In a new interview with Chris Akin Presents, CHILDREN OF BODOM keyboardist Janne Wirman spoke about the December 2020 passing of the band's guitarist/vocalist Alexi Laiho. The 41-year-old died in his home in Helsinki, Finland after reportedly suffering from long-term health issues.

" In 2016, everything just went to hell with Alexi," Janne told Chris Akin Presents (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "And the remaining timing in the band is you know that you're watching your friend commit a slow suicide. You know, with his addictions, that he shouldn't drink, he shouldn't do this and this, and he keeps doing it daily, and you're, like, 'Fuck! This is not gonna end well.' So that is not fun."

Asked if there are things now that he wishes he would have done differently that he thinks could have changed things or saved Alexi from his downward spiral, Janne said: "Yes and no, 'cause at the same time, what I then later on learned about addictions is that — 'cause he didn't want help; he refused our help. So, a grown man who's decided kind of to die by his addiction, you can't help a person like that. They've made up their mind. And I don't think he wanted to die, but that's what he was doing. So it's crazy. And you try to help. And also he said it to me, and he made it perfectly clear that he's not gonna get sober ever again, and he's just gonna whatever. So, yes and no," Janne repeated. "There's, of course, things that could have been handled differently, but in the end, if a grown man decides to die by their addictions, that's what they're gonna do. If they're gonna refuse all help and they've fucking made up their mind, that's what's gonna happen."

Asked what kept him in in the band after Alexi told him that he had no intention of getting sober, Janne said: "Well, yeah, this is now the very end in 2016 to 2019. When he said that to me, I started making other plans and removing myself from the band. And it got so confusing. There's a book coming out about BODOM that explains everything, by the way. But I announced that I'm gonna leave the band [around] 2018… So it got so fucking confusing with Alexi. And then there were better times. And it was just a fucking mess."

CHILDREN OF BODOM's official book will be published in August via the London, U.K.-based publisher Rocket 88.

The book tells the story of the Finnish melodic death metal pioneers as an oral history in which Wirman, bassist Henkka Seppälä, drummer Jaska Raatikainen and early guitarist Alexander Kuoppala plus other former members, their friends and colleagues recall the 30-plus-year history of their career.

For the first time, members of the band tell the story of CHILDREN OF BODOM in their own words. Henkka, Janne and Jaska recall the founding of the band with their lost brother, guitarist/vocalist and main songwriter Alexi Laiho and the struggles, adventures and triumphs they experienced in the more than 30 years that followed. Drawing on personal memories and new interviews with the band conducted by Finnish best-selling author and longtime friend of the band Timo Isoaho, the official CHILDREN OF BODOM book tells the whole story, warts and all, of the groundbreaking melodic death metal band.

The book is available in two deluxe editions; the Signature is signed by Henkka, Janne, Jaska and Alexander, and preordering gives you the chance to have a name printed in the book — only at childrenofbodombook.com.

When the book was first announced, Henkka, Janne, Jaska and Alexander said in a statement: "Since we stopped making music and suffered the tragic loss of our brother Alexi, we've been remembering so many great times that we had together, and you can now read about those times in this book. It tells the full history of CHILDREN OF BODOM in our own words."

In December 2023, Seppälä and Wirman hosted a listening party for CHILDREN OF BODOM's latest live album, "A Chapter Called... Children Of Bodom (Final Show In Helsinki Ice Hall 2019)", at the Bodom Bar & Sauna in Espoo, Finland. The LP, which was recorded at CHILDREN OF BODOM's final concert on December 15, 2019 at the Black Box in Helsinki Ice Hall in Helsinki, Finland, was made available via Spinefarm. During the question-and-answer portion of the event, Wirman and Seppälä discussed their mindset going into CHILDREN OF BODOM's final concert, which took place a year before Laiho passed away due to alcohol-induced degeneration of the liver and pancreas connective tissue. Furthermore, Laiho had a cocktail of painkillers, opioids and insomnia medication in his system. He had suffered from long-term health issues leading up to his death.

Janne said: "I felt a sense of relief onstage [at the final concert] 'cause I was very tired of Alexi's problems and constant problems with one guy. And then this guy who was our best friend and who wrote all the music, all of a sudden from 2016 on, just became someone I didn't recognize anymore. He was a different person, and he was so overcome with his disease and problems and it got to the point in 2019 we decided that this can't go on anymore. And then this was the last show. It was short notice, and we [originally] had so much better plans for how to say goodbye to all the international fans, how to do a proper farewell around-the-world tour [during 2020-2022] and whatever. But now, something we did not know, was [that] the pandemic [would happen], obviously, and that would have canceled all of those plans anyway."

Added Henkka: "So it was kind of, like, in a way we are lucky that we had this confrontation within the band that made us decide to drop [the group] earlier than we were supposed to and have this final show that was recorded. Because if you would have kept on the original plan with Alexi that let's do a farewell tour until 2022, I think it was, so then the pandemic would have ruined everything. And we probably would have never had this kind of last proper souvenir."

Asked if it ever entered their minds that they could take a long break away from each other and then maybe regroup at a later date, Henkka quipped: "That would have been like a mature way of dealing with it." Janne said: "Our manager at the time, Steve, did ask me that, at the eve of the last show, Steve asked me that, 'Are you ever gonna play with Alexi again?' And I said, 'I would only [play with him] if he would seek help and become fully sober.' And I knew that wasn't an option, that he had decided at that point, unfortunately, that he's just gonna die by his addictions, which is horrible. And it's very sad, but I knew him well enough that there was no way that he's gonna get better. And then that's why somehow it was also a relief for me at the last show. I realized that I need to let go."

Added Henkka: "The problems were pretty bad — I mean, within the band, all the relations. And I don't think anybody could see a future anymore. So [putting the band to rest] was the only option at the time. I'm sure that Steve, our manager, had some hopes of a reunion show within some years, of course, because he's a businessman [laughs], but it didn't even cross my mind at that time."

Continued Janne: "That's why I said that at the time I said that I will never play again with Alexi, 'cause I knew that he will not get sober, he will not get help for his problems. And then it would've been a totally different opinion. If somehow any of us would've felt that, 'Okay, Alexi is gonna get help. He's gonna get better,' all of us would've been, like, 'Okay, fine. Let's give him a couple of years and then let's get back together.' But that was not foreseeable at the time."

Added Henkka: "At the time it was, it was an impossible point."

Released with the blessing of Laiho's estate, the concert album completes the legendary band's career which began in Espoo, Finland in 1993 as INEARTHED. Over their career, CHILDREN OF BODOM released ten studio albums, two live albums, two EPs, two compilation albums and one DVD. The final lineup of the group upon their split in 2019 consisted of Laiho (lead guitar, lead vocals),Raatikainen (drums),Seppälä (bass),Wirman (keyboards) and Daniel Freyberg (rhythm guitar).

In a July 2023 interview with BLABBERMOUTH.NET, Wirman opened up about the string of events that led to the band's 2019 demise and the deterioration of Laiho's health.

"Alexi's downfall started in 2016," Janne said. "I don't know what caused him to do that. He told me but didn't tell anyone else in the band — he made sure no one else was in the room — and told me, 'Dude, from now on, I'm going to drink until I die.' I said, 'Fuck, man. You can't say that to me.' He said it another time in 2018. I knew that was what he was doing — he said he wouldn't take any help for his medical issues. He was going to keep drinking. That's what he did, which is fucking crazy."

Janne continued: "A lot of people who haven't had a family friend or work buddy or someone who is sick with alcoholism, a lot of people don't understand you cannot help the person who doesn't want help. He had decided he didn't want help and would keep drinking until he died. That's what he did."

Wirmen then detailed BODOM's final years, beset by infighting largely stemming from Laiho's substance abuse issues. "The last years were pretty bad," he said. "There was a lot of bullshit. It's so crazy because he was in such a good place a couple of years before. He was happy about being sober and on tour, and the shows were good. I don't know what happened to him. Something pushed him over the edge where he decided, 'Fuck it. I'm going to keep drinking.'"

Alexi's ashes were buried in December 2021 — nearly a year after his tragic passing. He was laid to rest at the Malmi Cemetery, a large cemetery located in the Malmi district in Helsinki, Finland.

Alexi and Jaska founded CHILDREN OF BODOM in 1993, and the band was one of the most internationally acclaimed metal acts in Finland up until their very last farewell concert. In 2020, Alexi put together BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT, which recorded three songs and shot one music video, all of which were released posthumously.

Besides CHILDREN OF BODOM, Laiho had played in such acts as WARMEN, SINERGY, KYLÄHULLUT and THE LOCAL BAND. Awarded with a Metal Hammer Golden God and several other international prizes, the guitarist was also the main star, leading a group of one hundred guitar players at the Helsinki Festival in 2015 in "100 Guitars From Hel" — a massive concert piece he composed.

In 2022, Wirman, Raatikainen and Seppälä discussed publicly for the first time the circumstances that led to the band's split and ultimately Laiho's death. In an interview with Finland's Helsingin Sanomat, the three surviving members of CHILDREN OF BODOM said the real reason for the band's breakup was not that they wanted to stop touring in order to spend more time with their families, which is how Laiho explained it to Helsingin Sanomat in November 2019. Instead, what caused the group to split was Laiho's substance abuse, and that is also what eventually killed him a year after they went their separate ways.

Laiho's addiction began to take a serious toll on CHILDREN OF BODOM in 2008, when the band was the support act on a SLIPKNOT tour. In the ensuing years, Laiho promised his bandmates that he would not drink on the road anymore. Although he kept his word for a few years, Alexi "went into a tailspin again in 2016," according to Wirman. Laiho, who had a substantial income as COB's main songwriter (all other income, from gigs to merchandise, was split equally),repeatedly complained that his income was declining and threatened to pull himself out of the limited liability company, AA & Sewira Consulting Oy, he and the other members formed in 2003.

After CHILDREN OF BODOM's manager brought up Laiho's substance abuse at a business meeting in New York in early 2019, Alexi refused to go into rehabilitation but did agree to see a doctor. He was diagnosed with diabetes, and he began taking medication to treat the condition.

In the summer of 2019, Laiho filed an application with the Finnish Patent And Registration Office to register the CHILDREN OF BODOM name to Laiho. This infuriated his bandmates who saw this as an attempt to hijack the name and brand that was controlled by the group's LLC.

During CHILDREN OF BODOM's tour of Russia in October 2019, Laiho "was hitting the bottle like back in 2008," his bandmates told Helsingin Sanomat.

"I told Alexi that you don't usually drink starting at breakfast before a gig, and now you don't even warm up with the guitar before going on stage like you always do," Raatikainen recalled.

Laiho later apologized and stopped drinking for the last concerts of the tour.

"His hands were shaking for two days, but the gigs in Moscow and St Petersburg went pretty well," Raatikainen said.

Raatikainen, Seppälä and Wirman decided to go with Alexi's wish from a few years back and buy him out of the LLC. Laiho retained the rights to his music and was paid royalties on performances and record sales as before, but sold his part of the LLC that owns the name of the band and the merchandising rights.

According to the trio, Alexi was sober for CHILDREN OF BODOM's entire final tour of Finland in December 2019 and he "exchanged cordial messages" with them even after the start of the pandemic.

Alexi's sister Anna Laiho told Helsingin Sanomat that the three surviving members of CHILDREN OF BODOM "have the full support of our family."

Anna, Alexi's Australian wife Kelli Wright-Laiho and a few close friends attempted to get him professional help in the fall of 2020, but he refused.

"At heart, he was a warm and caring person, always ready to help others. But he had his demons, and he wanted to fight those alone", Alexi's sister said. "He wanted to make his own choices. For better or worse."
Teaser: Janne and Antti Wirmen from Warman and formerly of Children of Bodom! Some real world discussion about what, if anything, they could have done to save Alexi Laiho.

Full interview out now to subscribers on Locals, Odysee, Substack and Rumble Premium. Everywhere on 8/13! pic.twitter.com/ceQSD5Wc44

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During an appearance on a recent episode of the Iblis Manifestations podcast, Aaron Stainthorpe was asked about his current status with MY DYING BRIDE, seven months after it was announced that the renowned English doom metal band had recruited SWALLOW THE SUN vocalist Mikko Kotamäki to front MY DYING BRIDE for its live appearances in 2025. Aaron, who co-founded MY DYING BRIDE in 1990 with guitarist Andrew Craighan, responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, in fact, the last thing I heard was they're writing new material as well now, which is interesting. I have not heard from Andrew for over a year. And as me and him are the only founder members left… And we never had a manager. Me and Andrew managed as best we could for years and years and years. There was only one stint when we nearly got a manager — Ronnie James Dio's ex-wife, funnily enough. That was a long, long time ago. So me and Andrew figured, 'Well, we could probably do it.' So we had a go of it, and then we had this big bust-up — I can't even remember when it was now, a year ago, a year and a half. And I thought, 'We'll let it die down a bit, and when we come to our senses, we'll get around the table, thrash out our differences and reignite the band.' And then I saw they were gigging without me. So I thought, obviously there's no communication then. So, what do I do? I'll just keep doing what I do until there is some communication. And there still hasn't been. So I'm getting on with my life. I'm not gonna sit there and stew and wait for things to happen. I'm gonna crack on and maintain a busy schedule. But I've no idea who they're gonna use in the studio, if they do a new album. I don't even know if there's a record deal anymore, 'cause everything's gone pear shaped at Nuclear Blast. I don't even know if Nuclear Blast is operating as a full record label anymore. I've heard all kinds of weird stories. And I know for a fact that the guy I used to chat with at Nuclear Blast, he's not there anymore. So over the last couple of years there's been massive, massive changes. So I don't even know if MY DYING BRIDE have a deal. And if they do, I don't know where that leaves me. I've not left the band, and I haven't been kicked out, so I don't understand where we're gonna go. I don't know what the future is. But having been a founder member and in the band for 35 years, I'm not leaving. If they wanna do things without me, well, good luck to 'em."

When Iblis Manifestations host Shayan noted that "it sounds like quite a complicated situation" in light of the fact that a legal MY DYING BRIDE partnership exists between Aaron and Andrew, Stainthorpe concurred. "Yeah. And it'll only get more complicated," he said. "I don't fully understand it. You would hope and imagine that as a founder member who hasn't left, I would have some authority somehow, but it seems not. So I don't really know. I'm probably gonna have to seek legal advice at some point. Obviously, I didn't want to, and I don't want to, but if a record comes out, a MY DYING BRIDE record comes out, and I'm not on it, but I'm still officially the singer, I don't know legally what I'm supposed to do. So at some point, unfortunately, it looks like I might have to seek legal advice, which in this country we have the musicians' union, so it's not a problem. They've got all the experts. And I do know some people quite high up in the business. So I've got people with their finger on the pulse so I can chat with them and just see what's what. But I don't want to. I would just rather keep singing MY DYING BRIDE songs. But maybe I don't have a choice with that."

Aaron also clarified that his involvement with his new band HIGH PARASITE, which released its debut album, "Forever We Burn", last September via Candlelight/Spinefarm, didn't create any issues with MY DYING BRIDE, despite fan speculation to the contrary. "Yeah, there was never gonna be a conflict," he explained. "MDB do about 15 gigs a year, and [there is] sometimes three or four years between albums. I could be in 10 bands and it wouldn't affect the scheduling of MY DYING BRIDE. I spoke to [HIGH PARASITE bassist/vocalist Danny] Tombs [Lambert] back in the day and I said, 'Here's some MY DYING BRIDE gigs. Make sure there's no HIGH PARASITE [gigs] clashing, any clashing of any gigs at all.' And he said, 'Absolutely fine. That will not happen.' And, well, it never even got that far, because we had a big bust-up before then, and the gigs got canceled anyway.

"You don't sacrifice the main band for your smaller band," Aaron continued. "That doesn't happen. Can you imagine Lars Ulrich saying to METALLICA, 'Do you know what, guys? Can we cancel those big gigs, 'cause me and my mates wanna mess around in this other band?' It doesn't work that way. It doesn't happen like that. And it would be ridiculous to even think that. 'Cause I know some people think, 'Oh, Aaron's concentrating more on HIGH PARASITE than MY DYING BRIDE. So he sacrificed MY DYING BRIDE for HIGH PARASITE.' You don't do things like that. It's utterly, utterly ridiculous. And why would I? MY DYING BRIDE has been an absolute delight for me for 30-odd years. I'm not gonna let that go. And I'm certainly not gonna let another, a smaller band batter it out the way. It doesn't work like that. Literally every musician I know is in more than one band. It's easy. Anyone can do it. It's not an issue."

Asked if he has been in touch with any other members of MY DYING BRIDE, Aaron said: "I see Neil [Blanchett, guitar] every once in a while for a beer in Halifax. But zero communication with the others. They've all got my details."

Pressed as to whether he has tried to reach out to the other members of MY DYING BRIDE since the "bust-up" happened that he mentioned earlier in the interview, Aaron said: "There's no point. There's no point because if they're not contacting me, they don't want to. So it's pointless me chasing them. They're doing what they wanna do and they clearly wanna do it without me."

Aaron went on to say that he is still holding out hope things could be ironed out between him and the other members of MY DYING BRIDE in the coming months.

"The reason why I'm not screaming and shouting is because I genuinely think it's not over," he said. "If I knew it was definitely over, then, yeah, I'd be heartbroken. But I try to remain optimistic that somehow we can work stuff out. I don't see why we can't. We're not kids. We're not a gang. We can surely work something out. Because normally when bands split up, there's normally some sort of financial irregularity, someone's run off with all the money, or there's some infidelity — 'You slept with my wife' or 'you slept with my wife.' Bands split up because of serious — something's gone really bad, really bad. We have none of that, which is why I think we can get back together. But let's see."

Asked what he would say to Andrew right now if the guitarist was listening to the interview, Aaron said: "Give us a ring. Give us a ring. It's not hard, is it?"

MY DYING BRIDE's latest album, "A Mortal Binding", came out in April 2024 via Nuclear Blast Records.

HIGH PARASITE's debut LP, the aforementioned "Forever We Burn" — with Stainthorpe and Lambert at the helm — was produced by Gregor Mackintosh of PARADISE LOST. According to a press release, the effort "blends metal, gothic rock, and dark synth-pop into a powerful and emotionally raw sound."

Asked in a separate interview with the Brutally Delicious podcast how difficult it was emotionally for him to step away from MY DYING BRIDE and do something new, Aaron said: "Well, it didn't happen like that. It sort of evolved over months, I guess. So I didn't wake up and suddenly go, 'Right, I'm doing this now.' It just sort of evolved, and when something evolves at a slower pace, you've got time to get used to it. It's not a big shock and you start to become that other person.

"I said it before I'll say it again: I feel 10 years younger," Aaron continued. "And so it must be good for my health. And weirdly — I don't know how this works — I'm eating better and I'm drinking less and I'm exercising more. So whatever I've decided to become or do is really beneficial on so many different levels."

Asked if MY DYING BRIDE fans are taking the journey with him and his new band or if he is reaching an entirely new audience, Aaron said: "Well, a bit of both. We always see MY DYING BRIDE shirts at the gigs, and people come over and I'm signing MY BYING BRIDE merch all the time. That will never stop, which is great. And a lot of them have come along for the ride. It won't be everybody's cup of tea, and that's fine. No one band is everyone's cup of tea. Some of them, they absolutely love it and they've bought everything, which is absolutely fantastic. So, yeah, the MDB fans are coming along for the ride and for the most part loving it."

Asked if it was difficult for him to switch gears and do something like this apart from what has pretty much been his legacy, Aaron said: "Yeah, I didn't really think about it, to be honest. I mean, MY DYING BRIDE did death metal and doom. Some of the death metal stuff was pretty rapid. It wasn't all doom. So, we knew how to nod our heads pretty rapidly back in the old days. And this is a bit more of that. The songs are obviously much, much shorter. They're super catchy. But it's weird having someone else singing on stage, because Tombs does some vocals and I do the vocals. And I'm thinking to myself, 'Well, when he's singing, what am I supposed to do?' I'm not gonna dance. I can't dance, I'm not gonna embarrass myself like that. But I'm not entirely sure what I'm supposed to do. My stage craft is still developing. I just try and walk around a bit. I bought a cordless microphone so I could get a bit more movement on stage without tripping everybody. So, it is weird when I'm not the only singer, because, of course, in MDB I was the only one doing [the singing]. So, that's a bit weird. But the music's just cool music. It's great to sing and it's great to move to.

"I said I feel 10 years younger because the energy that the music brings and the energy that the younger members of HIGH PARASITE give off, it just makes me feel great," Aaron added. "So on stage, I'm actually having fun. With MY DYING BRIDE, I never had — I wouldn't call it 'fun' on stage, because the songs are really emotional and they're super heavy. It was draining mentally for me with MY DYING BRIDE. With HIGH PARASITE, for the first time ever, I look forward to getting on stage, and I love being on stage with HIGH PARASITE. And I've never felt that.

"At this age in my life, you sort of think, well, you've done this thing for a long, long time, and that's all you're gonna do… And then suddenly something else comes along, and it flips the coin completely. And as I say, I feel 10 years younger, I'm full of energy and I can't wait for the next gig."

Regarding what it has been like to have successfully reinvented himself at this stage of his life, Aaron said: "Well, again, because I've never reinvented myself before, it's all very, very new. It's all super new to me. I don't what I'm doing half the times, but it just feels good. I've got a new lease of energy, and I'm doing things I've not done before. Which is good at this stage of my life, to be doing brand new things. It's great. And I've started reading my poetry at gigs as well now.

"In January this year, I did a show in a church in Belgium with DARKHER and SYLVAINE. It was brilliant," he revealed. "And I'm working on a few more of these sort of events. Something's coming up in October, I believe, where I'll be performing again with DARKHER and the DEAD SPACE CHAMBER MUSIC group, doing some poetry and some versions of MY DYING BRIDE songs that people would've heard before. So, again, things I've never done before. [And I'm] really enjoying [it]."

Asked if he feels like there is "a whole new creative spark going on", Aaron said: "Yeah, definitely. I still like writing the really heavy lyrics because that's really where my heart is — the deep, meaningful stuff. And while at the moment that's not lyrics for MY DYING BRIDE, it's poems which I'm able to perform live. So I'm still venting my emotions, but instead of singing them with MY DYING BRIDE, I'm speaking them to people who are bewildered sometimes, but for the most part, enjoying it. Because a lot of my poetry is very much like MY DYING BRIDE lyrics. It comes from the same heart, same soul. So, if you like MY DYING BRIDE lyrics, you're pretty much gonna like the poetry."

Photo credit: Matt Wells

Swedish old-school death metal behemoth GRAND CADAVER, featuring current and former members of DARK TRANQUILLITY, THE HALO EFFECT, TIAMAT, NOVARUPTA and KATATONIA, return with their most explosive material yet: the new EP "The Rot Beneath", set to be released on August 15 via Majestic Mountain Records. The release will be available on vinyl, alongside a limited reissue of their acclaimed 2021 debut full-length "Into The Maw Of Death".

GRAND CADAVER has unveiled a brand new track, "Darkened Apathy", which has been described by No Clean Singing as: "GRAND CADAVER continue depressing their accelerator. The drums kick into a gallop; tremolo'd riffing creates a vicious sonic swarm that rabidly writhes as it desperately ascends and dismally descends; the vocals reach new fever pitches of serrated-edge ferocity; a lead guitar wails overhead."

GRAND CADAVER comments on "Darkened Apathy": "The world is burning, and the people set it alight with indifference and apathy. A death metal protest song, where the wise are silenced and the unconcerned are in control."

Featuring some of Sweden's most seasoned metal musicians, namely Mikael Stanne (DARK TRANQUILLITY, THE HALO EFFECT),Stefan Lagergren (ex-TREBLINKA/TIAMAT),Alex Stjernfeldt (NOVARUPTA, CHILD),Christian Jansson (PAGANDOM, DARK TRANQUILLITY) and Daniel Liljekvist (ex-KATATONIA, DISRUPTED),GRAND CADAVER have carved a reputation for delivering death metal with no gimmicks, no polish, just raw power.

From their debut EP "Madness Comes" (recorded in just three days and charting at No. 9 in Sweden),to their crushing LP "Into The Maw Of Death", and their doom-laced 2023 follow-up "Deities Of Deathlike Sleep", the band has continuously pushed their sound into darker and heavier territory.

GRAND CADAVER was formed in Gothenburg and Stockholm in the pandemic year of 2020.

Every member has been a part of the Swedish extreme metal scene since their youth and many were part of shaping the first wave of death metal in the late 1980s.

The debut EP "Madness Comes" was recorded over three days in August of 2020 and was released to critical acclaim by Majestic Mountain Records in February 2021, reaching ninth place on the Swedish album chart (physical copies). Shortly thereafter, the band returned to Welfare Sounds studio to record the debut album "Into The Maw Of Death", which was released on October 29 the same year.

When the restrictions of the pandemic were lifted, GRAND CADAVER made its live debut in Gothenburg, followed by a short tour in support of AT THE GATES.

With the increased activity of the members' other bands, GRAND CADAVER had to slow down the pace a tad, but entered the studio once again in the fall of 2022. The second album, "Deities Of Deathlike Sleep", was released on August 25, 2023.

Photo credit: Peter Trones

Rock giants THREE DAYS GRACE have added another No. 1 single to their monster catalog as "Apologies" reaches No. 1 at Mediabase Active Rock radio chart. Produced by Zakk Cervini, Dan Lancaster and Howard Benson, the song served as a follow-up to the band's anthem "Mayday", marking the return of original vocalist Adam Gontier, the first single released from the upcoming full-length album "Alienation", due August 22 via RCA Records.

THREE DAYS GRACE comments: "We want to thank everyone at radio and especially all of our fans who have supported us through this unbelievable journey. Having 20 No. 1 records is a testament to them. They have stuck with us through every evolution, every riff, every scream. We don't take that lightly. The best is still to come."

THREE DAYS GRACE balances moments of extreme emotion on an axis of pummeling hard rock anthems and pensive balladry. Along the way, the multi-platinum record-breaking Ontario, Canada band have amassed billions of streams and millions of album sales, sold out arenas on multiple continents, and reached unprecedented heights, earning a now staggering 20 total No. 1 entries on the Mediabase Active Rock chart.

THREE DAYS GRACE recently entered the esteemed Spotify "Billions Club" as their rock anthem "I Hate Everything About You" crosses one billion streams on the digital streaming platform. Released in 2003, the single has since become embedded in rock history.

To date, their veritable arsenal of number one includes "Home", "Just Like You", "Pain", "Animal I Have Become", "Never Too Late", "Break", "Good Life", "World So Cold", "Misery Loves My Company", "The High Road", "Chalk Outline", "I Am Machine", "Painkiller", "The Mountain", "Infra-Red", "Right Left Wrong", "So Called Life", "Lifetime", "Mayday" and now the addition of "Apologies" to the ever-impressive list.

After THREE DAYS GRACE surprised fans with the return of the band's original singer Adam Gontier, the rock giants have announced their epic upcoming record, "Alienation". The twelve tracks on the record all play a pivotal role in defining this significantly new, but nostalgic, chapter of the band.

THREE DAYS GRACE continues to achieve new levels of success, performing at sold-out arena shows with DISTURBED, massive festival crowds, a sold-out co-headlining tour in Canada, and hitting the stage at some of the largest venues of their career in Europe.

THREE DAYS GRACE will return to the stage with BREAKING BENJAMIN this fall, with special guests RETURN TO DUST, before heading to Europe with support from BADFLOWER.

THREE DAYS GRACE is Adam Gontier (vocals),Matt Walst (vocals),Barry Stock (guitar),Brad Walst (bass, backing vocals) and Neil Sanderson (drums, keyboards, backing vocals).

Sanderson told HardDrive Radio about "Apologies": "It's a song that talks about feeling like you're too far gone to be saved, that you sometimes become a lost hope. Even though you have all these people around you that care about you and love you and demonstrate that, you're almost apologizing to those people, saying, 'Hey, I appreciate the love, I see the effort, but I just feel too far gone.' And I think it's something that people feel. They don't wanna let others down. And when you're in a moment of weakness, it's important to talk to people. But sometimes people are apprehensive 'cause they don't wanna let the people that they love down. And that song is a journey through that."

"Alienation" track listing:

01. Dominate
02. Apologies
03. Mayday
04. Kill Me Fast
05. In Waves
06. Alienation
07. Never Ordinary (ft. Lindsey Stirling)
08. Deathwish
09. Don't Wanna Go Home Tonight
10. In Cold Blood
11. The Power
12. Another Relapse

THREE DAYS GRACE played its first full show with Gontier in 12 years on February 25 as the support act for DISTURBED on the U.S. leg of "The Sickness 25th Anniversary Tour" at Ford Idaho Center Arena in Nampa, Idaho.

In 1992, Gontier, Brad Walst, Phil Crowe, Neil Sanderson and Joe Grant formed GROUNDSWELL while most of the members were still in high school. That band broke up in 1995, but two years later Gontier, Sanderson and Walst reformed as THREE DAYS GRACE. Gontier left the band in 2013 and was replaced by Matt, the vocalist from another Norwood band, MY DARKEST DAYS.

Gontier initially went into rehab in 2005 in Toronto after admitting an addiction to Oxycontin. The rehab stint influenced some material which would appear on THREE DAYS GRACE's "One-X" album, including the songs "Pain" and "Over And Over".

Gontier left THREE DAYS GRACE in the spring of 2013. At the time, the Canadian rockers cited unspecified "health issues" when his departure was announced. Adam later released a statement explaining he exited THREE DAYS GRACE to pursue new projects, and not to deal with addiction.

Gontier is currently a member of SAINT ASONIA, which also features STAIND guitarist/founding member Mike Mushok. The quartet is rounded out by Cale Gontier (bass) and Cody Watkins (drums).

Photo credit: Matt Barnes

Former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing, who performed PRIEST's "Breaking The Law" and BLACK SABBATH's "Snowblind" at last Saturday's (July 5) "Back To The Beginning" event at Villa Park in Birmingham, United Kingdom, alongside Billy Corgan (THE SMASHING PUMPKINS) on vocals, Tom Morello (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE) on guitar, Adam Jones (TOOL) on guitar, Rudy Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE) on bass, and Danny Carey (TOOL) on drums, took to his social media earlier today (Tuesday, July 8) to share a few photos from the concert, and he included the following message: "Incredible!!! That is the only word for what has just taken place!

"All throughout rehearsals and up to soundcheck I was thinking is this really at all possible? There were amplifiers, speakers, pedal boards, and miles and miles of cables everywhere, and hundreds of people all going in tons of different directions. I had to ask myself 'could I actually be a bit nervous?' Hell yeah! I was, this is going to be the most Important show in rock and metal ever!!! Then when I arrived on the day, the show was already under way, and when I got to my dressing room I was notified that the show was running 20 minutes ahead of schedule. This was truly in itself a very rare achievement.

"I cannot praise everyone enough that was involved with organizing this wonderful event. The curtain went up for me and my amazing bandmates and everything had come magically together, this event was truly in the hands of top professionals.

"I would like to thank the band — Adam Jones, Danny Carey, Rudy Sarzo, Billy Corgan, and last but not least the event's musical director Tom Morello, who really did dedicate himself to this show over so many months.

"I cannot end without saying a massive thank you to Sharon, Ozzy, Tony, Geezer, and Bill for making all of this possible, and for their great contribution to a very worthy charity.

"I think King Charles III of England should now prepare to award Sharon and the Mighty BLACK SABBATH each a very well-deserved knighthood."

When Downing's participation in "Back To The Beginning" was first announced in February, he said in a statement: "This will be an incredibly emotional and historic event! The final farewell to the ultimate gods of metal. BLACK SABBATH and Ozzy will return to their home in Aston, Birmingham, the very place where it all began, and I am deeply honored to be part of this momentous occasion, paying my respects and tribute.

"I vividly remember growing up in the suburbs of Birmingham, England, over 50 years ago and witnessing the emergence of this band that would pioneer a genre of music that had never been heard before. It was more than just music — it was the sound, the performance and the atmosphere that created a phenomenon that was irresistible to fans, and I was one of them. I know firsthand the immense impact BLACK SABBATH has had on the world.

"BLACK SABBATH has carried the flag and the mantle of our beloved music for a lifetime, for this I know we will always be sincerely grateful.

"This event will undoubtedly be one of the most significant and important moments in rock and metal history, and I look forward to standing alongside the fans and fellow musicians to honor the legacy of BLACK SABBATH in the city where it all began."

According to The Guardian, "Back To The Beginning" was livestreamed to more than five million fans worldwide (with peak audience of 5.8 million fans watching the livestream).

Ozzy played a five-song set with his solo band — consisting of guitarist Zakk Wylde, bassist Mike Inez, keyboardist Adam Wakeman and drummer Tommy Clufetos — before being joined by fellow original BLACK SABBATH members Tony Iommi (guitar),Geezer Butler (bass) and Bill Ward (drums) for four classic SABBATH songs: "War Pigs", "Iron Man", "N.I.B." and "Paranoid".

Ozzy's solo set consisted of four songs from Osbourne's 1980 solo debut album "Blizzard Of Ozz" — "I Don't Know", "Mr. Crowley", "Suicide Solution" and "Crazy Train" — along with his 1991 "No More Tears" ballad "Mama, I'm Coming Home".

The 76-year-old heavy metal singer, who has Parkinson's disease, sang while seated on a black throne and appeared overcome with emotion at times. "You have no idea how I feel. Thank you from the bottom of my heart," he told the crowd.

At the end of SABBATH's set, Ozzy said: "It's the last song ever. Your support has enabled us to live an amazing lifestyle, thank you from the bottom of our hearts." Osbourne was then presented with a cake, while fireworks lit up the stadium from overhead.

A message on screen then read, "Thank you for everything, you guys are fucking amazing. Birmingham Forever," before the sky lit up with fireworks.

More than 40,000 fans attended the event, which also saw performances from METALLICA, SLAYER, PANTERA, LAMB OF GOD and ANTHRAX, among others. Profits from the show will be shared equally between the charities Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice.

There was also an online auction benefiting those charities. Items up for bid included two Gibson guitars signed by performers, a GUNS N' ROSES pinball machine, several gold record and CD displays including BLACK SABBATH's "Paranoid", LED ZEPPELIN's "Physical Graffiti" and METALLICA's "Master Of Puppets", plus more than a dozen travel packages.

A livestream of the daylong event was announced in June. While it was called a livestream, the video was delayed two hours from the in-arena start time.

Livestream tickets were priced $29.99, which got you live viewing and access to video for 48 hours. The livestream and T-shirt bundle was priced $64.98. It got you event viewing and a "Back To The Beginning" T-shirt.

"Back To The Beginning" was captured, produced and distributed by Mercury Studios ("One To One: John & Yoko", "American Symphony", "Metallica Saved My Life"). Mercury has partnered with Kiswe — the global D2C streaming partner behind the record-breaking BTS concert livestream — to deliver this moment of music history to fans across the globe.

The all-day event at Villa Park, produced by Live Nation, was hosted and compered by American actor Jason Momoa.

⚡BACK TO THE BEGINNING⚡

Incredible!!! That is the only word for what has just taken place!

All throughout rehearsals...

Posted by KKsPriest on Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Legendary rockers KISS have announced that their previously announced "KISS Army Storms Vegas" event will "transform" into "KISS Kruise: Landlocked In Vegas".

Set to take place November 14-16, 2025 at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, this special fan experience is being created with co-producers Pophouse, creators of boutique music vacations Topeka and music-led destination experience company Vibee.

Newly included activities include a special acoustic KISS "kick-off" set on Friday, November 14, along with performances from former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick, Stephen Pearcy and Warren DeMartini performing the music of RATT, ex-SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach, QUIET RIOT, BLACK 'N BLUE, Chris Jericho's KUARANTINE, KISS tribute bands MR. SPEED and KISS NATION, School Of Rock, comedian Craig Gass and DJ Noiz.

There will also be question-and-answer sessions with KISS co-founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, as well as longtime KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer manager Doc McGhee. Other panelists include KISS producer Bob Ezrin, KISS photographer Lynn Goldsmith and KISS Army founders Bill Starkey and Jay Evans.

The "everything KISS" paradise, which also includes support artist meet-and-greets, curated KISS gifts and so much more, will take place in celebration of KISS Army's 50th anniversary and the 30th anniversary of the first KISS fan convention. Since retiring from touring in December 2023, this will be the first time KISS has performed together and will be a one-of-a-kind moment for fans to experience KISS "unmasked" acoustic and electric shows featuring Simmons, Stanley and Thayer as special guests.

Official Experience Packages for "KISS Kruise: Landlocked In Vegas" — offering the KISS Army a bucket list-worthy, rock ‘n’ roll-packed weekend adventure — are available exclusively through Vibee. All Vibee packages include a suite of enviable perks including a three-night stay at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, access to the KISS unmasked acoustic and electric live shows, question-and-answer sessions with members of KISS, all panels, artists sets on the lineup and activities, a curated "KISS Kruise: Landlocked In Vegas" gift and event poster signed by members of the band, photos with KISS memorabilia, and a collectible laminate and lanyard.

For more information and to secure prime seating closest to the stage, book now at kisskruisevegas.com.

During the band's 50-year history, KISS was known for exceptional and first-of-its-kind fan events that always put the fans first. Events like the KISS Kruise were yearly fan get-togethers that created a community and connection to the band. With the band's final shows on the "End of The Road" world tour, KISS Army members have anxiously awaited news of continued exciting events.

Known for their trademark larger-than-life blistering performances, KISS has proven for decades why they are hands down the most iconic live show in rock n roll. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers who have sold more than 100 million albums worldwide have said this tour is devoted to the millions of KISS Army fans.

Last month, Stanley told Justin Richmond of the Broken Record podcast about the "KISS Army Storms Vegas" event: " It started off as something, honestly, that Gene and I kind of took a back seat in, and, honestly, we reached a point not too far in the past where we both said, 'You know what? This isn't the way we want it.' And it's going to go through some major changes to be what we think it should be.

"We spent 12 years nurturing a KISS Kruise and what that means and what goes into it and what you get to participate in and the social aspects between fans from 33 countries," Paul explained. "So, this virtually will become a KISS Kruise in Vegas. [It] doesn't need a ship. It will have all the familiar touchstones that people love about a KISS Kruise, whether it's bands playing, Q&As, contests, food available, good drinks, social aspects to it.

"So, it started in a way that we kind of took a step back to see what some other people might do. And then we recently found ourselves going, 'No. This isn't what we want to do or the way we wanna do it.' So there'll be some announcements forthcoming and a lot of stuff where people are gonna be very happy, as I am, that.

"A KISS Kruise — there was no ships available, but a KISS Kruise can take place anyway," Stanley added. "And to do it in Vegas at the Virgin Hotel, it's gonna be everything that people want and have been hoping for."

When Richmond noted that a KISS event in Vegas sounds just as good as, or better than, a cruise, Paul concurred. "It will be great, and it'll be a great, fantastic weekend of all the things that we've loved and that people loved," he said. "So whether you're KISS Army, Navy, cruiser, whatever you are, this is about to become much more. We're really excited. So I think people should just stay tuned."

Asked if he and Gene will perform at all at "KISS Army Storms Vegas", Paul said: "We're going to do a no-makeup set. We'll play 15 songs, whatever. And Tommy — we're all geared up to do it. We really look forward to it."

After Richmond asked if the performance will be "acoustic", Stanley clarified: "No. That'll be electric… So it's gonna be great. And the other bands that are gonna be announced, it's gonna be everything that everybody loves on the KISS Kruises. I think that was missing from what was being planned. And we needed to put our big hands into this and we needed to steer the ship."

In May, Stanley was asked by The 500 With Josh Adam Meyers podcast who created the KISS Army and when. Stanley responded: "The KISS Army, like the best armies, was volunteer. KISS Army started in Terre Haute, Indiana when Bill Starkey, a resident, and his friends weren't getting any KISS music on their radio station and they called the radio station as the KISS Army and said, 'If you don't start playing KISS music by a certain time, we'll surround the building.' And, of course, everybody chuckled, until they surrounded the building. So that was the start of the KISS Army. KISS Army started as not a calculated fan club, but as an uprising of the army."

Earlier in May, Simmons told Greg Schmitt of Noize In The Attic about "KISS Army Storms Vegas": "People misunderstand what that is. The Virgin event in November is really the fans, the KISS Army — they're taking over the hotel. This ain't a concert. No [makeup]. Certainly not. We promised we would never do that again. No touring. We'll get up and jam. In fact, I'm not even sure how many of us are gonna be there. I know Paul and I are gonna be there. I think Tommy's gonna come, but [former KISS guitarist] Bruce Kulick might pop in. It's very informal."

Asked if original KISS members Ace Frehley (guitar) and Peter Criss are "welcome" to appear at "KISS Army Storms Vegas", Gene said: "Of course."

After Schmitt noted that KISS is one of the last bands of his generation that have all living members and that "it'd be great if somebody could really utilize that still," Simmons said: "I like the way you think, but it's dreamland, my friend. That's not how life works. You can lead a horse to water, but that's all you can do. We invited — I personally invited Ace and Peter to jump up on stage with us at Madison Square Garden [for the final KISS concert]. 'Hey, why don't you invite him on the show?' I did, but they said no. 'I want this and I want that.' 'Well, you can't have that, but join us to celebrate the beginning.'"

Simmons previously discussed "KISS Army Storms Vegas" in a separate interview with the "Jim Kerr Rock & Roll Morning Show" on New York City's Q104.3 radio station. Simmons said at the time: "Well, this is not a KISS concert. We promised when we sold the IP [KISS intellectual property rights] to Pophouse, an amazing company — they're futurists — about a year and a half ago when we finished touring at Madison Square Garden. There's gonna be a film and there's a lot of stuff coming up. We promised we would never tour again, because, as you noticed, I'm stunning in real life and that's when you want it… While you're on top, get out of the ring. Don't wait for some chump to knock you out. We've all seen boxers and rockers and everything that stayed around too long. 50 years, half a century is plenty of time."

Simmons went on to say that he and his KISS bandmates still want to honor the group's fans. "So that's what we're doing," he explained. "We are showing up for a fan-run event. Three days in November at the Virgin Hotel. Be there or be square. And it's really for the fans. There'll be lots of questions — if they want a back rub or anything. But it's not a KISS concert. We will jump up [and] jam, but certainly we are not bringing the flying rigs and 60 people on the crew and the jets and all that stuff… Other bands will pop up on stage and stuff, but it's really a chance to be more intimate with the fans — actually, to be cornball about it, to our bosses. Because without the fans, I would surely have been asking the next person in line, 'Would you like some fries with that?'"

KISS had previously set a 12-show residency at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas in 2021 and 2022 but ultimately canceled all of the dates.

Simmons told Rolling Stone in a November 2023 interview that the second Madison Square Garden "End Of The Road" concert would mark "the final KISS-in-makeup appearance."

Kulick was a member of KISS from 1984 until 1996.

According to Billboard, Kulick is one of only two musicians to have not worn makeup while a member of KISS, the other being Mark St. John.

Kulick had performed with the band again at their Kiss Kruise events in 2018 and 2021.

Vibee builds unforgettable destination experiences for fans around the world. Founded by Live Nation, the world's leading live entertainment company, Vibee provides fans the opportunity to immerse themselves in the best music and entertainment events on land and at sea. From hotel takeovers and curated yacht weeks, to interactive experiences and bespoke festival packages, the company creates transformative moments in the most sought-after global destinations. Vibee's bucket list-worthy fan experiences — which include activations with U2, DEAD & COMPANY, THE EAGLES, Lionel Richie, Tiesto, EDC and more — have been recognized by both the Clio Music and Clio Entertainment Awards.

Topeka delivers engaging U.S.-based music vacation experiences amidst the backdrop of the beautiful white sand beaches of Miramar Beach in Northern Florida. Topeka's innovative approach offers a unique "worry-free / no-line" outdoor live music experience where guests enjoy their favorite days at the beach just a short walk from their beach condos, homes or villas to the intimate 5,500 guest open-air green space venue where they tune into their favorite artists and people each night. Inspired by a scene from the movie "Almost Famous", Topeka prioritizes forging real connections between bands and their fans by creating moments that become memories that last a lifetime through the power of community and live music. The Topeka team looks after every guest with a passion to set the stage for an unparalleled blend of hospitality, music, beach and connection. In addition to Topeka's Music Vacations At The Beach, the organization curates immersive experiences for fans and bands at other unique locations and formats such as resort takeovers in Las Vegas.

Virgin Hotels Las Vegas is an integrated resort that delivers a vibrant and lively environment for travelers and locals alike. The off-Strip resort features 1,500 Chambers and suites across three towers, a 60,000-square-foot casino and sportsbook, and a five-acre desert pool oasis. The property boasts several dynamic spaces for live music and entertainment, including the 4,600-capacity theater operated by AEG Presents, the intimate 24 Oxford showroom, The Shag Room, a unique and sexy cocktail lounge, and the multi-functional Event Lawn. Touting an exceptional portfolio of 12 food and beverage venues, Virgin Hotels Las Vegas is home to famed restaurants like the legendary Nobu, Michael and David Morton's ONE Steakhouse, Kassi Beach House and Beach Club experience, Pizza Forte and more. Virgin Hotels Las Vegas is part of the Curio Collection by Hilton and has been consecutively awarded the AAA Four Diamond Award since its first year of operation.
After many months of hard work, we can proudly present the return of the KISS KRUISE brand! More than a name - it's a legacy in itself, a tradition so strong that it cannot simply be ignored. We've listened to all our loyal fans across the world, and it is finally time to make it… pic.twitter.com/yaxzRl891R

— KISS (@kiss) July 8, 2025

Three days after MASTODON performed at Ozzy Osbourne's "Back To The Beginning" farewell concert — where the Atlanta progressive metallers covered BLACK SABBATH's "Supernaut" — MASTODON drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor took to his social media to share a few photos from the event, and he included the following message: "Such an unbelievable outpouring of love, friendship and gratitude. We were so honored to be asked to perform.

"For months I've been trying to conjure up in my mind what it was going to be like, but it ended up being unlike anything I had ever experienced in my life, a new feeling. It was such a beautiful experience. From the stage, the side stage, the dressing room and out in the audience, the love was just pouring out of everyone for the last time that we will all be able to let [BLACK SABBATH] and [Ozzy Osbourne] know just how very much they mean to every one of our lives.

"All the performers gave their all trying to make Dad SABBATH proud! When Ozzy hit the stage, there wasn't a dry eye in the stadium. It stayed like that until the fireworks went off after SABBATH.

"What an incredibly emotional day for everyone. I'll be riding this high for a long time and I will cherish these memories for the rest of my life. I'm so very grateful for this life experience.

"Thank you BLACK SABBATH for giving us a space to be creative and the greatest genre of music there is, heavy metal. Ozzy Osbourne, I love you, thank you for everything!! You mean the world to me. Also a major thank you to Mario Duplantier [GOJIRA], Eloy Casagrande [SLIPKNOT] and Danny Carey [TOOL] for jamming with me during 'Supernaut', three of the best drummers in the world and some of the finest human beings, you made the day even more special, I love you. Thank you Bill Ward for showing us the way. You're my greatest inspiration!

"What a day! Music never felt so powerful. Going to carry this into our next recording coming up soon!"

According to The Guardian, "Back To The Beginning" was livestreamed to more than five million fans worldwide (with peak audience of 5.8 million fans watching the livestream).

Ozzy played a five-song set with his solo band — consisting of guitarist Zakk Wylde, bassist Mike Inez, keyboardist Adam Wakeman and drummer Tommy Clufetos — before being joined by fellow original BLACK SABBATH members Tony Iommi (guitar),Geezer Butler (bass) and Bill Ward (drums) for four classic SABBATH songs: "War Pigs", "Iron Man", "N.I.B." and "Paranoid".

Ozzy's solo set consisted of four songs from Osbourne's 1980 solo debut album "Blizzard Of Ozz" — "I Don't Know", "Mr. Crowley", "Suicide Solution" and "Crazy Train" — along with his 1991 "No More Tears" ballad "Mama, I'm Coming Home".

The 76-year-old heavy metal singer, who has Parkinson's disease, sang while seated on a black throne and appeared overcome with emotion at times. "You have no idea how I feel. Thank you from the bottom of my heart," he told the crowd.

At the end of SABBATH's set, Ozzy said: "It's the last song ever. Your support has enabled us to live an amazing lifestyle, thank you from the bottom of our hearts." Osbourne was then presented with a cake, while fireworks lit up the stadium from overhead.

A message on screen then read, "Thank you for everything, you guys are fucking amazing. Birmingham Forever," before the sky lit up with fireworks.

More than 40,000 fans attended the event, which also saw performances from METALLICA, SLAYER, PANTERA, LAMB OF GOD and ANTHRAX, among others. Profits from the show will be shared equally between the charities Cure Parkinson's, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice.

There was also an online auction benefiting those charities. Items up for bid included two Gibson guitars signed by performers, a GUNS N' ROSES pinball machine, several gold record and CD displays including BLACK SABBATH's "Paranoid", LED ZEPPELIN's "Physical Graffiti" and METALLICA's "Master Of Puppets", plus more than a dozen travel packages.

A livestream of the daylong event was announced in June. While it was called a livestream, the video was delayed two hours from the in-arena start time.

Livestream tickets were priced $29.99, which got you live viewing and access to video for 48 hours. The livestream and T-shirt bundle was priced $64.98. It got you event viewing and a "Back To The Beginning" T-shirt.

"Back To The Beginning" was captured, produced and distributed by Mercury Studios ("One To One: John & Yoko", "American Symphony", "Metallica Saved My Life"). Mercury has partnered with Kiswe — the global D2C streaming partner behind the record-breaking BTS concert livestream — to deliver this moment of music history to fans across the globe.

The all-day event at Villa Park, produced by Live Nation, was hosted and compered by American actor Jason Momoa.

Curated by RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello, the event featured arguably the greatest lineup of rock and metal bands ever assembled on one day.

Two hastily assembled supergroups — dubbed Supergroup A and Supergroup B — performed at the event, with EXTREME's Nuno Bettencourt taking part in a five-song set of covers, while ex-Ozzy guitarist Jake E. Lee made an appearance for covers of "The Ultimate Sin" and "Shot In The Dark". Former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing joined Morello, Billy Corgan (SMASHING PUMPKINS) and Adam Jones (TOOL) for a rendition of PRIEST's "Breaking The Law", while LIVING COLOUR's Vernon Reid hopped onstage for a cover of Ozzy's "Bark At The Moon", with GHOST's Papa V Perpetua (a.k.a. Tobias Forge) handling lead vocals.

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A post shared by Brann Dailor (@creamale)

Rock legends MÖTLEY CRÜE and globally beloved superstar Dolly Parton have debuted at No. 1 on the Mediabase Classic Rock Songs chart with their heartfelt duet of the MÖTLEY CRÜE classic "Home Sweet Home", released in June via BMG. The reimagined duet version coincides with the 40th anniversary of the original 1985 release of "Home Sweet Home", featured on the band's third full-length album, "Theatre Of Pain", and marks the first No. 1 for the song.

To drive home the song's positive message of hope, a portion of the proceeds from the single will benefit Covenant House, an organization close to the hearts of the members of MÖTLEY CRÜE. Covenant House provides safe shelter, meals, hope and more to help youth experiencing homelessness.

The achievement represents the second time members of MÖTLEY CRÜE and Parton find themselves atop the chart together with a No. 1 debut. MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx and guitarist John 5 appeared as special guests on Parton's song "Bygones" off her No. 1 gold-selling "Rockstar" album, released last year via Butterfly Records/Big Machine Label Group. "Bygones" also featured JUDAS PRIEST's Rob Halford.

The reimagined version of "Home Sweet Home" featuring Parton is part of MÖTLEY CRÜE's forthcoming brand-new singles collection "From The Beginning", set to drop on September 12, 2025, the same day that the legendary rockers will kick off their highly anticipated 10-show residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The official video for the track, which pays homage to the classic original video for the song from 1985, surpassed one mllion views on YouTube.

Coinciding with the release of "Home Sweet Home" featuring Dolly Parton, a limited-edition Dölly Crüe merch collection is available now.

The members of MÖTLEY CRÜE shared in a joint statement: "'Home Sweet Home' was first released in 1985 as a single from our 'Theatre Of Pain' album. For an icon like Dolly Parton to sing on a song that has not only meant so much to us but to all the fans through the years, is a career high that means a lot to us. We couldn't be happier to celebrate the 40th anniversary of 'Home Sweet Home' in this special way, and we're excited to share this version of the song with all the Dolly and MÖTLEY fans around the world."

The members added: "That we were able to unite with Dolly to raise awareness for homeless youth and the amazing work of Covenant House, which provides them safe housing and care, makes it even more special. We hope you'll enjoy 'Home Sweet Home' featuring Dolly Parton as much as Dolly and we enjoyed creating it."

Dolly Parton offered: "It was an honor and a joy working in the studio on MÖTLEY CRÜE's 40th Anniversary re-release of 'Home Sweet Home'. I was so pleased that they would ask me to sing on such a classic."

"From The Beginning" will be made available on CD and vinyl via BMG. The collection spans four decades of CRÜE anthems, kicking off with their first global single and MTV video "Live Wire" and winding through the years to 2024's Top 5 Rock smash "Dogs Of War". In between are the hits and fan favorites that shaped the rock genre and a generation, including "Kickstart My Heart", "Dr. Feelgood", "Girls, Girls, Girls", "Shout At The Devil", "Smokin' In The Boys Room", "Wild Side" and many more.

The original studio albums that featured these tracks, including the decade-plus gold, platinum and multi-platinum run of classics "Too Fast For Love", "Shout At The Devil", "Theatre Of Pain", "Girls Girls Girls" and "Dr. Feelgood" combined have sold over 100 million albums globally, generated 10 billion streams, and dominated the charts around the world. MÖTLEY CRÜE's loyal fans have been there from the beginning, and their support remains as strong as ever. But with their music featured in video games, movie trailers, films, TV shows and sporting events daily, new fans continue to discover the band's amazing catalog.

MÖTLEY CRÜE's Las Vegas residency will run through October 3. These 10 shows at Park MGM will be the first and only chance for MÖTLEY CRÜE fans to see the band live in 2025.

The CD version of "From The Beginning" features 19 tracks, while the vinyl has been expanded to 21 songs, including "Afraid" and the title track of last year's "Cancelled" EP.

CD track listing:

01. Live Wire
02. Take Me To The Top
03. Shout At The Devil [remastered - 2021]
04. Looks That Kill [remastered - 2021]
05. Too Young To Fall In Love [remastered - 2021]
06. Smokin' In The Boys Room [remastered - 2021]
07. Home Sweet Home [remastered - 2021]
08. Girls, Girls, Girls
09. Wild Side
10. Dr. Feelgood
11. Without You
12. Kickstart My Heart
13. Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
14. Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.)
15. Primal Scream
16. The Dirt (Est. 1981)
17. Saints of Los Angeles
18. Dogs Of War
19. Home Sweet Home (feat. Dolly Parton)

2LP track listing:

Side A

01. Live Wire
02. Take Me To The Top
03. Shout at the Devil [remastered -2021]
04. Looks That Kill [remastered - 2021]
05. Too Young To Fall In Love [remastered -2021]
06. Smokin' In The Boys Room [remastered -2021]

Side B

01. Home Sweet Home [remastered -2021]
02. Girls, Girls, Girls
03. Wild Side
04. Dr. Feelgood
05. Without You

Side C

01. Kickstart My Heart
02. Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
03. Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.)
04. Primal Scream
05. Afraid *

Side D

01. Saints of Los Angeles
02. The Dirt (Est. 1981)
03. Dogs Of War
04. Cancelled *
05. Home Sweet Home (feat. Dolly Parton)

* LP-only tracks

John 5 joined MÖTLEY CRÜE in the fall of 2022 as the replacement for the band's co-founding guitarist Mick Mars. Mick announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE in October 2022 as a result of worsening health issues.

Last October, MÖTLEY CRÜE released the "Cancelled" EP, featuring the title track, MÖTLEY CRÜE's cover version of the BEASTIE BOYS classic "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)" and "Dogs Of War". All three songs were recorded in April 2023 with longtime producer Bob Rock.

MÖTLEY CRÜE's deal with Big Machine sees the band and the label working together again after making the 2014 project "Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute To Mötley Crüe", which featured CRÜE tracks covered by country stars RASCAL FLATTS, FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE, Darius Rucker and more. Big Machine also partnered with John 5 for the release of his 2021 album "Sinner".

MÖTLEY CRÜE's last studio album was 2008's "Saints Of Los Angeles", which was followed by a 2009 "Greatest Hits" compilation.

In 2018, MÖTLEY CRÜE recorded four new songs for "The Dirt" movie, including the single "The Dirt (Est. 1981) (Feat. Machine Gun Kelly)", "Ride With The Devil", "Crash And Burn" and the band's own spin on Madonna's "Like A Virgin".

Hot on the heels of Ozzy Osbourne's farewell show with BLACK SABBATH, the Prince Of Darkness himself has teamed up with a different group of artists: ex-lab chimps who enjoy creating abstract art.

Esteemed rock royalty and national treasure Ozzy Osbourne may have hung up on his microphone and retired from his rock 'n' roll antics, but he's still monkeying around with his latest collaboration.

A talented artist in his own right, Osbourne has turned his brush to an important and brilliant collaboration with a chimpanzee sanctuary.

"I paint because it gives me peace of mind, but I don't sell my paintings," says Ozzy. "I've made an exception with these collaborations as it raises money for Save The Chimps, a sanctuary for hundreds of apes rescued from labs, roadside zoos and wildlife traffickers."

Ozzy painted intricate, multi-colored acrylic basecoats on five 20"x20" canvases, then the ape artists at the sanctuary added their own brushstrokes. The signed artworks are named after Osbourne's own songs or albums.

Fans can now bid on the paintings exclusively at Omega Auctions, a top auction house for music memorabilia, which donated its services for the project. Bids start at one thousand pounds and the auction closes on July 17.

"Chimps are our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, and I'm really proud of Ozzy for helping look after them," says Sharon Osbourne. "These paintings will not only raise much-needed funds for the sanctuary, they'll help promote awareness to the public."

"Painting is just one of many enrichment activities we offer our residents," says Save The Chimps events director Dan Mathews, who previewed the paintings to the Osbournes in Birmingham just ahead of Osbourne's farewell performance. "Some really enjoy it, while others prefer food puzzles, foraging activities, or picture books."

Founded 25 years ago and situated on 150 acres in Fort Pierce, Florida, Save The Chimps is the largest privately funded chimpanzee sanctuary in the world. Supporters include Jane Goodall, Paul McCartney, Bryan Adams, Alan Cumming, Gillian Anderson, THE B-52S and the Arcus Foundation. Corporate sponsor FedEx provided free shipping of Ozzy's collection to and from the sanctuary.

Photo credit: Kamil Szkopik (courtesy of Aim Publicity)

ATREYU will release a new version of the band's 2004 gold-certified sophomore album "The Curse" next month. The LP was entirely re-recorded with MEMPHIS MAY FIRE's Kellen McGregor at the production helm and it does not feature former ATREYU singer Alex Varkatzas, who exited the group in September 2020.

ATREYU stated about the 2025 version of "The Curse": "Rebuilt with reverence — not to rewrite, but to reclaim. This is the album that shaped everything, re-recorded from the ground up with 20 years of perspective and precision. It's heavier. It's sharper. It's 'The Curse', fully realized."

Vinyl versions of "The Curse 2025" are available for pre-order at atreyumerch.com and are expected to ship around August 1.

Last October, ATREYU celebrated the 20th anniversary of "The Curse" by performing the LP in its entirety at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, California.

In the fall of 2024, ATREYU released "The Pronoia Sessions", a collection of eight reimagined greatest hits and two nostalgic tribute covers. The digital release was made available on October 25, 2024 while vinyl and CDs hit streets on November 8, 2024.

In a new interview with Australia's Spotlight Report, ATREYU's former drummer Brandon Saller, who is now focusing completely on singing after previously sharing lead vocals with Varkatzas, confirmed that he and his bandmates are working on new music. "We have already begun writing what will be the next ATREYU offering," he said. "I would say we're already about 10 songs deep. We will finishing writing and recording it. You should start hearing new music from that maybe early 2026. We will spend most of this year doing shows and finishing writing songs. Our brains are gonna be half in the past and half in the future at the same time."

Regarding the musical direction of the new ATREYU material, Brandon said: "It's funny. We've been writing and I think the energy in the studio has been very much looking back to the music we were in love with as kids. It's been some of the heaviest music we've ever written, period. It will definitely shock some people, and we've just kind of broke the 'give-a-fuck' button."

2002's "Suicide Notes And Butterfly Kisses" established ATREYU as an influential force, while "The Curse" sold more than half a million copies as the group rose to global renown. 2006's "A Death-Grip On Yesterday" and 2007's "Lead Sails Paper Anchor" both bowed in the Top 10 of the Billboard Top 200, with the latter garnering a gold certification from the RIAA — a highly rare accomplishment for a 21st century rock band.

Following a hiatus post-"Congregation Of The Damned" in 2009, the musicians returned, firing on all cylinders with "Long Live" in 2015. It crashed the Top 30 of the Billboard Top 200 and earned widespread acclaim from Revolver, Loudwire, AXS and Kerrang!, who dubbed it "a hell of a return." Along the way, the boys sold out countless headline shows in addition to sharing the stage with everyone from SLIPKNOT and LINKIN PARK to Chris Cornell and AVENGED SEVENFOLD.

Back in December 2014, ATREYU celebrated "The Curse"'s tenth anniversary by performing the album in its entirety at the Observatory in Santa Ana, California.

Former HANOI ROCKS singer Michael Monroe joined GUNS N' ROSES on stage during the Axl Rose-fronted outfit's concert this past Monday night (July 7) at Ratinan Stadion in Tampere, Finland. The 63-year-old Finnish musician, who has been pursuing a solo career for the past four decades, came up four songs into GUNS N' ROSES set to play harmonica on the track "Bad Obsession" off the band's 1991 album "Use Your Illusion I". Fan-filmed video of his appearance can be seen below.

This past April, Monroe was joined by GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash on stage at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California for performances of the STEPPENWOLF cover "Magic Carpet Ride" and the Monroe song "Dead, Jail Or Rock 'N' Roll".

Back in December 2015, just weeks before the GUNS N' ROSES reunion was officially announced, Monroe said that a comeback of the classic lineup of GUNS N' ROSES "wouldn't make any sense" unless Slash and Axl Rose were able to "reconnect" on a personal and creative level first. He told Eddie Trunk's podcast: "Reunions suck. People ask me, 'Do you think GUNS N' ROSES will reunite?' It wouldn't make any sense unless Slash and Axl would reconnect and really get into a new kind of thing and start creating something new. Who wants to see guys put together forcibly and then go through the old stuff…? It doesn't make any sense to me."

Monroe went on to say that a GUNS N' ROSES reunion wouldn't be the same unless one key ingredient was involved in the mix. He explained: "One thing we must not forget was Steven Adler, the original [GN'R] drummer. The first album [1987's 'Appetite For Destruction'], there's a chemistry that is unlike anything they've done since. Because Steven Adler, he's maybe not technically as great as [his replacement] Matt Sorum, who is also brilliant, but he had a kind of vibe; he was pushing, and he was playing a bit ahead of the beat. He had a style that was part of the chemistry, to me. The sound, the original sound of the band, he was an integral part of that."

Even though HANOI ROCKS was formed in Finland, their trashy, hedonistic, decadent hard rock/pop-metal boogie influenced many Los Angeles acts, including GUNS N' ROSES and MÖTLEY CRÜE.

More than two years ago, Monroe released the video for the title track of his "I Live Too Fast To Die Young" solo album, featuring a guest guitar solo from Slash.

"Slash is one of the nicest guys that I know and one of rock's greatest guitarists as he's maintained the spontaneity, the human touch and the heartfelt kick-ass attitude in his playing," Monroe said at the time. "I figured this would be a good one for him to play a solo on. He said he loved the song and that it's super catchy."

Asked in a 2007 interview if he ever felt jealous of GUNS N' ROSES' commercial success, considering that GN'R openly cited HANOI ROCKS as a huge influence in the Axl Rose-fronted band's early days, Monroe said: "No, I never felt that! Not at all! I was always happy for their success and they definitely earned it themselves. I'm thankful for them recognizing the HANOI ROCKS influence and talking about it in the press."

He continued: "A lot of bands weren't really that talented and they sold a lot of records and really just deliberately tried to fake something out of it with the looks and not having much to back it up with. But GUNS N' ROSES really had their own thing and they were secure enough in themselves to quote HANOI ROCKS as an influence. Also, they released a lot of the old catalog in America with their Uzi Suicide label. So they were definitely paying homage to us and they were being very cool.

"I've never been envious of their success — quite the opposite; I've been very happy for them. I was part of it. I played on their records and I was happy to be part of it. It's always fun working with those guys. Slash played the right kind of guitar because he grew up with HANOI and mine and Andy's [McCoy] playing. I actually did something with him for the movie 'Coneheads'."

Asked if he remembered the first time he met GUNS N' ROSES, Monroe said: "I met Axl... he came to my video shoot in New York. I was shooting a video for 'Dead, Jail Or Rock 'N' Roll'. He showed up and just came to say hi and he introduced himself. I got to talk to him and he was a big NAZARETH fan and I was, like, 'Wow, a NAZARETH fan.' He didn't realize that 'Not Faking It' was a cover of a NAZARETH song. He had heard the record and he was really into it and he liked the song 'Dead, Jail Or Rock 'N' Roll', so I said 'Why don't you come up and do a couple of takes with us?' He came up on stage and he ended up in the video. I got along with him great and I always had a nice time with him. I never had a problem with him. I hear all these horror stories, but he's always been cool with me. It was fun working with those guys afterwards. Playing sax on their record and we did the duet 'Ain't It Fun'. That was magical and they have great star quality."

Former MOTÖRHEAD drummer Mikkey Dee performed some of the band's classic songs on July 7 at the Time To Rock festival in Knislinge, Sweden. He was joined at the gig by THE DRIPPERS members Viktor Skatt on bass and vocals, and Stig William Rickard on guitar. Fan-filmed video of the entire concert can be seen below.

Featured songs:

01. Iron Fist
02. Love Me Like A Reptile
03. The Chase Is Better Then The Catch
04. Killers
05. Shoot You In The Back
06. In The Name Of Tragedy
07. I Got Mine
08. Sacrifice
09. Born To Raise Hell
10. Shine
11. Killed By Death
12. Ace Of Spades
13. Overkill

In a December 2023 interview with Sweden's TellUs Rock, Mikkey spoke about his previous run of shows under the "Mikkey Dee With Friends" banner where he performed some of MOTÖRHEAD's classic songs. The 61-year-old Swedish-born musician, who has been a member of the SCORPIONS since 2016, said: "It's not a tour, but a few shows. It's only a tribute thing. And I do miss playing MOTÖRHEAD songs. I like to play my own songs. [Laughs] I wrote 12 albums with Phil [Campbell, MOTÖRHEAD guitarist] and Lem [MOTÖRHEAD frontman Ian 'Lemmy' Kilmister], so it's great to be able to go out and play some of these songs. And the audience has been hysterical — I mean, they cry, and it's a lot of feelings."

He continued: "It's very important to say, we're not going out as MOTÖRHEAD. I've been misquoted so much, it's ridiculous. I'm sick of it. What's so hard to understand that it's kind of a tribute deal? We break in the middle of the set. I do a little storytelling, I take questions from the audience. I mean, it's really cool little venues. So, it's been great to do it, and these guys are total rock and roll that I play with."

Regarding how Skatt and Rickard approach their parts in "Mikkey Dee With Friends", Dee said: "I told them, don't try to be MOTÖRHEAD. Just do your own thing, and we play the songs. And it's been great."

When TellUs Rock noted that this is a show that he could tour all around the world, Mikkey responded: "Yeah, but I don't wanna do that. I just wanna keep it a show here and there. Both me and Phil, we're not playing MOTÖRHEAD at all, really. He's doing his thing with his sons [in their band PHIL CAMPBELL AND THE BASTARD SONS], and I'm so busy with SCORPIONS that I really don't have time."

In a separate interview with Finland's Chaoszine, Dee reflected on MOTÖRHEAD's final tour, which concluded on December 11, 2015, just two weeks before the passing of Lemmy. Mikkey said: "[Lemmy] was very excited. He loved doing this stuff. And I do remember that we were having a pretty tough time. Lemmy was sick. He was tired. And we could not get him off the road. Both me and Phil said, 'Look, let's break.' … Let's go back to [Lemmy's hometown of Los Angeles], rest, eat and we pick up the European tour again. But he said, 'No, no, no, no, no. We've gotta play.' 'Okay.' So me and Phil were talking, and we said, 'Instead of argue with Lemmy, trying to get him off the road, let's just help him instead.' And I remember, the shows, we had to adjust a lot of stuff, but I think we and he did fantastic. I mean, the last show was 11th of December in Berlin, and then a couple of weeks later, the man is gone. So, trust me, me and Phil put in 150 percent and Lemmy must have put in 300 percent to get through the set."

Dee was also once again asked if he and Campbell would ever go out and perform MOTÖRHEAD music together, with someone else stepping in to play Lemmy's parts. He responded: "Well, you never know. I mean, me and Phil wrote great music. But he's fully involved with his boys. And I'm fully involved with SCORPIONS. We're touring a lot. Not right now, obviously, but we're on the road all the time with the SCORPS. So I don't say no; there's always possibilities. But, of course, as I explained in, I think a podcast, I said, and some people misunderstood this, or actually, they didn't — actually the press wrote the wrong things. I said, 'We will never, ever get back together and replace Lemmy. That's impossible.' I said, 'But doing little constellations, doing some tribute stuff, that's great.' That's very, very different. And I think they said something, 'Mikkey will never play MOTÖRHEAD again.' That was the main headline on Blabbermouth. I said that's not what I said at all. [Editor's note: Contrary to Mikkey's assertion, the actual headline for the February 2023 BLABBERMOUTH.NET story that he is referring to was 'MIKKEY DEE: 'We Will Never Tour' Under MOTÖRHEAD Name Again'.] Of course I will play MOTÖRHEAD. But I will never be a part of trying to put MOTÖRHEAD as a band out there again with some other fucking idiot supposed to take Lemmy's place. So that's all I said. But to do this ['Mikkey Dee With Friends' thing], [it's] fantastic. And, of course, we'd like to plan something bigger than this in the future, hopefully."

Lemmy died on December 28, 2015 at the age of 70 shortly after learning he had been diagnosed with cancer.

MOTÖRHEAD had to cancel a number of shows in 2015 because of Lemmy's poor health, although the band did manage to complete the aforementioned European tour a couple of weeks before his death.

In June 2020, it was announced that Lemmy would get the biopic treatment. The upcoming film, "Lemmy", will be directed by Greg Olliver, who previously helmed the 2010 documentary of the same name, "Lemmy".

A custom-made urn containing Lemmy's ashes is on permanent display in a columbarium at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood, California.

FOZZY, the band featuring wrestling superstar Chris Jericho and STUCK MOJO mastermind Rich "The Duke" Ward, has released the official Lawrence Hinson-directed music video for the group's latest single, "Fall In Line". The clip was filmed at HM Studios in Las Vegas, Nevada, based on a video concept by Hinson and Mark Willis.

"Fall In Line" was released in April via Madison Records. Fueled by razor-sharp guitars, thunderous drums, and Jericho's signature powerhouse vocals, the track is pure fire — a hard-hitting anthem that dares listeners to stand up, speak out, and never fall in line.

When "Fall In Line" was first made available three months ago, Jericho said in a statement: "'Fall In Line' is the most exciting and unique song FOZZY has recorded for so many reasons. It has the familiar FOZZY sound that's been our trademark for 25 years, yet sounds nothing like anything we've ever done. We feel its gonna be a massive addition to our catalog, and are stoked to unleash this tune to the world and play it live on our tour."

The 2025 leg of FOZZY's 25th-anniversary tour, dubbed "2025th Anniversary Tour", kicked off on April 17 in Springfield, Missouri and concluded on May 12 in Wyandotte, Michigan. The trek, featuring support from LILIAC and THE NOCTURNAL AFFAIR, included stops in 20 of the nation's most epic venues, bringing the band's electrifying live performances for fans in every city.

In a recent interview with Springfield, Missouri's Q102.1 radio station, Jericho was asked if there are any plans for him and his bandmates to release a follow-up to their 2022 album "Boombox". He responded: "It's interesting. So our last record, 'Boombox', we wrote it and recorded it basically during the pandemic. And then it took a couple of years to finally release it, because you didn't wanna release it with no radio playing new stuff and you can't tour on it. And that record, we spent so much time with it, I realized, and the rest of the guys did as well, maybe making a [full-length] record isn't the way to do it anymore. 'Cause we had three radio singles with it, three other songs that we play live, and then the other six songs just kind of go to the elephant burial ground where you don't really hear them ever again. And in our opinion, as you should think this way, every one of those songs could have been a Top 10 hit, like 'Sane' was and like 'Nowhere To Run' was and 'I Still Burn' was. So we're just releasing one song at a time for right now, which I think in the modern world, might be the way to do it."

Jericho continued: "If you're kind of old school, like METALLICA or [IRON] MAIDEN or something, albums still seem to be the way to go, but I think for us rock radio bands, one song at a time, because every song will get a chance to live or die on the radio and every song will get a chance to live or die live. And I think that's what we're gonna be concentrating on. So we released 'Spotlight' [in October 2023] that way. Now 'Fall In Line' [has just come] out [in April]. We're already working on the next tune, so that when this one starts to… Radio takes about a good five or six months to go through the cycle, and when it starts going down, we'll release another one. So I think that's gonna be kind of our M.O. for the next little while."

Chris went on to say that he likes releasing one song at a time as opposed to making full-length albums.

"I wanna give every song a chance at this point in time, 'cause, like I said, on 'Boombox', there was far too many great songs that just didn't get their chance," he explained. "And I think that's a shame when you spend so much time. And you know, like, 'This song is great.' We had a song called 'Ugly On The Inside' on 'Boombox'. As soon as I heard it, I'm, like, 'That's gonna be a Number One song.' We didn't even release it as a single. We never even played it live, 'cause other songs come out and the other songs work better in certain situations. So I think from now on, it's just one at a time. So we are working on the next one right now. ['Fall In Line'] just came out. So give it a chance first. But maybe in six months or so we'll release another one."

The first U.S. leg of FOZZY's 25th-anniversary tour ran through October 21, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. Support on the tour came from THE NOCTURNAL AFFAIR and CLOZURE.

"Fall In Line" is the follow-up to FOZZY's previous standalone single, "Spotlight", which was released in October 2023 via Madison Records/The Orchard. The track was helmed by FOZZY's longtime producer Johnny Andrews (THREE DAYS GRACE, ALL THAT REMAINS, HALESTORM) and sonically refined by mixer Jacob Hanson (VOLBEAT, AMARANTHE, ARCH ENEMY).

"Boombox" came out in May 2022 and featured "I Still Burn", which has more than three million views on YouTube. It also included the Top 10 singles "Nowhere To Run" and "Sane".

In the spring of 2023, FOZZY spent time on the road with UGLY KID JOE as part of the latter band's first tour of the United States in 27 years.

In January 2022, FOZZY parted ways with longtime drummer Frank Fontsere and replaced him with Grant Brooks (THROUGH FIRE).

Fontsere was a founding member of FOZZY, having formed the group in 1999 with Jericho and Ward.

When FOZZY announced Fontsere's departure, the band said that he was "stepping down to focus on his family and other projects."

FOZZY is Jericho, Ward, Brooks, Billy Grey (guitar) and P.J. Farley (bass).

ASHES OF ARES, the U.S. heavy metal duo featuring former ICED EARTH members Matt Barlow and Freddie Vidales, will release its new studio album, titled "New Messiahs", in Europe on July 18 and in North America on August 8, 2025 via ROAR!

The official music video for the LP's third single, "Keep On Walkin'", can be seen below.

Barlow comments: "'Keep On Walkin'' is a song I wrote about parenthood while considering my relationship with my sons. I was inspired after taking a walk one day and thinking of that walk as the measure of a lifespan. I wanted to start the narrative with my sons' first steps and end after I have passed away and they continue on their own path."

Formed in 2012 by Barlow and Vidales, alongside former NEVERMORE drummer Van Williams, ASHES OF ARES was born from a shared vision: to create a sound that reflects their personal influences, ideas, and visions. With their self-titled debut album released in 2013, the band quickly captivated audiences in the USA and Europe with their electrifying live performances.

In 2017, after Van's departure, Matt and Freddie continued undeterred, forging ahead with their creative journey. Their sophomore album, "Well Of Souls" (2018),showcased a more intense and expansive sound, cementing the duo's partnership in songwriting, followed by their third full-length, "Emperors And Fools" (2022),that marked a new milestone and evolution in the sound of ASHES OF ARES.

Now, ASHES OF ARES returns with "New Messiahs", continuing its relentless pursuit of sonic excellence and delivering a collection of 12 new tracks that push the boundaries of the band's signature sound. Featuring the blistering title track and standouts like "Two Graves" and "Wake Of Vultures", the LP brings an emotional intensity, sharp songwriting, and captivating melodies that reflect their journey as artists.

"New Messiahs" introduces notable collaborations, including Kyle Taylor on drums and guest appearances from Charlie Honig, Craig Blackwell and Todd La Torre (QUEENSRŸCHE). A surprise bonus track, featuring a powerful cover of Elton John's "And The House Fell Down", highlights the duo's ability to make any song their own. Recorded and mastered by Byron Filson at Villain Recording in Phoenix, Arizona, the album features stunning artwork by Kamil Pietruczynik, bringing a visual dimension to the sonic experience.

Spanning over a decade of evolution, ASHES OF ARES continues to honor their commitment to heartfelt, powerful music that transcends boundaries. With "New Messiahs", they solidify their place as masters of storytelling and architects of a sound that resonates deeply with fans worldwide.

"New Messiahs" track listing:

01. Novus Ordo
02. New Messiahs
03. Two Graves
04. Where You Go
05. Wake Of Vultures
06. Infection Deception (CD bonus track)
07. Atrophy
08. Keep On Walkin'
09. The Hawk And The Dove
10. Lust To Feed
11. From Hell He Rides
12. And The House Fell Down (CD bonus track)

Recording lineup:

Matt Barlow - Vocals
Freddie Vidales - Guitars, Bass
Guest drums by Kyle Taylor

As previously reported, ASHES OF ARES will celebrate the upcoming 30th anniversary of ICED EARTH's third album, 1996's "The Dark Saga", on a European tour in September/October 2025.

Vidales played with ICED EARTH from 2008 to 2012 and is featured on the band's 2011 album "Dystopia".

Barlow served two stints with ICED EARTH, from 1993 to 2003 and from 2007 to 2011.

Recorded in early 1996, "The Dark Saga" was a concept album based on the Todd McFarlane comic book character Spawn (who also appears on the album's cover). Upon its arrival, the LP was praised for Barlow's vocals, as well as ICED EARTH founder, songwriter, guitarist and producer Jon Schaffer and Randall Shawver's guitar playing. Eduardo Rivadavia called Barlow's vocal performance "impressive throughout", while Mike Stagno felt that "Barlow's deeper vocal style also helps the songs sound much more emotional". Rivadavia also named Schaffer and Shawver's interplay the highlight of "The Dark Saga".

Seven years ago, Barlow told "The Classic Metal Show" about ASHES OF ARES: "Sometimes it's hard to escape the comparisons [to ICED EARTH], because my voice is still my voice no matter what, and I'm still gonna deliver things emotionally like I have before, so people are always gonna draw comparisons with ICED EARTH, and that's fine; I'm completely cool with that. I'm proud of my time in ICED EARTH, proud of everything that I've done with them, proud of them right now, going on and kicking ass. So I don't have any problem with that whatsoever — the comparisons. But that being said, I want ASHES to have its own identity as well. I think, again, as my writing partner, Freddie deserves that — he deserves to have his own identity in ASHES — and I think that's really important; that's what we're striving to do."

ICED EARTH played its final show with Barlow at the 2011 edition of the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany.

Barlow, who is married to Schaffer's sister, announced his departure from ICED EARTH in March 2011. In a heartfelt statement, he cited his commitment to his family and the need for ICED EARTH to tour more as the reasons for his retirement; however, he committed to performing with ICED EARTH on all 2011 European festival dates, including Wacken Open Air.

Back in late 2020, Barlow reunited with Schaffer to celebrate the holiday season with an EP called "Winter Nights". Released under the SCHAFFER/BARLOW PROJECT banner, the effort contained the duo's unique spin on five Christmas classics and two ICED EARTH songs.

Last October, Jon was sentenced to three years of probation and 120 hours of community service in connection with his involvement in the riot at the U.S. Capitol. He was also ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution and a $200 financial assessment. Schaffer later became one of about 1,500 people accused of crimes related to the riot who were pardoned by President Donald Trump.

This past April, Schaffer said in an interview that the legal issues and professional setback he faced as a result of his involvement in the Capitol riot have been "the biggest gift" of his life, in part because "it is what led" him "to [Jesus] Christ."

Southern California's DAYSEEKER — Rory Rodriguez (vocals),Gino Sgambelluri (guitar),Ramone Valerio (bass) and Zac Mayfield (drums) — will release its new album, "Creature In The Black Night", on October 24 via Spinefarm. Produced by Daniel Braunstein (SPIRITBOX, SILENT PLANET) and mixed by Zakk Cervini (BLINK-182, BRING ME THE HORIZON, LORNA SHORE),the LP is DAYSEEKER's most immersive and intentional record to date — eerie, cinematic, and threaded with a dark (and sexy) emotional current.

Today, DAYSEEKER has shared the video for the "Creature In The Black Night" title track. The song is a moody, dreamy anthem and it's everything fans have come to know and love about DAYSEEKER — stunning and dramatic vocal shifts, Rodriguez's DNA-distinct falsetto, rising sonic tension that escalates and then explodes, and downright pretty melodies co-exist alongside plate-shifting breakdowns. It follows the release of "Pale Moonlight", which arrived in late April and already accumulated 10 million streams.

"'Creature In The Black Night' is the darker part of your conscience overpowering you," reveals Rodriguez about the song. "It's about the rush you're addicted to that you can't ignore."

While not a concept album in the traditional sense, "Creature In The Black Night" exhibits thematic cohesion, from its shadowy visual identity, Grim Reaper iconography and ominous atmosphere to how its songs unfold like chapters.

"There’s a horror-inspired vibe that took hold early on," Rodriguez explains. "It wasn't planned. But once it started showing up in the songs, we leaned into it."

Fans expecting a sorrowful descent into depression might be surprised — "Creature In The Black Night" has sharper edges, heavier riffs, and a newfound sense of clarity.

"There was this idea that we'd get more and more commercial over time," Rodriguez says. "But I think the opposite happened — we're riffing more, I'm screaming more. And it feels good. It feels honest."

"Creature In The Black Night" track listing:

01. Pale Moonlight
02. Creature In The Black Night
03. Crawl Back To My Coffin
04. Shapeshift
05. Soulburn
06. Bloodlust
07. Cemetery Blues
08. Nocturnal Remedy
09. The Living Dead
10. Meet The Reaper
11. Forgotten Ghost

DAYSEEKER will spend the rest of 2025 on tour. They have a spate of headline dates, and will serve as support for both ICE NINE KILLS and IN THIS MOMENT through the fall.

Sad rock. That's usually how frontman Rory Rodriguez describes it to curious newcomers. But there's more to DAYSEEKER than melancholy. Formed in Southern California and forged in adversity, DAYSEEKER evolved from post-hardcore upstarts into one of the most emotionally resonant and stylistically agile bands in heavy music today. Their songs don't just process grief, heartbreak, and trauma — they transform them into something magnetic, powerful, and ultimately empowering. Since 2012, this spirit has defined the band, which prioritizes emotional truth over trends, connecting through authentic passion, sonic innovation, and lyrical vulnerability. 2019's "Sleeptalk" marked a creative turning point — a dreamy, immersive reintroduction that saw the band doubling down on melody, atmosphere, and introspection. That shift continued with 2022's "Dark Sun", a devastatingly personal album shaped by the death of Rodriguez's father. DAYSEEKER graced the cover of Outburn and drew enthusiastic praise from Alternative Press and alt-rock radio. The profound resonance of the band's music with fellow outsiders worldwide is evident in their 600 million+ streams. And it's palpable at every show, from sold-out headlining runs in theaters to tours with PIERCE THE VEIL, BAD OMENS and ICE NINE KILLS.

Photo credit: Max Baxter

Michigan metalcore titans WE CAME AS ROMANS will release their new album, "All Is Beautiful... Because We're Doomed", on Friday, August 22 via Sharptone Records. The announcement arrives alongside the release of the album's third single, "Culture Wound", and its accompanying official music video. Following the defiant anthems "Bad Luck" and "No Rest For The Dreamer", this latest track dives deep into the battle between our best and worst impulses.

"Culture Wound" confronts the fundamental question at the heart of human existence: are we inherently good or inherently bad? The track wrestles with the forces — both internal and external — that shape who we become, delivered through the band's signature blend of crushing riffs and soaring melodies.

WE CAME AS ROMANS comments: "'Culture Wound' is about taking a look inside and deciding which side of yourself is going to control your life. This song was written to question our human nature — is it inherently good or inherently selfish? Are we here to try and make something better for everyone or just survive for ourselves? All of the different 'sides of ourselves' that we've discovered, struggled with, or left behind is really what this album is about, and our journey through all of those experiences is written in every song."

"All Is Beautiful... Because We're Doomed" represents a profound creative evolution for WE CAME AS ROMANS. Born from introspection and shaped by the band's own journey through triumph and tragedy, the album explores themes of existentialism, gratitude, loss, and the perpetual cycles of life. The record's conceptual framework — inspired by philosophical notions of death and rebirth — manifests in its very structure, with the album looping seamlessly from end to beginning, symbolizing that endings lead to new beginnings.

The album emerged from an intensive creative process that saw the band turn inward, mining their shared experiences for authentic emotional truth. What began as a struggle to find direction after 2022's grief-stricken, highly acclaimed "Darkbloom" transformed into their most conceptually ambitious work to date. Each track ties to a specific moment or period in the band's history, creating a sonic autobiography that spans their entire career while focusing unflinchingly on the future.

"Culture Wound" serves as a centerpiece for the album's exploration of duality and self-examination. The track underwent extensive revision to achieve its final form — a testament to the band's commitment to getting every detail right on this deeply personal record.

"All Is Beautiful... Because We're Doomed" track listing:

01. Bad Luck
02. Lake Of Fire
03. Red Smoke
04. One By One
05. Culture Wound
06. Where Did You Go?
07. No Rest For The Dreamer
08. B2tm
09. Circling A Dying Sun
10. Knowing Pain
11. So Lost (Burning Flowers)
12. Because We're Doomed

WE CAME AS ROMANS will support the new album with their massive "Bad Luck" world tour, the North American leg of which kicks off on July 22 in Toronto and culminates in what is sure to be a historical homecoming when they play legendary venue The Fillmore in Detroit on August 23, the day after the album is released. The tour then heads to Europe in the fall. The band will also appear at major festivals including Warped Tour, Inkcarceration and When We Were Young.

WE CAME AS ROMANS continue to progress and evolve at lightspeed, maintaining a place at the forefront of heavy music and culture. Never content to follow, they seamlessly alchemize crushing groove-driven catharsis, spacey electronics, and arena-size singalongs into a sound that refuses to sit still — effortlessly moving between metal, alternative, metalcore, and rock.

The Michigan-born five-piece — Dave Stephens, Joshua Moore, Lou Cotton, Andy Glass and David Puckett — first broke through with "Tracing Back Roots" (2013),which cracked the Billboard 200 Top 10 and hit No. 1 on both the Independent Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums charts. Their self-titled 2015 album followed, debuting at No. 11 on the Billboard 200, cementing their status as modern metalcore royalty.

Following the tragic loss of original vocalist Kyle Pavone in 2018, the band has continued to honor his legacy with their 2022 album "Darkbloom", their highest-praised record to date. Kerrang! awarded it 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "a carrier for a knot of emotion, and a tribute to their friend." It included career-defining tracks like "Black Hole" (featuring Caleb Shomo),now over 102 million Spotify streams, and "Daggers" (featuring Zero 9:36),which surpassed 32 million streams. Media outlets including Loudwire and Consequence praised the album for its emotional range, sonic heft, and unapologetic vulnerability.

WE CAME AS ROMANS is:

Dave Stephens - Vocals
Joshua Moore - Guitar
Lou Cotton - Guitar
Andy Glass - Bass
David Puckett - Drums

Photo credit: Jonathan Weiner

Legendary hard rockers AC/DC performed at Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany on July 8 as part of the summer 2025 leg of their European "Power Up" tour.

The setlist for the show was as follows, according to Setlist.fm:

01. If You Want Blood (You've Got It)
02. Back In Black
03. Demon Fire
04. Shot Down In Flames
05. Thunderstruck
06. Have A Drink On Me
07. Hells Bells
08. Shot In The Dark
09. Stiff Upper Lip
10. Highway To Hell
11. Shoot To Thrill
12. Sin City
13. Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be
14. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
15. High Voltage
16. Riff Raff
17. You Shook Me All Night Long
18. Whole Lotta Rosie
19. Let There Be Rock (with Angus Young guitar solo)

Encore:

20. T.N.T.
21. For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)

Fan-filmed video of the show can be seen below.

AC/DC kicked off the summer 2025 leg of its European "Power Up" tour on June 26 at Letiště Praha Letňany in Prague, Czech Republic. Around 60,000 fans reportedly attended the concert, including Czech president Petr Pavel. Pavel is an avid rock fan who also attended Bruce Springsteen and Alanis Morissette shows earlier in June.

The "Power Up" tour shares its name with AC/DC's 2020 album, which debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA chart in Australia and 20 other countries around the globe. "Power Up" notably notched the band's third No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 and exploded as one of the best-selling albums of 2020 worldwide. It closed out the year on Rolling Stone's "Top 50 Albums Of 2020" and Consequence Of Sound's "Top 50 Albums Of 2020." Plus, it garnered Grammy Award nominations in the categories of "Best Rock Album', "Best Rock Performance" and "Best Music Video" for "Shot In The Dark".

In 2024, the "Power Up" tour kicked off in Europe with a staggering 1.7 million tickets sold in the first days of sales, eventually surpassing 2 million tickets sold across 24 shows. The band just concluded 10 sold-out shows in North America and has 15 additional shows scheduled across Europe before returning to Australia.

AC/DC played its very first show on December 31, 1973 at Chequers Nightclub in Sydney, Australia. They are one of the most influential rock bands in history, with over 200 million albums sold worldwide. The band's "Back In Black" LP is the best-selling album by any band ever and the third best-selling album by any artist, with global sales of 50 million and counting.

AC/DC was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2003. The band continues selling out stadiums on multiple continents, selling millions of albums annually and generating streams in the billions.

The "Power Up" 2024 European tour marked AC/DC's first with the band's new touring lineup, consisting of longtime singer Brian Johnson, founding member and lead guitarist Angus Young, as well as rhythm guitarist Stevie Young (who officially joined the band in 2014, replacing his uncle Malcolm Young, who retired due to dementia),drummer Matt Laug (who joined in 2023, replacing longtime drummer Phil Rudd) and former JANE'S ADDICTION bassist Chris Chaney, who came on board in 2024 replacing longtime bassist Cliff Williams. Williams retired from AC/DC after the conclusion of the 2016 "Rock Or Bust" tour, although he did return to the fold briefly for the 2020 "Power Up" album and an appearance at Power Trip.

AC/DC's "Power Up" album came out in November 2020. The follow-up to 2014's "Rock Or Bust" was recorded over a six-week period in August and September 2018 at Warehouse Studios in Vancouver with producer Brendan O'Brien, who also worked 2008's "Black Ice" and "Rock Or Bust".

AC/DC's current tour comes nine years after Johnson bowed out of a 2016 run of shows due to a hearing condition. He was replaced at the gigs by guest vocalist Axl Rose of GUNS N' ROSES.