In a new interview with Fox Radio host Terrence Long, MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine was asked how he has managed to keep the band's momentum for more than four decades despite going through a number of lineup changes over the years. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Certain people say that there's been a lot of people that have been in MEGADETH, and there's been a lot of people that have said they were in the band — people who were auditioned, people who were in name only. For almost 50 years, the amount of people that we have on record is really pretty small. If you think about David Bowie, he had loads of people he played with. And, for me, I wished that it was just one lineup the whole time, honestly. But you don't always have that luxury of playing with the same people for long periods of time, especially in something as intense as thrash metal. Because face it, thrash metal's a young man's game, and certain people grow up, they grow old and some people change. They still have the fire, some people don't."

Reflecting on MEGADETH's early years, Mustaine said: "There was just a quality about the music and the scene that we were all a part of that I really loved being in the middle of. We would go places and we would see people, and there we were, and that was a great feeling because it was like we had our own private club, and we would show up and it just felt good, because everybody that was there was part of that scene, part of that metal, part of that brethren. And we all wanted to be part of that scene, and we all knew who was part of that scene. A very famous shirt that was being worn around a long time ago was a hand-painted t-shirt of one of the guys from MÖTLEY [CRÜE], and it was a shirt that had a line through it, and it said, 'No posers.' And I think that was the bass player that was wearing that shirt. But, anyways, there was a huge standoff between the guys that played metal and the people who were more of the pop kind of guys, the glam guys."

Mustaine also talked about his decision to release what is being billed as MEGADETH's final studio album, the recently released self-titled effort, and embark on a "farewell" tour. Asked if he feels he has said everything he wanted to say with his music, Mustaine replied: "Well, it's not because I wanna quit. My hand is giving me problems, and I don't wanna keep playing if I can't play. That, to me, is a little frightening. I don't wanna go out in front of our fans and not be able to do my best. I wanna make sure that I do my best and that fans will always be smacking each other, saying, 'Can you believe what I just saw?' That kind of stuff. So, yeah, I don't know how much longer we'll be touring. It may be a little while. It may not."

He added: "It sucks when you got guys that don't have a debilitating situation that are just being lazy, and you see 'em just taking the easy way out. That, to me, is kind of shitty. But I am who I am when it comes down to playing and the way that I take the stage. I don't wanna ever go out there and do it half-assed. I wanna make sure that I kick ass every time I take the stage. And I believe that every time we've hit the stage on this last tour, every date that we've done so far, we've done that, that it's 100% and we're ready to go. And we've put on great shows."

MEGADETH recently announced "Breakout: Hibernation Of The Nations", a European chapter of the band's multi-year global farewell headline tour. Kicking off March 9, 2027 in Belfast, the 24-date arena run will bring MEGADETH to fans across the United Kingdom and mainland Europe before concluding April 13 in Lisbon, Portugal. Joining MEGADETH for the entire tour are fellow metal titans BLACK LABEL SOCIETY and TESTAMENT.

The European leg will visit 12 of the 22 global markets where the album reached the Top 5, underscoring MEGADETH's continued international appeal. Rather than a single farewell run, the band's final journey has been designed as a multi-year, multi-continent celebration, giving fans around the world several opportunities to experience MEGADETH live.

"Megadeth" debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart after earning 73,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending January 29, 2026, according to Luminate. The bulk of that sum was driven by pure album sales (purchases of physical and digital copies of the album),totaling 69,000.

The follow-up to "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!", "Megadeth" was released via Mustaine's Tradecraft imprint on Frontiers Label Group's new BLKIIBLK label.

"Megadeth" also claimed the top spot in Australia (highest previous position No. 2) and Austria (highest previous position No. 8). Other top five spots included No. 2 in Finland (and No. 1 physical),Sweden (plus No. 1 physical; highest previous position No. 9) and Belgium (highest previous position: No. 6); No. 3 in both the U.K. and Germany (highest previous position No. 6); No. 4 in the Netherlands (highest previous position No. 7); and No. 5 in both Italy (highest previous position No. 15) and New Zealand (highest chart position ever).

For its final album, MEGADETH once again worked with Chris Rakestraw, a producer, mixer and engineer who previously worked on MEGADETH's last two LPs, the aforementioned "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" and 2016's "Dystopia".

Guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari joined MEGADETH nearly three years ago. He stepped in as the replacement for Brazilian-born guitarist Kiko Loureiro, who announced in September 2023 that he would sit out the next leg of MEGADETH's "Crush The World" tour in order to stay home with his children back in Finland.

In addition to Mustaine and Mäntysaari, MEGADETH's current lineup includes drummer Dirk Verbeuren and bassist James LoMenzo.

Six-time-Juno-nominated Canadian hardcore punk heavyweights CANCER BATS have shared the official music video for "Give Me Dirt", the title track of their eighth studio album, which is being released on August 7 via Bat Skull Records in partnership with New Damage Records in Canada and via Marshall Records in the rest of the world.

The "Give Me Dirt" clip was directed by Mitch Barnes, who also worked on the videos for the LP's first two singles, "Stay Stuck" and "Long Tooth".

As the follow-up to their 2022 Juno-nominated, critically acclaimed seventh studio album "Psychic Jailbreak", "Give Me Dirt" pushes CANCER BATS' artistry to new heights, fully realizing the sound they have pursued throughout their musical careers. Produced by legendary metal producer Kurt Ballou (CONVERGE, KVELERTAK, HIGH ON FIRE, EVERY TIME I DIE) and Zach Weeks at GodCity Studios in Salem, Massachusetts, with vocals recorded by Ian Romano (THE OUTFIT, PIGPEN, ANCIENT SHAPES) at Camera Varda Studios in Welland, Ontario, "Give Me Dirt" sees CANCER BATS at their most sonically inspiring.

As with their earlier work, the music came together organically, with all four members — lead vocalist Liam Cormier, drummer Mike Peters, bassist Jaye Schwarzer and newest addition Jackson Landry on guitar (Jackson replaced Scott Middleton in 2023) — jamming in the same room. One key lesson the band carried over from their last album was that the real magic happens when everyone is fully collaborating. Once the riffs, breakdowns, and grooves were locked in, Cormier returned to rural Nova Scotia to craft the lyrics and vocal hooks. Many of the songs took shape on dusty forest roads, along winding dirt bike trails, and while brewing campfire coffee on secluded North Shore beaches.

Inspired by a year of travel, "Give Me Dirt" unfolds as both an outward and inward journey, grounded in a deep connection to nature. The songs explore leaving urban life behind, processing personal loss, and confronting environmental devastation, while also reflecting on lessons drawn from the natural world.

Motorcycle travel forms another central thread on "Give Me Dirt". From riding through the harsh conditions of the Canadian Rockies to a transformative journey in the mountains of Nepal just before recording, these experiences shaped the album's perspective.

The overarching theme of returning to nature and re-connecting with the physical world, also provided inspiration for the album's artwork. Instead of using digital tools, Cormier created a giant four-foot-by-eight-foot mixed-media painting for the front and back covers. Using materials like paint, paper, stencils and drywall mud, he incorporated whatever he could get his hands on to build a large-scale, tactile piece. A second artwork of similar size was created for the liner notes featuring handwritten lyrics, collages, and similar paints and stencils used on the cover.

Cormier explains his motivation: "So many people I find are so sick of A.I. these days and all things that look too polished. I wanted the artwork to capture the energy of the album but also represent us as a band, we are rough and dirty, our sound is loud and a mix of so many influences. Making art like this felt like such a good visual representation of not only the songs, but also CANCER BATS ourselves."

"Give Me Dirt" track listing:

01. World Wild Fire Death Race (feat. Nate Newton)
02. Stay Stuck
03. Don't Trip
04. Bright Eyes Of Gold (feat. Chris Creswell)
05. Give Me Dirt
06. Long Tooth (feat. Brooklyn Doran)
07. Speed Wizard
08. Ocean Crash
09. Positive Grid
10. Prognosis
11. Fool Like You (feat. Efrem Schulz)

Photo credit: Joey Senft

In a new interview with Scott Penfold of Loaded Radio, W.A.S.P. leader Blackie Lawless spoke about the status of his long-in-the-works autobiography, which has the working title of "Tales From The Square Mile". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "When I first started writing, I asked [IRON MAIDEN singer] Bruce Dickinson, I said, 'How long did it take you to do your book ['What Does This Button Do?']?' He says, 'About six months.' And I'm thinking, 'Well, it'll take six months.' Well, six years later [it's still not done].

"When I first got into it, I thought it was my singular story," Blackie explained. "And that seemed reasonable enough, because it's about my own story. But as I started to get into it, I started to realize that it is not just my story. It is about the town itself. And the more I started to understand that, the more everything started to change, as far as the book.

"There's only two guys left, if you think about it, that were there in the beginning, that saw the '70s and, obviously, the '80s," Lawless continued. "But there's only two guys — myself and Rudy Sarzo [former Ozzy Osbourne and current QUIET RIOT bassist]. Now, Rudy wrote a book ['Off The Rails'] a while back where he went into detail about what happened when he was with Ozzy and all that, and what happened when [late Ozzy guitarist] Randy [Rhoads] died and all that. I had lunch, or dinner, with Rudy about six, seven months ago, and I just wanted to pick his brain about what was going on with this. But I told him the approach that I was taking with this, and it was a very, very different type of approach to anything anybody had done before, and he was fully supportive of it. But that's really what it's about.

"When I got into it, I found out that it was about the town itself. I'll give you an example," Blackie added. "Blackie Lawless is a combination of Zorro and Dracula. Those were my two childhood heroes growing up. Well, the first year that I was here, I slept on people's floors. And the next year and a half, I moved into my deluxe accommodations, which was a closet that was three feet by 12 feet. And I was in there for a year and a half. Well, come to find out when I'm doing research on this book, that [Hungarian–American actor] Bela Lugosi had lived, the best I can figure, he was about 75 feet away from where I was when I was in that closet. Had I known that, I'd have been down there putting flowers on his doorstep every day. But I didn't know that at the time. But there's coincidence after coincidence after coincidence that people are gonna look at in this book, they're gonna read it, and they're gonna think, 'There's no way that this can be true.' It is true. Every word of it is true. And like I said, the deeper I got into it, the more I started to realize it is not just my singular story, it's about the town itself."

As for a possible timeline for the release of "Tales From The Square Mile", Lawless said: "Well, I keep telling people a year. I'm at a point now where I've done most of the research. So, I'm about halfway finished. So, I mean, we're getting ready to do this tour, so there won't be a whole lot going on there. But I'm hoping, and I got my fingers crossed, I'm hoping next year sometime."

This past April, Blackie told Matt Wardlaw of Ultimate Classic Rock about his autobiography: "The amount of research that it took to get a lot of these stories correct is really time consuming. And I find that there will be times where it'll take me six, seven hours to write two paragraphs because of the amount of research that's going on. Because when I first started this, like probably everybody else, I would've thought it would've been my singular story. And that seemed reasonable at the time. But the more I got into it, the more I realized it was not just my story."

Regarding why he decided to name the book "Tales From The Square Mile", Blackie said: "What it's about is that square mile that I was living in in Hollywood at the time, and the influences that the town itself would have on not just me, but the music industry overall, and we are all tied to it, whether we know it or not. Because the way the movie studio systems were set up in the '20s, '30s and '40s had a direct influence on what the record companies would be later. So all this research, like I said, that went into to uncovering a lot of what I've been doing has just taken an enormous amount of time. But the little nuggets that I've discovered that I think people will find interesting for me were fascinating when I would uncover them. And there's a lot of goofy coincidences that have happened in it too, the things that have been uncovered. So, like I said, I think it's gonna be an interesting read when people see it. It's not your gonna be your typical rock and roll book by any stretch."

Asked what has been the most enlightening thing for him as he has taken stock of everything that was going on during his earlier years, Blackie said: "Oh, man. Well, when you write a book, especially something like this, you realize you saved yourself about 40 years of being on a psychiatrist's couch because the rabbit holes that you have to go down… It's really revealing, because we have surface memory of events that have happened in our lives, but it's not until we go to really start digging deeper at any specific event that might have happened in your life. You think you remember it, and you do on the surface, but it's not until you start really going back to wherever that event may have happened in your head and you start looking and visualizing everything that was going on at the time. And man, I'm here to tell you, there's a lot of stones that you uncover that some are good and some are not so good. But I've come to the understanding that this is not a book I could have written 20 years ago, because I wasn't in the headspace to write it. So it's been — as the old GRATEFUL DEAD song says, 'What a long, strange trip it's been.' It's been that."

As for which area covered in the book was a particular "challenge" for him to write about, Lawless said: "Childhood. Because that too is where you start going down these rabbit holes and things that you think… It reminds me of the old Peter Gabriel song, 'Digging in the dirt to find the places where we got hurt.' My dad was in the construction business, and we traveled a lot when I was a kid. I ended up going to 13 different schools by the time I graduated. So I was constantly the new kid. And it's hard to make friends. And the friends you do make, as soon as you make them, you're gone again. And that ended up having quite a bit more of an impact on me growing up than even I gave it credit for. And as men, or as boys, we were constantly being tested by the older kids and stuff like that. So there was a lot of brutality that went on with it. But I would say in a word, childhood."

Back in October 2022, Lawless told Rockin' Metal Revival about the process of writing his autobiography: "When I sat down to start writing the book, it just poured out of me. And that was an interesting process, too, because, never having done that before, you always think of the… the first thing that comes to anybody's head is the things that stand out. But what I found that more than anything is it was a process of self-discovery, because if you look at any given event that may happen in your life that's significant — we all have those; those signposts that point us in one direction or another — it's one thing to write about it, but to get to the root of it, what you have to do is go back and do some real self-examination and say, 'Okay, what led me to this? And then what led me to that?' And so forth."

He continued: "It reminds me. I've heard stories of psychiatrists, when they tell people, if they've gone through something that's intense in their life or they've lost a loved one or something like that, write them a letter," he continued. "And I found that doing this is very much like that. Because I've never done the thing that the psychiatrists have said — fortunately, I've never been put in that position — but it reminded me of hearing what they were saying, because it ends up being a letter to yourself. And you discover some interesting stuff — the good, the bad, the ugly and all that. And it's quite a revealing process, because the person you are now is not the person you were when you were doing some of those idiotic things, or when something intense happened in your life that wasn't idiotic. But again, what led you from point A to point B to become that person, and you look back on it now and you go, 'Wow, look how I've changed.'"

"Writing, whether it's lyrics or anything like that, you try to write them as multi-dimensional as you can because the listener, when they listen to it today, you want them in five years to be able to look at those same lyrics and see something totally different, because who they are in five years is not who they are right now," Lawless added. "So that's really what you're trying to do."

Lawless previously talked about his autobiography in May 2022 in an interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station. At the time, he said: "It's taken a whole lot longer than I thought it would, but it's been one of the most fun things I've ever done in my life. It's a tremendous amount of work because there's so many things, over the course of a lifetime, that you forget about, especially when you do what we do for a living. Anybody that does what we do, it's not like the average person out there where you go to work and you do your thing and you get into a routine. And there's nothing wrong with that; it's different.

"I've often said that I've already… because of the schedule and the way that any band has to do things — you're here today; you're somewhere else tomorrow — it's like you've already lived four or five of somebody else's lifetimes," he explained. "And because of the amount of intensity that goes into the same amount of space that everybody has. Twenty-four hours for somebody that does this is not the same as twenty-four hours for somebody that's in a routine. And it can get a little on the insane side.

"The first thing I did was interview everybody that I could think of and said, 'What are your memories of this?'" Blackie revealed. "So I got those. But then where I got the majority of it from was really going back in my own head. And the deeper I got into it, the more things I had totally forgotten about. Because, like I said, there's so many things that will happen in a given day that the only thing you remember is the most intense thing. But maybe the two or three other things that were just under it were just as intense, but you don't remember it. You remember being on the flight the time the guys got angry with a stewardess and stuffed her in the overhead bin, but you don't remember the two or three things that happened under that. That's a true story, by the way."

Asked what he has learned about himself from digging into his life while writing his book, Blackie said: "In the preface of the book, I write that this has been a process of discovery — both good and bad. I would say, after it's all said and done, that it's been far, far more good than bad, because what it's done for me, it's been like writing a script to a movie. And again, like I said, there's a lot of stuff you forget about. But also at the same time, what it does is it helps you connect the dots of your own life, of maybe things that you didn't really think about were connected, and you go back and you look at it and you go, 'This is as plain as the nose on my face. Why couldn't I have seen this before?' And there's been a number of incidences like that — just things that are personal that might not be something that you could share with anybody else, because it wouldn't make sense to them. But then again there may be things that are. So I'm hoping that when people read this, they'll see a lot of themselves in it."

W.A.S.P. recently announced the "1984 To Headless" 2026 U.S. and Canada tour with KK'S PRIEST as very special guest. The tour will kick off on September 10 in California and run through October 31. W.A.S.P. will play the hits from the band's first four albums: the band's iconic debut LP in 1984, followed the next year with "The Last Command", "Inside The Electric Circus" in 1987 and "The Headless Children" in 1989.

W.A.S.P. is again offering fans VIP tickets that give fans a chance to meet Blackie, get a personal photo with Blackie, autographs, a W.A.S.P. traveling museum with new items added since the last U.S. tour, and take part in a very personal Q&A with Blackie. VIP tickets can be purchased at waspnation.myshopify.com.

W.A.S.P. will take the "1984 To Headless" tour to Europe and the rest of the world in 2027.

In an interview with Paolo Phoenix of Magenta TV conducted at last weekend's Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany, former ARCH ENEMY singer Alissa White-Gluz spoke about the three music projects which are currently keeping her very busy: her upcoming solo album, "Alissa"; her brand new, all-woman group called BLUE MEDUSA; and her recently announced collaboration with DRAGONFORCE as the latter group's first-ever frontwoman. Asked how she manages to deliver all three projects with the kind of quality that she does, Alissa said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, so I think for a lot of artists, we have a creative force in us that we need to get out, and it's fun to do it across multiple things. And so for solo project-wise, I'm just me. So everything I'm doing, I guess, is just something that I feel like is fun for me to do or fulfilling artistically, and that's why I do all sorts of collaborations. And then BLUE MEDUSA is my main passion and my main focus. That's where I'm putting all of my energy and all of my attention into every detail, and it's really the band that I've just always wanted to have. And then getting to sing with DRAGONFORCE, who are just amazing legends and super-nice people, super-great musicians, great songs, that's obviously an honor also, and I'm very happy to be doing that. But my main passion and the bulk of my focus is on BLUE MEDUSA."

Regarding the musical differences between BLUE MEDUSA and DRAGONFORCE, Alissa said: "BLUE MEDUSA is really — it's me. That is the music I love. That is who I am. That's what I wanna be doing. That's how I wanna sound. It's what I wanna say. And DRAGONFORCE is so high energy, and that's super important to me as a performer. I like to perform really high-energy music. And energy could be the mood, the tempo, the pitch — it could be all sorts of different things. And so DRAGONFORCE's energy on stage is so high that it's so much fun to perform with them. And, actually, almost by coincidence, their songs are written really in a very comfortable range for me, really in my Goldilocks zone, so it's a lot of fun to sing their songs. And I feel like I'm able to express a side of my voice that I've been wanting to express for a while. For example, I'm a huge fan of musical theater, and so when I'm singing with DRAGONFORCE, I almost feel like I'm flexing my musical theater voice a little bit, because it's obviously very epic, and it's very challenging vocally, just in the pace and getting the breathing, but it's something that I really want to improve at, and I want to be able to practice. And now I have a reason to."

White-Gluz is joined in BLUE MEDUSA by guitarists Alyssa Day (MINDSCAR, ABSENTIA) and Dani Sophia (ex-Till Lindemann). Bassist Alicia Vigil (DRAGONFORCE, VIGIL OF WAR) and drummer Delaney Jaster (STITCHED UP HEART) will also take part in BLUE MEDUSA's live shows.

BLUE MEDUSA has released two singles so far: "Checkmate" and "Flying Monkey".

White-Gluz, former vocalist of Canadian extreme metallers THE AGONIST, joined ARCH ENEMY in 2014 as the replacement for Angela Gossow.

In November 2025, it was announced that ARCH ENEMY had parted ways with Alissa. That same day she released "The Room Where She Died", the first single from her upcoming solo album.

Earlier this year, Alissa told U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine that she was reluctant to discuss her split with ARCH ENEMY, admitting she didn't "know how to answer" when she was asked about the details of her departure.

ARCH ENEMY released four studio albums with White-Gluz on vocals: "War Eternal" (2014),"Will To Power" (2017),"Deceivers" (2022) and "Blood Dynasty" (2025).

Throughout her career, the now-41-year-old Alissa has consistently used her music as a vehicle for social change, addressing pressing issues such as environmental conservation, veganism, and the ethical treatment of animals.

ARCH ENEMY played its final show with White-Gluz at the closing concert of the band's European "Blood Dynasty" 2025 tour with AMORPHIS, ELUVEITIE and GATECREEPER on November 15, 2025 in Düsseldorf, Germany.

DRAGONFORCE made its official live debut with White-Gluz on May 9 at the Welcome To Rockville festival in Daytona Beach, Florida.

In a new interview with Lyndsey Parker of Gold Derby, HEART guitarist Nancy Wilson confirmed that a new studio album from the legendary rock band is "almost finished up now". She went on to say that "the recording's all done" for the LP and described the follow-up to 2016's "Beautiful Broken" as "really, really strong. I think it's going to be great," she said.

Regarding how the material for the new HEART album came together, Nancy said: "We wrote a bunch of new songs and recorded down in Nashville with the players that we just played the last tour with. It was like a secondhand thing with each other because we've played so many live shows, so the album was pretty much recorded live."

She added: "I'm really happy. It really feels like a HEART record."

As for a possible release date for the new HEART album, Nancy said: "Well, we're delivering it at the end of August. And so, with the world tour to set up and a documentary film to work on and a live-action feature film and an album and a tour and a new management company, we're getting all of those ducks in a row, so that we can strategize the rollout."

In addition to the upcoming album, HEART is working on a biopic and a band documentary.

HEART frontwoman, and Nancy's sister, Ann Wilson and her acclaimed psych-rock outfit TRIPSITTER will release a new album, "Consecrated Ground", on August 14. The singer will launch a tour in support of the LP in September, with dates currently scheduled through November.

The previously announced HEART biopic is being written and directed by Carrie Brownstein, of SLEATER-KINNEY and "Portlandia" fame, and is being produced for Amazon by Lynda Obst, who has produced more than 20 movies and TV shows, including "Interstellar", "Contact", "Sleepless In Seattle", "The Fisher King", "Flashdance"; Amazon's "Good Girls Revolt", TVLand's "Hot In Cleveland", SyFy's "Helix" and NBC's miniseries "The '60s".

The movie will begin in the Wilson sisters' childhood and end in the '90s.

After taking a break from HEART for a couple of years after a family fallout in 2016, Nancy and Ann mended their complicated relationship and returned to touring.

The North American leg of HEART's "Royal Flush" tour was initially postponed in July 2024 after Ann went public with her cancer diagnosis. She later underwent surgery and got through a course of preventive chemotherapy before returning to the road.

The current members of HEART feature Nancy Wilson (rhythm, lead and acoustic guitar, backing and lead vocals),Ann Wilson (lead vocals and flute),Ryan Wariner (lead and rhythm guitar),Ryan Waters (guitars),Paul Moak (guitars, keyboards and backing vocals),Tony Lucido (bass and backing vocals) and Sean Lane (drums and bike).

HEART's 2013 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame saw Ann and Nancy reunited with the four musicians who helped HEART achieve its initial success in the mid-1970s — guitarist Roger Fisher, bassist Steve Fossen, drummer Michael DeRosier and longtime guitarist-keyboardist Howard Leese.

The Wilson sisters' reunion with HEART's original lineup at the Rock Hall ceremony marked the first time the group played together in 34 years.

When Ann and Nancy formed HEART, the idea of two women leading a rock band was still groundbreaking. From the moment 1975's "Dreamboat Annie" was released, they became stars. With hits like "Magic Man", "Crazy On You", "Barracuda", "Alone", "What About Love" and "These Dreams", the band became one of the biggest hit-makers in the '70s and '80s, selling more than 35 million records. In 2012, their memoir "Kicking & Dreaming: A Story Of Heart, Soul And Rock & Roll" became a New York Times bestseller.

The YouTube channel of the Considered Dead blog has uploaded video of LEFT TO DIE's August 4 concert at Zaścianek in Kraków, Poland. Check out the clips below.

LEFT TO DIE is the band featuring classic DEATH members Terry Butler (also formerly of MASSACRE and currently in OBITUARY) and Frederick "Rick Rozz" DeLillo (ex-MASSACRE) paired with GRUESOME founders Matt Harvey (EXHUMED) and Gus Rios (ex-MALEVOLENT CREATION).

LEFT TO DIE performs most of the songs from DEATH's classic "Leprosy" album, along with cuts from DEATH's debut LP, "Scream Bloody Gore".

Butler was unable to make the first five shows of LEFT TO DIE's summer 2026 European tour and was temporarily replaced by Jörgen Sandström of GRAVE and ENTOMBED fame.

Before launching into the final song of the regular set, "Zombie Ritual", at the Kraków concert, Harvey told the crowd:  "This next one is our last one for the evening, and it's for [late DEATH mastermind] Chuck [Schuldiner] and it's for [late DEATH drummer] Sean Reinert, it's for [Chicago metal legend] Shaun Glass, it's for [late DEATH bassist] Scott Clendenin, and all those who didn't make it here with us tonight, man. Check it out."

Schuldiner died on December 13, 2001 after a battle with pontine glioma, a rare type of brain tumor. He was only 34 years old.

Reinert was found unresponsive at his California home on January 24, 2020. He was only 48 years old.

Glass, who has played with a number of acclaimed metal bands over the past four decades, including SOIL, BROKEN HOPE, SINDROME, TERMINAL DEATH, DIRGE WITHIN, THE BLOODLINE and, more recently, REPENTANCE, passed away on July 1, 2026, a month after suffering a stroke at his Illinois home that he shared with his wife Michelle and their 13-year-old son Maddux.

Clendenin died in March 2015 at the age of 47. He had battled various health issues in the few years prior to his passing.

LEFT TO DIE released its debut full-length album, "Initium Mortis", on July 17 via Relapse Records.

"Initium Mortis" pays homage to the brutal beginnings of DEATH with newly recorded versions of songs from the band's early catalog, including cuts from DEATH mastermind Chuck Schuldiner's pre-DEATH band MANTAS, which also featured Rozz and vocalist/drummer Kam Lee.

Founded in 1984 by Chuck Schuldiner under the original name of MANTAS in Altamonte Springs, Florida, DEATH was among the more widely known early pioneers of the death metal sound, along with California's POSSESSED. Inspired by NASTY SAVAGE, DEATH was among the first bands in the Florida death metal scene. In the late '80s, the band was both a part of and integral in defining the death metal scene which gained international recognition with the release of albums by a number of area acts.

"Born Human: The Life And Music Of Death's Chuck Schuldiner", the fully authorized biography of the legendary DEATH frontman, was released in November 2025 via Decibel Books.

"Born Human", authored by accomplished journalist David E. Gehlke ("The Scott Burns Sessions: A Life In Death Metal 1987-1997", "Turned Inside Out: The Official Story Of Obituary"),features exclusive interviews, contributions, stunning new Ed Repka cover art and previously unreleased, hand-selected photographs from those who knew Chuck best. "Born Human" brings life to the dramatic story of the man who blazed an iconic path in metal music, laying the foundation for generations to come.

Fans can order their copy now at store.decibelmagazine.com.

Michael Kiske joins Chris Jericho for an in-depth conversation about one of Helloween’s most misunderstood albums, 1993’s Chameleon. Kiske explains why the band intentionally pushed beyond power metal, how Kai Hansen’s departure changed Helloween’s chemistry, why Chameleon felt more like three solo albums than a true band record, and how working with producer Tommy Hansen, real horn players, live string sections, and Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood helped shape the album’s ambitious sound.

Kiske also shares the story behind the lawsuit that sidelined Helloween for two years and the injunction that prevented the band from recording or touring. He explains how those lost years affected drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg and the band’s momentum, why the backlash to Chameleon caught him by surprise, and why he believes artists have to take creative risks. He discusses the inspiration behind songs like “When The Sinner”, “Longing”, and “I Believe”, why he was blamed for the album’s direction, and the events that ultimately led to his departure from Helloween before returning decades later for one of heavy metal’s greatest reunions.

Since we launched our Streaming For Vengeance series in 2020, the “Rapid Fire” segment is one of the most exciting parts of our interview, where BraveWords really gets up close and personal with some of the biggest stars in hard rock and heavy metal!

And it’s not very often that BraveWords is honoured to ask our Rapid Fire questions to one of the writers of the actual song the title hails from! Of course, “Rapid Fire” kicks off Judas Priest’s glorious British Steel album from 1980! So BraveWords asked legendary KK’s Priest guitarist K.K. Downing to answer some up close and personal moments from his illustrious career!



BraveWords “Rapid Fire” With
KK’s PRIEST’s K.K. Downing
BraveWords: When was the moment that you decided that music was your life?

K.K. Downing: “I think I was 17, I guess. I got my first guitar when I was 16, but by the time I was 17 going on 18 I managed to be in a couple of bands, you know, pop bands, playing tunes, and stuff. I think at one point, by the time I was 19, I was in three bands. And I’m thinking, ‘I can make this work. I’m going to make this work, whatever happens’. So, around about that time. Because I had long since given up working, that’s all I was doing, was the music thing. But it seemed to be accelerating, at a fast rate, you’re always, like, writing songs, as well.”

BraveWords: Who is your rock star, or metal god?

K.K. Downing: “Definitely Jimi Hendrix. Everybody knows that. I saw Jimi when I was 16, and I was so blown away, and I just thought, ‘This is very colorful, and it’s also blowing my eardrums out’. I’m thinking, ‘This is what I want to do’, you know? I want to be that colourful guy making people’s ears bleed.”

BraveWords: And you did it. Have you ever asked for an autograph?

K.K. Downing: “I got Jimi’s autograph a couple of times. I got his autograph when he played the Isle of Wight in 1970, and I got his autograph when he played the Royal Albert Hall. He played two shows there, and that was probably a couple of years before, I’m not too sure. I got everybody’s autograph, as much as I could.”

BraveWords: What do you think about this vinyl craze, as we talk about the vinyl, and what was your first vinyl purchase? As a kid? Do you remember?

K.K. Downing: “It was probably John Mayall, I think I think it might have been Hard Road. I’m not sure which other album it might have been, but I didn’t have enough money to buy vinyls. We just used to go around people’s houses to listen to their records, you know? But when I did start to get a bit of money, obviously I would buy. I certainly bought Are You Experienced? as soon as that came out, I can remember buying that. That was probably one of the first vinyls, it may have even been the first vinyl, I think.”

BraveWords: What album do people talk to you most about? What Judas Priest album do people talk to you most about?

K.K. Downing: “Probably, the Painkiller album, maybe. Like I say, there’s no promotion going on with any of the records, I think in the interim periods a lot of it is probably Painkiller.”

BraveWords: There’s two key moments in heavy metal history where a band brought in a brand new drummer and the album would kick off with a classic drum moment: one would be “Where Eagles Dare”, with Nicko (McBrain replacing Clive Burr on Piece Of Mind), and “Painkiller” when you brought Scott Travis in to replace Dave Holland.

K.K. Downing: “I think with the Painkiller album, and I’ve got to say that people don’t realize this, but that album was not as successful as we would have liked it to have been, straight away. There is a lot of things that happened about that time, wasn’t it, Tim? There was a lot of things going on. I think Painkiller was probably a bit of a stretch for a lot of traditional Priest fans, you know. Whether it’s, I think that it might have been a step forward towards the heavier side of metal, for a lot of fans. But there were a lot of things that were happening at that time, because I know we went out there and we took out Pantera. We were just playing small clubs at the time, nobody knew who they were. But there was a transitional period in metal that was between Painkiller and everything else. Pantera, and Megadeth, and so many other bands. So-called new metal. So, I think it might have been a touch too much for a lot of traditional Priest fans, but as time went on, they realized that Painkiller compared a lot of other bands, wasn’t as edgy, you know what I mean? There were so many new metals coming on, death metal, speed, metal, industrial metal, so many alternative metal styles that made Painkiller almost seem a touch too light for a lot of the new metal fans. But as time went on, obviously the Painkiller album became very much revered as a groundbreaker. We always say when you release an album, chances are, nine times out of ten, that it’s going to be a bit too soon, or a bit too late. It’s very rare that you get the timing for a record exactly right, and when did Judas Priest get a record that was exactly right for the time? Maybe British Steel?”

BraveWords: Or this one (holds up Screaming For Vengeance record).

K.K. Downing: “Maybe. You’re absolutely right. I think Screaming For Vengeance may have been another ‘This is the right time, this is the right record’, because that was the band’s biggest-ever selling record.”

BraveWords: Now, you’re talking to a fan that’s based in southern Ontario, and I was at that August 19th, 1991 CNE Grandstand show (called Operation Rock & Roll also featuring Alice Cooper, Motörhead, Dangerous Toys and Metal Church) when Rob rode out on his Harley and was knocked off it by a piece of low-hanging stage prop. He broke his nose, then he left the band. What are your memories from that night? Or do you want to even think about it?

K.K. Downing: “That was a horrible moment, really. For the fans that don’t know, it’s a big outdoor venue. And from the stage to the dressing rooms it was a car ride. It started off, in the first car was Rob and I forgot who else, and the rest of us, well we couldn’t find the car keys to start off, and we were late getting in the car anyway. And so we got to – they started the intro tape when we were still driving to the stage – and of course we didn’t get to the stage in time, because a set of stairs in the middle of the stage would kind of rise up and then Rob would ride the motorbike out onto the stage. But the stairs didn’t go high enough, and Rob drove out and collided with the stairs and knocked himself out. By this time we got the guitars, we went on stage, but there was dry ice and smoke, and we didn’t know Rob was on the stage, because he was flat out. So we played the first song without any vocals.”

BraveWords: I don’t mean to laugh, but it’s a Spinal Tap moment, right?

K.K. Downing: “It’s an absolute Spinal Tap moment. To Rob’s credit, he just picked himself up and dusted himself off and performed. And that was the last gig for 14 years with Rob in Judas Priest.”

Following the critical and commercial success of "The Way We Were Vol. 1" and the acclaimed studio album "The Accidental", Francis Rossi returns to his personal archive with "The Way We Were Vol. 2". Released on September 25, 2026, on CD, 2LP and digital formats, the collection features 17 previously unreleased demo recordings, with "My Little Heartbreaker" available to stream and download from today.

Released last year, "The Way We Were Vol. 1" was warmly received by critics and fans alike. Classic Rock magazine said the songs "collectively... portray a craftsman committed to his art. An impressive set. Here's to 'Vol. 2'". Now, "The Way We Were Vol. 2" shines once again a light on the songwriting partnership of Francis Rossi and longtime collaborator Bob Young.

Five of the 17 recordings have never been heard outside the studio. Others would later appear on STATUS QUO's "Heavy Traffic" (2002),"The Party Ain't Over Yet" (2005),"In Search Of The Fourth Chord" (2007) and "Quid Pro Quo" (2011),Francis Rossi's solo album "One Step At A Time" (2010),and the ROSSI/RICKARD release "We Talk Too Much" (2019). Released today alongside the album announcement, "My Little Heartbreaker" is the original demo of the song later released on "In Search Of The Fourth Chord".

Captured at the point of creation, these recordings preserve Rossi's original arrangements, lyrics and melodies before they evolved into the finished recordings familiar to Francis Rossi and STATUS QUO audiences.

Rossi says: "Some ideas, sketches and demos just don't survive long enough to become something that could be finished off effectively — and the reasons are not always good ones. I could listen to this for hours, and I need to find out if other people feel the same, that's why I am putting this album series out there. There's something that I tell any of the musicians that I work with, even those of my kids who record things: once you write a song, it exists and it will always be there."

While all of these songs are indeed demo versions, they have been carefully and comprehensively laid down — these are much more than sketches. "The Way We Were Vol. 2" offers another fascinating insight into the creative process behind one of British rock's most enduring songwriters.

Shortly before the album's release, Francis Rossi embarks on another U.K. solo tour beginning on September 22, 2026. Between September and November 2026, and again between March and May 2027, he will also be welcoming audiences to his "Quo Song Book - Past, Present, Future" tour. All tour dates and further information can be found at www.francisrossi.com/tour.

"The Way We Were Vol. 2" track listing:

01. My Little Heartbreaker
02. I Cried *
03. I Ain't Ready
04. Never Say Never
05. The Winner
06. I'm Watching Over You
07. Walk In The Sun *
08. Crazy For You
09. Heavy Traffic
10. Diggin' Burt Bacharach
11. You Let Me Down
12. If You Believe (alternate demo)
13. Sinking In Blue
14. Syncopated (instrumental) *
15. Little By Little *
16. Tallulah's Waiting (alternate demo)
17. Everybody Wants To Get High (instrumental) *

* Songs never heard before

In a new interview with Dimitris Kontogeorgakos of Metal Kaoz, vocalist Eric "A.K." Knutson of veteran Arizona metallers FLOTSAM AND JETSAM was asked about the possibility of him and his bandmates embarking on a U.S. tour in support of their upcoming album, "Rats In The Temple", which is due on August 28, 2026 via Napalm Records. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "U.S. is so hard to tour in. I mean, if you're not with a good package deal, it's just not worth it money-wise. But we're talking to some people, and we'll get something going eventually.

"We just don't get out in the U.S. very often," Eric continued. "We do so much better in Europe that it makes more financial sense to play Europe, if we have the chance, rather than the States. I hate to do that to our U.S. fans, but bottom lines are bottom lines, and we get twice as many fans at the shows, and we make twice as much money over in Europe. So it's just a hard thing to do.

"When we go on a U.S. tour, I drive because we can't afford a driver," Eric explained. "We can't afford a bus. We can't afford crew except for maybe a sound guy. Once we start taking all that stuff out of the budget, we go home, and we've got $5 in our pocket. We're, like, 'Well, I should have stayed home and just went to work.' So it's really hard to balance what you can take out, what you can't take out. We're not quite a band like TESTAMENT who can have huge guarantees and pay for everything and still make money at it. Our merch does pretty good, so that helps a lot. But the U.S. is just really tough, and it's not fair to our American fans."

FLOTSAM AND JETSAM's current lineup is arguably its strongest ever. Knutson continues bringing the magic, steadily improving his craft with every album and tour. He's backed by the incredibly talented, exceptionally brilliant guitar duo of co-founder Michael Gilbert and Steve Conley, the powerful, precise and lightning fast magic of drummer Ken Mary (ALICE COOPER, ACCEPT) and the "fresh blood", extraordinary technical skills and prowess of bassist Bill Bodily.

FLOTSAM AND JETSAM's new album will mark 40 years since the band's groundbreaking debut, "Doomsday For The Deceiver" — one of the only albums to ever receive a 6K rating from Kerrang! magazine. Though bassist Jason Newsted departed to join METALLICA, the band pushed forward, following up with 1988's unstoppable "No Place For Disgrace". Since then, they have continued to evolve, showcasing some of their best work to date with recent releases "Flotsam And Jetsam", "The End Of Chaos", "Blood In The Water" and "I Am The Weapon".

Chris Stapleton made a surprise guest appearance with GUNS N' ROSES on August 5, 2026, at Rogers Stadium in Toronto, Ontario Canada. The country music star joined the iconic rock band on stage to perform a live rendition of Bob Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door". Fan-filmed video of his appearance can be seen below.

GUNS N' ROSES officially launched the North American leg of their 2026 world tour on July 23, with an opening performance at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina. The show kicked off the band's 18-date stadium, arena and amphitheater run across the United States and Canada this summer.

Following performances across Mexico, Brazil, Poland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France and the U.K., GUNS N' ROSES have once again proven why they remain one of the most dynamic and ferocious live bands on the planet.

The North American run follows a landmark period for the band, including the release of two new singles, "Nothin'" and "Atlas", via Geffen Records — their first new music since 2023 — as well as the acclaimed deluxe reissue of "Live Era '87-'93", featuring newly remastered audio and updated artwork. Together, the new releases continue to expand the band's legendary catalog while complementing the classic songs that have defined generations of rock fans.

Produced by Live Nation, the North American tour continues through September 19 with stops at iconic venues including MetLife Stadium, Allegiant Stadium, BC Place, Globe Life Field, Snapdragon Stadium, Busch Stadium, and a historic return to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena — the band's first performance at the legendary venue in more than 30 years.

Limited tickets remain for select dates at gunsnroses.com, with a variety of VIP packages and fan experiences available through VIP Nation, including premium tickets, the pre-show VIP Lounge, exclusive merchandise, behind-the-scenes tour opportunities, and more.

GUNS N' ROSES have steadily been releasing new material in recent years in conjunction with their sold-out tours across the globe. Following 2023's "The General" and "Perhaps", "Atlas" and "Nothin'" join as vital additions to setlists otherwise featuring all the classic hits and deep cut fan favorites from GN'R's early catalog.

Embedded in popular culture, GUNS N' ROSES' landmark diamond-selling 1987 opus "Appetite For Destruction" stands out as "the best-selling U.S. debut album ever" and "the 11th best-selling U.S. album of all time." Following its release, GUNS N' ROSES shook the world with the one-two punch of the over seven-times-platinum "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II", clinching the top two spots on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart upon arrival. With total sales of 100 million units thus far, their catalog also consists of "GN'R Lies" (five times platinum),"The Spaghetti Incident?" (platinum),"Greatest Hits" (five times platinum),and "Chinese Democracy" (over six million worldwide). Not to mention, they are one of the most-streamed rock bands in the world with an average of 27 million monthly listeners on Spotify and in May 2024 were inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame for their 1987 debut album, "Appetite For Destruction".

On the touring front, GUNS N' ROSES' legendary three-hour-plus shows encompass sought-after fan favorites in addition to newly dusted-off gems from their back catalog, leaving ardent audiences in awe. Their blockbuster 2024 world tour sold 1.3 million tickets around the world and marked the band's largest run to date. Consisting of acclaimed performances in stadiums and arenas alike, the tour included headlining festival dates at Glastonbury and London's Hyde Park, while the North American leg included sold-out performances at historic venues such as the Hollywood Bowl and MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, as well as a co-headlining performance at Power Trip in Indio, California with AC/DC and METALLICA. GUNS N' ROSES' previous world tour, "Not In This Lifetime…", notably ranked as the "fourth-highest grossing concert tour of all time", selling more than five million tickets and included a headline performance at Coachella. The band's massive 2025 tour saw the powerhouse band hit stadiums and arenas in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America throughout the year.

GUNS N' ROSES are Axl Rose (vocals, keyboards),Duff McKagan (bass),Slash (lead guitar),Dizzy Reed (keyboard),Richard Fortus (rhythm guitar),Isaac Carpenter (drums) and Melissa Reese (keyboard).

In an interview with Paolo Phoenix of Magenta TV conducted at this past weekend's Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany, DEF LEPPARD guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell were asked how they manage to keep such an "insane level of craftsmanship" in their live performance after so many years of playing live. Phil said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, we love what we do. We love each other. We rehearse so much. We really sing. A lot of bands don't really do that. We put so much effort into just raising the bar — production, everything. We are our own favorite band, so we have to make sure we keep that kind of expectation really high."

Vivian chimed in: "Everything's important to this band, from writing songs to recording to the live performance to the show and the production. As Phil said, the singing, the playing, all the details matter. It's the sum of the parts that makes it so special. And as Phil also said, we all really genuinely enjoy it, and I think that joy translates in the music. You can tell that we're not just going through the motions and phoning it in. We really feel that it's a great privilege at this time in our life. We're in our 60s now. It's a great privilege to be where we are in our career and to have the opportunity to do this and to play to new audiences like Wacken. And indeed globally, our audience has for many, many years been getting younger. We now genuinely have a multi-generational audience, which is very encouraging, and that further encourages us to make DEF LEPPARD the best band that we can be."

Added Phil: "We played [a residency in Las] Vegas in February, and we'd done 12 shows, and at least four of them were in the top five shows we've ever done. So we keep getting better, and I think that's a great thing. Unfortunately, you see some artists and they kind of give up, and you see that, but we keep pushing it. We just keep raising the bar and just keep making it exciting."

Vivian explained: "We take our energy from the audience. We're playing these songs — most of these songs many, many hundreds or thousands of times. So, for us, the excitement begins with what we feel from the audience, and if it's a very exciting audience, we translate that into our performance and give it back."

DEF LEPPARD is currently working on the follow-up to the "Diamond Star Halos" album, which came out in 2022. DEF LEPPARD's new LP will include the song "Rejoice", which was released in late January ahead of the band's return to Las Vegas for their "Def Leppard: Live at Caesars Palace The Las Vegas Residency".

"Def Leppard: Live at Caesars Palace The Las Vegas Residency" ran through February 28, 2026 at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. These new shows followed the band's sold-out residency successes in 2019 and 2013.

In January 2025, DEF LEPPARD released a cover of Ben E. King's 1961 classic "Stand By Me". All proceeds from the song went to FireAid, which raises money for those impacted by the fires that swept through Los Angeles in January 2025.

DEF LEPPARD's version of the song is featured in the Netflix film "Bank Of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger", which was released in January 2025. The band can be seen performing the track before the credits.

DEF LEPPARD's "Just Like 73" single, featuring a guest guitar solo from RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello, was made available in June 2024.

DEF LEPPARD's 12th studio album, "Diamond Star Halos", came out in 2022. A year later, the band followed it up with "Drastic Symphonies", a collection of reimagining of some of DEF LEPPARD's greatest hits with London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road. The album spent 15 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Current Classical chart.

DEF LEPPARD was finally inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in March 2019 — 14 years after the British rockers first became eligible.

Legendary band SLEEP will release a new album, "Hemispheres", on September 3 digitally and October 30 in physical formats via Jack White's Third Man Records. The follow-up to 2018's "The Sciences" marks SLEEP's first album without founding guitarist Matt Pike (also of HIGH ON FIRE).

A new SLEEP single, "The Morrisist", can be streamed below. The track follows "Have Spacesuit Will Travel", which was made available in June.

SLEEP's lineup on "Hemispheres" consists of founding singer-bassist Al Cisneros alongside Dale Crover on drums and Bubba Dupree on guitar. Dale has been in some serious bands, like the MELVINS and REDD KROSS. That Al would seek him out makes sense, an almost elementary choice that probably wouldn't raise too many eyebrows. Bubba Dupree, from the fiercely loved band VOID, hailing out of Columbia, Maryland, is a pick that is not only completely mind-blowing, but a choice no one would have seen coming.

Cisneros, Dupree and Crover as a trio looks really good on paper, but the only way to see if it worked was to get everyone in a room and play. Al says the answer made itself evident immediately: "The vibe of the first jam was obvious. It was blue sunglasses-era Iommi in the quality, and equally awesome is Bubba is also one of the coolest people I've been able to make music with."

"Hemispheres" track listing:

01. Have Spacesuit Will Travel
02. The Morrisist
03. Hempispheres
04. Arrival of the Industry Ships
05. Whole Wheat Mountain Well Baked

SLEEP will kick off its summer/fall 2026 tour on September 8 in San Diego, California.

SLEEP most recently played half a dozen shows in 2022.

In January 2025, drummer Jason Roeder revealed that he had been "unceremoniously fired by SLEEP's manager over the phone back in November [of 2024]." He added that he hadn't "spoken to Al or Matt in months and that brings some peace to my life that I am thankful for."

Press photo by Travis Shinn

Black death metal force BELPHEGOR has finished work on its 13th studio album, scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2027 via Reigning Phoenix Music.

The forthcoming record will mark the next chapter in BELPHEGOR's uncompromising legacy, continuing the band's relentless exploration of black death metal and its distinctive fusion of brutality, darkness and ceremonial intensity.

As work on the album progresses, BELPHEGOR reminds its supporters to revisit the first two singles from the upcoming release: "Scarlet Beast - Leviathan", which was released in February 2026; and "Sanctus Diaboli Confidimus", which was released in August 2025.

Since their formation in 1993 in Austria, BELPHEGOR have stood as one of the most brutal and transgressive forces in black death metal. Founded by vocalist and guitarist Helmuth Lehner, the band has spent over three decades refining a sound forged in fire and sacrilege, merging the violent precision of death metal with the ritualistic darkness of black metal. Their musick is an invocation of infernal power, a soundwall of relentless blasphemy.

From the raw intensity of early releases like "The Last Supper" (1995),"Blutsabbath" (1997) and "Necrodaemon Terrorsathan" (2000) to the increasingly sophisticated compositions found on albums such as "Lucifer Incestus", "Bondage Goat Zombie", "Pestapokalypse VI" and "Totenritual", BELPHEGOR have continually pushed the boundaries of extreme musick. Each release marks a further descent into forbidden territory.

The band's thematic focus with ritual magick, religious inversion, and arcane symbolism is matched by their technical mastery, multilingual lyrics, and sonic experimentation.

With their twelfth studio album "The Devils" (2022),BELPHEGOR delivered one of their most punishing and ambitious records to date. Recorded at Fascination Street Studios with producer Jens Bogren, the album features nine meticulously crafted compositions that shift seamlessly between feral aggression and solemn majesty. Tracks such as "Glorifizierung Des Teufels" and "Virtus Asinaria - Prayer" incorporate choral passages and ritualistic structure, while "Damnation - Höllensturz" unfolds with a dynamic complexity that further amplifies the band’s compositional vision. Lyrically, the album weaves together German, Latin, and English to cast incantations of death, desecration, and rebellion against sacred order. Accompanied by visionary artwork from Seth Siro Anton, "The Devils" stands as a high point in BELPHEGOR's canon and underscores their continued relevance in the global extreme metal landscape.

Following the success of "The Devils", BELPHEGOR were honored with the 2023 Amadeus Austrian Music Award in the "Hard And Heavy" category, a rare moment of formal recognition in Austria for a band that has long walked a path far removed from mainstream acceptance. This accolade acknowledges their artistic legacy and highlights the contrast between their recognition and the transgressive nature of their craft.

Renowned for their intense live rituals, BELPHEGOR have toured relentlessly across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Australia and beyond. They have appeared at Wacken Open Air, Knotfest, Bloodstock Open Air, Hellfest, Tons Of Rock, Sweden Rock and numerous other prestigious metal festivals. Their stage presence is more than a performance, it is a ceremony of magick and infernal theatre, where sound, smoke, blood, and fire converge in a communion with darkness.

Now, as the band approaches its thirteenth studio album, a deeper and more arcane force begins to stir. The number thirteen bears ancient meaning: endings, thresholds, and the passage into the unknown. Rooted in primordial doctrine, the thirteenth seal is said to bind the final veil between worlds, the last barrier between order and chaos.

With this upcoming release, BELPHEGOR prepares to break that seal, not to follow, but to lead. To summon what lies beyond even their own previous creations: something more primal, more ritualistic, more devastating.

Early glimpses of new material point to a continuation of the dark artistic path begun with "The Devils", now delving even deeper. The upcoming album takes shape as a focused ritual: precise, uncompromising, and rooted in the band’s unmistakable vision, the glorification of the Devil.

Photo by: Jeremy Kehlenbeck

Rock legend Joan Jett has been forced to cancel a couple of shows in September in order to allow sufficient time for recovery after a recent surgical procedure.

On Wednesday, August 5, Joan's social media was updated with the following message: "Following a recent injury, Joan Jett has undergone orthopedic surgery on a fractured vertebrae and will begin the necessary healing process. In close consultation with her doctors, Joan will not be able to perform at her forthcoming September scheduled shows in Costa Mesa, CA on September 5th and in Louisville, KY on September 24th. While Joan hates to disappoint fans, she will be taking this time to focus on physical therapy and healing. She's looking forward to delivering tremendous concerts for many years to come."

Joan Jett grew up during a time when rock 'n' roll was off limits to girls and women, but as a teenager, she promptly blew the door to the boys' club right off its hinges. After forming her band THE BLACKHEARTS in 1979, with whom Jett has become a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee, she has had eight platinum and gold albums and nine Top 40 singles, including the classics "Bad Reputation", "I Love Rock 'N' Roll", "I Hate Myself For Loving You" and "Crimson And Clover".

With a career that has spanned music, film, television, Broadway, and humanitarianism, Joan Jett remains a potent force and inspiration to generations of fans worldwide. As a producer, she has overseen seminal albums by BIKINI KILL, and THE GERMS' L.A. punk masterpiece "GI". Jett and Kenny Laguna (her longtime producer and music partner) co-founded Blackheart Records from the trunk of Kenny's Cadillac after rejections from no less than 23 labels. 40 years later, Blackheart is a thriving entertainment company producing music, film and television, and continues to champion emerging bands.

JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS continue to tour the world with headlining shows alongside fellow rock legends like THE WHO, GREEN DAY, HEART and FOO FIGHTERS.

"Bad Reputation", a documentary about Jett's life, premiered to critical acclaim at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS will reissue their 1981 seminal album "I Love Rock 'N Roll" as a 45th-anniversary edition. The updated set will be available on CD and opaque sky blue vinyl on August 28 via Blackheart Records.

"I Love Rock 'N Roll" is a landmark of rock history, selling over 10 million copies worldwide. The title track dominated the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks, becoming a global anthem and earning spots on multiple "greatest songs" lists. The album also delivered the Top 10 hit "Crimson & Clover".

All four of RUSH's sold-out hometown shows at Toronto, Ontario, Canada's Scotiabank Arena, beginning Friday, August 7, will be filmed in their entirety for a likely concert film.

RUSH will perform four hometown shows at Scotiabank Arena as part of the Canadian rock legends' "Fifty Something" tour on August 7, August 9, August 11 and August 13. These are the band's first hometown performances since returning to the stage in June.

RUSH bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee commented: "It's always a hard decision as to where to film a live concert. Given the limited cities we are able to play, the demand for such a film has been off the charts, not only as a keepsake of their experience, but for those many fans that have not been able to see it live. Toronto being hometown made it a natural choice, and being the last mini-residency of four shows, playing over 40 songs which gives us the best chance to capture it all.

"We know there are fans traveling here from all across the globe and that will make it a special week," he continued. "This tour, being a celebration of our history and a tribute to [late RUSH drummer] Neil [Peart] has been an emotional outpouring from the fans and from us. They have been louder and prouder than ever before, and we hope to capture them letting their ya-yas out while rockin' their best 'Tom Sawyer' air drum fills!"

A representative for RUSH told the Toronto Star plans for the how the concert footage will be used is still being explored.

Lee's brother Allan Weinrib, a longtime RUSH collaborator, will oversee the concert footage, according to the Toronto Star, marking his directorial debut after years producing the band's projects, including the concert film "Rush: R40 Live".

Peart died on January 7, 2020 in Santa Monica, California after a three-year battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He was 67 years old.

RUSH announced Peart's passing three days later, setting off shockwaves and an outpouring of grief from fans and musicians all over the world.

In 2022, Lee revealed that Peart wanted to keep his cancer diagnosis a secret prior to his death.

RUSH is currently on the road with Anika Nilles, a German drummer who toured with legendary guitarist Jeff Beck in 2022, and newly added keyboardist Loren Gold, who is best known as touring member of THE WHO and CHICAGO. The June 7 show at Kia Forum in Los Angeles, California was the kick-off gig of the "Fifty Something" tour, which marks RUSH's first with the band's revamped lineup of classic members Lee (vocals, bass) and Lifeson (guitar) alongside Nilles and Gold.

RUSH is performing multiple shows in cities across Canada, the United States and Mexico. These special "evening with" shows find the band playing two sets each night. Each show features a distinct selection of songs, and RUSH builds each night's setlist from a catalog of around 40 tracks, including its greatest hits and fan favorites.

After Lee and Lifeson announced RUSH's initial 2026 tour dates in early October 2025, they instantly sold out. They then doubled the tour's length due to increased demand before adding even more dates to the trek.