Black Heart Saints, consisting of Josh LeBlanc (vocals), Mark Sean (guitar), Nathan Flores (drums), and Ian C.G. (bass), has proudly announced the debut of their latest single, "Two Drinks In", via Cleopatra Records. To complement this high-octane release, the band has dropped an exhilarating music video, skillfully directed by the visionary talents of Static Heart Productions.





Black Heart Saints exploded onto the scene with a distinct groove steeped in classic rock and a modern intensity, and a bravado that is clearly backed by talent. With endorsements by some of the most respected rock personalities and critics such as Eddie Trunk, Lou Brutus, and Jose Mangin from SiriusXM Octane, Black Heart Saints stands atop the "new wave of classic rock" pantheon and is destined for a bright future. In recent years, the studio singles “Reach The End”, “Lines”, and “Misery” topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Radio Charts, paving the way for appearances at SXSW Festival, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and serving as the support act for national artists such as Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, Ace Frehley, Sevendust, Steel Panther, Pop Evil, Buckcherry, Dirty Honey, and more.







For further details, visit the official Black Heart Saints website.

King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his wife, Toyah Willcox, served up their take on the Smashing Pumpkins' "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" in February 2022 as part of their weekly Sunday Lunch. They have shared the video below along with the following message:


"It's a Sunday trip to the archives with a revisit of the classic Sunday Lunch paying homage and respect to Smashing Pumpkins' 'Bullet With Butterfly Wings'. No butterfly nets for this one!" 







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. A selection of other recent Sunday Lunch clips are as follows:


Kaiser Chiefs - "I Predict A Riot":





David Bowie - "Heroes":





The Black Keys - "Lonely Boy":





XYZ - "Nice Day To Die":

The progressive rock group RUSH, formed decades ago in the Toronto suburbs by guitarist Alex Lifeson, bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee and drummer Neil Peart, became Canada's most legendary rock band ever, with more than 40 million albums sold. Lifeson and Lee — author of a new memoir, "My Effin' Life" — recently talked with "CBS News Sunday Morning" correspondent Jim Axelrod about their particular blend of musicianship, stagecraft and goofiness; how tragedy upended the band with the death of Peart; and what might constitute RUSH's next chapter. Watch the segment below.

Regarding what "the next chapter" might look like for him and Lee without Peart, Lifeson said: "Yeah, it's difficult to figure out what that chapter is without him."

Asked if he and Alex have ever talked about, "Let's go get one of the great drummers and tour again", Geddy said: "Have we talked about it? Yeah." Pressed about whether it will happen, Lee said: "It's not impossible, but at this point, I can't guarantee it."

Alex, meanwhile, struck a more hopeful note, saying: "It's just not in our DNA to stop."

Added Geddy: "Do what you believe, because if you do what someone else believes, and you fail, you've got nothing. If you do what you believe, and you fail, you still have hope."

Last month, Geddy was asked by the Los Angeles Times if there could ever be another RUSH show. Geddy said: "There could be a show that paid tribute to the songs of RUSH. I would never say there will never be another RUSH show. We get approached all the time."

Pressed about whether drummers ever say, "If you continue without Neil, I'm available", Geddy said: "Again, all the time. At the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert [in September 2022], Alex and I played with Dave Grohl and a bunch of other drummers. Neil would have loved it. I know he was looking down at us — or looking up at us [laughs] — and thinking, 'Fuck, that would have been fun.'"

Lee previously discussed the possibility of making new music in a separate interview with Long Island Weekly. During that chat, he said: "I recently discovered a couple of songs that had been left off my solo album [2000's 'My Favourite Headache'). Listening to them was really quite fun and I decided that I wanted to see about fixing those up and just breathing some fresh air into them. And that experience reminded me of how much fun I have in the studio. So of course, my lifelong buddy and bandmate Alex and I would like to get back into the studio together and see what might happen. I have ideas that I'd like to flesh out on my own too. Once I finish all this crazy crap that I agreed to do — the book tour and the TV show and find some space for myself — I'd certainly like to start playing something. But I can't tell you right now because I'm just book touring it until I drop. And then I'll see where I land after I have a nice holiday with my wife and we'll go from there. I don't like to plan too far ahead anymore. I was scheduled up the wazoo with my partners in RUSH for over 45 years. Now, I have to prioritize other things."

To date, Lee has only released one solo album, the aforementioned "My Favourite Headache". The disc was recorded during a time when RUSH's future was uncertain. The band was in the midst of what would be a five-year break from the road following the tragic deaths of drummer Neil Peart's daughter and wife in 1997 and 1998, respectively.

In a recent interview with The Washington Post, Lee spoke about reuniting with Lifeson for last year's star-studded tribute concerts — one in London, one in Los Angeles — to pay tribute to late FOO FIGHTERS drummer Taylor Hawkins. They enlisted a few drummers — TOOL's Danny Carey, Omar Hakim, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS' Chad Smith and Dave Grohl — to join them at the gigs. At the after-party, Paul McCartney congratulated them and urged them to get back on the road.

"It had been a taboo subject, and playing those songs again with a third person was the elephant in the room, and that kind of disappeared," Lee told The Washington Post. "It was nice to know that if we decide to go out, Alex and I, whether we went out as part of a new thing, or whether we just wanted to go out and play RUSH as RUSH, we could do that now."

Geddy also revealed that in October 2022, for the first time in years, Lee and Lifeson went down into Lee's home studio and jammed.

Although Lifeson was "excited as offers rolled in after the Hawkins shows," he ended up undergoing surgery in July for his long-standing stomach problems.

Asked if he plans on nudging his pal to get back onstage, Lee told The Washington Post: "He needs to feel good and feel healthy and strong. And then maybe we have a discussion."

A year and a half ago, Lifeson told Guitar World in an interview that he hadn't ruled out making new music with Lee. "We're not putting any pressure on it or anything," he said. "We had a lot of good years together and we still love each other very much. I talk to Geddy every other day — we're best friends. There's more to our life together than just writing music. So if it happens, it happens. And it'll happen when it happens."

Peart died in January 2020 after a three-year battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He was 67 years old.

RUSH waited three days to announce Peart's passing, setting off shockwaves and an outpouring of grief from fans and musicians all over the world.

"My Effin' Life" was released on November 14 by HarperCollins. The book, which was edited Noah Eaker, is 512 pages and is available as a hardcover or as an e-book.

"CBS News Sunday Morning" features stories on the arts, music, nature, entertainment, sports, history, science and Americana, and highlights unique human accomplishments and achievements. Check local listings for "CBS News Sunday Morning" broadcast times.

Black Star Riders frontman Ricky Warwick kicked off 2023 with a cryptic post about his former band, The Almighty, making a return. See for yourself....





Due to unprecedented interest in recent times, the original lineup of The Almighty are 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.







Fan-filmed video from the Glasgow show can be viewed below. The setlist was as follows:


"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"














Photo by Kevin Nixon

After the success of their first-ever live show last October and the response to their debut song “Unwanted,” Los Angeles quartet The Effect are back with another song and music video. “Something Wrong” further expands upon the sound that the band - Trev Lukather (son of Toto’s Steve Lukather) on guitars, Nic Collins (son of Phil Collins) on drums, Steve Maggiora (Toto) on keyboards and newcomer Emmett Stang on vocals – established when they exploded on to the music scene just a short two months ago. 


The song opens with a fun guitar effect by Trev before Nic’s drums and Steve’s keyboards join in to create an unforgettable musical intro. Emmett’s infectious vocal melody flows over the music as he asks in the chorus: “I want to know is there something wrong with me?” The track was produced by Trev Lukather and the music video marks the return of director Madison Leigh Lukather - who also directed the debut video.







“’Something Wrong’ holds a weight of importance to me because it lyrically creates an opportunity for discussion into mental and emotional health that I believe is super relevant for the world right now. I think people forget sometimes how tumultuous life can be with its rollercoaster ride of emotional highs and lows. What I love about this song is it opens a dialogue into the question of why things may not be working the way they should and if it is possible that fault lies within us,” explains Steve Maggiora. 


"It's about looking for answers in a dwindling relationship but finding none. 'Am I the problem?' It's the search for resolution, to the extreme of offering yourself as blame," adds Emmett Stang.


“Our plan with ‘Something Wrong’ was to take the listener on an emotional journey. This is a perfect example of The Effect as a gelled core 4 unit with a musically tight arrangement and an anthemic chorus that will stick in your mind like the emotions behind the song,” continues Trev Lukather.


“During the making of the album, ‘Something Wrong’ came at a time where we were in full flow. After already having a couple songs under our belt, we really set into our groove as a band on this song. It’s an ear worm and the perfect follow up to ‘Unwanted!’” exclaims Nic Collins.


The Effect has been making waves with the “Unwanted” music video since it premiered on AXS TV’s flagship music program on Thursday nights – The Power Hour. Reaching as high as #2 on the video countdown show hosted by Matt Pinfield, Caity Babs and Josh Bernstein, the “Unwanted” video has been gathering attention on the fan-voted video countdown. This week the video finds itself at #3 behind The Beatles and Tim Montana. The Power Hour and airs on of Thursday nights – AXS TV’s fan favorite night of programming at 11PM (check local listings).


More information on 2024 tour dates for The Effect as well as their debut album will be available in the future.



(Photo - Madison Leigh Lukather)

For over 30 years, J.B.O. are specialists for vociferous escapism at the highest stage. Gold albums, frenetically acclaimed live appearances and top ten chart positions pave their way. Their latest album, Planet Pink (released in 2022 on AFM Records), made no exception. J.B.O. guarantees fun, hands down, wherever J.B.O. appears, it turns into a huge party.





But as vocalist & guitarist, Hannes, now comments: “There are things, that even we at J.B.O. do not find amusing. With what is currently happening in the world, we want to play something serious because we don't want to ignore all of the suffering without saying a word. Since this song is live frenetically acclaimed by our fans, we are now releasing it just like that: raw and live and without any connection to an album release, recorded at Wacken Open Air 2023. Keep on rocking in the Free World!”




Watch J.B.O. performing their cover version of Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World", live at WOA 2023, below:





J.B.O. is:


Vito C. (Vocals/Guitar)
Hannes "G.Laber" Holzmann (Vocals/Guitar)
Ralph Bach (Bass)
Wolfram Kellner (Drums)

Frontiers Music Srl today release the reissues of three classic albums from Fate. If Not For The Devil, Ghosts From The Past, and V are all available digitally.


Watch a lyric video for "Feel Like Making Love", from the remastered album, If Not For The Devil:







Following the release of their album Scratch'n Sniff in 1990, Danish band Fate did several tours, both their own and with fellow countrymen, Pretty Maids. When guitarist Mattias Eklundh parted ways to focus on a solo career, he was replaced by local talent Soren Hoff, with whom the band recorded a couple of demos and did some gigs. This was 1993 and was the last we heard from Fate for quite awhile.


The years went by, but Scandinavian rock fans did not forget about them. Eleven years after their demise, the guys got an offer to play at the Deep Impact Festival in Munich, Germany and they took that chance to make a comeback!


Per Johansson (v), Peter Steincke (b), Soren Hoff (g) and temporary drummer Rasmus Duedahl made the trip to Munich and were met with great approval. Following this gig, the german indie label MTM Music rereleased two of Fate's albums: the classic A Matter Of Attitude in July 2004, followed by the above-mentioned Scratch'n Sniff in March of the next year.


Overwhelmed by the unexpected response to the reissues, Fate decided to give it another shot and welcomed Mikael Kvist (from Swedish prog metal band Elsesphere) as their new drummer. V was recorded and produced (by Tommy Hansen, who also did Scratch'n Sniff) and was greeted as the perfect follow-up for the band's fourth album, despite the gap of 16 years. All eleven songs are catchy tunes, characterized by strong hooks and the incredible voice of Per Johansson (also previously known as Per Henriksen), so reminiscent of Jorn Lande.


V was followed by Ghosts From The Past (2011) and If Not For The Devil (2013) solidifying the return of one of Copenhagen’s favorite heavy metal sons.


The reissues come with a total of four unreleased bonus tracks.


Order If Not For The Devil here.





Tracklisting:


"Reaping"
"If Not For The Devil"
"Bridges Are Burning"
"Feel Like Making Love"
"Gambler"
"Hard To Say Goodbye"
"Made Of Stone"
"Man Against The Wall"
"My World"
"Turn Back Time"
"Taught To Kill"
"Gimme All Your Love"
"Chasing The Dragon" (Bonus track)


Album lineup:


Peter Steincke - Bass
Jens Berglid - Drums
Mikkel Henderson - Keyboards
Torben Enevoldsen - Guitars, Vocals (backing)
Dagfinn Joensen - Vocals


Order Ghosts From The Past here.





Tracklisting:


"Children Of The Night"
"Miracle"
"Seeds Of Terror"
"Fear Of The Stranger"
"At The End Of The Day"
"All That I Want"
"Follow Your Heart"
"Daddy's Girl"
"Moving On"
"Murder"
"The Last Time"
"I Believe In Rock'n'Roll"
"The Other Side"
"All I Wanna Do" (Bonus Track)


"Children Of The Night" lyric video:





Album lineup:


Peter Steincke - Bass, Vocals (backing - track 12)
Jens Berglid - Drums, Vocals (backing - track 12)
Mikkel Henderson - Keyboards, Vocals (backing - track 12)
Torben Enevoldsen - Guitars, Vocals (backing - track 12)
Dagfinn Joensen - Vocals, Vocals (backing - track 12)


Order V here.





Tracklisting:


"Butterfly"
"Heaven's Crying Too"
"Everything About You"
"Ecstasy"
"Nobody Loves You The Way I Do"
"Burned Child"
"I'll Get By"
"Life"
"Fate"
"Memories Won't Die"
"Toxic"
"Sweet Angel" (bonus track)
"Bleed" (bonus track)


Album lineup:


Per Johansson - Vocals
Soren Hoff - Guitars
Pete Steiner - Bass, Keyboards
Micke Kvist - Drums


“Butterfly” lyric video:





(Photo - john-son)

Billy Idol Rewind: A Twitch Livestream Event was held back in July, and today, Idol shares the video for "Come On, Come On" from the session. Watch below:





Check out "Eyes Without A Face" from the livestream:







MVD Entertainment has announced the release of Billy Idol - State Line: Live At The Hoover Dam, out on Blu-ray and DVD on December 15.  


Kicking off his sell-out 2023 North American spring and summer tour, Billy Idol’s once in a lifetime performance, which illuminated the surrounding Black Canyon of the Colorado River and the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, features a career-spanning run of chart-topping hits, including “Dancing With Myself,” “Eyes Without A Face,” “Rebel Yell” and “White Wedding”.  





Billy Idol – State Line: Live At The Hoover Dam highlights the history and significance of Hoover Dam and includes performances from two unique sets of Billy Idol’s iconic hits: a full band concert at sunset with special guests that electrified and illuminated the surrounding Black Canyon, and an acoustic duo set (with guitarist/collaborator of over 40 years, Steve Stevens) on the roof of the powerhouse at the foot of Hoover Dam straddling the Colorado River, directly on the Nevada/Arizona state line.


One of the most recognizable faces and voices of rock 'n' roll, with over 40 million albums sold and numerous platinum albums worldwide, the hell-raising rock star is joined on stage by his longtime band and special guest stars, including The Kills' Alison Mosshart, former Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, and No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal.


The Blu-ray and DVD are loaded with bonus features, including an exclusive Q&A: Steve Stevens, Acoustic Dam performance: “To Be A Lover,” “Eyes Without A Face,” and “Rebel Yell,” and a 6-panel concert booklet.


Pre-order the Blu-ray here, and the DVD here.

KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer has reflected on the band's final performance, which took place last night (Saturday, December 2) at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Speaking to Allison Hagendorf in a short post-show interview for PPV.com, he said: "I thought it was a fantastic night. I felt really good about it. This is a celebration. But most importantly, this is Gene [Simmons, KISS bassist/vocalist] and Paul's [Stanley, KISS guitarist/vocalist] night. This has been their baby for 50 years, and I think everybody was really feeling that. I mean, it's KISS and everything too, of course, but this is about Gene and Paul tonight. This is their encore and their night."

Thayer went on to say that he got "emotional" at the end of the night. "I saw a lot of people out there with tears in their eyes," he said. "Gosh, Sebastian Bach [former SKID ROW singer], I saw him about ten rows out [in the audience]. He was bawling his eyes out. But it's an emotional night. I mean, KISS has been such a big part of everybody's lives for almost 50 years now. It is very emotional, very meaningful."

KISS's final concert at Madison Square Garden lasted two hours and 15 minutes and saw the legendary rockers perform to 20,000 fans at the second show of a two-night stand. After the set-closing "Rock And Roll All Nite", a message was displayed on the video screens, "A new KISS era starts now", and digital avatars of the four members of KISS appeared, playing the band's anthem "God Gave Rock And Roll To You". The announcement signaled that from here on out, KISS will perform as digital avatars.

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

A short video was released last night showing the members of KISS hooked up to the motion capture technology that helped generate their avatars.

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

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

On December 8, Pink Floyd’s Atom Heart Mother will be released as a special 2-disc package in a 7-inch gatefold sleeve, containing the Atom Heart Mother album on CD and a Blu-ray disc featuring footage of “Atom Heart Mother” (Suite) performed at Hakone Aphrodite Festival, Japan in August 1971 - originally released as part of The Early Years box set. The film has been upgraded from a recently discovered original tape of the time. It also includes a behind the scenes mini documentary.


Pre-order here, and watch an 3-minute segment of  "Atom Heart Mother" from Hakone Aphrodite 1971, below:







Originally only released in Japan in 2021, the set contains some unique memorabilia – a special photo book containing many rare, never-seen-before photos, reproductions of the pamphlet, the poster, the concert ticket, and the flier distributed at the event.


The only Pink Floyd footage at Hakone Aphrodite that exists is that of the 16-minute-long suite “Atom Heart Mother.” The details including whereabouts of the master film and how it was shot had been a mystery for a long time. However, after fifty years, the original 16mm film of this video was discovered in a fan’s garage. The meticulous processes of digitizing, restoring and remastering was undertaken and finally this enhanced video will be released outside of Japan.


Over 50 years ago, Japan’s first international outdoor rock festival Hakone Aphrodite was held at a specially built venue beside Hakone Ashinoko Lake on August 6th and 7th, 1971. Pink Floyd’s first ever concert in Japan was as headliner for the festival. Aspiring to be the Japanese Woodstock, The “Hakone Aphrodite” invited many international artists and became the first rock festival experience for many Japanese fans.


The set contains not only the original live footage (with audio taken from the gig at Hakone Aphrodite), but also behind-the-scenes footage of the band, travelling between the airport, the hotel, the press conference, the bullet train, the show set-up, and, of course, beautiful Japanese scenery.


At the time of the historic concert, Pink Floyd had just released Atom Heart Mother (in October 1970), and were yet to release Meddle, (released in November 1971). Pink Floyd appeared as the final act of the festival, and alongside "Atom Heart Mother", they performed another five songs including “Careful With That Axe, Eugene”, “A Saucerful Of Secrets” and “Echoes” from then-unreleased album Meddle. Sadly, official footage of these has not resurfaced. The band’s mystical and fantastic show, enhanced by nature’s unwitting stage effects of fog emerging from the lake when they played, was talked about for years to come. For the show, Pink Floyd used huge PA systems not yet commonly used in Japan back then, and it is widely believed that this show greatly influenced Japanese audio and stage production after that.





Tracklisting:


"Atom Heart Mother"
a) Father's Shout
b) Breast Milky
c) Mother Fore
d) Funky Dung
e) Mind Your Throats Please
f) Remergence
"If"
"Summer '68"
"Fat Old Sun"
"Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast"
a) Rise And Shine
b) Sunny Side Up
c) Morning Glory


The Blu-ray has two pieces of footage on it:


· "Atom Heart Mother" (Live: Hakone Aphrodite 1971) 16:08
· Scott & Watts (behind the scenes documentary clip) 3:11


Pink Floyd "Hakone Aphrodite" Japan 1971


7" paper sleeve containing:


- CD: "Atom Heart Mother" studio album
- Blu-ray: Filmed live performance of
- "Atom Heart Mother"
- Scott & Watts (Hakone Aphrodite B-roll)


Also includes:


- 60-page photo book with unreleased photos Replica of Hakone Aphrodite pamphlet
- Replica of venue map flyer
- Replica of Osaka show poster
- Replica of Hakone Aphrodite ticket


Unboxing video:





Preview video:

In a new interview with Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire", SKID ROW guitarist Scotti Hill was asked what he thought of METALLICA's performance at the Power Trip festival in Indio, California in early October. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I love METALLICA. I was excited to see them [at Power Trip]. I hadn't seen them in 20 years, probably — more than 20 years, maybe. But the first time I saw him was in 1983. A friend of mine called me up and says, 'There's a band called METALLICA from the Bay Area playing tonight. They're supposed to be really good. Let's go.' And we went to this club, underage, and there was 25 people there. There was nobody there. It was, like, an unknown band. And they started playing, and I was, like — I didn't even understand it. I was, like, 'What is this?' I had never heard anything like it. And to be honest with you, I didn't really like it, because I didn't understand it. It took me a while to pick up on what was happening because it was just something I never heard before. It was like seeing a color you've never seen before. It's, like, 'What is that? Do I like it or not?' So I had never heard anything that heavy before.

"But, yeah, Power Trip — they were great at Power Trip," Scotti continued. "I loved the set. The screens were great. Their interaction with the audience was great. They're our generation's LED ZEPPELIN."

Asked to pick a METALLICA song to play on "Wired In The Empire", Hill said: "Well, the first thing that always comes to mind would be, like, 'Sad But True'. I love 'For Whom The Bell Tolls'. Man, there's so many, but I'm gonna say 'For Whom The Bell Tolls' because that was probably the song that started lighting me up for them."

Last year, SKID ROW guitarist Dave "Snake" Sabo was asked by RadioactiveMike Z which of the METALLICA guitarists, James Hetfield or Kirk Hammett, had more of an influence on his playing. He responded: "Hetfield, without a doubt. And it's funny you should say that because I have a warm-up playlist that I go through before every show, and there's two METALLICA songs I put on there to work out my right hand. And the first one is 'That Was Just Your Life' off 'Death Magnetic', and the second one is 'Disposable Heroes' [off 'Master Of Puppets']. It's [James's] right hand. Because that was something I didn't really develop as I was developing as a guitar player; it was more about my left hand than my right hand. And then when I started hearing how just efficient and precise he was with his rhythms, I was, like, 'I've gotta develop that somehow.' And he's just the king of that — him and guys like Scott Ian [ANTHRAX], whom I think the world of, and Dave Mustaine [MEGADETH] as well, and Kerry King [SLAYER], without a doubt. They just have tremendous control over the synchronicity between their right and left hands, and their right hand in particular.

"[James's right hand is] insane. To me, he is one of the most underrated guitar players. 'Cause every guitar player will say that, but the general public doesn't have the full appreciation of how just unbelievably over-the-top talented he is as a rhythm guitar player… Kirk is amazing in his own right. James's right hand and the riffs that he writes utilizing that talent, it's pretty unbelievable."

SKID ROW's latest album, "The Gang's All Here", was released in October 2022 via earMUSIC. The band recorded most of the effort in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who has previously worked with FOO FIGHTERS, STONE SOUR, HALESTORM, EVANESCENCE, RUSH and ALICE IN CHAINS, among many others.

Swedish singer Erik Grönwall joined SKID ROW in January 2022 as the replacement for ZP Theart, who had been in the group for more than six years. Theart played his final gig with SKID ROW in February 2022 before being officially given the boot.

On the latest episode of the "Metal Mayhem ROC" podcast, METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett celebrates the 40th anniversary of the band's debut album, "Kill 'Em All", by going back in time for an in-depth look back at the rehearsals and the recording of the LP that took place in "Metal Mayhem ROC"'s hometown of Rochester, New York in 1983. Kirk gets reacquainted with some of the people who lived it with METALLICA, both personally and professionally. Showcased in this exclusive interview are over 40 never-before-seen candid photos from the studio and the surrounding Rochester area, Lakeshore Record Exchange, the Riverboat concert with RAVEN and so much more, all of which have been unearthed from personal collections and scrapbooks. In addition, "Metal Mayhem ROC" revisits METALLICA's gigs at the MetLife Stadium in New jersey this past August, Kirk reveals what his passion is for New Jersey outside of music (hint: sand and surf),and he opens up about his love for DEEP PURPLE and Tommy Bolin.

This past August, Hammett was asked by Sara of the Philadelphia radio station 93.3 WMMR about his "relationship" to the songs on the band's first two albums, "Kill 'Em All" and "Ride The Lightning", which are celebrating their fortieth anniversaries in 2023 and 2024, respectively. He responded: "Well, when I listen to those tracks, I'm just kind of blown away when I look back. We were all so young, but we had a very clear vision of what we wanted to do, what we wanted to sound like, how we wanted to execute things, the type of songs we wanted to write. I mean, for as young as we [were], we all had a collective vision and we knew exactly what we wanted, and what we wanted and what we were chasing was very unique. No one else was — well, very few other bands were chasing that same vision. You know, it was us, it was SLAYER, it was ANTHRAX, it was MEGADETH, it was EXODUS, it was OVERKILL, it was TESTAMENT. There's a lot of bands who were chasing that vision, and we all had kind of like the same vision. But what blows me away about it is we're all around the same age. I don't know if that happens these days. You find just a large group of people, a scene where everyone's just all into the same thing and is supporting each other. And then record companies start going, 'What's going on?' and start getting curious, and next thing you know, all of a sudden there's a record company in the room and it is signing everyone. And we were all, like, 22, 23 years old. The fact that we got so much done at such a young age just blows me away, because it seems like we had something on our sides — we had some sort of energy, or God was smiling down on us or the universe was pushing us. And thank God, because those two albums, 'Kill 'Em All' and 'Ride The Lightning', when they came out, there was nothing like it. And I'm really proud of that… I'm actually blown away when I look back at it. When we were making those albums and touring behind them, we just kind of took it for granted. It was just, like, 'All right, we did that. Let's go on to the next thing.' We never like sat down and really thought about the accomplishment that we made. And so, 40 years later, I'm able to do that and I'm able to go, 'Man, we really pulled something off and we were just kind of blasé about it,' you know?"

Originally issued on July 25, 1983 through the independent label Megaforce Records, "Kill 'Em All" was recorded in two weeks on a miniscule budget in upstate New York. Although only 1,500 copies were initially pressed, the album was reissued by Elektra Records after the band signed to that label in 1984 and has since been certified triple platinum for sales of more than three million copies.

The original title of "Kill 'Em All" was "Metal Up Your Ass".

The album's opening cut, "Hit The Lights", was the first song that frontman James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich wrote together after forming METALLICA. An early version of the track appeared on the 1982 compilation "Metal Massacre".

Lead guitarist Dave Mustaine was replaced by Kirk Hammett shortly before recording commenced, although Mustaine still has several writing credits on the disc and went on to form MEGADETH.

A number of songs from the album are still part of METALLICA's set list to this day, including "The Four Horsemen", "Seek and Destroy" and "No Remorse".

METALLICA has since gone on to become one of the biggest rock bands in the world, selling tens of millions of copies of its eight studio albums, including 16 million alone of 1991's self-titled "black album." The band's latest effort, "72 Seasons", arrived in April.

METALLICA's "M72" world tour, which launched in late April in Amsterdam, sees the band playing two nights in every city it visits — with each "No Repeat Weekend" featuring two completely different setlists and support lineups. The "M72" tour features a bold new in-the-round stage design that relocates the famed METALLICA Snake Pit to center stage, as well as the "I Disappear" full-tour pass and the debut of discounted tickets for fans under 16 years of age.

On Saturday, December 2, IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain performed a set of MAIDEN classics with TITANIUM TART at the 14th-anniversary celebration for Rock N Roll Ribs, the barbecue restaurant owned by McBrain and close friend Mitch Tanne, in Coral Springs, Florida. Also appearing at the event were METALUCIOUS, ANGELS OF WAR, CHILDREN OF THE GRAVE, SCHOOL OF ROCK and JETTER. There was also an appearance by special guest, ANTHRAX singer Joey Belladonna, who played a few JOURNEY classics with Nicko and TITANIUM TART. Photos and video can be found below.

A barbecue joint with a musical bent, Rock N Roll Ribs showcases its love for smokey Southern cooking with food like barbecued pork and chicken and clever takes on MAIDEN songs, like "Final Frontier" dog, "Moonchild Mahi" sandwich and "Aces High" fries.

"It's not just MAIDEN fans that come in," McBrain said about the restaurant in a 2010 interview. "We do get a lot of pilgrimages, people come in and look at all the stuff on the walls, but most people that come in always come out satisfied. And it's not major expensive. A rack of ribs is [$20], and you get a pound and a quarter to a pound and a half of ribs."

Asked if he has always been a BBQ fan, McBrain told Broward Palm Beach New Times back in 2013: "Yeah! You know, I'm a Brit, and we don't have a very long summer, so it's very few and far between people get out and do a barbie in the backyard. Touring around America, I always used to love buying a rack of baby backs and some cole slaw and French Fries, and that was my main BBQ experience, the baby backs. Then a friend of mine taught me how to make the ribs we make in the restaurant, and I started to make some sauce, and it was very successful and people liked it, and that's where Rock N Roll Ribs was born, really. It was a dream we had and it finally came into fruition. I've got to be honest, it's not a business that's making a lot of money for us, but we make a lot of people smile and a lot of people happy. I'm very happy, it's great! I love it when I meet people and they say things like, 'these are the ribs I've ever had,' or, 'Your pulled pork is to die for,' and it warms the cockles of me heart!"

Rock N Roll Ribs
4651 State Rd. 7 (US441)
Coral Springs, FL 33073
954-345-RIBZ (7429)

Joining Nicko in TITANIUM TART are Rob Stokes on bass, Eldad Kira on keyboards, Mike Rivera and Mitch Tanne on guitar, and Paolo Velazquez on vocals.

McBrain was born in Hackney, East London, on June 5, 1952. His first experience of music came via his father's love of traditional jazz. Young Nicko's hero was Joe Morello, the late, great drummer with the legendary THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET. Nicko would often take to the kitchen, using forks and knives to beat on anything he could find at home. Fed up with him bashing up the kitchen utensils, his parents finally bought him his first drum kit when he was 12.

By the time he left school at 15, he was already a veteran of several part-time pub groups. Musically, however, his tastes had broadened to include more contemporary sixties sounds from THE SHADOWS, THE ANIMALS, THE BEATLES and THE ROLLING STONES. On the recommendation of another drummer he knew, he began to take on session work, playing on countless different recordings.

In 1975, Nicko joined STREETWALKERS, the band formed by ex-FAMILY members, vocalist Roger Chapman and guitarist Charlie Whitney. From the late seventies until 1982 when he joined IRON MAIDEN, Nicko had spent his time in session work, most memorably with the PAT TRAVERS BAND on their 1976 "Makin' Magic" album, and also appeared in the band MCKITTY in the early 1980's. It was during a MCKITTY gig in Belgium that he first met IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris.

He officially joined IRON MAIDEN in December 1982 for the 1983 "Piece Of Mind" album and tour, replacing Clive Burr, after McBrain's previous band TRUST had supported IRON MAIDEN during the U.K. leg of the "Killers" tour in 1981.

With 14 studio and eight live albums currently under his belt with MAIDEN, Nicko's role as the driving force behind the band's sound has served as a major influence to many of today's top drummers and solidified his place in music history.

McBrain and his wife still live in the same Boca Raton, Florida home they bought in 1989 when Nicko relocated from England.

I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be joining Nicko McBrain of Iron Maiden at his Rock n Roll Ribs 14th Annual...

Posted by Joey Belladonna on Saturday, November 25, 2023

Nicko Mcbrain and Joey Belladonna
Rock n Roll Ribs 14 TASTED Years Anniversary party

Posted by Beau Fink on Saturday, December 2, 2023



Video from earlier today at the 14th Anniversary Party of Rock n Roll Ribs, Jason Cushing made a generous donation of $500.00 to St Jude's Research and gets to have dinner with my wife Krista and myself! #joeybelladonna #BeyondFrontiers #rockandrollribs #nickomcbrain #stjuderesearch

Posted by Joey Belladonna on Saturday, December 2, 2023

Earlier today at the 14th Anniversary Party of Rock n Roll Ribs, Jason Cushing made a generous donation of $500.00 to St...

Posted by Joey Belladonna on Saturday, December 2, 2023

Where else can you see Nicko Mcbrain, Joey Belladonna, Bobby Gustafson, Carmine Appice and Made of Metal under the same...

Posted by Dan Schulster on Sunday, December 3, 2023

Finishing off a great trip where i saw my Canadiens win in Columbus then watched my Cowboys win a tight one in Dallas vs...

Posted by Ashi Minhas on Saturday, December 2, 2023

That night we saw Joey belladonna sing journey songs with iron maiden's nicko mcbrain.

Posted by Mark Lybarger on Saturday, December 2, 2023

Had a terrific time with my Maiden family at ROCK & ROLL RIBS 14th anniversary bash! Glad to see you all! Safe travels and…
UP THE IRONS!!! 🤘🏻😆🤘🏻
Michele Rogers

Posted by Connie M Van Cleve on Saturday, December 2, 2023

W.A.S.P. leader Blackie Lawless paid tribute to KISS on the eve of the legendary rockers' final-ever concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

On Saturday (December 2),Lawless took to his social media to share an early KISS promotional photo, and he included the following message: "Next March will mark 50 years since I saw KISS for the first time. No one yet knew who they were but their magnetism was infectious. The live show was good and their energy was better, but I was far more impressed by them as people. Their stoic determinism and unflinching belief in themselves was abundantly apparent from the very start.

"When I would be in a room with them you could cut all that electricity with a knife. I don't know if they even understood the effect they had on others. Not so much as individuals, but as a group there was a camaraderie that was unbreakable, and although they were constantly being made fun of by other industry professionals they saw the true effect they were having on the audiences. That was the magic glue that held them together and allowed them to go on to achieve unmatched success despite overwhelming odds.

"Congratulations to the current lineup, but especially the original band. What that band was in the beginning was astonishing, frightening, bombastic, reckless and the true unrelenting 'Spirit of Rock N' Roll' in its purest form that is impossible to duplicate ever again!"

A couple of years ago, Lawless described original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley as "a longtime friend, since we were kids." He told Classic Rock magazine: "Ace taught me how to show up backstage before a show and help the roadies, to get into concerts. He got to see [Jimi] Hendrix that way. A short while later I got to see KISS being born."

As for Gene Simmons, Blackie said: "Gene was one of my earliest mentors. KISS was on the road, they were doing their first tour, and I called Ace up one night. He wasn't there, and Gene just happened to answer the phone and we just started talking. Gene asked me what I was doing with this band I was in. I told him that I've had a bellyful and had enough. He goes: 'Let me tell you something. You've got that 'it' thing. Don't quit. Those guys you're playing with? They're all losers. Get rid of 'em. When I got off the phone, I felt energized and thought, 'Maybe I can do this.'"

KISS's final concert at Madison Square Garden lasted two hours and 15 minutes and saw the legendary rockers perform to 20,000 fans at the second show of a two-night stand. After the set-closing "Rock And Roll All Nite", a message was displayed on the video screens, "A new KISS era starts now", and digital avatars of the four members of KISS appeared, playing the band's anthem "God Gave Rock And Roll To You".

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

Next March will mark 50 years since I saw Kiss for the first time. No one yet knew who they were but their magnetism...

Posted by W.A.S.P. Nation (Official) on Saturday, December 2, 2023

Slash (GUNS N' ROSES),Frank Sidoris (SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS),Franky Perez (APOCALYPTICA, DEADLAND RITUAL),Todd Morse (THE OFFSPRING) and Brent Fitz (SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS) are among the musicians who performed at the Hard Hat Lounge's "re-re-opening" on Friday, December 1 in Las Vegas, Nevada. They reportedly ran at least one GUNS N' ROSES classic ("It's So Easy") and performed a few covers, including "Immigrant Song" (LED ZEPPELIN),"War Pigs" (BLACK SABBATH),"Highway To Hell" (AC/DC) and "Always On The Run" (Lenny Kravitz). Joining them for a cover of THE ROLLING STONES' "Gimme Shelter" were Vegas singer-songwriter-musician Sherry St. Germain and Drew Johnson and Anthony Stasi from STONES tribute band SIN CITY STONES.

Sidoris, who is also a member of MAMMOTH WVH, owns the iconic dive bar, which closed for renovations earlier this year.

Last month, when the block party was first announced, Sidoris said in a statement: "We are thrilled to re-re-open with a refresh under the hood. We kept the 1960s charm without the grime, and for the first time in 60 years, Hard Hat has new plumbing, floors, and more importantly, a new, fresh scent! We cannot wait to reopen our doors and have the community back in to enjoy."

The venue's re-re-opening saw the introduction of partner Stay Tuned Burgers.

"Three years ago, I began my research by tasting all sorts of smash burgers in L.A., which inspired me to perfect my own version in my hometown of Vegas," said Bobby Meader, founder of Stay Tuned Burgers. "Partnering with Frank at Hard Hat was naturally a perfect fit! I am so excited to bring my hand-ground meat burgers to complement the brews at this iconic bar."

Hard Hat opened as a diner in 1962 and the mural on the wall behind the bar reportedly dates to that year.

Hard Hat is located at 1675 S Industrial Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89102. It will be open from noon to 2 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and noon to 3 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.



Slash, Franky Perez and Frank Sidoris at the grand re-opening of the Hard Hat Lounge. Not bad for a backyard block party.

Posted by Al Mancini on Friday, December 1, 2023

Slash went on stage in Las Vegas with Brent Fitz & Frank Sidoris last night for the Hard Hat lounge grand opening #Slash

Posted by Slash Addict on Saturday, December 2, 2023

Slash showed up to play a few songs to celebrate the reopening of The Hard Hat Lounge which is now owned by his guitarist Frank Sidoris.

Posted by David Plastik on Saturday, December 2, 2023

ANTHRAX and PANTERA drummer Charlie Benante has paid tribute to KISS on the eve of the legendary rockers' final-ever concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

On Friday (December 1),Benante took to his social media to share a KISS performance clip from the "End Of The Road" farewell tour, and he included the following message: "Well… if this really is the end -all I can say is 'Thank You'.

"I watched those 2 up there @genesimmons and @paulstanleylive and applauded them For always giving 100%. I mean think about this- all these years , they've put on the makeup, the costumes, the 7 inch leather heels etc. could you do it?? They are not just #rockstars they are the epitome . I saw them when I was a kid and it left such a lasting impression, it's what I wanted to be.

"I wonder if anyone reading this will know that when you said 'meet me at the Ace poster at the Garden' what we were talking about? Such a landmark.

"From 1973-1979, what they did in those 6 years… that still resonates with me now.

"Thank you #genepaulpeterandace , you inspired so many and the best part is you were all from #newyork whoooooo hoooooo! #longlivekiss @kiss #newyorkers @anthrax @panteraofficial #petercriss #acefrehley".

Back in 2005, Benante named KISS's "Alive!" as an album that changed his life, telling Greg Prato of Classic Rock magazine: "The first time I ever heard KISS' 'Alive!', I was at a party at a friend's house. The only thing I'd head prior to that as far as KISS was concerned was 'Dressed to Kill'. I was already a fan because of that, but when 'Alive!' came out, it was a totally different thing.

"The thing that I remember most about it was just staring at the package — it opened out to a gatefold, and there was a huge booklet in it. I remember staring at it and being like, 'What the hell?!' Because you would listen to the record and you would visualize in your own mind how it was. You had all these different things.

"I remember early on, when I first heard KISS, I used to think that Paul Stanley's voice was Gene Simmons' voice," he continued. "It was very weird when I saw them on a TV show called 'The Midnight Special', and I was like, 'Wait a minute... he's not supposed to be singing that!'

"I don't think I could say that any of [the songs] was my least favorite, because I loved every single one on that record. I remember just playing it continuously, over and over again. I loved the way side one would kick in — it was like the introduction was the beginning of the show. Then you get to the middle portions — sides two and three — and side four was the big ending; I'll never forget listening to 'Black Diamond' and being like, 'What the hell is going on? The explosions and everything. [The tracklist] is a little out of sequence — actually it's not even a live show; they totally re-recorded it. But who cares? It fooled me back then.

"I loved [Peter Criss'] drumming on 'Alive!'," Charlie added. "I think he was one of the biggest influences as far as having a huge drum kit goes. It was like, 'Look at all these drums. What is he doing with all these?' Because at the time, you had like the 'five-piece-kit drummers out there, like John Bonham (LED ZEPPELIN) and Joey Kramer (AEROSMITH). After Peter, Neil Peart (RUSH) had the big kit also.

"The end of '76 was when I saw them for the first time — 'Alive!' prepared me. I was like, 'Dude this is fucking crazy!' I just couldn't believe it. Everything was going on. I couldn't focus on just one thing. It was just an assault on my senses. Because most of the bands at the time really didn't put on that type of a show the way KISS were doing; it was more or less getting up on stage and playing. It wasn't, y'know... KISS.

"KISS made me realize that this is what I'm going to do with my life. And the mindset just stayed with me; it never left. Before that, I wasn't really taking it as seriously as 'I'm going to make a living doing this.'

"I absolutely still listen to 'Alive!' I listen to it sometimes right before we play — it pumps me up. It puts me in a different state of mind."

KISS's final-ever show, held tonight (Saturday, December 2) at Madison Square Garden, will stream live on pay-per-view.

According to a press release, the last stop of the band's "End Of The Road" farewell tour will stream exclusively on PPV.com so fans worldwide can tune into the concert in real-time, starting at 8 p.m. ET.

To stream the show live, fans in the U.S. and Canada pay a one-time fee of $39.99, rather than signing up for a subscription. (Internationally, it costs $14.99 to watch the event.)

KISS's final show will also air live through cable and satellite providers such as Xfinity, Spectrum, Contour, Optimum, Fios, DirecTV, DISH, Rogers, Telus and more in North America.

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A post shared by Charlie Benante (@charbenante)

Myles Goodwyn, singer, guitarist, writer, producer and leader of the multi-platinum-selling rock band APRIL WINE, died earlier today (Sunday, December 3) at the age of 75. No cause of death has been revealed. The family asks for privacy.

APRIL WINE has sold over 10 million recordings worldwide.

Goodwyn shaped and directed APRIL WINE from its earliest beginnings.

In 2008, Goodwyn nearly died after years of alcohol abuse and was hospitalized after he collapsed on his way to a Quebec airport due to internal bleeding.

Myles and the other members of APRIL WINE were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame in 2010.

Goodwyn received the prestigious East Coast Music Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 and the SOCAN National Achievement Award in 2002. In 2016 he released his memoir named "Just Between You And Me", which became an instant best seller on the Globe And Mail's Non-Fiction List. His second book, "Elvis And Tiger" (fiction),was published in 2018 and was also very well received.

Back in 2016, Goodwyn told the Montreal Gazette that he wrote his autobiography first and foremost for his three grown-up children.

"I wrote the book for my children because I was either in the recording studio or on the road (when they were growing up)," he said. "So I wasn't the kind of dad who left in the morning and came back at the end of the day. I missed all that normal stuff by being so involved in my livelihood. I wanted them to know their dad. I wanted them to know what happened, what I'd been through, where I'd been. So this book gives them the opportunity to know all those things.

"The other reason I wrote it is because I wanted the fans to know what went on with APRIL WINE, because I never said anything. I kept it to myself. … I liked the high road. And I heard so many things about why [drummer Jerry] Mercer left or why [Jimmy, David and Ritchie] Henman left. Or, 'Why did you guys not break sooner?' I heard all kinds of stories, so I said it's time for the truth. It's time to set the record straight."

The "Myles Goodwyn And Friends Of The Blues" recording released in 2018 earned international acclaim and a Juno nomination for "Blues Recording Of The Year" in 2019. The recording won the ECMA award for "Blues Recording Of The Year" in 2019. His follow-up blues recording that year, "Myles Goodwyn And Friends Of The Blues 2", won in the same category in 2020.

Myles left APRIL WINE for live performances earlier this year, and continued to perform live with his acoustic trio which included him, Jim Henman and Bruce Dixon until recently.

Goodwyn told CBC earlier this year that he wasn't ready to truly retire.

"I still don't want to give all that up," he said. "I can't imagine the day when I don't do these things."

Press photo courtesy of That Eric Alper

During an appearance on last night's (Monday, November 27) edition of Fox News' "Jesse Watters Primetime", legendary rocker and avid hunter Ted Nugent was asked what can be done to stop the invasion of hard-to-eradicate feral "super pigs" in Canada that are threatening to spill over to the United States. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's pretty simple, Jesse. Number one, thanks for having me on, because I'm your pork chop daddy, and I know how to handle an invasion of pigs. You need to kill 'em and grill 'em. It's pretty simple.

"I'm down here in Texas right now," he continued. "I just got out of my tree stand with my trusty Mathews bow, and if a porker gets within 50 yards of me, it's dinner on the hoof.

"It really is about hunting and management," Ted added. "That's what we do down here in Texas and Alabama and Florida. I've killed pigs in Hawaii with a knife. I hunt 'em with dogs and bows and arrows and atlatls and machetes and 10-millimeters [handguns] and rifles and machine guns from helicopters.

"Jesse, you haven't lived till you've hunted with Uncle Ted from a helicopter with a machine gun and killed the pigs."

Asked by host Jesse Watters if it's "necessary to hunt these things down from a chopper," Nugent responded: "Yeah. We legalized it here in Texas back when Governor Perry was governor and Greg Abbott was attorney general. We legalized the helicopter hog hunting, and it's become a multi-billion-dollar industry now. And it's the only real effective method to mitigate the productivity of pigs. The pigs are such producers. And you're right in your introduction — they devastate the environment, they destroy wildlife, they destroy agriculture, they spread disease. So the ultimate way is to increase the killing, which means take off all regulations and let us have at it."

He added: "By the way, I like my pork pissed off and wild pig meat is the best pork in the world."

Asked by Watters "what happened in Canada" and whether they "just didn't manage this properly and now [the pigs are] all coming across the border," Ted said: "Boy, Jesse, that's the question of the year, isn't it? What happened in Canada? No kidding. Um, are we talking about pigs now or are we talking about [Canadian prime minister Justin] Trudeau? The point is, is that, you know, the hunters up in Canada are kind of shackled with regulations that have nothing to do with sound science or sustained yield or wildlife productivity. But here in Texas, we're increasing the opportunities. In Michigan, Grand Rapids, number one bowhunting state in the nation, bureaucrats in Michigan are going, 'What do we do with the overpopulation of deer?' Let the hunters increase the harvest, donate the venison to soup kitchens and homeless shelters. I'm almost like Mother Teresa with a bow and arrow. Just let me kill more game, and I can feed the hungry people of the world. It's my job, Jesse."

According to Independent, the aforementioned "super pigs" have appeared in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba after crossbreeding between wild Eurasian boars and domestic swine created their super-swine form.

Described as an "ecological train wreck", the pigs reproduce extremely quickly and are capable of spreading disease and devastating crops and wildlife.

According to Sky News, hunting could make the problem worse, because it makes the pigs more wary and nocturnal, which makes them tougher to track down.

In a new interview with TellUs Rock, HALESTORM drummer Arejay Hale spoke about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the band's follow-up to 2022's "Back From The Dead" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're just kind of in the infant stages right now where we're just kind of putting ideas out, laying them down, tracking them, getting the songs and ideas together.

"There's a process to making an album where we don't see the light at the end of the tunnel until we're well into it and we're, like, 'Okay, now we kind of know what we're going for, what we want it to sound like.' But we're just kind of… It's the creative purge era now where we're just kind of like letting it all out, putting it down, throwing it up against the wall and seeing what sticks," he explained. "And then, of course, there's also a lot of promotion that goes behind making an album. So even if we finished it tomorrow, who knows how long it would take for it to actually come out? So I'm hoping to get music out, if not next year, hopefully 2025, I'm hoping. If we're going by the same routine…

"It sucks, 'cause the 'Back From The Dead' album came out so late because of the pandemic," Arejay added. "So I was kind of hoping we could make up for lost time by putting the next album a little bit earlier. But that's still up in the air right now. So just keep an eye out."

Asked how the songwriting process in HALESTORM works nowadays, Arejay said: "Oh, it's a lot of everything. Definitely during the pandemic, we did a lot of writing on our own 'cause that's all we could do. Every single day I woke up, poured myself a cup of coffee, opened up my laptop, grabbed an acoustic guitar, grabbed a microphone and just started writing. Just get it out. For anything — for HALESTORM, for [my side project] KEMIKALFIRE, or even just for myself. Just writing music for the sake of writing and just trying to sharpen that tool, flex that muscle a little bit. That was my main objective during the pandemic. I jumped on the opportunity where I was in the same place for that long. Usually off time is a couple of weeks and we're on tour again. So the fact that we weren't on tour for several months, it really gave me the chance to try to get better at songwriting and singing and all that. So, that was a big process. But when it comes to every album, it's always different. Sometimes we'll all split up and write with a bunch of co-writers or we'll bring a co-writer in to write with us, or we'll just go in the studio, the four of us and a producer, or we'll just like lock ourselves in a basement, the four of us. Just as long as we keep on staying proactive and keep on writing, then eventually something's going to happen. You have to just kind of trust the process that the first couple of things you write aren't gonna be good, but eventually you'll get to the point where you hit your stride and you start writing things that you're really excited about."

He continued: "This last couple of weeks where we started writing together, it's been like kind of the easiest, which is a little worrisome. It's, like, 'Okay, is it easy because we're getting better? Or is it easy' cause the ideas aren't very good?' I don't know. It's a lot of questions. But if I put my objective hat on and I listen to the stuff that we're writing, it sounds good to me. I think it sounds pretty cool. And, yeah, it was just a very fun, easy process. The four of us got away for a little bit, stayed at this cool little lake house, and just started, every day, just writing for hours and hours, tracking it and seeing what comes. And so it was a lot of work, but it was actually, like, one of the more enjoyable writing processes that I can remember, 'cause it just felt very relaxed. It very nice."

This past October, b>HALESTORM bassist Josh Smith revealed to Jorge Botas of Portugal's Metal Global that the band is working on its next studio album with acclaimed Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb, known for his previous collaborations with the likes of Sammy Hagar, Slash, GRETA VAN FLEET and RIVAL SONS.

"We went down to [Dave's] place and all lived together for three weeks, which is — we live together on tour all the time, yeah, but to be in a creative space, it was incredible," Josh said. "And the music that came out is undeniably HALESTORM. There's going to be a lot of fan favorites."

Describing HALESTORM's recording process with Cobb, Josh said: "What we're doing and how he wants to work, how he's capturing us is what we do on stage. For instance, we're not using a click track; there's no time keep. It's us doing it, and so there's a lot of movement to the music… It's so human."

He continued: "I think naturally when you're even talking, just from building tension to releasing it and how that happens, and sometimes from a verse maybe is building and the tempo feels like it's building, and then the chorus — well, at least on stage — naturally probably bumps up a few BPM [beats per minute] or slows down, depending. And even our transitions or Arejay's [Hale, HALESTORM drummer] fills will push or pull. It's very human."

When Botas noted that it's "always fun to work with new people and create new ideas when someone has a different view from the one you normally have," Smith said: "Yeah, for sure. I mean, that's what you hope for in working [with] a producer. It's this person you really have to vibe with that fits into this, in this case our little world. And that chemistry between a band is so unique to every group. And so for someone to fit in, that's a special trait to have. [It's] essentially [bringing in] a fifth member of the band that can extract the uniqueness of that band. It's big shoes to fill for a producer. And thankfully we've been lucky with it, with [previous HALESTORM producers] Nick [Raskulinecz] and Jay [Joyce], and Howard [Benson] was great. But, yeah, starting with someone new and also someone who has had a very different approach from the previous one, it's really exciting. And he really is bringing out the best of us. So, yeah, it's really exciting to find someone who is so good at their craft… And he just wants to catch what everyone is excited about — lightning in a bottle. And we've been doing that. And we've caught a lot. I can't wait to go back. It's really fun. I can't wait to get back to writing new music."

Josh said that there is no timetable yet on when new HALESTORM music will arrive. "But we just worked on, like — I don't know how many songs we got worked up, 10 or 12," he said. "And we'll probably do that again when we get a chance next year, and see where we are. But it's really exciting. It's always so exciting to create new stuff and then show it to people and get judged."

Cobb has shared in nine Grammy wins, including four for "Best Americana Album" and three for "Best Country Album". He's also been named "Producer Of The Year" by the Country Music Awards, the Americana Music Association (twice) and the Music Row Awards, and has been a Grammy nominee in the category.

Also in October, HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale told TotalRock's "Hobo On The Radio" show about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's follow-up to 2022's "Back From The Dead" album: "We're always working on new music, but we've actually kind of started to buckle down and really kind of write with a purpose as to whatever we wanna kind of put out in the world next. It's kind of an exciting time because I feel like even since the last record, even beyond 'Back From The Dead', I feel like we're kind of shedding our skin in a way that's kind of beautiful where we all kind of feel like different people than who we were when we were writing the last record. So it's time for whatever that next chapter is. So it's very exciting."

She continued: "I've been writing in a lot of subjects that I haven't necessarily touched on before and been kind of exploring those things. And I've become even more of a serial eavesdropper. I will be sitting at a pub or something and I will kind of zone out, and it's amazing the conversations you hear other people talking about. And so sometimes those leech their way into the songs. But, yeah, we'll probably have something by next year."

Four months ago, Lzzy told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about writing material for the next HALESTORM album: " What we are in right now is the chaos of it all, whereas [we're] not quite sure where the music is gonna take us or what we're gonna be excited about, but I'm excited about doing something new and really just kind of accentuating certain moments. And especially considering we've been touring on this album cycle, we've been touring on 'Back From The Dead', and our live show has grown a lot during this album cycle, whereas we're making these kind of physical moments. And we've been writing parts for in between songs and all of that. So I feel like I kind of wanna incorporate some of those things that we've already kind of tested live, that are original parts but don't actually have a song to go to yet. So I don't know, we'll see what happens. So we're doing that."

Lzzy and her brother Arejay formed HALESTORM in 1998 while in middle school. Guitarist Joe Hottinger joined the group in 2003, followed by Smith in 2004.

This past May, HALESTORM teamed up with country singer Ashley McBryde for a reimagined version of the band's song "Terrible Things", which was originally featured on "Back From The Dead".

In December 2022, HALESTORM released a deluxe edition of "Back From The Dead". "Back From The Dead: Deluxe Edition" includes seven previously unreleased B-sides, including "Mine", a 1980s-inspired rocker. "Back From The Dead: Deluxe Edition" is available digitally, on CD, and cassette tape, marking the first time that the album has been offered in those physical formats.

In December 2018, HALESTORM was nominated for a "Best Rock Performance" Grammy Award for its song "Uncomfortable". Six years earlier, the band won its first Grammy in the category of "Best Hard Rock/ Metal Performance" for "Love Bites (So Do I)".