SCORPIONS' KLAUS MEINE Offers Track-By-Track Breakdown Of 'Rock Believer' Album (Video)

SCORPIONS have shared an eight-minute track-by-track breakdown of the band’s 19th studio album, “Rock Believer”, by singer Klaus Meine. Check it out below. The LP was released on February 25.

Asked in a recent interview with Chile’s Radio Futuro what fans can expect to hear on “Rock Believer”, Meine said: “Well, you can expect an album that is dedicated to all the rock believers in the world. And we’re very excited after all these years. We thought, when you think about all the touring we did the last 10 years, after the release of ‘Return To Forever’ in 2015, the time was right to go back into the studio, to write new material, to write new songs and check out if the creativity is still working. The big aim was, the goal was to make a rock album — to make an album with lots of attitude, power and focus on the good old times and really enjoy the music and have some fun with the music. And that feels really good.”

Speaking about the “Rock Believer” album title, SCORPIONS guitarist Rudolf Schenker said: “Look, we are around the world since 50 years or more. And when somebody can say he’s a rock believer, then this is us. And of course, we meet our rock believers in front of us, our audience.

“So many people said rock is dead. It’s not dead,” he continued. “It’s always coming back — sometimes, okay, more stronger [or] less strong — but in the end, it’s great to play around the world in over 80 countries we’ve played so far, and all rock believers. It was always great to share the music with them together and be in connection with them. I mean, that’s so amazing and so fantastic, that we are very happy to come out with a new album. And yeah, let’s see what’s happening.”

Added Meine: “Over the years, we’ve heard people say lots of times that rock is dead. But there are still millions of rock believers out there all over the world that prove them wrong. Our fans are the best in the world. We’ll see you someday somewhere out there, because we’re rock believers, just like you.”

“Rock Believer” was recorded primarily at Peppermint Park Studios in Hannover, Germany and was mixed at the legendary Hansa Studios in Berlin, Germany with engineer Michael Ilbert, who has earned multiple Grammy nominations for his mix work with producer Max Martin on albums by Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.

“The album was written and recorded in the SCORPIONS DNA with core Schenker/Meine compositions,” said Klaus. “We recorded the album as a band live in one room, like we did in the ’80s.”

SCORPIONS’ new album marks their first release since 2017’s “Born To Touch Your Feelings – Best Of Rock Ballads”, which was an anthology of new and classic material.

SCORPIONS originally intended to record the new album in Los Angeles with producer Greg Fidelman, whose previous credits include SLIPKNOT and METALLICA. However, because of the pandemic, some of the initial work was done with Greg remotely, after which SCORPIONS opted to helm the recordings themselves with the help of their engineer Hans-Martin Buff.

Meine previously told Talking Metal that the goal with using Fidelman to produce “Rock Believer” was to bring “the old vibe from albums like ‘Blackout’, ‘Love At First Sting’ or even ‘Lovedrive’. We try to focus on those albums and this attitude,” he said. “If we get there, who knows — it’s so many years later. But it’s the spirit and it’s the whole vibe around this album. This time, the focus is on the harder songs.”

“Rock Believer” track listing:

01. Gas In The Tank
02. Roots In My Boots
03. Knock ‘Em Dead
04. Rock Believer
05. Shining Of Your Soul
06. Seventh Sun
07. Hot And Cold
08. When I Lay My Bones To Rest
09. Peacemaker
10. Call Of The Wild
11. When You Know (Where You Come From)
12. Shoot For Your Heart
13. When Tomorrow Comes
14. Unleash The Beast
15. Crossing Borders

SCORPIONS will kick off their “Rock Believer” world tour on March 26 in Las Vegas where the band will play nine shows as part of their residency at Planet Hollywood Hotel. Afterwards they will cross the Atlantic to Europe where they will play six concerts in France and six shows In Germany supported by Wolfgang Van Halen’s new band MAMMOTH WVH.

SCORPIONS’ previous full-length collection of new recordings was the aforementioned “Return To Forever”, partially comprising songs the band had in the vault from the ’80s. It was the final recorded appearance of SCORPIONS’ longtime drummer James Kottak, who was dismissed from the band in September 2016. He has since been replaced by Mikkey Dee, formerly of MOTÖRHEAD.

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ZZ TOP Releases 'Brown Sugar' From 'Raw' Live Album

ZZ TOP has reached back to its very early days with the first track to be released from their forthcoming “Raw” album, out July 22 from Shelter Records through BMG. “Brown Sugar” was a key cut on the very appropriately titled ZZ TOP’s first album that was released in January of 1971. Available today, “Brown Sugar” is the opening track on “Raw”, which itself is an homage to the band’s early days.

ZZ TOP’s “Brown Sugar”, penned by Billy Gibbons, should not be mistaken for THE ROLLING STONES song of the same title, the latter of which was actually released three months after ZZ TOP’s first album.

“Raw” was recorded and filmed for the Grammy-nominated Netflix documentary “That Little Ol’ Band From Texas” in the intimate setting of the famed Texas honky-tonk Gruene Hall between Austin and San Antonio. The historic venue dates to 1878 and has been in continuous use as the oldest, continually operating joint in the state. Gibbons, Frank Beard and the late Dusty Hill gathered there to record in a spare, bare bones way and the result of those efforts is “Brown Sugar” along with eleven additional tracks that comprise the “Raw” tune stack.

Gibbons commented: “‘Brown Sugar’ has been sweetening our concert sets for many decades now, so it seemed like the right song to kick off ‘Raw’. The Gruene Hall session was a satisfying return to our roots and a very special circumstance that we’re delighted to share with the friends and fans who have stuck with us all this time.”

When the three members of ZZ TOP gathered at Gruene Hall, they were in each other’s line of sight, making for a very organic recording session, part of which is seen in the film. “Raw”, the totality of their efforts there, will be available on 180-gram vinyl, CD and through digital platforms. The album was produced by Gibbons, engineered by Jake Mann and G.L. G-Mane Moon and mixed by Ryan Hewitt. The album is issued “in righteous memory” of Hill, who passed away last year.

The “Raw” title is derived from the unfettered and straightforward manner in which the tracks were recorded. As seen in the film, the bandmembers played, for the most part, together within sight of each other in the course of one day. The methodology employed was something of an homage to the way ZZ TOP recorded at the start of its epic five plus decades run at the pinnacle of rock’s pantheon.

The album’s liner notes by Billy and Frank explain the approach: “It was, in a very real way, a return to our roots. Just us and the music, no audience of thousands, no concession stands, no parking lot social hour, no phalanx of tour busses. Just us and the music. We knew right then it was a very special circumstance, all of us in the same place at the same time and what a time it most certainly was! It was as bare bones as when we first started touring in a behemoth Chrysler station wagon, driving vast stretches between those early far-flung shows under blackened Texas skies and first hearing our records on the radio. We were bonded as brothers.

“‘The Dust’ may have left the building but he’s still very much with us.”

“Raw” track listing:

Side 1

01. Brown Sugar
02. Just Got Paid
03. Heard It On The X
04. La Grange
05. Tush
06. Thunderbird

Side 2

01. I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide
02. Gimme All Your Lovin’
03. Blue Jean Blues
04. Certified Blues
05. Tube Snake Boogie

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12 highlights from Ibanez’s remarkable 50th anniversary Custom Shop Collection

We take a closer look at a shredder’s dozen from the Japanese guitar giant’s eye-catching 50th anniversary range

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Dave Grohl finally releases his full-length metal album – and it's heavier than you'd ever imagine

Hear the eagerly anticipated LP recorded under the banner of Dream Widow, the fictional band that appears in the Foo Fighters’ new horror movie, Studio 666

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Bradley Hall: “It's nice that people enjoy my playing as well as my comedy – my goal has always been to have a good mix of both”

One of YouTube’s most prolific guitar players shares his formula for success, how he almost burned out recording a metal soundtrack to The Lord of the Rings, and why Disney’s Fantasia is his biggest influence

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DOROTHY Announces 'Gifts From The Holy Ghost' Album Details

DOROTHY, the band led by Hungarian-born vocalist/writer Dorothy Martin, will release a new album, “Gifts From The Holy Ghost”, on April 22 via Roc Nation. She has also shared her anthemic new track “Black Sheep” — an homage to her fans and a rallying cry for unity: “we are blood, we are family,” Dorothy breaks curses, going toe-to-toe with the blistering guitar riffs.

“Gifts From The Holy Ghost” was born from a sense of divine urgency, it is her most bombastic and gloriously, victorious rock and roll work yet. Each song built on triumph—the album is a healing and remedial experience, made to unify listeners and point them towards a life full of purpose.

Martin’s life changed forever when she was forced to face death on her tour bus some three years ago. After her guitar technician had taken an overdose, Dorothy instinctively began praying for his survival. While he may have temporarily died, the technician was astonishingly, miraculously restored back to life. It was this moment that seemed to bring Dorothy to life too. It was this divine intervention that caused a radical and spiritual awakening in the singer, the result of which can be heard on “Gifts From The Holy Ghost”, Dorothy’s third studio album as front person for DOROTHY.

While the band’s first, irreverently named album “Rockisdead”, was made on a combination of whiskey and heartbreak — inspiring Rolling Stone to name them one of rock’s most exciting new acts, and Jay-Z to sign them to his label Roc Nation — “Gifts” was built on recovery, health, and holiness, in a way that reverses the clichéd ‘good girl gone bad narrative’.

With the combined powers of Keith Wallen, Jason Hook, Scott Stevens, Phil X, Trevor Lukather, Joel Hamilton and the legendary ear of producer Chris Lord Alge, “Gifts From The Holy Ghost” is made from a musical palette which seems to encompass each of the musician’s influences, as well as many of the essential sounds of rock music’s history — from swampy blues to ’90s alternative — in a way that makes the case for rock and roll itself. Not only is the genre alive, but it’s more invigorated than ever.

Dorothy has always been an instinctual writer and artist. Throughout her life, she’s been asking the big questions, both in and outside her art: “What’s the meaning of life? Why are we here? How are we here?” When she couldn’t find the answers to those questions, she’d numb out the empty uncertainty with drugs and alcohol. She was eventually admitted to rehab and a new chapter was opened in her spiritual journey.

The album’s lyrics are a perfect balance of specificity and generality, so that the listener can attach their own darknesses and triumphs to the songs, while still getting a sense of Dorothy’s own. “We are all one human family.” she declares.

With “Gifts From The Holy Ghost”, Dorothy identifies her purpose as an artist. She conquers darkness with light, numbness with feeling, disharmony with unity — all while delivering one of this year’s most fun rock and roll records.

“Black Sheep” follows the album’s monumental lead single “Rest In Peace” which pushed DOROTHY into Top 20 at Active Rock Radio charts this month and garnered over four million streams worldwide.

DOROTHY kicked off an extensive 40-date U.S. tour in her hometown of San Diego on Monday and continues southbound this week before heading up the East Coast.

“Gifts From The Holy Ghost” track listing:

01. Beautiful Life
02. By Guns
03. Rest In Peace
04. Top Of The World
05. Hurricane
06. Close To Me Always
07. Black Sheep
08. Touched By Fire
09. Made To Die
10. Gifts From the Holy Ghost

Photo by Courtney Dellafiora

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TRIVIUM Frontman's IBARAKI Project Releases New Song Feat. MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE's GERARD WAY

TRIVIUM singer and guitarist Matthew Heafy has shared another song from “Rashomon”, the long-awaited album from his IBARAKI project.

Watch the video for the song “Rōnin”, which features MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE singer Gerard Way and EMPEROR frontman Ihsahn, below.

“‘A rōnin is a masterless warrior,” states Heafy. “The final two full compositions on ‘Rashomon’ see a significant shift musically. The album as a whole — with the exception of the intro and outro — is actually presented in chronological order of earliest written to latter-most. The actual guitar and bass tracks are a time-capsule of sorts in that their parts — on the final album — is actually from the year they were tracked.”

He continues: “One can begin to see the shifts as the years went on for the writing of the album. ‘Kagutsuchi’/’Ibaraki-Doji’ being written and tracked in 2010/2011, all the way up to ‘Rōnin’/’Susanoo No Mikot’ being written and tracked in 2016/2017.”

As for his collaboration with Way, Heafy says: “Gerard Way has been a longtime inspiration for me — like Ihsahn and Nergal — I have looked to Gerard as a constant source of motivation to be creative. While Gerard and I may be from different genres than where IBARAKI and black metal stem from — outsiders of sorts — the spirit and intent of our performances is what unites our passion for pushing boundaries.”

“Rashomon” will be released on May 6 via Nuclear Blast.

Last month, IBARAKI offered fans a taste and a tease of the music by sharing the video for “Akumu”, featuring a guest appearance by BEHEMOTH’s Adam “Nergal” Darski. A month earlier, IBARAKI released “Tamashii No Houkai”, featuring special guest Ihsahn, who is a core contributor and partner in this project.

“Rashomon” track listing:

01. Hakanaki Hitsuzen
02. Kagutsuchi
03. Ibaraki-Dōji
04. Jigoku Dayū
05. Tamashii No Houkai
06. Akumu (Feat. Nergal)
07. Komorebi
08. Rōnin (feat. Gerard Way)
09. Susanoo No Mikoto (feat. Ihsahn)
10. Kaizoku

IBARAKI — the name for a terrifying Japanese demon taken from feudal legend — is more than a solo project. It’s the end-result of a journey of an artist finding his voice. Its inspirations include everything from an adoration for the extremes of black metal to the exuberant storytelling of Gerard Way to the adventuresome worldliness of tragic bon viveur Anthony Bourdain. It’s a reflection of Heafy’s multifaceted interests as well as a profound affirmation of his Japanese-American identity, and one that led him to confront one of his family’s most tragic moments. Like the artist behind it, there is much to the story of IBARAKI and it began with a timid e-mail to one of black metal’s most revered and influential figures.

Heafy, a fan of black metal before he even started TRIVIUM, reached out to label reps for Ihsahn of EMPEROR, and the artist personally responded. He recalls: “It was so cool to get that nod and it inspired me to start checking some of his solo stuff. He’d just released his own solo record and I’d never heard anything like it — saxophones, clean singing, jazz chords. It was incredible to me. He’s this non-stop inventor. So I started writing in a totally different way.”

The exposure to Ihsahn’s solo work that would inspire the gradual craftsmanship that would eventually become IBARAKI. It was also the beginning of a friendship and creative collaboration that would eventually compel Ihsahn to take a leap of his own into a newfound role as producer on the project. While much of the material for IBARAKI was assembled over those months and years — as much a songwriting process as an exchange of ideas between friends — it wasn’t until the pandemic that the space was created and the idea could really flourish.

“It was very loose,” says Ihsahn. “We just had rough demos for a very long time because we’re arguably pretty busy people, but suddenly, everything was canceled and we had time on our hands for the first time, so it was like, ‘Okay, let’s do this.’ We never got to work in the same room; he’d track guitars and send them to me, I’d run them through my studio and send them back. It was a new way of working, but it was like he was there on the other side of the glass. Matt is a very, very positive energetic and passionate music fan — we have similar attitudes to music and open mindedness. We hit it off, and it’s been really rewarding to me.”

The creative interactions between the pair are the result of a deep trust borne of a commonality of their experience. “We both started our respective bands when we were 13,” Ihsahn says. “We got signed when we were 16. That’s young, and in essence we both found our path in life at an early age. We’ve talked a lot about that and our different experiences with that, because it’s like we know nothing else.”

While material was primarily written by Heafy, Ihsahn engineered and produced and contributed some song structures, plus TRIVIUM drummer Alex Bent and bassist Paolo Gregoletto and guitarist Corey Beaulieu contributed to various tracks. Ihsahn’s wife Heidi even sampled some natural sounds from the forest near their home and his entire family. Additional guests include the aforementioned Way and Nergal.

Ihsahn also encouraged Heafy to seek out new avenues for lyrical inspiration, namely his Japanese heritage. While an array of stories have been told via the tattoos on his body, such as the specific ancient Japanese story of gods, goddesses, and monsters from the Shinto religion taught to him by his mother, he began pouring the stories into lyrics.

While the rich mythology and folklore of Japan that would give IBARAKI its unique aesthetics and influences, it also provides the artist with the catalyst to contemplate his own identity and to consider how recent tragedies stateside have highlighted the need for better representation in metal.

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Mod Garage: The HSS Auto-Split Mod, Pro Version

Welcome back to Mod Garage. This month we’ll have a deeper look into auto-splitting pickups on an HSS-configured Strat and similar guitars. We covered this a long time ago, exploring the basic version of this wiring in “Stratocaster Auto-Split Mod.” Today we’ll take it one step further with a pro version and discuss what can be done with it.The HSS setup with a bridge humbucker plus two traditional single-coils is the perfect combination for many Strat players, but it’s not limited to Strats. With the bridge humbucker you have a powerful pickup for soloing and rocking the crowd, while the two single-coil pickups give you traditional sounds and everything in between. When you choose a bridge humbucker with 4-conductor wiring, you can even split it for more possible sounds and to also get the famous in-between “quack” tone with the bridge and the middle pickup together in parallel. That’s exactly where the auto-split wiring comes in when you want an easy-to-operate setup. Let’s have a look what can be done with such an HSS pickup configuration and a 5-way pickup selector switch.Some players may not need the in-between pickup position with the bridge plus the middle pickup together in parallel. Maybe they can’t use this tone in their musical context, or they simply don’t like these slightly hollow tones with less output. Even Leo Fender himself never liked this tone that he called “out of phase” (which is technically incorrect). These players are fine with a standard 2-conductor bridge pickup and standard Stratocaster 5-way switching.Other players who don’t need or want the in-between pickup positions may still be interested in the additional tones a bridge humbucker with a 4-conductor wiring can provide. There are three general possibilities for such a pickup:Both coils in series (standard humbucker operation with full output)Both coils in parallel (a kind of hum-free, single-coil-like tone with less output)One coil shut down to ground (real split mode with only one coil engaged)Because you can shut down both coils to ground leaving the other coil active, it’s four different tones you can squeeze out of a humbucker and, depending on what you want, there are several possibilities to get these tones:With a simple 2-way toggle switch you can shut down one of the coils to ground to get an additional single-coil-like tone from the bridge pickup. This can also be used to get the in-between sound together with the middle pickup. You can also use any standard push-pull or push-push pot, or the Fender S-1 switch, for this operation, so you don’t have to alter the appearance of your guitar.If you want more, you can use a DPDT on-on-on switch like the DiMarzio “multi-sound switch” to get all three sounds from your bridge humbucker. This operation can’t be done from a push-pull or push-push pot—you need an additional 3-way toggle for this.If you want all four possible sounds from your bridge humbucker, an additional rotary switch is the way to go. We discussed this just a few months ago in “Mod Garage: How to Triple Shot Your Humbuckers.”That’s where the pro version kicks in, replacing the standard 5-way switch with a “super switch” that has four individual switching stages instead of only two, eliminating the two peeves from the basic auto-split wiring.Please note: This is only possible with a humbucker sporting 4-conductor wiring. You can’t do this with a humbucker with traditional 2-conductor wiring! Of course, there are players who don’t need all the gadgets. They simply want a powerful humbucker tone in the bridge position and the typical traditional Strat tones from all the other switching positions, including the in-between position of the bridge plus middle pickup. The auto-split wiring is perfect for these players because it’s a set-and-forget situation.What will happen without the auto-split wiring when dialing in the bridge humbucker together with the middle single-coil pickup in parallel? You won’t hear a big difference in sound compared to the bridge humbucker alone, simply because usually the bridge humbucker is a lot louder compared to the single-coil and will dominate the tone by out-acting the single-coil. To combat this problem, the auto-split wiring will automatically (hence the name) split the humbucker into a single-coil by shutting down the other coil to ground for a traditional in-between sound of both pickups, like we all know from a regular SSS-configured Strat. The switching matrix of the auto-split wiring looks like this:Bridge humbucker with both coils in series for full humbucker operationBridge humbucker split + middle single-coil in parallelMiddle single-coilMiddle + neck single-coil in parallelNeck single-coilDeciding what coil of the humbucker will be sent to ground leaving the other active could easily be the subject of a whole column. Depending on the winding direction and polarity of both pickups, you usually don’t want to end up with an out-of-phase tone when both pickups are engaged and when your middle pickup is RWRP (reverse-wound, reverse-polarity), you also want to have the hum-cancelling function this switching position can provide. So … choose carefully!While the basic version of this wiring works great, it has some peeves that some players complain about:It’s not possible to freely arrange the dual tone controls. They are fixed to one for the middle and the other for the neck single-coil, leaving the bridge humbucker without any tone control, like in standard Strat wiring.You’ll have to use individual tone caps for each tone control.That’s where the pro version kicks in, replacing the standard 5-way switch with a “super switch” that has four individual switching stages instead of only two, eliminating the two peeves from the basic auto-split wiring.Good idea, but unfortunately the road to hell is paved with good resolutions.The super switches are physically a lot larger compared to the standard version, so take care that they’ll fit into your guitar. Recently I had to upgrade an Ibanez HSS guitar with this wiring, and it was impossible to put a super switch in without extensive routing to make space for it. I had such problems before with Yamaha and Fender guitars. The PCB-based versions of this switch require less space, so often this is the way to go.Often such extended auto-split wirings are trying to also handle what I like to call the “resistance paradigm.” Fender used 250k pots for their guitars with single-coil pickups in the early days, while Gibson used 500k pots for their humbucker-loaded guitars. I don’t think the resistance values were chosen for any tonal reasons. We’re talking about the 1940s and ’50s, when they simply didn’t have the choices we have today. Especially Fender used whatever was available in large quantities for a low price, and it’s likely that Gibson had a similar approach.Today you can still find unfounded rumors all over the internet that single-coils sound best with 250k pots and humbuckers with 500k pots. While the basic idea behind this contains some truth (500k pots still leave some high-end with a humbucker while 250k pots prevent the single-coil from sounding too harsh), such rules are not set in stone and usually such debates totally neglect that we’re talking about a passive system.Often 500k pots are used for an auto-split wiring, incorporating some additional resistors to “convert” them to 250k for the single-coil pickups. Good idea, but unfortunately the road to hell is paved with good resolutions. Digging deeper at this point is too much for this column but may be a good subject for a follow-up. My personal recommendation: Forget about it. In more than 20 years, I have tried every variation of such jack-of-all-trades wirings and not a single one really worked in a useable way. Here are my two cents regarding such a wiring:A good and useful distribution of the tone controls is one 500k pot for only the bridge humbucker and the other one 250k for the two single-coils.Using two tone caps (one for each tone control) is simply perfect for this wiring, i.e., I really like to use a small cap value for the humbucker to control the warmth of it plus a traditional value for the two single-coil pickups.Using a 250k master volume works excellent because in a passive system like a Strat, you can benefit from the much better taper regarding evenness compared to a 500k pot. The loss in high-end compared to a 500k pot is marginal: measurable, but not audible. Using a treble-bleed network is a matter of choice and up to your personal preferences.The wiring layout seen in the diagram at the top of this page is what I recommend and that most players will be happy with, so here we go. I assume that the middle pickup will be a RWRP type, and as usual, I used the Seymour Duncan color code for the humbucker. If you have a humbucker from a different company, you’ll have to convert the shown color code with one of the converting charts online. The bare wire of the humbucker always goes to ground, no matter what type it is. I tried to keep the illustration as clean as possible by leaving out all ground wires, so, as usual, they’re shown with the international symbol for ground. Solder all these connections to the back of a pot of your choice.That’s it. Next month we’ll build a cool and simple yet very effective diagnostic gadget for electric guitars and basses. I use it in my shop daily and you will love it for sure, so stay tuned!Until then … keep on modding!

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ANVIL Announces Spring/Summer 2022 U.S. Tour

Canadian metal legends ANVIL will embark on a U.S. tour in June. They will hit the road in support of their new album, “Impact Is Imminent”, which will arrive on May 20 via AFM Records.

ANVIL guitarist/vocalist Steve “Lips” Kudlow stated about returning to the stage: “Hell and high water has come and gone. Now it’s time to rock! It can’t happen soon enough!”

ANVIL drummer Robb Reiner added: “FUCK COVID…After two-plus years away, here we come… Looking forward to seeing all you pounders… Let’s make sure to rock that shit!”

Tour dates:

June 02 – Providence, RI – Alchemy
June 03 – Brooklyn, NY – The Knitting Factory
June 04 – Vineland, NJ – The Landis Theater
June 05 – Millersville, PA – Phantom Power
June 08 – Pittsburgh, PA – Crafthouse
June 09 – Detroit, MI – The Magic Bag
June 10 – Cincinnati, OH – Legends Bar & Venue
June 11 – Knoxville, TN – BrickYard Bar and Grill
June 15 – Vienna, VA – Jammin Java
June 17 – Virginia Beach, VA – Vanguard
June 18 – Durham, NC – Pinhook
June 19 – Greenville, SC – The Radio Room
June 22 – Memphis, TN – Growlers
June 23 – Oklahoma City, OK – Whisky Nights
June 24 – Fort Worth, TX – Ridglea
June 25 – Austin, TX – The Lost Well
June 27 – El Paso, TX – Rockhouse
June 28 – Tucson, AZ – The Rock
June 29 – Phoenix, AZ – The Rebel Lounge
June 30 – West Hollywood, CA – Whisky A Go Go
July 01 – Garden Grove, CA – Garden Amp
July 02 – San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick
July 07 – Berkeley, CA – Cornerstone
July 08 – Fresno, CA – Fulton 55
July 09 – Reno, NV – Altururo’s
July 10 – Ukiah, CA – The Thirsty Axe
July 13 – Seattle, WA – Substation
July 14 – Bellingham, WA – Shakedown
July 15 – Portland, OR – Dante’s
July 16 – Boise, ID – The Olympic
July 20 – Denver, CO – Herman’s Hideaway
July 22 – Wichita, KS – Barleycorn’s
July 23 – Des Moines, IA – Lefty’s Live Music
July 24 – Sioux Falls, SD – Icon Lounge
July 28 – St Paul, MN – Turf Club
July 29 – Madison, WI – Crucible
July 30 – Iowa City, IA – Wildwood
July 31 – Chicago, IL – Reggies

On “Impact Is Imminent”, ANVIL fires off merciless riff attacks, relentlessly driving drums and impressive bass grooves, complemented by vocal melodies and lyrics that inevitably drill themselves into the listener’s aural tract. As always, Lips and Reiner are at the epicenter of this heavy metal extravaganza. For the past eight years, they have been supported by bassist Chris Robertson, who not only complements the ANVIL fold on a personal level, but also enhances the tracks with his powerful low frequency bass parts and backing vocals.

Earlier in the month, ANVIL shared a first single alongside a music video for the full pedal-to-the-metal anthem “Ghost Shadow”. Lips stated about the track: “‘Ghost Shadow’ is my sixth sense telling me I’m being watched. Could be Internet trolls or paranormal phenomenon. Either way, the song is heavy as fuck.”

Regarding “Impact Is Imminent”, Lips said: “None of our previous albums blends music and lyrics into as tight a unit as ‘Impact Is Imminent’. Everything comes together homogeneously. As a result, the new material sounds monolithic, right down to the very last details, both in terms of rhythm and harmonies. In the past, our studio sessions were sometimes like a little like jumping in at the deep end, with us having to improvise a lot and making decisions at short notice. Working on ‘Impact Is Imminent’, not only was there plenty of time for the songwriting process in the run-up to the recordings, but I also had the leisure to put all my ideas to the acid test and work on them until they were perfect.”

Like its three predecessors, “Anvil Is Anvil” (2016), “Pounding The Pavement” (2018) and “Legal At Last” (2019), “Impact Is Imminent” was produced by Martin “Mattes” Pfeiffer and Jörg Uken at Uken’s Soundlodge studios.

Last month, Lips told Canada’s The Metal Voice: “The whole thing is a bit weird and odd because we put out an album and then never got to tour for it,” referencing the aforementioned “Legal At Last”. “So it’s, like, where is the tour for the last album already? So, what is the last album, just spinning our wheels? What was that? What happened? Now I’m in a position where I’m putting out another album, and I’m gonna have to actually try to push both albums. It’s, like, I don’t know. I’ve never been in a position like that.”

Lips added: “And then at the same time, while all this is going on, I got back from [recording in] Germany, of course, in October and have been writing songs since I got back. Because, of course, the last song I wrote was before I left — months before — so I had months of time off, not doing anything. So we started back in on it. We’re at [song] number 10 already — for the next album.”

ANVIL, a Toronto-based group, was formed in 1978 by childhood friends Kudlow and Reiner. Both came from Jewish families and had been playing music together since their teens. ANVIL is considered to have been an influence on many metal bands, including METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX.

Though initially a four-piece band, ANVIL’s current lineup includes Kudlow, Reiner and Robertson.

ANVIL gained popularity and new fans since the 2008 theatrical documentary, “Anvil: The Story Of Anvil”, which is currently available on Netflix. Made by former ANVIL roadie, filmmaker Sacha Gervasi, it became a cult hit, described by the Chicago Tribune as “a sort of real-life version of ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ with more appealing characters and real emotions.”

In a 2015 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Lips stated about ANVIL’s longevity: “We learned a very early and very brutal lesson in our younger years — you don’t let up, ever. You keep the tank full and you keep driving it. You don’t stop. ‘Cause stopping means that you’re gonna slip. So we’ve been on this survival-terror mode to keep it going.”

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