Ten years ago, Southern California's EXMORTUS released its debut album, "In Hatred's Flame". The group's beginnings were under the guise of a blistering and bludgeoning death metal act, though with guitar work that was a bit flashier than other bands of its ilk. Shortly after the release of that album, then-vocalist/guitarist Balmore (now a member ...
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At this past weekend's Rockfest festival in Hyvinkää, Finland, MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine spoke to Kaaos TV about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's follow-up to 2016's "Dystopia" album. The upcoming effort will mark the group's first release to feature drummer Dirk Verbeuren, who officially joined the band two years ...
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Mark Strigl and Mitch Lafon of the "Mark & Mitch Show" conducted an interview with Y&T frontman Dave Meniketti at this year's M3 Rock Festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. You can watch the entire chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On the idea behind the band's recent "Acoustic ...
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Legendary German guitarist Uli Jon Roth has been forced to postpone his previously announced North American tour due to visa issues. The trek, which was schedule to kick off in late May, was slated to celebrate a rare triple anniversary: * 40th anniversary of SCORPIONS' "Tokyo Tapes" * 40th anniversary of the birth of ELECTRIC ...
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Prior to SONS OF APOLLO's recent performance in Denver, Colorado, drummer Mike Portnoy spoke with Front Roe Joe of That Just Happened. The full conversation can be viewed below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On turning 51 during SONS OF APOLLO's current tour: Mike: "We did nothing special. My 50th ...
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Legendary hard rock vocalist Joe Lynn Turner's SUNSTORM project will release its fifth album, "The Road To Hell", on June 8 via Frontiers Music Srl. The official lyric video for the second single from the effort, the "The Road To Hell" title track, can be seen below. Any hardcore fan of hard rock will certainly ...
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Luxi Lahtinen of The Metal Crypt recently conducted an interview with RAINBOW and STRATOVARIUS keyboardist Jens Johansson. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. The Metal Crypt: I assume it feels great to be on tour with RAINBOW, right? Jens: "It's a very good feeling and it is really nice to ...
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DIO DISCIPLES, which pays tribute to Ronnie James Dio and is fully supported by Dio's widow/manager Wendy, has already written four songs for its upcoming debut album, which is tentatively due next year via BMG. DIO DISCIPLES is made up of former members of DIO, along with a rotating lineup of vocalists, including ex-JUDAS PRIEST ...
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DIO DISCIPLES, which pays tribute to Ronnie James Dio and is fully supported by Dio's widow/manager Wendy, is about to sign a deal with BMG for the release of the band's debut album. DIO DISCIPLES is made up of former members of DIO, along with a rotating lineup of vocalists, including ex-JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim ...
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SOTO — the metallic hard rock group led by namesake vocalist Jeff Scott Soto (SONS OF APOLLO, W.E.T.) — has announced the addition of bassist Tony Dickinson (TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA). Dickinson — who co-wrote a pair of songs that appeared on previous SOTO releases — replaces David "Dave Z" Zablidowsky, who died last year in a ...
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Vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN), guitarist Glen Drover (MEGADETH, KING DIAMOND, TESTAMENT, EIDOLON), drummer Shawn Drover (MEGADETH, ACT OF DEFIANCE, EIDOLON) and bassist Adrian Robichaud (EIDOLON) joined forces to perform heavy metal classics under the A NIGHT OF METAL banner on April 12 at Piranha Bar in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ...
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Legendary hard rock vocalist Joe Lynn Turner's SUNSTORM project will release its fifth album, "The Road To Hell", on June 8 via Frontiers Music Srl. The first single from the effort, "Only The Good Will Survive", can be streamed below. Any hardcore fan of hard rock will certainly be no stranger to the story of ...
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Guitarist Nita Strauss (ALICE COOPER, WE START WARS) was recently interviewed by Sweetwater's Nick Bowcott. The full conversation can be seen below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): On what motivates her: Nita: "I guess sheer force of will and stubbornness. I've never met a girl in my life that wasn't pretty stubborn ...
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Although his impressive resume boasts stints with JOURNEY, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN'S RISING FORCE and Roger Taylor's QUEEN EXTRAVAGANZA, to say nothing of a discography that numbers into three digits, it wasn't until recent years that the profile of Jeff Scott Soto has grown to match his considerable vocal talents. Perhaps that's because, with the possible exception ...
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Tara Lynch (a.k.a. "Gui-Tara") is a guitarist, composer, vocalist and songwriter who delivers heavy metal thunder with prominent melodic guitar riffs, shredding leads and powerhouse vocals. She will release her debut album, "Evil Enough", on April 13. "Evil Enough" is a melodic metal album featuring Lynch on all guitars and vocals along with an all-star ...
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SONS OF APOLLO vocalist Jeff Scott Soto was recently interviewed by Sonic Perspectives. The full conversation can be streamed below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): On whether he was surprised to be asked by Mike Portnoy to join SONS OF APOLLO soon after his band SOTO toured with THE WINERY ...
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Jeff Scott Soto says that he would "love" to rekindle his friendship with Yngwie Malmsteen. Soto, who sang on Yngwie's first two albums, 1984's "Rising Force" and 1985's "Marching Out", last year engaged in a war of words with the Swedish guitarist over the fact that Malmsteen claimed in an interview that he "always wrote ...
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A NEW REVENGE (formerly PROJECT ROCK and ROCKSTAR) — the band featuring former members of JUDAS PRIEST, ALICE COOPER, OZZY OSBOURNE and SCORPIONS — has inked a deal with Australia's fastest-growing independent record label Golden Robot Records. The group's debut album will be released later this year. A NEW REVENGE features one of the finest ...
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Former DREAM THEATER and current SONS OF APOLLO and METAL ALLEGIANCE drummer Mike Portnoy was recently interviewed by Anne Erickson. You can now listen to the chat below. Asked for his opinion on the state of the current heavy metal scene, Portnoy said: "I think metal is bigger and better than ever. It went through ...
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Quality multi-camera video footage of legendary hard rock singer Joe Lynn Turner's (RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) January 19 performance at the Token Lounge in Westland, Michigan can be seen below (clips edited and produced by George S Pogacich and Ken Kitt). Turner last year slammed Ritchie Blackmore for the guitarist's decision to go out ...
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SONS OF APOLLO, the "supergroup" featuring former DREAM THEATER members Mike Portnoy and Derek Sherinian alongside Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (ex-GUNS N' ROSES), Billy Sheehan (THE WINERY DOGS, MR. BIG, DAVID LEE ROTH) and Jeff Scott Soto (ex-JOURNEY, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN'S RISING FORCE), made its live debut on February 3 as part of the Cruise To The ...
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"Fade Away", the new video from CLOCKWORK REVOLUTION, the band featuring former members of YNGWIE MALMSTEEN'S RISING FORCE, CRIMSON GLORY and KAMELOT, can be seen below. The song is taken from CLOCKWORK REVOLUTION's self-titled debut album, which was released last September via Sonic Night Music Club. Formed at the end of 2015, CLOCKWORK REVOLUTION's debut ...
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Mike Portnoy says that it's "sad to see" RUSH come to an end but he believes that the legendary Canadian rock band deserves respect for "going out on top." RUSH guitarist Alex Lifeson recently said that his band has no plans to tour or record again in the future. His comments came two years after ...
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Guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani says his long-running "G3" tour was created because success had isolated him from his fellow musicians. The tour, which launched in 1996 with Satriani along with Eric Johnson and Steve Vai, has since showcased some of rock's best guitarists, including John Petrucci (DREAM THEATER), Steve Morse (DEEP PURPLE), Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul ...
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Calin Pacatius of Radio Romania Timisoara conducted an interview with Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal prior to the former GUNS N' ROSES and current SONS OF APOLLO guitarist's November 23 solo concert at Reflektor in Timisoara, Romania. You can watch the entire chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On his evolution as a musician ...
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Drummer Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER, SONS OF APOLLO, THE WINERY DOGS) was recently interviewed by "Rock City Radio Show Berlin". You can now listen to the chat using the Mixcloud widget below. Asked when he realized that he wanted to be more than just a musician in the background and that he also had a ...
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Legendary rock producer Chris Tsangarides passed away early this morning (Sunday, January 7) after reportedly being taken ill at the start of the year. According to his daughter Anastasia Tsangarides, Chris was battling pneumonia and heart failure at the time of his death. He was 61 years old. The British Grammy-nominated record producer, sound engineer, ...
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Drummer Mike Portnoy (SONS OF APOLLO, ex-DREAM THEATER) was recently interviewed by Let's Rock. The full conversation can be streamed below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET and Korea Guitar): On why SONS OF APOLLO wasn't formed sooner: Mike: "[Keyboardist] Derek [Sherinian] and myself, along with [bassist] Billy Sheehan and [guitarist] Tony MacAlpine, ...
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EMP Label Group, the U.S.-based label of MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson, has announced the formation of EMP Outlaw, a southern rock/outlaw country imprint. EMP Outlaw will reissue "Metal Cowboy", the 2014 independent release from STEELER/KEEL vocalist Ron Keel, on March 2. 2018 will also see the studio debut from RON KEEL BAND, the highly anticipated ...
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Fan-filmed video footage of former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal's December 23 performance at The Rock Box in San Antonio, Texas can be seen below. Thal recently said that he agonized over his decision to leave GUNS N' ROSES three years ago, explaining that he "wanted it to be something that [he] knew ...
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