Foo Fighters marked their ninth time as musical guest on Saturday Night Live last weekend. The band performed the But Here We Are album tracks, "Rescued" and "The Glass". For the latter, they were joined by H.E.R. on vocals and guitars. Watch the videos below:










With their universally acclaimed 11th album, But Here We Are, stacking up "Best Of 2023 So Far" accolades and singles “Rescued” and “Under You” cementing the band’s tally of more #1s than any other artist at rock and alternative radio, Foo Fighters recently confirmed a massive run of summer 2024 US Stadium dates.


The newly announced leg of the Everything Or Nothing at All Tour will kick off with the band’s return to New York’s Citi Field for the first time since 2015 for a July 17 and 19 doubleheader and will see Foo Fighters host 12 rock ’n' roll marathons at 10 stadiums, including a pair of shows August  9 and 11 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.


For tickets and further information, visit foofighters.com.


Foo Fighters' 2024 stadium dates will mark the band's biggest US headline shows since the June 2 release of But Here We Are. Support on the various dates will come from Pretenders, The Hives, Mammoth WVH, Amyl And The Sniffers, Alex G and L7. See below for a full list of dates.





Tour dates:


July
17 - New York NY - Citi Field *
19 - New York NY - Citi Field #
21 - Boston MA - Fenway Park #
23 - Hershey PA - Hersheypark Stadium #
25 - Cincinnati OH - Great American Ballpark *
28 - Minneapolis MN - Target Field **


August
3 - Denver CO - Empower Field at Mile High *
7 - San Diego CA - Petco Park $
9 - Los Angeles CA - BMO Stadium #
11 - Los Angeles CA - BMO Stadium %
16 - Portland OR - Providence Park Soccer Stadium %
18 - Seattle WA - T-Mobile Park %


* Pretenders & Mammoth WVH Support
** Pretenders & L7 Support
# The Hives & Amyl and The Sniffers Support
$ The Hives & Alex G Support
% Pretenders & Alex G Support

In the new video below, Judas Priest guitarist, Richie Faulkner, returns to EMGtv for a special Halloween release of "Ghost Of You". This song featured on the new album from heavy metal supergroup, Elegant Weapons.





Judas Priest recently released their new single, “Panic Attack”, from their upcoming new studio album, Invincible Shield.







“Panic Attack” is a classic slice of Judas Priest at their very best; soaring guitars and vocals that will whet the appetites of fans around the globe. It is available via digital platforms found here. An official lyric video for the song can be viewed below:





The band revealed Invincible Shield on stage in front of approximately 100,000 excited fans. It is set for release on March 8, 2024. The new album is now available to pre-order here.


The undisputed hardest working band in metal will also be embarking on a world tour in 2024, with the UK leg kicking off in Glasgow on March 11 and includes a show at London’s OVO Wembley Arena on March 21.





Over the past 50 years Judas Priest have sold over 50 million albums worldwide and headlined the world’s biggest stadiums. With their evolving music and live performances also came a powerful unique identity, a look which has both defined the group and influenced future generations of metal bands the world over. With each year the Judas Priest legend continues to grow; 2022 saw them inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and complete a sold-out rescheduled world tour in support of their 50th Anniversary.  As we roll into 2024, Judas Priest continue to retain their crown as one of the biggest and best bands in the world.


Invincible Shield album trailer:





(Photo - James Hodges Photography)

Iconic US doom and heavy metal veterans The Obsessed present the fist-pumping first single taken from their long-anticipated fifth studio album Gilded Sorrow, to be released on February 16, 2024 through Ripple Music.


About the song, frontman Scott "Wino" Weinrich says: "This song is about and dedicated to all the loud mouth keyboard warriors, and so-called 'friends' who steal from you, conveniently forget about debts, stab you in the back, instigate Internet rumours, talk shit in the press, while being the first to run away from any face to face confrontations. Simply, these people and their actions suck and 'It's not OK'. Enough said."







Scott “Wino” Weinrich is a living legend. In a way, he is the American version of Lemmy and shares many traits with the late, much-beloved metal icon. He’s always been a rebel, loner and an outsider in an outsider scene, pursuing his music without regard for popularity or acceptance. In the process, he came to be considered one of the early pioneers of American doom. All of this began when he founded The Obsessed back in the '70s, then pursued through his many other outfits such as Saint Vitus or Spirit Caravan. As a key part of the '80s Washington/Maryland music scene, his music earned the respect of metal, punk and crossover fans alike while often being dubbed doom metal. Looking back, it was just gritty, street-wise American metal with a cynical bent and psychedelic flair, and this is what made him the unique and timeless heavy music icon he is today.


Now, The Obsessed comes roaring back with their most rocking album of all time Gilded Sorrow, to be released on February 16, 2024 through independent Californian label Ripple Music. Expanded to a four-piece with the addition of Jason Taylor on guitar, the music is more aggressive, straightforward and downright mean than ever before. Wino comments: "Adding Jason Taylor as second guitarist was one of the best decisions I've made because he's a virtuoso guitar player and I must say he contributed quite a bit of good stuff to this record." About the new album, he adds: "I think it's the heaviest thing I've ever done. Heavy in a sense as not just sludge heavy, but well-rounded. And it sounds fantastic. Everything I do with Frank Marchand gets better and better. He knows what the fuck he's doing."


Gilded Sorrow was produced by Frank Marchand, Scott "Wino" Weinrich and Jason Taylor. Mixed and engineered by Frank Marchand and mastered by Alan Douches. Gilded Sorrow will be available on vinyl, CD and digital on February 16, 2024 through Ripple Music.





Tracklisting:


"Daughter Of An Echo"
"It’s Not OK"
"Realize A Dream"
"Gilded Sorrow"
"Stoned Back To The Bomb Age"
"Wellspring/Dark Sunshine"
"Jailine"
"Yen Sleep"
"Lucky Free Nice Machine"


Pre-orders can be placed now at this location.


 

Hatefulmurder, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, returns with a new single and video, "Call Out Your Soul".


The new track brings elements of death metal, with a contrast between old school and contemporary with powerful rhymes where we can hear Angélica Burns' dynamic range in all its glory.


About the single, the band says: “'Call Out Your Soul' ended up being a consensus among the band and we believe it to be one of the strongest songs on this new album. It mixes heavy parts with more ambient passages, bringing a little of all the elements of the essence of the new album. Our influences range from death metal, thrash metal and modern metal. Each member of the band enjoys a little more of each style and ends up taking a little of their influences into the compositions."







Stream / download "Call Out Your Soul" here.





In January 2023 the band released the single “Psywar”, along with a music video. In July the band released the track “Eye For An Eye”, with a lyric video to promote the work. The two singles are part of the new album that will be released in the second half of this year.








For further details, visit Hatefulmurder on Facebook.


 

Massachusetts-based hard rock / heavy metal band Hero And The Horror have released the "On Fire" video from their upcoming album Old Ghosts, dropping February 2, 2024 via Salt Of The Earth Records.


"We picked 'On Fire' as both the first single and opening track to our upcoming album Old Ghosts because we feel that this track represents the fire, urgency, and a single important emotion that this album presents. Although Old Ghosts encapsulates a wide array of musical styles and, in turn, a wide array of emotions, 'On Fire' is our opening statement of shedding a skin and awakening something new within." - Hero And The Horror







Stream / download "On Fire" now at this location.


Hero And The Horror expounds, "The video for 'On Fire' was filmed by the same people that filmed 'Another World', headed by Josh DeForge of Running Scared Motion Pictures. We have continued to form a strong bond with RSMP and have plans in the works to film at least one more video in the near future. We were very happy to scout the location where the video was filmed.  A very good friend of the band had converted a building on his land into his own private club. The location was in immaculate shape and we felt was an excellent choice for the first 'band focused' video for our new record. The filming process, once again, was an amazing experience. Josh and the band have a shared vision and the cohesiveness shows with the 'hands on' movement of each frame.  Josh has become a close friend and a very important part of our process. We are extremely grateful to have him as a member of our team."


Previously released track "Another World" will also be included on the upcoming Old Ghosts album. The video for "Another World" was filmed in Western Massachusetts on location of the now abandoned, notoriously haunted, and condemned buildings that housed the controversial Belchertown State School for the Feeble-Minded in Massachusetts. The site has a reputation for being a hotbed of paranormal activity, most famously, reports of hearing phantom running sounds between dormitories believed to be the ghosts of two residents of the institution who were in love but, not having any basic human rights, were cruelly kept apart. The lyrics, "I want to dig my dark grave next to yours and I will lie here forever with you. In another World... In this other World... This is our World," honoring and befitting the grounds on which filming occurred. While discussing the band's plan to film a video for "Another World", director Josh DeForge pulled up some images of the Belchertown State School that he had shot previously. "Obviously we were familiar with the legendary site and were enamored with the it's oddly beautiful, overgrown ruins. Although closed to the public, Josh was, remarkably, able to get permission from Belchertown officials to shoot there and we are extremely grateful to them as we could not imagine a more perfect setting for the video of 'Another World'," says John "Slo" Maggard.





"Slo" recalls feeling "a sense of anxiousness, but also a sense of respect" and shares "For me, walking through there was both eerie and solemn. Of course the band was very excited to get the final shots of our video underway, but simultaneously I was getting a sense of what it was like for the residents and particularly a family member that resided there in his final days. Knowing the history this place held, the experience for me was surreal and heavy hearted."


On October 21st at Race Street Live! in Holyoke, MA, Hero And The Horror opened for John "Slo" Maggard's previous band, Unearth. Slo shares, "It was awesome to join back up with my brothers in Unearth, play a gig together and do some guest vocals for "Endless" from Unearth's The Oncoming Storm album that I played bass on." 


Old Ghosts artwork:





(Photo credit: Kelso Manzi) 


 

"It’s the Eve of Halloween, and we have some tricks and treats just for you," begins the latest update from The Dead Daisies. "You can now watch a brand new Halloween version of 'Resurrected' complete with the zombie apocalypse featuring John, David, Doug, Brian and Michael. Not only does it look pretty amazing, you need to plug it into your speakers because its big, loud and scary and it rocks! See you out on the road soon!"





The Dead Daisies will celebrate Halloween in Osaka, Japan with a show on October 31 at Umeda Club Quattro. Their complete tour schedule can be found here.




Ten years ago, The Dead Daisies burst onto the music scene. Their mission, to create some good old fashioned 70’s style rock, gather some of the finest musicians in the world, and have a great time keeping rock music alive. The name was inspired by Jon Stevens and an old phrase ‘pushing up daisies’ as well as the Mexican celebration ‘Day Of the Dead’ with this theme influencing the logos and artwork throughout the years.


The Dead Daisies have gone from strength to strength since the release of their self-titled album in 2013. They have released six studio, one live and one covers album to a growing army of fans worldwide and are praised by the global media in an era where Rock has been declared dead time and time again.


The band’s DNA includes an amazing collective of players that includes David Lowy, Doug Aldrich, John Corabi, Brian Tichy, Michael Devin, Glenn Hughes, Marco Mendoza, Richard Fortus, Dizzy Reed, Tommy Clufetos, Frank Ferrer, Darryl Jones, Charley Drayton, Deen Castronovo and Jon Stevens amongst others.


 


 

In an interview with Neuborn Open Air festival in Wörrstadt, Germany, original VENOM and current VENOM INC. guitarist Jeff "Mantas" Dunn reflected on the former band's early albums, particularly 1981's "Welcome To Hell", which had a low-budget raw production that many black metal bands took influence from. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "We were never known as the greatest musicians on the planet, but I think what we had was — call it youthful arrogance or whatever. But we just went in and did whatever we did when we went in the studio way, way back then. We had no experience whatsoever. And 'Welcome To Hell', that album, that was actually my first attempt at writing songs. There was no rewrites, there was no rearrangement, we had no Pro Tools, Cubase, Logic. We were given three days to get in the studio and just do it."

He continued: "I've had the question a lot of times: 'Will you ever re-record 'Welcome To Hell'?' The answer is absolutely not, because that album was a moment captured in time. It was three young guys, very inexperienced. We didn't know what the fuck was going on. I went in there with a Marshall JCM800, an ENGL cab, a horrible blue fuzz pedal, a copy flying V, turned everything up to 11 just like 'Spinal Tap' and we went for it. And we've still got that same kind of attitude, although we're more experienced. And I've often said, as a songwriter, it would be nice to get back to that sort of innocence.

"I can vividly remember going into a rehearsal one Sunday morning and going, 'I've got a new song, I've got a new song.' I was so excited about this song. And it was 'Witching Hour'. But now, if I wrote the riff to 'Witching Hour', I would probably press the 'delete' button."

Mantas concluded: "Everything that we did in the past was really simple."

Mantas sat out VENOM INC.'s just-completed U.S. tour after his wife had been diagnosed with cancer. He was replaced on the trek by Mike Hickey, known for his work with VENOM, CARCASS, CATHEDRAL and CRONOS.

In the past, Dunn credited his wife for helping him recover after he suffered a heart attack and underwent a double bypass surgery in May 2018.

VENOM INC. also features another former VENOM member, bassist/vocalist Tony Dolan.

VENOM's classic lineup trio of Dunn, bassist/vocalist Conrad "Cronos" Lant and drummer Anthony "Abaddon" Bray recorded four studio LPs, "Welcome To Hell" (1981),"Black Metal" (1982),"At War With Satan" (1984) and "Possessed" (1985),and live album, "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" (1986). Often cited by bands such as METALLICA, BEHEMOTH, CELTIC FROST and MAYHEM as major influences, they are one of the most revered bands of their generation. VENOM is still fronted by Cronos and headlines festivals all over the globe and continues to release new music while Dunn and Dolan have joined forces in the similarly named VENOM INC.

The Cronos-fronted version of VENOM is continuing to tour and make albums under the VENOM moniker. Joining Cronos in that group are Rage (a.k.a. Stuart Dixon) on guitar and Danté (a.k.a. Danny Needham) on drums.

Dunn, Bray and Dolan released three albums as VENOM between 1989 and 1992 — "Prime Evil" (1989),"Temples Of Ice" (1991) and "The Waste Lands" (1992).

VENOM INC.'s sophomore album, "There's Only Black", was released in September 2022 via Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to 2017's "Avé" marks the second recording under the name VENOM INC., while Dunn and Dolan have a long history as recording artists together in VENOM, M:PIRE OF EVIL and Mantas solo projects. It also marks the VENOM INC. recording debut of drummer Jeramie Kling (formerly of MASSACRE),who joined the band in 2018.

The impact of Swiss extreme metal forefathers, Hellhammer, is one that still resonates around the global metal scene today, such was their influence on the early extreme, death, and black metal genres. Celtic Frost, the successor group formed by Hellhammer founding member Tom Gabriel Warrior and former Hellhammer bassist Martin Eric Ain, would sporadically play a Hellhammer song or two, and Warrior’s current band, Triptykon, have played the occasional Hellhammer song live, but the vast body of Hellhammer's work remained unperformed, until the inception of Triumph Of Death.


In an upcoming BraveWords feature, Warrior was asked how influential was Hellhammer to what would eventually be known as the black metal genre? 


“You cannot possibly ask me that,” he responded. “I’m not going to comment on how influential a band of mine or my songwriting was – this would be utterly preposterous. People tell me such things all the time, and it’s difficult for me to grasp this, because my career was far from easy – there were a lot of ups and downs. And especially the beginning of Hellhammer was a struggle – both as aspiring musicians and also all of us in our private lives at the time. Hence, the extremity of Hellhammer – we carried a lot of anger and frustration and pain from our private lives at the time into the band and released it there. So, it was such a personal underground thing that I never looked at it as a global thing – and much less am able to really grasp what people bestow upon me as far as titles are concerned. It’s really up to you – journalists – to access the importance or non-importance of Hellhammer. I cannot comment on that.”




Stay tuned for our major Hellhammer/Triumph Of Death feature in the coming days.


The resurrection of the music of Hellhammer had been an idea Tom Gabriel Warrior and Martin Eric Ain discussed for many years, sparked not least by their renewed collaboration in the reformed Celtic Frost in the 2000s. The first steps towards the realization of Triumph Of Death, named after Hellhammer's most infamous song and intended to be a very respectful and authentic tribute to Hellhammer, were finally taken in 2014, and the band was officially founded in autumn of 2018.


Triumph Of Death consists of individuals who not only love the music in question but truly understand it. The lineup emulates Hellhammer's final incarnation of April/May 1984, when the group had added an additional guitarist. To date Triumph Of Death have performed numerous notable concerts globally and have brought the seminal music of Hellhammer to fans both old and new. Many of whom thought they may never see it live on stage.


Triumph Of Death’s debut live release, Resurrection Of The Flesh, is the culmination of three concerts. Recorded in the spring of 2023 at Hell’s Heroes Festival in Houston, Texas, Dark Easter Metal Meeting in Munich, Germany and SWR Barroselas Metal Fest in Portugal, the album was produced by Tom Gabriel Warrior and Triptykon's V. Santura. The record captures the band at their primeval finest; raw, foreboding and heavy. The songs may date back four decades but here they are revealed to be still just as vital today as when they were written in the band’s infamous rehearsal bunker in the rural village of Birchwil, Switzerland in the early 1980s. From the thunderous opening chords of "Third Of The Storms (Evoked Damnation)" to the malevolent, morbid feedback of set closer "Triumph Of Death", this album is a sixty minute document of the overwhelming power of the live performance of Triumph Of Death, and it captures the spirit and intensity of these historic songs that have transcended decades to become revered and timeless.


Warrior: "This album is, most importantly, testament to the unique connection that exists between the audience and this band. Hellhammer's music was an underground token in 1982 to 1984, often ridiculed and shunned, and we owe the fact that we are now able to perform it all across the globe entirely to grace, openness, and enthusiasm of those who make exactly these concerts possible. They give us as much as we given them, and my gratitude to them knows no limits."


Listen to the track "Messiah" below, and for special ore-orders and exclusive merch bundles, head here.


Resurrection Of The Flesh will be available as:


- Deluxe CD mediabook
- Double gatefold LP w/booklet and posters on black vinyl and B&W swirl (indie store exclusive)
- Super deluxe double red vinyl LP bookpack with bonus 7” single plus posters





Tracklisting:


"The Third Of The Storms (Evoked Damnation)"
"Massacra"
"Maniac"
"Blood Insanity"
"Decapitator"
"Crucifixion"
"Reaper"
"Horus/Aggressor"
"Revelations Of Doom"
"Messiah"
"Visions Of Mortality"
"Triumph Of Death"


Bonus 7” song (Super deluxe edition only):
"Decapitator" (Live In Houston)


"Messiah":





Triumph Of Death lineup:


Tom Gabriel Warrior - voice/guitar
André Mathieu - guitar/vocals
Jamie Lee Cussigh - bass
Tim Iso Wey – drums

Last month, Grammy-nominated band SUM 41 released a new single, "Landmines", via Rise Records alongside a new music video. The track is expected to appear on SUM 41's upcoming album, "Heaven :x: Hell", which is tentatively due in early 2024. The first part of the two-part LP, known as "Heaven", taps back into pop punk, while the album's second, heavier side ("Hell") features metallic tracks closer to SUM 41's most recent sound.

Speaking to TheresaRockFace of the Houston, Texas radio station 94.5 The Buzz about the upcoming album, SUM 41 vocalist Deryck Whibley said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's two totally different records. It's 10 songs each side. I would call like early SUM 41 pop punk, and the 'Hell' side is like newer, heavier SUM 41 that we've kind of done the past couple of records, that sort of style. I don't wanna call it metal, but it's our version of what we do that's heavy and metal influenced."

He explained: "Over the years, we've done both sort of styles. We've had more heavy music than pop-punk music, but since we started with that on those first two records, it's kind of like you're labeled that for the rest of your life. But there are fans of ours that don't really care for any of the pop-punk stuff and only like the heavier stuff, and vice versa."

According to Whibley, "There are no guests" on "Heaven :x: Hell". "There was some talk about it," he said. "We've never really done that. And as the record starts moving along, it just gets finished, and we're, like, 'Well, I guess we've done the record now.' Those ideas come up early on, and then once the songs are done, we're, like, 'I don't know. Maybe we'll just leave it as is.'"

Asked if there is an official release date for "Heaven :x: Hell", Whibley said: "There's no release date for it yet. No, not yet. I have a feeling it'll probably be early next year, kind of like spring. That's what I think. All that stuff's being worked out right now."

Whibley also talked about the songwriting process for "Heaven :x: Hell" and how it came to turn into a double album. He said: "It wasn't really that fast [to make], but it also wasn't intentional. There was no thought or idea to make a double album. The music just kind of came out that way. And I'm always a believer in the music tells you what to do. So I didn't have this idea of, like, 'I'm gonna write a bunch of pop-punk songs and write a bunch of heavy songs.' I was just writing stuff and collecting music, and I didn't know what it was for. And one day I just decided, 'Okay, I've got all these songs. I'm gonna put 'em on a disc and go drive around in the car and listen to just see what I have.' And once I listened to it all, it kind of spoke to me. It was just, like, 'This needs to be a double album, 'cause they're two separate albums.' There was no thought of it. And even with the band, I didn't tell them, 'Hey, I think this is a double album.' I just sent them the music and said, 'Listen to everything that I've been working on. Tell me what you think.' And one by one, each guy came back and said, 'What do you think about doing a double album?' So the music spoke to all of us."

In May, SUM 41 announced plans to split up following the completion of a worldwide tour in support of "Heaven :x: Hell".

SUM 41's storied 24-plus-year career includes over 15 million records sold worldwide, multiple Billboard-charting releases, a Grammy Award nomination, two Juno Awards (seven nominations),a Kerrang! Award in 2002, as well as multiple Alternative Press Music Awards.

In September, Whibley was discharged from a hospital after being treated for pneumonia.

Back in 2014, Deryck collapsed in his kitchen and was rushed to the hospital, before doctors revealed his liver and kidneys had failed. He was placed in a coma for a week to help his body detox from alcohol and went on to get sober and lead a healthier lifestyle.

Photo credit: Travis Shinn

This year, Tarja is bringing the festive season early with the release of Dark Christmas, the sequel of her 2017 album From Spirits And Ghosts (Score For A Dark Christmas). Utilizing the sound of a grand orchestra and the playfulness of a children's choir, the Finnish solo artist once again perfectly blends her classically-trained voice with darker gothic influences for a masterful cinematic eerie soundtrack to the world's most beloved Christmas tunes.


With enchanting and captivating renditions of well-known Christmas carols, such as Wham!'s "Last Christmas," Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You," Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime," classics such as "Jingle Bells," "Frosty The Snowman" and "Rudolph The Red- Nosed Reindeer," as well as Tarja's brand new original song "Dark Christmas," it's the perfect album for those who want to embrace the holiday spirit while exploring a more mysterious side of the season.


"It was fascinating to dive into this new world," says the singer. "You will appreciate these Christmas songs with our spooky arrangements truly sound in a way they never did before. It was my pleasure to team up once again with Jim Dooley and Tim Palmer. I hope you will dig in our take of a Dark Christmas spirit."




The release is accompanied by 12 music videos — a video for each album song, as well as a full-length music feature film made available with Dolby Atmos immersive audio mix on all supporting platforms.


Today also marks the release of the first single, "Frosty The Snowman," and the corresponding music video. Tarja transformed the usually joyful "Frosty The Snowman" into a hauntingly beautiful winter ballad. The song is a captivating fusion of holiday cheer and Gothic elegance, taking the listener on a journey through a winter's night filled with both magic and mystery...


Listen here, and watch the video below.





Dark Christmas will be released on 1CD Digipak, 2LP (Gatefold, 180g, black), Ltd. Christmas Green Splatter 2LP (Gatefold, 180g), and on Digital. Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"The First Noel"
"Frosty The Snowman"
"Holy Night"
"Dark Christmas"
"Jingle Bell Rock"
"White Christmas"
"All I Want For Christmas Is You"
"Wonderful Christmastime"
"Last Christmas"
"Jingle Bells"
"Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer"
"Angels We Have Heard On High"


"Frosty The Snowman" video:

KING DIAMOND has released a music video for the 2019 single "Masquerade Of Madness". The clip, which was directed by David Brodsky and Allison Woest of MyGoodEye Visuals, can be seen below.

KING DIAMOND's namesake frontman commented: "'Masquerade Of Madness' was released digitally in 2019 before our North American tour. During rehearsals, we took one full day to film 'Masquerade Of Madness' with David Brodsky and Allison Woest. We spent all day and all night recording while performing the song with our full tour stage show choreography. After the tour, Covid happened.

"The video was all but forgotten as the world came to a standstill — we never saw a single frame from all the footage. Years later, as things began to pick up and writing began for both new MERCYFUL FATE and KING DIAMOND records, we wondered, what happened to that video from four years ago? So we decided to check in with David Brodsky and a couple of weeks later, we had the first cut of the video.

"I was speechless! I had nothing to criticize and after just a few notes from Andy La Rocque, the video for 'Masquerade Of Madness' was finished! There's so much mood and black and white is used in a perfect way with Jodi's performances. The visuals fit the music flawlessly and this is now among my favorite KING DIAMOND videos along with 'Sleepless Nights' and 'Welcome Home' — and not to forget of course, our double live DVD.

"This new video and the release of 'Masquerade Of Madness' on 12" vinyl is our Halloween gift to the fans. We hope you enjoy this as much as we do! Happy Halloween, it's not just a dream!"

The 12" vinyl LP features the tracks "Masquerade Of Madness", "Welcome Home (Live at Graspop)" and "Arrival (Live at Graspop)" . All available for the first time on vinyl. "Masquerade Of Madness" features a collectable paper mask and will be available in four color variants worldwide.

U.S. variants:

* Bone
* Black Ice

European variants:

* 180 g Black
* Clear Violet Brown Marbled

Vinyl Track Listing:

Side 1

01. Masquerade Of Madness

Side 2

01. Welcome Home (Live At Graspop)
02. Arrival (Live At Graspop)

Pre-orders for the 12-inch vinyl are now available at this location.

A month after KING DIAMOND released "Masquerade Of Madness" in November 2019, La Rocque told The Metal Voice that he came up with the music for the track first before passing it off to King, who "needed to arrange a few things and change just a small few things for making it work with his vocals. And then, of course, he wrote the lyrics for it," the guitarist revealed. "So we [went] a little back and forth until he felt like, 'Okay, this is cool, man. This is the right key to sing in,' and all that."

Earlier this month, La Rocque spoke to "The Metal Podcast" about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's long-awaited new album. Titled "The Institute", KING DIAMOND's first studio LP in 17 years is tentatively due in 2024 via Metal Blade. It will be made available as a two-LP horror concept story, with the second part arriving at a later date. Andy said: "The last tour we did was in the U.S. And we jumped off that tour in December 2019. And that was right before the pandemic broke out. So since then we haven't been on the road — I mean, not a single show. We've been composing some songs and I've been trying to survive with bands in the studio, because that's what I do. When I'm not out with KING DIAMOND, touring and writing music for KING DIAMOND, I'm a music producer — mostly metal, of course, as you can imagine… I'm constantly working with things, you know, I mean, I'm writing riffs for KING DIAMOND all the time, and what does not fit for a KING DIAMOND song, it ends up like something else in my library of songs."

He added: "We might be able to come out next year for something. I can't really tell you when or where, but we're checking the possibilities to really come out with something next year, definitely."

Asked if he means a new music release or a tour, Andy replied: "A tour. And with the songs. I mean, we're working on that. We have songs. I sent King a bunch of songs, like, a year and a half ago, and we started working on them, like arrangement-wise and all that. And then MERCYFUL FATE came in between kind of; they did their summer tour in Europe and also a U.S. tour. And then they're gonna record like a single or two, I believe. And as soon as they're done with that, we're gonna go back and pick up where we ended with KING DIAMOND, all the KING DIAMOND songs that we have. And then, of course, King's going to write his share of the songs too, and all the lyrics and stuff. So it's a long procedure. But we have started."

At last year's Bloodstock Open Air festival at Catton Park, Walton-on-Trent, United Kingdom, King spoke to Bloodstock TV's Oran O'Beirne about his plans for "The Institute". "Something with KING DIAMOND, we have a very special thing [planned] for that album," King said. "It's gonna be a two-album story. But KING DIAMOND, we are building something that you will never have seen on a stage before — not that way. And with the light guy, he's never done it that way either. … It's very different, very sick. You will not have seen musicians standing on stage in that type of light. It's gonna be very dark. They have to learn to play in dark areas. It's crazy. I know that our light guy, he can't wait for us to do it. I showed him some pictures that have the kind of feelings I want, the kind of backdrops I want, stuff like that. … This is gonna blow people's minds when they see it, I am a hundred percent sure."

La Rocque, whose real name is Anders Allhage, discussed his vision for the new KING DIAMOND album with The Metal Voice, saying that it will be filled with great "melodies, of course. Super important. Without melodies, there is no music," he explained. "I'm also envisioning a more organic sound of the album. If you look back to the older albums, when Mikkey [Dee] played [drums for the band], for example, it's, like, a little bit up and down in tempo, and that makes it dynamic and also organic. So that's one thing that I would like to hear on the next album, for sure. But building up a dynamic, kind of organic feel, the drummer is a really important thing here, of course. And I know that Matt Thompson [current KING DIAMOND drummer] is the right guy to do this, for sure."

In March 2019, King told Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show that the next album from his namesake band will be "absolutely gruesome" with a story set in a 1920s mental institution. "I chose that because I think it's a very creepy scenario," he explained. "And some of the things that go on that we're gonna show onstage is also things that certainly was going on back then, when medicine was beginning to take a beneficial turn in history and actually being able to help human beings live longer. But there was some experimentation going on, too, that was absolutely gruesome. Some of that is involved in the story, but it's something totally different. Once you get to the second part of the story, you will begin to suddenly understand that, 'What the hell is going on here? What is this really about?' 'Cause there's a whole different story that will not come to you till second part. But in the first part, you're gonna get to know a lot people at a certain place… Some of it takes place here, this world, and some of it takes place in a parallel world. And there's a correlation between what happened to me and what happens to some people in this place and where they suddenly appear. And you will find out why they are there, how they appear there and the places down the road. I won't say too much right now, but it's gonna be very creepy."

KING DIAMOND received a Grammy nomination in the "Best Metal Performance" category for the track "Never Ending Hill" off the band's last album, 2007's "Give Me Your Soul … Please".

"Give Me Your Soul ... Please" sold 4,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 174 on The Billboard 200 chart.

KING DIAMOND released a DVD/Blu-ray, "Songs For The Dead Live", in January 2019 via Metal Blade Records. The set captures 1987's seminal "Abigail" album in its entirety, twice, and in very different locales: Belgium's Graspop Metal Meeting in June 2016 and Philadelphia's Fillmore in November 2015. The performances feature KING DIAMOND's current band, comprising of guitarists La Rocque and Mike Wead, bassist Pontus Egberg and Thompson.

After getting back together only six months ago, British thrashers Slammer announced on their Facebook page that they have once again called it quits, citing "family health care commitments" as well as logistical issues as the reasons. The band first broke up back in 1992 after having released only two albums, The Work Of Idle Hands... (1989) and Nightmare Scenario (1991).

A statement from the band reads as follows: "Good morning. We have some bad news to tell unfortunately. Due to unavoidable family health care commitments we are very sad to announce that Slammer are unable to continue with any future plans to play live. So it is with great regret we have to announce that the band will cease with immediate effect. We would like to sincerely thank everyone who has shown their support on here since the relaunch was announced and also everyone who made it to the gig last month. We have been overwhelmed with the response from people and it has been far and above anything we could have expected after more than 30 years. We are sorry to disappoint people so soon after reawakening their interest but it is imperative at this time that we allow the band members concerned to put family health first above all else. Please respect this decision and give us the space and privacy needed at this difficult time. There are no plans to release merchandise in future so any requests for it will go unanswered. We simply cannot deal with anything like that right now. Once again we thank you all for the unexpected level of love and support shown to us so far. It means more than we can accurately explain and it always will. Look after yourselves!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo courtesy of Ashley White Public Relations

In a new interview with Brazil's A Rádio Rock, STEEL PANTHER singer Michael Starr spoke about the band's participation in the "America's Got Talent" reality television and talent competition series. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It was really, really scary. Our brand is very dirty and raunchy and heavy metal rock and roll, right? It's all about sex, drugs, and rock and roll. So to go on 'America's Got Talent', which is really super straight and has to be very super clean, it was scary. I didn't wanna say 'fuck' while I was singing… But the experience was great. Unfortunately, we didn't win, but we made it to the second round, and that was pretty cool. And now we get noticed by old ladies and shopping malls. It's pretty cool."

Asked if he and his bandmates would play the "America's Got Talent" again, Michael said: "Yeah, of course. We're thinking about doing 'Canada's Got Talent' or maybe 'Brazil's Got Talent'. Why not? We'll do 'em all… We can just do a tour of talent shows and just try and win."

This past August, STEEL PANTHER failed to make it through to the Top 10 of season 18 of "America's Got Talent".

Night two of "America's Got Talent" season 18 featured performances from 11 artists, including the California glam metal jokesters, all of whom were hoping to make it through to the finale.

Only 55 acts continued on to "America's Got Talent" live shows after thousands of hopefuls from around the world auditioned for Season 18 judges Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara and Howie Mandel.

The remaining acts were split into groups of 11 and were competing weekly over five nights and from each night, only two made it through to the finale.

STEEL PANTHER performed on the August 29 episode of the "America's Got Talent". They played their classic song "Death To All But Metal", from 2009's "Feel the Steel" album, although they admittedly had to tweak some of the provocative lyrics in order to appear on NBC during primetime.

During its "America's Got Talent" audition in May, STEEL PANTHER promised to give Heidi and Sofia lifetime backstage passes and concert tickets ahead of the band's performance of the song "Eyes Of A Panther". At that time, Starr informed Cowell and Mandel that STEEL PANTHER actually has six studio albums, as well as several live records.

"I've seen these guys," Vergara said in May. "My husband Joe hired them for his 40th birthday and it was the best birthday he ever had. You guys are amazing!"

STEEL PANTHER's Stix Zadinia told Parade about how his band ended up appearing on the show: "We got a phone call from somebody that said, 'Hey, you guys should go audition for 'America's Got Talent'. Our first reaction was we’re professionals and we didn't think that you're allowed to be on that show if you're professionals, but apparently somewhere along the way, they opened the competition to people who are professionals. We had to weigh it out and say, 'Hey, the type of band that we are, the things that we say and sing about don't necessarily mesh with network television rules.' We did bring that up and they said, 'We know. We're cool with that.'"

During an appearance on last Monday's (October 23) episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", George Lynch spoke about LYNCH MOB's announcement that it was embarking on "The Final Ride", a farewell tour celebrating the band's 35-year legacy. The trek is expected to kick off in January of 2024 and conclude in March of 2025 on the Monsters Of Rock cruise. Asked if it was his call to do one final tour with LYNCH MOB, George said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, it was kind of my call. The thought behind it is LYNCH MOB has been a revolving door since its inception. And this feels like a solid landing. This version of the band has been intact now for a couple of years and is very, very solid. And I think it's about as solid as it's ever going to get. What I really wasn't looking forward to is, again, another member change, another singer change, and all this and that. I don't wanna go through that anymore. I'd like to see this solid lineup be the bookend and the endcap for the story. And I'm gonna be 70 next year. It's not like I'm gonna be retiring permanently or anything. I'm gonna be still going out probably and doing some stuff, but it'll give me a freedom to kind of stretch out, maybe play out as a solo artist and play material from all different projects or any project that I've been involved in, which is quite a few. So I can go back in time 40, 50 years if I want. I could play stuff from [my pre-DOKKEN band] XCITER. 'Paris Is Burning' is an XCITER song, which became a DOKKEN song. So, stuff like that or stuff off my instrumental solo records — things like that. Become a little more self-indulgent."

Asked by host Eddie Trunk if LYNCH MOB's just-released eighth studio album, "Babylon", will mark the band's final collection of new material, George said: "Well, that remains to be seen. I don't wanna say this is our final record because we may look at it like, well, we'll get through our heavy touring schedule in '24 and maybe some dates in '25 and cap it off with Monsters Of Rock cruise in March of '25. But maybe we'll wanna leave our options open to do another studio album while things slow down at the beginning of '25. But we wouldn't be out there touring to promote it. So we have to think about that. I'm not saying we are gonna do another studio record, but I definitely know I wanna leave that option open."

When "The Final Ride" was first announced last Tuesday (October 24),Lynch said in a statement: "After 35 years since the inception of LYNCH MOB, I feel the time is right to let this chapter of my musical life fade off into the sunset. I feel the timing is right because of the solidarity and camaraderie of our current lineup. It ensures that we're leaving a powerful legacy with no regrets.

"Jimmy D'Anda has been my partner and brother for many decades. Jaron Gulino feels like he was designed in a laboratory to be the perfect bassist for this band. Gabriel Colón defies every lead singer stereotype by being one of the sweetest, kindest and most humble lead singer I've ever worked with, yet goes out every night and morphs into a stage stalking, golden-throated lord. We laugh hard, work hard, and know we can step on to any stage at any time and own it. With our latest record. I feel at peace knowing that we've documented the final chapter in the 35-year legacy of the MOB."

"There's been so many iterations of LYNCH MOB since the first lineup in 1989 of Oni Logan, Mick Brown, Anthony Esposito and myself. Putting LYNCH MOB together was just an extension of what I'd always strived for in a band: the best possible musicians, chemistry, and brotherhood. My bands have not only been my best friends, but also family. When we come up together and work hard and struggle together, we create a bond that lasts a lifetime. I think that's the thing I love the most about my musical journey... creating music in the studio, stepping on stage, and sharing that bond with my friends through music. Thank you to everyone who has been in my band. I really feel it's ours."

LYNCH MOB was formed in 1989 after Lynch parted ways with his former band DOKKEN. Their debut release, "Wicked Sensation", was met with critical and fan acclaim and went on to be certified gold in sales by the RIAA. The band would continue on through the years with a cast of talented players joining Lynch throughout their musical journey over the course of six more studio albums.

LYNCH MOB is:

Gabriel Colón: Vocals
George Lynch: Guitars
Jimmy D'Anda: Drums
Jaron Gulino: Bass

New Jersey's own Jaron Gulino brings the east coast attitude and energy to LYNCH MOB. He has prospered in a long career as the bassist in a variety of bands, most notably post-grunge rock band TANTRIC. Gulino achieved chart topping success with multiple releases from TANTRIC, as well as performing on many high-profile tours and events with numerous other acts. He is also currently the bassist for Philadelphia hard rockers HEAVENS EDGE.

His bandmate and partner in crime in the rhythm section is none other than original BULLETBOYS drummer Jimmy D'Anda, who is known for his ability to bring a fantastic element of groove while maintaining the powerful hard rock vibe of LYNCH MOB.

Gabriel Colón is a Puerto Rican singer who started his career with a band called FAST TAKER. Since then, he has showcased his wide range of vocal talent with many rock acts including GOTHIC KNIGHTS, CULPRIT, WHITE WIZZARD and Rowan Robertson. Gabriel is a true talent and a great fit to fill the shoes of his extremely talented predecessors in LYNCH MOB.

For much of 2021 and 2022, George had played dates around the U.S. under the name ELECTRIC FREEDOM, which he previously said was the new name of his "touring entity" after deciding to retire the LYNCH MOB band name in 2020. However, a year ago, it was reported that Lynch was once again playing shows under the LYNCH MOB moniker.

In August 2020, Lynch announced that he was ending LYNCH MOB due to the racial insensitivity of the moniker, saying he would no longer record or perform under that name.

In a recent interview with Jared Tauber of the 90.3 WMSC FM radio station, TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider was asked what he thinks is the greatest enemy of free speech today. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The greatest enemy of free speech is the misinterpretation of what the First Amendment means. There's this idea, and Elon Musk is a champion of it, that free speech is saying anything you want whenever you want. That is not what they meant when they wrote the First Amendment… You never could say something that could endanger someone's well-being, whether it's physical or mental, with your words. You were never allowed to scream 'Fire' in a crowded movie theater when there's no fire, because people can be hurt. You can't say things to people or post things online that could hurt people psychologically, mentally and physically destroy their lives. That's not free speech. That's being an [asshole]. Okay, so there's a difference between being an [asshole] and having free speech. So that's the biggest threat, quite honestly, is a misinterpretation of what free speech means."

Two and a half years ago, Snider, who was famously called to testify before the U.S. Senate against the proposition to have warning labels be placed on albums deemed "offensive" to listeners, spoke to NewsNation's "Banfield" about the rise of political correctness in the social media era. Asked for his opinion of cancel culture, which is the idea that someone, usually a celebrity or a public figure, whose ideas or comments are considered offensive should be boycotted, Dee said: "It's censorship. And censorship has changed quite a bit. I mean, you go to when I was in Washington testifying. By the way, it was a bipartisan effort — it was the Democrats and Republicans who were joined together in putting a leash on rock and roll. But it was definitely a conservative attitude — it was a more conservative attitude, wanting to censor music. Now censorship still exists, but it's gone from the right more to the left. We're in this P.C. [politically correct] world where we have to be careful about what we say and who we offend, and it's a very odd thing."

In 2020, Dee told Canada's The Metal Voice that a movie like "Blazing Saddles", the 1974 American satirical Western black comedy film directed by Mel Brooks "could not be made today — it literally could not be made, because it would offend too many people.

"I remember seeing that movie the first time in a theater full of African-Americans in a black neighborhood in a black theater; me and my brother were the only two white people," he continued. "And I was laughing my ass off. And my friend said, 'Stop laughing. We're gonna get our asses kicked.' And I looked around the theater, and everybody was laughing. I said, 'Everybody's laughing.' It's funny. Funny is funny.

"It's odd, because conservatism was ultra-right back in the '80s. Now it's shifted toward the left, where you've got the liberals saying, 'Oh, you can't say that, and you can't say that, and you can't say that.'

"So, yeah, [censorship] still around, it's still an issue. But we've just gotta continue to push back and fight."

In 1985, the Parents' Music Resource Center (PMRC),led by Tipper Gore, was trying to introduce a parental warning system that would label all albums containing "offensive material." The system was to include letters identifying the type of objectionable content to be found in each album (e.g. O for occult themes, S for sex, D for drugs, V for violence, etc.),which resulted in the "Parental Advisory" sticker now found on new album releases with "questionable content." The incongruous trio of Snider, Frank Zappa and John Denver were called before Congress to testify in defense of music.

In 2015, Snider wrote an Op-Ed story for HuffingtonPost.com about his experience, saying: "Thirty years later, everything and nothing has changed. The ultra-conservatives still want to dictate to the masses what they deem acceptable for the general public to see and hear. The record industry is a mere shadow of its former self (apt punishment for its cowardice),and CDs and vinyl albums have almost become 'novelties’ in a world driven by downloads. Yet, the warning labels still adorn individual track listings and albums online.

"While initially my appearance at those Senate hearings was damaging to my career and reputation, long term it was beneficial, showing people for the first time that I was much more than a screaming 'Raggedy Ann on acid' and a fairly intelligent, sentient human being. Fortunately, I have gone on to better things."

TWISTED SISTER called it quits in 2016 after completing a farewell 40th-anniversary tour.

Los Angeles-based dark melodic metal outfit Witherfall have premiered their newest musical endeavor, "Insidious". The song marks the band's first new music since the Curse Of Autumn album, which was released in 2020. With "Insidious", the band open up a fresh chapter and offer a first glimpse of what to expect from their upcoming fourth studio album, tentatively due in early 2024.





"After a crazy writing and recording spree that had us crisscrossing the USA and working in five different states. We present to you perhaps the most involved Witherfall production to date", says the band. "Insidious" is the first single from our 4th full length album. The song was birthed at four in the morning under a foggy full moon in a stream of consciousness with the central theme and musical landscape written/improvised in a single take. The contrasting consonance and dissonance in the composition takes listeners on a decent into madness. The song was recorded with all analog instruments and was co-produced by Zeuss. The video produced by both Bradley Cooper and Cig Neutron represents the pervasive malaise and general sense of division in our current culture. We wish we could say no puppets were harmed during the making of this video..."

MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars has released the lead single from his solo debut titled "The Other Side Of Mars". To official music video for "Loyal To The Lie" can be seen below.

"The Other Side Of Mars" will be released on February 23, 2024. A pre-order is now live in the new merch storefront launched at shop.mickmarsofficial.com. Available configurations include a 180g LP and CD, signed and unsigned. "The Other Side Of Mars" will be released via Mick's own label 1313, LLC, in partnership with MRI.

Mars says about "Loyal To The Lie": "I wanted to do something that was just big and mean." But no matter what direction he's going in on "The Other Side Of Mars", what ties it all together is "that people are going to hear my tone — my sound," Mars says. "I am what I am. Nobody else can do it. And like everyone, I've got a limited number of years. So, I'm gonna do all I can to do a lot of stuff."

When Mars stepped back from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE — the band he co-founded more than 40 years ago — following their massive summer 2022 "The Stadium Tour", it seemed like the end of an era. Really, it was the beginning of a new one.

The legendary guitarist, whose riffs, solos and overall devastatingly heavy sound powered the L.A. icons through four decades of world-conquering, multi-platinum sonic mayhem is, as he demonstrates on his debut solo effort, still a serious force to be reckoned with. Only now, listeners are reckoning with more Mars than ever before. "When it comes to my playing, there's the MÖTLEY side and the Mars side," the guitarist says. "Either way, I always have a very clear vision of what I want to do."

On the aptly titled "The Other Side of Mars", fans get that vision in its full, multifarious glory. To be sure, there are plenty of characteristically riff-tastic, tough-as-nails hard-rock anthems. The album also presents the guitarist heading into new and uncharted territory, tearing through caustic, modern metal, conjuring gothic-tinged soundscapes, and digging into anguished, slow-burning power balladry alongside unspooling bluesy, cinematic instrumental workouts. The music throughout the collection is otherwise studded with slide guitars, violins, violas, keyboards, glitchy freak-outs and all manner of sonic surprises.

"There's a lot of ideas that I have that, I don't want to call them 'left,' but they are, you know what I mean?" Mars says. Regarding those stylistic turns, he continues, "My feeling has always been, I might gain some fans, I might lose some fans. But what they're hearing, it's all me."

The guitarist enlisted a crack team of musicians to help him along the way. A key contributor to the project was WINGER and former ALICE COOPER keyboardist (and, like Mars, Nashville resident) Paul Taylor, who, in addition to performing on the record and assisting Mars in co-writing many of the tracks, introduced the guitarist to powerhouse vocalist Jacob Bunton. "Jacob came into the studio and it was like, bam!" Mars recalls. "And I just said, 'Yeah, he's the guy.' And most of his vocals were one take."

The supporting band was rounded out by KORN drummer Ray Luzier, bassist Chris Collier and singer Brion Gamboa, who contributed lead vocals to two songs. Mars reflects, "those required a little bit more of an angsty, desperation kind of thing. And Brion really came to the table with that." Alongside playing bass on all songs recorded, Collier mixed and mastered the debut solo album.

But while Mars surrounded himself with a new cast of players for the sessions, there was one figure who represented a significant link to his storied past: Michael Wagener. The much-lauded German producer and engineer worked behind the boards on MÖTLEY CRÜE's 1981 debut, "Too Fast For Love", and his relationship with Mars stretches even further back.

"I had known him for a long time, and I actually brought him to MÖTLEY," Mars says. Working with Wagener this time, the guitarist continues, "he had such an understanding of where I wanted to go with the material. And he never said 'Hey, do this,' or tried to change my mind or anything like that. He was just really adamant about recording what I wanted to record, and making sure we recorded it right."

The result is a record unlike anything Mars has offered up in his more than 40-year career.

To that end, he says that even as he unleashes "The Other Side Of Mars" on the world, he's already working on a follow-up. He offers, "I'm trying to keep growing," Mars says. "Because if you stop learning new things, if you stop playing new things, if you close your mind, you're done. You have to keep moving and creating. Next!"

"The Other Side of Mars" track listing:

01. Loyal To The Lie
02. Broken On The Inside
03. Alone
04. Killing Breed
05. Memories
06. Right Side Of Wrong
07. Ready To Roll
08. Undone
09. Ain't Going Back
10. LA Noir

This past June, Mars told Rolling Stone that he won't hit the road in support of the upcoming LP. "I'm done touring," he said. "If somebody really, really wants a one-off, or a couple of nights, I would probably do it. But all that travel stuff and planes … I'm way over it."

Mick also revealed that he recently sold his share of the publishing rights to the CRÜE catalog. "The deal was just finalized," he told Rolling Stone. "Now I can relax and don't have to worry about anything, since, like I said, I'm probably just going to live another seven or eight years."

When asked how he knows he won't live longer than eight years, the now-72-year-old said: "I'm old enough, man. I'm not going to live to be 85 or 90, I just have a feeling. I don't want to, either. My brain doesn't want this ugly-ass body that's all fucked up to keep going. I wish I could just take the information out of my brain, put it on a chip and into somebody else, or a robot. There's still a lot of stuff going on up there."

Three years ago, Bunton revealed that he was the lead singer on Mars's solo album. Speaking to AL.com, Bunton, who has previously also played with LYNAM, said about his collaboration with Mars: "I can tell you that I'm involved and the past several months we wrote and recorded a record and Michael Wagener produced it. The great Michael Wagener from [mixing 1986 METALLICA album] 'Master Of Puppets' and all that kind of stuff. He worked with MÖTLEY CRÜE on their very first record 'Too Fast For Love', when they did it themselves they recorded the record and then Michael Wagener mixed, and then when they got the record deal with Elektra, [QUEEN producer] Roy Thomas Baker ended up going back and remixing it. But on all of their self-released copies, it's Michael. But to make a long story short, Michael's producing the record because that was the first producer Mick worked with in MÖTLEY CRÜE, so he wanted to do his solo album, so it's been really cool. We've been recording it in Nashville."

Regarding what fans can expect from Mars's solo CD, Bunton said: "The songs are really cool, the record is really cool. He's such an inventive player and his riffs are insane and it's definitely going to be what people are expecting. When they hear it … It's really cool."

In September 2019, Mick told Billboard about the musical direction of his solo material: "[It's] not like today's music, which to me is pretty much pop metal and more growly guys. It's all cool and it's all good, and I'm just searching for something that's just a little different than that. I [also] don't want to be living in '85. It's hard to reinvent yourself, but that's what I'm doing now. I'm trying to reinvent the way that I approach music writing. I've got a lot of crap, and I've got a lot of good stuff too."

At the time of the Billboard interview, Mars said that he had been working with a vocalist named Jacob, leading some fans to speculate that he was referring to Bunton. "[He] can be a lot of different voices, and it's pretty amazing," Mick said. "I go, 'I want this kind of voice here,' and he'll pull it straight off."

In a separate interview with "Talking Metal", Mars said that his debut solo record will not sound like anybody else. "Well, I guess it's my own style," he said. "It isn't really blues. My playing has a blues element to it, of course, but it isn't what you would call a blues record. It's more of a heavier rock thing, but I don't wanna even try to 'outheavy' the heavies, you know what I mean? It's just something hopefully just a little different than what's going on now. You're not gonna hear a MÖTLEY-flavored song, except for the guitar, [because] that's me. They're gonna be a bit harder than that, but not as hard as the heavies, like MINISTRY and some of those guys."

Photo credit: Seraina Mars