Professionally filmed video of METALLICA performing the song "Lux Æterna" on November 10 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan can be seen below.

Prior to this month's concerts, METALLICA last played in Detroit in 2017 at Comerica Park.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In the new video below, Robb Flynn of Machine Head unboxes the limited 20th Anniversary Edition of the band's fifth studio album, Through The Ashes Of Empires, now shipping exclusively via Nuclear Blast Records.


Available on:


- Blue with White Splatter Double Vinyl (Limited to 700 via Nuclear Blast USA)
- White with Blue & Black Splatter Double Vinyl (Limited to 500 via Nuclear Blast Europe - US Import)




• 180 Gram Vinyl
• 8 Page LP Sized Booklet
• Additional Artwork & Liner Notes


Order your copies via the following links:


- North America
- Europe





Tracklisting:


"Imperium"
"Bite The Bullet"
"Left Unfinished"
"Elegy"
"In The Presence Of My Enemies"
"Days Turn Blue To Gray"
"Vim"
"Seasons Wither"
"All Falls Down"
"Wipe The Tears"
"Descend The Shades Of Night"

Zakk Wylde performed OZZY OSBOURNE and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY classics with attendees of Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp's "Metalmania III", which took place November 9-12 in Los Angeles, California. The immersive, once-in-a-lifetime event offered rock enthusiasts of all skill levels a unique opportunity to dive headfirst into the electrifying world of heavy metal, culminating with an appearance at the legendary Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood on the final night.

In addition to Wylde, Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp's "Metalmania III" featured Marty Friedman (formerly of MEGADETH) and Mike Portnoy (of THE WINERY DOGS; founding member of DREAM THEATER). These masters guided campers through the groundbreaking music of BLACK SABBATH, OZZY OSBOURNE, MEGADETH, DREAM THEATER and PANTERA.

Attendees also got the chance to showcase their skills at another iconic music venue, the legendary Viper Room. Campers were mentored by rockstar counselors including Vinny Appice of BLACK SABBATH, Bjorn Englen of DIO DISCIPLES, Monte Pittman of MINISTRY, Tony Franklin of THE FIRM, Tommy Black of SCOTT WEILAND AND THE WILDABOUTS, Jason Ebs of Peter Criss's band, Angela Scarpa of BLACK SABBITCH, Britt Lightning of VIXEN and more.

For more information, visit www.rockcamp.com.

Now celebrating its 27th anniversary, Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp has become part of American popular culture — from a Mick Jagger cameo in "The Simpsons" to "Rock Camp – The Movie", a No. 1 documentary on iTunes with a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes chronicling once-in-a-lifetime experiences, Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp has built a tradition of extracting ordinary people from their daily lives and giving them the opportunity of a lifetime: to live out their dreams of performing with their musical heroes.

Past Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp mentors have included Alice Cooper, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Joe Perry and Roger Daltrey, who said of his participation: "It's an amazing experience and it makes you remember where you came from."



Posted by Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp on Monday, July 10, 2023

BUTCHER BABIES' Heidi Shepherd joined FEAR FACTORY on stage last night (Friday, November 24) at the Backstage Halle in Munich, Germany to perform the song "Martyr". Fan-filmed video of her appearance can be seen below (courtesy of the TrulyStucker YouTube channel).

Last month, FEAR FACTORY kicked off a European headlining tour with support from BUTCHER BABIES from the USA and IGNEA from Ukraine. The 44-date trek marks 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.

In a recent interview with Nyva Zarbano, FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares spoke about the band's plans 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 vocalist Milo Silvestro, whose addition to FEAR FACTORY was officially announced in late February.

"Well, the future [plan for] FEAR FACTORY is definitely to go in [the studio] after a lot of this touring," he said. "We're gonna be touring all the way to June next year. After that, we wanna go in and we wanna make a record. We have to. We have to showcase Milo Silvestro. He's from Rome, Italy. So we've really gotta get him on the record. We've gotta finish the record, gotta put it out there. And again, tour, tour, tour. That's pretty much the future of FEAR FACTORY. Now, as far as conceptually what the next record is going to be about, that's too soon to tell you. It's too soon."

Regarding what Milo has brought to the table as far as the FEAR FACTORY sound is concerned, Dino said: "Well, Milo brings obviously a freshness that FEAR FACTORY needed. The last singer that we had [Burton C. Bell], obviously he had a lot of vocal issues and he really couldn't sing or do any of this kind of heavy touring. It just was a big setback for us. So bringing Milo into the band, obviously he's got a great voice, he's very talented, he's a multi-instrumentalist. He could play more than one instrument. The kid's very talented. Of course, the story is I found him on the Internet. He was releasing videos of him doing FEAR FACTORY covers and he was posting them on all the FEAR FACTORY fan sites. And I saw him there, and I was, like, 'Okay, that's really got my attention.' But we had many people audition, but he was the one that really stood out. And he's a huge fan of FEAR FACTORY. And he pretty much learned from listening to our older vocalist. So he learned a lot of his stuff. And so, I mean, if you close your eyes, you think it's the original singer."

In a separate interview with Australia's "Everblack" podcast, Cazares was asked if Silvestro was "getting more comfortable" with his position as the frontman of the long-running California metal act. Dino responded: "Oh, yeah. I mean, from the first day, we talked about a lot of stuff. Before the tour started, we rehearsed, and we were, like, 'Okay, these are the kind of things that we've done before. And I think you need to do this, this, this.' And he goes, 'Okay.' So then the first day [of the tour] comes, he just goes wild. And I'm, like, 'Oh, shit.' I was, like, 'Calm down.' I go, 'You don't need to go insane everywhere. Just focus on singing, focus on getting everything, giving the crowd all equal attention,' blah, blah. There's certain things you just gotta teach him a little bit, right? And so he pretty much nailed it the first day."

Dino also talked about the progress of the songwriting sessions for FEAR FACTORY's next studio album. He said:  "We've been working on new music. Yes, we have songs done. No, we're not releasing anything yet. You're gonna have to wait. We're still writing stuff, we're still writing a lot of stuff. The record's not complete, and we have to finish it soon, when we get time."

He continued: "The thing is what's been preventing us from finishing it is that we keep getting tour offers, and I'm not turning them down. I'm like, 'Let's go.' People wanna to see it. Like, by the time we hit Australia [in early March 2024], I'm not even sure if we'll have a song out by then. Maybe. I'm hoping. Maybe special for Australia. I don't know."

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."

**UPDATE**: KILLING JOKE has issued a statement on Kevin "Geordie" Walker's passing, writing: "It is with extreme sadness we confirm that at 6:30am on 26th November 2023 in Prague, KILLING JOKE's legendary guitarist Kevin 'Geordie' Walker passed away after suffering a stroke, he was surrounded by family. We are devastated. Rest In Peace brother."

The original article follows below.

KILLING JOKE guitarist Kevin "Geordie" Walker reportedly died earlier today (Sunday, November 26) in Prague, Czech Republic, two days after suffering a massive stroke. He was 64 years old.

The news of Walker's passing was confirmed by his close friend Luca Signorelli, who wrote on his Facebook page: "This morning I got a phone call, telling me that Kevin 'Geordie' Walker had died few hours ago in Prague, following a massive stroke last Friday."

Calling Geordie "the closest friend and most important person I've ever had outside my family," Signorelli wrote in part: "I don't remember even one moment Geordie was around that was awkward or boring. Geordie had a reputation for being abrasive and sometimes curt with people who tried to approach him, but the reality is that he didn't want to waste his time with people he didn't like. And 'like' or 'dislike' was for Geordie entirely a matter of instinct."

KILLING JOKE's Martin Atkins also confirmed Geordie's death by sharing a video of THE DAMAGE MANUEL's "Laugh Track" with the caption "gutted". In the comments section, Atkins wrote "Geordie has passed". He also later posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, writing: "#GodBless Geordie Walker".

KILLING JOKE emerged in the post-punk early 1980s, their eponymous debut album exhibiting funky heavy rock influences before electronic and synth-pop styles also filtered through their music. They would, in turn, influence later generations including METALLICA, NIRVANA and SOUNDGARDEN. "Love Like Blood" would give KILLING JOKE their greatest commercial success, a hit across Europe, peaking at No. 16 in the U.K. singles chart in 1985.

Walker and Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards) had been ever-constant members of the lineup and had been reunited with fellow founding members Paul Ferguson (drums) and Martin "Youth" Glover (bass) since 2008.

In a 2006 interview with MTV, Coleman stated about Walker: "Working with Geordie Walker — he's a magic player. It's my deepest pleasure to have spent more years with him and more time with him than my own blood[-related] brother."

A decade ago, Walker told Metal Assault about how his guitar playing style has evolved over the years: "I just found the right instrument pretty early in the game, which is a hollow body. It has a bit of a life of its own. I think I'm starting to play with a little less violence on the right hand, which has helped me a lot in definition, if you know what I mean, and not breaking as many strings either, touchwood. I used to snap the D strings and be spiteful with certain chords."

This past March, KILLING JOKE released a brand new single, "Full Spectrum Dominance", via Spinefarm to celebrate the band's sold-out headline show at London's Royal Albert Hall. The epic track was mixed by Tom Dalgety (GHOST, PIXIES, ROYAL BLOOD) and was accompanied by a remix from Youth and artwork by longtime designer Mike Coles.

Under the banner "Killing Joke - Follow The Leaders", KILLING JOKE performed its first two albums in their entirety at the Royal Albert Hall — 1980's self-titled debut LP followed by their second full-length, "What's This For…!"

This special event was preceded by four intimate warm-up shows, including an appearance at London's legendary 100 Club.
God bless #GeordieWalker my @Killingjokeband murderinc #damagemanual band mate - tell Paul Raven I said hi xxxx pic.twitter.com/XMtwPu3mFr

— Martin Atkins (@marteeeen) November 26, 2023



“It feels like an axe-blow near the roots”, wrote JRR Tolkien to his daughter Priscilla speaking of the death of C.S....

Posted by Luca Signorelli on Sunday, November 26, 2023

Former DEATH drummer Chris Reifert joined LEFT TO DIE on stage last night (Friday, November 24) at Eli's Mile High in Oakland, California to perform the DEATH classics "Infernal Death" and "Evil Dead". Fan-filmed video of his appearance can be seen below.

LEFT TO DIE is the new band featuring classic DEATH members Terry Butler (also formerly of MASSACRE and currently in OBITUARY) and Rick Rozz (ex-MASSACRE) paired with GRUESOME founders Matt Harvey (EXHUMED) and Gus Rios (ex-MALEVOLENT CREATION).

The second leg of LEFT TO DIE's "Reborn Dead" U.S. tour features support from San Jose crushers MORTUOUS, Los Angeles death merchants MORTAL WOUND and Santa Fe, New Mexico's STREET TOMBS. As before, LEFT TO DIE is performing DEATH's classic "Leprosy" album in its entirety, along with cuts from "Scream Bloody Gore".

In a 2007 interview with Luxi Lahtinen of Metal-Rules.com, Reifert reflected on how he joined DEATH back in 1986 when he was just 17 years old and DEATH leader Chuck Schuldiner was 19. He said: "I was still in high school at the time and had a friend who was a DJ for the school radio station. She told me she was gonna play an ad from Chuck who was looking for band members. I got his phone number from her, called him up and went over to his house. The deal was pretty much sealed right away as I jumped on the chance before anyone else could get a try... [Laughs] Also, I knew about bands like SODOM, BATHORY, POSSESSED and ARTILLERY which impressed Chuck. This was incredible for me because I had been buying DEATH demos for the past two years and was thrilled that not only would I be playing the songs I knew and loved already, but also some new crushers that went perfectly with the old ones."

Regarding his departure from DEATH, which happened when Chuck decided to move back to Florida from California and team up with his former bandmate Rozz, and two members from Rick's band MASSACRE, Butler and drummer Bill Andrews, Chris said: "Chuck really wanted to go back to Florida to stay. His family, friends and everything else was there, so that's where he wanted to be. He said I could move there and remain in the band, but after living there for the summer I knew that I really didn't want to do that. The heat and humidity was enough reason for me. That shit was brutal for a California guy like me, so I stayed home and started all over again with a new band, AUTOPSY. As fantastic as the DEATH experience was, the decision to stay [in California] was easy for me."

Remaining "Reborn Dead" tour dates:

Nov. 25 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
Nov. 26 - San Diego, CA @ Brick by Brick

Asked in a recent interview with Germany's Moshpit Passion, how he and Rick approach LEFT TO DIE without making it appear like a "cash grab", Terry said: "We approach it like Rick wrote quite a bit of material on 'Leprosy'. Rick was around in the demo days, and a lot of those riffs are also on [DEATH's debut album] 'Scream Bloody Gore'. Rick and I joined DEATH right as 'Scream Bloody Gore' came out, so we have history with that album. We're approaching this as a band. We're eventually going to put out some new music; that's our gameplan. When we find time, put some riffs together, write some stuff, put an album out. So we are approaching this as a band. We're honoring the album 'Leprosy' and Chuck by doing these handful of tours right now. Down the road, we foresee a future where we have new material, we're playing 75 percent of our new album and throwing in five or six DEATH tunes on top of it, kind of thing. So we don't look at it one hundred percent as a tribute band. We're looking at it as a band with some former members that have a lot of history in that band and have written songs in that band. It's not like we're doing a DARK FUNERAL tribute band. We're doing DEATH songs by people who actually wrote those songs. So that's how we approach it."

With regard to LEFT TO DIE's plans for original material, Rick said: "Like Terry said, we're definitely looking to record new music. Everybody has some riffs, and when we have the time, as a band, to put 'em together, we will most likely do that. Gus and I will probably end up doing some jamming while Terry and Matt are gone on tour [with their other bands] and try to put a couple of things together and present it to the two of them and see what they think about it. And then, slowly but surely… We're not gonna rush. If it's meant to be, it'll come together. And it'll definitely be kickass. But we'll see what happens. But we're definitely looking forward to doing that, yes."

Added Terry: "And musically, obviously, it's gonna be in the same vein. It's not gonna sound like TRIVIUM or GOJIRA. It's gonna be 'Scream', 'Leprosy', [MASSACRE's] 'From Beyond', kind of all of that thrown into a blender, and there you go… It's good stuff. So why not have more of it?"

LEFT TO DIE completed its first U.S. tour in July 2022. A European run of shows followed this past March and April.

Butler previously stated about how LEFT TO DIE came together: "After the recent Chuck tribute shows that Matt, Gus, and myself did, Rick posed the question, 'Would anyone want to see some 'Leprosy' shows?' With a resounding 'yes!', the masses had spoken. Matt and Gus threw their hats in immediately and, in my opinion, they were the only real choice to bring this thing to life."

Harvey and Rios were both very excited about the project coming together. Harvey reflected: "When Gus and I started GRUESOME as a DEATH tribute, we never thought that it would lead to us playing some of our favorite songs alongside the guys that recorded them, but here we are — and I couldn't be more stoked." Rios added: "When Rick contacted me about his idea, I was immediately on board, since 'Leprosy' is not only my favorite DEATH album, but my favorite death metal album of all time! I'm very grateful and stoked that Terry and Matt were also on board."

LEFT TO DIE is:

Terry Butler - bass guitar
Rick Rozz - guitar
Matt Harvey - guitar, vocals
Gus Rios - drums

Schuldiner died on December 13, 2001 after a battle with pontine glioma, a rare type of brain tumor.

During an appearance on the sixteenth episode of "The Metallica Report", the recently launched podcast offering weekly insider updates on all things METALLICA, James Hetfield spoke about his book "Messengers: The Guitars Of James Hetfield", which was released on November 21 via Permuted Press. In the 400-page book, Hetfield shares his personal collection of treasured guitars and reveals the story and significance of each within his life and career as the frontman, guitarist and songwriter for METALLICA.

Regarding his decision to release a book about his guitars, Hetfield said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Having the contacts and connections and people that are available to help put out art forms for me that are outside of music… [I] did my car book ['Reclaimed Rust'], so doing a guitar book was the next thing. And I already had that in my mind, when we were doing the car book and just the way we shot the cars, 'Reclaimed Rust' brought up for me an idea of, 'Hey, I've got all these things sitting in my garage. Why can't I share them with the world or have them in one book for myself to be able to look at and thumb through easily without having to open the garage doors or open the guitar case after guitar case to look at these guitars?' So kind of have all these guitars put in one book where I can open it and access it very easily."

As for the "Messengers" book title, James said: "I had so many different titles for it [before I settled on 'Messengers']. And 'Messengers' just kind of made sense. [My guitars are] the conduit from my higher power through my body, through my digestion, my brain, my fingers into the guitar, through an amp into your ears. It's a link. It's a messenger of sorts. And all the guitars that I've collected over the years, especially all the early ones, the first 10 years of guitars — from the OGV to the So What to the So Fucking What and Eet Fuk and all the guitars that are named. They're all named, of course. Same with all the cars. So doing a guitar book — fantastic."

James also talked about the two "Messengers" book-signing sessions he took part in, in St. Louis and Detroit, earlier in the month. He said: "Well, it was just feel good. It was feel good. People were able to express their gratitude and I was able to do it back. So it was good, good, heartfelt stuff. Seeing multiple generations there is always cool."

He continued: "I never got to go to gigs with my parents. My older brother brought me to my first gigs, which is — it will always live in my heart as a fantastic memory. So getting to see, whether it's the kid bringing the parent or vice versa, you get to see that connection and there's a connection between two generations that I'm just super grateful to be a part of."

In "Messengers: The Guitars Of James Hetfield", Hetfield shares the emotional and technical elements of the chosen tools that have shaped his singular musical journey, including exotic instruments, vintage Gibsons, and custom one-offs — from the Electra OGV that defined his style, sound and attitude to the mythical MX guitars, the first in a series of iconic collaborations with ESP, and from his signature Snakebytes through his ambitious projects with renowned luthier Ken Lawrence. He also reveals many studio secrets, including the key amplifiers and gear that sculpt his tone and create his sound.

Each featured guitar is accompanied by lush museum-quality portraits by acclaimed photographer Scott Williamson, exhibiting intimate details one can only see if holding it in their own hands, alongside Hetfield's deeply personal reminiscence. Spanning more than forty guitars, ranging from the original battle-scarred road warriors to the trusted studio stalwarts and enduring tour favorites, "Messengers: The Guitars Of James Hetfield" is a meticulously crafted coffee table book and a mesmerizing window into the mind and soul of one of rock's greatest frontmen. These invaluable guitars have forged over four decades of music history.

A few years ago, Hetfield told Music Radar about his guitar tone: "[It's] the never-ending quest for the Holy Grail of guitar sounds. For me it's got to be percussive. It's got to push air, what we call bark. It's got to bark. But I don't want it really abrasive, so any fake fuzz to me really just takes away from the sound. And it's tough because when you turn guitar sounds down, you really hear what they sound like and when you push them up it sounds a different way. So we're trying to find that balance of enough mid push while still sounding big and what I've found is the wider and bigger you make it sound, the thinner it becomes in a way, at least depth-wise. You've got to find your space, elbow your way in there and sonically make some room. And it varies throughout certain songs. The guitar is really important in this song but this one, maybe it's all about groove. I think we're learning to be a little more forgiving on each other's need for volume [laughs] and look at the big picture."

In a promotional video for Ernie Ball, Hetfield discussed some of his early musical influences, saying: "For me it was a little more raw, the stuff that I liked. Discovering bands like AC/DC, then JUDAS PRIEST, and then the whole New Wave Of British Heavy Metal came out, and that was IRON MAIDEN, then MOTÖRHEAD and BLACK SABBATH, for sure, was a number one influence for me. Seeing that first album cover and seeing that first IRON MAIDEN album cover, it drew me right to it. I just got continually heavier and heavier as I was discovering music."

Hetfield went on to shed light on the mechanics of his guitar playing: "I'm kind of a little bit of a barbarian when I play. I'm always interested in the riff. It was the foundation of the song. Tony Iommi, he's ruling the song with his riff and everything else joins him. Johnny Ramone, lots of down picking lots of, you know, just fast down picking. That helped develop my style. So kind of a combination of punk rock and heavy rock at the time turned into just the down-picking style and with melody along with it."

In a new interview with Australia's Heavy, SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser was asked about how he and his bandmates have adapted to all the changes in the music industry over the last four decades. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think we absorb everything. It's kind of stupid to ignore… I mean, SEPULTURA survived…. If you put together this 40 years of the SEPULTURA's life, dude, just put together all the technology changes — from vinyl to CD, CD to download, computers, phone, mobile phones and Spotify and Napster and everything that's happened during this 40 years — it was so quick, everything, so many information, and we still are going through a transitional phase. Everything is happening. A lot of different ways of selling albums came out of it. The lockdown, the pandemic situation, and we're still here. Because we learn how to deal with the present and with the elements we have in our hands. It's kind of stupid not try to work something that is not there anymore. So, with the lockdown situation, it was like that."

He continued: "We were ready to go on tour. [Our latest album] 'Quadra' was just released in February [2020], and in March [of that year] the world stopped. And then we moved our energy and focus to the 'SepulQuarta' [weekly online sessions]. We started working at home. Every Wednesday we had a connection with our fans, we jammed our music, and an album came out out of it. So we kept working, but in a different frame, in a different energy. So we waited two years to finally start the tour in 2022. So here we are on the second year of the 'Quadra' tour, and it felt great, because we respect the changes that… It's not us; I mean, it's not up to us. The pandemic situation; nobody chose that. I mean, we have to deal with it. And that's how is life. If you have this idea that you control everything in your life, that's an illusion. We learn how to deal with the present and with the elements we have in our hands, and that's how we grow. And we feel better than ever."

SEPULTURA comprises Kisser, singer Derrick Green, bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. and drummer Eloy Casagrande.

SEPULTURA was formed in 1984 in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of Minas Gerais. Guitarist Jairo Guedz joined the group the following year and played on the band's first two releases, 1985's "Bestial Devastation" EP and their 1986 full-length debut, "Morbid Visions". He also participated in the early songwriting sessions for 1987's "Schizophrenia".

In early 1987, Jairo quit SEPULTURA and was replaced by São Paulo-based guitarist Kisser.

In 1996, Max exited SEPULTURA after the rest of the band split with Max's wife Gloria as their manager.

Igor left SEPULTURA in June 2006 due to "artistic differences." His departure from the band came five months after he announced that he was taking a break from SEPULTURA's touring activities to spend time with his second wife and their new son (who was born in January 2006).

Geezer Butler has disputed Ozzy Osbourne's claim that the BLACK SABBATH bassist never contacted him to check up on him while was battling a host of health issues in recent years.

On Saturday (November 25),Butler took to his social media to write: "Rumour has it; Ozzy is upset, saying he never received my get well messages. I made 2 different attempts at getting in touch during his illnesses. My first email (8 Feb, 2019) went through his office because I didn't have Ozzy's new number to text him. Sharon [Osbourne, Ozzy's wife and manager] responded but I didn't hear back from Ozzy. 11 months later (21 Jan, 2020),I emailed Sharon to check on Oz. That email went unanswered.

"I don't want to engage in a tit for tat," Geezer added. "Having made 2 attempts to wish Ozzy well , without a reply, I figured it best to privately keep him in my thoughts."

In his autobiography "Into The Void: From Birth To Black Sabbath – And Beyond", Butler addressed his current relationship with Ozzy, writing, "Me and Ozzy are fine. It's just that we're both ruled by our wives. He's got a big heart and was always there for me in times of trouble... We might not be as close as we were, but we'll always be brothers."

In a new interview with Rolling Stone UK, Osbourne blamed the breakdown in his friendship with Butler on a falling out between his wife/manager Sharon and Geezer's wife/manager Gloria Butler.

"[BLACK SABBATH guitarist] Tony Iommi has been so supportive of me since my illness," Osbourne said. "Geezer Butler hasn't given me one fucking phone call. Not one fucking call.

"When his son was fucking born, I phoned him every fucking night even though we were at war with each other, BLACK SABBATH and me [after I was out of the band]. I thought, 'Fuck it, he's my mate. I'm gonna call him.' But from him, not one fucking call.

"It's sad, man," he continued. "We all grew up together, and he can't pick up the fucking phone like a man and see how I'm doing. Even [original BLACK SABBATH drummer] Bill Ward has been in touch with me. I said some things about Bill, and I don't know why I said it, but when I came through my illness, he contacted me.

"I'm not in shock. I'm just very fucking sad that he can't just call me after all this time and say, 'How you doing?' Fucking arsehole."

Asked why he and Geezer had a falling out in the first place, Ozzy said: "His wife and my wife had a falling out. But that's got fucking nothing to do with me. Are you really going to hide behind your wife's skirt because of that?"

This past June, Geezer addressed the fact that he no longer speaks to Ozzy in an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock. Speaking about the fact that he mentioned Iommi in the book acknowledgments, where he wrote that Tony "actually still keeps in touch", Geezer said: "Yeah, he's always been there for me. You know, he's a good friend. We can slag each other to death. It's like marriage, really. You have terrible arguments, you fall out and you come back together. But he's always there. He always is. I hope he is after this book as well. I still love Bill, but he's not on the Internet. If you want to talk to Bill, you have to e-mail his wife and she has to tell him. It's really awkward. [Laughs] Ozzy I don't speak to at all." Asked if he thinks there's a chance those lines of communication will open back up at some point, Butler said: "I very much doubt it. We didn't fall out; it was the wives."

During an appearance on the "Appetite For Distortion" podcast, Geezer elaborated on his Ultimate Classic Rock comments, saying: "Well, it's like with every family. We've fallen out loads of times over the past 50 years — you fall out for a year or two and then you get together. I don't see any of the rest of the band. It's just that people have picked up on the Sharon part of it because everybody knows who Sharon is. If I would have put Bill's wife in there, nobody would have said anything about it, or Tony's wife. But because everybody knows who Sharon is, they seem to pick up on that. We were such a close band anyway. You have these fallouts and you beat each other up and whatever, and you don't talk to each other for two or three years, and then you get back together as if nothing's ever happened."

Butler and his wife, Gloria Butler, split their time between Henderson, Nevada and Utah while Ozzy and his wife, Sharon, are preparing to move back to the United Kingdom after living in California for the last few decades.

Last year, Ozzy described Tony to Metal Hammer magazine as "incredibly supportive" while admitting that he hadn't spoken to Butler in a while. "Last I heard, he was living in Vegas," Ozzy said.

During an August 2020 appearance on Steve-O's "Wild Ride!" podcast, Sharon Osbourne was asked if it's correct to say that when the original BLACK SABBATH lineup reunited more a decade ago, it was done on her terms, with her husband owning the SABBATH name and the other members of SABBATH acting as "employees" of the band. She responded: "It's about right, but Ozzy and Tony own the name — Geezer and Bill don't. So it's Ozzy and Tony that own the name, and they are partners in BLACK SABBATH. So you're kind of right. Ozzy and Tony are equal, and at the time, the other guys, you know, it's kind of like pay-for-play."

Ozzy filed a lawsuit against Tony in May 2009, claiming that Iommi illegally took sole ownership of the band's name in a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Osbourne sued Iommi for a 50 percent interest in the "Black Sabbath" trademark, along with a portion of Iommi's profits from use of the name.

The Manhattan federal court suit also charged that Osbourne's "signature lead vocals" are largely responsible for the band's "extraordinary success," noting that its popularity plummeted during his absence from 1980 through 1996.

Lawyer Andrew DeVore argued that Osbourne signed away all his rights to the BLACK SABBATH trademark after he quit the band in 1979.

Osbourne's lawyer, Howard Shire, called that agreement a "red herring" that was "repudiated" when the singer rejoined in 1997 and took over "quality control" of the band's merchandise, tours and recordings.

In June 2010, Ozzy told The Pulse Of Radio that the lawsuit between him and Tony had been settled and that everything was okay between them.

According to Rolling Stone, Butler had sold his share of the BLACK SABBATH band name to Iommi in 1984 and has since gotten over any regrets. "I still get a quarter of everything, so it doesn't matter financially," he told the magazine. "It's just that I can never go out on the road and call myself BLACK SABBATH."

In his book, Butler wrote that the original SABBATH reunion didn't go as planned after it was announced in November 2011, adding that "there was a big row about the SABBATH name, all over again. I was under the impression that since the original members were back together, writing and recording a new album, the name would revert to all four of us, whatever had happened between Tony and Ozzy a couple of years earlier," Geezer wrote. "But when the name was discussed, it became clear that Tony and Ozzy had no intention of sharing the SABBATH name with me or Bill. I felt cheated, so I left the band again. They got someone in to replace me, but a couple of weeks later I got a call from Tony, begging me to come back. In the end, I got my lawyers on the case and they managed to sort everything out. I was assured that despite not part-owning the SABBATH name, everything would be split equally, and the band wouldn't be able to tour as SABBATH without my approval, if needed."

"Into The Void: From Birth To Black Sabbath - And Beyond" was released in June in North America via HarperCollins imprint Dey Street Books.

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Philip Anselmo has made his first public comments about PANTERA's return to the live stage.

The reformed band — featuring PANTERA's surviving members Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass),along with guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX) — are headlining a number of major festivals across North America, South America and Europe and staging some of their own headline concerts. They are also supporting METALLICA on a massive stadium tour in 2023 and 2024.

It was first reported in July 2022 that Anselmo and Brown would unite with Wylde and Benante for a world tour under the PANTERA banner.

According to Billboard, the lineup has been given a green light by the estates of the band's founders, drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott and guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, as well as Brown, who in 2021 said Wylde wouldn't tour with PANTERA if a reunion were to happen. It's unclear what changed his mind.

Anselmo and Brown spoke about PANTERA's return to the stage during an appearance on the seventeenth episode of "The Metallica Report", the recently launched podcast offering weekly insider updates on all things METALLICA. Philip said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's empowering. It is incredibly beautiful, and you feel so much love when you're up there. And if you take it in, it's a great feeling, man. These days, man, that's where me and Rex, you know, we get to dig the shows more."

He continued: "When we were younger, we were at war and when we were on stage; we were just angry and at war, man. Now it's — the songs are there. I can concentrate on singing the fricking songs, number one. Geez, that's a relief for me, man. I don't have to break my fricking body in part anymore."

Anselmo and Brown also talked about Charlie and Zakk being part of the PANTERA team. Philip said: "Them two dudes, so enthusiastic. And they got their damn thing and they got their own damn legacy, both of them, without us. It's an honor to play with them. They're the nicest frickin guys in the world, man. I'm just so... [Laughs] Zakk, he's a crack-up, man. He's a sweetheart. And fricking Charlie, we've known Charlie since '87, man. It's a long time."

Rex chimed in: "The way [Charlie] plays Vinnie's parts is uncanny. I don't think there's any drummer out there that could play the way that Vinnie did. I would close my eyes, because I was trying to get tight, and sometimes if I close my eyes, I can hear a little better; I think I can. And there'd be a tear of joy just coming down, because that was so close to what Vinnie and I used to play. So you have the foundation."

Philip concurred, saying: "The low end sounds so PANTERA, man. It's freaking me out."

When the interviewer suggested that PANTERA in 2023 has Vinnie Paul and Dimebag's "spirit inside it", Philip said: "Only thing I can say is, man, I know for a damn fact Vince and Dime would want us to do this, hands down. They would want the PANTERA brand or the legacy to go on. And I don't know what you believe in, but sometimes, you know, you would like to think that them old fellas are looking down on us, giving us the thumbs-up."

While he was alive, Vinnie Paul had repeatedly dismissed talks of a PANTERA reunion, telling Germany's EMP Rock Invasion in 2014: "People are selfish, man. They want what they want; they don't care what you want. And it's unfortunate that people go, 'Oh, wow, man, they can get Zakk Wylde to jump up there on stage and it's PANTERA again.' No, it's not, you know. It's not that simple. If Eddie Van Halen was to get shot in the head four times next week, would everybody be going, 'Hey, man, Zakk, go play for VAN HALEN. Just call it VAN HALEN.' You see what I'm saying? I mean, it's really selfish for people to think that, and it's stupid. It's not right at all."

He continued: "They call it a reunion for a reason. It's called bringing the original members back to what it was. So there's a lot of these things that they call reunions that aren't really reunions. They've got one dude from the band floating around in them, you know. That's not a true reunion. With PANTERA, it'll never be possible."

He repeated those same sentiments a few months later, telling PlanetMosh in a separate interview: "Without Dimebag Darrell, there is no [PANTERA] reunion. And that's all there is to it. We were a very influential band, and we touched millions and millions of people with that band, but it's over. People really have to come to grips with that, and that's all there is to it. If all of us were still here, then the possibility would truly be there, but since it's not, you know… It's selfish of the fans to want something that they can't have. And they don't ever understand that, and I get it. There's things I want in this world too. You know, people in fucking hell want ice water, but they're not gonna get it."

Up until his passing in June 2018, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for Dimebag's death.

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, they formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.

Dimebag's longtime girlfriend Rita Haney in 2011 called on Vinnie and Philip to settle their differences in honor of Dimebag.

Vinnie, who was Dimebag's brother, and Anselmo had not spoken since PANTERA split in 2003. But the relationship got even more acrimonious when Vinnie suggested that some remarks the vocalist had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag's killer.

Haney told the producers of "Behind The Music Remastered: Pantera" that she forgave the singer after they found themselves unexpectedly face to face at a concert in California.

Ozzy Osbourne has blasted his former BLACK SABBATH bandmate Geezer Butler for not calling him to check up on him while was battling a host of health issues in recent years.

In his autobiography "Into The Void: From Birth To Black Sabbath – And Beyond", Butler addressed his current relationship with the singer, writing, "Me and Ozzy are fine. It's just that we're both ruled by our wives. He's got a big heart and was always there for me in times of trouble... We might not be as close as we were, but we'll always be brothers."

In a new interview with Rolling Stone UK, Osbourne blamed the breakdown in his friendship with Butler on a falling out between his wife/manager Sharon and Geezer's wife/manager Gloria Butler.

"[BLACK SABBATH guitarist] Tony Iommi has been so supportive of me since my illness," Osbourne said. "Geezer Butler hasn't given me one fucking phone call. Not one fucking call.

"When his son was fucking born, I phoned him every fucking night even though we were at war with each other, BLACK SABBATH and me [after I was out of the band]. I thought, 'Fuck it, he's my mate. I'm gonna call him.' But from him, not one fucking call.

"It's sad, man," he continued. "We all grew up together, and he can't pick up the fucking phone like a man and see how I'm doing. Even [original BLACK SABBATH drummer] Bill Ward has been in touch with me. I said some things about Bill, and I don't know why I said it, but when I came through my illness, he contacted me.

"I'm not in shock. I'm just very fucking sad that he can't just call me after all this time and say, 'How you doing?' Fucking arsehole."

Asked why he and Geezer had a falling out in the first place, Ozzy said: "His wife and my wife had a falling out. But that's got fucking nothing to do with me. Are you really going to hide behind your wife's skirt because of that?"

This past June, Geezer addressed the fact that he no longer speaks to Ozzy in an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock. Speaking about the fact that he mentioned Iommi in the book acknowledgments, where he wrote that Tony "actually still keeps in touch", Geezer said: "Yeah, he's always been there for me. You know, he's a good friend. We can slag each other to death. It's like marriage, really. You have terrible arguments, you fall out and you come back together. But he's always there. He always is. I hope he is after this book as well. I still love Bill, but he's not on the Internet. If you want to talk to Bill, you have to e-mail his wife and she has to tell him. It's really awkward. [Laughs] Ozzy I don't speak to at all." Asked if he thinks there's a chance those lines of communication will open back up at some point, Butler said: "I very much doubt it. We didn't fall out; it was the wives."

During an appearance on the "Appetite For Distortion" podcast, Geezer elaborated on his Ultimate Classic Rock comments, saying: "Well, it's like with every family. We've fallen out loads of times over the past 50 years — you fall out for a year or two and then you get together. I don't see any of the rest of the band. It's just that people have picked up on the Sharon part of it because everybody knows who Sharon is. If I would have put Bill's wife in there, nobody would have said anything about it, or Tony's wife. But because everybody knows who Sharon is, they seem to pick up on that. We were such a close band anyway. You have these fallouts and you beat each other up and whatever, and you don't talk to each other for two or three years, and then you get back together as if nothing's ever happened."

Butler and his wife, Gloria Butler, split their time between Henderson, Nevada and Utah while Ozzy and his wife, Sharon, are preparing to move back to the United Kingdom after living in California for the last few decades.

Last year, Ozzy described Tony to Metal Hammer magazine as "incredibly supportive" while admitting that he hadn't spoken to Butler in a while. "Last I heard, he was living in Vegas," Ozzy said.

During an August 2020 appearance on Steve-O's "Wild Ride!" podcast, Sharon Osbourne was asked if it's correct to say that when the original BLACK SABBATH lineup reunited more a decade ago, it was done on her terms, with her husband owning the SABBATH name and the other members of SABBATH acting as "employees" of the band. She responded: "It's about right, but Ozzy and Tony own the name — Geezer and Bill don't. So it's Ozzy and Tony that own the name, and they are partners in BLACK SABBATH. So you're kind of right. Ozzy and Tony are equal, and at the time, the other guys, you know, it's kind of like pay-for-play."

Ozzy filed a lawsuit against Tony in May 2009, claiming that Iommi illegally took sole ownership of the band's name in a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Osbourne sued Iommi for a 50 percent interest in the "Black Sabbath" trademark, along with a portion of Iommi's profits from use of the name.

The Manhattan federal court suit also charged that Osbourne's "signature lead vocals" are largely responsible for the band's "extraordinary success," noting that its popularity plummeted during his absence from 1980 through 1996.

Lawyer Andrew DeVore argued that Osbourne signed away all his rights to the BLACK SABBATH trademark after he quit the band in 1979.

Osbourne's lawyer, Howard Shire, called that agreement a "red herring" that was "repudiated" when the singer rejoined in 1997 and took over "quality control" of the band's merchandise, tours and recordings.

In June 2010, Ozzy told The Pulse Of Radio that the lawsuit between him and Tony had been settled and that everything was okay between them.

According to Rolling Stone, Butler had sold his share of the BLACK SABBATH band name to Iommi in 1984 and has since gotten over any regrets. "I still get a quarter of everything, so it doesn't matter financially," he told the magazine. "It's just that I can never go out on the road and call myself BLACK SABBATH."

In his book, Butler wrote that the original SABBATH reunion didn't go as planned after it was announced in November 2011, adding that "there was a big row about the SABBATH name, all over again. I was under the impression that since the original members were back together, writing and recording a new album, the name would revert to all four of us, whatever had happened between Tony and Ozzy a couple of years earlier," Geezer wrote. "But when the name was discussed, it became clear that Tony and Ozzy had no intention of sharing the SABBATH name with me or Bill. I felt cheated, so I left the band again. They got someone in to replace me, but a couple of weeks later I got a call from Tony, begging me to come back. In the end, I got my lawyers on the case and they managed to sort everything out. I was assured that despite not part-owning the SABBATH name, everything would be split equally, and the band wouldn't be able to tour as SABBATH without my approval, if needed."

"Into The Void: From Birth To Black Sabbath - And Beyond" was released in June in North America via HarperCollins imprint Dey Street Books.

During the question-and-answer portion of this month's Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp's "Metalmania III" in Los Angeles, drummer Mike Portnoy was asked how his return to DREAM THEATER came about. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET; video by TheSilverdude): "Well, it's been 13 years now. And it's crazy how time flies. But the last couple of years, I guess during the pandemic, yeah, I reconnected with [DREAM THEATER guitarist] John Petrucci. Once we were in lockdown and all of my bands couldn't tour, and DREAM THEATER couldn't tour, John Petrucci was doing a solo album, and he asked me to play on it. And then from there we decided we wanted to do another LTE [LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT] album, which is with [DREAM THEATER keyboardist] Jordan Rudess. And then shortly after that, John asked me to go on tour with him. So it just seems like we've been kind of reconnecting through the last few years."

He continued: "We have such a long history — almost 40 years now — together, and our families grew up together, our wives played in a band together, and our kids grew up together. So, honestly, it just felt like it was the right thing in the right time… [Our kids] lliterally grew up all together, in the top bunks across from each other on the bus. My daughter and John's daughter have lived together in New York for the last four or five years. So, yeah, there's so much family history beyond just the music that it just felt like the time was right to do it."

Asked if there is a chance that the next studio release from DREAM THEATER will be a follow-up to 1999's concept album "Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory", Portnoy replied: "We haven't talked about it yet, but that would be the obvious thing. But maybe because it's the obvious thing, we wouldn't do it. But you never know… It definitely would be fun to do, but I think, uh... I don't know. We're gonna start from scratch and reconnect and just go into the studio and live together. We're in a different phase of our lives. When I left the band 13 years ago, we were all in our 40s; now we're all in our 50s and 60s. It's gonna be interesting to see how we kind of exist now in this new world. So, yeah, I'm just looking forward to being with the guys and making music together again."

Asked if his return to DREAM THEATER will affect how many Mike Mangini-era songs are included in the band's future setlist, Portnoy said: "It's too soon to tell. When I left the band 13 years ago, I was the one writing the setlist and things like that. So, we haven't even discussed what the new dynamic is gonna be. I'm open to it, of course, so I surely would do it, if that's what they wanna do. But it's definitely gonna be a different dynamic."

He continued: "I think when I left all those years ago, I was running a lot of stuff, and I think now they've gotten so used to working more as a collective band that I think it's a very different dynamic now that I'm gonna have to find my place in and without stepping on anybody's toes. I have to respect that they've been doing it all this time without me. So, whatever they wanna do, I'm up for it. But that being said, there is so much music of ours to come back and play that… Personally, I look forward to revisiting all that stuff, but if they wanna do the newer stuff as well, whatever they want is fine with me."

Portnoy was also asked about the status of some of his other projects, including THE WINERY DOGS and SONS OF APOLLO, and how they will be affected by his return to DREAM THEATER. He responded: " Before the DREAM THEATER thing happened, I think I was up to like seven bands or something, or eight, or something like that. So, obviously I won't be able to do all of them, and right now the focus is going back to DREAM THEATER and focusing on that. So, I have a feeling some of the bands will survive and some won't. But I think THE WINERY DOGS, it's very likely that THE WINERY DOGS will continue. We still are continuing. I leave for Japan on Tuesday for a few weeks over there with THE WINERY DOGS. And we just filmed a live Blu-ray last week at the last show in Europe, so that'll be coming out.

"But, yeah, there's still other things on my schedule," he added. "I still have a show with METAL ALLEGIANCE in January [2024] in Anaheim, and I still have some shows with FLYING COLORS, which is my band with Steve Morse and Dave LaRue; we're still, we're playing on Cruise To The Edge in March [of 2024]. So I still do have these other obligations and these other things that I still have on the calendar with all these other bands. But I think once all of those obligations clear, I'm gonna focus on DREAM THEATER at least for a while."

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

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

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

Vinny Appice spoke to Backstage Pass about his recently completed Brazilian tour during which he paid tribute to the music of BLACK SABBATH and DIO. The legendary 66-year-old drummer, who has played with BLACK SABBATH, DIO and HEAVEN & HELL, was backed during the trek by Fernando Giovannetti (bass),Nando Fernandes (vocals) and Edu Ardanuy (guitar; ex-DR. SIN).

"I've got a great band down there," Vinny said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I've done it three times down in South America. And what we play is a lot of stuff from 'The Mob Rules', 'Dehumanizer' and some old SABBATH, 'Heaven And Hell', all that, and a little bit of DIO. And they just go crazy. I played five shows. They were all pretty much sold out — smaller places, but packed. And they know all the words. They know all the melodies. They're so passionate about their music. It's incredible. So I had a great time. And 40 years later, they just love this stuff. And I'm doing them in the States now as well. I did five shows a couple of months back. And as we have time off with LAST IN LINE with Vivian Campbell, I'll be booking these shows. And it's a fun thing for me playing all this old stuff. It's low stress. We're not trying to sell records. We're not trying to become a big band. It's more of a tribute — with me. So I call it like a 'tribute plus' to BLACK SABBATH, DIO. I'm the 'plus'."

Elaborating on why he thinks there is a renewed interest in seeing him perform classic songs from SABBATH and DIO, Vinny said: "When I played here [in the U.S.], places were packed and people loved it as well. Because I'm the only guy now from the original [BLACK SABBATH] band that's out there. Tony [Iommi] and Geezer [Butler], no more. Ozzy [Osbourne], it seems like no more. And I was the only other drummer in the beginning; I made some of the albums with them. So I think that the time is perfect now for me that I still wanna do this, go out and play — play this stuff. People wanna hear it."

Professionally filmed video of Appice's entire October 26 concert at Café Piu Piu in São Paulo, Brazil can be seen below.

Featured songs:

01. Turn Up The Night
02. The Mob Rules
03. Children Of The Sea
04. The Last In Line
05. The Sign Of The Southern Cross
06. Computer God
07. Voodoo
08. Stand Up And Shout
09. Holy Diver
10. War Pigs
11. Neon Knights

Encore:

12. Caught In The Middle
13. We Rock
14. Rainbow In The Dark

This past February, Vinny was asked in an interview with Paul Rogne of the Drumming News Network why he doesn't play double-bass drums. He responded: "Well, because Carmine [Appice, Vinny's brother] went over to double bass; he started on single bass. Then at one point I got another bass drum and I played it, and I guess I didn't like it at that point. And I thought, 'Carmine's doing all this stuff. He's been using it for years now. I'm just gonna stick with one bass drum.' And seeing how some of these drummers with double bass are amazing, I just thought, 'I'm gonna stay with one bass drum and not do the double-bass thing.' And that kept my foot strong. Actually, my right leg, my calf is bigger than the left leg. When I put on tight pants, the right leg, getting it back off, it's harder to get off than the left leg, 'cause the muscle built up so much. It's crazy."

Vinny previously discussed his preference for a single-bass setup during an interview with Metal Edge more than a decade and a half ago. At the time he said: "Both Carmine and I started with a single bass. Then he moved over to double bass, so I thought I'd see if it was for me. It didn't blow me away, so I just kept the single bass. I never used a double pedal either, so I'm known as 'Mr. Single Bass.' The good thing is that with a double bass your foot can't get lazy, so I've got a lot of power with one foot and it's fairly fast from playing with one just bass drum."

Back in December 2021, Vinny spoke to the "All Access Live! With Kevin Rankin" podcast about his unique and powerful drumming style which has anchored the rhythm and power live and in the studio for the music of DIO, BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL, LAST IN LINE, AXIS, Rick Derringer, John Lennon and more. He said: "I always say 'I go where no man has gone before' where some of these fills start. See, I play in the song. Whatever I do, I get into the song. I don't play on top of the song. I hear a lot of drummers can play on top of the song and they're just playing the song. I'm inside of that song, and that's the way I hear the stuff. It's kind of like an artist painting pictures, and I'm in there putting the colors in it. And I just hear it like that — fills that could go over the bar, maybe a bar and a half. And they start in an odd place. And luckily, that worked for me with SABBATH. SABBATH, I didn't do quite as much because SABBATH was so legendary, you had to keep that in your mind that this is BLACK SABBATH and there's a certain way to play fills that are a little darker maybe — not so much snare drum; more dark stuff. And then with DIO, anything went. And Ronnie [James Dio] never had a problem with me playing… nor did SABBATH; they never said 'don't play a fill there' or anything like that. And Ronnie, I'd play over his vocal line. We kicked each other in the ass. When I hear him starting to go, I go, 'Woah, dude.' Now something comes out of me that got inspired; he inspired me. We fed off each other, absolutely."

Appice went on to say that his recorded parts change and evolve when he is performing the songs live. "Like one night, [DIO] played 'The Last In Line', and at the third verse, [Ronnie] goes, 'And you never, never, never come home.' And then one night, he kept it going. He went, 'Never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never…' He kept it going. And I just heard that and I followed him," Vinny said. "And we went, 'That was cool, dude.' And we still do that. I'm playing with LAST IN LINE now with Vivian [Campbell, former DIO guitarist]. And we do that. Andy Freeman [LAST IN LINE singer] and I, we worked it out so that part's in there.

"See, I'm always listening," Appice continued. "Drummers, you've gotta listen to what's going on on stage. I don't close my eyes and space out. I look around. I'm scanning the stage. If I'm hearing somebody playing something, maybe I'll jump on it. And that keeps it really exciting. That's why I don't play the same stuff every night. Certain fills are the same. But then I go kick in the ass as much as I could."

Vinny has recorded and co-written songs on several dozen albums and CDs, including many multi-platinum records. Vinny's drumming can also be heard on numerous movie soundtracks, including "Wayne's World 2", "Heavy Metal", "Iron Eagle" and "Bedazzled". Vinny, the author of drum instruction book "Rock Steady" and DVD "Hard Rock Drumming Techniques", has performed incredible powerhouse drum clinics around the globe. Numerous books have been written about BLACK SABBATH and DIO with the authors always mentioned Vinny's drumming style.

ESTÁ CHEGANDO! 🤘🏼💥
Nesta quinta-feira, o lendário baterista Vinny Appice (@vinnyappiceofficial) retorna ao Brasil para...

Posted by Café Piu Piu on Monday, October 23, 2023

In a new interview with Metallerium, URIAH HEEP guitarist Mick Box was asked how he and his bandmates have managed to retain their trademark sound despite having gone through so many lineup changes over the years. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I think, I think, basically, as long as I'm there, the band's gonna sound like URIAH HEEP. Because we created a template on how we sounded back in 1970 with our first album, '...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble'. So, we've continued with that all the way along the line. And I think a lot of the credit must go to Jay Ruston, our producer, because he understood where we come from, what we're all about, but he managed to make the album sound really fresh and today, and I think that's a marvelous achievement. So really, as long as we keep playing and writing good songs and doing good performances, and we get someone like Jay Ruston recording it, I think it will always sound fresh and exciting."

Regarding what has kept URIAH HEEP going for so long, Mick said: "I think the only thing that drives us on, it's only one word — it's called passion. And if you've got passion for what you do, then eventually you'll achieve it."

URIAH HEEP's 25th studio album, "Chaos & Colour", was released in January via Silver Lining Music. The LP was recorded during the summer of 2021 at Chapel Studios in London with the aforementioned Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, COREY TAYLOR, BLACK STAR RIDERS) at the helm.

"Jay was completely on board with what we are trying to achieve in the studio," Box previously said. "We're a band that has a fantastic heritage and to carry on that tradition it was vitally important that the band recorded in the studio all playing at the same time. Jay understood that and he pulled out the best of us as a band, as well as individual players, while getting us some amazing sounds."

During the question-and-answer portion of this month's Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp's "Metalmania III" in Los Angeles, Zakk Wylde was asked if he is planning to continue playing with PANTERA "permanently". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET; video by TheSilverdude): "Yeah. I told the guys [singer Philip Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown] whenever… as long as they wanna do it. I don't know why you would wanna end it, 'cause all you're [doing is] going out there and you're just celebrating the fellas. I think it's a beautiful thing and I get to hang out with my buddies."

Zakk, who was close friends with late PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, was also asked about his relationship with Dimebag's brother, late PANTERA drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott. He said: "Oh, Vinnie was great too… With Dime and Vinnie, every night was Friday night or Saturday night. 'Cause it wouldn't be Sunday. And even if it was Sunday, it would be Sunday Night Football. You know what I mean? Every night was Friday night, man. I mean, it just literally was. I always say it, if you [were hanging out with] Dime and Vinnie, there was zero time to get depressed. If you were bummed out, it's, like, 'Zakk, call the fellas up. We're gonna have a party.' You could either be depressed or you could be loving life and whooping as much ass as possible. They were always about having a good time. I mean, Dime would walk in a room if somebody was depressed as could possibly be, [and] he would just light up a room. Same thing with Vinnie, man."

The reformed PANTERA — featuring the band's surviving members Anselmo and Brown, along with Wylde and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX) — are headlining a number of major festivals across North America, South America and Europe and staging some of their own headline concerts. They are also supporting METALLICA on a massive stadium tour in 2023 and 2024.

It was first reported in July 2022 that Anselmo and Brown would unite with Wylde and Benante for a world tour under the PANTERA banner.

According to Billboard, the lineup has been given a green light by Dimebag and Vinnie Paul's estates, as well as Brown, who in 2021 said Wylde wouldn't tour with PANTERA if a reunion were to happen. It's unclear what changed his mind.

Anselmo and Brown spoke about PANTERA's return to the stage during a recent appearance on the seventeenth episode of "The Metallica Report", the recently launched podcast offering weekly insider updates on all things METALLICA. Philip said: "It's empowering. It is incredibly beautiful, and you feel so much love when you're up there. And if you take it in, it's a great feeling, man. These days, man, that's where me and Rex, you know, we get to dig the shows more."

He continued: "When we were younger, we were at war and when we were on stage; we were just angry and at war, man. Now it's — the songs are there. I can concentrate on singing the fricking songs, number one. Geez, that's a relief for me, man. I don't have to break my fricking body in part anymore."

Anselmo and Brown also talked about Charlie and Zakk being part of the PANTERA team. Philip said: "Them two dudes, so enthusiastic. And they got their damn thing and they got their own damn legacy, both of them, without us. It's an honor to play with them. They're the nicest frickin guys in the world, man. I'm just so... [Laughs] Zakk, he's a crack-up, man. He's a sweetheart. And fricking Charlie, we've known Charlie since '87, man. It's a long time."

Rex chimed in: "The way [Charlie] plays Vinnie's parts is uncanny. I don't think there's any drummer out there that could play the way that Vinnie did. I would close my eyes, because I was trying to get tight, and sometimes if I close my eyes, I can hear a little better; I think I can. And there'd be a tear of joy just coming down, because that was so close to what Vinnie and I used to play. So you have the foundation."

Philip concurred, saying: "The low end sounds so PANTERA, man. It's freaking me out."

When the interviewer suggested that PANTERA in 2023 has Vinnie Paul and Dimebag's "spirit inside it", Philip said: "Only thing I can say is, man, I know for a damn fact Vince and Dime would want us to do this, hands down. They would want the PANTERA brand or the legacy to go on. And I don't know what you believe in, but sometimes, you know, you would like to think that them old fellas are looking down on us, giving us the thumbs-up."

While he was alive, Vinnie Paul had repeatedly dismissed talks of a PANTERA reunion, telling Germany's EMP Rock Invasion in 2014: "People are selfish, man. They want what they want; they don't care what you want. And it's unfortunate that people go, 'Oh, wow, man, they can get Zakk Wylde to jump up there on stage and it's PANTERA again.' No, it's not, you know. It's not that simple. If Eddie Van Halen was to get shot in the head four times next week, would everybody be going, 'Hey, man, Zakk, go play for VAN HALEN. Just call it VAN HALEN.' You see what I'm saying? I mean, it's really selfish for people to think that, and it's stupid. It's not right at all."

He continued: "They call it a reunion for a reason. It's called bringing the original members back to what it was. So there's a lot of these things that they call reunions that aren't really reunions. They've got one dude from the band floating around in them, you know. That's not a true reunion. With PANTERA, it'll never be possible."

He repeated those same sentiments a few months later, telling PlanetMosh in a separate interview: "Without Dimebag Darrell, there is no [PANTERA] reunion. And that's all there is to it. We were a very influential band, and we touched millions and millions of people with that band, but it's over. People really have to come to grips with that, and that's all there is to it. If all of us were still here, then the possibility would truly be there, but since it's not, you know… It's selfish of the fans to want something that they can't have. And they don't ever understand that, and I get it. There's things I want in this world too. You know, people in fucking hell want ice water, but they're not gonna get it."

Up until his passing in June 2018, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for Dimebag's death.

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, they formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.

Dimebag's longtime girlfriend Rita Haney in 2011 called on Vinnie and Philip to settle their differences in honor of Dimebag.

Vinnie, who was Dimebag's brother, and Anselmo had not spoken since PANTERA split in 2003. But the relationship got even more acrimonious when Vinnie suggested that some remarks the vocalist had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag's killer.

Haney told the producers of "Behind The Music Remastered: Pantera" that she forgave the singer after they found themselves unexpectedly face to face at a concert in California.

This cover is not only a cover:

„It is a special song in many ways, starting from the fact that it is a love letter to a band and to a specific moment in time when metal was in fact imprinting our lives indefinitely.“


Also, the lineup of this recording is an absolute match made in heaven and a dream come true:

Tony Dolan • former singer and bass player of VENOM • vocals and bass
Snowy Shaw • ex-Mercyful Fate, ex-King Diamond, ex-Memento Mori • drums
Damna • vocals and rhythm guitars
Aydan • solo guitar and keyboards
Lethien • violins

In a new interview with Q104.3's "Out Of The Box With Jonathan Clarke", SHINEDOWN frontman Brent Smith was asked to recount a memorable tale involving one of his rock and roll idols. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We were in S.I.R. [studios in Nashville] during what would become the '[Somewhere In The] Stratosphere' record. There were two parts to that. There was the 'Anything And Everything' tour, which was like a storytellers tour, and then there was like the plugged in side of things. So when we were rehearsing at S.I.R. in Nashville [around 2007] for 'Anything And Everything', which was acoustic, I went to the restroom and I'm in the restroom and somebody walked in and they were right next to the urinal next to me. This was a very large individual. It was like a tractor beam. I had to turn to my right and kind of look and it was [LED ZEPPELIN singer] Robert Plant. And so I did my business, washed my hands and left. Zach [Myers, SHINEDOWN guitarist] is coming down the hallway and I'm, like, 'Dude, Robert Plant is in the bathroom.' And he's, like, 'Shut up.'"

Brent continued: "What was funny about this also, too, is earlier in the day we came into S.I.R., and whoever was practicing next to us — 'cause all the rooms are soundproof. But if you go outside your room in the hallway, you could kind of hear what's going on. So there no vocal going on — no one was singing — but they were playing bluegrass versions of LED ZEPPELIN songs. And this is when [Plant] was doing the work with Alison Krauss. And so I was, like, 'Man, whoever is in there, those are LED ZEPPELIN songs. They're just… They're doing it in a bluegrass style.' So it made sense that he was there. This was also the era of the flip phone. There was no iPhone yet or Androids or even Blackberries. So he comes out, and I never asked for photos with anyone. And he walks out. And when I say he is a large man, he is tall, man. He's, like, six [feet] and] six [inches tall] or six [feet and] seven [inches]. He's a big dude. He came out, and literally, as he walked out, I said, 'Mr. Plant, could me and my friend get a picture with you?' And without hesitation, he was, like, 'Absolutely.' He was the sweetest guy. And we talked for like a quick second, and then he went back into his room."

Last month, SHINEDOWN completed the fall leg of "The Revolutions Live" tour with support from PAPA ROACH and SPIRITBOX as they continued to tour behind their hit album "Planet Zero". The 25-date outing, co-produced by Live Nation and FPC Live, wrapped on October 20 in Denver.

The "Planet Zero" album features pop-rock anthem and No. 1 rock hit "Daylight", which People called one of "the most powerful of pop-rock songs created to remind us that we are truly all in this together." The band's video for "Daylight", set to the Amazon Original version of the song, is a love letter to their fans and shows the impact that the song's message — that you are never alone — had during SHINEDOWN's sold-out "Planet Zero" world tour.

SHINEDOWN also released a music video for rock single "Dead Don't Die", a rousing declaration of survival and an anthem about the resilience of the human spirit after trying times.

"Planet Zero" boldly confronts the societal forces that perpetuate divisiveness while offering a restorative path forward through empathy and open conversation — ultimately serving as a reminder that it is our human connections that matter the most. The album debuted in the Top 5 on the Billboard 200 chart and the official U.K. albums chart, and at No. 1 on six other Billboard charts, including Top Album Sales, Rock, Hard Rock, and Alternative Albums.

Saffire will reissue their For the Greater Good album on February 23, 2024 via ROAR! Rock Of Angels Records. 


When the reissue of For the Greater Good was greenlighted, Saffire decided to do a remix on the album, something they’ve talked about for a while. Not that the original mix/production was of low quality but, more due to the fact that the original release felt sonically different to what they should have really sounded like, in their opinion. 


With this remix, the band could make it sound more like themselves again and also take the opportunity to do add some new, subtle production ingredients that they believe should have had been in the album from the very beginning. 




In short, they comment: “We gave the album the facelift it deserved!”


For the Greater Good (Redux) will be released on February 23, 2024 as Digipack CD, Curacao Transparent Vinyl limited to 300 copies worldwide and digital streaming/download format. Preorder roar.gr.





Tracklisting:


“The Great Escape”
“Casters Of The First Stone”
“For The Greater Good”
“Heartless”
“Dandelion’s Shame”
“Shadowland”
“Wake Up The World”
“As Promises Burn”
“Blame It On The Rain”
“Ghost Town”
“This Is Not The End”


For The Greater Good (Redux) lineup:
Victor Olsson – Guitars
Dino Zuzic – Keyboards
Tobias Jansson - Vocals
Magnus Carlsson - Bass
Anton Roos – Drums & Percussion

Set to unleash their debut full-length in 2024 via Exitus Stratagem Records, Voraath unveiled earlier this November their brutal horror-inspired extreme metal single and music video "Judas Blood And Vultures", which is the first from a series of videos the band will be offering in the coming months to support the forthcoming album.


Today, band founder and drummer Joshua Nassaru Ward is now sharing his playthrough for the track.







The band adds:


"We are going the extra mile to not only bring you our flavor of extreme symphonic metal but an immersive experience both visually and auditorily. We thank all of you! If you love video games, sci-fi horror, action, and metal music then this is for you!"


Ward also co-wrote the storyline for "Judas Blood And Vultures" along with directing its music video with the combined efforts of the band's team at Eldersverse Studio.


The story of "Judas Blood And Vultures" takes place in the year 2193 - Mission: 3116 The Red Village incident: The Valewalkers are contacted by an old friend, Tobias to investigate a series of strange disappearances in a neighboring village. It is believed that a vile creature from beyond the Nexus Rift, known by the locals as Lumia is responsible for the missing villagers, among them, Tobias’ new bride and infant child. As the hunters and their forlorn guide begin their pursuit of the creature and its cultist minions, they soon discover that not all is as it seems in the ruins of the red village.





Voraath is an otherworldly and experimental death metal band that brings together emotional yet brutal music and science fantasy appealing to both metal enthusiasts as well as those who appreciate the lore of the music. The band's origin began with an idea to merge extreme metal with storytelling by band founder and drummer Joshua Ward (Xael).


"I wanted to create more than just another metal band but an intricate brand with lore to explore alongside the music. We are creating a metal multiverse," adds Ward.


Integrating science fantasy, soundscapes, and metal, Voraath looks forward to tantalizing audiences and leaving them anticipating their forthcoming debut album, which is currently in the works.


As they tour across the American Midwest, they promise an onslaught of theatrics, bringing their stories of the music to life. Atmospheric and driving, the medley of blast beats, chugging bass, and heavily distorted solos will be both intense and immersive.


"Our stage wear is directly from the lore. Each one of us is a character in the lore of our music. Tactical dystopian armor, Alien-like helmets with red glowing lights, we try to represent the vibe we are writing about," says Ward.


Lineup:
Chelsea Marrow - Vocals
Tylor Kohl - Guitar
Paul McBride - Bass
Joshua Ward - Drums, Keys, Vocals, Studio Guitars


(Photo – Picture: Jamie Leblanc, Art: Joshua Ward)

Listenable Records has announced the resigning UK thrash metal legends Xentrix for a new multi album deal.


Kristian Havard (Guitar) comments:  “Xentrix are extremely excited to continue our relationship with Listenable records by signing with them once again. Listenable is a label that is run by people who are incredibly focused, knowledgeable and more importantly, massively passionate about metal music. And it’s these differences that made it a no brainer when it came time to for the band to choose a label for new music.”


Hailing from the North West of England, Xentrix was formed in 1985 by guitar player Chris Astley. After numerous changes to the lineup Xentrix signed to Roadrunner records and entered the studio to record their first album Shattered Existence with producer John Cuniberti (Vio-lence, Forbidden, Joe Satriani). Xentrix have been one of the leading lights of the British thrash metal movement. They had music videos which all had regular air time on MTV’s Headbangers Ball. 




Gaining global notoriety, Xentrix had many high energy performances with audiences of thousands. 


Mixed and mastered by Andy Sneap, Xentrix’s comeback album Bury The Pain was released in 2019 on Listenable records, with production from Andy Sneap and Mastering by Russ Russell. This new recording showed the band sounding heavier than ever, while still retaining their signature sound.


Latest and 7th studio album Seven Words released in late 2022 remains a crushing compendium of all that has made this band what it is today.


Lineup:
Jay Walsh - Vocals/Guitar
Kristian Havard - Guitar
Chris Shires - Bass
Dennis Gasser – Drums

ANTHRAX singer Joey Belladonna's JOURNEY tribute band called BEYOND FRONTIERS (formerly JOEY BELLADONNA'S BEYOND THE BAND and JOURNEY BEYOND) performed at Wynfield's in Satellite Beach, Florida on Sunday, November 19. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below, courtesy of the Roxy Healy YouTube channel.

In a recent interview with Ernest Skinner of Canada's Border City Rock Talk, Belladonna was asked if he was serious when he said that he would love to sing with JOURNEY one day. He responded: "I've been around [the JOURNEY] guys, my wife and I.. God, I know Deen [Castronovo, JOURNEY drummer], and I've had dinner with Neal [Schon, JOURNEY guitarist], and soundchecked with the crew. I mean, I'm so far into knowing the whole band and crew that I always would have loved to have done that. 'Cause I just like the music. The music is really appealing to me. I love all the melodic [aspects of it]. I love the musicianship. There's so much there. Without really outright looking for that gig, without asking, you know what I mean? Yeah, I love the music and that's why I put we put BEYOND FRONTIERS together because I've always thought it would be a fun night and I like singing the music."

Joey went on to say that he and rest of BEYOND FRONTIERS are currently working on "studio versions" of their "whole set. And it sounded pretty good," he said. "It just hasn't really been mixed yet to where I want it."

In September, Belladonna was asked point blank by Mike Hsu of the 100 FM The Pike radio station what he would say if he was contacted right now and asked to front JOURNEY. Joey responded: "You know, I would definitely be really interested in doing that. That would be great. Not that I think that that's gonna happen, but, yeah, it would be great. I'd love that challenge. It would be great."

Regarding why he chose to launch a JOURNEY tribute band, Belladonna told 100 FM The Pike: "Well, I've been singing JOURNEY stuff throughout the years, but never had a band that I thought that would be, you know, willing to do it correctly and lengthy like where I could keep it going. I've always liked the music so much. I've owned all the music. I liked JOURNEY long before Steve [Perry] even came. I have all those records, so I was really into the band a lot. But of course, when Steve came along, I was down with singing that live somewhere. And [I] just put it together and said I wanted to do a whole night of it. I just thought it would be fun, and it looked like a blast. And we do have a blast doing it."

Belladonna's JOURNEY tribute also features keyboardist Doug Carter, bassist Paul Arntz, guitarist Matt Basford and drummer Justin Ward.

In an April 2020 interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Belladonna stated about his approach to singing material that was originally written and recorded by Steve Perry: "Obviously, when you do [something like this], there's always open ground for [people to say], 'You didn't do that part, 'You didn't do this.' [But] I didn't wanna copy it note for note. Sometimes I just like to do my own thing with it. Represent it and do what you can, but I love to mess around with things. Not so much to try to be too different, but just make it cool and do it your own way versus trying to get every note. I'm sure some guys study every second of it. Even with ANTHRAX, I do songs different a lot of times. It's just fun that way. To do things off the cuff is fun for me versus trying to follow everything… I can study it all day, but I just don't feel like doing that. I wanna have a little fun doing my own thing with it."

Belladonna's JOURNEY tribute made its live debut in March 2020 at The Beacon Theatre in Hopewell, Virginia.

In a 2005 interview with MusicDish, Belladonna was asked about the rumor that he came to the table with a JOURNEY tune during his 1985 audition for ANTHRAX. "Actually, what happened was I went into the room and they said, 'Just go on in,' and they hadn't heard me sing," he said. "They'd heard of me and they asked me to come in, but we were going in to start tracking and stuff, to get the mic set up and all that and they said, 'Let's get you in there and get you warmed up.' I hit the mic and belted out some JOURNEY… I think it was [the song] 'Lights'. I didn't know what the hell I was getting into in the first place. I just wanted to lay some vocals or something. Just to kinda give an idea and that's what happened. It wasn't really anything more than that. I just kinda belched it out. I think I did 'Oh Sherrie' [written by Steve Perry], too, or something. I dunno why, but I just did. It was something off the top of my head I could do a cappella and it was kinda challenging. I thought maybe in range or something that would be kind of intriguing. It was definitely one they weren't expecting."

ANTHRAX's 2013 EP "Anthems" EP included the band's cover version of JOURNEY's "Keep On Runnin'" alongside classics by RUSH, THIN LIZZY, AC/DC, CHEAP TRICK and BOSTON.

TONIGHT!
Doors at 7pm
21+

Posted by Wynfield's on Sunday, November 19, 2023

Scottish rock heroes, Gun, are delighted to announce their ninth studio album, Hombres, is set for release in April via a new label deal with Cooking Vinyl. It is the first album of all new music from the group since 2017’s Favourite Pleasures, which entered the UK official album chart at #16, and also features new full-time guitarist, Ru Moy, adding further heft to their rock ballast.


Guitarist Giuliano “Jools” Gizzi enthuses, "This is one of the proudest pieces of work we've ever done, truly it's Gun in its finest form."


Vocalist Dante Gizzi adds, “We are proud of the new record and know the fans will love it. We always try to push forward and innovate; it’s essential as it’s how we keep ourselves passionate and excited about making music after so long together. It’s important to bring new blood and fresh ideas into the band, too, and Ru has already added a new dynamic.”




Director of Cooking Vinyl, Rob Collins declares, “I am very proud to welcome Scottish rock royalty to Cooking Vinyl. Not only have they endured the good and bad times, they have now, in their 34th year, come up with the best album of their career. Gun deserve your attention.“


To celebrate, today the band share infectious, hook-laden new single “All Fired Up”, which is available on all streaming platforms now, and its official lyric video.


Dante elaborates, "’All Fired Up’ is a nod to what we all went through during lockdown; it represents the pent-up frustrations we all had and this is an artistic release of all that built up energy!"


Directed by Kieran Howe & the team at Morsecode, watch the official lyric video below.


The thirteen tracks on Hombres were recorded and produced by Simon Bloor (Trevor Horn) with mixing by Daryl Thorpe (Foo Fighters) at Morsecode Studios and Strongroom Studio. The record boasts guest vocals from Beverley Skeete (Elton John, Chaka Khan, Tom Jones, Johnny Cash), Mary Pearce (Primal Scream, Lionel Ritchie, Chaka Khan) and Sarah-Jane Skeete (Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue, Bill Wyman) of The Sisterhood on several tracks, as well as a guest performance on the drums from Joe Lazerus of Twin Atlantic.





The album will be available in multiple formats as both standard and deluxe editions, including on CD, vinyl, and digitally. Pre-order here.





Hombres tracklisting:


"All Fired Up"
"Boys Don't Cry"
"Take Me Back Home"
"Fake Life"
"Falling"
"You Are What I Need"
"Never Enough"
"Don't Hide Your Fears Tonight"
"Lucky Guy"
"A Shift In Time"


Deluxe edition bonus tracks:


"Coming Back To You"
"Wrong To Be Right"
"Pride"


"All Fired Up" lyric video:

By Scott Hefflon

A resurgence of the classic Mercyful Fate sound exerted itself on 1999’s 9, a number referenced “repeatedly in the Satanic Bible”, says the almighty King Diamond in this BraveWords 25 classic from issue #31 / June ’99. Read on as King talks about Satanism, his influence on symphonic black metal and how he was "amazed" when Metallica put together the ultimate Mercyful Medley tribute on Garage Inc. 



With 9, appropriately their ninth studio album, Mercyful Fate returns to shake foundations of faith and concrete.  Heavier and more lyrically vicious then recent records, 9 tempers the snarl of the Beast and the mocking laughter of dark, empty skies with the sweet singing of Angels. But if you remember The Prophecy, Angels are human-hating killers with clever one-liners and flamethrowing fingertips. So who you gonna trust? King Diamond takes a moment before setting off to wreak havoc on a European tour to rekindle the fires of doubt in the minds of the complacent. Witness the words from the altar of the King...   


BraveWords: There are a lot of similarities between 9 and the early days of Mercyful Fate. Even down to the cover art. 




King: "Yes, this same artist painted Melissa and Don't Break The Oath. Actually, there were two guys who worked at the company at that time, a painter and an artist more into airbrushing, and they were all there from the beginning. If you look closely, the cover of 9 almost blends the two covers together."   


BraveWords: Explain the significance of the number 9. 


King: "Aside from the obvious, that this is the ninth studio album Mercyful Fate has done, including The Beginning and Return Of The Vampire, nine is a magical number. It's a number that's used repeatedly in the Satanic Bible. Everything you multiply by nine, if you add together the digits, you return to nine. Three times nine is 27, two plus seven is nine, and so on. And nine multiplied by 74 is 666: and if you add six plus six plus six, you get 18, and one plus eight is nine. It also relates to human life, the duration of pregnancy being nine months. There are many, many connections with nine. It's also the number of Satanic philosophy, not 666. That's a number taken from the Bible."  


BraveWords: That's always struck me as funny that kids write 666 on walls or in their notebooks, yet that's the Christian's number, not the Satanist's. 


King: "And Satan is a Christian god, one that appears in the Bible, and yet many have chosen to throw away that part of their own manufactured religion. And that's not to say that Christianity is bad - I don't think that anything a person believes in is bad, as long as they don't try to force it down my throat. My religious beliefs, my spiritual beliefs, are different from everyone. I've not found what I believe in any book, but I can totally relate to Satanism as a life philosophy as described in Anton LeVey's Bible. It has nothing to do with spirituality, it's more a book of logic. It gets into human instincts, not spirituality. I think most people know that I'm not a Satanist in the Christian sense. I don't believe in their Satan any more than I believe in their God." 


 


BraveWords: You've been a professed Satanist since the beginning, and I imagine you've taken your fair share of crap from people. Does that still happen to this day? 


King: "To an extent, yes, but I think the people and organizations who go after people for their beliefs usually do some checking up and realize there's little for them to gain from going after me. Are we going to debate logic? Are we going to debate personal beliefs? There's no easy way to debate it, and they might just lose their argument. I raise questions about faith because faith is big part of our lives. From our everyday lives to various conflicts around the world, there is faith and religion. The conflicts stem from the lack of respect one group has for the other's beliefs. That's why we have to have laws to get along - otherwise it would be complete chaos because we are all so different, and we see right and wrong differently. A good example is on the King Diamond album, Voodoo. These people move into a house and they discover there is voodoo being practiced nearby. It scares them because they don't know what voodoo is, so they try to get rid of it. The voodoo people have no intention of harming the people who've moved into the house, but now they are being attacked. And now you have a war. Both are trying to do what they think is right, but now there is an unnecessary conflict. If the people who moved into the house had bothered to try to understand what the voodoo practicers were about, they would have found that they were harmless, they simply had different beliefs."   


BraveWords: 9 is not a conceptual album, right? 


King: "No, they're individual songs. And that goes for all Mercyful Fate albums, with the exception of In the Shadows which has a three-part song. King Diamond is the outlet for concept stories. In the beginning, Mercyful Fate was not that theatrical a band, so King Diamond was created to tell stories. It uses any instrument that'll enhance the feeling. Mercyful Fate is much more direct, there's no need for additional instruments. One thing many people don't realize is that ‘the two classic albums,’ Melissa and Don't Break The Oath, are very different from one another. People group them together without remembering that they've very different. But the thing about 9 that reminds me of those two albums is the attitude. There is much more aggression and attitude in the performance then there has been recently. Without losing the melodic aspect - there's a really good balance on this record. And the lyrics are much more direct this time out. There is nothing held back, just like the early days."   


BraveWords: How are the lyrics so much more direct, and why the change? 


King: "I wouldn't call it self-censorship because I wouldn't do that, but I think I chose different phrasings and words because people often misinterpret what I say. People relate different things to the same words, so you sometimes try to say the same things with other words. For some reason, if you use words other than the straight, direct words, it weakens the whole. I use the traditional Christian words because they have impact, they make people think. When I say Satan in the lyrics, it doesn't mean I believe in Satan the way the Christian church has created him. I don't. But I am willing to use their words to get my point across. It will instantly make people think about a very specific image. If I said ‘the powers of darkness might give you knowledge without your knowing it, powers you can use for yourself in positive ways,’ that's very different  than saying ‘Satan might give you more knowledge than you could ever imagine, and maybe you could use it positively.’”





BraveWords: People will hear "Satan" and "positive" and think about what I'm saying. While "dark powers" sounds nice and poetic, but it doesn't have the impact."  In a way, it's like using their words as a foot in the door. 


King: "Exactly, right. The words do mean something to me, but not the same thing they mean to others. Satan, to me, stands for the powers of the unknown. And that's what it's always meant to me. But I can't use it thinking people will know I'm talking about the powers of the unknown. That would be foolish. So starting now, again, just like in the early days, I'm using the words that will make people think about what I want them to think about. Things I think are important to think about, and then people are left to make up their own minds." 


BraveWords: Another difference is the sound of the vocals. 


King: "I can really recognize the sound of my own voice again. It was because the words were right. It gave me the inspiration to do more vocal harmonies as well. 'Sold My Soul' has more going on vocally than I've ever done before. And that's more like what we did in the old days as well. But while much of this relates to the early days, the production is very modern and heavy, we used D-tuned guitars on two songs - something we never really did before - and 9 has 'Insane', the fastest song we've ever done."   


BraveWords: How would you summarize the difference between Mercyful Fate and your solo concept?


King: "They're different players playing different instruments. Mercyful Fate is very Stratocaster and King Diamond is very B.C. Rich. And King Diamond is more modern and theatrical, whereas Mercyful Fate is more '70s-influenced. Even if both bands played the same song, they would sound very different. And in King Diamond, I use many more voices. Because it's more story-oriented, I use the whole spectrum of different voices I can create. Mercyful Fate's lyrics are about Satanic philosophy and raise a lot of questions about religion, and King Diamond is more horror stories focusing on human actions and reactions."   


BraveWords: Tell me a bit about your cover of “The Ripper” on the Tribute to Judas Priest. 


King: "Mercyful Fate was very inspired by Judas Priest, so this was a way of paying tribute. That was a perfect song for Mercyful Fate. Each instrument, the vocals, and the production really recreated the sights and smells of the alleyways being stalked by the Ripper, down to the bit of swagger in his walk. I had a really good feeling with that song. And it's very rare that I can get into the mood of someone else's lyrics. In the very early days, I was in a three-piece that Hank (Sherman, lead guitarist) and I helped do a demo. He had a song about being a truck driver that he wanted me to sing, and I was like, 'Are you serious?!?'  He said, 'What?  I don't think it's that bad!' I felt so stupid singing that song. I couldn't relate to it."   


BraveWords: Speaking of tributes, how'd you feel about Metallica's medley of your songs on Garage Inc. called “Mercyful Fate”? 


King: "That was so well done, I was amazed. You can tell they really dug into the songs. They stayed authentic to the tempo and melodies, they just used a lower harmony in those places where the vocals get too high. Kirk didn't copy the solos, but he got the feel. It made me feel really good to hear someone get in that close to the original, yet it still sounds like Metallica."  


BraveWords: And you're about to go on tour with them this summer. 


King: "Yes, for two months we'll be touring all over Europe, sometimes with Metallica and Monster Magnet, sometimes on our own. Mostly big festivals, but we have quite a few club dates as well."   


BraveWords: You mentioned the '70s influence of Mercyful Fate - who specifically? 


King: "I collect albums from that era, so when people ask me what new bands I listen to, I really don't know what to say. I always get the new Metallica and Megadeth albums, but other than that, probably one of my favorites is Uriah Heep. Mercyful Fate doesn't sound like them, but David Byron can hit amazingly high notes, and do it with ease. Just like Halford. And like Ozzy has a very unique sound to his voice, Byron had personality."   


BraveWords: But no metal contemporaries strike you, even though much of the newer, more symphonic black metal can be seen as an extension of your legacy? 


King: "I know of the bands, and I know many of them have said kind words about us: Dimmu Borgir, Cradle Of Filth, Emperor, and more traditional metal bands like HammerFall. And while I'm very honored, I just really haven't listened to many of them. I'll probably run into some of them at the festivals this summer. You could say that it's good and bad. When I have a little time and listen to albums, I listen to those that I collect as a hobby. I'm not really on top of what's going on in the music scene today."  


BraveWords: In a way, perhaps it keeps you pure to your vision. 


King: "That's the good part of it, I think. Perhaps it would be like that anyway because we always do things straight from the heart. Then again, straight from the heart is still influenced by what's around you. So maybe if you listen to a lot of bands around you, you would be influenced in writing songs in that direction."  


BraveWords: One last topic: I'm sorry to bring politics into a philosophical discussion, but you've mentioned using words to create questions - unrest, basically - but you've also mentioned the need for laws so individuals can coexist. What's your take on young people taking ideas "too far," such as what happened in Colorado [where "Goths" killed "jocks"]? 


King: "The first two thing that always come to mind when things like this happen are: were the people who committed these crimes already somewhat insane, yet it hadn't been detected, and the other is the parents: where were they? On the first, some people are simply born wrong. They're sick. They were born that way. Perhaps it wasn't discovered until they were 15, 30, or 60, but that's just when it showed itself. They were always like that, they were simply not caught performing an act that's considered abnormal. But after the fact, when you hear them talking, you see that they've always had a problem, they have a sick mind. As for the parents, I wonder where they were that they didn't see the problem before it was too late. Where is the communication, the relationship, understanding and support? So many parents are too busy with their work or their own lives, and the kids are simply forbidden to go see their friends because they're "bad" or they listen to the wrong music. But if the kid reacts by shooting up in an alley instead of meeting up at their friend's house and listening to records, which is worse?"  


BraveWords: What do you propose? 


King: "Try to understand what it is your kid is doing and why, instead of blindly forbidding it. It's a parent's obligation to be there for their kids, not just regulate their lives without understanding why it's so important. And honestly, how many times has this sort of thing happened in Jesus' name? ‘Jesus spoke to me so I had to kill the wicked.’ It's rare that they report it, but some brave journalist writes about it no matter what the consequences, and when it's out in the open, the church claims Satan must've gotten a hold of him, claiming to be Jesus. It was what they preached that made him do it, but he was insane because he was hearing voices to begin with. We all agree on that. So stop blaming it on music and movies, because you're not willing to accept that religion is to blame as well. These people are sick in the head, they just aren't caught in time. Not everyone is sane. That's a misconception. Another misconception is that kids are stupid. If you see some of the footage of debates and discussions, kids are much deeper and more knowledgeable than they're given credit for. They're mature on a level that many parents just don't understand, mostly because they aren't closely involved in their kids' lives. Why do you think a kid wears a shirt with a skull on it? Because it's cool. Because he's expressing himself. Another kid wears a Polo shirt, and maybe he's miserable because he wants to wear a shirt with a skull. Maybe not. Maybe the Polo shirt is cool to him and he's expressing himself. There are many, many scenarios and everyone's different. Everyone's different and there is no right and wrong. The sooner people realize that there'll be a lot less conflicts.”