Mad About Rock

  '"Lost Again" is just one of those songs that I think everyone can relate to. We have all been in that situation or those situations where it seems like we're reliving it over and over trying to find out where we've gone wrong and how we ended up, yet again, lost. We neurotically replay the whole scenario in our heads and for the life of us, we can not see exactly where it went bad and led us further into our current state. It's not all bad though. Having the ability to objectively search for a point or points where it began to go in the wrong direction should give us the knowledge and wisdom to have the ability to apply what each situation has taught us to be better in the future."' - Jimmy, GEARS Check out the video for "Lost Again" below: "This has been an amazing 12-18 months for us as a band. We want to thank Chris Dawson and Jimmy Beattie for bringing out the best in the band and helping to move us forward. JT Ibanez for bri...

  The Rolling Stones have today announced the release of GRRR Live!, THE definitive live hits album from the band’s career. Released on February 10 via Mercury Studios, the album will be available in various formats; 3LP black, 3LP coloured white (Indies exclusive) 3LP red (d2c exclusive), 2CD, DVD + 2CD, BluRay+ 2CD. The Blu-ray and digital versions will include Dolby Atmos. The best live band in the world deserve the ultimate live greatest hits album and GRRR Live! is it, The Stones at their best! The album is available to pre-order here and features some of the greatest songs of all time including It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It), Honky Tonk Women, Start Me Up, Gimme Shelter, Sympathy For The Devil and (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction The Rolling Stones celebrated their golden anniversary in 2012 & 2013 by embarking on the 50 & Counting Tour, a 30-show itinerary for North America and Europe. On December 15, 2012, the band took the stage at Newark, New Jersey’s Prud...

  New Brighton-based act The Undaunted have concocted a unique sound best described as Dubstep Punk Metal, mixing drum and bass, punk and metal. It makes for a thrilling and intriguing listen, which their debut melodic electrifying single 'Chihuahua' asserts.  Check out the video for  'Chihuahua'   below: The band comprises ex-members of Breed 77, Collisions and Munny Torx with Andrew Trewin on guitars/programming, Alex Marcou (Holotype) on synths/programming, Oc Preciado on vocals and Adam Lewis on drums. With just one song out, they have made quite an impact with their bizarre and enticing elements but fortunately, we can hear more of this hybrid sound soon as they release their second single on 16th December 2022. For more on The Undaunted, visit: https://www.facebook.com/theundaunteduk/

  BLOODSTOCK is renowned for being for the fans, by the fans. HQ listens hard all year round to which bands BLOODSTOCKers want to see at the festival, so this announcement is sure to be a crowd pleaser, adding two of the most heavily requested acts as a new main stage headliner and as a special guest. If that seals the deal for ordering your tickets, don’t forget the ticket deposit scheme has now launched, letting you spread payment over six instalments. Without further ado… BLOODSTOCK’s Saturday night Ronnie James Dio main stage headliner will be the most excellent, Swedish tech metal legends MESHUGGAH ; their very first time headlining the festival. If you’ve never caught them live before, you are in for a treat. Come and see why they are so respected! The band’s most recent album ‘Immutable’ landed earlier this year, spawning the epic video for ‘I Am That Thirst’, which you can check out here . Secondly, the revered German power metallers HELLOWEEN , swoop into Sunday’s mai...

  Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, has named acclaimed Mongolian folk metal band The HU as a UNESCO Artist for Peace at a ceremony at the Organization's Headquarters in Paris. After Azoulay met the eight members of The HU during her official visit to Mongolia in August 2022, their musical style and ideas immediately resonated with UNESCO's values and work. The HU are the first band from the rock genre to receive this accolade from UNESCO, making this honour even more special. They join a family of artists committed to bringing cultures together and supporting artistic creation, such as Amine Kouider, Valery Gergiev and Scott Momaday, plus the UK’s own Sarah Brightman and Dame Shirley Bassey. Founded in 2016 in Ulaanbaatar, The HU, who have thousands of fans around the world, have created a unique musical genre they call "Hunnu Rock”. It fuses rock and heavy metal with styles of traditional Mongolian music, such as the art of Khöömei (throat singing), the tsuu...

  Metallica has confirmed the title and release date of its forthcoming 12th studio album: 72 Seasons will be available April 14, 2023 via the band’s own Blackened Recordings. Produced by Greg Fidelman with Hetfield & Ulrich, and clocking in at over 77 minutes, the 12-track 72 Seasons is Metallica’s first full length collection of new material since 2016’s Hardwired…To Self-Destruct. The album will be released in formats including 2LP 140g black vinyl and limited edition variants, CD and digital—for a full listing of configurations, pre-orders and further information, go to metallica.com/72-seasons-info . 72 Seasons is heralded by first single “Lux Æterna,” a short, sharp blast that distills 40 years of Metallica into three and a half minutes. “Lux Æterna” is available now to stream and download, and as an instant grat track with all pre-orders of 72 Seasons. To watch the “Lux Æterna” video, directed by Tim Saccenti, go here . Speaking on the concept of the album title, James...

  Public Sales for the eleventh voyage of 70000TONS OF METAL, The Original, The World’s Biggest Heavy Metal Cruise, will start Wednesday, November 30, 2022 at 12PM EST (9AM PST, 18:00 CET and respectively 17:00 GMT). Round 11 will sail from Miami, Florida to Bimini, Bahamas and back from January 30 - February 3, 2023 on board the Freedom of the Seas. Bands announced to date include ABYSMAL DAWN, AMORPHIS, CYNIC, DECREPIT BIRTH, DESTRUCTION, EVERGREY, FALLUJAH, FEUERSCHWANZ, FRACTAL UNIVERSE, INSOMNIUM, JUNGLE ROT, KAMELOT, KORPIKLAANI, KREATOR, MǺNEGARM, MELECHESH, NIGHTMARE, NIGHTWISH, NOVEMBRE, OBSCURA, OCEANS OF SLUMBER, ROTTING CHRIST, SIRENIA, ULI JON ROTH, VISIONS OF ATLANTIS, and WARBRINGER. Every Artist will perform two sets on board. In addition to 120+ performances, all festival-goers have access to the Official 70000TONS OF METAL All Star Jam, meet & greets with every band, exclusive onboard premieres, Artist clinics & workshops, Artist Escorted Shore Excursions ...

  The heavy metal, dark, madcap visionaries, collectively known as AVATAR, have emerged from deep within the Swedish forest in which they have been working on their ninth studio album, Dance Devil Dance, due for release 17th February 2023. Pre-order HERE . The record will be released in multiple vinyl configurations. The configurations can be seen below: Clouds Dipped in Chrome Super Deluxe Vinyl Includes: - Metal O-Card with embossed Avatar emblem - 2 pocket silver board gatefold vinyl with platinum Dance Devil Dance vinyl - 24 page photo book - Autographed 5x7 Postcard Hazmat Suit Deluxe Vinyl Includes: - Embossed Gatefold with 3 colour A SIDE / B SIDE Dance Devil Dance vinyl - Five 11x11 Photo Prints of each band member with lyrics - Autographed 5x7 Postcard Dance Devil Dance Standard Vinyl Includes: - Embossed gatefold jacket with red opaque Dance Devil Dance vinyl - Five 11x11 Photo Prints of each band member Additionally, the band have shared the album track listing, includin...

  Ahead of a run of UK live shows this December, Slyder Smith & The Oblivion Kids have released a heart-pounding cover version of the iconic 80s hit, 'The NeverEnding Story'. The song is accompanied by a new music video, with band performance filmed by Wills Audio at the famous Buckley Tivoli theatre and transformed into a fun concept video with additional footage & editing by producer Darren Stockford paying homage to the bombastic 80's era. Watch 'The NeverEnding Story' (official music video): https://youtu.be/6PMkEGZxyJM Without a shred of tiresome irony, Slyder Smith and the Oblivion Kids boldly reimagine Giorgio Morodor’s 80s cult classic. Whilst staying true to the original, the power trio bring a dynamic commercial rock feel to Limahls’s electronic pop hit with guest vocals from Nina Courson of Healthy Junkies. With their debut album, 'Charm Offensive', released to critical acclaim from press, media and music fans alike earlier this year, ...

  South coast four-piece ACRES have dropped a new song and revealed details of their sophomore studio album. 'Into Flames' is the third song to be released from the forthcoming full length, Burning Throne, and is accompanied by a video directed by Lewis Cater (All Time Low, Hot Milk, Sum 41). Watch the music video for 'Into Flames' HERE . “Into Flames is about having everything you love getting taken away from you,” explains frontman Ben Lumber. “During the pandemic everyone's life was turned upside down and this song is about the fear of the unknown, wondering if things will ever be as they were.” The follow up to 2019’s Lonely World, new album Burning Throne is set for release on 3rd March 2023 via A Wolf At Your Door Records. On the new record, guitarist Alex Freeman states: “I am extremely proud of this record but making it wasn’t easy. I had to teach myself how to write on my own again, and knowing that it was all on me was pretty unnerving. But I feel like t...

  The wait is over: Hei’An are finally releasing their monumental post-progressive album imago, and the trailing piece in the band’s pentalogy of carefully crafted video singles, titled noises. Contradicting said title in an unexpected way, noises starts off slow and in a dignified manner, adding layers piece by piece until it all erupts in a festive crescendo with a positive message hidden deep inside: “Probably our favorite song off the record, it’s our most 'modern-sounding' song, with a lot of synths and pads, beautiful orchestrations and catchy melodies, with some progressive elements hidden in there, but really elegantly, so if you are not paying attention, it comes off as rather ‘simple’. It sounds huge, though – the whole song is a big buildup towards a majestic resolution for the end of the song. We are really looking forward to this one, it’s essentially about finding peace within yourself.” The official animated video for noises creates the perfect atmosphere for thi...

  Karnivool are sadly moving their 2022 UK and European tour back to January and February 2023 The band comments: “Having already rescheduled our European shows once, we have tried every which way to make them happen this year, but we are in the unavoidable position where we must move The Regeneration Tour - again. We could put out some lame excuse but that would be a disservice to all of you and to everyone who has tried so hard to make it happen. So here is the reality for a band from Perth, Western Australia: touring internationally is a risky business especially for artists who don’t want to compromise their show and we have always accepted that, but for us right now a significant financial blow - on top the pummelling we took in the last two years - would be, frankly, the end of the band. Between the extra costs around touring in a covid safe manner or having to cancel shows overseas at extremely short notice, insurance for covid being unavailable and now large currency flu...

  Progressive Slovenian metal quartet originally started out as a one-man project by Slovenian musician Matic Blagonič but has now evolved into a collective group of musicians keen to thrive in the Slovenian metal scene. They describe their sound as post-progressive-metal, effectively balancing heavy moments with tranquil sections. This is evident in their upcoming debut album 'imago' which will take you to dreamy and enthralling metal soundscapes. The concept album is about a journey through a man's inner hell and the challenge of overcoming inner demons and trauma, so it touches on themes such as depression, loss, and addiction and takes the listener through the circle of trials but endeavours to emerge with a hopeful and positive message through its lyrics and sounds. The opening atmospheric track 'semita tenebrarum' sets the scene and concept with a dramatic despairing spoken voice intro that starts out in a normal voice and then gets more sinister before instru...

Today, Heavy Group announces the return of the Heavy Music Awards (HMA) and the arrival of its spectacular new home for 2023, the OVO Arena Wembley on Friday 26 May. Since its inception in 2017, the HMAs has recognised the most influential and groundbreaking creatives in the heavy music landscape and certified itself as a staple of the heavy music awards calendar, with a move to OVO Arena Wembley now cementing the event as the largest rock music awards ceremony ever. Tickets are available now from https://www.heavymusicawards.com/ Historically championing creative efforts across the entire heavy music landscape, the HMA’s expansion to OVO Arena Wembley showcases a culture-wide shift, with heavy music being embraced by the mainstream. Over the years, HMA alumni have gone on to incredible critical and commercial success, including the likes of Nova Twins who progressed from the HMA line-up in 2019 to a Times Square billboard in 2021. As well as six-time HMA recipients, Architects, achie...

  AIRE COMO PLOMO (translates to AIR LIKE GUNFIRE), also known as A.C.P are a Colombian extreme band that combines Death grind, Thrash Metal and Hardcore Punk with elements of Avant-garde art and Latin-American horror and folklore. An intriguing concoction! The name is commonly referred to as a metaphor for a forced and daily inhale of violence and savagery, and they are inspired by the work of León Ferrari and the meaningless story behind the Colombian ideological warfare and injustice system. They have recently unleashed their new single titled 'Erase The One', which is a call to rise up against fear, the establishment and idols fueled by the horrors of armed conflict. Mad About Rock caught up with guitarist Miguel Jiménez to learn more about the band, their new single and what they are currently working on. Firstly, let’s go back to the beginning. What are your earliest memories of music and the moment you decided you wanted to be a musician? Stretching as far as my mind can...