ASHEN HORDE’s Fallen Cathedrals is out through Extreme Metal Music/Rockshots Records. The band is influenced by DEVIN TOWNSEND and OPETH.

WAR CLOUD will enter Louder Studio in Grass Valley, CA in May to track new album State Of Shock. The band is also completing several shows and has recruited guitarist Jesse Serrano.

Greece-based progressive band LIGHTFOLD has signed with Pitch Black Records, which will issue the band's Deathwalkers album on April 5th.

Lion Music is issuing JOE STUMP’s Symphonic Onslaught and LARS ERIC MATTSSON’s Into The Darkness albums.

Italy-based SOUL SELLER has recruited Alex "Wallino" Rimoldi on keyboards, Stefania Sarre on bass and Dale Sanders on lead guitar. The band is working on a new release for 2020.

Following up its self-titled demo of 2018 SYLENT STORM is playing live across the USA for the rest of the year.

DEF LEPPARD was inducted by QUEEN’s Brian May into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in March.

Guitarist Bernie Torme (Solo, OZZY OSBOURNE, GILLAN, etc.) died of pneumonia on March 17th. He was 66.

AIRFORCE, featuring Doug Sampson, is conducting a mini-tour of USA in April.

Michael Schenker's MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST project will release an album, entitled Revelation, through Nuclear Blast on August 23rd.

ATREIDES has been booked at Sala La Fábrica De Chocolate for Festival Rock Children on December 14th.

Melodic doom metal band TRUE WISDOM has a demo called Towards. The band is based in Macedonia.

Guitar nomad Ira Black is now in DARK SKY CHOIR. He has travelled through METAL CHURCH, LIZZY BORDEN, VICIOUS RUMORS and many others.

Former AEROSMITH guitarist Jimmy Crespo injured his head in a fall, but is fine now.

Sneakout Records and Burning Minds Music Group have signed Italy-based hard rockers, X-PLICIT, for the release of the debut album, Like A Snake. It is expected in May and is compared to AEROSMITH, SKID ROW, etc.

Comatose has signed Thailand-based INTRICATED.

In advance of recording a debut album, ODTHRYMM — featuring former members of MY DYING BRIDE and VALLENFYRE — has released a video for its song We Are The Dead.

Finland-based NONE DARE CALL IT CONSPIRACY has a video for the track The Shaming, which is taken from the Pawns And Kings album. It is out through Wormholedeath/Aural Music Group/Disk Union Distribution.

MANOWAR has recruited drummer Anders Johansson formerly of HAMMERFALL. The band will issue The Final Battle I, a first of three EPs next month.

A US judge in Michigan has denied GRAND FUNK RAILROAD's request for a preliminary injunction to bar former singer Mark Farner from using the MARK FARNER'S AMERICAN BAND monicker. The man and his band will tour Brazil and Russia while the court proceedings continue.

LORDI's bassist Ox will leave the rockers following this summer's festival appearances.

STRANA OFFICINA’s Law of The Jungle is out through Jolly Roger records on 19.04.2019.

WINGER has announced that the band will issue a new album in 2020.

CONSTANTINE has a new solo record entitled 'Aftermath. It features guest appearances by members from PRIMAL FEAR, SOILWORK, and DESTRUCTION. Aftermath is out through Rockshots Records on 31.05.2019.

Per Wiberg (OPETH, SPIRITUAL BEGGARS, CANDLEMASS, etc.) will issue a solo record called Head Without Eyes through Despotz Records in May.

CRASHDÏET has re-signed with Frontiers and is working on a new album.

Sweden-based heavy metal band VANQUISHER has a single called Shadows Over Stygia.

Yet another project: L.A. GUNS' Tracii Guns and STRYPER's Michael Sweet have a project called SUNBOMB and a deal with nostalgia label Frontiers. In the meantime, L.A. GUNS has lost drummer Shane Fitzgibbon and replaced him with Scot Coogan (LITA FORD, etc.). The drummer will work in the studio and session.

LOUDNESS will release a 2CD and DVD package called Live In Tokyo through earMUSIC on May 17th.

Any band or album older than ten years is called “legendary.” What a crock.

AEPHANEMER - PROKOPTON
The Toulouse, France band started life as a one-man band with Martin Hamiche having handled everything himself. Since 2015 that has changed and Prokopton is the quartet's second release after 2016's Memento Mori. Two female members, Marion Bascoul and Lucie Woaye Huneare, are part of the band now. Marion's vocals are not exactly feminine and needed a second look to make sure she is indeed singing on this eight (seven plus the instrumental intermission called At Eternity's Gate) song release. Hamiche has retreated to be the band's guitar player and song writer now. Melodic death metal is the style attributed to Aephanemer. It comes complete with synthesizers of course and do they ever make use of them. Songs like Dissonance Within feature sections with enjoyable guitar work not drowned by the extra instrument but overall the band could make their primary metal instruments stand out more. Snowblind promises more with a speedy start but doesn't sustain it. The songs are more upbeat rather than anything gloomy and Back Again is one example of this musical outlook. The 9 minutes closer, If I Should Die, is an extended version of the songs before. The lyrics are very much of the self-introspection type and Marion repeatedly questions her place and state of mind.
The album artwork is by Niklas Sundin's (Dark Tranquillity) Cabin Fever Media and the album is mixed by Dan Swano. Head over to music.aephanemer.com. – Anna Tergel

METALEPTIC FIT - Same and LET'S BUILD ANOTHER WALL
Metaleptic Fit is a one-man band and the man calls himself The Reverend. The Chicago based clergy claims to play a mix of industrial and death metal and bring the heaviest metal to the masses while drawing influence from Sepultura, Pantera and Deicide. The two song self-titled single includes Prey On Thee and She's Calling Me. The first song is an attempt to be heavy, the success of it is questionable. The second has The Reverend adapting a horror villain voice in his attempt to add another dimension and more heaviness to the song. The instruments and indeed the vocals themselves are too low in the production to achieve sufficient impact.
The second single feature a solitary three minute song called Let's Build Another Wall. The lyrics mention several proposals for walls. One around the house, another on the north, south, around the cities and more! In any other era this could easily be seen as a parody of the criminality around the world but in the 21st century idiocracy can anyone be sure? The man's Facebook seems to indicate The Reverend is indeed against the wall proposed by Trump. www.facebook.com/metalepticfit to make sure. – Anna Tergel

IRONIC PUNISHMENT DIVISION - COME AND TAKE IT
Ironic Punishment Division is an one man band from Ohio, US and this five song EP is the 4th release with the first being 2005's The Mind Is An Enemy. There was a long gap between the first and subsequent releases. Neil Hess is the man and labels his music as doom metal and stoner rock. His influences include Black Sabbath and The Melvins. The opener is the title track and features an almost Ozzy like vocals. This makes at least some sense since Hess is also known for being in a Cleveland area Black Sabbath tribute band known as Sabbatoz. Many Sickly Sparrows is an add song and is kind of sludgy with a very thick riff. Empty Chair is more melancholic and is closer to an intermission type than a full song. Don't Say His Name is a more standard song, mid paced and does have some semblance of metal in it even though the lyrics are too few verses. These five songs end with different take or cover of Journey's Separate Ways. The man's Facebook page is filled with pro-Trump posts which beg the question if the music should matter at all...the answer is probably not. Check the bandcamp page instead, if you must. It is at ironicpunishmentdivision.bandcamp.com. – Anna Tergel