Heavy metal icons, The Rods, have been announced to replace Metal Church on the bill for Time To Rock Festival, taking place July 5-8 at Knislinge Folkets Park in Knislinge, Sweden.

Organizers have issued the following:

"American, classic metal from the 80s, fronted by singer and guitarist David Feinstein - The Rods! Between 1967 and 1973, David Feinstein was in the band Elf with his cousin, Ronnie James Dio. David managed to quit the band before Elf became classic Rainbow and around 1980 he formed and drummer Carl Canedy The Rods, which was a much harder band than the two previously mentioned. One can find similarities with both Saxon and Manowar. The band had a hiatus between 1986 and 2010, but has since the reunion been all the time active. In addition to David and Carl, the band today consists of bassist Freddy Villano. The trio has just released the full-length Rattle The Cage to great reviews. With song titles such as "Let Them Eat Metal", "Brotherhood of Metal", "I Just Wanna Rock", "Born To Rock" and more, we can expect hard rock poetry of the best kind when The Rods enter our stage in Knislinge for first time. The gig will also be the only one in Sweden, so don''t miss this! WE think we have succeeded in finding a worthy replacement. Hope you agree with us."

Festival tickets here; further details here.

The Rods' new studio offering, Rattle The Cage, is available as CD Digipak, Ltd. Vinyl LP and Digital formats via Massacre Records. Order here.

Heavy, dark, deep, insightful, and maybe even a bit more inciteful than ever before: Rattle The Cage is The Rods at their incendiary best! Lyrically, they’ve taken a cue from David "Rock" Feinstein’s cousin, Ronnie James Dio, providing the listener with a similar sense of hope and resiliency in the face of an ever-changing world. Musically, the band is tighter than ever! Founding members David "Rock" Feinstein and Carl Canedy are joined by new bassist Freddy Villano (Quiet Riot, Widowmaker), and the results are simply sublime: The songs are rhythmically tighter, yet more musically unbound, the grooves heavier, and the melodies more dynamic.

Mixed and mastered by Chris Collier, Rattle The Cage benefits from his masterful, modern touch, with the kind of sound that will simultaneously appeal to core fans as well as new generations of listeners! The Rods epitomize the term power-trio, and the word “power” has never been more evident in their music than it is now. 2024 will mark The Rods' 45th anniversary, in support, they will be playing many special dates and performances to commemorate 45 years together. With such an impressive history firmly notched in their collective belt, The Rods are still firing on all cylinders, and as eager as ever to crank it up, louder than loud!

Rattle The Cage tracklisting:

"Now And Forever"
"Wolves At The Door"
"Cry Out Loud"
"Rattle The Cage"
"Can’t Slow Down"
"Metal Highways"
"Hell Or High Water"
"Play It Loud"
"Shockwave"
"Hearts Of Steel"

"Now And Forever" visualizer:

"Play It Loud" video:

"Shockwave" video:

"Rattle The Cage" video:

The Rods are:

David “Rock” Feinstein – Vocals, Guitars
Freddy Villano – Bass
Carl Canedy – Drums