Technical death metal troupe, Cognitive, is back with Abhorrence, set for release on May 17 via Metal Blade Records. Watch a guitar playthrough of the first single and title track below:





The band's fifth full-length album and a tremendously worthy successor to 2021's Malevolent Thoughts Of A Hastened Extinction, Abhorrence finds the New Jersey powerhouse quintet at its brutal best. Unrelenting riffs leave the listener stunned, while a wave of thoughtful, devastating lyrics washes over. The album is a raging, draining, and ultimately fulfilling experience.




Cognitive started work on Abhorrence while touring in support of Malevolent Thoughts Of A Hastened Extinction, sending tracks back and forth while trekking from one intense gig to the next. "There were riffs and ideas that didn't make Malevolent Thoughts…," notes guitarist Rob Wharton. "We just kept toiling away with it. And then we recorded the 'Rot Eternal' single in between touring. So, it's been just nonstop writing."


Drummer AJ Viana has his own studio (he's previously worked with bands as prestigious as Hath) and recorded, tracked, and mixed the album, before Ryan Williams (The Black Dahlia Murder, John Frum) at Metal Blade Records mastered it. To the album's immense benefit, it was a collaborative process and everyone brought their A game.


Abhorrence is an exercise in aural turbulence, each track taking its listener on a magnificently traumatic journey. "Our lyrics for this record are all over the place," says Wharton. "There's some stuff about video games and addiction and mental health. To me, that's the kind of subject matter that hits home because everyone's got stuff going on in their lives. It's relatable."


Relatable much like the album title itself. Peer at the state of the world in recent years and "abhorrence" seems like an entirely appropriate world. "We were going through all the song titles and wondering which is the strongest song," Wharton says. "We decided to go with Abhorrence. Everyone's so mean and cruel to each other and the world is terrible. We just felt like it kind of encompassed everything. We had put a lot of time into that one specifically because there are so many repeating parts, but it was mostly about depression, anxiety attacks and mental health."


The title track also serves as the record's opener and first single. Wharton elaborates, "'Abhorrence' is a groove-filled song with a melodic chorus. Heavily syncopated drums make every chug hit harder and harder. It's a song filled with tension and aggressive vocal patterns screaming about anxiety, panic, and depression all at once."


Watch Cognitive's video for "Abhorrence" below.





Abhorrence will be released on CD and digital formats as well as vinyl in the following color variants:


- Crimson Void (US retail)
- Gilded Abyss (EU + US Metal Blade Webstore - Ltd. 400)


Pre-order here.





Abhorrence tracklisting:


"Abhorrence"
"Insidious"
"A Pact Unholy"
"Ivory Tower"
"As The Light Fades"
"Savor The Suffering"
"Containment Breach"
"Rorschach"
"Lunar Psychopathy"
"Cold Dead Hands"


"Abhorrence" video:





Cognitive is:


Rob Wharton - guitars
Harry Lannon - guitars
Shane Jost - vocals
Tyler Capone-Vitale - bass
AJ Viana - drums


(Photo - Chris Hosey)

"Shelter In Place", the new video from Baltimore, Maryland-based transapocalyptic galaxy rock duo, Darsombra, can viewed below The track can found on the band’s entrancing psychedelic masterpiece, Dumesday Book.


The video arrives as the band traverses the Atlantic Ocean once again to begin their latest tour across Europe and the UK.


"Shelter In Place" is an ominous, majestic introduction to the album's uncertain journey of the deep range of human emotions characteristic during plague times. The track is quaking, vast, and full of portent; the video, filmed and edited by Everton, gives the tsunami of precarious fear a doleful, baleful visage. Welcome to the trip.







(Photo - Chris Bubinas)

Josh Freese, who officially became FOO FIGHTERS' new drummer a year ago, filling the vacancy left by the late Taylor Hawkins, spoke to producer and YouTuber Rick Beato about how he landed the coveted gig. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "On my children's lives, I had zero plans of being called to be the drummer. And everyone and their mother — my neighbor walking the dog, 'Hey Josh, the FOO FIGHTERS call you yet?' Other people hitting me up, other drummers, Reddit forums, 'Josh Freese is gonna be the guy.' I'm going, 'I don't even know if they're gonna continue on [after Taylor's death].' And most people I knew said, 'Oh, they're gonna have to. They're gonna figure it out.' I was, like, 'Well, maybe. Who knows?' I didn't ask them that question during those [Taylor Hawkins] tribute [concerts in September 2022]. Once again, I wanted to give everybody space. I wasn't gonna be another guy coming at Dave [Grohl, FOO FIGHTERS frontman], going, 'So dude, if you need a drummer, I'm around. I'm just saying.' I didn't mention it once, and was busy enough and making a good enough living already that I wasn't freaked out about it. I wasn't going, 'God, I hope they call. I hope they call.' I was, like, 'You know what? Whatever happens is gonna happen.' And that's how I kind of like to roll."

He continued: "Months went on after that second, L.A. [Taylor Hawkins tribute concert]. I guess it was September [2022 when the two shows took place]. And Dave had said that he'd written a bunch of songs. He was gonna record a bunch of stuff after those shows. So, cool. So it sounded like he was gonna make a record. And then I guess it was right before Christmas that year, 2022, and I got a call from him. I got a missed call. I was on a walk with my wife and some of our dogs, and I go, 'Ah, Dave just tried calling me like 20 minutes ago.' And she's, like, 'I know why he's calling you.' I was, like, 'Easy. I'm not thinking that.' I swear to God, that's not why I thought. I go, 'You know what? He might be having a New Year's Eve party. He might be doing a project where he has all those drummer friends of ours that perform at the thing, we each play a track. He could be calling me for numerous reasons, but I'm not gonna pretend like that's why he's calling me.' I called him back, and we small-talked about Christmas and our kids and do they still believe in Santa Claus? And who's the hardest to shop for? And just this silly small-talk family stuff, if anything. I said, 'Hey, did you go record?' He goes, 'Yeah, we recorded a bunch of stuff. And I played drums, and I'm really happy with the way it sounds. I'm really excited about it. And we had the drummer talk. And we want you to be the guy.' And it felt like someone kind of socked me in the stomach. I didn't go, 'Wow, yippee, this is so cool.' I didn't get excited like that. It was almost like I got the wind knocked out of me. And I was, like, 'Oh my God.' I was, like, 'Here we go.' 'Cause I knew… I had time to think about it and all that, but I was, like, come on. After the holidays, Dave and I got together and talked and he played me the new record, we were talking, and even there's sometimes when you go, 'You know you've gotta do this, right?'"

Freese went on to say that he had no doubt he would accept the offer to become FOO FIGHTERS' new drummer. "It couldn't have gone down any other way after being asked, and being asked by someone that I've respected forever, not just as a songwriter and a singer/guitarist, but as a drummer," Josh explained. "First and foremost for me, Dave is such a bad motherfucker, man. And he just innately has this thing. That stuff can't be taught; it just can't be taught. You can try to explain it to somebody, but you're either gonna do it or you're not. And he was blessed with being able to do it and just deliver. So, for me, as a drummer, it's great. And I used to talk about it with Taylor all the time. He was, like, 'Oh, man, it's so cool. Look at Dave.' He loved Dave's drumming, and we'd talk about it."

Freese continued: "I've made records with bands where the singer maybe used to play drums. But Dave's a drummer's drummer. And so it's not, like, 'Oh, yeah, he used to play drums.' Nah, he's the drummer. And I've tried to let that be a source of inspiration and excitement when I'm playing with him and playing in a band with him rather than letting it intimidate me or freak me out. 'Cause if you start going down that path, it could intimidate you and freak you out. 'My God, I'm Dave Grohl's drummer.' But he makes it so comfortable and good and natural, the way we play together. And as a drummer, his rhythm is great. Most bands, when you've got a break, you've got a four-bar break and the guitar is playing, I'm making sure to keep that time on the hi-hat. [With Dave, I] never have to [do that]. It's right there all the time. Ah, it's so cool. It's so cool. And when he turns around and we lock in, luckily — maybe one day it will become nerve racking — it's never been nerve racking for me. It's always fun and exciting, 'cause it's kind of laid out that way. It's not some heavy trip or weird thing. It's just all good. It's all good stuff."

FOO FIGHTERS revealed Freese as part of its touring lineup on May 21, 2023 during a pre-tour livestream called "Foo Fighters: Preparing Music For Concerts". Freese was unveiled as the drummer during the livestream after comedic cameos by Chad Smith of RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, Tommy Lee of MÖTLEY CRÜE and Danny Carey of TOOL.

Prior to joining the FOO FIGHTERS, Freese had most recently been drumming for Danny Elfman but was recently replaced by Ilan Rubin. Freese was also touring with THE OFFSPRING up until 2022, with former SUICIDAL TENDENCIES drummer Brandon Pertzborn stepping in to officially replace him.

Freese is a veteran session drummer who has performed with GUNS N' ROSES, A PERFECT CIRCLE, PUDDLE OF MUDD, NINE INCH NAILS, WEEZER, PARAMORE, THE REPLACEMENTS, Sting and THE VANDALS, among many others. He has also played more than 300 recordings ranging in genres from pop to rock to country.

FOO FIGHTERS' 11th album, "But Here We Are", was released in June 2023 on Roswell/RCA.

Hawkins tragically passed away in March 2022 at the age of 50.

Hawkins was found dead in a hotel room in Colombia, shortly before FOO FIGHTERS were due to play a festival in Bogotá. No cause of death was ever announced.

Hawkins had been the FOO FIGHTERS drummer for 25 years, taking over from original drummer William Goldsmith in 1997. He is survived by his wife Alison and their three children.

FOO FIGHTERS staged two tribute concerts in honor of Hawkins. The first tribute concert took place September 3, 2022 at London's Wembley Stadium. A Los Angeles concert was held on September 27, 2022 and raised money for Musicares and Music Support charities and served as a farewell party for Hawkins's adopted hometown.

Other notable tributes to come in the months following Hawkins's death included a segment at the 2022 Grammy Awards, a drum circle in Taylor's hometown, and a live performance of the FOO FIGHTERS song "My Hero" by more than 1,000 musicians.

SEVENDUST guitarist Clint Lowery will release an instrumental EP, "Don't Say It", on May 24.

The official music video for the EP's first single, "Dizzy Moments", produced by Chuck Brueckmann, can be seen below.

When Clint first announced that he was working on an instrumental EP back in January, he wrote on his social media: "For awhile now I've been very interested in film scoring, sound design and programming. Instead of focusing on another typical release I thought it'd be cool to write and release a few of these rough pieces I've been cutting my teeth on. Most of it is very moody, dark and cinematic, but still somewhat in traditional song format. It has been very fulfilling to work on not to mention refreshing creatively. I can experiment with sounds, textures and arrangements I enjoy.

"I got the inspiration while listening to NIN 'Ghosts' release and thought it would be a good exercise to just write and record something everyday or at least every other day just to flush things out, learn more about the process.

"I like to announce these things to stay accountable and I always work better under a deadline pressure, even if its one I put on myself. I plan to mix and master this myself (something I’ve never done). So please be open minded and take it for what it is…sharing musical ideas, the process where I'm currently sitting and where I want to go.

"I'm excited to tread on some new ground. Very humbling yet gratifying journey so far."

For more information on "Don't Say It", visit www.clintlowery.net.

The 52-year-old Lowery, who lives in St. Louis, Missouri with his wife Tara and their two children, released a solo EP, titled "Ghostwriter", in February 2023 via Dark Blanket Records. The five-track effort was the follow-up to his debut solo album, "God Bless The Renegades", which came out in January 2020 via Rise Records.

In addition to SEVENDUST, Lowery has been a member of, written, recorded, or performed with CALL ME NO ONE, DARK NEW DAY, KORN, RED, Tommy Lee's METHODS OF MAYHEM, SNOT, 10 YEARS and DIGITAL SUMMER, among others.

Photo credit: Chuck Brueckmann

Well the time has come to release this into the wild. My first instrumental EP. Due out May 24th. Preorder for...

Posted by Clint Lowery on Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Variety is reporting that the US Justice Department is preparing to sue Live Nation for antitrust violations as soon as next month, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, a move that could change the shape of the multibillion-company that is the world’s largest live entertainment organization and owns Ticketmaster, North America’s biggest ticket vendor.


The antitrust lawsuit would claim that the company “has leveraged its dominance in a way that undermined competition for ticketing live events,” according to people familiar with the matter, although specific details about the claims were not available.


Reps for the DOJ and Live Nation did not immediately respond to Variety‘s requests for comment.




The company has been the subject of such claims since Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged in 2010, a move that was challenged but ultimately was allowed by the federal government to move forward. Many have complained that the company’s aggressive business behaviour and vertically integrated structure - it has not only concert-promotion and ticketing divisions but also artist management; it also owns venues and their concessions, among other assets - is by nature anticompetitive.


Exorbitant ticket fees and several chaotic concert-tour on-sales - most notably those of Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen in 2022 - along with problems in customer service have led many, including multiple congresspeople, regulators and state attorneys general, to call for the company to be broken up. The New York Times reported that the DOJ had launched an investigation into the company even before the public and government outcry following Ticketmaster’s widely reported problems during the 2022 on-sale for Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour.


Read the full report at Variety.com.

In a new interview with Colombia's Alejandrosis, MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine spoke about the recent departure of the band's longtime guitarist Kiko Loureiro and addition of his replacement, Teemu Mäntysaari. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I can tell you that Kiko leaving was bittersweet. Kiko is a really good dad, and he loves his family, and he also loves his craft. He's a wonderful guitar player, and he's been a good friend to me and to MEGADETH fans and the band. And we found out that Kiko was having stress and strain on his family, being away so much, and we knew that it wasn't gonna get any better; it was just gonna be more shows and more time away from home right now. And he's got three little ones [at home]. So, in the formidable years, he needs to be there. We all agreed and said that we're gonna bring in an understudy. Teemu came in and helped us for a little while, and then we realized that this is probably the best thing, is for us to stick with Teemu and [for Kiko to] step aside and go back and take care of [his] little ones until everything's okay."

Elaborating on Teemu's technical ability, Dave said: "Teemu is a monster. He is the guy I've been looking for for a very long time. I ask him to learn a song, he learns it. I ask him to learn a solo, he learns it. I ask him to learn a vocal part, he learns it. And he has a really great right hand. It's very intelligent. It's a lot like mine. And I love watching him play and I love watching him learn, because he learns as fast as anybody else could, and it's made me really interested in my craft again. I can tell you I was not really looking at guitar like something that I needed to make part of my day every single day. Sometimes I would set the guitar down and I wouldn't touch it for a couple of days. Ever since Teemu came in, I'm ready — I'm ready to warm up, I'm ready to practice, I'm ready to go over the solos, and I'm ready to fucking rip."

He added: "I talk to Teemu and I say, 'Hey, Teemu, we need to add a new song to the set.' 'Okay. What song?' 'What? Okay. What song? Are you fucking kidding me? You know how much I had to beg for the last 30 fucking years to get any of the other guitar players to learn somebody else's solo. And here you come in and you just flail this stuff out like you're eating Rice Krispies. Come on, man.'"

Mustaine concluded: "I'm so excited, and I can't wait for you to see this dude."

Teemu stepped in last September for Kiko, who 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.

In a separate interview with Brazil's A Rádio Rock, Mustaine was asked what he looks forward to in this next chapter of MEGADETH. He said: "Well, I'm expecting us to keep doing what we've been doing. Kiko had recommended Teemu, and Teemu is an exceptional guitar player. Kiko was at the top of his game when this happened, so we were obviously disappointed, but it is what it is. If Kiko would have said, 'I don't know anybody, and you're on your own,' that would have been a lot harder. But Teemu is the right guy for MEGADETH. And Kiko knows that Teemu is the right guy for me. So, he actually did us a really big favor, and I love him and I wish him the best with everything that he does."

Mustaine went on to say that "Teemu is gonna make a lot of people happy" on MEGADETH's South American tour "because we're gonna be playing some songs that we haven't played for a long time. When he came in, I figured instead of just saying, 'Well, you've gotta learn these 30 songs here,' I asked him to learn a couple more. I mean, what's the difference when you're learning 30 songs? What's 33, right? Well, if he learned three and I said he's gotta learn 30, that's different. But I asked him to do some other songs that Dirk [Verbeuren, MEGADETH drummer] and James [Lomenzo, MEGADETH bassist] have been asking me to play for a very long time, and we're adding them now, which is great."

Kiko announced his decision to step back from MEGADETH in a social media post in November. He wrote in part: "Dear MEGADETH fans, I want to share with you a decision that hasn't been easy for me. In September, I had to step away from the U.S. leg of the tour for family reasons. Looking ahead, during 2024, we anticipate an even heavier touring schedule for MEGADETH. After thorough reflection and discussions with Dave Mustaine and MEGADETH's management, we have collectively agreed that it is the right move to extend my absence. I don't want to hinder any of the band's plans or the hard work of all the incredible people involved in the tour."

In early October, Mustaine told Shaggy of the 94.9 and 104.5 The Pick radio station in Idaho Falls, Idaho about Teemu's addition to MEGADETH: "People are losing their minds over how things are going right now 'cause we have a really good chemistry together."

According to Mustaine, MEGADETH has been able to change up its setlist a bit as a result of the guitarist switch. "We've got a bunch of songs from our catalog that we're playing, a bunch of new songs too," he said. "We've been able to add a bunch of songs to the set because Teemu was a metal fan. Kiko did not grow up baptized in metal."

In September, Mustaine was equally full of praise for Mäntysaari, telling Wes Styles in a separate interview: "He's really great. And I'm super excited with what Teemu has brought. And it's uncanny because he plays a lot like Marty [Friedman, former MEGADETH guitarist]. And it's really exciting. At certain times I just close my eyes during the set and I just hear these songs played, whether like Kiko in the past or Teemu now, it just sounds really magic because these guys have learned these songs and they're not just going out there and just banging their guitar around; they actually learned the solos from some of the virtuosos that I've played with over my career."

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

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.

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

Shortly after Loureiro's addition to MEGADETH, Mustaine called him "definitely the best guitarist we've ever had." His comments echoed those he made about Broderick during the latter's tenure in the band. Back in 2013, during the making of MEGADETH's "Super Collider" album, Mustaine wrote in a tweet that Chris was "without a doubt the best guitarist I've ever played with."

Mustaine told Revolver magazine that finding Loureiro "was really a mind-blower. It was the first time since Marty Friedman joined the band that I was really intimidated as a player," he said. "He's such an amazing talent, and he's been coming in with all of these fresh ideas." Mustaine added that Kiko was a good fit personality wise. "Chris [Broderick] and I had a good chemistry, but we weren't really as close as I would have wanted us to be," Mustaine explained. "Kiko, I feel like I've known him for years."

In 2009, Mustaine praised Broderick, saying in an online post: "I am going on record and I am saying unequivocally that Chris is THE BEST GUITARIST MEGADETH has ever had. And the real talented musicians in MEGADETH's alumni will agree, he is an absolute monster. I mean, he plays the catalog better than anyone did. Jeff Young never wanted to do Chris Poland's stuff, and so on, and so on, until the last guitarist we had before we disbanded over my arm injury."

Mustaine added: "It's funny, because just when I think [Broderick] can get no more outrageous, or any more thrilling with the guitar solos, he comes up with something really beautiful like Marty Friedman would do (he has Marty pretty well down pat),and then goes into the GIT styles that Jeff Young did, yet, there is still such a freshness to his playing and he is so raw, it's like having a new prize bull. And even though he ain't a such a young bull, he's definitely an old bull like me."

The Live Rock Music Concerts YouTube channel has uploaded video of GODSMACK's entire April 12 "Vibez Tour" concert at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino Special Events Center in Indio, California. Check it out below.

"Vibez Tour" sees frontman Sully Erna and his bandmates deliver a series of intimate evenings featuring acoustic/electric performances and untold stories in theatres across North America. The second leg of the tour kicked off April 9 in Valley Center, California.

GODSMACK drummer Shannon Larkin recently toldSWOMP: "The 'Vibez Tour' is my favorite one yet. It's the coolest thing, because it's a completely… After doing eight months on the road last year playing the same set, 'cause on the big shows… Growing up, we all liked our bands to try and play as much like the record as possible. And we famously don't use tracks or any kind of backing, click tracks and all that shit. So, playing last year, I pretty much played the same thing every night all year. So, to come out and do this 'Vibez Tour', which is a completely different set list, And we're playing in smaller venues after beating up the country last year — we played A, B and C markets — so we knew this year, if we wanted to go play, we would have to do something different and do it in small venues. We did this one other time in 2004 when we put out 'The Other Side', which was an EP, an acoustic EP. And so this tour, 'Vibez', is kind of based on that premise of lava lamps and mushrooms, a cool, mellow trippy vibe. But this time we implemented some cover songs in there that we all grew up and were influenced by — some [LED] ZEPPELIN, some PINK FLOYD, BEATLES and stuff like that. And it's not a fully acoustic show either. It's electric guitars and all, but there's no aggressive songs. There's fun songs — don't get me wrong, it's a fun show and it has energy, but it's not aggressive rock metal, like GODSMACK is known for. And so for me, that, alone with being in the smaller venues, 'cause being the drummer, you're so far from the crowd anyway, and that's kind of the payoff, is performing live. You get that energy from the crowd, and being the drummer, especially at these big festivals, there's 60-by-40-foot decks, I'm probably 50 feet from the front row even, where in these theaters, I can see every face. And so I urge everybody to come out and check it out. It's the coolest thing, I think, we've done in many years."

Elaborating on the intimate nature of the shows on the "Vibez Tour" and how different they are from playing huge rock festivals, Shannon said: "We added a couple musicians for this, on keyboards and on guitar. And so it even is a different band, really. We still throw in a couple of the big hits and stuff. But, like I said, it's been my favorite thing yet because of being a drummer.

"You talk about 200,000 people [at some of the festivals]," he continued. "Yeah, there is a big wall of energy that I feel back there, but there's no personal intimacy with even the front row. 'Cause, again, I'm 50 feet from even the front row. Well, we're playing these 2000 theaters, and I can literally look up in the balcony and see people mouthing the words to a song or just smiling or crying or in it with me."

In a recent interview with Houston Life, Sully stated about the "Vibez Tour": "We actually haven't done this kind of a show since 2004. When we were touring with METALLICA, as that tour ended, we went out and we did an acoustic tour, just kind of stripped it down. And it went over really well and people really enjoyed it.

"It's a nice kind of event to even take your family to — your moms, your dads," he continued. "If you're a kid or a teenager or in your 20s or 30s, and you happen to like GODSMACK for the big, powerful rock shows that we usually do, then this is kind of the other side of that. This is the actual, the more intimate, sexy side, we can say, of the band versus the big angry 'grrr' [side]. This is something you can come to, take your parents or whoever you want, a date or your wife or whatever, have a nice glass of wine and watch a really cool musical performance, hear some cool stories, and just kind of take the journey with us. That's what we wanna do on this tour, is really create a way to take the audience on a journey, a musical journey."

Erna previously talked about the "Vibez Tour" last December during an appearance on "The Mistress Carrie Podcast". Asked what the trek is all about, Sully said: "Well, the 'Vibez Tour', it's almost kind of like a break from the big-show touring. We went out all last year and we worked a lot and it was the big show — it was the show that we did in the arenas and the amphitheaters. And when we go out with the big show, as people know, we have this big double-drum battle we do, there's moving lighting and pyro and it's just a big arena show like we grew up on when we were kids. It's the kind of show I always wanted to put out there for the people. But as we get older, the body needs to heal. But we didn't wanna take a break from when we wrapped up at the end of October until summer hits again, when they open up amphitheaters and we start doing these big festival shows or whatever again. There's just too much of a gap there. We wanna be loyal to our crew, so we wanna keep them working. And we also wanna kind of stay tuned up, but to try to do those kind of shows in the winter, it just doesn't make sense. So we wanted to come back to what we did back in — it was like '03, '04, right around the time we were doing the METALLICA thing. And we did an acoustic tour in theaters."

He continued: "People have asked us about when we would ever do that again for so long now — almost 20 years it's been since we did that. So we decided, like, why not do a couple of quick runs, keep us tuned up, play some of the other stuff that we don't get to play on the big show? 'Cause the big show fires up and you wanna hit people and make it the big rock songs, but there's so many cool songs that we also enjoy playing from our catalog that we don't ever get to do 'cause we don't have time. So that this 'Vibez Tour' is gonna be exactly that — we're gonna set a vibe in the theater. Incense candles. We're gonna bring in some of the old memorabilia from other tours, like the gargoyles that we had on the 'Awake' tour and the brass sun that we used on the 'Faceless' tour. And we're gonna try to decorate the stage with all these elements and hopefully take people through the history of the band, so it becomes really cool vibey songs with some storytelling behind it that helps educate the new generation that's been turned on to the band, and just give people a different experience of what else, the other side of what we do as a band."

Erna added: "So it won't be fully acoustic — there's gonna be electric performances as well — but it's gonna be a blend of all that: piano songs, acoustic songs, electric songs. We're gonna mix in some really cool vibey covers. I don't wanna give those away because we haven't done 'em yet, for one, practiced them, so we wanna make sure that we can pull the ones we wanna do off. But I can tell you that it will fit in that same vibe of what we're doing with the 'Voodoo's and the 'Serenity's and the 'Spiral's, and even some of the stuff on the new record, like 'Growing Old' and 'Truth' and 'Under Your Scars' and all that stuff. So we wanna just create like a really cool night of music and storytelling."

When GODSMACK last embarked on "An Evening With" tour 20 years ago, the stripped down acoustic-based performance was aimed at showing the group in a different light and offering it the opportunity to play its music with different arrangements. The show featured the GODSMACK members performing while seated on stools, a la "MTV Unplugged", and included some creative staging and lighting, dim candles and a few spooky props, Times Leader reported at the time.

GODSMACK's eighth studio album, "Lighting Up The Sky" was released in February 2023 via BMG. The LP was co-produced by Erna and Andrew "Mudrock" Murdock (AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ALICE COOPER).

The first single from "Lighting Up The Sky", "Surrender", which arrived in September 2022, marked the first release from GODSMACK in four years, following their globally acclaimed and gold-certified 2018 album "When Legends Rise", which earned the Erna-fronted outfit a No. 1 spot across U.S. Hard Rock, Rock, and Alternative album charts.

Great to see you INDIO, CA! Hope you had fun with us! #VibezTour (TOUR DATES BELOW)

📷 Francesca Ludikar

Join us for a...

Posted by Godsmack on Monday, April 15, 2024

After playing two warm-up shows at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California over the weekend, IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson officially kicked off his first solo tour in more than 20 years on Monday, April 15 at The Observatory in Santa Ana, California.

As was the case with the two Whisky A Go Go shows, Dickinson was joined at The Observatory by his current backing band, featuring Dave Moreno (drums),Mistheria (keyboards) and Tanya O'Callaghan (bass),alongside the group's latest additions, Swedish guitarist, songwriter and multi-platinum-credited producer Philip Näslund and Swiss session and touring guitarist Chris Declercq (who played on Dickinson's "Rain On The Graves" single). Bruce's longtime guitarist and collaborator Roy "Z" Ramirez is not part of the touring lineup.

Dickinson's setlist for the Santa Ana concert was as follows:

01. Accident Of Birth
02. Abduction
03. Laughing In The Hiding Bush
04. Afterglow Of Ragnarok
05. Chemical Wedding
06. Many Doors To Hell
07. Tears Of The Dragon
08. Resurrection Men
09. Rain On The Graves
10. Frankenstein (THE EDGAR WINTER GROUP cover)
11. Gods Of War
12. The Alchemist
13. Darkside Of Aquarius

Encore:

14. Navigate The Seas Of The Sun (live debut)
15. Book Of Thel
16. The Tower

Prior to Friday night's (April 12) Whisky A Go Go show, Bruce last performed with his solo band on in August 2002 at the legendary Wacken Open Air festival in Germany.

In a recent interview with Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show, Bruce spoke about the stripped-down nature of tour in support of his latest solo album, "The Mandrake Project". He said: "Well, we're doing a mix of festivals and headline shows so far in Europe up till July 21, about 40 shows. Luckily, I think most of the headline shows are almost sold out or sold out now. So we're gonna be sold out in most places in Europe. About two-and-a-half-thousand seaters — the average is probably about two and a half thousand, so they're cool-sized venues.

"For me, the whole essence of this is letting the music do the talking, let the music do the storytelling," he explained. "And so I'm not planning on having monsters or pyro or any of that stuff. There will be a screen, and, of course, we'll have a lot of stuff to put on it because we've got a great director and he'll be able to give us some content. But even then, I'm not going to have a show that's choreographed to like a time code or a click track or something else like that. This is gonna be a show where the music and the musicians take the story to people. So, I'm not thinking 2002, I'm not thinking 1982. I'm thinking 1972."

Last month, Bruce told Paul Anthony of Planet Rock about Roy's absence from the touring band: "[It] is disappointing, but there you are. He had a lot of stuff going on at home. And, basically, there's stuff he could be doing in the studio. We are in the middle of doing Dolby Atmos mixes for all of my back catalog, and that requires quite a lot of stuff, 'cause we're not just remixing; we are also — what's the expression? — reimagining some of the albums. So some of the albums that should have been, frankly, a bit heavier, like 'Balls To Picasso', we can stick some new stuff on, and there's some stuff that didn't get mixed on to the album that was recorded that we can take a view on as well. So there's quite a lot of exciting stuff going on there, so there's gonna be lots for him to get on with whilst we're touring."

He continued: "But we've got two fantastic guitar players, Philip Näslund from Sweden and Chris Declercq, who actually is already on the record, because he played the solo on 'Rain On The Graves'. So he's based in L.A. He's a Swiss guy, but he lives in L.A., [is] based in L. A. And Philipwas based in L.A. but now lives back in Sweden. So it's gonna be an incredible band. I jammed with both guitar players. And I was, like, 'You know, I'm just gonna take both of them.' Obviously, there's a lot of twin guitar parts on the record. And there's also quite a bit of keyboards on the record and lots of stuff. So there'll be no idle hands on stage. But it'll sound magnificent. I've already jammed with Tanya and Chris and Philip and Dave Moreno when I was out in L.A., just to give it a quick once around the houses with some of the tunes, and it was so exciting. It really was."

Asked how many of the songs from "The Mandrake Project" will be performed live on the upcoming tour, Bruce said: "Well, I wanna make sure that people come to the show and just go away going, 'Well, that was great, cracking. You can't expect people… I mean, it's not like the Sermon On The Mount, where you turn up and it's, like, 'And you're gonna have this, whether you like it or not. So I'm gonna play certainly four tracks off the new record, and we'll just see how it goes. It's not a situation like a MAIDEN situation where, because we have a big show, because we have everything coordinated with the lights and monsters and pyro and everything, once we get out there, the show is pretty much set in stone, what we're gonna play. Well, this one, we can swap it around a little bit. I mean, if we start doing rehearsals and we go, 'Wow, this feels great. Why don't we chop in another song?' I wasn't gonna play anything off 'Skunkworks'. Now I'm not so sure, 'cause it turns out that both guitarists and the drummer are mad, keen fans of that album. So I'd just done an Atmos mix of 'Skunkworks' with the blessing of [the LP's original producer] Jack Endino, and it sounds brilliant. And I was in there with, with Chris and he's, like, 'Oh, can you play that track?' I went, 'How'd you know that track?' He goes, 'I love this album.' 'Wow.' So, there'll be a lot of stuff. There'll be stuff off 'The Chemical Wedding', obviously, gotta play 'Tears Of The Dragon' and so on and so forth, there'll be stuff off 'Accident Of Birth'. So it's gonna be a smorgasbord of the best-of, 'cause it's been 19, 20 years since I've toured live [as a solo artist]. So lots of people have either never seen me live or the ones that have seen me live have forgotten how bad it was, and have bought tickets. [Laughs]"

Roy played guitar on Dickinson's 1994 album "Balls To Picasso" and went on to produce, co-write and perform multiple instruments on Bruce's subsequent three solo albums, "Accident At Birth" (1997),"The Chemical Wedding" (1998) and "Tyranny Of Souls" (2005).

O'Callaghan is an Irish musician who joined WHITESNAKE in 2021 and toured with the David Coverdale-fronted outfit the following year. She also hit the road with Dickinson last year as part of a performance of Jon Lord's "Concerto For Group And Orchestra" on nearly a dozen dates in Europe and South America.

Californian drummer Moreno previously played on "Tyranny Of Souls" and has worked with BODY COUNT, Jizzy Pearl, Dizzy Reed and Steve Stevens, among others.

Italian keyboard wizard Mistheria has collaborated with an array of artists live and in the studio, including Rob Rock, Mike Portnoy, Jeff Scott Soto and Joel Hoekstra.

"The Mandrake Project" arrived on March 1 via BMG.

Bruce and Roy recorded "The Mandrake Project" largely at Los Angeles's Doom Room, with Roy doubling up as both guitarist and bassist. The recording lineup for "The Mandrake Project" was rounded out by Mistheria and Moreno, both of whom also featured on Bruce's last solo studio album, "Tyranny Of Souls", in 2005.

Dickinson made his recording debut with IRON MAIDEN on the "Number Of The Beast" album in 1982. He quit the band in 1993 in order to pursue his solo career and was replaced by Blaze Bayley, who had previously been the lead singer of the metal band WOLFSBANE. After releasing two traditional metal albums with former MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith, Dickinson rejoined the band in 1999 along with Smith.

In a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, Jon Bon Jovi opened up about the vocal cord deterioration he experienced a few years ago which caused him to have surgery in 2022.

"Day to day, I'm working hard on it," he said, noting that he's hard at work on "vocal therapy" any chance he gets. "Nothing else matters until I work on getting better. It's up to God at this point. I've done everything I can do."

The BON JOVI frontman went on to say that he isn't giving up, and also assured, "I won't fake it.... the legacy matters too much."

"I won't compromise who we are as a band live, because I'd like to think we're a pretty darn good band," he continued. "I sang on the new record. I've done MusiCares and nailed it... When I woke up after that night, it was the first time in a decade the only voice in my head was mine — fear wasn't there, doubt wasn't there — and [my wife] Dorothea texted the kids and said, 'He's back!'"

Jon previously discussed his vocal injury this past February during a panel about the upcoming BON JOVI docuseries "Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story" at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in Pasadena, California.

"I pride myself on being a true vocalist," he said. "I've sung with Pavarotti. I know how to sing. I've studied the craft for 40 years. I'm not a stylist who just barks and howls. I know how to sing. So when God was taking away my ability, and I couldn't understand why, I jokingly said the only thing that's ever been up my nose is my finger. So there was no reason for this."

Elaborating on his vocal injury, he said: "One of my cords was literally atrophied. So my vocal cords, they're supposed to look parallel. So let's pretend one of them looks as thick as my thumb and the other one is as thick as a pinky. So the strong one was pushing the weak one aside. And I wasn't singing well. So my craft was being taken from me."

He continued: "Fortunately, I found a surgeon who was able to do this really cutting-edge implant to build the cord back up. It's still in the process."

While the documentary was being filmed, the singer was unsure he would ever be able to sing professionally again.

"I say in the film in the latter episodes, 'If I just had my tools back, the rest of it I can deal with,'" he said, according to USA Today. "I can write you a song. I can perform as well as anybody, but I need to get my tools back."

Regarding where he stands in his recovery, he said: "I'm 19 and a half months into my rehab [as of early February] and [February 2 at the MusiCares 'Person Of The Year' ceremony) was the first time I'd sung in public. [That] Saturday morning was the first time I'd woken up without multiple voices in my head. That was the best feeling. It was just me. So I'm a work in progress."

He added: "But, boy, do we have a great film and I've got a damn good album and I feel really great about all of it. Give me this last piece of the puzzle and it's going to be a joy to go back to work."

Jon said that "Thank You" is a warts-and-all account of the 40 years of BON JOVI that includes plenty of interview footage from current and former members of the band, including departed guitarist and co-songwriter Richie Sambora.

"One thing we agreed on Day One was this was not going to be a VH1 puff piece," he said. "This had to tell the truth. This had to have all the warts in it in order to tell the truth.

"Without arguing over editorial stuff and letting [director Gotham Chopra] do his thing, there were some punches in the nose," he said of his bandmates' interviews. "But I got over it."

"Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story" will debut April 26 on Hulu.

In a new interview with Ola Englund, ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann spoke about his songwriting process, especially when it comes to coming up with riffs. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I've said it often, and I say it again, riffs are really easy for me. I don't know why, but they are. But I look at a riff almost like only a starting point for a song. Having a riff is fine, and I have a gazillion riffs, and some of them are killer, and they never go anywhere just because you need more than a riff to have a complete song."

Asked what the hardest part of a song to write is, in his opinion, Wolf said: "The chorus is what most people remember, I would say, and I think that's the most important part of a song. Of course there's other parts — I mean, it all has to have a certain flow, and one part needs to lead into the other.

"The way I think about songs, 80 percent of it is vocals — at least for our music, because it's vocal-based," he explained. "We have choruses, we have hooklines, we have sing-along parts, we have pre-choruses, all these parts, and it's all vocal-based. And you can basically have a crappy backing track, but if you put amazing vocals on there, nothing else matters. And the other way around too — if you have the best and most tight rhythm track and it's killer, killer riffs and then you have some blah lyrics and some blah vocals on top, it all goes to shit."

Asked if he ever felt that had had written a really good riff and then he had to change it drastically to accommodate the vocals, Wolf said: "Sometimes it gets in the way, and sometimes you find, like, 'Oh, this is too complicated. It's really hard to come up with a meaningful vocal on top, because it kind of gets in the way.' Yes, we've had that.

"You have to understand a riff or whatever the guitars play has to support the vocals, 'cause that's what it's all about," Hoffmann added. "Yeah, you have an intro riff, but then it's time to sort of stand back and let the singer do his job and you can't noodle along the whole time and get in the way. It has to work together. And I like it, by the way, if you have vocal lines and then the playback does something in between. So, for me, it's kind of important to know during the songwriting phase what the vocals will actually do. I never write a song and say, 'Here's a blank canvas. Do whatever you feel.' Because, to me, that doesn't really work that well. I think it has to go hand in hand. If you know how the vocal lines go, then you have room for a little in-between bits and pieces. It all has to work together."

Due on April 26 via Napalm Records, ACCEPT's new album, "Humanoid", was once again produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by critically acclaimed heavy metal producer Andy Sneap.

Fans can immerse themselves in the upcoming album on an interactive web site, where they can reprogram the robot that is featured on the album cover, and discover different parts of the album in the process. Pre-save "Humanoid" now to gain access to the web site here.

ACCEPT recently announced a massive European headline tour, with more than 20 shows across the continent for autumn 2024. This summer, ACCEPT will also return to some of the world’s most important rock and metal festivals, like Wacken Open Air, Hellfest and more, following their South American spring tour.

In February 2022, it was announced that ACCEPT had inked a worldwide deal with Napalm Records.

ACCEPT's latest album, "Too Mean To Die", came out in January 2021 via Nuclear Blast. The LP was the group's first without bassist Peter Baltes, who exited ACCEPT in November 2018. He has since been replaced by Martin Motnik. ACCEPT's lineup has also been expanded with the addition of a third guitarist, the aforementioned Philip Shouse, who originally filled in for Uwe Lulis during 2019's "Symphonic Terror" tour, before being asked to join the band permanently.

"Too Mean To Die" was recorded in Nashville with Sneap (JUDAS PRIEST, MEGADETH),who has been responsible for the studio sound of ACCEPT since 2010.

Mark Tornillo joined ACCEPT in 2009 as the replacement for the band's original lead singer, Udo Dirkscheider. He can be heard on ACCEPT's last five studio albums, "Blood Of The Nations" (2010),"Stalingrad" (2012),"Blind Rage" (2014),"The Rise Of Chaos" (2017) and "Too Mean To Die".

In a new interview with Saginaw, Michigan's Z93 radio station, former QUEENSRŸCHE frontman Geoff Tate was asked about the status of his long-awaited autobiography. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, it's pretty involved. I'm a journaler, so I keep pretty good notes about what happens every day. And I've been doing that all my career. So I've got extensive recollections of events, which is kind of a blessing and a curse because — well, it's a blessing that I have the information [and] it's a curse that I have the information. [Laughs] So, yeah, it's really about deciding what to release and what to say and how to say it, really. So, it's a tricky thing, because, honestly, as life goes on and unfolds, it's not always neat and tidy. There's really big, messy sections of life. And they deserve to be talked about, I think, and discussed. And everybody sees it differently. My perspective is one angle. My drummer's perspective is another. He lived a different life than me, although we shared some experiences, but how people see those experiences is, in my experience, very different. So, I think when the book is done, it will be a real interesting read for people. I know it's been really interesting to write."

Tate went on to say that the "hard part" will be "editing" his book. "There's a lot of really boring sections of life, where you're just kind of contemplating your next endeavor or your next move," he explained. "But there's also really interesting sections, like planning for albums and what happens in the studio, the joys, the high points, the low points of struggling with different personalities within the organization, and also people that you hire to work with you, like producers and engineers, and how you may have an idea of how that's gonna work when you start out, but then you get working with them and it's not working out, and how do you make that all happen. And then there's all the ancillary anecdotes, [like] what happened with nearly getting arrested and in Amsterdam, and things like that. [Laughs]"

Last August, Geoff told Mike Hsu of the 100 FM The Pike radio station that he thought he was "close to finishing" writing his autobiography, only for him to send it to his publisher and for the publisher to send it back with "cryptic notes. So I'm on the second round of writing for it right now, which I've actually come to terms that it's very difficult to do this," he said.

He continued: "It's one thing to write a song. Maybe just 'cause I've had a lot of experience doing that, I find it easier to do. But when you write a book, especially about your life story, I think I expect it to be a lot more detailed in your presentation, and I was sort of taking some broad strokes. I have a lot of stories. Luckily, I've been a journaler all my life, so I keep notes about just about everything."

In June 2023, Tate told Tony González of Spain's Made In Metal about writing his autobiography: "It's a lot of work to be a book writer, I find. It's different with songs. For example, you might spend one month per song — writing the music and writing the lyrics — and then it's finished. But books can take years to write. Every chapter has to be so in-depth. It depends on what kind of book. In my case, writing an autobiography is a little easier because I know my subject very well. [Laughs] And I've been a journaler for years — I've always kept a diary and a journal — so I have a lot of source material to reference. Like where I was on a certain date, what happened, roughly. So I have a lot of ability to go back and read what I lived."

Tate previously discussed his autobiography in the fall of 2022 in an interview with Keysmash magazine. At the time, he said: "Over the last close to a year, I've been working on my book, my autobiography. And I'm just finishing it up now; I'm kind of in the proofreading stage. And actually reading it through, I'm kind of shocked at how much life I've had. [Laughs] I've done a lot of stuff, and a lot of interesting things. I've done a lot of traveling. I've been to 67 countries in the world. I've been a lot of places, done a lot of things, played a lot of shows, made a lot of friends. I've lost a lot of friends along the way. [I've had] a crazy, crazy life."

In a March 2021 interview with Sonic Perspectives, Tate said that he had "a lot of stuff written already" for his autobiography. "I'm kind of a journal writer, keeping track of everything, 'cause, honestly, the older I get, I can't remember all the stuff," he explained. "I go back and read what I wrote to remember dates and places. 'Cause I've played so many shows — thousands of shows — in different places around the world, and honestly, you just sort of forget, unless you keep track of it and write it down. You forget where you were, or you remember there was something that happened there and maybe you can remember the situation, but you don't know where you were. So it really helps to write it down and keep track of it. I have a lot of things written down — probably eight or nine hundred pages of information. It's pretty much organized by date."

In April 2014, Tate and QUEENSRŸCHE announced that a settlement had been reached after a nearly two-year legal battle where the singer sued over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name after being fired in 2012.

Tate was replaced in QUEENSRŸCHE by former CRIMSON GLORY singer Todd La Torre.

Last year, Geoff completed a world tour during which he celebrated the 35th anniversary of QUEENSRŸCHE's classic album "Operation: Mindcrime".

In the summer of 2022, Tate underwent an aortic valve replacement at the Universitäts-Herzzentrum Freiburg-Bad Krozingen (University Heart Center Freiburg) in Bad Krozingen, Germany.

Legendary THE KILLERFREAKS are coming back! Eh yes folks! You got that right! The most peculiar, nutty, crazy, rock, punk, exciting and extraordinary band is coming back!

Mark this date, on May 3, their brand new album “Spaghetti Horror And Rotten Stuff” will be released and it won’t be a classic album to listen to and put back on the shelf! Eh no, it will be an album that will totally enter your brain! Get ready to enter the world of The Killerfreaks!

The record, will be available, on all the world’s best music stores, on Wanikiya Record’s Japanese store and on storefront, inside the Crash Sound Distribution online store.

The Killerfreaks are a Horrorpunk-metal band from Varese, active live since 2004. They are distinguished by a very flashy look, drawing inspiration mainly from artists such as Kiss, Misfits and Death SS. Their songs are fiercely disengaged, consisting of an energetic sound and shifting from classic heavy melodies to thrash metal outbursts, up to more 80s Twisted Sister-esque “anthems,” with explicit lyrics, mainly dedicated to horror movies, always seasoned with a healthy dose of irony, sarcasm and references to 80s Pop culture. Over the years, they self-produce several demos and two albums, “Flesh, Blood & Rott’n’Roll” (2013) and “A Load of Rott’n’Roll” (2017). In 2014 they recorded with Ul Mik, “Dai, dai l’è tardi,” a cover of “Die, die my Darling,” for Longobardeath’s album “Old Time Balabiott.” In 2024 they signed with Wanikiya Record (Blaze Bayley, Timo Tolkki, Pino Scotto…) and released “Spaghetti Horror and Rotten Stuff,” recorded and mixed by Steve Volta. Although they have always stayed away from agencies and record labels, preferring the “do it yourself” method, they play over 200 live shows in clubs, motor gatherings, clubhouses and various festivals such as the Loud and Proud, RockInnSomma, Wings of Bea Metalfest, etc… opening for bands of the thickness of Domine, Strana Officina, Ancillotti, becoming for fans a true cult band niche. In 2008 they played backing act to The Crimson Ghosts, godfathers of Teutonic Horrorpunk. Mephisto, the frontman, is also a top wrestler for Total Combat Wrestling, as well as a comic book artist. Among his works, he recently drew the comic book “Nocticula – Resurrection,” as merchandising coupled with the release of “Revenge” by Nocticula Resurget, a band of Boris Hunter, former drummer of Death SS (In Death of Steve Sylvester and Black Mass).

Line-up
Mephisto – vocals
Mr. Hyde – bass guitar – backing vocals
Five – Guitar
Capt. Cyanide – Guitar, backing vocals
Floyd – Drums

JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Glenn Tipton, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's 10 years ago — after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier — spoke to Total Guitar magazine about his contributions to the band's latest album, "Invincible Shield". He said: "I played what I could and am very proud of the whole album. Richie [Faulkner, fellow PRIEST guitarist] helped a lot. I think his strongest attribute is his ability to adapt to different styles whilst maintaining his own very strong character. PRIEST require a guitarist who can shift from out-and-out metal to more melodic tracks."

Glenn continued: "Obviously the drawback for me now is Parkinson's, and I've had to pass a lot of work onto his shoulders. I keep pushing myself because I believe in 'no surrender'. This disease won't beat me, and I will continue writing and playing for as long as I can."

Faulkner also spoke to Total Guitar about the "Invincible Shield" and how it was affected by Tipton's illness. He said: "With Glenn's situation, he wasn't playing as much lead as before. But that's okay, we didn't want that to impede the process. If Glenn was having a good day, he'd play the part. If he couldn't, I'd do it.

"We didn't want him to worry," Faulkner explained. "He brought songs to the table like 'Sons Of Thunder' which is a classic three-minute track in the style of 'Hell Bent For Leather'. Glenn is the master of that stuff. He was as involved as he could be and it was important for us to involve him."

Tipton has been rejoining PRIEST on stage at select shows during the band's recently launched "Metal Masters" European tour with SAXON and URIAH HEEP. Tipton usually appears with PRIEST for the encore, performing "Metal Gods" and "Living After Midnight".

Tipton announced in early 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of JUDAS PRIEST's "Firepower" album. He was replaced by "Firepower" and "Invincible Shield" album producer Andy Sneap, who is also known for his work in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT.

In a recent interview with Bryan Reesman of The Aquarian, Faulkner spoke about Tipton's contributions to "Invincible Shield". Asked how many ideas Glenn worked on and how Richie collaborated with him on all the guitar parts, Faulkner said: "We all go away separately after a tour and put down riff ideas and song ideas and melody ideas. He was the same, really, so when we get in a room together — me, Glenn and Rob [Halford, vocals] — we get those ideas out. We put those ideas on the table, we play them back for each other. Glenn did the same. He had a few more ideas that were more developed — 'Sons Of Thunder', 'Escape From Reality', 'Vicious Circle', stuff like that — so we worked on those. It was no different in that regard. He was able to sit in a studio [to] take time and play the ideas that he was putting forward. And when he had an idea and we were together, if he couldn't play it that day, then he would translate it through me and we'd hash it out.

"If Glenn can play it, then he'll play it, and if he can't play it, then I'll take on the workload," Richie explained. "I mean, what's wrong with that? I'm a guitar player and I'm a fan. I love the guys. That's your duty — if something needs to be done, guitar or otherwise, you do it. You step up, you know? That applied to the recording, as well. There are some things on there that he played, and he could write. It was important to us to involve him, and it probably was just as important for him to be involved as much as he could after doing it and being a genre-defining guitar player for the last 50 years."

Asked where Glenn's soloing pops up on "Invincible Shield", Richie said: "Glenn's influence is more than just the solos. There are solos on 'Sons Of Thunder' and 'Vicious Circle', and it goes beyond that. As we said before, the little twists and turns musically… and the vibe. When you play songs and solos by both K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton on an intimate level for 13 years, I don't think you can help but have that become part of your DNA, as well, so I think you can hear stuff from Glenn in my playing as well as what I've learned from him in the last 13 years. On something like 'Panic Attack', there are some sweep picking stuff that was never part of my repertoire. Playing songs like 'Painkiller' on an intimate level becomes part of your repertoire, so it shows up on the record. So apart from the songwriting ideas he had, the songs he had, some of the solos he had, it's in my playing as well. He's infiltrated my DNA in that sense — along with Ken [K.K.], of course, and along with Zakk [Wylde] and Michael Schenker and people like that. I think [Glenn's] influence can't be overstated either."

In his first interview since revealing his condition in early 2018, Glenn, who turned 76 last October, told Guitar World magazine about his diagnosis: "It was upsetting, but I wasn't really shocked because I sort of thought it was Parkinson's. I probably hoped it wasn't but the doctor said it was."

Regarding being told by the doctor that he had likely already had the disease for between 10 and 15 years, Glenn said: "Hearing that I already had Parkinson's for a long time made me even more determined to fight. I could still play, so I just continued recording and touring."

About a month before the opening date of PRIEST's "Firepower" tour, Tipton realized he could not guarantee that he would be able to execute an energetic, precision performance with the band night after night and "decided that it was really going to be too much for me," he told Guitar World. "With the medication and the time zone changes and everything else, I realized it was time to retire — from touring at least. I don't ever want to compromise JUDAS PRIEST. It's too big a part of my life.”

"Invincible Shield" arrived on March 8 via Sony Music.

Soundsrock Agency is pleased to announce the entry of power metallers MEDIERA into its roster!

MEDIERA project was born in Codogno (in the province of Lodi in Italy) in 2019 from the idea of Riccardo Casaroli (singer and songwriter) to create fantasy / medieval themed songs in a metal key: hence the name, born from the fusion of the words “Medieval” and ” Era”.

The first album is a concept based on the reinterpretation of the Arthurian cycle and includes 9 songs plus one that tells who Mediera are and what the themes are. During the writing phase of the story and of the songs themselves, Riccardo began to search for musicians with whome he could share his ideas and, little by little, managed to form a complete line up with Gianluca Scotti (Ex Unsylence) on drums, Francesca Tosi (MadHour, Ex HaddaH) as second main voice, Michele Cassoni and Chiara Anelli on guitars and Davide Nobile on bass guitar. Once all the members were gathered, the recording, mixing and mastering phase of the debut album finally began at Riccardo’s home recording studio, with the collaboration of an external bass player (Davide Lo Sicco) for the creation of the bass tracks.

On February 14, 2024, the first single and music video entitled “Mediera” was released and subsequently, on February 28, the band’s debut album entitled “Storytellers Of The Middle Age” was released via Underground Symphony and it is now available in all digital platforms.

Mediera has already begun writing a second concept album which, unlike the first, will deal with a totally unpublished story, always in a fantasy / medieval theme.

In a new interview with The Brutally Delicious Podcast, DEICIDE frontman Glen Benton addressed the controversy surrounding the cover artwork for the band's upcoming album, "Banished By Sin". Due 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.

Benton said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "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: Deidra Kling

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

Massachusetts metallers ALL THAT REMAINS have completed the recording process for their long-awaited follow-up to 2018's "Victim Of The New Disease" album.

Earlier today (Monday, April 15),ALL THAT REMAINS vocalist Phil Labonte took to his account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to write: "we just finished tracking the record."

Two months ago, Labonte spoke about the progress of the recording sessions for ALL THAT REMAINS' new album during an interview with Rock Feed. He said at the time: "I'm real determined to get music out — I want it to be out by April. I want it to be out at the end of quarter one. So if I can get it out in the last week of March, first week of April, to have our first single from the record come out… We're pretty sure we selected it.

"Right now I'm sitting in one of the dressing rooms at Henson [Recording Studios] in Los Angeles. It's a historiful place [being the former headquarters for A&M Records and the location of A&M Recording Studios]. I mean, Charlie Chaplin's lot is here. Studio A, they did 'We Are The World' in. They mixed [METALLICA's] Black Record here. They mixed [Dr. Dre's] 'The Chronic' here. So I'm in this awesome place with all this history.

"This is our second trip here doing drums," he continued. "We did four songs the first trip and that was in June [of 2023]. And now we're doing four more, and then we've got another session booked in March to finish up the drums. And that should be the last of actual tracking. Everything should be done. We might have some odds and ends, like maybe some solo stuff and noodley stuff. But we should be done tracking by the middle of March, and that would mean the release of the first song end of March, beginning of April would be no problem. Then we'll have the record probably out in June. We're looking at a tour in May into June, because we've got some festivals that we lined up, and we're putting some other stuff together. So we're gonna be busy this year. We're gonna do some touring. We're gonna have new music."

Regarding why it has taken six years for ALL THAT REMAINS to complete a new album, Phil said: "It has been a long time coming because — well, I mean a million reasons: because of COVID, because we had some legal actions with our label. We're no longer on a label. We're self-releasing it. So we're self-financing. We're gonna own it, which is a huge milestone. We had a great agreement with our label. We were supposed to have another record, but they let us go and they let us venture out on our own, which was awesome. I've got tons of love for Fearless and Concord Music Group and stuff, 'cause they let us do our thing. So that's awesome. And we're gonna get it out as soon as we can. We don't want to rush it."

Labonte added: "We started the sessions [for the new album] — really, the first time that I got together with Josh Wilbur, who's producing it. Josh Wilbur, you guys know him from TRIVIUM, from LAMB OF GOD, from a ton of [other bands]. He's worked with us [before]. He did [2015's] 'The Order Of Things', he produced that one, he mixed 'Victim Of The New Disease', so we've got a lot of history with him. But he's here [in Los Angeles], and we started with him — I think it was 2021, is actually when we started with him. He came out the first time and started working on some riffs and some ideas. And then we got our first like real song together in February of last year, where I got with Josh and wrote lyrics for a song. It was actually a song that Jason [Richardson, ALL THAT REMAINS guitarist] wrote the whole thing and kind of gave it to us. And so that's gonna be — that'll probably be the first one. I'm not gonna give out the name yet. But it's gonna be a great debut for Jason Richardson."

Speaking about the addition of Richardson, who replaced late ALL THAT REMAINS guitarist Oli Herbert more than five years ago, Phil said: "He's super creative, so it's a ton of fun. And this being his debut with us, we wanted it to be right. Not only is it the first record that we've put out without Oli Herbert, which took us a long time to kind of get used to the idea and figure out what that means and what it looks like and all kinds of things that had to happen since Oli passed away. But this being the first record that comes out with Jason, we want it to be right. There's not gonna be any half-assed [songs] on this at all. There's not any deep cuts — nothing at all. Right now we're eight songs in and there's zero deep cuts. Every single song that we've got, if someone else was, like, 'Oh, let's put this one out as the first single,' it'd be fine. That would work as a first single. And that's a big, big deal. Usually you'll hear three or four songs or five and you're, like, 'Yeah, we've got some killer songs on this record. We've got six great songs.' And there's 10 or 11 songs on the record and you're, like, 'Yeah, these other ones are cool, but we didn't have the time to do with them what we wanted. They didn't quite come out the way we want, and the record label wants to have this many songs on the record, so we don't have time to…' blah, blah, blah. 'We've got a deadline.' So you end up making compromises, and because we're doing it ourselves, putting it out ourselves and we've got a career and we're super fortunate that people still listen to our music and we've still got people out there that support us, so we can take the time to deliver the record that the fans deserve."

Last July, longtime ALL THAT REMAINS drummer Jason Costa announced his departure from the group, citing "deeply personal" reasons that "have nothing to do with any drama or anything within the band."

Jason was the featured drummer on the last six ALL THAT REMAINS albums: "Overcome" (2008),"For We Are Many" (2010),"A War You Cannot Win" (2012),"The Order Of Things" (2015),"Madness" (2017) and "Victim Of The New Disease" (2018). He is notable for being one of the few heavy metal drummers to play solely with the "traditional grip."

Back in March 2022, Costa left ALL THAT REMAINS' U.S. tour in order to "deal with some personal matters." He was temporarily replaced by Anthony Barone, who had previously played with BENEATH THE MASSACRE and SHADOW OF INTENT.

Earlier last year, ALL THAT REMAINS's breakthrough album "The Fall Of Ideals", was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) for sales in excess of 500,000 copies in the United States.

In 2022, ALL THAT REMAINS embarked on "The Fall Of Ideals" 15th-anniversary tour.

"The Fall Of Ideals" was reissued in November 2021. The best-selling title features such fan favorites as "This Calling", "Six" and "The Air That I Breathe".

Oli was found dead on October 16, 2018 at the edge of the pond on his Stafford Springs, Connecticut property. He was reported missing by his wife about 3 p.m., and his body was found by police face down at the edge of the pond where the water was only a few inches deep. The medical examiner's office conducted an autopsy showing that Oli had three prescription drugs in his system — the antipsychotic olanzapine, the antidepressant citalopram, and Ambien. It also said: "Mr. Herbert's past medical history is reportedly significant for marijuana use."
we just finished tracking the record.

— Phil Labonte, Talent Terrorist (@philthatremains) April 15, 2024

Permuted Press has set a September 10, 2024 release date for "The Most Interesting Man In The World", the autobiography of Vinnie Stigma, the founding member and guitarist of the legendary New York hardcore band AGNOSTIC FRONT.

In "The Most Interesting Man In The World", the godfather of New York City hardcore invites you into his lower east side pad to regale you with tales from his extraordinary life among mobsters, punk rockers, and a bevy of iconic artists and personalities — none of whom is as interesting or fascinating as the inimitable Vinnie Stigma.

Born Vincent Capuccio on December 3, 1955, Vinnie Stigma — as his countless friends and fans lovingly refer to him — is the founder and guitarist of New York City's legendary hardcore band AGNOSTIC FRONT. He's also one of the Big Apple's earliest punk rockers, having frequented such eclectic downtown haunts as Max's Kansas City, The Electric Circus, and, of course, CBGB while it was still known as Hilly's on the Bowery during the early 1970s.

With a heartfelt foreword by AGNOSTIC FRONT frontman Roger Miret, "The Most Interesting Man In The World" stretches from Vinnie's upbringing in Little Italy amongst the tight-knit Italian families, as well as some prominent wiseguys, to teaming up with Cuban-born Miret to carry punk's angrier successor across the globe; from no-show jobs in his youth obtained by people who "protected" him, to lighting up some of the world's biggest stages. However, Vinnie Stigma is not your run-of-the-mill rocker of many decades. He has dabbled in cooking, professional wrestling, acting, martial arts, yoga, and other creative disciplines. He is a father and a cancer survivor who helped pioneer skinhead and tattoo culture in America, and has mentored hundreds of fledgling musicians and artists. Vinnie insists he is an entertainer first and foremost, which he learned from his childhood idols Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Lee and Frank Sinatra.

Featuring vintage photos throughout, a handful of signature Italian recipes, even a four-page comic book and crossword puzzle, "The Most Interesting Man In The World" is a journey through a life unlike any other. No one sees or experiences the world quite like Vinnie Stigma.

Vinnie Stigma also performs as a solo artist with STIGMA and is the former guitarist of MADBALL. Vinnie has acted in a number of independent films and has appeared on countless albums as a guest artist.

Alright y’all, the cat’s out of the bag! VINNIE STIGMA’s autobiography THE MOST INTERESTING MAN IN THE WORLD will be...

Posted by Agnostic Front on Monday, April 15, 2024