Italy's Last In Time announces its collaboration with Rockshots Records for the release of its debut album, Too Late.


Last In Time represents a fresh foray into melodic progressive and classic rock with strong AOR influences to create a one-of-a-kind and captivating musical experience.


"Finally, the long-awaited moment has arrived! We couldn't be happier to present our debut album Too Late, to the world, in collaboration with Rockshots Records, of which we are genuinely proud to be a part” affirms Massimo Marchetti, the mastermind behind Last In Time.




“From the very first listen, it's evident that this band aims to present itself with a level of maturity and confidence in its sound. We will do everything possible to earn the respect of fans with this record and our upcoming live performances. This album is a personal challenge, primarily to ourselves, and secondly to the conventions of music classification." he adds.


The album Too Late is a journey, bringing together various musical influences. It's a rock album that smoothly combines the melodious elements of AOR inspired by bands like Toto, Survivor, and Giant, the power of hard rock and metal, and a nod to 90s progressive rock.


Today the band shares their debut single, "The Way To Rock", which Massimo Marchetti, explains in further detail: "In the lyrics of this song, I basically tell the story of what drove me to play music and what emotions led me on my musical journey. When I was a guitar teacher, I was struck by an image. My students who were preparing for a concert had incredible enthusiasm. They reminded me of what inspired me to play and what music meant to me. They unknowingly inspired me to write this song.


Listen to "The Way To Rock" here, and watch the lyric video below.


Last in Time is a project that was formed in 2021 as a studio band, with the goal of recording original songs in the Progressive and Classic Rock/AOR genre. Leading the project is Massimo Marchetti, the songwriter, producer, and arranger of the group's songs.


The project has a diverse lineup, as it was managed as an all-star band, in order to ensure that each song had the right artistic touch. In fact, the ability to have multiple voices, including a female voice, greatly expanded the compositional proposal of the songs, allowing for a range of genres and nuances. However, the group's sound, while diverse, remains anchored to a common thread, which is a passion for Classic Rock in its various forms.


The presence of experienced and motivated musicians made the album recording process a wonderful journey, which will continue with live sessions and the start of a true project focused on recording more albums in the future.


Too Late will be released on January 12.





Tracklisting:


"The Way To Rock"
"How Long?"
"Road To Redemption"
"Believer In Love"
"Moonlight Dreamers"
"The Animal"
"Too Late"
"Mr.Fantastic"
"Winter In May"


"The Way To Rock" lyric video:

UK drum legend Nick Barker, who made his name working with Cradle Of Filth and Dimmu Borgir, and is currently a member of Brujeria and Shining, has announced his return to touring since revealing his battle with kidney failure earlier this summer.


A message from Barker follows:


"So here it is Ladies & Gents (and whatever the fuck pronouns!). My first tour back in the saddle since the well documented kidney failure of yours truly.




I’m not pulling double duty but I’ll certainly be getting up and blasting a few songs with my Brujeria familia, that’s for sure…


Big love to the amazing renal team at Peter Moorhead Hemodialysis unit at Sheffield Northern General Hospital for all their help arranging alternative treatment whilst on tour….


This is a HUGE boost to my mental health and general well being,I can’t wait to play again and see so many friendly faces out there!


CHUFFED!"




 

 
 

 


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Finnish upstart melodic death metal band Sigir has shared a new single, "Rainmaker", accompanied by a new music video.


"Rainmaker" follows Sigir's previous singles, "The Lantern" and "Depraved", and is written by guitarist and lead vocalist Viljami Toikkanen who talks about the process: “'Rainmaker' tells a story of a godhead, whose purpose here is to make rain. In songs lyrics we deal with the idea that rain itself is a mandatory for all life, but the Rainmakers mission is to make a storm with it.”


Viljami continues: “The music video follows a story of this Rainmaker helplessly trying to make rain. In the last chorus, he remembers the right spell for it and the rain finally begins. For this music video, we got one of the most recognizable actors in Finland, Aku Hirviniemi, who plays the main character in the video. We filmed it in two locations. First half was in Joel Korhonen´s film studio, second half and all the shots with Rainmaker we filmed at former copper mine at Orijärvi.”







Forged in black metal and fired by rich melody - Sigir are a four-piece from Vesanto, Finland who came together in 2019 to create their own unique melodic death metal sound.


Their debut album, Rainmaker, contains seven songs written from the band's formation through 2022, and will be released on November 3rd via Gramophone Records.





"The Lantern":





"Depraved":





 

Portland progressive sludge masters Lord Dying will release their new full-length album, Clandestine Transcendence, on January 19th, 2024 via MNRK Heavy. Pre-save / pre-order your copy now at this location.


Comments vocalist / guitarist Erik Olson, “We are super psyched to announce the release of our new album Clandestine Transcendence on MNRK Heavy, recorded by the incredible Kurt Ballou at God City Studios. In addition to our new album, we are premiering the first single / video 'I Am Nothing I Am Everything'. The video was directed by the incomparable Zev Deans, and we couldn’t be happier with the results. We are touring Europe with mighty UK doom legends Conan this Fall. Come out and bang your head! Tour starts in under two weeks. Let’s do this!” 










“Ultimately, the album is about self-discovery and becoming what you want to become in the face of adversity, no matter how the cards are stacked against you,” Olson says. “I’m not really a spiritual person. But a lyric on the album talks about the transformation of energy, how matter cannot be created or destroyed. It’s from a scientific standpoint.” He laughs. “But maybe the science is spiritual.” 


Clandestine Transcendence artwork and tracklisting:





"The Universe Is Weeping"
"I Am Nothing I Am Everything" 
"Unto Becoming"
"Final Push Into The Sun"
"Dancing On The Emptiness"
"Facing The Incomprehensible"
"A Brief Return To Physical Form"
"A Bond Broken By Death"
"Break In The Clouds (In The Darkness Of Our Minds)"
"Soul Metamorphosis"
"Swimming In The Absence"
"The Endless Road Home"


Dates and venues for the aforementioned Conan / Lord Dying European Tour can be found in the official poster, pictured below.





(Photo by Neil DaCosta)


 

During a recent appearance on the Sunset Strip-themed episode of the "Totally '80s" podcast hosted by Lyndsey Parker of Yahoo! Entertainment, POISON drummer Rikki Rockett touched upon the subject of whether or not "rock is dead." He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think every great musical movement has been sort of a cultural social movement. Like punk rock was extremely social. And what we were doing was a social cultural movement. I mean, you really had to commit to be into what we were doing. People would get thrown out of school and getting fights with their parents and 'we're not gonna take it' — all that stuff. It really set America and the world on fire in a lot of ways. And then I think that grunge had a social cultural movement. I think Marilyn Manson had a social cultural movement. Now, I don't think rock has any social cultural movement and that's the problem. Nobody stands for anything right now. Actually, Taylor Swift has more bravery than most rock bands these days, not afraid to open her mouth and go against the man. Rock bands play the game now, man. So I think that for rock to really come back on top, it has to have something behind it, just like any great art. You can't just do art just to do art. If there's something behind it, that's what really makes it great."

He added: "I always say in all my videos, 'Take care of each other. Keep rock alive.' I'm trying desperately to keep rock alive. I wanna see it more than anything in the world. It's so important. But sometimes, in retrospect, somebody will say… I remember the headline, I think it was in The New York Post or whatever, 'from the rock era,' like it's gone in journalists' mind. It's very frustrating."

Rockett previously talked about the state of the rock scene during an April 2020 Cameo "Iconic Rockstars" panel conversation. At the time, he said: "I think that organic rock music is absolutely going to go into the forefront again — it just is. But I think it needs to reinvent itself a little bit. People need to be a little more creative in the rock genre. It's a little bit too, like, this guy could be in that band or he could be in that band or he could play with this guy, and everybody looks the same and plays the same. There needs to be a little more of a movement, a little more of a scene."

He added: "When I was growing up, there was a punk scene and there was a rock scene, and then metal came along. There were scenes, and it created a lot of energy. Rock's been a little stagnant for a while. It's there. I mean, even people like Steve Miller can put on tickets for sale and sell fucking out — it's amazing. So it's there. But as far as newer bands, I think rock is gonna have to reinvigorate itself just a little bit and not just copy what other people have done that came before them."

POISON exploded into the highly competitive Los Angeles music scene in the 1980s, making a name for itself in the clubs on the Sunset Strip. POISON has sold over 50 million records worldwide, releasing eight studio albums, four live albums, and four compilations. The band has charted 10 singles on the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, including six Top 10 singles and one Hot 100 number-one smash hit, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn".

Rockett was was diagnosed with oral cancer in 2015. In July 2016, he was declared cancer free after undergoing experimental immunotherapy, which eradicated the tumor.

In the summer of 2022, POISON completed "The Stadium Tour" with DEF LEPPARD, MÖTLEY CRÜE and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS. The 36-date trek was originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020 but ended up being pushed back to 2021, and then to 2022, due to the coronavirus crisis.

A newly released performance trailer for "Black Sabbath – The Ballet" can be seen below.

The ballet soundtracked by the music of BLACK SABBATH had its official premiere on Saturday, September 23 at the Hippodrome theatre in the heavy metal legends' original hometown of Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Commissioned by Birmingham Royal Ballet's director Carlos Acosta and Ballet Now, the ballet includes eight specially reorchestrated BLACK SABBATH songs plus new music inspired by the legendary British heavy metal outfit.

SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi, who had been present at some rehearsals, came up on stage at the end of Saturday night's performance to play guitar on the band's classic song "Paranoid". Iommi also took a bow at the end of the night along with the cast and crew. Also in attendance at the event were Iommi's bandmate, SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler and Sharon Osbourne, wife of SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne, along with LED ZEPPELIN singer Robert Plant and ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA's Bev Bevan, who served as the touring drummer for BLACK SABBATH from 1983 to 1984 and played percussion on "The Eternal Idol" album in 1987.

On Sunday (September 24),Iommi took to his social media to share a photo of his appearance at the previous night's show, and he included the following message: "Thanks to everyone who supported us at the Ballet, we had a great premiere last night. I'm honoured to be involved with these talented dancers." He added: "I'm afraid I won't be joining every performance."

This past April, Iommi was asked by Birmingham World if he could ever have imagined that half a century after he formed SABBATH that Birmingham's ballet company would be dancing to their music. Tony laughed and said: "I wouldn't have believed them, really, to be honest. At the time when I got involved with BLACK SABBATH, I thought it was great, because it was something so different, and hasn't been done before. And I found it, I think, a good challenge.

"I'm looking at our music differently now with this [the ballet], because it is being interpreted in a different way. It's still got the basic things, but then it did have in the different orchestral things coming in. And then I never thought for a minute we would have people dancing to BLACK SABBATH and 'War Pigs' and 'Iron Man'. But here we are, you know."

Regarding Birmingham Royal Ballet's interpretation of SABBATH's music, Tony said: "Birmingham Royal Ballet are very conscious of the work being what it is — the SABBATH music. We don't want to change it so you can’t recognize it. So they've held that part of it, but added another dimension to it. So I was very happy with that."

As for whether he thinks the Black Sabbath Ballet could inspire heavy metal fans to become ballet fans, and ballet fans to become heavy metal fans, Iommi said: "I certainly hope so. I mean, it is a strange combination, but you've got to push the boat out. And, you know, hopefully, we can get everybody together. But they're opposite but they're not at the same time — because it's still creative. They're creating what they're doing. We're creating what we've done, and we're bringing them together. And I think it'd be really interesting to see the SABBATH fans and then to see the ballet fans liking it, hopefully."

Artistic director Carlos Acosta revealed five months ago that 60 percent of tickets at that point had been bought by SABBATH fans. He said that "BLACK SABBATH is so different from the world of ballet, and I wanted to multiply our reach. I hate to be predictable; I hate for the company to be taken for granted. Everyone knows 'Swan Lake' and 'Cinderella' … [It's] a great opportunity for us to show people the world of dance."

Austin, who supervised the music for the project, said: "Unlike THE BEATLES where you can buy two enormous volumes of all their scores with all the instrumental parts, there's not so much for BLACK SABBATH.

"When I was asked to take part in this project I thought, where do you start? The BLACK SABBATH catalog is enormous, it's so rich and so varied. So the process initially was starting to narrow down the amount of material that we wanted to work with that would furnish us with variety, with richness, with different emotional tones, but also help us create this evening-length show."

Austin added: "What I love about BLACK SABBATH music is the glorious irregularity. All the aspects of music — the flexibility of tempo and feel. And the extraordinary early period Ozzy vocals which are stratospheric, it's exceeding Pavarotti in term of the high notes and ringing power."

The songs chosen are:

* "Paranoid" ("Paranoid" album, 1970);
* "Iron Man" ("Paranoid" album, 1970);
* "War Pigs" ("Paranoid" album, 1970);
* "Black Sabbath" ("Black Sabbath" album, 1970);
* "Solitude" (Master Of Reality" album, 1971);
* "Orchid" (Master Of Reality" album, 1971);
* "Laguna Sunrise" ("Vol 4" album, 1972) and
* "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" ("Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" album, 1973).

"Black Sabbath - The Ballet" will run through September 30.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's "Today" program, Acosta said he had been a fan of SABBATH for more than two decades, and said he felt the band's classic protest song "War Pigs" still has particular resonance.

"'War Pigs' is so relevant today, how sometimes politicians and governments hide behind words. And all the wars happening at the moment... it's timeless," he said.

In a new video interview with music journalist Joel Gausten, Mike Abdow, who is the guitarist for FATES WARNING and the songwriter/producer for the solo albums from FATES WARNING singer Ray Alder, discussed the band's current status. When asked to share his thoughts on the future of FATES WARNING considering Alder's recent statements that guitarist Jim Matheos doesn't want to write new material for the band, Abdow offered the following response: "I'm not really privy to anything that Ray hasn't said already in interviews. The band didn't break up. We'd like to tour, [but] there are scheduling issues with various members."

He continued: "As far as Jim maybe not wanting to pursue new FATES WARNING records, that's very much his call, and it's his arena there. I respect that. Of course, I'd like to play more with the band and do more records. I've got a lot of life in me — not that they don't. Jim's writing a ton of music; all the guys are writing a ton of music in different bands. But I also appreciate where he's coming from, where everything he does is inspired. So, if he's not feeling a particular thing, he's not going to do it just to do it. I'm not speaking for him, but he's going to just be honest and say, 'Well, I'm not interested in doing that right now.' That's just the vibe that I get from it, from what I've heard in interviews, and just from knowing him. I totally respect what he wants to do."

Alder first revealed that Matheos didn't want to write new FATES WARNING music this past May while promoting his sophomore solo effort, "II". Speaking about his decision to continue pursuing a solo career, Alder said at the time: "With FATES, after we did the last album and Jim saying he doesn't wanna write any more FATES WARNING music, I have to do something. I'm a singer. I can't just get a normal job. I mean, music is my life; it's been my life since I was 16 years old. I've been in bands — shit, since I was 14 years old I've been in bands. The first time I ever sang, I think, I was 14, [in] my brother's band. So it's my life. I don't know what else I would do otherwise."

Pressed to clarify if Jim really said that he wasn't interested in writing any more FATES WARNING music, Ray said: "Yeah. [He said it] when we did [2020's] 'Long Day Good Night' [album]. That was basically his saying he doesn't wanna write any more FATES WARNING music. It doesn't mean we won't ever tour again. I would love to tour again, and Jim would as well; we've already discussed it. It's just a matter of getting everyone together. Joey's [Vera, bass] in five or six different bands. And Bobby Jarzombek, Bobby's now playing with George Strait, one of the biggest country music stars in the world, and Bobby's his drummer now. But George doesn't really do normal tours; he does one-off shows now and then. And so it's really hard for Bobby to leave for more than a week or two to be on tour. So we've been trying to deal with that lately. But next year is the fortieth anniversary of FATES WARNING, so we're discussing doing a few shows next year around the world. Not a full tour, but some shows every few weeks or months apart. So hopefully that'll work. We'll see."

Asked if that means that there will be no more new FATES WARNING music in the future, Ray said: "It doesn't seem like it. I can't speak for Jim. Of course I would love to, and everybody else would, but at this point I don't think Jim wants to write any more."

As for why he thinks Jim isn't interested in making any more FATES WARNING music, Alder said: "You've gotta ask him, man. You've gotta ask him. I can't speak for him. Sorry."

FATES WARNING has been a formidable presence in progressive metal for nearly four decades, helping to shape and drive the genre without ever compromising its integrity or losing relevance.

FATES WARNING, with John Arch on vocals, unleashed three albums (1984's "Night On Bröcken", 1985's "The Spectre Within" and 1986's "Awaken The Guardian") that would go on to influence progressive-minded bands like DREAM THEATER, before Arch left the group and was replaced by Alder.

A FATES WARNING biography from noted author and journalist Jeff Wagner, "Destination Onward - The Story Of Fates Warning", was made available in July 2022. The 400-page history of the legendary prog metal band features interviews with every member of FATES WARNING, past and present, and covers the early days of the original members, the band's formation in 1983 as MISFIT, their commercial peak with 1991's "Parallels", right through to their last song, "The Last Song", which closes out "Long Day Good Night".

Abdow's new album, "Séance In Black", will be released on October 6 via Couch Cat Records.

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral

Singer / songwriter Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-The Gathering) checked in with the following update back in July:


"I am really looking forward to performing in Latin America again! It's been a while, and I'm very excited that during this tour, I will also be visiting countries where I have never performed before. The fact that I will be sharing the stage with Marko Hietala and Tuomas Wäinölä makes everything even more special. Marko and I will each perform a solo set and we will close the evening together. I can't wait to see all of you again!"


Anneke and Marko played the first of two shows in Santiago, Chile on September 28th. Fan-filmed video from the gig can be viewed below.




Anneke: "You can kinda tell we are having a blast on this tour, right? Thank you Santiago!"


Setlist:


"Child Of Babylon (Whitesnake - with Marco Hietala)
"Lo and Behold"
"Saturnine" (The Gathering)
"Valley of the Queens" (Ayreon)
"I Saw a Car"
"The May Song" (The Gathering)
"Like a Stone" (Audioslave)
"Hurricane"
"Catch the Rainbow" (Rainbow - with Marco Hietala)
"Wasted Years" (Iron Maiden - with Marco Hietala)
"I See Fire" (with Marco Hietala)
"Strange Machines" (The Gathering - with Marco Hietala)
"The Islander" (Nightwish - with Marco Hietala)
"Perry Mason" (Ozzy Osbourne - with Marco Hietala)
"The Sound of Silence" (Simon & Garfunkel - with Marco Hietala)














 




 

 
 

 


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Sabaton guitarist / Majestica frontman Tommy Johansson has shared a new cover along with the following message:


Johansson: "First released 1989 with Pandora’s Box. Then released in 1996 by Celine Dion. Then, finally, in 2006 with Meat Loaf feat. Marion Raven. This is a cover of the Celine Dion version."







Sabaton's final EP in the Echoes Of The Great War EP trilogy, entitled Stories From The Western Front, is now officially available on all platforms and features a never-heard-before cover of Motörhead's well-known track, “1916". Stream Stories From The Western Front here.


In celebration of this final EP, the band also unleashed a brand-new music video for “1916” filmed in Birmingham, England, and at Britain’s famous Black Country Living Museum. The music video features an overload of historical characters from the Sabaton lore, a headbanging metal army from Birmingham, and even a cameo from the living members of Motörhead - Mikkey Dee and Phil Campbell.


Sabaton released the video below earlier this year, stating: "Our behind the scenes documentary on the making of the '1916' music video is now available! It took an army of dedicated and talented people to achieve our goals, and we are beyond happy with the result. A lot of emotion and hard work was pumped into the project, and we hold '1916' very close to our hearts."





Watch the "1916" music video below.


The Western Front was one of World War I’s main theatres of conflict. It stretched across more than 400 miles through France and Belgium from the Swiss border to the North Sea. It was a deadly place, and to put things into perspective, at least four-million men died there, although the true figure can never be confirmed.


The Stories From The Western Front EP tells stories of those who fought and fell on the Western Front, a place where the trenches and the ceaseless shelling drove men to insanity. Often, those who returned from this treacherous place did so with shell shock and chronic nightmares, PTSD or injuries that changed their lives forever.


“We are excited to release the last EP in the Echoes of The Great War series as well as a new music video, which we had a blast filming in the UK. Our new EP tells the tales that came from the Western Front, a brutal and unforgiving theatre of war. The Battle of Verdun, which was the longest battle of the First World War, the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917 in Flanders, the Battle of the Somme… these are all things we should not forget,” explains Pär Sundstrom. “And through this EP – in fact, through this whole EP collection – our sole mission has been to immortalize these stories and ensure that these are at the forefront of everyone's minds.


“Speaking of the Battle of the Somme,” Pär adds, “this conflict resulted in a huge loss of human life – around 300,000 fatalities. It was one of the bloodiest and deadliest conflicts of WW1 - and in human history! This is what “1916” was written about, and that’s why it was the missing puzzle piece of this EP.”


Meanwhile, Joakim Brodén shared more information about the band’s cover of Motörhead: “We believed that ‘1916’ was the perfect fit for this EP, not only because it’s related to the First World War, but because we just love everything about the song. Lemmy was inspired to write this track after watching a documentary about the Battle of the Somme. The lyrics are emotionally charged and perfectly describe the experiences of all the young soldiers, most of whom were essentially just kids. A lyric that really moves me and hits home is: ‘We were food for the gun, and that’s what you are when you’re soldiers.’ I can’t get that out of my head.”


“We think we did this song justice. It’s our tribute to one of the greatest bands in the world and a nod to those who fought in the First World War and made the ultimate sacrifice!” he notes.


With each EP in the Echoes Of The Great War trilogy, Sabaton is releasing an exclusive digipak in limited numbers. They often sell out immediately, so if you want one for your collection, be quick!





Tracklisting:


"1916"
"Great War"
"Hellfighters"
"The Price of A Mile"
"Fields of Verdun"
"Race To The Sea"
"Devil Dogs"


"1916" video:

In a new interview with Noise11.com 's Paul Cashmere, former JUDAS PRIEST frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens was asked if there are any PRIEST songs that he is currently performing with KK'S PRIEST that he had never sung with PRIEST when he was a member of the legendary British heavy metal outfit. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "There's one I didn't, and that was 'Hell Patrol'. I actually didn't wanna do it because I wanted to stick with songs that I've already sung in JUDAS PRIEST, so I had that connection to it. But then when I started singing it, working on it, it was really fun to sing, pretty easy to sing, but it has this really cool high notes at the end that just go up. And to be honest, it's not really sung like that anymore from JUDAS PRIEST, those high notes — it's sung different — so it's nice to kind of sing it [the] classic [way]. And it's fun to sing. But that's the only song in this setlist that I've never sung before. I've actually never sung it — period. I've never even sung it, you know, ever."

The first official KK'S PRIEST show took place this past July at KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton, England.

KK'S PRIEST released its sophomore album, "The Sinner Rides Again", on September 29 via the Austrian rock and metal empire Napalm Records.

Joining Owens in KK'S PRIEST is fellow former PRIEST member Kenneth "K.K." Downing, along with guitarist A.J. Mills (HOSTILE),bassist Tony Newton (VOODOO SIX) and drummer Sean Elg (DEATHRIDERS, CAGE),

"The Sinner Rides Again" contains nine tracks produced and written by Downing and mixed/mastered by Jacob Hansen.

KK'S PRIEST will embark October U.K. headlining tour. The "Priests, Killers & Witches" tour starts at the O2 Institute in Birmingham on Saturday, October 7, and visits London, Glasgow, Manchester and Nottingham. Special guest on all dates will be former IRON MAIDEN vocalist Paul Di'Anno who will be performing a full set of classics straight from the first two MAIDEN records, and opening up the bill is BURNING WITCHES.

KK'S PRIEST's debut album, "Sermons Of The Sinner", was released in October 2021 via Explorer1 Music Group/EX1 Records.

K.K. formed KK'S PRIEST after JUDAS PRIEST turned down his offer to rejoin the band for their 50th-anniversary tour. It followed a couple of celebrated stage appearances, first with former MANOWAR guitarist Ross The Boss in the summer of 2019, then with a one-off lineup that included former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson and former PRIEST drummer Les Binks later that year.

Downing was reunited with JUDAS PRIEST for a performance at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony last November at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

Downing left PRIEST in 2011 amid claims of band conflict, shoddy management and declining quality of performance. He was replaced by Richie Faulkner, nearly three decades his junior.

Owens joined PRIEST in 1996 and recorded two studio albums with the band — 1997's "Jugulator" and 2001's "Demolition" — before PRIEST reunited with Rob Halford in 2003.

Swedish hard rock veterans EUROPE performed their new single titled "Hold Your Head Up" live for the first time this past Saturday (September 30) at Salle Métropole in Lausanne, Switzerland. The track, which is described by the band as "a punchy uptempo rocker with reminiscent elements of early EUROPE," was recorded in August at Atlantis Studios in Stockholm with producer Klas Åhlund (GHOST, ROBYN) and was mixed by Stefan Glaumann (RAMMSTEIN, DEF LEPPARD),who also mixed EUROPE's "Secret Society" album. The song, which was made available to stream and download on Friday, September 29 across all reputable digital platforms, including Spotify, Apple, iTunes, Amazon Music, Deezer, Tidal, Pandora and YouTube Music, will serve as a precursor to EUROPE's twelfth studio album, to be recorded in 2024 and released in late 2024 or early 2025.

The "Hold Your Head Up" video offers a glimpse into the brand-new documentary that the band have been busy filming with producer/director Craig Hooper (DEEP PURPLE, SAXON) for Coolhead Productions simply titled "Europe - The Movie". The film will tell the story of the band, from formation until present day, telling of their rise to success in the mid-1980s, through hard times and heartache, to coming back in the millennium, and the current successes the band has achieved. This is set for release in early 2024.

EUROPE singer Joey Tempest said: "'Hold Your Head Up' is an uptempo guitar driven rocker about pulling through in difficult times and the influence my father had on me to always do my best and persevere.

"It's been six years since our last release, 'Walk The Earth', recorded at Abbey Road, and we had a great time in the studio with producer Klas Åhlund. He really brought out a hungry, engaged band that's ready to continue an amazing journey. We can't wait to play this song on tour and incorporate it on our next album. We're very proud of this track."

EUROPE is currently undertaking a "Time Capsule" tour which includes 21 concerts across Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Norway, Sweden, France, The Netherlands, and the U.K., including two nights at the famous London Palladium. These anniversary shows will consist of a career retrospective "evening with" performance featuring all the hits together with deep cuts and fan favorites from all of their 11 studio albums.

In a recent interview with Mark Jeeves of Planet Rock's "My Planet Rocks", Tempest spoke about EUROPE's plans to work on the long-awaited follow-up to 2017's "Walk The Earth" album. He said: "We're becoming interested and inspired again now. It's taken a while.

"This period with the world made me go back to the roots and write a lot again," he continued. "So I have loads and loads of ideas, but not necessarily all of 'em for EUROPE. So it's been very creative, but it sort of a few gigs last year for us to start — because we're friends from teenage years — but we started connecting again. And we started sending stuff to each other, and we have a few really good ideas now. And that's always great.

"I remember when we did 'Out Of This World' after 'The Final Countdown', and I managed to come up with 'Superstitious'. And I [was, like], 'Thank goodness.' You need something to kick things off, and I think we have one of those tracks brewing. So it's always nice to get going with something really cool."

Tempest also talked about the fact that EUROPE is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its self-titled debut album this year.

"It feels impossible — with the same guys around, actually," he said. "We met when we were teenagers. I saw [guitarist] John Norum play — he was 14; I was 15 — and I thought, 'It would be great to start a band with him.' And here we are. It's incredible. Eleven albums. I wouldn't say that's loads of albums, but it's still fairly okay. We've done six albums since we started again and five in the first era. So we're kind of proud. And we get on now. The egos are sort of put aside and we sort of feel lucky that we have this job. So doing this tour this year, the 40th-anniversary tour, it's a pleasure. And we can dig even deeper; we can play some tracks we haven't played. So it could be fun as well."

Back in July 2019, Tempest told Finland's Kaaos TV that he and his bandmates don't "write so much on the road". He explained: "We've never been like that. We're a soundcheck band as well. So we always soundcheck. We soundcheck whenever we can. Festivals is more difficult, as you know. But it's possible sometimes — you can go in the morning and do it.

"What happens to us is usually we write for six months when the touring has come to an end on an album," he continued. "So it takes us about four to six months to write, to get everything together, get 75 to 80 percent ready, music and lyrics. Then we go into the studio and then we work fast — record everything live in two weeks. This is how we've done it on 'Bag Of Bones' [2012], 'War Of Kings' [2015] and 'Walk The Earth'. The last three EUROPE albums were recorded fast, because those fast decisions are amazing in the studio — everybody's there; everybody's on fire. That's how those great albums were made in the '70s — on the spot, when that glow and that fire is there."

While stressing the importance of improvisation in the studio, Tempest said that "you should be prepared. You don't wanna waste time in the studio and waste anybody's time. So if you're 75 percent ready, the last bit the producer can help out with or the circumstances, or whatever happens happens in the studio. But we've been so lucky working with Dave Cobb — a great musician and producer and a great guy to just hang with. He's now part of the band. Like he works with RIVAL SONS, he also works with us. He's part of the band when we're in the studio with him. He writes with us. He comes up with great ideas. He sits and plays the songs with us in a circle in the studio before we record it, and then we just slam it down live, three or four takes, and pick the best takes to work on and to finish up. And the nerve is there, the decisions were made right there, and that's how you make great rock records."

"Walk The Earth" was released in October 2017 via Hell & Back Recordings (Silver Lining Music). It was recorded at famed Abbey Road Studios in London with the aforementioned Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb (RIVAL SONS, Shooter Jennings, Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton).

"Hold Your Head Up" in Lausanne - september 30, 2023

"Hold Your Head Up"
Lausanne (Switzerland) - Salle Métropole - September 30, 2023

Video by Stefania Morese

#europetheband #europebandcorner #timecapsuletour #holdyourheadup

Posted by Europe Fan Media Corner on Sunday, October 1, 2023

"Sending warm greetings to all of you from LA," begins an update from Apocalyptica. "We are eagerly working on new music in the studio to release in 2024. Since we don't want to keep you waiting for so long, we decided to bring our church tour straight to your home!"


"Today, we released the first song 'Ruska' of our upcoming live album, Live In Helsinki St. John's Church. The whole album will be released on November 17th on all download and streaming plattforms as well as on vinyl and CD. The pre-order for the CD and vinyl is already running, so go get your copy for your collection!"







"Discover our album, Live In Helsinki St. John's Church, which was recorded back in 2021 on the tour that lead us through the churches of Finland! The album is available in two formats: a 2LP gatefold vinyl in transparent orange and a deluxe 2CD digisleeve. Both formats are numbered and limited to 1,000 copies. Immerse yourself in the unique fusion of classical and metal music, all recorded in the acoustically magnificent St. John's Church in Helsinki."





Tracklisting:


"Intro To The Mind"
"Deathzone"
"Sacra"
"Kaamos"
"Call My Name"
"Ruska"
"On The Rooftop With Quasimodo"
"Perttu Solo"
"Bittersweet"
"Rise"
"In Memoriam / Stroke"
"Mikko's Psalm 555/382"
"Scream For The Silent"
"Čohkka / Cortege"
"Dead Man's Eyes"
"Worlds Collide"
"Coma"
"Farewell"
"Nothing Else Matters"
"Conquest Of Paradise"





(Photo by Ville Juurikkala)


 


 

Powerful melodic Finnish metallers Dyecrest (ft. members Metal de Facto, Thy Row, Everfrost, Kiowan Dynamo) are celebrating the release of their new album Once I Had A Heart out now as of September 29 via Rockshots Records with a new music video for the track "Read My Mind".


"Probably the oldest track on the album. This one was co-written by Kimmo Blom, too. Very straight-to-the-point, striking, and catchy song! Combination of heavy, pulsating verse and the adherent, sing-along chorus. Its story is about a situation where a person realizes/understands that the relationship with someone else has reached the point of no return. Maybe the most defining line of the lyrics: ‘No use in keep on wasting more of our lives…”’” adds the band.







Once I Had A Heart features nine melodic melancholic tracks to follow their 2019 EP The Stage Is Set, and 2018 album Are You Not Entertained?. Seven of the nine songs are brand new songs, two are a bit older but weren’t properly recorded at any point. This new record has some new “twists” in the songs, but still, the trademarks that Dyecrest is known for with their pounding and powerful anthems and strong vocal melodies with big choirs, accompanied by flashing guitar solos.


“The album overall is a tighter package than any previous Dyecrest album, and it lifts the band to a whole new level, for sure! On the album, there are some songs which have been written already some years ago (for example 'Read My Mind' and 'Man Made God') as well as brand new songs, such as the title track 'Once I Had A Heart;, the crushing opener 'Sacred Sleep', the bouncing and heavy 'Oathkeeper' and the majestic and powerful half-ballad 'Fire From Your World', which also ends the album with its heartbreaking atmosphere," adds Niko Takala.


Guitarist Matti Pasanen also adds: "This is the album, which in my opinion is reflecting the sound of Dyecrest in the best way so far. Heavy, yet atmospheric and also a bit progressive musical elements are combined with meaningful lyrics and intriguing melodies!"


"On this album we were able to build up layers, which aren’t 'chewed ready for you,' but which you have to find out by listening to the songs over and over again. And those layers can be found both in compositions as well in lyrics. Once I Had A Heart is truly the album out of which I can honestly say that 'Hey, check this out, THIS IS DYECREST!'"


"This time the Dyecrest-way of songwriting (meaning that we are writing the songs as they were meant purely and just for ourselves) has created the heaviest, catchiest, and also the most beautiful Dyecrest songs so far."


The whole band continues: "We want to dedicate this album in the loving memory of the band’s former singer, friend, and brother forever, Kimmo Blom. Kimmo sadly passed away in the fall of 2022. We feel privileged that there are three songs on the album which we have written with Kimmo, and that we had the chance of having him as one of the backing vocalists on the album. 'One day we’ll meet and rock together again - there, Where the Light Was Born!'"





Tracklisting:


"Sacred Sleep" 
"Man Made God" 
"Once I Had A Heart" 
"Oathkeeper" 
"Face The Light"
"Read My Mind"
"Colder" 
"The Final Act"
"Fire From Your World" 


Orders can be placed at this location.

RILEY'S L.A. GUNS has just released a new single, "The Dark Horse", via Golden Robot Records. The track is taken from the band's upcoming sophomore album of the same name, tentatively due in early 2024.

"The Dark Horse" ventures into a soul-stirring narrative, encapsulated in a raw, hard-hitting rock 'n' roll ballad. The lyrics poignantly delve into the struggles of confronting inner demons and grappling with life-altering decisions. The metaphorical "reins" woven into the track symbolize the constant challenges one must face, while the relentless spinning of the world underscores the unceasing nature of life's trials. "The Dark Horse" masterfully captures the essence of being an underdog. Front man Kurt Frohlich's powerful vocals, coupled with a poignant melody, make this single a testament to RILEY'S L.A. GUNS' ability to infuse emotional depth into their signature high-octane rock 'n' roll sound.

RILEY'S L.A. GUNS drummer Steve Riley said: "We are so excited for you to hear our new single 'The Dark Horse'. It's a rockin uptempo rock track, similar in style to 'Renegades' from our last album. This song reflects our band's growth in both production and performance. Enjoy the song, and watch out for the full album dropping in early 2024. We can't wait to see you on tour next year, but for now, rock out to 'The Dark Horse'!"

This past February, RILEY'S L.A. GUNS released another new song, "Rewind", digitally via Golden Robot. Last October, RILEY'S L.A. GUNS issued a single called "Overdrive". Both tracks are also expected to appear on "The Dark Horse".

In April 2021, an out-of-court resolution was reached in the legal dispute over the rights to the L.A. GUNS name. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, guitarist Tracii Guns and singer Phil Lewis are continuing to operate under the L.A. GUNS trademark, while Steve Riley and his bandmates from the other version of L.A. GUNS are now operating under the new name RILEY'S L.A. GUNS.

RILEY'S L.A. GUNS features Riley alongside Orlando, Florida-based guitarist/vocalist Kurt Frohlich, bassist Kelly Nickels (a member of L.A. GUNS' "classic" incarnation) and guitarist Scott Griffin, who played bass for L.A. GUNS from 2007 until 2009, and then again from 2011 to 2014.

In January 2020, Riley was sued by Lewis and Guns in California District Court. Joining Riley as defendants in the case were the three musicians who performed in his rival version of L.A. GUNS; that group's manager, booking agent and merchandiser; and Golden Robot Records. The complaint, which requested a trial by jury, alleged that Riley's version of L.A. GUNS (referred to in the case docket as "the infringing L.A. GUNS") was creating "unfair competition" through its unauthorized usage of the L.A. GUNS trademark. In addition, Guns and Lewis were seeking relief from and/or against false advertising, breach of contract and unauthorized usage of their likenesses.

Photo credit: Mark Weiss

According to Billboard.com, DISTURBED's "Take Back Your Life" summer 2023 tour grossed $17.4 million and sold 336,000 tickets.

The band averaged 11,573 tickets sold per show, up from 6,901 in 2019 and 4,404 in 2016. The average ticket price for the "Take Back Your Life" tour was $51.07.

DISTURBED's biggest headlining concert ever happened on September 2 at Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana, where the band drew more than 20,000 fans.

Based on Billboard's reported archives going back to September 2000, DISTURBED has grossed $71.2 million and sold 1.8 million tickets across 365 shows.

DISTURBED kicked off the summer 2023 leg of its "Take Back Your Life" North American tour on July 11 at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. Support on the trek came from BREAKING BENJAMIN and JINJER.

In a February 2023 interview with Beef Vegan, DISTURBED frontman David Draiman was asked why he and his bandmates chose to embark on a U.S. headlining tour this spring and summer as opposed to making festival appearances, like they had done in the past. He responded: "We love both, but truth be told is that when you finally decide to headline, you can bring out all your toys, and you don't have to share it with anybody. [Laughs] When you're in a festival environment, you have a whole bunch of really high-caliber bands who are performing at the top of their game, and they're trying to bring as much as they can all collectively fit on that deck. And it gets challenging. So when you're doing your thing and that's the primary focus, it really opens up the possibilities."

Released in November 2022, DISTURBED's latest album, "Divisive", was recorded early last year with producer Drew Fulk (MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, LIL PEEP, HIGHLY SUSPECT) in Nashville, Tennessee.

Guitarist Dan Donegan's divorce inspired the "Divisive" song "Don't Tell Me", which is a duet with HEART's Ann Wilson. In two decades, it breaks ground as the first-ever guest collaboration on a DISTURBED record.

According to Billboard, "Divisive" sold 26,000 equivalent album units in its first week of release, with 22,000 units via album sales.

On the all-format Billboard 200 chart, "Divisive" debuted at No. 13.

DISTURBED has had five No. 1s on the all-genre chart, beginning with "Believe" in 2002.

VIXEN has released a brand new single called "Red". The official music video for the track, which was directed by Drew Johnston and Vicente Cordero and edited by Ryan Conion, can be seen below.

In a recent interview with Robert Miguel of Uvalde Radio Rocks, VIXEN drummer Roxy Petrucci stated about "Red": "It's pretty energetic. I think it's a good mix of the old '80s mixing with fresh, new 2023 VIXEN."

Regarding how the new VIXEN song came together, Roxy said: "We actually worked on it with Fred Coury from CINDERELLA. He's quite the songwriter and he's a producer and he writes jingles for soundtracks and things like that. So we hooked up with him and he had the song and he presented it to us. And we said, 'Okay, let's take that and let's own it.' And that's what we did. And it came out killer. It's a good representation of this new VIXEN. So I think fans are gonna dig it. I mean, we certainly do. We owned it, we feel good about it and we're gonna throw it out there and, yeah, see if it sticks."

Last December, VIXEN singer Lorraine Lewis explained to Max Davallo of "Sonic Dorms" about why she and her bandmates had yet to release their new single after previously saying it would arrive in the summer of 2022. "I kind of — I didn't make a mistake; I was just excited at the beginning of summer," she said. "'Cause I had already gone in and done my vocals, laid down my vocals for a new song for VIXEN. And I don't know — in 'Lorraine world,' if it's just 'Lorraine world,' it's happening fast. But it's not 'Lorraine world,' it's 'VIXEN world,' and so there's a lot of elements that had to come together. So it has been mixed," she revealed. "It is now being mastered. I just heard it last week. I'm excited."

At the time, Lewis also said that VIXEN's current lineup — in which she is joined by Petrucci, bassist Julia Lage and guitarist Britt Lightning (a.k.a. Brittany Denaro) — had also been working on "other stuff" in recent months. "We were in Boston. There was a song that I had written… God, I would love to tell titles, but I'm just gonna play it safe and say, no, I'm not gonna tell you the title. But we worked on it and laid it down," she said. "It sounds really good as well. I don't know exactly what the plan is for that. Julia brought something to the band that we all really liked, and I'm hoping that we'll record that. Britt and I worked on a lot of music together; we've got a lot of stuff ready to go. Roxy works all the time on music. So it's just a matter of time.

"We have become a pretty well-oiled machine live up to this point," she continued. "Adding Julia as well — she's been with us since January [of 2022], I believe, [or] February. So we're a machine on stage. So now we just need to transcend that into the studio and with new music. But I'm feeling really good about what's going on for sure."

Petrucci is the only remaining member of VIXEN's "classic" lineup.

In June 2022, Lewis was asked by SW Wall Interviews if she and her VIXEN bandmates began working on new music relatively quickly after she officially joined the group in early 2019. Lorraine said: "Right away. I would say within six months we were in the studio. We were in a rehearsal studio in the Valley and we were working on ideas. And then Britt and I, during COVID, we were working together just on Zoom, at least trying, 'cause there's a weird feedback thing. But we wrote quite a few songs together. And so there's another song that we're hoping to get recorded very soon, and that is possibly going to be with [producer] Toby Wright. So we've got things cooking. But it didn't take long. When we were in the rehearsal studio together, working on music too, and this is when Share [Ross, longtime VIXEN bassist] was with us, [it was] just super natural. They'd lay down something and I would just come in with something over it and Share would add a vocal line and a melody line and words. And it was just easy peasy. We haven't had that luxury to do it with Julia yet, but I'm sure it will happen. And I know Julia is a prolific songwriter herself, so I think that we'll get some new music going with her as well."

A year and a half year ago, Ross announced that she was "taking a hiatus" from VIXEN. Her replacement is Lage, formerly of the Latin Grammy-nominated Brazilian rock group BARRA DE SAIA and wife of Richie Kotzen. Lage made her live debut with VIXEN on February 8, 2022 at the pre-Monsters Of Rock cruise concert at Magic City Casino in Miami, Florida.

When Ross made the news of her departure public at the aforementioned pre-Monsters Of Rock cruise concert, she told the crowd that "life got a little complicated" and that "something has to give," resulting to her decision to "step away from VIXEN for a while." She then introduced her "amazing" replacement and urged the VIXEN fans to "graciously" open their arms and welcome Lage to the group. At that point, Julia and her new bandmates launched into the track "Streets In Paradise" and played the last couple of songs of the set with Ross watching the proceedings from the side of the stage.

During a February 2022 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Julia spoke about how she ended up hooking up with VIXEN, saying: "Share is taking a hiatus. She wants to do her thing [and focus on her real estate career]. She's kicking ass. She's gonna be writing and playing forever — I mean, she's a badass artist and bass player, singer, everything, songwriter. So I got the invitation, and I'm, like, 'Yeah, of course I'm gonna join. Of course.'"

Asked how the other members of VIXEN reached out to her about joining the band, Julia said: "Well, actually, funnily enough, before Britt joined VIXEN, me and her tried to put together a band, right when she moved to L.A. But that didn't work out, and then she joined VIXEN, and I was super happy for her. So, fast forward, she actually called me a few months ago and she told me about the scenario, and I was, like, 'Yeah. I would love [to do it]. I mean, it's an honor for me to join VIXEN.' So that happened. And that was it. It was that quick. And I was just, 'Okay. Sign me in. Where can I go?' [Laughs]"

In January 2019, VIXEN recruited Lewis as its new lead singer following the departure of Janet Gardner.

Lewis had already performed with VIXEN in March 2018 in Durant, Oklahoma while Gardner was recovering from surgery.

Prior to Lewis's addition to VIXEN, Petrucci, Ross and Denaro vowed to "expand upon the VIXEN legacy while remaining true to our musical roots."

Gardner, Petrucci and Ross are considered to be part of VIXEN's classic lineup, along with founding guitarist Jan Kuehnemund, who died of cancer in October 2013.

Gardner contributed lead vocals to VIXEN's most commercially successful studio albums — "Vixen" (1988),"Rev It Up" (1990) and "Tangerine" (1998) — as well as the group's latest full-length release, 2018's live album "Live Fire".

Grammy-nominated, RIAA-gold-certified alternative metal band RED has released "Rated R" at digital and streaming outlets globally from Red Entertainment / The Fuel Music. The band's evocative artistry takes center stage on its eighth studio album produced by RED guitarist Anthony Armstrong.

Combining the band's signature symphonic elements, piano-driven atmospheres and heavy yet melodic guitarwork with deep-seated and robustly delivered messages, "Rated R" is a thought-provoking project. The recording tackles several resonant and relevant topics amidst centering on the ideological and interpersonal divisions, confrontations and suffering of modern society.

Building upon the story RED has been revealing since its second LP (2009's "Innocence & Instinct"),fans will appreciate how the band is connecting its filmic past with the release of the video for its SiriusXM Octane-featured "Rated R" lead single "Surrogates". Premiered by HardDrive Radio, filmed on location in Utah with an 1888 Old West theme and helmed by the band's drummer Brian Medeiros, the video is the prequel to the entire series.

In addition to this performance video, a "The Redeemers" short film will be released featuring RED as suspected outlaws whose sole purpose is to unmask an evil taking over the small town of Condor, Utah. The filming was completed in Utah over a four-day shoot and features more than 50 extras as well as horses, guns, bar fights and everything you would expect from an old Western. The film is meant to be another chapter in the ongoing series RED fans have come to love.

Along with the videos and "Surrogates" single, recently released tracks "Cold World" (written by Anthony and BREAKING BENJAMIN's Keith Wallen) and "Minus It All", "Rated R" features "Your Devil Is A Ghost", a hard-hitting prayer for resolution from past pain that will be added to SiriusXM Octane's playlist next week.

"Rated R" also boasts the band's most expansive lineup since 2015's seminal "Of Beauty And Rage". Former percussionist Joe Rickard, who contributed to 2017's "Gone" and 2020's "Declaration", returns for mixing, programming and songwriting.

"He's done great things on his own with bands such as IN FLAMES and ALL THAT REMAINS," says Anthony. "We love having him involved whenever we can. He's a blast to work with and a big part of RED's history, so it's exciting to have him on board."

The album also sees arranger/composer David Davidson handling orchestration, Teirney Armstrong sharing her spectacular voice, and various other guests playing their part across the sequence of songs, demonstrating the collaborative and creative hefts of "Rated R".

Taking its new music and fan favorites on an extensive international tour, RED launches the second leg of its "Rated R" tour in the U.S. November 3 in Flint, Michigan and hits 13-cities across nine states before wrapping up at the Masquerade in Atlanta November 19. Following another string of U.S. dates in the winter/spring, RED is set to rock Graspop Metal Meeting festivalgoers from the mainstage in Belgium next summer, with plans to hit additional festivals before traveling to 26 European cities in the fall of 2024.

In an interview with Jaime Poulos of Metal Express Radio, former MEGADETH guitarist Jeff Young revealed that he has formed "a whole original band" with fellow ex-MEGADETH member David Ellefson (bass) and Fred Aching (drums),all three of whom are also playing together in KINGS OF THRASH.

"Everyone's saying KINGS OF THRASH is coming out with an original album, and it's not KINGS OF THRASH," Jeff clarified (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "Chaz [Leon] is our singer for that, for doing the MEGADETH stuff [with KINGS OF THRASH], but for the original stuff, Ellefson and I have been writing for over a year; we've been working on some songs. We're using this guy from Brazil that's gonna blow you guys away. He sounds kind of like [Ronnie James] Dio meets Chris Cornell meets Rob Halford. He's got perfect pitch, so he never hits a bad note. It's crazy."

Asked what it's like to play with Ellefson again after so many years, Jeff said: "It's super cool. We didn't really get a chance to know each other back in the day because I think [MEGADETH leader] Dave Mustaine was like the toxic thorn in the middle. But now that that's out of there, we're not only seeing… 'cause we probably lived ten different lives since then. We're different people. We're more mature and we're getting to know each in a whole different time and space. So it's like nostalgia plus it's brand new."

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).

In some recent interviews, Ellefson suggested that the upcoming original material from him and Young may not be released under the KINGS OF THRASH moniker. "Because, look, it doesn't have to be thrash," he told KNAC.COM. "It doesn't even have to be from a MEGADETH origin, really. Even though that was kind of the origin story, it doesn't have to sound like that. It should be us, who we are now today, I think. So, we've decided KINGS OF THRASH, for sure, is this [touring project] playing the music of yesterday. And then we're just deciding now, okay, this new music, to fit within that, should it be Jeff Young and David Ellefson doing something together? You know — ELLEFSON-YOUNG."

Last month, Young told Metal Edge about KINGS OF THRASH: "Let me put it this way: What's happening now is a win for all of us — Dave [Mustaine] included. He gets to make money off the publishing from the MEGADETH songs we play. Dave knows that, so he's very aware of us."

Young continued: "He hates what KINGS OF THRASH is doing. But it doesn't matter because, eventually, we'll delete a lot of the MEGADETH from our set, and we'll keep writing new stuff. But Dave is feeling the heat because we're getting attention, and the KINGS OF THRASH album will be better than anything MEGADETH has done recently. And we're playing all the MEGADETH songs better than he has in years. It's not just me saying that — read the reviews."

This past January, Young told Ultimate Guitar that he and Ellefson had not received any feedback from Mustaine about their new band or their recent live shows. "We couldn't care less… and it's a win-win for him," Jeff said. "Because all the publishing, for example, on the 'Best Of The West', he's getting all that money. We're making him money and he doesn't have to do anything. So, we're performing the songs because they're part of our history and the fans want to hear them and we will benefit from that, and so will he, so it's a win-win. How much cooler can anything be than that? So, if he has something to say about it… I wouldn't imagine it would be very objective… not that anything he's ever said has been objective."

Jeff's recent comments were similar to those he made last year when he told Thomas S. Orwat, Jr. of the Rock Interview Series that he and Ellefson were "really not concerned" about Mustaine's reaction to KINGS OF THRASH. "I don't pay attention," he said. "I haven't really paid attention or followed MEGADETH since, I think, I heard the 'Rust In Peace' album a couple of times, and then what you might hear on the radio or in the press.

"For us, this isn't about any spite or retaliation; it's a celebration of the music that we were all a part of, that we helped create," he explained. "And it's fun for us to do this.

"People said, 'You should do this.' And we said, 'Hey, yeah, you're right. We should do this.' It's a win-win — it's a win for us, and it's a win for [Mustaine], because any performance royalties, anything… If we did include live tracks, he would make money off that. It's promoting albums that hopefully fans will go back and buy, which is putting money right in his pocket. Especially 'Killing Is My Business', I think a lot of people are gonna go back and wanna rediscover that album after this tour.

"For us, it's all about positivity," Young added. "We're all in this moment — we're living in the moment, and we're not looking beyond. We're not reading any of the comments on Blabbermouth or any of the stuff. Because we know what our intent is, and intent is everything. And our intent's positive. We like playing together. We know we're crafting original music. We're not relying on this; we don't need to ride the coattails of this. This is just something that the fans wanted, and you wanna give fans what they want."

Ellefson told Yes! You CAN Play Guitar! that the intention behind KINGS OF THRASH is not to stick it to his former bandmates. "This is a celebration, not a retaliation," he explained. "This is a good moment. This is a happy moment, to celebrate these songs and these tracks and these records. So we go at it with just fun… It's, like, 'Wow. Wouldn't it be fun if we went out and played these records?' And we're doing it. So it's meant to be this celebration and bringing people together. And honestly, that was kind of always my role in MEGADETH. Dave [Mustaine] always called me 'The Ambassador', and I was always that guy, and I am that guy. So it's, like, let me just continue that role in our community and have one of good will."

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.

Young's entire career with MEGADETH was spent recording and touring in support of the band's 1988 platinum-selling album "So Far, So Good...So What!"

Jeff made headlines in December 2009 for accusing Mustaine of, among other things, "dissing, exaggerating and just plain lying on some level about nearly every talented musician that has passed through his dysfunctional little ensemble." He also disputed Mustaine's claim in an interview that Young's drug problem led to MEGADETH's 1988 Australian tour being called off and the group being "banned" from performing in the country.

Polish blackened death metal practitioners, Hate, performed "Valley Of Darkness" - from their 2015 album Crusade:Zero - during their set at the 2023 edition of the Bloodstock Open Air festival. Watch professionally-filmed footage below:





Check out "The Wolf Queen" and "Erebos" from the same show:










No one combines death and black metal quite like Poland’s Hate. With unflinching viciousness and a sense of atmosphere unique to the band, Rugia, the band’s twelfth and most recent full-length released via Metal Blade Records, pushes the boundaries of their craft even further.





Rugia, which earned the #30 spot on Billboard’s Current Hard Music Albums chart and #33 on Billboard’s Top New Artists Albums chart in the US as well as the #25 on Billboard’s Current Hard Music Albums chart in Canada upon its first week of release, is currently available on CD, LP, and digital formats.

Queen have released the 35th episode in their series, The Greatest Live. Watch below.


A message states: "More fascinating insights into Queen as a live band from their flamboyant, outrageous, and now legendary frontman, Freddie Mercury.  Here he explains how he sees his role on stage, and what he strives for every time he performs, no matter the size of the crowd."







Watch Part 1 below:

Jethro Tull released their 23rd studio album, RökFlöte, back in April, and the band are currently out on tour in North America. To coincide with this, the alternative stereo mixes of the album by Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief), have now been made available on digital services worldwide, and you can listen to them here.





Ian Anderson comments: “Now we have the Bruce Soord alternative stereo mixes to add, showing his different reading of the sounds and balances. Music is the ears of the beholder!  Good man, Bruce. Great job, Bruce.”




Following 2022’s The Zealot Gene, the band's first album in two decades, Ian Anderson and the band returned with this 12-track record based on the characters and roles of some of the principle gods of the old Norse paganism, and at the same time exploring the RökFlöte - rock flute - which Jethro Tull has made iconic.


As mentioned, the band are currently out on tour in North America, with further dates schedule across the world leading into 2024. Find the full list of shows here.





RökFlöte is available on several different formats, including two limited deluxe formats that include bonus demo material, extensive liner notes & a blu-ray featuring Dolby Atmos, 5.1 surround sound, alternative stereo mixes by Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief), as well as a bonus track and in-depth interview with Ian Anderson. The album is also available digitally in the spatial audio formats Dolby Atmos & Sony 360 RA.


Order here.


With more than 30 albums to their credit and sales totaling more than 60 million, Jethro Tull are one of the most successful rock bands of all-time with a catalog that contains classics that still resonate today. Led by Ian Anderson, Tull still continue to tour throughout the world, entertaining audiences of all ages.


Lineup:


Ian Anderson - Concert and Alto flutes, Flute d'Amour, Irish whistle and vocals
David Goodier - Bass guitar
John O’Hara - Piano, keyboards and Hammond Organ
Scott Hammond - Drums
Joe Parrish-James - Electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin    


(Photo - Assunta Opahle)

Jelusick's debut album, Follow The Blind Man, is out now.


The band Jelusick is formed around singer and keyboardist Dino Jelusick (Whitesnake, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Michael Romeo, Dirty Shirley). He is joined by bassist Luka Broderick who is, like Dino, an academically educated musician. Rounding out the quartet are guitarist Ivan Keller and drummer Mario Lepoglavec. Both actively tour with Marco Mendoza (Whitesnake, Journey). All of them are exceptionally talented musicians ready to show the world that rock is still alive. Their music is a combination of hard/heavy/prog with versatile elements from other genres. Jelusick is seen as the next rock sensation by fans and music colleagues alike.


Dino joined Whitesnake after receiving a personal phone call from David Coverdale and went out on the band's 2022 farewell tour as a multi-instrumentalist and backing vocalist for Coverdale. Upon returning, he immediately focused his attention on his own band, Jelusick. They released a bunch of lead-up singles like “Healer”, “”The Great Divide”, “Chaos Master” and “Fly High Again,” collectively racking up over 200,000 listens on Spotify. The “Fly High Again” video is approaching 300,000 views. Watch below.




As Dino explains, "Follow The Blind Man is the debut album that has been waiting for a long time to finally come to life. It will give you many of the different songwriting and stylistic angles that we're capable of. From heavy, prog, bluesy to epic ballads and acoustic stuff.”


Deko President, Bruce Pucciarello, celebrates Jelusick, “I love everything Dino does, but this is truly authentic. It is like everything else has led up to this band and this record. Holy shit, these guys can sing and play!”


The album can be streamed in its entirety here.


Follow The Blind Man is also available on CD and limited-edition vinyl. Order your copy now and get a limited-edition bundle while supplies last, here.





Bundle includes:


1 x Jelusick - Follow The Blind Man – CD/LP
1 x Jelusick - Autographed Postcard
1 x Jelusick - Sticker





Tracklisting:


“Reign Of Vultures”
“Died”
“Animal Inside”
“Follow The Blind Man”
“What I Want”
“Acid Rain”
“Healer”
“The Great Divide”
“Fly High Again”
“Chaos Master”
“The Bitter End (Chaos Master Part 2)”


“Fly High Again” video:

In a new interview with LehighValleyNews.com, original SALIVA singer Josey Scott said that he is currently writing material for a new studio album.

"I'm planning on going in the studio and recording a brand-new record that will surprise a lot of people," he said.

According to Scott, the upcoming LP will see him "sort of shifting gears musically a little bit and taking myself sort of back to my roots, back to my Memphis roots and Tennessee roots.

"I grew up around a lot of … my dad was a country artist and a gospel artist, and I'm planning on doing like a sort-of a rock 'n' roll country record, if you will," he explained. "And I'm working on some new material right now and I'm working with a producer out of Nashville named ScatteredBrains and talking to the producer who we recorded all our hits within SALIVA — Bob Marlette out in California. So I’m really excited about doing some new material and we’re gonna see how it goes."

Scott, whose real name is Joseph Sappington, recently embarked on a tour under the JOSEY SCOTT'S SALIVA banner which sees him performing a lot of the band's classic songs without any of the other original SALIVA members.

SALIVA's founding guitarist Wayne Swinny died in March while on tour with the group.

This past February, before Swinny's death, Scott announced that he had launched a new band called SHADE VIOLENT, also featuring his stepson Dylan.

It is not presently clear if Scott's upcoming album will be released under the JOSEY SCOTT'S SALIVA or SHADE VIOLENT banner.

SALIVA launched its career in 2001 with the release of "Every Six Seconds", a double-platinum selling album with hits that include "Click, Click Boom" and "Your Disease".

The band has toured the U.S. with SEVENDUST, AEROSMITH and KISS.

SALIVA reunited with Scott for a one-off appearance at last year's Blue Ridge Rock Festival at the Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia.

Scott left SALIVA at the end of 2011 after 15 years with the group, reportedly to pursue a solo Christian music career. He was quickly replaced by Bobby Amaru, who can be heard on SALIVA's last five releases: "In It To Win It" (2013),"Rise Up" (2014),"Love, Lies & Therapy" (2016),"10 Lives" (2018) and "Revelation" (2023).

SALIVA released six albums with Scott and tasted platinum success and a Grammy nomination for its first big hit, "Your Disease".

In May 2021, SALIVA celebrated the 20th anniversary of its breakthrough major label debut, "Every Six Seconds", with a special project called "Every Twenty Years", an EP of classic songs re-recorded with Amaru.

In a new interview with Robert Miguel of Uvalde Radio Rocks, TRIXTER guitarist Steve Brown was asked about the possibility of him and other members of the band's classic lineup reuniting to play their first shows since 2017. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Pete's [Loran, TRIXTER singer] a brother. We talk all the time and everything's cool there. I just think that Pete's — look, he's always welcome. He can come out whenever he wants. He's always welcome to come on stage and play with [me and TRIXTER bassist P.J. Farley]. And we've gotten offers over the past couple years, and we've presented it, 'Hey, we want the band,' and it just doesn't work out. And there's nothing I can say more about it, other than the fact that, with the drummer [Mark 'Gus' Scott], sadly that's a problem that'll never be repaired in my mind. So that you're never gonna see the original TRIXTER back with the drummer again. But you might see Pete fronting us with a different drummer, which is fine, 'cause that guy was an adequate drummer at best anyway."

In recent months, Brown and Farley have been performing acoustic TRIXTER shows backed by Ben Hans on percussion.

This past June, Loran told the "Rimshots With Sean" podcast that he was still "cordial" with Brown and Farley. "I actually just saw P.J. about three weeks ago," he said. "He was out here [near my home in Arizona] — he's out with Chris Jericho's FOZZY, and they were doing UFEST here in Phoenix with GODSMACK. And he had called me up and said, 'Let's get together. Let's grab some lunch.' And I hadn't seen him since probably 2017. And it was needed. For me, it was needed. We had really kind of talked past what had happened. So we're great. It was really good for me. Gus, on the other hand, with those guys, not so much… And they've all done interviews and really talked some shit about each other, which — I get it, I guess.

"I think if you got all four of us in a room, within a short, reasonable amount of time, everyone would be hugging each other [and saying] 'I'm sorry' or whatever," Pete continued. "As far as doing a gig, I don't know about that. But it would be nice if that could happen, though — at least that part… And I'd like that to happen. I don't know if they'd like that to happen, but it would be good. The possibility of doing shows? I don't know if that ever happens again. But those guys [P.J. and Steve] are very busy, number one; they always have been. But they're also doing like a TRIXTER acoustic thing. And if they ever roll through Phoenix, I'll probably jump up there and do a couple of songs. I don't see why not."

Pete went on to lament the fact that Gus, Steve and P.J. have been unable to mend their differences. "These are guys that have known each other since junior high, grew up in the same town, started a band together," he noted. "Gang mentality — us against them. 'We're getting a record deal. Now we're gonna open up for the SCORPIONS in front of 18 thousand people, and we're gonna have to kick them in the teeth because we want them to accept us.' And all the accolades and whatnot throughout the years. It would be kind of sad to let that just all get kicked to the side because of something stupid. My opinion."

Both Brown and Farley have been critical of Scott in recent interviews, with Steve saying that the drummer is on "the shit list beyond belief" with the rest of the group, while P.J. compared being in a band with Mark to owning a disobedient dog. "Sometimes you let the dog off a leash and he just goes running to the middle of the street — no good," he said.

Since reuniting in 2008, TRIXTER has released two studio albums via Frontiers Music Srl — 2012's "New Audio Machine" and 2015's "Human Era".

TRIXTER toured extensively in the United States, Canada and Japan in support of its five major label releases. They have performed live in arenas and amphitheaters with crowds up to 35,000 people, appearing with such rock superstars as KISS, SCORPIONS, POISON, TED NUGENT, NIGHT RANGER, CINDERELLA, TWISTED SISTER, DOKKEN, WARRANT, GREAT WHITE and FIREHOUSE.

In a January 2022 interview with "The Bay Ragni Show", Gus stated about his relationship with his bandmates: "I haven't spoken to P.J. or Steve at all. There has been no activity as far as putting the band successfully back together at all. And to be honest with you, although my skirmish with those guys may be more well known, there's more layers to the problem between us, unfortunately. It involves the whole band, as far as seriousness to play and things like that or where they prioritize that thing. But that's neither here nor there. I think overall there's no deep-hearted desire on some people's part to really put it back together. And that's the biggest shame of all. And I think that's also the biggest obstacle to me to as far as even having a desire to reach out. Which sounds terrible. Honestly, as a friend, that's something that I wrestled with myself. Whether he pissed me off or I pissed him off is somewhat immaterial. Those sorts of things ought to take a secondary seat to anything else that we've accomplished together, and that should always be a priority. So at one point I've gotta believe I'm gonna break down and give a shout at least and say hey. It's stupid that it's gone this far, and I'm myself to blame equally as well. But no, as far as making any progress, unfortunately, no — there's been none. I think the biggest problem is there are some people that really just do not care or just do not want to do it to the level that it takes to wanna put it back together. And that's the biggest shame for everybody, I think. That's ultimately what bothers me the most, I think."

Scott also touched upon the various projects some of the other TRIXTER members are involved with, including Farley's current stint with FOZZY and both Brown's and Farley's collaboration with Eric Martin from MR. BIG.

"I think the biggest reason why I don't reach out [and] why a bigger effort hasn't been made on anybody's part is these guys are out with all these other projects, doing all this other stuff, and they didn't care to do TRIXTER first?" he said. "They fail to believe that there was potential to be at least… Like the idea of us going back to Japan. Oh, what a horrible idea that would be. Oh, it couldn't possibly be successful if we did something like that. The idea of really approaching this situation with a certain mindframe, that's the part that kills me the most. You actually don't see the potential or have the desire for that. Even if we did not have the potential, I love the music so much, I would do it for nothing; I'd pay somebody to get on that stage. Whereas they — apparently — do not possess that desire at all. And that I find exponentially more inexcusable — maybe that's the best way of putting it — at least to me. I think that hurts even more so. It's, like, why would you not wanna do that? That's what we lived for; that was what we would have killed for. So I guess that's maybe the biggest question that's unanswered. And that's the kind of thing those guys never wanted to sit down and talk about, even during the good times, even when we were out there doing it. There's an elusive quotient to the whole thing, man, because some people have not been on the level with the whole thing either. But at the end of the day, it's desire. I think that's the one quotient that has yet to really… That's the biggest festering sore. And even above brotherhood and all that, that's the part that prohibits progress."

Back in 2021, Scott told Waste Some Time with Jason Green that "there were always two camps within [TRIXTER]. It hasn't always been as bad as it is now. Peter and I were always very close, and P.J. and Steve were always very close. I mean, we were all collectively very, very close. We were a family, and that's not bullcrap; that's for real. We literally grew up together. P.J., at 15 and 16 years old, used to drive my car 'cause I wanted him to pass his driving exam. To that level, man. I've known these guys 35-plus years. So we've been through a lot, and we've experienced things around the world, the likes of which people will never experience. So we've been through very, very highs and very, very lows all together. We each know deep, dark secrets about each other. And it's something beautiful — it really is. And, unfortunately, more recently, it has turned more ugly."

Regarding what Brown is "mad" at him for, Scott said: "What it stems from is something, I think, that started a long time ago. And it was unresolved crap that got worse and worse, and then got out of control. It started small in a sense that there were two ideologies within the band on how to run the band. When we had opportunities like we did the second time around… When we first came out [after our comeback], we did three shows in one year; I think the next year we did five. When you have 52 weekends and [you're plotting] a big comeback and the press is favorable and people are throwing record deals at you and you're hitting No. 56 on iTunes, the idea of playing 20 shows in one year, to me, it just seemed like an opportunity to strike that no one else really wanted to share the idea. That's where I think things started, and nobody wanted to talk about it. That's a problem — in any business.

"It got to a point where I took some action, and I was somewhat of a dick about it," he admitted. "But my actions were certainly prompted — to take action. And it kind of caught him in the backside a bit, and he got really angry at me.'

Scott told Waste Some Time with Jason Green that he was "hesitant to give the full details" of his disagreement with Brown, but claimed that "there was a dictatorial attitude that [Steve] had, and he wasn't exactly sitting on the throne. And I think he took offense to the idea that I took a strike at his position, and it caught him a little short-sighted."

Asked if he acknowledges that he may have done something to rub Brown the wrong way, Scott said: "I'll go so far as to say a hundred percent. I pissed him off big-time, but it certainly wasn't without prompting. I didn't just one day wake up and say, 'You know what? Fuck him. And this is what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna take an ax and chop up his car.' No. It [had built up] over a long period of time. Everybody avoided the idea of having a conversation about it. I mean, if you're gonna run a bubblegum stand, you've gotta all agree upon how much bubblegum you're gonna sell, what you're gonna sell it for, and how often you're gonna sell it. And to have four guys that own one bubblegum stand and can't agree on the price of bubblegum and how often they're gonna sell it, they're pretty substantial problems."

Scott celebrated the 30th anniversary of TRIXTER's biggest MTV hit, "Give It To Me Good", by releasing a solo version of the song in May 2020.

In a new interview with Shawn Ratches of Laughingmonkeymusic, DOKKEN frontman Don Dokken spoke about the difficulties he has had preserving his voice as he gets older and the issues he has encountered trying to reproduce DOKKEN's classic material in a live setting. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I've had a lot of complaints. I see fans, when I go, 'The kiss of…' [in the song 'Kiss Of Death'] and I hit this B flat above A, this super soprano note, and I wouldn't hit it, and you see people go, 'Well, hey, you didn't hit the note.' I'm, like, 'Dude, I've done, like, three thousand concerts. It's like a motor car. It's getting worn out.'"

He continued: "When you're in your twenties, I don't know if we're gonna have another record or another hit or anything — I don't know. So here I am just singing up [in the high register]. I was trying to copy [Rob] Halford [JUDAS PRIEST], or all those bands and Klaus [Meine, SCORPIONS by singing] so high, but you go on the road for a year and a half and do four hundred shows and five albums and then you start — like me, I'm husky today just from talking to everybody. And that's just the way it is. And you get older. I'm 70, man. And some of these fans go… I've had people say, 'Don needs to give it up. He can't hit the high notes.' I'm, like, 'Let's see you hit those high notes 24-year-old. Go ahead. Go for it.'"

Don went on to say there would still be the naysayers even if he sang "perfect like [he] did in '83". He added: "My daughter used to go on our web site and we used to have an open forum. So anybody could say anything they wanted. And a guy called Acorn, who didn't even use his real name, and he made a comment when he goes, 'I went to five DOKKEN shows this summer and Don sucked.' And I went, 'Then why'd you come to five shows?' And my daughter would fire back. And we finally blocked him. And I said, 'Sweetie, you've gotta remember, this guy works at Subway and he makes tuna sandwiches all day, and he has this new thing called the Internet and he can go on and post whatever he wants,' 'cause I wasn't censoring, 'and that's their way of getting attention.' Then you get the people to say, 'Screw you' and 'I agree with you.'"

Don said that he plans to "keep going until it's not fun anymore", and he had a special message to those DOKKEN fans who are disappointed that he can't reproduce his vocal performance from four decades ago.

"If I can't sing the way they remember me, then just don't come to the show," he said. "I've got no problem with that."

Back in April 2022, ex-DOKKEN bassist Jeff Pilson addressed Don's vocal issues in interview with Tulsa Music Stream. He said: "Well, listen, to be fair, not all vocalists keep their range… You don't have a lot of Glenn Hugheses and Ronnie Dios out there in the world, whose voices seem to just never get affected. I can't sing like I could 35 years ago. So you've gotta keep that in mind.

"With that, I hope Don takes care of himself and I hope he can keep singing for as long as possible and I hope he has a little bit of a breakthrough," Jeff continued. "I know he's had a lot of health issues and he's had — it's just a lot of issues — so there's a reason why he's probably had some difficulties. But I wish him the best; I really do. I think he's just got a wonderful voice, and when it's working, it's a unique, magical voice. So I hope he has less problems in the future."

Don previously talked about his vocal issues in a 2020 interview with Antihero Magazine. At the time, he said: "Yes, it's been a problem. We get older, and our voices are not like they were when I was 27 or 30 or 35 or 40. When you get older, your voice is not as high as it used to be, so you lose your high notes. And I know every singer in this business, there's only a few singers that I know that when I see them live, I say, holy shit, they sound just as good as they did when they were 30, and now they're 70. Klaus Meine still sings amazing. He's got an amazing voice. He still sounds the same. So I guess it's a God thing. Maybe God just gives people a gift."

He continued: "You see Glenn Hughes go out and do DEEP PURPLE songs. And Glenn Hughes, he's [72]. He sings amazing. Ronnie James Dio, to almost the end of his life, when he had cancer, he did a concert at Radio City Music Hall [with HEAVEN & HELL] and he was fighting cancer, and he still sounded amazing, just like he did forever. So I guess some people are blessed and some people are not.

"In my world, I have good days and I have bad days, and I don't want to put the blame on anybody," Don added. "But when you're flying on an airplane for five hours in a pressurized cabin, and then you go to a hotel and the air conditioning's on, and it's 100 degrees outside, and then you go in your room and it's 60 degrees, then you get back on a plane, your voice goes out."

After DOKKEN's last studio album, 2012's "Broken Bones", failed to meet his expectations commercially, Don publicly questioned whether the band should or would make another record. He was also ruthlessly criticized by fans after radiation treatments from a bout with stomach cancer and eventual vocal-cord surgery hurt his performances.

He told the Bradenton Herald that he took a year or so off after "Broken Bones" to regroup and reassess the band's place in the rock marketplace.

"I was getting so bad I had to say, 'Guys, I'm just destroying our brand. I suck,'" Dokken said. "I put on 40 pounds. I couldn't sing. I just didn't look good; I didn't feel good. I just had to get the radiation over with and rehab and come back."

Don underwent neck and spine surgery in November 2019, leaving him unable to play guitar.

DOKKEN will release its 13th studio album, "Heaven Comes Down", on October 27 via Silver Lining Music. The follow-up to "Broken Bones" was produced by Bill Palmer and Don Dokken and was mixed by Kevin Shirley (AEROSMITH, IRON MAIDEN).