BLINK-182 drummer Travis Barker has revealed his new wax figure at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas. Named "Punk's First Superstar Drummer" by Rolling Stone, Travis Barker is celebrated as one of the greatest drummers of all time.

The figure is adorned in an outfit donated by Barker and is styled in one of his signature looks, an all-black outfit featuring a leather jacket, boots, pants and a studded belt. Barker's figure also features silver jewelry including nose rings, a chain necklace and a replicated wedding ring.

Barker sat down with the creative team, including sculptors, colorists, hairdressers and stylists, who took time to capture all the small things, taking more than 182 precise measurements of Barker's face and body, including his distinctive tattoos — which total more than 100 — to create true-to-life portraits. Each tattoo was closely documented at the sitting from 3D scan data and photos. Stenciling and coloring the tattoos on Travis's figure took approximately two weeks for the head and seven weeks for the body. Barker's wax twin is the most tatted figure ever created by Madame Tussauds.

"I'm honored, I'm flattered, I'm shocked. It looks so fucking real," said Barker.

For more than 25 years, Barker has graced the pop punk genre with the award-winning BLINK 182. In 2011, Barker released his debut solo album, "Give The Drummer Some". Since then, he has continued to work within a multitude of genres that span all types of collaborators. In addition to being the most sought after drummer on the planet, he's also a highly respected producer. In 2019, Barker established his own record label DTA Records in partnership with Elektra Music Group, and has signed talented artists such as JXDN and Avril Lavigne. Family has always come first in Barker's life - one of his biggest accomplishments is him being a father and he is expanding his family with a son on the way with wife Kourtney Kardashian — who has also been immortalized by Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.

"So many of our customers grew up rocking out to BLINK-182, so we're so excited to bring Travis Barker's figure to Las Vegas for everyone to enjoy. And the attention to detail…have you seen these tattoos?" said marketing manager Linsey Stiglic. "We're incredibly thankful to work with talented studio artists that consistently deliver figures of legends, like Barker, with such extraordinary precision."

Madame Tussauds provides direct access to A-list celebrities, showcasing their impact on society and all aspects of entertainment including music. Fans are encouraged to leave roses by the stairs and meet Barker's wax figure at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas.

Madame Tussauds Las Vegas is the ultimate adult playground located inside the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas. Take a ride on Miley's life size wrecking ball, bow down to Queen Beyoncé and mingle with the Marvel super hero crew. Raise a glass with Dwayne Johnson, see What's Poppin' with Jack Harlow and show off your best dance moves with Missy Elliott and Lizzo. It's the best of Vegas in one unforgettable place.

For more information, visit  madametussauds.com/lasvegas/.

Photo courtesy of Madame Tussauds

Robert Plant was among the special guest performers at a special charity concert Saturday night (October 21) for The Cancer Platform, an initiative launched by the Cancer Awareness Trust, organized by founding DURAN DURAN guitarist Andy Taylor.

Dubbed "An Evening With Andy Taylor And Special Guests", the event was held at Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire, England and featured additional guest appearances by PINK FLOYD bassist Guy Pratt, WHAM! star Andrew Ridgeley, drummer to the stars David Palmer (Rod Stewart, ABC, PET SHOP BOYS, Sting, Bryan Adams, Tom Jones, THE THE, YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA),Brit- and Ivor Novello-nominated singer Ella Henderson, the inimitable Katherine Ryan, broadcaster Nina Nannar and many more.

Plant's set, which can be viewed in full in the Facebook embed below beginning at the 43-minute mark, included renditions of LED ZEPPELIN's "Thank You", "Black Dog" and "Stairway To Heaven".

Robert's rendition of "Stairway To Heaven" marked his first time singing LED ZEPPELIN's 1971 masterpiece in public since the band's 2007 performance at the O2 Arena in London, which was later released as the "Celebration Day" concert film.

Back in 2019, Plant said that he could no longer "relate" to "Stairway To Heaven". During an appearance on the "Ultimate Classic Rock Nights" radio show, Plant spoke candidly about his feelings regarding the "Led Zeppelin IV" classic. "Of course, it was a good song," he said. "The construction of the song, the actual musical construction is very, very good. It's one of those moments that really can stand without a vocal — and, in fact, it will stand again without a vocal, I'm sure, because it's a fine, fine piece of music."

Plant went on to say: "Lyrically, now, I can't relate to it, because it was so long ago. I would have no intention ever to write along those abstract lines anymore. I look at it and I tip my hat to it, and I think there are parts of it that are incredible. The way that Jimmy [Page] took the music through, and the way that the drums reached almost climaxed and then continued... It's a very beautiful piece. But lyrically, now, and even vocally, I go, 'I'm not sure about that.'"

Several years ago, LED ZEPPELIN had to defend itself against a copyright lawsuit alleging "Stairway To Heaven" was stolen from an obscure 1960s instrumental. Jurors in the 2016 trial, which included testimony from Plant and Page, decided that "Stairway" did not infringe on "Taurus", written by the late Randy Wolfe and performed by his band SPIRIT.

During the trial, Plant recalled how he and Page had worked on "Stairway To Heaven" at Headley Grange, a former poorhouse in Hampshire, England. He said: "One evening, Jimmy Page and I sat by the fire, going over bits and pieces." He recalled leaving the rest of the band to work on the song while he went to his bedroom to write the song's lyrics, which he told the court were based on Celtic mythology and "the pastoral areas of Britain I love."

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Andy Taylor & Special guests - Cancer Awareness Trust Concert

Posted by DuranDuran Argentina on Saturday, October 21, 2023

During an appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation Power Trip Special", Duff McKagan said that GUNS N' ROSES' long-running reunion tour is going incredibly well, in part thanks to the great musical relationship he, singer Axl Rose, guitarist Slash and the other bandmembers are currently enjoying.

GUNS launched its long-rumored and long-awaited reunion tour with an April 2016 club show in Hollywood and appearances in Las Vegas and at California's Coachella festival.

GUNS N' ROSES' reunion tour features classic-lineup members Slash, McKagan and Rose backed by guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer, keyboardist Dizzy Reed and second keyboardist Melissa Reese.

Reflecting on how GUNS N' ROSES has been since it launched seven and a half years ago, Duff said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "If you would have asked me [in 2016] — I really do this; I'm not kidding. My mantra is today is today and I have to do that. It's what keeps me sane, and I do everything I can do today… I tell people I love 'em. I do that… If you were to ask me then, 'What's going to happen in seven?' I'd say, 'I don't know, but I'm gonna get through today.' And that's what I do.

"This band is kicking ass," the 59-year-old bassist continued. "Axl is a fucking master. He's a master. I mean, I see him sing every night for three hours. And what he does, I've learned so much from his singing. And Slash is a fucking master, and the band is slamming. So it's really fulfilling to be in that band and to be a part of it is great. We play long tours. We play long shows. We're getting near the end [of the tour]."

Less than two years ago, Slash told CNN about how GUNS N' ROSES' reunion tour has been going: "When we got back together, that whole chemistry and that thing that makes what GUNS N' ROSES is for me and Axl and Duff, it all just sort of came together. After that long a period of time, we'd sort of forgotten what that was like.

"Everybody got along great," he added. "That's actually why the tour has kept going, because initially it was just going to be a couple of shows."

In a 2020 interview with Guitar Player's "No Guitar Is Safe" podcast, Slash spoke about what it felt like for him to step back out on stage with GUNS N' ROSES for the first time in over two decades at the band's concert at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, California.

"That was our first gig back," Slash said. "I think probably the last time that we ever played there was in 1985. I don't think we even played there in 1986. Probably '85 was the last time we played there. "[The April 2016 concert was] our first show together after 20 years. We obviously had more gear and more crew than we did back in the day, I'll tell you that much. And it was loud. But it was a lot of fun. It was an almost poignant moment to fucking stand there and look at that crowd in that sort of room and have that kind of nostalgic feeling."

In 2019, Slash told Guitar.com that his first concert back with GUNS N' ROSES was an "overwhelming" experience. "It was so cool," he said. "Because it was a long time — we're talking more than 20 years from the last show in 1994… it was 22 years since the last time we'd played together. And obviously I'd played with Duff [since then] but there's a certain dynamic in the three of us together. It was awesome, and it's a really great experience."

As previousy reported, GUNS N' ROSES will return to Los Angeles this November to play the iconic Hollywood Bowl for the first time ever. This headlining two-night stint on November 1 and November 2 will also feature special guest THE BLACK KEYS. These shows will mark the first time the band has played L.A. since 2021 and also wrap up GUNS N' ROSES' U.S. tour. The band's 2023 global tour has been their largest run to date, consisting of headlining stadiums and arenas across Europe and North America, and will conclude with a headlining performance at Hell & Heaven festival in Mexico City on November 5.

In conjunction with these Hollywood Bowl shows, GUNS N' ROSES has announced a partnership with the Los Angeles County Parks Foundation (LACPF). A portion of the proceeds from every ticket will be donated to the organization, which supports park programs for under-served communities, seniors, and youth, including the development of environmental education programs. In addition to the donation, GUNS N' ROSES will be designing a special commemorative t-shirt with proceeds also going to LACPF. This limited-edition t-shirt will only be available at the Hollywood Bowl shows.

This two-night stand on Hollywood's most hallowed stage continues a triumphant California homecoming for the band that began over the weekend when they delivered a seismic set at the inaugural Power Trip festival in Indio, California. Over the course of their career, GUNS N' ROSES have left their mark up and down the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, The Troubadour, The Forum, BMO Stadium, Dodgers Stadium and at The Palladium a few blocks down the road. However, this will be the first time the band descends upon the Hollywood Hills' Hollywood Bowl. It is a full circle moment and the perfect way to cap off their recent North American tour.

FOZZY performed its new single, "Spotlight", live for the first time this past Thursday (October 19) at the Barrelhouse Ballroom in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Fan-filmed video of the performance can be seen below.

"Spotlight" was released the day of the Chattanooga concert via Madison Records/The Orchard. An accompanying music video for the track will arrive on Thursday, October 26.

"Spotlight" was helmed by FOZZY's longtime producer Johnny Andrews (THREE DAYS GRACE, ALL THAT REMAINS, HALESTORM) and sonically refined by mixer Jacob Hanson (VOLBEAT, AMARANTHE, ARCH ENEMY).

When "Spotlight" was made available earlier on October 19, FOZZY frontman Chris Jericho said in a statement: "On the heels of our fifth consecutive top ten hit 'I Still Burn', our new song 'Spotlight' pushes the boundaries of FOZZY's sound while still retaining the punch and maximum riffage you've come to expect! And with the FOZZY mindset of the triple-hook rule, I still can't stop humming the damn thing after dozens of listens!! This is going to be the perfect tune to sing along to live and in your car for a long time to come! It's time to turn on the spotlight!"

FOZZY never falls short in creating innovative imaginative videos, and "Spotlight" is no exception. The video features Jericho in another groundbreaking setting, orchestrating hundreds of drones that lit up the night sky to co-star in this first-ever drone show music video.

This past July, FOZZY guitarist Rich "The Duke" Ward told Diesel of Greenville, South Carolina's 93.3 Planet Rocks that "Spotlight" is "a fantastic song. Anyone who's known me for any length of time always knows I'm [a fan] of dance riffs. I mean, [my longtime band] STUCK MOJO was just a dance band dressed up in evil, heavy metal riffs. I've always been a fan of both. And partially [that was because] I grew up in the late '70s, early '80s in the disco era. That was what music was popular; that was the most popular soundtrack, the most popular album when I was a kid. And I Is loved dance music — Donna Summer and KOOL & THE GANG. These are people that put out albums that I was always in love with. And I loved Dick Clark, I loved America's Top 40, but I also loved 'Soul Train'. This is part of my DNA."

He continued: "So, this new song is a heavy metal dance song. It's just perfect. It's so suited for who I am as a guy and as a musician, as a songwriter. Jericho loves it. It's [producer] Johnny's [Andrews] kind of brainchild. So we're all dunking basketballs; [we're] so excited about it. 'Cause any time you have a new that everybody's on board…

"When you have a band and there's a lot of personalities and people involved in it, there's always somebody who's holding their nose, going, 'Okay, yeah. Okay. New song. Sure.' And they're trying their best to like it, but they don't really, and they're putting their best face forward on this," he added.

"Everyone loves the new song. It's a super-rad song."

FOZZY's latest album, "Boombox", came out in May 2022 and featured the song "I Still Burn", which recently eclipsed two and a half million views on YouTube. It also included the Top 10 singles "Nowhere To Run" and "Sane".

This past spring, FOZZY spent time on the road with UGLY KID JOE as part of the latter band's first tour of the United States in 27 years.

In January 2022, FOZZY parted ways with longtime drummer Frank Fontsere and replaced him with Grant Brooks (THROUGH FIRE).

Fontsere was a founding member of FOZZY, having formed the group in 1999 with Jericho and Rich Ward (guitar).

When FOZZY announced Fontsere's departure, the band said that he was "stepping down to focus on his family and other projects."

FOZZY is Jericho, Ward, Brooks, Billy Grey (guitars) and P.J. Farley (bass).

In a new interview with Real Music With Gary Stuckey, former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson spoke about why a proposed project featuring him and some other ex-MEGADETH members failed to materialize two decades ago. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "When Dave [Mustaine] broke the band up in 2002, our manager wanted me and Jimmy [DeGrasso, former MEGADETH drummer] and Al Pitrelli [former MEGADETH guitarist] to come together and try to do something. And we were ready to do it. We were talking to some singers. You know who reached out to us, was the singer from STEELHEART [Miljenko Matijevic], which is the 'Rock Star' movie guy. And I love his voice on some of those songs, like 'We All Die Young'. I mean, just killer, man. I think he's such a great singer. And we were talking to the singer from — uh, what was that band on Maverick Records? God, their name escapes me right now. But there was a few guys around.

"But I always knew this: Every person in MEGADETH was there to basically support Dave's centerpiece — Dave's vision, Dave's songs, Dave's ideas," he continued. "And while we all contributed and we were part of it, it all centered around Dave being the chief engineer of the thing. So when you peel those individual members out and try to go do something on its own, what it really lacks is that leadership. The whole reason we were all there was for that.

"Al is just so… That SAVATAGE gig really developed a sound for him," Ellefson added. "And that's why when that turned into TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, I mean, Al is just — he's the centerpiece of TSO. He plays on all those records — on TV when you hear those songs, it's all Al. So Al is that guy. And DeGrasso has done so many different things. In some ways, DeGrasso is still the SUICIDAL TENDENCIES guy to me, as much as he's had a ton of gigs. I mean, we did MONTROSE together, we did MEGADETH together, we've done a lot of things together, but to me, he's still kind of the SUICIDAL TENDENCIES guy.

"So, sometimes these things don't work when you sort of peel them out away from the reason we were together, which in that setting was for MEGADETH."

Ellefson recently formed a new original band with ex-MEGADETH guitarist Jeff Young and drummer Fred Aching, all three of whom are also playing together in KINGS OF THRASH.

KINGS OF THRASH recently completed a couple of tours during which it performed MEGADETH's classic albums "Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good!" and "So Far, So Good… So What!" A live CD/DVD package called "Best Of The West…Live At The Whisky A Go Go" was recorded and filmed live at the legendary Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California on October 15, 2022 and was released this past March via Cleopatra Records. The DVD, which was directed by Michael Sarna for Inmotion Entertainment, includes an appearance by another former MEGADETH member, Chris Poland (guitar).

Ellefson was fired from MEGADETH more than two years ago after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter.

David was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest exit.

In 2004, Ellefson filed an $18.5-million lawsuit against Mustaine, alleging the MEGADETH leader shortchanged him on profits and backed out of a deal to turn Megadeth Inc. over to him when the band broke up in 2002. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed and Ellefson rejoined MEGADETH in 2010.

In a new interview with "Good Day Rochester", the morning news show which airs on the Rochester, New York television station 13 WHAM, original FOREIGNER singer Lou Gramm once again addressed the fact that the band is not in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and has not even been on the ballot for consideration yet. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Boy, I tell this story a lot… [FOREIGNER guitarist and founder] Mick Jones and the director of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame were very close friends. Their families were close, they used to run together and have dinner with the families and see each other socially a lot. They were good friends. When we didn't get inducted with our peers, and most of the bands in the area that we were successful in had all gotten into the Hall Of Fame, Mick and our manager went to see… The guy who is the head of the Hall Of Fame is also the owner of Rolling Stone magazine; I can't remember his name offhand. So they went to see — they had an appointment, and they went to see him and asked him if there was something we had done or said or something that insulted him. They couldn't understand why we weren't brought up for induction. And it started to get heated, apparently. I was not there, but this is what I heard. And it got real heated. And when our manager and Mick got up to leave, [the head of the Rock Hall] said, 'It'll be a cold day in hell before FOREIGNER gets into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.' And that was about 25, 30 years ago now."

Two months ago, current FOREIGNER singer Kelly Hansen told Houston Press about the band's exclusion from the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame: "As an entity, I find it unusual that a group of people can have an arbitrary standard from which they decide who is in this substantial sounding-titled Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. They cite as one of their criteria as 'influence.' Well, how many people have picked up a guitar and tried to learn 'Cold As Ice' or 'Hot Blooded'? Or sing 'I Want To Know What Love Is' in a karaoke bar? This band has sold 80 million-plus records. And that's real records, not streams or downloads. That is the definition of influence."

Artists are eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single. Criteria for inclusion includes "the influence and significance of the artist's contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll."

Eligible since 2002, FOREIGNER has had a huge number of rock hits, including "Cold As Ice", "Double Vision", "Hot Blooded", "I Want To Know What Love Is", "Juke Box Hero" and "Urgent", and has been nominated for three Grammy Awards, with no wins.

This past April, FOREIGNER's manager Phil Carson addressed the group's absence from the Rock Hall one day after sharing an April Fools' Day post in which he claimed "the entire board of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame met especially to nominate FOREIGNER." In a follow-up social media post, Phil wrote: "Thank you all for your reactions to yesterday's spoof. While it was posted with a sense of humour, it was not without a touch of irony.

"FOREIGNER should be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Mick Jones groundbreaking song writing and production skills coupled with music sales and performances that eclipse most of their contemporaries should be enough to warrant FOREIGNER's nomination and induction. Mick founded FOREIGNER in 1977 and went on to conquer the world with as many Billboard top ten hits as FLEETWOOD MAC, just one less than THE EAGLES, and more than JOURNEY and most of the heritage band Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame alumni. He created the current version of FOREIGNER in 2005 and chose the amazing Kelly Hansen as the lead singer to breath new life into the songs he wrote and co-wrote. That band has performed around 100 shows all over the world each year since then and continues to play to sell out business as they continue the journey on their two year farewell tour.

"Please try to see them before they are done, but most of all, help us put some pressure on the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame board to do the right thing while their is still time for them to deliver a stellar performance at their well deserved induction.

"Thank you for listening."

In August 2022, Gramm was asked in an interview with Sleeve Saturday why he thinks the band has yet to get the Rock Hall nod. Gramm said: "I think it's less about whether we're qualified and I think it might be more personal now. I know that at some point when a lot of our compatriots were being nominated and accepted into it, the bands and the artists that came up when we came up that were inducted into the Rock Hall Of Fame and we were left out, I believe that our manager at that time and Mick went to see the head of the Rock Hall Of Fame and had a discussion with him which led to some heated words. And as that discussion ended — I don't know who; it might have been Jann Wenner from Rolling Stone magazine, who actually was a very good friend of Mick's, I think he told Mick and our manager that it'll be a cold day in hell before FOREIGNER gets in the Rock Hall Of Fame. That's the way it ended up. And sure enough, I bet you 20 years has gone by since that."

Five years ago, Jones was asked by Tigman of the Q103 radio station in Albany if it means anything to him to get inducted into the Rock Hall. Jones responded: "Well, let's say it's not something I wrestle with or something that affects my life. Of course, it would be nice, but sometimes you wonder if it's a political thing more than a musical [thing] or [anything to do with] achievement. Because as far as achievements, we've certainly achieved a tremendous amount with the band. And we'll see. I guess someday. Who knows?"

Gramm was the voice on FOREIGNER's biggest hits, including "Feels Like The First Time" and "Cold As Ice" from the band's eponymous debut in 1977, and later songs like "Hot Blooded" and "I Want to Know What Love Is".

The 73-year-old Gramm left FOREIGNER for good in 2002 and has battled health issues in recent years, including the removal of a non-cancerous tumor. He told the Democrat & Chronicle in 2018 that he was planning to retire, but still reunited with FOREIGNER for several shows that year to celebrate the band's 40th anniversary.

FOREIGNER replaced Gramm with Hansen in 2005. Jones, the only remaining original member of FOREIGNER, suffered from some health issues beginning in 2011, eventually resulting in heart surgery in 2012.

Gramm and Jones's June 2013 performance of "I Want To Know What Love Is" and "Juke Box Hero" at the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in New York City marked the first time the pair performed together in a decade after Gramm left FOREIGNER for a second time. Hansen has fronted the group for the past 18 years.

FOREIGNER's last album, "Can't Slow Down", was the only full-length collection of new songs to have been released by the band since Hansen took over vocals. The album entered the Billboard Top 30, driven by the radio singles "In Pieces" and "When It Comes To Love". The band also has released a series of live albums and compilations, including 2016's "In Concert: Unplugged" and 2017's "40".

DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Mangini spoke to "The Everyman Podcast" about upcoming debut solo album, "Invisible Signs", which is set to arrive in November. Accompanying Mangini on the LP are Tony Dickinson on bass, Ivan Keller on guitar, Gus G. (FIREWIND, OZZY OSBOURNE) on lead guitar and former EVANESCENCE guitarist Jen Majura on vocals.

Asked if he wrote all the music and lyrics for "Invisible Signs", including the recently released first single "Freak Of Nature", Mangini said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Initially. And the reason why there's confusion is journalists will grab old information that is true at the time, but then it changes. For example, initially, yeah, I wrote every note — of course I did, because I was working on it by myself. I mean, every note — the solos, all the words, horribly sung [laughs] vocal melodies. And it evolved over time. So, as it grew from totally all me and MIDI instruments to what you hear now, there was a stage where I had nurtured it and then turned it over to everyone else on the album. So that's the essence of it."

Regarding how Jen became involved with the project as the singer, Mike said: "I met Jen quite a while ago, and eventually she asked me to do one of her one-minute [YouTube] spots, and we did a Stevie Wonder tune with her and Alex Skolnick, and it was super, 'cause she nailed — she played saxophone and guitar and all this stuff, but she's singing Stevie Wonder, like with that thing. Not everybody has that thing, and I noted it in my head. I'm, like, 'Gosh, she's got that thing.' And it's interesting, because later on, when I wrote a couple of songs no one has heard yet, except whoever's supposed to hear this before it comes out, 'Black Box' and 'Let Me Shine' are more of what… I mean, you can tell that's what the kids were gravitating towards. And so I tried to make those songs me. I tried to make it with the riff and that thing to it that is not common on the radio stations. But anyway, so she had that thing that allowed those particular two songs to now kind of connect to the rest of it. And the songs that are on the much — they're still heavy, but they don't have that 54 percent swing thing in them."

As for the rest of the musicians who appear on "Invisible Signs", Mangini said: "Gus took care of the solos. He didn't wanna do the rhythm stuff. He's not a seven-string player; he's a six-string player. That's the reason. So, Ivan was recommended to me by vocalist Dino Jelusick [WHITESNAKE, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA], who's just the sweetest guy in the world — great friend, someone I was bouncing ideas off of and stuff and helping me out. And he recommended Ivan. He actually recommended Tony Dickinson as well on bass. But Ivan came in and just took all my virtual parts, put them on the guitar. And actually, Dino captured Ivan's parts on Dino's laptop. So, they sent those to me. But Ivan had to interpret some things. He was, like, 'Hey, man, this is done on a keyboard. What are you doing?' I was, like, 'Yes, I know. Make it so it works for you. Make it so it works on that instrument. Go ahead.' And then Tony, of course, did the same thing on bass. And he was in touch with me saying, 'You know…' I'm, like, 'No, just tell me.' He says, 'Well, this particular run, this particular note, I wouldn't do that.' I'm, like, 'It's just a note. Just move the note. Change it. Sure.' Then I said, 'I made the basic parts that work for the song. If you want to embellish, go for it. Make it you, but stay within the thing. Otherwise, I'm gonna lose this.' So these guys were so amazing that they took what I did, they embellished, they fixed it, as it were, because it's a keyboard; they changed some things. But if you heard, if I release all the demos with just me, it's gonna sound…. you'll hear some notes here and there that are different, and that's what happened, or structures. But everything is basically the way it was in essence. And so Ivan took care of all the guitars and he did some fills here and there. Jen Majura did the lead-in solo, the introductory solo for a song called 'Deep Inside'."

In a recently released video message, Mangini spoke about the lyrical inspiration for "Freak Of Nature". He said: "The lyric to 'Freak Of Nature' came about pretty interestingly. As I was researching things I'm interested in, like forces and laws of nature, and I came across a hurricane and 'force of nature' hit me, but it didn't sound very good to me. Then, all of a sudden, 'freak of nature' beamed in from somewhere. And the interesting thing is that that's inherent throughout the record; it just permeates the whole thing where there's meaning, but the sound was more important to me, because if it didn't sound right, I didn't think anyone would want to sing it, if that makes any sense. So, I was thinking about other freaks of nature, like musicians and athletes and things like that, and [American football player] Rob Gronkowski, who played for the [New England] Patriots, came to mind, as he was like an unstoppable force. And so those are just a couple of the things that weave their way into the song. But mainly, I was concerned about the sound, and luckily that phrase came into my mind, freak of nature, and I liked it. So I based all the lyrics off of that."

A week earlier, Mangini released a separate video message in which he spoke about the "source of the music" for "Freak Of Nature". He said: "One thing it isn't is a recreation of any band I've ever been in. I mean, why would I do that? I'm already working with, and have worked with, the best that do that. So it's not something I wanna do. Plus in DREAM THEATER, everyone's solo album sounds different than the final DREAM THEATER album."

He continued: "Anyway, one of the sources for me came from when I spent a dime ordering records from a company called Columbia House and, like, 912 LPs showed up. One of them was LED ZEPPELIN 'IV'. And when I put 'Black Dog' on, it did something to me. There was something about that riff. So over the years, I wrote some songs. And when it came time for this album, 'Freak Of Nature' was the first [song] written. And it's a riff. The thing is I had to learn how to write lyrics and melodies over the riff. But that's one of the sources, if you're interested."

Other tracks set to appear on Mangini's solo LP include "Invisible Signs", "Habit To Change", "Not Drowning", "Saying Sorry", "So Alive", "Glamorous Shades", "It's Noise" and "Seek And Find".

Regarding how she landed the gig as the singer in Mangini's solo band, Majura wrote on her social media: "When I was a young teenager, my awesome dad took me to a concert of a guitar player called [Steve Vai], who became one of the most meaningful musicians in my life and literally influenced who I became in life. He was on tour with this thing called 'G3'. I was little, but I was in the front row. Not only was I fascinated by Steve's performance, but also I realized for the first time what a drummer does: I understood when he hits the 'golden plates' it's a very treble-ish shhh-sound, when he does some thing with his feet, the big drum is producing a low-end sound of dummdumm and the 'white thing' (=snare) in the middle is being a very punchy loud sound. Little did I know that the drummer's name was [Mike Mangini] and when he gave me his drumstick at the end of the show… for a few days, I thought I'd become a drummer instead of a guitar player. All of this happened decades ago. So I can easily say that Mike Mangini was the first drummer that made me understand what a drummer does.

"2 decades later, I've already become an active professional touring musician, I met up with Mike again during a summer when DREAM THEATER played a lot of festival shows and I happened to play the same festivals with the band I was with back then. Mike and I started talking, met up at festival caterings, spent a bit of time in festival backstages together, I handed him my first solo album and told him the story of my childhood with the 'G3' concert…

"In 2020 I approached Mike to participate in my '1min jammms' YouTube Series and we had major fun performing Stevie Wonder's 'Sir Duke' together with my dear friend [Alex Skolnick]. Little did I expect that Mike would choose me to be the vocalist for his first solo album ever.

"If there are any meaningful things in life for me personally - this is it!!! I am beyond proud of this collaboration and I'm even more grateful to have gotten to known this amazing human being and finding a new friend for life through countless hours of Zoom and Facetime recording sessions."

Mangini joined DREAM THEATER in late 2010 through a widely publicized audition following the departure of Mike Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more than 30 years ago. Mangini beat out six other of the world's top drummers — Marco Minnemann, Virgil Donati, Aquiles Priester, Thomas Lang, Peter Wildoer and Derek Roddy — for the gig, a three-day process that was filmed for a documentary-style reality show called "The Spirit Carries On".

Mangini made his name in the hard rock world in the mid-1990s when he played with EXTREME, before landing the gig with guitar legend Steve Vai in 1996. Nearly a decade later, Mangini took up a full-time teaching position at the world-renowned Berklee College Of Music.

DREAM THEATER won its first-ever Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 64th annual Grammy Awards, which was held in April 2022 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. DREAM THEATER was nominated for "The Alien", a track from its 2021 album "A View From The Top Of The World". DREAM THEATER's previous Grammy nominations were for the song "On The Backs Of Angels", from 2011's "A Dramatic Turn Of Events" album, and the single "The Enemy Inside" from 2013's "Dream Theater".

This is gonna be a bit of a read🤓 - go down memory lane with me…
When I was a young teenager, my awesome dad took me to...

Posted by Jen Majura on Friday, September 29, 2023

In a new interview with Mark Kadzielawa of 69 Faces Of Rock, drummer/vocalist Dan Beehler of Canadian thrash metal pioneers EXCITER spoke about the 2018 departure of John Ricci. The guitarist has since been replaced by Daniel Dekay, who has previously played with DIEMONDS. Asked how the reunion with Ricci came about nearly a decade ago, Dan said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "What sparked it was a fight between John and his bandmembers. So then his bandmembers tried to walk away with the name, and then me and Al [bassist Allan Johnson] said, 'I don't think so.' So, I went to John and I said, 'Look, you wanna put it together?' And he said, 'Yeah, okay.' And that was 2014. So we went for five years with John. And after the fifth year, it was the exact mirror image of 1985. John walked, blamed me, blah, blah, blah. 'See you later.' It was exactly as it was [more than three decades earlier]. It's, like, 'Oh, we're gonna quit? No, I don't think so.' We got Daniel Dekay, and here we are five years after that."

Regarding how he and Allan found Daniel, Dan said: "I've known Daniel forever. I know his family. I know his dad. He knows my daughter. I saw his bands around town when he was younger and stuff. And when he heard there was an opening, he called me up from Toronto, and that was it. So we never tried anyone out. A whole bunch of people sent stuff in, and thank you very much, but we never had to go to the list. As soon as he got ahold of us, me and Al just went, 'He's the guy.' And after the first rehearsal, he played the whole set. So that was it. He was in, and there was no looking back."

Asked what Daniel brings to EXCITER, Dan said: "Everything. He manages us, does all the business, keeps all of our shit together. There's no way Al and I would be able to do all that. It's just immense what he's done to it. We went to a complete different level in the past five years, and we keep going to another level because of him, what he does off the stage. And never mind what he does on stage. You know what I mean? It's crazy. For us, it's the best guitarist we ever had, and we don't wanna play with anyone else."

As for the possibility of new music from EXCITER, Beehler said: "Eventually [there will be]. Yeah. That's another story. It's taken a long time. After five years of John Ricci, we realized that we couldn't write with him anymore. We had one song after five years. And so now we're slowly chipping away at it. Eventually there will be new music."

Back in August 2022, Dekay told Metal Crypt about the progress of the songwriting sessions for EXCITER's long-awaited new album. He said: "I think we were hitting a good streak with writing and demoing prior to the pandemic, and then the pandemic hit. Al, Dan and I live in different provinces in Ontario and Quebec in Canada. There was a travel ban between provinces. Old-school heavy metal sometimes means old-school mentality, which means not fully embracing technology. For us to write music and record music, we need to be in the same room. The pandemic really put a very fast stop to us getting together to work on music. By the time we were able to get back together in the same room, it was already time to get back to working on a live set."

He continued: "There are a handful of songs that are in various stages of completion. Some are done with vocals and solos already, some don't have any leads, some don't have any vocals. There are songs in all sorts of different stages. Plus, Dan Beehler has a million song ideas in his brain and Al Johnson has a million song ideas in his brain.

"The intention is still to release a full-length record and to give the fans what they want," Daniel added. "Even in my contributions, I do like to make EXCITER my own in the style that I play John's songs and the style I play Brian McPhee's [former EXCITER guitarist] songs. I do try and make it my own, but at the end of the day, for a new record, I want my influence to be felt, but I want it to be true EXCITER for the old-school fans because they deserve that, and the intention is still to put out a full-length record. I just don't have more of a timeline and we have to get through these live shows first. Then we can get together. We do it the old-school way. We like to be in the same room."

Asked who is responsible for the bulk of the songwriting for the new EXCITER material, Daniel said: "Dan and Al completely. Dan and Al get together and flesh out songs. It's incredible. Dan Beehler is a drummer who doesn't play guitar, but he'll hum riffs to you. He hums a riff. He's, like, 'Yes, I want a picking part to sound like, [humming a rhythm] I'm like, 'All right.' You flesh it out that way. It's very old school, man. It's very, very cool. Dan and Al telling me this is how they wrote songs in the '80s. Someone would come to the room with an idea or Dan would have an idea and hum it out, and John would play it on guitar, or Dan's brother, Richard, was the fourth member of EXCITER. He would help out with songwriting and songtitles and lyric ideas and all sorts of stuff. It's always been a cool collaborative effort. Dan and Al really, they get together and bless their souls, man, they get together, and they come up with some crazy cool ideas. Then they send me their ideas that they recorded at the jam space together and I add on from there. It's a really cool collaborative process, but they're definitely predominantly the songwriters. They know what they want and I'm happy to facilitate their vision however I can."

Regarding a possible new label home for EXCITER, Daniel said: "Yes, there are three labels that e-mail me weekly asking when I'm going to have a record to send them. I don't know which of the three labels that we'll end up with. Maybe it'll be a fourth label. Yes, there's significant interest. Literally weekly I get a check-in from someone at a label asking if I have a record for them yet. They're willing to make offers without even hearing a song. It's pretty funny. Yes, there's lots of interest. I'm sure that we're going to find a great home for the album. We'll go with whatever feels right."

Ricci previously left EXCITER in 1985 following the release of the band's first three classic albums — "Heavy Metal Maniac" (1983),"Violence & Force" (1984) and "Long Live the Loud" (1985).

EXCITER's latest album, "Death Machine", which featured Ricci as the sole remaining original member, was released in October 2010 via Massacre Records.

Ricci, Beehler and Johnson reunited as EXCITER in 2014 and had been playing sporadic shows for four years before John's latest exit from the group.

Paul Stanley has shot down rumors that KISS could hold a residency at Las Vegas's new Sphere.

Ever since U2 kicked off its residency on September 29 at the venue that houses a 16K wraparound LED screen and 167,000 speakers inside the 366-foot-tall orb just east of the Las Vegas Strip, there has been a lot of Internet chatter about other artists that could make such creative use of its unique space. However, it appears that KISS won't be one of them.

"I can't speak to it in any other way except to be honest with you about how I feel now, and the way I feel today is ... I can't really see that happening," Stanley told Ultimate Classic Rock. "As far as I'm concerned, we're done."

This past March, KISS announced the final shows of its last tour — two back-to-back shows at Madison Square Garden in New York at the end of 2023. The last leg of KISS's North American tour will culminate in the MSG concerts on December 1 and December 2.

Asked in a March 2023 interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal if KISS would ever play a show again in Las Vegas, after the band's residency at Zappos Theater scheduled for December 2021-February 2022 was called off, bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons said: "I actually don't know because we have been so inundated by people wanting to see us wherever we go. I mean, every guy whoever washed my dog or did my dry cleaning is hitting me up for tickets for his entire family, three generations back. Vegas? I don't know, it would be nice to do a Vegas residency. But I don't know any of these things."

When KISS's second Las Vegas residency was scrapped back in October 2021, Las Vegas Review-Journal writer John Katsilometes initially reported that "soft ticket sales" were said to be the reason the run has been called off, but his article was later updated to remove any mention of this.

The legendary rockers previously set up shop in Sin City in November 2014 at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel And Casino. The nine-show run was captured for the "Kiss Rocks Vegas" DVD and Blu-ray set, which arrived in August 2016.

This past January, Stanley was asked by Yahoo! whether the last concert of the "End Of The Road" tour will truly mark KISS's final performance or if there is a chance of one-off shows or a Las Vegas residency in the future, Stanley said: "I really can't say. But it is the last of any kind of regular shows or touring.

"It's just time," he explained. "And in the same way, it's time consuming. And physically, it's grueling to do what we do. Hell, if I could go out on stage in my jeans and a t-shirt, give us another 10, 15 years easily. But what we do is a whole different sport. I mean, we're athletes; we're running around on stage with 30, 40, pounds of gear, and it's not possible to do it that much longer. So we're not like other bands.

"So, will we do more shows or one-offs? I really have no idea," Paul admitted. "But this is a real clear mindset that the touring days and doing those kind of shows, that's over."

During an appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation Power Trip Special", IRON MAIDEN's Nicko McBrain discussed the band's ongoing "The Future Past Tour", which marks his first time hitting the road since he suffered a stroke earlier this year. Asked how the shows have been so far, Nicko said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's going great. It started off a little shaky for me, but as the time [went on] and the more shows we performed, I started to get a little bit more strength and they'd been really rocking out well. And the last couple of months have been fantastic."

The 71-year-old McBrain also talked about his recovery in more detail and touched upon how his health setback affected his drumming. He said: "[I'm] doing good [right now]. I'm still probably — I'd say I'm 85 to 90 percent back to strength, but I still have a little less dexterity with speed in my fingers. My fingers are the ones that — this is the last thing to strengthen up. But I had to change certain drum fills. Some fills that everybody knows me for on certain songs, I've had to improvise those at rehearsals to be able to actually play the songs. So now I'm starting to actually be able to kind of embrace it a bit more. And I can't do that live. I have to wait until we start doing some rehearsals again or whatever it is. But I'm definitely getting stronger. And I've had great support from [MAIDEN manager] Rod [Smallwood], the band, and all of the fans out there. They've been absolutely — they've shown me so much love, it's amazing."

When Nicko first went public with his stroke in August, the drummer said in a statement that the episode left him "paralyzed" down one side of his body and "worried" that his career with the band was over.

McBrain's statement read as follows: "I hope this message finds you all well!

"The reason I'm writing to you all today is to let you know of a very serious health problem that I have been through. In January I had a stroke, thank the Lord it was a minor one referred to as a TIA. It left me paralyzed on my right side from my shoulder on down, of course I was very worried that my career was over but with the love and support from my wife, Rebecca and family, my doctors, especially Julie my OT (Occupational Therapist),and my MAIDEN family I was able to bounce back to somewhere near 70% recovered. After 10 weeks of intense therapy it was almost time to start rehearsals for our tour.

"I feel it's important to let you know about this now instead of earlier as I was mainly concerned with doing my job and concentrating on getting back to 100% fitness. I'm not there yet but by the grace of God I'm getting better and stronger as the weeks go by.

"Thank you all for a most wonderful and magical tour so far, you have all been so amazing.

"Well that's it from me. God bless you all, stay safe and well and I look forward to seeing you all somewhere in time. "

Manager Rod Smallwood added: "The rest of the band and l think that what Nicko has been able to achieve since his stroke shows incredible belief and willpower and we are all very proud of him. With this new and musically very complex set to learn ahead of him, he just got his head down and concentrated on recovery. We honestly did not know if he would be able to play a whole show until band rehearsals started in May and there was just so much support for him from the band and then genuine relief for all when we saw he was going to be able to do it!

"Nicko being Nicko he did not want to make a fuss and cause any distraction to the tour at the time but, now that he is sure he will soon get there, he thought you fans should know straight from him rather than by any rumours! We are all of course delighted he battled through this so well and look forward to many more tours together!"

Three years ago, McBrain was diagnosed with stage 1 laryngeal cancer and opened up about it in a single interview in 2021 but otherwise kept it mostly under wraps. The musician received his cancer diagnosis after undergoing an endoscopy at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University Of Miami Health System and the Miller School of Medicine. Within a week, McBrain's cancer was surgically removed and he now gets check-ups every few months to make sure the cancer hasn't returned.

McBrain, who had the cancer in a part of his vocal cords, isn't the first member of MAIDEN to beat cancer. Back in late 2014, IRON MAIDEN's Bruce Dickinson was diagnosed with throat cancer. The singer, who had a golf gall-size tumor on his tongue and another in the lymph node on the right side of his neck, got the all-clear in May 2015 after radiation and nine weeks of chemotherapy.

In a 2015 interview with Overdrive, McBrain admitted that he thought MAIDEN was over when it was discovered that Dickinson had a cancerous tumor. "Well, I'd be a liar if I didn't think for a minute that IRON MAIDEN [was] finished," he said. "[But] I thought more about the possibility of losing my friend than anything else, to be honest. Then later, I was thinking, 'God forbid if the worst ever happened, the legacy would be the last 16 albums.'"

McBrain, who is a dedicated Christian, continued: "I've got to be honest, I did question his mortality at one point and thankfully that didn't last long. Honestly, I got down on my knees and said a prayer, picked my thoughts up and got positive about it all, thinking to myself, 'If anyone can beat this, it's Bruce.' He's so positive about everything he's ever done in his life, or whatever he is about to do. Basically, I prayed for him and my prayers were answered, as well as everybody else that knows and cares for him."

In a new interview with Thomas S. Orwat, Jr. of link textRock Interview Series, guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (ex-GUNS N' ROSES) spoke about the status of SONS OF APOLLO, his project with bassist Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, THE WINERY DOGS),former DREAM THEATER members Mike Portnoy (drums; also of THE WINERY DOGS) and Derek Sherinian (keyboards; also of BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION),along with vocalist Jeff Scott Soto (JOURNEY, Yngwie Malmsteen, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA). He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Everything has its lifespan, and you hope it'll be a long one, and it just ends up being what it's gonna end up being. And [when you have a bunch of] moving parts, if one of those parts is not on board, it can't function. So, we did two studio albums, we did the live video and album, we did lots of music videos, did a good amount of touring. And now, after it has splintered off into other things where Jeff and I are doing ART OF ANARCHY… Derek and I, there's all of Derek's music that I've been a part of, all his solo music, which is very much —his writing is half of SONS OF APOLLO; well, I guess you could say a third. You have Derek and I, we would do the music writing and then Jeff would write to that. So most of those albums, well, all those albums were done that way, where it was just shooting ideas back and forth. Derek and I, he would have an idea and I would send him a demo of an idea and we would make the music. And then with Mike, we would get together and arrange them into crazy-ass songs. And then Jeff would listen to these songs and start putting vocals to it and make them sound like something digestible."

Earlier this month, Thal told We Go To 11 that there were no plans for SONS OF APOLLO to become active again. "It was on its way up with that second album. Things were going very well," he said. "And we finally got our shit together and organized and everything was functioning well. And we were definitely on an incline. When the pandemic hit, not everybody was on board to keep moving it forward and doing more with it. And I do have new music with Derek. And I have [ART OF ANARCHY] with Jeff, so it's kind of like it splintered off into other things."

Pressed about whether he thinks it will be "a while" before we get any new music from SONS OF APOLLO, Thal told We Go To 11: "Well, we managed to put out two studio albums and a live album and video, and I hope everybody enjoyed it. Past tense."

SONS OF APOLLO completed a South American tour in August 2022. Sheehan was unable to join his bandmates on the trek due to COVID-19 vaccine-related travel restrictions. His replacement on the tour was ANGRA's Felipe Andreoli.

SONS OF APOLLO's second album, "MMXX", was released in January 2020 via InsideOut Music/Sony.

The follow-up to 2017's "Psychotic Symphony" debuted on multiple Billboard charts dated, including Tastemakers (No. 10),Heatseekers Albums (No. 11) and Hard Rock Albums (No. 21).

At the time of "MMXX"'s release, Soto told Billboard: "We absolutely jumped into this as an ongoing commitment from all of us that we were going to follow up on and treat it, with all intents and purposes, as a real band. With the caliber of who we have and what we could come up with, we knew we wanted to dive into this thing fully committed, and not as a one-off."

Regarding the differences in the musical direction between the two albums, Soto said: "I don't think we strayed too far. If you put both albums together as a double album, it would work. The only difference is that I feel that I put a little more personality into the vocal parts. It was a little homogenized on the first album, in terms of playing it safe. I didn't toy around too much with straying from the main ideas.

"On [the second] album, I knew exactly what I wanted to do," he continued. "I knew where we were headed as a band. This time, it was a no-brainer that I should just go for it. The first album was, again, the foundation and the skeletal embryonic stage of the band. Now it's solid and I’ve watched it flourish, and I went in knowing what to do."

More than five years ago, Portnoy told Let's Rock about SONS OF APOLLO's chemistry: "I'd like to say that I was surprised by how easy it came together, but, to be honest, I kind of expected that. That wasn't really a surprise. I knew it would work. I knew it would be easy once once we started playing just because I know the guys involved. So, I can't really say there were many surprises. Everything kind of went according to plan. Everybody was kind of chosen for the band because I knew their personalities. And Jeff and Bumblefoot in particular are the two most easy-going guys, and [laughs] that's very rare for a guitar player and a singer. But in this case, you couldn't ask for two sweeter guys. That's a huge part of [the] importance in picking band chemistry. A lot of times, it's well beyond the music. It's more about the personalities and in this case, it's a great group of guys."

Photo credit: Hristo Shindov

Dublin-based thrash metal powerhouse Crossfire is proud to announce their signing with Wormholedeath Records for the release of their album, Switch To Reset, scheduled to hit the metal scene on December 15.


In a joint statement, Crossfire expressed their excitement about this partnership: 


“Crossfire is delighted to be a part of WormHoleDeath Records to release our debut album Switch To Reset. It is the result of years of hard work towards creating music that we believe represents the very best of thrash metal. WormHoleDeath has been so supportive in the long journey we have gone on to create this album and we’re incredibly excited to be a part of a family of talented professionals and artists as we share our music with the world!”




Formed by friends Kevin O'Connor-Conroy (guitar) and Conor Jordan (bass), Crossfire quickly gained recognition in the Dublin metal scene. With the addition of Dan O’Connor (drums) and Matt O’Brien (guitar), they solidified their reputation as one of Ireland's premier young thrash metal bands. Their distinctive blend of sci-fi and horror lyricism, combined with their relentless, neck-snapping thrash, pays homage to the golden age of the genre.


Crossfire has not only headlined shows across Ireland but has also shared the stage with international heavyweights such as Exhorder, Lost Society, Gama Bomb, and Xentrix, further establishing their prowess in the metal world.


Crossfire presents their first single and accompanying video, "Switch To Reset".





Crossfire line-up:


Kevin O'Connor-Conroy - Guitar/Vocals
Conor Jordan - Bass
Dan O’Connor - Drums
Matt O’Brien - Guitar

SMASHING PUMPKINS frontman Billy Corgan joined Sammy Hagar and his supergroup THE CIRCLE on stage last night (Friday, October 20) at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana to perform the VAN HALEN classic "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love". Fan-filmed video of Billy's appearance can be seen below.

SAMMY HAGAR & THE CIRCLE features Hagar alongside fellow Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer and VAN HALEN bassist Michael Anthony, Grammy-winning drummer Jason Bonham and Grammy-winning guitar virtuoso Vic Johnson.

Earlier today, Hagar shared a video of the performance and wrote in an accompanying message: "What a surprise to meet/jam with @BillyCorgan last night - one talented dude brought even more fun than we were already having. Great night in Hammond #Indiana".

Bonham shared a video of the pre-show rehearsal with Corgan, and he wrote: "What a great night we had last night !!! Jamming VH with @billycorgan @mad_anthony_bassman @sammyhagar @vicjohnson77 #smashingpumpkins @vanhagarotherhalf".

In an October 2020 interview with BBC Radio 6 Music, Corgan was asked if he ever got a chance to meet Eddie Van Halen and whether the legendary VAN HALEN axeman was an influence on his guitar playing. Billy responded: "Oh my God! For American guitar players, he was the supreme thing. He's the one who pushed us to be better than we probably would have been.

"I was lucky because, around 1997 [or] '98, there was a guitar magazine in America, and I went to them, and I said, 'I'd really like to interview Eddie Van Halen,'" he continued. "And they said, 'Why do you wanna interview Eddie Van Halen?' I said, 'Because I'd really like to introduce him to a generation of alternative guitar players.' To me, he really is an alternative guitar player; I know he gets kind of lumped in the other way. And so they allowed me to basically have a four-hour interview with Eddie at his studio. I got to sit two feet away from Eddie and watch him play, and I'm telling you, it was like a religious experience. I mean, the man was so gifted, so kind."

Corgan added: "I'll tell you a quick story. Towards the end of the interview, I said to him, 'There's all those stories about the amp you used on 'Van Halen I' and tada tada da. I said, 'Do you still have the amp?' He goes, 'Oh, yeah.' He takes me around the corner, kind of near the dustbin, and he's, like, 'There it is.' I go, 'What about all the stories that you did all this special modification?' He goes, 'Oh, it's not true at all.'"

Eddie died in October 2020 at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California at the age of 65.

The iconic VAN HALEN axeman died from complications due to cancer, his son confirmed.

VAN HALEN was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.

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A post shared by Jason Bonham (@jasonbonham)



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A post shared by Sammy Hagar (@sammyhagar)

Former Saigon Kick frontman Matt Kramer performed his first live show in over five years on October 19th and 20th in Miami, Florida at the Luna Star Cafe.


Fan-filmed video from the shows can be veiwed below.


Kramer "I wrote this song ('Spinning Round') with Scott Migone when I was 29 years old in 1997. Crazy thing is the lyrics are more relevant now than they were back then. Really wish I would have recorded this version of the ending on my album in 2002. Might have to do a re-release."










Saigon Kick was formed in Miami, Florida in 1988. The band is best known for their second album, The Lizard, released in 1992. It peaked at #80 on the Billboard 200, driven by the single "Love Is On The Way", which reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. Both the album and the single have been certified gold.


Kramer recorded two albums with Saigon Kick before leaving in 1993 during the recording sessions for the band's third record, Water. The band reunited in 2012 for a string of shows in the US, eventually putting the band to rest in 2015.








In 2020, Kramer launched a YouTube channel under the name Lascivious Media. He shared a lyric video for the song "Spinning Round", taken from his War & Peas solo album released in 2002, saying "it seems to be more relevant today." 





Tracklist:


"Soul Star"
"So Long"
"Goodbye to All Tomorrows" 
"Spinning Round"
"Powdered Blue Skies"
"Change"
"Caught Up On the Inside"
"I'm Getting Closer" 
"Exit" 
"If God Could Hear Me Now"
"Silence"


Pick up the album via Bandcamp here.





 





 

Four years after their last studio album No Halos in Hell, Cyhra haver released their new album, The Vertigo Trigger. The Swedes' third full-length reflects exactly what the melodic metal band stands for: ear-splitting riffs, catchy choruses and plenty of melodies that make the band truly stand out.


They have released a guitar tutorial for the song "Too Old For Fairytales" courtesy of guitarists Euge Valovirta and  Marcus Sunesson. Check it out below.










Vocalist Jake E commented on the release of The Vertigo Trigger: 


“It feels amazing to FINALLY have new music to release again! We put a lot of effort into finding out what the future of Cyhra's music was to be and I must say I am overwhelmed with the result. Both with the album and also the songwriting!. I think that we have made a fantastic follow-up to both of our first two albums, but also at the same time we’ve managed to modernized the songwriting. I can assure you that no Cyhra fan will be disappointed!"


Drummer Alex Landenburg adds: 


“To me, this is a perfect successor to our first two records. It has all the Cyhra trademarks, but it’s a bit more Rock’n’Roll, more raw, in the way we recorded it. And on top of that, Euge’s great mix and Jacob Hansen’s mastering are a wicked combination!”


Guitarist Euge Valovirta about the new song: 


"This is the first album we produced by ourselves and it turned out to be just like I heard it in my head before we even started to record it. We still wanted to have (longtime producer) Jacob Hansen's input on it so he did the mastering and I did the mixing. I'm very proud of it. And us. Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue."


Marcus Sunesson adds:


“It’s the first of the three Cyhra albums that I played guitar on and also contributed to the songwriting. It was a fun and very creative process, but also challenging since we wanted to break new ground in order to make the best Cyhra album possible. I am so happy and proud of this beast of an album! This time we took a deep breath and dove down to explore a slightly darker, more progressive and modern side of ourselves. Yet still sounding like the Cyhra you all know and love. This album will definitely turn some heads. You will love it!”


Jesper Strömblad comments as well:


“It's so great to have a new album around the corner. We have kept the essential Cyhra sound, but at the same time upgraded and updated it a bit. I love what Euge has done to the mix and I know you are not gonna be disappointed!”


Recorded in the summer/autumn of 2022, The Vertigo Trigger is the band's darkest album to date. The album was entirely self-produced and mixed by guitarist Euge Valovirta, whilst the mastering was handled by long-term producer Jacob Hansen. This new album offers fans the classic Cyhra sound, full of the band's trademarks, but fresh and refined. The Swedes have modernised their song writing meaning that no Cyhra fan will be disappointed, making The Vertigo Trigger a more than worthy successor to their first two albums.


Order The Vertigo Trigger here.





The Vertigo Trigger tracklisting:


"Ready To Rumble"
"Let's Have My Story Told"
"Live A Little"
"1,000,000 Fahrenheit"
"Buried Alive"
"The Voice You Need To Hear"
"Life Is A Hurricane"
"If I"
"Fear Of Missing Out"
"Ashlight"
"Too Old For Fairy Tales"


"Ready To Rumble" video:





"Life Is A Hurricane" video:

In a new interview with RichardMetalFan, guitarist/vocalist Luc Lemay of Canadian death metal veterans GORGUTS, who are currently on tour in North America with CANNIBAL CORPSE, was asked about the status of new music from the band. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "The new album, I'm gonna start working on this right after this tour. I took a long break from composition. My mind was just not into it. And I didn't feel I had anything to say. But now I have a clearer vision of what I wanna do, so it will be an easier task to do."

GORGUTS' tour with CANNIBAL CORPSE, MAYHEM and BLOOD INCANTATION is scheduled to conclude tonight (Saturday, October 21) in Louisville, Ketucky.

GORGUTS performed for the first time in nearly six years at Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest: Philly this past April. To celebrate the end of this extended break, the band played a special set exclusively of material from 1998's landmark "Obscura" and 1991's old-school classic "Considered Dead".

Few extreme bands can boast the pedigree of GORGUTS. During their early days as part of death metal's first wave, they created a legacy of legendary releases including their debut album "Considered Dead" (1991) and its more experimental and technical follow-up "Erosion Of Sanity" (1993). After a hiatus of five years, Lemay returned with a new lineup, which released the highly acclaimed and seminal third full-length "Obscura" (1998). By then GORGUTS had been busy at expanding and redefining the language of death metal. With a new lineup that left Lemay as the sole original member, the next milestone album was released under the title "From Wisdom To Hate" (2001).

Yet again the band went into hibernation, while their musical legacy continued to inspire and thrive as their native Quebec became a focus for technical death metal with acts such as CRYPTOPSY, NEURAXIS and BEYOND CREATION, to name but a few, following in their footsteps. After more than a decade of silence, Lemay unleashed "Colored Sands" (2013) with an all-star line-up including Colin Marston (BEHOLD THE ARCTOPUS),Kevin Hufnagel (DYSRHYTHMIA) and John Longstreth (ORIGIN, SKINLESS),who has in the meantime been replaced by Patrice Hamelin (QUO VADIS, BENEATH THE MASSACRE).

In 2016, GORGUTS released the "Pleiades Dust" EP. In an age of a postulated clash of cultures, Lemay delivered a piece of music that was conceptually and lyrically based on the "House Of Wisdom", a medieval library based in Baghdad and at the heart of the Golden Age of Islam with its many scientific breakthroughs in various fields of learning.

After a successful year of touring in 2017, GORGUTS once again receded into the shadows and went dark. That is until now.

GORGUTS is:

Luc Lemay - rhythm guitar, vocals
Kevin Hufnagel - lead guitar
Colin Marston - bass
Patrice Hamelin - drums

Image courtesy of TeamMontrealMetal

DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Mangini has released "Not Drowning", the second single from his upcoming debut solo album, "Invisible Signs", which is set to arrive in November. Accompanying Mangini on the LP are Tony Dickinson on bass, Ivan Keller on guitar, Gus G. (FIREWIND, OZZY OSBOURNE) on lead guitar and former EVANESCENCE guitarist Jen Majura on vocals.

Regarding the lyrical inspiration for "Not Drowning", Mike said: "While listening to the chorus part of this song sometime in 2018, I heard word sounds in my mind and the word 'drowning' fit it pretty well. I didn't want to write about it literally though. I used a thesaurus and the internet to find related words and topics because my lyrics are never about personal events or stories. Searching terms related to 'drowning' eventually led me to the word 'confusion.' That made me think of the confusion surrounding the findings of Quantum Mechanics. I found instances of physicists and mathematicians saying that the test results seemed strange and 'wrong,' and that they could not reconcile it with their view of reality. Some said there are things about it we cannot know, or maybe are not supposed to know. It seemed to me that spending too much time immersing oneself in it can make a person crazy. Einstein died confounded by it spending countless hours trying to recocile it with the reality he knew. The myriad of unfounded conjectures outside the physics community conjured up a comedy skit in my mind. The lines 'Not Drowning' and 'I will breathe' each relate to the hope of clearing away what is blurring the reality of something in all kinds of situations.

"For a song lyric, I suspected that singing about physics wouldn't be as fun as the idea of jumping in a saltwater pool. I needed a descriptive location for it. 'Backyard' didn't work, so I used the word 'nation' because everyone lives in one. That word led me to 'radiation,' as that's what heats up a pool and has a cool sound to it when sung. Mainly, words come to me as sounds, then I search around and form something cohesive, but try not to sacrifice how the words sound.

"I thought this might be interesting to know about. At the end of the day, however, it's just a song for rocking out!

"And then there's the simultaneous 7/8 in Common Time and a wild solo section for the Musos!"

Asked in a recent interview with "The Everyman Podcast" if he wrote all the music and lyrics for "Invisible Signs", including the recently released first single "Freak Of Nature", Mangini said: "Initially. And the reason why there's confusion is journalists will grab old information that is true at the time, but then it changes. For example, initially, yeah, I wrote every note — of course I did, because I was working on it by myself. I mean, every note — the solos, all the words, horribly sung [laughs] vocal melodies. And it evolved over time. So, as it grew from totally all me and MIDI instruments to what you hear now, there was a stage where I had nurtured it and then turned it over to everyone else on the album. So that's the essence of it."

Regarding how Jen became involved with the project as the singer, Mike said: "I met Jen quite a while ago, and eventually she asked me to do one of her one-minute [YouTube] spots, and we did a Stevie Wonder tune with her and Alex Skolnick, and it was super, 'cause she nailed — she played saxophone and guitar and all this stuff, but she's singing Stevie Wonder, like with that thing. Not everybody has that thing, and I noted it in my head. I'm, like, 'Gosh, she's got that thing.' And it's interesting, because later on, when I wrote a couple of songs no one has heard yet, except whoever's supposed to hear this before it comes out, 'Black Box' and 'Let Me Shine' are more of what… I mean, you can tell that's what the kids were gravitating towards. And so I tried to make those songs me. I tried to make it with the riff and that thing to it that is not common on the radio stations. But anyway, so she had that thing that allowed those particular two songs to now kind of connect to the rest of it. And the songs that are on the much — they're still heavy, but they don't have that 54 percent swing thing in them."

As for the rest of the musicians who appear on "Invisible Signs", Mangini said: "Gus took care of the solos. He didn't wanna do the rhythm stuff. He's not a seven-string player; he's a six-string player. That's the reason. So, Ivan was recommended to me by vocalist Dino Jelusick [WHITESNAKE, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA], who's just the sweetest guy in the world — great friend, someone I was bouncing ideas off of and stuff and helping me out. And he recommended Ivan. He actually recommended Tony Dickinson as well on bass. But Ivan came in and just took all my virtual parts, put them on the guitar. And actually, Dino captured Ivan's parts on Dino's laptop. So, they sent those to me. But Ivan had to interpret some things. He was, like, 'Hey, man, this is done on a keyboard. What are you doing?' I was, like, 'Yes, I know. Make it so it works for you. Make it so it works on that instrument. Go ahead.' And then Tony, of course, did the same thing on bass. And he was in touch with me saying, 'You know…' I'm, like, 'No, just tell me.' He says, 'Well, this particular run, this particular note, I wouldn't do that.' I'm, like, 'It's just a note. Just move the note. Change it. Sure.' Then I said, 'I made the basic parts that work for the song. If you want to embellish, go for it. Make it you, but stay within the thing. Otherwise, I'm gonna lose this.' So these guys were so amazing that they took what I did, they embellished, they fixed it, as it were, because it's a keyboard; they changed some things. But if you heard, if I release all the demos with just me, it's gonna sound…. you'll hear some notes here and there that are different, and that's what happened, or structures. But everything is basically the way it was in essence. And so Ivan took care of all the guitars and he did some fills here and there. Jen Majura did the lead-in solo, the introductory solo for a song called 'Deep Inside'."

In a recently released video message, Mangini spoke about the lyrical inspiration for "Freak Of Nature". He said: "The lyric to 'Freak Of Nature' came about pretty interestingly. As I was researching things I'm interested in, like forces and laws of nature, and I came across a hurricane and 'force of nature' hit me, but it didn't sound very good to me. Then, all of a sudden, 'freak of nature' beamed in from somewhere. And the interesting thing is that that's inherent throughout the record; it just permeates the whole thing where there's meaning, but the sound was more important to me, because if it didn't sound right, I didn't think anyone would want to sing it, if that makes any sense. So, I was thinking about other freaks of nature, like musicians and athletes and things like that, and [American football player] Rob Gronkowski, who played for the [New England] Patriots, came to mind, as he was like an unstoppable force. And so those are just a couple of the things that weave their way into the song. But mainly, I was concerned about the sound, and luckily that phrase came into my mind, freak of nature, and I liked it. So I based all the lyrics off of that."

A week earlier, Mangini released a separate video message in which he spoke about the "source of the music" for "Freak Of Nature". He said: "One thing it isn't is a recreation of any band I've ever been in. I mean, why would I do that? I'm already working with, and have worked with, the best that do that. So it's not something I wanna do. Plus in DREAM THEATER, everyone's solo album sounds different than the final DREAM THEATER album."

He continued: "Anyway, one of the sources for me came from when I spent a dime ordering records from a company called Columbia House and, like, 912 LPs showed up. One of them was LED ZEPPELIN 'IV'. And when I put 'Black Dog' on, it did something to me. There was something about that riff. So over the years, I wrote some songs. And when it came time for this album, 'Freak Of Nature' was the first [song] written. And it's a riff. The thing is I had to learn how to write lyrics and melodies over the riff. But that's one of the sources, if you're interested."

Other tracks set to appear on Mangini's solo LP include "Invisible Signs", "Habit To Change", "Not Drowning", "Saying Sorry", "So Alive", "Glamorous Shades", "It's Noise" and "Seek And Find".

Regarding how she landed the gig as the singer in Mangini's solo band, Majura wrote on her social media: "When I was a young teenager, my awesome dad took me to a concert of a guitar player called [Steve Vai], who became one of the most meaningful musicians in my life and literally influenced who I became in life. He was on tour with this thing called 'G3'. I was little, but I was in the front row. Not only was I fascinated by Steve's performance, but also I realized for the first time what a drummer does: I understood when he hits the 'golden plates' it's a very treble-ish shhh-sound, when he does some thing with his feet, the big drum is producing a low-end sound of dummdumm and the 'white thing' (=snare) in the middle is being a very punchy loud sound. Little did I know that the drummer's name was [Mike Mangini] and when he gave me his drumstick at the end of the show… for a few days, I thought I'd become a drummer instead of a guitar player. All of this happened decades ago. So I can easily say that Mike Mangini was the first drummer that made me understand what a drummer does.

"2 decades later, I've already become an active professional touring musician, I met up with Mike again during a summer when DREAM THEATER played a lot of festival shows and I happened to play the same festivals with the band I was with back then. Mike and I started talking, met up at festival caterings, spent a bit of time in festival backstages together, I handed him my first solo album and told him the story of my childhood with the 'G3' concert…

"In 2020 I approached Mike to participate in my '1min jammms' YouTube Series and we had major fun performing Stevie Wonder's 'Sir Duke' together with my dear friend [Alex Skolnick]. Little did I expect that Mike would choose me to be the vocalist for his first solo album ever.

"If there are any meaningful things in life for me personally - this is it!!! I am beyond proud of this collaboration and I'm even more grateful to have gotten to known this amazing human being and finding a new friend for life through countless hours of Zoom and Facetime recording sessions."

Mangini joined DREAM THEATER in late 2010 through a widely publicized audition following the departure of Mike Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more than 30 years ago. Mangini beat out six other of the world's top drummers — Marco Minnemann, Virgil Donati, Aquiles Priester, Thomas Lang, Peter Wildoer and Derek Roddy — for the gig, a three-day process that was filmed for a documentary-style reality show called "The Spirit Carries On".

Mangini made his name in the hard rock world in the mid-1990s when he played with EXTREME, before landing the gig with guitar legend Steve Vai in 1996. Nearly a decade later, Mangini took up a full-time teaching position at the world-renowned Berklee College Of Music.

DREAM THEATER won its first-ever Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 64th annual Grammy Awards, which was held in April 2022 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. DREAM THEATER was nominated for "The Alien", a track from its 2021 album "A View From The Top Of The World". DREAM THEATER's previous Grammy nominations were for the song "On The Backs Of Angels", from 2011's "A Dramatic Turn Of Events" album, and the single "The Enemy Inside" from 2013's "Dream Theater".

Sabaton guitarist / Majestica frontman Tommy Johansson has shared a cover of the Angra classic, "Carry On", taken from the 1993 album, Reaching Horizons.


Johansson: "A tribute to not only the greatest power metal band from South America, but also a tribute to one of the best Power Metal singers in the world, who unfortunately is no longer with us. This one’s for you, Andre Matos!"







André Matos passed away on June 8th, 2019 due to a heart attack. The following message was issued shortly after his death:


"It is with deep regret that we confirm the passing of André this Saturday morning due to a heart attack. As many know, he was an extremely reserved person and manifested in life, for more than once, the desire not to have a wake. Respecting his will, he will be cremated today with the presence only of relatives. We thank everyone for understanding and we count on you so that André's memory and legacy remain alive forever. Carry on."


Of all the bands Matos performed with, Angra is the one he is best known for, having recorded three albums and three EPs with the band between 1993 - 1998. Holy Land from 1996 is considered their international breakthrough record, although the band made a big mark in their homeland Brazil with their 1993 debut, Angels Cry.

Guitarist Oliver Hartmann has checked in with news for the Avantasia fanbase. Check out hs message below.


Hartmann: "Now that it’s official, I’d like to share the news with you that I won’t be part of the upcoming Avantasia tour. Even though I’m looking back on 23 great years, where I started out as a singer in hymns as ‘Sign Of The Cross’ and have been guitarist of the live line up since the first tour in 2008 - and always since then - I simply had to draw this decision. Of course, I will deeply miss these ‘grown up people’s school trip tours’ and all of those unique great personalities that became friends, but it will also give me the opportunity to concentrate a bit more on my other musical things that deserve a bit more time and space.


Good luck for you Avantasian boys and girls, and I’m sure we’ll meet on one of your festivals here or there next year! And Arne, please, take your time to practice the riffs right, ha!"







Hartmann also announced his departure from the Pink Floyd tribute band, Echoes, recently:


"Dear friends, followers and fans, after fronting the successful Pink Floyd tribute, Echoes, for more than 21 years now, I have decided to leave the band in the beginning of next year. Of course this definitely doesn’t mean that you will never see me on stage again playing the iconic music of Pink Floyd, but I feel that it’s just the right time to follow new paths and to create more time and space for new musical ideas and, of course, for all of my other projects.


So, in case you want to see the band one last time in its original line up, better get your tickets now for the still upcoming shows in 2023 and for our renewed acoustic tour, Barefoot To The Moon, in January 2024. I'm looking forward to see you there."


The January tour schedule for Germany is as follows:


January
13 - Ludwigsburg - Scala 
14 - Hallstadt (Bamberg) - Kulturboden 
20 - Bochum - Christuskirche 
26 - Sulingen - Stadttheater 
27 - Wilhelmshaven - Pumpwerk 


Go to this location for the complete Echoes tour schedule.

Solemn Vision have released their new album, Despite The Rise Of The Sun, which is out today via Black Lion Records. The Brooklyn melodic death metal outfit is celebrating the release of their sophomore full-length with a new visualizer for the record’s opening track, “Father From The Flame”.


Speaking about the song, the band shares:


"‘Father From The Flame’ sits not only as the first track on Despite The Rise Of The Sun, but also as the first song entirely written by Aaron. Instrumentally, the riffs are inspired by a classical 3/4 waltz, along with the memorable style that comes with the aggressive side of the melo-death genre.”




Discussing the story behind the lyrics, they add:


“Lyrically, the song is an interpretation of Aaron's earliest memories growing up after surviving a fire, which destroyed his home - leading up to a point in time where he decides to express himself through music, specifically metal."





Orders can be placed here.


Live shows:


November
2 – Brooklyn, NY – Main Drag Music (Album Release Show)


January
27 – Miami Beach, FL – The Clevelander (70000 Tons Pre-Party)





Despite The Rise Of The Sun tracklisting:


"Father From The Flame" 
"Avarice" 
"Gates" 
"A Debt To The Wraith" 
"On The Eve Of Silence" 
"Sea Of Trees" 
"Bane And Benumbed" 
"Unfinished Tapestry" 
"The Cerebral Labyrinth" 
"Unfinished Tapestry" (Acoustic Version)


"Bane And Benumbed":





"Gates":





 

Master's Call are a force of heavy metal blackened by death from the Black Country, UK - the birthplace of heavy metal itself.


They have revealed their second and new single along with a video for the track "Blood On The Altar". 


“‘Blood On The Altar’ is about sacrificing your body, blood and spirit in defiance of a greater power that holds you back or opposes your beliefs. This one has something of a more Swedish-inspired punkier black metal vibe, filled with some really cool memorable black metal melodies and some classic heavy metal guitar soloing. It’s got a bit of old-school to it with some powerful, epic as hell moments punching through,” comments the band.




Master's Call's debut album, A Journey For The Damned, will be released on November 24, and will be available as a CD Digipak and on limited vinyl (300 copies each) in black/white and red/blue marbled, as well as digital. Preorder the album here.





Tracklisting:


"All Hope In Fire"
"Beyond The Gates"
"The Serpent’s Rise"
"Blood On The Altar"
"Damnation’s Black Winds"
"Into The Abyss Once More"
"Pathways"


"Blood On The Altar" video:





"The Serpent’s Rise" video:



 
Master's Call's debut EP, entitled Morbid Black Trinity, was released in 2019 and was universally well received from the press and metal community worldwide. With invites to perform at multiple metal festivals, the band is proving itself as a visceral dark force in the live scene, despite only a single EP release thus far.


After marching forth through the pandemic and various line-up changes within the band, the long-awaited debut album, A Journey For The Damned, finally reached the end of its long journey to completion. Their next chapter is about to begin and is set to burn their mark on the world! “It’s been a hell of a long journey with many obstacles to overcome, but for us it’s so good to have finally made it to the end with the summation of it all captured and sealed in time”, says guitarist Dave Powell. During the album recordings, the band lost three vocalists in total, ending up having guitar player John Wilcox becoming the final singer. “So three vocalists down was feeling like a curse. We had most of the album written and even had the vocals for a couple of songs recorded with a vocalist we no longer had. In the end John volunteered to switch from guitars to vocals, which was a very drastic change for us dynamically as me and him up to that point were the two guitarists both live and in the songwriting”, comments Dave and adds: “In the end whilst we finished up recording the album we had a new guitarist, Bear, join us to cover live shows at first, but has since become a fully-fledged band member.”


Master's Call convince with a black mixture of everything that is extreme, but with melodies and straight-forward, recognizable songs, that basically can be described as black hymns. “We are an Extreme Metal band that remembers its roots and incorporates them into our “heavy metal blackened by death” message. Whilst all of us in the band may individually branch off on our own voyages into obscure Underground Extreme Metal discoveries we still share that unified mindset”, explains Dave and looks even further back: “When we first started as a 2-man project John was more the Black Metal guy and I was more the Death Metal listener. We still always shared a mutual love and respect for all extreme metal genres and that continued with the rest of the members that joined the band: Watain, Morbid Angel, Immortal, Emperor, Necrophobic, Dimmu Borgir, Slayer, Cradle Of Filth to name a few favorites - and of course the Classic Metal bands, especially those that came from our home such as Black Sabbath and Judas Priest. They started it all and that inspires us to keep that Black Country flag flying!”
 
When it comes to the lyrics on A Journey For The Damned, they all lead into a similar direction. “They mainly deal with the dark and turbulent path through life: the atrocities, struggles and the victories that will be encountered along the way, as well as the spirituality and beliefs that influence us as we journey toward the inevitability of death”, comments John. For the final mix and mastering, the band went down to Germany, working with Kristian "Kohle" Bonifer at his Kohlekeller Studios, mostly known for his work with Powerwolf, but also extreme bands like Aborted, Sinister and Agathodaimon. “The thing that stood out was that he wasn’t a one-trick pony mixing the same sound for all bands. Every band had their own sound whilst still sounding appropriate for the metal subgenre they are in”, reflects Dave and adds: “It was great to work with him, as expected! He was able to cater to our vision whilst still doing things in his way. And it was a great learning experience for us too, he gave us pointers that will no doubt benefit the way in which we approach certain elements on future recordings.”


Master's Call is:


John Wilcox - Vocals
Dave Powell - Guitar
Bear - Guitar
Adam Tricklebank - Bass
James Williams - Drums

Michigan-based hard rock group, Pop Evil, have released the official visual for their newest single and title track, “Skeletons”, which is currently Top 5 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart. Directed by long-time friend Johan Carlèn, the video depicts a supply run in the wastelands of a dystopian future going wrong. A striving man finds himself face-to-face with death. It is a relentless fight between human and machine.


About the video, frontman Leigh Kakaty says, “Sometimes the little things in life come with the hardest challenges to overcome. It was awesome to team up with our long-time friend and director, Johan Carlén, to tell this tale of one man’s determination; to risk it all in a world that is constantly coming after him. With so much chaos in the world today, we feel it is important now, more than ever, to remember we are only human.”







The band is about to embark on their 19-date, US headlining Flesh & Bone tour, with special guests Fame On Fire and Lylvc. The Flesh & Bone Tour commences in Fort Smith, AR on October 28, 2023, and wraps up in the band's hometown of Grand Rapids, MI, on November 22.





Tour dates:


October
28 - Fort Smith, AR - Temple Live
29 - Wichita, KS - Temple Live
31 - Madison, WI - The Sylvee


November
1 - Angola, IN - Electric Ballroom
3 - Reading, PA - Reverb
4 - Asbury Park, NJ - Stone Pony
5 - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage
7 - Columbia, SC - The Senate
9 - Orlando, FL - House of Blues
10 - Charleston, SC - Music Farm
11 - Johnson City, TN - Capone’s
12 - Birmingham, AL - Iron City
14 - Louisville, KY - Mercury Ballroom
16 - Flint, MI - The Machine Shop
17 - Flint, MI - The Machine Shop
18 - Cleveland, OH - Temple Live *
19 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogart’s
21 - Columbus, OH - The Bluestone
22 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Intersection


* no Fame On Fire

The Monarch has released their first single “Dark Heart Phenomena” off of their upcoming full-length album. The brainchild of drummer Dave Kinkade, The Monarch also features vocalist Chris Clancy (Mutiny Within), guitarist Marco Martell (ex-Malevolent Creation), guitarist Marc Rizzo (ill Nino, ex-Soulfly) and bassist Tony Campos (Static-X/ Fear Factory, ex-Soulfly). 


The album was recorded by producer Vincent Ippolito (guitarist-Glacier) at Swift Road Studios in Arlington Heights Illinois and mixed & mastered by producer Chris Collier (KoЯn/Whitesnake/Prong) at CMC21 Productions in Las Vegas Nevada.







“Imagine the earth, the planet as a force, having a conscience. Mother nature in her own words. The other perspective is my own, speaking on behalf of mankind. We are a cancer to ourselves as we are constantly trying to kill each other off. The earth’s job is to sustain life and constantly shed itself from the bad in order to keep growing. When the earth starts to die, it speeds up the rejuvenation process…to keep order. Imagine the earth being able to tell us exactly what was wrong with humanity and give us all the abilities to fix it, but instead we choose to over medicate ourselves with media. We blind ourselves to the real problems in the world and thus, end up living a pointless existence. Killing each other over possessions and ideologies as we are sick, and we can never escape ourselves.” - Dave Kinkade


The Monarch’s new album A Moment To Lose Your Breath will be released November 17, 2023. Preorder at artiswarrecords.com.





The Monarch is:
Chris Clancy - Vox
Marco Martell - Guitars
Marc Rizzo - Guitars
Tony Campos - Bass
Dave Kinkade – Drums, piano, choirs, synth


(Photo – Alex Zarek)

Japanese metallers Nemophila have released their cover of the Metallica classic “Master Of Puppets”. The track is taken from their upcoming covers EP, The Initial Impulse – featuring tracks from System Of A Down, Slipknot, and Limp Bizkit. The EP will be released on November 8 via Masterworks.


Nemophila formed in 2019, playing their first live show in August of the same year, supporting Loudness and Hammerfall at Tokyo’s Metal Weekend 2019. The band have released two albums: Seize The Fate (2022) and Revive (2021). Nemophila is Mayu (vocals), Saki (guitar), Hazuki (guitar), Haraguchi-san (bass) and Tamu Murata (drums).







Tracklisting:


“Master Of Puppets” (Metallica)
“Sugar” (System Of A Down)
“(Sic)” (Slipknot)
“Stuck” (Limp Bizkit)


“Master Of Puppets”:





(Photo – Michael Nambu)

Finland is well-known as a country where metal talent abounds, and Satan's Fall, from Helsinki, is no exception. Today, the band presents the second single from their upcoming album Destination Destruction, accompanied by a music video. The song is called "Afterglow" and is one of the faster, more melodic tracks off the new album.


Guitarist Tomi Mäenpää: "'Afterglow' is easily one of the catchiest tracks on the album, both in terms of melody and delivery of the song. It reflects well how far we have come as composers and as a band. We think listeners will like it a lot! Once again we had the pleasure and honor to shoot the video with our trusted man Esa Jussila who is behind our previous videos."


The music video was directed, shot and edited by Esa Jussila. The album was recorded and mixed by Lassi Tiainen and mastered by Mika Jussila.







Satan's Fall are not the first band from Helsinki to set out on a triumphal march around half the (metal) globe. For many years, the Finnish capital on the southern tip of the country has been considered a melting pot for talented bands and musicians with the stamina to survive even the hardest of times.


After the release of their debut album, Final Day, in December of 2020, the pandemic, of course, made all tour plans redundant. However, Satan's Fall, the five-piece surrounding vocalist Miika Kokko, guitarist Tomi Mäenpää and bass player Joni Petander, hasn’t lost its idealism, as a matter of fact, quite the opposite. Following a lineup change that saw Ville Koskinen join on as new lead guitarist and Arttu Hankosaari take the drummer’s seat, the Nordic quintet sounds more impressive than ever before.


An even stronger album than the first, Destination Destruction features eight powerful metal songs and two bonus cover tracks.


The album will be available from Steamhammer/SPV on November 3 in the following configurations:


- CD DigiPak (incl. poster)
- 12" LP, 140 g, black vinyl, printed inner sleeve, poster
- Download / Streaming


Pre-order here.


- Exclusive 12" LP (solid white) and CD/LP Bundle with T-shirt only at the Steamhammer shop


Pre-order here.





Destination Destruction tracklisting:


"Lead The Way"
"Garden Of Fire"
"Swines For Slaughter"
"Monster's Ball"
"Afterglow"
"No Gods, No Masters"
"Kill The Machine"
"Dark Star"


Bonus tracks on CD digipak:


"Es Wird Viel Passieren"
"Go Go Power Rangers"


"Lead The Way" video:

Foghat have released the new single, “I Don’t Appreciate You”, which comes from their first new studio album in seven years, Sonic Mojo. This record is an eclectic blend of originals and some band favorites, and as the band declares, it is “blues infused, with a healthy dose of rock n’ roll and a bit of country, too.”


The song is out now on all digital outlets and the video can be seen below:







Sonic Mojo is exactly what Foghat will be bringing to their loyal legion of fans on November 10 in the form of their 17th studio album - their first in seven years - on the band’s label, Foghat Records, which is distributed by Select-O-Hits (part of the Sun Records family). It will be available as a single CD with 12-tracks and a six-page gatefold cover, as well as an 11-track, limited edition 180gram, purple neon vinyl.


Digital pre-orders are now available here (including CDs available on Amazon), while CD and vinyl (including autographed copies) and merchandise bundles are available to pre-order here.


From the opening notes of their 1972 self-titled classic, to their bombastic multi-Platinum gem, Foghat Live, to 2016’s slide guitar soaked Under The Influence and right on through to their upcoming album, Sonic Mojo, Foghat has always been about the music. Music played loud. Music played live and music played that makes you want to move.


On Sonic Mojo, founding member, drummer and leader of the pack Roger Earl is joined by stalwart guitarist, engineer and co-producer Bryan Bassett (Wild Cherry, Molly Hatchet), fun-loving, low-end thumper, fan favorite bassist Rodney O’Quinn (Pat Travers Band), and on lead vocals and guitar, Scott Holt (Buddy Guy) who has been the singer/guitarist of the band’s recent side project Earl & the Agitators since 2015. In typical Foghat fashion, there are a few surprises included on the album as well.


Three songs on Sonic Mojo have special meaning for Roger Earl, as they were co-written by Kim Simmonds, the man who gave Roger his first break back in 1967 as a member of Savoy Brown. Sadly, shortly after writing these songs, Kim passed away.


The first of the three Kim Simmonds co-writes, “Drivin’ On,” is the debut single from Sonic Mojo. Vocalist/guitarist Scott Holt smiles as he proudly sums up what this bluesy rocker means to the band, “A song like ‘Drivin’ On’ celebrates the swamp funk blues of Slim Harpo and the cosmic boogie of John Lee Hooker.” Part blues, part ZZ Top and part Foghat this tune is destined to become a live, fan favorite.


“She’s a Little Bit of Everything” (also co-written by the late Kim Simmonds), just like Foghat’s classic “Slow Ride” that starts off with nothing but a drumbeat, followed by fuzzy guitar and, just like that famous song, this one also celebrates woman, albeit in a totally classier way! The third Simmonds co-write is the most emotional of bunch. “Time Slips Away” penned when Kim was terminally ill, delivers a strong message that is both beautiful and emotional.  


Kim isn’t the only surprise on Sonic Mojo, however. Roger has a famous brother named Colin Earl, most known for the song “In the Summertime” by Mungo Jerry. Together, the two brothers and the rest of the band created the most unique tune on the album titled “Wish I’d a Been There.” The song is an ode to country music legend Hank Williams.


Foghat does country? Well… sort of, but not really. This fun song shows that this band, even after 50+ years of making music, isn’t afraid of trying something new. And…like everything else they’ve tried, they do it well.


Sonic Mojo also sees Foghat tip their hat to great artists that came before them, as well as giving plenty of winks and nods from the current lineup. While there are songs on the album written by Willie Dixon, (“Let Me Love You Baby”), B.B. King (“She’s Dynamite”), and Chuck Berry (“Promised Land”), Foghat shows they can still boogie with the best of them.


Elder statesmen, and band leader, Roger Earl has played with enough of the greats to know when he’s in good company. “I love playing and working with this band. During my almost 60-year music career, I have had the honor of playing with some really great musicians. Lonesome Dave, Rod Price, Craig MacGregor, Erik Cartwright, Nick Jameson, Tony Stevens and Jeff Howell to name some that have graced this band. Many have sadly passed, some have retired or moved on, but I have to say that the current lineup has been one of the most inspirational for me, personally. Writing with Scott and Bryan has come easy. Words and ideas just seem to fall out at any time and another song is in the works. And Rodney’s input and bass playing has been invaluable. We are a band in every sense of the word.”


Adds Scott Holt, “I feel like Sonic Mojo is a perfect addition to the Foghat cannon. For over 50 years, this band has been a celebration of the varied art forms and genres that were created in this country. The pillars of Blues, Country, Soul, R&B and Jazz are woven into the fabric of this band at the molecular level. Sonic Mojo is a Rock & Roll audio mojo hand. We convened our spirits and went down to the crossroads at midnight and put some Mississippi dirt, black cat bones, and moonlight into the bag, Kim Simmonds donated some soul, the spirit of Dave, Rod and Craig were the essence that created the supreme funk that is the finished product. A soulful expression, an offering at the altar of Rock & Roll.”


“Making a record is an emotionally and physically draining experience,” Holt continues. “As an artist you disengage every other part of your being and focus on the art…the task at hand. You don’t record like it’s going to live forever, but you know it’s going to live forever. You forget to eat, to drink, you don’t sleep or rest until you’ve got your part correct, and then you rethink it until it’s pronounced “finished.” (You’ll always hear the part that you doubted, even after someone tells you that’s their favorite part.) This record was made under battle conditions. Roger was drumming with one good arm and would keep recording until the pain was too much…and then do another take.”


Roger Earl tore a tendon in his shoulder while shoveling snow after an intense blizzard at his New York home in January 2022. After spending most of that year looking for a qualified surgeon, while touring relentlessly and starting to record Sonic Mojo, he finally had surgery in December with a doctor who specialized in sports shoulder injuries. Because he knew he would not be able to play up to his standards for a while after surgery, Roger laid down all the drum tracks for Sonic Mojo in the couple of months before the surgery, enduring a lot of pain, but doing whatever it took to get the music right. Guess that’s why they call it the Blues!


Formed in 1971 when Lonesome Dave Peverett and Roger Earl left the British blues-rock band, Savoy Brown, Foghat has earned eight Gold records, one Platinum record and one double-Platinum record.  They continue to release new music every few years, and they’ve never stopped touring and recording although there have been several ups and downs and changes over the years. They sadly lost Lonesome Dave Peverett in 2000, Rod Price in 2005, and Craig MacGregor in 2018, but Roger Earl keeps banging and kicking to keep Foghat’s musical legacy going.





Sonic Mojo tracklisting:


"She’s A Little Bit Of Everything"
"I Don’t Appreciate You"
"Mean Woman Blues"
"Drivin’ On"
"Let Me Love You Baby"
"How Many More Years"
"Song For Life"
"Wish I’d A Been There"
"Time Slips Away"
"Black Days & Blue Nights"
"She’s Dynamite" (only available on CD)
"Promised Land"


"Drivin’ On" video:





"She A Little Bit Of Everything"





Check out the band’s live itinerary below, with more shows to be announced and ticket info on Foghat.com:


October
28 - Laughlin, NV - The Edgewater Resort


November
2 - Gary, IN - Hard Rock Live
4 - Oshkosh, WI - Oshkosh Arena
17 - San Juan Capistrano, CA - The Coach House


December
9 - Atlantic City, NJ - Hard Rock Casino Hotel


January
26 - Enoch, AB - River Cree Resort & Casino


February
2 - Bremerton, WA - Admiral Theater
17 - Parker, CO - Pace Center
18 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern


(Photo - Jake Coughlin)