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With “Welcome To Life,” Kai Hansen releases the second single from his upcoming solo album Born With A Hammer. Following the powerful “Feeding The Beast,” the song reveals another side of the musician who, as co-founder of Helloween and founder of Gamma Ray, has played a defining role in European heavy metal and power metal in particular for decades.

Driving guitars, striking changes in tempo and strong melodies come together in a direct blend of heavy metal, punk and rock’n’roll. As the second track on the album, “Welcome To Life” makes it clear early on just how diverse Born With A Hammer is set to be.

Lyrically, the song is about accepting life as it is, not dwelling on what is missing and making the most of what you have. Hansen combines this outlook with his unmistakable guitar playing, an infectious sense of spontaneity, and the spirit of a road trip through life.

The official lyric video brings this idea to life as a Mustang tears through a heightened, hell-tinged world. Its imagery follows the song’s shifting dynamics and puts its sense of freedom firmly on the road.

Born With A Hammer was produced by Eike Freese, Kai Hansen and Alexander Dietz. The album was recorded with Eike Freese on guitar, Heaven Shall Burn’s Alexander Dietz on bass, Carcass drummer Dan Wilding and Induction guitarist Tim Hansen.

Across 10 songs, Born With A Hammer combines powerful heavy metal with punk attitude, hard rock drive, and strong melodies. “Welcome To Life” represents the album’s more immediate and carefree side, expanding the picture of this new solo chapter following “Feeding The Beast.”

Following the worldwide success of Helloween’s recent reunion era and its major international tours, Born With A Hammer sees Kai Hansen return his focus to his own musical world. “Welcome To Life” shows that this world is firmly rooted in his history while continuing to forge a path entirely of its own.

Born With A Hammer can be pre-ordered here in the following formats.

• CD Digipak
• Black LP Gatefold (180g)
• Limited Picture Disc LP (180g)

Kai Hansen is one of modern heavy metal’s most influential creative forces. As co-founder of Helloween and founder of Gamma Ray, he shaped the sound and spirit of power metal and continues to influence artists and fans worldwide. His work with Helloween has brought him back to the biggest stages around the globe, while Born With A Hammer reveals another side of his creative drive — personal, direct and fully charged.

The post Metal Icon KAI HANSEN Releases New Single “Welcome To Life” From Upcoming Solo Album “Born With A Hammer” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

The band’s new album “Bloody Dreams” is headed for a September release.

The post Devil Master Pay Homage To G.I.S.M. With “Death Anthem” Music Video appeared first on Theprp.com.

A little over year since the Prince of Fucking Darkness passed away, we’re here to share the soon-to-be-released passion project, Death Metal Tribute to Ozzy, from European metal publicists Death Metal Promotions. This 26-track behemoth, featuring both Black Sabbath and Ozzy solo cuts, was completely curated, organized and assembled by DMP.

Now, we’re not talking about contributions from the biggest names in death metal, but the lineup (see below) does feature acts from all over the world—from Asia to South America—doing their own DM take on iconic songs. And, hey, maybe you’ll discover some up-and-comers via this collection.

Imperial Domain (Sweden) – Mr. Crowley
Hetrem (Bosnia and Herzegovina) – Bark at the Moon
Roast Dead (UK) – Crazy Train
Pleasure of Mutilate (Ecuador) – Paranoid
World Eater (USA) – Shot in the Dark
Icons of Blasphemy (Peru) – Believer
Desekryptor (USA) – Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Flamecore (Greece) – A National Acrobat
Misgivings (France) – Hole in the Sky
Becoming the Entity (Mexico) – Symptom of the Universe
Vastness (Poland) – The Ultimate Sin
Insineratehymn (USA) – Into the Void
Pestifer (Portugal) – Killing Yourself to Live
Vephar (Poland) – Snowblind
Clairvoyance (Poland) – Sweet Leaf
Paraphilia (USA) – Cornucopia
Slaveson (Austria) – Gets Me Through
Rêvasseur (Vietnam) – I Don’t Wanna Stop
Hallucinate (Germany) – Changes
On Soulwings (USA) – A National Acrobat
Reckless Manslaughter (Germany) – Demon Alcohol
Bottlekopf (Poland) – Never Say Die
Tvmvlo (Portugal) – I Don’t Know
Podridão (Brazil) – Under the Sun / Every Day Comes and Goes
Withering Earth (USA) – No More Tears
Transmigration Macabre (Argentina / Uruguay) – Electric Funeral

Death Metal Promotions had this to say about the compilation:

“All tracks featured on this album have been recorded exclusively for this project. This is a non-profit release. Any revenue generated from digital sales will be used solely to support the promotion and visibility of the album and participating artists.”

It’s set for release digitally on August 7, and you can place your preorder here.

We offered some of the bands involved in the record an opportunity to comment on their contributions.

The post Full Album Stream: Various Artists –<em>Death Metal Tribute to Ozzy</em> appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

“Allocated Savagery” is the latest single from veteran German thrash legion, Exumer. The track comes by way of the band’s latest studio album, Death Mask Messiah, set for release on August 28th through Metal Blade Records. Death Mask Messiah is inspired conceptually by US politics of the last decade, the pandemic, the use of misinformation to stir up… Continue Reading →

The German electronicore band were tasked with covering the song during a single studio session.

The post Watch Electric Callboy Cover Early 80s Hit “Maniac” For Musora appeared first on Theprp.com.

Rhode Island’s Newport Folk Festival went down a couple weeks ago, and CMAT stole the spotlight. Stereogum sat down with the Irish star and made her explain the cultural references that abound in her Mercury Prize-nominated album Euro-Country. Like, who is Cú Chulainn? Where is Dunboyne? What is Calpol? Is petrol gasoline? Now we finally have answers.

The post CMAT Offers A <em>Euro-Country</em> Glossary For Americans appeared first on Stereogum.

“Lyrically, I wanted to state as bluntly as possible that we don’t care if you hate us, what we stand for or how we choose to stand for it; TTG hates you too.”

The post To The Grave Debut “TORTURE PORN” Lyric Video appeared first on Theprp.com.

Anthrax will celebrate the release of their long-awaited 12th full-length studio album Cursum Perficio (Megaforce Records) with a late-night in-store signing in Louisville, KY. Immediately following their September 17 performance at the city’s annual Louder than Life festival, Anthrax will meet fans at Louisville’s Guestroom Records located at 1330A Bardstown Rd. Beginning at 12:01 AM on September 18, the multi-Grammy Award-nominated New York hard rock titans—Scott Ian (guitar), Charlie Benante (drums), Frank Bello (bass), Joey Belladonna (vocals), and Jonathan Donais (guitar)—will be signing copies of the new album. Space for the event is limited. To attend this special release event, fans must pre-order the album directly from Guestroom Records. Only albums pre-ordered via the link will be eligible for the signing.

Cursum Perficio marks the band’s first record in ten years since 2016’s For All Kings, which debuted in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. The phrase Cursum Perficio is Latin for “My journey has come to an end,” “My journey is over,” or “I complete my journey.” It proves apropos for such a complete body of work. It will be available in various configurations, including an indie exclusive – red, orange, and yellow vinyl double LP with pop-up gatefold. To pre-order and/or pre-save, click here.

Thus far, Anthrax has released two singles and videos from Cursum Perficio: “It’s For The Kids,” a classic Anthrax ripper locked and loaded with buzzsaw-sharp riffs, explosive drumming, and a howling and head-banging hook. It undoubtedly has all the makings of a future live staple. It was followed by “The Edge Of Perfection,” highlighted by clean guitar echoes and cymbals that gently shake until a blastbeat blows open the doors. Guitars buzz like a motorboat on the River Styx, making waves through the darkness. In their wake, a crushing rhythm trails the melody of lead singer Joey Belladonna’s lament, “My heart breaks…I’m on the edge…I’m on the edge of perfection.”

The band dove into recording Cursum Perficio in earnest during 2022, working out of Dave Grohl’s Studio 606 in Los Angeles. They carefully pieced together what would be this magnum opus, mining their history with reverence, delivering on fan expectations tenfold, and broadening the scope of their signature sound. Produced by Jay Ruston and Anthrax, the result is an album that’s as angry, aggressive, and alive as their most celebrated fare.

Their journey has brought them to Cursum Perficio, a powerful, pummeling, and poetic milestone in Anthrax’s 45-year career.

The post ANTHRAX Plans Midnight In-Store Signing In Louisville, KY To Celebrate Release Of “Cursum Perficio” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

“…Touring is a young man’s/woman’s sport. I like to eat right, I like to sleep right and I like to wake up next to my wife.”

The post Cro-Mags’ Harley Flanagan Planning To Step Back From Full-Scale Touring: “I’m Not Saying I’m Gonna Stop Playing Altogether. But I’m Done Grinding It Out On Tour.” appeared first on Theprp.com.

One of the world’s most captivating guitarists, Yngwie Malmsteen has announced his new studio album, Hell or High Water, which will be released on 13 November via Music Theories Recordings / Artone Label Group. To whet your appetite, he has also revealed the first single from the album, ‘Now or Never,’ which you can listen to below. When we… Continue Reading →