Fact #1: The only effects used on the Black Sabbath debut album from 1970 are the thunderstorm and eerie tolling bell, as heard on the intro to the title track.
Fact #2: Bassist Geezer Butler was influenced by Frank Zappa.
Fact #3: The second studio album from Black Sabbath, (1970) Paranoid, peaked at #12 in America, while continuing to chart for 70 weeks.
Fact #4: Back in 1978, the mighty Van Halen opened for Black Sabbath on their Never Say Die! tour.
Fact #5: Ted Nugent opened for Black Sabbath on their Technical Ecstasy Tour, back in 1976.
AMARANTHE will be returning to North America for a major headlining tour, spanning August to the beginning of October of 2020! Special guests will be Battle Beast and Seven Spires. Check the dates, cities, and venues below!
Aug 20 ’20 Baltimore, MD – Soundstage
Aug 21 ’20 Worcester, MA – The Palladium (MA)
Aug 22 ’20 New York, NY – The Gramercy Theatre
Aug 23 ’20 Philadelphia, PA – Theatre Of Living Arts
Aug 25 ’20 Montreal, QC – Club Soda
Aug 26 ’20 Quebec City, QC – Imperial de Quebec
Aug 27 ’20 Ottawa, ON – Mavericks
Aug 28 ’20 Toronto, ON – MOD Club
Aug 29 ’20 Angola, IN – The Eclectic Room
Aug 30 ’20 Westland, MI – Token Lounge
Sep 1 ’20 Chicago, IL – Concord Music Hall
Sep 2 ’20 Belvidere, IL – Apollo Theater
Sep 3 ’20 Des Moines, IA – Wooly’s
Sep 4 ’20 Minneapolis, MN – The Cabooze
Sep 5 ’20 Winnipeg, MB – Park Theatre
Sep 6 ’20 Regina, SK – The Exchange
Sep 8 ’20 Edmonton, AB – The Starlite Room
Sep 9 ’20 Calgary, AB – Dickens
Sep 11 ’20 Vancouver, BC – The Venue
Sep 12 ’20 Seattle, WA – El Corazon
Sep 13 ’20 Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
Sep 14 ’20 Sacramento, CA – Holy Diver
Sep 15 ’20 San Diego, CA – Brick by Brick
Sep 16 ’20 West Hollywood, CA – Whisky a Go Go
Sep 18 ’20 Tempe, AZ – Club Red
Sep 19 ’20 Las Vegas, NV – Backstage Bar and Billiards
Sep 20 ’20 Salt Lake City, UT – Liquid Joe’s
Sep 21 ’20 Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
Sep 23 ’20 Dallas, TX – Trees
Sep 24 ’20 Austin, TX – Come and Take it Live
Sep 25 ’20 Houston, TX – Scout Bar
Sep 26 ’20 New Orleans, LA – House of Blues
Sep 27 ’20 Lake Buena Vista, FL – House of Blues
Sep 29 ’20 Racine, WI – Rt 20
Sep 30 ’20 Pittsburgh, PA – The Crafthouse
Oct 1 ’20 Charlotte, NC – The Underground
Oct 2 ’20 Cincinnati, OH – Riverfront Live
Tickets are on sale now! Check all ticket links at amaranthe.se/tour
The numbers are in and I couldn’t be more thankful🙏 I’m breathing, I’m creating and I’m surviving in a completely different music world. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your continued support and for helping me get to where I’m going. I could never do it without you👊 “TEN” is a huge success and I can’t wait for 11😉 Sincere gratitude👆🙌🙏 Now who’s ready for some 2020 shows? God Bless you all.
STRYPER will be playing live in Mexico, this February! Visiting Mexico City, Chihuahua and Monterrey, respectively. Check out the dates and ticket links below.
BUY TICKETS: February 20, 2020 – Mexico City, Mexico
BUY TICKETS: February 21, 2020 – Chihuahua, Mexico
BUY TICKETS: February 22, 2020 – Monterrey, Mexico
Infected Dead made a grand impression with their Lovecraftian cosmic horror debut Archaic Malevolence and have left fans salivating for more ever since. Today the band proudly reveal a blistering new single and video to sate those in wait, a track entitled ‘The Rache’ out now via Hostile Media.
The video was shot in the woods of Heathfield, Sussex UK earlier this summer with Loki Films. Vocalist Lou Ede elaborates: “The song is loosely based on the lesser known Lovecraft short story ‘The Hound’ so the main concept we had in mind was to give the allusion of the band being stalked by the titular monster, I think the director did a great job of getting that across.”
“We are delighted to finally be unleashing our first fresh track since Archaic Malevolence. It was great to be back working with Wynter Prior (producer) and work is well underway on our debut album, we’re really excited to share the first glimpse of what we’ve been up to over the past year.”
‘The Rache’ was produced by Wynter Prior, while Inner Sound overseen mixing and mastering. Luciferium War Graphics manned the helm once again for the epic artwork.
Catch Infected Dead Live in UK with Bloodshot Dawn next month!
International extreme power metal unit DRAGONFORCE will kick off their anticipated North American headlining tour this week. The trek will commence on October 1st in Tucson, Arizona and conclude October 12th in Ventura, California. Support will be provided by Dance With The Dead and Starkill. The following day, the band will set sail as part of the first annual Megacruise. See all confirmed dates below.
DRAGONFORCE w/ Dance With The Dead, Starkill:
10/01/2019 Encore – Tucson, AZ
10/02/2019 Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM
10/03/2019 Vinyl @ Hard Rock – Las Vegas, NV
10/04/2019 Strummers – Fresno, CA
10/05/2019 Cargo – Reno, NV
10/06/2019 Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR
10/07/2019 The Red Room – Vancouver, BC
10/08/2019 El Corazon – Seattle, WA
10/11/2019 August Hall – San Francisco, CA
10/12/2019 Ventura Theater – Ventura, CA
10/13/2019 Megacruise – Los Angeles, CA* DRAGONFORCE only
DRAGONFORCE is touring in support of their eighth full-length, Extreme Power Metal, released worldwide on September 27th via Metal Blade Records. Produced in Los Angeles, California by Damien Rainaud at Mix Unlimited, Extreme Power Metal was also recorded, in part, on guitarist Herman Li’s livestream channel on Twitch (twitch.tv/hermanli) with participation from fans. To preview the record, and to view the band’s recently-released video for “Razorblade Meltdown” visit metalblade.com/dragonforce.
DragonForce – Razorblade Meltdown (New Official Video)
The Grammy-nominated extreme power metal group is based in London, England. Their platinum-selling record, Through The Fire And Flames, brought them international acclaim and was featured as the most-challenging song on Guitar Hero III. Their energetic and humorous live performances have won them fans on every continent.
The group is known for their long, complex, and fast guitar solos performed by Herman Li and Sam Totman, who founded the band after meeting through a classified ad in 1999. Since then, the band has released seven studio albums, including Valley Of The Damned (2003), Sonic Firestorm (2004), Inhuman Rampage (2006), Ultra Beatdown (2008), The Power Within (2012), Maximum Overload (2014), and Reaching Into Infinity (2017). 2019 brings the next chapter in DRAGONFORCE history: Extreme Power Metal!
Regarding Extreme Power Metal, Li says, “This album again combines the best of DRAGONFORCE in an even bigger, more epic way than we have ever done before. We are so excited for fans to hear it!” The keyboards of the new album were performed by Coen Janssen of symphonic metal titan Epica, adding a new dimension to the album. Notes Totman, “We worked really closely with Coen on this new album. We are so happy with what he has brought into this new album. Every fan will be so happy to hear his majestic playing!”
Drawing from a wide range of influences, the band’s sound combines the sing-a-long choruses of classic ’80s rock with triumphant, uplifting melodies and fantasy-themed power-metal-inspired lyrics. As a nod to their passion for all things video-game related, the band frequently incorporates retro game sounds and melodies into their recordings and live shows.
Following the release of Extreme Power Metal, DRAGONFORCE will begin their world tour in support of it. Li promises, “In this age, where our music is easily accessible, I am not going to waste time trying to describe the sound of our new album. I’ll let the music do the talking! However, what I can tell you is, our upcoming tour will be our biggest in a decade. We have a massive epic production and a really special surprise for VIPs. We can’t wait to see everyone out on the road!”
Finnish melodic metal group PHOENIX TITAN have released their powerful debut album AVATAR OF FIRE. The album is available as CD and listenable on online streaming services.
Phoenix Titan is a five-piece group from Finland playing tight melodic metal. The history of the band began 2014 and all the band members have around 20 years experience of recording and playing live on several different bands.
The debut album ”Avatar of Fire” is released on September 27th 2019 via Inverse Records. The recording of the album began on summer 2017 and the final studio tracks were recorded early 2019. The album is recorded and produced by Aksu Hanttu (S-Tool, Tuoni, Entwine) and mastered by Svante Forsbäck at Chartmakers. Common denominator on all of the album tracks is catchy riffs and melodies combined to fierce energy.
Phoenix Titan – Avatar Of Fire – Track List:
Torment Of Vanity
Metal Shark
Accused
Ride For Vengeance
Will I Ever Find My Peace?
Napalm Phoenix
(In)Sanity
The Game
Chosen One
Line-up:
Harri Ahola – vocals
Santtu Rautiainen – guitar
Topi Vuorela – guitar
Tatu Rautiainen – drums
Juhana ”Jusa” Ovaska – Bass
Band comments on the recording process:
“We wanted to put effort to the quality of the recording on every production phase. Even as it took a lot more time, nerves and bad humor than we expected. The professional work can be seen and heard on the record. We are really satisfied with the album and we are looking forward the live shows to come.”
W.A.S.P. is happy to announce their participation in the upcoming KnotFest Festival in Bogota, Colombia, on December 6th 2019.
We look forward to seeing you there!!
Produced by the Finnish mastermind Tuomas Saukkonen
Hungarian melodic death metal assault squad SYMMETRY OF THE VOID has reached to 2nd single in the collaboration with Finnish metal mastermind Tuomas Saukkonen (Wolfheart, Before the Dawn, Dawn of Solace etc.).
SYMMETRY OF THE VOID and Saukkonen started working together earlier this spring and before summer 1st single and video ‘DIVINE SERENITY’ was released and now it is time to bombard the metal scene with 2nd single ‘THE UNWORTHY’.
The newly minted Connecticut Metal Coalition has released its first compilation, aptly titled Connecticut Metal Coalition Volume One. Organizer Ryan Early told Alternative Control, “The CMC is intended to be an ever-evolving group of both established and up-and-coming local musicians with the common goal of promoting and advancing our scene as a whole entity. […] The compilation is mostly just a vehicle that we can use the promote the scene to newcomers. It’s certainly not an unheard-of idea, but the goal was to put together an eclectic collection of songs from CT indie bands across all genres of metal.”
Featured Artists:
Dread These Days
Murder Monday
Iblissian
Owl Maker
Piercing Immortality
Apostasy
Continuum
Enemy of Reason
Glass Divide
Condition Zero
Archaic Decapitator
The Shape
She Walks Without Legs
Cyperna
Physics of Demise
Italian metallers NEBULAE are ready to reveal details of what will be the band’s second full-length studio album. Titled “Pulse”, the nine-track album is set for release on the 18th October via Time To Kill Records.
Groove is clearly evident in the band’s style which however includes references to several metal genres, old and new. The album with its varied and intensively composed songs will surely appeal to fans of Gojira, Tesseract, Deftones, Jinjer and Klone.
“The new album has a mission: to make peace understood through a specific mantra ‘Listen. Understand. React.’ The title ‘Pulse’ – Impulse is the basis of all that animates us, of everything that makes us resist to events. It is the primary push to improve and evolve. The sequence of tracks into the album examines the unfolding over time of human experiences that lead the human being to evolve and fight, marked by everything he has faced and is still preparing to face”.
The record’s first single, “Removal”, is now streaming HERE and below:
Washington DC Crossover Thrashers RED DEATH are proud to announce their upcoming third studio album and Century Media Records debut “Sickness Divine” for a worldwide release on November 29th, 2019.
RED DEATH checked in with the following comment about “Sickness Divine”: “ This is the record we all wanted to collectively make and we feel good about what we did. Whatever aspects we liked from our past material have been fine tuned and amplified. Any new ideas we wanted to bring to the table fit perfectly and now has opened the door for future material. We wanted to create something unique for our time. A crossover record but one that fully establishes RED DEATH as just RED DEATH and nothing more. A fine balance between what we’ve done and what we needed to do. We started recording with Arthur Rizk in Philadelphia, PA around late May and finished up early August. We are gearing up to tour Europe with the CRO-MAGS as well as preparing ourselves for 2020 and beyond. We are beyond excited and can not wait to share what we’ve created with everyone!”
Look out for the launch of the album’s first single as well as the album’s pre-order starts to happen on September 27th, 2019.
Once more produced by Arthur Rizk (Power Trip, Sacred Reich) and with cover art – to be seen above – by Timbul Cahoyno (The Black Dahlia Murder, Nocturnus A.D.), “Sickness Divine” is a sledgehammer-to-the-skull riff-ride across its 10 annihilating tracks. Here is the standard track-listing for the release:
Red Death – Sickness Divine:
1. Sickness Divine
2. Face The Pain
3. Sword Without A Sheath
4. The Anvil’s Ring
5. Sheep May Unsafely Graze
6. Path Of Discipline
7. (Refuse To Be) Bound By Chains
8. Dreadful Perception
9. Ravage
10. Exhalation Of Decay
RED DEATH line-up: (From left to right – Photo by Angela Owens) Chad Troncale – vocals, bass Ace Mendoza – guitar Will Wagstaff – guitar Connor Donegan – drums
REVOCATION will kick off their North American co-headlining tour with Voivod this week with support provided by Psycroptic, Skeletal Remains, and Conjurer. The journey which will see the band play their latest album, The Outer Ones, in its smoldering entirety, runs from September 12th through October 12th and includes a performance at this year’s edition of Rock ‘N’ Shock in Worcester, Massachusetts with Eluveitie and Korpiklaani; as well as four special shows with Municipal Waste, Napalm Death, Sick Of It All, and Take Offense. See all confirmed dates below.
9/12/2019 La Source – Quebec City, QC
9/13/2019 Corona – Montreal, QC w/ Voivod, Psycroptic, Skeletal Remains, Conjurer:
9/14/2019 Opera House – Opera House – Toronto, ON
9/15/2019 The Loving Touch – Ferndale, MI
9/16/2019 Metro – Chicago, IL
9/17/2019 Fine Line – Minneapolis, MN
9/18/2019 Park Theatre – Winnipeg, MB
9/20/2019 Starlite – Edmonton, AB
9/21/2019 Dickens – Calgary, AB
9/23/2019 Rickshaw Theatre – Vancouver, BC
9/24/2019 Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR
9/25/2019 El Corazon – Seattle, WA
9/27/2019 Phoenix Theater – Petaluma, CA
9/28/2019 El Rey – Los Angeles, CA
9/29/2019 Brick By Brick – San Diego, CA
9/30/2019 Club Red – Phoenix, AZ
10/01/2019 Launch Pad – Albuquerque, NM
10/03/2019 Gas Monkey Live – Dallas, TX **
10/04/2019 Mohawk – Austin, TX **
10/05/2019 White Oak Music Hall – Houston, TX **
10/06/2019 Parish @ House Of Blues – New Orleans, LA
10/07/2019 Masquerade – Atlanta, GA **
10/09/2019 Soundstage – Baltimore, MD
10/10/2019 First Unitarian Church – Philadelphia, PA
10/11/2019 Rock ‘N’ Shock Festival @ Palladium, Worcester, MA #
10/12/2019 Brooklyn Bazaar – Brooklyn, NY
** Plus Municipal Waste, Napalm Death, Sick Of It All, Take Offense
# Plus Eluveitie, Korpiklaani
REVOCATION continues to tour in support of their latest full-length, The Outer Ones, released last September via Metal Blade Records. Produced by Zeuss (Rob Zombie, Queensrÿche, Whitechapel, etc.), The Outer Ones finds REVOCATION pushing both the death metal and progressive elements of their signature sound harder than ever. “I knew that I wanted to go in a darker direction, and this is our most death metal album to date,” states vocalist/guitarist Dave Davidson. “Sometimes when death metal bands go down the prog route, they lose some of that edge, but we wanted to keep the aggression at the forefront of what we do while still pushing our boundaries.”
GOATWHORE will return to the road this week for a short run of live dates with Cleveland metallic hardcore veterans Ringworm. Set to commence August 13th in Lubbock, Texas, the band’s latest stretch of shows – which includes an appearance at this year’s edition of Psycho Las Vegas with Electric Wizard, High On Fire, En Minor, Bad Religion, and more – will wind its way through ten cities upon its conclusion August 25th in Wichita, Kansas. Additionally, GOATWHORE will appear at VanFest 2019 in Lafayette, Louisiana September 28th and Brash Brewing Company’s fourth anniversary show in Houston, Texas October 5th with more shows to be announced in the coming weeks. See all confirmed dates below.
GOATWHORE w/ Ringworm:
8/13/2019 Jake’s Sports Cafe & Backroom – Lubbock, TX
8/14/2019 Launchpad – Albuquerque, NM
8/15/2019 The Green Room – Flagstaff, AZ
8/16/2019 Psycho Las Vegas @ Mandalay Bay Resort And Casino – Las Vegas, NV [tickets] * No Ringworm
8/19/2019 Paris Theatre – Portland, OR
8/20/2019 The Crocodile – Seattle, WA
8/21/2019 The Pin – Spokane, WA
8/23/2019 Ernie November – Cheyenne, WY
8/24/2019 The Black Sheep – Colorado Springs, CO
8/25/2019 Rock Island Live – Wichita, KS End Tour
9/28/2019 VanFest 2019 @ The Freetown Boom Boom Room – Lafayette, LA
10/05/2019 Brash Brewing Company – Houston, TX w/ Necrofier, Merkava, Moths
GOATWHORE is currently penning the follow-up to their unanimously acclaimed Vengeful Ascension full-length. Released in 2017 via Metal Blade Records. Vengeful Ascension was captured at Earth Analog in Tolono, Illinois with longtime soundman and comrade Jarrett Pritchard (1349, Gruesome, Wolvhammer, Nocturnus AD) and serves as the band’s highest charting album to date earning the #4 position on Billboard’s Heatseeker Chart, #6 on the Hard Rock Sales Chart, #11 on the Independent Chart, #16 on the Hard Rock Chart, #18 on the Rock Sales Chart, #49 on the Top 200 Current Albums Chart, and #59 on the Top 200 Chart upon its first week of release.
Italian Legendary Heavy Metallers SKANNERS are confirmed for Metal for Emergency Festival, taking place on August 4th in Bergamo, Italy! Free entrance. The festival will be headlined by ANTHRAX. Get more information here: http://www.metalforemergency.it
SKANNERS released their new album “Temptation” on April 26th in Europe via Self Distribuzione Milano and CODE 7 /Plastic Head UK for ALPHA OMEGA Records! The album is available for streaming and orders at:
Just recently SKANNERS unleashed a new video for the song “In Flammen 666”, taken from the band’s new album “Temptation”! Watch “In Flammen 666” video here:
Bolzano, Italy based heavy metal legends SKANNERS were formed in 1982. In 1986 they released the debut LP “Dirty Armada”, in Germany the band won widespread public approval and critical acclaim, becoming pioneers in the New Wave of Italian heavy metal. SKANNERS have shared stages with legends as DEEP PURPLE, IN FLAMES, SAVAGE, DARK FUNERAL, VADER, METAL CHURCH, GIRLSCHOOL, MOTORHEAD, HALLOWEEN, SAXON, MANOWAR, DIO, TWISTED SISTER and many others. SKANNERS’ latest, eighth album (CD/DVD) “Eins Zwei Drei Metal Party Live” came out in 2015 (dedicated to their former guitarist and founding member, Max Quinzio, who died in February of 2014). The band’s new album “Temptation” has been released in Europe on April 26th via Self Distribuzione Milano and CODE 7 /Plastic Head UK for ALPHA OMEGA Records!
5.17 – Lima, OH @ Groamy’s
5.18 – Hamtramck, MI @ The New Dodge Lounge
5.19 – Chicago, IL @ Live Wire Lounge
5.20 – Milwaukee, WI @ Miramar Theatre
5.21 – Duluth, MN @ The Red Herring Lounge
5.22 – Sioux Falls, SD @ Big’s Bar
5.23 – Denver, CO @ Herman’s Hideaway
5.25 – Pryor, OK @ Rocklahoma w/Korn
5.26 – Pryor, OK @ Rocklahoma w/Disturbed
5.27 – St.Louis, MO @ Fubar
5.28 – Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room
5.29 – Bloomington, IL @ Nightshop
5.30 – Indianapolis, IN @ State Street Pub
5.31 – Akron, OH @ Empire Concert Club
6.01 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Papa Pete’s w/Filth
6.02 – New Haven, IN @ Carl’s Tavern
6.04 – Kent, OH @ The Outpost w/Oceano, AngelMaker
6.05 – Pontiac, MI @ The Pike Room w/Oceano, Angelmaker
Horror Pain Gore Death Productions have signed Providence, Rhode Island’s thrashing Crossover D-Beat street metal maniacs HELL BENT and are set to release their debut album entitled Apocalyptic Lamentations June 14th on CD and Digital formats.
HELL BENT formed in 2015 consisting of current/past members of Dropdead, Ulcer, Paindriver, Straight to Hell, Neon Bitches and Hard Drug. The band performs an intense concoction of Crossover Thrash, Hardcore, D-Beat and Street Metal. Following up on their acclaimed self-titled EP from 2018, Apocalyptic Lamentations showcases more varied songwriting, bigger production and even more intensity than ever before.
The band has launched the premiere of album track “Welcome to the Dirt.” Check it out at youtu.be/kwDbx07GzHk or below:
HELL BENT take their name from legendary Speed/Thrash act Znöwhite, and pay homage by performing cover versions of “Sledgehammer” and “Hell Bent” on this album. Apocalyptic Lamentations was recorded at Black Heart Sound, mastered at Mammoth Sound Mastering and features the amazing artwork of the legendary Drew Elliott. For fans of Aura Noir, Blood Feast, Cryptic Slaughter, D.R.I., English Dogs, Impaled Nazarene, Possessed, Sacrifice, Sodom, Terrorizer, Wolfpack and Znöwhite
Catch HELL BENT live at Maryland Deathfest XVII, Sunday May 26th at Soundstage in Baltimore Maryland!
If you’re a band or musician and would like your music reviewed or be interviewed by Stone, please click the link under the “ALBUM REVIEWS ARCHIVES” section below!
Metal Odyssey's Rock, Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Hall of Fame! These Are The Rock And METAL Legends Wrongfully Ignored By "The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame"
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