Experimental Metal outfit IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT have released a new live record, ‘An Evening With Imperial Trumphant’ today (11/26) via Century Media Records. The new album was recorded last year at the infamous Slipper Room in New York City, and features tracks from the band’s previous two LPs, 2020’s ‘Alphaville’ and 2018’s ‘Vile Luxury’. To celebrate the release of their new live album, the band has released the second single/music video from the record. Fans can check out the video for “Chernobyl Blues” at the link found HERE .
The new live album, ‘An Evening With Imperial Triumphant’, is available here.
TRACKLIST: Side A Rotted Futures Atomic Age Chernobyl Blues
Side B Transmission To Mercury Swarming Opulence Cosmopolis
JOETOWN released his new single titled “Freightrain” on all streamable & downloadable platforms via Mindsnap Music / Von Artist Inc. and distributed by The Orchard / Sony. The single features special guests Matt Starr (Ace Frehley and Mr. Big) on drums, Jimi Bell (Autograph, Geezer Butler and House of Lords) on lead guitar and Mike Duda (WASP, Hookers and Blow) on bass. The song was produced & mixed by Joe Delaney and mastered by Steve Turnridge. In addition, he also released the official music video for the single that was shot and edited by Joe Delaney.
Mindsnap Music has recently put out the likes of Bomber Alley, Dead By Wednesday, OPUS (solo acoustic), Howland Hyatt (feat. Stet of Metal Church), Joey Concepcion and more!
With Joetown generally pissed-off about the state of affairs in America, “Freightrain” is an angry, boisterous rant that takes aim at those who pull the strings of power and influence. 2020 was, in his own words, a “fucked-up year” and with everything shut down, “Freightrain” was the first Joetown recording to be done remotely.
”As a guy who has always just assembled a bunch of great players in a big live room and hit record, this process was entirely different, but it worked out thanks to the players involved. Since I’ve done records with all of these cats before, it still felt natural and exciting. These guys are all old friends that happen to be world-renowned players,” says Mr. Town.
Matt Starr, drummer for Ace Frehley, Mr. Big and others, recorded often at the original Joetown Studios in the mid-late 90’s and is the drummer on the classic track “Curbside Sleeper” that appears on Joetown’s album Rock’n’Roll Man.
Matt says, “I learned long ago to always expect the unexpected when playing with Joe. ‘Freightrain’ was no exception. The twists and turns are fucking awesome and it’s a great song that I’m grateful to be a part of.”
Jimi Bell is the ultimate shredder and currently the guitarist in Autograph, but he also has a history with Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath, House of Lords and others. Jimi was actually Joe’s guitar teacher as a teenager. Previously, Jimi and Joe made a popular version of “Paradise City” by Guns N Roses that is on multiple G’n’R compilations.
“I’m truly honored that Joe asked me to play a solo on this track. We’ve been friends since the 80’s and I have always had the utmost respect for him as a guitarist, singer, song writer, engineer and producer. We’ve worked together before on a couple of records and it’s always been an incredible experience,” says Jimi.
Mike Duda is best known as the bassist from WASP since the early 90’s, along with being in Dizzy Reed’s Hookers and Blow. He has been close friends with Joe since high school and also appears on the album Rock’n’Roll Man.
“Joe is one of my oldest and dearest friends! I have the utmost respect for him as a musician, songwriter, producer, engineer and as a person! Every time he asks me to do a session I don’t walk, I run! ‘Freightrain’ is just another example of Joe’s awesome catalogue of work. Some of the most enjoyable moments of my career are working with Joe because I understand where he’s coming from and he understands where I’m coming from. Every time is an amazing creative journey,” adds Duda.
Joe’s other recent releases have been singing on Bomber Alley’s new single “We Get By” as well as vocals, lyrics and lead guitar on the album “Phoenix Rising” by the popular doom metal band Curse the Son.
PAUL GILBERT and The Players Club / Mascot Label Group have released Paul’s Christmas album TWAS on CD and digitally, LP to follow on December 10th. Amongst the dozen seasonal recordings, two are new compositions penned by Gilbert. View New Video For “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” below. Order/listen here: https://smarturl.it/PaulGilbert-Xmas
Gilbert offers: “The song starts with my most manic guitar trill. The band follows me as I bounce back and forth between freshly baked blues-rock riffs, and the classic “We Wish You” melody, all played through a swirling flanger. As we reach the 4 minute mark, my brain runs out of ideas, which is when the guitar solo really goes into full gear. Good tidings we have brought. Figgy pudding! Or at least rock and roll. Don’t go, until you get some! Merry Christmas!”
Gilbert shares, “Many will agree that in recent times, challenging events have been pouring down upon our heads like an Exploding Waterfall of Molasses. At least it sometimes feels like that to me. But while I was jamming Christmas songs with my friends, playing an assortment of red, green, and white Ibanez electric guitars, I felt like life was THE BEST. I hope that this music can put a smile on your face as well. Merry Christmas to all. And to all, a good night.”
The track listing features “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!,” “Frosty The Snowman,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “The Christmas Song,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “I Saw Three Ships,” “Every Christmas Has Love” (original), “Three Strings For Christmas” (original), “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” “Silver Bells,” and “Winter Wonderland.” On the Japanese release of TWAS, there will be a bonus track titled “Down the Chimney Blues” (original).
Photo credit: Jason Quigley
Gilbert offers, “Ten of the songs are classics. I was inspired by the Christmas recordings of Nat King Cole, Loretta Lynn, Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Ella Fitzgerald, and The Ventures. And of course, inspiration came from my guitar heroes, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Lifeson, Johnny Winter, Robin Trower, Frank Marino, Pat Travers, Jimi Hendrix, and Jimmy Page, to name a few. I also wrote some of my own new Christmas songs. As I have been doing recently, I begin with lyrics and a melody. Then I let my guitar take over, as it sings better than I do.”
He continues, “‘Three Strings for Christmas’ refers to the 3-string guitar that I used on my double-neck. I tune the strings in octaves, which allows me to play ridiculously fast arpeggios, and very little else (which is why I have a normally strung guitar for the other neck.) ‘Every Christmas Has Love’ was written quickly, inspired by my panic-driven mental state of album making. When I know that the recording sessions are coming, my brain shifts into survival mode, and melodies start popping out. Then I take all the chords I learned by listening to 70s AM radio, and build a song. The lyrics are nice too. I’ll be printing those in the liner notes of the album.”
Gilbert formed a band of Portland, Oregon’s finest jazz and blues musicians for these sessions. The players are Dan Balmer (guitar), Clay Giberson (keyboards), Timmer Blakely (bass), and Jimi Bott (drums). He reflects, “All brought supreme musical goodness to these arrangements and performances. They certainly steered me to make wiser musical choices than I would have made on my own. And as you will hear, my metal guitar instincts still breathe fire when they get the chance.” The album was recorded in Jimi Bott’s studio, who also engineered and mixed the recordings. The approach was to record two songs every day, for six days, delivering the collected body of work. Gilbert shares, “All songs were recorded live, although I think Jimi snuck some cowbell overdubs in. If anything should be added to a live track, I believe cowbell is the right choice.
Track list 1 Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! 2 Frosty the Snowman 3 Hark! The Herald Angels Sing 4 The Christmas Song 5 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 6 I Saw Three Ships 7 Every Christmas Has Love 8 Three Strings for Christmas 9 Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas 10 We Wish You a Merry Christmas 11 Silver Bells 12 Winter Wonderland
“Paramount to life is the acceptance of death, and to lead a life facing our inevitable end head-on”, says the band about “Revel In Fear”, the latest song taken from MASS WORSHIP’s upcoming album “Portal Tombs”, that is due for a release on February 4th, 2022.
In true DIY style the band has self-produced the video with their live guitarist Niklas Sandin, check out “Revel In Fear (Official Video)”:
Despite spending a big part of 2020-2021 locked inside, writing and recording new material, Stockholm based MASS WORSHIP did complete a highly successful tour in support of Polish death metal legends Vader. Meanwhile, MASS WORSHIP are primed and ready to unleash their second full-length assault. “Portal Tombs” is a terrifying but electrifying exploration of the gloomy depths of human nature: a monolithic manifestation of the musical force that is MASS WORSHIP. Drawing inspiration from bands such as At The Gates, Mastodon and Meshuggah, MASS WORSHIP could be likened to many bands, but somehow forge their musical identity into something exceptionally distinctive and transcendent, and with enough confidence and conviction to win over even the most orthodox fans of the genre.
You can also catch them on the following shows: 29.12.21 (SE) Stockholm – Slaktkyrkan (w/ LIK) 08.-11.06.22 (SE) Sölvesborg – Sweden Rock 14.-16.07.22 (SE) Gävle – Gefle Metal Festival
German thrash metal gods KREATOR will release a very special re-rissue of their 2001 masterpiece “Violent Revolution” for its 20th anniversary! This new edition of “Violent Revolution” is scheduled for a January 21, 2022 release through Nuclear Blast Records and it will include a huge selection of assorted live bootleg recordings, grouped together under the name “Bootleg Revolution.” The 20th anniversary edition of “Violent Revolution” will be available on various formats, including Digital Album, CD Jewelcase, CD Digipak, Double LP, Cassette and a Ltd. Edition 4LP+2CD Boxset, which will also include an exclusive KREATOR comic book called“Graphic Violence – Chapter 1.”
To give you a taste of the “Bootleg Revolution” material, which has been recorded in countries like Brazil, Korea and Istanbul & on German Festivals like Wacken and Waldrock – please check out the visualizer video for “Reconquering The Trone (Live In Istanbul)“:
01 Reconquering The Throne 02 The Patriarch 03 Violent Revolution 04 All Of The Same Blood 05 Servant In Heaven – King In Hell 06 Second Awakening 07 Ghetto War 08 Replicas Of Life 09 Slave Machinery 10 Bitter Sweet Revenge 11 Mind Of Fire 12 System Decay
Live Bonus Tracklist:
01 Violent Revolution (Live in Brazil) 02 Reconquering The Throne (Live in Brazil) 03 Extreme Aggression (Live in Korea) 04 People Of The Lie (Live in Korea) 05 All Of The Same Blood (Live in Korea) 06 Phobia (Live In Korea) 07 Pleasure To Kill (Live in Korea) 08 Renewal (Live in Korea) 09 Servant In Heaven – King In Hell (Live Brazil) 10 Terrible Certainty (Live in Korea) 11 Riot Of Violence (Live in Korea) 12 Terrorzone (Live in Brazil) 13 Betrayer (Live in Brazil) 14 Lost (Live in Brazil) 15 Coma Of Souls (Live in Brazil) 16 Flag Of Hate (Live at Wacken) 17 Tormentor (Live at Wacken)
“Bootleg Revolution” Tracklist:
01 Violent Revolution (Live in Brazil) 02 Reconquering The Throne (Live in Brazil) 03 Extreme Aggression (Live in Korea) 04 People Of The Lie (Live in Korea) 05 All Of The Same Blood (Live in Korea) 06 Phobia (Live In Korea) 07 Pleasure To Kill (Live in Korea) 08 Renewal (Live in Korea) 09 Servant In Heaven – King In Hell (Live Brazil) 10 Terrible Certainty (Live in Korea) 11 Riot Of Violence (Live in Korea) 12 Terrorzone (Live in Brazil) 13 Betrayer (Live in Brazil) 14 Lost (Live in Brazil) 15 Coma Of Souls (Live in Brazil) 16 Flag Of Hate (Live at Wacken) 17 Tormentor (Live at Wacken) 18 Violent Revolution (Live in Istanbul) 19 Reconquering The Throne (Live in Istanbul) 20 Extreme Aggression (Live in Istanbul) 21 People Of The Lie (Live in Istanbul) 22 All Of The Same Blood (Live in Istanbul) 23 Phobia (Live in Istanbul) 24 Servant In Heaven – King In Hell (Live in Istanbul) 25 Terrible Certainty (Live in Istanbul) 26 Riot Of Violence (Live in Istanbul) 27 Betrayer (Live in Istanbul) 28 Flag Of Hate (Live in Istanbul) 29 Tormentor (Live in Istanbul) 30 The Patriarch (Live at Waldrock) 31 Violent Revolution (Live at Waldrock) 32 Reconquering The Throne (Live at Waldrock) 33 Extreme Aggression (Live at Waldrock) 34 People Of The Lie (Live at Waldrock) 35 All Of The Same Blood (Live at Waldrock) 36 Phobia (Live at Waldrock) 37 Pleasure To Kill (Live at Waldrock) 38 Renewal (Live at Waldrock) 39 Servant In Heaven – King In Hell (Live at Waldrock) 40 Flag Of Hate (Live at Waldrock) 41 Tormentor (Live at Waldrock)
As the 21st century was born, so Kreator underwent what was nothing less than a seismic creative rebirth. By this time, the iconic German band had released nine studio albums in the 1980s and ’90s, which had established them as one of the most important metal names of these decades.In the first period, they had helped to shape and pioneer the thrash scene through such releases as ‘Pleasure To Kill’ (1986), ‘TerribleCertainty’ (’87) and ‘Extreme Aggression’ (’89). During the following decade, the band had opened up exciting horizons of experimentation on albums like ‘Coma Of Souls’ (1990), ‘Renewal’ (’92) and ‘Endorama'(’99). Now, though, it was time to move into a fresh era, as vocalist/guitarist Mille Petrozza explains. “During the 1990s, we were definitely experimenting with what the band were doing. But (drummer) Ventor and I decided that for this album – our first of the new millennium – we wanted to go back to the sort of sound that we had at the start of Kreator. In other words, to get back to the reason why we began the band in the first place.”
There were some significant changes for this album, one being the fact that the band signed to SPV/Steamhammer. There was also new guitarist introduced, as Sami Yli-Sirniö (who had made his reputation with Finnish band Waltari) took over from Tommy Vetterli. The latter (also known as Tommy T. Baron) had joined in 1996 and played on the ‘Oucast’ (1997) and ‘Endorama’ albums.
As usual, it was Petrozza who did all the writing for the album.
The producer for this album was Andy Sneap, who was now making a name for himself as one of the pre-eminent masters of this art in the modern metal world. Pre-production was done in Essen at KKS Studios, before the band went to Area 51 Studios in Celle, near Hamburg where they recorded the drum and bass (handled by Christian Giesler)
The album title came from something Petrozza had read. “In a book I came across a comment that John F. Kennedy said (in 1962). This was: “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable”. I thought ‘Violent Revolution’ would make a good title for an album. So, I kept it in my mind for this record. I think ‘Violent Revolution’ is a title that makes a real impact.
For the cover, Kreator turned to Andreas Marschall, who had done such a striking job on 1990’s ‘Coma Of Souls’ album sleeve.
‘Violent Revolution’ was released in September 2001, and became the band’s highest charting album to that point in Germany, as it reached number 38. “We knew we had a good album, so in that way it wasn’t a surprise to see this do so well in the chart. But however good you might think your album is, you can never be certain how people will react to what you’ve done, and whether you can pick up new fans, as well as satisfy the older ones. So, I suppose there was an element of us being pleasantly surprised when we got into the Top 40 for the first time. But I have to give a lot of credit to our label. They knew exactly how to market and promote the album, and showed we had made the right choice in signing to them.”
‘Violent Revolution’ is without question an excellent album. While in some ways it does hark back to the glories of the band’s earlier days, nonetheless it does not sound at all nostalgic. The performances and production values are very much part of the contemporary era, and the strength of the compositions themselves are of the highest values. Rising to the challenge offered by a new generation of ambitious metal bands, Kreator proved they were far from being a spent force. Unlike so many of their peers, here was a band who still had so much creativity to offer, and were also clearly excited themselves by what they were doing. And when you hear the band themselves enjoying the entire process, then you know this is a bona fide revitalisation.
“I feel this is one of our strongest albums,” says Petrozza with conviction. “We took what we’d done on ‘Coma Of Souls’ and ‘Extreme Aggression’ but this wasn’t a case of repeating it. No, we added in modern metal elements to the sound as well. It was a new era for Kreator. A rebirth if you want to put it that way. And the start of what I would call our second career.”
KREATOR Live 2022
9th Apr – Russia – MOSCOW – Mainstage 11th Apr – Russia – NOVOSIBIRSK – Podzemka 13th Apr – Russia – YEKATERINBURG – Tele Club 15th Apr – Russia – ST. PETERSBURG – A2 Green Concert 17th Apr – Norway – OSLO – Rockefeller 2nd Jun – Czechia – METALFEST OPEN AIR 24th Jun – France – HELLFEST 26th Jun – Italy – ROCK THE CASTLE 30th Jun – Portugal – VOA HEAVY ROCK FESTIVAL 14th-18th Aug – Greece – HAMMERSHIP CRUISE 18th-21st Aug – France – MOTOCULTOR FESTIVAL 20th-21st Aug – Netherlands – DYNAMO METAL FEST 23rd Sep – Mexico – MEXICO METAL FEST
KREATOR will embark on a European co-headline tour alongside LAMB OF GOD in November & December 2022.
State Of Unrest Tour 2022 KREATOR | LAMB OF GOD with guests: Thy Art is Murder & Gatecreeper
18th Nov – Denmark – COPENHAGEN Forum Black Box 19th Nov – Sweden – STOCKHOLM Fryshuset Arenan 21st Nov – Finland – OULU Teatria 22nd Nov – Finland – HELSINKI Ice Hall Black Box 24th Nov – Poland – WARSAW Stodola 26th Nov – Germany – MUNICH Zenith 27th Nov – Germany – BERLIN Columbiahalle 29th Nov – Netherlands – TILBURG O13 30th Nov – Belgium – BRUSSELS AB 2nd Dec – Germany – LUDWIGSBURG MHP Arena 3rd Dec – Germany – ESSEN Grugahalle 4th Dec – Germany – SAARBRÜCKEN Saarlandhalle 6th Dec – Spain – MADRID Riviera 7th Dec – Spain – BARCELONA Razzmatazz 9th Dec – Germany – WIESBADEN Schlachthof 10th Dec – Germany – HAMBURG Edel Optics Arena 11th Dec – Germany – LEIPZIG Haus Auensee 20th Dec – France – PARIS L’Olympia 21st Dec – Switzerland – ZURICH Samsung Hall
The wait is over! The newest addition to the HYPOCRISY catalog, WORSHIP, is released via Nuclear Blast Records. The band offers fans the music video for the title track “Worship”. Watch the video which was drawn and animated by Costin Chioreanu and includes performance footage shot and edited by Tommy Jones, below.
Peter Tägtgren comments, “Finally the time is here, our new album in 8 years. We’re very proud and happy with the result. Hope you all enjoy it.“
It has been 8 long years since the last record, and HYPOCRISY fans can feel the itch. WORSHIP is 11 tracks of precise, ferocious musicianship. Commonly inspired by the fusion of the modern and the ancient, HYPOCRISY has once more found a way to combine innovative ideas with classic sound in order to deliver something metalheads can enjoyably consume with awe and brutal vigor. As usual, all recording and mixing took place at Tägtgren’s Abyss Studio AB in Sweden while mastering was completed by Svante Forsbäck at Chartmakers Audio Mastering. Designed by artist Blake Armstrong (KATAKLYSM, IN FLAMES, CARNIFEX, etc.), WORSHIP’s artwork speaks to the history of the relationship between humanity and extraterrestrials.
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 