KINGDOM COME singer Keith St. John, who joined the band in 2018 as the replacement for original frontman Lenny Wolf, spoke to SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about the passing of the group's drummer, James Kottak. Kottak, who was open about his battle with alcoholism, died Tuesday morning (January 9) in Louisville, Kentucky. He was 61. No cause of death has been given.

"He went through his ups and downs, obviously," Keith said. "And in the end, it seemed like he was really trying to pull it back together. I know he was just through a 48-day program, trying to do the rehab thing. And I don't really have all the grisly details of the last day. They're still kind of coming in. I haven't talked to his sister yet, 'cause everybody's just too out of it right now."

St. John also reflected on the fact that KINGDOM COME was forced to use a different drummer, SLAUGHTER's Blas Elias, instead of James for most of the band's shows in the last year and a half due to Kottak's deteriorating health.

"After a certain level of [James's] playing going away, which was just heartbreaking, 'cause really when he came out, he was like the second coming of [John] Bonham or something, in the '80s," Keith said. "And it was just heartbreaking to see him struggling to play. I mean, of all things, this is James Kotak; he was right on top. And the decision to — I can't say — just part ways with him, put it that way, until he got better and get another guy was tough — probably tougher for the other guys, 'cause they had a really long history with him, especially one of the guitar players, Rick Steier, who grew up with James down near Louisville, Kentucky, which is where he's from. This is a guy that was his partner in crime, quote-unquote, for all these years, even off the stage and off the road. But finally, we just had to do it, man. It just got to that point where we didn't wanna see him embarrass himself, and it just wasn't good for the band, promoters weren't liking it. So, yeah, we had to bail."

KINGDOM COME's most recent touring lineup consisted of St. John and Elias alongside guitarists Danny Stag and Rick Steier and bassist Johnny B. Frank.

Kottak's daughter Tobi told TMZ her father passed away in Louisville, where he lived until 1987, although further details about the exact circumstances weren't immediately available.

In addition to SCORPIONS and KINGDOM COME, Kottak had toured with such bands as WARRANT and even DIO for a short run. James was also involved in various other projects, including the 1990s band KRUNK in which he sang lead vocals and played guitar.

Kottak was married to Athena Lee, the sister of MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee, from 1996 to 2010.

GREAT WHITE guitarist Mark Kendall, who quit drinking more than 15 years ago and is now a proudly sober recovery advocate, posted on social media that he "reached out to James Kottak a month ago offering support and help with his alcoholism but he wasn't ready.

"I could have gotten him into rehab free through connections and I told him that," Kendall added. "I'm so sad to hear of his passing. I feel bad for everyone who loved him and he had a grandchild. RIP."

Kottak spoke about his alcohol issues in an April 2023 interview with Tulsa Music Stream. He said in part: "I've had a few bouts with booze over the years. But what people don't know is all the years that I was sober. 2008 to 2011. And here a year, and there a year. And when our kids [with his ex-wife Athena Lee], were in the oven. I spent a lot of time not drinking. And then I had my moments when I did drink. And that doesn't mean I'm falling down drunk, walking around with a bottle around the house."

James, who said in a separate interview that he had been sober since October 2022, added that he hadn't been able to completely give up drinking. "Well, I'm not gonna say I haven't drank anything," he said. "When I go out [and] I see some guys playing, I'm standing there and everybody wants to buy me a drink. And I go, 'No, no,' and finally I take it and I have a couple of glasses of white wine. And then I'm pissed at myself. And so there you go."

He added: "I wish I could say, 'Oh, yeah, I've been sober for six years.' It hasn't worked like that for me. I've been in and out and in and out and in and out — and mostly 'in', meaning not drinking. But I've had my moments. And it's an ongoing process. It's progress, not perfection, as we say."

A year ago, the musician told Artists On Record Starring ADIKA Live! that he "fell out of bed" in his sleep in July 2022 and "cracked, like, three or four ribs". He also said that he "cracked" his hip in the fall of 2022 after when he "tripped and fell on the pavement" in a completely separate incident.

In March 2023, St. John spoke to Italy's Poisoned Rock about KINGDOM COME's now-infamous appearance in June 2022 at Sweden Rock Festival, which was described by the popular Swedish site Rocknytt as the event's "biggest fuckup." Writer Peter Johansson singled out Kottak, saying that the drummer played "really badly, sluggishly" and at times failed to keep the tempo "worryingly throughout the concert". At the end of the show, Kottak "stumbled to the edge of the stage to bow with his bandmates," according to Rocknytt. Also critical of KINGDOM COME's performance was renowned Swedish music journalist and guitar player Janne Stark, who took to his Facebook page to share a photo of the gig and he wrote in an accompanying caption: "I've never seen a drummer fall asleep on stage before but James Kottak is pretty damn close. Drunk? He slows down every song to half tempo. KINGDOM COME, sorry guys but this is SHIT!"

Keith said: "That was the show… I hate to say this, but it's in the best interest of James and the band… I think James should have started working on his health and what was happening with him earlier than that, earlier in the year, 'cause he was already… But James, he has a youthful spirit, and he wants to keep on going. He's one of those guys that at the last breath of life is gonna be clawing and climbing up the cliff and playing drums and going out there and doing it. It was a hard situation, but at Sweden Rock the band wound up getting some negative reviews in the press, and it was largely because of the performance on the drums, I hate to [say it]," the singer admitted.

KINGDOM COME played its first two shows with Elias in September 2022 in Texas. That same month, Kottak announced that he wouldn't play with his KINGDOM COME bandmates at their concerts in Texas. In the early hours of August 21, 2022, James took to his Twitter to write: "I will not be at the Kingdom Come Plano or San Antonio shows so don't waste your time thanks jams k [sic]".

Kottak publicly discussed KINGDOM COME's performance at Sweden Rock for the first time in an interview with "This That & The Other With Troy Patrick Farrell" conducted just days after the concert. Regarding what caused the show to fall short of expectations, James said: "I wanna say about eight or nine days ago, maybe 10 days ago, in the middle of the night, like four o'clock in the morning, I was in a dead sleep and I just rolled off the bed and I cracked three ribs on my left side. And I went to my chiropractor guy and he says, 'Oh, you have hairline fractures.' And I'm, like, 'Oh, great.' And dude, it's just been non-stop pain. It's not just my ribs; it's head to toe. That's why things were a little bit slower. 'Cause I took ibuprofen and the usual, Aleve or whatever, but, man, it was an uphill battle from the time we started. And it was just — I mean, not pain; I'm talking pain-pain, big-time stuff. That's no excuse, because the show must go on. But, yeah, I was a little slower than usual. But also we [usually] have a click track, of course, 'cause we might have a little bit of playback. Something was up with that, so we were flying solo… And [when] you don't have it, you go, 'Oh-oh. Okay. We'll do this.' It was just an off day, and there's nothing you can do about it."

According to James, there was "definitely no drinking" involved prior to the KINGDOM COME mishap at Sweden Rock. "Because that with the medication, it doesn't go good together," he explained. "And it was just an off day, man. I did everything to [make it better] — tons of tea, this and that, and all the usual things that I do — but, man, it was just too soon after falling that we went to play this gig. But it's Sweden Rock, and you don't wanna bail out on that."

Asked if alcohol contributed to him falling out of bed prior to the Sweden Rock performance, Kottak said: "I always sleep on the left side of the bed, and I just somehow, in my sleep, rolled off the bed and landed on my left side. I mean, that's really it. I wasn't drinking — nothing like that. Yeah, I have a few white wines here and there, but nothing like that. I just rolled off the bed. And that's the first time in my life that's ever happened where I actually fell off. I woke up and saw stars. It took me 15 minutes to get off the floor. These things happen sometimes, and there's nothing you can do. With SCORPIONS, going up my riser to get to my drums, there were, like, 14 steps, and I fell down those stairs at least five times, if not six times. Because I was like a dummy — I was always spitting this water. And I'd finish a song and I'd come down not thinking, and, just, 'Whoop', right on my ass."

James also denied that his battle with alcoholism was the primary reason he was fired from the SCORPIONS in 2016. He has since been replaced by former MOTÖRHEAD drummer Mikkey Dee.

"I hate to say it, but Blabbermouth's kind of been the worst James basher," Kottak said. "They always say — any article about SCORPIONS, they say, 'Yeah, ever since James Kottak was released for alcohol abuse.' So I e-mailed them one day and said, 'Man, stop saying that.' We parted ways. It wasn't just from alcohol, dude. We went through five years of negotiations, 'cause the manager and tour manager both died within six months of each other. Then the band decided to self-manage, which is cool. But I'll tell you what, man — that's when it was a super-bumpy road and we were just not on the same page anymore. And that happens with bands."

Four years ago, Kottak, who joined the SCORPIONS in 1996, told the SCORPIONS official fan club Crazyscorps about the circumstances that led to his departure from the legendary German hard rock band: "I always liked a drink here and there. And then I always also take a pain medication called Aleve. It's what all the baseball players take, all the footballers, and it works like a charm. You take those of those and you don't feel anything. But on top of that, I'm a rock drummer in a rock band, and you've got the green light to drink.

"From 2008 to 2011, I didn't drink," he explained. "I just woke up one day and said, 'I just don't wanna drink anymore.' I didn't go to rehab; I didn't do any of that stuff. I just didn't wanna drink anymore.

"If you have any knowledge of A.A. [Alcoholics Anonymous] or any type of program or rehab, it only lasts so long and then you have what we call in recovery a relapse. I would go through these phases of a year or maybe two years of no drinking, and then you gradually…

"SCORPIONS, we play our show, we go back to the hotel, [and] 45 minutes later, we're all downstairs having dinner," he continued. "And everything's just the right price — free. All these flights back and forth from Europe, from L.A. — I was just flying constantly. Which I'm not complaining about, but it's always business or first class, and once again, all the booze is at the right price. I'm going, 'I've got the next two days off. I might as well have a drink.' And that's what triggered me to start drinking again sometimes. It's a typical alcoholic way of thinking: 'Well, I may as well have a drink. Why not?' And that's typical alcoholic disease thinking. 'Cause it is a disease."

In a recent interview with the "On The Road To Rock With Clint Switzer" podcast, DOKKEN leader Don Dokken explained why he and his bandmates decided in the beginning to split their songwriting royalties equally between the four members of the group. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "DOKKEN was a very unusual band. When I formed the band, even though I'd been DOKKEN for years and years before I met George [Lynch, former DOKKEN guitarist] and Jeff [Pilson, former DOKKEN bassist] and Mick [Brown, former DOKKEN drummer] — I'd already toured Germany twice — but when we finally came together, I said, 'Let's make it simple. You write a hit, you write a hit, you write a hit, we'll just split it four ways. It doesn't matter who writes what. May the best songs win.' And that's how it was. Now, looking back, I could say it was a stupid thing to do, because I wrote a lot of the hits and I gave up 75 percent to the three of them. So instead of me getting four bucks, I got a dollar and Mick got a dollar and George got a dollar and Jeff got a dollar and the management took theirs and the accountants took theirs, and I thought, 'Jesus.' I go, 'I lost millions' writing 'In My Dreams' and 'Just Got Lucky' or 'Alone Again'. I mean, I can name a bazillion songs that I wrote by myself on the guitar and wrote all the music. But that's the deal we made. We were nobody. We weren't famous. Hey, if George wrote a hit, I get money. Jeff writes a hit, I get money. Mick's the one that scored. He didn't write. We rehearsed the songs for a week, go into a rehearsal studio, flesh it all out, pick the 12 best songs, Mick comes in the studio for four or five days, knocks out his drums and he goes to the drug dealer and then he heads off for the Rainbow [Bar & Grill in West Hollywood]. I said, 'Mick, you scored. You made millions of dollars and all you had to do was spend a couple of weeks playing drums.'"

Almost a decade ago, Lynch spoke about the breakup of the classic DOKKEN lineup in 1989, telling Guitar Interactive magazine: "Here's the things that happens in a band… especially in our era, in the '80s, and I don't know, even now probably… But if you have a record deal, or a master deal, for a certain amount of time, and you have increasing record sales, and then you get to the point where the deal ends, your managers come in and renegotiate and you get paid. Then you're set for life — possibly. That's when everything changes. That's what you worked for for those however many years. This is where all your… Everything you've invested in time and energy, you get paid back for. And the singer [Don Dokken], at that point, decided that he wanted it all, he didn't wanna share it with [the rest of] us, and he let us know that. So after this [Monsters Of Rock] tour [in 1988 with VAN HALEN, METALLICA and SCORPIONS], where we were gonna go out and play in front of hundreds of thousands of people and get paid lots of money, [he basically said] 'I'm gonna try to take the whole thing and run with it, and you guys are gonna get left in the dust, and if you're lucky, I might hire you [to play in my band].' And you have to go on stage like that."

He continued: "The reason that we were on fire before that — we were so dedicated, we kept persevering — was because we were all working for something. It wasn't even for the money, it was just to get to that point. And success on all levels — musically and financially, so we could be secure, and all these things, for all the right reasons. And we took care of each other, and we were an equal-split band, and I fought for that. And by Monsters Of Rock, when Don announced that he was gonna, basically, try to grab the negotiation brass ring and keep it to himself, that backfired on all of us. Financially, it backfired on all of us, 'cause we didn't get that massive… At that point, I think, that year MÖTLEY CRÜE got a 25-million-dollar deal, ANTHRAX got a 12.5-million-dollar deal, we would have been fine. Basically, we had a lot of leverage. We were gonna be a free agent, so it was really a shame. It just didn't go right for anybody. So I went on to form LYNCH MOB, which did pretty well."

DOKKEN's current lineup consists of Don alongside bassist Chris McCarvill, guitarist Jon Levin and drummer BJ Zampa (HOUSE OF LORDS).

DOKKEN's 13th studio album, "Heaven Comes Down", came out in October via Silver Lining Music. The follow-up to "Broken Bones" was produced by Bill Palmer and Don Dokken and was mixed by Kevin Shirley (AEROSMITH, IRON MAIDEN).

In a recent interview with Germany's Riot Vision, STAIND guitarist Mike Mushok spoke to about the "electronic element" which was incorporated into the band's latest album, "Confessions Of The Fallen". Released in September via Alchemy Recordings/BMG, STAIND's first new LP album since 2011 was produced by Erik Ron (GODSMACK, PANIC! AT THE DISCO, BLACK VEIL BRIDES).

Mike said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, that was something that Aaron [Lewis, STAIND frontman] really wanted to explore. We had talked about it before, but we'd never really done it. So he really wanted to make that a part of what we were doing. And it was funny, 'cause I do remember saying to him, like, 'I play guitar. I don't know how to do that.' So that's where I feel like Erik played a really big part in helping make that a part of what this album sounds like. Some of those verses where you hear [and] it's like more electronic[-sounding], that's a guitar part I wrote just played on a synthesizer, [using] some crazy sound. So he was able to take some of those things that I wrote and adapt it to kind of bring in some of those elements into the music. And I think he did a great job. I like it. I'm pretty happy with it."

Asked what new musical elements he would like to explore on future STAIND albums, Mike said: "I don't know. To me, it's just really about trying to write great songs. It's really just kind of trying to take what we do and make it better. And I don't really have any kind of guidelines. If it calls for more electronics or — I don't know — a guitar solo or whatever the case may be, whatever really the song calls for, I think that that's what the best thing to explore is. But I was very happy with the process of making this record and how it came out. Some records have been really difficult to make. This one wasn't one of those. The way we did it, it took us a while, but we got there. And by the end of the day, once we got there, I was really happy with the end results."

When "Confessions Of The Fallen" was announced in April, Lewis stated about the LP's musical direction: "I did want to modernize the sound and bring us up to date. You can certainly recognize the band but at the same time you can hear that we've been paying attention and understand what kind of sounds and approaches we can use that maybe weren't around the last time we did this."

STAIND has released eight albums since 1995, including 2011's self-titled effort. The band has had a number of hit songs during its first two decades, including the Top 10 smash "It's Been Awhile" from the No. 1 album "Break The Cycle". Follow-up LPs "14 Shades Of Grey" and "Chapter V" also topped the Billboard chart.

STAIND released its first album in nine years, "Live: It's Been Awhile", in May 2021 via Yap'em/Alchemy Recordings. The "Live: It's Been Awhile" album was accompanied by "The Return Of Staind", a two-part global streaming series in partnership with Danny Wimmer Presents.

STAIND and GODSMACK recently completed a 25-city co-headlining 2023 tour, produced by Live Nation.

In a recent interview with "Interviewing The Legends With Ray Shasho", Canadian singer, songwriter and producer Devin Townsend spoke about the fact that his music has made a lot of people happy and got some of them through a lot of hard times. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think that musicians aren't necessarily responsible for songs. You're responsible for picking the songs out of the air. And that comes from a combination of circumstance and habits on some level as well. And so if people are affected by the music, then I'm grateful for the music, for being there rather than feeling like a sense of of pride on a personal level. I'm proud of the work that I do, 'cause it's a lot of work, but not the music necessarily. And the other thing is, where I have tended to sort of go over the past couple of years, with pandemic and everything, is, like, well, what's the fundamental value of what this is? How much of my connection to doing what I do is maybe got its talon in a need to be heard, a need to be seen or a need to be validated or a need for any of these things. And if so, fuck, it's a lot of effort if it's just because you're wanting attention, for example."

He continued: "So the place that I landed with that that has been helpful to me is, okay, well, don't think of it in the sense that the only reason you're writing music is just so you can be seen. If it helps other people by you sorting your own shit out in some or not, and then writing about it and then people relating to it in a way that maybe they're not capable of expressing in the same way, then that's a service that you're providing that I think is worth your time. Because what else are we gonna do in life? You've gotta do something, and so that seems like it's a worthy thing."

Devin added: "I think the expression of any creative avenue at this point is rooted in… I'm very thankful for the opportunity to do it, and that's where my inspiration seems to come from lately."

Two months ago, Devin, in conjunction with InsideOut Music, relaunched the "Devin Townsend Podcast", with a brand-new direction. The podcast is being made available as both audio and visual versions.

The 25th-anniversary edition of Devin's solo album "Infinity" was released on November 24. This newly remastered version of the album comes as a limited 2CD digipak, gatefold 180g 2LP + LP-booklet and as a digital album, and includes all the bonus tracks from this era, as well as newly shot artwork and liner notes from Devin.

Devin released his most recent studio album, "Lightwork" in late 2022, with Metal Injection calling it a "superb addition to his one-of-a-kind catalog".

For "Lightwork", Devin decided to see what would happen if he included a producer (an experiment he has been excited to attempt for some time) to help guide this selection of material. He chose longtime friend Garth "GGGarth" Richardson to help bring this idea to fruition, and through a difficult (but wonderful) process, the next Devin album was delivered.

The name "Lightwork" represents the music, as well as the act of creating music, as a kind of "light in the dark" while trying to navigate the seemingly endless challenges that life can often present. When things seem like there's no way out or that a situation becomes seemingly insurmountable, the connection to music, family, and creativity became a light in the dark that ended up in this wonderful album.

In a new interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford spoke about the band's performance at last fall's Power Trip festival the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. The historic three-day event took place on October 6, October 7 and October 8 brought together six iconic bands that define loud and powerful music: GUNS N' ROSES and IRON MAIDEN (Friday, October 6),AC/DC and JUDAS PRIEST (Saturday, October 7) and METALLICA and TOOL (Sunday, October 8).

"The day, the event — the hundreds of thousands of people that were there," Halford said." It was just such a beautiful exchange. All of the guys from METALLICA were out in the front and they came to hang out with us after the show. There was all of this friendship and all of this camaraderie. All of the bands that performed at Power Trip, we all know each other and we've all lived very similar lives. It's like that family environment where you all connect. You look at each other and you know what you do, you know where you've been and you know the experiences you've had. Because all musicians have very, very similar life experiences. So it was great, you know?"

Asked if he, like METALLICA, got a similar chance to watch any of the other bands, Rob said: "I was in and out. I had so much stuff to do with the record. Because as you know, the calendar is always full. I wanted to try and be there for the three days. Obviously, METALLICA did. I was talking to James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman] about it. [He said], 'Nah, we wouldn't have missed this for the world. We saw everybody.' I wish I would have had that opportunity. Just to emphasize that again — here's the biggest metal band in the world and they're out front [watching the groups as fans]. Air guitar and heavy metal horns in the air with all of the fans. They're the most amazing people in the business as far as keeping your feet on the ground. It's no more of the '80s thing, 'I'm not getting in the limo because it's two degrees too warm.' There's none of that! [Laughs] These guys are so real, beautiful and caring. That's what I love about them. There's this nurturing that they have, not only for each other, but for other bands that they're fans of. It's a very real thing for METALLICA."

Back in 2021, Halford picked METALLICA's "Ride The Lightning", as one of his "greatest songs of all time", telling Rolling Stone magazine: "Old 'TALLICA. New 'TALLICA. I'm old school, man. I bet you guys are the same about PRIEST. It's crazy, isn't it? It's usually the first two or three albums that you make in any given band that are the reference points to who you are and what you're about. And so, for me, those first batches of METALLICA, the extraordinary way that they interpreted their style of metal and branded it with such a unique force just generates as much now as it did then. So, 'TALLICA, ride the lightning on the heavy metal Harley."

In May 2013, Halford joined METALLICA on stage at the fifth annual Revolver Golden Gods award show presented by Epiphone at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, California to perform the PRIEST classic "Rapid Fire".

Halford previously performed "Rapid Fire" with METALLICA at one of the band's four intimate shows in December 2011 at the Fillmore in San Francisco as part of the week-long celebration of METALLICA's 30th anniversary as a band for fan club members only.

In 2019, METALLICA played a snippet of PRIEST's version of "The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown)" while rehearsing for its concert in Bucharest, Romania.

In 2020, Halford told Revolver magazine that METALLICA was the last concert he went to see as a fan before the pandemic hit. "I [saw them] play in Glendale, in Arizona," he said. "That was a blast. I've known those guys forever. I went with my other half, Thomas, and a good friend of ours who's a police lieutenant, James.

"It was great to see the band because if you, by the grace of God and good luck and fortune and hard work and slugging at it, you get to all these different levels, and METALLICA went about as far as you can, and still are at," he continued.

"Their shows are gigantic. If you've seen 'em — they're big production. And it must be a nightmare for them, like it is for us, to try and pick a setlist. But their setlist was a combination of the ones that we wanna hear, plus the new stuff that you do. It was a great show."

By Nick Balazs


Crash Midnight has released their new single "Strung Out On Sunset" - a song that’s brought down the house live in Las Vegas for the past two years, becoming an indelible staple of the band's set. Inspired by a hedonistic 48 hours singer, Shaun Soho, spent on the streets of Hollywood, "Strung Out On Sunset" paints a dark picture of life after the curtain falls. A raw introspective on the disillusionment grown from chasing ghosts, coming to the cold realization that the past is gone and the only way forward is to bury it all under your next step.







Talking about the story behind the song, Soho says, "The initial idea came from being stretched way too thin the morning after back-to-back nights partying in Hollywood and trying to get myself together as the sun was coming up. I remember finally going to get something to eat and being so literally strung out that I was just shaking and blinking in this hollow morning light as I was coming out of, I think ...Rock & Reilly's or something, maybe when they used to be open earlier?  Anyhow it was one of those spots right up the street from The Whisky and kind of like while I was trying to steady myself there on the sidewalk, the idea for this thing came to me."  


He goes on, "but it was really just a rough concept for a song title or direction, you know?  What's more interesting to me now is how the song has developed and taken on a much more self-reflective meaning as the band's established itself out here in Las Vegas. Coming from Boston, there was a bit of lionizing what we thought was that mecca for Rock out there on the Sunset Strip - hearing all the old stories and feeling like that's where all the action was.


“After moving out here and getting to see everything first hand, it's sad what that area has become. It's basically devolved into a tourist trap for 80's metal enthusiasts. The place is absolutely dead and there's just no coming back at this point.  Something that was so cool from like the 60's, 70's, 80's - it's depressing to see how irrelevant it's become.


“Then you combine that sort of sentiment with having now played with some of those acts from that era here in Vegas, and I mean some of them were really great and totally still have it - Tesla for example is awesome and they were great to us - but others that we opened for, it was like we knew what the venue was paying them, thousands of dollars, and we were the ones bringing all the fans.  Really disenchanting, you know?  Like some big names, and they can't draw anyone and we're out here at that time getting a tiny fraction of what they were getting paid in order for us to fill a room to make it look like they had a crowd.  


“That, to me, is what this song is about now - being strung along and sold on this mythos of some of these acts. These are guys you maybe looked up to when you were a kid and now seeing, not necessarily the bands themselves, but their management or booking agent try to feed you some bullshit about how amazing an opportunity it'll be to play a show with these guys while we do the heavy lifting on the draw. It's like, tell them to bring all the people if you're paying them that much. It honestly got exhausting being asked to try to make acts that haven't had a song on the radio in 3 or 4 decades look relevant by letting them headline in front of our crowd. So yeah, for me the song has become something of a vent on how over the propaganda of that scene we are - the bloom is thoroughly off the rose I guess you could say."





The singer also caught up with BraveWords’ Nick Balazs to talk more about the song and all things happening in the world of Crash Midnight.


BraveWords: The song certainly fits a different mood than your other tracks, but still rests in the Crash Midnight framework, how has the band evolved as songwriters in the past few years?


“It's funny, a lot of these songs - the "newer ones" - are actually pretty old.  Sunset was originally inspired like 8 or 9 years ago before we even made the move to Vegas. So I guess our sound has been evolving for a while, but maybe our recording schedule hasn't gone as fast as the writing.  It's cool though because that space has given us a lot more time to work with each song. We played Sunset live for like 2 or 3 years at least before we started tracking it. That's been a big part of our process, trying out these songs a bunch live and seeing what works and what doesn't. Moving out west has had a big impact on our songwriting and subject matter especially, but I think the process we've established with our co-producer, Tristan ‘Rock’ Hardin, over at the Hideout Recording Studio has been the key to taking our sound to another level. We're able to pretty much work like bands used to back in the day with year long lockouts, just because we have access to this top of the line studio right down the street and can sort of chip away at each song as we come up with ideas instead of being forced to cram a whole album recording into a week or long weekend recording session.”


BraveWords: This is your first song release of 2024 – how many more are planned for this year and when can fans expect the next one?


“Our plan is always to get four singles out each year, roughly once a quarter. We're not amazing at following plans though. There have been some external factors in that over 2020 and things like that - definitely threw some obstacles into the gameplan - but we're really shooting to keep it more or less on track going forward. We have two songs with the drums already tracked and we're finalizing a few things with the guitars before knocking those out. Then we have about five more songs ready to start installing into the live set, which is still the process we want to stick to so we can run these things through some paces live before we finalize everything. Shooting for four songs including Sunset in 2024, we'll see how we do.”





BraveWords: There has been much controversy around the rise of AI (artificial intelligence) and its use in making art and music. What is your stance on it?


“Man, I have no idea what's going to happen with that. Seems like playing with a lot of fire.  I saw some commercial with a fake AI Joe Rogan plugging a product.  That gets scary. As far as music goes, we'll see. I still think the one thing rock music in general has going for it, for those of us still emphasizing this, is the live show. You can't fake that, especially the spontaneity and raw moments. That's what our fans come out for each night.  Nothing is ever scripted with us so you won't get the same performance twice.”


BraveWords: Besides new music, what’s in the future plans for Crash Midnight – when can fans expect to see you play live?


“We're right in the middle of setting up an ongoing concert series with our friend Nathan Grates - who is one of the owners of The Sand Dollar Downtown in The Plaza Hotel & Casino - along with Brandon ‘Gooch’ Hahn from Vegas's KOMP 92.3 Active Rock station. It's going to be something special that will really bring the rock scene together here in Las Vegas.  Having KOMP getting front and center with these shows is going to be very cool. It puts the station right in the middle of the lifeblood of this rock scene and there's no better place to do it than at the amazing venue Nathan and company have set up in the Plaza. Top end sound and lighting, great 500 seater venue. That environment is perfect to become the new clubhouse for modern rock downtown. We're looking at setting up to play there multiple times a month while bringing in some of the best artists in the national Active Rock touring market. Keep an eye out for the first show announcements coming early this year.”


Keep up to date with CM at crashmidnight.com.

Will Carroll has revealed that he "tracked drums for a demo of a new DEATH ANGEL song" on Thursday, January 25. The longtime DEATH ANGEL drummer added in a post on his Facebook page: "I know a new DA album is long overdue but rest assured we are hard at work getting this new DA album written and completely demo'd."

"It felt good to get back to work with [DEATH ANGEL guitarist] Rob Cavestany," he continued. "It's a real challenge to not rehash the same ideas and beats from previous albums but I think so far things are sounding fresh and inspired."

Last July, DEATH ANGEL guitarist Ted Aguilar told Vikram Chandrasekar about the band's songwriting process: "Well, when it comes down to writing, it's all Rob. It's all Rob. It starts with him. He comes up with a basic structure and him and Will get together and they hash it all out and they record it. And when they get it to a point where, 'Oh, yeah, this is great,' then they send it off to everyone else. And Damien [Sisson, bass] does his parts and Mark [Osegueda, vocals] will listen to it and try to write lyrics and melodies. And I'll listen to it and I'll touch base with Rob: 'What do you want me to do here? Do you want me to play something here? Or do you want me to do something different?' 'Cause Rob has a vision and you kind of wanna see his vision. And as soon as the song comes together to where we play it quite a few times, then we could throw in our ideas, like, 'Hey, maybe that part should be a little longer,' or, 'Maybe cut that out,' or Will will go, 'I wanna do something different here instead.' So, you know, Rob has a vision, we listen, we play along with it. Then if we feel like there needs to be changes, we express our concern, and Rob is really good at, 'Yeah, let's give it a try.' So we try everything. And it comes down to, 'All right, this is what works.' So it starts with Rob. And with regarding the lyrics, every now and then Rob will pick out a song: 'I wanna write lyrics for this song.' And Mark goes, 'Go ahead.' But Mark writes all the lyrics, and what he does is with the music, he'll listen to it over and over by himself. I don't know where he goes. He goes into the far corners of the earth by himself, with the headphones and music, and he'll come up with so many types of different melodies and stuff, and then come up with the ones he's happy with and lay it down on the demo form. Then when we get into the real studio, then things start to evolve 'cause we've played it so many times or we listened to it so many times that when we get in there, [we go], 'All right, let's try this.' It's always evolving to the point where it's handing it in to get mastered. Some songs stay kind of the same from what it was, but we just put more energy into it. Some songs have been rewritten quite a few times, so it differs. Rob's the songwriter, and on the last album I wrote one song. Yeah, it's how it is. And right now I'm writing some stuff, and how it goes is I'll write some stuff, I'll send it to Rob. I always tell him, 'If it's good, use it. If not, if you find parts are good, use it. If it's not good, it's okay, dude.' I'm just throwing some stuff out there, 'cause he knows what the DEATH ANGEL sound should be. And if he likes it, he'll use it. If he doesn't, my feelings are not broken."

DEATH ANGEL released a live album titled "The Bastard Tracks" in November 2021 via Nuclear Blast. Recorded live at The Great American Music Hall in their hometown of San Francisco on May 22, 2021, and streamed live soon after, "The Bastard Tracks" was described in a press release as "a deep-cuts collection of rarely and never performed songs from the band's catalog" that was released digitally and on CD, vinyl and Blu-ray.

In October 2020, DEATH ANGEL released a four-song EP, "Under Pressure". The effort included a cover of QUEEN + David Bowie's "Under Pressure", followed by a new track titled "Faded Remains", plus acoustic versions of "Act III"'s classic "A Room With A View" and "Humanicide"'s "Revelation Song". The EP was mixed by Max Norman (OZZY OSBOURNE, MEGADETH, BAD COMPANY) and mastered by Ted Jensen (LAMB OF GOD, MACHINE HEAD, HALESTORM).

Released in May 2019 via Nuclear Blast, "Humanicide" saw DEATH ANGEL returning to producer and friend Jason Suecof (DEICIDE, TRIVIUM) of Audiohammer studios for the recording and mixing, along with the mastering of the legendary Ted Jensen (SLIPKNOT, PANTERA) of Sterling Sound, who added the final touches and brought it all to life, with artist Brent Elliott White (LAMB OF GOD, MEGADETH) providing the ominous cover artwork.

In March 2020, Carroll spent almost two weeks on a ventilator in an intensive care unit at a Northern California hospital after being diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. He first got sick when he and the rest of DEATH ANGEL spent more than a month on the road in Europe with TESTAMENT and EXODUS as part of "The Bay Strikes Back 2020" tour.

DEATH ANGEL was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance" for the "Humanicide" title track. It was the group's first Grammy nomination.

Carroll joined DEATH ANGEL in 2009 as the replacement for the band's original drummer, Andy Galeon.

Will can be heard on the last four DEATH ANGEL studio albums: "Relentless Retribution" (2010),"The Dream Calls for Blood" (2013),"The Evil Divide" (2016) and the aforementioned "Humanicide".

Ace Frehley played his first show of 2024 this past Thursday (January 25) at Grand Theatre in Frankfort, Kentucky.

The original KISS guitarist's 14-song setlist included the live debut of "10,000 Volts", the title track of his upcoming solo album.

According to Setlist.fm, Ace's setlist was as follows:

01. Shock Me (KISS song)
02. Rocket Ride (KISS song)
03. Shout It Out Loud (KISS song)
04. New York Groove (Russ Ballard cover)
05. Rock Soldiers (FREHLEY’S COMET song)
06. Deuce (KISS song)
07. Detroit Rock City (KISS song)
08. 10,000 Volts
09. Love Gun (KISS song)
10. Parasite (KISS song)
11. Strange Ways (KISS song)
12. Cold Gin (KISS song)
13. Rip It Out
14. Rock And Roll All Nite (KISS song)

Fan-filmed video of the show can be seen below.

"10,000 Volts" will be released on February 23, 2024 via MNRK Music Group (formerly eOne Music). The 11-track LP was produced by Ace and Steve Brown (TRIXTER).

In a recent interview with VRP Rocks, Ace praised "10,000 Volts", saying: "I'm very happy with the way the record turned out. Now, a lot of times I've recorded records where sometimes you look at three or four songs on the album and you consider them not as good as some of the other ones and you kind of consider them as filler. But I don't think there's any filler on this album. I think every song has merit to it."

He added:  "I think it's one of the best albums I ever did. I mean, I think it's probably as good as my solo album in 1978, which everybody seems to think is my best album to date. But I think this new album is equally as good as my 1978 solo album, and I think there's more than one hit single on the album. So, if I was a KISS fan or an Ace Frehley fan, I'd go out and buy it immediately when it's released on February 23rd, because you're in for a treat."

Ace released the single "10,000 Volts" on November 28. The track's music video — directed by Alex Kouvatsos from Black Wolf Imaging — has garnered more than 900,000 views on YouTube.

In October, Frehley told Jeff Napier of Nuvo about "10,000 Volts": "It's probably the best record I've ever done. I'm very excited about it. It's the fIrst time I ended up writing most of these songs with a good friend of mine, Steve Brown. He used to play in TRIXTER and has a group called RUBIX KUBE. Anyway, we live 40 minutes from each other, and my fiancée Lara hooked us up. I'd met him several times over the years, but just briefly, but she knew him when she was in her twenties, and she said, 'You've gotta get together with Steve.' He's a great songwriter and guitar player. He sent me a song, and there was one line that just jumped out from his chorus, and it was 'Walkin' On The Moon'. So I said, 'Listen, let's get together and rewrite this song, and the hook will be 'Walkin' On The Moon',' because it wasn't the end of the chorus he had prepared. So, we rewrote the song, and it came out great. We were actually gonna call the album 'Walkin' On The Moon' until we recorded a song called '10,000 Volts', which came out amazing. I got Anton Fig, my old drummer, who played on my original '78 solo album and most of my solo stuff, to play drums on that. So, working with Steve has made a huge difference in my playing and writing because when he and I put our heads together, it just clicks. If I'm at a loss for a chord or a verse or a line, he comes up with it and vice versa, and within three or four hours, we write a song.

"So that's how the record's been going," Ace added. "Then, once you record the basic track, you gotta do the overdubs and double and triple the vocals, harmonies, and stuff. He's an excellent engineer. So I didn't have to pay an engineer to engineer this record. So I saved money on that, working with Steve as well, which is nice."

Asked if making "Origins Vol. 2", the sequel to his 2016 collection of cover songs that inspired the former KISS guitarist, affected the way he put together the new record, Frehley said: "It's one thing doing an 'Origins' record because you don't have to write the songs. Basically, I was picking songs that influenced me that were written by other people. So it's a lot easier to do than when you do a regular studio record where all the songs are original. On this record, all the songs are original except for one. I did one cover of a song called 'Life Of A Stranger', written by a gal named Nadia. When she did the song, it was Europop, and it was very sparsely recorded. I listened to it and loved the melody, and I loved the lyrics. I played it for Steve, and he said, 'We could kill this song with heavy drums and power chords and stuff and keyboards even.' It came out great. All the other songs did as well. There's really not a weak song on the record. Most people do a record, and they concentrate on three or four songs that they think might be singles, and then the rest of it is a lot of filler. But every song on this album I can hear on the radio. I hope DJs agree with me."

Ace's next all-original album will be the follow-up to "Spaceman", which was released in October 2018 via eOne.

"Origins Vol. 2" featured cover versions of THE BEATLES' "I'm Down", DEEP PURPLE's "Space Truckin'", LED ZEPPELIN's "Good Times Bad Times", THE ROLLING STONES' "Jumpin' Jack Flash", THE KINKS' "Lola" and THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE's "Manic Depression", among others. A cover of the 1975 KISS tune "She" also appeared as a bonus track. Guests on the set included CHEAP TRICK's Robin Zander, Lita Ford and former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.

Simmons co-wrote two tracks on "Spaceman", "Without You I'm Nothing" and "Your Wish Is My Command", the latter of which also features Gene's bass playing.

New Ace Frehley tour dates in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, Illinois, and more have been announced for...

Posted by Ace Frehley on Sunday, January 7, 2024

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, the supergroup featuring legendary vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH) guitarist Joe Bonamassa, drummer Jason Bonham (LED ZEPPELIN) and keyboardist Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER, ALICE COOPER, BILLY IDOL),will release its long-awaited fifth album in June.

The timetable for the arrival of BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's first LP in seven years was revealed by SiriusXM's Eddie Trunk, who shared on social media that he spent "some time" Friday afternoon (January 26) in Los Angeles filming an interview to promote the album. Trunk added in his post: "Had a chance to listen to them play today live and have heard the album. Killer 100% real live kick ass rock! Loved these guys since day 1."

During an appearance on an August 2023 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Hughes stated about the musical direction of the new BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION material: "It sounds like BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION. There's not too many left turns, there's nothing happening that's weirdly different. We followed a vibe of the first four albums, so it it's an extension, but it's really a progression, if you can call it a progression. Everybody's playing out of their skin. The vibe in the camp has never been so friendly and fun. It's a really, really great vibe in the band. And we had a great time at Sunset Sound [studios] in Hollywood. And I can't wait for you to hear it."

As for BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's touring plans, Glenn said: "If you go back 10 years when I wanted to… well, we all wanted to play more shows. And Joe has been very busy from the get-go of his career. What I want you to know, and I want everybody to know, that, of course, we want to play with BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNITY, but Joe's schedule is crazy busy, and we all get it. Unfortunately, that's the way it is. So my priority is playing my own music with my own band and doing what I need to do to have fun on my own."

He continued: "Would I like to play some shows with Joe, Derek and Jason? Of course I would. I think everybody would like that. But what I can't do is say we're gonna do this, this, and that… I've done it before and it didn't happen, so I won't… I'm glad Joe has [said in a recent interview] he wants to do something like that, because I think we all wanna set some time out to do that, and we're hoping that we can play in North America [in 2024]."

Earlier that same month, Bonamassa told "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about the new BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION album: "The thing about BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, whether you like the way we sound or not, when we all get together, it has a very specific thing that it does. Everybody brings a very specific thing to the table, and it's a special band."

According to Joe, he brought the BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION members back together to make the follow-up to "BCCIV", which was released in September 2017 and marked BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's first studio effort since 2013's "Afterglow". "I was the one that kind of initiated the text, be, like, 'Hey, is there anybody interested in doing a fifth one?'" he said. "And Derek got back to me. Jason got back to me pretty quickly. And Glenn called me and said, 'I can't do anything until this DEAD DAISIES situation goes one way or the next.' And I said, 'Fair enough.' So when Glenn left THE DEAD DAISIES [in 2022], that was kind of the green light for us to get back together."

Regarding the songwriting process for BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's fifth album and how it compared to that on the band's previous efforts, Joe said: "This was the same. I went over to Glenn's house about six times and we hashed out some ideas — pretty rough, loose ideas. Nothing in stone. And so I had a playlist on my phone, voice memos, BCC 1 through 10. And that was it. So, so day one, we just [said], 'Okay, let's start with BCC 1.' And we sat in the courtyard at Sunset Sound — they have this really nice courtyard with a bunch of chairs — and we sat out there with an acoustic guitar and a couple of things and we just bashed out the arrangement. We were, like, 'Okay, that's cool.' We went in, played it three or four times and that was it. Nobody charted anything; we just kind of memorized it and did it. And we would go into the control room, listen a little bit, maybe tweak something, but once it fired up and after the second day, we really hit our stride, going, 'Okay, the band's back.' 'Cause we hadn't played together in six years."

As for the recording process for the new BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION disc, Joe said: "There's not a lot of overdubs. I rarely double the guitars, 'cause Glenn's bass sound is so big and distorted, you know what I mean? It's, like, why do I need to double the guitar? Same thing with Derek. It's almost like playing in the band FREE. All of the sound comes from the four of us. And Jason takes up a huge amount of bandwidth; he's such a big drummer."

Bonamassa went on to say that he is looking forward to performing with BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION again. "I'd like to do some live shows with 'em [in 2024]," he said. "I think it would be really fun… Scheduling is the hardest thing, because of what everybody's got [coming up]… [My solo band is] booked almost two years out. But next year, I really wanna at least set aside a week, maybe two weeks, where we can go out and do selected shows, do a couple here in the U.S., go to Europe, do a couple there. 'Cause it is fun."

Last year it was announced that BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION will perform on the 2024 edition of Keeping The Blues Alive At Sea IX cruise, sailing from Miami, Florida to Cozumel, Mexico on March 18-22.

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's most recent performance took place in February 2018 at the fourth edition of the Keeping The Blues Alive At Sea, which benefits the Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, Bonamassa's non-profit organization dedicated to providing students, teachers, and musicians with the resources and tools needed to further their music education.

In a September 2022 interview with Andy Hall of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3, Bonamassa stated about what it is about a "band situation" that appeals to him, considering he has spent most of his career as a solo artist: "I like nothing more than to be a member of a band and playing guitar. I don't have to front it; I don't have to sing all the time. And it's a lot less pressure than being the front person. Being the person in front is a special skillset. You have to be an entertainer. You can't just sit up there and stare at your guitar and go, 'Wow. Look, I can play guitar pretty good.' That's not gonna fill the theater. You have to put on a show. And to put on a show requires being an entertainer. So being in a band, the sum of the parts is greater than the single entity. So this thing where Glenn co-fronts BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, I can just sit back and play rhythm guitar and watch him do his thing. He's a legend. And then conversely, Glenn doesn't have to sing all night; I'll sing three or four [songs]. So we kind of spread out the whole workload a little bit."

Just like its four predecessors, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's new album is being overseen by producer Kevin Shirley, who originally had the idea of putting Hughes and Bonamassa in a band after seeing them jamming together onstage in Los Angeles back in November 2009.

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's inception took place when Hughes and Bonamassa fused their styles on stage in Los Angeles for an explosive performance at Guitar Center's King Of The Blues event. With the help and guidance of Shirley, they further added to their rock lineage by recruiting Bonham and Sherinian.

In a 2017 interview, Hughes talked about the chemistry between the BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION members, especially since all the musicians have had successful careers prior to launching the group.

"This band was meant to be," Glenn said. "It was formed out of a friendship with Joe and I. We got the [other] guys to come in, and it's always been a strong brotherhood. And we're just very lucky and fortunate to have met. I've known Jason since he was [a kid]. I just think that these four guys in this band are the right guys to play in the band."

Photo credit: Neil Zlozower

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Swedish metallers DARK TRANQUILLITY have completed recording their new album.

Earlier today (Friday, January 26),DARK TRANQUILLITY frontman Mikael Stanne shared a photo of him laying down vocals at Rogue Music, the studio owned and operated by DARK TRANQUILLITY keyboardist Martin Brändström in the heart of Gothenburg, Sweden. He wrote in an accompanying message: "Last line recorded! Damn, this feels so fantastic!

"It's been a long and incredibly rewarding writing and recording process that is now nearing its end. The songs have taken on a life of their own since the first barebones demos a year or so ago and we have truly poured our hearts and minds into this one. Now we ship it off to master @jensbogren for final mix and master.

"This year is looking very exciting indeed and we believe you will get a kick out of what we have put together for you. Cheers! @darktranquillityofficial #darktranquillity #nextalbum".

Last August, Stanne told JJ's One Girl Band that he hadn't yet come up with a possible lyrical concept for DARK TRANQUILLITY's next LP. He said: "We're working on the music right now, and I have some ideas. So far the lyrics I've written — it's not a theme. It deals with all the frustration, but I don't know if I can tie it all together or if it's gonna be very separate. Let's see. Normally that's something that kind of either I decide on that theme before the album and then the rest comes naturally. But so far I haven't really decided on one. But we still have some time, and it's gonna work out."

He continued: "It's fun to be in this process where we are right now, where we have all the songs but they need to be kind of finalized and shaped into exactly what we want 'em to be and figure out the emotional kind of impact it needs to have and how it needs to feel for us and how we want it to feel when you're listening to it. So that's where we are right now. And part of that, for me, is to kind of find that right kind of way in, so to speak, lyrically, find a way to kind of enhance what the song makes me feel."

DARK TRANQUILLITY's latest LP, "Moment", which was released in November 2020, was recorded at Nacksving Studios and Rogue Music by Martin Brändström and then mixed/mastered by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios.

In July 2023, guitarist Christopher Amott announced his departure from DARK TRANQUILLITY. He said in a statement that there was "no bad blood at all" between him and the other members of DARK TRANQUILLITY and explained that it was "time" for him to concentrate on some new music that he was "very proud of".

The 46-year-old Amott, who was a founding member of ARCH ENEMY, alongside his brother Michael Amott, officially joined DARK TRANQUILLITY in 2020 after previously being a member of the band's touring lineup since 2017.

A few hours later, DARK TRANQUILLITY issued the following statement regarding Amott's departure: "We are sad to announce that Chris Amott is leaving the band to pursue his own musical path. It has been an honor and a pleasure to play with him and we are parting amicably. To fill in for him in the near future we will have the awesome shredder Joey Concepcion joining us for the rest of the summer.

"Our mission stays the same - to explore this melancholy that neighbours to rage. A path forged by all members of DARK TRANQUILLITY - past and present. There may be some new faces on stage but in our extended family, much is the same. Niklas Sundin is still setting our visual tonality and Martin Henriksson is still our manager."

Three years ago, DARK TRANQUILLITY parted ways with drummer Anders Jivarp and bassist Anders Iwers.

Jivarp was an original member of DARK TRANQUILLITY, having played on all of the band's releases to date. Iwers joined DARK TRANQUILLITY in 2016 and played on the group's last two albums, 2016's "Atoma" and 2020's "Moment".

Jivarp and Iwers were replaced on DARK TRANQUILLITY's recent tours by Strandberg Nilsson (IN MOURNING, WOLVES WITHIN) and Christian Jansson (GRAND CADAVER, PAGANDOM),respectively.

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On January 25, 2024, METAL ALLEGIANCE reassembled at the House Of Blues Anaheim for the band's 10th-anniversary celebration (which also coincided with the return of the winter NAMM show). The night was sponsored by Dean Guitars, ddrum and Heavys Headphones, with opening acts being DIETH, HELD HOSTAGE and QUOR.

Since METAL ALLEGIANCE's inception in 2014, the band is comprised of the core four members of: Mark Menghi on bass, Alex Skolnick (TESTAMENT) on guitar, David Ellefson (MEGADETH) on bass, and Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER) on drums.

In addition to Menghi, Portnoy, Skolnick and Ellefson, the show featured John Bush (ARMORED SAINT),Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT),Phil Demmel (MACHINE HEAD, VIO-LENCE),Troy Sanders (MASTODON),Brann Dailor (MASTODON),Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA),Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth (OVERKILL),Gary Holt (EXODUS, SLAYER),Doc Coyle (BAD WOLVES, GOD FORBID),Hel Pyre (NERVOSA) and Chris Poland (ex-MEGADETH),among others, in addition to their usual unannounced surprise guests. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

METAL ALLEGIANCE has issued two full-length albums so far, 2015's self-titled debut and 2018's "Volume II: Power Drunk Majesty", as well as an EP, 2016's "Fallen Heroes".

The last time METAL ALLEGIANCE played at the House of Blues Anaheim was in 2020, right before the world shut down; the show garnered rave reviews, such as North East Rock Review saying "I have attended a couple METAL ALLEGIANCE shows over the years and they seem to get better every year. When attending the NAMM show, this is one of the shows not to miss." Additionally, LA Metal Media added, "METAL ALLEGIANCE is an incredible coalition of the metal community's most incredible and notable musicians today; a coalition that pays tribute to some of the best metal music ever written. Be sure to check out this amazing assembly of metal greats if you can whenever they play live."

Metal Hammer raved about one of their past Anaheim shows, "Tonight the mayhem rises exponentially as a platoon of legends descends on the House Of Blues — tucked deep in the heart of downtown Disney — even the besieged bar staff pause to witness the carnage." while Cryptic Rock suggested, "Anyone who has the chance to see this should run, not walk, and join the ALLEGIANCE."

When METAL ALLEGIANCE's 10th-anniversary concert was announced last October, Menghi said in a statement: "I never in my life imagined a band like MA would exist, let alone write and record one record… here we are a few records, an EP and many shows/tours later celebrating our 10th year of existence. Pretty surreal. It's been a minute since the 'Core 4' have been in the same room. Excited to see my brothers, jam and laugh with them again. Only one place to kick off the festivities and that's our home away from home at the House of Blues in Anaheim Cal-i-forn-i-A."

Portnoy added: "METAL ALLEGIANCE's annual Anaheim shows are always one of the metal events of the year! This will be our return to Anaheim for the first time since our last show there weeks before the world shut down at the beginning of 2020, so I can't wait to get back and throw down with my metal brothers and sisters once again! \m/ "

Ellefson stated: "It's hard to believe it's been 10 years since we started METAL ALLEGIANCE out on the MOTÖRHEAD Motörboat cruise, but here we are, a couple of albums and a whole bunch of shows later, celebrating the strength and resilience of heavy metal together. Looking forward to the show as everything is back in the swing during NAMM 2024!"

Skolnick added: "When METAL ALLEGIANCE first came together in 2014, no one could have guessed that ten years later, we'd be planning this anniversary show. The world feels different now than it did then, but we're still here, music still unites and that is cause to celebrate. Among the many MA highlights over the past decade have been our shows in Anaheim, which always create a lot of great memories. This time will be no exception and no better way to mark our ten-year milestone. See you there!"

Blitz said: "Great to be part of this killer 10-year event with MA. The head-banging doesn't get any better than this!"

Commented Sanders: "I am thrilled to get the band back together for a 10th-anniversary METAL ALLEGIANCE throwdown! We look forward to another memorable show with all our friends!"

Added Holt: "So stoked to be able to return once again to METAL ALLEGIANCE for the 10-year anniversary of the world's foremost collection of metal maniacs, all sharing a stage together! It's been way too long, I am fired up for this! Bring it on!"

British guitar sensation, Sophie Lloyd, has released the new video below, featuring a performance of Rory Gallagher's "Bad Penny".


Says Sophie: "Probably one of my biggest inspirations when I started playing! Enjoy this shred of the greatest guitarist no one has ever heard of.... Rory Gallagher."







Sophie released her debut album, Imposter Syndrome, via her own Autumn Records back in November. The album is available as a digipack CD, Black Gatefold Vinyl and Limited Edition Gatefold Purple Splatter Vinyl. Orders can be placed here.





Tracklisting:


"Do Or Die" (feat. Nathan James)
"Pressure" (feat. Brandon Saller)
"Imposter Syndrome" (feat. Lzzy Hale)
"Let It Hurt" (feat. Chris Robertson)
"Runaway" (feat. Michael Starr)
"Fall Of Man" (feat. Matthew K. Heafy)
"Lost" (feat. Cole Rolland)
"Hanging On" (feat. Lauren Babic)
"Avalanche" (feat. Trevor McNevan)
"Won't You Come" (feat. Marisa Rodriguez)
"Judge And Jury" (feat. Tyler Connolly)


"Judge And Jury" video:





"Runaway" featuring Michael Starr of Steel Panther:





"Lost" featuring Cole Rolland:





"Hanging On" featuring Lauren Babic:





"Fall Of Man" featuring Matthew K. Heafy of Trivium:

Skid Row frontman, Erik Grönwall, has shared the video below, in which he performs "Rising Force", written by Yngwie Malmsteen and Joe Lynn Turner.





Grönwall previously shared videos featuring performances of Whitesnake's "Still Of The Night", and Mötley Crüe's "Kickstart My Heart". See below:

Melodic hard rockers, Lionheart, have released the new single, "V Is For Victory", featured on their upcoming new album, The Grace Of A Dragonfly, out via Metalville on February 23. Pre-order the album here, and watch the new clip below:





As soon as the previous album, The Reality Of Miracles, hit the shelves in 2020, Lionheart knuckled down to record the next one, deciding early on that this time they would produce a concept album. The record centres around WW2, but the band very much wanted to make this an anti-war album, while at the same time remembering those who fought for our freedom.




The songs on The Grace Of A Dragonfly are sensational, with Lee Small’s emotional lyrics reflecting not only the pain and grief inflicted by war on ordinary, innocent people in every conflict zone, but also their strength, resilience, and determination. Supported by Lionheart’s superb songwriting, soaring backing vocals, beautiful twin-guitar harmonies, and atmospheric keyboards, Lionheart’s sheer power shines brightly from every one of the eleven songs, culminating in a heartfelt prayer for peace in the world.





Tracklist:


"Declaration"
"Flight 19"
"V Is For Victory"
"This Is A Woman's War"
"The Longest Night"
"The Eagle's Nest"
"Little Ships"
"Just A Man"
"UXB"
"The Grace Of A Dragonfly"
"Remembrance, Praying For World Peace"


"Flight 19" lyric video:





Lionheart lineup:


Lee Small (The Sweet, ex-Shy) - lead vocals
Dennis Stratton (ex-Iron Maiden) - lead guitar/backing vocals
Steve Mann (MSG, ex-Liar) - lead guitar/backing vocals
Rocky Newton (Grand Slam, ex-MSG) - bass guitar/backing vocals
Clive Edwards (ex-Pat Travers, Uli Jon Roth & Wild Horses) - drums, percussion

Canadian all-star modern metal band Imonolith have released an official video for their cover of the Nine Inch Nails classic, "We're In This Together". Check it out below.





Imonolith released their latest album, Progressions, on May 20th, 2022. Following is a message from the band issued for the release:




"Imonolith are proud to give you a different type of album. It’s a mixture of new material, cover songs and some classic demos to show you how the band has progressed from the beginning to present times.


This may not be an album full of new original material but it is an album showing how we have progressed over the years to become the sound we are today and give you a hint of what to expect with our next full length album of all new original songs. It’ll be a crusher!!!


Thanks as always for your awesome support. We simply cannot do what we do with out all you amazing supporters. We look forward to seeing and meeting you all on tour very soon in support of Progressions and our first album, State of Being. Stay posted for a bunch of new updates, we plan on being very busy in the near future. For now, enjoy Progressions and stay metal and healthy our there."





Tracklist:


"Angevil"
"Army Of Me"
"The Lesson"
"The Reign" (Remix)
"Progressions"
"We're In This Together"
"Words In Silence"
"Instinct" (Demo Version)
"Breathe" (Demo Version)
"The Reign" (Demo Version)


Featuring drummer Ryan Van Poederooyen (Devin Townsend Project), vocalist Jon Howard (Threat Signal), guitarist Kai Huppunen (Methods of Mayhem, Noise Therapy) & Oswin Wong (Threat Signal) and Conan Freeman (Punchdrunk) on bass, Imonolith are a collective of heavy-hitting players at the top of their game. Their 2020 debut album State of Being features special guest appearances from Jens Kidman (Meshuggah) and famed Swedish vocalist Johannes Eckerström and is made up of 10 hook-laden, riff-heavy tracks that centre around the theme of how people deal with various stages of life.





Download and stream Progressions here.

STRYPER drummer Robert Sweet spoke to Waste Some Time With Jason Green about the band's upcoming "To Hell With The Amps: The Unplugged Tour", which will kick off in late May. For the first time ever, the Christian rockers will stage a full tour where they will perform their hits and fan favorites acoustically.

Robert said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, actually, we've done it before [where we played acoustically], but probably not to this extent. We have — I'm gonna say maybe 20, 30 times gone out and done shows where it was like 'Unplugged' on MTV. They were acoustic shows, and I really had a fun time doing it. I mean, I didn't have to come off stage with my hair knotted and my clothes ripped and stuck to my body from sweat, exhausted with my fingers bleeding. It's actually kind of a nice thing. But it's still fun. So I really do like it."

He continued: "I think a lot of people, when they hear that right off the bat, they go, 'No, man, I wanna see STRYPER in the way that I've seen them in their videos or seen them in the past.' But it's a new thing. I mean, not a new thing, but it's something that I think when fans see it, they go, 'Wow, I really like it. I'm really surprised,' only because I've heard this said before. And I still play a little tiny drum set… But it really is a lot of fun. And we've had a lot of people say, 'Well, I was really surprised. I didn't think I'd like it. But I came and I realized, wow, this is great. This is seeing another side of the band I never got to see.'"

When "To Hell With The Amps: The Unplugged Tour" was first announced earlier this month, Robert's brother, STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet, said: "We'll be announcing many more acoustic dates over the next few months (in support of our new acoustic album coming this year) and an electric tour (in support of our new electric album coming later this year).

"We're celebrating our 40 year anniversary as a band!

"The acoustic album has been in the works for a while and we're so excited to announce that it's finally getting released! I can assure you, this is unlike any other acoustic album that you've ever heard before. It has fire, energy and a feel that is so unique.
The new electric album will be our best studio effort to date. No filler, all killer.

"Thank you all for 40 years of support and for being a part of the STRYPER Army".

Less than a year ago, Michael shot down speculation that STRYPER's latest album, "The Final Battle" marked the swan song for the veteran Christian hard rock band.

"A lot of people assume that because of the title of the album that it's our last album and that this is our last tour," Sweet told The Spokesman-Review in May 2023. "But it's not our final anything."

"The Final Battle", released in October 2022 via Frontiers Music Srl, is about Armageddon. "The material is about something much bigger than our band," Sweet explained. "We don't plan to hang it up. When the time comes, we'll announce that it's our last tour and when we announce that, it will be our final tour. We won't be like other bands who claim it's their last tour when it's not."

The follow-up to 2020's "Even The Devil Believes", "The Final Battle" was produced by Sweet and was once again recorded at SpiritHouse Recording Studios in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Formed 41 years ago, STRYPER's name comes from Isaiah 53:5, which states: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

STRYPER's albums include "To Hell With The Devil", "Second Coming", "No More Hell To Pay", "Fallen", "God Damn Evil" and the aforementioned "Even The Devil Believes" and "The Final Battle".

Robert and Michael are joined in STRYPER by Oz Fox (guitar) and Perry Richardson (bass).

For the first time ever, Stryper will be performing the hits and fan favorites, acoustically.

Stryper To Hell With The...

Posted by Stryper on Monday, January 8, 2024

In a new interview with Mike Hsu of the 100 FM The Pike radio station, ICE NINE KILLS frontman Spencer Charnas spoke about what it's been like for him and his bandmates to tour stadiums around the world with METALLICA in 2023 and 2024. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Anytime anyone mentions it when I'm doing an interview, and I'm not B.S.ing here, I get chills. Because it takes me back to when I first saw METALLICA, which was, I guess it would have been the Fleet Center [in Boston] in '97; it just switched over from the Garden a few years before, I think. And I remember that concert so vividly. My dad took me to it. They were, if memory serves, I think they were on the 'Load' or the 'Reload' album cycle, and it feels like that concert was a week ago. I remember the way that Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] came out over onto the stage, and he was drinking a beer, and they had this, like, pyrotechnic kind of, like, accident, but it was part of the show. One of the crew members, I remember, fell down and was hung by his like feet by a wire and everyone was, like, 'Oh my god.' But it turned out it was all part of the show."

Spencer continued: "They were one of those seminal bands for me. They made me, along with NIRVANA, wanna learn how to play guitar riffs. And so when we got that call to be on a few shows at first back in 2022, getting that call a few months later, 'Hey, do you wanna do the whole world tour with us?' I mean, for someone who grew up on that kind of music and METALLICA being the pinnacle of that, it's such an honor. And I still have to kind of pinch myself every time we show up at one of those stadiums and realize, 'I'm not just going to see them. We're on the show.' And they've been so nice to us. They come into the locker room and say 'what's up' to us. And they're really sort of showing us the way of how, when you're coming up, you take bands out, and take the bands out that you think are cool, and you treat them great. And we've learned a lot from them. And we can't thank them enough, and also thank all of their crew and their whole team. They've just been so accommodating. And also thank you to our fans who keep coming out to those shows, to see us play with METALLICA. I see so many INK shirts in that crowd. It's just a huge honor."

Speaking about the opportunity to play with METALLICA at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts in August, Spencer said: "It's mind boggling. That's a place I've been going to since I was a little kid. Not just sporting-wise, but the second iteration of Spooky World [haunted attraction] was there. And obviously, Spooky World, the original especially, was so influential to the band. That was the first time I had ever seen anything like that, ever been able to meet a celebrity from a horror movie. I remember I met Kane Hodder, who played Jason, and George P. Wilbur, who played Michael Myers in ['Halloween'] Part 6. And I still have my signed Jason mask from that very night. So, to be now playing in a venue where Spooky World was housed for a number of years, it's all that sort of full-circle moment for me, being a kid from Massachusetts."

ICE NINE KILLS's latest release "Welcome To Horrorwood: Under Fire", was made available last October via Fearless Records. The effort capped off the ambitious "Horrorwood" saga concept and was by far the band's most intricate and detail-oriented release yet. "Welcome To Horrorwood: Under Fire" is a three-LP deluxe edition of "The Silver Scream 2: Welcome To Horrorwood". It features the original album, now with the addition of "Meat & Greet", two reimagined tracks and a limited edition, wearable Silence mask, all encased in a super limited and highly collectible flame-engulfed box set.

Decadent, devious and fiercely insane, ICE NINE KILLS celebrate pop culture's darkest edges, mining a cinephile library's worth of iconic horror on 2018's "The Silver Scream", which spawned Top 10 Mainstream Rock single "A Grave Mistake" and Top 20 hit "Savages". The creative marriage made in hell of music and fiction began in earnest with the Top 5 Hard Rock album "Every Trick In The Book", which brought the previous three records' themes to new levels and which the band perfected on 2021's chart-topping smash hit "The Silver Scream 2: Welcome To Horrorwood". The phenomenally successful album, released in October 2021, scored ICE NINE KILLS their first Top 20 position (No. 18) on the Billboard 200, topped the Digital and Current Hard Music charts, hit Top 5 on the Current Rock, Independent, Current Albums and Album Sales charts.

Since the release of "The Silver Scream 2: Welcome To Horrorwood", ICE NINE KILLS have seen phenomenal growth. Throughout 2022 they toured the U.S. extensively on three legs of "The Trinity Of Terror", have supported METALLICA in packed, sold-out stadiums around the world on their "M72" world tour, toured the U.S. with SLIPKNOT and launched their enormously successful horror convention, The Silver Scream Con, which just celebrated its second, sold-out edition last month. Spencer was featured in the music video for the official song from "Scream 6", Demi Lovato's "Still Alive", an ICE NINE KILLS flyer was used in the movie and featured a Spencer-recommended easter egg. Since spring of last year, as well as wowing packed-out stadiums around the world with METALLICA, ICE NINE KILLS have headlined numerous sold-out shows on their "Wurst Vacation" European tour and thrilled tens of thousands of fans at Download festival to huge acclaim from both critics and fans alike. They then toured the U.S. with FALLING IN REVERSE on their "Popular Monstour" run and hit the road for "Fear The Premiere" U.S. headline shows in August. ICE NINE KILLS finished 2023 on a high with the release of "Welcome To Horrorwood Under Fire" and the "Kiss Of Death" co-headline tour with IN THIS MOMENT.

On the red carpet of last night's (Wednesday, January 24) Metal Hall Of Fame gala at the Delta Marriott Garden Grove in Garden Grove, California, MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist John 5 told The Metal Voice that he and his bandmates are continuing to work on fresh material. "We're writing songs, and a new song will be coming out soon," he said. "It's really great, and I'm super excited and I can't wait."

Regarding the musical direction of the new MÖTLEY CRÜE material, John 5 said: "Oh, it's heavy, great songs. Heavy, great songs… I would say you could easily hear this off the 'Dr. Feelgood' album."

Nearly a year ago, MÖTLEY CRÜE recorded three new songs with longtime producer Bob Rock, including "Dogs Of War" and a cover of BEASTIE BOYS' "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)":

Earlier this month, John 5 told Illinois Entertainer about MÖTLEY CRÜE's current songwriting process: "Just the other day, Nikki [Sixx, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist] called me and he was playing guitar over the phone and he'll play a riff, and he'll sing this melody, and it sounded like it could be something off of [MÖTLEY CRÜE's debut album] 'Too Fast For Love'. It's just natural for him to write these songs that I have loved and lots of other people have loved. I think we're always going to make new music, because, man, this guy is pumping out amazing lyrics and great music. When we all get together, it's pretty magical."

In December, MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee told Desert Sun about the three new songs he and his bandmates recorded with Rock: "Wait until you hear it. It's insane. It's not a full album, but that might be down the road a bit. We're always writing and doing stuff, so that's always a possibility down the road. But we just went to the studio not too long ago and recorded three insane tracks and one of them is called 'Dogs Of War'. We're just finishing up the video for it. For those jonesing for some new CRÜE, people are going to bug out. John 5 is playing on it, the guitar work is incredible and it sounds sick."

In September, John 5 told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about the new MÖTLEY CRÜE music: "I don't know when it's gonna come out, but everything is a plan. Everything is mapped out and structured, and everything is, 'We're gonna do it here and there,' and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So the songs are recorded, mixed, mastered. And they're so good. I can't wait for them to come out. They're so good. I'm really excited about 'em."

He continued: "Who knows what's going to happen? I don't know if we'll just release singles or an album. It's up to those guys, so I don't know. We just record and see what happens. But these songs that we recorded are so good; they're heavy and the melodies and everybody's just killing it on these songs."

Asked how much how much input he had during the songwriting process, John 5 said: "We all sat in a room and did it together. 'Cause me and Nikki have written for years and years and years together. So it was nothing new. And me and Tommy worked in the studio together many times as well. So it was nothing new being in the studio, but it was new with Bob Rock.

"What was so wild was we got in a room… It was like total old school, man," he explained. "You get in the live room and there's my amp and there's Nikki's amp and there's Tommy's drums, there's a mic… 'Cause I'm so used to just playing in the control room. And it's, like, 'Oh no, no, no. We're all gonna get in this room and we're gonna play.' And that's how we recorded. It was incredible. I've never recorded that way. And it was maybe one of the best experiences I had recording. It was so fun. It was a blast. I had to, like, make notes and all this stuff, and we just played through it. It was incredible."

Last spring, John 5 told Sirius XM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about recording with Rock: "Bob would come in and [say], 'Okay, let's try this here, and that here and this here. It was one of the most incredible experiences ever… I'm thinking, 'We've got so much great technology today'… but we got in that room and it was like being in a garage working on a song when you were in high school… It was incredible, and we documented a lot of it too."

Regarding the musical direction of the tracks he and the rest of MÖTLEY CRÜE have recorded so far, John 5 said: "The songs are fucking heavy. I sound like a little excited kid right now, but they're heavy and they're mean. I can't wait for them to come out. I'm just so excited."

When host Eddie Trunk asked John 5 whether the new MÖTLEY CRÜE music can be compared to the band's breakthrough second album, 1983's "Shout At The Devil", the guitarist said that some of the new riffs are "heavier than anything" on that LP. "All I can tell you is that it's heavy and it's aggressive, and I think people are going to dig it because, talking as a fan, it's fucking badass," he said.

MÖTLEY CRÜE debuted its cover of "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)" during a "secret" June 30, 2023 club performance for 450 lucky fans at the Underworld in London, England.

John 5 joined MÖTLEY CRÜE in the fall of 2022 as the replacement for the band's co-founding guitarist Mick Mars. Mick announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE in October 2022 as a result of worsening health issues.

Mars suffers from Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS),a chronic and inflammatory form of arthritis that mainly affects the spine and pelvis. After years of performing through the pain, he informed the other members of MÖTLEY CRÜE in the summer of 2022 that he could no longer tour with them but would still be open to recording new music or performing at residencies that did not require much travel.

When Mars announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE, he maintained that he would remain a member of the band, with John 5 taking his place on the road. However, in early April 2023 the now-72-year-old musician filed a lawsuit against CRÜE in Los Angeles County's Superior Court claiming that, after his announcement, the rest of CRÜE tried to remove him as a significant stakeholder in the group's corporation and business holdings via a shareholders' meeting.

The new THUNDERMOTHER lineup has released its second single, "Speaking Of The Devil". Helmed again by Danish producer Søren Andersen (PRETTY MAIDS, D-A-D, Glenn Hughes, Mike Tramp),the track sees founding THUNDERMOTHER guitarist Filippa Nässil joined by singer Linnéa Vikström (THERION, AT THE MOVIES),bassist Majsan Lindberg and drummer Joan Massing (HONEY CREEK).

Nässil comments: "The new single is written by Linnéa and me, recorded live in Medley Studios with our longtime great producer Søren Andersen. It's a very badass song that we're all proud of. I can't wait to play this live on our upcoming tour '15 Years Of Rock' starting in Sweden now in February."

"Speaking Of The Devil" comes more than two months after the arrival of "I Left My License In The Future", which marked the first song released by the new THUNDERMOTHER lineup.

The new THUNDERMOTHER lineup made its live debut on April 20, 2023 by playing a "secret" show at Pub Anchor in Stockholm, Sweden. The latest THUNDERMOTHER incarnation played its first "official" concert on April 22, 2023 at Ski & Rock in Sälen, Sweden. They then kicked off a series of European shows as the support act for the SCORPIONS.

In February 2023, it was announced that singer Guernica Mancini, drummer Emlee Johansson and bassist Mona Lindgren were exiting THUNDERMOTHER and were forming a new band together. At the same time, Nässilrevealed that she would continue with a new THUNDERMOTHER lineup.

In an interview with Bloodstream TV, Filippa opened up about the latest THUNDERMOTHER lineup changes, saying: "Well, we were together seven years — and that is Guernica, the singer, and Emlee, the drummer. And it [was] amazing; we did so much together. But in the end, we couldn't communicate. 'Cause you travel and you live together all the time. Not even when you say 'hi' to each other. I cannot live a rock and roll lifestyle like this. So I tried to solve it for a long time — like, 'This doesn't work. We have to communicate and be respectful,' and whatever. And it didn't work out. One person didn't come to the meeting, so we had to move forward. Because this is a business as well, and a rock and roll band, and it's supposed to be fun and good and loving also, because we need to support each other. And when that's not the case… Well, I fired [Guernica] — that's the first time I'm saying that now, actually — because she didn't come to the meetings I set up to mediate. We need to talk and be able to work together. Because it's more and more business, and then you can't work and then you can't do your shows. Because it's e-mails and everything — it's a lot of stuff."

Nässil continued: "So friendship — okay, I can buy that; you don't have to be friends. But I think it's much better now anyway. And I'm very happy with… 'Cause I took the old singer… Not the old singer, but a singer that I really loved and admired for a long time called Linnéa Vikström. I actually asked her for the job in THUNDERMOTHER seven years ago, but she wasn't available. She had too much to do, 'cause she sang with THERION, a big metal band, around the world. And [she has] a lot of experience, but we're also good friends. So it's been hard for her to sort of take over something, but it's been fantastic. And everyone says it's really good."

In recent months, Mancini, who joined THUNDERMOTHER in 2017, gave several interviews in which she described her time with the group as "six tough years" and "a very bumpy ride". She also said that Filippa decided to fire her from the band without consulting the other members of THUNDERMOTHER, a move which they perceived as "very disrespectful towards them, being that they believed that we were a democracy and that we had a say in these things," according to Guernica.

In March 2023, Mancini, Johansson and Lindgren announced that their new band would be called THE GEMS. They have since signed a worldwide deal with Napalm Records and have issued their debut album, "Phoenix".

THE GEMS' live performances include material from THUNDERMOTHER's last two albums, 2020's "Heat Wave" and 2022's "Black And Gold", both of which featured songwriting contributions from Guernica and Emlee.

THUNDERMOTHER will kick off a Swedish tour in late February.

Photo credit: Mats Vassfjord

Ayreon mastermind Arjen Lucassen recently checked in with an update on his next musical venture:


"Hi all! This year I’ve been working on a new album… with old songs! I’ll explain. In the early '90s I formed a band with singer Robert Soeterboek called Plan Nine. But those were the days of grunge, so it wasn’t the right time for us. But now, 30 years later, we have re-written and re-recorded 13 songs with the help of lots of great musicians that you all know. And, if I say so myself, it turned out really cool! The album will be called The Long-Lost Songs and it will be released early next year by Mascot. Robert will play live with Plan Nine next year. More updates soon! (Oh… sorry for the cheesy photo… hey, that was more than 30 years ago!)"


 







 


Below is the official video for the first single, "Before The Morning Comes", taken from the Plan Nine album aptly named The Long-Lost Songs.


Lucassen: "As Robert and I sifted through our 30-year-old cassette tapes containing our demos, we stumbled upon a bluesy, unfinished piece featuring just my guitar and Robert's voice. I had completely forgotten about it, but felt it had the potential to be something special. I'm glad we pursued it, because it turned out to be one of the album's highlights! 


Robert was actually quite ill when he recorded it, the raw pain in his voice is palpable, but that really works for this song. Given the positive reception from everyone we played the song for, we chose this track as the first single and the basis for our video clip. 


The concept is straightforward: a sleazy, smoky bar with a band performing, surrounded by a crowd of utterly disinterested people, essentially ignoring the band. And what an exceptional band it is – I'm incredibly proud of these musicians! And yes, those are indeed Lynyrd Skynyrd and Jimi Hendrix posters on the wall – that's no coincidence!"

March 8, 2024 sees ALTERIUM, the new Italian power metal quintet led by Nicoletta Rosellini (ex. Kalidia, Walk in Darkness), release their much-awaited, first full-length studio album entitled "Of War And Flames" via AFM Records.

Following previously-released songs, "Siren's Call", "Drag Me To Hell", an epic cover version of Sabaton's "Bismarck" or just recently, their powerful title track "Of War And Flames", today, ALTERIUM are premiering a music video for their latest single "Crossroads Inn", a metal tribute inspired by the popular medieval tavern simulator video game!

In cooperation with video game creator Klabater, the following statement has been released:

"Welcome to Delcrys, adventurers!

The doors of the fantasy tavern are now open! To celebrate the arrival of the second chapter of the iconic video game ‘Crossroads Inn,’ Alterium wrote and recorded a track inspired by the lore of the game.

Crossroads Inn is a real-time management sim set in the immersive fantasy world of Delcrys. Players must build, manage, and expand their tavern, catering to the needs of adventurers from far and wide! The game is available on Steam, while “Crossroads Inn 2” has been announced and is currently in development - you can already add it to your wishlist!"

Singer and songwriter Nicoletta Rosellini comments: “I’m a huge fan of management video games, and I’ve spent hundreds of hours playing ‘Crossroads Inn,’ which also features great lore that inspired me to write lyrics for this track. I believe that power metal is the perfect genre to convey the funny atmosphere of a typical night at the tavern. We also recreated the whole scenery in our new music video!"

Born in late 2022, ALTERIUM consists of vocalist Nicoletta and former bandmates Paolo Campitelli (guitars) and Dario Gozzi (drums) from Kalidia, soon joined by Alessandro Mammola (guitars, also in Draconicon) and Luca Scalabrin (bass, also in Altair).

After Kalidia parted ways, Nicoletta decided to take a different approach and finally unleashes her whole potential as both a singer and a songwriter. Produced by Lars Rettkowitz (Freedom Call), and featuring 9 original classy power metal tracks including the cover of “Bismarck”, "Of War and Flames" turns out to be a triumph of catchy choruses, terrific vocal lines, powerful sounds, strong guitar riffs, explosive drums, majestic choirs and captivating grooves, all skillfully mastered by Achim Koehler.

"Of War And Flames" track listing:
01. Drag Me To Hell
02. Siren's Call
03. Of War And Flames
04. Firebringer
05. Crossroads Inn
06. Shadowsong
07. Crystalline
08. Heroine Of The Sea
09. Chasing the Sun
10. Bismarck

DOPE leader Edsel Dope, who is widely believed to be Xer0, the masked frontman of STATIC-X, has weighed in on KISS's announcement that the legendary rockers will continue as digital avatars. The technology, originally developed for ABBA's "Voyage" show in London, will allow KISS to stay "on the road" in retirement.

Dope discussed KISS's future plans while talking to the Battleline Podcast about how musicians can go about "retiring" from performing live. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The American Dream is ultimately to work hard, build a business, and then at some point either sell said business and retire or pass business on to your kids. You can't do that with a band, and that's something that is really hard for people to kind of understand. You've built this pizza shop and you've got this client list of customers that love to come and enjoy your pizza, but if you're not in the kitchen making the pizza, there is no pizza. That's the part of it that I guess you can further understand why… If I had the money THE ROLLING STONES do, I don't know that I'd still be out there playing 'Start Me Up' at 75 years old. But at the same time, I respect why they're doing it, because this is what they do and they're not ready to retire. And THE ROLLING STONES are worth arguably nothing without those guys up there giving you THE ROLLING STONES. It is something that a lot of people probably take for granted. How does a guy in a band retire? You have to figure out how to save your money and invest your money and otherwise you will be doing this shit when you're 65."

When one of the interviewers brought up the KISS avatars and asked Dope how he feels about the idea, Edsel said: "I mean, who knows? Who knows? Let's see if it works. I think one of the reasons that I'm a little bit — what's the word? — skeptical of whether or not it can work is because KISS was a weird band in the sense that they transcended age groups partially because of the live show. You could bring a 13-year-old to a KISS show, and because it's so over the top and so outlandish and the makeup and the sparks and the fire, it's so beyond sensory overload, a 13-year-old kid may not identify with the music at all, but the sensory overload of the show allows him to go, like, 'Wow, that was a really cool experience.'

"My apprehension with thinking that the avatars can work into the future is I'm not sure that the music that accompanies those avatars can speak to a younger generation," he explained. "That's where it's tough, because you go find a 16-year-old kid who's into whatever they're into and just play them a KISS song, and they're probably gonna be, like, 'Eh.' I mean, it's not THE BEATLES, man. You can play THE BEATLES for young people, and THE BEATLES are timeless. KISS is 'butt rock' — it's kinda cheesy lyrics. I love it. But I grew up in the '70s. So, I'm not sure that the avatars are gonna be able to bridge them to a whole new demographic of fans, because I think the music is a bit limiting as far as its reach… I think young people would wanna see those crazy high-definition avatars wrapped in a sound that more represents that crazy avatar, you know what I mean? And the music sounds like it came from the '70s, but the avatars look like they're crazy modern things."

The 49-year-old Dope, who has been long-rumored as Xer0, the anonymous, somewhat ominous, new frontman of STATIC-X, has admitted to helping produce the band's most recent albums and contributing to his peers far beyond what could or could not lie underneath a mask. According to him, STATIC-X's recent live performances have seen him and his collaborators attract a new audience that was too young to see the original band perform live, very similar to what KISS has been able to do over the last couple of decades.

"On a much smaller level, that is one of the unexpected things that we've seen with STATIC-X in the evolution of the Xer0 character to what it is now," Edsel said. "You see fans bringing their kids or their nieces or nephews to the shows, and maybe, again, they get caught up in the spectacle and the lights and all that shit, but they're seeing old dudes on stage, but the mask and Xer0 and the cyborg and how that's evolved, you see younger people responding to that differently than they would be responding to a 55-year-old man up there singing 'Push It'… So that's been really cool. And again, I think KISS gets away with that too — you don't really see the age of those guys because of the makeup. But sonically, I think that they've never… People fall in love with KISS because of what it is. I don't think any of us can say we've heard a modern-sounding KISS song that's gonna attract a 16-year-old kid that's into fucking LAMB OF GOD or whoever."

Despite his reservations about the KISS avatars, Dope said that he "it's cool that KISS is trying to push into the digital space, and I think that as they tweak those avatars, they're gonna get cooler and cooler, and there's gonna be something there. It's just I don't see it speaking to new generations of young people sonically," he repeated. "Maybe they just turn them into comic book characters and their storylines are as important as the music. I can see that. Video games and that kind of shit."

When one of the interviewers commented that KISS is "waiting until 2027 to unveil" the avatars, Edsel said: "I don't think they're waiting until 2027 to unveil it. It's gonna take three years of 40-hour work weeks for a team of 10 people to build that show into what ABBA has built. Have you seen the ABBA show? So that's what KISS is gonna try to do, at least that's what it appears, and it's gonna take them three years behind the scenes to build that and I think that just teasing the avatars was just their way of saying, 'This is what's coming. Don't judge us on this end product. Give us three years to build this and then come see a ridiculous spectacle live event.' And I think that will be great, just like it's been great for ABBA. I think if you are able to physically go to that building and witness the KISS experience as avatars, it probably will be fucking awesome. But watching the KISS avatars on your laptop? I don't know how engaging that's gonna be."

The four members of KISS played their final show as humans at Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 2 and revealed they would be continuing as avatars — to be deployed in ways yet to be revealed.

In a new interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, Paul Stanley commented on the skepticism from some of the fans with regard to KISS digital avatars, saying: "One thing that's interesting is people, I think, perhaps even understandably, got the wrong impression initially of the avatars," Paul told Ultimate Classic Rock. "Because at the Garden shows, we wanted to give people a glimpse of some of the things, or one of the things, that's to come. But the avatars are really in their infancy. They're far from where they'll end up in terms of look and purpose. The purpose, ultimately, is not that we're being replaced by flying avatars. It's just another way of diversifying what KISS is."

He continued: "Quite honestly, many times in the last 50 years, people have scratched their heads about what our plans were. And nine out of 10 times they've been successful, and other people have followed. So that's nothing really new.

"We're in a fortunate position and a unique position of being a band that can do things that other bands can't do," Stanley added. "So to not explore and take advantage of many of them would be, I don't know, ridiculous, and also, really, at this point, mystifying. We've worked this hard to create four icons, and a band that's iconic in so many different ways, and to not diversify and maximize what we've created, we'd be crazy."

Earlier in the month, KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer told Guitar World magazine about the avatars: "It'll take some time to get the imagery where we want it to be. I haven't really thought about what it all means in the big picture, but with technology evolving as quickly as it is, there's no doubt that this is the direction a lot of entertainment is going."

Last month, KISS revealed that fans will apparently have to wait more than three years to see the band's first avatar performance. On December 22, KISS released a short video announcing that "a show" featuring the KISS avatars "is coming" in "2027". The band captioned the clip: "50 years is a long time, and what the future holds is in the making."

The KISS avatars were created by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and were financed and produced by the Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment, which is behind "ABBA Voyage".

Earlier last month, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons said that "about 200 million" dollars is being invested into the KISS avatar show.

Unlike the "ABBA Voyage" show, which recreates a 1970s-era ABBA concert in a custom-built London arena, KISS's avatars that appeared at the band's final concert in New York in early December will not be as grounded in reality as ABBA's digital replicas. According to BBC News, the KISS avatars will see the band appear as fantasy-based superheroes who are eight feet tall, breathing fire and shooting electricity from their fingers, while floating above the audience.

No further details have been announced yet for KISS's plan with the band's avatars. "We're going to figure it out after the tour," Pophouse CEO Per Sundin said prior to the final show at Madison Square Garden. "Is it a KISS concert in the future? Is it a rock opera? Is it a musical? A story, an adventure? These four individuals already have superpowers. We want to be as open as possible."

The avatars will now be available for live shows around the world and in digital online settings, which some people collectively refer to as the metaverse.

KISS will reportedly become the first American band to go fully virtual and stage its own avatar show.

JOCOUP Creative, an experiential design firm co-founded by former Universal Creative director Thierry Coup and BRC and Universal Creative alumni Johanna "Jojo" Atilano, is also involved in the project. Coup has been announced as creative director of the KISS avatar show.

Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann recently released a cover of the 1990 Héroes Del Silencio hit "Entre Dos Tierras", which is a stand-alone single not featured on his new solo album, Zunge. 


On January 2nd, her performed "Entre Dos Tierras" live in Monterrey, Mexico as the last song of the night. Check out fan-filmed video below.







Check out the official video for the "Entre Dos Tierras" cover below. 


 





 

After five years, Philadelphia based hard rock outfit Rat Rod and frontman Mike Smith have gone their separate ways.


Smith departed the band to take care of his ailing mother and for health reasons, the singer announced on his Facebook page. In that post, Smith said, "The start of this New Year brings the announcement that, after a lot of thought, I have decided to leave my band, Rat Rod. I had to do this for my own reasons, as well as to have more time to take care of my sick mom. I'm not going into detail, but I want to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH, FROM MY HEART, for all the support and love over the past 5 years. I wish the guys good luck."


Speaking for the band, lead guitarist Mark McCarty says, "We respect Mike's decision to leave the band and truly wish the best for him and his family. As for Rat Rod, we intend to continue on in whatever band configuration makes most sense, but preferably with a replacement vocalist."




Rat Rod's newest release, Four On The Floor, has received high praise from both fans and critics alike across the globe.


The band is currently speaking to prospective vocalists and interested parties are encouraged to send a demo, photo and short biography via eMail to ratrodrocks@ratrodrocks.com with the subject line: "SINGER."

EVANESCENCE has joined Spotify's "Billions Club" with the band's breakthrough 2003 hit "Bring Me To Life".

Billions Club is a playlist first launched in 2020 which includes all of the songs on Spotify that have surpassed one billion streams on the platform. After the achievement, Spotify gifts artists the Billions Club plaque.

"Bring Me To Life" joins other tracks — including METALLICA's "Nothing Else Matters", AEROSMITH's "Dream On", SURVIVOR's "Eye Of The Tiger", ABBA's "Dancing Queen", PAPA ROACH's "Last Resort", GUNS N' ROSES' "Paradise City" and Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" — to reach the achievement. The milestone has reportedly been achieved by nearly 500 songs so far.

Back in February 2022, EVANESCENCE's music video for "Bring Me To Life" surpassed one billion views on YouTube. The Philipp Stölzl-directed clip, which was uploaded to YouTube in December of 2009, was filmed in Romania in January 2003. It features singer Amy Lee in a night gown and barefoot, in her room, inside a tall building in the city at night. The rest of the band is playing on a higher floor of the building.

The album version of "Bring Me to Life" — which featured guest vocals from Paul McCoy of 12 STONES — was included on the soundtrack of superhero film "Daredevil".

In 2021, Amy spoke to Germany's Sonic Seducer about the lyrical inspiration for "Bring Me To Life". The song reached No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and was EVANESCENCE's first U.K. No. 1 single.

"I remember what I wrote 'Bring Me To Life' about, because I wrote it about my current husband before we were married," she said. "There was this moment — I was in a tough place and in a bad relationship. And my husband now, Josh, at the time was just a friend and a person that I barely knew; it was maybe the third or fourth time we'd ever met. And we went in to go grab a seat at a restaurant while our friends parked the car. And we sat across from each other, and he looked at me and he just said, 'So, are you happy?' And it took me so off guard, and I just felt like it pierced my heart, because I felt like I had been pretending really well, and it was, like, somebody could see through me. And then that whole first verse came out of it: 'How can you see into my eyes, like open doors.' It really made me feel and recognize the sense of yearning that I had to get to a better place. And it really kind of set me out on a journey. And it's amazing that that became the song, the first song that broke us on to the scene and made everyone hear of us, because it was about something — I don't know — something so personal that I was recognizing in my life."

In March 2021, Lee told Alternative Press that EVANESCENCE's original record label Wind Up threatened not to release the group's debut album, "Fallen", if she and her bandmates didn't add a male voice to lead single "Bring Me To Life" to make it more palatable for radio.

"Fallen" sold 17 million copies and won two Grammys, including "Best Rock Performance" for "Bring Me To Life".

EVANESCENCE's latest album, "The Bitter Truth", arrived in March 2021 via BMG. It was EVANESCENCE's first album of original music in ten years.
We cannot thank you enough for joining us on our journey. Incredibly grateful that Bring Me To Life has reached over 1 billion streams on @Spotify! 🤘 🖤https://t.co/aew30mEwWrpic.twitter.com/8YAGyJqlTi

— Evanescence (@evanescence) January 24, 2024

David Lee Roth has blasted Wolfgang Van Halen for allegedly "throwing out" some of the singer's invited guests at a couple of the concerts during VAN HALEN's final tour.

In a video posted to YouTube titled "This Crazy Kid.." (originally titled "This Fucking Kid" before being changed, presumably in an effort to make it more YouTube-friendly),Roth recalled the alleged incidents, saying in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "This fucking kid, he's complaining the entire tour like I'm not paying enough attention to him on stage. Like Santa Claus coming down the chimney and popping out on Christmas with nobody paying attention. Shalom to the dome, homie. I'm giving him the best. Everything I've got in front of twenty, thirty thousand people at a clip, and he's complaining to everybody around me — the business manager, the security guy, the clothing lady — 'Dave's not paying enough attention to me.' Cut to New York City — glamorous, glistening, shimmering New York City, and we're at Jones Beach with twenty thousand of my closest friends. I walk out into the middle of the stage and I'm gonna do 'Ice Cream Man', and I'm testifying to the brothers, Eddie [Van Halen] and Al [Alex Van Halen], 'Man, this is how many times we've played New York. This is spectacular.' And what I don't know is this kid, this schlemiel kid, has commandeered a couple of monkeys to go in back, behind my back, over to the side of the stage and throw out these two great dames that I invited to be my guests to the show. And these dames are in their forties, okay? Business women. In fact, you aren't gonna believe this shit. This fucking kid, what he doesn't know is that these two dames work for the accounting firm that represent him, not me. But as usual, he, just like his uncle and his uncle's brother, stiffed them for tickets. I know they're gonna do that, so I got ahead of things and I give them tickets. I put 'em way off to the side. And I'm not talking about MÖTLEY CRÜE groupies here. This is the real deal. And they're both carrying big satchel purses, right? Like Gucci. Here we go. And he throws them out of the building. He's teaching me a lesson. What this fucking kid doesn't know, they're carrying the paychecks for all 82 people on the road crew. Nobody tells me till I'm parked in the middle of that fuckin bridge... You know fuckin' Jones Beach, they think I'm gonna freak out. I laughed so hard I spilled my Snapple."

Roth continued: "Cut to Hollywood — that's Gooey Ballyhooey Hollywood. We're playing the Hollywood Bowl [in October 2015]. It's the last two shows of the tour, and Ed's not having a good day this year. So I know, hey, maybe, I always gotta play it like what if this was the last show I ever have with the brothers. This is important to me. We're celebrating fiftieth anniversary here from when we first started arguing over which song is first. Stay focused. The brothers are playing. I walk out on stage at the Hollywood Bowl. This is the very last show that we're playing. And I start getting tears in my eyes 'cause I testify to Ed and I testify to Al that, 'Hey, we started right down the street at a little nightclub called Gazzarri's. We were playing dance tunes and our parents didn't give us shit. We made every penny go right into the gas tank or on to the guitar strings fretboard. Okay, here we go.' We're at the Hollywood Bowl. I'm about to launch into 'Ice Cream Man', and this fuckin kid! He commandeers two muscle monkeys, locates the one dame that is my guest; she's off in the wings of the Hollywood Bowl. They find her, make her do the walk of shame past all the other guests, out into the parking lot and throw her out of the building! Wolfie Van Halen's gonna teach me a lesson by throwing out what he thinks is my girlfriend. But guess what? Not only is this an accountant again, and not only is she carrying the paychecks for 82 of us on the road crew, but she's carrying cash bonuses for everybody there. You may wanna pull over on this next one; you're gonna pee your pants. Remember New York City? It's the same fuckin lady!"

Roth added: "This fucking kid. This fucking kid!

"And that's how I remember my last show with Eddie Van Halen."

With Wolfgang on bass, VAN HALEN embarked on lengthy tours in 2007, 2012 and 2015. The band's final run of shows took place in the summer and fall of 2015. The North American trek included 41 concerts beginning on July 5, 2015 and ending on October 4, 2015.

Back in December 2021, Wolfgang, who joined his father Eddie Van Halen in VAN HALEN at the age of 16 for the band's 2007 reunion tour with Roth, replacing Michael Anthony, was asked about David's retirement in an interview with Consequence. He said: "Dave is a… he's very much a one-of-a-kind [chuckles] sort of guy. We don't really talk, if ever. We were always cordial on tour together, but it's not like I've spoken to him at all in the last six years. But, I mean, he's fucking David Lee Roth. I'm so happy for him and for everything that he's accomplished. And he's just a phenomenal… He'll always be one of the best."

In November 2020, Wolfgang told Rolling Stone about his relationship with Roth: "We're cordial. But it was very business-related. You know, we were always cool, but we really only ever saw each other onstage."

Last year, Wolfgang implied in an interview that David Lee Roth was largely to blame for a proposed Eddie Van Halen tribute concert never materializing. He told Rolling Stone at the time: "What I can say is that there was an attempt at doing something. But, you know, I don't like to speak negatively about people, but there are some people that make it very difficult to do anything when it comes to VAN HALEN. After being in VAN HALEN for a long time, I really have strived to have an environment where there is no walking on eggshells and there is no personality that you have to deal with. It's just guys having fun making music and just having a good time. But, you know, from my time in VAN HALEN, there was always some stuff that gets in the way from just making music and having a good time. And, I think, that's what happened.

"I would love to just sit here and say everything and say the truth," he continued. "There are plenty of interviews my dad did, where he straight up just said everything. And people hated him for it and thought he was lying. So I could just say shit, but people have already decided how they feel about things, facts or not. So I can say the facts. But that may not align with how certain people feel. I know how VAN HALEN fans get. They are very motivated by which specific people they like in the band. And it's just not worth it. Just, we made an attempt, and some people can be hard to work with, and made it not happen."

Wolfgang went on to say that he "would really like to do something" for his father, but that the tribute concert idea "never even got off the ground."

"Look at anything that's happened with VAN HALEN," he said. "And look how things have fallen apart. You know? The fact that in my tenure, in VAN HALEN, we managed to do three tours, put an album of original material and a live album out is a fucking miracle.

"People love to pin every decision VAN HALEN has ever made on Dad," he continued. "But Al's the brain. Al has been the guy forever. He's the dude. When it comes to VAN HALEN, Dad just wanted to play guitar. But, you know, Al's mentality, and it's the mentality that VAN HALEN took for the entirety of its band, is that there's nothing worth talking about unless it's happening. So the reason that nothing has been talked about from VAN HALEN, the official channels, is because nothing's happened. And I know how that will stir people up and piss them off. But that's how the operation is run."

Asked what he would say if someone were to assume that the main problem was a certain singer with three initials — referring to David Lee Roth — Wolfgang replied: "I would say 'Do your research on the history of VAN HALEN, and come to your conclusions.'"

Eddie passed away in October 2020 at the age of 65. He had been battling throat cancer and died surrounded by friends and family at a Santa Monica, California hospital.

VAN HALEN had been inactive since it completed its U.S. tour nine ago.

In early 2019, rumors were rampant that the classic-era lineup of VAN HALEN would reunite for the first time since 1984. It has since been revealed that a health setback involving Eddie was responsible for the tour not materializing.

Wolfgang Van Halen photo credit: Travis Shinn

VAN HALEN's first live album, 1993's double-platinum "Live: Right Here, Right Now", will be made available on 180-gram 4LP black vinyl on February 23.

Recorded in May 1992 as the band was wrapping up their massive world tour in the support of their classic, triple-platinum album "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge", the collection finds singer Sammy Hagar, guitarist Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alex Van Halen and bassist Michael Anthony firing on all cylinders and delivering over two hours of VAN HALEN's signature hits.

The collection has all 24 songs from the original CD release, plus three additional live recordings, including "The Dream Is Over" and "Eagles Fly" and "Mine All Mine". All tracks from the original live album were recently remastered from the 5150 studio master tapes by Bernie Grundman, who also cut the lacquers, with audio overseen by the band's longtime engineer Donn Landee.

This album captures a Sammy-era live set in its prime, when songs like "Poundcake", "Right Now" and "Runaround" were huge radio and MTV hits.

Enjoy fantastic live versions of "Dreams", "Finish What Ya Started" and "Why Can't This Be Love" as well as unique versions of Sammy singing "Panama", "You Really Got Me", "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" and "Jump" and his own "Eagles Fly" and "Give To Live". It also features the bandmembers' individual solo spots, including the 11:37 guitar solo that has Edward running through his instrumental highlights including "316", "Cathedral" and "Eruption". Yet more gems are a VAN HALEN-ized "One Way To Rock" and a crowd-pleasing cover of THE WHO's "Won't Get Fooled Again" with Eddie playing the keyboard part on guitar.

Pre-order at the Van Halen Store.

Track listing:

LP1: Side A

01. Poundcake
02. Judgment Day
03. When It's Love
04. Spanked

LP1: Side B

01. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
02. In 'N' Out
03. Dreams
04. Man On A Mission

LP2: Side C

01. Ultra Bass
02. Pleasure Dome / Drum Solo
03. Panama

LP2: Side D

01. Love Walks In
02. Runaround
03. Right Now
04. One Way To Rock

LP3: Side E

01. Why Can't This Be Love
02. Give To Live
03. Finish What Ya Started
04. Best Of Both Worlds

LP3: Side F

01. 316
02. You Really Got Me / Cabo Wabo

LP4: Side G

01. Won't Get Fooled Again
02. Jump
03. Top Of The World

LP4: Side H [Bonus Tracks]

01. The Dream Is Over
02. Eagles Fly
03. Mine All Mine

In a new interview with Ernest Skinner of Canada's Border City Rock Talk, former QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate confirmed that he is working on a new album from his SWEET OBLIVION project. "I've done two records under that title, and this [will be] my third one," Geoff explained (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "And we're just kind of getting started on it right now. So that's pretty much where my head's at at the moment, is working on that. And then, of course, getting ready for the upcoming tours."

In 2019, Geoff released the self-titled debut album from SWEET OBLIVION via Frontiers Music Srl. The project saw Tate teaming up with a stellar cast of Italian musicians led by Simone Mularoni, the mastermind of prog metal masters DGM. The second SWEET OBLIVION album, "Relentless", arrived in April 2021 via Frontiers Music Srl. That time the production was handled by Italian metal maestro Aldo Lonobile (SECRET SPHERE, TIMO TOLKKI'S AVALON, ARCHON ANGEL).

Back in February 2023, Tate told Riff Crew that he had a new "solo album" that was "almost finished," but he offered no further details about the LP's musical direction or a possible label home.

Tate has released two solo albums so far, 2002's "Geoff Tate" and 2012's "Kings & Thieves".

Geoff has also released three albums under the OPERATION: MINDCRIME banner: "The Key" (2015),"Resurrection" (2016) and "The New Reality" (2017).

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

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

Tate underwent an aortic valve replacement in the summer of 2022.

According to NHS, an aortic valve replacement is a type of open-heart surgery used to treat problems with the heart's aortic valve.

The aortic valve controls the flow of blood out from the heart to the rest of the body.

An aortic valve replacement involves removing a faulty or damaged valve and replacing it with a new valve made from synthetic materials or animal tissue.