In His Infernal Majesty’s Service, the 6th studio album from Swedish blackened metal sect WITCHERY is out now all across the world via Century Media Records. Some examples of the great media reactions to In His Infernal Majesty’s Service include: “Album of the Month” & 9/10 points review / Close-Up (Sweden) Soundcheck position # 2 & 8/10 points review / Rock Hard (Germany) Soundcheck position # 3 & 5/7 points review / Metal Hammer (Germany) Soundcheck position # 7 & 11/15 points review / Legacy (Germany) Soundcheck position # 2 & 9/10 points review / Powermetal.de (Germany) Soundcheck position #4 & 83/100 points review / Aardschok (The Netherlands) “Swedish... 

Modern rock newcomers FROM ASHES TO NEW release the deluxe edition of their critically acclaimed debut album, DAY ONE, out NOW via Better Noise Records. The album is available for purchase digitally and streaming worldwide. Debuting at #23 on Billboard’s Top Current Albums Chart and landing as the #2 Hard Rock Album, Day One is reintroduced with four additional tracks. The deluxe edition includes “The Last Time” feat. Deuce, an acoustic version of the hard-hitting “Lost And Alone,” plus two new tracks: “Who’s Laughing Now,” and “An Ocean of Its Own.” “The Last Time”—which inspires taking a stand and rising above negative influences—marks Deuce’s first release since his 2012 album Nine... 

IRATION has officially announced the details for their new acoustic album, DOUBLE UP. The 10-track album–set for digital release December 2 via their own Three Prong Records–marks the reggae-influenced alternative rock band’s first all-acoustic album as they prepare to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their first album in 2017. In anticipation of its release, IRATION has teamed up with Pandora for an exclusive album premiere, running from November 23 through December 1. Starting tomorrow, go to www.pandora.com/premieres to listen to DOUBLE UP. “We’re really pumped to announce the release of Double Up, our new acoustic release. We took songs from our whole catalog of music and stripped... 

Legendary heavy metal band Slayer has teamed up with Metalocalypse writer Jon Schnepp and Twilight Zone artist Guiu Vilanova for a three-issue Dark Horse Comics series, Slayer: Repentless, with covers by Eisner Award–winning British comics artist Glenn Fabry. The first issue, with a variant cover by Eric Powell (The Goon), is scheduled for release on January 25, 2017.  

ROOT is one of the original pre-second-wave black metal bands formed in 1987 by iconic vocalist Jiri ‘Big Boss’ Valter. In contrast to Bathory and Venom, ROOT took the black metal genre in a more refined direction, featuring Big Boss’ chartacteristic clean vocals, dark sound and an epic approach altogether. Nowadays, ROOT is often recognized as an epic heavy/black metal act, or as the band simply puts it – a dark metal band.  

Finnish Metal Superstars CHILDREN OF BODOM will embark on a 21-date North American tour with special guests iconic black metal artist ABBATH, California-based metal act EXMORTUS, and Canada’s progressive metallers ONI. The trek presented by The Noise will commence in Quebec on November 23 and will hit 3 Canadian cities as well as Chicago, San Francisco, New York, and conclude in Brooklyn on December 19th.  

Rock luminaries SIXX:A.M. release their 5th studio album Vol. 2 Prayers for the Blessed TODAY via Eleven Seven Music. Written and recorded at the same time as Vol. 1 Prayers For The Damned, which was released earlier this year, Volume 2 is an evolution from the first chapter that continues to push the band’s sound forward. The album is now available for purchase and streaming via Apple, Spotify, Amazon and Google.  

I think I can estimate that I’ve been enjoying metal as a genre for about nine years now, going on ten sometime next fall. Like so many others, my first bands were Iron Maiden and Metallica, both of which inspired me to pick up bass and to explore heavy metal, power metal, and thrash metal in my early days. Metallica in particular was instrumental in me pursuing heavier music, as their older material helped me find bands in similar styles that only got a progressively resulted me in the taste of music I have today. I do owe Metallica a lot, and yet I owe them an honest review with Hardwired… to Self-Destruct.  

Hot on the heels of their latest release “Anvil is Anvil” Canadian Metal heroes ANVIL are set to return the road in the US in March of 2017.  The tour kicks off March 2nd in Boston, MA and will run through April 9th in Cleveland, OH.  Support on the tour will come from Night Demon and Graveshadow.  A complete list of dates can be found below.  

As previously announced, Armored Saint is releasing a new live album on February 24th (digitally on December 16th): Carpe Noctum. Having toured with Metallica, Whitesnake, Alice Cooper, The Scorpions, and many other artists since their inception in the early 80s, Armored Saint has always been a highly regarded live act – not only in their hometown of Los Angeles, but also around the world.  

Blacklight Media / Metal Blade Records is proud to announce the worldwide signing of Boston’s rock/metal outfit Gozu. Formed in 2010, the four-piece have released one EP and three full-lengths to-date, and are currently writing their fourth studio album, set for a 2017 release.  

Red Fang, who recently released their fourth album, Only Ghosts, via Relapse Records, kick off their first U.S. tour in support of the album tomorrow at Slim’s in San Francisco.