EDGUY and AVANTASIA frontman Tobias Sammet has lamented the devastating impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on the music industry, with canceled concerts, tours and music festivals, all leaving hundreds of thousands of crew members out of work. In his end-of-year message on social media, Tobias wrote: "Friends, here's to a better 2021! May you ...
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The reunited expanded classic lineup of German power metallers HELLOWEEN will release its much-anticipated album in the summer of 2021. The disc's first single, "Skyfall", will arrive on April 2, 2021. The "Pumpkins United" lineup features returning singer Michael Kiske and guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen alongside current singer Andi Deris, guitarists Michael Weikath and Sascha Gerstner, ...
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Increasingly regarded as leading lights in a still-flourishing prog metal world, PYRAMAZE haven't taken the easiest route to prominence, with persistent line-up issues seeming to slow their well-deserved ascent. By this point, no such problems exist. The arrival of vocalist Terje Harøy for 2015's "Disciples Of The Sun" seemed to lift every aspect of the ...
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Rob Halford (JUDAS PRIEST), Biff Byford (SAXON) and Doro Pesch are among the musicians who have wished MOTÖRHEAD's "Ace Of Spades" album a happy 40th anniversary in a new video posted to the band's official YouTube channel. Check out the 10-and-a-half-minute clip below. Featured artists: 0:00 Don Jamieson ("That Metal Show") 0:54 Frank Ferrer (GUNS ...
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If you want gritty realism, heavy metal can provide. But if you want escapism of a distinctly ludicrous hue, heavy metal can provide that too, albeit with the necessary caveat that this stuff will really rot your teeth. SKELETOON are unapologetic in their fantasy fervor and melodic cheeriness. They reportedly began life as a HELLOWEEN ...
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The "Pumpkins United" lineup of HELLOWEEN has just finished filming the first video from its forthcoming studio album. The new LP was recorded in part at the H.O.M.E. Studios in Hamburg (where everything started in 1984). The same recording console used for such HELLOWEEN albums as "Master Of The Rings", "Time Of The Oath" and ...
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The first thing that strikes you is how satisfyingly heavy UNLEASH THE ARCHERS have become over the years. Not that the Canadians' early albums lacked cojones, it's just that power metal has become such a sonically predictable genre over the decades, and bands with the gall to do something different are always particularly welcome. With ...
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Stern Pinball, Inc., a global lifestyle brand based on the iconic and outrageously fun modern American game of pinball, and Incendium, a multi-faceted production company known for an array of animation, comic books, toys, and video games, have announced the complete soundtrack listing for a new limited-edition pinball machine celebrating the world's greatest illustrated magazine ...
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In a new interview with Metal Express Radio, former ACCEPT and current U.D.O. frontman Udo Dirkschneider, who turned 68 in April, was asked if he can see himself retiring anytime soon. He responded (hear audio below): "No. [Laughs] I don't think so. A lot of people ask me, 'Are you thinking ...
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It might not seem like the most radical thing in the world, but GOBLINS BLADE are a proper heavy metal band. If you've ever winced at power metal's occasional descent into overt cheeriness, or folk metal's wistful 'n' windswept shtick, then the perfect antidote has always been some red-blooded, muscular and defiantly old-school metal, spiritually ...
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The first trailer for "André Matos: Maestro Of Rock", the forthcoming documentary about former ANGRA singer André Matos, can be seen below. Due on on September 14, 2021 on what would have been André's 50th birthday, the film will include never-before-seen footage from his personal archives and interviews with friends, family and rock musicians from ...
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Former ANTHRAX frontman Neil Turbin says that he is open to the idea of taking part in a special concert featuring most of the singers that have fronted the band over the course of its nearly four-decade existence. ANTHRAX has had a number of vocalists — including Turbin, Joey Belladonna, Dan Nelson and John Bush ...
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The "Pumpkins United" lineup of the German heavy metal band HELLOWEEN has been forced to postpone its previously announced European "United Alive World Tour Part II" due to the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the globe. The trek was scheduled to kick off on September 26 in Zvolen, Slovakia and run through October 31 in ...
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FIREWIND, the band featuring former OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist Gus G., has released a seven-minute EPK (Electronic Press Kit) for its ninth, self-titled studio album, which will be made available on May 15. FIREWIND recently parted ways with guitarist/keyboardist Bob Katsionis and singer Henning Basse. The group's new vocalist is Herbie Langhans, who has previously played ...
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The "Pumpkins United" lineup of HELLOWEEN recently entered the H.O.M.E. Studios in Hamburg (where everything started in 1984) to work on brand new song material. The same recording console used for such HELLOWEEN albums as "Master Of The Rings", "Time Of The Oath" and "Better Than Raw" is now being utilized to record the band's ...
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Tobias Sammet says that he is working on a new album from his AVANTASIA project. The disc will be the follow-up to "Moonglow", which came out last year. In addition, the German singer and songwriter has revealed that his long-running band EDGUY is currently "on hiatus." Sammet broke the news of his recording plans in ...
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German metallers HELLOWEEN have paid tribute to their founding drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg on the 25th anniversary of his death. Earlier today (Sunday, March 8), HELLOWEEN uploaded a four-minute video of a Schwichtenberg drum solo, along with the following message: "On this day 25 years ago our friend Ingo Schwichtenberg passed away. We will never forget ...
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PINK CREAM 69 has announced the addition of two new members — guitarist Marco Wriedt and bass player Roman Beselt. Wriedt replaces Uwe Reitenauer, who left the group late last year for personal reasons, while Beselt takes the place of Dennis Ward. Commented founding member Alfred Koffler: "It wasn't a long search. And it was ...
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Roland Grapow says that he doesn't understand why the members of HELLOWEEN "still have problems" with him, almost two decades after he was dismissed from the group. Grapow joined HELLOWEEN in 1989 as the replacement for original guitarist Kai Hansen and stayed in the band for 12 years. He appeared on the HELLOWEEN albums "Pink ...
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DIRKSCHNEIDER, the German band led by former ACCEPT frontman Udo Dirkschneider, will support HELLOWEEN on the European leg of the "United Alive World Tour Part II" 2020 tour in the fall. The DIRKSCHNEIDER portion of the trek will kick off on September 26 in Zvolen, Slovakia and conclude on October 31 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Tour ...
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LOVEBITES, the all-female heavy metal band from Tokyo, Japan, has released a new single called "Signs Of Deliverance". The song is taken from the group's new album, "Electric Pentagram", which is due on April 24 via Red River Entertainment/BFD, in partnership with JVCKENWOOD Victor Entertainment Group and distributed by The Orchard in North America. "'Signs ...
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There's nothing more satisfying than shutting people up. With their first two albums, and a whole bunch of acclaimed live shows, LOVEBITES swiftly proved that the fact they are an all-woman group that collectively weigh slightly less than one of Chuck Billy's forearms is, thank the metal gods, the least interesting or impressive thing about ...
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At a point in time where most bands take at least two years between albums, HAUNT's generous prolificity has been a real treat over the last couple of years. Not content with producing some of the best doom metal of recent years with BEASTMAKER, frontman and creative mastermind Trevor Church clearly had some extra fire ...
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HELLOWEEN's as-yet-untitled new album will see the legendary German power metallers going "back to the roots," with the band recording fully analogue and Dani Löble playing the drum kit previously used by HELLOWEEN's original drummer, the late Ingo Schwichtenberg, on the legendary "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" recordings. A sneak peek is available in the ...
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The "Pumpkins United" lineup of the German heavy metal band HELLOWEEN recently entered the H.O.M.E. Studios in Hamburg (where everything started in 1984) to work on brand new song material. The same recording console used for such HELLOWEEN albums as "Master Of The Rings", "Time Of The Oath" and "Better Than Raw" is now being ...
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Japan's iron maidens LOVEBITES show their samurai spirit in latest music video, "When Destinies Align", out today. The thrilling heavy metal romp is available to download now and is the lead track from the band's third album, "Electric Pentagram", out on CD in the U.K. via JPU Records from January 31, 2020 and available to ...
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In a recent interview with the "Metal Magdalene With Jet" show on Metal Messiah Radio, frontman Andi Deris of German power metal legends HELLOWEEN reflected upon his joining of the band in 1994. Deris replaced Michael Kiske, who was unceremoniously dismissed from HELLOWEEN after the duel failures that were 1991's "Pink Bubbles Go Ape" and ...
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Timo Tolkki has accused the Swedish band ECLIPSE of "ripping off" a song from his post-STRATOVARIUS project REVOLUTION RENAISSANCE. According to the guitarist, the ECLIPSE track "The Masquerade", which appears on the group's latest album, "Paradigm", is a copy of the song "Revolution Renaissance" from the band he founded after he left STRATOVARIUS in 2008. ...
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Power metal was considered outdated when HAMMERFALL released its "Glory To The Brave" debut in 1997. Save for BLIND GUARDIAN, very few power metal acts actually increased in popularity throughout the decade, with the style's pioneering band, HELLOWEEN, struggling to regain footing after lineup changes, and alternative and grunge music taking precedence, effectively pushing out ...
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The official video for "Halloween", the second single from HELLOWEEN's upcoming live DVD/Blu-ray and live CD, can be seen below. During the "Hellbook" production to celebrate HELLOWEEN's 30th anniversary, the contributors came to realize that the chemistry in the band had always been unique — and that what belongs together needs to be together again. ...
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