In a new interview with Independent Americans With Paul Rieckhoff, punk rock icon Henry Rollins weighed in on what some people believe is U.S. president Donald Trump's simplistic view of the world as it pertains to international relations and U.S. military power. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't think Donald Trump — I saw this early in his first administration — he didn't understand the incredible power of the office. The president of the United States is arguably the most powerful person in the world, the commander in chief in charge of the most lethal, well-equipped, technologically intense military force. We can blow up the entire universe, and the person who has control of that must be — my opinion, again — a three-dimensional chess player. It's not checkers, it's not tic-tac-toe. Ultimately, you are sending young men and women somewhere where they might not come back alive or they might not come back completely intact as they left. And before you do that, you'd better have a whole lot of meetings with a whole lot of experts and liaise with Congress and talk to a whole bunch of people before you send one person that risks a skinned elbow, much less a catastrophic injury. And this president, in my opinion, doesn't get that."

Rollins continued: "[Trump] digs his power, it seems to me, but he doesn't understand that when he says something, he can affect the stock market. He can change the course of rivers, and if it were me, I would be wielding that power with an unbelievable amount of caution with some people advising me. Like, 'I can't find Venezuela on a map. Bring in the Venezuela expert,' where you had some presidents who could tell you, 'Here's the last five presidents that country had. Here's what the Tet Offensive was.' I mean, we've had some really smart presidents in times of war and in times of peace, and we don't have one now. And I'm not trying to get beaten up by some Trump fan, but you have to admit this guy is incredibly inarticulate and he broad brushes topics that should be painted with a one-camel-hair brush. Some of this stuff is really tricky and really delicate."

Back in 2015, Rollins threw his support behind Bernie Sanders in the race for the presidency, while taking a pot-shot at Trump, whom he called "a bored rich guy".

"I'm not a Trump fan at all, but he will say what's on his mind. Like, 'No more Muslims!'" Rollins told the Daily Beast at the time. "You just said that. And, of course, in this country, a lot of people agree. Trump, one day he held up his cellphone and said, 'Here's Lindsey Graham's number!' I could not not laugh. That was funny. He would be a disastrous president, but at the same time I don't think he wants to be president. I think he's a bored rich guy just being crass."

In 2019, during Trump's first term, Rollins told the Daily Beast that he believed the Trump presidency would speed up the end of bigotry. He explained: "Some people in this country have been thirsting for a corny, pseudo-populist like Reagan since those days, and now they've got it. He's president now. And I think it's very likely he'll get a second term. And so what does it do, or what's the rendering, artistically? I think it's going to blow up in their faces. Because what's happening now is young people are saying, 'Oh, part of my job today, besides being a gorgeous 17-year-old young person, is to not hate gay people, is to not be racist, is to not call someone a 'f**' or anyone a 'bitch.' I'm not going to be a misogynist like my weird uncle who spouts off at Thanksgiving dinner. Like, that's one of my jobs, is to not repeat this.' And so I think a lot of that American bigotry — you know, 'What? Your grandfather's a funny guy!' — that's coming to an end. And I think what Trump and these guys don't realize, is that they are hastening their demise. And, literally, their demographic is dying.

"My neighborhood used to be a post-World War II, Russian, German, Jewish population," he continued. "But the young, Supreme crowd is coming in. You drive down the block now, and where it used to be four-foot two-inch-tall people who'd survived the war, and now it's a bunch of graceful, gazelle-like young people with $900 shoes. It's a different time, and what I think you're going to see is not necessarily rock against Reagan, or get-out-the-vote concerts, as much as you're going to see 'our prom queen this year is my friend Cedric and he got a unanimous vote and the teachers are so pissed.' That's what's going to happen. I think there's going to be a huge rejection of this really antiquated bigotry. And so I think what you're seeing right now is the old guard kicking and screaming as it's dying off."

Just days before Trump was elected U.S. president in 2016, Rollins told Columbus Monthly about the billionaire real estate mogul: "He's just enjoying the attention. Never once did I think he had a real interest in running the country. I think he takes advantage of the anger of his followers. It's the only way he could get away with speeches that bad. I have watched him multiple times and am amazed that such a ramble gets that much approval."

Nearly a decade ago, Rollins told BBC's television progam "HARDtalk" about Trump's continued success in the polls: "It speaks of an America, of a systematic dumbing down of a people, who do not question, who are not scientifically inclined, who do not travel; they don't have a passport. They won't go to India and see how a vastly different culture does its thing. And they want their information on bumper-sticker-sized bits of information. And I'm not putting these people down."

He continued: "Why do they need little bits of news? 'Cause they're working two jobs. They're getting up at 4:30, feeding the kids, going to the cubicle in the car that they hope doesn't break down. And when someone says, 'We're gonna build a wall. And no more of those damn Muslims.' Someone goes, 'Well, yeah.' And it's an easy way to move people to your side with tough talk when economic times are bad. Historically, that's how you can convince some people to do some unspeakable things, if you look at the last hundred and fifty years of world history."

Actor, poet, author, radio host and former BLACK FLAG frontman, Rollins has also made a name for himself as a spoken-word artist. More than two decades years ago, he decided to quit making music altogether, because the industry was making him miserable. Since then, he has dedicated his time to a variety of projects, including releasing books, reissuing obscure punk records, hosting a podcast and making funny Instagram videos.

In a new interview with George Dionne of the Rock Is George podcast, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS guitarist Dean DeLeo, who is promoting the debut album from his ONE MORE SATELLITE project, lamented the fact that artists on average are paid less than one-tenth of a cent per stream on Spotify. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "As far as streaming, I'll tell you, man, I think what Spotify offers artists is a crime. It's a crime. And I have a great gauge on that, being in STP. Our number is very low compared to Billie Eilish or Bad Bunny, who has 10 billion streams in a year. But STP has a few hundred million streams, and I'll tell you, man, it's amazing how much money those guys pull from artists and what they pay their artists. They pay us nothing. I'm gonna be really blunt about it: they pay us next to nothing. And you think, 'A few hundred million streams, wow, that's a lot.' That's why that [Spotify] CEO is worth $6 billion."

Asked by Dionne if he thinks the record labels share some of the blame for Spotify's meager artist payouts, DeLeo said: "Well, I don't know what the trade-off is between Spotify and what they're paying the labels. I don't know that number, so I can't quite answer that. But if labels are profiting off it, then I suppose it would be some of their blame too."

With over 70 million albums sold, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS roared on to the scene in 1992 with their raucous debut, "Core". A breakout success, the album peaked No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, and dominated radio waves with hits like "Sex Type Thing", "Wicked Garden" and the Grammy Award-winning smash single "Plush". STP quickly distinguished themselves as a band beholden to no trend. Boasting the inimitable riffs of guitarist Dean DeLeo, the propulsive rhythm section of bassist Robert DeLeo and drummer Eric Kretz, and the charismatic baritone of frontman Scott Weiland, STP ruled airways, video playlists and charts alike over their legendary career. In 2020, the band released their eighth studio album, "Perdida" — their second album with new lead singer, Jeff Gutt. Paste magazine described "Perdida" as the most sonically rich experience that STONE TEMPLE PILOTS have offered fans to date.

ONE MORE SATELLITE is DeLeo's collaboration with U.K.-based vocalist and lyricist Pete Shoulder.

ONE MORE SATELLITE's self-titled debut album was made available digitally on July 18, 2025 via Symphonic. Two months later, they expanded their distribution with a worldwide release of the vinyl and CD through Deko Entertainment (ADA/Warner Music Group).

ONE MORE SATELLITE is playing three shows in November. Joining DeLeo and Shoulder at the gigs are Julia Lage on bass and Brian Tichy on drums.

DeLeo and Shoulder had previously collaborated on songwriting, including for the album "Lessons Learned" by Dean's younger brother — and STONE TEMPLE PILOTS bassist — Robert DeLeo. They've also worked together in the studio on projects, including a collaboration with STONE TEMPLE PILOTS and TRIP THE WITCH. Shoulder has also collaborated with Robert DeLeo on the aforementioned "Lessons Learned" LP and co-wrote songs for it, including "Love Is Not Made Of Gold".

In addition to his work with STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, Dean DeLeo is known for his role in the short-lived bands TALK SHOW and ARMY OF ANYONE, the latter of which featured Robert DeLeo, FILTER frontman Richard Patrick and session drummer Ray Luzier.

In a new interview with Sh!t Talk Reviews, former TYPE O NEGATIVE drummer Johnny Kelly confirmed that a full-length concert recording from the long-defunct band is in the works for an official release. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We were able to get our hands on a show. I just got a mix of one of the songs, just two or three weeks ago, to approve it. It was mixed and mastered, and we were gonna put it out with one label, and now I believe we're doing it with Nuclear Blast. I'm not exactly sure when it's coming out. Right now we're going through the artwork and stuff like that, approving that kind of stuff."

TYPE O NEGATIVE effectively broke up after the passing of frontman Peter Steele in April 2010 from heart failure at the age of 48. Born Petrus T. Ratajczyk on January 4, 1962 in Brooklyn, New York, he stood 6' 7" (201 cm) tall, and had a low, bass-heavy voice, which was one of the most recognizable features in TYPE O NEGATIVE's music.

Before forming TYPE O NEGATIVE, Steele played for the metal group FALLOUT and the thrash band CARNIVORE.

Regarding the possibility of teaming up with the other surviving members of TYPE O NEGATIVE to stage a Steele tribute concert with various guest musicians, Johnny told Sh!t Talk Reviews: "Honestly, I really don't know, 'cause what's happening now is people are starting to approach us, saying, 'Hey, have you thought about doing something?' or, 'Now may be a good time to do this,' or, 'It's been 15 years. It's time. You guys should do something.' So we're starting to get approached by people about doing something, but it isn't something that we've been actively pursuing or having discussions about, where it's, like, 'All right, when are we gonna do this? How are we gonna do it? Who are we gonna do it with?' None of that has come up. We've never discussed who would sing. That conversation has not happened."

Asked if those approaches are "welcome", Kelly said: "Of course the curiosity's there to see. Who knows? But, yeah, I think it's time to do something in terms of celebrating Peter's life and his music. You go online and you see a bunch of people, a bunch of haters and stuff, [saying stuff] like, 'Oh, no. You can't do it. No Peter, no TYPE O NEGATIVE.' And then there's other people who'll, be like, 'I'll be there.' And I've watched it with [the current touring lineup of] PANTERA, for instance. Everybody complained all the way to the arena. They bitched all the way to the arena."

Johnny continued: "We toured with PANTERA — we toured with PANTERA when they were at the height of their popularity, when the [classic] band was active — and to see what they're doing [now]… I saw them play two months ago. They played in Dallas, and I went to the show, and all the touring that we did [with PANTERA], they never played rooms that big and sold them out like that. When we played with them, we played at Nassau Coliseum. And Nassau Coliseum was the smaller arena at the time, and it wasn't sold out. And this was 'Far Beyond Driven' [era]. At the time, PANTERA was huge. But now they're filling up sheds all over the place. And so I guess seeing the success that a lot of bands have had that don't have all of the original members in them and stuff like that, of course TYPE O NEGATIVE is gonna get thrown into the conversation. Seeing it that now, that it works with all these other bands, everybody out there, the sharks are out there now saying, 'Who else can we get? Who else can we resurrect?'"

Last month, former TYPE O NEGATIVE guitarist Kenny Hickey told Scott Penfold of Loaded Radio about that ex-TYPE O NEGATIVE keyboardist Josh Silver, who is married to Kenny's wife's sister, is still unwilling to commit to a Peter Steele tribute project, having spent "a long time" working for New York City as a paramedic.

TYPE O NEGATIVE, known for its brooding soundscapes and cult status in the 1990s and early 2000s, has recently seen a cultural resurgence as new generations discover the band's genre-defining music.

TYPE O NEGATIVE was a New York–based goth metal band formed in 1990 by vocalist, bassist and songwriter Steele, alongside Hickey, Silver and drummer Sal Abruscato — later replaced by longtime drummer Johnny Kelly. Their 1991 debut, "Slow, Deep And Hard", introduced their brooding style, followed by the provocative "The Origin Of The Feces" (1992). TYPE O NEGATIVE achieved breakthrough success with "Bloody Kisses" (1993),which earned a cult following and featured the single "Black No. 1". The band continued to evolve with albums such as "October Rust" (1996),"World Coming Down" (1999),"Life Is Killing Me" (2003) and "Dead Again" (2007).

Revered for their distinctive blend of goth and metal, as well as Steele's deep, iconic vocals, TYPE O NEGATIVE left a lasting legacy in heavy music. The band concluded in 2010 following Steele's death, but their influence endures across the alternative and metal landscape.

Professionally filmed video of METALLICA performing the song "Holier Than Thou" on November 1, 2025 at Optus Stadium in Perth, Australia can be seen below.

METALLICA's recent shows in Australia mark the first time the legendary American metal band had been Down Under in more than a decade. Support on the trek came from EVANESCENCE and SUICIDAL TENDENCIES.

Perth concert organizers were hoping for close to 60,000 tickets to be snapped up prior to showtime, according to PerthNow.

Two METALLICA fans were arrested and charged with trespassing after allegedly scaling a central tower inside Optus Stadium during the band's concert. A 20-year-old man from Carey Park and a 23-year-old man from Australind were removed from the venue and were scheduled to appear in court for the dangerous stunt. Photos and video from the scene shared by 10 News showed cops telling the shirtless men to climb down before arresting them and escorting them out during the concert.

After Perth, METALLICA's Australian tour continued at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday, November 5, Melbourne's Marvel Stadium on Saturday, November 8, Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday, November 12, and concluded at Sydney's Accor Stadium on Saturday, November 15. METALLICA will also perform at Auckland, New Zealand's Eden Park on Wednesday, November 19.

METALLICA's last appearance in Australia was as the headliner of the Soundwave Festival in 2013.

The Australian dates were part of METALLICA's "M72" world tour, named after the band's 2023 album "72 Seasons". The "M72" Australian stadium tour, produced by Live Nation, found the heavy metal icons performing at the end of stadiums, with the band's infamous Snake Pit extended from the front of the stage.

While a majority of METALLICA's 2024 and 2025 world tour dates consisted of the "No-Repeat Weekend" setlists — where the James Hetfield-fronted act played in the same city for two nights and mixed up its setlists each night — the Australian and New Zealand shows were billed as "One Night Only".

MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine has told Metal Hammer magazine that he wants the final concert of his band's farewell tour to take place in space. "I hope we'll be playing up in space," he said. "I think that will be a really fitting climax. And I'm not talking about on the side of a vomit comet. A gig on the moon, a full moon landing, that would be cool."

Referencing the fact that pop superstar Katy Perry, "Star Trek" actor William Shatner and British billionaire Richard Branson have all made trips into space in recent years, Dave added: "I saw they sent up a bunch of celebrities into space and I thought 'Well, if them, why not me?', you know? I'm just watching how that all progresses. I know Elon Musk and Richard Branson were working on interstellar travel. I think people are going to be travelling to space a lot sooner than you think."

Asked by Metal Hammer if he was joking about the idea of actually playing a gig in outer space, Dave said: "People already travel over 40,000 feet altitude, and when you get to that kind of atmosphere you're basically already in space. So I do think it's going to happen. The question is, are people going to be able to inhabit the moon?"

This past April, Perry and five other women safely returned to Earth after reaching space aboard Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin rocket. The 11-minute flight took the singer, along with Bezos's now-wife Lauren Sánchez and CBS presenter Gayle King, more than 100km (62 miles) above Earth, crossing the internationally recognized boundary of space and giving them a few moments of weightlessness. Katy even sang "What A Wonderful World" on the trip after seeing Earth from above.

Perry isn't the first performer with space ambitions. In fact, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Lance Bass all hoped to be first at one time or another in the last decade.

Blue Origin, which does not publicly say how much such a trip costs, aims in future to bring space tourists into orbit, competing directly with Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Virgin Galactic, founded by Branson, also offers similar sub-orbital trips to those wanting to travel to space and being willing to spend extraordinary sums of money to do so.

In the summer of 2021, Blue Origin auctioned off a seat on its first crewed flight for $28 million, according to The New York Times.

In October 2021, Shatner flew on the New Shepard suborbital launch vehicle for free as a "guest" of Blue Origin, the company told The New York Times. Meanwhile, Virgin Galactic has offered rides between $200,000 and $450,000, according to the Associated Press.

This past August, MEGADETH announced its plans to retire with a farewell album and tour.

"There's so many musicians that have come to the end of their career, whether accidental or intentional," Mustaine explained in a social media post. "Most of them don't get to go out on their own terms on top, and that's where I’m at in my life right now."

Mustaine has since clarified that MEGADETH's farewell run of shows could last "for another three to five years".

MEGADETH was founded in 1983 after Mustaine was kicked out of METALLICA, a band he was a part of for less than a year.

MEGADETH released its debut album, "Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good!" , in 1985.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, SLIPKNOT has completed a deal to sell its music catalog.

The deal — which is said to be worth approximately $120 million — between members of the long-running metal band and HarbourView Equity Partners includes the rights to SLIPKNOT's publishing and recording masters royalties. It reportedly covers the band's archival catalog but does not extend to future releases.

"After 25 years of taking on the music business, we find ourselves with a partner that is willing to sign onto continuing what SLIPKNOT started," SLIPKNOT co-founder and percussionist M. Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown) said in a statement. "Only they want to go even bigger. Get ready. Hail The Knot."

"SLIPKNOT's music has redefined heavy metal and created a global cultural phenomenon," Sherrese Clarke, founder and CEO of HarbourView Equity Partners, said in a statement. "Their catalog is a testament to their influence, passion, and enduring artistry within the genre. We pride ourselves on having our finger on the pulse of culture and with thorough analysis of audience engagement, we clearly see the cultural impact of SLIPKNOT from the 1990s to present. The enduring and relevant proof points with SLIPKNOT remain core to our investing thesis, and HarbourView is honored to help preserve and amplify the group’s work for decades and generations to come."

Based on streaming data and other metrics, Billboard estimates that the band's music has generated $15.5 million in annual revenue over the last three years, while publishing brought in an additional $5.2 million per year.

It is not clear whether all members participated in the deal, which sees SLIPKNOT retain ownership of its publishing. The master recording catalog, however, is controlled by Warner Music Group, which acquired SLIPKNOT's longtime record label home Roadrunner Records in 2007.

Since releasing its debut album in 1999, SLIPKNOT has captured a Grammy Award alongside 11 nominations, scored a number of platinum and gold album certifications around the world, and logged billions of global streams and video views to date. Rolling Stone cited the seminal platinum-selling 2001 album "Iowa" among "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time," while The Ringer attested, "They're the most important heavy band of their era."

SLIPKNOT's latest full-length album, "The End, So Far", landed at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart and at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, marking their sixth Top 10-charting album on the Billboard 200. A new album from SLIPKNOT is a global event, and "The End, So Far" continued the band’s global chart rise, with No. 1 debuts in the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and Mexico, as well as Top 3 debuts in Canada, New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, Japan, and Belgium. SLIPKNOT's previous album, 2019's "We Are Not Your Kind", marked SLIPKNOT's third consecutive No. 1 on the Billboard 200, along with No. 1 debuts in the official album charts of twelve countries around the world, including the U.K., Australia, Canada and Mexico, with Top 5 debuts in an additional twelve countries. including Germany, France and Sweden.

HarbourView Equity Partners is an investment firm, founded by Sherrese Clarke Soares, focused on opportunities to support premium content across the entertainment, sports, and media markets. The firm seeks businesses or assets powered by IP and investment opportunities that aim to build enduring value and returns. HarbourView has been extremely active since launching in 2021, amassing more than $1.45 billion in regulatory assets under management including over 70 music catalogs to date and investments in two media production companies, MACRO and Mucho Mas Media, both with a mission to center premium storytelling. The firm's distinctly diverse music portfolio features thousands of titles spanning numerous genres, eras, and artists, amounting to a diversified catalog of more than 31,000 songs across both master recordings and publishing income streams. The company is headquartered in Newark, New Jersey.

Photo credit: Jonathan Weiner

SHINEDOWN has released a new single, "Searchlight", via Atlantic Records. The song marks the start of the next era for the multi-platinum band, arriving on the heels of a career-defining year that included sold-out arenas, record-breaking chart success, and a historic debut at the Grand Ole Opry.

The song was first performed live during the band's Opry debut last month where the band's fans packed the infamous venue and the song became the most talked-about moment of the night. SHINEDOWN frontman Brent Smith introduced the song by telling the audience: "Sometimes when you listen close enough to the universe and you're willing to receive something from it — a song can come out of thin air. We didn't find this one, it found us."

On the song's release, Smith said: "'Searchlight' is a song about owning your true feelings. It's an awakening of the soul. Lyrically it is a coming-of-age story that celebrates the moment you decide to go out into the world, and find your purpose. Musically it is an homage to all the music our parents, and grandparents brought us up on. It is a love letter to Americana, rhythm and blues, bluegrass, outlaw country, and, of course, rock 'n' roll. The creative process for this song was quite a journey, and we hope all the 'fans/family' feel that authenticity in every note, and every word."

Written by Smith, SHINEDOWN bassist/producer Eric Bass and Dave Bassett and produced by Bass at his Big Animal Studio in Charleston, South Carolina, "Searchlight" channels the emotional depth and anthemic power that have become SHINEDOWN's signature but with new sonic elements fitting of the Opry's stage. In the song's music video, shot by Andrew Donoho, you can see each member performing their own instruments including a steel pedal guitar and banjo. Filmed in Nashville, Tennessee the day after their Opry debut, the video showcases the band's live performance as well as the emotional power behind the song.

The music video for "Searchlight" will make its online debut later today (Tuesday, November 18) at 9:00 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. (noon) ET.

On the beautiful music video, Brent noted: "We needed the video to be artistic, but also to showcase a visual epiphany. This was our very first time working with director, Andrew Donoho, and to his credit, there was a different treatment in the beginning, to which I asked, 'Could we think a bit more outside the box?' (You will understand the reference when you see the video.) Andrew did not miss a beat and told me and the band, 'Absolutely. Let's find something that is true to the song and also represents the band in the most honest way possible.' In our opinion, he was able to capture the essence of the song, by using practical effects, and smart camera work. We hope everybody enjoys the video as much as we enjoyed making it."

2025 has already been a defining year for SHINEDOWN, with "Searchlight" following their powerful global hit "Three Six Five", which topped multiple radio formats including No. 1 at Alternative, Top 10 at Hot AC and AC, and Top 20 at Top 40. The band also released "Dance, Kid, Dance" and "Killing Fields" — both of which hit No. 1 — further cementing their dominance at radio. SHINEDOWN currently holds the record for the most No. 1 songs on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart (21 No. 1s to date),making them the top artist in the chart's history, as well as the most No. 1s on the Mediabase Active Rock chart (23 No. 1s to date),along with the records for the most Top 5s and Top 10s in the chart's history.

In addition, this year SHINEDOWN sold out and performed at Madison Square Garden for the first time during the band's "Dance, Kid, Dance" arena tour — a career milestone for the band. As part of the tour, they donated $1 from every ticket sold to Musicians On Call, resulting in a $300,000 contribution that helped launch a new bedside music program in partnership with HCA Florida Healthcare. Smith and SHINEDOWN guitarist Zach Myers recently performed at the program's kickoff event. Earlier this year, the band also took home multiple iHeartRadio Awards, further solidifying their standing as one of the most impactful bands of today.

Recently the band announced their first-ever curated festival event — Shinedown's Lunatic Ball Beach Weekend, taking place October 23-25, 2026 in Miramar Beach, Florida. The three-day destination experience will feature performances from SHINEDOWN (two headlining sets),BUSH, HANSON, FLYLEAF (with Lacey Sturm),LIVING COLOUR, FROM ASHES TO NEW, GUARDIANS OF THE JUKEBOX, NEON MOONERS and more to be announced.

Not to mention, SHINEDOWN recently announced they will be headlining the unparalleled Sonic Temple festival. They'll take the main stage on Friday, May 15, 2026, marking their first time headlining the iconic Ohio event. Their momentous performance will anchor the festival's second night, with MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, BRING ME THE HORIZON and TOOL leading the other days of the lineup.

Up next, SHINEDOWN is confirmed for the 2025 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour Presented by Capital One where they will perform on December 2 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, December 8 at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, December 9 in Detroit, Michigan at Little Caesars Arena and December 16 in Washington, D.C. at Capital One Arena.

Photo credit: Ryan Camp

BLACKMORE'S NIGHT, the renaissance-inspired rock band formed by Ritchie Blackmore and his wife Candice Night, has postponed two shows on its six-date tour of the U.S. East Coast. The concerts at Newton Theater in Newton, New Jersey on Saturday, November 15 and The Queen in Wilmington, Delaware on Thursday, November 20 have been called off "due to medical reasons", with no further details currently available.

In a recent interview with the Iron City Rocks podcast, Candice, who has been married to Ritchie for 17 years but has been together with the legendary DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW guitarist for 36, discussed the health status of her husband and BLACKMORE'S NIGHT bandmate. The conversation took place while Night was promoting her new solo album, "Sea Glass". Asked about the possibility of BLACKMORE'S NIGHT returning to the road in the coming months, Candice said: "One of the things that's so great about Ritchie is he can recognize — he's very in tune with his own body, and he stays on top of everything. Thank goodness. And when he doesn't, I nag him to stay on top of it, which he hates, but at least somebody's doing it — you know, like eating well and things like that.

"There's the three main issues with him that are going on," she explained. "He has a heart issue. He had a heart attack a couple of years ago, so we stay on top of that. He's got gout, so that's difficult. It's affecting his feet really badly. And it's starting in his forefinger, so it's hurting the mobility in that, so he just had an injection for that. And his back, of course, which has always been an issue. He hasn't taken any back injections since he had the heart issue. So everything kind of is working together. So, it's hard — it is hard for him. But he's at the point now where — he's very smart when it comes to things like that."

Elaborating on what makes touring so challenging for someone like Ritchie at this point in his life, Candice said: "It's not so much the travel on a plane. Honestly, it's the aggravation before you even get into the plane and after you get into the plane and it's all the sitting of traveling. So that'll affect his back and all the rest of it. And the jet lag that stresses your heart. All of these things. Waiting on those lines when you have to get to JFK [New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport] and you have to go transatlantic, and then coming off and going back through the security lines and the customs lines and all the rest of that stuff, and all of that stuff, it really does take a toll on a human — on a healthy human, so forget about someone who's 80 years old and going through these issues. But he did just say to me yesterday, which I wait for his… With Ritchie, if you try to pressure him to do something, he instantly says no. He's like a teenager. And so now I've got three of them. But learning how to deal with that a little bit better. So I wait for him to come to the realization, or I drop little seeds here and there and try to wait for him to be ready to talk about it. And he did just say, 'What about doing some BLACKMORE'S NIGHT dates in the fall?' So, of course, I got greatly excited about that. So now I've gotta contact the agent. But he would rather do places that he can drive to. He takes the night off the next day. Gone are the days where you do five shows in a row, including travel. That's just way too much. For anybody, it's difficult to do that. And we don't have a tour bus and we don't have private planes. If we go someplace, I'm driving. So it's like a mini road trip, but not really because we have to just get to the place, rest that night. Hopefully it's close enough to the venue. You get to the venue, you go back, you get a good night's sleep that night. Hopefully they're not doing construction or maintenance in the hotel or the maids don't wake you up at seven o'clock in the morning. and then you move on to the next place and have a day of travel. So it's a very slowed down way of doing it. But honestly, I'd much rather take something than nothing at all."

Earlier this year, Candice confirmed to Eonmusic that Ritchie had a heart attack in 2023 which resulted in six stents being implanted. "He's still got his back problem that he's had, so travel is difficult for him because of all that sitting," she explained. "And standing on stage, even standing with the guitar is tricky, although I do see a lot of people even younger than him at this point in the industry, showing up in wheelchairs. I don't think he wants to be thought of like that or remembered like that. I think it's great that people still get to see those people; I would still go hear them, just to be under the same roof and hear what they sound like, but we'll see. Maybe if we can get some of these medical issues under control, maybe I can get him back on a plane, but as for right now, they actually warned him a couple days ago not to fly. So, who knows? You know, put positive energy, out there in the universe, and]hope that maybe we can get him back on there."

Coronary stents are primarily used to treat coronary artery disease, a condition where plaque buildup narrows or blocks the arteries supplying blood to the heart. By inserting stents for the heart, doctors can effectively restore blood flow and alleviate symptoms.

BLACKMORE'S NIGHT plays "Renaissance music," or "medieval music," with most of the tunes featuring lyrics conjured by Night and melodies crafted by Blackmore.

Ritchie, Candice and their two children reside on Long Island, New York, near Port Jefferson.

Blackmore is a co-founder of DEEP PURPLE and wrote many of their most memorable riffs, including "Smoke On The Water", but he has not played with the group since his 1993 departure.

DEEP PURPLE drummer Ian Paice said in a 2017 interview that there was "no point" for the band to consider a reunion with Blackmore, explaining that he wouldn't be able to guarantee that every day with the notoriously moody guitarist would be fun.

Blackmore is a co-founder of DEEP PURPLE and wrote many of their most memorable riffs, including "Smoke On The Water", but he has not played with the group since his 1993 departure.

During his time away from PURPLE, Blackmore established the neo-classical band called RAINBOW, which fused baroque music influences elements with hard rock before gradually progressing to catchy pop-style hard rock.

Blackmore stepped away from his Renaissance-inspired brand of music with BLACKMORE'S NIGHT in 2016 to perform a handful of shows with a brand-new lineup of RAINBOW.

In addition to Blackmore and Night (backing vocals),the most recent incarnation of RAINBOW included singer Ronnie Romero, STRATOVARIUS keyboardist Jens Johansson, BLACKMORE'S NIGHT drummer David Keith, bassist Bob Nouveau (a.k.a. Robert "Bob" Curiano, ex-BLACKMORE'S NIGHT) and backing singer Lady Lynn.

The two shows RAINBOW played in Germany in June 2016 were caught on camera to produce "Memories In Rock - Live In Germany", which was released in November 2016 via Eagle Rock Entertainment on DVD+2CD, Blu-ray+2CD, and digital formats.

After Ritchie left DEEP PURPLE for the final time in 1993, he reformed RAINBOW for one album (1995's "Stranger In Us All") and one tour, ending things in Denmark in 1997.

Blackmore didn't join his former DEEP PURPLE bandmates at the group's 2016 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony.

Blackmore previously suggested that PURPLE's manager had blocked him from attending the Rock Hall induction ceremony, and he used that as an excuse for not attending the event.

Despite Blackmore being a no-show at Rock Hall, he was given several shoutouts during the induction speeches of the DEEP PURPLE members in attendance. In addition, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich, who inducted DEEP PURPLE into the institution, praised "Ritchie fucking Blackmore" for one of the most memorable guitar riffs of all time on "Smoke On The Water".

Posted by Ritchie Blackmore Official Site on Monday, November 17, 2025

Posted by Ritchie Blackmore Official Site on Saturday, November 15, 2025

On October 9 and October 10, California Film Institute's Mill Valley Film Festival featured "Metallica Saved My Life", a documentary that explores the life-changing impact of the San Francisco Bay Area heavy metal band on its fans, as its Centerpiece Screening at Sequoia Cinema in Mill Valley, California. METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich and "Metallica Saved My Life" director Jonas Åkerlund were on hand for a post-show conversation followed by a reception.

Asked by one of the attendees how it is possible that his "feet have gotten faster" as he has gotten older, Lars responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, thank you for all that. I don't know if I a hundred percent agree with that, but I'll take the compliment."

He continued: "Long story short, I just put a lot more work into it now than I ever used to. Growing up in sports and athletics, I've always had a part of that with me in my approach to drumming, for better or worse. And so I still think about the idea that… I grew up around tennis and my dad was a professional tennis player and I was imagining that I was gonna follow in his footsteps up till I was around 16 or 17. But when I think about tennis, tennis players, they're peaking in their twenties and then by their mid-thirties they start, 'Okay, is he gonna retire? When is Federer? When is Djokovic?' Is this his last this, the last US Open?' blah, blah, blah. And so, a lot of people playing professional sports or whatever, by usually, if not late thirties and early forties, they start winding down. With rock and roll, that's not applicable. And so there's no different age groups. There's not a, 'Okay, all the rock bands over 45, they're in these groups over here, and all the ones under 45…' So it's not like [it is] in tennis or in different sports, whatever, [where] there's like a senior circuit or any of that shit. It's just one big thing. So you're just out there, in our early sixties, competing against the guys and gals that are in their twenties and thirties, and so you gotta kind of be at the top of your game. And so I just work harder at it. I call 'em lifestyle choices. But I'm certainly much more connected and in tune and on top of all of that. And we're also — all of us in our own ways, all four of us — are much more sort of cautious about putting ourselves in harm's way, or having people out traveling with us who can help us with preventative injuries, whether it's the shoulders or the knees or the wrists or the necks or the throats or whatever it is. So all of that is trying to just maintain. There's also slightly less of me than there used to be ten years ago, thanks to Taco Bell and whatever else was going on at the time. And so if my feet are lighter, then it certainly has something to do with what I call lifestyle choices, which is just diet and exercise regimens and all the rest of it."

Ulrich added: "When we started, there was nobody in rock and roll in their fifties and sixties; the oldest guys in rock and roll at the time were in their thirties — the McCartneys and the Mick Jaggers and all those guys were literally in the their late thirties. And so the idea that you could play rock and roll in your sixties or seventies or eighties like McCartney and, say, Jagger are now, that was preposterous. That didn't exist. That was almost the antithesis to what rock and roll represented. In the immortal words of Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, 'I hope I die before I get old.' So, when you're doing this in your sixties and looking to hopefully stay functioning and somewhat relevant up to for another 10 or 20 years, you gotta really be on top of all that shit."

Nearly five ago, Lars told METALLICA's So What! fan-club magazine that he is no longer bothered by people's criticism of his drumming abilities. At the time, the Danish-born musician said: "Unlike years ago, I basically don't read any of the interviews that the other guys [in METALLICA] do. 20 or 30 years ago, we would all sit and fucking read every page of Kerrang! and every page of Circus magazine, see what so-and-so's saying and what the other band members were saying, what James [Hetfield, METALLICA guitarist/vocalist] was saying about this and that. Now there's just none of that. I also don't really read what people say about METALLICA.

"I'll say that occasionally, once every six months or something like that, it's kind of fun to go through the trolling section just because of the ridiculousness of all of it, but it's not something that I do regularly anymore," he revealed. "20 years ago, it would've been, 'Oh, my God, somebody said something bad,' or, 'That person said a nasty comment in the comments section,' or whatever. Now, none of that really means anything to me."

Back in 2016, Ulrich, who has gotten a lot of flak over the years from people who accused him of being a poor drummer, told the "Talk Is Jericho" podcast that he went through a period in the mid-1980s "that probably culminated in the 'Justice' album where I felt sort of compelled to try to show ability."

According to Lars, part of the reason for him feeling insecure about his abilities was the increased competition from some of his peers.

"Listen, when you've got Dave Lombardo and Charlie Benante breathing down your back, it was, like, 'Okay, I've gotta…' I tried to step it up a little bit and tried to do my own thing and do all this crazy shit," he said. "I was trying really hard to push the drums kind of into the foreground. And then, after like a year or two of that, I was, like, 'Okay. Seriously? Just do your thing. Chill out. Support the riffs. Do what's best for the song.' So since around I guess the late '80s — so I guess it's been, like, 25 years now — the only thing that's really interested me is just doing the best thing for the song."

Asked in a 2008 interview with U.K.'s Rhythm magazine if he was troubled by the fact that he's gotten a lot of criticism over the years from people who accused him of being a poor drummer, Lars said: "It used to, back in the day — and I spent a lot of time overcompensating for that on the early records. But then you wake up one day and you're like, whatever. It hasn't bothered me for [many] years. I'm no Joey Jordison, I'm no Mike Portnoy, and I have nothing but love and respect and admiration for all those guys. When I hear some of the young dudes, they blow my mind with what they can do with their feet and stuff — but it's not something that makes me go, 'I need to feel better about myself so I'm gonna learn how to do what they do with my feet.' I'm not a particularly accomplished drummer but I am very, very, very good at understanding the role of the drums next to James Hetfield's rhythm guitar. I guarantee you I'm the best guy in the world for that, and that's enough for me."

Ulrich stated about his playing ability in a 2012 interview with DRUM! magazine: "I usually feel like I've regressed. [Laughs] I'm like, 'Why can't I do that anymore?'" He continued: "I can't say that I necessarily sit down to practice, like, 'I'm going to play and practice so I can get better.' What happens is that I just sit down and kind of play to just more stay in shape."

Ulrich added: "You know, METALLICA was up to two or three months off [in 2011], and I would sit down, I have an iPod next to my drums so I can play along to all kind of crazy stuff, and try to see if I can land in the same zip code of some of that stuff occasionally. But I can't say that I sit down to necessarily practice to sort of get better. For most of my stuff, it's about listening and about interpreting stuff that I'm listening to. So all the kind of sitting down and, you know, 'Now I'm going to do thirty-second-note paradiddles standing on my head — you know what I mean? I don't do that kind of stuff so much. For me it's more about the regimen of staying in shape, running every day, eating healthy, you know, being on top of that side of it."

The Rockin Rick Belanger channel on YouTube has uploaded video of ACCEPT's November 13 concert at the House Of Blues in Chicago, Illinois as the support act for progressive metal legends QUEENSRŸCHE. Check out the clips below. (Note: After each song, the YouTube player automatically jumps to the next song in the playlist.)

Less than two months ago, ACCEPT parted ways with guitarist Uwe Lulis. Uwe joined the legendary German/American metallers a decade ago as the replacement for the band's longtime axeman Herman Frank.

On September 25, ACCEPT released the following statement via social media: "After deep deliberation, ACCEPT will return to the traditional two guitar player lineup and has parted ways with German guitarist Uwe Lulis.

"This decision was solely based on logistical challenges, with no personal or musical disagreements at all. Uwe and ACCEPT are on excellent terms and remain good friends, Metal Brothers in Arms and will continue to be so.

"We had a fantastic decade together, created killer songs and brought metal to the biggest stages around the world .

"We wish him all the best and celebrate our time together with honour and utmost respect.

"Uwe is a very successful metal producer, and has his own UWE LULIS PROJECT which we invite you all to check out and follow!

"Onwards and upwards brother!! We salute you and every moment you were with us!"

Prior to the release of ACCEPT's 2021 album "Too Mean To Die", the band's lineup was expanded with the addition of a third guitarist, Philip Shouse, who originally filled in for Lulis during 2019's "Symphonic Terror" tour, before being asked to join ACCEPT permanently.

Earlier this year, ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann revealed to Mark Strigl that the band's longtime producer Andy Sneap won't be involved with ACCEPT's upcoming 50th-anniversary album. Wolf said: "He will not be on this one, because he asked for a year off from us. I asked him, I begged him to produce his album, but then we found a good buddy of his. His name is Zeuss [Chris Harris]. He's producing it."

Hoffmann continued: "[Andy is] kind of part of the family now, but he's been touring so much with [JUDAS] PRIEST [as that band's touring guitarist], and he's been working so much in the studio last year. I think he did SAXON, he did PRIEST, he also did DREAM THEATER — he's done a bunch of stuff. So when I said, 'Hey, can we work this year again?' He said, 'Man, can I please have a year off?', which is understandable."

Sneap produced ACCEPT's last six studio albums: "Blood Of The Nations" (2010),"Stalingrad" (2012),"Blind Rage" (2014),"The Rise Of Chaos" (2017),"Too Mean To Die" (2021) and "Humanoid" (2024).

Zeuss has previously worked with ROB ZOMBIE, HATEBREED, QUEENSRŸCHE, SHADOWS FALL, DEMON HUNTER, OVERKILL and REVOCATION, among many others.

Over the past five decades, ACCEPT has sold millions of albums and inspired countless musicians. Their energetic live performances and iconic albums such as "Balls To The Wall", "Restless And Wild" and "Metal Heart" have left a lasting mark on the heavy metal genre. Hoffmann's guitar style and musical vision have made the band one of the most respected on the heavy metal scene.

After a hiatus in the band's career, Wolf was introduced to New Jersey singer Mark Tornillo in 2009. The chemistry and fit between them was so remarkable, ACCEPT reformed and almost immediately rose to global success with chart-topping albums. ACCEPT continues to be celebrated for each of their new records with Mark, who is now the longest-reigning frontman of ACCEPT, placing the Hoffmann-Tornillo partnership firmly in the Metal Hall Of Fame.

For decades, ACCEPT has been recognized as a guarantee of high quality and each of their albums has reached the top of the charts, delivering energy, melodies, killer riffs and an impressively powerful stage presence for 50 years.

Tornillo joined ACCEPT in 2009 as the replacement for Udo Dirkschneider, who was the band's original lead singer. Mark can be heard on ACCEPT's last six studio albums.

BUTCHER BABIES are putting the finishing touches on their new album for a tentative 2026 release. The band's new music will be made available via Judge & Jury Records, a powerhouse record label and production company founded by multi-platinum producer Howard Benson (MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, SEETHER, SKILLET, OF MICE & MEN) and Neil Sanderson of THREE DAYS GRACE. The instrumentation for BUTCHER BABIES' new LP is being meticulously crafted by Benson and Sanderson at West Valley Recording Studios, Benson's studio in Woodland Hills, California.

On Saturday (November 15),BUTCHER BABIES frontwoman Heidi Shepherd took to her social media to write: "7 songs fully recorded. 5 (maybe 6) to be completed NEXT WEEK… LET'S DO THIS!

"Heading back to LA to finish this record with @howardbenson and we are STOKED! Flip flopping between the studio recording, many tours, and festivals has been a bananas ride. But, we are heading towards the finish line and ready to show you what we've been working on for the last year.

"Our team at @judgeandjuryofficial has been such a treat to work with. What started as an EP turned into a full LP cause we are gelling so well!

"These songs are incredibly personal and hands down some of my favorite of my whole career. We're going to take a deep dive into the last 25 years of my life. This album is an autobiography, touching on early-life moments that I've never spoken about publicly.

"As always, @henryflury and I have locked ourselves away in our studio for months. It's our confessional, our church, our therapy.

"I cant wait to let these songbirds fly, and finally introduce you to this part me".

Last November BUTCHER BABIES released a new single, "Sincerity", a song rooted in wishful thinking. The lyrics dive into trusting someone to be delicate with your feelings, but rather having used those emotions to feed their own ego and benefit.

"Sincerity" marked BUTCHER BABIES's first release since the departure of co-founding co-vocalist Carla Harvey.

On BUTCHER BABIES' signing to Judge & Jury Records, Benson shared at the time: "I have always been a fan of the band and never really thought we'd get a chance to work with them! I especially love Heidi's vocal range and ability to weave compelling stories through her music. Excited Judge & Jury got to do this music together with her and Henry, and for the fans to hear it!"

BUTCHER BABIES is Heidi Shepherd on vocals, Henry Flury on guitar, Ricky Bonazza on bass and Devin Nickles on drums.

BUTCHER BABIES played their first concert since the official departure of Harvey on July 27, 2024 at the Stonehenge festival in Steenwijk, The Netherlands.

The band announced Harvey's exit in a social media post on July 20, 2024. BUTCHER BABIES wrote: "As you may have already guessed, it is confirmed that Carla Harvey and BUTCHER BABIES have officially parted ways.

"Carla has been an integral part of our journey, bringing her unique talent, passion, and energy to the band. We are grateful for the incredible memories we've made together and the impact she has had on our music and our fans. We will miss her greatly and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

"We deeply appreciate your support over the past 15 years," BUTCHER BABIES added. "We feel incredibly fortunate to keep making and playing music as our career, and we are excited for this new era of BUTCHER BABIES!"

In the fall of 2023, BUTCHER BABIES completed a European tour without Carla, who sat out the trek in order to undergo emergency surgery on her left eye.

BUTCHER BABIES released a double album "Eye For An Eye..." and "…'Til The World's Blind", in July 2023. The double album celebrated the tenth anniversary of BUTCHER BABIES' critically acclaimed debut, "Goliath", released on July 9, 2013 via Century Media Records.

BUTCHER BABIES' previous album, 2017's "Lilith" was produced by Steve Evetts (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, SEPULTURA, SUICIDE SILENCE).

Photo credit: Jesse Shepherd (courtesy of The Syndicate)

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In a new interview with James Wilson-Taylor of Rock Sound at this weekend's Vans Warped Tour in Orlando, Florida, SUM 41's Deryck Whibley spoke about his new Walking Disaster clothing line, his recent memoir, his surprise appearances on stage with JONAS BROTHERS and Avril Lavigne and his future music plans, including a possible acoustic tour.

"I play guitar every day," Deryck said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I have no plans or I don't know what I'm gonna do with music, but I play guitar every day, I write music every day and I have a stockpile of songs and music that are just kind of sitting there that eventually I'm gonna wanna do some music. I don't know when that is, but, yeah. I'm sure I'll do something again with music, eventually."

Asked if this material is something he will release and perform himself or if he is thinking about writing for other people, Deryck said: "I think a lot of the stuff that I'm working on right now, I like for myself. I'm a very selfish writer. When I write something I like, it's hard to give it away. I can work with somebody and create something from scratch, but if I've finished a song, that's pretty hard to give away."

As for other music-related projects, Whibley said: "I'd like to do an acoustic tour of SUM 41 songs, things like that. I have an acoustic record that I recorded and it is done of SUM 41 songs that may come out sometime soon. And I'd like to go tour that, but, again, there's no plans for any of it."

Whibley is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and producer best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the punk rock band SUM 41, recently inducted into the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame. Over the years, the band has become known for its distinctive blend of punk rock, metal, pop-punk, and alternative influences. Whibley's dynamic stage presence and ability to craft songs that are both infectious and emotionally resonant helped solidify SUM 41 as one of the most influential acts of the early 2000s punk scene. Beyond his work with the band, Deryck has collaborated with a range of artists as a writer, producer, and mixer, including Iggy Pop, Avril Lavigne, Tommy Lee and OPERATION M.D., among others.

Deryck's creative pursuits extend far beyond music. Last year, he released his memoir, "Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven And Hell", an international bestseller that offers a deeply personal look at his rise to fame, struggles with addiction, path to recovery, and surviving abuse, making for a raw and honest story of resilience, healing and balance.

SUM 41's storied career includes over 15 million records sold worldwide, multiple Billboard-charting releases, a Grammy Award nomination, two Juno Awards (seven nominations),a Kerrang! Award in 2002, as well as multiple Alternative Press Music Awards.

On November 15, during the "KISS Kruise: Landlocked In Vegas" event at Las Vegas' Virgin Hotels resort and casino complex, director McG (full name: Joseph McGinty Nichol) and producer Mark Canton discussed the forthcoming KISS "biopic" "Shout It Out Loud".

McG — a former music producer and music video director who went on to direct feature films such as "Charlie's Angels" and "Terminator Salvation" — vowed that "Shout It Out Loud" will do the band's legacy justice. "I think KISS is the most exciting rock n' roll band in history, and because of that, we owe the [KISS] Army the most exciting film in history," he said (as transcribed by Clay Marshall for BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I think with this band, the fact that this band broke on a live record, [they] broke on a live record because people want to feel what it was like to go to the show. I'm from Michigan, so I feel a particular affinity to the band. My goal is to give everybody something you can go to the theater and just have your face melted and just feel the heat coming off the stage — and for that matter, coming off the screen — which is what I get so excited about at a KISS show. Then, when it gets to the streamers and you can watch it at home and live this incredible story that is far more strange than fiction – two buddies, a cab driver [driving] to Madison Square Garden [saying], 'One day, that's going to be me,' and a substitute teacher whose mother is a Holocaust survivor. Against all odds, didn't get it done as WICKED LESTER, put the paint on, developing personas, it's the ultimate rock n' roll fantasy, and it's going to kick your fuckin' ass."

Canton, whose production credits include "300", "Immortals" and "Den Of Thieves", believes "Shout It Out Loud" will be "affirmational." "Both McG and I have a history of making movies for movie fans," he said. "Music [and] movies go together in everything that we do, and we know that this is the age where you have to make choices, and what is going to get you out of your house and rocking? Where is the connection? You have a lot of choices, and, of course, affordability is something we're all hearing about [right now], but we can assure you that for all of your hard-earned effort, money, family and everything else, that you're going to go out, you're going to be inspired. We're going to have you go into the theater feeling that connection that you have all earned over the years, and you're going to come out of the theater that much the better for it… We're really focused on good stories well-told. It is not just about the event — it's about telling a story about these two incredible individuals who came together against all odds. It's that type of story that everyone relates to, I think more than ever these days around the world. We're really proud of the screenplay. We feel like it's going to be not just a fun movie, but a great movie."

McG said that one of his goals is to portray KISS as disruptors. "I think more than any other band in the history of rock n' roll, there is rock n' roll before KISS, and there is rock n' roll after KISS," he said. "If you think of 'The Social Network' — there was the world before Facebook, then Facebook happened, and it was forever changed, and now it's just a part of our world. Rock n' roll was pretty straightforward until KISS came along and blew it up, literally and figuratively, with bombs and pyrotechnics and spitting blood and costumes and fun and explosiveness and providing a life that was larger than our own… Taylor Swift has pyrotechnics. That all traces back to KISS. This is the inflection point in the movie where the world was forever changed through the power of rock 'n' roll."

Earlier this year, it was announced that Nick Jonas — one third of the JONAS BROTHERS, and an actor whose credits include a variety of roles on stage and screen — would portray Paul Stanley in the movie. Beyond that, however, no casting news has been revealed. McG said: "I'm so happy to report that every young actor in the world wants to be a part of this movie. I've met with them extensively. We're getting to the place where you've now got to see if they can do it. It's not easy to be Paul — do the jump, hit the guitar right, approximate the voice, do everything. To me, I would have imagined Freddie Mercury to be equally difficult. Rami Malek went on to win the Academy Award. We're going to go to the ends of the earth to make sure Gene [Simmons], Peter [Criss], Ace [Frehley], everybody is perfect. We're right in the middle of that right now, and I can't wait to announce what that's going to look like. I'll put them in the makeup, I'll put them in the costumes and we'll release photographs.

"I think it's fascinating that you have this rock n' roll band from a 'Taxi Driver'-era of New York City, and they start to dominate the world and end up on Casablanca Records, run by this crazy dude Neil Bogart," he continued. "Two other acts on Casablanca are Donna Summer and THE VILLAGE PEOPLE, so [envision] a movie scene where you're panning around that room and here comes Gene, and he's with Diana Ross — nope, he's with Cher — and they're in there with THE VILLAGE PEOPLE and going crazy. That sort of '70s moment, I think, is going to be really exciting and really cinematic. This is a buddy story. This is an underdog story that is designed to lift you up [and] make you feel good. This movie is rock and roll all night, and party every day."

"Shout It Out Loud" is being produced by STX Entertainment. The most recent draft of the script was written by Darren Lemke ("Shazam!", "Gemini Man").

"Shout It Out Loud" was previously set up at Netflix and was supposed to be directed by Joachim Rønning, the Norwegian filmmaker whose credits include "Kon-Tiki", "Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil" and "Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales".

Back in 2021, KISS's longtime manager Doc McGhee told Talking Metal that the script for "Shout It Out Loud" was "completely done… And the script is about the first four years of KISS," he said. "Basically, it's before they were famous — it was up to Cadillac High, that kind of thing," referring to the October 1975 concert KISS played in a high school gym in Cadillac, Michigan. "And I think it's a very interesting look at the formation of KISS, the mindset of how that came about, the social pressure that everybody was in in the '60s and '70s that brought something like KISS to the forefront, that it could actually happen. So it's a very interesting, and I think it's a well-written movie."

Earlier in 2021, Stanley told Download host Kylie Olsson that the KISS biopic was "definitely happening. And that's gonna be really interesting," he said. "The script was really good. And we really waited until we felt comfortable.

Asked which actor he would like to play him in the movie, Stanley said: "And I will tell you this: for casting to be accurate in terms of age, we are looking at actors in their early 20s. Honestly, I don't know a whole lot of actors in their early 20s. When people get asked these kinds of questions, they'll say, 'Oh, Brad Pitt,' or this one or that one. Well, those guys are in their 50s or 60s, so you're talking about another generation of actors. And I'm the first to say I'm not up on a lot of them. But as the casting process goes on, I'll certainly be there and watching. It'll be interesting to see how someone else — be it the casting people or the director — how they view who I am and who they see doing that. I think I'll learn a lot about their perception of me by who they cast."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Simmons and Stanley are producing "Shout It Out Loud", along with Canton and McGhee, Universal Music Publishing Group's Jody Gerson and Polygram's David Blackman all serving as producers or executive producers. They are joined by Leigh Ann Burton; McG and his Wonderland producing partner Mary Viola; David Hopwood; Courtney Solomon; and Dorothy Canton; as well as Sweden-based Pophouse, which acquired the global rights to the KISS brand, including name and likeness.

Stanley and Simmons formed KISS in New York City in 1973 with fellow original members Frehley and Criss. Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer replaced Frehley and Criss on lead guitar and drums, respectively, for the last two decades of the band's touring career.

Although the original lineup off KISS wrapped its "Farewell Tour" in the spring of 2001, the most recent version of KISS kicked off the "End Of The Road" world tour nearly two decades later, which concluded in December 2023 with back-to-back concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

"KISS Kruise: Landlocked In Vegas" is taking place November 14-16 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

This special KISS Army fan event, co-produced by Pophouse, Topeka and Vibee celebrates the band's five-decade career and the 50th anniversary of the KISS Army. In addition to KISS's "unmasked" performances, the weekend includes appearances from QUIET RIOT, Stephen Pearcy and Warren DeMartini performing the music of RATT, Bruce Kulick, Sebastian Bach, BLACK 'N BLUE, KUARANTINE, School Of Rock and more.

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."

Legendary rocker Alice Cooper reunited with the other surviving members of the original ALICE COOPER band — guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith — for a short set at last night's (Saturday, November 15) "Christmas Pudding" event at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona. Stepping into the late COOPER guitarist Glen Buxton's shoes for the performance was Nashville-based guitarist Gyasi Heus, who also played guitar on the recently released "The Revenge Of Alice Cooper", the first full album by the original ALICE COOPER band since 1973's "Muscle Of Love". They played a mix of their hits along with songs from "The Revenge Of Alice Cooper".

Each year, "Christmas Pudding" features appearances by musicians who are dedicated to helping Cooper raise money for Alice Cooper's Solid Rock Teen Centers, which offer music, dance, art, and vocational programs for teens aged 12 to 20.

"The Revenge Of Alice Cooper" was made available in July via earMUSIC. The effort, dedicated to Buxton, who died in 1997, is heralded as the successor to ALICE COOPER's iconic records "School's Out", "Billion Dollar Babies", "Love It to Death" and "Killer".

Regarding how the reunion with the other original members of ALICE COOPER came about, Alice told 95.5 KLOS: "When we parted, we didn't divorce; we just separated. There was no bad blood. There was no lawsuits or anything like that. And we stayed in touch with each other. And finally, at one point — they had worked on some of my albums — I said, 'Why don't we just do an album?' Ah we got [longtime producer] Bob Ezrin involved. And I was absolutely amazed. Everything went so smoothly. We wrote all these songs, and it sounded exactly like 1975."

Alice added: "Losing Glen was really tough for us 'cause he was our Keith Richards. We got Robby Krieger to play on 'Black Mamba', which was perfect for that song. And we found a guy named Gyasi [Hues] in Nashville that just fit in perfectly."

Asked if he and the other surviving members of the original ALICE COOPER band just clicked right back in as friends too, Alice said: "Absolutely. It was never a beat even [that was missed]. It just felt like this was the album that should have come out after 'Billion Dollar Babies'. It had that feel to it."

The four surviving bandmates performed together in 1999 at the second Glen Buxton Memorial Weekend at CoopersTown in Phoenix. Another reunion concert took place in 2010 at Alice Cooper's "Christmas Pudding", followed by an appearance at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony in 2011. There was also a record store reunion concert captured in the documentary "Alice Cooper: Live From The Astroturf" as well as guest appearances on select tracks on Cooper's solo albums "Welcome 2 My Nightmare", "Paranormal" and "Detroit Stories".

To celebrate the release of "The Revenge of Alice Cooper", Dunaway, Smith and Bruce joined Alice on stage on July 25 at London, United Kingdom's sold-out O2 Arena to perform "School's Out" — supported by Cooper's current touring band and Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp. This epic night followed an equally memorable event the evening before at London's Union Chapel, where Alice, Dennis, Neal and Michael joined longtime producer and honorary sixth member Bob Ezrin for an exclusive, sold-out question-and-answer session and global livestream, hosted by Sir Tim Rice — which also featured the world premiere of the album in full.

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.

The Norelli Family Foundation presents.. Alice Cooper’s 23rd Annual Christmas Pudding Fundraising Concert! Continuing...

Posted by Alice Cooper's Solid Rock on Thursday, October 23, 2025

MOTIONLESS IN WHITE will release a new single, "Afraid Of The Dark", on January 28, 2026. The track will serve as the first single from the Pennsylvania hard rockers' upcoming seventh studio album, which is expected to arrive next year.

MOTIONLESS IN WHITE frontman Chris "Motionless" Cerulli broke the news of the single's release during the band's concert this past Thursday (November 13) at the Apocalypse Fest at Mohegan Arena in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He told the crowd (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): " This year we celebrate 13 years of [our second album] 'Infamous'. Next year we celebrate something that is truly indescribable to me. Next year is our 20th anniversary of being a fucking band. So we had a few discussions about what we wanted to do to celebrate that. And I know that it was supposed to release this year, but we thought, what a better fucking way to celebrate 20 years of being a band than releasing an album that is inspired by 20 years of our music. So we know that you guys have been waiting very patiently for a new album, a new song, anything at all. And I'm here to tell you that we wanna release an album next year because we want to make sure that we can honor and celebrate 20 years, which is a monumental achievement to us in the band personally. And we know how much it means to the fans that have been around for so fucking long. Whether you've been around for 20, 15, 10, 5 [years], 10 days, it doesn't matter, you are a part of that fucking journey that we've been on, and we really, really want to make sure that we do something special. So, not only will we, of course, be releasing a new album, which I know isn't really huge news 'cause you thought it was coming out this year, but I did want you guys to be the first people to know that on January 28th you're gonna hear our first new song off the album. January 28th, first song off the album and the kickoff to what will be a very long, very fucking awesome album cycle for us. Mark your fucking calendars, my friends. The song is called 'Afraid Of The Dark', and we cannot wait for you to hear it."

Earlier this year, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE announced a 2026 headlining tour of Europe. The 11-date trek will launch on February 5 in Glasgow, United Kingdom and conclude on March 7 in Lisbon, Portugal.

In an interview with Primordial Radio, Cerulli spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the follow-up to MOTIONLESS IN WHITE's 2022 album "Scoring The End Of The World". He said:  "We've been working on it all last year. We did the U.S. headlining version of [the 'Touring The End Of The World'] tour in the fall of '23. And that ended and I kind of just went right into working on the record and worked on it last year and going into this year. I'm taking my time. We're taking our time with it.

"I don't want to feel like for any reason I felt like I had to push the record out, and I have felt like that," he explained. "I've talked about it a few times where there's that immense pressure to get more stuff out more consistently to fans or they're gonna kind of leave you behind and forget about you. But I think I've since kind of just moved on from that and feel the most secure in that, just take your time and do the record that you wanna do, and at the end of the day, you'll at least be happy with it no matter what happens. And that's where I'm at… When it's out, it's out. But it is definitely being worked on. I would say the bulk of it is good to go, and I'm very excited about it."

Regarding the musical direction of the new MOTIONLESS IN WHITE material, Chris said: "The last like three or four records, I feel, have all done a good job of dividing the time between the heavy, the emotional, the kind of artsy experimental tracks. We really just try to keep it from being boring and have the record tell a story through these different soundscapes and different atmospheres of heavy to not so heavy and everywhere in between. And I would say that's just where we're locked in at. There's no desire within us to do an album that's just all singing and abandon the screaming and some of the heavy stuff, because we need the heavy stuff. That's in us that has to be written to feel like MOTIONLESS IN WHITE. But in the same token, we have to get the songs that feel like the more emotionally vulnerable songs, because that's also what we need to do. And we just write what we feel, and that's kind of just that spectrum of heavy to light and everywhere in between. I guess it's pretty simple. So I would say it'll be the same as the other records where it's just a good mixture of it all."

This past February, Chris told James Wilson-Taylor of Rock Sound that it takes time for him and his bandmates to create something that they can fully stand behind.

"I do feel like I'm seeing an interesting shift now where it felt like back then bands were putting out records every four years," he said. "It's just dependent. I feel like some albums were just back to back to back, and the bands were just on fire. And I think I loved that — not so much because I was impatient and couldn't wait for new music from these bands I love, but simply just because when this band is awesome and then they give you immediately more amazing material, you're just so energized by that. And I liked that, but I also never minded — it never bothered me that I waited three years for another album from a band, as long as it was cool. And now I feel like because of the attention span, because of the oversaturation of content and music, there's so many bands now that fans can migrate to and sort of move on from you if you're not satisfying the need for new stuff, bands are kind of forced to put stuff out in a hurry. But I have noticed that a lot of the bands that have kind of achieved a status that I feel like, I guess, grants them the ability to wait longer and fans aren't gonna go anywhere, they're taking it. And then, as a result, the albums are better because they spent the time on it. It's, like, what do you want? Do you want something that's half of what it could have been quicker or do you want the full realization of what the band wanted for the record in three years or four years? And then you get that. And I think every single fan is gonna have a different answer, and there's no right or wrong. You just can't answer it. And, again, you have to default back to what is best for the band itself and your mental state while making it."

Chris added: "There's no other way to say that other than there's so much more to have to consider and craft and build in addition to the music. And those are types of things that I feel like are expectations of the fans of bands like that. And that's a personal expectation. So all that lines up and you wanna make sure that you're putting out this complete package that is just bulletproof on the look, the sound, the imagery — every component of what makes that album cycle what it is. So, yeah, we're still in the process of that, and it will get done. [We're] just gonna figure it out."

With over one billion cumulative streams and views to date, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE has notched four consecutive Top 5 debuts on the Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums chart and Top Rock Albums chart with "Reincarnate" (2014),"Graveyard Shift" (2017),"Disguise" (2019) and their latest effort, "Scoring The End Of The World" (2022),the latter debuting at No. 12 on the Billboard 200, marking the band's second biggest sales week ever. "Scoring The End Of The World" is highlighted by the singles "Masterpiece" which reached No. 1 at Active Rock radio, becoming the band's first chart-topper at the format, and "Werewolf", which reached Top 10 at Active Rock radio and an impressive one million music video views in just four days after its debut.

In September 2023, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE released "Scoring The End Of The World (Deluxe Edition)", a special deluxe reissue of "Scoring The End Of The World", which saw the Cerulli-fronted outfit expanding on its acclaimed 2022 album with new four new bonus tracks, including "Hollow Points", "Fool's Gold", "Timebomb" (STEOTW Mix)" and "Porcelain: Ricky Motion Picture Collection".

"Scoring The End Of The World (Deluxe Edition)" is available in multiple formats and on vinyl for the first time ever in several different color variants, including black, orange, hellfire, scorched earth, and electric purple, the latter of which comes with exclusive alternate cover artwork.

MOTIONLESS IN WHITE is Chris Motionless (vocals),Ricky Olson (guitar),Ryan Sitkowski (guitar),Vinny Mauro (drums) and Justin Morrow (bass).

KISS played an electric "unmasked" set on Saturday, November 15 at the "KISS Kruise: Landlocked In Vegas" event at Las Vegas' Virgin Hotels resort and casino complex. Joining the legendary rockers — guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley, bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons, guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer — on stage for the last two songs was Bruce Kulick, who first hooked up with KISS in 1984 and remained the band's lead guitarist for 12 years, accompanying KISS on the "Animalize" tour and continuing with the band until the 1996 reunion tour.

The setlist for KISS's November 15 concert was as follows:

01. Deuce
02. Take Me
03. Hotter Than Hell
04. Calling Dr. Love
05. Got To Choose
06. Watchin' You
07. Cold Gin
08. I Love It Loud
09. Love Her All I Can
10. Let Me Go, Rock 'N' Roll
11. Black Diamond
12. Detroit Rock City
13. Shout It Out Loud
14. Do You Love Me
15. Lick It Up (with Bruce Kulick)
16. Rock And Roll All Nite (with Bruce Kulick)

In a June 2025 interview with Get On The Bus, Kulick spoke about his current relationship with Stanley and Simmons. He said:  "It's very much to my benefit, and probably theirs, to have this mutual respect moving forward. I never forget and take the eye off of the fact that that opportunity has been just something that has consist consistently paid off for me, both career-wise and financially.

"I don't need to be the guy who has to get publicity from having rows with them and fighting with them, or complaining about them," Bruce continued. "And I do understand many artists; they get into like huge blowouts when something's happened. And I just celebrate KISS. I respect what they've done. I do understand them maybe better than the average bear. Maybe that helps me just look the other way when I think, like, 'Why do I need to burst a bubble about it?'"

Referencing his previous revelation that he wasn't asked to perform at KISS's final show and wasn't invited to attend the event, which was held in December 2023 at New York City's Madison Square Garden, Bruce said: "I will admit I was very verbal about the final show that I didn't feel they handled that right, which was very out of character for me. But I knew that that was the sentiment of the fans, where they [felt that Paul and Gene] didn't celebrate Kisstory on the final show, and that opportunity was there for them. But I wasn't in the works with them to understand what was their desires and motives on getting through to that final big show at the Garden."

Kulick also touched upon the fact that 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.

"It's a new era now for KISS in the sense that it was bought by a very big company that wants to keep KISS alive forever," Bruce said. "And that would be with avatars and possibly a lot of other things. Whatever their vision is, they now own KISS. And that's why I'll always wave the flag of all 50 years. And the good news with the future of KISS is that the company Pophouse that bought it, they own the brand and they get it, that they want to share and celebrate it with everyone."

Last year, Kulick told Finland's Chaoszine that Stanley and Simmons "missed a really huge opportunity" when they failed to acknowledge any of KISS's former members during the final concert. "It's not just about me," Bruce clarified. "[They also didn't mention late KISS drummer] Eric Carr, [original KISS guitarist] Ace [Frehley] and [original KISS drummer] Peter [Criss], and [late KISS manager] Bill Aucoin. Come on. Terrible. They really missed making a better feel-good evening for everyone when it was much closer to every night before. And those who say, 'Well, I saw you up on the screen.' They'd been doing that for years where they'd have little things. So they didn't feel it was important. I feel they missed an opportunity."

This past February, Stanley was asked during an interview with the "Talk Is Jericho" podcast why there weren't any guest appearances by former KISS members at the band's final shows. Paul responded: "To be somewhat diplomatic, there were people who made unrealistic demands of what they required. And it's not about that. It wasn't, for example, a celebration of the beginning of the band; it was a celebration of 50 years of a band, as opposed to a tribute to the start. So, as far as Ace and Peter, they weren't there for many reasons. And I've said it a hundred times and I'll say it another hundred times. We couldn't be here today without what those guys did, and we couldn't be here today with them."

Asked by podcast host Chris Jericho about the lack of any mention of other former KISS members, such as Eric Carr, Bruce Kulick and Mark St. John, Stanley said: "What are you gonna do? I think the best way to honor everyone is to be the best we can be. What are we gonna have — videos up on the screen or draped photos? The fact that we were there, we were there because of everybody who participated, some more than others, but the tribute to everyone is us existing."

Bruce is heavily featured on "Kissology - Vol. 2" and "Vol. 3", KISS's DVDs spanning the band's historic career.

Kulick — who last year launched his own brand to offer period-correct guitars inspired by his KISS era — played on six KISS studio albums and two live records.

Kulick did not take part in either of KISS's farewell tours, in 2000-2001, and 2019-2023. Thayer has been KISS's guitarist since 2002.

"KISS Kruise: Landlocked In Vegas" is taking place November 14-16 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

This special KISS Army fan event, co-produced by Pophouse, Topeka and Vibee celebrates the band's five-decade career and the 50th anniversary of the KISS Army. In addition to KISS's "unmasked" performances, the weekend includes appearances from QUIET RIOT, Stephen Pearcy and Warren DeMartini performing the music of RATT, Bruce Kulick, Sebastian Bach, BLACK 'N BLUE, KUARANTINE, School Of Rock and more.

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."

During a November 15 panel discussion at the "KISS Kruise: Landlocked In Vegas" event at the Virgin Hotels resort and casino complex in Las Vegas, longtime KISS manager Doc McGhee discussed the status of the upcoming full-length documentary about the band's five-year, 250-date "farewell" tour, "End Of The Road", which came to an end in December of 2023 with two shows at New York City's iconic Madison Square Garden.

"We've always tried to capture what we're doing," McGhee said (as transcribed by Clay Marshall for BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "We had to do the fly-on-the-wall [approach], because if you don't, everybody becomes actors, and it gets boring. You have to really find a way, and the only way to do it is to have people with you that you trust that sit there and film you all day long. We did this for five years — we started this [in] '19 — so it was important to us to not have the usual KISS/WWE kind of thing. KISS is like WWE in a certain way — they're always on, and all this. We wanted to catch all the moments that were inspiring, that you could see the heart of KISS. It took us a long time, and we have thousands of hours of this stuff. We've been editing this for two years to find the right thing, and I think we've got a great mix. I think when you see it, you'll see a whole different side of KISS than what we're used to seeing. You'll see that tie together. I think it will be a great ride that will then bring us into the biopic [the forthcoming feature film 'Shout It Out Loud'], and then into the avatar show. I think right now we have the tentpoles set up to set us up for the future."

The documentary doesn't yet have a release date. McGhee explained: "One thing we've always tried to do is, we don't release anything until it's right. Whether it's the avatar show [or whatever], if it takes longer, it takes longer. If this takes longer, it takes longer. If the movie takes longer… we've been doing this movie for seven years. We don't need to make a movie, and we don't need to make a documentary. We need to make a phenomenal [documentary], a phenomenal avatar show and the best movie out there, and I think we have the best team to do it."

Although the band is no longer an active touring entity, McGhee says projects like the documentary, avatar show and biopic demonstrate that the true "end of the road" for KISS is nowhere in sight. "In today's world, the technology that we have, with the team of people we've assembled, it actually, where I thought I was starting to slow down, I'm just working a lot harder," he said with a laugh. "I believe that what we have at our fingertips to give to the world as far as KISS is concerned is going to go on way beyond all of us."

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".

McGhee managed BON JOVI from 1984 through 1991, an era when they achieved their biggest commercial successes with "Slippery When Wet" and "New Jersey". He also managed MÖTLEY CRÜE throughout the 1980s and helped to create the Moscow Music Peace Festival in 1989, which was attended by 100,000 people and broadcast in 59 countries.

In 1995, McGhee began managing KISS by oversaw the band's subsequent reunion with Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, which would yield the top-grossing tour of 1996. 2025 marks his 30th year as the group's manager.

KISS's final show at Madison Square Garden was accompanied by the news that the four members of the band intended to live on as digital avatars after their split. The group made the surprise announcement at the end of the show, with vocalist/guitarist Paul Stanley telling fans "your love, your power, has made us immortal. The new KISS era stars now," he added. The 23-song concert was also streamed live via PPV.COM.

KISS undertook a previous "farewell tour" more than 25 years ago. After a brief hiatus, the band started touring again on and off in 2003.

"KISS Kruise: Landlocked In Vegas" is taking place November 14-16 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

This special KISS Army fan event, co-produced by Pophouse, Topeka and Vibee celebrates the band's five-decade career and the 50th anniversary of the KISS Army. In addition to KISS's "unmasked" performances, the weekend includes appearances from QUIET RIOT, Stephen Pearcy and Warren DeMartini performing the music of RATT, Bruce Kulick, Sebastian Bach, BLACK 'N BLUE, KUARANTINE, School Of Rock and more.

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

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene 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."