Rock icon Rob Zombie has announced his seventh studio album, “The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy”, to be released March 12, 2021 via Nuclear Blast. The LP marks his first new album in nearly five years. “The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy” is a classic Zombie album to its core, with high-energy rages like “The Eternal Struggles Of The Howling Man” and “Get Loose” to heavy-groove thumpers like “Shadow Of The Cemetery Man” and “Shake Your Ass-Smoke Your Grass”. The new album is produced by Chris “Zeuss” Harris.

Listen to the first single “The Triumph Of King Freak (A Crypt Of Preservation And Superstition)” below.

Rob Zombie has released an exclusive seven-inch, featuring the new single and B-side, “The Serenity Of Witches”. Order the new single and pre-order “The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy” here.

“The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy” track listing:

01. Expanding The Head Of Zed
02. The Triumph Of King Freak (A Crypt Of Preservation And Superstition)
03. The Ballad Of Sleazy Rider
04. Hovering Over The Dull Earth
05. Shadow Of The Cemetery Man
06. A Brief Static Hum And Then The Radio Blared
07. 18th Century Cannibals, Excitable Morlocks And A One-Way Ticket On The Ghost Train
08. The Eternal Struggles Of The Howling Man
09. The Much Talked Of Metamorphosis
10. The Satanic Rites Of Blacula
11. Shower Of Stones
12. Shake Your Ass-Smoke Your Grass
13. Boom-Boom-Boom
14. What You Gonna Do With That Gun Mama
15. Get Loose
16. The Serenity Of Witches
17. Crow Killer Blues

In September 2019, Rob told NME that his new LP was “the best record” he had ever made. It’s a very big, crazy and complex record that I’m really excited to finally be able to release,” he said.

Asked if this is his favorite of ZOMBIE’s records that he has played on, guitarist John 5 told told Revolver: “Well, this is definitely the most musical — meaning there are a lot of different changes, and it’s very unorthodox how the structure is, you know? I have to be careful because I know people will take a little snippet of what I’m saying. So we’ll go with a very heavy, hooky ROB ZOMBIE record.”

Back in 2018, John 5 compared ROB ZOMBIE’s upcoming album to THE BEATLES’ groundbreaking LP “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, saying that it is “by far the best Zombie record that he’s ever done.” He added: “A lot of people say, ‘Oh, it’s just our greatest record,’ and I don’t say that. Whatever I say is so honest when I’m doing interviews. So I think it’s our best record.”

2016’s “The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser” was the second consecutive effort to feature Zombie and John 5 alongside bassist Piggy D. and drummer Ginger Fish.

Photo credit: Travis Shinn

DEFTONES will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their third album, “White Pony”, by releasing a remix LP called “Black Stallion” on December 11 via Reprise/Warner. The first single from the effort, a remix of “Knife Prty” by Purity Ring, can be streamed below. DEFTONES also enlisted such producers and artists as DJ Shadow, Clams Casino, THE CURE’s Robert Smith, LINKIN PARK’s Mike Shinoda, Squarepusher, Blanck Mass and Salva for “Black Stallion” for reimaginings of other “White Pony” favorites.

“Black Stallion” track listing:

01. Feiticeira (Clams Casino remix)
02. Digital Bath (DJ Shadow remix)
03. Elite (Blanck Mass remix)
04. Rx Queen (Salva remix)
05. Street Carp (Phantogram remix)
06. Teenager (Robert Smith remix)
07. Knife Prty (Purity Ring remix)
08. Korea (Trevor Jackson remix)
09. Passenger (Mike Shinoda remix)
10. Change (In the House of Flies) (Tourist remix)
11. Pink Maggit (Squarepusher remix)

DEFTONES announced their plans for a “White Pony” remix album during a virtual press conference in June. At the time, singer Chino Moreno stated: “We’re going to be releasing later in the year a reissue of [‘White Pony’] and we’re going to do sort of a split side of the record, a remixed version of it titled ‘Black Stallion’. So we have a bunch of different people on it, some that actually inspired some of the writing of the record itself, the original album. So it’s kind of come full circle.”

DJ Frank Delgado revealed that “Black Stallion” was in the works before “White Pony” even saw the light of day.

“We would talk about [‘White Pony’ before it came out], how good it was going to be, and we’d immediately jump to, ‘It’s going to be so good, we’re going to have [DJ] Shadow remix it and we’ll call it ‘Black Stallion’. I think one time we actually hit him up. He was playing here in town and I was opening DJing and me and Chino kind of cornered him.”

“White Pony (20th Anniversary)” is available in three physical formats: 2 CD + digital download; limited-edition deluxe box set (2 double LPs + 2 CDs); and a vinyl box set (2 double LPs).

DEFTONES’ ninth album, “Ohms”, arrived in September.

British rockers BRING ME THE HORIZON have just released their new EP, “Post Human: Survival Horror”, via Columbia Records. The nine-song effort includes the previously released singles “Obey”, “Ludens”, “Parasite Eve” and “Teardrops”, as well as new collaborations with NOVA TWINS, BABYMETAL and EVANESCENCE’s Amy Lee.

Amy can be heard on the closing track, “One Day The Only Butterflies Left Will Be In Your Chest As You March Towards Your Death”, while BABYMETAL appears on “Kingslayer”.

Speaking about how her collaboration with BRING ME THE HORIZON came about, Lee told Revolver: “I don’t really know them personally. We’d just been fans of each other’s music, and you know how music is — you feel like you know that person because the music lives in you. While I’d been very busy working on our album [‘The Bitter Truth’], and getting a little bit stuck on some of the words, they sent me this track to work on, and it was such a beautiful escape and release for me. It felt like something I wasn’t supposed to do, like my secret little side thing, and it really was just so fulfilling to go back and forth, to collaborate, to have all these conversations every day with Oli [frontman Oliver Sykes]. It felt beautiful to finish something. It was the boost and the inspiration to take the EVANESCENCE music with a new satisfaction and fuel, where I’d just been frustrated before.”

“Post Human: Survival Horror” track listing:

01. Dear Diary
02. Parasite Eve
03. Teardrops
04. Obey (feat. Yungblud)
05. Itch For The Cure (When We Will Be Free?)
06. IXI (feat. NOVA TWINS)
07. Kingslayer (feat. BABYMETAL)
08. Ludens
09. One Day The Only Butterflies Left Will Be In Your Chest As You March Towards Your Death (feat. Amy Lee)

This past June, Sykes told Kerrang! magazine about the band’s new music: “Like [2019’s] ‘Amo’ [album] was very collage-y in terms of it spanning from ballads to poppy songs to heavier songs to electro, we wanted this next record to be a mood. As the pandemic unfolded and everything changed, the mood I had in mind started to not feel right. Basically, I had this idea to make some records — I didn’t know how many, but more than one — that all fell under a blanket name of ‘Post Human’. Each record would have its own theme and its own message. The first was going to be about compassion and self-love because I wanted to build up to a record about changing ourselves and changing our future because we need to self-evolve. We can’t just say, ‘We are humans. This is how it is,’ because as humans, we’ve already stepped outside of the food chain by bringing technology into our lives. We need to continue to modify ourselves until we can be proud of what we do on this planet and live harmoniously, not just with ourselves but other creatures. That’s the message I wanted to put out there, but I know the world’s not ready for that on the grand scale. First, we need people to love themselves. There’s too many people out there that hate themselves, and I always think, ‘If you don’t have compassion for yourselves, how’re you going to have compassion for other people?’

“But as the pandemic unfolded, I didn’t think the world was ready for that record. Just like everyone else, I’m pissed off, I’m scared, I’m angry… we need to write a record that embodies that. Before we get to compassion, we need to get out the frustration and anger. This first record’s going to be battle songs, like a recruitment record — songs of anger and hope. It’s not going to offer a solution, it’s going to be more about asking people to come and find a solution with us. This first music is to get you back up, get your blood pumping, get you pissed off and thinking about what’s going on. The record will follow a similar tone of ‘Ludens’ and ‘Parasite Eve’ and that’s going to be the first record of four. We’re going to release four different records over the next year, all under this name ‘Post Human’, and they’ll all be very different. There’ll be a thread, and the lyrical themes will progress as a story, but in terms of the tone, it’ll be quite different.”

BRING ME THE HORIZON spent the last few months writing and recording new music remotely, releasing a series of videos that show how the band has managed to work on the songs during the coronavirus pandemic.

BRING ME THE HORIZON will embark on a five-date U.K. arena tour in September 2021. The dates are as follows:

Sep. 21 – Glasgow, UK @ The SSE Hydro
Sep. 22 – Cardiff, UK @ Motorpoint Arena
Sep. 24 – Sheffield, UK @ FlyDSA Arena
Sep. 25 – Birmingham, UK @ Utilita Arena
Sep. 26 – London, UK @ The O2 Arena

SMASHING PUMPKINS have released the official Linda Strawberry-directed music video for the song “Ramona” from their upcoming double album, “Cyr”. Also available is another new track, “Wyttch”.

“Cyr” will be issued on November 27 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 singer-songwriter Billy Corgan.

“‘Cyr’ is dystopic folly,” Corgan said in a statement, “one soul against the world sort of stuff, set against a backdrop of shifting loyalties and sped up time. To me it stands as both hopeful and dismissive of what is and isn’t possible with faith.”

“Cyr” track listing:

01. The Colour Of Love
02. Confessions Of A Dopamine Addict
03. Cyr
04. Dulcet In E
05. Wrath
06. Ramona
07. Anno Satana
08. Birch Grove
09. Wyttch
10. Starrcraft
11. Purple Blood
12. Save Your Tears
13. Telegenix
14. Black Forest, Black Hills
15. Adrennalynne
16. Haunted
17. The Hidden Sun
18. Schaudenfreud
19. Tyger, Tyger
20. Minerva

Corgan recently told Apple Music about “Cyr”: “I think this is the music that’s coming out now is the things that have taken root. We’ve gone back to just being ourselves.

“We’re good pop assassins, and I think as long as we’re sort of in that space, we’re good. Anybody can ascribe anything they want to it as far as stylistically, but it bears repeating that what most of the general public knows of the band is really only one small slice of the band’s music. The band’s sort of width was a lot wider. So this falls quite comfortably in the music that we’ve made through the years.”

“Shiny And Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.” was SMASHING PUMPKINS’ first album in over 18 years to feature founding members Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin and James Iha, along with longtime guitarist Jeff Schroeder.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello has just released a new solo EP, “Comandante”. The five-track affair includes a guest appearance by GUNS N’ ROSES guitarist Slash on the song “Interstate 80”, while another cut, “Secretariat”, is a tribute to late VAN HALEN axeman Eddie Van Halen.

“Comandante” track listing:

01. Voodoo Child
02. Interstate 80 (feat. Slash)
03. Secretariat (for Eddie Van Halen)
04. Suburban Guerrilla
05. Cato Stedman & Neptune Frost

“Comandante” is Morello’s first solo release following the July 2020 arrival of the “You Belong To Me” single.

Tom’s latest solo LP, “The Atlas Underground”, came out in 2018.

Genesis recently releases Morello’s photographic memoir, “Whatever It Takes”.

As the cofounder and guitarist of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, AUDIOSLAVE and PROPHETS OF RAGE, and as a solo artist and collaborator with artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen and WU-TANG CLAN, few musicians have been as groundbreaking as Morello. In “Whatever It Takes”, he tells his story through original commentary, handwritten notes, set lists and a wealth of photographs, to make this jam-packed photographic memoir fascinating, honest, and completely unique.

“I’m both blessed and cursed to be a guitar player,” Morello said. “I didn’t choose it, it chose me. The challenge was to find a way to weave my convictions into my music in a meaningful way.”

SIXX:A.M.’s anthem “Belly Of The Beast”, is a highlight of the “Sno Babies” soundtrack. The brand-new lyric video for the song incorporates scenes from the powerful film. The track was originally featured on SIXX:A.M.’s 2016 album “Prayers For The Damned Vol. 1”.

“Sno Babies” is a gripping and emotive tale that depicts the grim realities of teenage addiction. Kristen and Hannah are best friends — smart, likeable and college-bound — and also addicted to heroin. The pair of seemingly unlikely addicts spiral down a path of destruction, hiding their secret from well-meaning but busy parents behind pink bedrooms and school uniforms. Directed by Bridget Smith and starring Katie Kelly (“Game Of Silence”), Paola Andino (“Queen Of The South”) and Michael Lombardi (“Rescue Me”), “Sno Babies” shows how easy it can be to both miss and hide the signs of addiction. Better Noise Films’ share of profits is being donated to The Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation (GRI) and The Amy Winehouse Foundation.

The trailer for “Sno Babies” has racked up over 6.5 million combined views to date.

In a mission to reduce the stigma of Substance Use Disorders (SUD) and make an impact, Better Noise Films has collaborated with GRI to use the film’s release as a platform to raise awareness of their efforts to provide access to recovery support services all around the world. GRI is the first and only national community foundation dedicated to building a philanthropic source of funding for organizations to expand their capacity to provide people with SUD recovery support systems and services to combat the growing problem. The Amy Winehouse Foundation will utilize the funds for its many important programs, including its Recovery Pathways Program for Young People and Amy’s Place – Recovery Housing for young women in the U.K.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the risk for those in recovery, for both catching the virus and more severe outcomes. Treatments and support systems are disrupted, and social isolation increases the risk for addiction, relapse and overdose deaths.

October is National Substance Abuse Prevention Month, and Better Noise Entertainment continues to highlight the hope that exists in recovery through the release of music from its biggest artists like SIXX:A.M.

SIXX:A.M. features MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx alongside guitarist DJ Ashba and singer James Michael.

Halloween may look different this year, but STABBING WESTWARD is intent on making it feel special by releasing a brand-new covers EP today as a special “treat” for fans.

“Hallowed Hymns”, released on COP International Records, features four tracks that were instrumental to the industrial band’s beginnings and conjure the feeling of the season. It includes original takes on “Burn” from THE CURE (famously featured on the soundtrack to “The Crow”), the classic “(Every Day Is) Halloween” by MINISTRY and ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN’s eternal hit “The Killing Moon”. There is also a special “Devil’s Night Mix” version of STABBING WESTWARD’s “Burn” cover to round out the surprise release.

STABBING WESTWARD — featuring original founding members Christopher Hall (vocals/guitar) and Walter Flakus (keyboards/programming) as well as longtime bandmate Carlton Bost (bass) and newest member Bobby Amaro (drums) — originally released their cover of “Burn” to much fanfare for the “Cold Waves Festival” compilation album in September; the track was premiered by Revolver magazine that called it a “reverent cover” that kicked off the compilation “with a bang.”

Says Hall about this special surprise release: “2020 has been a shit year. We were supposed to release our new album and tour the U.S. to support it. But clearly that’s not happening. We know Halloween is different this year with no parties and no trick or treating so we wanted to give fans something special …. something that will help tie you over until we can release some new music.

“We picked these three tracks because, for us, they represent the feeling of Halloween and they were very important songs during our early musical stages. If there were ever two bands that I would say most influenced Walter and I to form STABBING WESTWARD it would be MINISTRY and THE CURE. From the earliest days of MINISTRY’s ‘With Sympathy’ through the evolution of ‘Twitch’, they were the band that opened our minds and hearts to industrial music. To be able to reimagine these songs as STABBING WESTWARD while still trying to pay homage to the brilliance of the original versions was a terrifyingly fun adventure.

“We have been working on the album so hard for so long that it was really a joy to take a break and explore all these tracks had to offer. As often as you listen to your favorite songs, it’s a totally different experience to take one apart and see how it was built. It gave me such an immense appreciation for what these amazing artists created — especially the MINISTRY track knowing how primitive the gear was that Al Jourgensen had to work with back then with none of the modern tools we take for granted today. He literally created new techniques in the studio that we still use today. He was light years ahead of his time. We hope you enjoy listening to these tracks as much as we have enjoyed recording them.”

STABBING WESTWARD recently reunited for the first time in decades, releasing the “Dead And Gone” EP with new material in January 2020 and announcing a new record deal with indie label COP International to release the band’s upcoming fifth studio album “Wasteland” — their first new LP in 20 years — set for 2021.

The EP’s title coyly illustrates that STABBING WESTWARD is in fact neither dead nor gone, but rather ready to pick up where they left off after a string of mid-’90s hits that dominated alternative radio and film soundtracks, including “Shame”, “Save Yourself”, “So Far Away” and “What Do I Have to Do?”, and resulted in two gold records.

To recapture that early chemistry, the band has again recruited their original producer, the legendary John Fryer for the upcoming “Wasteland” release. It will be the first LP from the band since 2001. Fryer, whose production credits include DEPECHE MODE, NINE INCH NAILS, 4AD, COCTEAU TWINS and LOVE AND ROCKETS, was behind the boards on STABBING WESTWARD’s seminal early albums “Ungod” (1994) and “Wither Blister Burn + Peel” (1996).