In a new interview with Jorge Botas of Portugal's Metal Global, former IRON MAIDEN singer Blaze Bayley once again opened up about his health — two and a half years after undergoing a quadruple bypass surgery following a heart attack in March 2023. The 62-year-old singer — who fronted MAIDEN more than two and a half decades ago — said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah. I'm so lucky, really. With heart disease, it's one of those things, it creeps up on you. You just feel a bit out of breath here, and things are a bit more of a struggle there, and you don't really start thinking too much about it, but it adds up over time and suddenly you're having a heart attack. It's, like, how did this happen?"

Reflecting on his heart attack, Blaze said: "The main thing, at the hospital, I'd just got in. They put you in this amazing room where they can X-ray you and look at all these things while other people are in the room and everything, and look at all. And they're looking at it and go, 'No, it's not stents. It's gonna need surgery. No, we can't do anything for you here. Put you out on the ward. You wait for the surgeon.'

"I had a quadruple bypass, and I've made a good recovery," he continued. "I had a little hiccup in my recovery because when I got well enough to exercise and it was safe to exercise, I had a knee injury, and that put me back about five months, really. But, yeah, apart from that, I've got my strength back now, and I've made a good recovery. They discovered that I did have an abnormal heart in that the left side was smaller and somehow it wasn't working the best. And so the right side had been taking up the strain. And they said, with the new plumbing, I might feel an advantage. And I do — compared to what I was before, I've got a lot more energy.

"The worst part about it for me is the diet — trying to keep the weight off," Bayley admitted. "I managed to lose a lot of weight with changing my habits and no exercise at all. I managed to lose 30 pounds with no exercise, just by eating sensible and the way that I should have been eating. Bad habits creep back, so I'm having to try again with that. But that's about it. I stopped drinking a while ago, and it was difficult in the beginning, but gradually it's less and less of a challenge over the years, and it was all right. And the diet, to try and stay healthy, it's much tougher to give up chocolate, sugar, biscuits, donuts, sausage rolls, pies — it's much tougher to give up that than to give up booze. I wasn't a raging alcoholic, but with my mental health, I'm, like, 'I've gotta stop drinking because I've drank enough. I'm old enough now. I don't really need another drink.' But then to stop eating pies and all these things — and I start feeling, 'Oh, I feel great now. My knees feel better. Everything feels better now. I've lost all this weight.' And then bit by bit, 'Oh, I'll just have that little treat.' And then, 'My God. I look just like I'm gonna have a heart attack. No!'

"That's the worst thing — it's the diet, man. It's tough. And the food industry and Big Pharma [large, multinational pharmaceutical companies] are absolutely complicit in making us fat and giving us heart disease and strokes. Absolutely. They can sue me. Because it's absolutely true.

"The healthiest time in the U.K. was in World War II when people had to have rations, so there wasn't much food," Blaze added. "[People] were [at their] healthiest — less heart attack, strokes, less illness, less obesity, less everything. And then when we had — and this is the worst thing — they say, 'Oh, the best thing since sliced bread,' is an expression. Sliced bread is the worst thing. Bread made in a factory is one of the absolute worst things for our health, and they told us, 'Oh, it's the best thing?' No, it's the worst thing. Bread should be made by bakers early in the morning, not in a factory. Anyway, that's me. I had a heart attack and I feel it's partly their fault. I didn't know white bread was poisonous."

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

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

Blaze's latest studio album, "Circle Of Stone", came out in February 2024.

Two years ago, Blaze told The Metal Voice about his heart attack: "There's so many lucky things about a terrible incident in my life. I'm at home on Saturday. On the Friday, I've just signed off on what I think is probably the final mastered mix of a new album. That's on a Friday. Here I am on a Saturday. On the Monday, I'm scheduled to go on tour in Europe to continue with 'The Man Who Would Not Die' tour. And there I am, and I've got chest pains, and I think, 'Oh, is this indigestion?' I'm having a heart attack. I live two minutes from the ambulance station. I'm on the phone, and apparently the paramedics, they were going on their break towards the ambulance station and they said, 'Oh, we heard that call. It's on our way. We'll take that call.' Two minutes, they're in my house. I've got wires on my chest. 'You're having a heart attack.' I live in the city, but I'm between four hospitals. In 15 minutes I'm having treatment, and they're injecting me with dye to see what the problems are and everything. So that's it. I'm safe. I'm in hospital 15 minutes later."

Blaze continued: "They said, the paramedics, if that had been 10 minutes [later], there's no way you'd make it. So I was 10 minutes from death. I had a heart attack, not heart failure. They got to me in time. But if I'd have been somewhere else, if I'd have been in Eurotunnel, if I'd have been in a hotel room alone, or on the autobahn in Germany — anywhere, man… It's just terrifying, really, to think about where I could be. And when they said, 'Oh, you should be able to make it back,' I said, 'I've gotta get back to work. I can't leave it like this.' I've done an album called 'War Within Me', and I haven't toured the whole thing. I'm thinking of my fans and everything. I thought, 'I can't leave it like this. I've still got more music to make. I've got things to say, and I don't wanna feel like I'm letting my fans down either.' So I was so focused."

Bayley added: "It took a while — like a few weeks — before they could put me in for the surgery. It was a quadruple bypass. Basically, they cut you in half. They cut me in half, they do a load of plumbing and then they put you back together. And the guy said, 'We wired you back together with surgical steel wire.' He said, 'We've doubled wired.' I said, 'So even more metal?' Yeah, even more metal. So I've got more metal in me than a normal heart patient."

Asked what symptoms he experienced prior to suffering his heart attack, Blaze said: "It's different for everyone. And this is why it's so confusing. That's why I didn't know I was having a heart attack. My heart attack was a pain that starts — it's like someone sitting on your chest or being kicked by a horse in your chest in slow motion, and it goes from the front to the back and you're sweating and all of this. That's how it happened for me. That's common. The other thing that happens is, for some people — and I didn't have any of this — you start going numb, you start going tingly down your left arm and it spreads across you. That's another thing. And for other people, there are other symptoms. So you just don't know."

Regarding what steps other men can take toward reducing their chances of having a heart attack, Blaze said: "You've gotta try and head it off early by getting tested for your cholesterol, your triglycerides, and all of this. And just exercise is vital, and we just don't realize that. It's vital. I think chronic laziness is one of the things. You get out the van, you get on the stage, I'm active for a couple of hours, breathing all of that, hadn't been away for a while, hadn't done anything for a while. COVID, two years of not going out there all the time. And I think that a big combination of things, and some bad habits, that led up to something that was almost fatal, really."

In July 2023, Blaze shared details of the massive outpouring of well-wishes he received after his heart attack, including messages from his former MAIDEN bandmates.

"The thing I feel most lucky about is the incredible support I've had from my fans," he told BLABBERMOUTH.NET. "All over the world. My WOLFSBANE, Blaze Bayley, the MAIDEN fans. Everybody bought a t-shirt for a tour that was postponed. They still bought it to support me. I'm just incredibly lucky. And the letters people wrote to me. Hundreds of cards from all over the place. It's very humbling."

Blaze continued: "I've always put my whole life into music. It is my life. When people get in touch with you and say, 'I wish you well because your music has gotten me through tough times,' 'Your music meant this to me,' 'I first saw you way back when and it's been the soundtrack to my life,' it's incredible. I got a massive card from the MAIDEN fan club. The [MAIDEN] guys all sent me a message. I'm always in touch with Steve Harris [MAIDEN bassist] anyway, but everyone sent messages of support."

A heart bypass surgery, or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, is used to improve blood flow to the heart. A surgeon uses blood vessels taken from another area of the body to bypass the damaged arteries.

The term quadruple bypass refers to the number of coronary arteries bypassed in the procedure. In other words, a quadruple bypass means four coronary arteries are bypassed.

After more than three decades, Swiss pioneering technical metallers CORONER return with a new studio album: "Dissonance Theory" will be released on October 17, 2025 worldwide via Century Media Records.

The official music video for the LP's second single, "Symmetry", directed by Dariusz Szermanowicz, can be seen below.

CORONER's guitarist, songwriter and producer Tommy Vetterli (a.k.a. Tommy T. Baron) comments: "This track is about vanity, ego, and how self-obsession can be destructive. That idea shaped the way we played it too. 'Symmetry' gave us room to explore, and with the rhythmic dimension Diego [Rapacchietti, drums] brings, it pushed us further than we've gone before."

"Dissonance Theory" contains 10 new songs across 47 minutes, recorded by Tommy Vetterli at New Sound Studios in Switzerland and mixed/mastered by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios (OPETH, KREATOR, AMON AMARTH) in Sweden. The album's cover artwork (see below) was created by Stefan Thanneur.

"Dissonance Theory" will be available as limited 2CD mediabook (with expanded booklet and the legendary "Death Cult" four-track demo from 1986, featuring Tom G. Warrior [TRIPTYKON, CELTIC FROST, HELLHAMMER] on vocals, as a bonus CD),standard CD jewelcase, digital album and LP.

Vetterli previously stated about CORONER's new music: "I thought a lot about what CORONER should sound like today, but I pretty quickly realized that looking backwards wouldn't serve us. Of course, over time you develop a certain signature as a musician. So even if the material is new, it might still feel like a bridge to earlier phases — simply because it's me writing it. That said, we didn't set out to continue a legacy. We just wanted to create something honest and grounded in the present. 'Renewal' now opens the chapter for what became the first CORONER album I'm fully satisfied with, start to finish. So we'll let the music speak for itself — you'll know if it speaks to you."

"Dissonance Theory" track listing:

01. Oxymoron
02. Consequence
03. Sacrificial Lamb
04. Crisium Bound
05. Symmetry
06. The Law
07. Transparent Eye
08. Trinity
09. Renewal
10. Prolonging

When Swiss metal pioneers CORONER disbanded in 1996, they left a trail of deeply inspirational and influential albums. From the classically tinged 1987 "R.I.P." debut and its follow-up one year later, "Punishment For Decadence", to the sleek modernisms of 1993's "Grin", their discography is a clinic in performance acumen and how to balance grace with grit and grime. In a word, they were the true definition of "progressive" music: Always laser-focused with a firm direction, CORONER never let themselves be bound by genre convention.

Ever the forward thinkers, ever the seekers of unique expression, CORONER's main material never traded heaviness for innovation. They were a rare band that merged both in a way that was never forced or too consciously conflated. And yet we can't forget the bolder moves along the way: The haunting closer of 1989's "No More Color", "Last Entertainment (T.V. Bizarre)" and THE BEATLES cover on 1991's "Mental Vortex". These might have seemed unlikely choices on paper, but they actually worked brilliantly, lending great depth to their respective albums. There was nobody like CORONER. And the bar of expectation they set, they set very high.

With all that as part of historical record, it would seem that expectations for a new CORONER album would be impossibly high. But take one listen and you understand that it's not hyperbolic, nor cliché, to say that with 2025's "Dissonance Theory", CORONER have met and even exceeded expectation. The material, as all the best CORONER does, hangs somewhere between stealthy restraint and wild abandon.

When the band returned to the stage in 2011, with original trio formation Tommy Vetterli, Ron Broder and Marky Edelmann, new material wasn't even a consideration. For them, they were simply happy to revive all that much-loved material and present it to old fans, as well as younger ones who weren't around to experience CORONERlive the first time around. Indeed, they are another of metal's finest bands that gained more popularity after the initial breakup than during their era of actual operation.

A couple years after their revival, Edelmann bowed out, although Vetterli and Broder kept the machine running because, in the guitarist's words, "we were having way too much fun". Still, they had no intentions of recording new material with freshly installed drummer Diego Rapacchietti. But by 2015, seeds of fresh CORONERideas, tiny as they were, began sprouting from Vetterli's fertile mind. Ten years later, with a new album completed, the six-stringer explains the long gestation of "Dissonance Theory": "I started sketching ideas around 2015, but never found the mental space to focus fully. Life kept getting in the way — short bursts of progress, then long interruptions. Running my own recording studio means I 'm constantly producing other bands while managing the studio's demands. After nine-hour days recording or mixing, there's not much creative energy left at night. The actual recording sessions didn't kick off until June 2023 — and even those got interrupted multiple times for the same reasons."

While Vetterli avoids mentioning particular musical artists, bands or movements as inspiration for the new material, he astutely notes, "Inspiration is just life, really. Everything you see, hear, or feel leaves a trace — music, films, books, the state of the world, personal stuff. Sometimes it's something big. Sometimes it's just a tree standing alone on a hill somewhere. That can be enough. It's never about specific bands or styles — more about what hits you at the right moment."

It was also the presence of Rapacchietti that fueled Vetterli and Broder's constructions as new material came together. "Diego brings a level of technical precision and musicality that opened up entirely new dimensions in our songwriting," says Vetterli. "His versatility allowed us to explore fresh territory without losing ourselves. Especially rhythmically, we were able to push things further than ever before."

The album's first tracks establish that the CORONER sound is intact, even 30 years after their initial run. In tone and texture, "Consequence" and "Sacrificial Lamb" are not terribly far away from the band's early '90s material. These offerings unite the focused hypno-drone of "Grin" with the clean-kill post-thrash technicality of "Mental Vortex". Yet that's only an approximation of where the album sits in the sonic space. It's after these that the scope widens. Ultimately, "Dissonance Theory" claims its own ground, sounding like an album that could've been released in the late 1990s, but one clearly informed by the variety of inspirations noted above and the many years lived between then and now.

It seems impossible after all the time elapsed, but this is CORONER at its best. We hear evidence of this on songs such as "Crisium Bound", with its spacious dark pulse, and "Symmetry", which is driven by drummer Rapacchietti's colorful backing over one of the most exciting guitar solos Tommy Vetterli has ever composed. Broder's bass lines are as commanding as ever throughout, and his arrogant snarl remains packed with bile and spite, as if 30 years had never passed. Sumptuous passages in "Transparent Eye" recall the atmospheric material the band were working on before their initial breakup, but merged with a stabbing momentum and a few tricky rhythms. A modern-day classic CORONER song.

Perhaps this all comes off so well because the band didn't overthink anything. They understand the pressure of coming back with their first material in three decades, but they shook off that pressure and simply let CORONER be CORONER. As Vetterli notes, "I thought a lot about what CORONER should sound like today — but I pretty quickly realized that looking backwards wouldn't serve us. What's past is past. So much time has passed, and we're not the same people. Just like we didn't care about trends back then, we didn't try to make this record for anyone but ourselves. We weren't trying to continue a legacy — we were just trying to create something honest and present."

Further into the album, it becomes ever more apparent that their approach was the right one. "Trinity" shows Vetterli as the hugely underrated guitarist he's always been: Its solo section is one that probably couldn't have even been conceived of 30 years ago. It's imbued with a kind of wisdom and experience that expresses itself in interesting melodic choices and wild fingerwork, brilliant melodic sparks flying from his instrument.

As we approach the culmination of the album, the well-titled "Renewal" is ablaze with energy, its vigorous pulse a statement of intent for this era of return. And in final track, "Prolonging", we get another brave album conclusion from the band, featuring Hammond organ over beguiling, hypnotic metal drama, as Broder spits out a final question: "What remains? What remains?"

"Dissonance Theory", in totality, is rich in sonic detail, a stereophile's delight. Part of that can be attributed to the expert mixing/mastering by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios in Sweden. But the production, arrangement and soundscape details are largely the work of Vetterli and a longtime creative partner at his own New Sound studio. Vetterli notes, "At some point, I felt something was missing — a kind of creative counterweight. Someone to reflect things back with a fresh, critical ear. That's when I brought in a longtime collaborator I've worked with for years at my studio. He helped push things into new territory and gave me the clarity and momentum "Dissonance Theory" needed to move forward. We made a point throughout the production to record as many authentic, organic sounds as possible. The studio was packed with tube amps, analog synths, and vintage instruments — including a harmonium and a grand piano — and we put them all to good use. We've worked together on many other productions, so the trust was already there. We get into that whole collaboration — and how it evolved — more deeply in the CD mediabook edition."

CORONER are offering a work that proves they know themselves and what their band should sound like. No CORONER fan could possibly be disappointed in "Dissonance Theory". It's like a massive bonus from a band we all thought had spent their creative energies decades ago. "They don't make albums like this anymore". Ever heard that one? CORONER proves they were not only always in metal's top tier, but that anything less than a ferocious return such as this would never have been the CORONER way.

CORONER 2025 is:

Ron "Royce" Broder - vocals, bass
Tommy Vetterli - guitars
Diego Rapacchietti - drums

Photo credit: Grzegorz Golebiowski

Swedish/Canadian/American extreme metal titans ARCH ENEMY have released the official lyric video for the song "Break The Spell". The clip, which was produced by David Provan at 12Inch Media, can be seen below.

ARCH ENEMY comments, "'Break The Spell' is a raw, introspective journey through despair and resilience. It confronts mortality, fear, and emotional collapse — yet refuses to surrender. Haunting and defiant, it transforms pain into empowerment, offering strength to anyone fighting through dark times."

Arriving ahead of ARCH ENEMY's massive European tour and the release of a digital deluxe edition of the band's acclaimed album "Blood Dynasty", this anthem is a battle cry for survival and renewal.

ARCH ENEMY's twelfth studio album, "Blood Dynasty", was originally released in March of this year via Century Media Records. The "Blood Dynasty (Deluxe Edition)" will be out October 10, and it comes with three bonus tracks, one of which, "Lachrymatory", is previously unreleased.

Upon the release of "Blood Dynasty (Deluxe Edition)", ARCH ENEMY will embark on a European headlining tour with support from AMORPHIS, ELUVEITIE and GATECREEPER.

"Blood Dynasty (Deluxe Edition)" track listing:

01. Dream Stealer
02. Illuminate The Path
03. March Of The Miscreants
04. A Million Suns
05. Don't Look Down
06. Presage
07. Blood Dynasty
08. Paper Tiger
09. Vivre Libre
10. The Pendulum
11. Liars & Thieves

Bonus tracks:

12. Break The Spell
13. Moths
14. Lachrymatory (previously unreleased)

ARCH ENEMY founder and guitarist Michael Amott previously stated about "Blood Dynasty": "This new album pushes the boundaries of what we've done before — it's everything you've come to expect from this band, and then some."

Regarding his creative process, Amott told Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show: "To be honest, I don't listen to a lot of music in those times when I'm creating new music, when I'm in that phase of writing, which I am kind of every day, actually. So I don't really listen to a lot of music during the day. I never have background music on. I'm just kind of listening to what's going on inside my head. Those crazy voices? No, but just listening out for melodies or ideas or little lyric ideas that will come to me when I'm not listening to music. If you're constantly bombarding yourself with impressions, I think it's difficult to come up with something. So I just play a lot of guitar. I wake up, I have coffee, I play guitar every day for a couple of hours. And so it really starts there. And then, of course I still listen to music. I listen to a lot of music, but that's more in the evening time for me."

ARCH ENEMY played its first concert with new guitarist Joey Concepcion on April 24, 2024 at Musinsa Garage in Seoul, South Korea. The show was part of ARCH ENEMY's 2024 Asian tour.

In December 2023, ARCH ENEMY announced that it had "amicably" parted ways with longtime guitarist Jeff Loomis.

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

Photo credit: Patric Ullaeus

Swedish death metal masters continue their reissue campaign with “Chapter 4” featuring 2005’s Virus and 2009’s A Taste Of Extreme Divinity.

Both albums are remastered with never-before-released demos added as bonus tracks. The albums are out digitally NOW with CD/vinyl editions out November 7. Preorder now at the Nuclear Blast webshop.



Special rare vinyl signed by Peter Tägtgren and Mikael Headlund and Chapter 4 shirts are available at the Hypocrisy official shop.

Virus was the first Hypocrisy album with former Immortal drummer Horgh.

In a new interview with Rob Chapman's "Lo-Fi Podcast", drummer Stix Zadinia of California glam metal jokesters STEEL PANTHER confirmed that he and his bandmates have entered Dave Grohl's Studio 606 with longtime producer Jay Ruston to begin recording their first new music since 2023's "On The Prowl" album. Asked when fans can expect the effort to see the light of day, Stix said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We don't have a release date." He then explained: "We manage our band. We are the merch company. We are the record company. We're maybe one of the biggest DIY bands — except for METALLICA. But we don't have a label. And we have a booking agent, but we do it ourselves. So we are not on any sort of label timetable. And so what we decided was, 'Look, we have the time now. Let's go track four songs.' We will probably go back and do another four, and whether we do another four or not and do a full-length release, I'm not sure. I don't know if we're gonna drip singles out like people are doing now. I don't know. I don't know if we're gonna do an EP. So the future for us of how to get this out and when to get it out, we're a little uncertain, but if I had to guess, I would say it will be top of '26. Maybe a single will come out before then, for Christmas. But we're gonna go back in and track four to eight more songs over the next few months."

Stix added: "This process is different, 'cause usually we go in, we go, 'Okay, here's the 14 songs. Let's go. Here's the studio time. Boom.' And we go do it. This is a little bit different, and it's a little more freeing because we can really put our energy into a smaller amount of songs so you can spend more energy per song."

Zadinia also talked about the experience of recording at Studio 606, saying: "That board, that's the infamous Sound City Neve board, complete with Paul McCartney's signature on it. And so being in that room, I guess Dave Grohl built that studio 20 years ago — it's 20 years old now — he built it for rock. Honestly, dude, it's probably the best rock room in L.A. And I've been to Abbey Road and the BBC studios, and I've been to those kinds of places, and I would say, pound for pound, if you're gonna do rock and roll drums and guitars and basses, 606 is — you can make an argument for it being in the best room in the world."

Ten months ago, STEEL PANTHER's debut album, "Feel The Steel", was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales in excess of 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.

"Feel The Steel - 15th Anniversary Edition" was released worldwide on November 15, 2024. The 15th-anniversary edition features two tracks that were only released on the original Japanese import: "You Don't Make Me Feel Dumb" and "I Want Your Tits". The album was produced by Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, COREY TAYLOR).

Formed in 2000, STEEL PANTHER specializes in imitating and exaggerating the less flattering aspects of 1980s hair metal, with unrepentantly crude, non-PC sexual content as a favorite lyrical theme.

The group's music has been described as "VAN HALEN meets MÖTLEY CRÜE meets RATT meets 'Wayne's World', complete with operatic shrieks, misogyny, shredding guitar solos and libidinal overdrive."

Seventeen years ago, STEEL PANTHER changed its name from METAL SKOOL to its current moniker and shifted the focus of its act from '80s metal covers to originals.

STEEL PANTHER's sixth studio album, "On The Prowl", was released in February 2023.

In September 2022, STEEL PANTHER announced the addition of Spyder as the band's new bassist.

In January 2025, Stix was asked by the "Iron City Rocks" podcast if he thinks STEEL PANTHER would have had the  same staying power without songs that contain what some critics say are racist, misogynistic and lewd lyrics. Stix said: "No, there's no way. I think that had we come out with lyrics that were, like, typical of a band in 1983 or in 1987, I don't think it would have flown, because what we sing about, I think people latch on to the lyrics and I think lyrics matter.

"We're in a really weird time, and I think when we put our first record out, the really weird time — and I use air quotes with that — was starting around then," he explained. "But we had been grandfathered in because of what we had established since the '90s. And the '90s were not the really weird time as far as the political correctness. So we became this place for people to be able to come, have so much fun and not worry about offending people. And we just wrote songs that we wanted to write, and nothing was ever really intentional and it was all super from the heart. Now, I think an interesting question would be if we came out in 1985, how would we be viewed with the lyrics that we have? But I think it could have been insane 'cause I think our songs are just as good [as], if not better than, most of the bands back then. And I know that might sound blasphemous, but if you don't think that about your own band, then what are you doing in that band?"

Zadinia added: "I'm proud of that — I'm proud of not playing by the rules. And I'm proud of doing just what comes from the heart for us 'cause, ultimately, we get to keep playing these songs for people who wanna come see it, who listen to it, who may use it as a tool for that escapism. And I'm proud of that. I think it's more satisfying than if we were being told what to do, what can go on a record. We are our true own bosses, and it's awesome."

Photo credit: David Jackson

Swedish metal band, Sister, will release their new album, The Way We Fall, on November 21 via Icons Creating Evil Art.

The record marks a powerful follow-up to their 2021 album Vengeance Ignited, pushing the band’s trademark blend of punk-fueled rock and horror-inspired theatrics into darker, heavier territory.

Known for their explosive mix of punk attitude, dark theatrics, and raw rock ’n’ roll energy, Sister return with their most powerful and uncompromising record to date. The Way We Fall captures the essence of Sister’s unique sound: heavy riffs, infectious hooks, and a sinister atmosphere that blends chaos with melody. Fuelled by themes of darkness, rebellion, and survival, the album is a testament to the band’s ability to evolve while staying true to their trademark style.

Sister had this to say about their new album: “With The Way We Fall, we managed to catch the raw essence that is, and has always been, Sister together with the best songs we’ve ever written, all captured in a thunderous production. This album contains the most intense and powerful songs in the band’s history, and it feels like all the pieces are finally put together. A darker and harsher side of Sister is revealed in The Way We Fall, as we constantly strive to evolve and put out the best album we possibly can.”

With songs like the thunderous “Howling Hell”, “Blood Sacrifice”, the dystopian anthem “The Way W Fall” and the spell-binding nightmare ”Let Me Be Your Demon”, this album is for those who can take it raw.

The producer Jona Tee (H.E.A.T, New Horizon) had this to say about the new album: ”This is the third album i’m producing for and with Sister. I love how we have evolved and work seamlessly together. Not 5 minutes pass without a good story that cracks everyone up. Musically this one is full of catchy tunes with the right amount of Sister-darkness, and I really believe we’ve made a banger with this one.”



The album will be available on CD, limited bone white vinyl, and in exclusive pre-order bundles via Icons Creating Evil Art. Pre-order here.



Tracklisting:

“The Way We Fall”
“Howling Hell”
“Tanz Der Toten”
“Blood Sacrifice”
“Let Me Be Your Demon”
“Blinded And Buried”
“Rose Red”
“Die To Live”
“Mortal Sin”
“When She Dies”

Neoclassical melodic death force Burned In Effigy has released the official music video for “Masquerade”, the second single off their forthcoming new album, Tyrannus Aeternum.

The band comments on the concept behind the song: “This quick-paced track is themed by lyrics inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘Masque Of The Red Death’, in which nobles host a masquerade in a secluded abbey, hoping to avoid a plague that is decimating the general population. Musically, this is one of our fastest and most melodic songs on the new album. The music video, made by Alex Zarek, encompasses a romantic demise while dancing with death.”



Rising from the heart of the Midwest metal scene, this Chicago-based quintet has announced a fall release for their second full-length, Tyrannus Aeternum. Following the 2022 release of their debut album, Rex Mortem, Burned In Effigy has sharpened their sound to a lethal edge. The result is an 11-track onslaught that blends the band’s skillful musicianship and technicality with volcanic brutality.

Tyrannus Aeternum is set for release on October 31, 2025. Pre-order the album now at this location.



Tracklisting:

Befouled Benefaction
Retribution
Masquerade
Procession
Wage Of Exile
Sacrificial Seance
Monstrosity Reborn
Gallows Hymn
The Racking
Crown Crusher
Citadel

Following their recent signing to the Madfish label, legendary prog outfit, Spock’s Beard, have announced their new album, The Archaeoptimist. Set for release on November 21, the new album sees the group at their effervescent and experimental best delivering some of their finest work from a career spanning more than 30 years.

Speaking on the news, frontman Ted Leonard shared: “The new album is largely the brainchild of Ryo and a co-writer, Michael Whiteman, with lyrical contributions from Alan and myself. While not a concept album, the title is taken from one of the tracks called ‘The Archaeoptimist’. This epic follows the story of a young girl being raised by her father in a post-cataclysmic world and her pathway from being an inspiration to a leader. Other songs vary in theme from obsession with one’s work or task to musings about the passage of time forging ahead despite obstacles.

Musically, while tipping a hat to the Spock’s legacy, the new album has an energy that arguably surpasses many or our previous releases due, in no small part, to the addition of Nick Potters on drums. He’s an amazing and well-rounded musician who has perfect pitch and a great singing voice (yes, we found a drummer that is an amazing singer…named Nick!). Between Michael and Ryo’s writing, this album also has a melodic complexity that may sound new to fans. Anyone who has heard Ryo improvise will have likely picked up on a fusion influence and that certainly shows up in the writing.

I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m very proud, excited, and honestly relieved that it turned out as good as it did. Everyone put in a ton of work but none so much as Ryo in pushing this over the line.”



Stream/download the new single, “Invisible”, here. Listen to the track below.

At the centre of this particular storm is Ryo Okumoto, whose fingerprints are all over the album, not just as a performer, but as a driving creative force. Teaming up with co-writer Michael Whiteman (I Am the Manic Whale) and longstanding band members Alan Morse & Ted Leonard, Ryo has helped shape an album that is undeniably Spock’s Beard with a characteristic wry smile to boot.

The album was produced by Okumoto and recorded at each band member’s respective home studio. Esteemed producer Rich Mouser (Dream Theater/Weezer) takes up the mixing and mastering duties.



The Archaeoptimist will be available on November 21 in the following formats:

– 2LP red vinyl gatefold edition
– 2LP black vinyl gatefold edition
– 2 Disc CD/DVD edition of The Archaeoptimist, features 5.1 & hi-res 24/48 stereo mixes and is presented as a digipack CD including an 8-page printed lyric booklet
– digipack CD, includes a 12-page printed lyric booklet

Pre-order here.



The Archaeoptimist tracklisting:

“Invisible”
“Electric Monk”
“Afourthoughts”
“St. Jerome In The Wilderness”
“The Archaeoptimist”
“Next Step”

On the latest episode of The David Ellefson Show, TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy once again reflected on his band's first-ever U.S. arena tour, which took place in 1990, with JUDAS PRIEST as the headliner and MEGADETH as additional support. Billy said, addressing co-host David Ellefson, who was the bassist for MEGADETH during the aforementioned trek (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I remember we just flew in from doing big tour over in Europe. And I guess the biggest memory is the band you played in. [Laughs] No offense, Dave, but the other Dave [Mustaine, MEGADETH leader]… I don't know if you remember that tour… Because things were growing for us, we had ordered a brand new Voelker drum riser built on a riser. All these cabinets showed up, backdrops. And I don't know if you remember, Dave [Mustaine] pulled them from us all on the start of that tour. He'd seen it and he said we couldn't use all of that, so we couldn't use our riser, backdrops and stuff. And my band nudged me on, because every day K.K. [Downing, then-PRIEST guitarist] or [Glenn] Tipton [PRIEST guitarist] would come in and say, 'Hey, you guys good? You guys need anything?' And [my bandmates would] be elbowing me, 'Dude, say something, say something.' I'm, like, 'No, no, no.' And then one day [they went], like, 'Dude, just go talk to Rob [Halford, PRIEST singer], please.' So I went in there and I told Rob what was going on, and that day he was, like, 'What? That is ending today.' And he went in to production and said, 'TESTAMENT gets everything up there. Get their drums up there, get their backdrops, get everything up there.' And when we went on that night, I know Dave [Mustaine] was side stage by the monitors — not you, Dave; the other Dave — and his arms were crossed. And he was just having a fit that we were having everything again. And it was crazy, but that was the biggest start of that tour for us. 'Cause things were starting to happen, and we were, like, 'Oh, man, we just bought this big show to play for JUDAS PRIEST and MEGADETH, man.' And in the end we got to use it, and it ended up being great and it was amazing."

Billy added: "That was probably the highlight, opening up for… Myself, I played JUDAS PRIEST songs on guitar all through high school. They were my biggest heroes ever. And that tour was just like a dream come true for me."

Chuck previously talked about TESTAMENT's 1990 tour with JUDAS PRIEST and MEGADETH during a September 2020 appearance on MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn's "No Fuckin' Regrets With Robb Flynn" podcast. Billy said at the time: "For the PRIEST tour, we decided we were gonna spend some time on production. We bought a big, fancy Voelker Rack drum set. We bought two new scrims, full-on backline — the whole deal. Nice-looking show. And we get to the first show, and Dave Mustaine sees us have it up, and he says we can't use it. [So] we had a little problem the first week of the tour."

He continued: "I was pissed, because we just spent all this money, and those were the days when they were hand-painted backdrops — these backdrops were 15, 20 grand; they weren't cheap then. So we were, like, 'We're coming out to represent. PRIEST tour in arenas, man. We're coming out.' But Dave threw his weight around and said we can't use all of our new stuff. So for the first week, we were, like, tails between our legs, playing. And all the guys in our band said, 'Chuck, you seem to be friends with Rob [Halford]. Go in there and tell him. He keeps telling you guys, 'If you guys need anything, just ask.' Go in there.' And I'd had it. And I said, 'You know what? I'm gonna.' So, I went in there. It was, like, three or four days into the tour. I go in the [PRIEST] dressing room. I said, 'Hey, Rob. You got a minute? I need to talk to you.' I go, 'I don't know who to talk to, but I'm gonna come to you. And if it's your guys' decision, hey, I'm down with it, but I thought I would just bring it up. We bought all this stuff for this tour to put on a nice show, and the MEGADETH guy says we can't play, 'cause they said you guys wouldn't let us use it.' And he was, like, 'What? Who said that?' Right there, he went and got his tour manager and said, 'Get in here.' [Rob] said, 'Do you know anything about this? Them not letting TESTAMENT not use their gear?' [The tour manager] says, 'No.' And [Rob] goes, 'You make sure tonight they get the damn gear up there.' So we had a full-blown show. And who comes sidestage to watch the show? There goes Mr. Mustaine. Mr. Mustaine is standing there, just pissed off — he just had that look. And we were looking over just, like, 'Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, Dave.' We were putting it on, throwing it down. And that's how that tour started."

Billy added: "This was, like, our first step into an arena: 'Oh, man. Maybe we're making it. We're doing it.' And to get shut down the first time, we weren't having it."

According to Chuck, it was a "great" experience touring with PRIEST for the first time. "They always came in the dressing room, every day, and said, 'How are you guys doing? Are you guys good? Do you guys need anything?'" he said. "And we were just too shy to ask. We did find out that they really were who they were. They stepped up and made it happen, and we had the full show the rest of the tour, man — and [full] sound at that point too."

At the time of TESTAMENT's first tour with JUDAS PRIEST, Billy and his bandmates were on the road in support of their fourth album, "Souls Of Black", which was written and recorded over the course of several weeks in early 1990.

Last week, TESTAMENT released "Shadow People", the second single from the band's upcoming album, "Para Bellum", which is due on October 10 via Nuclear Blast.

When "Para Bellum" was first announced in August, it was accompanied by the official music video for the LP's lead single, "Infanticide A.I.", directed by Joey Durango.

EXTREME has released the official music video for the song "X Out". The track is taken from the band's latest album, "Six", which was released in June 2023 via earMUSIC. The clip amplifies the song's haunting imagery and themes of faith, meaning and mortality.

EXTREME guitarist commented Nuno Bettencourt: This song was always sonically cinematic to me. It instantly conjured up images of 'Mad Max', 'Dune'."

EXTREME singer Gary Cherone added: "The lyric is a lamentation, captured in a nightmare reflecting on the fleeting nature of life and the question of meaning in the face of the inevitable."

"Six" propelled EXTREME to new heights, driven by standout singles such as "Rise" — featuring a solo praised by the press as "the guitar solo of the century" — alongside "Banshee" and "Other Side Of The Rainbow", and supported by a globe-spanning tour across the U.S., Europe, India, Japan and Australia. Bettencourt also reaffirmed his stature as one of rock's most commanding players with a historic performance at Ozzy Osbourne's "Back To The Beginning" farewell concert. That milestone appearance led to his invitation to serve as music director and guitarist at the 2025 MTV VMAs, where he delivered a powerhouse tribute to Osbourne alongside Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and Yungblud.

"Six" landed at position No. 10 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart with first-week sales of 12,500 copies. The set marked EXTREME's first studio album since 2008. The act was last in the Top 10 with "III Sides To Every Story", which debuted and peaked at No. 10 back in October 1992.

In 2023, Nuno told Tiago Ribeiro, that he was thrilled with how "Six" turned out. "I would put our album up against anybody's album; I feel that confident," Nuno said. "And I think the album itself — never mind me or EXTREME — if I heard that album and it wasn't us, I would think the same way I think about the album now. I think it belongs there. I think it's a well-made album. I think the songs are there. I think that the musicianship, the chemistry and the guitar playing. But I think, more importantly, what's really there and what people are connecting with is the mythology of rock and roll. I think that's really what's missing a lot in guitar-driven music, is that…

"I think when people saw a guitar player that's in a band with songs and arrangements and the videos and everything, it was almost like seeing something that… People are saying it's so fresh, but for us, it's, like, this is like going back for us," he explained. "This is more of a reminder than it is anything else that you can still be passionate and have fire and do all those things. And the people are letting us know that they're starved — they're starved for rock and roll like this, I think."

In September 2023, Nuno told American Musical Supply about the long delay in getting "Six" released: "The recording [of 'Six'], a lot of people are saying like, 'Man, [it took] 15 years,' obviously, minus a few of the handmaid's tale years, pandemic years. But the album itself probably, if you add it up, it took the same length as an album takes to record. It didn’t take 15 years to record the album. It's just that we probably had, like, three albums' worth of material. The guys kept coming out to L.A., and we would do a crop of songs, and we'd write another crop of songs or record another couple crop of songs."

Bettencourt went on to say that he and his EXTREME bandmates had "set a bar" for themselves. "You really have to be super proud and super excited to share your music with anybody, even if it's your brother or it's your family member or if it's Tom Morello that you happen to know," he explained. "Once you have that feeling of, 'Would you play these songs in front of your peers?', then you kind of know you got something there and you're ready to go."

Florida death metal veterans DEICIDE have recruited Jadran "Conan" Gonzalez (EXMORTUS) to replace longtime guitarist Kevin Quirion. Conan will make his live debut with DEICIDE on the band's upcoming tour with BEHEMOTH in Latin America, which kicks off on September 19 in Curitiba, Brazil.

Conan comments: "I'm thrilled and honored to jam amongst such legends as Glen [Benton, bass/vocals] and Steve [Asheim, drums] and to hang with the rest of the team. I thank them for having me on board. I'm looking forward to unleashing hell in Latin America on this tour."

Quirion exited DEICIDE in April 2025, explaining in a social media post: "So after 15 years I decided to leave the band. Mainly I'm just done with touring and would like to spend the extra time with my family. I will still be writing songs and have already sent some to Derek Roddy and Sean Baxter to release under the COUNCIL OF THE FALLEN name. There will be no labels or shows, just putting out EPs whenever we feel like it.

"It was nice meeting a bunch of fans, bands, promoters etc and I wish everyone the best."

Quirion appeared on the last three DEICIDE albums: "In The Minds Of Evil" (2013),"Overtures Of Blasphemy" (2017) and "Banished By Sin" (2024).

Last October, DEICIDE canceled the last three shows of its North American tour with KRISIUN, INFERI and CLOAK in order to return home "to protect" their "families and properties" as Floridians prepped for the second storm to hit the Gulf Coast in a little over two weeks.

DEICIDE's latest album, "Banished By Sin", was made available in April 2024 via Reigning Phoenix Music.

In February 2024, DEICIDE released the second single from "Banished By Sin", a song called "Sever The Tongue". The track was recorded at Smoke & Mirrors with engineer Jeramie Kling, while the mixing and mastering was handed by Josh Wilbur.

DEICIDE collaborated with David Brodsky from My Good Eye: Music Visuals for a visually arresting video for "Sever The Tongue" that complements the track's blasphemous undertones.

To close out 2023, DEICIDE celebrated Christmas with another blasphemous song called "Bury The Cross...With Your Christ".

DEICIDE played its first show with guitarist Taylor Nordberg (THE ABSENCE, INHUMAN CONDITION) on May 21, 2022 at the Rickshaw Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Previous DEICIDE guitarist Chris Cannella amicably left the band in January 2022 after a three-year run.

Chris joined DEICIDE in 2019 following the departure of guitarist Mark English.

English became a member of DEICIDE in 2016 after the exit of longtime guitarist Jack Owen.

Photo credit: Deidra Kling

In a new interview with Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show, JUDAS PRIEST's Rob Halford reflected on the recent passing of legendary BLACK SABBATH frontman Ozzy Osbourne. Asked if he had a story in his experiences with Ozzy that spoke to who he was as a person beyond the concert stage, Rob said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "He gave everything on stage. When he walked out on the stage, he was always beaming. He loved his fans with such an extraordinary passion, but that existed offstage as well. Whenever I'd see him, if I went to see a show, the first thing he would say to me was, 'Did you have a good time? Did you enjoy yourself? Was it great?' And so that part of him as a person — he was always giving stuff. He was always giving out. He wasn't a taking kind of a guy. He was always pushing stuff forward, paying it forward, whatever that expression is. So that part of Ozzy that we probably didn't see much of existed when he wasn't on stage."

Halford continued: "He was an extraordinary man. And I think that opportunity that you had through Sharon [Osbourne, Ozzy's wife and manager] and working with 'The Osbournes', which was the first-ever reality TV show, he became our friend. You may not have ever met Ozzy, but you knew him as a family guy, and you knew him as being — he's like us. There's Ozzy on stage, but look at him at home. And I think that that's what drew him even further into us with our love for Ozzy Osbourne and everything that he's left us with."

In early July, PRIEST released a cover of BLACK SABBATH's "War Pigs" ahead of the "Back To The Beginning" concert, which marked the original SABBATH lineup's last-ever performance.

PRIEST was unable to appear at "Back To The Beginning" on July 5 in Birmingham, United Kingdom because the band was scheduled to perform at SCORPIONS' huge hometown 60th-anniversary concert at the Heinz Von Heiden Arena in Hannover, Germany on the very same day.

"It was a really difficult thing to say, 'I can't do it,' but that was just the way the chips fell on that particular event," Rob told Full Metal Jackie. "However, we were there in spirit, as we said in that brief little thing that we said for Ozzy on the big video screens. And probably even more important, the PRIEST homage to BLACK SABBATH with our — it's not really a version; it's JUDAS PRIEST playing BLACK SABBATH's 'War Pigs' to about as close as we possibly could. 'Cause you don't mess with a song like that. You give it the sounds that you have with your guitars, with your drums, with your bass, with your voice, and you do it in respect, and you do it in a way of saying thank you for BLACK SABBATH and what they did and what they leave us with with their great music."

Speaking in more detail about PRIEST's rendition of "War Pigs", Rob said: "It's close to five million views on the BLACK SABBATH official site, which is very generous of them to put us on there. 'Cause we're friends. We've been friends forever. What is cool and what is kind of waiting in the wings is Ozzy singing with me doing 'War Pigs' together. We've been able to do that. So that's just kind of — it's there. We're just having to go through all the rigmarole of legal clearance and so on and so forth. But when Sharon said, and this is just so beautiful, when she approached me with this idea, she said, 'I love your version of 'War Pigs'. Is there a way we can get Ozzy [on it as well]?' I said, 'You're asking me? This is gonna happen.' So we were able to make it work. So you get Ozzy singing a line, and then I'm singing a line and Ozzy's singing a line and I'm singing a line, and it's the first-ever time in my entire life that I've been able to do a duet with Ozzy. And I'm so eternally grateful and blessed and grieving that I was able to do that. But when you hear it, it's just colossal. If you think that you've heard the one experience of PRIEST's 'War Pigs', but when you hear PRIEST's 'War Pigs' with Ozzy singing on that track, it's just going to a really special place.

Asked if there is a timeframe or when fans can expect to hear PRIEST's version of "War Pigs" that also includes Ozzy, Rob said: "Yeah, the green button's almost ready to go. We're finalizing some artwork and bits and pieces that you have to go through, but I think it's gonna be pretty soon."

Last month, Rob told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about Ozzy's passing: "Oh, man. I got a call the day [Ozzy's death] happened. I just put the phone down in my hotel room in — I think I was in Leeds, in England, and I just curled up in a ball and bawled my eyes out for hours. I just couldn't believe it. I still can't believe it now. I'm still grieving, like so many people. And then we had a show the next day. So, God, how do you process all of this tragedy, all of this love, because I've never seen such an outpouring of love. And we did the show and we came to the song that we'll be playing when we come to see you guys — it's called 'Giants In The Sky', from the 'Invincible Shield' album — and that song talks about people that we love in music that have moved on to this beautiful place. We reference Lemmy [MOTÖRHEAD] and Ronnie [James Dio] and Paul Di'Anno [IRON MAIDEN] and Jill [Janus from] HUNTRESS and Chris [Cornell from SOUNDGARDEN] and all of these greats, Janis Joplin, Freddie Mercury. And then for that show we added Ozzy at the end. And I said to everybody, this just so much to try and comprehend and so tough, but Ozzy would say, 'Let's party. Let's rock and roll. Let's live it up. Let's enjoy.' That was in his heart, his soul, and his spirit. Whenever we did shows together, he would always say that to me after, 'Did you have a good time?' 'Yeah. Yeah.' 'Did you have a good time? Did you really have a good time?' The stuff he pushed out from himself to his fans to everybody, the generosity, the caring, all of the incredible things that he did in music, he was the embodiment of kindness in that respect.

"So it's great that we are talking about him now and we should keep talking about him forever, like I always talk about Ronnie, I talk about Lemmy," Rob added. "These are all friends of mine. And we have to celebrate — we have to celebrate. That's the way of helping you through the grief. You think about the memories, you think about the joy, you think about the good times, and that's what we will always do with Ozzy."

Asked if he remembered the last time he had a conversation with Ozzy or the last time he was in contact with him, Rob said: "No. We used to text occasionally. 'Cause he's another guy I was in awe of. I'm still in awe of Alice [Cooper]. [Laughs] 'Oh my God. He's Alice Cooper.' And I used to feel the same whenever I was in Ozzy's presence, because he had this larger-than-life personality. It'd been a while since we've been in touch. But, again, I just have the wonderful memories of the two opportunities I was able to sing for him with SABBATH. And then this recent opportunity to cover 'War Pigs' [with PRIEST], which we still play at the start of our show, which is one of the greatest metal songs ever written. So that connection will never be severed in that respect."

JUDAS PRIEST paid tribute to Ozzy during the band's July 23 concert at Scarborough Open Air Theatre in Scarborough, United Kingdom. Introducing the aforementioned song "Giants In The Sky", Rob acknowledged the BLACK SABBATH frontman's death a day earlier, saying: "Okay. Look, it's been tough, the last 24 hours, right? It's been tough. But he would want us to be doing this. He would want us to be together, he would want us to be having a good time, which is what we're doing right now. We love you, Ozzy."

After a brief pause amid chants of "Ozzy! Ozzy! Ozzy!", Halford continued: "This next song is all about him and all of the other greats that we've lost. Their music lives forever. They used to be down here on the earth plane. Now they're in the sky plane, as we call it. This is 'Giants In The Sky'."

During the song — a tribute to musicians now gone — the screen displayed images of the likes of Ronnie James Dio, Lemmy, Freddie Mercury, Taylor Hawkins and Christine McVie, finishing on two gigantic images of Ozzy.

A few hours after Ozzy's passing was announced on July 22, JUDAS PRIEST released the following statement via social media: "Our hearts are broken like millions around the world. Words can't express the love and loss we are all feeling.

"Sharon, may God surround you and your beautiful family with love, peace and light.

"Ozzy, you will never leave us — your music is eternal. God blesses you now more than ever after you blessed us all through your magnificent life.

"Rob, Glenn, Ian, Richie & Scott".

In August 2023, Halford picked BLACK SABBATH's classic 1970 self-titled debut album as one of the albums he'd be willing to listen to in perpetuity if he found himself stranded and alone on an island. He said: "I would have to go with BLACK SABBATH, the original 'Black Sabbath' album that I think is the motivator for all great things in heavy metal."

Back in 2020, Halford broke down his top 10 favorite albums in an interview with Rolling Stone and explained how they helped make him who he is. Among the records included on the list was BLACK SABBATH's debut. At the time, Halford said about his choice: "They were local guys from the same neighborhood, the same neck of the woods as PRIEST. We literally grew up together, inventing this great music that we love and cherish so much called heavy-metal music.

"I chose the 'Black Sabbath' album just because, like so many bands, your first one or two records really establish who you are as a band," he explained. "It's a bit like PRIEST with 'Rocka Rolla' and 'Sad Wings Of Destiny'; 'Sad Wings Of Destiny' becomes the one we love so much because it becomes defining. With 'Black Sabbath', here was the first example of what heavy metal music should sound like, just the texture, the tone, the structure of all of the material, Ozzy's very unique voice. It's just become a very important record in the discography of BLACK SABBATH."

Halford joined SABBATH for two gigs to support Ozzy Osbourne on his last shows for the "No More Tours" tour in November 1992 in Costa Mesa, California after SABBATH's singer at the time, Ronnie James Dio, refused to take the stage. Rob also performed with SABBATH members Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward on August 26, 2004 at the Camden, New Jersey stop of Ozzfest after Ozzy came down with an "attack of bronchitis" and was unable to take part in the concert.

Asked which SABBATH tune he'd most enjoying performing with the band, Halford told The Georgia Straight: "Ooo, that's a good question. Um, I'd probably say the actual song 'Black Sabbath', which is, to me, the most evil song that's ever been written. [Laughs]. It's very fucking scary. There's something very malevolent about that song. It's just the whole — it's the way it starts, and then it's almost deathly quiet, and then that opening line: 'What is this I see before me?' You know, I just get goosebumps thinking about it now. And when I sang that song live, it makes you feel really… Wow… I can't describe it. It's just very overwhelming, the emotion is very overwhelming. And when you see Ozzy singing it you can see him change, you know, his whole demeanor, he just changes as a person to sing that song. It's really spooky."