In a new interview with Mexico's Loud! Metal Radio, bassist David Vincent spoke about the future plans for the reactivated TERRORIZER, in which he is joined by Pete "Commando" Sandoval (MORBID ANGEL, I AM MORBID) on drums, Brian Werner (VITAL REMAINS) on vocals, and Richie Brown (EXMORTUS, THE ABSENCE, TRIVIUM, I AM MORBID) on guitar. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, we have these shows coming up in Mexico, and we have a couple of festivals in Europe over the summer. And we're discussing some other things too that I'm not at liberty to speak with you about. But we have some things in the works. I'll just leave it at that."

Vincent confirmed that these TERRORIZER shows mark the first time he has toured with the influential grindcore act. "See, it's funny. When we did the first record, 'World Downfall', we never toured as TERRORIZER for that record, because, obviously, Pete was in MORBID ANGEL and Jesse Pintado joined NAPALM DEATH," he explained. "So that kind of put a stop to TERRORIZER because we were all busy doing this other stuff. So, it was kind of a fluke the way the whole [reunion] thing came together. But we did a couple of festivals in Europe last year, and then we did the Candelabrum festival [in Mexico], and since then, our booking agent, his phone is ringing off the hook of people saying, 'Oh can TERRORIZER play here, play there?' It's, like, 'Okay. Yeah.'

"It's cool because it's nostalgic," Vincent continued. "And people tell me that TERRORIZER was such a big influence on them as they were growing up with their bands or what have you. And it's also a lot of fun. So, anytime we play, especially in Mexico, the fans have so much energy. We kind of feed off of the energy of the audience, which has always been the case in Latin America and especially in Mexico. The fans are great, and that's the reason why we're there."

Regarding how the TERRORIZER reunion with him came about, David said: "Well, it's a really long story, how it came about. So I don't wanna get into details. But there was an ask, could we do a TERRORIZER set for a particular festival? And we said, 'Yeah, we can do that.' So we started rehearsing and put it together. That festival got canceled — this is several years ago — but it was advertised, so people said, 'What? TERRORIZER?' So that's when the agent started getting some calls about it. So he said, 'Hey, we're getting calls from European festivals now and we're getting calls from Latin America. Is this something that [you want to take to other territories]?'

"Obviously we have several different things that we do, music wise," he added. "Myself, I'm probably the busiest. But number one, it's a lot of fun. Number two, the love that we get from the fans is just second to none. And that, really is… Yes, music is what we do. It's our life. We make music, but it's so enjoyable when the fans are just so responsive. It makes everything worthwhile. It's kind of like a drug all unto itself."

The reactivated TERRORIZER played its first comeback show on April 25, 2024 at the SWR Barroselas Metalfest in Barroselas, Portugal.

Werner, who left VITAL REMAINS in 2019 after a seven-year run with the group, announced his addition to TERRORIZER in a social media post in August 2023. He wrote: "Been quiet about this for a little while, but now I got the thumbs up to announce that I will be singing for TERRORIZER with Pete and David...... time to get back to work. Super excited to also be jamming with my brother Richie Brown too.......get ready the world is about to fall".

Sandoval announced TERRORIZER's comeback a week earlier, confirming that he would be joined by his onetime MORBID ANGEL and current I AM MORBID bandmate Vincent.

Just seven months after saying that TERRORIZER was "over" due to his "busy schedule" with his personal life and I AM MORBID, Sandoval took to his social media to announce that TERRORIZER would perform on October 22, 2023 at the Maranhão Open Air 2023 in São Luís, Brazil. That performance was eventually canceled.

Before Sandoval recorded MORBID ANGEL's first album, 1989's "Altars Of Madness", he performed on two demos and a split album with his original band TERRORIZER. Today, the group's 1989 full-length debut "World Downfall" is still considered a pinnacle for death metal and grindcore, featuring impossibly fast blast-beats and double-bass drumming along with a blitzkrieg attack by late guitarist Jesse Pintado (NAPALM DEATH),and ex-vocalist Oscar Garcia (NAUSEA). The 1989 lineup was rounded out by Sandoval and Vincent on bass.

Over the next twenty-three years, Sandoval took time between MORBID ANGEL albums to continue working with TERRORIZER, recording two more cataclysmic full-lengths, 2006's "Darker Days Ahead" and 2012's "Hordes Of Zombies". Six years down the burning highway, TERRORIZER released 2018's "Caustic Attack", described at the time as "their heaviest and most eclectic album to date."

Back in 2021, it was announced that TERRORIZER had signed a worldwide deal with Earache Records. At that time, the band's lineup had consisted of Sandoval, Lee Harrison on guitar, and Sam Molina on bass/vocals.

In the fall of 2022, I AM MORBID parted ways with guitarist Kelly McLauchlin (POSSESSED, DIABOLIC, UNHOLY GHOST) and replaced him with Brown. Brown made his live debut with I AM MORBID, which also includes guitarist Bill Hudson (NORTHTALE, DORO),on October 16, 2022 at the Grita Fest in Colombia.

I AM MORBID's spring 2022 European tour marked the first time Sandoval and Vincent played together in 12 years.

Sandoval, who now lives his life as a born-again Christian, was forced to leave MORBID ANGEL in 2010 after undergoing surgery for a prolapsed disc.

Vincent told Invisible Oranges in a December 2013 interview that Pete had "found Jesus," which meant that Sandoval and MORBID ANGEL were no longer "compatible."

More than a decade ago, Vincent spoke to told Capital Chaos TV about his guest appearance on TERRORIZER's 2012 album "Hordes Of Zombies". He said: "It was a lot of fun [laying down the bass tracks on the CD]. He asked me if I'd be willing to play on the record, and of course I said yes. It's a good record. It's obviously a different style to MORBID ANGEL, and that's okay. We like all kinds of music."

3 DOORS DOWN singer Brad Arnold has revealed that he is battling clear cell renal cell carcinoma, or ccRCC, a type of kidney cancer.

Earlier today (Wednesday, May 7),Arnold released a video message in which he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Hey, everybody, it's Brad from 3 DOORS DOWN. I hope you're having a great day today. I've got some not-so-good news for you today. So I'd been sick a couple of weeks ago and then went to the hospital and got checked out and had actually got the diagnosis that I had clear cell renal [cell] carcinoma that had metastasized into my lung. And it's stage four, and that's not real good. But you know what? We serve a mighty God, and he can overcome anything. So I have no fear. I really, sincerely am not scared of it at all. But it is gonna force us to cancel our tour this summer. And we're sorry for that. And I'd love for you to lift me up in prayer every chance you get. And I think it is time for me to maybe go listen to [3 DOORS DOWN's 2008 song] 'It's Not My Time' a little bit.

"Thank you, guys, so much. God loves you. We love you. See you."

According to the National Cancer Institute, clear cell renal cell carcinoma is named after how the tumor looks under the microscope. The cells in the tumor look clear, like bubbles.

In adults, ccRCC is the most common type of kidney cancer, and makes up about 80% of all renal cell carcinoma cases. ccRCC is more common in adults than children. Renal cell carcinoma makes up 2-6% of childhood and young adult kidney cancer cases.

ccRCC patients with smaller tumors have a better chance of survival than patients with larger tumors. The five-year survival rate for patients with ccRCC is 50-69%. When ccRCC is already large or has spread to other parts of the body, treatment is more difficult and the five-year survival rate is about 10%.

As a result of Arnold's diagnosis, 3 DOORS DOWN canceled all of its previously announced tour dates, including headlining shows, festival appearances and support dates with CREED, as well as a performance at Morgan Wallen's Sand In My Boots festival.

Brad celebrated the ninth anniversary of his getting sober in January.

The 46-year-old singer previously credited his Christian faith for his sobriety.

"I feel like a different person than I did [in 2016] ... and it feels so good," Arnold wrote on social media. "Without question, God took that burden from me. I was so tired of carrying it. I couldn't carry it any more so I gave it to God and I'm not taking it back! If you're struggling with something, give it to Him. He'll gladly take your burden and you'll never have to carry it again."

In a 2021 interview with The Young Folks, Brad revealed that he quit smoking cigarettes around early 2018 after being a smoker for more than a quarter century, adding that giving up smoking and alcohol were "the two best things that I've ever done for my voice. They were the best things that I've ever done for my life, in general, but they were acutely present in my voice."

Arnold co-founded 3 DOORS DOWN at age 16 and wrote the band's hit song "Kryptonite" soon afterward.

Formed in 1995, 3 DOORS DOWN's many accolades include selling 16 million albums globally, receiving three Grammy nominations, and winning two American Music Awards, and five BMI Pop Awards for songwriting — including "Songwriter of the Year". Their debut, "The Better Life", became certified six times RIAA platinum in 2000 and was fueled by the success of the aforementioned juggernaut hit "Kryptonite". This was followed by 2002's sophomore album, "Away From The Sun", which went triple platinum and saw similar success with "When I'm Gone" and "Here Without You". 2005's platinum "Seventeen Days" and 2008's "3 Doors Down" each earned No. 1 debuts on the Billboard Top 200, while "Time Of My Life" landed at No. 3 in 2011. In 2003, the group founded the charity The Better Life Foundation. In 2016, 3 DOORS DOWN released its sixth full-length album, "Us And The Night".

In a new interview with Gastão Moreira of Bangers Open Air, SLAYER guitarist Kerry King talked about his brief involvement with MEGADETH during the latter band's early days (King played MEGADETH's first five shows as the band's second guitarist). He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I love [MEGADETH leader Dave] Mustaine to this day. I think he's one of the greatest guitar players out there — still. So when I caught — I don't even remember how I heard that he wanted me to play second guitar to him. But I was flattered because even back then I thought he was awesome."

Asked if he was already in SLAYER at that time, King said: "Yeah, I think we were kind of in between records."

Pressed about whether he ever thought about leaving SLAYER to play with MEGADETH, Kerry said: "I'm sure I probably did, but [SLAYER] is where I belong. And in hindsight, I absolutely made the right choice 'cause me and Dave would've butted heads like no tomorrow. It's just his personality. I mean, look how people have been in his band. Fifty? And that's not me down talking Mustaine. I like hanging with him for 20 minutes, and then you go away and 'I'll see you in a year.'"

Last January, Kerry reflected on his first time seeing METALLICA back in 1982, telling the "Lipps Service With Scott Lipps" podcast: "I saw 'em with [then-METALLICA guitarist] Mustaine. And we opened for them. I think Mustaine was still in the band, at the place we used to frequent called the Woodstock [in Anaheim, California].

"When I first saw 'em with Mustaine, I was sitting kind of between [METALLICA frontman] James [Hetfield] and [then-METALLICA bassist Ron] McGovney in where the audience is, and I was just blown away watching Mustaine just ripping on guitar and not even looking at his fingers. I'm, like, 'I can't do that.' And to this day, he's a badass guitar player. But that's what I walked away from METALLICA [thinking]. And he wrote tons of the riffs in the early days. So, when he branched off into MEGADETH, a lot of the riffs went with him."

Asked if he was thinking at that point that he wanted to do what METALLICA was doing, but "turn it to 11, just turn it up a notch", Kerry replied: "No, it didn't have anything to do with seeing them doing it, 'cause we'd already known [about pioneering U.K. extreme metal band] VENOM and we were in the process of morphing what we had to that point to punky, VENOM, MOTÖRHEAD — kind of what they did before us. But seeing them, it's, like… And even when they were — I mean, they're a Southern California band, as much as they like to be called a [San Francisco] Bay Area band, they're from Southern Cal. Sorry. But they had streamlined everything, and we were still working it out. But we went a far darker route than they did. And then they became the biggest metal band on the planet."

Kerry also talked about his current relationship with the members of METALLICA, including Mustaine. He said: "Mustaine's cool, but Mustaine's one of those guys that he can't help but stick his foot in his mouth. So, I'll take my 20 minutes and I'll bolt just before anything gets uncomfortable.

"It's funny, James is one of those guys, even though we've got basically the same career, different circles, we did the [shows featuring the] 'Big Four' [of 1980s thrash metal], he made a point to come say 'hey' to us, but it's funny that it hasn't occurred in the 40 years we've both been doing this that I've rarely seen James," Kerry continued. "Kirk's [Hammett, METALLICA guitarist] cool, Rob's [METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo] cool, Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] is cool. We hang out when they feel like hanging out. Yeah, that's all of 'em."

Last fall, King was asked during a question-and-answer session with readers of U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine whom he would pick if he could have been in any other band. Kerry responded: "I was almost in MEGADETH. I think if myself and Dave Mustaine could have co-existed for four years, it would have been a very different band. I'm not saying I'd have made them better — I'd have made them different."

Kerry previously talked about his brief involvement with MEGADETH during the band's early days in a 2015 interview with Loudwire's "Wikipedia: Fact Or Fiction?" signature series. Kerry said at the time: "I was one of the lucky people — and there's certainly no offense against [current METALLICA guitarist] Kirk Hammett; Kirk's a wonderful friend of mine — but I was lucky enough to see METALLICA with Mustaine. And I say that because it's just a rare thing to be able to say that. I saw them play with Woodstock [in Los Angeles], and I was so intringued by Mustaine, because he was just ripping on guitar and looking out that way somewhere. And I can't do that to this fuckin day. So I was just blown away at his guitar playing. And to find out — I think it was through B.C. Rich, 'cause we all played B.C. Rich back then… I think it was through B.C. Rich I found out that Dave was inquiring if I would play [with MEGADETH]."

He continued: "At the end of the day, I thought, 'This is a gigantic learning situation.' And I also thought people would see me and know me from SLAYER. 'Cause, I mean, we only went to the Bay Area; we only got up there. So I think if people saw me, it would at least make 'em think, 'SLAYER.' So I had SLAYER's best intentions in mind. I didn't go and say, 'Hey, I wanna be in MEGADETH.' I don't know how anybody can be in MEGADETH for more than a couple of hours, 'cause that guy's crazy."

Asked if he had any particularly bad experiences dealing with Mustaine in the early days of MEGADETH, Kerry said: "He was cooler back then. I think there's been a lot of drugs and funny extracurriculars between now and then that helped shape who he is today. But it was good times back then. Playing all the venues SLAYER played and just… I don't know… playing different music. His stuff is definitely more… I wouldn't say 'intricate,' 'cause we've got intricate parts too, but it's just… He writes riffs in a very different perspective than I… Even after playing with him for a number of months, I'd still… I wouldn't do it; it's just not my style."

More recently, King joined MEGADETH on stage in October 2010 at the Gibson Amphitheater in Universal City, California to perform MEGADETH's classic "Rattlehead". You can see video of that performance below.

In a new interview with Nic and Big J of the Boise, Idaho radio station 100.3 The X Rocks, CHEVELLE drummer Sam Loeffler spoke about the band's recently released new single "Rabbit Hole (Cowards, Pt. 1)". The track is taken from CHEVELLE's as-yet-unannounced tenth studio album, which will arrive later in the year. The follow-up to 2021's "Niratias" will mark CHEVELLE's first release through Alchemy Recordings following a long run with the Epic label. Alchemy Recordings is a record label created in partnership between Dino Paredes, former American Recordings vice president of A&R, and Danny Wimmer, the founder of Danny Wimmer Presents, the premier production company for rock music festivals in the United States.

Asked how he and his brother, CHEVELLE vocalist/guitarist Pete Loeffler, manage to retain the band's signature sound with each new piece of music they put out, Sam said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "You really hope that your music sounds like you, because it's not always the case, for sure… But, yeah, definitely the way Pete plays is particular to him, the way that he writes. It's funny because I can hear it too, and then I wonder if I'm so close to it, am I the only one that's hearing it?

"Man, these songs take so bloody long now to write because the first versions of 'em are just — you've gotta keep going and keep going, getting it better, and then you're, like, 'All right, I'm really happy with this,'" he explained. "And then [Pete] looks at it and goes, 'Can I write a better chorus? Because I think the verse is better than the chorus.' And then he writes a better chorus, and now the verse isn't good enough. Okay, now those things seem to work really well, but now we've gotta write a bridge, which is sort of a song within a song in a lot of places. So how do you write a bridge that…? It's such a process. It takes so bloody long now, and every single word is scrutinized over. Literally, when we're working on the music, Pete's working on the music and he's, 'How do I suck every moment of joy out of this process so that it can be as good as it can be?' And then at the end of it, he's, like, 'This is joyless, and it's perfect.'"

Sam went on to clarify that "the fun part about it is the writing. The hard part is the producing and just going back and doing it again," he said.

Referencing the fact that he and Pete decided to produce the band's new LP themselves after working with Joe Barresi for almost a decade and a half, Sam said: "We self-produced this stuff — well, Pete really did. I think knowing that, it's really hard to not have a producer because you need somebody to take it away from you and say, 'No, this is done. Stop spending time on it.' But this is where we're growing. Do things harder and harder."

He added: "I mean, I make it sound brutal, and it is kind of brutal. The writing process and finishing a song is like pulling your hair out and then trying to put the hair back in."

This summer CHEVELLE will embark on a massive tour with special guests ASKING ALEXANDRIA and DEAD POET SOCIETY. Produced by Live Nation, the 38-city trek kicks off on August 7 at Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas, making stops across North America in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and more before wrapping up in Airway Heights, Washington at BECU Live at Northern Quest on October 2.

Last July, Sam told TribLive.com about CHEVELLE's next LP: "We kind of did expect to have it done [already]. It's like pulling teeth. This is what I described: Writing an album and doing all that is like pulling your hair out and then trying to put it back in. Writers love having written, is what I learned. It's just torturous on my brother. It's torturous because there's just so many factors to making something great. And then the longer you can live with it, the more changes you're gonna make. So that makes you never want to put it out. You never want to pull the pin and throw the grenade because you're like, well, it gets better every time I look at it."

As for what the 10-song album sounds like, Sam said: We're always skewing towards heavy. [But] these [last] two songs that we've been working on right now are definitely different from everything we did, although 'Niratias', our last album, I think was a really important snapshot of what we've been learning about writing and about music and stuff. This one definitely sounds different than just rock music, definitely different."

Released in March 2021 via Epic Records, "Niratias" was recorded throughout 2019 and 2020 with Barresi. The album artwork was designed by Boris Vallejo — the famed and award-winning artist is responsible for the posters used for films like "Knightriders" and "National Lampoon's Vacation", as well as iconic '70s and '80s science fiction novel covers and magazines (such as Heavy Metal).

Over the course of its career, the Chicago rockers have generated nearly half a billion streams, notched seven No. 1 hits, and sold out shows worldwide. Their catalog spans the double-platinum "Wonder What's Next", which boasts the double-platinum smash "The Red" and the platinum hit "Send The Pain Below". "This Type Of Thinking (Could Do Us In)" attained platinum status, while "Vena Sera" was certified gold. CHEVELLE has landed four Top 10 debuts on the Billboard 200, including "Sci-Fi Crimes" (2009),"Hats Off To The Bull" (2011),"La Gárgola" (2014) and "The North Corridor" (2016). The latter two each captured the No. 1 slot on the Top Rock Albums chart.

Canadian singer, songwriter and producer Devin Townsend launched his North American tour on May 2 in Nashville, Tennessee. Front-row fan-filmed video of the entire second concert of the trek, which took place on May 3 at the Tabernacle in Atlanta, Georgia can be seen below.

Featured songs:

00:00 - Muppet Show Theme (Sam Pottle and Jim Henson)
00:54 - PowerNerd
04:23 - Kingdom
09:53 - Love? (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD)
15:27 - Lightworker
21:06 - Dimensions
26:37 - Aftermath (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD)
33:31 - Deep Peace
43:44 - By Your Command
53:10 - Bastard (Not One of My Better Day / Girl From Blue City)
1:04:10 - Why?
1:09:41 - Gratitude
1:13:23 – Truth

Encore:

1:19:04 - Deadhead
1:26:55 - Bad Devil
1:32:49 - Pregherò (Stand by Me) (Adriano Celentano - originally Ben E. King)

Four days before the start of the tour, Devin announced that this run of shows will mark the "last time" fans will get a chance to see him perform "for quite some time". Townsend said: "For nearly 35 years, I've followed a creative path guided by instinct — each album, each tour, each project a new chapter in a story I've felt compelled to tell. My mind latches on to concepts, and I love chasing them down. That chase has made this journey wild, unpredictable, and deeply fulfilling.

"Over the years, I've heard it countless times: 'Dev, take a break… please.' But the flood of ideas, the excitement, and the support of incredible musicians and listeners have kept me going, kept me touring, and kept me grateful for a life on the road. That said, things have changed — especially since the pandemic. Booking tours now means planning up to two years in advance. With fewer venues, fewer crews, and a saturated touring circuit, it's become more challenging than ever to line things up. And beyond the logistics, life has simply caught up with me: my parents need help, my dogs are on their last legs, the kids have moved out, 'The Moth' is nearly complete, and truthfully, I need some time to breathe and recalibrate.

"So I've made the decision to take a break from touring — an indefinite one. This upcoming North American run will be the last time you'll see me on stage for the foreseeable future.

"That doesn't mean I'm done playing live. Not by a long shot. I'll be performing until my final breath. But right now, I need to be present for the people who need me, and to give myself the space to reflect on everything I've been through.

"In the meantime, I'm launching a long-overdue project: 'The Ruby Quaker Show' — a YouTube series where I'll finally explore the dozens of creative ventures I've had on the back burner. Albums, worlds, inventions, and strange, wonderful ideas I've postponed for years — now I'm making the time to bring them to life, without that familiar pressure of knowing I'll be gone again in a month.

"I will return to the stage. But first, I need to reset. Touring has been a beautiful, exhausting constant in my life, and for once, I'm listening to the voice that says: slow down. I want to create from a place of calm inspiration rather than frantic obligation. And until I can truly be there for the people who rely on me, my creativity won't be at its best.

"So here's the deal: this final North American tour is going to be something special. We're digging deep into the catalog, pulling out some big ones, and making these shows a true celebration.
If you've ever wanted to step into this world I've built — maybe you caught 'The Moth', or a song found its way to you when you needed it — now's the time. I know things are tough economically, and I don't take that lightly, so I'm doing everything I can to make these shows as meaningful and unforgettable as possible. Let's make this one count."

Townsend added in a separate video message:  "In two weeks I start a tour in America. This video acts as me announcing that I'm going to stop touring for a while after this American tour coming up, starting next month.

"If you're in America and you wanna have the opportunity to see me or meet me or participate in the work that I do in a live front, this upcoming tour will be the last time you get a chance to see me for quite some time. I'm going on a vacation. That being said, that vacation will incorporate about a dozen things that I've been waiting to do for all these years that have to be pushed aside because of the constant touring.

"So I say this again, this American tour coming up starting next month, if you want to have the opportunity to see me, this is your opportunity, my friends.

"It's a pleasure to play for you. It's a pleasure to be in your life, and thank you for being in mine."

Devin Townsend performed his rock opera "The Moth" live on March 27 and March 28 together with the Noord Nederlands Orkest (North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra) symphony orchestra at De Oosterpoort in Groningen, Netherlands.

Townsend is renowned for his groundbreaking fusion of metal, progressive rock, and ambient music. With a career spanning more than 30 years, he has pushed the boundaries of musical genres and collaborated with world-famous orchestras, establishing an unparalleled artistic legacy.

For his latest project, he teamed up with the Noord Nederlands Orkest and composed "The Moth", a "rock opera" he had been working on for years, which represents his lifelong ambition. "The Moth" tells the story of the human experience from birth to death, comparable to the transformation of a caterpillar into a moth. It symbolizes the human quest for meaning and offers perspectives on the fear of death through analogy and narrative. Ever since Townsend witnessed large musicals such as "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Phantom Of The Opera" in the 1970s, he had seen this project as his calling.

"The Moth" had been in the making for over a decade, and Townsend had been building towards it for 30 years. A month ago, he shared the stage at De Oosterpoort in Groningen with no less than seventy musicians from the Noord Nederlands Orkest, a sixty-member choir, and his own band, which includes Mike Keneally, Joseph Stephenson, Darby Todd and James Leach.

Townsend's career is one of many distinct eras. He's been the leader of STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, the lynchpin of the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT and the co-architect of country duo CASUALTIES OF COOL, all while maintaining his prolific and lauded solo project. More recently he completed work on "PowerNerd", a succinct but still progressive record that pulls from its mastermind's childhood love of vintage rock.

Townsend has an amazing variety in his musical style. He works in ranges of hard rock, progressive metal, new age and ambient. As a solo artist he has had a lineup of various artist working on his albums sporting his infinite variety.

When he revisited his music career, it was with the founding of the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT. The project began with a series of four albums each written in a different style and released between 2009-2011. Afterwards he kept to the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT and keeps releasing under this name.

Across all Townsend's bands and projects, he has released more than two dozen studio albums and several live ones. Similar in all of these are his versatile vocal delivery that ranges from screaming to an opera-esque singing. The same diversity appears in his writing. Townsend's musical style has roots in metal but draws elements from other genres into the material. Each album is written to express different aspects of his personality.

Fan-filmed video of Michael Schenker's May 4 concert at Sala La Riviera in Madrid, Spain can be seen below.

The legendary German guitarist — accompanied by ex-SKID ROW frontman Erik Grönwall on vocals, Bodo Schopf on drums, Barend Courbois on bass and Steve Mann on keyboards/guitar — kicked off his spring 2025 European tour on April 9 at De Boerderij in Zoetermeer, The Netherlands.

Schenker is touring in support of his recently released "My Years With UFO" album celebrating the 50th anniversary of Michael's years with UFO.

Just prior to the Madrid concert, Erik was forced to leave Schenker's European tour in order to return home to Sweden and be with his ailing father. Filling on for him is Roberto Dimitri Liapakis (MYSTIC PROPHECY).

Featured songs in the video below:

00:20 Natural Thing
04:06 Only You Can Rock Me
08:20 Hot 'N' Ready
11:58 Doctor Doctor
16:53 Mother Mary
21:05 I'm A Loser
25:12 This Kid's
31:12 Lights Out
36:36 Lipstick Traces/Between The Walls
40:55 Love To Love
48:50 Let It Roll
53:15 Can You Roll Her
56:20 Reason Love
59:40 Rock Bottom

Encore:

1:15:14 Shoot Shoot
1:19:10 Too Hot To Handle

On May 4, Erik posted the following message on his social media: "Sometimes life draws a hard line between stage and home. Twenty minutes before the show in Vienna [on April 17], I got a call from my family and friends - my dad had been rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, unable to stand on his left leg. Fast forward to today, and it's been decided he'll undergo heart surgery. There are risks involved due to his age and health history and the doctors have been transparent with us, and while there's hope, there's also uncertainty.

"I've made the decision to fly home today (Sunday May 4th) to be by his side - to support him, my family, and to be fully present for whatever comes. In the meantime, the Michael Schenker tour will continue according to plan, and I'm incredibly grateful to vocalist Roberto Dimitri Liapakis (Lia) for stepping in to cover for me. What this means is that I won't be doing the shows in Madrid [May 4] and Barcelona [May 5] but I plan to rejoin for the UK shows [starting on May 8 in Wolverhampton], and I'll keep you posted.

"Right now, I need to show up, not as a performer, but as a son.

"Thank you for your understanding."

Erik touched upon his touring plans with Schenker in a September 20, 2024 YouTube livestream. He said: "Yeah, I'm heading out with Michael Schenker next year, a European tour. I did that song with him on the 'My Years With UFO' release. And it's gonna be a lot of fun. And I've been looking forward to get back on that stage once again."

In March 2024, Grönwall — who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021 — announced his departure from SKID ROW. He said at the time that he decided that the travel and rigors of the road were not conducive to his overall health and recovery, and he wanted to focus on a lifestyle that is more amenable for his well-being, healing and family.

In a recent interview with Noise11's Paul Cashmere, Schenker revealed that he was already working on a new MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP album called "Don't Sell Your Soul" which will feature Grönwall "singing most of the songs," along with vocal contributions from Robin McAuley and Michael Voss.

Produced by Schenker and Voss, "My Years With UFO" marked the 50th anniversary of Schenker's era with UFO, spanning from 1972 to 1978. The "German Wunderkind" was asked to join UFO at just 17 years old. Touring the globe as a teenager, Schenker became a driving force behind some of UFO's most loved tracks, such as "Doctor Doctor", "Rock Bottom" and "Only You Can Rock Me".

Although Michael Schenker's era with UFO spanned only six years, his influence as a young songwriter and exceptional guitarist had already left a lasting mark on rock. During these meteoric years, the UFO albums "Phenomenon", "Force It", "No Heavy Petting", "Lights Out", "Obsession" and the seminal live album "Strangers In The Night" were recorded, each contributing significantly to the genre. "Strangers In The Night" particularly stands out as one of the most influential live rock albums of all time and is still regarded as a cornerstone in any rock enthusiast's collection.

In this celebratory album, Michael Schenker presents 11 of UFO's greatest hits from this magical era with an impressive lineup of guest stars. Joining Schenker on this journey are Derek Sherinian on keyboards, Brian Tichy on drums, and Barry Sparks on bass.

The stellar roster of guest artists includes Axl Rose (GUNS N' ROSES),Slash (GUNS N' ROSES),Kai Hansen (HELLOWEEN),Roger Glover (DEEP PURPLE),Joey Tempest (EUROPE),Biff Byford (SAXON),Jeff Scott Soto (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JOURNEY),John Norum (EUROPE),Dee Snider (TWISTED SISTER),Joel Hoekstra (WHITESNAKE),Joe Lynn Turner (RAINBOW),Carmine Appice (VANILLA FUDGE, CACTUS),Adrian Vandenberg (WHITESNAKE),Michael Voss, Stephen Pearcy (RATT) and Erik Grönwall (SKID ROW).

Fan-filmed video of Alice Cooper's entire May 2 concert at the VBC Mark C. Smith Concert Hall in in Huntsville, Alabama can be seen below (courtesy of hissdemon).

The setlist for the show was as follows:

01. Lock Me Up
02. Welcome To The Show
03. No More Mr. Nice Guy
04. I'm Eighteen
05. Under My Wheels
06. Bed Of Nails
07. Snakebite
08. Be My Lover
09. Lost In America
10. He's Back (The Man Behind The Mask)
11. Hey Stoopid
12. Drum Solo
13. Welcome To My Nightmare
14. Cold Ethyl
15. Go To Hell
16. Poison
17. Guitar Solo
18. Ballad Of Dwight Fry
19. School's Out

Encore:

20. Feed My Frankenstein

Cooper pioneered a grandly theatrical brand of hard rock that was designed to shock. Drawing equally from horror movies, vaudeville, and garage rock, the group created a stage show that featured electric chairs, guillotines, fake blood and boa constrictors. He continues to tour regularly, performing shows worldwide with the dark and horror-themed theatrics that he's best known for.

In an interview with the 96.1 KLPX radio station, Cooper stated about how his stage show has evolved over the years: "It's so funny because it used to be easy to shock an audience in the '70s. Now nobody's really trying — we're not really trying to shock an audience. I don't think anybody is 'shock rock' anymore, but those elements still remain in the show because they're fun to watch. It's still fun to watch the guillotine and the fact that you really buy in to it because of what happens before that. You're really concerned about this character Alice up there, what happens. And that's what I like about it. I want the audience to get involved in the show. We don't do a lot of lasers. We don't do things like that, because I want the emphasis to be on the character Alice, what happens to him and what he what exactly he's doing. But all that happens during all these songs that everybody knows — 'Feed My Frankenstein' and 'Poison' and 'No More Mr. Nice Guy' and, of course, 'School's Out' at the end."

Fresh from the success of his latest album "Road", a concept album about the thrills and spills of touring, Alice is accompanied, as always, by his long-running live band of Ryan Roxie (guitar),Chuck Garric (bass),Tommy Henriksen (guitar),Glen Sobel (drums) and Nita Strauss (guitar).

With a schedule that has included six months year in and year out on the road, Cooper brings his own brand of rock psycho-drama to fans both old and new, enjoying it as much as the audience does. Known as the architect of shock-rock, Cooper (in both the original ALICE COOPER band and as a solo artist) has rattled the cages and undermined the authority of generations of guardians of the status quo, continuing to surprise fans and exude danger at every turn, like a great horror movie, even in an era where CNN can present real-life shocking images.

With his influence on rock and roll and popular culture long since acknowledged, there is little that Cooper hasn't achieved in his remarkable career, including platinum albums, sold-out tours and any number of honors and career achievement awards.

The surviving members of the original ALICE COOPER band — Alice, guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith — recently reunited to release a brand-new studio album, "The Revenge Of Alice Cooper", due on July 25 via earMUSIC. This highly anticipated LP is heralded as the successor to their iconic records "School's Out", "Billion Dollar Babies", "Love It to Death" and "Killer".

In a new interview with Paul Salfen of AMFM Magazine, IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith, who also plays guitar and sings for SMITH/KOTZEN, was asked what advice he would give to young musicians looking to make it in the business. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, play all you want. You can have fun, have a band. Whether you wanna do it with your life, that's something different. You have to really dedicate yourself. And you could spend what some people would say are the best years of your life, from your late teens all through your twenties, trying to make it and not make it. Depending on how you class 'making it.' If you class it as earning money, very few people do, unless you're gonna be in a Top 40 band. And if you just wanna be a jobbing musician, you can learn to read music, you can do sessions. But being in a band, that is a tiny percentage of people in a successful band making money. Even bands now that have got hit records are struggling to make money, because nobody buys bloody records anymore. And the money is light. So it's very, very difficult. But I suppose it's a process, and the process just kind of makes or breaks the ones that stay with it. You almost have to have a sponsor as well, because it costs money to put a band out there. In the old days, a record company would sponsor a band and advance some money until they start making money. [It's] difficult. But if you're gonna do it, then nothing will stop you, I guess."

SMITH/KOTZEN's second album, "Black Light/White Noise", was released via BMG on April 4. The record — mixed by Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, STEEL PANTHER) — sees Smith once again join forces with Richie Kotzen (THE WINERY DOGS),with whom he shares guitar and vocal duties.

Smith was born in Hackney, East London, on February 27, 1957. He joined IRON MAIDEN at the end of 1980. Adrian is the bandmember who has collaborated on the most side projects outside of IRON MAIDEN, as well as writing and recording a series of albums in the early '90s, before rejoining the band. IRON MAIDEN has sold 100 million albums, and tours the world playing to millions of fans. Onstage, Adrian uses Jackson and Gibson guitars. Offstage, he is an avid tennis player. However, his main hobby is fishing.

MAIDEN's "Run For Your Lives" world tour is scheduled to launch on May 27 in Budapest, Hungary. The trek will mark MAIDEN's first with new drummer Simon Dawson, who previously played with MAIDEN co-founder Steve Harris as a member of his BRITISH LION project.

MAIDEN's longtime drummer Nicko McBrain played his last-ever gig with the band five months ago in São Paulo, Brazil.

The 72-year-old British musician, whose real name is Michael Henry McBrain, announced his retirement on December 7, 2024 in a statement on MAIDEN's web site and social media. He also said that night's concert at Allianz Parque in São Paulo, Brazil would mark his final show with the iconic heavy metal act.

Despite the fact that he was stepping away from touring, McBrain said that he would remain closely connected to IRON MAIDEN and continue to be involved in "a variety of projects" with the band, while also focusing on personal ventures and his existing businesses.

On December 8, 2024, IRON MAIDEN announced Dawson as its new touring drummer.

EVANESCENCE's Amy Lee has collaborated with Grammy-nominated singer Halsey on a new song called "Hand That Feeds". The track, which is taken from the new John Wick spin-off movie "Ballerina", will be released this Friday, May 9.

Earlier today (Tuesday, May 6),Lee took to her social media to write: "So thrilled to bring you a new song, 'Hand That Feeds' with Halsey THIS FRIDAY! We've been fans of each other's work for a long time and it really feels like the universe pulled us together for this moment. We already had the Hollywood Bowl show in place when Lionsgate invited us to work on a song for the Ballerina Movie together, and it's finally time to serve it UP! Cannot wait for you all to hear!!"

In a text message to fans, Halsey shared a snippet of "Hand That Feeds", writing in an accompanying message: "I really hope I see some of you guys on the For My Last Trick tour. Here is something to hold you over … (the answer is yes, I am freaking out about it)."

Halsey has reportedly been a fan of EVANESCENCE since childhood. When promoting her 2024 album "The Great Impersonator", Halsey dressed up as 18 of her musical heroes, one of whom was Lee. Recreating the EVANESCENCE "Fallen" album cover, Halsey wrote on Instagram that Lee was her "OG dark rock queen". Halsey also shared a childhood photo in which she sported an EVANESCENCE t-shirt. "I wore that shirt into the ground," she wrote.

Due in theaters on June 6, "Ballerina" marks the first big-screen spinoff for the popular "Wick" series. It stars Ana de Armas as Eve, an assassin seeking revenge on the people who killed her family.

Directed by Len Wiseman, "Ballerina" is produced by John Wick's Chad Stahelski and features performances from Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Lance Reddick, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Norman Reedus, with Ian McShane and Keanu Reeves alongside de Armas.

EVANESCENCE will support Halsey during her show at the famed Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, taking place May 14. THE WARNING is also on the bill.

So thrilled to bring you a new song, “Hand That Feeds” with Halsey THIS FRIDAY! We’ve been fans of each other’s work for...

Posted by Amy Lee on Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Fan-filmed video of Ace Frehley's entire May 4 performance at the 2025 edition of the M3 Rock Festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland can be seen below.

According to Setlist.fm, the setlist was as follows:

01. Shock Me (KISS song)
02. Deuce (KISS song)
03. Rocket Ride (KISS song)
04. Rock Soldiers (FREHLEY'S COMET song)
05. Love Gun (KISS song)
06. How Many More Times (LED ZEPPELIN cover) (chorus and drum solo only)
07. Rip It Out
08. Detroit Rock City (KISS song)
09. She (KISS song)
10. Hotter Than Hell (KISS song) (short instrumental played by the band during Ace's guitar switch)
11. New York Groove (Russ Ballard cover)
12. Cold Gin (KISS song)
13. Ace Frehley Guitar Solo
14. Rock And Roll All Nite (KISS song)

Ace's current backing band consists of Ryan Spencer on bass, Jeremy Asbrock on guitar and Scot Coogan on drums.

During an appearance on the February 27, 2025 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Ace confirmed that he is working on "Origins Vol. 3", the sequel to Frehley's 2016 and 2020 collections of cover songs that inspired the former KISS guitarist. He said: "I decided to reconnect with my old producer Alex Salzman. So, it won't be me and Steve Brown," referencing the TRIXTER guitarist/vocalist who helmed Ace's latest solo album, 2024's "10,000 Volts". "It'll be me and Alex Salzman collaborating on that record since Alex did 'Origins Vo. 1' and 'Vol. 2' and we have a formula that we came up with and it seemed to work."

Ace continued: "I was listening to the [first two 'Origins'] records last night on YouTube in my office on my desk. I have a set of Bose speakers, and the albums sound just as good as the new album, '10,000 Volts'. So, I'm gonna go back to my old formula with Alex. And maybe I'll bring back Steve to do the [next all-original] album since he's a very, very good songwriter and guitar player and engineer as well."

Asked if he has decided which songs he will cover on "Origins Vol. 3" yet, including whether he will once again do remakes of some KISS songs, Ace said: "I haven't decided. I have a list of about 50 songs, so… I really don't wanna give anything away. It's too soon."

Regarding the possibility of "Origins Vol. 3" being released in 2025, Ace said: "I could have it ready [this year]. I can do the album in a month because I don't have to write the songs. That's the beauty of the 'Origins' series. I don't write. So, the recording process is pretty seamless and rapid because all I have to do is Ace-ify it. [Laughs]"

Released in September 2020, "Origins Vol. 2" featured cover versions of THE BEATLES' "I'm Down", DEEP PURPLE's "Space Truckin'", LED ZEPPELIN's "Good Times Bad Times", THE ROLLING STONES' "Jumpin' Jack Flash", THE KINKS' "Lola" and THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE's "Manic Depression", among others. A cover of the 1975 KISS tune "She" also appeared as a bonus track. Guests on the set included CHEAP TRICK's Robin Zander, Lita Ford and former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.

Released in April 2016, "Origins Vol. 1" debuted at No. 23 on The Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 16,000 equivalent album units. The CD featured KISS frontman Paul Stanley joining Ace on FREE's hit "Fire And Water", Slash trading leads on THIN LIZZY's classic "Emerald", Ford singing and playing lead on THE TROGGS staple "Wild Thing", then-ROB ZOMBIE guitarist John 5 playing guitar alongside Ace on the classic KISS composition "Parasite", and PEARL JAM's Mike McCready playing guitar with Ace on KISS's "Cold Gin".

In a 2016 interview with The Aquarian Weekly, Frehley admitted that doing the first covers album was "the record company's idea. To be honest with you, initially, I wasn't that excited about the project, because I had just come off the high of the success of 'Space Invader', which is all originals except for a cover of 'The Joker'," he said. "It was almost, like, 'Okay, I'm going to go through the motions and get this out of the way and then jump into the studio for my next real studio album.' But I've gotta tell ya, man, once I started the process and started remembering the groups that influenced me, narrowing down which songs I thought were going to be best for the record, and then started the recording process; I really started getting more excited about it."

"10,000 Volts" came out in February 2024 via MNRK Music Group (formerly eOne Music).

The official music video for the "10,000 Volts" track — directed by Alex Kouvatsos from Black Wolf Imaging — was released in late November 2023. A clip for "Cherry Medicine", which was directed by Justin H. Reich of Three Thirty-Three Creative and produced by Reich and Steve Seabury, followed in February 2024.

Professionally filmed video of METALLICA performing the song "Creeping Death" during the band's April 19 concert at at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, New York can be seen below.

Syracuse marked METALLICA's first show of 2025. Support at the gig came from PANTERA and SUICIDAL TENDENCIES.

More than 47,500 fans attended METALLICA's concert at the JMA Wireless Dome — more than the former Carrier Dome's previous record of 47,319, set by THE WHO in 1982.

According to Syracuse.com, METALLICA's circular stage allowed fans to fill seats around the entire stadium, which is why total attendance exceeded Syracuse University's current official capacity of 42,774 for football games.

METALLICA's setlist was as follows, according to Setlist.fm:

01. Creeping Death
02. For Whom The Bell Tolls
03. Hit The Lights
04. King Nothing
05. Lux Æterna
06. Screaming Suicide
07. Kirk And Rob Doodle
08. The Day That Never Comes
09. Fuel
10. Orion
11. Nothing Else Matters
12. Sad But True
13. One
14. Seek & Destroy
15. Master Of Puppets
16. Enter Sandman

Since opening April 2023 in Amsterdam, "M72" has seen METALLICA play to some three million fans. Variously hailed as "an altogether life-affirming experience" (Billboard),"impossible to leave unsatisfied" (Austin Chronicle),"a stone-cold stunner of a show" (Detroit News),"the mother of all summer concerts" (Worcester Telegram Gazette) and "as tight and furious as METALLICA has sounded in ages" (Los Angeles Times),"M72" continues to amaze fans and critics alike. The tour concluded its triumphant 2024 run with four nights at Mexico City's Estadio GNP Seguros, where METALLICA played to more than 250,000 fans over the course of two No Repeat Weekends.

The "M72" world tour's 2025 itinerary continues the hallowed No Repeat Weekend tradition, with each night of the two-show stands featuring entirely different setlists and support lineups. These include the band's first Nashville shows in five years on May 1 and 3 at Nissan Stadium, as well as METALLICA's return to Tampa after 15 years on June 6 and 8 at Raymond James Stadium. "M72" has also confirmed its much-anticipated Bay Area hometown play, to take place June 20 and 22 with the band's debut performances at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.

In a new twist, "M72" 2025 features several single shows bringing the tour's full production, with its massive in-the-round stage, to venues including two college football stadiums: the aforementioned JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, New York on April 19, and METALLICA's first ever visit to Blacksburg, Virginia, home of the Virginia Tech Hokies. The May 7 show at Lane Stadium will mark the culmination of 20-plus years of "Enter Sandman" playing as the Hokies take the field.

In addition to playing football stadiums across the nation, the "M72" world tour's 2025 itinerary will also include one festival headline — May 9 and 11 will mark a festival/No Repeat Weekend combo as METALLICA plays two headline sets at Sonic Temple at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Support on "M72"'s 2025 North American run comes from PANTERA, LIMP BIZKIT, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and ICE NINE KILLS.

"M72"'s 2025 North American leg is produced by Live Nation and presented by new sponsor inKind. inKind rewards diners with special offers and credit back when they use the app to pay at 2,000-plus top-rated restaurants nationwide. The company provides innovative financing to participating restaurants in a way that enables new levels of sustainability and success. METALLICA fans can learn more at inkind.com.

As always, a portion of proceeds from every ticket sold will go to local charities via the band's All Within My Hands foundation. Established in 2017 as a way to give back to communities that have supported METALLICA over the years, All Within My Hands has raised over $15 million — providing $8.2 million in grants to career and technical education programs including the ground-breaking Metallica Scholars Initiative, now in its sixth year, over $3.6 million to combat food insecurity, more than $3.5 million to disaster relief efforts.

In a new interview with Rob Rush, the evening host on Long Island, New York's 94.3 The Shark radio station, Gene Simmons spoke about KISS's upcoming appearance without makeup at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas as part of the three-day "KISS Army Storms Vegas" event, which runs from November 14 to November 16.

"KISS Army Storms Vegas" celebrates the KISS fan club's 50th anniversary and will be the band's first appearance since Simmons, guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley, guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer wrapped up their "End Of The Road" farewell tour at Madison Square Garden in New York in December 2023.

Simmons told 94.3 The Shark (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "This is much more a fan gathering. The Kiss Army … are taking over the Virgin Hotel and we will show up, but I don't even know if the entire band's gonna be there. I know Paul and I are gonna be there, and Tommy. [Former KISS guitarist] Bruce Kulick probably will show up, and we'll jam, answer questions and stuff. It ain't a concert — we're gonna do none of that stuff. I may even bring my solo band up there just for [shits] and giggles. So this is more a fan event, like a fan gathering that we're gonna be guests at."

This past March, Gene told Las Vegas Review-Journal that he and his KISS bandmates "will not do the makeup" at "KISS Army Storms Vegas". "We will hold true to the promise [of never playing another KISS show in makeup]," he explained. "There's no stage show. There's no crew. We won't have 60 people levitating drum sets and all that stuff. This is more personal gathering of the tribes, where we meet them, greet them, maybe have a Q&A."

Regarding what else fans can expect from "KISS Army Storms Vegas", Simmons said: "There might be some KISS tribute bands, almost like a convention, if you will. So it's much more personal. And of course, we can't get by without playing, so we'll get up and do some tunes. What they are, how long, I don't know."

When KISS officially announced "KISS Army Storms Vegas", the band said that Stanley and Simmons — along with "special guests" — would play at least one show "unmasked," meaning without their iconic makeup. It was later revealed that Thayer would also appear at the event, along with Thayer's former band BLACK 'N BLUE, as well as former SKID ROW frontman Sebastian Bach and the tribute acts MR. SPEED and KISS NATION: THE KISS TRIBUTE SHOW.

KISS's official "KISS Army Storms Vegas" announcement made no mention of Singer, making it unclear if he will be part of the event.

There will also be question-and-answer sessions with Stanley and Simmons, as well as KISS's longtime manager Doc McGhee, where they will share stories, behind-the-scenes moments and answer fans' most burning questions.

Fans can also expect guest performances, including from Kulick, as well as surprise appearances, guest sets and tribute bands.

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

50 years ago in Terre Haute, Indiana, a small group of fans lit the spark that would become the loudest and proudest fan movement in rock history: the KISS Army. Now, five decades later — and 30 years since the first official KISS convention — KISS is cranking it up to 11 in Las Vegas for the ultimate celebration.

For more information, visit kissarmystormsvegas.com.

Simmons told Rolling Stone in a November 2023 interview that the second Madison Square Garden "End Of The Road" concert would mark "the final KISS-in-makeup appearance."

Kulick was a member of KISS from 1984 until 1996.

According to Billboard, Kulick is one of only two musicians to have not worn makeup while a member of KISS, the other being Mark St. John.

Kulick had performed with the band again at their Kiss Kruise events in 2018 and 2021.

SHINEDOWN has released a stripped-down and yet hauntingly beautiful piano version of its quickly rising song "Three Six Five" via Atlantic Records.

The song has already caused quite a stir at radio as it is charting at four radio formats where it has reached No. 5 at Alternative, No. 13 at Hot AC, Top 30 at Active Rock, and Top 30 at Mainstream AC radio — not to mention it will be reaching Top 40 radio shortly. The unprecedented rise at radio is, well, preceded by SHINEDOWN themselves as they previously pulled off a similar feat with their song "A Symptom Of Being Human".

This month SHINEDOWN kicked off its "Dance, Kid, Dance" tour at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. Led by frontman Brent Smith, the band delivered an incredible performance with jaw-dropping production, pyrotechnics, and an absolutely mind-blowing setlist. The 36-date tour is one of the largest run of shows (and venues) the band has ever put on. It will be the first time the band has ever headlined some of the country's most legendary venues, including Madison Square Garden (July 20),Boston's TD Garden (July 19),Los Angeles's Kia Forum (August 3),New Orleans's Smoothie King (May 6) and more. Joining them on the tour are BEARTOOTH and BUSH (on select dates) and Morgan Wade for all shows.

Fans were on their feet from the first note as Brent Smith, Eric Bass, Barry Kerch and Zach Myers tore through a set packed with highlights. They lit up the crowd with their hit "A Symptom Of Being Human", unveiled the live debut of their brand-new singles "Dance, Kid, Dance" and "Three Six Five". They even dusted off a few deep cuts they hadn't played in nearly a decade, including "Asking for It", "Burning Bright" and "Breaking Inside", plus treated fans to the first-ever live performance of "Thick As Thieves". The energy was electric all night long, with the crowd belting back every word — especially during the fan-favorite smash "Second Chance" and their soaring cover of LYNYRD SKYNYRD's "Simple Man".

Recently, SHINEDOWN released an official music video for its No. 1 song "Dance, Kid, Dance". The music video, which was filmed in Brooklyn, New York, brings the viewer into a dark underground world of pure rock fervor and dance. The video opens up with concertgoers trying to break into a vending machine to take "the pills (that) will make you dance" and building into a nonstop crescendo of a mixture of rock and pure adrenaline. Not to mention, the video features the members of SHINEDOWN doing exactly what they do best — bringing high energy with a killer live performance.

On the new music video and its creative vision, Smith said: "For the video, we really wanted to focus on the dancers. Every one of them brought so much energy to the set, and it was amazing to watch and be a part of. The song doesn't let up, so it was super important that our performance as a band matched the intensity of the choreography. When it came to the location, everyone agreed that NYC was the place. The backdrop of the city, and the authenticity of the dance culture was extremely important. One of the coolest things about the video for us as a band, is that every time you watch it you see something new, and exciting. We had an absolute blast making it and we hope the fans love it as much as we do."

The video was directed by Lewis Cater, choreographed by Julissa Bond, and edited by Samuel Halleen.

This year has also come with some historic wins for SHINEDOWN as they recently took home two trophies at the iHeartRadio Music Awards where they won "Rock Artist Of The Year" and "Rock Song Of The Year" for "A Symptom Of Being Human".

The awards were in celebration of the banner year they've had as "A Symptom Of Being Human" has hit nearly 125 million global streams and charted at five radio formats, including a No. 1 at Active, Top 10 at Alternative, Top 10 at AC, Top 15 at Hot AC and a Top 20 at Top 40. To date, SHINEDOWN is the very first artist to get a song Top 10 at Active, Alternative, and Hot AC Radio on Mediabase with one song. The song, off SHINEDOWN's "Planet Zero" album, resonated with fans across the globe for the unifying message of its lyrics: that it is our human connections that matter the most.

SHINEDOWN has already had a packed 2025 as its latest single "Dance, Kid, Dance" has made history, reaching No. 1 on the Mediabase Active Rock chart, which marks their 22nd song to reach No. 1 on the chart, and on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. SHINEDOWN has become the only band in the chart's history to reach 20 No. 1s on the chart. Not to mention when the song entered the Top 5 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, SHINEDOWN tied with the FOO FIGHTERS for the artists with the most songs to hit the top 10 in the chart's history with 32 songs each. All these incredible accomplishments continue to solidify that SHINEDOWN have made a name for themselves in rock. On Mediabase, SHINEDOWN hold the record for the most No. 1s, NO. 5s and No. 10s on the Active Rock chart, with a total of 24 No. 1s on the Mediabase charts.

Brent Smith and Eric Bass co-wrote "Three Six Five", and "Dance, Kid, Dance" was co-written by Brent Smith, Eric Bass and Dave Bassett. The songs were produced by Eric Bass at his own Big Animal Studio in Charleston, South Carolina.

Photo credit: Ebru Yildiz

Swedish metallers ORBIT CULTURE have released a new single, "The Tales Of War". The song's accompanying music video, which finds the band braving a raging storm, was directed by Riivata Visuals and can be seen below.

ORBIT CULTURE comments: "'The Tales Of War' marks the beginning of a new chapter for ORBIT CULTURE. While other songs evolved and shifted during the writing process, this one stayed exactly as it was from the very start. It captures everything that defines ORBIT CULTURE — the cinematic elements, the build-up, the verses, and the chorus. From the beginning, we knew this had to be the first song to introduce this new era. On almost every show we've ever played, we've used these long, cinematic intros to set the mood — but this time, we figured: Why not bake that feeling straight into the song itself? Even as we move forward and leave parts of our past behind, we needed a bridge to the future — and this track became that bridge."

After supporting TRIVIUM and BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE earlier this year, ORBIT CULTURE is gearing up for European summer festivals and supporting IN FLAMES on select shows.

Hailing from the small town of Eksjö, Sweden (located between the revered metal cities of Gothenburg and Stockholm),ORBIT CULTURE, consisting of guitarist and vocalist Niklas Karlsson, guitarist Richard Hansson, bassist Fredrik Lennartsson, and drummer Christopher Wallerstedt, has grown into a global force, melding together, riffs that are equal parts thrash, death metal and industrial with arresting hooks and a layered atmosphere that invites comparison to GOJIRA, METALLICA and STATIC-X while carving out something that is uniquely their own.

ORBIT CULTURE's 2023 album "Descent" and its subsequent EP release "The Forgotten" topped many year-end lists in 2023, including Metal Hammer which described the album as "a formidable entwining of modern metal’s most effective and exciting strands into an impressive milestone."

Photo credit: Niklas Karlsson

Marty Friedman, who was in MEGADETH from 1990 to 2000 and played guitar on the albums "Rust In Peace", "Countdown To Extinction", "Youthanasia", "Hidden Treasures", "Cryptic Writings" and "Risk", was asked in a new interview with Brazil's Gustavo Maiato if there is a clear difference between the music which was created during his MEGADETH era and that which came before him and after him. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Oh, definitely. In my opinion, completely. MEGADETH was a great band before I joined and they were a great band after I left. But my era in MEGADETH has its own particular sound and a particular look, and I think it's very different from all of the other eras. And, yeah, it was very cool."

Friedman was also asked about the creation of MEGADETH's most streamed song on Spotify, "Symphony Of Destruction", which was released as a single from the band's fifth studio album, "Countdown To Extinction" (1992). He said: "I wrote a lot about this in my autobiography. I have a autobiography called 'Dreaming Japanese', and I wrote in great detail about the writing process in MEGADETH. And an important thing that I wrote in the book was the fact that no matter whose name was on the song, whose credit, all four bandmembers worked exactly the same amount of time on that writing. They all worked the same amount of time songwriting, starting the song from zero and completing it."

He continued: "And so if I remember, 'Symphony Of Destruction' was on the second album that I did with the band, and at that time I was more comfortable in the band because I'd been in the band for almost two years. And it was maybe our first pop song. It was like a pop song, if you could say that. And I was glad because you've gotta have pop songs if you wanna reach massive amounts of people. And I think we did it without losing our heavy metal fans, you know what I mean? You can make a pop song, but if you lose your core audience, it's not something that we wanted to do."

Friedman's latest solo album, "Drama", came out in May 2024 via Frontiers Music Srl.

Marty's presence in the world of music, the world of guitar and Japanese pop culture is mystifying, bizarre, and nothing short of inspiring. His first major impact in music was in the game-changing guitar duo CACOPHONY, which he founded with equally enigmatic and now-legendary guitarist Jason Becker. He then spent 10 years as lead guitarist in the genre-defining thrash metal act MEGADETH before moving to Tokyo due to his love for Japanese music, language, and culture.

Following his move, he landed a starring role for a new TV comedy "Hebimeta-san" ("Mr. Heavy Metal") and its spinoff, "Rock Fujiyama", which ran for six seasons and propelled him into the living rooms of Japan's mainstream. He has since appeared in over 800 TV shows, movies and commercials, including a two-year campaign with Coca-Cola for Fanta, authored two best-selling novels and was the first-ever foreigner to be appointed as an ambassador of Japan heritage and perform at the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Marathon.

At the same time, Marty has continued his career in music with several solo albums in addition to writing and performing with the top artists in Japanese music, racking up countless chart hits, including a No. 1 with SMAP, two No. 2 songs with MOMOIRO CLOVER, a No. 2 with SOUND HORIZON — just to name a few.

Friedman's autobiography, "Dreaming Japanese", arrived on December 3, 2024 via Permuted Press.

Marty recently completed the "Live Drama 2025" U.S. tour.

tAKiDA, one of Sweden’s most successful rock bands, has just released their brand-new digital album, Boxroom Tour – Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall, today! Recorded in 2024, the album captures the electrifying energy of their live semi acoustic performances across 19 powerful tracks – the Boxroom versions.

These versions are adding a fresh dimension reimagined with a softer, yet strikingly powerful approach, creating an intimate atmosphere enriched by lush strings and warm horn arrangements. All with soaring melodies, and powerful vocals that have made tAKiDA a dominant force in rock.

Since forming in 1999 and breaking through with their debut album, tAKiDA has ruled the Swedish rock scene with six platinum singles (including one of them 4x platinum), three platinum albums, and five #1 albums. Their success has also crossed borders: their most recent studio album, The Agony Flame (2024), marked their highest German chart entry yet (#8), while its lead single “The Loneliest Hour” hit #1 on the German Rock Airplay Charts.

Alongside the album release, tAKiDA has unveiled a powerful new official live music video for “Your Blood Awaits You”, cut from their latest studio release, offering fans an intense glimpse into the band’s signature onstage presence.



With their unstoppable momentum, tAKiDA continues to push boundaries and build on their international acclaim. In summer 2025, the band will bring their unmatched live energy to Germany on an extended headliner tour, kicking off on July 18 in Regensburg.

Boxroom Tour – Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall is now available on all streaming platforms – dive in and experience the magic. Listen here.



Tracklisting:

“Jaded (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“As You Die (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Better (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Willow And Dead (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Curly Sue (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Your Blood Awaits You (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Give Into Me (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Never Alone Always Alone (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Summers Gone (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Evil Eye (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Sacred Spell (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Untouchable Part 2 (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Master (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Swallow (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“You Learn (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“What You Never Knew (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Morning Sun (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“My Dove (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”
“Feel You Falling Away (Live At Tonhallen In Sundsvall)”

In a new interview with Into The Necrosphere, HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta spoke about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the band's follow-up to 2020's "Weight Of The False Self" album. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, I think creatively the ideas are all there, the lyrics are all there, the music's all there. I've been going around taking different meetings with labels."

He continued: "It was kind of funny and cool — I just mentioned in passing that we were free agents, and then that went kind of semi viral or something, because then we got hit up by every label under the sun. And that was really nice to see that there was interest there from all these labels. 'Cause I am one of those people that I really believe that your next biggest, best song is always in you. You just have to get to that point where you can channel it or you can grab it out of the ether. Anybody can do it. You just have to get there, and you have to figure out the path there. And now that 'Weight Of The False Self' is finding fans, I thought, 'Yeah, I could expand on a lot of these topics. But then there was also new topics that I had never touched on before that I had been writing about and riffing out about."

Jasta added: "The real sort of mother lode of riffs that I wrote that I got inspired was right after Milwaukee [Metal Fest], because you get this post-festival sort of slump where you're, like, 'Damn, now what am I gonna do?' And I had to go to Europe right away. But TESTAMENT had given me a guitar — they did a deal with Dean, and they gave me this beautiful guitar. And so I just started riffing out on that guitar as soon as I got back. And I don't know if it just had good energy from the festival in it or if it had a different feel of the neck, but I started messing around with different frets and different placements… But just having that experience and then listening back to 'Weight Of The False Self' and going, 'All right, yeah, I'm ready. I've got enough.' I had 24 topics kind of written on a vision board, and I thought, 'All right, I've gotta narrow those down to 14. Can I combine?' And then I kept going, kept going, and yeah, now it's… I mean, we'll probably have a single any day now, or maybe even two singles."

HATEBREED spent 2024 celebrating its 30th anniversary with several tours. It was par for the course with the Grammy-nominated Connecticut-based hardcore icons, who are road warriors, in addition to being one of the most impactful and enduring bands of the modern era.

Last month, the band announced it was resurrecting the beloved and annual "Summer Slaughter" tour for 2025, which kicks off July 8 in St. Petersburg, Florida and runs through July 28 in Grand Rapids. Support for this year's run will include FUGITIVE, GRIDIRON, MALEVOLENCE, INCITE, ESCUELA GRIND and SNUFFED ON SIGHT on select dates.

HATEBREED celebrated its 30th anniversary with a North American tour last fall. Support on the trek came from CARCASS, HARMS WAY and CRYPTA.

With dozens of pit-stirring anthems across their eight catalog albums, HATEBREED are celebrating three decades of ruthless breakdowns and consistently sold-out shows the world over. Over the course of their career, the band has gone from playing basements and backyards to being a featured, must-see attraction on countless festivals like Graspop Metal Meeting, Ozzfest, Warped and Download alongside massive high-profile tours.

Recently described by Forbes as "more relevant than ever in the metal and hardcore community," HATEBREED remains one of the most definitive live acts in music today and recently celebrated a milestone with their track "Looking Down The Barrel Of Today", which surpassed 75 million global streams on Spotify alone while generating over 600,000 global equivalents across all digital service providers, making it their single biggest career streaming track of the modern era. To date, HATEBREED has sold over 1.5 million albums in North America alone.

Press photo courtesy of Atom Splitter PR

German thrash metal veterans SODOM have released a music video for their new song "Witchhunter". The track, which will appear on the band's upcoming studio album "The Arsonist", is SODOM's homage to the group's late drummer Christian Dudek (a.k.a. Witchhunter). The "Witchhunter" clip was created by ex-SODOM guitarist Andy Brings.

"The Arsonist" will arrive on June 27, 2025 worldwide through SPV/Steamhammer.

We all know that good music is always also a question of sound. To this end, the human factor is crucial — along with the right equipment, of course. After all it's about authenticity and individual personality. With that in mind, SODOM came to a logical conclusion: to enable the most natural production possible, the drum parts on "The Arsonist" were recorded using a 24-track analog tape machine. No studio tricks, no digital overdubs, or, to quote frontman Thomas "Angelripper" Such: "No plastic! The difference in sound compared to today's standard drum productions is amazing and has had a positive effect on all the instruments. Naturally, time and effort as well as costs were also higher, but we're happy to fork out for a superior result."

However, it's not only the complex production process that testifies to the band's exceptional creative spirit, but also their diverse songwriting, which saw all four SODOM musicians — Thomas "Angelripper" Such (vocals, bass),Frank Blackfire (guitar),York Segatz (guitar) and Toni Merkel (drums) — involved in the development of the material on "The Arsonist".

Tom says: "Frank contributed those typical SODOM riffs and hooks again, whereas York favors more epic songwriting. As a perfect complement to both of them, Toni, who is also an excellent guitarist, contributed a number of songs and helped to make the album even more versatile."

The first single and lyric video, "Trigger Discipline", the toughest song on "The Arsonist", was released in early April. The song sounds equally martial and is about a sniper who has completely lost control of his actions and shoots people indiscriminately.

"The Arsonist" track listing:

01. The Arsonist
02. Battle Of Harvest Moon
03. Trigger Discipline
04. The Spirits That I Called
05. Witchhunter
06. Scavenger
07. Gun Without Groom
08. Taphephobia
09. Sane Insanity
10. A.W.T.F.
11. Twilight Void
12. Obliteration Of The Aeons
13. Return To God In Parts

In a recent interview with RapidMetalFire, Angelripper discussed his decision to cut down on SODOM's touring activities for the foreseeable future. He said: "I think you know the story of [SLAYER's] Tom Araya. Maybe you heard something about it. I think he's got the same problems, like [issues with his] neck [when performing live]. He couldn't more headbang. I can headbang. It's not so massive… But that is not the reason why. The reason why is I want to spend more time with other things. I want to spend more time with my family. I need more time going for my hunting district. I want to spend time doing nothing.

"If you are a professional musician — I'm also the manager of the band — you are busy every day," Such explained. "There is no time to breathe. There is no time to relax. I like to spend the time on stage. I like to spend the time making music, but I hate wast[ing] time on airports or hotels.

"If you're getting 62 [years old] like me, you say, 'Okay, I need money to make my [living] from [playing] music.' I know — money is a very important thing. But there is something you cannot buy with money: the freedom," Thomas added. "And that's what I told to my boys, to my group. I told them, I think two years ago, 'In this year, I wanna slow down the things a little bit,' because I can't do nothing, because I'm still working on re-releases. The only difference is I have my home office. That's the only thing. But I can tell you, I have no plan what to do. I have no plan how long I'm gonna rest. I have no plan when I restart the band, so I don't wanna live without any plans in the next times. I can't tell people I want to come back in '27 or '28, maybe '26 — I don't tell the people. When I think I wanna come back, I go."

Asked if SODOM is still "receiving booking requests" from promoters around the world, Thomas said: "I receive a lot of booking requests… I get some offers from this [and that] festival. I get some offers for making a tour with HEAVEN SHALL BURN. They were interested in maybe a SODOM tour. I get a thousand of requests [for] the 'Big Four' [of German thrash metal: KREATOR, DESTRUCTION, SODOM and TANKARD] worldwide. That is not a problem… People are still interested. It's not something bad because we have no success. I can book tours every day over the year, if I want. That is another thing. SODOM is still — we are still very much a success, I think. People are really interested in coming [to see us]… So that is not the problem. I know that people wanna see SODOM."

Elaborating on his reasons for taking a break from the road, Thomas said: "I love my fans, but I also love myself. I also love my family. I also love my old friends. Now it's time to stop [and] just [concentrate on] doing other things. That's very easy. I'm still healthy. I'm able to do it. I'm still creative. Maybe the day will come I don't know what to do, I'm not more creative, I cannot write lyrics, I cannot play bass. Then it's gone. It's just a break. But I don't know how long it takes."

In November 2023, SODOM released an EP, "1982", via SPV/Steamhammer.

SODOM's 40th-anniversary album, "40 Years At War - The Greatest Hell Of Sodom", arrived in October 2022 through Steamhammer/SPV. The LP included one song from each of the previous studio albums receiving a re-recorded treatment from SODOM's current lineup. The CD and vinyl double LP with their martial cover artwork penned by Eliran Kantor (KREATOR, TESTAMENT, GWAR, among others) contain 17 tracks, all newly recorded by Such, Blackfire, Segatz and Merkel.

SODOM's last studio album, "Genesis XIX", came out in November 2020 via Entertainment One (eOne) in North America and Steamhammer/SPV in Europe. The disc was recorded by Siggi Bemm and mastered by Patrick W. Engel and comes shrouded in the cover art of Joe Petagno of MOTÖRHEAD fame.