In this week’s Weekly Heavy Metal News recap video we look at SLEEP TOKEN touring, a new TESTAMENT album, MERCYFUL FATE’s new bassist and ASKING ALEXANDRIA losing a key member
You can check out the video below.
First we look at TESTAMENT guitarist Alex Skolnick confirming the band’s new album is on the way. Skolnick revealed the news in a recent talk with 96.7 KCAL-FM radio show “Wired In The Empire”, where Alex said: “Well, we got delayed a little bit by the fact that 2020 basically didn’t exist [due to the coronavirus pandemic]. It’s a year that went away.
“And then there was so much touring to make up for. And for about a year of that, we had Dave Lombardo [ex-SLAYER] on drums, which was fantastic. And he’s become a great friend and a great musician, but he’s also spread very thin in many different bands. And now we have Chris Dovas [playing drums with us]. And he’s a guy old enough to be any of our sons. But he is just unbelievable. He really brings the right energy. I mean, he brings the energy that the music had in the early days.
“So, yeah, we’ve been working with him on new material. I know Eric‘s [Peterson, TESTAMENT guitarist] been getting together with him. Eric has been on the East Coast a couple of times and we’ve gotten together and hashed out material. So between their sessions and my sessions and the recordings that we have, there’s a lot of sketches that are done on digital audio workstations. There’s a lot — there’s a lot of stuff. I made a list and there’s almost a couple of dozen sketches that just need to be consolidated and arranged. [We have to] find the best parts, develop them a little more, add vocals, but it’s definitely well on its way.”
Also, Ben Bruce of ASKING ALEXANDRIA has revealed his decision to “take a step back” from the group to focus on family.
The guitarist and primary songwriter, who founded ASKING ALEXANDRIA in 2006, has been an integral part of all eight of the group’s studio albums, including the most recent full-length release, “Where Do We Go From Here?”, unveiled in 2023.
For nearly two decades, Bruce served as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and chief songwriter for ASKING ALEXANDRIA, making his departure a significant development in the band’s history.
Additionally, we look at MERCYFUL FATE‘s split with bassist Joey Vera and announcement that his replacement is Becky Baldwin.
Based in Birmingham, England, Becky previously filled in for Joey Vera during MERCYFUL FATE‘s fall 2022 tour when he was unavailable due to commitments with his long-standing group, ARMORED SAINT.
Becky said in a statement: “It is a great honor to now be a permanent member of MERCYFUL FATE. I can’t wait to join the recording of the new album.
“When I joined as a stand-in on the 2022 U.S. tour, the acceptance and encouragement from the fans was exceptional. A huge thanks to the band, team and fans for the warm welcome.
See you in Chile and Brazil this coming April.”
Notably, Becky co-founded the Bristol Rock Centre, a specialist private tuition company with a teaching and rehearsal studio in Mangotsfield. Her contributions extend to aiding the Rock school exam board in writing and proofing tuition/exam books, including notable titles like “Let’s Rock Bass” and the “Popular Music Theory” collection.
And finally, we look at SLEEP TOKEN announcing their 2024 North American tour dates.
The enigmatic British alt-metal act stirred intrigue earlier in the week by wiping their official Instagram page clean and then sharing a link to one of their songs, sparking speculation among fans.
The band now has a single post on their social media grid, announcing the North American tour set to kick off on April 27, with support from EMPIRE STATE BASTARD.
In a statement, SLEEP TOKEN directs interested attendees to register at teethofgod.com for their unique access code, gearing up for an exclusive presale window starting Wednesday at 10 AM local time.
The public on-sale is set for Friday, January 26 at 10am local time.
SLEEP TOKEN released their third studio album, “Take Me Back To Eden“, via Spinefarm, last May. The band also enjoyed a completely sold-out North American tour this past fall.