San Francisco Bay Area thrashers EXODUS were rejoined by drummer John Tempesta for their appearance yesterday (Sunday, August 22) at Psycho Las Vegas on August 22 at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tempesta was filling in for EXODUS's regular drummer Tom Hunting who recently underwent a successful total gastrectomy in his battle with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the stomach. Also making a special guest appearance for a couple of songs was former EXODUS guitarist Rick Hunolt.
EXODUS's setlist was as follows:
01. Bonded By Blood
02. Exodus
03. And Then There Were None
04. Fabulous Disaster
05. Brain Dead
06. Metal Command
07. Blacklist
08. 'Til Death Do Us Part
09. Chemi-Kill
10. Piranha
11. The Toxic Waltz
Tempesta was a member of EXODUS from 1989 until 1993 and played on the band's albums "Impact Is Imminent" (1990) and "Force Of Habit" (1992).
When EXODUS first announced on August 16 that Tempesta was temporarily returning to the band, they said in a statement: "Due to Tom's continued recovery from his surgery, we are announcing that for our show in Vegas and Full Terror Assault, we will be joined by @johntempesta on drums! John was Tom's ( and our) number one choice to jump behind the kit in his absence, and John will kill it while Tom continues his recovery, which is going very well! Looking forward to seeing everyone who is coming to Vegas for the show. And looking forward to getting Tom healthy and back behind his kit as soon as possible! But let's welcome John back for two shows where he started!"
Hunting added at the time: "Hey Y'all. I'm 5 weeks out from the surgery and on the mend. I'm feeling stronger all the time and I'm beyond excited to get back to working out on the drums. Unfortunately I won't be ready for the upcoming Vegas and Full Terror Assault shows. Originally I thought if I could walk, I could play. I need to manage my own expectations, and then work my very core back into shape to be fully ready for action. I have no doubt I'll bounce back and get there. I wanna express my undying love and gratitude to our brother Johnny Tempesta for agreeing to play in my absence. I'm 100% sure he will crush playing this music! I'll check in again very soon. Thanks Soooo Much And CHEERS EVERYONE!!!!"
Said Tempesta: "I'm very excited and honored to fill in for my brother Tom as [he] heals from surgery. Looking forward to these shows and being back with the EXODUS family!"
A GoFundMe campaign to help Hunting with medical expenses had previously raised more than $108,000 — including $5,000 from Tom's former EXODUS bandmate, current METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett, and $1,500 from FOZZY singer and wrestling superstar Chris Jericho.
After Hunting went public with his diagnosis, guitarist Gary Holt said that EXODUS will "delay" the release of its recently completed new album, "Persona Non Grata", "so that when Tom has defeated this, he will be back to full strength to hit the road and pummel his drums like only he can! When he has kicked cancer's ass like we know he will, we will resume kicking YOUR asses with the sickest record yet!" he said.
Due on November 19 via Nuclear Blast Records, "Persona Non Grata" will be the follow-up to 2014's "Blood In Blood Out", which was the San Francisco Bay Area thrashers' first release since the departure of the group's lead singer of nine years, Rob Dukes, and the return of Steve "Zetro" Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.
"Persona Non Grata" was recorded at a studio in Lake Almanor, California and was engineered by Steve Lagudi and EXODUS. It was produced by EXODUS and was mixed by Andy Sneap.
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY will release its 11th studio album, "Doom Crew Inc.", on November 26 via Entertainment One (eOne). The album will be available digitally on CD and vinyl plus a deluxe edition that includes vinyl, CD longbox, cassette and more, pre-order now. Today, the band released the music video for the LP's first single, "Set You Free".
The 12-track album is both a tribute to the band's "first to bleed, last to leave" road crew and a salute to the legion whose support, stretching back to 1998, rivals that of the KISS Army. The stomping, heavy, bluesy, recklessly unhinged hard-rock-metal quartet are part invading horde, and part traveling carnival — summoning caffeine-fueled cacophony on records and the stage.
The songs are odes to celebration and mourning, the soundtracks to jubilant evenings and bewildering days recorded in Zakk Wylde's home studio, the Black Vatican. On this album, Zakk trades solos and twin-guitar parts with Dario Lorina, backed by the rumble of longtime bassist John "J.D." DeServio and powerhouse drummer Jeff Fabb.
"We incorporated Father Dario even more into the solos, doubling with me and being more involved in that regard," said Wylde. "It really, truly is a two-guitar album, more so than ever. A twin guitar band, whether it's THE ALLMAN BROTHERS or JUDAS PRIEST, with harmony lines, unison lines, and trading off solos. It stemmed from the live shows, where we'd both go into the crowd and extend songs like 'Fire It Up'."
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY will hit the road this fall on the "Doom Trooping Over North America" tour starting October 1 in Sacramento at Ace Of Spades with openers OBITUARY and PRONG through November 28 ending in Albuquerque at the Sunshine Theater. The band will then finish up the tour from December 27-31 with PRONG and ARMORED SAINT.
On the heels of his well received solo album "One Shot", Danish vocalist Ronnie Atkins (PRETTY MAIDS) has announced the upcoming release of a new EP, "4 More Shots (The Acoustics)" on October 1. The EP consists of one previously unreleased studio track, "Carry Me Over", and three acoustic songs. All three acoustic tracks — "When Dreams Are Not Enough", "Picture Yourself" and "Real" — have original studio versions that appear on "One Shot". Additionally, the EP contains a special bonus track, "One Shot" (Orchestra Version) that was originally available as a bonus track in Japan with the album "One Shot".
"'Carry Me Over' was in fact the first song I wrote after I was told my cancer was back in March 2020," Ronnie explains. "It was written when I hit rock bottom mentally and emotionally and in a very hopeless and frustrating period of time in my life. That's pretty obvious when you listen to the lyrics. So when I had to decide which songs were gonna go on the album 'One Shot', I deliberately decided to leave 'Carry Me Over' out for two reasons. One being the fact that, you know, I simply thought the lyrics were too sad/depressing and that's not what I wanted to signal to the fans. Second, I felt it would tip the balance on the album. However, I still think it's a beautiful melody. Melancholic indeed, but also very honest and therefore I can back it up at any time. That's how I felt, and that was the state of my mind when I wrote it. Today, I'm in a different place — not diagnosis-wise, really, but I feel good and I guess I've somehow learned how to adapt to the situation and deal with it. Thanks to immunotherapy, a positive mindset, and, not the least of which, the almighty God, I'm still here."
"4 More Shots (The Acoustics)" was produced and mixed by Chris Laney, co-produced and arranged by Anders Ringman, and mastered by Jacob Hansen. It was recorded during 2020 at Hansen Studios, Laneyland Studios and Platform CPR.
The musicians appearing on the EP are:
* Ronnie Atkins: Lead and backing vocals
* Chris Laney: Acoustic guitars, Bass and backing vocals
* Anders Ringman: Acoustic and lead guitars, Bass, Piano, Keyboards.
* Allan Sørensen: Drums
* Linnea Vikström Egg: Backing vocals
Track listing:
01. Carry Me Over
02. When Dreams Are Not Enough (acoustic version)
03. Picture Yourself (acoustic version)
04. Real (acoustic version)
05. One Shot (orchestra version - bonus track)
The 56-year-old Atkins was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2019 and underwent at least 33 radiation and four chemotherapy treatments in the fall of that year before being declared cancer-free. In October 2020, he announced that his cancer had returned.
Professionally filmed video footage of DESTRUCTION's August 14 performance at the Alcatraz festival in Kortrijk, Belgium can be seen below (courtesy of ARTE).
DESTRUCTION recently officially parted ways with founding guitarist Michael "Mike" Sifringer and replaced him with Martin Furia. The Argentinian-born, Belgian-based Furia is best known for his work as sound engineer and producer for such bands as NERVOSA and EVIL INVADERS.
Sifringer was the only member of DESTRUCTION to have remained constant throughout the band's career. Schmier appeared on DESTRUCTION's first three albums before leaving the band and being replaced by POLTERGEIST vocalist André Grieder. André's sole recorded appearance with DESTRUCTION was on the "Cracked Brain" album, which came out in 1990. Schmier rejoined DESTRUCTION in 1999.
In other news, DESTRUCTION has released a new single and video, "State Of Apathy", featuring Furia's first recorded appearance with the band.
"State Of Apathy" is available as a digital single, as well as on limited 12-inch slipcase vinyl together with a live-version of "Sign Of Fear" from "Live Attack", with etching in neon green or purple on the B-side.
DESTRUCTION released a new Blu-ray and CD, "Live Attack", on August 13 via Napalm Records. The 22-song release includes footage of the band's nearly two-hour livestream concert from January 2021 at the legendary Z7 venue in Pratteln, Switzerland.
DESTRUCTION's latest studio album, "Born To Perish", was released in August 2019 via Nuclear Blast. The disc was DESTRUCTION's first to feature Randy Black on drums and second guitarist Damir Eskić.
Damir is a Swiss guitar player of Bosnian decent who works as a guitar teacher, himself being a former pupil of Tommy Vetterli (CORONER). He also plays in a heavy metal band called GOMORRA and previously contributed three solos to DESTRUCTION's 2016 album "Under Attack".
Terry Ilous (GREAT WHITE, XYZ) and his solo band THE VAGABONDS performed a cover version of the BLACK SABBATH classic "Heaven And Hell" during the July 10 global virtual concert produced by Rolling Live Studios. The event benefited the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund, founded in memory of the late heavy metal icon who was the voice of ELF, RAINBOW, BLACK SABBATH and DIO before losing his battle with gastric cancer in 2010. The global fundraising event brought together celebrities and fans all over the world to honor Dio's undeniable impact both on and off the stage.
On Friday (August 20), Terry shared video of his performance, and he wrote in an accompanying message: "On July 10, 2021, I was honored to perform along with my band THE VAGABONDS at the Stand Up and Shout for Ronnie James Dio's Birthday global livestream event recorded live at Rolling Studios. It was a wonderful celebration of the life of whom I consider the greatest Heavy Metal singers of all time—Ronnie James Dio. Wendy Dio and Mary Kusnier were generous enough to let us perform a rendition of this epic song."
Featured musicians:
Terry Ilous - Vocals
Luis Villegas - Guitar
Andres Vadim - Guitar
Sean McNabb - Bass
Fernando Diez - Cajón
The Stand Up And Shout For Ronnie James Dio's Birthday virtual fundraising concert also featured exclusive archival footage from Dio's life and long-spanning career and never-before-seen footage from Dio Cancer Fund events held in Los Angeles since 2011 when the organization began. Through musical performances and storytelling, a wide array of guests celebrated the life of a man who deeply influenced their lives through his artistry and larger-than-life presence.
Throughout his career, Ronnie James Dio was a passionate supporter and contributor to charitable work and numerous animal charities. He was an artist who was not only well respected for his talent, but also admired and loved by his peers and fans worldwide, some of which included renowned celebrities, musicians, and prominent individuals from all walks of life.
The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund, dedicated to cancer prevention, research and education, has raised over $2 million in its history. The organization's last in-person event was its 10th-anniversary gala held at the Avalon in Hollywood in February, 2020. Its annual Ride For Ronnie motorcycle ride and concert and Bowl For Ronnie celebrity bowling tournament have been suspended as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
About the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund: The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable fund formed in honor of the legendary Ronnie James Dio, who lost his life to stomach cancer on May 16, 2010. Cancer is a deadly disease that robs families of loved ones, and the Dio Cancer Fund is dedicated to support cancer prevention research, raise awareness and educate the public with the focus that early detection and prevention saves lives.
Monies raised have been committed to the cancer research work of the T. J. Martell Foundation for cancer, AIDS and leukemia research, the gastric cancer research unit of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where Ronnie was treated for gastric cancer during the last six months of his life, and other cancer research projects. Since 2016, the Dio Cancer Fund has also committed funds to support the research of Dr. David Wong and his team at the UCLA School of Dentistry in developing a simple, non-invasive saliva test for the early detection of cancer, which is in keeping with the Fund's mission of cancer prevention, research and education.
Fan-filmed video footage of KISS's August 21 performance at Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey can be seen below.
The setlist was as follows:
01. Detroit Rock City
02. Shout It Out Loud
03. Deuce
04. War Machine
05. Heaven's On Fire
06. I Love It Loud
07. Lick It Up
08. Calling Dr. Love
09. Say Yeah
10. Cold Gin
11. Guitar Solo
12. Tears Are Falling
13. Psycho Circus
14. Drum Solo
15. 100,000 Years
16. Bass Solo
17. God Of Thunder
18. Love Gun
19. I Was Made For Lovin' You
20. Black Diamond
Encore:
21. Beth
22. Do You Love Me
23. Rock And Roll All Nite
KISS kicked off the summer 2021 leg of its "End Of The Road" farewell tour on August 18 at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts. The concert marked the band's first full-length live appearance in front of an audience since March 2020.
KISS's farewell trek was launched in January 2019 and was originally scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City but is now expected to last well into 2022.
KISS's current lineup consists of original members Paul Stanley (guitar, vocals) and Gene Simmons (bass, vocals), alongside later band additions, guitarist Tommy Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991).
Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, Peter Criss (drums) and Ace Frehley (guitar), KISS staged its first "farewell" tour in 2000, the last to feature the group's original lineup.
This past June, Simmons told Philadelphia's 6 ABC Action News why "End Of The Road" is KISS's last-ever tour: "I'm 71, although I'm in great shape. The hand doesn't shake. I never got high or drunk in my life. I never smoked cigarettes; I never did anything of that… So, we're in great shape and we can't wait to get out there and do what we do. But there is such a thing as getting off the stage while the getting's good.
"I was a massive Muhammad Ali fan. He stayed in the ring too long," he continued. "Go out on top. If you're gonna go surfing, ride that tsunami — that's a hundred-foot wave — and then don't get back out there when there's a little baby [wave]. Go out on top.
"So, we are going out one last time. We started off the New Year New Year's Eve in Dubai, where it was completely safe, with the largest pyro show of any entity other than the military, and the Guinness book of [world] records was there to capture it. Hundreds of millions of people on earth recorded it, and so on. It was streamed. I hate streaming. I want people to witness it live. You don't wanna watch a Godzilla movie; you wanna be in the city as it's being destroyed when Godzilla's coming down. That's what you want.
"So, we're gonna go out on top," Gene added. "I don't wanna stay on stage too long. You don't wanna ruin the legacy. So you can go to Las Vegas, play golf at the KISS golf course at the Rio hotel. You can go on the Kiss Kruises… You wanna have some pride in what you do, and don't wait too long. It's like picking fruit — pick that fruit when it's ripe. Don't wait too long; it'll get rotten. There's a point of diminishing returns. This is the right time. And we're gonna do a hundred and 10 more cities around the world, and then we're gonna hang up our boots. But that doesn't mean there can't be KISS in other forms. There's a Netflix movie coming, our four-hour documentary, there's gonna be a KISS cartoon. It's gonna be Planet KISS — and by the way, that's trademarked too — and you're just all living in it."
In its 48-year career, KISS has accumulated 23 gold and platinum albums — more than any other U.S. band.
MEGADETH played its second show with bassist James LoMenzo in nearly 12 years last night (Saturday, August 21) in Irving, Texas. As was the case the night before in Austin, "The Metal Tour Of The Year" concert at the The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory saw MEGADETH share the stage with co-headliners LAMB OF GOD, along with TRIVIUM and HATEBREED.
MEGADETH's 12-song show in Irving did not include "The Threat Is Real", "Sweating Bullets" and "Mechanix", all of which were performed in Austin, but did see the Dave Mustaine-fronted outfit add "Take No Prisoners", "The Conjuring", "She-Wolf" and "A Tout Le Monde" to the setlist.
MEGADETH played the following songs in Irving:
01. Hangar 18
02. Take No Prisoners
03. The Conjuring
04. She-Wolf
05. A Tout Le Monde
06. Trust
07. Conquer Or Die!
08. Dystopia
09. Tornado Of Souls
10. Symphony Of Destruction
11. Peace Sells
12. Holy Wars... The Punishment Due
Produced by Live Nation, the rescheduled trek will hit a further 26 cities before wrapping in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada on Saturday, October 2.
LoMenzo joined MEGADETH in 2006 and appeared on two of the group's studio albums, 2007's "United Abominations" and 2009's "Endgame". He was fired from the band in 2010 and replaced with returning original MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson.
In addition to MEGADETH, LoMenzo has played with Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde and WHITE LION. For the past eight years, LoMenzo has been performing with iconic rocker John Fogerty.
Mustaine has yet to reveal who played bass on the band's new album after Ellefson's tracks were removed from the LP following his dismissal from the group in late May.
Ellefson laid down his bass tracks on MEGADETH's sixteenth LP in May 2020 at a studio in Nashville, Tennessee.
In July, Mustaine announced during an episode of his Gimme Radio program "The Dave Mustaine Show" that Ellefson's bass tracks would not be used on the new MEGADETH LP.
In early May, on the same day that sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving Ellefson were posted on Twitter, he released a statement on Instagram denying all social media chatter that he "groomed" an underage fan.
On May 24, Mustaine — who formed MEGADETH with Ellefson in 1983 — announced the bassist's departure from the band.
Ellefson was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest departure.
Vendredi 20 août 2021, Megadeth - The Conjuring, Dallas, Texas, États-Unis
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH performed for the first time in a year and a half last night (Friday, August 20) at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.
After the show, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH bassist Chris Kael took to his Instagram to share a few onstage and backstage photos from the event and he wrote in an accompanying message: "Iowa! Thank you. Such an incredible crowd to have performed in front of for the first time in a year and a half! For once, I don't have the words other than simply repeating, 'Thank you.' So, thank you! #ShitYesSon #BassPackagePicturesComingTomorrow #DesMoines #ForJoey".
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH recently entered the Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada to begin recording its new album for a 2022 release. In addition, the band has commenced re-recording its debut LP, 2007's "The Way Of The Fist", for its 15th anniversary.
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's upcoming album will be the band's first with its latest addition, renowned British virtuoso Andy James, who replaced Jason Hook last year. James was previously featured on "Broken World", a song that was included on the second installment of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's greatest-hits collection, "A Decade Of Destruction - Volume 2", which came out last fall.
Each of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's first six albums — "The Way of the Fist", 2009's "War Is The Answer", 2011's "American Capitalist", 2013's "The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 1" and "Volume 2", and 2015's "Got Your Six" — has gone either gold or platinum in the U.S.
The band has had two dozen songs hit the Top 10 on the Mainstream Rock or Hard Rock Digital charts, starting with "The Bleeding". FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's 2010 cover of BAD COMPANY's "Bad Company" was certified platinum for accumulating a million certified units.
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's No. 1 hits include "Coming Down", "Lift Me Up", "Battle Born", "Wash It All Away", "Sham Pain", "When The Seasons Change" and "Blue On Black".
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's most recent album, 2020's "F8", debuted at No. 1 on rock charts around the world, with Top 10 mainstream chart debuts in the U.S., Austria, Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K. and more. "F8" features No. 1 hit singles "Inside Out", "A Little Bit Off" and "Living The Dream".
LAMB OF GOD kicked off "The Metal Tour Of The Year" with MEGADETH, TRIVIUM and HATEBREED last night (Friday, August 20) at the Germania Insurance Amphitheater in Austin, Texas. Fan-filmed video footage of LAMB OF GOD's performance can be viewed below.
Produced by Live Nation, the rescheduled trek will hit a further 27 cities before wrapping in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada on Saturday, October 2.
During a appearance on the "Making Waves: The ShipRocked Podcast", LAMB OF GOD guitarist Mark Morton stated about "The Metal Tour Of The Year", which was originally scheduled to take place last year but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic: "It was gonna be summer of 2020, and, obviously, the lockdown happened, the COVID stuff happened. And that was a real drag — certainly for a lot of reasons bigger than missing a metal tour. But we were pretty jacked up about that. It's a big bill and it's an exciting bill and it's a great bill for heavy metal in general; it just brings a bunch of great bands together in big places. The fact that that still managed to stick together and can actually happen now is a thrill — it's exciting. It feels good to be able to realistically say we're doing this."
As for how "The Metal Tour Of The Year" came together, Mark said: "There's teams of people who are smarter and probably better paid than me that dream up these kinds of things. But, yeah, I'm all for it, man. That's a dream bill for a metal fan, for sure."
Released in April via Nuclear Blast Records, LAMB OF GOD's "Live In Richmond, VA" includes a live version of the self-titled album with two bonus tracks, along with a DVD that features the first of LAMB OF GOD's two ultra-successful live stream events from September 2020, in which the band performed "Lamb Of God" in full, plus an encore of four songs including "Ruin", "Contractor", "512", and the debut live performance of "The Death Of Us", a newer song the band wrote and recorded in quarantine for the "Bill & Ted Face The Music" movie and soundtrack. The DVD includes a new director's cut with bonus material.
"Lamb Of God" was released in June 2020 via Epic Records in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast Records in Europe. The follow-up to "VII: Sturm Und Drang" marked LAMB OF GOD's first recordings with Art Cruz, who joined the band in July 2019 as the replacement for the group's founding drummer, Chris Adler.
"Lamb Of God" was recorded with longtime producer Josh Wilbur (KORN, MEGADETH, GOJIRA, TRIVIUM) and includes special guest appearances by Jamey Jasta (HATEBREED) and Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT).
In celebration of 35 years of WARLOCK's "Triumph And Agony" album, Doro Pesch will release "Triumph And Agony Live" in various formats, including CD, vinyl, cassette, DVD, Blu-ray, and a huge box set, on September 24 through Doro's own label, Rare Diamonds Productions.
A performance video of the song "All We Are", taken from "Triumph And Agony Live", can be seen below.
The "Triumph And Agony" artwork centers on Geoffrey Gillespie's famous original drawing of the "Warlock" embracing the blonde rock star.
Doro says: "The cover and the whole artwork including booklet and inlay are a combination of live shots and the amazing iconic Warlock paintings of my favorite artist, Geoffrey Gillespie, who did all the classic DORO / WARLOCK artworks. It worked out great. I am so happy with it."
Regarding "Triumph And Agony Live", Doro says: "It's one of my favorite records we've ever done! It includes some of our big classic anthems like 'All We Are', 'Für Immer' and 'I Rule The Ruins' as well as fan favorites like 'Metal Tango', 'Three Minute Warning', 'Kiss Of Death' and 'East Meets West', not to forget headbanging album opener 'Touch Of Evil'. I'm super excited to let the fans hear and see it!
"It was always my dream to play the 'Triumph And Agony' album in its entirety live," she adds. "The order of the tracks is different from the original album, but we're playing all ten songs in new, powerful versions. The first time we did it was at Sweden Rock followed by a big tour in the USA and Spain, and more large festival shows like Graspop and Norway Rock. It was fantastic. There was a killer atmosphere!"
"Triumph And Agony Live" track listing:
01. Legacy (Intro)
02. Touch Of Evil
03. I Rule The Ruins
04. East Meets West
05. Three Minute Warning
06. Kiss Of Death
07. Für Immer
08. Cold, Cold World
09. Make Time For Love
10. Metal Tango
11. All We Are
Prior to an appearance at the 2017 Sweden Rock Festival, Doro stated about why that was the right time to go out and play the "Triumph And Agony" songs again: "Well, because we have our 30th anniversary of this big record. It was called 'Triumph And Agony', and it was the biggest record. I think it was one of the best records. And I thought, 'Man, we have to play one time the whole album in its entirety,' and we never did before. And then I called my old guitar player, Tommy Bolan, and he played on the whole record, he played all the solos. And I asked him if he was into that idea, doing a couple of shows with just the 'Triumph And Agony' album and then some encores. And he said, 'Oh, let's do it. I'm ready.' And then we were rehearsing all, yeah, the last week, and I think it sounds really good. We are playing some songs we've never played before, but I think they will sound really amazing. And I'm very excited."
In a 2000 interview with Metal Rules, Doro stated about WARLOCK: "I loved that so much and my heart and soul was so much into it. I was totally devastated when it broke up and it broke up not because of the band but because of all the bullshit around it. It was the record companies, the management, everything. The band had no control anymore — everybody else had, and the band did not. It was really tough and there were a lot of problems and I was totally heartbroken about it. But those times were awesome, man, it was awesome! I will always treasure them. I love to think about the great times."
Doro told Get Ready To Rock! that "everything fell into place" for WARLOCK after "Triumph And Agony" was released. "The record company was totally behind it, MTV put our song 'All We Are' on heavy rotation, which was a big plus, I must say, the fans were there and metal was at its peak between 1987 and 1988. Sometimes you do wish for everything to fall into place, but it's very rare that this happens as things need to work like a watch."
Doro is currently working on material for a new studio album, tentatively due in 2022. The LP will be the follow-up to "Forever Warriors, Forever United", which came out in 2018. The double album featured 19 regular tracks and six bonus songs.
Finnish heavy metal monsters LORDI will release no less than seven new studio albums in the fall. The LPs will mark the first new music from LORDI since the arrival of 2020's "Killection", a fictional compilation album which contained songs that LORDI would have written had the band existed between the early 1970s and the mid-1990s.
The "Lordiversity" box shall be available on November 26 as seven-CD box set and as seven-vinyl box set in three different color editions. Each album has a different genre approach: hard rock, disco, progressive rock, heavy metal, AOR, thrash/speed metal and industrial metal.
The band's leader, Mr. Lordi, explains: "Within a week when the 'Killectour' was cut short in March 2020, I realized we're gonna have to use the sudden extra time somehow. It was clear that it is the time to start planning the new album, even though 'Killection' was released not even two months before. I was thinking that the most boring thing we could do after 'Killection' is to do another basic LORDI album. And I was very much enjoying the different styles of songwriting, recording and production on 'Killection', but another boring idea would have been to do a part 2. Since 'Killection' is a fictional compilation album from a fictional back catalog that doesn't exist, I got the idea that the only thing that could top that is to record and release that fictional back catalog. And until Halloween 2021 the fictional back catalog will be no longer fictional, it actually will exist... at least for the most part. My original idea was to release 10 albums, but the label said that is insane. But seven is a number they felt that is somewhat sane, hahahaha!"
The newly released song "Believe Me" has its origin in the band's fictional disco era. Imagine LORDI performing a classic disco track in the style of ABBA, KISS or the BEE GEES in the late 1970s, while disco music hit its peak. A hilarious and entertaining idea that now becomes reality.
The seven albums contained within "Lordiversity" are:
* Skelectric Dinosaur
* SuperFlyTrap
* The Masterbeast From The Moon
* Abusement Park
* Humanimals
* Abracadaver
* Spooky Sextravaganza Spectacular
LORDI won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah" and remains the first and only winner from Finland in the history of the competition. Since then, the band has gone through several lineup changes. The original members who are still active with the band are Mr. Lordi and guitarist Amen.
Stockholm’s Zornheym have announced their worldwide signing with Germany's powerhouse label Noble Demon for the release of the band’s sophomore album, entitled The Zornheim Sleep Experiment.
Founded and led by multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Zorn, who was determined to shake up the traditional "metal-meets-symphony" approach after leaving iconic black metallers Dark Funeral, Zornheym quickly grew from an ambitious idea into a dramatic musical and narrative driven concept revolving around the horrors of a mental institution and its prisoners.
The band's debut album, Where Hatred Dwells And Darkness Reigns, opened the doors of the asylum in 2017, introducing the terrifying concept and gruesome characters within. Four years later and featuring ten new tracks of powerful, cinematic and mesmerizing symphonic extreme metal, Zornheym's upcoming album picks up where they left off, inviting the listener on a distracting journey, straight into the depths of the asylum! Once again, Zornheym create their very own wall of sound by using a real choir and a string quartet and bring the story to life in a graphic novel that accompanies and expands upon the stories behind the album!
In support of the new full-length record, Zornheym just unleashed a brand new music video for the track "Keep The Devil Away":
"The crushing, mid-tempo song, 'Keep The Devil Away' is your first invitation to The Zornheim Sleep Experiment. This melodic yet heavy song takes us deeper into the story of what cruel and unusual treatment the inmates face within the walls of the terrifying asylum behind Zornheym's concept. Prepare for an aural assault of orchestration and devastating metal riffs that could leave you questioning your sanity," the band comments.
Tracklisting:
"Corpus Vile"
"An Evil Within"
"Dead Silence"
"Keep The Devil Away"
"Slumber Comes In Time"
"Black Nine"
"The Veiling Of Bettelheims Eye"
"The Revelation"
"Keep Cutting"
"The Madness That Lurks Within" (Epilogue)
The Zornheim Sleep Experiment will be released October 22nd on Noble Demon and is now available for pre-order at this location.
Canadian thrashers Lutharö have unleashed their video "To Kill Or To Crave". The song is from the band's upcoming release Hiraeth, which is out on October 15th. Pre-orders can be placed here.
Frontwoman Krista Shipperbottom comments: "After much suspense and excitement we are proud to finally release our new single 'To Kill Or To Crave'. This song is truly as bold as it sounds and will leave you with a new found confidence!"
"Introspection"
"To Kill Or To Crave"
"What Sleeps In Your Mind"
"Phantom"
"Worship Your Path"
"Hopeless Abandonment"
"Valley Of The Cursed"
"In Silence We Reign"
"Eclipse"
"Lost In A Soul"
Scorpions have offered fans a first glance at their new music. The currently untitled effort will be the band's 19th studio album; a release date has not yet been announced.
Scorpions singer Klaus Meine, along with guitarists Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs uploaded the following video to social media from Peppermint Park Studios in Hannover, Germany.
According to Klaus: "We're in the studio right now, as you can see — Peppermint Park in Hannover — and this morning, we decided to give you guys a little snippet. We're here for a year. We spent so much time in here working with the recording sessions. And right now it's so very exciting to finally listen to the mixes coming in from Berlin the other day. And we just wanted to share this moment with all of you out there. And believe me, we can't wait — not only to give you a little snippet but to play you the whole damn album. All right? And we'll see you out there."
New Album Snippet
Dear Fans, here comes a little snippet for you... we can‘t wait to play you the whole album! 🤘 🦂 🤘 - Scorpions
Death Pop Radio has released their new single “I Melt With You”, a twisted take on the ‘80s mega-hit originally written and performed by Modern English. The song will be available on all major streaming services including Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Spotify on August 20, 2021.
The band decided to release a studio version of this song after multiple live performances of the cover received rousing responses from audiences throughout the Midwest. Death Pop Radio’s rendition shows a heavier side of the band with staccato palm muted chords followed tightly by thumping double bass drums, but yet still manages to maintain the memorable pop feel to the chorus. The repeating melody in the verses originally performed by clean guitars are replaced by distorted keys with a four on the floor support.
“A unique twist to a popular song that will definitely turn some heads” - Jeffrey A. Swanson / President / Dark Star Records
“The original version of I Melt With You sounds pretty bright and happy at first listen, but there is an underlying sense of longing and obsession underneath the bubbles. This is the vibe we were trying to capture in our take.” - Dee J Nelson - Death Pop Radio
Death Pop Radio recently cracked the top 100 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock with their self-titled debut album via Dark Star Records.
San Antonio rockers Relent have debuted a new video for the track “Ghost,” released as a single in June.
Formed in early 2016, Relent released their first single, “Rise” in 2019. The track quickly became a fan favorite and set the scene for the release of the group’s 2020 debut, Heart Attack. With a unique, in-your-face style that is often compared to musical giants such as P.O.D., Sevendust, Linkin Park and Breaking Benjamin, many fans find it hard to believe this fierce quintet proudly wears the “Christian band” tag. “Ghost” is a prime example of Relent’s ability to create aggressive music with a positive, spiritual message.
“In a time where demonology is accepted and welcomed with open arms, ‘Ghost’ reminds us of the one spiritual force that is undefeated and all-powerful,” the band says. “In the midst of the darkest times this world has ever seen, God’s voice still speaks to us, guiding us through the difficulty of life. He gives us strength we would never have on our own and empowers us to live life as conquerors instead of victims.”
Relent, who just wrapped up the Summer Slam Tour with Seventh Day Slumber and GFM, has built a strong following through passionate, intense live performances. Because of their pasts involving drug addictions and rough lifestyles, the members of Relent are also intensely dedicated to reaching people who struggle with similar addictions.
Stay tuned for more new music, coming this fall via Rockfest Records.
In the wake of WHITESNAKE's massive global success, the band's founder and lead singer, David Coverdale, set out to record his third solo album in 1995. However, the plan was derailed when pressure from his record label forced him to change course and release "Restless Heart" under the DAVID COVERDALE & WHITESNAKE moniker. Despite the changes, the 1997 album was a Top 40 hit in the U.K. Surprisingly, the record was never released in the U.S. That will change this fall when Rhino introduces several versions of "Restless Heart", including a four-disc boxed set.
"Restless Heart: Super Deluxe Edition" will be available on October 29 and is available for pre-order now. The 4CD/DVD collection features newly remastered and remixed versions of the original album, along with unreleased demos and studio outtakes. The DVD includes music videos and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the album with new interviews from David Coverdale. The set comes with a hardbound book filled with rare and unseen photos from the era.
Three additional versions of "Restless Heart" will be available the same day. First is a two-CD deluxe edition that includes the new remix plus the original album, newly remastered. Next is a double-LP deluxe edition pressed on 180-gram silver vinyl that features the newly remixed album. And finally, there is a single-disc version which again features the newly remixed album. In addition, all of the music will be available digitally through streaming services.
"Restless Heart: Super Deluxe Edition" opens with a newly remixed version of the album that's closer to the sound Coverdale initially intended for his new solo release. It's followed by a newly remastered version of "Restless Heart", including the singles "Too Many Tears" and "Don't Fade Away", plus three bonus tracks from the album's original Japanese release. Featured musicians include Adrian Vandenberg, Denny Carmassi, Guy Pratt and in addition, guitarist Joel Hoekstra and keyboardist Derek Sherinian who bring their exceptional talents to the party.
The following two discs reveal how "Restless Heart" evolved, starting with early pre-production versions of every album track to later takes of those songs.
The DVD features several music videos ("Too Many Tears" and "Restless Heart") plus the making-of-the-album featurette. There is also a video EP featuring the three relevant songs from the 1997 live acoustic album, "Starkers In Tokyo", originally only available in Japan.
The official music video for the remixed version of "All In The Name Of Love" can be seen below.
"Restless Heart: Super Deluxe Edition" track listing:
Disc 1:
Restless Heart: 2021 Remix
01. Restless Heart
02. You're So Fine
03. Can't Go On
04. Crying
05. Take Me Back Again
06. Anything You Want
07. Too Many Tears
08. All In The Name Of Love
09. Your Precious Love
10. Can't Stop Now
11. Woman Trouble Blues
12. Stay With Me
13. Oi (Theme For An Imaginary Drum Solo)
14. Don't Fade Away
15. Can't Go On (Unzipped)
Disc 2:
Restless Heart: 2021 Remaster
01. Don't Fade Away
02. All In The Name Of Love
03. Restless Heart
04. Too Many Tears
05. Crying
06. Stay With Me
07. Can't Go On
08. You're So Fine
09. Your Precious Love
10. Take Me Back Again
11. Woman Trouble Blues
12. Anything You Want
13. Can't Stop Now
14. Too Many Tears '95 (Live & Drunk in the Studio featuring The Horny B'stards)
Disc 3:
Dancing On The Titanic
Early Arrangements & Getting Drum Tracks in the Studio
Canadian metal outfit SPIRITBOX has released the official music video for a brand new song titled "Hurt You". The track is taken from the band's debut album, "Eternal Blue", which will be released on September 17 via Rise Records.
Speaking about the new song and the accompanying music video, which can be viewed below, SPIRITBOX guitarist Mike Stringer states: "'Hurt You' is a song that was written before the pandemic, in early 2020 during a snowstorm. We were stuck inside, and couldn't go anywhere, so this song flowed out of myself, Courtney [LaPlante, vocals] and our producer Dan pretty quick. The subject matter of the song explores toxic codependency, and the feeling of knowing that something is doomed to fail, but making the choice to go down with the ship. The video, directed by Dylan Hryciuk, is horror-inspired and depicts love in four different acts. It's the first video we've made where we do not make an appearance and allow the story to be the main focus."
The husband-and-wife duo consisting of Courtney LaPlante and Michael Stringer made its debut with an independently released EP in October 2017, quickly building a cult following. In 2018, they found their musical counterpart in bass player Bill Crook and partnered with Pale Chord Music to continue to create and release music in single and EP formats, and in fall of 2020, signed with globally renowned label Rise Records.
Drawing its name from a device that some believe is capable of communing with the dead, SPIRITBOX has a paranormal undertone that runs through everything they do, using EVP (electronic voice phenomena) recordings both at its live shows and within its tracks.
Having toured the world many times over with their previous bands — metal outfit IWRESTLEDABEARONCE (Courtney and Mike) and pop punk band LIVING WITH LIONS (Bill) — SPIRITBOX absorbed the highs and lows of living as working musicians and decided to try a different and more sustainable approach when it came to releasing their music. They took the concept of supply and demand and applied it to their release model, focusing on making fans across the globe by using the social media tools available to them, releasing shorter bodies of music and removing touring from the plan until a demand was built. In doing so they quickly garnered a cult-like online following which has led to over 80 million streams across all platforms and sell outs on every physical release and most merch items they've released to date.
Grammy Award-nominated progressive metallers BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME have released the music video for "The Future Is Behind Us", the latest song taken from the band's new album, "Colors II", which came out today (Friday, August 20) via Sumerian Records.
Director Erez Bader of Silent Flight Productions comments: "'Colors II''s opening track is an invitation for the listener to interpret the album, or rather the entirety of BTBAM's work, however they see fit. As a longtime fan (half my arm is tattooed with 'Parallax II''s artwork) I've always interpreted the first 'Colors' to be about the fading of creativity and originality in our world, and the message that your legacy is defined by the things you've created during your lifetime. It's both a pessimistic view that the world is going to shit, while also being a rallying cry for budding artists to overcome hardships and remind themselves why their work is important.
"The song 'White Walls' closes out the first 'Colors' album, representing both the death of the colors now faded, yet the blank canvas they left behind — an invitation to start anew. This is where my music video for 'The Future Is Behind Us' begins. While the band's mind-blowing performance is front and center, the subtle narrative begins within these quite literal white walls, which in this video I think of as a sort-of temple. The 'sculpture people' as I call them (who represent the first album), congregate at this towering, abstract painting within the white walls; a holy conduit they've sought to undergo a long-awaited dark ritual. Tommy floats past the world, carrying this growing darkness as it blooms around him in the wilderness and is brought into our cities, eventually culminating in the dark sludge that entirely consumes the white walls themselves. Within the darkness, the sculptures birth a child — a creation of their own, and it's released into our world.
"There's a weird transfer of power as a work of art nears completion. It becomes its own author and starts guiding you to its final form; something new entirely. So while I have my own intention behind the video, I'm forced to be cheesy and quote the new record, 'I'm not the writer, it's you.'"
BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME built its influential 2007 album, "Colors", on an unwavering commitment to artistic integrity. They've only fortified that commitment on "Colors II". The circumstances surrounding both records bear key similarities, yet the North Carolina quintet — Tommy Rogers (lead vocals, keyboards), Paul Waggoner (lead and rhythm guitar, backing and lead vocals), Dustie Waring (rhythm and lead guitar), Blake Richardson (drums) and Dan Briggs (bass, keyboards) — once again stretch the boundaries of their signature sound and heavy music at large.
"Especially with 2020, we really wanted to give it all we could and show the world we're still here," explains Tommy. "That's part of the reason we named it 'Colors II'. We were in a similar spot when we did the first 'Colors'. Back then, we had just gotten done with Ozzfest. We were wondering, 'Where do we belong in this music scene?' We still struggle with that. At both of these moments in our career, we decided to just be ourselves and write the best album we can. We came out guns blazing, and I feel like it's some of our most creative material in a long time."
"'Colors' was very much our attempt at a do-or-die statement," recalls Paul. "We had to establish our identity and be who we really wanted to be in order to have a career. This time around, our industry was shutdown for a year. Once tours were canceled due to the pandemic, we were, like, 'We've got to write a record, and it's got to be good.' We had to do something next level."
Industrial metal pioneers MINISTRY have released the official music video for their cover version of THE STOOGES' 1973 classic "Search And Destroy". The track, which features guitar virtuoso Billy Morrison (BILLY IDOL, ROYAL MACHINES), is taken from the band's 15th studio album, "Moral Hygiene", which is due on October 1 via Nuclear Blast Records.
MINISTRY frontman Al Jourgensen told Rolling Stone about the Dean Karr-directed clip: "He picked out this desert airplane graveyard run rampant with rattlesnakes. I was in 35 pounds of gear learning how to use an antiquated weapon that weighs about 210-215 pounds at eight in the morning and all and all the video was actually the smoothest shoot I've ever done over the course of 15-20 videos I've done in my career. It's one of the memories I'll take to my grave."
In a recent interview with Australia's Heavy, Jourgensen stated about the new LP's musical direction: "Same old stuff. Just a progression of the MINISTRY sound that's been refined for the last 30 [or] 40 years. And I think we hit a good one this time. There's a couple that I wish I could have back, and there's a couple that I'm really gung-ho about. But this one's in the 'gung-ho' category. This one makes a lot of sense for the times that we're living in."
As for the lyrical themes covered on "Moral Hygiene", Jourgensen said: "We cover everything — from the actual pandemic to climate change to the political climate now. And I don't mean so much the politicians as much as the rise of fascist tendencies all over the world and in various countries. And a lot of life topics like that."
The album's first single, "Good Trouble", was released in early July. The song, inspired by the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests and the activist work of the late congressman John Lewis, was accompanied by a video that includes sampling from last year's demonstrations in Los Angeles as captured by Jourgensen and his partner Liz Walton. "Moral Hygiene" also includes the previously released "Alert Level" that sounded the alarms about our collective dissonance towards the pandemic, climate change and the man formerly in the White House, bolstered by the song's overarching question posed to listeners: "How concerned are you?" The new album also adds perspective to the countless lives that were tragically lost to the COVID-19 pandemic on the haunting track "Death Toll" while "Disinformation" describes the too frequent willingness to accept everything — even mistruths — as fact.
Other musical jewels on the upcoming release include a collaboration with Jello Biafra (Jourgensen's cohort in side project LARD) on "Sabotage Is Sex".
"Moral Hygiene" was recorded with engineer Michael Rozon (also behind the boards on "AmeriKKKant") at Scheisse Dog Studio, Jourgensen's self-built home studio and creative lab. As with all MINISTRY albums, all songs are written and performed by Jourgensen. Additional contributions come from Morrison, Cesar Soto (MAN THE MUTE), John Bechdel (KILLING JOKE, FEAR FACTORY), Roy Mayorga (STONE SOUR, SOULFLY, NAUSEA), Paul D'Amour (TOOL, FEERSUM ENNJIN), Arabian Prince (N.W.A.), Jello Biafra (DEAD KENNEDYS) and sitar player Flash.
"Moral Hygiene" will be available in CD, vinyl and digital download formats.
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