NONPOINT Releases Music Video For Cover Of PRINCE's 'When Doves Cry'

NONPOINT has released the official Francesca Ludikar-directed music video for its cover version of “When Doves Cry”. The single was originally released by PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION in 1984 and was one of the hit singles from the album “Purple Rain”.

Vocalist Elias Soriano says: “Our fans throughout the years have always had a quiet romance with the songs we like to cover. Seeing that our biggest showing in that category, our cover of Phil Collins’s ‘In The Air Tonight’, was a suggestion from a friend and fan of the band, we thought it only fitting we let all our fans have a chance to throw their hats in the ring this time. So in the middle of a global pandemic, we threw up a bracket-style voting tournament with a list of contenders from METALLICA to DMX. As fans voted over a few weeks, it was exciting to watch it go from 16 songs to the final two, METALLICA’s ‘Nothing Else Matters’ vs Prince’s ‘When Doves Cry’. When they chose Prince, the real work began. We went through version after version. We knew we had to do it justice in the biggest way we could as tribute to Prince and still make it NONPOINT. I’m happy to report from initial response among the few who have heard, it is exciting and we look forward to our fans singing it for years to come.”

Dr. Fink of PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION reacted by saying: “I just listened to ‘Doves’ and thought it was great! NONPOINT’s revision of ‘When Doves Cry’ by PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION rocks like a champion bullfighter slaying a prized bull!”

In September, NONPOINT rescheduled just under a dozen shows on its current tour after “multiple members of the band” tested positive for COVID-19.

NONPOINT has toured with major acts like DISTURBED, PAPA ROACH, MUDVAYNE and SEVENDUST, to name a few. They have also been featured on the main stages and support stages of iconic festivals like Soundwave, Rock Am Park, Rock Am Ring, Ozzfest, Rock On The Range, Welcome To Rockville and many more.

In June, NONPOINT released the music video for “Ruthless”, the title track off the band’s upcoming EP. The single was made available through the group own label 361 Degrees Records LLC and was this year’s featured track on AEW’s “Blood And Guts” on TNT.

NONPOINT launched its independent record label 361 Degrees Records LLC in January of this year. They filmed the process of starting the label and making new music in a docu-series titled “A Path To Independence” that can be seen on the band’s YouTube and official web site.

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Q&A: Anton Reisenegger (Criminal) Refuses/Resists On New Album ‘Sacrificio’

Criminal mastermind Anton Reisenegger recounts the making of new album Sacrificio and the forces — resistance, repression, revolt — behind the album’s lyrics.
The post Q&A: Anton Reisenegger (Criminal) Refuses/Resists On New Album ‘Sacrificio’ appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

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Watch KISS Perform 'She's So European' And 'We Are One' Live For First Time

KISS performed the songs “She’s So European” and “We Are One” live for the first time ever during the band’s first indoor show aboard the ongoing “Kiss Kruise X”. Also included in the group’s setlist were rarely played tracks “Take It Off” and “Uh! All Night”.

The full setlist was as follows:

01. Psycho Circus
02. Take It Off (first performance since 1995)
03. Watchin’ You
04. Firehouse
05. She’s So European (live debut)
06. Lick It Up
07. We Are One (live debut)
08. Cold Gin
09. Uh! All Night (first performance since 1986)
10. I Love It Loud
11. Say Yeah
12. War Machine
13. Black Diamond
14. Detroit Rock City
15. Rock And Roll All Nite

Fan-filmed video footage can be seen below.

This year’s edition of KISS’s annual “Kiss Kruise” event kicked off on Friday, October 29. Fans need to be vaccinated to attend, bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons told The New York Post a few days ago.

KISS has already announced the 2022 edition of the “Kiss Kruise”. “Kiss Kruise XI” will set sail from Los Angeles to Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada, Mexico from October 29, 2022 to November 3, 2022.

On Saturday (October 30), KISS’s second Las Vegas residency was canceled, with fans who already purchased tickets via Ticketmaster having been notified that the shows are no longer taking place.

The cancelation came a day after Rolling Stone magazine published a story in which a group of KISS roadies suggested that the lack of COVID protocols enforced on the band’s “End Of The Road” farewell tour led to the death of a longtime guitar tech, 53-year-old Francis Stueber. Stueber died of coronavirus in his Detroit hotel room on October 17, just two days after being quarantined.

The crew members claimed the tour didn’t take strict enough safety measures, including not testing everyone regularly. In addition, some crew members allegedly disguised their illness and/or faked vaccine cards.

“End Of The Road” was originally scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City but is now expected to last well into 2022.

KISS’s current lineup consists of original members Simmons and Paul Stanley (guitar, vocals), alongside later band additions, guitarist Tommy Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991).

Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, drummer Peter Criss and lead guitarist Ace Frehley, KISS staged its first “farewell” tour in 2000, the last to feature the group’s original lineup.

.@TheKISSKruise X Stardust Theater Night 1 Setlist.
What do you think, #KISSNAVY? pic.twitter.com/ScTWHA5Eat

— KISS (@kiss) November 1, 2021

KISS KRUISE X. #1
Psycho Circus
Take it Off (since 1995)
Watchin’ You
Firehouse
She’s So European (live debut)
Lick It Up
We Are One (Live debut)
Cold Gin
Uh! All Night (first since 1986)
I Love It Loud
Say Yeah
War Machine
Black Diamond
Detroit Rock City
Rock and Roll All Nite

— Right Between The Eyes Podcast (@RBTEpodcast) November 1, 2021

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JOHN PETRUCCI On 'A View From The Top Of The World': 'If You're A DREAM THEATER Fan, You're Going To Like This Album'

In a new interview with Japanese music critic and radio personality Masa Ito of TVK’s “Rock City”, DREAM THEATER guitarist John Petrucci spoke about the initial fan reception to the band’s fifteenth studio album, “A View From The Top Of The World”, which came out on October 22 via InsideOut Music/Sony Music.

“It’s funny. Whenever we make new music, we’re not really sure how the audience will accept it or what they’ll think of it,” he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “But with this album, if you’re a DREAM THEATER fan, you’re going to like this album. It sounds very much like it’s exactly what we do. But it’s modern, so it sounds modern, it sounds like the band has definitely progressed and grown, but it sounds so DREAM THEATER.

“It’s interesting, because some people who have listened to us for a long time, they really want that — they want us to sound like DREAM THEATER sounds — and some people want us to do something totally different,” he continued. “So it’s sort of strange sometimes with a band.

“We’ve been around for a long time — this is our fifteenth studio album — and I think that for us to do something that sounds this sort of signature of the band was a really great accomplishment and we’re really proud of it.”

The artwork for “A View From The Top Of The World” was created by longtime DREAM THEATER collaborator Hugh Syme (RUSH, IRON MAIDEN, STONE SOUR).

DREAM THEATER — comprised of Petrucci, James LaBrie, Jordan Rudess, John Myung and Mike Mangini — was in the middle of a sold-out world tour in support of their last release “Distance Over Time” and the 20th anniversary of “Scenes From A Memory” when a global pandemic brought the world to a stop. The musicians found themselves at home, with LaBrie in Canada and the rest of the group in the States. As fate would have it, they’d just finished construction on DTHQ (Dream Theater Headquarters) — a combination live recording studio, rehearsal space, control room, equipment storage, and creative hive. With LaBrie in Canada, he initially wrote with the band via Zoom on a monitor in DTHQ. In March 2021, he flew down to New York, quarantined, and recorded his vocals face to face with Petrucci.

“A View From The Top Of The World” was produced by Petrucci, with engineering and additional production by James “Jimmy T” Meslin and mixing and mastering by Andy Sneap.

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ALICE COOPER Announces January/February 2022 Tour Dates

Following his just-completed successful fall tour, Alice Cooper will be back on the road again in 2022, starting in Cincinnati on January 28 and running through February 8 in Orlando at the Hard Rock Live. He will then headline the Monsters Of Rock Cruise February 9-14. All dates are below.

VIP pre-sale is set for Tuesday, November 2 at 10 a.m. local time in each market. The public on-sale follows on Friday, November 5 at 10 a.m. local time.

Cooper, a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee, usually spends up to six months a year on the road, bringing his iconic brand of rock psycho-drama to fans both old and new, enjoying it as much as the audience does. Known as the architect of shock rock, Cooper (in both the original ALICE COOPER band and as a solo artist) has rattled the cages and undermined the authority of generations of guardians of the status quo, continuing to surprise fans and exude danger at every turn, like a great horror movie. Alice Cooper concerts remain a “not-to-be-missed” attraction.

Cooper’s universally acclaimed new album, “Detroit Stories”, is out now via earMUSIC. The record is a celebration of the sound and spirit of the golden era of Detroit rock, and debuted on the Billboard album sales chart at No. 1 upon release in February.

The Associated Press called “Detroit Stories” “a masterpiece of classic rock, soul and R&B in homage to the city that produced him,” while Entertainment Weekly proclaimed the release “a love letter from Cooper to his city, and one that encourages a deep dive into his own back catalog and that of his peers.” Variety deemed the album “a delicious tip of the hat to ’70s classics such as ‘Killer’ and ‘School’s Out’ without sounding like a throwback.” Rolling Stone enthused, “That spirit of rock & roll abandon still exists in Cooper’s music half a century later, and his inherent showmanship is why people still fill theaters to see his guillotine act. It’s also why his records are still fun to listen to: You never know where he’s headed.”

Alice Cooper tour dates:

Jan. 28 – Cincinnati, OH – ICON Music Center
Jan. 29 – Toledo, OH – Stranahan Theater
Jan. 31 – Wabash, IN – Honeywell Center
Feb. 03 – Louisville, KY – Palace Theatre
Feb. 04 – Cherokee, NC – Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center
Feb. 05 – Savannah, GA – Johnny Mercer Theatre
Feb. 07 – Clearwater, FL – Ruth Eckerd Hall
Feb. 08 – Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live
Feb. 09 – Feb. 14 – At Sea – Monsters of Rock Cruise

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TIM 'RIPPER' OWENS Says Heavy Metal Is 'Doing Great' At The Moment: 'I Make A Living Touring'

In a new interview with the “Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen” podcast, Tim “Ripper” Owens discussed the state of heavy metal at the moment and how it compares to the way it was during his time with JUDAS PRIEST. He stated: “I’ve said it, and, obviously, Blabbermouth has ran with it — probably five or six times — but I’ve said I joined JUDAS PRIEST in one of the worst times of heavy metal ever. ’96, ’97 — my time in JUDAS PRIEST, it wasn’t good… It was a horrible time — nobody was playing big shows. But since the early 2000s on, it’s been way better. I make a living touring. Whether it’s small venues or not, I make a living playing heavy metal all over the world. And yeah, it’s great. We don’t have to be on [the top of the charts]. We do have bands that still help — DISTURBED will get a song [played on the radio]. Any band that has a classic edge to it and ends up on the radio, I still love it. But we don’t have to be. We stay right here, man. We just float along. And metal’s doing great.”

Owens joined PRIEST in 1996 and recorded two studio albums with the band — 1997’s “Jugulator” and 2001’s “Demolition” — before PRIEST reunited with Rob Halford in 2003.

Three months ago, Owens told the “Iron City Rocks” podcast about Halford’s return to PRIEST: “I knew it was coming. And I understood why. Rob needed JUDAS PRIEST, and JUDAS PRIEST needed Rob. And I understood that. I would never quit JUDAS PRIEST, so they fired me. And I wanted to do other things as well. That’s why I recorded that ICED EARTH record. I kind of started wanting to do some other things. ‘Cause we have a lot of downtime. I just felt like it.

“JUDAS PRIEST was just so much fun, and the guys were such great friends, and it was such a great time,” he continued. “I didn’t burn any bridges. I left and I don’t talk bad about ’em. Other than me saying that they’ve erased my time. I mean, [the albums I made during] my era of JUDAS PRIEST [are not available]. But on a personal level, the guys are friends, the management, Rob — everybody. We all get along. I knew it was gonna happen. And it was always something that was there.”

Owens is currently in a new band called KK’S PRIEST with ex-JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing, along with guitarist A.J. Mills (HOSTILE), bassist Tony Newton (VOODOO SIX) and drummer Sean Elg (DEATHRIDERS, CAGE).

KK’S PRIEST’s debut album, “Sermons Of The Sinner”, was released on October 1 via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records

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IRON MAIDEN's BRUCE DICKINSON Announces Two-Month North American 2022 Spoken-Word Tour

IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson will embark on a two-month North American spoken-word tour in January.

Dickinson is considered one of the world’s most storied musicians. Aside from decades spent delivering high-octane performances with his larger-than-life persona in IRON MAIDEN, Bruce has lived an extraordinary off-stage existence too. A true polymath, his accomplishments include: pilot and airline captain, aviation entrepreneur, beer brewer, motivational speaker, film scriptwriter, twice-published novelist and Sunday Times best-selling author, radio presenter, TV actor, sports commentator and international fencer… to name but a few.

So there’s plenty to be entertained by, throughout the evening’s cornucopia of fascinating tales and derring-do exploits, all delivered by Bruce with characteristically infectious enthusiasm and wry wit.

Split into two parts, the first section of the show sees Bruce taking a humorous and often satirical look at the world from his own very personal perspective, treating the audience to private insights into his drive and ambition, peppered with plenty of MAIDEN anecdotes, and a myriad of other experiences encompassing not just the giddy heights but also the extreme lows, as told first-hand in his inimitable anarchic style, punctuated with photographs, videos and sometimes even erupting into song a-capella, to illustrate a point.

The final section of the evening is devoted entirely to the aforementioned question-and-answer session, with the opportunity to pose questions on any subject whatsoever. As Bruce’s answers will all be completely improvised — the more left-field and quirky the question, the more interesting and compelling the response is likely to be.

Tour dates:

Jan. 17 – Ft Lauderdale, FL @ Parker Playhouse
Jan. 18 – Orlando, FL @ Plaza Live
Jan. 20 – Tampa, FL @ Theatre
Jan. 21 – Jacksonville, FL @ Florida Theatre
Jan. 23 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
Jan. 24 – Raleigh, NC @ Meymandi Concert Hall at Duke Energy Center
Jan. 26 – Nashville, TN @ Polk Theater
Jan. 27 – Columbus, OH @ Jo Ann Davidson Theatre
Jan. 29 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead
Jan. 30 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
Feb. 01 – Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY @ Buffalo State Performing Arts Center
Feb. 02 – Albany, NY @ The Egg
Feb. 04 – New York City, NY @ The Town Hall
Feb. 05 – Boston, MA @ Schubert Theatre at the Boch Center
Feb. 07 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore
Feb. 08 – Washington, DC @ Warner Theatre
Feb. 10 – Cleveland, OH @ MGM Northfield Park
Feb. 11 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
Feb. 13 – Minneapolis, MN @ Pantages Theatre
Feb. 14 – Milwaukee-Racine, WI @ Pabst Theater
Feb. 16 – Des Moines, IA @ Hoyt Sherman Place Theatre
Feb. 17 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Rose State College Hudiberg Chevrolet Center
Feb. 19 – Kansas City, KS @ Uptown Theater
Feb. 20 – Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre
Feb. 22 – Dallas, TX @ Majestic Theatre
Feb. 23 – Houston, TX @ Stafford Centre
Feb. 24 – Austin, TX @ Paramount Theatre
Feb. 26 – Phoenix, AZ @ Mesa Arts Center
Feb. 28 – San Diego, CA @ Balboa Theatre
Mar. 01 – Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum Theatre
Mar. 03 – San Francisco, CA @ Palace Of Fine Arts
Mar. 04 – Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Mar. 06 – Seattle, WA @ The Moore Theatre
Mar. 12 – Las Vegas, NV @ House Of Blues
Mar. 14 – Vancouver (New Westminster), BC @ Massey Theatre
Mar. 16 – Victoria, BC @ Royal Theatre
Mar. 18 – Edmonton, AB @ Winspear Centre
Mar. 20 – Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre
Mar. 21 – Calgary, AB @ Jack Singer Concert Hall
Mar. 23 – Montreal, QC @ MTELUS
Mar. 26 – Ottawa, ON @ Algonquin Commons Theatre
Mar. 27 – Quebec City, QC @ Palais Montcalm
Mar. 29 – Hamilton, ON @ FirstOntario Concert Hall
Mar. 30 – Kitchener, Centre In The Square

Tickets go on sale on Friday, November 5

Dickinson recently told Pablo of the Minneapolis, Minnesota radio station 93X about his current spoken-word tour, which kicked off in his native United Kingdom in August: “It’s hopefully reasonably amusing. It’s a look at how a spotty kid from the middle of nowhere ended up being the singer in IRON MAIDEN wearing crazy trousers, and all points in between. And it covers the cancer thing. It covers a lot of the early-days stuff, like how I learned to sing, all the weird stuff that happened to me at school and what formed your personality [and] character — all done with a very dark sense of humor, I hope. And then we take a break, and then the last 45 minutes, one hour-ish is basically improv. And so what I do is I take cue cards from the audience they write on the night, and I arrange them into kind of an improv script. Then I do that. That’s the show.”

Back in October/November 2017, Dickinson read from his autobiography, “What Does This Button Do?”, talked about the experience of writing it and answered questions from the audience at half a dozen U.S. appearances, including in New York City and Los Angeles.

Six years ago, Dickinson had surgery to remove a cancerous lump on his throat. The rocker, who had a golf gall-size tumor on his tongue and another in the lymph node on the right side of his neck, got the all-clear in May 2015 after radiation and nine weeks of chemotherapy.

Bruce previously told iNews that he wanted to cover his cancer battle in his 2017 autobiography to raise awareness of the condition, which affects people who often have no or minimal history of tobacco or alcohol abuse. The individuals with HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer who undergo treatment have a disease-free survival rate of 85 to 90 percent over five years. Dickinson also expressed disdain for some of the media outlets that suggested he may have gotten tongue cancer from performing oral sex on women.

IRON MAIDEN’s 17th studio album, “Senjutsu”, was released on September 3 via BMG. The band’s first LP in six years was recorded in 2019 in Paris with longstanding producer Kevin Shirley and co-produced by bassist Steve Harris.

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Watch DAVID ELLEFSON Perform Live For First Time Since Being Fired From MEGADETH

This past weekend, David Ellefson performed live for the first time since being fired from MEGADETH, taking the stage at the Chiller Theatre convention at the Hilton Parsippany in Parsippany, New Jersey.

The 56-year-old bassist, who was promoting his found-footage horror film “Dwellers” at the event, joined THE DEAD ELVI, the Chiller Theatre house band which performs original music and serves as the backup group for musical guests on Saturday nights, to play a cover version of the Alice Cooper classic “I’m Eighteen”.

Fan-filmed video footage of Ellefson’s appearance with THE DEAD ELVI can be seen below.

Ellefson was fired from MEGADETH six months ago, just days after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter. At the time, Ellefson released a statement on Instagram denying all social media chatter that he “groomed” an underage fan. He also filed a report with the police department in Scottsdale, Arizona alleging unlawful distribution of sexually explicit images of him by unknown offenders. In the report, Ellefson admitted that he had been exchanging sexual text messages with a Dutch teenager, who captured a video of several of their virtual “masturbating encounters” without his consent and shared them with friends. (According to Ellefson, the woman was 19 at the time of their first virtual sexual encounter.) Ellefson, who lives in Scottsdale, first became aware of the video on May 9, when the claim “David Ellefson of MEGADETH is a pedophile” appeared on Instagram. Ellefson told police he was notified on May 14 by MEGADETH that the band would be parting ways with him. Three days later, he was fired.

Two days after MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine announced Ellefson’s latest departure from the band, the bassist released a follow-up statement in which he vowed to file a “defamation lawsuit” against the person who “illegally posted a very private video” of the bassist and made “false allegations” against him. He also said he was working with the police in Scottsdale “in their investigation into charges regarding revenge pornography to be filed against the person who posted the video. This person will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Ellefson wrote. He went on to say that he was “taking this time to be with my family” and wished his “bandmates” the best with their tour.

Ellefson was in MEGADETH from the band’s inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest exit.

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ZAKK WYLDE Reportedly Plays On Every Song On Upcoming OZZY OSBOURNE Album

Zakk Wylde reportedly plays on every song on the upcoming Ozzy Osbourne album.

The guitarist, who has been a member of Ozzy’s solo band on and off for nearly 35 years, was excluded from the legendary heavy metal singer’s 2020 LP “Ordinary Man”, which was the first Osbourne effort to be produced by Andrew Watt.

After Ozzy recently confirmed that Zakk makes an appearance on his “work-in-progress” follow-up to “Ordinary Man”, which is tentatively due in 2022, Diary Of The Madmen – The Ultimate Ozzy Osbourne Podcast recently posed the question on social media: “Does Zakk play all of the rhythm guitars on the new album?” Someone handling Ozzy’s verified account apparently responded” “Yes Zakk plays on the entire new record” and added, “He was home from tour this time unlike when I did Ordinary Man”. You can see a screenshot of the exchange below.

Ozzy recently revealed that 15 songs have been recorded for his upcoming LP. He is once again working with Watt on the album, which will include additional guest appearances by Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Tony Iommi.

Asked about his contributions to the new Ozzy LP, Zakk told Music Radar: “The new Ozzy stuff is sounding great. And for sure, it’s an honor to play on a record with all my heroes. It’s pretty cool… I can’t wait for everyone to hear it. I’ve always loved ‘Blow By Blow’ and ‘Wired’, but honestly, every record Jeff Beck has put out is amazing.”

Wylde went on to say that Beck “definitely sounds slamming” on the upcoming Ozzy album. “The same goes for all the guys — what Tony Iommi played, and then Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, it’s all killer, for sure. On those tracks I’m playing rhythm guitar for my heroes… it’s crazy! It sounds awesome and I’m beyond honored to be doing it.”

Last month, Ozzy told Metal Hammer magazine that his new album will be “similar in tone to ‘Ordinary Man’, but I can’t describe it completely. I’ve not heard it for a while because it keeps going over to the next person to add their parts — we’re fucking around with it all the time,” he said.

Watt connected with Osbourne after meeting Ozzy’s daughter Kelly at a friend’s party and pitching her on the idea of Post Malone and Ozzy collaborating together.

Seven months ago, Ozzy told U.K.’s Metal Hammer magazine that he and Andrew had completed more than a dozen for his next studio LP. “My only concern right now is finishing the bloody thing,” he said. “We’ve got the same production time as the last time, so there’s definitely going to be some similarities. But you’ll just have to wait and see what you think.”

In December 2020, Watt told Guitar World that he and the BLACK SABBATH legend were “halfway through” the new LP. “There’s some songs on there that are like eight or nine minutes long that are these really crazy journeys. I’m really excited about it,” he said.

Like “Ordinary Man”, which featured Watt on guitar, Duff McKagan (GUNS N’ ROSES) on bass and Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS) on drums, Ozzy’s next album will feature guest appearances by a number of other notable musicians. “There’s a bunch of people involved,” Andrew told Guitar World. “I can’t say for sure until the end, but I started doing a bunch of basic tracks with Chad and Robert Trujillo [METALLICA], who used to play in Ozzy’s band. And Taylor Hawkins [FOO FIGHTERS] also came in and played a bunch on the record as well, which adds a different flair — it kind of harkened back to Ozzy’s ’80s era, in a great way. And I think it’s so cool for a rock fan to be able to listen to half an album with Chad Smith on drums, and then you flip it over and you get to hear Taylor Hawkins. And you know, the last album was really special for everyone involved. And so there was no point in Ozzy or me doing this again unless we thought we could bring something new to the table. And I feel like we’re achieving that.”

Wylde previously told Classic Rock that he wasn’t disappointed to be excluded from “Ordinary Man”. “Not at all,” he said. “I thought he and Andrew Watt did a great job. And I’m not on the new one either. Again it’s Ozz and Andrew. I understand why I’m not in the studio. Ozz once said to me that he didn’t want to be the lead singer in BLACK LABEL SOCIETY: ‘You have your own thing now, so go to it.’

“I don’t have to be involved in everything Ozz does. I’ll always be there for him and Sharon. If they call now and ask me to go over to feed their dogs for three days… I’m there.”

This past April, Zakk told SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” that he checked out some of the songs on “Ordinary Man” and liked what he heard. “It came out cool,” he said. “I saw the videos and everything like that. It’s cool, man. And Andrew and everything like that — yeah, it was rocking.”

Photo credit: Mark Weiss Photography

Ozzy CONFIRMS directly to Diary of the Madmen – The Ultimate Ozzy Podcast that Zakk Wylde does indeed play guitar on every track on his upcoming album! ?#Ozzy #ZakkWylde

Posted by Diary Of The Madmen – The Ultimate Ozzy Osbourne Podcast on Friday, October 29, 2021

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BEAST IN BLACK Releases 'Hardcore' Music Video

BEAST IN BLACK, the Helsinki, Finland-based metal group led by former BATTLE BEAST guitarist Anton Kabanen, released its third album, “Dark Connection”, last Friday (October 29). The official music video for the LP’s third single, “Hardcore”, can be seen below.

Kabanen comments: “Welcome to the next century. Dark connections and prohibited pleasures is the name of this ultimate game, a reality within reality. Some things are just too irresistible not to taste, even when it’s your own life that is at stake. Time to reveal the naked truth and face the judgment. What you’re about to witness is the result of an unapologetic and unforgiving vision inspired by the mind-bending works of Hajime Sorayama and raw cyberpunk animes of the ’90’s, namely ‘AD Police Files: The Phantom Woman’. For your pleasure, or your slight, we present you: ‘Hardcore’!”

Produced, recorded and mixed by Kabanen and mastered by Emil Pohjalainen (Amethyst Sound Productions), “Dark Connection” features the most prominent synths of all of BEAST IN BLACK’s recordings so far, especially in the form of the Italo disco, Euro beat and symphonic elements that the band is so widely loved for. Despite that, at its core, it’s still all about simple heavy metal. The kind of ageless melodies that Kabanen has always been able to create once again melt with heroic stories that are rooted in sci-fi, fantasy and cyberpunk, that are represented in the artwork of the band’s longtime collaborator Roman Ismailov.

Kabanen previously said about “Dark Connection”: “Enter cyberpunk. Flying cars, sprawling metropolis, valleys of neon lights, emotionless killers, gynoids, femmes fatales, shadowy characters, lethal lust, forbidden passion, love larger than life, space travel… All this and much more is what ‘Dark Connection’ holds within. Such cyberpunk animes as Armitage III, Cyber City Oedo 808, AD Police, Battle Angel Alita and Bubblegum Crisis have essentially served as sources of inspiration, as well as the immortal classic film by Ridley Scott, ‘Blade Runner’. And as always, a BEAST IN BLACK album wouldn’t be a BEAST IN BLACK album without a heavy impact of Berserk, the manga and anime creation of Kentaro Miura. Sadly, the beloved author passed away while we were still making this album. Thus, ‘Dark Connection’ is dedicated to Kentaro Miura.”

Anton stated about the artwork: “The instantly captivating album artwork was once again done by Roman Ismailov. Its visual emphasis significantly correlates with the recurring themes of ‘Dark Connection’. The tense gaze shared between the Beast and the drop-dead gorgeous femme fatale gynoid Cynthia speaks of an exciting, arousing, dangerous, mysterious and even questionable connection on a physical, emotional and moral level. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, well, this certainly is the case!”

“Dark Connection” track listing:

01. Blade Runner
02. Bella Donna
03. Highway To Mars
04. Hardcore
05. One Night In Tokyo
06. Moonlight Rendezvous
07. Revengeance Machine
08. Dark New World
09. To The Last Drop Of Blood
10. Broken Survivors
11. My Dystopia
12. Battle Hymn (MANOWAR cover)
13. They Don’t Care About Us (MICHAEL JACKSON cover)

BEAST IN BLACK is:

Yannis Papadopoulos – vocals
Mate Molnar – bass
Atte Palokangas – drums
Kasperi Heikkinen – guitar
Anton Kabanen – guitar, vocals

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