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Next up in the 40th anniversary celebration, Orgasmatron shifts into top gear with “Built For Speed”, the second single from Cameron Webb’s brand-new remix of the whole album, created from the original multi-tracks.

A full-throttle Motörhead classic and live staple “Built For Speed” does exactly what it says on the tin: huge riffs, Lemmy’s unmistakable bass and vocals, and a relentless charge from start to finish. The animated lyric video was created by Lee Gregory at ILoveMotion.

Cameron’s remix is part of the Orgasmatron 40th Anniversary Edition, available as a deluxe 3LP bookpack and 2CD, featuring the remastered original mix, the new Cameron Webb Remix, additional studio rehearsals and outtakes recorded in 1985, and the complete BBC Radio 1 Friday Rock Show session from 1986, capturing the band during the Orgasmatron era. The 40th anniversary edition is also available as a 1LP pressing on transparent violet vinyl, featuring the remastered original studio album.

Released in 1986, Orgasmatron featured the line-up of Lemmy, Phil Campbell, Würzel, and Pete Gill. It marked a new chapter for the band, pushing further into heavier territory while retaining the speed, aggression and raw energy that had defined Motörhead from the beginning.

The album’s production was the subject of much discussion among the band and their fans, but beneath it was a formidable collection of songs. “Orgasmatron”, “Deaf Forever” and “Built For Speed” became key parts of the Motörhead live repertoire, while the album’s combination of hard rock, heavy metal and punk influences gave it a character all of its own. Four decades on, Orgasmatron has taken its place as one of the most distinctive and respected records in the Motörhead catalogue.

Now, 40 years after its original release, Orgasmatron is revisited in a new anniversary edition that explores both the album itself and the story behind its creation. The original studio recordings have been remastered for the anniversary and cut at half speed from the original tapes, while longtime Motörhead collaborator Cameron Webb has created a brand-new remix and remaster from the original multi-tracks.

The Motörhead team explain: “Orgasmatron is a special album. Part of that is down to the stylized production of Bill Laswell, who approached the work from a unique perspective. Bill’s work stands in its own right as something special in the Motörhead library, and Orgasmatron stands as one hell of an album. However, there was some controversy in the sense that both Lemmy and Phil Campbell felt that some of the power, bite and energy had been lost in Laswell’s final delivery.

As old-school Motörhead fans, we found ourselves sitting around the coffee table one night several months ago, drinks in hand, pondering what Orgasmatron would sound like if it were to be remixed by Motörhead’s longtime producer, Cameron Webb. Cameron helmed six studio albums, and it’s fair to say he had the trust, love — and grumbles too! — of Lem, Phil, and Mikkey. Would it be ‘right’ to ask him if he wanted a crack at remixing Orgasmatron? Would it be disrespecting the original album if we were to offer such a thing alongside Bill’s original work? We concluded a big fat ‘no’! It would be an added adventure if people wanted to take it. So we asked Cameron if he was up for it. And he screamed a rather enthusiastic ‘yes’!”

For Cameron, the opportunity was particularly personal: “My brother introduced me to Orgasmatron when I was 14 years old. I heard the song and thought, ‘Is this even music?’ It was like the devil coming through my cassette tape. And I loved it. That record and Rock ’N’ Roll were my Motörhead records, so being asked to work on this is incredibly special to me. I honestly don’t know anyone in the world who would be more excited than me to do it.”

At the same time, Webb was keen to preserve the character of the original recording and acknowledge the work of producer Bill Laswell and engineer Jason Corsaro: “I love the fact that the original is wild and a little messy. I wanted to be respectful to what Jason Corsaro and Bill Laswell created, rather than simply trying to make it sound like a modern heavy metal record. When we opened up the original 24-track tapes, you could really hear how creative they were with the sounds, particularly the drums. There’s so much character in that recording, and I wanted to preserve that.”

With the original mix in mind, Webb also approached the remix by considering what Lemmy and Phil might have wanted to hear: “Lemmy and Phil both said they didn’t like the original mix, so I thought about what they might have asked me to do if they were sitting next to me. I tried to channel what I knew about them and their approach to recording — bringing out the bass here, defining the guitars there — while still respecting what was already there. The aim was never to replace the original, but to reveal more of what was inside it.”

Orgasmatron 40th Anniversary Edition is available here.

The post MOTÖRHEAD  Releases Animated Lyric Video For “Built For Speed” From Their “Orgasmatron 40th Anniversary Edition” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Ahead of North American and European tour dates

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Hailing from Athens, Greece, up-and-coming thrash metallers Eternal are on a mission to merge the timeless energy of the classic old-school scene with their own modern, hard-hitting edge. Formed in 2022 out of a high school friendship, the quartet have quickly honed an energetic live show packed with neck-snapping riffs, socially conscious lyricism, and a … Continue reading Headline Act: Eternal

Ahead of their upcoming Section 7 European tour

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Following a serious 2021 accident

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– October 15th, 2026 –

Second Single “Lightning Be Thy Guide” Out Now

Metal Blade Records & Vesperian are proud to open pre-orders for Answered Prayers, the new album by THE MOSAIC WINDOW, out on November 13th, 2026. Alongside the pre-order launch, the album’s second single, “Lightning Be Thy Guide“, is available now on all digital platforms.

Answered Prayers marks a deliberate return to the roots for THE MOSAIC WINDOW, the solo project of Andrew Steven “Skeletonhammer” Brown (also known for his work in BONE ABDUCTION). The project’s 2024 album Hemasanctum was a polished, prog-tinged hybrid of death and black metal. The new record moves away from that sound and draws directly on the first and second waves of black metal: cold, fast, melodic and uncompromising.

The album’s ten tracks are bound together by a bleak, nihilistic concept. The idea is a poisoned world whose only cure is the erasure of humanity, undone retroactively, centuries before the Industrial Revolution ever had a chance to begin.

Following lead single “What Sage Could Not Cleanse“, “Lightning Be Thy Guide” shows a different side of the album. It is a mainly mid-tempo, dynamic piece that trades sheer velocity for weight and atmosphere, without losing any of the record’s bite.

Answered Prayers was mixed and mastered by Alex Sedin at Ghostalgy Productions, with session drums performed by Dmitry Kim (Jinjer, among others).

Listen to the new single “Lightning Be Thy Guide” HERE and find pre-orders for Answered Prayers HERE

Tracklist:
Premonition Of The Prophecy (0:48)
The Fog Carries Plague (5:36)
Serpentine (4:03)
Lightning Be Thy Guide (4:49)
What Sage Could Not Cleanse (3:49)
Blood And Chains (4:51)
Unsheathing The Fall Of Man (4:03)
Crusader (3:36)
Echoes Of Answered Prayers (5:30)
Devotion To My Burning Desire (5:00)

Lineup:
Skeletonhammer: all instruments & vocals
Dmitry Kim: session drums

Style: Existential Black Metal

Active Since: 2020
Origin: USA, Los Angeles, California

Links:
https://www.instagram.com/themosaicwindow
https://themosaicwindow.bandcamp.com
https://www.vesperian.world
https://www.instagram.com/vesperian.world

In early autumn, the inlets and wild forest surrounding Oslo are dappled with sun. Imposing ski jumps dot hillside neighborhoods, which are scattered with bizarre statues and ornate crypts. Despite its idyllic facade, the Norwegian capital does not get the trendsetting attention of nearby Copenhagen or Berlin. “There’s a reason I left and moved abroad when I was 17. But it was nice to come back, later on,” model-turned-local figurehead Carmen Maria Hillestad (aka Carmen Villain) admits, over dinner at Michelin hotspot the Little Pickle. “It’s a small town.” An insistent tempo exists when you search for it. The Villa sources DJs who frequent New York City’s Nowadays and M.O.T. in London; Smerz, Jenny Hval, André Bratten, Eivind Lønning, Streifenjunko, and Anja Lauvdal contribute to a genre-blurring circuit.

The post The Future Sound Of Oslo appeared first on Stereogum.

(Earlier this month Metal Blade Records released the latest album from Amon Amarth, and DGR decided to share his thoughts about it — below.) Oddly, it did not feel as if close to four years had passed for Amon Amarth between the release of 2022’s The Great Heathen Army and their latest release The Allfather […]

The post AMON AMARTH: “THE ALLFATHER AWAKENS” appeared first on NO CLEAN SINGING.

Metal Breakdown Daily is one page, every weekday: the episode on the player below and the three stories in print, so you can listen, read, or both. Today’s lead: Floor Jansen leaves Nightwish after fourteen years, ‘in mutual agreement’, five years after Tuomas Holopainen said her leaving would be ‘one hundred percent’ the end of the band. It isn’t. Nightwish say they’ll record a new album in 2027, and Floor’s second solo record, Hytress, is out January 15.

Also today: Sammy Hagar turned 79 this week and told Billboard he would ‘love to bury the hatchet with Alex’ Van Halen, the man who called him ‘a complete idiot’ and hasn’t spoken to him in a quarter of a century. And Steve Harris follows Iron Maiden’s biggest tour by booking British Lion into the Cart & Horses, the 120-capacity East London pub where Maiden played their first show, for six nights at Christmas.

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Scott Penfold opens today’s Metal Breakdown Daily with the promise Tuomas Holopainen made in 2021 and broke this morning, then asks why Sammy Hagar said ‘I’d love to be friends again’ to Billboard instead of to Alex, and finishes with the Iron Maiden founder who’d rather play a pub than a residency. Download the free Loaded Radio App on Apple iOS and Google Play and stream the show now.

Floor Jansen Leaves Nightwish, And Nightwish Keep Going

Nightwish and Floor Jansen announced on October 15 that they have parted ways ‘in mutual agreement’ after fourteen years; the band say they will record a new album in 2027, and Jansen’s solo album Hytress is due January 15.

The band’s statement was short and formal: ‘After careful consideration, we have, in mutual agreement, decided to part ways.’ It framed the split as two sets of ambitions that no longer fit in one band, and called the Jansen years ‘the end of a truly great voyage.’ Jansen’s own post was warmer. ‘Endings create new beginnings, and even though it was a hard decision to make,’ she wrote, she sees ‘a bright musical journey ahead,’ and thanked fans for staying with her ‘through the rollercoasters of life.’

The shape of it is not hard to read. Nightwish haven’t toured since 2022; they said in 2023 they wouldn’t play live for the foreseeable future and didn’t tour Yesterwynde, their 2024 album. Jansen, meanwhile, had a cancer diagnosis in 2022, a second daughter in 2023, and a solo debut, Paragon, closing in on 150 million streams. One side wanted to stay home and write. The other had a career that needed a stage. ‘Mutual’ may be the honest word for once.

What sticks is the promise. In August 2021, after Marko Hietala left, Holopainen said that if Jansen ever went, ‘that’s it, it’s the end of Nightwish. Absolutely, 100%.’ Five years later the band are booking studio time around their thirtieth anniversary, with no singer named. Tarja Turunen went by open letter in 2005, and isn’t coming back. Anette Olzon went mid-tour in 2012. Jansen goes by mutual agreement in 2026, which is at least an upgrade in manners. But three singers, three exits, one songwriter: at some point the common factor isn’t the singers.

Sammy Hagar Wants To Bury The Hatchet With Alex Van Halen

Sammy Hagar, who turned 79 on October 13, told Billboard he would ‘love to bury the hatchet with Alex’ Van Halen and ‘love to be friends again’; Alex has not spoken to him in roughly 25 years and has not responded.

‘If we played music, mo’ better,’ Hagar added, and said that bringing the two Van Halen eras back together ‘might be my future.’ It’s a long way from April 2025, when he told Rolling Stone, ‘I think Al’s angry because I’m out doing it,’ and added, ‘I’m making you money, by the way, Al.’ That exchange was the low point of a feud that has outlived the band.

The hatchet is real. Alex’s 2024 memoir, Brothers, ends in 1984 and gives the Hagar years a single sentence: ‘We had a lot of other singers over the years.’ Asked about Hagar’s Best Of All Worlds tour, with Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani and Kenny Aronoff playing the Van Halen catalogue, Alex said, ‘They’re not doing the band justice,’ and described the band’s magic as ‘Dave, Ed, Mike and me.’ In a Brazilian magazine interview he called Hagar ‘a complete idiot.’ Hagar says he and Eddie made their peace before Eddie died in October 2020. Alex has never picked up the phone, and the legacy fight has only hardened since.

Hagar probably means it. He has also said it to Billboard rather than to Alex, and the man extending the olive branch is the one on tour selling the other man’s songs. Both things can be true, and in the long history of metal feuds they usually are. The sad part is simpler: Alex is the only one left who can decide, and nothing he has said suggests he wants to.

Steve Harris Takes British Lion Back To The Cart & Horses For Six Nights

Steve Harris’s British Lion will play six shows at the Cart & Horses in Stratford, East London, from December 13 to 18, 2026, with Albion supporting; tickets are £38.50 through britishlionuk.com.

‘We’re really happy to be coming back to the Cart & Horses for six nights in December,’ Harris said. ‘We’ve had some fantastic shows there over the years.’ Albion, the support, is built around two Jethro Tull guitarists, Jack Clark and Joe Parrish-James. British Lion played five Christmas shows at the pub in 2025 and four in 2024, so this is a tradition that keeps growing by one.

He’s underselling the venue. The Cart & Horses is where Iron Maiden played their first show, in June 1976, and dozens more over the next two years, before anyone outside East London knew the name; the pub calls itself the birthplace of Iron Maiden and it has the right. The story of Maiden’s first two albums starts in that room. It holds 120 people.

Harris is 70. He has just finished the biggest tour of a catalogue that fills stadiums on four continents, and he’s spending December in a room smaller than his stage. That isn’t nostalgia. That’s a man who still likes playing bass more than he likes being famous for it. Given the choice between that and a Las Vegas residency, take that every time.

The Take: A Band Belongs To Whoever Keeps Showing Up

Three stories about the same question: what is a band, once the people change?

Nightwish say the band is the songs and the songwriter, and a third singer can carry them. Sammy Hagar says Van Halen without the brothers and the singers at peace is incomplete, and he’s the one trying to complete it. Steve Harris says Iron Maiden is a thing you can leave at Wembley while you go and be a bass player in a pub.

Here’s the counter-argument, and it’s a good one. Fans don’t buy songs, they buy people. Nightwish fans bought Floor, and the band took years to recover the audience it lost when Tarja left. Van Halen fans buy a brotherhood, which is why Alex’s book sold and Sammy’s tour draws. Maiden fans buy Bruce and Steve and the other four, not a discography. Change the people and the thing isn’t the thing. The great frontmen are proof: nobody replaced any of them.

The counter-argument is right about the fans and wrong about the band. A band belongs to whoever keeps showing up to make it. Tuomas keeps showing up, so Nightwish continues, and he gets to break his own promise about it. Alex doesn’t show up, so Van Halen is over, whatever Sammy wants. And Steve Harris has shown up every year for fifty years, including to a pub in Stratford in December. That’s the whole definition. The band is the people who still want to play. Everyone else is the audience, and the audience doesn’t get a vote.

TL;DR

• Floor Jansen and Nightwish have parted ways ‘in mutual agreement’ after fourteen years; Nightwish will record a new album in 2027 with no singer named, and Jansen’s second solo album Hytress is out January 15.
• Sammy Hagar, 79 this week, told Billboard he’d ‘love to bury the hatchet with Alex’ Van Halen; Alex, who called him ‘a complete idiot’ and hasn’t spoken to him in about 25 years, hasn’t responded.
• Steve Harris’s British Lion play six nights at the Cart & Horses in Stratford, December 13–18, the 120-capacity pub where Iron Maiden played their first show in 1976.
• The Take: a band belongs to whoever keeps showing up to make it, which is why Nightwish continue, Van Halen is over, and Harris is playing a pub.

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The Metal Breakdown Daily is Loaded Radio’s weekday rock and metal news show, three stories and one opinion in under five minutes. New episode every weekday on the free Loaded Radio app for Apple iOS and Google Play. Follow Loaded Radio for the stories as they break.

The post Metal Breakdown Daily: Nightwish Split With Floor Jansen, Sammy Hagar Wants Alex Back, And Steve Harris Books A Pub Gig appeared first on Loaded Radio.