The ninth studio album from US power/thrash veterans Meliah Rage called Idol Hands is out now and BraveWords has partnered up with the Boston legends for a series of in-studio video interviews discussing the band's past, present and future.

In this new clip, Anthony Nichols talks about bringing back two classic metal albums from the band's past:

Watch more videos from the session:

Singer Paul Sousa takes us back to his earliest influences and gives us a glimpse into the foundation of his intensely athletic singing style:

Anthony Nichols talks with "Metal" Tim about his favorite picks from the new album:

Paul Sousa talks politics and writing the new album, specifically the song “Absolute Power”:

Anthony Nichols talks about sustaining an injury that could have ended his days as a guitar player, pain and recovery, and what the future holds for the band:

Paul Sousa discusses his battle with depression and how he overcame his demons to write the newest Meliah Rage masterpiece:

Anthony Nichols discusses the return of singer Paul Sousa:

Nichols discusses 30 years of killing to survive:

Idol Hands marks the return of Paul Souza (the vocal powerhouse that replaced original singer Mike Munro and can be heard on 2004's Barely Human, 2006's The Deep And Dreamless Sleep and 2011's Dead To The World. The album is a veritable feast for power metal fans, complete with Nichols' unmatched rhythmic mastery and Souza’s versatile voice. Still killing to survive... 30 years strong!

And yes, the album title is quite significant, given the fact that Nichols broke his wrist in late 2013 and  was uncertain if he’d play guitar again after three serious surgeries. Meliah Rage is rounded off by original guitarist Jim Koury, drummer Stuart Dowie and bassist Darren Lourie.

About reuniting with singer Paul Souza, Nichols says: “We’ve always been in touch. Paul and I will be friends until death. Of course we will bicker about this and that, but that’s what singers and guitar players do. Joe Perry and Steven Tyler will die in the same coffin, but they will spat with each other. That’s what you do.”

“We are always texting about the Celtics, the Patriots or how are the kids doing,” Souza adds. “We are big time sports junkies. We go back and forth about all kinds of different things. We are going to be friends forever.”

Check out a glowing BraveWords review of Idol Hands at this location and watch for a major BraveWords feature on Meliah Rage in the coming weeks.

BraveWords flew to Boston in February to witness the filming of two videos from the album; “Dark As Your Thoughts” (which can be viewed below) and “Idol Hands”, produced by Brad Pichi and Brandon Maxham from Omnidawn Productions. Photos by Sephora Hosein from the journey can be viewed in the gallery here.

Idol Hands is available to order on CD and  as digital download (in lossless formats) from their Bandcamp page. The album will be distributed digitally soon by CD Baby and made available also from iTunes, Amazon MP3, eMusic and other retailers.

Idol Hands tracklisting:

“The Kill-All Rule”
“Dark As Your Thoughts”
“Idol Hands”
“Crushed Beneath My Heel”
“Sentenced To Life”
“Absolute Power”
“Infernal Bleeding”
“Where Darkness Lies”

“Dark As Your Thoughts” video:

“Infernal Bleeding”:

Production credits:

Produced, mixed and mastered by: Peter Rutcho
Rhythym guitars: recorded by John Bean Cats Liar Studios
Drums: recorded by Joel Hopkins at Red Devil Studios
Lead guitar and bass: recorded by Peter Rutcho
Vocals: recorded and produced by Rich Spillberg at Solstice Studios