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Avatar Share Update from the Road: New Tour Dates!

The heavy metal ‘n’ roll, dark, madcap visionaries collectively known as AVATAR — vocalist Johannes Eckerström (vocals), guitarists Jonas Jarlsby and Tim Öhrström, bassist Henrik Sandelin, and drummer John Alfredsson — have emerged from deep within the Swedish forest in which they have been working on their ninth album to go on tour!

Additionally, Avatar have announced a handful of South American dates with Iron Maiden. See the graphic below for more info.

The band is criss-crossing North America, is headed to Europe, and has offered the following update from the road and about the new album.

“I guess this is what they mean about coming back with a vengeance. We are tearing up North America with a fury that simply couldn’t be done in the past two years. Then, we will go straight from here back to Europe and do the same thing there. So many places we haven’t seen in a long time will once again belong to us. We are making up for lost time, going feral in the process.

“This would all have been plenty on its own, but there is more. Sweden is Iron Maiden country. They have molded us like few others, and that goes for Avatar as much as it goes for the entire Swedish scene in the last four decades. That being said, we always knew about another place where they are just as crazy for our heroes as we are. There seems to be a Swedish law that every rehearse room needs to have the Rock In Rio poster up. Brazil has always been a dream destination. We have always known that we would find brothers and sister there. The fact that our first trip there will be together with Iron Maiden is almost too much to take in.

“All this is going on while we are in the late stages of mixing our next studio album, and it’s so potent that we most likely are cursing our souls for all time. We will make you see the devil, and we will make you dance.”

AVATAR ON TOUR:
WITH LIGHT THE TORCH + OTEP:

7/13 — Indianapolis, IN — Deluxe 
7/14 — Cadott, WI — Cadot Rockfest*
7/15 — Grand Rapids, MI — Upheaval Festival*
7/16 — Mansfield, OH — Inkcarceration Festival*
7/17 — Knoxville, TN — Concourse
7/19 — Charlotte, NC — The Underground
7/20 — Louisville, KY — Mercury Ballroom
7/22 — Fargo, ND — Outdoors at Fargo Brewing
7/24 — Calgary, AB — The Palace
7/25 — Edmonton, AB — Midway Bar
7/27 — Vancouver, BC — The Vogue
7/29 — Sacramento, CA — Ace of Spades**
7/30 — Santa Ana, CA — Observatory
7/31 — Tucson, AZ — Rialto Theatre
*Festival Dates
**Sold Out

IN EUROPE:
8/9 — Jerome, CZ — Brutal Assault^
8/11 — Edinburgh, UK — Liquid Room
8/12 — Derbyshire, UK — Bloodstock Festival^ 
8/13 — Oxford, UK — O2 Academy Oxford
8/16 — Bochum, DE — Zeche 
8/17 — Frankfurt, DE — Das Bett
8/18 — Dinkelsb, DE — Summer Breeze Open Air^
8/20 — Budapest, HU — Barba Negra*
8/23 — Krakau, PL — Tauron Arena*
8/24 — Bratislava, SL — Aegon Arena*
8/25 — Prague, CZ — O2 Arena*
 *Supporting Sabaton
^Festival

WITH IRON MAIDEN:
8/27 — Pedreira — Curitiba
8/30 — Arena Eurobike — Ribeirão Preto
9/4 — Estadio Do Morumbi — São Paolo

Last fall, Avatar, who are known to smash the boundaries between band, theater troupe, and cinematic masterminds with a series of celebrated albums and videos, and the immersive world of Avatar Country, a fantastical land where metal rules supreme, released four new songs. Avatar also previously announced they signed to Thirty Tigers and have launched their own Black Waltz Records imprint. 

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Rage Against The Machine And The Battle Of Chicago

The return of Rage Against The Machine has finally seen the light of day. Originally scheduled in 2020 and delayed like most events in the world, RATM made their return with their first arena performance in over a decade at United Center in Chicago, IL.

It’s hard to sum up just how much of a celebration this felt like. The tour was specifically designed to reflect current social problems from healthcare and immigration to the recent Supreme Court decisions that led to the band performing in front of messages like “Abort The Supreme Court” through the night.

The energy was chaotic at points, with Zach hurting his leg somehow not even half way through the set and having to perform the rest of the night sitting down. The crowd didn’t seem to mind. In fact, anyone walking in during the set would never have known something was wrong. United Center had arguably the most energetic and lively floor section at any arena show I’ve ever seen.

This show was personal for me. Rage was the band that got me into heavy music originally when I saw the music video for “Guerilla Radio” on MTV as a child. I then looked up stations in my area that played the song and was hooked since. Rage was my gateway to something I loved. It took me this long to finally see the band live and hear many of the songs I thought were held back in the 90’s.

The music is as timely and poignant as ever. Tom Morello is still obliterating guitar strings and effortlessly creating something most guitarists can’t even dream of. Hearing Tim C and Brad Wilk crush the beat with so much energy made me re-appreciate how much they contribute. Seeing Zach’s face when he realizes this is something special and knowing the live audience is on the same page as him is a look I may never forget.

Setlist:
Bombtrack
People of the Sun
Bulls on Parade
Bullet in the Head
Testify (with “Revolver” intro)
Tire Me
Wake Up
Guerrilla Radio
Down Rodeo
Know Your Enemy
Calm Like a Bomb
Sleep Now in the Fire
War Within a Breath
The Ghost of Tom Joad
Freedom
Killing in the Name

RATM is touring with Run The Jewels who stated that they were just excited to see Rage Against The Machine live as much as the crowd was. Killer Mike said that there is proof out there that rock and rap have more in common than people give credit. An entire audience chanting “RTJ” helped prove that.

You can find more information on upcoming tour dates on the band’s socials and IG post below.

All photos taken by Luke Spencer
on July 12th, 2022 at United Center
in Chicago, Illinois.

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Beartooth Share Video for New Single “Riptide”

Gold-certified, Columbus, Ohio rock band BEARTOOTH have once again thrilled fans with a surprise release. The band has just shared the video for the brand new and previously unannounced single “Riptide.” Watch it here.

“‘Riptide’ is about trying to start a new chapter in life and trying to stop focusing on all of the negative things that have been surrounding my life for quite some time and me focusing on being healthier, happier, and having a better time with my life,” explains frontman Caleb Shomo.

The song represents a new chapter for Shomo… and for Beartooth.

The band Forbes declared is “inching towards a tipping point of becoming the latest arena headliner” takes a step closer with “Riptide.” BEARTOOTH’s 2022 anthem sees Caleb Shomo put the pain of the past in the rearview mirror as he takes the steering wheel from fate to command his own destiny.   The furiously courageous (almost unnervingly optimistic) song of self-empowerment is a victory lap. “Riptide” memorializes the struggle with mental health and self-acceptance, which has defined so much of BEARTOOTH since its inception. Shomo started this band in his basement, playing all the instruments to challenge and purge inner darkness, purely for himself at first. As the band he assembled to play the songs traveled, they discovered how many people recognized the same demons. 

As Kerrang! observed, “Caleb Shomo is one of his generation’s most remarkable songwriters.” It’s a testament to the purity of intention manifested by the multi-instrumentalist from the start.

Songs like “The Past is Dead,” “Fed Up,” and “In Between” have pushed BEARTOOTH past 850 million streams. The band’s fourth album, Below, topped the Rock, Hard Music, and Alternative charts in 2021 and found its way into Best Rock/Metal Albums of the Year lists assembled by the likes of RevolverRock SoundKerrang!, LoudwireKnotfest, and a slew of like-minded media outlets. The band also graced it first Revolver cover in Summer 2021.

Rolling Stone introduced BEARTOOTH as one of 10 New Artists You Need To Know, and they rightly described the sound as “like a nervous breakdown, usually with enough optimism to push through.” As the band grew (grabbing trophies at genre events like the Golden Gods and Loudwire Awards), the raw nerve simply became more exposed, sounding wilder yet accessible all at once.  

Steadily, without pretension, the fearlessly determined and boundlessly creative Ohio-based powerhouse perfected a sound sought by a generation of bands, equal parts solitary musical confession and celebratory exorcism. Their marriage of colossally catchy choruses and post-hardcore-soaked-in-sweaty-metal is without rival. Its effect is evident by their deeply engaged audience; tours with Slipknot, Bring Me The Horizon, and A Day To Remember; and an RIAA-certified gold plaque. 

BEARTOOTH are both bomb and balm. An outright refusal to suffer in silence, BEARTOOTH weaponizes radio-ready bombast to deliver raw emotion mixed with noise-rock chaos. Other bands play the “devastating riffs and catchy hooks” game, but for BEARTOOTH, this music is the difference between life and death. As easygoing, charming, and outgoing as these young men may appear, there’s an inner turmoil churning away, only satiated by the savage music they perform onstage. 

Hard rock and hardcore combine in a way that’s smart, lean, melodic, and irresistible, without apology. The stadium-sized type of riffs found in Metallica and the explosive passion of The Used are equally at home. Back in Black was the first album Shomo ever bought with his own money, and the straight-to-the-point stomp of AC/DC’s masterpiece remains entrenched in the BEARTOOTH backbone. Motörhead’s fast-paced groove and “let it rip” attitude is another part of the anatomy. 

Like Nine Inch Nails and early Foo Fighters, BEARTOOTH is a one-person band in the studio, written, arranged, engineered, produced, mixed, and mastered by Shomo. The 2013 Sick EP was an emotionally stranded Shomo’s “message in a bottle,” tossed into a figurative ocean. The message was received, and the throngs of like-minded people who responded became his lifeboat. Disgusting (2014), Aggressive (2016), Disease (2018), and Below (2021) expanded those themes of desperation, each sonically getting a step closer to the magical balance between the blood, sweat, and tears of classic recordings and the smooth gloss of modern production. “Riptide” is a challenge to shake loose the confines of past trauma and self-loathing and blaze a trail toward better days ahead.

In 2022, Shomo speaks openly about his mental, physical, and emotional repair, after a lifetime of fighting depression, anxiety, and doubt. “Riptide” celebrates newfound clarity, with stark honesty. It’s a torch lighting the way for the next era of BEARTOOTH, and a promise of bigger things to come. 

BEARTOOTH offer no cure. But the recovery comes in the process; the journey is the destination. As long as the dueling dichotomy of mental health anguish and cathartic creative expression remain bound together, Shomo and his mates will continue to white-knuckle the wheel. So, enjoy the ride. 

Beartooth will head out on the road this summer with A Day to Remember. All dates are below.

BEARTOOTH ON TOUR:
WITH A DAY TO REMEMBER:

7/27 — Baltimore, MD — MECU Pavilion 
7/29 — Cleveland, OH — Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica 
7/30 — Toronto, ON — RBC Echo Beach
7/31 — Quebec City, QC — Agora Outdoors 
8/2 — Providence, RI — Bold Point Park
8/3 — Bangor, ME — Maine Savings Amphitheater 
8/6 — Columbus, OH — KEMBA Live!*
8/7 — Asbury Park, NJ — Stone Pony Summer Stage
8/9 — Pittsburgh, PA — Stage AE
8/11 — Chattanooga, TN — Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Auditorium 
8/12 — Maryland Heights, MO — St. Louis Music Park
8/14 — Council Bluffs, IA — Stir Cove
8/16 — Cedar Rapids, IA — McGrath Amphitheater
8/17 — Oshkosh, WI — Oshkosh Arena
8/20 — Wichita, KS — The Wave
8/21 — Bonner Springs, KS — Azura Amphitheater
8/23 — Indianapolis, IN — TCU Amphitheater 
8/24 — Pikeville, KY — Appalachian Wirleless Arena
8/26 — Simpsonville, SC — Heritage Park Amphitheater 
8/27 — Portsmouth, VA — Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion
*Beartooth Headline Date

FESTIVAL DATE:
10/8 — Sacramento, CA — Aftershock

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Stick to Your Guns Share Video for New Single “Hush”

Orange County, California hardcore band Stick to Your Guns will drop their new album Spectre, out July 29 via Pure Noise Records. Pre-order it here.

Today, the band has shared the video for the crackling new song “Hush,” which can double as a powerful history lesson for the listener. So pay attention.

Stick to Your Guns also announced their upcoming headline North American tour. It kicks off on September 1 and runs through October 1. All dates are below. Get tickets here.

SPECTRE TRACK LISTING:
“(My Heart Is A…)”
Weapon
“Who Dares”
“Hush”
“A World to Win”
“Open Up My Head”
“Liberate”
“The Shine”
“Instruments of The End”
“Father”
“More of Us Than Them”
“No Way To Live”

STICK TO YOUR GUNS ON TOUR:
WITH KUBLAI KHAN, BELMONT, KOYO, + FOREIGN HANDS:

9/1 — Roseville, CA — Goldfield Trading Post
9/2 — Portland, OR — Bossanova
9/3 — Seattle, WA — El Corazon
9/5 — Salt Lake City, UT — Soundwell
9/6 — Denver, CO — The Oriental Theater
9/7 — Lawrence, KS — Granada Theater
9/8 — Chicago, IL — House of Blues
9/9 — Louisville, KY — Portal
9/10 — Alton, VA — Blue Ridge Rock Fest
9/11 — Philadelphia, PA — Underground Arts
9/12 — Baltimore, MD — Baltimore Sound Stage
9/13 — New York, NY — Irving Plaza
9/14 — Worcester, MA — The Palladium
9/15 — Toronto, ON — Opera House
9/16 — Montreal, QC — Le Studio TD
9/17 — Quebec City, QC — Envol & Macadam Fest
9/20 — Columbia, SC — New Brookland Tavern
9/21 — Orlando, FL — The Abbey
9/22 — Jacksonville, FL — Underbelly
9/23 — Tampa, FL — The Orpheum
9/25 — Birmingham, AL — Furnace Fest
9/27 — Austin, TX — Mohawk
9/28 — Dallas, TX — Amplified Live
9/30 — Mesa, AZ — The Nile
10/1 — Anaheim, CA — House of Blues

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The Mars Volta Release New Song “Graveyard Love”

The Mars Volta have released a new single and short film for “Graveyard Love” out now. The song follows the announcement of the band’s return after a decade long hiatus and the release of “Blacklight Shine”. 

“They will seek your ruin, and burn your lands, because if they can’t have you, no one can,” explains Cedric Bixler-Zavala on the lyrics of the new song. “Graveyard Love”, much like “Blacklight Shine” invites the listener to hear the bigger picture. Swarming synths envelope the song like vines, diving deeper into the story The Mars Volta continue to tell.

The band recently announced an online version of ‘L’YTOME HODORXÍ TELESTERION’, an online version of the #VOLTACUBE that mysteriously appeared in Los Angeles’ Grand Park. Inside of ‘L’YTOME HODORXÍ TELESTERION’ visitors were taken on a full, immersive journey to outer space, and where “Blacklight Shine” was heard for the first time by the public. The experience inside was intended to provoke self-reflection, with the single guiding fans on a journey through endless galaxies and back down to earth, to oneself. The experience, which includes a virtual scavenger hunt for hidden treasures in your city, can be found at this link: http://lytomehodorxitelesterion.com. #VOLTACUBE

The Mars Volta announced their first live shows in ten years. Dates have been added to select cities due to overwhelming demand. Today, the band has added a new date on October 9 at The Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, WI. Tickets for that date will go on sale today at noon local time.

Tickets can be found at: www.themarsvoltaofficial.com

The Mars Volta Tour Dates

September 22 – The Factory in Deep Ellum – Dallas, TX
September 23 – The Factory in Deep Ellum – Dallas, TX – SOLD OUT
September 25 – Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA – SOLD OUT
September 27 – The Metropolitan Opera House – Philadelphia, PA- SOLD OUT
September 29 – Terminal 5 – New York, NY – SOLD OUT
September 30 – Terminal 5 – New York, NY – SOLD OUT
October 1 – MGM Music Hall at Fenway – Boston, MA
October 3 – The Anthem – Washington, DC
October 5 – Massey Hall – Toronto, ON
October 6 – Royal Oak Music Theatre – Detroit, MI – SOLD OUT
October 8 – Aragon Ballroom – Chicago, IL – SOLD OUT
October 9 – The Eagles Ballroom – Milwaukee, WI – ADDED SHOW
October 11 – The Mission Ballroom – Denver, CO – SOLD OUT
October 14 – Moore Theatre – Seattle, WA – SOLD OUT
October 15 – Moore Theatre – Seattle, WA – SOLD OUT
October 18 – The Warfield – San Francisco, CA – SOLD OUT
October 19 – The Warfield – San Francisco, CA
October 21 – Hollywood Palladium – Los Angeles, CA – SOLD OUT
October 22 – Hollywood Palladium – Los Angeles, CA – SOLD OUT
October 23 – Hollywood Palladium – Los Angeles, CA – SOLD OUT

Formed by guitarist/composer Omar Rodríguez-López and singer/lyricist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, The Mars Volta rose from the ashes of El Paso punk-rock firebrands At The Drive-In in 2001. On a mission to “honor our roots and honor our dead”, The Mars Volta made music that fused the Latin sounds Rodríguez-López was raised on with the punk and underground noise he and Bixler-Zavala had immersed themselves in for years, and the futuristic visions they were tapping into. The albums that followed were one-of-a-kind masterpieces, their songs of breath-taking complexity also possessing powerful emotional immediacy. After the group fell silent, a legion of devotees (including Kanye West) kept up an insistent drum-beat for their return.                             

Now – a year after ‘La Realidad De Los Sueños’, a luxurious 18-LP box-set compiling their back catalog, sold out its 5,000 print run in under 24 hours –The Mars Volta are back.

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Rock Coliseum XIII

Rock Coliseum XIII! The thirteenth Rock Coliseum where ARTV, Spectrum Pulse, Crash Thompson, and I hopefully don’t get unlucky with suggestions from the live audience.

Click here for the
Rock Coliseum XIII
Super Chat Document!

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHANNELS BELOW!
ARTV’s Channel = https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVOjJR_2CwJpGZ5JJhkeFfQ
Spectrum Pulse’s Channel = https://www.youtube.com/user/SilensCursor
Crash Thompson’s Channel = https://www.youtube.com/user/CrashThompsonXO

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Thanks to everyone that tuned in live for Rock Coliseum XIII. We really appreciate the live audience and hope we can find ways to grow these streams. We love doing them and we love that so many people are getting something out of this. We plan on doing another one of these at some point this year so long as we can make our schedules work. Follow our socials so you can keep up to date on when the next Rock Coliseum will be, along with our other content.

I also want to point out that the terrible impressions will never stop. I don’t care if a small percentage of you don’t find them funny, we think they are hilarious and we are going to keep doing them if only to entertain ourselves.

Finally, please subscribe to Rocked on YouTube. Getting close to 100K subs!

10 Reasons Why Trent Reznor Is Awesome

Trent Reznor has many accolades and industrial, alternative, and heavy music in general would not be the same without him and Nine Inch Nails. This video looks at 10 reasons why Trent Reznor is awesome.

Michael Trent Reznor is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, which he founded in 1988 and of which he was the sole official member until 2016. The first Nine Inch Nails album, Pretty Hate Machine (1989), was a commercial and critical success. Reznor has since released 11 more Nine Inch Nails studio albums.

Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band until his frequent collaborator, Atticus Ross, joined in 2016. The band’s debut album, Pretty Hate Machine (1989), was released via TVT Records. After disagreeing with TVT about how to promote the album, the band signed with Interscope Records and released the EP Broken (1992). The following albums, The Downward Spiral (1994) and The Fragile (1999), were released to critical acclaim and commercial success.

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AMON AMARTH New Single &Music Video “The Great Heathen Army”

Undisputed kings of Viking heavy metal, Amon Amarth, have dropped brand new single, “The Great Heathen Army” today. The new song is the title track from their recently announced twelfth studio album and is accompanied by brand new music video directed by Pavel Trebukhin and shot in Riga, Latvia. Stream the new track HERE and watch the new video HERE or by clicking the image below. The new album will be released on Friday, August 5th, 2022 via Metal Blade Records. Pre-orders available now HERE

Speaking on the announcement of their new album, AMON AMARTH share

“The armada of the Great Heathen Army is at sea on the way to raid, but before we land at distant shores on August 5th we have a new single and video for you to feast on. This is the title track from the new album with a video we shot with the talented Pavel Trebukhin in Riga, Latvia. Who will you choose to fight with? The Vikings or the Saxons? Choose well and the Gods will decide your fate.”

One of the best-loved metal bands in the world, AMON AMARTH are firmly dedicated to aiming high when they hit the studio. Recorded with esteemed studio guru Andy Sneap at the controls, ‘The Great Heathen Army’ represents another bold leap forward for the band, as their trademark sound undergoes yet another skilful, evolutionary overhaul, both lyrically and musically. From the noisily rabble-rousing “Find A Way Or Make One” and the pummelling, pugilistic “Get In The Ring, to the evocative fury of “Saxons & Vikings and the cinematic squall of the title track, ‘The Great Heathen Army encapsulates the essence of this legendary band, while still allowing acres of space for new ideas.

AMON AMARTH
The Great Heathen Army
Track Listing
1.    Get In the Ring
2.    The Great Heathen Army
3.    Heidrun
4.    Oden Owns You All
5.    Find a Way or Make One
6.    Dawn of Norsemen
7.    Saxons and Vikings
8.    Skagul Rides With Me
9.    The Serpent’s Trail

Album Pre-orders are available now from www.metalblade.com/amonamarth/ and feature a host of exclusive vinyl variants and must-have merch items for any self-respecting AMON AMARTH fan.

Armed with their 12th and arguably finest album to date, AMON AMARTH are poised to return to full action with a bloody, broadsword-wielding vengeance. The release of ‘The Great Heathen Army will kick-start another relentless global campaign, commencing with a co-headlining tour of Europe alongside Machine Head and fellow countrymen The Halo Effect. Still ruthlessly devoted to the ways of the warrior, AMON AMARTH have Odin’s wind in their sails like never before. For tickets and further information head to AmonAmarth.com. Full dates listed below.

SEPTEMBER
Thursday 8 – NOTTINGHAM, UK, Motorpoint Arena
Friday 9 – CARDIFF, UK, Motorpoint Arena
Saturday 10 – LONDON, UK, The SSE Arena, Wembley
Monday 12 – MANCHESTER, Uk AO Arena
Tuesday 13 – DUBLIN, Ireland, 3Arena
Friday 16 – ZURICH, Switzerland, Hallenstadion
Saturday 17 – VIENNA, Austria, Stadthalle
Sunday 18 – KRAKOW, Poland, Tauron Arena
Tuesday 20 – TALLINN, Estonia, Saku Arena
Wednesday 21 – HELSINKI, Finland, Ice Hall
Friday 23 – OSLO, Norway, Spektrum
Saturday 24 – STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Hovet
Monday 26 – COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Forum Black Box
Tuesday 27 – HAMBURG, Germany, Barclays Arena
Wednesday 28 – FRANKFURT, Germany, Festhalle
Friday 30 – OBERHAUSEN, Germany, König Pilsener Arena

OCTOBER
Saturday 01 – BERLIN, Germany Velodrome
Sunday 02 – AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, Afas Live
Tuesday 04 – MILAN, Italy, Lorenzini District
Thursday 06 – BARCELONA, Spain, Sant Jordi
Friday 07 – MADRID, Spain, Vistalegre
Saturday 08 – LA CORUNA, Spain, Coliseum
Sunday 09 – LISBON, Portugal, Campo Pequeno
Wednesday 12 – PARIS, France, Zenith
Friday 14 – MUNICH, Germany, Olympiahalle
Saturday 15 – LEIPZIG, Germany, Arena
Sunday 16 – PRAGUE, Czech Republic, Tipsport Arena
Tuesday 18 – BUDAPEST, Hungary, Barba Negra
Thursday 20 – ESCH SUR ALZETTE, Luxembourg, Rockhal
Friday 21 – BRUSSELS, Belgium, Forest National
Saturday 22 – STUTTGART, Germant, Schleyerhalle

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Dropkick Murphys Release New Single & Video “Two 6’s Upside Down”

Dropkick Murphys have just released the single and video for “Two 6’s Upside Down,” from their forthcoming album This Machine Still Kills Fascists, to be released digitally and on CD September 30 via the band’s Dummy Luck Music / [PIAS], with a special edition vinyl out in November. This Machine Still Kills Fascists is unlike anything they’ve done to date – a full album of songs that bring Woody Guthrie’s words to life.

“Two 6’s Upside Down” is a forlorn gambler’s lament, awash in love and loss, murder and punishment. Dropkick Murphys’ founder Ken Casey explains, “‘Two 6’s Upside Down’ is acoustic, but it’s still tough. It’s edgy and these lyrics are menacing. We just wanted to show right out of the gate that even though this album is acoustic, it’s still going to have some fire.”

The video for “Two 6’s Upside Down” finds Dropkick Murphys performing the song while gathered around the Woody Guthrie statue in Woody’s native Okemah, OK, interspersed with footage of the band debuting the song before enthusiastic European festival crowds this summer. The clip was directed by Dave Stauble.

Pre-order the This Machine Still Kills Fascists album here: https://dropkick-murphys.ffm.to/7reo1k8.OPR

Dropkick Murphys and their longtime producer Ted Hutt aptly recorded This Machine Still Kills Fascistsat The Church Studio in Tulsa (just a few minutes from Woody Guthrie’s birthplace, and the modern-day Woody Guthrie Center). The historic studio was founded by Leon Russell and was the original location of legendary Shelter Records. During the album sessions, Dropkick Murphys made a point to visit Woody’s hometown of Okemah and walk the same streets Woody walked. Retreating to Woody’s home state of Oklahoma to record the album had a powerful effect on the band and the creative process behind these songs. Ultimately, Dropkick Murphys had so much material based on Woody’s poignant lyrics that they recorded two albums, with Vol. 2 scheduled for release in 2023.

Watch the This Machine Still Kills Fascists album trailer here: https://youtu.be/bH_Zc8vX3zc

The band will launch their first-ever reserved seating theater tour– This Machine…Theater Tour–October 20 in support of this very special and powerful acoustic album. Jaime Wyatt will be the main support on the tour – as well as joining DKM on stage for the duet “Never Git Drunk No More” – and Jesse Ahern will open the shows. Dropkick Murphys fall tour dates also include a few U.S. fairs in September and a headlining slot at Punk In The Park in Orange County, CA in November. Visit www.DropkickMurphys.com for a list of tour dates and to purchase tickets.

Dropkick Murphys – This Machine Still Kills Fascistsband members are: Ken Casey (lead vocals), Tim Brennan (guitars, tin whistle, accordion, piano, vocals), Jeff DaRosa (guitars, banjo, mandolin, vocals), Matt Kelly (drums, percussion, and vocals), James Lynch (guitars and vocals), Kevin Rheault (bass).

Follow Dropkick Murphys:
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Parkway Drive Announce “Darker Still” Out September 9

Australian metal juggernauts PARKWAY DRIVE  Winston McCall (vocals), Luke Kilpatrick (guitar), Jeff Ling (guitar), Jia O’Connor (bass), and
Ben Gordon (drums) — are pleased to announce their seventh album DARKER STILL. The record, which is their first full-length since 2018’s Reverence, arrives on September 9 via Epitaph RecordsDarker Still can be pre-ordered here.

Parkway Drive have also shared the masterfully cinematic video for “The Greatest Fear,” which features the band’s galloping guitar work, moshy breakdowns, and guttural vocals amidst a stunning backdrop that will transport you elsewhere.

“The greatest fear, the one we all share; this song is about the unifying force we all must face —death,” says McCall. “The goal was to create a song that saw death not as something that separates, but something that connects us all on our paths. Musically, we wanted to create a song that did this concept justice. It’s heavy, it’s epic and when it stomps it leaves an impact.”

“The Greatest Fear” follows the release of the video for “Glitch,” a frenetic exploration of the things our mind experience when we are not awake — but not yet asleep — such as night terrors and sleep paralysis.

In the kitchen of the Byron Bay home of Winston McCall stands a refrigerator, adorned on one side by a quote from Tom Waits: “I want beautiful melodies telling me terrible things.”

This, the Parkway Drive vocalist says, is a pretty good summation of himself. It holds true, too, as one of the guiding principles behind Darker Still, the seventh full-length album to be born of this picturesque and serene corner of north-eastern NSW, Australia, and the defining musical statement to date from one of modern metal’s most revered bands. 

Darker Still, McCall says, is the vision he and his bandmates have held in their mind’s eye since a misfit group of friends first convened in their parents’ basements and backyards in 2003. The journey to reach this moment has seen Parkway evolve from metal underdogs to festival-headlining behemoth, off the back of close to 20 gruelling years, six critically and commercially acclaimed studio albums (all of which achieving Gold status in their home nation), three documentaries, one live album, and many, many thousands of shows. 

“When Parkway originally started out, we all were trying to push ourselves to do more than we possibly could,” is how McCall explains it. “What you hear on Darker Still is the final fulfillment of our ability to learn and grow catching up with the imagination that we have always had.”

To understand that growth is to understand Darker Still, both musically and thematically. Those who thought they had Parkway Drive figured out — the unrivaled energy, the high-octane breakdowns, McCall’s trademark bark — need reconsider everything they know about Australia’s masters of heavy. Darker Still stands as the culmination of a transformative time that has seen Parkway reach new heights of creativity and success by eschewing the restrictive, safe conventions of genre and abandoning their own self-imposed rules in favor of a wide-eyed appreciation of bold new horizons. “There are compositions and songs that we’d never attempted before — or, to be more accurate, which we have attempted in the past, but not had the courage, time or understanding to pull off,” McCall reveals. 

And so while Darker Still remains irrefutably Parkway Drive, it finds the band sonically standing shoulder to shoulder with rock and metal’s greats — Metallica, Pantera, Machine Head, Guns N’ Roses — as much as it does their metalcore contemporaries. The album explores the concept of the “dark night of the soul,” which is “the idea of reaching a point in your life where you are faced with a reckoning of your structure of beliefs, your sense of self and your place in the world, to a point where it’s irreconcilable with the way that you are as a person,” as McCall describes. Darker Still unfurls like the great rock concept albums, from Pink Floyd to, most comparably, Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral, its 11 tracks taking in ruminations on society’s fear of death, isolation, and a loss of humanity in its journey to redemptive enlightenment. 

This is the Parkway Drive the band have been striving to be for two decades. Guitarist Jeff Ling says it best: “I’m really proud of what we have achieved together, and feel that as musicians, we have really ascended to new realms of class and ability.” 

Emerging from the darkness of the past few years, this is the true face of Parkway — redefined and resolute, focused in mind, and defiant in spirit. 

DARKER STILL TRACK LISTING:
“Ground Zero”
“Like Napalm”
Glitch
“The Greatest Fear”
“Darker Still”
“Imperial Heretic”
“If a God Can Bleed”
“Soul Bleach”
“Stranger”
“Land of the Lost”
“From the Heart of the Darkness”

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