Devin Townsend has shasred a new guitar demo video along with the following message:
"Sorry for my absence; my life kind of exploded for awhile there, and I'm just getting it back on track. Here's a new guitar demo with some really cool features courtesy of Prestige guitars and True Temperament frets (I'm a bit rusty and out of tune, regrettably, but c'est la vie). Been awhile since I sang quietly but I've started practicing again to be ready for touring so I thought I'd share.
I am doing a streaming concert in February where I do Infinity in its entirety, so I'm just starting to work on that now as well.. I hope you all have a nice holiday and I wish you good things. I'll be a lot more active here now, thanks for the patience."
The setlist on the night was as follows:
Intro - Ziltoid Speech
"Aftermath" (Strapping Young Lad)
"Kingdom"
"By Your Command"
"March of the Poozers"
"Supercrush"
"Almost Again" (Strapping Young Lad)
"Regulator"
"Love?" (Strapping Young Lad)
"Deadhead"
- guitar duel with Ziltiod -
"Bad Devil"
"Spirits Will Collide"
"Detox" (Strapping Young Lad)
"Vampira"
Mr. Big, is celebrating the 30th anniversary of their chart-topping Lean Into It album with a remastered and expanded anniversary edition reissue, available digitally, on CD and as a highly collectible limited edition box set made up of five individual colored 7” singles via evoXS.
In the clip below, guitarist Paul Gilbert plays through the band's hit "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind", taken from the album.
The 30th anniversary release of Lean Into it includes the previously unreleased track, "Stop Messing Around", fully produced by Kevin Elson, from Mr. Big’s 1990 Lean Into It studio session. Check out the just released official lyric video below.
First released in 1991, Lean Into It is the second studio album by the group, consisting of Paul Gilbert, Eric Martin, Billy Sheehan and Pat Torpey. This is the band's breakthrough album, with Lean Into It peaking at #15 on the Billboard 200 charts, while the single “To Be With You” hit and remained number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. The follow-up single, “Just Take My Heart,” was a Top 20 hit, peaking at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The million-selling album also contains the popular tracks “Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy,” “Alive and Kickin” and “Green-Tinted Sixties Mind.” Lean Into It shows that Mr. Big could also strip away all the flash and 7-minute solos and simply create well-written songs with rhythm, groove and good melodies, making the band one of the iconic new wave of progressive “musician’s bands” who could play mind-blowing complicated riffs on their instruments at lightning speeds.
evoXS has remastered the album using the hi-resolution digital transfers from the original analogue master tapes for MQA-CD (2 CD), hybrid SACD, 180g Vinyl LP and Hi-Res digital. The hybrid multi-channel SACD plays on both SACD and regular CD players. MQA is an award-winning technology that delivers the sound of the studio. MQA-CD plays on all CD players. When a conventional CD player is connected to an MQA-enabled device, the CD will reveal the original master quality. The SACD has a new multi-track mix in 5.1 surround sound which provides the ultimate sound quality experience. The MQA-CD (2 CD) - Disc 1 contains the remastered tracks from the original album and Disc 2 contains the previously unreleased Kevin Elson produced tracks, “Stop Messing Around” and “Wild Wild Women,” hard to find bonus tracks and versions minus bass and guitar tracks, specially made for musicians to jam with.
Lean Into It MQA-CD tracklisting:
Disc 1
"Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)" (2021 Remastered)
"Alive and Kickin’" (2021 Remastered)
"Green-Tinted Sixties Mind" (2021 Remastered)
"CDFF-Lucky This Time" (2021 Remastered)
"Voodoo Kiss" (2021 Remastered)
"Never Say Never" (2021 Remastered)
"Just Take My Heart" (2021 Remastered)
"My Kinda Woman" (2021 Remastered)
"A Little Too Loose" (2021 Remastered)
"Road to Ruin" (2021 Remastered)
"To Be With You" (2021 Remastered)
Disc 2
"Stop Messing Around"
"Wild Wild Women"
"Just Take My Heart" (acoustic)
"Shadows" (2021 Remastered)
"Strike Like Lighting" (2021 Remastered)
"Love Makes You Strong" (2021 Remastered)
"Alive and Kickin’" (early version)
"Green-Tinted Sixties Mindv (early version)
"To Be With You" (reggae version)
"Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)" (minus guitar version)
"Green-Tinted Sixties Mind" (minus guitar version)
"Love Makes You Strong" (minus bass version)
"Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)" (minus bass version)
Lean Into It SACD tracklisting:
"Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)"
"Alive and Kickin'"
"Green-Tinted Sixties Mind"
"CDFF-Lucky This Time"
"Voodoo Kiss"
"Never Say Never"
"Just Take My Heart"
"My Kinda Woman"
"A Little Too Loose"
"Road to Ruin"
"To Be With You"
"Love Makes You Strong" (Original Japan Bonus Track)
The Lean Into It - The Singles 7” box set contains four 7” colored vinyl singles with their European picture sleeves: “Just Take My Heart (edit),” “Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song),” “To Be With You” and “Green Tinted Sixties Mind,” plus the bonus single “Strike Like Lightning” from the movie Navy Seals, which has never been released on 7” vinyl. The B-sides include the original hard to find tracks “To Be With You (live at NHK Hall Tokyo 1991)” and “Just Take My Heart (acoustic).”
The box set, which also includes a guitar pick and poster, is limited to 2,000 numbered copies.
Lean Into It - The Singles tracklisting:
Single 1
Side A: "Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)"
Side B: "Road to Ruin"
Single 2
Side A: "To Be With You" (Single Version)
Side B: "Baba O' Riley" (Live at NHK Hall, Tokyo, Japan, September 26, 1991)
Single 3
Side A: "Just Take My Heart" (edit)
Side B: "To Be With You" (Live at NHK Hall, Tokyo, Japan, September 26, 1991)
Single 4
Side A: "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind"
Side B: "Just Take My Heart" (Acoustic)
Scandinavian rockers Psychopunch have released a cover of the holiday season standard "Last Christmas" by Wham!. Check out the official video below.
In April 2020, Psychopunch released a very special video for their song "I'll Be Home Tonight". Read on what vocalist Jarmo has to say about it:
“In these uncertain times we live in at the moment with the COVID-19 virus, no shows, no entertainment and with people having to stay at home for their own safety, I came up with an idea that I talked to my good friend Dirk ‘The Pixeleye’ Behlau about and he loved the idea.
“We asked people we played with, worked with, know and respect if they want to be part of a new video to one of the songs (‘I'll Be Home Tonight’) from our latest album Greetings From Suckerville.
“Everyone just filmed what they wanted - singing, playing, drinking, whatever - and film it with their mobile phones so that Dirk can edit it the footage, creating a full-length video.
“Unfortunately, not everyone had the time to participate since they are busy working with other stuff at home and we couldn't ask everyone.
“But I'm really happy that so many had the time and took the effort to be part of this, like Schmier (Destruction), Majsan (Thundermother), Dregen (Backyard Babies/The Hellacopters), Jonas (At The Gates), Beef Bonanza (The Bones), Nitrogods or Andy Brings (Double Crush Syndrome), among others. Thanks a lot, stay safe and healthy and enjoy this ‘lockdown edition’ masterpiece of a video!”
The Paiste YouTube channel has been updated with a video of SEPULTURA drummer Eloy Casagrande playing the song "To Not Belong" from CASAGRANDE & HANYSZ, his prog metal project with João Hanysz.
Paiste says in a message accompanying the YouTube release of the video: "Could he play even more energetic? We don't think so. Always a great pleasure to see and hear Eloy Casagrande banging on those drums. Here he plays the track 'To Not Belong' from CASAGRANDE & HANYSZ. Hell Yeah!"
CASAGRANDE & HANYSZ's debut EP, "Edge Of Chaos", was released in September. The effort was produced, recorded and mixed by Andre Kbelo and was mastered by Carlinhos Freitas.
This past summer, guitarist Andreas Kisser spoke to France's Loud TV about how Casagrande's addition to has affected SEPULTURA's sound.
"We're very lucky to have such great musicians here in Brazil, especially in drumming," he said. "We have great drummers and percussionists. You see [Carlos] Santana and all those great names, Paul Simon and stuff, always using some Brazilian here and there regarding the drum world. And Eloy started playing drums very early. He was made for SEPULTURA, man. I mean, he played in some other bands and stuff, but here with SEPULTURA, he's really exploding; he's really free to express himself the way he wants to, and SEPULTURA's music really provides that. And in exchange, he gave me especially to write many new possibilities. I think 'Machine Messiah' and 'Quadra' are the consequence of that interaction we have, which is great. It's so inspiring. It's fantastic.
"We are kind of always writing," he continued. "Sometimes he sends me some drum loops and I send him some riffs and stuff, and it's really cool that we build stuff from there. And he's a very professional guy — the best drummer in the world; at least for SEPULTURA he's the best. [Laughs]"
In February 2020, SEPULTURA singer Derrick Green told Australia's Everblack Media that Casagrande has had "a tremendous impact" on the group since he joined in 2011. "It's undeniable because he's such a strong force," he said. "He loves playing metal music. He's one of the most talented drummers I've ever seen, honestly. That power is consistent from beginning to the end. It really has rubbed off on all of us to really push ourselves further. He's such a perfect match for the band. He really is always influencing us in so many ways to really go beyond — above and beyond."
In 2019, Eloy told Drumtalk that he didn't care about the long-simmering feud between founding SEPULTURA members Max and Igor Cavalera and his current bandmates. "I respect all the history," he said. "I have total respect for the past drummers, Igor and Jean [Dolabella]. They are amazing guys, incredible guys, but we just live in the present. I really don't care what happened, what didn't happen. I respect all the music. I respect their music nowadays. It's just that we have to follow our path and that's it."
Casagrande joined SEPULTURA 10 years ago as the replacement for Dolabella.
SEPULTURA's latest album, "Quadra", was released in February 2020 via Nuclear Blast. The LP was created at Sweden's Fascination Street Studios with renowned producer Jens Bogren.
SEPULTURA comprises Green, Kisser, bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. and Casagrande.
Brazil-based animator, Val Andrade, celebrates the holiday season, releasing a new Iron Maiden cartoon clip, entitled A Christmas Cheers 7 - Welcome Senjutsu. Watch below:
A selection of Andrade's previously released Iron Maiden-based cartoons can be seen below:
WHITESNAKE frontman David Coverdale has once again donned a Santa Claus outfit to as he shared a new "Merry Christmas" video message for his fans. Check it out below.
Coverdale, who turned 70 in September, recently opened up about his plans to retire from touring after the band's next batch of concerts around the world, telling the "Appetite For Distortion" podcast: "I planned to retire on the 2020 tour when I was 69. I thought that was the perfect age for the singer of WHITESNAKE to call it a day. But sadly, it was not to be, as we know; other events were in store. So now the t-shirt designs don't resonate as well for 70. But it's mind-blowing to me that I'm preparing my farewell tour. And it is — make no mistake, this is the farewell tour. I'm 70. It's a very physically challenging thing for me to do at the best of times. But it's very important for me to achieve completion and to express my appreciation and gratitude to all the people — the millions of people over the years — who've supported me for five decades, fifty years. It blows my mind — it really does."
"A lot of my peers and contemporaries are on their 20th retirement tour. I don't intend to plan that," he clarified. "I must explain, though — it's me, just David Coverdale, who's retiring from touring at that level. WHITESNAKE will still make projects. I've been writing music all through COVID. I wrote some beautiful new ideas. I have ideas in case Jimmy [Page] wants to do anything — write on FaceTime, which is an alien concept to him. But all songs that we can utilize for a WHITESNAKE project. But the music of WHITESNAKE will continue. That's most important that people know. I'm just stopping touring at this level — that's it."
According to Coverdale, there could very well be new music from WHITESNAKE in the years following his retirement from the road.
"I've got a bunch of ideas for WHITESNAKE, so we may have another project there — I don't know — without the pressure of having to go on tour," he said. "We have such a solid fanbase, I think fans are gonna buy the record with or without a tour. This is just emotionally for me to be able to go out there and do stuff. And also, you've gotta remember, we've started this legacy series of box sets, similar to the 25th anniversary. We have, I think, the 35th anniversary of 'Slide It In'; the 30th anniversary of the WHITESNAKE '87 album; we have a very special project planned to accompany the tour; we have another box set planned for this time next year. And then in 2023, we have the 30th anniversary of COVERDALE/PAGE, and the 50th anniversary of me joining DEEP PURPLE. Mind-blowing. So it's not like I'm retiring. [Laughs]
"Thankfully, physically and vocally, I still have the goods," he continued. "As my wife reminds me, I was actually touring up to spring in 2020, before lockdown. And I was 68 years old, and I'm still kicking ass. Of course, having an amazing band and an incredible and enthusiastic audience gives you that energizing aspect. It's just the traveling is challenging for me. But music is oxygen to me. I'm not gonna go fishing or take up crochet; I'm gonna definitely be doing projects. I'm lucky enough to have my own studio. It's the best of a bunch of worlds. And I have to thank people in person around the world for helping me to be in this position that I am in my life at this time. I don't wanna do it through a video [on] social media: 'Sorry we can't get out there, but thank you for 50 years.' That would be heartbreaking for me."
Coverdale had both his knees replaced with titanium in 2017 after suffering from degenerative arthritis. He later explained that he was in so much pain with arthritis in his knees that it hampered his ability to perform live.
WHITESNAKE had been touring in support of its latest album, "Flesh & Blood", which was released in May 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl.
This past July, WHITESNAKE announced that it had enlisted Croatian singer/multi-instrumentalist Dino Jelusick for its upcoming tour. Jelusick is a member of multi-platinum selling band TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA and was previously part of DIRTY SHIRLEY (with George Lynch), ANIMAL DRIVE and recorded with many others.
Fans from around the world attended METALLICA's two 40th-anniversary concerts, which were held in at San Francisco's Chase Center on December 17 and December 19.
Chase Center has uploaded a new four-minute video featuring interviews from METALLICA fans who had traveled from such faraway places as Kuwait, Chile and Colombia to see the shows. Check it out below.
METALLICA's two 40th-anniversary shows 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.
The 40th-anniversary shows marked METALLICA's return to Chase Center for the first time since the September 2019 "S&M²" concerts that also served as the venue's grand opening. Those two shows grossed more than $4.1 million over the course of its two nights, according to reports submitted to Pollstar's Boxoffice, and the band ranked at No. 4 on Pollstar's worldwide touring chart that same year with a global gross of $175 million.
"I keep thinking and forcing myself to think all our best years are still ahead of us," METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich said in a 2019 interview with Pollstar. "We may even turn professional and do this full time one day. That's the MO. It's always 'What's your favorite record?' It's the next one, the one we haven't recorded yet. It's always about the possibilities, always about what can be, what's coming. That, to me, is what this is all about and I think that attitude is a big part of why METALLICA still connects to so many people around the world."
Fans who missed METALLICA's pair of 40th-anniversary concerts this past weekend can enjoy rebroadcasts of both shows on-demand exclusively on The Coda Collection this Christmas weekend in the U.S. and on Amazon Prime internationally.
The shows will be available to stream from Friday, December 24 at 9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. GMT / 2 a.m. JST through Monday, December 27 at 8:59 p.m. PT / 11:59 p.m. ET / 4:59 a.m. GMT / 1:59 p.m. JST.
For information on how to stream both shows, click here.
Following the initial viewing period, both concerts will return to the The Coda Collection and Prime Video with enhanced bonus footage and additional exclusives as part of an extensive partnership between The Coda Collection and METALLICA, which will include a full slate of concert films, documentaries, and additional content spanning the band's career arriving on the channel exclusively throughout 2022.
Formed in 1981 by guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, 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 2.5 billion streams while playing to millions of fans on literally 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.
Last Thursday, San Francisco mayor London Breed presented Ulrich and bassist Robert Trujillo with a special declaration marking December 16 as "Metallica Day" in the city.
"When you talk about San Francisco," Breed said at the news conference, "you talk about cable cars and then you talk about METALLICA."
Steve Vai and Favored Nations / Mascot Label Group have presented an official music video for "Little Pretty". The composition is featured on Vai's upcoming studio album titled "Inviolate" which will be released digitally and on CD January 28, 2022. The LP will follow on March 18. The clip, which captures Vai performing in his inner sanctum also known as "Harmony Hut", can be seen below.
The recording is a dark-toned fusion-funk workout. Vai states: "In writing the chord changes for the solo section, and the solo itself, I dug deep into my academic music theory mind to create a set of chord changes where the harmonic atmosphere shifted on every change. The dense chord structures required a series of synthetic modes to navigate. This approach is along the lines of jazz and fusion players, but I knew I did not want it to sound anything like that and the solo had to be totally melodic. The results were pretty powerful in that the entire solo section evokes melodic atmospheric changes that shift dramatically but work together well."
Looking towards the holidays and a new year, he shares: "I am also wishing all a very happy and restful holiday season. You will need it because I predict in 2022, we will all be out there working together again and blowing up that bridge!"
Over the course of a more than 40-year career, Vai has routinely transformed what would appear to be outrageously impossible into something very, very possible… and still also pretty outrageous. From his days as Frank Zappa's "stunt guitar" player to his more recent expansive and exploratory solo work, Vai has continually challenged notions of traditional guitar playing and composition — and on more than one occasion even reimagined the very instrument itself.
Which, he'll admit, is not necessarily his intention. "I don't sit around and say, 'Okay, what can I do now that pushes the boundaries?" Vai explains about his approach to the guitar. "What I do say to myself is, 'Okay, Vai — what are you going to do now that's going to interest you, that's going to fascinate you, and that's different than anything you've done before?" The answer to that question comes in the form of Vai's newest and 10th solo album, "Inviolate", a nine-song opus that (sorry Steve) does indeed push the boundaries of instrumental guitar music — this time out, Vai quite literally invented not just a new guitar, but also a new guitar-playing technique.
At the same time, "Inviolate" presents his most focused, streamlined and perhaps invigorating music in years. "It's very 'Vai,' whatever that means," he says, and then laughs. "Someone else might be better than me at explaining what that is. But it's just very honest music. Because a lot of my records, they're long and there's a lot of concepts and playing around with stories. This one has none of that. This is nine pretty dense all-instrumental compositions that I wanted to capture and record so I could get out there and play them live for people."
The album's mesmeric opener, "Teeth Of The Hydra", a sinuous, Latin-fusion-tinged composition that Vai wrote and recorded with a one-of-a-kind custom guitar he coined the Hydra. But calling the Hydra a mere guitar is selling it way, way, way short. Built in conjunction with the designers at Hoshino and based on a "steampunk motif" idea of Vai's, the Hydra is a beast of an instrument — a one-bodied, two-headstock-ed, three-neck-ed creature that encompasses, among other things: seven- and 12-string guitars; a four-string bass; sympathetic harp strings; half-fretless necks; single-coil, humbucking, piezo and sustainer pickups; floating and hardtail tremolo bridges; phase splitters; and much, much more. "It's an incredibly-built machine," Vai says. "I told the guys at Hoshino, 'Anything that you think is conventional, don't do that.' This was an opportunity to exercise brutal creativity. And they went beyond."
As did Vai in his performance. Throughout the track he employs the Hydra's full range of tone and timbres to craft a guitar part that sounds, in its expansiveness and expressiveness, positively alive. "The interesting thing about the song and the guitar is that it all came at the same time," Vai says. "It was one of those 'inviolate' inspirations — boom!"
That said, he continues, "I knew that I needed to create something with the Hydra that sounded like a real piece of music. It couldn't be just a novelty. Because if you knew what my hands were doing, and how I'm using my left hand to create phrasings that work when I can't pick a note because my right hand is off somewhere else…my god. But the finished piece had to stand on its own. It couldn't sound like I was just trying to juggle stuff."
Over the course of 2021, several of these compositions were shared publicly. Vai composed and recorded the song "Knappsack", following his shoulder surgery, at a time when his right arm was in a sling (or, as his surgeon, Dr. Knapp, called it, a "knappsack"), and thus was able to use only his left hand when playing the piece. He released a one-handed performance video. He says with a laugh, "pretty soon after I started to see some clips of young kids pulling it off, too. It's really fascinating."
Those kids will likely face a greater challenge attempting to take on another "Inviolate" track, "Candle Power". For this one, Vai not only set up parameters outside of his comfort zone (Strat-style guitar; clean tone; no whammy bar; no pick), but also — why not? — developed an entirely new guitar technique that he calls "joint shifting." The core concept there, he explains, is to enact simultaneous multiple string bends in opposite directions, which "requires bending only the top joint of the finger independently from any other finger." And while he acknowledges that bending multiple strings is not a new concept in and of itself, "I had not seen any of it done in the way I envisioned it," he says.
Like "Knappsack", Vai released "Candle Power" an accompanying performance video earlier in 2021. But he added a little something extra to the version that appears on "Inviolate", with a newly recorded drum track from fellow Zappa alumnus Terry Bozzio (to that end, additional crack players who lent a hand to the record include bassists Bryan Beller, Philip Bynoe and Henrik Linder, keyboardist David Rosenthal and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta).
On "Apollo In Color", Vai's soaring runs on his Ibanez PIA signature guitar (the newly-designed model's first appearance on a Vai studio album are surrounded by filigrees of sound played on all manner of exotic stringed instruments. "I thought, 'Okay, what can I do to color this thing up?'" Vai says. "So, I pulled out all these little acoustic instruments I've collected through the years and I said, 'I'm going to use every one of them somehow.'" These included a cavaquinho, a saz, a sitar, an oud and more. "Some of the instruments, I don't even know their names," Vai admits with a laugh.
In essence, it all comes down to finding your own voice, and then having the courage and conviction to follow your musical and creative instincts wherever they may take you — something Vai has never been shy about in his playing. "One of the great things about the guitar is you don't need to be a virtuoso to express your creative vision," he says. "I mean, Bob Dylan plays the guitar perfectly well for his expression. So does John McLaughlin. You just need to decide how much technique you want or need to get there. For myself, I came out of the chute wanting and needing it all. When it comes to my music, I don't feel like I have to prove anything or conform to anything. I just love to think up creative ideas, and then use whatever skill I have to manifest them."
"An inviolate inspiration is one that comes to you completely pure," Vai explains. "It appears almost in its completeness, and there's a recognition of it as being right for you — perfectly right for you. There's no excuses in it. There's no fantasy in it. There's just a recognition of 'yes.' And then you capture that in a way that's authentic to your unique creativity. Hopefully, that's what I've done with this record."
"Inviolate" track listing:
01. Teeth Of The Hydra
02. Zeus In Chains
03. Little Pretty
04. Candle Power
05. Apollo In Color
06. Avalancha
07. Greenish Blues
08. Knappsack
09. Sandman Cloud Mist
Vai will begin an extensive tour of the U.S., with 54 scheduled appearances on January 27, 2022 at the House Of Blues in Las Vegas. Vai will be joined by his long-tenured ensemble members Dave Weiner (guitar / keys), Philip Bynoe (bass), and Jeremy Colson (drums). Vai shares: "A performer thrives on performing. It's been my life for the past 49 years, with the exception of the last two years, so we are chomping at the bit to get out there and play for people. A music concert has the ability to dissolve the many challenges we face, and celebrate one of the good things in life, live music."
Symphonic metal outfit, Ad Infinitum, recently released their bewitching second offering, Chapter II - Legacy, via Napalm Records. Today, the band deliver a singthrough video for the song, "Animals".
Says vocalist Melissa Bonny: "'Animals' is one of my favorite tracks from Ad Infinitum’s new record Chapter II - Legacy and it is currently in my top three to sing on stage! Here is a one take singthrough for you, recorded at home. I hope you enjoy!"
Chapter II - Legacy once again showcases the indispensable creativity of Ad Infinitum - featuring twelve complex, tracks highlighting their sonic development and undeniable symphonic strength. Such talent can be witnessed with opener “Reinvented”, lurking with lovely piano tunes and erupting in intense riffage in the blink of an eye. Right away, the music reflects the extremely multifaceted voice of Melissa Bonny - ranging from crystal clear vocals to impressively powerful screams and menacing growls. Hailing from hell, hard-hitting “Afterlife” features the vocal power of Nils Molin (Amaranthe, Dynazty), merging in perfect harmony with Melissa’s incredibly haunting delivery. Songs like “Your Enemy” and cinematic grand finale “Lullaby” leave no scope for weakness and unveil the heaviest side of Ad Infinitum to date. This grasping hymn is far from lulling you to sleep, as the eclectically versatile sonic world of Ad Infinitum immediately induces you to listen to Chapter II - Legacy again, right from the beginning.
Chapter II - Legacy is available in the following formats:
- 1 CD Digipak
- 1 LP Gatefold BLACK
- 1 CD Digipak + Patch (limited to 200 copies worldwide)
- Digital Album
"Reinvented"
"Unstoppable"
"Inferno"
"Your Enemy"
"Afterlife" (feat. Nils Molin)
"Breathe"
"Animals"
"Into The Night"
"Son Of Wallachia"
"My Justice, Your Pain"
"Haunted"
"Lullaby"
Thomas Zwijsen has released a new video, featuring an orchestral rendition of "Hallowed Be Thy Name", featured on Iron Maiden's 1982 classic, The Number Of The Beast.
Zwijsen previously released covers of Iron Maiden's Senjutsu album tracks, "The Writing On The Wall" and "Darkest Hour". Watch below
Steve Perry's new holiday album, The Season, recently landed at #1 on Billboard’s Seasonal Chart. The former Journey’s singer’s album also hit at #3 on Billboard’s Current Pop Album Chart, # 6 on Billboard’s Current Album Sales Chart, and #80 on the Billboard Top 200.
Today, Perry releases a visualizer for the album closer, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". Watch below:
An unboxing video for the vinyl edition of the album can be viewed below:
Co-produced by Perry and engineer Thom Flowers, The Season embodies an immaculately arranged and richly nuanced sound inspired by such time-honored holiday albums as Nat King Cole’s The Magic of Christmas. “All the songs on this record were my favorites growing up,” says Perry, who hails from Central California. “I used to hear them on the Philco radio that my grandmother always had on in the kitchen when she was cooking the most amazing holiday food, and because of that they hold a very emotional place in my heart. I wanted to make sure to record them all in a simple way that honors how I first heard and fell in love with them as a child.”
For both artist and audience alike, The Season ultimately serves as a form of emotional time travel, a direct conduit for the kind of memories that sustain the spirit and restore a sense of joyous serenity. “Music has always been something that rescues me in difficult times,” says Perry. “I hope when people hear this record, they’re teleported in the same way I was when I recorded all these songs—I hope it brings them back to those golden moments with their loved ones, and gives them that feeling of joy and connection and comfort that we all need so much.”
"The Christmas Song"
"I’ll Be Home For Christmas"
"Auld Lang Syne"
"Winter Wonderland"
"What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve"
"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"
"Silver Bells"
"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"
Last Friday, Powerwolf launched a stream with real event character that reaches dimensions that have never been seen before. While other bands compensate the circumstance of not being able to perform in front of an audience within the given circumstances with filmed live performances, the wolves take several gigantic steps further.
The band is taking their fans on a journey into the depths of Powerwolf's world with a fantastic setlist performed in a stage setting that is an epic highlight on its own with its visuals, size, equipment and production. In months of hard and detailed work, a story was created - told in several chapters based on Powerwolf’s music and opulent film scenes, which are smoothly integrated into the show. All show effects, actors and locations go hand in hand with each other and bring the medium of live music to an unprecedented level. From battles with clergy to stories of nuns and monks to burning angels - cinematic images are delivered that immediately capture the viewer while literally abducting them.
Who thought to have already seen everything in live music is loudly and visually proved wrong. Powerwolf deliver the new benchmark for music streaming events.
Due to the high demand this even goes into extension. Until January 2, you can still access this masterpiece, and who wants to get an idea in advance, can watch the video for “Fire And Forgive” below:
On powerwolfstream.com you can find all further info, the trailers, as well as tickets for The Monumental Mass: A Cinematic Metal Event. This show is a true must-see for every metal fan.
Powerwolf are:
Attila Dorn - vocals
Falk Maria Schlegel - organ
Charles Greywolf - guitar
Matthew Greywolf - guitar
Roel van Helden - drums
German rock icons, Scorpions, will release their new album, Rock Believer, on February 25. Pre-order here.
The band has launched a three-part documentary, detailing the journey of making the new album. Part 1 can be viewed below.
Says the band: "For our new album Rock Believer we all came back together in the studio like in the old days and captured that journey on camera. Today we release the first part 1 of 3. Maybe you discover some unreleased music snippets from our new album in it…"
Scorpions recently released their new single, "Peacemaker", to whet fans' appetite for Rock Believer. In this new video, singer Klaus Meine reveals the meaning behind the song:
"Peacemaker" has turned into much more than simply a lead single. It's a showcase number that has Scorpions celebrate their legendary tried and tested DNA in a fresh, tough sonic guise, a musical foretaste of their new album that promises to forge an arc between yesterday and tomorrow.
Listen to "Peacemaker" here, and watch the music video below:
Does a band whose musical career will span 50 years from the release of their first phenomenal album success Lonesome Crow to the arrival of Rock Believer in February 2022 still have the bite, the toughness, and the brute force that it takes to create and record one or two dozen brand new tracks? Aren't their 18 studio albums to date, their platinum and double-platinum awards, garnered around the globe, enough for these relentless musicians? Is there still enough gas in the tank to keep going? One of their songs provides the answer to these questions: "Let's play it louder play it hard / Laid back and a little dark / Give me a dirty riff my friend / There's gotta be more gas in the tank."
And indeed, "Peacemaker" sounds like it's been freshly reimported from the heyday of a legendary hard rock band. "The first thing that came to my mind," remembers singer Klaus Meine, who wrote the lyrics to the song (music courtesy of Rudolf Schenker and Pawel Maciwoda) and produced the band with the support of Hans-Martin Buff, "was the hook line. 'Peacemaker, peacemaker / Bury the undertaker.' I was just playing around with those words. At a time when so many people have died and are still dying of COVID, from devastating wars and other senseless crimes, it makes you feel that the undertaker must be working overtime. In a peaceful world after the pandemic, it will be time for the peacemaker to rule... that's an image that really appeals to me," says Meine.
Scorpions are one of the world's most important rock bands of recent decades, having sold more than 120 million records to date, played over 5,000 concerts, and created a timeless classic in their legendary single "Wind Of Change," which dominated the international charts and still is the best-selling single worldwide by a German artist. Countless awards, a star on the Hollywood Rock Walk of Fame, and more, hits such as "Rock You Like A Hurricane" and "Still Loving You," among others, followed. Their success to date impressively underlines the influence that the Scorpions continue to have on the rock music scene. Their latest album Rock Believer will be out on Universal's Spinefarm label in the US.
The Scorpions will kick off their Rock Believer World Tour in March 2022 in Las Vegas, where the band will play nine shows as part of their residency at Planet Hollywood Hotel. Afterwards, they will cross the Atlantic to Europe where they will play six concerts in France and six shows in Germany supported by Wolfgang Van Halen’s new band, Mammoth WVH.
Skid Row will be the opening band for all nine shows of Scorpions' Sin City Nights 2022 Las Vegas residency, thereby replacing previously announced support act, Queensrÿche. Scorpions' stint in Vegas was originally supposed to happen in July 2020, then it got pushed back to May 2021, only to be rescheduled to March - April 2022 at Zappos Theater inside Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.
Tour dates:
March
26 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV
30 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV
April
1 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV
3 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV
7 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV
9 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV
12 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV
14 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV
16 - Zappos Theater - Las Vegas, NV
May
10 - Altice Arena - Lisbon, Portugal
13 - Zenith Toulouse Metropole - Toulouse, France
15 - Zenith De Lille - Lille, France
17 - Accorhotels Arena - Paris, France
21 - Hallenstadion - Zurich, Switzerland
23 - Arena Di Verona - Verona, Italy
26 - O2 Arena - Prague, Czech Republic
28 - Tauron Arena - Kraków, Poland
30 - Laszlo Papp Sports Arena - Budapest, Hungary
June
3 - Rockfest - Helsinki, Finland
8 - Schleyerhalle - Stuttgart, Germany*
10 - Olympiahalle - Munich, Germany*
12 - Festhalle - Frankfurt, Germany*
16 - Mercedes-Benz Arena - Berlin, Germany*
17 - Zag Arena - Hannover, Germany*
19 - Westfalenhalle - Dortmund, Germany*
23 - Hellfest - Clisson, France
25 - Rock Imperium Festival - Cartagena, Spain
28 - Palais Nikaia - Nice, France
30 - Le Galaxie - Amneville, France
July
2 - Zenith D'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand, France
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