Twisted Sister

TesseracT present: RADAR - the concert film out 5th December. Available for preorder now - https://www.tesseractband.store/

Bring Me The Horizon

Bring Me the Horizon have established themselves as one of the most enduring metalcore groups to come out of Sheffield, UK with their brooding mix of deathcore rock and dabbling in other styles such as electronica and classical.

Papa Roach

Papa Roach is an American rock band hailing all the way from Vacaville, California, USA. The band is an enormous success, gaining in fame since their start back in 1993. To date they have sold more than 20 million albums worldwide.

A Perfect Circle

Get our new album, Eat The Elephant now: https://AperfectCircle.lnk.to/EatTheElephantFA

Anthrax

The Gotthard stands majestically at 3,192 meters above sea level, and the legacy of the band GOTTHARD is just as impressive. Their signature mix of hard rock power, passion and emotion remains potent even after more than 30 years, making their new record "Stereo Crush" seemingly effortless one of their finest works yet. This achievement is significant for a band with 16 number-one albums and 3.5 million units sold! On their 14th studio record, the band combines years of experience with the enthusiasm typical of highly motivated newcomers. A significant strength of the current lineup—founding members Leo Leoni and Marc Lynn, along with Freddy Scherer, Nic Maeder, and new drummer Flavio Mezzodi—is their cohesive bond: a group of extremely talented and like-minded musicians united by a common dream.

This unwavering commitment to quality and their fans didn't develop overnight. Since releasing their legendary debut "GOTTHARD" in 1992, the band has played an astounding 2,000 concerts and achieved the remarkable feat of a quadruple platinum album—a real "Homerun" for the ambassadors of Swiss rock music. "Stereo Crush" is an album for the ages, thanks also to the unofficial sixth member of the band, longtime co-producer Charlie Bauerfeind.

Sepultura

Sepultura is a phenomenon. For over twenty-five years, the band from Brazil has been delivering a brutal mix of metal, hardcore, thrash, punk and tribal that could hardly be more intense or more passionate. What had begun in Belo Horizonte in 1984 soon turned into a metal hurricane of threatening proportions and has taken on undreamt-of dimensions since the enlistment of American vocalist Derrick Green in 1998. You have to experience this band live on stage to understand the fascination that this South-American act holds. And Sepultura's current songs always indicate the future of heavy metal.

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SEPULTURA BIO 2016 (by Dom Lawson)

Class is eternal and metal is forever. The road to heavy music glory is littered with the shattered corpses of those that didn’t have the strength to complete the journey. But true masters always win through, and Sepultura have long since earned their status as legends of the metal world. In 2017, they return with more fire in their collective belly than ever before. Machine Messiah is coming…

Formed in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 1984, Sepultura swiftly became major players in the burgeoning thrash metal underground. With a sound that was as inventive and exuberant as it was raw and primitive, the band shattered preconceptions by planting South America firmly on the metal map, as early albums like Morbid Visions, Schizophrenia and Beneath The Remains helped to shape the sound of this new, brutal strain of heavy music. With a dogged devotion to touring anywhere and everywhere, Sepultura steadily built up one of the most dedicated fan bases on the planet, and while the ‘90s caused many metal bands to struggle creatively and commercially, the Brazilians went from strength to strength: both 1993’s Chaos AD and its groundbreaking follow-up Roots in 1996 were instant classics and have since proved to be hugely influential on several generations of metal musicians.

The departure of frontman and founder member Max Cavalera in 1997 could easily have derailed a less focused outfit, but the recruitment of vocalist Derrick Green later that same year proved to be a masterstroke. The last two decades have seen Sepultura evolve, diversify and thrive, releasing a steady succession of devastating records that have added great depth and diversity to the band’s illustrious catalogue. From the scattershot euphoria of Green’s first album Against in 1998 and the snarling groove barrage of 2003’s Roorback to the gleaming, riff-driven futurism of 2011’s Kairos and the Ross Robinson-produced mutant extremity of the widely acclaimed The Mediator Between Head And Hands Must Be The Heart, released in 2013, Sepultura’s progress has been perpetual and their artistic integrity impeccable. Ever more revered as a destructive and exhilarating live band, the current lineup of Derrick Green, guitarist Andreas Kisser, bassist Paulo Jr. and drummer Eloy Casagrande recently celebrated Sepultura’s 30th anniversary with an unrelenting world tour that confirmed beyond doubt that the Brazilian crew are on the form of their lives right now.

Fast-forward to 2017 and Sepultura are poised to release an album that promises to once again reaffirm the band’s status as standard bearers for heavy music. Recorded with esteemed producer and engineer Jens Bogren (Opeth/Kreator/Ihsahn/Paradise Lost) manning the controls, Machine Messiah is not just the band’s 14th studio album – a remarkable enough feat in itself – but it is also quite simply the most complete and absorbing album the band have made in the Derrick Green era. Thrillingly broad in musical scope but always firmly rooted in the spirit and fire of no-nonsense heavy metal, it is clearly an album that the band have crafted with great love, passion and determination.

“We worked a lot in Brazil, doing as much pre-production as we could, to make it as complete as possible,” Andreas Kisser explains. “So when the producer comes, he comes with his suggestions and ideas and we refine the songs and then finally record it all. Jens was an amazing addition to the project. He’s a great producer. He’s very attentive to the details. I’m very happy with the sound – Jens mixed the album as well, in Sweden. We had an amazing time over there. We’re very excited about this record and we can’t wait for the it to come out!”

Ranging from the stately menace of the slow-burning title track and the heads-down fury of classic thrasher I Am The Enemy to the esoteric percussive riot of Phantom Self and the monstrous dark metal behemoth of Sworn Oath, Machine Messiah strikes an exquisite balance between delivering the goods and veering joyously off-piste. An album of meticulously crafted songs, but also of jaw-dropping individual moments, it reaches an epic and invigorating crescendo with the glowering, nightmarish Cyber God, as one of Kisser’s finest ever solos spirals, soars and fades to black. A towering achievement and a bona fide team effort, Machine Messiah may just be the finest Sepultura album yet.

“There are lots of new elements on this record, and that’s something we always do,” says the guitarist. “We always put 100% energy and passion into it. We talk about everything a lot, especially when it comes to the lyrics and finding the best way to express what we want to say. Derrick did his best job on this record. His voice sounds amazing and he can really sing! He really took over the lyrical part this time, too. Everyone was really professional. Even Paulo worked on his bass arrangements at home by himself, which he’s never done before! That’s what we need in Sepultura. I think this is one of our best albums, because it’s a real band effort.”

Armed with their finest album in decades and itching to get back on the road to share their new music with the faithful, Sepultura have never been in such a confident and content state of mind. Machine Messiah emerges into a troubled world, but its extraordinary contents are guaranteed to lift the spirits of any loyal metalhead. This is metal with a giant heart, a head full of inspiration and one foot planted squarely on the accelerator. The messiah is coming. Praise be!

“It’s a privilege to be in a band like Sepultura, 32 years into a career, and these are possibly the best times of all for us,” says Kisser. “It took a long time after Max left, we lost everything, so it took a while to rebuild everything and to find the right people to do stuff for us, but we’re in a good place now and we’re really excited about 2017. I love touring, man! We can’t wait to get back out there. Onstage is where the time stops and you lose your connection with reality and go somewhere else, and you have that exchange of energy with the crowd. It’s life - pure life.”

Volbeat

Trivium

Hailing from Orlando, Florida, USA, Trivium are a metal band that formed in 2000. They have released a handful of studio albums, and have been hailed as the biggest thrash metal band to form in the 21st century.

Mastodon

Art is a cyclical beast. The same can easily be said of Grammy Award nominated hard rock juggernaut Mastodon. The group’s four members recognize the importance of life’s omnipresent cycles on their sixth full-length album, Once More ‘Round the Sun. The band orbits around themes of loss and rebirth, twirling a sonic spiral of its signature robust riffing, hypnotically haunting soundscapes, triage of dynamic voices, and thundering seismic grooves. At the same time, this particular collection proves personal for Brann Dailor, Brent Hinds, Bill Kelliher, and Troy Sanders. The very title says something slightly different for each member.

"Quite literally, Once More 'Round the Sun means a year-in-the-life," explains Dailor. "Lyrically, we were discussing things that happened to us recently, whereas in the past we looked further back for inspiration. It's about 365 days in this band. It was a tough and strange journey. We happened to be in the middle of completing a full rotation musically as everything else was going on."

"It's about being a man and trying to survive in the world. You’re facing all of the crazy shit that goes along with it," adds Hinds. "You've got to just keep rolling. It's the daily grind everybody deals with. It's grinding and rewarding."

Kelliher concurs, “A lot of crazy and epic things have happened in the nutshell of the past year. For me, I had recently gotten sober. I really focused my time on writing music instead of drinking and being hung-over. We were in a different space here. Another year has gone by, and we wrote this record.”

Sanders smiles, “The title itself deals with a cycle. Writing, recording, and touring are kickass experiences that we get to relive over and over again. We’ve got the ability to strap it on and go out another time. I look forward to riding this out once more with my three friends.”

Mastodon’s own collective cycle encompasses a staggering string of accolades. Whether it’s the public endorsement of peers as diverse as Metallica, Pearl Jam, Queens of the Stone Age, CeeLo Green, and Feist or unanimous praise from the likes of Time and Rolling Stone, the band continue to make an impression at every turn. 2011’s The Hunter saw them achieve their highest chart debut yet, reaching #10 on the Billboard Top 200, while the single “Curl of the Burl” notched their second Grammy Award nomination in the category of “Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance”. In between scorching stages everywhere from Sonisphere and Download to Bonnaroo and Coachella, they scored the Josh Brolin sci-fi western Jonah Hex and have been sought out for soundtracks including Pixar’s box office smash Monsters University. As far as rock ‘n’ roll goes, their legacy irrefutably stands alone. However, that legacy expands yet again with Once More ‘Round the Sun.

In order to uphold a modus operandi of experimentation and evolution, the boys enlisted the talents of super producer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Rush, Alice In Chains, Deftones, etc.) for the very first time. They holed up in his Falcon Rock studio in Nashville throughout the fall of 2013, cutting what would become Once More ‘Round the Sun. Given his passion for the band, Raskulinecz immediately clicked with the musicians.

“He was very hands-on,” says Sanders. “We were fans of the Deftones and Alice In Chains records he’d done, and we initially met him during the BlackDiamondSkye tour. He literally called Brann every six months reminding us that he was on the hunt to work with us when we were ready. This was the right time.”

“He was like a coach,” Kelliher goes on. “He brought some energy to the band. I remember he was like, ‘You guys are Mastodon. You’re one of the biggest bands in metal. Give me some of those chunky and thick riffs!’ He let us be who we are.”

It’s indisputable that Once More ‘Round the Sun is Mastodon through and through. Kelliher’s twelve-string acoustic guitar ominously heralds the record’s onset during album opener “Tread Lightly” just before crashing into an unmistakable roar from Sanders. Hinds churns out a psychedelic slide guitar solo during the title track that entwines with Dailor’s drums in entrancing, yet enigmatic union. The Kelliher-penned first single “High Road” pummels with an intense polyrhythmic guitar groove before snapping into another unshakable refrain from Dailor.

Kelliher explains, “I wrote that on a day off while we were on tour in Luxembourg. I was sitting in this rainy city on a Sunday. Nothing was open. I felt like I needed to write something to reflect how I was feeling. I started banging on a guitar. I was thinking Neurosis and The Melvins low-tuned with a little more pop sensibility for the chorus.”

“You can headbang to that one for days,” grins the drummer. “I love the simplicity of it. Lyrically, it’s an angry number where you want to see someone destroyed. It’s heavy-handed in that sense, but it’s the fantasy I felt at the time.”

Then, there’s “The Motherload”. Sharring vocal duties between Dailor and Sanders the track cruises from a propulsive six-string onslaught into an riveting chorus—one of the band’s biggest to date. “That one is personal for me,” Dailor admits. “It’s not wanting to lose someone and the powers-that-be are trying to take that person away, or the world is just against it. You’re doing everything you can and scrambling to hold on and salvage it.”

Nodding to their roots, “Chimes At Midnight” sees Sanders call out the words “Hearts Alive”, making a connection to the centerpiece of the band’s critically acclaimed 2004 breakout Leviathan. He reveals, “I never repeated a line on purpose, but I felt like it was time to!”

On the other end of the spectrum, Hinds delivers a raucous and raw departure in the form of “Halloween”. Wielding a thrashed-up punk riff, the song eventually explodes into incendiary soloing from the axeman in homage to his favorite holiday. However, the biggest surprise comes during “Aunt Lisa”, an anthemic send-off to Brann’s late aunt featuring Atlanta femme punks The Coathangers on a rousing gang vocal.

“This one came out pretty effortlessly. It’s about Brann’s Aunt Lisa, her wild spirit, and free personality. I love what The Coathangers did. They’re good friends of mine, and they owed me a favor because I got the Mastodon guys to dance around like girls in their video,” chuckles Hinds.

Brann continues, “My aunt liked anything I did. She definitely lived life to the fullest. If she walked in the room, all eyes were on her. I loved it. I don’t think I’ve ever come across energy like that before, and I don’t know that I will. You never knew what was going to happen when she was around. She had a huge impact on my life. I didn’t get to say goodbye to her properly. This is me trying to say goodbye.”

Everything culminates on the expansive finale “Diamond in the Witch House”. Boasting a vocal call-and-response between Sanders and Neurosis’s Scott Kelly, on his fourth Mastodon collaboration, the track unfolds in cinematic fashion over eight minutes punctuated by Kelliher’s hulking riffs. “It’s about the fragility of taking responsibility,” admits Sanders. “That’s what happens when you have kids. Precious lives are in your hands and dependent upon your actions. The idea spun from that. It’s about proving your worth and prevailing.”

Mastodon continue to prevail artistically, and this particular rotation, Once More ‘Round the Sun, upholds that tradition of progression. “We’ve built a band that’s been able to morph, evolve, and change,” Dailor concludes. “Our fan base expects greatness, but they also expect things to be weird and different. I feel confident that we’ve risen to that challenge.”

Hinds leaves off, “It would be nice if people walk away enjoying the listening experience. That’s the ultimate goal. It’s interesting to see. One thing I know for sure.they can’t walk away and say it’s not original.”

The Pretty Reckless

Between 2013 and 2015, The Pretty Reckless traveled the globe touring in support of their second album, the raucous, roaring, Catholic guilt-inspired Going To Hell. A bruising blend of ferocious rock and roll and inky blues, the album debuted in the Top 5 on the Billboard Top 200 and spun off three No. 1 Mainstream Rock singles, “Fucked Up World,” “Follow Me Down” and 2014’s most successful song at the format, “Heaven Knows,” which spent a total of 18 weeks in the top spot. Going to Hell’s success meant strong live demand for the New York City band, which is anchored by its songwriters, singer-guitarist Taylor Momsen and guitarist Ben Phillips, who have been making music together in partnership for ten years, and rounded out by bassist Mark Damon and drummer Jamie Perkins. The Going To Hell Tour sent The Pretty Reckless off on four separate jaunts across North America and three trips to Europe. Their explosive shows earned them legions of new fans at home and overseas. Despite feeling physically and emotionally spent after returning from their two-year odyssey, Momsen and Phillips jumped right into writing the songs for their third album, the scorching yet soulful Who You Selling For, which will be released by Razor & Tie in October. “We had so much we wanted to say, it was like shaking a can of soda on tour, and then when we started writing we cracked the seal,” says Momsen. “The touring life is very isolating. You look at the world through a bus or airplane window. But music is the healing factor. It’s the one thing that is grounding and a true companion through the forest. It saved us — again.” The necessity of music as a balm for the soul is a theme that threads its way through Who You Selling For, which finds Momsen and Phillips dealing with emotions ranging from confusion and frustration to depression and despair. “I think we felt a dire need to express those thoughts,” says Phillips. “And they’re things I think most humans feel on a daily basis but don’t always have an outlet to express. In the end we’re saying, ‘Don’t give up, your soul is all you have, so you’ve got to hang onto that.’” The album’s opening track, “Hangman” (which was inspired by a poem by Chidiock Tichborne written on the eve of his execution), tells a story of having control over your own mind and soul no matter what is happening to you. From there, Who You Selling For delves deep into the psyche of Momsen and Phillips — two artists who believe very much in the fiery redemptive power of rock and roll. The album’s first single, “Take Me Down,” is a story of desperation, with Momsen delivering such lyrics as “I spend all night and day / How much harder can I play? / You know I gave my life to rock and roll?” “It’s about wanting something so much you’d sell your soul for it,” Momsen says, adding that she and Phillips were inspired by blues artist Robert Johnson’s song “Crossroads,” which some have interpreted as Johnson singing about selling his soul to the Devil in exchange for his musical ability. “Back To The River” is about the desire to get away from everything, to go where no one can reach you, while the strutting “Wild City” is influenced by being young and on your own in New York (“We wrote it while walking down Rivington Street on the Lower East Side,” Momsen says). The most aggressive song on the album is “Oh My God,” which Momsen describes as “self-confession right out of a journal. I think it speaks for itself.” And finally “Who You Selling For” testifies to music being a form of salvation and describes how the rest of the album reaches into all forms of rock and roll looking for “The Answer.” The song inspired the album’s title, asking listeners to take a look at their own lives with its provocative query. “For me, it’s a question that challenges what I’m doing with my life,” Momsen says. “It questions the meaning of my actions whatever they are. It also defines the record in a grander way by asking the listener to look into the meaning of each song past the obvious.” Sonically, Who You Selling For alternates between blistering hard rock (“Oh My God,” “Prisoner,” “Wild City,” “Living In The Storm”) and gentler, more downtempo moments (“The Walls Are Closing In,” “Take Me Down,” “Back To The River,” “Who You Selling For,” acoustic ballad “Bedroom Window,” and closing track “The Devil’s Back”), giving Momsen a platform to showcase the power and versatility of her voice. She is one of rock’s most compelling contemporary frontpersons, capable of being both brash and confrontational and sultry and seductive, daring listeners to ignore her at their own peril with a fiery swagger that has only grown more fascinating as Momsen gets older. (She was 15 when The Pretty Reckless wrote and recorded their rock-grunge-blues debut album Light Me Up, which was released in 2010.) Momsen’s voice sounds all the more intimate thanks to the unvarnished way that she and Phillips, along with their long-time producer Kato Khandwala, recorded the songs. “It’s the most natural recording possible,” says Phillips. “It’s all performance-based, nothing was fixed. If Taylor walked in and sang the song and it didn’t work, she’d walk right out.” When more than just guitar, bass, and drums were needed, additional musicians were invited in, including guitarist Warren Haynes (Allman Brothers), guitarist Tommy Byrnes (Billy Joel), and keyboardist Andy Burton (Ian Hunter), as well as backing vocalists Janice Pendarvis (David Bowie), Jenny Douglas-Foote (P!nk), and Sophia Ramos (Rod Stewart). “It was so great having that many musicians in a room playing together and just hitting the record button,” Momsen says. “It’s very gratifying to feel the players and singers represented as they are. It gave life to these songs that were written tucked away in a bedroom and it enabled us to really deliver the most honest performances possible. What you hear is what it sounded like, no frills. That’s it.” It’s the band’s willingness to bare their souls that has earned them such a passionate fan base — people who identify with the raw candor of the lyrics and fearless way they are expressed. “I’ve had such a strange life,” Momsen says. “I’ve always felt on my own, running around the world on some mission that I barely understood. Our fans have been the ones who were really there for us. They have supported us through the good times and the bad. I owe them gratitude. They are the inspiration when things look too bleak to keep going. I know it’s been said a million times, but it’s true, I wouldn’t be here today without them. They make this all possible.” New Album, Who You Selling For available now! Buy it on iTunes - http://geni.us/theprettyreckless

Social Distortion

Formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California, Social Distortion took up the flagship rebellious punk their predecessors (the Clash and Sex Pistols) left after their disbandment. However the group abandoned some of the pop constructs heard in punk’s formative years and embraced a more brutally stripped down sound (at least initially).

Black Label Society

The Official Black Label Society Page www.blacklabelsociety.com

Ice Nine Kills

Based in Boston, Massachusetts, US, Ice Nine Kills are a metalcore four-piece, whose intense and aggressive sound has landed them a legion of fans.

P.O.D.

Sonny Sandoval (Vocals)

Marcos Curiel (Guitar)

Traa Daniels (Bass)

Wuv Bernardo (Drums)

More than two decades into their career, P.O.D. enjoy the kind of popularity most rock bands would envy. The San Diego quartet continue to be a rock radio staple, with newer songs "Lost in Forever" and "Beautiful" drawing the kind of airplay the band's early hits "Alive," "Youth of the Nation" and "Boom" once did. On the touring front, P.O.D. have performed at the best festivals around the world—to name a few, Download Festival, Hellfest, Rock on the Range, River City Rockfest, Carolina Rebellion, and Aftershock Festival—and have done shows with In This Moment, Prophets of Rage, ShineDown, and Five Finger Death Punch.

However, P.O.D. has built this successful career by never letting themselves be pigeonholed. "If you listen to all of our songs side by side, we don't focus on one style of music," says frontman Sonny Sandoval. "We have reggae songs; we have punk rock songs. We've done jazzy songs. We've mixed in loops and DJs, and we've experimented."

P.O.D.'s tenth studio album, Circles, marks another leap forward. The band members decided to shake up their creative process by collaborating with an L.A.-based production duo called the Heavy, who provided behind-the-scenes musical tweaks, and served as a sounding board for vocal and melodic ideas.

"We started with guitar riffs—more of a core P.O.D sound—and on some of these songs, the Heavy would add ambient stuff to it that just really brightened up the songs," Sandoval said. "Or maybe we changed up a heavy riff and made it more catchy and more hooky. Vocally, there's also a lot of stuff that's going on—even some three-part harmonies, four-part harmonies in certain choruses or verses."

The results are contemporary-sounding without losing any of the band's core sonic signifiers. "Rockin' With The Best" is described by Sandoval as having an "old-school P.O.D. sound, very rap-driven and Beastie Boys-ish" vibe; the reggae-inflected rocker "Always Southern California" has a massive sing-along chorus; and the groove-heavy "Soundboy Killa" is the kind of chugging hip-hop/metal hybrid at which the band excels.

Other songs find P.O.D. pushing themselves into slightly new territory. The midtempo "Dreaming" mixes snaky blues guitar with glacial digital programming, while the Linkin Park-reminiscent "Circles" shows off P.O.D.'s command of dynamics: Moody electronic flourishes, glassy piano and laid-back rapping verses give way to a bridge that explodes with chugging guitars and ferocious drumming.

"This time, we're like, 'Let it sound fresh,'" Sandoval says. "If we have to get these samples, or if we have to bring in an extra keyboard player that can do some loops, we'll figure it out. We decided not to hold back just because we're trying to be so old-school and raw."

Sandoval's long-time collaborators in P.O.D.— lead guitarist Marcos Curiel, bassist Traa Daniels and drummer Wuv Bernardo—were fully on board with this forward progress. "They're some of the most underrated musicians in our genre," Sandoval says of his bandmates. "They're all self-taught musicians. If you listen from demos 26 years ago to now, they just continue to get better and better. They continue to get more creative. My guys are players. They jam, they hear the music, they feel the music. They're musicians first."

This versatility was a big plus on Circles, since P.O.D. didn't have any preconceived notions about what the new music should sound like. But as it turns out, working with the Heavy brought out the best in the band, and gave them a new perspective on their own work. "We've always been so stubborn about writing with people, and we never have," Sandoval says. "This really was us going in a little bit vulnerable. We had an open mindset. But they let us do our thing."

From a lyrical standpoint P.O.D. kept a similar open mind. As per usual, Sandoval didn't scribble ideas in a journal or notebook in advance, with plans to write songs around a set theme. Instead, he let inspiration come to him as the music evolved.

"I'm always writing in the moment," he says. "I don't write down my thoughts and say, 'One day, I'm gonna put this to music.' It's always the music that digs deep and brings out the lyrics and the melody and all that comes with it."

In many cases, Circles turns to optimism for inspiration. The title track addresses trying to get out of an unhealthy cycle in which someone feels stuck, while "Dreaming" envisions seeking out a brighter future even if the present day is tough. Other songs grapple with how to navigate life's biggest challenges. "Home" emerged after Sandoval suddenly lost a close friend who was more like a brother to him. "Fly Away," meanwhile, acknowledges that all of us sometimes struggle, and need to rely on others for help.

"We're looking for answers—and we're going to people to help us get through things—but at the same time, no one's perfect," Sandoval says. "Everybody's going through stuff, and we're all kind of on this same level and the same journey of experience and just trying to figure out our course of life."

Above all, Sandoval always wants P.O.D.'s songs to resonate with listeners on a deeper emotional level, and make people see their lives—or challenges—in a positive light.

"Whatever I happen to be going through at the time, or maybe what the band is going through, or even the public climate at the time, issues come through," he says. "Our ultimate goal is that we can either shed light on these, or we can turn your upside down frown into a smile, or make you laugh, or make you feel good or approach them in a different way."

Being open to new experiences and sounds is just one more way P.O.D. has continued to thrive and reach new fans, even as they keep challenging themselves to become better musicians.

"On Circles, we didn't limit ourselves and say, 'Hey, we need to please the metal crowd, or the hardcore crowd, or the punk crowd,'" Sandoval says. "We just wanted to play and write songs that we hope are relevant and catchy to a new audience—while, at the same time, still being true to ourselves.

"We are touring and making music because it still means something to the people that are coming out to see us, and people that are still listening to our music," he adds. "We're humbled, we're grateful, and we're thankful for people that still enjoy what we're doing."

Suicidal Tendencies

www.suicidaltendencies.com

Babymetal

Static-X

Project Regeneration Vol 2 coming Jan 26th, 2024. Pre-order at https://static-x.com

Queensryche

Queensrÿche first burst onto the music scene in 1982 with the release of their self-titled 4 song EP Queensrÿche. They very quickly gained international recognition and performed to sold out audiences around the world. With the follow up first full length album "The Warning" in 1984, and the ground breaking 1986 release of "Rage For Order", Queensrÿche continued to prove their worldwide dominance as one of the most respected and creative bands of the 80's. In 1988 the band turned out yet another monumental album"Operation:Mindcrime", which would go on to become one of the TOP 10 best selling concepts records of all time, and set the stage for continued sold out performances around the world. With the release of the critically acclaimed and commercially successful "Empire" in 1991, the band earned multiple Grammy Award nominations and won the MTV "viewers choice" award for the #1 chart topping hit "Silent Lucidity". During the next ten years, the band continued to release albums and tour the world to sold out audiences. Queensrÿche has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and have continued to break new ground and push their creative process.

Alestorm

‘Alestorm’ are in a league of their own, weaving together a genre that is widely recognized as “pirate metal”. They hail from Perth, Scotland, and are signed to Napalm Records, with whom they have released a handful of studio albums.

Soilwork

SOILWORK is back with their twelfth studio album, which represents the band in their growth and their current phase of life, which is marked by a time period that probably no one on this planet will forget so quickly.

Unlike the albums before, the creation process of Övergivenheten was very lengthy and a representation of the emotional state of the guys from SOILWORK. Recorded at Nordic Sound Lab in Skara, Sweden again with producer Thomas “Plec” Johansson, who also produced the last two projects, the album was written and recorded over three sessions between January and December 2021. There was no hurry to finish the album, which meant on the other side that the band was able to reflect on their music and savor the process of creating the album.

Musically, Övergivenheten is the continuation of the SOILWORK legacy of the last years. The approach is to make the album sound as organic as possible. Therefore, among other things, acoustic elements have been incorporated into the songs, which help to make the sound experience as close and genuine as possible. The album is intended to give the feeling of being in the middle of creating the energy and feeling the atmosphere. To build this experience and, above all, to give the listener the feeling of being right in the center of the band’s creative environment, balance was needed, something that the external circumstances made difficult, especially due to the current situation in the world.

Not being able to do what every band loves to do, playing live for their fans, and being trapped in an inner circle, has turned out to be more difficult than expected. The pandemic influenced the band in more than one way. However, concerning the album it has also been an inspiration. Each band member perceived the last two years differently in terms of boundaries and personal development. All the surroundings, which appeared, influenced the creation of the album.

This taken inspiration of each band member can be heard clearly on the new songs. Singer Björn “Speed” Strid has developed lyrically and speaks not only about his personal perception and about experience, but on Övergivenheten, he refers much more to his environment by reflecting the outside including external impressions.

Övergivenheten can be translated to The Abandonment, which describes the overall album theme. To be surrounded by the thought of being abandoned or even abandoning others. The album deals with darker thoughts that have shaped the band itself and affected the development process of the album. The personal struggles align with social difficulties outside of the band.

Due to the pandemic, everyone has had their tail cut off, and a lot of negative energy in the immediate environment makes it difficult to block this out and create new music around cheerful themes. Guitarist David Andersson’s songwriting has been largely influenced by dark thoughts used as an escape to deal with difficulties that are directly related to midway anxiety, which also resonates with the lyrics he wrote. In terms of balancing the darkness of David’s lyrics out, Björn takes own inspiration with his point of view. Since both connect an intense relationship which lasts multiple years, music is the common language that brings both of them on the same level despite their different stages of life. This can be recognized on Övergivenheten.

SOILWORK are looking forward to the best post pandemic possible. It is planned to play several festivals and additional tour dates to support the album. Since it is finally possible to return on the streets, the excitement is already there. Drummer Bastian Thusgaard comments on going back on the road: “We don’t know what to expect when getting back out there. It is kind of abstract to return to touring lifestyle due to the long break and uncertainty, but we are looking forward to the return.” Also looking forward to the tour is freshly announced fulltime bassist Rasmus Ehrnborn who records with the band already since the EP “AWOTA”. His fresh blood adds a new dimension to the band whose line-up is completed by long-time keyboardist Sven Karlsson and guitarist Sylvain Coudret besides of David, Björn and Bastian.

Anyway, SOILWORK will not flinch, continuing to give free rein to their creativity. On the one hand to share and process their personal experiences and on the other hand to serve their fans. Everyone needs creativity and art in life, and no matter what happens SOILWORK will not stand still but give their fans what they want: honest music by trying to create a snapshot in time!

Kublai Khan TX

Texas Metalcore. ‘Exhibition of Prowess’ out now: https://kktx.lnk.to/ExhibitionOfProwess

Bury Tomorrow

bury-tomorrow.com

instagram.com/burytomorrow

twitter.com/burytomorrow

youtube.com/burytomorrow

Loathe

https://loatheasone.co.uk/

All Them Witches

ALL THEM WITCHES

The Browning

https://www.thebrowning.net/

Six Feet Under

Six Feet Under is a death metal band with heavy rock influences on some of their albums. Originally a side project for Cannibal Corpse vocalist Chris Barnes and former Obituary guitarist Allen West, Six Feet Under eventually became a full-time proposition when friction between Barnes and his other bandmates became too much to bear. Featuring ex-Death bassist Terry Butler and drummer Greg Gall in the rhythm section, Six Feet Under issued their debut album, Haunted, in 1995. Barnes subsequently quit Cannibal Corpse, and Six Feet Under issued the stopgap EP Alive and Dead in 1996 to tide fans over until the following year's full-length, Warpath. The bands line up has remained stable since 1997 when Allen West quit to be replaced by Steve Swanson formerly of Massacre. Their third album Maximum Violence appeared in 1999. Graveyard Classics followed a year later and 2001's True Carnage featured guest vocals from Ice-T. Double Dead arrived in 2002, followed by Bringer of Blood in 2003, Graveyard Classics, Vol. 2 in 2004, 13 and the Decade in the Grave box in 2005, and Commandment in 2007. SFU's new album "DEATH RITUALS" has been recorded and is set to be released on Metal Blade Records on November 11th, 2008. Six Feet Under has a strong following in Europe especially in Germany. In fact, the band also released a special German language version of the song "bringer of blood". Six Feet Under have met moderate commercial success, with Maximum Violence being their best selling record and figure among one the top 5 selling death metal bands.

Eyehategod

American sludge band from Louisiana who are known for their dark, sludgy riffs combined with equally dark lyrics. Like many sludge metal bands, Eyehategod draw on both stoner/doom influences as well as hardcore punk. Eyehategod have noted Melvins, Black Flag, and Black Sabbath as key influences to their sound. This, combined with heavy, detuned, and bluesy riffs dominate the band's sound. They are combined with walls of feedback and distinctive tortured vocals to create a truly misanthropic vibe. While Jimmy Bower was busy playing drums for Down, rather than sit on their laurels, the other 4 members of Eyehategod formed a side-project called Outlaw Order (abbreviated to OO%). The band released a limited edition 7" EP in 2003 called Legalize Crime, which has since been rereleased on CD with a bonus live track and is available through Eyehategod's webstore. The criminal theme is apparently because at the time of formation, all 5 of the members were on probation, and have consistently been in trouble with the law. Marc Shultz is currently serving a prison sentence and so has been replaced by Justin Grisoli. The band have recorded their 13 track debut full-length and will release it sometime soon, they are "waiting for a label worth a fuck".

Imminence

Fronted by vocalist and violinist Eddie Berg, guitarists Harald Barrett & Alex Arnoldsson and bass player Christian Höijer; Swedish alternative metalcore outfit, Imminence, has during the latest years established their own highly unique brand and pushed the genre beyond extents of anyone’s expectations. With the distinct use of classical string arrangements blended with the influence of ferocious Scandinavian metal, the sound and visual universe of the quintet stands out as one of the most innovative and exciting acts on the market today.

The mammoth

Paleface Swiss

Switzerland's Finest Cheese Factory.

Buy Merch and CDs at www.palefaceswiss.com

PALEFACE is:

Marc (Zelli) - Vocals

Yannick - Guitar

Tommy - Bass

Cassi - Drums

Malevolence

Malevolence have never waited for permission. From the underground to festival main stages, they’ve built their reputation on sheer force of will, crushing live shows, and an unshakable foundation of heavy riffs and harder work. Now, with their fourth studio album “Where Only The Truth Is Spoken”, Sheffield’s finest step into a new league.

Recorded in California at Dave Grohl’s legendary Studio 606, the album was tracked through the iconic Neve 8078 console, the same desk that captured game-changing records like Nirvana’s “Nevermind,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours,” and Tom Petty’s “Wildflowers.” For a band that’s always pushed forward without compromise, it was the perfect setting to carve out a record that represents everything Malevolence stands for. The album marks a new level of songwriting precision without sacrificing the band’s trademark weight. Working alongside Grammy Award-winning producer Josh Wilbur (Lamb of God, Gojira, Trivium), the result is Malevolence at their most punishing, urgent, and anthemic.

Lyrically, “Where Only The Truth Is Spoken” reflects the principles that Malevolence have lived by since day one—honesty, loyalty, and integrity. These are not just themes woven into the album but values the band holds in their personal and professional lives. This record doesn’t deal in facades or empty gestures; it’s an unfiltered expression of the struggles, victories, and unshakable brotherhood that have carried them this far.

“The story behind each song comes from lived experiences rather than just meaningless words on the page. It’s not all just about anger or aggression; there’s a lot of weight in the words across the whole album, whether that’s addressing personal struggles, the state of the world, or the highs and lows of life. It was important to me to really step up on the lyrics of this album. I think you can feel that raw energy and emotion in every track, and I hope people will connect with it on a deeper level. It’s 100% my proudest work to date.” - Alex Taylor

Malevolence’s rise has been impossible to ignore. From an early afternoon slot on Bloodstock Festival’s main stage in 2021 to direct support for the headliner in 2024, they’ve proven that the grind pays off. Across Europe and the U.S., their sets have become a focal point of festival carnage, drawing some of the most chaotic pits of the summer and cementing their place as one of modern metal’s most vital forces. That reputation has earned the respect of metal’s elite. Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe, a longtime supporter of the band, lends his unmistakable roar to “In Spite,” bringing two generations of heavy music together on one track. The collaboration is a nod of approval from a legend in the scene, but more than that, it’s a statement Malevolence aren’t following in anyone’s footsteps. They’re carving their own.

“Where Only The Truth Is Spoken” delivers on everything Malevolence have built so far—harder riffs, bigger hooks, and an undeniable presence that has taken them from Sheffield to the world stage.

Thrown

Thrown is a four-piece rock band from Dallas, TX. Formed in Jan. 2004, they combined the band's many different influences to come up with a sound unique and unforgettable. The band began playing shows and quickly gained a loyal fan base. In early 2006 the band released their debut EP "Out of the Shadows". The EP showcased hard hitting songs with lyrics about real life experiences that everyone can relate to. In spring 2009 Thrown released their highly anticipated first full length cd, "The Beautiful End". The band once again teamed up with award winning producer, Alex Gerst and ITR Studios for the project. The end result is something that was worth waiting for. Drummer Jason Hood says "This new album is about where we are right now as a band and as people. We feel like it captures what we're all about... Loud, Agressive, Heavy, Rock. That's what we do. We really took our time writing the album. We wanted every song to have its own meaning to be able to connect with our fans on an emotional level." And they certainly did that with songs like "Nothing Left" and "Goodbye." "We didn't want to write songs that weren't real. We wanted something that people can relate to. Everyone has had an experience like Nothing Left. When you give it your all and someone just doesn't want it. In the end you have nothing left. You just walk away and never look back" says vocalist Greg Vinson. On working with Alex Gerst, Jason Hood says "Alex was really the right man for the job when it came to doing the album. He was just awesome to work with. He knew when to push us, and when to back off. I've worked with a few different people before, but none have been like him. He allowed us to be us, and through it all we had fun." “Alex really understood the vision we had for the album, and shattered all of our expectations. He really helped us capture our band’s true sound on this record.” says guitarist Brad McFarland. Every song on this album tells its own story. Whether it's the won't back down message of "Bleed Like Me", the painful end of a relationship in “Goodbye”, or even the hard hitting story of sacrifice told in "The One", "The Beautiful End" has it all. 10 brand new tracks that leave you wanting more. So, be on the look out for THROWN coming to a venue near you!!!

Trollfest

One weekend in 2003, in Oslo, Norway, a bunch of goons became bored with the selection of party music that was available to them, and, helped along by the consumption of large quantities of alcohol, the soon-to-be members of TrollfesT decided to take matters into their own hands. One website and six songs later, a German label, which at the time was called Solistium, recognised the potential in the madness and got in touch. With the immortal words “what the heck, let’s give it a go” TrollfesT agreed to a deal and started writing new material. By 2005 “Willkommen Folk tell Drekka Fest!!” hit the streets. And life as we know it was never the same again.

Containing a selection of sounds and comments, many of which you would not necessary come across if you only frequented polite parties, “Willkommen…” displayed some unique qualities that caught people’s attention and consequently sold rather a lot of copies, so a deal for a second album was signed and in 2006 the story of Brakebein the Troll was released. “Brakebein” (not a bad choice for a title really given its subject matter), appeared in two versions - one that included a cartoon illustrating Brakebein’s voyage, and the other that included the lyrics.

During the first years, TrollfesT never actually played live, but nevertheless the two albums succeeded in making the band a sought after addition to festivals, and the first foray beyond the planning stage occurred in 2007 as one of the headlining bands at the Ninth Barther Metal Open Air Festival. TrollfesT then went on to headline and play various festivals and concerts around Europe during 2007/08 including the Ragnarök and Riedfest festivals.

January 2009 saw the release of TrollfesT’s third studio album “Villanden”. A much-anticipated underground album according to feedback from the fans, “Villanden” was quickly acknowledged as one of the craziest albums to have been released in a very long time, mixing, as it did, European Balkan music with extreme metal, and spread rapidly through the viral networks like YouTube, MySpace and Facebook.

So how would anyone, in their right mind, or otherwise, dare to define TrollfesT? The closest you would come is probably True Norwegian Balkan Black Metal, but even then you would need to include influences from lots more genres. The best way to put it is that this band is all about alcohol, joy and music, three subjects that draw in fans from all ages and genres, eager to listen to TrollfesT’s records and witness the exuberant and skilled live performances.

GAEREA

C O M A

Die Spitz

Die Spitz' debut album 'Something to Consume' is out September 12th via Third Man Records.

Pre-order + pre-save album: https://ffm.to/somethingtoconsume

Stream new single "Throw Yourself to the Sword" now: https://ffm.to/throwyourselftothesword

Faetooth

DOGMA

Who are we? A religion? A band? A sect? A cult? A movement?

We are what you want us to be... We can be everything, or we can be nothing. You choose...

End It

END IT hail from Baltimore, MD and they want you to know it. Formed in 2017, the five-piece have pride for the city and often address the unease mixed with hope that stems from the community they live in. The band came on strong with the release of their self-titled EP the same year they started, and followed it up with 2020’s One Way Track, gaining them notoriety amongst the hardcore scene. END IT are set to release follow-up Unpleasant Living on their label home Flatspot Records this July. Recorded with Kevin Bernsten at Developing Nations Recording, Unpleasant Living delivers with ferocity and purpose. The message? Mind your business. The band takes heavy influence from ‘90s hardcore, having already drawn comparsions to acts like Leeway, Gut Instinct, and Maximum Penalty. They’ve also shared the stage with a diverse group of artists, ranging from Cro-mags and Life Of Agony to Turnstile and Lil Ugly Mane, and will add to that list this year as they plan to play shows as much as possible. With absolutely no sign of slowing down, END IT is to be liked at face value or not. The choice is yours

Djerv

Vreid is a metal-band from Sogndal, Norway. After the tragic death of Valfar in January 2004, the rest of the Windir members decided to end Windir, and put their music into other projects.

Hváll formed a new band, called Vreid. Vreid is a Norwegian word for wrath. Vreid consists of the 3 Windir members Hváll (bass), Steingrim (drums), Sture (vocals/guitar) and a new guitarist named Ese. Ese has been a close friend of the Vreid members for years, and he was co-engineer on Windir's Likferd album.

Hváll wrote most of the material for the debut album entitled Kraft. The music was described as a natural continuance of the music Hváll wrote for Windir and Ulcus, but with its own personal sound. A mixture of the ambience of Windir, the the rawness of Norwegian black metal and the rocking groove of Sepultura, Metallica and Motörhead is a fitting description of the music of Vreid. The lyrics are in both in Norwegian and English. Kraft was released by Tabu Recordings in 2004.

Vreid's second album, Pitch Black Brigade, was released by Tabu Recordings on March 27, 2006.

The band released their third album, I Krig (Norwegian for: In War), through Indie Recordings in May / June, 2007. All the lyrics on this record are based on poems from 1946 by Gunnar Reiss-Andersen, a member of the Norwegian resistance fighters during WWII. This makes the album almost a concept-album about war.

Discography:
2004 - Kraft
2006 - Pitch Black Brigade
2007 - I Krig

Line-up:
* Hvàll: Bass - (ex-Windir, ex-Ulcus)
* Steingrim: Drums - (ex-Windir, ex-Ulcus, ex-Cor Scorpii)
* Sture: Vocals, Guitar - (ex-Windir, ex-Ulcus)
* Ese: Guitar

www.vreid.no

Voice of Baceprot

An Indonesian all-girl metal band carrying out their dreams without forgetting their roots.

Warkings

Gridiron

Konvent

🪨𝔇𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥𝔡𝔬𝔬𝔪 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔇𝔢𝔫𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔨🪨

Iotunn

Catch us on The Kinship European Tour March 26 - April 26 2026! Tickets: https://bnds.us/rtdzcl

Worldwide booking: benny@triplebookings.com

Webshop: https://beatdown.dk/collections/iotunn

IOTUNN website: https://linktr.ee/IOTUNN

Defecto

Progressive metal from Denmark

Find everything you need on our linktree:

https://linktr.ee/defecto

Slay Squad

Powerplant

A project by Theo Zhykharyev, known for its playful, black metal-influenced journey through heavy and gothic sounds.

unpeople

unpeople are the soundtrack for everyone who is fed up with everything that's going on out there. A project that is bursting with energy and transforms anger about the state of the world into powerful, honest songs. With every note and every word, they address the ‘unpeople’ - those who feel alienated from the system, who struggle, who rebel. ‘You are unpeople. We are unpeople.’ This passionate protest against estrangement and the effects of the world on humanity runs through their music like a golden thread. It is an outcry that must not only be heard, but felt - loud, wild and full of accusation.

NECKBREAKKER

“Within The Viscera” out now on Nuclear Blast Records

Inhuman Nature

GREATER THAN DEATH out now!

For bookings - tyler@atonal.agency

Violent Magic Orchestra

Håndgemeng

Five damned dudes, banished from the pits of hell, smelling of brimstone and cheap beer. Brought up on heavy metal and rock n’ roll brewed together with a bad attitude and devil worship, and from that cauldron Håndgemeng emerges guitars in hand. Get ready to experience the doom n’ roll extravaganza as they play to entertain the devil himself! Riff after riff after riff Håndgemeng will take you from the depths of hell to the farthest reaches of space. Together we will escape prison planet Earth, if just for a little while. During the pandemic Håndgemeng wrote and recorded their debut album “Ultraritual” and got signed to Californian label Ripple Music. We have already sold our souls to the devil, fame and glory awaits, and then Hell… Let the ritual commence.

Maceration

DK: TARGET BOOKING Lars Larsen, lars@targetgroup.dk

WORLD: DEATH OVER ROME Tito, Tito.dta@gmail.com

www.maceration.net

Twenty One Children

Morild

Lightchapter

DANISH ELECTRO MELO DEATH METAL!

(Manager)

Torsten Stistrup Cubel:

torsten@trucksmusicpublishing.com

(Booking)

Bianca Beest Anhalt:

bookinglightchapter@gmail.com

SHOP: https://www.lightchapterofficial.com/store

HENRET

Abandon Hope

linktr.ee/Henret

BOOKING:

henretcph@gmail.com

Scimitar

PUSTULANT FLESH

Brutal gory deathgrind from the sewers of Copenhagen!!

Tom Morello

Thomas Baptist Morello or Tom Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist for the bands Audioslave and Rage Against the Machine. He also performs as a solo acoustic artist under the pseudonym The Nightwatchman. He is acclaimed for his unique guitar style and is noted for his outspoken radical politics. Morello was ranked #26 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Morello was born in Harlem, New York. His mother, Mary Morello, who is part Irish and part Italian, is a founder of Parents For Rock And Rap, an anti-censorship group. She was also a teacher at Libertyville High School. His father, Ngethe Njoroge, was a Mau Mau guerrilla and revolutionary. Morello's great-uncle, Jomo Kenyatta, was the first elected president in Kenya. Morello grew up in Libertyville, Illinois, at the time a virtually all-white suburb of Chicago. There he attended Libertyville High School. He played French horn in the school band, sang in the chorus, and was active in speech and drama club. (One prominent role was Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream.) He showed his political leanings early; in the 1980 mock elections at LHS, he campaigned for a fictitious anarchist "candidate" named Hubie Maxwell, who came in fourth place after Jimmy Carter at the overwhelmingly Republican school. Ronald Reagan won the mock election. He also wrote a piece headlined "South Africa: Racist Fascism That We Support" for the school's alternative paper, The Student Pulse. At age 13, Morello purchased his first guitar at Rigoni Music in Libertyville. He wanted a solid-body Ovation guitar, but he didn't have the money to buy one. Instead, he purchased a Kay guitar. Wanting to learn how to play "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin, he took two guitar lessons, but instead was taught the C-major scale. He decided that playing the guitar was a waste of his time, so he placed it in his closet for the next four years. Around 1980, Morello first started studying the guitar seriously. He had formed a band in the same year called the Electric Sheep which featured future Tool guitarist Adam Jones on bass. Jones wasn't originally in the band; he was a replacement for a member who quit because he felt his musical skills were far superior to those of the other Sheep. Few if any of the Sheep could really play an instrument at first (Most of their songs consisted of a single chord), but the band was an impetus for Morello to start honing his skills. Instead of performing cover songs, the Sheep wrote original material that including politically charged lyrics. None of the songs composed by the Sheep contained solos; soloing was a skill that Morello began learning in college. At the time Morello's musical tastes lay in the direction of heavy metal, particularly KISS, Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. Morello developed his own unique sound through the electric guitar. Later his music--and musical politics--were greatly influenced by punk rock bands like The Clash, the Sex Pistols and Devo. Morello graduated in 1982 and began attending Harvard University. There he made a point of practicing every day for up to eight hours without fail, no matter how much studying he had to do. [5] He graduated in 1986 with an honors degree in political science. He moved to L.A., where he briefly worked as an aide to Sen. Alan Cranston as he set about trying to join or start a band. (Adam Jones moved to L.A. as well; Morello introduced Jones to some of his future bandmates.) In 1988 Morello joined Lock Up, a glam rock band that released one album through Geffen Records before splitting up. This record was called Something Bitchin' This Way Comes, which enjoyed only slight success. Morello had been crushed by the lack of success he experienced in Lock Up. He visited a club in Los Angeles where Zack de la Rocha was rapping. After viewing de la Rocha's lyric books, Tom asked him to front a band. Morello drafted Brad Wilk, a drummer who had unsuccessfully auditioned for Lock Up, and de la Rocha introduced the two to his friend Tim Commerford. The four formed a new band, Rage Against the Machine. Rage had great success, especially in North America and Europe. Their first, self-titled album, was recognized by fans for Morello's innovative guitar as well as its originality (being one of the first records to combine rock and hip-hop). Morello expressed his attitude toward songwriting during this period as overtly political: A good song should make you wanna tap your feet and get with your girl. A great song should destroy cops and set fire to the suburbs. I’m only interested in writing great songs. After four years of silence and rumors of break-ups, the band released its second album, Evil Empire. The album moved away from the traditional metal guitar work of the first album; it was experimental in nature and demonstrated Morello's ability to use the guitar in strange ways, showcasing his abilities with the "kill switch". In 1999, the band released The Battle of Los Angeles, their most commercially successful record. In late 2000, they released another album entitled Renegades. Shortly before the release, de la Rocha left Rage, and the band's instrumentalists said they wanted to continue making music together. Billboard reported on January 19, 2007 that there were rumors that Rage Against the Machine could reunite at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.[3]. These rumors were confirmed in a Los Angeles Times article on January 22and later on the band's official website. The band are billed to headline the final day of Coachella 2007 on Sunday, April 29. Billboard reports that sources suggest this will likely be a one-off. After de la Rocha left Rage Against the Machine, the remaining bandmates started jamming with former Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell at the suggestion of producer Rick Rubin. The new group was first called Civilian, but changed their name to Audioslave before their first album was released. The band released their eponymous debut album on November 19, 2002. It was a massive critical and commercial success, attaining triple-platinum status. The band released their sophomore album,Out of Exile, on May 24, 2005. It debuted at number 1 on the Billboard charts and attained platinum status. In the same year, they released a DVD documenting their trip as the first American rock band to play a free show in Cuba. Morello recently stated he has made a commitment to Audioslave and is "in it for the long haul." The band's third album, Revelations, was released in the fall of 2006. Morello is less known for his folk music, which he plays under the alias "The Nightwatchman". He has explained: The Nightwatchman is my political folk alter ego. I've been writing these songs and playing them at open mic nights with friends for some time. This is the first time I've toured with it. When I play open mic nights, it's announced as The Nightwatchman. There will be kids there who are fans of my electric guitar playing, and you see them there scratching their heads. But it's something that I enjoy doing. I look at it more as an extension of my politics. Then again, some of the songs are not explicitly political. It really helped me grow as an artist and songwriter. Once you prick the vein you never know what is going to come out. You could aim for all union songs and you find yourself in other territory. One of his folk songs, "No One Left," which compares the aftermath of September 11 to that of a U.S. attack on Iraq, appears on the album Songs and Artists that Inspired Fahrenheit 9/11. According to Billboard, Morello as The Nighwatchman will be releasing his first debut album, One Man Revolution, in April, and his website confirms the album will be released on April 24th. Morello and Wilk joined with Maynard James Keenan of Tool and Billy Gould of Faith No More to record the song "Calling Dr Love" for the 1994 KISS tribute album Kiss My Ass. The lineup was billed as Shandi's Addiction. In August 1995 Morello contacted former Articles of Faith frontman Vic Bondi and asked him if he wanted to work on a Rage side project. Tentatively titled Weatherman, the short-lived group featured Bondi on vocals, Morello on guitar, Matt Johnson on bass, and Abe Van Eyck on drums. The recorded demos in September 1995. Bondi wrote all the lyrics, while Morello wrote all the music. One track, "Enola Gay", was recorded by Brett Eliason in fall 1996. Tom re-used the main riff of the song for the Audioslave single "Cochise." Morello also played lead guitar on three tracks of Primus' 1999 studio album Antipop. Morello worked with The Crystal Method on their 2001 album Tweekend. He co-produced and played guitars on the smash single "Name of the Game" and "Wild, Sweet and Cool". Morello played guitar in the score for Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006). Morello played the guitar riff heard in the final battle scene of the film Dodgeball. Morello played guitar in the single "One Man Army" by The Prodigy. In July 2006, TheNewsTribune.com reported that Morello and Boots Riley, front man of The Coup, would collaborate on a project called Street Sweepers. Riley has often performed alongside Morello's alter ego The Nightwatchman, and Morello produced and performed on a few tracks for The Coup's 2006 release Pick a Bigger Weapon. Morello is famed for his guitar style, which consists of punk/funk hybrid riffs and hip hop-inspired sounds. His guitar playing is also characterized by heavy use of guitar effects, such as delay, modulation, harmonizers, distortion, pitch shifters, feedback, and others in unique ways and combinations. Critically acclaimed, he is said to use the guitar in a unique and imaginative way; rather than just plucking the strings, he pulls off maneuvers such as toggling between two pickups - one on and one off - while fretting notes to mimic the sound of a DJ's crossfader, using feedback from the amp and the Digitech Whammy to create a solo, and creating sounds in the strings using innovative techniques such as the guitar's jack and a phillips wrench. He is still a very accomplished traditional metal guitarist, as heard on some of his earlier recordings such as "Know Your Enemy" and "Take the Power Back", which both have very fast fret work. Despite his alien guitar sounds, Morello chooses from a very limited supply of effects. During his tenure in RATM, he used a Dunlop Cry Baby, a Digitech WH-1 Whammy, a Boss DD-2 Digital Delay, a DOD EQ pedal (used to boost the volume during guitar solos), and an MXR Phase 90. For his work with Audioslave, Morello added a Boss TR-2 Tremolo pedal (which can be heard on "Like a Stone" and "Gasoline"). His amplifier of choice has always been a 50-watt Marshall JCM800 2205 and a Peavey 4x12 cabinet. While the amplifier has two channels, he only uses the overdrive channel, and simply turns down the volume on his guitar to get cleaner sounds. In the studio, Tom uses the same setup for the bulk of the guitar tracks. For The Battle of Los Angeles, he also used a few other amps, such as a Line 6 as heard on the clean, spacey intro of "Mic Check," plus a Pignose mini-amp and a MusicMan "Twin" style amp. [6] The MusicMan has a built-in phaser and has made its way onto several tracks as overdubs. It also appears in the "Show Me How To Live" video. In an interview with Guitar World Magazine Morello stated that he occasionally used a Vox amp that was in the studio for the making of Out of Exile. Morello and Serj Tankian of System of a Down are the co-founders of Axis of Justice, a political group whose declared purpose is "to bring together musicians, fans of music, and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice together. We aim to build a bridge between fans of music around the world and local political organizations to effectively organize around issues of peace, human rights, and economic justice." The group has worked for such causes as immigrant rights and death-penalty abolition. Its recommended book list includes such authors as Noam Chomsky, Che Guevara, George Orwell, Mumia Abu-Jamal and Grant Morrison. Morello and Tankian, together with a handful of other artists, including Maynard James Keenan, Wayne Kramer of the MC5, the hip hop group Jurassic 5, and Michael "Flea" Balzary of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, released a live recording of covers and original songs, titled The Axis of Justice Concert Series Volume 1. On April 6, 2006, Tom Morello was honoured with the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award for his support of worker's rights and for his AOJ work. Tom has worked on numerous labor campaigns: the Guess sweatshop boycott, the LA janitors strike, the Taco Bell boycott, the southern California grocery workers strike and lockout, and others. Morello was a strong supporter of the Immigrants Reform Rally and protest around the US. Morello played as The Nightwatchman at Macarthur Park in Los Angeles and has featured many articles on AOJ. On September 28, 2006, Morello was one of 400 protesters arrested protesting in support of immigrant hotel workers' rights, in what organizers called "the largest act of civil disobedience in the history of the Los Angeles". Morello knew he was going to be arrested; he wore a bright yellow shirt, and gave the LAPD his driver's license number a few days before the march. Morello told MTV: In these political dark ages, it's important for us to stand up for one another. These hotel workers by the airport make 20% less wages than the hotel workers around the rest of Los Angeles. We are here to express our solidarity with them, to help them unionize and help them close the gap between their sub-poverty wages and the millions and millions of dollars the people who own these hotels make. Axis of Justice is also in iTunes Podcasts

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