10 YEARS will release “Deconstructed” on March 4 via and Mascot Records / Mascot Label Group. The album will include 19 alternate takes of the band’s most popular songs from their 20-year career.

Previews of “Wasteland (Alternate Take)” and “The Unknown (Alternate Take)” are available below.

The complete track listing of “Deconstructed” features “Halos”, “Lucky You”, “Say Goodbye”, “The Unknown”, “I Wish”, “Waking Up”, “Patiently”, “Seasons To Cycles”, “Survivors”, “Running In Place”, “Knives”, “Soma”, “Fix Me”, “Fault Line”, “11AM (Daydreamer)”, “Planets I”, “Dying Youth”, “One More Day” and “Wasteland”.

Guitarist Brian Vodinh states: “The idea for ‘Deconstructed’ started out as just an acoustic performance. Myself and Matt with acoustic guitars, and nothing beyond that in terms of instrumentation. Then, as I was working on adapting some of the songs to an acoustic environment, I started getting these thoughts, like, ‘What if this was played on a piano instead?!’ Then once we opened the door to further instrumentation things spiraled out of control quickly, and it became one of the most challenging, yet most gratifying projects we have taken on. ‘Deconstructed’ allows the listener to discover this list of songs all over again, in a new way.”

Singer Jesse Hasek adds: “The ‘Deconstructed’ versions of these songs really hit me in an emotional way. It felt different to sing over the orchestrations that Brian and Matt had created for these. It felt really intimate, and like they had really carved a path for where my voice was to sit on those arrangements. I hope people can listen to these versions and find the spirit in them that we were trying to convey.”

The release of “Deconstructed” follows the band’s most recent studio album “Violent Allies”. The lead single, “The Shift”, has been streamed over 9.5 million times on Spotify, with over 16 million collective streams across all platforms. Repertoire from the album has been streamed 15.8 million times on Spotify, while collective streams across all platforms exceeds 30 million.

10 YEARS will return to the road this spring with an extensive tour of the U.S. that will play 33 markets. On April 8, the Official Fan Summit will be staged in Las Vegas at 24 Oxford, where the band will perform their “Feeding The Wolves” album in its entirety, featuring the prior singles “Fix Me” and “Shoot It Out”, for the first and likely only time ever.

HIGH ON FIRE’s Matt Pike will release his debut solo album, “Pike Vs. The Automaton”, on February 18 via MNRK Heavy. The official music video for the LP’s latest single, “Land”, can be seen below. The track features a guest appearance by MASTODON guitarist Brent Hinds, an old pal of Pike’s.

“‘Land’ was written after I had just come home from a tour,” Pike said. “It’s like an old blues song. I was thinking of it as like a bunch of old dudes in a subway doing a doo-wop thing. It has the feel of a two-step like my mom used to dance to, like country western. It’s totally about depression and leading a hard life. Later I was playing the song for Brent Hinds from MASTODON who had come out to Portland to jam with me and he laid down this smokin’-ass Billy Gibbons kind of solo. I did one solo and then he did his solo and I’m, like, ‘You’re a dick.’ [Laughs] The bass player from Brent’s other band WEST END MOTEL, Steve McPeeks, played some stand-up bass — both plucking and with a bow — and it really brought out this depth to the song. I’ve never written a song like that and recorded it and made it as cool as it is. It’s totally different.”

Born out of the challenges brought on by a worldwide pandemic, birthed under hellish red-orange skies bred from rampaging west coast wildfires, and built amidst the yearlong political riots and rallies in Portland, Oregon, “Pike Vs. The Automaton” is both a musical and emotional release. The record was written by Pike with drummer Jon Reid, features contributions from a slew of family and friends, and was recorded with longtime conspirator Billy Anderson, the producer who brought the best out of Pike previously on touchstone titles such as “Surrounded By Thieves” and “Sleep’s Holy Mountain”.

“I was just going bonkers during the pandemic. It was like really, truly miserable. And then all the riots here in Portland and all the political shit. I was trapped in my garage, which was the only place I could go and jam and do anything,” confessed Pike. “I was trapped in there ’cause I couldn’t go jam with HIGH ON FIRE, I couldn’t do this, I couldn’t do that, no one could fly. I was going crazy. My friend Jon Reid, who was the original drummer for LORD DYING, had moved to Portland and was babysitting my dog, Crom, and he was drumming for my wife’s band, so he had his drums already set up at my place. I finally said, ‘Dude, do you want to come over and just start jamming?’ So, I just started this thing with my friend Jon. I was like, ‘Dude, fuck it. Let’s start a side band and we’ll just demo this and act like we’re starting it as teenagers, you know?’

In December, Pike released the album’s first single, the bizarrely titled “Alien Slut Mum”.

“Necessity is the mother of invention” is a well-known proverb that has proven itself true time and time again. When the need for something becomes imperative, you are forced to find ways of getting or achieving it. In this true story, the need for Pike was to create and play music with others at a time when that lifelong love was seemingly out of reach.

Other guest musicians on “Pike Vs. The Automaton” include Alyssa Maucere-Pike (LORD DYING, GRIGAX), Chad “Chief” Hartgrave, Josh Greene (EL CERDO), Todd Burdette (TRAGEDY), and HIGH ON FIRE’s Jeff Matz, who lays down Turkish electric saz on the album’s towering closing track “Leaving The Wars Of Woe”.

“Pike Vs. The Automaton” track listing:

01. Abusive
02. Throat Cobra
03. Trapped In A Midcave
04. Epoxia
05. Land
06. Alien Slut Mum
07. Apollyon
08. Acid Test Zone
09. Latin American Geological Formation
10. Leaving The Wars Of Woe

“The album title, ‘Pike Vs. The Automaton’, wasn’t an ego thing for me,” said Pike. “Billy and Jon said, ‘Dude, you should use your name in this. This is your solo project.’ I said, ‘I don’t want to do that.’

“The Automaton, in Greek mythology, is the big robot that’s the guardian of the Gods, basically. It’s a soulless, big machine named Talos. The big machine that’s working against mankind at this moment. In ‘Jason And The Argonauts’, Jason and the Argonauts have to battle this big machine guy that protects the island. Basically, what the album title is saying, metaphorically, is ‘Pike against the world.'”

“I made a psychedelic rock record that SLEEP and HIGH ON FIRE fans would like,” Pike continued when asked for a CliffsNotes description of “Pike Vs. The Automaton”. “And maybe if you’re not a SLEEP or HIGH ON FIRE fan, you might like it too. I definitely think it’s interesting; it has D-Beat punk, two-step. It’s got everything and it still works together, it doesn’t sound odd. It’s just an off-the-wall psychedelic rock record.”

Dutch/Norwegian rockers THE GATHERING will release their first studio album in almost a decade, “Beautiful Distortion”, in April via Psychonaut Records. Produced by Attie Bauw, who previously worked on 2006’s “Home” and 1998’s “How To Measure A Planet?”, the band’s 11th studio LP will contain eight songs with a running time of nearly 50 minutes.

The official music video for the album’s second single, “We Rise”, can be seen below.

THE GATHERING comments: “‘Beautiful Distortion’ is a typical eclectic THE GATHERING album, although it may be our most dynamic and melodic album to date. THE GATHERING’s signature atmospheric and electronic rock sound is topped with the warm Nordic vocal lines by Silje Wergeland.”

Wergeland adds: “We wanted the artwork and title to reflect the times we have been in lately. Both with the pandemic, trying to be creative in isolation, all our everyday struggles, in private life, in relationships, and all that comes in life and with not being able to meet face to face. It symbolizes communication, or the lack of it, the interaction that has been out of balance. But at the same time, all the beauty that can come out of this distortion, such as new music, ideas and perspectives. It has been a long way, but we are so pleased and excited to soon reveal what we have been working on so hard for the past years.”

The first single from “Beautiful Distortion”, a song called “In Colour”, was made available last October.

In February 2021, THE GATHERING drummer Hans Rutten told Portugal’s Underground’s Voice that he and his bandmates don’t see 2013’s “Afterwords” as the group’s latest studio album. “We all see ‘Disclosure’ [2012] as our last studio album, and ‘Afterwords’ was more or less a ‘Disclosure’ after-party,” he said. “Frank [Boeijen, keyboards] and René [Rutten, guitar] really wanted to do some extra things — to make remixes. We had some sounds going on and some ideas, so we devoped into a sort of — it’s a mini album, maybe, but it’s a long album. But that said, we don’t see it as a full-length album of THE GATHERING, more as sort of an EP kind of thing.”

Released in September 2013, “Afterwords” contained three songs that originally appeared on the “Afterlights” EP in 2012, two “Disclosure” remakes, three brand new THE GATHERING tracks and a cover version of a song called “Areas”.

“Disclosure” arrived in September 2012 via THE GATHERING’s own Psychonaut Records.

Former MACHINE HEAD and current VIO-LENCE guitarist Phil Demmel recently filled in for LAMB OF GOD guitarist Willie Adler during the band’s January appearance on the ShipRocked cruise. The reasons for Adler missing the cruise have not been disclosed. Adler’s brother, Chris, departed the band in 2019.

Demmel’s appearance with LAMB OF GOD marks his third high-profile fill-in gig in four years. Demmel stepped in for SLAYER guitarist Gary Holt for four European shows in the fall of 2018 after Gary returned home to be with his dying father. Demmel also subbed for Dave Linsk at OVERKILL’s November 13 concert at The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, New Jersey.

In a new interview with BLABBERMOUTH.NET, Demmel discussed how he became such an in-demand hired gun: “The SLAYER thing happened within 24 hours of me quitting MACHINE HEAD,” he said. “I think [SLAYER drummer] Paul Bostaph’s girlfriend knew that MACHINE HEAD was done and knew that I was home, so they reached out for that. As the urban legend goes [laughs], I had three hours to learn 19 songs. It was pretty successful; a fill-in trip, one of the higher-profile things you can imagine — SLAYER on their final world tour. I filled in for my buddies in NONPOINT, too. The OVERKILL gig was more about me and Bobby [Ellsworth, vocals] doing the BPMD record together [2020’s ‘American Made’]. We’re familiar and I got the rep of being able to learn songs pretty quick. The METAL ALLEGIANCE, guys, too. I’ll play 25 songs with them in a night. It’s one of those quirky things where I can learn songs pretty quickly and I can pick them up pretty quick.”

Demmel was then asked whether his nerves for the LAMB OF GOD and OVERKILL gigs were on the same level as playing with SLAYER. “I was pretty confident with the OVERKILL songs,” he said. “We had three good rehearsals. I didn’t rehearse with SLAYER at all. I played two songs at a soundcheck. [Laughs] ‘Okay, we’re good!’ It’s like, ‘Fuck!’ OVERKILL, we had a couple of days of rehearsal. I had two and a half, three weeks to prepare for that. I felt pretty strong with that.

“The LAMB OF GOD gig, that was a big deal. They had approached me before their MEGADETH States tour last summer and wanted me to learn both parts, Mark [Morton] and Willie’s, just in case one got sick, they didn’t want to cancel their tour. That’s where I am: I’m their bullpen guy when one of them can’t make the shows, I’m ready to go. It’s such a high-profile band. I didn’t want to go out there and blow it. I wanted the band to sound good. I wanted to keep that pride in what they are and not have a drop-off. Willie and I play differently. There’s different vibrato in our left-hand and pinkies. I didn’t want there to be a drop-off. I wanted people to be not-bummed that he wasn’t there. And that’s not a slag on Willie. If I went to see one of my favorite bands, let’s say QUEENSRŸCHE. I want to see [Chris] DeGarmo, I want to see Michael Wilton. No slight against the other dudes, but they better fucking bring it if they’re not going to be out there.”

VIO-LENCE will release the “Let The World Burn” EP on March 4 via Metal Blade Records. The EP marks the band’s first release since 1993’s “Nothing To Gain”.

LAMB OF GOD’s latest, self-titled album was released in June 2020 via Epic Records in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast Records in Europe. The follow-up to “VII: Sturm Und Drang” marked LAMB OF GOD’s first recordings with Art Cruz, who joined the band in July 2019 as the replacement for Chris Adler.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD’s new album is “90 percent done” after the band was able to get a 78-piece orchestra to record its parts for the follow-up to 2016’s “The Stage”.

Earlier today, AVENGED singer M. Shadows shared new photos of the orchestra in the studio along with him and guitarist Synyster Gates giving their “thumbs up” to what they were hearing. “Twas worth the wait,” the singer tweeted.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD drummer Brooks Wackerman also offered an update on the recording process, writing on Instagram: “Well… this happened on Tuesday. We – AVENGED SEVENFOLD – started writing this record 4 years ago and I can’t believe we are 90% done… One of the perks – in the creative process – is that we are able to track a 78-piece orchestra on our records. The fact that we are able to bring incredible musicians together to enhance our art still gives me chills…

“I can’t wait for the the world to hear this… all I can say it’s unlike anything we’ve ever released.. ALRIGHT and good night!”

Last month, M. Shadows confirmed to Metal Hammer that the band would complete the recording of its eighth studio album this month. “The record’s been recorded for a year, but we haven’t been able to put the real strings on it, because we couldn’t fly out to Prague,” he said. “When an orchestra have to social distance and they aren’t sitting next to each other, they can get out of tune, and we have just finally got to a place where we can use this 70-piece orchestra as we intended. We finish the record in February, mix it in March.”

Regarding the musical direction of the follow-up to “The Stage”, M. Shadows said: “There are so many influences… We’re very influenced by Kanye West. The thing about Kanye is that he is pulling from such great soul music. I didn’t grow up with that stuff — my dad listened to BOSTON and Alice Cooper [and] I didn’t get that taste of black music and old soul. So, diving deep into jazz musicians… We’re not trying to do a jazz record, but the chord changes and progressions are so eye-opening to us.”

AVENGED SEVENFOLD kept a low profile during 2019. A blood blister on M. Shadows’s vocal cords forced the band to cancel a summer 2018 tour with PROPHETS OF RAGE and THREE DAYS GRACE.

“The Stage” was surprise-released in October 2016. The release of the disc, which was announced the night it went on sale, earned the lowest sales of an AVENGED SEVENFOLD album in 11 years. It sold 76 thousand copies in its first week, 73 thousand of which were physical.

“The Stage”, AVENGED’s debut for Capitol, sold less than half as many copies in its first week as the group’s two previous efforts, 2010’s “Nightmare” and 2013’s “Hail To The King”.

Twas worth the wait. ?@RAFACORE pic.twitter.com/AEJA2uN9tS
— M. Shadows (@shadows_eth) February 10, 2022

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A post shared by Brooks Wackerman (@thebrookswackerman)

Stephen Pearcy is mourning the passing of his brother. The 65-year-old RATT singer announced his sibling’s death on social media early this morning (Thursday, February 10). He wrote: “2/9/2022 R.I.P. my brother Bill Wayne Pearcy, may you find peace, you will be missed. It’s been tough, now you can rest brother. Love you.”

Bill Pearcy’s passing comes nearly eight years after the death of Stephen’s sister.

In his 2013 autobiography “Sex, Drugs, Ratt & Roll: My Life In Rock”, Stephen wrote about his life from childhood to the formation of RATT in the 1970s and the band’s rise to prominence in the Sunset Strip hair metal scene of the 1980s. In the book, he also shared how he was primed for a life of excess from a young age — his father died of a heroin overdose when he was 12, and by the age of 15, Stephen was himself a drug addict.

Seven months ago, Pearcy opened up about his private three-year battle with liver cancer, telling Shawn Ratches of Laughingmonkeymusic: “Everything’s kind of copacetic now. I’m on a ritual and monitoring things. And do I really wanna put myself through all this stuff, with taking care of your health and the broken bones and knees, staph infection.

“I don’t know why I’m still here,” he continued. “But, look, I’m appreciating every day and minute above ground here, because all of our peers are seemingly disappearing. And it’s such a drag. But it’s under control. And I never wanted to bring it up until I really started feeling guilty about it.”

As previously reported, Pearcy has set “Agent Provocateur” as the title of his sixth solo album, to be released later this year.

Pearcy and bassist Juan Croucier are the sole remaining original members in RATT’s current lineup.

RATT hasn’t released any new music since 2010’s “Infestation” LP.

2/9/2022?? R.I.P. my brother Bill Wayne Pearcy, may you find peace, you will be missed. It’s been tough, now you can rest brother. Love you. SEPearcy ???? pic.twitter.com/UDwVA4PmtV
— STEPHEN E PEARCY (@StephenEPearcy) February 10, 2022

GUNS N’ ROSES bassist Duff McKagan joined SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS onstage last night (Wednesday, February 9) at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, Washington to perform a cover version of GUNS N’ ROSES’ “Nightrain” Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

Seattle, which is McKagan’s hometown, was the second stop on SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS’ 2022 North American tour, which kicked off on Tuesday (February 8) in Portland, Oregon.

The band’s Seattle set included three songs from SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS’ upcoming “4” album, as well as covers of Lenny Kravitz’s “Always On The Run” and Elton John’s “Rocket Man”.

Slash originally intended to avoid performing material from GUNS N’ ROSES on this tour, telling Ultimate Classic Rock: “I have to admit, I really missed playing the GUNS material when this thing first started, so it was a great outlet for me. But having gotten back with all my buddies in GUNS, after a while I was like, ‘I don’t really need to do it with Myles and Company,’ so we don’t have any GUNS songs in the set. That said, I sort of miss the occasional VELVET REVOLVER song. So I haven’t put any VELVET songs in the set as of yet, but I might at some point put one, at least, just for the fun of doing it.”

SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS’ tour will hit 26 other major cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, Nashville, Dallas, Austin, Houston, and more, before wrapping up March 26 in Orlando, Florida.

Due on February 11 via Gibson Records in partnership with BMG, “4” is Slash’s fifth solo album and fourth overall with his band featuring Myles Kennedy (vocals), Brent Fitz (drums), Todd Kerns (bass, vocals) and Frank Sidoris (guitar, vocals).

In October, SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS released the official music video for the LP’s first single, “The River Is Rising”, shot on location in downtown Los Angeles with Gibson TV director Todd Harapiak.

For “4”, Slash and the band traveled across the country together to Nashville, Tennessee and recorded the new album at the historic RCA Studio A with producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, John Prine, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile), revealing a stunning new sound and style all captured live in the studio. Cobb shared the band’s desire to lay down the tracks live, in the studio including guitar solos and vocals — a first for the group.

The new album “4” has the added history-making distinction of being the first-ever album to be released on the new Gibson Records label, which is headquartered in the iconic American instrument brand Gibson’s hometown of Music City, Nashville. In light of the 30-year partnership between Gibson and the Grammy Award-winning Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Slash, it makes sense the new SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS’ album “4” will be released via Gibson Records.