On July 5, former KAMELOT singer Roy Khan took the stage at Tokio Marine Hall in São Paulo, Brazil for a one-night-only performance celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band's "The Black Halo" album.

Originally released in 2005, the LP remains a landmark in metal history, featuring iconic tracks like "March Of Mephisto", "The Haunting (Somewhere In Time)" and "When The Lights Are Down".

This rare event saw Khan breathing new life into some of these fan-favorite songs, delivering an unforgettable experience for his devoted Brazilian audience.

Backing Roy at the São Paulo show were members of the Brazilian progressive rock/heavy metal band MAESTRICK, consisting of Fabio Caldeira on vocals, piano and synthesizers, Renato Montanha on bass, Heitor Matos on drums and Guilherme Henrique on guitar. Also appearing on select tracks was American vocalist Adrienne Cowan of SEVEN SPIRES.

Roy's setlist was as follows:

01. When The Lights Are Down (KAMELOT)
02. Moonlight (KAMELOT)
03. Soul Society (KAMELOT)
04. The Haunting (Somewhere In Time) (KAMELOT)
05. Abandoned (KAMELOT)
06. Memento Mori (KAMELOT)
07. March Of Mephisto (KAMELOT)

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

In a recent interview with PowerOfMetal.cl, Roy was asked why now was the right time for him to celebrate "The Black Halo". Roy said: "Well, it's 20 years ago since it came out. And 'The Black Halo' is undoubtedly possibly the most important album in my catalog. So I just felt that it was in its place to do some sort of celebration in connection with the 20th anniversary. And that's what we're doing in São Paulo on the 5th of July."

Asked what he thinks made "The Black Halo" such a "timeless" record, Roy said: "I think it was in a very important phase of the band's development, both as a group and as the members individually. The time was right. There were some new collaborations there that took place. It was the first record we recorded with SPV, so we had a good budget and we could do whatever we wanted. We could try our stuff and tear things down in studio, build them up again. We had the finances to do things properly. And I think the lyrics hit some sort of nerve that I think a lot of people can relate to. But most of all, I think it's a bunch of people that happened to align with each other and managed to make something that is really greater than the sum of them all. And 'The Black Halo' has definitely stood the test of time. I mean, the album is a classic in the genre."

"The Black Halo (20th Anniversary Edition)" was recently made available in an array of special formats, including a limited-edition wooden box set featuring splattered vinyl, a collector's chalice, a ring, a pendant in a velvet bag, a 20-page booklet, and an exclusive autographed card. Other variants include deluxe marbled vinyl, a slipmat and a digipak CD edition. This must-have collector's edition was released via Napalm Records on March 14, 2025 — exactly two decades after its original debut.

Khan is also featured as a special guest on "Here Be Dragons", the latest album from Tobias Sammet's AVANTASIA. His powerful vocals grace a grand and emotional power ballad, marking another exciting chapter in his return to the scene. Sammet himself praised Khan's contribution, calling the song "one of the most moving and emotional, yet biggest ballads I have ever done."

In the summer of 2023, Roy said that a number of things contributed to his decision to leave KAMELOT nearly a decade and a half ago.

The now-55-year-old Norwegian singer announced his exit from KAMELOT in April 2011 after taking several months off to recover from a "burnout."

After his departure from KAMELOT, Khan, who is a devout Christian, joined a church in the coastal town of Moss, Norway.

In an interview with Justin Young of Monsters, Madness And Magic, Roy — whose full name is Roy Sætre Khantatat — was asked what led to his split with KAMELOT. He responded: "Everything. Too much travel. Too much work. I had my first kids. I got married and I was pretty much falling into every pit there was. And this whole character that I was creating was very different from the person that I was and wanted to be at home. And those two characters pulled farther and farther from each other and that whole thing just tore me apart. I wasn't really present when I was at home either. I'd come back from a six-week tour and just take my shoes off and sit right down on the PC and work on something, and it was not good. And I got mentally sick. That summer of 2010, I had a period of five, six weeks where I literally did not sleep. Maybe, I mean a little bit, of course, but there were so many nights that I did not sleep at all. I just wandered around the house and worrying about everything and nothing."

Asked if he became religious after his exit from KAMELOT, Roy said: "Religious? Depends on what you mean by religious, how you define that. But I've always been occupied with big questions and also spiritual things. I mean, those kind of things have always fascinated me. But there were some really weird things that happened to me in connection with me being at my lowest low ever in 2010. I mean, obviously, I was really mentally ill at that point, but we experienced things. I mean, I experienced things that other people experienced together with me, and the timing of things were really awkward. Whatever that was, it definitely made me completely change my mind on the whole issue, is there something out there that we can't see that affects us? I'm positive about that. And I still have to sit down and pinch myself in the arm and just remind myself that the things that happened happened. I mean, some of those things people surely will say are coincidence. Some will say that I just imagined it. Some people will say that — some people won't even believe. But for me, it was very, very clear. And, there's no doubt in my mind. That doesn't mean that that completely changed my life. I mean, it did, but it's not like I was a whole new being all of a sudden. I still have things that I struggle with. It's not like you go from being an arrogant, sinful bastard to being an angel. It's a process. But all those things, having those things in mind for me is definitely gradually changing me in my approach to other people, life in general and then how I look at the time that I have left on this planet."

Three years ago, Roy told Chaoszine about his split with KAMELOT: "I'm really, really extremely thankful that KAMELOT was able to continue without me, 'cause I had no intention to hurt the band. It was a very personal decision to quit the band and I simply had to. And I'm just glad that everything turned out in the end to be… They managed to go on without me, and I'm just very thankful for that, really."

Khan, who reformed his pre-KAMELOT band CONCEPTION seven years ago and released an EP, 2018's "My Dark Symphony", and a full-length album, 2020's "State Of Deception", previously reflected on the circumstances that led to him ending his long working relationship with KAMELOT during an appearance in 2021 on the "Breaking Absolutes With Peter Orullian" podcast. Roy said: "That whole thing was a cocktail of several things that just happened to climax at that point. As you all, KAMELOT was getting more and more popular, so I was away months every year — like half the year at least I was gone. I was having a family, and that right there was starting to tear me apart. And then I was living my life not very healthy — let's put it that way — and I did a lot of stupid stuff back then that… I knew in my heart that it was going down the drain."

He continued: "I remember every night when I sang [the KAMELOT song] 'Karma', I would feel that this shit is gonna knock me on the back of the head at some point. If it's gonna tomorrow, [if] it's gonna be two years from now, I don't know, but the way I live my life, that's not gonna work — it's not sustainable. And then it happened. I knew for so many years, actually, that this was gonna not work out, and then, all of a sudden, it happened. I broke down. I had a full summer where I barely slept — like six to eight weeks where I didn't sleep a whole lot of hours during those six to eight weeks, and I was going really completely crazy. And in connection with that, a lot of stuff happened."

According to Khan, leaving KAMELOT after a 13-year run weighed heavily on him at the time.

"Quitting KAMELOT was the best decision that I've ever made, and by that I don't mean that… KAMELOT was a fantastic thing in my life, and Thomas and the other guys — it had nothing to do with them; it was all me and the way I lived my life, and I just couldn't take it any longer," he explained. "And I was also overworked — I worked all the time. Even when I was home. The first thing I'd do when I got back home is I would kick my shoes off in the hallway and I'd just sit right down at the computer and start working. I was really not a good husband and I was not a good father. Lots of things weren't good about me at that point.

"Quitting KAMELOT at that point, it was easy but it was hard," he elaborated. "It was easy because I didn't really have a choice. I was really wrecked. And at the same time, it was hard because I'd been working to get to that point my whole life, basically — 20 years, at least — and finally I was there. And then I threw the towel in and said, 'Hey, guys, I'm not coming in for the next tour.' 'Okay. Well, what's wrong?' 'Well, actually, I'm not coming back at all.' And obviously, everybody… My mom was, like, 'Are you kidding me? Are you serious?' Then the guys in the band, they thought that it was gonna pass. But I knew in my heart that summer [of 2010], already in August, I knew that that's it."

KAMELOT officially announced Tommy Karevik as its new lead singer in June 2012. The Florida-based band has recorded four albums so far with the Swedish vocalist: 2012's "Silverthorn", 2015's "Haven", 2018's "The Shadow Theory" and 2023's "The Awakening".

Asked if he has listened to any of KAMELOT's recent material with Karevik, Roy told Italy's SpazioRock back in 2018: "Yes I have. I really like some of their new stuff. Sounds classical KAMELOT in my ears, and Tommy is a great singer."

Roy Khan se apresenta como “Co-Headliner” em show solo especial no Tokio Marine Hall, em São Paulo, no dia 5 de julho de...

Posted by Tramamos on Saturday, March 15, 2025

D.D. VERNI & THE CADILLAC BAND will release its second album, "Buckle Up", in September. The follow-up to 2021's "Let's Rattle" picks up (and goes further) than the debut. With the success of the last record, the OVERKILL bassist was able to recruit some of the genres top players to record on this new record. The rhythm section is made up of Bernie Dresel on drums and Johnny Hatton on the slap bass. Both played in Brian Setzer's band for years and are two of the absolute best in the genre. Horn arrangements were by Jim McMillen. Jim has done arrangements for Rod Stewart and shines here. Horn players from Paul McCartney's band, THE EAGLES as well as pianist Or Matias (Josh Groben),guitarist Angus Clark (TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA) and backing vocals by Kingston and Greystarr round out the talented band.

"Buckle Up" was mixed by producer extraordinaire Micheal Frondelli (BILLY IDOL, PAT BENATAR, BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY, CHICAGO) and features guest Jim Heath (REVEREND HORTON HEAT) doing a duet with D.D. on the classic Bobby Darin/Johnny Mercer song "Two Of A Kind". There is also an appearance by the great Johnny Reno (STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN) on sax for the song "Let's Go Crazy".

"Buckle Up" track listing:

01. Lucky 13
02. If U Wanna Dance
03. Hey Mr. DJ
04. I Can Be Most Anything
05. Devil Dance
06. Jambalaya (On The Bayou)
07. These Days
08. Not That Kind Of A Guy
09. So Long
10. Just Like Magic To Me
11. Let's Go Crazy
12. Man With The Golden Arm
13. Two Of A Kind
14. I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas

Verni is the founding member/songwriter/producer and bassist for heavy metal pioneers OVERKILL, a legendary band that has sold millions of records and headlined venues and festivals worldwide for four decades. They have released 20 studio albums dating back to their debut album in 1985.

While Verni is a legend in his own right, he has always dreamed of creating a swing/big band, and so began D.D. VERNI & THE CADILLAC BAND. He started by writing an album full of the kinds of songs he loved, a blend of rockin big band and swing, with a new contemporary edge.

Back in 2021, the New Jersey-based artist stated about his decision to take this musical direction, sing lead vocals and play guitar: "Yeah, I think it will be a bit of a shock to some people, but I have been a fan of this kind of music for a long time. The old big band standards were playing at my house when I was a kid. My dad was a big Sinatra fan, so I'm sure some of it's from growing up with that and AM radio. And I always loved '50s music and doo wop — Fats Domino, Jerry Lee, etc. And loved the crooners too — Bobby Darin, Dean Martin, Tom Jones — and even in metal and rock: Jim Morrison, Ian Astbury, Glenn Danzig…all of the crooning type of vocalists I've always loved. And then I don't know how long ago it was now, but when Brian Setzer put his big, band orchestra together the first time I thought, 'This is amazing.' I never really understood why no one else was trying their hand at that. I mean there's a thousand blues bands all in the same genre and doing their own thing with it, but almost no swing/jump blues/rock and roll type of bands. I had collected a lot of riffs and material through the years — I just put it aside thinking one day I'll get to this and so with that in mind I just started writing the types of songs I liked best. High-energy, tap-your-toes, get-up-outta-your-seat kind of songs. I'm not one for jazz really or even a country twang as some bands in the genre touch on, so I kept it moving and jumping even on the standards we recorded, because that's really what I love best."

He continued: "I am a songwriter at heart; I have done all these records with OVERKILL, and also some side projects and was involved in writing a musical for a few years, so changing my head space is not such a big deal to me. I like what I like and as long as the energy is good, I can roll with it. Even with OVERKILL, I'm not trying to be ultra-heavy, or ultra-punk…the only real line I follow is, 'Am I digging it?' and if the answer is 'yes,' then I jump in. And I think the singing and playing guitar throws people a bit as well as I'm known as a bassist. But that's part of the fun to stepping out and trying new stuff. I had been the vocalist on my solo album and was not such a stretch doing this. Although I learned a lot and have to say singing is not as easy as I once thought. [Laughs] And I am not really an upright bass player, which I knew I wanted for this, so it just made sense to stay with the guitar."

D.D. VERNI & THE CADILLAC BAND's first video, "Cadillac Man", featured the band rocking on stage and showing the live energy of the group. Their second video, "Olivia… That's Who!", saw the band using stills to create a new storyboard idea.

The 13-piece band made its live debut at the Vogel theater in Red Bank, New Jersey in October 2021.

Photo credit: Mark Weiss (courtesy of SRO PR)

British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST performed at Atlas Arena in Łódź, Poland on Monday, July 7. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

As part of JUDAS PRIEST's "Shield Of Pain", the band's setlist included seven tracks from PRIEST's 1990 album "Painkiller", which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year.

In addition to performing the "Painkiller" title track, PRIEST played "All Guns Blazing", "Hell Patrol", "A Touch Of Evil", "Night Crawler", "One Shot At Glory" and "Between The Hammer And The Anvil" from the same LP.

When PRIEST first announced the "Shield Of Pain" tour last fall, the band promised a "rare" and "unique set" which would include "beloved classics" and would "be defending the metal faith in a truly memorable experience throughout Europe".

JUDAS PRIEST's setlist for the Łódź concert was as follows:

01. All Guns Blazing
02. Hell Patrol
03. You've Got Another Thing Comin'
04. Freewheel Burning
05. Breaking The Law
06. A Touch Of Evil
07. Night Crawler
08. Solar Angels
09. Gates Of Hell
10. One Shot At Glory
11. The Serpent And The King
12. Between The Hammer And The Anvil
13. Giants In The Sky
14. Painkiller

Encore:

15. The Hellion / Electric Eye
16. Hell Bent For Leather
17. Living After Midnight

PRIEST's 2025 European tour will next hit München, Germany on Sunday, July 13 and will conclude at the O2 in London, United Kingdom on July 25.

Last December, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford told Heavy Consequence about the setlist for the "Shield Of Pain" tour: "It's still in the works, but we're gonna go and show ['Painkiller'] off. Not in its entirety. I haven't figured out yet whether we're just gonna do a clump of 'Painkiller' songs — this is the 'Painkiller' section — or we're gonna go, a 'Painkiller' song, a couple of others, a 'Painkiller' song, a couple of others. It's all in theory in my mind at the moment, but, however, I think it's gonna be a real thrill and a treat. And, again, a once-in-a-lifetime thing for the band. You'll only see the show once. You'll only see the 'Shield Of Pain' show once. So, we hope our fans will be on the rail and banging their heads to it."

Rob also reflected on PRIEST's mindset while going into the recording process for "Painkiller". He said: "The importance was we had to really go into a huddle and say, 'We really need to show off what this band's true heart and soul and spirit is about.' And I'm using that in reference to some of the previous albums and some of the previous songs. Our attitude was, 'We're gonna make the hardest, heaviest, strongest, most energized metal album we've ever done,' and we did that — we achieved it. It's full-on. It only pulls back a little bit for 'A Touch Of Evil'. The rest of it is just non-stop, non-stop, non-stop. We did it in Miraval Studios in the south of France. It was very isolated, so, unlike Ibiza [where 'Screaming For Vengeance' and 'Defenders Of The Faith', among others, were recorded], where we were going into the clubs every night, it was very, very isolated, so we really got into the work in a very, very strong way with no interference. And so the exercise of achieving all of the components to make that album as strong as we wanted it to be was a success. And, again, a band will tell you we've done everything we can. Let's see what happens. The world embraced that album."

He continued: "It's a beloved, revered metal album. A lot of our friends in different bands will say, 'If you wanna hear what a metal album is all about, put on 'Painkiller'.' And that's pretty cool. But our fans, as well, recognize that of all of the 19 albums that this band has ever made, 'Painkiller''s still very heavily under the spotlight. And here we are, 35 years [in 2025]."

PRIEST's 12th album, "Painkiller" was recorded at Miraval Studios in Brignoles, France, and was mixed at Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum, the Netherlands. It was the first LP to feature drummer Scott Travis following the departure of Dave Holland.

In a 2023 interview with "The Jeremy White Show", founding JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Kenneth "K.K." Downing spoke about how the addition of then-new drummer Travis affected PRIEST's sound and songwriting on "Painkiller". He said: "I think with the addition of Scott, because we knew his capabilities from his former band, RACER X, which were a great band… After so many years, having Scott in the band with those double kicks again, it just opened doors for myself and Glenn [Tipton, PRIEST guitarist] to write rhythmically and musically. And we knew that Scott could play anything that we could — as fast as we could play on guitar, we knew he could match us on the kit, which helped a lot, really, because it meant we could expand writing after so many years, really, in respect of the faster side of metal, if you like."

In 2022, Travis spoke to "Drumtalk", the video podcast by German drummer and videographer Philipp Koch, about the fact that the intro to the title track of "Painkiller" has become one of the most iconic drum intros of all time. He said: "Me personally, I always loved the drum intro of certain songs. We all know 'Rock And Roll' by LED ZEPPELIN and 'Walk This Way' by AEROSMITH, and, of course, 'Hot For Teacher', which is VAN HALEN. So, anyways, I grew up like that, always understanding that, 'Man, if ever I could come up with a signature drum intro — no guitars; just drums — and make it really impactful.' And sometimes I get emotional, now that I've been playing for so long, that I was able to come up with something."

He continued: "[I recently saw a video featuring] 'Top 15 drum intros'. And, of course, it's subjective. I don't know who made the list; I think it was some rock magazine. So, naturally, I watch it, and it had 'Where Eagles Dare' [by IRON MAIDEN], it had 'Rock And Roll', and number two was 'Painkiller'. And I was, like, 'Oh my God. Thank you so much.' And number one, which I'm happy to take a backseat, was 'Hot For Teacher' — Sir Alex Van Halen. If I'm second place to old Alex, then, man, that's fantastic. Again, that's one opinion and one little something someone made up. But nonetheless, I didn't make it, so I'm happy that people appreciate 'Painkiller' and it has become a signature JUDAS PRIEST song, which I never in a million years would have imagined that."

Back in 2020, Travis told Invisible Oranges that he wrote the "Painkiller" intro at Miraval Studios in early 1990 as producer Chris Tsangarides and engineer Patrice Roullion were testing microphone placements.

"We were set up at the studio… Studio Miraval in Nice, France," Travis recalled. "The drums are all set up and they're in a big room and then, of course, the control room is at the other end of the studio. I used to just go and warm up first thing in the morning and just work on the next song we were gonna do the next day, and just start playing it with my own headphones on. It was just a cool place — very comfortable to just go and play whatever you wanted. I knew we were gonna be working on the 'Painkiller' song and it was meant to be a fast-paced upbeat song. And I was just messing around doing the intro type stuff."

He continued: "I don't know what those notes I play with my feet [are called]… between my feet and my hands. Technically, it's four with the feet, one with the hand. So it's not a quad but I don't know, septuplet, quintuplet... Shows you how educated I am on drumming, right? [I was] just out there messing around, doing a flurry of things like that, exercises and whatnot. I had the 'Painkiller' idea in my head and they really liked what I was doing and they said, 'Hey, just do some more of that, some stuff like that.' And I just kind of whipped it up…

"As a young drummer or just as a drummer, period, I always… I don't wanna say dreamt because that sounds corny, but I always was hoping that I could come up with a signature drum intro, and I think every drummer wants that. Rarely does a drummer get to do an intro and especially one that really sticks. Given the fact that it exists now, I'm kind of blown away. It's cool."

In a new interview with Chicago's Rebel Radio 92.5 FM, BIOHAZARD guitarist/vocalist Billy Graziadei spoke about the band's recently released single, "Forsaken". The track, which was premiered during BIOHAZARD's recent European headlining tour, offers a first taste of the band's upcoming album. Honoring their old-school roots while pushing forward, "Forsaken" arrived last month with an energetic live video directed by Graziadei, filmed on tour in March 2025 as the band debuted the song to packed crowds across Europe.

"The song 'Forsaken' is a killer BIOHAZARD track," Billy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "It's the first one off the new record that we started playing live.

"We were on tour in Europe with LIFE OF AGONY and a band called LYLVC," he continued. "We had a great tour. Most of it was sold out. So we started playing new songs during soundcheck, and one night we threw 'Forsaken' into the set. Because once social media started happening and everybody had a cell phone, we didn't like playing new songs because it was up on YouTube the next day. So we were, like, 'Screw it. Let's just play it. Who cares?' And then we played it. And, bro, it was like 1992 again, the way the kids and the audience was reacting. We kept playing it every night. And then the [fan-filmed live] videos started coming out [on YouTube]. And it's funny, because we weren't tight with the song. And it's always like that — a new song, it takes a little while to get tight. But after, like, a week of play that every night, there was another video of us playing it, and it got better and better. So then we were like, 'Yo, the kids like this new song. Let's do a [proper] video.' So I talked to the label, and the record wasn't even done yet. But I was, like, 'Let's just do a video. Let's film this. If something comes cool of it…'"

Billy added: "People have been seeing the [reunited] original [lineup] BIOHAZARD playing live for [the last] three years. We've been talking about doing a [new] record, we've been teasing it and we finally did it late last year and finished it during the winter and then went on tour. So it just came together. I hired some dudes I knew from England [to make the 'Forsaken' video]. They flew over to Amsterdam and Belgium, filmed a couple shows, and then we put together this… It's a real video. It's not a live video, but it captures all the energy. The new record is like that."

Touching upon BIOHAZARD's approach to making the new album, Billy said: "One of the things about BIOHAZARD was we always were better live than we were on records. So that was a goal of mine, is to try to capture that live energy and sound. And I never was able to do it. With BILLYBIO and my solo stuff, I figured it out. BIOHAZARD, this record we worked with this producer named Matt Hyde, and he brought a whole different element and realization to the table with me. 'Cause I have POWERFLO with Sen Dog and Christian from FEAR FACTORY, I have my solo stuff, BILLYBIO. He said, 'You grew as an artist, as a writer.' He goes, 'And I love it. It's great. But you can't be that dude. You gotta be Billy BIOHAZARD from 1994. That's when people fucking loved you guys. You've gotta be Billy BIOHAZARD from the early '90s when everybody loved you. That was when you guys made music and you didn't care about structure. It was real and raw and right in your face.' And that realization, that was the resonating theme of this record. And we went back — every band says, 'We're going back to the roots.' Guys, you heard it on 'Forsaken'. We're dropping something new next. You'll hear it."

Elaborating on the musical direction of the new BIOHAZARD material, Billy said: "The record — it's not a rerun, but it's kind of like we really found the heart and soul of the band that we… I guess it's just the formula of the four of us being together. And being on the road for three years playing like all the classic BIOHAZARD songs, it reignited the same passion that we had back then. And it's all there on the new record. So I can't wait for you guys to get another track to play. The next track won't let you down."

As previously reported, BIOHAZARD will team up with the American hip-hop group ONYX for a North American tour this fall. Additional support on the "Divided We Fall" trek will come from BAYWAY and SWOLLEN TEETH.

BIOHAZARD was joined by ONYX on stage on February 23 at the Academy in Dublin, Ireland to perform the 1993 ONYX song "Slam".

"Slam" was originally released in May 1993 as the second single from ONYX's debut album, "Bacdafucup". An official remix, "Slam (Bionyx Remix)", was a collaboration with BIOHAZARD and was made available as a maxi-single titled "Slam: The Alternatives" in June 1993.

BIOHAZARD and ONYX also worked together on the song "Judgment Night" for the soundtrack to the 1993 film of the same name.

In December 2024, BIOHAZARD entered Shorefire Recording Studios in Long Branch, New Jersey to begin recording its new LP, due later in the year via Frontiers Label Group's new imprint BLKIIBLK.

BIOHAZARD, renowned for their aggressive style and socially conscious lyrics, has been a seminal force in the hardcore and metal scenes since their formation in the late 1980s. Their unique blend of hardcore punk, heavy metal, and hip-hop elements has garnered them a dedicated fan base and critical acclaim.

Musical pioneers in every sense of the word, BIOHAZARD were one of the first bands to seamlessly blend hardcore, heavy metal, punk, and hip hop into an intoxicating genre all their own. After more than a decade away, the Brooklyn, New York band's OG lineup reunited in 2023 to both fan fervor and critical acclaim, headlining the opening night of the legendary Milwaukee Metal Fest for their first show back. Ghost Cult magazine said they "explosively unleashed their fury with fortitude and force" with "a superhuman set and an awe-inspiring show."

The band followed with two sold-out hometown shows in New York City, a late-summer festival run in Europe, and a fall direct support slot with MEGADETH across North America. That was just the start. They returned to Europe in 2024 for the early summer festival season and made their triumphant return to South America in spring, then returned home to blow out America's exploding festival circuit.

Photo credit: Istvan Bruggen

In a new interview with Chicago's Rebel Radio 92.5 FM, EXODUS singer Rob Dukes spoke about the progress of the recording sessions for the follow-up to the band's 2021 album "Persona Non Grata". The LP will be EXODUS's first since the departure of singer Steve "Zetro" Souza and the decision to bring Dukes back. Rob said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm actually in the studio right now. I'm recording right now. I'm about to walk in now and start screaming."

According to Dukes, the bulk of the recording process has been completed. "We did most of the record already, so it's mostly all done," he said. "A lot of times Gary [Holt, EXODUS guitarist and main songwriter] writes the lyrics too. I wrote the lyrics for three or four of the songs on the record, which was a huge honor. So I'm working on the ones that I wrote [the lyrics for]… Sometimes Gary will say, 'Well, here's the lyrics. Go ahead and see what you could do with it.' And then if it doesn't match his melody that he came up with, then we'll just make the changes on the fly and do it. Sometimes Gary will actually do a vocal scratch, so I can see how he wants it placed in the verse or the chorus or whatever. And then we just listen to it and then sometimes we'll make little changes. That's what I'm doing here. I'm in Nashville right now. I just got home from Europe for a little over a month. And now I'm in Nashville with [producer] Mark Lewis. And I am doing two songs that need to be finished, and then I'm doing like little fixes of the whole record. Like I'll punch in and go, 'Oh, I think I can sing that part better. Let me do that again.' And there's a few of those. Actually, it's a lot less than I thought. We listened to it last night and we were, like, 'Nah, I think that one works, man.' I said, 'I can try to do it better, but I think that works the best.' Sometimes I'll use a different voice. I have three or four different vocal ranges, and I'll try one, and if it doesn't work, I'll try another and see which one works. And usually it's a feel thing."

Rob added: "Luckily, we got to go to Europe [this spring]. We [recorded most of] the album and then we left for tour. We did a U.S. tour and a Europe tour. So I've been listening to the songs for a couple months, so I've been just kind of digesting them and making just subtle changes where now that I've been singing on the regular for the last two months, I'm, like, 'I think I can do that better now.' 'Cause even though I did the GENERATION KILL record, I didn't play live as much as I am now. We did that one U.S. tour, U.S. and Canada tour with GENERATION KILL last year, which was fun, but it's not the same. They're two really different bands."

Dukes went on to praise the material on EXODUS's upcoming effort, saying: "It's killer. It's the best thing I've ever done with EXODUS. I thought [2010's] 'Exhibit B: [The Human Condition]' was probably some of my best work, and I think this tops it. It's so different than what we've done. We've added so many little different things that it's still EXODUS, but we've definitely stepped outside the box a little bit and tried a few different things and it worked well… It's fast. it's dark, it's awesome, man. It's gonna be a lot of fun to go play these songs live."

Souza joined EXODUS in 1986 after previously fronting the band LEGACY (which later became TESTAMENT). He remained in the band until their hiatus in 1993, but rejoined them for two years from 2002 to 2004. Dukes had joined EXODUS in 2005 (following Souza's departure) and remained until 2014, when Souza rejoined.

Dukes previously joined EXODUS in January 2005 and appeared on four of the band's studio albums — "Shovel Headed Kill Machine" (2005),"The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A" (2007),"Let There Be Blood" (2008, a re-recording of EXODUS's classic 1985 LP, "Bonded By Blood") and "Exhibit B: The Human Condition" (2010).

EXODUS played its first concert with Dukes in nearly 11 years on April 5 at the Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest: Philly at the Fillmore in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Last month, Holt told longtime Serbian hard rock/heavy metal journalist Jadranka Janković Nešić that he and his EXODUS bandmates recorded 18 songs for their next studio album. He said: "It's [going to be released as] two totally separate records, but we kept writing and kept writing and we had so much material that we just [thought], let's work extra hard and so when it's time to start thinking about a [second] new album [after the first new one], we could relax a little bit. I wish we had 20 songs done [instead of 18], 'cause then we would have the next album done, and then I could go on vacation or something. I've never had one."

Holt went on to say that none of the songs EXODUS has recorded so far for the two upcoming albums are "fillers", or tracks that were included simply to add time. "They're all great," he claimed. "They're all amazing. There are 18 songs, and they're all totally awesome. It's hard to pick which ones [will end up on the first new album]. But we did it so we could work less later."

He continued: "We're getting older. I'm 61 years old. By the time we think about releasing the next album, that's gonna be three years [from now], so I'm gonna be that much older. And then I can go on vacation in between albums. Like I said, I've never gone on vacation. I've had vacations where I played guitar to be, but I've never gone on a vacation where I didn't have to play to be there.

"After the whole [second new] album [is done] and all, yeah, I'm gonna go [on vacation] somewhere," Holt added. "I don't know how not to work though. I'm a workaholic. My wife will have to tell me to shut the phone off. At home I relax, though. But at home where I live in the country, it's a lot of work living there in the woods. So, I'm working, but it's working on my house, and I like that. I live in the country, yeah. No city life for me anymore."

Regarding the musical direction of the new EXODUS material, Gary said: "It's 100 percent EXODUS and at times 100 percent different. There's some surprises on it. It's super heavy. There's some moments that are so fast. There's moments that are super slow. Just satanic, evil as fuck."

After Jadranka noted that EXODUS is a band that continues to release full-length albums and isn't putting out standalone singles like more artists are choosing to do nowadays, Holt said: "We write albums. We've never concerned ourselves with singles. That's why in the past some of our songs were 11 minutes long, 'cause we didn't care. A song's done when it's done. If it's three minutes, cool. If it's 11 minutes, that's cool too."

Holt also once again opened up about Souza's departure and Dukes's return. Regarding what happened to cause Zetro's exit from EXODUS, Gary said: "Well, I don't wanna go into any details 'cause there's no bad blood. It's just we're all getting older and we want to be happy. And he was not happy. He was very unhappy. He was awesome on stage and awesome in the studio and awesome to the fans and there's no problem with that. And I loved his performance and his voice is as great as ever. But it's the time when you're not on stage when it became to where it's bringing everybody's spirits down. And this is a hard job to do when you're our age. Every single time I go to the airport to go on tour, I'm sad, 'cause I'm leaving my grandchildren and my kids and my wife and my house, and it's hard. But once I get out here [on tour], I'm with my brothers and I have fun. And if that part isn't fun anymore, then none of it's fun. Maybe on stage — maybe. But we're happy now. Rob's here and all five of us hang out and spend a lot of time together and we have a good time."

When Jadranka said that Rob was "the logical choice" to step in as EXODUS's singer for the band's next phase, Holt concurred. "I'm set in my ways," he explained. "I don't like change. So changing singers was never in my future plans. I don't like change at all. I'm stuck in my ways. And the idea of finding a new person who you don't know and you don't know if your personalities work, that was never an option for me. I mean, I could find someone half my age who's got tons of energy and [is] awesome and has got visible abs muscles and jumps off the top of the drum riser, but I might not have anything in common with him… [Hiring] some kid that's the same age as my youngest daughter, it would be weird. I'd feel like a father telling him to clean up his room all the time. [Laughs]"

EXODUS's next studio album — the band's first for Napalm Records — is tentatively due around March 2026.

Although EXODUS rarely gets mentioned alongside the so-called "Big Four" of 1980s thrash metal — METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX — the aforementioned "Bonded By Blood" LP inspired the likes of TESTAMENT, DEATH ANGEL, VIO-LENCE and many others to launch their careers and is considered one of the most influential thrash metal albums of all time.

In a new interview with Spain's Stairway To Rock, PRIMAL FEAR bassist Mat Sinner reflected on the extreme adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccination he suffered in 2021, resulting in him receiving treatment for eight months at various hospitals. As a result of Sinner's health challenges, PRIMAL FEAR canceled all of its planned shows in 2021 and 2022, eventually recruiting Alex Jansen as Mat's temporary replacement.

Sinner (a.k.a. Matthias Lasch),who also serves as PRIMAL FEAR's producer, said about his current health status (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, it will be never like it was before. I was having a very evil heart attack after the COVID injection. So the COVID injection destroyed my heart. So I was in a hospital for one year. And in the first month, I was in a coma. Then I was paralyzed. I couldn't move my hands, my feet. I was three times reanimated. I was dead. They brought me back to life. And very, very slowly, some parts came back. First, my voice was coming back. My hands were moving, but my legs were not moving. So I was in a wheelchair for a longer time. From a wheelchair with a lot of training, I was able to go in such a machine — what you say with the old people, walking. I don't know the English word, but you know what I mean… And then slowly, slowly, slowly it was getting better. But I could play bass and I could compose songs, but sitting in a chair, but not far away from walking on a stage. But the last year I made a very good progress so that some things are possible again, which were not possible one year ago. So when I was lying there alone, paralyzed somewhere, my biggest dream was to play one more show."

Asked if he has any memories of the time he spent in a coma, Mat said: "Only stupid things. I got morphine, and I liked that. I had weird hallucinations. But that was not in heaven. No, no. I wasn't there. So many people say, 'Oh, I saw God' or something like that. [I saw] nothing… Just stupid things."

Regarding whether his health challenges served as a lyrical inspiration for PRIMAL FEAR's upcoming album, "Domination", which will arrive on September 5 via Reigning Phoenix Music, Sinner said: "Well, if you read the lyrics of the new album very carefully, you will find some lines which are connected. But with the next album, I don't write about this. I look into the future now. This is the most important thing for me."

Joining Sinner and vocalist Ralf Scheepers in PRIMAL FEAR's current lineup are the band's latest additions, Italian/Cuban sensation Thalìa Bellazecca (ANGUS MCSIX, ex-FROZEN CROWN) on guitar and André Hilgers (AXXIS, RAGE, SILENT FORCE, SINNER, BONFIRE) on drums. Also appearing with the group is Swedish guitarist Magnus Karlsson, who has been primarily a studio member of the band for much of the past decade but who has now rejoined PRIMAL FEAR's touring lineup.

"Domination" was recorded in autumn 2024, produced by Mat Sinner and co-produced by Ralf Scheepers as well as Magnus Karlsson. Rounded off by multiple PRIMAL FEAR mixing/mastering engineer Jacob Hansen at his own studios in Denmark, the album artwork was designed by Death.Milk.Designs.

PRIMAL FEAR's new lineup made its live debut on May 9 at the 2025 edition of the Rock In Rautheim festival in Braunschweig, Germany.

This September, PRIMAL FEAR will return to the live front with its longest European tour since 2018. Reigning Phoenix Music labelmates ELEINE have been confirmed as special guests.

In August 2024, guitarists Alex Beyrodt and Tom Naumann, drummer Michael Ehré and bassist Alex Jansen announced their departures from PRIMAL FEAR, insisting that their exit was "triggered by decisions within the band that we do not agree with" but claiming that "there was no argument or bad blood."

Formed by Sinner in 1997 as an outlet for Scheepers (who had left GAMMA RAY and was a rumored candidate for the then-open JUDAS PRIEST vocal spot, but was considering early retirement from metal),PRIMAL FEAR has emerged as one of the most consistent European metal bands, rarely straying from its core PRIEST-styled power metal sound.

PRIMAL FEAR 2025 is:

Ralf Scheepers - vocals
Mat Sinner - bass, vocals
Magnus Karlsson - guitars
Thalìa Bellazecca - guitars
André Hilgers - drums

Photo credit: Heiko Roith

ANTHRAX singer Joey Belladonna joined DAUGHTRY on stage yesterday (Friday, July 11) at Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater At Lakeview in Syracuse, New York to perform the JOURNEY classic "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)". Fan-filmed video of his appearance can be seen below.

A couple of hours later, Joey took to his social media to write: "Had an awesome time tonight Huge thanks to DAUGHTRY for letting me join in and perform one of my favorite songs with you!"

Back in April 2023, DAUGHTRY released the official music video for its "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" cover, featuring guest vocals from Lzzy Hale, lead singer of HALESTORM.

When DAUGHTRY's cover of "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" was first released, DAUGHTRY frontman Chris Daughtry said in a statement: "I've always loved the song and I was wanting to do a classic cover and my wife and I were watching the 'Stranger Things' season finale and there's this incredibly intense scene and 'Separate Ways' was a big part of this scene. It was so moving just the way it was used, it felt so cool and epic and I was immediately like 'THIS is the one! We have to cover this song.'"

In 2023, Belladonna, who also fronts a JOURNEY tribute band called BEYOND FRONTIERS, was asked by Ernest Skinner of Canada's Border City Rock Talk if he was serious when he said that he would love to sing with JOURNEY one day. He responded: "I've been around [the JOURNEY] guys, my wife and I.. God, I know Deen [Castronovo, JOURNEY drummer], and I've had dinner with Neal [Schon, JOURNEY guitarist], and soundchecked with the crew. I mean, I'm so far into knowing the whole band and crew that I always would have loved to have done that. 'Cause I just like the music. The music is really appealing to me. I love all the melodic [aspects of it]. I love the musicianship. There's so much there. Without really outright looking for that gig, without asking, you know what I mean? Yeah, I love the music and that's why I put we put BEYOND FRONTIERS together because I've always thought it would be a fun night and I like singing the music."

Joey went on to say that he and rest of BEYOND FRONTIERS are currently working on "studio versions" of their "whole set. And it sounded pretty good," he said. "It just hasn't really been mixed yet to where I want it."

In September 2023, Belladonna was asked point blank by Mike Hsu of the 100 FM The Pike radio station what he would say if he was contacted right now and asked to front JOURNEY. Joey responded: "You know, I would definitely be really interested in doing that. That would be great. Not that I think that that's gonna happen, but, yeah, it would be great. I'd love that challenge. It would be great."

Regarding why he chose to launch a JOURNEY tribute band, Belladonna told 100 FM The Pike: "Well, I've been singing JOURNEY stuff throughout the years, but never had a band that I thought that would be, you know, willing to do it correctly and lengthy like where I could keep it going. I've always liked the music so much. I've owned all the music. I liked JOURNEY long before Steve [Perry] even came. I have all those records, so I was really into the band a lot. But of course, when Steve came along, I was down with singing that live somewhere. And [I] just put it together and said I wanted to do a whole night of it. I just thought it would be fun, and it looked like a blast. And we do have a blast doing it."

Belladonna's JOURNEY tribute also features keyboardist Doug Carter, bassist Paul Arntz, guitarist Matt Basford and drummer Justin Ward.

In an April 2020 interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Belladonna stated about his approach to singing material that was originally written and recorded by Steve Perry: "Obviously, when you do [something like this], there's always open ground for [people to say], 'You didn't do that part, 'You didn't do this.' [But] I didn't wanna copy it note for note. Sometimes I just like to do my own thing with it. Represent it and do what you can, but I love to mess around with things. Not so much to try to be too different, but just make it cool and do it your own way versus trying to get every note. I'm sure some guys study every second of it. Even with ANTHRAX, I do songs different a lot of times. It's just fun that way. To do things off the cuff is fun for me versus trying to follow everything… I can study it all day, but I just don't feel like doing that. I wanna have a little fun doing my own thing with it."

Belladonna's JOURNEY tribute made its live debut in March 2020 at The Beacon Theatre in Hopewell, Virginia.

In a 2005 interview with MusicDish, Belladonna was asked about the rumor that he came to the table with a JOURNEY tune during his 1985 audition for ANTHRAX. "Actually, what happened was I went into the room and they said, 'Just go on in,' and they hadn't heard me sing," he said. "They'd heard of me and they asked me to come in, but we were going in to start tracking and stuff, to get the mic set up and all that and they said, 'Let's get you in there and get you warmed up.' I hit the mic and belted out some JOURNEY… I think it was [the song] 'Lights'. I didn't know what the hell I was getting into in the first place. I just wanted to lay some vocals or something. Just to kinda give an idea and that's what happened. It wasn't really anything more than that. I just kinda belched it out. I think I did 'Oh Sherrie' [written by Steve Perry], too, or something. I dunno why, but I just did. It was something off the top of my head I could do a cappella and it was kinda challenging. I thought maybe in range or something that would be kind of intriguing. It was definitely one they weren't expecting."

ANTHRAX's 2013 EP "Anthems" EP included the band's cover version of JOURNEY's "Keep On Runnin'" alongside classics by RUSH, THIN LIZZY, AC/DC, CHEAP TRICK and BOSTON.



3 Doors Down will no longer be performing on Creed's ‘Summer of ’99 Tour’ due to health-related circumstances.
Daughtry...

Posted by Live Nation Concerts at Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater on Thursday, May 15, 2025

Jeff Lynne's ELO (ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA) has canceled what was supposed to be the band's last-ever gig.

One of Britain's most-loved bands, the group was scheduled to mark its farewell on Sunday (July 13) at BST Hyde Park in London, decades after their founding in Birmingham and the start of a journey that transformed music.

Jeff Lynne's ELO was due to perform on Thursday night (July 10) at Manchester’s Co-Op Live but canceled at the last minute due to "illness".

The 77-year-old Birmingham music legend Lynne had been reportedly been performing without his guitar since last Saturday (July 5) after injuring his hand in a taxi crash. According to media reports, Lynne broke his hand in a taxi that had slammed on its brakes to avoid a collision in London.

Earlier today (Saturday, July 12),Jeff's representative released the following statement regarding the fate of the BST Hyde Park concert: "Jeff Lynne is heartbroken to report that he will not be able to perform at tomorrow's BST Hyde Park show. Jeff has been battling a systemic infection and is currently in the care of a team of doctors who have advised him that performing is simply not possible at this time nor will he be able to reschedule.

"The legacy of the band and his longtime fans are foremost in Jeff's mind today — and while he is so sorry that he cannot perform, he knows that he must focus on his health and rehabilitation at this time.

"Please go to www.bst-hydepark.com for all information regarding refunds."

Jeff Lynne's ELO's gig in Manchester was scrapped just minutes before showtime, with the audience already seated in the venue. It was supposed to be the second-to-last show on the band's "Over And Out" farewell tour.

Ticketholders in Manchester claimed they were informed the performance would not be going ahead just minutes before the band was due to take to the stage, at around 8:15 p.m.

BST Hyde Park organizers had promoted Sunday's performance as Jeff Lynne's ELO's "final goodbye".

Lynne previously said of the show: "My return to touring began at Hyde Park in 2014. It seems like the perfect place to do our final show.

"We couldn't be more excited to share this special night in London with our U.K. fans. As the song goes, 'we're gonna do it One More Time'."

Recognized as one of the most iconic forces in music history, in recent years Jeff Lynne's ELO has delivered a critically acclaimed and chart-topping album along with a sold-out run of European shows. Jeff Lynne was inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2023 and the band was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2017.

The band is synonymous for their epic shows and with a distinct style that seamlessly and innovatively blends rock, pop and classical - proven most recently as the band approach the end of their hugely successful stint in North America. ELO has had more than 20 Top 40 hits across the U.S. and the U.K., making Lynne's sweeping productions some of the most recognizable music of the last forty years and helping sell over 50 million records worldwide.

Their signature UFO descending on the stage and spectacular production immerses audiences in their world, with string sections, cutting edge technology and an array of musicians faithfully recreating ELO's incredible recordings. Global hits like "Mr. Blue Sky", "Don't Bring Me Down", "Evil Woman", "Livin' Thing", "Turn To Stone" and "Telephone Line" travelled the world, fusing classical with electronic and rock.

Lynne was a co-founder and member of THE TRAVELLING WILBURYS together with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty, as well as a producer and collaborator with some of the biggest names in music including THE BEATLES, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Joe Walsh and Bryan Adams.

Earlier today (Friday, July 11),MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx took to his social media to write: "As some of you know I take my health extremely serious. I work HARD and I'm not interested in dying from work and BS STRESS. I work up my blood twice a year and WE'RE focused on always evolving health my goal.

"Just got back today's newest results and considering some misadventures in the past this 66 year old pirate ship looks ready to go back to sea.

"I have a wonderful wife, 5 golden children and a beautiful granddaughter. Do you think any part of my past indulgences Is worth destroying the beautiful life I built? Never.

"This is it. Either get your shit tighter or die a slow death crawl.

"We all die, some just give up sooner....I'm planning on cracking 100. That will piss off the critics.

"Enjoy your weekend. #Friday".

On July 2, Nikki celebrated the 24th anniversary of his getting sober.

The 66-year-old MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist credited his "willingness to confront [his] past" with giving him the tools to help him live his life without drugs or alcohol.

When Nikki celebrated the 22nd anniversary of his getting sober two years ago, he wrote: "It has been one hell of beautiful and sometimes difficult journey. People always say 'GOOD FOR YOU' like some kinda pat on my head. I do understand what they are trying to say. Truth is-Nobody held my hand while I was kicking heroin, in fact nobody even called to even check on me. Nor did anybody hold by hair while I was vomiting blood. I had to make the decision alone to change my life but it wasn't until I finally found the program that my life truly changed and I learned the tools for a beautiful life even in the face of adversity. That's where I found people who understood my addiction. Obviously you have to want to do it for YOU but untangling the messy past takes more than willpower.

"People don't always understand addiction, they think we have some kinda moral affliction when the truth is we are simply allergic to drink and drugs. You are not alone. Seek others out with some sober time under their belt who will understand where you're at. Isn't that what we need, to be understood? Sure we can blame it in our family ( etc ).

"My mom and dad failed me and I carried that pain til I almost killed myself but I also couldn't see all the beauty around that I had growing up. My grandparents raised me and took care of me. I got to spend a lot of time in country. I'll forever be in debt to their unconditional love.

"When you are ready there will be a spiritual awakening waiting for you. Simply admit you are powerless over drugs and alcohol ( etc ). Otherwise your ego will kill YÖÜ. The beneficiaries are the people you love plus the never ending joy of feeling alive in this short life. Do it for you and pass it on to the people you love and those in need.

"Since I got sober I've had people try to stab me in the back, lie about me, steal from me and kick me in the nuts. Do you know how Ive been able to handle it? By STAYING sober. Sobriety gives you a chance to be strong yet also to do the next right thing.

"I don't want a pat on the head or a good job Nikki. I would love to just pass this BEAUTIFUL message on to those in NEED of a positive program ( AA) and the message of LOVE.

"For those still suffering there is hope. I am a work in progress. I still have work to do but I try to mitigate my life one day at a time.

"I love you. Love yourself back too. God bless."

Sixx struggled with substance abuse for years and was even supposedly declared clinically dead after a heroin overdose in 1987 made his heart stop for two minutes. He has since become actively involved in a recovery "program," which he credits for helping him transform his life and relationships.

"By letting go of self and ego, working a program that connects you to a higher power and giving back to those still struggling are just some of the important things you learn through sobriety," Sixx wrote when he celebrated nine years of sobriety in July 2013. "You get to repair the damage done from drink, drugs and horrific behaviors (that broke people's hearts who loved you."

The rocker, who detailed his near-fatal drug addiction in the best-selling book "The Heroin Diaries", added: "For me, taking away the substance just gave [me] an honest view of who I had become and then the healing started. I do believe without any program to help, many are just dry drunks and there is always a danger of them going out again. I've been there. It's not pretty. This is no joking matter to me, so I take it seriously."

Asked by The Guardian about a diary entry in "The Heroin Diaries" where he described himself as an "alcoholic heroin and coke addict getting into pills" and how he spent Christmas Day 1986 naked under the Christmas tree, clutching a shotgun, Nikki said: "Well, if you shoot enough cocaine, you go into a kind of psychosis, and I believed people were coming to get me. Scary place, let me tell you. It reads like some kind of a dark horror story or bedtime thriller. But in real life, the trauma that psychosis puts your body through is on a cellular level. You believe that you’re going to have an experience even though it's not really happening. I can remember those, because you come out of them, and it's scary. But you can only imagine what it would be like to be insane and not come out of it, or a version of that, like dementia."

Sixx is not the only member of MÖTLEY CRÜE who has battled alcohol addiction. Singer Vince Neil's 1984 drunk-driving accident killed HANOI ROCKS drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley and seriously injured two others. He spent 15 days in jail and received five years probation.

"It was rough for everybody after that accident," Neil told USA Today in 2020. "I tried to stay sober for a few years, but it's tough when there's no support system around you. They were still doing coke and drinking and carrying on, and I just couldn't be a part of it."

On July 10, THE ROCKETT MAFIA, the band featuring POISON's Rikki Rockett on drums, Brandon Gibbs (DEVIL CITY ANGELS) on vocals and guitar, Mick Sweda (BULLETBOYS) on guitar and backing vocals, and Tyson Leslie on bass, keyboards and vocals, performed at Picktown Palooza in Pickerington, Ohio. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

During a recent appearance on the Iron City Rocks podcast, Rockett spoke about THE ROCKETT MAFIA, which released its first single in February, a cover of "I Think I Love You", a 1970 song by Tony Romeo, written as the debut single for fictional musical TV family "The Partridge Family". Asked if he and the other members of THE ROCKETT MAFIA have talked about writing and recording original music, Rockett said: "Yes, we have. In fact, Mick and I played yesterday and we've been talking about stuff. And we got a couple of things under our hat now. We're just trying to do it one step at a time and put all the pieces together. So, if we do something, we can actually make a really decent effort out of it and not — pardon the French, but half-ass it. I don't wanna do that."

On the topic of which POISON songs THE ROCKETT MAFIA will perform during its live shows, Rikki said: "What I'm gonna do, and I was gonna do it today, actually, and maybe I still will, I was gonna take a poll on some social media platforms and literally ask fans, 'What songs do you wanna hear?' and choose 'em that way. I wanna give the people what they want, literally, because I love all our songs. I love our body of work. I like some songs better than other ones, of course, but there's nothing I hate. So if the fans really wanna hear something, I've got no problem playing it."

As for what other covers THE ROCKETT MAFIA is planning to play at its upcoming gigs, Rikki said: "We do a FACES song. We do a Billy Joel song. We do an Elton John song. We've taken some of this stuff and just kind of reimagined it in a hard rock format. And that's the idea of it, rather than take something that was already a rock song and compete with it. I don't wanna redo a BLACK SABBATH song. I'm not gonna do a better job than Bill Ward; I'm just not. To me, that's the pinnacle of BLACK SABBATH. And FACES arguably… But back then, I feel like some of those recordings were rushed… [FACES'] 'Stay With Me', by way of example, I've heard so many versions of that — funky versions and fast versions and slower versions — and it's okay to do our own version. I don't wanna do 'War Pigs' my way."

Asked if he and the other members of THE ROCKETT MAFIA plan on mixing up the setlist night after night, Rikki said: "Yes, we will. It depends. If we're doing like, let's say, a corporate gig where people want a huge variety of stuff, we'll do a bigger variety of stuff. I think at certain rock shows, like Summerfest, by way of example, people are gonna want more of the POISON stuff, they're gonna want more of the straight-ahead rock and roll, so we'll probably do that. But, really, the whole set rocks. We have no ballads at this point — not one. It never slows down. And I was thinking, 'Man, is that a bad idea?' And then so many people came up to me after the show and went, 'Oh, no. It was fun. I love that you guys never stopped.' There was only a couple times where Brandon talked. It was almost like a punk band, like the RAMONES. 1, 2, 3, 4 — bam — right into the next thing."

Last month, Sweda told the Nothing Shocking podcast about his involvement with THE ROCKETT MAFIA: "It was really interesting how it came about. My friend Bryan [Kimes], who is playing with me in THE HOT SUMMERS, ran into Rikki, and Rikki was looking for some guys to flesh out this idea that he had for this band. And my friend recommended me for the guitar spot, and Rikki and I got together and hit it off pretty well and had a great time playing. And it's been progressing ever since. We've got some gigs in early July in the Midwest and around the Pennsylvania area, and we hope we'll have many more to come."

Regarding the other musicians who are involved in the peoject, Mick said: "Well, Brandon Gibbs, the singer, I think he's pretty well known for touring a little bit with Joel Hoekstra. I think they have an acoustic thing that they do. I guess it sometimes goes electric. So he and Rikki have been friends for a long time, and he's a very talented cat, a great guitar player. And at this point, we haven't totally fleshed out the bass part. We're going through some guys right now. And hopefully we'll settle on someone on a permanent basis."

Asked if there is "a certain era" he and his THE ROCKETT MAFIA bandmates are "trying to stick to" when it comes to choosing which songs to cover, Mick said: "Yeah, we definitely wanted to do the more obscure stuff, and we tried a couple of things out. There's a song called 'Baby Blue' that I've always loved since I was a kid, by BADFINGER. And we love playing that song. However, you have to sort of gauge how things go over. Not everybody is familiar with material like that. So even though we're trying things… For example, we put together a track called 'I Think I Love You' [a 1970 song by Tony Romeo, written as the debut single for fictional musical TV family 'The Partridge Family'], which was actually the first single I ever had as a kid by 'The Partridge Family'. And it's kind of a challenging track to cover, at least from the outset, but I think we had a lot of fun with it. And it's out there for people to listen to now.

"But the song list is kind of evolving," Mick explained. "We start out with what's in our hearts, between Rikki and I, which is the '70s for that matter. So, it's kind of branching out from there. And we're just making sure that the tunes are fun and energetic and entertaining."

On the topic of whether THE ROCKETT MAFIA is "pretty genre specific" to the "1970s classic rock era" or if they are "kind of wide open as far as experimenting with different genres of music," Sweda said: "It's the latter. In fact, one of the things that Rikki and I talked about doing was taking songs that you would never expect to hear and kind of revamping them in a way that allows us to interject our personalities into them. So, although we haven't really got to the stage of finding too many songs to do that with, 'cause it is a challenge — it's a lot easier to just pick up a song and play it as it's written. So for us to find something unique and exciting and turn it into our own, it takes a little bit more time, but that is ultimately the goal."

THE ROCKETT MAFIA, with Bryan Kimes on bass and backing vocals, played its first official show on February 21 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

Regarding how THE ROCKETT MAFIA came together, Rikki stated during a February 19 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk": "I always had Brandon Gibbs in the back of my mind for any project that I do, which hasn't been many. I mean, I did DEVIL CITY ANGELS [with him]. When I played The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride [motorcycle charity event], which I am one of the city co-hosts for — that's a worldwide ride that takes place in 300-some cities across the world — they didn't have entertainment. And I said, 'It's time to have entertainment at this thing.' And they said, 'Well, any suggestions? Can you play?' And I went, 'Well, I don't have a band.' [Laughs] 'So I'll have to put one together.' I had done a couple of shows with CHEVY METAL — me and Kenny Aronoff had done a couple shows with them — so I reached out to those guys, and I just basically had them come and play the show… So after that, I just said, 'I need my own band.' First person I met was Bryan who was working at a salon that I was in, and we started talking. And this guy is from Maryland, and we have the same circle of friends, but didn't know each other. He's played all that tri-state area back there, the same places we played, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, all that. And so we got along great. And I said, 'Let's get together. I've gotta find a guitar player.' And he mentioned Mick Sweda. and I was like, 'Is he busy? Is he doing something? I mean, that guy's a monster. Is this something that would interest him?' And the first thing Mick said when I called him up, he said, 'Look, if you're just gonna have me for one or two gigs and then get rid of me, I'm not interested.' I said, 'Well, Mick, I don't know. I've never played with you, but I think we should at least get together and play.' And we did. And we were playing AEROSMITH songs, VAN HALEN, everything, and we're just sitting there going, 'Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. We're cut from the same cloth.' And I was amazed at how good of a player this guy is. And then, of course, I brought Brandon into the thing. And I said the whole idea is something that Taylor Hawkins [late FOO FIGHTERS drummer] told me that I should have been doing a long time ago. And I always got super serious with a band, like, 'I've gotta, right away, write a record and do all-original material.' And he's, like, 'No, just go play for a while. Get used to everybody. Make sure you wanna have a good time. POISON's your baby, just like FOO FIGHTERS are mine.' So I took his advice, God rest his soul, and several years later, I'm actually doing this thing. It's been so much fun, just in the rehearsal phase."

As for what fans can expect to hear at THE ROCKETT MAFIA's live shows, Rikki said: "They're getting our original versions of cover songs for right now. Meaning we're taking songs that most rock bands typically don't do — some of 'em we do, but a lot of 'em most hard rock bands don't do — and we're reimagining them. And you'll see [when you hear 'I Think I Love You'] what I mean by that. And it's something that Mick dubbed, I think he called it 'satanic pop.' [Laughs] You'll see what I mean. So we're reimagining some of these songs that had great choruses and really catchy hooks, but were never meant to be necessarily hard rock songs. They were just crafted so well. And we're doing some regular FACES stuff and things like that as well. But we have decided now, and we started to fool around with our own stuff. So that is definitely forthcoming. But for this first little run, you're gonna be hearing a bunch of stuff that you went, 'Oh my God! That's that song. I know that song. I know that song.' That's what we're going for. And we keep adding [new songs] every day. I swear to God, we keep changing the set. We're, like, 'Hey, have you ever thought about doing this song?' 'Yeah, but how would we do that, do it THE ROCKETT MAFIA way?' So we're having a blast with it. It's just been really, really fun."

On the topic of how "I Think I Love You" was chosen to be one of the songs for THE ROCKETT MAFIA to cover, Rikki said: "I think I [suggested that one]. I always thought it was a great song. I had a crush on [actress] Susan Dey growing up, so, of course. But I always thought it was such a well-written song. It was written by Tony Romeo, who I don't know, but he's written other things. He passed away now. And I think David Cassidy was trying so hard at that time to make people realize that he was a really good player and he was a really good writer, and he couldn't extend past that idea of 'The Partridge Family' publicly. And I met him many years ago at an award show — he was super cool — and I told him how much I appreciated all the stuff that he really did reach out and do that he did in a more serious way. And I feel bad for him because he was never taken seriously. I think it made him an alcoholic maybe; I don't know. But I just thought it was a cool song. It was, like, 'This song needs a second spin.' The chord structures, everything is very hard rock, but the way they did it, it wasn't. So you'll see how we did it."

Rockett and Gibbs played their first show as THE ROCKETT MAFIA in May 2024 at the end of the aforementioned The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride motorcycle charity event in Santa Monica, California. They were joined at the gig by guitarist Brent Woods (SEBASTIAN BACH, CHEVY METAL) and bassist Wiley Hodgden.

Rockett and Gibbs previously played together in a band called DEVIL CITY ANGELS, also featuring guitarist Tracii Guns (L.A. GUNS) and bassist Eric Brittingham (CINDERELLA). The band released its self-titled debut album in September 2015. Following the recording of "Devil City Angels", Brittingham decided not to continue with the project and his spot was taken by Rudy Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE). Around a year later, Rockett, Gibbs and Brittingham joined forces with guitarist Joel Kosche (ex-COLLECTIVE SOUL) to form the LORDS OF DEVIL CITY. Within a few months, Rockett, Gibbs and Brittingham relaunched DEVIL CITY ANGELS, only for Eric to exit the project in the summer of 2017 and be replaced by Topher Nelson. In July 2020, DEVIL CITY ANGELS released a new single, "Testify".

In early 2019, Gibbs and Rockett were embroiled in a public war of words after Gibbs indicated he was no longer involved with DEVIL CITY ANGELS due to the fact that the band was "inactive." Rikki responded that DEVIL CITY ANGELS "went inactive" because he was diagnosed with cancer and suggested possibly moving on without Brandon. This prompted Gibbs to fire back that he had "never seen someone complain about money, perception and 1st class tickets" as much as Rockett allegedly did, "to the point where it gets in the way of doing anything." The two have since resolved their differences.

Back in 2015, Rockett told Sleaze Roxx about Gibbs: "The thing about Brandon is that he's a young guy but he sounds like he's from the '70s. That's what is so appealing for guys like us. That's the reason that I really wanted Brandon involved with us. Brandon doesn't have any baggage, which is good and he has a lot of experience. He's got a great pedigree."

In 2015, Rockett and Gibbs joined forces with Rikki's POISON bandmates Bobby Dall (bass) and C.C. DeVille (guitar) to play several shows as THE SPECIAL GUESTS in what was widely perceived as a not-so-subtle message to POISON singer Bret Michaels that they weren't willing to remain completely inactive while he pursued a solo career.

Christian metallers STRYPER kicked off their 2025 Latin American tour this past Friday (July 11) at Escenario GNP Seguros in Monterrey, Mexico. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

As previously reported, STRYPER guitarist Oz Fox is sitting out the trek on advice of his doctor.

The 64-year-old musician, who underwent a brain surgery in May 2024, is once again being temporarily replaced by Howie Simon (JEFF SCOTT SOTO, GRAHAM BONNET),who previously filled in for Fox on several tours in the past.

When Oz's absence from STRYPER's Latin American tour was first announced on July 7, the band said in a statement: "Following recent medical advice, Oz Fox has been advised to avoid extended or intense touring. With his full support, STRYPER will tour Latin America this summer with guitarist Howie Simon, who has filled in previously. Oz may still be able to join us for occasional one-off or weekend shows, but longer trips are not recommended. We appreciate your prayers for Oz and his medical team, and we look forward to seeing you in July."

STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet added in a Facebook post: "Keep up your prayers for Oz Fox".

Oz's brain surgery forced him to sit out STRYPER's spring 2024 "To Hell With The Amps" acoustic tour.

In 2018, Fox fell during an onstage performance as a result of a seizure. Doctors soon discovered the musician had two tumors in his brain. By August 2019, Fox said the tumors had grown.

Fox's two tumors — one by his ear and the other in the back of his brain — were discovered when he suffered his first seizure in August 2018 while performing with SIN CITY SINNERS at Harrah's in Las Vegas.

In October 2020, Fox was briefly hospitalized after suffering another massive seizure.

Within weeks of Fox's original August 2018 seizure, STRYPER toured Australia and Japan as a three-piece, and later recruited Simon to fill in while Fox was unable to go on the road.

STRYPER's latest album, "When We Were Kings", came out last September via Frontiers Music Srl.

STRYPER's 40th-anniversary tour took place last fall.

Formed 42 years ago, STRYPER's name comes from Isaiah 53:5, which states: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

STRYPER's other albums include "To Hell With The Devil", "Second Coming", "No More Hell To Pay", "Fallen", "God Damn Evil", "Even The Devil Believes" and "The Final Battle".

Oz is joined in STRYPER by Michael Sweet (guitar, vocals),Robert Sweet (drums) and Perry Richardson (bass).

The Latin American Tour starts tomorrow! Get your tickets and meet and greets here:
https://stryper.com/tour

Posted by Stryper on Wednesday, July 9, 2025

LIVING COLOUR drummer Will Calhoun has confirmed to Music City San Francisco that he and his bandmates are working on the long-awaited follow-up to 2017's "Shade" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Presently LIVING COLOUR's working on a new recording. [It's in the] very early stages, but we are putting that together, hopefully to complete it by the end of the fall."

Last month LIVING COLOUR delivered a five-song set as part of National Public Radio's (NPR) popular "Tiny Desk" concert series, which sees artists play in the open office for a small crowd of mostly NPR employees.

In a recent interview with "The Plowzone" video show on RokuTV, LIVING COLOUR bassist Doug Wimbish was asked if he and his bandmates are working on fresh music. He responded: "We are. It's interesting because [when people ask], 'Are you in the studio writing some stuff?' Well, we're going in the studio in a couple of weeks, and we've been in the studio actually creating some ideas. So, to be honest, yeah, we're in the process of making a new record. I'd like to say we're in the process, really, of collecting the material to get to that point where we can actually go in and have enough music or enough ideas to start to really build out songs."

He continued: "That's how we work. We're a band where [we work best when you] get us all in the room, turn it on and let's all play at the same time. That's when the magic happens. And to not overthink it. Just get in. Let's go. Take a break. Play some more. Make sure that you can actually document the stuff. Go home. Sleep on it. Come back and do the same thing the next day. And if you can get into that kind of routine, then things start to happen. Or you can wait for that magic moment, and you'll be waiting on Godot. So we're in that flow vibe, and I'm looking forward to going in the studio and chopping it up."

In May 2024, LIVING COLOUR singer Corey Glover told Robert Cavuoto of Myglobalmind that he and his bandmates were "still in the writing stage" for the follow-up to "Shade". He said at the time: "I think we're in search of a voice at this point. I think it's important that we have something to say that's sort of poignant, particularly in and around this time. If everything was right, this record would have come out this year. But I think scheduling was not in our favor. But I don't think the world is going to change significantly. And if it does, we'll talk about it. But for the most part, we're trying to figure out what our mission statement is for this. And we're writing it in that regard to sort of jumpstart that process."

In September 2023, Corey expressed hope that LIVING COLOUR would have some new music ready to release soon. He told May The Rock Be With You at the time: "We really, really take our time making records, because when you have musicians of the caliber of Vernon [Reid, guitar] and Will [Calhoun, drums] and Doug — and myself, I guess — we get kind of precious about our thing. We want it to be right. We want it to be exactly the way we want it to be as it occurs, what it is and how it is. So it takes a minute."

He continued: "Making records is simpler technically, but a lot more difficult in terms of living your life. We're a lot older. We've got a lot more responsibilities. We've got kids. We've got college. We've got high school. You've got all this other stuff that you gotta think about — and write a song. [Laughs] So it's a two-sided coin in terms of having the wherewithal to make music and live the rest of your life."

Asked what the process is like writing music now compared to, say, 1988, Corey said: "Well, you can get the information out to people a lot quicker. You can say, 'I've got this groove.' Back in the day, you played it on the phone or you made a recording, and then you physically brought it to them. Now I can hum a thing on my phone and say, 'Here. I'm sending this to you. What can you do with this?' And then they send me something back, and we can go back and forth with that in real time as it occurs. And that makes the process that much simpler."

LIVING COLOUR disbanded in 1995 but reunited in 2000. (Original bassist Muzz Skillings left the group in 1992 and was replaced by Doug Wimbish.)

In June 2020, LIVING COLOUR released a video for its classic song "This Is The Life" featuring footage of the peaceful protests that swelled across the U.S. and around the world over the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. The original version of "This Is The Life" appeared on LIVING COLOUR's 1990 album "Time's Up".

"Shade" was released in September 2017 via Megaforce Records.

Glover and ADRENALINE MOB guitarist Mike Orlando recently launched a new project called SONIC UNIVERSE. The group, whose lineup is completed by bassist Booker King and drummer Taykwuan Jackson, released its debut album, "It Is What It Is", in May 2024 via earMUSIC. The 10-song effort was produced, engineered, and mixed by Orlando at his Sonic Stomp Studios.

Glover's other side projects in recent years have included some acting, touring as a member of jam band GALACTIC and, more recently, forming the jazz-rock supergroup ULTRAPHONIX with legendary DOKKEN guitarist George Lynch. Reid, for his part, has released solo albums and been involved in side projects with Masque and YOHIMBE BROTHERS; collaborated with Mick Jagger, Bill Frisell, Jack Bruce and Ronald Shannon Jackson, among many others; produced albums for Salif Keita and James Blood Ulmer; and composed film scores.

Vernon's new solo album "Hoodoo Telemetry", will be released on October 3 via Artone / The Players Club Records.

On Wednesday, July 9, DOWN guitarists Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein entered OCD Recording in Metairie, Louisiana to begin laying down the guitar tracks for the band's long-awaited new album.

A short video of Keenan and Windstein recording one of the songs that will appear on the LP can be seen below. Also available are several photos from the studio.

This past April, it was announced that DOWN — which also includes vocalist Philip H. Anselmo, drummer Jimmy Bower and bassist Pat Bruders — had signed with Nuclear Blast Records. The band's new full-length LP is slated for release in 2026.

When the deal with Nuclear Blast was first announced, the label said in a statement: "Nuclear Blast is proud to be in the trenches with NOLA legends DOWN as their partner in their long overdue return to the metal world. In addition, we are excited to bring some of their key past catalog releases back into the spotlight, especially on the vinyl side. There are so many longtime DOWN fans at Nuclear Blast who are excited to be working with one of their all-time favorite bands. 2026 can't come soon enough!"

Anselmo stated: "It's good to sign with Nuclear Blast Records. It's a good label home and we're ready to make some awesome recordings!"

Keenan said: "Having already been a part of the Nuclear Blast family with CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, it is an honor and a privilege to be here as well with my brothers in DOWN. The team at Nuclear Blast is a well-oiled machine and you can definitely tell they love what they do. We are in the right place."

Bower added: "Nuclear Blast is a great label that put out some excellent records. It's an honor to have them work our jams!"

DOWN headline night one of this year's edition of the Milwaukee Metal Fest. The show followed the band's recent Western U.S. tour with DANZIG.

In April 2024, Windstein, who is also the frontman of CROWBAR, told Concrete Spew about the musical direction of the new DOWN material: "It just sounds like DOWN. I mean, it sounds refreshing because we haven't done it in so long, gotten together with me and the guys and done it in — fuck — 12 years or something. So it sounds like DOWN, I think, to me, it sounds more old-school DOWN. And the reason I say that is I think we got to a point where… Like, the 'NOLA' record is so simple, and it just wrote itself; it was so simple. And that's how this is coming about, which is great."

He continued: "We're not overthinking it. We're not trying to make things too complex. Phillip's not trying to write so many lyrics and things. We just kind of got away — I hate to say 'got away', 'cause anything we do is DOWN, but, to me, we kind of got a little bit… We needed to go back and look at each other and just go, 'Let's just get in a room and do it like we did from the beginning.' And that's what it feels like to me. It's very magical. The ideas and the working together, just bounce off of one another, it's a natural thing."

DOWN played its rescheduled concert at Inn Of The Mountain Gods Resort And Casino in Mescalero, New Mexico on September 27, 2024. The band was originally supposed to perform at at Inn Of The Mountain Gods on June 20, 2024, but the show was called off due to a pair of rapidly growing wildfires which were converging on a village inside a tribal reservation in the state. As a result of the postponement, DOWN played two pop-up shows in Louisiana — on June 20, 2024 at Southport Hall in New Orleans and on June 21, 2024 at Varsity Theatre in Baton Rouge.

Prior to Southport Hall, DOWN's last concert took place in September 2022 at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Alton, Virginia.

DOWN made a handful of rare live appearances in the spring and summer of 2022. The band launched a three-date U.S. run of shows in May 2022 at the Welcome To Rockville festival in Daytona Beach, Florida. After playing in Atlanta and Dallas immediately after Rockville, DOWN took a three-week break before regrouping for three European festival appearances in June. The aforementioned appearance at that year's Blue Ridge Rock Festival followed in September 2022.

In August 2021, DOWN took part in a very special in-person live and virtual experience. "NOLA Town Throwdown" was held at the Fillmore in New Orleans, Louisiana and featured fans attending the show in person as well as watching it in real time from the comfort of their living room.

In August 2020, DOWN celebrated the 25th anniversary of "NOLA" with a special livestreamed event. Dubbed "The Quarter Century Throwdown", the high-production, multi-camera event took place using cutting-edge streaming technology to create a one-of-a-kind virtual concert experience.

A founding member of DOWN, Windstein left the band in 2013 in order to focus on CROWBAR and his family life. He was replaced by Bobby Landgraf, DOWN's former guitar tech who was previously in GAHDZILLA MOTOR COMPANY, a 1990s outfit also featuring Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS, WATCHTOWER),and HONKY.

Windstein announced his return to DOWN in 2019, with the band confirming a number of festival appearances for 2020 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of "NOLA", all of which were later canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic which swept the globe.

Prior to the August 2020 livestream, DOWN's last live appearance took place in August 2016 at the Psycho Las Vegas festival in Las Vegas.

The supergroup hasn't issued anything since the arrival of the "Down IV – Part Two" EP in May 2014.

"Down IV – Part Two" sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release in May 2014 to debut at position No. 23 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's previous EP, "Down IV Part I – The Purple EP", opened with around 12,000 units in September 2012 to land at No. 35.

"Down IV – Part Two" was recorded at Nodferatu's Lair — Anselmo's home studio — and produced by Michael Thompson. It was released via Down Records/ADA Music.

Pepper changing the pickups in my Explorer!!!

Posted by Kirk Windstein on Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Day one of DOWN Guitar tracking!!! SonicTone Amplification

Posted by Kirk Windstein on Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Kirk & Pepper tracking guitars…!

Posted by Down on Wednesday, July 9, 2025

In a new interview with Chicago's Rebel Radio 92.5 FM, ANTHRAX singer Joey Belladonna was asked about a possible timeline for the release of the band's long-awaited follow-up to 2016's "For All Kings" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "You know what? I finished the vocals. I'm really happy with what I've done. And the band sounds great on the record. And as far as I know right now, we're still finishing up a few things. We're not even mixing yet, so at this point I'd be just speculating [about a possible release date]. Obviously, things are going in the right form and the timing is right. So, all good. I'm happy. You're gonna love it."

Belladonna also talked about last weekend's "Back To The Beginning" charity event at Villa Park in Birmingham, United Kingdom where ANTHRAX performed a two-song set, including a cover of BLACK SABBATH's "Into The Void". He said: "Yeah. It was magic. I felt like we were all in our own little fun bubble. It was like Live Aid or something for [the heavy metal genre] or something. And not to compare anything, but just shows when you get everybody together and do something [for a good cause]. It's the first [time] I've ever really been [involved] with something that great, especially with metal and Ozzy [Osbourne] and BLACK SABBATH. [It was] amazing."

When the interviewer noted that it was surprising that ANTHRAX didn't play a cover of BLACK SABBATH's "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", considering Belladonna and his bandmates previously recorded a studio version of the track, Joey said: "Yeah, we wanted [to play] that [song], and then, believe me, there was a lot of shuffling and hustling. And just picking a song was kind of very exhausting. And finally we came up with 'Into The Void', and I said, 'Guys, this is the one I gotta pick for now. And let's just roll, 'cause it's getting late.' [But], yeah, I would've loved to have done 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'… It's politics bullcrap. That's all right."

Last November, ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello returned to Dave Grohl's Studio 606 in Northridge, California to resume recording the bass tracks for the group's next effort.

ANTHRAX is once again working with producer Jay Ruston, who previously helmed "For All Kings" and 2011's "Worship Music" albums.

In September 2024, ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian told Jon Wiederhorn of Guitar World magazine that he and his bandmates hoped to finally release their new album in 2025.

"We're taking our time and not rushing anything because we want it to be exactly how we want it," Ian said.

"We're not in a place in our lives anymore where we could have dropped everything and said, 'All right, we've got two months of studio time. Let's finish writing and then get in there and record it all and do the vocals. Mix, master and we're done — like in the old days.' We have families and commitments now, so it can't work that way anymore and hasn't in a long time."

Regarding the musical direction of the new ANTHRAX material, Ian said: "There are crushing riffs and great, hooky choruses. Even some of the thrashiest songs have great choruses. We're always looking for the hook, and I think we've accomplished that."

He added: "With the songs we've written, we'd be able to put together a nine- or 10-song record that would be thrashier than anything we've done in a long time. But there would also be a way to make it a very different kind of album depending on which songs we choose. And I can tell you, I know which way I'm leaning. And I think we're all on the same page. We want this record to punch people in the face. And then we can use the bonus tracks for other things, but in the context of the record, I really want it to hit hard."

As for his expectations for the new ANTHRAX album, Scott said: "I'd like to think this record will be a slew of songs that people are going to be very excited about hearing live for the next few years. I generally feel the riffs, the grooves and the breakdowns – we used to call them mosh parts in the old days — I think they're gonna connect with our fans. And a lot of these songs are tailor-made for our live show, so I hope we'll be playing them for a long time."

In August 2024, ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante told Metal Hammer magazine about the band's upcoming LP: "There's a song which has the same kind of epic feel as 'In The End' [from 2011's 'Worship Music'] and 'Blood Eagle Wings' [from 'For All Kings']. It revolves around the journey we've been on in the band. And there are three songs that don't sound like anything we've done before. One called 'The Edge Of Perfection' I had way before COVID, and it has just stayed with me — the melody and the chords, but also the aggression."

In January 2024, Bello told Rodney McG about the long delay in getting new ANTHRAX music out: "There wasn't a rush, obviously. I know it's been eight years since our last record, but we wanna make sure it's right, and it is [right]. We are very confident. I'm not worried about how right it is. It's right on exactly where I think, and the rest of the band think, we need to be. I love that it's more complicated for me to play. I love the challenge of that. I think we stepped it up a little bit, the heaviness. Again, everybody's gonna prop their record. Doing this for so long, this is how I feel.

"I don't wanna get complacent," he continued. "I want the challenge, 'cause I'm a fan. I'm a fan, and it has to stimulate me. And it has to get me going on stage."

As for the musical direction of the new ANTHRAX material, Bello said: "On this record, there's stuff that we've never done before. I'm just saying right out — there's stuff, in a heavy way, which I'm very proud of. I like that we went that way with it and just went, 'What the fuck was that?' Some of the things that Charlie Benante does on drums, Scott and I were just, 'What the fuck was that?' And that's great, 'cause you wanna raise your game after that. I think it makes everybody step up a little bit. I'm doing some bass stuff that I had some fun with on this that I would never have done. I think there's a lot of cool stuff that's going on vocally, melody-wise. I'm really happy where the next ANTHRAX record is going."

In October 2023, Ian told "THAT Rocks!" that he and his ANTHRAX bandmates had "only really been working on" their new LP "for a year-ish, I would say… But then once lockdown and all that stuff happened, we just all walked away; nothing creative was happening at all with us through that whole period," he explained. "And then, slowly but surely, when we started playing shows again in '21 and going into '22, that's when we started working again, really. And then in the last year, we really started to put stuff together and Charlie and Frankie and I getting together and having writing sessions and arranging stuff."

In September 2023, Belladonna was asked by Tulsa Music Stream if he is typically presented with finished lyrics to sing or if he gets to contribute a lot lyrically to the content. Joey said: "I love doing lyrics, but there's a lot of lyrics that Scott — he just loves to do it. It's his thing. He just digs into such — these topics that he likes to go and get into, and we all kind of have our own little thoughts on the songs. But I get in there and I really kind of — I dig into the whole thing a lot further. There's a lot of stuff that I have to… When you start singing on something, you really have to find the pockets of what you wanna do, what kind of tone I wanna throw on it and how I wanna go for a certain range for certain things and how I approach it is very important. There are lyrics, but at the end of the day, I have to go in there and still sing as good and catchy and appropriate as I can to make this stuff my thing, my style. Obviously, we're not the hit-oriented type of thing, but I'm always going for something cool to catch you off guard and neat and different. I have my own style, so I just kind of do my thing."

During an August 2023 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Ian said about the musical direction of the new ANTHRAX material: "Certainly of the nine [songs] we've tracked so far, from a riff point of view, it's definitely — I mean it's riffs with all capital letters. Like if you were going to write, you would write 'riffs' in all capitals with an exclamation point. The riffs are killer. It's very riff-centric. There's a lot of faster uptempo material, certainly."

Ian added: "I will say there is a song — I won't say any titles yet, 'cause it's still probably a working title — there's definitely one song, it's the fastest thing we've ever done. There's another song that we haven't recorded yet that's also in the vein, more of a 'Gung-Ho' or a 'Caught In A Mosh'. Because Charlie and I talk all the time. I said, 'We still need something that's like a three-and-a-half-minute just ripper. You know, something like that.' And then we come up with something like that and I'm, like, 'Hey, I forgot I'm 60 now, and now I have to play this song for the next three years.' Just make my life harder."

Earlier in 2023, Benante was asked by Robert Cavuoto of Metal Rules why it has taken so long for ANTHRAX to complete the writing process for a new LP. Charlie said: "If we didn't get hit with this whole global pandemic thing, it would have been out probably two years ago, three years ago. But we all know what happened. But now, being that some of the songs were [written] before the pandemic hit, they're old to me. So now there's a bunch of new songs that kind of came in the mix. So that's a good thing. You can never have enough… We're still working on the older ones because we really like a lot of those."

ANTHRAX celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2021 with a number of special activities and events. Formed by Ian and bassist Dan Lilker in Queens, New York on July 18, 1981, ANTHRAX was one of the first thrash metal bands to emerge from the East Coast and quickly became regarded as a leader in the genre alongside METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH.

Active over the past five decades, ANTHRAX has released 11 studio albums, been awarded multiple gold and platinum certifications, received six Grammy nominations, toured the world since 1984 playing thousands of shows, including headlining Madison Square Garden and playing Yankee Stadium with the "Big Four".

"For All Kings" was called by some critics ANTHRAX's strongest album to date. Its arrival followed a five-year period during which the group experienced a rebirth of sorts, beginning with ANTHRAX's inclusion on the "Big Four" tour, and continuing with the release of comeback LP "Worship Music".

Frank played his first show with ANTHRAX in nearly a year and a half on October 12, 2024 at the Aftershock festival in Sacramento, California.

Bello and ANTHRAX were supposed to perform at the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Kentucky on September 27, 2024, but their show ended up being canceled due to severe weather.

Prior to Aftershock, Bello last played with ANTHRAX in May 2023 at the Milwaukee Metal Fest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In April and early May 2024, Bello sat out ANTHRAX's South American tour as well as two U.S. festival dates due to "personal reasons." Filling in on those shows was ANTHRAX founding member and original bassist Dan Lilker, marking his first appearance with the band in 40 years. Lilker, who co-wrote and played on ANTHRAX's debut album "Fistful Of Metal", was also a member of STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH with Benante and Ian.

Calling all Internet experts, comment section philosophers, and breakdown connoisseurs: metalcore titans ATTACK ATTACK! have just released your new national anthem. Their latest single, "I Complain On R/Metalcore", is taken from their long-awaited record, "Attack Attack! II", due out on August 8 via Oxide Records. This upcoming record marks the band's first full-length release since 2012.

ATTACK ATTACK! have never been ones to play it safe, charging forward with a mischievous sense of humor and a sound that's always in full throttle. Now, ATTACK ATTACK! are here to celebrate the fine art of online complaining with "I Complain On R/Metalcore", yet another high-energy, tongue-in-cheek banger that was designed for anyone who's ever posted a 12-paragraph essay about why the old stuff was better.

If you're reaching for your keyboard to draft up your thinkpiece, ATTACK ATTACK! would like to preemptively respond: "don't @ us."

In celebration of their upcoming record, "Attack Attack! II", the band will be embarking on the "One Hit Wonder Tour", where they'll be bringing their chaotic new era to cities across the U.S.

Prior to today's single release, ATTACK ATTACK! also released three massive singles, "Dance!" featuring Will Ramos of LORNA SHORE, "Chainless" and "One Hit Wonder". After blindsiding fans with a fake-out country remix, the real version of "Dance!" delivered sheer chaos and pit-stirring aggression as they teamed up with one of deathcore's most recognizable voices, Will Ramos, for their first ever official feature. The first two tracks sent metalcore into a tailspin, sparking conversations from fans to top-tier music outlets who hailed ATTACK ATTACK! for their fearless return. "One Hit Wonder" kept the momentum surging, setting the tone for an audacious new era that is loud, unavoidable, and fearlessly sarcastic.

Formed in 2007, ATTACK ATTACK! has become a staple in the metalcore scene, amassing over 100 million streams across major streaming platforms on multiple chart-topping records. As torchbearers of the genre, the band continue to push the boundaries of metalcore while solidifying their place in its ever-growing legacy. Known for their no-holds-barred approach, ATTACK ATTACK! remain unpredictable as ever, with more bold twists in store for the year ahead.

"Attack Attack! II" track listing:

01. One Hit Wonder
02. Dance!
03. Chainless
04. Walk On Water
05. Karmageddon
06. Live, Love, & Die
07. I Complain On R/Metalcore
08. Big Booty Britches
09. Without You
10. Sacrifice
11. Jump Jump!

If you went to Warped Tour in the mid 2000s, shopped at Hot Topic, or were active on MySpace, then you have heard the name ATTACK ATTACK! While the band's early career was relatively short-lived, their reputation has done nothing but grow since the band went on indefinite hiatus in 2013. Known for incorporating dance/electronica music with metal, the band consistently bent the rules of songwriting. They took the sounds they liked and crafted seemingly incompatible genres into anthems for local Ohio scene kids, and later, audiences across the globe. After years of silence, ATTACK ATTACK! exploded back on to the scene in 2020. They're here to remind you that rules are made to be broken, adversity is meant to be overcome, and that legends never die.

Photo credit: John Scheuermann

Platinum-selling, billion-streaming rock band BEARTOOTH — Caleb Shomo, vocals; Zach Huston, guitars; Will Deely, guitars; Oshie Bichar, bass; and Connor Denis, drums — made its hometown arena debut with an absolutely monumental show at The Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio on January 18, 2025. It was pyrotechnic spectacle and one of the most memorable shows of the band's career thus far.

The show happened hot on the heels of BEARTOOTH's most successful tour to date — spanning more than 60 shows across North America and over 100,000 tickets sold — and after the release of their chart-topping fifth album "The Surface", which earned the band their first pair of No. 1 singles at U.S. Active Rock radio ("Might Love Myself" and "I Was Alive").

If you were not able to attend this very special show in person, well, the band is now making it available for all fans in many ways. BEARTOOTH is releasing the entire show in multiple formats so all fans can participate and feel like they were there.

"I Was A… LIVE" will be available on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music today, July 11.

"Without a doubt, this was the most surreal and out-of-body show of my entire life," shares Shomo. "It felt good to go home and let it all go with our friends and families at our sides. This album is meant to place you right at front of house to experience this magical night from the best-sounding position in the venue. Enjoy the rock and enjoy the love."

Additionally, the entire show will be available to watch on the band's YouTube channel. The 90-minute concert was directed by Ray Duker. Watch it below.

Lastly, but not leastly, BEARTOOTH will release three sets of limited-edition double LPs of the show on Friday, July 11.

In other BEARTOOTH news, the single "Hated" was recently certified gold by the RIAA.

The band will appear at When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 18 and 19, as well as We Missed Ourselves festival in Mexico City on October 25. They are currently co-headlining the "Summer Of Loud" tour in North America.

Shomo first turned the pain of his struggle with mental health and self-image into music in 2013. BEARTOOTH began as a living document, a diary, a journal of repressed rage and depression. Alone in his basement studio, screaming and singing, playing all the instruments, and self-producing a batch of furious but melodic songs filled with reflection and confession, the Ohio native stared into the abyss, initially with no intention of returning to the heavy music world that burned him as a teen.

A decade later, the different pieces of his body of work connect in title, sound, and spirit. As the frontman hits 30, BEARTOOTH's fifth album, "The Surface", completes this era in 2023. Even more importantly, it kicks off a new chapter filled with surprising optimism and just as honest. Depression is a sick, disgusting, aggressive disease below the surface. Caleb stands ready to bask in the light.

In its celebrated debut, "The Surface" hit No. 1 on Billboard's Hard Rock Albums chart and No. 5 across Billboard's Album Sales, Alternative Albums, Top Current Albums, and Vinyl Albums charts. A product of BEARTOOTH's fervent fanbase and radio-ready hits, the band also earned their first No. 1s on the Mediabase Active Rock and Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay charts for both "Might Love Myself" and "I Was Alive".

Like NINE INCH NAILS, BEARTOOTH remains a one-person band in the studio. On the heels of the introductory "Sick" EP (2013),"Disgusting" (2014) produced BEARTOOTH's first gold single, "In Between". "Aggressive" (2016) and "Disease" (2018) expanded on the desperation and pain, each a step closer to a balance between the blood and tears of classic recordings and the shimmer of modernity.

Rolling Stone heralded BEARTOOTH as one of "10 Artists You Need To Know". The rabid response to Caleb's music demonstrated how many people related to his struggle for self-acceptance. "Below" (2021) topped the Rock and Alternative charts and several "Best Rock/Metal Albums Of The Year" lists. Today, the BEARTOOTH catalog boasts more than 1.3 billion streams across all platforms.

BEARTOOTH began as both bomb and balm, an outright refusal to suffer in silence, weaponizing radio-ready bombast, delivering raw emotion mixed with noise-rock chaos. Other bands play the "devastating riffs and catchy hooks" game, but this music is the difference between life and death, and now, a sort of life after death while still here. The band Forbes sees "inching towards a tipping point of becoming the latest arena headliner" is now one step closer.

Photo credit: Brad Heaton

Currently trekking across the country on their "Onward & Upward Summer Tour 2025", PRIMUS delivered an unforgettable performance Wednesday night (July 9) at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado with a surprise tribute to their fan-favorite "Brown Album".

After opening with "Harold Of The Rocks" and "Groundhog's Day", PRIMUS frontman Les Claypool addressed the crowd with a grin: "We decided this afternoon to do something you're really going to love — or you're really going to hate. We're going to play seven songs off the 'Brown Album'." He and guitarist Larry LaLonde then officially dubbed the iconic venue "Brown Rocks" for the remainder of the evening. What followed was a deep dive into one of PRIMUS's most idiosyncratic and beloved records.

The band then launched into "Fisticuffs", "Golden Boy", "Duchess And The Proverbial Mind Spread", "Over The Falls", "Restin' Bones", "Bob's Party Time Lounge" and "Shake Hands With Beef" from the 1998 album.

The performance marked a rare moment of focused nostalgia on the "Brown Album", giving longtime fans a chance to hear rarely played tracks in one of the most iconic venues in the country.

The show was part of PRIMUS's 25-date summer headline tour — their first with newly minted drummer John Hoffman, who joined the band following the widely covered "Interstellar Drum Derby" audition process. The tour follows the release of their latest single, "Little Lord Fentanyl", featuring Maynard James Keenan, and a new live version of "Duchess", recorded on their first tour with Hoffman.

On December 30, 2024, PRIMUS played the first concert since longtime drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander's departure at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California. Sitting behind the drums for the show was Bryan "Brain" Mantia, who previously played with PRIMUS when Alexander originally left the band in 1996.

In light of Alexander's latest departure, PRIMUS also enlisted musicians from frontman Les Claypool's side projects, THE HOLY MACKEREL and FROG BRIGADE, to perform during the December 30 performance.

With Mantia, PRIMUS recorded two studio albums — "Brown Album" (1997) and "Antipop" (1999) — as well as the covers EP "Rhinoplasty" (1998) and the original theme song for the TV show "South Park".

In November, Alexander shared a letter with Rolling Stone magazine explaining his decision to leave the band.

"A lot of times, you do something you love for a long time, and sometimes the passion turns into a job, and sometimes that job doesn't feel like it's your being anymore," he said.

He reflected on the impact his decision had on his physical, mental and family life.

"When I discovered that I'm struggling with all these things, I had to sit and think about exactly what am I doing," Alexander said. "I don't think I've ever chosen my path in life, I think I've just always thought 'I'm a drummer, I'm just gonna do music,' and things came to me, accepting whatever happens."

The news of his departure was initially shared on October 29 by his now-former bandmates, who claimed that they received an e-mail from him nearly two weeks earlier saying he had "lost his passion for playing."

Alexander joined PRIMUS in 1989 and left in 1996, then rejoined when they reformed in 2003. He exited the group again in 2010 but returned in 2013.

In July 2016, Alexander revealed that he suffered a second heart attack after he previously endured a similar health scare in 2014.

A decade ago, Les Claypool's plan to reform the "classic" PRIMUS lineup — with Alexander and guitarist Larry Lalonde — was put on hold when Alexander suffered his first heart attack, a "minor" attack that resulted in the drummer requiring triple bypass surgery. To fulfill its touring obligations, PRIMUS recruited TOOL's Danny Carey to fill in for a few dates. Three months after open-heart surgery, Alexander rejoined PRIMUS on the road.

Claypool told SPIN magazine that Hoffman wasn't the obvious choice for the gig. "We had over 6,100 submissions," he said. "Our friend Tim Soya, who has known us forever, watched every single video. Ler watched almost every single video. They went through and picked the best of them, and I watched those. We had four folders: the one-star folder meant you were really good, two stars meant you were exceptional, three stars meant, 'Oh my god, this person's amazing,' and four stars meant that this person had to get an audition. I think Hoffer was in the two-star folder."

He continued: "But then I posted, 'Hey, we're getting a lot of people playing PRIMUS songs. It's hard to see what personality folks have. Please resubmit with some of your own stuff.' Hoffer resubmitted, and it killed us, so he got an audition."

Swedish death metallers FIRESPAWN have reformed, more than four years after the death of the band's frontman Lars-Göran "L.G." Petrov. L.G., who is best known for his work with ENTOMBED, died on March 7, 2021 after a battle with bile duct cancer. He was 49 years old.

Joining Victor Brandt (guitar; ENTOMBED),Alex Friberg (bass; NECROPHOBIC),Fredrik Folkare (guitar; UNLEASHED, NECROPHOBIC) and Matte Modin (drums; DARK FUNERAL, DEFLESHED) in FIRESPAWN's current lineup is Jörgen Sandström (GRAVE, TORTURE DIVISION, ENTOMBED).

Earlier today (Friday, July 11),FIRESPAWN released the following statement: "HEADBANGERS! WE ARE BACK!! It is with extreme pride and excitement we finally can announce that FIRESPAWN is back!

"There has been much thoughtful consideration and deliberation within the band and we have now come to a consensus. We will do this in honor and memory of our late brother LG Petrov, to extend his musical legacy! We will of course also do this because of our personal love for the band and the great times we have together! It was not easy to figure out who would be the one to take up the microphone after LG. Luckily our most logical option has accepted our offer! Announcing as new FIRESPAWN vocalist: Mr Jörgen Sandström!! He not only has strong personal connections to LG and the Swedish scene (GRAVE, TORTURE DIVISION, ENTOMBED, etc),but he also has vocal cords like a grizzly bear! He will fit right in both personally and professionally!

"We hope to see all of you crazy headbangers out there very soon! There’s a lot going on down the pipeline, so we are looking forward to sharing the future of FIRESPAWN with you all!"

Victor states: "We're back! This band has always been about a deep connection between us as musicians, with the music itself and with the scene that has supported us from day one. We're doing this with love and respect for LG, and his spirit is still very much present in everything we do. Having Jörgen joining us feels like the natural next step, he's family. He brings both the fire and the spirit we need. We have missed this band and we have missed all of you. We can't wait to share this next chapter together. Death metal is in our blood! Let's do this!"

Jörgen states: "I believe that LG would have wanted FIRESPAWN to keep on going. He loved the band and he loved death metal. I am in no way here as a replacement for our late friend but simply here to honor the legacy of our brother — have fun, play death metal, drink beer and headbang!"

FIRESPAWN released its third album, "Abominate", in June 2019 via Century Media Records.

The band's sophomore album, "The Reprobate", came out in April 2017. The follow-up to 2015's "Shadow Realms" was described in a press release as "a merciless piece of evil, ferocious and blasphemous death metal."

Hailing from Stockholm, FIRESPAWN is "the unholy union of five death metal veterans with the aim to create blasphemous, sacrilegious and evil death metal, played by sharp minds with ancient souls."

HEADBANGERS! WE ARE BACK!!

It is with extreme pride and excitement we finally can announce that Firespawn is back!...

Posted by FIRESPAWN on Friday, July 11, 2025

38 SPECIAL, the classic southern rock band behind worldwide hits such as "Hold On Loosely" and "Caught Up In You", has announced a new album, "Milestone", due out on September 19. In celebration of the band's 50th anniversary, their first new music in over 20 years features guests and co-writes with Pat Monahan (TRAIN) and Randy Bachman (BACHMAN TURNER-OVERDRIVE, THE GUESS WHO),and longtime collaborator Jim Peterik (SURVIVOR, SAMMY HAGAR, LYNYRD SKYNYRD, CHEAP TRICK).

Along with the announcement, 38 SPECIAL shared the lilting lead single and accompanying music video "All I Haven't Said", which nods to the melody-driven bands that came before them.

"That's my throwback to the '60s, inspired by bands like THE SEARCHERS," says 38 SPECIAL frontman and co-founder Don Barnes who produced the album alongside Peterik. "I've always loved that jangling guitar sound and what's old is new again. We just inject more power guitars to it."

50 years together. 20 million albums sold. More than 15 albums of guitar-driven southern rock, stacked high with hits like "Hold On Loosely", "Caught Up In You", "If I'd Been The One", "Back Where You Belong" and "Second Chance". 38 SPECIAL is proof that there's strength in numbers.

Formed in 1974, the band toured tirelessly from the start, sharpening the explosive live show that's been 38 SPECIAL's calling card for a half-century. Along the way the Florida natives fine-tuned their sound too: a blend of muscle and melody, filled with the arena-rock pop hooks that would soon become staples of FM radio. As 38 SPECIAL enters its sixth decade together, the music continues with "Milestone". Fueled up on snarling guitars, anthemic melodies, and the desire to break new ground, they update their sound for the 2020s, bridging the gap between past and present without forgetting their rock and roll roots.

"After all this time, we wanted to create a more modern 38 SPECIAL album," says Barnes. "This is a fresh, updated approach to the sound we've been making together for so long. Why not make a big statement after all these years? When you're reintroducing yourself to the world, 'good enough' doesn't work anymore. If you're gonna do it, you might as well go big."

To revisit — and reimagine — the tightly-constructed sound that turned 38 SPECIAL into platinum-selling artists, the band turned to an old friend. Decades earlier, they'd struck up a partnership with Jim Peterik, founder of the band SURVIVOR. Sitting around his kitchen table in 1980, Barnes and Peterik co-wrote "Hold On Loosely" with 38 SPECIAL's original guitarist Jeff Carlisi. One year later the same trio wrote "Caught Up In You". Those songs became defining songs not only of a decade, but of an entire genre, and "Milestone" gave the band a chance to work with Peterik once again.

"Jim is such a brilliant musician," Barnes says. "He wrote 'Eye Of The Tiger', 'Heavy Metal' for Sammy Hagar and all of the SURVIVOR hits. He literally wrote the book on songwriting; it's called 'Songwriting For Dummies'. He's been my co-writer brother for decades and is a lifelong friend."

Between their cross-country tour dates, 38 SPECIAL began recording "Milestone" at the Atlanta-area studio of Will Turpin, longtime bassist for COLLECTIVE SOUL. They worked quickly, all five musicians playing together in real time, capturing each song in a series of live-in-the-studio performances. Overdubs took place at Peterik's home studio — "I'd be singing final harmonies in the vocal booth with a car and driver outside waiting to take me to the airport so I could fly to another show," Barnes remembers — and mixing was completed by Johnny K, the hard-rock legend behind albums by DISTURBED, PLAIN WHITE T'S and MEGADETH.

Barnes has been putting in the work ever since he formed 38 SPECIAL in Jacksonville, Florida, joining forces with co-founder Donnie Van Zant — the younger brother of LYNYRD SKYNYRD frontman Ronnie Van Zant — as well a talented vocalist who left 38 SPECIAL's lineup in 2013 due to inner-ear nerve damage. The group had dedicated themselves to the long, steady climb from small clubs to big arenas.

"Now, I have to say…some of the 'new' members have been here over 30 years and they are my brothers, too," Barnes explains. "We've built our mission out of sheer stamina and fortitude, and after all this time together, we've learned that if we're gonna do something, we should fiercely go at it and do it the best we possibly can. That's why we worked so hard on 'Milestone'. It's paying respect to that history. Every song is diverse. We have in-your-face rockers and introspective moments. We go back and forth, over and over. It's a great ride."

The Rock And Roll Channel on TalkShopLive will feature a dedicated one hour 38 SPECIAL show with Don Barnes. The development of the new album and a track-by-track breakdown will be discussed in detail. The show is live on Wednesday, September 3 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern and available to view on demand after the livestream. TalkShopLive is offering 38 SPECIAL fans the exclusive autographed colored vinyl and CD available to purchase now.

38 SPECIAL's ever relentless touring schedule continues throughout 2025 with dates across the U.S., including shows with KANSAS, Dave Mason, THE OUTLAWS and JEFFERSON STARSHIP.

"Milestone" track listing:

01. So Much So Right (D. Barnes / J. Peterik)
02. Slightly Controversial (feat. Pat Monahan) (D. Barnes/B. Capps/R. Wilson)
03. All I Haven't Said (C. Barnes/D. Barnes/J. Peterik)
04. The Main Thing (D.Barnes/J. Peterik)
05. Long Long Train (D.Barnes, R. Bachman)
06. Looking For My Life (D. Barnes, J. Peterik)
07. Making Up For Lost Time (D. Barnes, J. Peterik)
08. Windows Of Memories (D. Barnes, J. Peterik)
09. The Look (J. Peterik)

Photo credit: Nick Spanos

In episode 558 of the Iron City Rocks podcast, POISON drummer Rikki Rockett spoke about his new band THE ROCKETT MAFIA in which he is joined by Brandon Gibbs (DEVIL CITY ANGELS) on vocals and guitar, Mick Sweda (BULLETBOYS) on guitar and backing vocals, and Bryan Kimes on bass and backing vocals. This past February, THE ROCKETT MAFIA released its first single, a cover of "I Think I Love You", a 1970 song by Tony Romeo, written as the debut single for fictional musical TV family "The Partridge Family". Asked if he and the other members of THE ROCKETT MAFIA have talked about writing and recording original music, Rockett said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yes, we have. In fact, Mick and I played yesterday and we've been talking about stuff. And we got a couple of things under our hat now. We're just trying to do it one step at a time and put all the pieces together. So, if we do something, we can actually make a really decent effort out of it and not — pardon the French, but half-ass it. I don't wanna do that."

Regarding his desire to keep THE ROCKETT MAFIA lineup the same going forward, if possible, Rikki said: "Well, I hope so. Bryan is doing a couple of other things and stuff like that, but we're not big enough at this point for everybody just to be on payroll and hang out. So, I'm just kind of taking it one step at a time."

On the topic of which POISON songs THE ROCKETT MAFIA will perform during its live shows, Rikki said: "What I'm gonna do, and I was gonna do it today, actually, and maybe I still will, I was gonna take a poll on some social media platforms and literally ask fans, 'What songs do you wanna hear?' and choose 'em that way. I wanna give the people what they want, literally, because I love all our songs. I love our body of work. I like some songs better than other ones, of course, but there's nothing I hate. So if the fans really wanna hear something, I've got no problem playing it."

As for what other covers THE ROCKETT MAFIA is planning to play at its upcoming gigs, Rikki said: "We do a FACES song. We do a Billy Joel song. We do an Elton John song. We've taken some of this stuff and just kind of reimagined it in a hard rock format. And that's the idea of it, rather than take something that was already a rock song and compete with it. I don't wanna redo a BLACK SABBATH song. I'm not gonna do a better job than Bill Ward; I'm just not. To me, that's the pinnacle of BLACK SABBATH. And FACES arguably… But back then, I feel like some of those recordings were rushed… [FACES'] 'Stay With Me', by way of example, I've heard so many versions of that — funky versions and fast versions and slower versions — and it's okay to do our own version. I don't wanna do 'War Pigs' my way."

Asked if he and the other members of THE ROCKETT MAFIA plan on mixing up the setlist night after night, Rikki said: "Yes, we will. It depends. If we're doing like, let's say, a corporate gig where people want a huge variety of stuff, we'll do a bigger variety of stuff. I think at certain rock shows, like Summerfest, by way of example, people are gonna want more of the POISON stuff, they're gonna want more of the straight-ahead rock and roll, so we'll probably do that. But, really, the whole set rocks. We have no ballads at this point — not one. It never slows down. And I was thinking, 'Man, is that a bad idea?' And then so many people came up to me after the show and went, 'Oh, no. It was fun. I love that you guys never stopped.' There was only a couple times where Brandon talked. It was almost like a punk band, like the RAMONES. 1, 2, 3, 4 — bam — right into the next thing."

Last month, Sweda told the Nothing Shocking podcast about his involvement with THE ROCKETT MAFIA: "It was really interesting how it came about. My friend Bryan [Kimes], who is playing with me in THE HOT SUMMERS, ran into Rikki, and Rikki was looking for some guys to flesh out this idea that he had for this band. And my friend recommended me for the guitar spot, and Rikki and I got together and hit it off pretty well and had a great time playing. And it's been progressing ever since. We've got some gigs in early July in the Midwest and around the Pennsylvania area, and we hope we'll have many more to come."

Regarding the other musicians who are involved in the peoject, Mick said: "Well, Brandon Gibbs, the singer, I think he's pretty well known for touring a little bit with Joel Hoekstra. I think they have an acoustic thing that they do. I guess it sometimes goes electric. So he and Rikki have been friends for a long time, and he's a very talented cat, a great guitar player. And at this point, we haven't totally fleshed out the bass part. We're going through some guys right now. And hopefully we'll settle on someone on a permanent basis."

Asked if there is "a certain era" he and his THE ROCKETT MAFIA bandmates are "trying to stick to" when it comes to choosing which songs to cover, Mick said: "Yeah, we definitely wanted to do the more obscure stuff, and we tried a couple of things out. There's a song called 'Baby Blue' that I've always loved since I was a kid, by BADFINGER. And we love playing that song. However, you have to sort of gauge how things go over. Not everybody is familiar with material like that. So even though we're trying things… For example, we put together a track called 'I Think I Love You' [a 1970 song by Tony Romeo, written as the debut single for fictional musical TV family 'The Partridge Family'], which was actually the first single I ever had as a kid by 'The Partridge Family'. And it's kind of a challenging track to cover, at least from the outset, but I think we had a lot of fun with it. And it's out there for people to listen to now.

"But the song list is kind of evolving," Mick explained. "We start out with what's in our hearts, between Rikki and I, which is the '70s for that matter. So, it's kind of branching out from there. And we're just making sure that the tunes are fun and energetic and entertaining."

On the topic of whether THE ROCKETT MAFIA is "pretty genre specific" to the "1970s classic rock era" or if they are "kind of wide open as far as experimenting with different genres of music," Sweda said: "It's the latter. In fact, one of the things that Rikki and I talked about doing was taking songs that you would never expect to hear and kind of revamping them in a way that allows us to interject our personalities into them. So, although we haven't really got to the stage of finding too many songs to do that with, 'cause it is a challenge — it's a lot easier to just pick up a song and play it as it's written. So for us to find something unique and exciting and turn it into our own, it takes a little bit more time, but that is ultimately the goal."

THE ROCKETT MAFIA, with Bryan Kimes on bass and backing vocals, played its first official show on February 21 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

Regarding how THE ROCKETT MAFIA came together, Rikki stated during a February 19 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk": "I always had Brandon Gibbs in the back of my mind for any project that I do, which hasn't been many. I mean, I did DEVIL CITY ANGELS [with him]. When I played The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride [motorcycle charity event], which I am one of the city co-hosts for — that's a worldwide ride that takes place in 300-some cities across the world — they didn't have entertainment. And I said, 'It's time to have entertainment at this thing.' And they said, 'Well, any suggestions? Can you play?' And I went, 'Well, I don't have a band.' [Laughs] 'So I'll have to put one together.' I had done a couple of shows with CHEVY METAL — me and Kenny Aronoff had done a couple shows with them — so I reached out to those guys, and I just basically had them come and play the show… So after that, I just said, 'I need my own band.' First person I met was Bryan who was working at a salon that I was in, and we started talking. And this guy is from Maryland, and we have the same circle of friends, but didn't know each other. He's played all that tri-state area back there, the same places we played, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, all that. And so we got along great. And I said, 'Let's get together. I've gotta find a guitar player.' And he mentioned Mick Sweda. and I was like, 'Is he busy? Is he doing something? I mean, that guy's a monster. Is this something that would interest him?' And the first thing Mick said when I called him up, he said, 'Look, if you're just gonna have me for one or two gigs and then get rid of me, I'm not interested.' I said, 'Well, Mick, I don't know. I've never played with you, but I think we should at least get together and play.' And we did. And we were playing AEROSMITH songs, VAN HALEN, everything, and we're just sitting there going, 'Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. We're cut from the same cloth.' And I was amazed at how good of a player this guy is. And then, of course, I brought Brandon into the thing. And I said the whole idea is something that Taylor Hawkins [late FOO FIGHTERS drummer] told me that I should have been doing a long time ago. And I always got super serious with a band, like, 'I've gotta, right away, write a record and do all-original material.' And he's, like, 'No, just go play for a while. Get used to everybody. Make sure you wanna have a good time. POISON's your baby, just like FOO FIGHTERS are mine.' So I took his advice, God rest his soul, and several years later, I'm actually doing this thing. It's been so much fun, just in the rehearsal phase."

As for what fans can expect to hear at THE ROCKETT MAFIA's live shows, Rikki said: "They're getting our original versions of cover songs for right now. Meaning we're taking songs that most rock bands typically don't do — some of 'em we do, but a lot of 'em most hard rock bands don't do — and we're reimagining them. And you'll see [when you hear 'I Think I Love You'] what I mean by that. And it's something that Mick dubbed, I think he called it 'satanic pop.' [Laughs] You'll see what I mean. So we're reimagining some of these songs that had great choruses and really catchy hooks, but were never meant to be necessarily hard rock songs. They were just crafted so well. And we're doing some regular FACES stuff and things like that as well. But we have decided now, and we started to fool around with our own stuff. So that is definitely forthcoming. But for this first little run, you're gonna be hearing a bunch of stuff that you went, 'Oh my God! That's that song. I know that song. I know that song.' That's what we're going for. And we keep adding [new songs] every day. I swear to God, we keep changing the set. We're, like, 'Hey, have you ever thought about doing this song?' 'Yeah, but how would we do that, do it THE ROCKETT MAFIA way?' So we're having a blast with it. It's just been really, really fun."

On the topic of how "I Think I Love You" was chosen to be one of the songs for THE ROCKETT MAFIA to cover, Rikki said: "I think I [suggested that one]. I always thought it was a great song. I had a crush on [actress] Susan Dey growing up, so, of course. But I always thought it was such a well-written song. It was written by Tony Romeo, who I don't know, but he's written other things. He passed away now. And I think David Cassidy was trying so hard at that time to make people realize that he was a really good player and he was a really good writer, and he couldn't extend past that idea of 'The Partridge Family' publicly. And I met him many years ago at an award show — he was super cool — and I told him how much I appreciated all the stuff that he really did reach out and do that he did in a more serious way. And I feel bad for him because he was never taken seriously. I think it made him an alcoholic maybe; I don't know. But I just thought it was a cool song. It was, like, 'This song needs a second spin.' The chord structures, everything is very hard rock, but the way they did it, it wasn't. So you'll see how we did it."

Rockett and Gibbs played their first show as THE ROCKETT MAFIA in May 2024 at the end of the aforementioned The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride motorcycle charity event in Santa Monica, California. They were joined at the gig by guitarist Brent Woods (SEBASTIAN BACH, CHEVY METAL) and bassist Wiley Hodgden.

Rockett and Gibbs previously played together in a band called DEVIL CITY ANGELS, also featuring guitarist Tracii Guns (L.A. GUNS) and bassist Eric Brittingham (CINDERELLA). The band released its self-titled debut album in September 2015. Following the recording of "Devil City Angels", Brittingham decided not to continue with the project and his spot was taken by Rudy Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE). Around a year later, Rockett, Gibbs and Brittingham joined forces with guitarist Joel Kosche (ex-COLLECTIVE SOUL) to form the LORDS OF DEVIL CITY. Within a few months, Rockett, Gibbs and Brittingham relaunched DEVIL CITY ANGELS, only for Eric to exit the project in the summer of 2017 and be replaced by Topher Nelson. In July 2020, DEVIL CITY ANGELS released a new single, "Testify".

In early 2019, Gibbs and Rockett were embroiled in a public war of words after Gibbs indicated he was no longer involved with DEVIL CITY ANGELS due to the fact that the band was "inactive." Rikki responded that DEVIL CITY ANGELS "went inactive" because he was diagnosed with cancer and suggested possibly moving on without Brandon. This prompted Gibbs to fire back that he had "never seen someone complain about money, perception and 1st class tickets" as much as Rockett allegedly did, "to the point where it gets in the way of doing anything." The two have since resolved their differences.

Back in 2015, Rockett told Sleaze Roxx about Gibbs: "The thing about Brandon is that he's a young guy but he sounds like he's from the '70s. That's what is so appealing for guys like us. That's the reason that I really wanted Brandon involved with us. Brandon doesn't have any baggage, which is good and he has a lot of experience. He's got a great pedigree."

In 2015, Rockett and Gibbs joined forces with Rikki's POISON bandmates Bobby Dall (bass) and C.C. DeVille (guitar) to play several shows as THE SPECIAL GUESTS in what was widely perceived as a not-so-subtle message to POISON singer Bret Michaels that they weren't willing to remain completely inactive while he pursued a solo career.

Photo courtesy of The Rockett Mafia

Former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson and acclaimed metal vocalist Jeff Scott Soto have once again joined forces and are set to release their second album, "Unbreakable", on August 15 via Rat Pak Records.

The duo ELLEFSON-SOTO is joined by Italian guitarist Andy Martongelli and Paolo Caridi on drums and features 11 studio tracks with guest appearances from Tim "Ripper" Owens (KK'S PRIEST, ex-JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH) and BURNING WITCHES frontwoman Laura Guldemond.

Recorded at Rogue Studios in Wembley, U.K. by Alessio Garavello and produced by Chris Collier (MICK MARS, KORN, FLAT BLACK),"Unbreakable" is a sonic assault packed with catchy riffs, melodic vocals, and thoughtful lyrics that blends their classic metal roots with modern rock intensity.

"This album digs even deeper," says Ellefson. "It's heavier, more personal, and shaped by everything we've experienced on and off the stage." Soto adds: "The energy we poured into this one — it's the sound of two lifetimes colliding in riffs, rage, and redemption."

Ellefson further comments: "One of the things I like most is I feel like you can hear a real sense of brotherhood on our records, that we're really in the creative process together as a band. The consistency of our sound has remained intact while allowing us to further build upon each other's strengths from our debut album. It's an honest, organic approach that blends well and lets us explore new sounds and musical paths. At the end of the day, I don't think there is anything that an artist desires more than that!"

"Unbreakable" will be available on all major streaming platforms with limited edition autographed vinyl, CD and cassette bundles exclusively through Rat Pak Records.

Track listing:

01. Unbreakable
02. SOAB
03. Shout
04. Hate You, Hate Me
05. Poison Tears (featuring Laura Guldemond of BURNING WITCHES)
06. Ghosts
07. Vengeance (feat. Tim "Ripper" Owens of KK'S PRIEST)
08. Snakes And Bastards
09. It's Over When I Say It's Over
10. The Day We Built Rome
11. Death On Two Legs (bonus track)

In a March 2025 interview with Scott Itter of Dr. Music, Soto spoke about the status of the second album from ELLEFSON-SOTO. He said at the time: "The record's in the can.

"The way Erik Martensson, he's the ringleader, the overseer [of Soto's W.E.T. project], David is that with ELLEFSON-SOTO," Jeff explained. "He pulls the songs together, he gets the timing together, he gets the label side, all the industry-side stuff together. I just have to relax and sit back while I'm doing all the million of other things that I'm doing, and I come in and then I dive in and I put my input.

"I love working with David and Andy [Martongelli], who's our guitar player and also co-writer in the band. And I love the fact that they allow me to be me.

"I've proven myself as an artist, producer, writer, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, but there are still times where I'll do something and they'll go, 'Hmm, [it's] not really what I thought you were gonna do. Can you try more of this? Try more of that?' I don't mind that at all, because whatever is good for the song, the best thing for the song, of course. But when it comes to ELLEFSON-SOTO, I'm really, really headstrong on the ideas I come up with, and when I send it to David, [I'm] like, 'Oh, God, I hope he doesn't say, 'Oh, I don't know, man.'' And every time, him and Andy say, 'Home run. You knocked that one out of the park. That's awesome.' And that's what motivates me to wanna do more and to give my all into that, even that situation, because I know if I'm making them happy with what I'm turning in, I know in the end, it's gonna be a cohesive sound and project."

Regarding the songwriting approach on the second ELLEFSON-SOTO album, Jeff said: "It's weird because the first album, when we did it, it wasn't supposed to be an album. I was doing songs with David and Andy. We were just writing songs and recording songs during the pandemic. And it turned into, 'Hey, we're on to something here. We can't give these songs to someone else or just use 'em as catalog music. We have something here.' And that's what made us put that out as an album. This time around, we actually went in to record and write an album. We didn't say, 'Let's just write songs and see where it goes.' We actually went in and said, 'This is the sound. This is what we created on the first album. Now let's expand on it.'"

He added: "It's really, really good. I don't listen to my own stuff that often unless I have to learn songs for a tour or a show, but I actually find myself listening to this record just to listen to it."

ELLEFSON-SOTO's debut album, "Vacation In The Underworld", was released in October 2022 via Rat Pak Records. The duo was joined by Martongelli on guitar and keyboards and Paulo Caridi on drums. Giada Jade Etro from the Italian power metal band FROZEN CROWN made a guest appearance on the song "The Day Before Tomorrow". Steve Conley and Ken Mary from FLOTSAM AND JETSAM performed on the title track, "Vacation In The Underworld".

"Vacation In The Underworld" was produced by Chris Collier and featured eleven tracks and three bonus recordings.

To officially launch the project, Ellefson and Soto played concerts in September 2022 in Italy where they performed some of the music as well as ran through various catalog highlights, including selections from MEGADETH and Yngwie Malmsteen. They were joined by Martongelli as the musical director, as well as Caridi on drums and Valerio De Rosa on rhythm guitar.

In March 2021 — two months before David was fired from MEGADETH — Ellefson and Soto announced that they had been collaborating on some new material under the moniker ELLEFSON-SOTO. The ELLEFSON-SOTO version of the RIOT classic "Swords & Tequila" was simultaneously released across all digital streaming outlets via Ellefson's Combat Records.

When Ellefson's collaboration with Soto was first announced, David said in a statement: "Jeff and I have been friends for so many years that it's great to finally collaborate on some material together. He has such a distinctive voice and perfect style for some new ideas my guitarist Andy Martongelli and I have been composing. We are excited about the progress of it all and thought this would be a perfect time to give a little sneak preview."

At the time, Jeff added: "As COVID-19 became a big negative around the globe, it actually offered many artists a chance to finally collaborate with one another that might have never happened otherwise… As I have known David for many years, I knew from our other efforts outside of our day jobs that we could come up with some badass jams…and here we are, letting you in on our cool little secret."

David was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest exit.

British rockers BRING ME THE HORIZON are expanding their sonic universe with the release of "Lo-files", a 23-track album of lo-fi reinterpretations from across their celebrated catalogue of music. The album will be released on July 11 via RCA/Sony.

This unique project sees tracks from every era — from 2013's "Sempiternal" through to 2024's "Post Human: Nex Gen" — transformed into laid-back, atmospheric tracks by some of the most respected names in the lo-fi space, including Casiio and No Spirit, Lophiile, drxnk and more.

Frontman Oli Sykes describes "Lo-files" as "utility music", used for moments of quiet, creativity, or introspection.

He says: "The original idea for our 'go-to' record was actually something more chill, a record you could put on while studying or zoning out. It ended up way more chaotic than I originally intended. So I guess this is another attempt at creating something low key. I listen to a lot of lo-fi when I'm working or feeling anxious, so I hope this record can do the same for others."

The band adds that it had "collaborated with producers we love from the lofi scene to launch a new project where we've reworked BMTH songs and created lofi versions".

BRING ME THE HORIZON first teased "Lo-files" via social media on July 8, with the band confirming details of the release the following day.

"Lo-files" track listing:

01. canyoufeelmy<3.tmpx feat. Casiio & No Spirit
02. (U)topia.drm feat. Iophiile
03. in_the_dark.ech feat. Kanisan
04. followU.bnd feat. Dimension 32
05. Darkside.verXx feat. Casiio & No Spirit
06. [email protected] feat. Mondo Loops
07. sL33pwalking.idl feat. Iophiile
08. drwn.vvv feat. Dimension 32
09. losT_404.nll feat. Drxnk
10. seenitallbefore_xx.arch feat. Kanisan
11. parasite.ev3 feat. Mondo Loops
12. med!cine.fbk feat. Iophiile
13. koolaid.xxo feat. Drxnk
14. d1g_it.core feat. HM Surf
15. DOOMED.errX feat. Drxnk
16. avalanche_.drft feat. Iophiile
17. 1DayTheOnlyButterfliesLeftWillBInurChestAsuMarchTowards UrDeath.finx feat. Drxnk
18. sTr4nG3r5.vsn0 feat. Dimension 32
19. 1x1.syncd feat. Iophiile
20. shadowm0ses.frq feat. Mondo Loops
21. m0th3r.tng feat. Drxnk
22. DiE4u.sysrsk feat. HM Surf
23. Throne.GOD feat. Casiio & No Spirit

BRING ME THE HORIZON is set to hit the road for "USA Ascension Program+ Part 01" fall tour bringing its high-energy performances to select major markets. The first leg of this tour will feature MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, THE PLOT IN YOU and Amira Elfeky, making for a stacked lineup.

Produced by Live Nation, "USA Ascension Program+ Part 01" kicks off on September 23 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, making stops across the U.S. in Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Denver, Salt Lake City and Phoenix, before wrapping up in Los Angeles, California at Intuit Dome on October 3.

BRING ME THE HORIZON's critically acclaimed seventh studio album, "Post Human: Nex Gen", came out in May 2024 via Sony/RCA. Having been streamed over a billion times to date, it was the latest chapter in the series to be revealed and saw the band expanding both musically and conceptually.

BRING ME THE HORIZON recently played its biggest show to date in São Paulo, Brazil, selling out the 45,000-capacity Allianz Parque stadium. They wowed fans with a groundbreaking performance which incorporated the latest techniques in both live AI and AR, as well as a new hybrid paradigm that could be termed as "Generative Augmented Reality" (GAR) plus drones and pyro. They ended 2024 headlining arenas in Argentina, Colombia and Mexico.

BRING ME THE HORIZON is one of the most successful rock bands on the planet, having accumulated over 10 billion streams to date. They have toured the world multiple times, playing sold-out shows in over 50 countries.

BRING ME THE HORIZON is: vocalist Oli Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean and drummer Mat Nicholls.
Lo-files official tracklist
out 11th julyhttps://t.co/eiU8ac5kC9pic.twitter.com/0eAFukqY7C

— Bring Me The Horizon (@bmthofficial) July 10, 2025


Lo-files [out now]https://t.co/PhO28F8vHBpic.twitter.com/PNYgKKEkMF

— Bring Me The Horizon (@bmthofficial) July 11, 2025

SPINESHANK played its first show in nearly 13 years last night (Wednesday, July 9) at Jake's Sports Cafe & Backroom in Lubbock, Texas. Joining vocalist Jonny Santos, drummer Tommy Decker and bassist/vocalist Robert Garcia in SPINESHANK's 2025 lineup are new recruits Tommy Decker, Jr. (Tommy Decker's son) and Jason Hager (ex-CHIMAIRA) on guitar. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

SPINESHANK has teamed up with THE UNION UNDERGROUND for the "25 Years Of Rebellion & Callousness" tour this summer. This commemorative, co-headline trek, with special guests ADEMA and SICKSENSE, is celebrating the 25th anniversaries of SPINESHANK's sophomore studio album "The Height Of Callousness" and THE UNION UNDERGROUND sole studio LP, "…An Education In Rebellion".

Last month, SPINESHANK vocalist Jonny Santos confirmed to Rock Feed that a new song from the reunited band will arrive in the coming weeks. "We're literally in the studio trying to finish right now," he said. "The song has been recorded. Right now it's in the final process of being edited. We're gonna actually start listening to roughs this week."

Santos also addressed the reason he and the rest of SPINESHANK's 2025 lineup have decided to release one track as opposed to focusing on making a full-length record. "People are, like, well, why are we only doing one song?' Jonny said. "'Cause we don't know. We haven't put a record out in 12 years. "Cause let's face it, the SHINESHANK thing right now, [the upcoming tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of] 'The Height Of Callousness', this is nostalgic. We're not out there pumping a new record. We're celebrating one of our best records. That's what we're doing. So what we decided to do is… Do we wanna do a new record? 'Cause now we have little Tommy playing guitar, which is fucking awesome; he shreds. And we've got Jason Hager; everybody knows Jason. He's from CHIMAIRA. So we get these two new guys, and they obviously wanna do a new record. But five months ago, we didn't even know people even cared about SPINESHANK. So let's hold on here a second before we start putting new records out. I said, 'Let's do one song. Let's put this song out there. We'll get it out to the masses, and let's see how it's received.' That's gonna tell us right there — I feel it'll tell us if we are just a nostalgic act, that people just wanna come hear the hits and feel like they're 18 again, or we put this new song out. Does it trend? Does it fucking blow up? Then that will indicate right there, 'Okay, guys, let's go do a new record and start putting new songs out.' And I think that's a fair way to look at it instead of just assuming that since we're doing well and shows are selling out right now, that we're just gonna put an album and everybody's gonna love it."

Regarding the musical direction of the new SPINESHANK song, Jonny said: "Well, I will tell you this much. It's got all the elements that is what is SPINESHANK. One of the biggest complaints we had on the last SPINESHANK record was fans were, like, 'It's not electronic enough.' And I saw that. I felt that in a way. There was a lot of programming on that album; we were just using organic sounds as the loops and stuff. But I understand what the fans meant. So this time around, the SPINESHANK recipe, if you will — the song's gotta have energy. It's gotta be heavy. It's gotta be catchy. It's gotta have a hook. I don't care. I fucking love singing in fucking metal songs. All those people out there [who say], 'That's lame that you sing' — fuck you. You've gotta bring girls to the show too. So you've gotta have energy. It's gotta be heavy. You've gotta have a hook. And with SPINESHANK, it's gotta have that electronic aspect and that dirty, nasty, electronic aspect. Very industrial — 'Antichrist Superstar' [MARILYN MANSON] industrial. I love when you have a cool loop. Distort that motherfucker. So it's that whole ATARI TEENAGE RIOT dirtiness to it."

When SPINESHANK's return was first announced, Decker said in a statement: "We are beyond excited to be able to celebrate 25 years of 'The Height Of Callousness'. This is the record that defined us as a band and changed our lives. We can't wait to play all of these songs and share the memories with all of you who lived it with us."

Santos stated: "We are extremely excited to celebrate the return of SPINESHANK for the 25th anniversary of 'The Height Of Callousness' tour and get to share this milestone with the people who were there back then, and the new fans that never got the chance to see us play. Truly an honor!!!"

Garcia said: "It's amazing that 25 years later people still react to 'The Height Of Callousness' the way they do. We're excited to get out and play these songs again, see old friends, and threw down for all the new fans who never got to see SPINESHANK the first time around!"

Decker, Jr. said: "I've been on tour with these guys since I was a little kid, watching them perform every night from the side of the stage. I can't believe it's come full circle and I get to share the stage with my dad and the rest of the guys who I consider my family. I was 4 years old when this album came out and seeing all the fans still show love to this album is crazy!"

Hager stated: "I am beyond excited and honored to be a part of the return of SPINESHANK, for the 25th anniversary of 'The Height Of Callousness' tour. They're not just one of my favorite bands, but have been great friends, ever since they generously, and selflessly helped us (CHIMAIRA) out, during our early days. I'm looking forward to seeing you all, out on the road, and excited about what the future may hold."

After releasing three successful albums ("Strictly Diesel", "The Height Of Callousness" and "Self-Destructive Pattern"),performing on countless world tours (including appearances on Ozzfest and the Download festival) and a Grammy nomination in 2004, the band went on a hiatus.

SPINESHANK's fourth album, "Anger Denial Acceptance", was released in June 2012 via Century Media Records. The CD was produced by SPINESHANK guitarist Mike Sarkisyan and drummer Tommy Decker and mixed by Mike Plotnikoff (PAPA ROACH, BUCKCHERRY).

SPINESHANK's third LP, "Self-Destructive Pattern", was released in September 2003. The album's lead single, "Smothered", was nominated for a Grammy in the category of "Best Metal Performance".

This past April, Jonny told the "Talk Toomey" podcast about the possibility of SPINESHANK releasing new music to coincide with the upcoming tour:  "We never got a chance to really go out on a high note. And so when we first started getting ready to do all this, doing another record wasn't really even talked about. It was more of just, like, 'Hey, let's just go out and do ['The Height Of Callousness'] in its entirety' and give the band its warrior's death, if you will — going out on a strong note instead of just falling into obscurity.

"Now it's gotten to the point… So right now I'm in the studio finishing up some edits and mixing the first SPINESHANK song since 2012," Santos explained. "So we have one new song coming out. Because I think the way that we feel that we'll know is, let's see how this SPINESHANK song does. If it's accepted well and people are excited about it, if it does well, then maybe there could be another album in the works. Or if anything, maybe even an EP. Who knows?"

Referencing the resurgence of "nu metal" in recent years, Jonny continued: "It's kind of weird how — it's uncharted territory. It's, like, is this here to stay? Is this gonna be a staple in heavy music or is this just a fashion fad for kids today? So I think once we release this new song and tour for the better part of this year, then I think we'll know if we're gonna put a new record out next year or not. I would like to, but I only wanna put a record out if it's gonna matter. I don't wanna put a record out if nobody's gonna give a shit."

Elaborating on his reluctance to release a full-length collection of new material, Jonny said: "Not comparing us to the size of THE ROLLING STONES or anything, but if I was gonna go see THE ROLLING STONES, I'm not too concerned with anything that they've done post 1979. You know what I'm saying?

"I think you hit a certain point in your career as a band when you have a legitimate and constant following that people just wanna go hear the hits.

"I've noticed, I'll put music out or whatever, and people are, like, 'Oh, man, it doesn't sound like 'The Height Of Callousness'.' It's just, like, dude, me putting out the same record twice is not gonna make you young again," he said. "Because that's how it is.

"Very few bands can get away with putting the same record out. AC/DC's done it. SLAYER's done it. But it works — that works for them, and it's fucking awesome. But for me, it doesn't.

"The thought of putting a new SPINESHANK record out there, it's exciting. But at the same time, we're gonna see how this goes.

"We're going into this with no expectations. This is really fun for us to do, and I think it's a chance for a lot of people that have become SPINESHANK fans in the last decade or so that have never seen us to get to see us. And being that 'The Height Of Callousness' was by far our best-received album, I can't think of a better record to do in its entirety out of our catalog."

In a new interview with the "Rock Camp The Podcast", hosted by Tommy London, Britt Lightning and Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp founder David Fishof, ex-GRAND FUNK RAILROAD singer Mark Farner was asked how he feels about his former band having yet to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I think it's much like the U.S. government. There is no one there representing the will of the people. The collective will of the rockers is not represented at the Rock Hall. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is a bunch of just these music politics, but it's politics. And people say, 'Why ain't GRAND FUNK in the Rock Hall?' I say, because GRAND FUNK does not have that brown ring around our lips. And we don't bow to that God. All right?! And that's what it is. It's just totally political. It's bullshit. Excuse my English. I'm speaking truth."

Farner previously addressed GRAND FUNK RAILROAD's exclusion from the Rock Hall during a February 2021 interview with Sofa King Cool. Asked how it felt to see various rap and hip-hop artists inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame before the band he co-founded more than five decades ago, Mark responded at the time: "Well, it just shows the illegitimacy of that Rock Hall. And the people are definitely smart enough to know this. They need to be reminded, though, that the Rock Hall is not a representation of the will of the people; it is a representation of the will of the owners of the Rock Hall. That's what it is, and it is super political. And Steve Miller didn't have a good time there. I read some stuff that I just feel for him.

"You know something? I feel great about receiving the Cherokee Medal Of Honor," he said, referring to the award he received from the Cherokee Honor Society during a 1999 concert he performed in Hankinson, North Dakota. "I don't need to be in a Rock Hall. 'Cause without the people's opinion, it's fake. It's politicized, and, brother, it just ain't real."

Rock Hall rules state that artists become eligible a quarter century after their first records were released, but the Hall also claims that other "criteria include the influence and significance of the artists' contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock 'n' roll," which is, of course, open to interpretation.

Eligible for induction since 1999, KISS didn't get its first nomination until 2009, and was finally inducted in 2014.

DEEP PURPLE was eligible for the Rock Hall since 1993 but didn't get inducted until 2016.

Eligible since 1994, GRAND FUNK RAILROAD released 11 albums between 1969 and 1976, all of which went gold or platinum. "We're An American Band", "Some Kind Of Wonderful" and "I'm Your Captain (Closer to Home)" helped define 1970s rock and roll.

Farner wrote more than 90 percent of the GRAND FUNK music catalog and has always been known as the energetic driving force on stage, the engine that pulled the original GRAND FUNK RAILROAD to the top of the charts. His story and his imprint on music starts with Flint and since 1969 from his humble beginnings and a blue-collar outlook, Farner has captained a global crusade for love, peace and freedom and became a rock 'n' roll icon.

More than 60 years later, he commands the stage with the same intensity performing epic hits that defined a generation: "I'm Your Captain (Closer to Home)", "Bad Time", "Some Kind of Wonderful", "Foot Stompin' Music", "Heartbreaker", "Rock & Roll Soul", "Locomotion", "Mean Mistreater" and "We're An American Band". MARK FARNER'S AMERICAN BAND continues to tour, celebrating the 55th anniversary of the ground-breaking hit "I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home)".

In a recent interview with TribLive, Farner — who has been embroiled in legal battles with GRAND FUNK RAILROAD drummer Don Brewer and bassist Mel Schacher over the years — was asked if he thinks a full-fledged GRAND FUNK reunion could ever take place. He responded: "Well, I don't anticipate that since Don Brewer has said in interviews, and people — I didn't read the interviews — but people, my friends, said, 'Hey, man, forget about it.' He's not going to ever put it back together. He's running the show in the 'Fake Funk,' as they call it, my friends. But I have always been open to it, and I have pitched them face-to-face in corporate meetings. I'm thinking, why isn't your head put in making the most for the corporation? Aren't you bound to produce the most? And anyways, I've been pitching it for 24 years to put the band back together, but it's heard, and it's answered with laughter and whatever. It's okay, though. I have got to the place where I have forgiven those guys. They're just off their path, and a lot of people get off their path. They're led by various things, motivation, pursuit of money, pursuit of the fulfillment of their ego. There's a lot of things that are in play in life. Take your pick. But I have come to the place in my heart where I forgive them. I really do. But I wish that they would have put it back together while we are all still sucking air so that we could give the fans the real GRAND FUNK, but, I don't know, they're against it."