Coming off two acclaimed studio albums ("Black Dawn", "Tightrope"),and an energized historic live album, "Birth Of Cactus", founding member and world-renowned drummer Carmine Appice returns with the ultimate tribute to his legendary rock band. "Temple of Blues - Influences And Friends" merges the members of CACTUS with a super ensemble of guest artists, all of whom have called the group among their biggest influences.

Once heralded by critics as America's answer to LED ZEPPELIN, CACTUS recorded four hard-rockin' albums for Atco Records before Appice and bassist Tim Bogert left to form their own supergroup: BECK, BOGERT & APPICE.

"The music of CACTUS has always been steeped in blues tradition," says Appice, who wanted the group to revisit its best songs within a modern rock approach to traditional blues. "We kept hearing from so many of our music celebrity friends how much CACTUS influenced them and how they would love to be a guest on a CACTUS album. Even our label president, Brian Perera from Cleopatra Records, suggested to us that this album happens. So, 'Temple Of Blues' was the logical next step."

"Temple of Blues - Influences And Friends" is set for release on June 7 2024 as a CD and also as double vinyl album. Featured along with the current CACTUS band is a who's who of blues and rock icons: guitarists Joe Bonamassa, Ted Nugent, Pat Travers, Warren Haynes, Vernon Reid, Steve Stevens, Johnny A (THE YARDBIRDS),Ty Tabor (KING'S X) and bassists Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG),Doug "Dug" Pinnick (KING'S X),Tony Franklin (THE FIRM, BLUE MURDER),Phil Soussan (OZZY OSBOURNE, BILLY IDOL),Rudy Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE),Kenny Aaronson (ex-Joan Jet and THE YARDBIRDS),as well as members of GOV'T MULE, VIXEN, RAINBOW, ZEBRA and WHITESNAKE. Vocalist Dee Snider of TWISTED SISTER appears on the band's remake of the Howlin' Wolf classic "Evil", and Appice's bandmate in VANILLA FUDGE, Mark Stein, turns in a powerful vocal on Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally". A second version of "Guiltless Glider" appears as a bonus track with former JUDAS PRIEST vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens. Another of Appice's musical partners, Fernando Perdomo, also appears on the new record.

In addition to Appice on drums on all tracks, original CACTUS guitarist Jim McCarty also appears on "Temple Of Blues". Current bandmembers, vocalist/guitarist and harmonica player Jim Stapley and bassist Jim Caputo, also appear on many of the tracks. Appice announced today a new member to the band's lineup: guitarist Artie Dillon will handle guitar duties for live tours and plays on one track for the new album. Founding member Jim McCarty currently contributes as a writing and recording member of CACTUS on occasion but no longer does live tours.

The current line-up of CACTUS came together in 2021. Lead vocalist Jim Stapley comes from England and had worked with ex-FACES/WHO drummer Kenny Jones in the JONES GANG and HUMBLE PIE.

"Nearly five decades after I formed this band, the time had come to re-invent CACTUS once again," says Appice, who also still drums for VANILLA FUDGE, the Appice Brothers "Drum Wars", and a hybrid tribute to former band leader Rod Stewart. Appice adds: "The music remains the same and CACTUS is still a 'hot and sweaty' band. The level, quality and consistence of the band's musicianship is as strong as ever."''

CACTUS has had a long and turbulent history. Formed in 1970 from the ashes of VANILLA FUDGE by Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert, the initial lineup also featured McCarty (from Mitch Ryder and THE BUDDY MILES EXPRESS) and AMBOY DUKES vocalist Rusty Day. While CACTUS saw success from the start and soon built a loyal fan base, by early 1973 the band had collapsed mainly due to lack of real support from its label and the fact that Jeff Beck was now ready play with Carmine and Tim in BECK, BOGERT & APPICE.

The band reformed in 2006, three decades after the tragic death of Rusty Day with Randy Pratt on harp (who also appears on this album) and Jimmy Kunes vocals. When the late Tim Bogert was forced into retirement due to complications after a serious motorcycle accident, Pete Bremy joined on bass before Caputo replaced him in 2020.

Now, with a powerful new lineup, CACTUS and an album the marries the band with some of the biggest names in rock and blues, embarks on a new and exciting musical journey to the "Temple Of Blues". This time around, the music is just as powerful as before — and bound to be just as successful "one way or another."

Dee Snider said: "Bass player Mark 'The Animal' Mendoza of TWISTED SISTER, turned me on to CACTUS. They were the hardest, heaviest, fastest (check out their version of 'Parchman Farm' live at the Isle Of Wight festival, if you want proof) band of their time, setting the standard for hard rock/heavy metal bands to come! I was hooked! (Thanks, Mark!)

"Cut to the early '90s and during rehearsals for our new project WIDOWMAKER, drummer Joe Franco and I play 'Evil' for the 'young guns' in our band and their minds are completely blown. The next rehearsal I walked into my them jamming 'Evil' like they'd discovered a new form of rock! I joined in on vocals, our producer heard us laying into it and said we had to put the song on our album ('Blood And Bullets'). 'Evil' became a staple of every live show we played over the next couple of years.

"To get a call from Carmine Appice asking me to sing this song on a CACTUS album is one of the highlights of my career. He told me I sounded more like the late great Rusty Day than anyone else he ever heard. Of course I do! You don't fuck with perfection!

"Thank you Rusty, Timmy, Carmine and Jim for showing me the way and allowing me (Carmine and Jim) the chance to do this. I am honored to rock with such greatness."

Doug Pinnick said: "It was 1971, LED ZEPPELIN, ZZ TOP, DEEP PURPLE and YES were my go-to bands, and one day I went to visit a musician friend who played me 'Long Tall Sally' by CACTUS. From the beginning [of] Jim's guitar intro, I was hooked. The riff was so heavy, and when Rusty sang the first verse, my mind was blown. A Little Richard cover!!!! The reason I play rock music was because of Little Richard. So I listened to the whole album. Great songwriting, Carmine's brutal drumming, Tim's bass and Jim's guitar playing, so inspirational they were. Rusty had a special knack for writing amazing, down-to-earth lyrics! I loved his voice. I learned to sing and play every song and I never looked back. These albums still stand the test of time. CACTUS is one of my all-time favorite bands. This is why I said 'yes' to playing on this record."

Track listing:

01. Parchman Farm [feat. Joe Bonamassa & Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG / DAVID LEE ROTH)]
02. Bro. Bill [feat. Randy Jackson (ZEBRA),Randy Pratt (CACTUS) & Bob Daisley (OZZY OSBOURNE)]
03. Guiltless Glider [feat. Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (GUNS N' ROSES) & Phil Soussan (OZZY OSBOURNE)]
04. Evil [feat. Dee Snider (TWISTED SISTER) & Doug Pinnick (KING'S X)]
05. One Way...Or Another [feat. Doug Pinnick (KING'S X) & Ted Nugent]
06. Alaska [feat. Johnny A. & Tony Franklin (THE FIRM)]
07. No Need To Worry [feat. Warren Haynes (GOV'T MULE) & Jorgen Carlsson (GOV'T MULE)]
08. Oleo [feat. Steve Stevens (Billy Idol) & Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG / DAVID LEE ROTH)]
09. Big Mama Boogie [feat. Pat Travers & James Caputo (CACTUS)]
10. You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover
11. Rock N' Roll Children [feat. Britt Lightning (VIXEN),Vernon Reid (LIVING COLOUR) & Rudy Sarzo (QUIET RIOT)]
12. Let Me Swim [feat. Doug Aldrich (WHITESNAKE) & Marco Mendoza (BLUE MURDER)]
13. Restrictions [feat. Ty Tabor (KING'S X) & Phil Soussan (OZZY OSBOURNE)]
14. Long Tall Sally [feat. Mark Stein (VANILLA FUDGE) & Fernando Perdomo]

Bonus track

15. Guiltless Glider [feat. Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST)]

MASTERS OF REALITY return with their first new music in 15 years. Today, they release their new single, "Sugar", on Mascot Records. They will also be playing shows across Europe in May — Eindhoven (The Netherlands),Utrecht (The Netherlands),Leuven (Belgium),Bielefeld (Germany),Rüsselsheim (Germany) as well as Deserfest London and Berlin.

"Sugar" is hypnotic, poignant and vulnerable. It builds from a stirring melody into a grand, orchestrated swell of emotion, with Chris Goss's ethereal-yet-soulful voice floating over the top of it. "Sugar" itself dates back to 2006, though it has been through many incarnations and iterations since before Goss added a chorus that had been rattling around the back of his brain since 1995. "As it developed, 'Sugar' revealed an inner will to become less esoteric and more directly personal," he says.

Goss is one of the elusive geniuses of American music. As the singer, guitarist and driving force behind MASTERS OF REALITY, he's spent more than 40 years charting his own musical journey, travelling from mystical blues to desert rock to psychedelia-edged beauty via all points in between. Where others follow the pack, this desert-dwelling California native has forged a career like no other. A desire to follow his own artistic muse and not bow to external pressures has resulted in a string of albums that sound like no one else but MASTERS OF REALITY, subtly yet indelibly leaving a mark on the generations of musicians who heard them.

This led him to a bunch of kids from Palm Desert called KYUSS. Goss worked with the band on three landmark albums in the early 1990s, helping plant the seeds for the so-called Desert Rock movement. He struck up a lifelong friendship with the band's guitarist Josh Homme, who enlisted Goss's help when it came to getting his post-KYUSS outfit, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, off the ground, co-producing their first two albums and working with Homme on his "Desert Sessions" project, with Goss held up as "The Godfather Of Desert Rock."

The list of bands and artists he has worked with in that capacity is long and illustrious: QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, KYUSS, Mark Lanegan, FOO FIGHTERS, THE CULT, UNKLE, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS singer Scott Weiland, former HOLE bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur, even Hollywood star Russell Crowe. He's the connective tissue which links so much modern music.

One near miss was NIRVANA — Dave Grohl told him that the grunge band had considered Goss as producer for the follow-up to "Nevermind". "They used to listen to MASTERS OF REALITY and KYUSS in their van," says Goss. "But I would have wanted to fuck their sound up."

Now, 15 years after his last release, Goss has finally returned with MASTERS OF REALITY. Like everything they've released since their inception over 40 years ago, it's another step on a journey that has continuously moved forward.

Talking about "Sugar" further, he says, "It's a complete, emotionally based story instead of my usual, covertly whispered list of what's wrong with the world's tragic trajectory. Finally the lyrics gelled, reflecting on intelligent women trying to find their place somewhere in the mess. Not in the modern media's social strata angle as a percentage number to create ratings by directing a ruse to a large demographic, but a real picture of what real people feel. The inner emotional reality of one life and its relevance to many lives."

The arrival of "Sugar" – which was co-produced by Goss and Alain Johannes, and also features drummer John Leamy and bassist Paul Powell — heralds the welcome return of MASTERS OF REALITY.

"We can infer after a long silence of 15 years that the band is ready to face the world," he says. "When people are truly ready for real music played from the heart, as opposed to auto tune and everything so aligned, and that's not where this band ever came from. I've waited for some time for that storm to pass. Whether inner or outer, it wasn't right. It's simply time now, and this song 'Sugar' is the most personal track we have ever done."

Confirmed appearances in May:

May 16 - Eindhoven NL - Effenaar
May 17 - London, UK - Electric Ballroom, Desert Fest
May 19 - Utrecht, NL - Tivoli Pandora
May 21 - Leuven, BE - Het Depot
May 23 - Bielefeld, DE - Forum
May 24 - Rüsselsheim, DE - Das Rind
May 26 - Berlin, DE - Columbia Hall, Desert Fest

Firewind's Gus G. stopped by the Guitar World studio to show them some of his own favourite riffs, including "The Fire And The Fury", "World On Fire", "Ode To Leonidas", "Destiny Is Calling", and "Falling To Pieces". Watch the video below:





Firewind will be special guests on Sonata Arctica's European headline tour in September/October. Warming up the crowds will be Tungsten and Serious Black. Final Strike will appear on the tour's opening night.







Dates:


September
11 - Norrtälje (Opalen), Sweden - Rimbo Kulturscen (with Final Strike only)
12 - Östersund, Sweden - Gamla Teatern*
13 - Trondheim, Norway - Tapperiet*
14 - Örnsköldsvik, Sweden - Nöjesbolaget*
16 - Oslo, Norway - Vulkan Arena*
17 - Karlstad, Sweden - Nöjesfabriken*
18 - Huskvarna, Sweden - Folkets Park*
20 - Roskilde, Denmark - Gimle*
21 - Berlin, Germany - Columbia Theater
22 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
24 - Utrecht, Netherlands - TivoliVredenburg (Pandora)
25 - Tilburg, Netherlands - 013
26 - Bochum, Germany - Matrix
27 - Aschaffenburg, Germany - Colos-Saal
28 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Konzertfabrik Z7
29 - Munich, Germany - Backstage (Werk)


October
1 - Paris, France - La Machine du Moulin Rouge
2 - Villeurbanne, France - La Rayonne
3 - Barcelona, Spain - Sala Razzmatazz 2
4 - Madrid, Spain - WiZink Center (La Sala)
5 - Pamplona, Spain - Sala Totem
7 - Milan, Italy - Alcatraz
8 - Padova, Italy - Hall
9 - Budapest, Hungary - Barba Negra
10 - TBA
11 - Warsaw, Poland - Klub Proxima
12 - Poznań, Poland - Tama

Vampires Everywhere! are back for blood with "White Wedding" single release just in time for National Goth Day 2024.


Michael Vampire of Vampires Everywhere! says "When I was a young boy my mother used to play Billy Idol for me nonstop! His music is in my blood (no pun intended) and I'm beyond excited to share with the world my rendition of one of his most iconic songs 'White Wedding'. I remember seeing the OG version on MTV and being blown away! I wanted to make sure I did the song justice and pulled no stops setting up a music video that even Billy Idol would be proud of. I absolutely feel this is my best music video to date and I couldn't be more thankful to everyone that was involved. 


“Alex from Black Wolf Imaging did a fantastic job bringing my vision to life and understanding the importance of storytelling in music videos. I wanted to pay homage to the classic movies that defined my childhood. Movies like "Carrie" and "Queen Of The Damned" helped inspire me to create something memorable. I've always been the underdog in the music industry and treated like Todd from "Wedding Crashers" haha! So I wanted the video to have the separation between the popular crowd and the so-called freaks. It was actually mind blowing to see the cast get so involved in the video and even genuinely clapping when the groom and bride get together in the end. It's amazing how powerful music can be and I'm proud to show the world my version of 'White Wedding'."







Get the single here.


Vampires Everywhere! has toured with the likes of Motionless In White, Aiden, Alesana, Orgy, Filter, Falling In Reverse, Escape The Fate, and countless others. The band played festivals including Inkcarceration Fest, Dark Force Fest, South By SoWhat, HTP Fest, and many more!


The 2021 rebirth of the band has generated major attention and spawned a whole new generation of VE fans! Vampires Everywhere!'s cover of "Cry Little Sister" , the theme song from the 1987 cult classic film "The Lost Boys" earned a Top 40 spot on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart and Mediabase Rock Radio Charts. The song was also featured on the Paramount+ Hit TV Show "Burning Girls" in the UK. The band has just released their latest single; a cover of Billy Idol's "White Wedding".


Check out Vampires Everywhere! tour dates here.


(Photo – Evan Middleton)

Nate Peck, 2023 "American Idol" golden ticket recipient from Season 21, has officially joined FIREHOUSE as the band's new lead vocalist. He replaces late FIREHOUSE frontman CJ Snare, who died on April 5 at the age of 64 following a lengthy battle with cancer.

Peck performed an outstanding audition for "American Idol" judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie. Richie praised Nate's performance, saying: "That was brilliant... The best rock singer EVER that we've had. You've got it!" Perry looked to the sky and said: "Actually, he's SO good!" High praises from all three judges got him unanimous consent to move onto the next level of the competition. Peck ultimately decided to leave the show to pursue his career in music his own way: playing live music in Nashville's booming rock scene and guest singing with national artists like JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE.

Peck was first introduced to FIREHOUSE guitarist Bill Leverty by JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE guitarist Robbie Lochner. Leverty explained: "When I first heard Nate's vocal range, tone and control, I immediately knew that he'd be the perfect fit, filling in for CJ who was recovering from surgery. I advocated hard to get Nate out to play at New England Rockfest in October of 2023. He learned our songs very quickly and absolutely crushed it at the show. I then sent some video to CJ, and he agreed, saying, 'THAT'S the guy'!"

CJ and Nate immediately became very good friends. According to Peck: "CJ and I would talk regularly, a few times a week. He would give me vocal coaching, advice on touring and life in general. He was definitely a great mentor for me."

Peck has been singing with FIREHOUSE since October of 2023, wowing audiences around the country.

"I am honored to be working with these guys and singing these great songs," Nate said.

Snare died was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer in 2020 and took a hiatus from the band in 2023 to undergo abdominal surgery. However, his daughter is reported to have stated the official cause of death was cardiac arrest, according to TMZ.

CJ planned to rejoin FIREHOUSE for the band's summer tour in 2024.

In a statement on FIREHOUSE's social media, Snare's bandmates said he died "unexpectedly" despite his long illness.

They shared their "great sorrow" at losing their "brother… the rock and roll warrior.

"We are all in complete shock with CJ's untimely passing," they wrote.

"CJ was was arguably one of the best vocal talents of a generation, touring the world with FIREHOUSE non stop the past 34 years.

"Our heartfelt condolences go out to the entire Snare family, Katherine Little, friends, and all our beloved fans all over the world."

FIREHOUSE hasn't released a studio album since 2011's "Full Circle", which featured re-recorded versions of some of the band's older songs. The group's last collection of new material, "Prime Time", came out in 2003.

FIREHOUSE reached stardom during the early '90s with hits like "Reach For The Sky", "Don't Treat Me Bad" and "All She Wrote", as well as its signature power ballads "I Live My Life For You", "Love Of A Lifetime" and "When I Look Into Your Eyes".

At the 1992 American Music Awards, FIREHOUSE won the award for "Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock New Artist". They were chosen over NIRVANA and ALICE IN CHAINS.

Formed nearly four decades ago, FIREHOUSE's classic lineup consisted of Snare, Leverty, drummer Michael Foster and bassist Perry Richardson. Richardson left in 2000 and was replaced by Allen McKenzie in 2003.

**AMERICAN ROCK BAND FIREHOUSE ANNOUNCES NEW VOCALIST, NATE PECK**

With the untimely passing of CJ Snare, American rock...

Posted by FireHouse on Friday, May 17, 2024

Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach performed his new song "(Hold On) To The Dream" live for the first time during his headlining concert this past Sunday (May 19) Rams Head Live! in Baltimore, Maryland. Fan-filmed video of the performance can be seen below (courtesy of Rock N Roll Experience).

"(Hold On) To The Dream" is taken from Bach's latest solo album, "Child Within The Man", which was released on May 10 via Reigning Phoenix Music.

The official "(Hold On) To The Dream" music video was directed by Jim Louvau and Tony Aguilera and can also be seen below.

"If someone asked me to play the heaviest song I have ever recorded in my 35-year career, I would play them '(Hold On) To The Dream'," Sebastian previously said. "This song is an homage to two of my favorite things: classic metal of the '70s and also yacht rock as well! Hence the new term yacht metal!

"I have never heard a song quite like '(Hold On)To The Dream' where the crushing verse combined with the luxurious chest-hair harmonies of the chorus. I have tried to incorporate every tone of my voice into this song. For those of you keeping score, I can tell you that my voice hits some of the highest notes of my career in '(Hold On) To The Dream'!

"HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS!!! CAUTION: this is a MONSTER JAM!"

"Child Within The Man" was recorded in Orlando, Florida; produced and mixed by Michael "Elvis" Baskette; engineered by Jef Moll, assistant engineered by Josh Saldate and mastered by Robert Ludwig of Gateway Mastering. Bach wrote or co-wrote all the album's 11 tracks and sang all lead and backing vocals.

"Child Within The Man" features guest appearances from John 5 (MÖTLEY CRÜE, ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON),Steve Stevens (BILLY IDOL) and Orianthi (ALICE COOPER, MICHAEL JACKSON) — who all co-wrote their respective tracks with Bach — and two tracks co-written with ALTER BRIDGE's Myles Kennedy ("What Do I Got to Lose?" and "To Live Again"). Devin Bronson (guitars),Todd Kerns (bass) and Jeremy Colson (drums) round out the players on the album.

In an interview with "Whiplash", the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie, Sebastian spoke about the inspiration for the "Child Within The Man" title. He said: "Well, my wife calls me man-child. That's kind of been a theme for me my whole career. I bring a youthful energy to the stage when I get up there. People are smiling and excited and hooting and hollering. But the line 'child within the man' is a line of one of the songs on the record. And I scream it like bloody murder. And it kept haunting me. "

Sebastian also talked about the "Child Within The Man" artwork, which holds special meaning since it was designed by Bach's father, noted visual artist David Bierk.

"I have a lot of my dad's artwork," Bach said. "He's no longer alive. And we all, all of his kids, we got a lot of his art when he passed away. And I unrolled a roll of paintings that I knew had the SKID ROW 'Subhuman Race' painting in it, and I wanna take care of it and make sure it's preserved. But in that roll was this painting that I remember my dad doing of me when I was 10 in a field next to this beat-up old Cadillac car in the field and then behind the car, it's Jesus ascending into heaven, and I'm running next to the car. It looks like an album cover. And then he also did a painting of me from Circus magazine, the first centerfold of me on stage at Giants Stadium. He did a gigantic painting of that, like 12 feet high. And so the cover is gonna be me running as a child into me on stage as a man, and it's child within the man. And it just reminds me of the '70s, like child in time, and it just reminds me of a good '70s album cover. And the fact that I can bring back a painting from the year 1978 and make it into artwork in 2023, 2024, that's really mind-blowing to me."

Bach's "What Do I Got To Lose?" U.S. tour got underway May 10 in Jefferson, Louisiana and will wrap on June 29 in San Diego, California.

Prior to "Child Within The Man"'s arrival, Bach hadn't released a full-length disc since "Give 'Em Hell", which came out in March 2014.



Sebastian Bach debuts new song for the first time onstage!

Posted by Rock N Roll Experience on Sunday, May 19, 2024

Legendary hard rockers AC/DC played the second show of their "Power Up" European tour Tuesday night (May 21) in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

As was the case at Friday's (May 17) show at the same venue — the 62,000-capacity Veltins-Arena — AC/DC delivered a 24-song set that began with "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" and closed with "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)".

The Gelsenkirchen shows marked AC/DC's first with the band's new touring lineup consisting of singer Brian Johnson, guitarists Angus and Stevie Young, drummer Matt Laug and the latest addition to the group's touring lineup, bassist Chris Chaney.

The setlist for the May 21 concert at Veltins-Arena was as follows, according to Setlist.fm:

01. If You Want Blood (You've Got It)
02. Back In Black
03. Demon Fire
04. Shot Down In Flames
05. Thunderstruck
06. Have A Drink On Me
07. Hells Bells
08. Shot In The Dark
09. Stiff Upper Lip
10. You Shook Me All Night Long
11. Shoot To Thrill
12. Sin City
13. Givin The Dog A Bone
14. Rock 'N' Roll Train
15. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
16. Dog Eat Dog
17. High Voltage
18. Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be
19. Riff Raff
20. Highway To Hell
21. Whole Lotta Rosie
22. Let There Be Rock

Encore:

23. T.N.T.
24. For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)

The 24-date "Power Up" European tour will run through August. The trek will hit Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Switzerland before landing at London's Wembley Stadium for a pair of shows on July 3 and 7, then moving on to Germany, Slovakia and Paris and winding down at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. The European tour is the first run of gigs since AC/DC's return to the stage at last year's rock Power Trip festival in Indio, California.

AC/DC's last tour took place in 2015 and 2016 and had a $180 million gross, with 2,310,061 sold tickets reported to the Pollstar box office.

Laug is an American drummer who has played with many bands/artists such as Alanis Morissette, Alice Cooper, SLASH'S SNAKEPIT and Vasco Rossi. Matt moved to Los Angeles after graduating from South Florence High School in 1986 and after attending college in L.A., Matt became a sought-after studio drummer.

In 2001, Laug supported AC/DC as part of SLASH'S SNAKEPIT on the North American and European legs of the "Stiff Upper Lip" tour.

In its announcement about Laug's addition to the band's Power Trip lineup, AC/DC offered no explanation for the absence of the band's longtime drummer Phil Rudd, who rejoined AC/DC for the recording of the group's comeback album, "Power Up", which came out in November 2020.

Rudd was ousted from AC/DC when he was sentenced to eight months of home detention by a New Zealand court in 2015 after pleading guilty to charges of threatening to kill and drug possession. He was replaced on the band's "Rock Or Bust" tour by Chris Slade, who had previously served as AC/DC's drummer between 1989 and 1994, playing on the album "The Razor's Edge".

Rudd, who appeared on all but three of AC/DC's 18 previous studio albums, toured in support of his 2014 solo debut, "Head Job". It was the release of that album that led indirectly to Rudd's arrest, with the drummer allegedly so angry at a personal assistant over the way the record was promoted that he threatened to have the man and his daughter killed.

AC/DC postponed the last 10 dates of its spring 2016 North American trek after Johnson was advised to stop playing live or "risk total hearing loss." The band went on to complete the European and North American legs of its "Rock Or Bust" tour with GUNS N' ROSES frontman Axl Rose as a "guest vocalist." At the time, Johnson had been AC/DC's singer for 36 years, ever since replacing the late Bon Scott in 1980 and making his debut on the classic "Back In Black" album.

To enable him to perform live with AC/DC again, the now-76-year-old Johnson worked with audio expert Stephen Ambrose, who said he could help resolve the singer's hearing problems.

Ambrose, who invented the wireless in-ear monitors that are widely used by touring artists today, claimed to have invented a new type of ear-bud that would allow Johnson to perform without causing further damage to his eardrums. After three years of experimenting and "miniaturizing" the equipment, Johnson previously said the technology could allow him to tour again.

Chaney is best known as the bassist of JANE'S ADDICTION and as a member of Alanis Morissette's touring and recording band. Chaney was also a member of TAYLOR HAWKINS AND THE COATTAIL RIDERS and CAMP FREDDY, as well as being a prolific and versatile session musician, having played with artists including Joe Cocker, Shakira, Slash and Avril Lavigne to Sara Bareilles, Gavin Degraw, Cher, SHINEDOWN and Celine Dion. Chaney is also a founding member and partner in the all-star supergroup ROYAL MACHINES along with Dave Navarro (JANE'S ADDICTION),Mark McGrath (SUGAR RAY),Josh Freese (FOO FIGHTERS) and Billy Morrison (BILLY IDOL).

Bassist Cliff Williams announced his retirement at the end of AC/DC's 2015-2016 "Rock Or Bust" tour, which also saw Johnson leaving. However, Williams — and Johnson — took part in the recording sessions that resulted in "Power Up". Both of them were also part of the AC/DC lineup that performed at Power Trip.

During an October 2020 interview with Dean Delray's "Let There Be Talk" podcast, Cliff was asked if Johnson's departure from the road was what led to his desire to stop touring. Cliff responded: "It was before then. I spoke to Angus about it initially. I was at a point — and this is at the beginning of the 'Rock Or Bust' tour — that I just felt, for me, it was time to hang it up. I knew that I didn't wanna keep doing these two-year tours, and I didn't wanna hold them back, so I made them aware of the fact that this was gonna be my last go-round. It was a tough tour to finish. God bless Axl for coming in and helping us out, finish it up. He did a great job. And at the end of that, I was definitely — that was it for me. Done — just done. That compounded the whole thing."

According to Williams, he wanted to take part in the recording sessions for "Power Up" as a tribute to Angus's late brother, founding AC/DC rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, who died in 2017 from effects of dementia at age 64. Malcolm is credited as a writer on all 12 tracks on "Power Up".

"If 'Back In Black' has [late AC/DC singer] Bon Scott all over it, for me, 'Power Up' has got Malcolm Young," Cliff said. "This is for him. And it's the band that we played together with for 40-plus years. And I wanted to do that — I wanted to come back and do that.

"We did some rehearsals earlier [in 2020] before this darn COVID thing popped up, and we had great rehearsals," he continued. "The band was playing really well. So [they asked me], 'Do you wanna do a few shows? 'Sure'. A few shows. We were planning on doing that. Everyone goes home to their respective homes, and bang, we've been here ever since [because of the coronavirus-related shutdown]."

Cliff went on to confirm that his commitment to AC/DC was only for "a few" dates in support of "Power Up".

"For both [my mental and physical] health," he said. "I definitely have some physical issues, which I won't bore you with the details of. But, yeah, it's tough. I'm very grateful for everything. It's been fantastic. But I just don't wanna do that anymore."

Williams previously revealed that a "terrible" bout with vertigo contributed to his 2016 retirement. He also admitted the return of both Johnson and drummer Phil Rudd convinced him to rejoin the group. "It was like the old band back together," he told Rolling Stone. "It was not like starting over again, but as close to the band that's been together for 40-plus years as we can possibly make it. I didn't want to miss that."

The follow-up to 2014's "Rock Or Bust", "Power Up" was recorded over a six-week period in August and September 2018 at Warehouse Studios in Vancouver with producer Brendan O'Brien, who also worked 2008's "Black Ice" and "Rock Or Bust".

Vicky Psarakis, former vocalist for The Agonist and currently fronting SickSense, has checked in with the following update:


"Hello friends! I'm alive and have some really cool stuff I'm working on behind the scenes.


Really happy to be sharing with you this feature I did on Nino Helfrich's upcoming collaboration album, Shadow Empress, which is due to be released August 23rd, 2024. The song tickles a lot of my roots with melodic death metal / early metalcore vibes, so writing the lyrics and vocal patterns for it came pretty naturally. Also, Nino killed it on the instrumental and mix. Go give him some love and support and blast "Our Remedy" on all distro platforms.




I have a lot more music I've been working on behind the scenes and can't wait to share with you all!"





Hard-hitting and melodic; pissed off and groovy; energetic and catchy: upon first listen, it is clear that Sicksense is all of these things. The band - comprised of vocalists Killer V (Vicky Psarakis) and Rob The Ripper (Robby J. Fonts), guitarist Breakdown Bran (Bran Panic), drummer The True Cody Taylor (Cody Taylor) and bassist Spot-On Sam/SOS (Samuel Bedard) – have released their new EP, Fools Tomorrow. It is now available here.





Fools Tomorrow tracklisting:


"Feed Them To The Wolves"
"Fools Tomorrow" (ft. Billy Grey)
"Invitation"
"Run And Hide"
"Erase, Rewind"


"Feed Them To The Wolves"





"Fools Tomorow"





Having both performed a range of styles in numerous heavy bands, Killer V and Rob The Ripper (who are married) wanted to return to a genre that’s close to their hearts, but also make music that is specifically written for two vocalists. Written with dual vocal interplay from a male / female perspective, their performance reflects a personal and fun side of them as people, but also tackles social and societal issues in the world today. Backed by guitarist Breakdown Bran (Bran Panic), drummer The Trve Cody Taylor (Cody Taylor) and bassist Spot-On Sam/SOS (Samuel Bedard), Sicksense would be born out of the band’s desire to share their upbeat and fun message with the world. Sicksense chooses musical inspiration from various bands and those influences shine through in their debut EP, Kings Today.   


Sicksense is:


Killer V – Vocals/Keys
Rob The Ripper – Vocals
Breakdown Bran – Guitars
Spot-On Sam/SOS – Bass
The Trve Cody Taylor – Drums

In a new interview with Elena Rosberg of Radiocast BG, JUDAS PRIEST bassist Ian Hill was asked how he thinks heavy metal music and the metal community can combat the negative effects of artificial intelligence in music, particularly as it relates to the creative process. Hill responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't know. You'd know, wouldn't you? If something was put together — they're not gonna be able to play the instruments for a start, so they're gonna have to use some kind of music stem, some sort of source. And you'd know. I'd know, I'd know if something was put together. You can listen to — I don't know — even now songs, pop songs in particular, and you think, 'That's not a bass guitar. Some guy's playing that on a keyboard.' You know it. It might fool some of the public, because, obviously, I go into things a little bit more deeply. I drive my wife mad. She won't let me anywhere near… If she's going to a concert, I don't go, basically because I start picking it apart. But that's what we do. A welder would do the same thing. He'd look at something [and go], "That's a load of rubbish.' That's what you do."

He continued: "But I don't know. I just think that artificial intelligence can't really perform live. I mean, this is what it's coming down to. A lot of music, especially in the pop world these days, is a little bit on the false side — people mime to it and what have you. And A.I. can't even do that. You can't have artificial intelligence standing on stage. That ain't gonna work. So, from a recording point of view, yeah, they might fool people — they might fool a hell of a lot of people — but, actually, when they say there's a band playing live, that's gonna be the acid test, isn't it? And I can't see, really, unless they're all holograms standing up there. — which has been done. What am I saying? ABBA have just done it, haven't they? But it's there. It is advertised. You know it ain't ABBA. It's trickery. But it's in the live performance where it'll fall down and it won't stand up to scrutiny, I don't think."

JUDAS PRIEST kicked off the U.S. leg of the "Invincible Shield" world tour on April 18 at Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut.

Hill is the sole remaining original member of PRIEST, which formed in 1969. Singer Rob Halford joined the group in 1973 and guitarist Glenn Tipton signed on in 1974. Rob left PRIEST in the early 1990s to form his own band, then came back to PRIEST in 2003. Original guitarist K.K. Downing parted ways with the band in 2011, and was replaced by Richie Faulkner.

PRIEST's latest album, "Invincible Shield", entered the U.K. chart at No. 2, just behind Ariana Grande's "Eternal Sunshine".

Prior to "Invincible Shield"'s arrival, PRIEST's highest U.K. chart achievement was with 1980's "British Steel", which reached No. 4.

PRIEST's 2018 album "Firepower" entered the chart at No. 5.

"Invincible Shield" was JUDAS PRIEST's fifth Top 10 album, after the aforementioned "British Steel" and "Firepower", as well as 2014's "Redeemer Of Souls" (No. 6) and the 1979 live album "Unleashed In The East" (No. 10).

"Invincible Shield" landed at No. 1 in Germany, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as No. 5 in France, No. 8 in Italy and No. 16 in Australia.

Genre wanderers, Crimson Veil, have signed an exclusive record deal with Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM). Creating unique, sinister soundscapes, the UK based outfit - consisting of four talented multi-instrumentalists - ingeniously combines elements of rock, metal and film music while lyrically covering esoteric topics, accompanied by dark visual aesthetics.


Their members originally come from different band projects and bring an impressive touring history across the UK, the US and Mexico. In addition, they have also been able to work with music industry greats such as Paul Reeve (Muse etc.) and John Fryer (Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails) in the past.


Crimson Veil state on their new adventure, "Dear music family, we can finally announce that we are signing with the incredible metal label Reigning Phoenix Music. This is a dream come true. We are really excited to work with a team of people who believe in our music and vision. It will be an honour to be on the same label as some of our favourite bands. You can expect a new album soon, lots of music videos and most importantly - touring. It's time to get back on the stage and play some shows! See you all very soon... Love - Anna, Garry, Hana & Mishkin"




Jochen Richert, managing director of RPM, points out, "Crimson Veil are truly special. One doesn't find a band like them every day, that's what made them even more interesting to us. They don't follow any trends. An important fact that also matches the RPM philosophy. We want to evolve trends ourselves! So giving a contract to Crimson Veil was an easy decision in the end."


The new partnership with RPM enables Crimson Veil to continue their creative path and to explore new territories in the universe of progressive music. Ready to cross the borders of the metal genre, the quartet's material refreshingly blends sound and deepness, and with the aforementioned deal being signed, all is set for a very fruitful and exciting common future. Crimson Veil are nothing but an outstanding addition to the musical roster of Reigning Phoenix Music with their experimenal approach when it comes to art.


Their drastic live presence is also about to be witnessed once again as the band will support new labelmates Lordi and All For Metal in France and the UK from tomorrow.





Crimson Veil are:


Mishkin Fitzgerald - vocals
Garry Mitchell - guitars
Hana Piranha - strings
Anna Mylee - drums


(Photo - Scott Chalmers)

ANTHRAX singer Joey Belladonna has launched a tribute band to Ronnie James Dio. The new group will play four shows in Florida in August, performing music from DIO, BLACK SABBATH and RAINBOW.

The dates are as follows:

August 15 - Captain Hiram's - Sebastian, FL
August 16 - Piper's Pub - Pompano Beach, FL
August 17 - OCC Road House - Clearwater, FL
August 18 - Conduit - Winter Park, FL

A decade ago, Belladonna spoke to Jay Nanda of the San Antonio Metal Music Examiner about the ANTHRAX frontman's involvement in "This Is Your Life", the tribute to album to Ronnie James Dio. Asked why ANTHRAX chose to record a cover version of the BLACK SABBATH classic "Neon Knights", Belladonna said: "I think I suggested it. When we talked about doing something, collectively, we all like the song, so it was a no-brainer. We could pretty much pick anything… I went for the heavier."

Asked if recording the "Neon Knights" cover was a more emotional experience than some of the other cover versions ANTHRAX had recorded over the years, Belladonna said: "For me, no. I just love doing that type of thing, and it was another day for me to sing something of his. Obviously, I'm excited, because it is a record, but I don't think I did it any different. In fact, I only did a couple of takes. I mean, I actually have on video the first time I tried it, and it pretty much sounds like what it sounds like already. It was business as usual for me."

Regarding what Ronnie meant to him, Joey said: "Ronnie's an inspirational singer for me." He added: "I really believe that as you grow up, you're inspired by the people that perform and things that you would like to hear yourself be in that kind of category and have such a talent like he did and just be inspired. [He was a] great human being, great musician — just all that… He was just the slickest. He was so heavy but melodic, as well as his attitude about everything. He had great charisma."

Belladonna also spoke about the first impression Ronnie made on him. "He made me laugh big time," Joey said. "He just want[ed] to be funny. And yet he [was] so sincere and [could] have that serious point of view. You need to be enthralled with that when you're around him, to have him speak to you with that kind of attitude and spunk that he had. And I'd been around him when things weren't so good, which I won't bring up right now, but to have him share that with me, which was more private, about being in his band — things like that. Just to engage in that with me and run that by me."

Belladonna, whose most recent return to ANTHRAX was officially announced in May 2010, was originally the lead singer of ANTHRAX from 1984 to 1992, and was considered part of the influential thrash metal group's classic lineup (alongside guitarists Dan Spitz and Scott Ian, bassist Frank Bello and drummer Charlie Benante),which reunited and toured during 2005 and 2006. His voice was featured on over 10 albums, which reportedly sold eight million copies worldwide.

Krista and I are proud to announce our new tribute band to Ronnie James Dio! A night of songs from Dio, Sabbath, and Rainbow!

@ronniejamesdio #ronniejamesdio #diocancerfund #anthrax

Posted by Joey Belladonna on Saturday, May 18, 2024

In a new interview with Charlotte Ryan of Radio New Zealand, SYSTEM OF A DOWN frontman Serj Tankian, who is promoting his memoir "Down With The System", was asked if he is aware of his security, especially since he is known as one of the most outspoken activists in the music community. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I try to be. I'm not always cognizant of my surroundings as far as security, but I try to be, if for nothing else than just for privacy purposes. There have been some scary moments. Yeah, I try to stay on top of it. There are things I've had investigated, when I needed to and whatnot, but so far, so good."

Asked if those scary moments were of people reacting to something he has sung about, Serj replied: "That is mostly on socials. I don't know if it was Jon Stewart [American comedian, writer, producer, director, political commentator, actor and television host] or someone else who said, 'But Twitter is not a real place.' I don't gauge it as true human reaction, one to one, unless you would say the same thing to my face on the street in person. That's what I gauge as a true human reaction."

He continued: "There's been cases of some fanaticism that we've had to kind of deal with, delusional cases. Not that many. But there's also the case of the threats from foreign governments that we've had to deal with that's in the book. And that is way more scary.

"I try to be truthful but respectful in everything that I do, so I'm hoping that I'm being a balanced person by doing so," Serj added. "That's the only thing I think that you could do."

"Down With The System" was released on May 14 via Hachette Books.

Earlier this month, Serj told NPR that he is "okay" with possibly losing some of his fans over his activism. "An artist isn't supposed to please everyone," he explained. "An artist is supposed to basically try to receive through the collective consciousness whatever truths that we're trying to live by, the truths of our times. If we can't do that as artists, then we're entertainers. From day one, you have to make that choice: Are you an entertainer only or are you going to be an artist? If you're an entertainer, that's cool; there's many entertainers I follow and love. But if you're going to be an artist, then the road is not going to be easy. You're going to have to be honest with yourself and everyone else at all times, and people are going to like you and people are going to hate you, and that's okay."

He continued: "I was more of the activist in the band than anyone else. There was always this push and pull between the message and the music. The other guys, rightfully so, didn't want the music to be victimized by the message at all times. I understood that because I loved the music as well, but when there was [a message] that needed to be dispersed, I felt like that was just as important, if not more important, than the music."

In a separate interview with Books On Pod, Tankian touched upon how learning about his grandparents' Armenian background in his early teens prompted him to become an activist.

"When you're in a democracy and you are afraid to speak the truth because of backlash, that's when you feel like that something's really wrong," he said. "And mind you, that, coupled with growing up as an Armenian-American in Los Angeles, paying taxes to a country that is not properly recognizing the genocide of our ancestors, a democracy not recognizing proper history because of political expediency, because of Turkey being a NATO ally, and they didn't want to recognize it, just dirty political fucking geopolitics, that makes you an activist. That made me an activist. That made me someone who fights for truth and justice, not just having to do with Armenians or Armenian issues, but many issues — in the U.S., human rights issues around the world and even animal rights, climate issues. You see the world of injustice and justice, you see that imbalance, and you wanna kind of tip the scales up because you know that that's gonna make the world a better place in every way."

He added: "I've always spoken truth to power, but only because I cared. If I didn't care, I wouldn't speak my mind."

Tankian is best known as the lead singer of the Grammy Award-winning rock band SYSTEM OF A DOWN, but he is also a solo artist, composer, activist, painter, poet, and filmmaker. Since launching on to the rock scene in 1993, he's performed for millions of fans and sold more than 42 million albums worldwide. He's also a proud Armenian-American and a dedicated activist; along with Tom Morello, Tankian co-founded the non-profit organization Axis Of Justice, which strived to bring together musicians, music fans, and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice. He has composed scores for many films and television series, had his paintings exhibited in galleries in the U.S. and New Zealand, and released two books of his own poetry. He has also been an executive producer on multiple documentaries, including "I Am Not Alone", which tells the story of Armenia's 2018 revolution and which won awards at the Toronto International Film Festival, DOC NYC, American Film Institute Festival, and the Palm Springs International Film Festival, among others. Tankian lives with his wife and his son, splitting their time between Los Angeles and New Zealand.

SYSTEM OF A DOWN has toured intermittently since ending its hiatus in 2011, but has only managed to record two songs in the last 19 years, "Protect The Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz". Released in November 2020, the tracks were motivated by the conflict between Artsakh and Azerbaijan, with all proceeds supporting humanitarian efforts in SYSTEM OF A DOWN's ancestral homeland of Armenia. Along with other donations from fans on their social pages, they raised over $600,000.

SYSTEM OF A DOWN co-headlined the second installment of the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas on April 27.

AS I LAY DYING has released a new single, "Burden", via Napalm Records. Premiering with a high-energy music video, the song boasts gripping energy, charging in with the band's trademark breakneck intensity, soaring choruses and ingenious guitar soloing.

This track is just a taste of what's to come from AS I LAY DYING's next official release, and further bolsters the proven line-up of vocalist Tim Lambesis and guitarist Phil Sgrosso alongside drummer Nick Pierce (ex-UNEARTH),bassist vocalist Ryan Neff (MISS MAY I) and guitarist Ken Susi (ex-UNEARTH). "Burden" was co-produced by Phil Sgrosso and Hiram Hernandez, mixed by Aaron Chaparian and mastered by Ted Jensen.

The "Burden" release coincides with today's announcement of AS I LAY DYING's 2024 European headline tour, beginning this fall. The "Through Storms Ahead" trek kicks off on November 15, 2024 in Würzburg, Germany and will trek through several more countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden and Norway, coming to an end on December 15 in Oberhausen, Germany. The tour will feature support from CALIBAN, DECAPITATED and LEFT TO SUFFER. Tickets for this unrelenting lineup go on sale this Friday, May 24 at 11:00 a.m. CET.

Sgrosso says about the track and video: "It's a pretty special moment for us to finally share some new music! 'Burden' was originally inspired by a guitar melody I wrote years ago on an old demo, thinking that it was lost for good in the demo abyss. It wasn't until Tim dug it up and was inspired to shape a new song idea for it. The collaboration process with our co-producer Hiram Hernandez and new members brought new life to not only the song but the band as a whole, as we faced this new creative chapter together. Musically, we feel that 'Burden' represents a familiar part of our melodic history combined with a modern sense of energy and aggression. We really pushed ourselves to expand our musical capabilities in every department. We look forward to the addition of 'Burden' into our live show as well as introducing more music we've been working hard on over the past few years. Stay tuned.

"It was a phenomenal experience working with Tom Flynn on the video for 'Burden'. We were fans of his creative approach to modern music videos and could sense his high level of enthusiasm to deliver a video that would match the intensity of the song. He completely knocked it out of the park capturing the band performance and shaping a captivating concept which we will expand further into the release of our second single release..."

Sgrosso adds about the European tour: "Europe has become a second home to us so we always look forward to returning for a 'go big and go hard' headline tour. Traveling alongside us will be Germany's very own CALIBAN, Poland's finest death metal legends DECAPITATED, and the pummeling LEFT TO SUFFER. Each show will be a night to celebrate heavy music with the fans, let's make it a memorable one together."

AS I LAY DYING's "Through Storms Ahead" 2024 European tour with CALIBAN, DECAPITATED, LEFT TO SUFFER:

Nov. 15 - Würzburg, Germany @ Posthalle
Nov. 16 - Prague, Czech Republic @ Sasazu
Nov. 18 - Gothenburg, Sweden @ Film Studios
Nov. 19 - Oslo, Norway @ Rockefeller
Nov. 21 - Helsinki, Finland @ Kulttuuritalo
Nov. 23 - Stockholm,Sweden @ Fållan
Nov. 24 - Copenhagen, Denmark @ Amager Bio
Nov. 25 - Berlin, Germany @ Huxleys
Nov. 26 - Warsaw, Poland @ Progresja
Nov. 27 - Budapest, Hungary @ Barba Negra
Nov. 28 - Vienna, Austria @ Gasometer
Nov. 29 - Munich, Germany @ Zenith
Nov. 30 - Milan, Italy @ Alcatraz
Dec. 01 - Rome, Italy @ Orion
Dec. 03 - Zürich, Switzerland @ Xtra
Dec. 04 - Lyon, France @ Transbordeur
Dec. 05 - Barcelona, Spain @ Razzmatazz
Dec. 06 - Madrid, Spain @ Riviera
Dec. 08 - Paris, France @ Trianon
Dec. 09 - Saarbrücken, Germany @ E-Werk
Dec. 10 - Brussels, Belgium @ AB
Dec. 11 - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Melkweg
Dec. 13 - Hamburg, Germany @ Inselpark Arena
Dec. 14 - Leipzig, Germany @ Haus Auensee
Dec. 15 - Oberhausen, Germany @ Turbinenhalle

Before heading out on their European tour, AS I LAY DYING will lay waste to the USA with a stacked summer headline tour, featuring support from CHELSEA GRIN and ENTHEOS.

During an appearance on the Loaded Radio podcast, Lambesis was asked about the status of AS I LAY DYING's recently recorded new studio album. He said: "We've had this back and forth mixing the record, where the record has been done for quite a while and we're just trying to find the right representation of the sound. With modern music, there's so many… 'Cause classically, as an example, there used to be five or six guys that were great at mixing metal and now you have so many different approaches to it. And we're just really trying to find that sound where it marries together the nostalgic sound AS I LAY DYING is known for with a little bit of a modern twist to it. And for whatever reason, that part's been delaying the process, but the record's actually done. [It] just needs to finish the mix."

As if an album title has already been decided upon, Tim said: "Shoot. I wish I could actually give you the title. Unfortunately, Phil, our guitar player, and I have a slight disagreement over what the album title should be. We both love the same concept and we're just sort of toying with the words a little bit."

Regarding the sound of the upcoming AS I LAY DYING album, Tim said: "I wrote one of the heavy-leaning songs in the record. I feel like it's one of the heaviest songs that's ever been in the AS I LAY DYING catalog, and then Phil wrote a lot of melodic songs that are sort of… Both of us worked on some songs that are sort of in the middle, I guess you could say. And then he worked on a couple, I think, that stretch in a new sense of melody for us. It's not necessarily anything groundbreaking — it's not gonna shatter people's minds, like, 'Oh, my gosh. It barely sounds like AS I LAY DYING.' But just kind of stretch our sound a little bit in each direction."

Asked if working with this new lineup for AS I LAY DYING is "a breath of fresh air" for him, Tim said: "Yeah, a breath of fresh air is really the best way to describe it because you have this situation where Phil and I have been writing songs together for 20 years, or a little more than 20 years at this point, or, actually, about 20 exactly right now. And we have our method down, and that's been the same regardless of who's been in the band in terms of… When it comes to writing an album, the two of us feel a lot of pressures on our shoulders. And then sometimes you get guys in the band that, over time, and it's not a complaint, this just happens, this is natural, it's just, over time, they're not in the primary songwriting role and so they feel a little bit uninterested or fatigued or lose their passion over time because they're not part of the core songwriting. And I think what happens when these new guys have come in, not only are they able to kind of contribute to the way that they put their stamp on each song, but for Phil and I, we're thinking… Knowing how Nick Pierce plays drums, as an example, we can write songs around his ability as a drummer. And it kind of gives Phil and I this excitement for writing again. And then thinking about Ryan's voice, being a voice that's never been on an AS I LAY DYING record before as a second vocalist, and I start to think, like, 'Wow, I can really experiment and try all these different things.' And he's just down to do everything to try… Not all my ideas are good, but he's down to try a hundred different things. And he has just an incredible work ethic. So those are a couple of examples of why it feels refreshed and very exciting for Phil and I, even though the process is sort of the same in a lot of ways as well."

Asked if he still sometimes wishes that the classic lineup of AS I LAY DYING had stuck together and managed to move forward, Tim said: "Well, I will always owe a lot to the years of hard work we spent in a van in some of the earlier days and then, of course, in a bus touring together for so many years. And so for that reason, I do appreciate and have a great sense of gratitude for, I guess, what people call the classic lineup. In a behind-the-scenes kind of situation, I do feel like I don't really miss some of the behind-the-scenes stuff, and not because I have anything more to say, but I think over time people just, they can't keep the same sense of excitement about something when they're not putting their stamp on the sound creatively. And it's not that we were ever like closing the door for Nick [Hipa, former AS I LAY DYING guitarist] or Jordan [Mancino, former AS I LAY DYING drummer] to be able to write songs, as an example, but in reality, that just never happened. They weren't really a big part of the creative contribution. I think it just connects people differently. And so Phil and I end up more passionately connected because every song that comes out, there's a huge part of our creative output that's in that song. And I think it just makes us connected more uniquely. And with those guys, I think they lost the connection to the band over time. And then it just became more about like interpersonal issues that every band has. And that's not fun to focus on. So I enjoy this new era where everybody just shows up to the studio shows up to a live show and is just excited to be there. And, it makes me feel like I'm in my twenties again."

Pressed about whether he still communicates with Jordan or Nick at all, Tim said: "We actually all live in the same city — well, the greater San Diego area. And surprisingly, we don't run into each other much. My door is open. I'm probably an overcommunicator [laughs], so if they ever wanted to talk. I'd probably be willing to talk, or listen or whatever — just in terms of just general communication. I'm just interested… 'Cause I think that if you haven't talked to somebody in a year, as an example — I haven't talked to either of those guys in a year, as an example — and so much happens in life. People can have drastic life events and things that have affected them personally. And even if we feel like we've gotten to the bottom of everything, we have no reason to really keep rehashing or talking about old issues, I think there's always something new and exciting to talk about. So my door's open. But we haven't talked in quite a while."

Last June, Tim told Graspop Metal Meeting about AS I LAY DYING's upcoming LP: "We partly self-produced [it], and then we also worked with another producer. So we spent about a year working on the album by ourselves before we gave it to the producer."

Regarding how the addition of new members Pierce, Neff and Susi has affected AS I LAY DYING's sound, Tim said: "Well, [Nick, Ryan and Ken are] new for us, but, obviously, the guys have been around playing music for 20 years themselves. We're familiar, just having spent so much time with UNEARTH, and then MISS MAY I having a pretty similar sound.

"The songwriting within AS I LAY DYING has historically been mostlyPhil and I," he continued. "Josh [Gilbert], our previous bass player, helped. But the core of the songwriting is the same. So this additional layer that we get from these new guys is almost like breathing fresh new air… a breath of fresh air."

In September 2022, Lambesis addressed AS I LAY DYING's lineup changes in an interview with Metalshop TV. He said: "I think for our fans, they think that the changes happened all in a very short period of time, but they actually happened over [a period of] two years. The first change was on guitar we invited Ken Susi to fill in for us. And that was [around 2020] that we invited him. But then, of course, the pandemic happened and so we had a lot of breaks until we had a tour again. So Ken's been rehearsing with us, or talking about rehearsing with us, for [a] couple of years. And on drums we have Nick Pierce, who joined us. Nick Pierce was previously in UNEARTH; Ken is from UNEARTH as well. And Nick stopped playing with UNEARTH and coincidentally at the same time we needed a drummer, because our previous drummer hadn't been communicating with us; he went very isolated once the pandemic hit. And so there wasn't an argument or anything like that; it was just a situation where when the pandemic hit, he decided to take a new direction in life and kind of cut himself off from the rest of us. And we decided we wanted to keep going forward. Phil and I had been the ones writing the songs all these years, so when Nick Pierce left UNEARTH, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to have him perform with us. And then Ryan came from MISS MAY I. He was the last guy to come in. And he didn't come in until a couple of months ago. Our bass player, Josh, previously left, and he's with SPIRITBOX now. And when he decided to go perform with SPIRITBOX, we called up Ryan, who was with MISS MAY I. And Ryan Neff was on tour at the time. And then we asked him, 'Can you start touring with us as soon as this tour is over?' And he said, 'Well, I'm only gonna have three days off to rehearse in between tours.' He said, 'If you guys want me to do it, I'll make sure I come prepared.' And he had a lot to learn in three days, but he pulled it together. He's a very, very hard-working guy."

AS I LAY DYING's new album will be the follow-up to "Shaped By Fire", which came out in September 2019 via Nuclear Blast.

In June 2022, Mancino announced that he would sit out AS I LAY DYING's tour due to "a number of ongoing internal issues" that "have not yet been resolved."

Mancino's announcement came less than a month after Josh revealed that he was leaving the band. In a statement, the remaining members of AS I LAY DYING said that Gilbert "decided to exit" the group "to pursue other musical opportunities."

Josh was the second AS I LAY DYING member to leave the band in less than a year. In August 2021, Hipa confirmed his exit from AS I LAY DYING, explaining that he could no longer justify being part of "a superficial pursuit" of the "story and meaning" that the band's 2018 reunion was built upon.

Lambesis was famously convicted in 2014 for his role in a murder-for-hire plot against his estranged wife.

In May 2014, Lambesis was sentenced to six years in jail after pleading guilty to paying a San Diego police officer posing as a hitman $1,000 to kill his wife. Approximately two and a half years later — on December 17, 2016 — he was discharged from a California detention facility and was transferred to the Division of Adult Parole Operations.

In June 2018, AS I LAY DYING played its first show with Lambesis in five years and released a new single. Lambesis also owned up to his crimes in a long apology on the band's Facebook page after his release.

The return of AS I LAY DYING raised some questions, particularly since Hipa categorically denounced the band's disgraced frontman as a "sociopathic narcissist in definite need of rehabilitation" in a social-media post back in 2014.

In September 2021, AS I LAY DYING released a new song called "Roots Below" which was originally a B-side leftover from when the sessions for "Shaped By Fire".

Photo credit: Ben Alexis

Former Sabaton guitarist / Majestica frontman Tommy Johansson has shared his weekly cover, this time putting a metal twist on the ABBA classic, "Money Money Money", released in 1976.





Last week, Johansson shared his metal cover of the Ace Of Base hit, "All That She Wants", from 1992. Check out the video below.

Ayreon performed at 013 in Tilburg, Holland on September 15, 16 and 17, 2023, bringing the album 01011001 to the stage. A live Blu-Ray and CD from the show was released on May 17. Order here, and watch a video for "Fate Of Man", below.


Mastermind Arjen Lucassen comments:


"And here's the final preview video from the last Ayreon Live beneath The Waves DVD/BluRay: 'Fate of Man'. Maybe it's weird to not pick a song from the 01011001 album, but this song really stood out for me... such energy on stage! The band is just amazing as we all know, I'll never know how they manage to play this complicated song with such unflappable ease. And what about these breath-taking vocals from Brittney Slayes? She's unbelievable, right? Let me know if you agree... thanks and enjoy!"







01011001 - Live Beneath The Waves formats:


- Artbook (Webshop only) - 2CD+2DVD + Bluray incl. Behind The Scenes (BTS)
- 3LP - Green vinyl
- 2CD+DVD: Full show on 2CD and DVD
- Blu-ray: Full show + BTS


"The Sixth Extinction" video:





01011001 - Live Beneath The Waves features the following performers:


Original 01011001 cast:


Hansi Kürsch
Tom Englund
Daniel Gildenlow
Jonas Renkse
Anneke van Giersbergen
Simone Simons
Wudstik
Marjan Welman
Liselotte Hegt
Maggy Luyten
Phideaux Xavier
Arjen Lucassen (yeah, sorry for that)


Special guests:


Damian Wilson
Brittney Slayes
Michael Mills
John Jaycee Cuijpers


Backing vocals:


Marcela Bovio
Irene Jansen
Jan Willem Ketelaers


Band:


Marcel Coenen - guitar
Timo Somers - guitar
Johan van Stratum - bass
Joost van den Broek - keys
Ed Warby - drums


Ensemble:


Ben Mathot - violin
Jurriaan Westerveld - cello
Jeroen Goossens - woodwinds

Metal band Dystopica drops their first full-length album, entitled Infinite Reflection, via Pavement Entertainment. Produced by Nick Bellmore (Dee Snider, Corpsegrinder, Ripper, Hatebreed, Toxic Holocaust, Many Eyes), it is much heavier and more progressive than Dystopica’s EPs – 2021’s Perception and 2022’s Deception. Listen to Infinite Reflection here.


Singer Becky Brideau says, “Infinite Reflection is about reflecting on the past, taking hold of the present, and redefining the future.”


Heavy, aggressive, and melodic, Infinite Reflection elevates the band’s sound to a whole new level. It combines the strength of heavy metal, the driving force of thrash metal, and the complexity of progressive metal in a way that is unique and catchy.




With harmonized guitar riffs, epic guitar solos, vigorous drumming, and powerful female vocals, the band stays true to their core sound while further expanding upon it. Each song is very distinct from one another, but together they tell a story of evolving through time that parallels the evolution of Dystopica’s sound.


Catch Dystopica live on May 18 at The Beeracks for their album release show in East Haven, Connecticut. Special guests include Ellimist, A Well Oiled Machine, and American Amnesia. Doors open at 5:30 PM and tickets are $10.00.


Formed in 2019, Dystopica is made up of Becky Brideau on vocals, Rob Muller on guitar, and Erich Bender on drums. Lucas Dellaporta (bass) and Connor Sperry (guitar) will join the lineup on live shows. The band’s unique sound is a perfect blend of melodic, harmonizing guitar riffs and powerful female vocals while still pulling influences from classic heavy metal.





Tracklisting:


“Images Reflecting Within”
“Revenge”
“Awaken”
“I Am A Gemini”
“Far From Perfect”
“Episodic Waves”
“My Fault”
“Animosity”
“Infinite Reflection”
“The Dent In My Life”
“Insidious Onset”
“Blackout” (Scorpions cover)


“The Dent In My Life” video:





“Blackout” video:





“Far From Perfect” video:

In a new interview with Metal Hammer Greece's TV show "TV War", SLAYER guitarist Kerry King was asked if he has ever had a negative experience meeting one of his musical idols. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah. Only once. And I won't even tell you who, because he doesn't deserve it. But nine times out of ten… The last one that I'll say I got over the hump with, 'cause I was still such a fan, was [BLACK SABBATH's] Tony Iommi. And it was very late in our careers, but it's fucking Tony; he's the godfather of all this shit. I think it was, like, 2006, finally. And I knew him before that, but I couldn't talk to him. It was Tony Iommi; I just couldn't do it."

Kerry continued: "in 2006 I went to the Classic Rock Awards in Britain. And I was presenting Tony with an award, and I was nervous as fucking all hell. I was out of my environment. I've done metal shows, I've done the [Revolver] Golden Gods billions of fucking times, but at the Classic Rock Awards, I was out of my element. Fucking Steven Tyler's [AEROSMITH] out there, AC/DC's out there, DEF LEPPARD's out there — people that I've admired in my history but didn't know any of them. So I'm fucking shaking up there. I hit the mic when I'm talking. And I was just a fucking idiot. [Laughs] So, I get to give Tony his award, take a picture with him. Then I felt like we were bros. I was over the Tony hump, and that was cool."

King added: "I've had a lot of heroes, be it from [JUDAS] PRIEST to SABBATH and whoever the hell, [DEEP PURPLE's] Ritchie Blackmore. But, yeah, Tony was the one. I had to climb that mountain and get over it."

Back in 2017, King picked BLACK SABBATH's 1975 effort "Sabotage" as one of his 10 favorite metal albums, telling Rolling Stone magazine: "'Sabotage' is just a very heavy record. There's so much good stuff on there. As I picked these records, I picked the ones I'm compelled to play if I'm working out or driving, and 'Sabotage' was my choice for BLACK SABBATH. It has 'Megalomania', 'Symptom Of The Universe', which has definitely got attitude, 'Hole In The Sky'. And it has the instrumental 'Supertzar'. I love that one. It grips me for some reason."

King's debut solo album, "From Hell I Rise", was released on May 17 via Reigning Phoenix Music.

Joining Kerry in his new band are Mark Osegueda (vocals; DEATH ANGEL),Phil Demmel (guitar; MACHINE HEAD, VIO-LENCE),Kyle Sanders (bass; HELLYEAH) and drummer Paul Bostaph (SLAYER, TESTAMENT, EXODUS).

Earlier this month, the KERRY KING band performed its first live show, totally sold out, at Reggies in Chicago. The concert was described as "dark, packed, and exceptionally loud," everything you could ask for at such a landmark show as this one… a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience." In the days following, the band went from playing an intimate venue to performing at the huge U.S. festivals Welcome To Rockville (Florida) and Sonic Temple (Ohio),treating the audience to an incredible experience of pure metal firepower.

Now the KERRY KING band is ready to embark on a European tour that will start on June 3 — on King's 60th birthday. The trek will combine headline shows in the U.K., The Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Spain but also festival appearances such as Rock Am Ring, Hellfest, Tuska, Download, Sweden Rock Festival and many more.

All material for "From Hell I Rise" was written by the 59-year-old SLAYER guitarist. Helming the sessions at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles last year was producer Josh Wilbur, who has previously worked with KORN, LAMB OF GOD, AVENGED SEVENFOLD and BAD RELIGION, among others.

KERRY KING will be special guest on the upcoming LAMB OF GOD/MASTODON North American "Ashes Of Leviathan" co-headline tour. The six-week run will launch on July 19 in Grand Prairie, Texas and will wrap on August 31 in Omaha, Nebraska.

Richmond, Virginia metal-punk trio Bat welcomes the release of their second full-length album Under The Crooked Claw via Nuclear Blast Records. The brainchild of Municipal Waste guitarists Ryan Waste & Nick Poulos, Bat ascended from the underground a decade ago on a dark, leather-winged trajectory. The band delivers their own blood-spattered horror leaning heavily on the dirtier side of speed metal.


To celebrate the release, Bat offers fans the single, “Revenge Of The Wolf”. The band once again returned to horror director Norman Cabrera to create the perfect visuals. The video included cinematography completed by Rob Lucas, editing handled by Mike Mendez, and Maya Kay was responsible for the production.


Ryan Waste states, "The wait is finally over as our creation takes flight, sinking its claws into the airwaves. It was a true test of our will, caging this beast for what felt like an eternity. I’d especially like to thank my bandmates, Nick and Chris for their hard work and patience through the entire process. We wrote these songs during grim times and their ferocity is certainly emulated by that. Unleashing these tales of terror gives me a sense of fulfillment that is completely unmatched.”




Chris Marshall states, “I still bear the scars from The Claw.”


Nick Poulos comments, “From note to note, speed on speed, to say I’m proud of Under The Crooked Claw is an absolute understatement. We poured our hearts, minds, and souls into this record and I’m so proud of what we accomplished. My favorite Bat offering to date!”





Order/stream Under The Crooked Claw at this location.


The power trio, completed by drummer Chris Marshall, decamped to Philadelphia in June 2021 where Arthur Rizk recorded the basic tracks for Under The Crooked Claw. Yavé Rust tracked lead guitars and vocals later when the band was back in Richmond, ultimately to be mixed by Rizk and mastered by Joel Grind. The artwork for the album was inked by Brandon Holt and colored by Margaret Rolicki.


Jam-packed with tight, concise songs loaded with punchy choruses and lightning-laced leads, each of the 13 tracks offers a new horror short story mixing the perfect blend of heavy metal, punk, and rock ‘n’ roll or as Waste coins it "primitive heavy speed".





Tracklisting:


“Una torcia illumina il cielo”
“Vampyre Lore”
“Rite For Exorcism”
“Streetbanger”
“Just Buried”
“Warshock”
“Horror Vision”
“Battered”
“Revenge Of The Wolf”
“Marauders Of Doom”
“Electric Warning”
“Bastardized Force”
“Final Strike”


“Streetbanger” video:





“Rite For Exorcism” video:





Headlining dates:


May
30 – St. Louis, MO – The Sinkhole
31 – Omaha, NE – Reverb Lounge


June
2 – Denver, CO – The Crypt
3 – Salt Lake City, UT – Aces High Saloon 


June (supporting Necrot)
5 – Berkeley, CA – The Cornerstone
6 – Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room
7 – Los Angeles, CA – First St. Billiards
8 – San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick
9 – Phoenix, AZ – Nile Underground
10 – Albuquerque, NM – The Launchpad
12 – Austin, TX – Parish
13 – Dallas, TX – Three Links
14 – San Antonio, TX – Vibes Underground
18 – Tampa, FL – Orpheum
19 – Orlando, FL – Will’s Pub
20 – Atlanta, GA – Boggs Special
21 – Columbia, SC – New Brookland Tavern
22 – Raleigh, NC – Chapel Of Bones
23 – Pittsburgh, PA – Cattivo
24 – Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery
25 – Bensalem, PA – Broken Goblet
26 – Brooklyn, NY – The Meadows
27 – Boston, MA – Sonia


(Photo – Jeff Howlett)

Veteran midwest metal outfit, Conquest, have released their new album, Paradox. Available as two vinyl records or a single CD (plus available on all streaming services), the album continues in the same direction as their previous studio offerings, as evidenced by such standout tracks as "Walking Dead" and "The Writings on the Wall" (both of which have already been issued as music videos), as well as a cover of the Rainbow classic, "Man On The Silver Mountain”. Order here.


Comprised of Derrick Brumley: Lead Vocals and Guitar, Mike Crook: Vocals and Guitar, Rob Boyer: Vocals and Bass, and Lee Skyles: Vocals and Drums, Paradox was also produced and mixed by Derrick (and engineered by Adam Long), the band's latest album is getting rave reviews via metal media.
 
"This was a record that took 3 years to make had many different obstacles," admits Derrick. "But we made it through and it was a blast to put together. All the band members did an outstanding job from The melodies on the bass to the blazing guitar solos and the strong aggressive drumming…these guys helped me put it all together. And it turned out in my opinion over the top."
 
And the singer/guitarist/producer also has some favorite tracks in mind. "Lots to choose from. The obvious tracks 'Walking Dead,' 'Writing on the Wall,' there are all kinds of different heavy metal tracks on this record. 'Babylon America' and 'The Killing Time,' two different styles but very, very complimentary to each other."
 
Additionally, the cover of "Man on the Silver Mountain" is certainly a standout. "'Man on the Silver Mountain' for me was always one of those tracks when I was a kid that just stood out. My dad always played it and my friend's dad's always played that song, it was just one of those songs in the midwest that really had some grit to it.”


Lee Skyles added "Recording the Paradox album in the studio was rewarding in the sense it felt to be very organic in nature with the even flow of the songs as we wrote them and recorded. As some songs were done with such feeling between us in the room together and other tracks we laid the drums later on the fly like 'Babylon America' and 'World of Hate' which gave it more of what you would want it to be like. Paradox was truly a metal masterful piece of work in which keeps the old school metal flavor in a modern form.”







Tracklisting:


“Of The Devil’s Creed”
“Walking Dead”
“Save Me”
“He Shall Return”
“Celtic Mist”
“Love Amplified”
“Valley Of The Damned”
“Dying To Live”
“World Of Hate”
“The Writing's On The Wall”
“King Of The World”
“In The Heavens”
“Babylon America”
“The Killing Time”
“Last Goodbye”
“Man On The Silver Mountain” (Rainbow cover)


“The Writing's On The Wall” video:





"Walking Dead” video:





"Man On The Silver Mountain":





Having already shared concert stages with the likes of Slayer, Rob Halford, Testament, Iron Maiden, and Yngwie Malmsteen, the band can certainly deliver the goods on stage – which the band will soon be doing with shows in support of Paradox.


And fans will get a chance to experience Conquest live on stage on July 12, when the band performs with Burning Witches at Diamond Music Hall in St. Peters, MO.


For more information/to order tickets, head here.

In a new interview with the Heavy Demons radio show, DEICIDE drummer Steve Asheim addressed the controversy surrounding the cover artwork for the band's latest album, "Banished By Sin". Released on April 26 via Reigning Phoenix Music, the LP features art that some people believe was generated by artificial intelligence (A.I.). When the cover artwork was first unveiled in February, speculation over how it was created led to backlash from fans on social media, as well as memes mocking it and DEICIDE.

Asheim said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, from what I understand, the label said, 'Hey, we want to get a cover that is reminiscent of the first record,' some kind of medallion or something like that. So, working with… Glen [Benton, DEICIDE bassist/vocalist] has a guy in — I think he's from Sweden, and he is a jewelry designer, and he's an artist, because, obviously, he has to craft the jewelry, he has to design the artwork for whatever. Anyway, so he asked this guy, 'Hey, create a medallion for the artwork for the record. And then we can tie it in with jewelry that we're gonna sell also.' And so that was this guy. So when people get all bent out of shape about how it's A.I. generated, I mean, we had a human artist design this thing. An artist, they use computer software to design it, and whether or not he ran it through some program to clean it up, I don't know. I mean, some people who know more about art than I do seem to have a real problem with it."

Steve continued: "Everyone's all up in arms about the whole thing. And I don't really understand why. I mean, I guess I see that point about, 'Hey, an artist who paints could have gotten paid.' Well, you know what? An artist did get paid for this artwork. Our fucking guy. I mean, it's not like he's not an artist. So, I don't know what everyone's all up in arms about. I think people just like to have something to bitch about. That's cool. I get it. I like to bitch, too.

"But anyway, that's my take on it," Asheim added. "And I think that's pretty cool. I've heard plenty of people bitch about it. I've heard plenty of people say, 'I don't see what the fucking problem is.'

"Anyway, we made super-huge banners of the artwork for live. So everyone who hates it is really gonna love that."

Benton discussed the "Banished By Sin" artwork last month in an interview with The Brutally Delicious Podcast. At the time, he said: "Well, people don't understand that the album cover that we did, it was done with Photoshop and with some A.I., but it's a more modern version. It's like 'Legion' [DEICIDE's second album, released in 1992] — when I did the 'Legion' album cover, computers were still fucking new. Nobody knew anything about three-dimensional artwork or any shit like that. And I was the first person to even fucking fuck with that when I designed the 'Legion' album cover. Now I've been in the computers and all that shit since they all came about. So I may be ahead of a lot of people when it comes to computers. I have two iMacs and MacBook Pro and iPad Pro. So I'm a little versed with the whole computer age and in Photoshop and all that stuff and that.

"I like to do something different and provocative," Glen explained. "And I know the whole A.I. thing, everybody's [up in arms about it]… But it was meant to stir. People don't understand. It's a modernization of… It's a sign of the time that we're in. People just can't — their first [reaction] is, like, 'Oh, he's trying to put all of us artists out of work. And I'll be stuck drawing penises in men's bathrooms for the rest of my life.' So everybody's up in arms and thinking that this is the end of the fucking world. And it's really ridiculous, man. It's just a form of art and expression. So I think people should just really stop being ridiculous and accept it for what it is, man. It's a sign of the times.

"I don't do the same album artwork over and over and over again, and I don't use these scribble artists to create these logos that you cannot read or make out," Benton added. "I'm just not into that shit. All these wannabe Rembrandts and shit, man. You know what? I design artwork around the whole thing, man. And I don't take other people's feelings or their ideas or I don't sit here and think, 'Well, what's this blue-haired kid in Nebraska gonna think about the album cover?' I do what I do because I like it, and I don't give a shit what anybody else thinks. So if it pisses people off… And it's really more like these bandwagon little shitheads; they all wanna jump on the bandwagon, 'Boohoohoo.' But here's the thing, how hypocritical it is, because my art was being stolen [through illegal downloading] and stepped all over in the '90s. METALLICA had seen it come and they tried to stop it. But all these wannabe mercenaries for artists and all these idiots out there, they were the same people right there stealing my art back then. So where were all you guys at to defend my art being stolen and taken advantage of? So, all I did was just did an album cover, really, that just focused on the whole modernization of the modern time and, really, it's just a reflection of the age that we're in right now. I can't spend my days trying to explain this. I have a saying: I don't try to convince stupid is dumb and I don't try to convince dumb is stupid. So I just let it do its thing and piss people off. I have a great time with it. It's hilarious. Yeah, it is what it is, man. It's meant to stir the shit paddle, and that's what I do."

This past February, DEICIDE released the second single from "Banished By Sin", a song called "Sever The Tongue". The track was recorded at Smoke & Mirrors with engineer Jeramie Kling, while the mixing and mastering was handed by Josh Wilbur.

DEICIDE collaborated with David Brodsky from My Good Eye: Music Visuals for a visually arresting video for "Sever The Tongue" that complements the track's blasphemous undertones.

To close out 2023, DEICIDE celebrated Christmas with another blasphemous song called "Bury The Cross...With Your Christ".

In August 2022, Benton told "The Garza Podcast" that DEICIDE's new music "is really anthem-style stuff. It's really good, man. There's a lot of prog stuff in there, mixed in there. Steve's [Asheim, drums] our prog guy, man; he's the progressive rock guy. He likes to write those really black metal riffs and the progressive stuff. He's an amazing talent, man. He plays piano. He can play sweeps on guitar. He's a drummer. Yeah, he can do it all."

Benton went on to say that the next DEICIDE album was written in 2021 before he and his bandmates agreed to embark on a tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of DEICIDE's sophomore album, "Legion".

DEICIDE played its first show with new guitarist Taylor Nordberg (THE ABSENCE, INHUMAN CONDITION) on May 21, 2022 at the Rickshaw Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Two years ago, Nordberg spoke about how he landed the DEICIDE gig in an interview with "The Zach Moonshine Show". He said: "In 2019, my band THE ABSENCE toured with DEICIDE in the U.S. And we got to know the guys and got along really well. And I actually found out that Glen lives, like, two streets over from Jeramie [Kling, THE ABSENCE drummer] and I, where we live. So Jeramie and Glen became good buddies and they ride bikes all the times. It's a funny little thing, thinking about that. But long story short, [previous DEICIDE guitarist] Chris [Cannella], I believe he's the head of A&R at Dean Guitars so he's focusing on that for right now. I heard that they needed a guitar player, so I learned a couple of songs, made a couple of videos, and Glen saw 'em and liked what he saw. So we had a couple of practices, and bing bang boom, here we are."

Cannella amicably left DEICIDE in January 2022 after a three-year run.

Chris joined DEICIDE in 2019 following the departure of guitarist Mark English.

English became a member of DEICIDE in 2016 after the exit of longtime guitarist Jack Owen.

Photo credit: Gene Smirnov

Some of you might already have seen the new cover artwork for the upcoming Deicide album. Besides being not very...

Posted by Misanthropic-Art on Wednesday, February 14, 2024

AI please generate me some album covers.....

Posted by Jim Wertman on Saturday, February 10, 2024

To all my friends in bands, in the music industry, in art, or any related field:

If you make an album cover with AI,...

Posted by Ridge Deadite on Saturday, February 24, 2024

Look, I don’t have anything against the music released by both artists. I’ve heard the new Kerry King stuff, and it...

Posted by Felix Sydonai on Sunday, February 11, 2024

Blackjacket, the dynamic ensemble of seasoned musicians from the vibrant Los Angeles music scene, has announced the release of their electrifying hard rock rendition of Weezer's iconic hit, "Say It Ain't So" via TLG|ZOID. This high-energy cover is set to captivate audiences with its modern twist on a beloved 90s classic.


Inspired by the timeless appeal of Weezer's original masterpiece, Blackjacket embarked on a musical journey to reimagine "Say It Ain't So" with their signature style and flair. The result is a dynamic fusion of raw power and infectious melodies, showcasing the band's unparalleled talent and creativity.


"The search for a song to cover led us to Weezer - 'Say it Ain’t So!' Great track with an incredibly catchy hook. We had a blast putting a modern spin on a true ‘90s classic!" exclaimed the band, reflecting on their exhilarating collaboration.

In a new interview with Spain's Metal Journal, EXTREME guitarist Nuno Bettencourt weighed in on a debate about people using an AI (artificial intelligence) music generator as a tool to create melodies, harmonies and rhymes based on artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and machine learning (ML) models. Nuno said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Everybody's worried and everybody's scared, and how it's gonna change anything. I love it, man. You know why I love it? I'm, like, bring it on. Do more of it. Because what that does, the people who do that and use it and think they can emulate emotion, the bigger, to me, rock and roll is gonna get. Because rock and roll, if you notice — look at all the technology that's happened since the 1930s, everything from telephones to television, to cell phones, to computers to synthesize everything else, what has changed in the guitar? Nothing. Zero. What has changed in a drum set? Nothing. What has changed in a bass guitar? Nothing. A microphone.

"Rock and roll, to me, is, is always there because it's broken," he explained. "It's not artificial. It's not perfect. It's all the imperfections, is what makes us shine. It's the danger of it. A.I. can do all you want — to write lyrics, to write song, to do whatever, even record, to do whatever — but it's always gonna sound sterilized, even when they try… Because even if they tried to sound like, let's say, I don't know, LED ZEPPELIN… LED ZEPPELIN didn't even sound like LED ZEPPELIN every night. Sometimes they were great, sometimes they were sloppy, sometimes it was amazing, and that's the danger, and that's the thing of rock and roll that you will never be able to capture with A.I. I don't give a fuck how much they're gonna try.

"You could see just with the [latest] EXTREME album [2023's 'Six'] — fuck EXTREME; it didn't even matter that it was EXTREME — you could see with just doing an album, people were just thanking us, 'Thank you for a rock album,' 'Thank you just for some rock and roll.' That's how starved and famine that we have. So, to me, the more sterilized pop music, which it's always kind of been already for the last 10, 20 years anyways, it's been very sterilized and very Auto-Tuned and very all that, the bigger rock and roll is gonna be.

"Sometimes I feel like Keanu Reeves in 'The Matrix'," Nuno added. "Rock and roll will always outdo any technology or anything that anybody throws at it, because, you know why? Getting in front of an audience will never — A.I. will never be able to step on stage and replicate what we do at any given second or moment, what we say, the sweat, the love, the passion, the audience. That relationship is untouchable by A.I. Period."

In April, EXTREME announced the addition of 15 new dates for a month-long September run of the band's global "Thicker Than Blood" tour. After wrapping several highly anticipated, sold-out shows for their spring 2024 dates, EXTREME will once again hit the road with special guests LIVING COLOUR to bring the show to even more stops across the U.S. and Canada. Dates kick off on September 4 in Billings, Montana and will keep the band on tour for the duration of the month, before wrapping on September 28 in Montréal, Quebec, Canada.

"Six" came out in June 2023 via earMUSIC. The LP landed at position No. 10 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart with first-week sales of 12,500 copies. The set marked the band's first studio album since 2008. The act was last in the Top 10 with "III Sides To Every Story", which debuted and peaked at No. 10 back in October 1992.

In a new interview with Jeff Gaudiosi of MisplacedStraws.com, former TESLA drummer Troy Luccketta spoke about his decision to leave the band more than two and a half years ago. He said: "First of all, the COVID thing happened, and that shut us down. That gave me time to take some time off and reflect and really think about where I was at in my life and re-evaluate it. And I couldn't be more grateful for the guys in the band, all those years. I love all of them, and it was a remarkable 30-plus years — 36 years, I think it was. And for me, there wasn't really much left for me to do there, quite honestly, other than tour and play and do the same shows and do everything that they're [currently doing], which is great. It's nice that that legacy has gotta go and continue to move, but it gave me an opportunity to step back."

Troy is currently a member of RIZZ & THE BELIEVERZ, which has just released its debut EP, "Everyday People", on Blessings & Love Records with distribution via Select-O-Hits. The EP is available on all digital outlets.

In September 2021, 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 by Steve Brown, the younger brother of former DOKKEN drummer Mick Brown.

TESLA bassist Brian Wheat discussed his longtime bandmate's absence from the group's concerts during an April 2023 interview with Thomas S. Orwat, Jr. of the Rock Interview Series. Asked if Troy is still a member of TESLA, Wheat said in part: "He's not touring [with us]. There'll be an official statement soon — very soon. But no. He's kind of doing his own thing, and we're kind of doing our own thing. And we're working out all that stuff.

"Listen, I love Troy Luccketta; he's my brother," Brian continued. "We all love Troy. It just came to a point where we just weren't on the same page anymore as to what we wanted to do. It's not like we had this big massive fight or anything. It's just you start out like this [holds two fingers close together] and then sometimes you go like this [holds two fingers wide apart]. And that gap just got too wide. And he said, 'Look, maybe it's better if I don't do this.' And we said, 'Okay. Maybe it is.' He's out, I think, playing with THE GUESS WHO or something… So he's out playing. So it's not like he retired. He's not playing in TESLA. And who knows? Maybe one day there'll be some reunion tour — [when we do] the last final lap… But that's not now. And who knows? Things always could change and whatever.

"So, to answer your question, Troy is not playing in TESLA," Wheat repeated. "Will he ever come back? Who knows? We'll see. Maybe one day [he will]. But right now we're sorting out all the shit that you've gotta sort out. And there's no bad blood."

In February 2023, Brian told Waste Some Time With Jason Green that Troy was "not coming back" to TESLA. "I don't think he's gonna come back," he said. "He wanted time off. People just do things like that. You start out like this [holds two fingers close together] and it just grows apart. I think that we've probably come to a point in our professional relationship that we've just grown too far apart on things.

"Look, I love Troy. He's my brother, just like [former TESLA guitarist] Tommy Skeoch is my brother. Will we play together again? I don't know. Probably one day, yeah. I mean, look, I'm the kind of guy that… And I know this is gonna funny to anyone, and I'll go ahead and say it… And I haven't even said this to Frankie [Hannon, guitar] and Jeff [Keith, vocals] or Dave [Rude, guitar] or anybody, but when there's one last lap around the track for this band, I think we owe it to our fans that everyone plays together. And I'm not saying Tommy without Dave; I'm saying Dave and Tommy. And Troy too, if he would be up for it. And go out with class and dignity and style, and say, 'Okay, listen. We've been through a few changes. We're gonna do 40 more shows,' or whatever that is. Not turn that into a five-year tour or anything. But I, as I sit here today… And that can change, Jason… And I'm sure Blabbermouth's gonna be all over this tomorrow and say, 'Brian Wheat wants to put the original band back together'. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying when there's one last lap left, and we all know there's one last lap, I'm the one guy that'll stand up in the room and say, 'I'd like us all to go through it all together.' If that means having two drummers and three guitar players and Jeff Keith, I'm in. Now, I can't speak for the rest of the band. This is me speaking. I'm that guy that would like to do that. So, Blabbermouth, if you're out there, don't fucking misquote me, because that's all you ever do."

Wheat didn't specify exactly how BLABBERMOUTH.NET "misquoted" him in the past, but he added that TESLA should eventually stage a final tour with all current and former members in order to make it special for the fans. "I think we owe it to 'em," Brian said. "They've been such a loyal and diehard fanbase, I think they would love the fact that we went out playing; if that's how we're gonna go out, that that's how we would do it."

Pressed about Troy's reasons for no longer playing with TESLA, Brian said: "I don't know. The bottom line is, we wanted to go out and he said he didn't. And after being off for — what was it? — 18 months with COVID, we had to go out. We couldn't just sit home. We're not independently wealthy guys, We make our living from playing concerts. We work. That's our job. We were never fortunate enough to have, like, a 'Hysteria' or a 'Pyromania' or an 'Appetite [For Destruction]' or 'Slippery When Wet' or the Black Album or 'Back In Black'. We quietly would sell a million, a million and a half records, and we've got this diehard fanbase, and every year we have to go out and earn our living. So we couldn't sit home. And that's where it came to the thing."

Wheat added: "[Troy] had his reasons [for leaving TESLA]. And I respect that. And we just decided we were gonna continue to go out and play."

Troy previously discussed his absence from TESLA's gigs during a September 2022 interview with Tulsa Music Stream. Asked if he was still taking a break from the band, he said at the time: "I am. I'm on a bit of a break. Personally, there's a lot of things going on in my life that I'm… This thing that we do doesn't cater to families. So at the time that this had gone down and COVID and everything, it just really gave me some time to step back and kind of look at things.

"I'd been running hard with the band for 36 years," he continued. "And I love the guys and I love the band. I'm a fan and always will be. I've got nothing but praise for them. They gave me a great life and I think we all share in that."

Luccketta was also full of praise for his replacement in TESLA, saying: "He's a great, great drummer, a great person, a great guy. And we're not best of friends or anything, but I've always known Steve over the years and I always knew he was the right choice. I had him pegged out years ago before I even had to make the phone call. So it's perfect. It's really great because, if you think about it, it's a win-win. And I think it's even a breath of fresh air probably for the guys right now. And it's like having a new girlfriend [laughs] for a minute."

As for his future with TESLA, Troy said: "Will we ever play again together? I don't know if that will ever happen or not. I don't know what we will do moving down the road. But right now Steve is the drummer and it's his gig. And I'm happy for everybody. And I'm happy for me."

In an August 2022 interview with Canada's The Metal Voice , Hannon was non-commital about Troy's return to TESLA, saying: "We're just allowing the time for things to work themselves out. He's got things that he's dealing with.

"Touring is not an easy life, man," he explained. "It's a very difficult thing being out there on a bus, with everybody crammed in that tight situation. And when you've got stuff going on at home, those things need to be taken care of. But hey, man, he's a long-standing member of the band.

"We'll work it out," Frank added. "Time will work things out. He's a brother, and, like I said, time will work things out. The founding members of the band are together and Steve Brown is playing drums for us at the moment and really doing a great job. And we're just happy to be able to keep on working."

Hannon went on to praise Steve's contributions to TESLA, saying: "Steve is not only 'Wild' Mick's little brother but he's also a member of our local community here in Sacramento. We've known him since he was a little guy. He used to come watch us play when he was a teenager. And he has done other shows for us in the past, filling in for Troy. So he's a member of our family as well."

When Luccketta first shared the news of his decision to stay off the road, he wrote: "I am happy and well, and couldn't be more grateful to my bandmates for this opportunity. I am also looking forward to some musical ventures closer to home. In my absence please show some love to Steve Brown. Steve is a dear friend, and great drummer! He has played with OLEANDER, Ronnie Montrose just to name a few. He is one of Sacramento's finest, The perfect choice so to speak!"

MEGADETH appears on the latest Pollstar's Live75 chart, which tracks active tours by the average tickets sold for shows that happened over the past 30 days.

According to Pollstar, five of the 12 MEGADETH concerts from the band's just-completed Latin American "Crush The World" tour moved a total of 73,372 sold tickets and grossed $4 million to enter the Live75 at No. 6. The shows include the April 9 performance at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile (14,828 tickets sold),the April 21-22 two-night stint at Bogotá, Colombia's Movistar Arena (21,074 sold tickets for a $1.4 million gross),the April 25 concert at Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico (18,706 tickets sold) and the April 27 show at Arena Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico (18,764 tickets sold).

The day before the final show of MEGADETH's Latin American tour, which took place on April 30 in San Salvador, El Salvador, the band's leader Dave Mustaine took to his social media to write: "We have had the most righteous time down here in Latin America. The fans have been insanely loud. Every city has had a different set list, and we've practiced our fingers off on this tour! We hope that the fans got to hear their favorite songs, as well as some deeper tracks that we haven't play for some time.

"Fast forward to today. I was looking down at some papers on the hotel suite desk. and noticed something different about the rooming list. It stated that we are going home from here and I always feel melancholy when we do.

"The four of us have become such good friends, and we are all thriving together in MEGADETH. If I may elaborate...

"Dirk [Verbeuren] is an amazing drummer, and I often wonder how I got so fortunate to play with him (he is a lot like [late MEGADETH drummer] Gar [Samuelson]),he is a wonderful, humble man who I've learned a lot from.

"James [LoMenzo, bass] has been our anchor and my mentor for singing out here. He is a killer bassist, who sings so confidently that I can easily accept direction and criticism from him. He has learned every song we play live, note for note, and I love seeing him every morning out here.

"I can't say enough about Teemu [Mäntysaari, guitar], and I don't have to, because you have no doubt seen footage of us together. He is a mad scientist on guitar, he plays ALL previous guitarists parts effortlessly with finesse, and the utmost respect for his predecessor.

"The four of us play, and go over songs every day, reviewing, perfecting, and building up our repertoire to play for you. By the time we reach Europe this summer, we will have even more songs added, to provide the variety to our playlists of songs played in concert.

"Well, that's it for now. I have to get some rest for my body. Tomorrow we are going to take back the night in San Salvador! Mother Nature tried stopping us last time, with insane wind and sideways torrential rain, but the sun is out and we're back!

"Hasta mañana chicos!"

MEGADETH recently announced a North American tour "Destroy All Enemies", produced by Live Nation. Support on the 33-city trek, which includes stops in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Boston and St. Louis, will come from MUDVAYNE and ALL THAT REMAINS. The tour begins in Rogers, Arkansas on August 2 and runs throughout the month before wrapping in Nashville, Tennessee on September 28.

Finnish guitarist Mäntysaari joined MEGADETH last September after the band's longtime axeman Kiko Loureiro, announced earlier that month that he would sit out the next leg of MEGADETH's "Crush The World" tour in order to stay home with his children back in Finland. It was later revealed that Mäntysaari would continue to play guitar for MEGADETH for the foreseeable future, with Loureiro seemingly having no plans to return.

The 37-year-old Mäntysaari was born in Tampere, Finland and began playing guitar at the age of 12. In 2004, he joined the band WINTERSUN. He has also been a member of SMACKBOUND since 2015.

MEGADETH played its first concert with Mäntysaari on September 6, 2023 at Revel in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Loureiro officially joined MEGADETH in April 2015, about five months after Chris Broderick's exit from the group.

Since its inception in 1983, MEGADETH has ascended from its raw thrash metal roots to become an unstoppable force in the heavy metal world. With founder Dave Mustaine at the helm, MEGADETH's journey has been marked by a penchant for pushing the boundaries of speed, technicality, and complexity in their music. Their groundbreaking album "Rust In Peace", released in 1990, is frequently cited as a seminal work in the thrash metal genre. Along with the critically acclaimed "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?", it cemented MEGADETH's place in the annals of metal history.

Over four decades, the band's discography has earned numerous certifications, including platinum and multi-platinum awards, with albums like "Countdown To Extinction" and "Youthanasia" achieving widespread critical acclaim. 2016's "Dystopia" not only marked a high point with their first Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance" after twelve nominations but also set the stage for their latest triumph, "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!" in 2022. MEGADETH's status as part of the "Big Four" of thrash metal underscores their trailblazing role in the genre, laying the groundwork for countless bands and musicians who have followed in their wake.