Heavy metal titans Lamb Of God join forces with Megadeth to remake a true classic. Originally released in 1986, “Wake Up Dead” was the lead single from Megadeth’s iconic multi-platinum selling album Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying?.
And now, one week before the second installment of The Metal Tour of the Year is set to commence… Lamb of God releases “Wake Up Dead” featuring Dave Mustaine and the members of Megadeth. Lamb of God vocalist D. Randall Blythe, guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, bassist John Campbell and drummer Art Cruz recorded the Megadeth classic remotely and recruited the Megadeth frontman himself to feature guitar and vocals on the song.
Mustaine lent his signature vocal to the track, with lead guitar work on the various solos by Lamb Of God’s own Mark Morton, as well as Megadeth’s Mustaine and Kiko Loureiro. The recording also includes vocal contributions from Megadeth members Kiko Loureiro, Dirk Verbeuren and James LoMenzo.
Dave Mustaine – “We had a blast playing with Lamb of God on their cover of ‘Wake Up Dead’. Almost as much fun as we’re going to have playing every night on Metal Tour Of The Year. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone!”
Randy Blythe – “The first leg of The Metal Tour of the Year back in 2021 was a total blast, and we’re about to take it on the road again. What better way to kick it off than a little inter-band jam session? All nine members of Megadeth and Lamb of God are on the thrash classic “Wake Up Dead”- turn it up, and we’ll see you on the road!”
Mark Morton – “‘Wake Up Dead’ was a massively important song for me as an aspiring young guitar player. It was one of the first songs that began my lifelong love of thrash metal and helped reinforce for me that, while solos may be fun, my allegiance is to the RIFF! So you can imagine what a thrill it’s been for Lamb to cover this legendary song with Dave & the rest of the Megadeth guys. Truly an honor. We all had a lot of fun putting this together and I think you can hear that energy in the track. I hope everybody enjoys this one and we can’t wait to see y’all on The Metal Tour of the Year.”
Don’t miss Megadeth and Lamb of God on leg 2 of The Metal Tour of the Year with Special Guests Trivium and In Flames beginning April 9th in Las Vegas, NV before wrapping May 19th in Quebec City, QC, Canada.
LAMB OF GOD – The Metal Tour Of The Year – 2022 North American Tour Dates: Megadeth and Lamb of God co-headlining with special guests Trivium and In Flames Tickets and VIP packages on-sale now at http://MetalTouroftheYear.com
4.09 – Las Vegas, NV | Michelob Ultra Arena 4.10 – Tucson, AZ | Tucson Arena 4.12 – Colorado Springs, CO | Broadmoor World Arena 4.14 – Corpus Christi, TX | American Bank Center Arena 4.15 – Lafayette, LA | Lafayette Cajundome 4.16 – Brandon, MS | Brandon Amphitheater 4.19 – Grand Rapids, MI | Van Andel Arena 4.21 – Fort Wayne, IN | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum 4.22 – Green Bay, WI | Resch Center 4.24 – Sioux Falls, SD | Denny Sanford PREMIER Center 4.26 – Omaha, NE | Baxter Arena 4.27 – Cedar Rapids, IA | Alliant Energy PowerHouse 4.29 – Kansas City, MO | T-Mobile Center 4.30 – Tulsa, OK | BOK Center * No Trivium 5.03 – North Charleston, SC | North Charleston Coliseum 5.04 – Greenville, SC | Bon Secours Wellness Arena 5.06 – Nashville, TN | Bridgestone Arena 5.07 – Peoria, IL | Peoria Civic Center 5.09 – Pittsburgh, PA | Petersen Events Center 5.10 – Rochester, NY | Blue Cross Arena 5.12 – Portland, ME | Cross Insurance Arena 5.13 – Uncasville, CT | Mohegan Sun Arena 5.15 – Allentown, PA | PPL Center 5.17 – Laval, QC | Place Bell 5.18 – Toronto, | Budweiser Stage 5.19 – Quebec City, QC | Videotron Centre
Coliseum Madness 2022: A coliseum take on March Madness where 32 bands/artists are listed, randomly seeded, and we go through each matchup until we have a winner!
The list of bands/artists was determined by said names who announced new music for 2022. We then chose 32 bands we would want to talk about and would not get an easy thumbs down. Standard Rock Coliseum followed for Super Chats.
List of bands/artists for Coliseum Madness 2022: Arctic Monkeys Avenged Sevenfold Avril Lavigne Beach House The Black Keys Bloc Party Coheed & Cambria Def Leppard Devin Townsend Father John Misty Florence + The Machine Frank Turner Gang Of Youths Ghost Halestorm Jack White Korn Megadeth Muse Motionless In White Papa Roach Porcupine Tree PUP Rammstein Red Hot Chili Peppers Rolo Tomassi Shinedown Slipknot Sum 41 Three Days Grace Underoath Weezer
We’ll be back to our normal Rock Coliseum shows soon enough. I know change and trying something new can lead to people not giving something a chance, so thank you to everyone that did show up and support the stream. It helps a lot.
Streamed on New Music Night and voted on by Rocked viewers, this is a playlist of songs allgiven the highest percentage of positive votes through March of 2022. Each song was played to a live audience and voted on with a thumbs up or thumbs down by each viewer on Twitch.
You can listen to new music live and join the discussion every Sunday at 7PM EST on Twitch. Click here to follow and for go-live notifications. http://twitch.tv/rockednet
Best New Music March 2022 | Playlist
Featuring: TOOL – “Opiate2” PUP – “Matilda” Billy Howerdel – “Poison Flowers” Goth Babe – “Running Around” Sabaton – “Race To The Sea” Ghost – “Kaisarion” Rammstein – “Zeit” The Black Keys – “Wild Child” Elton John & Stevie Wonder – “Finish Line” Crosses – “Initiation” Gang Of Youths – “Spirit Boy” Sunsleeper – “In The Clouds” Battle Beast – “Lightbringer” Dream Widow – “The Sweet Abyss” Def Leppard – “Kick” Dorothy – “Black Sheep” Dead Posey – “Can’t Take Me Down” Powerwolf – “Sainted By The Storm”
Thanks to everyone that tuned in live on Twitch every Sunday for New Music Night. Click here to follow the Twitch channel and get go-live notifications for New Music Night every Sunday at 7 PM EST: HTTP://twitch.tv/rockednet
Last month, Perth’s premier electro power pop sensation VOYAGER won the hearts of ‘Eurovision – Australia Decides!’ viewers, winning the fan vote by a landslide and coming in second place by a mere three points via the official jury vote! Now, the band is launching their own Patreon account, for which fans can contribute and get a multitude of perks from the band such as discounted merch, early access to new music, exclusive access to Voyager’s Discord, and more! Sign up HERE.
In addition, the band will be hitting the road in Europe and the UK for the ‘Witness Tour Europe 2022,’ supporting the mighty VOLA. The tour will be kicking off in Munich (DE) at Feierwerk on the September 9 and will be traveling through 12 different countries, delivering 21 energetic shows before the final curtain, which will end at Euroblast Fest in Cologne (DE). The full run of dates can be found below!
VOYAGER comments: “Europe, it has been a while indeed and what better way to mark our return to your shores (and to escape from ours) than with some other synth-tastic bands. We join VOLA and Four Stroke Baron across UK/Europe and we cannot wait to see your beautiful faces.”
VOYAGER has also recently premiered the official music video for the ‘Eurovision’ song entry, “Dreamer,” which can be seen THIS LOCATION.
VOYAGER European Tour data:
09.09.2022 DE Munich Feierwerk 10.09.2022 DE Hamburg Bahnhof Pauli 11.09.2022 DE Berlin Cassiopeia 12.09.2022 PL Krakow Zaścianek 13.09.2022 PL Warsaw Hydrozagadka 14.09.2022 AT Vienna Chelsea 15.09.2022 HU Budapest A38 16.09.2022 CZ Prague Rock Café 17.09.2022 IT Milan Legend Club 18.09.2022 CH Aarau KiFF 20.09.2022 ES Barcelona Bóveda 21.09.2022 ES Madrid Moby Dick 22.09.2022 FR Toulouse Connexion Live 23.09.2022 FR Lyon CCO 24.09.2022 FR Paris Backstage 27.09.2022 UK Bristol Fleece 28.09.2022 UK Manchester Rebellion 29.09.2022 UK London Garage 30.09.2022 NL Tilburg 013 KZ 01.10.2022 NL Amsterdam Melkweg OZ 02.10.2022 DE Cologne Euroblast Festival
In 2020, VOYAGER‘s music video for “Runaway” was exclusively premiered via ‘Eurovision – Australia Decides!’ Following an application via the Song Portal, the band finally received recognition for submitting a track and were paid tribute on the live television broadcast that aired on Saturday, February 8 on the Gold Coast. The can be seen at THIS LOCATION.
The song was taken from VOYAGER‘s 2019 release ‘Colours in the Sun,’ which received a wealth of international accolades. Recently, the single “Brightstar” was the first place winner in the Rock / Alternative category of the USA songwriting contest! Last year, ‘Colours in the Sun’ was the winner of The Independent Music Award in the Rock/Hard Rock Album category. The record was released in November of 2019 and landed a coveted #1 placement on the Australian Independent Albums chart! ‘Colours in the Sun’ also debuted at #7 on Independent Label Albums as well as #27 on Official iTunes Australia.
‘Colours in the Sun’ can be downloaded and streamed HERE.
Since their 1999 formation, whatever genre norms, boundaries and regulations thrust upon Perth, Australia’s Voyager have been smashed. They embrace, if not brandish pop; employ a keytar on stage, and, bring forward a positive, if not uplifting feeling to their music, running head-first into the endless parade of heavy bands who see the world in a different light. It’s perhaps why the title of their seventh full-length and first for Season of Mist, Colours in the Sun, is apropos: Voyager simply prefers to see the bright side of things.
“Observations of the malaises of the modern world and the baffling obsession with purity and difference all make me think,” says frontman and founding member Danny Estrin. “We’ve never had it better and we’ve never had it more colorful. To me that’s progress, it’s adaptation, it’s evolution and it’s astounding.”
The follow-up to 2017’s Ghost Mile, Colours in the Sun finds Voyager enmeshed in rich, melodic, song-first tapestries, led by Estrin’s smooth, capable clean vocal delivery. Estrin is self-aware of his vocals, calling them “unique and ‘80s.” But whatever tag Estrin affixes to his voice, they are the propellent throughout Colours in the Sun, serving up a steady diet of soaring, emotive choruses, where melody is paramount and along the way, even getting some help from another distinctive belter, Leprous’s Einar Solberg on “Entropy.”
“Einar and I became good friends on our tours through Europe and Australia,” notes Estrin. “I couldn’t help but ask him to guest on the album. He is a fantastic musician and vocalist. I sent him a reference track which he swiftly ignored and laid his own tracks down. The result is stunning!”
The kaleidoscope of sounds that comprise the album’s ten cuts is the result of Voyager’s far-reaching influences, many of which go beyond the traditional realms of metal and rock. Estrin calls it “catchy at the top, proggy at the bottom, as if Dream Theater and Depeche Mode had a baby.” It’s almost as if the term “progressive” is too limiting for Voyager, particularly when the guitar tandem of Simone Dow and Scott Kay merge for complex rhythms while doing battle against Estrin’s vaudeville-like keyboards (!) on “Reconnected.”
The “proggy at the bottom” notice is served by way of the rhythm section of bassist Alex Canion and drummer Ashley Doodkorte, who stretch their musical tentacles across busy, active cuts such as “Saccharine Dream” and the syncopated “Water Over the Bridge.” “I think we found our ‘voice’ on V (2014) and have been building on that ever since,” says Estrin. “The synthwave prog sound is really something that has naturally developed and has been refined even more on the new album. Every record is progress — that’s what progressive music is all about!”
According to Estrin, the Colours in the Sun album title encompasses a “vibrant multitude of people coming together under the hot Australian sun to create a beautiful and colorful soundscape.” It’s capped off by artwork courtesy of Doodkorte, who made the piece out of photographs near his house in Perth. A closer inspection reveals there are seven suns on the cover, one for each Voyager album, topped off by an updated version of the band’s logo comprised of five strokes, one for each member. No doubt a fitting visual summation of a band whose progress can be the described in the most literal and figurative of terms.
“It’s been a slow steady growth over the years,” concludes Estrin. “Other bands come and go after a year of fame. I really feel like we’ve built up an incredible fanbase, especially over the last decade, and the deal with Season of Mist seemed the logical step to take it to the next level together.”
Grammy-nominated Lancaster five-piece AUGUST BURNS RED — JB Brubaker [lead guitar], Brent Rambler [rhythm guitar], Matt Greiner [drums], Jake Luhrs [vocals], and Dustin Davidson [bass] — will head back out on the road this summer.
Having just wrapped a successful Winter 2022 run supporting Killswitch Engage, the band will embark on a headline “Through the Thorns” trek this summer. The tour kicks off on July 15 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and runs through August 27 in Long Island, New York. All dates are below.
We Came as Romans, Hollow Front, and Void of Vision will also appear.
VIP packages are on sale here. General on-sales are set for Friday, April 1 at 10am local time.
“We are so excited to hit the road with this awesome package filled with our friends in WCAR, and two great new bands: Hollow Front and Void of Vision,” says ABR. “We will be hitting up some places we haven’t played in a VERY long time, as well as some familiar favorites. We hope to see you soon!”
AUGUST BURNS ON TOUR: WITH WE CAME AS ROMANS, HOLLOW FRONT, + VOID OF VISION: 7/15—Harrisburg, PA—HMAC 7/16—Sayreville, NJ—Starland Ballroom 7/17—Providence, RI—The Strand Ballroom 7/19—Rochester, NY—Anthology 7/20—Hartford, CT—The Webster 7/22—Baltimore, MD—Ram’s Head Live 7/23—Norfolk, VA—Norva 7/24—Asheville, NC—Orange Peel 7/25—Knoxville, TN—The Mill & Mine 7/26—Columbia, SC—The Senate 7/28—Birmingham, AL—Iron City 7/29—New Orleans, LA—Republic 7/30—Austin, TX—Emos 7/31—Corpus Christi, TX—Brewster Street Icehouse 8/2—Tucson, AZ—Encore 8/3—San Diego, CA—Soma 8/4—Santa Cruz, CA—Catalyst 8/5—Sacramento, CA—Ace of Spades 8/6—Portland, OR—Roseland 8/8—Seattle, WA—Showbox Market 8/9—Spokane, WA—Knitting Factory 8/10—Boise, ID—Knitting Factory 8/12—Great Falls, MT—The Newberry 8/13—Billings, MT—Zoo Montana 8/14—Fargo, ND—Fargo Brewing Outdoors 8/16—Minneapolis, MN—Fillmore 8/18—Lincoln, NE—Bourbon St 8/19—Des Moines, IA—Val Air 8/20—Milwaukee, WI—The Rave 8/21—Bloomington, IL—Castle Theater 8/23—Ft. Wayne, IN—Piere’s 8/24—Cincinnati, OH—Bogarts 8/25—Louisville, KY—Mercury Ballroom 8/27—Long Island, NY—Paramount
Multi platinum Grammy award winning rock band Imagine Dragons have announced 20 new shows on their massive Mercury World Tour. Produced by Live Nation, the summer North American tour celebrates the release of their latest album, Mercury – Act 1 (KIDinaKORNER/Interscope) kicking off this August in Salt Lake City, UT with special guests Macklemore and Kings Elliot on select dates and making stadium stops in Boston, Toronto, and their hometown of Las Vegas before wrapping up in Los Angeles, CA in September. This tour will mark the band’s biggest North American shows of their career to date.
On the heels of “Enemy,” which has topped the Alternative Radio chart for the past seven weeks and is rapidly ascending at Top 40 radio (#10) and Hot AC (#9), Imagine Dragons unveiled their new single, “Bones,” the first new music from their forthcoming release Mercury – Act 2. A spirited examination of life and death, the song explodes with an infectious chorus that celebrates the intangible spark that ignites our beings. Listen to “Bones”HERE and view the lyric video HERE.
TICKETS: General tickets for the new shows go on sale starting Friday, April 1st at 10AM local time on Ticketmaster.com. All other shows are on sale now.
PRESALE: Verizon will offer an exclusive presale for the Imagine Dragons 2022 tour in the U.S through the customer loyalty program Verizon Up. Members will have first access to purchase presale tickets for select shows beginning Monday, 3/28 at 10am local time until Thursday, 3/31 at 10pm local time. For more details and to sign up, visit Verizon Up.
MERCURY WORLD TOUR DATES: Sun Apr 10 – Victoria, BC – Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre + Wed Apr 13 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place + Fri Apr 15 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome + Sun Apr 17 – Saskatoon, SK – SaskTel Centre + Tue Apr 19 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre + Fri Apr 22 – Ottawa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre + Sun Apr 24 – London, ON – Budweiser Gardens + Tue Apr 26 – Quebec City, QC – Centre Videotron + Thu Apr 28 – Moncton, NB – Avenir Centre + Sun May 01 – Quebec City, QC – Centre Videotron + Tue May 03 – Montreal, QC – Centre Bell + Wed May 04 – Montreal, QC – Centre Bell + Fri Aug 05 – Salt Lake City, UT – Rice-Eccles Stadium* ^! Sun Aug 07 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheatre* ^! Tue Aug 09 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center* ^! Fri Aug 12 – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium* ^! Sun Aug 14 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live* ^! Tue Aug 16 – Camden, NJ – Waterfront Music Pavilion* ^! Thu Aug 18 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center* ^! Sat Aug 20 – Boston, MA – Fenway Park* ^! Mon Aug 22 – Toronto, ON – Rogers Centre* ^! Wed Aug 24 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre* ^! Fri Aug 26 – Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Chicago, IL* ^! Sun Aug 28 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center* ^! Tue Aug 30 – Atlanta, GA – Lakewood Amphitheatre* ^! Thu Sep 01 – Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman* ^! Sat Sep 03 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion*! Mon Sep 05 – Commerce City, CO – DICK’S Sporting Goods Park* ^! Thu Sep 08 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre* ^! Sat Sep 10 – Las Vegas, NV – Allegiant Stadium* ^! Tue Sep 13 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre* ^! Thu Sep 15 – Los Angeles, CA – Banc of California Stadium* ^!
*New Dates +With support from AVIV ^With support from Maclemore ! With support from Kings Elliot
French synthwave icon Carpenter Brut is returning to North America this summer with a series of 13 tour dates just announced for the U.S. and Canada, kicking off August 18 in Los Angeles and running through September 3 in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Tickets go on sale beginning Friday March 4 at 10 AM local time in each market here.
The upcoming tour is in support of Carpenter Brut’s brand-new album Leather Terror, out April 1 via Universal. The first single – the colossal synthrock anthem “Imaginary Fire” – is out now. It features vocalist Greg Puciato (The Dillinger Escape Plan, Killer Be Killed, The Black Queen) with an accompanying music video directed by Dehn Sora that captures an eerily beautiful apocalypse during a psychedelic trip.
Leather Terror is the second in Carpenter Brut’s Leather album trilogy, the next chapter following his widely acclaimed 2018 album Leather Teeth. That album was included in numerous Best Album lists across the spectrum of rock, alternative and electronic music that year. Kerrang championed the mysterious French artist as one of the “Best Live Bands On Earth” while Carpenter Brut was also honored as a performer at the Metal Hammer awards.
The albums form the soundtrack of an imagined movie from 1987. The previous record introduced the story of Bret Halford, an introverted science student. He liked a girl who didn’t like him and much preferred the team’s star quarterback.
Bret got mad and tried to create a concoction that would allow him to control them all, but ends up disfigured and decides instead to become a rock star. This is how he will seduce the girl, and all other girls: By becoming Leather Teeth, singer of Leather Patrol.
Now, Leather Terror finds Bret Halford as a true rock star and a ruthless avenger. Leather Teeth inflicts vengeance on those who stand between him and what he desires. While the album Leather Teeth was in parts a celebratory take on ‘80s glam rock, in his new opus, Carpenter Brut – across the space of twelve tracks – gets more malevolent, documenting the rise of his protagonist as a serial killer who wants to take revenge on all those who mistreated him when he was younger.
Regarding the album, Carpenter Brut says, “After spending much of 2018 touring, I had decided to take a long break to compose the new album of the trilogy. The pandemic confirmed that my choice to stay home was the right one. I ended up taking over a year and a half to compose this album. I made a lot of decisions with the time I had that I wouldn’t have had time to make if the pandemic hadn’t happened. I wanted to make the whole thing as massive as possible. There is no guitar on this album. I did everything with synths. Even though I didn’t know exactly how I wanted the album to sound at first, I knew I wanted it to be massive and violent.”
Massive and violent, yes. But inviting – so much so, that Leather Terror features a significant number of guests.
In addition to the aforementioned Greg Puciato on new single “Imaginary Fire,” Alex Westaway of Gunship gives voices on the pummelling synth pop of “The Widow Maker” (“a rather particular hybrid timbre”), and Ben Koller of Converge and Jonka of Tribulation appear on the sinister title track, which closes the story. The Norwegian band Ulver and Kathrine Shepard from the band Sylvaine are also on board as well as Persha – a Parisian singer – who directly contacted Carpenter Brut to initiate a collaboration.
Leather Terror reflects both a serial killer, and an artist, in their prime: Bold and daring while full of shock and awe, creating a true spectacle out of great darkness with a flamboyant disregard for rules.
LEATHER TERROR TRACK LISTING 1. Opening Title 2. Straight Outta Hell 3. The Widow Maker 4. Imaginary Fire 5. … Good Night, Goodbye 6. Day Stalker 7. Night Prowler 8. Lipstick Masquerade 9. Color Me Blood 10. Stabat Mater 11. Paradisi Gloria 12. Leather Terror
CARPENTER BRUT NORTH AMERICAN LEATHER TERROR TOUR:
August 2022 18 Los Angeles, CA @ Fonda 19 Las Vegas, NV @ Psycho Vegas Festival 20 San Francisco, CA @ UC Theater 22 Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom 23 Seattle, WA @ Showbox 26 Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity 27 Chicago, IL @ Metro 28 Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom 30 Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall 31 Montreal, QC @ MTelus
September 2022 01 Boston, MA @ Royale 02 New York, NY @ Brooklyn Steel 03 Silver Spring, MD @ Fillmore
About Carpenter Brut Carpenter Brut draws its influences from ‘80s TV shows and B-movies loaded with synthesizers. The mysterious and discreet man evokes an encounter between Justice beats and the universe of John Carpenter. The French act pays tribute to the post-hippie/pre-AIDS culture that then set the basis of electro and metal to give us a unique, violent and crazy ‘80s revival sound. Over the last decade he built a successful career, as a major act from the darksynth scene. He has toured the world with acts like Ghost and Ministry and performed at well-known festivals such as Coachella & SXSW, and has accumulated 366 million streams of his music worldwide.
Trivium singer and guitarist Matthew Kiichi Heafy has shared another song from Rashomon, the long-awaited and much-anticipated album from his IBARAKI project.
Watch the video for the song “Rōnin,” which features My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way and Ihsahn, here.
“‘A rōnin is a masterless warrior,” shares Kiichi. “The final two full compositions on Rashōmon see a significant shift musically. The album as a whole — with the exception of the intro and outro — is actually presented in chronological order of earliest written to latter-most. The actual guitar and bass tracks are a time-capsule of sorts in that their parts — on the final album — is actually from the year they were tracked.”
He continues, “One can begin to see the shifts as the years went on for the writing of the album. ‘Kagutsuchi’/’Ibaraki-doji’ being written and tracked in 2010/2011, all the way up to ‘Rōnin’/’Susanoo No Mikoto’ being written and tracked in 2016/2017.”
As for his collaboration with Way, Kiichi shares, “Gerard Way has been a long-time inspiration for me — like Ihsahn and Nergal — I have looked to Gerard as a constant source of motivation to be creative. While Gerard and I may be from different genres than where Ibaraki and black metal stem from — outsiders of sorts — the spirit and intent of our performances is what unites our passion for pushing boundaries.”
Rashomonwill be released May 6 via Nuclear Blast. Pre-order Rashomon on CD, vinyl, cassette, and T-Shirt + CD bundle here.
Fans can get all the released songs by pre-saving here.
IBARAKI — the name for a terrifying Japanese demon taken from feudal legend and the new project of Trivium’s Matthew Kiichi Heafy — is more than a solo record. It’s the end-result of a journey of an artist finding his voice. Its inspirations include everything from an adoration for the extremes of black metal to the exuberant storytelling of Gerard Way to the adventuresome worldliness of tragic bon viveur Anthony Bourdain. It’s a reflection of Kiichi’s multifaceted interests as well as a profound affirmation of his Japanese-American identity, and one that led him to confront one of his family’s most tragic moments. Like the artist behind it, there is much to the story of Ibaraki and it began with a timid email to one of black metal’s most revered and influential figures.
Kiichi, a fan of black metal before he even started Trivium, reached out to label reps for Ihsahn of Emperor, and the artist personally responded. He recalls, “It was so cool to get that nod and it inspired me to start checking some of his solo stuff. He’d just released his own solo record and I’d never heard anything like it — saxophones, clean singing, jazz chords. It was incredible to me. He’s this non-stop inventor. So I started writing in a totally different way.”
The exposure to Ihsahn’s solo work that would inspire the gradual craftsmanship that would eventually become Ibaraki. It was also the beginning of a friendship and creative collaboration that would eventually compel Ihsahn to take a leap of his own into a newfound role as producer on the project. While much of the material for Ibaraki was assembled over those months and years — as much a songwriting process as an exchange of ideas between friends — it wasn’t until the pandemic that the space was created and the idea could really flourish.
“It was very loose,” says Ihsahn. “We just had rough demos for a very long time because we’re arguably pretty busy people, but suddenly, everything was cancelled and we had time on our hands for the first time, so it was like, ‘OK, let’s do this.’ We never got to work in the same room; he’d track guitars and send them to me, I’d run them through my studio and send them back. It was a new way of working, but it was like he was there on the other side of the glass. Matt is a very, very positive energetic and passionate music fan — we have similar attitudes to music and open mindedness. We hit it off, and it’s been really rewarding to me.”
The creative interactions between the pair are the result of a deep trust borne of a commonality of their experience. “We both started our respective bands when we were 13,” Ihsahn says. “We got signed when we were 16. That’s young, and in essence we both found our path in life at an early age. We’ve talked a lot about that and our different experiences with that, because it’s like we know nothing else.”
While material was primarily written by Kiichi, Ihsahn engineered and produced and contributed some song structures, plus Trivium drummer Alex Bent and bassist Paolo Gregoletto and guitarist Corey Beaulieu contributed to various tracks. Ihsahn’s wife Heidi even sampled some natural sounds from the forest near their home and his entire family. Additional guests include the aforementioned Way and Behemoth’s Nergal.
Ihsahn also encouraged Kiichi to seek out new avenues for lyrical inspiration, namely his Japanese heritage. While an array of stories have been told via the tattoos on his body, such as the specific ancient Japanese story of gods, goddesses, and monsters from the Shinto religion taught to him by his mother, he began pouring the stories into lyrics.
While the rich mythology and folklore of Japan that would give IBARAKI its unique aesthetics and influences, it also provides the artist with the catalyst to contemplate his own identity and to consider how recent tragedies stateside have highlighted the need for better representation in metal.
Not even a year after the release of their critically acclaimed and internationally successful studio album, Call Of The Wild, POWERWOLF have unleashed a new, energetic single “Sainted By The Storm”. On the new song, the band combines each member’s strengths to form a powerful future hit – a song that once again underlines POWERWOLF’s status as one of the leading bands in the genre!
POWERWOLF on the new single:
“We would like to thank you all for your fantastic support with the release of a brand new song! It’s been less than a year since we released our new album Call Of The Wild and it’s rather unusual for us to follow up so soon, but we miss you all and were overwhelmed by your comments and feedback not only on the last album but also on our streaming event “The Monumental Mass”, despite the lack of live shows and the opportunity to see each other again and celebrate a furious metal mass together! Enjoy “Sainted By The Storm”, this one is for you, wolves!”
The epic and very detailed cover artwork was once again created by Zsofia Dankova, who has created all of the band’s artwork throughout the last years.
“Sainted By The Storm” is available in strictly limited CD Digipak as well as digitally. As a special bonus, an orchestral version of the song, as well as an instrumental version is available in all formats.
POWERWOLF live:
11.11.22 DE – Berlin / Velodrom 12.11.22 DE – Munich / Zenith 13.11.22 CZ – Prague / Tipsport Arena 14.11.22 PL – Katowice / MCK 16.11.22 HU – Budapest / Barba Negra 17.11.22 AT – Vienna / Gasometer 18.11.22 DE – Stuttgart / Schleyerhalle 19.11.22 CH – Zurich / Samsung Hall 21.11.22 ES – Barcelona / Razzmatazz 22.11.22 ES – Madrid / Riviera 24.11.22 IT – Milano / Alcatraz 25.11.22 DE – Frankfurt / Jahrhunderthalle 26.11.22 DE – Oberhausen / König Pilsener Arena 27.11.22 FR – Paris / Zenith 29.11.22 UK – London / Roundhouse* 01.12.22 NL – Amsterdam / Afas Live 02.12.22 DE – Hamburg / Sporthalle 03.12.22 DE – Saarbrucken / Saarlandhalle 04.12.22 BE – Antwerp / Lotto Arena *without Dragonforce
The story of POWERWOLF, beginning in 2004, reads like a true fairytale, but is the result of the most hard-working and entertaining live band on the heavy metal planet. POWERWOLF has not only received plenty of Gold and Platinum awards to date, but numerous releases have entered the official German album charts at the top position of #1. With Blessed & Possessed (2015), POWERWOLF achieved Gold status (in the Czech Republic) for the first time, while its predecessor, Preachers Of The Night (2013), hit the official German album charts at #1, and the incredible DVD, The Metal Mass (2016), came in at #1 of the German DVD-Charts. POWERWOLF‘s holy mass in the name of heavy metal is unstoppable – their latest magnum opus, The Sacrament of Sin (2018), again entered the album charts at #1. The accompanying, almost completely sold out Wolfsnächte headline tour – in which POWERWOLF headlined large venues with their phenomenal stage performances – became a single major triumph, as well as the numerous summer festival shows in which crowds were thrilled and completely captivated by the wolves and their unique, (un)holy metal mass. In the end of 2021, POWERWOLF celebrated The Monumental Mass – a streaming event that set new standards. With the new studio album, Call Of The Wild, and the upcoming tour charging through the largest halls in Europe, the whole world is completely under the sign of the wolf pack once again!
Ahead of the April 22 release of their new album Planet Zero, multi-platinum bandShinedown have announced the Planet Zero World Tour (produced by Live Nation), with special guestsJelly Roll and John Harvie, and have also released “The Saints of Violence and Innuendo,” a brand-new song from the forthcoming album.
The Planet Zero World Tour begins in Bonner Springs, KS on September 3, kicking off a 20-date U.S. run of fall shows that will see the record-breaking, chart-topping band bring their new music, #1 hits, fan favorites and biggest stage show yet to cities from coast to coast in support of Planet Zero. Tickets are available today at 10am local time at www.livenation.com. This leg of the Planet Zero World Tour also includes festival performances at Louder Than Life on September 23 in Louisville, KY and Aftershock on October 9 in Sacramento, CA. Full routing below, including The Revolution’s Live Tour kicking off April 1 with special guests The Pretty Reckless and DIAMANTE, followed by UK/Europe festival sets and select shows withIron Maiden in June and Canadian dates with special guests Pop Evil and Ayron Jones in July and August. For tickets and all show details, please visit www.shinedown.com.
While lead single “Planet Zero” – Shinedown’s record-breaking 18th #1 – remains in the top spot at Active Rock Radio for the fourth consecutive week, the bandhas released album track “The Saints of Violence and Innuendo.” The frenetic yet massively catchy tracktakes on the platforms and institutions that don’t value honesty and instead use half-truths, false narratives and innuendo to push agendas that are often not reflective of the people’s best interest. PRESS HEREto listen to “The Saints of Violence and Innuendo” and HERE to check out the lyric video. Pre-order Planet Zero HERE.Each pre-order includes aninstant download of“Planet Zero” and “The Saints of Violence and Innuendo.”
“Tell me the truth / Or tell me a lie / Tell me what I’ve gotta say to get out of this room alive Show me the answers / Or give me a clue / There’s not enough space in the miles between me and you Oh no / Here we go / Here come the saints of violence and innuendo So tell me truth / Are you really surprised? / You live in a world where empathy goes to die” –Lyrics from “The Saints of Violence and Innuendo”
“Planet Zero” (PRESS HERE to watch the new music video) and “The Saints of Violence and Innuendo” introduce an album that sees Shinedown taking on the forces that keep us divided at a time when we need to be coming together. These songs warn of the dangerous dehumanizing consequences of cancel culture run rampant – if we shut each other down, we risk losing empathy, respect for one another, and our ability to communicate and unify in a way that leads to actual progress and understanding.Planet Zerois an incisive look at some of society’s most critical issues, including the increasingly toxic division among those of differing ideologies, the need for honesty in our public discourse, and the corrosive effects of social media and cancel culture on mental health and humanity. Part social commentary and part in-depth exploration of the human psyche,there is also hope, triumph, and reminders that we all need one another. After all, it is the band’s impassioned striving for unity that has long been at the heart of their creative output.
The high-concept, ultra-vivid, viscerally charged album was produced by Shinedown’s Eric Bass (who also produced the band’s 2018 acclaimed album ATTENTION ATTENTION,)and recorded at Bass’newly built Big Animal Studio in South Carolina.
Shinedown also recently made their ATTENTION ATTENTION feature film available worldwide. A stunning visual counterpart to their 2018 acclaimed album of the same name, the film brings to life the album’s narrative about a mental health journey and the resolve of the human spirit, weaving together 14 songs into a provocative and thought-provoking cinematic story that illuminates yet another dimension of Shinedown’s limitless creativity. PRESS HEREto watch the trailer. The film, directed by Bill Yukich (Beyoncé, Metallica, Wiz Khalifa) is now available to rent and purchase worldwide on Vimeo and is available on iTunes in select territories. It is also available on digital and cable VOD in the U.S. and Canada, and on Blu-ray and DVD – PRESS HEREto purchase and watch.
SHINEDOWN TOUR DATES 2022
April 1 – Spokane, WA @ Spokane Arena # April 2 – Boise, ID @ ExtraMile Arena # April 4 – Billings, MT @ First Interstate Arena # April 6 – Fargo, ND @ FARGODOME # April 8 – Green Bay, WI @ Resch Center # April 9 – Peoria, IL @ Peoria Civic Center # April 11 – Sioux Falls, SD @ PREMIER Center # April 12 – Des Moines, IA @ Wells Fargo Arena # April 14 – Toledo, OH @ Huntington Center # April 15 – Hershey, PA @ GIANT Center # April 16 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun # April 18 – Portland, ME @ Cross Insurance Arena # April 20 – Baltimore, MD @ Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena # April 22 – Charleston, WV @ Charleston Coliseum # April 23 – Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center # April 24 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena # April 26 – Evansville, IN @ Ford Center # April 28 – Wichita, KS @ INTRUST Bank Arena # April 29 – Little Rock, AR @ Simmons Bank Arena # April 30 – Birmingham, AL @ Legacy Arena # May 3 – Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum # May 4 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena # May 6 – Greenville, SC @ Bon Secours Wellness Arena # May 7 – Knoxville, TN @ Thompson-Boling Arena # May 21 – Daytona Beach, FL @ Welcome To Rockville June 3 – Nuremberg, Germany @ Rock im Park June 5 – Nuremberg, Germany @ Rock am Ring June 7 – Budapest, Hungary @ Groupama Aréna + June 9 – Hamburg, Germany @ edel-optics.de Arena June 11 – Donington, UK @ Download Festival June 13 – Belfast, UK @ Ormeau Park + June 16 – Utrecht, Netherlands @ Tivoli Vredenburg June 17 – Clisson, France @ Hellfest June 18 – Dessel, Belgium @ Graspop Metal Meeting July 8 – Deadwood, SD @ Deadwood Live! Open Air Music Series July 9 – Deadwood, SD @ Deadwood Live! Open Air Music Series July 14 – Madison, WI @ The Sylvee ^ July 16 – Cadott, WI @ Rock Fest July 19 – Quebec, QC @ Centre Videotron *^ July 20 – Montreal, QC @ L’Olympia *^ July 22 – Toronto, ON @ History *^ July 23 – Windsor, ON @ The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor *^ July 26 – Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre *^ July 27 – Moose Jaw, SK @ Mosaic Place *^ July 29 – Saskatoon, SK @ TCU Place *^ July 30 – Calgary, AB @ Grey Eagle Resort & Casino *^ July 31 – Edmonton, AB @ Convention Centre *^ August 2 – Penticton, BC @ South Okanagan Event Centre *^ August 3 – Abbotsford, BC @ Abbotsford Centre *^ September 3 – Bonner Springs, KS @ Azura Amphitheater ~ September 5 – St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre ~ September 9 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Pavilion at Star Lake ~ September 10 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center ~ September 11 – Camden, NJ @ Waterfront Music Pavilion ~ September 13 – Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center ~ September 14 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center ~ September 16 – Gilford, NH @ Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion ~ September 17 – Syracuse, NY @ St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview ~ September 18 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loan Amphitheater at Virginia Beach ~ September 20 – Darien, NY @ Darien Lake Amphitheater ~ September 21 – Detroit, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theater ~ September 23 – Louisville, KY @ Louder Than Life (not a Live Nation date) September 26 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion ~ September 30 – Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory ~ October 1 – Houston, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion ~ October 2 – Cedar Park, TX @ H-E-B Center at Cedar Park ~ (not a Live Nation date) October 5 – Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater ~ October 7 – Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion ~ October 8 – Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center ~ October 9 – Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock (not a Live Nation date)
