Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach spoke to Gold Derby's Denton Davidson about his recently released single "What Do I Got To Lose?" The song was co-written by Sebastian, Myles Kennedy (ALTER BRIDGE, SLASH) and Michael "Elvis" Baskette (MAMMOTH WVH, SLASH),the latter of whom also served as the track's producer.

Bach said: "['What Do I Got To Lose?'] I wrote with Myles Kennedy from Slash's band and from ALTER BRIDGE. It was produced by Elvis Baskette, who has produced all of Wolfgang Van Halen's records. I couldn't be more proud of it; I just couldn't be more proud of it.

"This song is fun," he continued. "And when I look around rock and roll in 2023, I think there's a lack of fun. Everybody's, 'This guy said this about this guy. This guy said this about that.' It's just clickbait and negativity that I could see. There's not a lot of fun, positive, good-time rock. And this song [is] fun, fist-in-the-air party-time rock in the tradition of [DEF LEPPARD's] 'Pour Some Sugar On Me'. That's what this song reminds me of. It's that much fun. And I couldn't be more proud of it."

The official music video for "What Do I Got To Lose?", directed by Jim Louvau and Tony Aguilera, can be seen below.

For the release of "What Do I Got To Lose?", Bach teamed up with Reigning Phoenix Music. It marks Sebastian's first new music in ten years.

Among the other musicians who have assisted Bach during the writing and recording process for his new music are Orianthi (ALICE COOPER, Michael Jackson),John 5 (ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON),Steve Stevens (Billy Idol),Devin Bronson, Brent Woods, Eli Santana and Jeremy Colson.

Bach hasn't released a full-length disc since "Give 'Em Hell", which came out in March 2014. Like its predecessor, 2011's "Kicking & Screaming", the disc was released through Frontiers Music Srl, the Italian label which specializes in what's commonly called AOR, a term that once signified a popular radio format ("album-oriented rock") but nowadays applies to acts whose airplay is marginal.

Trick Or Treat has released a lyric video for "When The Lights Fade Out (Santa's In Trouble)", featuring Tommy Johansson of Sabaton and Majestica on vocals. This special Xmas single is taken from the live album, A Creepy Night Live, released on December 8 via Scarlet Records.


Says the band: “Oh oh oh! This year Santa Claus seems to be in trouble... The elves are on strike and the reindeer can't compete with e-commerce! Will they be able to deliver the gifts on time? Find out by listening to 'When The Lights Fade Out (Santa's In Trouble)'! For a Christmas speed song, there couldn't be a better guest than Tommy Johansson - who in addition to being a great friend, is one of the best musicians (and singers) of the genre. This featuring is our personal Xmas gift to all the Trick Or Treat fans!"







Recorded during the tour in support of the latest studio-album Creepy Symphonies, A Creepy Night Live retraces the stages of the Italian band's history: from the very first Helloweenish steps up to the current, brilliant and personal interpretation of the "happy metal" plot, passing through the most memorable and fun songs scattered throughout all their works.


Featuring the special guests Michele Luppi (Whitesnake) and Chiara Tricarico (Moonlight Haze); mixed and mastered by Simone Mularoni at Domination Studio; creepily illustrated by the Trick Or Treat & Twilight Force frontman Alle Conti; A Creepy Night Live is available in the following formats:


- digipack CD
- digital


Order the CD here.





A Creepy Night Live tracklisting:


Intro/"Creepy Symphony"
"Have A Nice Judgment Day"
"Loser Song"
"Aquarius: Diamond Dust"
"The Great Escape"
"Tears Against Your Smile" (feat. Chiara Tricarico)
"Cloudrider"
"Hungarian Hangover"
"Libra: One Hundred Dragons Force"
"Take Your Chance" (feat. Michele Luppi)
"Rabbits’ Hill"
"Crazy"
"Like Donald Duck"
"When The Lights Fade Out (Santa's In Trouble)" (feat. Tommy Johansson)


"Aquarius: Diamond Dust" video:





"Tears Against Your Smile" video:





Trick Or Treat - A Creepy Night Live lineup:


Alle Conti - vocals
Guido Benedetti - guitar
Luca Venturelli - guitar
Leone Villani Conti - bass
Luca Setti - drums

In a recent interview with Czech Republic's Metalshop TV, Milo Silvestro reflected on how he landed the job as FEAR FACTORY's new singer. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That was completely random, because three years ago, like shortly before the lockdown, the COVID and all that shit kicked in, I put out a cover of a few pieces of [FEAR FACTORY's debut album] 'Soul Of A New Machine' songs. And it was just for fun. And I put it on YouTube, I put 'em on a Facebook page called New Breed Of Fear Factory, which is the biggest FEAR FACTORY fan page on Facebook. And much to my surprise, Dino [Cazares, FEAR FACTORY guitarist] was on that page, and he commented on it and he liked it. And then fast forward to the next month, I think we were in a lockdown already in Italy and pretty much all of Europe and I did another cover of 'Resurrection' and 'Timelessness'. And he liked it again. He commented on it again. And the next day he sent me a private message, and the rest is history. It just snowballed into what it is today, basically."

Milo continued: "It was shocking in a positive way. It was really surreal, and still is surreal. But when Dino first sent me a private message, it was really shocking. He was, like, 'I like your covers. I wanna know a little bit more about you. Can I send more covers to you to record for me?' And that was basically the start of the audition. But he didn't tell me that he needed a singer. It was all really like a little bit of a mystery, because they were still going through a legal suit back then. And I guess, even though Burt [C. Bell, original FEAR FACTORY singer] [hadn't] left FEAR FACTORY yet, Dino was kind of sensing that Burt had one foot out [the door] already. So when, in September 2020, Burt left, Dino told me, 'Yeah, you're auditioning for FEAR FACTORY.' I'm, like, 'What the fuck?" So, yeah, that's the FEAR FACTORY audition story in a nutshell."

Regarding what it was that Dino saw in his vocal delivery that stood out compared to everyone else who auditioned, Milo said: "Well, what I would say is that I never considered myself an extremely technical singer, even though I have a huge luck having my mom being a singing coach, professional vocalist and vocal teacher. So she gave me some tips every now and then, but I don't consider myself like a hyper-technical vocalist. I think when it comes to sing[ing], FEAR FACTORY is more about having the right feel, I guess, and having the right sound down, like the right vocal sound, either for harsh vocals or clean vocals. Because Burt was all about sound, and it was really unique. And that's the reason why a lot of fans were skeptical at first, because it was unique. Not the most technical singer on Earth, but one of the most unique, for sure, and really difficult to nail that vocal style. But thanks to my — I don't know — OCD or whatever you call it, I was just so obsessed with his style that I guess… I don't wanna make myself great, but I just guess that I embedded that vocal sound to the point that Dino noticed that. And he told me, 'Out of 300 guys all over the world that I auditioned, you had the right sound.' So it's not necessarily a matter of being the best vocalist out of all those 300-plus guys he auditioned, which a lot of them were really great. But I think it's more a matter of having the right style. So, I guess that's the reason why. Also, the thing that I'm so obsessed with the band to the point that I knew pretty much almost all lyrics. Not all of them, but let's say nine out of ten, probably. And every song he was throwing at me during the audition — he was playing instrumental in his phone connected to the PA: 'What about this one? What about this one?' And I knew all the lyrics because I'd always been so obsessed with FEAR FACTORY to that point. And he was impressed. He was, like, 'What the fuck, dude? You know more lyrics, FEAR FACTORY lyrics than I do.' And I think also the thing that I knew… I'm obsessed with checking out all things related to my favorite bands, like interviews, what's their favorite food, shampoo — I'm that kind of guy. So I knew all the history of FEAR FACTORY. What happened that day with that past member? Blah, blah, blah. So Dino is, like, 'You're not just the perfect guy as far as vocal style goes. You have the style down and you know all the lyrics, but you even know the band history. So it's almost like you have always been a distant member, like you already know the band. It's like you've been in the band for all this time, even if you weren't.' So I think that that's pretty much it."

In October, FEAR FACTORY kicked off a European headlining tour with support from BUTCHER BABIES from the USA and IGNEA from Ukraine. The 44-date trek marked FEAR FACTORY's first European shows since 2016.

FEAR FACTORY and MACHINE HEAD will join forces for the "Slaughter The Martour North America 2024" tour in January and February. Additional support on the trek will come from Sweden's ORBIT CULTURE and Louisville, Kentucky's GATES TO HELL.

Dino recently confirmed plans for FEAR FACTORY to make a new studio album in 2024. The effort will mark FEAR FACTORY's recording debut with the group's latest addition, Italian-born Silvestro, whose addition to FEAR FACTORY was officially announced in late February.

FEAR FACTORY played its first headlining concert with Silvestro and touring drummer Pete Webber on May 5 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

Earlier in the year, FEAR FACTORY completed the "Rise Of The Machine" U.S. tour as the support act for STATIC-X marked the Cazares-led outfit's first run of shows with Silvestro and Webber.

Webber has been filling in for FEAR FACTORY's longtime drummer Mike Heller who is unable to play with the band due to "scheduling conflicts."

Scanner will release their new album The Cosmic Race on January 12, 2024 via ROAR! Rock Of Angels Records. Second single and video for "Dance Of The Dead" is streaming below.


The Cosmic Race is a concept and will be the Germans’ first full-length since 2015’s The Judgement.


A few words about the album, from the band’s mastermind Axel Julius: “Since the lyrics of the album are about humans leaving the earth to colonize a new planet, our goal was to create this spirit of optimism, which never has a purely euphoric side, but also harbors doubts and fear of the unknown to be reflected in the songs. We also try to bring a certain melancholy into these songs. In the middle of the album's creation process, we were just at the end of the pandemic, which led directly into the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which initially caused our creativity to paralyze. Some people may have been aware that no HAPPY METAL could be expected from Scanner during such phases. 




“Close friends have already told us that the band sounds a bit ‘darker’. Not that we used to avoid the minor chord, but we definitely use it a little more often here. And we believe that this also corresponds to the current state of mind of many people on this planet. Ultimately, we tried to musically realize the balance between these currently difficult times and the hope for a humane future. The album definitely conveys several levels of emotion musically, but without diminishing Scanner's recognition value. 


“That's why there are speedy songs as well as mid-tempo songs and you always get Scanner. I'm sure our fans will like the album very much and will appreciate that the music follows a conceptual story. If you like, you can listen to the album in the conceptual chronological order via a playlist. The story is told in the booklet and specifies this order.”


The Cosmic Race will be released on January 12, 2024 as LTD. Mediabook CD Inc. Patch, two limited splatter vinyl versions, one super-limited picture disc version and digital streaming / download format. Preorder at roar.gr.


The Cosmic Race notes:
-Recorded and mixed 2022/23 at s1s-Studio Gelsenkirchen
-All songs and lyrics by Axel Julius
-Recorded, mixed and produced by Axel Julius (aka Nigel Boston)
-Mastered by Max Morton.
-All artwork by Henar Sherif / Layout by ArtWeRK-Mediadesign





Tracklisting:


“The Earth Song”
“Face The Fight”
“Warriors Of The Light”
“Dance Of The Dead”
“Scanner’s Law”
“A New Horizon”
“Farewell To The Sun”
“Space Battalion”
“The Last And First In Line”


"Dance Of The Dead" video:





"The Earth Song" lyric video:





Scanner are:
Efthimions Ioannidis – Vocals
Axel Julius – All Guitars
Jörn Bettenrup – Bass
Boris Frenkel – Drums

German metal queen Doro Pesch has announced the digital release of "True Metal Maniacs", an exceptional song that tells about the deep connection with her fans. It comes along with a very special video with live footage from Wacken Open Air, the Monsters Of Rock festival in Brazil and her anniversary show in Düsseldorf.

Doro comments: "'True Metal Maniacs' is a very special anthem for my fans. The song expresses the strong unity and shared love of music and tells of a deep bond. 'True Metal Maniacs' brings back fond memories and at the same time makes me look forward to a great metal year 2024!"

"True Metal Maniacs" is one of the five bonus tracks from the recently released album "Conqueress - Forever Strong And Proud", so far only been released on the physical products, and is included in the digital EP "Conqueress - Extended", which will be released on March 1, 2024.

"Conqueress - Extended" digital EP track listing:

01. Warlocks And Witches
02. Horns Up High
03. True Metal Maniacs
04. Heart In Pain
05. The Four Horsemen

"Conqueress - Forever Strong And Proud" came out on October 27 via Nuclear Blast.

The 20-song "Conqueress – Forever Strong And Proud" LP is described in a press release as "the result of intensive hard work that took the incomparable singer and songwriter back to studios in Miami, New York and Hamburg, amongst others. The album presents Doro at the height of her creative powers."

This past June, Doro released "Time For Justice", the first single from "Conqueress - Forever Strong And Proud", along with a "Mad Max"-style video. The clip was filmed with director Mirko Witzki.

"Conqueress - Forever Strong And Proud" arrived one day before Doro's 40th-anniversary concert at the Mitsubishi Electric Halle in Düsseldorf.

Photo credit: Jochen Rolfes

In a brand new interview with Justin Young of Monsters, Madness And Magic, MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars was asked to name the best piece of advice he ever received. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I can only say what probably pretty much 90 percent of musicians say. It's, like, don't stop. Don't quit. [It's] better if you're single, but if you really want to do it [while also raising a family]… God, it's tough for me to say it and be not be mean, but once you do that, you're kind of locked into doubt, 'cause you know you've got your family that you love dearly and you provide for them and stuff. But if you're a single guy, go for it. Play, play, play, play, play, play, practice, practice, practice. And I would say don't try to be like anyone or copy, play a cover song or do this or do this. Be you. Because when you start writing that song, where do you wanna go with it? Any way you want. Anywhere. It's yours. Take it wherever. As THE EAGLES say, 'No limits.' And just keep an open mind. Keep working and — I don't know — progressing. Don't stop learning. I'm 72, and I'm still learning and trying to take me other places."

Mars, who is promoting his upcoming debut solo album, "The Other Side of Mars", continued: "I'm working now on ideas for the second [solo] record — if I live that long; no, I'm kidding — I'm working right now on my second thing with some ideas and stuff. And it's, like, what I'm hearing is another step further."

"The Other Side Of Mars" will be released on February 23, 2024. The effort will be made available via Mick's own label 1313, LLC, in partnership with MRI.

Birmingham, Alabama rocker Jacob Bunton collaborated extensively with Mars on "The Other Side Of Mars".

Bunton had previously worked with former GUNS N' ROSES drummer Steven Adler and CINDERELLA frontman Tom Keifer, and has songwriting credits with Mariah Carey, Steven Tyler and Smokey Robinson, among others.

Bunton sings lead on all but two of the 12 songs on "The Other Side Of Mars".

Other guests on the LP include WINGER/ALICE COOPER keyboardist Paul Taylor, KORN drummer Ray Luzier, and Brion Gamboa, who handled lead vocals on the songs "Undone" and "Killing Breed".

Bunton previously fronted the Alabama bands MARS ELECTRIC and LYNAM.

This past April, Mars filed a lawsuit against MÖTLEY CRÜE, alleging his longtime bandmates were trying to kick him out of the group and reduce his ownership stakes because of his ongoing battle with degenerative disease ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Ankylosing spondylitis is a type of arthritis that causes inflammation in the spine joints and ligaments and can lead to stiffness over time, according to the National Institute Of Arthritis And Musculoskeletal And Skin Diseases.

Mars told the band last year he would be unable to tour because of his disease. The guitarist "just could no longer physically handle the rigors of the road," according to his lawsuit. But he said he would be able to perform with them in a "residency situation" and record with the band.

In response to Mick's decision to retire from the road, the lawsuit said, MÖTLEY CRÜE announced that Mars was "retiring" from the band and would be replaced by former ROB ZOMBIE and MARILYN MANSON guitarist John 5. Mars claimed he had no intention of retiring from the group, and accused CRÜE bassist and main songwriter Nikki Sixx of gaslighting Mars by alleging the guitarist had "some sort of cognitive dysfunction."

Brian May says that he and the rest of QUEEN are not behind the recent increase in copyright strikes issued against QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT concert videos posted to YouTube and other social media platforms.

Earlier today (Monday, December 18),the QUEEN guitarist shared a screenshot of message from a QUEEN fan who claims to have gotten a "strike" from Universal and YouTube over QUEEN videos she posted on the platform. The fan wrote: "Hi guys, it looks like Universal and YouTube are now coming for everyone who posts concert videos of QUEEN and Adam. I got a strike and deleted most of my concert videos. If you get multiple strikes you may lose your channel. Be careful!"

In a message accompanying his post, Brian wrote in part: "I've been watching this for a few days, and I'm very concerned. I've asked our management to look into it, and try to figure out if there is a reason for Instagram and Universal suddenly becoming so Draconian.

"The decision to take these videos down certainly hasn't come from us, the band. hopefully we will get an answer soon. Meanwhile, be extra careful and I'm sorry you good folks of good intentions have been put in this position."

If you take a video of a concert, you may be unable to post that video online because some artists don't allow unauthorized fan videos of their live performances to be shared online. In most cases, however, you will find that no issue is raised by opposing parties since most musicians don't want to alienate the very fans who pay to see them. Since 2007, YouTube has provided a program that lets copyright owners monitor such fan-made music videos, allowing a record label, for instance, to drop in ads or "click to buy" links.

QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT kicked off the 2023 leg of their "Rhapsody" tour on October 4 at the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. May, drummer Roger Taylor and singer Adam Lambert opened the concert with "Radio Ga Ga" and ran through a total of 25 songs, including the first performance of "Stone Cold Crazy" since 2018 and a rendition of "Is This the World We Created...?", which was played for the first time with Lambert.

The fall leg of the "Rhapsody" tour ended on November 12 at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.

Lambert, May and Taylor first shared the stage during "American Idol" in May 2009 for a performance of "We Are The Champions". They teamed up again in 2011 at the MTV European Music Awards in Belfast, Ireland for an electrifying eight-minute finale of "The Show Must Go On", "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" and in the summer of 2012, Lambert performed a series of shows with QUEEN across Europe as well as dates in Russia, Ukraine and Poland. They have since completed a number of tours and performed at some of the biggest festivals in the world.

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Burning Witches vocalist Laura Guldemond has shared a video performance of the Christmnas classic, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". Check it out below. 


For more videos and excluisve material go to Guldemond's official Patreon page here.







Burning Witches unleashed their fifth studio album, The Dark Tower, on May 5 via Napalm Records. On fifteen energetic tracks, Burning Witches ring the bells for a midnight mass in smoky-warm bars. “World On Fire” first gets the listener’s pulse pumping due to the rising tension of flashy guitar work, before melodic six-string solos unite with unbeatable guitar onslaughts and sophisticated drum attacks - underlining conjuring vocal lines that call out for an evening zombie dance! Restless and intense, the fierce women of Burning Witches shred their instruments on The Dark Tower like no other, but with the soft mid-tempo track “Tomorrow”, the witches settle down to gather their strength for just a moment. Bittersweet melodies float up to the sky like weightless feathers, carrying a message of five confident women. Ready again to gradually increase the tempo, “Heart Of Ice” and “Arrow Of Time” ensnare with extravagant guitar tapping and heroic vocals by Laura, while “The Lost Souls” merges devilish staccato and legato riffs, creating an ominous atmosphere amid the bewitching screams of the five Swiss enchantresses. With their new studio album, Burning Witches not only bring back the glory days of heavy metal, but push it beyond - trapping the soul of each listener with energetic performances on The Dark Tower.





The Dark Tower tracklisting:


"Rise Of Darkness"
"Unleash The Beast"
"Renegade"
"Evil Witch"
"World On Fire"
"Tomorrow"
"House Of Blood"
"The Dark Tower"
"Heart Of Ice"
"Arrow Of Time"
"Doomed To Die"
"Into The Unknown"
"The Lost Souls"


“The Dark Tower” video:





"Unleash The Beast"





Lineup:


Laura Guldemond - Vocals
Romana Kalkuhl - Guitars
Courtney Cox – Guitars (stand in/special guest)
Larissa Ernst - Guitars
Jeanine Grob - Bass
Lala Frischknecht - Drums

Scorpions are returning to the Las Vegas Strip in 2024 with a brand new exclusive headlining residency show in celebration of the 40th anniversary of their iconic album, Love At First Sting, performing the album plus all of their biggest hits.


They recently spoke with Las Vegas' KTNV Channel 13 about the upcoming residency. Check out the interview below.


Vocalist Klause Meine: "There's a song on Love At First Sting - it's called 'Crossfire' - and it was almost like a political kind of song saying, we're growing up, we're living in the middle of the crossfire between East and West, like where we grew up here in Germany. West Germany, so to speak, in a divided country with a Berlin Wall. So this song, to bring this up on stage and perform this live, it's a song we never, ever played live because it's kind of complicated and it's a challenge, but at the same time we're excited about it and we can't wait to make this work. I know for the fans, they were going, 'No way. I never expected to see this song live.'"










Scorpions - Love At First Sting Las Vegas kicks off on Thursday, April 11, 2024 at Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. The new show follows the band’s popular “Sin City Nights” residency which sold out all nine performances at the venue in 2022.


"We're very excited to return to Las Vegas in 2024 for nine more concerts at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino’s Bakkt Theater. We can't wait to share our new show with our fans in the US, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the iconic Love At First Sting album along with our biggest Hits! Get ready for another Desert Sting … it's gonna be a Hell of a Ride!!!" - Klaus Meine


Tickets are on sale now via The-Scorpions.com/RockZone.


The nine performances going on sale are:


April 2024: 11, 13, 18, 20, 24, 26 & 28
May 2024: 1 &  3








(Photo - Marc Theis)

L.A. GUNS singer Phil Lewis says that "it was awful" to hear about the passing of the band's former drummer Steve Riley.

Steve died on October 24 after "battling a severe case of pneumonia for several weeks," his family confirmed in a statement. He was 67 years old.

In a new interview with  Radioactive MikeZ, host of the  96.7 KCAL-FM program  "Wired In The Empire",  Phil stated about Steve (as transcribed by  BLABBERMOUTH.NET): " Riley and I, we had adventures. We had some good times and I'll always remember him fondly. But no, he wasn't involved in the band in the beginning. He came along.  Nickey [ Alexander], our drummer at the time, [he was] a strange fellow. He was Mr. Melrose.  Nickey knew every hot chick, he knew where every great party was gonna be that night. He knew where to get the clothes. He just knew everything. Mr. Melrose or the mayor of Melrose. And when the reality hit, that, 'Well, guys, we've got an album. It's selling, and we're gonna have to go on tour.' And it's, like, 'Go on tour? For how long?' 'Indefinitely.'  Nickey didn't like the sound of that. He didn't wanna give up his turf. He still wanted to play drums and he still wanted to be involved in music, but getting on that tour bus and not knowing when he was coming home didn't appeal to him. So, it was up to us to find a drummer. And  Tracii [ Guns,  L.A. GUNS guitarist] knew  Steve briefly. And  Steve happened to be in the rehearsal complex at the same time we were. And it was just, 'Do you wanna come over and play?' And I've gotta say the difference between  Steve Riley and  Nickey's drumming. I mean,  Steve Riley back then really was an animal. His playing, it was a freight train. His timing was perfect. He was strong as an ox. And I liked it. I really did. I liked the direction it was going in. And, yeah, it must've been good because we ended up doing countless records together."

Speaking specifically about  Riley's passing,  Lewis said: "It's really weird. He's the first one to go, of all the band. And we've had, like… We're kind of notorious for the amount of members we've had in this band. I think the last count was, like, 53. But, yeah, he's the first one that fell off his perch, and, yeah, wow, it was awful. I didn't wanna see that."

He continued: "We had been through a legal issue, and that probably didn't help his health, but that wasn't something we started. It was just something we had to do. We were into our third album from the reunion and he wanted to come to get together with a couple of the old guys and call it  L.A. GUNS, and we just simply couldn't allow that. We'd made so much traction and that would have knocked us right off the rails. So it got ugly. It got expensive. It got ugly."

Phil added: "But I'll tell you something. I'll tell you something. I reckon, had had we got past it… I think if I'd been in a room with  Steve for anything more than five or ten minutes, we'd be slapping each other's backs and high-fiving and laughing. So there were no real ill feelings. It was just business."

The day that  Steve 's death was announced, Phil released the following statement via his personal Facebook page: "Very shocked to hear about Steve Riley's passing today. He was a good guy and an excellent drummer. We toured the world together many times and countless adventures both good and bad. Unfortunately we were never truly friends in 30 years I never once visited his house and apart from band stuff we never hung out or went to dinner together. I think he valued his privacy and kept work and family very much separate.

"My condolences to his wife of over 40 years Mary Louise and son Cole.

"Journey on mate."

Steve is survived by his wife and son, as well as his brothers Michael and Daniel.

Riley was the drummer for W.A.S.P. on the band's second and third albums — 1985's "The Last Command" and 1986's "Inside The Electric Circus" — and world tours from 1984 to 1987. After leaving W.A.S.P., Riley joined L.A. GUNS and played on that group's most commercially successful LPs.

In 2016, Lewis and guitarist Tracii Guns reunited in a new version of L.A. GUNS that didn't include Riley. Steve later launched his own version of L.A. GUNS, which played its debut concert at the M3 Rock Festival in Maryland in May 2019.

In April 2021, an out-of-court resolution was reached between Riley and Guns and Lewis over the rights to the band's name. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Tracii and Phil continued to operate under the L.A. GUNS trademark, while Riley and his bandmates from the other version of L.A. GUNS carried on under the new name RILEY'S L.A. GUNS.

In November 2021, Riley told Waste Some Time With Jason Green that Tracii and Phil "do not like each other. I don't care what anybody says; I know what I know. I was the only one constant factor in L.A. GUNS through all the changes. I know how they talked about each other. I know how they got along when they were together, and they do not like each other."

Steve went on to say that he knew from the get-go that Phil "was making a bad call" be reuniting with Tracii. He added: "To call that an L.A. GUNS reunion with just the two of them… First of all, it's not a reunion. And then second of all, to do it with him and know their past relationship, know how they tore each other up in interviews and in the press and just said the worst things about each other, I just couldn't understand it; it wasn't registering to me. Why would you wanna do this when you could, at this age, at this point in your career, don't you wanna be comfortable and do it around people that you really dig? So it wasn't really registering why he would wanna do it. I guess they saw big dollar signs, and that didn't happen.

"The thing is you've gotta build a machine," he continued. "I know that the machine that they have around them right now is not good. I know that they have some people working for them that probably don't know how to direct them, how to get the most out of what they have. So the thing is gonna stall, and it has stalled."

Photo courtesy of Frontiers Music Srl

In a new interview with Full Metal Jackie's syndicated radio show, MESHUGGAH drummer Tomas Haake was asked what it's like to have so many other musicians, including MAMMOTH WVH's Wolfgang Van Halen and NICKELBACK's Mike Kroeger, publicly show their appreciation for his band's music. He responded: "That's something we are deeply grateful for, and it's humbling. The last time we played in L.A., [METALLICA's] Robert Trujillo was there. He's always loved us as a band as well and he's always given us accolades. So I hung out with him a little bit after the show. That's always really cool. I know Mike Kroeger and the drummer of NICKELBACK [Daniel Adair] are our fans. The last time I saw NICKELBACK here in Stockholm, the drummer was wearing a 'Destroy Erase Improve' t-shirt for the show. So we're grateful for anything like that, and we do appreciate it, and it's something that you never get like jaded about. It's always like — you really feel it. That's awesome."

He continued: "And Wolfgang for sure. I've probably only seen a few things where he has mentioned us, but, but I do recognize that they played MESHUGGAH on his wedding. So that's kind of… [Laughs] I don't know. Maybe that's a little much, but you've gotta love it, right?"

This past July, Wolfgang told Primordial Radio about his love for MESHUGGAH: "I could fall asleep listening to MESHUGGAH; it relaxes me so much.

"If you're familiar with MESHUGGAH, you probably know the song 'Bleed'.

"MESHUGGAH is just one of my favorite bands," he continued. "They are unbelievably heavy — there's nothing heavier than them — but you get lulled into their rhythm. As a drummer first, I just am in love with rhythmic music, and there's nothing more rhythmic than MESHUGGAH.

"After hearing ['Bleed'], you probably couldn't fall asleep to that, but, man, I could, 'cause I love it," he added.

In November 2022, Wolfgang told TellUs Rock that he listens to MESHUGGAH when he is not writing, recording and performing. "I love MESHUGGAH," he said. "I tend to listen to, at least recently, more heavier music. Like all the new stuff that's come out. ANIMALS AS LEADERS had a new album come out this year, and so did MESHUGGAH. But MESHUGGAH is one of my favorite bands. [They're] nothing like MAMMOTH."

When the interviewer asked what kind of stuff he draws musical inspiration from for MAMMOTH WVH, Wolfgang said: "On the next album, there actually is some MESHUGGAH-inspired songs — just through the lens of MAMMOTH, though. So it's not as super heavy."

Back in 2021, Wolfgang told RockSverige that he was fans of bands like GOJIRA and MASTODON. He said: "Oh, yeah. I love GOJIRA. And I'm crazy about MESHUGGAH. PERIPHERY, I'm friends with those guys and they're a phenomenal band."

Wolfgang, who played all instruments on the first two albums from his MAMMOTH WVH project, was also asked if he can work out the MESHUGGAH song "Bleed" on drums. "Oh, yeah. I can play it," he said. "As a drummer, MESHUGGAH is just like my favorite because it's like a math problem, as a song. As a drummer, it's really fun to figure out the polyrhythmic stuff going on in each song. It's a treat, and I love it."

Wolfgang attended MESHUGGAH's October 2022 concert at the Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood, California. The following day, he tweeted out a short video of the performance, and he captioned it simply: "MESHUGGAH is therapy".

Mike Kroeger spoke about his love for MESHUGGAH in a December 2022 interview with Italy's 106.6 Radio Rock radio station. He said: "I saw MESHUGGAH play at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City [in September 2022]. Before we came to Rome to do press for NICKELBACK's new album, 'Get Rollin''], we had a week vacation in New York. And I was really upset that I was gonna miss MESHUGGAH when they came to Los Angeles, but luckily I found out while we were in New York, they were playing in New York. So through some friends I got into the show. I know Tomas [Haake], the [MESHUGGAH] drummer. I don't bother Tomas on show days; it's too much. Especially in Los Angeles, backstage is, like, three hundred people. New York's probably just as bad. And I just said, 'Tomas, do a great show. I'll see you in another…' When we go to Stockholm is when we hang out, because he has time then. But they absolutely ripped the roof off the Hammerstein Ballroom. I was in the balcony in the seats, and every head was… Everybody was moving in the seats. On the floor, they were, like, killing each other."

MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee spoke to Desert Sun about the three new songs he and his bandmates recorded earlier this year with legendary producer Bob Rock, including "Dogs Of War" and a cover of BEASTIE BOYS' "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)". He said: "Wait until you hear it. It's insane. It's not a full album, but that might be down the road a bit. We're always writing and doing stuff, so that's always a possibility down the road. But we just went to the studio not too long ago and recorded three insane tracks and one of them is called 'Dogs Of War'. We're just finishing up the video for it. For those jonesing for some new CRÜE, people are going to bug out. [New MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist] John 5 is playing on it, the guitar work is incredible and it sounds sick."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo credit: Ross Halfin (courtesy of Live Nation)

RUSSELL / GUNS has released the lyric video for "Tell Me Why", the second single from the band's upcoming studio album, "Medusa", due out on January 12, 2024 via Frontiers Music Srl.

RUSSELL / GUNS marks the beginning of a fresh artistic partnership between two legendary figures of Los Angeles hard rock: Jack Russell and Tracii Guns, accompanied by Johnny Martin, Shane Fitzgibbon and Alexandro Del Vecchio.

Commenting on the partnership, Guns said: "Jack is one of the greatest rock voices of our generation. It's a total honor to play guitar on this record."

For Russell, this project represents a long-awaited return to recording and new music, coming seven years after the release of "He Saw It Comin'" with JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE. Instead of dwelling on the past and attempting to recreate the storied origins of the multi-platinum hard rock entity, Jack is excited to be moving forward and collaborating with none other than Guns, an artist experiencing a creative resurgence of his own.

On "Medusa", Jack and Tracii have discovered a common thread in a collection of songs that draw from the bluesy power and heavy energy of their most celebrated material and roots, yet infused with a fresh, energetic drive and modern metallic production.

About the album, Jack had this to say: "It was so great making a record with Tracii! Initially, I had my reservations about making this record, but in the end it kicks ass. I'll play with Tracii anytime!"

"Medusa" is an album that showcases inspired artistic integrity and commitment to rock'n'roll from two extraordinary rock stars of the '80s and '90s.

"Medusa" track listing:

01. Next In Line
02. Tell Me Why
03. Coming Down
04. Where I Belong
05. For You
06. Give Me The Night
07. Living A Lie
08. In And Out Of Love
09. Medusa
10. Back Into Your Arms Again
11. I Want You

In 1984, Russell burst on to the scene as the frontman for GREAT WHITE, a prominent presence in the Los Angeles music scene. The band's self-titled debut, along with platinum-selling albums like 1987's "Once Bitten..." and 1989's "...Twice Shy", sold over eight million copies worldwide. Their rock legacy continued into the 21st century, and in 2011, Russell went on to form JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE.

Guns is a legend in his own right. He founded L.A. GUNS in 1983, which later merged with another group called HOLLYWOOD ROSE, laying the foundation for one of the true giants of rock: GUNS N' ROSES. After departing the band and reuniting with former GIRL lead vocalist Phil Lewis to reform L.A. GUNS, he signed with Vertigo Records and released 14 studio albums with the band. He also ventured into various side projects, including CONTRABAND (with Michael Schenker and others),SUNBOMB (with Michael Sweet of STRYPER),and more recently BLACKBIRD ANGELS with Todd Kerns (of SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS).

The seventh annual Metal Hall Of Fame gala will take place on January 24, 2024 at the Marriott Delta hotel in Garden Grove, California and will be hosted by SiriusXM's Eddie Trunk and entertainment personality Cathy Rankin. The event will include a special 40th-anniversary induction for Trunk, with surprise guests, live music performances and an all-star jam.

2024 Metal Hall Of Fame inductees:

* Eddie Trunk (special 40th anniversary induction)
* Mick Mars (MÖTLEY CRÜE) (special video induction)
* Sebastian Bach (inducted by Wendy Dio)
* Tim "Ripper" Owens (KK'S PRIEST, JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH)
* Carlos Cavazo (QUIET RIOT)
* Penelope Spheeris (producer/director: "Decline Of Western Civilization", "Wayne's World")
* Mikeal Maglieri (Whisky A Go Go, Rainbow Bar & Grill)
* Cleopatra Records
* BIOHAZARD

"The 2024 annual Metal Hall Of Fame gala is going to be another exciting night, with some legendary artists performing and sharing some great stories," says Metal Hall Of Fame president Pat Gesualdo.

The Metal Hall Of Fame is a non-profit organization dedicated to forever enshrining the iconic musicians and music industry executives responsible for making hard rock and heavy metal music what it is today. Their contribution to the genre is invaluable, and they continue to inspire fans throughout the world, from generation to generation.

The annual Metal Hall Of Fame celebrity gala is held every January, with additional events being featured on a global basis.

100% of proceeds from Metal Hall Of Fame events go to preserving hard rock and heavy metal music for future generations, and also bring free music programs to help special needs children and wounded veterans in health facilities and community centers.

To purchase tickets, click here.

In a new interview with Metal Hammer magazine, AVENGED SEVENFOLD guitarist Synyster Gates discussed the experimental nature of the band's latest album, "Life Is But A Dream…" Written and recorded over the span of four years, it was produced by Joe Barresi and AVENGED SEVENFOLD in Los Angeles and mixed by Andy Wallace in the Poconos, Pennsylvania. The album is a journey through an existential crisis; a very personal exploration into the meaning, purpose and value of human existence with the anxiety of death always looming.

Regarding the fan response to "Life Is But A Dream…", Gates said: "I think with an album like this, time is on its side. I've been using this analogy: both of my parents' favorite band is THE BEATLES. My mom hates everything post-'Sgt. Pepper's', my dad couldn't care less about the early stuff. They both still respect the fuck out of it, but it's not for them. So, for my mom, 'Sgt. Pepper's' was the death of THE BEATLES, and I think for a lot of people, this is the death of AVENGED SEVENFOLD. But for a lot of other people, it's a birth. The birth of a different band."

Asked whether he's read any of the more comments about the album online, Synyster said: "Funnily enough, I thought it could go either way. We've actually had really amazing support from the press, so I don't want to make people think that we feel like we aren't supported by the press at all. I actually feel it's good that it just hasn't been ignored. Even the bad reviews, people have talked about it. People are still interested in us, so that's all I could ask for, really. The negative comments, I feel they're the minority. I think people have been really thoughtful in considering this album."

AVENGED SEVENFOLD singer M. Shadows discussed the reactions to "Life Is But A Dream…" this past June during an appearance on the "Let There Be Talk" podcast with with rock and roll comedian Dean Delray.

"With our new record right now, all you see are 10-out-of-10 reviews and zero-out-of-10 reviews," M. Shadows said. "But it's the best way to be because the people that hate it absolutely hate it. It's one of those things where, in 2023, having a zero out of 10 is actually better than anything you could ask for, because people are talking, and it's a weird society we live in at this point."

"All artists can do is be a reflection of themselves at any point in time," he continued. "There's nothing worse than when people are trying to put you in a box and want you to write the same music you wrote when you were in high school or 20 years old. Those were reflections of who we were back then; we were aggressive, young kids that were just kind of all over the place making a certain type of music. And every record kind of changed. But this one in particular — much more musical in terms of not having to have one foot fully in metal. It's got so many different eclectic influences that we've had our whole life that we never really were able to kind of quantify. Like if you think about THE RESIDENTS or MR. BUNGLE, all these different things that we were growing up listening to. And I think is just where we're at right now. It's a different type of record. The philosophy, all of it, is different, and so it's not gonna appeal to people that want the same thing or more of the same or they're there in their life right now. It doesn't mean they're not gonna get here. Maybe they're just not here right now. Maybe it's our job to put our arm around them and say, 'Hey, we're up the street at this bar. And let's hang out here. This is what we're doing now.'

"There are so many psychological things that go into if people like records or not or if they don't or what they're listening to at the time. And it's not really our job to figure that out; it's just our job to put something out that we totally back and we appreciate. And we'll see where it goes. It's hard to really talk about it, 'cause there's really no right or wrong answer. It's okay to hate this record."

The 42-year-old Shadows, whose real name is Matt Sanders, went on to cite a few other examples where certain records represented a departure from the sound and direction that fans expected their favorite artists to go.

"There's a few records I think of, for my era and my age, when they came out. One is 'Pinkerton' by WEEZER," he said. "They blew up with the 'Blue' album, and then they put out 'Pinkerton', which is why one of my favorite records of all time — it's dirty, it's lyrically uncomfortable, it's all these things. That's one. And then 'Disco Volante' is one from MR. BUNGLE. MR. BUNGLE was already weird with the self-titled [album], but 'Disco Volante' was just, like… Mike Patton is not even singing; he's just making noises the whole time. It's like them messing around with keyboards. It blows my mind. 'Yeezus' is one for me with Kanye [West]. He put out pretty much a heavy metal record. Everyone in hip-hop hated it, and now it's one of his essential records. But there's always those things that kind of stand outside the box and outside the norm and they ruffle feathers and people have knee-jerk reactions. And I think this is definitely one of those. But you've gotta make sure that it's backed up with musicality. It's gotta be backed up with some depth. It can't just be weird for weird's sake. And I think that's a lot of people's go-to on this: 'I hate it because they're just trying to be weird.' It's, like, no, actually, we're not. 'They're trying to be prog.' It's, like, prog is the last thing on our minds. We don't care about that. All we care about it writing shit that feels cool.

"People overthink it and they try to even put these things in boxes," Shadows added. "And I think prog has even become its own box, which sucks, 'cause prog should be so many different directions. Why does prog have rules? The world is funny. People like to put things in a box so they can kind of discuss it better, I guess. But this record is kind of boxless, I guess."

M. Shadows previously discussed AVENGED SEVENFOLD's songwriting approach on "Life Is But A Dream…" earlier in June in an interview with Lou Brutus of HardDrive Radio. At the time, he said: "We were just looking for really bold moments — in life, in art, in film. Things that we could sort of wrap our minds around an audio representation of how we were feeling about certain things.

"At this point, playing around with melody, playing around with tones, playing around with left turns, curveballs was really appealing to us.

"I think we've proven to everyone, whether they like the band or not, that we kind of know the rules of music, and this record, we were able to just go break all the rules," he continued.

"Mike Shinoda [of LINKIN PARK] put it to me really perfectly — I love his insight on a lot of things — and he said, 'This record is like you guys throwing paint at the wall, but if a fourth-grader was doing it, you'd say that's just paint on the wall. But because of everything you've done before, we all know you know how to make a beautiful painting, so this record is actually really special because it's not just paint on the wall. You guys have broken all the rules and done things in an abstract way. But we wanna listen and pay attention because we know what you guys have done before.' And I thought it was an interesting way of putting it, 'cause those [LINKIN PARK] guys — Dave ['Phoenix' Farrell] and Mike — have been big fans of this record. And I think that was a cool way of putting it."

M. Shadows added: "We kind of just really wanted to push the boundaries — the musical boundaries, the lyrical boundaries, the themes — and we didn't want anything on the record to sound generic or phoned in or not exciting. We wanted to redo everything we've ever done, where even the song lengths and the way we kind of put these little pieces of ear candy, but we get away from it quick. Or staying away from three choruses, or if there is three choruses, they're all vastly different. And really thinking about turning the traditional landscape of how you would normally put a song together on its head, but do it in an interesting way — not just to do it, but just to do it in a way that we think people will enjoy and give them sort of a reason to get to the end of songs or get to the next song on the record. And I think that was just a mindset this time, was just a little different — really looking at those things."

"Life Is But A Dream…" sold 36,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 13 on the Billboard 200 chart. AVENGED SEVENFOLD's previous LP, "The Stage", debuted at No. 4 on The Billboard 200 album chart in November 2016. The surprise release of "The Stage" earned the lowest sales of an AVENGED SEVENFOLD album in eleven years. It sold 76,000 copies in its first week, less than half the tally of its previous two efforts.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD made its first festival appearance in five years on May 19 at Welcome To Rockville at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The band's setlist included three songs from "Life Is But A Dream…": "Game Over", "We Love You" and "Nobody".

AVENGED SEVENFOLD's first concert since June 2018 took place on May 12 at AREA15 in Las Vegas, Nevada.