Former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson and acclaimed metal vocalist Jeff Scott Soto have once again joined forces and released their second album, "Unbreakable", on August 15 via Rat Pak Records. The duo ELLEFSON-SOTO is joined by Italian guitarist Andy Martongelli and Paolo Caridi on drums and features 11 studio tracks with guest appearances from Tim "Ripper" Owens (KK'S PRIEST, ex-JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH) and BURNING WITCHES frontwoman Laura Guldemond.

The official Elia Turra-directed music video for the album's fourth single, "SOAB", can be seen below.

Soto says: "This song represents the savage, raw and punk side of all of us in this band! The same as the world common bond is we sleep, eat and blink our eyes daily, we ALL know and have encountered a true S.O.A.B. in our lifetimes…this is their theme song!"

Filmed at Rogue Recording Studios in London, United Kingdom, the "SOAB" video is powerful, loud, and outrageous — made to be cranked at full volume!

In addition, fans will have the chance to see ELLEFSON-SOTO live on April 9, 2026, when the band makes its U.S. live debut at the legendary Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California. Immediately after, the band will take to the seas as part of the Monsters Of Rock cruise, sailing April 12–16 out of Miami, Florida.

During a recent appearance on Rock Camp: The Podcast, Ellefson stated about ELLEFSON-SOTO:  "We started writing [the material for the first album], I think, [a few] years ago up in Wembley. The guitar player of the group, Andy Martongelli, is out of Italy. So we started composing. We had a record, and he said, he goes, 'Dude, just call Jeff Scott Soto to sing.' And this was back in 2021 during COVID. So I hit Jeff. We sent some stuff back and forth. It sounded great. We just kept sending stuff. And finally [Jeff] just said, 'Rather than me just sort of being the hired singer here, I'd really like to just be a part of this.' It was music to our ears. I'd rather do that too. I could pay you to sing on every song, but I think we've got something pretty cool here."

Ellefson continued: "So the first record, of course, is always about kind of finding each other, so really it's me and Jeff and Andy Martongelli — and our drummer Paolo as well; he's also from Italy. So half the band's Italian, half the band's American, I guess. As that first record came out, it really had a great response to it, and so Andy and I started writing the second one. And we got it finished up back… I wanted to get everything done before Jeff went on tour with TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA back in November [of 2024]. So that was kind of our goal and our deadline, which we did. We mixed the record in the New Year and got it all teed up and ready to go and shot the videos and everything."

Regarding how "Unbreakable" compares to 2022's "Vacation In The Underworld", David said: "The second record, you feel a little more comfortable with each other, 'cause you're just musically more comfortable, personally you're more comfortable. And we didn't know if there's ever gonna be a second record."

Ellefson went on to say that he loves the "Unbreakable" album title. "I think it speaks to a lot of my life for sure, and I think it speaks to all of us," he added. "I hope our audience relates to it, that together we're stronger. And no matter what kind of stuff we go through, we all go through stuff. It's called life. It's called being human. And I think as long as you just kind of keep moving forward…

"I remember watching a yoga DVD one time and the instructor said, he goes, 'As humans, we're wired to think forward, and forward is where hope is.' That's why when you think it's over, that's when your hope's gone and dreams die and it's over," David explained. "So I think as humans, at least in my life, it's, like, just always say yes, always keep moving forward because that keeps the hope alive. It keeps the fire burning and the target is always ahead of you, not behind you and lamenting and wishing that it would've been different. And it's always about moving forward. So I think 'Unbreakable' is very much a representation of us just keep moving and keep making music."

Recorded at Rogue Studios in Wembley, U.K. by Alessio Garavello and produced by Chris Collier (MICK MARS, KORN, FLAT BLACK),"Unbreakable" is a sonic assault packed with catchy riffs, melodic vocals, and thoughtful lyrics that blends their classic metal roots with modern rock intensity.

"This album digs even deeper," Ellefson said in a press release. "It's heavier, more personal, and shaped by everything we've experienced on and off the stage." Soto added: "The energy we poured into this one — it's the sound of two lifetimes colliding in riffs, rage, and redemption."

Ellefson further commented: "One of the things I like most is I feel like you can hear a real sense of brotherhood on our records, that we're really in the creative process together as a band. The consistency of our sound has remained intact while allowing us to further build upon each other's strengths from our debut album. It's an honest, organic approach that blends well and lets us explore new sounds and musical paths. At the end of the day, I don't think there is anything that an artist desires more than that!"

"Unbreakable" is available on all major streaming platforms, with limited edition autographed vinyl, CD and cassette bundles exclusively through Rat Pak Records.

Track listing:

01. Unbreakable
02. SOAB
03. Shout
04. Hate You, Hate Me
05. Poison Tears (featuring Laura Guldemond of BURNING WITCHES)
06. Ghosts
07. Vengeance (feat. Tim "Ripper" Owens of KK'S PRIEST)
08. Snakes And Bastards
09. It's Over When I Say It's Over
10. The Day We Built Rome
11. Death On Two Legs (bonus track) (CD and vinyl)

In a March 2025 interview with Scott Itter of Dr. Music, Soto spoke about the status of the second album from ELLEFSON-SOTO. He said at the time: "The record's in the can.

"The way Erik Martensson, he's the ringleader, the overseer [of Soto's W.E.T. project], David is that with ELLEFSON-SOTO," Jeff explained. "He pulls the songs together, he gets the timing together, he gets the label side, all the industry-side stuff together. I just have to relax and sit back while I'm doing all the million of other things that I'm doing, and I come in and then I dive in and I put my input.

"I love working with David and Andy [Martongelli], who's our guitar player and also co-writer in the band. And I love the fact that they allow me to be me.

"I've proven myself as an artist, producer, writer, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, but there are still times where I'll do something and they'll go, 'Hmm, [it's] not really what I thought you were gonna do. Can you try more of this? Try more of that?' I don't mind that at all, because whatever is good for the song, the best thing for the song, of course. But when it comes to ELLEFSON-SOTO, I'm really, really headstrong on the ideas I come up with, and when I send it to David, [I'm] like, 'Oh, God, I hope he doesn't say, 'Oh, I don't know, man.'' And every time, him and Andy say, 'Home run. You knocked that one out of the park. That's awesome.' And that's what motivates me to wanna do more and to give my all into that, even that situation, because I know if I'm making them happy with what I'm turning in, I know in the end, it's gonna be a cohesive sound and project."

Regarding the songwriting approach on the second ELLEFSON-SOTO album, Jeff said: "It's weird because the first album, when we did it, it wasn't supposed to be an album. I was doing songs with David and Andy. We were just writing songs and recording songs during the pandemic. And it turned into, 'Hey, we're on to something here. We can't give these songs to someone else or just use 'em as catalog music. We have something here.' And that's what made us put that out as an album. This time around, we actually went in to record and write an album. We didn't say, 'Let's just write songs and see where it goes.' We actually went in and said, 'This is the sound. This is what we created on the first album. Now let's expand on it.'"

He added: "It's really, really good. I don't listen to my own stuff that often unless I have to learn songs for a tour or a show, but I actually find myself listening to this record just to listen to it."

ELLEFSON-SOTO's debut album, "Vacation In The Underworld", was released in October 2022 via Rat Pak Records. The duo was joined by Martongelli on guitar and keyboards and Paulo Caridi on drums. Giada Jade Etro from the Italian power metal band FROZEN CROWN made a guest appearance on the song "The Day Before Tomorrow". Steve Conley and Ken Mary from FLOTSAM AND JETSAM performed on the title track, "Vacation In The Underworld".

"Vacation In The Underworld" was produced by Chris Collier and featured eleven tracks and three bonus recordings.

To officially launch the project, Ellefson and Soto played concerts in September 2022 in Italy where they performed some of the music as well as ran through various catalog highlights, including selections from MEGADETH and Yngwie Malmsteen. They were joined by Martongelli as the musical director, as well as Caridi on drums and Valerio De Rosa on rhythm guitar.

In March 2021 — two months before David was fired from MEGADETH — Ellefson and Soto announced that they had been collaborating on some new material under the moniker ELLEFSON-SOTO. The ELLEFSON-SOTO version of the RIOT classic "Swords & Tequila" was simultaneously released across all digital streaming outlets via Ellefson's Combat Records.

When Ellefson's collaboration with Soto was first announced, David said in a statement: "Jeff and I have been friends for so many years that it's great to finally collaborate on some material together. He has such a distinctive voice and perfect style for some new ideas my guitarist Andy Martongelli and I have been composing. We are excited about the progress of it all and thought this would be a perfect time to give a little sneak preview."

At the time, Jeff added: "As COVID-19 became a big negative around the globe, it actually offered many artists a chance to finally collaborate with one another that might have never happened otherwise… As I have known David for many years, I knew from our other efforts outside of our day jobs that we could come up with some badass jams…and here we are, letting you in on our cool little secret."

David was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest exit.

In a new interview with Shawn Ratches of Laughingmonkeymusic, former ACCEPT and current U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER frontman Udo Dirkschneider said that his voice has only gotten stronger over time. The 73-year-old singer explained (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "When we had our new booking agency and they start working on the European tour, they said, 'Yeah, how many shows can you do?' I said, 'Yeah, five, six in a row, no problem.' They were, like, 'What?' I said, 'Yeah, no problem at all. I can do that.' And it's, like, 'Okay.' And, of course, it makes the whole touring much cheaper — you don't have days off and blah, blah, blah. So here we go. Keep going. And for me, this is also a crazy thing with my voice. For me, it's better to have more shows in a row instead of having two, a day off, three, a day off. For me, it's the wrong way [to have days off]. It's crazy, I know, but it works for me… That's the thing. It's like a muscle… And also, in a band with U.D.O., everybody's happy that we not only play two shows and then a day off, maybe two days off, three shows, whatever. And, yeah, keep going. You're get getting really into that. And everybody likes it in the band."

Udo previously talked about the evolution of his singing voice during a May 2023 press conference for U.D.O.'s latest album, "Touchdown", in Hamburg, Germany. He said at the time: "For me, the most important thing is that you are open-minded with music — not [have the attitude of], 'This is what I did for 40 years. I don't wanna change anything.' For me, [it's important] to be really open-minded. I always was open-minded. I mean, I was working with so many musicians. It was out of my control. We had a lot of changes. And I always [had the attitude of], 'Yeah.' I'm interested for me, myself, to see how far I can go with my vocals, with my voice.

"It's a different thing, but when I did this cover album [2022's 'My Way', released under the Udo Dirkschneider banner], I was making like a spectrum… For me, it was, like, 'Yeah, I can do that,'" he explained. "It was helping me also to see, 'Oh, can I cover this like this?' The range — this is also very interesting — my range got wider. I mean, I didn't expect this. It's like an old wine; the taste is getting much better.

"With my voice now, I can do so many different stuff," Udo added. "This is also a miracle for me, for myself. 20 or 25 years ago, to sing some songs, it was, like, 'What?' [Laughs] But now it's easy for me to do some also different stuff. And yeah, it's good to see. That means, for me, I see we can do a lot of different stuff also in the future."

In an October 2021 interview with Pete Pardo of Sea Of Tranquility, Udo was asked how he has managed to keep his singing voice in such good shape after more than 40 years of recording and touring. He responded: "I don't know. I think I'm really lucky with my voice. I go every year to check everything, and the doctor always says, 'Everything's perfect. No problems.' And this is crazy.

"I never had any problems or had to cancel a concert [because of] my voice — never," he continued. "I'm really, really lucky with this. I know a lot of colleagues, they have problems with their voice.

"The only thing I can say is I do nothing really special. The only thing I did is 17 years ago I stopped smoking. And that's the only thing what I did. And the rest is, like, I do nothing. I never warm up when I go onstage. I never warm up in the studio. It's a miracle.

"My colleague Stefan Kaufmann [former ACCEPT drummer and U.D.O. guitarist], I'm working with this guy for a long, long time, and when we did the recording of [the U.D.O. album] 'Game Over', he said to me, 'This voice is a miracle. Unbelievable.' He said to me, 'You are still on the same level like [ACCEPT's] 'Breaker' [album], with the high voices.' He said, 'This is unreal.' Normally, if you're getting older, you're losing all these high parts. No. He said, 'This is crazy — absolutely crazy.'

"I have to say to somebody, 'Thank you very much.' [Laughs]"

DIRKSCHNEIDER is the name of Udo's band which performs ACCEPT material exclusively.

Although Udo announced 10 years ago that his initial DIRKSCHNEIDER tour would mark his final time performing ACCEPT songs, he has continued to play select shows under the DIRKSCHNEIDER banner for the past decade.

Technical death metal artisans, Revocation, are set to unleash a video for “Dystopian Vermin,” the latest single from their savage new full-length New Gods, New Masters. The video will be available at 11 AM, EST on Friday (September 26), the same day as the record’s official release via Metal Blade Records.

On New Gods, New Masters, Revocation conjures nine potent and portentous songs of brutal lyrical and musical significance. Elaborates founding vocalist/guitarist Dave Davidson on “Dystopian Vermin”: “This one’s for the headbangers. It’s got a lot of driving momentum that morphs into some of the heaviest parts on the whole album. The video for this track was once again filmed by the MyGoodEye team who did an excellent job as always. I think they really captured the energy of this song and the location/set that they came up with perfectly fit the mood. I can’t wait to play this song live on our upcoming tour, I think it’s sure to get the circle pit churning.”

Check out a trailer for the video below:





Additionally, the band will host a special live stream of New Gods, New Masters on YouTube today (Thursday, September 25) at 4 PM, ET / 1 PM, PT where fans can chat live with Dave Davidson. Don’t miss it. Visit the Metal Blade YouTube channel here.

New Gods, New Masters was produced by Davidson and mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren (The Haunted, Spiritbox) with artwork by Paolo Girardi (Bell Witch, Mother Of Graves, Black Breath, Cryptopsy). In addition to Jonny Davy, the record includes guest appearances by Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation, Luc Lemay of Gorguts, and jazz guitarist Gilad Hekselman.



New Gods, New Masters will be released on CD and digital formats as well as vinyl in the following color variants:

– All Seeing (Amber Marbled – US)
– Gemini Parasite (Green / Blue Marbled – US)
– Unending Night (Blue Smoke – US Tour Exclusive)
– 180g Black (EU)
– Twilight Blue Marbled (EU)
– Crimson Red Marbled (EU – Ltd. 500)
– Lilac w/ Black Dust (EU – Ltd. 300)

Find pre-orders here.



New Gods, New Masters tracklisting:

“New Gods, New Masters”
“Sarcophagi Of The Soul”
“Confines Of Infinity” (feat. Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation)
“Dystopian Vermin”
“Despiritualized”
“The All Seeing” (feat. Gilad Hekselman)
“Data Corpse”
“Cronenberged” (feat. Jonny Davy of Job For A Cowboy)
“Buried Epoch” (feat. Luc Lemay of Gorguts)

JUDAS PRIEST's "charity" version of the BLACK SABBATH classic "War Pigs", featuring SABBATH frontman Ozzy Osbourne, has just been released and can be streamed below.

All profits of Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd and Epic Records in the U.K. from audio streams, downloads, and physical sales of the recording will be donated to The Glenn Tipton Parkinson's Foundation and Cure Parkinson's.

In a recent interview with Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show, JUDAS PRIEST's Rob Halford reflected on Osbourne's recent passing. Asked if he had a story in his experiences with Ozzy that spoke to who he was as a person beyond the concert stage, Rob said: "He gave everything on stage. When he walked out on the stage, he was always beaming. He loved his fans with such an extraordinary passion, but that existed offstage as well. Whenever I'd see him, if I went to see a show, the first thing he would say to me was, 'Did you have a good time? Did you enjoy yourself? Was it great?' And so that part of him as a person — he was always giving stuff. He was always giving out. He wasn't a taking kind of a guy. He was always pushing stuff forward, paying it forward, whatever that expression is. So that part of Ozzy that we probably didn't see much of existed when he wasn't on stage."

Halford continued: "He was an extraordinary man. And I think that opportunity that you had through Sharon [Osbourne, Ozzy's wife and manager] and working with 'The Osbournes', which was the first-ever reality TV show, he became our friend. You may not have ever met Ozzy, but you knew him as a family guy, and you knew him as being — he's like us. There's Ozzy on stage, but look at him at home. And I think that that's what drew him even further into us with our love for Ozzy Osbourne and everything that he's left us with."

In early July, PRIEST released a cover of BLACK SABBATH's "War Pigs" ahead of the "Back To The Beginning" concert, which marked the original SABBATH lineup's last-ever performance.

PRIEST was unable to appear at "Back To The Beginning" on July 5 in Birmingham, United Kingdom because the band was scheduled to perform at SCORPIONS' huge hometown 60th-anniversary concert at the Heinz Von Heiden Arena in Hannover, Germany on the very same day.

"It was a really difficult thing to say, 'I can't do it,' but that was just the way the chips fell on that particular event," Rob told Full Metal Jackie. "However, we were there in spirit, as we said in that brief little thing that we said for Ozzy on the big video screens. And probably even more important, the PRIEST homage to BLACK SABBATH with our — it's not really a version; it's JUDAS PRIEST playing BLACK SABBATH's 'War Pigs' to about as close as we possibly could. 'Cause you don't mess with a song like that. You give it the sounds that you have with your guitars, with your drums, with your bass, with your voice, and you do it in respect, and you do it in a way of saying thank you for BLACK SABBATH and what they did and what they leave us with with their great music."

Speaking in more detail about PRIEST's rendition of "War Pigs", Rob said: "It's close to five million views on the BLACK SABBATH official site, which is very generous of them to put us on there. 'Cause we're friends. We've been friends forever. What is cool and what is kind of waiting in the wings is Ozzy singing with me doing 'War Pigs' together. We've been able to do that. So that's just kind of — it's there. We're just having to go through all the rigmarole of legal clearance and so on and so forth. But when Sharon said, and this is just so beautiful, when she approached me with this idea, she said, 'I love your version of 'War Pigs'. Is there a way we can get Ozzy [on it as well]?' I said, 'You're asking me? This is gonna happen.' So we were able to make it work. So you get Ozzy singing a line, and then I'm singing a line and Ozzy's singing a line and I'm singing a line, and it's the first-ever time in my entire life that I've been able to do a duet with Ozzy. And I'm so eternally grateful and blessed and grieving that I was able to do that. But when you hear it, it's just colossal. If you think that you've heard the one experience of PRIEST's 'War Pigs', but when you hear PRIEST's 'War Pigs' with Ozzy singing on that track, it's just going to a really special place.

Last month, Rob told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about Ozzy's passing: "Oh, man. I got a call the day [Ozzy's death] happened. I just put the phone down in my hotel room in — I think I was in Leeds, in England, and I just curled up in a ball and bawled my eyes out for hours. I just couldn't believe it. I still can't believe it now. I'm still grieving, like so many people. And then we had a show the next day. So, God, how do you process all of this tragedy, all of this love, because I've never seen such an outpouring of love. And we did the show and we came to the song that we'll be playing when we come to see you guys — it's called 'Giants In The Sky', from the 'Invincible Shield' album — and that song talks about people that we love in music that have moved on to this beautiful place. We reference Lemmy [MOTÖRHEAD] and Ronnie [James Dio] and Paul Di'Anno [IRON MAIDEN] and Jill [Janus from] HUNTRESS and Chris [Cornell from SOUNDGARDEN] and all of these greats, Janis Joplin, Freddie Mercury. And then for that show we added Ozzy at the end. And I said to everybody, this just so much to try and comprehend and so tough, but Ozzy would say, 'Let's party. Let's rock and roll. Let's live it up. Let's enjoy.' That was in his heart, his soul, and his spirit. Whenever we did shows together, he would always say that to me after, 'Did you have a good time?' 'Yeah. Yeah.' 'Did you have a good time? Did you really have a good time?' The stuff he pushed out from himself to his fans to everybody, the generosity, the caring, all of the incredible things that he did in music, he was the embodiment of kindness in that respect.

"So it's great that we are talking about him now and we should keep talking about him forever, like I always talk about Ronnie, I talk about Lemmy," Rob added. "These are all friends of mine. And we have to celebrate — we have to celebrate. That's the way of helping you through the grief. You think about the memories, you think about the joy, you think about the good times, and that's what we will always do with Ozzy."

Asked if he remembered the last time he had a conversation with Ozzy or the last time he was in contact with him, Rob said: "No. We used to text occasionally. 'Cause he's another guy I was in awe of. I'm still in awe of Alice [Cooper]. [Laughs] 'Oh my God. He's Alice Cooper.' And I used to feel the same whenever I was in Ozzy's presence, because he had this larger-than-life personality. It'd been a while since we've been in touch. But, again, I just have the wonderful memories of the two opportunities I was able to sing for him with SABBATH. And then this recent opportunity to cover 'War Pigs' [with PRIEST], which we still play at the start of our show, which is one of the greatest metal songs ever written. So that connection will never be severed in that respect."

JUDAS PRIEST paid tribute to Ozzy during the band's July 23 concert at Scarborough Open Air Theatre in Scarborough, United Kingdom. Introducing the aforementioned song "Giants In The Sky", Rob acknowledged the BLACK SABBATH frontman's death a day earlier, saying: "Okay. Look, it's been tough, the last 24 hours, right? It's been tough. But he would want us to be doing this. He would want us to be together, he would want us to be having a good time, which is what we're doing right now. We love you, Ozzy."

After a brief pause amid chants of "Ozzy! Ozzy! Ozzy!", Halford continued: "This next song is all about him and all of the other greats that we've lost. Their music lives forever. They used to be down here on the earth plane. Now they're in the sky plane, as we call it. This is 'Giants In The Sky'."

During the song — a tribute to musicians now gone — the screen displayed images of the likes of Ronnie James Dio, Lemmy, Freddie Mercury, Taylor Hawkins and Christine McVie, finishing on two gigantic images of Ozzy.

A few hours after Ozzy's passing was announced on July 22, JUDAS PRIEST released the following statement via social media: "Our hearts are broken like millions around the world. Words can't express the love and loss we are all feeling.

"Sharon, may God surround you and your beautiful family with love, peace and light.

"Ozzy, you will never leave us — your music is eternal. God blesses you now more than ever after you blessed us all through your magnificent life.

"Rob, Glenn, Ian, Richie & Scott".

In August 2023, Halford picked BLACK SABBATH's classic 1970 self-titled debut album as one of the albums he'd be willing to listen to in perpetuity if he found himself stranded and alone on an island. He said: "I would have to go with BLACK SABBATH, the original 'Black Sabbath' album that I think is the motivator for all great things in heavy metal."

Back in 2020, Halford broke down his top 10 favorite albums in an interview with Rolling Stone and explained how they helped make him who he is. Among the records included on the list was BLACK SABBATH's debut. At the time, Halford said about his choice: "They were local guys from the same neighborhood, the same neck of the woods as PRIEST. We literally grew up together, inventing this great music that we love and cherish so much called heavy-metal music.

"I chose the 'Black Sabbath' album just because, like so many bands, your first one or two records really establish who you are as a band," he explained. "It's a bit like PRIEST with 'Rocka Rolla' and 'Sad Wings Of Destiny'; 'Sad Wings Of Destiny' becomes the one we love so much because it becomes defining. With 'Black Sabbath', here was the first example of what heavy metal music should sound like, just the texture, the tone, the structure of all of the material, Ozzy's very unique voice. It's just become a very important record in the discography of BLACK SABBATH."

Halford joined SABBATH for two gigs to support Ozzy Osbourne on his last shows for the "No More Tours" tour in November 1992 in Costa Mesa, California after SABBATH's singer at the time, Ronnie James Dio, refused to take the stage. Rob also performed with SABBATH members Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward on August 26, 2004 at the Camden, New Jersey stop of Ozzfest after Ozzy came down with an "attack of bronchitis" and was unable to take part in the concert.

Asked which SABBATH tune he'd most enjoying performing with the band, Halford told The Georgia Straight: "Ooo, that's a good question. Um, I'd probably say the actual song 'Black Sabbath', which is, to me, the most evil song that's ever been written. [Laughs]. It's very fucking scary. There's something very malevolent about that song. It's just the whole — it's the way it starts, and then it's almost deathly quiet, and then that opening line: 'What is this I see before me?' You know, I just get goosebumps thinking about it now. And when I sang that song live, it makes you feel really… Wow… I can't describe it. It's just very overwhelming, the emotion is very overwhelming. And when you see Ozzy singing it you can see him change, you know, his whole demeanor, he just changes as a person to sing that song. It's really spooky."

In a new interview with India's Sinusoidal Music, PARADISE LOST vocalist Nick Holmes spoke about the British gothic metal pioneers' 17th album, "Ascension", which came out on September 19 via Nuclear Blast Records. The band's first LP in five years, following 2020's critically acclaimed "Obsidian", was produced by guitarist Gregor Mackintosh and mixed/mastered by Lawrence Mackrory. Asked about PARADISE LOST's mindset going into the writing process for "Ascension", Nick said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "When we're writing songs, it's just about what we like as fans of music. It's first and foremost — we kind of set the bar very high. We are our own biggest critics on every level. So if I'm writing lyrics, I like to write lyrics that I like to read, and I change them often — I change them constantly, in fact, as I'm writing them, and I come back to them again and again… There's nothing done by accident. We spend a lot of time arranging songs and going back to them again.

"We had quite a lot of time at work on this album, time to kind of reflect on," he continued. "And a lot of the songs were written with big gaps in between. Obviously, we had the pandemic for two years, but we started writing, I think, prior to that, and then we picked it up after that again. And then we realized we didn't like what we'd written, so we changed again and then started again. But after all these years, it's always hard to get the ball rolling. And we never really look back at what we've done in the past… It's always hard to get the ball rolling, but once it starts, you get there eventually, which we have done, I guess."

Elaborating on the reasons for the long gap between "Obsidian" and "Ascension", Nick said: "It was about five years [between the two albums]. It's usually kind of around three years between each album, because you write and record and then you tour it for 18 months or perhaps longer, depending on if you go to America, and you spend more time in America, which we haven't done that for a while. In the two years [during the pandemic], we did a side kind of project, Greg and myself, with the HOST project. And then we re-recorded [PARADISE LOST's] 'Icon' album as well [for its 30th anniversary]."

Asked to name the most "challenging part" about creating "Ascension", Holmes said: "Like I said before, I think it's when you start writing, it's really difficult. You kind of don't know what's going on for the first few songs — it's a bit of a gray area — but then when you have maybe three or four songs, you start to get a gist of the writing process. So I always think of it as a snowball rolling down a mountain side, collecting snow, and it gets bigger and bigger. It kind of reminds me of that. But, yeah, there's so many albums as well. You don't wanna repeat yourself, but whatever we do, we just sound like PARADISE LOST. I do think we have a sound, mainly Greg's guitar, really, is the sound of the band, I think — his lead guitar playing. But I think just starting writing is always a bit kind of daunting. And that's based on just the amount of time we've been around and the amount of albums we've written."

In celebration of the new album, PARADISE LOST has announced a handful of intimate signing sessions and a record-release show in Leeds, U.K.

Sep. 21 - Birmingham, UK @ HMV (2 p.m. BST) - Signing Session
Sep. 22 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club (7 p.m. BST) - Record-Release Show
Sep. 24 - London, UK @ Rough Trade East (12 p.m. BST) - Signing Session

"Ascension"'s album cover fittingly features the painting "The Court Of Death" (1870-1902) by renowned British artist George Frederic Watts, which hangs in the Tate Gallery in London. The painting depicts Death as an enthroned angel flanked by allegorical figures of Silence and Mystery guarding sunrise and the star of hope, while a warrior surrenders his sword and a duke his coronet, showing that worldly status offers no protection. The painting's bleak, prophetic vision embodies "Ascension"'s dark, tormented soundscapes as mournful verses collide with dire, foreboding riffs.

In a recent interview with Jerry Kurunen of Rauta, Mackintosh stated about the making of "Ascension": "Something that really changed the approach to this record was… It was 30 years since our 'Icon' album a year or two ago, and we had to do a re-recording. But having to do that, re-learn those songs in such depth and re-record it put me in the headspace of '92, '93, 'Shades Of God', 'Icon' era, and that kind of influenced the songwriting for this record a a little bit. So probably over half the album is very much in that vein."

After Kurunen noted that PARADISE LOST has come "full circle" by returning to the band's "death/doom" roots on some of its recent albums, Mackintosh said: "Well, when you say full circle, the first time that was mentioned to me was when we did 'The Plague Within' [2015] album, which is — I don't know what year; it was 2014 or something — and I'd say that's true. That's pretty true. But since then we have been trying to maneuver around it, all our influences from all the past in different ways. Like 'Medusa' [2017] was far more of kind of sludgy record, and then the last one before this one, 'Obsidian' [2020], kind of has more gothy influences again, and this one, because of the 'Icon' re-recording, like I said, is kind of traveling somewhere between the 'Shades Of God', 'Icon' era-ish, but with a twist of now."

Asked what it felt for him and his PARADISE LOST bandmates to be inspired by their own music while making "Ascension", Gregor said: "It wasn't inspired by our own music. It was kind of — I said this before — it is kind of puts you in the headspace of where you were at that time, what your influences were at that time, how you felt. And at that time, around 'Shades Of God' and 'Icon', we were very much into the… Even the name 'Paradise Lost'. We even went back to that, It's from the book. What does the book mean? What's it about? What are the themes? This religious imagery, over-the-top religious imagery, even though we're all atheists. So we kind of went down that path. And with the music, it was just a case of… I never used to play the same thing as any of the other… It was, like, we were all playing our different bits and there wasn't too much riffage. It was there, but I was more of this harmony guy all the time. So we delved into that on this record. So it was more like the headspace. It wasn't really being influenced by our own stuff. It was just, like, 'Huh, this is interesting.' 'Cause over the years, incrementally, your style of playing changes, your style of songwriting changes, and you forget certain things. And then just revisiting it makes you think, 'Ah, okay.' … I mean, you try not to repeat yourself, obviously, but it gives you a warm feeling… So if you're getting that, it must be a good thing."

Mackintosh added: "I had half this album written three years ago. I had six or seven songs written, and I scrapped the whole lot because I wasn't happy with it. And then I just gave up for a year. And then we did the 'Icon' [re-recording] thing, and I was, like, 'Ah, okay. This is what it should be about. This is how it should go.' And so I've never used anything from those six or seven songs. If you're not feeling it, you're not feeling it. And we're in a lucky position that we haven't got a label saying, 'You've got to release this.' We do it in our own time. So if you're gonna live with something, it's better that you're comfortable with it."

PARADISE LOST performed alongside KING DIAMOND and at festivals in Europe this summer before embarking on the first part its "Ascension Of Europe" tour this fall.

Photo credit: Ville Juurikkala

In a new interview with Metal Hammer España, EUROPE drummer Ian Haugland offered an update on the band's documentary which the long-running Swedish hard rockers have been busy filming with producer/director Craig Hooper (DEEP PURPLE, SAXON) for Coolhead Productions. The film promises to tell the story of EUROPE, from formation until present day, telling of their rise to success in the mid-1980s, through hard times and heartache, to coming back in the millennium, and the current successes the band has achieved. Ian said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Well, we've been working on it for many years now. It's gonna be like a movie format, basically — well, lengthwise — it's gonna be an hour and a half, I guess. And the plan is to get it out on the big streaming services like Netflix and all the others. But it's gonna be out early next year. So next year is gonna be really busy for EUROPE because we have a new album and we have the documentary and we also have the 40th anniversary for [EUROPE's third album] 'The Final Countdown'. So we'd better shape up. [Laughs] So it's gonna be busy."

This past April, EUROPE frontman Joey Tempest told Brazilian music journalist Igor Miranda about the band's upcoming documentary: "We've had this team with us for four or five years traveling with us to document the newEUROPE. But during COVID, we'd started thinking, 'Hang on a second. Maybe it's time to do the documentary.' People have asked us to do this many years now. But we decided, 'Okay, let's do it.' And then we found a box with old VHS tapes. Our first manager, he walked around with this huge VHS camera when we were just kids. We were still teenagers, and we were wondering, 'What are you doing with that thing? Stop filming,' kind of thing. But he kept filming, and there's [footage] from hotel rooms, there's [footage] from backstage from the middle of '80s and up to '92. And there's stuff from all over the world. And there's stuff that has never [been] seen before, and it was exciting for us as well. So, basically, it's new footage from the band today touring, and there's old VHS footage that has never been seen, and the whole story of us coming from the suburbs of Stockholm, going out in the world and then, in the early '90s, grunge hitting the scene, and it's a bit of a dip and then it's us building everything up again to where we are today. So it's quite a good story as well. And the director's done a great job. So we can't wait. It's gonna be exciting to put this out."

Two years ago, Tempest told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about EUROPE's upcoming documentary: "We found some old VHS tapes from — I think some of it's from San Francisco as well when we recorded 'The Final Countdown', in the studio with [producer] Kevin [Elson], and the hotel rooms in Japan, when we were very young and backstage from '83, '84. And we managed to put this documentary together with — people from GHOST are in it, Benny Andersson from ABBA's in it, talking, and we're just honored that people wanted to take part in this documentary."

In April 2025, Joey told El Expreso Del Rock about the upcoming EUROPE documentary: "We have found footage, old footage from hotel rooms, Japan and around the world, San Francisco, when we mixed 'The Final Countdown', there's some footage [that had] never [been] seen [before]. And there's a lot of new footage from us traveling around the world, in South America and other places, mixed in with the story of these young punks from Stockholm making it in the world and then grunge coming along and then building it up again, and it's a great story. So we're really excited to release this documentary."

In September 2023, EUROPE released a new song titled "Hold Your Head Up". The track, which was described by the band as "a punchy uptempo rocker with reminiscent elements of early EUROPE," was recorded in August 2023 at Atlantis Studios in Stockholm with producer Klas Åhlund (GHOST, ROBYN) and was mixed by Stefan Glaumann (RAMMSTEIN, DEF LEPPARD),who also mixed EUROPE's "Secret Society" album.

"Hold Your Head Up" was made available to stream and download on September 29, 2023 across all reputable digital platforms, including Spotify, Apple, iTunes, Amazon Music, Deezer, Tidal, Pandora and YouTube Music.

EUROPE's latest album, "Walk The Earth", was released in October 2017 via Hell & Back Recordings (Silver Lining Music). It was recorded at famed Abbey Road Studios in London with Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb (RIVAL SONS, Shooter Jennings, Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton).

Earlier this year, Tempest was asked by Colombia's Radioacktiva about the fact that it's been eight years since he and his EUROPE bandmates released "Walk The Earth". Joey said: "Honestly, we've never had this long break — ever. I mean, when we did 'Bag Of Bones' [2012], 'War Of Kings' [2015] and 'Walk The Earth', those three albums, they were, like, boom, boom, boom, touring all the way. And then all of a sudden COVID hit and we had some extra time. And then it kind of felt okay to leave it a bit and to live with the ideas, to write new stuff. And that's why this [upcoming EUROPE] album's gonna be special. These songs we lived with for a while — they're strong and there's some strong melodies. And it's gonna make this album special, that it has this extra time. But we've been touring ever since, as you know. So we're always on the road, but we haven't been in the studio, and we're going in this autumn, and that's gonna be a big moment."

This past March, Joey told El Expreso Del Rock that the musical direction of the upcoming EUROPE LP won't be similar to that of "Walk The Earth" and "War Of Kings". He said: "No, it'll move on. It'll be a new adventure. But I realize, hearing some of the demos we make now, that it's really strong, [with] great melodies. Some of it's really heavy as well. But there's also some connection to the past.

"I'm writing with everyone," he revealed. "I'm writing with John [Norum, guitar], I'm writing with John [Levén, bass] and Mic [Michaeli, keyboards]. And there's beautiful melodies there as well. I'm really excited. There's some great songs coming on. And it's been a while, so we've had time to live with the music, almost like a debut album, almost like the first album, because we have years to live with the songs. We know some of them are really strong because they have staying power; they've stayed for years now. So yeah, this could be an interesting album.

"Yeah, we just like to go on our own adventure, but always carry your past with you," he explained. "That's the thing."

Photo credit: Fredrik Etoall (courtesy of ABC Public Relations)

San Diego hard-rock/nu metal veterans P.O.D. have released their cover of THE BEATLES classic "Don't Let Me Down".

P.O.D. — Sonny Sandoval (vocals),Marcos Curiel (guitar) and Traa Daniels (bass) — has never shied away from wearing its influences proudly, and Curiel makes no secret of their respect for the Fab Four: "As cliché as it may sound, we've always admired THE BEATLES from the very beginning of our songwriting journey. Their melodies, the hooks, and fearless experimentation inspired us to craft our own take on the classic 'Don't Let Me Down', with nothing but the utmost respect. Thank you for helping lay the foundation of what we all know today as rock 'n' roll, pop and metal."

P.O.D.'s version of "Don't Let Me Down" comes as the band gears up for a huge fall 2025 run across North America, joining DAUGHTRY and SEETHER on tour. Curiel is raring to get back on stage, commenting: "Touring is a gift, a blessing to share P.O.D.'s music live with the world. Absolutely nothing compares to the energy of a crowd feeling and vibing every note. We're ecstatic to join an amazing lineup that embodies the true essence of rock 'n' roll fusing the familiar with the new — a real evolution. We are proud to be part of it. Let's jam, let's sing, let's rock."

The trek kicks off October 1 in Virginia Beach and runs through mid-November, hitting major cities across the U.S.

P.O.D. joined U.S. hard rockers GODSMACK as special guests on their March/April 2025 European tour. The trek kicked off on March 22 with a sold-out show at the Sofia Arena in Bulgaria and then made stops in Romania (Bucharest),Hungary (Budapest),Poland (Gliwice),Austria (Vienna),Croatia (Zagreb),Czech Republic (Prague),Germany (Munich, Berlin, Offenbach),U.K. (London),Belgium (Brussels),before finishing with two shows in Germany, Hamburg, and finally April 12 at the Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen.

In May last year, P.O.D. released its 11th album, "Veritas", via Mascot Records. The album was a Top 10 hit across the U.S. Billboard Current Hard Rock, Current Rock, and Current Alternative album charts, and has already surpassed 48 million streams.

P.O.D. has released several singles from the album including "Drop", "Afraid To Die", "I Got That" and "I Won't Bow Down".

"Drop" features a vicious vocal feature from LAMB OF GOD singer Randy Blythe, while the equally eruptive single "Afraid To Die" features JINJER vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk.

As well as releasing "Veritas", P.O.D. has toured with SKINDRED, who between them brought the party in a major way to the U.K. They bulldozed through Europe with euphoric festival sets at Graspop Metal Meeting, Summerside and Rock For People. They supported MUDVAYNE, took on their blistering U.S. "I Got That" headline tour with special guests BAD WOLVES and NORMA JEAN, and festival stops at Louder Than Life, Aftershock, Sonic Temple, Welcome To Rockville and made waves on the ShipRocked cruise. They spent October 2024 touring Latin America, playing Knotfest and headline shows in Brazil as well as shows in Chile, Colombia and Mexico.

Get ready to be "One Step Closer" to dreamland! On September 26, Rockabye Baby! returns with its next release: "Lullaby Renditions Of Linkin Park".

The world's leading lullaby brand is taking 13 of LINKIN PARK's biggest songs and turning them into soothing, gentle tracks that will have the whole family feeling a little less "Numb" after a long day.

With twinkling bells, glockenspiels, and xylophones replacing face-melting guitars and scratching turntables, these gentle renditions are the perfect way to introduce your little one to rock's hardest hitters in a way that's soft enough for bedtime.

For a hint of what Rockabye Baby! has done, watch the super-cute animated video for "In The End" below.

"Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions Of Linkin Park" track listing:

01. One Step Closer
02. Numb
03. Bleed It Out
04. Somewhere I Belong
05. Crawling
06. Burn It Down
07. New Divide
08. In The End
09. What I've Done
10. My December
11. Leave Out All The Rest
12. Heavy
13. One More Light

Rockabye Baby! was created by David Lee Roth's sister Lisa Roth in conjunction with CMH Records. The label turns popular rock songs into lullabyes songs from artists like PEARL JAM, BLACK SABBATH, GUNS N' ROSES, METALLICA and JOURNEY, just to name a few.

"It's more for the parent than the child but it calms the child at the same time," Lisa Roth told Forbes magazine.

She added, "When I knew I'd really hit something right was when I saw an interview of Kirk Hammett of METALLICA talking about playing it for his child, and he said that it works."

Five years ago, Lisa told Variety about growing up with her famous brother: "When we were very young — and I'm several years younger than my brother — I just thought David was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I followed him everywhere. His entire life, he was cut from a different cloth. He was fun, funny smart, hyper and wonderful to have as a big brother. We grew up in a house with parents who loved music and art. Our father was a surgeon, but also an actor who owned an Equity waver theater. My mother was an artist who sculpted and painted. She introduced us to galleries — everything was about how things looked. She was an aesthete. As kids, we had a clear dose of science and a clear dose of the arts."

Asked if she has ever heard directly from artists whose songs Rockabye Baby! has covered, Lisa said: "Steven Tyler wrote liner notes to AEROSMITH's lullabies. Joe Elliott contributed liner notes to DEF LEPPARD's lullabies. Elton John has been nice to us, mentioning us in the press many times. Kirk Hammett from METALLICA likes us. I've yet to hear anything angry or nasty. That's not my goal whatsoever — quite to the contrary."

She added: "I have a brother who is pretty well known in the music industry, I know what it was like for him and his group coming up, to make it happen. It was about hitting the pavement and playing every bar within a 500-mile radius, seven nights a week, rain or shine. I would never in a million years do anything that disrespected what I know it takes to become successful. I'm hyper-aware of every word we say and every image we create in regard to respecting every artist we pursue."

Rockabye Baby! is the world's leading lullaby brand. With over 130 releases to its name and over four billion streams since its humble beginnings, the label continues to bring joy and rest to parents, babies and people who love music the world over.

Rockabye Baby!'s independent, Los Angeles-based team of music lovers, parents and creative individuals lovingly crafts instrumental lullaby renditions of your favorite artists.

In a new interview with Canada's The Metal Voice, TWISTED SISTER guitarist Jay Jay French spoke about why singer Dee Snider changed his mind about returning to the road, nine years after the completion of TWISTED SISTER's "40 And Fuck It!" farewell tour, and after Dee repeatedly slammed KISS and MÖTLEY CRÜE farewell tours and subsequent reunions as mere cash grabs. Jay Jay said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think we should run [all of Dee's comments about that] before we go on stage every night [in 2026]. I think we should play all of [Dee's statements]: 'We're never getting back together again.' 'We refuse to do this.' 'Anyone who does this is an idiot. 'You're a joke if you do that.' 'Why would you do that?' We'll just keep running them all. Of course Blabbermouth's gonna take this right now, 'Look what Jay Jay said about Dee.' I didn't say this about Dee. In fact, it was Dee who, I think, suggested, 'We should just run all my quotes.'"

Addressing the perception that Dee seemingly went back on his word by initiating the TWISTED SISTER reunion this time around, Jay Jay continued: "Well, why does a dog lick his balls? 'Cause he can. It's, like, you do it. So, okay. So he changed his mind… Look, I didn't have to say yes. He just called me and said, 'You wanna do it again? Would you be up for it?' And I thought about it and I said, 'Look, I'm 73.' And when we retired 10 years ago, it was amazing. We did like a 14-year reunion tour."

Reflecting on TWISTED SISTER's last reunion and the impact the band's performances had on the fans who attended the gigs, Jay Jay said: "When you're playing with all these other bands, whose names will go nameless — I don't want a Blabbermouth hit on me — but I cannot tell you how many bands we played with that, let's say, we're either the headliner or the co-headliner, or we don't close, someone else closes, and then our fans are singing our songs in between their songs when they go on stage. They've gotta feel like crap. It makes me feel great. I mean, we're a predatory band. We love blowing bands away. That's part of why we did what we did to begin with. I mean, we learned it in the bars. That's how we learned our performance technique, in the bars."

TWISTED SISTER's 2026 shows will feature the band's three core members: French, Snider and longtime lead guitarist Eddie Ojeda. Bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza won't be joining the celebration. Russell Pzütto, who has toured with Snider's solo projects, will replace Mendoza on bass. Joe Franco, who briefly played with the group in the mid-1980s, will sit behind the drum kit, stepping in for A.J. Pero, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 55.

Asked by The Metal Voice why Mendoza won't be part of TWISTED SISTER's 2026 lineup, Jay Jay said:  "It happens with bands. Bands are like marriages, and things happen. Listen, I was clear when I said this: me, Dee and Eddie have played through 10 different drummers and bass players. Most people don't know this. We have never spoken about why someone is in and why someone is out. We never have. And don't forget, I go back three more years. I go back to 13 ex-members of the band — 13. I had never spoken about them. My attitude is a realignment takes place, however way you have to do it to keep your business moving, and you make your business move. And that's really all there is to it. And I don't wanna bring in any more than that. People know what they know, and I have no reason to throw dirt on anything whatsoever. You make the move to keep the business moving forward, and it's exactly what TWISTED SISTER has always done.

"Incidentally, if you look at [JUDAS] PRIEST and you look at MÖTLEY [CRÜE] and you look at AEROSMITH and you look at every one of these bands, how many people are left [that were there] originally?" he continued. "And the answer is one, two, three guys. We have four original members. We have 80 percent original. Joe Franco's back with us. He was one of our drummers. He played on our albums and toured with us. So we have a very high percentage of original bandmembers, and I'm very proud of that because some bands are touring with no original members. Okay? None. We will not mention them. And by the way, I have no problem with that. If you can buy tickets and you're selling a product, sell the product. But last I looked, KISS had two original guys in it. AC/DC, ask anyone, 'Who's in AC/DC?' What will they say? Angus [Young] and Brian [Johnson]. That's what they'll say. Ask anybody, 'Who's in GUNS N' ROSES.' They'll go, 'Axl [Rose] and Slash.' 'Who was in AEROSMITH?' 'Joe Perry and Steve Tyler. Everyone knows one or two guys and they don't know the rest. In our case, we've got four original members of the band. And I'm really proud of that. And I'm proud of me, Dee and Eddie, let me tell you. We've been together shoulder to shoulder on stage for thousands of shows — not hundreds. Thousands of shows. And we're gonna celebrate that one more time."

Asked if TWISTED SISTER's 50th-anniversary celebration will be a proper "tour" or if it will focus largely on festival appearances and one-off headlining gigs, Jay Jay said: "We were very careful in the wording of the press release [announcing the reunion]. We're getting together to celebrate performances to mark the 50th anniversary. In the 14 years the band reunited, we never said we toured. We played 15 to 20 shows a year for 14 years. Just how it goes. Now it turns out every promoter in the world is calling us. It's not like we didn't expect this to happen. So do I anticipate more to be added in? I do… We go where the offers take us. And we want to go out there and meet the fans one more time, 'cause it really is a hell of a feeling to go out and do that. And I'm honored to be part of a company that has lasted all this time."

On Friday, TWISTED SISTER announced its first reunion concert as part of the band's 50th-anniversary tour. The Snider-fronted act will perform at Barcelona Rock Fest, which will take place from July 3 to July 5 in Barcelona, Spain. Also confirmed so far for the Barcelona Rock Fest's tenth-anniversary edition are ACCEPT, HELLOWEEN and POWERWOLF.

In a recent interview with John "JP" Parise of Long Island, New York's 102.3 WBAB and Tampa, Florida's 102.5 The Bone radio stations, Snider stated about why he changed his mind about returning to the road: "First of all, I own [my previous] statements [about not wanting to stage a TWISTED SISTER reunion]. I said that and more. I singled out bands. I named names. I ranted and raved about this, and I expected to get excrements for this, but I'm getting hit hard.

"I'm not gonna lie, and I can only tell you so much, but this is the total truth," he continued. "I turned 70 this year and I had a health scare. And I'm okay… And it shook me up… I won't say [exactly what it was], and I'm okay. But it really made me re-evaluate a lot of things. [When I was] 40, 50, 60, I thought I was superhuman. TWISTED SISTER retired 10 years ago when I was ripped to shreds. And then [at] 70, something happened and it was a re-evaluation, quite honestly. And part of that re-evaluation was looking and saying… Am I ready to go? Well, you never know when you're gonna go quietly to the night. You never know when your time is up. And do I really wanna do that without rocking one more time. And I stopped doing solo stuff a few years back as well. I mean, I go out and I join [POISON frontman] Bret Michaels or Lita Ford on stage [during their shows] for a couple songs, but I don't go out and perform. And upon talking to my wife and re-evaluating, it was I, me, who called the [other] guys [in TWISTED SISTER]. I called them. They never called. I mean, we talk, but they never brought it up because I was, like, 'This is not happening, guys. It is done. It is over, just like I told everybody.' But, like I said, I had a life-changing experience and re-evaluation of a lot of things, and I reached out. I said, 'Guys, what do you think about doing it one more time?'"

According to Dee, Jay Jay and Eddie didn't immediately jump at the opportunity to return to playing live shows with TWISTED SISTER. "It was a conversation," Snider explained. "At this point, do we wanna take this, for lack of a better word, victory lap, so to speak? But it was a conversation. And then everybody goes, 'Well, how can you not, with Alice [Cooper] out there [at the age of 77]?' Alice told me... I said, 'Dude, when are you gonna retire?' He says, 'I'm looking forward to singing when I'm 80.' So he's got no plans. [Mick] Jagger's out there [playing shows at age 82]. Paul McCartney's doing three hours [at age 83]. Now I know he doesn't run around like I do, but the same time, you go, well, there's precedents. People are out there into — there are octogenarians out there [touring] now. So we decided to go for it and go out on a high note."

After JP criticized some of the media's coverage of TWISTED SISTER's return, particularly as it relates to reports of the band "touring" again, Dee said: "It doesn't say that in the press release. I checked. I'm seeing, 'Tour.' 'They're hitting the road again.' Wait a minute — who's hitting the road? We're flying first class on an air jet airplane. Private plane.

"I'm sorry, folks. People are saying, 'Come to this town, come to that town.' No, man," he clarified. "This is a handful of dates — I'm thinking it's about 20, 25 shows around the world, festivals almost exclusively. And it's not a full-blown tour or anything like that. It's a celebration for us, and I hope you're celebrating with us for the fact that 50 years ago, next year, we got together — me, Eddie and Jay Jay — and we, against all odds, we had success."

Asked which festivals fans can expect to see TWISTED SISTER at next year, Dee said: "All the usual suspects. They're not announcing the dates because the events want to announce on their schedule, when they present their new lineup, whatever. But a lot of those names I'm seeing on the list, a lot of the usual suspects, whether it's [U.K.'s] Download or Sweden Rock or [France's] Hellfest, [as far as] Europe [is concerned]. I'm not saying 100 percent, but I've seen all these names popping up — [as well as Maryland's] M3 and [Oklahoma's] Rocklahoma. So I don't know if all these deals are signed, sealed and delivered, but these are all the names that I'm seeing — like I said, the usual suspects for where you would see an '80s, a hundred-year-old '80s metal band going out and playing."

Asked by JP "how big the dump truck full of money" was "that showed up in [Dee's] driveway" that convinced the singer to reunite TWISTED SISTER for the band's 50th anniversary, Snider said: "I'm gonna be honest. The numbers are getting higher and higher and higher, but it wasn't really where I — I had this place in mind, and it wasn't there. But like I said, honestly, it wasn't about the money. Yeah, if there was no money, I'm not gonna do it. I'm not gonna lie about that. But it really was this sort of looking in the mirror going, 'Hey, man, that was scary. And I don't wanna go out like that.' I do not wanna go out quietly. Kicking and screaming, man — that's the way I wanna go."

Dee also talked about the challenges of preparing for TWISTED SISTER live performances, particularly as it relates to the physical demands of stepping on a stage for an hour and a half. He said: "I always had a mixed relationship with the concerts. I did so much prep and I got so into it, it was so intense, I made myself miserable. When I go out there, it's the greatest moment in my life for 90 minutes, and I get off the stage and I feel really good for about 15 minutes, half hour, and then I start [to think], 'Oh no. I've gotta do this again tomorrow.' And I start getting manic. And [my wife] Suzette would never come out the road with me. She said, 'You're miserable. You sit in the room, you obsess.' I sit there, and I'm not one of those people, but I sit there writing a list of the exact time I've gotta eat my protein and what time I've gotta do my neck stretches and a hot bath and vocalizing. I write it down on a sheet, and I check it off. I'm, like, manic. And so that's another reason why going back to it, there's a lot of discomfort in the whole — and being away from the family and being away from my wife, 'cause she doesn't wanna be anywhere near me, which I understand. So, this way of doing it, going out and doing a show on a weekend and going out, there'll still be that day of getting ready for the show because it's sort of my method. But at least after the show, Suzette will be out there and we'll go and we'll enjoy wherever we are for a few days and relax until the next one comes. So it'll be one day of intensity as opposed to just an endless day after day after day of obsessing and making myself crazy."

During a September 10 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Dee stated about Mark's absence from the TWISTED SISTER 2026 tour: "I can only simply say irreconcilable differences and leave it at that. I can't get into the weeds and I can't go down that path. And I won't. But irreconcilable differences. People change, and however it is, and I'm not saying he changed; maybe we changed whatever it is. So in deciding who to use on bass, my bass player on the last two Dee Snider albums, 'For The Love Of Metal' and 'Leave A Scar', was Russ Pzütto. And he was Mark Mendoza's bass tech, and a great bass player… So, he did an amazing job on those two albums. He was a great guy to tour with. The band all knew him from years of working with TWISTED, and again, he seemed like a likely choice. As a matter of fact, one time he was Mark's choice to fill in for him. And one gig, it was in Belgium at Graspop, and Mark couldn't make it, and Russ stepped in and played with TWISTED. So he actually has performed with TWISTED once before."

Asked if he thinks the door is open for Mark to play with TWISTED SISTER again at some point during the reunion tour, Dee said: "I can't imagine it right now. I can't imagine it right now. I mean — I plead the fifth. I can't go beyond that. But things have happened that I don't see being reconciled, hence the term 'irreconcilable differences.'"

French previously addressed Mendoza's departure in a statement to Rolling Stone, explaining: "Me, Dee and Eddie have performed as TWISTED SISTER for nearly 50 years with 10 different bass players and drummers. The band has never discussed internal realignment before and has no intention of doing it now. Suffice to say that almost all bands with a 50-year history have gone through realignment as a byproduct of time. We wish Mark well in his future endeavors."

Franco played on TWISTED SISTER's 1987 album "Love Is For Suckers". Mike Portnoy, who took over for Pero after he died near the end of TWISTED SISTER's 2016 run, is busy touring with DREAM THEATER and is unable to participate in the upcoming TWISTED SISTER live activities.

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

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

MEGADETH will release a new single, "Tipping Point", on Friday, October 3. A teaser for the song's accompanying music video is available below.

On August 14, MEGADETH announced that its upcoming LP will be the band's last. The Dave Mustaine-led outfit will also embark on a farewell tour in 2026.

Mustaine and the rest of MEGADETH have yet to reveal the final album's title, release date or the band's remaining tour dates.

In a press release announcing MEGADETH's final album and farewell tour, Mustaine thanked fans for their commitment and love while celebrating the band's impact on the music world.

"There's so many musicians that have come to the end of their career, whether accidental or intentional," Mustaine said. "Most of them don't get to go out on their own terms on top, and that's where I'm at in my life right now. I have traveled the world and have made millions upon millions of fans and the hardest part of all of this is saying goodbye to them."

He continued. "We can't wait for you to hear this album and see us on tour. If there was ever a perfect time for us to put out a new album, it's now. If there was ever a perfect time to tour the world, it's now. This is also a perfect time for us to tell you that it's our last studio album. We've made a lot of friends over the years and I hope to see all of you on our global farewell tour.

"Don't be mad, don't be sad, be happy for us all, come celebrate with me these next few years. We have done something together that's truly wonderful and will probably never happen again. We started a musical style, we started a revolution, we changed the guitar world and how it's played, and we changed the world. The bands I played in have influenced the world. I love you all for it. Thank you for everything."

The follow-up to 2022's "The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!" will be released via Mustaine's Tradecraft imprint on Frontiers Label Group's new BLKIIBLK label, and is expected next year.

Fans can register for early access to exclusive information and offers surrounding the upcoming final album on MEGADETH's web site. The initial run of farewell tour dates will also be announced later this year.

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

Guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari joined MEGADETH two years ago. He stepped in as the replacement for Brazilian-born guitarist Kiko Loureiro, who announced in September 2023 that he would sit out the next leg of MEGADETH's "Crush The World" tour in order to stay home with his children back in Finland. It was later revealed that the now-38-year-old Finnish musician would continue to play guitar for MEGADETH for the foreseeable future, with Loureiro seemingly having no plans to return.

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

Released in September 2022, MEGADETH's latest album, "The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!", sold 48,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marked MEGADETH's eighth top 10-charting album.

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

Led by the growled vocals and razor-wire riffing of Mustaine, MEGADETH are one of the "Big Four" thrash titans. Shortly after being kicked out of METALLICA in 1983, Mustaine met bassist David Ellefson, and the pair bonded quickly, forming the core of MEGADETH. Drummer Gar Samuelson and guitarist Chris Poland later joined, and MEGADETH released their underground-hit debut "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!" in 1985. Its follow-up, "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?", solidified the band's status with sprawling yet tightly wound songs like the uneasy opener "Wake Up Dead" and the fiery title track.

"So Far, So Good... So What!", released in 1988, featured a new lineup as well as a thrashy cover of the SEX PISTOLS' "Anarchy In The U.K." and the anti-PMRC broadside "Hook In Mouth". In 1990 they released "Rust In Peace", with Nick Menza on drums and technical wizard Marty Friedman on guitar; songs such as "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" and "Hangar 18" blended pummeling riffs and suspicion-fueled lyrics with a stadium-rock ambition that matched the era's metal-embracing tendencies.

"Countdown To Extinction", released in 1992, and "Youthanasia", released in 1994, continued the band's dominance of metal and emergence in rock's mainstream, with the latter album's "À Tout Le Monde" being a rare thrash ballad. After a brief breakup in the early 2000s, MEGADETH returned as a de facto Mustaine solo project with 2004's "The System Has Failed". Ellefson rejoined in 2010 prior to the album "Th1rt3en" and remained in the MEGADETH lineup until 2021, when he was fired.

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

Photo credit: Ross Halfin

Legendary German/American metallers ACCEPT have parted ways with guitarist Uwe Lulis. Uwe joined ACCEPT a decade ago as the replacement for the band's longtime axeman Herman Frank.

Earlier today (Thursday, September 25),ACCEPT released the following statement via social media: "After deep deliberation, ACCEPT will return to the traditional two guitar player lineup and has parted ways with German guitarist Uwe Lulis.

"This decision was solely based on logistical challenges, with no personal or musical disagreements at all. Uwe and ACCEPT are on excellent terms and remain good friends, Metal Brothers in Arms and will continue to be so.

"We had a fantastic decade together, created killer songs and brought metal to the biggest stages around the world .

"We wish him all the best and celebrate our time together with honour and utmost respect.

"Uwe is a very successful metal producer, and has his own UWE LULIS PROJECT which we invite you all to check out and follow!

"Onwards and upwards brother!! We salute you and every moment you were with us!"

Prior to the release of ACCEPT's 2021 album "Too Mean To Die", the band's lineup was expanded with the addition of a third guitarist, Philip Shouse, who originally filled in for Lulis during 2019's "Symphonic Terror" tour, before being asked to join ACCEPT permanently.

Earlier this year, ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann revealed to Mark Strigl that the band's longtime producer Andy Sneap won't be involved with ACCEPT's upcoming 50th-anniversary album. Wolf said: "He will not be on this one, because he asked for a year off from us. I asked him, I begged him to produce his album, but then we found a good buddy of his. His name is Zeuss [Chris Harris]. He's producing it."

Hoffmann continued: "[Andy is] kind of part of the family now, but he's been touring so much with [JUDAS] PRIEST [as that band's touring guitarist], and he's been working so much in the studio last year. I think he did SAXON, he did PRIEST, he also did DREAM THEATER — he's done a bunch of stuff. So when I said, 'Hey, can we work this year again?' He said, 'Man, can I please have a year off?', which is understandable."

Sneap produced ACCEPT's last six studio albums: "Blood Of The Nations" (2010),"Stalingrad" (2012),"Blind Rage" (2014),"The Rise Of Chaos" (2017),"Too Mean To Die" (2021) and "Humanoid" (2024).

Zeuss has previously worked with ROB ZOMBIE, HATEBREED, QUEENSRŸCHE, SHADOWS FALL, DEMON HUNTER, OVERKILL and REVOCATION, among many others.

Over the past five decades, ACCEPT has sold millions of albums and inspired countless musicians. Their energetic live performances and iconic albums such as "Balls To The Wall", "Restless And Wild" and "Metal Heart" have left a lasting mark on the heavy metal genre. Hoffmann's guitar style and musical vision have made the band one of the most respected on the heavy metal scene.

After a hiatus in the band's career, Wolf was introduced to New Jersey singer Mark Tornillo in 2009. The chemistry and fit between them was so remarkable, ACCEPT reformed and almost immediately rose to global success with chart-topping albums. ACCEPT continues to be celebrated for each of their new records with Mark, who is now the longest-reigning frontman of ACCEPT, placing the Hoffmann-Tornillo partnership firmly in the Metal Hall Of Fame.

For decades, ACCEPT has been recognized as a guarantee of high quality and each of their albums has reached the top of the charts, delivering energy, melodies, killer riffs and an impressively powerful stage presence for 50 years.

Tornillo joined ACCEPT in 2009 as the replacement for Udo Dirkschneider, who was the band's original lead singer. Mark can be heard on ACCEPT's last six studio albums.

BREAKING ANNOUNCEMENT FOR ACCEPT

After deep deliberation, Accept will return to the traditional two guitar player...

Posted by ACCEPT on Thursday, September 25, 2025