Author: planetsixstring

Swedish melodic death metal pioneers AT THE GATES have released the third single off their upcoming album, “The Nightmare Of Being”, which will arrive on July 2 via Century Media Records. The music video for the track “The Fall Into Time”, directed by longtime AT THE GATES collaborator Costin Chioreanu of Twilight13Media (ARCH ENEMY, GRAVE, BORKNAGAR), can be seen below.

AT THE GATES vocalist Tomas Lindberg commented: “Hello everybody! As you might have already guessed, this album is our most ambitious effort yet, including a lot of different orchestrations and new takes on arrangements, etc.

“This track, ‘The Fall Into Time’ is one of the centerpieces of the album. It is big, demanding and epic.

“We have always found it intriguing to compose songs like these — think ‘Neverwhere’, ‘Primal Breath’, ‘The Night Eternal’ and ‘Daggers Of Black Haze’. It is heavy, mean and dark as well as almost cinematic in its thematic approach.

“I have always said that the AT THE GATES listener wants to be challenged and that you hopefully all are as curious as we are when it comes to exploring new musical territory. This song is one of those moments… Enjoy!

“For the video for this more adventurous track we chose to work again with our dear friend and co-conspirator Costin Chioreanu, as we thought that it required a more arty and avantgarde approach. I was, as always, very intrigued to see what he would come up with, as he has a deep understanding of what AT THE GATES is about. He did not disappoint, and this video is a perfect complement to a song like this. Costin went all the way with this one. Truly inspiring!”

While main parts for “The Nightmare Of Being” were recorded in several different Swedish studios — drums at Studio Gröndal with Jens Bogren, guitars and bass with Andy La Rocque at Sonic Train Studio and vocals at Welfare Sounds with Per Stålberg — the LP was mixed and mastered at Fascination Street Studios (AMON AMARTH, OPETH, KREATOR) by Jens Bogren, who has previously worked with AT THE GATES on the “At War With Reality” comeback album in 2014. The album’s visual concept was developed by artist Eva Nahon.

Lindberg previously stated about the album’s concept: “The overall theme deals with the topic of pessimism, and I have been diving deep down in pessimistic philosophers. Trying to understand this way of looking at the world. It is not a negative album, more a gateway into new ideas for me personally, trying out different perspectives. You could call the album an introduction to pessimism as a concept, I guess. It is a very dark album, but not negative…”

And musically, while “The Nightmare Of Being” unveils a newly liberated and adventurous AT THE GATES via some of the bravest and most mesmerizing material they have ever written, Lindberg added: “It still sounds like AT THE GATES, 100 percent. It is just more of everything…”

“The Nightmare Of Being” track listing:

01. Spectre Of Extinction
02. The Paradox
03. The Nightmare Of Being
04. Garden Of Cyrus
05. Touched By The White Hands Of Death
06. The Fall Into Time
07. Cult of Salvation
08. The Abstract Enthroned
09. Cosmic Pessimism
10. Eternal Winter Of Reason

Speaking to MessedUp Magazine, Lindberg stated about “The Nightmare Of Being”: “We were very excited about [2014’s] ‘At War With Reality’ already before it was released, because it represented our comeback. No one was as excited about it as us, but some time later, I thought it was too slick, too well-produced. ‘To Drink From the Night Itself’ was a response to that and we wanted it to be dirty and gritty and have loads of classic death metal sounds on it, like a lot of reverb on the vocals and that stuff. It was a record for old-school fans. The upcoming album is somewhere in between, something that continues on the concept we started on the two previous albums where we incorporated much more of our proggy, krauty and avant-gardist influences. Just to give you the picture of how it sounds; one song goes by the nickname ‘the Goblin song,’ another we call ‘the Neu song.’ But I promise you we don’t take it too far — people wouldn’t listen to it if we did. [Laughs] When we were in the studio, we told Jens Bogren [producer] to keep the gritty sound and the attack from the last record and put the overall sound in between the comeback records. And it sounds awesome.

“When we did the Roadburn festival two years ago we did a special set with guest vocalists and string instruments and that stuff on stage and played songs we never played live before. All that was very inspiring because we realized we can do it today, the things we thought we could do as teenagers when we wanted to be the KING CRIMSON of death metal [laughs], but we weren’t good enough. After the Roadburn gig, we talked about incorporating more of those elements on record.

“Let’s say we’re super excited about how people will receive the record because there’s stuff on the album never heard on an AT THE GATES record before — a lot of weird things. [Laughs] For old fans, there’s at least five or six classic AT THE GATES songs on it, but it’s a quite diverse album.

“AT THE GATES have been around for such a long time by now that we don’t need to release records to please someone else — we want to do things we like ourselves. It’s still death metal, but it has evolved. We just want it to sell enough to get money to record the next album. [Laughs] ”

AT THE GATES guitarist Jonas Stålhammar recently told Italy’s Poisoned Rock about the music he and his bandmates have written for the upcoming effort: “It’s kind of progressing even more from the last album. It’s gonna be different than that one too, but still you know it’s AT THE GATES. It’s evolving even more. All of us are kind of on the same page with why should we do the same record over and over again.”

“To Drink From The Night Itself” was produced with Russ Russell (NAPALM DEATH, THE HAUNTED, DIMMU BORGIR) at Parlour Studios in the U.K. The follow-up 2014’s “At War With Reality” featured conceptual artwork created by Costin Chioreanu of Twilight13Media, who also worked with AT THE GATES on the band’s previous disc.

“To Drink From The Night Itself” was the first AT THE GATES album written and recorded without lead guitarist/primary songwriter Anders Björler, who departed in 2017. He has since been replaced by Stålhammar.

AT THE GATES is:

Adrian Erlandsson – Drums
Jonas Björler – Bass
Tomas Lindberg – Vocals
Jonas Stålhammar – Guitar
Martin Larsson – Guitar

Photo by Ester Segarra

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“Revolution”, the second music video from HEAVY WATER, the new project featuring SAXON’s Biff Byford and son Seb Byford of NAKED SIX, can be seen below. The song is taken from HEAVY WATER’s debut album, “Red Brick City”, which will be released on July 23 via Silver Lining Music.

Soaked in gritty, riff-baked blues yet rich with the sound and meter of classic hard rock, “Red Brick City”‘s ten songs refuse to let you go. From the taut, elastic swing of the “Solution” riff to the rich, layered balladic strains of “Tree In The Wind”, the LP moves with the class and cadence of a cracking journey uniting vintage rock ‘n’ roll sensibilities with the crackle and excitement of a fresh, youthful perspective.

With Seb on guitar and Biff on bass duties and both providing their vocal talents, the foundations for HEAVY WATER’s sound are set in both that incredible father-and-son chemistry and a lifetime of know-how and experiences. Take the title track — and first single — “Red Brick City”, all steam and smolder wrapped around a riff SOUNDGARDEN would’ve been proud of, and then there’s the sun-soaked smile of “Follow This Moment” with harmonies evoking the BEACH BOYS relayed through LED ZEPPELIN, a gorgeous 1970s trip right down to the fadeout.

“We decided to do something together in these dark times and the family came together to help get this album off the ground,” explained Seb and Biff.

Seb Byford recorded and engineered “Red Brick City” at the Big Silver Barn in York, U.K., while the drums were recorded by Ben Hammond at Reel Recording Studio in York. Seb produced the album with Biff, and Jacky Lehmann mastered. “Red Brick City” sees Seb take the reins on guitar and vocals, with Biff taking up the bass and vocal mantle. Tom Witts plays the drums, while Dave Kemp rounds out the HEAVY WATER lineup on keyboards and saxophone. To cap off this family affair, the packaging photos were taken by Steph Byford.

“We had great fun doing this album, working together on the songs and recording during lockdown,” concluded Biff and Seb. “It’s all recorded without samples or profiles… just loud and proud!”

This past March, Biff told Sweden’s RockSverige that HEAVY WATER is musically similar to that of Byford’s first solo album, “School Of Hard Knocks”, which came out in February 2020. “The songs are also, stylistically, very similar to the [SACXON’s] ‘Inspirations’ album,” he explained. “There’s some laid-back stuff and there’s some heavy stuff. I wouldn’t say there’s any prog rock on there, but there are definitely two or three metal tracks on there. Seb’s a great songwriter, and he likes to play heavy guitar riffs, so I’m sure people will be interested.”

Asked what it’s like working with his son, Biff said: “It’s pretty cool. We’re both pretty set in our ways, so it’s working really well. It’s great for me and for him, really. I’m getting off on his excitement and his first time doing things, and he gets off on my that wisdom that I’ve learned over the years.”

“Red Brick City” track listing:

01. Solution
02. Turn to Black
03. Red Brick City
04. Tree in the Wind
05. Revolution
06. Personal Issue No. 1
07. Medicine Man
08. Follow This Moment
09. Now I’m Home
10. Faith

“Inspirations” was released in March via Silver Lining Music. The 11-track effort contains some of the classic rock songs that influenced Biff and the rest of SAXON.

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British extreme metal veterans CARCASS will release their long-awaited seventh studio album, “Torn Arteries”, on September 17 via Nuclear Blast Records. Along with the announcement, the band has debuted a new song titled “Kelly’s Meat Emporium” that is available now on all stream services.

Ferocious and uncompromising in their execution, CARCASS’s ability to intricately dissect the innards of death metal and display them for us to sonically understand has been their point of excellence for over three decades. In 2019, the band released its first single in over five years, “Under The Scalpel Blade”, followed by a four-song EP titled “Despicable” (October 2020), setting a potent precedent for “Torn Arteries”. With the album title itself referencing an old demo created by original drummer Ken Owen back in the 1980s, “Torn Arteries” sits as a bookend on the modern side of the CARCASS discography, connecting directly back to where everything began over 30 years ago.

The “Torn Arteries” album artwork also rings reminiscent of the grotesque photography that appears on classic CARCASS album covers like “Reek Of Putrefaction” and “Symphonies Of Sickness”. Artist Zbigniew Bielak traveled outside his normal wheelhouse to bring forth a time-lapsed set of photos showing vegetables shaped like a heart, rotting over time upon a white plate. This form of artwork was influenced by Japanese Kusôzu, meaning “painting of the nine stages of a decaying corpse.”

“It’s very clean, white, which we’ve never done before,” explains vocalist and bassist Jeff Walker. “It doesn’t look evil, or typically death metal, but I like how clean it is; almost like a coffee table book.” This new album presents images, lyrics, and sounds that so distinctly scream CARCASS, but ferry us into a new era of production, songwriting, and art all together.

“I think as our seventh album, it does stand out from the others both sonically and stylistically,” says Walker. “You can definitely tell that it’s CARCASS; when you drop that needle on the vinyl, when you hear that guitar tone, you can tell it’s Bill Steer, but each album is always a product of its time.”

With “Torn Arteries”, each track stands unique from the rest in its approach to guitar, bass, vocals and drumming, along with all the finer details. Filthy and dominating guitar work creates thick layers of tone and melody, piling on top of each other like the weight of dead flesh in tracks like “Kelly’s Meat Emporium”.

“The working title for ‘Kelly’s’ was originally ‘Stock Carcass’,” laughs Walker. “We knew that one was a real meat-and-potatoes track for the album.” Meanwhile, the elevated speed and catchy beat in “Dance Of Ixtab” tell a robust and airier story, one that is certain to get a reaction from live crowds. “We built this song around the beat. We had an approach to each song that was a definite idea,” Walker says. “It’s all about ‘what haven’t we done before?'”

Recording and production for “Torn Arteries” wasn’t as simple as sitting down for a few weeks and knocking it all out, but rather spread out over the course of approximately one year bouncing back and forth between England and Sweden. Initially, drummer Daniel Wilding did session work in Sweden at Studio Gröndahl with David Castillo while guitars were recorded at The Stationhouse with James Atkinson in Leeds, England. Eventually needing some form of residential location to finalize vocals, bass, and other guitarwork, the band headed back to Studio Gröndahl in Sweden to continue work in a very relaxed atmosphere with Castillo. “There was no real big plan to do it this way, the process just organically grew on its own,” says Walker.

Most will find that the only real struggle when indulging in “Torn Arteries” is fighting the desire to start it over the second it finishes. It covers substantial new ground for a band with such a reputation, while still retaining that addictive, time honored CARCASS sound that has come to represent the face of true death metal.

“Torn Arteries” track listing:

01. Torn Arteries
02. Dance of Ixtab (Psychopomp & Circumstances March No. 1)
03. Eleanor Rigor Mortis
04. Under The Scalpel Blade
05. The Devil Rides Out
06. Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment Limited
07. Kelly’s Meat Emporium
08. In God We Trust
09. Wake Up And Smell The Carcass / Caveat Emptor
10. The Scythe’s Remorseless Swing

“Torn Arteries” is available for pre-order in a variety of bundles and formats, including CD, box set and limited-edition vinyl pressings.

Photo credit: Hannah Verbeuren

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AURI, the project featuring NIGHTWISH mainman/keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen and his wife, popular Finnish singer Johanna Kurkela, will release its second album, “II – Those We Don’t Speak Of”, on September 3 via Nuclear Blast. The effort will be the follow-up to AURI’s self-titled debut LP, which came out in March 2018 via Nuclear Blast.

The “II – Those We Don’t Speak Of” cover artwork comes once again from Janne “ToxicAngel” Pitkänen and bestows in its simplicity and depth.

The official lyric video for the disc’s first single, “Pearl Diving”, can be seen below.

AURI began its life with three people, united through their shared need to hear a kind of a music which can’t be described by words alone. The first song born of this mindset, “Aphrodite Rising”, appeared in 2011.

Kurkela lent her unique voice, while Holopainen and English composer and multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley (also of NIGHTWISH) cast their spells with various other instruments. Now complemented by the dynamic percussive talents of Kai Hahto (NIGHTWISH), the threesome carves fantastical worlds entirely their own.

Donockley states about “Pearl Diving”: “No lifebelts needed. Where is the sea and where is the boat but more importantly, what is ‘The Pearl’? How deep do we dive to find it? How was it made and how old is it? Shapeshifters and the whispering seagulls of the 12-note scale will tell us. Aweigh anchor, Away!”

With a total running time of 50 minutes, “II – Those We Don’t Speak Of” consists of 10 captivating tracks:

01. Those We Don’t Speak Of
02. The Valley
03. The Duty Of Dust
04. Pearl Diving
05. Kiss The Mountain
06. Light And Flood
07. It Takes Me Places
08. The Long Walk
09. Scattered To The Four Winds
10. Fireside Bard

In a 2018 interview with Dead Rhetoric, Donockley stated about AURI’s formation: “It was always there for us, since 2010. We decided back then that the three of us wanted to do something together. Tuomas and I are huge fans of Johanna’s voice. I had been involved in one of her albums as a guest musician, and Tuomas had written a song for her on a solo album. So the three of us realized pretty early on that we wanted to do something together, musically. It was obvious that it couldn’t be like NIGHTWISH. But it was something we felt really strongly about, that we had to release this atmosphere we all felt, and were tuned into. I know that sounds fairly vague, but that’s truly what it was. It was a kind of music that we wanted to get out of ourselves. We are close friends and have very similar tastes and attitudes towards life so we made our plans, but NIGHTWISH is a behemoth. We have our commitments there and we did ‘Imaginaerum’ and ‘Endless Forms Most Beautiful’ after our decision to work together on some music. As it turned out, fortune smiled on us with a sabbatical year. We decided to dive in and work on it.”

Asked how he would compare the spirit/essence of AURI with that of NIGHTWISH, Donockley said: “We don’t see it as very different from NIGHTWISH at all. Sonically it is, for sure. We were struggling to find a label for it, as it usually happens, so I just tossed out ‘celestial metal.’ So this Polish journalist said to me, ‘I know what you mean about celestial metal. It’s kind of heavenly music. It has the metal attitude, but without all of the electric guitars and bass.’ Metal is an attitude. The metal scene — the metal fans are open-minded, as I said before. The Italian [NIGHTWISH] fan club, I did an interview with them, and this was brought up and she told me that she was a fan of DIMMU BORGIR as well as Ed Sheeran. That’s it right there! So I think the NIGHTWISH connection is inevitable because of Tuomas and I are in it, so there are those elements. But I think the spirit is the same as NIGHTWISH. It does cover a lot of the same themes, it’s just not obviously NIGHTWISH. It’s down to the sonic side, honestly.”

AURI is:

Johanna Kurkela: Voices, viola
Tuomas Holopainen: Keys, backing voices
Troy Donockley: Acoustic and electric guitars, bouzouki, uilleann pipes, low whistles, aerophone, bodhran, keys, voices

Holopainen and Kurkela have been married since October 2015.

Photo credit: Mikko Linnavuori

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SYSTEM OF A DOWN singer Serj Tankian has just released a 24-minute modern classical composition titled “Disarming Time: A Modern Piano Concerto” on his Serjical Strike Records label along with a self-produced video Serj made utilizing a lot of his own pictures and videos as a visual complement to the epic track.

“Disarming Time: A Modern Piano Concerto” arrives on the heels of Serj’s critically acclaimed rock EP, “Elasticity”, that was released in March of this year via BMG/Alchemy Recordings.

“Disarming Time: A Modern Piano Concerto” is a Dada-esque tapestry of classical to modern mini compositions expertly superimposed together like a BEATLES medley with the dynamics of SYSTEM OF A DOWN utilizing pianos, strings, rock instrumentation, ethnic instruments, choirs, the works.

Tankian comments: “When quarantine hit and all our projects and releases were canceled, I started itching for a musical challenge. One night sitting in bed looking through different voice memos on the iPhone I realized I have this huge trove of short, special, unrealized musical ideas. Right then the thought of creating an epic piece utilizing them all made me smile. So I recorded them all and started arranging the instrumentation to create this incredibly unique musical experience. I mean, who the fuck listens to 24 minutes of music as one piece today? We’re about to find out :)”.

Over the past decade, Tankian has delved deeply into the world of cinematic composition while creating music for various film, television and video game projects for both major studio productions and independent films. At the same time, he released “Elect The Dead Symphony” in 2009 and “Orca Symphony No. 1” in 2010. This project is an amalgamation of all this and more.

“Disarming Time: A Modern Piano Concerto” will make a redux presence three weeks from now, when it is released as part of the “Cool Gardens Poetry Suite”. The release is a rich suite of four elegant cinematic works layered with intimate recital of prose from Tankian himself, taken from the pages of his first published book of poetry, “Cool Gardens”. Tankian narrates 87 poems over the nearly 48 minutes of music, weaving his way through a bevy of topics ranging from humorous to sullen.

“Cool Gardens Poetry Suite” will also be accompanied with videos, this time at the hands of visual artist David Bradford, a previous collaborative partner on other Tankian projects. Bradford’s visuals quite literally animate pixelated paint onto digital canvas as viewers are caravanned across their screens via Tankian’s soundtrack and the gradual unveiling of his visual complement.

“Cool Gardens Poetry Suite” track listing:

01. Cinematic Piano Theme (With Poetry)
02. Les Melodies (With Poetry)
03. Percussion (With Poetry)
04. Disarming Time: A Modern Piano Concerto (With Poetry)

Tankian has slated additional music releases for later this year, as he’s queued up an assemblage of 25 cinematic compositions that roam through light and dark soundscapes. The release will be called “Cinematique” and split up into two collections released at the same time in early August. Before the end of year, listeners can also expect two film soundtrack releases from Tankian, for “Truth To Power” and “I Am Not Alone”, both being documentaries that the composer produced and scored.

Photo credit: Travis Shinn

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Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE will release their self-titled, seventh album on October 22 via Spinefarm/Search & Destroy. According to a press release, the LP sees the band open a bold new chapter and is “easily their heaviest, fiercest album so far.”

The official music for the first single “Knives”, directed by Fiona Garden, can be seen below.

“This is the beginning of BULLET 2.0,” says vocalist and lead guitarist Matt Tuck. “It signifies where we are right now. The music is fresh, it’s aggressive, it’s more visceral and passionate than it’s ever been.”

“Bullet For My Valentine” follows the success of the band’s last album, 2018’s “Gravity”, which saw the metal juggernauts’ catalogue surpass 1 billion streams in the U.S. That accomplishment solidifies BULLET’s hard-earned status as one of the most elite bands in the hard rock scene.

On the last cycle, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE played its biggest shows to date, including a U.K. arena tour and a massive show at London’s Alexandra Palace. But this time around, the band has taken things back to basics. “Bullet For My Valentine” is stacked with squealing solos and monstrous riffs that will delight fans — both new and old.

“I think it’s the most ferocious side of BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE that I’ve ever known,” says lead guitarist Michael “Padge” Paget. “It’s time for us to put out a really angry, heavy, aggressive record. I just can’t wait to grimace on stage!”

“I wanted to come out guns blazing, fucking middle fingers flying, and just go for the throat,” agrees Tuck. “I think this is a far more aggressive, intense part of BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE. It’s always been there. I’ve just never opened the floodgates on it. I want to take people’s heads off in a metaphorical way.”

Tuck began writing the album in September 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic brought things screeching to a halt in early 2020. But in June 2020, Tuck and longtime producer, Carl Bown, who co-produced the band’s 2015 album, “Venom”, and produced and mixed “Gravity”, picked up the pace again. Together, they hunkered down at Treehouse Studio in Chesterfield, where the remainder of the album was written.

Aptly self-titled, the band has triumphed, creating an album that will cement its place in the metal pantheon.

Pre-orders for BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE’s seventh studio album are now live, with an instant download of “Knives” and special bundle options, including a unique clipping from the backdrop used on the band’s “Venom” world tour from 2015 – 2017, t-shirts, hoodies, gold and silver cassettes, and limited vinyl.

“Bullet For My Valentine” track listing:

01. Parasite
02. Knives
03. My Reverie
04. No Happy Ever After
05. Can’t Escape The Waves
06. Bastards
07. Rainbow Veins
08. Shatter
09. Paralysed
10. Death By a Thousand Cuts

In addition to all the existing hits, fans will get the chance to hear new music live for the first time this Sunday when BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE make history by headlining the Download Pilot at Donington Park on June 18-20.

Earlier in the month, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE launched an official fan club, dubbed “Army Of Noise”, via Patreon.

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE is:

Matt Tuck – Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Michael “Padge” Paget – Lead Guitar
Jamie Mathias – Bass
Jason Bowld – Drums

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Dave Mustaine says that David Ellefson’s long-completed bass tracks on the upcoming MEGADETH album will be removed and re-recorded by another bassist prior to the record’s release.

Ellefson laid down his bass tracks on MEGADETH’s sixteenth LP in May 2020 at a studio in Nashville, Tennessee. A short time later, he raved about his performance on the record, telling the 96.7 KCAL-FM radio program “Wired In The Empire” that his musical chemistry with MEGADETH drummer Dirk Verbeuren was comparable to the interplay between Geddy Lee and Neil Peart on classic RUSH albums. “I feel like on the new MEGADETH record, me and Dirk have those same moments,” he said. “It’s MEGADETH — it’s not RUSH, obviously — but in the field of what we do, there were these moments that I was just going, ‘Oh, my God.’ This is me as a kid going, ‘This is my Geddy/Neil moment right here.'”

Earlier today (Thursday, June 17), Mustaine announced during an episode of his Gimme Radio program “The Dave Mustaine Show” that Ellefson’s bass tracks will not be used on the new MEGADETH LP.

“I just wanna thank you for all the kinds words and support as we get ready for this next tour and continue to hunt for a new bass player,” the MEGADETH leader said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “We are making progress. The record’s being completed, and we’re gonna have someone coming in in a couple of weeks to replace the bass tracks that we had. Which should be relatively quick because the person we’re talking to is a stellar bass player. And hopefully this will be an ongoing thing after the recording. Or we will find someone prior to the recording that will be our permanent guy going forward.”

Last month, sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving Ellefson were posted on Twitter. The longtime MEGADETH member later 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 Ellefson 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.) The 56-year-old 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.

On May 24, Mustaine — who formed MEGADETH with Ellefson in 1983 — announced the bassist’s departure from the band, saying, “We do not take this decision lightly. While we do not know every detail of what occurred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed now is enough to make working together impossible moving forward,” Mustaine wrote. Two days later, Ellefson 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 upcoming tour.

MEGADETH is currently scheduled to take part in “The Metal Tour Of The Year” with LAMB OF GOD, beginning on August 20 in Austin. MEGADETH is also slated to appear at the SLIPKNOT-curated Knotfest in September in Iowa.

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

David, who studied for a year at Concordia Lutheran Seminary in St. Louis nearly a decade ago, and his wife Julie Ellefson have been married for 27 years. They have two children.

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Former VAN HALEN members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony have launched Instagram and Facebook pages dedicated to the Hagar era of VAN HALEN.

The rockers, who are current bandmates in THE CIRCLE, announced the creation of the new social media pages in separate video messages on Wednesday (June 16).

Hagar said: “Hey everybody, I’ve got some fresh news for you. Mikey and I have been checking out our old vintage footage of stuff we’ve been doing over the years with Van Hagar years and all that, and we found some of the coolest stuff. And we’re digging and we’re digging — we’re finding nuggets every day and we’re gonna share ’em with you.”

Added Anthony: “Hey, everyone keeps asking us, ‘Why don’t you post more of the Van Hagar years stuff?’ Well, guess what. You’ve got it. We’re gonna go through, dig through some of the archived stuff, try to find stuff you haven’t seen before — maybe some stuff that we haven’t seen in decades — and throw it up, and maybe post a couple of comments to go along with it.”

Hagar replaced David Lee Roth in VAN HALEN in 1985 and recorded four studio albums with the band — “5150”, “OU812”, “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge” and “Balance” — all of which topped the U.S. chart.

Hagar, Eddie, Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony last teamed up in 2004 for a U.S. summer tour. In exchange for taking part in the tour, Anthony reportedly had to agree to take a pay cut and sign away his rights to the band name and logo.

In early 2019, rumors were rampant that the classic-era lineup of VAN HALEN would reunite for the first time since 1984. It has since been revealed that a health setback involving Eddie was responsible for the tour not materializing.

Eddie died last October at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, California.

The iconic VAN HALEN axeman passed away from complications due to cancer, his son confirmed.

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FOREIGNER will embark on a 71-date U.S. tour at the end of the month. The trek will kick off on June 24 in Ottumwa, Iowa and conclude on November 20 in Pensacola, Florida. Several of the of shows in the fall — including those in Saratoga, California; Los Angeles, California; Santa Barbara, California; Detroit, Michigan; Youngstown, Ohio; and Grand Rapids, Michigan — will feature the band performing with a full orchestra.

FOREIGNER played its first pandemic-era concert on May 19 at the Frontyard Festival in Orlando, Florida. The concert marked the band’s live debut with guitarist Luis Maldonado, who joined FOREIGNER as the replacement for longtime multi-instrumentalist Thom Gimbel.

Speaking to Billboard about the upcoming shows, FOREIGNER frontman Kelly Hansen said: “We are full-on back on the road. There’s been so many conversations over the last year with promoters and with our agents and with management, trying to figure out what’s the safe thing to do, when can we do this, how can we do that? We’re finally able to say we’re getting out there, we’re getting on the road. That’s a great thing.”

FOREIGNER 2021 U.S. tour dates:

Jun. 24 – Ottumwa, IA – Bridge View Center
Jun. 25 – Sioux Falls, SD – Washington Pavilion
Jun. 26 – Bismarck, ND – Bismarck Civic Center
Jun. 29 – Casper, WY – Casper Events Center
Jun. 30 – Billings, MT – MetraPark Arena
Jul. 02 – Welch, MN – Treasure Island Great Lawn
Jul. 04 – Fort Bragg, NC – Pope Army Airfield
Jul. 27 – Fresno, CA – Saroyan Theatre
Jul. 28 – Prescott Valley, AZ – Findlay Toyota Center
Jul. 30 – West Valley, UT – Maverick Center
Jul. 31 – Grand Junction, CO – Los Colonias Park Amphitheater
Aug. 01 – Rio Rancho, NM – Rio Rancho Events Center
Aug. 04 – Lubbock, TX – Buddy Holly Hall
Aug. 05 – Enid, OK – Stride Bank Center
Aug. 07 – Park City, KS – Hartman Arena
Aug. 08 – North Little Rock, AR – Simmons Bank Arena
Aug. 10 – West Allis, WI – Wisconsin State Fair
Aug. 11 – Cedar Rapids, IA – McGrath Amphitheatre
Aug. 13 – Arcadia, WI – Ashley For The Arts
Aug. 14 – Interlochen, MI – Kresge Auditorium
Aug. 15 – Peoria, IL – Civic Center Arena
Aug. 17 – Kettering, OH – Fraze Pavilion
Aug. 18 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
Aug. 20 – Doswell, VA – AfterHours at Meadow Event Park
Aug. 21 – Selbyville, DE – The Freeman Stage at Bayside
Aug. 23 – Syracuse, NY – New York State Fair
Aug. 25 – Bridgeport, CT – Hartford Healthcare Amphitheatre
Aug. 26 – Webster, MA – Indian Ranch
Aug. 27 – Cohasset, MA – South Shore Music Circus
Aug. 28 – Hyannis, MA – Cape Cod Melody Tent
Sep. 09 – Grand Forks, ND – Alerus Center
Sep. 10 – Rapid City, SD – Rushmore Plaza Civic Center
Sep. 11 – Butte, MT – Civic Center
Sep. 14 – Everett, WA – Angel of the Winds Arena
Sep. 15 – Nampa, ID – Ford Idaho Event Center
Sep. 16 – Airway Heights, WA – Northern Quest Resort & Casino
Sep. 18 – Fort Hall, ID – Fort Hall Casino
Sep. 21 – Bend, OR – Les Schwab Amphitheater
Sep. 22 – Kennewick, WA – Toyota Center
Sep. 26 – Reno, NV – Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort
Sep. 29 – Saratoga, CA – Mountain Winery (orchestral)
Oct. 01 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre (orchestral)
Oct. 02 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl (orchestral)
Oct. 11 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre (orchestral)
Oct. 12 – Youngstown, OH – Foundation Amphitheater (orchestral)
Oct. 13 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena (orchestral)
Oct. 15 – Johnson City, TN – Freedom Hall Civic Center
Oct. 17 – Knoxville, TN – Civic Auditorium
Oct. 18 – Columbus, OH – Palace Theatre
Oct. 19 – Charleston, WV – Municipal Auditorium
Oct. 21 – Reading, PA – Santander Performing Arts Center
Oct. 22 – Wilkes Barre, PA – F.M. Kirby Center
Oct. 23 – Baltimore, MD – MECU Pavilion
Oct. 25 – Providence, RI – Performing Arts Center
Oct. 27 – Port Chester, NY – Capitol Theatre
Oct. 28 – Hampton Beach, NH – Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
Oct. 29 – New Brunswick, NJ – State Theatre
Oct. 30 – Atlantic City, NJ – Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena
Nov. 04 – Corbin, KY – Corbin Arena
Nov. 05 – Springfield, IL – UIS Sangamon Auditorium
Nov. 06 – Southaven, MS – Landers Center
Nov. 08 – Savannah, GA – John Mercer Theatre
Nov. 09 – Augusta, GA – Bell Auditorium
Nov. 10 – Greenville, SC – Bon Secours Wellness Arena
Nov. 12 – Macon, GA – Macon City Auditorium
Nov. 13 – -Tupelo, MS – Bancorp South Arena
Nov. 14 – Brandon, MS – Brandon Amphitheater
Nov. 16 – Huntsville, AL – Mark C. Smith Concert Hall
Nov. 17 – Birmingham, AL – BJCC Concert Hall
Nov. 19 – Biloxi, MS – IP Casino Resort & Spa
Nov. 20 – Pensacola, FL – Saenger Theater

FOREIGNER’s last album, “Can’t Slow Down”, was the only full-length collection of new songs to have been released by the band since Hansen took over vocals after original singer Lou Gramm left the band for good in 2002. The album entered the Billboard Top 30, driven by the radio singles “In Pieces” and “When It Comes To Love”. The band also has released a series of live albums and compilations, including 2016’s “In Concert: Unplugged” and 2017’s “40”.

FOREIGNER’s current lineup is rounded out by founding guitarist Mick Jones, Michael Bluestein (keyboards), Chris Frazier (drums) and Bruce Watson (guitar).

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