Jay Buchanan — frontman of American rock band RIVAL SONS — has announced his debut solo album, "Weapons Of Beauty", coming February 6, 2026 on Sacred Tongue Records via Thirty Tigers, hot on the heels of his recent appearance in the Bruce Springsteen biopic "Deliver Me From Nowhere", now in cinemas worldwide.

With "Weapons Of Beauty", Buchanan — the hard-eyed, preacher-voiced frontman of Grammy-nominated RIVAL SONS — steps fully into his own. A debut solo record that trades the thunder of the stage for something slower and more cinematic: a high-and-lonesome desert song from a man unsteady under the weight of his past, carrying it like a heavy sack of gold into his future.

Buchanan stands tall among the breakthrough vocalists of the last two decades — just as comfortable singing with Jason Isbell, THE BEE GEES, Miranda Lambert, MASSIVE ATTACK, THE BLOODY BEETROOTS or Brandi Carlile as with the arena-rock band he's best known for. His voice remains his signature instrument: powerful, earthen, and impossibly expressive — a gritty echo of the California mountains themselves.

In preparation for "Weapons Of Beauty", Jay disappeared into the Mojave Desert for three months, holed up writing in an underground, windowless bunker. His goal wasn't escape so much as renewal: living simply in the tiny space, powered by a gas generator, writing by firelight at the foot of abandoned gold mines.

"The silence," he says, "was both terrifying and liberating. A caterpillar knows when it's time to get into the cocoon."

Out there, surrounded by heat and horizon, Buchanan began shaping songs about longing, endurance, and an almost romantic celebration of the hard-worn miles living by prospect across the American landscape.

Spanning ten tracks, "Weapons Of Beauty" traces Buchanan through the sun-bleached dust of an American-gothic wilderness. The album opens with "Caroline", a spare, aching letter to a lost home or lover, introducing a recurring theme of return and forgiveness — a song that promises to bring a tear to the eye, a classic wounded tale of loss told in a way that is wholly his own.

"I suppose that writing about unquenchable grief allows you a kind of permission to pay respect to those deep chasms in your life without wallowing in them," Buchanan states. "Putting it in a song lets you buy the ticket and take the ride — and then move on."

Filmed in the same gold mines Jay frequented while sequestered in the Mojave Desert, the video illustrates the journey of a couple in sickness and in health. Buchanan performs to the camera as their memories play out through projections on the cave walls behind him.

"I can see a parallel here," Buchanan adds, "spending twelve hours deep in the earth, trying to mine our own treasure, knowing full well so many have perished in those same caves chasing a future cut dangerously short. That's a hell of a way to spend a Sunday!"

Most recently, Buchanan delivered an explosive performance as the frontman of the Stone Pony house band in the Springsteen biopic "Deliver Me From Nowhere". Talking about his involvement, Buchanan states: "More than anything, it was just a really good hang. I played a band leader, so no acting there. Being on stage together playing music was about bringing Jeremy [Allen White] into my world, and being on camera in a film was about him bringing me into his. It was amazing. Jeremy and Scott [Cooper] made me feel like I belonged there — and that was just what I needed."

"Weapons Of Beauty" displays nearly fifty minutes of masterful storytelling and heart-breaking lyricism. If it feels cinematic, there's a reason: Buchanan entrusted acclaimed filmmaker Scott Cooper (who directed him in the Springsteen film) to sequence the album — a task Cooper generously took on.

"On the flight home after the film wrapped, Scott and I had a conversation that stayed with me as I went directly to the desert," Buchanan says. "I don't want to get too personal, but we were kind of living on opposite sides of the same coin that day, and he was the last person I spoke to before my desert exile. Months later, the night the record was finished, when I listened to the playback for the first time, I immediately thought of him sequencing it. The whole undertaking had left me so raw that the pan was just too hot for me to pick up. I knew I could trust him — if he'd help me."

Cooper wasn't the only friend to lend a creative hand. Buchanan enlisted lauded American realist painter Jeremy Lipking to create the album's rich, romantic cover painting — a perfect companion to its vision of the American landscape.

"Jeremy Lipking is an old friend and family on my wife's side," Buchanan explains. "We've been wanting to work together forever. He was the only person to hear some of my demos direct from the desert. I told him I was writing a Jeremy Lipking painting. It was important to me that the music have a scenic quality — the America I've seen over decades of touring: lonesome sunsets, big-clouded skies, silhouetted by our dreams and failures."

"Weapons Of Beauty" track listing:

01. Caroline
02. High And Lonesome
03. True Black
04. Tumbleweeds
05. Shower Of Roses
06. Deep Swimming
07. Sway
08. The Great Divide
09. Dance Me To The End Of Love
10. Weapons Of Beauty

"As music continues to be choked out by technology, I wanted to draw pictures in the dirt," states Buchanan. "This approach is right with me, and I've just come to a point where there is no longer a choice. 'Weapons Of Beauty' is the sound of these plates shifting within me, too loud to ignore. Surprisingly, I've never known a vulnerability to feel so empowering."

Photo by Matthew Wignall

Today it was announced that longtime KISS drummer Eric Singer will join the highly anticipated "KISS Kruise: Landlocked In Vegas", taking place November 14-16, 2025, at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

Singer will reunite with Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and Tommy Thayer for two "unmasked" performances, one acoustic and one electric, marking the first time KISS has performed together since retiring from touring in 2023. Singer will also participate in a fan question-and-answer session alongside Simmons, Stanley and Thayer, host a "Name That Tune" guitar and drum riff activity with Thayer, and sign the event poster as a gift for all guests. His addition comes as the KISS family and fans around the world honor the memory of founding guitarist Ace Frehley, whose creativity and influence helped define the band's unmistakable sound and legacy.

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 the "unmasked" performances and Singer's return, the weekend will include 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.

Fans can look forward to question-and-answer sessions with members of KISS, longtime manager Doc McGhee, producers Eddie Kramer and Bob Ezrin, photographer Lynn Goldsmith, and KISS Army founders Bill Starkey and Jay Evans, along with interactive activities, meet-and-greets, photo ops, and other unique fan experiences honoring KISS's unmatched legacy.

Vibee experience packages include a three-night stay at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, premium access to all performances and panels, curated gifts, a signed event poster, and collectible memorabilia.

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."

Regarding what fans can expect to see at "KISS Kruise: Landlocked In Vegas", Paul told "Artist Friendly With Joel Madden": "It's gonna be awesome. And we're gonna play all the songs that we normally play, but I'll be more like this [without any makeup] than I am… The KISS gear is hung up and that will stay in the bat cave.

"Look, I've always thought that you can get the biggest production and put on a big show and a band still sucks," he continued. "A band that's no good is still no good with all the trappings. And you could take a car, an old beat-up car without an engine and paint it any color you want, it may look beautiful, but it ain't going anywhere. So, I've always thought that the band at its core has always been a kick-ass band."

For more information and to secure your package for "KISS Kruise: Landlocked In Vegas", visit KISSKruiseVegas.com.

During the band's 50-year history, KISS was known for exceptional and first-of-its-kind fan events that always put the fans first. Events like the "KISS Kruise" were yearly fan get-togethers that created a community and connection to the band. With the band's final shows on "the "End Of The Road" world tour, KISS Army members have anxiously awaited news of continued exciting events. Known for their trademark larger-than-life blistering performances, KISS has proven for decades why they are, hands down, the most iconic live show in rock and roll.

Photo credit: Jen Rosenstein

Silver Lining Music will release "No Life 'Til Leather - A Tribute To Metallica's Kill 'Em All" on November 14. The fourth single from the all-star compilation is RAVEN's cover of METALLICA's "Metal Militia".

"No Life 'Til Leather - A Tribute To Metallica's Kill 'Em All" unites METALLICA's favorites, their peers and the generations that came next. METALLICA's first proper tour was with RAVEN in 1983, on the famous "Kill 'Em All For One" venture. Thus, it is only fitting that RAVEN is featured on the album with its powerfully unapologetic rendition of "Metal Militia". With unrelenting energy and raw precision, RAVEN channels the ferocity of the original while stamping their own unmistakable identity on the track — a bold statement that captures the spirit and intensity of the entire album.

"We are very happy and honored to have been asked to be part of this awesome tribute to our old sparring partners," comments RAVEN's co-founding lead vocalist and bassist John Gallagher. "Our cover version is many things as you will hear… in the best tradition of the guys themselves, but I think we captured that METALLICA 'snarl'…. Especially by changing a few key elements! Features Mark on vocals, today all is revealed!"

In a January 2025 interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, John Gallagher talked about METALLICA opening for RAVEN back in 1983 and 1984. Asked what his thoughts were about METALLICA at the time, John said: "Yeah, they were good. They were energetic. They were like a gang, which is always appealing 'cause we were, obviously, like a gang. It wasn't the mentality of a one guy starting a band and putting adverts out and having a bunch of mercenaries come in. There was none of that. They were a gang. But as far as, 'Do you see them in — whatever — 10 years being the greatest thing since sliced bread?' It's, like, no, not a chance. And to be fair, the band that you could have said that with was at least a good year away because they really changed on the second record. It showed some maturity and breadth and the ability to do different things other than just [playing fast] all the way through. So, they sat, they learned and they soaked it all in and they did a whole bunch of stuff."

John continued: "They said to us on the tour, 'We love your 'All For One' album because you've broadened your sound without compromising who you are.' I was, like, 'Oh, well, I guess we did. Okay.' So they did kind of the same thing. They stretched out and did 'Fade To Black', which was, like, 'This is really cool. This is different.' Some slower-paced songs — still fast stuff, but mixed it up a bit."

He added: "We had a long conversation with James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman] a couple of years ago up at METALLICA HQ [in Northern California]; we visited there. And [he was] very humble and very, 'I don't know how this all happened, but we're very grateful and humbled that it did. And we're gonna continue to do the best we can.' You can't ask for more than that."

Gallagher also spoke about what it was like for RAVEN to open for METALLICA at a November 2022 concert at the Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida celebrating the life, legacy, and achievements of Megaforce Records founder Jon "Jonny Z" Zazula and his wife Marsha Zazula. He said: "Yeah, that was really cool. That was for a good purpose because Jon and Marsha Zazula, who managed them and managed us, made a huge difference in both our careers. Absolutely. And it was good to recognize and celebrate that. And they were so good… And we got to hang out for a long time and talk. And it's really surprising about the level that they're at and the things they've went through that it's the same guys. That's pretty cool."

Considered part of the "New Wave Of British Heavy Metal" movement of the early '80s, RAVEN is perhaps best remembered for its trailblazing tours in America in the early '80s that gave groups like METALLICA and ANTHRAX their first taste of the road.

RAVEN's classic albums "Rock Until You Drop", "Wiped Out" and "All For One" virtually invented both the speed metal and power metal genres, with the band consistently pushing the envelope while retaining its unique sound and attack — both in the studio and in their true element: onstage.

In a 2005 post on RAVEN's official message board, John stated about RAVEN's influence on other pioneering metal bands: "Anyone ever listen to the middle of 'Aces High' by IRON MAIDEN and compare it to part of 'Faster Than The Speed Of Light' [by RAVEN]? How about the chorus riff of METALLICA's 'No Remorse' to [RAVEN's] 'Lambs To The Slaughter'?? Makes me laugh...!"

The first single from "No Life 'Til Leather - A Tribute To Metallica's Kill 'Em All" was THE ALMIGHTY's blistering, full-throttle cover of METALLICA's legendary "The Four Horsemen", THE ALMIGHTY's first recorded work with their founding lineup since 1991, chosen by the band as both a nod to their roots and a declaration of intent.

THE ALMIGHTY guitarist Ricky Warwick commented: "'The Four Horsemen' by METALLICA got us back into the studio with the original lineup for the first time since 1991… Unbelievable.

"When the opportunity presented itself, it was really a no-brainer. METALLICA has been a huge influence for us. It was a bit nerve-racking because we had not been in the studio for such a long time. We did the whole thing in a day and a half with as much power and passion as you would expect from THE ALMIGHTY. It is such a powerful track. I think it turned out great, make sure you turn it up really, really loud!"

Watch THE ALMIGHTY's video for the band's cover of "The Four Horsemen", edited by Freakshot Film, below.

The second single from the all-star compilation is former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson's monumental cover of METALLICA's instrumental epic "(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth".

Ellefson comments: "It was a total honor to be asked to participate in this album, especially to record the iconic bass composition '(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth' by the one and only Cliff Burton [late METALLICA bassist]. I was able to borrow one of Cliff's Aria Pro signature bass guitars and signature Morley fuzz/wah pedal for the session to replicate his sharp-yet-thunderous tone he created on the original recording. It is my hope that this homage will highlight Cliff's larger-than-life personality and that his music will always live on through this unique and iconic song he gave to the world."

Ellefson and Dave Mustaine formed MEGADETH in 1983, after Mustaine got kicked out of METALLICA. METALLICA recruited Kirk Hammett and went on to record its debut album, "Kill 'Em All", later that year, while Ellefson and Mustaine began work on MEGADETH's first LP, "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!"

During a 2019 ALTITUDES & ATTITUDE conversation with moderator Ryan J. Downey at the MI Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Ellefson was asked if Burton was an inspiration on his bass playing during MEGADETH's formative years. Ellefson responded: " I met Dave [Mustaine] in June of 1983. He had just left METALLICA literally not more than eight weeks before that, in April. So I didn't know anything about METALLICA, didn't know who Dave was, heard nothing about Cliff Burton — knew nothing about it, coming from the Midwest. And I didn't know anything about Cliff. And because the only recording Dave had of METALLICA was 'No Life 'Til Leather', and that had another bass player on it named Ron McGovney. So when we did a cover of 'Mechanix', I played Ron McGovney's basslines."

He continued: "Really, quite honestly, my METALLICA bass player was Ron, believe it or not, and I kind of modeled what we did off of that 'No Life 'Til Leather' demo. And I remember the day when 'Kill 'Em All' and we sat… There was complete silence in the room, and we sat and we listened to the album. And the differences — tempos were pulled back. And obviously the bass solo, 'Anesthesia'. That was really my first experience hearing Cliff. And at that point, we were two months into… MEGADETH was well on its way.

"So, long answer to your short question is I didn't really have an influence [from Cliff]… That was not where my influence came from. And quite honestly, growing up in a rural area of Minnesota, bass players in rock and roll were cool, but when I started hearing some jazz players… Those guys were more of my influence, along with Steve Harris [IRON MAIDEN] and Geddy Lee [RUSH] and Ian Hill [JUDAS PRIEST] and the metal guys. But, for me, I went more into the jazz world… But those were the things that I brought in, and I think that made, me and Dave, our participation together with the MEGADETH sound something that was… And even then with Gar Samuelson and Chris Poland — they were jazz-fusion musicians. We really had a very different sound — different even from ANTHRAX, from METALLICA, from SLAYER — a very different sound. And I think that probably is what sort of set us apart as our own pillar of the 'Big Four.'"

"No Life 'Til Leather - A Tribute To Metallica's Kill 'Em All" is a colossal celebration of the most propulsive debut album in heavy metal history, reimagined by the legends who inspired it and the generations that came in its wake!

The veteran likes of SAXON, DIAMOND HEAD and MOTÖRHEAD — three of METALLICA's favorite bands — are joined by rising stars such as TAILGUNNER and Swedish prog metallers SOEN to create a who's who of heavy music, with each performer lending their unique sound to one classic track. Contributions from thrash giants TESTAMENT, ex-MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson and New Wave Of British Heavy Metal linchpins TYGERS OF PAN TANG show the label looking beyond their own artists to amass the greatest lineup possible. Joining the superstar lineup are the legendary RAVEN (closing with the thundering anthemic "Metal Militia") who were part of METALLICA's first-ever tour, 1983's famous "Kill 'Em All For One" venture.

"No Life 'Til Leather - A Tribute To Metallica's Kill 'Em All" is an ambitious achievement worthy of METALLICA's game-changing legacy. By the fans and for the fans, it reaffirms the Four Horsemen's ironclad status — and its stacked roster continues the band's mission to shove metal up your ass.

"No Life 'Til Leather - A Tribute To Metallica's Kill 'Em All" will be available on vinyl, CD, and digital formats.

"No Life 'Til Leather - A Tribute To Metallica's Kill 'Em All" track listing:

01. Hit The Lights - TAILGUNNER
02. The Four Horsemen - THE ALMIGHTY
03. Motorbreath - SOEN
04. Jump In The Fire - TYGERS OF PAN TANG
05. (Anesthesia - Pulling Teeth - DAVID ELLEFSON
06. Whiplash - MOTÖRHEAD
07. Phantom Lord - SAXON
08. No Remorse - DIAMOND HEAD
09. Seek & Destroy - TESTAMENT
10. Metal Militia - RAVEN

DIAMOND HEAD's version of METALLICA's "No Remorse" was originally included on a reimagined and re-recorded version of DIAMOND HEAD's "Lightning To The Nations" album, which was released in 2020 via Silver Lining Music.

"I wanted to cover a song from METALLICA's debut album, 'Kill 'Em All'," DIAMOND HEAD guitarist Brian Tatler explained, "partly because METALLICA covered songs from DIAMOND HEAD's debut album 'Lightning To The Nations' and it felt like things have come full circle to me. None of the band members knew how to play any of the songs from 'Kill 'Em All', and I eventually decided we should all learn 'No Remorse'. Then when we got into the rehearsal room, we played 'No Remorse' and immediately it just sounded great; it was very 'DIAMOND HEAD' and it really suited us as a band. Of the four covers we ended up doing, 'No Remorse' sounded the best straight away. I've seen METALLICA live over twenty times and they don't play 'No Remorse' very often, but it's always great when they do."

Back in December 2011, SAXON's Biff Byford joined METALLICA on stage for the first of four intimate shows at the 1,200-capacity Fillmore in San Francisco as part of the week-long celebration of its 30th anniversary as a band for fan club members only. The iconic metal vocalist performed the SAXON classic "Motorcycle Man" with METALLICA.

It wasn't the first time Biff and METALLICA had surprised their fans with a live rendition of the song: in 2009, Byford joined the San Francisco heavy metal giants in Paris, at Palais Omnisport de Bercy.

METALLICA's second-ever gig was opening for SAXON, and Biff has been a longtime friend of the California band; like many other seminal bands of the genre, METALLICA always recognized SAXON as one of their main influences.

When METALLICA played Sheffield Arena on February 28, 2009, they invited as VIP guests former SAXON members Graham Oliver and Steve Dawson.

There has always been a strong link between the pioneering MOTÖRHEAD and mighty METALLICA. A unique bond of friendship between the two has stood over the decades, with METALLICA even playing Lemmy's 50th birthday party in 1995. In turn, MOTÖRHEAD have paid homage to some of METALLICA's finest compositions, even winning a Grammy Award for their cover of "Whiplash" in 2004.

METALLICA paid tribute to MOTÖRHEAD frontman Lemmy on its 2016 album "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct", which came out less than a year after the iconic rocker's death.

Shortly after Lemmy's passing, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich penned a lengthy tribute to the MOTÖRHEAD mainman in which looked back on the influence Lemmy had not just on METALLICA but also on him personally.

Legendary punk-metal band CORROSION OF CONFORMITY (C.O.C.) has announced the launch of COC Skateboards, a high-octane line of skate decks forged from the band's rebellious spirit and outsider roots. In partnership with Volatile Skateboards, this long-awaited fusion of music and skate culture is now live at cocskateboards.com.

From the underground clubs of North Carolina to the concrete bowls of the skate world, C.O.C. has always stood for raw energy, free thought, and explosive expression. Now, that ethos rides again.

"Skating and C.O.C. have always been synonymous," says the band. "This is more than merch — it's a movement. No compromise. No apologies. Just pure attitude."

Whether you're bombing hills or hanging decks on your wall, COC Skateboards are built to make mamas cry since 1982.

This past September, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY released a special rendition of "Fire And Water" by English rock band FREE. The classic track was originally made availale in 1970 on the FREE album of the same name. CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's version came spontaneously in the studio during some downtime while recording their forthcoming new full-length, set for release next year, and serves as the first of the "Riffissippi Studio Jam Sessions", a special collection of jammed out interpretations of songs by some of the band's favorite artists.

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY recently completed a North American tour supporting JUDAS PRIEST and Alice Cooper. The trek, which commenced on September 16 in Biloxi, Mississippi and ran through October 26 in Houston, Texas, included several CORROSION OF CONFORMITY one-off headlining shows scattered throughout.

Since forming in 1982, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY has woven their distinct riffs deep into the fabric of heavy metal for over four decades. Across ten landmark, critically acclaimed albums, the band has continued evolving. From the early days of thrash to their more recent, blues-infused metal, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY has managed to progress with each release keeping fans and critics alike guessing.

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's last full-length album, "No Cross No Crown", was released in 2018 via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. Recorded with longtime producer John Custer, the record marked the first studio recording with guitarist/vocalist Pepper Keenan in over a decade and, earning the No. 67 spot on the Billboard Top 200 chart, No. 12 on the Billboard Top Current Albums chart, and No. 3 on the Top Hard Music Albums chart upon its first week of release, is the highest-charting album of the band's career.

Some of guitar-recording sessions for CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's upcoming LP took place at a private Miami, Florida studio owned by Barry Gibb of the BEE GEES.

Last October, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY recruited onetime DOWN guitarist and current PANTERA bass tech Bobby Landgraf to play bass for the band on the 2024 edition of the Headbangers Boat cruise. He has since joined CORROSION OF CONFORMITY in the studio and on the concert stage.

In September 2024, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's founding bassist Mike Dean announced his departure from the band.

Two years ago, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY confirmed the return of drummer Stanton Moore for its upcoming album.

Reed Mullin died in January 2020 at the age of 53. The drummer, who co-founded CORROSION OF CONFORMITY in 1982 as a hardcore punk act alongside guitarist Woody Weatherman and Dean, had missed a number of shows in the preceding four years due to a variety of health issues, including an alcohol-related seizure he suffered back in June 2016.

In 2014, after nearly a straight decade traversing the globe as a guitarist with New Orleans supergroup DOWN, Pepper reconnected with the core CORROSION OF CONFORMITY trio of Weatherman, Dean and Mullin to hit the road hard. "Reed called me and mentioned maybe playing a couple shows," Keenan recalled back in 2017. "I said, 'Let's just go to Europe and see if it works.' So we went to Europe and then ended up going back four times in one year... We toured for a year and then started tracking."

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY recorded "No Cross No Crown" in about forty days over the course of a year at a North Carolina studio with longtime producer John Custer.

Images courtesy of COC Skateboards

In a new interview with the Talkin' Bout Rock With Rob Edwards podcast, LAST IN LINE singer Andrew Freeman commented on the status of the songwriting sessions for the band's fourth studio album. Freeman is joined in the group by DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell, bassist Phil Soussan (OZZY OSBOURNE) and drummer Vinny Appice (BLACK SABBATH, DIO). Andrew said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't have any information, honestly. I wish I could tell you more. We started working on a record last year. So, that's kind of where we're at. It's a side project. [There is] not a lot of information there right now. So [we're] just working on a record."

Andrew continued: "It's not a place where you can make a living, that's for sure. Again, it's a side project, so you try to facilitate it when it comes.

"For me, I was put in a position, [with] the original DIO band getting back together and me being at the helm of it was quite an honor, for me as a fan of that band," Freeman added. "So, I just kind of feel like I have an obligation to facilitate it for as long as it goes. So if I can do that and try to do gigs around it and make it make sense when it makes sense, we'll continue on. But, honestly, it's all about what Vivian wants to do, if he wants to continue on, if he's got the time to continue on. He's a race car driver now too, so between his day job and his race car driving, there's really not a lot of time to do anything."

This past June, Freeman disputed Campbell's claim that LAST IN LINE's fourth album was already written. He said in a social media update at the time:  "LAST IN LINE, as previously reported by one of the members of the band, he said we have a whole record done. Well, we don't have a whole record done. We have four songs that we've done. I know that we don't have a whole record done because I haven't fucking wrote it yet. So, yeah, we have four songs done. We're working on an album."

Andrew continued: "Obviously, Viv was sick for a while [battling Hodgkin's lymphoma] and recovering from his bone marrow transplant and all of that stuff. So he is a hundred percent now, from what I understand, and is going to be going back out with DEF LEPPARD. And we had decided that we were taking a break and his health was the most important thing — obviously — which I fully support. So the guy needs to be better and well, and we are obviously a side project to his bigger job, which is why I am doing a lot of other things. So, when those guys are ready to go and make it happen, I'm in. But, obviously, the man's health comes first, and we're not gonna rush it."

Freeman added: "That's the beauty of LAST IN LINE, is that we can do it whenever we want. It's a cool gig and I'm really happy to be a part of it and proud to be a part of it, to be able to enable that thing to happen with those dudes. They're the classic [DIO] lineup. This thing has roots way back into some of the greatest bands in rock history, so it's an honor for me to do it. But we don't have much happening. As far as [LAST IN LINE] gigs, there's not gonna be any gigs this year, and there might not be any next year. But, again, working on an album, and when those guys are ready to go, I'm ready to go. So we'll keep you posted on that."

During a June 11, 2025 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Vivian confirmed that he and LAST IN LINE bandmates were working on material for a possible fourth studio album. Asked what was going on with LAST IN LINE, Vivian said: "Not a lot, actually. There hasn't a lot been going on. Our last show was the first week of May last year at the M3 festival in Baltimore. Then right after that, I went touring with LEPPARD all through the summer, and, obviously, right after the summer tour with LEPPARD, I was dealing with [undergoing a bone marrow] transplant [as part of Vivian's battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma] and the chemo and stuff. So it's basically my fault [we haven't done more]. [Laughs] I've gotta kind of schedule things and get us back up and started again."

He continued: "But the short answer is we probably won't do anything this year. We're working on a record. We actually wrote the songs so long ago, I've practically forgotten them, but we do have an album written. We have four master tracks that we're currently working on. And the ball is in my court. I've gotta do guitar on those tracks. I've only done one so far. So once those four are finished, we'll probably release 'em, actually. I mean, we did write an album's worth of music, but I'm not sure if we'll put it all out as one thing. We might release it piecemeal, because getting back to albums and stuff, when you put out a record, it's just got such a short shelf life nowadays. So maybe it might be more beneficial for us to release two, three or four tracks at a time. And hopefully next year we'll get back into doing some shows. But it's been rough since our last show. We lost our road manager, roadie guy. It's not like DEF LEPPARD. We travel in sprinter vans and we have one roadie. And his name was Mark Weber, and, unfortunately, he passed away last July. And so next time we do go play, we'll be playing without Mark."

Campbell added: "It's been a rough ride with LAST IN LINE with the attrition rate. We lost [original LAST IN LINE bassist] Jimmy Bain to cancer on the eve of the release of our debut album. And we lost our manager, Steve Strange, three years ago to cancer. And now we lost Mark. But having said all of that, it is very, very cathartic for me to play on stage with LAST IN LINE. It really exercises the muscle of guitar playing furiously. It keeps me sharp and on top of my ga.me And the travel's hard, back-to-back shows, five or six hours every day in a sprinter van, cheese sandwiches, no sleep, but when we're on stage, it is just electrifying for me to play. It just kind of recharges my batteries. And then when I go back to DEF LEPPARD, I feel so, so confident about my playing again. So, yeah, I'd like to get back at it. I do miss it, to be honest. And there will be new music."

LAST IN LINE's third album, "Jericho", came out in March 2023 via earMUSIC. The LP was helmed by Chris Collier, who has previously worked with KORN and WHITESNAKE, among other bands. LAST IN LINE's first two albums were produced by former DOKKEN and current FOREIGNER bassist Jeff Pilson.

In 2022, LAST IN LINE surprised fans by releasing a unique version of THE BEATLES classic "A Day In The Life", which was made available on the limited 12-inch silver collector's EP with the same name.

Formed in 2012 by Appice, Campbell and bassist Jimmy Bain — Ronnie James Dio's co-conspirators and co-writers on the "Holy Diver", "Last In Line" and "Sacred Heart" albums — LAST IN LINE's initial intent was to celebrate Ronnie James Dio's early work by reuniting the members of the original DIO lineup. After playing shows that featured a setlist composed exclusively of material from the first three DIO albums, the band decided to move forward and create new music in a similar vein.

LAST IN LINE's debut album, "Heavy Crown", was released in February 2016 via Frontiers Music Srl, landing at No. 1 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. Initially, the release had been preceded by tragedy when Bain unexpectedly died at the age of 68 on January 23, 2016. LAST IN LINE, honoring what they knew would be Bain's wish to keep the band moving, brought in Soussan and committed to sustained touring in support of the album before beginning work on the follow-up release, 2019's "II", which was also made available through Frontiers Music Srl.

Last fall, Soussantold Thomas S. Orwat, Jr. of Rock Interview Series about the progress of the songwriting sessions for LAST IN LINE's fourth studio album: "We had got together, and in the crazy way that we do, we usually get together and get into a room. And we don't really bring in ideas. We just get into a room and plug in and start banging around and seeing what comes out, seeing what sounds cool. And we've got a whole bunch of embryonic ideas, and so we're working that at the moment. We do have to work around the DEF LEPPARD schedule, obviously; that's part of the parcel of what we do, and it's fine. And Viv has some personal things that he has to do as well, which is not my business to talk about. So that's going to mean where it's gonna be a little hard for us to get together as much to do this record. However, the 'Jericho' album, we got together and recorded half of those ideas just before the pandemic. It wasn't a plan. We found ourselves in L.A. 'Let's go into a studio and let's just do that.' And it turned out to be somewhat prophetic because of what happened with the pandemic. At least we had half an album to work on. But in the process of doing that, we found that we were able to work on a record remotely, using file transfers and doing things. So, half of 'Jericho' was done that way. And a lot of this album is probably going to be done in a similar kind of way as well. And the plan is probably to get back out on the road again after the summer of '25."

Asked if there has been any thoughts of maybe going out on a tour opening for a bigger band and getting more exposure to LAST IN LINE, Phil said: "It would be great, if it would work out and if everything made sense. Just prior to the pandemic, we were really on a good roll, and we had been going to Europe quite a lot and we had done tours opening for SAXON, for example, that was just terrific. It was a lot of fun for everyone on the tour together, and we had a great time. When that whole period came along, it really disrupted a lot of our plans. We had plans to go to South America, to Japan and back to Europe, a bunch of festivals in Europe, and all of that vaporized. And it's been hard trying to get that impetus back on track again. Not for any crazy reasons. One of the reasons, which is no secret, it's extremely expensive to try to get to Europe now, what with the kind of costs involved in touring — the fuel costs and the transportation costs and the way that the exchange rates have been, it's almost been a little prohibitive. And we've sort of been waiting for an opportunity to be able to go there and do that. We'd love to, sooner rather than later, I hope. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed."

Regarding how difficult is it for a band at the level of LAST IN LINE to make a profit going out on the road, Phil said: "It's not really about making a profit. It's about, basically, being able to cover everything, cover all the expenses. We're very passionate about what we do, and I think I am personally, and that's always been my mantra, is to be passionate about what I'm doing and let the money take care of itself. So it's not just about trying to make money, but sometimes it's just cost prohibitive to be able to do something. I mean, if you figure the expenses of — I don't wanna get into details, but once you start adding these numbers up, then you realize it's going to be really in the whole to do a tour. But if we can cover it and get close to covering it, then that's fine. I mean, thank God that we don't all live paycheck to paycheck and we're able to be able to do these things and get together with our fans in a way that works for everyone. I mean, that's the most important thing, is getting the music in front of the people who love our band and being able to find a way to do it."

In 2023, Vivian told Classic Rock magazine about the "Jericho" songwriting process: "One thing we insist on in LAST IN LINE is that we have to be in the room together when we cut the tracks, old school, because that's how we did the early DIO records with Ronnie [James Dio]. We started this record in January 2020 in L.A., intending to finish it that April, and then obviously COVID happened and things got… discombobulated. It wasn't until February 2022 that we were able to get back into the studio, but that break only made the record stronger."

Photo credit: Jim Wright (courtesy of earMUSIC)

In a new interview with the Disturbing The Priest With Brandon Battick podcast, DARK ANGEL drummer Gene Hoglan was asked for his opinion on the use of use A.I. (artificial intelligence) when it comes to designing album cover art, particularly as it relates to the band's latest LP, "Extinction Level Event". He responded in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't care. We utilize some A.I. on our stuff. I think the general public, they aren't quite aware of all the actual computer art that we did put on to our A.I. stuff. I understand the new A.I. generation is very anti-A.I. I don't care. I like kickass art."

Gene continued: "It took us three years to put the artwork together for ['Extinction Level Event'], and a lot of it came from my concepts. And that's one thing you'll see on the deluxe packages or whatever — each song has its own panel with its own artwork, which, for the most part, where we could, we tied it in to the subject matter of the song. And it is kickass artwork. Kickass art is kickass art.

"When people started putting art on computers, doing computer-generated art 40 years ago, I'm sure the artists who were paint brushing and doing pointillism and all that kind of stuff were, like, 'Why are doing this on a computer? This isn't an artist. This is a travesty.' Just like 25 years ago when people stopped buying albums, CDs, cassettes and started downloading and ripping songs off the Internet. Same sort of thing," Gene explained. "That was the technology at the time… And those are the same people then that it's the same mindset now that doesn't wanna actually explore or possibly listen to me when I'm saying, look, there's photography in our new artwork. Cain [Gillis, 'Extinction Level Event' cover artist] is out there taking pictures of things and blending them into that. And Cain is doing tons of computer stuff.

"I am no artist, I'm no computer person at all, but I understand there's a bit of a backlash," Hoglan added. "And I'm, like, well, hey, if you wanna deny yourself the pleasure of the DARK ANGEL music because you have your viewpoints, which I'm not saying they're misguided, but I don't think people have quite understood… Like I said, people didn't understand 20 years ago when these bands are putting a lot of money into these records and now we're just taking them for free or listening to their music for free.

"Everybody's got their opinion. Me, I don't care. I love our artwork, and if our opinions disagree on it, then hey, man, fair enough. I'm gonna have a different opinion, but I know exactly all the work that went into this. I will say one thing: if anybody thinks our artist, Cain, just typed in a sentence into an A.I. generator and out popped this perfect piece of artwork, that is absolutely not anywhere near the case. It took tons of work — actual human work. Cain told me he spent over — I think it was 2,000 hours on the artwork for this record. Have an artist charge you by the hour, [and] then keep that in mind. And I think that's another thing where people say, 'It takes the money out of the artist's pocket.' No, it didn't. This is our artist. I said, 'I want art like this. Do what you want, man. You're our artist. You figure it out.' And then he would send me things. And he's, like, 'This is an incomplete thing. This took me six days to figure out, rendering this, working on this pretty solidly. I have all this work that I have to do to it.' And then I'd be, like, 'Yeah, I like this one.' We have thousands of pieces of art all built up, built up, built up and in certain mode of completion.

"When it comes to whatever it is that I do, I've just always just kind of listened to myself and my instincts were, like, well, I guess this approach is here. We're not the first person to utilize it, but our artwork was definitely not solely A.I. at all… And when this was started, there was not quite, I guess, as vocal a backlash as possibly there is for anybody who utilizes it now, but we are not the first, we are definitely not gonna be the last. So you can fight it. And I appreciate those 25 years ago, anybody today who fights the streaming and says, 'I'm gonna buy the physical product.' I know a lot of my friends have reached out to me and said, 'I love the new album. It sounds great. I love the artwork. This is killer.' So I hear differently."

DARK ANGEL's first new album in 34 years, "Extinction Level Event", was made available digitally on September 5 via Reversed Records.

This past June, DARK ANGEL released "Circular Firing Squad", the second single from "Extinction Level Event". The LP's first single, the "Extinction Level Event" title track, was written by DARK ANGEL guitarist Jim Durkin a decade ago, long before he suffered from severe liver disease, and, to the surprise of everyone, passed away in 2023. It was recorded and mixed at the Armoury Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, executive produced by Hoglan, produced and engineered by Rob Shallcross and mixed by Mike Fraser.

Durkin died on March 8, 2023 at the age of 58. An original member of DARK ANGEL, Durkin played on the band's first three albums — 1985's "We Have Arrived", "Darkness Descends" and 1989's "Leave Scars" — before departing the group in 1989. He was part of DARK ANGEL's lineup when the band reformed in 2013, and had been playing with them, on and off, ever since.

Prior to his death, Durkin had been sitting out some of DARK ANGEL's gigs. He was replaced at the shows by Hoglan's wife Laura Christine, who has since joined DARK ANGEL as a permanent member.

Hoglan and Christine wrote everything except for the title track on "Extinction Level Event". Other songs appearing on the effort include "Atavistic", which is described as "a full-on three-minute thrash metal barrage", "Woke Up To Blood", the title of which stemmed from a dog attack, and "Terror Construct", which Gene wrote about the way the media and corporations team up to spread fear among the masses so they can continue to fill their pockets.

The seeds of "Extinction Level Event" were planted in late 2013 between the time when TESTAMENT stopped touring to work on their new record and Hoglan was scheduled to work on his next major project. After the first batch of writing sessions for "Extinction Level Event", Hoglan had to put writing for DARK ANGEL on hold until late 2022. With other obligations behind him, Gene laser-focused on DARK ANGEL, listening back to the jams he and Durkin made earlier, and writing more than 10 new songs over the next three months. With a full album of pummeling new songs, Hoglan flew to Vancouver to track the album at the Armory. There, he and his bandmates worked with Rob Shallcross and Mike Fraser, and over a few sessions, DARK ANGEL had recorded everything but the vocals.

DARK ANGEL released two albums with Don Doty on vocals — the aforementioned "We Have Arrived" and "Darkness Descends" — before he exited the group and was replaced by Ron Rinehart (after a brief stint with Jim Drabos in 1987). The band issued two more studio LPs — "Leave Scars" and "Time Does Not Heal" — before calling it quits in 1992.

During a November 6 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", TRIUMPH guitarist/vocalist Rik Emmett spoke about the Canadian rock legends' three-song reunion performance — consisting of the tracks "Allied Forces", "Fight The Good Fight" and "Lay It On The Line" — on June 6, 2025 at the Rogers Festival At The Final, a free outdoor concert in the ICE District ahead of Game 2 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Bassist Mike Levine did not take part in the reunion show, but three other Canadian musicians joined Emmett and drummer Gil Moore for the set: guitarist Phil X, drummer and keyboardist Brent Fitz and bassist Todd Kerns. Phil X, whose real name is Theofilos Xenidis, is a member of BON JOVI and a former member of TRIUMPH, while Fitz and Kerns are both members of SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS. Asked about the likelihood of more performances featuring members of TRIUMPH, Rik said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That's a possibility, but… I'll give you the straight-from-the-horse's-mouth sort of situation. Gil and I are capable, from time to time, but if you think I'm gonna go out on the road and play night after night after night after night, that's not gonna happen. And Mike is not really… He's getting frailer. He's not looking to necessarily be banging around in airplanes and tour buses and stuff either. So the thinking is, find three guys that can become sort of the same core trilogy."

Referencing Moore's ongoing plans for TRIUMPH to develop a high-tech concept that would bring the band's music back to the stage, Emmett continued: "A lot of times what happens now with touring acts, oh, they've got a keyboard player that's over behind the [scenes]. They've got some background singers. I mean, PINK FLOYD would have the girl singers over there and the large horn section over there. It's not like you couldn't supplement with side men and have it be that an audience would go, 'Well, that's cool. That's fine. They're there.' So, TRIUMPH made a deal with a Vector Management, which is this guy Jason Murray from Canada, and they've done stuff like the LYNYRD SKYNYRD things and Peter Frampton's tour. So [Jason] said, 'Rik, we're trying to put this thing together.' And it's gonna be Gil Moore, the dreamer of TRIUMPH — always was, production guy — Gil wanted to have the largest-scale kind of show possible. He wants to play the Sphere [in Las Vegas]. He wants to have digital stuff and holograms and lasers and the whole shoot and match. And they go, 'Well, but it would need to be scalable,' like, somebody has to be more of a realist and say, 'What if you wanna do a Wednesday night in Milwaukee?'

"So, the three core guys would be Brent Fitz and Phil X and Todd Kerns," Emmett explained. "And part of it was drag Rik to Edmonton and have Rik sort of vet how this is going down and whether or not he likes this situation and can he get along with the guys? And it was great. I loved the guys, and it was a fantastic experience. So it was kind of, like, okay, passing the torch, as you described. And then the manager Jason Murray says to me, 'We wouldn't need you on every show, but would you be willing to, like, [play] six to eight shows? You come out [and play with the band]?' And I went, 'Yeah, that sounds reasonable. Sure. If you need me to show up.' And I said, 'Is this kind of like the way Brian May would occasionally show up at one of the QUEEN Broadway shows and come up?, and they went, 'Yeah, yeah. Like that, Rik.' I go, 'Okay. Yes, sure. I would be happy to do that, but I don't wanna have to jump around on stage for two hours. I'm not gonna do that.' 'Oh, no, you don't have to do that.'

Rik added: "So that's what I know. That's where it's at. And the talk has been, oh, maybe March of 2026 there would be some launch dates, there'd be some stuff to see how it plays."

As for what has been the cause of the delay in getting the TRIUMPH "mixed-reality tour" off the ground, Rik said: "The guy that mixed sound for us in Edmonton, Harry Witz, who was a guy that had been out with us back in the day, Harry sent me a text today and said, 'What's going on?' And I went, 'Harry, I don't know what's going on.' And I said, 'Gil is talking…' And I think part of it is, really, that there needs to be a big chunk of change that has to be sort of set up so that you can say, 'Okay, this thing's a go.' And they're still waiting on the money. They're still waiting to see whether or not that stuff will all lock down. And given Gil's track record of persistence in these things, man, I would never bet against that guy. It's gonna happen. It's just a question of when."

Emmett also talked about the challenges of singing the classic TRIUMPH material, particularly when it comes to hitting some of the high notes that the band is renowned for. He said: "Oh, I can't sing them. Tonight [at The Sands in Cancún, Mexico] we'll do 'Magic Power' at the end of the night. And that used to be in the key of D, and I do it now in the key of A. That's the way it's come down. I can't cut a lot of the really, really high notes anymore — I just can't. I'm 72 years old… I didn't necessarily abuse myself as much as some guys that you know, some of the guys you know and love. I'm not like that. I had an approach that was more like a jock. It was more like I was a professional athlete, so I felt like if I'm gonna hit those notes every night and I'm gonna run around and I'm gonna do the gig, I can't burn the candle at the other end too. I just wasn't that kind of a guy. So, I took care of myself. But the pipes, it's just age. I can't run as fast as I used to. I can't sing as high as I used to. You work around — tune the guitars down a bit."

Asked by Trunk if that's where guys like Phil and Todd would come in and whether they would handle the bulk of the singing at any hypothetical future TRIUMPH shows, Rik said: "[That's] exactly right. Both of them. And Todd, he's amazing. He has sort of no limit — he can go as high as you want. Phil's a bit more of a kind of a screamer rocker kind of — he's Phil, so you get that style. He sings the Gil stuff amazing. And I think Todd would be the guy that would end up singing some of the crazy… But they could do, say, 'Fight The Good Fight' in the original key, D minor. I do it in B minor when I do it. And, like I said, 'Magic' gets down a long way. So I this whole thing of, who would sing what? I don't think between the two of 'em, I don't think it matters."

This past September, Gil told Jason Saulnier about TRIUMPH's plans to return to the stage: "One of the things we're planning, and this has been ongoing for five years with our lighting director, I've been working on a mixed reality platform to sort of recreate TRIUMPH with younger musicians and bring out the original bandmembers virtually into it. And I've called it the first six-piece power trio of all time. [Laughs] That's a joke. So that's ongoing. A lot of work [is] taking place behind the scenes on that. And if and when it launches, it will become public knowledge, and tickets will be on sale all over North America and maybe elsewhere in the world."

Moore admitted that recreating the TRIUMPH live experience is "a bit of a dream, but it's got some legs and some momentum right now. And not to give too much away on it, but, yeah, that's what the plan is," he said, before adding that artificial intelligence "is very strongly part of our toolkit."

As for how the TRIUMPH virtual live show would be presented to the audience, Gil said: "The fans have let us know, in no uncertain terms, that the music that resonated the loudest was related to the more positive aspects of our music — positive lyrics, themes like 'never surrender'. I think it's perhaps a sign of the times, where people feel like the world's a difficult place. So if you have a lyric like 'follow your heart', 'I can survive', 'hold on to your dreams,' they're inspirational themes that resonate well right now. So we've constructed our ideas around that narrative. And that's purposeful, because I feel like the role of music in the community is to lift people up. And we have enough things that are difficult right now for young people, old people, everyone."

Moore added: "There's a lot of things we're seeing — bad trends in society, bad trends in in the world, and politics in some circles — and let's use music as the big gun to bring people together. We've always known it can do that, but maybe we have to really circle the wagons, all of these musicians all around the world, and say, 'Hey, there's a greater good here with music.' I know most of my musician friends feel the same way that I do. I don't know that it's always articulated publicly, but I think there's a growing awareness among musicians that what they're doing has a greater importance than it might otherwise seem."

This past May, Moore told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about the TRIUMPH virtual show: "I've had people ask me, 'Well, is that like what ABBA's doing in London?' And I say, 'Well, no. It's not.' That's a lot of three-dimensional content and so on. And it's kind of an animated movie, if you will.

"Paul Dexter [our lighting designer from back in the day], he did Ronnie Dio from BLACK SABBATH's initial hologram events that were done. He also did Frank Zappa, which is where I caught up with him, 'cause we're buddies. And I said, 'Paul, can we do something with TRIUMPH?' So we talked about it. And he said, 'Well, take a look at Frank's hologram.' And so I went and saw it. We went back to the hotel after the gig, and I said, 'No, this would never work for TRIUMPH.' So we were kind of scratching our heads, saying, 'Well, what could we do?' Because we both like technology and I've always been a geek when it comes to lighting and sound and things. So we started to investigate.

"My school [Metalworks Institute] up here in Canada was partners with Microsoft in their development, a partner program. They had a mixed reality department, and we started looking into it. The next thing you know, all of a sudden we went off on a different path altogether, and we've been through two or three different technologies that we wanted to use to bring the original bandmembers into a new band with new musicians. So basically the best of both worlds — to try to have players that can cut the road and are younger than us and have got the tremendous playing skills, but be able to give fans kind of the throwback that they want. So we thought if we can bring the three bandmembers into this and bring Phil [X] back to reignite the original band, now we have a six-piece power trio.

"I don't think anybody will [understand it] until it's out there, until it's seen. But Paul and I are doing our best. No wine before its time. We'll see where it goes, but right now there's a lot of conversations between Mike, Rik and I, and Phil and our manager Jason and [producer] Mike Clink, of course, who's been an instigator in a lot of things. And hopefully we're gonna bring something out there that fans are just gonna go 'wow' for, and then everyone will know what it is. [Laughs]"

Asked if he misses the stage and playing live, Gil said: "We did feel that way about it. And with me, because I wanted to be at home, raise my kids, and I also had an elderly mother, there was reasons why I wanted to stay in Toronto. So once it takes you away from that, I'll call it live game, which is truly a sport in a three-piece power trio, especially for the drummer, and if you're gonna sing on top of that, it's a real athletic endeavor. And it is for Mike and Rik as well. But your life takes a turn into a new area. And I love what we do at Metalworks and I love being with my family. So ultimately my family takes precedence over traveling. And I know you can get back and forth and so on, but I just wanna be there all the time for them. So I'm very happy with that decision

"If we get this mixed reality tour rolling, it'll be a great way to really thank the fans because I'm totally blown away with how loyal TRIUMPH fans are," he continued. "And I guess some of the thinking behind this is, as you know in Michigan, 'cause you're in Detroit, but everyone knows in Grand Rapids you would see TRIUMPH, you'd see TRIUMPH in Saginaw, you'd see triumphant in Petoskey, you'd see TRIUMPH in Flint. We played all of those smaller towns as well, and we'd sneak around the corner and play Green Bay, Wisconsin, or the other way and play Toledo. Yeah, there were the Chicagos, the Clevelands, the Detroits and the L.A.'s and New Yorks, but there were also these smaller towns. That's how we built it up. And that's why I think a lot of those fans have those experiences from those small towns, not just the big ones. And this is an effort to say, okay, maybe we can take the TRIUMPH show back into those markets and bring back some memories and also some real surprises."

Earlier in May, Moore told Talkin' Bout Rock about the upcoming TRIUMPH mixed reality show: "[It's] something I've been working on with Paul Dexter, who's our lighting designer from back in the day. And Paul's really kind of a genius behind the lighting board. And he was involved in the early stages of holograms — he did Ronnie Dio from SABBATH and he did Frank Zappa as well. And we got together, 'cause I was trying to look at a way to bring TRIUMPH back to life because people wanted us to tour, but I knew I couldn't because I didn't have the time. And you reach a certain stage after we did the [2021 TRIUMPH] documentary ['Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine'] and we performed, and I said, 'You know what?' The type of performance we did, like the vocals were so high and there was so much high energy… I saw the THE EAGLES this year, and I thought certain types of music are easier on you physically. The hard rock power trio is probably about as tough as it gets. Singing and playing drums, for example, that's another thing — it's like a double whammy. So, I wanted to see if there was a way, through technology, to do something completely different, 'cause I didn't really like the hologram situation. The hologram itself was pretty cool, but it's just the way… I was sitting with Paul afterwards and he said, 'What do you think?' And I said, 'The hologram's cool, but it's not a platform. It's just a feature on a platform.' And that became the turning point. He said, 'A feature on a platform, not the platform.' He was, 'Well, what do you mean?' And I said, "Well, we, we need something that surrounds that. That's just one effect.' So we set out on this path towards mixed reality, which was starting to become something that was being talked about in research circles and so on at the time. A.I. hadn't kicked in yet. And there were some additional types of projection technology that were coming along that were more sophisticated than how these original holograms were produced using the Pepper's ghost technique. And so we just pursued it, pursued it, pursued it over a bunch of years. So we've got it to the point now where we really think we've kind of nailed it."

Gil, who was promoting the TRIUMPH tribute album "Magic Power: All Star Tribute To Triumph", went on to say that the TRIUMPH live experience would entail "bringing the original band virtually in with the new musicians. So you've got the best of both worlds. You've got the power and the strength of some of the best musicians in the world, who we've recruited, by the way, from this album, from the tribute album. So this would be Phil X's TRIUMPH when it comes out, if we get it launched, which we're hoping is gonna happen either later this year or early next year. There will still be Mike, Rik and Gil in the show, but we'll be there virtually. And hopefully this will be the first power trio with six people in it. [Laughs]"

Moore added: "So, yeah, that's the plan. It's a wild plan and we'll have to see where it goes… We're pretty excited about it. And Paul Dexter's a genius. And we've got other people. We've got a technical team of about a half dozen guys. And then, of course, Phil, he's looking at just some great guys to work with as well. Like I said, they're guys from this tribute album. They're the best guys you can get anywhere in the world to play hard rock. So I think if it all gels, it's gonna be really something. But, yeah, I've got my fingers crossed. We'll just keep [on] going and do our best and see where we land."

In March 2025, Emmett told Talkin' Bout Rock about the upcoming TRIUMPH live experience: "Gil's got a bee in his bonnet about wanting to do this heavy-duty 3D hologram-ish… He wants TRIUMPH to go back and do a tour — not the guys in the band, but screen projection, digital stuff. And he wants to have a band that would have Phil X sort of putting the musicians together so that there would be a live band. But then we would be joining them by playing on the screens and just all this incredible stuff. And he's sending me scripts."

Moore has been talking about a possible TRIUMPH live experience for several years, including in a 2021 interview with Ultimate Classic Rock. He said at the time that he was working on a "mixed-reality concept" that it is based on "sort of holography, but not in the traditional sense." He had been collaborating on the project with Paul Dexter, who had worked with TRIUMPH in the past on lighting and set design and was heavily involved with the hologram tours for both Ronnie James Dio and Frank Zappa.

"I'm not crazy about holograms," Moore said he told Dexter, "but the three-dimensional presentation — the holography, if you will — if you were able to deliver it on a better platform with more variables, I would like it." As for the audio, Gil said that it would consist of "Mike, Rik and Gil," for the most part, sourced from live concerts that no one has ever heard before. "But the presentation would be more akin to a biopic movie combined with classic video," Moore explained. "Combined with a combination of real effects as well as fake [ones] and magic."

Moore also talked about a possible new TRIUMPH live show in a May 2023 interview with The Metal Voice. He said at the time: "I have a plan to do a mixed reality tour for TRIUMPH. I've talked about it a few times in a few interviews. And, yeah, I'm very serious about that. I'm working with our lighting director Paul Dexter at Masterworks in Los Angeles. He's unbelievable and he's kind of the godfather of holograms. This is not a hologram tour by any means or a hologram concert, but we are gonna use forms of holography or three-dimensional recreation to do this. Yeah, there's a lot of technology involved. Let's put it this way — it's not gonna be like anything that anybody's ever seen before, if Paul and I get our way with the way we're developing the content that's gonna be seen, but it's gonna be something that'll blow people's minds and it'll be TRIUMPH through and through."

Elaborating on what this proposed TRIUMPH live experience will look like, Gil said: "I don't wanna tell too much other than the key is think of mixed reality and what that means. No glasses, no tricks that way — all the tricks will be coming from the stage — but we've got some phenomenal plans. All the music is pre-recorded, because it's all from live shows, but it will be custom tailored to this particular performance, let's say. And it involves some actors. It involves footage of Mike, Rick and Gil, and recreations of Mike, Rick and Gil, and some of the coolest things that people are gonna see in the touring market, I can tell you that."

Asked if the upcoming TRIUMPH live experience is an answer to fans who are constantly asking the three original guys to tour together again, Gil said: "It is, really. In a sense, there's this feeling of obligation to the fans, and yet your life moves on. So I'm fully engaged doing what I'm doing, and I have a lot of things that I'm working on that I'm passionate about in the education field and so on for music, so I don't have the bandwidth for another TRIUMPH tour at this stage. And Mike and Rick have different things they're doing as well. But we talk about TRIUMPH all the time — we love it, we're brothers, we always will be — and, yeah, this is a way to give something to the fans that we know will absolutely knock them right off their chairs. And we're excited about it. And we do have the bandwidth to do that, thanks to not only Paul, but our video director, Don Allan, some great technical people that we're working with — Harry Witz at Clair Global audio who's gonna do all the sound. This thing is gonna be really something else."

Emmett, who quit TRIUMPH — acrimoniously, in 1988 — over music and business disputes, went on to pursue a solo career, while TRIUMPH carried on with future BON JOVI guitarist Phil X for one more album, 1992's "Edge Of Excess", before calling it a day the following year.

Emmett was estranged, both personally and professionally, from the two other members of the legendary Canadian classic rock power trio for 18 years before they repaired their relationship.

Rik's memoir, "Lay It On The Line - A Backstage Pass To Rock Star Adventure, Conflict And Triumph", came out in October 2023 via ECW Press.

Moore, Levine, and Emmett formed TRIUMPH in 1975, and their blend of heavy riff-rockers with progressive odysseys, peppered with thoughtful, inspiring lyrics and virtuosic guitar playing quickly made them a household name in Canada. Anthems like "Lay It On The Line", "Magic Power" and "Fight The Good Fight" broke them in the USA, and they amassed a legion of fiercely passionate fans. But, as a band that suddenly split at the zenith of their popularity, TRIUMPH missed out on an opportunity to say thank you to those loyal and devoted fans, a base that is still active today, three decades later.

After 20 years apart, Emmett, Levine and Moore played at the 2008 editions of the Sweden Rock Festival and Rocklahoma. A DVD of the historic Sweden performance was made available four years later.

Back in 2016, Moore and Levine reunited with Rik as special guests on the "RES 9" album from Emmett's band RESOLUTION9.

Released in 2021, TRIUMPH's documentary, "Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine", was produced by Banger Films and directed by Sam Dunn and Marc Ricciardelli.

During a November 7 question-and-answer session at the Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp in Scottsdale, Arizona, legendary rocker Alice Cooper was asked what piece of advice he would give to musicians who are just starting out. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Listen to THE BEATLES. Yeah. I'm not kidding. When it comes to writing songs, listen to the simplicity of THE BEATLES. I don't care if you're writing a death metal song. A song, first of all, isn't just a riff and a drum beat. You should be able to sit down — I don't care who it is — and be able to play that melody and sing that song. You could be the most angry person in the world."

Alice continued: "I've had young bands come to me and they go, 'Well, what do you think?' And I say, 'I get it. You're angry.' 'Cause you're just yelling at me. I said, 'Well, where's the song? There's no song there. There's a great beat and there's a great riff, but there's no song.' So I said, 'What I want you to do is, for one week, listen to nothing but the BEACH BOYS, THE BEATLES and THE FOUR SEASONS — any [of the bands] that wrote songs, or Burt Bacharach, that write songs. And then, I don't want you to sound like that, but I want you to get the idea of a verse, a B section, af bridge going into the chorus, going back into the bridge. But it means it has to have a melody. You can't just yell at me. And it's fine if you do yell at me, but you're not gonna stick around very long."

Cooper added: "Why are those songs [from THE BEATLES] still being played on the radio? Because of melody, the melody — we all want to hear the melodies."

Back in 2017, Alice told NME that THE BEATLES was one of his biggest influences. Cooper added that he heard "She Loves You" as a child, saying it was "the first song by THE BEATLES I ever heard and it literally changed something in my brain. It inspired what Alice Cooper became."

In 2020, Alice included "Meet The Beatles!" in his list of top albums of all time, telling Rolling Stone magazine: "It was the first one that totally knocked me out because I'd never heard anything like that before. We were listening to the BEACH BOYS and THE FOUR SEASONS, and all of a sudden, here's this band coming along with all this hair and Beatle boots and these suits, and they were singing these songs that you could hear them one time, and you knew them."

He continued: "I've always said this, and people might disagree with me, but it's easier to write something like 'Bohemian Rhapsody' than it is to write something like 'I Want To Hold Your Hand'. I'm still pretty sure they're aliens. I don't think they're from this planet."

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. 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 CNN can present real life shocking images.

Few performers in the history of rock and roll have blended music, theater, and pure shock the way Alice Cooper has. For more than five decades, the godfather of shock rock has terrified, thrilled, and captivated audiences around the globe with a stage show unlike anything else in music. From the guillotines and snakes to unforgettable anthems like "School's Out" and "Poison", Alice Cooper turned concerts into experiences that blurred the line between rock and horror.

Video below filmed and uploaded to YouTube by Robert Moseley

EPICA's previously announced Asian tour, which was scheduled to take place in early December 2025, has been postponed to September 2026.

Earlier today (Tuesday, November 11),EPICA released the following statement via social media: "With great regret, we must inform you that we have had to reschedule our upcoming Asian Tour to September 2026.

"After dealing with multiple health issues, doctors have advised Simone [Simons, EPICA singer] not to tour until the end of the year. As much as it pains us, health comes first.

"We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause."

EPICA's newly rescheduled 2026 dates:

Sep. 14 - Tokyo, JP
Sep. 15 - Osaka, JP
Sep. 17 - Shenzhen, CN
Sep. 18 - Guangzhou, CN
Sep. 20 - Beijing, CN
Sep. 22 - Shanghai, CN

All purchased tickets will remain valid for the new dates.

Simons is married to KAMELOT keyboardist Oliver Palotai. They share one child, Vincent G. Palotai, who was born in October 2013.

In a January 2021 interview with the "Scars And Guitars" podcast, Simone said that she was missing the touring lifestyle during the pandemic. She said: "You have two kind of musicians: one that love to be in the studio — like my husband; he loves it — but I also love to travel and be on stage. If I'm in the studio for too long, it's too much of the same for me. So I am itching to go back on tour, and some musicians are not. I know a couple of my close friends in the music business, they are also — you see that everybody is kind of venturing out into new directions, trying to keep themselves busy creatively, but we all have this big loss, or we miss something, that nothing, actually, can replace except for being on stage."

Simons's debut solo album, "Vermillion", on which she collaborated with her longtime musical partner Arjen Lucassen (AYREON),was released in August 2024.

EPICA's ninth studio album, "Aspiral", came out in April via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP title is derived from the eponymous bronze sculpture made by Polish sculptor and painter Stanisław Szukalski back in 1965 and stands for renewal and inspiration — key words that define EPICA in 2025.

The album, featuring stunning cover artwork by Hedi Xandt (RAMMSTEIN, GHOST, PARKWAY DRIVE),was recorded once again at Sandlane Studios and expertly mixed and produced by Joost Van Den Broek.

To celebrate the "Aspiral" release, EPICA played three exclusive shows in the United States in early May: in New York City, Atlanta, and Los Angeles.

Photo credit: Tim Tronckoe (courtesy of Nuclear Blast Records)

EPICA postpone their Asian Tour to September 2026

With great regret, we must inform you that we have had to reschedule...

Posted by Epica on Tuesday, November 11, 2025

In a new interview with Altars Of Metal, POWER TRIP guitarist Blake Ibanez spoke about the Texas thrashers' return to the live stage and decision to begin work on their first new music since the tragic passing of frontman Riley Gale.

POWER TRIP's longtime friend and collaborator Seth Gilmore has stepped in for Gale to handle vocals for the band. Gilmore is embedded in Texas's hardcore and punk communities and is well known as the vocalist of SKOURGE and as the frontman of Dallas thrash metal band FUGITIVE, which he founded in 2021 alongside Ibanez.

Regarding how the collaboration with Gilmore came about, Ibanez said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, obviously, we started FUGITIVE and it was kind of just to experiment. 'Cause Seth was one of my closest friends. He lives in my town, so I think it was, like, 'Well, I don't have anything to do. Do you wanna try to write some songs together for fun?' And he had been fronting hardcore bands as long as POWER TRIP has been a band. But he just played hardcore shows and sang in those types of bands. So he wasn't what you would call like — I don't know how you'd put it — a professional, full-time band guy. He played in bands for fun. But he'd been around a long time and been doing it a long time, so I knew he had a natural ability and he was comfortable in that role."

Blake continued: "I think I had mentioned to him, after Riley passed away, I had talked about, 'Would you wanna mess around with some of this POWER TRIP stuff?' And I think at that point it was so fresh and so new, it was just kind of, like, 'I don't know. Maybe down the road.' And I was, like, 'Yeah, I get it.' He's in a band called SKOURGE, which is a hardcore band that has some crossover influences, some death metal influence. So I'd heard the evolution of his voice and everything in that band. And I think around this time they had done a new EP or something, and his voice — he started to showcase what he could do, his depth to his voice, his range. And I was, like, 'Whoa. Oh, I didn't know you could do all that stuff.' And not just that, but me and him having such a good relationship and him being such a nice guy that's easy to work with, I was, like, 'Well, why don't we just try to write some songs and see what happens?'"

Ibanez added: "I've always been pretty involved when it comes to POWER TRIP in the studio. I didn't write anything for Riley, but just me and him having to write songs together, we had to be on the same page and understand how to… He knew what I wanted him to do in terms of where I wanted things to be, and I know the formula and I know how I like to write songs and how we've always written songs. And I have some of those instincts as well. So I was, like, 'Well, I'm gonna take what I know from what we've always done and what I did with Riley and everything I learned from him and we learned working together, and let's try to write songs. I think we can do it.' And so I didn't know if it was gonna work at all. And then, obviously, we started working together and it was fun. And he's a talented lyricist and singer in his own right. And there wasn't the pressure of, 'We're making a POWER TRIP record,' or something. It's, like, 'Let's just start a new band and have it be different and have it be its own thing.' And that kind of just led to playing more shows and bigger shows and having some success with FUGITIVE out of the gate and building his confidence — playing bigger shows and playing his own songs and songs with me. And I think over a couple years, I think by the next time the POWER TRIP idea came around, like, 'Hey, do you wanna try to sing these songs and see what happens?', he was ready and he was, like, 'Yeah. Why not? I'm comfortable playing with you, and I feel good with what I'm doing right now. Why don't we give it a shot?' And he was down. And he had to be, because it's a lot to put on your shoulders. And he has a good head on his shoulders."

Regarding Gilmore's approach to singing the POWER TRIP material, Ibanez said: "It's not about being him or being anybody [else]. Just be yourself. Just sing [the songs] with intention and with passion or whatever, and he does. So, I think it was a natural progression. And I think he's done a really amazing job.

"You're never gonna be able to replace anybody that was their own person, an individual, like someone really talented like Riley, but that's not what anybody's doing," Blake explained. "He's always gonna be a special person and a force in his own right. And I wouldn't want anybody to replace him. But Seth is his own own guy, and he brings something different to the table. And we just are here to continue doing what we did and not let it die. 'Cause I think that would've been even more sad. And I think to play the songs and say Riley's name on stage every night and have people remember how special he was and all the great songs we wrote, I think, is amazing. And it was really sad when we were in a time where it didn't seem like that was gonna happen again. So, it's just about kind of, like, let's see what we can do now. And I think based on the relationship that me and Seth have and what we've been able to do, I feel really confident about writing more together and opening a new chapter that's maybe not exactly the same, but it's awesome and inspiring in a different way. And we're gonna do the best we can to do that. We would never do anything that we didn't feel supremely confident in and feel like it was the right thing. But none of that is ever gonna take away from anything Riley did or anything we did with him. That's always gonna be special and always gonna be something we did with him. Those were his words and it was our music, and it's always gonna be special. But as we've seen with other bands — AC/DC and VAN HALEN and all these other bands [who have changed singers] —you can do something new that's different. It's not the same, but it's an exciting part of [a band's evolution]… Something that could have ended tragically and never heard from again."

Blake also talked about some of the pushback he and his POWER TRIP bandmates had initially received for deciding to carry on following Riley's passing. He said: "Obviously, there were some people that were terrible, people that decided to try to take advantage of whatever they could with whatever relationship they thought they had with him or whatever place they thought they had in our story. There were plenty of people that were awful to us and treated us like we were traitors because of just trying to play songs we wrote. But that was a very, very tiny part of the story. Everything else has been amazing. And people have been really receptive. I think most people understand the circumstances. We didn't fire anybody. This was a horrible situation, and we're just trying to continue doing something that can bring people happiness and can be fun and contribute something to the heavy music landscape."

He continued: "I don't know if I would say I was nervous in that sense, because I'd played with Seth so long, I've heard how he sang the songs, I know how he is, so I felt confident. It was just another show with him. And I think the energy from the people at the shows and everything and the feedback was so great that it was just hard to feel that way. It's always in the back of your mind. You want to offer something that is good in a similar way, but that's not really for me to decide. I can't control that, because Riley's not here anymore, and this is what we have. So I can't really dwell on it too much, because I can't do anything to play with him again. But I love playing with Seth, and I'm gonna do that because that's how we continue, that's how we move forward. But I'll always be thinking about how fun that was to play with Riley and how talented he was to write with and all that. I learned a lot. And the reason I'm here is that I got to be in a band with him. So, I'll always, always cherish that."

Asked if the new POWER TRIP material will be more "experimental" than what the band has done in the past or it will follow the "same recipe" as what he and his bandmates had done with Riley, Blake said: "I think it's a little of everything you mentioned. Of course we'll always honor him when we can. We are moving forward, we have to focus on the future, but that doesn't mean that we'll forget him or not honor him. Of course that's always gonna be a thing that we'll do and we'll try to make sure of. But when it comes to moving forward, we're gonna write music how we wanna write it. Obviously, like I said before, all the things and the elements of the formula that we've always had, I wanna try to keep those as much as I can, obviously, but Seth's a different person, he's a different singer, he's a different lyricist. So, is he gonna try to write lyrics exactly like Riley would? Well, I would hope he wouldn't. Those were Riley's words, that was his personality. It doesn't mean that we don't believe in everything and still wanna be in that realm anymore — of course we do — but I don't write the lyrics, so I can't really control that. I want Seth to write about what he feels strongly about and what he wants to put his name on and sing every night. So that's not really for me to decide. I think he's his own person.

"We all come from the same world musically, and we have similar tastes and everything," Blake explained. "We want it to sound like POWER TRIP, we want it to sound like something we would do. But I would never tell him to write about this or that. Riley, he was always thinking and changing, and I don't know what he would be writing about in this day and age either. I don't know what he would wanna talk about. I can't really speculate on that. He's not with us anymore, sadly. I would feel that would be like trying to fill his shoes, and that doesn't feel right. I think he deserves that space. I think with Seth, he's his own guy. He can handle his own thoughts and ideas. I don't think we would do anything that would, for any reason, go in opposition to anything that he wrote about. But he's not gonna try to write the same songs or anything like that, so it'll be something different. But I can't imagine it'd be anything that people that like us wouldn't be interested in or be stoked on. But [it's] not really my call."

In announcing POWER TRIP's return to the live stage in February 2024, surviving members Ibanez, Nick Stewart (guitar, vocals), Chris Whetzel (bass) and Ulsh wrote on social media: "Nearly four years ago to the day, unbeknownst to us, we would perform for the last time as POWER TRIP. It has been a difficult road since then, marked by deep pain, grief, and everything else that came with losing our brother Riley.

"We know this can't be undone, and it will always remain part of us. We have thought deeply about the future of POWER TRIP and what always comes back to us is that this band was founded on resilience, perseverance, and most importantly: a love for the music and for all of the people it has brought us closer to along the way.

"We'll never have the words to convey our appreciation of the enduring support we've received over the years, and we feel as though the time is right to get back on stage for all of you who've been there throughout our existence as a band."

Regarding Gilmore's addition to the POWER TRIP lineup, the band said: "It feels right playing our songs with Seth, who's been a longtime figure in Texas hardcore, and we've had the pleasure of watching and playing alongside his bands since the origins of POWER TRIP. We're grateful for his dedication to this project and can't wait to see everyone."

Gilmore stated: "I'm honored to have the opportunity to contribute to the legacy of POWER TRIP and deliver these songs to the fans of past and current generations. I would not be who I am today without the massive influence that both the band and its members have had on my life, and I look forward to celebrating their work alongside them while giving it my all to honor the spirit of Riley's memory."

Ibanez, Stewart, Whetzel and Ulsh played a surprise five-song set with Gilmore on December 1, 2023 at Mohawk in Austin, Texas.

Riley died on August 25, 2020. An autopsy report for Gale ruled that he died from the toxic effects of fentanyl, while the manner of death was ruled accidental.

Following the news of Gale's death, a number of other artists shared tributes to the frontman, including members of CODE ORANGE, ANTHRAX and COHEED AND CAMBRIA.

Riley guested on the track "Point The Finger" on BODY COUNT's "Carnivore" album, released in March 2020, and BODY COUNT frontman Ice-T later suggested in an interview with Stereogum that Gale's death was opioid-related. Ice-T said in December 2020: "When we shot the video [for 'Point The Finger'], he looked healthy. It was a good vibe. That's why I got blindsided when I got the call from his dad, who said that Riley passed away. Apparently, he was dealing with the same bullshit everyone is — this opioid stuff. He'd gotten clean, and when you relapse, you go back to the same dose you're used to and it kills you. It was a really sad thing."

Gale's autopsy report noted that he died from pulmonary edema — a condition caused by excess fluid in the lungs. This was caused by "the toxic effects of fentanyl" in Gale's system. The fentanyl in Gale's blood was measured at 22.5 ng/ml (nanograms per milliliter),and he tested negative for all other drugs and alcohol.

The report went on to note that Gale had a "history of Xanax abuse" and a "history of depression," and revealed Riley was found "unresponsive on the floor at home."

In October 2020, plans were announced for the Riley Gale Library at the Dallas Hope Center — the city's sole shelter for LGBTQ+ youth.

POWER TRIP released two albums on Southern Lord, 2013's "Manifest Decimation" and 2017's "Nightmare Logic". A rarities compilation, "Opening Fire: 2008-2014", followed in 2018.

"Nightmare Logic" peaked at No. 22 on Billboard's Hard Rock Albums chart.

POWER TRIP was said to be working on its third album at the time of Riley's death.

Photo credit: Adam Cedillo

In a new interview with Neeka Rogers of Metal Nation, Jeffrey Hatrix, also known as Jeffrey Nothing (born Jeffrey Lewis Hetrick),formerly the haunting voice and co-founder behind Cleveland's pioneering alterna-metal and industrial collective MUSHROOMHEAD, spoke about his ongoing battle with cancer. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET) "I, unfortunately, lost my wife Stacy [to cancer] in April of 2024, and within a month I had been diagnosed myself. And I right then made the decision I was gonna fully natural [in my treatment for the disease]. I sometimes got messages from people, 'Rest in peace. Then you won't be here next year at this time.' But I don't believe in the big medicine way of treatment. I think it's what a lot of people end up being scared into. And I think if you do a little searching, you might find something that keeps you here without taking so much away."

Jeffrey, who is now a born-again Christian, continued: "So I did that treatment, and for one week I actually lived on grapes and grape juice — nine tinctures, two capsules three times a day for eight weeks. But I had, in that same time, spent time in my sauna. And a little while later I started hiking a lot. And I feel like I'm in the best shape of my life, but I also just like the exercise. Getting off the couch is very important. And I'm not gonna get to where I'm running marathons — I ran a lot when I was young, but I'm not really a fan now — but walking a lot, it helps you physically a lot, but it's also a cool thing just getting out in nature and experiencing life that way."

This past March, just two months after revealing he was battling cancer, Hatrix took to his Facebook to write: "Just wanted to give an update on my situation and say Thank You All Sincerely, so much for the caring and help. Yesterday started the 7th of my 8 week Alternative Medicine treatment journey. I am pain free since the start and I truly believe that this is Working. I hope you and yours are all doing well. If you aren't, they can help with a multitude of conditions. (Read the testimonials). Contact: morseshealthcenter.com".

In February, Hatrix's daughter Mea wrote on his Gofundme account that his "alternative medicine treatment" consisted of "9 tinctures and 2 capsules. 3 times a day over the course of 8 weeks, not 6 as his dyslexic brain first told him," she said. "This protocol is from Morse Healthcare out of Florida and it goes with a diet of Fruit and Vegetables and daily visits to his steam sauna."

When Jeffrey revealed his cancer diagnosis in January, he wrote that he "really wanted to keep this to myself" but eventually made the decision to go public it in order to raise funds for his treatment.

"I was diagnosed a couple months ago," he said at the time. "It will be very hard to continue working with the treatment path I have chosen. Thank You for anything you can do to help. I know everyone is going through a lot."

The GoFundMe campaign has a goal of $24,000 and has currently raised more than $23,000.

Jeffrey's wife Stacy died in April 2024 after a long battle with cancer. She was only 38 years old.

In August 2024, Jeffrey Hatrix sued MUSHROOMHEAD's drummer and producer Steve "Skinny" Felton, alleging copyright infringement and failure to pay him royalties that he is owed.

Hatrix, who left MUSHROOMHEAD in 2018, claimed in the lawsuit, which was obtained by BLABBERMOUTH.NET, that he had not received royalties for his music "for several years at least", despite the fact that he wrote or helped write 148 songs during his time with the band.

Hatrix's attorney Ronald Stanley told Cleveland.com that Hatrix was seeking at least $3.5 million, but clarified that "we don't know all what he is entitled to yet."

Jeffrey left MUSHROOMHEAD in March 2018, stating: "I am coming to you today with a heavy heart to announce that I am leaving MUSHROOMHEAD. It is a decision that I did not make easily, but one I made for reasons that are best for me as an artist and musician at this juncture in my career." The vocalist went on to thank "the craziest, fucking loyal and amazing fans" for the "once in a lifetime privilege" of performing for them while touring and recording with the group.

A few months later, Hatrix discussed his exit while appearing on the "ADHD" podcast, saying that "my issue was there was only one chief [Steve Felton], and that's not how it started. That really catapulted us all backwards. I feel like we could have done so much more… Things could have all been different and friendly, but I don't believe my former band has that in their vocabulary. I never wanted it like that. It's odd."

He added: "I left the band because I couldn't do it anymore. I stayed for a long time for the fans and it just got to be like, 'Sorry I just can't do it anymore.' I was trying to leave on semi-amicable terms and then that never happened… I got to the point where I didn't even want to go on tour anymore. There was one tour where I felt like I was in need of having every tooth pulled out of my head. The stress was so bad, it felt like that. That ended up not being the case. Once I got home, I was fine. Sometimes a bus can feel like a prison cell or your bunk can feel like a casket or you're doing time or you're not even alive anymore… When it was cool, I liked it. When it became somebody's little game, for lack of a better word, it became very ugly and something I wanted to get out of as soon as I could."

Former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal has released the official music video for the song "Moonshine Hootenanny". The track is taken from his latest instrumental album, "Bumblefoot ...Returns!", which came out in January 2025. Thirty years after his debut solo instrumental album, Bumblefoot revisited his roots with a 14-track masterpiece that spans genres from metal to orchestral to blues.

The album's opening track, "Simon In Space", served as its first single, delivering an electrifying ride through chaos and intensity. In addition to the single, an animated music video created by Bumblefoot and animator Radek Grabinski was maade available, as well as a retro-inspired video game.

"Bumblefoot ...Returns!" featured collaborations with iconic musicians, including Brian May, Steve Vai, Guthrie Govan, Derek Sherinian, Jerry Gaskill and others, showcasing Bumblefoot's innovative guitar techniques, such as his signature fretless guitar and "thimble technique."

On the album, Bumblefoot shared: "It's been 30 years since releasing the debut 'Adventures Of Bumblefoot' on Shrapnel Records, and I haven't done a fully instrumental album since. Writing during the pandemic, these songs became a soundtrack to my life — from heavy fretless growls to bluesy tributes to legends like Lonnie Johnson. It's a reflection of the moments that shaped me."

He added: "Working on WHOM GODS DESTROY's album inspired growling heavy fretless parts like 'Simon In Space'. Watching a blues documentary inspired 'Moonshine Hootenanny'. Losing loved ones led to writing 'Funeral March'. Songs become a soundtrack to our lives."

In an interview Decibel, Bumblefoot stated about his decision to make another instrumental album: "My pursuits from the beginning were as a singer, songwriter, guitarist, founding bandmember, doing our own music. I wasn't looking to be an instrumental guitarist. I signed a record deal in the mid-'90s to do music with vocals, but they asked me to do an instrumental album to start things off. I did 'The Adventures Of Bumblefoot' album [1995], which opened the door to doing video game soundtracks, TV and film music. After that I went back on the path, proggy, quirky hard rock with vocals, and over the decades released albums that would have some instrumental songs, but more in the way a VAN HALEN album would have some between the vocal songs. Since the last Bumblefoot album, I did the first ART OF ANARCHY album in 2015 with Scott Weiland, another in 2017 with Scott Stapp, SONS OF APOLLO's debut that same year, the live SONS OF APOLLO album/video in 2019, an instrumental single that year, released the next SOA album in 2020, while touring and producing bands every moment in-between, including fronting the band ASIA. Then the 2020 lockdown hit, and there was suddenly time, lots of it. I often thought, 'Someday when there's time, I'd like to do another instrumental album like the first 'Adventures' one, another lounge-metal album like 'Uncool' (2002),another acoustic EP like 'Barefoot' (2008).

"During the lockdown I put out an instrumental single, 'Planetary Lockdown', did two acoustic 'Barefoot 2' and '3' EPs, was busy in the studio every day mixing people's songs and albums, laying guest solos, doing online teaching, lots of the things I had missed doing while touring so much. And then got the itch to do another fully instrumental album, and started writing and demoing ideas… It was the gift of time that made it possible, being forced off the touring 'hamster wheel' and having focus and momentum being in the studio every day."

Regarding what had changed about his approach to writing and playing music in the decade after his previous solo album, Bumblefoot said: "In the past ten years there's been lots of collaborating in bands, where I've been a contributing songwriter, co-writer, guitarist, producer, mixing the albums… Now getting back to doing another full album of my own, the big difference I'm feeling is based on now having the guitar as the voice of the song, which allows more possibilities for the melody, more range, different tones. Singing has limits with all of that, you have just one voice, although you also have words to tell the story.

"The previous album, 'Little Brother Is Watching' [2015] was all vocal songs, and having the same voice on the songs makes the overall direction feel more focused. With instrumental music, I tend to get more experimental and every song tends to have more of its own identity. And the guitar lines aren't limited to solo sections; there's a whole song where the guitar gets to do it all, make singable lines, experimental sounds…"

"Bumblefoot ...Returns!" track listing:

01. Simon In Space
02. Planetary Lockdown
03. Moonshine Hootenanny
04. Chopin Waltz Op64 No2
05. Monstruoso (featuring Steve Vai)
06. Monstruoso II – Departure
07. Cintaku
08. Once in Forever (featuring Brian May)
09. Andalusia
10. Anveshana (featuring Guthrie Govan)
11. Funeral March (featuring Ben Karas)
12. Griggstown Crossing
13. The Thread
14. Liftoff

Thal joined GUNS N' ROSES in 2006 and appeared on 2008's "Chinese Democracy", an effort which contained music that had been written before he came into the group. The disc took 13 years to make and was only a modest seller, moving just around half a million copies.

Thal never officially announced his departure from the GN'R, but a source confirmed to Detroit music writer Gary Graff back in 2015 that the guitarist had been out since the end of the band's second Las Vegas residency in 2014.

Thal later revealed that he was focusing on his solo career and other projects after spending eight years playing in GUNS.

Thal spent a few years recording and touring with SONS OF APOLLO, which also featured drummer Mike Portnoy, keyboardist Derek Sherinian and bassist Billy Sheehan. SONS OF APOLLO released its second studio album, "MMXX" (pronounced: 20/20),in January 2020 via InsideOut Music/Sony.

Photo: Andre Tedim

Gene Simmons paid tribute to his longtime KISS bandmate Ace Frehley during GENE SIMMONS BAND's November 9 performance at the 34th installment of the Love Ride powered by Harley-Davidson, which took place at the Castaic Lake in Castaic, California.

Prior to launching into the KISS classic "Cold Gin", Gene told the crowd (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): " I wanna take a moment just to tell you that somebody I've known for many decades who started the band with us, a guy named Ace Frehley…" After some fans in the audience started screaming out Ace's name, Simmons continued: "Very sad. Paul [Stanley, KISS frontman] and myself and Peter Criss [original KISS drummer], we went to Ace's funeral. He sadly passed. And the saddest part of all, besides the pain and suffering to his friends, family, his daughter, his wife, his whole family, is that Ace didn't live long enough to be with us on December 6th when the president and everybody's gonna get up there and honor KISS in entering the Kennedy Center Honors. And the first person who's gonna walk out there and talk about how KISS changed his life is [country star] Garth Brooks, who's gonna host a little bit. Then he's gonna play 'Shout It Out Loud' and knock it out of the park. And in Ace's memory, we're gonna make sure one of the four chairs is empty with Ace's name, because he deserves to be there in spirit, even if he can't be there physically."

Gene added: "So, one day Ace walked in. The very first song he ever wrote we're gonna do now. It's called 'Cold Gin'."

According to Billboard, Frehley will become only the third person to receive a Kennedy Center Honor posthumously, following two other group members who likewise died after the groups' awards were first announced: Glenn Frey of EAGLES and Phil Lesh of GRATEFUL DEAD.

U.S. president Donald Trump announced the honorees in August during a press conference at the performing arts center. Trump will also host and produce the show, which recognizes and celebrates individuals who have made significant contributions to American culture through performing arts.

When KISS's Kennedy Center Honor was first announced in August, Frehley called the it "a dream come true that I never thought would materialize."

Ace died on October 16 of blunt trauma injuries to his head due to a fall. The Morris County Medical Examiner revealed the cause of death in a report obtained by TMZ.com. Ace's manner of death was ruled an accident. He was 74 years old.

According to the report, a CT scan of Frehley's head revealed multiple contusions, bone fractures to the back of his skull, hemorrhages, and a subdural hematoma (the type of bleeding that occurs in a person's brain after a head injury). Additional bruises were found on the musician's hip, thigh, and abdomen. The report also noted that Frehley had suffered a stroke.

Frehley's longtime manager John Ostrosky confirmed to the New York Post that the late KISS icon was laid to rest at Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, New York.

The legendary musician was buried on October 22 following a private memorial on October 21 at Sinatra Memorial Home in Yonkers, New York.

Frehley, whose real name was Paul Daniel Frehley, passed away peacefully surrounded by family in Morristown, New Jersey. He reportedly died nearly two weeks after a second fall at his home, which led to him being placed on life support after a brain bleed. The musician's family made the heartbreaking decision to take him off the ventilator.

Frehley's family confirmed his death, writing in a statement: "We are completely devastated and heartbroken. In his last moments, we were fortunate enough to have been able to surround him with loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers and intentions as he left this earth.

"We cherish all of his finest memories, his laughter, and celebrate his strengths and kindness that he bestowed upon others. The magnitude of his passing is of epic proportions, and beyond comprehension. Reflecting on all of his incredible life achievements, Ace's memory will continue to live on forever!"

The day of Ace's death, Stanley and Simmons issued a statement in which they said: "We are devastated by the passing of Ace Frehley. He was an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history. He is and will always be a part of KISS's legacy. Our thoughts are with Jeanette, Monique and all those who loved him, including our fans around the world."

Simmons also wrote on X: "Our hearts are broken. Ace has passed on. No one can touch Ace's legacy. I know he loved the fans. He told me many times. Sadder still, Ace didn't live long enough to be honored at the Kennedy Ctr Honors event in Dec. Ace was the eternal rock soldier. Long may his legacy live on!"

Ace co-founded KISS with Paul, Gene and Peter in New York City in 1973. Frehley appeared on KISS's first nine albums, and returned for the band's 1998 reunion album, "Psycho Circus", only to leave again. He was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame with the rest of KISS's original lineup in 2014.

Frehley first left KISS in 1982. He rejoined in 1996 and parted ways with the band once again in 2002 after the conclusion of KISS's first "farewell tour." Since his departure, guitarist Tommy Thayer had assumed the role of the Spaceman.

Earlier in October, Frehley scrapped the remainder of his previously announced 2025 tour dates due to unspecified "medical issues".

The legendary rocker announced the cancelation two weeks after he pulled out of the Antelope Valley Fair in Lancaster, California after sustaining minor injuries in a fall at his home.

Frehley had a rocky relationship with Simmons and Stanley whom he blamed for exacerbating his abuse of drugs and alcohol because they allegedly minimized his contributions to KISS.

In 2019, Simmons told Guitar World that Frehley and Criss had exited KISS three times, in part because they "weren't carrying their load" and weren't dependable onstage. In response, Frehley called Simmons and Stanley "control freaks, untrustworthy and… too difficult to work with."

Ace said in a 2024 interview that he got sober in 2006 after "10 car accidents" and credited his daughter Monique with inspiring him to give up drinking in 2006.

"My daughter calls me up and goes, 'Dad, I'm not hearing good things about you.' I looked in the mirror and just said, 'Shit — she's right,'" he said. "That evening, I called my sponsor and he took me to an AA meeting, and I've been sober ever since."

Frehley married Jeanette Trerotola in 1978 before they legally separated seven years later but remained married. She survives him, along with their daughter Monique, brother Charles, sister Nancy Salvner, and a number of nieces, nephews and extended family members.

In a new interview with the Lazer 103.3 radio station, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA (TSO) musical director/guitarist Al Pitrelli was asked if there is any chance fans will get new studio material from the band at all in the future. Al responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The easy answer would be, like, 'Yeah, sure.'"

Referencing TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA's late rock industry veteran, producer, composer and musician Paul O'Neill, who died in 2017, Pitrelli continued: "Listen, when we lost Paul, not only did I lose my brother and my best friend, his wife lost her husband, his daughter lost her father. We lost the producer, the guy who created this whole thing, the writer, the visionary.

"Yeah, there's plenty of unfinished material that exists," Al confirmed. "But I don't know. I want [Paul] to sit in that chair to make those final decisions, when to hit the 'stop' button. So, out of respect for him, I'm just gonna say I don't know. I think you and so many other people, myself included, would love to have some new material out. I don't know.

"When [Paul] passed away, it was, like, 'Oh my God. How are we going to put a tour out?'" Al added. "I don't think that that punch in the stomach ever really goes away, that hole in your heart. So I haven't given too much thought to newer material. We'll get to it. But I appreciate you bringing that up."

TSO was created to push the boundaries of what was possible for a band to create — both musically and visually. O'Neill dreamed of a different kind of "band" that is not limited by the confines of traditional rock acts and instead established one with multiple singers who could inhabit the various characters he was writing into his rock operas.

Although TSO is best known for their Capra-esque trilogy of holiday records — "Christmas Eve & Other Stories", "The Christmas Attic" and "The Lost Christmas Eve" — they have also released several other rock operas. "Beethoven's Last Night" (2000) was the first of these non-holiday rock operas and tells a compelling tale of a battle for Beethoven's soul between good and evil. It features instrumental crossovers between classical composers and contemporary rock, along with original vocal tracks featuring Patti Russo as the character Teresa, Beethoven's love. Later albums take on great themes such as war and redemption, namely "Night Castle" (2009). "Night Castle" was TSO's first Top 5 album debut and included a bonus track featuring Greg Lake (EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER, KING CRIMSON),who was one of TSO's greatest influences. TSO's latest album, "Letters From The Labyrinth" (2015),was another Top 10 release for the band. In total, TSO has sold in excess of 12 million albums and DVDs.

Consistently one of the Top 25 touring acts in the country, TSO shows no signs of slowing down. Since its touring debut in 1999, TSO has played over 2,000 Winter Tour shows for more than 20 million fans. So far TSO has also donated over $20 million from these tours to local charities.

At the time of his passing, O'Neill had several TSO projects in various stages of completion at his recording studio in Florida. He also had two finalized rock operas: "Romanov: When Kings Must Whisper", about the 1917 Russian Revolution, along with a live concert adaptation of "Night Castle". O'Neill also planned to eventually bring the TSO experience to Broadway. Nearly 30 years after the release of their first album, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA continues to create and live on.

With an incredible $1 billion in gross sales, TSO's remarkable and consistent appeal is reflected in recent industry accolades: Pollstar recognized TSO at No. 4 for Top North America Tours and at No. 6 on their Top 100 Worldwide Tours chart by gross for Midyear 2025, while Billboard placed them at No. 5 in Midyear 2025 Top Ticket Sales and No. 13 on the Midyear 2025 Top Tours chart. Adding to their impressive achievements, their iconic hit "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" has surpassed 100 million streams across digital platforms, further cementing its status as a timeless holiday classic.

GUNS N' ROSES have shared a video recap of the band's two concerts at Estadio Tomás Adolfo Ducó in Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 17-18. Check it out below.

According to Pollstar, 73,287 tickets were sold for GUNS N' ROSES' Buenos Aires shows, which was the only two-night engagement during the band's fall run of Latin American dates.

GUNS N' ROSES' October 14 concert at Santiago, Chile's Estadio Nacional drew the largest crowd of the tour, with 42,903 fans in attendance.

The first eight shows of GUNS N' ROSES' Latin American tour sold a total of 239,239 tickets for a combined gross of $23.2 million, according to Pollstar.

During the opening song of GUNS N' ROSES' October 18 concert in Buenos Aires, singer Axl Rose appeared to lose his temper, violently throwing his microphone at the drum kit, tearing off his leather jacket and storming off stage. At a later point in the show, Rose walked up the drum riser and kicked the bass drum, telling the crowd: "So, I'll just try and wing this". At the time, it was unclear whether Rose's frustration was directed at the sound onstage or if he was dissatisfied by Isaac Carpenter's performance behind the kit. The drummer joined GUNS N' ROSES earlier this year, replacing longtime member Frank Ferrer.

Five days later, GUNS N' ROSES took to social media to explain the incident. "During the opening song at our recent Buenos Aires concert, Axl's in-ear monitor pack had only the percussion in his ears versus his entire mix," a statement from the band read. "The issue was fixed by our tech team by the third song, and we had a great night. The situation had nothing to do with Isaac Carpenter's playing, who is top notch and a great drummer."

Prior to joining GUNS N' ROSES, Carpenter was a member of GN'R bassist Duff McKagan's LOADED. Isaac's career also spans an impressive roster of acts, including live and studio work with AWOLNATION, Adam Lambert, the hardcore metal outfit BARBARIANS OF CALIFORNIA, A PERFECT CIRCLE, THE EXIES, OURS and BLACK LAB, in addition to his large session film and TV roster. Carpenter made a name for himself by uniquely blending versatility and groove with crushing force and technical skill, cementing his reputation as a multifaceted drummer in the industry.

Earlier this year, McKagan spoke about Carpenter's role in GUNS N' ROSES, comparing him to the band's previous drummers Ferrer, Steven Adler and Matt Sorum. "Isaac has got this ability to swing and groove that only a few drummers have," Duff said. "Steven had it as well, Steven Adler, and Matt is a great, solid drummer with amazing fills — and Matt's amazing. They're both amazing drummers. And Isaac somehow blends both of those two guys and adds his own thing. So he adds a new sort of excitement to the songs. And the groove and swing of the songs right now with Isaac is super impressive and super fun."

Axl's onstage meltdowns in the 1980s and 1990s were legendary. He famously took exception to an unauthorized photographer in the audience during a show in St. Louis in July 1991 and jumped into the crowd to stop the fan from filming the concert with a camcorder. Returning to the stage, he said: "Well, thanks to the lame-ass security, I'm going home." The show ended and the audience decided to riot. Rose was charged in the matter, but those charges were later dismissed.

GUNS N ROSES' current touring lineup consists of Rose, Carpenter, McKagan, guitarists Slash and Richard Fortus, and keyboardists Melissa Reese and Dizzy Reed.

In a new interview with Cutter's Rockcast, CREED guitarist Mark Tremonti was asked if there has been any talk of him and his bandmates working on some fresh music. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah. When we did all this touring [over the course of the last couple of years], we were so busy that there was no way for us to really put new music together. And the tour was already on sale, so to jump off tour to record an album wouldn't have been the right move. But now that we have all the time going forward, I think promoters and agents and managers are all, like, 'All right, you gotta have something, a driver for the next tour. You can't just go out and do the same thing. So there's either gotta be some incredible package you put together or new music.' So, I've been working real hard on trying to put together new ideas so I can get together with Scott [Stapp, CREED singer] and start working. But, it would probably have to be the middle of next year before we start doing that."

In an August 2024 interview with Michael Christopher of Vanyaland, Mark was asked how many riffs and other ideas he has stockpiled for CREED's next album. He responded: "Oh, I've got thousands. Literally thousands. I hoarded my ideas since I was, gosh, since I bought my first little handheld tape recorder — the little micro cassettes — saved my ideas since I was maybe in junior high school, high school."

Earlier that same month, Tremonti told Guitar Interactive magazine that he would like to work on some fresh music with his CREED bandmates. He said: "Yeah, I love writing music and I love doing it in many different ways. I love challenging ourselves, I love to be challenged, and writing for all these different acts, when you get into it, you're, like, how am I gonna differentiate this from my other projects? How are we gonna make this its own thing and not sound like this other band with just a different vocalist on it?"

Elaborating on CREED's possible mindset while working on new music, Tremonti said: "I think putting a fresh look, but also um realizing what people loved about the band and trying to trying to keep that intact and not get too progressive in any way with CREED. We keep that to [my other bands] ALTER BRIDGE and TREMONTI and we keep CREED a little more the way it was back in the day — the big melodies, just the stuff that worked back in the day. I think on [CREED's last album, 2009's] 'Full Circle' record, we got somewhat a little more — I think we strayed a little bit from our original sound with that album. So I think it'd be good to try to get back to that original sound a little more."

This past June, Stapp told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about the possibility of new CREED music: "We're talking about it. We're taking things slow. We're rebuilding, we're relearning about each other. We're reconnecting. I think this experience has been kind of like a — it's putting on an old glove, but we've all changed. We're all older, we have kids, we have different responsibilities and priorities in life. And we're all extremely focused. And I think that when that day comes when we decide to make a CREED record, I think it'll be probably, if not on par, better than anything we've ever done. Just based upon the life experience that we have, everything we've done the last two years of playing together, I think that sets the stage that when it's the right time, it's gonna be incredible."

Stapp also talked about what it has been like for him and his CREED bandmates to reunite last summer for the "Summer Of '99" tour, joined by the likes of 3 DOORS DOWN, FINGER ELEVEN, SWITCHFOOT, FUEL, BIG WRECK and DAUGHTRY. The band then headed into arenas last November and December on the "Are You Ready?" tour with 3 DOORS DOWN and MAMMOTH WVH in the U.S. and MAMMOTH WVH and FINGER ELEVEN in Canada. "Man, it's hard to put into words," Scott said about returning to playing arenas. "Of course, the cliché word would be it's surreal. But, man, it was exciting. There was just so much energy and connection between the band guys. We were having a good time, and I hope the audience saw it. And we're fired up up there. I mean, we're soaking it all in, we're all present, we're all in the moment. And we all know what it's like to have that and then not have that, so there's a new level of appreciation for those moments. And I think that that motivates us to play every show like it could be our last, because we've been in that situation where we had that last show and then everything went away. So I think that gives us a new sense of urgency, energy and passion for every show. And to hear the fans sing every song and the energy that's in the room, man, it's a dream come true, and we don't take a moment of it for granted."

In the summer of 2023, after an 11-year hiatus, CREED announced their long-awaited reunion — returning to the stage for the first time at the sold-out Summer Of '99 cruise and Summer Of '99 And Beyond cruise. In May 2024, meanwhile, the band's multiplatinum-selling "Greatest Hits" collection made its wide debut on vinyl (via Craft),landing the collection back into the Billboard Top 200, as well as hitting Top Hard Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Alternative Albums, and moving up the Top Hard Rock Albums rankings. Originally issued in 2004, the 14-track compilation spans the band's first three albums (1997's "My Own Prison", 1999's "Human Clay" and 2001's "Weathered").

CREED kicked off its first tour in 12 years, "Summer Of '99", on July 17, 2024 at Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

With more than 53 million albums sold worldwide, CREED remains one of modern rock's most successful acts. Now, 30 years into their incredible journey, CREED is bigger than ever. In late 2023, the Texas Rangers made "Higher" their unofficial anthem, as it spurred them to their first World Series win. In early 2024, the song appeared in a high-profile Paramount+ Super Bowl commercial, while a NASCAR Daytona 500 campaign also incorporated the hit single. Along the way, CREED has gained a new generation of fans, thanks to countless TikTok videos that feature their songs.

This past January, Stapp was asked by Sylvia Alvarado of the Las Vegas radio station KOMP 92.3 what the conversation was like about getting CREED back together in July 2023, initially for two different "Summer Of '99" cruise festivals in April 2024, followed by two separate U.S. tour legs last year. Scott said: "There was a time that I didn't think that things would come together. We began having conversations, I think, in 2020 when we started to notice this kind of viral thing happening organically online. And so conversations were had about potentially doing something. And I just felt at the time — I didn't wanna rush it. I didn't wanna just throw something together, and I wanted it to be real. I wanted it to be authentic. I wanted it to be where everyone's heart was in it."

He continued: "I can't really say it was one person or the other [who initiated the discussions]. We all kind of were feeling it. Calls were made. Then management was talking. And we all just kind of migrated to each other organically, kind of the same way we did in 1994 when we started the band. And then when we got together and started rehearsing, the energy within the band — there was so much love in the room, so much support in the room. We all kind of went from back in 2001, [200]2 and [200]3, when we kind of ended our run there, doing multiple nights in the same city and sold-out arenas, having stadiums on hold, we all went our separate ways and started over with our solo careers and our other projects and were back out there [sweating] it out in clubs and bars. And I know it's kind of probably hard for people to believe, but it's true. The other guys did, and I did as well. And it was quite the contrast to what we had just experienced in CREED, but I think it was a necessary thing for us to grow as individuals and human beings, but also to really appreciate what had happened to us between '96 and 2000, into 2003, 2004."

Scott added: "I think everything happened so fast and so quick on our first three CREED records and the rise to arenas was, like, 12 months. I think that's not typical. It's unheard of. And I think when it happens like that, you miss out on what paying your dues does to you in terms of your level of appreciation, your level of maturity, your ability to handle the growth at such a rapid pace when it happens, your gratitude, your gratefulness, your maturity, your understanding of the big picture and your impact. And so I think we kind of did that in reverse. So we had it all and then went back and paid our dues in reverse. I went back to playing clubs, they were playing clubs, and then here we are all these years later bigger than we were when we went away in 2004. And so I think all of that contributed to our gratitude and how we walked in, because we're all much more mature and have a deeper appreciation. And it definitely had an impact on me in my solo career, because I was out there slugging it away on my first three solo records, wondering, 'Should I continue?' I love playing music. I love doing this. It didn't happen like CREED, so initially I was kind of, like, 'What am I supposed to do? I love making music.' But I just kept at it, kept at it, kept at it. And here we are with [my solo single] 'Higher Power' breaking the Top 10 and now 'Black Butterfly' Top 5 and with more music to come. And so it's really been just a complete full-circle experience with CREED and my solo career all kind of peaking at the same time."

Asked what it is like seeing the love that CREED is getting all over again, and a whole new generation is learning about the band, Scott said: "It's probably one of the most gratifying and humbling experiences you can have as an artist, especially where we all are in our hearts and in our minds and in our spirits today. To see a whole new generation that never saw a CREED show — most of them weren't even born when we broke up. I mean, I think the numbers, if I'm quoting them correctly, I think over 80 percent of our tickets sold out of the near-million tickets we sold last year were between [people between the ages of] 18 [and] 35. We have a whole new generation of fans. And all I can say is I'm grateful, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. I understand how rare this is. I have an appreciation for it, and I just wanna do it right. And I want to give the fans what they deserve. I wanna represent my children and my friends in the best way that I can, so they're proud of me, and leave a legacy that they're proud of, because it's no secret I went through my struggles, and they were very public and at times very humbling. And so this is an opportunity to kind of end the movie the right way. But I still think the movie's being written. But I think you get what I'm saying by that."

In a new interview with Dawn Osborne of TotalRock, former HANOI ROCKS frontman Michael Monroe spoke about his upcoming studio album, "Outerstellar", which will arrive on February 20, 2026 via Silver Lining Music. Regarding the lyrical inspiration for the song "Newtro Bombs", which was apparently written about the "fickleness of fads and fashions", Michael said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, I always hated fashion. It ruins everything, 'cause everyone's starting to be the same and it's so boring... It just ruins things. I think as soon as something has a name, like grunge or stuff like that, it's over in my books, because then you've got two million bands trying to sound like the original guys, like NIRVANA — great band, brilliant, but then there's two million guys trying to sound like them. Never sounding as good as the original, but then you get these bands that sound the same and kind of boring and you don't wanna hear. And that's what happens. That's why as soon as something has a name, it's over, in my books.

"So rock and roll is rock and roll," he continued. "HANOI ROCKS, they tried to categorize us, call it heavy metal. Metal was, back then, becoming a genre. They tried to call us metal, then they called us punk, and then they came up with the glam thing. Well, we grew up around the glam period like — in the '70s, me and Andy [McCoy, HANOI ROCKS guitarist] and the guys, of course we were influenced by that. The first band I saw live was SLADE in '72, and then I saw THE SWEET and Suzi Quatro and all. I discovered Little Richard and THE ROLLING STONES, and rock and roll was rock and roll, from the blues the '50s rock, from Little Richard to ROLLING STONES to the RAMONES. So all influences — we took everything, every influence everywhere, and made our own thing about it. And that's what I think everyone should be — find their own thing and be that, and that's it. I mean, somebody's style could be a crew cut and a t-shirt and jeans, and they're fine as that. So just be what you are, be yourself. It doesn't mean [you should] try to look like me. I look like a freak. I mean, most people look ridiculous trying to look like me. And they did at some point, and I thought it was really crazy. Anybody, even if they were a 200-pound truck driver, had to have eyeliner and big blonde hair at some point. And, to me, it was a little bit frustrating, [I would] see so-called hair metal bands who played their hairspray cans better than the instruments. And, to me, music was more important. So it was always the thing. And besides, HANOI ROCKS was not a hair band; we were a hat band. We had the coolest hats. We had a lot of cool hats. So, really, if you wanna call us anything, it would be more a hat band than a hair band. And hair metal — I never wanted to have a big hairdo like that. My hair, I didn't get to cut it so often, so when it was long, I kind of teased it up, it was became bigger than I really wanted. But looking at some of those old pictures, oh God, I didn't want it that big. It was more like a Ronnie Wood kind of cut. Neal Smith, the drummer from ALICE COOPER band in the '70s, he had the coolest hair. He had it nice and wavy and down to his waist, and that's the kind of hair I always wanted. So, it was inadvertently, unintentional that it was so big. It was never supposed to be [like that]."

In support of "Outerstellar", Monroe and his band will embark on a U.K. co-headline tour with BUCKCHERRY, kicking off in Southampton on February 24, 2026.

The Monroe band's all-star lineup features former HANOI ROCKS and NEW YORK DOLLS bass player Sami Yaffa, who has played with Michael since the '80s. On guitar duties are Rich Jones (formerly of the Ginger Wildheart band) and Steve Conte (best known as the guitarist who filled the void left by Johnny Thunders in the NEW YORK DOLLS, as well as playing guitar with many other name acts such as Suzi Quatro, Eric Burden and many more) and drummer Karl Rockfist (who has played with notable acts such as DANZIG).

This past August, Monroe canceled his participation in this fall's U.S. tour as the support act for BUCKCHERRY in order to recover from a ruptured meniscus.

Monroe's latest solo album, "I Live Too Fast To Die Young", came out in 2022 via Silver Lining Music.

Monroe celebrated his 60th birthday in September 2022 at the Helsinki Ice Hall (Helsingin Jäähalli) in Finland. As the grand finale of the concert, the original lineup of HANOI ROCKS, one of Finland's most significant rock bands of all time, took the stage: Monroe, Andy McCoy, Sami Yaffa, Nasty Suicide and Gyp Casino. The "support band" for the show was the reunited DEMOLITION 23. Led by Monroe, the band rose to great cult fame, although they only released one album ("Demolition 23") in 1994 and broke up shortly afterwards. This was DEMOLITION 23's first performance since the band's breakup in 1995.

Monroe and McCoy founded HANOI ROCKS in the late 1970s and the band's original lineup was established in 1980. HANOI ROCKS, the first Finnish rock band to make an international breakthrough, recorded their first three albums with the original lineup: "Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks" (1981),"Oriental Beat" (1982) and "Self Destruction Blues" (1982). Casino was replaced in 1982 by Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley who became an integral member of HANOI ROCKS. Razzle died in a tragic accident in 1984. Unfortunately, this led to the band's untimely demise in early 1985.

HANOI ROCKS did reform once before in 2002, albeit with only Monroe and McCoy from the band's classic lineup, and released a comeback album, "Twelve Shots On The Rocks". The reunion lasted until 2009.

In the video below, SLAYER guitarist Kerry King dives into his decades-long admiration of pinball and how his technical skills as a musician helped him excel across Stern machines.

Kerry says (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): " I'm sure I was in my teens when I used to go to little miniature golf places, and they had pinballs and shit like that. And the game that we were really into back then was the original Pin-Bot. But we played all of 'em."

Regarding his relationship with Stern Pinball, Inc., Kerry said: "Well, Stern guys, I probably got close with them because my friend Gerardo, who's at Reigning Phoenix Music, was friends with one of the main guys at Stern. Now it's just, like, I've known this guy 20 years, and Stern Pinball isn't somebody that endorses people, but I'm as close with those guys as I think a musician can be."

On the topic of his pinball collection, King added: "My pinball collection is small because I live in New York City now. Mine are all more modern. I think my oldest one is 'South Park', and that's probably 25 years old. They're games that me and my wife are into, like we enjoy playing 'Family Guy'. We like the show. The music ones are special to me 'cause I'm a fan of AC/DC, I'm a fan of METALLICA. The ones with the bands that you can pick your own music to play your game, I think that's pretty cool. Like I mentioned, AC/DC, METALLICA, IRON MAIDEN. I played the AEROSMITH one — same thing; super fun. I played the remake of the METALLICA. I like those better because you can actually rock out to songs that you'd just be playing without a pinball game. Like a SLAYER pinball game with pentagrams and very anti-religious things going on. And I know I don't expect it, but it's just fun to say."

Stern Pinball is the world's oldest and largest producer of arcade-quality pinball machines.

Other Stern Pinball titles include RUSH, LED ZEPPELIN, THE BEATLES and KISS.

A broad range of players enjoy Stern Pinball's games — from professional pinball players who compete in high-stakes competitions around the globe to novice players who are discovering the allure of the silver ball for the first time.

IRON MAIDEN, BRING ME THE HORIZON, LIMP BIZKIT and THE OFFSPRING will headline the 2026 installment of Hellfest, set to take place June 18-21, 2026 in Clisson, France.

Hellfest is an annual open-air festival and one of the biggest metal festivals in all of Europe.

After canceling the 2020 and 2021 installments due to the ongoing pandemic, Hellfest returned in 2022 and was held over two weekends, with seven days of performances from many of the biggest metal and hard rock acts in the world.

In 2023, Hellfest moved to a four-day format to welcome more than 200 bands on the six stages of the festival.

Hellfest, which drew 180,000 people in 2019, generally features a lineup which is 90 percent made up of international acts and 20 percent of spectators coming from abroad.

In the heart of the festival, the Hell City Square offers a walk into partner booths, a gallery of exhibitors, a huge metal market with a decoration worthy of the greatest science-fiction movies.

Confirmed bands for Hellfest 2026:

Thursday, June 18:

Mainstage 01:

BRING ME THE HORIZON
PAPA ROACH
BREAKING BENJAMIN
THE PLOT IN YOU
WE CAME AS ROMANS

Mainstage 02:

DEEP PURPLE
ALICE COOPER
THE PRETTY RECKLESS
ALESTORM
MIKKEY DEE With Friends Playing MOTÖRHEAD Classics

Warzone Stage:

SOCIAL DISTORTION
ALL TIME LOW
LAGWAGON
SHELTER
SATANIC SURFERS

Valley Stage:

KADAVAR
UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS
THE INSPECTOR CLUZO
ELDER
TRUCKFIGHTERS

Altar Stage:

IGORRR
THE HALO EFFECT
RIVERS OF NIHIL
DEVANGELIC
SKAPHOS

Temple Stage:

SKÁLD
FEUERSCHWANZ
BORKNAGAR
WINTERFYLLETH
PERCHTA

Friday, June 19:

Mainstage 01:

IRON MAIDEN
HELLOWEEN (40th-anniversary set)
ULTRA VOMIT
ACCEPT
QUEENSRŸCHE
SORTILÈGE
WINDS OF STEEL
BLACKRAIN

Mainstage 02:

SABATON
OPETH
SEPULTURA
BLOODYWOOD
TESSERACT
BROTHERS OF METAL
RETURN TO DUST
URAVENA

Warzone Stage:

THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN
LA DISPUTE
MALEVOLENCE
CEREMONY
POGO CAR CRASH CONTROL
POINT MORT
DIE SPITZ
GRIDIRON
WAKE THE DEAD

Valley Stage:

MASTODON
SLIFT
LOATHE
TORCHE
STONED JESUS
PRIMITIVE MAN
REZN
YAROSTAN
DRAGUNOV

Altar Stage:

BLOOD INCANTATION
PERIPHERY
DECAPITATED
SYLOSIS
SINSAENUM
BLOOD RED THRONE
CRYPTA
ESODIC
IMPUREZA

Temple Stage:

THE GATHERING
MY DYING BRIDE
ROTTING CHRIST
CARACH ANGREN
TRELLDOM
EINJHERJER
PONTE DEL DIAVOLO
KILLUS
MOURIR

Saturday, June 20:

Mainstage 01:

LIMP BIZKIT
A PERFECT CIRCLE
TOM MORELLO
STATIC-X
ENHANCER
HOUSE OF PROTECTION
THORNHILL
SLAY SQUAD

Mainstage 02:

VOLBEAT
MEGADETH
ANTHRAX
CAVALERA ("Chaos A.D." set)
CRISIX
GATECREEPER
ESCUELA GRIND
INSANITY ALERT
LOCOMUERTE

Warzone Stage:

HATEBREED
LIONHEART
KUBLAI KHAN TX
CRO-MAGS
TRASH TALK
CANCER BATS
KING 810
COMBUST
FALSE REALITY

Valley Stage:

CULT OF LUNA
AMENRA
THE YOUNG GODS
GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT
PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS
PYSCHONAUT
FANGE
BRUIT ≤
COLD.CAPSULE

Altar Stage:

DEICIDE
CARCASS
SEPTICFLESH
OBSCURA
SEVERE TORTURE
DEFEATED SANITY
CABAL
PROFANATION
DVRK

Temple Stage:

BEHEMOTH
OLD MAN’S CHILD
AUROA NOIR
ORANSSI PAZUZU
GAEREA
1914
NON EST DEUS
HULDER
VÍGLJÓS

Sunday, June 21:

Mainstage 01:

THE OFFSPRING
THE HIVES
RISE AGAINST
PENNYWISE
THE ATARIS
THE BONES
THE DWARVES
NOT SCIENTISTS

Mainstage 02:

BAD OMENS
ARCHITECTS
THREE DAYS GRACE
BLACK VEIL BRIDES
PRESIDENT
RESOLVE
REVNOIR
THE FUNERAL PORTRAIT

Warzone Stage:

THE ADICTS
AGNOSTIC FRONT
CIRCLE JERKS
BUZZCOCKS
DRAIN
END IT
MAID OF ACE
KAREN DIÓ

Valley Stage:

DOWN
ACID BATH
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY
EYEHATEGOD
SOILENT GREEN
BLACK TUSK
GNOME
ALTA ROSSA

Altar Stage:

NAPALM DEATH
POSSESSED
FORBIDDEN
SIX FEET UNDER
FULCI
SUBLIMATE CADAVERIC DECOMPOSITION
BLOODSTAIN
TEMPT FATE

Temple Stage:

MAYHEM
MARDUK
WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM
SCOUR
GEHENNA
THY LIGHT
AUSTERE
SILHOUETTE

For more information, visit hellfest.fr.