In a recent interview with the 80's Glam Metalcast, former DOKKEN guitarist George Lynch dismissed Don Dokken's assertion that the band's namesake frontman wrote "a lot" of the group's biggest songs. George said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[Bassist Jeff Pilson, drummer Mick Brown and I] wrote almost everything. There was a point where the manager… This is always a thing with Don. He goes off about how he wrote everything. That's bullshit. Jeff and I, and Don and Jeff wrote some things, and Don wrote a thing, something on his own here and there, and important songs, but the bulk of the material was written by Jeff and I, and that's just the truth. And even the lyrics and the melodies and the titles were… Jeff and I joke all the time. There was a thing called the TV Guide, and I would get all my titles and the lyrics, obviously, flowed from the titles, from TV Guide. So you look and see a lot of those early records, they were either reworked XCITER [George's pre-DOKKEN band] songs or new stuff that Jeff and I wrote — sometimes with Mick's help — and then we'd end up with Don too; we'd collaborate with Don at the end of the process. But for 90 percent of material, that was the case. And these titles were out of the TV Guide — they were movies."

He continued: "On 'Tooth And Nail' and the record after that, a lot of these were — I think especially 'Tooth And Nail'; I think it was allTV Guide titles, pretty much. 'Without Warning', 'Tooth And Nail', 'When Heaven Comes Down', 'Don't Close Your Eyes' — those were all movies. I remember looking at the TV Guide and seeing the names of those movies — they were old movies, usually. [And I'd go] 'Oh, that's a cool name. We'll name a song that.' So 'Tooth And Nail' was me and Mick and Jeff sitting around just going ''Tooth And Nail', okay. Run around the streets and start a fight.' Silly fucking lyrics, but whatever. It worked. 'Don't close your eyes or I'll be there.' I remember having that whole hook and that melody and everything in my head. And we based it on that. 'When Heaven Comes Down', I wrote that. I spent a whole night; I stayed up all night. And Jeff had gone home. We were working in Anaheim in my home studio. And I was really frustrated with the song and I wanted to finish it. And I had an idea for 'When Heaven Comes Down'. 'When Heaven Comes Down' was a movie. I stole the title from it. And then I came up with the lyrics. And then I sang it all into a harmonizer, an octave low, so it sounded like the devil, with all this echo on it… I was really proud of it. Of course, that got redone and everything, but… I can't sing."

In a recent interview with the "On The Road To Rock With Clint Switzer" podcast, Don explained why he and his DOKKEN bandmates decided in the beginning to split their songwriting royalties equally between the four members of the group. He said: "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 and Jeff and Mick — 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).

Seattle rock legends HEART performed during the first intermission of the National Hockey League (NHL) game between the Seattle Kraken and the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Park on January 1, 2024 in Seattle, Washington.

Ann and Nancy Wilson, along with their backing musicians, consisting of four members of Ann's band TRIPSITTER — guitarist Ryan Wariner, bassist Tony Lucido, guitarist/keyboardist Paul Moak and drummer Sean Lane — plus guitarist Ryan Waters, who was in HEART's 2019 touring lineup, played the classic HEART songs "Barracuda" and "Magic Man". Also appearing at the event was Sir Mix-A-Lot, who performed "Jump On It".

Last month, HEART played its first three concerts in more than four years — in Highland, California, at Greater Palm Springs in Palm Desert, California, and in Seattle, Washington,.

Prior to HEART's December 27 show in Highland, the band's last performance took place in October 2019 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

In a recent interview with the 96.1 KLPX radio station, HEART's Ann Wilson, who has been working on solo projects, and in September of this year released the album "Another Door", billed as ANN WILSON & TRIPSITTER, stated about HEART's reunion concerts: "We're gonna see how it works with the HEART thing, whether it feels like a level up. If it does feel like a level up, then we'll keep doing it. But that's what it has to be. It can't just slide down into jukebox time… It's gotta be real. No going through the motions. No phoning it in. No just getting on some kind of circuit just to take people's money and play the old songs again and again and again. No, we're gonna make it cool, really make it cool."

Ann's sister, HEART guitarist Nancy Wilson made a surprise appearance during Ann's concert on October 10, 2023 in Santa Rosa, California.

Nancy joined her sister and TRIPSITTER on stage at the Luther Burbank Center For The Arts in Nancy's hometown to perform the HEART classic "Barracuda".

Last June, Nancy revealed in an interview with Joe Rock of Long Island, New York's rock station 102.3 WBAB that she was working on fresh music with Ann. The 69-year-old musician, who has spent some of the recent months on tour with her new band NANCY WILSON'S HEART, broke the news of her latest collaboration with Ann while discussing some of her current recording projects, including "Tomboy", which involves covering songs written by her male friends.

"I think right now I've been working on 'Tomboy' the most because I love the title, for one thing; it's almost like 'boy genius' or something," she explained. "But I've got a bunch of new ideas for songs. But I've also been writing new music with Ann too. So it's a real creative time. I think being on the tour right now, when I get home, I'm gonna really dig into the other projects, including finishing some new material with Ann. So it's really a good time to be creative. And I've got a new studio in my house, and so I can't wait to sort of run tape on stuff."

Asked if there is anything that she feels is really exciting because she feels it's something that's so different from what she's done before, Nancy said: "Yeah. Some of the stuff I've been working on with Ann is like that. I've also worked a bit with Sue Ennis, who used to work a lot with me and Ann for HEART music. And so I have some lyrics mainly that I worked on with Sue and took to Ann. And there's a couple of things that I'm really excited about. Very cool. Like stuff that you wouldn't have heard us do in the '80s. [It's] closer to what you would have heard us originally do in the '70s, late '70s. So it's really fun. It's just exciting and inspiring."

Nancy went on to say that she is really pleased to be collaborating on new material with her sister. "It's been a really nice kind of rediscovery of our relationship, working on music together again," she said. "So, yeah, I'm really happy about that."

Last April, Ann denied rumors of a rift with Nancy. In an interview in the 300th issue of Classic Rock, Ann said that she was "not" feuding with her younger sister. "It's a myth," she insisted. "Nancy and I are okay with each other. We just have different ideas for what HEART should be, and we haven't figured out a compromise yet.

"Fifty years on, I still want it to break barriers and rules, and she's more satisfied to ride the L.A. imaging thing and just do legacy stuff," Ann explained. "So that's a real split between us. Things like this will happen, though, but then they'll get better, and we'll love each other more."

Relations between the two sisters were considered to be at an all-time low after a much-publicized incident when Ann's husband was arrested during a HEART tour in 2016. But in an interview with Rock Candy magazine to coincide with the release of her solo album "Fierce Bliss", Ann said: "Things happen in families. And that was a really good example of something that happened within a family, and we worked it out. But the part that made it hard was that it happened in the public eye. If it had happened privately, we'd have got the family in a room and sat down and worked it out between us. Instead, the police were called, and this myth was born that Nancy and I were feuding, and we were at each other's throats all the time. And it's really not like that at all."

A proposed HEART tour fell through in 2022 after the two sisters failed to agree on which backing band to use. Ann wanted her guys, Nancy didn't.

In February 2022, Nancy spoke to Joe Rock about why HEART had been inactive for most of the previous three years.

"HEART had a big offer on the table [in 2021] for a bigger tour, but Ann wasn't interested in going out with my lineup of guys that we were out with before," she said. "She has a new lineup of guys that she wanted me to join up with. And I sort of [thought] I don't really know them and don't have loyalty yet for anybody like that."

HEART toured North America in the summer of 2019 after the aforementioned nasty split that kept the Wilson sisters estranged for three years.

Ann and Nancy had a falling out during HEART's 2016 tour, when Ann's husband Dean Welter was arrested for assaulting Nancy's then-16-year-old twin sons in a backstage altercation at a gig near their hometown of Seattle. He pleaded guilty to two lesser assault charges to avoid jail time.

After completing HEART's 2016 tour, Nancy formed a new band called ROADCASE ROYALE and released an album, "First Things First". ROADCASE ROYALE featured three members of HEART along with Liv Warfield from Prince's NEW POWER GENERATION band and her guitarist Ryan Wilson.

In Nancy's new band NANCY WILSON'S HEART, she is joined in the group by her longtime collaborators, guitarist Ryan Waters, drummer Ben Smith, bassist Andy Stoller and keyboardist Dan Walker, along with powerhouse singer Kimberly Nichole.

Heart at the NHL Winter Classic in Seattle!

What did Julie Hines & I do new Years Day? We were part of the on-field audience for Heart performing live at the Seattle NHL Winter Classic in front of nearly 50,000 people! Oh yeah, the Seattle Kraken beat the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in the first shutout in Winter Classic History!

Posted by Warren Wyatt on Tuesday, January 2, 2024

The NHL Winter Classic - New Years day.
We got to be groupies today during the 1st intermission entertainment with Heart.
Can't get much closer!!

Posted by Bob Peterson on Monday, January 1, 2024

Femme sleaze rockers, Cobra Spell, have released a guitar playthrough video for "S.E.X.", featured on their debut album, 666, out now via Napalm Records. Watch below:





The band previously released a guitar playthrough video for "Satan Is A Woman", and a drum playthrough video for "The Devil Inside Of Me", both from 666. Watch below:










Cobra Spell’s ambitious, smoking hot debut attack, 666, showcases the indisputable talent of the outfit, and is sure to settle the rising rockers’ standing in the scene. These fierce ladies take no prisoners and are now ready to take on all stages worldwide, with a hunger to put on a show that will leave audiences around the globe bewitched, speechless and begging for more.


Cobra Spell on 666: “Unleash the power of our upcoming album, 666 - an album that defines convention and rebels against the limitations imposed on us, women. This is a sonic journey that embraces the devil’s number as a symbol of personal autonomy and freedom. ‘666’ is not just music; it’s an act of rebellion against gender inequality, a scream for freedom of expression, and a fight to destigmatize sexual expression for women. Join us in this unapologetic quest for equality and empowerment.”


Order here.





666 tracklisting:


"666"
"S.E.X."
"Satan Is A Woman"
"Hotline 666"
"Bad Girl Crew"
"The Devil Inside Of Me"
"Fly Away"
"Love = Love"
"Love Crime"
"Warrior From Hell"
"You’re A Cheater"
"High On Love"


"Warrior From Hell" video:





"The Devil Inside Of Me" video:





"S.E.X." video:





Cobra Spell are:


Sonia Anubis - Guitars, Synthesizers
Noelle dos Anjos - Guitars
Kristina Vega - Lead vocals
Hale Naphtha - Drums
Roxy Herrera - Bass

On December 29th, Ratt vocalist Stephen Pearcy celebrated the 40th anniversary of his band's debut album, Out Of The Cellar, by performing the record in its entirety with his solo group at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California. It marked Pearcy's first time playing Out Of The Cellar live from front to back. 


Check out the fan-filmed video below.


Setlist:




"Sweet Cheater"
"You Think You're Tough"
"Nobody Rides for Free"


Out Of The Cellar


"Wanted Man"
"You're in Trouble"
"Round and Round"
"In Your Direction"
"She Wants Money"
"Lack of Communication"
"Back for More"
"The Morning After"
"I'm Insane"
"Scene of the Crime"


"Lay It Down"
"You're in Love"
"Walking the Dog" (Rufus Thomas cover with Carlos Cavazo and Marq Torien)

Los Angeles’ Anubis are anxious to kick off the new year with a brand-new single and lyric video, for the song “Heartless” – an infectiously catchy heavy metal ode from the forthcoming debut. The video, created by Scott Rudd (Opeth, Hammerfall), can be found below.


"People who have been seeing us live for a while should be pretty familiar with this song,” states singer Devin Reiche. “This has always been one of my absolute favorite songs of ours, and I can't wait for more people to hear it as it was truly intended to be heard."


“Heartless” comes from the group’s album, Dark Paradise, which is set for a February 24 release on CD, limited colored (300) heartless purple vinyl and digital.




Dark Paradise was produced by Devin Reiche and recording took place at Notes From Underground Studios, with a mix courtesy of Josh Franks (Once Human, Railgun, Highland) and mastering by the famed Mika Jussila (Nightwish, Avantasia, Gamma Ray) in Finland.  The album sports a fantastic cover with artwork by Adi Dechristianize.


“’Dark Paradise’ marks our inaugural full-length album, and the anticipation is real! We believe this work strongly showcases our distinct blend of lightning-paced thrash riffs and resonant, memorable hooks that you’ve all come to expect from us,” explains bassist Will Buckley. “We’re beyond excited to unleash this adrenaline-charged experience straight to your ears, and soon enough to a venue near you!”


Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"Venom And The Viper's Kiss"
"Heartless"
"Priestess Of Dark Paradise"
"Fallen"
"Devour"
"The Uncreated"
"Symbolic"
"Strife"
"Thy Frozen Throne"


"Heartless" lyric video:





"Devour" lyric video:

The Iranian metal band initially known as Demonic Ritual came into existence in 2013 when vocalist Mani Kewmars founded the group. After navigating numerous lineup changes and releasing two demo tapes, Nima Kewmars, the vocalist's younger brother, joined as the lead guitarist and primary songwriter.


The entry of the Mottaghi brothers - Farhad on rhythm guitar and Faramarz on drums - prompted a renaming of the band to War Angel. In 2017, they marked their presence with the debut album Symphony Of War.


Their second album, Tales Of The Damned, released in 2020, showcased a shift in musical style and lyrical content compared to their debut work. The album's lead single, "Tomb Of The Pharaoh," caught the attention of notable artists like Gary Holt, leading to his support of the band by sharing the song's music video on social media. This was a monumental moment as the band had long idolized Exodus and Generation Kill since childhood. Subsequently, the band established contact with Rob Youells and Rob Dukes.




“Getting to know Mani and War Angel has reminded me what this music can mean to people. Having so much creative fire in their gut, its amazing what they have accomplished with such limited resources. It’s like those organisms that not only survive, but thrive in boiling temperatures near volcanic vents in the ocean. They formed their band in a most inhospitable environment, but in spite of that, these songs and this video have come into existence. It’s all very impressive and inspiring. The bridge between worlds having Dukes in the mix is crazy cool," says Rob Youells, drummer for Generation Kill.


In a heartwarming display of solidarity, War Angel collaborated with Rob Dukes on "Armageddon," both a song and a music video that embodies a powerful message: "We're Standing Side by Side, Brotherhood of Man!"


"'Armageddon' was a dream come true for me. As a child I grew up with heavy metal music because my father was a metalhead. We were always cast away and ridiculed for that in this country, but no matter what we endured. Bands like Iron maiden, Exodus, Slayer, Metallica and mercyful fate shaped who I am and, later on, Generation Kill in my teenage years had a great influence on me because I really liked Mr Dukes' albums with exodus in both lyrical and musical themes the most.


So, when I first talked with Rob Youells it was like a dream. leading to a conversation about Rob Dukes' alleged dislike for the Middle East. Youells dispelled the misconception, highlighting the Dukes' compassionate nature while expressing his aversion to politics and war crimes. In a beautiful gesture of peace, Mr Dukes agreed to do guest vocals on a War Angel song, and we immediately began writing the song and lyrics. The song is about the importance of mankind being united against the common problems like pollution, social media addiction, war, poverty and being controlled by the governments through the media. The song was recorded, and Mr Dukes delivered the vocals, which were on fire! Then we recorded the music video and Mr Dukes provided us with footages of himself singing. An indescribable feeling! Now the song is out, and we just want people to hear it, because we worked really hard for it, and it's our only dream and goal right now.


We made this song in the most harsh environment and in the most horrible time, with so many obstacles and difficulties that will bring everyone down, we endured and pushed through to make it happen. It's everything we are now. Everything we ever had. Everything we wanted to be," says the band's vocalist Mani Kewmars.


Rob Dukes adds, “It was an honor to work with War Angel from Iran on the song 'Armageddon'. They are a great band playing metal in one of the most oppressive environments on Earth, yet they keep moving forward, regardless of the continual prospect of prison, or worse. They come from a dire situation and it’s inspiring. I only hope one day, somehow, I can join them onstage somewhere and play it live with them. They are what metal music stands for - giving the finger to the establishment of oppressors!”





War Angel's musical style encompasses various subgenres of metal, blending high-pitched epic vocals of heavy metal with the relentless riffs of thrash metal and the impactful breakdowns of metalcore.


Facing challenging circumstances in a country where metal is prohibited, and where authorities persecute metalheads, the band exhibited resilience. Despite the risks - including potential danger to their lives - stemming from a government with strict religious beliefs, the band persists in their passion for metal music, driven by their sole desire to be heard.


Operating with minimal to no budget, the band self-recorded and produced all their songs and music videos, showcasing their dedication amidst adversity.

Due to unprecedented interest in recent times, the original lineup of The Almighty were back in force for the first time in 32 years. Drummer Stumpy Monroe, bassist Floyd London, guitarist Andy “Tantrum” McCafferty together with Warwick announced three retrospective concerts to celebrate their 35th Anniversary in Glasgow, Manchester and London. from November 30th through December 2nd.


Warwick recently announced that The Almighty will be doing more headline shows in 2024 and 2025.







The band has issued the following update:


"We wouldn't be doing it all again if it wasn't for you, with thanks and a heads up that Tickets for 2024 & 2025 are selling fast, Barrowland Ballroom Glasgow is going to sell out soon!


Ticket links here.


As a thank you from us to you we have a 10 minute video documentary from the last dates created by our good friends at Duke TV and Jake Owens Photography. And featuring many of you. Enjoy!"





Fan-filmed video of the entire London show on December 2nd at O2 Forum Kentish Town can be viewed below.


Setlist:


"Resurrection Mutha"
"Over the Edge"
"Power"
"Addiction"
"Destroyed"
"Wrench"
"Little Lost Sometimes"
"Takin' Hold"
"Devil's Toy"
"Full Force Lovin' Machine"
"Bandaged Knees"
"Welcome to Defiance"
"Sin Against the Light"
"The Unreal Thing"
"Blood, Fire & Love"
"Jonestown Mind"
"Crank and Deceit"
"Free 'n' Easy"


Encore:
"Crucify"
"Jesus Loves You... But I Don't"
"Wild & Wonderful"

Former DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Mangini is thrilled to announce a special masterclass series, marking his return to in-person educational sessions after more than a decade-long hiatus. With a passion for sharing knowledge and fostering musical growth, the Grammy-winning drummer, composer, and music educator invites aspiring drummers and all musicians to participate in a unique opportunity to learn directly from one of the industry's most accomplished talents.

In masterclass sessions, students can address their challenges and questions, receiving personalized guidance from Mike, while learning from his solving others' challenges leveraging his expertise. Mangini provides tailored solutions, while fast-tracking technical and musical goals. This exclusive opportunity promises to equip attendees with exceptionally fast skills growth, offering valuable insights for a significant impact on their musical journey. This premier educational event utilizes Mike's Rhythm Knowledge solutions protocols, ensuring your journey to require significantly less time and work.

Mike sold out his first two classes at Drum Center Portsmouth and Bosse Music School and will be conducting more masterclasses throughout January and February of 2024. Due to the intimate nature of these sessions, spots are limited, and interested participants in Mike's January 9, 2024 Long Island Drum Center appearance are encouraged to reserve a spot today at www.drummingdeals.com.

Masterclass dates:

Jan. 09 - Long Island Drum Center - Hicksville, NY
Jan. 18 - Mark's Music - Brewer, ME
Feb. 17 - Badges Drum Shop - Cincinnati, OH
Feb. 19 - Nstuff Music - Pittsburg, PA
Feb. 21 - Parkway Music - Clifton Park, NY

More dates throughout the country will be announced soon.

Mangini's commitment to education is evident in his past role as part of Berklee College Of Music's percussion faculty earning a top 1% national student evaluation rating, as well as his achievements as top tier clinician for both Pearl and Zildjian. His Rhythm Knowledge instructional materials on Vimeo and via his store, including award-winning DVDs like "The Grid" showcase his dedication to advancing drumming education.

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

Mangini made his name in the hard rock world in the mid-1990s when he played with EXTREME, before landing the gig with guitar legend Steve Vai in 1996. Nearly a decade later, Mangini took up a full-time teaching position at the world-renowned Berklee College Of Music.

In a recent interview with Brazil's Ibagenscast, Mangini was asked "how proud" he is of the "legacy" that he built with DREAM THEATER during his 13-year stint with the progressive metal band. He said in part: "Very. I'm so happy to have been a part of the lives of so many musicians, especially in a way where it's all good, where the vibe is positive. How fortunate am I? I went surfing for a while. That's what I did. So, yeah, how great is that? And I can look at the Grammy [I won as a member of DREAM THEATER for the song 'The Alien'] and say, 'Ah, I remember working on the grooves for that [track] four years, four or five years ahead.' In fact, I think I sent a drum demo to Jordan [Rudess, DREAM THEATER keyboardist] years ago. It was that, that riff, that thing, and it became 'The Alien'… It's one of those things that occurs and, yeah, it happens. And then you just go, 'Oh, well, that was nice. Cool.' And look at it for what it is and then move on to what's happening now."

In early November, Mangini told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about his exit from DREAM THEATER and the return of Portnoy: "All I know is the decision was made and when I heard it, all I pictured was, 'Oh, this is an original guy going back to his band. Uh, okay. All right. Let's go to the next thing.' It was nothing more. I was told. It was just nothing more than — it seemed so simple to me. And maybe intuitively it's, like, 'Oh yeah, I get it.' And that was that. That's really it… So that's really the crux of it all is it was an easy thing for me to understand. And then once the news hit and it became real, which is when it set in, because once I knew about it, I just got busy. I was, like, 'Okay, I've got all these videos to finish.'"

The 60-year-old Mangini continued: "I'm actually doing like a lot of stuff for my [recently released solo] album. I'll do some drum playthroughs. Not to yap and yap and yap about it, but I have a lot on my cork board and my lists and things to do and things to accomplish and things to complete. There's so much there I haven't been able to do. But once it hit and it became real, it was real quick for me. I'm, like, 'Okay, I get it.'"

When host Eddie Trunk noted that everything about his exit from DREAM THEATER, from the way it was handled to the fans' response to Mike's attitude about it, was "about as good as it could be," Mangini concurred. "It is as good as it could be," Mike said. "I think people are where they need to be. It's, like, there's stuff to do, there's places to be, there's people to see, there are things to accomplish and roles to fulfill and tasks to do. And that's what it is. That's really what it is.

"How lucky am I, how fortunate am I to be just a part of that history, to have all this amazing stuff happen?" he continued. "It's positive, positive, positive.

"I know I've accomplished some things with my career, and I've had a lot of struggles and a lot of things that didn't work or whatever, but for my parents to be in their 90s, to see this happen, and I'm not talking about career stuff; I'm talking about how I've treated people and how they treat me. I mean, I think that's what I want for my kids — I wanna feel well about how they are with people and how people treat them at the end of the day. I think that's just awesome."

When Portnoy's return to DREAM THEATER was first announced on October 25, Mangini said in a statement: "I understand DREAM THEATER's decision to get Mike Portnoy back at this time. As was said from Day 1, my place was not to fill all the roles that Mike held in the band. I was to play the drums in order to help the band carry on. My main role of keeping our live show working tightly on a nightly basis was an intense and rewarding experience. Thankfully, I got to experience playing music with these iconic musicians, as well as some fun times laced with humor. I also really enjoyed spending lots of time with the crew. And then there's the Grammy win, which was amazingly satisfying. To the fans: thank you so much for being amazing to me. I cherish the pictures I have of you all losing your minds and having fun. Finally, I really love the band, crew and management and wish them and the entire organization all the best."

Mangini released his debut solo album, "Invisible Signs", on November 11. Accompanying Mangini on the LP are Tony Dickinson on bass, Ivan Keller on guitar, Gus G. (FIREWIND, OZZY OSBOURNE) on lead guitar and former EVANESCENCE guitarist Jen Majura on vocals.

British rock band MAGNUM will release a new studio album, "Here Comes The Rain", on January 12, 2024 via Steamhammer/SPV. The official lyric video for the LP's second single, "The Seventh Darkness", can be seen below.

"The Seventh Darkness" includes some awesome brass sections courtesy of guest musicians Chris "BeeBe" Aldridge (saxophone) and Nick Dewhurst (trumpet),which lend the song brilliance and shape.

MAGNUM guitarist/songwriter Tony Clarkin states: "The recordings were great fun, especially the moment when Chris's sax took the lead and my guitar responded. A real highlight on this album!"

The album's highly inspired artwork is once more designed by the great Rodney Matthews, who has already created a number of MAGNUM sleeves to support the band's atmospherically dense music. Says Clarkin: "The back cover features a kind of avian battalion in attack mode, which I think is a great allegory!"

Apart from MAGNUM's typical trademarks, "Here Comes The Rain" also holds a number of thoroughly pleasant surprises. First single "Blue Tango" is a real riff-rock number that makes you want to move your feet.

There is no doubt about it: "Here Comes The Rain" sees the MAGNUM lineup consisting of singer Bob Catley, Clarkin, keyboardist Rick Benton, bassist Dennis Ward and drummer Lee Morris, once again succeed in creating an outstanding, colorful, varied and inspired new studio album.

"Everyone played their part without me dictating anything," Clarkin enthuses, "everyone just instinctively played what their inspiration told them." It's a good thing that these superb musicians can rely on their intuition!

"Here Comes The Rain" track listing:

01. Run Into The Shadows
02. Here Comes The Rain
03. Some Kind Of Treachery
04. After The Silence
05. Blue Tango
06. The Day He Lied
07. The Seventh Darkness
08. Broken City
09. I Wanna Live
10. Borderline

Late last month, it was announced that Clarkin has been diagnosed with a rare and incurable spinal condition. As a result of his diagnosis, MAGNUM has canceled its previously announced spring 2024 tour.

On December 18, Clarkin released the following message via social media: "I'm afraid I have some bad news for you guys. Over the past year or so I've been bothered by increasingly bad pains in my neck and head. For a long time the docs couldn't work out why, but now they've found out and it's gonna mean some changes.

"I have developed a rare spinal condition. It's not life-limiting, but it can be degenerative in some people, and sadly it's not curable. There are treatments that may help but we don't know how good they'll be.

"With the nature of touring and the weight of electric guitars this means there's no way I would be able to play the scheduled shows in the spring. We've taken the decision to cancel the tour, rather than mess anyone around trying to postpone in the hope things might get better in the short term. Bob didn't feel it would be right doing it with a dep at this time.

"This is not gonna be the end of MAGNUM, but the future might have to be a bit different, so please bear with us while we try and figure out what I can and can't do moving forward.

"I'm really sorry for everyone who'd already bought tickets, it goes without saying that I'm absolutely gutted that I'm not gonna be able to play for you.

"Cheers and I hope I'll be able to see you all again soon."

The rest of MAGNUM added in a separate statement: "We are obviously all extremely upset at this development, especially so close to Christmas. We can't thank you all enough for your support over the years and hope you'll stick with us through this too. We really hope you're all going to love the new album 'Here Comes The Rain' out on the 12th January 2024 and this won't spoil it for you.

"Please everyone contact your ticket reseller for a refund. We'll be back…"

Formed in Birmingham over 50 years ago by Catley and Clarkin, MAGNUM have cemented themselves as one of the U.K.'s finest hard rock exports, a largely American dominated genre.

With their unique melodic skill and tasteful instrumentation, the group have released 22 studio albums over the years, with their most recent, "The Monster Roars", arriving in 2022 to great critical acclaim.

Photo credit: Rob Barrow

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE drummer Brad Wilk says that the iconic band will not play any more shows.

Earlier today (Wednesday, January 3),the 55-year-old musician took to his Instagram to write: "I know a lot of people are waiting for us to announce new tour dates for all the canceled RATM shows. I don't want to string people or myself along any further.

"I know a lot of people are waiting for us to announce new tour dates for all the canceled RATM shows. I don't want to string people or myself along any further.

"So while there has been some communication that this may be happening in the future… I want to let you know that RATM (Tim, Zack, Tom and I) will not be touring or playing live again.

"I'm sorry for those of you who have been waiting for this to happen. I really wish it was…"

This past November, Tom Morello was the sole member of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE who attended the band's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Pioneering rapper and BODY COUNT frontman Ice-T inducted Morello, singer Zack De La Rocha, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk into the Rock Hall, recalling how RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE opened for him during the band's earliest days.

"Right out of the gate, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE was not a game," Ice-T said. "In their their career, they did things that impress cats like me. You can't impress me with normal stuff. You got to impress me with stuff like suing the U.S. State Department for using their music in Guantanamo Bay for torture. Who does that? RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE does that. Or how about 1993, pulling up at Lollapalooza butt naked with duct tape, protesting against the PRMC [Parents Music Resource Center]? Who does that? RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE does that. I respect the hell out of this band.

"If you want to go down in history, you have to make something or break something," Ice-Tcontinued. "RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE broke every rule in the book just so they could let you know that they were in the building."

In his acceptance speech, Morello said: "I am deeply grateful for the musical chemistry I've had the good fortune to share with Brad Wilk, Tim Commerford and Zach De La Rocha. Like most bands, we have differing perspectives on a lot of things, including about being inducted into the Rock Hall.

"The reason we are here and the best way to celebrate this music is for you to carry on that mission and that message. The lesson I've learned from RAGE fans is that music can change the world daily."

The 59-year-old guitarist continued: "The job we set out to do is not over. Now you're the ones that must testify. If you've got a boss, join a union. If you're a student, start underground paper. If you're an anarchist, throw a brick. If you're a soldier or a cop, follow your conscience not your orders. If you're bummed out that you didn't get to see RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, then form your own band, and let's hear what you have to say.

"When protest music is done right," Morello added, "you can hear a new world emerging in the songs."

When it was first announced that RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE was being inducted into the Rock Hall back in May 2023, the bandmembers shared a lengthy statement thanking the institution for the induction, and recounting the long, radical journey that led up to the honor.

"In 1991 four people in Los Angeles formed a musical group to stand where sound and and solidarity intersect," they wrote. "We are grateful to all of the passionate fans, the many talented co-conspirators we’ve worked with and all the activists, organizers, rebels and revolutionaries past, present and future who have inspired our art."

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Rock Hall induction came after the band appeared on six ballots.

In October 2022, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE canceled its North American tour, three months after De La Rocha severed his left Achilles tendon, leaving a mere eight inches of the tendon intact.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's comeback tour, which was first announced in 2019 and then delayed several times due to the pandemic, marked the first time the reunited rap-metal quartet had hit the road together since 2011.

In late 2022, Commerford revealed that he has been living with prostate cancer.

Back in 2015, Rolling Stone asked Commerford about the band's Rock Hall prospects, to which he quipped: "If RAGE gets inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, it'll be interesting to see who shows up. I think it's pretty obvious. I think there's somebody who's going to show up and somebody who's not going to show up and maybe somebody who's going to show up with an enema filled with food coloring and shit all over the red carpet."

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In an exclusive clip from the Sky Arts series "Greatest Guitar Riffs", QUEEN guitar legend Brian May solos over BLACK SABBATH's "Paranoid", accompanied by his friend, SABBATH co-founder Tony Iommi. The video, which was uploaded to the Guitar World YouTube channel, can be seen below.

"Greatest Guitar Riffs" aired last fall over the course of three consecutive nights: November 24, November 25 and November 26. This three-part documentary series unpicks the workings of some of the most famous riffs in musical history, taking audiences on an exhilarating journey which tracks the personal impact of the guitar riff on three legendary guitarists: Iommi, THE POLICE's Andy Summers and HEART's Nancy Wilson.

Episode One

BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi pulls back the curtain on the creation of SABBATH's classic riffs and the creation of heavy metal, delving into tracks including "Paranoid", "War Pigs" and "Iron Man". He's also joined by QUEEN's Brian May for an exclusive jam session.

Episode Two

Legendary guitarist Andy Summers reflects on his favorite riffs of all time and tells the stories of the riffs that brought fame and fortune to THE POLICE, including the opening bars of Grammy Award-winning hit "Every Breath You Take". Andy also pays a visit to one of the best jazz guitar players of all time, George Benson.

Episode Three

HEART's Nancy Wilson takes us on a very personal journey through the music and the riffs that influenced her, tracing a through-line from the music of HEART into the grunge scene of the 1990s. She's joined by PEARL JAM's Mike McCready and SOUNDGARDEN's Kim Thayil.

The iconic music trio are joined by an array of guitar stars, including jazz guitarist George Benson, Dave Keuning (THE KILLERS),Richie Sambora (BON JOVI),Hank Marvin (THE SHADOWS) and Orianthi (Michael Jackson, Alice Cooper). Together, they will cover riffs from the likes of LED ZEPPELIN, VAN HALEN, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and more.

Phil Edgar-Jones, director of Sky Arts, said: "'Greatest Guitar Riffs' is a treat for anyone who loves an axe-based ear worm; with this smart, thoughtful journey through the very best riffs ever written, brought to us by three guitar legends, I challenge anyone to watch without either a) humming along or b) picking up that air guitar and strumming along."

"Greatest Guitar Riffs" was commissioned by Edgar-Jones for Zai Bennett, managing director of content for Sky U.K. and Ireland. The commissioning editor for Sky is Barbara Lee.

The series is produced by Somethin' Else TV, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. Ian Sharpe serves as executive producer.

Greatest Guitar Riffs

Join me this Friday to discuss the art of writing riffs!

Greatest Guitar Riffs, starts Friday 24th November with Tony Iommi on Sky Arts. Freeview channel 36.

Posted by Tony Iommi on Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Killsorrow was created in 2008 in Krakow by guitarist Michał Sokół. The band's roster changed multiple times before finally stabilizing in 2015. Each member of the band is an experienced musician who has played hundreds of concerts and supported world-class bands such as Vader, Decapitated, Electric Light Orchestra, Focus, Paradise Lost, Hate, Hunter, Kat, Acid Drinkers, TSA.


So far, band released two albums Little Something For You To Choke and self-titled album Killsorrow (2019). Later band shared with fans digital single "Atom Heart" (2021). The band has performed tens live shows in major Polish cities in prestigious venues. In 2022, the band began working on their third longplay.


Polish post-apocalyptic metal band Killsorrow recorded music for third full-length album, entitled Wasteland Chronicles at Heinrich House Studio and Studio Centrum. All was mixed and mastered by Fredrik Nordström at Fredman Studio (In Flames, Arch Enemy, Sabaton, Dimmu Borgir, Septicflesh) in Goteborg. Cover artwork was done by duo Zbigniew Józefczyk and Michał "Xaay" Loranc (Evangelist, Kamelot, Konkhra).




Wasteland Chronicles was issued on CD in November 2023 and will be released digitally in the first quarter of 2024. On the new album the band presents a new musical face, they play mixture melody and aggressive of Trivium and In Flames with catchy Iron Maiden riffs and progression of Evergrey and Kamelot. New video for “Parasite Symphony” is streaming below.





Tracklisting:


“Keep Out!”
“Lost In The Dark”
“Parasite Symphony”
“Prototype”
“Eyes”
“Shelter”
“Straight To Hell”
“Finest Day To Die”
“Play With Me”
“Endless Fry”
“Wasteland”
“Home Sweet Home”


“Parasite Symphony” video:

Guitarist Lars Eric Mattsson has released a third and final sampler for his new album, Evolution, out now via Lion Music. Check it out below:





Evolution, released back in August, showcases a slightly renewed sonic landscape. The arrangements are boosted by strings, orchestral percussion and a large choir on many of the pieces.




"Where Are You” was based on an unfinished demo from 1994. ”Somewhere” was recorded and written in February 2021, while everything else was recorded and written between February - June 2023.





Tracklisting:


"Fighting The Good Fight"
"Lies"
"Sail On"
"Somewhere"
"Stand Up"
"We Are One"
"Still Alone"
"Where Are You?"
"Knockin’ Me Off My Feet"
"Luciana"
"Still In My Dreams"
"Down This Path"


"Somewhere" video:

Former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick, who has just left GRAND FUNK RAILROAD after playing with the legendary rock band for 23 years, has told Ultimate Classic Rock that he might "finally" get around to writing a memoir. Asked how far he previously got into writing a book, the 70-year-old musician said: "It's got to be about 20 years ago. I'd have to check the dates. There was somebody in the industry that I was working with, Ken Gullic, who actually was very influential in 'Kissology' coming out and things like that, because he worked for [the label] Universal. He was involved with my 'BK3' album as well. We had the idea of doing a book together and he was able to go get interviews with people [like] my parents and Bob Ezrin. There are chapters that exist that I never took any further."

He continued: "What's ironic was that at the time, yeah, that was almost enough to ask people, if you were looking for a book deal, 'What do you think [as far as a book telling] the story about Bruce Kulick?' Timing-wise, it actually wasn't great. It was too close [to KISS] with their [ongoing] fame, the reunion and [return to] makeup. But all the [publishers] wanted was the dirt — like MÖTLEY CRÜE. I won't do a book like that. I don't like ripping people apart. I've heard plenty of the books from people I've worked with and I've read things. And I'm kind of like, 'They didn't have to say it that way.' But I get that they wanted to say that they didn't get along with this person or that person. I'm not looking at a book like that. Which meant I wasn't going to get a book deal back then. [Laughs]

"You know, for me, I want to celebrate my years, but tell the backstory. I'd like to get into the things that only if you were there you could describe. For example, what it was like to be at a video shoot for 12 hours with Eric Carr doing 'God Gave Rock And Roll To You II'. I don't have to say anything negative about anybody. Obviously, there are some stories I think are great to clear up for people, because they were aware there was tension here or there. You know, what was it like working in the band? But I really want to just tell my story in the sense of celebrating the music and how it was done — almost like some of my blogs that I used to have on my old web site. I still think it would be very compelling for people.

"I do know some people have written books and the more outrageous they want to be, the better, is the way they looked at it," Kulick added. "I think unfortunately, some of the publishers prefer when you're saying outlandish [things] with heavy accusations. I'll be honest, I thought both Gene [Simmons] and Paul [Stanley] were very strange with each other. I didn't read all of it, but some things that I've heard, I was, like, 'Ooh, I wonder how that felt for the other person to read that or hear it on the audiobook?' I think I have a great story to tell. There's certain things about even how my career started and how I got to that point to being in KISS — and some other things that I've been really quiet about, because I want to save it for the book."

In 1984, Bruce joined KISS, where he remained as their lead guitarist for twelve years, accompanying the band on the "Animalize" tour and continuing with the band until the 1996 reunion tour. Bruce is heavily featured on "Kissology – Vol. 2" and "Vol. 3", the band's DVDs spanning their historic 45-year career.

In his 2014 memoir, "Face The Music: A Life Exposed", Stanley insisted that his relationship with Simmons had slowly improved over time. But Stanley also wrote: "[Gene] chose to ignore his underlying issues and instead committed himself to creating an external façade and persona that, unfortunately, he felt required to knock down anyone who threatened his singularity in the spotlight." He also dismissed the notion that Simmons is some kind of financial genius. "Gene's most successful venture in business was promoting the perception that he was a savvy businessman," Paul wrote.

A few years back, Paul admitted that he "read a little bit of" Gene Simmons's book when it first came out but that he had a different recollection of some of their shared history. While reading Gene's book, Stanley felt, "Gee, I thought I did that. I thought that was me. You thought you were me," he said.

EVANESCENCE has released a music video for the song "Yeah Right". The clip, which was filmed on the band's October 2023 Latin American tour, was directed and edited by Eric Richter.

"Yeah Right" is taken from EVANESCENCE's first album of original music in a decade, "The Bitter Truth", will was released in March 2021 via BMG.

EVANESCENCE's latest LP was produced by Nick Raskulinecz, who also worked on 2011's self-titled effort.

EVANESCENCE's current lineup features Emma Anzai of SICK PUPPIES on bass and EVANESCENCE's longtime bassist Tim McCord on guitar. Asked by Josh Olek on Australia's Triple M radio station if she and Emma met when EVANESCENCE and SICK PUPPIES were on tour together, EVANESCENCE singer Amy Lee said: "That's how we first met, was being on tour with [SICK PUPPIES]. She's still with them, actually. She's just a very hard worker. But, yeah, we met way back then, and honestly, for me at least, I always dreamed of one day maybe we could be in a band together, like a side band or something. And then there finally was this time where it all worked out."

Amy added: "Tim has been our bass player for — he was our bass player for 16 years, and he switched to make room for Emma. So he's on guitar now, which he's loving. It changes it up for him. He is enjoying it and, like, 'Oh, man. This is what I really wanted. It's my original instrument.' And now we get to have Emma. We feel whole."

Earlier this year, Emma told Bass Magazine about how she landed the gig with EVANESCENCE: "It was quite the surprise when it happened. When they needed a bass player after Tim switched from bass to guitar, I got the call and agreed to join them. SICK PUPPIES had toured with them long ago for one of our first tours, and I remember Amy being super cool. She's still the same now with support bands, the crews, and everyone she comes in contact with. I always remember that, because it was 13 or 14 years ago, and the women-in-music thing was different back then; we used to have conversations about it all the time. It's funny because it's evolved a little now, but we still currently have conversations about it. Being a woman — especially with me touring with all guys and having no other women around back then — it was great sharing our experiences and having her to hang around with. I was a lot younger, and I like to think I've learned a lot since then and grown a bit. At the time I was a little naïve, but she was helpful in solidifying what I had already felt. It's nice to come full circle and share these new experiences together. She's been such an anchor for me for so many years."

Guitarist Jen Majura's departure from EVANESCENCE was announced in May 2022 via social media. At the time, the band said in a statement: "It has been a very special chapter in the band with our dear friend Jen Majura, but we have decided it's time to go our separate ways."

A month later, Jen spoke about her split with EVANESCENCE during an appearance on THE HAUNTED guitarist Ola Englund's YouTube show "Coffee With Ola". At the time, she said that she was still "hurt" by the move and compared the situation to a divorce.

"I believe, honestly, it's three weeks now since I got the news, and I'm still in this blurry, oblivious momentum," she said. "I guess I'm still in shock, kind of, because after being married six years, all of a sudden you're divorced. You know me, I always try to find the positive in a situation, so every day, step by step — I'm not doing great yet — but every day I find little tiny things that I'm, like, 'Oh, actually, this is good.'"

Asked how she found out that her services were no longer needed in EVANESCENCE, Jen said: "Honestly, I was cleaning my apartment, and I got the phone call. And first of all, I was, like, 'Is this a bad joke?' And I remember, after I got the news, I hung up, and I have this hallway in between my studio and my living room, and I just lay there on the floor, staring at the ceiling, wondering what that was, and literally looking over to my suitcase that I had already started packing, because I was two weeks from going out on the road until pretty much the end of the year."

Majura, a self-described "half-Asian living in Germany," joined EVANESCENCE in August 2015 as the replacement for Terry Balsamo.

Photo by Travis Shinn

King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his wife, Toyah Willcox, have closed off 2023 with a sexy and raucous cover of the KISS classic "Lick It Up". Check it out below:

Robert Fripp and his wife, Toyah Willcox, have shared a clip of upbeat moments from 2023. Check it out below.





Toyah recently revealed in an interview with eonmusic that a movie of the Sunday Lunch series is in the planning. The weekly event, which sees Toyah and partner Robert Fripp cover songs from across the rock spectrum, started during the lockdown of 2020, and has grown into a "phenomenon," according to the singer.




Toyah made the revelation while speaking to eonmusic's Eamon O'Neill ahead of her performance at Rewind South in Henley-on-Thames in August.  


Speaking about how Sunday Lunch has taken off; Toyah said; "Well, the Sunday lunch phenomenon, which is a worldwide phenomenon, it's basically, we picked up on classic rock, and our treatment of rock is; if you can teach Mozart and Beethoven in schools, then why can't you teach classic rock? Because that's what it is now; rock from Led Zeppelin, rock from Black Sabbath; it's classic, it's never going to go away. And it's something that I think, kids would really love learning about. That's not that we're going on the road and being educational, but our show kind of goes on a journey with artists we know, artists who visit us in our homes."


Going on to reveal that a movie about Sunday Lunch is on the way, Toyah said; "We have a documentary crew following us, and we have quite a big production company scripting an idea at the moment. Obviously we won't be in it. It's for actors to play, but that's all in the back kind of pool of what do you call pre-production. All of that's going on."


Asked when the movie might see the light of day, she was however, less committal; "I mean, movies take years, you know, for the even scripts to be accepted, so who knows what will happen?"


Read the interview here.

Former AC/DC drummer Chris Slade has praised Axl Rose's collaboration with the band, saying that the GUNS N' ROSES singer was "nothing like the character" he had heard about.

AC/DC postponed the last ten dates of its North American tour eight years ago after doctors told singer Brian Johnson he faced a total loss of hearing if he did not stop touring immediately. AC/DC completed the tour in the summer of 2016, with Rose as a "guest vocalist."

"To be honest, I was incredulous," Slade told WalesOnline of Rose's addition to AC/DC's touring lineup. "We were auditioning singers — we tried four or five. And I didn't know anything about it. All of a sudden they said: 'It's Axl Rose tomorrow'. I knew all the horror stories, of course. I met him, shook his hand, and thought: 'This guy's all right'. And he was. He's nothing like the character you've heard about — he tells great jokes. He's as funny as Brian is."

Slade, who played drums for AC/DC's "Rock Or Bust" world tour after Phil Rudd was arrested for drug possession and threatening to kill an employee, told Eonmusic in a 2018 interview that Axl fronting AC/DC definitely re-energized the band. "Yes, absolutely," he said. "Angus [Young, guitar] was running around like a schoolboy, you know?! It did reinvigorate the band. Brian is great, as we all know; he's a great personality and a great guy. Axl brought his voice to it. Like, I couldn't believe the notes he hit; it was staggering. And I actually had no hope at all. When I heard that Axl was going to be in the band, I thought, 'Oh, what?!' Because I'd only ever heard that GUNS N' ROSES voice, but all great singers, they can change the timbre of their voice, and wow, he hit notes that dogs can only hear. It was unbelievable. I thought he did an amazing job. I could hear him very clearly because I use in-ear monitors, and it's the best I've ever heard the band."

Slade had previously served as AC/DC's drummer between 1989 and 1994, playing on the album "The Razor's Edge".

Slade originally followed Simon Wright in AC/DC's lineup. When Rudd returned in 1995, Slade was shown the door and harbored some bad feelings about that for a while.

AC/DC recruited Matt Laug to play drums with the Brian Johnson-fronted outfit at the Power Trip festival last October.

In a new interview with Metal Hammer magazine, ex-HIM frontman Ville Valo said that fans of the beloved Finnish "love" metallers shouldn't get their hopes up about a possible reunion of the band that officially called it quits in 2017.

"I don't find it an appetizing idea at the moment," Valo said. "We haven't really been in touch, which tells you a lot. If the phone starts ringing at some point, then we'll see. I love the guys and I hope that they still care about me, too. So maybe one day, but it would have to be for good reason. But the countdown to the end of my life has started, I don't have time to reinvent the wheel, so I have to put all my effort into whatever is happening next. It's lovely to have a family, and lovely to have that co-dependency in a band, but with [my solo project VV], the cool thing was that I didn't have to call anybody and ask for permission. I'd like to keep it like that for the time being."

Last March, Valo told Czech Republic's Metalshop TV that he "felt a sense of relief" when HIM broke up seven years ago. "We'd done HIM for about 25 years and we went through downhills and uphills and whatever; we had quite a rollercoaster ride," he explained. "And I was happy that we ended it the way we ended it, which was that we still remained friends and everybody was in good spirits and our last tour in 2017 went great. So it was a good way of ending it. But although I had a sense of relief, I did feel a bit empty; I didn't know what to do."

Ville added: "Before we ended HIM, I didn't know how I'd be feeling, if I would feel like I would have lost a leg, because HIM was there since I've been 13 or 14 years old, so it's a long time to be in a band and growing up with that band. Yeah, it was weird for a while."

In February 2023, Ville told Czech TV Česká Televize about the possibility of a reunion of HIM: "It would have to be for a good reason. There would have to be some new music or whatever. Just playing the old songs wouldn't make any sense. Maybe one day. But I said… I felt that that's done and dusted with. It was a good part of my life, and it was a great that we ended it. And it would be risky to try it again."

In January 2023, Ville discussed the factors that contributed to HIM's breakup in an interview with Scott Penfold of Loaded Radio. At the time, he said: "I think it was just that we were a bit worn out. We lost the spark. We all loved touring, but the spark wasn't there when we started working on new material. We didn't think it sounded great. And when you'd been with a band for such a long time, and we considered that what we had done, that we had done great things, at least great things for ourselves, things that we really enjoyed and things that really made a difference for ourselves, it was quite sad to all of a sudden realize that the new stuff is not up to par and it just doesn't feel right. It took a while for us to actually make that call, to be able to say that 'let's be done with it.' Because it had been such a big part of everybody's life. Since we were kids — I knew the guitar player and the bass player, Migé [Mikko Paananen, bass] and Linde [Mikko Lindström, guitar], I knew them since I was maybe 10 years old or so. So we literally grew up together, with having HIM as sort of the soundtrack and the backbone for our lives. It was sad, but then yet at the same time I'm quite proud of the fact that we ended on good terms, because that's quite rare in the world of music."

He continued: "It seemed that we had lost interest — as simple as it is. I think that we had come to the end of that journey. It felt that we played all the songs we were made to play. So it was quite simple, but yeah, it was quite dark for a bit. The brain didn't compute. It was weird. And also it was quite scary because I didn't know what was gonna happen, and neither did the rest of the guys. How it was gonna feel after the band was done with. 'Cause I thought that it might be that I feel like a completely different person or I feel that I've just lost a leg, that there was gonna be a lot of phantom pain. But there was none. There was just a great wave of relief, to be honest with you. And it felt really good."

Asked if that means that the door is at least slightly open for HIM to return at some point in the future, Ville said: "It'd be lovely to play with some of the lads, especially Migé, the bass player. He's one of the guys who also was here at my home studio, when 'Neon Noir' [my solo album] was born, every couple of months he came over to listen to where I was at with the album. He was my Rick Rubin — this guru who didn't say much but whose opinions anyway matter the most. He's a lovely chap and a really, really good friend. He helped me out once again to get myself out of this whole…

"I never say never — definitely," he said in regards to the possibility of a HIM reunion. "If there's good reason and if there's good timing, it'd be great. They're great musicians and they're great guys — we shared a lot of good things, both on a personal level and a musical level — but at this moment in time, none whatsoever. I'm not interested at all. 'Cause it doesn't make any sense. It's only been a few years since we disbanded. It's getting close to six years now. So it hasn't been long. And I think there's also the danger of rehashing something and messing it up royally. We ended on a high note, so that's quite nice. At the end of the day, we did end the band for a good reason. It was quite painful being with the band that you love to death and at the same time realize that things are not working out, and no matter what you do, the love is not there anymore. So I'd be very wary of trying to reanimate that because it might end up being that sort of Frankenstein monster that nobody wants to really meet."

Valo previously discussed the possibility of a HIM reunion during an appearance on a November 2022 episode of "The James McMahon Music Podcast". At the time, he said: "Never say never, I'd say. HIM was so much more than just a band to me. I met Migé, the bass player, when I was about 12. I met Linde, the guitar player, when I was maybe 13 or 14. So we grew up together and went through so many different phases in our lives anyway together, with HIM providing the soundtrack for it and the focus or being the focal point. And it's so much more than about just monetary things.

"If there would be a good reason, good sort of idea or good cause, or if, all of a sudden, everybody would start to gravitate towards each other, I think that would be the best thing," he continued. "[If] all of a sudden everybody in their own lives just start[ed] to… where it would make sense [to get back together] after all this time. 'Cause you need to take breaks.

"[Toward the end of HIM], it wasn't necessarily fizzling out, but we had definitely lost the spark regarding creating new music. We tried to work it out, but it didn't sound good. It started to feel like a day job, and when it starts to feel like that, it's definitely time to end it, in the world of rock and roll, I think. Or in our world of rock and roll. So I cannot tell you whether we're gonna feel like that in the future. I wouldn't mind, but I don't wanna do it right now. It's not something I will think about constantly, or ever, to be honest with you."

Asked if he ever had people suggesting to him during his time with HIM to pursue a solo career or whether he had those aspirations himself, Ville said: "It was a weird existence, because I did write most of the songs [in HIM], and a lot of people, when we started out, they thought it was a solo project, also because it was called 'HIM'. It was a weird combo. So all those 25 years I had to fight for the guys to get some recognition, saying that I do write the songs, I sing the songs, but we are childhood mates and that the sound and the way they play their instruments, it makes a big difference; it cannot be just whomever. So I'm actually glad not to talk about that at all [when it comes to my solo project]; I don't have to, 'cause I played all the stuff by myself and I'm the one to carry the blame or the good and the bad and the ugly."

HIM completed a farewell tour in 2017, closing the final chapter on the band's 26-year career.

A little over a year ago, Ville told Radio Bob! about HIM's split: "I think it was the right call to call it a day with HIM. We'd done it for a long, long time and it started to sort of, like, wither away a bit. It was maybe our interest and maybe just sign of the times. We'd been together for such a long time that we were ourselves really surprised that it lasted for such a long time."

Valo's debut solo album, "Neon Noir", came out in January 2023 via Heartagram Records, distributed by UMG/Spinefarm.

Photo credit: Juha Mustonen

Founding BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward says that he has been in the studio "making records".

Earlier today (Monday, January 1),the 75-year-old British-born musician took to his social media to share a video message from the studio, in which he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Happy New Year, everybody. We're in the studio, and, these people behind me actually work with me in the studio and I work with them. We've got Bill and we've got Mikey and TJ. TJ is right there. This is my crew that I work with throughout the year and some other guys that won't… They're not in the picture; they don't even wanna be in the picture. But we're making records still, so we'll see how all that works out.

"Hey, I hope it's a safe '24 for everybody. I know we're in turbulent times and unsafe things are going on. But take care of the kids, take care of yourselves, and hopefully we can have some peace in '24. Lots of love to all of you. Bye."

Ward has released a number of poems in recent years, some inspired by the coronavirus pandemic and others celebrating the fall-winter holiday season, including Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Bill was on board for the SABBATH reunion when it was first announced more than 11 years ago, but backed out soon after. The drummer later claimed that he sat out the recording and touring sessions because of unfair contractual terms, although the members of SABBATH have hinted in other interviews that he wasn't physically up to the task.

All four original members of SABBATH were present when the band announced its reunion in late 2011. But Ward split from the group in 2012, citing an "unsignable" contract, and singer Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler carried on with their Rick Rubin–produced "13" LP and extensive international touring without him.

Ozzy told The Pulse Of Radio during SABBATH's last tour that Ward was not in shape to participate. "Bill Ward has got the most physically demanding job of the lot of us, 'cause he's the timekeeper," he said. "I don't think personally he had the chops to pull it off, you know. The saddest thing is that he needed to own up to that, and we could have worked around it, whether we had a drummer on the side with him or something."

It was rumored that SABBATH wanted to bring a second drummer on the road to share duties with Ward, something that Iommi confirmed in 2017 during a question-and-answer session about SABBATH's "Ten Year War" box set.

In 2015, Ward released his first solo album in 18 years. Titled "Accountable Beasts", the record can be purchased on iTunes.

In November 2017, Ward's band DAY OF ERRORS released its first two songs, "Day Of Errors" and "Blaspheming At Creation", via iTunes, Spotify, Amazon MP3 and Google Play. Two more tracks, "Dark" and "Ghost Train", followed in 2019.

In March 2021, Ward revealed that he was working on an autobiography.

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During an appearance on the 22nd episode of "The Metallica Report", the recently launched podcast offering weekly insider updates on all things METALLICA, James Hetfield was asked to name his favorite season of the year. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I love spring and fall. They're both great. Summer — I grew up in Southern California. I like the beach. I like getting in the water. I love doing that stuff, but when it's too hot, it's not enjoyable anymore. I don't know why. I used to love — the hotter, the better. And then in the winter, obviously being [at home] in Colorado, when there's snow on the ground for five months, it's, like, 'Okay, I'm kind of over this.' But spring and fall — I don't know… I wish it could be like fall all the time, 'cause the leaves are changing in Colorado. It's all turns golden. The weather is just perfect. And obviously spring too. Animals coming out and they've got their young ones and you see stuff blooming and it's like… I don't know. it reminds me of — eh, it just reminds me of life."'

Back in 2016, James said that he moved his family from the San Francisco area, where he and METALLICA have been based for 40 years, to Vail, because he didn't feel as if he belonged in the Bay Area anymore. "I kind of got sick of the Bay Area, the attitudes of the people there, a little bit," he said. "They talk about how diverse they are, and things like that, and it's fine if you're diverse like them. But showing up with a deer on the bumper doesn't fly in Marin County. My form of eating organic doesn't vibe with theirs."

Hetfield elaborated: "There was an elitist attitude there — that if you weren't their way politically, their way environmentally, all of that, that you were looked down upon. … It wasn't healthy for me. [I was] starting to feel like I was just fighting all the time, and I just had to get out of my own head."

In August 2022, TMZ reported that James and his wife of more than two decades had called it quits. Sources close to the former couple told the tabloid site James filed for divorce from Francesca Hetfield in their home state of Colorado earlier last year.

Hetfield met Francesca in 1992 and they had been married since 1997. The two are said to still be in touch as they co-parent their daughters Cali and Marcella, and son Castor.

In 2019, Hetfield entered rehab, forcing the band to cancel its "WorldWired" tour dates in Australia and New Zealand.

James first entered rehab in 2001 because of his struggles with alcohol abuse "and other addictions," according to a statement posted on METALLICA's web site that year.

METALLICA released its 12th studio album, "72 Seasons", in April via the band's own Blackened Recordings. Produced by Greg Fidelman with Hetfield and METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich, and clocking in at over 77 minutes, the 12-track "72 Seasons" is METALLICA's first full-length collection of new material since 2016's "Hardwired…To Self-Destruct".

In a new interview with Sweden's TellUs Rock, former MOTÖRHEAD drummer Mikkey Dee spoke about his recently completed run of shows under the "Mikkey Dee With Friends" banner where he performed some of the band's classic songs. The 60-year-old Swedish-born musician, who has been a member of the SCORPIONS since 2016, was joined at the gigs by THE DRIPPERS members Viktor Skatt on bass and vocals, and Stig William Rickard on guitar. Mikkey said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's not a tour, but a few shows. It's only a tribute thing. And I do miss playing MOTÖRHEAD songs. I like to play my own songs. [Laughs] I wrote 12 albums with Phil [Campbell, MOTÖRHEAD guitarist] and Lem [MOTÖRHEAD frontman Ian 'Lemmy' Kilmister], so it's great to be able to go out and play some of these songs. And the audience has been hysterical — I mean, they cry, and it's a lot of feelings."

He continued: "It's very important to say, we're not going out as MOTÖRHEAD. I've been misquoted so much, it's ridiculous. I'm sick of it. What's so hard to understand that it's kind of a tribute deal? We break in the middle of the set. I do a little storytelling, I take questions from the audience. I mean, it's really cool little venues. So, it's been great to do it, and these guys are total rock and roll that I play with."

Regarding how Skatt and Rickard approach their parts in "Mikkey Dee With Friends", Dee said: "I told them, don't try to be MOTÖRHEAD. Just do your own thing, and we play the songs. And it's been great."

When TellUs Rock noted that this is a show that he could tour all around the world, Mikkey responded: "Yeah, but I don't wanna do that. I just wanna keep it a show here and there. Both me and Phil, we're not playing MOTÖRHEAD at all, really. He's doing his thing with his sons [in their band PHIL CAMPBELL AND THE BASTARD SONS], and I'm so busy with SCORPIONS that I really don't have time. But this time [SCORPIONS] had a break since August, and I can't just sit on my flat ass and not play drums for six, seven months. Because we start the 16th of March in Mexico. So that's a long, long time to not play, so that's when I figured, 'All right.'"

In a recent interview with Finland's Chaoszine, Dee reflected on MOTÖRHEAD's final tour, which concluded on December 11, 2015, just two weeks before the passing of Lemmy. Mikkey said: "[Lemmy] was very excited. He loved doing this stuff. And I do remember that we were having a pretty tough time. Lemmy was sick. He was tired. And we could not get him off the road. Both me and Phil said, 'Look, let's break.' … Let's go back to [Lemmy's hometown of Los Angeles], rest, eat and we pick up the European tour again. But he said, 'No, no, no, no, no. We've gotta play.' 'Okay.' So me and Phil were talking, and we said, 'Instead of argue with Lemmy, trying to get him off the road, let's just help him instead.' And I remember, the shows, we had to adjust a lot of stuff, but I think we and he did fantastic. I mean, the last show was 11th of December in Berlin, and then a couple of weeks later, the man is gone. So, trust me, me and Phil put in 150 percent and Lemmy must have put in 300 percent to get through the set."

Dee was also once again asked if he and Campbell would ever go out and perform MOTÖRHEAD music together, with someone else stepping in to play Lemmy's parts. He responded: "Well, you never know. I mean, me and Phil wrote great music. But he's fully involved with his boys. And I'm fully involved with SCORPIONS. We're touring a lot. Not right now, obviously, but we're on the road all the time with the SCORPS. So I don't say no; there's always possibilities. But, of course, as I explained in, I think a podcast, I said, and some people misunderstood this, or actually, they didn't — actually the press wrote the wrong things. I said, 'We will never, ever get back together and replace Lemmy. That's impossible.' I said, 'But doing little constellations, doing some tribute stuff, that's great.' That's very, very different. And I think they said something, 'Mikkey will never play MOTÖRHEAD again.' That was the main headline on Blabbermouth. I said that's not what I said at all. [Editor's note: Contrary to Mikkey's assertion, the actual headline for the February 2023 BLABBERMOUTH.NET story that he is referring to was 'MIKKEY DEE: 'We Will Never Tour' Under MOTÖRHEAD Name Again'.] Of course I will play MOTÖRHEAD. But I will never be a part of trying to put MOTÖRHEAD as a band out there again with some other fucking idiot supposed to take Lemmy's place. So that's all I said. But to do this ['Mikkey Dee With Friends' thing], [it's] fantastic. And, of course, we'd like to plan something bigger than this in the future, hopefully."

Lemmy died on December 28, 2015 at the age of 70 shortly after learning he had been diagnosed with cancer.

MOTÖRHEAD had to cancel a number of shows in 2015 because of Lemmy's poor health, although the band did manage to complete the aforementioned European tour a couple of weeks before his death.

In June 2020, it was announced that Lemmy would get the biopic treatment. The upcoming film, "Lemmy", will be directed by Greg Olliver, who previously helmed the 2010 documentary of the same name, "Lemmy".

A custom-made urn containing Lemmy's ashes is on permanent display in a columbarium at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood, California.

In a recent interview with BBC Radio Manchester's Mike Sweeney, EUROPE frontman Joey Tempest explained how British rock has been his greatest influence ever since he formed his first band, FORCE, with friend John Norum in their hometown of Upplands Väsby, Sweden in 1979. "We had Swedish bands, but we preferred to listen to English lyrics and English players," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "And the experience in DEEP PURPLE's early stuff, how they mixed jazz, blues and everything and hard rock, and also what I find interesting about hard rock coming from the British Isles or anywhere in Ireland, there was a classical influence, there [were] classical pieces in there. So the European rock bands, in the DNA we have from classical composers, we brought it in. Even the song 'The Final Countdown' has got some classical elements. Even early EUROPE stuff, the very heavy progressive stuff had it and a lot of other artists from over here. It came a lot from the U.K."

He continued: "We went to see DEEP PURPLE on the 'Perfect Strangers' tour in '84. We went to see THIN LIZZY a lot, RAINBOW, WHITESNAKE. That was the best. For us, it was the bee's knees. It was that incredible. So we just went into rehearsal, said, 'We wanna be like them, we wanna tour like them.'

"When QUEEN started to crank it up and… It's hard to go back that far, but I have to say that IRON MAIDEN, even though maybe our music differs slightly, was very instrumental, because we're talking early '80s, and they were on the go. DEF LEPPARD was coming as well, but IRON MAIDEN was on the go, and we listened to those albums, even though our music didn't sound exactly the same, but they were instrumental," Tempest added. " They had the attitude, the melodies and they were just going for it, and we loved that as well."

More than a decade ago, Tempest said that when he wrote EUROPE's biggest hit, the aforementioned "The Final Countdown', he drew from two very different elements of British music: heavy metal and art rock.

"'The Final Countdown' has that very English galloping tempo," he said. "I took inspiration from IRON MAIDEN's 'Run To The Hills' and UFO's 'Lights Out'. And for the lyric, the story of the last days on Earth, I went back to David Bowie's 'Space Oddity'. That was the first single I ever got. Bowie's dream world was so fantastic."

Nearly 10 years ago, Tempest credited MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris with giving him "the best piece of advice" he has ever gotten. Joey told Classic Rock: "I remember bands like IRON MAIDEN and DEF LEPPARD opened the door for us. When we first went to Japan, IRON MAIDEN had already been there and paved the way for us without even knowing it. I met Steve Harris and we were talking about touring and people around the band, and I remember him saying to be prepared that we would have to part ways with old friends and colleagues down the road and fire people. It was strange advice, but it was very good. It was good to know that all bands go through that and you're not alone."

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

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

EUROPE's twelfth studio album is expected to be recorded in 2024 and released in late 2024 or early 2025.

The "Hold Your Head Up" video offers a glimpse into the brand-new documentary that the band have been busy filming with producer/director Craig Hooper (DEEP PURPLE, SAXON) for Coolhead Productions simply titled "Europe - The Movie". The film will tell the story of the band, from formation until present day, telling of their rise to success in the mid-1980s, through hard times and heartache, to coming back in the millennium, and the current successes the band has achieved. This is set for release in early 2024.

EUROPE recently completed the "Time Capsule" European tour which included 21 concerts across Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Norway, Sweden, France, The Netherlands, and the U.K., including two nights at the famous London Palladium. These anniversary shows consisted of a career retrospective "evening with" performance featuring all the hits together with deep cuts and fan favorites from all of their 11 studio albums.

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

Legendary BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi has shared a year-end video message in which he outlined some of the projects that kept him busy during the last 12 months. The 75-year-old musician, who was diagnosed with early-stage lymphoma more than a decade ago, stated in part in the three-minute clip (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Hello all, I hope you've had a great Christmas. We certainly have here. It's been good fun. Plenty of food and drink. Marvelous, absolutely marvelous.

"Anyway, last year when I did my [year-end video] message, I did say we'd have a box set [of the Tony Martin-era BLACK SABBATH albums] coming out. Well, now I've been informed that it'll be out in May. It's been held up with paperwork and legal stuff. But anyway, it's coming out in May now, if you're interested, and I hope you are.

"But it's been an interesting year again this year. It's great, great fun. A lot of different things happening. I was working with the Birmingham Royal Ballet with Carlos Acosta on doing the Black Sabbath Ballet, which was absolutely marvelous. I mean, they've done such a brilliant job. And the dancers are fantastic. Just all the people involved in it were just so into it, and it was great fun. And I was making an appearance on the end of some of the shows — not all of them; just some of them. But as soon as they put it on sale, the tickets sold out like that, which was fantastic. We had a lot of SABBATH fans come in who really enjoyed it. So, hopefully next year, or this year, of course, by the time you get this message, they're talking of taking it to America and Europe. So hopefully that'll happen, and everybody can get to see it. But it's well worth watching. Fantastic.

"And also, I did a documentary for Sky, which was also very interesting. I'd done it at home and done some away. But it was good fun and I had Brian May come up and we worked together and played together and that was great. And if you can't get that on Sky, you can get it on YouTube, so it is on YouTube all around the world. Also, what else have I done? Well, I've been working in the studio, of course, and doing things that everybody else do, really. And I did a show with Johnny Depp and the HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES — Alice Cooper, Joe Perry, and the rest of the gang. Good fun. Really great. Something different for me. So, that was that, really. Hopefully there'll be more going on in the next year. But also I did a thing with Cesar [Gueikian] from Gibson and Serj from SYSTEM OF THE DOWN. I did a track with them. And that was to raise money for Armenia, which was good. So that's out as well.

"So, we'll see what happens now in the next year and I'll inform you as we go on. But, yeah, I am writing and doing plenty of stuff and it's sounding really good. I'm very happy with it. I might use some orchestration, I might not. So we'll see how it goes.

"Anyway, have a great new year and all the best to you all.Thank you. Bye bye."

In the summer of 2022, Martin told "The Rock And Metal Profs: The History And Philosophy Of Rock And Metal" podcast that "two record labels" were going to re-release the albums he recorded with SABBATH. "I don't know when, and I don't know what it's gonna look like," he said. "There was some suggestion a while back that we might be able to put extra tracks and stuff on it. I did offer, and I went to see Tony Iommi and offered some things. And then he said we can't use anything new 'cause nothing new can be released under the BLACK SABBATH name. It can only be stuff that's got the original four members on it.

"I'm expecting it to be a remixed version of whatever the original was; that's what I'm expecting," Tony added. "So I await as you do to find out. Let me know if you hear it first."

When the interviewer expressed hope that the box set will include some live recordings from the Martin era of SABBATH, either in audio or video format, Tony said: "I recorded the writing session with… Eddie Van Halen came over and helped us write one of the tracks [for 1994's 'Cross Purposes' album]. And I had an eight-track recorder at the time in the 1980s, and I used to take it everywhere, this thing. I've got all of the writing sessions and rehearsals recorded. So I sent [Iommi] this, and he went, 'Wow! That's fucking great.' And I said, 'Well, you're welcome to use it, if you wanna put that on.' So, I don't know… Maybe you'll get that on there."

Martin added: "It's great to hear Eddie play."

BLACK SABBATH released six albums with Martin on vocals: "The Eternal Idol" (1987),"Headless Cross" (1989),"Tyr" (1990),"Cross Purposes" (1994),"Cross Purposes Live" (1995) and "Forbidden" (1995). Eventually, Martin and his "Forbidden"-era bandmates were ousted when Iommi reunited with SABBATH's fellow original members.

In January 2022, Martin reflected on his time with SABBATH during an appearance on "The Ron Keel Podcast", saying: "It doesn't haunt me. It's not a bad thing. I've got a lot to be grateful for. SABBATH is the reason why you, and the world, knows about my voice. So there are things to be grateful for. It was hard work for me. I'm 12 years younger than the rest of the guys, so even just circle of friends was different — they're hanging out with Ian Gillan and Brian May, and my best friend is Dave down the road. So that was a gap. And also the experience — they were way ahead of me in experience, at least 12 years further up the road from me, and I never could quite catch them up; they will always have that much more experience than me. So that was hard work."

He continued: "When I first got the gig, it was actually 1986 that I was put on standby when they were with Glenn Hughes on the 'Seventh Star' album. And I don't know what the issues were, but something went wrong with Glenn and they put me on standby. That scared me to death, 'cause it's Glenn Hughes. I can't sing like Glenn Hughes; nobody can sing like Glenn Hughes. Only Glenn Hughes can sing like Glenn Hughes. So that was really scary. Then they got Ray Gillen in. Then he left — he left to join BLUE MURDER with John Sykes, so they called me again and said, 'You'd better come down to the studio and try this out.' And they gave me one song, which was 'The Shining' off 'Eternal Idol', and then two days later said, 'Okay. You've got the job. You've got a week to finish the album.' So right from the start it was scary — it was huge; suddenly being the frontman of BLACK SABBATH was just ridiculous. And yeah, the whole association with me and my voice lasted 11 years."

Seven years ago, Iommi told I Heart Guitar that "it's a shame" that "it took a lot for people to accept" Martin as SABBATH's vocalist. "It's taken all these years later for people to say, 'Oh blimey, that was a good band with good singing.' So it took a long time to get people to really realize how good it was."

In 2018, Iommi spent time in the studio remixing "Forbidden" for a future release. The LP, which features Martin, drummer Cozy Powell and bassist Neil Murray, is often regarded as SABBATH's worst studio recording.

In a 2012 interview with Über Röck, Martin said that he was "surprised" to see Iommi criticizing him in the guitarist's "Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven And Hell With Black Sabbath" book (referring to the Martin period, especially the touring phase following the release of "Cross Purposes" in 1994, Iommi lambasted his former singer as "unprofessional" and having "no stage presence"). Martin said: "I mean, they never said anything to me. Surely, if you've got a problem, the first person you should say something to is the person that's in the band with you... It sounds like a really stupid thing to say, as they didn't say anything to my face — and, if that's the case, then more fool them for not saying anything, because, you know, we could have fixed it. I said to them, endlessly, that if there was anything they wanted changed, done differently, just to say and we could fix it, but clearly, they didn't, they hadn't got the guts to, obviously, and to write about it in a book afterwards seems a bit daft to me. I'm not bitter about it, but it is surprising... It seems a bit stupid to say that after the event."



A 2024 New Year's Message

Posted by Tony Iommi on Friday, December 29, 2023

In a recent interview with Spain's Made In Metal, British heavy metal vocalist Blaze Bayley, who fronted IRON MAIDEN more than 20 years ago, said that words hold immense power — they can uplift, wound, inspire and destroy.

"Sometimes people don't know the power of words and they let words by someone else describe them," Blaze explained (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "And then they begin to believe what someone else says. 'You're useless.' 'I'm useless.' 'You are stupid.' 'I must be stupid.' No. You don't listen to those people. You don't use their words. You don't allow those words into your mind, into your heart. You listen to me, and I will tell you. You're a Blaze Bayley fan. You're a heavy metal fan. You're a warrior. You're someone. They can knock you down, but they won't stop you. You might be down, but you won't stay down.

"When you think of the word to describe yourself, think of what I'm telling you," he continued. "I'm telling you to use this word about yourself. You don't always win, but you always fight. You're a warrior. And when you start to believe yourself and the things that you say to yourself and not believe what they say about you, that's when things really start to change.

"I'm very lucky that I experienced this in my life, that when I nearly lost my leg in a motorcycle accident, when I joined IRON MAIDEN, I managed to fight back. They said to me, 'You'll probably never walk again.' And I said, 'You don't know me.' So somebody said to me, 'You're just not a good singer.' Somebody else said, 'You can't sing.' Somebody else said, 'You're never gonna make it.' I said, 'I don't care what you say. You don't know me.' And that is what I think some people don't know. You don't have to listen.

"It doesn't matter what your dream is," Blaze added. "If your dream is to be a great skateboarder, if your dream is to be a singer, if your dream is to be a great parent, if your dream is to be a teacher, whatever that dream is, where the place that you believe that when you get up each day, you're not gonna dread going to work, then you have to try and find that place. Because that's where you're gonna feel good and satisfied. And I'm very lucky. I dreamed of being a singer and I live that dream every day. I'm incredibly lucky. And I'm able to do that because I have the support of wonderful fans around the world."

The 60-year-old Bayley fronted IRON MAIDEN from 1994 until 1999. The two MAIDEN albums he appeared on, "The X Factor" and "Virtual XI", sold considerably less than the band's prior releases and were their lowest-charting titles in the group's home country since 1981's "Killers".

Since leaving IRON MAIDEN in 1999, Bayley has released a number of albums, including several under the moniker BLAZE and more than a handful under his own name. He also appeared on 2012's "Wolfsbane Saves The World", the first album of new material by WOLFSBANE since the group's self-titled 1994 effort, and a follow-up LP, 2022's "Genius".

Blaze's latest studio album, "War Within Me", came out in April 2021. The LP was recorded during 2020 with work split between Blaze's studio at home in the West Midlands and Christopher Appleton's studio in Greater Manchester.

Nine months ago, Blaze underwent a quadruple bypass surgery following a heart attack.

ARCH ENEMY has "amicably" parted ways with longtime guitarist Jeff Loomis.

ARCH ENEMY founder and chief songwriter Michael Amott comments: "It's been a joy having Jeff play with ARCH ENEMY for close to a decade, we truly had a blast touring around the world together! We were friends long before we played music together and we remain even closer buddies now, which feels great. We respect that he's in a place and time in life where he needs to step out of ARCH ENEMY and we all wish him nothing but the best moving forward.

"The only constant is change, and this is one of those moments where things had to change a little to move forward in a satisfactory way for everyone involved. With all that said, we are extremely pleased to announce that we have recruited Joey Concepcion as our new guitarist! Joey's a phenomenal talent and has been a friend of the band for a long time, he even filled in for Jeff on a couple of European festival shows back in 2018.

"We have touring and a myriad of other exciting things coming up on the horizon with ARCH ENEMY for 2024 and beyond and are thrilled to move forward, creating the next chapter and keeping the metal flowing!"

Loomis comments: "My time in ARCH ENEMY has come to an end. I have had a great time (9 years!) of playing and touring with them, but now it's time to enter a new chapter in my life. I wish Alissa, Michael, Sharlee and Daniel the very best and consider them all lifelong friends. I'd also like to thank the crew that have always been nothing but kind to me. Their hard work and dedication towards the band is incredible, and we wouldn't be able to put on the great shows without them. Thank you again for all your support over the years and Happy New Year."

Lastly, Joey Concepcion has the following to say about joining the ARCH ENEMY fold: "It's an honor and a privilege to be working with ARCH ENEMY and I'm very much looking forward to shredding stages across the globe together, playing for and meeting all the fans!"

In the clip below you can check out guitarist Joey Concepcion performing a headline set with ARCH ENEMY at Germany's Summer Breeze Open Air festival in 2018.

Jeff, who was the main songwriter in his previous group, NEVERMORE, joined ARCH ENEMY in late 2014, but was not involved in the writing for the latter act's last two albums, 2017's "Will To Power" and 2022's "Deceivers".

In a 2018 interview with All That Shreds, Jeff said that he had "a lot of musical ideas" that he was hoping to contribute to ARCH ENEMY in the future. "I did write three or four songs for ['Will To Power'], but they didn't make it, only because it wasn't in the style that they were looking for," he said. "Fortunately enough, I was able to play guitar solos on the latest album, so that makes me happy."

Six years ago, Amott said that Loomis is "a strong songwriter" in his own right, "but not in the style of ARCH ENEMY, I feel. He's always writing and recording with his own stuff," he explained. "He has a project called CONQUERING DYSTOPIA, he has his solo stuff, [and] he obviously wrote most of the NEVERMORE stuff. I've always respected him, and continue to respect him, as a guitar player — he's amazing and an amazing human being; he fits in perfectly. [There's] a great chemistry [between us]. But, you know, I've always written most of the music, so it's difficult to… I don't really wanna change the sound of the band too much. The band sort of started around my songwriting and my ideas, and those continue to be the most dominant ones, I guess. But, you know, who knows [what can happen] in the future?"

Loomis's second and latest solo album, 2012's "Plains Of Oblivion" was produced by Aaron Smith (7 HORNS 7 EYES) and featured cover artwork by Colin Marks of Rain Song Design, who had previously worked with ALL SHALL PERISH, THE END and XERATH.

During an appearance on the 22nd episode of "The Metallica Report", the recently launched podcast offering weekly insider updates on all things METALLICA, James Hetfield was asked for his "New Year's thoughts" as we head into 2024. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I usually don't put a lot of stock into New Year's stuff, but reflecting on the past year, [I'm] super grateful for what I've got, what I've gone through. [I] always really look forward to what the next year will bring. The older I get, the harder and easier it gets. So, I'm always looking forward to getting back out on the road, playing some shows, seeing some faces, familiar faces and new faces at the shows."

He continued: "So, yeah. I don't know what else. I guess the New Year is kind of a cleansing, and I've got a new goal or something. I'm really just continuing to try and improve myself, get better, have a better attitude about life, about other people's lives, and just try to bring as much joy to people as possible."

METALLICA's ongoing "M72" tour features a bold new in-the-round stage design that relocates the famed Snake Pit to center stage, allowing promoters to sell more tickets than usual. And since METALLICA's stage is hollow in the center, there is even more space available to accommodate fans.

According to Billboard, METALLICA's giant ring-shaped stage also includes eight towers of monitors and speakers, with each of the towers is anchored by a raised platform that doubles as VIP seating, with eight folding chairs decorated with the black-and-yellow color scheme of the band's new album, "72 Seasons".

This past August, METALLICA drew nearly 80,000 fans to the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles at the first of the band's two shows at the venue. It was the biggest crowd in the history of the SoCal stadium, which opened in September 2020. The San Francisco Bay Area-based metal legends drew a similarly sized capacity crowd two days later at the same venue.

Fans purchased more than 156,000 tickets for the two-concert stand, which was also part of METALLICA's "M72" world tour.

The "M72" tour launched in late April in Amsterdam.

A portion of proceeds from the shows go to METALLICA's All Within My Hands foundation, which seeks to assist and enrich the lives of members of the communities who have supported the band and combat food insecurity; provides disaster relief; and bestows scholarships.

METALLICA's production travels in 87 trucks — 45 for the band and its setup, plus two groups of 21 each for the steel stage and towers. There are 130 people in the band's crew, plus 40 steelworkers, local hires and truck drivers.

METALLICA's manager Cliff Burnstein told Billboard that between 80% and 90% of fans at each concert are attending both shows.

METALLICA's two-night stand at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas in August was livestreamed to movie theaters across the globe. It marked METALLICA's first appearance in Texas since November 2021, when the band played before, during and after a Triad Combat event at Globe Life Field.

In a wide-ranging discussion with Drumeo, making his first full on-camera interview since rejoining DREAM THEATER, Mike Portnoy talked about the emotions and process behind coming back into the fold, his sentiments toward DREAM THEATER's now-former drummer Mike Mangini and DREAM THEATER's plans for a new studio album.

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

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

 Portnoy went on to say that he had no hard feelings for Mangini, who has been publicly very supportive of Portnoy's return to the band.

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

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

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

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

Asked about DREAM THEATER's plans for the coming months, Portnoy said: "We're gonna start work on a new album right after the new year. I have some remaining commitments this year still on the calendar. I'm about to leave for Japan with THE WINERY DOGS, I have a gig with METAL ALLEGIANCE in January, and I have some gigs with FLYING COLORS in March. So these are things that have been on the calendar for a while. I have a gig with Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, another gig with UMPHREY'S MCGEE for New Year's Eve. So I'm gonna finish out those commitments, but pretty much after the new year, the focus for me is gonna be DREAM THEATER, and we're gonna move into the studio and start working on a new album. And it remains to be seen where and when the first gig or gigs will be. But that's what I'm most excited for. I cannot wait to be on the stage again in front of the most devoted fanbase in the world. I mean, the energy and the excitement that that first gig is… I'm getting goosebumps right now just thinking about it. I've dreamt about it. I'm telling you, the last 13 years or so, I can't tell you, I've probably dreamt about 100 times about what it would be like to be back in DREAM THEATER or to play that first show back. So it's gonna be amazing to finally actually do it."

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

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

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