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Robin McAuley’s new solo album, “Standing On The Edge”, showcases the desire of the respected Irish rock singer to make a strong musical statement in a period that was more creative than ever for him. After reemerging on the recording side of the music industry with guest spots on MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST albums and fronting the hard rock supergroup BLACK SWAN, McAuley is feeling invigorated and ready to explore even more creative output, letting the world see that his voice is as powerful as ever. “Standing On The Edge” will arrive on May 7 va Frontiers Music Srl. Fans can get their first taste of the album with the release of the single and video for the title track today. Watch the video below.

Of the album, Robin says: “It was hard not to draw reference from the dreaded pandemic we all found ourselves in, and still do, so I just spat out what I was feeling and ‘Standing On The Edge’ seemed an appropriate title to describe the current climate.” He continues: “In contrast to that however, songs like ‘Run Away’ harken back to my childhood years, racing across the fields next to our house trying to beat the rain home. I’m still running all these years later!! Alessandro sent me this beautiful music and this lyric and melody came together quite quickly. It’s very simple and childlike and I really like how this song turned out. ‘Wanna Take A Ride’, on the other hand, was just me desperate to get out of the house during lockdown and head to the beach. Top down, throttle wide open, and a stiff middle finger to COVID. I crank this SO LOUD in my car. Makes me smile!

“Perhaps this record is not everything I ever wanted to say or record in a solo effort, but it’s how I felt at the time. I’m far from being done. Hope you like what you hear,” concludes Robin.

McAuley is widely recognized as one of the great singers of a golden period in hard rock music. His voice can be heard on albums from GRAND PRIX and FAR CORPORATION, and of course on the chart-topping MSG records “Perfect Timing”, “Save Yourself” and “MSG”. Through these releases, he was introduced to hard rock fans around the globe, who no doubt recognized the inherent talent and skill in his vocal abilities. Since departing MSG, he released one solo record in 1999, then joined AOR legends SURVIVOR, and then re-grouped with Schenker in MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST on their recent records “Resurrection” and “Revelation”. And, of course, in what was an absolute revelation to hard rock fans around the world, in 2020, he came out swingin’ as the frontman of the supergroup BLACK SWAN, where he joined forces with Reb Beach (WHITESNAKE, WINGER), Jeff Pilson (FOREIGNER, ex-DOKKEN) and Matt Starr (ACE FREHLEY, MR BIG).

McAuley spent the latter half of 2020 working on a new solo record, one which truly encompasses all music styles he is known for — hard rock and melodic rock superbly performed as only he can do it. Envisioned, overseen, and creatively directed by Serafino Perugino, president and A&R director of Frontiers, with production (and co-writing) by Alessandro Del Vecchio, McAuley offers up a true gem of an album in “Standing On The Edge”. Included are a splendid songwriting collaborations with his former GRAND PRIX bandmate Phil Lanzon (currently longtime URIAH HEEP keyboardist) on “Like A Ghost”, Howard Leese (of BAD COMPANY, ex-HEART) on “Supposed To Do Now”, and Tommy Denander on “Do You Remember” and “Chosen Few”.

“Standing On The Edge” track listing:

01. Thy Will Be Done
02. Standing On The Edge
03. Late December
04. Do You Remember
05. Say Goodbye
06. Chosen Few
07. Run Away
08. Supposed To Do Now
09. Wanna Take A Ride
10. Like A Ghost
11. Running Out Of Time

Recording lineup:

Robin McAuley – vocals
Andrea Seveso – guitars
Alessandro Del Vecchio – bass, keyboards, backing vocals
Nicholas Papapicco – drums
Howard Leese – guitars on “Supposed To Do Now”

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Check out Ascendant Blasphemy, the debut from Canuck black metallers, Plague Weaver
The post Album Stream: The Plague Can’t Stop Plague Weaver from Pushing a Satanic Agenda with Ascendant Blasphemy appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

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RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello will serve as the executive music producer of the upcoming Netflix film “Metal Lords”.

The movie a coming-of-age comedy, was written by D.B. Weiss and produced by Weiss and Greg Shapiro. David Benioff is one of the film’s executive producers. Weiss and Benioff are the co-creators of the hit series/pop culture phenomenon “Game Of Thrones”. Peter Sollett (“Nick And Norah’s Infinite Playlist”) is set to direct.

Jaeden Martell, Isis Hainsworth and Adrian Greensmith star in the film about two kids who want to start a heavy metal band “in a high school where exactly two kids care about heavy metal.”

Back in August 2019, Benioff and Weiss signed an exclusive multi-year deal with Netflix to produce a series of new TV shows and films.

“We are thrilled to welcome master storytellers David Benioff and Dan Weiss to Netflix,” Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said in a statement at the time. “They are a creative force and have delighted audiences worldwide with their epic storytelling. We can’t wait to see what their imaginations will bring to our members.”

In May 2019, Morello joined ANTHRAX’s Scott Ian, EXTREME’s Nuno Bettencourt and Brad Paisley to record a hard rock version of the “Game Of Thrones” theme song. The foursome were joined in a video by Weiss and “Game Of Thrones” composer Ramin Djawadi.

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Dan “Chewy” Mongrain, Dave Witte, Shane Embury, Bruce Lamont, Christian Doble and a host of other metal and punk luminaries pay tribute to the Cardiacs’ “Tarred and Feathered” with an assist from bassist Jim Smith!
The post Watch Members of Napalm Death, Voivod, Municipal Waste, Child Bite & Yakuza Cover Cardiacs appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

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During a recent episode of his Gimme Radio program “The Dave Mustaine Show”, the MEGADETH leader offered an update on the progress of the recording sessions for the band’s follow-up to 2016’s “Dystopia” album. He said (hear audio beow): “Lyrics, all done. Singing, almost all done. Guitar solos, in the process. And all the other little things that go on the record — the ear candy, the background vocals, the keyboards and percussion stuff — is also going down as we speak. [We’re] getting solos sent from Finland by [MEGADETH’s Brazilian-born lead guitarist] Kiko [Loureiro], which is a really cool thing. And I just got a really cool lyric from [MEGADETH bassist] David Ellefson sent over. Now it’s my job to finish writing his lyric and make it into a song. And then that is going to be the last lyric on the record. So I’m pretty stoked. And I can’t wait to tell you what cover song we chose for this record. I’ll tell you soon. I think you’ll get it. I’ve been giving you guys hints for a while. But I haven’t really let anybody know.”

MEGADETH has a long history of tackling covers of tunes both popular and more obscure, including Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walkin'”, SEX PISTOLS’ “Anarchy In The U.K.”, ALICE COOPER’s “No More Mr. Nice Guy”, THIN LIZZY’s “Cold Sweat” and BLACK SABBATH’s “Paranoid”. “Dystopia” included covers of FEAR’s “Foreign Policy” and BUDGIE’s “Melt The Ice Away” (on the Spotify edition).

Last month, Ellefson told the “Rock ‘N’ Roll Icons With Bode James” podcast the recently announced working title for MEGADETH’s upcoming album, “The Sick, The Dying And The Dead”, will likely end up getting changed before the LP is released. “Like Dave said when he announced it, he goes, ‘We usually end up changing the title four or five times before it [comes out],'” he said. “We had a saying back in the old days: ‘Nothing’s final until it’s on vinyl.’ So everything can change. Probably short of the name of the band, everything can change. It’s all just a work in progress, and I think that’s the beauty of the creative world. People wanna know answers, like, ‘What does it sound like? Does it sound like this album? Does it sound like that album?’ And it’s, like, ‘Hey, man, I can’t really tell you.’ It’s a work in progress until it’s done. And then once it’s done, you’ll hear it, and then we’ll all have a little talk about it.”

Ellefson also addressed Mustaine’s claim that the upcoming MEGADETH album will be “up there with ‘Countdown [To Extinction]’, ‘Rust In Peace’ and probably ‘Peace Sells’ and ‘Dystopia’.” “I would very much agree,” Ellefson said. “Look, MEGADETH has done a lot of stuff over the years. Some fans go, ‘Oh, dude, make it thrash, thrash.’ And we do — ‘Dystopia’ proved that. But you can’t just be a one-trick pony. We’ve never been a one-trick pony. Even on the earlier records — ‘Killing Is My Business’ started with a piano. ‘Peace Sells’ had a song on it called ‘Good Mourning’, which went into ‘Black Friday’; it was basically kind of an acoustic guitar bit. We’ve done a lot of different stuff over the years. So with MEGADETH, you get a lot of diversity. And the musicians that are in the group, I think we challenge each other; we raise the bar for each other. And it inspires us to keep creating next-level stuff. So I think that’s kind of the beauty of what you get with MEGADETH — is you get a lot. You get a pretty big bang for your buck, I think.”

The early sessions for the LP took place in 2019 with co-producer Chris Rakestraw, who previously worked on “Dystopia”.

“Dystopia”, whose title track was honored in the “Best Metal Performance” category at the 2017 Grammy Awards, marked Loureiro’s recording debut with MEGADETH.

MEGADETH’s current lineup is rounded out by 46-year-old Belgian-born-and-now-Los-Angeles-based drummer Dirk Verbeuren, who had played with SOILWORK for more than a decade before joining MEGADETH.

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In celebration of the 40th anniversary of RUSH’s “Moving Pictures” album and to honor the late Neil Peart, Consequence Of Sound gathered four renowned drummers via video Zoom to discuss the album and the legacy of RUSH’s legendary stickman.

Taking part in the round-table discussion were Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER, THE WINERY DOGS, SONS OF APOLLO), Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX), Matt Halpern (PERIPHERY) and Arejay Hale (HALESTORM).

Speaking about the greatness and influence of Peart, including how it compares to that of another iconic drummer, late LED ZEPPELIN member John Bonham, Portnoy said (see video below): “I think John Bonham has been universally acclaimed as one of the greatest of all time, and deservingly so — he really, really is deserving of that. But with all due respect, his entire recording career only lasted 11 years, and he’s also now been gone for, what, I guess 40 years. So there is something to be said for his place in drumming history because he’s been gone for so long.

“I think Neil had 40 years of a drumming career, and he’s only been gone one year,” Mike continued. “So I think time will tell. It’s ridiculous to even have to choose between the two, ’cause they both brought so much to the drum world and they both left behind such an incredible legacy. But I think the fact that Neil’s drumming career was 40 years long and gave us 40 years of music and drumming to listen to and reflect on, I think, to me, that puts him ahead of John. I think he’s the greatest of all time — I really do. And I think he’s only been gone a year, so it’s hard to really see how that’s gonna be felt five, 10, 20 years from now. But I think he will go down in history as the greatest rock drummer of all time — I really do.”

Portnoy added: “Another thing that also showed his impact was when he died last year, how it impacted everybody beyond drummers. The social media feeds, for weeks after he passed, was nothing but him. It was similar to when Eddie Van Halen died last year as well, and Eddie is a similar type of player in the guitar world; Eddie was what a lot of people consider the greatest of all time — up there with [Jimi] Hendrix — and the same here with Neil up there with Bonham. And the fact that they both went in the same year, but both of their deaths — Eddie and Neil — just went beyond just their respective instruments. The whole world was hit by it and affected by it.”

A year ago, Portnoy spoke to World Prog-Nation about how Peart influenced him on a musical and personal level. He said: “I spent 20, 30 years idolizing him and being his biggest fan. And all those years, it was mainly the drum kit — the drum kit was such a fascination for me. He always built such amazing kits and put so much thought into it. I’d always get the tour programs where he’d write about the kit and what the new things were on it, and I would just look at those photos. Most other kids were looking at Playboy centerfolds; I was looking at Neil Peart drum kits. And then, obviously, his playing — it goes without saying. I learned how to really develop parts and orchestrate drum parts to build and change and develop within the song. So that was the biggest stuff for me as a fan. And then later on, once I got to know him, I was so inspired by what a gracious person he was.”

Mike added: “He had this reputation that he was sort of quiet and isolated and private, and he was, and it was very important for him to guard that. But once you were somehow allowed into that inner cicle, he was always so sweet and kind and generous. He’d always send me holiday e-mails and he would always send me his new books and stuff like that. It was a relationship that I’ll always cherish and I was honored to have.”

RUSH announced Peart’s passing on January 10, 2020, setting off shockwaves and an outpouring of grief from fans and musicians all over the world.

RUSH’s final show took place at the Forum in Los Angeles on August 1, 2015. Peart indicated at the time that he wanted to retire while he was still able to play well, along with a desire to spend more time at home with his young daughter.

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Earlier this month, BEHEMOTH frontman Adam “Nergal” Darski was convicted for offending religious feelings by a court in Warsaw. The charges stemmed from an image the Polish musician posted on social media showing a foot stamping on a picture of the Virgin Mary.

Darski was ordered to pay a fine of 15,000 złoty (approximately $4,000) and court costs of almost 3,500 zloty (approximately $942). However, since Darski has contested the judgement, the case will now go to trial.

In a new interview with The Irish Times, Nergal said he is appealing his conviction because not doing so will result in him having a criminal record and therefore not being able to tour in many countries, including the United States and Australia.

“I don’t think the public know the details of the level of harassment I have been through,” he said. “It is getting monstrous, and it is a growing tide of censorship and harassment. Every few weeks, I have to check myself in at the police and go for different hearings and spend a fortune on lawyers with all the costs around court cases.

“I am being the perfect target,” he continued. “The Polish authorities just pick on me. It is not a secret that a prosecution officer has me as his favorite scapegoat. He follows my Instagram account. Can you imagine that? It’s insane and absolutely unprecedented.”

After Darski shared the image on his social media in September 2019, an ultraconservative legal group, Ordo Iuris, and an organization called the Patriotic Society (Towarzystwo Patriotyczne) notified prosecutors that Darski had “offended the religious feelings of four people,” including a local politician from Poland’s conservative ruling coalition, reported Notes From Poland.

Poland is a predominantly Catholic country and the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party’s policies are strongly in line with Catholic teachings.

“We are going backwards in time, more backward thinking,” Nergal told The Irish Times. “It is a violation of the most basic human laws. It is not just me. There are different artists being harassed by police and self-proclaimed censors.

“They forget that Poland is still a pluralisatic country,” he continued. “It is not a Catholic or a totalitarian state. We are a democratic and pluralistic democracy, which means we can say what we want about other religions. The authorities are trying to censor us and shut us down.

“We can’t be part of the European Union if we are upholding different standards. We have a blasphemy law, and we are the only country in Europe that still holds to that law — and that is insane. That is an excuse for all of those people, all those opportunists. I must win, because we can’t see my case becoming a precedent. People like myself need to be protected to freely express themselves.”

Article 196 of Poland’s penal code says that “Whoever offends the religious feelings of other persons by publicly insulting an object of religious worship, or a place designated for public religious ceremonies, is liable to pay a fine, have his or her liberty limited, or be deprived of his or her liberty for a period of up to two years.”

Amnesty International has previously called on the Polish authorities to repeal or amend legal provisions, such as article 196 of the Criminal Code, that criminalize statements protected by the right to freedom of expression.

According to Human Rights Watch, international human rights law permits states to impose certain restrictions on the exercise of the right to freedom of expression only if such restrictions are provided by law and are demonstrably necessary and proportionate for the protection of certain specified public interests (national security, public order, protection of health or morals) or for the protection of the rights of others (including the right to protection against discrimination).

This is not the first time Nergal has encountered legal problems in Poland related to his social media activities. Back in January 2018, it was announced that Nergal was being formally charged by Polish authorities in a case involving BEHEMOTH’s “Republic Of The Unfaithful” tour artwork and merchandise, which was said to be “insulting” to the national coat of arms of Poland, a stylized white eagle with a golden beak and talons, and wearing a golden crown, in a red shield. Nergal and Maciej G., who, as the band’s webmaster, promoted the tour online, were accused of publicly affronting the Polish national emblem, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison. Also charged was Rafał Wechterowicz, the graphic artist who worked on the BEHEMOTH artwork. Three months later, Nergal posted an update via Instagram, revealing that “all the absurd charges” against him were “dismissed.”

In 2011, Nergal was acquitted in Poland on charges he insulted religious sentiment when he called the Catholic Church “the most murderous cult on the planet” during the band’s September 2007 performance in Gdynia and tore up a copy of the Bible, calling it “a book of lies.”

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A post shared by Adam Nergal Darski (@nergal69)

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A post shared by Adam Nergal Darski (@nergal69)

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Professionally filmed video of AEROSMITH’s Steven Tyler and ZZ TOP’s Billy Gibbons performing a cover version of the FLEETWOOD MAC song “Rattlesnake Shake” can be seen below. The footage was filmed on February 25, 2020 — mere days before the first case of COVID-19 was discovered in the United Kingdom, as the ongoing pandemic necessitated the suspension of modern society — at a very special concert at the legendary Palladium in London celebrating the songs of Peter Green and the original incarnation of FLEETWOOD MAC.

The audience at that sold-out show witnessed something unique at what would be the last live concert anyone would attend until further notice. This show also now takes on a particularly poignant meaning, with the unfortunate passing of Peter Green in July 2020.

The players gathered were an all-star cast and all of the musicians present that night had a deep and frequently far-fetched, cosmic connection to the songs.

This music had changed their lives, impelled them to play, and for one of them, inspired the formation of their now very famous band. This music has continued to rouse and arouse, and that night, on the verge of an historically dark and sobering moment in human history, it was given a glorious observance.

The participants that night included Neil Finn, Noel Gallagher, Billy Gibbons, David Gilmour, Kirk Hammett, John Mayall, Christine McVie, Jeremy Spencer, Zak Starkey, Pete Townshend, Steven Tyler and Bill Wyman. Legendary producer Glyn Johns joined as the executive sound producer and the house band featured Mick Fleetwood himself along with Dave Bronze, Jonny Lang, Andy Fairweather Low, Ricky Peterson and Rick Vito.

Mick Fleetwood, who curated the list of artists performing, said: “The concert was a celebration of those early blues days where we all began, and it’s important to recognize the profound impact Peter and the early FLEETWOOD MAC had on the world of music. Peter was my greatest mentor and it gave me such joy to pay tribute to his incredible talent. I was honoured to be sharing the stage with some of the many artists Peter has inspired over the years and who share my great respect for this remarkable musician. ‘Then Play On’…”

The incredible one-off celebration was originally scheduled to be screened in March in cinemas across the U.K. but will now arrive on video-on-demand in April, ahead of its Blu-ray, CD and special edition four-LP physical release on April 30 via BMG.

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AFI will release its eleventh album, “Bodies”, on June 11 via Rise Records. The LP was produced and engineered by AFI guitarist Jade Puget, while the mixing was handled by Tony Hoffer.

Two new songs from “Bodies”, “Looking Tragic” and “Begging For Trouble”, can be streamed below.

“‘Looking Tragic’ addresses the theme of overstimulation resulting in desensitization,” says frontman Davey Havok. “Melodic and driving, the song came to life quickly and immediately stood out as a track to make bodies, if not sentiments, move.”

Drummer Adam Carson adds: “After years of receiving early versions of songs from Jade and Davey, in forms that span loosely arranged chords and scratch vocal to fully realized demos, I think I have become quite adept at knowing which songs will or will not make the record. ‘Begging For Trouble’ was greenlit, at least in my mind, the moment I heard the vocals come in. To me, the track is a cornerstone of the new record.”

Last month, AFI released the first two singles from “Bodies”, “Twisted Tongues” and “Escape From Los Angeles”.

“Bodies” track listing:

01. Twisted Tongues
02. Far Too Near
03. Dulceria
04. On Your Back
05. Escape From Los Angeles
06. Begging For Trouble
07. Back From The Flesh
08. Looking Tragic
09. Death Of The Party
10. No Eyes
11. Tied To A Tree

Since the release of 1995’s debut album “Answer That And Stay Fashionable”, AFI (Havok, Puget, drummer Adam Carson and bassist Hunter Burgan) has written and recorded five Top 10 hit singles (“Miss Murder”, “Medicate”, “Love Like Winter”, “Silver And Gold” and “Girl’s Not Grey”), hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (with the stunning “Decemberunderground”), garnered worldwide critical acclaim and amassed a fiercely loyal global following whose members number in the millions.

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