Swedish metal veterans IN FLAMES will release a new studio album titled I, The Mask on March 1 through Eleven Seven Music. Pre-orders will be available on January 11.

Along with the announcement comes a stream of its first single, “(This Is Our) House.” Its lyric video can be found above, along with the official video a second song from the outing called “I Am Above.”

The twelve-track album reunites them with producer Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, Motörhead), who also produced 2016’s Battles. Additionally, the album was mixed by Chris Lord-Alge(Cheap Trick, Linkin Park) and mastered by Ted Jensen (Pantera, Guns N’ Roses). Meanwhile, the album artwork was created by artist Blake Armstrong, and it depicts “a unique interpretation of the band’s mascot, The Jesterhead...

WHITECHAPEL has debuted a new track from their upcoming album, The Valley, which is due out on March 29 through Metal Blade. The song is titled “Black Bear” and available for streaming above.

Their last album was the most decimating of their career, and there is no stopping the juggernaut that is Whitechapel. Our Endless War was the culmination of everything the Knoxville, Tennessee sextet have worked toward since their inception. A ruthlessly honed album that refuses to compromise on brutality, it is also by far their most streamlined, atmospheric, and emotionally powerful release, pushing every aspect of their sound to the next level. “The record grasps everything that we’ve done thus far,” states guitarist Alex Wade...

Former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted is having his first solo art show, presented in Miami during Art Basel, which runs December 3rd to January 4th at The Sagamore Hotel.

Jason performed live with his ensemble, The Chophouse Band, at the event’s private opening on December 5th and played again at the Sagamore Brunch on Saturday, December 8th.

Video footage of Newsted’s December 8th appearance can be seen above.

Ever since leaving Metallica 14 years ago, Newsted has called Jupiter, Florida his home, developing a new career painting and sculpting artwork. Recently, the work has garnered attention from collectors and enthusiasts, reports Ashleigh Walters of WPTV.

Sebastein Laboureau is the Resident Art Advisor at The Sagamore...

BLACK CROWN INITIATE have officially welcomed guitarist Ethan McKenna and drummer Samuel Santiago(ex-Gorod/Melechesh) to their lineup. The brief announcement of their addition came around the band’s first live shows in several years.

It would appear that guitarist Wes Hauch (Alluvial, etc.) and drummer Jesse Beahler (Nightfire, etc.) are the outgoing members who were replaced by the new additions. Recent months have found the band have been working on new material in though it is presently unclear on when you can expect to hear it.

Black Crown Initiate is the sound of a sentient being at war with itself and everything else; an entity holding on for dear life as its inner and outer world dies.

Band Members

James Dorton – Vocals
Andy Thomas – Guitar and Vocals
Nick S...

DEADLAND RITUAL, featuring bassist Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath), vocalist Franky Perez (Apocalyptica, Scars On Broadway), drummer Matt Sorum (Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver) and guitarist Steve Stevens (Billy Idol) has unveiled a debut track and video, “Down In Flames” (via Sonik Riot Recordings / AWAL powered by Kobalt) available today here.

Produced by Greg Fidelman (Black Sabbath, Slipknot, Metallica), “Down In Flames” features the lush and powerful vocals of Perez, alongside Stevens’ signature thundering guitar conjugating with the hard-driving tribal rhythm section of Butler and Sorum. Watch the official video for “Down In Flames” above.

Drawing inspiration from the ritual symbolism of desert badlands paired with Sorum’s love of the idea of a ‘ritualistic...

MISERY INDEX have shared a quick peek at the upcoming music video for their new single, “New Salem“. That song is scheduled to premiere online this Wednesday, December 12th, and will be the first track to arrive from the band’s forthcoming album, “Rituals Of Power“, out March 08th.

In their 16-year existence, MISERY INDEX have released five studio albums, several EPs and performed well over 1000 concerts in 44 Countries. MISERY INDEX began as a studio project in 2001, when vocalist and bassist Jason Netherton (ex-DYING FETUS) joined together with guitarist / vocalist Mike Harrison and drummer Kevin Talley (ex-DYING FETUS) to record their debut EP “Overthrow”...

SLAYER has added another round of North American touring to their final world tour. Dates for “Leg Five: North America” will also feature Lamb of God, Amon Amarth and Cannibal Corpse, with confirmed dates as follows:

5/2 Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion
5/3 Albuqueque, NM I@ sleta Amphitheater
5/5 El Paso, TX @ UTEP/Don Haskins Center
5/7 McAllen, TX @ Bert Ogden Arena
5/8 Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
5/10 Tampa, FL @ MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre
5/11 West Palm Beach, FL @ Coral Sky in West Palm Beach
5/13 Huntington, WV @ Big Sandy Superstore Arena
5/14 Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
5/16 Indianapolis, IN @ Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
5/17 Bonner Springs, KS @ Providence Medical Center Amphitheater
5/19 Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theate...

The Swedish melodic progressive metal band DARKWATER will release their new album “Human” on March 1st in Europe and North America via Ulterium Records. The album will be available on CD, 2LP and digital. “Human” won’t leave fans of melodic metal or progressive metal disappointed. The songs are heavier, more melodic and atmospheric than before and the band worked really hard on tweaking the ten songs and over 76 minutes of playing time into perfection. Jacob Hansen (Evergrey, Volbeat, Amaranthe) was chosen to mix and master the album and he did a fantastic job which resulted in the best sounding Darkwater album to date...

ARCH ENEMY has unleashed a new music video for “Reason to Believe,” a track from their latest album, Will to Power. A limited edition “Reason to Believe” 7″ single was released today via Century Media Records. The video was directed by Patric Ullaeus. 

Time passes, the world changes, but some things remain constant and unassailable. Heavy metal has endured for more than four decades because its spirit is eternal, and few bands embody the intensity, integrity and lofty artistic ambitions of the genre with more dazzling aplomb than Arch Enemy...

Today marks a tragic day in the history of Heavy Metal music. Legendary PANTERA guitarist, Dimebag Darrell Abbott of Arlington, Texas, was shot dead on the stage on the eve of Dec 8, 2004 by a crazed gunman while jamming with his new band project called DAMAGEPLAN. 

My independent death investigation for Dimebag in 2018 has uncovered more strange details and alarming facts, stemming from a lawsuit filed by the family of the slain guitar hero against the owner of the club where he was shot to death while performing for fans at a concert back in 2004.

According to this 2007 report via KNAC and The Columbus Dispatch:

“The estate of “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, the Damageplan/ex-Pantera guitarist who died in a 2004 shooting at Alrosa Villa, reached a settlement in its wrongful-...