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A new three-and-half-minute video in which IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith discusses the making of the band’s upcoming 17th studio album, “Senjutsu” can be seen below.

BMG will release “Senjutsu”, IRON MAIDEN’s first album in six years, on September 3. It was recorded in Paris with longstanding producer Kevin Shirley and co-produced by Steve Harris. It was preceded on July 15 by an already highly acclaimed animated video for the first single “The Writing On The Wall” made by BlinkInk based on a concept by singer Bruce Dickinson with two former Pixar executives. It followed a month-long teaser campaign and global “treasure hunt” for clues about the track title and concept.

For “Senjutsu” — loosely translated as “tactics and strategy” — the band once again enlisted the services of Mark Wilkinson to create the spectacular Samurai themed cover artwork, based on an idea by bassist Steve Harris. With a running time of a little under 82 minutes, “Senjutsu”, like their previous record “The Book Of Souls”, will be a double CD/Triple vinyl album.

Steve said: “We chose to record at Guillaume Tell Studio in France again as the place has such a relaxed vibe. The setup there is perfect for our needs; the building used to be a cinema and has a really high ceiling so there’s a great acoustic sound. We recorded this album in the same way we did ‘The Book Of Souls’ in that we’d write a song, rehearse it and then put it down together straight away while it was all fresh in our minds. There’s some very complex songs on this album which took a lot of hard work to get them exactly as we wanted them to sound, so the process was at times very challenging, but Kevin is great at capturing the essence of the band and I think it was worth the effort! I’m very proud of the result and can’t wait for fans to hear it.”

Dickinson added: “We’re all really excited about this album. We recorded it back in early 2019 during a break in the ‘Legacy’ tour so we could maximize our touring yet still have a long set up period before release to prepare great album art and something special as a video. Of course, the pandemic delayed things more — so much for the best-laid plans — or should that be ‘strategies’!? The songs are very varied, and some of them are quite long. There’s also one or two songs which sound pretty different to our usual style, and I think MAIDEN fans will be surprised — in a good way, I hope!”

The full track listing is:

01. Senjutsu (8:20) (Smith/Harris)
02. Stratego (4:59) (Gers/Harris)
03. The Writing On The Wall (6:13) (Smith/Dickinson)
04. Lost In A Lost World (9:31) (Harris)
05. Days Of Future Past (4:03) (Smith/Dickinson)
06. The Time Machine (7:09) (Gers/Harris)
07. Darkest Hour (7:20) (Smith/Dickinson)
08. Death Of The Celts (10:20) (Harris)
09. The Parchment (12:39) (Harris)
10. Hell On Earth (11:19) (Harris)

“Senjutsu” will be released on the following formats:

* Standard 2CD Digipak
* Deluxe 2CD Book Format
* Deluxe heavyweight 180G Triple Black Vinyl
* Special Edition Triple Silver And Black Marble Vinyl (Details to follow)
* Special Edition Triple Red and Black Marble Vinyl (Details to follow)
* Super Deluxe Boxset featuring CD, Blu Ray and Exclusive Memorabilia
* Digital album [streaming and download]

IRON MAIDEN hadn’t released any fresh music since 2015’s “The Book Of Souls” LP, which was recorded in late 2014 in Paris, France with Shirley.

“The Book Of Souls” was the longest MAIDEN album, clocking in at 92 minutes, with lyrics heavily based in the themes of death, reincarnation, the soul and mortality.

Back in May 2019, Italian web site Maiden Concerts first speculated that IRON MAIDEN was putting the finishing touches on a new album. The site concluded that the LP was nearing completion after gathering social media evidence that all six members of the band, their wives and Shirley were in Paris at the same time. The producer even posted new pictures of Guillaume Tell Studios, where MAIDEN recorded “Brave New World” (2000) and “The Book Of Souls”, saying he was finalizing a major project.

During MAIDEN’s summer 2019 North American tour, Dickinson hinted at new material, telling the crowd at the group’s Oakland, California concert: “New IRON MAIDEN songs — sooner than you think.” At MAIDEN’s Nashville show in August 2019, Dickinson said that fresh music from the band wasn’t “beyond the bounds of possibility,” adding that a new MAIDEN record was essentially a “certainty.”

“Senjutsu” marks MAIDEN’s sixth album to be produced by Shirley, who has worked with MAIDEN for the past two decades.

In addition to MAIDEN, Shirley has collaborated with dozens of notable acts, including Joe Bonamassa, JOURNEY, DREAM THEATER and LED ZEPPELIN.

During the making of “The Book Of Souls”, Dickinson was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor at the back of his tongue. He recorded all the vocals for the album with the tumor before undergoing treatment and making a full recovery in time for the LP’s release in September 2015.

Swedish melodic death metal pioneers DARK TRANQUILLITY have parted ways with drummer Anders Jivarp and bassist Anders Iwers.

Jivarp is an original member of DARK TRANQUILLITY, having played on all of the band’s releases to date. Iwers joined DARK TRANQUILLITY in 2016 and played on the group’s last two albums, 2016’s “Atoma” and 2020’s “Moment”.

Jivarp and Iwers will be replaced on DARK TRANQUILLITY’s upcoming tour by Joakim Strandberg Nilsson (IN MOURNING, WOLVES WITHIN) and Christian Jansson (GRAND CADAVER, PAGANDOM), respectively.

DARK TRANQUILLITY frontman Mikael Stanne shared the news of Jivarp and Iwers’s departures in a statement on social media earlier today. He wrote: “Times have truly changed.

“This last year and a half has been challenging to say the least, and we’ve all had time to think over our decisions and motivations in all aspects of life. When removed from what you take for granted, it becomes clear that you realize what is truly important in life. And this is different for everybody.

“Anders Jivarp and Anders Iwers have decided to move on to other things and not be a part of the band anymore.

“These are two of the most amazing, loyal and dedicated friends and musicians you could ever find and as sad as we are seeing them go, we know that if passion leads you elsewhere you should follow it.

“Anders Jivarp has of course been there from the very beginning, being instrumental in creating the sound that eventually became our own. His songs are some of our most beloved and with the exception of one insane evening in Istanbul 20 years ago he has played every single show since the band’s inception. We’re excited to hear what will come out of Anders’ future musical projects.

“Anders Iwers has been with us for the last six years but since we have known each other from the very early days of the band it felt like he had always been there. He played on our two latest records, not to mention being an integral part of our live shows.

“We love you guys so much and we wish you the absolute best in everything that you do.”

Released in November 2020, “Moment” was recorded at Nacksving Studios and Rogue Music by Martin Brändström and then mixed/mastered by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios.

Times have truly changed.

This last year and a half has been challenging to say the least, and we’ve all had time to…

Posted by Dark Tranquillity on Friday, August 13, 2021

GUNS N’ ROSES’ merchandising company has filed a lawsuit to get a judge’s order that it can use to direct federal marshals, and authorize local and state police and agents hired by the company to seize bootleg T-shirts and similar items during the band’s current tour.

Global Merchandising filed the complaint in New Jersey three days before the band’s August 5 concert at MetLife Stadium for trademark infringement and unfair competition against various unnamed defendants described in the complaint as “parties who are selling unlicensed and infringing merchandise bearing the trademark, likenesses and logos of the musical group known as GUNS N’ ROSES.” The defendants were, according to the complaint, going to “sell unauthorized merchandise bearing the names, logos, likenesses, trademarks and artwork of musical performers without their permission and without payment of royalties to them.”

The complaint went on to note that “about 400,000 people are expected to attend the GUNS N’ ROSES concerts on its present tour.”

Kenneth Feinswog, a lawyer for Global Merchandising Services Ltd., said in the court filing: “During the past 35 years of tremendous commercial growth of popular music, the public has not only purchased millions of records and concert tickets for entertainment but has further sought to identify themselves with and declare allegiance to their favorite performers by purchasing various articles of merchandise, t-shirts, patches, posters, photographs, jerseys, caps, belt buckles, jackets and other items that embody the names, photos, likenesses, logos, trademarks and/or artwork of such performers. Unquestionably, the aforementioned public statement of identification and allegiance to the performers and the souvenir value of the aforesaid merchandise is the reason why fans will pay more than $35.00 for a t-shirt displaying the performer’s name or likeness which t-shirt might otherwise retail (without such name or likeness) for $4.00.

“Concurrently with the growth of the legitimate merchandising business, an illegal multi-million dollar industry has developed in the United States involving the unlawful manufacture, sale and distribution of ‘bootleg’ merchandise bearing the names, trademarks, trade names, likenesses or artwork relating to popular entertainers.”

He continued: “Defendants are individuals and companies commonly referred to as ‘bootleggers’ of merchandise who, without permission or authorization, misappropriate the names, likenesses, logos, symbols, artwork and/or trademarks of performing artists and musical groups for use on merchandise that the ‘bootlegger’ Defendants peddle to the general public in order to cash in on the musical performer ‘s huge commercial value and reputation, all in violation of the rights of those individuals and companies that possess the exclusive right to engage in such commercial activity.

“To add insult to injury, the merchandise that the bootleggers manufacture and sell is, in most instances, of inferior quality and not only violates Plaintiffs ‘ rights but adversely affects the general public and irreparably injures the performers ‘ reputations for excellence and integrity in the pursuit of their professional careers.

“The glut of bootleg merchandise on the market deprives the artists, whose names, likenesses, symbols, logos and designs appear on the illicit infringing merchandise, of the earnings and credit that they (the artists) deserve from the investment of their capital and their creative energies into the development of their careers. These artists have licensed other companies to engage in legitimate merchandising activities on said artists ‘ behalf (such as Global Merchandising Services, Ltd.) and these companies are suffering as well from the competitive effects of the illegal activities conducted by Defendants.”

Feinswog added: “Defendants are preventing these artists from controlling the manner in which the artists desire to be presented to the general public and have given the public the false impression that their illicit and inferior merchandise was either sponsored or approved by those artists.

“Moreover, since the bootleggers pay no royalties, and no fees to the stadium or concert hall where their illegal product is peddled, and upon information and belief, no taxes in connection with the sale of said merchandise, the bootleggers (defendants herein) are able to undercut the prices of the legitimate vendors who abide by the law in the conduct of their
business activities to Plaintiffs ‘ substantial detriment.

“These bootleggers are, plainly and simply, parasites who wrongfully profit from the tremendous energies and reputations of performers in the entertainment industry, and who flagrantly and unlawfully impede such artists in their personal and professional advancement.”

Global Merchandising filed a similar lawsuit three years ago prior to the start of SLAYER’s farewell tour.

In August 2010, Live Nation filed a lawsuit against several “John Does” in advance of that month’s Ozzfest in Devore, California. (“John Doe” is a term used in lawsuits for individuals whose actual names are not yet known.) Live Nation was attempting to get a court order that would have federal and local law enforcement authorities seize and impound trademark-infringing gear at Ozzy Osbourne’s traveling festival. AC/DC also filed a similar suit ahead of its 2016 U.S. tour.

Since April 2020, VAN HALEN singer David Lee Roth has spent much of his time creating COVID-themed drawings — he calls them comics — and then sharing the finished works on his social media channels. His latest three pieces of artwork, including two that he calls “Dixie” and “La Covida”, can be found below.

According to a New York Times profile from last summer, Roth picked up the pen and ink during his coronavirus lockdown, but he had long been interested in art.

“My approach is the best of both worlds: vintage and hyper-atomic digital,” he said. “Sort of like watching ‘Dragnet’ on your iPad.

“You know, I moved to Japan for two-plus years to study Sumi-e and calligraphy, and four nights a week I trained and then I did homework. Jesus, I’ve spent thousands of hours learning to operate a horsehair brush with a block of ink that I grind myself. Hasn’t changed its recipe in 700 years.

“So everything in the comics is hand-drawn — all the typeface, all the colors, the line work, the lighting,” he explained. “And once I’m done, I work with Colin Smith, the Led Zeppelin of Adobe Photoshop. Together we scan everything, and then I’m able to move into areas that otherwise weren’t graphically available without decades of effort.”

This is not the first time Roth has shared some of his visual art with the public. Back in 2009, Roth released dozens of his own drawings and artwork, which he called at the time “authentic originals and incompetent imitations.” He offered them up as “an official answer to the question ‘what do you do in your spare time?'”

According to the Van Halen News Desk, the VAN HALEN frontman always been into art. Throughout his whole life, while touring the world, you could find him doodling on just about anything — setlists, tour riders, female body parts, etc. He was always a major part of the visual side of VAN HALEN, and always tried to make the stage show “look like the music sounds.” He designed stage clothes, orchestrated photo shoots, came up with the stage choreography, etc. He also had a hand in designing VAN HALEN’s early tourbooks and a few of their t-shirts.

In March 2020, Roth postponed the final six shows of his Las Vegas residency due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Roth performed as the opening act for the February/March 2020 North American leg of KISS’s “End Of The Road” farewell tour.

VAN HALEN guitarist Eddie Van Halen died of cancer in October at age 65.

Roth, who performed with VAN HALEN for the last time in 2015, tweeted shortly after Eddie’s death: “What a long great trip it’s been.”

pic.twitter.com/LcCz5chqcX
— David Lee Roth (@DavidLeeRoth) August 13, 2021

pic.twitter.com/VP35vjvCH9
— David Lee Roth (@DavidLeeRoth) August 6, 2021

pic.twitter.com/GakjEuL4ld
— David Lee Roth (@DavidLeeRoth) August 1, 2021

WEDNESDAY 13 has postponed its previously announced U.K. headlining tour amid an international spike in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations attributed to the delta variant. The trek was scheduled to kick off on October 26 in Plymouth and run through November 14 in Bristol.

WEDNESDAY 13’s namesake frontman said in a statement: “Due to the ever changing landscape, including the ongoing uncertainty with travel restrictions, we have taken the heartbreaking decision to postpone our headline tour to 2022. Dates will be announced as soon as possible, and all tickets will remain valid”.

WEDNESDAY 13’s latest album, “Necrophaze”, was released in September 2019. The LP was recorded by Michael Spreitzer, who is the producer, recording engineer and longtime guitarist of DEVILDRIVER, and is the first WEDNESDAY 13 record to feature guest spots, which include performances by Alice Cooper, Roy Mayorga of STONE SOUR (who provides an eerie, authentic, ’80s-inspired synth soundtrack-score to the album), Alexi Laiho of CHILDREN OF BODOM, and Cristina Scabbia of LACUNA COIL. Also making an appearance on the album is Jeff Clayton, member of legendary punk bands ANTISEEN and GG Allin’s MURDER JUNKIES.

Last November, WEDNESDAY 13 released an official music video for its cover of INXS’s hit song “Devil Inside”. The clip, filmed and directed by Vicente Cordero (3TEETH, SEPTEMBER MOURNING), premiered during the band’s highly anticipated “Halloween Spooktacular!” event on Saturday, October 31 live from Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

Photo credit: Jeremy Saffer

?Attention!!

“Due to the ever changing landscape, including the ongoing uncertainty with travel restrictions, we have…

Posted by Wednesday 13 on Friday, August 13, 2021

Between now and Sunday at 11:59 PM ET, all books in the Decibel webstore, including USBM, Rotting Ways to Misery, Choosing Death and more will be 17% off. Happy birthday to us, happy savings to you!
The post Celebrate 17 Years of Decibel With 17% Off of All Books THIS WEEKEND ONLY! appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

San Francisco Bay Area thrashers EXODUS have teamed up with Incendium for the launch of “Tales Of The Damned”, a four-issue comic book anthology series that explores classic tracks from the band. The terrifying “Organist” from EXODUS artwork and lore will also be immortalized as an action figure.

Published under Incendium’s music-focused Opus imprint, the first issue riffs on the title track of 2004’s “Tempo Of The Damned” and is crafted by horror masters, writer Ian Edginton (“Aliens”, “Predator”, “2000AD”) and artist Luis Guaragna (John Carpenter’s “Tales For A Halloween Night”). “Tales Of The Damned” #1 features cover artwork by Ryan Christensen that showcases the “Organist.”

In the bone-chilling first issue of “Tales Of The Damned”, a teenage girl goes missing after becoming obsessed with “The Wavelength”, a mysterious signal coming from an elusive radio station. Her protective older sister’s search leads to an abandoned town, where she not only unravels the mystery of her sister’s disappearance but also of the cursed music behind it… The Tempo Of The Damned.

“I’m super excited to see this project come to life,” said EXODUS guitarist and bandleader Gary Holt. “EXODUS and comics go hand in hand, and to see the ‘Organist’ come to life in book form and as an action figure? Totally awesome! I’m looking forward to reading ‘Tales Of The Damned’!”

Added Llexi Leon, CEO of Incendium: “EXODUS’s ‘Tales Of The Damned’ is our bloody tribute to the Bay Area legends. We’re all about myths, monsters and metal here at Incendium, so this unholy alliance has been a blast!”.

The debut of the comic book series coincides with the release of EXODUS’s new album, “Persona Non Grata”, which the legendary thrash metal band recorded themselves from home-built studios with the help of Andy Sneap on mixing and mastering and with Steve Lagudi at the helm of engineering.

“Tales Of The Damned” is a quarterly anthology series; the first print edition of each issue will be released as a prestige-format limited edition collectible comic book, featuring cardstock covers, specialty foil treatments, glossy pages, and individual numbering.

The first printing of each issue will be limited to 1500 copies at $16.66, and available to order from this location. The first issue is available to order now and ships on October 31, 2021. The “Organist” action figure is also available to pre-order for $29.95, shipping Q1 2022.

“Tales Of The Damned” #1 credits:

* Cover artwork by Ryan Christensen
* Interior artwork by Luis Guaragna
* Written by Ian Edginton
* Letters by Jacob Bascle
* Edited by Llexi Leon and Denton J. Tipton
* EXODUS “Organist” Figbiz action figure by Incendium

THE DEAD DAISIES have released an inspiring new short film, “Like No Other”. Joining the band on the road for three weeks, a journalist and videographer captured shows across the U.S. for the first time since the global pandemic stood the music industry on its head. Every night the band did what they do best: play great rock! The “Like No Other” short film reflects on past memories and modern-day heroes that instill hope and happiness to people around the world.

The world has gone a bit crazy of late with a lot of people feeling trapped and alone. Hard times often bring out the best in people and music has always been a healer. We all need to cherish the moments that make your heart skip a beat. As THE DEAD DAISIES frontman Glenn Hughes has said for decades: “Love is the answer and music is the healer. Let’s rock and roll together.”

THE DEAD DAISIES are about to kick off 20 nights of rock and comedy across the U.S. with a bill featuring rock trio THE BLACK MOODS and the host of “That Metal Show”, comedian Don Jamieson. Come late October, the “Like No Other” world tour will see their return to the U.K. for the first time since 2018, with a set brimming with songs from their latest album, “Holy Ground”, and so much more. Joining them on this leg as very special guests will be hard rockers THE QUIREBOYS. In November they set off to the rest of Europe, taking in Russia and traversing the continent until mid-December.

Hughes made his live debut with THE DEAD DAISIES on June 23 at Boca Black Box in Boca Raton, Florida.

THE DEAD DAISIES’ current lineup also includes Doug Aldrich (DIO, WHITESNAKE) on guitar, Tommy Clufetos (BLACK SABBATH, OZZY OSBOURNE) on drums and David Lowy (RED PHOENIX, MINK) on guitar.

“Holy Ground” was released in January. Recorded at La Fabrique Studios in the south of France with producer Ben Grosse, the LP is the band’s first to feature Hughes, who joined the group in 2019 as its new bassist and vocalist, replacing John Corabi (MÖTLEY CRÜE) and Marco Mendoza (THIN LIZZY).

Drummer Deen Castronovo announced his exit from THE DEAD DAISIES in January, two days after the band’s publicist revealed that Clufetos will rejoin THE DEAD DAISIES when they hit the road in support of “Holy Ground”. Clufetos previously toured with THE DEAD DAISIES in 2015.

In an interview with “The Blairing Out With Eric Blair Show”, Hughes spoke about how he came to be involved with THE DEAD DAISIES. He said: “They wanted someone in, and they were asking me [in early 2019] if I would be interested in doing this. And I’ve been doing the ‘Glenn Hughes Performs Classic Deep Purple’ [shows] for a couple of years, and I thought it would be appropriate for me to take a break from that and do something other than [that]. And I got together with the guys and we had a play. I’ve known Doug a long time. And it just fell together beautifully. It’s a beautiful piece of music.”

Hughes told “That Jamieson Show” about the lyrical themes covered on “Holy Ground”: “Since I’ve been clean and sober now almost 30 years, I think in PURPLE, in the ’80s and ’70s, I wrote about fiction. Then, when I got sober, the more time I have under my belt, and the years I have under my belt, I’m really, really honing in on life — what happens between life and death: fear, no fear, love, faith, hate, giving. And THE DEAD DAISIES album is one story after another.

“So the album is self-explanatory,” Hughes added. “It’s about autobiographical stuff. I do write stuff about what happens in my life. But I think people will hear it and they will relate to it, because they’re probably going through the same [stuff] — whether it’s fear or happiness or sadness or whatever. I’m a ‘feelings’ kind of dude.”

Former KORN drummer David Silveria’s new band BREAKING IN A SEQUENCE (formerly BIAS) has culminated its six-song video series for its debut EP “Acronym” with the release of what the group says is the most “infectious” track on the effort.

The “Anything But Right” video was unveiled today Friday, August 13. According to frontman Rich Nguyen, the concept, much like the song itself, examines self-growth and the importance of expanding one’s mindset.

“This song was the last one we wrote for the EP, right when we had started to find our groove,” he said. “When we first started this band, we were aiming to be a rock band, but we naturally started gravitating to a hard rock, alt metal style. ‘Anything But Right’ was the bridging point between our initial, melodic-rock style into hard rock.”

To film the video, the band turned to director and producer JP Brasca, who shot it in two locations in downtown Los Angeles and in Norco, California. According to Nguyen, this was done purposefully to give the video a sense of duality and offer fans multiple meanings, depending on one’s perspective.

“The initial idea was to show someone feeling down, completely unsure of himself and then have him eventually work through it…to come out successful in the end,” he said. “However, the final product holds a much deeper meaning to me. My take on it, is the contrast between narrow and expansive mindsets as in, you can start off narrow-minded, but then open to see the bigger picture of things and adapt as necessary.”

In addition to “Anything But Right”, BREAKING IN A SEQUENCE released five other songs from their debut EP, including “Pity”, which reached No. 23 on the Billboard Indicator chart and No. 9 on the Foundations chart upon its initial release. Additional tracks like “Delusional” and “Hesitation” solidified the band as one of the industry’s top emerging artists, while their homage to FAITH NO MORE’s “Midlife Crisis”, complete with a recreation of the iconic video, propelled them to the next level.

BREAKING IN A SEQUENCE, which is rounded out by guitarists Mike Martin and Joe Taback and bassist Chris Dorame, has much more in store for 2021. They have plans to release a second EP by year’s end and are currently working on new material for a 2022 release.