Eternity’s End guitarist/chief songwriter Christian Münzner deep dives into the riff writing process for new song “Call of the Valkyries.”
The post Christian Münzner (Eternity’s End) Unlocks The Magic of Riffing appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

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Tanya O’Callaghan says that she proved her worth before being chosen as the new bass player of WHITESNAKE.

Last month, Tanya officially joined David Coverdale-fronted outfit as the replacement for longtime bassist Michael Devin whose departure was revealed a few days earlier.

When asked in a new interview with For Bass Players Only what it means for her to be the first female musician to become a member of WHITESNAKE, Tanya said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I think luckily there’s a lot more prominent female players in general across music these days, which is great. Obviously, there’s not enough yet. For me, it’s always about normalizing. I don’t want it to be its own pedestal or male versus female or all-female this; I really just want it to be normal. It’s, like, normal — the more that there are female players in bands and these big bands and whatnot, because people do kind of tend to latch on to, ‘Oh my God! It’s a female player.’ And you’re, like, ‘It’s a bass player.’ [Laughs]

“You get the gig on your own merit; you don’t get it because you’re a woman,” she continued. “It’s, like, ‘Oh, it’s kind of cool. She also happens to be a female.’ But I have a hell of a career behind me. I’ve proven my worth.

“Immediately after the WHITESNAKE announcement, my inbox just exploded with parents being, like, ‘Oh my God. I can’t wait to bring my daughter to the gig and show her that she can do anything’ or whatever, and I think that’s amazing and sweet,” O’Callaghan added. “But I think at the end of the day for me, it all comes back down to just normalizing it — not making a big deal out of it. Because people do tend to wanna focus in on, ‘What’s it like to be a female bass player?’ It’s very much the same as a male bass player. [Laughs]”

When O’Callaghan’s addition to WHITESNAKE was first announced on November 23, Coverdale said in a statement: “Well, well, well…ladies & gentlemen…boys & girls…we are very proud to announce & to introduce you all to our newest snake…or should I say…snakette!!! Please give a loud WHITESNAKE choir welcome to the Irish tornado!!! A whirling dervish of a performer whom we feel will bring a fresh, new, exciting musicality & welcome energy to the band, both in the studio & onstage… Here she is… Irish born & bred…the one & only… Tanya O’Callaghan!!!

“For whatever reason, WHITESNAKE has never featured a female musician in the band before… Bad boys!!!…But when we saw Tanya performing with our friend Steven Adler’s band at the M3 festival in 2019 & we were all blown away… An electrifying performer… When WHITESNAKE & Michael Devin decided to go their separate ways, Tanya was the first person we reached out to & thankfully she accepted our invitation to become a snake…

“We are thrilled & delighted to welcome Tanya O’Callaghan to WHITESNAKE!!!

“Let the music do the talking!!!”

O’Callaghan also commented on her addition to WHITESNAKE in a social media post. She wrote: “I guess the snake’s out of the bag. What an absolute honor to be joining WHITESNAKE/David Coverdale for their worldwide farewell tour 2022/23.

“This small town gal still pinches herself over the amount of legends I’ve had the joy to work, tour and record with over the past few years since I made the terrifying solo leap across the Pacific with no clue how everything would unfold.

“It’s been a wild ride and just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, who calls, only feckin’ WHITESNAKE! And the best part, to step into the snake shoes of my bass brothers Rudy Sarzo, Tony Franklin, Neil Murray and Michael Devin … are you kidding me.. .what a f#*king honor beyond belief!!! My heart is exploding.”

Coverdale, who turned 70 in September, recently confirmed that he plans to retire from touring after WHITESNAKE’s next batch of concerts around the world.

Although Coverdale will no longer perform with WHITESNAKE, he is still planning on writing and recording fresh material once he has retired from the road.

Early last year, WHITESNAKE was forced to cancel its U.S. tour with SAMMY HAGAR & THE CIRCLE and NIGHT RANGER so that Coverdale could undergo surgery for bilateral inguinal hernia. Eventually, all of the shows were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Coverdale had both his knees replaced with titanium in 2017 after suffering from degenerative arthritis. He later explained that he was in so much pain with arthritis in his knees that it hampered his ability to perform live.

WHITESNAKE had been touring in support of its latest album, “Flesh & Blood”, which was released in May 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl.

I guess the snakes out of the bag ???
What an absolute honor to be joining Whitesnake/David Coverdale for their…

Posted by Tanya O Callaghan on Tuesday, November 23, 2021

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SOULFLY will embark on another U.S. tour in February 2022. The 35-date trek will kick off on February 7 in Las Vegas, Nevada and make stops in Seattle, Minneapolis, Nashville, and Baton Rouge, among other cities, before concluding in Gallup, New Mexico on March 19. Joining SOULFLY on select dates will be 200 STAB WOUNDS.

SOULFLY mainman Max Cavalera comments, “I’m more than thrilled to kick off the New Year with a tour! We will be playing songs from our upcoming new release!”

General admission tickets for the tour are now on sale at www.soulfly.com.

Confirmed dates for SOULFLY’s U.S. tour are:

Feb. 07 – Las Vegas, NV – Rockstar Bar*
Feb. 08 – Palmdale, CA – Transplants*
Feb. 09 – Oxnard, CA – Oxnard PAC*
Feb. 10 – Fresno, CA – Strummer’s*
Feb. 11 – Santa Cruz, CA – Atrium
Feb. 12 – Reno, NV. – Virginia Street Brewhouse*
Feb. 14 – Berkeley, CA – Cornerstone*
Feb. 15 – Roseville, CA – Goldfield Trading Post*
Feb. 16 – Eugene, OR – WOW Hall*
Feb. 17 – Portland, OR – BossaNova Ballroom
Feb. 18 – Seattle, WA – El Corazon*
Feb. 19 – Tacoma, WA – Fawcett Hall at Alma Mater*
Feb. 20 – Spokane, WA – Big Dipper*
Feb. 21 – Spokane, WA – Big Dipper*
Feb. 23 – Great Falls, MT – The Newberry #
Feb. 24 – Billings, MT – Pub Station #
Feb. 25 – Casper, WY – Gaslight Social #
Feb. 26 – Greeley, CO – Moxi Theater %
Feb. 28 – Fargo, ND – The Aquarium #
Mar. 01 – Minneapolis, MN – Cabooze #
Mar. 02 – Milwaukee, WI – Miramar Theater #
Mar. 03 – Hobart, IN – Hobart Theater #
Mar. 04 – Lombard, IL – Brauer House #
Mar. 05 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverfront Live #
Mar. 06 – Nashville, TN – Basement East #
Mar. 08 – Memphis, TN – Growler’s #
Mar. 09 – Little Rock, TX – Little Rock Music Hall #
Mar. 10 – Oklahoma City, OK – Whiskey Nights %
Mar. 11 – Baton Rouge, LA – Chelsea’s %
Mar. 12 – Ft. Worth, TX – Rail Club %
Mar. 13 – Shreveport, LA – The Sand Bar %
Mar. 15 – Corpus Christi, TX – House of Rock %
Mar. 16 – McAllen, TX – Cine El Rey Theatre %
Mar. 17 – Laredo, TX – Cold Brew Rock Bar %
Mar. 19 – Gallup, NM – The Juggernaut Music %

* Support to be determined
# with 200 STAB WOUNDS
% No support

In August, SOULFLY parted ways with longtime guitarist Marc Rizzo due to personal differences. A permanent replacement guitarist has yet to be announced. FEAR FACTORY’s Dino Cazares played guitar for SOULFLY on the band’s last U.S. tour which took place in August and September.

Max and his bandmates have spent the last few months working on the follow-up to 2018’s “Ritual” at Platinum Underground in Phoenix, Arizona with producer Arthur Rizk, who has previously worked with CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, POWER TRIP and CODE ORANGE.

In a summer 2021 interview with Chris Annunziata again of “The Metal Teddy Bear Experience” show, which airs on the 90.3 WMSC radio station, the Brazilian-born musician stated about the upcoming SOULFLY disc: “We’re still tracking right now. So the record is not gonna come out till next year. It’s a little bit of a long process. Because of COVID and everything, it had to be done a little bit differently. Actually, we’re gonna play one song called ‘Filth Upon Filth’ on this [August/September 2021] tour. It’s a killer song. It reminds me of old SLAYER; it sounds like SLAYER ‘Hell Awaits’ era meets SOULFLY, which is always a good thing.

“We still need to record drums,” he continued. “Right now we just really have the songs written — all the riffs. So we’re still building the music. But we did have one full song, which is ‘Filth Upon Filth’, and we get to play that on the next tour, which is great. So people do get a taste of the new record, which I think is amazing — to be able to give them a taste.”

Asked if there is an overall lyrical theme on the new SOULFLY album, Max said: “Some of it [is] dealing with, actually, the spiritual world and things like that, which is really cool. I think it’s always been kind of a SOULFLY theme anyway. There’s a song called ‘Spirit Animal’ that’s really cool. And there’s gonna be a couple of guests. I’m not gonna say who they are right now; I don’t wanna spoil the surprise. But, again, there’s gonna be some special guests singing on this record.

“[There isn’t gonna be] an overall theme,” he clarified. “It’s not gonna be a theme album like maybe [SEPULTURA’s] ‘Roots’ was more like a tribal theme kind of record. This is more like a [mixture of subjects]. There’s a song about the environment and how we’re destroying the earth and all that, called ‘The Damage Done’. And that came out really good. So, yeah, [it’s] just my way of writing. It’s pretty simple. I don’t try to get fancy with it. I know what I do. It’s like my riffs — I know how to do them. I don’t try to fancy them up. That’s how they are — they’re simple but direct, and they work. And that’s what I love about it.”

This past April, Max told Chris Enriquez of Saint Vitus Presents: Age Of Quarantine that Rizk took the new SOULFLY project “super seriously. He said, ‘Hey, Max, I don’t wanna do just another SOULFLY record. I wanna do the best SOULFLY record,'” he recalled. ‘I was, like, ‘All right. I take the challenge. Let’s do it, man.'”

As for the musical direction of the new SOULFLY material, Max said: “It’s full-on. I think it’s got kind of like the best of all the years. I think it’s a compilation Max Cavalera record of the whole 50 years. [Laughs] That’s what it feels like — it’s got old stuff, it’s got middle stuff, it’s got very SOULFLY vibes. It’s got a lot of groove. It’s got a lot of fast stuff.”

In December 2020, Max told the “Sappenin’ Podcast With Sean Smith” about the songwriting process for the new SOULFLY album: “The cool thing about Zyon, the way he plays drums, is he’s a bit like a wild animal — he has no restraint, man, and he just unleashes on the drum kit. Pure, pure brutality power drumming, and I love that. So that takes me back to a lot of the early records that I like — a lot of the old ENTOMBED stuff and CARCASS and NAPALM DEATH; out-of-control shit. So I think we have that kind of spirit going on on a lot of the new tracks.”

In June 2020, SOULFLY released a new digital EP, “Live Ritual NYC MMXIX”. The effort was recorded at The Gramercy in New York City on February 11, 2019 while SOULFLY was on tour in support of its most recent full-length album, “Ritual”. The audio for the EP was mixed and mastered by Charles Elliott (ABYSMAL DAWN) from Tastemaker Audio. Cover artwork was comprised of live photos taken by Rodrigo Fredes.

“Ritual” was released in October 2018 via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2015’s “Archangel” was produced, recorded and mixed by Josh Wilbur (KILLER BE KILLED, LAMB OF GOD, GOJIRA).

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THE LUCID, the four-piece hard rock band featuring bassist David Ellefson (ex-MEGADETH), vocalist Vinnie Dombroski (SPONGE), guitarist Drew Fortier and drummer Mike Heller (RAVEN, FEAR FACTORY), has just finished filming four new music videos. Three of the tracks are taken from THE LUCID’s self-titled debut album, which was released on October 15 via SpoilerHead Records.

Ellefson announced the completion of the videos in a social media post earlier today. He wrote: “THE LUCID knocked out 4 music videos in L.A. over the weekend. 3 songs from our debut album and one that is a total off the wall cover that will see the light of day in a few months. What a great time it was!”

“The Lucid” was produced by Heller and mixed/mastered by Lasse Lammert.

Ellefson previously stated about the LP: “It’s been a real blast making a record with these guys and I must say that it’s refreshing to explore some new musical avenues… to step out a bit from what each of us have done stylistically in our own careers. There was an effortless synergy that came with creating these songs together which is always amazing when working with new people. I’m looking forward to everyone checking it out!”

During a November 2020 appearance on “The Chuck Schute Podcast”, Ellefson stated about how he got involved with THE LUCID: “Drew sent me a track and said, ‘Hey, can you throw a bass on here?’ And I was writing a new ELLEFSON solo record at the time, so my studio ears were on. I was plugged in and ready to go. He sent it over and I was, like, ‘Yeah, this is freaking cool, man.’ I’d seen Drew play, I know his BANG TANGO history and the other stuff he’s done. But this was really cool stuff that spoke to me. And then he called me up and he said, ‘Hey, Vinnie is gonna come in and write some vocals and lyrics and lay down some tracks.’ And it turned into a thing.”

“I love [Vinnie]. I love SPONGE,” David continued. “He’s such a rock star. He’s just a cool guy. And he writes such great lyrics — very trippy lyrics. He’s the type of lyricist I’d never worked with before, so it’s fun with that. And Drew is a great guitar player. Mike Heller — he’s good friends with [MEGADETH drummer] Dirk Verbeuren. And Dirk’s, like, ‘Mike’s awesome.’ They’re good friends. We all met in L.A. We got the songs together and we all met in L.A. in mid-July. I plugged in and banged out 10 songs in two days. And it was fun. Mike was very good in the studio; he really knows his way around.”

As for THE LUCID’s musical direction, Ellefson said: “It’s cool stuff, and it’s very different. It’s, obviously, not thrash metal, hence the name LUCID. [The name] kind of feels like what the music sounds like.”

Ellefson was fired from MEGADETH earlier this year after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter. At the time, Ellefson was accused of grooming an underage girl through videos and online messages. David has denied the allegation and has repeatedly said the woman in question had been a willing, consenting adult at the time of their virtual sexual encounter. Ellefson accompanied his denial with an alleged screenshot of a statement from the woman with whom he was supposedly involved at the time. In it, the woman admitted to recording the alleged intimate communications she had with Ellefson and called herself “naïve” for sharing them with a friend without the musician’s permission.

David was in MEGADETH from the band’s inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest exit.

In 2004, Ellefson filed an $18.5-million lawsuit against Dave Mustaine, alleging the MEGADETH frontman shortchanged him on profits and backed out of a deal to turn Megadeth Inc. over to him when the band broke up in 2002. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed and Ellefson rejoined MEGADETH in 2010.

David, a Christian who launched the Mega Life Ministries worship group in 2007, studied for a year at Concordia Lutheran Seminary in St. Louis nearly a decade ago.

The Lucid video shoot day 2

Posted by David Ellefson on Friday, December 17, 2021

The Lucid music video #2 in the can!

Posted by David Ellefson on Friday, December 17, 2021

The Lucid
Photo by Kevin Williams

Physical & signed copies: lucidofficial.com
Spotify:…

Posted by David Ellefson on Saturday, December 18, 2021

The Lucid knocked out 4 music videos in L.A. over the weekend. 3 songs from our debut album and one that is a total off…

Posted by David Ellefson on Monday, December 20, 2021

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Former CRO-MAGS frontman John Joseph says that he beat COVID-19 by “investing” in his immune system.

The 59-year-old, who is also an author, Ironman triathlete and proponent of a vegan, clean-living lifestyle, shared the news of his diagnosis in an Instagram video earlier today (Monday, December 20).

He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I’m wearing my ‘Virus’ shirt. You know why? I had the so-called death virus that they’re shutting every fucking thing down for. The omicron. Oh my God! It’s the end of the fuckin’ world.

“Guess what. A couple of days [later], I’m back to fuckin’ normal,” he continued. “Why do you think that is? That’s because I invested in my immune system. I take care of myself. I fasted, [ate] a lot of fruit, a lot of teas, a lot of organic vitamic C and different drinks. And you know what? I still ain’t takin’ that motherfuckin’ shot. I ain’t takin’ none of them. That’s just me. I don’t tell anybody else what the fuck to do.

“The problem now is the overreach, like these motherfuckers in the government saying, ‘Oh, yeah, there’s gonna be a lot of illness and death visiting the unvaccinated.’ Really? Fuckin’ tell me about it, dude.

“Fuck this shit show. This government now signing shit to lock motherfuckers up that don’t take the vaccine. The unvaccinated ain’t the problem. If you got three fucking shots in and you’re still getting coronavirus, you need to ask yourself what the fuck is going on. That’s the real fucking deal.

“Anyway, the voice of fuckin’ reason. You’re entrusting your health with the ones who are profiting off of your illness,” Joseph added. “Think about that for a fuckin’ second. Think about the disconnect that it takes for you to entrust your health to these motherfuckers. All of them — Pfizer, J&J [Johnson & Johnson], Moderna, fuckin’ AstraZeneca — fuckin’ corrupt companies. Do some fuckin’ research. Before they were all safe and effective; now the J&J, yeah, it causes blood clots.

“Wake up, people. You’re being fuckin’ played, and that’s the reality of the situation.”

Back in March 2020, at the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Joseph said that no one was addressing “the real issue” — that eating animals is bad for human health.

A year earlier, Joseph, who is the author of the book “Meat Is For Pussies”, which attacks the myth that men need meat to be fit and strong, told GQ.com that his plant-based diet is “second nature at this point.” He explained: “You know, we look at everything that we put into our cars, we’re obsessed with the fine details of all those sorts of things. But when it comes to what we put in our bodies, man, if you read the label and you can’t pronounce this shit, you shouldn’t be eating it. Our body is our only vehicle to get through life.”

The new coronavirus is believed to have originated from one of Wuhan, China’s many “wet markets” — so called because animals are often slaughtered directly in front of customers. These markets put people and live and dead animals — dogs, chickens, pigs, snakes, civets, and more — in constant close contact.

In the U.S., more than 61% of the population are currently fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, while more than 72% have received at least one shot, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

More than 805,000 people have died from the coronavirus in the U.S.

According to the CDC, unvaccinated people are 10 times more likely to test positive for COVID-19 compared to those who are vaccinated and had a booster shot. Unvaccinated people are also 20 times more likely to die from the virus.

According to the nonpartisan, nonprofit web site Fact Check, while vaccines reduce the probability of getting infected, they are not 100% effective, so there is a chance that an unvaccinated person could infect a vaccinated person — particularly the vulnerable, such as elderly and immunocompromised individuals. And, despite vaccination providing excellent protection against severe disease, a small proportion of vaccinated people still require ICU care.

In 2019, Joseph and drummer Mackie Jayson reached a settlement with CRO-MAGS founder Harley Flanagan regarding ownership of the CRO-MAGS name. Flanagan is now performing under the name CRO-MAGS while Joseph and Jayson are performing as CRO-MAGS “JM”.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by John Joseph (@johnjosephcromag)

You can learn a lot from an alien pic.twitter.com/L0uXkCC3lY
— John Joseph (@jjcromag) December 20, 2021

News stories everywhere of kids having mental health issues because of the Rona – but guess what? The Government is kicking up big money for mental health services – i.e. meds – boy oh boy Big Pharma is loving it.
— John Joseph (@jjcromag) December 17, 2021

Omicron = A bad cold – they are playing you
— John Joseph (@jjcromag) December 7, 2021

At this point with the shots not working or stopping anything it should be your choice not the Govt demanding you do anything. Like so many of them said last year and I quote “it’s not our job to mandate any shots” That’s right.
— John Joseph (@jjcromag) December 3, 2021

Even with two jabs you can still get ‘Rona and spread it. See – I don’t tell anybody what to do – so stay in your lane on my decisions. I do what’s right for me and will not be guilt tripped by people rolling up to the McDonald’s drive through or whack ass hypocrite vegans.
— John Joseph (@jjcromag) November 3, 2021

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SMASHING PUMPKINS mainman Billy Corgan is mourning the death of his father, musician William Corgan Sr. The 74-year-old reportedly suffered a heart attack on Friday (December 17) while in his home. Paramedics arrived to find him dead, before miraculously reviving him for a short time. En route via helicopter to a medical facility, he passed away.

On Saturday (December 18), Corgan shared a video tribute to his father in which he said: “My father had his own struggles with music and had a very complicated and oftentimes bitter relationship with the music business. He assumed that I would have the same. It all started with him, watching him play in basements and at soundchecks and empty stinking bars.”

Later on Saturday, Billy was joined by his partner Chloe Mendel and their two kids for their annual Christmas show at Corgan’s vegan tea shop, Madame Zuzu’s, in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. While there, he performed “Do You Hear What I Hear?” with his young daughter Philomena, along with two holiday originals, “Evergreen” and “The Magi And The Shiny Bright”.

A year ago, Billy told journalist Jenniffer Weigel tha the “actually started [work on] a Christmas album a couple of years ago. We kind of did it quick, and I wasn’t satisfied with the results, so I junked it all,” he revealed. “But I had written some songs, and I had found some cool obscure songs, and picked a couple of classics that I liked. I hope we get around to it some time, but at the moment, it’s completely stalled.”

Corgan previously floated the idea of making a PUMPKINS Christmas album in a 2018 interview with USA Today. Asked at the time if the LP would include covers or be all original material, Billy said: “It would be a mixture. I have released two Christmas songs, and I was thinking it would be nice to re-record those in the context of the record we would make. It would be probably lean more acoustic. I would think it’s a bit weird [to make] wild Christmas records. Although, I also like ‘Jingle Bell Rock’, which is basically 1950s rockabilly. But I don’t know. When I think Christmas music, I tend to think something you want to put on and sit around the tree with the kids and not rock out to. I don’t see us doing a rocking-out Christmas album.”

Back in 1997, Corgan wrote and recorded “Christmastime” for “A Very Special Christmas 3”.

SMASHING PUMPKINS’ latest album, “Cyr”, was released in November 2020 via Sumerian Records. The 20-song follow-up to 2018’s “Shiny And Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.” was produced by Corgan. It features founding members Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin and James Iha, along with longtime guitarist Jeff Schroeder.

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Canadian progressive death titans INTO ETERNITY have been added to the 2022 lineup of the Hyperspace Metal Festival as headliners for the event’s third night on April 17. INTO ETERNITY has stepped in a as the replacement for STRIKER, which is unable to perform due to a scheduling conflict with its upcoming U.S. tour with BEAST IN BLACK and SEVEN KINGDOMS.

In addition to the news of INTO ETERNITY being added to Hyperspace Metal Festival, the band will be giving festival-goers a special treat as they will be performing with their 2006 “The Scattering Of Ashes” lineup that sees original members Tim Roth (clean/death vocals and guitar), Troy Bleich (PLANET EATER) (bass and clean/death vocals), Stu Block (ex-ICED EARTH) (clean/death vocals) and Jim Austin (drums) reunite along with current guitarist Matt Cuthbertson (UNTIMELY DEMISE). INTO ETERNITY will be executing tracks from “The Scattering Of Ashes”, an album that has sold over 15,000 copies in the U.S. and peaked at No. 45 on Billboard’s Top Independent Albums chart along with giving fans a taste of new extreme music from their forthcoming yet-to-be-titled full-length.

Hyperspace Metal Festival organizer Joey Hockin said: “Our new day three headliners are the legendary INTO ETERNITY! We know people have been itching to see them ever since Stu Block announced his return to the band back in August. We can’t wait to have them on the Rickshaw stage this April to join WITHERFALL, ARCHON LEGION, PALADIN, PLANESWALKER, and many more. This is going to be an unforgettable weekend of melodic metal that if you are a fan of the genre you are not going to want to miss!”

The third edition of HMF was originally announced for April 2020, but postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now with the return of live events, festival promoter Journeyman Productions shares the rescheduled 2022 lineup to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia from April 15 to April 17 at Funky Winker Beans and the Rickshaw Theatre.

The lineup for Canada’s premier melodic and power metal festival will feature 20 bands, some originally announced for the 2020 production along with a few new additions that will perform over three nights with headliners INTO ETERNITY, WITHERFALL and IRON KINGDOM (full lineup listed below).

Highlights of the confirmed bands include dark melodic heavy metal juggernauts WITHERFALL from Los Angeles blazing new trails and weaving new tales in support of their latest 2021 album “Curse of Autumn” (Century Media Records), local Vancouver heavy metal heroes IRON KINGDOM, who are HMF alumni and make their second appearance on the festival lineup after headlining the inaugural 2018 event. In addition to those bands, two extremely rare performances will be witnessed for PLANESWALKER (California/Cyprus), a Magic: The Gathering-inspired power metal duo featuring members of HELION PRIME and DIRE PERIL along with a reunion set from Victoria, British Columbia’s ARCHON LEGION, which features members of UNLEASH THE ARCHERS.

Hyperspace Metal Festival 2022 lineup:

April 15 (Funky Winker Beans)

IRON KINGDOM
SILVER TALON
APPRENTICE
TZIMANI
FORSAKEN RITE
EVEREAL

April 16 (Rickshaw Theatre)

WITHERFALL
ARCHON LEGION
RAVENOUS E.H
PLANESWALKER
NOVAREIGN
SYRYN
OPHELIA FALLING

April 17 (Rickshaw Theatre)

INTO ETERNITY
HELION PRIME
PALADIN
GATEKEEPER
ARKENFIRE
LYCANTHRO
WINTERS REACH

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Jay Conroy of “Rock Hard With Jay Conroy” interviewed Rick Allen at the DEF LEPPARD drummer’s art opening at the end of November at Wentworth Gallery in Short Hills, New Jersey. Rick talked about his artwork, his inspirations and background for his art. Check out the 26-minute video below.

Allen recently spoke to New Jersey Stage about his “Legends” series, which consists of lifelike-yet-impressionistic portraits of musicians who have influenced him, from Jimi Hendrix to Freddie Mercury to John Lennon. “We lost another legend in Charlie Watts which obviously has been super devastating to the music community and the world at large, kind of the end of an era,” he said. “That’s my latest piece, a really cool piece of Charlie Watts and I’m really proud of that. I’ve got an original and then what I normally do is take hi-res photos of the original and create mixed media pieces based on them.”

In a 2018 interview with The Hype Magazine, Allen, who started painting at an early age before he ever picked up the drums, stated about his use of light or some sort of bright object in his art: “Reality is very difficult to do, but it’s my attempt to painting the object or whatever it is. It’s a study of how the light bounces off of the object. Some of the more recent pieces — there was one that I did of [late DEF LEPPARD guitarist] Steve Clark; then there was one I did of John Lennon; I did one of Jimi Hendrix, the ‘Legends’ pieces — that, to me, was a study at how you’re really not painting the person’s face, you’re painting how the light bounces off of the person. If you look closely at some of the pieces, they make no sense when you look at them up close. When you stand back and you start to view it from a distance, it’s almost like your mind fills in the blanks and it creates the illusion of reality.”

Two years ago, Rick told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about his artistic process with his paintings: “I take a photograph I really like of the person, and I’ll poster-ize it and sketch the poster-ization onto the canvas, and that’s when I can come up with my whites, blacks and grays. After I do the under painting, I’ll start to choose colors. When I do the ‘Legends’, I normally listen to the music of the artist I’m painting.”

Allen told NorthJersey.com that he enjoys his art tours because it gives him the opportunity to interact in more of an intimate setting with his fans than he can at a concert.

“With DEF LEPPARD, meeting people is kind of brief and impersonal,” Allen said. “These kinds of events allow me to meet people in a different way, on a more personal level.”

Rick Allen, baterista de Def Leppard, y su pintura de Charlie Watts

Posted by Gustavo Quiroga on Saturday, October 23, 2021

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JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford has posted a new photo of the band’s ailing guitarist Glenn Tipton.

Earlier today, Halford took to his Instagram to share a photo of him with his 74-year-old bandmate, apparently taken at one of their respective homes in the U.K. as they prepare to celebrate the holidays with their families.

Rob wrote in an accompanying caption: “‘merry metal motivational’ #heavymetal #ink #metal #music #motivation #life #inspire #legend #guitar #icon #master #today #nofilter #love #family #friends #fans #one #world #peace #respect #all @judaspriest”.

Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease seven years ago after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier. Tipton announced in early 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of PRIEST’s latest album, “Firepower”. He was replaced by “Firepower” producer Andy Sneap, who is also known for his work in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT.

When asked in a recent interview with Spain’s Mariskal Rock if Tipton will be involved in the recording sessions for PRIEST’s next album, Rob said: “There’s ways of doing this. Glenn can still play the guitar. He plays it differently, but he can still play. He walked out with us on Bloodstock recently [and played] ‘Metal Gods’, ‘Breaking The Law’ and ‘Living After Midnight’, I think it was. He can play. So he’ll be on this next album. Whatever work he does, he’s valuable — really important. He’s a member of JUDAS PRIEST. He’s still there. He’s still an important component of this band and what this band represents, particularly in the writing sense. He made a massive contribution to the songs that we have so far. And we’ll still keep writing — we’ll still keep putting together the ideas. ‘Cause you can never not stop writing. The calendar tells you, the label says, ‘We would like a record blah blah,’ because it takes months to prepare and then months of promotion. And the clock is ticking.

“So, yeah, he’s good, man. He’s still a fighter. He never lets anything stop him. He’s a great force for people that are living their lives actively and productively with Parkinson’s. So he’s still very much [like] that ‘No Surrender’ song — a heavy metal hero.”

Bassist Ian Hill is the sole remaining original member of PRIEST, which formed in 1969. Halford joined the group in 1973 and Tipton signed on in 1974. Rob left PRIEST in the early 1990s to form his own band, then came back to PRIEST in 2003. Founding guitarist K.K. Downing parted ways with the band in 2011, and was replaced by Richie Faulkner.

Some of the other members of PRIEST have also dealt with various health setbacks in recent years. Halford recently publicly revealed that he battled prostate cancer during the pandemic. He previously mentioned his cancer battle in the new chapter added to the updated paperback edition of his autobiography, “Confess”. In “Confess”, Halford revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer after experiencing symptoms for at least a couple of years.

In July 2020, Rob underwent prostatectomy, an operation where the entire prostate gland is removed plus some of the tissue around it, including the seminal vesicles. After more cancer was found earlier this year, he went through radiation treatments in April and May and eventually got then all-clear in June. He also had an appendectomy after a tumor was discovered on his appendix.

Faulkner suffered an acute cardiac aortic dissection during the band’s performance at the Louder Than Life festival in late September. Faulkner was rushed to the UofL Health – Jewish Hospital where the cardiothoracic surgery team needed approximately 10 hours to complete a life-saving surgery.

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