JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford says that the band's guitarist Glenn Tipton is doing "extraordinarily well" in his battle with Parkinson's disease.

Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson's 10 years ago — after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier — but announced in early 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of PRIEST's latest album, "Firepower". He was replaced by "Firepower" album producer Andy Sneap, who is also known for his work in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT. Tipton occasionally joins PRIEST onstage for its encores, performing "Metal Gods", "Breaking The Law" and "Living After Midnight".

Halford discussed Tipton's health in a new interview with The Guardian. Rob said about his longtime bandmate: "He's doing extraordinarily well considering that he's been living with Parkinson's for 15 years. He's such a strong man. It's like any of these challenges, a lot of it is borne by how you fight back, and he fights back all the time.

"I love that people still understand his importance in JUDAS PRIEST — his input on this [upcoming] album, 'Invincible Shield', is as it has been on all the records. Glenn and Ozzy [Osbourne, also living with Parkinson's disease] keep in touch. They're both cut from the same cloth with that British 'get on with it' type of thing. I don't mean to speak against other identities but there's this thing about blokes and dignity, an extremely powerful word in what it represents — my dad was the same — and they are really strong in battling on."

This past January, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner said that Tipton's "creative mind" was involved in the making of "Invincible Shield", which will arrive on March 8 via Sony Music. Asked in an interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station how Glenn is doing and whether he had much input in the writing and recording process for "Invincible Shield", Richie said: "He's doing all right. He has good days and bad days, as I think is the nature of the challenge that he's facing. Glenn, obviously with those challenges, we had to work around it. So if he couldn't play when we were writing, if he had an idea that he couldn't play that day, he'd kind of talk to me and walk me through how it was supposed to go and I'd play it. And it was the same in the recording process, really. If he could play the song, he'd play it. If he couldn't, then I'd take over and that's how we did it. And I think everyone understands that as well with Glenn suffering from Parkinson's. I think they understand. For us, it was important that he was involved. We had his mind involved, we had his creative mind involved, and that's part of the reason it makes it JUDAS PRIEST."

Back in September 2020, Halford told BBC Sounds about Tipton: "He's a wonderfully strong, beautiful man… He can still play the guitar, albeit in his own particular way.

"Parkinson's is a really cruel, terrible, horrible thing to happen to anybody — to see the physical debilitation that it creates," Rob continued. "But your brain is still there — you're still functioning as a person. But in a guitar sense, it's very, very difficult to play anything anymore. But like we [say] on this great song on the last PRIEST album, 'Firepower'. 'No Surrender'. You don't give in. You fight, fight, fight, and that's what Glenn's doing right now.

"Incidentally, he has this wonderful Glenn Tipton Parkinson's Foundation. We've raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for Glenn over the years, and we're still continuing to do that. Some of the advances that they have in Parkinson's now are extraordinary, but the funds and the finance to keep searching are vital."

Tipton turned 76 last October.

In his first interview since revealing his condition in early 2018, Glenn 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.”

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

Photo credit: James Hodges Photography

Undoubtedly, Intelligent Music Project stands out as one of the most compelling rock projects in the music world over the last 12 years. During this time, the project has gifted their fans with seven albums featuring the participation of world-famous, top-notch musicians, and they show no signs of slowing down.


Just a few days ago, Intelligent Music Project announced their eighth album, named Miracles Beyond, which will be officially released on May 15 this year. And it comes as no surprise that once again, there will be first-class rockstar presence.


How cool is it that the first song starts with the leading vocals of John Payne (ex-Asia) and Carl Sentance from Nazareth, the second song continues with the great Joseph Williams from Toto, and the third one is presented by the producer’s favorite, Richard Grisman – one of the most beautiful rock voices in the UK.




And there’s more - the entire rhythm section is represented by two Grammy nominees: one of the best living drummers on the planet, Simon Phillips (Toto, Protocol, The Who, Judas Priest) and Ernest Tibbs on the bass. Of course, these musicians maintain the high level of the album throughout its entirety, ensuring an exceptional listening experience from start to finish.


“The album’s dedicated to free spirits - the driving force of the progress of humanity. It’s a testament to the spirit of collaboration and the power of music to transcend boundaries. Musically, we offer a good example of what a super-group product should sound like. It's great to have all these musicians on board again. This is Simon Phillips’s 6th album with us, John Payne’s 5th, and Joseph Williams’s 4th. Such a star turnout is a special privilege for me, which again shows that we have another world-class product!” says Milen Vrabevski, MD, producer, songwriter, founder of the project, and the mastermind behind the band.


The songs in Miracles Beyond traditionally flow into each other to demonstrate the unity of ideas. With tracks that explore themes of resilience, hope, and the limitless potential of the human spirit, Miracles Beyond is more than just an album - it’s a journey of self-discovery and empowerment. From the pure hard rock songs to the soul-stirring ballads, every song on the album resonates with emotion and authenticity.


The album is divided into two parts: the Producer’s part and the Band’s part.


“I am happy to offer my vision on the album’s topic in tracks 1-11. For the second time the band composes music without me: the last three tracks are written by our guitar player Bisser Ivanov in partnership with our main vocalist Slavin Slavchev and my music producer Ivo Stefanov,” adds Dr. Vrabevski.


This unique approach in creating the album enriches the music with diverse perspectives on the central theme. Each section offers its interpretation, presenting a rich tapestry of musical ideas and insights. This division not only adds depth to the album but also provides listeners with a dynamic journey through varying viewpoints and sonic landscapes.


One of the most impressive aspects of the album is undoubtedly the stunning arrangements – perfectly crafted, adding a layer of sophistication and depth to the music, making the album a truly unforgettable listening experience. And it wouldn’t sound the same if there weren’t the live instruments of Intelligent Music Strings Orchestra and the amazing voices of Sofia Gospel Choir in the song that gives the album its title, Miracles Beyond.


The impeccable sound of the album is further enhanced by the masterful touch of Bob Katz, whose expertise has graced two Grammy Award-winning albums in his illustrious career. His meticulous mastering adds the final polish to the already outstanding sound, elevating the album to new heights of sonic excellence.


Listen to the first single of the album, named “Shine For You,” to preview the musical journey that awaits. A video for the track can be found below.


Intelligent Music Project is a Bulgarian supergroup with an exceptionally international lineup, created in 2011 by Bulgarian businessman, philanthropist, and arts patron Dr. Milen Vrabevski, who is not only the project’s producer but also the composer of the band’s music and lyrics.


Intelligent Music Project is a creative mix of melodic, hard-rock songs with progressive hooks, driven by catchy guitar riffs and keyboards, often combined with interesting symphonic textures and complex musical arrangements.


The lyrics of Intelligent Music Project’s songs carry a positive and motivating message, with an emphasis on themes from everyday life, through which the author offers key advice about success based on his personal experience and vision. Through the language of music, Dr. Vrabevski aims to bring to the forefront basic values that can serve as a solid foundation for young people on their path to becoming mature adults leading meaningful lives.


So far, the band has released seven albums – The Power Of Mind, My Kind O’Lovin’, Touching The Divine, Sorcery Inside, Life Motion, The Creation, and Unconditioned.


Intelligent Music Project was the Bulgarian representative to the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, with the song Intention.


Besides the aforementioned musicians, over the years, the band has seen a stellar lineup, including John Lawton (Uriah Heep, Lucifer’s Friend), Ronnie Romero (Rainbow, Michael Schenker’s Group), Nathan East (Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, Toto, Stevie Wonder, and more), Tim Pierce (Joe Cocker, Bon Jovi, Alice Cooper, and more), Bobby Rondinelli (Rainbow, Black Sabbath), and Todd Sucherman (Styx).





Tracklisting


Intro
"Thunder"
"Days Rollin'"
"For You"
"Real"
"Expecting You"
"Miracles Beyond"
"Then I Knew"
"Anyway"
"Right I Said"
"Believe in Love"
"A New Day"
"Walls"
"Shine For You"


"Shine For You" video:

In an interview with The Void With Christina, conducted last December at the Good Things festival in Sydney, Australia but only now uploaded to YouTube, SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor was asked what the response been like to him being so open about his mental health struggles and how that has changed his inner world. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's interesting. I never realized — because you know me; I've always been very outspoken about everything — and I never realized that it was such a stigma, to be honest. It was a line that you really didn't cross or you didn't admit to, especially somebody in my profession or whatever, or people kind of used it as a buzzword. They never really talked about it eloquently or very openly. So when I first started kind of opening it up about it, the response was quite extraordinary — people just were, like, 'You gave me the courage to kind of open up about it on my own and really kind of talk to the people who I care about about what was affecting me.' And that, in a weird way, helped me with the communication with my loved ones, 'cause I felt like, yeah, I was being very open about it in the press and whatnot, but then I wasn't able to really kind of expound about it with the people who it was actually affecting. And the second that I really kind of put my money where my mouth is, it became such a game changer for me. So it, really, in a weird way, it was the fans who helped me really open up even more about it. It was almost this cyclic kind of vibe that I didn't expect."

Taylor also talked about what it has been like living with manic depression and addressed what he feels is missing from the conversation about the condition.

"It's interesting," he said. "For me, I think the biggest thing that people don't understand is the numbness that comes with it, especially when the physical side of it hits you and it becomes that slog, that almost impossible slog to just be alive or to be human. It's something that you just can't describe to people unless they've been in it. And, obviously, there are people who have had bouts of depression, but don't have the physical, the manic depression who can kind of understand it because of the emptiness, once the void hits, so they can kind of empathize in a weird way. But anyone who's never really kind of felt that, it's really difficult to try and get them to see why it's so difficult to just get through life. It's almost like replacing your body with a mannequin's body and just having to be very plastic, and everything's so deliberate and everything's so heavy… I call it trying to run underwater. So I think that's the biggest thing that really is the hardest, to really get people to understand and to empathize. And luckily, I'm now in a relationship that gets it, I'm surrounded by people who get it, and I think that's a real key. 'Cause you don't have to necessarily understand it sometimes, but to empathize and go, 'Okay, how can I help? How can I make this easier?' I've seen it with that. I've seen it with a lot of the families who I work with who deal with PTSD and whatnot. It's getting that communication to hit. I don't need you to save me. I just need you to be there if I start to fall backwards and just give me a little push. That's all I need, man. And sometimes knowing that will help you get through those bouts."

In January, Corey shared an Instagram video in response to fan concern over his well-being following the cancelation of his previously scheduled North American solo tour.

"I, over the last year, have had a complete and utter breakdown of boundaries, mental health, ego, entitlement, the whole nine yards, culminating in a very, very real, very near relapse that… I kind of don't recognize myself," he said. "So, I wanted to address this and just tell people that I needed time to reset, I needed time to start working on my heart and my mind and get straight… I'm working on self-care right now, getting the help that I need and surrounding myself with my family… It's a long road and I don't know what’s at the end of it, but I look forward to it. I have gratitude for it, and I hope you can show me some patience."

On January 5, Taylor announced that he was pulling out of his North American tour, citing struggles with mental and physical health.

"For the past several months my mental and physical health have been breaking down, and I reached a place that was unhealthy for my family and I," he wrote in a statement. "I know this decision will come as a shock to some and may be regarded as unpopular by others – but after taking a hard look at where I am and where I was going, I need to pull myself back and be home with my family for the time being. Those of you who bought tickets and VIP packages for this upcoming run will get a full refund."

Corey has a four-show run in Asia scheduled for late March and early April as well as a European summer tour from June 3 to July 2.

Corey recently completed European and North American tours in support of his sophomore solo album, "CMF2", which was released in September. Taylor's first album for BMG and the first on his own label imprint, Decibel Cooper Recordings, was produced by Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, STEEL PANTHER, AMON AMARTH),who also helmed STONE SOUR's 2017 LP "Hydrograd" as well as 2020's "CMFT".

Taylor began tracking the follow-up to 2020's "CMFT" LP in January 2023 at The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada with Ruston. Joining Corey in the studio was the rest of his solo band — bassist Eliot Lorango, drummer Dustin Robert, along with guitarists Christian Martucci and Zach Throne.

Heavy metal icons, The Rods, have released their new fan collaboration lyric video for the song "Metal Highways", from their latest album Rattle The Cage.


Drummer / Producer Carl Canedy comments: "Once we began working on the concept for our next 2 videos, the video editor suggested, that for the first video, we reach out to the the fans and have them submit photos of themselves with the band, The Rods memorabilia, tattoos and footage of the band performing, etc. The response was so overwhelming that we decided to use that concept for two separate videos. Our video editor is very creative and it really shows in the completed videos. To me, it's reminiscent of watching the moving paintings in the Harry Potter movie. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but the many fans who participated are going to love it!"







Mixed and mastered by Chris Collier, Rattle The Cage benefits from his masterful, modern touch, with the kind of sound that will simultaneously appeal to core fans as well as new generations of listeners! The Rods epitomize the term power-trio, and the word “power” has never been more evident in their music than it is now. 2024 will mark The Rods' 45th anniversary, in support, they will be playing many special dates and performances to commemorate 45 years together. With such an impressive history firmly notched in their collective belt, The Rods are still firing on all cylinders, and as eager as ever to crank it up, louder than loud!





Rattle The Cage tracklisting:


"Now And Forever"
"Wolves At The Door"
"Cry Out Loud"
"Rattle The Cage"
"Can’t Slow Down"
"Metal Highways"
"Hell Or High Water"
"Play It Loud"
"Shockwave"
"Hearts Of Steel"


"Now And Forever" visualizer:





"Play It Loud" video:





"Shockwave" video:





"Rattle The Cage" video:





Carl Canedy is scheduled to release his autobiography, Tales Of A Wild Dog, on April 4.





Carl is well known for his skills and prowess as the drummer for the influential Upstate, New York power trio, The Rods. He has also made a name for himself as the producer on some of thrash metal’s earliest albums: Anthrax’s Fistful Of Metal and Spreading The Disease, Overkill’s Feel The Fire, Exciter’s Violence And Force, and many other iconic albums.


The 300-page book, courtesy of New Haven Publishing, will also feature commentary from many artists, such as Joey Belladonna of Anthrax, Dan Beehler of Exciter, Jeff Plate of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Dan Lilker of Nuclear Assault, Jeff Becerra of Possessed, James Rivera of Helstar, and many others.


“I wanted to do something a bit different - traditional autobiographies tend to be very one-sided. Very one dimensional. I saw the events of my life one way, but did others experience the same event, the same way? I felt it would be good to get some opposing viewpoints, or at least a differing take on some of the events. We gave them a blank canvas,” says Carl.





The decision to write a book did not come easy. Carl laments, “I’ve done a lot of interviews over the years, and many of the journalists told me that I had some good stories - that I should do a book. Though a book is not an easy task. Sitting in front of the computer for months just was not feasible. But ultimately, I wanted something to leave my daughter - I wanted her to know my stories, my experiences and so on. Something that she can pass on to her children. So, I had these audio files that I had been compiling, but I really did not know what to do with them. And then Phillip “Doc” Harrington reached out to me.”


Co-author, Phillip Harrington ultimately, was able to persuade Carl to start the project - which turned into a two-year effort. Phillip stated, “Well, I am a fan. A fan, not only of The Rods, but also of Carl’s production efforts. If you take my top 25 albums, the bulk of them were either produced by Carl, or he played the drums on them. We are talking about a guy who was there for the genesis of heavy metal – he helped shape metal into the powerhouse that it would become in the late 80’s. He is definitely one of the most underrated people in the genre – no doubt about it. And I felt it crucial that he do a book. So, I offered up my services – transcribing, typing and doing the layout. I am glad his story is getting out there – he was very instrumental in a genre that millions love dearly. And he has such a great life story.”


“I thought it would be easy and fun,” remarks Carl. “As it turns out, recounting some of the stories was somewhat disturbing. At times, I would find myself becoming very emotional as I recounted these memories. It was much more difficult than I realized. It made me realize that life was not easy for me as a young boy. There were a lot of moments that were very difficult to relive.”


Carl’s memoirs will debut only a couple of months after his 71st birthday. “You are talking about 7 decades of memories, experiences, accomplishments and loss - and then there are the road stories, there is the drumming, the production, managing bands, and owning a recording studio. Plus, the commentary from the artists that were there.


"It started as an autobiography, but it essentially became a tale on the rise of heavy metal – because Carl was paramount for metal. He helped lay the foundation. And then, there is his personal life - which has had some very intense moments. Some tragic. There are plenty of ups and downs within his story. There is a piece in the end that no one saw coming. I don’t even think Carl saw it coming. Prior to knowing Carl, I had a very strong gut feeling that his life and experience would make for a great story – and now? Well, there is a certain satisfaction there knowing that my gut was right. It’s a damn good story!,” says the coauthor.


The book comes at a busy time for Carl. The Rods have just released their 10th studio album, Rattle The Cage, and Carl’s pre-The Rods band, Kelakos, have also just released an album. The Rods have dates scheduled throughout Europe, Australia and in the US for 2024.


Tales Of A Wild Dog will be available at retailers of good books worldwide.


The Rods are:


David “Rock” Feinstein – Vocals, Guitars
Freddy Villano – Bass
Carl Canedy – Drums

Symphonic metal vikings Leaves' Eyes recently released their new studio album, Myths Of Fate, via AFM Records. They have checked in with the following update:


"Fantastic news! After amazing shows with our new record we are happy to announce Myths Of Fate has entered the Official German Album Charts on #17! A HUGE thank you to our fans for the great support!"







With Myths Of Fate, the band set sails for new winds that definitely blow from the harsh shallows of the symphonic metal genre. The fantastic world of legends from Norse and Eastern European mythology is the setting for monumental entertainment: Leaves' Eyes open up a world of magical places, spellbound weapons or supernatural creatures.


The band produced a total of five music videos with Mastersound Entertainment. Filmed on impressive locations in Iceland, Germany and Poland, they bring the myths captivatingly to the screen. Magic creatures, great battles and enchanting warrior queens come to live. Their latest, spectacular clip for the powerful anthem "Hammer Of The Gods" can be viewed below:





Leaves' Eyes have always played in a league of their own. The international group has toured all populated continents, playing concerts in more than 50 countries, frequently reach top positions in the album charts and with every output they deliver a multimedia masterpiece when it comes to video clips and artwork.


In their multifaceted discography, Leaves' Eyes naturally integrate various genres such as folk metal, Viking metal or symphonic metal into their unique sound creations. Legendary releases like Vinland Saga (2005) or Njord (2009) made them pioneers in their own league, a position they successfully confirmed with chart-breakers like King Of Kings (2015) or Sign Of The Dragonhead (2018). Their compositions are complex, though, always well balanced between heaviness and melodic atmosphere. Each of their mind-broadening lyrical concepts based on mediaeval mythology are thoroughly researched, offering their audience journeys to the past times of Vikings, myths and sagas.


Their live shows are spectacular events with breathtaking stage scenery, including a Viking ship or even the “Swords In Rock” monument from Norway. Leaves' Eyes have been setting world history to music and undeniably, by doing so, have raced to the top of the symphonic metal tree.


Now, Alexander Krull once again exceeded his own standards in the producer’s chair. For the fine and complex compositions you will find on Myths Of Fate, he created an extraordinary and crystal-clear sound sphere with an undeniable live feeling. The band sounds raw and feisty, but still leaves space for affective atmospheres. The US soundtrack-multi-talent Jonah Weingarten contributes the impressive orchestral score that was created hand in hand with the metal arrangements. Moreover, Lea-Sophie Fischer (Eluveitie) on the fiddle and Thomas Roth’s play of the mediaeval Nyckelharpa add on mystical sounds to Myths Of Fate.


Leaves' Eyes have created an entire universe of their own imagination that showcases their talent as storytellers and music perfectionists. No doubt, the band will leave an everlasting footprint in their own genre with this album. Myths Of Fate provides a dynamic soundtrack for a vivid escape into a magical world of mythology. Four years after bringing The Last Viking to Valhalla with their previous opus, Leaves' Eyes resurrect with Myths Of Fate to celebrate their 20th year of existence. As the first single releases prove, with their ninth studio album, the band consolidates their leading position in the symphonic metal universe. Powerful, epic and impressive - Leaves' Eyes once again merge traditional metal genres by fusing elements of folk, gothic, and classical music into a captivating sonic masterpiece.


Order the album here.





Myths Of Fate tracklisting:


"Forged By Fire"
"Realm Of Dark Waves"
"Who Wants To Live Forever"
"Hammer Of The Gods"
"In Eternity"
"Fear The Serpent"
"Goddess Of The Night"
"Sons Of Triglav"
"Elder Spirit"
"Einherjar"
"Sail With The Dead"


"In Eternity" video:





"Who Wants To Live Forever" video:





“Realm Of Dark Waves” video:





"Forged By Fire" video:





Upcoming Leaves' Eyes tour dates are listed below.





April
1 - Barcelona, Spain - La Nau
2 - Milano, Italy - Legend Club
3 - Vienna, Austria - Szene
4 - Budapest, Hungary - Analog Music Club
5 - Sofia, Bulgaria - Joy Station Club
6 - Bucharest, Romania - Fabrica
7 - Cluj Napoca, Romania - Form Space
8 - Krakau, Poland - Kamienna 12
9 - Warsaw, Poland - Hydrozagadka
10 - Gdansk, Poland - Drizzly Grizzly
11 - Hamburg, Germany - Headcrash
13 - Berlin, Germany - Orwohaus





Leaves' Eyes is:


Elina Siirala - Vocals
Alexander Krull - Vocals
Micki Richter - Guitar
Luc Gebhardt - Guitar
Joris Nijenhuis - Drums

As an Easter treat, Jesse James Dupree of Jackyl presents a live clip of his solo band performing "Born To Ride The Lightning", from his 2023 album Breathing Fire.


Joining Jesse on stage are his son Nigel T. Dupree on guitar, Roman Glick on bass, and Rodney Hammer on drums. 







Breathing Fire artwork and tracklisting:





"Lay It On Me" 
"Never Gets Old" 
"Breathing Fire" 
"It's Not Love" 
"Stranded" 
"Born To Ride The Lightning" 
"Kill The Sunshine" 
"Over My Dead Body"
"White Flag"
"Rappa De Pappa" 


Get your copy of Breathing Fire now at this location.





 

Dokken, the legendary hard rock band, is back with a special release of their 1996 live album, One Live Night, now available for pre-order for the first time on 180-gram vinyl. The album, which was recorded before a live audience at The Strand in Redondo Beach, California, features the classic Dokken lineup of Don Dokken, George Lynch, Mick Brown, and Jeff Pilson.


This limited edition double album, limited to only 250 copies, includes intimate performances of "Tooth And Nail," "Into The Fire," and "Alone Again", as well as covers of the Beatles' "Nowhere Man" and Emerson, Lake & Palmer's "From The Beginning". 


Both the Sunspot and Black variants will ship in June 2024.







Tracklisting:


SIDE A 


"Into The Fire"
"Unchain The Night"
"The Maze"


SIDE B


"Nothing Left To Say"
"From The Beginning"
"Tooth And Nail"


SIDE C


"Just Got Lucky"
"I Will Remember"
"Alone Again"


SIDE D


"In My Dreams"
"Nowhere Man"
"It’s Not Love"





 

The Venezuelan death metal band Mind In Lost, now based abroad, has released their new and second studio album Disrupted, available now on digital platforms and on CD and cassette on April 9th. Disrupted is accompanied by a new music video from the band, titled "Displaced To Oblivion".





Disrupted presents a notable evolution in sound and composition compared to the first album from Mind In Lost. Power and depth take center stage, with strident and fast rhythms, sharp guitars with unmistakable distortions, violent percussions and bass played with dense and enveloping harmonies. Aggressive vocals and abstract lyrics immerse the listener in erosive and hostile environments.




The album is a manifesto of desperation, a twisted vision of the world divided into eight tracks loaded with pure old school death metal. Each story narrates events and actions that lack control when mental stability is absent. 





Tracklisting:


"Fall On Concrete"
"Enter The Swarm"
"Psychotic Resurgence"
"Neurodrome"
"Displaced To Oblivion"
"My Will"
"Ritual Of Silence"
"Sedation Abuse Delirium"


For further details, visit Mind In Lost on Facebook.


 

In a new interview with Mexico's ATMósferas Magazine, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson discussed the changes in the music industry over the last four decades. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The music industry has done two things. On the one hand, if you're an artist, it's contracted, as in it's shrunk in terms of the amount of money you get paid for your art — unless you are some massive social media thing, or whatever it is, or unless you're a DJ who turns up with a memory stick and gets paid five times what a band gets paid. And they have to split it eight ways, and he just turns up with his memory stick and pretends he's doing something, and goes away with a huge amount of money. So the world has gone on its ass from that perspective. And there's not a lot that any one individual can do about that. You just have to work with the way the world is."

He continued: "I have no desire whatsoever to be a DJ. I'm a singer, I'm a musician, I have bands and people like that, and they all have to make a living playing with me. So I do the best I can to make sure that everybody's happy, everybody's making a living and we can go out and play great music.

"In terms of the way that records are sold — well, records, downloads, things like that — I think it's a lose-lose situation for everybody," Dickinson added. "I mean, you have all the things like Spotify and stuff like that who are basically ripping off musicians by paying them next to nothing for playing their work. And still, [Spotify] can't make money. So they're not making money [and] the musicians aren't getting paid. New bands can hardly afford to start up, but they do. Why? Because they love what they do. It's that that drives them. It's that that motivates them. So, if the streaming services could manage to actually pay people properly for when people listen, which probably means that people listening have to pay more, which I frankly don't object to, and I don't think probably most listeners would. Maybe less people would listen, but it would be people who care, not people who just do it because it's cheap."

Asked if he thinks the skyrocketing concert ticket prices are having a negative impact on the music industry, Bruce said: "Well, two things. One, it depends what the show is and kind of who the audience are. I mean, I'm not gonna go around and say specific artists, because most of the artists that are charging, like, 1,200 dollars a ticket — like in Las Vegas, if you wanna go and see the U2 show, I think it was 1,200 dollars per seat in the sphere. I've got no interest in paying 1,200 dollars to go and see U2 in the sphere — none. A hundred bucks, maybe. But for me, what's important is to try and keep, on the one hand, the right type of tickets at the right price. So by that I mean the right type of tickets, I mean, the tickets that are in front of the stage, which everybody says should be the most expensive tickets. Actually, no, they should be the most reasonably priced tickets, 'cause the people who are gonna go there to the front of the stage are gonna be people who are real fans, people who are kids, people who can't afford the crazy money, but they are the people that need to be down the front; they're the people that are gonna keep this music alive. And then you get the people that they might be fans, but they wanna bring their wife and they don't wanna get too hot and sweaty and all the rest of it. So, there's some seats at the top or something else like that, what they're gonna pick, and those get priced differently."

Bruce continued: "I understand how promoters try and do it to try and not lose money, because promoters are part of the whole ecosystem. Without promoters, there would be no shows. The promoters have somehow gotta make their money back. So, it's a delicate balance, but in general, ticket prices have gone through the roof. And some of the ticket prices that people pay, well, some of the prices people pay, for me, it's insane. I would never pay that price, but then again, I'm probably not a fan of that particular artist. People who are, maybe they think it's worth it. I mean, certainly with my shows, we've always tried to keep the ticket prices within the normal, normal boundaries. And the same with MAIDEN."

Dickinson's new solo album, "The Mandrake Project", was released on March 1. Bruce and his long-term co-writer and producer Roy "Z" Ramirez recorded the LP largely at Los Angeles's Doom Room, with Roy Z doubling up as both guitarist and bassist. The recording lineup for "The Mandrake Project" was rounded out by keyboard maestro Mistheria and drummer Dave Moreno, both of whom also featured on Bruce's previous solo studio album, "Tyranny Of Souls", in 2005.

Featuring the singles "Afterglow Of Ragnarok" and "Rain On The Graves", the ten-track collection has been receiving swathes of critical acclaim, with rave reviews running around the world.

"The Mandrake Project" is Dickinson's seventh solo album and is released via BMG worldwide on multiple formats.

Last month, Bruce revealed the addition of two new guitarists to his solo touring band. Swedish-born guitarist, songwriter and multi-platinum-credited producer Philip Näslund and Swiss session and touring guitarist Chris Declercq (who incidentally played on Dickinson's current single, "Rain On The Graves") will accompany previously announced members Moreno, Mistheria and Tanya O'Callaghan (bass). Roy Z will not be part of the touring lineup.

The first chance to see the six-piece live will now be at The Observatory in Orange County, California on April 15.

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.

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.

On their recently launched "Metal Masters" U.K. tour with SAXON and URIAH HEEP, British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST are offering a special "Backstage Experience" where fans can take a guided tour backstage and get an exclusive peek at what goes on behind the scenes at a PRIEST show; get a close up look at instruments and gear, try on Rob Halford's jacket, taken individual photo with the famous motorbike, and more. Speaking to the "Everblack" podcast about the VIP backstage tour, PRIEST bassist Ian Hill said: "There'll be an area of exhibits, clothes, instruments and things that have been used over the years and a tour backstage and let people get some idea of what it takes to put that show on. A lot of people don't realize that that's done in a day. People get there early in the morning and they start putting it up and it's all folded down again. And it's on its way somewhere else the next day. And I don't think many people understand that. It's very much a mobile affair. It's not like being in [Las] Vegas and doing a month somewhere where everything stays where it is. Everything's gotta go down and go back up again the next day exactly the same or about as close as you can. So [it's an opportunity] to give some people insight [into] what goes into putting the show together and how many crew are involved. It just doesn't happen overnight. It always does happen overnight, but it just doesn't sort of appear. [Laughs] There's a lot of work goes in — a lot of people do a lot of heavy work, in some instances."

JUDAS PRIEST is touring in support of its latest album, "Invincible Shield", which has 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" is 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" has 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.

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.

Backstage experience on sale now!

https://www.judaspriestinvincibleshield.com/events/

Posted by Judas Priest on Thursday, December 21, 2023

In a new interview with RichardMetalFan, former DEICIDE guitarist Jack Owen was asked what it was like to share guitar duties with Kevin Quirion for Jack's final album with the band, 2013's "In The Minds of Evil". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Kevin's awesome. He is a guy that would do anything for you. And he is so motivated as far as writing and contributing and helping out on the road with anything… But, yeah, Kevin is awesome. He wrote killer stuff on there — very thrashy, but me and him worked well together. There's a lot of co-writing on there between me and him."

Regarding how his split with DEICIDE came about, Jack said: "Oh, it was a problem with new stuff I was writing. I walked into practice and Steve [Asheim, DEICIDE's drummer and main songwriter] had re-recorded it and changed notes here and there for three or four songs that I had. It was stupid at the time. But he's, like, 'Hey, I changed the notes so I get writing credit.' And I'm, like, 'That's not how the songs go, though.' And Glen's [Benton, DEICIDE frontman], like, 'It is now.' [Laughs] So I literally walked out and ghosted them. [Laughs] Later on, it was like, 'Hey, dude, you're out.'"

One of the founding members of CANNIBAL CORPSE, Owen joined DEICIDE in 2004 and played on four of the latter band's studio albums: "The Stench Of Redemption" (2006),"Till Death Do Us Part" (2008),"To Hell With God" (2011) and the aforementioned "In The Minds Of Evil".

In a 2017 interview with Metal Wani, Asheim stated about Owen's departure from DEICIDE: "We were just kind of writing the record, and we were going over the songs. Me and Glen, we were, like, 'We wanna redo the songs.' It's like we had completed them — about nine or twelve, whatever how many songs. They were all right, but we weren't really psyched about them. So we decided to rewrite them. And Jack didn't really like it. And he kind of left one day and just never came back. So that was that."

In 2017, Owen joined SIX FEET UNDER, the death metal band fronted by his ex-CANNIBAL CORPSE bandmate, singer Chris Barnes.

SIX FEET UNDER's fourteenth studio album, "Killing For Revenge", will arrive on May 10 via Metal Blade Records.

DISTURBED has shared video of the March 24 performance of the "Divisive" album track "Don't Tell Me", featuring a guest appearance by HALESTORM's Lzzy Hale, at Knotfest Australia in Brisbane, Australia. Check out the clip below.

DISTURBED played "Don't Tell Me" with Lzzy for the first time three days earlier at Knotfest Australia in Melbourne. A short time later, DISTURBED singer David Draiman shared a couple of backstage and onstage photos of him with Lzzy and he included the following message: "Thanks so much to @officiallzzyhale of @halestormrocks for absolutely nailing @annwilson 's part in #donttellme last night at @knotfestau".

In January, DISTURBED released the Matt Mahurin-directed music video for "Don't Tell Me". The song, an epic emotionally charged duet with HEART's Ann Wilson, marked the first time the band had included a guest feature on an LP.

Regarding how the collaboration with Wilson came about, DISTURBED drummer Mike Wengren told Terrie Carr of WDHA-FM 105.5 FM: "That was always supposed to be the 'power ballad,' per se. And as we were tracking it in the studio, David just threw out the idea, 'Hey, let's do a duet on this song.' We've tossed around the idea before, but there wasn't ever either the right material or the right time. So in this particular case, we kind of said, 'Well, who you've got in mind?' And he didn't even have a list; he just had one person, and that was Ann. It was a no-brainer. 'Hey, let's hit up Ann. Let's see if she'd be into it.' And she was on board right away; we didn't have to convince her."

Mike continued: "[David and Ann] sort of struck up a bit of a friendship, a little bit of a rapport. When [DISTURBED cover version of] 'The Sound Of Silence' came out years back and had its success, she was one of many artists and celebrities that took it up themselves to go on Twitter and praise the song and praise our version of it, which we couldn't have been more honored. Iconic, legendary Ann Wilson thinks that we did a great job with a SIMON & GARFUNKEL cover. That's pretty incredible, a pretty great honor. So when we reached out to her, she was more than willing to jump on board. And she came in and she killed it… And she's super cool and down to earth too, and just incredibly talented. It's such an honor to have her be on our record. And to me, the blending of her voice and David's voice, they really, really work so well together. I'm so proud of David and just so honored to have her a part of our record."

In September 2022, DISTURBED guitarist Dan Donegan, whose divorce inspired "Don't Tell Me", told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about the band's collaboration with Wilson: "Early in our career, we wanted to really establish ourselves without having any guests. We didn't really talk about it much, but just [felt], 'This is the band.' Not that we were ever against it, but this far along in our career… We're always pushing ourselves, trying to do stuff that's different musically. And there's so much talent out there and so many people we would love to do collaborations with now or later in our career.

"Ann Wilson had mentioned before — she tweeted about us before," he continued. "A few years back, somebody asked her in an interview or whatever if there's anything new out there, or newer, musically that she's heard that she's fan of, and she mentioned she really loved our version of 'The Sound Of Silence'. And that kind of opened the door to a social media friendship between her and David a bit. And then when we wrote this song, it just seemed like it would lend itself to Ann's voice and then trying to see that merge between her and David's voices together. She jumped on the opportunity. Immediately she responded, and we were, like, 'Holy shit. She just said yes to this.'"

Asked by Meltdown if "Don't Tell Me" is a more mellow track than the standard DISTURBED fare, Dan said: "I can't give it away, but their voices, it's like Fergie and Jesus — a little 'Step Brothers' [2008 movie] quote there… It was a pretty magical moment to be in the room and to hear the two of them harmonize together.

"We tracked David's vocals in Nashville, and we wanted to make it easy and convenient for her, 'cause we were, like, she said yes, she's gonna do it," Donegan continued. "Let's make it as easy as possible on her.' We flew out to California to meet with her. We went into a studio out there for just a couple of hours, and she sang against David's tracks. And he was there kind of going over the harmonies with her and stuff too. So it was kind of a really magical moment to see the two of them working on those harmonies together. It was pretty impressive. And she's such a pro, and she's so damn good. She's a legend. So it was pretty exciting. And it's not like she sits there and jumps on people's albums either, so we take that as a badge of honor to think that there's not many times where somebody as big a legend as she is that she would jump on any album. She doesn't have to, and she chose to be on this one. And she loves the track. And it just came together great."

Released in November 2022, "Divisive" was recorded earlier that year with producer Drew Fulk (MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, LIL PEEP, HIGHLY SUSPECT) in Nashville, Tennessee.

According to Billboard, "Divisive" sold 26,000 equivalent album units in its first week of release, with 22,000 units via album sales.

On the all-format Billboard 200 chart, "Divisive" debuted at No. 13.

DISTURBED has had five No. 1s on the all-genre chart, beginning with "Believe" in 2002.

In a new interview with Colombia's Radioacktiva, THE OFFSPRING guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman spoke about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's follow-up to 2021's "Let The Bad Times Roll" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're already almost done with the next [LP]. We're hoping to be done by the end of [April]. We're going back in the studio when we get home with, working with [producer] Bob [Rock].

"It's not like we go in and work for a whole bunch of months with Bob and then don't see each other for a couple years," he explained. "We get together every couple of months and go in the studio and work for a week to two weeks. That's just how we like to work. And it's always fun hanging out with Bob. He's just a great guy. And we just talk about music, talk about ideas, what makes a song great — that sort of thing."

Bob Rock who previously helmed three THE OFFSPRING LPs, including "Let The Bad Times Roll".

Last October, Noodles was asked by Rock Sound if there was anything he and his THE OFFSPRING bandmates learned from the making "Let The Bad Times Roll" that they wanted to "lean more into" this time around. Noodles said: "What we learned is when we are not able to go out and play live, we really miss it. And we learned to make the most of our time in the studio and just have fun. It was a really, really creative time for us, actually. Right at the end of making 'Let The Bad Times Roll', ideas were just coming, and we've just been having a good time in the studio since then — and on the road too. It's so good to be back playing live music again."

In September 2023, Noodles was asked by "The Jesea Lee Show" if the new OFFSPRING material follows an "old-school" vein or if it represents "a new era of OFFSPRING". He said: "It's a little bit of both — all that. The last song we did definitely sounds like an old-school — sounds kind of like 'Come Out Swinging'. Definitely some old-school stuff and then some rocking stuff and then some kind of poppy punk stuff too, for sure."

In August 2023, THE OFFSPRING singer Bryan "Dexter" Holland told The Orange County Register about the overall musical and lyrical direction of the new THE OFFSPRING material: "Sometimes you just start writing songs and you don't realize how an album is coming together until it's almost there. Like on 'Americana'. 'Americana' was one of the last songs I wrote because I didn't realize until then all the other songs like 'Why Don't You Get A Job?' and 'Pretty Fly', they were describing American society. I didn't really realize that's what the album was about until I got almost done and thought well, I'll call it 'Americana' because that's like 'Americana' means American culture. This was my vision of what I thought American culture was doing in the late '90s. We're kind of still in that phase with the songs, but we've always liked the energy of punk music and the rebelliousness. What I'm focusing right now on is just melody. I want the songs to be really good."

"Let The Bad Times Roll" was a huge global success, hitting career-high chart debuts with seven Top 5 and ten Top 10 international debuts and nine Top 10 debuts in the U.S. The album peaked at No. 3 on the U.K. chart and hit No. 1 on the Alternative Albums chart in the U.S.

THE OFFSPRING first achieved worldwide success in the 1990s with the release of their album "Smash", which sold over 11 million copies. Following "Smash", they continued to release hit after hit, popularizing rock at a mainstream level.

Throughout THE OFFSPRING's career, they've sold over a staggering 40 million albums, and toured arenas, and built a global fan base. "Let The Bad Times Roll" marked the band's tenth studio album and third album produced by Rock.

Originally formed under the name MANIC SUBSIDAL, THE OFFSPRING's lineup consists of Holland, Wasserman and bassist Todd Morse.

Three former members of DIMMU BORGIR — bassist/clean vocalist ICS Vortex (real name: Simen Hestnæs),keyboardist Mustis (real name: Øyvind Mustaparta) and drummer Tjodalv (real name: Ian Kenneth Åkesson) — rejoined the Norwegian symphonic black metallers on stage last night (Saturday, March 30) during their set at the Inferno festival at the Rockefeller Music Hall in Oslo, Norway to perform the song "The Insight And The Catharsis" from their 1999 album " Spiritual Black Dimensions". Fan-filmed video of their appearance can be seen below.

When DIMMU BORGIR parted ways with ICS Vortex and Mustis in August 2009, the band said in a statement that "the creative force in the band" was "highly intact, perhaps even more so than ever." Around the same time, Mustis issued a statement claiming that his dismissal from DIMMU BORGIR was caused by his efforts to "address the fact that many songs written by me had not been registered properly under my name in their credits. Without naming every single track, let us just say that a good majority of albums like 'Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia' and 'In Sorte Diaobli' would have been vastly different had I not composed and created as much as I actually did," he said. "Sadly, based on terrible gaps in the communication process and a failure to find logical rationale for why this had been done this way found me hitting wall after wall as opposed to finding a professional and reasonable solution to the problem. My inquiries and investigation into the issues which I wished to resolve and move on from would in the end find me being fired from the group. No discussions about it, just 'goodbye' (via text message)."

A day later, ICS Vortex released his own statement in which he called Mustis "the true creative force in DIMMU for the last ten years".

For their part, the remaining members of DIMMU BORGIR fired back at their former bandmates, saying that they had "put up with unprofessionalism and bad live performances for years." They also claimed that they had been "falsely accused in statements posted online by recently fired members based on their ignorance, bitterness and greed."

DIMMU BORGIR's current lineup is officially a trio comprising Shagrath (Stian Tomt Thoresen) on lead vocals, Silenoz (Sven Atle Kopperud) on rhythm guitar and Galder (Tom Rune Anderson) on lead guitar. They are joined by session musicians Dariusz "Daray" Brzozowski on drums (since 2008),Geir "Gerlioz" Bratland on keyboards (since 2010) and Victor Brandt on bass (since 2018).

DIMMU BORGIR's latest album, "Eonian", came out in 2018. The LP was released right in time for the band's 25th anniversary in 2018, about eight years after its predecessor, "Abrahadabra". Since then, the infernal core trio consisting of Shagrath, Silenoz and Galder has played various tours all around the world, including shows at leading metal festivals such as Wacken Open Air and Hellfest.

DIMMU BORGIR released a collection of its cover songs, "Inspiratio Profanus", in December 2023 via Nuclear Blast Records. "Inspiratio Profanus" features the thunderous first single, "Black Metal" by the extreme metal pioneers VENOM, the genre-defining "Perfect Strangers" (DEEP PURPLE),fan favorite "Burn In Hell" (TWISTED SISTER),and electrifying renditions from the legendary CELTIC FROST, as well as other immensely influential artists.



Exclusive Dimmu Borgir Reunion!

Posted by Petar Yordanov on Saturday, March 30, 2024

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Thank you @infernofestivalnorway , Oslo for the great support 🖤 ..Special thanks to Tjodalv-Mustis -Vortex for joining in on «The Insight and the Catharsis 🙌🏻 :📸 Finn Håkon.

Posted by Dimmu Borgir on Sunday, March 31, 2024

Mike Portnoy has completed recording the drums for DREAM THEATER's sixteenth studio album. The upcoming effort will mark the progressive metal legends' first LP since Portnoy's return to the band last October.

Earlier today (Saturday, March 30),Mike took to his social media to write: "Today is my last day behind this kit for a while…yes indeed, my drums for #DT16 are done!! But that is just the beginning…work will now continue in the coming months ahead on guitars, bass, keys, vocals, percussion (not to mention writing lyrics, mixing, mastering etc etc)

"I really can't divulge anything more as we are (purposefully) keeping a very tight lid on any & all info at this early stage…but I will say we are all BLOWN AWAY and sooo extremely excited about what we've created! We cannot wait for you all to hear this…but patience, all will be revealed in due time…"

Portnoy co-founded DREAM THEATER in 1985 with guitarist John Petrucci and bassist John Myung. Mike played on 10 DREAM THEATER albums over a 20-year period, from 1989's "When Dream And Day Unite" through 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings", before exiting the group in 2010.

This past January, Petrucci told GuitarWorld.com editor-in-chief Michael Astley-Brown that he and his DREAM THEATER bandmates were "looking forward to" working on new music.

"It's really exciting to have [Portnoy] back in the band," John said. "We started the band together. I talked [earlier in the interview] about being 18 at Berklee [College Of Music]; that's where we met. And we've been friends ever since. So, having him back in the band is really special to all of us. I know he's really excited as well.

"We haven't started [working on new music]. We haven't written a note yet, but I'm sure when we get together, it's just gonna be like old times. So, I'm really looking forward to doing that and diving in."

Asked where he wanted to take his guitar playing on the next DREAM THEATER album, Petrucci said: "Uh, you know what? To me, making a new record is an opportunity to kind of say, like, 'All right, what haven't I done before? What can I do that's gonna be interesting to me, that's gonna sort of make me excited?' And usually, if you start out with that kind of goal, it'll happen. You'll come up with stuff. You'll explore. And I try not to be satisfied right away and try to like just change things up.

"So, I don't know the answer to that," he explained. "We'll find out. But I think what's gonna be fun is just all getting together in the studio and seeing where things go and kind of reuniting with that sort of classic magic that started the band. It's exciting. And I think that's gonna dictate where things go. But on the guitar, man, I don't know. I can't wait. I love it. I love being in the studio."

Portnoy talked about his return to DREAM THEATER last December in an interview with Drumeo. Regarding how he ended up back in the band, Portnoy said: "It's been 13 years, and I think time heals all wounds, as the expression goes. It's been many, many years now of kind of rekindling my relationships with the guys, starting with John Petrucci… Maybe five, six, seven years ago or so, we just reconnected. Our families — his wife and my wife were in a band together even before we knew our wives. Our kids have grown up together. My daughter and John Petrucci's daughter shared an apartment together in New York for the last five years. So the families were still close. So John and I inevitably reconnected on a personal level. And I guess it really started to gain some traction during COVID lockdown because I couldn't tour and DREAM THEATER couldn't tour, so John decided he wanted to do a solo album and he asked me to play on it. So that was the first step, I guess, in this direction. So I played on John's solo album. And then a few months later, we did an LTE [LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT] album with, with JohnandJordan [Rudess, DREAM THEATER keyboardist]. So that brought three of us back together. And then the following year I ended up doing John's solo tour, and our wives' band were opening for us. So we had the wives out with us. So it just seemed like it was all starting to come together on a personal level and then the musical level as well. And then I think the final piece was me reconnecting with [DREAM THEATER singer] James LaBrie 'cause James and I hadn't spoken for over a decade."

He continued: "I went to see DREAM THEATER play in New York, I guess around 2022, and that was my first time seeing James in over a decade. And literally, I'm not exaggerating, within five seconds of seeing each other, it was hugs, kisses and it was like any of the drama and bullshit that happened during all of those years of the split, it just melted away immediately. And with James and I buddying up again, it kind of just… it began to seem like an inevitability. It wasn't ever, I don't think, in either of our plans to eventually reunite. In fact, if you would have asked me this five years ago, I probably wouldn't have put money on it. But with the developments of everything I just laid out for you, then it started to really feel like, well, maybe this is inevitable. It just seems like we're in the right place and the right time at this stages of our lives. All those years of DREAM THEATER, we were in our twenties and thirties and forties. And now here we are, most of us in our fifties and some of the members in their sixties, and it just seems like life is too short to not be with the people you love and play the music that is part of your life and your heart and soul. So, yeah, here we are."

 Portnoy went on to say that he had no hard feelings for now-ex-DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Mangini, who has been publicly very supportive of Portnoy's return to the band.

"It was nice to see something like this happen with taking the high road and class and grace and dignity and not a war of words and drama and B.S.," Portnoy said. "This was really handled so well, and I have to give Mike Manginiall the credit in the world for that, 'cause it's not easy being replaced. I can't imagine. He handled it really well, and I guess the things he said were so classy. So, yeah, I was really glad to see how well he took it. 'Cause I was a little concerned about that. But it couldn't have come off any better."

Portnoy noted that he had been "friends with [Mangini] before he even knew any of the guys in DREAM THEATER. He and I were friends in the '90s when he was still playing in EXTREME and stuff like that and we would do clinics together and stuff," he said. "So, yeah, he's an old friend. And I could never get mad at the guy for taking the gig. I mean, how could you not? It was a great opportunity and a great gig. So, yeah, it was nice when all those resentments and all that stuff melted away, because it was a tough couple of years in the start of the split."

As for Portnoy's role during DREAM THEATER's new era, the drummer said: "I think that was the one discussion that John Petrucci and I had. We still to this point even haven't talked about business or money or finances or any of that. It was all about, okay, we know we love each other. We know we wanna play together again. But what is the new dynamic gonna be? Because for all those first 25 years, John and I produced the albums together. We kind of led the band together. I was handling the bulk of the responsibilities and decisions making and things like that. And so when I left the band, I was very much a control freak. And then now the last 13 years or so, obviously they've had to re-design their inner structure and how they function, how they work. I think John produces the albums himself now. So it remains to be seen how the 'new old' DREAM THEATER will function. But I think we're all older and wiser."

He continued: "When I left the band 13 years ago, I was a control freak — absolutely. I'll be the first to admit it. And I think as time has gone on, I've loosened up on all that. All the bands I've done over the last 13 years, I've had to learn how to compromise, how to collaborate, how to let go of things. I've even had these hired-gun gigs with TWISTED [SISTER] and AVENGED [SEVENFOLD] where I just play drums. So, we're just gonna have to find our feet in the new dynamic. I think there will be many areas that I hope I could regain some control, like writing the setlists, it was always a big one for me. But then there's other areas that I'm more than happy to step away and not even be involved with. I'd be happy to not write any lyrics again, which is what I used to always write a lot of lyrics back in the day. But I'd be fine with not doing that. It's a lot of things — designing the artwork or the merchandise. You've gotta pick your battles, and I guess we'll find our feet and see where everybody kind of fits into the structure of the new dynamic."

Portnoy attended DREAM THEATER's concert in March 2022 at Beacon Theatre in New York City. It was the first time he witnessed his then-former bandmates perform live since his exit from the iconic progressive metal outfit 13 years ago.

When Portnoy's return to DREAM THEATER was first announced on October 25, 2023, Mangini said in a statement: "I understand DREAM THEATER's decision to get Mike Portnoy back at this time. As was said from Day 1, my place was not to fill all the roles that Mike held in the band. I was to play the drums in order to help the band carry on. My main role of keeping our live show working tightly on a nightly basis was an intense and rewarding experience. Thankfully, I got to experience playing music with these iconic musicians, as well as some fun times laced with humor."

Mangini joined DREAM THEATER in late 2010 through a widely publicized audition following the departure of Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER 38 years ago. Mangini beat out six other of the world's top drummers — Marco Minnemann, Virgil Donati, Aquiles Priester, Thomas Lang, Peter Wildoer and Derek Roddy — for the gig, a three-day process that was filmed for a documentary-style reality show called "The Spirit Carries On".

Photo credit: Travis Shinn

Today is my last day behind this kit for a while…yes indeed, my drums for #DT16 are done!! But that is just the...

Posted by Mike Portnoy on Saturday, March 30, 2024

Video of ELEGANT WEAPONS performing the songs "Bitter Pill" and "Horns For A Halo" live at Sweetwater Studios can be seen below.

ELEGANT WEAPONS features JUDAS PRIEST's Richie Faulkner on guitar and Ronnie Romero (RAINBOW, MSG) on vocals, alongside Dave Rimmer (URIAH HEEP) on bass and Christopher Williams (ACCEPT) on drums.

ELEGANT WEAPONS' debut album, "Horns For A Halo", was released on May 26, 2023 via Nuclear Blast. The LP was recorded with bassist Rex Brown (PANTERA, DOWN) and drummer Scott Travis (JUDAS PRIEST) and was helmed by acclaimed British producer Andy Sneap, who has previously worked with JUDAS PRIEST, ACCEPT, EXODUS and MEGADETH, among many others.

In a recent interview with Jorge Botas of Portugal's Metal Global, Faulkner spoke about a possible second album from ELEGANT WEAPONS. He said: "We've already started. We've recorded drums for the second record. We got together in March, I think, of [2023]; I think it was March — I'm not sure. We got together in the studio and played together to record the drums, get the drums recorded. So it's been started."

Asked if the second ELEGANT WEAPONS LP will arrive in 2024 or 2025, Richie said: "I don't know. Maybe [in 2024]. Back in the day, bands used to release a record every year, sometimes two in a year. I know we don't do things under the same cycle anymore. But the ideas are there for the songs. We all were together, and we thought why not get at least the drums going. We got the drums and we got the guitars, and stuff like that, so why not start the process?

"It was important for me, really, when I started the band… It was a band that it wasn't just a one-record type thing," Faulkner explained. "It was a band that plays live and records — hopefully — multiple records and grows and evolves together moving into the future. So the next record is just a part of that sort of process, really."

Richie went on to say that he plans on focusing on ELEGANT WEAPONS full-time once PRIEST has officially called it a day.

"PRIEST music is gonna be around a lot longer than we are," he said. "It's legendary music. They're genre-defining musicians and it's a genre-defining band. It will be around for a long time. But none of us gets out of this alive. That's just the reality of it. So if one day that call comes in and that's the last tour or the last album, whatever it is… I mean, I joined the band on what was the farewell tour. Luckily it wasn't, and we're still here 12 years later. [It's] fantastic. But at the time, I think I would have been silly not to consider what I was gonna do after the band, because of the circumstances of the tour. It was a farewell tour — it was [supposed to be] the last tour — so what am I gonna do after? So it's always been in the back of my mind. And this is a band that seems natural to me to continue with if that call ever came in."

ELEGANT WEAPONS played a number of shows in Europe in June and July 2023, including performances with PANTERA, festival appearances and headlining gigs.

ELEGANT WEAPONS made its first two festival appearances on June 16, 2023 at Hellfest in Clisson, France and on June 18, 2023 at Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel, Belgium.

The clips below feature German metal legends, Helloween, performed at the Tokyo Budokan on September 16th, 2023 . The live footage below is taken from a WOWOW network livestream couŕtesy of antere5.


Setlist:


"Skyfall"
"Eagle Fly Free"
"Mass Pollution"
"Future World"
"Power"
"Save Us"
"Walls of Jericho"
"Metal Invaders / Victim of Fate / Gorgar / Ride the Sky"
"Heavy Metal (Is the Law)"
"Forever and One (Neverland)"
- guitar solo - (Sascha Gerstner)
"Best Time"
"Dr. Stein"
"How Many Tears"




Encore:
"Perfect Gentleman"
"Keeper of the Seven Keys"


Encore 2:
- drum solo - (Dani Löble)
"I Want Out"














Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM) announces the signing of legendary power metal institution, Helloween, for their upcoming studio album. Since their formation in 1984 and the spectacular reunion in 2017, Helloween are undoubtedly one of the world's outstanding representatives of the genre.


RPM comments on the signing: "It is a true milestone for Reigning Phoenix Music to welcome Helloween to our family of artists. Helloween are not just a band, they epitomize the energy and passion of power metal. Their music has inspired generations, and we are proud to collaborate in order to reach new heights."


Helloween themselves are equally enthusiastic about the new partnership: "Sven Bogner and his team have convinced us with their ideas and enthusiasm. They live and love metal, and this is what connects us - we look forward to be working with them!," explains singer Andi Deris.


The combination of Helloween and Reigning Phoenix Music promises a powerful synergy between one of the world's most influential power metal bands and a label that is passionate about promoting up-and-coming talents as well as established artists. Fans can look forward to thrilling musical experiences and innovative projects. Specifically, Helloween will start working on new material from the summer and are planning to release a new studio album in 2025.


Helloween are:


Michael Kiske - vocals
Andi Deris - vocals
Kai Hansen - guitars, vocals
Michael Weikath - guitars
Sascha Gerstner - guitars
Markus Grosskopf - bass
Daniel Löble - drums

Keeping in mind that it IS April 1, King Crimson founder Robert Fripp has announced that he has joined OnlyFans. OnlyFans is an internet content subscription service based in London, UK. The service is used primarily by sex workers who produce pornography, but it also hosts the work of other content creators, such as physical fitness experts and musicians.


Check out Robert's video below. A message attached to the video states: "Many online posters and commentators have referred to Fripp's cruel unavailability to fans. This has now been addressed."










Yesterday, Fripp and his wife, Toyah Willcox, released their latest Sunday Lunch video, stating: "Time for a new Sunday Lunch for you  - and OMG you are going to love this!!"

Cemetery Skyline have released their debut single, "Violent Storm", via Century Media Records. Stream/download the single here, and watch a music video below.


Says the band: "Cemetery Skyline. A band crawling out from the Scandinavian nightless nights. Formed somewhere in time in 2020, from the idea to create ageless dark music with respect to our generation’s biggest influencers. This Nordic collaboration was born with the plan to create something which has not been out there before, something different to all the music the band members have ever done. A unique combination of heavy riffs and emotions packed in a dark and deep creative context. You may call it gothic rock, dark rock or even heavy metal. We just call it Nordic Gothic."







In regards to the "Violent Storm" single, the band adds: "This song is highly inspired by the late nightly empty roads of GOTHenburg and their desperate stories of loneliness and getting lost to the unique beautiful misery and sorrow of Nordic gothic. It’s about a built-up frustration and how it can get out of hand, the feeling of helplessness and how it can take over. It’s a simple, rocky song that represents the band perfectly. "





Cemetery Skyline is:


Vocals: Mikael Stanne (Dark Tranquillity, The Halo Effect, Grand Cadaver)
Guitars: Markus Vanhala (Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum, I Am The Night Horde)
Keyboards: Santeri Kallio (Amorphis)
Bass: Victor Brandt (Dimmu Borgir, Witchery, ex-Entombed, ex-Satyricon)
Drums: Vesa Ranta (Sentenced, The Abbey)

In celebration of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the legendary Motörhead, Z2 has gathered a staggering lineup of icons to narrate their personal encounters with the man that came to define the sex, drugs, and rock & roll lifestyle, Lemmy Kilmister.


No Remorse: The Illustrated True Stories Of Lemmy Kilmister And Motörhead kicks off this 176-page tribute with a deeply personal foreword by his dear friend Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) and a truly touching afterword by his longtime friend and collaborator Ozzy Osbourne.







The book pairs 25 rockstar contributors with 25 acclaimed illustrators to tell the stories of their true and unbelievable personal encounters with the heralded founding father of Motörhead. Recounting their history with Lemmy over the span of his life and career are the greatest living musicians - Ozzy Osbourne, Lars Ulrich, Slash, Chrissie Hynde, Dee Snider, Dave Navarro plus world-class writers Neil Gaiman, Michael Moorcock, pro-wrestling giants Triple H, Corey Graves, TV & Film luminaries including Matt Pinfield, Penelope Spheeris, Riki Rachtman, as well as his bandmates Phil Campbell, Mikkey Dee, and Slim Jim Phantom.


With a gorgeous variety of visual approaches the artists of No Remorse: The Illustrated True Stories Of Lemmy Kilmister And Motörhead; including Dave Chisholm, Bob Fingerman, Jay Jay Jackson, and Jim Mahfood capture the many facets of these incredible true tales of Lemmy Kilmister. The cover art is illustrated and designed by comic book legend Tim Bradstreet (Punisher, Hellblazer) and features the gleam of a holographic coating on Lemmy’s classic aviator specs!


“Anyone who ever crossed paths with Lemmy Kilmister left with a very unique experience and stories to share for a lifetime,” says Josh Bernstein, Z2 President and the book’s co-editor/designer. “The outpouring of those stories from his friends and family, paired with some of underground art’s greatest illustrators, brings Lemmy and Motörhead roaring back to life on every page.”





Like all Z2 collaborations, this book comes in a variety of highly-collectible editions, including the 1:5 “All-Access” Edition which features a framed AAA Artist Pass from Lemmy’s 70th birthday party at the Whisky A Go-Go; and the 1:25 “Backstage” Edition that comes with a framed original 2012-2013 Motörhead tour laminate. All of these artifacts are from the personal collection of Lemmy Kilmister. The “No Remorse” editions of the book will come with an exclusive white vinyl variant of the legendary Motörhead double LP, No Remorse, a poster triptych set by renowned designer Hydro74, and a three-card collectors set presented in a custom frame featuring the art of the iconic thrash-metal painter Ed Repka (Megadeth, Super7).





All collector editions will include the oversized deluxe volume of the No Remorse: The Illustrated True Stories Of Lemmy Kilmister And Motörhead book contained in a metallic foil embossed slipcase, with die cuts that reveal the holographic coating on Lemmy’s classic aviator specs on the cover of the book. All editions available for pre-order now!


From his early years, Lemmy gravitated to the live-fast attitude of rock & roll, starting out as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix, joining the seminal space-rock outfit Hawkwind and famously getting fired from the band for “doing the wrong drugs." Forming Motörhead in 1975 after his dismissal, he set out to kick things up and create an aural assault, the likes of which had not been heard. Lemmy Kilmister became the unequaled standard for the Rock & Roll lifestyle.


Of their first meeting, Dave Grohl recounts, “until then I'd never met what I'd call a real rock 'n' roll hero before. Fuck Elvis and Keith Richards, Lemmy's the king of rock 'n' roll. A living, breathing, drinking, snorting, fucking legend. No one else comes close.” It’s the life of a Rock & Roll legend, and No Remorse: The Illustrated True Stories Of Lemmy Kilmister And Motörhead captures it all.


Story Contributors: Sir Neil Warnock, Wayne Kramer, Michael Moorcock, Ozzy Osbourne, Phil Campbell, Chrissie Hynde, Kim McAuliffe, Slim Jim Phantom, Lars Ulrich, Neil Gaiman, Dee Snider, Slash, Steffan Chirazi, Lita Ford, Riki Rachtman, Penelope Spheeris, Dave Navarro, Mikkey Dee, Mikael Maglieri Jr., Todd Singerman, Lar Frederiksen, Dave Grohl, Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque, Matt Pinfield, Josh Bernstein, Steve Luna, Corey Graves


Artist Contributors: Piotr Kowalski, Pat Moriarity, John Bergin, Joe Simko, John Bivens, Chris Visions, Fred Harper, Bob Fingerman, Steve Chanks, Dave Chisholm, JayJay Jackson, Felipe Sobreiro, Gideon Kendall, Ron Joseph, Steve Kurth, Shane Patrick White, Jim Mahfood, Luke McGarry, Ryan Dunlavey, Koren Shadmi, Jeff McClelland, Jeff McComskey, Wes Hargis, Brent Engstrom, Erik Rodriguez, Sean Pryor, Josh Bernstein, Frank Powers, Tony Parker, Tim Bradstreet, Ed Repka, Hydro 74


No Remorse: The Illustrated True Stories Of Lemmy Kilmister And Motörhead will be available in hardcover via Z2 (Simon & Schuster) for a list price of $35.00 and at retailers everywhere this summer.

In a new interview with Jeff Gaudiosi of MisplacedStraws.com, Rik Emmett of Canadian rock legends TRIUMPH was asked if he think he and his bandmates will ever get inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think you're dreaming in Technicolor. And the reason is because — first of all, in Canada… I mean here's the truth about TRIUMPH in Canada: We never won a Juno Award. We did get to go in the Juno Hall Of Fame, but it was really because the Juno, the CARAS [Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which administers the Juno Awards] people kind of went, 'Well, they've stuck around and they lasted so long and they got back together again. And yeah, they did that. And the [Canadian Music] Industry Hall Of Fame took 'em… So, okay, we should give 'em a Hall Of Fame award.' So, we got that, and I think it was literally just for persistence, for living long enough. And the reason for that was because in the Canadian pool, in the early days, it was, like, 'Well, you're not gonna win. RUSH is gonna win.' Of course, RUSH is gonna win. And then it was more, like, the Canadian music business had shifted, and it was, like, 'Well, you're not gonna win. GLASS TIGER is gonna win.' 'You're not gonna win. PLATINUM BLONDE is gonna win.' Things shifted."

He continued: "Years later, I did a thing where I did a tour and I did an album with Pavlo and Oscar Lopez. It was like a guitar trio kind of a project, and we toured the country and we were up for an instrumental Juno of the year. And I said to those guys, I looked at the thing, and I said, 'We're never gonna win.' And they went, 'Oh, Rik, you're so pessimistic.' I go, 'No, I'm not.' I'm actually not. Professionally, I'm known as an optimist. 'The reason that I'm pessimistic about this is,' I go, 'there's a couple of people from ARCADE FIRE that did a little offshoot thing, and they have a voting block of a much larger label than the distributor for ours. We're never gonna even get close. We won't get within sniffing distance politically."

Emmett added: "In the United States, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame politically… I mean, we were on RCA Records, which was — of the seven major labels, they were number six. And then we sued them, and we lost, and then we moved to MCA, and they were the seventh largest. They were the smallest and they had the least impact of all the labels. Now, once they combined their publishing division with their record division, and then they went on this spree where they bought Motown and they just kept acquiring catalogs and they became — now the only game in town is Universal; most of the other labels don't even exist. But at the time, we were with these small labels — not small, but the weakest ones. So voting-wise, we were never that big, we didn't sell enough records, we didn't have enough of a commercial, industrial kind of impact to have it be that the people go, 'Oh, yeah. Well, I remember when they went quadruple platinum.' We never did go quadruple platinum. We struggled to get gold up to platinum, and it would eventually happen with some of the records, but not very many of them. And then you're in a world where there's JOURNEY. Well, they went, like, seven times platinum, 10 times platinum. Oh, there's FOREIGNER. There's some noise this year about FOREIGNER. I don't think there's probably nothing in their catalog that was under five or six times platinum. They deserve to be in there; they really do. There's a good reason why [Paul] McCartney is swearing [in producer Mark Ronson's compilation of videos from famous friends vocalizing their support for FOREIGNER's induction into the Rock Hall]… They should have been in a long time ago. But there was a huge prejudice that [Rolling Stone co-founder] Jann Wenner, it bled throughout the entire board of that thing, which was, 'No, we're only gonna recognize the truly great, and the thing that defines truly great is what I say is truly great.' And he thought FOREIGNER and RUSH and STYX and TRIUMPH, he thought all that stuff was crap. And he would hire writers to write stuff in Rolling Stone that would say, 'Yeah, these bands are shit. They're terrible. They're crap.' And so that became the sort of the standard thing of, 'Yeah, well, no, we're not gonna put them in the Hall Of Fame. They're shitty.' There you go."

Emmett recently completed radiation treatment for prostate cancer.

Rik, who quit TRIUMPH — acrimoniously, in 1988 — over music and business disputes, went on to pursue a solo career, while TRIUMPH carried on with future BON JOVI guitarist Phil X for one more album, 1992's "Edge Of Excess", before calling it a day the following year.

Emmett was estranged, both personally and professionally, from the two other members of the legendary Canadian classic rock power trio for 18 years before they repaired their relationship.

Rik's memoir, "Lay It On The Line - A Backstage Pass To Rock Star Adventure, Conflict And Triumph", came out last October via ECW Press.

After 20 years apart, Emmett, Gil Moore (drums) and Mike Levine (bass) played at the 2008 editions of the Sweden Rock Festival and Rocklahoma. A DVD of the historic Sweden performance was made available four years later.

As Creed readies to embark on their first headlining shows in over a decade, Craft Recordings celebrates the recently reunited band and their enduring catalog of music with the first wide vinyl release of their multiplatinum-selling Greatest Hits collection.


Originally issued in 2004 as a limited-edition pressing, the 13-track compilation spans the Grammy and American Music Award-winning band’s first three albums (1997’s My Own Prison, 1999’s Human Clay, and 2001’s Weathered) and features such chart-topping singles as “Higher,” “One Last Breath,” “With Arms Wide Open,” and “My Sacrifice.” As a special bonus, the 2-LP set features an etching on Side D that mirrors the cover art.


Arriving May 24 and available for pre-order today, Greatest Hits can also be found in a variety of limited exclusives, including Green Smoke vinyl (via Creed’s official store), Orange Smoke (Craft Recordings), Red Smoke (Target), Gray Smoke (Best Buy), and Blue Smoke (Walmart).The collection is also available to stream/download now.




With over 53 million albums sold worldwide, Creed remains one of modern rock’s most successful acts. Formed in 1994 by the prolific writing team of Scott Stapp (vocals) and Mark Tremonti (guitar), plus bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips, the Tallahassee, FL band skyrocketed to international fame, thanks to their winning combination of anthemic hooks, rousing guitar riffs, and introspective lyricism.


Greatest Hits captures Creed’s unparalleled journey through memorable singles from their first three albums. The collection opens with selections from the band’s 1997 debut, My Own Prison. The album, which was later certified 6x Platinum, introduced Creed with tracks like “One,” “What’s This Life For,” and “My Own Prison” - all of which broke the Top Ten of Billboard’s Alternative and Mainstream Rock charts. With more than 15 million copies sold worldwide, My Own Prison stands among the most successful debuts of all time.


The story continues with 1999’s Human Clay. One of the best-selling albums of all time in the US, the Diamond-certified LP made Creed one of the biggest acts in the world, thanks to such stratospheric hits as “With Arms Wide Open,” which earned a Grammy for Best Rock Song and marked the band’s first No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and “Higher,” which spent an astonishing 57 weeks on the US pop chart, where it peaked at No.7. The album, which has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, also includes the fan favorites “What If” (featured in the soundtrack to Scream 3) and “Are You Ready.”


2001’s Weathered - which marked the band’s final studio album until 2009’s Full Circle - found Creed pushing the boundaries of their work through deeply personal lyricism and some of their heaviest material yet, including the Top 10 hits “My Sacrifice” and “One Last Breath,” as well as tracks like “Bullets” and “Weathered.” The album, which sat atop the US charts for a historic consecutive eight-week run, has since been certified 6x Platinum.


Now, 30 years into their incredible journey, Creed are bigger than ever. Late last year, the Texas Rangers made “Higher” their unofficial anthem, as it spurred them to their first World Series win. More recently, the song appeared in a high-profile Paramount+ Super Bowl commercial, while a NASCAR Daytona 500 campaign also incorporates the hit single. Along the way, Creed have gained a new generation of fans, thanks to countless TikTok videos that feature their songs.


In July 2023, after an 11-year hiatus, Creed announced their long-awaited reunion. In the months ahead, fans will have multiple opportunities to see the band live, beginning with a headlining spot on the sold-out Summer of ’99 Cruise. They’ll continue their headlining run on the Summer of ’99 Tour, where they will be joined by such acts as Finger Eleven, 3 Doors Down, Hinder, Fuel, and Daughtry. Later this year, Creed look forward to celebrating the 25th anniversary of Human Clay, while touring North America throughout the end of the year. Visit the band’s official here for tickets and more info.





Creed’s Greatest Hits tracklisting:


Side A:
"Torn"
"My Own Prison"
"What's This Life For"
"One"


Side B:
"Are You Ready?"
"Higher"
"With Arms Wide Open"
"What If"


Side C:
"One Last Breath"
"Don't Stop Dancing"
"Bullets"
"My Sacrifice"
"Weathered"


(Photo - Chuck Brueckmann)







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Featured Video

ANTHRAX singer Joey Belladonna's JOURNEY tribute band called BEYOND FRONTIERS performed at Keswick Theatre in Glenside, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, March 27. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below, courtesy of the LORDOFTHE80S YouTube channel.

In a recent interview with Ernest Skinner of Canada's Border City Rock Talk, Belladonna was asked if he was serious when he said that he would love to sing with JOURNEY one day. He responded: "I've been around [the JOURNEY] guys, my wife and I.. God, I know Deen [Castronovo, JOURNEY drummer], and I've had dinner with Neal [Schon, JOURNEY guitarist], and soundchecked with the crew. I mean, I'm so far into knowing the whole band and crew that I always would have loved to have done that. 'Cause I just like the music. The music is really appealing to me. I love all the melodic [aspects of it]. I love the musicianship. There's so much there. Without really outright looking for that gig, without asking, you know what I mean? Yeah, I love the music and that's why I put we put BEYOND FRONTIERS together because I've always thought it would be a fun night and I like singing the music."

Joey went on to say that he and rest of BEYOND FRONTIERS are currently working on "studio versions" of their "whole set. And it sounded pretty good," he said. "It just hasn't really been mixed yet to where I want it."

In September 2023, Belladonna was asked point blank by Mike Hsu of the 100 FM The Pike radio station what he would say if he was contacted right now and asked to front JOURNEY. Joey responded: "You know, I would definitely be really interested in doing that. That would be great. Not that I think that that's gonna happen, but, yeah, it would be great. I'd love that challenge. It would be great."

Regarding why he chose to launch a JOURNEY tribute band, Belladonna told 100 FM The Pike: "Well, I've been singing JOURNEY stuff throughout the years, but never had a band that I thought that would be, you know, willing to do it correctly and lengthy like where I could keep it going. I've always liked the music so much. I've owned all the music. I liked JOURNEY long before Steve [Perry] even came. I have all those records, so I was really into the band a lot. But of course, when Steve came along, I was down with singing that live somewhere. And [I] just put it together and said I wanted to do a whole night of it. I just thought it would be fun, and it looked like a blast. And we do have a blast doing it."

Belladonna's JOURNEY tribute also features keyboardist Doug Carter, bassist Paul Arntz, guitarist Matt Basford and drummer Justin Ward.

In an April 2020 interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Belladonna stated about his approach to singing material that was originally written and recorded by Steve Perry: "Obviously, when you do [something like this], there's always open ground for [people to say], 'You didn't do that part, 'You didn't do this.' [But] I didn't wanna copy it note for note. Sometimes I just like to do my own thing with it. Represent it and do what you can, but I love to mess around with things. Not so much to try to be too different, but just make it cool and do it your own way versus trying to get every note. I'm sure some guys study every second of it. Even with ANTHRAX, I do songs different a lot of times. It's just fun that way. To do things off the cuff is fun for me versus trying to follow everything… I can study it all day, but I just don't feel like doing that. I wanna have a little fun doing my own thing with it."

Belladonna's JOURNEY tribute made its live debut in March 2020 at The Beacon Theatre in Hopewell, Virginia.

In a 2005 interview with MusicDish, Belladonna was asked about the rumor that he came to the table with a JOURNEY tune during his 1985 audition for ANTHRAX. "Actually, what happened was I went into the room and they said, 'Just go on in,' and they hadn't heard me sing," he said. "They'd heard of me and they asked me to come in, but we were going in to start tracking and stuff, to get the mic set up and all that and they said, 'Let's get you in there and get you warmed up.' I hit the mic and belted out some JOURNEY… I think it was [the song] 'Lights'. I didn't know what the hell I was getting into in the first place. I just wanted to lay some vocals or something. Just to kinda give an idea and that's what happened. It wasn't really anything more than that. I just kinda belched it out. I think I did 'Oh Sherrie' [written by Steve Perry], too, or something. I dunno why, but I just did. It was something off the top of my head I could do a cappella and it was kinda challenging. I thought maybe in range or something that would be kind of intriguing. It was definitely one they weren't expecting."

ANTHRAX's 2013 EP "Anthems" EP included the band's cover version of JOURNEY's "Keep On Runnin'" alongside classics by RUSH, THIN LIZZY, AC/DC, CHEAP TRICK and BOSTON.