With a respectful nod to GUSTAV HOLST, "Solar Spectre" is the kind of interplanetary journey most fans of extreme metal can get behind. OMEGA INFINITY are a shadowy entity plucked from the ether by NE OBLIVISCARIS frontman Xenoyr and Tentakel P. , drummer and founding member of German art metallers TODTGELICHTER. If you're familiar with ...
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WARRANT guitarist Erik Turner and his son Noah have used the coronavirus downtime to work up an acoustic version of the band's classic song "I Saw Red". Video of their rendition can be seen below. WARRANT shared the clip on social media earlier today (Sunday, March 29), writing in an accompanying caption: "Since we are ...
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Alan Merrill, the singer and co-writer of the original version of "I Love Rock 'N Roll", has died at the age of 69. According to his daughter Laura, he passed away of complications from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. In 1975, Merrill recorded "I Love Rock 'N Roll" with his band the ...
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Ex-MACHINE HEAD guitarist Phil Demmel has apologized for letting his former bandmates' comments about his contributions to "The Blackening" album "get the best" of him. In a March 26 e-mail blast to its mailing list, MACHINE HEAD celebrated the 13th anniversary of "The Blackening" by stating the following, in part, about the LP: "While ex-guitarist ...
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CINDERELLA frontman Tom Keifer has released a special #EndCovid19 version of the video for the title track of his second solo album, "Rise". The clip, which was created by Joshua Smith, can be seen below. In a message accompanying the video, Tom wrote: "Our world may be falling but these turbulent times will pass and ...
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JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner has invited his fans to contribute any musical ideas to a riff he has posted online for download. Earlier today (Sunday, March 29), he tweeted out a video of him playing the riff and he included the following message: "So as promised, here's another riff for you 'orrible lot! It's ...
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Audio snippets of the songs that will appear on "The Final Cut", the new album from ATKINS MAY PROJECT, the band featuring original JUDAS PRIEST singer Al Atkins and Christian guitarist and music artist Paul May, are available in the YouTube clip below. The LP is scheduled for release in April. Atkins and May previously ...
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EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt says that he is still waiting for his COVID-19 test results, more than 10 days after he first revealed he was exhibiting all the symptoms of the disease caused by the new coronavirus. The San Francisco Bay Area-based axeman, who was tested — along with his wife — on March 20, ...
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JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford has once again urged the band's fans to do their part in keeping everybody healthy while they are at home due to the coronavirus pandemic. On Saturday (March 28), Halford took to his Instagram to share a photo of him wearing a face mask and gloves while holding what appears ...
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In a recent interview with "The Blairing Out With Eric Show", legendary vocalist Graham Bonnet (RAINBOW, ALCATRAZZ, MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP) spoke about the passing of iconic RUSH drummer Neil Peart. Asked what kind of influence RUSH had on his life, Graham said (see video below): "On my life, not very much. But I love the ...
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LAMB OF GOD singer Randy Blythe has dismissed suggestions that his band is the natural successor to the thrash metal throne previously occupied by SLAYER. Ever since SLAYER completed its final tour last November, there has talk about which younger act is best equipped to follow in the legendary Californian act's footsteps, with LAMB OF ...
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TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy, who was one of the first metal musicians to test positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, says that he is concerned some people are not taking the spread of the virus more seriously. "It hits so close, because being the ones on the road, watching people talk ...
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STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet was a guest on the "Kingdom Of Rock" podcast to discuss the the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the entertainment industry. Speaking about how he and his family are dealing with the crisis, Sweet said (see video below): "We're doing our best to move forward with wisdom and do what ...
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On March 28, former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen put on a solo performance, accompanied only by a piano, as a part of the #TogetherAtHome series, fueled by Global Citizen and in support of the World Health Organization. You can now watch the performance below. Tarja wrote in an accompanying message: "Together at Home - Live ...
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Sammy Hagar and his CIRCLE bandmates Michael Anthony, Jason Bonham and Vic Johnson are using the coronavirus downtime to make new music. The four musicians connected via their smartphones from four separate locations to record a brand new song titled "Funky Feng Shui". The track originated from a jam THE CIRCLE had been playing backstage ...
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FASTER PUSSYCAT drummer Chad Stewart says that he is recovering after testing positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, earlier in the month. Stewart took to his Twitter on Saturday (March 28) to write: "Thank you everyone for your concern on my recent diagnosis with Covid 19. I'm much better and resting. ...
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KISS frontman Paul Stanley, who has spent the last "17 or 18 days" at home in an effort to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, has shared a video of him talking about how he wrote the band's classic song "Love Gun". Check out the clip below. "Love Gun" was the title track of ...
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It's easy to be blown away by the bombastic, big-budget efforts of bands like NIGHTWISH and BLIND GUARDIAN, but there is an equal amount of magic and joy to be found in records like this. DAKESIS are much-loved stalwarts of the UK heavy metal underground and one of the few bands from the country that ...
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FAITH NO MORE keyboardist Roddy Bottum has urged his fans to read and be creative while they are at home due to the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier today (Saturday, March 28), Bottum took to his Twitter to write: "How are you, my people. Love to each and every one of yous. We breathe, we persevere and ...
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Legendary DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and his wife, vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Candice Night, have uploaded a video of them performing an acoustic version of the JOAN BAEZ classic "Diamonds & Rust" (later famously covered by JUDAS PRIEST). The clip, which was apparently filmed at Ritchie and Candice's home on Long Island, New York, near ...
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James Hetfield (METALLICA), Kirk Hammett (METALLICA) and John Petrucci (DREAM THEATER) are among the guitar greats who reflect on their first encounter with Mesa/Boogie's Mark I guitar amp in a new seven-minute video celebrating Mesa/Boogie's 50th anniversary. Founder and president Randall Smith offers his perspective on the impact of his landmark discovery, the cascading high ...
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Original RIOT guitarist Lou "L.A." Kouvaris has passed away. He was 66 years old. No cause of death has been revealed, but RIOT's manager Giles Lavery said Lou developed symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, over a week ago. Kouvaris's passing was confirmed by RIOT, who wrote on social media: "Lou ...
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In a new interview with Metal Underground, ANVIL frontman Steve "Lips" Kudlow spoke about how he and his bandmates have retained an uncompromising attitude throughout their 40-year-plus existence, at times drastically limiting their commercial appeal. "Whatever fame and whatever success we've had has been completely on our own terms," he said ...
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Industrial metal pioneers MINISTRY have entered the studio to begin recording the follow-up to 2018's "AmeriKKKant" album. On Friday, the MINISTRY social media was updated with a photo of mainman Al Jourgensen sitting in front of a studio console while wearing a gas mask. The picture was captioned: "Until further notice…we'll be quarantined in the ...
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Tobias Sammet says that he is working on a new album from his AVANTASIA project. The disc will be the follow-up to "Moonglow", which came out last year. In addition, the German singer and songwriter has revealed that his long-running band EDGUY is currently "on hiatus." Sammet broke the news of his recording plans in ...
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Greek guitar virtuoso Gus G., who joined Ozzy Osbourne's band more than a decade ago, was asked in a new interview with Canada's The Metal Voice is he is "sick and tired" of answering questions about his time with the legendary BLACK SABBATH singer. He responded (see video below): "No. I'm ...
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On the 13th anniversary of the release of MACHINE HEAD's "The Blackening" album, frontman Robb Flynn hopped on Facebook Live to stream an impromptu guitar run-through of some of the LP's deeper cuts. Check out video footage below. In a March 26 e-mail blast to its mailing list, MACHINE HEAD stated the following, in part, ...
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TRIVIUM frontman Matt Heafy spoke to Forbes about his Twitch channel, which boasts a total viewership of 3.5 million views and a subscriber count of over five thousand. Matt, who streams everything from video games, guitar clinics to TRIVIUM and acoustic song covers, all while he's off ...
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DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Mangini has uploaded a five-minute video showing "two different intentions and environments for practicing technique." He adds about the clip, which is available on his official YouTube channel: "One is on the drums to find flaws (since it is the environment we perform in,) while the other is to fix flaws ...
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Dee Snider says that his daughter has safely returned from Peru, two weeks after being stuck in the country without a means of departure after Peru shut its borders in an effort to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic. 23-year-old Cheyenne Snider was in Peru on vacation doing a spiritual retreat when president Martin Vizcarra issued ...
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