead Vocals) comments: "Keeping with the bleak theme of the album, this video is no different. We're all taking part in the destruction machine called Humanity. An unstoppable force uprooting the essence of the earth and planting seeds of disease.
“The world watches in apathy as the heart is being ripped out from its core and a continental-wide scar stretches throughout everything we know. The Gentle Touch of Humanity is what our tired and dead eyes watch from the temporary sanctuary we call our home. Nothing can be done, the wound is too deep, let's hope nature goes out with a fight."
The video might not be for everyone, but it will make you feel something. Viewer discretion is advised.
"The Gentle Touch Of Humanity" is the closing track on Wormwood's upcoming album, Arkivet, which will be released August 27 on CD, vinyl, and digital/streaming format.
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