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)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Heidi Shepherd (@heidithebutcher)

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."

In a new interview with Dan Shinder of Drum Talk TV, IRON MAIDEN's longtime drummer Nicko McBrain reflected on his last-ever gig with the British heavy metal legends, which took place nearly a year ago in São Paulo, Brazil. The now-73-year-old British musician, whose real name is Michael Henry McBrain, announced his retirement on December 7, 2024 in a statement on MAIDEN's web site and social media. He also said that night's concert at Allianz Parque would mark his final show with the legendary rock band. Nicko said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "It was a very mixed-emotions show. Obviously, I had 50,000 kids chanting my name and [they] gave me a fantastic, emotional welcome. And then also when I got up the front of the stage at the end of the night — I've always gone and been the last guy to come off stage, to be able to say good night and thank you to all the fans and stuff. And this night was unbelievably special. I remember I thought to myself, 'I'm gonna burst out in tears here in a minute.' I felt that emotional, and I thought, God's saying to me, 'Look, it's okay, Nick, if you wanna cry. That's why we gave you tears and emotion.' Anyway, so I thought, 'No, maybe stay strong. Do your weeping offstage.'"

McBrain continued: "But the most important moment that I felt from the whole thing was not only the love of the fans and the adoration that they showed me and the love, was when I went to go on stage, all the backline, they gave me a salute and a farewell. That was their last time they would actually be with me on an IRON MAIDEN show, with me performing. So that was a terrific emotion. And there were some tears, I gotta admit — some of my truly dear friends on the tour for many years had a tear in their eye."

Asked if he had already put himself "mentally in the space" of being retired before he even played his last show with MAIDEN, Nicko said: "I certainly was in the mental space. To be honest with you, when we made [the] 'Senjutsu' [album in 2019], I was thinking, 'All right, after the 'Senjutsu' tour, I'll hang it up.' I had made it my mind up, because I was feeling, my body was feeling like, well, I was 70 years old or 69, 70. As we know, the pandemic hit. Everybody experienced it. We all lived through it, and God bless those that that did, and, unfortunately, there were a lot of folks that didn't make it. Anyway, that kind of put us back by two years, 'cause we couldn't release that album once we'd got it finished. And so then you have to have your album out for a little while and then you plan a tour around it. So we did the 'Legacy Of The Beast' tour. And that 'Legacy Of The Beast' tour was in four parts over two years. And it was, like, 'Okay, well, I think I'm gonna hang it up after this.' My mindset was always to think about, 'It's time for me to step down and give it to a younger fellow.' … So, yeah, I had my mind set, even back then, of thinking about, 'I'll make this the last tour.' But then it went into 'The Future Past Tour'."

Referencing the fact that he suffered a stroke in January 2023 at his home in Boca Raton, Florida, which left him "paralyzed" down one side of his body and "worried" that his career with the band was over, Nicko said: "I was very blessed that the band would stick behind me and take that journey that I took in my recovery and the fact that I have a handicap, 'cause I can't play 16th-note rolls [anymore]… So I had to compromise with drum fills. And the band stood by me for almost two years. It was a year and a half of touring. We did the end of the 'Legacy [Of The Beast]' tour and then 'The Future Past'. And you are going into the 50th anniversary, which is obviously a massive tour for the band to celebrate. But I knew I couldn't have opened with [the 1981 IRON MAIDEN song] 'Murders [In The Rue Morgue]'. I mean, that drum fill at the beginning was just… I could have scratched through and done something else and changed the intro. But this is a celebration of those records, the first nine albums. So, that then, on the back end of having that decision in the back of my mind a couple or three years [earlier], it made it easier. And I sat with Steve [Harris, MAIDEN's founding bassist] in L.A. and we talked and discussed that very thing, and the things that I couldn't play against the things I could. And we were outweighing my health issue, and they were all very worried about me. They didn't wanna see me — and I didn't wanna see myself drop dead on stage. But mind you, having said that, if the good Lord calls me up, I would prefer to do it on a gig."

Regarding how he presented his decision to retire from touring with MAIDEN to the rest of the band, and how MAIDEN decided to announce Simon Dawson as the band's new touring drummer, Nicko said: "Obviously, I was talking with Rod [Smallwood] and Andy Taylor, our managers, and Dave Shack, who's been part of the MAIDEN family for many years now. And he's like Rod's left-hand guy or right-hand guy. He's kind of taken over the everyday running of things with MAIDEN. And we talked about it. And when I was with Steve, we were talking about Simon doing a rehearsal with the band in Portland. We had a couple days off there. Well, here's the thing — a travel day and a day off after that. That's really nice. We talked about that, and [Steve] said, 'Are you okay with it?' I said, 'Of course I am.' I said, 'If, God forbid, anything happened to me in the next, say two weeks or the next week or the next gig, Simon will be able to cover for me, and you don't lose the rest of the tour.' I mean, it would be how we would deal with that if any one of us fell ill. I mean, there have been the times when we've lost shows because Bruce [Dickinson, MAIDEN singer], he's got laryngitis or something. But if you get the flu [as a non-singing musician], you go on stage; you just have to muscle through it, as a pro musician. As they say, the show must go on. So, yeah, I understood that and I gave that my blessing, and Simon went in. And then after that we all had a meeting. Simon wasn't there. It was myself, Rod and the band. And we all talked about me retiring after the tour. So the band were aware of it prior to Simon going in to do the rehearsal. So there was no skullduggery involved. It was all talked about prior to the announcement. I personally asked the management and the band to leave the announcement till after the gig, to January this year. I wanted to spend Christmas without having everybody and their mum sending me texts and my phone ringing off the hook: 'Oh, what's this? You've left the band.' But Andy Taylor turned around to me. I remember the conversation like it was yesterday. Again, we were in L.A. And he said, 'Nick, by the way, what's this about you not wanting to make an announcement on your last show? You need to go out in a blaze of glory. You don't want to go out on a wimpish whim.' And I went, 'You're right. I'm being selfish.' I didn't want it because I didn't want all my mates and family phoning me up or whatever. So, we talked about that there and then, and he convinced me that it was the right thing to do, because the notion I had was, 'Yeah, let's tell everybody in the new year. Let's get Christmas and new year out the way.' And it was a lovely way to announce it. The only thing I got a little upset about was I did ask them not to announce Simon until the Monday. 'Cause on the Sunday I was traveling home from São Paulo to Florida. And they were gonna make the announcement almost immediately, and I said, 'Give it a day or two.' Well, they gave me 24 hours. Not even that — they announced it the next morning, that Simon was gonna go and be my replacement, which really doesn't matter when they did. But I did ask them to leave it an extra day. And I must admit I was a bit miffed off about that. I went, 'Oh, they could have left it another 24 hours.'"

Two months ago, Harris told Rock Candy magazine editor Howard Johnson about MAIDEN's first lineup change in 25 years: "To be honest, we didn't really have a choice and had to make the change after Nicko suffered his health issues. It was what it was, and we had a decision to make as to whether we wanted to carry on or not. Obviously we had a tour booked at the time that it happened, and the rest of us all wanted to continue. But ultimately, after we got through all that, it was Nick's decision to step away and we all respected the fact that he'd decided to do that."

This past July, Nicko told "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about his exit from MAIDEN: "I had my health issues, which was one of the primary reasons that I decided to hang it up with the guys. And I wasn't doing the songs justice because of the handicap that I had. And it wasn't fair on everybody else either in the band. They supported me 100 percent through the 'The Future Past Tour', and that was fantastic. I couldn't have asked for a better bunch of brothers to support me through my darkest hour."

Elaborating on the physical ailments which contributed to his decision to retire from touring with IRON MAIDEN, Nicko said: "Primarily, I was fed up with touring in terms of the travel and not having days to recoup my body… I wasn't so much slowing down, although we did play the songs that… I got told off at rehearsals last year because I was playing the songs too fast, 'cause I'd been playing with [my Florida-based side project] TITANIUM TART [which plays MAIDEN songs] before I went off and did the rehearsals in Australia with MAIDEN. And I actually got told off for playing too quick. So it wasn't a question of not being able to drive the band. It was just not being able to drive the band with the drum fills that I'd been used to playing for 42 years. So the question mark was raised about the performance side. And that's quite right…So that was part of the decision that I made."

Five years ago, McBrain was diagnosed with stage 1 laryngeal cancer and opened up about it in a single interview in 2021 but otherwise kept it mostly under wraps.

McBrain officially joined IRON MAIDEN in December 1982 for the 1983 "Piece Of Mind" album and tour, replacing Clive Burr, after McBrain's previous band TRUST had supported IRON MAIDEN during the U.K. leg of the "Killers" tour in 1981. McBrain brought a degree of finesse and technicality that was largely missing from IRON MAIDEN's early output. Whereas Burr was often lauded for his heavy-handed, punk-oriented style, McBrain was largely the opposite, playing with a degree of dexterity and flair that helped primary songwriter Harris take MAIDEN down more adventurous paths. He eventually became the third longest-tenured member of MAIDEN, behind Harris and guitarist Dave Murray.

Veteran German metallers RUNNING WILD are continuing work on their new studio album for a tentative summer 2026 release.

Earlier today (Monday, November 17),RUNNING WILD leader Rolf "Rock N' Rolf" Kasparek took to the band's social media to write: "Dear fans, It's been a long time that you haven't heard something about the development of the new studio album. In the beginning of this year I had to prepare everything for the summer festivals we played during June, July and August. Some unforeseen problems arose which had to be solved. Then we played the 5 successful summer festivals and after finishing these I felt ill and got corona. This all set me back in finishing the new album. But since the end of September I was able again working on the songs and I hope that everything is finished before Christmas and that the actual recordings can start in January. The goal is to release the album before our gig at the Wacken Open Air next summer.

"I know you are all waiting for new music and I can assure you that it will be worth the wait. I will get back to you with some actual news before the end of this year. Until then hoist the sails......a storm is coming!"

RUNNING WILD's latest album, "Blood On Blood", came out in October 2021 via Steamhammer/SPV. At the time, Kasparek said that the LP was "probably the best in RUNNING WILD's career to date. Every one of the ten songs sounds exactly as I had it in mind when I composed it," he added. "I've never been happier with a RUNNING WILD record before."

Rolf described "Blood On Blood" as the most diverse offering he had released so far, not only in terms of the compositions but also as far as the production is concerned. The cover artwork was once again designed by Jens Reinhold (VIRGIN STEELE, FREEDOM CALL, among others).

In addition to Rolf, RUNNING WILD's current lineup includes guitarist Peter Jordan, bassist Ole Hempelmann and drummer Michael Wolpers.

RUNNING WILD was formed back in 1976 as GRANITE HEARTS, before changing its moniker, named after the JUDAS PRIEST song, three years later.

Kasparek has led RUNNING WILD since the very beginning and has been the sole founding member of RUNNING WILD since 1984.

RUNNING WILD's current lineup has been stable since 2015.

"Blood On Blood" was RUNNING WILD's seventeenth studio album, and the band's first since 2016's "Rapid Foray".

➡️ Message from our Captain:
"Dear fans, It's been a long time that you haven't heard something about the development of...

Posted by Running Wild on Monday, November 17, 2025

In a new interview with Brazil's 89 A Rádio Rock, SCORPIONS singer Klaus Meine spoke about his decision to alter the lyrics to "Wind Of Change", an anti-war anthem the West German rock band put out after performing at 1989's Moscow Music Peace Festival. In March 2022, at the opening concert of SCORPIONS' "Sin City Nights" residency at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino In Las Vegas, Nevada, Meine and his bandmates debuted the song's revised lyrics, which now say: "Now listen to my heart / It says Ukrainia / Waiting for the wind to change."

Meine told 89 A Rádio Rock (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, basically we're not a political band, but SCORPIONS, we're always a band building bridges between cultures, between countries. And maybe it's because the way we grew up in the shadow of the Berlin Wall, we grew up in times of the Cold War, and we always wanted to bring people together with music in a peaceful way. And so, yeah, I changed the lyrics a couple of years ago when Russia invaded the Ukraine and I turned it into a statement into a piece of solidarity with the Ukraine."

Three and a half years ago, Meine explained to "Loudwire Nights" the thought process behind changing "Wind Of Change"'s lyrics. "Before we came [to Las Vegas to begin the residency], I was thinking about how it feels to play 'Wind Of Change' the way we used to play for so many years, and I thought, it's not the time with this terrible war in Ukraine raging on, it's not the time to romanticize Russia with lyrics like, 'Follow the Moskva / Down to Gorky Park,' you know?" he said. "I wanted to make a statement in order to support Ukraine, and so the song starts now with, 'Now listen to my heart / It says Ukraine, waiting for the wind to change.'"

Back in 2015, SCORPIONS guitarist Rudolf Schenker stated about the inspiration for the original version of "Wind Of Change": "We wanted to show the people in Russia that here is a new generation of Germans growing up. They're not coming with tanks and guns and making war — they're coming with guitars and rock 'n' roll and bringing love!"

"There were so many emotional moments in Moscow," Meine added. "I guess it could have been BON JOVI or MÖTLEY CRÜE, any of these guys who had gone home inspired by what they saw, but for them it was like, 'Hey! We rocked the Soviet Union, dudes!' For us, maybe it was different. We saw so many changes from Leningrad in '88 to Moscow in '89. That was the inspiration for 'Wind Of Change'."

Last month, SCORPIONS uploaded a "track-by-track" video in which Meine opened up about what "Wind Of Change" has meant over the years — from its first notes to its enduring legacy. The singer said at the time: "Well, it was the end of the '80s when we played for the very first time in Leningrad [now Saint Petersburg] in the USSR, and it was amazing after all the success we enjoyed throughout the '80s, especially in the United States. But it was always part of our dream to go east. And since we never played in the former DDR [Deutsche Demokratische Republik, German Democratic Republic, commonly known as East Germany], we never had a chance to play there, we never had a chance to go behind the wall. So this was in the spring — I think it was April '88 when we played 10 shows in Leningrad. And it was amazing, because we said, 'Our parents came with tanks. Here's a new generation. We come with guitars. We bring love, we bring music. We don't shoot each other. We wanna sing together.' And it was a very inspiring moment. And only one year later we finally played Moscow at the Moscow Music Peace Festival, and it was obvious. There was a man in the Kremlin, Mikhail Gorbachev. There was a big change in the air, and when we played at the Moscow Music Peace Festival, we stormed out like crazy playing 'Blackout' and all those songs. The Russian audience, the fans were singing along. The security, which were mostly soldiers from the Red Army, they were throwing their caps in the air. They were going totally crazy and they enjoyed the music like the fans. They were supposed to be there being security, but they turned around, they wanted to see the show, they didn't wanna miss a thing. And it was so inspiring. It was like the whole world was changing in front of our eyes. And when I came back home, I think I reflected [on] this moment in time and I reflected [on] the changes I saw between '88 in Leningrad and one year later when we played in Moscow. And it was really like it was a new moment, a new time, a new future, a more peaceful future was in the air. And this was all what the song was all about. And it became something like a peace anthem. And after all these years, after 30 years and even more, this song has a billion clicks on YouTube. And it seems like, especially in those very difficult times we are now, the song is very relevant, especially with the young audience, with the young kids who sing this song in every show with so much emotions coming out. And people are crying. And it really shows that after all in very difficult times, this song is still a very strong peace message, and we hope the window for a peaceful world will be open soon again, and the wind hopefully will change one more time."

SCORPIONS' latest album, "Rock Believer", was released in February 2022. The album was recorded primarily at Peppermint Park Studios in Hannover, Germany and was mixed at the legendary Hansa Studios in Berlin, Germany with engineer Michael Ilbert, who has earned multiple Grammy nominations for his mix work with producer Max Martin on albums by Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.

SCORPIONS originally intended to record the new album in Los Angeles with producer Greg Fidelman, whose previous credits include SLIPKNOT and METALLICA. However, because of the pandemic, some of the initial work was done with Greg remotely, after which SCORPIONS opted to helm the recordings themselves with the help of their engineer Hans-Martin Buff.

Wendy Dio, widow and longtime manager of Ronnie James Dio, is the latest guest on Billy Corgan's podcast, "The Magnificent Others". In this powerful and emotional conversation, Wendy joins Billy to share the brilliance of her late husband, Ronnie James Dio — from their first meeting at the Rainbow Bar & Grill in West Hollywood, California to the creation of Ritchie Blackmore's RAINBOW, replacing Ozzy Osbourne in BLACK SABBATH, and Ronnie's breakthrough with his own band, DIO. Wendy reveals how Ronnie stayed true to his vision, refusing to chase hits, and how his humility, brilliance, and devotion to fans made him a legend. She and Billy discuss the origins of the devil horns, the making of the classic DIO songs "Holy Diver" and "Rainbow In The Dark" and the enduring legacy Wendy continues through the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund.

Ronnie lost his life to stomach cancer, also called gastric cancer, in 2010. The disease often does not cause symptoms until its later stages. Usually, by the time stomach cancer is diagnosed, the prognosis is poor.

Reflecting on how the singer was first diagnosed, Wendy told Billy (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "About five years before he passed away, [Ronnie] was complaining of indigestion. I took him to a very famous Beverly Hills doctor who gave him heart tests and all kinds of stuff and just said, 'Oh, don't worry. It's gas, just gas.' … And he always had indigestion. He would eat [over-the-counter chewable antacid] Tums all the time. He had indigestion, indigestion. But you see, with things like stomach cancer, gastric cancers and pancreatic cancer, there's not really any signs until it's too late.

"So we found out that he was not feeling good," Wendy continued. "He finished a tour with [BLACK] SABBATH [offshoot HEAVEN & HELL]. That was my happiest memory that I have now, is that he went back with SABBATH and did that HEAVEN & HELL tour, the last thing. And everybody loved each other. Everybody was back to loving each other, having fun, really enjoying themselves, everybody pushing each other to the limit, because they were all such good musicians. And they created 'Bible Black' — all those songs are really good songs and [they had] a great time and [they] had a really fun time. [They were] gonna go out and do another album."

Wendy added: "They stopped [touring] then because Vinny [Appice, HEAVEN & HELL drummer] had something wrong with his hand or something, had to do something — I don't know, whatever. They took a break. And Ronnie wasn't feeling good at all. And that last tour he wasn't feeling good at all. And so I took him to my just local doctor, actually. He did a blood test and he called me back and he said, 'Wendy, it's not good news. I think we need to do an ultrasound and a colonoscopy.' We did all that. Ronnie didn't know. And [the doctor] said, 'He's got stage four cancer.' And I said, 'Don't tell him. Don't tell him.' So I spent the whole weekend trying to find out the best oncologist I could find at what hospital, and they said MD Anderson [Cancer Center in Houston, Texas], but I couldn't get him into MD Anderson. I was trying everything. And then somebody said, 'Go to the Mayo Clinic.' So we flew to Minneapolis, went to the Mayo Clinic, and the guy, a horrible doctor, he said, 'Well, you're gonna die. So, just go back and put your life together. You've probably got six months.' So we went and stayed in the hotel. We cried all night long; I remember that. And then I got a text from MD Anderson that we could get in there with T.J. Martell [Foundation, the music industry's largest foundation for leukemia, cancer, and AIDS research], [through founder] Tony Martell, who we'd done some, stuff for him before and given him money and stuff. So we flew from Minneapolis to Houston to see this doctor, this doctor Johnny, and he said, 'Look, I'll do the best. There's some trials out there that we can try. I can't promise you anything, but nobody can tell you except God when you're gonna die.' He said, 'That [other] doctor should be struck.' Anyway, he started doing the treatment. We used to go every two weeks. We'd go fly to Houston for six hours. He would do chemo. And you know what?! There was a kid there, 19 [years old], [who] was there, and Ronnie spent more time caring about him than caring about himself. And we used to skip down the halls, going, 'We're gonna kill the dragon.' We called it 'killing the dragon'. And we never, ever, either one [of us], thought that Ronnie was gonna die, because he did very well. He did very well. Three weeks before he passed away, he was getting an award from [Revolver Golden Gods in Los Angeles]."

Wendy also talked about her decision to start the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund, which was established after Ronnie's death as a privately funded 501(c)(3) charity organization dedicated to cancer prevention, research and education. The Dio Cancer Fund has raised nearly $3 million to date through its various annual events and direct support from the vast community of Dio fans worldwide. It is their mission to help eradicate this disease through education and via Wendy's mantra: early detection saves lives.

"I just feel sometimes they don't wanna find a cure because they make too much money with things [various treatments]," Wendy explained to Billy. "Because I know for a fact that at one point Ronnie lost his eyesight of his eye because it had metastasized up there and his hand was [shaking]. And I took him to an optician, a specialist, and he said, 'Well, there's nothing we can do about it,' he said, 'but there's another specialist. Let me see in a couple of weeks.' I said, 'Okay.' So we went to Houston again, and they tried a new drug called Avastin. I'll never forget the name of that. We got off the plane and Ronnie said, 'I think I can see better in my eye. My hand stopped shaking.' And we went to the optician, and he said, 'I can't understand this. Your sight's back. I cannot understand this.' And then the next time we went there, the Avastin was taken off the market. But, anyway, we did that last award thing, and three weeks later [Ronnie] passed away. He wasn't feeling that good. He was feeling really in a lot of pain. We went to the hospital, and Gloria [Butler, wife and manager of SABBATH bassist Terry 'Geezer' Butler] and Terry were with me. And he passed away."

Wendy added: "Everybody was saying [they] wanted to give money for cancer [research]. And IRON MAIDEN sent me $10,000 and said, 'Where do you want it to go?' And I said, 'Well, a lot of big organizations, they have so much administration costs. I would really like it to go right where it should go.' And so we formed the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund. And 14 of [Ronnie's] good friends are on the board… and we've raised almost three million dollars for research. And we support T.J. Martell. We support a lot of other cancer things. And we've actually been supporting Dr. [David] Wong from UCLA with a cancer test from a swab. Because men, a lot of times, don't get checked out 'cause they don't want a finger up the butt. This would be a swab in the mouth, and it could [provide] early detection if you've got stomach cancer or pancreatic cancer. Those are the two killers. And they just named one of the labs at UCLA after Ronnie."

Dio replaced Osbourne in BLACK SABBATH in 1980, recording the "Heaven And Hell" and "Mob Rules" albums, plus "Live Evil", before leaving in 1982. He rejoined the group 10 years later for an album called "Dehumanizer", and again teamed with the group under the HEAVEN & HELL banner. HEAVEN & HELL released an album called "The Devil You Know" in 2009.

Ronnie passed away of stomach cancer on May 16, 2010 at the age of 67.

Dio was renowned throughout the world as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history. The singer was diagnosed with cancer in late 2009. He underwent chemotherapy and made what is now his final public appearance in April 2010 at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.

Ronnie's autobiography, titled "Rainbow In The Dark: The Autobiography", was released in July 2021 via Permuted Press. It was written with longtime friend of 30 years and esteemed music writer Mick Wall, who took up the mantle after Ronnie's passing.

"Dio: Dreamers Never Die", the first-ever, career-spanning documentary on the life and times of Ronnie James Dio, was released in September 2023 worldwide by Mercury Studios.

The "Bowl For Ronnie" celebrity bowling party, the annual event benefiting the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund, will take place on Thursday, November 13, 2025 at PINZ Bowling Kitchen + Bar in Studio City, California. The event will once again be hosted by television and radio personality Eddie Trunk, who is heard on SiriusXM's 103 Faction Talk channel. "Bowl For Ronnie" will feature a celebrity bowling tournament and a raffle drawing for prizes and memorabilia. Last year's bowling event sold out well in advance and brought in more than $70,000 for the charity.