In a new interview with Metalshop TV, KITTIE guitarist/vocalist Morgan Lander was asked why she and her bandmates no longer like to be labeled a "nu metal" act. She responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, because I think the label is not representative of our music anymore. I think for a long time it felt like it was a little bit of a bad word, because nu metal, it was on a pedestal and then it fell and it sort of became a bit of a parody of itself. And we moved away from that sound early on. Our second album [2001's 'Oracle'] was sort of a little bit less of that. But we are still very proud to say that we helped to start some of the movement. And we were one of the earlier nu metal bands and people found us popular. So, yeah, we're proud to say that that album [KITTIE's 1999 debut 'Spit'] was influential in that genre. But we don't really sound like that anymore. So we're not still a nu metal band."

Back in May 2024, KITTIE members Morgan, Mercedes Lander (drums) and Tara McLeod (guitar) spoke about how they feel about the supposed nu-metal resurgence in recent years, partly thanks to a whole new wave of exciting revivalists as well as scene godfathers like LIMP BIZKIT and MUDVAYNE returning to headlining arenas. Tara told the "The Ex-Man" podcast: "It just seems like every time there's a shift in music, everyone hates it at first. A big, popular shift, everyone has to hate it at first. And I think with nu metal, it's like a simplified form of music, but that doesn't make it a lesser-than form of music. And I think that oftentimes it takes a little bit of growth and perhaps some years for some of the music fans to catch up and look back and realize, like, 'Wow, okay, that was super catchy. And actually writing those riffs and the hooks and the vocals, that's actually not simple.' They're, like, simplified; it's not simple."

Added Mercedes: "Honestly, go and listen to any of [LIMP BIZKIT guitarist] Wes Borland's playing. That's not easy. Also, [LIMP BIZKIT drummer] John Otto, the GOAT. Have you ever watched John Otto play drums? He's amazing."

Morgan said that it takes restraint for skilled musicians "to not overplay. And I think that is a sign of real talent, and also being strategic about where you're putting things in and how you're writing," she added.

Mercedes continued: "I think a lot of people confuse busy playing with good music. 'Cause there's a lot of busy songs that I'm, like, 'This song sucks.' It doesn't have to be super busy or shreddy or whatever, it doesn't have to be like that to be good. It's the same thing as I like to say — just 'cause you can play fast, it doesn't mean that you should… Giving yourself that space can provide you with so much more. Keeping your music kind of simplistic even, and giving yourself that space, you can do more vocally or whatever the case might be. Less is more sometimes."

In a separate interview with Metal Hammer magazine, Morgan shot down any suggestion that KITTIE's comeback was timed to coincide with nu-metal's resurgence.

"We're not a nu-metal band, and we never will be again," she said. "We're not trying to recapture something that is long gone for us. There might be a riff or an idea that harkens back to who we were in the past, but that is married with the more modern ideas of KITTIE as well. It's probably the best-sounding album that we've ever recorded. It has its foot in many worlds. I feel like when we were writing this album, there didn't feel like there was anything to prove. So it's definitely heavy and more mature, and the songwriting is incredible."

"I feel like we could have phoned it in and done what people expected us to do, but we've never been that band," added Mercedes. "We've always defied everything and done our own thing, and I think we're going to continue to do that. And that is the beauty of this band."

KITTIE's long-awaited new studio album, "Fire", came out in June 2024 via Sumerian Records.

In November 2023, it was revealed that KITTIE was working on a new studio LP with producer Nick Raskulinecz at Nashville's Sienna Studios.

Raskulinecz, who moved to Nashville from Los Angeles around 17 years ago, had previously worked with such acts as RUSH, ALICE IN CHAINS, KORN, RISE AGAINST, HALESTORM, EVANESCENCE, SKID ROW and the DEFTONES.

KITTIE played its first concert in five years in September 2022 at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival at the Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia.

Joining Morgan, Mercedes and Tara in KITTIE's current lineup is bassist Ivana "Ivy" Vujic.

Prior to Blue Ridge, KITTIE had not performed since its reunion show at London Music Hall in the band's native London, Ontario in 2017, celebrating the group's documentary "Kittie: Origins/Evolutions".

Vujic joined KITTIE in 2008 and appeared on the band's fifth studio CD, 2009's "In The Black". She also wrote and recorded bass for KITTIE's sixth album, 2011's "I've Failed You".

After KITTIE completed the touring cycle for "I've Failed You" album, the band entered a long period of inactivity during which Morgan focused on a marketing job for a chain of fitness clubs while Mercedes worked in real estate and more recently at a software company. The group also began work on a career-spanning documentary, "Origins/Evolutions", which finally saw the light of day in 2018 via Lightyear Entertainment in North America.

Photo credit: Dante Dellamore

Following the launch of their landmark "'Long Live': The Black Parade Tour", MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE's groundbreaking four-times-platinum 2006 album "The Black Parade" has earned ten new certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The album's lead single "Welcome To The Black Parade" is now certified seven times platinum, "Teenagers" is now six times platinum, "Famous Last Words" is double platinum, and "I Don't Love You" and "Mama" ascend to platinum status. Additionally, album tracks "House Of Wolves", "The End.", "The Sharpest Lives", "This Is How I Disappear" and "Disenchanted" are now certified gold.

This past Friday, MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE kicked off their "'Long Live': The Black Parade Tour" with a sold-out show at Seattle, Washington's T-Mobile Park. The Seattle Times praised: "MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE's devilishly over-the-top ''Long Live': The Black Parade Tour' opened with a magnificent bang, cementing its place as the blockbuster rock tour of the summer." The tour, which sees the group perform "The Black Parade" in its entirety as well as a complete second set filled with fan favorites, will visit North American stadiums throughout the summer, and resume in February with two shows at Mexico City's Estadio GNP Seguros. MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE also just announced tours of South America and Southeast Asia in 2026.

Earlier this year, MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE announced the expanded edition of its three-times-platinum-certified sophomore album "Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge", out on June 6, 2025 — exactly 21 years to the original release date. The "Deluxe Edition" is remixed and remastered and is available on CD, multiple colored vinyl variants, including a stunning zoetrope 2LP, and digitally. The 2LP vinyl formats are three-sided, with Side 4 boasting a special etching, making them collector's items for the MCRmy.

To commemorate the band's beloved 2004 album, Grammy Award-winning producer Rich Costey has done new mixes for the "Deluxe Edition". It is also presented with brand new artwork. The collection features four bonus tracks recorded for BBC in 2005: previously unreleased live versions of "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)", "Helena" and "The Ghost Of You", plus a live take on "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison" — originally released as a B-side on the limited edition U.K. CD single of "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)".

"Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge" redefined the 21st-century rock genre and catapulted MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE into global stardom. Rolling Stone touted it on the "40 Greatest Emo Albums Of All Time", proclaiming the band's "purposeful revolution started here." The record landed on Spin's "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985–2014)" list and NME's "20 Emo Albums That Have Resolutely Stood The Test Of Time" list. Alternative Press hailed it as MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE's "best album" and "the definitive MCR LP from their discography." Not to mention, Pitchfork described it as "an operatic pop-rock behemoth that became an icon for outcasts," attesting that "MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE thrived because they came to the realization that emotional outcasts deserved something to cheer for, even if their victories were imaginary." To date, the record has sold over seven million copies worldwide.

Photo credit: Chapman Baehler

In a new interview with the JJO Discover New Music podcast, VOLBEAT guitarist/vocalist Michael Poulsen was asked if he and his bandmates tried to do anything differently on their ninth album, "God Of Angels Trust", which arrived on June 6 via VOLBEAT's longtime label Vertigo/Universal. Michael said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[We] basically [tried] not to overthink anything, because the way that I also wrote the ASINHELL [Poulsen's death metal side project] album was also quite fast. The thing is, when you've done so many records, like VOLBEAT [has], you start thinking about, 'Okay, how should the next record sound like?' And our great friend Rob Caggiano, who was [the guitar player] in VOLBEAT before, he loved to be in the studio forever, where I'm a little bit the opposite. I like to shoot straight from the hip so the spirit stays in the riff and in the performance. There's just two different ways of working, and power to him for wanting to work like that. So, for me, it was like trying to jump on an old bike again, going into the studio where I could pretty much, with the other guys, do it like we did back in the days, because we always allowed Rob to use the time that he wanted to use. There has to be a certain compromise. Just as much as he wanted to be in the studio longer, and we didn't, it's just as much as we wanted to do it very fast and he was not into the fast takes. There's a certain compromise then. But he's a very talented guy, and we love our brother Rob."

Poulsen continued: "I'm just trying to explain the kind of mindset we went into with this record. And that was pretty much how we started recording some of the first albums. And there was something really refreshing about that. And sometimes you manage to find that youth, even though we're all in our fifties. But the most important thing is that you don't force it because you will fail. It has to come naturally. But the thing is that sound, that style is so much in our DNA. It was just kind of revisiting some of the things we did in the past and then mix it up with stuff we like to do now. Because it's not like we want us to be nostalgic or anything. We like to go out with a new album that sounds like a new album, but we also want it to be very recognizable for listeners. And you know what? I think we could try to do something different and it will still end up sounding 100% [like us]. Just as you think you've done something different, there'll be people saying, 'Oh, that's typical VOLBEAT.' Yeah. But that's a gift. I look at that as a gift, because a lot of bands, performers are struggling to find their signature sound or just their style. So by the time they release so many different albums and you cannot really tell what band it is. So for us, we feel very blessed that from the very beginning we had that sound, we had that style, and we can pretty much just add a few ingredients for every time we make a new album. It's like when you buy a MOTÖRHEAD album, you know what you're gonna get. If you buy an IRON MAIDEN album or an AC/DC album, those kind of bands, you know what you're gonna get. But they always manage to put something new on the top so it sounds like a new album. And I think we managed to do that with the VOLBEAT records."

VOLBEAT kicked off its "Greatest Of All Tours Worldwide" on June 7 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

"Greatest Of All Tours Worldwide" launched with a co-headline Canadian run with THREE DAYS GRACE and special guests WAGE WAR, which will be followed by headline treks in the U.S. with special guests HALESTORM and THE GHOST INSIDE, and Europe with special guests BUSH and WITCH FEVER, including a second show at Copenhagen's Royal Arena on September 20.

VOLBEAT has scored ten No. 1 songs on the Billboard Mainstream Rock airplay chart, the most ever for a band based outside North America.

Poulsen started working on songs for the follow-up to 2021's "Servant Of The Mind" in the summer of 2024. VOLBEAT was taking a year-long break from touring to give Michael a chance to recover from throat surgery and to tour with his death metal band ASINHELL. Driven equally by his excitement to record a new VOLBEAT album and by his determination not to follow convention, Poulsen worked on songs for a mere three weeks with bandmates drummer Jon Larsen and bassist Kaspar Boye Larsen. Amazingly, they worked on a new song at every rehearsal. Three weeks into the process, VOLBEAT had arranged half of "God Of Angels Trust". That's when Poulsen decided that having no rules meant he could follow his muse wherever it took him, and he veered off on a different path. He and the band still wrote and rehearsed two songs a week, but they started composing more familiar rock songs that drew from traditional elements.

The band entered the studio with their longtime producer Jacob Hansen in the fall of 2024. As with the songwriting, Poulsen wanted to work quickly and rely on instinct, so they just plugged in and started to play. To keep the music sounding urgent and immediate, VOLBEAT recorded live in the studio, playing as few takes as possible before moving from one song to the next.

When it came time to add lead guitar, there was no question that VOLBEAT would tap Flemming C. Lund, who currently tours with the band and worked with Michael in ASINHELL. A mere 13 days after they started working with Hansen, VOLBEAT were finished.

Just one week ahead of the highly anticipated new album "The Revenge Of Alice Cooper", the reunited original ALICE COOPER group releases their latest single, "Up All Night" — a defiant, riff-heavy anthem that captures the chaos, danger, and thrill of rock and roll after dark.

"Up All Night" is a full-throttle celebration of youthful mischief, the kind of trouble you don't regret. With snarling guitars, pounding rhythms, and Alice's unmistakable growl, the track feels like a direct transmission from 1971 — raw, loud, and unapologetically alive. It's a fitting final teaser before the full album drops on July 25.

With the album just around the corner, excitement builds for a once-in-a-lifetime pre-release event in London, bringing the original band — Alice Cooper, Dennis Dunaway, Neal Smith and Michael Bruce — together on stage for an unforgettable evening.

The event will be hosted by none other than Sir Tim Rice and will feature a very special appearance by producer and honorary sixth band member, Bob Ezrin, whose legendary partnership with the band helped define the sound of an era. The night will include a world-exclusive pre-listening session of the full album and in-depth conversation with the band about the making of "The Revenge Of Alice Cooper".

The event, which sold out within 24 hours, will be streamed live globally via the Alice Cooper and earMUSIC YouTube channels, as well as on TalksShopLive ensuring no fan misses out on this historic reunion and giving audiences everywhere a front-row seat.

Cooper, Dunaway, Smith and Bruce reunited with Ezrin to create "The Revenge Of Alice Cooper", a fierce and nostalgic homage to their early '70s glory. The album includes a special posthumous feature from original guitarist Glen Buxton and guest appearance by Robby Krieger of THE DOORS on the debut single "Black Mamba".

With timeless tracks, classic horror rock energy, and a dose of theatrical chaos, "The Revenge Of Alice Cooper" promises to be more than a comeback — it's a resurrection.

"The Revenge Of Alice Cooper" is a high-voltage journey into vintage horror and classic 1970s shock rock, capturing the sound, energy, and mischief that made the original ALICE COOPER band legendary. In a truly special moment, the album features a posthumous appearance by Glen Buxton, the band's original guitarist who passed away in 1997, through an unreleased recording that seamlessly blends the past with the present on "What Happened To You", featuring his original guitar part.

If that wasn't cool enough, one of the bonus tracks (box set and limited smart format) also includes a long-lost gem from 1970 — a raw, alternate take of "Return Of The Spiders" (not the version heard on "Easy Action") — recently unearthed from original multi-tracks missing for 50 years and now enhanced and mixed by Bob Ezrin.

"The Revenge Of Alice Cooper" saw Alice, Neal, Michael, Dennis and Bob working in an old-school recording studio in Connecticut, rekindling the magic from the 1970s. This album is a celebration of friendship, nostalgia, and the timeless sound that solidified Alice Cooper as a rock icon. Fans can expect a powerful and nostalgic experience that bridges the gap between the band's storied past and their vibrant present.

From the venomous bite of "Black Mamba" to the rebellious charge of "Wild Ones" and the soft, haunting melodies of "See You On The Other Side", every track feels like a rock 'n' roll classic.

"The Revenge Of Alice Cooper" is going to be released on July 25 in a wide variety of formats and limited vinyl colors. It will also be available as a limited box set and as a limited art print (smart format),featuring exclusive access to two bonus tracks from the start, plus the full album automatically delivered as a high-definition download on release day.

The original ALICE COOPER group — Alice Cooper (vocals),Michael Bruce (guitar),Dennis Dunaway (bass),Neal Smith (drums) and Glen Buxton (guitar) — redefined rock in the early 1970s, blending raw, hard-hitting music with shocking theatricality. With Bob Ezrin at the helm, they pioneered shock rock, delivering rebellious anthems, dark storytelling and over-the-top stage shows featuring guillotines, snakes, and macabre theatrics.

Albums like "Love It To Death" (1971),"Killer" (1971),"School's Out" (1972) and "Billion Dollar Babies" (1973) turned them into superstars, producing legendary hits like "I'm Eighteen", "Elected", "School's Out" and "No More Mr. Nice Guy". Their mix of hard rock, glam, and horror made them one of the most influential and controversial bands of their era, leaving a permanent mark on rock history.

Alice Cooper has sold countless millions of records worldwide and shaped rock history forever. Inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2011, their music remains as powerful and relevant as ever.

Now, with "The Revenge Of Alice Cooper", the original band reunites for one more epic chapter, reclaiming the sound and legacy that made them legends.

Cooper told Billboard that making a new album with his original bandmates "was very much like this was our next album after [1973's] 'Muscle Of Love', just like, 'Okay, this is the next album.' Isn't that funny after 50 years? All of a sudden it just falls into place."

Ezrin said about the making of "The Revenge Of Alice Cooper": "None of them has changed much as a person. Obviously, everyone's older and more mature and more settled, but when we all get together and I watch the interplay between them, it's like they just walked out of high school and were hanging out in the local cafe. They just revert to type. They revert to who they were as kids when the first got together… and make music together like they did 50-some years ago."

As for the possibility of the original COOPER band hitting the road again, Alice said: "We haven't even gotten to that point yet. I don't really see it being a full-out tour; it would be very, very hard, I think, if you haven't done it for a long time. But I could see it being a feature, like going into certain cities — Detroit, New York, L.A., London maybe, and doing a half-hour or 40 minutes in a club or something. We always leave those things open, and if it looks feasible, then we do it."

"The Revenge of Alice Cooper" track listing:

01. Black Mamba
02. Wild Ones
03. Up All Night
04. Kill The Flies
05. One Night Stand
06. Blood On The Sun
07. Crap That Gets In The Way Of Your Dreams
08. Famous Face
09. Money Screams
10. What A Syd
11. Inter Galactic Vagabond Blues
12. What Happened To You
13. I Ain't Done Wrong
14. See You On The Other Side
15. Return of the Spiders 2025 (bonus track)
16. Titanic Overunderture (bonus track)

Formed in 1968, the original ALICE COOPER band forged a theatrical brand of hard rock that was destined to shock and had never been seen before. Within five years, they would release no fewer than seven studio albums, amongst them their international breakthrough "School's Out" (including the Top 10 hit of the same name) and the U.S. No. 1 "Billion Dollar Babies" (1973). By 1974, the band had risen to the upper echelon of rock stardom... and then it dissolved.

In October 2015, over 40 years later, record store owner and superfan Chris Penn convinced the original lineup to reunite for a very special performance at Good Records, his record store in Dallas, Texas. Alice, Michael, Dennis and Neal were joined on stage by Alice's current guitarist Ryan Roxie (standing in for Buxton).

Cooper pioneered a grandly theatrical brand of hard rock that was designed to shock. Drawing equally from horror movies, vaudeville, and garage rock, the group created a stage show that featured electric chairs, guillotines, fake blood and boa constrictors. He continues to tour regularly, performing shows worldwide with the dark and horror-themed theatrics that he's best known for. With a schedule that includes six months each year on the road, Cooper brings his own brand of rock psycho-drama to fans both old and new, enjoying it as much as the audience does. Known as the architect of shock rock, Cooper (in both the original ALICE COOPER band and as a solo artist) has rattled the cages and undermined the authority of generations of guardians of the status quo, continuing to surprise fans and exude danger at every turn, like a great horror movie, even in an era where mainstream media can present real-life shocking images.

Photo by Jenny Risher

Early KISS producer Eddie Kramer has revealed that plans are afoot for the band to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its 1975 "Alive!" album with an expanded version, tentatively due before the end of the year.

During last month's appearance on TWISTED SISTER guitarist Jay Jay French's podcast "The Jay Jay French Connection: Beyond The Music", Kramer — who produced the original "Alive!" LP — stated about the new collection: "It's a project I spent 46 days mixing. It's called 'Kiss Alive! 50', which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 'Alive!' album, the first 'Alive!' album, which was mixed at Electric Lady [studios in New York City] in 1975, 50 years ago. And, fortunately, they found all the bloody tapes — thank God. It was incredible. Jeff Fura at Universal — big shoutout to him — he came up with the tapes; he found them. And so we spent all this time restoring them, transferring them, and then I mixed every single show that actually contributed to the final one, plus all the rehearsals that Gene [Simmons, KISS bassist/vocalist] and Paul [Stanley, KISS guitarist/vocalist] said, 'We've gotta record in the afternoon,' which they did, thank God, because we were able to capture some fantastic performances."

Kramer added: "What you hear during this period is that those guys were serious about getting this record out and making it sound fantastic. And then I mixed the final album in Dolby Atmos. So it's a beautiful package that's coming out, I think, late fall."

Last year, Eddie told Guitar World magazine about his work on the original "Alive!" album: "The thing with KISS was we knew we had to get everything down on tape no matter what it took. It was hard because they were always jumping around, and we had to do a bunch of work on the album after the fact, but that's how it was. The band may deny it, but the fact remains that on 'Alive!', we had to fix a bunch of stuff."

Asked if anyone in the band had a say in those fixes, Eddie said: "They did. And the album came out bloody great because the guys in KISS were very particular about how it should sound and be mixed. We worked tirelessly for weeks to make 'Alive!' sound amazing. So, while it's not totally 'live,' it's a great creation of the live sound of KISS from that time. There were just bits we had to fix for obvious reasons, like the guys being on stage in six-inch boots, bombs going off and rockets and flames shooting to God knows where. [Laughs] It takes a lot of work to keep in time and tune while jumping up and down. They can do it now, but in those days, not so much."

In June 2025, Stanley told Justin Richmond of the "Broken Record" podcast about KISS's first live album: "'Kiss Alive!' really captured the essence of the live experience. Now, that couldn't have happened without us going in the studio and enhancing it and surrounding you with people… Live albums were boring for four hours. You didn't even know they were live until the end of the song where you heard some clapping. But for KISS, we wanted an album that immersed you, immersion in the experience, which means being surrounded by people, which means bombs going off that are deafening, which means fixing any mistakes or a broken string. Snobs or purists may have looked down their nose at that idea, but the truth is that album is still considered, if not the greatest, one of the greatest, and in a lot of circles greatest live album ever. Not because everything was live, but because it captured the live experience."

KISS played its two final shows ever in December 2023 at New York City's Madison Square Garden.

The last show, held on December 2, 2023, streamed live on pay-per-view.

KISS launched its farewell trek in January 2019 but was forced to put it on hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"End Of The Road" was originally scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City. The trek was announced in September 2018 following a KISS performance of the band's classic song "Detroit Rock City" on "America's Got Talent".

Early last year, KISS sold its entire music catalog, likeness and brand name to Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment, which is behind "ABBA Voyage". A biopic, an avatar show, and a KISS-themed experience are already in the works, with Simmons and Stanley playing key roles in the development of all these projects, working closely with Pophouse.

Texas-based rock band The Speaker Wars, featuring legendary drummer Stan Lynch (formerly of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers) and acclaimed singer-songwriter Jon Christopher Davis – has released a brand-new lyric video for “When The Moon Cries Wolf,” one of the standout tracks from the band’s recently released self-titled debut album, out now via Frontiers Music Srl.

Blending heartfelt lyricism with a driving classic rock spirit, “When The Moon Cries Wolf” captures the band’s signature sound—equal parts seasoned craft and raw energy. The song began to take shape when Davis tossed out the evocative title during a writing session, and from that moment, the song had a life of its own.

Stan Lynch reflects on the track: “‘When The Moon Cries Wolf’ is a rocker that had me goin’ from the moment JCD blurted out the title. It was a gas to record; it just kept getting stronger the more we played it. Jon sings the snot out of it, and once he had the vocal, the tune reminded me of Mad Dogs & Englishmen’s early records. It’s even better when we play it live.”



After two decades of recording and touring multiple albums with The Heartbreakers, Stan moved to the other side of the recording console and shifted his focus to production and songwriting. Over the years, Stan has written and produced hits for artists in multiple genres, including the Eagles, Don Henley, Tim McGraw, The Mavericks, Ringo Starr, The Byrds, Toto, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds.

While writing in Nashville, a publisher introduced Stan to Texas singer-songwriter, Jon Christopher Davis, who was gathering material for a solo record on a major label. After accumulating an album’s worth of songs, Jon abandoned working on a solo record and the two decided to start a band to perform the newly created material. Adding Jay Michael Smith on guitar, Brian Patterson on bass, Steve Ritter on percussion, and Jay Brown on keyboards, The Speaker Wars was born.

Order the album here.



The Speaker Wars tracklisting:

“You Make Every Lie Come True”
“It Ain’t Easy”
“Taste Of Heaven”
“Never Ready To Go”
“The Forgiveness Tree”
“When The Moon Cries Wolf”
“Trader’s South”
“Leave Him”
“Sit With My Soul”
“I Wish You Peace”

With “Ink In The Water”, Finnish alternative/progressive rock band, Darkness Is My Canvas, showcase their most instinctive and unpredictable side. The track is the latest single taken from their upcoming debut full-length, The End Of Times, out August 1 via Rockshots Records.

Originally written in a matter of minutes during a spontaneous studio session, “Ink In The Water” captures the band’s no-rules approach to songwriting. “We just felt like doing something fast and upbeat,” the band recalls. “The lyrics were literally transcribed from Pete’s first take on the demo. When we listened back, we knew it had something special.”

A bold dive into post-punk and pop-punk territories, the song stays true to the band’s emotional and melodic core while introducing a refreshing twist. Short but impactful, “Ink In The Water” reflects the band’s ongoing refusal to stick to a single genre. “If a song demands a certain approach, we go for it without hesitation. Genre doesn’t matter—we just serve the song.”

Like other tracks on The End Of Times, the single balances spontaneity with depth. Its tight structure, punchy rhythm, and unapologetic tone reveal a new side of the band’s sonic identity—one that is vibrant, immediate, and still unmistakably Darkness Is My Canvas.

Stream the track on Spotify here, and listen below:



The End Of Times is the debut full-length album from Darkness Is My Canvas — a bold and emotional journey through melody, introspection, and modern rock expression. Blending progressive elements, cinematic atmospheres, and sharp alternative energy, the album explores the collapse and rebirth of meaning in a chaotic world. With intricate arrangements, thought-provoking lyrics, and powerful hooks, The End Of Times is a record that invites repeated listens, each time revealing new layers and deeper resonance.

Pre-order the album here.



Tracklisting:

“Wash”
“Rejected”
“Bleed”
“Ink In The Water”
“The Maze”
“The End Of Times”
“Day Zero”
“Subliminal”
“These Times”
“Skin & Bones”

“Day Zero” lyric video:

A Coruña, Spain’s Shroud Of Tears are excited to announce the release of the official video for their song, “Dawn Of The Dead.” The footage was captured during the band’s concert “Last Night – Last Dance,” commemorating their 20th anniversary in a single and unforgettable show. Watch the clip below.

Says the band, “‘Dawn Of The Dead’ is one of the tracks from Eclypse, our latest EP released in 2014. The EP was produced by Manuel Ramil (Adventus, Avalanch, Death & Legacy), Alberto Ardines (Avalanch, WarCry) and Carlos Santos (Mägo de Oz, Hamlet, Tündra). Eclypse was recorded at Triple A Studios and Sadman Studios, and mastered by Erik Monsonis.

“By the end of this year, we’ll head into the studio to begin re-recording our early albums, accompanied by several promotional videos.”



Forged in the depths of melancholy and metal, Shroud Of Tears has carved its path through the dark corners of music for more than 20 years. With haunting melodies, crushing riffs, and lyrical reflections on sorrow and loss their sound stands as a declaration of endurance and emotion.

Rooted in the traditions of gothic and doom, yet unafraid to explore new sonic landscapes, the band has remained faithful to its aspiration: transform pain into strength.

Shroud of Tears are:

Marcos (vocals)
Seo (bass)
H (drums)
Uri (keyboards)
Liber (guitars)
Mike (guitars)

In a new interview with Mike Palm of TribLive, POISON drummer Rikki Rockett spoke about his upcoming memoir, "Ghost Notes", which was written with writer duo Leif Eriksson and Martin Svensson. He said: "It was supposed to come out in July. Now they [Rare Bird Books] pushed it back to October, mainly because we couldn't get the cover done on time, and they have to have a cover to go to all the outlets and sell it through and all that kind of stuff. So I'm shooting a cover in the next couple of weeks. And it'll be out sometime in October."

Asked how it felt to take a look back at his life for a book, Rikki said: "Scary. And a lot of people go, do you have any regrets? Of course I do. There's lots of things I regret. But not regret to the point where, yeah, did I learn from them. Yeah, sure. You can say all those things, but there's certain things I look back on, like, eh, why'd I do it that way? But I did and here I am, and I adjusted and moved on. It's kind of interesting to see that. The painful stuff isn't fun to look at, obviously the cancer battle and all that sort of stuff isn't fun. [Being] falsely accused of rape, that sucked. There were certain things that are not fun to live through again, but it's my story and people need to know about it. Sometimes people just brush the headlines or there's a lot of news and a lot of things that are out there all at once, and sometimes we're not paying attention. I read the Joey Kramer book, for example, from AEROSMITH, and I'm a huge, huge AEROSMITH fan, but there's been times in my life where there's other things going on and I'm not paying attention to what Joey Kramer was doing right then. Now it's nice to look back and go, wow, I missed all these things or I heard a little something about it, and now I'm seeing it and reading it and kind of digesting it again and understanding more from his perspective what really happened, that kind of stuff."

During an October 2024 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", the 63-year-old Rikki, whose real name is Richard Allan Ream, said about why he decided to name his book "Ghost Notes": "The first chunk of our career, like [early POISON albums] 'Look What The Cat Dragged In' [1986], 'Open Up And Say... Ahh!' [1988], all those records, even most of 'Flesh & Blood' [1990], the way they were producing records at that time, they did not want drummers playing ghost notes, if you know what ghost notes are… It's kind of like a lighter tap on the snare drum, for example, the kind of the notes in between the notes that are not fully pronounced, I guess would be the best way to explain it in layman's terms. And so a lot of times it gives it that little bit of swing groove to it. And producers did not want that in the early 80s — they just wanted straight drums, almost machine-like and heavy and loud and detuned snare drums and all that kind of stuff. And it wasn't really until 'Flesh & Blood', but even more 'Native Tongue' [1993] where I was able to really play the way I wanted to play. I think a lot of other drummers dealt with that. I know I talked to various drummers about their frustration back then. So I decided to name it. I finally was able to play however I wanted. And all those little notes between the notes are my kind of what I'm talking about in my life. Instead of just the highlights that you always hear about, you know, 'POISON did this' or 'Rikki Rockett did this' or 'Rikki got arrested for this' or whatever, these are like all the stuff in between. So those are the ghost notes between all the big things that you've heard about. So I kind of made a little connection there, and that's why I named it that."

Asked if "Ghost Notes" is "kind of like a semi-autobiography, but more focused on things that people wouldn't know" about him, Rikki said: "Yes. Or more in depth. A lot of the things are more in depth. You've heard some of these stories about POISON, but you never really dig that much deeper or maybe they just haven't been reported much more than what you've heard on the surface, for example. And so I talk about a lot of those kinds of things."

He continued: "Everything [that you hear about the 1980s glam rock scene is] always focused on the Sunset Strip. And that was only a couple years of our life, honestly. What's more interesting is our years in the tri-state area and Pennsylvania and all the crap we went through trying to play gigs and trying to find our space, and that stuff, to me, is more cinematic, if you will, than, 'Oh, yeah, they played the Troubadour and the Strip and they hung up flyers. I mean, we've all heard those stories. But it's the other stuff, like trying to hold jobs down and renting VFW halls and renting vans and trying to scrape enough money to get to the next gig and all that stuff. That was really the meat of our struggle, I think. Not that being on the Strip wasn't interesting, but I feel like when you talk about the Strip, you're just lumping every band together that was our contemporaries. But, really, we kind of came, fought, got our deal and got out even sort of before that. I mean, the Strip continued to explode after we were off the Strip."

Rikki is the co-founder and drummer for the band POISON, which exploded into the highly competitive Los Angeles music scene in the 1980s, making a name for themselves in the clubs on the Sunset Strip.

POISON has sold over 50 million records worldwide, releasing eight studio albums, four live albums, and four compilations. The band has charted 10 singles on the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, including six Top 10 singles and one Hot 100 number-one smash hit, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn".

Relentless from the ground up and forged in the hellfires of the Pennsylvania and Los Angeles club scenes, POISON smashed its way up as an independent band who bet on itself. Selling over three million copies of an independent album which included the big hits "Talk Dirty To Me", "I Won't Forget You", "Cry Tough", "I Want Action" and the underground smash "Look What The Cat Dragged In", they were soon picked up by Capitol Records and beat the sophomore jinx by releasing the aforementioned No. 1 smash "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". Written out of emotion by singer/songwriter and frontman Bret Michaels, the song blasted into the charts remaining a top the pop, rock and country genres for threee months consecutively. The album "Open Up And Say...Ahh!" sold eight million copies out of the gate and spawned other hit singles "Fallen Angel", "Nothin' But A Good Time" and "Your Mama Don't Dance". Followed up by the multi-platinum album "Flesh & Blood", POISON again lit up the charts with several more smash hit singles, including "Unskinny Bop" and "Something To Believe In".

POISON's reunited original lineup — Rockett, Michaels, bassist Bobby Dall and guitarist C.C. DeVille — completed "The Stadium Tour" with MÖTLEY CRÜE, DEF LEPPARD and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS in 2022. The trek was originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020 but ended up being pushed back to 2021, and then to 2022, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Rockett was declared cancer free more in 2016 after undergoing an experimental treatment. He was diagnosed with oral cancer back in 2015.

In April 2022, Rockett married his longtime girlfriend TC Smith at the Granada Theatre in Santa Barbara, California.

Rikki was previously married to singer/songwriter Melanie Martel. They share joint custody of their two kids — son Jude Aaron Rockett and daughter Lucy Sky Rockett.

Last October, Rikki announced the launch of a new band called THE ROCKETT MAFIA. Joining him in the group are Brandon Gibbs (DEVIL CITY ANGELS) on vocals and guitar, Mick Sweda (BULLETBOYS) on guitar and backing vocals, and Bryan Kimes on bass and backing vocals.

Ahead of the July 25 release of IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson's reworked version of his classic 1994 album "Balls To Picasso", now titled "More Balls To Picasso", the official visualizer for latest single "Cyclops" has dropped.

In 1994, having left IRON MAIDEN for a time (he rejoined in 1999),Dickinson released his second solo album, titled "Balls To Picasso". Named in honor of the cubist pioneer whose representations of spherical objects were as squares, and reflected on the cover in graffiti style on a tiled bathroom wall, the album belied its irreverent title by solidifying Dickinson's reputation as a serious solo artist.

His first record with collaborator Roy "Z" Ramirez, and recorded with Z's band TRIBE OF GYPSIES, it went through various iterations before its release, produced by Shay Baby. The original album contained a number of classic tracks and live favorites from Dickinson, including the singles "Tears Of The Dragon" and "Shoot All The Clowns", alongside the much-loved epic "Laughing In The Hiding Bush", which was the original title for the album.

Yet despite its positive reception at the time, it never quite captured Dickinson's original vision which was even more expansive in scope and ambition. However, with the ability to revisit his solo catalog — and following on from Dickinson's hugely acclaimed album "The Mandrake Project" in 2024 — the brand new part re-recorded, remixed and newly mastered version of the album, now titled "More Balls To Picasso", reimagines it as a fresh and contemporary release; a roaringly full-throttle and ambitious collection of supremely crafted and realized songs.

Dickinson says of it: "While mixing all my catalogue into Dolby Atmos I had a nagging desire to revisit and reinvent the record. So putting more balls into 'Balls…' was a labor of love. Of course, we beefed up the guitars — courtesy of our 'Swedish shredder' Philip Näslund — and we added some really beautiful work by Adassi Addasi on 'Tears…' as well. Fellow Brazilian composer Antonio Teoli added some stunning orchestral arrangements, and in a unique contribution, added indigenous instruments from the Amazon (recorded by himself when he lived there!) at the beginning of 'Gods Of War'.

"'Shoot All The Clowns' gets the benefit of a horn section fronted by the Berklee College Of Music, and all of the record gets the benefit of the mix by Brendan Duffey, (who worked on 'The Mandrake Project'),with notes along the way from Shay Baby, the original father of the album."

Additionally, "More Balls To Picasso" includes two previously unreleased live-in-the-studio tracks, "Gods Of War" and "Shoot All The Clowns". It will be available as a splatter vinyl double album and tri-panel digisleeve CD album.

"More Balls To Picasso" track listing:

01. Cyclops
02. Hell No
03. Gods Of War
04. 1000 Points Of Light
05. Laughing In The Hiding Bush
06. Change Of Heart
07. Shoot All The Clowns
08. Fire
09. Sacred Cowboys
10. Tears Of The Dragon
11. Gods Of War (live in the studio)*
12. Shoot All The Clowns (live in the studio)*

* Previously unreleased

This summer, Dickinson will embark on his first extensive North American solo tour in almost 30 years in support of his current studio album "The Mandrake Project", with a setlist encompassing his entire solo career. "The Mandrake Project Live 2025" North American tour kicks off in Anaheim, California at the House of Blues on August 22 and takes the band across North America, including shows in New York, Los Angeles, Texas, Florida and Canada, with festival appearances at Rocklahoma (Oklahoma) and Louder Than Life (Kentucky),with more to be announced. The tour also includes a quick return to Brazil for the prestigious The Town festival at the City of Light in São Paulo.

Joining the IRON MAIDEN singer on the "The Mandrake Project Live 2025" North American tour will once again be his 2024 backing band, featuring Dave Moreno (drums),Mistheria (keyboards) and Tanya O'Callaghan (bass),alongside the group's latest additions, Swedish guitarist, songwriter and multi-platinum-credited producer Philip Näslund and Swiss session and touring guitarist Chris Declercq (who played on Dickinson's "Rain On The Graves" single). Roy Z is not part of the touring lineup.

Roy played guitar on "Balls To Picasso" and went on to produce, co-write and perform multiple instruments on Bruce's subsequent four solo albums, "Accident At Birth" (1997),"The Chemical Wedding" (1998),"Tyranny Of Souls" (2005) and "The Mandrake Project" (2024).

"The Mandrake Project" arrived on March 1, 2024 via BMG.

Bruce and Roy recorded "The Mandrake Project" largely at Los Angeles's Doom Room, with Roy doubling up as both guitarist and bassist. The recording lineup for "The Mandrake Project" was rounded out by Mistheria and Moreno, both of whom also featured on "Tyranny Of Souls" in 2005.

Dickinson made his recording debut with IRON MAIDEN on "The Number Of The Beast" album in 1982. He quit the band in 1993 in order to pursue his solo career and was replaced by Blaze Bayley, who had previously been the lead singer of the metal band WOLFSBANE. After releasing two traditional metal albums with former MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith, Dickinson rejoined the band in 1999 along with Smith.

Photo credit: John McMurtrie

For those who like dark and intense music with a distinctive point of view, IN THIS MOMENT have always supplied the goods, and their new single "Heretic (Feat. Kim Dracula)" is as uncompromising as ever. It combines haunting modern soundscapes, ferocious vocals, and a doomsday metal assault, with unflinching lyrics like "I am not your pain or your remedy/I am not your faith or your vanity/I don't want your gold or your filth/That you give and you take."

"Heretic (feat. Kim Dracula)" marks the first new music to be released from the Grammy Award-nominated Los Angeles band's upcoming as-yet-untitled ninth album and debut for Better Noise Music (exact release date to be announced).

"We are so excited to unveil our new song 'Heretic', featuring the incomparable Kim Dracula," the members of IN THIS MOMENT said in a collective statement. "From the first time we heard that incredible voice, we knew we wanted to collaborate. We cannot wait for the world to hear what happens when we join forces on a song like 'Heretic'."

The release of "Heretic (Feat. Kim Dracula)" coincides with IN THIS MOMENT's "Hell Hath No Fury" tour with WARGASM and Kat Von D and THE PRETTY WILD launching today (July 16) in Green Bay, Wisconsin and lasting through August 16 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Along the tour route, IN THIS MOMENT will make appearances at the Inkcarceration festival in Mansfield, Ohio on July 20.

Later this year, the 23-city "Black Mass" tour featuring special guests DAYSEEKER on select dates, THE FUNERAL PORTRAIT and DED commences on September 18 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, making stops across the U.S., including in Dallas and Atlanta as well as a hometown show, before wrapping in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on October 24.

In a recent interview with The Mistress Carrie Podcast, IN THIS MOMENT singer Maria Brink and guitarist Chris Howorth spoke about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the follow-up to the band's 2023 album "Godmode". Maria said: "We're working on the [new] album. It's just about done. We only probably have, like, two songs left. We thought we were done, and then we kind of had to step away and look back, and it just feels like it needs a little bit more. But we're still gonna actually be releasing a new song soon."

Brink continued: "We wanna get new music out. When you tour for a living and you're out there and you're doing things, you wanna play new music, you wanna bring new energy to the crowds and to everybody. So we will be dropping a new song very soon with a guest vocalist that we can't announce yet, but it's somebody I love and have been inspired by recently. So we're excited for everyone to hear something coming very soon. And yeah, the album is pretty much done. We only have about two more songs left. So we're trying to get it all dialed in. And we don't wanna rush it. We wanna make it the best it can be. And we'll just release songs until the album's ready, 'cause we want it to really be something we're proud of."

Added Chris: "Yeah, we're excited too, because we're on Better Noise [Music] now and they're kind of doing all of our songs and all of our planning and how we roll things out. So we will be releasing songs until the album is ready, which is something kind of new for us, just kind of releasing standalone songs like that."

Howorth went on to call the upcoming IN THIS MOMENT single "a face melter", with Brink saying: "We feel really good and strong about the first [track that we will be putting out]. And so that's what we wanted to lead with. It's really heavy. We wanted to come out with a lot of electricity and make it insane. And then we'll figure out what comes next."

Formed in 2005, IN THIS MOMENT's current lineup includes Brink, Howorth, bassist Travis Johnson, guitarist Randy Weitzel and drummer Kent Diimmel.

To date, in addition to the gold-selling album "Blood" (2012),the quintet has garnered six gold and platinum singles, followed by a trifecta of Top 25 entries on the Billboard 200 with "Black Widow" (2014) and "Ritual" (2017). With a total stream tally well past 200 million as of 2020, "Ritual" elevated them to new creative and critical peaks as well. Between selling out headline tours coast to coast, the group performed in arenas everywhere alongside DISTURBED and appeared at countless festivals from Lollapalooza to Sonic Temple. Along the way, they assembled their seventh full-length, the aptly titled "Mother" (Roadrunner Records) with longtime trusted collaborator Kevin Churko (OZZY OSBOURNE, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH). Whereas "Ritual" hinted at a bluesy sonic sorcery, "Mother" breathes the activating mantra of an unbreakable spell, commenced on first single "The In-Between".

In 2022, the band released "Blood 1983" (BMG),a reimagined EP commemorating the tenth anniversary of "Blood". Then in 2023, the longtime staples of heavy music released their eighth studio album "Godmode" (BMG),a 10-song record featuring the powerful lead single "The Purge", the band's stunning cover of Björk's "Army Of Me", the collaborative track "Damaged" which features Spencer Charnas of ICE NINE KILLS, and "I Would Die For You", which appears on the soundtrack for "John Wick: Chapter 4".

Photo credit: Joe Cotela

In a new interview with Larry Mac of the Tucson, Arizona radio station 96.1 KLPX, Jason Bonham spoke about the upcoming JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EVENING (JBLZE) round of dates to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the LED ZEPPELIN classic "Physical Graffiti". The latest 22-city trek is billed as "An Evening With JBLZE Celebrating 50 Years Of Physical Graffiti". The show made headlines as JBLZE has been performing all the songs from the album that fans have been clamoring to hear including classics such as "The Wanton Song" and "Kashmir" live alongside deeper cuts like "In The Light" and "Boogie With Stu". The evening is also made up of other LED ZEPPELIN favorites, including "Good Times Bad Times", "Whole Lotta Love" and, of course, "Stairway To Heaven". The tour kicks off on August 1 in Omaha, Nebraska and wraps August 31 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Along the way, the tour will make stops in Denver, Colorado (August 08),Napa, California (August 16),Bakersfield, California (August 23) and Seattle, Washington (August 30),to name a few markets.

Jason said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Foolishly I took on the challenge of where can you go and see the whole of 'Physical Graffiti' played from start to finish and plus others. It was one of those ideas that came about — obviously I didn't talk to anybody else in the band, as I normally don't, and threw it on everybody. And we'd played all of the songs [from 'Physical Graffiti'] at different times, but never all at the same time. So then it was, 'Okay, how can we make a show of it? How can we make this work?' So I always say, 'Don't think you're gonna come to the show and see in the order of which you listen to it.' Now that would be too easy for people to plan their toilet breaks or go to get a drink at the bar when they think, 'Oh, yeah, this is not one of my favorites. I'm gonna go and get a drink now.' So we leave it basically… And even on some occasions I've changed it on the band at the last minute. It took about five shows to get comfortable with a running order of the whole album. And then if after the hour and 45 minutes of that you are still not satisfied and you make enough noise, we might go back to the beginning or 'I' or 'II' or 'Led Zeppelin IV' and play some others. So it has worked so well. It became such a popular thing. As to my agent, who said, 'I think there'll be a very limited audience for this album.' And last tour was our most successful tour in [15] years."

Elaborating on his decision to not perform the "Physical Graffiti" tracks in the order in which they appear on the album, Jason said: "We start off similar, so everyone thinks, 'Oh, yeah, this is it.' So you get that excitement of when you hear 'Custard Pie'. And just the way I put it together, you'll have to see it because it was a work in progress. We got three shows in and I had this idea. And I was looking online for footage for audio of radio stations, the first time they got their hands on 'Physical Graffiti' and the first time they were allowed to play the opening track. But I couldn't find anything. So we put together a… I had this team of people in Hollywood that all thought they had good radio voices, and literally we imagined what it would've been like if we could have found the footage of people saying, 'I've had this in my hands all week, but tonight we're gonna play it for the first time in its entirety.' And for me, it gave me chills. So the whole setup before the show, this static radio tuning through different stations, all the songs that were popular that week it came out, it really did then give us this life of, like, when it kicked in, the feeling you get from the audience is everyone's, like, 'Oh.' It suddenly starts and they go, 'Please welcome in its entirety, for the first time ever, 'Physical Graffiti'.' And it's like all the different DJs [saying] 'Physical Graffiti', 'Physical Graffiti', and then into 'Custard Pie'. And the roar — it's so exciting. So, yeah, it's become probably be one of my favorite tours I've ever done. And 15 years we've been doing this now. 15 years, and it's the first time we ever attempted to do an album version."

In a December 2024 interview Terrie Carr of WDHA-FM 105.5 FM, the rock music station licensed to Dover and Morristown, New Jersey, Jason Bonham spoke about what it was like to perform in front of full houses with his LED ZEPPELIN EVENING show across North America last fall. He said: "I always find it's a pinch-yourself moment because I look at it as I started this purely as a therapeutic way to get the LED out of me. After playing with the real McCoy, the real deal, in [December] 2007 [at London's O2 arena], I remember when it stopped, it was a huge, 'Now what?' … Because I just spent six weeks with the [surviving LED ZEPPELIN] guys every day [in preparation for the London show]. Every day we were together, hanging out, telling stories. They would tell me things that I didn't know — now I'm a grown-up — they would tell me all these different things. So, suddenly you feel part of it. And my mom said, 'Are you gonna be okay when it stops?' I'm, like, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've got this.' Because you've been given the keys to the kingdom, and you sat in the throne of the greatest rock and roll band in the world. So when it stopped, it was hard, I must say. And then when the idea came, 'Why don't you do a band, a tribute thing", I'm, like, 'Are you kidding me? I've just played with [the original guys]. I don't wanna tarnish that.' So it became more therapeutic. And I realized it's about the fans. The reason why we're still doing it, after I got over the my stories and me — 'it's about me and my dad' — it's not. It's about our love for dad, me and everyone, because we all have stories of what he meant to us. I lost my dad; you lost your drummer. So that's the only reason — the love and the passion that we do it and still do it. Because there's a lot of other things that I like to do."

Jason Bonham spent nearly a decade touring as JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE before changing the band's name to JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EVENING. Bonham later explained that the switch was prompted by a request from the LED ZEPPELIN camp, who wanted to use the "Experience" name for a project involving the archive of ZEP live recordings.

JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE was formed in 2009 to pay tribute to Bonham's father, who died in 1980 at the age of 32. "It was meant to be part of my way of expressing my love for music and expressing myself with a tip of the hat to my father," Jason told Mixdown in a 2017 interview. "Soon after doing the 28 shows that we did with an orchestra, everyone said, 'You're not going to stop now, are you? You haven't been here, you haven't played there…' And so I said, 'As long as you guys want me to do it, I'll do it.' It's really fan-based. It's not us and them; it's about love for LED ZEPPELIN, and that's how it's grown, as a very honest, natural, fan-based show. You guys all knew him as Bonzo; I knew him as dad, and there's a great interaction."

Jason launched JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE two years after taking part in LED ZEPPELIN's aforementioned one-off performance at London's O2 Arena tribute concert for friend and Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. The rare live set, which saw Jason behind the drums in place of his late father, was released in 2012 as "Celebration Day".

He told the Chicago Tribune about JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EVENING: "We're not LED ZEPPELIN. We are fans. We love the music. We give it 150 percent energy and time to make it as good as we can make it to give people that feeling and make people go back to their youth.

"I never wanted it to be we are just playing music. It had to be personal with stories to tell people what Dad was like at home. It's nice to know that so many people love hearing that music played in a live environment."