MEGADETH played the song "Puppet Parade" live for the first time during the band's concert Tuesday night (June 24) at Küçükçiftlik Park in Istanbul, Turkey. Fan-filmed video of the performance can be seen below.

"Puppet Parade" was the fourth single from MEGADETH's latest, self-titled album, which came out in January. The follow-up to "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" was released via MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine's Tradecraft imprint on Frontiers Label Group's new BLKIIBLK label.

"Puppet Parade" was previously described as "a cynical look at the loss of individual agency within the machinery of fame and society. It depicts life as a choreographed performance where strings are pulled by unseen hands, and the 'performer' is forced to hide their pain behind a hollow, scripted smile."

Mustaine stated about "Puppet Parade": "'Puppet Parade' was written in a couple different stages. The chorus was very difficult to write — not lyrically; musically. Because we'd been working on these songs for so long, and they all had a number before they had a name… The song we're talking about right now was number eight. And at one point, it was even farther in the back of the songwriting process because we were unable to get that chorus section written. And not for lack of trying, because everybody in the band tried to write a chorus for it. And I had written something for it that I thought was perfect, and my partner Chris [Rakestraw] had said that we should keep searching, see if we could find something else. And nobody could come up with anything, and I ended up coming up with a good chorus for the song. And after that, it was pretty easy getting the lyrics to come into play. The character in the song, it's kind of like another... You referenced earlier 'Falling Down'. That song, 'Another Bad Day', these are all songs that kind of reflect on somebody who is constantly pushing a pencil uphill with his nose. That's how life has become for so many people right now. And I felt that it was better to talk about that so that people that may think, 'Oh, it's, it's gotta be great to be a musician, and have money, and have cars, and all that stuff.' And it doesn't always work like that. I can tell you from experience, it doesn't always work like that."

MEGADETH's setlist for the Istanbul show was as follows:

01. Tipping Point
02. Take No Prisoners
03. Dread And The Fugitive Mind
04. Hangar 18
05. Skin O' My Teeth
06. She-Wolf
07. Sweating Bullets
08. Puppet Parade (live debut)
09. Angry Again
10. Let There Be Shred
11. This Was My Life
12. Tornado Of Souls
13. Mechanix
14. Ride The Lightning (METALLICA song)
15. Symphony Of Destruction
16. Peace Sells
17. Holy Wars… The Punishment Due

MEGADETH's final studio album, "Megadeth", debuted at the top of the U.S. album chart after earning 73,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending January 29, 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.

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).

"The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" sold 48,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marked MEGADETH's eighth top 10-charting album.

MEGADETH's previous top 10 entries on the Billboard 200 were "Countdown To Extinction" (No. 2, 1992),"Youthanasia" (No. 4, 1994),"Cryptic Writings" (No. 10, 1997),"United Abominations" (No. 8, 2007),"Endgame" (No. 9, 2009),"Super Collider" (No. 6, 2013) and "Dystopia" (No. 3, 2016).

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 "Dystopia".

Last August, MEGADETH announced its plans to retire with a farewell album and tour.

"There's so many musicians that have come to the end of their career, whether accidental or intentional," Mustaine explained in a social media post. "Most of them don't get to go out on their own terms on top, and that's where I'm at in my life right now."

Mustaine has since clarified that MEGADETH's farewell run of shows could last "for another three to five years".

MEGADETH was founded in 1983 after Mustaine was kicked out of METALLICA, a band he was a part of for less than a year.

MEGADETH released its debut album, "Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good!", in 1985.

Fan-filmed video of ex-QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate's entire June 16 concert at Sala ReviLive in Vicálvaro, Madrid, Spain during the "Operation: Mindcrime 2026: The Final Chapter" European tour can be seen below.

Featured songs:

00:00 Intro
01:40 I Remember Now (QUEENSRŸCHE song)
02:39 Anarchy-X (QUEENSRŸCHE song)
04:18 Revolution Calling (QUEENSRŸCHE song)
09:05 Operation: Mindcrime (QUEENSRŸCHE song)
13:34 Speak (QUEENSRŸCHE song)
17:17 Spreading The Disease (QUEENSRŸCHE song)
21:30 The Mission (QUEENSRŸCHE song)
27:20 Suite Sister Mary (QUEENSRŸCHE song)
39:15 The Needle Lies (QUEENSRŸCHE song)
42:24 Electric Requiem (QUEENSRŸCHE song)
43:45 Breaking The Silence (QUEENSRŸCHE song)
48:17 I Don't Believe In Love (QUEENSRŸCHE song)
52:36 Waiting For 22 (QUEENSRŸCHE song)
53:47 My Empty Room (QUEENSRŸCHE song)
55:30 Eyes Of A Stranger (QUEENSRŸCHE song)
1:05:14 The Answer
1:08:40 Empire (QUEENSRŸCHE song)
1:13:54 Jet City Woman (QUEENSRŸCHE song)
1:21:06 Take Hold Of The Flame (QUEENSRŸCHE song)

Encore:

1:28:08 Do You Still Believe?
1:36:15 Silent Lucidity (QUEENSRŸCHE song)
1:42:19 Queen Of The Reich (QUEENSRŸCHE song)

In an April 2026 interview with Cassius Morris, Tate was asked how he found his "vocal range" during his teenage years. He responded: "Well, I found my vocal range rather early in life. A friend of mine had a band and they needed a place to rehearse. And I had become recently responsible for my grandmother's house while she was on holiday. And so I was, like, 18 years old and I invited the band to rehearse at my grandmother's house over the summer, which was kind of crazy idea to do. Anyway, they rehearsed in her living room, and it became a band house. And she would call me now and then and goes, 'How you doing with my house? Everything okay?' I'm, like, 'Everything's great, grandma. It's beautiful. Don't worry.' [Laughs] Anyway, the singer for the band got really ill and couldn't sing. And the guitar player said to me, 'Gosh, I can hear you singing in the other room. You have a nice voice. And you can sing RUSH. And we wanna play a lot of RUSH. We wanna play this '2112' album that has just come out.' And he says, 'You can sing that.' I go, 'Yeah, I can sing it. No problem.' So I started singing with them. And so I found that I could sing really high, like Geddy Lee, and I could sing also very low, like Joe Cocker. And so I just found out, just by trying to sing different songs. And I've just been kind of working on it ever since."

Tate also talked about the changes in the music industry over the course of the last four decades, particularly as a growing number of artists choose the independent route and record their music at home studios as opposed to signing with a record label.

"It's completely different now," he said. "Yeah, absolutely different. Every commercial platform is different. The way you distribute music, the way we listen to music has really changed. With the invention of these little guys [earbuds], this really changed things 'cause they sound so good. The technology has progressed to a point where people wear 'em all the time now. Going about their daily business, they're listening to music, they're listening to a podcast, they're listening to the news, they're having a phone conversation with somebody else. They always have that earpiece in. And it's the way the world is working these days. And we try to make our music fit within that technological parameter as well.

"If you listen to, say an older album like [QUEENSRŸCHE's] '[Operation:] Mindcrime' that came out in 1988 — one of the very first digital records ever made; I think one of the first five actually released — and it sounds so, shall I say, antiquated by today's standards, just because of the progression in recording, and the progression in the technology has changed so much now. The bass response, the bass frequencies that we can explore and experience now are leap years away from where we were in 1988. The analog-to-digital converters were just really at the beginning of their development. And now they've got — I don't know — version 22 now that we're using. It's just really, really changed. Really changed."

Tate released the third chapter in QUEENSRŸCHE's classic "Operation: Mindcrime" album series, "Operation: Mindcrime III", on May 3. The LP's first single, "Power", was made available in late March.

"Power" was written by Geoff and his guitarist/producer Kieran Robertson. It features vocals by Tate, drums by Rich Baur, bass by DISTURBED bassist and "Operation: Mindcrime III" co-producer John Moyer, guitar by Dario Parente and Amaury Altmayer, and synths and strings by Tate and Robertson. It was mixed and mastered by Juan Urteaga at Trident Studios in Pacheco, California.

Released under Geoff Tate's own name and not under the QUEENSRŸCHE banner, "Operation: Mindcrime III" is once again a concept album with a storyline following Nikki, a drug addict-turned-assassin manipulated by a shadowy figure known as Dr. X. However, unlike the first two installments, "Operation: Mindcrime III" will tell the tale from the perspective of Dr. X, "how the story happened from his point of view," according to Geoff. "Which is kind of interesting, I think, because we've only heard it from Nikki's point of view, and he's been sort of this victim throughout the whole story."

Originally released in May 1988, QUEENSRŸCHE's third studio album, "Operation: Mindcrime" took the quintet to an entirely new level. The concept, revealed through the songs, revolves around the character of Nikki, a recovering drug addict disillusioned with a corrupt society. Drawn into a cult-like revolutionary group headed by Dr. X (voiced by the late and beloved British actor Anthony Valentine),Nikki is manipulated to assassinate political leaders until his friendship with nun Sister Mary finally opens his eyes to the truth. Regarded as one of the greatest concept metal albums of all time, "Operation: Mindcrime" was certified platinum in 1991 in the U.S. and was ranked in the "Top 100 Metal Albums Of All Time" by both Kerrang! and Billboard magazines. Rolling Stone included it on a similar list, noting that "nearly 30 years after its initial release, 'Mindcrime' feels eerily relevant."

The original "Operation: Mindcrime" album weaved themes of religion, drug abuse and underground, radical politics. By contrast, 2006's "Operation: Mindcrime II" was regarded as an unnecessary sequel that many felt cheapened the original album, despite being a decent record in its own right.

In April 2014, Tate and QUEENSRŸCHE announced that a settlement had been reached after a nearly two-year legal battle where the singer sued over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name after being fired in 2012. Guitarist Michael Wilton, drummer Scott Rockenfield and bassist Eddie Jackson responded with a countersuit. The settlement included an agreement that Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson would continue as QUEENSRŸCHE, while Tate would have the sole right to perform "Operation: Mindcrime" and "Operation: Mindcrime II" in their entirety live.

Tate's replacement, Todd La Torre, has released four albums thus far with QUEENSRŸCHE: 2013's "Queensrÿche", 2015's "Condition Hüman", 2019's "The Verdict" and 2022's "Digital Noise Alliance".

TWISTED SISTER has announced more fall 2026 shows featuring ex-SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach on lead vocals.

A total of nine dates have been revealed so far, including the latest additions, October 18 in Gary, Indiana; November 14 in Charles Town, West Virginia; and December 11 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Tickets for the newly announced shows will go on sale to the general public on Friday, June 26.

Presales will begin on Wednesday, June 24 at 10 a.m. local time with the code "TWISTED2026".

TWISTED SISTER featuring Sebastian Bach 2026 tour dates:

Sep. 4 - Palmer, AK @ Borealis Theatre
Sep. 6 - Salem, OR @ The Pavilion at the Oregon State Fairgrounds
Sep. 12 - Durant, OK @ Choctaw Grand Theater
Sep. 27 - Puyallup, WA @ Washington State Fair
Oct. 8 - Niagara Falls, ON @ OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino
Oct. 10 - Windsor, ON @ The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor
Oct. 18 - Gary, IN @ Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana
Nov. 14 - Charles Town, WV @ The Event Center at Hollywood Casino
Dec. 11 - St. Petersburg, FL @ Ferg's Pavilion

In a March 2026 interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, Bach spoke about being chosen to front TWISTED SISTER for the band's fall 2026 shows after iconic vocalist Dee Snider resigned from TWISTED SISTER due to "health challenges". Sebastian said: "I am a fan of TWISTED SISTER. And I'll tell you right now, I'm probably a bigger fan of TWISTED SISTER than anybody watching this. I love that band. I used to go see them whenever I could. And I really love the album 'You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll' with songs like 'The Kids Are Back', 'Ride To Live, Live To Ride'. I love the 'Under The Blade' album. I love 'Shoot 'Em Down', 'Destroyer', 'Tear It Loose'. I mean, I love 'I Wanna Rock', I love 'We're Not Gonna Take It', but there's an earlier period of that band where they were one of the most ferocious rock bands that you will ever see. And if you saw them back then, you know what I'm talking about."

Bach continued: "When they were a club band, they would come out there like a punk rock band or a total thrash metal band. I mean, if you listen to their version of 'It's Only Rock 'N' Roll (But I Like It)' by THE ROLLING STONES, it's like a speed metal tempo… Well, that's the kind of energy that I'm gonna bring. I mean, I'm not no spring chicken, but I still have a lot of energy when I get on the stage. And I'm going to give you guys fun and energy in TWISTED SISTER.

"I'm the lead singer of TWISTED SISTER," Sebastian added. "How much fun is that to say? I love saying that, so I'm really looking forward to it. I will also say that I'll never stop singing the [classic SKID ROW] songs '18 And Life', 'I Remember You', 'Youth Gone Wild', 'Monkey Business', 'Slave To The Grind' — I'll never stop doing that. So I'm not stopping my solo band. I'm continuing my solo band, but I'm doing shows with TWISTED SISTER that are bigger than my solo band. So it's a step up for me. I'll have a nicer dressing room and stuff. [Laughs]

"So … I'm looking forward to rocking out with TWISTED SISTER, because I love the music. And you cannot even challenge me on do I love the [music]. I really do love the music. So you can't fake love — and I love TWISTED SISTER."

During an appearance on the March 3, 2026 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Bach stated about how he was recruited to front TWISTED SISTER: "Well, I have tears in my eyes right now. I am SMF Number Two. I was named that by Dee Snider. And I just have to say, I just got off the phone with Dee Snider. We talked for about 45 minutes, and we were both kind of getting teary eyed.

"I just put out a [solo] record called 'Child Within The Man', and one of my favorite all-time bands is TWISTED SISTER," Bach explained. "And the music of TWISTED SISTER makes me feel like a child within the man. This is what I was talking about on my new record, how rock and roll music, it has a life of its own. You're talking to a guy here — I used to go to school and I used to paint the TWISTED SISTER logo on the back of my jacket in liquid paper thinking that looked cool [laughs] — whiteout. [Laughs] So I am a real fan — I am a fan of this music, and that is really, number one, why I'm doing it. And also to honor the legacy of these songs. And I look at it like when Paul Rodgers came in [to sing] for QUEEN, or when [GUNS N' ROSES frontman] Axl [Rose] came in for Brian Johnson [in AC/DC]. I am a fan of TWISTED SISTER and I always have been, and I love this music. I love it. I love 'Tear it Loose'. I love 'Destroyer'. I love 'The Price'. I mean, you talk about [classic SKID ROW songs like] '18 And Life' and 'I Remember You'. Well, you know what? I locked myself in a room rehearsing to 'The Price'. And these songs are how I learned how to rock."

Asked for more details of his conversation with Snider, Bach said: "I said, 'I'm calling you in 10 minutes.' He goes, 'Okay.' And I called him and he goes, 'SMF Number Two.' 'Cause he's always called me that. I'm a sick motherfucker. I'm a sick motherfucking fan of TWISTED SISTER. And he's always called me Number Two. Of course, he's number one. And so I go, 'Well, I guess I really am SMF Number Two.' And then I asked him, what did the doctor say to him? And he's, like, 'No problem. I'll tell you.' He says that he has arthritis, that his knees are going out, and he has bone on bone. And the doctor said that he should not be jumping around. And he goes, 'Well, that's not an option,' 'cause he wants to do the full show moving around and stuff, and the doctor said, 'You can't do it.' So he said, 'You have my full blessing.' He goes, 'I love you.' I told him I loved him, and we were, like, teary eyed. And he told me that his family was crying when he said he couldn't do the tour. I asked him, 'Hey, you wanna come out and jam with us?' He goes, 'Yeah.' He goes, 'Yeah.' So maybe he'll be at some of these gigs on stage with us. Who knows? I don't know if that's gonna happen or not. But it's tough getting older — it's tough for everybody getting older, and I'm a lot younger. [Laughs]"

Sebastian went on to say that it was important to him to get Dee's stamp of approval before proceeding. "That's a sign of respect," he said. "I respect Dee Snider, I respect Jay Jay French, I respect Eddie Ojeda, I respect [former TWISTED SISTER members] A.J. Pero, Mark Mendoza, the whole team. And I've always been a serious fan — like, really serious. I don't just like the hits of TWISTED SISTER. I like 'Like A Knife In The Back'. I like the heavy TWISTED SISTER. And I love 'I Wanna Rock'. I love 'The Price'. 'The Price' is one of my favorite TWISTED SISTER songs. I love 'We're Not Gonna Take It'. But the album 'You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll', I would probably say, is my favorite one."

TWISTED SISTER's 2026 shows will feature Bach, French and Ojeda. Russell Pzütto, who has toured with Snider's solo projects, will replace bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza on bass. Joe Franco, who briefly played with the group in the mid-1980s, was supposed to sit behind the drum kit, stepping in for A.J. Pero, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 55. However, Franco is not available to play the fall 2026 shows and will be replaced by Joey Cassata, who played drums on Ace Frehley's final original solo album, "10,000 Volts".

Speaking to "Trunk Nation" about TWISTED SISTER's current touring lineup, Jay Jay said: "In the 53-year history of the band, we've had 20 people who've been in and out of TWISTED SISTER. We've had five singers, we've had three bass players, we've had four guitar players and we've had nine drummers. Half of them are dead. It's a very tough business to be a drummer with TWISTED SISTER. But we had an amazing history of the band, and this is just a continuation of the history. And the thing is the music always survives. They said Steve Perry could never have been replaced in JOURNEY. And he was. That Freddie Mercury could never be replaced [in QUEEN]. And he was. And guess what? Baz is gonna be an unbelievable replacement.

"So it's me, Eddie Ojeda and Baz," French continued. "Joe Franco had signed on for the summer, and he wasn't available in the fall. And so Joey Cassata is gonna be on drums filling in for Joe, but if Joe Franco can make it, he definitely will. And Russ Pzütto, who has been our bass tech and has filled in for Mark in the past, will be playing bass. So Russ has been with the organization for years and years and years. He also played on Dee's solo projects. So that's basically the lineup."

Snider and Bach had publicly praised each other in 2020 after they had a disagreement on social media about whether the term "hair metal" was derogatory.

"I love Sebastian Bach!" Snider wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "During the darkest period of my career, he stood tall as a Dee Snider fan when few would. I will always be grateful to him for not caring what was 'cool' at the moment and speaking our proudly for the things he loved. Thank you SMF#2!"

Bach wrote in response: "I love Dee Snider. I will always love the music he has made. No matter how much Dee sees himself as 'hair metal,' I will always see him on a much higher level than that implies. He is one of the greatest frontmen and vocalists of all time. Any corny label less than that is an insult."

Three years ago, TWISTED SISTER staged a one-off reunion at the Metal Hall Of Fame in Agoura Hills, California. On hand to be inducted into the Metal Hall Of Fame were Snider, French, Mendoza and drummer Mike Portnoy. Ojeda was absent from the event after contracting COVID-19; filling in for him was Keith Robert War. TWISTED SISTER played a highly charged three-song set consisting of the staples "You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll" and "Under The Blade", as well as the anthem "We're Not Gonna To Take It".

TWISTED SISTER's original run ended in the late '80s. After more than a decade, the band publicly reunited in November 2001 to top the bill of New York Steel, a hard-rock benefit concert to raise money for the New York Police And Fire Widows' And Children's Benefit Fund.

Last night (Monday, June 22),IRON MAIDEN returned to La Défense Arena in Paris. Having played two sold-out nights there last year in the 37,000-capacity indoor stadium, home of Racing 92 rugby club, this return a year later was specifically to film the show for posterity and future release, and an indoor stadium and exuberant French fans were ideal for this. However, about 50 minutes into the set toward the end of "2 Minutes To Midnight", a total power cut brought everything to a stop. As stated by Le Figaro, the French national newspaper, today: "Officials are investigating whether the outage was linked to the extreme heat. However, French electricity distributor Enedis said the problem did not appear to originate from the public power grid and was more likely related to the arena's own electrical installation. The exact cause remains under investigation."

IRON MAIDEN was able to resume on stage about an hour after the cut occurred continuing the set with "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner". The concert was scheduled to finish by 11 p.m. with a curfew at that time which the local police chief would only extend to 11:35 p.m. after the cut off because, MAIDEN was told, all local transport in the area stopped by 12:15 a.m. and they could not have over 30,000 fans on the streets unable to get home. This gave just enough time for the band to complete the set, finishing with "Iron Maiden" but unable to play any of the encores.

MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson comments: "Despite everything, the audience and atmosphere last night were fantastic and, like every other challenge IRON MAIDEN have faced over the years, we'll find a way to deal with and overcome the missing songs in the encore when it comes to the final film.

"We know that many of you travelled long distances, waited patiently throughout the interruption, and were looking forward to experiencing the complete 'Run For Your Lives' show. We share your disappointment. No one is more frustrated than the band and crew, who were eager to deliver the full performance you deserved.

"What we will remember most from last night is the incredible spirit inside the arena. Your patience, understanding and unwavering support through an extremely challenging situation meant the world to us. The energy in the room was remarkable and is exactly what we have to come to expect from Paris, and a reminder of why we always love playing here.

"Thank you, Paris."

MAIDEN manager Rod Smallwood adds: "The fans were magnificent and a huge thanks to them from the band for their patience and support. It just illustrates again what great fans we have. The temperature in Paris was as high as 44°C that day and the hall AC went off with the cut so of course, with so many people in there, it soon got hot while they were waiting for us to be able to resume playing. Naturally when we continued with the lights and pyro and excitement it got seriously hot for fans and band. Despite that, the energy of the reaction was incredible!"

The setlist for the "Run For Your Lives" world tour — which was announced in September 2024 as a global celebration of IRON MAIDEN's 50th anniversary — focuses on material from the band's first nine studio albums.

Last October, MAIDEN announced the North American dates of their critically acclaimed "Run For Your Lives" world tour. In celebration of their 50th anniversary, the band will be performing at stadiums and major amphitheaters across the United States and Canada, allowing fans the chance to witness the brand new, state-of-the-art production, on the scale it is intended for — huge stages in outdoor venues, to accompany the setlist of songs from the band's groundbreaking first nine albums. They will also headline America's rock festival Louder Than Life at the Highland Festival Grounds in Kentucky on September 17, 2026.

The shows will mark 45 years since IRON MAIDEN first visited Canada and the USA on the 1981 "Killer" world tour, according to a press release, and "feature some of the biggest shows the band has ever played there."

Since forming in 1975, IRON MAIDEN has released classic albums like "The Number Of The Beast", "Powerslave" and "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son".

MAIDEN's most recent LP, the band's seventeenth, "Senjutsu", came out in 2021.

In December 2024, IRON MAIDEN played the final show of its "The Future Past Tour" at Allianz Parque in São Paulo, Brazil. That run of concerts was the last for longtime drummer Nicko McBrain, who has since been replaced by Simon Dawson, a former session drummer and MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris's rhythm section partner of the past 14 years with BRITISH LION.

Rock and metal icon Rob Zombie has released the official music video for "Tarantula", another standout track from his latest studio album, "The Great Satan", available now via Nuclear Blast Records. The video arrives as fans continue to celebrate Zombie's acclaimed eighth solo album, which has earned widespread praise from critics and listeners alike.

A favorite among fans since the album's release, "Tarantula" now gets a fitting visual counterpart. Bathed in stark yellow light and shot with a gritty, stripped-down aesthetic, the performance-focused video captures Zombie and his band tearing through the track with relentless force and precision.

Released earlier this year, "The Great Satan" marked Zombie's first studio album in five years and featured standout cuts including "Punks And Demons", "Heathen Days", "(I'm A) Rock 'N' Roller", "F.T.W. 84", "The Black Scorpion" and "Tarantula". The record further cemented his status as one of heavy music's most distinctive creative voices, delivering another collection of memorable, larger-than-life anthems.

Rob Zombie will team up with Marilyn Manson for a summer tour across North America. The "Freaks On Parade" trek will kick off in West Palm Beach on August 20 at the iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, followed by gigs in Charlotte, Toronto, Kansas City, Auburn, and Ridgefield, stopping at venues along the way like Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Tinley Park's Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre in West Valley City, and Clarkston's Pine Knob Music Theatre. The tour will wrap up on September 20 at Toyota Pavilion in Concord, California.

Rob's seventh studio album, "The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy", was released in March 2021 via Nuclear Blast. The LP marked Rob's first new album in nearly five years. The follow-up to 2016's "The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser" was produced by Chris "Zeuss" Harris.

"The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy" was the third consecutive effort to feature Zombie and guitarist John 5 alongside bassist Matt "Piggy D." Montgomery and drummer Ginger Fish.

In the fall of 2022, John 5 exited Rob's band to join MÖTLEY CRÜE as the replacement for that group's founding guitarist Mick Mars. John 5 has since been replaced in Zombie's band by returning guitarist Mike Riggs.

Riggs had previously spent six years as a member of ROB ZOMBIE. Riggs joined forces with Rob in the '90s and stayed with him into the early 2000s, eventually leaving in 2004 (when Rob Zombie was largely focusing on films rather than music) to start a project of his own. Riggs songwriting and crunching guitars can be heard on Rob Zombie's "Hellbilly Deluxe", "American Made Music To Strip By", "The Sinister Urge" and "The Past, Present & Future" records.

More recently, Riggs had kept busy with his band SCUM OF THE EARTH, named after a song from "Sinister Urge". SCUM OF THE EARTH favors the sort of rhythmic, industrial-influenced, mildly funky, hip-hop-minded alternative metal that Riggs honed during his initial Rob Zombie days.

John 5 had worked with Zombie for 16 years, co-writing on all studio albums since "Educated Horses", and composing the score for Zombie's 2013 movie "The Lords Of Salem".

In January 2024, Piggy D. announced that he was exiting Rob's band after 18 years. Matt has since been replaced by a returning Rob "Blasko" Nicholson.

Blasko was a member of Rob Zombie's band from 1997 through 2006, playing bass on the first three Zombie albums: "Hellbilly Deluxe", "The Sinister Urge" and "Educated Horses".

Nicholson left Zombie in May 2006 in order to join Ozzy Osbourne's recording/touring band.

Montgomery's debut performance with Rob Zombie came on May 24, 2006 during an appearance on CBS's "Late Night Show With David Letterman".

Chicago-bred post metal trio RUSSIAN CIRCLES will release a new album, "Nine", on August 28 via Sargent House.

The official music video for the LP's first single, "Empath", can be seen below.

"Nine" continues RUSSIAN CIRCLES' unhurried evolution and disciplined refinement, leaning into their strengths while pushing at the boundaries of their sound. This is a band with no hit songs. No fan consensus on their best album. Just a reputation of consistency and quality that built one of the biggest heavy instrumental rock bands in the world.

While RUSSIAN CIRCLES insist their music is a confluence of broad-ranging influences — the formidable Touch & Go artists of the Midwest, the prog giants of late '60s and early '70s England, the hypnotic motorik and kosmische grooves of West Germany, the international underground's most caustic strains of metal — it is fair to say the band's adventurous diversity has evolved into its own distinct sound.

Although the band is now spread across the country — guitarist Mike Sullivan in Los Angeles, drummer Dave Turncrantz based in Chicago and bassist/keyboardist Brian Cook living in Vashon Island, outside of Seattle — the band triangulate their relative positions for "Nine". Its seven seismic tracks act as long-form oriented soundtracks to the trials and tragedies of life in the modern age.

The band comments: "The music we make is a collective process of reconciliation, navigation, and reflection upon aging both as individuals and as a creative entity. Life has created very real distances between us, but the band continues to be at the center, and this creative collaboration is a way of charting the passage of time while also giving us a reason to look to the future."

Today's "Empath" launches the band into a ferociously concise overview of metal battle tactics — where a GODFLESH-style bass crunch and tornado siren drone ushers in trash-inspired guitars, venomous black metal attacks, d-beat forays, a deliciously knuckleheaded hardcore breakdown, and a final scorched earth war metal riff, all in just under five minutes. The accompanying video was made by Madeline Hampton.

For "Nine", RUSSIAN CIRCLES adhered to their strategy from "Blood Year" (2019) and "Gnosis" (2022) by teaming up with engineer Kurt Ballou (CONVERGE, MASTODON, HIGH ON FIRE). Basic tracking took place at Electrical Audio in Chicago, where they've recorded as far back as their debut album, "Enter" (2006),while the finishing touches occurred at Ballou's GodCity Studio in Salem, Massachusetts. The relationship with Ballou began with the band's sixth album, "Guidance" (2016),owing to his ability to highlight the weight and entropy of metal and hardcore bands in their natural environment while enhancing the clarity and articulation often lost in walls of distortion.

Reinvention is unnecessary when the path forward has always been an open horizon. When it comes to RUSSIAN CIRCLES, you can go back through their catalog and find a vast array of moods, stylistic shifts, and timbral experiments across any given album, yet there has been a noticeable progression. Whereas earlier albums were almost playful in their traversing of territories, "Nine" is a document of a band that knows the lay of the land and is fortifying their dominion over the varied terrain.

This fall, RUSSIAN CIRCLES will bring their "pure metallic catharsis" (Guitar World) across North America. A full list of dates can be found below, and tickets go on sale this Friday at 10 a.m. local time.

"Nine" track listing:

01. Borehole
02. Empath
03. Eluvial
04. E2
05. Meridian
06. Arletta
07. Seventh Seal

RUSSIAN CIRCLES tour dates:

Sept. 25 - Whitefish Bay, WI @ The Argo *
Sept. 26 - Chicago, IL @ Bohemian National Cemetery *
Sept. 28 - Detroit, MI @ El Club *
Sept. 29 - Toronto, ON @ The Opera House *
Sept. 30 - Montreal, QC @ Club Soda *
Oct. 01 - Boston, MA @ Royale *
Oct. 03 - Queens, NY @ Knockdown Center *
Oct. 04 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
Oct. 05 - Baltimore, MD @ Soundstage *
Oct. 07 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle *
Oct. 8 - Charleston, SC @ The Music Farm *
Oct. 9 - Orlando, FL @ The Beacham Theater *
Oct. 10 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse *
Oct. 12 - Nashville, TN @ The Basement East *
Oct. 13 - Indianapolis, IN @ The Hi-Fi *
Nov. 04 - St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall $
Nov. 06 - Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves $
Nov. 07 - Austin, TX @ The Far Out Lounge $
Nov. 09 - Phoenix, AZ @ Walter Studios $
Nov. 11 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco $
Nov. 12 - San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall $
Nov. 14 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom $
Nov. 15 - Seattle, WA @ The Showbox $
Nov. 16 - Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Hall $
Nov. 17 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall $
Nov. 19 - Englewood, CO @ The Gothic Theatre $
Nov. 20 - Omaha, NE @ Slowdown $
Nov. 21 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater $

* with PELICAN
$ with PRIMITIVE MAN

Photo credit: Chris Strong

In a new interview with J.J. Caithcart of Different Stages Radio, TESLA guitarist Frank Hannon spoke about his band's "The Return Of The Carnival Of Sins" tour with MÖTLEY CRÜE and EXTREME. The trek will begin on July 17 in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, and will wind its way through the United States before concluding on September 26 in Ridgefield, Washington. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We have been gearing up for this tour since we got the news that [MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist] Nikki Sixx was considering us for it. We started practicing and honing in some things. We have a rehearsal set up next week where we're gonna really work on our show, some visual presentations behind the band, video screens. And we're the middle slot. We're sandwiched in between two powerhouse bands, EXTREME and MÖTLEY CRÜE, so you know, we're right in the middle there, and TESLA is really gearing up for it."

Frank added: "We toured with MÖTLEY CRÜE for months back on the 'Dr. Feelgood' tour, we opened for them. So it is kind of a reunion in a way. And we have mad respect for them and EXTREME, and so we're gonna be on our game for sure."

Asked if there are any plans for TESLA to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the band's debut album, "Mechanical Resonance", which came out in December 1986, Frank said: "At this point, it's funny, man. Every time we turn around, there's a new anniversary [laughs], a new celebration. But forty's a big one. We did put out a 'Mechanical Resonance Live', and I think that was for the 30th anniversary. But, yeah, there's been talk of some other reunion tours, possibly in 2027, around the 40th anniversary. But it's not something that I can really mention right now. Nothing is concrete, and I can't jinx anything by mentioning any names."

He continued: "We're always celebrating these anniversaries now, it seems, and it's pretty wild. I can't believe it. At the time, 40 years ago, I was 18, 19 years old and had written those songs on that first album when I was 16 and 17 years old. Just a kid, man. But I had discovered guitar when I was 10 years old, so I was already pretty far along in my music, songwriting and guitar-playing ability, but still a very young kid in my mind and very shy and timid, and didn't realize what was happening at the time. And I'm so grateful I met up with [TESLA bassist] Brian Wheat, who was a little older than me, and he and I together put the band together and worked hard together and kept it together all this time. And the word 'reflections' is very appropriate, 'cause now at this point in my life I reflect on all of that that we did and those different ups and downs, and it's just mind-boggling to me."

TESLA's new album, "Homage", is set for release on July 17, 2026, via Frontiers Music Srl.

The LP finds the band returning to its roots with a collection of covers honoring some of rock's most timeless hits.

When "Homage" was first announced in April, TESLA shared its cover of CLIMAX BLUES BAND's iconic track "I Love You" (2026 version). The single arrived alongside an official video.

In May, TESLA shared its cover of QUEEN's 1977 classic "Spread Your Wings".

The songs on "Homage" were chosen for a variety of reasons, primarily representing some of the greatest vocalists of all time, including Elvis Presley, Freddie Mercury, Sam Cooke, David Ruffin, Etta James and James Brown. Additional selections reflect songs the band grew up hearing on the radio and on their turntables.

Last October, TESLA completed a five-song Las Vegas residency at the House Of Blues Las Vegas inside Mandalay Bay Resort And Casino. During this exclusive run of shows, TESLA touched all sides of its unique discography, including the heavier edge of electric songs like "Modern Day Cowboy", "Hang Tough" and "Edison's Medicine", as well as the band's acoustic-driven songs such as "Signs" and "Love Song" (two Top 10 Billboard-charting hits).

TESLA previously held a residency at the House Of Blues in April 2024.

TESLA's latest six-song EP, "All About Love", was released in November 2024. The EP included four versions of "All About Love" (acoustic, electric, hybrid, live); a live version of "Walk Away", a concert favorite from "Reel To Real, Vol. 1"; and another new song, "From The Heart", an instrumental track by Hannon.

Some fans criticized TESLA for adopting a 1980s-style polished production for its latest album, 2019's "Shock". The follow-up to June 2014's "Simplicity" was helmed by DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen, whose own group is no stranger to slicked-up, glossy-sounding recordings.

In September 2023, TESLA released the official music video for its cover of AEROSMITH's "S.O.S. (Too Bad)". The song was a bonus track on TESLA's live album, "Full Throttle Live!", which arrived in May 2023. The LP included the band's "Time To Rock!" single, plus other songs, all recorded in August 2022 at Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis, South Dakota.

In September 2021, original TESLA drummer Troy Luccketta announced that he would "take a little time from the road" to spend with family and friends. He has since been replaced at TESLA's gigs and in the recording studio by Steve Brown, the younger brother of former DOKKEN drummer Mick Brown.

TESLA's debut album, 1986's "Mechanical Resonance", went platinum on the strength of the hits "Modern Day Cowboy" and "Little Suzi". The 1989 follow-up album, "The Great Radio Controversy", produced five hits, including "Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)" and "Love Song", which hit the pop Top Ten.

In a new interview with Jeff Geaghan and Dan Cinotto of the We Were Loud Once podcast, COAL CHAMBER has drummer Mikey "Bug" Cox discussed his recent cancer diagnosis and ongoing treatment. Regarding how he came to find out that he had cancer, Cox said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I own a construction company here in Los Angeles, and that's what I do when I'm off tour and stuff. It keeps me busy. And I was feeling really bad at work. So we were actually about to leave for a family vacation to Costa Rica, so I said, 'Let me go to the hospital and get checked out so I'm not going to the hospital in Costa Rica.' And they did some tests on me, some scans and all that stuff, and when I woke up from the sedation from the tests and stuff, they told me I had stage three cancer. So [they] instantly admitted me to the hospital. It was just a whirlwind. My wife was there. And they admitted me to the hospital so I can immediately get the scans done to see if it was localized and all that stuff. So the first day being there, I had the surgeons come in, the doctors come in, and they all tell you kind of the worst-case scenario. So we kind of didn't know where it was going. And then by midnight or so, I got my first scans done, and in the morning they came in and said it was localized, so it's treatable. So we kind of went from there."

Mikey continued: "Once we found out [I had cancer], I didn't wanna put it on social media, I didn't wanna worry too many people. I keep my circle very small, with my family, and I'm pretty private. If I didn't have COAL CHAMBER, I probably wouldn't have social media at all, 'cause I just think it's the death of humanity. [Laughs] Everybody has an opinion. So, we kept it small until we knew more facts. So that was on April Fool's Day of last year, believe it or not, when they told me. So we went to the hospital. They got the scans. I left and then met with my oncologist, and they put a plan in place, and I'm telling you exactly how they described how the cancer journey would go, I'm telling you, to the day, it went exactly like that."

Detailing his cancer treatment, Cox said: "I did five weeks of radiation, which, by the end of it, was pure hell. I was down to 152 pounds. I could barely walk. It was brutal. They gave me the highest dose of radiation the body could take. So we treated it really aggressively because I had a bigger tumor, so we wanted to shrink it down. And then I did five months of chemo through a PICC [Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter] line in my arm. So I had to go sit in the chemo chair for three hours a couple of times every other week. I did that for five months, I believe. And then it shrunk the tumor down to about a half inch. So that was exactly what they said was gonna happen, and I was able to have surgery. So I went in and had a five-and-a-half-hour surgery. This was in January. I had a five-and-a-half-hour surgery, and they cut out the rest of the cancer. Then we had to wait for the test to come back, and the test came back and they said they got all of it; all the margins were good. So, as of right now, I'm cancer-free, but I do need to have another surgery in the next month to put the rest of my insides back together, 'cause right now I have things that are rerouted. They're gonna reroute everything back to normal in January, and hopefully that's the last surgery. But right now I'm dealing with a lot of the side effects from cancer. Like, my feet are numb all the time, and my hands and my joints and all that stuff. So the last two shows we just played were an adventure. We just played a couple of weekends ago. So it's a little harder to play. My energy level's still not where it used to be, 'cause I play semi-crazy. So, we're getting there slowly, and every show gets better. And, yeah, that's basically where we're at with the whole thing."

Mikey also talked about his decision to partner with Fuck Cancer, which fights cancer by raising awareness with an emphasis on early detection, to give away a unique one-of-kind custom drum kit. He said: "I didn't want to announce [that I had cancer] until we kind of knew we were out of the woods. 'Cause you get a diagnosis of cancer and you instantly think death, and you instantly think the worst, and everybody on this planet knows somebody who's dealt with cancer. And a lot of people don't survive it. So once we got on the other side of it, I thought it was better to announce. So I was working with the Fuck Cancer guys for the whole year creating the drum set that I'm giving away and all that stuff. So I kept it a secret for a long time, just 'cause I didn't wanna worry certain people, and all that kind of stuff. But I am extremely grateful to be on the other side of it. My wife was my caretaker every day. She got me to all my appointments, because if it was up to me, I probably wouldn't have done them all, 'cause musicians are semi careless, we'll say. Before this, I was not a fan of going to the hospital for anything, and I got to a point where I was at the hospital every single day, basically. So I just listened to my doctors, listened to my wife, and thank God we're on the other side of it."

COAL CHAMBER recently canceled its appearance at this year's edition of the Louder Than Life festival in order to allow Cox to undergo his final surgery related to his cancer diagnosis and ongoing treatment.

COAL CHAMBER's appearance at this year's Sick New World festival in Las Vegas, Nevada in April marked the band's first live performance since Cox's successful battle with cancer.

In late April, Cox revealed that he was diagnosed with stage three cancer on April 1, 2025. He described the experience as "dark" and "scary" and added that he went through "a yearlong battle and absolutely brutal rounds of radiation, chemotherapy, and eventually surgery" before being declared "cancer-free".

In early May, COAL CHAMBER frontman Dez Fafara told KillerTube about the band's return to the stage at the 2026 Sick New World festival: "That [gig] was insane. So, first of all, for those who don't know, in COAL CHAMBER, my drummer Mike went through cancer, stage four cancer that should have taken him out. I don't think a lot of people may have survived that. I watched him — it's hard for me to talk about, actually. I may get emotional. But I just hit him every day. I watched him go after it. He's a great father, a great husband, a great man."

Dez continued: "When we started, [Mikey] was 17 in COAL CHAMBER, so although we bonded on music and we were friends, we were never 'tight tight' because of the age gap. But now he's got a mortgage, a kid, wife. We bond on a level that is unbelievable. And watching him go head-on and take on the amount of chemo and the amount of things he had to do, and do some other stuff with me on the side that we can't discuss yet, while he was going through that was a fucking miracle."

Fafara added: "Watching him take the stage [on April 25] at Sick New World, watching that show go down, they were singing 'Sway', which is 'the roof is on fire' [chorus], 10 minutes before we even came out… Between songs, I couldn't even hear myself think, the crowd was so loud. The first person I hugged was Mike, and we both — I busted into tears, I'm not afraid to say it. And I'm just really blessed that he's with us, and people are gonna be really blessed to hear what went on while he was going through all of that with COAL CHAMBER. Again, that's for another time. But thank you for asking. That show was magnificent."

COAL CHAMBER played its first two shows in eight years at the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas in May 2023 and at the Inkcarceration Music And Tattoo Festival in Mansfield, Ohio in July 2023. That same year, COAL CHAMBER completed a U.S. tour as the support act for MUDVAYNE.

After COVID-19 nearly took Fafara out in 2021, Dez was very vocal about his brush with death and COVID's after-effects, which were brought into view when DEVILDRIVER canceled its appearance at the 2023 Bloodstock Open Air festival in the U.K. due to inflammation in his lower heart.

In January 2025, COAL CHAMBER canceled its previously rescheduled "Fiend For The Fans" U.S. tour. The trek, which was originally slated to kick off in August 2024 before being postponed to March/April 2025 due to Fafara's health emergency, was supposed to feature support from FEAR FACTORY, TWIZTID, BLACK SATELLITE and FRAYLE.

California rockers BUCKCHERRY have released the official live video for "Blackout", filmed in July 2025 at the Rock The Mountains festival in Cumberland, Maryland. The clip, which was shot and edited by Chris Aleshire, can be seen below.

"Blackout" is taken from BUCKCHERRY's latest album, "Roar Like Thunder", which was released in June 2025 via Round Hill Records in North America, Sony Music in Japan and Earache Records elsewhere globally. As with 2023's "Vol. 10" and 2021's "Hellbound", "Roar Like Thunder" was recorded in Nashville at Sienna Studios and helmed by producer and songwriter-for-hire Marti Frederiksen, who has previously collaborated with AEROSMITH, DEF LEPPARD, Jonny Lang and Sheryl Crow, among many others. All 10 tracks were written by BUCKCHERRY singer Josh Todd, guitarist Stevie Dacanay (a.k.a. Stevie D.) and Frederiksen.

BUCKCHERRY recently announced the final dates of its "Roar Like Thunder" tour for 2026. Amongst the highlights are nine shows with BLACK STONE CHERRY and Tyler Bryant. The dates begin with an appearance at the Rockin' The Island festival in Welch, Minnesota supporting STONE TEMPLE PILOTS. The run also includes a date at the Beaver Dam Amphitheater in Beaver Dam, Kentucky supporting Bret Michaels and the band's annual appearance at the legendary Sturgis Buffalo Chip during Sturgis Bike Week. After the nine shows with BLACK STONE CHERRY, the band will appear at the Rocklahoma festival in Pryor, Oklahoma and then the run will end with a date at The Vanguard in Orlando, Florida. The band will close out the year supporting the SCORPIONS on their eight-show residency in Las Vegas, Nevada from September 17 through October 3.

The second leg of BUCKCHERRY's summer 2026 tour will commence on June 26 in West Fargo, North Dakota and end on July 25 in Pueblo, Colorado. These dates include a July 2 stop at the annual Milwaukee, Wisconsin festival Summerfest and a one-off Canadian date on July 12 at the Rockin' Thunder festival in Edmonton, opening for CREED.

Todd remains the only original member in BUCKCHERRY's current lineup, which also includes Dacanay (guitar, backing vocals),Billy Rowe (guitar, backing vocals),Kelly LeMieux (bass) and Francis Ruiz (drums).

Dacanay has been a defining force in BUCKCHERRY since joining the band during its 2005 revival. After BUCKCHERRY's brief hiatus in the early 2000s, the reformed lineup, led by Stevie and Josh, breathed new life into the band's hard rock roots. Stevie's guitar work helped shape BUCKCHERRY's comeback album "15", which launched hits like "Crazy Bitch" and "Sorry", and re-established the group as a mainstay in the modern rock world.

In a new interview with Gear4music Guitars, HALESTORM guitarist Joe Hottinger addressed singer Lzzy Hale's recent comments publicly acknowledging the two musicians' ongoing over-two-decades-long romantic relationship. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Most people [already] knew [about it]. We didn't even think about it."

Asked what his "tips and tricks" are for "being in a couple in a band", Joe said: "It's funny. It's a double-edged sword, 'cause you go tour a lot in a band and you either leave your wife at home or your girl's with you everywhere doing everything. But luckily, we love the same things. We love rock shows. We love music. We love guitars. It's, like, anything I like do, she likes to do, and vice versa."

He continued: "I don't know what the secrets are. The only thing we do, we communicate — we're very good communicators. I think that's true, and it doesn't matter if you're in a band or not, but it's, like, deadly honest, which is — to me, that's a love language, being deadly honest. 'Cause if I'm feeling something funny, just say it. Like, 'That's how I feel. Now you know. Do what you want with that. And now I'm free of it.' So maybe that's it. You just talk."

Lzzy talked about her relationship with Joe this past March during an appearance at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, California where the couple took part in a conversation moderated by Katherine Turman and put on an acoustic performance.

Prior to launching into the song "The Silence", the closing track off HALESTORM's 2018 album "Vicious", Lzzy told the audience: "Just to throw another wrench into the works, for those of you who have just met us, I know there's a lot of different dynamics and things, but Joe and I are together, and we have been for 22 years.

"Like Joe was saying earlier in the night, when we met, we had never met anyone like each other," she continued. "You actually wanna sit till four in the morning and manifest our dreams and make them into reality. And so we were hanging out all the time and I'm, like, 'Man, it sucks that he's in the band.' That's a big no-no. Like Joe said, you don't wanna [end up like] FLEETWOOD MAC," she said, referencing the fact that FLEETWOOD MAC's relationships were famously volatile, characterized by simultaneous breakups and affairs among bandmembers. "What you wanna do is Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo," who have been married and performing and recording together for more than four decades. "But you can't predict those things. So we had these very adult conversations, like, 'Well, if we…' 'Cause we were very immaturely flirting. We were flirting, but pretending we're not… But no, we made the decision, we're, like, 'If we don't try this, then we could be losing out on something too.' Because I will tell you over the last 22 years, there is nothing like having all of these firsts and chasing your dream, doing the thing that you love with the person you love."

Back in April 2020, Lzzy was asked by a fan in a Twitter #AskLzzyAnything session when she and Joe were getting married. Lzzy responded: "I truly have never had the desire. Personal preference. Technically I was asked, have a ring passed down that my SO [significant other] was given from my dad. But I'm living a #newmodernlove".

In October 2015, HALESTORM bassist Josh Smith confirmed the long-standing rumor that Lzzy and Joe were involved in a romantic relationship. He told the 103.9 The Bear radio station: "They're pretty open about their relationship. They don't talk about it openly, but, you know… At the end of the day, we're all like family, and that's more or less the road we take is… You know… Whatever the case may be relationship-wise, it's not gonna break up our band, and that's the… I guess, the big thing is the band is the marriage here."

That same year, Lzzy was asked in an interview if she found it difficult to maintain a relationship while on the road. Hale replied: "In a relationship, you have to literally have everything out there to this other person, and they have to do the same thing with you, or it's not gonna work. I've never been a jealous person either, and as of right now, I'm dating someone who is the same way. So we have a very amazing trust thing going on."

She added: "I think you have to work hard, no matter what, at a relationship, but, really, the first couple of steps — laying everything out there — has been total saving graces for me and my relationship."

Lzzy and her brother Arejay (drums) formed HALESTORM in 1998 while in middle school. Hottinger joined the band in 2003, followed by Smith in 2004.

Photo credit: Jimmy Fontaine

In a new interview with Australia's May The Rock Be With You, DEVILDRIVER frontman and mastermind Dez Fafara talked about the band's upcoming eleventh full-length album, "Strike And Kill", which will arrive on July 10 via Napalm Records. Joining Dez in DEVILDRIVER's current lineup are the guitar duo of Alex Lee and Gabe Mangold, drummer Davier Ortega Perez and returning bassist Jon Miller. Dez said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, we wrote a lot of songs for this [record]. It was over two and a half years, three years almost, in the making. It was very hard to find a single, meaning we had so many. So what you're gonna get is a lot of what you heard. Even the second single that's coming is very old school, almost reminiscent of the first and second record. Then 'Strike And Kill', which is the title track, that's coming for the third video, and that's gonna blow people away. And the whole record is of that ilk. It's just nonstop bludgeoning. We do have a couple moments where we take a reprieve, which I think people are gonna love, on one song, actually. And I just think it's a fantastic record."

He continued: "When you take the time to actually make a piece of art great, meaning comb over it as much as you can, and everybody's in it. I mean, I've got great players with me, man. The guys that are writing with me right now are absolute monsters on their instruments, and I'm humbled to be able to just sing to this stuff. So I think people are gonna get a record that's fantastic. Listening all the way through is gonna be a pleasure, and when you get to the end, you're gonna wish there was more, even though there's 13 tracks."

Asked if DEVILDRIVER fans can expect another album "much sooner straight after" the release of "Strike And Kill", Dez said: "We're digesting this right now, man. I mean, we've already started to write. Nothing from the old writing sessions will ever make it to the new, even though there's a ton of those songs. That's just how I've always been. You may get a riff or something, but, really, we start. But these guys are already writing. This is just a scenario where when the feedback started coming in, it was, like, 'We are on the right path here.' And if you're a fan of DEVILDRIVER, you're gonna get exactly what you want out of this record."

Regarding whether there been any change in the approach in the way he writes lyrics now compared to his beginnings, Dez said: "Uh, no. I tend to say, 'Don't give me a song. Send me five.' 'Okay, we're in the right territory. Let me write to one or two of these,' which I did. I wrote to three of them. I sent them voice notes. They all said the same thing: 'Don't change a thing. You're on it.' And I said, 'Cool, now let's continue with this path as we continue to write.' It normally goes like that. And I'm very democratic with the situation, man. Like, what do you guys like? What do you don't? They came with the setlist that we're getting ready to do live. They came with the order of the songs, of what they think they wanted them to be. As a vocalist, I kind of put myself into a lyrical content and into getting it over live, but I let everybody else around me kind of make decisions when it comes to the art. I think that's a fair way to go about it."

Dez previously talked about "Strike And Kill" last month in an interview with Jai That Aussie Metal Guy. On the topic of DEVILDRIVER's new single, "Dig Your Own Grave", Dez said: "When I first got the music, I was just intrigued by what we were writing. And I think that everybody knew it was time to kind of go back to start a little bit. I've had Alex, my guitar player, and Davi, my drummer, have been with me a very long time now, actually. I got my original bass player back after — I don't know — a 12, 15-year hiatus; he's been gone. So him back and writing, and then I got Gabe as well, who produced the record and is playing guitar. But once we started writing, we all kind of said, 'What's the direction?' And I said, 'Look at the logo, man. The logo will tell you what we fucking need to write.' Like, period. And even for myself. So when I got the first three or four tracks, I was blown away. I was, like, 'Okay, this is where we wanna go.' And I started making voice notes for everybody, sending it, and they came back about the voice notes and said, 'Look, don't make a change. You're going the right direction.' And it just started to really fall in place, man."

Dez continued: "I feel blessed to have this group of guys around me at this time in my life after everything I've been through in life, that this is happening. And I think that watching people come to the table with this first single… I really don't read comments and shit — I don't put myself online like that — but in my ears is my managers, my label, are my bandmates, and they're, like, 'People are loving this.' And I go, 'Great. Let's give them more of the same.' So the next single that's coming is very old school, almost first-, second-record old school, and that just came out. We didn't decide to, like, 'Let's go back to start.' We just said, 'Let's write something heavy and groovy like what we are,' and that's what came out. So I think people are really gonna enjoy the second and the third single. But the best thing is this: when you get the record, you're gonna listen to it in its entirety, and at the end, you're gonna be, like, 'I wish we had more.' But there's already 13 tracks… I mean, even the label said, 'Look, we're good with 11,' and I said, 'Okay, these other two songs. You wanna leave them off?' And they were, like, 'Oh, fuck no.' I said, 'Well, then there you go.' If people are gonna spend money, let's give 'em their money's worth. And I think that's what we did with 13 tracks."

Elaborating on "Strike And Kill"'s overall presentation, Dez said:  "Look, people are gonna love this record. I love everything from the artwork to the music that I was given. I let the guys choose the song arrangements, like what's gonna go first on the record. Even the setlist, what set do you guys wanna play? And it's good for me to have a powerful team behind me, because I can sit back and go, 'No, you tell me what you wanna play. You tell me the order of the songs on the record. You guys tell me if you like the visuals that I've come up with.' And it's a powerful tool to be able to let that happen and to listen, man.

"The first time that I listened to the record in its entirety was about two weeks ago," Dez added. "And we were going through the mountains over here in California. I had no signal on my phone, which, for me, is a miracle, and I was, like, 'Great.' I got no phone calls for 45 minutes," and we put the record on. And when it was done, I actually said to my wife, who was driving, I go, 'That's it?' And she's, like, 'Yeah, that's it, man. You guys got 13 tracks.' And I was, like, 'I want more.' So that's a really good thing, I think, for sure to have. And this thing is back on track. And wait till you see it live, man. It is a no-nonsense throwdown."

When "Strike And Kill" was first announced in April, Fafara said in a statement: "My headspace hasn't changed. I have not become complacent or soft in my view of the world or in my music. Metal is our outlet as listeners and writers, so on this record we focused on 'getting it all out' lyrically, and backing those lyrics with savage, relentless music that fuels the heavy California groove like no other. DEVILDRIVER has never sounded like any other band, we do our own thing in our own way, and I'm the most proud of that.

"I'm so proud of these musicians, this music, and the vibe around this record," he added. "DEVILDRIVER sounds like no one else out there right now, we are here to strike and kill!"

"Dig Your Own Grave" was previously described as "a vitriolic onslaught of machine gun riffs and uncompromising aggression, lyrically lambasting fools responsible for their own undesirable fates."

About the track, Fafara stated: "'Dig Your Own Grave' is about how one wrong decision, one wrong move can see your whole world turned upside down, effectively 'digging' your own grave… it's that simple. It can also refer to how your decisions can fuck someone else. This is why there's the line 'Six feet ain't deep enough for you,' because only a deep, deep hole is fitting for what you've done or tried to do to others. Be careful when you choose to make decisions at midnight."

DEVILDRIVER will tour across the western United States with UPON A BURNING BODY and OV SULFUR. Kicking off August 14 in San Diego, California, the "Strike And Kill" North American tour 2026 will hit a slew of major cities, including Dallas, Chicago, Salt Lake City, and Reno, before its conclusion on September 5 in Anaheim, California.

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral

On the latest episode of "The David Ellefson Show", hosted by former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson and David's co-host Joshua Toomey, director Wes Orshoski spoke about his new documentary film "Di'Anno: Iron Maiden's Lost Singer" which chronicles how two IRON MAIDEN fans encounter the band's former singer Paul Di'Anno at the lowest point of his life and then set out to restore his health and relaunch his career. Reflecting on how he managed to capture Di'Anno's first face-to-face meeting with MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris in three decades in May 2022 before MAIDEN's concert in Croatia, Orshoski — co-director and producer of the acclaimed 2010 film "Lemmy" about the MOTÖRHEAD icon — said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): " The funny thing is I filmed it on my phone. I filmed that scene on my phone because I… The day after I signed the contract to make this film in 2017, I called [MAIDEN's longtime manager] Rod Smallwood. I had a phone call with Rod and Dave Shack [managing director of Phantom Music, MAIDEN's artist management company], and they were so nice. Rod was so cool. He said, 'I love the 'Lemmy' film, and I love what you do, but we're not gonna be involved in this.' And so they had told me way back in 2017, five years prior, that they weren't gonna be involved, and so I didn't wanna bring attention to myself. I snuck my camera in. So I snuck in with Paul. I guess if you wanna get into a concert in Croatia, go in with the rock and roll legend in the wheelchair. And so we snuck in. Well, I wasn't the only one, by the way. And I just kind of hung out in the corner behind a few people, and I didn't wanna take my camera out. So when Steve actually came into the room, I just filmed it on my phone, and a couple other people were filming it on their phones. And so that was a big kind of stressful situation for years, whether he would sign off on it. And MAIDEN, in the end, were super cool and allowed me to [use the footage in the film]."

Asked if Steve was the only member of MAIDEN to come and talk to Paul at that time, Wes said: "Yeah, that broke my heart. I was so hoping that… I've only maybe seen one or two interviews ever with [MAIDEN guitarist] Dave Murray. I was, like, 'Oh, man, how cool would it be if Dave walked in, or Adrian [Smith, MAIDEN guitarist], or even Bruce [Dickinson, MAIDEN singer]?' But, no, Steve was the only guy. In that moment, if you guys re-watch it, it's all about that initial moment when they see each other and they smile. Because they haven't hung out in 40 years, so they don't really know each other anymore, but in that moment, there's tenderness. And then they kind of default to that kind of shy British kind of thing."

Referencing the fact that Di'Anno sold the rights to much of the music he wrote with MAIDEN many years ago for a relatively small sum of money, Wes said: "I've often wondered if Paul had never sold those rights, what his situation would've been like. Instead of living in a small three-room apartment in Salisbury, would he have a house and would he have money to kind of, like, afford private health care at the time? Or I think what a lot of people told me through interviewing people for the film is he probably would've burned through all the money he had. That was just kind of his personality, I think. I think if he would've had more money, he would've spent it more, and who knows? I mean, maybe he would've been a casualty at a much younger age. But I think the big problem with Paul, somebody says it in the film, is whereas when [Ronnie James] Dio went solo or when Ozzy [Osbourne] went solo, they had infrastructure. They had good management. They had a great band. And Paul didn't really have any of those things. He made an AOR album out of MAIDEN. Even if he had made a punk album, the first thing he did after MAIDEN, I think that would've been better for him than what he ended up doing."

Wes also talked about the fact that MAIDEN paid tribute to Di'Anno during the band's October 22, 2024 concert at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He said:  "MAIDEN was on tour in America, and then they had that day [on October 21, 2024 when Paul died] off. And weirdly enough, it's only recently that I really kind of realized this, the town they play the next day is Saint Paul. That's where they happened to be, and that's where they do this incredible break from what they do every night. They did this moment of silence at a MAIDEN show. I'm so jealous for the people that were there to have experienced that. I wasn't there, no. And the next morning I got a call from Dave Shack in IRON MAIDEN's office, and he's, like, 'We wanna give you this footage' [of MAIDEN's tribute to Paul]. And it's just another example of them being super cool. Even though I would've killed to get interviews with all of those guys, especially Rod, they still did incredible things for me. They allowed me to license the music and video elements, and then they called and gave me this, which I kind of augmented with fan footage so that you could feel what it felt like to be in the rafters in that arena."

"Di'Anno: Iron Maiden's Lost Singer" features appearances by James Hetfield (METALLICA),Gene Simmons (KISS),IRON MAIDEN's Steve Harris and members of EXODUS, SLAYER, MEGADETH, OVERKILL and SEPULTURA.

Metal Hammer describes Orshoski's latest film as a "harrowing insight into Di'Anno's frustration and frailty at a desperately low ebb with an abrasively real, warts-and-all approach to its subject that serves Paul's legacy far more compellingly than some sanitized panegyric", while Metal Talk called it "a raw, dark and intimate documentary detailing the tragic final years of IRON MAIDEN's original singer, Paul Di'Anno."

Wheelchair-bound since the mid-2010s, Di'Anno's health nosedived during the COVID-19 pandemic, when those two fans launched a crowdfunding campaign which ultimately led to him relocating to Croatia, where — through the help of those fans and doctors — he made a dramatic turnaround while running out of money, reuniting with his former MAIDEN bandmates and falling in love. Eventually he makes a heroic and drama-filled return to the stage. All of this is captured in "Di'Anno: Iron Maiden's Lost Singer", which Orshoski began shooting in 2017.

"For years there wasn't much to capture," Orshoski, whose other credits also include "The Damned: Don't You Wish That We Were Dead", said. "Paul was waiting for surgeries that doctors in the U.K. would not greenlight. He was in an incredibly dark place. But once he got to Croatia, fans and doctors gave him the hope he was desperately searching for. It was beautiful to witness. I wanted to make a film that was unlike any rock doc you've ever seen. And in the end, I think we got there."

One of icons of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s, London-born Di'Anno helped launch IRON MAIDEN around the world, appearing on two of the most foundational metal albums ever released: IRON MAIDEN's 1980 self-titled debut and the celebrated follow-up, "Killers", released in 1981. In one of the most epic sagas in metal history, Di'Anno left MAIDEN in 1981 and was replaced by Bruce Dickinson, leaving metal fans around the world to debate which line-up and which singer was/is better. It's a debate that continues to this day, almost 50 years later.

Last October, Orshoski stated about "Di'Anno: Iron Maiden's Lost Singer": "I started shooting this film in 2017 and for years there wasn't much to capture. Paul was in a wheelchair, desperately waiting for surgeries that doctors in the U.K. refused to greenlight. By the time the pandemic hit, Paul's health had nosedived. And that's when everything changed for him and my film. Kastro Pergjoni, who runs the Cart & Horses pub in London (known as 'The Birthplace of IRON MAIDEN') launched a crowd-funding campaign to help Paul take control of his own destiny. MAIDEN fans around the world gave. And Croatian MAIDEN superfan/writer Stjepan Juras lobbied for Paul to seek treatment in Zagreb, where he could be treated affordably. Paul acquiesced. Without question, Kastro and Stjepan not only changed Paul's life, they extended it. My film largely documents their efforts, which were without question responsible for nearly all of the good moments at the end of Paul's life."

In August 2024, Di'Anno discussed the status of the documentary in an interview with George Dionne of KNAC.COM. Paul said: "Wes is a good mate of ours. He'd done the MOTÖRHEAD rockumentary. He'd done THE DAMNED [one] as well. And he's a great guy. We've had this in the pipeline for a couple of years now. The unfortunate part about it is we had to take our time in between when he can come over and do this. But the unfortunate thing is I'm sitting in a fucking wheelchair, which is a pain in the ass, but what are you gonna do?"

Asked by Dionne if the documentary will focus on a particular portion of Di'Anno's life or if it will cover everything from beginning to end, Paul said: "Everything. But you'll see the determination sometimes and the despair. And it goes through the whole lot of emotions and stuff. It's a bit strange."

Di'Anno added: "I trust Wes. He's got me in all sorts of weird situations. He even wanted to come in and fucking film the operation. And they said, 'No.'"

Di'Anno was laid to rest on November 21, 2024 at the City Of London Cemetery And Crematorium in Manor Park, East London, United Kingdom.

Di'Anno, whose real name was Paul Andrews, passed away on October 21, 2024 at his home in Salisbury at the age of 66.

An official statement shared to Di'Anno's Facebook page on November 11, 2024 with permission from the late musician's family revealed that his cause of death was caused by a "tear in the sac around the heart."

"Dear fans and friends," the statement began. "We have received permission from Paul's family to bring you the news of Paul's cause of death, after the results of the autopsy have been received."

It continued, "His sisters Cheryl and Michelle confirmed the following: 'Basically he had a tear in the sac around the heart and blood has filled inside it from the main aorta artery and that has caused the heart to stop.' Paul's death was instantaneous and hopefully painless. May he rest in peace."

Born in Chingford, East London on May 17, 1958, Paul first came to prominence as lead singer of English heavy metal band IRON MAIDEN between 1978 and 1981. He sang on their groundbreaking debut album "Iron Maiden" and the influential follow-up release, "Killers".

Since leaving IRON MAIDEN, Paul Di'Anno had a long and eventful recording career with BATTLEZONE and KILLERS as well as numerous solo releases and guest appearances.

Despite being troubled by severe health issues in recent years that restricted him to performing in a wheelchair, Paul continued to entertain his fans around the world, racking up well over 100 shows since 2023.

His first career retrospective album, "The Book Of The Beast", was released in September 2024 and featured highlights of his recordings since leaving IRON MAIDEN.

In December 2022, Di'Anno spent time in Split, Croatia recording an album with his new project called WARHORSE. The band was formed earlier that year by Di'Anno and two guitarists/authors, Hrvoje Madiraca and Ante "Pupi" Pupačić. The resulting LP was made available in July 2024 under the PAUL DI'ANNO'S WARHORSE banner.

WARHORSE previously recorded three songs, two of which — "Stop The War" and "The Doubt Within" — were released in May 2022 as a special DVD single along with Paul's video message to all fans who bought the single and thus helped raise funds for his knee operation.

The WARHORSE single marked Di'Anno's first music release after a seven-year hiatus due to severe health issues.

Di'Anno, who finally underwent his knee surgery in September 2022, played the first show since the operation on October 1, 2022 at the Keep It True Rising II festival in Würzburg, Germany.

In May 2022, Paul played his first full solo concert in seven years at the Bikers Beer Factory in Zagreb. The show was filmed and parts of it are included in the "Di'Anno: Iron Maiden's Lost Singer" documentary.

Photo credit: Marco Benjamin Alvarado (courtesy of Central Press for Conquest Music)

In a new interview with Remzi "Jam Man" Yates of Rocking With Jam Man, FILTER leader Richard Patrick talked about the evolution of the band's sound over the course of the last three decades. Patrick said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "FILTER is the most fun [of all my projects] because it is just a complete and total reflection of how I feel on a daily basis. And I wake up and I'm mad, I get to write a mad FILTER song, an angry FILTER song. If I'm happy, I can write something a little bit more beautiful, like the song 'Surprise', [which] came out of happiness to be a father. And that's why I love FILTER as my ultimate baby. It's my band. It's a child of mine. I'm proud of FILTER."

He continued: "FILTER is evolving in a way that it's a gorgeous ever-changing thing, and I'm very proud of it. I think it's evolving just properly. I think it's a good evolution."

Speaking about the musical direction of FILTER's upcoming follow-up to 2023's "The Algorithm" album, tentatively titled "The Antidote", Richard said: "It's kind of similar to 'The Algorithm'. That's why I called it 'The Antidote', because it's kind of coming in with solutions. And 'The Algorithm' was the problem, and 'The Antidote' is the solution. It's heavy sounding, but it's also beautiful and light in certain areas. Just like all the other FILTER records, there's that moment of brightness on it sonically. So, it's a gorgeous record. I'm really proud of it. It's gonna come out hopefully early next year."

Asked if he is "leaning more into the industrial side, the heavier side" or if "The Antidote" is "pulling from every era of FILTER', Richard said: "It's pulling from every era of FILTER, but the first song is pretty industrial. But it sounds like 'Short Bus' meets a sequencer, like a sampler. It's called 'Snakes In The Grass', and we play it live. I wonder if YouTube has it somewhere, this new song that we've been playing live for the past couple of weeks."

Regarding whether he thinks about longtime FILTER fans and what they expect when he is working on band's new music or if he tries to block that out completely, Patrick said: "I make FILTER records for one person. That person is me, and I hope that the fans love it as much as I do. And that's kind of... Even [legendary producer] Rick Rubin said, 'You can't make a record for an audience. You have to love it yourself.' If I'm not blowing my own mind, then what am I doing it for? If you don't blow your own minds and go, like, 'Wow, I can't believe I came up with this,' then you're not really sticking true to yourself. You're adhering to someone else's wants and desires. And artistically, you need to stick to yourself. You need to listen to yourself artistically, I think."

After Yates noted that some FILTER fans want the anger of 'Hey Man Nice Shot', while others "want the vulnerability of 'Take A Picture' and some want the more political-leaning stuff", Richard said: "I'm hoping that I do a lot of that [on 'The Antidote']. We just had a question where I said the most important person artistically is yourself. But I would hope that the audience gets everything they want from a FILTER record. I love the gorgeous side, too. I love the political side as well. I love the heaviness of industrial. So I'm aware that I have different fans that expect different sides to the band. And a lot of my female audience members love 'Take A Picture', and so I try and include a 'Take A Picture' on every record, like a beautiful, melodic, acoustic-type song. I could probably put together a great playlist of just, like, 'Take A Picture', 'Surprise', all those types of songs. I could probably make a great playlist where it's just the chill stuff of FILTER, and it would be cool. I'm proud of that. But at the same time, I could make a equally devastating playlist with 'Hey Man Nice Shot' and 'Snakes In The Grass' or 'Obliteration' or something like that, too. So it's kind of fun."

This past March, Richard told Matt Bingham of the Z93 radio station about the songwriting process for "The Antidote", particularly as it relates to his collaborations with outside songwriters and musicians: "It's weird. There's a song called 'Snakes In The Grass', which was entirely by myself. And then there's songs that I write with Sam Tinnesz. He's a good friend of mine; he's one of my best friends. And we wrote a song called 'Hell In My Head' as well as another one called 'Panic Mode'. I just love working with Sam. He's just a great lyricist. He's a great songwriter. And I do love collaboration. That's why I do guest vocal spots with other people. And any opportunity to just make some great art is kind of my M.O."

Last year, Richard wrote a song called "The Gunslingers Of Redemption" and composed all the music for writer-director Brian Skiba's western "Gunslingers".

Richard had previously composed soundtracks for several films, including "Dark Crimes" (2016) and "Last Rampage" (2017). He also contributed to the soundtrack for "The Last Rampage" with his brother, Robert Patrick. In addition, he has composed music for TV series like "Comedy Kitchen".

"The Algorithm" came out in August 2023 via Golden Robot Records.

Originally conceived in 2018 as a collaboration between Patrick and fellow FILTER founding member Brian Liesegang, "The Algorithm" was given a tentative title, "ReBus", as a nod to FILTER's 1995 debut, "Short Bus", before being changed to "They Got Us Right Where They Want Us, At Each Other's Throats" and later to "Murica" and then back to "They Got Us Right Where They Want Us, At Each Other's Throats" and eventually "The Algorithm".

Last August, FILTER released "The Algorithm: Ultra Edition" via the band's No Pulse Records. The collection featured re-imagined cuts from FILTER's latest album, "The Algorithm", with nine additional tracks.

Patrick, the creative mastermind behind FILTER, has spent over 30 years pushing the boundaries of musical expression. His tenure as NINE INCH NAILS' touring guitarist and involvement in the band's iconic music videos cemented his place in rock history. Patrick left NINE INCH NAILS in 1993 to form FILTER. Their explosive debut album, "Short Bus", achieved platinum status, propelled by the breakout single "Hey Man Nice Shot". The success continued with their follow-up release, "Title Of Record", also going platinum thanks to the crossover hit "Take A Picture". Despite struggles with addiction and a stint in rehab, Patrick's determination led to the formation of the supergroup ARMY OF ANYONE in 2006 alongside Dean and Robert DeLeo of STONE TEMPLE PILOTS and Ray Luzier of KORN, before refocusing on FILTER's output of later lauded albums, "Anthems For The Damned" (2008),"The Trouble With Angels" (2010),"The Sun Comes Out Tonight" (2013),"Crazy Eyes" (2016) and "The Algorithm" (2023).

2023 "The Algorithm" press photo credit: Chapman Baehler

Few bands have left a mark on alternative music as deep and enduring as the Grammy Award-winning rock band THE SMASHING PUMPKINS. Today, Sumerian Records proudly announces "Sending Hearts To All My Dearies - A Tribute To The Smashing Pumpkins", an ambitious new collection celebrating one of the most influential catalogs in modern rock history. The album arrives digitally on August 14, 2026, with a deluxe 2xLP vinyl release featuring multiple exclusive multi-color variants set for October 16, 2026.

Co-signed and personally titled by THE SMASHING PUMPKINS mastermind Billy Corgan himself, "Sending Hearts To All My Dearies" takes its name from a beloved lyric in the "Siamese Dream" classic "Mayonaise" and brings together an eclectic lineup of artists spanning alternative, rock, metal and beyond to reinterpret songs from every era of THE SMASHING PUMPKINS' storied career.

The collection features transformative takes on iconic anthems including "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" alongside fan-favourite cuts such as "Jellybelly", showcasing the remarkable breadth and lasting impact of a catalogue that continues to inspire generations of musicians more than three decades after its inception.

Leading the announcement is TAME IMPALA's mesmerizing reimagining of "Hummer" from THE SMASHING PUMPKINS' landmark 1993 album "Siamese Dream". Expanding on the original's psychedelic spirit, the band layers dreamy vocals, wavy guitar textures, and hypnotic percussion into a modern interpretation that honors the song's dreamlike melodies while filtering it through Kevin Parker's unmistakable sonic lens.

For Parker, the song holds a deeply personal connection. "'Siamese Dream' was the soundtrack to my high school years and 'Hummer' is the song that takes me back there in the most potent way," he says.

More than a tribute album, "Sending Hearts To All My Dearies" serves as a conversation between generations of artists, with musicians shaped by THE SMASHING PUMPKINS' fearless songwriting, experimentation, and emotional honesty paying homage through reinterpretation and new perspective. More than three decades after redefining alternative rock, the band's music continues to inspire artists and audiences alike, making this collection both a celebration of their enduring legacy and a reminder that truly great songs never stop evolving.

"Sending Hearts To All My Dearies - A Tribute To The Smashing Pumpkins" track listing:

01. TAME IMPALA - Hummer
02. YONAKA - Today
03. THE MIDNIGHT - Tonight, Tonight
04. CARPENTER BRUT - Cherub Rock
05. BARNS COURTNEY - 1979
06. MEG MYERS - Eye
07. PALAYE ROYALE - Bullet With Butterfly Wings
08. BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME - Jellybelly
09. ALICE GLASS - Drown
10. STARBENDERS - Tonight, Tonight
11. NITA STRAUSS - 1979
12. BONES UK - Cherub Rock
13. MOON TAXI - Thirty Three
14. DES ROCS - Bullet With Butterfly Wings
15. URBAN HEAT - Ava Adore

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS are one of the most iconic, iconoclastic, and influential bands of all time, shaping alternative music and culture. Since forming in Chicago in 1988, the group has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and garnered two Grammy Awards, seven MTV VMAs, and an American Music Award. Their catalogue includes seminal offerings such as the platinum "Gish" (1991),the quadruple-platinum "Siamese Dream" (1993),the diamond-certified "Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness" (1995),the platinum "Adore" (1998) and the gold "Machina/The Machines Of God" (2000). Rolling Stone cited both "Siamese Dream" and "Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness" among its "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time". It would also be impossible to envision alternative music and culture without their signature iconography such as the idyllic album artwork for "Siamese Dream", the black Zero shirt, the laissez faire bliss of the "1979" music video, the gothic metamorphosis of "Ava Adore" or the multi-dimensional live shows that sell out worldwide to this day. 2018 saw THE SMASHING PUMPKINS unveil "Shiny And Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun." and launched the immensely successful "Shiny And Oh So Bright Tour", which packed arenas. Maintaining this momentum, the band released their eleventh full-length double album, "Cyr" (2020),representing yet another evolution, and more recently, "Atum" (2023),the sequel to 1995's "Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness" and 2000's "Machina/Machine Of God". The band's 2024 album "Aghori Mhori Mei", written in the immediate aftermath of "Atum", sees a return to form for original members Billy Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin and James Iha, and harkens back to the band's early 1990s canon, where guitars, bass, drums, and spiking vocals ruled.

METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett fell from the stage during the band's concert in Dublin, Ireland.

The 63-year-old musician took a tumble while performing at the Aviva Stadium Friday night (June 19) in front of an estimated 40,000 fans.

Fan-filmed video of the incident shared online (see below) shows Hammett losing his footing near the edge of the stage while performing the 1983 classic "Seek & Destroy" before falling into the crowd below.

The mishap apparently happened when Hammett placed his foot on a stage cover that unexpectedly gave way beneath him, causing the fall.

Kirk briefly missed a riff or two as fans standing below could be seen reaching out while the musician dropped toward the crowd.

Hammett quickly recovered and carried on with the song, which closed the first of METALLICA's two massive Dublin shows this weekend as part of the band's "M72" world tour.

Hammett later shared video of the moment to his Instagram story, jokingly captioning it "Slip & Destroy".

METALLICA will play at the Aviva again this Sunday, June 21, with GOJIRA and KNOCKED LOOSE supporting.

The support acts for Friday's concert were PANTERA and AVATAR.

METALLICA's concerts at Aviva Stadium this weekend mark the band's first Dublin shows since 2009, and their first time headlining in Ireland since Slane Castle in 2019.

The Dublin show forms part of METALLICA's "No Repeat Weekend" format, meaning both nights feature completely different setlists and support acts.

Dublin is one of only three cities on the European leg of the "M72" tour to get two full shows, Friday and Sunday.

The Celebration Of Sound channel on YouTube has uploaded video of CINDERELLA frontman Tom Keifer's June 20 concert at the House Of Blues in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Check out the clips below.

Tom has transitioned his talents over the past decade and a half to a solo career, recording and touring with #KEIFERBAND.

Last August, Tom confirmed to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station that he was still working on material for the follow-up to his sophomore solo album, "Rise", which was released in September 2019 via Cleopatra Records.

Tom's #KEIFERBAND is rounded out by Savannah Keifer, Tony Higbee, Billy Mercer, Tanya Davis, Jarred Pope and Kory Myers.

Keifer was the voice of CINDERELLA on all of the band's albums, including the first two, 1986's "Night Songs" and 1988's "Long Cold Winter". CINDERELLA recorded two more LPs before Keifer suffered vocal paresis, grunge happened and the band lost its record deal.

Although CINDERELLA hasn't released a new studio album since 1994's "Still Climbing", the band started playing sporadic shows again in 2010 but has been largely inactive for the last few years while Keifer focused on his solo career.

In March 2022, Keifer said that he was "not prepared" for the 2021 passing of CINDERELLA guitarist Jeff LaBar. Jeff was found dead by his wife in July 2021 inside his apartment in Nashville. He was 58 years old.

In a September 2025 interview with Deanne Coffin, Keifer was asked to name the "secret" to his success. He responded: "Just don't stop. [Laughs] You just keep going. I love playing music. I always have.

"I think every artist has their story of ups and downs in the music business and all," he continued. "There's no secret [the bands who were big in] the '80s took quite a dive in the '90s, and on top of it, I was told I would never sing again [after a severe bout of vocal paresis]. And everybody has their story, so I'm not whining. I mean, everybody has their adversity. And I think the secret, if there is one — I mean, I don't think you can bottle anyone's secret. I just think if you love doing it, you just keep doing it. It's like the saying from the movie, 'If you build it, they will come.' So, yeah, through the ups and downs, and there's been times, you go out and you just play, and you play for anyone who wants to come and hear you still. Or in the beginning, before nobody wanted to hear it, and you're playing for 10 people, but all of a sudden it turns into this massive thing."

Keifer added: "Just do what you love. Don't follow trends. Be who you are. Play what you love, because if you're chasing trends, by the time you catch up with it, there's gonna be a new one. So I think probably, aside from everything else that I said about just never stopping, if it's truly what you love and it's your dharma, as they say in the Eastern philosophy, the most important thing is be yourself, be true to your own musical style because if you're going after a trend, you'll be on the tail end of it."

David Z Foundation, which helps provide music education and opportunities for future artists, has uploaded professionally filmed video of Dino "Jelusick" Jelusić (vocals),Doug Aldrich (guitar),Marco Mendoza (bass),Mike Mangan (keyboards) and Joe Travers (drums) performing the WHITESNAKE classic "Crying In The Rain" at this year's JAMM Night! on January 23, 2026 at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena in Anaheim, California during the 2026 NAMM convention. The clip, which was filmed and edited by EberlyProductions.com, can be seen below.

In a November 2023 interview with Chris Akin Presents, Croatian singer/multi-instrumentalist Jelusić, who was enlisted by WHITESNAKE for its last European tour, was asked if there was any truth to the rumor that he was brought in to assist David Coverdale with the lead vocals on the trek. He responded: "Well, since there's no official statement on what everybody was guessing… And I was actually hearing a lot of stories from behind that I'm actually brought in to replace [David]. He never really officially asked me, but I heard from a very close person that he kind of was thinking about that. So I don't wanna say that it is like that 'cause I heard it from a close person, so I don't wanna state that.

"But, to me, WHITESNAKE is David Coverdale, and I would never wanna take that spot, to be honest with you," Dino continued. "I don't wanna be a little, young guy that sounds great singing David Coverdale songs. I am myself and I wanna do stuff myself. I wanna do it with my own songs.

"David Coverdale is WHITESNAKE, and if the band should end because he wants to retire, the band should end because he wants to retire," Jelusick explained. "'Cause this way you can find somebody to replace Steven Tyler, somebody to replace Robert Plant, and the bands can just go on and on and on. I don't think that's the point.

"I sang a lot, obviously, live. If you came to see WHITESNAKE, you noticed — you could notice that. I sang 'Slide It In' half-half with him, and I covered a lot of ground, along with Michele [Luppi], the keyboard player. So there was a lot of work; it was a lot of work. And I enjoyed the tour. We had a great time with [European tourmates] FOREIGNER and EUROPE, both bands that I love. And, yeah, it was really cool."

When Jelusick's addition to WHITESNAKE was first announced in July 2021, David said in a statement: "I am absolutely delighted to welcome the extremely gifted Dino Jelusick to WHITESNAKE. We've had our eyes and ears on him since we played Zagreb together two years ago. You're going to love him!"

In October 2021, Coverdale spoke about Dino's addition to WHITESNAKE, telling Antihero Magazine: "He's going to be the way I have two guitar players.

"I've always seen WHITESNAKE as an orchestra," he explained. "I don't see it as a band-band. I don't want two guitarists playing exactly the same song, or just harmony guitars, I want two opposing… you've got the incendiary Joel Hoekstra, entirely different to the electrifying Reb Beach. And this is not to overwhelm Michele. Michele's totally secure. I adore him and what he brings to WHITESNAKE.

"In 2019, Dino's band opened for us in Zagreb, and this is very rare for me, and I went, 'Who the fuck is that?' And I was going, 'Wow, that kid's great.' And Joel said, 'Yeah, I worked with him in the TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA. He's a great guy.' And I said, 'That guy's a 'Snake', dude.' And I said, 'Don't say anything yet. I'm going to keep my eyes and ears on him.'

"So, I think it's going to be fantastic," Coverdale added. "I'm going to have an orchestra of keyboards for a lot of songs on WHITESNAKE which are big epics, that make them even more musically orchestrated without having an orchestra on stage with us.

"I mean, the guy's great, I can't wait to sing with him. I already have [two] singers who are good enough to be frontman singers, with Michele Luppi and Reb Beach; they are really great singers. What's wrong with having another one? And I think he's a super guy… It's got to be exciting to me and adding another spice to an already good cocktail."

Mendoza served as WHITESNAKE's bassist during the 2004–2005 reunion tour, performing alongside Coverdale, Aldrich and Reb Beach. His contributions are prominently featured on the live album and DVD "Live... In The Still Of The Night", recorded at London's Hammersmith Apollo on October 20, 2004, and released in 2006.

"For me, it was definitely a highlight in my career working with David Coverdale," Mendoza told Roppongi Rocks's Stefan Nilsson in a 2017 interview. "I'm only the bass player, but when you work with cats like that, that inspire you, that you've held up on a pedestal at some point in your career. And you finally end up working with them, they're teachers. For me, I've learned so much. I've learned to be very meticulous. The image thing is very important, it is. I learned so much from him. The rehearsals, when things are not sounding right, let's work it out. Find out why it's not working out. Okay, let's fix it. Boom! He is very meticulous, which is why he is very successful. He started way back. Rock 'n' roll royalty."

Aldrich was a member of Coverdale's outfit from 2002 to 2014 before leaving to spend more time with his family. The guitarist played on two WHITESNAKE studio albums, 2008's "Good To Be Bad" and 2011's "Forevermore", and appeared on several live releases, including 2013's "Made In Japan" and "Made In Britain/The World Records".

The David Z Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization started by singer/guitarist Paulie Z in memory of his brother and bandmate bassist David Z. Inclusive of all and serving a diverse population of underprivileged kids, the organization's aim is to instill a passion for music in kids while providing them with engaging music education opportunities and funding, putting together collaborations between kids and veteran music industry professionals and developing programs within academic school settings as well as music schools, both across the country and internationally. The David Z Foundation brings students into the world of music by providing deeper knowledge and experience with instruments, songwriting, recording, music video production, band dynamics and live performances, and offers kids workshops on the music industry itself. In their own schools, the programs the David Z Foundation co-designs get kids to use the crafts of songwriting, recording and video production to create work which helps explain educational concepts in creative and stylish ways. The foundation's interest in defining new avenues for music as a helping tool has also led to the application of music in programs for kids with emotional and mental health challenges. The foundation is looking ahead to future programs that will continue a strong focus on music education and well-being through music.

The David Z Foundation founder/CEO Paulie Z is the singer of the legendary band SWEET, host/producer of "Ultimate Jam Night" at the famous Whisky A Go Go, and lead singer of the tribute band BOHEMIAN QUEEN. He was the vocalist/guitarist for the power trio ZO2, and star of the TV series "Z Rock" on the IFC channel. In addition to 25 years of experience on stage, on screen and in the studio, Paulie has been simultaneously performing and creating musical programs for children and was named "New Yorker Of The Week" by the NY1 network for his contribution to music education. Paulie is passionate about bringing change to the world through music education and is proud to have founded the David Z Foundation in his brother's honor and serve as its president.

HELLOWEEN drummer Daniel "Dani" Löble has shared drum-cam video of him performing the song "We Burn" with his bandmates on June 19 at this year's Hellfest festival in Clisson, France. Check it out below.

In a note accompanying the YouTube release of the video, Dani wrote: "One of those magical festival moments. Playing 'We Burn' in broad daylight at Hellfest, surrounded by an incredible crowd of around 50,000–60,000 metal fans, with the French sun adding some extra heat to the experience. Thanks to everyone who made this show so special. See you on the road!"

Löble is a Swiss-born drummer who has been a member of HELLOWEEN since 2005.

Prior to joining HELLOWEEN, Dani had played with Blaze Bayley (former singer of IRON MAIDEN),Thilo Hermann of RUNNING WILD, RAWHEAD REXX and GLENMORE.

In a 2025 interview with Kevy Metal, Löble stated about how he gets ready for HELLOWEEN's live performances: "I prepare at home. I practice sports as a hobby, so I work out on a daily basis. Also, I practice drums every day when I'm at home. So I'm always at 60 to 70 percent of what I need to perform live. That's my ground level, and I almost never drop below that, unless I'm sick.

"When I slowly start preparing for a tour by constantly drumming the songs at home, I will eventually end up at a decent level, fitness-wise," he explained. "Then band rehearsals start, which are even more intensive: you hit the drums harder, it's more physical. Also, our rehearsal phase is relatively long to begin with. So by the time the tour starts, I tend to be at the level I want to be. Maybe at 95 percent for the first five shows, and then I arrive at 120 percent. That's where I need to be; 100 is only just enough. So I prepare. I know my body, and I always approach a rock show as an athlete: the entire day is structured so that I can deliver for two and a half hours. My body needs that. I know my muscles inside and out, and I know exactly: now I need to eat this, be there shortly before the show, then I go to sleep for a bit. Through the years, I have learned how to handle my muscle strength. Sometimes it can be very difficult. When the stage is very hot, for instance. That's when I will hold back just a little bit, so I can make it through two and a half hours."

HELLOWEEN is continuing to tour in support of its latest album, "Giants & Monsters", which came out last August via Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM). The follow-up to HELLOWEEN's self-titled 2021 record was mixed at the legendary Wisseloord Studios (IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST, DEF LEPPARD) in Hilversum, Netherlands.

"Giants & Monsters" pushed the boundaries of HELLOWEEN's sound, thanks to the instincts of producers Charlie Bauerfeind and Dennis Ward, as well as the band's relentless pursuit of excellence. Per example, Löble recorded all tracks using three different drum kits to capture the perfect vibe for each song, a testament to their attention to detail and love of experimentation.

Upon its release in June 2021, "Helloween" landed in the Top 10 in more than 10 countries, including Germany, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Austria. The cover artwork for the LP was painted by artist Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with HATEBREED, SOULFLY, TESTAMENT, ICED EARTH and SODOM, among others.

"Helloween" saw the legendary German power metallers going "back to the roots," with the band recording fully analog and Löble playing the drum kit previously used by HELLOWEEN's original drummer, the late Ingo Schwichtenberg, on the legendary "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" recordings.

HELLOWEEN released a live album, "Live At Budokan", on December 13, 2024 via Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM). The colossal effort immortalized HELLOWEEN's September 16, 2023 performance at Tokyo's legendary Nippon Budokan.