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EVANESCENCE recently returned with its first new rock recording in eight years, "The Chain (From Gears 5)". The band recorded its signature-rock version of the FLEETWOOD MAC classic following lead singer Amy Lee having lent her vocals to the launch trailer for the Xbox Game Studios' "Gears 5" for Xbox One, Windows 10, and Steam, from the massively popular "Gears Of War" series. The spot aired as part of a multi-million-dollar ad campaign last fall in conjunction with the launch of the game. "Gears 5" was Microsoft's most successful video game launch since Halo 4 in 2012. Behind-the-scenes footage from the making of "The Chain (From Gears 5)" video can be seen below. The clip was directed by P.R. Brown and produced by Steve Lamar. "The Chain" is the first release in what is expected to be a very active period for EVANESCENCE. Following their critically acclaimed foray into symphonic music with 2017's "Synthesis" album and world tour, the five-piece has re-emerged by embracing a heavier sound, albeit with their trademark style that has made EVANESCENCE integral in establishing a global, critical mass in rock, and among the most unique artists of the millennium. The band is currently working on new original music, which will start rolling out in 2020 in advance of their next studio album. Stay tuned for more details to come. Said Lee: "This cover was so fun to make. We love FLEETWOOD MAC and wanted to paint a dark and epic picture with our take on 'The Chain'. The lyrics make me feel the power of standing together against great forces trying to pull us apart, perhaps even from the inside. I really wanted to drive that home in our version, and even made everyone in the band sing by the end of it! We’re beyond excited to share this with our fans and I'm really looking forward to playing it live." EVANESCENCE will play at the Download festival in Tokyo in March. After a short break, the group head out on a massive co-headline tour of Europe with WITHIN TEMPTATION. The new batch of dates kicks off on April 4 in Brussels, Belgium and concludes in Birmingham, U.K. on May 1. EVANESCENCE then returns to the U.S. for a headline show at The Fillmore in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 14. All tickets are on sale now and can be purchased on the band’s official web site. "Synthesis" sold 34,000 equivalent album units in its first week of release to land at position No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart. Of that sum, 30,000 were in traditional album sales. EVANESCENCE's 2011 self-titled release debuted at No. 1. "Synthesis" was the group's fourth top 10 effort, following "Evanescence", "The Open Door" (No. 1 in 2006) and "Fallen" (No. 3, 2003). In 2018, Lee told the 93.3 WMMR Rocks! radio station that she wasn't opposed to the idea of releasing singles and EPs instead of full-length albums, especially as streaming services like Spotify continue to alter the way people consume music. "I just think it's cool to be able to have this freedom to commit to less and do more," she said. "I'm totally open to doing a few songs instead of an album here and there, and see what happens."

Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach has announced STITCHED UP HEART as the opening act on his spring 2020 North American tour celebrating the 31st anniversary of SKID ROW's debut album. Bach explained his choice of support acts in a social media post on Wednesday (January 22). He wrote: "In the 31 years since the 1st record came out, I have always prided myself on choosing killer opening bands for you to rock out to before we come on the stage. It all started back in 1992 with a little band you may have heard of called PANTERA back on the 'Slave To The Grind' tour. They released 'Vulgar Display Of Power' a month into our tour and the rest is history. After that we took out a band called SOUNDGARDEN you may have heard of them. Then it was NINE INCH NAILS! Hello Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, you've come a long way baby! And most recently SANTA CRUZ, ONE BAD SON, Monte Pittman, KOBRA AND THE LOTUS..... All of these musicians + crew, consummate professionals on quite gruelling runs! 'Cause that's the way we like to do it! "We've been searching for a cool band for the 31st Anniversary Tour and I saw a video by STITCHED UP HEART," he continued. "I clicked on it and I really dug what I saw + heard! I think you guys are going to dig this band! They have a new record coming out so y'all got some new tunes to get into while we do the first record 'Skid Row' in its entirety, front to back! Looking forward to the tour with STITCHED UP HEART check out their video! Don't miss this show! Tickets and VIP packages available now at http://www.SebastianBach.Com" Bach's 2020 tour will kick off on March 25 in Blue Lake, California and conclude on May 11 in San Francisco, California. On the fall 2019 leg of the tour, Bach usually opened the 15-song set with "Tornado" — the LP's final track — and "Forever" before the singer performed the rest of "Skid Row" in order. As an encore, Sebastian played two songs from SKID ROW's 1991 album "Slave To The Grind": "The Threat" and "Monkey Business". In June, Bach issued an "open invitation" to the other members of SKID ROW's classic lineup to "get onstage and jam" during the vocalist's recent tour. A few days later, during an interview with Finland's Kaaos TV, guitarist Dave "Snake" Sabo confirmed that he would not accept Bach's latest overture. "I'm working with my band," he said. "This is SKID ROW, and this is what I do." Drummer Rob Affuso — who left SKID ROW in 1998 and claims to be "the only former member that keeps in contact with all former SKID ROW bandmates and is still good friends with them all" — subsequently joined Bach on September 25 at Sony Hall in New York City to play the band's classic song "Makin' A Mess". Asked by Rolling Stone if he thinks his former bandmates are offended that he put his invitation out there publicly, Bach said: "No. I think it's an ego thing. They don't like when I get attention, and they don't get attention. It's always been like that. I can already see them getting mad, because I'm selling out shows, and they're not part of the show, and blah, blah, blah." In the 31 years since the 1st record came out, I have always prided myself on choosing killer opening bands for you to... Posted by Sebastian Bach on Wednesday, January 22, 2020

SEPULTURA singer Derrick Green has revealed to The Underground Australia that the band recently completed filming a video for the song "Means To An End". The track is taken from SEPULTURA's upcoming album, "Quadra", which will be released on February 7 via Nuclear Blast Records. "We just did the video here — we worked on it here in São Paulo [Brazil] — so I'm really looking forward to that to be released," Derrick said (hear audio below). "And it's another banger — really thrashy song, extremely heavy. And I think it'll match up perfectly with the other two singles" — referring to previously released songs "Isolation" and "Last Time" — "because now you get to hear the first part of the album — [songs] one, two and three — back to back. But the whole album in its entirety is very important to hear." "Quadra" is a concept album created at Sweden's Fascination Street Studios with renowned producer Jens Bogren. It will be followed by a world tour starting in March. SEPULTURA comprises Green, guitarist Andreas Kisser, bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr., and drummer Eloy Casagrande. Kisser previously stated about working with Bogren on "Quadra": "He is so full of passion, it's unbelievable, man. He's really there, he really cares about the projects he's doing. For SEPULTURA, he's like the fifth member of the band. The chemistry was so amazing, 99 percent of what we were trying do to actually worked. That was insane!" Green added: "The experience was like no other time in the studio. I felt the preparation was key in making the recording process go as smooth as possible. We were relentless each day giving everything that we had until complete exhaustion of the mind, body, and soul. This album is a direct result of the sign of times. The music is an evolution needed to push ourselves to go further than we ever have." SEPULTURA was formed in Belo Horizonte by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, who are no longer with the band. "Quadra" is the follow-up to 2017's "Machine Messiah", which was SEPULTURA's fourteenth studio album and the eighth since Green joined the ranks. Lyrically, the disc tackled the metaphorical robotization of society and the need to follow and worship someone.

During a January 20 appearance on SEX PISTOLS guitarist Steve Jones's radio show, "Jonesy's Jukebox", on the 95.5 KLOS station in Los Angeles, GUNS N' ROSES bassist Duff McKagan spoke about his involvement with Ozzy Osbourne's upcoming album, "Ordinary Man". Recorded in Los Angeles, the LP features Andrew Watt on guitars, McKagan on bass and Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS) on drums. Asked how he came to play on the record, McKagan said (see video below): "The session I got called to do. I'd been playing these gigs with Chad Smith, the drummer from the CHILI PEPPERS — these wild cover-band things. Like, we'd play VAN HALEN with Taylor Hawkins singing and Mike McCready playing guitar. And we played Montana. But playing with Chad, playing bass, he's such an aggressive drummer, and our styles are pretty similar. And we love playing with each other as a rhythm section. "This guy Andrew Watt called," Duff continued. "I think it was a Saturday, and I happened to be in L.A. He said, 'Do you have some days this week in the daytime? I need to write an Ozzy record. We have four days to do it.' So, we showed up at Andrew's studio. Everything was kind of set up — Chad's drum kit was set up. And it was basically one of those things: 'Who's got a riff?' And it was really inspired. The three of us — Andrew Watt and Chad and myself — we'd never written together, and that can go sideways in a hot second. But it didn't. The first riff that we threw down… Mick Bob was there, my tech. He's, like, 'You know Ozzy likes THE BEATLES. Make sure there's some BEATLES in there.' So we just [approached it like], 'Who's got a riff, man?' And we just threw down in four days and wrote nine songs. 'Ordinary Man', the ballad, with Elton John on it, is one of 'em. And 'Straight To Hell' [was another one]. I think we wrote and recorded nine songs in four days, and the sounds and everything, which is perfect. And that was it. We were done." According to Duff, he, Watt and Smith "wrote all the music" for "Ordinary Man" and contributed "melody ideas" before Osbourne got involved in the project. "Ozzy came and Ozzy just loved it," McKagan said. "He just came in and started writing words and laid down the vocals. And it was kind of like that. There was definitely urgency to the whole situation. We had so much time to do it, which was only four days… So, it just happened to work out great. And I think the record is really, really good." Three songs from "Ordinary Man" have been released so far: the anti-drug anthem "Straight To Hell", featuring a guitar solo by GUNS N' ROSES' Slash; the ballad "Under The Graveyard", which was Osbourne's first new solo song in nearly a decade; and the "Ordinary Man" title track, which is Ozzy's duet with Elton John. Also appearing on the disc are Post Malone and Tom Morello. "It all just came together," Ozzy previously said of the guest stars. "Slash is a dear friend of mine, as is Elton. When I was writing 'Ordinary Man', it reminded me of an old Elton song and I said to Sharon, 'I wonder if he would sing on it?' We asked, and lo and behold, he agreed and sings and plays piano on the song." The "Ordinary Man" album will be released on February 21.

SYSTEM OF A DOWN drummer John Dolmayan will release his solo debut, "These Grey Men", on February 28. The eight-song LP contains covers of tracks by such varied artists as Madonna, RADIOHEAD, AFI, Eminem and David Bowie. The official music video for the disc's first single, a reworking of RADIOHEAD's "Street Spirit", can be seen below. The song features a guitar solo from RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Tom Morello, as well as contributions from AVENGED SEVENFOLD vocalist M. Shadows, guitarist James Hazley, bassist Tom Copossela and keyboardist Danny Shamoun. "This song in particular is a really touching and moving song," Dolmayan told Rolling Stone. "I love the morose, in-your-room-and-it's-raining-outside, it's cold and your girlfriend dumped you feeling that this song always gave me… But when I listened to it, I'd be, like, 'I kinda wish the drums came in earlier,' or, 'How would [John] Bonham approach this song if this was a [LED] ZEPPELIN song?' Because I'm such a fan of the song, I wanted to do a version of it in homage." M. Shadows said about the track: "When John told me he wanted to reimagine some of his favorite songs for an album, I was very intrigued. I've always respected RADIOHEAD but wasn't familiar with their full catalog. When John sent 'Street Spirit', I instantly was blow away by the sounds. Since then, I have been on a huge RADIOHEAD kick. Adding Tom Morello to our version was the icing on the cake. I feel this recording stays true to the original while adding John's overall vision." The "Street Spirit" clip was directed by Vicente Cordero of Industrialism Films. "These Gray Men" also features Dolmayan's SYSTEM OF A DOWN bandmate Serj Tankian on a cover of David Bowie's "Starman" and the TALKING HEADS' "Road To Nowhere". "These Gray Men" track listing: 01. Hung Up (MADONNA) 02. Street Spirit (RADIOHEAD) 03. Beautiful Thieves (AFI) 04. Road To Nowhere (TALKING HEADS) 05. Rock Bottom (EMINEM) 06. Runaway (DEL SHANNON) 07. Starman (DAVID BOWIE) 08. What You Know (TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB)

GREY DAZE, the mid-1990s band that bore one of rock music's most iconic frontmen, Chester Bennington, has released a documentary that highlights both the group's Phoenix-based origins and Bennington's vision to bring GREY DAZE's music into the modern era. The clip, which can be seen below, opens with footage of Bennington announcing the GREY DAZE reunion, which is followed by the surviving GREY DAZE band members (Sean Dowdell, Mace Beyers and Cristin Davis) recounting their collective plans for 2017. Bennington's parents lovingly recall the moment when the 15-year-old Chester asked permission to join the group and their amazement in what the GREY DAZE bandmembers were able to do with the release. The documentary also takes fans behind-the-scenes into the recording of the forthcoming album, with guests such as KORN's Brian "Head" Welch and James "Munky" Shaffer, Chris Traynor (BUSH, HELMET, ORANGE 9MM) detailing the passion and emotion that has been poured into the project. "What's In The Eye", the first single from the as-yet-untitled Loma Vista Recordings album, arrived last Thursday. Rolling Stone said the single "finds the 17-year-old Bennington crooning and screaming over a moody mix of murky clean guitar and pile driving riffs" while Revolver said the track "showcases Bennington's iconic voice in a fresh context." Originally recorded in 1993 and 1996, "What's In the Eye" was re-written and modernized by GREY DAZE under the guidance of producers Traynor, Kyle Hoffman and Jay Baumgardner. Using Chester's original vocals, the song showcases that, even at the age of 17, Chester was already "delivering intense, almost physically palpable emotion" (New York Times). "What's In The Eye" was written lyrically in different phases by both Sean and Chester collaboratively. Before he sang, screamed, and serenaded audiences of millions throughout his storied career in LINKIN PARK and a host of other projects, Chester cut his teeth in GREY DAZE. The band released a pair of albums ("Wake Me" and "No Sun Today") but, unsurprisingly, was lacking the expertise and financial resources to fulfill its vision. In 2017, Chester announced a GREY DAZE reunion which would see the band members, now with those previously lacking resources, re-working and re-recording a collection of songs from those early releases. The resulting music represents an important, yet unheard chapter — the origin story of one of modern rock's most recognizable voices — and also a full circle moment among friends. In a 2001 interview with Revolver magazine, Chester described GREY DAZE's musical style as "early-'90s -style rock. It wasn't pop rock, it wasn't heavy metal. It was in between grunge and good rock. We didn't know what we were doing. We were just writing songs and singing. It was a four-piece band. Some of our songs were more rock. Others were more, I don't know, alternative? I've always been into punk and classic rock. The first few years of being a musician, it was all cover band stuff, and we'd throw in a few originals. The last band I was in, I was in it for almost eight years. We made two albums, and tried really hard." He added: "I definitely know why it didn't go anywhere: We all wanted to make it, but we all wanted to make it for different reasons. It wasn't all about making good songs, where anything else that comes from that is a fringe benefit." Bennington was found dead in his Los Angeles-area home in July 2017 after hanging himself. LINKIN PARK headlined an all-star tribute concert for Bennington in October 2017 in Los Angeles but has not announced any future plans for recording or touring. Photo credit: Tom Preston

PEARL JAM guitarist Stone Gossard spoke about the band's upcoming album, "Gigaton", in a new interview with Zane Lowe on Beats 1 radio. One day after PEARL JAM shared "Dance Of The Clairvoyants", the first single and video from the disc, Gossard said the track represents "the outer edge of something that we haven't tried before, a new way of configuring our sort of collaborative talents." But he went on to say that fans shouldn't expect the rest of the record to follow the same musical path. 'There's definitely some really straight-ahead rock songs," he said, according to Rolling Stone. "There's some very spare and very simple ballads. It's got it all, I think. And it's really us. We really did it by ourselves. [Eddie Vedder] did a great job. There was a pile of songs and he sort of took and really, really, in the last two months, mixed and sort of selected the tracks that really were going to be special. And he did such a great job of bringing everybody's personalities out. It was probably different than any of us would've made individually, but it really captures, I think, the spirit of the band." Gossard also discussed the sometimes abstract and metaphorical meanings that Vedder is imprinting in the new PEARL JAM songs. "He's not going to come out and say exactly in sort of very plain language maybe what you might think after reading the newspaper," Stone said. "But I think that his mysticism and his way of using words and art and music is a powerful sort of tonic. I think that underlying it all is going to continue to be a hopeful and beautiful but at times tragic message." "Gigaton" arrives on March 27 and is PEARL JAM's first studio album since 2013's Grammy-winning "Lightning Bolt". In support of "Gigaton", PEARL JAM will embark on its first leg of North American tour dates in March and April, kicking off on March 18 in Toronto.

SLAYER has warned fans about fake tickets for a 2020 performance by the band at a Swedish festival. Earlier today, SLAYER took to social media to write: "WARNING TO SLAYER FANS! There are tickets being offered on Viagogo for a SLAYER performance at Sweden Rocks [sic] June 2020. Buyer beware this is a resale site with inaccurate information SLAYER WILL NOT PERFORMING." SLAYER played its final concert on November 30, 2019 at the Forum in Los Angeles. One day later, Ayesha King, wife of SLAYER guitarist Kerry King, said that there is "not a chance in hell" that the thrash metal icons will reunite for more shows following the completion of their farewell tour. Back in April 2018, Tom Araya's wife said that he had not questioned his decision to embark on one final SLAYER tour before the band called it quits. Sandra Araya, who has been married to the SLAYER frontman for more than 20 years, told the Metal Pulp And Paper web site that the announcement that the band was pulling the plug on its nearly four-decade-long career didn't come as a surprise to her. "Not to me," she said. "I can't comfortably go into too much detail. I'll just leave it with a no." Asked if the decision to end SLAYER was a difficult one for Tom and Kerry to make, Sandra said: "Tom never second-guesses any decision he makes. I have no idea about Kerry." Sandra also confirmed that she and Tom had "some ideas and plans" for how they plan to spend their post-SLAYER years, although she did not offer any details. When SLAYER first announced that it was embarking on its final tour back in January 2018, Ayesha assured fans that they would "always get music" from her husband. King has said in previous interviews that his post-SLAYER musical efforts would not be much different from the sound fans have grown accustomed to hearing from him. WARNING TO SLAYER FANS! There are tickets being offered on Viagogo for a Slayer performance at Sweden Rocks June... Posted by Slayer on Thursday, January 23, 2020

Australian metal band PARKWAY DRIVE has announced "Viva The Underdogs", the soundtrack to the band's documentary film by the same name, to be released March 27. Featuring 11 live tracks from the band's 2019 headlining set at German heavy metal festival Wacken Open Air, the soundtrack also includes three studio tracks recorded in German; "Würgegriff (Vice Grip)", "Die Leere (The Void)" and "Schattenboxen (Shadow Boxing)", which features German rapper Casper. Today, the band shares both the live version and the German version ("Die Leere") of "The Void", previously off the band's sixth studio album, "Reverence". "This was hands down one of the most unique projects we've undertaken,” says vocalist Winston McCall on recording "Die Leere" ("The Void"). "The idea of taking our songs and interpreting them through another language was a massive challenge, but considering the amount of time, love and support that has been shown to us over the years we wanted to commit to doing the project with full integrity. The result is every effort being made to translate the meaning, spirit, and conviction of these songs in a language that is not our own. We hope the result helps to strengthen the connection this music creates. We offer you these songs out of respect and our heartfelt thanks for all the times you have sung them with us in their original forms. We hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed the process of creating them." The documentary "Viva The Underdogs" features over a decade of behind-the-scenes personal footage, coupled with unprecedented access to the band's most explosive live tours and world's biggest music festivals. The film gives an incredibly honest and candid look at PARKWAY DRIVE's 15-year underdog journey; the good times, battles, triumphs, and sacrifices. "Viva The Underdogs" soundtrack track listing 01. Prey (Live at Wacken) 02. Carrion (Live at Wacken) 03. Karma (Live at Wacken) 04. The Void (Live at Wacken) 05. Idols (Live at Wacken) 06. Dedicated (Live at Wacken) 07. Absolute Power (Live at Wacken) 08. Wild Eyes (Live at Wacken) 09. Chronos (Live at Wacken) 10. Crushed (Live at Wacken) 11. Bottom Feeder (Live at Wacken) 12. Würgegriff (Vice Grip) 13. Die Leere (The Void) 14. Schattenboxen (Shadow Boxing) (feat. Casper) PARKWAY DRIVE is a five-piece metal band from Byron Bay, Australia formed in 2002. The band features vocalist Winston McCall, guitarists Luke Kilpatrick and Jeff Ling, bassist Jia O'Connor, and drummer Ben Gordon. Photo credit: Dave Lepage

DISTURBED has released a new music video for the song "Hold On To Memories". The clip was directed by Matt Mahurin, who has previously directed DISTURBED's "The Sound Of Silence" music video. The band previously issued a live visual for the same track. "Hold On To Memories"'s message is a powerful and universal one: as long as you keep someone's memory with you, a piece of them is still alive. The message is also a timely one, with many taking stock of the past year and decade. During DISTURBED's live show, the band performs the song alongside a video collage of its favorite memories, with photos and videos of their friends and families, both here and gone. During this part of each show, lead vocalist David Draiman asks the crowd to actively create these memories: "The people who have left us are never completely gone. They stay in our memory, and I encourage each and every one of you to live every day of your lives like it's the last day of your life, making memories that last forever with the people you care about and love. Shine your light on this world, everyone. Make memories that will last forever and cut through the darkness." This message is also reflected in the song's lyrics: "So now go do the best things in life / Bring the fight to this world while you can/ Make the most of the rest of your life /Shine your light on this world while you can/ And hold on to memories/ Hold on to every moment/ To keep them alive." Last September, DISTURBED's "No More" landed at position No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs airplay chart. The track, which was the third single from the band's 2018 album "Evolution", marked DISTURBED's seventh straight No. 1 on the chart. Each of DISTURBED's last seven singles has reached No. 1 on Mainstream Rock Songs, a feat unmatched by any artist. DISTURBED has a total of 10 Mainstream Rock Songs No. 1s. THREE DAYS GRACE holds the record with 15 No. 1s, followed by SHINEDOWN at 14 and VAN HALEN with 13.