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Hear and acquire this brand new Celestial Season flexi disc single, featuring a brand new track, available as part of the Decibel Flexi Series. Hurry, quantities are extremely limited!
The post Celestial Season Premiere New Track, “Black Water Mirrors,” via the Decibel Flexi Series appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

Florida death metal veterans OBITUARY have announced a new two-part spring livestream series. The band will perform its favorite songs on March 27 and run through its classic third album, 1992’s “The End Complete”, in its entirety on April 3.

Tickets, t-shirts and bundles are available beginning this Friday, March 5 at 1 p.m. EST at www.obituarylive.com.

OBITUARY comments: “For the past seven weeks, we have locked ourselves inside the studio to prepare for these next studio livestream sessions. Re-learning the now 29-year-old ‘The End Complete’ album and rehearsing many of the bands favorites. We are proud to announce that we are ready to bring our fans the goods and have picked a killer selection of classic songs, rare tracks and ‘The End Complete’ album performed in its entirety. We have been busting our asses preparing and now WE are ready. Question is…Are YOU? Here we Go!!!!!”

Last October, OBITUARY took part in a three-part “live stream concert series” featuring full-album performances of “Slowly We Rot”, “Cause Of Death” and rare classics. The first two streams — a “Slowly We Rot” set; and a “Cause Of Death” set — were live from the ESI Streaming Studio in Tampa, Florida. The third stream, featuring rare classics and special tracks, was broadcasted live from OBITUARY’s recording studio in Gibsonton, Florida.

In September, OBITUARY bassist Terry Butler told Heavy Culture that he and his bandmates had “started writing some new material for a new album. We have a handful of songs kind of written — a lot of rhythms getting kicked around,” he said.

OBITUARY’s latest, self-titled studio album was released in 2017 via Relapse.

Photo credit: Stefan Schippe

Wolfgang Van Halen has released the official lyric video for “You’re To Blame”, the second single from his solo band, MAMMOTH WVH. The track is taken from MAMMOTH WVH’s self-titled debut album, due on June 11 via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records.

MAMMOTH WVH’s first single, “Distance”, has reached No. 1 on the MediaBase and BDS Active Rock Radio charts. The song hit No. 1 on BDS last week, making this the second week “Distance” has topped that chart.

“Distance” is a tribute to Wolfgang’s father, legendary VAN HALEN guitarist Eddie Van Halen. The song was not originally intended to be on MAMMOTH WVH’s debut album, but due to the overwhelming response to its accompanying video, which has been viewed over four million times on YouTube, it has been added as a bonus track. All of Wolfgang’s proceeds from “Distance” are being donated to Mr. Holland’s Opus.

“The response to ‘Distance’ has been incredibly overwhelming,” Wolfgang said. “The immense support from everyone at radio who played the song and all of the fans who called requesting it has been more than I could have imagined. Thank you to everyone who helped me get my first No. 1 song. I wish Pop was here to see it.”

Writing all of the songs and performing all of the instrumentation and vocals for the debut album, Wolfgang Van Halen set out to establish his own musical identity. From the rocking opening guitar riff on album opener “Mr. Ed” to the driving bass and drums on album closer “Stone”, “Mammoth WVH” showcases the various musical influences that have inspired Wolfgang. Songs like “Resolve”, “The Big Picture” and “Think It Over” are all sonically different from each other but unique to what MAMMOTH WVH is. The current single “Distance” — written as a tribute to Wolfgang’s father and guitar icon Eddie Van Halen — is another side of “Mammoth WVH” and is currently No. 3 at Active Rock Radio. The emotional video has been viewed four million times on YouTube. The song was not originally intended to be on the debut album, but due to the overwhelming response, it has been added as a bonus track. All of Wolfgang’s proceeds from “Distance” are being donated to Mr. Holland’s Opus.

“Mammoth WVH” track listing:

01. Mr. Ed
02. Horribly Right
03. Epiphany
04. Don’t Back Down
05. Resolve
06. You’ll Be The One
07. Mammoth
08. Circles
09. The Big Picture
10. Think It Over
11. You’re To Blame
12. Feel
13. Stone
14. Distance (bonus track)

“Distance” is an open letter to Wolfgang’s father, declaring “no matter what the distance is, I will be with you.” The video for the song is created from a collection of family home movies through the years and offers an inside look in to one of music’s most notable personalities. Chronicling the family through the years, the video ends with a touching voicemail left from Eddie to his son.

Last November, Wolfgang confirmed that he asked his father for permission to use the MAMMOTH WVH band name for his solo project. MAMMOTH WVH is a nod to family history — Eddie and Alex Van Halen’s band was called MAMMOTH when singer David Lee Roth first joined it in 1974.

Photo by Travis Shinn

Ronnie James Dio’s introduction into the BLACK SABBATH fold provided a much-needed infusion of fire on 1980’s “Heaven and Hell”. The group was re-energized, and that record’s reception and subsequent touring cycle revived the vaunted icons as a heavy metal force. The group did not manage to avoid internal drama however, as drummer Bill Ward departed after an early tour stop. Vinnie Appice filled in the vacant drum seat and would stay with the band into the recording of their follow-up record, 1981’s “The Mob Rules”. While the prior record’s surprise factor was gone, high expectations were mostly met with the proceeding slab of soon-to-be fan-favorite tracks. As with “Heaven and Hell”, Rhino Records has issued a Deluxe Edition reissue of “The Mob Rules”, with a new remaster and plenty of bonus tracks, though here they go above and beyond by gifting fans with a previously unreleased full performance from the band’s 1982 world tour.

Once again, longtime fans that have spent multiple listening sessions with “The Mob Rules” won’t find too much new to dig into with the core record. As with “Heaven and Hell”, Tony Iommi’s guitars and Geezer Butler’s bass do feel slightly warmer in the mix, but aside from that, it’s the favorites that you’ve known and loved for four decades. Much like the prior record, everything starts off with a hard-driving ripper, as Dio is out in full force on “Turn Up The Night” to lead off another series of powerful vocal performances. The album then veers off into boogie-trudge with “Voodoo”, which retains an aura of heavy metal thunder thanks to Dio’s command of the chorus, and Iommi experimenting a bit more with some blisteringly discordant guitar solos. Iommi’s guitar work is especially of note on this record, as one can’t help but wonder if he had been absorbing some of the popular rock acts of the time period, such as VAN HALEN, and figuring out his own spin on the then-current evolution. Those moments of contemporary rock are woven tastefully into the band’s established blueprint, but lest any listeners were getting concerned that BLACK SABBATH might be leaning too heavily into fast-paced rock, the slow-burning doom comes roaring back with “Sign Of The Southern Cross”, bolstered by what may be Dio’s finest performance of his original run with the band. The remainder of the album doesn’t quite match the highs of the first few tracks, aside from the title track, though the band still has plenty of fuel left on “Slipping Away”‘s radio-rock jam and the ballad-turned-rocker of “Falling Off The Edge Of The World”.

The real joy of Rhino’s new reissue of this record though — and what really earns the rating attached to this review — is the extras that fill out this release. Though as with “Heaven And Hell”, Rhino does make the curious decision of including some previously available tracks from their earlier “Live At Hammersmith Odeon” release. However, on “The Mob Rules” Deluxe Edition we are also gifted with an unearthed full, live performance from a 1982 tour stop at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. Aside from some sound issues on the set-opening “Neon Knights”, the full set ends up being an even better showcase of this lineup’s live prowess than the Hammersmith Odeon issue, and blows away the muddy mess of 1982’s “Live Evil”. On this particular night Dio has an extra snarl in his voice, most notably on an extended performance of “Heaven And Hell” and “Sign Of The Southern Cross”. Songs from the Ozzy Osbourne-era of BLACK SABBATH will always sound slightly off with anyone else singing them, but Dio’s renditions here are the best to be found on any official issues. Iommi and Butler have a loose energy that also helps make this a fun set to take in, and Appice gets plenty of moments behind the drum kit to shine in a way that fills out the long-favored classics and makes them sound more belonging to this era of the band. Additional keyboards by Geoff Nicholls are mixed higher here than on the band’s other live issues, which also lends an interesting twist to some of the older songs in the band’s catalog.

“The Mob Rules” would be the final studio documentation of this era of BLACK SABBATH. But the songs on display both on the studio record and the extras here show off a lineup that dissipated while still very much at peak power, and Rhino’s inclusion of a previously unavailable live performance showing that power makes this a must-purchase, even if you already have multiple editions of this record.

BLACK SABBATH’s Ozzy Osbourne-era undoubtedly changed rock music and expedited the rise of heavy metal with the landmark work they released in the early ’70s. That lineup however had been running on empty with their last two albums. 1976’s “Technical Ecstasy” and 1978’s “Never Say Die” were solid rock albums with a few catchy songs here and there but were not befitting of what they had built with their previous records. Ozzy Osbourne’s 1979 firing put an exclamation point on that decline. Ronnie James Dio’s vocal energy and lyrical craftsmanship was the exact injection of life that was needed to guide BLACK SABBATH into the 1980’s, and Rhino’s new Deluxe Edition of “Heaven And Hell” celebrates over forty years of the record’s legacy with its new remaster, released with a generous helping of bonus live tracks spotlighting the greatness of that short-but-legendary chapter of the BLACK SABBATH story.

The new remaster of the main album doesn’t really reveal too many nuances unheard on prior issues, but any excuse to revisit this classic record is well-appreciated. Tony Iommi’s guitars and Geezer Butler’s bass performance do feel slightly warmer on the new master, but once again Dio’s vocal performance is the biggest star of the show. Album opener “Neon Knights” features more energy than anything from the group’s prior two studio records, primarily on the back of Dio’s forceful performance. The new charge brought both a wider vocal range than Osbourne, and the fire of someone with a chip on his shoulder after his departure from RAINBOW. That spark drove hard-driving rockers like “Wishing Well” and “Die Young”, but his extra range allowed Iommi, Butler and drummer Bill Ward to also dig deeper into their more ominous beginnings. The spooky doom of “Children Of The Sea” and the slow-burn of the title track were arguably the heaviest BLACK SABBATH songs in years, with Dio’s flair for more fantastical lyrics accentuating the otherworldly aura of those tracks. The core record at the heart of this reissue is still a perfect 10/10 record and deserves its reputation as a fan favorite.

Unfortunately, the rating for this reissue does get dragged down by the extras contained herein. If you picked up Universal’s 2010 Deluxe Edition of “Heaven And Hell”, you already have the majority of the extras to be found here. Live B-sides and four tracks from a 1980 live performance at the Hartford Civic Center are duplicated from that issue, and the remainder of the 2021 edition is padded out with four tracks from Rhino Handmade’s 2007 “Live at Hammersmith Odeon” issue. The additional Hammersmith Odeon tracks were recorded from a string of performances around New Year’s Eve 1981 and would normally be appreciated, but here Rhino made the strange choice to include versions of three songs that are already contained in the Hartford tracks and don’t really add much additional insight into the live performances from this iteration of the band. The performances are very good otherwise, but this choice comes off as redundant double-dipping, and is a rare misfire from a label renowned for its care in reissues and box sets.

“Heaven And Hell” remains a masterful chapter in the BLACK SABBATH story, and if none of the extras contained on this reissue are currently in your collection, Rhino’s 2021 Deluxe Edition is a recommended purchase. But if you’re the diehard BLACK SABBATH fan who has already devoured all previously available material in multiple sittings, it might be best to save your dollars for the companion Deluxe Edition of “The Mob Rules”.

LACUNA COIL singer Cristina Scabbia has released a longer video explaining the band’s decision to take part in an initiative dubbed “L’Ultimo Concerto?” (Last Concert) to highlight the increasingly uncertain future of music venues. Instead of delivering live performances as part of a scheduled free virtual stream on Saturday, February 27, each of around 130 Italian artists was filmed taking the stage at a different venue and then standing there in silence as a way of commemorating the one-year mark since the first Italian venues closed.

On Sunday (February 28), Scabbia took to her Twitch livestream to offer a more detailed clarification of LACUNA COIL’s reasons for participating in “L’Ultimo Concerto?” and to express her sympathy for fans who felt shortchanged by the experience.

“Sometimes there is a price to pay if you want to stand up for your ideals,” Cristina said. “And we wanted to send a very strong message. That’s why we decided to be part of this protest that is a way to support live clubs that are closing. They asked us to participate, together with more than 120 bands. And we have decided to accept. So it is not an attack towards our fans. It was not our way to create an illusion and malcontent and discontent and frustrations and sadness and anger, because we didn’t mean to play with your expectations, and we know better than a lot of people that this pandemic ruined our lives and it took [a huge toll] on a lot of us.

“Our participation was the response to an invitation,” she continued. “The only difference is that, compared to pretty much all the other bands [that took part in the protest], we are known out of Italy. So for us, the problem was, well, if we announce this concert, we have to say it in English as well. Because if we don’t say it in English, a lot of people will say, ‘Oh, why not for eyes out of Italy?’ So we had to announce it. But if you notice, we only posted the virtual poster that we got from the organizers. We never published it. If you notice, you guys asked me a few times, ‘What’s gonna happen? What do we have to do? Where do we have to look at it?’ And I was very, very short with words, with descriptions. We never [promoted it any further], and we didn’t do it for a reason, because we already felt bad, because we already felt that we were kind of tricking people. But this was the only way to send a very strong message.

“I read many, many, many of your messages yesterday. Some of them understood, some of them were really pissed off, and I absolutely understand the frustration and the anger. But at the same time, whoever left a harsh message helped us anyway to scream even louder. Because believe me that they talked about it, and it was on Blabbermouth today. A lot of journalists are following LACUNA COIL, so they already wrote me, they want to do interviews, so we can talk about this.

“Some of the people were, like, ‘But we are the wrong people to give the message to, because we are supporting you guys; we are buying the merch and we are buying the tickets of the concert.’ But the point was to create a reaction that would make a lot of people say, ‘What the fuck is going on right now? Why they didn’t play? Why they stood there? Why they’re sending this message?’

“It is hard to find the proper words, because I understand — I understand the reaction,” Cristina added. “Today the tone of the messages [from fans on social media] changed completely, because after the frustration, you just sit down, you breathe in, you breathe out, and you think, ‘Okay, it was bad to realize that there was no concert, but I understand why they did it.'”

Organized by KeepOn Live, Arci, Assomusica and Live DMA, the “L’Ultimo Concerto?” campaign was announced in January when the venues shared images on social media of their year of foundation and the year 2021 with a question mark, suggesting that their closures due to the coronavirus pandemic could be permanent.

Between March and June 2020, the Italian government imposed a national lockdown by restricting people’s movements to contain the pandemic. Thus, museums and cinemas closed and all cultural events were either canceled or rescheduled.

Around 300,000 people working in theaters, music venues, cinemas and cultural spaces in Italy have been rendered jobless since they shut their doors due to the coronavirus crisis.

Earlier on Saturday, Italy announced it was tightening restrictions in five of the country’s 20 regions in an effort curb the spread of the coronavirus.

There have been more than 2.9 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 97,500 deaths in Italy since the pandemic began. It is the second-highest death toll in Europe after Britain and the seventh-highest in the world.

The first look at “Pistol”, a six-episode limited series about the legendary SEX PISTOLS guitarist Steve Jones, is available at Rolling Stone.

Based on Jones’s 2018 memoir “Lonely Boy: Tales From A Sex Pistol”, the series from Academy Award winner Danny Boyle, who also serves as executive producer and director, was created by Craig Pearce and written by Pearce and Frank Cottrell Boyce.

Jones, Boyle and Pearce serve as executive producers alongside Gail Lyon, Anita Camarata, Tracey Seaward, Paul Lee, Hope Hartman and Wiip. The series is produced by FX Productions.

“It’s great to be back in business with Danny Boyle, an exceptional artist responsible for so many great feature films and TV series,” said Grad. “Steve Jones was at the center of the storm that shook the rock establishment and we’re thrilled to have Danny and the rest of the creative team tell his story as a member of one of music’s most notorious bands — the SEX PISTOLS.”

“Imagine breaking into the world of ‘The Crown’ and ‘Downton Abbey’ with your mates and screaming your songs and your fury at all they represent,” said Boyle. “This is the moment that British society and culture changed forever. It is the detonation point for British street culture…where ordinary young people had the stage and vented their fury and their fashion…and everyone had to watch and listen…and everyone feared them or followed them. The SEX PISTOLS. At its center was a young charming illiterate kleptomaniac — a hero for the times — Steve Jones, who became in his own words, the 94th greatest guitarist of all time. This is how he got there.”

“The SEX PISTOLS changed music forever and Danny Boyle is the perfect director to tell Steve Jones’s story fueled by raw creativity and destruction,” said Paul Lee, CEO Wiip. “We’re thrilled to be making this with our friends at FX.

Anchored by Jones’s memoir, which offers a fascinating new perspective on one of rock’s greatest ever stories, “Pistol” moves from West London’s council estates, to Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren’s notorious Kings Road SEX shop, to the international controversy that came with the release of “Never Mind The Bollocks”, which is frequently listed as one of the most influential albums of all time. Their single “God Save The Queen” was banned by the BBC and reached No. 1 on the U.K.’s NME chart, but appeared at No. 2 on the official U.K. singles chart, leading to accusations that the song was purposely kept off the top spot. For the only time in chart history, the track was listed as a blank, to avoid offence to the monarchy.

“Pistol” stars Toby Wallace (“Babyteeth”, “Acute Misfortune”) as Steve Jones, Anson Boon (“Crawl”, “1917”, “Blackbird”) as John Lydon, Louis Partridge (“Enola Holmes”, “Medici”) as Sid Vicious, Jacob Slater as Paul Cook, Fabien Frankel (“The Serpent”, “NYPD Blue”) as Glen Matlock, Dylan Llewellyn (“Derry Girls”) as Wally Nightingale, Sydney Chandler (“Don’t Worry Darling”) as Chrissie Hynde, Emma Appleton (“The Witcher”, “Traitors”) as Nancy Spungen, and Maisie Williams (“Game Of Thrones”) as punk icon Jordan.

Pistol – First Look images released for Danny Boyle’s Sex Pistols Limited Series. Details here https://t.co/8wdEaOs7pQ#SexPistols #DannyBoyle #Pistol pic.twitter.com/ByKKNV7sxW
— Phil Edwards (@Live_for_Films) March 3, 2021

Pistol – first look pictures released from Danny Boyle Sex Pistols biopic https://t.co/tmfdszkyRi pic.twitter.com/9XQHUGvfjN
— BetaSeries News (@BetaSeries_News) March 3, 2021

LA Pop Art has joined forces with KISS to launch a branded “Word Art” line of apparel that celebrates the legendary band’s enduring magic.

LA Pop Art company founder Joseph Leibovic states: “‘You wanted the best; you got the best!’ We couldn’t be more excited and honored to be working with one of the most iconic rock bands of all time and, more importantly, being able to offer the KISS Army something so unique.”

Just in time to commemorate KISS’s “End Of The Road” final tour, LA Pop Art has created the iconic KISS logo out of their popular song titles and the famous makeup of the Demon, Starchild, Catman, and Spaceman. T-shirts, sweatshirts, tote bags and more are now available for men, women, and children.

“There has never been a band like KISS and there will never be another band like them,” Leibovic adds. “We wanted to honor their legend with a truly one-of-a-kind design that is a must-have for any KISS fan.”

This fully licensed KISS merchandise is boldly printed with pride in the USA and available for purchase at LAPopArt.com, Macys.com, Amazon.com and other select quality retailers.

LA Pop Art worked with KISS’s licensing agency, Epic Rights, to facilitate this partnership.

LA Pop Art is the exclusive home to unique “Word Art” apparel that combines the visual images of pop culture’s most celebrated icons with the language that made them famous, creating unique works of art.

The company creates text-based artwork, entirely drawn by hand, using the ancient technique of micrography, an art form of writing text in very small letters to form the illusion of an image.

LA Pop Art is the premier Pop Art micrographic imaging firm with a portfolio of film, music, and pop-culture artwork from the biggest names in the business, and has been featured in top magazines, movies, TV shows and in major art collections and exhibits.

To learn more, visit lapopart.com.

SAXON singer Biff Byford spoke to Sonic Perspectives about his band’s decision to record a version of AC/DC’s “Problem Child” for its upcoming covers album, “Inspirations”.

“Someone either gave me [AC/DC’s] first album or I stole it back in the ’70s,” Biff said. “The thing with AC/DC is that they are groove monsters. Their songs are all about feel. You have to get the groove right. You have to get the guitar sound right. I have two guitars, a 1965 SG Junior and a 1974 SG. [SAXON guitarists] Paul [Quinn] and Doug [Scarratt] used those two guitars, so we got that AC/DC Gibson sound. I think we cracked it open a little louder than AC/DC. [Laughs] During the ‘Dirty Deeds’ album and tour, they played near Sheffield, where we used to live. I told the boys that we have to go and see this band. It must have been around 1976 or something. They played ‘Problem Child’, and when I thought about doing this ‘Inspirations’ album, I thought it was important to add that song because I heard it so many years ago.”

Asked what was it like to see AC/DC with singer Bon Scott, Biff said: “He was great. He was all ‘head voice’ and all from the throat. It was a terrific frontman, but he didn’t say a great deal in between songs. He was also very charismatic. He and Angus Young knew how to work the stage. Bon would go to the front, Angus would go to the back, then Angus would go to the front while Bon backed up. Their stagecraft was perfect at the time. I loved them.”

Biff continued: “They first started coming to the U.K. in the ’70s when they were coming up. They gave a hundred percent every time. I met them a few times as they would come and hang out with us in the ’80s when ‘747 (Strangers In The Night)’ was in the charts for ‘Wheels Of Steel’. A lot of AC/DC members used to come to see live us, especially Malcolm Young. We knew them well as we shared the same agency at the time. They are still a great band.”

“Inspirations” will be released on March 19 via Silver Lining Music. The 11-track effort contains some of the classic rock songs that influenced Biff and the rest of the band.

“Inspirations” was recorded at Brockfield Hall, near York in the U.K., which was built in 1804 and holds the largest collection of paintings by Yorkshire’s impressionist artists — the Staithes Group.

“Inspirations” will be made available on vinyl, CD, digital formats and limited-edition D2C products.

Track listing:

01. Paint It Black
02. Immigrant Song
03. Paperback Writer
04. Evil Woman
05. Stone Free
06. Bomber
07. Speed King
08. The Rocker
09. Hold The Line
10. Problem Child
11. See My Friends